# Indian Liberals — full corpus dump > Every Tier-A entry in full, plus every Tier-B summary, one file. > See /AGENTS.md for the citation rules and tier system. > Generated at 2026-07-12T20:42:11.646Z. --- # Thinkers ## [Thinker] A. B. Nair URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/a-b-nair/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `A. B. Nair` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] A. C. Chhatrapati URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/a-c-chhatrapati/ --- ## [Thinker] A. B. Shah URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/a-b-shah/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `A. B. Shah` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] A CONSUMER URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/a-consumer/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `A CONSUMER` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] A. D. Shroff URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/a-d-shroff/ ### Body Ardeshir Darabshaw Shroff (1899–1965) was an eminent industrialist, banker, and economist. He was one of the architects of free India's banking and insurance business. Shroff was amongst the earliest proponents of free enterprise in India. In 1944, Shroff served as a non-official delegate at the United Nations "Bretton Woods Conference" on post-war monetary and financial systems. Shroff also co-authored the Bombay Plan, a set of proposals for the development of the post-independence Indian economy. In the 1950s, Shroff was the founder-director of the Investment Corporation of India and the company chairman of Bank of India and the New India Assurance Company Limited. In 1956, Shroff co-founded the Forum of Free Enterprise, a think-tank, as a means to counter the socialist tendencies of the Nehru government. Through FFE, Shroff sought to educate students and the common man about the sound principles of economics. Later in 1959, Shroff would also play a role in founding the Swatantra Party. Upon his early demise in 1965, the A D Shroff Memorial Trust was set up in his memory. --- ## [Thinker] A. K. Chanda URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/a-k-chanda/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `A. K. Chanda` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] A. P. J. Abdul Kalam URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/a-p-j-abdul-kalam/ --- ## [Thinker] DR. A. R. WADIA, M.P. URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/a-r-wadia-m-p/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `DR. A. R. WADIA, M.P.` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] A. N. Agarwala URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/a-n-agarwala/ --- ## [Thinker] A. D. Cohen URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/a-d-cohen/ --- ## [Thinker] A Ranganathan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/a-ranganathan/ --- ## [Thinker] A. S. Ganguly URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/a-s-ganguly/ --- ## [Thinker] A. S. Bhaskar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/a-s-bhaskar/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `A. S. Bhaskar` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] A. SEN GUPTA URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/a-sen-gupta/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `A. SEN GUPTA` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Abhay Bang URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/abhay-bang/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Abhay Bang` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Abhaya Prasad Hota URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/abhaya-prasad-hota/ --- ## [Thinker] Abhay Pethe URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/abhay-pethe/ --- ## [Thinker] Abhijit Pawar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/abhijit-pawar/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Abhijit Pawar` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Abraham Lincoln URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/abraham-lincoln/ --- ## [Thinker] Adam Smith URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/adam-smith/ --- ## [Thinker] Adi Godrej URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/adi-godrej/ --- ## [Thinker] Air Chief Marshal P. C. Lal URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/air-chief-marshal-p-c-lal/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Air Chief Marshal P. C. Lal` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. Ajay Shah URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ajay-shah/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. Ajay Shah` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Ajit Bhattacharjea URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ajit-bhattacharjea/ --- ## [Thinker] AG Mulgaokar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ag-mulgaokar/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. Ajit Karnik, Head, Department of Economics, University of Mumbai URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ajit-karnik-head-department-of-economics-university-of-mumba/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. Ajit Karnik, Head, Department of Economics, University of Mumbai` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Ajit Narde URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ajit-narde/ --- ## [Thinker] Achyut Patwardhan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/achyut-patwardhan/ --- ## [Thinker] Ajit Karnik URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ajit-karnik/ --- ## [Thinker] Albert O. Hirschman URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/albert-hirschman/ --- ## [Thinker] Ajit Ranade URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ajit-ranade/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Ajit Ranade` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] SIR ALEC DOUGLAS-HOME URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/alec-douglas-home/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `SIR ALEC DOUGLAS-HOME` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Alexander Fleming URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/alexander-fleming/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Alexander Fleming` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Alexander Duff URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/alexander-duff/ --- ## [Thinker] Alexis de Tocqueville URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/alexis-de-tocqueville/ --- ## [Thinker] Aldous Huxley URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/aldous-huxley/ --- ## [Thinker] Alfred Marshall URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/alfred-marshall/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Alfred Marshall` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Amartya Sen URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/amartya-sen/ --- ## [Thinker] Ambrish Mehta URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ambrish-mehta/ --- ## [Thinker] ALKA SEN URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/alka-sen/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `ALKA SEN` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Amitabh Bachchan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/amitabh-bachchan/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Amitabh Bachchan` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Amitav Malik URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/amitav-malik/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Amitav Malik` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Prof. Amlan Datta URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/amlan-datta/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Prof. Amlan Datta` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Amul Desai URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/amul-desai/ --- ## [Thinker] Amitabh Kant URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/amitabh-kant/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. Amrutananda Das URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/amrutananda-das/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. Amrutananda Das` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Anandibai Joshee URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/anandibai-joshee/ --- ## [Thinker] Anand Sinha URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/anand-sinha/ --- ## [Thinker] Anant Umrikar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/anant-umrikar/ --- ## [Thinker] Anil B. Divan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/anil-b-divan/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Anil B. Divan` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Anil Patel URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/anil-patel/ --- ## [Thinker] Annie Besant URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/annie-besant/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Annie Besant` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Anu Aga URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/anu-aga/ --- ## [Thinker] Mrs. ANU R. AGA URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/anu-r-aga/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Mrs. ANU R. AGA` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Arthur F. Burns URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/arthur-f-burns/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Arthur F. Burns` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Arun Firodia URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/arun-firodia/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Arun Firodia` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Arun Nigavekar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/arun-nigavekar/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Arun Nigavekar` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Arvind Lalbhai URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/arvind-lalbhai/ --- ## [Thinker] Arvind Deshpande URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/arvind-deshpande/ --- ## [Thinker] Arvind Narottam Lalbhai URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/arvind-narottam-lalbhai/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Arvind Narottam Lalbhai` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Ashima Goyal URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ashima-goyal/ --- ## [Thinker] Asghar Ali Engineer URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/asghar-ali-engineer/ --- ## [Thinker] Ashok Desai URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ashok-desai/ --- ## [Thinker] Ashish Das URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ashish-das/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Ashish Das` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Ashok Mehta URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ashok-mehta/ --- ## [Thinker] Ashok Mitra URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ashok-mitra/ --- ## [Thinker] Ashwinkumar N. Kariya URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ashwinkumar-n-kariya/ --- ## [Thinker] Ashwin Gambhir URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ashwin-gambhir/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Ashwin Gambhir` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Atal Bihari Vajpayee URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/atal-bihari-vajpayee/ --- ## [Thinker] Azim Premji URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/azim-premji/ --- ## [Thinker] B. A. Tarlton URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/b-a-tarlton/ --- ## [Thinker] Ayub Khan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ayub-khan/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. B. C. Ishwardas URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/b-c-ishwardas/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. B. C. Ishwardas` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Azizun Nisa URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/azizun-nisa/ --- ## [Thinker] Ashwin Karia URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ashwin-karia/ --- ## [Thinker] B. G. Rao URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/b-g-rao/ --- ## [Thinker] Prof. B.M. Banerjee URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/b-m-banerjee/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Prof. B.M. Banerjee` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] B. M. CHOKSI URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/b-m-choksi/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `B. M. CHOKSI` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] B. N. Adarkar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/b-n-adarkar/ --- ## [Thinker] Prof. B. P. ADARKAR URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/b-p-adarkar/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Prof. B. P. ADARKAR` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] B. N. Srikrishna URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/b-n-srikrishna/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `B. N. Srikrishna` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] B. P. Patel URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/b-p-patel/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `B. P. Patel` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] B. R. Shenoy URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/b-r-shenoy/ ### Body Professor Bellikoth Ragunath Shenoy (1905–1978) was a classical liberal economist. Born on June 3, 1905, near Mangalore, Karnataka, he was educated at the Benares Hindu University (where he secured a first-class first at the MA Economics Exam in 1929) and later at the London School of Economics (LSE). As a student, he actively participated in the freedom struggle and was jailed at Nagpur. At LSE, he was inspired by the ideas of Professor Friedrich Hayek who later won the Nobel Prize in Economics. During his LSE stint, two of his papers, “An Equation for the Price Level of New Investment Goods” (1931) and “Interdependence of Price Levels” (1933) appeared in the Quarterly Journal of Economics which established him as an upcoming monetary economist. He was perhaps the first Indian economist to have a paper published in a leading scholarly journal. After returning to India, Shenoy taught at Wadia College (Pune), Gujarat College (Ahmedabad) and University of Ceylon. He was associated with various Government Bodies of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) including the Commission on Currency and the Department of Commerce. In 1942 he was appointed the Principal of L D Arts College, Ahmedabad. He would join the Reserve Bank of India in 1945. During his RBI days, he was the Far Eastern Representative of the IMF (1948) and an Alternate Executive Director of IMF as well as of the World Bank (1951-53). In 1954, Shenoy joined Gujarat University as the first Director of its School of Social Sciences, a position which he retained till 1968. During this period he made substantial contributions to Indian Economic Policy debates, most notably his “Note of Dissent to the Second Five Year Plan” and Madras University Lectures entitled “Problems of Indian Economic Development.” His notable contributions to various policy issues like PL480 food imports, deficit financing, inflation, and economic development were marked by technical competence and analytical ability. After leaving Gujarat University in 1968, he founded the “Economic Research Centre” in Delhi and tirelessly espoused the cause of liberalism in India till he passed away on 8th February 1978. He was President of the Indian Economic Association in 1957, Visiting Professor at his alma mater, LSE in 1966 and a member of the internationally prestigious Mont Pelerin Society. His publications include “Ceylon Currency and Banking” (1941), “The Sterling Assets of the Reserve Bank of India” (1953), “Problems of Indian Economic Development” (1956), and “PL480 and India’s Food Problem” (1974) apart from various articles in scholarly journals, both Indian and international. A collection of his writings “Planned Progress or Planned Chaos” edited by Professors Mahesh Bhatt and S. B. Mehta was published in 1996. PL480 and India’s Food Problem (1974). Planned Progress or Planned Chaos? (East West Books, 1996). The Post-War Depression: The Way Out (Kitabistan, 1944). Ceylon Currency and Banking (Longman, Green and Company Limited, 1941). The Sterling Assets of the Reserve Bank of India (Indian Council of World Affairs, 1946). The Indian Economic Scene: Some Aspects (1957). Indian Economic Crisis: A Program for Reform (Economics Research Centre, 1968). Problems of Indian Economic Development (University of Madras Press, 1958). Indian Planning and Economic Development (Asia Publishing House, 1963). Fifteen Years of Indian Planning (1966) Indian Economic Policy (Humanities Press, 1968). Food Crisis in India: Causes and Cure (1974) Economic Growth with Social Justice (Forum of Free Enterprise, 1980). The Bombay Plan, A Review of Its Financial Provisions (Karnatak Pub House, 1944). Indian Planning and The Common Man (Forum of Free Enterprise, 1962). Report on the Economic Survey of Kurunegala District (Ceylon Government Press, 1940). Economic Policy Resolution of AICC at Bangalore and Indian Economic and Social Progress (Economic Research Center). PL480 and Indias Food Problem (1974) Planned Progress or Planned Chaos? (East West Books, 1996) The Post-War Depression: The Way Out (Kitabistan, 1944) Ceylon, Currency and Banking (1941) The Sterling Assets of the Reserve Bank of India (1953) Problems of Indian Economic Development (1956) The Indian Economic Scene: Some Aspects (1957) Economic Prophecies Other Writings A Note of Dissent on the Memorandum of the Panel of Economists Economic Situation and Trends in Ceylon – A Programme of Reform Theoretical Vision, edited by R K Amin & Parth J Shah (Centre for Civil Society, 2004) Liberalism and Less Developed Countries: Essay in Memory of Professor Bellikoth Raghunath Shenoy (Gujarat University, 1982) Some Basic Economic Ideas of Prof. B R Shenoy (Economic Research Center, 1998) An Equation for the Price Level of New Investment Goods (Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1931) Interdependence of Price Levels (Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1933) Correspondences Shenoy-Hayek Correspondences (Set I, Hoover Institution Archives) Shenoy-Hayek Correspondences (Set II, Hoover Institution Archives) Published On The Indian Libertarian Volume : 5 ;Issue: 15 1  October 1957 The Indian Libertarian Volume : 5 ; Issue: 18 1  December 1957 --- ## [Thinker] Sir B. Rama Rau URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/b-rama-rau/ --- ## [Thinker] B. S. Mahajan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/b-s-mahajan/ --- ## [Thinker] B. Shiva Rao URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/b-shiva-rao/ --- ## [Thinker] Babytai Kamble URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/babytai-kamble/ --- ## [Thinker] Bal Gangadhar Tilak URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/bal-gangadhar-tilak/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. Barendra Kumar Bhoi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/barendra-kumar-bhoi/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. Barendra Kumar Bhoi` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Begum Rokeya URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/begum-rokeya/ --- ## [Thinker] Bernard Iddings Bell URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/bernard-iddings-bell/ --- ## [Thinker] Benjamin Tucker URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/benjamin-tucker/ --- ## [Thinker] George Bernard Shaw URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/bernard-shaw/ --- ## [Thinker] BG Verghese URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/bg-verghese/ --- ## [Thinker] Bhanu Pratap Singh URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/bhanu-pratap-singh/ --- ## [Thinker] Bhaskar G. Kakatkar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/bhaskar-g-kakatkar/ --- ## [Thinker] Bhavna Doshi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/bhavna-doshi/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Bhavna Doshi` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] B. R. Ambedkar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/bhimrao-ambedkar/ --- ## [Thinker] Bhulabhai Desai URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/bhulabhai-desai/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Bhulabhai Desai` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Bibek Debroy URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/bibek-debroy/ --- ## [Thinker] Bhushan Gokhale URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/bhushan-gokhale/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Bhushan Gokhale` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Sir Biren Mookerjee URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/biren-mookerjee/ --- ## [Thinker] BK Nehru URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/bk-nehru/ --- ## [Thinker] BP Adarkar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/bp-adarkar/ --- ## [Thinker] BP Godrej URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/bp-godrej/ --- ## [Thinker] Bradley D. Belt URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/bradley-d-belt/ --- ## [Thinker] BS Iyer URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/bs-iyer/ --- ## [Thinker] BS Sanyal URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/bs-sanyal/ --- ## [Thinker] C. C. DESAI, I.C.S. (Retd.), M.P. URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/c-c-desai-i-c-s-retd-m-p/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `C. C. DESAI, I.C.S. (Retd.), M.P.` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] BY AZIM PREMJI URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/by-azim-premji/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `BY AZIM PREMJI` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] C. C. SUTARIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/c-c-sutaria/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `C. C. SUTARIA` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] C. H. Bhabha URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/c-h-bhabha/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `C. H. Bhabha` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] C. G. VAIDYA URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/c-g-vaidya/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `C. G. VAIDYA` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] C. K. Daphtary URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/c-k-daphtary/ --- ## [Thinker] C. K. Narayanaswami URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/c-k-narayanaswami/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `C. K. Narayanaswami` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] C. K. G. URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/c-k-g/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `C. K. G.` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. C. L. Dadhich URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/c-l-dadhich/ --- ## [Thinker] Prof. C. L. Gheevala URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/c-l-gheevala/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Prof. C. L. Gheevala` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Prof. C. N. Vakil URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/c-n-vakil/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Prof. C. N. Vakil` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] C. P. Ramaswamy Ayyar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/c-p-ramaswamy-ayyar/ --- ## [Thinker] C. Rajagopalachari URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/c-rajagopalachari/ --- ## [Thinker] C. Rangarajan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/c-rangarajan/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. C.S. Deshpande, Executive Director, Maharashtra Economic Development Council URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/c-s-deshpande-executive-director-maharashtra-economic-develo/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. C.S. Deshpande, Executive Director, Maharashtra Economic Development Council` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] C. S. Deshpande URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/c-s-deshpande/ --- ## [Thinker] C. S. Seshadri URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/c-s-seshadri/ --- ## [Thinker] C. V. Pavaskar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/c-v-pavaskar/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `C. V. Pavaskar` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] C. S. Venkatachar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/c-s-venkatachar/ --- ## [Thinker] C. Y. Chintamani URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/c-y-chintamani/ --- ## [Thinker] Capt. Dinshaw J. Dastur URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/capt-dinshaw-j-dastur/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Capt. Dinshaw J. Dastur` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Carl Menger URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/carl-menger/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Carl Menger` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Carlos P. Romulo URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/carlos-romulo/ --- ## [Thinker] Chakravarti Ashok Priyadarshi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/chakravarti-ashok-priyadarshi/ --- ## [Thinker] Champaklal Zaveri URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/champaklal-zaveri/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Champaklal Zaveri` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Chanaka Amaratunga URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/chanaka-amaratunga/ --- ## [Thinker] Chandrahas Deshpande URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/chandrahas-deshpande/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Chandrahas Deshpande` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Charan Singh URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/charan-singh/ --- ## [Thinker] Charlotte Perkins Gilman URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/charlotte-perkins-gilman/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Charlotte Perkins Gilman` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Colin Clark URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/colin-clark/ --- ## [Thinker] C. D. Deshmukh URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/chintaman-deshmukh/ --- ## [Thinker] D. B. Futnani URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/d-b-futnani/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `D. B. Futnani` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] D. K. Srivastava URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/d-k-srivastava/ --- ## [Thinker] Claret D'Souza URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/claret-dsouza/ --- ## [Thinker] D M SATWALEKAR URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/d-m-satwalekar/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `D M SATWALEKAR` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] D. N. Khurody URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/d-n-khurody/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `D. N. Khurody` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. D. R. Mankekar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/d-r-mankekar/ --- ## [Thinker] D. R. Pendse URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/d-r-pendse/ ### Body Dattatreya R Pendse was born on 6 September 1930 in Pune, India. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in economics, statistics and mathematics from Pune University and a B.A. and an M.A. degree from Cambridge University. He was fondly called Dada Pendse by his friends and colleagues. For twenty years, he was the Chief Economist to India’s Tata Group of Industries and to the Group Chairman, JRD Tata, and other senior Group directors. JRD considered him to be easily the most readable economist in the country. Before joining the Tatas, Pendse occupied senior positions in the Government of India in the Ministries of Finance and Commerce & Industry for over ten years. After retirement from Tatas in 1991, Pendse was entrusted with many important assignments extending for several years. These included the Chief Consulting Economist to the Industrial Development Bank of India, Chief Consulting Economist to the World Gold Council, a member of the State Planning Board of the Government of Goa, a member of the State Planning Board of the Government of Maharashtra, a member of the International Advisory Group of Business Economists of the International Chamber of Commerce of Paris, and a member of the International Advisory Board of the Trans-National Research Organisation of the U.S.A. He also used to run his one-man think tank ‘Centre for Economic Policy Advice’ from Mumbai. He passed away in May 2018 due to chronic illness. Black Money and Budgets (Allied Publishers, 1989). J.R.D: Mee Pahilele (in Marathi) (Rajhans Prakashan, 2004). Giants by Any Measure: Sumant Moolgaokar & JRD (Parchure Prakashan Mandir, 2004). Why is Indian Industry Stagnating? (Industrial Foundation, 1978). Privatisation: Myths & Realities (Project for Economic Education). Beyond The Giant: Personal Insight Into the Life of JRD Tata (National Book Trust of India, 2008). Why Scarcities (Forum of Free Enterprise, 1974). Statistical Outline of India, 1989-90 (Department of Economics and Statistics, Tata Services, 1989). Recession in Indian Industry: Causes, Consequences & Prospects (Forum of Free Enterprise, 1975). Concentration of Economic Power (Forum of Free Enterprise, 1972). The Role of Donor Agencies in the Privatization Process (Asian Development Bank, 1985). Economic Development of Backward Areas (Forum of Free Enterprise, 1976) Black Money and Budgets (Allied Publishers, 1989) J.R.D: Mee Pahilele (in Marathi) (Rajhans Prakashan, 2004) Giants by Any Measure: Sumant Moolgaokar & J. R. D. (Parchure Prakashan Mandir, 2004) Why is Indian Industry Stagnating? (Industrial Foundation, Mumbai) Privatisation: Myths & Realities (Project for Economic Education) Beyond The Giant: Personal Insight Into the Life of J. R. D. Tata (National Book Trust of India, 2008) Monographs/Viewpoints Is VDIS a Success, January 1998 Budget (2000-01) & Drifting Towards The Cliff, March 2000 Current Economic Environment for Business & The Budget We Need, February 1995 Growing Government is a Cause for Concern The Liberal Budget 2007-2008: Taking Reforms to the Poor D R Pendse on Liberating India s Entrepreneurs D R Pendse, former economist with the Tata Group of Industries, on liberating India s entrepreneurs --- ## [Thinker] Dr. D. Subbarao URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/d-subbarao/ --- ## [Thinker] D. SRINIVASAIAH URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/d-srinivasaiah/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `D. SRINIVASAIAH` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Justice D. N. Sinha URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/d-n-sinha/ --- ## [Thinker] D. V. Gundappa URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/d-v-gundappa/ --- ## [Thinker] D. V. Desai URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/d-v-desai/ --- ## [Thinker] D. Veerendra Heggade URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/d-veerendra-heggade/ --- ## [Thinker] Dadabhai Naoroji URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dadabhai-naoroji/ --- ## [Thinker] Daniel Kahneman URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/daniel-kahneman/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Daniel Kahneman` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Dankesh Oza URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dankesh-oza/ --- ## [Thinker] Deepak Mohanty URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/deepak-mohanty/ --- ## [Thinker] Deng Xiaoping URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/deng-xiaoping/ --- ## [Thinker] Deepak Parekh URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/deepak-parekh/ --- ## [Thinker] Detmar Doering URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/detmar-doering/ --- ## [Thinker] Devji Rattansey, M.L.C. (Bombay State), Vice-President, Bombay Foodgrains Dealers' Assn. URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/devji-rattansey-m-l-c-bombay-state-vice-president-bombay-foo/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Devji Rattansey, M.L.C. (Bombay State), Vice-President, Bombay Foodgrains Dealers' Assn.` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Dharamsey Khatau URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dharamsey-khatau/ --- ## [Thinker] DHIRAJLAL MAGANLAL URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dhirajlal-maganlal/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `DHIRAJLAL MAGANLAL` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Dileep Padgaonkar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dileep-padgaonkar/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dileep Padgaonkar` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Dilip G. Piramal URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dilip-g-piramal/ --- ## [Thinker] Dinesh Vyas URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dinesh-vyas/ --- ## [Thinker] Dnyaneshwar M. Shelar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dnyaneshwar-m-shelar/ --- ## [Thinker] Donald Trump URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/donald-trump/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Donald Trump` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] DN Hosali URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dn-hosali/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. A. Krishnaswami URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dr-a-krishnaswami/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. A. Krishnaswami` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. B. K. Tandon URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dr-b-k-tandon/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. B. K. Tandon` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. Anil Kakodkar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dr-anil-kakodkar/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. Anil Kakodkar` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] DR Dharmendra Bhandari URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dr-dharmendra-bhandari/ --- ## [Thinker] DR Gvk Rao URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dr-gvk-rao/ --- ## [Thinker] DR AC Shah URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dr-ac-shah/ --- ## [Thinker] DR IG Patel URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dr-ig-patel/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. KK Das URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dr-kk-das/ --- ## [Thinker] DR NA Swaminathan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dr-na-swaminathan/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. P. B. Mukharji URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dr-p-b-mukharji/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. P. B. Mukharji` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. P. S. Lokanathan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dr-p-s-lokanathan/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. P. S. Lokanathan` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] DR Png Subramanian URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dr-png-subramanian/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. Rashmi Mayur URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dr-rashmi-mayur/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. Rashmi Mayur` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] DR TH Chowdhary URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dr-th-chowdhary/ --- ## [Thinker] Dudley Dillard URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dudley-dillard/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dudley Dillard` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Dudley Senanayake URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dudley-senanayake/ --- ## [Thinker] Dwarkanath Tagore URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/dwarkanath-tagore/ --- ## [Thinker] Eric D'Souza URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/e-dsouza/ --- ## [Thinker] Erhard Haubold URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/erhard-haubold/ --- ## [Thinker] ERA SEZHIYAN URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/era-sezhiyan/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `ERA SEZHIYAN` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Eugene R. Black Sr. URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/eugene-black/ --- ## [Thinker] Eric P. W. da Costa URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/eric-p-w-da-costa/ --- ## [Thinker] F. A. Hayek URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/f-a-hayek/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `F. A. Hayek` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] F. A. Mehta URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/f-a-mehta/ --- ## [Thinker] F. C. Kohli URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/f-c-kohli/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `F. C. Kohli` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] F. P. Antia URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/f-p-antia/ --- ## [Thinker] Fazal-ur-Rahman URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/fazal-ur-rahman/ --- ## [Thinker] Fatima Sheikh URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/fatima-sheikh/ --- ## [Thinker] Feroz Khan Noon URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/feroz-khan-noon/ --- ## [Thinker] FIELD OFFICER URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/field-officer/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `FIELD OFFICER` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] FRANK MORAES URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/frank-moraes/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `FRANK MORAES` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Frank Simoes URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/frank-simoes/ --- ## [Thinker] Frédéric Bastiat URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/frederic-bastiat/ --- ## [Thinker] Friedrich Engels URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/friedrich-engels/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Friedrich Engels` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Friedrich Hayek URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/friedrich-hayek/ --- ## [Thinker] Friedrich Naumann URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/friedrich-naumann/ --- ## [Thinker] Prof. G. Carl Weiland URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/g-carl-weiland/ --- ## [Thinker] Prof. G. Carl Wiegand URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/g-carl-wiegand/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Prof. G. Carl Wiegand` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] G. Giridhar Prabhu URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/g-giridhar-prabhu/ --- ## [Thinker] G. L. Mehta URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/g-l-mehta/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. G.R. Dalvi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/g-r-dalvi/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. G.R. Dalvi` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] G N Lawande URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/g-n-lawande/ --- ## [Thinker] G. S. Patel URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/g-s-patel/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `G. S. Patel` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] G. RANGARAJAN URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/g-rangarajan/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `G. RANGARAJAN` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] G. V. Kapadia URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/g-v-kapadia/ --- ## [Thinker] Gajendrasinh P. Jadeja URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/gajendrasinh-p-jadeja/ --- ## [Thinker] Gamal Abdel Nasser URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/gamal-abdel-nasser/ --- ## [Thinker] Gangadhar Gadgil URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/gangadhar-gadgil/ --- ## [Thinker] GD Parikh URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/gd-parikh/ --- ## [Thinker] Gopal Ganesh Agarkar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/gopal-ganesh-agarkar/ --- ## [Thinker] Gopal Krishna Gokhale URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/gopal-krishna-gokhale/ --- ## [Thinker] GP Manish URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/gp-manish/ --- ## [Thinker] Geethakrishnan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/geethakrishnan/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Geethakrishnan` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Gurajada Apparao URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/gurajada-apparao/ --- ## [Thinker] Gurcharan Das URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/gurcharan-das/ --- ## [Thinker] H. B. Dhondy URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/h-b-dhondy/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `H. B. Dhondy` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] H. C. Malkani URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/h-c-malkani/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `H. C. Malkani` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] H. D. Shourie URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/h-d-shourie/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `H. D. Shourie` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] H. M. Patel URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/h-m-patel/ --- ## [Thinker] Sir H. P. Mody URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/h-p-mody/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Sir H. P. Mody` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] H. V. R. Iengar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/h-v-r-iengar/ --- ## [Thinker] H. Venkatasubbiah URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/h-venkatasubbiah/ --- ## [Thinker] Hamid Dalwai URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/hamid-dalwai/ --- ## [Thinker] H. T. Parekh URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/h-t-parekh/ --- ## [Thinker] Hans Raj Khanna URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/hans-raj-khanna/ --- ## [Thinker] Harish Budhlani URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/harish-budhlani/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. Hannan Ezekiel URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/hannan-ezekiel/ --- ## [Thinker] Henry Hazlitt URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/henry-hazlitt/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Henry Hazlitt` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Harish Chandra Mukherjee URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/harish-chandra-mukherjee/ --- ## [Thinker] Henry Louis Vivian Derozio URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/henry-louis-vivian-derozio/ --- ## [Thinker] Herabai Tata URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/herabai-tata/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Herabai Tata` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Herbert Spencer URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/herbert-spencer/ --- ## [Thinker] Hernando de Soto URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/hernando-de-soto/ --- ## [Thinker] Hindol Sengupta URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/hindol-sengupta/ --- ## [Thinker] Himanshi Shelat URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/himanshi-shelat/ --- ## [Thinker] Sir Homi Mody URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/homi-mody/ --- ## [Thinker] H. L. A. Hart URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/hla-hart/ --- ## [Thinker] HP Ranina URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/hp-ranina/ --- ## [Thinker] Hriday Nath Kunzru URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/hriday-nath-kunzru/ --- ## [Thinker] Hubertus von Welck URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/hubertus-von-welck/ --- ## [Thinker] I. K. Gujral URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/i-k-gujral/ --- ## [Thinker] Immanuel Kant URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/immanuel-kant/ --- ## [Thinker] Indira Gandhi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/indira-gandhi/ --- ## [Thinker] Ela Bhatt URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ila-bhatt/ --- ## [Thinker] Indira Rajaraman URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/indira-rajaraman/ --- ## [Thinker] Indumati Parikh URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/indumati-parikh/ --- ## [Thinker] Iqbalunnisa Hussain URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/iqbalunnisa-hussain/ --- ## [Thinker] Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ishwar-chandra-vidyasagar/ --- ## [Thinker] Iskander Mirza URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/iskander-mirza/ --- ## [Thinker] Ismail Gandhi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ismail-gandhi/ --- ## [Thinker] Acharya J. B. Kripalani URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/j-b-kripalani/ --- ## [Thinker] J. D. Chokshi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/j-d-chokshi/ --- ## [Thinker] J. D. Choksi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/j-d-choksi/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `J. D. Choksi` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] J. H. Doshi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/j-h-doshi/ --- ## [Thinker] J. K. Dhairyawan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/j-k-dhairyawan/ --- ## [Thinker] J. M. Lobo Prabhu URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/j-m-lobo-prabhu/ --- ## [Thinker] J. Mulraj URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/j-mulraj/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `J. Mulraj` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] J. N. Saxena URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/j-n-saxena/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `J. N. Saxena` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Jagdish Bhagwati URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/jagdish-bhagwati/ --- ## [Thinker] James D. Hodgson URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/james-d-hodgson/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `James D. Hodgson` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] James S. Raj URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/james-s-raj/ --- ## [Thinker] Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/jamsetji-nusserwanji-tata/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Jamshyd Godrej URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/jamshyd-godrej/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Jamshyd Godrej` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Jamshed Antia URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/jamshed-antia/ --- ## [Thinker] Javed Anand URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/javed-anand/ --- ## [Thinker] Janaki Ammal URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/janaki-ammal/ --- ## [Thinker] Jawaharlal Nehru URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/jawaharlal-nehru/ --- ## [Thinker] Jay Kay URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/jay-kay/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Jay Kay` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Jayant Sinha URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/jayant-sinha/ --- ## [Thinker] Jayanta Roy URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/jayanta-roy/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Jayanta Roy` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Jayant Umranikar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/jayant-umranikar/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Jayant Umranikar` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Jayaprakash Narayan (Lok Satta Movement founder) URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/jayaprakash-narayan-lok-satta-movement-founder/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Jayaprakash Narayan (Lok Satta Movement founder)` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Jayaprakash Narayan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/jayaprakash-narayan/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. Jayashekar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/jayashekar/ --- ## [Thinker] Jiban Mukhopadhyay URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/jiban-mukhopadhyay/ --- ## [Thinker] JJ Irani URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/jj-irani/ --- ## [Thinker] Johan Norberg URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/johan-norberg/ --- ## [Thinker] John F. Kennedy URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/john-f-kennedy/ --- ## [Thinker] John Foster Dulles URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/john-foster-dulles/ --- ## [Thinker] John Kenneth Galbraith URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/john-kenneth-galbraith/ --- ## [Thinker] John Kurien URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/john-kurien/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `John Kurien` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] John Locke URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/john-locke/ --- ## [Thinker] John Matthai URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/john-matthai/ --- ## [Thinker] John Ridpath URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/john-ridpath/ --- ## [Thinker] John Stuart Mill URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/john-stuart-mill/ --- ## [Thinker] Joseph Stalin URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/joseph-stalin/ --- ## [Thinker] Joseph Stiglitz URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/joseph-stiglitz/ --- ## [Thinker] J. R. D. Tata URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/jrd-tata/ --- ## [Thinker] Julio Ribeiro, IPS (Retd.) URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/julio-ribeiro-ips-retd/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Julio Ribeiro, IPS (Retd.)` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Jyotirao Phule URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/jyotirao-phule/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. K. A. HAMIED, B.Sc., M.A., Ph.D. (Berlin). F.R.I.C., M.L.C., J.P. URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/k-a-hamied-b-sc-m-a-ph-d-berlin-f-r-i-c-m-l-c-j-p/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. K. A. HAMIED, B.Sc., M.A., Ph.D. (Berlin). F.R.I.C., M.L.C., J.P.` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Prof. K. A. JOSEPH URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/k-a-joseph/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Prof. K. A. JOSEPH` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] K. B. Dadiseth URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/k-b-dadiseth/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. K. C. Chakrabarty URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/k-c-chakrabarty/ --- ## [Thinker] K. D. Malaviya URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/k-d-malaviya/ --- ## [Thinker] K. F. Rustomji URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/k-f-rustomji/ --- ## [Thinker] K. Jayaraman URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/k-jayaraman/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. K. L. Rao URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/k-l-rao/ --- ## [Thinker] K. M. Munshi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/k-m-munshi/ --- ## [Thinker] K. Santhanam URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/k-santhanam/ --- ## [Thinker] K. Sreeramamurty URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/k-sreeramamurty/ --- ## [Thinker] K. V. M. Pai URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/k-v-m-pai/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. K. Venkataraman URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/k-venkataraman/ --- ## [Thinker] Kaejee URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/kaejee/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Kaejee` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] KALIDAS BOSE URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/kalidas-bose/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `KALIDAS BOSE` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Kandukuri Veeresalingam URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/kandukuri-veeresalingam/ --- ## [Thinker] Kanu H. Doshi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/kanu-h-doshi/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Kanu H. Doshi` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Kanuparti Varalakshmamma URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/kanuparti-varalakshmamma/ --- ## [Thinker] Karan Johar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/karan-johar/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Karan Johar` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Kanwal Rekhi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/kanwal-rekhi/ --- ## [Thinker] Karl Marx URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/karl-marx/ --- ## [Thinker] Karl Polanyi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/karl-polanyi/ --- ## [Thinker] Karma Wangdui URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/karma-wangdui/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Karma Wangdui` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Karsandas Mulji URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/karsandas-mulji/ --- ## [Thinker] Kaushal Kishor URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/kaushal-kishor/ --- ## [Thinker] KD Valicha URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/kd-valicha/ --- ## [Thinker] Ken Schoolland URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ken-schoolland/ --- ## [Thinker] DR. KERSI D. DOODHA URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/kersi-d-doodha/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `DR. KERSI D. DOODHA` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Khasa Subba Rau URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/khasa-subba-rau/ --- ## [Thinker] Mrs. Khorshed D. P. Madon URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/khorshed-d-p-madon/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Mrs. Khorshed D. P. Madon` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Kiran Nanda URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/kiran-nanda/ --- ## [Thinker] Kishor B. Karia URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/kishor-karia/ --- ## [Thinker] Kirit S. Parekh URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/kirit-s-parekh/ --- ## [Thinker] Kishore Valicha URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/kishore-valicha/ --- ## [Thinker] Kishori J. Udeshi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/kishori-j-udeshi/ --- ## [Thinker] Mrs. KRISHNA BASRUR URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/krishna-basrur/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Mrs. KRISHNA BASRUR` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Mrs. KRPSHNA BASRUR URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/krpshna-basrur/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Mrs. KRPSHNA BASRUR` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Kumar Anand URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/kumar-anand/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Kumar Anand` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Kumar Mangalam Birla URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/kumar-mangalam-birla/ --- ## [Thinker] Kunjan Mehta URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/kunjan-mehta/ --- ## [Thinker] Kush Ganatra URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/kush-ganatra/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Kush Ganatra` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Kusum R. Lotwala URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/kusum-lotwala/ --- ## [Thinker] Kusum Shrestha URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/kusum-shrestha/ --- ## [Thinker] KV Subrahmanyam URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/kv-subrahmanyam/ --- ## [Thinker] Prof. L. G. Bapat URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/l-g-bapat/ --- ## [Thinker] L. K. Jha URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/l-k-jha/ --- ## [Thinker] L. N. BIRLA URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/l-n-birla/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `L. N. BIRLA` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Lady Abala Bose URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/lady-abala-bose/ --- ## [Thinker] Lal Bahadur Shastri URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/lal-bahadur-shastri/ --- ## [Thinker] Lakshmibai Tilak URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/lakshmibai-tilak/ --- ## [Thinker] LALCHAND HIRACHAND URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/lalchand-hirachand/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `LALCHAND HIRACHAND` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] DR. LANKA SUNDARAM URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/lanka-sundaram/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `DR. LANKA SUNDARAM` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Lenin URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/lenin/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Lenin` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Louella Lobo Prabhu URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/louella-lobo-prabhu/ --- ## [Thinker] Ludwig Erhard URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ludwig-erhard/ --- ## [Thinker] Ludwig von Mises URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ludwig-von-mises/ --- ## [Thinker] M.A. Master URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-a-master/ --- ## [Thinker] M. C. Chagla URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-c-chagla/ --- ## [Thinker] M. A. Rangoonwala URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-a-rangoonwala/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `M. A. Rangoonwala` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. M. C. Munshi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-c-munshi/ --- ## [Thinker] M. C. Setalvad URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-c-setalvad/ --- ## [Thinker] M. G. Hallar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-g-hallar/ --- ## [Thinker] M. H. Hasham Premji, President, All-India Foodgrains Dealers' Association URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-h-hasham-premji-president-all-india-foodgrains-dealers-ass/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `M. H. Hasham Premji, President, All-India Foodgrains Dealers' Association` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] M. H. HASHAM PREMJI URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-h-hasham-premji/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `M. H. HASHAM PREMJI` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] M. Hidayatullah URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-hidayatullah/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `M. Hidayatullah` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] M. K. Raju URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-k-raju/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `M. K. Raju` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] M. L. Dantwala URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-l-dantewala/ --- ## [Thinker] M. MATHIAS URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-mathias/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `M. MATHIAS` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] M. L. Tannan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-l-tannan/ --- ## [Thinker] M. N. PRASAD URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-n-prasad/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `M. N. PRASAD` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] M. N. Roy URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-n-roy/ --- ## [Thinker] M. N. Tholal URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-n-tholal/ --- ## [Thinker] M. Narasimham URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-narasimhan/ --- ## [Thinker] M. R. Anantharamakrishnan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-r-anantharamakrishnan/ --- ## [Thinker] M. R. Masani, M.P. URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-r-masani-m-p/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `M. R. Masani, M.P.` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] M. R. Pai URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-r-pai/ ### Body Mangalore Ranga Pai (1931–2003) was born in Manjeshwar, Kerala. He completed his education at Canara High School and Government College, Mangalore, before graduating with a BA (Honours) in political science from the Presidency College, Chennai, where he won the Candeth Gold Medal in Political Science. He later studied journalism at UCLA. After his return to India, he worked briefly at the New India Assurance Company in Mumbai, but quit after its nationalisation because he did not want to become a "government spokesman". He was persuaded by FS Mulla to join the Forum of Free Enterprise, where he served as full-time Secretary from 1956 to 1976, working under three Presidents — A D Shroff, Murarji Vaidya, and Nani Palkhivala. Pai's advocacy of free enterprise at FFE was complemented by his consumer-rights activism. His activism came out of his personal experience of waiting eleven years for a telephone connection; the May 19, 1982 issue of Mid-Day published a report titled "M R Pai gets a telephone at last!" He wrote columns for the Tribune ("Consumer Alert") and Bombay ("Beating the System"), founded the Bombay branch of the All India Bank Depositors' Association in 1968, and ensured the provision of mandatory nomination facility for both bank accounts and provident fund. He passed away on 3 July 2003. Soon after his demise, the board of directors of the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank instituted an award in his honour. --- ## [Thinker] M. V. Arunachalam URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-v-arunachalam/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `M. V. Arunachalam` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] M. R. Shroff URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-r-shroff/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `M. R. Shroff` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. M. V. PYLEE URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/m-v-pylee/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. M. V. PYLEE` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] MA Pathan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ma-pathan/ --- ## [Thinker] MA Rangoonwala URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ma-rangoonwala/ --- ## [Thinker] MA Sreenivasan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ma-sreenivasan/ --- ## [Thinker] MA Venkata Rao URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ma-venkata-rao/ --- ## [Thinker] MADHUKAR N. GOGATE URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/madhukar-n-gogate/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `MADHUKAR N. GOGATE` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Mahadev Govind Ranade URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/mahadev-govind-ranade/ --- ## [Thinker] Maharana Pratap URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/maharana-pratap/ --- ## [Thinker] Mahatma Gandhi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/mahatma-gandhi/ --- ## [Thinker] Maja Daruwala URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/maja-daruwala/ --- ## [Thinker] Maneesha Tikekar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/maneesha-tikekar/ --- ## [Thinker] Mangesh Soman URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/mangesh-soman/ --- ## [Thinker] Manjula Dabhi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/manjula-dabhi/ --- ## [Thinker] Manmohan Singh URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/manmohan-singh/ --- ## [Thinker] Mao Zedong URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/mao-zedong/ --- ## [Thinker] Margaret Thatcher URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/margaret-thatcher/ --- ## [Thinker] Matt Ridley URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/matt-ridley/ --- ## [Thinker] Maurice Strong URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/maurice-strong/ --- ## [Thinker] Mrs. Meera Shenoy URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/meera-shenoy/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Mrs. Meera Shenoy` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] MH Mody URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/mh-mody/ --- ## [Thinker] Milovan Djilas URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/milovan-djilas/ --- ## [Thinker] Milton Friedman URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/milton-friedman/ --- ## [Thinker] Minoo Masani URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/minoo-masani/ ### Body Minocher Rustom Masani was born on 20 November 1905 in a Bombay based Parsi family. His father P Masani had authored a biography of Dadabhai Nooroji. Masani completed his higher education from the Elphinstone College and the London School of Economics. He then became a member of the Lincoln’s Inn, one of the four lawyer’s associations in London. At LSE, he was a participant in the student politics and also visited the USSR in 1927. The young Masani was an admirer of the communist experiment. He was back in India in 1928 to practice law at the Bombay Bar. Masani’s participation in the Civil Disobedience movement landed him in the Nashik Jail in 1932. In the jail, his discussions with JP, Achut Patwardhan, and Ashok Mehta led him to start a socialist group within the Congress. In 1934, the Bombay branch of the Congress Socialist Party (CSP) was set-up under him. A year later he visited the Soviet Union again to explore the possibility of an alliance with the Soviet communists. Masani’s CSP, though, had to face opposition from the Congress conservatives. It also came in conflict with many provisional Congress government after the 1937 election because of its radical agenda. By 1938, however, Masani was growing disenchanted with communism. He had become very critical of Stalinist purges and urged his fellow socialists to oppose it. The attempted takeover of CSP by the communists also made him wary of the ideology. Also, the influence of Gandhi turned him away from communism as he now began to see the state as the biggest threat to human liberty. He would resign from CSP and retire from politics altogether in 1939. Masani took a job for a period of 16 years from 1941 to 1957 under JRD Tata after he left his membership of the CSP. During this period he was also a member of the Constituent Assembly and served as the Mayor of Bombay. He was appointed the Government of India’s representative to the UN Sub-Commission for the Prevention of Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities from 1947 to 1952. He quit his job and other responsibilities for a brief period from 1948 to 1949 and went on to become India’s first Ambassador to Brazil. With the dissolution of the assembly in 1952, he again retired from politics for a while. Masani’s combat against the increased influence of communism became a feature of his public career in independent India. In 1950, he had set up the Democratic Research Service with the help of Sardar Patel and the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom along with JP. DRS published a monthly journal Freedom First and ICCF came with Quest. In 1957, Masani contested and won a set in the Lok Sabha as an independent candidate from the Ranchi constituency. He was supported by the tribal leader Jaipal Munda. Masani sought to create a liberal political front for which he courted the support of Rajaji and JP. Both of them declined on different grounds. The Nagpur Resolution of Congress which advocated cooperative farming brought Rajaji and Masani together to form the political party. Swatantra Party came into being in 1959 as a coalition of pro-market businessmen, peasant proprietors, beleaguered princes, and zamindars. Masani served as the General Secretary from 1959 to 1968 and was then elected the party President. Swatantra emerged as the single largest opposition party in the fourth Lok Sabha (1967-1971) with 44 seats. The massive electoral defeat of Swatantra led Masani to resign and retire from active politics. Masani, however, continued to manage DRS and Freedom First. He fought against the press censorship imposed during the Emergency. Project for Economic Education and Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy was his brainchild for creating a liberal discourse in India. He passed away in the year 1998 at the age of 93, having lived a long and eventful life. Too Much Politics, Too Little Citizenship (1969). Liberalism (1970) The Constitution, Twenty Years Later (1975). Hamara Hindustan A Plea for a Mixed Economy (1947). Neutralism in India (1951) Our India (Oxford University Press, 1954). We Indians (Oxford University Press, 1989). Of Four Real Leaders, Some Reminiscences (Freedom First, 1980). Picture of a Plan (Oxford University Press, 1945). Our Growing Human Family: From Tribe to World Federation (Oxford University Press, 1950). The Essence of Democracy (Harold Laski Institute of Political Science, 1989) The Communist Party of India: A Short History (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1954). Our Foreign Policy: A Plea for Realism (Swatantra Party, 1966). Congress Misrule and the Swatantra Alternative (Manaktalas, 1966). Is JP the Answer (Macmillan Co of India, 1975). Bliss was it in that Dawn A Political Memoir Upto Independence (Arnold-Heinemann Publishers, 1977). The Third World-Quo Vadis? (Jaico Publishing House, 1979). Against the Tide (Vikas, 1981). Judgement Reserved (Swatantra Party, 1965). Freedom and Dissent: Essays in Honour of Minoo Masani on His Eightieth Birthday (Democratic Research Service, 1985). Socialism Reconsidered (Project for Economic Education, 1988). In the Vanguard of Freedom: Essays in the Honour of Minoo Masani (Minoo Masani 90th Birthday Felicitation Committee, 1995). JP Mission Partly Completed (Macmillan Co of India, 1977). Our India Hamara Hindustan Congress Misrule and the Swatantra Alternative We Indians : Minoo Masani (1989) Of Four Real Leaders, Some Reminiscences, Freedom First (1980) Picture of a Plan (1945) A Plea for a Mixed Economy (1947) Our Growing Human Family (1950) Neutralism in India (1951) Indian Congress for Cultural Freedom : March 28 to 31, 1951 (1951) The Communist Party of India: A Short History (1954) Congress Misrule and the Swatantra Alternative (1956) Too Much Politics, Too Little Citizenship (1969) Liberalism (1970) The Constitution, Twenty Years Later (1975) Bliss was it in that Dawn … (1977) The Third World-Quo Vadis?(1979) Against the tide (1981) Autobiography of Minoo Masani, Volumes I (1981) Autobiography of Minoo Masani, Volumes II (1981) Freedom and Dissent : Essays in Honour of Minoo Masani (1985) Essays in Honour of Minoo Masani (1985) Socialism Reconsidered : Project for economic education (1988) In the Vanguard of Freedom : Essays in the Honour of Minoo Masani (1995) Minoo Masani – November 20, 1905- May 27, 1998 Presented To Minoo Masani at 90, Freedom First (1995) Published On The Indian Libertarian Volume : 5 ;Issue: 7 1  June 1957 The Indian Libertarian Volume : 5 ;Issue: 15 1  October 1957 The Indian Libertarian Volume : 5 ;Issue: 22 1  February 1958 The Indian Libertarian Volume : 7 ;Issue: 1 1  April 1959 The Indian Libertarian Volume : 7 ;Issue: 2 15  April 1959 How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Trade Deficit | Sudha Shenoy Lecture presented by Sudha R Shenoy at the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama; October 26, 2006. --- ## [Thinker] MINOO R. SHROFF URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/minoo-r-shroff/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `MINOO R. SHROFF` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Minoo Shroff URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/minoo-shroff/ --- ## [Thinker] Mithan Tata Lam URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/mithan-tata-lam/ ### Body _From CCS feature article: Mithan Tata Lam — The Unexplored Life of an Indian Suffragist_ Mithan Tata Lam – The Unexplored Life of an Indian SuffragistEditorial TeamOpinions & EventsAugust 12, 2021 Indian suffragists had an immense role to play both in the nationalist struggle and the subsequent universal adult franchise. One among them was Mithan Tata, one of the first women to be called to the English Bar and the first woman lawyer ever appointed to the Bombay High Court. Unlike most large democracies, the Indian constitution has adopted universal suffrage from its inception. Indian suffragists deserve a significant share of the credit for this progressive cornerstone of independent India. Along with Madam Bhikaji Cama, Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, and Lolita Roy, Mithan Tata Lam too joined the women’s suffrage movement in British India. Mithan Tata Lam (1898-1981) was born in Maharashtra to Ardeshir Tata and Herabai Tata. Her father worked as an employee in a textile mill, while her mother was a women’s rights activist. Mithan’s parents ensured that their daughter gets a well-rounded education, and sent her to reputed schools. She pursued her graduate studies at Elphinstone College, Bombay, where in she earned an honours degree in Economics. Her brilliant academic performance also won her the Cobden Club Medal. Mithan’s mother, Herabai, had an immense role to play in her introduction to the suffrage struggle. Together, the mother-daughter duo achieved many firsts for Indian women. Herabai’s interest in Theosophy led her to make acquaintances with Annie Besant. In addition to being a theosophist, Besant was a prominent women’s rights activist and Indian self-rule supporter at the time. In 1911, Herabai met with suffragette Princess Sophia Duleep Singh. At the time of their meeting, Singh donned a badge that read, “Votes for Women.” Much like the words on the badge, Singh’s thoughts influenced Herabai’s understanding of the suffrage movement in India. She also interacted with other influential suffragists of the 20th century. By 1915, Herabai had become the honorary secretary of the Women’s Indian Association. In 1919, Mithan joined her mother’s work as a suffragist. The duo travelled to London to present a memorandum on the women’s franchise, alongside Sarojini Naidu, before the Southborough Franchise Committee. The  Committee was set up by the British in 1918. They sat in India for a year, and recommended a scheme of territorial urban and rural constituencies based on land revenue, communal and special interest representation. The suffragists’ meeting with the Franchise Committee was to address the British government while the final readings of the Government of India Bill (1919) were being put through the British Parliament. The suffragists’ goal was to eliminate sex disqualification in the bill, which explicitly barred women in India from franchise. Mithan and Herabai’s statement – titled “Why Should Women Have Votes?” – was brought to the India Office on September 25th, 1919. Among their reasons for granting voting rights to women, Mithan and Herabai’s statement read: “It has been recognised now in all countries that the sex barrier has been a grave mistake, is out of date, unworthy of the times, a relic of past days when might was above right … Why should India lag behind others in this respect and create a sex barrier where one does not exist, and thus brand Indian women as inferior to their sisters in other countries.” They also argued, “Attempt to reform without the cooperation of women, and you are simply raising a paper fabric on foundations of sand.” Mithan, Herabai and other Indian suffragists succeeded in placing the rights of Indian women on a global platform. For this liberal cause, they brought together organisations and individuals from India and the United Kingdom. Though one nation was colonised by the other, individuals from both recognised their common goals in raising women’s presence and impact in the public sphere. In their support, suffrage organisations and individuals in Britain began sending letters to the India Office. Unfortunately, these statements and petitions from Mithan and Herabai, as well as British suffragists proved to be unsuccessful. The Government of India Bill (1919) did not include women’s franchise. However, the British government did concede autonomy to individual Indian provinces to provide enfranchisement to women. These efforts by the suffragists led to the enfranchisement of women for the first time, in Madras in 1921. The mother-daughter duo continued their stay in the United Kingdom. While Mithan pursued a post-graduate degree in economics and law at the  London School of Economics, Herabai also enrolled in courses in administration, social sciences and economics at the institute, from 1919 to 1922. During the course of her studies in London, Mithan was one of the two students to be introduced to George V and Queen Mary. Mithan was also admitted to Lincoln’s Inn as a barrister in 1920 – only a year after Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act (1919) had allowed women to enter public office. In 1923, she became one of the first women to be called to the English Bar. A year later Herabai and Mithan returned to India, where Mithan practiced at the Bombay High Court as the first woman lawyer in its history. She was also a professor of law at the Government Law College, making her the first woman to be a law professor in India. Mithan described her time at the Bombay High Court as its lone female lawyer: “Like a new animal at the zoo, with folks peeping through doorways…as soon as my shadow crossed from the library to the common room, there would be an uncomfortable silence, making me feel even more self-conscious.” Interestingly, her first appearance at the Bombay High Court was fuelled by systemic misogyny. Reportedly, a solicitor whose client had a watertight case approached Mithan. He claimed about his client, “He has such a good case that he cannot lose…but he wants to inflict upon the opponent the humiliation of being defeated by a woman”. Being the first of her kind, Mithan rallied against sexism within the legal profession by asking “how can a woman be declared unfit without even being given a trial?” Gender biases and misogyny within theoretical and professional disciplines is quite pervasive. Yet her efforts in the legal practice challenged the age-old hierarchies that thrive in courtrooms and public offices. These hierarchies are created and sustained by patriarchal powers, and Mithan led the way to dismantle those to the best of her ability. She is not only seen as a feminist icon but a liberal icon too, for her interventions in the legal sphere challenged and disrupted systemic misogyny. In doing so, they led to law becoming a more inclusive profession. Soon, Mithan became a reputed name in the legal channels of Bombay, and worked on cases ranging from currency counterfeiters to Jewish betrothals. Outside the court, her liberal attitudes caused her to work extensively on gendered legislation for inheritance and marriage. She also became a popular advocate for women’s and children’s rights. Mithan was married to fellow lawyer, Jamshed Sorab Lam. He supported her work on the betterment of Bombay’s slum dwellers by improving health and infrastructure facilities. After three years of practice at the Bombay High Court, Mithan Tata Lam was appointed as a Justice of Peace, and as a member of the committee on the Parsi Marriage Act (1865). Her contribution to the committee led to an amendment of the Act, i.e. the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act (1936). Adding to her list of firsts, in 1947 Mithan became the first woman Sheriff of Bombay. She also chaired the Women’s Committee set up for the Relief and Rehabilitation of Refugees from Pakistan, in 1947. She was also an active member of the All India Women’s Conference, and served as its president from 1961-62. The AIWC also ran a journal called Stri Dharma, and Mithan served as its editor for five years. She held leadership and representative positions in the National Council of Indian Women, the Women Graduates Union of Bombay, the Indian Federation of Women Lawyers, the International Federation of Women Lawyers, and the United Nations. For her efforts and contributions, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1962, by the Government of India. Mithan Tata Lam passed away in 1981, leaving behind an everlasting legacy that revolutionised legal, social, and political reform in India. What sets her apart from most of the liberal and feminist figures of her time is the kind of upbringing she had. Through her mother, Mithan was inducted into the struggles on women’s rights. Herabai also provided a bridge for her daughter to interact and be influenced by pioneers in the Indian suffragists movement. Her father, Ardeshir Tata is also credited for being far ahead of his time. To this day millions of women are denied an education, and yet in the early 20th century, Ardeshir helped his wife and daughter create a better future for themselves. In 2021, we mark the 100 year anniversary of women first being enfranchised in Madras. The largest democracy in the world would not be what it is today without the consistent efforts and contributions of women such as Mithan Tata Lam. Hence, it is essential that we remember the efforts of the women who led the way for an inclusive and liberal society for the future generations of Indian women. --- ## [Thinker] Morarji Desai URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/morarji-desai/ --- ## [Thinker] MR Mayya URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/mr-mayya/ --- ## [Thinker] Prof. (Mrs.) C. K. DALAYA URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/mrs-c-k-dalaya/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Prof. (Mrs.) C. K. DALAYA` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Justice (Mrs.) Sujata Manohar (Retd.) URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/mrs-sujata-manohar-retd/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Justice (Mrs.) Sujata Manohar (Retd.)` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. (Mrs.) Indu Shahani URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/mrs-indu-shahani/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. (Mrs.) Indu Shahani` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Seetha URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ms-seetha/ --- ## [Thinker] Mukesh Adenwala URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/mukesh-adenwala/ --- ## [Thinker] Mukesh D. Ambani URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/mukesh-ambani/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. Mukund Rajan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/mukund-rajan/ --- ## [Thinker] Murarji J. Vaidya, President, Forum of Free Enterprise URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/murarji-j-vaidya-president-forum-of-free-enterprise/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Murarji J. Vaidya, President, Forum of Free Enterprise` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] MURARJI J. VAIDYA URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/murarji-j-vaidya/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `MURARJI J. VAIDYA` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Murarji Vaidya URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/murarji-vaidya/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/muthulakshmi-reddi/ ### Body _From CCS feature article: Dr Muthulakshmi Reddi: Beacon of Women's Liberty_ Dr Muthulakshmi Reddi: Beacon of Women’s LibertyEditorial TeamAugust 23, 2023 Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy was an embodiment of progressive liberalism. She was a staunch advocate of women’s education and was a vehement critic of the Devadasi system. She challenged many traditional societal norms. By championing gender equality she left an indelible mark on South Indian social fabric. The nineteenth century was a time of significant intellectual and social change in India. Amidst this ferment, Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy emerged as a leading figure in the South Indian social reform movement. A beacon of social change, she toiled ceaselessly to ameliorate the plight of women and children in India. Her tireless efforts sought to create a more equitable and just society for women, becoming a profound source of inspiration for all those who believed in the transformative power of women. Muthulakshmi was born in 1886 in the princely state of Pudukkottai (Tamil Nadu). She was the daughter of Narayanaswamy Iyer, the principal of Maharaja’s College in Pudukkottai. Her father recognised her potential and was determined to provide her with an education, even though it was not the norm for girls then. However, his aspirations were thwarted by an early retirement, resulting from conflicts with the state’s Diwan. Despite this setback in her father’s career, her passion for learning remained undaunted.  Even though her mother, Chandrammal wanted her to quit school, Muthulakshmi continued schooling and passed her Lower Secondary Public Examination with the help of her Teacher Balaiah. Societal norms and traditions acted as formidable barriers to women’s education, impeding their pursuit of knowledge. Muthulakshmi, too, bore the brunt of these customs. Nevertheless, her father took proactive measures and arranged for a private tutor to impart education within the confines of their home. This experience allowed Muthulakshmi to contemplate the prevailing social barriers obstructing women’s access to education. During her teenage years, her passion for women’s rights and social justice began to blossom and take root. In 1902, Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy defied the odds and passed the Matriculation Examination Due to the lack of hostels for Girls, she had to join the local Men’s Second Grade College for her higher education. Her academic excellence, however, encountered opposition fueled by gender and caste bias. The college principal raised objections, fearing that her presence would dishearten the male students. Even some parents threatened to withdraw their sons if she were allowed to join. However,  the Maharajah of Pudukkotai quelled the objections and admitted her, displaying wisdom and progressive thinking. This momentous decision by the Maharajah marked a significant milestone in the annals of women’s education in South India. Dr. Muthulakshmi etched her name in history as the first woman to enroll in the Maharajah’s College for Men, and in 1907, she proudly passed her Intermediate Examination. In 1907, Dr Muthulakshmi secured admission to the esteemed Madras Medical College, dedicating herself to the pursuit of medicine. As an active participant in gatherings and public meetings, her remarkable work garnered attention, with numerous newspaper articles and magazines highlighting her endeavours. She graduated with honours and worked as a House Surgeon at the Government Hospital for Women and Children in Egmore. Later,, she dutifully returned to her hometown of Pudukkotai, where she wholeheartedly served her community. In 1914, she established her clinic in Madras and became renowned for her exceptional treatment skills. In 1914, she discovered a kindred spirit in Dr. Sundara Reddi, a physician with liberal thoughts and a visionary outlook. Their marriage was built on mutual respect, and he wholeheartedly supported her medical practice and social work. In 1925, Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi received a prestigious scholarship from the Indian Government to study in England. Setting foot in the United Kingdom, she delved into the realm of women’s and children’s diseases, honing her knowledge and skills. After returning to India, she published numerous works on pregnant women, childbirth, and social welfare matters. The zeal of the Indian freedom movement stirred her soul, and Mahatma Gandhi’s inspiring leadership profoundly impacted her. Under his influence, she actively engaged in the freedom struggle, coordinated efforts with other leaders, and played a crucial role in the movement. Contemplating the societal conditions prevailing at the time, Dr Muthulakshmi recognised that gender equality could be achieved only through education for women. In 1917, she became a member of the Women’s Indian Association, aligning her vision with trailblazers like Annie Besant, Hira Bai Tata, and Marget Cousins. Additionally, she was actively associated with the Muslim Women’s Association, Madras Seva Sadan, The Madras Vigilance Society, and the Indian Ladies Samaj. As one of the few women leaders of South India, she ardently fought for India’s liberation from colonial oppression. In 1932, Dr. Muthulakshmi, alongside Gandhiji, attended the Third Round Table Conference in London, gaining significant exposure. Subsequently, in 1934, she participated in the First International Conference of Chicago. Following the passing of Annie Besant, she assumed the presidency of the Women’s Indian Association. Yet, she relinquished the position during the Non-Cooperation movement as a protest against Gandhiji’s arrest. In 1962, Dr Muthulakshmi Reddi received a momentous appointment to the Madras Legislative Council. This marked the beginning of her lifelong mission to rectify the societal imbalances that hindered women’s rights. Her commendable social work garnered recognition from the Government of India, leading to her inclusion in the Hartog Committee, entrusted with reviewing the condition of women in the country. During the late 1800s, Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi boldly stepped forward to lead the fight against the Devadasi system. As a member of the Madras Legislative Council, she vehemently opposed the practice and pledged for its eradication. Organising meetings and gaining support from various organisations, including the Women’s Indian Association and the Devadasi Women’s Association, she also garnered the backing of the Devadasi Community Men’s Association. In 1936, Dr Muthulakshmi Reddi established the “AVVAI HOME,” a welfare institution in Tiruvannamalai for abandoned children and women. Over time, this home became a place of empowerment, offering vocational training to children and women. In 1953, she became the Chairman of the State Social Welfare Board of Madras Presidency. During her tenure from 1953 to 1957, she uplifted women from backward classes by providing them with education and healthcare opportunities, and she also played a pivotal role in establishing a separate Children’s Hospital in the Madras Presidency. Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi was a trailblazer in every sense, achieving numerous firsts as a woman in India – being the first to gain admission to a men’s college, the first to become a house surgeon in a government hospital, and the first to be elected to the Madras Legislative Council. However, she was more than just a pioneer; she was a true champion for women’s rights. She relentlessly fought to improve the lives of women and children in India, advocating against child marriage, for raising the age of consent for marriage, and women’s voting rights. She envisioned a world where women would receive equal treatment, have the same opportunities as men, and are free to make their own life choices. Her life’s dedication was directed towards turning this vision into a reality. Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi’s relentless pursuit of social justice and gender equality paved the way for a more inclusive and progressive India, making her a true visionary champion of liberal ideas. --- ## [Thinker] N. A. Palkhivala, Chairman, Board of Trustees URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/n-a-palkhivala-chairman-board-of-trustees/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `N. A. Palkhivala, Chairman, Board of Trustees` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] N. C. Mehta URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/n-c-mehta/ --- ## [Thinker] N. Dandekar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/n-dandekar/ --- ## [Thinker] N. DANDEKER, M.P. URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/n-dandeker-m-p/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `N. DANDEKER, M.P.` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] N. Dandeker URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/n-dandeker/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `N. Dandeker` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] N. Das URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/n-das/ --- ## [Thinker] Acharya N. G. Ranga URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/n-g-ranga/ --- ## [Thinker] N. G. ABHYANKAR, I.A.S. (Retd.) URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/n-g-abhyankar-i-a-s-retd/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `N. G. ABHYANKAR, I.A.S. (Retd.)` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] N. H. Israni URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/n-h-israni/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `N. H. Israni` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] N. N. Pai URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/n-n-pai/ --- ## [Thinker] N. N. Sachitanand URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/n-n-sachitanand/ --- ## [Thinker] N. K. CHAUDHURI URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/n-k-chaudhuri/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `N. K. CHAUDHURI` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] N. Rangachary URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/n-rangachary/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `N. Rangachary` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] N.R. Narayana Murthy URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/n-r-narayana-murthy/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `N.R. Narayana Murthy` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Prof. N. S. Ramaswamy URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/n-s-ramaswamy/ --- ## [Thinker] N. T. Taskar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/n-t-taskar/ --- ## [Thinker] N. VAGHUL URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/n-vaghul/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `N. VAGHUL` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] N. Vittal URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/n-vittal/ --- ## [Thinker] Nadir Godrej URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/nadir-godrej/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. Nabagopal Das, I.C.S. (Retd.) URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/nabagopal-das-i-c-s-retd/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. Nabagopal Das, I.C.S. (Retd.)` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Naim Keruwala URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/naim-keruwala/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Naim Keruwala` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Nandan Nilekani URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/nandan-nilekani/ --- ## [Thinker] Nani Palkhivala URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/nani-palkhivala/ ### Body Nanabhoy “Nani” Ardeshir Palkhivala was born in 1920 in Bombay. Palkhivala’s higher education at St Xaviers’ College was a masters’ degree in English. He earned his law degree at Government Law College, Bombay. Palkhivala began his law practice in 1946 in Bombay. His initial expertise lay in commercial and tax law. In 1950, he authored with Sir Jamhedji the influential The Law and Practice of Income Tax which still serves as a reference guide. The book was also used as the tax law draft guide by the IMF. Over time, Palkhivala cemented his reputation as one of India’s most eminent jurists and an expert in economic affairs. His knowledge on matters related to the constitution and tax matters was unparalleled. Palkhivala’s legacy in the history of Indian democracy lies in his contribution to the famous Kesavananda Bharati vs. The State of Kerala case (1973). The case ensured that the basic structure of the Indian constitution is not altered by the legislature. In wake of imposition of Emergency in 1975, he successfully argued against the government’s application for reconsideration of the Kesavananda decision. Palhivala’s defence of individual liberty and civil rights were visible in the cases that he fought, including Bank Nationalization, Bennet Coleman, St Xavier’s College, Privy Purses, and Minerva Mills. During his lifetime, Palkhivala was also famous for his budget commentary, delivered every year from 1958 to 1994, following the budget presentation in parliament. The commentary was organized by the Forum of Free Enterprise and saw a shift in venues as the audience grew. His incisive commentary and great communication skills had the capacity to fill the stadium as people flocked to listen to his speech. His budget commentaries would often criticize the socialist policies of the Union government, drawing applause from the multitude of the crowd. Palkhivala’s liberal activism was also manifest in his close association with the Forum of Free Enterprise. He led the Forum from 1968 to 2000 and stepped down from the post of president due to ill-health. To serve the cause of liberal democracy, Palkhivala founded the Jayaprakash Institute of Human Freedoms. The institution sought to strengthen the roots of Indian democracy and to carry the legacy of JP. His limited association with the Indian state included an appointment as an ambassador to the United States in 1977 by the Janata government and an offer of the post of Attorney-General in 1968 which he eventually denied. He also argued for India in 3 cases in International courts, including before the Special Tribunal in Geneva appointed by the UN to adjudicate upon Pakistan’s claim to enclaves in Kutch; before the International Civil Aviation Organisation at Montreal; and later in appeal before the World Court at the Hague when Pakistan claimed the right to fly over India. For his immense contribution to the field, he received honorary doctorates from Princeton University, Rutgers University, Lawrence University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Annamalai University, Ambedkar Law University and the University of Mumbai. After his demise in 2002, Nani Palkhivala Memorial Trust was set up in 2004. The Trust, among other things, holds an annual memorial lecture which has been delivered by some of the most eminent public figures of India. We, the People: India, the Largest Democracy (Strand Book Stall, 1984). The Global Economy, a North-South Dialogue, 1984: Where the North Meets the South, Imperatives for Development in the Global Economy (University of Waterloo, 1985). We, the Nation: The Lost Decades (USB Publishers’ Distributors, 1984). The People, the Only Keepers of Freedom (Civil Liberties Group, 1979). The Constitution and the Common Man (Popular Prakashan, 1971). India’s Priceless Heritage (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1980). Our Constitution Defaced and Defiled (Macmillan Co of India, 1974). The Highest Taxed Nation (1965). Essential Unity of All Religions (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1990). Other Writings Should we alter our Constitution? Forty-Three Years of Independence Published On The Supreme Court’s Judgement on the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act 1976 20  June 1980 The Indian Libertarian Volume : 5 ;Issue: 31 15  June 1958 Sixth National Convention : Swatantra Souvenir 1973 Making Indian Industry Globally Competitive 15  May 1995 The Union Budget 1995-96 : Bypassing parliamentary Select Committee 21  March 1995 S. Divakara on Nani Palkhivala s Union Budget Commentaries S. Divakara, Director-General of the Forum of Free Enterprise speaking about Nani Palkhivala s famous Union Budget commentaries. These commentaries used to be annually organised by the Forum in Bombay soon after Finance Minister s annual budget speeches. --- ## [Thinker] P. V. Narasimha Rao URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/narasimha-rao/ --- ## [Thinker] Narayan K. Varma URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/narayan-varma/ --- ## [Thinker] Narayana Aiyar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/narayana-aiyar/ --- ## [Thinker] Narendra Modi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/narendra-modi/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Narendra Modi` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Nath Pai URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/nath-pai/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Nath Pai` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Naval H. Tata URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/naval-h-tata/ --- ## [Thinker] Nawang Lhamo URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/nawang-lhamo/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Nawang Lhamo` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Nicholas Kaldor URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/nicholas-kaldor/ --- ## [Thinker] NIHAL CHAND JAIN URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/nihal-chand-jain/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `NIHAL CHAND JAIN` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Nikita Khrushchev URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/nikita-khrushchev/ --- ## [Thinker] Nimish Adhia URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/nimish-adhia/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Nimish Adhia` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Niranjan Rajadhyaksha URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/niranjan-rajadhyaksha/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Niranjan Rajadhyaksha` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Nitin Desai URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/nitin-desai/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Nitin Desai` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Nittoor Srinivasa Rao URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/nittoor-srinivasa-rao/ --- ## [Thinker] "OBSERVER" URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/observer/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `"OBSERVER"` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Om Prakash Kahol URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/om-prakash-kahol/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. Otto Count Lambsdorff URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/otto-count-lambsdorff/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. Otto Count Lambsdorff` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Onlooker URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/onlooker/ --- ## [Thinker] Otto Graf Lambsdorff URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/otto-lambsdorff/ --- ## [Thinker] Prof. P. A. Gaitonde URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/p-a-gaitonde/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Prof. P. A. Gaitonde` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] P. C. Mahalanobis URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/p-c-mahalanobis/ --- ## [Thinker] P. C. Mehta URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/p-c-mehta/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `P. C. Mehta` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] P Kodanda Rao URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/p-kodanda-rao/ --- ## [Thinker] P. M. Agerwala URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/p-m-agerwala/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `P. M. Agerwala` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. P. R. Brahmananda URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/p-r-brahmananda/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. P. R. Brahmananda` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] P. N. Haksar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/p-n-haksar/ --- ## [Thinker] P. S. Narayan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/p-s-narayan/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `P. S. Narayan` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Prof. P. T. Bauer URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/p-t-bauer/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Prof. P. T. Bauer` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. P. V. Shenoi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/p-v-shenoi/ --- ## [Thinker] P. V. Sukhatme URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/p-v-sukhatme/ --- ## [Thinker] Pandita Ramabai URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/pandita-ramabai/ ### Body _From CCS feature article: Pandita Ramabai: A Trailblazing Feminist_ Pandita Ramabai: A Trailblazing FeministEditorial TeamMusingsApril 26, 2023 Pandita Ramabai (1858-1922) was an Indian social reformer, women’s rights activist, scholar, and educator. She is best known for her pioneering work in promoting women’s education and empowerment in India, publishing books on a wide range of topics, including the status of women in India, the Bible, and Sanskrit literature. She travelled extensively in India and abroad, advocating against child marriage, widowhood, and other social injustices against women. Ramabai’s life and work continue to inspire feminists, educators, and social justice activists worldwide. Born on April 23, 1858, in a Marathi-speaking Brahmin family as Rama Dongre, Ramabai was the daughter of Lakshmibai and Anant Shastri Dongre, a Sanskrit scholar and roving reciter of Hindu epics and religious books. Ramabai had two elder siblings: her sister Krishnabai and her brother Srinivas. When her parents and Krishnabai died in the great famine of 1876, Ramabai, equipped with only her education, moved with Srinivas to Calcutta for a better life. Upon reaching Calcutta, Ramabai defied societal expectations and took up the cause of distressed women as her calling. She made a name for herself in the city as a reputed scholar and passionately advocated for the emancipation of women. At the age of twenty, she became the first woman in India to earn the titles of Pandita (the feminine of pundit, or Sanskrit scholar) and Saraswati after examination by the faculty of the University of Calcutta. She joined the Brahmo Samaj in June 1880. The same year, after her brother’s death, she married his friend, Bepin Behari Das Medhavi, a Bengali lawyer from a lower caste- thereby creating fury amongst the society members. Her only child, Manorama, was born in April 1881. Less than a year later, her husband died of Cholera, leaving her in the unenviable situation of a high-caste Hindu widow. After Medhavi died in 1882, Ramabai moved to Pune, where she founded the Arya Mahila Samaj, a society of high-caste Hindu women working to educate girls and against child marriage. She published her first book, Morals for Women, in the original Marathi Stri Dharma Niti. She also testified before the Hunter Commission on Education in India, an enquiry set up by the British government. She suggested that teachers be trained, women school inspectors be appointed, and that Indian women should be admitted to medical colleges. Ramabai’s evidence created a great sensation and reached Queen Victoria. In time, it also contributed to the beginnings of the Women’s Medical Movement, which aimed to improve women’s healthcare in India. Through the influence of Nehemiah Goreh’s apologetical writings, she became intellectually convinced that whatever was true in Brahmo theology was Christian in origin. In 1883, during her visit to England, she was baptised in Wantage, England, and pursued her studies at the Cheltenham Ladies’ College and Bedford College. She was in Europe to pursue a medical degree; however, her deafness caused serious impediments to her medical education. Instead, she used her time to continue the study of Christianity, which she had begun in India and had her young daughter baptised as Anglican Christian. From 1883 to 1886, Ramabai was, in the formal sense, an Anglo-Catholic, lecturing and studying social reform and education. Having relinquished her dreams of a medical degree, in 1886, she travelled to the USA to attend the graduation from the Women’s Medical College in Philadelphia of Anandibai Joshee, the first Indian woman to become a medical doctor, who was also her cousin. She remained in the USA for two years, translating textbooks and giving lectures throughout the United States and Canada. In 1887 she published her first English book, The High-Caste Hindu Woman, a relentless indictment of Hindu India’s treatment of its women. The same year, Ramabai met Frances Willard–an American educator and a woman suffragist– who later invited her to address the convention of women’s organisation. On February 1, 1889, Ramabai returned to India and, within a month, established Sharada Sadan, or the Home of Learning, in Bombay with two students. She successfully lobbied for aid to start a secular school for child widows in India and formed The Ramabai Association, which pledged ten years of financial support for the cause. Under the Mukti Mission, the school quickly grew and was transferred to Poona. In 1891, the school was involved in controversy when the Indian reformers condemned Ramabai for preaching Christianity to students. Despite the condemnation, by 1895, the school was a resounding success, with 26 child widows and 13 non-widows in the school. In 1896, during a severe famine, Ramabai toured the villages of Maharashtra with a caravan of bullock carts, rescuing thousands of children, child widows, orphans and destitute women and bringing them to the shelter of Mukti and Sharada Sadan. By 1900, 1500 residents and over a hundred cattle were in the Mukti mission. The Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission is still active today, providing housing, education, and vocational training to widows, orphans and those with sight impairments. Her daughter Manoramabai also established a new school, and in 1919, government recognition was finally granted to the Sharada Sadan School. Pandita Ramabai was awarded the Kaiser É Hind Medal in 1919. By 1920, Ramabai sensed a growing physical weakness and designated her daughter to supervise the activities of the Mukti Mission. Manorama died in 1921, and Ramabai herself died in 1922. She authored several influential works in her lifetime, including The Testimony of an Indian Woman, Pandita Ramabai’s American Encounter: The Peoples of the United States (1889) and Mukti Prakash (1923) – a Marathi-language book compiled and published posthumously by her followers. Through these works, she brought the plight of women in Indian society out of the closet and made relentless efforts to realise their emancipation and empowerment. --- ## [Thinker] Parth J. Shah URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/parth-shah/ --- ## [Thinker] Paul Craig Roberts URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/paul-craig-roberts/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Paul Craig Roberts` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Pema Thinley URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/pema-thinley/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Pema Thinley` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Peregrine URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/peregrine/ --- ## [Thinker] Periyar E. V. Ramasamy URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/periyar-e-v-ramasamy/ --- ## [Thinker] Peter Bauer URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/peter-bauer/ --- ## [Thinker] Pherozeshah Mehta URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/pherozeshah-mehta/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. Phiroze B. Medhora URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/phiroze-b-medhora/ --- ## [Thinker] Phiroze J Shroff URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/phiroze-j-shroff/ --- ## [Thinker] Piloo Mody URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/piloo-mody/ --- ## [Thinker] Piya Mahtaney URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/piya-mahtaney/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Piya Mahtaney` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Prakash Hebalkar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/prakash-hebalkar/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Prakash Hebalkar` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Prashant Girbane URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/prashant-girbane/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Prashant Girbane` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Pratap Bhanu Mehta URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/pratap-bhanu-mehta/ --- ## [Thinker] Prof CN Vakil URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/prof-cn-vakil/ --- ## [Thinker] Prof. RL Varshney URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/prof-rl-varshney/ --- ## [Thinker] Prof. M. Ruthnaswamy URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/prof-m-ruthnaswamy/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Prof. M. Ruthnaswamy` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] R. A. Jahagirdar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/r-a-jahagirdar/ --- ## [Thinker] R. A. Mashelkar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/r-a-mashelkar/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. R. Balasubramaniam URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/r-balasubramaniam/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. R. Balasubramaniam` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. R. C. Cooper URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/r-c-cooper/ --- ## [Thinker] R. G. Katoti URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/r-g-katoti/ --- ## [Thinker] R. Gopalakrishnan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/r-gopalakrishnan/ --- ## [Thinker] R. G. SARAIYA URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/r-g-saraiya/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `R. G. SARAIYA` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Prof. R. J. Taraporevala URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/r-j-taraporevala/ --- ## [Thinker] Prof. R. K. Amin, Principal, Commerce College, Vallabh Vidya Nagar, Anand URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/r-k-amin-principal-commerce-college-vallabh-vidya-nagar-anan/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Prof. R. K. Amin, Principal, Commerce College, Vallabh Vidya Nagar, Anand` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] R. K. Amin URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/r-k-amin/ --- ## [Thinker] R. K. Daruwalla URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/r-k-daruwalla/ --- ## [Thinker] R. K. Hazari URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/r-k-hazari/ --- ## [Thinker] R. K. LAXMAN URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/r-k-laxman/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `R. K. LAXMAN` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] R. K. Talwar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/r-k-talwar/ --- ## [Thinker] R. M. Mohan Rao URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/r-m-mohan-rao/ --- ## [Thinker] R. M. Honavar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/r-m-honavar/ --- ## [Thinker] R. N. Jha URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/r-n-jha/ --- ## [Thinker] R. N. KINI URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/r-n-kini/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `R. N. KINI` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] R. V. MURTHY URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/r-v-murthy/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `R. V. MURTHY` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] R. N. MALHOTRA URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/r-n-malhotra/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `R. N. MALHOTRA` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] R. Venkata Ramana Rao URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/r-venkata-ramana-rao/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `R. Venkata Ramana Rao` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Rabindranath Tagore URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/rabindranath-tagore/ --- ## [Thinker] Raghunath Karve URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/raghunath-karve/ --- ## [Thinker] Raghunath Mashelkar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/raghunath-mashelkar/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Raghunath Mashelkar` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Raghuram G. Rajan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/raghuram-g-rajan/ --- ## [Thinker] Raja Ram Mohan Roy URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/raja-ram-mohan-roy/ ### Body Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772–1833) was a Bengal reformer, scholar, and the intellectual progenitor of the Indian liberal tradition. He founded the Brahmo Samaj in 1828 — a monotheistic, anti-caste, pro women's-education reform movement that became the originating institution of the Indian liberal reformist tradition. A Sanskrit and Persian scholar fluent also in Arabic, English, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin, Roy campaigned against sati (widow immolation), for women's right to property and education, and for the introduction of English-language modern education in India. His 1818 essay "A Conference between an Advocate for, and an Opponent of, the Practice of Burning Widows Alive" was a foundational argument against sati; the practice was banned by Lord William Bentinck in 1829, in significant part due to Roy's advocacy. Roy was also one of India's earliest defenders of press freedom. His 1823 "Memorial Against Press Regulations" — submitted to the Governor-General after a licensing ordinance was imposed on Indian-language newspapers — is one of the earliest sustained arguments in any Indian language for the principle that "the unrestrained Liberty of Publication is the only effectual means" of holding government accountable. In 1830 the Mughal emperor Akbar II bestowed on him the title "Raja" and sent him to England as an envoy to argue against reductions in the imperial allowance. He died in Bristol in 1833. > _Drafted bio. Replace with canonical CCS content if available. The site's `/content/ram-mohan-roy/` page is a feature article on press freedom that quotes Roy's 1824 letter to the Governor — not a biographical profile._ --- ## [Thinker] Rajaram Ajgaonkar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/rajaram-ajgaonkar/ --- ## [Thinker] Rajesh Mishra URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/rajesh-mishra/ --- ## [Thinker] Rajendra Prasad URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/rajendra-prasad/ --- ## [Thinker] Rajiv Gandhi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/rajiv-gandhi/ --- ## [Thinker] Rajkumari Amrit Kaur URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/rajkumari-amrit-kaur/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. Rakesh Mohan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/rakesh-mohan/ --- ## [Thinker] Ralph Borsodi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ralph-borsodi/ --- ## [Thinker] Ralph Waldo Emerson URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ralph-waldo-emerson/ --- ## [Thinker] Ram Jethmalani URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ram-jethmalani/ --- ## [Thinker] Ram Manohar Lohia URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ram-manohar-lohia/ --- ## [Thinker] Ram Gandhi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ram-gandhi/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Ram Gandhi` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Ramabai Ranade URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ramabai-ranade/ --- ## [Thinker] Ramadevi Chowdhury URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ramadevi-chowdhury/ --- ## [Thinker] L. Ramdas URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ramdas-rear-admiral/ --- ## [Thinker] Shri Ramniwas R. Ruia URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ramniwas-ruia/ --- ## [Thinker] Ramtanu Lahiri URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ramtanu-lahiri/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. RAMU PANDIT URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ramu-pandit/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. RAMU PANDIT` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Ranchhoddas Jethabhai, President, Bombay Rice Merchants' Association URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ranchhoddas-jethabhai-president-bombay-rice-merchants-associ/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Ranchhoddas Jethabhai, President, Bombay Rice Merchants' Association` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Rashad Kaldany URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/rashad-kaldany/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Rashad Kaldany` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Rani Rashmoni URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/rani-rashmoni/ --- ## [Thinker] Rasikkrishna Mallik URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/rasikkrishna-mallik/ --- ## [Thinker] Ravi Pandit URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ravi-pandit/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Ravi Pandit` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] RD Aga URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/rd-aga/ --- ## [Thinker] Revatbha Rayjada URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/revatbha-rayjada/ --- ## [Thinker] Richard Gephardt URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/richard-gephardt/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Richard Gephardt` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Richard Nixon URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/richard-nixon/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Richard Nixon` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Roberto de Oliveira Campos URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/roberto-de-oliveira-campos/ --- ## [Thinker] Robert McNamara URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/robert-mcnamara/ --- ## [Thinker] Robert S. Brown URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/robert-s-brown/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Robert S. Brown` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Rukhmabai Raut URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/rukhmabai/ --- ## [Thinker] Russi Mody URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/russi-mody/ --- ## [Thinker] Ronald Meinardus URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ronald-meinardus/ --- ## [Thinker] Ruth Benedict URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ruth-benedict/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr S A Dave URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-a-dave/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr S A Dave` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] S. C. Bose URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-c-bose/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `S. C. Bose` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] S. Chandrasekhar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-chandrasekhar/ --- ## [Thinker] S. D. Naik URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-d-naik/ --- ## [Thinker] S. Divakara URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-divakara/ --- ## [Thinker] DR. S. G. PANANDIKAR URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-g-panandikar/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `DR. S. G. PANANDIKAR` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] S. JAGANNATHAN, I.C.S. (RETD.) URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-jagannathan-i-c-s-retd/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `S. JAGANNATHAN, I.C.S. (RETD.)` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] S. K. Patil URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-k-patil/ --- ## [Thinker] S. L. Kirloskar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-l-kirloskar/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `S. L. Kirloskar` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Prof. S. L. N. Simha URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-l-n-simha/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Prof. S. L. N. Simha` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] S. L. N. Sinha URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-l-n-sinha/ --- ## [Thinker] S. M. Dahanukar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-m-dahanukar/ --- ## [Thinker] S. M. URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-m/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `S. M.` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] S. Mahalingam URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-mahalingam/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `S. Mahalingam` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] S. P. GODREJ URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-p-godrej/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `S. P. GODREJ` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] S. P. Mehta URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-p-mehta/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `S. P. Mehta` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] S. P. Sathe URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-p-sathe/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. S. R. K. Rao URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-r-k-rao/ --- ## [Thinker] S. R. MOHAN DAS URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-r-mohan-das/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `S. R. MOHAN DAS` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] S. R. Vakil URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-r-vakil/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `S. R. Vakil` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Mr. S.S. Bhandare, Former Economic Adviser, Tata Services Ltd. URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-s-bhandare-former-economic-adviser-tata-services-ltd/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Mr. S.S. Bhandare, Former Economic Adviser, Tata Services Ltd.` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] S.S. Bhandare URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-s-bhandare/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `S.S. Bhandare` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] S. S. Kanoria URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-s-kanoria/ --- ## [Thinker] S. S. Nadkarni URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-s-nadkarni/ --- ## [Thinker] S. S. PATKE URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-s-patke/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `S. S. PATKE` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] S. S. Tarapore URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-s-tarapore/ --- ## [Thinker] S. Sampath URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-sampath/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `S. Sampath` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] S. V. Ghatalia URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-v-ghatalia/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `S. V. Ghatalia` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] S. V. Raju URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/s-v-raju/ ### Body S V Raju (1933–2015) was the epitome of the dissenting Indian liberal tradition which stood as a bulwark against the socialist domination of the Indian public sphere. As a lifelong liberal activist, he was closely associated with the Swatantra Party, Masani's office, and the Freedom First magazine for many decades. Raju joined the newly launched Swatantra Party in 1959 as the Executive Secretary and remained a member until the very end. He worked under Minoo Masani, an association that continued even after the party wound up. With the merger of Swatantra, Raju's liberal activism saw him engaging with the Freedom First magazine, Forum of Free Enterprise, Project for Economic Education, and Indian Liberal Group. He is best known for keeping *Freedom First* alive — championing the cause of free markets, individual rights, and the rule of law. At a time when liberal voices were muffled in popular discourse, *Freedom First* provided an outlet for liberals to voice their dissent. He also revived the Indian Liberal Group in the 1990s and ran it from his Mumbai office until 2010. --- ## [Thinker] Dr. Sabeena Gonsalves URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sabeena-gonsalves/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Dr. Sabeena Gonsalves` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Sachin Sen URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sachin-sen/ --- ## [Thinker] Sadanand Varde URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sadanand-varde/ --- ## [Thinker] Salvador de Madariaga URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/salvador-de-madariaga/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. Samiran Nundy URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/samiran-nundy/ --- ## [Thinker] Samdhong Rinpoche URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/samdhong-rinpoche/ --- ## [Thinker] Mr. Sanjay Panse, Chartered Accountant URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sanjay-panse-chartered-accountant/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Mr. Sanjay Panse, Chartered Accountant` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Sanjay Panse URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sanjay-panse/ --- ## [Thinker] Vallabhbhai Patel URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sardar-patel/ --- ## [Thinker] Sarojini Naidu URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sarojini-naidu/ --- ## [Thinker] Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sarvepalli-radhakrishnan/ --- ## [Thinker] Sauvik Chakraverti URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sauvik-chakraverti/ ### Body Sauvik Chakraverti (1956-2014) was an award-winning columnist and author whose books, monographs and columns advanced the cause of libertarian movement in India. Sauvik had studied governance at LSE and was deeply influenced by the ideas of F A Hayek. For his endeavour, Sauvik was awarded the inaugural Bastiat Prize (2002). He received the prize from the former British Prime Minister, Lady Margaret Thatcher, at a ceremony in London. His book “Antidote: Essays Against the Socialist Indian State” (2000) was a racy polemic against the excess of the Indian state and made the case for a libertarian state. The sequel “Antidote 2: For Liberal Governance” (2003) revealed the breadth of the concerns before India’s liberals. He also contributed articles to the business newspaper Mint and published papers for the Centre for Civil Society. In his writings, Sauvik would bring the public choice approach to issues of Indian policymaking. His writings are accessible at The Antidote Blog. Free Your Mind: A Beginner’s Guide to Political Economy Udarwad: Raj, Samaj aur Bazar ka Naya Paath (Centre for Civil Society, 2006). Antidote 2: For Liberal Governance (MacMillan, 2003). Antidote: Essays against the Socialist Indian State (MacMillan, 2000). From the Hair of Shiva to the Hair of the Prophet… and Other Essays Natural Order: Essays Exploring Civil Government and the Rule of Law. Free Your Mind: A Beginner’s Guide to Political Economy Udarwad: Raj, Samaj aur Bazar ka Naya Paath (Hindi book based on ‘Free Your Mind’) Antidote 2: For Liberal Governance (MacMillan, 2003) Antidote: Essays against the Socialist Indian State (MacMillan, 2000) From the Hair of Shiva to the Hair of the Prophet… and Other Essays Natural Order: Essays Exploring Civil Government and the Rule of Law Other Writings Four Wheels for All: The Case of Rapid Automobilisation of India The Essential Frédéric Bastist Self Help: With Illustrations of Conduct and Perseverance by Samuel Smiles Monographs/Viewpoints Population Causes Prosperity, CCS Viewpoint 2 Peter Bauer: A True Friend of the World’s Poor, CCS Viewpoint 4 New Public Management: Escape from Babudom Published On At Liberty: Freedom to Express and Offend 31  July 2012 --- ## [Thinker] Scio URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/scio/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Scio` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Ms. Seetha Parthasarathy, Freelance Journalist and Copy Writer URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/seetha-parthasarathy-freelance-journalist-and-copy-writer/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Ms. Seetha Parthasarathy, Freelance Journalist and Copy Writer` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] SH Batlivala URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sh-batlivala/ --- ## [Thinker] Shailesh Gandhi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/shailesh-gandhi/ --- ## [Thinker] Shailaja Bapat URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/shailaja-bapat/ --- ## [Thinker] Sharad Joshi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sharad-joshi/ ### Body _From CCS feature article: Sharad Joshi and the Crisis of Trade Unions_ Sharad Joshi and the Crisis of Trade UnionsadminOpinions & EventsMay 18, 2021 Sharad Joshi addressed his criticism against the government as well as the then labour movements in the country. According to him, trade unionism in India had taken a path far different from their predecessors in Europe.  (Image Credit : The Times of India) There’s no better or succinct way to introduce Sharad Joshi than by narrating an interesting anecdote that he shared in his book Khulya Vyavasthekade Khulya Manane. It gives a glimpse of his politics and personality. In 1996, the government employees of the Department of Post went on one of their routine strikes and this irked Sharad Joshi so much that he made an interesting offer to the government. He proposed that the government should let him run the department of Post. He challenged that he would not only employ just half of the existing number of workers but he would also give them only half of the current remuneration and still ensure the required level of efficiency to distribute all postcards from any major city in India to another within 24 hours. His challenge to the government may seem a bit foolhardy today. But the fact remains that at that time it took almost five days for a postal delivery to take place from one major city to another. We can not even fathom the unending delays for a letter or parcel to reach the remotest corners of the country. Sharad Joshi addressed his criticism against the government as well as the then labour movements in the country. According to him, trade unionism in India had taken a path far different from their predecessors in Europe. The trade unions in nineteenth-century Europe emerged as a response to the nascent industrialization. The workers used strikes as a potent weapon to organize themselves and have their collective voice heard. These ‘have nots’ had no other option but to use such techniques. One must not forget that unlike today the working class of that time had very little role to play in political decision making. The franchise was limited and it often excluded the poor and the illiterate. The instrument of the strike was not easy to use. The workers would lose their daily wages and it would render them vulnerable to joblessness and dire hunger. The state would look at their strikes as a law-and-order problem and the police crackdowns used to be unbearable. Even if the state spared their lives, there was no guarantee that the goons hired by the owner of the workplace would be equally generous. The workers of the nineteenth century shed their blood and even made the ultimate sacrifice for basic economic rights. Sharad Joshi acknowledged the higher ideals and causes for which these early unions fought. Having acknowledged those, he argued that much of these above-mentioned excesses were a characteristic of an early capitalism which hadn’t developed enough. Sharad Joshi ascertains that much of these evils were a function of an economy that was devoid of properly developed markets. However, when the doctrine of Socialism took roots in Europe, a simplistic and permanent dichotomy of ‘monstrous haves’ and ‘oppressed have nots’ was established. Many legislations alleviated the working class from earlier miseries. The workers got several concessions in terms of their salary, bonus, allowances and the security of a job. This overhaul occurred first in the private sector and then in the public sector. Talking about the socialistic practices in India, Sharad Joshi argued that Socialism protected the rich industrialists from an international competition that never brought the best out of Indian producers. According to Joshi, socialism could never sustain without the licensing regime. It was a license – given to the industrialists to plunder the Indian consumers. While the Indian consumer used the substandard goods, the profits of these industrialists soared. The exponential growth in profits was not hidden from the union leaders. The smartest of leaders knew the extent of profit earned by the company owners. They also knew that many of these capitalists were not sharing the details of real profits with the workers and in turn threw peanuts at the workers. The union leaders exploited such opportunities to advance their unrealistic demands for wage hikes.  The owners of industries would have only two options; first, to raise the salary twofold or threefold and second to let the workers stop working and go on strike. If workers stopped working even for a day or two the owners would lose a humongous amount of money. Therefore, the reluctant capitalists would reconcile with the workers and make as many concessions as quickly as possible. This got converted into a trend where the union leaders started competing with each other. Blackmailing the capitalist became the quickest way to establish influence on the workers and prove their credibility as  leaders. If the economic reforms exposed the Indian capitalists to outside competition, they also reduced the vulnerability of the capitalist vis-à-vis the union leaders. After seeing the approaching liberalization of the economy, the industrialists turned more or less immune to the blackmailing of these trade unions. Therefore, upon hearing the news of the textile workers in Mumbai going on strike under the leadership of Dr. Datta Samant, far from being under pressure, the textile mill owners and their managers were ecstatic and thus unwavering! Joshi argued that by the 1980s the tide had turned against the workers and in favour of the industrialists. Now the blackmailed capitalists of yesteryears weren’t entirely vulnerable as they had multiple options at their disposal to maneuver against the calls for a strike. They could take strict measures in the face of reduced productivity. These measures come in different forms – right from reducing the number of workers by firing inefficient and underperforming workers to hiring workers on a contractual basis. They could also terminate all operations if the business showed no promise or if it ran into the irreparable loss. As stringent as these measures may seem they were necessary, after all the industrialists didn’t have the option of printing more money to fulfil the whims and fancies of the workers on strike. Unfortunately, these changes remained limited to the private sector. The government servants remained no less protected than the indigenous capitalists during the days of import substitution and socialism. The government jobs became prestigious due to the unreasonable amount of protection that the government granted to its workers. The government jobs became so lucrative that even doctors and engineers who could practice privately started contemplating and considering government positions. The protection provided to the government jobs created a political economy where the caste groups started demanding reserved positions in the recruitment to be able to enjoy the spoils of the spoils system called the government bureaucracy. Thus, the political demands of castes for quotas in government jobs can be traced back to the guarantee of security and economic benefits attached to these jobs. Sharad Joshi draws our attention to another important fact related to the wages of Indian workers. He argued that the wages of Indian workers or servants are modest as compared to the workers and servants having similar responsibilities or performing the same tasks abroad. But if we compared the two based on their productivity and efficiency, the pay scales offered to Indian counterparts were higher than what they deserved. This invited the economic crisis, and the government became bankrupt. The economic compulsions propelled the government to lay off the workers and adopt austerity measures. There was a growing realization that consumers deserved commodities and services of good quality and that license raj was becoming a hurdle.  The License-permit regime was removed but the Indian economy was faced with new problems. There was an absolute dearth of good infrastructure. India didn’t have a steady supply of electricity and water; the roads were in a bad shape and the railways were inadequate. If India had to build a robust infrastructure it required capital and technology. Therefore, India was desperately looking for foreign investment. But the basic services like the postal service, telecom services, insurance and the banking sector were so obsolete that foreign investors would think a thousand times before considering India as a potential destination to invest their capital. Joshi unequivocally asserted that when the nation was embroiled in economic distress these workers and government servants were relatively silent because they were aware that they had put the country in this situation. However, as soon as the economic threat was averted, they bounced back and demanded that the government must spend more. They wanted the bureaucracy to expand once again. They wanted a regular and uninterrupted increase in their salaries and allowances. Joshi made a very interesting and pertinent argument when he said that these workers never utilized their superior position and economic standing to organize the unorganized workers or peasants. They used the trade unions to retain old economic benefits and acquire new privileges for themselves. Such workers have no right to talk about the (rich) legacy of workers’ movements, claimed Sharad Joshi. Sharad Joshi warned against the increasing government expenditure mainly on public sector enterprises that plundered consumers and created hurdles for those who wanted to increase productivity. He believed that unless the institutions can hire the efficient and fire the inefficient, this country is destined to see doomsday. Sharad Joshi further commented that the members of trade unions carrying out the aforesaid strike have a strong belief that calling a strike is just and constitutional. He agreed with the just nature of the individual and collective rights of workers to negotiate the terms of their work. However, he emphasized that these workers don’t have the right to dictate that their factory owners should have a monopoly to produce a particular commodity. Such a monopoly or protection can hurt the way the consumers choose to live their lives and the workers don’t have a right to benefit financially at the cost of the rights of consumers. If the workers have a right to negotiate, the consumers have a right to choose, claimed Joshi. Gone are the days when the workers enjoyed all rights and the consumer had none. If the workers claim that they can protest by calling strikes, the industrialists should have a right to decrease, increase or even cease the operations of a factory. The workers do have rights but their rights will be called just and fair only if they recognize the freedom of consumers, businessmen and industrialists to exercise their respective rights. No wonder Sharad Joshi’s challenge fell on deaf ears. Neither the government nor the government employees took it upon themselves to prove Sharad Joshi wrong. He made it a point to draw an example of the state of affairs in the country marked by blatant heedlessness of the government by saying “…this is what happens to the real owner (the common people of India) when the servants (the government bureaucracy and the political class) become the owners.” (The author has highlighted the key arguments of Sharad Anantrao Joshi from the ninth article – Khuli Vyavastha ani Sampa of his book Khulya Vyavasthekade Khulya Manane.) --- ## [Thinker] Sharad Pawar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sharad-pawar/ --- ## [Thinker] Shareefa Hamid Ali URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/shareefa-hamid-ali/ --- ## [Thinker] Shesrav Mohite URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/shesrav-mohite/ --- ## [Thinker] Chhatrapati Shivaji URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/shivaji/ --- ## [Thinker] Shrikant Umrikar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/shrikant-umrikar/ --- ## [Thinker] Shyamala Gopinath URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/shyamala-gopinath/ --- ## [Thinker] Sivanath Sastri URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sivanath-sastri/ --- ## [Thinker] SN Haji URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sn-haji/ --- ## [Thinker] Sree Rama Murthy URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sree-rama-murthy/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Sree Rama Murthy` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Sriraj Meghrajji URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sriraj-meghrajji/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Sriraj Meghrajji` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] SS Bhandare And JK Mukhopadhyay URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ss-bhandare-and-jk-mukhopadhyay/ --- ## [Thinker] STEVE DEMBICKI URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/steve-dembicki/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `STEVE DEMBICKI` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] SUBIMAL SEN URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/subimal-sen/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `SUBIMAL SEN` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Sucheta Dalal URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sucheta-dalal/ --- ## [Thinker] Sudha R. Shenoy URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sudha-r-shenoy/ ### Body Sudha Shenoy was an economist trained in Austrian tradition and a proponent of classical liberal ideas. Born in 1943 to the economist B R Shenoy, she completed her education at Mount Carmel School and St Xavier’s College. She would further enrol at LSE, UVA, and SOAS for higher education. At LSE, she established the Whig Society on the advice of F A Hayek. As an economist, she was well versed in topics like the common law, the history of international trade, and the life and work of FA Hayek. She was elected a member of the prestigious Mont Pelerin society in 1972. Her academic career spanned lectureship in economic history at the University of Newcastle, Australia; and visiting professorships at California State University, Hayward; Ohio University, Athens; George Mason University and Mises Institute. In her last days, she was working on a biography of Hayek and the British economic history through 1914, showing the intertwined growth of common law, market order, and the capital structure. She always emphasised on the importance of knowledge of economic history for a student of economics. Dr. Sudha R. Shenoy passed away on 31 May 2008 at the age of 65 after a long battle with cancer. Central Planning in India: A Critical Review (Wiley Eastern, 1971). India: Progress or Poverty? A Review of the Outcome of Central Planning in India, 1951-69 (Institute of Economic Affairs, 1971). Towards A Theoretical Framework For British And International Economic History (Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2010). Underdevelopment and Economic Growth (Longman Group, 1970). Inflation: Phonotape (Sydney, 1974). A Tiger by the Tail: A 40-years’ Running Commentary on Keynesianism by Hayek (ed. Institute of Economic Affairs, 1972). Under Development And Economic Growth (London: Longman, 1970) Central Planning In India: A Critical Review India: Progress or Poverty?: A Review of the Outcome of Central Planning in India, 1951-69, (London: IEA, 1971) Interviews The Global Perspective: An Interview with Sudha Shenoy, Austrian Economics Newsletter, Winter 2003 Other Writings The Economic & Social History of Continental Europe & Britain, c. 1000-1914: An Introductory, Annota A Tiger By the Tail: The Keynesian Legacy of Inflation by F.A. Hayek (1972, 1978, and 1979) Wage-Price Control: Myth and Reality | R1 | 01 February 1978, Center for Independent Studies, Australia Published On The Indian Libertarian Volume : 5 ;Issue: 18 1  December 1957 The Indian Libertarian Volume : 5 ;Issue: 15 1  October 1957 How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Trade Deficit | Sudha Shenoy Lecture presented by Sudha R Shenoy at the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama; October 26, 2006. --- ## [Thinker] Sudhanshu Kumar Basu URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sudhanshu-kumar-basu/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Sudhanshu Kumar Basu` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Sudhir Devare URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sudhir-devare/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Sudhir Devare` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Sujata Manohar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sujata-manohar/ --- ## [Thinker] Sumita Kale URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sumita-kale/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Sumita Kale` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Sunil S. Bhandare URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sunil-bhandare/ --- ## [Thinker] Suresh Parikh URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/suresh-parikh/ --- ## [Thinker] Suresh Prabhu URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/suresh-prabhu/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Suresh Prabhu` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Suresh Tendulkar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/suresh-tendulkar/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Suresh Tendulkar` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] SUSHAMA SEN URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/sushama-sen/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `SUSHAMA SEN` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Surinder P. S. Pruthi URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/surinder-p-s-pruthi/ --- ## [Thinker] Swami Anand URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/swami-anand/ --- ## [Thinker] T. H. Chowdary URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/t-h-chowdary/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `T. H. Chowdary` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Swaminathan A. Aiyar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/swaminathan-a-aiyar/ --- ## [Thinker] Swaminathan Anklesaria Aiyar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/swaminathan-anklesaria-aiyar/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Swaminathan Anklesaria Aiyar` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] T. Mathew URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/t-mathew/ --- ## [Thinker] T. N. Godavarman Thirumulpad URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/t-n-godavarman-thirumulpad/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `T. N. Godavarman Thirumulpad` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] T. N. KALIDOSS AIYAR URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/t-n-kalidoss-aiyar/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `T. N. KALIDOSS AIYAR` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] T. N. Ninan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/t-n-ninan/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `T. N. Ninan` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] T. RANGADASAPPA URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/t-rangadasappa/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `T. RANGADASAPPA` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] T. Subbaya Shetty URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/t-subbaya-shetty/ --- ## [Thinker] T. T. Krishnamachari URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/t-t-krishnamachari/ --- ## [Thinker] T. Thomas URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/t-thomas/ --- ## [Thinker] Tahir Siddiqui URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/tahir-siddiqui/ --- ## [Thinker] Tanguturi Prakasam Panthulu URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/tanguturi-prakasam/ --- ## [Thinker] TAPESH CH. GOSWAMI URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/tapesh-ch-goswami/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `TAPESH CH. GOSWAMI` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Tarabai Shinde URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/tarabai-shinde/ --- ## [Thinker] Tarun Das URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/tarun-das/ --- ## [Thinker] Theodor Heuss URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/theodor-heuss/ --- ## [Thinker] Thomas Aquinas URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/thomas-aquinas/ --- ## [Thinker] Thomas Babington Macaulay URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/thomas-babington-macaulay/ --- ## [Thinker] Thomas Robert Malthus URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/thomas-robert-malthus/ --- ## [Thinker] Toddy-Tapper URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/toddy-tapper/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Toddy-Tapper` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Touchstone URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/touchstone/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Touchstone` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Trupti Parekh URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/trupti-parekh/ --- ## [Thinker] Prof. U. R. Rao URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/u-r-rao/ --- ## [Thinker] "UDAY" URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/uday/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `"UDAY"` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Uday Kotak URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/uday-kotak/ --- ## [Thinker] વર્ષા ચૌધરી URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/unnamed-figure/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `વર્ષા ચૌધરી` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Usha Mehta URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/usha-mehta/ --- ## [Thinker] Usha Thorat URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/usha-thorat/ --- ## [Thinker] V. B. Haribhakti URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/v-b-haribhakti/ --- ## [Thinker] V. B. Karnik URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/v-b-karnik/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `V. B. Karnik` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] V. C. Vaidya URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/v-c-vaidya/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `V. C. Vaidya` — surfaced as the author of an ingested primary work. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] V. K. Krishna Menon URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/v-k-krishna-menon/ --- ## [Thinker] V. K. Narasimhan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/v-k-narasimhan/ --- ## [Thinker] V. K. R. V. Rao URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/v-k-r-v-rao/ --- ## [Thinker] V. M. Tarkunde URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/v-m-tarkunde/ --- ## [Thinker] V. P. Menon URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/v-p-menon/ --- ## [Thinker] V. P. Sinha URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/v-p-sinha/ --- ## [Thinker] V. V. John URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/v-v-john/ --- ## [Thinker] V. S. Srinivasa Sastri URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/v-s-srinivasa-sastri/ --- ## [Thinker] V. Vijayatunga URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/v-vijayatunga/ --- ## [Thinker] Varsha Srinivasan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/varsha-srinivasan/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Varsha Srinivasan` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Vadilal Dagli URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/vadilal-dagli/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Vadilal Dagli` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Vasudeva Vora URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/vasudeva-vora/ --- ## [Thinker] Vasudha Ramakrishna URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/vasudha-ramakrishna/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Vasudha Ramakrishna` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] VERUS URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/verus/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `VERUS` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] VH Pandya URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/vh-pandya/ --- ## [Thinker] Vigilant URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/vigilant/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Vigilant` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Wing Commander Vijay Mahajan URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/vijay-mahajan-aviation/ --- ## [Thinker] Vijay Jawandhia URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/vijay-jawandhia/ --- ## [Thinker] Vijay Kelkar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/vijay-kelkar/ --- ## [Thinker] Vijay Mallya URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/vijay-mallya/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Vijay Mallya` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Vijay Prulkar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/vijay-prulkar/ --- ## [Thinker] Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/vijaya-lakshmi-pandit/ --- ## [Thinker] Vinoba Bhave URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/vinoba-bhave/ --- ## [Thinker] Vivek URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/vivek/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Vivek` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Voltaire URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/voltaire/ --- ## [Thinker] W. H. Hutt URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/w-h-hutt/ --- ## [Thinker] Warren Hastings URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/warren-hastings/ --- ## [Thinker] Wilhelm Röpke URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/wilhelm-ropke/ --- ## [Thinker] Lord William Bentinck URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/william-bentinck/ --- ## [Thinker] Willy Brandt URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/willy-brandt/ --- ## [Thinker] Winston Churchill URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/winston-churchill/ --- ## [Thinker] WW Rowstow URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/ww-rowstow/ --- ## [Thinker] Y. D. JOSHI URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/y-d-joshi/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Y. D. JOSHI` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Mr. Y. H. Malegam URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/y-h-malegam/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Mr. Y. H. Malegam` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Y. A. Fazalbhoy URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/y-a-fazalbhoy/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Y. A. Fazalbhoy` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. Y. K. Hamied URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/y-k-hamied/ --- ## [Thinker] Dr. Y. V. Reddy URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/y-v-reddy/ --- ## [Thinker] Y. Z. URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/y-z/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Y. Z.` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Yangchen Dolkar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/yangchen-dolkar/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Yangchen Dolkar` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Yash Chopra URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/yash-chopra/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Yash Chopra` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Yashodabai Agarkar URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/yashodabai-agarkar/ --- ## [Thinker] Yazad URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/yazad/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Yazad` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Yogendra Mankad URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/yogendra-mankad/ --- ## [Thinker] Zareer Masani URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/zareer-masani/ ### Body _Auto-created stub for `Zareer Masani` — surfaced by an interview or work that mentioned this figure. Editorial review pending._ --- ## [Thinker] Zafar Futehally URL: https://indianliberals.in/thinkers/zafar-futehally/ --- # Organisations ## [Organisation] A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/a-d-shroff-memorial-trust/ ### Body *Entry pending editorial review. Added 2026-05-18 to surface works published by this organisation that were previously linked only by text-only publisher_name fields.* --- ## [Organisation] Academic Association (Derozio) URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/academic-association-derozio/ --- ## [Organisation] All-India Newspaper Editors Conference URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/all-india-newspaper-editors-conference/ --- ## [Organisation] All-India Liberal Federation URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/all-india-liberal-federation/ --- ## [Organisation] All-India Sarafa Association URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/all-india-sarafa-association/ --- ## [Organisation] Atlas Network URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/atlas-network/ --- ## [Organisation] Bharathan Publications URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/bharathan-publications/ --- ## [Organisation] Bombay Stock Exchange URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/bombay-stock-exchange/ --- ## [Organisation] Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/bharatiya-vidya-bhavan/ --- ## [Organisation] Brahmo Samaj URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/brahmo-samaj/ --- ## [Organisation] Centre for Civil Society URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/centre-for-civil-society/ --- ## [Organisation] Congress Socialist Party URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/congress-socialist-party/ --- ## [Organisation] Council for Liberal Democracy URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/council-for-liberal-democracy/ --- ## [Organisation] Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/council-of-asian-liberals-and-democrats/ --- ## [Organisation] Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/federation-of-indian-chambers-of-commerce/ --- ## [Organisation] Ford Foundation URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/ford-foundation/ --- ## [Organisation] Forum of Free Enterprise URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/forum-of-free-enterprise/ ### Body Founded by A. D. Shroff in 1956. Mumbai-based educational organisation devoted to explaining the case for private enterprise to the Indian public. Long associated with M. R. Pai (General Secretary 1956–1976), Nani Palkhivala (President), and B. R. Shenoy. The Forum has produced one of the largest single bodies of primary works in the Indian classical-liberal tradition — booklets, pamphlets, and lecture transcripts published continuously since the 1950s. --- ## [Organisation] Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/friedrich-naumann-foundation/ --- ## [Organisation] Hindu College Calcutta URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/hindu-college-calcutta/ --- ## [Organisation] Hoover Institution URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/hoover-institution/ --- ## [Organisation] Indian Liberal Group URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/indian-liberal-group/ --- ## [Organisation] Indian Merchants Chamber URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/indian-merchants-chamber/ --- ## [Organisation] Indian National Congress URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/indian-national-congress/ --- ## [Organisation] Janashakti Books and Publications URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/janashakti-books-and-publications/ --- ## [Organisation] Initiative for Open Society URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/initiative-for-open-society/ --- ## [Organisation] Janashakti Vachak Chalval URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/janashakti-vachak-chalval/ --- ## [Organisation] John Templeton Foundation URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/john-templeton-foundation/ --- ## [Organisation] Kisan Samvay Samiti URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/kisan-samvay-samiti/ --- ## [Organisation] Leslie Sawhny Centre URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/leslie-sawhny-centre/ --- ## [Organisation] Liberal International URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/liberal-international/ --- ## [Organisation] Liberal Party of Sri Lanka URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/liberal-party-of-sri-lanka/ --- ## [Organisation] Liberty Institute URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/liberty-institute/ --- ## [Organisation] Maharashtra Economic Development Council URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/maharashtra-economic-development-council/ --- ## [Organisation] Libertarian Publishers URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/libertarian-publishers/ --- ## [Organisation] Manaktalas URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/manaktalas/ --- ## [Organisation] Mont Pelerin Society URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/mont-pelerin-society/ --- ## [Organisation] Observer Research Foundation URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/observer-research-foundation/ --- ## [Organisation] NCAER URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/ncaer/ --- ## [Organisation] Libertarian Social Institute URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/libertarian-social-institute/ --- ## [Organisation] Planning Commission INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/planning-commission-india/ --- ## [Organisation] Press Institute of INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/press-institute-of-india/ --- ## [Organisation] Project for Economic Education URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/project-for-economic-education/ --- ## [Organisation] PUCL Gujarat URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/pucl-gujarat/ --- ## [Organisation] R L Foundation URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/r-l-foundation/ --- ## [Organisation] Satyashodhak Samaj URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/satyashodhak-samaj/ --- ## [Organisation] Shetkari Mahila Aghadi URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/shetkari-mahila-aghadi/ --- ## [Organisation] Shetkari Prakashan URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/shetkari-prakashan/ --- ## [Organisation] Shetkari Sanghatana URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/shetkari-sanghatana/ --- ## [Organisation] Swatantra Party URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/swatantra-party/ ### Body Founded by Rajaji, Minoo Masani, N. G. Ranga, K. M. Munshi and others in opposition to Nehruvian planning. Peaked as the largest opposition party after the 1967 election, with 44 seats in the fourth Lok Sabha. Dissolved into the Bharatiya Lok Dal in 1974. --- ## [Organisation] Tata Sons URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/tata-sons/ --- ## [Organisation] The Radical Humanist URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/the-radical-humanist/ --- ## [Organisation] Upasi URL: https://indianliberals.in/organisations/upasi/ --- # Musings ## [Musing] 1991 Liberal Reforms: Why No One Celebrated Them - Ashok Desai, 1995 URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/1991-liberal-reforms-why-no-one-celebrated-them-ashok-desai-1995/ ### Body _An essay titled “Liberalisation and Liberalism in India”, written by popular economic journalist Ashok Desai, appeared in the Liberal Times magazine in 1995._ _Ashok Desai traces the history of Indian laws and economic policy to be a continuation of war time measures put in place by the British government and its allies, while fighting world war II. Unfortunately, a long shadow of these laws still linger. _ _India did see large reforms in 1991, but Desai made another prominent observation four years later, that no one celebrated these reforms. And that they were largely brought in by stealth. This is a deep reflection on liberalism in India. While India is diverse, acceptance of liberalism in India is still behind. _ _Individual freedom and the value that a person may do what one likes, as long as it does not impinge on other’s freedom, needs to be advocated for. _ _This piece is as relevant today as it was, back then. Here’s an excerpt from it, reproduced below: _ This comprehensively controlIed system was highly inefficient and ran into a crisis every few years. But when this happened, some of the controls were relaxed to introduce competition and to curb inefficiency. As the economy grew, the old-style, labour-intensive controls also became impractical; so they were modified to accommodate the growth in the size and complexity of the system. But as soon as a crisis was over, the system tended to rerun to its old mode. This was because powerful interests grew up in politics, bureaucracy and industry which benefited from the controls. The bouts of relaxation of controls were termed liberalisation episodes by Bhagwati and Srinivasan, and so they were in a sense. In every episode certain controls - mainly industrial licensing and import licensing - were relaxed. But liberalisation had a practical aim, namely to reduce systemic inefficiency to sustainable levels. There was economic liberalisation, but there was no liberal philosophy behind it.   In my view, liberal economic reforms since 1991 have always been on the defensive. It is not for lack of success; starting from an abyss of collapsed growth and self confidence, the economy is growing today at a very creditable rate which will touch 11 percent this year. The balance of payments, which was impossibly adverse only four years ago, is strong today. Industry is growing at 13 percent. Apart from these cold statistics, there is for the first time a sense of excitement in the air; people feel that there are undefinable opportunities, unquantifiable hope. This is a revolutionary change in the atmosphere, and it is entirely due to the economic reforms. And yet, no one boasts of the reforms, least of all those who did the reforms. No one celebrates the reforms. A certain shame faced modesty pervades the reforms. This is strange and inappropriate… This shyness, this awkwardness arises from the fact that liberty is not accepted in India as the ultimate goal of political systems. This is why, for instance, there is so much paranoia about foreign investments. The foreign enterprise is seen as an intruder upon the economic space of the Indian enterprise, just as yesterday, the large enterprise was seen as an intruder on the space of the small enterprise, or the private enterprise as an intruder on the space of the government enterprise. The idea that the consumer is sovereign, that it is in the consumer’s interest that all enterprises, Indian and foreign, small and large, private and public, should compete in a level playing field, is still very foreign to India. The idea that choice is a part of individual freedom, that an individual should be able to choose from where he wants to buy his electricity or telephone services, is still very grudgingly accepted, and even then, many people would make all sorts of unnecessary reservations. The whole point of being the national of such a large and diverse country as India is to be free - free to believe what one likes, free to do what one likes, as long as it does not impinge on others’ freedom. Now that economic liberalism has arrived, almost by stealth, we must cultivate extremism in the service of liberty; only then will we provoke a fertile ground for the growth of economic liberalism. To read the unabridged essay, click [here](https://indianliberals.in/liberal-times/liberalism-in-south-asia.pdf#page=9) (pages 9-13). type=content&p=8491). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] A Blueprint for Eradication of Poverty - Dr B.P. Godrej URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/a-blueprint-for-eradication-of-poverty-bp-godrej-1980/ ### Body _Produced below is an excerpt from an essay titled “A Blueprint for Eradication of Poverty” by Dr B.P. Godrej, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in December 1980. Through the essay, Dr Godrej critiques the public sector’s inefficiencies in addressing poverty and unemployment. He highlights the widespread malnutrition and lack of economic progress, advocating for systemic reforms to improve food security, productivity, and overall well-being. This piece remains relevant as it addresses the persistent issues of hunger, poverty, and economic mismanagement, challenges that India continues to face even today._ The biggest problems facing India today are poverty and unemployment. Eight months ago, a new government was formed in New Delhi. People's hopes were aroused but for a short time only. Already, there is strong evidence of manifestations of frustration. As no other large country in the world faces the twin problems of poverty and unemployment of the magnitude as India, the new government's responsibility is very grave. It would do well to bear in mind that ultimately economics rules politics. It is recognized in some quarters that even with half of India's population, everything else remaining the same, the difficulties in transforming India into a welfare state are immense. When India became free on the 15th of August 1947, a tremendous euphoria was generated. It was considered to be the dawn. But it is clear as daylight now that the economic dawn is nowhere in sight. After the end of the Second World War, the common man's lot, especially in Western Europe, improved vastly and rapidly. He was better fed, clothed, and housed than ever before. In developed countries, economic growth and social welfare proceeded side by side. This feature gained universal acceptance. The proportion of the national income spent by the state in democratic capitalist countries rose sharply, and thus gave rise to the concomitant growth of the public sector. Indian thinking was naturally influenced by this. In a number of capitalist countries, up to one-half of the national income was spent on the public sector. The running of the public sector was something entirely new for Indians. Take, for example, the case of the railways. In 1947, India had one of the biggest networks, and several joint-stock companies were owned and run by Britishers. In the financial and engineering management, Indians had no part and no experience. Apart from that, the concept of the predominance of the public sector was adopted for ideological reasons without checking the likelihood of its success under the then prevailing Indian conditions. The question that naturally arises is whether Parliament was enamoured of this idea even before considering whether it was in a position to make a success of it. Whether the government sector of industry was conceived out of envy, as a prominent and responsible industrialist once said in a public lecture, is worth a doctoral dissertation on the part of an enthusiastic youngster. It is pertinent to quote Collins in this context: "When I was young I thought socialism was the mathematics of justice. Now I realize it is only the arithmetic of envy." Let us now review what characterises India today. More than three decades after Independence, half the people are below the poverty line. Most of the other half are also poor. And the poverty line is defined as the point below which a worker cannot afford to buy enough food for calories to enable him to perform a full day's work. By this definition, India figured in 1968 that 38% of its people were below the poverty line. In 1978, according to official surveys, 50% of the population fell below this line. The following extract is from the _MID-DAY_ of August 5, 1980: **_356 million live below the poverty line_** ** **The Minister for Planning also tells us that: **_“In India, an adult male doing heavy physical labour for more than 12 hours a day gets less than 2,000 calories from his food!”_** Those who get less than 2,400 calories a day in rural areas or 2,100 calories a day in urban areas can be considered among that 356 million. What does less than 2,400 calories a day mean? A study done in Maharashtra some years ago shows that "less than 2,400" can be as little as 940 calories (and people have wondered how someone who consumed so little could be alive to answer the interviewer's questions). What happens when someone consumes calories below the minimum daily requirement? The Minister for Planning did not go into this question nor did members of the Rajya Sabha think of asking him this question. However, there is information from elsewhere about the effects of malnutrition. Someone found that among 500 middle-class children only one had an IQ below 80, but among 500 poor children who suffered serious protein-calorie malnutrition in their first months, some 62% had IQs below 80. There is another way of looking at calorie intake. A daily intake of some 2,250 calories is appropriate, according to dieticians, for an eight-year-old child in a Western country. In India, an adult male doing heavy physical labour in the fields for more than 12 hours a day gets less than 2,000 calories from his food. The human effects of this have also been described: “Chronically hungry people are physically less developed and mentally less alert than people who eat enough.” In this connection, we would be wise to heed Bernard Shaw's warning: “Those who minister to poverty and disease are accomplices in the two worst of all crimes.” Read the complete text [here](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/a-blueprint-for-eradication-of-poverty-dr-b-p-godrej-december-15-1980.pdf). type=content&p=8656). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] A Resilient Soul: Ramadevi Chowdhuri URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/a-resilient-soul-ramadevi-chowdhuri/ ### Body _Ramadevi Chowdhuri (1899-1985) was a prominent Indian freedom fighter and social activist from Odisha, India. Her dedication to the cause of women's rights and active participation in the freedom struggle has made her an inspirational figure in Odisha and beyond. Ramadevi's legacy continues to inspire generations of women to fight for their rights and contribute to society._ Ramadevi Chowdhuri was born to Basanta Kumari Devi and Gopal Ballav Das on December 3rd 1899 in Cuttack. She was the niece of _Utkal Gaurab_ Madhusudhan Das, a lawyer and a social reformer who played a prominent role in the unification of Odisha. Her childhood was influenced by freedom fighters and thinkers like Mahatma Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave, Sri Aurobindo, and JP Narayan. She got married at the early age of 15 to Gopabandhu Chowdhuri who resigned as Deputy Magistrate from Bariand, Odisha in 1921 prompting them to join the Indian Independence movement in 1921. The same year, they also joined Indian National Congress and actively participated in Non-Cooperation Movement. She attended a meeting addressed by Mahatma Gandhi in Binod Bihari about the Swadeshi movement and resolved to wear only Khadi and indigenous clothes. This meeting in 1921 was the first public gathering of Odia women and also the first one addressed by a highly popular leader. It changed the life of Ramadevi Chowdhuri and many Odia women led by her into the Indian independence struggle. She became a prominent leader in Odisha by the 1930s. She spearheaded the Salt Satyagraha movement and led the march with women in Srijanga and Kujanga. She campaigned door-to-door in many villages and encouraged women to participate in the freedom movement. She was arrested in 1930 for her role in the Salt Satyagraha. She was later arrested again in 1932 for taking the Solemn Oath on January 26th for the country’s independence. But none of these arrests deterred her commitment to the women’s movement and the freedom struggle. In spite of her privileged Zamindari family background, she preferred to lead a simple life. She later founded Sevaghar at Ramachandrapur, Bari for social and economic upliftment. The activities at this Ashram included promoting Khadi, adult education, and self-employment opportunities through beekeeping, dairy development, and leather works. She fought against untouchability through the institution _**Asprushyata Nibarana Samiti**_ which was later renamed _**Harijan Sewa Sangha**_. She educated people about the need for the eradication of untouchability. She campaigned for the admission of Harijan children to schools. She led a team of women to train the Harijans about sanitation and nursing. She also helped Mahatma Gandhi with his padayatra for the eradication of untouchability from Puri to Bhadrak. Her active participation in the Quit India movement led to her arrest along with other women leaders of Odisha. By the time of her release, her ashram was declared illegal by the British and was demolished. But her unwavering spirit motivated her to continue her efforts towards social reforms. Ramadevi did not just promote education but she also built 15 schools and conducted teacher training. She started hostels for children of the Congress workers and Harijans who were arrested by the British. She later on, became the in-charge of Kasturba Trust’s activities in Odisha.  She continued serving her people even after independence. She joined the Bhoodan movement of Vinoba Bhave and walked from village to village for 2000 miles to collect land gifts for the landless. She was associated with the Sarvodaya movement of Vinoba Bhave and presided over the All India Sarvodaya Convention held in Pandarpur.  She continued to help anyone in need during cyclones, floods, drought, communal riots, the Indo-China war and the Bangladesh war. She started a home for the orphaned and abandoned children in Kalhandi. She later started Balwadis to educate children in Odiya medium. She also founded a cancer detection centre in Cuttack. She protested the curtailment of freedom of the press during the emergency by starting her own newspaper published by Gram Sevak Press. This publication was declared unlawful by the government and was closed subsequently. As Gandhiji remarked, she and her team never knew what fatigue was and never claimed any special privilege. The Government Women’s College in Bhubaneswar was later renamed _**Rama Devi Women’s University**_ after her. She was awarded the Jamnalal Bajaj Award for Development & Welfare of Women and Children in 1981 in recognition of her services. She was also awarded an honorary doctorate by Utkal University in 1964. This great soul, fondly called ‘Maa’ by the people of Odisha took her last breath on 22nd July 1985. But her efforts and institutions continue to support the needy and inspire the people even today. **References ** [_About Rama Devi._](https://www.rdwuniversity.nic.in/history.html) Rama Devi Women's University, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha. Dr Chinmayee Satpathy, "[_Freedom Struggle and Rama Devi_](https://magazines.odisha.gov.in/Orissareview/April2006/engpdf/freedom_struggle_%20and%20rama%20devi_.pdf)". E-Magazines | Government of Odisha. [_Ms Ramadevi Choudhary Recipient of Jamnalal Bajaj Award for Development & Welfare of Women and Children-1981_](https://www.jamnalalbajajawards.org/Media/pdf/JBA_1981_Bio_Rama_Choudhury(1).pdf). Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation. _Previous musing: [Economics of Freedom (1965)](https://indianliberals.in/content/economics-of-freedom/)_ --- ## [Musing] A Democracy at War URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/a-democracy-at-war/ ### Body Now, what is our situation in India today? We are today faced with this great disaster that is overtaking our armies at the front as a result of ten years of misguided policies of neutralism and of appeasement of Chinese Communist expansionism. The root cause has been the failure to understand the nature of international communism. _The recent wave of deadly clashes on the India-China border, the most violent escalation in decades, brings to mind the memory of the full-fledged war in 1962, which has left a humiliating mark on the Indian psyche. Historians have debated the factors at play leading to the origins of war and the weak Indian response. Even prior to the outbreak of the war in 1962, Chinese aggression along the border had a long history, which was perceptively seen as being alarming by some Indian politicians and public figures. In 1962, as the war progressed and the Indian response bungled, the voices of criticism only grew louder against the conduct of foreign policy and defence affairs, as handled by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Defence Minister VK Krishna Menon. In a democratic polity, it is obvious that matters of national security in times of crisis would warrant public scrutiny of the government’s response. Among the prominent critiques highlighting the failings of the Indian government including the liberal politician and opposition leader of the Swatantra Party, Minoo Masani._ _In a speech delivered to the Commerce Graduates’ Association, Bombay on 22nd November 1962, which was later published in the Freedom First magazine, Masani outlined failings of the Nehru government and the role of constructive criticism from the opposition even in times of national security crisis. He recounted the earlier warning signs of Chinese aggression pointed out by opposition leaders, only to be ignored by the Congress government in pursuit of NAM and Panchsheel, including the Indian state’s recognition of Mao’s government in 1949, acceptance of Chinese aggression in Tibet at the UN in 1950, and Mao’s brushing apart of Indian neutral posturing as tacit alliance with the ‘imperialist camps’. Sarcastically criticising the failed Panchsheel policy, which ‘now remains only the name of a road in Delhi’, Masani also blamed Nehru for keeping the Indian public in the dark on Chinese escalation in the northwest border region. As the AICC passed a sycophantic resolution that dubbed the critique of the PM as traitors, Masani stressed the need for critical opposition to hold the government accountable to the public and national security interests. _ _The Swatantra response to Chinese aggression included offensive posturing to ‘snatch the initiative from the enemy’; procurement of weapons from around the globe; involvement of air forces of friendly allies to deter Chinese bombings; diplomatic manoeuvring at the UN leading to a peacekeeping intervention against the Chinese aggression; amending ties with Pakistan to avoid a two-front war in favour of focusing on the Chinese front and a shift away from the neutral posturing under the NAM._ _Produced below is the relevant excerpt from the article._ **Root Cause** Now, what is our situation in India today? We are today faced with this great disaster that is overtaking our armies at the front as a result of ten years of misguided policies of neutralism and of appeasement of Chinese Communist expansionism. The root cause has been the failure to understand the nature of international communism. In 1949, because of this, our Government rushed forward to embrace the bandit regime of Mao Tse-tung which is today attacking our country and to recognise it as the Government of China, turning its back on a loyal friend and ally, Marshal Chiang Kai-shek of the Chinese National Government, who was the only war leader to have advocated the independence of India repeatedly and publicly during the war when we were engaged in the Quit India struggle. The second act of the drama came with the betrayal of Tibet in 1950, when the Chinese, in breach of faith with our Government, advanced their armies into Tibet. To our shame, our representative in the U.N. was instructed to tell the Security Council which was considering the appeal of the Dalai Lama for help, the kind of appeal we have been making in the last few days, that the government saw no cause for United Nations’ intervention in Tibet! The British Government readily agreed and, led by these two appeasers, the Security Council suspended discussion of the item which still remains on the order paper. The guilt of having handed over the Tibetan people to be dominated and brutally oppressed by the Chinese belongs to us and our Government. **We Were Warned** It was not as if there were no warnings. In Parliament on 5th and 6th December 1950, there was a big debate in Parliament and some ten speakers warned our Prime Minister and Government that, if they persisted in allowing Tibet to be overrun by the Chinese, our turn would come next; that the Chinese were in fact attacking Tibet as a first step to the attack on India. We were brushed aside as alarmists. In all seriousness, we were told that the Chinese occupation of Tibet had no relevance to the security of India! But it was not our warnings alone that were ignored. It was also Mao Tse-tung, who had given warnings much more significant than ours. In my own speech in Parliament on that occasion, I had quoted the New China News Agency who, a few weeks earlier, had said that the day would come when “the Chinese People’s Liberation Army will hoist the Red Flag over the Himalayas.” They are very frank, these gentlemen- Hitler, Stalin, Khrushchev and Mao Tse-tung. They tell us what they are going to do, but we are so naïve that we will not believe them! _The full text of the article can be accessed _[_here_](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/127.pdf)_._ _[IndianLiberals.in](http://indianliberals.in/) is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ Read more: [SV Chitti Babu, academician, educationist and reformer par excellence (1920-2020)](https://spontaneousorder.in/sv-chitti-babu-academician-educationist-and-reformer-par-excellence-1920-2020/) --- ## [Musing] A Rule of Law Society! URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/a-rule-of-law-society/ ### Body In the following article, Sauvik Chakraverti conceptualises how a ‘rule of law society’ can be achieved. A rule of law society is the one in which people instinctively follow the rules because it is in their interest to do so. Chakraverti explains three principles - private several property, contracts, and torts - which are essential to making good laws. He argues that societal order requires the formation of laws based on these principles, and for lawyers and judges to uphold them. _The law perverted! And the police powers of the state perverted along with it! The law, I say, is not only turned from its proper purpose but is made to follow a totally contrary purpose! The law is becoming the weapon of every kind of greed! Instead of checking crime, the law itself is guilty of the very crimes it is supposed to punish! If this is true, it is a serious matter and moral duty requires of me to call the attention of my fellow citizens to it._ **FRÉDÉRIC BASTIAT ** The Law As a former Deputy Commissioner of Police, let me begin by asserting that a ‘rule of law society’ is not very difficult to achieve. It certainly does not require, as many morons believe, a military dictatorship. London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam… there is order in these cities not because of the police, but because of the people. All that societal order requires is good law – which all the people understand, and which all the people respect and follow, knowing well that it is in their interest to do so. Of course, judges and lawyers should be extremely well versed in these principles, and uphold them in their judgements and arguments. What are these principles? **PRIVATE SEVERAL PROPERTY ** We are born with faculties which we exercise on the resources of the Earth to produce Property. The first nomad who cleared the forest and settled down in agriculture created Property. The chef who produces a meal at a restaurant produces Property – and we cannot consume the meal legally without paying something in exchange: the price. Private several property is basic to the morality of the market – indeed, it is basic to all human morality. Property existed before formal law was made; indeed, formal law was made because there was property. When delivering the Ten Commandments, the Prophet Moses thundered “Thou shalt not steal”. Without an understanding and respect for what’s ‘mine’ and what’s ‘not mine’ no trade can take place. The market cannot work if it is legal or moral to steal. If too many thieves come to the bazaar, the shopkeepers have no option but to take their business elsewhere. The notion of private several property goes even deeper into human morality than market exchange: it goes into the very way we breed; it goes into the most important of human institutions – the family. A woman puts sindoor on her head to indicate to all that she belongs to someone, and is not ‘free’. A man wears a wedding band for the same reason. And all the people respect this: otherwise human society would break down. It is not breaking down not because some dictator is imposing the Law, but because everybody understands, respects and follows these basic rules of a rule of law society. The Prophet Moses also thundered “Thou shalt not covet another man’s wife.” In the Ramayana, the villain Ravana is reviled because he has violated this most sacred of principles: he has run off with another man’s wife. Hinduism, Islam, Christianity… indeed, all faiths, respect private several property. Socialists do not. The Constitution of India is the longest written Constitution in the world – which means we Indians must have desired justice. But this enormously long Constitution does not guarantee private property rights! Thus, Indira Gandhi could nationalise private banks, she could nationalise the coal mines, Air India… what have you. The law allowed it. The law did not say that the airline belonged to JRD Tata and the State has to protect Property, not take it away. Socialist law is ‘legal plunder’ – to use Bastiat’s immortal words. And it is not just nationalisation. There is legislation on issues such as ‘land redistribution’: which means that the Law will steal land from those who have it and give it to those who don’t. There are rent control laws by which tenants can take over the landlord’s property. These immoral laws promote crime. There are private armies in Bihar because the law is perverse. There are underground dons involved in tenancy disputes because of the law. Slumlords happen because the law does not approve of landlords and landladies. Indeed, priceless urban properties are destroyed because landlords can no longer afford their upkeep. Private several property is vital if the environment is to be looked after and natural resources managed such that there is always abundance. Chickens, goats, pigs and cattle survive because they are private several property: someone owns them. Endangered species would survive too if we could farm them. The wilderness can also be privatised and protected as the personal property of those who value wilderness. On the management of natural resources, consider the curious fact that there is no shortage of petrol or diesel in the world, although the Earth possesses very little oil. And there is a shortage of water despite the fact that the Earth is made seven parts of water! This is because the State owns all the water; while in the case of oil there is a market working and underground oil fields are private several property: you can own an underground oil field. When the state owns all the water, there are bound to be shortages. As Milton Friedman famously remarked, “If you give the Sahara Desert to the government, there will be a shortage of sand in 5 years!” Picture the town of Dehra Doon, which lies between the Ganga and the Yamuna – north India’s mightiest rivers. There is a water shortage in Dehra Doon. To find out why not visit Dakpathar, 40 km from Dehra Doon on the banks of the Yamuna. Here the state is damming river water and despatching it free to Punjab farmers who use it to grow rice (which requires 21 waterings). The town of Dakpathar is a ghost town amidst beautiful landscape because the irrigation department, which owns the town, is broke, and is making no profits from the water. In the case of the Narmada Dam, everyone says the tribals must be compensated for their land which was inundated; no one says they should be compensated for the river water, over which they must possess shared property rights because they have been living next to the river for millennia. If property rights were established over river water, the Narmada and the Cauvery issues could be settled without politics. And with justice. Now, the Law is being employed to force the issue, and this backfires as, for example, when the Karnataka chief minister refused to comply by the Supreme Court’s directives. With property rights applied uniformly as a principle, the law is easy to enforce. Everyone follows the law. And there is abundance of all resources. Some consider intellectual property rights like patents to be essential. I do not believe in temporary monopolies granted by the state. If without them, all innovation would cease, we wouldn’t be flooded with recipe books! Or with new fashions. Those who are asking for patents are simply saying: I have a great idea that can make money only if the State grants me a temporary monopoly. Why doesn’t every fashion designer or recipe book author say the same thing? What is required is copyright protection – not patents. And for drug companies: if we apply torts (see below) they would not need to go through expensive regulatory bottlenecks like the US Food and Drug Authority (FDA). Without the FDA, new drugs would be cheaper to deliver to the market and, in case there are errors and consumers are harmed, tort laws can yield suitable compensation. Even when enforcing copyright protection, judges should be careful to see whether there is mens rea and genuine fraud. For example, someone who sells a Rolex for 300 rupees is not trying to pass it off as a genuine article: he is selling it as a ‘duplicate’ that is cheap and not covered by any guarantee. The consumer should be free to buy this ‘duplicate’. And if Rolex watches can be copied for so little, the company better wake up and improve its product. Think: if we want to really enforce copyright protection blindly, we would probably have to bomb Ulhasnagar. I have never been there but am told that the entire town specialises in making duplicates. We would also have the police searching all our houses for music CDs we have ‘burned’ from our friends. We form collectives like the state for one reason only: to protect ourselves and our properties better. We do not have the power to take other’s properties away. So, when we get together to make the Law, this law too cannot have the power to take anyone’s property away. The basic purpose of Law is the protection of property. Since the socialist Constitution of India does not recognise property rights, Indians must press for a Second Republic, for this socialist constitution is an immoral document. Liberal jurisprudence, based on private several property, can also solve some pressing problems that the Hindutva brigade has thrust upon us. If they have their way, Parliament will soon pass a law banning cow slaughter – and I will be denied my steak. A liberal Supreme Court would tear up any such law on the grounds that cows are private property and the State cannot interfere. Everyone must be free to do what he wants with his own cow: free to either worship it or eat it. * Similarly, the ‘disputed site’ at Ayodhya. To ‘de-politicise’ matters, the issue was referred to the Supreme Court. What did this socialist court do? They asked the Archaeological Survey of India to dig up the disputed site and discover what lay underneath. Is this the application of our principle? If a temple to the Goddess Piripiri of the Bhotcharge tribe is discovered under my house, can a latter-day Bhotcharge lay claim to my property? Certainly not! If liberal jurisprudence is applied to Ayodhya the solution is clear and simple: there is no clear title to the site; there are various claimants, each possessed of little legitimacy; therefore the site must be auctioned. We could auction it off in little lots – one auction every year – and in this way keep religious fanatics out of politics, busy collecting money all their lives. Socialist jurisprudence is not justice. Socialists reject the natural law of property and believe that the purpose of the law (and the State) is to redistribute property. Theirs is a Robin Hood ideology – but it is time we stopped looking at their ‘legal plunder’ (what they call ‘redistributive justice’) as romantic. **CONTRACTS ** The second feature of Law is that it must enforce contracts that are freely entered into by the people. That is, all the people are free, and, as free people, they will naturally enter into contracts with each other – say, a labour contract, a rental contract, a contract to repay a loan or a contract to use a telephone or electricity service. The Law must enforce these contracts when anyone violates them. The Law cannot dictate the terms of the contract. But that is precisely what socialist law does. For example, I freely enter into a labour contract with a migrant worker – but the labour inspector will put me in jail and the labour laws will declare the contract invalid if I do not pay ‘minimum wages’. The socialist law will declare the contract voluntarily entered into by two free people null and void – because legislators want to dictate terms. They should not have this power. This is not the purpose of the Law. Consider the damage done by minimum wages: the minimum wage is bound to be higher than the market clearing wage – or what’s the point. Now, as any simple demand and supply diagram will tell you, if you set a price by force which is higher than the market clearing price, less of the good will be demanded. Thus, in this case, less labour will be demanded. Further, when laying off workers, firms will retain their best people, and lay off the weakest workers – like the trainee or the apprentice. Firms might also be able to use prejudice when laying off workers – firing the Blacks or the Muslims or the lower castes. Firms will also have the incentive to use more machines, as they will become relatively cheaper. The purpose of minimum wages is to benefit the weakest worker, he who cannot legitimately earn that wage; the effect of minimum wages is to hurt the weakest workers. The apprentice or the trainee gets thrown out, or employed illegally, without any employee protection whatsoever. This is a classic case of the Law of Unintended Consequences: Nothing Causes More Harm Than Good Intentions! Similarly with rent control law: free contracts between landlords and tenants are declared null and void if they are not on the side of the tenant. This takes away the incentive for landlords to build property and let them out to poor people who, of course, cannot afford to buy property. These poor people now have no choice but to go to the politically sponsored slumlord. The law was intended to benefit tenants; yet it hurts poor tenants most. A third example of the non-enforcement of contracts concerns bankruptcy law. As we saw in the case of Rembrandt’s house in Amsterdam, it was bankruptcy law – the enforcement of a contract between a creditor and a debtor – that allowed the housing finance market to flourish. In India, till recently they did not care if people defaulted on their loans. The legislators did not care because they were running the banks as public property and were willfully allowing their friends to loot these banks. Thus, in India, there is still not a vibrant market for mortgage finance. This cannot happen so long as the debtor 436 can walk off with the financier’s money. People will not lend for housing as long as the loan contract is not enforced by the Law. A fourth example of non-enforcement of contracts concerns the Indian rupee, on which the governor of the central bank ‘promises to pay the bearer a sum of X rupees’. When the governor cannot convert his note into money – be it gold, dollars or yen – it is the central banker who should be in prison: a debtor’s prison. The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) is immoral legislation. **TORTS ** If you go to McDonald’s at a time when the floor is being cleaned, you will always find a sign saying: Caution! Wet Floor. This is a standard practice in McDonald’s worldwide. However, if you go into any Indian restaurant when the floor is being cleaned, you will not find this sign. Why is this so? This is because there is tort law in America. If you slip and fall and break your leg in a McDonald’s in America (and the floor is wet), you will get very rich very soon if the sign had not been there. You will not even have to find a lawyer: the lawyer will find you and take up the case free so long as he gets a share in the spoils. Tort laws are a pillar of a rule of law society. It is always possible that people will be negligent. The right thing in such circumstances is to apply tort law and compensate the victim. In torts, the case is decided ‘on the preponderance of evidence’. In criminal law it is decided ‘beyond any reasonable doubt’. Thus, criminal cases are difficult to decide while tort cases are relatively simpler. This also makes sound economic sense, as David Friedman has pointed out: society faces a net loss when someone is imprisoned or executed, so these cases should be decided very carefully; society does not lose in tort cases as there is a simple transfer of resources, and so these cases should be decided fast. Torts are based on a higher jurisprudence: that of ‘restitution’: the negligent one restores the damage caused to the victim. Criminal law is based on the doctrine of ‘retribution’: that you suffer for your sins. The doctrine of retribution is an older and less sophisticated jurisprudence. Further, criminal law is more concerned with ‘crimes against the state’ – with ‘public prosecutors’ and ‘public police’ and ‘public jails’; on the other hand, tort law recognizes the fact that crimes are always against individuals, and these individuals must be compensated by those who have committed these crimes. Once, a colleague lost a lighter of mine, which he had borrowed. I offered him either retribution or restitution – either we cut off an arm or he restores to me a new lighter. He willingly chose restitution, and I now have a replacement lighter. The advantages of having tort laws are various. Consider, say, the Gujarat earthquake. Many badly constructed buildings fell down. The newspapers reported of corruption among builders and their collusion with the authorities in charge of passing buildings. The urban development minister proposed registration of builders in Delhi and stronger building bye-laws. Will these work? Of course not! Now think of what tort laws can do. If there were tort laws, then the builder of the building that falls down would have to pay up. He would anticipate this and look for insurance. Then, the private insurance company would check the building and insure it only if it was well constructed. In this way, Manhattan skylines could erupt in our cities. Today we do not have these Manhattan skylines not because our architects and builders are incompetent – but because the authorities do not allow tall buildings to be built. With freedom, governed by tort laws, they would be free to express themselves, and build. And the consumer would be safer too. Consider other cases too – like the dropsy case in which adulterated mustard oil was sold, or the Uphaar cinema fire case in which many lives were lost, or even the Bhopal gas tragedy. In all these cases criminal law was applied, the police called in – and nothing happened. ** If tort laws were used, victims of negligence would get immediate compensation. Sellers, i.e, the retailers, of spurious medicines would have to pay up. 21 At the time of printing, some monetary compensation has been ordered in the Uphaar fire tragedy. Interestingly, the cinema owners as well as the civic authorities have to all pay up. But this was a criminal case. Someone asked me once: “Why don’t the socialists like torts? After all, unlike property rights, this has nothing to do with ideology.” There are two possible reasons. The first is that the state would get sued to the bone and wants to evade responsibility for the negligence of its minions. I take my girlfriend out for a drive. We hit an unmarked speed-breaker and she goes flying out of the window. I have lost a girlfriend. I should be compensated. But I will not be – because the state wants to evade responsibility. The second reason is more macabre: they prefer using criminal law because they can effect a squeeze on the negligent person. Once they drag the police in, the perpetrator of the tort will pay up – to the politicians and the police. The victims will get nothing. They think this is justice. It is not. It is corruption pure and simple. With these simple laws, and complete freedom, there will be a rule of law society. The police will only look after crimes like murder, theft and rape, and the people will be free to live their lives doing whatever they deem fit. Such a society will be rich and moral – and free. Justice will prevail. Such a society will also be beautiful. One thing strikes about our cities: they are ugly. Old buildings are not looked after because of rent control. New buildings are not built because of building restrictions. This ugliness is entirely the creature of socialist ‘urban planning’. Indian cities were 440 beautiful once. We were free to build freely, and landlords once had power over their properties. With socialism, and socialist construction (like DDA flats) ugliness has pervaded our lives. All Indians have a sense of beauty. All the people I know take special efforts to decorate their homes. My friend Nitin Donde has even made a film to show that street hawkers and vendors have a well-developed aesthetic sense: the manner in which they display their wares shows an understanding of colour! This planet is a beautiful place. Whatever we construct here must add to the beauty, not take away. These basic principles of a rule of law society do not need a very powerful ruler to enforce. In England, they evolved out of ‘common law’: basic simple law whose principles were applicable to all cases. The people respected the laws and the courts and the judges and followed the law. In India, our courts use force a bit too much: they forced CNG on the people of Delhi. They forced Haryana to close down mines. They did not consider either property rights or torts. They can use force like this because they have the all-powerful state to back them. Can justice be handled outside the state? I do believe it can. Law is an enterprise. But there are some problems when it comes to the final stage of enforcement. David Friedman and some others are inquiring into these issues. I personally believe in private courts. In Gandhi’s memoirs as a lawyer in South Africa, he says that he always preferred arbitration outside the court, and when he did this, he felt he was performing social service. Most cases do not need to go to court. I also had the pleasure of briefly interacting with Professor Robert Cooter, author of the famous textbook on Law & Economics. He told me of California’s ‘Rent-a-judge’ companies. Two parties facing a legal dispute can go to one of these companies. These companies have many retired judges on their rolls. When any case comes up, the parties, with or without their lawyers, come before the private judge in a hired motel room. The private judge hears the arguments and delivers his judgement. He must make sure his judgement is acceptable to both parties or he would not get repeat business. He must also make such judgements because he cannot use force to push through his orders. State judges have no such incentives. They come from the breed of lawyers and so have the perverse incentive to prolong cases and see to it that they go to higher courts of appeal – so their lawyer friends can milk the client. They also can use force, so they do not need to be just to both parties. Of course, in India we have a brief history of private justice – in the courts of the East India Company cities. Judges like Sir Elijah Impey in Calcutta were far better than anything the socialist state with its ‘committed judiciary’ can put up. In a rule of law society everyone will instinctively follow the basic rules of the game. Law, like Economics, is about incentives. With the right law, people have the incentive to follow the rules. With the wrong laws, they willfully disobey, because the incentives are all wrong. This perverts society – and no amount of policing can cure it. All students of Economics abroad study the interaction between Law and Economics today – and vice versa. There are a few Law professors in every Economics department, and there are a few Economics professors in every Law department. In India now, the Delhi School of Economics has Professor TCA Anant, who takes a course on Law & Economics. I have not heard of any law college in India, which possesses an Economics faculty. Obviously, the first battle must be over how these two important subjects are taught. *A Rugby joke goes: A farmer was trying hard to bed his milkmaid, but she was always refusing his advances. So, to ‘turn her on’, he took her to watch his prize bull ‘servicing’ a cow. While the bull was busy, he turned to the girl and said, “I’d love be doing what that bull is doing.” “Then why don’t you? she replied, “it’s your cow!” **At the time of printing, some monetary compensation has been ordered in the Uphaar fire tragedy. Interestingly, the cinema owners as well as the civic authorities have to all pay up. But this was a criminal case. _First Published in the book FROM THE HAIR OF SHIVA TO THE HAIR OF THE PROPHET … and other essays by Sauvik Chakraverti (1956-2014) an award winning columnist and author whose work lighted the path of modern Indian liberalism. _ _Other works by the author can be accessed at _[_Indian Liberals_](http://indianliberals.in/liberals-details?id=19)_, an open, multilingual digital archive committed to preserving liberal voices in the Indian public sphere._ [Read More SO Musings](https://spontaneousorder.in/?s=SO+Musings) --- ## [Musing] A Viable Agriculture Policy for Sustained Growth URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/a-viable-agriculture-policy-for-sustained-growth-tarapore/ ### Body _The following is an excerpt from a booklet titled 'A Viable Agriculture Policy for Sustained Growth' published by the Forum of Free Enterprise and authored by S.S. Tarapore. The booklet was published on September 2012 wherein the author highlights the need for freer import-export market, agricultural productivity coupled with rural infrastructure, and the challenge of migration to cities.  He further talks about the need for a consistent and coherent agriculture policy to tackle these challenges. _ The share of agriculture and allied activities in India's GDP has fallen from 28.4 per cent during the decade ended 1999-2000 to 19.4 per cent during the decade ended 2009-10; furthermore, the share declined to 14.4 per cent in 2010-11. The falling share of agriculture is by itself not a cause of concern; in fact it conforms to the experience of a number of countries during the development stage. What is of concern is that while the share of agriculture and allied activities is only 14.4 per cent of GDP, 70 per cent of the population lives in rural areas. The present sectoral distribution of income triggers migration from rural to urban areas, particularly metropolitan cities, and despite efforts to improve urban infrastructure, urban areas are unable to cope with the migration resulting in the emergence of urban slums. With the crude birth rate per thousand of population at 23.7 in rural areas and 18 in urban areas, the problem of massive migration is likely to increase in the ensuing few years unless effective measures are taken to generate more activity in rural areas. Allowing the pace of rural-urban migration to continue or even accelerate would result in a breakdown of urban infrastructure. Given the political economy of India, prohibiting migration would unleash severe social explosion. Planners hope that agriculture will grow at 4 per cent per annum while overall growth will be 9 per cent; this implies an automatic reduction in the share of agriculture and allied activities in GDP which, in turn, will trigger massive migration to urban areas. Thus, a major plank of macroeconomic policy has to be to reverse, or at least slow down, the decline of the share of agriculture in GDP. A viable agricultural policy must be put in place in order to make growth sustainable. Some elements of such a policy are outlined below. **Become a Major Commodity Producer and Exporter** Despite industrialisation, economies such as USA, Russia, Australia and Brazil are generally major commodity producers. To be a major commodity producer, a country has to look beyond its own frontiers and become a major commodity exporter. In this context India's track record is miserable. Barring tea, where lndia has a large domestic market as also a large export base, the performance has been abysmally poor in all other commodities. **End Export Control Raj ** The freeing up of commodity exports is necessary to ensure fair treatment to producers of agricultural commodities. There is also a crying need to free agriculture from the shackles of subsidising urban consumption of agricultural commodities. If agricultural commodities fetch better prices abroad, it will only be equitable to freely allow exports of these commodities. The benefit will be that domestic sales to urban areas will then fetch higher returns for rural areas. The export control raj must be totally abandoned. lndia has, since 1990-91, consciously moved away from micro-managing the economy. Yet, commodity exports are punctuated with bouts of bans on exports alternating with massive gluts requiring sporadic exports. Exports are treated as a safety valve to reduce pressure points in the economy, lndia cannot become a significant commodity exporter if its policy is one of sporadic export whenever there are surpluses. Bans and prohibitions are meant to be used in very exceptional circumstances and not imposed routinely. There is an erroneous belief that an export ban is the answer to inflation and permitting exports is a panacea for falling prices. lndia has a long history of being a sugar exporter, but our share in global markets is small as we are an unpredictable supplier and hence we do not have a niche market. In cotton, it is hardly surprising that foreign importers are turning towards more reliable sources. It is stultifying that the cotton export policy is reviewed every fortnight. Again, in the case of onions the minimum export price is periodically scrapped and then reintroduced. For many years lndia has had a chronic shortage of rice but with the mountain of public sector foodgrains stocks, lndia has temporarily become the world's largest exporter of rice. Such flip-flop policies discourage producers from an enduring augmentation of supplies. There is need to restrict bans or prohibition of exports only to items injurious to health. There should be legislation to ensure that bans or prohibition on exports which are normally traded in international markets do not become the norm, and legislation should make routine bans and prohibitions subject to strict scrutiny. **Deal with the Foodgrain Mountain ** Ashok Gulati, Chairman of the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) in a seminal article in the Economic Times dated 10 May 2012 has candidly stated that by June 2012 public sector stocks of foodgrains would have exceeded 75 million tonnes but covered storage capacity is only around 50 million tonnes. Hence, there is need for urgent action to contain the colossal damage. Notwithstanding all possible measures, the government has to recognise that there will be a loss of at least 10 million tonnes of foodgrain by way of damaged stocks. Understandably, the authorities cannot acknowledge such an eventuality. The foodgrain mountain is not something that has suddenly emerged; it has been in the making for the past five years. It is both a success story as well as a failure. It is a success story in that there has been sustained growth in the marketable surplus of major foodgrains, but the failure is of not being able to evolve policies to bring about a better balance between commodities in excess supply and those reflecting shortages. In a sense, the authorities are trapped in a political-economic-social imbroglio. The incentives to increase marketable surplus of rice and wheat have created strong vested interests and any attempts to change the system will result in major upheaval. The system of fixing the procurement price based on costs of inputs has worked well in the past but now needs an overhaul. It would appear that it is too late now to take corrective action in the current financial year and the country needs to face up to a major loss as stocks turn into a waste heap. The least that should be done is to alter policies which will obviate repeated episodes of large losses. In the absence of a long-term sustainable policy, immediate measures are at best second best solutions, but are necessary for quick results: First, the carrying cost of foodgrains by way of storage costs, interest costs and damage through open storage could be so high that it might be better to export even at prices 20 to 25 per cent below the minimum support price. Export markets are not easy to come by and, as stated earlier, the government should totally eschew export bans or controls. Second, while free distribution of foodgrains creates a medium-term problem for the normal distribution of foodgrains under the Public Distribution System (PDS), given the immediate choice of free distribution of foodgrains to segments of the population which are starving or offering foodgrains to rats, the priorities are clear and the government will have to face up to the medium-term problem. Third, leap-frogging bonuses by state governments are not desirable but this is not a new phenomenon. In the 1980s, various facilities were withdrawn from state; which offered bonuses above the minimum support price. It may be necessary in the present context to take strong measures to discourage states from offering bonuses above the minimum support price. Fourth, incentives could be provided during periods of excessive public sector foodgrains stock by effective incentives being provided for keeping the land fallow or diverting to crops which are in short supply. Over the years, USA has used a system of "parity" between incentives for keeping land fallow and the price at which the government has bought commodities to augment stocks. **Promote Production of Commodities in Short Supply ** For the past sixty years we have been waxing eloquent about all that has been done to lift the disadvantaged out of dire poverty, yet the numbers give a different story. In a country like India, where major protein intake is by way of pulses, it is shameful that per capita daily net availability of pulses has fallen from 69 grams per day in 1961 to 31.6 grams in 2010. It is true that production in 2010-11 rose sharply to 18 million tonnes, but will predictably fall back to 14-15 million tonnes in the ensuing few years. Pulses are grown by marginal farmers in arid areas and as such any sustained increase in production is unlikely. Another area where there is chronic shortage is vegetable oils. Here again, there is a major deficiency of policy as India is chronically dependent on imports. The recent increases in the minimum support prices for pulses and oilseeds is a salutary measure. The shortage of these two commodities is so acute that serious consideration should be given to reducing foodgrain subsidy, by say 10 per cent, and diverting these resources to subsidise pulses and oilseeds. This will provide a strong stimulus to step up domestic production of these two commodities. **Selective Corporatisation of the Agricultural Sector ** Corporatisation of select agricultural commodities was seriously mooted as far back as 1974 when Hindustan Lever came up with a proposal of oil palm plantations in the Andaman Islands. Predictably, when the proposal was put before the Union Cabinet, it was peremptorily shot down as we could not countenance foreign companies entering the agricultural sector. Years later, in the 1980s, when India was expending foreign exchange to import large quantities of vegetable oils, the then Prime Minister lndira Gandhi said, "We did some funny things, didn't we?" Today's technology enables the desert to bloom and lndia needs to give serious thought to corporatising agriculture on presently uncultivated government land which could be leased out to corporates for producing pulses and oilseeds. The matter is of great urgency as the per capita consumption of the masses is coming down sharply. **Promote Allied Activities ** With limitations on returns to production of traditional foodgrains and long-established cash crops there is scope to promote livestock, fisheries, forestry, horticulture and floriculture. Rural poverty is less where farmers concentrate on livestock. Future agricultural growth will have to be necessarily water-centric and lack of accelerating agricultural growth is because of inadequate attention to watershed development.~ Developing activities allied to agriculture should hopefully raise per capita incomes in rural areas. And as rural infrastructure improves, there will be less of an incentive to move from rural areas to urban slums. India has great aspirations of becoming a leader in the comity of nations. But a prerequisite for this grand design will be to fix our woes. Unfortunately, the more we talk about an egalitarian and just society, the more callous we become when it comes to tackling the major problems facing the economy. We take great pride in the fact that almost two-thirds of our GDP is accounted for by services while agriculture accounts for only 15 per cent of GDP. With our obsessive focus on overall growth of the economy rising from the current 7 per cent to 9 per cent per annum, with visions of an eventual sustained growth of 10 per cent, we seem to be welcoming an inevitable shrinkage in the share of agriculture in overall GDP. But the economy will not be viable if the share of agriculture in overall GDP continues to fall while 70 per cent of the population lives in rural areas. There is no way urban areas can absorb massive migration from rural areas. Thus, the only option is to successfully implement a viable agriculture policy. If we are fixated on the view that industry and services will (and need to) grow more rapidly than agriculture, then we are resigning ourselves to accepting that abject poverty will never be alleviated. Such a scenario cannot but be disquieting. --- ## [Musing] A Viewpoint on Libertarian Society URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/a-viewpoint-on-libertarian-society/ ### Body _Libertarianism as an idea has often been misconstrued and labelled as a utopian thought not just by its critics but also at times by its own proponents. Produced below is a piece published in the May 1958 issue of the Indian Libertarian magazine where the author James Kielty deconstructs the vision of a libertarian society. ( Image : Art by Celeste Byers)_The tendency on the part of even libertarians to confuse libertarianism and utopianism is regrettable for libertarianism can only be conceived of as an acceptance of the problems of human existence, and willingness to share in these problems and to take responsible action without supposing that any action will provide more than a temporary solution.  Libertarianism, in other words, attempts to relate, at all times action to reality rather than imposing an institutional form upon ideas that can only at certain point and instance correspond to reality. Any one who is flippant enough, at this point, to ask what is reality, has missed the essential point. Reality has no verbal equivalent and this makes institutionalising process an idiotic one since verbal construction such as laws. mandates, and dogmas cannot correspond to something that is non-verbal and obviously highly unstable.  **Basis Of Libertarian Society ** If any one conceives of a libertarian society as being anything but a series of profound headaches, has been deceived. Libertarianism is not attractive because it will make life easier. Quite to the contrary,It is attractive because it would allow a whole society equal responsibility.  For the same reason, its achievements would be enormously difficult and its "Stability" (a word that probably should- never enter into the discussion ) at all times threatened. That again, however, is an essential point. There could never be a libertarian society without a general acceptance of responsibility and a general sharing of power. If a majority of society wished to shun responsibility and hand over power to a minority that wanted it, libertarianism would cease to exist as a social or quasi political system. **Limitations Of Democracy ** While a democratic society is a step on the road to libertarian society, its institutional and legal framework ensures its decay and corruption as each individual becomes increasingly a victim rather than partiCipant in the society's encumbrancing framework. At present "democracy" consists of a great number of organised groups exercising pressure for or against specific rather than universal aims.  A libertarian society would require a whole group that was essentially aimless. It would require a whole group that would have no truck with the concept of "hope", that would act on the basis of substituting for the intolerable the less intolerable rather than acting on the basis of "solving the problem" or "making things right." It would not be a society involved in the concept of a "better" world, thereby carrying with it always the immense burden of the "worse.'' Rather, it would move and catch from problem to problem allowing circumstances, spontaneous genius and the space of events that we call time to lift it over each hump and out of every depression. It would, in other words, act exactly as we do, but it would recognise that that was what it was doing. --- ## [Musing] Accountability in Public Service URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/accountability-in-public-service/ ### Body This is an excerpt by N. Vittal, a former Central Vigilance Commissioner, Govt. of India. He suggests that a lack of transparency and widespread corruption among other things have caused an accountability crisis, which can be resolved by encouraging competition and embedding accountability at the individual level instead of the organisational level. Accountability, as mentioned earlier, constitutes the soul of effectiveness and quality of public service. It means responsibility. In the ultimate analysis, it should and can be fixed and focused only on individual human beings. Fixing responsibility on organisations can be a manner of speaking. An organisation is, after all, an artificial person and an impersonal entity. Fixing it on organisations does not really make the practice of accountability meaningful. In any analysis in public service, we must never forget the fact that accountability is on the individuals. It is when we focus on the individual human element that we will be able to fix accountability and in case of failure rectify the system. In fact, if there is a single element that is responsible for the prevailing poor quality of governance in our country or the quality of services in any sector, we find invariably, it is the lack of sense of accountability. _This is an excerpt from the February 2011 issue of the ‘Forum for Free Enterprise’. Read the full document _[_here_](http://v2.indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=761492374.pdf)_._ Read more such articles: [https://spontaneousorder.in/bureaucracy-accountability/](https://spontaneousorder.in/bureaucracy-accountability/) --- ## [Musing] Food Prices and Libertarian Solution URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/agricultural-economy/ ### Body The right remedy is not to attempt any price-fixing at all but to remove the hindrances in the way of the smooth working of the agricultural economy and let free enterprise have a chance. The following is an excerpt from an article published in the Indian Libertarian Magazine by M A Venkata Rao in August 1957. His arguments for freedom for farmers remain as relevant today as they were then. _“Leaving these two types of arrangement as extremes or even as stages of future development inapplicable at the present stage of social affairs in India, we wish to suggest a third type of regulated economy which would set free the natural man and set him going on the road to free economy and help the present generation to unwind the coils in which it has bound itself under the glamour of communism (socialism) of the Marxist variety._ _As solutions of great generality are pointless and unfruitful unless they are shown in illuminating application to current problems, we propose here to indicate the libertarian way for the easing of the food problem in India in the current crisis._ _We shall begin by approving the present amendment to the Essential Commodities Act whereby the Government has taken power to requisition hoarded stocks at reasonable rates. The amendment has a duration of three months after which it will lapse. This js only a temporary administrative measure to induce hoarders to come into the market and not wait for further rises during the lean months before the harvest. But what after the next harvest? …_ _The right remedy is not to attempt any price-fixing at all but to remove the hindrances in the way of the smooth working of the agricultural economy and let free enterprise have a chance. What is obstructing fair prices is not free economy but partial monopoly on the part of hoarding merchants a few months before the harvest. They buy up stocks from the producers and hold them for rising prices above normal and fair levels. The actual growers have not the economic stamina to wait. Their consumption needs are too pressing and they sell their surplus for normal prices or for what they can get. Their bargaining power is low. Prices rise as soon as stocks move from the peasants’ haystacks to the mandi of wholesale merchants in the towns. Here is the bottleneck. If harvests are poor mandi merchants hold up sales and wait for higher prices. They borrow money against grain stocks and hold them for price rises. The Government has instructed the banks of the country through the Reserve bank not to be free with advances on grain. This together with the hoard acquisition amendment has been able to check profiteering. But this cannot be adopted as a permanent measure. The permanent remedy is to provide credit to the grower himself. If he can get advances on his harvested grains, he will not sell in a hurry and in distress to the middleman. He will sell at leisure and derive the profits of timeliness himself instead of surrendering it to the middleman.”_ Access the full document [here](http://v2.indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=1856980936.pdf). (page 6) First Published in the Indian Libertarian in August 1957. Other editions of the publication can be accessed at [Indian Liberals](http://indianliberals.in/), an open, multilingual digital archive committed to preserving liberal voices in the Indian public sphere. --- ## [Musing] Acharya N G Ranga: The Farmer’s Friend and Swatantra Party Stalwart URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/acharya-n-g-ranga-the-farmers-friend-and-swatantra-party-stalwart/ ### Body _Gogineni Ranga Nayakulu, also known as NG Ranga, was a distinguished politician and freedom fighter. He was a champion of Peasant rights and is considered the father of the peasant movement in India. In 1991, he was awarded with the Padma Vibhushan award. _ NG Ranga was born on November 7, 1990, in Nidabrolu Village of Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh. His parents, Nagaih and Atchamamba, were farmers. He completed his primary and secondary education in Nidabrolu. He matriculated and graduated from Andhra Christian College, Guntur.  In 1920, Ranga left for England and studied Economics and Political Science at Oxford University. He received a doctorate for his research on “The Economics of Handlooms” from the Oxford University. He completed his higher studies and returned to India by 1926. At Oxford, Ranga studied the works of influential political thinkers such as Bertrand Russel, HG Wells and JS Mill. He was attracted to socialist philosophy after witnessing the progress of the USSR. However, his belief in socialism was short-lived, as the Stalin regime’s oppression of peasants and the initiation of Soviet land reforms such as forced collectivisation led to Ranga’s departure from Marxist ideology.  Commenting on the forced collectivisation, Ranga remarked, _“Peasants were faced with the awful prospect of having to slave hard on their holdings and produce bumper crops, only to hand them over, at the preemptory behests of the Soviet armed proletariat, to the soviet authorities without any hope of receiving any of their most elementary necessaries.” _  Since NG Ranga belonged to a farming family, he understood the problems of farmers well. He was determined to contribute to eradicating these problems. It is also worth noting that during his schooling, NG Ranga began reading reformist literature. He was inspired by Kandukuri Veeresalingam, a social reformer and liberal thinker of his time.  Ranga said, _“The most important all-India leader who made the biggest impact on my mind and activity before I left for studies at Oxford in 1920 was Veeresalingam. His books lifted me out of my rural moorings and placed me in the ever-expanding stream of national feelings, thoughts and movements.” _ After returning to India, Ranga worked at Pachayappa College in Madras as an Economics lecturer. Soon after, he was duly appointed by the Justice party as ‘Adviser of the Madras state government on economic affairs’.  In 1930, Ranga’s career took a political turn. He resigned as a lecturer and state advisor. He joined the Indian National Congress the same year and became part of the Indian freedom movement. Ranga looked up to the charismatic personality of Gandhi. He wrote a book titled “Bapu Blesses”, in which he wrote about his discussions with Gandhi on various topics.   Rajagopalachari wrote the introduction in Bapu blesses, _“Whether we follow Mahatma Gandhi’s advice on various matters or not, it is an undeniable fact that our people in India consider him the wisest of men our country produced. NG. Ranga is one of our exceptional men, whose whole concern is the happiness of our people and not one’s own advantage”_. NG Ranga  had a progressive vision of educating the peasant population. He believed that peasants would understand the government policies affecting them through education. In 1934, Ranga launched the Indian Peasant Institute in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. He insisted on using orthodox Telugu knowledge-sharing methods. These included using Burrakatha(oral storytelling), Veera Katha(storytelling on brave acts/people) and Mono acting.  In 1954, following his defeat as the President of the Congress party of Andhra Pradesh, Ranga resigned from the party. On his resignation, he wrote, _“I have differed violently from Jawaharlal over the fate of self-employed masses of India and parted political company with him.” _ By the mid-1950s, a growing sense of discontent was prevalent in the country regarding the ruling Congress party. Nehru’s socialist orientation led to enacting policies encompassing central planning, land redistribution and state control over key industries.  C Rajagopalachari, also known as Rajaji, founded the Swatantra party in 1959. The Swatantra party was founded on the principles of classical liberalism and economic freedom. Rajaji invited NG Ranga to take up the position of President of Swatantra party. Ranga joined the Swatantra party and served as the President for a decade. From 1959 to 1969, under the leadership of Rajaji and NG Ranga, the Swatantra party rose to a position to challenge the Congress government. With the support of traders, businessmen and industrialists, the party tasted electoral success in the 1962 elections by securing 25 Lok Sabha seats and 207 State assembly seats.  Ranga vehemently criticised the Congress Party over the 17th Constitutional Amendment, which allowed the state governments to acquire lands of farmers without paying due compensation. Ranga advocated for minimal state intervention and liberty to hold private property. Due to the continuous efforts by Ranga and other party leaders like Minoo Masani, Rajaji and Dayabhai Patel, the party became the single-largest opposition in Lok Sabha by winning 44 seats in the 1967 elections.  However, by 1969, the political landscape of India witnessed several changes. The Congress underwent a split into two factions led by Indira Gandhi and K Kamraj. Minoo Masani opposed the proposal of a joint alliance between the Kamraj faction and the Swatantra party. NG Ranga and Minoo Masani were not on the same page on several issues. In fact, NG Ranga wrote that the party members had grown impatient over Masani. In his book Distinguished Acquaintances, Ranga wrote, _“Though he was admired, he did not succeed in winning the affection and willing confidence of the majority within our growing -though small- parliamentary group. .. Once he became the President of the party, as a whole, his irrepressible love of exercising his powers and his inability to await the development of consensus came to force”._  NG Ranga returned to the Congress party following Swatantra party’s defeat in the 1971 elections. He continued to serve in the Parliament from 1977 to 1991. Throughout his political career, Ranga stood for peasants, the right to property and economic freedom. In his memory and honour, the Agricultural University of Andhra Pradesh is named Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University.  References Bapu blesses, by N. G. Ranga, 1969, The Indian Peasant Institute publication Distinguished Acquaintances, Volume 1&II, by N. G. Ranga. Desi Book Distributors, 1976. [https://amritmahotsav.nic.in/district-reopsitory-detail.htm?12998](https://amritmahotsav.nic.in/district-reopsitory-detail.htm?12998) [https://indianliberals.in/periodicals/swatantra-party/](https://indianliberals.in/periodicals/swatantra-party/) [https://www.constitutionofindia.net/members/n-g-ranga-rao/](https://www.constitutionofindia.net/members/n-g-ranga-rao/) [https://www.peepultree.world/livehistoryindia/story/eras/c-rajagopalachari](https://www.peepultree.world/livehistoryindia/story/eras/c-rajagopalachari) [N G Ranga: Swatantra's Peasant Leader - Spontaneous Order](https://spontaneousorder.in/n-g-ranga/) [N.G Ranga and the Peasant Movement | INDIAN CULTURE](https://indianculture.gov.in/node/2822394)   _Previous musing: [TANGUTURI PRAKASAM PANTHULU: A VISIONARY LEADER AND PIONEER OF PRESS FREEDOM](https://indianliberals.in/content/tanguturi-prakasam-panthulu-a-visionary-leader-and-pioneer-of-press-freedom/)_ [](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/IMG_20220724_121630_copy-removebg-preview.png) **Ch Prashanth** Prashanth is pursuing his Master's in International Relations and Politics at the Central University of Kerala. He likes to spend his weekdays at the library or gym. His weekends are spent in front of the television watching the Premier League. --- ## [Musing] Agricultural Policy of Swatantra Party URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/agricultural-policy-of-swatantra-party/ ### Body With regard to agriculture as with regard to industrial and other aspects of the economy, libertarian literature has a great contribution to make to the clarification of issues and the defence of liberty. _The following article, written by “Democrat”, first appeared in February 1960 issue of the Indian Libertarian, an independent journal of economic and public affairs. The article highlights the position of the Swatantra Party on the so-called ‘reforms’ in the agriculture sector. The author forewarns us about the dangers of state intervention led by the Congress party after the Nagpur session, which has deprived farmers of their dignity and has made them dependent on the state for their livelihood._ The declared agricultural policy of the Congress and Government after the Nagpur session last year has been the major and decisive provocation for the formation of the Swatantra Party under the aegis of Sri C. Rajagopalachari and the initiative of the All India Agriculturists’ Federation. The case against official policy in its twin strands of ceilings on land holdings at low levels and of cooperative farming (with pooled joint holdings) has been presented by the leaders of the Federation and others like Mr MR Masani and Congress Ministers like Sri Charan Singh of the U.P. (who has had to resign office on account of his bold opposition in Nagpur). Leading newspapers like The Hindu and The Times of India arid journals of opinion like Swarajya, Mysindia and Indian Libertarian have published the results of expert studies on the subject tending to show the dismal failure of “hasty land reforms” with ceilings and cooperative farming both in the free world and in communist countries. The President of the All India Agriculturalists’ Federation has been demanding but a free, unprejudiced examination of the whole subject by experts like experienced Directors of Agriculture and others with special qualifications on farming. He has been demanding a committee of experts to go into the subject de novo and assuring the Government that his federation would abide by the verdict of experts arrived at free from mental reservations and surrender to dogmatic isms like socialism and communism. But the Government have systematically evaded this fair demand. The Congress under the lead of Mr Nehru has contented itself with the statement that the subject was decided long ago by Congress resolutions from the days of the Karachi session. At Nagpur, a report of the Committee of Ministers and other high-tips appointed at Hyderabad AICC meeting was accepted, which only endorsed the decision already arrived at without any re-study of the facts de novo. Moreover, it was a committee of Congress politicians and far removed from the kind of expert body demanded by the Federation. To use the popular phrase, its work was but an eye-wash to put up a facade of re-study without doing so in any acceptable sense. The Swatantra Party has expressed its resolute up position to the twin aspects of farming policy now being pushed into effect by Congress and Government obstinately despite the warnings of men of experience and special knowledge. It has expressed its stand in its manifesto of principles as passed in August 1959 in its Bombay convention. The present Bangalore session of the Congress is expected to reiterate the Nagpur stand despite doubts and anxieties expressed on all sides. First of all, it is made clear beyond doubt and prevarication that in agriculture the paramount need is for increasing production. But the Party believes that it is best attained through the continuance of the self-employed peasant-proprietor who stands for initiative and freedom and is interested in obtaining the highest yields from the land. This is a divergence in principle. The Government policy contemplates the eventual disappearance of the independent individual farmer working on his own and helped by the members of his family. Rajaji has given the slogan therefore-for Farm and Family. President Eisenhower too in his talk at the Agricultural Fair in Delhi spoke of food, freedom, family and friendship. This stand has more than economic significance. It has an overtone of democracy and human value setting the individual in his natural context of family and neighbourhood working on tasks within his reach and deriving the value of his own work directly without dependence on others in any demeaning way, as would be the case under dictatorship. Increasing production only necessitates a more efficient supply of aid by way of credit, marketing facilities, implements and technical advice to the farmer. The programme of the Swatantra Party insists on more intensive attention by Governmental agencies and cooperative institutions to the provision of these aids to the farmer. It holds that joint cooperative farms need not be insisted upon as the rule in agriculture. Individual holdings may continue-and ought to continue. The remedy is not abolition but assistance for progress. Service cooperatives are different since they do not imply the disappearance of individual holdings and their pooling into joint farms operated by managers reducing farmers to the condition of wage labourers. This connotes a diminution of personal status to the farmer, which he will never accept. Nowhere in the world has he voluntarily accepted it. The Swatantra Party goes further and expresses disapproval of the idea of abolition of the landowner class that gets its hard work on the land done through tenants. By accepting the slogan of “land to the tiller,” Congress accepts without adequate examination the policy of abolishing the class of owners who let out land and supervise its cultivation by tenant farmers. This is supposed to be exploitation and not partnership. The first step in realising this goal of cultivation only by small owners and the abolition of mediators between them and the Government or public is taken in the Government proposals by the imposition of low ceilings and the transfer of surplus lands to tillers and tenants with insufficient holdings, i.e. below basic or family holdings. This provision is a dear adoption of communist doctrine, for it involves liquidation of property rights, the robbery of Peter to pay Paul. Farcical compensation may be paid but that does not deprive the transaction of its expropriatory character. Such expropriation will inevitably raise the demand for similar robbery to benefit other classes in other kinds of property-houses, industrial units, transport units etc. Such execution of the practice cannot be resisted for long. So this will function as the thin end of the wedge for the rapid transformation of free society into a communist society and state. The Swatantra Party, therefore, asks that the programmes for improvement of agriculture and enhancement of production standards should not disturb the harmony of rural life among the elements that compose it. This phrase is purposely vague but the time has come when it should be clarified. The elements that compose rural life are landowners, tenants, labourers and cultivators’ families. The attempt to impose ceilings hits the landlord and creates a clash of interest between him and the tenant and the landless labourer and cultivator. The Swatantra Party should now expand its policy statement into a dear and comprehensive picture of the agricultural system that it favours in the countryside. It should take a definite stand against ceilings on principle. The Federation has brought to light a good deal of essential data for judgment. It has shown that ceilings on holdings are entirely uncalled for since adequate areas of uncultivated fallow land are available in different parts of the country. The Swatantra Party should restate this fact supported by reliable statistics covering every State in the country. The Revenue Minister in Mysore State Mr Kadidal Manjappa recently said that Government were prepared to offer 15 lakhs of acres of Government land to Harijans and others willing to cultivate them! One thousand acres had been offered to Harijans a few years ago but they had not been taken up at all! Moreover, the extent of land expected to be released by the imposition of ceilings at 30 standard acres is only 2 lakhs of acres. Why, if only two lakhs are to be got by liquidation of surplus land held by landowners when 15 lakhs are available with Government, the expropriatory policy should be insisted on is beyond comprehension. The Swatantra Party stands for individual freedom and accepts limitations to it only in cases of proved anti-social behaviour. It has to review the case for and against landowners having their lands cultivated through tenants. In what way is it antisocial to supervise landed property and obtain a legitimate harvest through investment? It provides work for the landless tenants who are free to save money and purchase lands for themselves. The Government, land mortgage banks and cooperative credit societies may also help the tenant to purchase lands by giving him long term loans. The State may assist the credit institutions by means of low-interest loans as was done in West European countries like Denmark, Holland and Germany. The intermediary landowner might not have taken interest in former times but today under the inspiration of national independence and progressive agricultural departments, he will certainly respond to the duties and possibilities of his vocation. He should be given a chance before adopting policies aiming at his removal from the social system of agriculture. To give help to agriculture, it is not necessary to remove the landowner! The State can deal with the tenant, leaving tenant and owner to settle relations between them themselves on a voluntary basis. Intermediaries come into existence in response to human needs and circumstances. Owners may have to travel to cities and accept jobs far from their lands owing to insufficiency of income. But they could make arrangements for supervision and efficient cultivation. In England, owners are penalised only if they leave their lands uncultivated or inefficiently cultivated. They are not liquidated. Nor are ceilings imposed. The Swatantra Party refers to joint cooperative farming by the term multiple ownership and points out that it is certain to sap the incentive of the farmer, to reduce farm output and end in a collective economy and bureaucratic management. The leaders of the Swatantra Party had thought of confining their published manifesto only to general principles leaving details of policy to be forged after attaining power. But the general public does demand that they should offer an alternative policy in sufficient detail if they are to support it intelligently with their eyes open. It is necessary therefore for the Party to offer a constructive alternative to ceilings and joint farming, assuring greater production and freedom for the farmer and his family as citizens of a democratic society. The direction announced by the party is sound but the overall picture should be developed in sufficient detail as a part of free economy and free society. With regard to agriculture as with regard to industrial and other aspects of the economy, libertarian literature has a great contribution to make to the clarification of issues and the defence of liberty. Even in America, there is a movement to resist the encroachments of State intervention in economic affairs, of which The Foundation for Economic Education is perhaps the leading example. In the journal that it publishes named The Freeman can be found plenty of material gathered by its numerous staff as well as summaries of positions taken by freedom-loving economists and statesmen, showing conclusively the evils of State intervention and the curtailment of free economy. America has now a special problem as to how to withdraw from the policy of State assistance to agriculture particularly in the production of Food Grains. During the war, the State gave special subsidies for the production of food grains. But the result was such an abundance that the State had to step in to protect the price level and to buy up the whole production at upset prices! The policy of State support to food grains has now become a huge white elephant and American farmers are paid fantastic sums to refrain from producing above a limit. American economy in agriculture can produce enough to supply the whole world with food! So we hear of wheat being fed to pigs in America. Political pressure and fear of loss of votes prevents politicians of both parties, Republican and Democratic, from removing the price support laws, showing how difficult it is for the State to withdraw its intervention once it gets entrenched in any sphere of the economy! This libertarian literature has its counter-part in India as well. This journal publishes an economic supplement from time to time as well as articles specially devoted to the value of free economy and the dangers of State intervention to the country, dangers both economic by way of inflation and the wage-price spiral and political by way of damaging the independence and self-reliance of the citizens so essential for democracy. If the citizen becomes helplessly dependent on the State for livelihood and conditions of economic well-being, his capacity to think and vole straight fearlessly will suffer. The original document can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-feb1-1960.pdf). _[IndianLiberals.in](http://indianliberals.in/) is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ --- ## [Musing] A Dialogue Between Socrates And Lenin URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/all-quiet-on-the-western-front-1930-2/ ### Body The Communist doctrine crucially ignores the way incentives shape human behaviour and the role of the agency. Moreover, the Communist deployment of state coercion as a tool to create a Just Society translates into an Orwellian caricature of some animals being more equal than others. _The Communist doctrine of ‘from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs’ seemingly presents a rosy vision of justice and equality. However, it crucially ignores the way incentives shape human behaviour and the role of the agency. Moreover, the Communist deployment of state coercion as a tool to create a Just Society translates into an Orwellian caricature of some animals being more equal than others._ _In the July 1969 issue of the _Freedom First_ magazine, Feroza Seervai, discussed the vexed issue in an interesting manner. She put Lenin in a Socratic dialogue with – who else but – Socrates. In a fictional setting, she would expose the fallacy in the Leninist vision of a Just Society built by state coercion._ _Produced below is an excerpt from the article._ Since Socrates was a pagan and Lenin an atheist, neither of them went to Heaven. But on the 21st of January 1921, the soul of Lenin newly arrived from Earth, met the soul of Socrates somewhere in. . . . and they talked upon matters of importance. **Socrates**: I am overjoyed, Lenin, to meet you. Hundreds of years ago I expounded the idea of the perfect republic and now, I understand you have established a Communist State. Have you based it on my ideal republic? **Lenin:** What a joke! Comrade Socrates, what a joke! But an intellectual like you is capable of any nonsense. I realize your bourgeois ideology! I, who have fought and won against the capitalists-scoundrels! I, who have brought equality to all men!! I, who have established a classless society!!! Not I, comrade. In my state I have established justice. In your bourgeois ideology there is no freedom, but serfdom. How can you know Justice, with your bourgeois mentality! **Socrates:** Lenin, you strike terror in me indeed, when you speak so vehemently. Pray, be gentle with me, and a little patient; for I would fain know from you, in what does Justice consist? **Lenin:** As my master Marx taught, there is but one evil: the exploitation of man by man. There is one way to put an end to it: by abolishing all private property, by establishing the rule of the proletariat. This is the way to bring true equality among all men- this is Justice. **Socrates:** I fear Lenin, I am not qualified to understand you. I have been long away from Earth. You have called me bourgeois; you speak of the capitalist and the proletariat; you address me as comrade. These terms are new to me and I must request you to speak to me in simple words. _The full text can be accessed _[_here_](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/206.pdf)_._ _[IndianLiberals.in](http://indianliberals.in/) is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ Read more: [Who is Getting Their Hands Dirty – Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016](https://spontaneousorder.in/who-is-getting-their-hands-dirty-solid-waste-management-rules-2016/) --- ## [Musing] All Quiet on the Western Front URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/all-quiet-on-the-western-front-1930/ ### Body [All Quiet on the Western Front](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_quiet_on_the_western_front) is a 1930 epic war film that narrates the tale of World War I as viewed from the eyes of German soldiers. The horrors of war have been beautifully captured and give a heart-rending account of the war and the lives destroyed by it, even when one is lucky enough to survive the bullets. The essence of the film is best captured by the first title card of the film… _“This story is neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped its shells, were destroyed by the war…”_ In the beginning of the film, the protagonist of the film Paul Baumer (played by Lew Ayres) and his friends are seen as a bunch of student who gets aroused by the lecture of their jingoistic school teacher and enlists in the Army to “save the fatherland” riding high on the patriotic wave and totally unaware of the horrors that are in store for them. Once on the battlefield, the rosy picture of war as painted by the teacher and all the tales of patriotic duty and bravery begins to fade as they try to survive bombs and bullets flying by and see their friends wounded, paralyzed and dead. The horrors and realities of war force them to question the wisdom behind such a ghastly act. The following conversation between the surviving soldiers soon after the first round of battle displays the naiveté of the soldiers who fight the war for their political masters, for reasons they are totally oblivious and unsure of. **_Albert Kropp_**_: Ah, the French certainly deserve to be punished for starting this war. _**_Detering_**_: Everybody says it’s somebody else. _**_Tjaden_**_: Well. how do they start a war? _**_Albert Kropp_**_: Well, one country offends another. _**_Tjaden_**_: How could one country offend another? _**_Tjaden_**_: You mean there’s a mountain over in Germany gets mad at a field over in France? [Everyone laughs] _**_Albert Kropp_**_: Well, stupid, one people offends another. _**_Tjaden_**_: Oh, well, if that’s it, I shouldn’t be here at all. I don’t feel offended. _**_Katczinsky_**_: It don’t apply to tramps like you. _**_Tjaden_**_: Good. Then I could be goin’ home right away. _**_Paul Bäumer_**_: Ah, you just try it. _**_Katczinsky_**_: Yeah. You wanna get shot? _**_Tjaden_**_: The kaiser and me… [the others laugh] _**_Tjaden_**_: Me and the kaiser felt just alike about this war. We didn’t either of us want any war, so I’m going home. He’s there already. _**_Hair-peak soldier_**_: Somebody must have wanted it. Maybe it was the English. No, I don’t want to shoot any Englishman. I never saw one ’til I came up here. And I suppose most of them never saw a German ’til *they* came up here. No, I’m sure *they* weren’t asked about it. _**_Paul Bäumer_**_: No. _**_Detering_**_: Well, it must be doing somebody some good. _**_Detering_**_: Not me and the kaiser. _**_Hair-peak soldier_**_: I think maybe the kaiser wanted a war. _**_Tjaden_**_: You leave us out of this! _**_Katczinsky_**_: I don’t see that. The kaiser’s *got* everything he needs. _**_Hair-peak soldier_**_: Well, he never had a war before. Every full-grown emperor needs one war to make him famous. Why, that’s history. _**_Paul Bäumer_**_: Yeah, generals, too. They need war._ **_Hair-peak soldier_**_: And manufacturers. They get rich. [murmurs of agreement] _**_Albert Kropp_**_: I think it’s more a kind of fever. Nobody wants it in particular, and then all at once, there it is. We didn’t want it. The English didn’t want it. And here we are fighting._ Later in the conversation, one of the central characters of the film, Katczinsky (Louis Wolheim), comes up with an innovative idea to substitute war over any conflict or disagreement. **_Katczinsky_**_: I’ll tell you how it should all be done. [spits] _**_Katczinsky_**_: Whenever there’s a big war comin’ on, you should rope off a big field… _**_Cigar-smoking soldier_**_: And sell tickets. _**_Katczinsky_**_: Yeah. And – [glares at interrupter] _**_Katczinsky_**_: And on the big day, you should take all the kings and their cabinets and their generals, put ’em in the center dressed in their underpants, and let ’em fight it out with clubs. The best country wins. [everybody murmurs in agreement]_ Towards the end of the film, Paul takes a trip to his hometown on a furlough where he finds the stark contrast between what the people of his town thinks of the war and the realities that he has witnessed and experienced at the battlefront. The people here are being foolishly patriotic and ignorant of the realities that they have never seen or experienced. On his visit to his old school, he sees his teacher giving the same old speech to a new batch of students and asking them to enlist to serve their Fatherland. Disgusted by it all, he returns to the battlefront even before his leave is over. He finds that most of his company men are dead and have been replaced by young kids fresh out of school just to fill the ranks, who haven’t even received proper training. The film is a double Academy Award winner for Best Picture and Best Director. It was the first talkie war film to win Oscars. All Quiet on the Western Front has been acknowledged as the seventh best film in the epic genre of all time by the [American Film Institute](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Film_Institute)(AFI) in its 2008 list. This movie is highly recommended for its anti-war theme and success in highlighting the tragedies of war as seen through the eyes of individuals. --- ## [Musing] Ambedkar's Annihilation of Caste URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/ambedkar-annihilation-of-caste/ ### Body Following is an excerpt by B.R. Ambedkar's undelivered speech, written in 1936, _Annihilation of Caste. _In this excerpt, Ambedkar outlines how caste destroys individual liberties and societal growth. He goes on to explain how liberty, equality, and fraternity are crucial for freeing Indians from the shackles of the Caste System.The assertion by the individual of his own opinions and beliefs, his own independence and interest — as over against group standards, group authority, and group interests—is the beginning of all reform. But whether the reform will continue depends upon what scope the group affords for such individual assertion. If the group is tolerant and fair-minded in dealing with such individuals, they will continue to assert, and in the end will succeed in converting their fellows. On the other hand, if the group is intolerant, and does not bother about the means it adopts to stifle such individuals, they will perish and the reform will die out. Now a caste has an unquestioned right to excommunicate any man who is guilty of breaking the rules of the caste; and when it is realized that excommunication involves a complete cesser of social intercourse, it will be agreed that as a form of punishment there is really little to choose between excommunication and death. No wonder individual Hindus have not had the courage to assert their independence by breaking the barriers of Caste. It is true that man cannot get on with his fellows. But it is also true that he cannot do without them. He would like to have the society of his fellows on his terms. If he cannot get it on his terms, then he will be ready to have it on any terms, even amounting to complete surrender. This is because he cannot do without society. A caste is ever ready to take advantage of the helplessness of a man, and to insist upon complete conformity to its code in letter and in spirit. A caste can easily organize itself into a conspiracy to make the life of a reformer a hell; and if a conspiracy is a crime, I do not understand why such a nefarious act as an attempt to excommunicate a person for daring to act contrary to the rules of caste should not be made an offence punishable in law. But as it is, even law gives each caste an autonomy to regulate its membership and punish dissenters with excommunication. Caste in the hands of the orthodox has been a powerful weapon for persecuting the reformers and for killing all reform. The effect of caste on the ethics of the Hindus is simply deplorable. Caste has killed public spirit. Caste has destroyed the sense of public charity. Caste has made public opinion impossible. A Hindu's public is his caste. His responsibility is only to his caste. His loyalty is restricted only to his caste. Virtue has become caste-ridden, and morality has become caste-bound. There is no sympathy for the deserving. There is no appreciation of the meritorious. There is no charity to the needy. Suffering as such calls for no response. There is charity, but it begins with the caste and ends with the caste. There is sympathy, but not for men of other castes. Would a Hindu acknowledge and follow the leadership of a great and good man? The case of a Mahatma apart, the answer must be that he will follow a leader if he is a man of his caste. A Brahmin will follow a leader only if he is a Brahmin, a Kayastha if he is a Kayastha, and so on. The capacity to appreciate merits in a man, apart from his caste, does not exist in a Hindu. There is appreciation of virtue, but only when the man is a fellow caste-man. The whole morality is as bad as tribal morality. My caste-man, right or wrong; my caste-man, good or bad. It is not a case of standing by virtue or not standing by vice. It is a case of standing by, or not standing by, the caste. Have not Hindus committed treason against their country in the interests of their caste? I would not be surprized if some of you have grown weary listening to this tiresome tale of the sad effects which caste has produced. There is nothing new in it. I will therefore turn to the constructive side of the problem. What is your ideal society if you do not want caste, is a question that is bound to be asked of you. If you ask me, my ideal would be a society based on Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. And why not? What objection can there be to Fraternity? I cannot imagine any. An ideal society should be mobile, should be full of channels for conveying a change taking place in one part to other parts. In an ideal society there should be many interests consciously communicated and shared. There should be varied and free points of contact with other modes of association. In other words there must be social endosmosis. This is fraternity, which is only another name for democracy. Democracy is not merely a form of government. It is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience. It is essentially an attitude of respect and reverence towards one's fellow men. Any objection to Liberty? Few object to liberty in the sense of a right to free movement, in the sense of a right to life and limb. There is no objection to liberty in the sense of a right to property, tools, and materials, as being necessary for earning a living, to keep the body in a  due state of health. Why not allow a person the liberty to benefit from an effective and competent use of a person's powers? The supporters of Caste who would allow liberty in the sense of a right to life, limb, and property, would not readily consent to liberty in this sense, inasmuch as it involves liberty to choose one's profession. But to object to this kind of liberty is to perpetuate slavery. For slavery does not merely mean a legalized form of subjection. It means a state of society in which some men are forced to accept from others the purposes which control their conduct. This condition obtains even where there is no slavery in the legal sense. It is found where, as in the Caste System, some persons are compelled to carry on certain prescribed callings which are not of their choice. Any objection to equality? This has obviously been the most contentious part of the slogan of the French Revolution. The objections to equality may be sound, and one may have to admit that all men are not equal. But what of that? Equality may be a fiction, but nonetheless one must accept it as the governing principle. A man's power is dependent upon (1) physical heredity; (2) social inheritance or endowment in the form of parental care, education, accumulation of scientific knowledge, everything which enables him to be more efficient than the savage; and finally, (3) on his own efforts. In all these three respects men are undoubtedly unequal. But the question is, shall we treat them as unequal because they are unequal? This is a question which the opponents of equality must answer. From the standpoint of the individualist, it may be just to treat men unequally so far as their efforts are unequal. It may be desirable to give as much incentive as possible to the full development of everyone's powers. But what would happen if men were treated as unequally as they are unequal in the first two respects? It is obvious that those individuals also in whose favour there is birth, education, family name, business connections, and inherited wealth, would be selected in the race. But selection under such circumstances would not be a selection of the able. It would be the selection of the privileged. The reason, therefore, which requires that in the third respect we should treat men unequally, demands that in the first two respects we should treat men as equally as possible. On the other hand, it can be urged that if it is good for the social body to get the most out of its members, it can get the most out of them only by making them equal as far as possible at the very start of the race. That is one reason why we cannot escape equality. But there is another reason why we must accept equality. A statesman is concerned with vast numbers of people. He has neither the time nor the knowledge to draw fine distinctions and to treat each one equitably, i.e. according to need or according to capacity. However desirable or reasonable an equitable treatment of men may be, humanity is not capable of assortment and classification. The statesman, therefore, must follow some rough and ready rule, and that rough and ready rule is to treat all men alike, not because they are alike but because classification and assortment is impossible. The doctrine of equality is glaringly fallacious but, taking all in all, it is the only way a statesman can proceed in politics—which is a severely practical affair and which demands a severely practical test._Previous musing: [THE MISSION OF LIBERTARIANISM](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-mission-of-libertarianism/)_ --- ## [Musing] THE APPLICATION OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/application-of-science-and-technology/ ### Body The following booklet was published by the [Forum of Free Enterprise](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-application-of-science-and-technology-to-socio-economic-development-by-professor-m-s-thacker-15-november-1971/) in 1971. Authored by Professor M.S. Thacker, the text was originally delivered as a speech at the 6th A.D. Shroff Memorial Lecture. Thacker discusses the increasing significance of science and technology and their practical applications, contributions to the economy, and drawbacks.I  begin by repeating a part of my Presidential address to the United Nation's Conference, which met at Geneva in. 1963 with nearly two thousand delegates and over ninety countries represented, on Application of Science and Technology for the benefit of the Developing Areas of the World.  "Perhaps the most important of these various revolutions: will prove to have been due to the upsurge of science and technology. In the last century, science was essentially the concern of a few private individuals and institutions. It has emerged as the most important element of national development and economic uplift. And need I mention the widespread and almost ubiquitous influence of technology in all fields of human endeavour, whether public or private. Advances in nuclear science inspire hopes that mankind may have at his command before very long, historically speaking, vast and cheap sources of energy. Radio astronomers and optical astronomers have extended estimates of the age of our galaxy and are striking farther and farther out into the boundaries of the universe. Man has encompassed his world with artificial satellites and has made challenges of reaching the inviolate moon. The arts of agriculture and medicine are vastly improved and the same can be said for almost every field of human endeavour. We have much deeper understanding of the biological processes. The sciences dealing with the earth and its environment are in an equally lively state. The air, the earth, the oceans and the sun contain riches which can support increases in population at higher and higher standards of living." What I  said was eight years ago. The frontiers of science and technology are widening and deepening every day and at such a rate that we are constantly under pressure to alter our perspective, to come to terms with the newly discovered truths. There was a time when people could afford to ignore the results of science or scorn at them or even be brutally opposed to the scientific truth as at the time of Galileo. However, the temper is different today since science and technology are so intimately tied with our daily life. They have become the essence of economic behaviour and we almost, as it were, take for granted conditions created by the technological change. Newer products of research are affecting national economy, the national security is becoming more and more dependent upon technology, books and even day-to-day newspapers are preoccupied with the increasing power of technology; and even art and architecture are being drawn into its vortex. These changes have imperceptibly become a part of our life and we have, unconsciously, if not consciously, learnt to live with them. Compartmentalization of science, which was so in earlier years, is becoming obsolete in the present era of rapid change. Let me illustrate. A branch of nuclear physics now is also a part of astronautics and astronomy. Optics theory, so typically a  physics subject, in the earlier days, has with the invention of lasers, become a  branch of communication engineering. Magnetic resonance today is  a  branch of biology. Fourier transforms, a stable technique which the engineers used, is presently being used in economics to discover important trade cycles and to develop more logically consistent and empirically well founded economic planning models.  The esoteric research, which used to be the brunt of jokes and mirth - a topic such as "mating habits of the Papuan insects"- has led to a  major scientific breakthrough in pest-control and agricultural crop care. The "moon-walk” training that U.S. astronauts underwent prior to stepping on the moon has yielded rich data and technological breakthroughs in the treatment of paralysis, polio and disabled persons. The application of new radar techniques, to distinguish real H-bomb missile warheads from fake decoys, has opened up a  new vista in brain surgery. Boolean algebra, considered once "useless intellectual gymnastics", has laid the foundation for computer sciences. A recent article quotes: "Out of the growing wealth of space technology, ever-expanding lists of practical applications are coming. Already, instruments in space are greatly enhancing weather forecasting and global communications, especially television. The use of the latter was strikingly demonstrated when. In 1969, millions around the world saw the astronauts walk on the moon. In the future, techniques will be improved and new applications developed that will include worldwide navigation aids, air traffic control, detection and measurement of Earth's resources, as well as the mapping and measurement of air and water pollution. The very act of reaching into space can help man to improve the quality of life on Earth. Thus science and, in its application, technology have in the recent years acquired new horizons, broken old compartments and barriers and have reached the unforeseen possibilities. "In the United States of America, science and technology and economy together over the last quarter century have had the longest period of sustained growth, innovation and the new industry in the recent history. These may not have brought on the millennium. Science's very success, one might say, has added some age-old problems and created new ones, has measurably widened options and potentials of human life on earth, but one cannot deny the pinnacle of this period when man stepped on the moon, a feat that will rank in history among the few clear, large and positive achievements of the 'last decade'." The "moon-feat" was perceived as a technological feat. It may be so but science was behind it. Technology represents the practical embodiment and apparent manifestation of science. The Third Law of Newton which states that action and reaction are opposite and equal is obviously science. But the rocket that sped the astronauts to the moon was technology. the practical embodiment of Newton's Third Law or its manifestation in rocket thrust. Hence technology and science are interrelated and mutually causative. The relationship in the age of empiricism was confounded. But, in the modern era, it is clear, explicit and bi-directional.  Historically, it was in the 16th century that the beginnings of what we now have become familiar with - the application of science to technology - are to be sought when a committee of mathematicians were entrusted with the task of suggesting repairs to the Basilica of St. Paul in Rome and that incident may also be said to mark the beginning of engineering in the modern sense of the word - until then architecture was an art unrelated to the science of mechanics and was based on practical experience handed down from the earliest times. The next incident of major importance was the application, again of mathematics and astronomy, to navigation with the heralding of the age of discovery. Similarly, there were several others which brought science and the useful arts together without, however, allowing for the birth and growth of science-based technologies. In fact, right down to the discovery by Faraday of the principles of electromagnetic induction and the birth of electrical engineering there continued to be a yawning gulf between science and technology and even the word "science" did not find a place in everyday vocabulary. The universities were tied down to metaphysics and science to them was just another branch of philosophy. It is not surprising, therefore, that until the crafts had given birth to the sciences - chemistry from the textile industry that was looking for an effective bleaching agent and physics from the needs of having to sail across the open seas - technology had to depend upon the crafts instead of the sciences for its progress. Till the end of the nineteenth century, the connection between science and technology was itself very loose and tenuous. The periods when science flourished did not coincide with those when technology was moving ahead most rapidly. When they did flourish together, it was not necessarily in the same place. On balance, till mid-nineteenth century, science was far more indebted to technology than technology to science. Science and technology started moving closer as the experience with the Industrial Revolution grew and science began to take the lead in some areas. The commercial interests, as this relationship between science and technology grew, realized that research, science and science-based technology, were essential for revolution. The outcome of this realization was the emergence of industrial laboratories, especially in the West. These commercial industrial laboratories continued to be the main agency through which scientific and technological knowledge was processed for economic exploitation. But if an idea had no apparent or explicit commercial application, it was not taken up for investigation. If a scientific study discovered some major break-through, it was not shared with others and hence its potentiality to do any social good remained dormant. Such research laboratories neither interested themselves in basic research nor did they consider it worthwhile to finance it. Basic research was left largely to be pursued in universities, but under almost similar conditions that the inventor faced in the early part of the nineteenth century. It was world War I that brought into sharp focus the overwhelming need for the application of science to the art of war which until then was dominated by the belief, as expressed by Lloyd George of the rulers of the world, that "the seat of intelligence lay in the chin and that this feature in the physiognomy was to be sought for in military leadership." But the submarine compelled Great Britain to seek the help of Sir William H. Bragg to find a solution for their detection. France looked to Langevis for devising a means for the detection land-mines. The outstanding contribution of science to the art of war, however, was Haber's achievement in fixing the nitrogen of the atmosphere for the manufacture of explosives that enabled Imperial Germany to carry on the war. The inter-war years enabled this realisation to make massive investments in the aeronautical industry as providing, with the submarine, a third dimension for national war machines, and it reached its climax with the historic decision of Franklin D. Roosevelt that the USA should give the highest priority to the manufacture of the atomic bomb. The researches into the structure of the atoms, which were hitherto considered only of theoretical interest, began attracting Government's attention when men like Dr. Albert Einstein were able to convince the public policy-makers that national security of the United States could be enhanced by the application of such basic research. In any case, no private laboratory could conduct such basic research as it involved very large resources and, besides, carried a high risk of failure. With the entry of Government on national security grounds into the activity of basic research a new phase commenced in the history of science and technology and its impact on economic development has been far reaching and fundamental. "Out of World War II, in what has been called the greatest mobilization of scientists and technologists in history, came a great victory over a clearly evil tyranny; and a cornucopia of great technical developments to build and keep the pace. None of these developments could be economically 'afforded' in the depressed period of the 'THIRTIES', but in war the men and wherewithal were quickly found to develop them, largely out of the banked-up store of European science. From these wartime projects in due time came the antibiotics, atomic power, cryogenics, computers, jet planes, rocket vehicles, radar, transistors, masers, lasers, and other projects that became the new industrial face of the mid-century," and the recent progress, have accumulated enormous capital inventory upon which technology can draw. To give one brief example, nuclear energy, thought still in its early stages, is most promising in its possible effects on economic development. Only nuclear power possesses the necessary explosive force to release petroleum fluids which are often trapped in what geologists call “tight" rocks, since chemical explosives are quite ineffective for such purpose. Low grade copper ores could be mined economically for the first time by the application of nuclear explosives. In fact, nuclear energy is cheaper by several multiples than any other source, and vast new vistas of technology towards economic development will open once the radio-active factors are tamed. The above briefly outline the relationship between science and technology, the economic implications of the concomitant development and the three phases it went through in its historical role. The first was an unsystematic and erratic application of mechanical inventions to economic activity characterised by a tenuous and weak causative relationship between science and technology, which gave way, in the second phase, to a definite causative relationship between science and science-based technology. Concurrently, scientific research began to get organised in commercial industrial laboratories which, as it grew, gave the impetus, in its application, to economic production. The third phase which intensively began with and after World War II brought with it the participation of the Governments. Viewed against this historical development of the impact of science and technology, our recent experience poses some thought-provoking questions. No doubt, technological change that results from this impact is one of the most important determinants of the shape and evolution of our socio-economic growth. One very important and direct consequence of technological change in the 20th century is the communication revolution. In fact the growth of modern communication is itself a function of social and economic development. Industries, transport, and modern communication media such as radio, TV and satellites (like Telstar) are the indices of general social and economic growth which ultimately reflects in individual betterment. Improved working conditions permitting reduction of working hours and an increased flow of products, old and new, have added many new factors to our consumption pattern and way of life. New machines and processes and the advent of factory automation have strengthened the measure of our growth and productivity. However, structural changes show that the introduction of new industrial technology changes the relative importance of individual supplying sectors in the economy. New machines and techniques of production alter the amounts and kind of materials, of parts and components, of energy, of labour skills, and of supporting services that each industry uses to manufacture its products. A couple of instances of this kind, one might cite, are the shift from coal to oil and natural gas, and marked displacement of steel and tin by plastics and paper in the container industry. But though most people would agree that on the whole technological impact has been beneficial, could one say it has been without any cost to society? Advances in military technology, for example, have made possible considerable beneficial changes in many sectors. However, the same technology has made possible the destruction of mankind on an unprecedented scale, bringing into a serious question the survival of the human species! Modern civilian technology has also inflicted costs in terms of air and water pollution, radio-activity, urban sprawl, crowded cities and increased social and psychological tensions. I would point out the remarks Sir Solly Zuckerman, Scientific Adviser to the British Government, made at the XXIII Congress of the International Chamber of Commerce, Vienna, April 1971, at which some of our leading industrialists were present: " ...... over the past few years more and more voices have been sounding warnings about the adverse secondary effects of the continued growth of our industrial civilisation. In some quarters even the desirability of economic growth itself is being questioned. This particular issue has crystallised in the terms 'environment' and 'pollution'. In the more developed countries of the world an increasing number of people are asking whether the adverse environmental effects which industrialisation and modem technology can bring in their train may not counter-balance the primary beneficial effects for which they are also responsible, and indeed whether environmental damage is not an inevitable consequence of industrial growth." We are, in one way, fortunate, so to speak, in not having simultaneously developed with the Western countries. That is in having many of our options open on the choice of technology which provides us an opportunity to make rational allocation. In the West, these options are no longer open, and, in fact, were closed, rather unwillingly, in the aggressive pursuit of individual profit-maximization. Policymakers, scientists and technologists in the West are today agonizing over the question of costs of technology, costs that accrue to society! What all societies, therefore, need is a system of social accounting that will make clear the total costs to the society of each possible outcome of the decision-making process and the incidence of gains and benefits to all concerned. Such accounting is no longer impossible, thanks to refinements in data collecting and computerization of results. Undoubtedly, science and technology have a clear impact on economic development. But are the social benefits from this impact worth the social cost? This question leads us to two interesting thoughts. First, it is possible that the social benefits of a technology may not be worth its social cost. Yet, the private benefits from this technology may greatly exceed the private costs. I refer to the controversies of the 1950s, in this country, on whether India should build the heavy engineering projects, atomic reactors, etc., which arose out of a confusion between private cost-benefit calculations and social cost-benefit calculations. If one were to calculate the net benefits from these public sector projects in terms of the classical accounting concepts, then, clearly, the rate of return would be small. However, from the social point of view, these public sector projects, when managed and run efficiently, provide an industrial base and make possible a variety of private industrial activity. These public sector projects provide social benefits which in value terms exceed social costs and even if they do not provide sufficient return from the private point of view, they, nevertheless, have "social profitability". I argue that no matter how profound may be the impact of a particular technology on economic development, if the costs it imposes socially are large compared to the benefits it provides socially, then the society in a group decision may find it beneficial to forgo it. This is one of the new issues that has been raised by dissenters in the West. Yet another issue could be raised. That is the distributive justice of the technology. By this I mean that those who enjoy the benefits of the impact of science and technology are not necessarily the persons who pay the costs, or pay proportionately to the benefits enjoyed. One might refer to cases such as pollution, traffic congestions, "brain-drain", etc. I am tempted to refer to "brain-drain". Our young men are getting trained in State-financed universities, technological and research institutions. They go abroad and settle down there. According to one estimate up to 1967 the number of Indian scientific and technical personnel abroad was 39,000 (20,000 engineers, 11,000 medical doctors and 8,000 scientists*). Of these, a large number was for study and training with a small number for employment and on emigration. As a percentage of this total in 1967, it worked out to about 17% in the case of engineers, 11% in the case of doctors and 9% in the case of scientists. There are several causes for the brain-drain but I am sure many young men would probably return if the job satisfaction level in India was raised. In this context, if programmes of action are formulated for specific groups, there are better chances of such men returning to India instead of trying to line up such cases with the problems of brain-drain in its entirety. For example, in areas such as electronics, design engineering, instruments, etc., greater progress as well as large employment for scientists and technologists now working abroad are possible. But the point is that sooner we realise that we are paying the costs for this training and that because of the socio-economic atmosphere we are unable to reap the benefits of these sunken cost, the better will it be for the country. What I have said, is neither new nor revolutionary! No doubt science and technology have a profound impact on economic development, but have the benefits been without their costs? Do we not in the future need a more conscious calculation of these costs and benefits before we accept a technology? Should we or should we not seriously consider, in the application of technology, the issues of social costs and benefits and of the distributive justice of technology? These are some of the crucial questions we must answer. However, in several questions I have so far posed, I would like to emphasise not the past but the future. Do we, on the basis of the historical experience of other countries, want to follow the same known but beaten path of science and technology, or do we want to chart a new approach on the basis of the urgent requirements of our country? Let me not be misunderstood. I do not at all advocate the exclusion of everything foreign. Quite the contrary, I believe science and technology have no national boundaries, and, in fact, there has to be a free exchange of scientific ideas and information in a rational world. However, science and technology while universal, nevertheless, have a relevance and specificity. Technology generally cannot be successfully uprooted from the environment and planted in another. To be successful in this transfer, there have to be adaptations and assimilation. It is only after we have passed through this phase that we could provide the infrastructure for a nationally suitably technology, innovative in its own environment. Every leader of technology in the world today has passed through this phase, the U.S.A. in the 19th century, the Soviet Union between 1925 and 1940 and China between 1950 and 1970. I would say, and readily accept, and I again quote from my presidential address to the United Nation Conference at Geneva, that totally imported science and technology may not be relevant to the needs of the less developed countries. I would also accept that the development of science in these areas should be such that it is suited to the material needs and genius of the people concerned and that such a development of science should gather momentum gradually. I would accept that view, but we must not make a fetish of it or find in the absence of such a science an excuse to delay action. However, we will have to review our technological import policy, so that we would not unnecessarily import quite so much and in duplication. We are buying the same technology many times over. In spite of our long experience of industries such as iron and steel, aluminium, paper, etc., we have imported the same or similar technologies from a number of countries. Even today, we are repeating the same process to some extent. It would be better for the nation's economic development if we were to analyse cost-benefits, if we imported a technology once, and then use the existing know-how from our existing industries or engage our national laboratories and technical institutions to find a relevant specific adaptation of that technology in tune with the national requirements. This would of course entail a greater R & D effort than is being conducted at present.  A target for total national expenditure on research and experimental development was proposed by a UNESCO conference on the Application of Science and Technology to the Development of Asia (CASTASIA) held in Delhi in 1968, when the Ministers for Education, Science and Technology, and the leaders in the field from all Asian countries were present. The Conference recommended participating governments of Asia to endeavour to reach a minimum national expenditure (current and capital expenditure by both government and private players) on research and experimental development of 1 per cent of their gross national product as soon as possible, but not later than 1980. Japan is often cited as an example of a country experiencing rapid advances in technology. This is no doubt valid; however, a deeper look at Japan reveals that Japan rarely imported the same technology twice. In fact, technologies that were imported in Japan were combined with intense research to make it adaptable to Japanese conditions. Some figures would illustrate this. For 1950-62, the Japanese import of chemical technology constituted 22% of total import of technology. Over similar period, R & D on chemical technology constituted 24% of total R & D. The same is true of other imported technologies such as electrical machinery, transport equipment, etc. In other words, in Japan the larger the fraction of imported technology, the larger was the domestic R & D effort to enable Japanese engineers to understand and adapt the technology. During 1957-65, in India, non-electrical machinery constituted 29% of the imported technology through foreign collaboration. Yet the R & D expenditure on non-electrical machinery was barely 6% of the total R & D effort; similarly, electrical machinery technology imports were 11% of total imported technology, whereas the R & D effort in electrical machinery was about 4%. The results of the policies of the two countries are clearly visible. Recent estimates on R & D expenditure have shown that the contribution of the private sector is negligible.* For example, out of the total annual expenditure of Rs. 146 crores on R & D during 1969-70, the private sector has invested about Rs. 11 crores which is about 7% of total. In advanced countries, these figures vary from 36 to 74%, Japan showing the maximum. In a recent survey carried out by the Indian Chemical Manufacturers' Association, in a large number of cases, the R&D expenditure is well below 1% and in some cases even below 0.5% of total sales, whereas in the UK, it is about 6%. In addition, this conference recommended some guidelines for science policy which I reproduce in full. The preamble recognised the vital role of science and technology in relation to growth, and recommended that the country should: - formulate and implement a purposeful National Science Policy as a high priority measure in any government programme; - extend the scope of their science policies to the whole chain of activities ranging from basic research to the innovation processes whereby the results of research and experimental development are translated through engineering and design into products and techniques of immediate socio-economic value; - recognize as a basic option of their national science policies the principle of "endogenous development" whereby economic growth and technological change are being oriented and sustained by the nation's own scientific and technological community; - ensure appropriate integration and harmonization of the national science policy at the highest level of government, while attaching major importance to the adjustment mechanisms of the science planning system which should provide for immediate reaction to error or charging circumstances; - secure effective participation of the research scientists and technologists in the governing organs of the national science policy-making bodies; - create or maintain strong government structures for the formulation of scientific policy as well as for the co-ordination, financing and performance of research and development, and related scientific activities; - establish and expand the research and development base such as laboratories, scientific equipment, etc., in order to meet the need of the national economy including the need for choice, assimilation and efficient utilization of imported technology; - formulate the national science policy in such a way as: (a) to create favourable conditions for the application of science and technology to national development;  (b) to reduce social disparity or adverse side-effects when adopting new technology, and in particular not to aggravate unemployment; - adopt, publish and keep under constant review, a set of basic criteria for the allocation of national resources to science and technology, and in particular to research and development activities; - promote, as a priority sector of the national science policy, the development of adequate scientific and technical information organization and services at the national level. While considering the excellence of these recommendations, it is salutary to recall that in l958 the late Prime Minister, Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru, enunciated the Scientific Policy Resolution to Parliament, to affirm its faith in the vital role of science and technology in the transformation of our society. It is an admirable document and emphasises what science can do in providing new conceptual frame-works and analytical tools for tackling socio-economic problems and in promoting the spread of a scientific temper among the community at large. But I might comment after 13 years that there has been not much visible impact of science on our society. Advanced countries demonstrate an extraordinary and expanding array of new companies whose very life-blood is research and development. Their field of operations lies along the farthest frontiers of scientific discovery. Their business is to exploit the advances of science, to translate them rapidly and economically into useful products and services. On our industrial horizon, relatively few of these new enterprises yet bulk large. Perhaps, the talent that could be profitably harnessed for R & D projects is busy in absorbing and stabilizing the repeatedly borrowed technical know-how. There is, therefore, no incentive and urge for creative efforts. Hence the role of R & D in the current technological revolution, its significance for the future economic strength of this country in the face of rising international competition are wholly out of proportion to its individual size. At this juncture, may I enter and say a few words about the big industry - small industry controversy? There is no doubt that heavy capital outlay (hence 'big') industries are most necessary for economic growth. We have set up large industries, big dams, etc., and made a beginning in nuclear technology. But that is only half the story. The other half suggests that for effective and efficient exploitation of these big industries, we need a dense cluster of small but efficient industries that are suppliers of various inputs I to these big units, and also are users of the output of the big units. Unless such a structural transformation takes place, industrialization would be superficial. This has been our experience of the last twenty years of planning. Thus, while there have been heavy capital investments in some of our States, they have acquired a very marginal industrial base, as for example in Bihar. On the other hand, some of our other States which have received a small share of the heavy public sector capital outlays such as Punjab, Tamil Nadu, have, nevertheless, developed an industrial base largely through setting up of small and medium industries. Let me say that it is axiomatic in economic planning for a developing country like ours that science and technology should play a decisive role in increasing agricultural and industrial productivity. This is more so, because TIME is against us. We must do in a few decades what it has taken several centuries to achieve in the developed countries. The mere availability of science and technology, however, does not guarantee that the economic development of a country will automatically take place. If science and technology are to contribute to productive processes, special talents must be trained and developed. The people must be trained to apply the knowledge and techniques effectively on a broad front. The availability of people with the necessary skills determine the direction and pace of economic growth in developing countries. In the last analysis, it will be the ambitions and know-how of the people of developing countries that will determine whether minerals stay underground or are transformed into goods useful to man; whether oil remains hidden or becomes a major source of power and heat; whether roads remain mud-tracks or are transformed into arteries of trade and commerce. In brief, the most important investment any country can make, whatever may be its stage of economic development, is in its human resources, and in the education and training of its population in institutions which create incentives, and make it possible for the individual to realise his aspirations and in the process effect a revolution, economic and social, for the benefit of everyone. The tremendous growth which we have witnessed in science and technology is a result of one thing - a better use by man of his mental capacities. No aspect of the development process has been more stressed here than this one - human resources. Developing human resources, training of minds, has emerged as the most pivotal aspect. I would like to say again, with the utmost conviction, that it is human resources, still largely untapped, which constitute man's real hope for the future. For all his inventions and calculating machines, man remains the principal tool of economic development, as his welfare should be its only objective. Our investments in human resources will pay dividends only if we develop adequate political wisdom to exploit this kind of investment. Otherwise, the human skills and knowledge generated become sterile. Here, I am not anxious to talk about our politics or about the complexion of our economic and social ideologies, whether we choose private initiative or state initiative or a judicious combination of the two to suit our special circumstances in our efforts to usher in social justice - and social justice is no more than a translation of this ethical imperative - our salvation, in the final analysis, rests in a down-to-earth effort to increase our total national productivity, save enough for investment on a continuing basis and accelerate the process of development. It will be poor consolation to us if we only render lip service to this ethical imperative of socialism by reducing it merely to one of controlling the means of production and distribution and set up gigantic state enterprises unless we run them efficiently and profitably. As an engineer concerned with the practical aspects of building a new and prosperous society in our country, I find it difficult to agree with the thesis that the profitability of a state enterprise and socialistic philosophy are opposed to each other or even that the former, namely profitability, is a secondary consideration. We have to only acquaint ourselves with what is today happening in professedly socialist economies like Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Poland, not to speak of U.S.S.R. and China. Even in a socialist system, enterprises must stay in business, make enough profits to insure against future risks, though the quantum of benefits may not be at a level which one would expect in the private sector, since obviously a part of the benefits that accrue to society would not be measurable in economic terms. It is only out of today's profits that we can protect ourselves against tomorrow's losses on the one hand, and on the other, save enough for future investment. I, therefore, attach the highest importance to the question of increasing national productivity since it is only through higher productivity that we can wipe out the poverty of the millions of our people and extend to them hope of a new life. In the country today, there is considerable unemployment. Naturally, therefore, there is a widespread demand for labour-intensive technology, presumably for the technology that generates the most jobs. In the light of remarks I made earlier, I would like to offer some cautionary remarks that seem relevant to me. Need the labour-intensive technology be the technology which generates the most jobs? This conceptual confusion has, in my opinion, led to some unnecessary controversies. A jet plane which is certainly not as labour-intensive as a bullock cart actually generates more jobs than the latter. A computer may in many situations generate more jobs than manual labour.  The confusion has arisen because labour-intensity has been interpreted as the number of jobs directly created per unit investment. By this criterion, the bullock carts and manual labour certainly create more employment than modern technology. However, when we consider the indirect employment generation, the employment generated in other industries, as a consequence, modern technology generally far outstrips the more primitive technology. For some projects, the direct effect is large but the indirect or linkage effect is small. For others, it is the other way round. For bullock carts, for example, the direct effect is large compared to the jet engine, but the linkage effect is small compared to jet. Generally speaking, the more modern technology has a high linkage effect but a low direct effect. The more primitive technology has a low linkage effect but high direct effect. The correct strategy for maximum employment is, therefore, to elect those technologies which maximise the direct plus linkage employment effects. One very important effect of technological progress, which, though apparently social, has serious economic implications. The widespread technological environments have resulted in enormous growth of population of our cities and states, to which I have referred earlier very briefly, with a corresponding expansion in the economic units of agriculture, industry and labour. Increasing speed of transportation and communication has accelerated this expansion bringing together larger groups of people and giving rise to more complex and unmanageable large organizations, and the largeness of an organization, without a matching ability to plan, co-ordinate and execute, must affect efficiency. A highly technological society in necessarily an alert society. Hence progress and change in one field almost immediately induces corresponding currents of progress in others. The science of management could not remain aloof from the new ideas, new methods and new products of science and engineering. This process of give-and-take between the science of management and large technological organizations, appears to be very slow in our country. I see a great deal of activity, recently, in the field of management. But I wonder, how far the ideas and sophisticated tools provided by the science of management have become functional in our large organizations! Thus ultimately the essence of the scientific and technological progress lies in its use towards increasing efficiency. Hence if individuals composing society are incapable of using technological innovations, a great deal of technology will be fallow. I do not want to go deeper into the complex question of the effect of technology on society because it demands much more knowledge and understanding than is suggested by the currently fashionable - and contrasting - popular views about technology. But before I close, I would like to touch one important social component of technological influence, viz. "the strains that technology places on our values and beliefs, finally, are reflected in economic, political and ideological conflict. That is, they raise questions about the proper goals of society and about the proper ways of pursuing those goals. In the end, therefore, the problems that technology poses (and the opportunity it offers) will be resolved (and realized) in the political arena, construing 'political' broadly to include economic and ideological considerations as well as questions of more narrowly political organization and tactics. Technological innovation, therefore, leads ultimately to a need for social and political innovation if its benefits are to be fully realized and its negative effects kept to a minimum." "Technology can even create a new society composed of individuals who themselves are the products of a technological process. By the use of chemicals and radiation the biologists can induce mutations in genes and chromosomes, and so, by an appropriate handling of genetic materials, create new strains of living organisms. The same genetic laws govern the evolution of human beings. Conceivably someone may have the arrogance ultimately to undertake the breeding of a strain of 'good men'. But who then shall determine the new model of the 'good' man?" "If, then, we are to preserve the ideal of the cherished individual we will need wise men more than we will need more and more technically skilled men too. As it is, we do not know how to produce them with an environment that will encourage their wisdom to blossom and act. Yet, without wise men, the chances are that the democratic concept and democratic traditions built around the obligations and rights of the individual will be lost under the crush of the vast needs of the society and the enormous potency of the technologies put into operation in a massive society to meet those needs."_Previous musing: [THE UNION BUDGET 1992-93 BY NANI PALKHIVALA](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-union-budget-1992-93/)_ --- ## [Musing] ART VERSUS LAW AND ORDER URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/art-versus-law-and-order/ ### Body _The following essay is part of a 2012 booklet published by The Liberty Institute, New Delhi, in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. The booklet was title **[At Liberty: Freedom to Express and Offend.](https://indianliberals.in/content/at-liberty-freedom-to-express-and-offend/)** Authored by Ravi Shanker Kapoor, the essay challenges the perceived validity of public outrage (and political support for the same) and bans on artistic expression.  _In India, as also in other countries, often demands are made for ban on movies, paintings, books, songs, or other creative works. The demands are accompanied with overt and covert threats - ban it, or else... Apparently sound arguments are made in favor of capitulation. After all, it is just a movie, song, or book; why hurt the sentiments of somebody or some group; why risk peace and amity in society; why should the law and order situation be allowed to worsen just because some Johnny thinks that his creation is a great piece of art; at any rate, human lives are more important than art. Governments face the question: should the demand be accepted?  The easy answer is yes. The tetchy (and raucous) group is appeased; the specter of large-scale violence fades away; and the authorities breathe easy.  The tough, and correct, answer is no.  A ban is wrong not only in principle but also as an expedient measure. It is wrong in theory because it violates or curbs the right to freedom of expression; and without the individual enjoying freedom of expression, democracy is reduced to a farce. Democracy is not just about casting vote and electing representatives for state assemblies and Parliament; it is a way of life: if you can't say what you want to say, it is democratic form without substance. The principle worth imbibing is: give me freedom or give me death.  **Why Offend Somebody ** It is often argued that freedom of expression does not mean license to offend others. Why should Salman Rushdie write a book that offends the Muslims? After all, he was a writer of repute even before he published Satanic Verses; his other books received critical acclaim and were sold in good numbers. So, the argument goes, why should he write a blasphemous novel in the first place? Similarly, why should M.F. Husain paint goddess Saraswati in the nude? Why should Taslima Nasreen author novels which offend the Muslims? Why should the Danish cartoonist sketch the Prophet Mohamrnad?  But the point is that, as George Orwell said, if liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. If you tell me that I am a great author, and I let you say that, it is neither liberty nor tolerance. You enjoy liberty only if you tell me that my writing is not worth the paper it is printed on; and I am tolerant when, even if I have the power to squash you, I let you (or am forced to let you, because the law will protect you, however powerful I may be) express your opinion. Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan famously cracked a joke at one of his press conferences which goes on like this: An American and a Russian had an argument about freedom of speech in their respective countries. The American said that he could go to White House, enter the Oval Office, and tell the President, "Mr. Reagan, you are a fool!"  The Russian responded, saying that he could also go to the Kremlin, enter Gorbachev's office, and scream, "Mr. Gorbachev, Mr. Reagan is a fool!"  Secondly, it is practically impossible for a creative person to envisage what would offend somebody. Yes, sometimes people say and do things for instant publicity, but again that is neither criminal nor immoral so long as it does not hurt others. How could the makers of_ Biloo Barber_ have imagined that a neutral word 'barber', which is not pejorative by any stretch of imagination, would get them into trouble?  **Vagaries of Political Correctness ** And, finally, if a creative person has to always keep the sensibilities of tetchy rascals and the vagaries of political correctness into account, how could he create anything of any consequence? He would be busy studying, analyzing, and examining the nuances of every word, every name, epithet, etc. As for the fears about the worsening of law and order situation if 'offensive' books, movies, etc. are not banned, we can only say that the fears are grossly exaggerated.  This is not to say that there are no fears. Hindu groups have attacked painting exhibitions by M. F. Husain and Jatin Das. Salman Rushdie did receive a death fatwa from Iran's Ayatollah IUlomenie for his novel _Satanic Verses._ While Rushdie was not hurt, many others were.  According to www.wikipedia.org:  Hitoshi Igarashi, its [Satanic Verses'] Japanese translator, was stabbed to death on 11 July 1991; Ettore Capriolo, the Italian translator, was seriously injured in a stabbing the same month; William Nygaard, the publisher in Norway, barely survived an attempted assassination in Osio in October 1993, and Aziz Nesin, the Turkish translator, was the intended target in the events that led to the Sivas massacre on 2 July 1993 in Sivas, Turkey, which resulted in the deaths of 37 people. Individual purchasers of the book have not been harmed. However, the only nation with a predominantly Muslim population where the novel remains legal is Turkey. It is important to note here that since that unfortunate incident, no _Verse_-related violence has happened in Turkey. The reason: Turkey refuses to forget the Sivas Massacre and forgive the perpetrators.  An angry mob of Islamic fundamentalist had attacked the Mahak Hotel in Sivas after traditional Friday prayers. The intellectuals had gathered at the Mahak to celebrate 16th century poet Pir Sultan Abdal. The attackers were incensed by the presence of Aziz Nesin, a writer who had translated and published extracts from _Satanic Verses._ While Nesin managed to escape because the mob did not recognize him, dozens perished in the arson attack.  The State Security Court sentenced 33 people to death in November 1997 for the massacre. In a 2001 appeal, all but two of these sentences were upheld. The sentences were, however, commuted to life in prison as Turkey abolished the capital punishment in 2002.  **Turkey and Us ** Civil society organizations and prominent intellectuals commemorated every year the anniversary of the Sivas Massacre. In 2010, the Turkish government joined for the first time ceremonies commemorating the outrage which had claimed the lives of many intellectuals, writers, and artists.  "The pain of Mahak is a pain for the entire country," State Minister Faruk Celik said at the commemoration ceremony held in front of the Mahak Hotel and attended by other government officials. Celik went on to call July 2,1993, as one of the most painful dates in Turkish history. “That day they wanted to test the brotherhood we have built for centuries, with blood and tears," Celik said. “The fire that encompassed the hotel affected all our bodies."  What this shows is that the Islamist fundamentalists, despite their bluff and bluster, are mostly a cowardly lot; they become dangerous when they get the impression that they get away with murder.  It also shows that in Turkey intellectuals actually died and suffered for the cause of the freedom of expression - unlike their counterparts in India who invariably succumb to the pressures of Islamic fundamentalists and whose fight for freedom of expression is restricted to a tirade against fanatic Hindus.  This is not to say that Hindu groups pose no threat to the freedom of expression. Their campaign against _Shivaji: The Hindu King in Muslim India_, a book written by American scholar James Laine, is a case in point. The book not only occasioned ban and court cases but also violence.  Shivaji Bhosle (1630-1680), the Maratha Emperor with the royal title Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, fought for the freedom of the Maratha nation from Sultanate of Bijapur. Owing to his fight against the Muslim rulers, including the mighty Mughals, Shivaji is a hero of Hindu nationalists. His many adventures have bestowed a halo to his legend. In Maharashtra, he is especially cherished as a cult figure. The local parties like the Shiv Sena which peddle Maratha pride almost worship him and even the slightest hint of criticism, let alone disparagement, is projected as blasphemy. Characteristically, the Mumbai (formerly Bombay) airport was renamed as Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.  **Shivaji Controversy ** In June 2003, Shivaji was published in India by Oxford University Press India. In November, scholars affiliated with the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) of Pune, city MP Pradeep Rawat, and others demanded withdrawal of the book. The OUP was prompt in coming out with an apology; it also withdrew the book from the Indian market. This, however, did not appease Shiv Sena activists who, on December 22, assaulted scholars attached to BORI for their assistance to Laine for his book. Sanskrit scholar Shrikant Bahulkar was beaten up and his face blackened.  A few days later, James Laine faxed a statement, saying:  It was never my intention to defame the great Maharashtrian hero. I had no desire to upset those for whom he is an emblem of regional and national pride, and I apologize for inadvertently doing so. I I foolishly misread the situation in India and figured the book would I receive scholarly criticism, not censorship and condemnation. Again I apologize.  The campaign against the book continued nonetheless. On January 5, 2004, over 150 members of the Sambhaji Brigade ransacked BORI, vandalizing the building, books, and artworks.  The state government, however, did little to stem the assaults. State home minister R.R. Patil said (The Indian Express), "We condemn the attack and also distorting of the history of Chhatrapati Shivaji. The government is seeking legal opinion to ascertain if any action can be taken against the author and also whether the book can be banned." Notice the bracketing of scholarship with criminality. Unsurprisingly, the criminals were emboldened. On January 9, Sambhaji Brigade spokesman Shrimant Kokate is reported (The Times of India) to said, "In fact, scholars should be happy that BORI is still intact." The brigade was "most unhappy" that scholars who had helped Laine were ''still alive," he lamented.  In another report (The Indian Express), he was quoted as saying, "Those who fed him [Laine] with the offensive information should be hanged by the government. If the government is unable to do so they should be handed over to us."  As for the newspersons disapproving of vandalism, Kokate said, "We will deal with the media later." On January 14, the Maharashtra government proposed to ban the book, citing Sections 153 and 153A of the Indian Penal Code. Two days later, prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee opposed the proscription, infuriating the ally Shiv Sena. He said (The Indian Express), “If you do not like anything in a particular book, then sit and discuss it. Banning a book is not a solution. We have to tackle it ideologically.. If differences of opinion remain after an issue is discussed, the best way would be to come out with another good book on the subject."  **Because Ban Involves Us All ** It needs to be noted that it was not just the pro-Hindu outfits like the Shiv Sena which were whipping up a frenzy against the book; leaders of other parties also joined in the capitalize on despicable popular sentiments. Senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra chief minister A.R. Antulay castigated Laine and urging the government to take all necessary legal steps to punish him. Chief minister Sushillrumar Shinde said (The Hindu) that it was "not fair" to write such "bad things" about Shivaji.  Fortunately, the Bombay High Court decided against the ban; and the Supreme Court on July 9, 2010, upheld the high court's decision. The apex court maintained that the Maharashtra government did not follow the mandatory procedure while invoking the ban on the book.  In Shivaji, politicians saw a golden opportunity to gain popularity by transmogrifying the people into rabble. In what he thought was an excellent exercise in competitive populism, Maharashtra BJP president Gopinath Munde: also demanded a ban on Jawaharlal Nehru's book, _Discovery of India_, claiming that a 1986 edition contained derogatory remarks about Shivaji. But he had not read the book; and the hearsay he relied on proved to be misleading. When it was pointed out that no such remarks were found in that edition, he sheepishly said, "I am a politician and not a scholar."  The controversy over _Shivaji: The Hindu King in Muslim India_ was just one of the many that Hindu groups kicked off. In 1998, they unleashed hell against Deepa Mehta's film _Fire _on the grounds that it portrayed a distorted version of Indian society. The movie was about lesbian relationship between two family members. On December 2, activists of the Shiv Sena Mahila Aghadi attacked the matinee show of the film at Cinemax theatre in suburban Goregaon in Mumbai. Glass panes were smashed, posters burnt, and slogans raised against the movie.  A day later, the women storm troopers vandalized Regal cinema in the heart of the national Capital, accompanied with TV camera crews. The cops, however, were conspicuous by their absence. Fire producer Bobby Bedi was quoted in _India Today,_ "The Delhi Sena chief's letter informing the press about the demonstration said that they would do tod-phod and violence was expected... almost as if tea will be served." Pune was next, then Surat.  According to India Today: On the eve of their attack on Cinemax, the Mahila Aghadi women called on state Culture Minister Pramod Navalkar to protest against the depiction of the "lesbian relationship" between Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das in the film. They even demand Azmii's resignation from the Rajya Sabha.  While Navalkar obviously gave the green signal, Chief Minister Manohar Joshi egged them on, even patting them on their backs. 'I congratulate them for what they have done. The film's theme is alien to our culture," said Joshi on the day the Sainiks attacked cinema halls and succeeded in stopping a film cleared by the Censor Board. Of course, Joshi backed down later saying he was only supporting their protest and not the vandalism.  The charge of the Sena brigade was, however, successful: Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting M.A. Naqvi sent _Fire _back to the Censor Board. Once approved, a film is rarely referred back to the censors, with exceptions like R.V Pandit’s _Maachis_ [directed by Gulzar] because of its supposed soft treatment of terrorists. You need  "public outrage" for that, and the Sena obliged.  **The Pattern ** There is a pattern. The bodies protesting against a work of art are front organizations of Sangh Parivar or the Shiv Sena. The pro-Hindu political parties are under the (false) impression that sanctimonious thump over 'the great and glorious Indian culture' will bring a rich harvest of votes. As Manohar Joshi's flirtation with the activists indicated, the vandals enjoy political and administrative support. So, the real threat to the law and order does not emanate from the artists' flights of fancy but from politicians' shielding of hooligans.  It is not just the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena but also the Congress and other 'secular', 'liberal' parties which have great faith in and tolerance for storm-troopers. The grand old party, in a bid to outsmart the regionalism and sectarianism of mainstream Akalis, set up Bhinderanwale-resulting into the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and killing of thousands of people of all faiths. Similarly, to counter the Maratha chauvinism of the Shiv Sena, it propped up Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray and refused to take action against the violence he brought about. Not much dissimilar is Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's effort to out-Left the Marxists in West Bengal; she has partnered with the ruthless Maoists.  In short, it is the shortsightedness of mainstream politicians that creates law and order problems, not the work of art, however outrageous they might be. If the vandals are brought to justice and the rule of law is upheld, there would be no lawlessness and disruptions. _Last week's musing: [STATE MONOPOLIES AND THE CITIZEN IN A DEMOCRACY](https://indianliberals.in/content/state-monopolies-and-the-citizen-in-a-democracy/)_ --- ## [Musing] B.R. Shenoy on Economic Growth with Social Justice URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/b-r-shenoy-on-economic-growth-with-social-justice/ ### Body _The late Prof. B. R. Shenoy was an eminent economist. This __paper, written in August 1977, a few months prior to his death, __is of relevance today when there is considerable rethinking on __need for a new economic policy. The paper was republished as a booklet by the Forum of Free Enterprise in March 1980. _A free society is so called because its citizens are free individuals, free in the sense of "independence of the arbitrary will of another". Individuals in a free society function, in the economic sphere, under the guidelines of the doctrine of pragmatism, pursuing the line of success and discarding the path of failures, success and failure being assessed by their own subjective criteria viewed functionally, a free society may also be termed, therefore, as a pragmatic society. As the terminal aim of the individual's activity is the maximum satisfaction of his consumption needs, and he is unfettered in this as in other matters, a free society is described too as a society of consumer sovereignty. The principal economic constituents of a free society may be briefly stated : (i) First and foremost the economic affairs of a free society are controlled, directed and governed by truly sovereign consumers. Therefore, by definition as it were, all economic activity other than those delegated by consumers to the government - which they do in their capacity as sovereign voters - have, for their end objective, maximum consumer satisfaction. (ii) Consumer control and direction of the economy is effected through a price-regulated market mechanism. Consumers register, in the shopping centres or other markets, their votes regarding their requirements continually; and their preferences get reflected in commodity price changes and in turnovers. (iii) Traders interpret these price and turn-over signals and direct producers to adjust their production programmes to match the consumer needs, thus recorded. (iv) Available investment resources, i.e. domestic savings and inflows of foreign savings, get shifted, through such activity of traders and producers, and via the capital market - which is an integral part of the overall price-regulated market mechanism - or otherwise, into production channels which meet consumer preferences. (v) In a modern society - whether it is free, communist or socialist - production involves time, and the production process has, for technological reasons, to commence in anticipation and in advance of demand.The forward market, which is another integral part of the overall price-regulated market mechanism, helps such anticipatory production. The forward market may reduce to a minimum, or eliminate resource wastages from production errors, by projecting the changing market situations. Operationally, the first link in this chain of consumer-directed economic system is, it will be noted, trade which interprets and transmits to producers consumer decisions.That trade is the spearhead of all economic development emerges graphically when we imagine a community cut off from the rest of the country, of which it had been traditionally an integral part. Production for the national market will then soon be replaced by production to meet the limited needs of a small community; and its people are consequently destined to slip down into poverty and, possibly, into more or less primitive way of life, depending on the size of the isolated community's market. A pre-condition for the full and efficient functioning of a free society is, therefore, the absence of barriers to internal and external trade. Logic and experience have shown that this freedom will permit continued prosperity for the economy - the result of the use to capacity of its specialised talents through migration to the national economy with the world markets, the demands of which - unlike the demands of the limited national markets - may not be easily satiated. Secondly, the full and efficient functioning of a free society demands recognition of the institution of private property, not only in respect of a family house, the durable consumer goods in it and a car, but also in respect of capital assets, the means of production. In a free society, became of the discipline of a most ruthless consumer, the management, under the duress of survival, has to keep a continual watch over cost, quality and turnover. This calls for perpetual flexibility of decisions. Consumer discipline operates, in the case of the larger corporations, through its impact on the stock-market quotations for the scripts of the corporations. It is just not practical to achieve the requisite decision flexibilities under social ownership - i.e. the ownership of no one in particular - of the means of production. Experience has shown that the magic of ownership is among the most powerful forces making for progress. Ludwig von Mises observes in his book The Free and, Prosperous Commonwealth : "The foundation of any and every civilization, including our own, is private ownership of the means of production. Whoever wishes to criticize modern civilization, therefore, begins with private property. It is blamed for everything that does not please the critic, especially those evils that have their origin in the fact that private property has been hampered and restrained in various respects so that its full social potentialities cannot be realized." The power of the magic of ownership of the means of production is nowhere more convincingly demonstrated and highlighted than in Soviet agriculture. In 1964, the output of 3% of the land under collective farms, the private plots allotted to their workers, accounted for no less than 1/3 of the gross farm output of USSR and of the Soviet livestock production. (W. N. Loucks, Comparative Economic Systems, See Chap. 25, on "Soviet Agriculture"). Russia's dependence on the capitalist world for its food and other agricultural needs - this dependence is, incidentally, rather amazing as about 1/3 of the Soviet labour force is engaged in, and an equal proportion of the total population lives on, agriculture - would have assumed disastrous dimensions, if Communist ideologues were to prevail and abolish completely private ownership of the means of production in Soviet agriculture. The third pre-condition for the full success of the consumer directed economic system is the economic freedom of the individual, particularly in respect of : (a) the distribution of his income between consumption and saving; (b) the choice of consumption and the power to direct entrepreneurs, through a price-regulated market mechanism, to import, or to fabricate at home, the commodities of his choice;  (c) the distribution of his savings among the several alternatives; and (d) the choice of his occupation. These four freedoms constitute fundamental economic freedoms of free citizens. When these freedoms are infringed, the charms of mundane life correspondingly diminish. Quite obviously, a consumer controlled system cannot come into being, nor function, without freedoms and are essential to ensure that the material and the human resources of production get drawn into channels where their output is the highest. These latter freedoms will, through continual resource shifts, minimise or eliminate less effective resource deployments and thus make for the maximisation of the national product from a given quantum of resources. Under consumer sovereignty, four desiderata are integral to the functioning of the system. First, to seek consumer patronage, entrepreneurs would strive to reduce costs and improve quality. With consumer approval and appreciation of such effort, high-cost and low-quality products would continually tend to be replaced, through resource shifts and technological progress, by low-cost and high-quality products; and this will continually tend to lift up production,and hence employment, income and the level of living. Secondly, rapid expansion of employment is built into the economic system where everybody's concern is to meet the demands - which, it may be noted, are most exacting, in addition to being ruthless - of the consumer. The expansion of employment at current, or rising wage rates is a function, not of investment, as Indian experience has shown; nor of stepping down the technology of production, which is currently in use. It is solely a function of the expansion of overall production. Since consumer sovereignty makes for rapidity of growth of the national product, it may, therefore, liquidate unemployment with corresponding rapidity. To illustrate the working of this built-in urge to expand employment: in Japan, low wages, the heavy pressure of population on land, 291 persons per square kilometer, -- the average land holding in the country, as a result of this population pressure, is but 1.01 hectares - the scarcity and high cost of capital, induced farmers to adopt labour-intensive methods of cultivation in agriculture. Japanese agricultural output is well above the world average. The Japanese output of paddy, per hectare, in 1974 was 5.84 tonnes, as against the world average of 2.36 tonnes. Japanese agriculture employs 2,031 workers per 1,000 hectares of cultivated land. In USA, on the other hand, capital is less scarce, the average holding is 157.6 hectares, population density is but 22 per square kilometer; and the country adopted capital-intensive methods of cultivation, the labour employed per 1,000 hectares of cultivated land being a mere 17. These differing systems of cultivation were adopted, not under the direction of a planning commission, but by independent farmers in free economies, the course and destinies of which are, on the whole, determined by sovereign consumers. By contrast, the Russian Gosplan copied the American method of capital-intensive cultivation, notwithstanding low wages; with none too complimentary results. Thirdly, under full consumer sovereignty, there is no need, nor room for monopolies in production, distribution, imports or exports; and incomes of all individuals - wages, interest, rent and profits - would correspond to their respective contributions to the national product. Such a situation permits no windfalls. Hence, none can appropriate someone else's earnings, i.e. there can be no social injustice. Social injustice, on the other hand, is inevitable under socialist economic systems, which abound in monopolies, privileges and subsidies; and hence bring to privileged individuals and groups unearned and also unmerited incomes, at the expense of the rest of the community. Fourthly, income contrasts tend to decline as economic development progresses, under consumer sovereignty. This is so not merely because of the absence of social injustice, but also as a consequence of, on the one hand, a natural decline in interest, rent and profits, the earnings of the economic elite, and a natural increase, on the other, of wages and salaries. As a free economy progresses, the proportion of wages and salaries to the national product tends to increase and the proportion of interest, rent and profits tends to decline. In Japan, wages and salaries rose continually from 41.3% of GDP, in 1960, to 50.8%, in 1974. In West Germany, this percentage rose from 46.9 to 54.7. By contrast, in Socialist India, this percentage fluctuated within a narrow range and was, in 1974-75, 28.2 or lower than in 1960-61, 29.9. The growing prosperity of the masses of the people in free societies is evidenced by the overwhelming proportion of economic activity being directed to the turning out of articles of mass consumption and by the vast multiplicity of departmental stores, safeways, shopping centres and the endless series of retail shops which purvey these products. Many of these products would be, if then available, matters for envy among the noblemen and the elite of the 18th century. The shoppers that crowd these places are not plutocrats but farm and factory workers and salaried people. Except in Communist countries, cars are no longer a luxury transport, accessible only to the favoured top crust of the community. In a communist society, none of the economic constituents of a free economy hold true. The state determines the needs of consumers, arranges the distribution of goods  and services and allocates resources among alternative uses. Individuals do not enjoy fundamental economic rights; and forward markets do not exist. It is much more relevant to review socialism as we have been practising it during the past three decades. Under our socialist policies, consumer control and direction of the economy is hindered, among other ways, by exchange control, by import and export restrictions; by the control of capital issues; by the industrial policy resolution, 1956; by the allocation of investment resources, including capital inflows from abroad, by a planning commission; by nationalisation of numerous undertakings; by state trading; by state financial agencies; by Reserve Bank control of credit; by a multiplicity of economic legislation both by the Centre and the States; by the creation of a series of monopolies of varying degrees; by numerous subsidies and privileges:and, until last April by internal barriers to the movement of rabi foodgrains. As a result of the working of these measures, we may identify four sectors in the economy, a public sector, which receives priority attention, an industrial sector, which is policy favoured, an agricultural sector, which is harassed and neglected, though it receives much lip sympathy, and a corrupt sector. The industrial sector is inherently unviable, viability being assessed by reference to cost-quality standard of the output, its competitive ability in world markets, and this sector's contribution to employment and income. Exceptions, if any, apart, there is not a single major industrial product which is not subsidised - more generally, this subsidy may be exceedingly heavy - by the consumer in the home market, and the export of which is not subsidised by the state in the markets abroad. And yet, this sector has gallopped ahead, through deliberate policy inducements and by preferential allocation of resources. Its contribution to employment has been most disappointing, in relation to the resources employed. Industrial production (manufacturing) accounted for but 16.3% of the national product, in 1975-76, having risen from 12.9% two decades ago, in 1955-56. The public sector is the most pampered sector. Taking an overall view, objectively and realistically - leaving alone doctrinaire dogma - public sector undertakings in India have, by no means, been a striking success. This is but inevitable when management and stakes are divorced. Even without including the gaps between landed costs and market prices of the import goods acquired against foreign aid, the public sector absorbs, from the data in the National Accounts Statistics, about 55% of the total available investment re- sources, though the contribution of this sector to NNP, was in 1975-76, but 17%. Save and except when a powerful and selfless individual may be at the helm of affairs, is assisted by a team of like mettle, and this body of rare people is free from interference by interested parties, operating with the aid of politicians, public sector undertakings may be more or less milch-cows of those who may gain control over them. The illicit, though not always illegal, gains which they may gather are - being cases of resource wastages - a drag on the performance of these undertakings and a heavy debit, because of the magnitudes involved, on the national product. The nature of the operation of these factors in the nationalised coal industry is well brought out by Mr. B. P. Pai in his book, _Save Coal India, Vol. I,_ published in 1977. The agricultural sector is as inherently viable as the industrial sector is unviable, this viability being assessed by the same yardsticks cited above. No agricultural product receives any subsidy from the consumer in the home market, nor any subsidy from the state on exports. Agricultural exports, which are able to stand on their own in world markets, account for about 40% of total exports. The Rupee prices of many agricultural items, e.g. rice, coffee, and Bengal desi cotton, are way lower than international prices, and their exports are banned, restricted or are subjected to penalty export duties. In desperation, some agricultural produce, like rice, is smuggled out! For all its viability, agriculture however, is the least cared for of the three sectors. With the public sector and the industrial sector appropriating the lion's share of the resources, agriculture is starved of capital, though it accounts for about one-half of the national product and 72% of the population lives on it. The corrupt-sector is fed by the public sector, by exchange control, by import restrictions, by licensing policies and, by the complex network of economic legislation and administrative measures, which as noted earlier, have created numerous. monopolies' and other privileges, that yield windfalls and hence give rise to corrupt payments. Until April 1977, rabi food zones, across which foodgrain movements were not permissible except under permits, were amongthe major sources of corruption and the generation of black money. Mr. Y. B. Chavan, when he was Finance Minister, stated that black-market transactions were probably as large, in the aggregate, as those in white money. Black incomes being, generally cases of investment funds converted into private incomes, through corrupt payments, they turn back the hand of development. The National Accounts Statistics, issued by Central Statistical Organisation, help to present the ultimate end product of these measures. The per capita income of the agricultural population which constitutes 72% of the total, declined from a near-peak of Rs. 219.20 in 1960-61 to Rs. 195.50 in 1976-77, or Rs. 2.30 below its level in 1950~51, on the eve of the adoption of socialist policy measures. During the census decade, 1961-71, agricultural workers,(the lowest rung of the economic ladder, rose by 75%; the number of cultivators fell by 16% and the population below the poverty-line moved up from 39% to 45% of the total population. The income of the rest of the population, mostly the urban people, on the other hand, more than doubled from Rs. 400 in 1950-51 to Rs. 813 in 1976-77. In these statistics is writ large the neglect of agriculture and of the interests of the masses, the pampering of industry and of the urban elite, and the fostering of corruption. There is no remedy to these consequences other than to extinguish the corrupt sector, and divert resources, in a big way, from the public sector and the industrial sector into the agricultural sector. Our analysis demonstrates that the most effective and the most appropriate method of achieving this is to make a right-about turn and move rapidly in the direction of the Gandhian concept of the role of the state in economic affairs. This involves the release of the consumer from the socialist chains and taking the other consequential policy U-turns, more particularly: (i) channelising more funds into the agricultural sector both under public and private investments: (ii) removing the barriers to internal and external trade; (iii) revising the industrial policy resolution, 1956; ( iv) abolishing industrial licensing and the system of subsidies; (v) scaling down drastically overall public sector outlays even withdrawing part of public sector investments; (vi) limiting state activity to its natural and proper duties; (vii) removing exchange control, and adopting a fully floating Rupee; (viii) reducing taxation and balancing the budget at a vastly lower level of expenditure and investment than now; and ix) reviewing all economic legislation and administrative measures with a view to their abandonment or for restructuring them to match the needs of a free economy. Experience has shown, again and again, that no country which has been directed, in its economic affairs, by the collective counsel of sovereign consumers, has come to grief. The dividends harvested have invariably been of the "miracle" order, both in respect of growth and social injustice. In the contemporary world, West Germany (under Professor Ludwig Erhard), Spain, Japan and the several mini-Japans in Asia are outstanding examples. On the other hand, no country which has fallen victim to any significant policy-mix of socialism, - which has generally been under the guidance of self-seeking businessmen, industrialists and administrators, and aided by deluded ideologues - has escaped chaos and overall semi-stagnation or decay. India, Burma, Sri Lanka. Pakistan and Bangladesh are classic examples. The sovereignty of the consumer, on which hinges rapid economic growth with social justice, and the sovereignty of the voter, the foundation of all democratic institutions, are but different aspects of a free citizen. We may have an ideally free society when the two sovereignties go together. --- ## [Musing] Auctioning Import Licenses - B.R. Shenoy URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/auctioning-import-licenses-b-r-shenoy/ ### Body _Produced below is an excerpt from an essay published in The Indian Libertarian, January 1959, titled "Auctioning Import Licenses" by B.R. Shenoy. It explores the inefficiencies of India's import licensing system and advocates for a shift towards auctioning these licenses to generate government revenue and curb corruption._ Import licenses today are issued to Established Importers, Actual Users, and government or governmental establishments. Apart from illegal payments made to corrupt officials, the licenses are issued free of charge even to private parties. But, because of the wide disparities which exist between the internal prices of imported goods and their landed costs (i.e., the external prices multiplied by the rate of exchange), import licenses fetch phenomenal prices in the market; these prices may vary from 50% to 500% or more of the face value of the licenses, depending upon commodities. The recent cut in imports has driven these prices up. You cannot get rich quicker today than by getting import licenses issued in your favor. An appropriate license may bring lakhs of rupees, literally, overnight. This operation, which is remarkably simple if we have the right men in the right places in the right ministries, is even more profitable than gold smuggling (which yields a gross profit of 73% on each act of smuggling), involves much less work, and carries next to no risks. Indian imports on private account averaged per year during the past two years Rs. 743 crores. Open General Licenses being restricted to a few items of imports from Pakistan, virtually the whole of these imports came under specific import licenses. If the auction were to fetch an average price of 45-55% of the face value of the licenses, it may bring in a revenue of Rs. 300-Rs. 400 crores. But, perhaps, rather than upset all vested interests at once, it may be expedient to invite tenders, in the first instance, for the licenses which are now issued to Established Importers. The market prices of these licenses are among the highest, and the returns on them may amount to Rs. 200 crores per year. The amount may be, as well, larger considering the accounts of the prices offered for the licenses for certain commodities. From the experience gained, the area of auctioning may be extended to cover all private imports. This device is vastly better than the extension of state trading to imports, which has been suggested by some. State trading here would be avoided considering the scarcity of personnel with the necessary talent, knowledge, experience, and, above all, integrity. Auctioning will bring to the national exchequer the cream of profits, while leaving undisturbed the existing private enterprise machinery of import trade. These windfall receipts would represent 60-80% of the annual average of the tax revenues of the Centre for the past two years. They may not cause any undue strain on the national economy. Insofar as the proceeds of the sales of the first category of licenses are concerned, it would amount to no more than a transfer to the national exchequer of the ill-merited earnings of the anti-social elements among the public and in the administration. If care is taken to ensure that monopolist purchases of the licenses do not take place—this may be done by inviting tenders for the licenses and ensuring wide distribution of the accepted tenders—it may not amount to any new burden on the consumers and the users of import goods, as the auction of the licenses would affect neither the effective demand nor the market supply of import goods. It would, however, put a stop to the concealed subsidies of the industrialists, as the cost of the import goods would now amount to not merely landed costs, as formerly, but landed costs plus the prices paid for the import licenses. But subsidization of industries should be done on a more rational basis than through the issue of import licenses; it should not be mixed up with the adoption of corrective measures for the balance of payments difficulties of the country​. The crux of India's payments problem is, on the one hand, to bring about a shift-back to production for export from production for the home market and, on the other, to eliminate the vast gaps between the landed costs and market prices of import goods and between the internal and the external prices of gold. Stabilization of the economy is not possible without this two-dimensional desideratum. The auction of the import licenses would equate domestic prices of import goods to their external prices; the shift-back in production, which is necessary on a considerable scale, may be achieved by drawing on the auction proceeds of import licenses to subsidize exports. This would serve the ends of economic justice as the ill-merited gains of the import trade are acquired mainly at the expense of the export industries. The export promotion measures we have so far adopted, or have under active consideration, include relief from export duties, "draw-backs," rebates on customs and excise duties, and remission of sales tax on exports, rediscount of export bills at preferential rates, freight concession on Railways, supply of steel at concession rates for export production, wider coverage of insurance risks than hitherto, provision of certain administrative facilities to exports, and so on​. Read the complete text [here](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-jan1-1959.pdf). (Page I - Indian Libertarian Supplement) type=content&p=8642). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] {:en}भारतातील उदारमतवादाचे पुरस्कर्ते गोपाळ कृष्ण गोखले{:}{:mr}भारतातील उदारमतवादाचे पुरस्कर्ते गोपाळ कृष्ण गोखले {:} URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/bhartaateel-udaarmatavadache-puraskrute-gopal-krishna-gokhale/ ### Body 'नामदार', 'भारताचा हिरा' अशा विविध उपाधी मिळालेल्या गोपाळ कृष्ण गोखले यांचा जन्म १८६६ साली गुहागर मधील कोतलुकमध्ये झाला. लहानपणापासून अभ्यासात अतिशय हुशार आणि इंग्रिजीवर विलक्षण प्रभुत्व. कोल्हापूर, पुढे पुण्यातील डेक्कन कॉलेज आणि मग मुंबई येथील एल्फिन्स्टन कॉलेजमधून त्यांनी शिक्षण घेतलं. काही काळ मुलांच्या शिकवण्या घेऊन त्यांनी शिक्षणासाठी घेतलेलं कर्ज फेडलं. न्यायमूर्ती महादेव गोविंद रानडे यांचा प्रभाव गोखल्यांवर पडला. रानड्यांचे मानसपुत्र म्हणूनही गोखल्यांना ओळखलं जाई. गणिताचे प्राध्यापक म्हणून कार्यरत असताना गोखल्यांना नोकरी, कुटुंब, 'आपण बरे, आपले काम बरे' हा विचार पटला नाही. ज्या देशात जन्म मिळाला आहे त्या देशासाठी आपण काहीतरी करायला हवं ही भावना कायम होती.  न्यायमूर्ती रानडे, टिळक, आगरकर, दादाभाई नवरोजी अशा समकालीन विचारवंतांसोबतच जेरेमी बेंथम, जॉन स्टुअर्ट मिल, एडमंड बर्क अशा पाश्चात्य विचारवंतांचा प्रभाव गोखल्यांच्या विचारांतून दिसत असे. पुढे काँग्रेस मध्ये ते 'मवाळवादी' या गटाचा महत्वाचा भाग होते. १९०५ साली, काँग्रेसचे अध्यक्ष असताना त्यांनी सर्व्हन्टस ऑफ इंडिया सोसायटीची स्थापना केली. भारतातील तत्कालीन शिक्षण व्यवस्था ही भारतीयांसाठी पुरेशी नाही या विचाराने ही संस्था अस्तित्वात आली. राजकीय शिक्षणाशिवाय राजकीय बदल होऊ शकत नाही यावर त्यांचा ठाम विश्वास होता. या संस्थेच्या कार्याअंतर्गत ग्रंथालयं उभारणं, शाळा स्थापन करणं आणि कामगारांसाठी रात्री शिकवण्या घेणं असे विविध उपक्रम राबवले गेले. याच बरोबर, युवकांनी सनदशीर पद्धतीने राष्ट्रीय हितासाठी झटावे, लोकांमध्ये जागृती निर्माण करावी हा या संस्थेचा नेम होता.  ‘सनदशीर’ हा शब्द मवाळवाद्यांची ओळख झाली होती. 'प्रेयर्स अँड पेटिशन्स' ची पद्धत गोखल्यांनी अवलंबली होती. त्यांच्या धारणांमध्ये उठाव, संप, असहकार चळवळ बसत नसे. गोखल्यांनी इंग्रजांपर्यंत आपल्या तक्रारी पोहचवणे, मवाळ गटाच्या अपेक्षा आणि मागण्या सांगणे, शिफारशी मांडणे आणि संवाद साधणे हा मार्ग आयुष्यभर अवलंबला.  याचं एक उत्तम उदाहरण म्हणजे - १८९७ साली वेलबी कमिशन समोर गोखल्यांनी भारतातील आर्थिक दुःस्थिती, त्याची कारणं आणि त्यावरील शिफारशी अतिशय प्रभावी पद्धतीने मांडल्या. याचा परिणाम म्हणजे ब्रिटिशांनी भारतावर लादलेलं आर्थिक ओझं काही प्रमाणात कमी केलं. ब्रिटिशांनी जो उदारमतवाद ब्रिटनमध्ये पाळला होता, तोच त्यांनी भारतात लागू करावा आणि पाळावा अशी गोखल्यांची अपेक्षा आणि मागणी होती. ब्रिटिशांचं बोट धरून भारताला उदारमतवादाकडे नेणं हा काँग्रेस मधील मवाळ मंडळींचा मानस होता -      दलितांचे, मागासवर्गीयांचे सशक्तीकरण, हिंदू-मुसलमान एकता या स्तंभांवर सशक्त भारत उभा राहेल यावर काँग्रेस मधल्या सगळ्यांचं एकमत होतं. मात्र, ब्रिटिशांचा हस्तक्षेप असावा की नाही, असेल तर तो कुठे आणि किती असावा आणि सर्वात महत्वाचं म्हणजे भारताच्या विकासासाठी काय मार्ग अवलंबले जावेत यावर काँग्रेस मध्ये वादंग होऊन, १९०७ साली सुरत मधील अधिवेशनात काँग्रेस दुभंगली. भारतीयांचे दमन हेच ज्या राज्यकर्त्यांचे ध्येय आहे त्या राज्यकर्त्यांशी संवाद साधून भारतीयांना अधिकार, स्वातंत्र्य कसे मिळणार हा अतिशय महत्वाचा प्रश्न मवाळ गटात नसलेल्या नेत्यांचा होता. जे अधिकार ब्रिटिश नागरिकांना ब्रिटन मध्ये आहेत ते अधिकार भारतीयांना भारतात नाहीत; आणि भारतीयांना ते समान अधिकार कधीही मिळू नयेत यासाठी ब्रिटिश अधिकारी कार्यरत असताना, 'प्रेयर्स अँड पेटिशन्स' चा काय उपयोग या प्रश्नाला अनेकांकडे उत्तर नव्हतं. वर्णद्वेष आणि अंकुश नसलेल्या सत्तेमुळे वाईसरॉय लॉर्ड कर्झन उन्मत्त झाला होता. १९०५ साली भारतीयांच्या विरोधाला न जुमानता लॉर्ड कर्झनने बंगालच्या फाळणीचा प्रस्ताव मांडला. अशा परिस्थितीत ब्रिटिशांची सत्ता भारतीयांच्या हिताची ठरू शकते हे भारतीयांना पटवून देणं मवाळ गटाला कठीण झालं. गायत्री पगडी यांच्या लोकमान्य टिळकांवरील पुस्तकातल्या एका उल्लेखाप्रमाणे जनसामान्यांनी भारताच्या लढ्यात पडू नये; काही निवडक बुद्धीजीवींनी भारत आणि ब्रिटन मधला दुवा बनावे असे गोखल्यांचं मत होतं  . या उलट टिळक, ऑरोबिंदो, लाला लाजपत राय यांनी भारताच्या लढ्यात सामान्य माणसांना सामील करून घेणं आणि ब्रिटिशांपेक्षा भारतीय जनतेशी संवाद साधणे यावर जोर दिला.  गोखल्यांची इच्छा होती की काँग्रेसमध्ये पडलेली फूट दूर व्हावी आणि साऱ्या गटांनी एकत्र यावे. ही इच्छा मात्र त्यांच्या जीवनकाळात पूर्ण होऊ शकली नाही. १९१५ मध्ये वयाच्या अवघ्या ४८ व्या वर्षी गोखल्यांचे निधन झाले. तदनंतर १९१६ सालच्या लखनौ अधिवेशनात काँग्रेसमधले सगळे गट एकत्र आले. गोखल्यांनी खऱ्या अर्थाने उदारमतवाद अंगीकारला होता. राजकीय विरोधकांना योग्य तो आदर देत त्यांनी आपले विचार मांडले. कितीही वैचारिक मतभेद असले तरी प्रत्येकाला त्याचे विचार मांडण्याचा पूर्ण अधिकार आहे या तत्वावर त्यांनी आयुष्यभर विश्वास ठेवला. आणि काँग्रेस अध्यक्ष असतानाही सत्तेचा गैरवापर केला नाही. तत्वनिष्ठता आणि आपण समाजासाठी काहीतरी करायला हवं हा विचार आणि तसाच आचार हे गोखल्यांच्या व्यक्तिमत्वाचे ठळक पैलू होते. त्यांच्या विरोधकांनाही त्यांच्याविषयी नितांत आदर आणि प्रेम होतं. गोखल्यांच्या मृत्यूनंतर जहाल गटाचे नेते असलेल्या टिळकांनी केसरीतून उदारमतवादाचे अग्रणी पुढारी असलेल्या गोखल्यांना आदरांजली अर्पण केली.  [](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMG_4159_Original.jpg) **Avanti Lele** Avanti Lele is a Minoo Masani Liberal Fellow. She is pursuing her PhD in English Literature from Lancaster University. She has worked as a lecturer of English Literature and as a Spanish language instructor. Her research interests include but are not limited to women's writing, liberal feminism, postcolonial studies, indigeneity. --- ## [Musing] Bureaucracy and the Liberal Administrator URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/bureaucracy-liberal-administrator/ ### Body _Published by the Centre for Civil Society, a public policy think tank based out of New Delhi, _this excerpt has been borrowed from Sauvik Chakraverti's essay titled "New Public Management: Escape from Babudom". The essay builds a case for new public management as an escape from the statist clutches of Indian bureaucracy – starting with the attributes and importance of a liberal administrator, and the essence of bureaucracy – as written by Max Weber and Ludwig Von Mises.__ _Sauvik Chakraverti (1956-2014) was an award-winning columnist and author whose books, monographs and columns advanced the cause of libertarian movement in India. Sauvik had studied governance at LSE and was deeply influenced by the ideas of FA Hayek._ ### **What is a Liberal Administrator?** A liberal is one who believes wholeheartedly that the greatest political value is freedom: **a liberal administrator, therefore, does not wish to infringe the freedoms of the people with unnecessary rules, regulations, and red tape.** His laissez faire attitude to the people whose common affairs he is to administer comes from a profound realisation of the fact that the people do not really need him: in fact, they can get along much better without him. Having understood this, the liberal administrator tries to make himself useful by going after the bad guys, the frauds, cheats, murderers, and rapists, and leaving the good guys, the businessmen who create wealth, alone. The notion that there is a natural 'spontaneous' order in society is easily proved by the fact that there is order on the streets and in the markets of London, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong or Calcutta, Bombay and Delhi, not because the police is there enforcing order, but because people are orderly on their own. Trade is a positive sum game--both sides win--and man has being playing this positive sum game from time immemorial. This profound truth--the very opposite of Thomas Hobbes' dark conceptions of a 'state of nature'--is something only the liberal administrator appreciates. Indeed, it may be said that the state of nature--what Adam Smith called 'natural liberty'--is the ideal of the liberal administrator. The liberal administrator knows and respects the fact that the institution of civil society which makes 'natural liberty' so harmonious is the market. **He keeps his hands away from the market.** He does not seek to compete with businessmen, and so does not set up factories and shops with government money. He spends tax money on those things people cannot build on their own, like roads, parks, clocktowers, libraries and so on. On the practical side, in the cities and the towns falling under his jurisdiction, the liberal administrator always ensures that the physical markets on the ground are clean and accessible. He worships his city's central business district. At the opposite end, we have the statist 'control freak' administrator: the one who cannot bear to see society left alone and wants to feel important. He wants the people to line up and queue before him, he wants to check documents and papers, and he wants to enforce complex rules and regulations. Hong Kong has had liberal administrators always (and we discuss John Cowptherwaite later in this essay), and see how it has prospered, to levels of per capita income far higher than its erstwhile colonial master, Britain; and India has had control freaks for 50 years, and see how she has suffered. Control freaks in India must wake up to the fact that their administrative philosophy is all wrong, and it leads to a 'rent seeking society.' So here's to more liberal administrators in India. ### **What is Bureaucracy?** The German philosopher Max Weber laid great store by bureaucracy. He considered it to be the civilian equivalent of a disciplined army, performing the duties of the state. According to Weber, bureaucracy has four characteristic features: - **Hierarchy**: that is, a ladder; a command-and-control structure. - **Impersonality**: or impartiality. The bureaucrat takes an unbiased decision based on rules. - **Career**: it was a life, like joining the priesthood. - **Expertise**: that is, administration based on knowledge. Such an organisation would provide the state what Weber called '**rational-legal legitimacy**.' When the servants of the state act with reason and law--'rational-legal'--the structure of domination, the state, acquires 'legitimacy' in the eyes of the subject populace. At the outset, let us realise that there are some problems with this organisational structure that Weber did not think of. For example, flat organisations are increasingly preferred over hierarchy in management. Strict hierarchies with promotion based on seniority lead to the 'rule of the aged,' such organisations are graveyards for talented youth. As Ludwig von Mises put it: It is evident that youth is the first victim of the trend toward bureaucratisation. The young men are deprived of any opportunity to shape their own fate. For them there is no chance left. They are, in fact, 'lost generations' for they lack the most precious right of every rising generation, the right to contribute something new to the old inventory of civilisation... What are young people to whom nothing is left to change and to improve? Whose only prospect is to start at the lowest rung of the bureaucratic ladder and to climb slowly in strict observance of the rules formulated by older superiors? Seen from their viewpoint bureaucratisation means subjection of the young to the domination of the old. Similarly, a lifelong career is no longer the best option for the youth. It is essential today to switch jobs, move up the value chain, and acquire new skills. Lifelong careers and 'job security' are preferred only by the incompetent. As far as the Indian bureaucracy is concerned, they fall flat on the counts of impersonality and expertise. A recent survey by The Economist found impartiality the most important work ethic of European civil servants. In India, they are known for their bias. Even the police are biased. Further, they completely lack knowledge: from traffic management to garbage management, everything they do is marked by ignorance. Thus: - The Weberian ideal has its limitations in today's context. - Indian civil servants fall far below Weber's ideals. __You can access the complete essay [here](https://indianliberals.in/liberals/new-public-management-escape-from-babudom.pdf).__ type=content&p=8471). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] Caste System, Greatest Curse of India URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/caste-system-curse/ ### Body It is up to the educated people to bring about an intellectual and cultural revolution in the country by propagating vigorously rational ideas about caste and exposing its evils on rational grounds and at the same time by stoutly refusing to countenance casteism and its mythical taboos and restrictions in any shape and form. This revolutionary work among the people coupled with political pressures exerted by the Government in a democratic way, on this institution of caste, will surely hasten its death. _The following article, written by DM Kulkarni, first appeared in the March 1960 issue of The Indian Libertarian. Mr Kulkarni argues that if India wants to be on the path to a free and open society, the caste system must go. He calls for the educated people to bring about an intellectual and cultural revolution in the country by propagating vigorously rational ideas about caste and exposing its evils on rational grounds, and at the same time by stoutly refusing to countenance casteism and its mythical taboos and restrictions in any shape and form._ It is generally agreed among the thinking sections of the Indian population, that the caste system in the form in which it prevails among the Hindus today, is the greatest curse of India, and has proved to be a big stumbling block in the path of India’s all-round progress. It is within the common experience of the administrators and public workers, that all welfare schemes undertaken by the Government, or social organisations, flounder on the rock of casteism which permeates inevitably, though imperceptibly, the very machinery set up to implement them. It is, therefore, that an urgent duty is cast on all well-Wishers of our country to apply themselves seriously to the task of speedily eradicating caste, which is sapping all strength out of our national life, and has become, in the words of Prof Sir Fredrick Bartlett ‘one of the hard points of Hindu culture.’ (quoted in “Caste and Race in India” by Prof Ghurye). **Evolution of Caste** All Orientalists and sociologists agree that this caste system, at least in its original, form resembled in material particulars, the class, or better still the ‘estates’ system that prevailed in both Eastern and Western countries in ancient times. Regarding Indian Social Organisation during the early Vedic period, Prof Max Muller observes in “Chips from German Workshop”: – “There is no authority in the hymns of the Vedas for the present complicated caste system, at least in its original form claimed by the Brahmins and for the degraded position of the Shudras; there is no text to show that there was any bar to eating and drinking together, inter-dining and inter-caste marriage.” He then concludes that “a Hindu who believed only in the Vedas could be much nearer to Christianity than those who follow Puranas and Tantras.” Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the great founder of the Arya Samaj movement and Vedic scholar also supports this view that caste system as such, with its extreme rigidity and exclusiveness, did not exist among the Vedic Aryans. It is thus clear that the present framework of caste-based on birth and hereditary occupations was slowly evolved in all its ugly features of irrational taboos and restrictions on food, social contacts and marriages, culminating in the most monstrous institution of untouchability, during the Puranic period ending with the 11th century A.D., when India divided vertically and horizontally by innumerable caste and sub-castes, fell an easy prey to the foreign invasions of the Northern hordes. **Major Operation Essential** This institution of caste and unlimited number of sub-castes, each one imbued with the spirit of exclusiveness, superiority and inferiority complexes, with its exploded ideas of racial and ceremonial purity, ill-conceived and unfounded prejudices with respect to other castes, have brought about a complete disruption of Indian national life and has created unnecessary strifes, dissensions in our body politic. It had made it very difficult, if not impossible, for the Indian nation as a whole, to pursue any scheme of social, economic welfare with a united effort and will and with a singleness of purpose and devotion. The code of relative moral and social behaviours, the different sets of judicial principles, framed and applied by the Hindu law-givers like Manu and others, for different caste and strata of society have led to the formation of distinct ethical and social groups, widely differing from one another in patterns of social behaviour and moral values. All this differentiation, deliberately made by the law-givers, has tended to create isolationism, cliquism as between castes, in practically all walks of life. The non-Brahmin movements in Maharashtra and in South India can all be traced to this same evil of casteism, which, despite the legislative laws of the Government in this respect, is still stalking abroad in all its strength and fury. The high and the low, the King and the peasant, the Minister and the peon, the Indian National Congress and Village Panchayat have all to humble themselves before the Almighty power of caste. It is a patent fact, that caste considerations to a great extent determine the choice of even the Congress candidates in the General Election and also in the Elections of the local bodies. Ministers and Government Administrators, even while profusely mouthing high sounding phrases and slogans of strong denunciation of caste, have perforce to attend, guide, and preside over caste functions and thus directly encourage casteism, just to be in the good books of the caste-leaders at the time of the Elections. These castes and sub-castes, whenever they have to come together, out of daily life’s urgent needs and necessities do so, not out of a healthy spirit of camaraderie and social co-operation, but ”mechanically” as Dr Ambedkar has well put it. The same writer further says in his book ”What Gandhi and Congress have done for the untouchables” that the caste system is not only “non-social but also anti-social”. And as such, this institution calls for strenuous efforts on the part of all interested in the welfare of the country, to root it out completely and not merely be satisfied with make-shift arrangements which will not solve the problems. **Economic Consequences of the Caste System** Caste, besides being an obstacle to social and national unity has now proved to be a hindrance to our economic progress as well. The rigidity of caste with its professions and trades assigned to particular castes has killed the initiative and enterprise of the people. Free mobility of labour, free choice of profession and division of labour which is quite essential for stepping-up production under modern industrial conditions are totally absent under this institution. This has resulted in a colossal waste of human talents and potentialities. Besides, caste has fostered among the higher classes, a feeling of utter contempt for manual work which is inimical to the economic progress of the people. The specious argument that the caste alone preserves hereditary skills in handicrafts and arts, falls to the ground when we see such skills being handed down from father to son even in social groups and communities which do not observe caste. The degradation of sixty millions of untouchables to a position worse than that of slaves under the caste system has entailed on our country huge economic and social loss. **On to a Free and Open Society** Thus considered from any point of view, rational, economic, social, political, and even historical caste system is the greatest evil the country is suffering from today and has therefore got to go. Too long have we tolerated it in our midst. Any more tinkering with the problem is fraught with grave danger to our very national existence. The caste-ridden society is a “closed” society, perhaps suited to the conditions of a by-gone age. But in modern “open and democratic” society which it is our aim to build up, it has no place. In the words of our Prime Minister Nehru – “there can be no equality of status and opportunity within its framework, nor can there be political democracy and much less economic democracy. Between these two conceptions, conflict is inherent. Only one of them can survive” (J. Nehru, ‘Discovery of India’). It is, therefore, up to the educated people to bring about an intellectual and cultural revolution in the country by propagating vigorously rational ideas about caste and exposing its evils on rational grounds and at the same time by stoutly refusing to countenance casteism and its mythical taboos and restrictions in any shape and form. This revolutionary work among the people coupled with political pressures exerted by the Government in a democratic way, on this institution of caste, will surely hasten its death. The original document can be accessed [here](http://indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=509918235.pdf). _[IndianLiberals.in](http://indianliberals.in/) is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ [Read More SO Musings](https://spontaneousorder.in/?s=SO+Musings) --- ## [Musing] Ceilings on Landholdings - M.A. Venkata Rao URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/ceilings-on-landholdings-m-a-venkata-rao-1958/ ### Body _The following text is an excerpt from an essay titled "_**_Ceilings on Landholdings_**_" by _**_M.A. Venkata Rao_**_, published in The Indian Libertarian on September 15, 1958. _ _M.A. Venkata Rao was a prominent thinker and commentator known for his libertarian views on economic and social policies in post-independence India. _ _In this piece, Rao critically examines the proposed land reforms in India, arguing against the imposition of landholding ceilings and highlighting the broader economic, social, and political implications of these policies. He highlights the ideological underpinnings of the reforms, warning of potential consequences for _**_property rights_**_ and _**_democratic governance_**_ in India._ This year (1958) marks a crucial turning point for agriculturalists, with significant land reform proposals under consideration in several Southern states, including Kerala, Andhra, and Mysore. These states are following the lead of Bombay, which has already introduced reforms, and Madras is poised to do the same. It is vital for the future of democracy and stable governance in India that these land reform proposals are discussed thoroughly from all perspectives—economic and social, short-term and long-term, evolutionary and revolutionary. Such discussions should involve people with relevant experience and intellectuals in general, to ensure that any decisions made have the informed consent of thoughtful citizens. After all, democracy fundamentally means governance by consent, and no issue is ever truly settled unless it is settled rightly. However, it cannot be argued with any reasonable fairness that the official proposals, as formulated in the Planning Commission's Reports I and II, are designed to secure the agreement of all affected classes. Even if the government secures a majority vote from legislators in the states for these radical and revolutionary proposals, it cannot claim to have honored the spirit of democracy, for their majority would be a coerced one, not a spontaneous one. Many legislators own no land, and those who do own land hope to retain more than the proposed ceiling, citing family size or other reasons. Many have already sold their lands and invested in urban real estate. As a result, these inequitable reforms are likely to pass amidst substantial suppressed resentment, which could add to the existing reservoir of discontent, manifesting in various anti-national uprisings. A close reading of the Planning Commission's Reports I and II reveals a clear blueprint for communist land reform—or, more accurately, revolution—toward which these proposals commit the country. Even the first report of 1951 lays down unambiguously that the goal of land reforms is village management with all lands pooled into a single operational unit and managed under the panchayat. The second report of 1956 reiterates this design, aiming to abolish intermediaries, convert tenants into owners, impose ceilings on landholdings, and distribute the reclaimed land along with uncultivated government land to landless tillers and smallholders. Compensation to owners and payments by beneficiaries would be minimal and stretched over 15 to 20 years, with payments to owners made in 20-year government bonds, similar to the treatment of zamindars. The first thing to understand is that the case of the Southern landowners is not comparable to that of the zamindars under the Permanent Settlement in the Northern States. Unlike the zamindars, who were primarily revenue collectors under state authority, many Southern landowners purchased their lands on the open market for hard cash and have paid land revenue over the years. However, the proposed reforms place both classes of landowners on the same footing, effectively liquidating their property rights for the benefit of the landless laborers and smallholders. The Kerala Bill, for example, proposes to take away surplus land above a ceiling of 15 acres of wetland or its equivalent in dry land. The Mysore and Andhra proposals set the permissible area based on income, allowing holdings that yield Rs. 5,400 per year, effectively redefining land ownership and pushing the limits of private property rights. If these proposals are implemented, they could result in a significant seizure of private property by the state, justified on humanitarian grounds. However, such actions raise serious questions about their legality, morality, and constitutional validity. Is it justifiable to dismantle a class of property holders engaged in a critical sector like food production during a time of underproduction? The Libertarian Movement strongly advocates for the rights of private property within legitimate limits such as fair competition. It recognizes the value of Henry George's land use principles, which suggest that the state should reclaim unearned capital gains from property owners through resettlement at regular intervals. However, these reforms do not align with George's ideas, as they destroy property rights of large holders only to create new property rights for smaller ones, without any justification. Read the [complete musing here](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-sept15-1958.pdf) (pages 3,4, and 8) type=content&p=8626). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] Censorship and the Law of Inexorability URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/censorship-and-the-law-of-inexorability/ ### Body _The following essay is part of a 2012 booklet published by The Liberty Institute, New Delhi, in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. The booklet was title **[At Liberty: Freedom to Express and Offend.](https://indianliberals.in/content/at-liberty-freedom-to-express-and-offend/)** Authored by Ravi Shanker Kapoor, the essay examines ban on cinema and attacks on artistic freedom by the government, political organisations and pressure groups, despite the existence of the Central Board of Film Certification, a statutory body._In India, no other form of human expression has faced more restrictions than cinema. Unfortunately, it is  not only the Central Board  of Film Certification (CBFC) which does the job of censorship but, as we shall see, a variety of forces tend to curtail the filmmakers' creative freedom. The CBFC, a statutory body under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, is mandated to regulate the public exhibition of films under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act, 1952. Films can be publicly exhibited in India only after they have been  certified by the CBFC or the censor  board in  common parlance. The Board, headquartered in Mumbai, comprises a chairperson and non-official  members, all  of whom are appointed by the Central  government. It has nine  regional offices, one each in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Cuttack, and Guwahati. Films are certified  under four categories: 'U' certificate or Unrestricted Public Exhibition; 'UA' certificate or Unrestricted Public Exhibition, but with a word of caution that parental discretion required for children below 12 years; 'A' certificate or restricted to adults; and 'S' certificate or restricted to any special class of persons. The vision behind the setting up of the CBFC was "to ensure good and healthy entertainment" in accordance with the established provisions. **Supreme ****Court's Justification**** ** Why should cinema be subjected to censorship when other forms of expression like the press, novels, and short stories are not? The Supreme Court of India justified film censorship, arguing:  _Film censorship becomes necessary because a film motivates thought and action and assume a high degree of attention and mention as compared to the printed word. The combination of act and speech, sight and sound in semi-darkness of the theatre with elimination of all distracting ideas will have a strong impact on the minds of the viewers and can affect emotions. Therefore, it has as much potential for evil as it has for good and has an equal pound to instill or cultivate violent or good behavior. It cannot be equated with other modes of communication. Censorship by prior restraint is, therefore, not only desirable but also necessary. _ Our argument is that even if the apparently harmless vision  of the CBFC (good and healthy entertainment) and the apex court's justification (potential for evil) are accepted on their face value, it is not possible to resolve the issue. For there have been instances where films have been banned despite clearance from the censor board. While categorizing films as per various certificates is essential, the very idea of CBFC acting as a censor board is not good. What makes the matters worse is  that the CBFC's certification is not considered final either by the political class or society.  Mrinal Sen-directed _Neel Akasher Neechey_ (1959) was banned for two years, apparently by the government and not the censor board. That it was banned by the government run by Jawaharlal Nehru, the quintessential liberal, makes the assault on creative freedom even more deplorable. His government also went on to proscribe the 1962 film_ Nine __Hours to __Rama_, which showed Nathuram Godse's political and psychological motivation for killing Gandhi. The movie was based on a book by celebrated historian Stanley Wolpert; incidentally, he also wrote an authoritative biography of Nehru.  If gold rusts, what will happen to iron? With men of high ideals with touching faith in liberalism falling prey to political expedience, the lesser and later politicians showed much less tolerance to the subjects and viewpoints that they found unpalatable. Directed by Gulzar, _Aandhi _(1975) was said to be based on triangle of Indira Gandhi-Nehru-Feroze Gandhi relationships. Its release faced problems, even though it showed Indira Gandhi in a  favorable light. Then there was Amrit Nahata-directed _Kissa Kursi __Ka _(1977).  Though not depicting any prominent leader in particular, it showed a corrupt and vile politician wooing personified public, played by Shabana Azmi. The movie was banned by the government.  **Nationalistic peevishness ** Nationalistic peevishness is another factor. In 1984, _Indiana Jones __and __the Temple __of __Doom_ was proscribed for "racist portrayal of Indians and overt imperialistic tendencies." The West Bengal government banned_ City __of Joy_ in 1992 for the alleged denigration of Calcutta. Prudery has also been the bane of hackers. _Kama_ _Sutra: A __Tale of Love __Banned _(1996) faced trouble with the censors; a truncated version was later released. The same year, _Fire_ faced the air of Hindu groups who objected to lesbianism and the names of protagonists, Sita and Radha. Using these names for lesbians was mischievous, the activists said. This was a slur on Hinduism. Religious sensibilities are easily offended in India. Politicians in some states with a substantial Christian population banned _The Da Vinci Code,_ even though the Christian West did not do that.  Sometimes it is publicity hunger that propels people to attack films. The 2009 _Billu Barber _met with fierce resistance from salon and beauty parlor associations; they said that the word 'Barber' was derogatory. The head of the production company, Shahrukh Khan, was forced to rename the title as Billu. He also found it politic to invite members of the Hairdressers' Association of Mumbai members to the premier of the movie. Politics  has always played a big role in attracting proscription. In 1971, Satyajit Ray-directed _Sikkim_ faced a ban, which lasted till September 2010. In 2006, the film _Fanaa_ was banned in Gujarat  for a strange reason-that the lead  star, Aamir Khan, was against the Sardar Sarovar Dam over the river Narmada and had  demanded adequate rehabilitation for the ousted villagers! Shatrughan Sinha, popular film star and member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (which ruled in the state), even hinted his party would launch violent protests if the Khan did not retract his support to the anti-dam activists.  Then there was the curious case of _Jo Bole So Nihal_. In May 2005, the Shiromani Akali Dal  (SAD) sought ban on film in which the hero, Sunny Deol, played the role of Sikh cop. "The producer of the film has misused the holy Sikh community slogan (Bole So Nihal)," SAD chief Parkash Singh Badal told a  press conference. "It is pertinent to mention here that a sub-committee of the Akal Takht had given 'clean chit' to the Hindi film starring Sunny Deol," said a PTI report on May 18.  The ruckus was the product of intra-Alzali bickering; some factions used the movie as a  pretext to score brownie  points. The most recent controversy, regarding the ban on Prakash Jha's_ Aarakshan_, is a typical case of political correctness not just going berserk but also it mingling with the shenanigans of politicians.  National Commission for scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes chairman P.L. Punia objected to some dialogues in the film, calling them anti-Dalit. This was despite the fact that the film was cleared by a panel comprising nine people, including a Dalit activist and a former high court judge. Usually, such panels include four or five people. The result of Punia's petulance was that the movie was banned in Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Punjab.  **Politics, pure and simple** It was politics, pure  and simple. Punia, a Congress leader who was earlier a confidante of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati, wanted to present himself as a  'true'  leader of the Dalits. The Congress and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party, seen as the big rivals in the country's largest state, were both vying for the bigger chunk of Dalit vote. It was Jha's misfortune that he was caught in the crossfire. More dangerous than the machinations of politicians is the tacit and often explicit support they get from intellectuals in the assaults on freedom of expression.  For  instance, Dalit scholar Kancha Ilaiah and prominent editor Ajay Bose practically supported ban on _Aarakshan_. Bose saw nothing wrong in Mayawati's  ban on _Aarakshan_ on the grounds that she was entitled to take whatever action she deemed fit for her political survival. The ideals and rights enshrined in the Constitution mattered little to him. It is this intellectual milieu that emboldens the political class to trample over the fundamental rights of citizens. Eminent academics, media Brahmins, and other  opinion makers-most of them steeped in dirigiste mindset-have convinced themselves that meaningful change in human existence can be brought only by the  state. A natural corollary is that any political cunning is justified. Hence the easy condoning of the actions of Punia and Mayawati by intellectuals.  In short, the so-called reasonable restrictions on the freedom of expression may have occasioned the censor board to regulate cinema but the matter did not end there. As any other government regulation, it has also acquired a life of its own, often making the existence of the CBFC redundant. Any political party, social outfit, cultural group, or publicity seeker can don the mantle of a censor and torment a filmmaker. Punia cited reasonable restrictions justify his attack on _Aarakshan_; it is another matter that the restrictions he wanted to impose were unreasonable. The concept from which the censor board derives its legitimacy is  also the one from which super-censors do.  Creative freedom will remain constrained and restrained till the individual is deprived of the right to express himself without restrictions, reasonable or otherwise. Until that is done, grumpy politicians, tetchy outfits, blackmailers, mischief mongers, and trouble makers will inexorably continue to thrive at the expense of freedom of expression._Last week's musing: [ART VERSUS LAW AND ORDER](https://indianliberals.in/content/art-versus-law-and-order/)_ --- ## [Musing] China’s Tiananmen Massacre URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/chinas-tiananmen-massacre/ ### Body We posed a question in an earlier issue of Freedom First: "Is the Soviet ideology really changing?" China, at least, has answered in the negative and proved beyond all reasonable doubt that once communists gain control of a country they will never let go. lt is as simple as that. If it was not so, why would the demand for democracy incur the wrath and vengeance of the peoples' democrats? _Barry Posen, a scholar of International Politics, has recently _[_argued_](https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2020-04-23/do-pandemics-promote-peace)_ about the peace dividend of the pandemic as nations would emerge out of the lockdown considerably weaker. However, China’s dealings in the _[_South China Sea_](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2020/06/02/commentary/world-commentary/china-steps-offensive-senkaku-islands/#.XtjxL-fhVPY)_, _[_Hong Kong_](https://www.economist.com/china/2020/05/28/chinas-national-security-bill-for-hong-kong-is-an-attempt-to-terrify)_, and with _[_India_](http://ajaishukla.blogspot.com/2020/06/rajnath-admits-sizeable-intrusion-by.html)_ and _[_Australia_](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/20/australia-vows-to-stand-up-to-china-amid-reports-wine-and-dairy-exports-could-be-targeted-next)_ show a revisionist power asserting its authority. China’s bullying behavior abroad mirrors its authoritarian conduct at home, seen in the suppression of democracy, human rights violations, and treatment of the minorities. Recently in Hong Kong, the pro-China regime has _[_disallowed_](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-52877411)_ the memorial gathering to commemorate the Tiananmen massacre, not to mention the imposition of national security law. _ _The Tiananmen Square massacre was the Chinese government crackdown over the pro-democracy protests in 1989. The crackdown led to the estimated _[_death_](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/tiananmen-square-massacre-death-toll-secret-cable-british-ambassador-1989-alan-donald-a8126461.html)_ of around 10,000 peaceful, non-violent, and mostly young student protestors. The army ran tanks over the crowd to turn the bodies into ‘pie’, hosed the remains down the drain, bayoneted the wounded girls to death, and shot civilians for target practice._ _Freedom First’s SV Raju wrote a critical editorial over the incident in the July-September, 1989 issue. Even today, Raju’s arguments have resonance for liberals. While Raju and other liberals cheered Deng Xiaoping for introducing economic reforms which turned China capitalist in all but name, he also made it clear that political liberty and democracy were non-negotiable. Raju also discussed the geopolitical dimension of the global response to the incident, denunciation of the massacre by radical leftists, support to the Chinese authoritarianism by the CPI (M), and the persistent colonization of Tibet. Today, in Raju’s affirmation of ‘Bread with Freedom’ lies the lesson for liberals in India and elsewhere not to trade political liberty for economic freedom._ In Communist China, Mao’s heirs have, by their brutal suppression of a movement for more freedom and democracy, proved that power indeed grows from the barrel of a gun. The naive who are inclined to take the democratic professions of the commissar at face value, need to think again – Poland, Hungary or Gorbachev notwithstanding. We posed a question in an earlier issue of Freedom First: “Is the Soviet ideology really changing?” China, at least, has answered in the negative and proved beyond all reasonable doubt that once communists gain control of a country they will never let go. lt is as simple as that. If it was not so, why would the demand for democracy incur the wrath and vengeance of the peoples’ democrats? Freedom First holds firm its belief that while a market economy is the only sensible and pragmatic policy that can promote the prosperity of a people it cannot be divorced from the society where the citizen dictates not only what shall be produced but also who shall rule him. lt can never be Bread or Freedom. tt must always be Bread and Freedom. The Marxist-Leninists (our very own Naxalites) are right when they denounce both Deng and his cohorts (who they describe as ‘Capitalist-Roaders’) on the one hand and ‘Western Capitalists’ on the other, for the suppression of the movement for democracy. For our Naxalites the students’ movement is a revolt against the new economic policy of the Chinese Communist gerontocracy while we view it as a genuine people’s movement that proves that four decades of totalitarian rule has not suppressed a people’s desire to breathe freely the air of freedom and liberty. Western nations including the United States have been pulling their punches because trade is at stake. The Chinese market is so big, so inviting, so profitable! The villain of the piece is Japan which is actively campaigning, particularly with the United States, not to take harsh steps or act in anger. Truly have the Japanese taken over the British mantle of being ‘shopkeepers to the world’. And so we agree, for different reasons with the Marxist-Leninists when they point out that while “Capitalist Roader” Deng was warmly applauded by the West for his opening up the market to them he is found wanting because of the suppression of the movement for democracy. Free trade and commerce are important but never at the cost of human dignity and individual liberty. Herein lies the contradiction and the dilemma for the West. And while on this subject let us not forget that other fight for freedom in Lhasa where martial law was declared much before it was imposed in Beijing and where thousands have perished at the hands of Chinese imperialist bullets. The Office of Information and International Relations at Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh issued a press statement on May 20. The statement drew attention to a resolution adopted by the Tibetan National Assembly in May calling on the Chinese authorities to lift Martial Law in Lhasa. The statement observes inter alia: “The struggle of the Tibetan people is a struggle for our inalienable right to determine our own destiny in freedom. It is a struggle for democracy, human rights and peace. Most of all, it is a struggle for our survival as a people and a nation with a unique civilization. “China’s sinister objective of reducing the Tibetan people into a minority in our own land is being implemented through an alarming demographic aggression. Today there are over seven million Chinese immigrants in Tibet – far outnumbering the six million and more Tibetans. “Since 1959 over 1.2 million Tibetans have died as a direct result of Chinese domination over Tibet. Over 6000 monasteries, temples and chapels have been destroyed and desecrated. “There are fresh reports of heavy military build-up and troop movements inside Tibet in recent months – somewhat like a preparation for war. “Chinese prisons in and around Lhasa are becoming overcrowded. All prisons in Lhasa are filled with Tibetans who took part in the March 1989 anti-Chinese demonstrations. Due to shortage of space, a large number of prisoners are kept in the Sangyip military barracks. This has been revealed by a number of Tibetans who have recently arrived in Kathmandu. Is it any surprising that the Chinese colonisers have now turned on their own people? Not surprisingly our Swadeshi Stalinists (the comrades would consider this a compliment) have not surprisingly supported the massacre of the innocents at Tiananmen Square and praised the People’s Liberation Army for their ‘heroism’ in killing unarmed men and women. And how has the Government of India reacted? Our Prime Minister says: “We have every indication that reports coming from China are not 100 per cent accurate. We would like to evaluate what the reality is before we say” (Indian Express, June 16). Presumably he is waiting for a Xinhua report channelled, no doubt, through the PIB, AIR and Doordarshan -all outstanding specimen of credibility! How many more should die or be executed before “the reality” is “evaluated”? _The original text can be accessed _[_here_](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/402.pdf)_._ _[IndianLiberals.in](http://indianliberals.in/) is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ Read more: [Minoo Masani on the Raison D’être of Swatantra Party](https://spontaneousorder.in/minoo-masani-on-the-raison-detre-of-swatantra-party/) --- ## [Musing] Commerce and Control: Barriers to Free Enterprise URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/commerce-and-control-barriers-to-free-enterprise-m-a-rangoonwala-1982/ ### Body _Following is an excerpt from a booklet titled ‘Free Market Economy - Key to Economic Progress and Freedoms’, authored by M.A. Rangoonwaala and published by the Forum for Free Enterprise in 1982. The author emphasises that despite increased globalisation, restrictions on free trade persist. He highlights how bureaucratic obstacles, also known as "man-made" barriers, obstruct the progress of the global economy. He argues that a free market economy is the key to all freedoms._ _M.A. Rangoonwala was the President of the International Chamber of Commerce. Published is the text of the inaugural address at the Silver Jubilee Celebrations function of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 12th January 1982. _ Any individual who did business at the beginning of this [20th] century would be shocked by today's world if he had not gradually got used to it over the passage of time - as many of us have. He would be shocked not so much by the oneness of the world and the closeness of different countries forged by the revolution in communications and transport - advances of which humanity is justifiably proud. Rather he would be shocked by the degree to which business is restricted, hampered and fenced in by government regulations and controls. In this sense, distances are far greater than before. You may be able technically to finalise a deal over the telephone or by telex in a few short minutes or hours - and may even be able to rush supplies to wherever they are needed with what must effectively be considered no delay at all. But and it is a very important 'but' - these technical gains in speed are frequently more than offset by the tediously protracted processes of completing official formalities and seeking bureaucratic permissions and approvals. In this respect, we live in many different worlds which relate with each other only over and around considerable man-made obstacles. As has been the case throughout history, the unifying forces of commerce are frustrated by the divisive forces of politics.  Barriers to trade and investment between countries, though regrettable by the absolute standards of the one-world ideologue and frequently harmful to the cause of maximising global economic efficiency, are not alone and of themselves a major catastrophe. What does the real damage is that government controls and restrictions extend deep and wide into our national economies, thwarting and distorting competition and the free enterprise system on a massive scale.  The fundamental _raison d'etre_ of the free enterprise system is that it harnesses for progress the energy and drive of individuals and their yearning for self-betterment. It achieves this through a competitive process which encourages people to work hard and efficiently in producing what consumers wish to buy at minimum cost. Remove competition, and private enterprise stands defenceless. Profit ceases to have either economic significance or moral justification. If we allow controls to proliferate which strangulate both competition and individual initiative, why do we need private enterprise at all?  In my own mind, I have no doubt whatsoever that the free market economy is the key to all freedoms. In fact, the market and freedom are really synonymous terms. We should never forget that the only thing governments can control is people. One yard of textile does not care what its price is. But people care: the people who manufacture the textile, the wholesalers who sell to the retailers, and the retailers who sell to the consumers. And that is all controls can ever mean: 'people' control. It is never prices or goods and services but only people who are controlled, subsidised or supported by the government. It is this that so many citizens fail to see or choose to ignore.  _You can access the complete text _[_here_](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/free-market-economy-key-to-economic-progress-and-freedoms-m-a-rangoonwaala-june-15-1982.pdf)_._ type=content&p=8481). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] Community Development URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/community-development/ ### Body _The following text was originally delivered as a speech under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 15 September 1960 by B.G. Rao, I.C.S (Retd.). The author reviews the problems of rural unemployment and underemployment and tries to distinguish between rural development and rural welfare. He further suggests that social education and the programme for women and children under Community Development deserve examination._ _You can read the original, unabridged version _[_here_](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/community-development-b-g-rao-mar8-1961.pdf)_. __ _Our achievements in the community development field have been puffed and praised by so many and so frequently that I would not mind performing the less pleasant but more necessary task of pointing out the extent of our failure. The sources of inspiration for community development are as different and various as the Father of the Nation, the Indo-American Technical Cooperation Programme, the Grow More Food Committee, the Ford Foundation, the late Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission and some original thinkers among the senior officers of the Planning Commission. With such mixed parentage, one would naturally expect the idea to be anything but clearly defined. And lack of clarity in the basic approach has been its principal feature. We are often asked, "Has there been no improvement at all then in the past nine years of planned community development?" Of course, there has been, but planning implies the best use of limited resources. Two years ago, the Government of UP appointed a Committee under the chairmanship of a veteran Congressman. The Committee made a lengthy review of community development work all over the State. It reported that the C.D. (Community Development) programme of the Government had yet to accelerate the process of social and economic transformation. My complaint is that community development has been ill-planned, if planned at all, and as regards the best use of limited resources - the less said, the better. Recently, the Prime Minister mentioned that the functions of the Planning Commission were not merely to plan but also to evaluate the execution of the plan. Attached to the Planning Commission is a Programme Evaluation Organisation whose primary duty is to assess the progress made by the C.D. activities - an annual audit. The Seventh Report of this organisation was published in April 1960. It contains a general review of the progress of planned community development over seven years. And _"in the emerging picture shades predominate and the reader is left with the impression of an inadequately coordinated endeavour, governmental rather than popular in character, and sustained more by hope than by achievement"_. These words of the report also convey the views of many other objective students of C.D. The Third draft Plan indicates a refinement in planning methods, viz., ignoring all inconvenient criticism. The section on community development ignores the Evaluation Reports even though the Prime Minister thinks they are essential. Why? Not because these criticism were frivolous or unfounded but because the Planning Commission knows that with the backing of the Prime Minister, it can get the Parliament to approve anything it puts forward. And the Parliamentary debates on the draft outline of the Third Plan have shown us the extent of the interest vocal MPs felt in this part of the draft. Planning requires priorities to be prescribed as much in the rural sector as in the industrial sector. For instance, one village may have three wells supplying it with drinking water; a fourth may be added for greater convenience. But another may have no well at all, and the villagers may have to trudge three or four miles before reaching a reasonably safe water supply source. Now it has to be decided which should have the priority. Then again, the agricultural production in a particular village may have progressively decreased because the irrigation tank in the locality has gradually silted up; at the same time, the school-master wants the thatched roof of his school to be replaced with a tiled roof; the sarpanch wants a community hall to be built because the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting is sanctioning a radio receiving set. If there are to be priorities in investing money and endeavour, which of these should have precedence over the others? The Ministry of Community Development had requested the United Nations Technical Assistance Administration to send a mission. This mission was distressed to find that in one development block, the village streets had been paved with bricks, undeniably, an amenity to be appreciated during the rains; but with a little greater appreciation of priorities this money, material and labour could have been diverted to the very urgent requirement of draining away the excess water from the fields. This would have benefited the cotton crop and the farmer's general economic condition. But none had bothered. Improvement in agricultural production is to have priority in the community development programme for two reasons. First, it is time the country got out of the compelling necessity of importing foodstuff. Secondly, it is time that the farmer had a little more money in his pocket, not money given to him by the inflationary tendencies but by an actual increase of the fruit of his labour. Once he has that extra economic strength, he will have increased confidence in himself; his felt needs will increase, and he will have the desire and the energy to meet those needs. And then, the Government can come in with adult education, social education, community listening sets, community centres and even training camps for “village leaders”. The draft outline of the Third Plan indicates the decision to allocate a more significant portion of the community development funds to agricultural development. This is a step in the right direction. It is only a pity that the draft outline does not explicitly abandon its old policy of simultaneous advance along the rural front. For the first time in eight years, we now find the Planning Commission noticing the need for fixing priorities and giving agricultural production precedence over welfare activities. But the pattern has been set and followed for eight years. A revision of attitudes and budget provisions may be made difficult, if possible, by political pressure and public demand. And here we come to the rural public. The First Five-Year Plan and the second were eloquent about public participation in rural development programmes. We were told that the Community Development Programme aimed to establish a suitable organ to ensure the involvement of villagers in the planning stage. This is regarding planning and not the execution of plans. Nothing could have better indicated that Delhi is aware of the diversity and variety of our villages. But Delhi has its views of what is or ought to be suitable for the town and, therefore, simultaneously with this declaration, an administrator of community projects was appointed and was made responsible for planning, directing and co-ordinating community development work throughout the country. He was not merely coordinating but planning far away from the villages. The Second Plan mentioned that _"the participation of people in planning and execution of rural schemes is an essential feature of the movement and in this the results achieved are promising"_. That is what the Plan said. But the Administrator was meanwhile upgraded into a Minister, his staff and status appropriately enlarged and his power of issuing instructions to all and sundry on all aspects of planned rural development. According to an official publication, the fruit of nine years of people's participation is: _"On the whole, the people's attitudes and reactions in most of the blocks are not yet generally favourable to the success and growth of the community development programme. The majority of villagers do not regard it as their own programme and seem to rely mainly on the Government for effecting the development of rural areas"_. If there is a Ministry of Community Development, it has to have some work to do. So, under the name of coordination and integration, it poaches upon the preserves of Agriculture, Health, Education and Culture. Recently, the Union Minister of Agriculture is reported to have wondered why the Package Plan for improving agricultural output in Punjab is being dealt with by the State Minister for Community Development and not by the State Minister for Agriculture. It is time that the Union Minister realised that the Ministry for Community Development is an anomaly. I said so in a rather notorious minute of dissent three years ago. Recently, the Indo-American Export team pointed out that the existence of that history as a separate unit leads to overlapping and confusion; it did not mention the waste of scarce resources. Agricultural production directly involves the cultivator. We also have a large class of landless villagers; apart from the shopkeeper, schoolmaster and others, we have among them the village artisan and the landless labourer. The village artisan may often be under-employed; the landless labour is, and often too, the small farmer. Not all our efforts at increasing our agricultural production will provide full employment for more than some of this village population. Suppose, therefore, the increase in agricultural production is the primary problem from the farmer's point of view. In that case, the increase in employment is the problem of a larger section of the rural population. If the Planning Commission has any plan to solve unemployment, then it must give us at least a rough idea of its size. It has been said that the private sector's investment in agriculture, minor irrigation, etc., will be Rs. 800 crores. Everyone knows that this is a sheer guess and that in this matter their guess is as good as anybodys. But it was necessary to show how big our plan was going to be. Hence Rs. 800 crores have to be spent. The Planning Commission apparently felt no need to make a similar guess in regard to rural underemployment and unemployment. The absence of data in a plan cannot be made up by platitudes. This problem of rural unemployment and underemployment has another facet-cottage industry. Pilot projects had been started in a number of C.D. blocks during 1955-56. An evaluation of their work was made by the Programme Evaluation Organisation. Its report is depressing. The various all-India bodies and commissions concerned with cottage and small industries “have not evolved the practice of thinking together to” establish local projects to meet the local needs for two reasons: First, the love of centralisation and the habit of planning from above and, Second, intolerance. The result was that only 37% of the trainees in these pilot projects took to the crafts they were trained for. The wastage was 63% and many of these had received stipends. And the stipends ranged from Rs. 7 to Rs. 75 per month. The draft itself mentions that during the first three years of the Second Plan, the village industries encouraged by the State have not been able to provide full remunerative work or to attract young men with some measure of training and education. It tells us that utilisation of funds has been slow and only a small impact could be made in improving techniques or marketing facilities. Maybe, because of this poor showing, there seems to be some desire to be realistic. There is a proposal to use improved techniques and use power for many of the processes involved like making pulp for paper, crushing non-edible oil seeds, and manufacturing _gur_ and sugar from the palm. Of course, the electric power will keep the ghani-crushed oil and the khadi unpolluted, despite the admitted marketing difficulties. Only through rural electrification accompanied by starting a power-operated rural industry can we hope to tackle under-employment and unemployment of the underprivileged sections of the rural community. It does not appear that the Third Plan is going to lay the requisite stress on this. I have tried to distinguish between rural development and rural welfare. I have pointed out that in our C.D. programmes, the latter has precedence over the former. I do not mean that community welfare should be completely neglected. It cannot be a "jam tomorrow" policy, such a policy cannot satisfy the voter in a democracy. All that I suggest is that the emphasis on development should be greater. I have already said that drinking water supply should have precedence even over agricultural development. The First Five-Year Plan called it a basic requirement. The draft outline of the Third Plan, however, describes it as one of the many desirable amenities. One does not understand this shift in emphasis. It is surprising that even today, ten years after the Planning Commission was established, it has no data on this subject, nor has the Ministry of Health. And they have yet to think out the minimum standards of distance, quantity and quality. Social education and the programme for women and children under Community Development deserve some examination. In the Second Plan, there is a provision of Rs. 15 crores for social education. Of late, social education is called fundamental education. The programme consists of adult literacy classes, the organisation of community centres, women's organisations, youth clubs and village leaders' camps. The Planning Commission has described it as a comprehensive approach to the solution of the problems of the community through community action. This most wonderful thing seems to have flopped if we are to rely on the various evaluation reports. Appreciable numbers of those made literate have lapsed into illiteracy; the running of the recreation centres has been generally unsatisfactory. The rate of mortality among youth clubs, women's organisations, etc., has been very high, as much as 57% in the blocks studied by the Programme Evaluation Organisation. The leaders' camps are intended to efficiently train members of the panchayats and cooperatives to perform their duties. I have no doubts that the Ministry of Community Development, with the assistance of the Ford Foundation, will soon open similar camps for our MLAs & MPs to help them perform their duties efficiently. Duties which are surely more demanding, more difficult and more important than those of the village punchas. One would have expected the draft plan to take note of these evaluation reports and suggest new lines of action. Instead, it blandly remarks that some progress has been made in this field in the Second Plan period and as in the case of cooperative farming we are merely told to wait for further particulars. That is a pity. Social education is a good thing but the correct medium for it has yet to be evolved. It is wise to try new ideas in pilot projects rather than let loose on the countryside social and educational organisers of the type which we have seen in the past seven years. I have referred to the programmes for women and children mainly to show that like the Community Development Ministry, the Central Social Welfare Board was created as a coordinating agency. It utterly failed even in this respect. The Community Development Organisation came into the field first and had its women's and children's welfare programme. A few months later the Central Social Welfare Board was established. The clash of interests of certain personalities made peaceful co-existence difficult from the beginning. It was, therefore, decided that their areas of operation should be exclusive, the Board would not operate in Community Development Blocks. But as the community development blocks increased in number, so did the welfare projects, and gradually their workers began to raid the same villages. Insistent tales of confusion and waste and overlapping began to reach Delhi. And the Central Government ordered an integrated pattern of activities. That was in December 1956. Today almost four years later, that decision is still on paper. The study team on community development appointed by the Committee on Plan Projects had suggested certain practical measures which could have produced some useful results had they been implemented. These concerned the organisation, the approach and the work pattern. These suggestions were angrily brushed aside. Then the PEO made a study which pointed out the terrific centralisation in the Central Social Welfare Board; it suggested that what was needed was a coordinated pattern of work. Then there was another team appointed by the Committee on Plan Projects which also recommended some sort of coordination between the two organisations. Nothing has happened, and perhaps nothing will, till we have a Ministry of Social Welfare! People in positions of power and authority and those with a political or economic voice loud enough to be heard have so far taken little interest in examining the Community Development programme. The villager is still patient enough with our plans for him. _Previous musing: [For Freedom, Farm And Family](https://indianliberals.in/content/for-freedom-farm-and-family/)_ --- ## [Musing] Conditions for Economic Growth URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/conditions-for-economic-growth/ ### Body Why is it that, in spite of an ancient cultural background and in spite of powerful world forces which are tending to spread to underdeveloped areas the modern technologies of industry and agriculture, with the accompanying outputs, high wages and good living conditions, the great mass of the Indian people are somehow being prevented from enjoying what the world has been offering her? In this article, English classical economist Prof. William Harold Hutt answers how India can progress most rapidly from relatively very low average standards of living to standards comparable with those achieved in Western Europe and the United States. Given the inevitable onset of a recession in the Indian economy, his ideas, presented for the first time in 1964, remain as important today as they were then. While summing up the article, Prof. Hutt argues that India’s rapid development will depend upon the success with which: - thrift can be encouraged by a taxation system which does not discriminate against the provident; - the foreign capital needed can be attracted by the creation of faith that nationalisation or confiscatory taxation will be avoided and by official acknowledgement of the reasonableness of foreign control of foreign capital accepted; - enterprise generally can be fostered by explicit official recognition of profit as the reward for wise and responsible direction of productive activity; - a climate of economic justice can be created through constitutional entrenchments whereby legislation or private agreements which discriminate on grounds of race, caste or income will be unconstitutional and void; - the temptation to distort the form of development by tariff or quota restraints on imports can be overcome; - the mechanisation of agriculture can be hastened so that the economies of large- scale cultivation can be won side by side with industrialisation; - the political incentive to invest public capital in spectacular, grandiose schemes can be resisted and an appropriate time sequence in development permitted; - the determination of prices, wage-rates and outputs by private coercion (as through strikes or boycotts) can be forbidden; - inflationary policy can be renounced, a major incentive to corruption (which accompanies the repressed form of inflation) being thereby eliminated; and - unbridled population growth can be prevented. Even after 55 years, one can clearly see that these prescriptions remain timeless and note that no Indian government has worked seriously on these long term solutions to instil rapid economic growth. Our misguided policies are largely ad-hoc and continue to lead us from one slowdown to another. _Access the full document [here](http://v2.indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=1604060426.pdf)._ _First Published in the _[_Forum of Free Enterprise_](http://www.forumindia.org/)_ in August 1964._ _Other editions of the publication can be accessed at _[_Indian Liberals_](http://indianliberals.in/index)_, an open, multilingual digital archive committed to preserving liberal voices in the Indian public sphere._ --- ## [Musing] Constitution And The Common Man URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/constitution-and-the-common-man/ ### Body _This article was published in the February 1971 issue of Freedom First and is an excerpt from a lecture delivered in Bombay. At the time, Right to Property was still a Fundamental Right but was constantly being undermined by our legislators. An eminent jurist and economist, Palkhivala was one of the most fierce defenders of rule of law. You can read the original, unabridged version [here](http://freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/225.pdf).__ _India has never known true democratic freedom in its entire history except during the last 23 years. If Plato’s dictum regarding political evolution is correct, our newly won freedom will have to be zealously guarded if it is not to be supplanted by dictatorship. In a nascent republic where freedom is not bred in the bones of the people, the danger of dictatorship is always vastly greater than in democracies which are centuries old. In India freedom is not more than one election away from extinction. When an attempt to uphold the rule of law is called a manifestation of ‘vested interests’; and when the preservation of the sanctity of the constitution is called the handiwork of ‘reactionary forces’, it should be clear to any thinking mind that freedom is in peril. Political freedom and civil liberty are the keystones of the Indian Constitution. Our constitution is primarily shaped and moulded for the common man. The only persons who would be disappointed with the constitution are those who believe in outdated ideologies which can only result in levelling down and not levelling up. The constitution believes in the distribution of wealth, and therefore it not only permits but encourages the creation of wealth by enterprising individuals who with their vision and expertise are prepared to take risks and develop their country. That is why our Constitution confers on all citizens the fundamental rights to acquire, hold and dispose of property and to carry on any trade, business and profession. The great makers of our Constitution clearly intended that the integrity of the Constitution should be preserved against any hasty or ill-considered changes, ‘the fruits of passions or ignorance’. The essential purpose of our Constitution is to ensure freedom of the individual and the dignity of man and to put basic human rights above the reach of the State and of transient politicians in power whose naked juvenile chatter is covered by the fig leaf of demagogic claptrap. With the growing powers of government all over the world, it is eminently desirable for any democracy to have fundamental rights which cannot be curtailed or abrogated. In the words of Mr Justice Frankfurter, man being what he is cannot safely be trusted with complete power in depriving others of their rights. The protection of the citizen against all kinds of men in public affairs, none of whom can be trusted with unlimited power over others, lies not in their forbearance but in limitations on their power. At least such is the conviction underlying our Constitution. With our varying and widely divergent creeds and ideologies, and a wide variety of religions and languages, our country is pre-eminently a country where inalienable fundamental rights are an absolute necessity. These rights have been called, not without justification, the ‘conscience of the Constitution’ or the ‘soul of the Constitution’. In material terms, they constitute the anchor of the Constitution and provide it with the dimension of permanence. No time in India’s history would be more inopportune than the present for amending the Constitution and empowering Parliament to abridge or take away Fundamental Rights. With the growing sense of insecurity in different States, when fanaticism of all sorts–regional, linguistic, communal and economic–is gathering momentum, it would be not merely a mistake but a betrayal of the fundamental freedoms to enable Parliament to trifle and tinker with them. The right to property is often derided as the ‘least defensible’ right in a socialist democracy. Yet a little reflection should show that this right is of the essence of a sound body politic and of a democracy which aims at marching forward economically. Any attempt to abrogate the Fundamental Right to property would be erroneous because it would run counter to the eternal laws of human nature. Men will sooner, Machiavelli said, forgive the deaths of their relatives than the confiscation of their property. It is a sad reflection on human nature that, generally speaking, a man will work for himself and his family as he will work for no one else. However, until this law of human nature is changed, the abolition of the right to property can meet with nothing but disaster. There is no democracy anywhere in the world where as a matter of law and of constitutional practice the right to property is not respected. The right to property is enshrined in the Constitution of the States where the rule of law prevails, for example in the Magna Carta, in the American Declaration of independence, in the French declaration of the Rights of Man and in the German Constitution. Even in Communist countries like the USSR, the right to private property in the fruits of personal labour and the right to inherit such property is recognized. Under our Constitution the right to property is elastic and flexible–the Legislatures and the Executive are entitled to subject it to all such reasonable restrictions as are in the public interest. The right to property cannot be invoked at all against laws relating to Zamindari and other estates in lands or against other laws relating to agrarian reforms. Sixty-four Acts passed by Parliament and the State Legislatures are constitutionally declared to be valid although they may directly infringe on the right to property. The adequacy of compensation cannot be challenged in our Courts of Law. Far from there being any need to abridge the Fundamental Right to property further, the truth is that perhaps in no free democracy of the world does the right to proper exist in such an abridged and attenuated form as it does in India. Countries where freedom has become a way of life, can do without the luxury of a constitutional right to property. But in India where economic fanaticism has become a way of political life, it is imperative to retain the right to property. It would not be too much to say that the right property is, in a sense, the handmaid to the other fundamental rights. Of what avail is the fundamental right to the freedom of speech and expression to a newspaper if its property can be taken away without reasonable compensation; or the fundamental right to form associations or to the religious minority is to be held on the sufferance of the party in power? The myth has been sedulously propagated by wily politicians that it is the Constitution which stands in the way of the nation’s economic progress and the uplift of the masses. This is the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on the people. The truth of the matter is that it is the wooden-headed and disastrous economic policies of the Governments at the Centre and in several States which are truly responsible for the miseries of the seventeen million unemployed and the many more millions who, though employed, are still living below the minimum subsistence level due to the erosion in the value of the rupee. There is not a single sound economic policy or scheme for the social development of the masses which is in the slightest degree hampered or hindered by any of the provisions of the Constitution. There is no doubt that the overwhelming majority of thinking men strongly believe in Fundamental Rights and are deeply conscious of the outstanding role played by the Courts in preserving our cherished values. But unfortunately, they constitute the silent majority. There are times in a country’s history when inaction and silence can be a culpable wrong, and we are living in such times. It is not enough that we believe in our national motto that truth with ultimately prevail. We must take active steps to see to it that falsehood does not have very long innings before the ultimate moment of truth arrives. _Previous musing: [The Light of the Constitution](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-light-of-the-indian-constitution/)_ --- ## [Musing] CONSUMER SOVEREIGNTY LEADS TO RAPID ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/consumer-sovereignty-leads-to-rapid-economic-development/ ### Body The following text is a reproduction of an article specially written for syndication by Indian News & Feature Alliance (INFA). Reproduced by [Forum of Free Enterprise](https://indianliberals.in/content/consumer-sovereignty-leads-to-rapid-economic-development-by-prof-b-r-shenoy-july-9-1962/), in the article, Prof B.R. Shenoy counters Prof J.K. Galbraith's (Canadian-American economist) claim that planning is crucial to economic development. He argues that consumer sovereignty and planning for the free market would lead India to economic development. Professor J. K. Galbraith has made planning a theme of his weighty pronouncements more than once during his tours round India. At a Press conference in Ahmedabad, commenting on the fears expressed "'in some quarters in India" that the present tempo of our planning might lead to an authoritarian regime, he observed that "lack of planning" in underdeveloped economies "carried a greater risk of leading to authoritarian regimes than proper planning". He utterly ridiculed these fears, saying that "whenever somebody wants to denounce something, he says it is likely to lead to authoritarianism." In addition to planning, he continued, public ownership, agricultural price support, trade unions and large corporations had been accused, by different sections of the people, at different times, as precursors of authoritarianism. But their cry of "wolf" had proved false alarms. It was safe enough guarantee against this calamity, if the "spirit of democracy is deeply implanted in the mind of peoples and in their institutions''. The logical basis of Prof. Galbraith's conviction, which is widely shared in India, is simple. A country facing the problem of lifting itself from poverty and of providing a better life for its people would be condemned to frustration "'without planning"; from the "discontent" born of the tyranny of unrelieved poverty, they might fall an easy prey to the promises of Communism. This danger can be averted by a "proper planning of its resources". It will at once be agreed that the greatest single problem before underdeveloped countries is their abject poverty. Everything hangs on its eradication. Failure to tackle it effectively might engender social and political instability, though the fear in this regard is often unduly overdrawn. The question is whether this central objective - the eradication of poverty - may be best and most speedily achieved through planning, as we have seen it in action during the past decade; and as Prof. Galbraith, a devotee of Indian planning, seems to understand the term. The answer centres round the problem of maximismg output from our meagre resources, as output provides the wherewithal for liquidating poverty. The faster the growth of output the sooner is poverty liquidated. Any programme for maximising output cannot Ignore the prevailing extremely complex, pattern of pr~ duct10n of the Indian economy. Fully 50 per cent of the national product is from agriculture and about 70 per cent of the population lives on it. Agricultural production is in the hands of 67 million independent farmers scattered round the country, the average holding per family being 5.5 acres. Cotton textiles comprise about 36 per cent of industrial production. Textile output ensues from 478 mills, 80,000 to 90,000 powerlooms and 2 million handlooms. The remaining sectors, too, comprise tens of millions of independent production units. Save and except under the Communist steam-roller, this production set-up cannot change overnight, so to speak. Two policy compulsions emerge from this set-up, if we must accelerate output. First, agriculture, textiles and the basic consumer goods Industries, which constitute the bulk of productive activity, must receive first claim on productive resources. Secondly, centralised planning - in the sense of state control over the allocation of resources - is not practical, though simpleton administrators might think otherwise. Centralised planning can only produce chaos and retard the hand of progress, when the planners have to deal with tens of millions of production units scattered round a sub-continent. We have violated both policy compulsions in the name of planning. The Public Sector will appropriate in the Third Plan, 65 per cent of investment resources. The percentage was 57 in the Second Plan. These resources will go into heavy industries mammoth river valley projects and costly social overheads. Large parts of the remaining resources would also be forced into heavy industries and industries producing intermediate and other non-consumer goods, through exercise of the control over capital issues, import licensing, permits for raw materials, concessions and quotas. This leaves little of the productive resources for use in agriculture and for producing cloth and the other consumer needs of the masses. Resources drawn into heavy industries would add to the national product, but an order of 14 per cent of their value; they would add an order of 36 per cent if employed in consumer goods industries and 65 per cent if employed in agriculture. The outcome of our developing heavy industries at the expense of consumer goods industries, and of developing both at the expense of agriculture, has been two-fold: Indian national income has risen during the past decade at an annual rate of about 3.5 per cent; and the consumption of food and cloth by the masses has declined, or is semi-stagnant. In the absence of planning-forced diversion of the largest bulk of Plan finance into wasteful projects-productive resources would flow into channels where they yield the highest output, through the usual market mechanism. Two results would ensue from this, simultaneously: first, national income might increase at an annual rate of 8 to 10 per cent; secondly, output of the basic consumer needs of the masses-principally, food and cloth-would go up simultaneously with the national product, as investments in these directions yield the highest returns and as economic activity would now be controlled and directed by the consumer, not by the Planning Commission. This is not to say that, under the free-market system and the sovereignty of the consumer, there is no room for any planning. Orderly progress is inconceivable without planning. In the private sector, then, planning will be done by the millions of individual production units; in the Public Sector, by the state. The Public Sector will be confined to activities which cannot be effectively undertaken by private enterprise, e.g., the provision of an honest rupee, the rule of law, basic transport and communications standardisation of weights and measures, education and public health. In particular, the state should not stray into trade and industry, or interfere with the distribution of productive resources. To do so would be to upset the planning of millions of production units, to the detriment of the national product and social justice, causing untold human suffering in the Indian context of extreme poverty. Thus, the "discontent" and possible explosion, which must ensue from the pursuit of the prevailing economic and social policies, carries the very "risks of authoritarianism", which Prof. Galbraith thinks we would avert through the so-called "proper planning of our resources". These risks cannot be averted with greater certainty than through planning for the free market under the banner of consumer sovereignty. Planning for the free market has yielded blinding economic and social dividends wherever it has been given a chance. In the post-war world, it produced the first miracle in West Germany. It then spread, with as good or better results, to the other E.E.C. countries, Israel, Japan, Hong Kong, Spain and, latterly, the Philippines. The eagerness of U.K. to join the E.E.C., even risking severance from its political kith and kin, is evidence of the vitality of the new movement. News of this powerful reaction away from statism has not reached New Delhi yet; nor the Indian universities generally, where economists still fondly cherish outmoded dirigiste doctrines, fancying them to be tenets of the nuclear era. The Galbraiths, Millikans, Rostows and Wards, not to mention the pronounced left-wingers like the Baloghs, Bettleheims, Langes and Robinsons - all sincere friends of India and hot favourites of our Government - through their expositions, probably stand in the way of our properly appreciating the tremendous potentialities of planning for the free market under the aegis of consumer sovereignty. The illicit beneficiaries of planning, now the power behind the throne, who, too, are champions of mass prosperity, are another great hurdle to be overcome. But neither economic nor social salvation is possible except through policies of economic and social freedom. The task before the policy reformer is indeed overwhelming. The situation provokes the prayer; '''Good Lord, protect me from my friends; against mine enemies I can defend myself." _Previous musing: [RAJA RAM MOHAN ROY ON PRESS FREEDOM](https://indianliberals.in/content/ram-mohan-roy-press-freedom/)_ --- ## [Musing] Controlling Inflation in India - BR Shenoy URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/controlling-inflation-in-india-br-shenoy-1977/ ### Body _This musing is an excerpt from BR Shenoy’s essay “Controlling Inflation in India” published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in their booklet titled “The Basic Truth About Inflation”. The essay focuses on the resolution of separation of official claims and market-based observations. The article emphasizes the strategies that needed to be adopted in controlling inflation through the review of how the trends started taking place.   _ If we may define inflation as an expansion of money which drives up commodity prices in general, inflation exists, incipient inflation apart, only when the General Prices Index rises. This index is both an indicator and measure of inflation. The Union Ministry of Information, in an extensively broadcast pamphlet 'India's War Against Inflation,' issued in January 1976, proclaimed that 'ours is the only major country in the world' where inflation had 'not only been checked' but had also 'actually been reversed,' i.e., we had rolled prices back, not merely restrained their further upsurge. This claim has been internationally quoted and was, reportedly, hailed and endorsed, among others, by Mr. H. J. Witteveen, the IMF Chief, and Mr. Robert S. McNamara, the World Bank President, during their visit to India last year; and, among our own business magnates, Mr. J. R. D. Tata. Though recent pronouncements on the subject by Government spokesmen have tended to be apologetic, the Congress Party’s election manifesto, issued on February 8, 1977, is emphatic that we have 'reversed inflation,' while a 'large number of countries are still struggling' with it. While it may be quite pleasing to read this story of our global leadership in combating inflation, the price-harassed householders have often wondered why this 'success' has not been very much in evidence in their routine market rounds, apart from some short-lived halts or setbacks in the prices of certain consumer items. To resolve this divergence between official claims and market observation, and also to devise ways of overcoming inflation, it may be helpful to review the origins, and the contemporary trend, of inflation in India. To locate the origins of inflation, we may divide the economy into two parts: the government sector and the people’s sector. Everybody knows that the incomes of the people, received in rupees, are but the rupee counterparts of their outputs; and that, in the final analysis, the people cannot expend anything more than their earnings, expressed in rupees. As my output is picked up from the market by somebody else, against his rupee earnings, and, in like manner, I pick up someone else’s output, it necessarily follows that in the people’s part of the economy, aggregate expenditures will always be matched by equivalent output. Hence, inflation and price instability cannot originate in the people’s sector of the economy (though, having originated elsewhere, inflation may spread to the people’s sector). It is different with the government sector. Since independence, as in all inflation-ridden countries, Government’s overall disbursements in India have exceeded the sum of taxes, loans, and other receipts of Government, except for 1950-51 and 1951-52, when we had nominal budget surpluses. The excess disbursements were all covered by printing money or, which is the same thing, by creating Reserve Bank credit, the only ways of financing overall budget deficits. When, in due course, a part of the moneys created to cover budget deficits—the primary expansion of money—reaches the banks and augments their cash holdings (reserves), the banks expand their credit—i.e., loans, overdrafts, advances, and discounts—and a secondary expansion of money ensues. As in under-developed countries generally, we have here the origins of inflation in India—budget deficits and the consequential secondary expansion of bank credit. Primarily as a result of this double process—due allowance being made for other factors (which we need not now dwell on) affecting money supply—money supply in India multiplied 6.5 times, from Rs. 1,955 crores in 1954-55, when the current phase of inflation began, to Rs. 12,632 crores in 1975-76. Not the whole of this colossal expansion of money (Rs. 10,727 crores) was, however, inflationary. During this period of monetary expansion, the Net National Product (NNP) more than doubled, from Rs. 10,483 crores in 1975-76 (at 1960-61 prices). This increase in NNP absorbed, roughly, a corresponding proportion of the expanding money supply. The rest of these moneys, the major part, to which no physical output corresponded, was inflationary, and drove prices up. Read the complete essay [here](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/the-basic-truth-about-inflation-prof-b-r-shenoy-april-14-1977.pdf). type=content&p=8663). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] Crushing Burden of Taxation - Nani Palkhivala URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/crushing-burden-of-taxation-nani-palkhivala-1958/ ### Body _**The following excerpt is taken from Nani Palkhivala's essay, "Crushing Burden of Taxation," published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in 1958. In this piece, Palkhivala critiques India's tax laws and the unchecked power of the Executive, advocating for a balanced approach that promotes fairness, equity, and economic growth.**_ Under the Constitution of India, the balance of powers is very well preserved between the Legislature, the Executive, and the Judiciary. However, in the eighth year of the Republic, it is clear to any student of constitutional law or public affairs that the Executive has become predominant, and the Legislature and Judiciary are not given the importance necessary to preserve this balance. The Executive’s power is unchecked by any effective opposition inside Parliament or by any mobilized public opinion outside it. One of the consequences of this state of affairs is that the Executive is able to rush through the Legislature any piece of legislation. While there is comfort in knowing that the Supreme Court and the High Courts still serve as the bulwark of civil liberties, the courts' incorruptibility is of little avail if the statutes and executive regulations are numerous, frequently changing, complex, and loosely drawn. These laws often give excessive discretion to administrative authorities. Recent tax laws in India illustrate this problematic legislation. For instance, the Gift Tax Act, 1958, was rushed through with the Select Committee being given less than a week to report on the Bill. No revenue would have been lost had more time been allowed. This haste has two major drawbacks: loose drafting gives rise to problems that could have been avoided with better care, and the legislation often includes provisions that are unjust. The recent tax laws reflect some unsettling trends. For example, after 1956, income tax is payable by a registered firm over and above the income tax payable by its partners, resulting in double taxation. The Wealth Tax Act of 1957 imposes wealth tax both on companies for their assets and on shareholders for their shares, even though this is not justified by fairness or equity. These policies not only burden the taxpayer but also disincentivize investment and business growth, stifling economic progress. Another concerning aspect is the hyper-technical administration of these laws. The law governing the registration of firms under the Income-tax Act is so ambiguous that even leading firms of advocates and attorneys, with expertise in tax matters, face challenges. A law that demands registration be refused on minor technicalities, such as the precise way a firm lists its partners' shares, becomes an instrument of oppression rather than governance. When laws fail to account for the spirit of justice and fairness, they lose their moral legitimacy and encourage widespread evasion. Beyond the complexities and technicalities, there is a fundamental need to rethink the philosophy underpinning these laws. Palkhivala argues that the very principles on which taxation is based should promote economic growth and fairness, rather than simply serve as tools for revenue extraction. The current approach, which is driven by short-term gains and arbitrary levies, is detrimental to the long-term economic health of the nation. A more balanced approach would consider not only the immediate needs of the government but also the broader implications for economic development and public trust. Furthermore, the pernicious doctrine of 'business connection' under Section 42 of the Income-tax Act has had adverse consequences on India's trade with foreign countries. Few other nations tax on the basis of a mere business connection, and this policy has dissuaded foreign investors from bringing capital and expertise into India. The long-term impact of such policies can far outweigh any short-term revenue gains, undermining India's efforts to develop its trade and industrial base. Tax laws need to be responsive to rational arguments and public opinion. Unfortunately, many modern tax provisions appear aimed more at trapping the tax-evader than ensuring fairness to honest taxpayers. If the income-tax, wealth-tax, and expenditure-tax returns of some of the wealthiest in India were made public, the nation would see how ineffective these laws have been in curbing evasion. It is high time attention was paid to the fact that there are also honest taxpayers in this country, and laws should not be so harsh that they bear unfairly on them. The essence of democracy lies in a government that is responsive to rational arguments and public opinion, not one that creates policies that undermine the basic principles of justice and fair play. Palkhivala’s argument is clear: taxation should be an instrument of public welfare, not a tool of oppression. The laws must reflect a balance between the state’s need for revenue and the citizen’s right to fairness and equity. The goal should not merely be to fill the coffers but to foster a system where both governance and business can thrive in harmony, creating a prosperous and equitable society. [Read the complete text here](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/crushing-burden-of-taxation-n-a-palkhivala-dec6-1958.pdf). type=content&p=8631). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] Controls and Freedom URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/controls-and-freedom/ ### Body _Produced below is an essay by M.A Sreenivasan, published in a 1960 edition of __[Forum of Free Enterprise.](https://indianliberals.in/content/controls-and-freedom-by-a-d-shroff-dec-8-1960-2/)__ The author was the Food and Civil Supplies Minister of Mysore at the time. He begins by discussing the demerits of using shortages in supply as an excuse to impose greater state control, and goes on to take a more in-depth look at the role of self-imposed controls in enhancing freedom. _To talk of controls in a free economy may, at first sight, seem antithetical and incongruous, like talking of Kangaroos in Malabar Hill or of a strike in Peking. But such an impression would be superficial. For, controls are not inconsistent with freedom. Paradoxical as it may seem, they are necessary for true freedom to flourish and expand.  All around us, we see how the seeming contradiction between freedom and control is seized upon and exploited by enemies of freedom. It is part of their plan to confuse people into believing that liberty is the same as laissez faire, and that individual freedom means the law of the jungle, and thus to condition the people to accept regimentation.  It happens that I am one of the lucky few that have not spent all their life at the wrong end of the control business. I was, for a few years, actually administering controls, in an economy that, under the regime of a Maharaja, seemed freer than it is today.  As Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in Mysore, I presided over a bewildering maze of controls and permits and licences- a veritable Queutopia, to use Sir Winston Churchill's expression. Fresh territory was added to the Queutopian empire at each session of the Legislature, and by Ordinances in between. My officers and I controlled and rationed foodgrains of every kind, from rice, ragi and wheat, to all sorts of pulses and grams. We controlled steel, cement, coal and petrol and kerosene, timber and railway wagons. There was control over cotton and cloth, on wool and silk. One control speedily gave birth to another. Control of foodgrains led to control of fuel, and then to sugar and jaggery, and on to potatoes, and to groundnuts and then to tamarind, and from tamarind to chillies, and from chillies to onions. Every complaint of a shortage or high price of any particular thing became the excuse for imposing control on that thing. Seekers of permits and licences crowded the multiplying offices; and the queues got longer and longer.  It will take long to describe the ingenuity, inventiveness and plain unvarnished mendacity with which people sought to evade the controls that sprang up around them or, at least, to dull their edge. It was quite usual to find what were called ghosts in food ration cards- the ghosts being imaginary members of a household. A favourite ghost was a living grandmother or grand-aunt who appeared as a mouth to feed in many ration cards- reminding us of the Devas and Asuras of old who had four, ten or a hundred heads! Remote villages in jungles and swamps, that were listed "Becharak", that is, without light, uninhabited, because they had been abandoned, suddenly sprang to life and teemed with population- judged from the rations claimed by the imaginary inhabitants. And so it was in one form or another with each thing that was controlled. Control beget hardship, hardship beget resentment, resentment beget evasion, evasion beget black market, black market beget corruption. It was a dismal business.  It fell to my lot to be associated with those war-time controls. It was an irksome and unpleasant job. The mantle of buying and selling foodgrains ill-fitted my shoulders, or those of my officers. I hoped it was but a temporary operation- like blocking a canal to desilt it and repair its banks and sluices, and looked forward to the day when the controls and restrictions would be a forgotten nightmare. Happily, the war was over at last. With the advent of peace, and with the coming of independence, people eagerly hoped that the days of regimentation would be over.  Gandhiji, as is well known, was firmly against controls and their continuance. Rajaji abolished food control and rationing in one bold sweep when he was Chief Minister of Madras. But Gandhiji and Rajaji were lovers of freedom. They did not hanker for power.  War is a favourite excuse for regimentation of the people. The excuse for the controls and bans I have described was that there was a war on at the time. The controls and prohibitions were imposed under a high-sounding omnibus enactment known as the Defence of India Act. But in peace time, dictators, and rulers that have tasted power, quickly think of new wars to be waged. There is, for instance, the perennial war against poverty, and the imperative need to fight it "on a war-footing". This kind of war has one advantage that a real shooting war cannot offer. It has no end.  The war-time controls were plain, obvious and unsophisticated. Today's controls and taboos are subtler, more refined, more pervading and less obvious. They are not ugly coils of barbed wire. They are high-walled prisons of polished marble. The God invoked, the Deity in whose name they are imposed, is not the God of war, but a socialistic Juggernaut whose revelations and commands are vouchsafed to the common people through high-priests, in the form of Five-Year Plans.  The old war-time controls were imposed under the Defence of India Act. Today's encroachments on freedom are not for the defence of India against an alien enemy. They are for the defence of the people against themselves. These stifling endearments, these paralysing embraces of our Government are to save you and me from ourselves, from our silly ideas and initiatives, our rash enterprises, our mad ways and bad habits, and our crazy notions of freedom- for, does not the Government know better than you and me, what is good for us, what we should or should not do?  And, in place of the war-time plea of foreign aggression we have now the plea of foreign exchange, by reason of which the Government has no alternative but to decree fresh sets of controls, permits, quotas and licences.  As a result of all this, our Central Government at Delhi exercises a concentration of power, and operates an array of far-reaching controls that dictators may envy. Just as the Imperial Government did during the war, our democratic Government today controls or dictates the price of steel and cement, sugar and paper, coal and petrol and kerosene oil, coffee, tea and rubber, and a hundred other things. In addition, our Government controls practically all forms of transport; - the fraction that is not controlled is strictly licenced. The bulk of the mining industry and a large part of other industries are reserved for the State- the public sector, as it is called. Government has taken power to say what industries may or may not be started by a citizen or by private enterprise and how the enterprise may or may not be financed, organised or expanded. The Government's State Trading Corporation has a monopoly or a favoured position in buying and selling several important commodities, and is poised to invade and annex more territory. In the name of agrarian reform, our Government has established a firm hold - almost a stranglehold - on land and agriculture. To crown it all, by nationalising life insurance, by nationalising or gaining sway over most of the banks in the country, and by its credit and currency operations the Government has now got a tight grip over the monetary affairs of the people that a few men in New Delhi can, by remote control as it were, alter or reduce the value of the rupees in your pocket and mine, shrink the worth of our pensions or savings by the pressing of a button. You cannot run, much less start, any industry or business today, without approvals and permits from a number of officials and Ministries and without maintaining suitable envoys in New Delhi, or making costly pilgrimages to that New Mecca-cum-Kashi. You cannot go abroad even to study modern techniques or get new ideas without the sanction of another set of officials, unless, of course, you can manage to get included in one of the official delegations to various parts of the world, to study or demonstrate methods of agriculture - or other culture, such as music or dancing.  To defend our health and our morals against ourselves, our Government has imposed Prohibition. So far, no one is sure if this post-independence control has improved either the health or the morals of the controlled. But no one has any doubt that it has not improved the morals of the controllers. Prohibition takes pride of place among the many controls that have given rise to the large-scale corruption and the disrespect for law that we meet with everywhere. Rumour has it, however, that this cloud, if cloud it can be called, has a bright silver lining; that wherever Prohibition has been imposed, it has created a new and flourishing industry.  A more striking example of the effect of years of control and regimentation on the minds not of the ruled, but of the rulers, is the statement recently made by the Prime Minister that the Government were thinking of controlling prices as a means of preventing them from going up. One would have thought that a whole decade of experience in administering price-controls would have been enough to bring home the lesson that, so long as inflation continues unchecked, one can as effectively hold the price line by clamping on a fresh set of price-controls as he can bring a fever down by breaking thermometers.  I have described, in some detail, the picture of the old war-time controls we had to endure when we were a subject nation; and of the peace-time controls we are now subjected to as an independent nation, as I know that the matter is very much in our minds today, when we begin the fourteenth year of our Independence.  "There is absolutely no limit," observed Bertrand Russel, "to the absurdities that can, by Government action, come to be generally believed. Give me an adequate army with power to provide it with more pay and better food than falls to the lot of the average man and I will undertake within thirty years to make the majority of the population believe that two and two are three, that water freezes when it gets hot and boils when it gets cold, or any other nonsense that might seem to serve the interest of the State. No person who did not enthusiastically accept the official doctrine would be allowed to teach or to have any position of power. Only the very highest officials in their cups, would whisper to each other what rubbish it all is; then they would laugh, and drink again."  One of the official doctrines dinned into our heads today is that people of this country cannot, as individuals, or groups of free men, find the resources needed to improve the nation's living standards, and that the State has therefore to step in and take charge of wide and increasing areas of the normal activities of the people. It is astonishing to see the number of people who have come to accept this doctrine as true. They have been converted to believe that the Government gets its money, not from men and women like you and me, or loans borrowed in our name, but in the form of rain from the sky; and that the State gets its man-power not from us, our sons and daughters but from a genie raised by rubbing an Alladin's lamp hidden in the Secretariat.  I have said controls are a necessary ingredient and preservative of freedom. What should be the nature and extent of controls in a free economy?  The controls that have a rightful place in a free economy are those that provide the maximum of assistance with the minimum of interference; controls that regulate and safeguard, not those that regiment and emasculate; parapets, not road blocks; hedges, not barbed wire enclosures. The controls that freedom needs and welcomes are not controls imposed from outside but self-imposed, in-built ones, like the nitrogen in the air we breathe, without which our lungs would get burnt by the oxygen, like the glands and hormones that regulate the beat of our hearts and the size of our bodies and keep us from shaping into giants or dwarfs. I like the controls of roaring flames and fierce explosions in the Rob-Royce engine of a Boeing airliner that carries us safely and speedily to the ends of the earth.  Controls in a free economy should be like traffic control on a busy highway - strict regulation that does not impede, but helps to make the flow of traffic safer, smoother, and speedier.  The most perfect of all the controls that freedom must have is self-imposed controls - the control exercised on every man by his own conscience, the Swadharma commended by Gandhiji, as opposed to "the violence of the State" he warned against. This control is God-given. It is omnipresent and incorruptible. It laughs at evasion. It leads to no black markets.  Can there be a more thorough, a more total way of controlling people than to post an understanding and friendly policeman to accompany each citizen? Yet, this really is what the built-in control of conscience does to every man - so long, of course, as religion is not exiled, so long as Dharnza is not dethroned. Would it not seem megalomania to dismiss or to destroy the power and influence of these four hundred million built-in policemen of freedom, and to hire a horde of officials and underlings to enforce a hundred controls and commandments?  In the days of horse-drawn broughams and dog-carts, it was the fashion to cut off the tails of the horses and to employ uniformed lackeys equipped with whisks to keep flies away from the animals' posteriors. Of course, the fashion provided new employment. But by removing the built-in controls against flies, it left the poor horses at the mercy of the lackeys.  Not a few of the policies and procedures of our Government are reminiscent of that bygone fashion. I doubt if even the cunning men that invented the fashion could have dreamed that it would provide the inspiration for so many of our current official doctrines and plans.  When can we hope to see the end of Control-Raj and the attainment of Swaraj? Can anything be done to hasten the advent of that day?  There are, of course, many remedial measures that can and must be undertaken. But, considering the number of years our people have endured and grown accustomed to controls, and the extent to which their minds have got conditioned, it may be too much to hope for quick results. The treatment may be long drawn.  If I were asked to prescribe, I would begin by administering a few antidotes. These would be in the form of further controls "on a war-footing", of which I would suggest the immediate imposition of the following:  - Control over deficit financing as a means of preventing the cruelty of inflation. - Control of the output of the Currency Printing Press at Nasik, and a ban on the erection of more currency printing presses. - A ban on the imposition of new controls. - Licensing of speeches - and the levy of steeply graded licence fee on speeches exceeding five minutes' duration, with surcharges on Platitude, Piffle and Twaddle, and penalties on Sermonisation. _Last week's musing: [THE SWATANTRA MANIFESTO](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-swatantra-manifesto/)_ --- ## [Musing] Democracy and Liberalism : Contrasting Ideals URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/democracy-and-liberalism-contrasting-ideals/ ### Body _The following piece is an excerpt from Sauvik Chakraverti's book titled ['Natural Order : Essays Exploring Civil Government and Rule of Law'.](https://indianliberals.in/liberals/natural-order-essays-exploring-civil-government-and-the-rule-of-law.pdf) The author discusses the contrasting understanding between democracy and liberalism by quoting the works of prominent classical liberal thinkers such as Hayek. The insights offered in this work are timeless for conversations surrounding democracy and liberalism. _Since I may have lit a fire in the minds of many an aspiring liberal politician – which was my intention – I will conclude with some sobering thoughts on the essential contradictions between the liberal project and that of democracy. The two are not identical. This is the prime reason why even the so-called ‘liberal democracies’ of the West seem more like ‘socialist democracies’. Indeed, social democrats in the USA call themselves ‘liberal’! It seems to me that it is vital that the differences between the two doctrines be clearly restated. Allow me to quote at some length from Hayek: _“Liberalism is concerned with the functions of government and particularly with the limitation of all its powers. Democracy is concerned with the question of who is to direct government. Liberalism requires that all power, and therefore also that of the majority, be limited. Democracy came to regard current majority opinion as the only criterion of the legitimacy of the powers of government. The difference between the two principles stands out most clearly if we consider their opposites: with democracy it is authoritarian government; with liberalism it is totalitarianism. Neither of the two systems necessarily excludes the opposite of the other: a democracy may well wield totalitarian powers, and it is at least conceivable that an authoritarian government might act on liberal principles. _ _Liberalism is thus incompatible with unlimited democracy, just as it is incompatible with all other forms of unlimited government. It presupposes the limitation of the powers even of the representatives of the majority by requiring a commitment to principles either explicitly laid down in a constitution or accepted by general opinion as to effectively confine legislation._ _Thus, though the consistent application of liberal principles leads to democracy, democracy will preserve liberalism only if, and so long as, the majority refrains from using its powers to confer on its supporters special advantages which cannot be similarly offered to all citizens. This might be achieved in a representative assembly whose powers were confined to passing laws in the sense of general rules of just conduct, on which agreement among a majority is likely to exist. But it is most  unlikely in an assembly which habitually directs the specific measures of government. In such a representative assembly, which combines true legislative and governmental powers, and which is therefore in the exercise of the latter not limited by rules that it cannot alter, the majority is not likely to be based on true agreement on principles, but will probably consist of coalitions of various organized interests which will mutually concede to each other special advantages. Where, as is almost inevitable in a representative body with unlimited powers, decisions are arrived at by a bartering of special benefits to the different groups, and where the formation of a majority capable of governing depends on such bartering, it is indeed almost inconceivable that these powers will be used only in the true general interests. _ _But while for these reasons it seems almost certain that unlimited democracy will abandon liberal principles in favour of discriminatory measures benefiting the various groups supporting the majority, it is also doubtful whether in the long run democracy can preserve itself if it abandons liberal principles. If government assumes tasks which are too extensive and complex to be effectively guided by majority decisions, it seems inevitable that effective powers will devolve to a bureaucratic apparatus increasingly independent of democratic control. It is therefore not unlikely that the abandonment of liberalism by democracy will in the long run also lead to the disappearance of democracy. There can, in particular, be little doubt that the kind of directed economy towards which democracy seems to be tending requires for its effective conduct a government with authoritarian powers.”_ In the very next essay, “Whither Democracy?”, Hayek is mercifully much less polite. Starting off saying that ‘unlimited democracy is the problem of today’ he adds that the idea of a ‘sovereign’ parliament has ‘destroyed the old idea of the Rule of Law’: that is, the traditional idea of a ‘government under law’ has been lost. What we have, therefore, ‘is in truth lawless government’. Let us recall what the purpose of the ‘Rule of Law’ is: and that is, to safeguard individual freedom. The idea was to restrict coercion only towards just ends, which means obedience to the general rules of individual conduct. In these lies the ‘common will’. “What makes a community is the common recognition of the same rules.” With unlimited – and therefore lawless – democracy, we have confused legislation with true law. These measures passed by a legislature reflect ‘particular wills’. The original purpose of summoning parliament in England was to vote on taxation. But, over time, this body took over two separate functions: the running of the government as well as the making of the law. Hayek says that it would have been preferable had the House of Lords (which was the highest court in the land) kept the development of the law to itself: “The triumphant claim of the British Parliament to have become sovereign, and so able to govern subject to no law, may prove to have been the death-knell of both individual freedom and democracy.” But there is worse: in a strictly limited democracy, the people vote for a limited legislator, and this amounts to ‘choosing between alternative ways of securing an overall order resulting from the decisions of free individuals’. However, voting for an unlimited legislator is very different, for it amounts to electing someone with the power to confer special benefits. In such an assembly, a majority can be formed only by ‘buying the support of numerous special interests’. _In an omnipotent assembly, decisions therefore rest on a sanctioned process of blackmail and corruption…. What we call ‘legislatures’ are in fact bodies continually deciding on particular measures, and are authorizing coercion for their execution, on which no genuine agreement among the majority exists, but for which the support of a majority has been obtained by deals. In an omnipotent assembly which is concerned mainly with particulars and not with principles, majorities are therefore not based on agreement of opinions, but are formed by aggregations of special interests mutually assisting each other…. The picture of the majority of such an assembly united by common moral convictions evaluating the merits of the claims of particular groups is of course a fantasy. It is a majority only because it has pledged itself not to a principle but to satisfying particular claims. An unlimited legislature which is not prevented by convention or constitutional provisions from decreeing aimed and discretionary measures of coercion, such as tariffs or taxes or subsidies, cannot avoid acting in such an unprincipled manner…. What happens is that political necessity created by the existing institutional set-up produces non-viable or even destructive moral beliefs…. [This…] is not democracy. At least it is not that ideal of democracy which has any moral justification.”_ Prior to this demolition of modern Western democracy, Hayek makes a confession that I wholeheartedly share: _“I must confess to preferring non-democratic government under the law to unlimited (and therefore essentially lawless) democratic government. Government under the law seems to me to be the higher value, which it was once hoped that democratic watchdogs would preserve.” _ It must not be forgotten that India is possessed of a ‘socialist democracy’ – and that never once during her 60-year long independence has ‘liberalism’ ever been on the political agenda. Indeed, the Representation of the People Act expressly disallows the formation of liberal parties: that is, those who will not swear by socialism and the socialist constitution. The Bombay-based Indian Liberal Group led by SV Raju filed a petition against this Act in 1994, but their PIL is yet to be heard! Raju recently wrote that one of his close associates died waiting for a judicial decision, and that the same fate is likely to befall him! The liberal politician in India must therefore lean more towards the liberal project than the democratic one. The objective must not be to win elections – we are effectively barred anyway; rather, the effort must be towards raising the people to demand a limitation of the powers of government, on its taxation, and on its functions. The goal must be individual liberty under the rule of law – which demands that the government be placed under legal restraints which it cannot alter. It has often been said that liberalism only happens ‘when the government is bound by a law that it did not legislate’. That should be the liberal goal. And towards that end all liberal politics should be directed. As Herbert Spencer wrote in 1884, _“The function of Liberalism in the past was that of putting a limit to the powers of kings. The function of true Liberalism in the future will be that of putting a limit to the power of Parliaments.”_ --- ## [Musing] De-Stalinisation Versus Communism URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/de-stalinisation-versus-communism/ ### Body 'As a mighty tree with deep roots does not fear any storm so that the new socialist world does not fear any adversary or shock.' It is obvious that the "socialist" world is no longer a mighty tree ( if ever it was ) with deep roots and it has to contend with its own problems as much as with the external ones. _Nikita Khrushchev’s denouncement of Stalin and his criminal rule at the 20__th__ Congress of the Communist Party in 1956 remains an important milestone in the history of the now-discarded project. In moving away from the totalitarian rule of Stalin, some contemporaries saw hope for a more democratic and tolerant USSR where the party would eschew the personality cult._ _However, Adam Adil writing in the Freedom First in 1961, dismissed the destalinization project of Khrushchev. He questioned the complicity of the leaders who now denounced Stalin’s brutality in perpetuating the same system. Moreover, as Khrushchev promoted the policy of peaceful co-existence with the capitalist sphere, the more strident Maoist China took the Stalinist line of an inevitable conflict between capitalism and communism. _ _For Adil, Stalin’s totalitarian state was a logical continuation of the Marxist prescription via Leninist methodology. Marx’s advocacy of violent class struggle translated into the Bolshevik revolution to the dictatorship of the single party in the name of the proletariat. Adil argued that Lenin himself had dictatorial tendencies and hence any bid to destalinize would need to confront the basic tenets of Marxism-Leninism. It would take a Mikhail Gorbachev to unravel the system but in 1961 that laid way ahead in the future._ _Produced below is an excerpt from the article._ In his speech on the opening day of the 22nd Congress of the Soviet Communist Party, Mr. Khrushchev spoke brave words: ‘As a mighty tree with deep roots does not fear any storm, so that new socialist world does not fear any adversary or shock.’ From what followed at the Congress itself and subsequently, one can safely conclude that Mr. Khrushchev’s assertion was more in the nature of wishful thinking than a statement of fact. For the first time in its history the communist world has begun to show up, more pointedly and more abjectly, its internal contradictions, its political and psychological stresses, clash of its personalities and their mutual rivalries and bickerings. It is obvious that the “socialist” world is no longer a mighty tree ( if ever it was ) with deep roots and it has to contend with its own problems as much as with the external ones. The de-Stalinisation process which Mr. Khrushchev set in motion with his speech at the 20th Party Congress in 1956 and his world shocking admissions about the Stalin regime, (those were no revelations as they were known throughout the world for a number of years), has been apparently going on still; and this itself has divided the communist world into two, hostile camps: one represented by the Soviet Union, which decries Stalin and talks about “co-existence” and the other by China, which extols Stalin and speaks about the inevitability of war between capitalist and socialist nations with the ultimate destruction of capitalism. Russia enjoys the support of most East European Communist countries and China has the backing of Albania, the tiny Muslim country on the Mediterranean. The communist parties in the various non-communist countries are generally divided into factions, which owe their loyalties to one or the other camp within the communist world. All this indicates that what was claimed to be the ‘monolithic community’ of the communist world has received a shattering blow. The removal of Stalin’s mummified body from Lenin’s Mausoleum in the Red Square and its burial at an obscure place, and the changing of the name of the cities, towns or streets which were, for over two decades called after Stalin, represents the dramatic finale of the efforts of the present Communist rulers of Russia to extricate themselves from their past and put on a new garb of legitimate successors of Lenin. Is it not a fact that each one of the present leaders of the Soviet Union was closely associated with Stalin’s regime and abetted and helped in the imposition of a reign of terror and death over the Russian people for nearly three decades? It is rather intriguing that none of these soviet leaders has given expression to a sense of guilt or repentance for his own role in the perpetuation of Stalinist tyranny and in the cold murder of thousands of their own innocent comrades. _The full text of the article can be accessed _[_here_](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/115.pdf)_. _ _[IndianLiberals.in](http://indianliberals.in/) is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ Read more: [Memories of SV Raju](https://spontaneousorder.in/memories-of-sv-raju/) --- ## [Musing] Dangerous Counter Philosophy - Piloo Mody URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/dangerous-counter-philosophy-piloo-mody/ ### Body _Published in 1979, Piloo Mody's book 'Democracy means Bread and Freedom'  was an important piece of work which was written in a lucid style and discussed key ideas relevant to liberal thought in its economic, social and political understanding. Produced below is a chapter from the book. _Let us consider the nature of the 20th century confrontation between democrats and authoritarianism. Obviously the latter, except for proclaimed Fascists, cannot directly advocate a suspension of liberties and advocate the virtues of totalitarian rule. After all, freedom is ingrained too deeply within the modern ethos to permit such an onslaught. What is more, a direct assault on the concept of freedom would severely restrict their sphere of operation and expose their clandestine motive, which is to create a totalitarian order using in the meanwhile all the rights and protection offered by the democratic State. It is therefore but natural that would-be dictators should advance arguments which, while showing concern for the people, assiduously persuade them to barter away their liberty and freedom for a loaf of bread.  The authoritarian who asks “What is freedom to a hungry man?” and then goes on to assert that fundamental rights are meaningless and cannot be exercised without economic well being is sure of a sympathetic response where bread is scarce. What he never explains is how the surrender of freedom will put bread in a hungry man’s belly. In answer to this simple question, the authoritarian will talk about entrenched vested interests which are resisting change, profound theories about class reflexes, describe the evils of capitalism and colonialism (whichever is applicable, if not both), speak about the conspiracy between capital and the ruling classes, attack monopolies bent on exploitation and profiteers who inflate prices and keep wages down, harp on the eternal conflict between the haves and the have-nots, and proclaim that only a constant class struggle, terminating in the destruction of the bourgeoisie, will liberate the common man from his yoke and establish a dictatorship of the proletariat. And should this not be enough- there is always the ultimate- the State shall wither away!  These fancy arguments have duped many an honest broker whose concern for human well-being is not to be decried. There is an element of truth or reality easily visible in all these arguments which, incidentally, are given with such breath-taking rapidity, that the most rational of men may have difficulty in catching either their simplistic logic or avoiding the many pitfalls inherent in their subtle deceptions.  We are not concerned here with demolishing these arguments dialectic-wise or even questioning some of the assumptions made. It is merely sufficient to state that barter of freedom for bread is a bad bargain- particularly if we can and must have bread and freedom. Dwight D. Eisenhower put it admirably when he chastised his countrymen by saying: “If all that Americans want is security, they can go to prison. They’ll have enough to ear, a bed and a roof over their heads. But if an American wants to preserve his dignity and his equality as a human being, he must not bow his neck to any dictatorial government.” However, there is no controverting the fact that in many a society, even an affluent society, men have gone without bread in the midst of plenty. A hungry man surrounded by general opulence and waste is an ugly sight which no argument or explanation can justify. Far worse, of course, are the unprivileged millions in a developing country where food, clothing and shelter are the luxuries of the rich and the ruling classes, who have enough surplus left over to indulge in cheap foreign goods, which are expensive because they are prohibited! It is such simple logic merely to state that if the rich were eliminated, there would be more for the poor, that the rights of a few cannot hold the masses to ransom. Agreed agreed, agreed. But will someone please calculate and bluntly state how, by distributing this insufficient wealth and restricting the rights of a few, the authoritarian are going to employ the masses, feed and clothe them and deliver unto them their basic and fundamental rights?  If it is the principle of equality that necessitates this violence, what about the affluent nations? Were the men born in advanced countries created more equal than the ones born in backward lands? And if the distribution of wealth is the moral criterion of this argument, then the Soviet Socialist Republic- the second most powerful nation in the world, is the worst example of the distribution of wealth- not only amongst its own citizens but internationally.  Before in any competitive argument, let us pause and return to fundamentals. It is an old saying: “Man does not live by bread alone, but bread he must have.” What is the rationale for providing it? We cannot deviate from our original premise: “All men are created equal and that are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, amongst which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” If one accepts this proposition, one can not shirk the responsibility of defining its full scope, defending its logic, and discharging its obligations without being open to the charge of dishonesty.  When we speak of rights being inalienable, it is society and its institutions that are charged with the responsibility of ensuring the exercise of these rights and of seeing that these rights can be enjoyed by all. And if amongst these rights are the right to life, then the equality and content of that life has to be defined. Surely, it was never the intention of the author of the Declaration that the right to life is merely the right to have it protected from assault or death! Nor can it be argued that the Creator who gave life intended that that life should or could exist without nourishment, material and spiritual, in the pursuit of its happiness!  Then surely a duty is cast upon the State and the individuals who constitute that society, that they shall organise themselves in such a manner as would ensure that all their members can enjoy the right to life. What economic measures we may recommend to make that life meaningful await a later discussion, but the responsibility itself must be accepted here and now.  Another subtlety emerges here. Does man get his bread irrespective of his contribution, or does he have to exchange value for it, either by purchasing it with money or exchanging it against work? In an extreme case, can a man demand bread and at the same time refuse to work? The situation is paradoxical. If his right to life is inalienable and society has been charged with the responsibility of ensuring it, how can society bargain and demand value in return? This forces us to reflect on what rights at and how they can be exercised.  It is inherent in the nature of rights that they require action originating in the man asserting them. Freedom of speech requires the will to express- freedom of movement the desire to move- freedom of profession the exercise of choice- freedom of worship the need for faith- and so on. Similarly, the right to life imposes an obligation to work. For those incapable of it, society’s responsibility is absolute and it must carry the social overheads. It is obvious that the social overheads in a poor country cannot compare with those in an affluent society; nevertheless the quality of concern must be maintained not only within society, but for those outside of it. This leads us to a more practical problem of providing work.  In despotic societies this is simply achieved. The State orders a man to dig ditches and fill them up in exchange for bread. But democratic societies cannot do that. For a man’s right to choose his profession is also inalienable and is consistent with human dignity and necessary for creating self-esteem. This is the only path to self-realisation and the founding of a robust citizenry, which is the ultimate safeguard of a self-perpetuating democracy. The only restriction on a man’s freedom to choose his profession is his own capacity and efficiency. To avoid the charge that society has deprived man from acquiring such talents as are necessary, it is imperative that the State give equality of opportunity to each one of its members to qualify in whatever field of human endeavour is most suitable to his genius, in pursuit of his inclination and in satisfaction of his aspirations. If even with such facilities provided a man does not measure up to his chosen profession, then it must be what “God made him.”  By now we have come a long way in accepting the guidelines that history imposes on us, experience dictates to us, expediency forces on us and the future implies us to implement. In the process of acceptance and rejection a picture of a truly democratic society emerges. In restating the yardsticks we will delve into the very nature of man, his origin and evolution, to find the narrow path between his instinctual behaviour, his physical needs, the capacity of his mind to grasp and to grow, the fulfilment of his aspirations, and the enjoyment of his rights in the pursuit of his happiness.  In so doing we will have to note past actions that are inconsistent with his accepted notions, and fashion tools, methods, and institutions capable of ensuring a just and democratic society. Too many people feel that all answers must be available here and now. This is absurd, as society and social relationships are dynamic, and human experience is constantly expanding, to say nothing of knowledge, technology and resources. So man can ignore change only at the peril of his own existence. Edmond Burke felt that the change was the most powerful law of nature. However its realisation may take some time.  Henry Thomas Buckle in his _History of Civilisation_, in describing the process of realisation and change, says: “Every new truth which has ever been pronounced has, for a time, caused mischief, it has produced discomfort, and often unhappiness; sometimes by disturbing social and religious arrangement, and sometimes merely by disruption of old and cherished association of thoughts. It is only after a certain interval, and when the framework of affairs has adjusted itself to the new truth, that its good effects preponderance; and the preponderance continues to increase, until at length, the truth causes nothing but good. But, at the outset, there is always harm. And if the truth is very great as well as very new, the harm is serious. Men are made uneasy; they flinch; they cannot bear the sudden light; a general restlessness supervenes; the face of society is disturbed, or perhaps convulsed; old interests and old beliefs have been destroyed before new ones have been created. These symptoms are the precursors of revolution; they have preceded all the great changes through which the world has passed.” It is therefore imperative that a democratic society fashions its institutions to accommodate the ever-changing social relationships inherent in the progress of development and welfare without too much strain, resentment or obstruction on the part of those whose interests are affected. Whether the electoral system or adult franchise by itself is capable of bringing this about is a matter of opinion which can be discussed. But if wanting, it is obvious that other institutional arrangements can have to be made to reach the desired goal.  Harold Laski on the other hand, under the lure of Marx and the Soviet revolution, is of the opinion that change is inherently contrary to the nature of a liberal democracy, because the levers of power remain in the hands of the owners of capital and the instruments of production, who by their very nature pursue nothing but profit. He holds that unless the class relations of production are altered by the destruction of the manipulators of capital, no peaceful transformation is possible. He has anchored his entire thesis on the argument that a stage is when the State, charged with maintaining law and order and facilitating peaceful change in satisfying the ever-expanding demands of the people, will use it's coercive power to suppress the demands. Laski maintains that it is this resistance to change within liberal democracy, because of the producers need for world markets, that is the main cause of the emergence of Fascist dictatorships. So far the argument is plausible, but then he goes on to maintain that in the Soviet Union, because of the common ownership of the means of production, “the substance of the law” will be different and therefore the techniques of change, distribution of goods, will _ipso facto _respond to the rising expectations. The Soviet Union requires no markets for its goods, and therefore, according to him, will be peace-living and anti-war and will readily surrender its sovereignty to international law. Also not anticipated by Laski was the arms race during the Cold War, when the obsolescence of armaments was so rapid that it left the competing countries with such monumental stocks of outdated arms that the Soviet Union started using them as tools of diplomacy, selling and giving them away as “prizes” to those who supported Soviet policies. It is of course assumed, though not stated, that until the final goal has been reached, until class relations in the entire world change, it is perfectly all right for the Soviet Union to play the imperialist game!  This is too much. The theories of Hobbes and Austin, brought up to date by Kelson, are dismissed by Laski as an exercise in logic rather than life. Laski in fact demands that unless the functioning capitalist societies like Great Britain, the United States and the western democracies can demonstrate their capacity for peaceful change, the arguments of the theory of Law are untenable, although he does admit that they are unanswerable. The real weakness of Laski’s argument is that he does not demand a similar performance from the Soviet Union except to say that much would depend on the Soviet Union’s capacity for raising the standard of living of its citizens so as to compare favourably with that of the capitalist world.  The inference is clear and has even been stated elsewhere, that capitalist societies have raised standards of living to a point for socialist societies to emulate, but now that capitalism is in “contraction”, they will not be able to do so any longer. Then why don't we wait and see, let the socialist societies catch up and give a better example? Isn’t it evident what Laski is seeking? Nevertheless, Laski, amongst others, has rendered some service by articulating the pitfalls of a complacent democracy by pointing out the conflict that may arise and has arisen between an economic oligarchy and a political democracy, where the laws and coercive power through an adult franchise is held by the masses. What does not seem to have been studied in depth is why this conflict must lead either to revolution or Fascism. After all, the vote is still with the people, and if their institutions, like labour unions, co-operative societies and political parties, function adequately, there is no reason, except if there are malpractice and violence, why the majority cannot form a government that has full popular approval. Laski’s rejection of this proposition is on shaker ground. He lacks faith in the people knowing what is best for them, and complains that the mass of men and women, even at election time, “are scarcely articulate about their wants, and even when they are articulate are not trained to judge whether the solutions suggested are in fact an adequate response to their desires.”  This peculiar statement challenges the very basis of politics degrades the entire struggle of man for equality, rights and liberties, and assumes that there is a higher class of man- the social changes or the social short-changers- who can ordain what the masses should demand and get! Paradoxically, Harold Laski’s brilliant but insufficient analysis, if correct, could have led to only one conclusion- an alliance between the Western Democracies and Fascist Germany, Italy and Japan against Soviet Russia in World War II. Hitler wanted it, and so did many others on the side of the Allies. Nevertheless, it did not happen. Is there any more evidence than this required to prove that there must be some better, higher or more moral force in democracy determining in course than the trite anchor of Laski’s theory built on class relationships? It would not be out of place at this point to recall the Hilter- Stalin treaty.  Laski’s final doubt, after positive assertion about democracy having the latent power of recovery to advance human well-being, is the crux of the matter. Even he cannot explain how the process of coercion can be transformed into the process of consent, and even he cannot answer how consent gets woven into the Soviet system he so admires! I have dwelt at some length with Laski’s theory because he has rendered service to the cause of democracy by his timely reminder that the democratic process can be frustrated by group interests. It has happened in the past; it may happen in the future. Therefore it is incumbent on those involved in the creation of democratic societies to consider this problem and create the necessary institutional safeguards.  Many eminent men in the past have been aware of this danger and cautioned against it. Whether it was John C. Calhoun in the U.S. Senate in 1838, or President Grover Cleveland half a century later in his annual message to Congress, whether it was Abraham Lincoln the legislator or Abraham Lincoln the President, whether it was Woodrow Wilson or Franklin Roosevelt- all felt compelled to warn and expose the danger monopoly capital presented to democratic society. In the words of Roosevelt: “The liberty of a democracy is not safe if its business system does not provide employment and produce and distribute goods in such a way as to sustain an acceptable standard of living.”  However, it was Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes who put it most explicitly back in 1896 when he said: “One of the eternal conflicts of which life is made up is that between the effort of every man to get the most he can for his services, and that of society, disguised under the name of capital, to get his services for the least possible return.” And the correct response to this, according to me, came from Pope Pious XII in 1946, again a half century later, when he said: “An erroneous doctrine affirms that you- representatives of labour-and you- representatives of Calitak- are forced to battle each other in butter and implacable struggle, and that industrial pacification can it be reached except at this price… To obtain the desired harmony between labour and capital, professional organisations and unions have been devised, both of which are intended not as a weapon directed exclusively towards defensive and offensive war, which causes reactions and reprisals, not as an overflowing river, which is divided, but as a bridge which unites.” _(Excerpt from the book 'Democracy means Bread and Freedom' by Piloo Mody)_ --- ## [Musing] Democratic Socialism in India - A Symposium URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/democratic-socialism-in-india/ ### Body _Produced below is an essay by A. B. Shah, published in a 1976 edition of _[_Freedom Frist._](https://indianliberals.in/periodicals/freedom-first/)_  In the essay, the author uncovers the difference between the democratic socialist movements of Western Europe and North America versus that of India. In doing so, he discusses the need for a liberal social and cultural context for the growth of democratic socialism. _Like democracy, socialism too is a product of Western thought. Even in the West, it only took root in societies which had undergone the liberating experience of a social and cultural renaissance. In Eastern Europe, including Russia, Marxian socialism predictably degenerated into statism providing a modern garb for an indigenous authoritarian tradition. In Western Europe (and North America), on the other hand, where democracy was the culmination of a process of social and cultural liberalisation, socialism sought to complement the gains of political democracy by extending them to the economic field. With the exception of Manabendranath Roy, leaders of the socialist movement in India did not recognize the need for a liberal social and cultural context for the growth of a democratic socialist movement. While social equality and cultural freedom could be taken for granted by the spokesmen of democratic socialism in the West, such an assumption would not be valid for countries of the Third World. But this is precisely what happened in India, with the result that the movement for democratic socialism remained weak and lop-sided. Since it did not pay sufficient attention to the problem of social inequalities inherent in the caste system, it could not attract any mass following worth the name. Another weakness of the democratic socialist movement in India lies in its failure to see the relationship between political democracy and the economic structure. If economic power were to be concentrated in the hands of the state-which in a parliamentary system means, in effect, the Prime Minister or a few mandarins at the top- political democracy cannot survive for long. Thus by neglecting the political implications of economic policies, the democratic socialist movement in India is likely not only to lose its fight for economic equality but also contribute to the liquidation of political democracy, in the absence of which even social equality will be impossible in India.  If democratic socialism is to be relevant to a society like India's, it will have to reorientate itself so as to take account of the specific features of the Indian situation. In other words, it will have to formulate satisfactory answers to questions like the following: - If 'socialism is about equality', what should equality mean in terms of a permissible range of income distribution (a) in the long run, (b) in the short run (say, by the year 1,990 A.D.), starting from the distribution obtaining at present? - Gross inequalities of income are found to lead to two undesirable consequences: (a) extreme poverty of a large proportion in present-day India, about 50 per cent-of the population, and (b) concentration of economic power in the hands of a small minority, which thereby exercises undue influence on the decision-making process and tends to perpetuate its privileged position. In the Indian context, which should receive priority-the abolition of poverty or the reduction of economic inequalities-during the next 15 years? Or is it possible to devise a strategy which would simultaneously accomplish both these tasks without seriously impairing the prospects of economic growth? - To what extent is the drive for economic equality necessary for, and to what extent is it compatible with, the survival of free institutions? - To what extent would (a) nationalisation, (b) co-operativization, and (c ) mixed economy be conducive to the realisation of the goal of democratic socialism-namely, equality without the loss of liberty-in the light of experience in India and abroad? Is it possible to suggest a fourth pattern of economic organization? - What kind of social structure and cultural tradition does democratic socialism presuppose, and imply, as its concomitant? - The caste structure of Hindu society (with untouchability as its integral part) and the authoritarian nature of the dominant Hindu, Islamic and Christian traditions in India are clearly incompatible with the values of democratic socialism: they sanction inequalities based on caste, creed and sex and inhibit the critical spirit. What kind of programmes should be undertaken by (a) government (b) institutions like schools, colleges and mass media, and (c) voluntary organizations to promote the necessary transformation of Indian society and culture? - The complexities of a modern society make it necessary that those who are responsible for its efficient functioning have a high-order intellectual equipment. If such societies are also to run on democratic socialist lines, their elite should have the right kind of value-orientation and, at the and at the same time, every citizen should have free access to the best education that society can provide. This poses the problem of reconciling the democratisation of education with the provision of quality education for the  would-be elite. In the democratic West, this is accomplished through a variety of educational institutions ranging from Ivy League to run-of-the-mill colleges and universities. There is a similar differentiation in the Soviet Union too. To what extent is such differentiation compatible with the values of democratic socialism, and what implications would it have for the educational system in India? - How is equal access to education to be ensured to groups which have been debarred from it for centuries by social discrimination as well as poverty? What kind of remedial measures should be adopted to enable traditionally backward groups to make up the culture lag in a reasonably short time? - As recent studies in the USA have shown, equality of educational opportunity may not ensure equality of incomes though it may lead to increasing social equality. What would be the implications of this finding for educational planning and economic policy? - In order to promote a growing awareness and assimilation of the values of democratic socialism-viz., liberty and equality-the content of education will have to be radically changed. For instance, what should be the quantum of information and the orientation of text books from the stand-point of value- and attitude-formation? What skills should be sought to be developed among the students as a result of formal education at the school and college levels? How should science be taught not only as a theoretical construct for understanding the world of man and nature, but also as a cultural discipline which implies a certain approach to the inherited culture-literature, religion, social thought and institutions-of the people? How should the student be enabled to develop a sense of in real-life situations in rural as well as urban areas? - What would be the structural and functional changes in the educational system if it is to be compatible with the values of democratic socialism? - Students belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have been receiving certain concessions in education for more than two decades past. However, neither the spread of education among these groups nor the kind of elite that has emerged from them as a result of these concessions has proved adequate from the point of view of promoting their rapid advancement and participation in the national life. Should the concessions be continued as before, should they be changed in quantum and nature, or should they be altogether abolished? - What should be the role of the state in the field of education? The question assumes special importance in view of the recent trend of growing state control over universities even in their day-to-day functioning such as examinations and promotions. - It is possible that the state will not be willing to relax its grip on education even though such relaxation would be indispensable for making education capable of promoting the values of democratic socialism. What can the academic community- university authorities, school and college managements, teachers' and students' associations-do to persuade or compel the state to change its attitude? It was with a view to initiating an enquiry on these lines that the Samaj Prabodhan Sanstha convened, with the assistance of the Indian Council of Social Science Research, two seminars at Pune early this year. _Last week's musing: [THE SWATANTRA MANIFESTO](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-swatantra-manifesto/)_ --- ## [Musing] Democracy in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/democracy-in-india-by-jm-lobo-prabhu/ ### Body _The musing shared below is a 1959 winning essay in a writing competition organised by the Forum of Free Enterprise. The essay, authored by J M Lobo Prabhu, MP Lok Sabha (Udupi) 67' traces the development of the Indian constitution factoring in the various influences that have played a role in its making. It critically analyses the contradictions inherent in the Constitution and how it has played out in the working of the Indian democracy. The essay also emphasizes the excessive powers the Constitution has vested in the central government. It elucidates the role of Directive Principles in the Constitution and the implications of the socialist elements present in it. The essay argues that basic principles of democracy, such as the rule of law and sovereignty of the Parliament, are contradicted by elements in the Constitution itself. _ _You can read the complete, unabridged version here [Democracy In India](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Democracy_In_India.pdf)_ It is difficult to trace democracy in India until the British, to take the odour out of foreign rule, began, about sixty years ago, to vest power progressively in the people according to economic status in urban and rural areas. After independence, with juvenile enthusiasm, the Constituent Assembly raided every country for the latest and the best constitution. In the framework of the Act of 1935 and on the British principles of the Rule of Law and the Sovereignty of the Parliament, the equality of the people has been established in meticulous detail. Like all schemes of men and mice, the results have not followed the expectations. In the name of democracy, the country now lies bound with restrictions which even the British did not dare impose. At least five sets of causes have operated, first, the deficiencies of the Constitution, second, the growth of usages contrary to the Constitution, third, the quality of the legislative and executive parts of the Constitution, fourth, the weakness of the organs of freedom, and lastly, the ignorance and incapacity of the people. Constitutions are based on the body of accepted social and economic principles. After considering the alternative of calling it the Socialist Republic, the Constituent Assembly declared India to be the Sovereign Democratic Republic. Nonetheless, at Avadi in 1955, the Congress decided to adopt the Socialist Pattern and have since imposed redistributive taxation and are determined to impose State trading and cooperative farming, the fundamentals of the Socialist Republic of the Soviets. The definite antithesis between socialism and democracy has not been appreciated. Socialism is based on the interests of the State, and democracy is on the interests of the individual. Democracy builds from below, and Socialism from the top. To the extent the State assumes ownership of the means of production, which is the basis of Socialism, the individuals become employees with little power to order their work or lives and less interest in their capacities or contributions. Where State ownership is complete, no competitive standards are left, where partial, the competition is unfair to private enterprise which has less authority and finance. The Avadi resolution*, therefore, affected the ethos of the Constitution, eviscerating it completely of its spirit and partly of its provisions. As a result, the people have steadily lost political power, which is being polarised in fewer and fewer individuals. This might be in accordance with the traditions of the people but not the principles of democracy on which it was sought to base the Constitution. An examination of the Constitution shows that its contradictions are susceptible to the polarization which has taken place. The Constitution opens with a catalogue of Fundamental Rights, of which only two are parents of the others, Article 14 assures equality before the law irrespective of religion, race, sex and residence, and Article 17 assures freedom of opinion and action. The elaboration in other Articles is generally limiting basic rights. Thus under Article 13, the door is opened for subordinate legislation by the inclusion of "orders, rules, regulations and notifications" in the category of laws made by the legislature. Even as early as 1929, Lord Hewett, in his book New Despotism had castigated the bypassing of the legislature through official rule-making and administrative tribunals because it contravened the Rule of Law which, according to Dicey, means "equal subjection of all to the **ordinary law** of the land, administered by the **ordinary law courts**. Both in the Centre and the States, the rules made by Government in numerous Acts are more extensive than the laws made by the legislature. Similarly, decisions of Administrative Tribunals and Government are tending to outnumber those of the Courts. Article 16 limits equality by allowing preference in public employment to the backward classes. However desirable it may be to advance these classes, their employment in public services without reference to their merits must affect the quality of the administration on which the advancement of the whole country and the interests of individuals are dependent. Article 17, which assures seven freedoms, is restrictive of the Freedom of Speech, which can be placed out of the jurisdiction of Courts by the claim of the security of the State. This power can be exercised by local and other authorities. In USA and UK, the courts can examine the grounds of security and so ensure that the administration does not gag its opponents. In respect of all seven freedoms, the State can impose restrictions with reference to previous legislations and reasonable grounds. The exemption in favour of existing laws confirms the heritage of the laws of the preceding foreign rule and the laws hastily passed on promises made by the Congress Party before coming into power, like zamindari abolition. Particularly in respect of the right to property, the power of the State to impose restrictions in the interests of the general public, especially with reference to Article 39, is destructive of the freedom assured. It opens the door to expropriation on grounds that the courts may be competent to examine but unwilling to overlook according to the political atmosphere of the time. The right to trade and industry has been further curtailed by the First Amendment, which has enabled the State to place restrictions, which the courts cannot question if the purpose is of nationalisation. Few have realised the blow this has implied to democracy. The law is now ready-made for the communists to order the life and work of everyone to any degree and on any terms. No one can legally resist the communication of land, industry or trade, of units big or small. Even before the Avadi session and only one year after the Constitution, Congress had laid the foundations of the Socialist State by the First Amendment of the Constitution. Article 22 enables the State to enforce preventive detention for three months and such further period as the Parliament may provide. Though the law of England allowed preventive detention during the period of the war, analogous provisions cannot be traced in the constitutions of other countries. No doubt, the person detained can obtain a Writ of Habeas Corpus from the High Courts, but they are not allowed to consider the facts but only the grounds of detention. Article 25, after reaffirming freedom of religion, proceeds to subject it to the laws already in existence and to grounds "economic, financial, political arid social welfare and reform". There is no parallel to this in the constitutions of other countries, which have full freedom of religion subject only to the criminal laws of the country. However laudable it may be to make religion conform to current theories, there is first an unwarranted interference in what is personal and, second, scope for secularisation which under a communist government can mean atheism. Even the right to propagate religion which was conceded to Christians to give up their claims to separate representation has not prevented the banning of foreign missionaries, though other foreigners with worse intents are welcome. The provisions of the Article leave all religions at the mercy of the ideologies of the reigning government. The changes in the laws of marriage and succession and in the management of temples and endowment, however desirable, were for the Hindus themselves to make according to the pleasure or pressure of those concerned. What has been forced is generally resented and frequently evaded. Article 30 assures minorities, whether based on language or religion, the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice without discrimination in respect of State aid. In Kerala, the Education Act can force teachers and books, which the minorities abhor, while even in the model State of Madras, grants are withheld from private schools which do not agree to give free primary education. Various experiments in the medium of instruction, the subjects of study, and the method of teaching, including the basic pattern, have been forced on schools destroying standards they had built up for years. The Article, therefore, is a dead letter because of the overwhelming power of the State and the helpless position of educational institutions. Article 31 destroys the sanctity of private property because while all constitutions allow that land may be acquired only on payment of due compensation, it makes an exception to all expropriative laws passed eighteen months before the date of the constitution. The First Amendment overcame the legal defects in this provision, while the Fourth Amendment empowered the government to fix a scale of compensation which no court can question. The right to property, therefore, lies in ruins. Many serious consequences arise, first, the Constitution has become a tattered piece of paper, second, the door has been opened to communism, third, the bureaucracy has been further empowered, and fourth, a neurotic impulse has been imparted to the economy-making property a matter of hide and seek. Since democracy has been allowed to taste blood like this, the overwhelming majority of those without property will increasingly abort the Constitution and expropriate the rights of others. This will be more so if joint farming and State trading obliterate the rights of millions of small owners and dealers and throw them into the ranks of those who have no property. It will then be a short step for the State to assume ownership of all the means of production. This raises the question of the necessity of free enterprise for the survival of democracy. State enterprise is both economically and politically restrictive. Economically State enterprise replaces the natural and widespread initiative and interest of individuals with the indifference and inexperience of officials. Whatever compulsions may be organized or compensations offered, the human spirit responds less to what it cannot directly own and enjoy. There is ample evidence of this in the existing State services and enterprises. In public offices, the officials think only of themselves and not of the public they should serve because even the best of them cannot connect what each does with what results in the intangible total. In public enterprises, this lack of personal interest is heightened because there is no equivalent to the control exercised in private enterprises by the shareholders who watch their dividends and by the consumers who watch the prices. Consequently, our State enterprises are commercial failures, the return, for instance, on investment of the Centre in 1958 being only 1 per cent. This means, first, that the loans taken by Government pay interest at least three times as much as they earn, second, that these loans are diversions from private enterprise, third, that to the extent State enterprise displaces private enterprise, it disengages private capital and employment, fourth, that taxes required to pay interest on loans and support party programmes like khadi, basic education, prohibition, co-operation cripple production and boost prices, and lastly, the increased national production on which economic democracy as a counterpart of political democracy depends is unnecessarily reduced. It is because no notice is taken of the disastrous results of existing nationalisation that the danger from more of it is not realised. Politically, State enterprise converts free men into employees of the State with no right to agitate against it. Already employment of the State has swallowed up so many men of the best quality that politics get mostly those who are disappointed. In total State ownership, individual freedom of opinion will be eliminated, and leadership being polarised to those who can command the experts in control. In any case, when men have no stake of their own, politics can have only academic interest. One of the causes for such polarisation of power, as has already taken place, is the elimination of political identity of the increasing numbers employed by the State. In the face of this, Article 31, allowing the citizen to move the Supreme Court for prerogative writs, appears hollow. The Government is also learning to manoeuvre out of the reach of writs by legislation with retrospective effect. Further, the courts are being increasingly influenced by the various Directive Principles, which are being used to justify departure from the strict letter of the law. _Previous musing: [Socialism or State Capitalism (1970)](https://indianliberals.in/content/socialism-or-state-capitalism/)_ --- ## [Musing] Democracy Means Bread And Freedom URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/democracy-means-bread-and-freedom/ ### Body _Published in 1979, Piloo Mody’s book ‘Democracy means Bread and Freedom’  was an important piece of work written in a lucid style and discussing key ideas relevant to liberal thought in its economic, social and political understanding. Produced below is a chapter from the book. _ _You can access the book _[_here_](https://books.google.co.in/books/about/Democracy_Means_Bread_and_Freedom.html?id=aTXFVGJo_eEC&redir_esc=y)_.__ _ Let us consider the nature of the 20th-century confrontation between democrats and authoritarianism. Obviously, the latter, except for proclaimed Fascists, cannot directly advocate a suspension of liberties and advocate the virtues of totalitarian rule. After all, freedom is ingrained too deeply within the modern ethos to permit such an onslaught. What is more, a direct assault on the concept of freedom would severely restrict their sphere of operation and expose their clandestine motive, which is to create a totalitarian order using in the meanwhile all the rights and protection offered by the democratic State. It is therefore but natural that would-be dictators should advance arguments that, while showing concern for the people, assiduously persuade them to barter away their liberty and freedom for a loaf of bread.  The authoritarian who asks “What is freedom to a hungry man?” and then goes on to assert that fundamental rights are meaningless and cannot be exercised without economic well-being is sure of a sympathetic response where bread is scarce. What he never explains is how the surrender of freedom will put bread in a hungry man’s belly. In answer to this simple question, the authoritarian will talk about entrenched vested interests which are resisting change, profound theories about class reflexes, describe the evils of capitalism and colonialism (whichever is applicable, if not both), speak about the conspiracy between capital and the ruling classes, attack monopolies bent on exploitation and profiteers who inflate prices and keep wages down, harp on the eternal conflict between the haves and the have-nots, and proclaim that only a constant class struggle, terminating in the destruction of the bourgeoisie, will liberate the common man from his yoke and establish a dictatorship of the proletariat. And should this not be enough- there is always the ultimate- the State shall wither away!  These fancy arguments have duped many an honest broker whose concern for human well-being is not to be decried. There is an element of truth or reality easily visible in all these arguments which, incidentally, are given with such breath-taking rapidity that the most rational of men may have difficulty in catching either their simplistic logic or avoiding the many pitfalls inherent in their subtle deceptions.  We are not concerned here with demolishing these arguments dialectic-wise or even questioning some of the assumptions made. It is merely sufficient to state that the barter of freedom for bread is a bad bargain- particularly if we can and must have bread and freedom. Dwight D. Eisenhower put it admirably when he chastised his countrymen by saying: “If all that Americans want is security, they can go to prison. They’ll have enough to eat, a bed and a roof over their heads. But if an American wants to preserve his dignity and his equality as a human being, he must not bow his neck to any dictatorial government.” However, there is no controverting the fact that in many a society, even an affluent society, men have gone without bread in the midst of plenty. A hungry man surrounded by general opulence and waste is an ugly sight that no argument or explanation can justify. Far worse, of course, are the unprivileged millions in a developing country where food, clothing and shelter are the luxuries of the rich and the ruling classes, who have enough surplus left over to indulge in cheap foreign goods, which are expensive because they are prohibited! It is such simple logic merely to state that if the rich were eliminated, there would be more for the poor, that the rights of a few cannot hold the masses to ransom. Agreed, agreed, agreed. But will someone please calculate and bluntly state how, by distributing this insufficient wealth and restricting the rights of a few, the authoritarians are going to employ the masses, feed and clothe them and deliver unto them their basic and fundamental rights?  If it is the principle of equality that necessitates this violence, what about affluent nations? Were the men born in advanced countries created more equal than the ones born in backward lands? And if the distribution of wealth is the moral criterion of this argument, then the Soviet Socialist Republic–the second most powerful nation in the world, is the worst example of the distribution of wealth–not only amongst its own citizens but internationally. Before any competitive argument, let us pause and return to fundamentals. It is an old saying: “Man does not live by bread alone, but bread he must have.” What is the rationale for providing it? We cannot deviate from our original premise: “All men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, amongst which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” If one accepts this proposition, one can not shirk the responsibility of defining its full scope, defending its logic, and discharging its obligations without being open to the charge of dishonesty.  When we speak of rights being inalienable, it is society and its institutions that are charged with the responsibility of ensuring the exercise of these rights and of seeing that these rights can be enjoyed by all. And if among these rights are the right to life, then the equality and content of that life have to be defined. Surely, it was never the intention of the author of the Declaration that the right to life is merely the right to have it protected from assault or death! Nor can it be argued that the Creator who gave life intended that that life should or could exist without nourishment, material and spiritual, in the pursuit of its happiness!  Then surely a duty is cast upon the State and the individuals who constitute that society that they shall organise themselves in such a manner as would ensure that all their members can enjoy the right to life. What economic measures we may recommend making that life meaningful await a later discussion, but the responsibility itself must be accepted here and now.  Another subtlety emerges here. Does a man get his bread irrespective of his contribution, or does he have to exchange value for it, either by purchasing it with money or exchanging it against work? In an extreme case, can a man demand bread and at the same time refuse to work? The situation is paradoxical. If his right to life is inalienable and society has been charged with the responsibility of ensuring it, how can society bargain and demand value in return? This forces us to reflect on what rights at and how they can be exercised.  It is inherent in the nature of rights that they require action originating in the man asserting them. Freedom of speech requires the will to express- freedom of movement the desire to move- freedom of profession the exercise of choice- freedom of worship the need for faith- and so on. Similarly, the right to life imposes an obligation to work. For those incapable of it, society’s responsibility is absolute and it must carry the social overheads. It is obvious that the social overheads in a poor country cannot compare with those in an affluent society; nevertheless, the quality of concern must be maintained not only within society but that outside of it. This leads us to a more practical problem of providing work.  In despotic societies, this is simply achieved. The State orders a man to dig ditches and fill them up in exchange for bread. But democratic societies cannot do that. A man’s right to choose his profession is also inalienable and is consistent with human dignity and necessary for creating self-esteem. This is the only path to self-realisation and the founding of a robust citizenry, which is the ultimate safeguard of a self-perpetuating democracy. The only restriction on a man’s freedom to choose his profession is his own capacity and efficiency. To avoid the charge that society has deprived man of acquiring such talents as are necessary, it is imperative that the State give equality of opportunity to each one of its members to qualify in whatever field of human endeavour is most suitable to his genius, in pursuit of his inclination and in satisfaction of his aspirations. If even with such facilities provided a man does not measure up to his chosen profession, then it must be what “God made him.”  By now we have come a long way in accepting the guidelines that history imposes on us, experience dictates to us, expediency forces on us and the future implies us to implement. In the process of acceptance and rejection, a picture of a truly democratic society emerges. In restating the yardsticks, we will delve into the very nature of man, his origin and evolution, to find the narrow path between his instinctual behaviour, his physical needs, the capacity of his mind to grasp and to grow, the fulfilment of his aspirations, and the enjoyment of his rights in the pursuit of his happiness.  In so doing we will have to note past actions that are inconsistent with his accepted notions and fashion tools, methods, and institutions capable of ensuring a just and democratic society. Too many people feel that all answers must be available here and now. This is absurd, as a society and social relationships are dynamic, and human experience is constantly expanding, to say nothing of knowledge, technology and resources. So man can ignore change only at the peril of his own existence. Edmond Burke felt that change was the most powerful law of nature. However, its realisation may take some time.  Henry Thomas Buckle in his _History of Civilisation_, in describing the process of realisation and change, says: “Every new truth which has ever been pronounced has, for a time, caused mischief, it has produced discomfort, and often unhappiness; sometimes by disturbing social and religious arrangement, and sometimes merely by disruption of old and cherished association of thoughts. It is only after a certain interval, and when the framework of affairs has adjusted itself to the new truth, that its good effects preponderance; and the preponderance continues to increase, until at length, the truth causes nothing but good. But, at the outset, there is always harm. And if the truth is very great as well as very new, the harm is serious. Men are made uneasy; they flinch; they cannot bear the sudden light; a general restlessness supervenes; the face of society is disturbed, or perhaps convulsed; old interests and old beliefs have been destroyed before new ones have been created. These symptoms are the precursors of revolution; they have preceded all the great changes through which the world has passed.” It is therefore imperative that a democratic society fashions its institutions to accommodate the ever-changing social relationships inherent in the progress of development and welfare without too much strain, resentment or obstruction on the part of those whose interests are affected. Whether the electoral system or adult franchise by itself is capable of bringing this about is a matter of opinion which can be discussed. But if wanting, it is obvious that other institutional arrangements can have to be made to reach the desired goal.  Harold Laski on the other hand, under the lure of Marx and the Soviet revolution, is of the opinion that change is inherently contrary to the nature of liberal democracy because the levers of power remain in the hands of the owners of capital and the instruments of production, who by their very nature pursue nothing but profit. He holds that unless the class relations of production are altered by the destruction of the manipulators of capital, no peaceful transformation is possible. He has anchored his entire thesis on the argument that a stage is when the State, charged with maintaining law and order and facilitating peaceful change in satisfying the ever-expanding demands of the people, will use its coercive power to suppress the demands. Laski maintains that it is this resistance to change within liberal democracy, because of the producers' need for world markets, that is the main cause of the emergence of Fascist dictatorships. So far the argument is plausible, but then he goes on to maintain that in the Soviet Union, because of the common ownership of the means of production, “the substance of the law” will be different and therefore the techniques of change, distribution of goods, will _ipso facto _respond to the rising expectations. The Soviet Union requires no markets for its goods, and therefore, according to him, will be peace-living and anti-war and will readily surrender its sovereignty to international law. Also not anticipated by Laski was the arms race during the Cold War, when the obsolescence of armaments was so rapid that it left the competing countries with such monumental stocks of outdated arms that the Soviet Union started using them as tools of diplomacy, selling and giving them away as “prizes” to those who supported Soviet policies. It is of course assumed, though not stated, that until the final goal has been reached, until class relations in the entire world change, it is perfectly all right for the Soviet Union to play the imperialist game!  This is too much. The theories of Hobbes and Austin, brought up to date by Kelson, are dismissed by Laski as an exercise in logic rather than life. Laski in fact demands that unless functioning capitalist societies like Great Britain, the United States and the western democracies can demonstrate their capacity for peaceful change, the arguments of the theory of Law are untenable, although he does admit that they are unanswerable. The real weakness of Laski’s argument is that he does not demand a similar performance from the Soviet Union except to say that much would depend on the Soviet Union’s capacity for raising the standard of living of its citizens so as to compare favourably with that of the capitalist world.  The inference is clear and has even been stated elsewhere that capitalist societies have raised standards of living to a point for socialist societies to emulate, but now that capitalism is in “contraction”, they will not be able to do so any longer. Then why don’t we wait and see, let the socialist societies catch up and give a better example? Isn’t it evident what Laski is seeking? Nevertheless, Laski, amongst others, has rendered some service by articulating the pitfalls of a complacent democracy by pointing out the conflict that may arise and has arisen between an economic oligarchy and a political democracy, where the laws and coercive power through an adult franchise is held by the masses. What does not seem to have been studied in depth is why this conflict must lead either to revolution or Fascism. After all, the vote is still with the people, and if their institutions, like labour unions, cooperative societies and political parties, function adequately, there is no reason, except if there are malpractice and violence, why the majority cannot form a government that has full popular approval. Laski’s rejection of this proposition is on shaker ground. He lacks faith in the people knowing what is best for them and complains that the mass of men and women, even at election time, “are scarcely articulate about their wants, and even when they are articulate are not trained to judge whether the solutions suggested are in fact an adequate response to their desires.”  This peculiar statement challenges the very basis of politics degrades the entire struggle of man for equality, rights and liberties, and assumes that there is a higher class of man- the social changes or the social short-changers- who can ordain what the masses should demand and get! Paradoxically, Harold Laski’s brilliant but insufficient analysis, if correct, could have led to only one conclusion- an alliance between the Western Democracies and Fascist Germany, Italy and Japan against Soviet Russia in World War II. Hitler wanted it, and so did many others on the side of the Allies. Nevertheless, it did not happen. Is there any more evidence than this required to prove that there must be some better, higher or more moral force in democracy determining in the course than the trite anchor of Laski’s theory built on class relationships? It would not be out of place at this point to recall the Hilter- Stalin treaty.  Laski’s final doubt, after a positive assertion about democracy having the latent power of recovery to advance human well-being, is the crux of the matter. Even he cannot explain how the process of coercion can be transformed into the process of consent, and even he cannot answer how consent gets woven into the Soviet system he so admires! I have dwelt at some length with Laski’s theory because he has rendered service to the cause of democracy through his timely reminder that the democratic process can be frustrated by group interests. It has happened in the past; it may happen in the future. Therefore it is incumbent on those involved in the creation of democratic societies to consider this problem and create the necessary institutional safeguards.  Many eminent men in the past have been aware of this danger and cautioned against it. Whether it was John C. Calhoun in the U.S. Senate in 1838, or President Grover Cleveland half a century later in his annual message to Congress, whether it was Abraham Lincoln the legislator or Abraham Lincoln the President, whether it was Woodrow Wilson or Franklin Roosevelt- all felt compelled to warn and expose the danger monopoly capital presented to a democratic society. In the words of Roosevelt: “The liberty of a democracy is not safe if its business system does not provide employment and produce and distribute goods in such a way as to sustain an acceptable standard of living.”  However, it was Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes who put it most explicitly back in 1896 when he said: “One of the eternal conflicts of which life is made up is that between the effort of every man to get the most he can for his services, and that of society, disguised under the name of capital, to get his services for the least possible return.” And the correct response to this, in my opinion, came from Pope Pious XII in 1946, again a half-century later, when he said: “An erroneous doctrine affirms that you- representatives of labour-and you- representatives of Calitak- are forced to battle each other in butter and implacable struggle, and that industrial pacification can it be reached except at this price… To obtain the desired harmony between labour and capital, professional organisations and unions have been devised, both of which are intended not as a weapon directed exclusively towards defensive and offensive war, which causes reactions and reprisals, not as an overflowing river, which is divided, but as a bridge which unites.” _Previous musing: [Community Development](https://indianliberals.in/content/community-development/)_ --- ## [Musing] Do We Deserve Our Prime Ministers? URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/do-we-deserve-our-prime-ministers/ ### Body Prime Ministers may come and go but they are all enemies of autonomy and federalism because they want to rule India from Delhi on the telephone. They are welcome to try but they will only succeed in breaking the union of India by their stupid efforts to monopolise power. In 1991 Minoo Masani, three-time Member of Parliament, and one of the founders of the Swatantra party wondered if we deserve our Prime Ministers. His words, originally written against the policies of the former Prime Minister VP Singh, are as true today as they were then. ![](https://spontaneousorder.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Prime-Ministers-1.png) _Access the full document [here](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/408.pdf)_. _First Published in Freedom First – January 1991_ _Other editions of the publication can be accessed at [Indian Liberals](http://indianliberals.in/index), an open, multilingual digital archive committed to preserving liberal voices in the Indian public sphere._ [Read more SO Musings](https://spontaneousorder.in/?s=SO+Musings) --- ## [Musing] Dr B R Ambedkar on Village Panchayats URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/dr-br-ambedkar-on-village-panchayats/ ### Body _Published by the Dr Ambedkar Foundation, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India, the excerpt below has been borrowed from one of Dr B R Ambedkar’s speeches during the Bombay Legislative Council on Village Panchayats Bill debates on 6__th__ October 1932._ _The publication- “Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches Vol 2.” is a compilation of Dr Ambedkar’s work in the Bombay Legislature, Simon Commission and the Round Table Conferences. It provides an insight into his detailed views set in the context of pre-independent India._ _Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar needs no introduction. He was a political leader, scholar, philosopher, Parliamentarian, and lawyer. He was well known for his persuasive speeches in Assemblies and Parliament, especially as a champion of the Depressed Classes in India. He spoke vociferously on various issues like Primary and University Education, Industrial Disputes, Linguistic States, and the rights of Untouchables._ _You can read the original, unabridged version_ [_here_](http://drambedkarwritings.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/Volume_02.pdf) _(pp. 123-131)._ Dr Ambedkar’s views on Panchayati Raj in India differed from that of other leaders like Mahatma Gandhi in terms of the practicality of its implementation. He expressed his opinion in detail on the Village Panchayats Bill in the debates of the Bombay Legislative Council during 1932-33. Though he agreed with the devolution policy, he objected to how the Bill intended to empower the Village Panchayats. In one of such speeches, he said, “Whatever be the merits of these rural republics, I have not the slightest hesitation in saying that they have been the bane of the public life of India.” According to him, the Village Panchayats hampered the growth of the nationalistic spirit in the country. He argued,  “If India has not succeeded in producing nationalism, if India has not succeeded in building up a national spirit, the chief reason for that, in my opinion, is the existence of the village system. It made all people saturated with local particularism, with local patriotism. It left no room for a larger civic spirit. None whatever. Under the ancient village panchayats, India, instead of being a country of a united people, became a loose conglomeration of village communities with no common tie except common allegiance to a common King.” He also objected to the constitution of Panchayats based on adult suffrage. He claimed, “I should like to make it clear to the Honourable Minister that, speaking for the depressed classes, I have not hesitated in saying that adult suffrage is not sufficient for us. The Honourable Minister has forgotten that the depressed classes are in the minority in every village, a miserable minority, and assuming that he adopts adult suffrage, he will readily admit I am sure that adult suffrage cannot convert a minority into a majority. Consequentially I am bound to insist that if these village panchayats come, there shall be special representation for the minorities. At any rate, there shall be special representation for the depressed classes, and others, of course, will speak for themselves.” He further added, “Speaking for the depressed classes, therefore, I can never accept the principle of self-government for India unless I am satisfied that every selfgoverning institution has provisions in it which give the depressed classes special representation in order to protect their rights, and until that is done, I am afraid it will not be possible for me to assent to the first part of the Bill.” Dr Ambedkar also criticised Bill’s provisions on judicial powers to the Village Panchayat. He questioned if the Village Panchayat meets the three requisites to discharge civil and criminal justice – Training in Law, Impartiality in its outlook and Independent position. He said, “Now, the first question that I would like to ask the Honourable Minister is this: Does he expect that these five gentlemen who will be elected on the basis of adult suffrage will have sufficient judicial training to discharge the duties of judges? Sir, I would like to submit that judicial decisions demand a developed judgment and a vast amount of legal knowledge. (Laughter.) Let there be no laughter because it is a serious matter. Just consider this. We are all agog when members of the I.C.S. want to have certain places reserved for them in the High Court or the judiciary. What is the reason for our objection? If I have understood the objection correctly, it is that these gentlemen who have passed the I.C.S. examination have no judicial training, and not having judicial training, we cannot entrust them with judicial powers. That is the gravamen of the objection. They want justice and judges who are competent to discharge their duties. Now, I ask the Honourable Minister whether he thinks that an illiterate population, is steeped in ignorance, and swallowed up in superstition, can produce five good men who can be entrusted to discharge the duties of judges. The next proposition I would like to place before this House is this: Is it possible to expect this panchayat to be an impartial body of judges? Let us consider the facts as they are. No honourable member of this House, I am sure, will deny faction feuds do not rent that very few villages.  Not only are there quarrels among the Hindus themselves, but there are quarrels between the Hindus and the Mahomedans, and these quarrels are of no ordinary importance. They are serious. I would like the Honourable Minister and the House to consider whether a panchayat elected in an atmosphere of this sort would be impartial enough to distribute justice between men of different castes and men of different creeds. That is a proposition, I submit, which the House and the Honourable Minister should consider seriously. The next question I would like to ask is, does the Honourable Minister expect that the judiciary he is bringing into being will be an independent judiciary? Sir, what is his proposition? His proposition is that the judiciary shall be elected because that is what the provisions for a panchayat mean. The panchayat which will administer justice will be a panchayat elected by the village's adult population. I would like to ask him whether he expects that a judge who has to submit himself to the suffrage of the masses will not think twice before doing justice and whether, while giving justice, he is offending the sensibility of the voter. Suppose there was a Hindu-Mahomedan riot; suppose a Mahomedan was brought up before a panchayat for an offence triable by the panchayat; suppose one Hindu member of the panchayat thought that there was a justice on the side of the Mahomedan. Does the Honourable Minister and does the House think that this gentleman, who may have to submit himself to an election within the course of a few months or a year, will think that he ought to do justice to the Mahomedan rather than keep his seat? What will he do?” Though he agreed with the principle of providing cheap and easily accessible justice to the villagers, he suggested an alternate method instead of giving judicial powers to village panchayats. “We have already in existence what are called honorary bench magistrates in towns. It should be perfectly possible to extend that system whereby we can divide each district into judicial circles extending over an area of two or three miles suited to convenience, and for Government to nominate—I emphasise the word “nominate”—three or more persons to discharge the judicial functions in that circle. These three gentlemen would on one day sit as magistrates to deal with criminal cases and on another day they will sit as civil judges to try civil cases. By this method, you will secure cheap justice, easy justice, at the same time you will secure a judiciary that will be independent of local influence, a judiciary that will be free from the disadvantages of an elective system. I think, Sir, this ought to satisfy the requirements of the case.” _Previous musing: [Population Causes Prosperity](https://indianliberals.in/content/population-causes-prosperity/)_ --- ## [Musing] Dr Muthulakshmi Reddi: Beacon of Women's Liberty URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/dr-muthulakshmi-reddi-beacon-of-womens-liberty/ ### Body _Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy was an embodiment of progressive liberalism. She was a staunch advocate of women’s education and was a vehement critic of the Devadasi system. She challenged many traditional societal norms. By championing gender equality she left an indelible mark on South Indian social fabric._ The nineteenth century was a time of significant intellectual and social change in India. Amidst this ferment, Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy emerged as a leading figure in the South Indian social reform movement. A beacon of social change, she toiled ceaselessly to ameliorate the plight of women and children in India. Her tireless efforts sought to create a more equitable and just society for women, becoming a profound source of inspiration for all those who believed in the transformative power of women. Muthulakshmi was born in 1886 in the princely state of Pudukkottai (Tamil Nadu). She was the daughter of Narayanaswamy Iyer, the principal of Maharaja’s College in Pudukkottai. Her father recognised her potential and was determined to provide her with an education, even though it was not the norm for girls then. However, his aspirations were thwarted by an early retirement, resulting from conflicts with the state's Diwan. Despite this setback in her father’s career, her passion for learning remained undaunted.  Even though her mother, Chandrammal wanted her to quit school, Muthulakshmi continued schooling and passed her Lower Secondary Public Examination with the help of her Teacher Balaiah. Societal norms and traditions acted as formidable barriers to women's education, impeding their pursuit of knowledge. Muthulakshmi, too, bore the brunt of these customs. Nevertheless, her father took proactive measures and arranged for a private tutor to impart education within the confines of their home. This experience allowed Muthulakshmi to contemplate the prevailing social barriers obstructing women's access to education. During her teenage years, her passion for women's rights and social justice began to blossom and take root. In 1902, Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy defied the odds and passed the Matriculation Examination Due to the lack of hostels for Girls, she had to join the local Men’s Second Grade College for her higher education. Her academic excellence, however, encountered opposition fueled by gender and caste bias. The college principal raised objections, fearing that her presence would dishearten the male students. Even some parents threatened to withdraw their sons if she were allowed to join. However,  the Maharajah of Pudukkotai quelled the objections and admitted her, displaying wisdom and progressive thinking. This momentous decision by the Maharajah marked a significant milestone in the annals of women's education in South India. Dr. Muthulakshmi etched her name in history as the first woman to enroll in the Maharajah's College for Men, and in 1907, she proudly passed her Intermediate Examination. In 1907, Dr Muthulakshmi secured admission to the esteemed Madras Medical College, dedicating herself to the pursuit of medicine. As an active participant in gatherings and public meetings, her remarkable work garnered attention, with numerous newspaper articles and magazines highlighting her endeavours. She graduated with honours and worked as a House Surgeon at the Government Hospital for Women and Children in Egmore. Later,, she dutifully returned to her hometown of Pudukkotai, where she wholeheartedly served her community. In 1914, she established her clinic in Madras and became renowned for her exceptional treatment skills. In 1914, she discovered a kindred spirit in Dr. Sundara Reddi, a physician with liberal thoughts and a visionary outlook. Their marriage was built on mutual respect, and he wholeheartedly supported her medical practice and social work. In 1925, Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi received a prestigious scholarship from the Indian Government to study in England. Setting foot in the United Kingdom, she delved into the realm of women's and children's diseases, honing her knowledge and skills. After returning to India, she published numerous works on pregnant women, childbirth, and social welfare matters. The zeal of the Indian freedom movement stirred her soul, and Mahatma Gandhi's inspiring leadership profoundly impacted her. Under his influence, she actively engaged in the freedom struggle, coordinated efforts with other leaders, and played a crucial role in the movement. Contemplating the societal conditions prevailing at the time, Dr Muthulakshmi recognised that gender equality could be achieved only through education for women. In 1917, she became a member of the Women's Indian Association, aligning her vision with trailblazers like Annie Besant, Hira Bai Tata, and Marget Cousins. Additionally, she was actively associated with the Muslim Women's Association, Madras Seva Sadan, The Madras Vigilance Society, and the Indian Ladies Samaj. As one of the few women leaders of South India, she ardently fought for India's liberation from colonial oppression. In 1932, Dr. Muthulakshmi, alongside Gandhiji, attended the Third Round Table Conference in London, gaining significant exposure. Subsequently, in 1934, she participated in the First International Conference of Chicago. Following the passing of Annie Besant, she assumed the presidency of the Women's Indian Association. Yet, she relinquished the position during the Non-Cooperation movement as a protest against Gandhiji's arrest. In 1962, Dr Muthulakshmi Reddi received a momentous appointment to the Madras Legislative Council. This marked the beginning of her lifelong mission to rectify the societal imbalances that hindered women's rights. Her commendable social work garnered recognition from the Government of India, leading to her inclusion in the Hartog Committee, entrusted with reviewing the condition of women in the country. During the late 1800s, Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi boldly stepped forward to lead the fight against the Devadasi system. As a member of the Madras Legislative Council, she vehemently opposed the practice and pledged for its eradication. Organising meetings and gaining support from various organisations, including the Women's Indian Association and the Devadasi Women's Association, she also garnered the backing of the Devadasi Community Men's Association. In 1936, Dr Muthulakshmi Reddi established the "AVVAI HOME," a welfare institution in Tiruvannamalai for abandoned children and women. Over time, this home became a place of empowerment, offering vocational training to children and women.  In 1953, she became the Chairman of the State Social Welfare Board of Madras Presidency. During her tenure from 1953 to 1957, she uplifted women from backward classes by providing them with education and healthcare opportunities, and she also played a pivotal role in establishing a separate Children's Hospital in the Madras Presidency.  Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi was a trailblazer in every sense, achieving numerous firsts as a woman in India – being the first to gain admission to a men's college, the first to become a house surgeon in a government hospital, and the first to be elected to the Madras Legislative Council. However, she was more than just a pioneer; she was a true champion for women's rights. She relentlessly fought to improve the lives of women and children in India, advocating against child marriage, for raising the age of consent for marriage, and women's voting rights. She envisioned a world where women would receive equal treatment, have the same opportunities as men, and are free to make their own life choices. Her life's dedication was directed towards turning this vision into a reality. Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi's relentless pursuit of social justice and gender equality paved the way for a more inclusive and progressive India, making her a true visionary champion of liberal ideas. **References** - [https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/muthulakshmi-reddy/m09ryvs](https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/muthulakshmi-reddy/m09ryvs) - Santhi, S., & Saravanakumar, A. R. (n.d.). _Contribution of Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy to Women Empowerment-A Historical Study_. [www.ijstr.org](http://www.ijstr.org) - Kamatchi, M. (2016). MUTHULAKSHMI REDDY: THE FIRST MEDICAL WOMAN PROFESSIONAL IN SOUTH INDIA. _Proceedings of the Indian History Congress_, _77_, 612–623. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/26552689](https://www.jstor.org/stable/26552689) _Previous musing: [Have We Lost Our Will To Be Free? (1965)](https://indianliberals.in/content/have-we-lost-our-will-to-be-free/)_ [](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/IMG_20220724_121630_copy-removebg-preview.png) **Ch Prashanth** Prashanth is pursuing his Master's in International Relations and Politics at the Central University of Kerala. He likes to spend his weekdays at the library or gym. His weekends are spent in front of the television watching the Premier League. --- ## [Musing] Economic Growth with Social Justice URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/economic-growth-with-social-justice-1969/ ### Body _Nani Palkhivala's 'Economic Growth with Social Justice' was delivered as Shriram Memorial Lecture at New Delhi in 1969. This was under the section 'India - The Potential and The Reality' in the book 'We, the People: India-The Largest Democracy' published by Strand Book Stall in 1984_ _You can read more about Nani Palkhivala [here](https://indianliberals.in/content/nani-palkhivala/) ___ Our Constitution aimed at making India the land of opportunity; our politicians have converted it into a land of opportunism. They have made socialism the opiate of the people. “Socialism" has become a word comprehensive enough to cover the entire spectrum of economic folly — a plethora of harmful controls, periodic bouts of nationalization, and the pursuit of policies which ensure unemployment and economic retrogression. Every thinking man in India today accepts without reser- vation the true socialistic objectives of economic development. True socialism means the subordination of private gain to public good. It means the investment of human and material resources in an imaginatively planned manner which can con- tribute to the vitality and progress of the whole nation, keep it in the mainstream of self-generating growth and develop- ment, raise the standard of living of the masses, and bring forth the maximum gifts of each for the fullest enjoyment of all. The translation of such socialism into action demands intellect and knowledge, character and dedication, of the highest order. But there is the other type of socialism which is socialism on the cheap, which feeds on slogans and promises, and thrives on the gullibility of the people. d rill Durant, after a lifelong study of various civilizations, summed up the lesson of history which has great significance for T ndia: “Democracy is the most difficult of all forms of government, since it requires the best charity which one can do in India today is to carry knowledge to the people. As Abraham Lincoln rightly said, the people would be able to face any crisis, provided only the correct facts were made known to them. Men who believe in free enterprise must not be content merely to sell their goods, but their first attempt should be to sell their ideas and spread the values they cherish. It seems doubtful whether in the immediate future we shall attain stability and rapid progress through the democratic set- up. However, what is more valuable and easier to save is the more distant future of this great nation. Years of intensive mass education will be needed if the standards of rationality and fair dealing, of social justice and individual freedom, which are enshrined in our Constitution, are to be bred in the bones of our young men and women who are in their formative years and to whom the future belongs. _Previous musing: [Profit-Shy Asians (1957)](https://indianliberals.in/content/profit-shy-asians-by-kd-valicha/)_ --- ## [Musing] Economic Reforms In India: Where Are We And Where Do We Go? URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/economic-reforms-in-india/ ### Body The following text is taken from a 2006 booklet published by [Forum of Free Enterprise.](https://indianliberals.in/content/economic-reforms-in-india-where-are-we-and-where-do-we-go-by-dr-rakesh-mohan-october-10-2006/) Authored by Dr Rakesh Mohan, the text describes the economic situation in the country for the past 50 odd years, discussing the increase in entrepreneurship that has emerged following economic reforms. Dr Mohan focuses on reforms for Agriculture, Urban Development, Human Resource Development and Vocational Training. I am deeply honoured to have been invited to deliver this A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture. Looking at the luminaries who have delivered these lectures before me, I feel particularly humbled. I am, of course, very happy to be in such a company. A. D. Shroff accomplished much during his life: he passed away at a relatively young age. He was associated with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as early as 1938 when he served with him in the National Planning Committee. He was among the eight authors of the Bombay Plan and an unofficial delegate at the Bretton Woods Conference and also chaired the Shroff Committee on Finance for the Private Sector set up by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It is interesting that, having indirectly contributed to the founding of such public sector connected institutions such as the World Bank (who can only finance Governments) and the Planning Commission, Mr. Shroff founded the Forum of Free Enterprise. Today, I have chosen to talk on "Economic Reforms in India: Where are We and Where do We Go?" I am sure the theme would have appealed to A.D. Shroff.  We have now had a decade and a half of economic reforms It is perhaps appropriate at this point to stand back dnd take stock of what we have done as we venture further Today, I shall, therefore, make an effort to (a) review what has been done; (b) evaluate where we are; and (c) suggest where we need to go. Let me give you the backdrop as to what motivated me to choose this topic. I recently came across, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference, by Malcolm Gladwell. He observes that many large changes sometimes happen in a hurry. Whereas there is usually a step by step, gradual process of little changes taking place, an epidemic suddenly acquires a tipping point and spreads suddenly. I believe that at the present juncture we are in need of such an epidemic of change and growth; we are perhaps at the tipping point. The macro-foundations of a healthy environment have been laid and now we need lots of little things to make a big difference. - ** What Has Been Done?** What has been the main objective of the overall economic reform process in India, or for that matter, anywhere? The primary objective has to be the overall acceleration of economic growth along with rapid elimination of poverty. The means to achieve these objectives would be the injection of competition in the economy in order to induce greater efficiency and productivity gains; and dedicated efforts are needed to build capacity through human resource development. Let me begin with a broad brush of history. Around 50 to 100 years before our independence in 1947, there was hardly any discernible economic growth in the whole Indian sub-continent. Per capita income was stagnant, perhaps declining over that whole long period. After independence, annual per capita growth broke out of this long period of slumber and was in the range of 1 to 1.5 per cent for about 30 years or so until around 1980. After 1980 it increased to about 3-4 percent, which was a major departure in our recorded history. Along with this change, a good deal of new thinking also took place in terms of the strategy for future economic policy. As it happened, there was a full blown economic crisis at the end of the 1980s: the balance of payments came under severe pressure, and a realistic threat of sovereign default loomed over us; fiscal deficits had increased significantly over the 1980s; and inflation began to creep up to the late teens. These unfortunate developments focussed our minds like never before: India has a proud history of never ever having defaulted on our international obligations; our fiscal management has historically been conservative; and inflation seldom exceeded 10 percent. Consequently, a whole reform process got unleashed in 1991. I will first give a brief run-down of the various reforms that have taken place in the last 15 years before providing some evidence of their effectiveness. For expository convenience I shall make a conceptual difference between (a) macroeconomic reforms and (b) microeconomic reforms. **Macroeconomic Reforms and Fiscal Stabilisation** Over a period of time through the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s the economy had become over controlled and rigid. Consequently entrepreneurship was heavily constrained. The import substituting inward looking development strategy that could have been relevant in the 1950s and 1960s was no longer suitable in the modern globalising world. Hence, overall reforms had to be undertaken to lay down a new framework. Wide ranging macro reforms were undertaken along with corresponding micro economic and sectoral reforms. The macro reforms can be divided into (a) fiscal policy, (b) monetary policy, (c) trade policy, and (d) exchange rate management. Without any claim of exhaustiveness, the exposition aims at setting the context. _Fiscal System_ The tax system, both for direct and indirect taxes, had become very complex in India. Maximum marginal personal income tax rates were high, along with a number of rates for different income ranges. The corporate tax rate was high too. Accordingly, the tax code had to be riddled with a number of special provisions for exemption of different kinds of income, and the corporate tax code was full of exceptions and incentives. Because of high rates and complexity, avoidance and evasion was naturally high. As a consequence, over the whole reform period, both the personal income tax and corporate tax rates have gradually been brought down to 30 percent, along with considerable simplification. Similarly, in the case of indirect taxes, there were high levels of both domestic excise duties and customs tariffs, with a myriad of rates for different commodities. Again, this necessitated a whole range of specific provisions and exemptions for different kinds of producers and end users, leading to great administrative complexity. A major programme of comprehensive and continuous reform has had to be undertaken over the last 15 years. The rates in case of customs duties have been brought down from an average of 110 percent in 1991 (with highs over 400 percent) to a non agricultural peak of 12.5 percent in 2006. There has been massive simplification of the excise tax structure to achieve a "central" rate (CENVAT) of 16 percent (apart from a few exceptions like food products, textiles and some optical fibers that attract lower tax rates). Excise, which is levied at the manufacturing stage, is now essentially levied as a VAT (Value Added Tax) so that cascading is avoided. In addition, the service tax has been introduced in order to tax the whole economy more fairly and to reduce the excessive burden on one sector, the manufacturing sector. Such tax reforms typically take a long time. The latest most significant measure taken is the introduction of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBM) in 2004, which enjoins the government to eliminate its revenue deficit and reduce its fiscal deficit to 3 percent of GDP by 2009. Similar legislations have been passed by most state governments (23 states so far). So fiscal responsibility has now become part of our legislative commitments. The other most noteworthy development at the federal level is the transformation of state level sales taxes to the Value Added Tax (VAT), which has introduced a large measure of rationality and uniformity in the state sales tax system. The state sales tax system had also suffered from great complexity in terms of multiplicity of rates and special provisions. A vital feature of this tax reform has been the consultative process among all the states as mediated by the central government, which then resulted in this consensus for massive reform. Overall, the fiscal reform process spanning both the central and state governments over the last 15 years has been truly wide ranging. _Monetary Policy_ Over the 1970s and 1980s, monetary policy, as we know it, had become almost non-existent: with a system of credit allocation, administered and different interest rates for different purposes; automatic monetization of fiscal deficits; and financial repression through pre-emption of banks' resources. Hence a number of measures had to be taken. These include: elimination of automatic monetization, reduction of statutory pre-emption of the lendable resource of banks, and interest rate deregulation. As a result of these measures independence of monetary policy and the central bank has been restored. There was a consequent movement from direct to indirect instruments of monetary policy. These changes in the practice of monetary policy are manifest in its effectiveness in the significant reduction of inflation. In fact, if one bifurcates the period since independence into two, one from the early 1950s to late 1990s, and the other from the late-1990s to present day, then there is marked difference in the average inflation rates between the two periods. While it was around 7-8 per cent during the first forty-five years, it has fallen to around five per cent in the recent period since the late 1990s. _External Sector Reforms_ It was the balance of payment crisis in 1991 that was the key trigger for reforms. Consequently, actions on the external sector have been of the greatest importance. Despite the existence of comprehensive quantitative trade restrictions along with high levels of tariffs, the balance of payments was under continuous pressure through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Consequently, exogenous shocks such as oil price rises, or monsoon failures, invariably led to large crises necessitating recourse to IMF resources. With the existence of these trade restrictions, the exchange rate was typically overvalued over a long period of time. Hence, among the first reform moves was an ex ante real devaluation of the exchange rate in 1991 and a move of the exchange rate regime from that of a crawling peg towards a market determined one, though somewhat managed. The trade regime has undergone massive change with the removal of quantitative restrictions along with rationalisation of the tariff structure. There has been a massive reduction in the number of tariff rates and the peak rate of tariff has been reduced from around 400 percent to 12.5 percent for non-agriculture products. Tariff reform for agriculture products has been constrained by the intransigence of developed countries in reducing their farm subsidies. Internationally, lndia has always participated actively in WTO negotiations. More recently, reflecting the hiccup in the achievement of consensus for further global trade reforms, lndia has also begun to participate in a number of regional and bilateral trade agreements that are in the making. With the change in the exchange rate regime and accomplishment of trade reforms the current account is now open, along with limited capital account convertibility. The exchange rate regime focuses on management of volatility without a fixed rate target and the underlying demand and supply conditions determine the exchange rate movements in an orderly way. **_Micro Economic Reforms_** Let me now turn to the microeconomic reforms. Industrial deregulation, infrastructure reforms, financial sector strengthening, capital market deepening and agriculture are the major areas where such reforms have taken place. _Industrial Policy_ Massive deregulation of the industrial sector, in fact, constituted the first major package of reforms in July 1991. The obsolete system of capacity licensing of industries was discontinued; the existing legislative restrictions on the expansion of large companies were removed; phased manufacturing programmes were terminated; and the reservation of many basic industries for investment only by the public sector was removed. At the same time restrictions that existed on the import of foreign technology were withdrawn, and a new regime welcoming foreign direct investment, hitherto discouraged with limits on foreign ownership, was introduced. With this massive reform introduced in one stroke in 1991, the stage was set for a policy framework that encouraged new entry, introduced new competition, both domestic and foreign, which thereby induced the attainment of much greater efficiency in industry over a period of time. One area of industrial reform that has been sluggish has been the removal of restrictions that exist on investment in most labour using industries - known as small scale industry reservations. In 1991 as many as 836 industries were reserved for investment by only small firms, defined by the level of investment. The number of these industries has now come down to 326. _Infrastructure_ A number of measures have been initiated in the development of infrastructure since 1996. Many of these reforms emanated from the recommendations of the lndia lnfrastructure Report of the mid 1990s. We recognized that infrastructure investment had to be raised and suggested introduction of the private sector in infrastructure which had been restricted earlier. This was part of a world wide move during the 1990s. This has also necessitated other wide ranging reforms including new legislations and formation of regulatory authorities. With deregulation, introduction of the private sector and formation of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of lndia (TRAI), telecom is indeed a success story. The major reforms in roadways were: imposition of a fuel cess to finance highway construction; the commissioning of the National Highway Development Project and PMGSY (Prime Minister's Gram Sadak Yojana or the Rural Roads Programme). In case of ports private operators have been introduced and then the Tariff Authority of Major Ports (TAMP) formed; in civil aviation new private airlines, new private airports and the beginning of an open skies policy are in evidence. In all these cases the response has been positive. In other infrastructure sectors, the reform process experience has been mixed. In the power sector, where some of the early efforts for reform were made in the early 1990s, problems continue to constrain its expansion. A comprehensive modern electricity Act has been enacted, which has enabling features for encouraging private sector entry, enhanced competition, and rational regulation. However, despite the formation of a central regulatory authority and others at the state level, implementation of the tariff reform has not been found to be easy. State Electricity Boards continue to suffer from losses, arising both from inadequate tariff and from transmission and distribution losses (comprising an important part of theft). Consequently, private sector investors in power generation face insecurity of payment and hence expansion of private investment in this sector has been constrained. Although the Act allows for private participation in distribution, practically it has not been found easy to privatize distribution systems. Thus, power reforms have some way to go, although the legislative and institutional prerequisites are now in place. Urban infrastructure is another area where reform has been inadequate and thinking has just begun. In transportation, considerable reforms have taken place in air and road transportation but railways have some way to go. Although there has been noted improvement in financial performance of railways in the last couple of years, there is need for much greater structural reforms for this vital transportation system to be put in a sound sustained growth path. _Financial Sector_ Financial sector reform is another area of India's success story. A major element of the financial sector reform was the introduction of competition enhancing measures. Introduction of operational autonomy and partial disinvestment of public ownership in public sector banks, entry of new private and foreign banks and permission for FDI and portfolio investment in banking are some of the major reform measures in this area. Listing of almost all public sector banks is another major reform in this regard. Besides, prudential regulations have been strengthened in line with Basel I standards and are now in process of being updated to Basel II standards. An effort has been put in for phased implementation of international best practices such as, CRAR (Capital-to Risk Adjusted Assets Ratio), provisioning and income recognition norms, exposure limits and measures to strengthen risk management. The introduction of partial private sector ownership in public sector banks and their consequent listing has been extremely important for market orientation of these banks and transparency in their accounts and operations. This gradual process of banking sector reforms has contributed significantly to the all round improvement in the financial health of the banking system. Among other segments of the financial sector, new private insurance companies have been introduced with limited foreign ownership. Subsequent to insurance nationalization in the 1950s and 1960s, all insurance was in the public sector, with just one life insurance company and four general insurance companies. The introduction of new competition has led to the introduction of new products and new practices. A new regulator, the Insurance Regulation and Development Authority (IRDA) has been formed to govern the insurance industry. The capital market has been revived with both policy reforms and financial infrastructure development. The Securities and Exchange Board of lndia was formed as the capital market regulator; a new modern technology oriented stock exchange was formed (the National Stock Exchange, NSE); private sector mutual funds allowed and encouraged; along with the abolition of the Controller of Capital Issues (CCI) who controlled both issuance of securities and administered their price. A particular development has been the building of world class payment and settlement architecture in the stock market and government securities market. The one area that still needs considerable attention and development is the corporate bond market. _Agriculture_ Agriculture is the key significant area that has not been subject to comprehensive reforms. It is not widely understood, though, that the reduction of industrial tariffs improved the domestic terms of trade significantly for agriculture. In terms of trade reforms in agriculture, these have been constrained by the lack of progress in the WTO and the intransigence of developed countries in the reduction of their farm subsidies. There have, however, been a number of significant reforms: removal of restraints on inter state movement of foodgrains; the restructuring of the public distribution system (PDS); relaxation of restrictions under the Essential Commodities Act; introduction of forward trading in most agricultural commodities; and removal of some marketing restrictions on crop produce. There is no doubt, however, that agricultural development needs much more focused attention in order to revive the somewhat stagnating agricultural economy. Having given a bird's eye view of the reforms measures let me now turn to the outcome of this whole wide ranging reform process. - ** Where are We?** There is a need to remember where lndia was at the time of its independence. Power capacity was just 1.1 percent of what it is now. The country was literally in darkness! With high mortality rates, the average Indian died at age 32. More than half of the country was under the poverty line. The income of an average household is now nearly Rs.130,000. Poverty was down to 23-26 percent in 1999- 2000. Per capita growth has gone up from about 1.5 percent per year in the first 30 years after independence to about 6.4 percent per year now. This makes a palpable difference in peoples' standard of living (Tables 1, 2 and 3).[](https://indianliberals.in/content/nani-palkhivala-education-leadership-and-vision-of-free-india/attachment/screenshot-49/) [](https://indianliberals.in/content/nani-palkhivala-education-leadership-and-vision-of-free-india/attachment/screenshot-50/) [](https://indianliberals.in/content/nani-palkhivala-education-leadership-and-vision-of-free-india/attachment/screenshot-51/) Having outlined the major elements of India's achievement since independence let me briefly review the broad trends in various macro-policy variables. The step-up in the growth rate of the economy has been facilitated by an increase in domestic investment to over 30 percent of GDP, financed predominantly by domestic savings. Domestic savings increased to over 29 percent of GDP by 2004-05 after some stagnation in the second half of the 1990s. The improvement in overall savings in recent years has particularly benefited from the turnaround in public sector savings. After turning negative between 1998-99 and 2002-03 owing to sharp deterioration in the savings of Government administration, public sector savings have turned positive again from 2003-04 onwards, mainly reflecting the ongoing fiscal consolidation. In 2004-05, the public sector savings rate was 2.2 percent, but it was still less than a half of the peak of almost five percent touched in 1976-77. Improvement in corporate profitability since 2002-03 has also contributed to increase in domestic savings in the recent years. Household savings remain the predominant component of domestic savings, contributing almost three-fourths of overall domestic savings in 2004- 05. For the Indian economy to achieve higher growth on a sustained basis, further improvement in overall savings is necessary and, in this context, public sector savings will have to play a significant role (Table 4). **Table 4:  Aggregate and Public Sector Savings and lnvestment** (As percentage of GDP) Year Aggregate Public Servant Savings Investment Savings Investment 1 2 3 4 5 1980-81 18.9 20.3 3.4 8.4 1990-91 23.1 26.3 1.1 9.3 2000-01 23.5 24.2 -1.8 6.9 2001-02 23.6 23 -2 6.9 2002-03 26.5 25.3 -0.7 6.2 2003-04 28.9 27.2 1 6.5 2004-05 29.1 30.1 2.2 7.2 _Source:_ National Accounts Statistics, Central Statistical Organisation Fiscal performance has still some way to go. The gross fiscal deficit has come down from 7 per cent in 1993-94 to 4.1 per cent in 2005-06. However, this needs to go to 3 percent by 2009. Tax Revenue has just recovered to 10 percent of GDP, about the 1991-92 level, and needs much greater growth (Table 5). Inflation is down from the 45 year average of 7 - 8 percent to 4.5 - 5.0 percent. So we have achieved some major macro and monetary improvements. However, growth needs investment and savings. Although the growth process stuttered somewhat in the late 1990s and early part of this decade, it has clearly recovered now and we seem to be on a sustainable path of annual GDP growth in excess of 8 percent. After the award of the Pay Commission in 1997, public finances had come under strain and hence public savings had become negative. This was also accompanied by a business cycle slowdown and low profitability in the private corporate sector and low corporate savings. Both recoveries have now taken place: public sector savings are now again positive; and corporate profitability is also very healthy. With continuing growth in household savings, gross domestic savings are now 30 percent plus and hence sustained investment rates in excess of 32 percent are feasible. The sustenance of a higher growth now needs improvement in public investment and delivery of public services. [](https://indianliberals.in/content/nani-palkhivala-education-leadership-and-vision-of-free-india/attachment/screenshot-52/) Financial sector reforms in general and banking reforms in particular have been a key ingredient of the lndian reforms process. As a result of these reforms, statutory pre-emptions of banks (in the form of high cash reserve and statutory liquidity ratio) got reduced to a great extent - so was the extent of financial repression. lnterestingly the asset quality of the lndian banks has improved to a great extent with a distinct improvement In capital-to-risk adjusted assets ratio (CRAR) of banks which is much above the stipulated level (9 percent), and drastic reduction in NPA levels, notwithstanding the transition to 90-day delinquency norm in 2004 (Table 6). The initial recapitalization by government in the public sector banks has been rather meagre (about 1 percent of GDP) which was supported by equity issuance by the public sector banks. With public listing the public sector banks in lndia are now more subject to market discipline. Furthermore, there has been a distinct improvement in post-reform productivity as reflected in various indicators such as, business per employee, profit per employee and branch productivity. These productivity gains can be attributed to both technological improvement as well as peer pressure or catching up effect. [](https://indianliberals.in/content/nani-palkhivala-education-leadership-and-vision-of-free-india/attachment/screenshot-53/) Let me briefly touch on the external sector now. The measures taken in respect of the external sector have clearly been very successful. Merchandise exports have [](https://indianliberals.in/content/nani-palkhivala-education-leadership-and-vision-of-free-india/attachment/screenshot-54-2/) increased from 6 to 13 percent of GDP between 1990-91 and 2005-06; imports have also increased from 10 to 24 percent of GDP over the same period; foreign exchange reserves. increased from $1.5 billion to $165 billion. Industrial growth was very high during the 1992-97 period in the immediate exuberance of industrial policy reforms. However, there was a significant slowdown during 1997- 2002. As tariffs were reduced, import controls were lifted, and domestic competitive threats emerged at the same time, the initial protective effects of the ex ante real devaluation of 1991 wore off and the lndian corporate sector, particularly in manufacturing, found itself in difficulty. The lndian corporate sector was therefore in the throes of significant technical restructuring, business process restructuring and financial restructuring, all at the same time. It can be said in retrospect that, though this process resulted in an industrial slowdown then, it has contributed to the industrial competitive resurgence that is now observed. There is a revival of manufacturing. A competitive company can be found in almost every industrial sector now. As indicators of this competitiveness, exports are growing more than 20 percent; and the balance of payments with reference to China is almost even (Table 7). The performance of the lndian corporate sector has been highly encouraging in the last three years. The previous occasion, when such a healthy performance was demonstrated by the corporate sector was in the early 1990s, i.e., during the initial period of exuberance immediately after the economic reforms programme was initiated in India. But during the latter part of the 1990s, around 1997, the momentum in the corporate sector slowed down in sync with the general economic slowdown. The recovery since then is remarkable in all important parameters: sales, gross profit, profit after tax, all have recorded robust growth rates during 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05 implying that economic activity in the corporate sector has taken a full circle after three years of dull performance during 1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2001 -02 (Table 8). [](https://indianliberals.in/content/nani-palkhivala-education-leadership-and-vision-of-free-india/attachment/screenshot-55/) The current exuberant run of corporate sector performance has continued well into its fourth year as evidenced by the corporate sector results for the first quarter of 2006-07. The strong sales performance has resulted in an improved bottom-line for the corporate sector as a whole. Powered by a strong top-line performance, gross profits of the lndian corporate sector grew at a sturdy rate of 34 percent in the quarter ending in June 2006 on top of a 20 percent growth recorded in the full fiscal year of 2005-06. The interest costs have been plummeting in the recent years due to an overall softening of interest rates and lower debt equity ratios, which is an outcome of conscious policy-driven measures. There is in fact a new confidence in the air. Let me give some random illustrations - Tata Steel is the lowest cost steel producer, Hindalco / Sterlite / NALCO are competitive aluminum producers, Reliance is a major petrochemical producer. We now have world class producers in most sectors and there are many more success stories. Moser Baer exports more than Rs.1000 crore; Hero Honda with 1.7 million motorcycles is the largest producer of motorcycles; one now gets a wide range of automobiles in lndia such as Maruti, Tata, Hyundai, Toyota, GM, Ford; in Pharma there are Ranbaxy and Dr Reddy's among others; Bharat Forge exports castings and forgings to all main auto producers; Sundaram Clayton has been adjudged as Best GM supplier. Let me sum up the broad contours of success of the overall economic reform programme. In general, the reform programme has achieved remarkable success. Annual GDP growth has averaged 6 to 6.5 percent during the whole 15 year period since reforms began, and is now ascending to a higher trajectory of 8 percent plus sustained growth. The external sector is comfortable: gone are the days of perpetual "shortage" of foreign exchange. In contrast, some observers view India's foreign exchange reserves as a problem of plenty. Industrial growth has been restored and the manufacturing sector has found a new level of competitiveness, quality and efficiency. There is a transformation in the external impression of the Indian economy: it is now viewed with a sense of some awe and confidence in its potential of sustainable high growth. Finally, measured poverty has been reduced significantly. But we still have miles to go. The poverty ratio of 23-26 percent is still too high, about a quarter billion people living in poverty are too many. Employment growth is inadequate and we have an expanding young labour force, which will demand quality jobs. Public service delivery continues to be poor, with little sign of improvement. Let me now turn to a menu of things that we need to do. **Ill. Where Do We Go?** We have now had 15 years of economic reforms spanning five governments. What have these reforms achieved? We have ascended a higher growth path; poverty has been reduced; the external sector is more than comfortable; industrial growth has been restored; and all this has been achieved with financial stability in the country. As a consequence of all these momentous changes there is a new respect for lndia in the world and, even more important, Indians in all walks of life have found a new level of self confidence. But we still have miles to go. We need to move to the next level of sustained growth so that per capita income growth can exceed seven per cent per annum (or over 8.5 percent per GDP growth per annum on a sustained basis) and thereby see at least a doubling every decade. Although poverty has been reduced considerably to less than 25 percent, this level is still too high with 250 million living under the defined poverty line, which itself is at a very low level. The main organizing principle of most reforms carried out so far has been that of freeing the private sector from the myriad government controls that had existed for a long time. Whereas this process itself still has some distance to go, the consequence of this widespread deregulation and introduction of competition in most segments of the economic sphere has been the very visible unleashing of entrepreneurial energies at all levels and in most parts of the country. We have been reasonably successful in what we set out to do so far, with the benefits of increased competition and efficiency manifesting themselves in the higher recorded growth, particularly in the present decade. The issue that arises now is whether we have reached the limit of private sector led acceleration in investment and output growth? Will this now be increasingly constrained by the lack of public investment, both physical and social? An underlying theme encompassing most constraints now is the lack of adequate delivery of public services in both quality and quantity. The public service system is simply not functioning. Further acceleration in economic growth and reduction of poverty will need greater investment and employment growth along with enhancement of productivity. For such acceleration to take place we will need a significant enhancement of growth in capacity building and in the availability of public services that the private sector cannot provide. I, therefore, believe that just as the first generation of reforms empowered the private sector to perform as it can to the limits of its abilities, the second generation of economic reforms must focus on a similar empowerment of the public sector to deliver public goods and services for the benefit of all segments of the private sector, corporate entities and the public alike. Lest this proposition be misunderstood, it should be made clear that I am not advocating greater empowerment of the public sector to increase its control over the economy as was the case in the past. The "public sector" needs to be seen in its widest definitron to encompass all levels of governments from the local, state to national, and their entities, which deliver public goods and services. I would like to take up four areas, by way of illustration, where we need to give focused attention and which I believe can mainly be done by the public sector, even if some of it is to be delivered through public private partnership. The four areas that I propose to address are: agricultural development, urban development, human resource development, management of public services. What is common among these sectors is the lack of competence in public systems that govern these areas. There are other areas of broader governance that could also be taken up, particularly the maintenance of law and order, but that would take me too far afield from my area of competence related to the economy. _Agriculture_ One of the most disturbing features of the recent growth experience has been that of the deceleration in agriculture growth (Table 9). [](https://indianliberals.in/content/nani-palkhivala-education-leadership-and-vision-of-free-india/attachment/screenshot-56/) With about 60 percent of the population still largely dependent on agriculture, this deceleration has clearly had a significant impact on slower reduction in poverty levels than otherwise would have been the case. Moreover, for aggregate annual GDP growth to exceed 8.5 percent on a sustainable basis it will be difficult if agricultural growth itself does not exceed 4 percent annual growth. The fast growing economies of East and South-East Asia all exhibited elevated levels of agriculture growth along with industrial and service sector growth during their fast growth periods. Higher agriculture growth will also lead to faster increases in rural household incomes giving rise to greater demand for goods and services in rural and urban areas alike, which would be employment promoting. In order to understand where the potential for higher agricultural growth may lie, it is useful to briefly examine the pattern of growth In both the demand for and supply of agricultural commodities. Let us take the supply side first. After the prolonged drought of the mid 1960s, and the severe difficulties experienced in food security during that period, the government launched a crash emergency programme to accelerate the production of basic food grain cereals. This was fortunately accompanied by the discovery of high yield rice and wheat varieties internationally, which made the green revolution possible. Thus, growth in rice and wheat production took place in a sustained fashion through both significant productivity gains and through expansion in the area devoted to cereal production. The successful evolution of the Green Revolution gave the country both agriculture growth and food security over a period of more than two and a half decades. In recent years, however, production growth in cereals has stagnated significantly, and further productivity gains are increasingly difficult to achieve. Equally significant change can be observed on the demand side. As may be expected, with increasing incomes, there has been a progressive diversification of the Indian diet in both rural and urban areas involving a shift away from cereals to non-cereals. For the poorest, of course, the initial increase in incomes leads to enhanced demand for food and a shift from lower quality cereals to higher quality cereals like wheat and rice. As incomes increase further, greater growth takes place in the demand for non-cereal foods such as milk., fruits and vegetables, and for fish, poultry and meat for those who are not vegetarians. Consequently, it needs to be understood that, whereas there may be technological limitations to the continued growth of cereal production from the supply side, there are also limitations to the continued growth of cereals from the demand side. Admittedly, the shift to demand for certain kinds of meat will lead to acceleration in the demand for certain kinds of feed stocks for animal production. Nonetheless, the key point for policy is that the acceleration in agriculture production cannot come from that of cereals, keeping both demand and supply constraints in mind. That being said, it still needs to be emphasized that the serious stagnation in cereal production that has taken place in the last ten years or so needs to be addressed with urgency. What then needs to be done? We can learn from the approach taken more than thirty years ago, which still dominates our policy thinking. The success of the green revolution was achieved by the adoption of a coordinated policy package that addressed the needs of production on a national scale. Simultaneous provision was made for the supply of needed technology inputs, infrastructure, input supplies and the delivery of credit in a timely fashion. Technology inputs were provided by the setting up of a chain of agricultural universities across the country, which, moreover, were also connected with the international agricultural research system and foreign counterpart ' agricultural universities, particularly the land grant colleges and universities of the United States. For the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the farm, agricultural extension systems were organized, first under the Intensive Agriculture Districts Programme (IADP) and later the Intensive Agriculture Area Programme (IAAP). For a considerable period of time both the research and extension systems proved to be quite effective, but deteriorated later. Infrastructure provision was essentially needed for the expansion of irrigation from groundwater sources, which required the greater availability of electric power to energize pump sets. Consequently a large rural electrification programme was initiated along with the provision of power for agriculture at subsidized rates. The main new inputs needed were seeds, fertilizers, pump-sets and tractors. Apart from the arrangement of supply of these inputs, corresponding arrangements were made for appropriate credit delivery to farmers to enable them to buy these inputs. The nationalization of banks, the creation of regional rural banks, and the creation of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), to govern the rural cooperative banks, were all directed towards this massive change in the delivery of credit to fuel the green revolution. Most of these activities were done on a national basis with appropriate coordination with state governments and other public sector agencies. Given the highest priority that was attached to this programme, it delivered. _Need for a Second Green Revolution_ The need now is for a corresponding second agricultural revolution, but one that will have to be much more heterogeneous. With the increasing diversification of the Indian diet, there is great potential for acceleration of growth in the production of all non cereal foods, though in varying degrees. There is a need for a new agricultural revolution in all areas such as: dairying, horticulture (covering both fruits and vegetables), aquaculture and pisci-culture, poultry, meat and even wineries. There is also similar potentiaI for acceleration in growth in non-food agriculture. The potential in all these areas is massive for income and employment generation on a well distributed basis; for generation of a host of new activities; and for widespread innovation. How can this be achieved? A key common feature behind the success of the national programme related to both the green revolution and the white revolution (milk production) was the relatively homogeneous nature of cereal production and of milk. It was thus possible to design national programmes that were broadly applicable country wide with relatively easy regional variations. The difficulty in designing programmes for the new agricultural activities is that these products are very heterogeneous and which, moreover, exhibit great regional differences. Even for each activity, say poultry production, it will be difficult to design the kind of national programmes that helped the green and white revolutions. The need is now for decentralized packages for the many different activities that will have to be regionally disaggregated. The broad approach can be similar. Each package will need to make simultaneous provision for technology inputs, infrastructure, supply of inputs and associated credit delivery. Whereas the packages will need to be diverse and decentralized, it is unlikely that they will be developed without the initiation of a nationwide coordinated programme on a mission basis. Such a programme could form expert teams for each activity and location. It will be essential to bring together high level expertise, both domestic and international, along with local practitioners. Each team would prepare a package for their respective activities and locations. There is now much more expertise available across the country relative to the situation 35 years ago. Along with such a disaggregated but coordinated programme, there is a need for a major new initiative for the rejuvenation of agricultural research that is also regionally distributed. A crash programme is required for the urgent renovation of agricultural universities, which will need to be supported internationally as well. A beginning has already been made by the Prime Minister's initiative to renew association with the US research system. These universities need to be made respectable again. They will also need to specialize in the activities specific to their locations. The transfer of technology from these rejuvenated universities and from other sources will also have to be specific to each activity and new forms of extension activity will need to be explored to achieve the maximum effectiveness. There is increasing expertise in the private sector and in the cooperative sector so new forms of public private partnerships will have to be explored, just as the National Dairy Development Board innovated in respect of milk. The banking system will also have to explore ways and means of achieving efficient credit delivery to these new agricultural activities along with all their associated activities. As the system develops, the supply chain from farm to market will need to be financed: warehouses, cold storages, rural transportation, refrigerated trucks, along with all the service intermediaries. The efficient delivery of credit in a dispersed manner in rural areas will need to give special attention to the minimization of transaction costs through reduction in layering of intermediaries, much greater use of information technology in information collection, risk assessment and risk monitoring. Clearly, a great degree of innovation is called for now with out of the box thinking, away from the past paradigm of directed credit. Finally, agricultural diversification and growth is not possible without the provision of rural infrastructure: roads, storage facilities, transportation, telecommunication and power. All of these activities have very high economic returns but those that have public good characteristics have low financial returns. They are, therefore, difficult to finance. User charges will have to be used where feasible, but other financing means will need to be explored. States like Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Goa built rural roads early and financed them through the imposition of local cesses like the Mandi cess. Hence there is a clear need for the search for new financing mechanisms. Investment in and the financing of rural infrastructure is, therefore, a key challenge. The government has clearly recognized this through the initiation of Bharat Nirman and PURA. I have digressed at some length on the need for accelerating agricultural growth and how it could possibly be done because of its obvious importance and its relative neglect over the past 15 years. The key point that I would like to emphasize here is that without the organizing and coordinating initiative of the government and its agencies at various levels, such a programme cannot be implemented. It is in this context that I have talked about the empowerment of the public sector in all its aspects, but particularly related to competence. _Urbanisation and Urban Development_ Let me now move to issues related to urbanization and urban development. It may be ironic, but just as agricultural growth has stagnated in recent years, the astonishing fact is that urban population growth also slowed down In India during the 1980s and 1990s (Table 10). The normal expectation is, and the historical experience is, that urban growth normally accelerates with economic growth. So the slowing of Indian urbanization is unexpected, perhaps anomalous, and worrisome. At the same time, the magnitude of India's urban population is large, about 300 million people, similar in magnitude to the total population of the United States. Even with low growth it will probably double by 2030 or so. According to most projections done in the 1980s, the urban population in 2001 was expected to be about 30 to 35 million higher than the estimated 285 million. Contrary to popular impression, there has been a significant slowdown in net rural urban migration: people are not flowing into cities and there is no "urban explosion". During the whole decade of 1981 to 1991, total net rural urban migration was only 12.7 million people and 14.4 million in the following decade of 1991-2001. In both decades, net rural urban migration accounted for only 21 percent of total urban population growth. Why is this worrisome and why has this strange occurrence taken place in India? In the light of low growth in agricultural production and productivity, had there been a greater rural urban transformation, outward migration from rural to urban areas would have relieved some of the economic pressure in rural areas. Ironically, this in itself is also related to the inadequate increase in rural productivity. Had there been greater increases in rural productivity, rural incomes would have increased faster, leading to higher growth in the demand for non-food goods, leading to higher industrialization and urbanization. With higher productivity, more food could also have been produced by fewer people and hence more people would have been released off the land. The second issue relates to the atypically low growth in manufacturing employment: during the decades of the 1980s and 1990s, output growth in industry far exceeded that in employment. This experience is also quite different from that of the East and South-East Asian countries. Thus, there have been neither demand pressures for labour in urban areas, nor supply of excess labour from rural areas. Both are related to failures in both public policy and public administration and public management. Just as we have not responded to the changing contours of agriculture, the low absorption of labour In urban areas is related to inappropriate industrial and urban policies. **Table 10:  Urban Population in India, 1901-2001** Census Year Year of UAs/Towns Total Population (in million) Rural Population (in million) Urban Population (in million) Average Annual Growth in Urban Population Urban Population as percentage total Population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1901 1,830 238 213 26 10.8 1911 1,815 252 226 26 0.00 10.3 1921 1,944 251 223 28 0.77 11.2 1931 2,066 279 246 34 2.14 12.0 1941 2,253 319 275 44 2.94 13.9 1951 2,822 361 299 62 4.09 17.3 1961 2,334 439 360 79 2.74 18.0 1971 2,567 548 439 109 3.80 19.9 1981 3,347 683 524 160 4.68 23.3 1991 3,769 846 629 218 3.63 25.7 2001 4,378 1,027 742 285 3.07 27.8 Note: - Urban Agglomerations, which constitute a number of towns and their outgrowths, have been treated as one unit. - The total population and urban population of lndia for the year 2001 includes estimated population of those areas of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh where the census could not be conducted due to natural calamities. - The total population and urban population of lndia for the year 1991 includes interpolated population of Jammu & Kashmir where the census could not be conducted. - The total population and urban population of lndia for the year 1981 includes interpolated population of Assam where the census could not be conducted _Source: Census of India, 2001_ The persistence of industrial policies, such as restrictions in many labour using manufacturing sectors being reserved for small scale industries, and rigidities in labour legislations, have contributed to the bias against labour using industrialization. Such policies were further compounded by inappropriate industrial location policies that have restricted the location of industries in cities and urban areas since the 1970s. Such restrictions have led to the loss of agglomeration economies, thereby raising the cost of industrialization and hence inhibiting expansion. Moreover, the role of cities as incubators for manufacturing entrepreneurship was not also allowed to flourish; and finally it is labour using industries that need to be located in cities and urban areas. The necessity to locate in distant locations, where labour is not easily available, also inhibited labour using industrialization, and hence urbanization. Another set of reasons why urban growth slowed in the 1980s and 1990s is connected with the extant rigidities in urban land policy. The existence of rent control laws since the 1940s, urban land ceiling laws since the 1970s, inappropriate zoning and building bye-laws, have all contributed to the inflexibility in transformation of land use in urban areas, thereby slowing urban growth. These rigidities also implied excessive government control of urban land development, which was handicapped further by lack of resources and expertise. Thus, land assembly and land development in Indian cities has been handicapped generally, and has also led to excessive increase in urban land prices, making shelter unaffordable for a large proportion of the people. These policy rigidities have been further compounded by inadequate urban infrastructure investment and severe problems in urban governance: urban local bodies have not been effective; they suffer both from lack of expertise and of financial resources. Local taxes are typically not buoyant and poorly administered, and user charges are low and ineffective. The consequence is that most urban environments are inhospitable, particularly to the less well off. This is indicated by the fact that about half of urban households do not have access to drinking water within their house; and about a quarter of urban households do not have access to any latrine, private or public. These messages have obviously gone back to the village and it is no wonder that urban growth has slowed down. What is to be done? This is another case where the public sector has to be empowered to make appropriate knowledge based policy that is city and people friendly; and also to build capacity to manage cities in a progressive framework. Overall industrial policy and industrial location policy both have to be rid of their anti-labour using bias; and industrial location policy has to provide for the conscious development of urban industrial parks. Many Asian cities, for example, including a high income city state like Singapore, have a profusion of flatted multi-storied factories that house a host of non-polluting labour using manufacturing facilities. There has to be a recognition of the virtue of industrial clusters and facilitation of associated facilities such as industrial training institutions, educational and health facilities. Many such activities can be supplied by the private sector but it is enlightened public management that can bring them about. We now have 35 million plus cities and about 400 cities with more than 100,000 population. Thus, the management problem of these cities are immense in terms of financial management, in the provision of public services, and overall city management. The budgets of the largest cities are larger than those of some states. Yet there are almost no programmes for the training of city managers, there is little expertise available, and the prestige of municipal employees is low. Once again there is a massive failure to provide for public management of cities in lndia in all its various manifestations. Hence strengthening of city management is a key requirement for the healthy growth of lndian cities. This needs a massive programme for financial strengthening of local bodies including revamping of their local tax systems so that they become buoyant. Ways and means will also have to be found for credit enhancement of urban local bodies so that they become credit worthy and can then raise the resources necessary for urban infrastructure investment. Overall, cities are huge public management systems that have been largely neglected. With the opening of the lndian economy, lndian industry and enterprise of all kinds have to be competitive with the best in the world. They will be handicapped if the cities that they inhabit are themselves not as efficient as their counterparts elsewhere. Hence, the acceleration in growth of lndian enterprise will be constrained without adequate empowerment of the public sector in terms of management of lndian cities. This is a job that the private sector clearly cannot do. _Human Resource Development_ Let me now turn to human resource development. It is ironic that we have achieved great international recognition because of our achievements in information technology, which is often termed as the knowledge economy. We often believe that our comparative advantage is in knowledge intensive sectors. In fact, given the basic indicators of health and education, it is difficult to sustain the notion that we are a knowledge intensive country, notwithstanding the fact that we do have islands of excellence in various areas (Table 11). Basic literacy levels in lndia have been improving continuously. and most noticeably in the 1990s from 52 percent in 1991 to 65 percent in 2001. But these levels are much lower than most comparator countries. If productivity in agriculture is to improve, the basic education levels of the rural labour force, both male and female will need to improve considerably. Similarly, if labour using lndian industry is to compete in the world, its labour force also will have to be better educated and technically trained. The future will essentially need a skilled labour force. _Primary and Secondary Education_ That there is increasing appreciation of the education deficit in lndia is shown by the new programmes launched by the government for providing a new thrust to primary education: the Sawa Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for All Programme). There are also a host of non governmental and other philanthropic organizations now concentrating on the rapid expansion of primary education in India. However, it is now well known that there has been noted deterioration in the public education systems in most parts of India. The performance of public primary schools has been widely brought into question. There is also increasing evidence of a shift from public to private schools, even by the poor, and often their quality is no better. What is encouraging is that with even poor parents spending a lot of money on primary education, which should really be provided for by the state, there is a clear demand for it and recognition of its utility for upward mobility. The expansion of government [](https://indianliberals.in/content/nani-palkhivala-education-leadership-and-vision-of-free-india/attachment/screenshot-57-2/) programmes will certainly expand the quantity of education being offered. What needs equal attention, however, is the quality of education, which would emerge if there is greater local accountability of the school system and greater local involvement in general. Teachers themselves need to be incentivised and better trained; and teaching materials have to be provided and improved. Clearly, these problems are the most pronounced in the poorest parts of the country that are also underserved in terms of basic infrastructure like power, rural roads and communications. A great deal of innovation and experimentation is going on but much remains to be done. Whereas there should be no doubt that the state retains primary responsibility for ensuring primary education to all, there can be many different ways of delivering it, including the involvement of non government schools of different descriptions. As some success is achieved in the expansion of primary education and reduction in drop out rates after primary schooling, the next thrust will be the burgeoning demand for secondary education. As we progress, incomes increase and production processes need greater and greater skills to be competitive, primary education will no longer be adequate for performing lower skill tasks. Whereas there is considerable thinking going on with respect to primary education, we haven't even begun to think about the resources and strategy needed for the large consequent expansion of secondary schools. We will need to expand the supply of secondary school teachers very significantly, invest large resources in school buildings and in the preparation and distribution of education materials. It is difficult to locate secondary schools in each village: issues will also ariqe on how to make these schools accessible to children in widely dispersed rural habitations. Once again, great innovation is needed in thinking about how all this is to be done, and how the large resources needed will be generated and invested efficiently and responsibly. _Vocational Training_ What will these schools teach? Every educational system has had to deal with the tension between the need for basic secondary education and vocational training, and the difficulties involved in guiding children appropriately to the different streams. Here again, there has been little organized thinking in India. Technical training has essentially been provided by Industrial Training lnstitutes (ITls) but they are not many, and often do not turn out students with the relevant skills. It is interesting that in lndia there are 175 defined trades that can be subject to organised training; in Germany there are 2500 such defined trades and occupations, each with its organized training syllabi, training certification, and availability of training institutions. The famed German vocational training system involves a very complex web of interaction between the federal government, state governments, local chambers of commerce, and firms that fund and take on the trainees. Whereas it would not be appropriate to suggest that lndia adopt the German model, which is itself undergoing change and modernization, I only mention it to suggest that it is possible to evolve an organized approach that makes vocational training respectable, demand oriented and with great local involvement and accountability. A beginning has been made in seeking the upgradation of 500 lTls with industry participation, but much more needs to be done to ensure regular skill upgradation in all vocations. The effort will have to involve extensive industry participation at the local level so that the training imparted is seen as relevant by prospective employers. As with the new requirements for agricultural extension systems, the systems for vocational training will need to have great heterogeneity in both the kind of training to be imparted but also how the training to be organised, according to the different needs in the widely disparate regions of India. We also need to recognise that service occupations need organised training as well. One can illustrate this by the longtime recognition of training needs in the hotel industry and how the private sector itself has set up a large number of excellent training institutions. Similar has been the case in information technology where many private sector training institutions emerged as demand started rising. Hence this is clearly an area that is most well suited for public private partnerships. Once again, however, the organisation of public private partnerships also involves a great deal of organizational capacity in the public sector, which designs delivery systems in a way that they spawn efficiency, productivity and innovation. _Higher Education_ Let me now move to issues related to higher education. There has clearly been a huge increase in quantity since independence and in the proliferation of private sector technical institutions in recent years, particularly in the Western and Southern regions of the country. However, the success of a few elite. institutions such as the Indian Institute of Science, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), lndian Institutes of Management (IIMs), the National Institute of Design, the more recent National Law Schools, have masked the general lack of quality in lndian higher education. Even among the elite institutions, only three were included in the top 500 higher education institutions in the world as ranked on objective criteria by a group of Chinese researchers. Because of the good quality of lndian secondary schooling on a relatively wider scale, competitive processes lead to the emergence of a large number of very bright lndian students who can then excel despite the poor quality of instruction and environment in higher educational institutions. Meanwhile, there has been an explosion of colleges and universities in East and South East Asia, in China, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Thailand in both quality and quantity. We must recognise urgently that there is great need to both improve the quality of our colleges and universities in terms of facilities, laboratories, libraries, and most importantly, faculty - along with significant expansion of quantity. What should be clear is that the current system will not do. Although a whole host of private technical institutions have mushroomed in recent years, most of the higher education system remains government controlled and run. This was originally modeled on the British public university system which has, over the years, become ossified in such a fashion that creativity and quality are at a premium. There is a severe shortage of resources: tuition fees are extremely low and the government is strapped for resources. Moreover, there are legitimate competing claims for scarce resources for primary and secondary education, not to mention vocational education. Here also we. need to search for new systems of governance that can allow for diversity in delivery. While providing appropriate incentives for the achievement of excellence with the great increase in compensation levels in the private corporate sector, and the lack of even basic facilities in colleges and universities, attracting brighter students to take up teaching careers has become even more difficult than it was hitherto. There is, to my mind, some needless debate on private versus public education. No good higher educational institutions in the world are profit oriented. Even in the U.S., where there is perhaps the greatest prevalence of "private" colleges and universities, the proportion of students in state run institutions form the majority. Even those institutions that are labeled as private are essentially autonomous non-profit institutions. They are private in the sense that their management is autonomous of government controls, but most receive significant government grants in different ways. What is interesting about these institutions is their system of governance that attempts to ensure quality, excellence and competitiveness. Once again, I would not advocate the transplantation of any foreign system into India, since each system is rooted in its own peculiar history. What I would argue for is the generation of a new excitement for higher education in the country and for a search for new resources and new forms of governance that ensure quality and aim at achieving excellence. Overall, there is no way that we can sustain growth of the kind that we envisage, 8 percent plus annual growth, unless the whole education system, primary, secondary, vocational and higher is revamped. The State must bear the responsibility for ensuring that this happens, but must organise it in such a way that the best entrepreneurial energies that are now manifesting in the country are also harnessed towards the cause of education. _Health_ Before I close on the subject of human resources, I should mention the issue of health. This is in itself a vast and complex subject which I am not competent to even touch. The key point that has to be made, however, is that economic efficiency can only be achieved at different levels if people are healthy. Whereas, a good deal of success has been achieved in almost eliminating a number of infectious diseases of the past, morbidity in lndia remains high. There are significant issues related to the delivery of public health, particularly the availability of clean water and sanitation but there are equally important issues to do with the delivery of curative health. Here once again, there is widespread evidence of the deterioration of public medical systems which are being replaced by private providers. Given the availability of new techniques, new drugs, and diagnostics, the less well off are increasingly finding it difficult to access these services at any semblance of affordable cost, and health insurance is in its infancy. If our young and expanding population is to look forward to a healthy and rewarding life, this is another vital area crying out for innovative, affordable systems of public private partnerships that are reliable and trustworthy. Once again the public sector has to gain competence for organising such a system. _Public Sector Management_ The common theme that runs through the three areas that I have chosen to illustrate the need for the next generation of reforms is that of competent and innovative public management: I have not spent any time on the physical areas infrastructure since they have been discussed otherwise much more often. All the areas of physical infrastructure involve the management of large systems: airports, ports, railways, telecommunications and the like. All of them also have in common the possibility of at least part delivery of the private sector. As discussed, cities, education systems, health systems, hospitals, are also all large public service systems that are in dire need of efficient and innovative management. The key issue is that of efficient delivery of public services, and in lndia particularly, at affordable prices. In most of these areas a large public sector presence is unavoidable. Urban water supply systems, sewerage systems, public lighting and public transportation are typically organised by some form of governmental authority, and even if there is some element of private delivery. Being essential services, there has to be some form of public regulation. In the railways also, whereas some private delivery is possible, international experience suggests that basic infrastructure ownership has to be with the government, along with regulation and allocation. Similar is the case with ports and airports: typically ownership is usually with the government or public authority, while delivery can often be prioritised. All such public management systems are typically very large and complex. Hence they need excellence in public management. One would imagine that the biggest management challenges would lie in the management of these large complex systems which, in principle, should attract the brightest managers. The irony, however, is that there is little generation of expertise for such management functioning and there are few prestigious schools of management that consciously impart training for managing these systems. All these systems need complex financial management of huge budgets; all of them involve sensitive customer delivery; and all involve complex logistics. In other words, all such systems have all the elements that should attract the brightest people who like to deal with challenges. It is ironic that there is a proliferation of management schools imparting complex training for small challenges, but none for these complex tasks. What do we need to do? We need to make public service prestigious again: not for the exercise of power and authority, but for tackling challenges for efficient public service delivery. Most public service delivery operations, including those run by the civil service, need the injection of outside expertise at different levels. Each of our public authorities discourages lateral entry and therefore tends to become inward looking and suspicious of new ideas. Lateral entry of outside experts would do much to inject new energy and even public entrepreneurships. A theme running across the different sectors that have been discussed is the exploration and development of new forms of public private partnerships. It must be understood that these are not easy to foster. They usually involve the tension between two different organising principles: one non-profit and the other profit seeking. The challenge is to design appropriate incentive systems so that the ultimate objective gets aligned. Different sectors will need different forms of partnerships. In education, for example, the partners could well be non-profit non-governmental organizations. In ports and airports, the partners could clearly be profit seeking private companies. Overall there has to be a search for innovative forms of public service delivery. This would also involve realignment of compensation levels. If individuals of high levels of competence are sought to do the most complex tasks they will need to be compensated adequately. We thus need a nationally generated focused program to improve public administration and management at all levels of government and public authorities so that the delivery of public services becomes efficient. This cannot be done by the private sector and if it is not done the private sector will itself suffer from the emerging inadequacies of health, education, rural and urban infrastructure, and all other physical infrastructure. **Concluding Remarks** The economic reforms process carried out in India over the last 15 years has brought forth a burst of new entrepreneurial energies across the board in almost all sectors. As a consequence, the country is now recording substantial economic growth in excess of 8 percent. This growth could possibly be constrained by the lack of both quality and quantity of public services supplied by the Government and its various authorities. Hence there has to be all-round improvement in investment in and delivery of public services. The new focus of economic reforms has to be the empowerment of the public sector to do what it is supposed to do: public services. _Previous musing: [NANI PALKHIVALA: EDUCATION, LEADERSHIP, AND VISION OF FREE INDIA](https://indianliberals.in/content/nani-palkhivala-education-leadership-and-vision-of-free-india/)_ --- ## [Musing] Economics of Freedom URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/economics-of-freedom/ ### Body _The following is a lecture delivered by M.R. Masani in Mumbai and published as a booklet by the Forum of Free Enterprise in February 1965. In this lecture, Masani discusses the socialist wisdom dominant in that age and reflects upon the inevitable road to totalitarianism by citing examples such as China and Russia and deconstructing the very essence of Socialism. _ _You can access the complete, unabridged musing [here.](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Economics_of_Freedom.pdf)_The other day, I was talking to an esteemed old friend who holds high office and has a great deal of influence in the ruling party. Speaking of the pattern of economic development in this country, he told me that while he shared my dislike of the system of State Capitalism and State Landlordism as developed in Russia and China and was opposed to its establishment in India, he wanted the country to press forward towards the socialisation of all large‐​scale industrial enterprises and the establishment of cooperative farming. I was unable to convince my friend that the destruction of free enterprise and peasant proprietorship must lead in India, as in Russia, to the same kind of monolithic totalitarian dictatorship as had developed under Stalin. “We shall not allow it to happen,” he kept repeating with great sincerity but with what appeared to me to be a singular lack of realism about the fact that human nature is everywhere the same; and that Lord Acton’s dictum that absolute power corrupts absolutely applies to Indians as well as to other species of the human race. Now, you must all have had experiences similar to mine with friends among socialists, trade unionists and college professors. I suggest it might be worth our while to spend the next few minutes to ascertain the validity of the assumption that a completely nationalised or socialised economy can co-exist with the kind of political liberty that our Constitution guarantees and that we enjoy in practice today. I would like to discuss this with you, not to enlighten you–since you need no such light–but rather to urge and encourage you to join in the enlightenment of the many in our country who need it. It may be felt by some that this is a somewhat academic exercise; since nobody in India has yet suggested the complete socialisation of industry, trade and agriculture. While that is undoubtedly true, I venture to suggest that recent developments and trends do not justify too great a measure of complacency. The encroachments in recent weeks and months on services such as life insurance and trades, such as the export of iron and manganese ore on the one hand and the distribution of cement on the other, show how constant incursions are being made by the State in unexpected spheres. What is disturbing about these developments is not so much the entry of the State in these spheres but the fact that, in each case, a monopoly is sought to be established. Where will this process stop? From the export of ores to the export of jute and from the distribution of cement to the distribution of cloth are not steps as distant as may be imagined. Even today, we have reached a state of affairs where a manufacturer cannot go in for the production of a new article without the permission of the Government under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act. Alongside all this, the Government of India has just sent Communist China a delegation to study the methods of so-called agricultural “co-operatives,” which are known to students of those developments to be nothing but the collectivisation of the land in accordance with the Stalinist pattern, which led in Russia to the liquidation of millions of peasants and is doing so at present in China. In light of these developments, I, for one, would hesitate to disagree with the _Times of India_ for writing editorially as it did a few months ago: “The point is whether, under the cloak of an avowedly socialistic pattern of society, the country is not being driven along totalitarian paths to totalitarian targets…Few of us would like to see India converted either into a Communist or a fascist State, but the paths we are treading today seem to lead inevitably to that goal.” Having said this, let me make it clear that to my mind, there are hardly any persons in office today or in control of the Congress Party who have any intention of treading the Soviet path. I am not questioning for a moment the democratic _bona fides_ of our planners. I am aware that all they seek to establish is a society fit for prophets to live in, but with a marked aversion to profits. What is open to question is whether, by their support of certain policies, actuated no doubt by the urge for social justice, they are not creating conditions whereby the liberties guaranteed by the Constitution may be imperilled. Yearning to do good, they believe they can preserve political freedom while hacking away merrily at its economic foundations. They may well be reminded of the observation of Lenin, who was an expert in the manipulation of power: “He who says A, says B.” Some of you may recall in this context the story of the Administrator of Price Controls in the USA during the last war, someone once approached him with the proposition that the wage-price line need not be held quite so firmly and that just a little inflation would not do any harm. To this, the harassed official replied, “Well Joe, you may be right. A little inflation may not do any harm. But the trouble is that having just a little inflation is like having just a little pregnancy–it keeps growing.” Let us now examine the widespread assumption that we in this country can sustain a democratic Government alongside a State monopoly of economic ownership of industry, trade and agriculture. First, let us consider the effects of such a situation on the lives of the worker, the peasant, the investor and the consumer and the man in charge of industrial production. Today, the worker has a right to choose and change his job within the limits of his training and capacity. He can withhold or deny his labour, participate in collective bargaining, and, if necessary, strike work together with his comrades. If he should lose his job or the strike should fail, he finds other enterprises ready to employ him. In a society where the State is the only employer and every citizen willy‐​nilly a State employee, to what extent will these precious rights be preserved? Is there any reason to believe that, when there is only one employing authority in the country, it will permit an employee to throw up his job in an economic activity where he is performing a necessary function and allow him to shift at will to some other occupation? Is it likely that a State exercising a monopoly of production and distribution will permit its employees to go on strike and thus upset the National Plan? Or let us take the peasant. Once he is a member of a collective farm or, for the matter of that, of a co-operative farm–the terminology will not make very much difference–is it to be expected that when he finds that the co-operative farm does not suit him? He wishes to withdraw from it, the original plot of land which he was persuaded to surrender will be restored to him, and he will be allowed to go his own way. As for the small investor who survives, his freedom of choice will be restricted to one of two or more issues of a so-called “voluntary” State Bond to which he will be forced to subscribe. His plight may best be imagined from the report that has just come out from Czechoslovakia about the finding of an unidentified corpse. The police report said: “Aside from two Government Bonds, no other signs of violence were discovered on the body.” In a free economy, it has rightly been said the consumer is king. The consumer who today is, within the limits of his income, able to exercise a wide freedom of choice about how much he shall spend, on what he shall spend, and how much he shall save will then be faced with one universal seller from whom he must obtain all his wants. The range of goods offered to him will be decided, and the price will be fixed by the State trading monopoly. If the quality or the price does not appeal to him, there will be no other brand of goods to turn to. To meet his basic needs, he must purchase or perish. Today, thanks to the law of the market–the law of supply and demand–and the discipline of the balance‐​sheet, it is the consumer who decides for the entrepreneur _whether_ to produce and _what_ to produce. When a man buys something on the free market, he is casting his vote as a citizen of the national economy. He exercises a free choice which, by affecting the price, influences a decision as to how the economy shall be directed. The exponent of the socialist pattern of society may concede all this but urge that from then on; it is the people collectively who will decide through parliamentary elections what kind of planned economy they want. Let us examine this claim. Once the yardstick of profit ceases to operate, the question arises as to how those at the helm of the omnipotent State are to determine what goods to produce and what priorities to establish. In the absence of an impersonal economic law such as that of supply and demand, some other yardstick has to be found. What principles will help in the exercise of these wide and arbitrary powers? In order to direct all our national activities according to a single plan, it will become necessary that every one of our needs is given its rank in order of values complete enough to enable the planner to decide how many cattle are to be reared, what crops must be sown, how many buses and trucks are to run, which coal mines are to operate, and at what prices soap and toilet preparations are to be sold. When a choice has to be made between more milk for children and higher prices for the farmer or between employment for the unemployed and better wages for those already employed, nothing short of a complete system of values will suffice. Can this be evolved democratically? To say that the people will agree by a majority through parliamentary elections that there must be central planning is not enough. An agreement on central planning without an agreement as to social values and ends is rather like a group of people agreeing to take a journey without agreeing on where they want to go. As a result, they may all have to make a particular journey which most of them do not desire. A parliamentary majority may vote clause by clause on a Bill, but would not a parliament voting and amending a comprehensive plan clause by clause make nonsense of the plan? It may be as impracticable to draw up an economic plan in this manner as it might be to plan a military campaign by parliamentary procedure. That is why, when those who believe in total planning are honest, they concede that parliamentary democracy will have to be suspended for the duration of the plan. Lenin coined the slogan of “the dictatorship of the proletariat.” Professor Harold Laski, more gentle, asked the question “whether in a period of transition to socialism, a Labour Government can risk the overthrow of its measures as a result of the next general election.” Significantly, he left it unanswered. Those of us who are in business and administration know that we cannot pull the manager out of his chair every little while, jettison his plans, and put someone else in his place with different ideas as to what should be done. The very concept of planning, even in a single business, implies continuity of control. When the management extends over the whole field of the country’s economic life, it must become an authoritarian apparatus. The persons who make it up may not want to be dictators, but the economy will go haywire if they do not accept that role. It is obvious that in such a situation, those who may claim to know all the facts, namely, the ministers and even more the experts, would alone be in a position to decide which of the different ends of planning are to be given priority. It is inevitable that, in the end, they would impose their personal or group preferences on the community as a whole. In such a context, parliamentary elections become a mere formality. When everyone is dependent on the Government for his livelihood and the State can starve you to death, nobody dares to criticise. When insurance agents, cement distributors and ore merchants all become dependent on Government for their livelihood and canvass the ruling party during the elections, how may the Opposition be expected to fare? Patriotism, too, will be mobilised on the side of the authorities. “Don’t rock the boat.” “Don’t change horses in midstream.” These will be the slogans with which the electorate will be intimidated. Only a few weeks ago, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union answered criticism that had been advanced by foreign Communist leaders against those who had stood by and allowed Stalin to pursue his path of brutal terror and despotism. It explained that “the success of socialist construction and consolidation of the USSR were attributed to Stalin…Anyone who had acted in that situation against Stalin would not have received support from the people…Such a stand would have been regarded as a blow against the unity of the party and the whole State.” Throughout human history, it has been established that only power restrains power. That restraint is expressed through the existence of an Opposition. The existence of a freely functioning Opposition is the acid test of a democracy. For when Opposition is destroyed, there is no longer any limit to the exercise of power by those in whose hands it rests. The right of public Opposition to the rulers of the day cannot, however, be kept alive merely by wishing for it or even by giving it constitutional guarantees. The existence of countervailing power can only be assured when there exist in society a number of what may be described as relatively autonomous “social forces.” Such autonomous social forces are industrial management, trade, organised labour, the professions, the peasant proprietors and religion. It is only when these forces are not wholly subordinated to any one social force or the State that there can be an assurance of liberty. Only then will there be the mutual checks and balances that are able to curb power. This conclusion of the political scientists has been proved in practice by the history of the Soviet Union, and there is no example yet known in human history to the contrary. Recently, commenting on the indictment of Stalin, Aneurin Bevan, the British left-wing socialist, took exception to the thesis of the “cult of personality” advanced by Khrushchev. “Stalin,” he wrote, “became a tyrant because he was all powerful and not all powerful because he was by nature a tyrant. He grew into tyranny precisely because the character of the Soviet Constitution enabled him to do so.” I would add just two words that Bevan’s adherence to Socialism did not permit him and would say: “Because the character of the Soviet Constitution _and economy_ enabled him to do so.” For, when we go to the root of the matter, is it not the concentration of economic and political power in the hands of those who ruled the State that created the conditions for a Stalin and would do so again? Strangely enough, there is confirmation of this point from none other than Khrushchev. In his speech to the Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Khrushchev pointed out how Lenin and even Stalin, right through the twenties, refrained from total terror during the process of eliminating the privileged classes and establishing Communism. He then went on to say: “When Socialism in our country was fundamentally constructed, when the exploiting classes were generally liquidated, when the social basis for political movements and groups hostile to the party had violently contracted…_then_ the repression directed against them began. It was _precisely_ during this period (1935–1938) that the practice of mass repression through the Government apparatus was born, first against the enemies of Leninism…and subsequently also against many honest Communists.” Precisely. The need for terror, according to Khrushchev, had passed, but so, alas, had also evaporated those autonomous social forces through which alone absolute power could have been restrained. In case some of you should like to think of India as a kind of second Britain rather than Russia, I invite your attention to some significant admissions recently made by Mr R. H. S. Crossman, British Labour Member of Parliament. Conceding that in the heat of battle, the British Labour movement had accepted sacrifices of personal freedom as an inevitable evil forced upon them by the class war, Mr Crossman frankly states the socialist dilemma. Referring to the socialist belief that “the only way to enlarge freedom and achieve a full democracy is to subject the economy to public control,” he goes on to point out: “Yet, the State bureaucracy itself is one of these concentrations of power which threaten our freedom. If we increase its authority still further, shall we not be endangering the liberties we are trying to defend?” Mr Crossman is candid enough to say: “Actually, the growth of a vast centralised State bureaucracy constitutes a grave potential threat to social democracy. The idea that we have been disloyal to our socialist principles if we attack its success or defend the individual against its incipient despotism is a fallacy.” If already, with a mixed economy and in a country with such a deep tradition of democracy and individual liberty as Britain, a left-wing socialist is impelled to strike this note of alarm, how much more imminent must the danger be in a country like ours where that tradition of freedom is a tender plant which needs to be nurtured with great care and caution? ** **I have come to the end of my thesis, though not altogether, I hope, for your patience! I trust no one will understand this to be a special plea for capitalism or an objection to all kinds of planning. To guard against such misunderstanding, I may mention that, as far back as 1946, I had delivered, in the series of Silver Jubilee Lectures organised by the _Bombay University School of Economics and Sociology_, an address entitled “A Plea for the Mixed Economy.” That plea was made by me before the mixed economy became the accepted policy of the Government. It is sad that I should today have to repeat it a decade later, at a point of time when the balance of the mixed economy is in danger of being destroyed, and it would appear as if it is ceasing to be the policy of Government. I still believe that a Mixed Economy, in which Free Enterprise and State Enterprise each have an equal and autonomous role to play, functioning alongside each other to meet the needs of the people, is the best possible system for this country both from the point of view of increased production and of equitable distribution. That, however, is a matter of opinion. What is not a mere matter of opinion but a grim statement of fact is that if the balance of the mixed economy is further upset and we drift to a state of affairs where Peasant Proprietorship, Free Enterprise and Free Trade Unionism stands or falls along with it are destroyed, then, however noble the intentions of those who pursue these policies and however great their love of justice and freedom, [a] blow will have been struck at the free way of life that not even the Constitution of the Republic will be strong enough to avert. It is not too late to stop such a drift. “It is seldom,” said David Hume, “that liberty of any kind is lost all at once.” What is necessary for those of us who love freedom and justice is to learn betimes to shift our fire and our aim from one threatening concentration of power and privilege to another in the changed conditions in which we today live. It was part of the greatness of Mahatma Gandhi that he was early to sense this change. “I look upon an increase in the power of the State”, he said, “with the greatest fear because, although apparently doing good by minimising exploitation, it does the greatest harm to mankind by, destroying individuality which lies at the root of all progress.” His greatest living disciple, Acharya Vinoba Bhave, only recently followed up that warning in more concrete terms when he observed: “We cannot say people will be happy under State Capitalism…In the name of the Welfare State, nothing should be done to centralise everything.” India’s leading socialist, Jayaprakash Narayan, who can hardly be charged with pro-capitalist views, has, on his part, declared that “the Welfare State under the name of welfare threatens as much to enslave man to the State as the totalitarian. The people must cry halt to this creeping paralysis.” I should like to think that there are many who share the concern I have expressed about the dangers that loom ahead and that they are just as anxious to ensure that our country and our people are protected from them. It is time for such men to act, for we live today in a climate where the passion for social justice and equality burns so strongly in many breasts that it blinds even otherwise intelligent and wise men from seeing where they are heading. One is reminded of the story of the mule that the farmer took to market and sold at a very low price–a good, healthy, upright, athletic animal. When the buyer, however, turned to drive away, the mule ran straight into a tree. “Look here”, yelled the buyer, “this mule you sold me is blind.” “No, he ain’t blind,” said the farmer, “he just don’t give a damn!” _Previous musing: [The Nation by RN Tagore (1917)](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-nation-by-rn-tagore/)_ --- ## [Musing] The Education of the Electorate URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/education-of-the-electorate-m-a-venkata-rao/ ### Body _The following piece was originally published in the October 1961 edition of the Indian Libertarian Magazine. The author, M.A. Venkata Rao deconstructs Indian democracy vis-a-vis the relationship between voters and representatives. He emphasises the need for greater liason between representatives and their constituents, among other things. _The characteristics of the electorate everywhere determines the quality of democracy and its actual influence on affairs beneficial or otherwise. In our country today, we have very large constituencies consisting of voters given political rights on an adult basis irrespective of property, education and sex. For the Lok Sabha, we have constituencies running into lakhs of voters and in rural areas, they are spread over several townships. To contact them would require ample funds for conveyance and ample leisure. Only men of means can contemplate candidature for Lok Sabha or men favoured by parties with large funds to "invest" in the enterprise of capturing power.  The strategy to be adopted to win a majority in such circumstances will have to take into account a number of psychological factors even where sufficient funds are secured. The strategy depends on the psychology and economic standing of the voters as well as their scatter over a large area. It would be useful to record the outstanding features of the mind of the voters in a city as revealed to the present writer in the course of his campaign for a seat in Lok Sabha in the last elections. They will resemble similar electoral districts in other parts of the country in urban constituencies One of the outstanding impressions left on the writer's mind in the course of his contacts with individual voters both educated and uneducated was the surprising degree of cynicism that they displayed. They said frankly that in their deliberate opinion, one candidate was as good or as bad as another and that parties made little difference to the final outcome in good administration! One of the educated voters, a prominent lawyer, cut the candidate's appeal short with the curt remark "Stop that stuff. All parties make promises and claim to be better than their rivals! But I am voting for you as an individual because I know you. We want informed and reliable persons in Parliament" Another graduate said that he would not vote for any candidate at all, for all parties and candidates would have the same in effect. Thev stand for their own personal advancement and parties only aim at power and the opportunity for exercising patronage among their own supporters. A cigarette and pan vendor asked "Why should we vote for you to enable you to become one of the ‘high and mighty', travelling to and from Delhi First Class? We shall not see your face after the elections and we shall remain as uncared for as ever"!  A farmer asked whether he or his party would reduce taxes. He answered the question himself and said that no government would do so. In fact, he felt that new governments would impose new taxes in order to favour their own groups. Whether Maharajahs or elected Ministers, there is no respite from tax burdens to the farmers and other producers. And so, these elections are a costly farce. “People's governments are in the fashion these days and so the world goes on until the fashion changes, as in Pakistan, as we hear."  It is clear that a large number of voters of all ranks feel helpless and ineffective in the democratic system. Their vote coming at long intervals and giving no control to them over the representatives ultimately chosen to govern the country give them a feeling of frustration and futility. The doctrine of people's government, of the sovereignty of the people does not enthuse them. It makes no difference in their lives.. The class of representatives and the rulers chosen by them to form Ministries become a new class to take the place of the old white bureaucrats. In the exercise of power, they do not find any difference between the old and new system, except that a number of hypocritical claims are made by the new men to serve the people but they "serve' the people at greater cost and with less justice and integrity.  The individual voter feels lost in the vast machinery and numbers involved, he does not feel that his individual vote counts for anything. Hence there is the greatest difficulty in bringing him to the polling booth. Large proportions of the middle classes and the educated lower middle classes enjoy the holiday given to offices and factories and spend it in recreation or mid-day siesta or visiting relatives and friends. Only a few can be persuaded to take the trouble to vote if a conveyance is furnished. Such offer of conveyance is contrary to electoral law but it is more honoured in the breach than in the observance. All parties furnish such convenience to the extent they can afford. It is an open secret. If the workers of parties seek to report the malpractices of their rivals, squabbles and fights often break out. Even the breaking of heads and murders are not out of the reckoning.   The coming elections are likely to engender more bitter feelings and to cause greater disturbances of law and order than previous ones. The Congress will go all out to retain power, larger numbers of communists will enter the fray and the Jana Sangh men are not pacifist or timid in emergencies and they are extending their influence to new areas and consolidating their hold in their original districts and States.  There is great need to dispel the cynicism of the ordinary voter and to give him a sense of purpose and importance in participation in the electoral process. Most of the voters complain that the candidate is remote from their lives and is indifferent to their interests. It is important therefore that parties should take care to nominate candidates who have a sense of rapport with the bulk of the voting people in the constituency The other day, a Swatantra party organiser was boasting that a high official, a director of medical services, a doctor of wide popularity during his term of service would be given a party ticket. He was confident that he would sweep the polls. He may, but he has to reckon with the fact that there is a social and intellectual gulf between the eminent doctor and the bulk of the electorate. The ranks of voters do not want high qualifica!ions like M.R.C.P. etc. but want a person who identifies himself with them, with their joys and sorrows and their grievances and is willing to give time and energy to act as an effective liaison between them and the ranks of government.  In fact, most of them are thinking not so much of the general policies of government like socialism and five year plans but of their individual needs. They expect members of parliament, whether of Lok Sabha or of the State Assembly to use their influence to get jobs and· promotions and seats in college to their sons and sons-in-law and nephews! Or they want them to assist in the securing of trade licences or quotas or permits, if they are businessmen. These are no 'doubt illegitimate demands, on the part of voters but they are in their mind while voting or joining a party. Corruption is condemned in the abstract but every one seeks to get a more than equal share in the loaves and fishes of office! Of course, there are genuine cases where the representative is expected to secure justice to his constituents if it had been denied or any case owing to negligence or owing to the influence of rival party men in positions of power or advantage.  One way to remove the sense of frustration debilitating democracy at the roots today in our midst is to get the voter to keep in touch with his representative after the election. He should demand of him that he should keep in touch with his constituency and that he should visit his constituency in the intervals of parliamentary sessions and inform his supporters and others of what was taking place in the legislatures.  He should explain the policies of the party in power and of the criticisms of the opposition. It is this contact between voter and representative during off-session periods that creates a sense of reality in parliamentary government in the multitude of voters. During sessions, voters should communicate by post with their candidate in the legislature. On important occasions, they can send delegations to him to explain local reactions to Bills on the anvil of parliament.  Rousseau foresaw this difficulty in representative democracy. He said that the British voter was free only on election day once in four year. But with our large populations, we cannot go back to the direct democracies of Greek days. All we can do is to increase contacts and communication between primary voter and representative through modern means of communication. Supplemented by increased intimacy between them during  off-sessions, when direct meetings in the constituency may take place. The indirect information obtained by voters through the newspapers and photographs and radio can acquire direct face-to-face primary, personal character and vitality during these exchanges between voters and representatives.  The second snag in the electoral process that any candidate comes up against is the fact of caste. It is natural for voters of any caste to feel a kinship with a representative of their own caste and to vote for him. But it has been the writer's experience that in this matter, it is the candidate and the party managers who are the greater sinners against nationalism and democracy. They deliberately appeal to caste feelings where they help to secure the favour of their candidate. It is not the uneducated voter who is primarily responsible for the havoc done in his name and for the eclipse of broader nationalist motivations during elections and in the democratic governance ,generally. It has been found that where an appeal is made straight to the national and democratic consciousness of the people, caste barriers have been crossed to a considerable and. encouraging extent. The present writer received a few hundred votes even from Muslims, after  a straight appeal, in a single speech in a predominantly Muslim locality! It ls wrong to assume that Hindu wiil vote Hindu and that Muslim will vote MusIim, that Brahmin will vote Brahmin and Non-brahmin, Non-brahmin and so on. It is the sacred duty of the candidate and his supporting party not to appeal to sectarian motives but to have faith in human nature  and the higher feelings of nationalism and democracy even in uneducated and unsophisticated voters. It is a mistake to think that formal education confers any superiority on the graduate. The unlettered person can understand ethical motives better and generally reacts to ethical appeals better than the educated. The ignorant persons lack information about the world but they are shrewd Judges of character and can judge who is a better representative to speak for them in parliament. The feeling of participation in a human and classless way with the lives and hopes and fears of the masses is what counts in the electoral process and this can be conveyed  to the uneducated more easily than doctrines regarding democracy.  But the voter also needs some basic information to vote intelligently and to have the right expectations about democratic government. The constitution and the fundamental rights should be understood by all voters whether literate or illiterate. The role of the press, the distinction of party from government, the responsibility of Ministers, the difference between delegate and democratic member of parliament and the duty of voting using his best judgment. Such information should be imparted to the voters. It is best done by non-party Voter's Clubs, one for each Assembly constituency, which ought to develop into a primary face-to-face association, cutting across wealth, office, birth, education and political power. Such Clubs run on a non-party basis should develop into basic cells of the national democratic organism. They will take the sting out of the party boss system.  Patriotism demands that some educated persons should come forward to form and develop such Voter's Clubs all over the country. Particular attention should be paid to remove or at least mitigate the cynicism and frustration of the individual voter. The voter should be informed that in view of the vastness of the country, it is impossible to establish a direct democracy, as in Greek City States and in the Indian republics of old in the days of Chanakya and Chandragupta Maurya. The next best thing is to have assemblies of representatives and in order to keep the assemblies manageable for business and effective discussion, it is necessary to limit their number to around 500 for the country as a whole and 200 for the state. And the necessity has its own advantages to countervail the disadvantage, namely we can have a selection of the abler among the rank and file who will act as representatives to think for the people and develop an expertise instead of being gramaphone records for more delegates. It is also impossible to convey all the differing opinions of tens of thousands of voters. The members should listen to aU opinions and· form his own views and arrive at a consensus that may include an element of value,. hi. "important aspects of the matter under discussion.  The voter should be informed that he should regard the vote as an element of sovereignty which he should put into action as in sacred duty by the nation. He should not disregard it as of no avail. Avail or no avail, he should use his vote as a matter of duty. Every people obtain the government they deserve and if the voter does not exercise their vote, the opinion of others will prevail and he has himself to blame. Also the voter should never sell his vote or otherwise misuse it. He should form the habit of using it in favour of the best candidate offering himself for election, best to represent the constituency as a whole and not a section of it, not a sect or caste or kinship group or the following of a local leader who has become prominent on other grounds.  A candidate from a high family in the last elections stood as an independent for the Lok Sabha and was supported by the communist party. His only claim was that he could see Pandit Nehru at any time of the day without a formal engagement for an interview! A business magnate paid his election expense in the hope that such a person could obtain permits and quotas and licenses which could compensate him for his outlay many times over! The candidate was also a sort of comic poet and brought cinema stars, male and female, to gather huge audiences for him. And be did succeed in getting 45,000 votes though he hailed from a different part of the· country and did not know the language of the voters!  The frustration of the voter could be overcome by pointing to the opportunities for rising for them in the local bodies which they could later use as stepping stones for the Lok Sabha or Assembly. Participation in Voter's Clubs will restore the human touch and fill the void to a great extent. --- ## [Musing] Enduring Challenges in Indian Public Administration - V.P. Menon URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/enduring-challenges-in-indian-public-administration-v-p-menon-1958/ ### Body _The following excerpt has been taken from V.P. Menon's 'Indian Administration: Past and Present', published in June 1958 by the [Forum of Free Enterprise](https://indianliberals.in/periodicals/forum-of-free-enterprise/). The publication provides a comprehensive account of the Indian administration's origins, from the days of the East India Company, and its evolution until the Planning Era. Menon stresses the expansive nature of the services, the role played by viceroys and governor generals, the exponential increase in the number of officers, and the challenges faced by the Indian administration over a span of three centuries. You can read the unabridged text[here](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/indian-administartion-v-p-menon-jun5-1958.pdf)._ _[Vappala Pangunni Menon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V._P._Menon) (30 September 1893 – 31 December 1965) was an Indian civil servant who served as Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of the States, under Sardar Patel._ _The text highlighted in the musing remains highly relevant in today's India, reflecting enduring challenges within public service. _ _Political interference in administration continues to undermine effective governance and demoralise public servants even today. Corruption runs rampant without any institutional responsibility for course correction, further keeping honest people away from the service and painting the entire machinery as ‘corrupt’. The perception of governors as political appointees rather than impartial overseers continues to impact their effectiveness. These are some of the problems underscored by Menon in the excerpt._ _He concludes by emphasising the roots of Indian administration in the British era and the pressing need to overhaul the institution to make for a more decentralised system, one that does not overestimate the power of the Centre or fall prey to petty party politics. _ **Political Interference in Administration** Sardar Patel was always at pains to impress on his party men not to interfere in the administration; but interference goes on, differences being only a matter of degree, in all the States. The District officer gets no credit for good work. Often he is judged by reports from political busybodies in the district. **Public Perception and Corruption** We are being treated _ad nauseam_ to communiques from various Governments on the action taken against "corrupt" officers. These statements leave an impression on the public mind that all officers are corrupt. By all means, I say, punish officers found guilty of corruption, but this sort of publicity only serves to undermine the prestige of the Services generally. In fact, corruption is not the monopoly of the Services. I remember the time when Sardar Patel ordered the prosecution of certain Ministers on a charge of corruption. The prosecutions were actually launched but were withdrawn after the death of Sardar. One of these very gentlemen is today an absconder in a non-bailable warrant case of misappropriation of public funds. **Election Expenses and Moral Standards** I do not blame the politician. Consider the amount which he has invested in order to get himself elected! Do not mistake me. I know as well as you that there are honourable exceptions. But the point I want to make is that the election expenses of parties and individual candidates under adult franchise are becoming prohibitive. Good candidates with limited means have no chance to fight elections. Money is playing a leading part and if we are not careful it will undermine our moral and ethical standards. **Role of the Governor** In this sorry state of affairs the head of a State could play an important role. But what the Ministries have done is to reduce the position of the Governor to that of a figurehead. It is always dangerous in an administration to create functionaries without responsibility, but the Congress are apparently quite unable to forget their past conflicts with Governors during the days of the British. The Governor is still distrusted and is generally ignorant of day-to-day administrative problems. The Governor, at any rate during his term of office, is supposed to be a non-party man, a position enabling him to ascertain not only the views of the Congress but also the reactions of other parties in the State. **Indian Administration: Roots and Reform** The basis of the existing administrative machinery is still that which was left to us by the British Government. The Central Government has embarked on various activities and is employing officers on those activities, for which they have no training. Congress has declared its ideology as "a socialistic pattern of society", whatever that may mean. The officers must have some guidance on the Congress policy and how they are expected to implement it. Some of the provincial districts are too large for one man to manage, and if development activities are to be properly supervised, some of the districts should be reduced.  The Collector, on whom all development activities converge, cannot be expected single-handed to carry out his responsibilities. There should be appropriate agencies created for particular development work, e.g., the Grow More Food campaign. Ours is a vast country and we cannot govern it from Delhi. The Centre must be strong but consistent with that there should be decentralisation at all levels.  These and other considerations lead me to the conclusion that we must appoint forthwith a high-powered Commission to examine and make recommendations for, reorganising the existing administrative structure, both at the Centre and in the provinces. Our task should be to lay down the foundations of a good administration which would be outside party politics and serve whatever party comes into power. type=content&p=8562). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] Examination of Objections to Limitations of Amending Power URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/examination-of-objections-to-limitations-of-amending-power-1960/ ### Body _This piece is an excerpt about Parliament’s Amending Power from Nani Palkhivala’s “Our Constitution Defaced and Defiled”. This was first published in 1960 by The Macmillan Company of India Limited. In the introduction to this publication, Nani Palkhivala says “WE, THE PEOPLE OP INDIA, adopted, enacted and gave to ourselves the Constitution. We, the people, are also its only keepers. We have to pay the State not only in taxes but in time and in thought.”_ _You can read more about Nani Palkhivala [here](https://indianliberals.in/content/nani-palkhivala/) ___ The arguments frequently urged against imposing any limits on Parliament’s amending power may nowbe examined. **“The democratically expressed will of the people”** It is argued that unlimited power of amendment is necessary to meet the democratically expressed will of the people and that the representatives of the people should be trusted not to abrogate the basic freedoms. If this argument is right, it would be equally true to say that unlimited power of passing ordinary laws is necessary to meet “the democratically expressed will of the people”, and that would be the end of fundamental rights. If the representatives of the people could be trusted to respect citizens’ basic freedoms, there would have been no need for the chapter on fundamental rights at all. To say that the founding fathers of the Constitution did not trust Parliament with unlimited power in dealing with citizens’ rights by ordinary laws, but trusted them with unlimited power in dealing with citizens’ rights when amending the Constitution, is to attribute to the founding fathers incredible irrationality. The destruction of the basic freedoms is no longer an academic question but has become a painful reality, and therefore the plea about trusting the people’s representatives is wholly misconceived. The point that between 1951 (when the Sankari Prasad case recognised unlimited power of amendment) and 1967 (when the Golaknath decision* reversed that view) the basic freedoms were not abridged although Parliament was credited with unlimited power of amendment, has no relevance to the issue of the real ambit of the amending power. Constitutional morality between 1951 and 1967 was immeasurably higher than it is today. An amendment like Article 31C would have been unthinkable before 1967 and yet it came to pass in 1972. Extremists may have in their hands the levers of power at one time in the country’s history and not at other times. **The special majority in Article 368** It has been pleaded that the special majority in Article 368 is an adequate safeguard against abuse of an unlimited amending power. When the Constitution-makers did not permit Parliament even by a unanimous vote to pass an ordinary law violating a single fundamental right, it is impossible to believe that they put their faith in the special majority in Article 368 as a sufficient safeguard against the abrogation of fundamental rights. Besides, the special majority in Article 368 can be reduced to a bare majority by following the procedure in Article 368 itself. Again, an amending power of the same width is vested in Parliament under the Fifth and Sixth Schedules which deal with the lives and freedoms of millions of citizens and which permit all amendments by a simple majority. It is clear that the Constitution has in mind a more potent way of preserving its essential features than the requirement of a special majority. **Judicial review of constitiutional amendments** Another plea against holding the amending power to be limited has been that it would inevitably bring in judicial review. A constitutional amendment cannot enjoy the same immunity from judicial scrutiny as the original Constitution. The validity of an amendment is capable of being judged on the touchstone of the Constitution, whereas that is not the case with the original Constitution. Judicial review of constitutional amendments would be no different from that of ordinary laws with reference to questions of legislative competence or fundamental rights. If an amendment is struck down as going beyond the limits of the power, the court would be merely upholding the supremacy and sanctity of the Constitution, exactly as it does when an ordinary law is struck down as being unconstitutional. Such judicial review does not make the judiciary superior to the legislature; it only postulates that the sovereignty of the people is superior to both. Where the will of Parliament, declared in an amendment, stands in opposition to that of the people declared in the Constitution, the will of the people must prevail. One of the most futile points urged is that to let the court have the power of judicial review over constitutional amendments would involve the court in political questions. It is meaningless to say that the considerations which lead to an amendment are political, for nearly every consideration arising from the Constitution can be so described. The Constitution is a political instrument. Many constitutional problems are often not so much legal as political, social or economic, yet they must be solved by a court of law. It is vain to invoke the voice of Parliament. **Are essential features vague and unascertainable?** It has been urged that a test which involves consideration of the essential features of the Constitution would be vague, because the essential features are not precisely ascertainable. It is true that the borderline cannot be definitely drawn between amendments which would be valid and those which would be invalid on the principle that the essential features cannot be altered or destroyed ; nor would it be possible to specify exhaustively the amendments which would be invalid by this test. But this is no argument against the validity of the principle. Rejecting a similar plea that administrative action should not be struck down on the ground that it violated the rules of natural justice since the concept of natural justice was too nebulous to afford a legal test, Lord Reid* observed. In modern times opinions have sometimes been expressed to the effect that natural justice is so vague as to be practically meaningless. But I would regard these as tainted by the perennial fallacy that because something cannot be cut and dried or nicely weighed or measured therefore it does not exist. The idea of negligence is equally insusceptible of exact definition, but what a reasonable man would regard as fair procedure in particular circumstances and what he would regard as negligence in particular circumstances are equally capable of serving as tests in law, and natural justice as it has been interpreted in the courts is much more definite than that . . . Adapting the words of Frankfurter, one may say that the essential features of the Constitution are not authoritatively formulated anywhere as though they were prescriptions in a pharmacopoeia. The fact that judges among themselves may differ whether in a particular case an amendment alters or destroys a fundamental principle of the Constitution is no disproof that general rather than idiosyncratic standards have to be applied. Legal tests of the validity of a law, based on the concept of what is essential, fundamental or basic in a constitution, in a power, in a religion, etc.^ arc well- known. They have been applied time and again in interpreting the Constitution and determining the vires of legislative or administrative action. These legal tests have been universally accepted despite the fact that in no case can there be an exhaustive enumeration of the laws which would be valid or invalid by the application of the tests, nor can there be unanimity of judicial opinion in the cases which arise from time to time. A few examples may suffice. Delegated legislation is invalid where the legislature has parted with ‘^its essential legislative function”. “Exactly what constitutes an essential feature cannot be enunciated in general terms, and there was some divergence of view about this . . . , but this much is clear . . . : it cannot include a change of policy.” The protection of Articles 25 and 26 has been held to extend to “ceremonies and modes of worship which are integral parts of religion. . . . What constitutes an essential part of a religion or religious practice has to be decided by the courts. . . . “ Our Constitution requires the courts to use legal concepts which are no less “vague” than the concept of fundamental or essential features. The rule of pith and substance which is to be applied to any ordinary law with a view to ascertaining whether it is within legislative competence is surely no more precise. Legislation which usurps or infringes the judicial power is void, although it would be an impossible task to trace where the line is to be drawn between what will and what will not constitute such an interference. Even in the field of fundamental rights, restrictions are permissible if they are “reasonable”, “in the interests of the general public”, or arc imposed on the ground of “decency” or “morality”. These tests do not permit any abstract standard to be laid down as applicable to all cases. Yet they have to be applied in determining the validity of ordinary laws. In Australia it has been held that there are implied limitations which prevent the Commonwealth Parliament from interfering with the “essential functions” of State government, although there can be no complete or precise formulation of such functions, “A recognition that there are difficulties in formulating a single test in precise and comprehensive terms does not provide . . . a reason for denying that there can be any limitation by implication upon the power to affect the States.” No esoteric test is required to discern the essential features of our Constitution. The essential features are those which arc vital to the constitutional scheme and which give the Constitution its identity and integrity. If any guidance were needed in tins matter, it is afforded by the Preamble which expressly enumerates several basic elements. The Constitution is framed to be worked not by robots but by men. It is a fair assumjjtion that those who seek to amend the Constitution would have at least sufficient understanding to perceive its essential features. There cannot possibly be any mistake about the authentic voice of our Constitution, its ringing tones proclaiming the sanctity of our sovereign democratic republic, and the rights and duties of freedom. The following are some of the essential features of the Constitution which Parliament cannot alter or destroy in the exercise of its amending power. - The supremacy of the Constitution. Ours is a “controlled constitution” par excellence. All institutions, including Parliament, arc merely creatures of the Constitution and none of them is its master. - The sovereignty of India. This country cannot be made a satellite, colony or dependency of any foreign country. - The integrity of the country. The unity of the nation, transcending all the regional, linguistic, religious and other diversities, is the bedrock on which the constitutional fabric has been raised. - The republican form of government. India cannot be transformed into a monarchy. - The democratic way of life as distinct from mere adult franchise. There is a guarantee of fundamental rights to ensure justice, social, economic and political; liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; and equality of status and of opportunity. - A State in which there is no State religion. All religions are equal and none is favoured. - A free and independent judiciary. Without it, all rights would be writ in water. - The dual structure of the Union and the States. It permits centralization and decentralization to coexist. - The balance between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. None of the three organs can use its powers to destroy the powers of the other two, nor can any of them abdicate its power in favor of another. - The amendability of the Constitution according to the basic scheme of Article 368. The Constitution must continue to be amendable without being alterable in its essentials. _Previous musing: [Economic Growth with Social Justice(1969)](https://indianliberals.in/content/economic-growth-with-social-justice-1969/)_ --- ## [Musing] Farmers Need Freedom, Not a Guardian Angel URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/farmers-need-freedom-sharad-joshi/ ### Body The following is an article published in the June 2007 edition of the Freedom First magazine. Mr. Sharad Joshi, in this piece titled 'Farmers Need Freedom, Not a Guardian Angel', wrote about the need to free farmers from the shackles of all sorts of bureaucracy. While reflecting upon the developments during that time, he brought forth farmers' issues which have plagued India's republic since a long time but never understood as part of the problem. A senior member from the treasury benches of India's Parliament has proposed the establishment of an autonomous board for ensuring remunerative prices for the agricultural produce of farmers through fixation of minimum support prices; compulsory purchase of the produce by governmental agencies and compulsory market intervention by such governmental agencies in cases of bumper crops. This concern for the farmer is to be appreciated. The question is, is establishing one more comprehensive and potent authority for carrying out the work, at present entrusted to the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), the Food Corporation of India (FCI), The National Agricultural Federation (NAFED) and the large number of state bodies, the right direction for improving the situation of our farmers? So far, the Central government has been trying to attribute the epidemic of suicides by farmers to water scarcity, lack of credit, high cost of production, low productivity of agriculture, smaller holdings and lack of extension services. A seditious attempt has also been made to put the blame on a general failure in their social moral standards. Some state governments have even tried to organise programmes with the help of some venerable spiritual gurus to contain the epidemic of suicides. Given this background, it is indeed commendable that a prominent member of the treasury benches of the House is admitting that low prices are the main culprit. He ought to be further complimented for admitting the under-remunerative nets of the prices obtained by the farmers at present. The remarkable thing is that the author proposes an authority whose job will be to fix prices that will cover the 'costs of production' as opposed to 'index based prices' proposed by some of the economists or 'income assurance plans' of the type resorted to in countries like the United States of America or 'blue box' schemes of the type resorted to in various countries. All these alternative schemes involved massive bureaucratic machinery and intervention that is unlikely to work with any chances of success in a country like India. The proposed board is not supposed to try and bring down the prices of agricultural inputs as an alternative method of making agriculture a remunerative vocation. It is rather unfortunate that the contemplated board will be given a mandate to calculate the remunerative prices practically by the same methodology that is deployed by the CACP for some years now. The author, evidently, is unaware that the basic methodology for calculating the cost of production by the CACP itself is full of holes and the method of collecting cost data from the sample fields and working out some kind of a statistical average thereof brings out costs of various elements that do not relate to any living farm.  That is the reason why the old Agriculture Prices Commission (APC) had calculated for the year 1976-77 Rs. 0.01 as the cost of pesticide per hectare of wheat in Punjab. It is the averaging method, which is responsible for numerous cases of contradictions. The cost of manure was calculated at Rs. 1.27 per quintal in the year 1997-78. Curiously enough, the cost for the same thing was even lower in 1980-81 (Rs.1.14 per quintal). The examples of this kind can be multiplied till the cows come home. The irrigation cost per hectare was calculated at Rs. 181.45 in 1916-17. This could not have met even the electricity charges of it too well. Surprisingly, the same cost is shown to have drastically gone down to a bare Rs. 70.86 in 1980-81. To one's surprise, the cost estimates of the state committees that calculate the costs of production in their states are around 20 per cent higher than the costs computed by the CACP. If agriculture is a state subject, it is difficult to understand why the calculation of costs is not left entirely to the state governments. Further, farmers have been demanding that the CACP switchover to the "synthetic model method" which gives structured costs that are logically linked with each other and correspond to real situations in the field. Coming from a distinguished member of the treasury benches of the House, one could not have expected a confession that successive post-independence governments have been deliberately trying to depress agricultural prices in order to provide a fillip to industry moved by the kind of economic theory that prompted Stalin to send tanks against kulaks in Russia. That is the reason why those who moved the idea of establishing a new authority are, at the same time, supporting the government's plan to put a ban on the futures market for wheat and paddy and backing the government's moves to keep private traders out of the wheat market in order to provide a clear field for the benefit of the Food Corporation of India. The basic question is, do we need to have elaborate machinery that is even more complex than the existing one for calculating remunerative prices, ensuring procurement and the operation of minimum support prices mechanism in order to ensure that the farmer gets the price that covers, at least, his cost of production? The price that a producer gets in a free-market must cover his cost. Why then have elaborate bureaucratic mechanisms for this simple task? If the government scraps the Essential Commodities Act that puts restrictions on storage, transport, processing and export of agricultural commodities, the farmer will automatically get a price that covers his cost of production. lnformation Technology (IT) has now opened up before the farmers two possibilities. Before IT he could not take advantage of the much higher prices that, he knew, would invariably come within the two months of the harvest, because he had no waiting capacity. The farmer was not able to get the advantage of higher prices prevailing at distant places because he had no capacity to transport his produce there. The advent of IT and the futures markets have made it possible for the farmers to add time and space utilities without having to move in time or space. It is rather unfortunate that the government has moved in with clay to block this escape route for the farmers. The government forgets that no prison walls have ever succeeded in containing the spirit of freedom. The farmers in Punjab and Haryana have already provided this by refusing to give their wheat to the Food Corporation of India. Meanwhile anti-farmer forces will try to create the illusion that not freedom but a more benevolent and efficient State authority will improve the lot of the farmers. The original article can be accessed [here.](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/481.pdf) --- ## [Musing] Fifteen Years of Indian Planning URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/fifteen-years-of-planning/ ### Body _Prof. B R Shenoy’s “Fifteen Years Of Indian Planning” was published on August 10, 1966, assessing the economic progress of the country in the last three Five Year Plans. The author mentioned national income and mass well-being and recalled the damaging consequences these Plans caused to the economy of the country. The musing also discusses investment & foreign aid, inflation, foreign exchange difficulties, mounting food shortages, social injustice, the malaise of the capital market, the need for policy shifts, maximization of national income, centralized planning, radiance on free market forces and the free pricing system, monetary reforms, relaxation and removal of controls, and cuts in public sector activity._ _ You can read the complete, unabridged version here__ [Fifteen Years of Planning](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Fifteen-Years-of-Planning.pdf)_ **I. National income and mass well-being** For assessing economic progress, we must define the term. By economic progress, we must first define the term. By economic progress, we shall mean, first, a continued rise in the standard of living of the masses of the people. Since the masses of the Indian people are close to the margin of subsistence, for quite some time, the measure of economic progress will lie in the consumption of food, the average of which is below the nutritional norm, and the consumption of cloth, the average of which is sub-standard. In democracies, the expectation would be that, while the level of living of the masses rose fast enough, the affluence of no sector should go up significantly faster than the national average. If the incomes of the more prosperous groups galloped ahead whilst the economic condition of the masses remained comparatively stagnant, there will be complaints of social injustice. Therefore, the second test of economic development is in a reduction of income contrasts between the more affluent sectors of the community and the masses. With these two criteria of economic progress in our mind, it is easy to say what does not constitute economic progress. First, if the standard of living of the people as a whole did not rise or lagged far behind the accelerating opulence of some groups, we do not have economic progress. Such a state of affairs may be described as the economic development of the classes; it is not Indian economic development. Secondly, spectacular progress in nuclear science, the science of rocketry and space science, and the stockpiling of missiles and other nuclear weapons, in the context of shortages of food, clothing, house-room, and the like, is not economic progress either. These developments may add enormously to the striking power of the nation and may be termed military development. Thirdly, heavy engineering and heavy chemicals, mammoth river valley projects, idle production capacities, and indiscriminate industrialization, when the masses of the people are ill-clad and underfed, do not constitute economic development. We may call it show-window economic activity and, at best sectoral development.  Ordinarily, in free societies, production would get adjusted to meet the changing needs of consumers, this adjustment being effected by the pricing system. Prices of commodities in larger demand would rise, and entrepreneurs would increase the output of such commodities under the inducement of higher returns on the capital invested, which higher prices would bring. Under such conditions, the increase in the national product may provide a dependable measure of the trend in consumption, i.e., the standard of living of the people in general. Under the policies which we have pursued during the past one and a half decades and which are generally described as planning, there is, on the other hand, a divorce between production and consumer needs. Production is directed or indirectly controlled by the Planning Commission, the instruments of control being import restrictions and exchange controls, controls over the distribution of domestic supplies, capital issues controls, and price controls of essential goods. Being constrained by these controls, entrepreneurs have not been free to orient production to satisfy consumer demands. Production has been governed more by the policy measures laid down by the Planning Commission. During the Third Plan, about 70 percent of the investment resources are drawn into the so-called "infrastructure" undertakings in the Public Sector; and a considerable part of the rest of the resources are used up in industrialization, including import substitution. This has involved comparative neglect of the production of food, agriculture generally, and basic consumer goods industries such as cotton textiles.  These policies have caused two damaging consequences. First, they have retarded the expansion of the national product. This retardation is the direct outcome of the shift of resources from sectors where the output of the capital invested is high, namely, agriculture and cotton textiles, into sectors where such output is low, namely, "infrastructure" industries and industries brought into existence under policy pressures for substituting import goods. It has been estimated that Rs. 1 crore worth of additional resources invested in agriculture may add to the national product about Rs. 57 to Rs. 69 lakhs of output. The same amount of resources may add to the national product about Rs. 36 lakhs if invested in cotton textiles and about Rs. 19 lakhs if invested in iron and steel. Our policy preferences for "infrastructure" industries and for import substitution, regardless of costs, to the neglect of agriculture and cotton textiles thus have involved producing less in place of producing more for the same quantum of resources. This, in large part, explains the slow pace of growth of the Indian national product during the past 15 years, despite a more than three-fold increase in investment.  Secondly, these policies have led to a pattern of production diverging from the pattern of consumer needs. In place of more food and cloth, the economy has been producing more of other things–iron and steel, cement, chemicals, machinery, and other industrial output. This divergence has meant that we can no longer depend on the statistics of the national product for a measure of overall economic progress, defining the latter term, as we have done, to mean a rise in the level of living of the masses. For the statistician, whatever is produced–whether rice, butter, guns, chemicals, or machinery–adds to the national product. When there is a heavy armaments program, as in Communist countries, or when economic policies foster programs of expansion of heavy engineering and heavy chemicals and other “basic” industries, as in India, the curve of the national product present a misleading picture of mass well-being. For an assessment of mass well-being, we have then to take a look, not at national income statistics, but at the consumer goods content of the national product. During the past ten years, Indian national income rose at an annual rate of 4.6 percent and the population at an annual rate of about 2.5 percent. This yields a per capita annual rise of about 1.8 percent. The provisional estimate for 1964-65 shows an impressive jump of 7.7 percent in the national income and of 5.3 percent in per capita income. The Economic Survey, 1965-66, fears that during the current year, because of a decline in agricultural output, national income may be less than in 1964-65. At this low pace of growth in per capita income, seeing that economic development in the more affluent countries of Europe and America is much faster, we may be never able to catch up with the order of economic well-being in these countries. The gap between our level of living and theirs may continually widen. It is not a welcome idea that this widening gap may have a chance of being reduced only in the event of catastrophes such as wars in which these other countries may be engaged, and we may keep out. Unsatisfactory as these statistical averages are, the actual well-being of the masses may be less than semi-stagnant. First, as pointed out by Mr. Narottam Shah of The Economic Times, through an old-standing and inexplicably un rectified error, incomes from Commerce, Transport, and other “Services” sectors of the national income are considerably exaggerated in the statistics. Incomes at current prices are converted into incomes at constant prices by deflating the former to allow for the inflationary rise in prices. Though prices have risen by ~38 percent from 1955-56 to 1963-64, incomes at current prices have been deflated only, nominally, by 2.4 percent. If we make full allowance for the inflationary price rise with respect to these sectors, the increase in national income during the past decade may be at the lower annual rate of 3.5 percent and of per capita income at the lower annual rate of 1.2 percent. Secondly, for a proper assessment of mass well-being, due allowances must be made from the statistics of per capita income for the considerable income shifts from the masses to the upper-income groups. Though this takes us to a subject that does not make welcome discussion in public, its exclusion may detract from the full appraisal of the basic forces now operating in the Indian economy, comprehension of which is essential to a correct diagnosis of the maladies confronting us. These income shifts have resulted from three factors: (1) from inflation, which has corroded the incomes of the fixed and the sticky money income groups, which comprise the masses, wage earners, and salaried people, and has added correspondingly to the incomes of a fraction of the community, traders, businessmen, and industrialists; (2) from controls, in particular, import controls, which have transferred incomes as monopoly gains or illicit earnings through corrupt practices, which controls give rise to, from the general body of consumers to the privileged upper-income groups, who include entrepreneurs, intermediaries, and the corrupt functionaries of the State; and (3) from the phenomenal expansion of the Public Sector, which has added enormously to the illicit gains of the contractors and other participants in this expansion. In recent years, aggregate income transfers due to inflation, controls, and the expansion of the Public Sector may not be far lower than the annual increases in national income, the bulk of this being due to import licensing and exchange restrictions. If we may assume that the whole of the values with respect to import licenses issued to Public Sector undertakings accrue to the Public Sector, we may regard them as a species of taxation. But the values of the import licenses issued to the Private Sector accrue to private parties, to which they have neither an economic nor moral title. Currently, the premia on these licenses are reported to vary from 500 to 700 percent with respect to 10 percent of the licenses and to be below 200 percent with respect to the rest. Assuming an average premium of 75 percent on all Private Sector licenses–on which my computations elsewhere, too, have been based–the income shifts on account of import licenses on Private Sector imports–which averaged Rs. 625 crores annually during 196-62 to 1964-65–may be of an annual order of Rs. 470 crores. If so, the benefit of the largest part of the annual expansion of the national income has accrued to a thin upper crust of the privileged sections of the people, leaving the condition of the masses unchanged or worse than before. With the rich becoming richer and the poor remaining poor or becoming poorer, income contrasts between the rich and the poor have become sharper. Though this is an unwelcome phenomenon, much cannot be gained by ignoring it as any prolonged persistence of it may not be conducive to continued social and political stability, which is so essential not only for rapid economic progress but also for the preservation of the higher values which we cherish. Thirdly, to get a clear picture of the trends in mass well-being, statistics of per capita income have to be adjusted for (a) the unduly large output of non-consumer goods and the creation of excess production capacities; and (b) for the undue build-up of inventories, which attends rising prices. Productive activity, which ends up in idle production capacities and idle stocks, would no doubt drive up the curve of national income in the same way as productive activity, which ends up in effective capital formation and increased consumption. But the former does not add to the well-being of the people, which the latter does. Excess capacities exist both in the capital goods and consumer goods industries and in the public as well as the Private Sector. They are estimated at about one-third of the total capacity in the major and minor irrigation works, somewhat less in the power projects, and at an average of 45 to 50 percent in 40 industries. Additions to inventories are inevitable under inflation, though it is not possible to assess their precise magnitudes. --- ## [Musing] Fighting for Freedom : The Tumultuous Legacy of Raghunath Karve URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/fighting-for-freedom-the-tumulous-legacy-of-raghunath-karve/ ### Body _Raghunath Dhondo Karve is known as a staunch supporter of individual liberty and freedom. He believed in individual autonomy and attempted to normalize non-procreative sexuality. He challenged existing customs and argued for individual sexual freedom and awareness through his publication समाजस्वास्थ्य  (Health of the society)._ “Our communities and countries can flourish only when every individual has the power to make decisions about their bodies and to chart their own futures” - Natalia Kanem (Director, UNFPA) Raghunath Dhondo Karve is largely known as the son of the social reformer Maharshi Karve, who worked for the cause of women’s education, widow remarriage and women’s welfare. Raghunath Karve often tends to be overshadowed by the work and the personality of his father. However, Raghunath Karve (henceforth Karve) has a noteworthy and tumultuous legacy that remains relevant today. A scholar of Mathematics, Karve attained the Diplome d'Etudes Superieures from Paris. He went on to teach at Wilson College in Mumbai till 1925 when he was forced to resign. This event foreshadowed the difficult journey that lay ahead for Karve.  Karve was a strong believer in individual autonomy especially of the corporeal kind and was a strong supporter of birth control. At a time when the hush-hush of taboo prevailed over the articulation of information, Karve wrote extensively on matters such as legalizing prostitution, imparting sex education and creating greater awareness among men and women alike. Recognising the necessity to communicate with people in an accessible language and the need to acquaint people with Western writings, Karve wrote almost exclusively in Marathi. He wrote संततीनियमन : आचार आणि विचार (Family Planning : Thoughts and Action) in 1923, आधुनिक कामशास्त्र (Modern Kamshastra) in 1934, आधुनिक आहारशास्त्र (Modern Science of Diet) in 1938 among several others. As part of his initiative to impart sex education, Karve started a monthly called समाजस्वास्थ्य  (Health of the society) where he offered an intellectual opposition to the then extant institution of marriage and attempted to normalize non-procreative sexuality, which also included homosexuality. The editorial of the first edition highlights Karve’s aims - “व्यक्तींच्या व समाजाच्या शारीरिक व मानसिक आरोग्याची व त्यासंबंधी उपायांची चर्चा करणे हा या मासिकाचा उद्देश आहे. विशेषतः ज्या विषयासंबंधी लेख इतर पत्रकार छापत नाहीत असे विषय कितीही महत्त्वाचे असले तरी त्यासंबंधी माहिती मिळवण्यास सामान्य वाचकांस अतिशय अडचण पडते. ही अडचण दूर करण्याचा आमचा विचार आहे. यात तत्त्वज्ञानाचा खल न करता व्यवहारोपयोगी माहितीही दिली जाईल” (र.धों. कर्वे यांचे समाजस्वास्थ्य, 2022) (The aim of this magazine is to discuss and elaborate on the physical and mental health of individuals and the society as a whole. Specifically, a lot of important topics are not covered by several journalists making it difficult for the reader to find information. We plan to resolve this difficulty faced by the readers. Without getting into philosophical deliberations, this magazine will provide information on such topics along with information on other practical considerations).  Karve spoke and wrote in support of sexual liberation from the dictates of customs, morality and the law, for both men and women. He criticized the customary labels of ‘virtue’ and ‘chastity’ and suggested that each individual must have the opportunity to liberate themselves. He opposed the then existing system of marriage which according to him allowed women’s bodies to be treated as property. It is important to note that Karve’s support for birth control did not come from the view of distribution of national resources or allowing the state to take control of family planning. In fact, in one of his pieces titled कायदे करणाऱ्यांची अक्कल (Karve, 1931) (The Intelligence of the Lawmakers), Karve refers to English and French laws on selling tools that help prevent transmission of STDs and on selling contraceptives (both of which, as Karve points out, not only overlapped but were more or less the same). He points out the sheer pointlessness of state action where each country, England and France allowed the sale of one but prohibited that of the other. Karve ends the short piece by mocking the lawmakers and by lamenting the takeover of personal liberty by the state. Karve’s support for birth control came with a view to enable women to exercise autonomy over their body and their sexuality. He firmly believed that sexual freedom was a right that must be available to every adult irrespective of their gender, orientation, place in society among others. The monthly magazine समाजस्वास्थ्य also featured write-ups and correspondences supporting homosexuality and transgender individuals.  In his writings, Karve often made allusions to the societies of ancient India to remind his readers of the freedom enjoyed by their ancestors and the shackles brought on by Victorian morality. Karve investigates Kautilya’s approach towards prostitution and the nature of prostitution during the times of Vatsayana and he compares that with the modern legislation on prostitution. He believed very strongly that the state must not prohibit prostitution. In वेश्यांसंबंधी कायदे (Laws on Prostitution), he offers evidence from across Europe to show that prohibition of prostitution had disastrous effects on society (Karve, 1931). In another piece, titled वेश्यावृत्तीचा हक्क (Right to prostitution), Karve reiterates the argument made in a magazine called ‘The New Freeman’. He suggests that choosing prostitution as a means of livelihood is a right enjoyed by adult citizens; as long as all parties involved offer their consent, the state cannot and must not interfere (1931).  Needless to say, Karve’s writings attracted a severe backlash from several sections of the society. Following the resignation from Wilson College in 1925, Karve faced two major lawsuits. He was arrested on charges of indecency in 1931 on the orders of the government of Bombay Presidency. His appeal was turned down in the High Court and he was charged a fine of Rs. 100 . In the Gujarati edition of समाजस्वास्थ्य, while answering readers’ queries, Karve wrote on homosexuality. His responses brought him another lawsuit and he was once again arrested in February 1934 (BBC News मराठी, 2022). Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar took up his case and represented him in court. Dr. Ambedkar raised pertinent questions about censorship, freedom of speech and expression, and individual freedom. Justice Indravadan Mehta stated that there was no need for Karve to publish readers’ questions if they were filled with perversion. Dr. Ambedkar stated in response that if there was indeed perversion among the readers, then the only way to dispel that was through awareness, education, and information. Dr. Ambedkar offered evidence from the works of Havelock Ellis to argue that homosexuality was not a vice nor a sin; hence writing about it could not be considered a crime. Dr. Ambedkar stated that Karve had exercised his right to freedom of speech and expression; what offended a particular section of society could not become grounds for curtailing Karve’s right to free speech. Despite the brilliant arguments, Karve lost the case and was fined Rs. 200. The setback and the storm of criticism didn’t stop Karve and he continued writing in समाजस्वास्थ्य. He continued voicing his support for sex education and sexual liberation for men and women alike. Karve found it difficult to make ends meet. Karve often printed the magazine with pictures of naked men and women to normalize the human body. Due to the nude pictures on the cover and the often controversial content inside, many middle-class men hesitated to bring copies of समाजस्वास्थ्य into their homes (Botre & Haynes, 2017, p.10). Subscriptions were low, amounting to 250 in the early 1930s and reaching only 700 in 1952. Due to low subscriptions and legal troubles, Karve struggled financially throughout his life. Although his ideas never fully found acceptance, they influenced generations to come. Armed with nothing but the desire to create awareness and a strong commitment to individual liberty, bodily autonomy for women, and the right to choose, Karve published समाजस्वास्थ्य till his death in October 1952. The one-man-led initiative to make sex education available and make sexual liberation possible was captured in the Marathi movie titled Dhyasparva (2001) and in the Marathi play Samaj Swasthya (2017). **References** BBC News मराठी. (2022, October 14). र. धों. कर्वेः डॉ. बाबासाहेब आंबेडकर जेव्हा ’समाजस्वास्थ्य’साठीचा खटला हरूनही जिंकले होते. BBC News मराठी. https://www.bbc.com/marathi/india-42236452 Botre, S., & Haynes, D. E. (2017). Sexual Knowledge, Sexual Anxieties: Middle-class males in western India and the correspondence in _Samaj Swasthya_, 1927–53. _Modern Asian Studies_, _51_(4), 991–1034. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0026749x16000184 Karve, R. D. (Ed.). (1931). समाजस्वास्थ्य मासिकातील निवडक लेख [Print]. र. धों. कर्वे राईट एजन्सी. र.धों. कर्वे यांचे समाजस्वास्थ्य. (2022, June 20) [https://radhonkarve.com/](https://radhonkarve.com/) [_Previous musing: Gurcharan Das: Champion of Liberal Ideas_](https://indianliberals.in/content/gurcharan-das-champion-of-liberal-ideas/) [](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMG_4159_Original.jpg) **Avanti Lele** Avanti Lele is a Minoo Masani Liberal Fellow. She is pursuing her PhD in English Literature from Lancaster University. She has worked as a lecturer of English Literature and as a Spanish language instructor. Her research interests include but are not limited to women's writing, liberal feminism, postcolonial studies, indigeneity. --- ## [Musing] For Absolute Freedom of Expression URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/for-absolute-freedom-of-expression/ ### Body _The following essay is part of a 2012 booklet published by The Liberty Institute, New Delhi, in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. The booklet was title **[At Liberty: Freedom to Express and Offend.](https://indianliberals.in/content/at-liberty-freedom-to-express-and-offend/)** Authored by Ravi Shanker Kapoor, the essay explores ideas of absolute freedom of expression. In doing so, it revisits Mill's idea of the harm principle, the fear of  freedom, and the roots of such fear. _Is it possible to have freedom of expression which is not absolute? The answer is a big 'no.' Freedom of expression ought to be absolute - or it is no freedom at all.  The immediate objection to this assertion, especially in the Indian context, is that there is no point in offending people. Novels, short stories, and poetry can be written, and movies made, without hurting the sentiments of groups and communities. After all, a huge amount of literature is created and a large number of films produced without any objections from anybody. So, why should writers and filmmakers come up with works which can offend somebody? Why can't they promote harmony, instead of breaching it? Why can't creativity be harmless?  We are told that even John Stuart Mill, arguably the greatest champion of "the fullest liberty of professing and discussing," talked about what came to known as the Harm Principle: "the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others."  American philosopher Joel Feinberg went a step further and in 1985 recommended an Offence Principle to act as a guide to public censure. According to him, Mill's Harm Principle is not sufficient to check wrong behaviors: "It is always a good reason in support of a proposed criminal prohibition that it would probably be an effective way of preventing serious offense (as opposed to injury or harm) to persons other than the actor, and that it is probably a necessary means to that end." He favored legal prohibition on some forms of expression if they are very offensive, though he recommended lower penalties for offence than for harm. Feinberg suggests that a number of factors need to be taken into account when applying the offense principle, including: the extent, duration and social value of the speech, the ease with which it can be avoided, the motives of the speaker, the number of people offended, the intensity of the offense, and the general interest of the community at large.  Feinberg intends to legitimately prohibit some forms of expression because they are very offensive. He, however, agrees that offending someone is less serious than harming someone.  **The Harm Principle ** The impression that we sometimes get is that Mill favored some governmental control over freedom of expression. It arises from confusing 'action' with 'expression of views.' The full passage is:  The object of this Essay is to assert one very simple principle, as entitled to govern absolutely the dealings of society with the individual in the way of compulsion and control, whether the means used be physical force in the form of legal penalties, or the moral coercion of public opinion. That principle is, that the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. (emphasis added). [Introductory, On Liberty, John Stuart Mill].  It is unfortunate that even those who champion the cause of liberty sometimes refuse to distinguish between the two. Consider Bibek Debroy's article, titled 'Politics of bans and rights,' in The Indian Express on November 28, 2007. He wrote: "...is an individual right ever absolute? It can't be, for it is conceivable that the exercise of my individual right might constrain yours, and there is a difference between exercising an individual right in my private domain and doing it in public. For instance, it might be fine for me to walk around nude in my apartment, but should I be allowed to do it in public? If I am a serial killer, exercise of my individual right might require me to murder people. Should that be allowed? Even in relatively free countries, including the US, freedom of expression is a relative, not absolute right- defamation, obscenity, perjury, copyright violations, actions that incite hate, sedition and blasphemy, are all instances where freedom of expression has been curbed in developed countries."  Notice how he mixes various things- freedom of expression with freedom of action, defamation with perjury and copyright violations. But freedom of expression has little to do with perjury and copyright violations, for these are crimes by their very definition and have little to do with freedom of expression: perjury is lying under oath, whereas copyright violations steal somebody's intellectual property. Defamation, on the other hand, is related to freedom of expression.  More misleading is the blurring of distinction between opinion and action. Loitering nude on streets and killing people are actions; airing of views- howsoever controversial, unconventional, seditious, or blasphemous- is just a way of telling others what one thinks and/feels about something. Mill is clear about the distinction. He wrote:  No one pretends that actions should be as free as opinions. On the contrary, even opinions lose their immunity when the circumstances in which they are expressed are such as to constitute their expression a positive instigation to some mischievous act. An opinion that corn-dealers are starvers of the poor, or that private property is robbery, ought to be unmolested when simply circulated through the press, but may justly incur punishment when delivered orally to an excited mob assembled before the house of a corn-dealer, or when handed about among the same mob in the form of a placard. Acts, of whatever kind, which, without justifiable cause, do harm to others, may be, and in the more important cases absolutely require to be, controlled by the unfavorable sentiments, and, when needful by the active interference of mankind. The liberty of the individual must be thus far limited; he must not make himself a nuisance to other people.  Opinions ought to be freer than actions, because words break no bones. Mill would not accept any curbs on the freedom of speech except in rare circumstances- to "an excited mob" against corn-dealers "before the house of a corn-dealer." That is, when the harm to life, limb, and property of the targeted person is almost imminent. But then in such a situation, haranguing an angry mob is incitement to violence rather than an expression of opinion; and there is nothing improper in penalizing incitement to violence. At any rate, such penalizing would be against felonious intent and action rather than freedom of expression. When a mafia don orders his henchmen to eliminate a rival, he is not exercising his right to freedom of expression; he is triggering off a crime. There is a difference between freedom of expression and crime.  A socialist is not only entitled to his view that private property is theft but also free to express it. It is when he convinces, coaxes, or instigates his followers to indulge in violence that he crosses the line.  **Fear of Freedom ** It can be argued that incitement may not always be imminent or immediate; it is possible to fill the hearts and minds of a group with hatred against some person(s), institution, religion, or country on a long-term basis. Should indoctrination be allowed? As it is, Islamic terror and Maoist menace, to name the two biggest threats India faces, are a headache for the people and the government. If freedom of expression is made absolute, it would be possible for the most venomous jihadis and hardcore Maoists to teach their violent doctrines. Would not that be a recipe for disaster?  It may appear that unrestrained freedom of expression would give a fillip to, among other things, jihadist and Red terror, but a proper analysis would show otherwise.  To begin with, it must be made clear that these two problems have not been caused because of the limited freedom of expression that is allowed in the country; nor would these be exacerbated if this freedom is made unlimited. These have been caused, and exacerbated, by politicians' machinations, by their bad policies, and by their reluctance to uphold the rule of law. The rule of law, it may be mentioned, is the necessary condition for freedom of expression in an open society. Maoism came into being in the late 1960s; it has seen several peaks and troughs. A variety of factors were responsible for its birth and current violence: socialist economic policies, bad governance, and the lack of political will to combat Leftwing violence. Even today, the Maoist sympathizers openly propagate the justness of the Maoist cause. So, absolute freedom of expression will not aggravate the problem.  As for jihadist violence, it needs to be emphasized that curtailment of freedom of expression has actually boosted the morale of Islamic fundamentalists, emboldening them to directly and indirectly help terrorists. A watershed in the history of freedom of expression in India was the ban of Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses in 1988; it proved that the Indian political class could be subdued by a mix of rhetoric, threat, and downright violence. Published on September 26, 1988, in the UK, it was reviewed by prominent journalist and author Khushwant Singh in Illustrated Weekly of India. He recommended a ban on the book, arguing that it could lead to trouble. Another journalist-author who called for proscription was M.J. Akbar. Parliamentarian and editor of the monthly magazine Muslim India Syed Shahabuddin petitioned the Rajiv Gandhi government the same. The government immediately responded and banned the book on October 5. Years later, Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen was also haunted and persecuted by Muslim fanatics; and she also received minimal support from the government.  An intended consequence of proscription and persecution has been the demise of all meaningful debate on Islam; everybody knows that any critical observation about theology and practice of Islam would attract opprobrium and possibly prosecution. All writers and journalists know that criticism would make them vulnerable to the accusation of being bigoted and fascistic. For a critical Muslim, the predicament could be worse: even his physical existence would be in danger. There have been cases where fundamentalist Muslim politicians have tried to incite violence against those who are critical of Islam. So, we have a perverse inversion of the freedom of expression: while writers and artists are restrained from freely expressing themselves, those who are opposed to this freedom are rarely restrained. The perversity is comprehensive: the views which are frowned upon by the tetchy are proscribed or suppressed, but the violence of the most retrograde elements is tolerated.  The unintended consequence is that the malaise has spread among other sections of Indian society. The success of retrograde elements in Muslim society has encouraged similar elements in other communities to thrust their narrow viewpoint. So, the Hindus have violently protested against some of the paintings of M.F. Husain on the grounds that these hurt their sentiments. Another painter, Jatin Das, also had to face the ire of Hindu zealots.  **Roots of the Fear ** Where does this fear of absolute freedom of expression emanate from? The fear has its roots in the belief that there is a reality (or Reality) which can be misrepresented or distorted if the freedom of expression is absolute. This presupposes a universally accepted definition of the reality But the fact is that no such definition exists; there are as many definitions of reality as there are philosophers and philosophies. There are Christian theologians interpreting the faith in numerous ways; there are six orthodox Hindu schools of philosophy (with several sub-schools); there are Marxists, again following countless lines; there are Western conservatives (Burkeans in harmony with tradition, others ardently anti-state); there are libertarians (followers of Ayn Rand and others); there are postmodern thinkers (who actually do not believe in any reality); and long goes the list. So, what is the reality or ultimate reality? What is the truth (or the Truth)?  I do not claim that the reality does not exist or, as Kant said, that it is unknowable (noumenon); this question is beyond the scope of my thesis. My assertion is that since there is no universally accepted understanding of (ultimate) reality, the question of its misrepresentation or distortion does not arise.  Let's climb down from the metaphysical plane and concentrate on the mundane aspects of life. Let's discuss topics like state, market, society, individual rights, and property. Again, we face the same plurality of views. What is state? Marxists tell us something which libertarians and conservatives can never agree with. What should be the role of state? While Left-leaning thinkers would argue for its greater role in the economy, libertarians and conservatives would like it to keep away from the market. Should market take care of itself, or should it be kept under the watchful eyes of government functionaries and regulators? Again, there is a wide divergence of views. Even among Leftists and Rightists there is considerable difference of opinion. For instance, Rand is against regulators, whereas in India even those who are considered pro-market favor regulators.  What is society? Is it organic and more than the sum-total of individuals, as Burke and many conservatives believe? Is society, as Burke put it, "a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born? Rand would hit the roof hearing such a definition of society; in her scheme of things, everything is subservient to the individual and his rights. Interestingly, both Burke and Rand are placed on the Right of the ideological spectrum.  Individual rights are also understood in vastly different ways by thinkers of different persuasions. Those on the Right would want nothing but freedom from the clutches of government, freedom to be left alone- laissez faire. The Leftists, on the other hand, find such freedom vacuous; they talk about the right to food, work, etc., all of which requires big state.  Similarly, on property there are diametrically opposite views across the ideological spectrum. While the Left views it as the result of exploitation (if not downright theft), the Right regards it as the cornerstone of liberty.  Therefore, there is no unanimity on any kind of reality, metaphysical or mundane. I will reiterate that this is not a thesis promoting epistemological nihilism; on the contrary, mine is an attempt to undermine such nihilism. This nihilism is actually promoted by the postmodern dogma in association with various anti-Enlightenment tendencies like political correctness (PC), multiculturalism, and Islamism.  The only way we can know any truth is by letting the free-play of ideas in the arena of public discourse, a veritable laissez faire. A genuine quest for knowledge and a yearning for wisdom (or philosophy, which is, etymologically, 'love for wisdom') is an onward march to gain more and more facts; we shall realize as many truths as possible. The quest may or may not lead us to the 'Ultimate Reality' (if it exists), but we can hope to go near that. But this march is impossible without unrestrained freedom of expression.  **Controversy is inevitable** A large number of truths came to be acknowledged as such without much fuss, but there are many which were preceded with long and often acrimonious debates and sometimes also with violence. And acrimony takes place because somebody or some group feels offended by a truth. It is often argued that we must avoid the truths which violate the Offence Principle, for the consequences could be apocalyptic.  The Galileo affair needs special mention in the context of Offence Principle. Galileo published his Sidereus Nuncius (Starry Messenger) in 1610. This was based on the observations that he had made with his the telescope. Some of these discoveries- lunar mountains, small moons around Jupiter, the phases of Venus, and sunspots- indirectly undermined the geocentric Christian cosmology. They harmed nobody but surely offended the sensibilities of people in an age in which religious faith was a great, if not the ultimate, concern. Had Galileo decided not to offend the Christians- and this would have been a rewarding option- he would have deprived the world of important truths and science would have been poorer. He was not granted freedom of expression; he had to grab it. And he did offend many- and suffered because of the 'offence.' Without the freedom to offend, Salman Rushdie said, freedom of expression ceases to exist.  There are many other instances where science offers explanations which conflict with religious beliefs. But the science-religion conflict is beyond the scope of our thesis. What is pertinent here is that even religions that have evolved over the centuries could not have without challenging the established orthodoxies and offending many- often most of- people. Jesus Christ propagated beliefs which offended many people, leading to his crucifixion. Shankaracharya (788-821) famously disputed with great theologians. Martin Luther enraged the Pope's clergy. In fact, it is in religion rather than in science that new expositions are generally frowned upon.  **End of Time? ** To say that freedom of expression should be curtailed lest it offend or hurt the sentiments of people, or some people, implicitly accepts a ludicrous postulate: that all facts and truths that mankind ought to know have been known, and any new expositions would merely distort truths. One need not be a philosopher to say that the postulate is not only ludicrous but also smacks of hubris and complacency. At any rate, the Offence Principle would end up banishing philosophy and any serious contemplation. As Bertrand Russell wrote in The Problems of Philosophy, "Philosophy is to be studied, not for the sake of any definite answers to its questions since no definite answers can, as a rule, be known to be true, but rather for the sake of the questions themselves; because these questions enlarge our conception of what is possible, enrich our intellectual imagination and diminish the dogmatic assurance which closes the mind against speculation; but above all because, through the greatness of the universe which philosophy contemplates, the mind also is rendered great, and becomes capable of that union with the universe which constitutes its highest good." _Last week's musing: [MANIFESTO FOR INDIAN LIBERALS](https://indianliberals.in/content/manifesto-for-india-liberals/)_ --- ## [Musing] For Freedom, Farm and Family URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/for-freedom-farm-and-family/ ### Body _“For Freedom, Farm And Family” was the presidential speech delivered by C. Rajagopalachari at a meeting organized by the Bangalore Centre on May 29, 1959. He talks about what democracy and self-government mean and the considerable responsibility of every citizen. He then goes on to highlight how the citizens have lost the habit of thinking independently and discourage this habit while supporting independent thinking. __You can read the original, unabridged version _[_here_](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/for-freedom-farm-and-family-m-a-sreenivasan-aug7-1959.pdf)_. __ _Democracy and self-government mean considerable responsibility for every citizen. Unfortunately, we have come to feel that as long as Mr Nehru is there, none of us need worry about anything. In the first place because he is a very good man; in the second place because we cannot do anything. We have lost the habit of thinking independently. Somehow or other and for some reason or other, we have become indolent in the matter of thinking. That is the greatest difficulty in getting the government to do the right thing when we do not agree with what the government is doing. But I shall not dwell on this because I do not want to encourage that habit but rather to discourage it. We must get out of this atrophy of thinking if we wish to achieve anything. We must think independently, rightly or wrongly - it does not matter. If everybody began to think freely–and that is the meaning of freedom, ultimately–we shall get something done. But if we get frightened of thinking ourselves or too lazy to think, handing over all responsibility to the men who brought us the freedom to carry on the administration of the country as they think fit, it is a dangerous situation. Now I wish to tell you something. Megalomania–a strong word–has vitiated our planning. If only our rulers had been more humble than they are, we would not have gone so badly, we would not have gone so wrong. The megalomaniac ambition is at the root of all the inherent errors that are now showing themselves in heavy and distressing measures without giving us time even to wait. Pandit Nehru sees India "standing up on the top of golden hours and human nature is seeming born again." That is how he sees things. But some of us, standing on the ground, with our feet on the ground, see differently. We see a bankruptcy on the horizon. The sorry picture of our country as a chronic beggar before the Western nations. This is not pleasant and we feel distressed. Large dreams are no consolation for immediate calamity. But that is the thing that is keeping the Government of India in its present adventure. I shall not cover the very wide ground after these general remarks. I wish to confine myself to the most urgent single problem of the day, viz., the deficit in food production. That is the basic necessity of our teeming millions, and a deficit in food production is a very serious matter. Now, what is the Government proposing to do about it? Compulsory transfer of land from the larger owners to cultivators who have to begin with debt. That is the main policy of the Nagpur resolution - the switchover from individual ownership to multiple ownership and management. The word "Joint" is a misleading word. "Joint" has a sweet flavour about it. "Co-operation" has a very sweet flavour about it. We can easily be deceived by the phrases "Joint farming and "Cooperative farming'. It looks very odd that anyone should oppose cooperation. Therefore we should understand what it really is and why we really object to it. In my phraseology, I would call it multiple ownership and multiple management. Now, do you think that multiple ownership will produce good results? Do you think that multiple management will produce good results? It was long ago found that too many cooks spoil the broth. This is a vivid description of multiple management. It is bad enough to spoil a single meal, but it is worse to spoil all food production on that basis. That is what I understand to be the public policy now with regard to food production. Do away with individual management and introduce multiple management and multiple ownership. Now that leads necessarily to a new bureaucracy having to be created for the management of land. We have done with one kind of bureaucracy for the management of public offices. We shall hereafter have to deal with bureaucracy which manages the cultivation of land. Because the inherent weakness of multiple management is that they will look to the government to supply an efficient manager, and therefore we shall have a new bureaucracy, subsidies, interest-free loans, and at every crisis looking up to the government for assistance. Now, do you think this will lead to a rise in food production? It will immediately–my telescope tells me–lead to a fall in food production and when we can ill-afford to bear such a fall in food production. In fact, what we want eagerly is a rise in food production, not 40%, not 50% - some little rise at least is what we want but instead, the present policies, if everything is going to be given effect, will lead to a considerable fall in food production. But my telescope may be wrong; I may be looking at it from the wrong end possibly. If the Prime Minister thinks that this kind of new management of land–taking over land from those who have it now and handing it over to multiple owners and multiple management through a bureaucracy–will ever lead to a rise in food production, I think, he will soon be disappointed. The general plans, the plans produced by the Planning Committee - all these have already accentuated the rise in prices all around before starting to give any expected results from the plan. Now the policy of acquisition of land to satisfy the doctrine of multiple ownership will add to the inflation because, unless the intention–I would like you to follow me here with some attention–is to expropriate the present owners, discarding the principles of the Constitution, money will have to be issued by Government to meet the demands for compensation and wherefrom will they get that money? The new owners have no money to give. They are indeed selected on that basis. There are people here who know the secrets of money. Money is not you know what we all understand it to be. It is a piece of paper that is printed in Nasik. There will be plenty of money available to give as compensation to all those land owners from whom land is to be taken; or, if people do not like the look of the Nasik paper, they will be given Bonds, Government Bonds. In any case, it will add to the total amount of money in circulation; the natural result of converting land ownership into money is to add to the inflation that we already have. I may be wrong, but that is what I think, and if that inflation is to be accompanied by a fall also in food production, you can imagine the result. And what is all this for? The object is a dogma of equalisation of social happiness. Instead of equalising social happiness, we shall have a fall in food production. Let us talk in concrete terms. Social happiness is a vague affair but food production is very concrete, and when that is reduced you may easily go on thinking further about whether we can have happiness. We may not have any happiness in small measure, in big measure or in equal measure or in unequal measure. The interference of the government in other matters may be tolerated but if they begin to interfere in agriculture–it is a very sensitive and delicate thing–it will damage the plant at the root. And the industry, as it is even now, is maintained by long tradition and the pressure of poverty in the country. When that is interfered with by the government to offer incense to some doctrine or dogma, the situation will be–it is an understatement to say–dangerous. The present owners of the land, whether they are small or whether they are big, ask for no subsidy from Government. The good prices that food grains now fetch are acting as an incentive for agriculture. But now the atmosphere of total uncertainty that the Government policies and the Government adumbrations of policies have created–the total uncertainty that has been created–has destroyed incentives in agriculture to a very great extent. People who are devoting and who are likely to devote much more attention if they are left alone have been rendered hopeless about it, uncertain about it, and they do not propose to take any further interest in agriculture. Is it a good thing? It is one of the most important problems in the country. Again, take another thing. Can there be anything more foolish (I have already warned you that I will use harsh terms) than the idea that the State should take up trading State Trading? Of course, the Gujarati proverb puts it very nicely and briefly. But some of you may not understand Gujarati. The proverb is, "when the State takes to trade, the people take to begging". Now is there any justification for the exaggerated fears that are deliberately propagated about hoarding and cornering? Look at the situation. We have a large body of people who are eager to compete and share in the profits of trading in food grains. We have a very large body of people engaged and willing to compete with one another in the wholesale and retail businesses. Competition is the best security for the consumer. And if the State stops this competition and takes over the business, will there be any freedom for the consumer? Look at the nature of the commodity. The bulky nature of the commodity of food grains should be kept in mind before you talk about hoarding and cornering and things like that. The nature of the commodity is such that it will deteriorate, the rats and the mice will attack it, and the moths will attack it if it is secreted and kept for a long time. Under these circumstances, if there is free competition among a large class of people who are not well off, who all want to make something out of it, and who are ready to compete with one another in the wholesale business and in the retail business, is there any likelihood of the consumer being cheated? I think the stories of cornering and hoarding have been greatly exaggerated when related to food grains. In food grains, the quality is such that we need not be afraid. Therefore State Trading in foodgrains has no justification. Look at the other result. It will put out of employment those who are now doing the work of distribution on the most frugal terns. Compare the position of any member of the bureaucracy, even the lower division clerk, if you like. How frugally the shopkeepers do their work, how simply they live, and how vigilant and just they are. We should have industries started to accommodate and give work for all these people before you deprive them of their occupation. When these people are dividing the profits of trade in a fair way, they are doing unconscious socialism which you want to introduce by legislation. The profits in the trade are divided among so many people. Why do you stop that division before you create industries to absorb those people? It is not a good thing to put the cart before the horse, and that is what is being done. Every day we read about astronomical figures of money to be raised in order to relieve unemployment. Somebody said the other day that we want only Rs. 43,000 crores to relieve unemployment. Now let us not look at Rs. 43,000 crores; let us take only the Rs. 2,000 crores that have been proposed for taxation. Going beyond a certain measure in taxation will lead to retrenchment in every business, either closing down or retrenchment. Heavier and heavier taxation will lead to heavier and heavier retrenchment. And what will retrenchment lead to? It will lead to unemployment. It is like filling up small pits by digging them somewhere else. You dig big pits by way of taxation and you try to fill the smaller pits with it. If you have two cooks, you will have only one cook thereafter. If you have two clerks you will try to get the work done by one clerk; that clerk will try to do less work than he was formerly done. And that is what will be going on, inefficiency and retrenchment side by side. Taxation is a dangerous thing when it goes beyond a certain measure. It is dangerous because it will lead men to dislike all governments and improve deceiving skills. Dr Chandrasekhar contributed a very interesting article I read in the New York Times in a recent issue. He described how Mao, in China, was waging war against the family in China. The stories about China and other Communist countries did not interest us much because they were different countries with different ways of life. But today, now that the Government of India is going on the same road, what is described to be happening in China will happen–and is bound to happen–here also. So there will be an attack on the family by and by. That is why Dr Chandrasekhar's description frightens some of us. In China, we are told, they are regularly carrying on a campaign, a campaign not in speeches and meetings you know, the Communist 'campaign' is a campaign of getting things done and they are getting the families dislocated and extinguished by mixing up people for all matters. Now that is why we have to protect the farm and the family. I conclude with this remark that the time has arrived when we should protect the farm and the family against the inroads of a Totalitarian State. Opposition based on this farm and family protection policy is essential now, not necessarily for changing the government at once. We need not change the government but the opposition will help to keep the government in proper order. Reference was made to the coming 1962 elections. Don't wait till then; don't think about it at all; that is what I would say. We want an opposition in the country–whether it is in the Parliament or whether it is not in the Parliament– we want an opposition first in the country. We want an opposition thereafter in Parliament; and that opposition, starting from the country and going into Parliament, will keep even the present government in good order. Their confused thinking will begin to settle down into orderly thinking. Otherwise, conceit and arrogance will grow to feed on themselves. _Previous musing: [Panchayati Raj](https://indianliberals.in/content/panchayati-raj/)_ --- ## [Musing] Forests to Forest Dwellers URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/forests-to-forest-dwellers/ ### Body This is an excerpt from the book 'The Terracotta Reader: A Market Approach to the Environment'. In this piece Parth Shah and Trupti Parekh advocate for forest dwellers' community rights over forests, given that they have a greater incentive to preserve and optimally use forest resources. The history of state forestry, from the British to our government, has been of replacing the diverse species of a natural forest with mono species. Both the scientific and sustainable forestry management has led to the same results. Communities are more likely to find economic and social benefits from the existing diversity of resources that the forests offer. There is higher probability of a natural fit between diverse needs of communities and diverse offerings of forests. In addition to all the utilitarian or efficiency arguments, it must be remembered that local communities have a prior claim—a moral claim—on the forests. They have been living there and using the resource for generations. It is on the premise of prior use that all resources have been settled in any civilised society. It is gross injustice not to recognise the rights of forest dwellers. Community ownership and management solve two problems simultaneously: the protection of forests and of dignified livelihood to the poorest communities in the country. They build their future from the natural asset of forests. The most efficient as well as moral resolution is to take our forests from the foresters and put them in the hands of forest dwellers. _This is an excerpt by Trupti Parekh and Dr Parth J Shah from the book ‘[The Terracotta Reader: A Market Approach to the Environment‘.](https://ccs.in/sites/default/files/2022-08/terra-forest-dwellers-versus-foresters.pdf)_ Read more: [https://spontaneousorder.in/forests-communitisation-or-privatisation/](https://spontaneousorder.in/forests-communitisation-or-privatisation/) --- ## [Musing] Forty-Three Years of Independence URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/forty-three-years-of-independence/ ### Body The following text is based on the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Lecture delivered by Nani Palkhivala at Trinity College, Cambridge, on 7th November 1990. At 43 years of independence, the author analyses India as a democracy, an economy, a united nation. Palkhivala was an Indian jurist, liberal economist and the President of the Forum of Free Enterprise (at the time). At the stroke of midnight on 14th August 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru made his famous speech wherein he referred to India keeping her tryst with destiny and awaking to life and freedom. To review the last three and forty years in an hour is like trying to see the Himalayas at night in one flash of lightning. One thing I promise you - I shall "nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice". I would be dishonouring the memory of Pandit Nehru and of his mentor, Mahatma Gandhi, if I try to be economical with the truth.  The greatest achievement of Indian democracy is that it has survived unfractured for forty-three years. Eight hundred and forty million people - more than the combined population of Africa and South America - live together as one political entity under conditions of freedom. Never before in history, and nowhere else in the world today, has one-sixth of the human race existed as a single free nation. Professor Rostow of the Texas University regards the survival of Indian democracy as the most important phenomenon of the post-war era. The achievement is all the more creditable since no other democracy has had such diversity in unity, such a mosaic of humanity. There are twelve great living religions in the world (incidentally, the word "living" is tautologous, since no great religion has ever perished), and all the twelve flourish in India. We have fifteen major languages written in different alphabets and derived from different roots and for good measure, our people - whom you can never call taciturn - express themselves in 250 dialects. English, which is not included in the fifteen major languages listed in the Constitution, yet continues to be the only link-language for the whole country; it is the only language in which the South is prepared to communicate with the North! British jurisprudence is the matrix of our non-personal laws.  **THREE INESTIMABLE ADVANTAGES** In 1950, we started as a Republic with three inestimable advantages.  _First, _we had 5000 years of civilization behind us - a civilization which had reached "the summit of human thought" in the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson. We inherited great skills and many - splendored intelligence, since the genes had evolved over five luminous millennia. We had a superb entrepreneurial spirit, honed over a century of obstacles. A few years ago a World Bank report on India mentioned the two very favourable factors - an unlimited reservoir of skilled labour and abundance of capital available for investment in new projects. The trader's instinct is innate in Indian genes. An Indian can buy from a Jew and sell to a Scot, and yet make a profit! _Secondly, _whereas before 1858 India was never a united political entity, in that year the accident of British rule welded us into one country, one nation; and when independence came, we had been in unified nationality for almost a century under one head of state.  _Thirdly, _our Founding Fathers, after two long years of laborious and painful toil, gave us a Constitution which a former Chief Justice of India rightly described as "sublime". It was the longest Constitution in the world till, a few years ago, Yugoslavia had the impertinence to adopt a longer Constitution.  The substance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations on 10th December 1948, is embodied as Fundamental Rights in our Constitution. The right to equality before the law is guaranteed to citizens, and non-citizens alike. In one respect our constitutional law is more secular than that of the United Kingdom - religion is no bar to the holding of any public office whatsoever in the State. In another respect, our Constitution may claim to be more progressive than that of the USA - equality of the sexes is a guaranteed right in India, whereas the recent attempt to incorporate a similar right in the US Constitution has so far been unsuccessful.  The right to carry on any occupation, trade or business is, again, a guaranteed right. The concept of "socialism'' did not figure anywhere in the Constitution as originally enacted. On the contrary, the Constitution provided for the Directive Principle of State Policy that the State shall endeavour to secure that "the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good" and that "the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment". These words rule out State ownership—the Monolithic State—which is the hallmark of communism, euphemistically called socialism.  India is the only country in the world where in the States which are governed by the Communist party human rights are fully respected - and that is only because the Bill of Rights is firmly entrenched in our national Constitution.  We can proudly say that our Constitution gave us a flying start and equipped us adequately to meet the challenges of the future. Unfortunately, over the years we dissipated every advantage we started with, like a compulsive gambler bent upon squandering an invaluable legacy. I am afraid, India today is only a caricature of the noble democracy which Nehru strove to bring to lift and freedom in 1947.  **SHELLS OF SOCIALISM AND STATE CONTROLS** Successive governments imposed mindless socialism on the nation, which held in thrall the people's endeavour and enterprise. They respected the shells of socialism - state control and state ownership - while the kernel, the spirit of social justice, was left no chance of coming to life. We shut our eyes to the fact that socialism is to social justice what ritual is to religion and dogma is to truth. The peacock is our national bird, but we could have more appropriately chosen the ostrich!  _The Economist _rightly remarked in January 1987 that socialism as practised in India has been a fraud. Our brand of socialism did not result in transfer of wealth from the rich to the poor but only from the honest rich to the dishonest rich.  We built up State-Owned Enterprises - called the public sector in India. The sleeping sickness of socialism is now universally acknowledged, - but not officially in India. No less than 231 public sector enterprises are run by the Union Government, and 636 by the State Governments. These public sector enterprises are the black holes, the money guzzlers, and they have been extracting an exorbitant price for India's doctrinaire socialism. There is a tidal wave of privatization sweeping across the world from Bangladesh to Brazil, but it has turned aside in its course and passed India by.  The most persistent tendency in India has been to have too much government and too little administration; too many laws and too little justice; too many public servants and too little public service; too many controls and too little welfare. Every segment of the people's enterprise is festooned with red tape. From the very first decade of the republic the steel claws of the permit-licence-quota _raj _were laid upon the national economy, and even today their grip continues with insignificant relaxation.  The administrative techniques pursued by the government are the same as were cast in a concrete mould more than a century ago. Files and minutes still go perpetually from official to official and from ministry to ministry. In the result, nothing moves except the river Ganges. "Round and round," Lord Curzon the Viceroy noted, "like the diurnal revolution of the earth went the file - stately, solemn, sure and slow." Decades later, Malcolm Muggeridge observed the same phenomenon: "It was government pure and undefiled; endlessly minuting and circulating files, which, like time itself, had neither beginning nor end, but just were."  Today the situation remains unchanged, - only the number of files has increased a thousandfold. Millions of man hours are wasted every day in coping with inane bureaucratic regulations and a torrential spate of amendments.  Legal redress is time-consuming enough to make infinity intelligible. A lawsuit once started in India is the nearest thing to eternal life ever seen on this earth. Close to two million cases are pending in the eighteen High Courts alone, and more than 2,10,000 cases in the Supreme Court for admission or final hearing or miscellaneous relief.  History will record that the greatest mistake of the Indian republic in the first forty years of its existence was to make far less investment in human resources - investment in education, family planning, nutrition and public health - than in brick and mortar, plants and factories. We had quantitative growth without qualitative development. Our gross national product increased, but not gross national happiness. Different parts of India still live in different centuries, so far as basic amenities and cultural awareness are concerned.   The quality of life cannot improve in India so long as the population keeps on increasing at the present alarming rate. In the time I shall take to deliver this lecture, the population of India will have increased by 2000.  It has been said that development is the best contraceptive but development itself would not be possible if the present increase in numbers continues. Education, particularly education of girls, is another excellent contraceptive. But we have totally failed to use education as an instrument. of national development. Two-thirds of our people, and four-fifths _of _our females, are literally illiterate after more than forty years of independence: According to the World Bank, by the turn of the century 54 per cent of all illiterates will be in India.  We keep. on tackling fifty-year problems with five-year plans, staffed by two-year officials, working with one-year appropriations - fondly hoping that somehow the laws of economics will be suspended because we are Indians. **LIBERALIZATION IN THE EIGHTIES** "Men will do the rational thing," said Lord Keynes, “but only after exploring all other alternatives." After the other alternatives had failed dismally, India in the Eighties initiated a policy of liberalization and dismantling of controls. For the first time we talked of economic rationalism in place of economic theology, and we realized the imperative necessity of fruitful egalitarianism in place of sterile socialism.  For years we had suffered crushing rates of income-tax and wealth-tax - the highest in the world in their aggregate impact. We had a supreme ironic procession of budgets historically retrograde, economically un-progressive, and socially stagnant. Over-taxation, corrupted the national character overtly. The nation survived only because the tax system continued to breathe through loopholes and the economy used to breathe through the window of tax evasion.  The Budget of 1985 was epoch-making. It was the finest Budget free India ever had. It represented not a breath of fresh air but a blast of fresh air in the mouldy corridors of the North Block from where the Finance Ministry functions. It represented a mood - the people's new mood of optimism and self-confidence. It abolished estate duty. It slashed wealth-tax to the maximum rate of two per cent and personal income-tax to maximum fifty per cent. Luckily, the low rates of income-tax and wealth-tax by and large continue in force, though unwise increases have been made in the thinly disguised temporary form of a surcharge.  The new budgetary philosophy was eminently suited to prepare and equip India for a place in the 'Prosperity League' in the unfolding future. The new philosophy was that the government should no longer be the power above the people, to be lobbied, petitioned and propitiated for favours.  Unfortunately, the government's sensible new policy - the one ray of hope for fast economic growth - was never fairly implemented. It encountered formidable opposition from three quarters: (a) the top-heavy bureaucracy reluctant to shed its enormous powers; (b) influential politicians who preferred to let socialism remain the opiate of the people and of whom it can be truly said that if ignorance is bliss they should be the happiest men alive; (c) quite a few Indian businessmen who were much more interested in their own personal prosperity than in the future of the country and who preferred to flourish in the non-competitive environment.  The result of the working of these three obscurantist forces is that India continues to remain the only significant country in the free world to hold aloft the torn and tattered flag of socialism.  **STILL PLAGUED BY THREE PROBLEMS** Small wonder that after forty-three years of independence, we are still plagued by three basic problems - poverty, unemployment and foreign exchange trade deficit. In the Second Nehru Memorial Lecture delivered here, Lord Mountbatten referred to his first interview with Nehru on 24th March 1947, when he asked Nehru what he thought was the greatest problem confronting India. Nehru replied, "the economic problem". That problem stubbornly refuses to go away. India has 15 per cent of the world's population, but only 1.5 per cent of the world's income. In the four decades since we became a republic, our per capita income in real terms did not even double but increased by only 91 per cent. Today we are still the twenty-first poorest nation on earth.  Perceptive observers in foreign countries where Indians work and prosper are baffled by one question - how does India, with its great human potential and natural resources, manage to remain poor? The answer is that we are not poor by nature but poor by policy. You would not be far wrong if you called India the world's leading expert in the art of perpetuating poverty.  Sir William Ryrie, the Executive Vice President of the International Finance Corporation, said when he was in India in January 1989 that India has some of "the most creative entrepreneurs... the most dynamic business leaders... and the sharpest financial brains in the world." These words give you an idea of the magnitude of the effort needed to keep India impoverished.  Most of our politicians and bureaucrats, untainted by knowledge of development in the outside world, have no desire to search for genes of ideas which deserve to be called "a high-yielding variety of economics". We are smugly reconciled to low yield from high ideals.  India is rattling - and rattling violently - with spare human capacity. More than 30 million are registered on our 840 Employment Exchanges. According to objective estimates, there must be at least 20 million other unemployed who are not registered.  In 1950, India ranked sixteenth in the list of exporting countries of the world; today it ranks forty-third! Using another yardstick, in 1950 India had 2.2 per cent of the world export market; today its share stands reduced to 0.45 per cent.  As the Chancellor of the Exchequer pointed out in your House of Commons some time ago, the population of Hong Kong is less than one per cent of India's (0.7 per cent to be precise) and its land area is 0.03 per cent of India's, and yet it has twice the trade of India.  One of the main reasons for our failure to fulfil our export potential is the maddening instability of our fiscal and economic laws. A new Stable Export- Import Policy was announced in April 1985 and a second Stable Policy in April 1988. But since 1985 the enormous number of Notifications which have amended the Stable Policy works out to one change every alternate working day!  Apart from exports, another rich source of foreign exchange earnings can be tourism. Unfortunately, India has less than half of one per cent of the world tourist traffic. We get only 1.2 million tourists a year and earn annually about Rs.18 billion in foreign exchange from tourism. This is a pathetically deplorable performance for a country which has such fantastic riches to offer tourists.  **MORAL DECAY** The picture that emerges is that of a great nation in a state of moral decay, of which corruption and indiscipline are two of the several facets. In the land of Mahatma Gandhi, violence is on the throne today. Mobocracy too often displaces democracy. The contribution of modern India to sociology has been _Bandh- _the closure of an entire city by militant rowdies.  Never before in our republic's history has violence marked our national life on a scale so widespread as at present. We have enough religion to hate one another but not enough to love one another.  One may apply to India the words used by the late Benigno Aquino about the Philippines- "Here is a land in which a few are spectacularly rich while the masses remain abjectly poor... where freedom and its blessings are a reality for a minority and an illusion for the many... a land consecrated to democracy but... a land of privilege and rank... a republic dedicated to equality but mired in an archaic system of caste."  The greatest problem of India is that its finest men- men of calibre and vision, knowledge and character - are not in politics and stand little chance of getting elected having regard to the murky atmosphere of our political life. Caste is the football in the political game which our men in public life play.  **DIVISIVENESS- THE INDIAN DISEASE** Unfortunately, divisiveness has become the Indian disease. Truly, divisiveness is the AIDS of India - a disease which is spreading fast and wide, preys on the public mind and is without a cure in sight. Communal hatred, linguistic fanaticism and regional loyalty are gnawing at the vitals of the unity and integrity of the country. To the growing army of terrorist~ and professional hooligans, caste or clan, creed or tongue, is a sufficient ground to kill their fellow citizens.  The most crying need of India today is to undergo catharsis, a course of emotional cleansing. We must not allow the moral bedrock of our society to turn to lava.  National integration is born in the hearts of the Citizens. When it dies there, no army, no government can save it. States of mind precede States. Inter-faith harmony and consciousness of the essential unity of all religions is the very heart of our national integration.  The soul of India aspires to integration and assimilation. Down the ages, Indian culture - a tremendous force of power and beauty - has been made richer and deeper as a result of absorbing what is best in outside influences and integrating those various influences to grace and enrich its own identity.  **HOPE FOR THE FUTURE** But the landscape is not one of unrelieved gloom. Some measure of the innate potential of the country is afforded by its actual achievements against heavy odds. Among the industrialized nations of the world we are the tenth. The country has set its sights high. It has nuclear reactors and satellites in space. It even exploded an atomic device (1974) - the only one - and learnt the bitter lesson that one explosion activates international reaction but a series of explosions anaesthetizes it. One blast brings discredit, while a sequence brings prestige and power.·  Though there is no instant solution for our multitudinous problems and the short-term prospect may only be of shadows lengthening across the path, an objective overview would justify confidence in the long-term future of the country. In the affairs of nations, as in the world of elements, winds shift, tides ebb and flow, the ship rocks. Only let the anchor hold. History records the gloomy forebodings of some of the wisest Britishers in the first half of the nineteenth century about their country's future, but the decades which followed the pessimistic predictions saw Britain rise to the height of its glory. In the first few decades of the USA, the depressing situation led so perceptive a man as Joseph Story to talk of the possibility of the Constitution perishing "before the grave has closed upon the last of its illustrious founders", but the 200-year republic lives on as the most vibrant on earth.  The vitality of India is remarkable. The country does not have a powerful economy, but has all the raw materials to build one. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Indian economy is a sleeping giant who, if awakened, could make an impact on the global economy.  There are various factors which go to make foreign investments in India very attractive. First and foremost, when you invest in India, you invest in democracy. The survival of democracy in India ought to be a matter of the most vital concern to the free world.  Further, our domestic market is itself enormous. Almost all manufacturing units in India , with foreign collaboration have garnered golden grain.  Generally speaking, we are a sloppy nation. But there is one surprising thing. If you insist upon nothing but the best, you often get it in India, comparable to world standards. India can and does respond to uncompromising insistence on quality.  Finally, the great appreciation of most foreign currencies against the Indian rupee offers an excellent opportunity of using India as a manufacturing base.  A nation's worth is not measured merely by its gross national product, any more than an individual's worth is measured by his bank account. Ambassador John Kenneth Galbraith remarked that while he had seen poverty in many countries of the world, he found one unusual attribute among the poor of India - ''There is richness in their poverty."  The heart of the nation is sound and the human raw material is excellent. To a western mind, the Indian's inner strength and capacity for patient endurance are almost unbelievable.  Hundreds of millions, who have no standard of living, still have a standard of life. The nation is able to take in its stride situations which would cause a revolution in other countries. The ancient civilization has survived and will survive when the raucous and fractious voices of today are lost in the silence of the centuries.  Nature has been kind to India in one respect. It has endowed the country with the gift of producing great leaders in the darkest hour- leaders with the gift of grace who can arouse the trusting millions to great heights. Look at the galaxy of character and calibre India produced at the time of the struggle for independence in the Thirties and the Forties.  When the hour struck, the man was found - Mahatma Gandhi- the greatest of our leaders. He lit the imagination of the entire nation. He created men out of dust. He taught the unforgettable lesson of that cynicism corrupts and absolute  cynicism corrupts absolutely. He made us realize the profound  truth that single-minded pursuit of money impoverishes the mind, shrivels the imagination and desiccates the heart.. "The golden age only comes to men," said C.K. Chesterton, "when they have, if only for a moment, forgotten gold".  Mahatma Gandhi asked businessmen to be engaged in commerce but without a commercialized outlook. He exhorted youth to cultivate its mind, but not merely with a view to offering it as a commodity for sale in the market place.  At the Gandhi Samadhi - the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi - in New Delhi, are inscribed what the Mahatma regarded as the Seven Deadly Sins:  "Commerce without ethics; Pleasure without conscience; Politics without principle; Knowledge without character; Science without humanity; Wealth without work; Worship without sacrifice." There is a basic lesson of Indian history. Our people have always taken their moral standards from their rulers: the people have risen to great heights when they have basked in the glow of noble kings or leaders. The present generation is waiting for a leader who will make it relearn the moral values, and who will inculcate in the people as Gandhi did, a sense of the responsibilities which fall on every citizen of a free society.  It is true that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. But it is true, in even a deeper sense, that eternal responsibility is also part of the price of liberty. Excessive authority, without liberty, is intolerable; but excessive liberty, without authority and without responsibility, soon becomes equally intolerable. De Tocqueville made the profound observation that liberty cannot stand alone but must be paired with a companion virtue: liberty and morality; liberty and law; liberty and justice; liberty and the common good; liberty and civic responsibility.  One last thought, and I shall have done. Today, the unity and integrity of India seems to be at stake. But ''even this shall pass away". Indian society will, in course of time, acquire the requisite political culture - the attitudes and habits of tolerance, mutual respect arid goodwill, which alone can make democracy workable.  The day will come when the 26 States of India will realize that in a profound sense they are culturally akin, ethnically identical, linguistically knit and historically related. The greatest task before India today is to acquire a keener sense of national identity, to gain the wisdom to cherish its priceless heritage, and to create a cohesive society with the cement of Indian culture. We shall then celebrate the 15th day of August not as the Day of Independence but as the Day of Inter-dependence- the dependence of the States upon one another, the dependence of our numerous communities upon one another, the dependence of the many castes and clans upon one another - in the sure knowledge that we are one nation. _Previous musing: [OBSTACLES TO LIBERALISATION AND MARKET ECONOMY](https://indianliberals.in/content/obstacles-to-liberalisation-and-market-economy/)_ --- ## [Musing] Free Enterprise and Freedom URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/free-enterprise-and-freedom-murarji-vaidya/ ### Body _The following musing is an excerpt from a booklet under the same name, authored by Murarji Vaidya and published by the Forum for Free Enterprise in 1956. The author addresses the objectives of the Second Five Year Plan proposed by the Planning Commission of India – highlighting the restrictions on private enterprise to prevent concentration of economic power, arguing that extension of the public sector is bound to result in the same outcome. _ The obvious objective [of the Second Five Year Plan] is to eliminate the supposed existence of a concentration of economic power in the hands of a few and to prevent the growth of such power in the hands of a few in the future. But the extension of the public sector in an expansionist economy is bound to result in the concentration of economic power in the hands of those who form the Government and of those who administer public enterprises. Consequently economic power will be concentrated in the hands of those who have the political power in their hands. With the development of the country's economy at a rapid rate, such concentration of economic power will also grow equally rapidly in the hands of politicians or of bureaucrats who will be working initially under the directions of the politicians who occupy the places of power under our present democratic set up.  Human nature being what it is and the standards of integrity, patriotism and selfishness being at a common low level among all the sections of the community whether they are businessmen, industrialists, politicians or civil servants, what is the guarantee that the evils which are supposed to exist at present by the concentration of economic power in the hands of a few so-called capitalists will cease to exist when a larger and greater concentration of economic power in the hands of a few politicians and civil servants takes place under the new economic order? It can hardly be denied that having taken several generations for the achievement of political freedom, we should value democracy, freedom and liberty of the individual citizens as of far greater basic value than the pace at which the economic development had taken place. Having granted this, can it be denied that it would be unwise to run the risks which I have indicated? Can it then be denied that it would be in the larger interests of the basic preservation of our freedom, of the strengthening development of our nascent democratic institutions and of the development of our economy that the new economic order which is intended to usher in an era of social and economic equality should be achieved through the surer and historical proven processes of comparatively slow moving democracy rather than through the rapid but highly dangerous methods which have been witnessed in totalitarian countries?  The new economic order should not endanger our newly won freedom and towards that end it is the duty of all the citizens, no matter what station of life they find themselves in to see to it that our leaders and our planners follow the surer path of democracy and of gradual achievement of economic development rather than the dangerous paths of totalitarian methods to achieve a higher degree of economic development at a faster pace. type=content&p=8493). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] Free Enterprise and Freedom URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/free-enterprise-and-freedom/ ### Body _The following essay was published by the [Forum of Free Enterprise](https://indianliberals.in/content/free-enterprise-and-freedom-by-murarji-j-vaidya-april-10-1956/) in 1956. Authored by Muraji J. Vaidya, the essay examines the approach of the Planning Commission in the Second Five-year Plan and what it meant for the private sector. _The approach of the Planning Commission and of the Government to the question of the scope for and sphere of Private Sector in the Second Five-Year Plan is evident from the first chapter of the draft outline.  It has been largely conditioned by the Socialist Pattern to which the present Government are committed ever since the adoption of the well known resolution on Socialistic Pattern of Society by the Avadi session of the Congress. The speeches and declarations of policy by the Prime Minister and other Congress leaders from time to time have not only confirmed this but even indicated a step forward in this direction by now clearly adopting the "Socialist" in place of "Socialistic Pattern of Society." The draft outline has further emphasised this aspect of the Government policy.  Among the objectives of the Second Plan indicated by the Planning Commission the fourth objective of reduction of inequalities in income and wealth and a more even distribution of economic power has, it appears, very largely influenced the approach of the Commission in dealing with this sphere of the private sector in the Second Five-Year Plan.  In this context it is interesting to note the following observations of the Commission. "Economic growth means not only more production but also more - and increasingly more - capacity to produce. The Second Five-Year Plan has to increase the flow of goods and services available and also to carry forward the process of institutional change... The achievement of a Socialist Pattern of Society has been accepted as the objective of economic policy. This means that the basic criterion for determining the lines of advance is not private profit but social gain. Major decisions… must be made by agencies informed by social purpose…” “...the public sector has to expand rapidly, and the private sector has to play its part within the framework of the comprehensive plan accepted by the community... The Socialist Pattern of Society is not… rooted in any doctrinaire dogma… economic policy and institutional changes have to be planned in accordance with democratic and egalitarian ideals which the country cherishes and is resolved to pursue."  The Commission are not apparently satisfied with laying down the objective of elimination of inequalities of wealth and income as between different sections of the population but desired “that the entire pattern of investment is adapted to the securing of balanced regional development in the country, and to eliminating disparities in levels of development between different regions in the country.” They have pointed out in this context that… “up to a point the growth of” large towns and cities is a necessary accompaniment of industrialization... Beyond a point, however, there are social costs like the emergence of slums and increased incidence of ill health. They therefore favour “decentralized industrial production.”  The Commission have further pointed out that economic objectives cannot be divorced from social objectives and means and objectives go together. It is only in the context of a plan which satisfies the legitimate urges of the people that a democratic society can put forward its best efforts. “All these objectives require a diversified economic pattern.” They emphasize at the same time that “the process and pattern of development should reflect certain basic social values and purposes. Development should result in diminution of economic and social inequalities and should be achieved through democratic means and processes.” “It is the last aspect of this process of development viz., the democratic means and processes which, in my opinion, requires to be kept in view very prominently in considering the effect which the evolution of a socialist pattern of society is likely to have in an underdeveloped economy working under an infant democracy as in a country like ours. Ideologically, it would indeed be a consummation highly cherished that democracy and a socialist pattern of society should be developed simultaneously in a country where the fruits of freedom and of economic development have just begun to be tasted.  The question, however, is whether in the context of the existing economic, social and political circumstances in the country, such a simultaneous development of these plans is feasible without running the risks which appear to be inherent in a rapid advance on all the fronts. And what are these risks? It has been the experience of the countries in Eastern Europe including Russia that Socialism, which later developed into Communism, has sounded the death-knell of democracy and of individual liberty. It is often argued that we in this country have to make up for a time lag of decades of backwardness in the course of a few quinquennial of planned development, just as a country like Russia claims to have done and a country like China attempting to do. But as I have said before, in Russia. Socialism has abolished Democracy, the Chinese experiment is still in the process of being worked out.  The risk before our country therefore is that democratic processes and means, we may achieve in our anxiety to evolve a Socialist Pattern by neither. At best, perhaps, we might achieve one at the expense of the other. The fact that this risk exists has been proved by the history of Eastern countries of Europe. What then are the chances of our achieving these dual objectives of Socialism with Democracy in our country? As a means towards the achievement of a Socialist Pattern of Society, the Commission proposes the extension of the Public Sector.  The obvious objective is to eliminate the supposed existence of a concentration of economic power in the hands of a few and to prevent the growth of such power in the hands of a few in the future. But the extension of the public sector in an expansionist economy is bound to result in the concentration of economic power in the hands of those who form the Government and of those who administer public enterprises. Consequently economic power will be concentrated in the hands of those who have the political power in their hands. With the development of the country's economy at a rapid rate, such concentration of economic power will also grow equally rapidly in the hands of politicians or of bureaucrats who will be working initially under the directions of the politicians who occupy the places of power under our present democratic set up.  Human nature being what it is and the standards of integrity, patriotism and selfishness being at a common low level among all the sections of the community whether they are businessmen, industrialists, politicians or civil servants, what is the guarantee that the evils which are supposed to exist at present by the concentration of economic power in the hands of a few so-called capitalists will cease to exist when a larger and greater concentration of economic power in the hands of a few politicians and civil servants takes place under the new economic order? It can hardly be denied that having taken several generations for the achievement of political freedom, we should value democracy, freedom and liberty of the individual citizens as of far greater basic value than the pace at which the economic development had taken place. Having granted this, can it be denied that it would be unwise to run the risks which I have indicated? Can it then be denied that it would be in the larger interests of the basic preservation of our freedom, of the strengthening development of our nascent democratic institutions and of the development of our economy that the new economic order which is intended to usher in an era of social and economic equality should be achieved through the surer and historical proven processes of comparatively slow moving democracy rather than through the rapid but highly dangerous methods which have been witnessed in totalitarian countries?  The new economic order should not endanger our newly won freedom and towards that end it is the duty of all the citizens, no matter what station of life they hid themselves in to see to it that our leaders and our planners follow the surer path of democracy and of gradual achievement of economic development rather than the dangerous paths of totalitarian methods to achieve a higher degree of economic development at a faster pace.  Apart from the considerations mentioned above, the other important point is that the rate of development envisaged in the Second Five-Year Plan particularly in the industrial sector, as compared to the rate of development already achieved during the First Five-Year Plan period, is not of such magnitude apart from the Steel Plants which the Government themselves have already decided to establish, that it can be considered to be beyond the capacity of the private sector to undertake that development nor is it of such high magnitude that the institutional charges in the frame work of industrial ownership and management should become necessary.  The record of the private sector in the First Five-Year Plan, as accepted and acknowledged by the Planners themselves, is sufficient to justify the continuation of the existing institutional frame work. Even, on this score, therefore, the changes envisaged can be considered to be entirely dictated by the ideological determination based upon the Avadi resolution and not on considerations of the need for rapid rate of development._Last week’s musing: [CENSORSHIP AND THE LAW OF INEXORABILITY](https://indianliberals.in/content/censorship-and-the-law-of-inexorability/)_ --- ## [Musing] Free Enterprise in Danger - B.R. Shenoy URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/free-enterprise-in-danger-b-r-shenoy-1975/ ### Body _Produced below is an excerpt from 'Economic Prophecies' – a collection of BR Shenoy's theoretical writings dating from 1932 to 1953. __The featured article 'Free Enterprise in Danger' was written by Shenoy in support of statements made by industrialist JRD Tata at a seminar in 1975, sounding a warning about the impending extinction of the private sector._ The institution of free enterprise and the liberty of the individual are in a critical phase in India. JRD Tata has stated that "the time has come for a cry of alarm that the private enterprise part of the mixed economy is threatened with early extinction". The communist strategy in India aims at overthrowing the government and the established order of society not by violent revolution but through peaceful infiltration. As part of the strategy, 'a number of persons' who 'had been members of the Communist Party' had, Mr Tata averred, gained 'access to critical important positions in government'; and though 'momentous changes' of a Marxist nature have been 'introduced in our economic life', this process has taken place with such 'gradualness' that neither the 'intelligentsia nor the public at large seem to be fully alerted as yet' to the 'incipient dangers' of the mixed economy being replaced by the 'totally planned and regimented economy'. P N Haksar, deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, reacted to these home truths in extraordinarily strong terms. Addressing the annual meeting of the Federation of the Indian J R D Tata Chambers of Commerce and Industry, India's premier trade association, Mr Haksar asserted that the mixed economy was not in the morgue, but very much up and doing. He argued that, as 90 per cent of the national product came from the private sector, there was no factual basis for Mr Tata's alarm. The high percentage of private sector output is no evidence against Mr Tata's assessment. His forebodings rest on, first, the vast control which government has acquired over the establishment, expansion and functioning of businesses and industrial undertakings; secondly, on the option to convert loans to public sector financial agencies and private companies into equity capital of the latter; and, thirdly, on the annual appropriation by the public sector of as much as 65 per cent of the total investment resources (the sum of current domestic savings, foreign aid and drafts on currency reserves). It has been estimated that by 1980, the third factor alone may bring under government ownership 50 per cent of the industrial and mining capital in the country. Government ownership may rise to 80 per cent if loans are converted into equity capital. THUS, UNDER THE prevailing 'mix' of the mixed economy, the Marxist doctrine of the public ownership of the means of production may become an established fact with the simple lapse of time - a case of communism, or a leap forward into it, without tears. Witness, moreover, the political ease with which the wholesale trade of wheat was nationalised in 1973. The prevailing political climate in India is such that if electoral exigencies called for it, the takeover of the so-called 'monopoly houses' - the top-grade business undertakings in the private sector - should raise no political problems. This possibility is not idle speculation. It is in the mainstream of the ideology to which the top policymakers and the dominant wing in the Congress party subscribe; and it may receive the same public approbation and ballot box windfall as the bank nationalisation of july 1969 had done. Moreover, most observers believe that there is nothing the party in power will shrink from in order to remain in power. It is these features of the Indian scene that constitute the credentials of Mr Tata’s evaluation. The continued high proportion of the private sector component of the national product, cited by Mr Haksar, is but the joint reflex of, first, agriculture constituting about 50 per cent of productive enterprise and, secondly, the expansion of public sector output at less than snail's pace, despite the galloping investment in this sector - the result, as we sharply presently see, of corruption and resource wastages. Strangely, the predicament facing private enterprise has not alarmed the Indian business community. Businessmen argue that India has survived, to quote Mr Tata, 'disasters which had destroyed other civilisations' in the past, and that somehow we would escape the communist menace too. During two decades of socialism, some businessmen amassed wealth and affluence on a scale beyond their own dreams; and they have been among the strongest supporters of socialist measures, though they like to describe them as mixed economy measures. The third factor reviewed above as being responsible for undermining private enterprise - the appropriation by the public sector of 65 per cent of the total available investment resources – merits closer attention. This appropriation is not only out of all proportion to the contribution of public sector to the Indian national product a mere 4 to 9 per cent, it is also responsible, in large measure, for the rather odd phenomenon of stagnation of per capita output and income since 1964-65, in the context of a continued acceleration of total investment. These investments multiplied by as much as 5.3 times (at 1961-62 prices) the expansion of population, as between the First Plan (1951-56) and 1973-74. The link between the two - heavy public sector appropriation and economic stagnation - is easily stated. First, when Rs 1 billion ($ 124 million) are 'invested' in public sector projects, what redly goes into them may vary, depending on projects and the parties concerned, from Rs 600 to 800 million ($74.4 to 99.2 million). The balance Rs 200 to 400 million ($24.8 to 49.6 million) is distributed as corrupt payments by contractors and others - 'kickbacks' in American usage - and, consequently, gets transformed into consumer income. Though such transformation is part of the old PWD (Public Works Department) tradition, the amounts involved are no longer peanuts. With public sector outlays in 1973-74 at Rs 41,250 million (US $5,124 million), the corrupt payments, i.e. investments converted into private incomes, may be of an order of Rs 8,250 to 16,500 million ($ 1,025 to 2,050 million). This is about 17 to 34 per cent of total domestic savings during the year. To the extent of these conversions, Plan investments are only paper investments and can make no contribution to the national product. Second, unused production capacities, which in recent years have ranked as high as 35 to 55 per cent, add nothing to current output. On the other hand, the national product would be less by the capital maintenance costs of unused capacities. To this must be added the debit effect on the national product of various inefficiencies and laxatives of public sector undertakings – which include overstaffing, worker idleness, wastage of raw materials and accessories, neglect of capital equipment maintenance and poor attention to quality control. Third, the private sector, which accounts for 84 to 92 per cent of the national product, receives but 35 per cent of the total investment resources, the balance left after the draft of these resources into the public sector. As the manufacturing industry in the private sector receives priori~ resource allocations, the abnormally heavy public sector appropriations have involved the capital starvation of agriculture. Evidence of this capital starvation lies in the decline in rural per capita private investments in agriculture, still the main source of agricultural-finance, and in the consequent decline, at an annual rate of 0.14 per cent (compound) in agricultural production per head of the rural population during the period 1961-74. THOUGH INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION rose simultaneously at an annual rate of 4.9 per cent (compound), as agriculture accounts for 47 per cent of national product and industry only 14.3 per cent, the decline in per capita agricultural output negated, almost wholly, the expansion of per capita industrial production; and the net per capita income in 1974-75 was still at Rs 339 ($42.11) as against Rs 338 ($41.99) in 1964-65, both at 1960-61 prices. Corruption has eroded not only the moral standards of the people but also the pace of Indian economic growth. We have been standing still while most parts of the rest of the world are marching forward, some - like Japan and the several mini-Japans in Asia - at a galloping speed. The expansion of employment being a function of the expansion of the overall national product, with the latter remaining semi-stagnant, natural additions to the labour force have not been fully absorbed into employment. Consequently, unemployment in 1971 was 5.7 times the unemployment in 1951 (3.3 million). One must realise that even a hypothetical government of Gandhian ascetics - with J.P. Narayan or Vinoba Bhave as prime minister - could make no significant difference to these developments under the prevailing 'schizophrenic policies', as Mr Tata aptly describes them. It is not possible to clear the chaos created and place the country along the right road to progress without a thorough restructuring of these policies, of which heavy cuts in public sector outlays are among the first essential steps. Read the complete book **[here](https://indianliberals.in/liberals/economic-prophecies.pdf)**. type=content&p=8601). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] Free Enterprise in India: A Call for Leadership - A.D. Shroff, 1961 URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/free-enterprise-in-india-a-call-for-leadership-a-d-shroff-1961/ ### Body _Ardeshir Darabshaw Shroff (1899-1965) was an eminent industrialist, banker, and economist. He was one of the architects of free India’s banking and insurance business. Shroff was amongst the earliest proponents of free enterprise in India. In 1956, Shroff co-founded the Forum of Free Enterprise, a think-tank, as a means to counter the socialist tendencies of the Nehru government. _ _The following excerpt has been borrowed from the text of the presidential address given by _**_AD Shroff_**_ at the fifth annual general body meeting of the _**_Forum of Free Enterprise_**_ In Bombay on 25 October, 1961._ Knowledge shall make man free, it is said. This is illustrated by the impact of the Forum of Enterprise on national thinking since its formation a little over five years ago. An atmosphere darkened by slogans of socialism is getting brighter today, thanks to the dissemination of knowledge on economics of free enterprise which is nothing but application of common sense to problems of production, distribution and exchange. It is a matter of consolation that the intellectually honest among socialist friends have been realistic enough to grasp the significance of economic commonsense. For instance, Mr Jayaprakash Narayan, a founder of socialist movement in India, is thoroughly disillusioned about nationalisation, one of the main planks of doctrinaire socialism. He is reported as having declared at a public meeting at Srirampur on May 2, 1961, that nationalisation of big industries would not solve India's economic problems nor would it achieve the general well-being of society. Such nationalisation would only create an "economic bureaucracy" in addition to the other administrative personnel that would get high salaries without looking after the interests of the common people, he added.  The Indian economy is dominated today by the Five Year Plans. Therefore, the Third Plan naturally forms the main theme of economic debate and discussions. Although the Plan datewise was to have commenced on April 1, 1961, the final draft was published on August 7, 1961, and Parliamentary approval was gained on August 24, 1961. This time-lag in itself is a sad commentary on the type of planning adopted at present. Committed as we are to an industrialised society, it is worth our while to know the sagacious observation of \Vilhelm Roepke, eminent economist who was in no small measure responsible for the Economic Miracle in West Germany, on the time element in such a society. Commenting on the enthusiasm of underdeveloped countries to transplant economic forms of industrialised West without examining all its bases, he warned: "Modern economic activities could thrive only when whoever says 'tomorrow' means tomorrow and not some undefined time in the future."  The Third plan imitates the Second in the strategy of planning. It is a carbon copy of the Soviet Communist model of planning. On previous occasions, I have warned the country that the Soviet Communist model of planning with its emphasis on heavy industries, collectivisation of agriculture, centralisation of all ownership and power in the Government, neglect of consumer goods as well as a gross disrespect for the basic human liberties is eminently unsuited to India. As we cherish the democratic way of life, we cannot afford to imitate totalitarian planning while trying to maintain a democratic structure. Moreover, it is becoming apparent with the passage of time that the Soviet model of planning is not leading to the promised El Dorado. According to Mr. W. W. Rostow, whose theory of economic development is in vogue now, “revolutionary changes in agricultural productivity are an essential condition for successful take-off; for modernisation of a society increases radically its bill for agricultural products.” Agriculture has been described as a dead rat in the Soviet economy. The imbalance between the agricultural and industrial sector continues in an aggravated form. Recently, it has also been observed that the Soviet economy has become one of “Conspicuous Production”. If the phrase “standard of living” has to have any meaning, then there should be meaningful production of goods and services as required and desired by the people, and not production according to the concept of the State planners without any relevance to the needs of the people. Such meaningful production of goods and services required by the people, as historical experience has shown, can never be had in a collectivist economy.  As ably stated by Arthur Larson in his book, _What We are For_, “An economy directed by the state will ultimately always serve the ends of the state. Only an economy directed by consumers will ultimately serve the needs of the consumers…Yet totalitarian Communism not only defaults on the job of creating a prosperous modem consumer economy, but for this dismal performance still exacts the price of personal freedom.”  Read the complete speech [here](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/free-enterprise-in-india-a-call-for%20leadership-by-Ad-shroff-November-8-1961.pdf). type=content&p=8529). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] FREE ENTERPRISE IN INDIA AND FREEDOM URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/free-enterprise-in-indian-and-freedom/ ### Body The following essay was originally published by The Times of India in 1956 and reproduced by the [Forum of Free Enterprise](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/free-enterprise-in-india-and-freedom-a-d-shroff-january-4-2011.pdf). The essay was authored by Indian banker, economist, liberal and the founder of Forum of Free Enterprise A.D. Shroff.The role of Private Enterprise in the future can be assessed only in the context of Government's decision to establish a Socialist State in this country.  Two broad implications of this decision are obvious, viz., (i) that the State will assume increasing control and ownership of the means of production, and (ii) that the resources available to the Private Sector will be gradually diverted to the Public Sector.  Government have already taken certain measures, both fiscal and others, to work towards the attainment of this objective.  Government claims that their policy has been endorsed by the country which means that the vast majority of the unthinking millions of the country have understood the implications of this policy and are satisfied that it will ultimately lead to a substantial increase in the standard of living of the masses. On the other hand, there are thousands of thinking people in the country who are honestly convinced that from a long-term point of view this policy will not only not help the country in achieving a rapid and all sided economic development, but may well hamper the attainment of this objective which is so anxiously desired by every section of the community. To take, however, a realistic view of the situation, everyone must be prepared to concede sincerity and honesty to the Ruling Party and their determination to pursue this policy till they realise that their philosophy is a good horse in the stable but may well prove an arrant jade on the journey. After considerable cogitation, I have come to the conclusion that the most urgent need of the Private Sector is to organize on a country-wide basis a campaign to educate the public about the mistaken policy of the ruling party and to satisfy the country that the attempt to establish a Socialist State is not calculated to serve the best interests of the hundreds of millions inhabiting this country. In my daily contact with people engaged in trade and industry, big and small, I find that in recent months a large number of people have been seized with a feeling of despondency. A number of them are expressing a feeling whether it is at all worth while for them to make any additional commitments and, in some cases, even whether it would not be in their interests to reduce their existing commitments.  As a result of the cruel operation of Section 23-A of the Indian Income-tax Act, a number of small people who started in a small way and have by their personal effort and sacrifice built up over a period of years successful businesses have been trying, to my personal knowledge, to dispose of their businesses. I have also come across some people with a fine record of achievement over the last generation or two, who are seriously thinking of migrating from this country before their anticipated fears of the worse coming in future materialise. Whilst fully appreciating the feelings of such people in the prevailing situation in the country, I am definitely of the opinion that this is a defeatist mentality and it can only result in the suicide of the Private Sector in the not very distant future.  From the country's point of view, this fast-diminishing morale amongst that section of the community which has made no mean contribution towards the development of the country's economy, cannot but be the matter of concern to everybody interested in elevating the economic status of India. I suggest, therefore, that the educative campaign should be organized on the following lines :-  There is a widespread lack of understanding as to what the Private Sector means. People interested in propagating the Socialist faith have been mischievously representing the Private Sector as consisting of a few "tall poppies" comprising a few hundred people who today happen to be responsible for the management of some large-scale industries. It is not generally appreciated that the Private Sector consists of all Agriculture, large, small-scale and cottage industries and the whole range of Trade, including import, export, wholesale and retail. Even in the range of industrial activity, according to the estimates recently made by the National Income Committee, the value of net output of "Small Enterprises" in 1950-51 was of the order 910 crores while that of "Factory Establishments" it was around 550 crores. Similarly, the number of workers employed in "Small Enterprises" in 1950-51 was about 11-5 millions as against three million workers in "Factory Establishments."  Throughout the length and breadth of the country there must be millions and millions of people engaged in retail distributive trade, either as individuals or as small partnership firms, who constitute a very important part of the Private Sector. It is, therefore, very necessary that the country at large should be made aware of what constitutes the Private Sector. Much of the excitement and fury that is often displayed on public platforms in deliberate misrepresentation of the Private Sector could be dispelled and the correct perspective established if the meaning of the Private Sector was made known in a sufficiently intelligible form to the country.  The achievements of the Private Sector hitherto in sustaining the daily economic life of the 365 millions and in the gradual development of trade and industry providing employment for an increasing number of people should be presented to the country in graphic and pictorial for the average man and woman in the country can be made to understand the vital necessity of the uninterrupted continuance of these activities with the potential risk involved in disrupting the economic life of the country if the normal functioning of the Private Sector is disturbed by the implementation of the Socialist policy.  The stage has been reached when thinking people in the Private Sector, if they wish to serve the large interests of the country, cannot keep their thoughts and feelings to themselves in the fear of incurring the displeasure of the ruling authorities. The greatest danger, to my mind, today, is that those who have pronounced their faith in the implementation of Socialist policies have all the advantage of propagating their gospel through the Central and Local Legislatures and through the countrywide organization of the majority party. It is an unfortunate tragedy that with few exceptions even a large section of the press is giving the widest prominence to the views of the majority party, if not actually applauding them. The continued and ceaseless propaganda against the sins of omission and commission of the Private Sector is producing an impression, in the absence of any attempt to counter this propaganda, that the whole country has tacitly accepted a policy which will ultimately lead to the complete elimination of the Private Sector. For instance, the foul campaign of vilification against the entire management of Life lnsurance business to bolster up Government's decision to nationalize life lnsurance has created a feeling of distrust for all management of Private Enterprise.  Bereft of all sense of proportion, responsible spokesmen, both of Government and the majority party, have exploited mismanagement by a small number of people as an excuse for a sweeping condemnation of everybody concerned with the management of Life lnsurance in the country. I believe, therefore, that unless the Private. Sector realises the danger of such unfair tactics on the part of its detractors and counter such propaganda by placing facts in their correct perspective before the country, this process of slaughtering the innocents will gather momentum which, in course of time, would be impossible to resist.  It is absolutely imperative that thinking people in the Private Sector should make an organized endeavour to establish amongst all sections the highest standards of integrity and efficiency. However much we may disagree with Government in their policies and actions, everybody engaged in the Private Sector must recognise it as their elementary duty to respect the laws of the country and to pay their dues promptly without any attempt to avoid their obligations. Organized bodies like Chambers of Commerce and various Trade Associations should insist on the observance by their members of rules of conduct which would not be open to challenge. Employers should cultivate relations with their employees in a progressive and liberal manner so as to ensure the identity of interests between the two.  The Private Sector should also be prepared, as far as possible, to co-operate wholeheartedly with Government in all measures are satisfied, intended to promote national interests. The country must be given concrete proofs of the preparedness of the Private Sector to sincerely act in the above mentioned directions if the capacity of the Private Sector to serve the country is to be made generally acceptable to the country.  A concrete plan for the rapid development of the country should be drawn up and presented to the country. This plan should be drawn up on the basis of mixed economy. It is generally accepted that in order to attain a speedy development of the country's economy in all its aspects, every section of the community must play its own part. The most imperative need today is increased production and, therefore the plan must point out how such increased production can be attained in the shortest possible period of time by utilization of the brains, energies, resources and experience of everybody in the country, whether he artificially happens to be placed in the Private or Public Sector.  Mere ideologies and dogmatic assertion of preconceived ideas should not be allowed to stand in the way of the organized utilization of all available talent and resources in the country. If real progress is to be achieved, there is an obvious demarcation of functions between the State and the Private Sector. Apart from the obvious and elementary duty of maintaining peace, order and stability, it is the function of Government to provide the essential prerequisites for an orderly progress. These prerequisites are a quick and countrywide spread of education, essential health services, clearance of slums, opening of the country through district and trunk roads, rail road and river transport, and larger provision of postal, telegraph and radio services.  There is a tremendous field for the State to devote its energies for making our agriculture more profitable and reliable through extension of irrigation facilities, use of better seeds and fertilizers and more modern methods of intensive cultivation. Provision of warehousing, marketing and credit facilities in our rural areas will certainly result in enriching, over a period of years, 70 per cent of our people who depend for their living on agriculture.  It will thus be seen that if the State confines itself for the next fifteen to twenty years to an adequate fulfilment of these functions, it will not only have enough on its hands but will make a substantial contribution towards the economic development of the country. In attempting to extend its scope of activities, the State is not doing justice to its own obligations.  To give a few illustrative experiences, the Postal services are so inadequate that even in a city like Bombay, the General Post Office would not accept more than 500 registered letters per day from any party. Wherever one travels throughout the country, it is heart-rendering sight to see the manner in which third-class passengers are packed like sardines on our railways. Railway transport still continues to be a serious bottleneck, constituting a handicap to the free movement of, goods and causing artificial shortages at different places in the country. The terrific congestion at Docks in important port-towns holds up both receipt and despatch of goods for inordinate length of time.  At an important air-port like Calcutta, three months ago, the Air-off ice was short of luggage tickets and it is reported that recently a Telegraph Office in Bihar ran short of telegraph forms. If the Stale, therefore, concentrates its energies in providing these elementary prerequisites at a speedy rate, it will succeed in creating both an atmosphere and scope for the Private Sector to do its job in bringing about a rapid economic development. It is undoubtedly true that fiscal measures of recent years have considerably denuded the Private Sector of its financial resources and the State, therefore, will have to make available adequate finance on suitable terms to safe-guard the interests of the general tax-payer. Otherwise, with the background of experience and trained personnel, the Private Sector should prove capable of undertaking a large-scale industrial development of the country.  However limited the scope left to the Private Sector and the uncertainty about its continuance, whatever be the handicaps and disabilities imposed by fiscal and other measures, the Private Sector must still be prepared to energetically continue its own allotted task, and I have no doubt that it will satisfy the country of its capacity to serve the country in future as it has done in the past.  In conclusion, I only wish to sound a note of warning that in a country like ours, with one dominant political party and with no effective organized opposition, the thin borderline between democracy and totalitarianism can soon be crossed. There is already evidence of totalitarian thinking at least in the economic field and  unless public opinion becomes more vigilant, we may lose our most cherished possessions, viz., the freedom to think and the freedom to criticise.  _Previous musing: [MAKING CAPITAL OUT OF CONSUMER GOODS](https://indianliberals.in/content/making-capital-out-of-consumer-goods/)_ --- ## [Musing] Free Enterprise is Economic Democracy URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/free-enterprise-is-economic-democracy/ ### Body Free enterprise works because, like democracy, it gives real power to the people. Indeed it can be described as economic democracy. It limits the power of government, by maximizing the power of the people. _On her visit to India in 1994, the apostle of free-market gospel Margaret Thatcher revealed her take on implications of economic freedom for prosperity. In a keynote speech delivered in Bombay, she stressed upon the necessity of economic freedom; the need for fiscal prudence; the limited role of the state; and move towards privatisation. While extolling the Indian peculiarity of having both democracy and capitalism, she also pointed out the tension between the two and its implications for India’s economic trajectory ahead._ _Below is the full keynote speech, published by the Forum of Free Enterprises in 1995 in the booklet form_ – Economic freedom is real freedom. Just as coercion exercised on economic grounds is no less real coercion. Free enterprise works because, like democracy, it gives real power to the people. Indeed it can be described as economic democracy. It limits the power of government, by maximizing the power of the people. It removes industry and management from the hands of the state by selling off companies and business to those who will buy them, mostly through the stock market. Free enterprise capitalism is a necessary – though not a sufficient – condition for political democracy itself. Perhaps we in business have been too slow to point out that capitalism is therefore not only about material things, it is about the human spirit and its creativity. In seeking to liberate people from poverty and servitude it is the business ethic in action which is the cutting edge of progress. **The Role of the State** The role of the State should be limited but strong to do those things which only governments can do. First government should be strong to keep the finances and the currency sound. We need to preach and practice the wisdom of thrift as a virtue in itself, and of high savings as necessary for high investment and that public spending must be strictly limited. This is common sense. Every businessman and housewife knows that they have to live within their income. The laws of arithmetic are not suspended merely because you are working in billions or because you are in government. But these things do not come naturally to all politicians. Interest groups are very strong and vociferous, particularly in the public sector, and there is a constant temptation to increase public spending to appease them or to postpone awkward decisions. **Privatising – Transforming Britain** A system like state control which is fundamentally bad because it denies people the power to choose and the opportunity to bear responsibility for their own actions, can’t be made good merely because it is run by ‘clever’ people who make the arrogant assertion that they ‘know best’ and that they are serving the ‘public interest’ – an interest which of course is determined by them. Privatisation shrinks the powers of the state and free enterprise enlarges the power of the people. **Asia – Great Expectations** The world has never seen such a rapid economic expansion as it is witnessing today. The age of automation has been even more radical than the age of mechanization. ‘Smart’ machines now transfer technology instantaneously from one country to another. Development which used to take years can be achieved in months. Hence the economic miracles in the countries of Asia, both large and small. A hurricane of change has swept across Asia, carrying millions out of poverty and bringing new hope. The people of the Asia Pacific are out-stripping much of the rest of the world in growth, investment, new technology and trade. Today the Asia Pacific region has the highest growth rates in the world in spite of the world recession. **India – Looking Ahead** What does all this mean for India, for her place in the wider world? Your influence and example are crucial to the future. While Russia has democracy but struggles for economic reform, China has economic reform but resists democracy. But India has the advantages of both economic reform and an established democracy. In some ways this may make reform even more difficult as every move is publicly debated and sometimes the arguments are distorted. Nevertheless, once the decisions are taken they are all the stronger because of the openness of parliamentary democracy. Also you have large, enterprising middle-class, with an enviable capacity to exploit the advance of science and to attract the requisite investment. Add to that your’ international trading links and it would seem from the outside looking in, that your success is assured. _The original booklet and the full text of the speech could be accessed _[_here_](http://indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=117599251.pdf)_._ _[IndianLiberals.in](http://indianliberals.in/index)is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ [Read more SO Musings](https://spontaneousorder.in/category/so-musings/) --- ## [Musing] FREE MARKET ECONOMY: Key to Economic Progress and Freedoms URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/free-market-economy/ ### Body Originally published by the [Forum of Free Enterprise,](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/free-market-economy-key-to-economic-progress-and-freedoms-by-ma-rangoonwala-1982.pdf) the following text was an address by M. A. Rangoonwala, the past President of the International Chamber of Commerce, delivered as the Chief Guest on January 12, 1982, at the function held to celebrate the Forum's Silver Jubilee. It is a great honour to be speaking at the Silver Jubilee celebrations of this august institution. I offer you my deepfelt thanks for inviting me. And I offer you my sincere congratulations and those of the world business community represented in the International Chamber of Commerce, on your first, immensely successful, 25 years. May you go from strength to strength during the course of your next quarter century!  The Forum was, of course, founded by a very great man, the late A. D. Shroff. And the high standards he set have been admirably maintained by the eminent persons who have followed him as President- the late Murarji Vaidya, J. H. Doshi, and your present distinguished leader, N. A. Palkhivala, who enjoys the profound respect not only of his fellow countrymen but of informed people and decision-makers throughout the whole world. His annual lectures on the Union Budget must rank as one of the most remarkable phenomena of the modern age and I'm sure I do not need to remind you how fortunate the Forum is to have such a celebrated statesman in its Presidential chair.  I have been greatly impressed by the work this Forum accomplishes in this huge country. May I suggest that one of your objectives for your next 25 years should be to share your ideas and methods - your recipe for success, as it were - with as many other countries as possible. So very many of them desperately need their own Forums of Free Enterprise. Could not India take the lead in encouraging their establishment elsewhere? The ICC would be more than willing to help with such an initiative. Your shining example would be a major asset in inducing others to pursue the same path towards a better future for a larger part of mankind.  It is with some hesitation that I rise to address you today - you the descendants of those great entrepreneurs which this sub-continent produced. They were far-sighted individuals who both believed in and practised free enterprise. They ventured all over the world, men of no formal education or technical knowhow, but honest and hard-working and with a firm and confident faith in the free economy system. Is it not presumptuous of me to lecture the sons and grandsons of such masters of entrepreneurship on the virtues of free enterprise? Or is it perhaps salutary to remind ourselves of those virtues in an age which so takes freedom for granted that it is being whittled away under our noses, diluting the blood of entrepreneurship in our veins without us fully realising it?  Any individual who did business at the beginning of this century would be shocked by today's world if he had not gradually got used to it over the passage of time - as many of us have. He would be shocked not so much by the oneness of the world and the closeness of different countries forged by the revolution in communications and transport- advances of which humanity is justifiably proud. Rather he would be shocked by the degree to which business is restricted, hampered and fenced in by government regulations and controls. In this sense, distances are far greater than before. You may be able technically to finalise a deal over the telephone or by telex in a few short minutes or hours - and may even be able to rush supplies to wherever they are needed with what must effectively be considered no delay at all. Bu·t and it is a very important 'but' - these technical gains in speed are frequently more than offset by the tediously protracted processes of completing official formalities and seeking bureaucratic permissions and approvals. In this respect, we live in many different worlds which relate with each other only over and around considerable man-made obstacles. As has been the case throughout history, the unifying forces of commerce are frustrated by the divisive forces of politics.  Barriers to trade and investment between countries, though regrettable by the absolute standards of the one-world ideologue and frequently harmful to the cause of maximising global economic efficiency, are not alone and of themselves a major catastrophe. What does the real damage is that government controls and restrictions extend deep and wide into our national economies, thwarting and distorting competition and the free enterprise system on a massive scale.  The fundamental raison d'etre of the free enterprise system is that it harnesses for progress the energy and drive of individuals and their yearning for self-betterment. It achieves this through a competitive process which encourages people to work hard and efficiently in producing what consumers wish to buy at minimum cost. Remove competition, and private enterprise stands defenceless. Profit ceases to have either economic significance or moral justification. If we allow controls to proliferate which strangulate both competition and individual initiative, why do we need private enterprise at all?  In my own mind, I have no doubt whatsoever that the free market economy is the key to all freedoms. In fact, the market and freedom are really synonymous terms. We should never forget that the only thing governments can control is people. One yard of textile does not care what its price is. But people care: the people who manufacture the textile, the wholesalers who sell to the retailers, and the retailers who sell to the consumers. And that is all controls can ever mean: 'people' control. It is never prices or goods and services but only people who are controlled, subsidised or supported by government. It is this that so many citizens fail to see or choose to ignore.  The expression "control" frequently conjures up an image of government action to help people. But when we give it its correct descriptive title of "people control", quite another image comes to mind. For obviously, when government controls people it necessarily deprives them of some freedom. Economic controls are automatically destructive of the market economy in which people voluntarily buy and sell on mutually acceptable terms. For controls involve compelling people to act in ways they would not necessarily choose voluntarily.  In many developing countries where there is a conscious striving for economic progress, almost every policy of government has come to be justified as necessary for development and the success of the PLAN. Yet there is scarcely any yardstick by which such claims can be measured and evaluated. This would be a difficult enough exercise even if we had access to the sort of sophisticated statistics and tools of analysis available in the developed countries. Given the notorious unreliability of total absence of data in the developing countries, it is downright impossible. So the policies and programmes campaigned for by vocal sections of our population can all be justified as promoting development without fear that their actual impact might be subject to critical measurement.  I am not at all against the idea of government publishing its view on future developments in a country in the form of an overall development plan for the general guidance of its own agencies and the private sector.. But that is all it should be. Unfortunately, as far as the private sector is concerned, our experience both now and in the past is just the contrary. I once engaged in a discussion with a planner in a high official position who Clearly believed that, without his forecasts and guidance, his country's economy would be "flying blind". To him, as to all planners, the world of private enterprise was one in which everybody works at cross-purpose and takes decisions solely in his "private" interest rather than in the wider "public" interest – whatever that may be.   Planning always involves compulsion even when, as it usually is, dressed up in a variety of guises to misguide its victims. Government planners will, of course, try to persuade people that The Plan has been drawn up for their own good and that the only persons who will be subject to coercion are those whose activities are "not'' in the public ''interest". They will claim, in their new-fangled phraseology, that their plans are not "imperative" but merely "indicative". They will make a great public parade of democracy, freedom and co-operation by "consulting all groups in society" — "business", "industry", "workers", and even "consumers" — to seek their help in drawing up The Plan and their acceptance of its specific goals or targets.   But, of course, if the planners really succeeded in accommodating the wishes of everyone, if The Plan allowed everyone to arrange their economic activities in the manner they intended to do anyway, then it would be quite pointless and useless exercise, a complete waste of time and effort. The Plan is only meaningful if it compels individuals to produce and consume different items — or different quantities of those items — than they would have done voluntarily given the freedom to choose in unfettered markets. If The Plan is to be meaningful, it must in the nature of things resort to compulsion. Two excuses are invariably offered for the inevitable coercion. One is that the free market produces the "wrong" goods and only government planning and direction can assure the production of the "right" ones — with the bureaucracy, of course, possessing a monopoly of mystical powers to determine what is right and what is wrong. The second excuse is that the free market does not produce enough goods and that government planning is needed to speed up the production process. In actual practice, of course, government planning does not so much speed it up as impede the progress.   I want to dwell a little on this strangely powerful notion that government direction and coercion can in some magical way increase production above the level achievable by individual citizens applying their own enterprise and taking their own decisions in a regime of economic freedom. It seems to me self-evident that when people are free, welfare tends to be maximised — or, at least, optimised. This is because in a system of free markets and private enterprise everybody's reward tends to equal the value of what he produces. What he gets for his production (assuming he is allowed to keep it) is what it is worth in the market — the value placed on it by voluntary, uncoerced buyers. If he wants to double his income next year, he is free to try — and may succeed if he is able to double his production over the year, or if the market worth of his production rises. If he is content with the income he has - or if he feels he can only increase it by excessive effort or risk, then he is under pressure to raise his output. In a free market economy everyone is at liberty to maximise his own satisfaction, whether this consists of more leisure or more goods.  There is among planners a profound mystical belief in the power of words. They declare, for example, that they are not content with an annual growth rate of. a .mere 2.8% and stipulate that henceforth it shall be 5%. And having thus stipulated, they assume that that in itself has propelled the economy half-way to their new target. I am not being frivolous. Such must be their assumption for, otherwise, it would be impossible to explain the deep earnestness with which they argue among themselves whether the growth rate ought to be 4 or 5 or 6%. The only thing they always agree upon is that it ought to be higher than whatever it actually is.  But why do they assume that setting their magic targets will increase the rate of production? By what processes do they imagine that the behaviour of millions of individual citizens will suddenly change to ensure that the national economy as a whole hits their targets? Is the man who is already making 50,000 rupees a year to be coerced into working for an income of 52,000 next year? Is the man who is making only 5,000 rupees a year to be forbidden to earn more than 2,500 next year? If not, what is gained by setting a specific annual growth rate as a government target? Why not just permit or encourage everybody to do his best and make his own decisions and let the average growth be whatever it turns out to be. Rapid economic growth is a by-product of good government policy; it cannot be a government policy in itself.  The effective route to rapid economic growth - assuming this is the aim - is to encourage production, saving, investment, and employment. And the way to do this is to maintain a free market economy and a stable currency freely convertible into others at a rate determined by the market. It is to respect profits - which will in turn promote both investment and jobs. It is to refrain from oppressive taxation which drives away funds for productive investment. It is to refrain from wage controls and cumbersome labour legislation which destroy jobs. It is to permit interest rates to find their own levels and thus maximise saving and investment.  The way to slow down economic growth is, of course, precisely the opposite of this. It is to discourage production, saving, investment and employment by incessant government interventions, controls, threats, harassment  and exorbitant taxation. It is to frown upon profits, to repeatedly declare them excessive, to control prices by law or intimidation, to hold interest rates down artificially, to bestow exceptional privileges and legal immunities on labour unions so that their demands become chronically excessive and threaten chronic unemployment - and then to try to offset the ill-effects of all these policies by higher government spending and consequent deficits which have to be financed by inflationary recourse to the currency printing presses.  All persons of goodwill share the same goal of raising the living standards of mankind. The differences – about which men fight, including men of goodwill – revolve around the methods to achieve the goal. Let me briefly compare those methods. The free market method permits individuals to use their own money, skills and hardwork to back their own economic decisions in the market place. They reap the rewards of good judgement and suffer the consequences of poor judgement. Under this system, no one buys or sells or participates unless his judgement tells him to.  The socialist or centralised method means that government compels individual citizens against their will and better judgement to contribute their money or time to implement its ideas and schemes. There is no sure way to determine whether the official decisions are commercially sound because the only true economic measurement there is – the test of the market – is forbidden.  And there is a third method now popular in several developing countries – a method which I call the "compromising way" and which stems from the delusion that a middle path exists between the market method on one side and the socialist method on the other. In my book, this middle path is the socialist method. The fact that government may permit a great deal of private ownership and some private initiative in partnership with itself in no way means that government is not fully in charge. When you think about it, why should government bother to nationalise productive assets or need to compel people to act in this way or that if they cooperate voluntarily and submissively? Stalin would never have murdered any one if he had been sure that everyone would willingly have done exactly as he wanted.  The advocate of the third method may sincerely and indignantly deny that his is the government way. He will claim to favour only certain specified controls by government. But, in so doing, he opens the way for one control after another because he cannot put his finger on any generally accepted principle defining the limits of government activity, and thus he has no logically defensible ground for protesting against an indefinite number of additional controls. This is how - even though they may be quite innocently unaware of the ultimate consequences of their acts - the proponents of the third method are paving the way for socialism and coercion.  I accept that, if we are forbidden a free market economy, then a half-free one is better than none at all. But I hope we all agree that a half-free one is not only very far from ideal but is also invariably unstable in the sense that the coercive part is inherently expansionist. And that is bad for business confidence, bad for investment, bad for jobs and bad for economic growth and development.  Let me try to pinpoint some of the specific consequences of the socialist method which has been adopted to a greater or lesser degree in practically all countries of the world today. I shall, however, gear my remarks towards the developing countries and towards the impact on the business sector.  Does anyone seriously believe that government intervention in the economy nowadays is merely to protect the weak or to redress the inequalities supposedly produced by the free enterprise system? I hope not. For, in reality, the intervention goes far beyond that. The truly disturbing aspect today is the intervention – large and growing – that takes place purely and simply to placate or curry favour with organised, vocal and politically powerful groups in society irrespective of their economic condition.  Out of this arises much of the wastage of human and other economic resources which holds production below its potenti.al capacity. Because the assets and dynamism of the free enterprise system are suppressed, distorted and prevented from translating their full capability into actual output of goods and services, poverty and misery persist and a large part of humanity lives in constant fear of unemployment and starvation. Glaring examples of this can be found in the developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. And I would like to highlight some of the policies pursued in these regions in the name of industrialisation and economic development but which have the perverse effect of perpetuating poverty and backwardness. Not that I believe their poverty is entirely of their own doing, I may add. The developed world is far from blameless in pursuing policies - particularly on the trade front - which inhibit the progress of poorer countries and set the additional obstacles to overcome which they could well do without. But let us look at ourselves for the moment since prosperity - like charity begins at home.  _Previous musing: [HOMI MODY: FREE ENTERPRISE & FOREIGN EXCHANGE](https://indianliberals.in/content/homi-mody-free-enterprise-foreign-exchange/)_ --- ## [Musing] Freedom and Economic Freedom - Bibek Debroy, 2008 URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/freedom-and-economic-freedom-bibek-debroy-2008/ ### Body _The following musing is taken from the “_**_Handbook of Transformation to Market Economy”_**_ written by _**_Bibek Debroy_**_ and published by the __the_**_ Liberal Institute of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation _**_in 2008. The text reproduced below is an excerpt from its second chapter titled “_**_Freedom and Economic Freedom_**_”. _ _In this chapter, Debroy details the conflict between negative and positive rights. He claims that problems arise when the state, entrusted to safeguard negative rights, begins catering for positive ones such as the right to education. Besides highlighting sources of conflict between modern-day planners and liberals, he also warns against the dangers of enforcing positive rights via centralized planning that threatens individual liberty._ _**Bibek Debroy** is an Indian economist, serving as the chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India. He is the author of several books, academic papers and popular articles and is a member of the Mont Pelerin Society. _ As human beings we ought to be assured of a minimum of core human rights. For example, these rights may cover security (protection against crime), liberty (belief, religion, association, assembling, movement), politics, due process (protection against abuses of the legal system), equality, welfare and so on. The existence of a state implies that some of these individual rights are going to be constrained, in the name of a greater public good. But which of these rights are inalienable or irrevocable, in the sense that they cannot be taken away by the state? Human rights that are called negative rights clearly belong to this category. The use of the expression “negative” implies that the state, or even a private body, cannot take action to remove these rights. Examples are right to life and individual security, freedom from slavery, equality before the law, due process followed by law, freedom of movement, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly and even the right to bear arms. These core human rights represent the essence of freedom and have been captured in legislation, national as well as international. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 is an example of such international legislation, although it is not quite a legally binding instrument. This declaration covers human, civil, economic and social rights. And such notions of negative rights are perfectly in consonance with what one understands by freedom and economic freedom.  The problem arises when one moves from negative rights to positive rights, also set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These rights are supposedly rights that the state must protect and provide. Examples are right to education, right to health-care and right to a livelihood. In the 30 Articles that constitute the Universal Declaration, these positive or economic rights occur towards the end. For example, Article 22 states, "Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international cooperation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each state, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality." Article 24 adds. "Everyone has the right to rest - and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay." Finally, in Article 26(1) we have, "Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory." Many people wouldn't regard these positive rights as core human rights that should be protected, unlike the negative ones. Indeed, these positive rights go against the notion of economic freedom, since their delivery adversely affects the freedom of others.  Be that as it may, there can be several different facets of freedom - civil, political and economic. In 1944, **Friedrich Hayek** wrote a very influential book titled “[The Road to Serfdom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road_to_Serfdom).” This book not only represents the essence of what is now called economic freedom, it also makes the important distinction between negative human rights (the core) and positive human rights (the undesirable and the noncore). “Planning' owes its popularity largely to the fact that everybody desires, of course, that we should handle our common problems with as much foresight as possible. The dispute between the modern planners and the liberals is not on whether we ought to employ systematic thinking in planning our affairs. It is a dispute about what is the best way of doing so. The question is whether we should create conditions under which the knowledge and initiative of individuals are given the best scope so that they can plan most successfully; or whether we should direct and organize all economic activities according to a 'blueprint', that is, 'consciously direct the resources of society to conform to the planners' particular views of who should have what .[...] The successful use of competition does not preclude some types of government interference. For instance, to limit working hours to require certain sanitary arrangements, to provide an extensive system of social services is fully compatible with the preservation of competition."Or, "But there are two kinds of security: the certainty of a given minimum of sustenance for all and the security of a given standard of life, of the relative position which one person or group enjoys compared with others. There is no reason why, in a society which has reached the general level of wealth ours has, the first kind of security should not be guaranteed to all without endangering general freedom; that is: some minimum of food, shelter and clothing, sufficient to preserve health. Nor is there any reason why the state should not help to organize a comprehensive system of social insurance in providing for those common hazards of life against which few can make adequate provision. It is planning for security of the second kind which has such an insidious effect on liberty. It is planning designed to protect individuals or groups against diminutions of their incomes.” Read the complete handbook [here](https://indianliberals.in/other-publications/handbook-for-transformation-to-market-economy.pdf). type=content&p=8587). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] Freedom of Self-Expression URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/freedom-of-self-expression/ ### Body _The following is an article written by T.V. Subba Rao and  published in the January 1954 issue of the Freedom First Magazine. The author talks about freedom, restraint and the false notions of prudery and decency. The article emphasizes the importance of free expression, a topic relevant for all ages and all times. _The most potent force that has influenced the conduct of man both in his individual and social aspect is love of freedom. Since absolute freedom can only spell anarchy leading to its entire suppression, man has had to submit to restraint to preserve at least a fair measure of it. All the struggles of society are to be attributed to the disturbance of the balance of these forces. In their perfect harmonisation lies the maximum amount of liberty consistent with order and security. Unqualified freedom is unthinkable in practical life. When the spirit of radicalism grows ever-strong there is always- a reaction in favour of conservatism. Again, when in any sphere of human activity traditionalism is found to express the creative urge, the desire for self-expression bursts forth from the dead weiqht of oppressive incrustations and shines resplendent in all its glory. Thus does the Time-spirit fulfil itself in the progress towards a higher perfection. The greatest masters of Religion and Art have been rebels against degenerate obscurantism. The teaching of the Buddha was a protest against rituals and ceremonies that were bereft of humanity. Shakespeare broke the conventions of his age to give the world the finest verse, dramatic form and characterisation which to this day remain unsurpassed. The great sculptors and painters of the west were equally heroic in the freedom of choice of form and colour which have stood the test of centuries, Kalidasa was a great romanticist who pleaded with his audiences not to reject a work merely because it was new. The enrichment of the world of culture has been more the contribution of the unbound spirit than of traditionalism. In the realm of Carnatic music Tyagaraja stands as thc supreme embodiment of the spirit of freedom and self-expression. In his compositions are to be found the marvellous elements of beauty undreamt of in the preceding ages, The progressive development of his contribution is well based on the solid foundation of the great traditions which reach back to the Vedic ages. His art achieves the finest reconciliation between the forces of liberty and restraint. The Kirtana which is the only type of composition he handled-for he could not conceive of a composition not dedicated directly or indirectly to God-becomes so elastic in his hands that every type of composition like the Gita, Varna, Pada, Javali etc., is presented under the apparent form of Kirtana. It was his genius that transformed the recitative music of compositions into _Manodharma Sangita_ with all the freedom and beauty of improvisation. The infusion of Sangatis into the Kirtana was a revolution which though now familiar to us, was yet a phenomenon which took his contemporaries by storm. It was perhaps the greatest event in the history of Carnatic Sangita. The freedom of his creative spirit finds most emphatic expression in the new modes aud melodies of his invention. They possess ineffable charm and have served vastly to enrich our heritage. Tyagaraja with the possible exception of Purandaradasa is the only composer who his embodied in his songs every variety of human experience. Not content with praise and invocation of the Deity, he not only presents the essence of the great scriptures but exhorts mankind to live a life of truth and beauty, of love and goodness instead of losing the soul in doctrinarian disputation. Composer as he was, he yet played the heroic role of the poet, philosopher and prophet and employed his Kirtanas to convey the most healing message of love and music as easy means of salvation. His spirit of reform was undaunted by the conventions of snobbery. The aesthetic excellence in them is so well suffused with a high moral that to enjoy them is to derive inspiration for a noble life. It is most remarkable, however that, Tyagaraja’s love of free self expression has its roots in hoary tradition. He pays the sincerest tribute of homage to the great Purvacharyas, divine, semi-divine or human. In the Arabhi Pancharatna one of the attri-butes he gives to Krishna is that he was "Sangita Sampradayakum." If the composer considered that even the Lord was not exempt from respect for tradition, although He was the fountain of all Knowledge, it may well be imagined how much greater was the need for men to revere the time-honoured usage. Numerous are his pieces which stress the benefit to be derived from the counsels of wise and sage-like men. Enduku Peddala, Buddhiradu, Guruleka and Vidulaku are some of the songs that voice his reverence for the elders. Tyagaraia's career is a shining example of the heroic spirit, of the creative urge sobered by the ripe experience of a rich tradition. In him was the perfect reconciliation of the opposite elements of liberty and restraint. It is perhaps that great form of musical beauty which we call the Raga, exclusive creation of the genius of Indian Music that reveals the co-existence of vast liberty of improvisation by creating talent with numerous restraints that maintain the individuality, form and complexion of the melody. It affords unlimited scope for self-expression. Yet, it is governed by the laws relative to the application of scales, notes, tones, graces, and traditional usages and rhythm that serve to maintain the unmistakable identity of the mode. The alap is the highest form of self-expression. To super - musicians, the alap has attractions which compositions do not possess. In the Raga the freedom of creation reaches the utmost limit in art. The spirit of freedom is apt to suffer restraints from sources alien to the art itself. The interference may come from false notions of prudery and decency as well as from politics, race, community and language. Time was when the Padas of Kshetragna, Astapadis of Jayadeva and Javalis of certain composers were banned as tending to debase morals. Uninformed public opinion condemned Bharatnatya as obscene and voluptuous. Happily it has, thanks to the efforts and propaganda of institutions like the Music Academy, now veered round to a just appreciation of an art which is both drisya and sravya. Art is universal and appeals to the heart of man whatever his race, colour or tongue. Censorship is a restraint upon free expression. If it is necessary evil in any stage of society, the office must be held only by persons of high taste and discernment. --- ## [Musing] FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO PROPERTY BY V. M. TARKUNDE URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/fundamental-right-to-property-by-v-m-tarkunde/ ### Body V.M Tarkunde’s “Fundamental Right to Property” explains how the right to property is fundamental to a human being to enjoy other fundamental rights. He explains the provisions meant to protect the right to property and their limitations. He discusses various arguments on both sides of the importance of this right for an individual. He raises questions on the efficiency of the amendment removing it as a fundamental right in reducing economic disparities and ensuring social justice. This was taken from an editorial published in 1971 issue of “Radical Humanist” by Forum of Free Enterprise. V.M. Tarkunde was a former judge of the Bombay High Court. You can read the complete unabridged version below. --- ## [Musing] Fundamental Rights: Our Protection Against Tyranny URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/fundamental-rights-protection-against-tyranny/ ### Body In a 1967 Judgement, the Supreme Court declared that it is not within the powers of the Parliament to take away Fundamental Rights under Part III of the Constitution. In April 1967, MP (Parja Party) Nath Pai proposed a Bill securing such powers for the Parliament. In September, MP (Independent) Sriraj Meghrajji proposed a Bill (considered an amendment to Pai's Bill) provided that any amendment of the Fundamental Rights must be the subject of a Referendum. The following text covers Sriraj Meghrajji's justification for proposing a Bill that aims to amend Nath Pai's Bill. The text was originally published by the [Swatantra Party.](https://indianliberals.in/content/fundamental-rights/)Mr. Speaker, I share Shri Nath Pai's faith in the people of India and it is for this very reason that my amendment provides for a Referendum.  Before I go to that, I should like to make one or two observations on the points made by my learned friend, Shri N. C. Chatterjee. He says that article 368 on the amendment of the Constitution, has the words: "the Constitution shall stand amended". (Meaning that every part of it is amendable.) I may point out that actually the words are: 'the Constitution shall stand amended in accordance with the terms of the Bill." Elsewhere in the Constitution, the Constitution provides what the terms of the Bill may be or what they may not be. As to Constitutions being vital, living, dynamic instruments, nobody has ever denied it. When Shri Nehru said that he had not made the Constitution 'so rigid', he meant surely that he had made it 'partly rigid', that there was some rigidity about it. A house can be repaired and renovated but in repairing or renovating a house one does not change the foundations of the house. That is the point. I hope hon. Members will bear it in mind.  Sir, the Constitution, the Polity of India, stands at a fork in the road. The passage of the Bill presently before this House. . . or its rejection at the hands of Parliament. . . will determine for all time the future of democracy in this country. The Constitution of a country is its supreme fundamental law. But a political or statutory Constitution does not embody and exhaust the whole of the fundamental social law or Constitution of a people or society. The political Constitution, whether written or unwritten, is but a part of the total social constitution. The latter, which governs all social and organic relationships, is a product of long evolution, the result of generations of social experience and wisdom. It includes in it such elementary things as the respect for parental authority. We do not include these things in a written Constitution. But our not doing so, does not invalidate them.  A written Constitution simply codifies a part of the fundamental constitution. Its primary concern is the superstructure of society, the body politic, rather than its foundations. But some written Constitutions go further than this. They touch the foundations of society. Ours is one. Not all Constitutions embody a declaration of Fundamental Rights. But this does not mean that those societies do not possess Fundamental Rights or that they are not recognised and enforced by their legislatures and their judiciaries.  **Why Fundamental Rights form a Separate 'Chapter'** The wise and farseeing framers of the Constitution of India saw fit to delve into the foundations of society, . . . to pick out what they thought was essential (Hear, Hear);. . . and they included a statement of Fundamental Rights in our Constitution. The object of their doing so was to give these rights preeminence;. . . to invest them with an aura of sanctity;. . . to guide, curb, and inhibit the future rulers of society;. . and to make these rights-whether of majorities, minorities, or individuals, - justiciable in the courts of law. These natural rights belong to the people and are a part of the fundamental constitution of any civilized society. The object of selecting these particular rights and codifying them was not to expose them to the power of passing parliaments but to safeguard them from legislative interference (Hear, Hear).  Otherwise, what was the object of codifying them at all? Since most of these rights are natural rights in any democratic society, the future legislatures might have been trusted to respect them.. . as the judiciary was bound to enforce them. It is, therefore, clear that the object was to place these Fundamental Rights beyond the reach of the ordinary legislative process. This object is fully revealed and categorically stated in Article 13,. . .the fateful article, of the Constitution. As I have said, the Constitution is not exhaustive Neither is the Part on Fundamental Rights. If I may give a homely example,. . . the love of a mother for her child is something natural and fundamental. It does not find a place in Part 111. But if it did, it would not mean that it would then come within the reach of Parliament and that it could be snatched away by a two-thirds majority or even by unanimity. Nor do I believe that any judge worth the name would fail to recognize, uphold, and enforce such a fundamental thing in society, whatever the consequences (Interruption).  Shri Nath Pai: Why are you interrupting? Mr Speaker, I want to listen to him carefully. How can we hear when members keep np running dialogues? I want to listen to this speech.  Mr. Speaker: Order please.  **Historic Reasons ** Shri Sriraj Meghrajji: The historic reasons for including a statement of Fundamental Rights in our Constitution has been most cogently dealt with by Shri Justice Hidayatullah (as he was then) in the Supreme Court judgement in the Golaknath case - an epochal judgement which I hope will be read by every lover of freedom and democracy in India.  I may quote here from the 1928 Report, on this subject, by Pandit Motilal Nehru: "It is obvious", he said, "that our first care should be to have our Fundamental Rights guaranteed in a manner which will not permit of their withdrawal under any circumstances." Almost 20 years later. . . this high, once distant goal as at length achieved. On 30th April 1947, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, proposing the Interim Report on Fundamental Rights, for adoption by the Constituent Assembly, said: "A fundamental right should be looked upon, not from the point of view of any particular difficulty of the moment, but as something that you want to make permanent in the Constitution."  Note the distinction between things permanent and things that can be amended.  **Justice Hidayatullah ** Now, what are the things permanent which find a place in the Third Part of our Constitution? I cannot do better than quote Shri Justice Hidayatullah. Summing up the judgment in the Golaknath case, he said:  "Our liberal Constitution has given to the individual all that he should have - freedom of speech, of association, of assembly, of religion, of motion and locomotion, of property and trade and profession. In addition, it has made the State incapable of abridging, or taking away, these rights to the extent guaranteed, and has itself shown how far the enjoyment of those rights can be curtailed. It has given a guaranteed right to the person affected to move the court. The guarantee is worthless if the rights are capable of being taken away."  These are the rights of the people, given by the people, unto themselves in their Constituent Assembly. Who, hon. Members, shall take them away?   **The Late Dr. B. R. Ambedkar**  Let us turn to the avowed intentions of the Constituent Assembly itself. The Hon'ble Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, while explaining that the procedure for amending the Constitution was simple, expounded on the necessity of curbing the powers of Parliament. He said:  "In considering the Articles of the Constitution, it (the Constituent Assembly) has no eye on getting through a particular measure. The future Parliament if it met as a Constituent Assembly, its members will be acting as partisans seeking to cany amendments to the Constitution to facilitate the passing of party measures which they have failed to get through Parliament by reason of some article of the Constitution which has acted as an obstacle in their way. Parliament will have an axe to grind: while the Constituent Assembly has none." (Constituent Assembly, 4 November 1948.)  Shri Ranga: This is the distinction which Shri N. C Chatterjee has forgotten-conveniently.  Shri Sriraj Meghrajji: I beg to draw the pointed attention of hon. Members to the distinction made between the nature and spirit of a Constituent Assembly and that of a Parliament. This is a distinction well-known and repeatedly emphasised. The purpose of the framers of our Constitution was that the distinction must endure as long as the Constitution itself. I submit that the effect of this Bill. . . will be to arrogate the functions of a Constituent Assembly to the existing legislatures of the day.  **The Power to Amend**  This idea, of thus empowering the existing legislative bodies, had not escaped the broad vision of the Founding Fathers of the Constitution. They were not unaware that the legislative bodies of the land would be elected bodies,. . . composed of the chosen representatives of the people. They did reserve certain amending powers to these bodies collectively. But they, in their corporate wisdom, . . . acting under the mandate of the whole people, . . . did not bequeath to Parliament or to the legislative bodies collectively, . . . the power of abridging or abrogating Fundamental Rights. This was made explicit by Dr. Ambedkar during the discussions on Draft Article 304 (now Article 368). He said:  "If the future Parliament wishes to amend any particular article, which is not mentioned in Part 111, or Article 304, all that is necessary for them is to have two-thirds majority. Then they can amend it." (Constituent Assembly, 17 September 1949.) Had there been any intention to vest the power collectively in the existing Parliament and State Legislatures..  'Part III' would have been included in the proviso to this Article, - as is now being sought to be done. Instead, the Fundamental Rights were placed beyond the reach of amendment by the legislative process. But let it be noted that the articles in Part III already do contain built-in provisions for the legitimate curtailing of Fundamental Rights.  Sir, the life and health of democracy depend not so much on written Constitutions as on traditions and the enjoyment of freedoms such that are embodied as ‘Fundamental Rights’ in our Constitution. The Supreme Court, after deliberating the Constitution, has concluded that the State is "incapable of abridging or taking away these rights to the extent guaranteed". In other words, the people may perhaps yield up a right of their own volition, but even the supreme legislature, or all the legislatures put together, do not have the power of depriving them of it without their consent (Hear, Hear). . . That is to say, so long as national supremacy and the springs of power are conceived and deemed to reside in the people, and so long as India has a parliamentary democracy and not a parliamentary autocracy (Hear, Hear). Parliamentary supremacy is only safe where the democratic tradition is deep - ingrained and unassailable. Therefore, comparisons with other countries,-comparisons which ignore the governing factors and circumstances of their whole polity and society, - are not merely naive and irrelevant, but highly dangerous.  Sir, certain Fundamental Rights may be inscribed in the Constitution, but they transcend the Constitution. They are now, if they were not before, part and parcel of the fundamental constitution and of our self-given way of life. They are inherent in the people. They are their birthright (Hear, Hear). If they are to survive, without danger from the variable five yearly parliamentary preponderances and pre-dispositions, - indeed from the mid-term fluctuations of legislative majorities, - they must be shielded from the passing tempers and prejudices of the times and have a sanctity abore the Constitution itself. This is clearly the whole trend, the anxiety and motivation of the judgement of the Supreme Court, - . . . which body cannot be too highly praised as the repository and vigilant guardian of the Law and the Constitution (Hear, Hear). The independence of the judiciary, also a fundamental provision, is one of the brightest ornaments of our national polity (Hear, Hear). Sir, we, Members of Parliament, have been elected to protect and promote the people's interests, . . . not to abridge or derogate their rights. We have sworn to uphold the Constitution. How can we, . . . by what right can Parliament, turn itself into a sort of Constituent Assembly and so assume to itself the powers which the Constitution has expressly denied to it? We have neither asked for, nor been given, such a mandate. Sir, I ask:  "Has any hon. Member put the issue to his electorate in clear and explicit terms that, if elected, he will try and procure for Parliament the comprehensive power to amend, not this or that right, but the entire gamut of Fundamental Rights embodied in Part III of the Constitution?"  If any one has, . . . he alone has the right to speak in support of this Bill.   **Parliament - Its Limitations ** I grant that Parliament, the national legislature, is supreme . . . but only so in the legislative sphere, just as the national executive and the national judiciary are supreme in their respective spheres.. . . I deny that Parliament is supreme in India. It has no such warrant from the people. It can only attain such supremacy by the trespass and usurpation of the right, which, under the Constitution, belong to and are vested in the Republic of India. I am sure, no member will claim that Parliament and Republic are interchangeable terms. The basic features of our Constitution, including the Fundamental Rights enshrined in it, cannot be amended by the legislatures of the day. The Parliament of the day . . . means the Party in power, . . . which in turn means the Government of the day. No Government, - and I do not mean the present Government, - but any Government, however much to the right or to the left, - should be enabled to undo what the Constituent Assembly has so painstakingly done.   But if I am wrong in what I have submitted, and it has always been open for Parliament to exercise or give itself a power it does not at present possess, then must Article 13 be deprived of all meaning and be redundant. Clause (2) of this article says: "(2) The State shall not make any law which take away or abridges the rights conferred by this part and any law made in contravention of this clause shall, to the extent of the contravention, be void."  Here 'law' cannot mean only the ordinary laws enacted by public authority, since any law which contravenes any part whatsoever of the Constitution would be ultra vires and void. It must therefore specifically include 'constitutional law'. Else, this clause would have been redundant ab initio.  In the matter of the constitutional innovation introduced by Article 31B, which bars the jurisdiction of courts from the Acts placed under the shelter of this Article, Shri Justice Hidayatullah had this to say (in the judgement I have referred to before): "By this device which can be extended to other spheres, the Fundamental Rights can be completely emasculated by a two-thirds majority even though they cannot be touched in the ordinary way by a unanimous vote of the same body of men. The State Legislatures may drive a coach and pair through the Fundamental fights and the Parliament by a two-thirds majority will then put them outside the jurisdiction of the Courts. Was it really intended that the restriction against the State in Article 13(2) might be overcome by the two agencies acting hand in hand?"  That is to say, an ordinary Act unanimously passed if it contravenes a Fundamental Right would be void. But passed as a Constitution Amendment Act, by just two-thirds majority, it would become law. Shri Justice Hidayatullah went on to observe:  "If a halt is to be called, we must declare that right of Parliament to abridge or take away Fundamental Rights. Small inroads lead to larger inroads and become as habitual as before our freedom was won."  Put in another way, it can be said that the process can gradually take away the freedom we have so painfully won.  **The Constitution - Sheet-anchor or Plaything? ** Sir, the Constitution as it stands, is the sheet-anchor of our freedom, of our democracy, and of Parliament. Of this sheet-anchor the weightiest part, the most valuable part, is the fundamental provisions. The vital question before this House is whether the Constitution should be the sheet-anchor or the plaything of Parliament. I cannot here resist quoting Shri M. C. Setalwad (who has been hailed as one of the great jurists of the English-speaking world). He said:  "Amendments of the Constitution have been too frequent and if I may use the expression, without any disrespect to Parliament, too irresponsible."  His proposal is to replace the two-thirds majority by a three-fourths majority,. . . a suggestion which I strongly commend as a fit subject for the serious consideration of the House.  Shri Surendranath Dwivedy: He had supported the Bill (interpretation).  Shri Nath Pai: When you are quoting Mr Setalwad, you may also quote what he has said about this Bill.  Shri Virendrakumar Shah: Let him quote as he likes (Interruption).  Mr. Speaker: Order please. Let him have his say.  Shri Sriraj Meghrajji: Sir, I put it to the supporters of the Bill that the present is the most inopportune time they could have chosen. I do not believe that the object can be simply to provoke a debate, or a confrontation between the legislative and judicial branches of government, which would put a further strain on the Constitution, in these troublous times, when our whole attention and energy should be concentrated on keeping the country together and upholding the Law (Hear, Hear), . . . on strengthening rather than weakening our constitutional and administrative institutions.  **Why this Bill?** Then, what is the need? . . . I submit, Sir, that there is none. There is no particular need or practical measure in contemplation for utilising the new power now sought to be assumed by Parliament. Then where is the hurry?. . . As I have said the articles on provisions Fundamental Rights themselves contain built-in for their modification. Are we then to open a door which at present does not need to be opened . . . but which, once opened, cannot be shut?  We shall have opened the way, if not for this Parliament, then, for a future Parliament, . . . and the Party which rules that Parliament, . . . to do what Hitler did to the German Constitution. I am not being far-fetched. In the process we shall have made the national judiciary impotent. Even the able Mover of this Bill, Shri Nath Pai, cannot predict the future course and complexion of things. Let him not, then, lead us away from the shelter of the Constitution. He has himself, I believe, said that he finds no difficulty with the Constitution as it stands. On the contrary, he has claimed to be an ardent champion of Fundamental Rights. I therefore conjure him to support my amendment instead of his own Bill.  I do not say that an occasion may not arise for amending something in Part III of the Constitution But I would still say and hope that the fundamental values of human life and society must remain. For example, Article 11 of the Japanese Constitution declares that the Fundamental Rights are eternal and inviolable. And Article 97 provides that these rights are to be held inviolable for all time.   Let the People Decide But if we are to alter the Fundamental Rights, . . . then, it is my humble but most earnest submission, . . . that the arbiter must be the people themselves (Hear, Hear). My amendment to the Bill provides for a Referendum. The device is known to other Constitutions, such as the Swiss. In Australia, no part of the Constitution can be amended without this recourse. Let the matter be put the people themselves, in the simplest language and unclouded by any other issue.. . . Let them weigh the pros and cons.. . . Let them judge and decide. It would be an exercise in real democracy.   Mr. Speaker, I thank you and the House for the patient hearing you have given me. I am afraid I am no orator. I beg of you, hon. Members, to search your hearts and minds. Should there not be something basic and permanent in the grand contract of the Constitution, by which all the people of India have consented to be governed? Let us not go down in history as the witting or the unwitting subverters of Indian democracy, and of civic rights and liberties, for which our people have so long struggled under an autocratic power. I beg of you not to do this thing. Let us not, in this Fourth Lok Sabha, incur the future woes and opprobrium of posterity. There is no pressing need for justification for this Bill. Then where is the hurry? This is a matter calling for the most sober consideration. It is too momentous for routine or summary disposal. It is not, please do not let it become, a party issue. It is an all-time national issue, a matter for your individual political conscience and sober statesmanlike judgement.  There are a fair number of us in this honourable House and Parliament, and a large body of intelligent and enlightened opinion in the country, that are deeply agitated by this proposal . . . and dreadfully apprehensive of its ultimate consequences. Will you not consider it possible, hon. Members, that there may be good reasons for this anxiety and agitation? Will you not give yourselves time to ponder these reasons? I include in my appeal the hon. Mover of the Bill and the Treasury Benches. I remind you of the oath you have taken to uphold the Constitution. I beg of you to give plenty of time. and even more reflection. to I this fateful measure, .. which may seal the doom of Democracy in India.  And when you have considered the issue, . . . I pray that you will be moved to relegate the Bill as it stands.. . . In so doing, you will be hailed and be acclaimed in history as the defenders and champions of a free democracy … and a free society (Hear, Hear).  Sir, now I beg to commend my amendment to the Bill for the consideration of this honourable House.  _Previous musing: [THE ROLE OF JUDICIARY IN PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-role-of-judiciary/)_ --- ## [Musing] Globalisation and the Poor - Johan Norberg URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/globalisation-and-the-poor-johan-norberg-2003/ ### Body _The following excerpt has been taken from the Occasional Paper titled ‘Globalisation and the Poor’ written by Johan Norberg. The paper is based on a contribution of the author to the workshop Campaigning for Free Trade; organised by the Liberal Institute of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in November 2003._ The anti-globalisation movement had its coming-out party in Seattle in 1999, when thousands of activists and trade union members protested against a new round of trade negotiations in the World Trade Organisation. Millions were drawn to these protests because of a preceding anti-WTO statement that was circulated on the internet, and signed by about 1500 different groups, from churches to militant communists. Their first accusation against the WTO in the statement was that free trade and globalisation:  _“…has contributed to the concentration of wealth in the hands of the rich few; increasing poverty for the majority of the world's population; and unsustainable patterns of production and consumption."_  Poverty is also a major issue when you read anti-globalist writers and theoreticians. Their view is that globalisation is making the rich richer and the poor poorer. If this is their biggest concern, surely they should change their mind about the globalisation process if they got new information, which not merely shows that globalisation is not increasing poverty, but in fact an efficient way of reducing human poverty. That is what I am going to argue for in this paper, and I will also present the current debate on poverty measurements. What has happened to poverty in the era of globalisation, and why?  ### **Relative or absolute?** To begin with, we must define what we mean when we discuss poverty. Most often there is a discussion whether absolute or relative poverty is the most relevant measurement. In this debate, I am an absolutist. Relative poverty is not a measure of poverty, but of inequality. Instead of measuring how poor someone is, it says how poor that person is in relation to others. One poverty concept frequently used, e.g. by the UNDP, rates a person as poor if they have less than half the median wage in the country where they live. This means that a person regarded as 'loaded' when living in a poor country like Nepal is considered as poor as a church mouse when living in the affluent USA. These relative figures, consequently, cannot be compared internationally.  But the biggest problem with the relative concept is that it completely distorts our view of poverty. Poverty in China has been reduced faster than ever in the last two decades. People have higher wages and better living standards than ever before. But at the same time income gaps within China have widened because towns and cities have grown faster than the countryside. Inequality has grown, and therefore, relative poverty has grown, even though everybody is richer than before. Surely there must be something wrong with a measure that says that poverty is increasing when everybody gets richer? Only those who consider wealth a greater problem than poverty can find a problem in some millionaires becoming billionaires while others get out of poverty.  An absolute poverty concept is to be preferred, for example a specific money line. But that view has also been challenged. As Amartya Sen, Indian economist and Nobel laureate, has emphasised, poverty is not just a material problem. Poverty is something wider, it is about powerlessness, about being deprived of basic opportunities and freedom of choice. Small incomes are often symptomatic of the absence of these things, of people being subjected to coercion and marginalisation. Human development. means leading a reasonably healthy and secure life, with a good standard of living and freedom to shape one's own life.  But even though I accept this criticism to a big extent, the investigation of material development is important. Both because it indicates how these conditions have developed and also because it contributes to development as such. It is material resources, individual and societal, which enable people to feed themselves, be educated, obtain health care and be spared watching their children die. It can and should be combined with other indicators of human welfare, but it is one of the most important ones in itself.  The most common international poverty line is the World Bank's definition of absolute poverty. According to this definition you are poor if your income is less than one dollar a day, to be exact, $1.08. And this is adjusted for purchasing power, so that it corresponds to the same standard in all countries. This definition was chosen because it was the median of the poverty definitions in the ten poorest countries that the World Bank had detailed statistics from. And probably also because it is easy to popularise and remember. Let's use that definition to dig into the historical change in poverty rates.  ### **The extent of poverty ** In 1820, about 85 percent of the world population lived on the equivalent of a dollar a day, converted to today's purchasing power. The biggest misconception in the debate on globalisation is that poverty is supposedly something new, and that things are getting worse. It is not. One hundred years ago, every country was a developing country. The new thing in our modern world is not poverty, but wealth. The fact that some countries and regions have escaped that poverty.  In the beginning of the 19th century something happened and poverty began to decline. In 1910 only 65 per cent lived in absolute poverty and in 1950 55 percent. Then came another big change. UNDP, the United Nations Development Programme, has observed that, all in all, world poverty has fallen more during the past 50 years than during the preceding 500. In 1970 absolute poverty had shrunk to 35 per cent, in 1980 it was slightly more than 30 per cent, and today it is about 20 per cent. (Often the figure 23 per cent is mentioned, but that is as a proportion of the developing country population.)  Even though the proportion of people in poverty has been shrinking in the last 200 years, the number of poor has increased, because the world population has been increasing constantly. Unique with the decline in the last twenty years is that not only the proportion, but also the absolute number of absolute poor has declined - for the first time in world history. During these two decades, the world population has grown by about 1.8 billion, but yet the number of absolute poor has declined by about 200 million people, according to the World Bank. Material developments in the past half-century have resulted in the world having over three billion more people liberated from poverty. Read the complete paper [here](https://indianliberals.in/other-publications/globalisation-and-the-poor.pdf). type=content&p=8619). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] Globalisation and The Poor URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/globalisation-and-the-poor-2/ ### Body _The following essay was published in November 2003 by the [Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom](https://indianliberals.in/content/globalisation-and-the-poor/). Authored by Johan Norberg, the essay provides an evidence-based argument against anti-globalist theories that suggest poverty is a result of globalisation.  _The anti-globalisation movement had its coming-out party in Seattle in 1999, when thousands of activists and trade union members protested against a new round of trade negotiations in the World Trade Organisation. Millions were drawn to these protests because of a preceding anti-WTO statement that was circulated on the internet, and signed by about 1500 different groups, from churches to militant communists. Their first accusation against the WTO in the statement was that free trade and globalisation:  “has contributed to the concentration of wealth in the hands of the rich few; increasing poverty for the majority of the world's population; and unsustainable patterns of production and consumption."  Poverty is also the major issue when you read anti-globalist writers and theoreticians. Their view is that globalisation is making the rich richer and the poor poorer. If this is their biggest concern, surely they should change their mind about the globalisation process if they got new information, which not merely shows that globalisation is not increasing poverty, but in fact an efficient way of reducing human poverty. That is what I am going to argue for in this paper, and I will also present the current debate on poverty measurements. What has happened to poverty in the era of globalisation, and why?  **Relative or absolute? ** To begin with, we must define what we mean when we discuss poverty. Most often there is a discussion whether absolute or relative poverty is the most relevant measurement. In this debate, I am an absolutist. Relative poverty is not a measure of poverty, but of inequality. Instead of measuring how poor someone is, it says how poor that person is in relation to others. One poverty concept frequently used, e.g. by the UNDP, rates a person as poor if they have less than half the median wage in the country where they live. This means that a person regarded as 'loaded' when living in a poor country like Nepal is considered as poor as a church mouse when living in the affluent USA. These relative figures, consequently, cannot be compared internationally.  But the biggest problem with the relative concept is that it completely distorts our view of poverty. Poverty in China has been reduced faster than ever in the last two decades. People have higher wages and better living standards than ever before. But at the same time income gaps within China have widened because towns and cities have grown faster than the countryside. Inequality has grown, and therefore, relative poverty has grown, even though everybody is richer than before. Surely there must be something wrong with a measure that says that poverty is increasing when everybody gets richer? Only those who consider wealth a greater problem than poverty can find a problem in some millionaires becoming billionaires while others get out of poverty.  An absolute poverty concept is to be preferred, for example a specific money line. But that view has also been challenged. As Amartya Sen, Indian economist and Nobel laureate, has emphasised, poverty is not just a material problem. Poverty is something wider, it is about powerlessness, about being deprived of basic opportunities and freedom of choice. Small incomes are often symptomatic of the absence of these things, of people being subjected to coercion and marginalization. Human development means leading a reasonably healthy and secure life, with a good standard of living and freedom to shape one's own life.  But even though I accept this criticism to a big extent, the investigation of material development is important. Both because it indicates how these conditions have developed and also because it contributes to development as such. It is material resources, individual and societal, which enable people to feed themselves, be educated, obtain health care and be spared watching their children die. It can and should be combined with other indicators of human welfare, but it is one of the most important ones in itself. The most common international poverty line is the World Bank's definition of absolute poverty. According to this definition you are poor if your income is less than one dollar a day, to be exact, $1.08. And this is adjusted for purchasing power, so that it corresponds to the same standard in all countries. This definition was chosen because it was the median of the poverty definitions in the ten poorest countries that the World Bank had detailed statistics from. And probably also because it is easy to popularise and remember. Let's use that definition to dig into the historical change in poverty rates.  **The Extent Of Poverty ** In 1820, about 85 per cent of the world population lived on the equivalent of a dollar a day, converted to today's purchasing power. The biggest misconception in the debate on globalisation is that poverty is supposedly something new, and that things are getting worse. It is not. One hundred years ago, every country was a developing country. The new things in our modern world is not poverty, but wealth. The fact that some countries and regions have escaped that poverty.  In the beginning of the 19Ih century something happened and poverty began to decline. In 1910 only 65 per cent lived in absolute poverty and in 1950 55 percent. Then came another big change. UNDP, the United Nations Development Programme, has observed that, all in all, world poverty has fallen more during the past 50 years than during the preceding 500. In 1970 absolute poverty had shrunk to 35 per cent, in 1980 it was slightly more than 30 per cent, and today it is about 20 per cent. (Often the figure 23 per cent is mentioned, but that is as a proportion of the developing country population.)  Even though the proportion of people in poverty has been shrinking in the last 200 years, the number of poor has increased, because world population has been increasing constantly. The unique with the decline in the last twenty years is that not only the proportion, but also the absolute number of absolute poor has declined - for the first time in world history. During these two decades, world population has grown by about 1.8 billion, but yet the number of absolute poor has declined by about 200 million people, according to the World Bank. Material developments in the past half-century have resulted in the world having over three billion more people liberated from poverty.  Even those encouraging findings, however, probably overestimate world poverty, because the World Bank uses survey data as the basis for its assessments on consumption. This data is notoriously unreliable. It suggests that South Koreans are richer than the Swedes and British, for example, and that Ethiopia is richer than India. Furthermore, surveys capture less and less of an individual's income. The average poor person at exactly the same level of poverty in surveys in 1987 and 1998 had in reality seen her income increase by 17 per cent. One of the most basic problems is that people begin to forget what they consumed after just one day, but the surveys are about their consumption a week or a month back. An Indian survey from 2000 showed that questions about the consumption during a shorter period changed the answers dramatically. When they shortened the period to just the last days, the extent of rural poverty in India was 'cut' from 43 to 24 per cent.  Former World Bank economist Surjit S. Bhalla recently published his own calculations supplementing survey results with national accounts data (in the book _Imagine there's no country_, Institute for International Economics, 2002). Bhalla found that the United Nations's goal of lowering world poverty to below 15 percent by 2015 has already been achieved and surpassed. Absolute poverty had actually fallen from a level of 44 percent in 1980 to 13 percent in 2000. According to Bhalla's calculations, 800 million people have been lifted out of absolute poverty in 20 years. If this is true, we have just witnessed poverty reduction on such an astonishing scale which we will probably never see again.  **Economic Growth ** It's extremely difficult to make global calculations about poverty, so it's impossible to say who is right and who is wrong about the true extent. But what we do know is the direction, there is a consensus between the World Bank and Surjit Bhalla that the world has never before seen such a big reduction in human poverty as we have seen in the last 20 years. And such poverty reduction does not happen arbitrarily. It is a natural consequence of economic growth. No country has ever succeeded in reducing poverty without having long-term growth. Nor is there any case of the opposite, i.e. of a country having had long-term sustainable growth which has not been of benefit to the poor population. If we have 3 percent growth per annum, this means that the economy, our capital and our incomes double every 23 years. If growth is twice as fast, these things double about every 12 years. This is an unparalleled growth of prosperity, compared with which even vigorous government measures for the redistribution of incomes take on a puny aspect.  This makes growth the best cure for poverty. Some economists have spoken of a 'trickle-down" effect, in the sense of some taking the lead and getting rich first, after which parts of this wealth trickle down to the poor, as a result of the rich demanding their labour. This thesis rather reminds one of the image of the poor man getting the crumbs that fall from the rich man's table, but this is a completely mistaken picture of the true effect of growth. On the contrary, what happens is that the poor derive benefit from growth to roughly the same extent and at the same speed as the rich. They benefit immediately from the value of their labour increasing and from the goods they buy becoming cheaper in relation to their income.  Two World Bank economists, David Dollar and Aart Kraay, studied 40 years' income statistics from 80 countries. Their studies show that growth benefits the poor just as much as the rich. With 1 per cent growth the poor increase their income on average by 1 per cent, with 10 per cent growth they raise it, on average, by 10 percent. Not always and not everywhere - there are exceptions and variations - but on average.  This has also made it possible to fight misery and increase living standards generally. During the last 30 years chronic hunger and the extent of child labour in the developing countries have been cut in half. In the last half century, life expectancy has gone up from 46 to 64 years and infant mortality has been reduced from 18 to 8 per cent. These indicators are better in the developing countries today, than they were in the richest countries a hundred years ago.  It is not a coincidence that the great waves of poverty reduction have also been the periods of two unique growth stories. In its 1997 _Human development _report, the UNDP notes that humanity has seen two 'great ascents". The first began in the 19th century, with the industrial revolution in the US and Europe. The second began during the post-war era and is now in full swing, with especially Asia noting ever-greater advances in the war against poverty, hunger, disease and illiteracy. Six Asians in ten were absolutely poor in 175. Today's figure is less than two out of ten.  It is also absolutely essential to understand that this was the two periods in which the West, and later Asia began to globalise in a serious way. Let me pick two examples to show the link between globalisation and poverty reduction. The European example is Sweden in the 19th century, and the Asian example is Taiwan in the 20th century.  **Economic Miracle 1 : Sweden**  In 1870, Sweden was poorer than Congo is today. People lived twenty years shorter than they do in developing countries today, and infant mortality was twice as high as in the average developing country. My forefathers were literally starving. The lack of trade, markets and communications in one region meant that a crop failure resulted in hunger there. In 1870 Swedes had to make bread from bark, lichen and straw to survive. They minced bones from fish and other animals to meal, on which they made porridge.  If you had levelled out all Swedish property in the middle of the 19th century, it would still have given everybody a life in poverty, of the levels of today's Mozambique. So redistribution was not the solution. Instead Sweden was saved by liberalisation. In a few decades, a couple of classical liberal politicians gave Sweden religious liberty, freedom of speech, and economic liberty, so that people could start their own business and buy and sell freely on the market.  A trade agreement with England and France in 1865 made it possible for Swedes to specialise in what we did best. We couldn't produce food well, but we could produce steel and timber, and sell it abroad. From the money we made, we could buy food. And because we had a free market, people and companies had to think of new and better ideas - otherwise consumers would turn to someone else. In 1870, the industrial revolution began in Sweden. New companies exported to countries across the world, and production grew rapidly. The competition forced our companies to become more efficient, and old industries were closed so that we could meet new demands, such as better clothes, sanitation, health care and education.  By 1950, before the Swedish welfare state was built, the Swedish economy had quadrupled. Infant mortality had been reduced by 85 per cent and life expectancy had increased by a miraculous 25 years. We were on our way to abolish poverty.  Even more interesting is that Sweden's economy grew at a much faster rate than the developed countries it traded with. The wages in Sweden grew from 33 per cent of the average wage in the US in 1870 to 56 per cent in the early 1900s, even though American wages soared at the same time. This shouldn't surprise anyone. Economic models predict  that poor countries should have higher growth rates than affluent ones if there is a free flow of capital, trade and ideas between them. They have more latent resources to harness, and they can benefit from the existence of wealthier nations to which they export goods and from which they import capital and more advanced technology, whereas affluent countries have already captured many of those gains. This is why globalisation is the hope of poor countries.  **Economic Miracle 2: Taiwan ** The transition that took Sweden 80 years took Taiwan 25 a century later. Because Taiwan began in an even more globalised world, with even richer countries to do business with and borrow ideas from. In 1950 Taiwan was an extremely poor country, with a hungry population. Taiwan was as poor as Kenya and other African countries, today it is 20 times richer. The difference was that Taiwan decided to go global. In contrast to African and Latin American countries, where they produced everything they needed themselves, Taiwan followed the normal East Asian pattern, and specialised in the industries they were best at, exported it to the West, and imported the rest. The factories were dirty, the machines dangerous and the Taiwanese worked long hours.  Taiwan's transition from hunger to South European living standards is personified in an old gentleman I met when I visited the country, Mr. Wang. His parents were poor farmers, who got property rights to their farm in the 60s, so that they could invest and borrow money. So Wange started factory production of toys such as Barbie dolls, sports gear like skateboards, stainless steel scissors with plastic handles.  If the anti-globalisation movement had been around when Taiwan was industrialised, they would have protested against the factories and told us we were exploiting cheap labour. Surely they would have organised a boycott. If enough Americans and Europeans had joined that boycott, Taiwan would still be poor today.  Because these sweatshops were the stepping stones for the Taiwanese. Mr. Wang lost two fingers to a machine, but he also became a millionaire. The decision to go global resulted in the Taiwanese economic miracle. In just ten years, the number of businesses more than tripled, and poverty was cut in half. Until today, Taiwan's foreign trade grew 400- fold, and real wages grew 10-fold. Today it is a country with living standards close to Southern Europe.  **Economic Miracle 3: Vietnam ** From these historical examples we learn that economic growth is necessary for poverty reduction. And we learn that economic freedom and trade is essential for economic growth. That is why we can see that Sweden's and Taiwan's economic transitions are repeated today, by the globalising nations of our era. Studies show that on average, countries with open markets grow 3 to 5 times quicker than closed economies. Poor, open economies today grow faster than Sweden and Taiwan do. Let me pick an example. A couple of months ago I visited Vietnam, a communist country that has had second thoughts. When the socialist policies led to starvation in the mid-80's they began to open the economy and liberalise the markets. Since then the country's economy has doubled, and poverty has been halved. The most important reason is Vietnam's surge in exports. And the introduction of foreign multinationals has been an essential element, because it gave Vietnam access to the benefits of globalisation - foreign ideas, capital and technology. Nike is often branded an enemy of the poor. But when I visited Nike's supplier in Saigon the local union leader told me that even the communist party officials use the factories as positive examples of good business, where workers get high wages and a good and healthy work place.  When Nike started there ten years ago, the workers walked for hours to the factories, after three years on Nike wages, they could afford bicycles, another three years later they all drove mopeds to work. I visited Tsi-Chi, a young Vietnamese woman. Her work at Nike has made it possible for her to leave the heavy and unhealthy work on the family farm, where she had to be outdoors all the day, in burning sun and during the rain period. Now she earns five times what she did, and earns more than her husband - which of course makes independence possible. She now has access to health care, she has bought a television set and built an extension to the house. A generation ago, she would have to put her son to work on the farm from an early age. But Tsi-Chi told me she wants to give him a good education, so that he can become a doctor. She is not an exception. Growth triumphed where prohibition had failed: 2.2 million Vietnamese children have gone from child labour to education in ten years.  If the anti-globalists got as they wanted, and we all boycotted sweatshops and goods produced by cheap labour, Tsi-Chi would lose her job, and have to go back to farming, and put her son to work. If multinationals and better wages is exploitation - then the problem in our world is that the poor countries aren't sufficiently exploited.  **Domestic Obstacles ** Vietnam is not an isolated success story. A recent World Bank report concluded that 24 developing countries with a total population of 3 billion are integrating into the global economy more quickly than ever. Their growth per capita has also increased from 1 per cent in the 1960s to 5 per cent in the 1990s. At the present rate, the average citizen in these developing countries will see her income doubled in less than 15 years.  Something worth noting is that the industrialised countries during this time only grew by 2 per cent. In other words, big developing countries are growing faster than the rich countries, which means that world inequality is being reduced today. But this doesn't happen everywhere. The biggest problems exist in Africa, where the number of poor continue to climb rapidly. I think there are two common, but false explanations for this fact. The first is that globalisation is to blame. The problem with this explanation is that Africa is the least democratic, least liberal, least capitalist and least globalised part of the world: if globalisation is so horrible, how can it create growth and poverty reduction everywhere, and at the same time be responsible for poverty and misery in the place where it has penetrated the least?  The other false explanation is some variation on cultural or biological traits. Asians are for example supposed to be more hard working or more intelligent than Africans. The problem with this explanation is that there is no clear-cut difference between Asian and African economies like that. We can see that Asian exceptions such as Burma and North Korea, with extremely isolationist and anti-market policies, have not followed the region's success. They are stuck in the deepest misery. And we can also see that African exceptions, that tried a more pro-market, pro-globalisation approach, countries such as Botswana, Uganda and Mauritius, have seen economic growth and poverty reduction.  The difference is not that some poor countries fail because people there are stupid, or not hard working. The difference is that some get the liberty to use their intelligence, and the freedom to work for their own benefit, some don't. Earlier I mentioned that Taiwan was as poor as Kenya 50 years ago, but that it is now 20 times richer. I think two better explanations for the poverty in Kenya and many other developing countries are domestic and external obstacles to globalisation and capitalism.  Recently I visited Kenya, and I saw the people working hard and being innovative - the problem is that they had to devote all that energy - not to production - but to avoid regulations, trade restrictions and corruption. I met Simon, a poor farmer who grew cabbage. His dream was to improve the farm, to get irrigation for the crops, and build a house. But how can he get that, when the government doesn't recognize his property right to his land? In that case he can't borrow the capital to invest. And if he would improve the land, he wouldn't reap the rewards - the government would.  The Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto has explained the problem of this lack of property rights in his innovative work _The Mystery of Capital_. People in the Third World occupy common lands, build simple houses in shanty towns which they are constantly improving, and establish small corner shops, just as poor people in the western world were doing a couple of hundred years ago. The trouble is that in Latin American and African countries today it is practically impossible to register this as property. In fact, the poor of the world are not really poor, but the government does not recognise their wealth, and because of that real estate worth about 9.3 trillion dollars is not officially registered. This is a huge sum, more than the combined value of all companies listed on the stock exchanges of the affluent countries - New York, Nasdaq, Toronto, Tokyo, London, Frankfurt, Paris, Milan - and a dozen more besides.  I also met Pamela in the enormous slums of Kibera in Kenya, who explained to me that she is not allowed to sell her samosa food without a government license. If you don't get a license, the police can demand bribes every time they see you. As someone said about the slums: 'It's not safe to carry money around, there's too many policemen'. Without a license she can't borrow money or expand. To get a license takes 11 bureaucratic procedures, 61 days and half a year's income. Want to start a business to become rich? Forget it, in Kenya you have to be rich to start a business. As a result almost two thirds of all Kenyan jobs are in the informal sector. Production is small scale for the local market, often hidden from potential customers because they have to hide from the authorities.  Once again, this problem is the same in most African and Latin American countries. Starting a business in Argentina takes 15 bureaucratic procedures and 68 days, in Paraguay it takes 18 bureaucratic procedures and 73 days. In Bolivia it costs you almost two year's income to get an official license, in Nicaragua it takes you more than three years of income. If, as I think, globalisation is an extension of the classical market economy, with its specialisation and competition, then surely countries have to have basic market institutions to be able to participate fully. And therefore, people need more freedom and liberalisation, not less. **Protectionism ** But often, even that is not enough. There are also external obstacles. It was difficult to find success stories in Kenya. No booming sectors, no expanding industries. Except one. Flowers. I met June who was a manager at a rose farm, who explained to me that Kenya is the leading exporter of cut flowers to Europe. When I asked her what was the difference between her sector and others, she replied that the European Union had agreed to keep tariffs on Kenya's flowers low. They allowed free trade to work its magic. But this is an isolated Kenyan success, and an isolated example of free trade. Because our guilt, the shame of the Western countries is that we are not practising what we preach. The problem is not that the western world is supposedly trying to trick poor countries into some sort of corporate, neo-liberal globalisation - it is that we are shutting them out from it. The problem is not that we don't have something called 'fair trade', the problem is that we do not have free trade.  Over the last 50 years, we have liberalised trade, but we made two major exceptions - textiles/garments and agriculture. This happens to be the sort of labour intense goods a poor country is able to produce in the early stages of development. So we give developing countries the right to sell everything that they can't produce. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development calculates that the developing countries could export for $700 billion more per year if we abolished our protectionism. That is 14 times more than they get in foreign aid.  Someone has said that after the liberalisation of the Chinese economy there are only three centrally planned economies left in the world, Cuba, North Korea and the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union. This agricultural policy shut poor countries' goods out with quotas and tariffs, but it also subsidises our farmers with billions, and through export subsidies and so called food aid, we dump the surplus in poor countries, so that farmers there are knocked out on their home ground. Sweden makes expensive sugar from sugar beets, instead of importing them from countries with the climate, the soil and cheaper labour. An average cow in the European Union gets more in subsidies every day than 3 billion people in the developing countries have to live on.  But an end to subsidies and protectionism is not an act of generosity. It is an act of rationality. Because we lose ourselves by these policies, only a tiny special interest profit. The OECD-countries barriers and support for agriculture and horticulture amounts to almost 1 billion dollar a day. It's hard to grasp such a huge sum. 1 billion is a fortune, 300 billion is just a figure. Therefore it's best to put it in perspective. For that sum you could fly all the cows in the OECD, 60 million of them, around the world every year in business class. In addition, the cows could be given almost $2,000 each in pocket money to spend in tax-free shops during their stopovers. The cows could have this sort of trip every year. This much we are forced to pay, tax payers and consumers, to destroy the possibilities for poor countries to compete.  The problem with protectionism is not merely a problem with Western protectionism. An even bigger problem is poor country protectionism. Countries generally need more trade, that means not only exports but also imports. Imports are needed for the consumers and for competition and specialisation in the economy, and to fight monopolies. And low import tariffs are needed for exports as well. Something like 40 per cent of exports from the developing countries go to other developing countries. If, then, poor consumers are forced to pay heavy prices for products from companies in their own country, they are prevented from buying from companies in the neighbouring countries, in which case the producers will also lose by this policy. They may get a monopoly of their own market, but on the other hand they are stopped to sell to other markets. This destroys specialisation, which is an engine for growth. Developing countries' tariffs against other developing countries today are more than two and a half times higher than the industrialised countries' tariffs against developing countries. Thus more than 70 per cent of the customs dues which developing countries are forced to pay are levied by other developing countries. Poor countries would benefit more from poor country liberalisation, than from rich country liberalisation.  **What The Poor Say ** Often in the end of discussions about poverty and globalisation, critiques say that statistics give a superficial view. Economics isn't everything. We should also ask poor people about what they think about globalisation. I agree. But in that case, we can't be content with asking two or three individuals hand-picked by antiglobalists and ask them. We need a broad statistically sound selection of representative individuals. Recently, that was done when the Pew Center surveyed 38,000 people in 44 nations, with coverage of the developing world in all regions. The interesting result was that people hold a positive view of globalisation in all regions, but that views of globalization are much more positive in poor countries than in rich ones. If there is a group which is relatively sympathetic to the anti-globalisation views it is the well-off in rich countries. This Pew Global Attitude Survey showed that only 28 per cent of people in the US and Western Europe thought growing global trade and business ties was 'very good'. In developing Asia 37 per cent thought so, and in Sub-Saharan Africa no less than 56 per cent thought it was very good. More than a quarter of Americans and West Europeans thought that globalisation has a bad effect on their country, fewer than 1 in 10 in developing Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa thought the same. Only a little more than half in rich countries thought that multinational corporations has a good effect on their country, but as many as 75 per cent of Africans thought so. More than a third in rich countries think that antiglobalisation has a positive effect, only a little more than a quarter in Africa thought so.  It seems like Americans and Europeans more than others take freedom, wealth and technology for granted, without examining or understanding the process of markets and internationalisation on which this depends. But people who are deprived of freedoms and opportunities see globalisation as the way to get it.  Even though we have seen history's biggest reduction in poverty, poverty is still with us, and in many places it deepens. According to the World Bank 1.2 billion live in absolute poverty, and 900 million people live in chronic hunger. History, statistics, theory and the poor themselves all-say that the problem is not globalisation, it is that they do not yet have access to the fruits of globalisation. It is worth repeating the words of UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan at the UNCTAD Conference in Bangkok on 12th February 2000, soon after the demonstrations against the WTO: 'The main losers in today's very unequal world are not those who are too much exposed to globalisation. They are those who have been left out" _Last week's musing: [MANIFESTO FOR INDIAN LIBERALS](https://indianliberals.in/content/manifesto-for-india-liberals/)_ --- ## [Musing] Gopal Ganesh Agarkar and the Vindication of Women’s Education URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/gopal-ganesh-agarkar-and-the-vindication-of-womens-education/ ### Body _In the face of opposition from several sections of the society, Agarkar held on to the liberal ideas of equality of opportunity, individual choice, individual freedom, and education for women. Agarkar’s treatment of the subject of women’s education was at once insightful, critical and persuasive._ Gopal Ganesh Agarkar was an Indian thinker, known primarily for his writings in the Marathi newspapers Kesari and Sudharak. His writings and visionary thoughts often come to be overshadowed by his difficult association with Lokmanya Tilak. The mutual diatribes between the two obscure the clarity and conviction of his ideas. However, Agarkar’s thoughts and ideas continue to be relevant and his predictions accurate.  The late 19th century in India was an era of conflict of ideas. Women’s education became the center of such a conflict with both sides making sharp attacks against the other. Agarkar in his writings, often cited the attacks made against his position. Following is one among the several attacks leveled against Agarkar - ‘And these are the leading figures in our society. We used to think of them as intellectuals, now we know how intelligent they really are! How did these ‘intellectuals’ get this ridiculous idea of putting women in schools! It would be better to throw India’s wealth into the sea than to use it for women’s education’ (Agarkar, 1994, Vol. 3, 157). Agarkar wrote in sharp and precise words with the view to counter the status quo and to persuade his readers and opponents alike.  Agarkar did not take a revolutionary position on women’s education and instead framed his argument in terms of simple questions. He first articulated the need for primary education in India by discussing the positive impact of primary education in Europe. He begins _शिक्षणाबद्दल सक्ती करावी काय?_ (_Should education be made compulsory?_) by referring to Lord Macaulay’s Speech on Education in the House of Commons in 1847; here Lord Macaulay endorsed the phrase, ‘educate the people’, and attributed it to William Penn, George Washington and to Thomas Jefferson. Agarkar believed that all developed nations had one thing in common and that was primary education. In _इंग्रजी विद्या व आमची सामाजिक स्थिती _(_English Education and our social condition_) he elaborates on the positive impact that education tends to have in any society - Education offers the freedom to think and also offers business freedoms. In a related article titled _प्राथमिक शिक्षण सरकारचे आवश्यक कर्तव्य आहे _(_Primary Education is the Responsibility of the State_), he states that the state cannot and must not shirk from providing primary education to its people. He further elucidates that European political systems may have abridged the role of the king or the state. And yet primary education finds a place within the role of the state. Even those who believe in a very limited state, hold the belief that the protection of people’s life and property is the primary function of the state’ (Agarkar, 1994, Vol. 1, 158). Agarkar’s insistence on a state-provided primary education stemmed from two concerns. Firstly, the lack of civil-society-run educational institutions, and the lack of awareness among people about the need for primary education leaves no alternative but to rely on the state. He further suggested that it doesn’t matter if children get education at home or through institutions established by civil society. If the society is able to provide education, the state need not interfere. However, if the society is unable to provide education, the responsibility lies with the state’ (Agarkar, 1994, Vol. 1, 161). Secondly, Agarkar strongly believed that the absence of education leads people to indulge in antisocial and criminal behavior; one uneducated individual becomes a potential danger to the rest of the society and hence the state must play its role in protecting its citizens. Agarkar ends his discussion on primary education by stating unequivocally that educating people does not mean providing higher education or vocational education. It refers to the basic education that helps people carry out daily activities and business (Agarkar, 1994, Vol. 1, 156). Agarkar proceeds to build a case for women’s education on the foundation of primary education for all. His intent and his ideas on women’s education are deeply reminiscent of Mary Wollstonecraft. In one of his early writings, Agarkar speaks of the need to provide education that enables women to become financially independent. In _स्त्रियांस चरितार्थसंपादक शिक्षण देण्याची आवश्यकता_ (_The Need for Providing Women with Education for Employment_), he portrays how women have to depend on the mercy of a male relative after the death of their husbands, and in several cases women prefer death over seeking pity. In such a scenario, the only way out is an education that can bring some means of livelihood to the woman. Agarkar espouses the argument made by Wollstonecraft a hundred years ago. In Chapter 12 of _Vindication_, titled ‘On National Education’, Mary Wollstonecraft states that it is essential for women’s dignity that they be given the right and the ability to earn their own living and support themselves (The British Library, n.d.).  Agarkar supported women’s education not just as a liberal idea but he also saw in it a way to prevent child marriages. In the then prevalent society, men’s education continued undisturbed through marriage and fatherhood. However, early marriage and motherhood forced young girls to keep away from education. If young girls are to take exams, they must prepare for those in a free manner, and as unmarried women living in the comfort of their parents’ house. And for married women to take exams, they must be able to do so with the complete support and cooperation of their in-laws, and with the same freedoms as enjoyed by unmarried women (Agarkar, 1994, Vol. 1, 167). Agarkar laments the waste of intelligence and talent brought on by early marriages and motherhood, and points out the immense national loss caused by such multi-generational waste. Mary Wollstonecraft suggested that along with the discriminatory practices, the cause of the waste of women’s talent was the conditioning of the female mind for docility and generally submissiveness. Agarkar’s writings criticize the idea that the only role of a woman is that of a wife and a mother. He counters the general assumption that education will propel women to abandon their ‘natural’ role of being a caring mother and an obedient wife. Agarkar’s ideas show yet another parallel to those of Wollstonecraft, as he recommended that men and women must be provided education in a co-ed manner. He believed that co-ed classrooms enabled students to interact comfortably with the opposite gender, making for a freer society, and enabling women to undertake activities that were once forbidden for them. Providing education to men and women in a mixed setting offers equal learning opportunities to women. However, Agarkar was cautious in demarcating equal from standardized. While he believed in equal opportunities, he also stated that women must not be expected or compelled to do the exact same things that men did. Instead, he offered the following liberal solution : If each person is allowed to do the work that they are good at and the work they want to do, it benefits the doer and the world at large  (Agarkar, 1994, Vol. 1, 171).  He countered the popular progressive opinion which held that unlike men, women should not be allowed to learn in English; there was a palpable fear that if both men and women started learning in English, then Marathi would fall out of use and become extinct. Agarkar offered a simple solution based on individual choice. He suggested that women who do not wish to have English as the medium should take up Marathi as the medium. It is not necessary to teach every subject in English (Agarkar, 1994, Vol. 3, 164). He found the argument about the medium of instruction as a weak one, meant purely for opposing women’s education. Agarkar recognised the larger purpose of women’s education as he moved from the empowerment of an individual woman to the larger community of women. In _स्त्रीशिक्षणावर शेवटचे दोन शब्द_ (_Final Thoughts on Women’s Education_), he wishes that the educated women keep using their education to help liberate other helpless women who are struggling and suffering (Agarkar, 1994, Vol. 3, 164).    Agarkar swam against the tide, vociferously arguing for women’s education. He was a visionary in the sense that his predictions and hopes for the future were accurate. In _स्त्रियांस वरिष्ठ प्रतीचे शिक्षण द्यावे की नाही?_ (_Should Women be given Higher Education or Not?_) he articulated that both men and women should be able to take up whichever job they want, learn whichever skill, take whichever exams, obtain whichever certifications and degrees that they want, get married when they want, and live the married life the way they want - I am convinced that these freedoms will be available to every individual in the future (Agarkar, 1994, Vol. 1, 167). In the face of opposition from several sections of the society, Agarkar held on to the liberal ideas of equality of opportunity, individual choice, individual freedom, and education for women. Agarkar’s treatment of the subject of women’s education was at once insightful, critical and persuasive. He did not hesitate to call out the hypocrisy of conveniently using religion to oppose education for women. He addressed every possible opposition to women’s education in his writings and wrote to convince his readers and rivals alike. He saw the opposition to women’s education as a part of the larger dialectic or what he called as खंडन-मंडन (khandan-mandan). He often treated with serious consideration the most ridiculous of ideas put forth by his opponents with a view to counter them and lead to the synthesis. In _स्वच्छतेसाठी घाणेरडा विषय _(_A Filthy Subject for Cleaning_), Agarkar firmly established the role of a true reformer in the following words : If a particular belief or practice is harmful to the society, then it is the responsibility of the reformer to point out the flaws in it and openly discuss the subject notwithstanding whether the topic is taboo or not (Agarkar, 1994, Vol. 2, 159).   **References** Agarkar, G. G. (1994). _संपूर्ण आगरकर : खंड एक _(Vol. 1). वरदा बुक्स. Agarkar, G. G. (1994). _संपूर्ण आगरकर : खंड दोन_ (Vol. 2). वरदा बुक्स. Agarkar, G. G. (1994). _संपूर्ण आगरकर : खंड तीन _(Vol. 3). वरदा बुक्स. The British Library. (n.d.). _Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman_. Discovering our Collections. Retrieved August 02, 2023, from [https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/mary-wollstonecraft-a-vindication-of-the-rights-of-woman](https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/mary-wollstonecraft-a-vindication-of-the-rights-of-woman) [_Previous musing: The Forgotten Legacy of Yashodabai Agarkar_](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-forgotten-legacy-of-yashodabai-agarkar/) [](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMG_4159_Original.jpg) **Avanti Lele** Avanti Lele is a Minoo Masani Liberal Fellow. She is pursuing her PhD in English Literature from Lancaster University. She has worked as a lecturer of English Literature and as a Spanish language instructor. Her research interests include but are not limited to women's writing, liberal feminism, postcolonial studies, indigeneity. --- ## [Musing] Government and Society in a Free and Prosperous Commonwealth URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/government-and-society-in-free-commonwealth/ ### Body _The excerpt below is from the publication “Natural Order: Essays Exploring Civil Government & The Rule of Law”, authored by Sauvik Chakraverti. _ _The collection of essays explores the concepts of civil government and the rule of law from a philosophical perspective. The book discusses the nature of political power, the role of the state, and the relationship between the individual and society. Throughout the book, Chakraverti engages with classical liberal thinkers such as John Locke and Adam Smith and contemporary political philosophers such as Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. He also draws on examples from history and current events to illustrate his arguments._ _Sauvik Chakraverti was an Indian columnist and author. He wrote extensively on politics, economics, and culture, and his writings often focused on promoting classical liberal ideas and regularly contributed to several Indian newspapers and magazines, including Livemint._ _You can read the original, unabridged version [here](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/natural-order-essays-exploring-civil-government-and-the-rule-of-law.pdf)._ A free and prosperous commonwealth does not depend for its motive force on any great political leader. On the contrary, the varying degrees of success that different commonwealths achieve rely entirely on the people, their entrepreneurial abilities, their knowledge, and any other advantages they may possess. Such a society is people-driven. The government is on standby to act against those who break the law and nothing else. This, too, at the local level. The word ‘commonwealth’ originates in the ancient term ‘common weal’, which meant ‘common benefit’ or, as it was later called, ‘common profit of the realm.’ The word ‘commonwealth’ means collective decision-making not guided by particular interests. This ‘impartiality’ to special interests has remained the highest ‘value’ of law and government, including civil service. This value was often expressed as ‘an empire of laws and not of men.’ Under such a government and legal system, what matters is ‘how the competition was carried out, not its result.’ The ‘common interest’ of the people comprising a ‘body politic’ thus lay in uniformly applicable laws binding upon all. In English history, the word ‘commonwealth’ is used to describe the Republic government of Oliver Cromwell that ruled between 1649 (the execution of Charles I) and 1660 (the death of Cromwell and the restoration of the monarchy). Cromwell did not accept teh title of king- “We have mot cut off this king’s head in order to steal his crown!”-- and was known simply as “Lord Protector of the Commonwealth.” The word ‘commonwealth’ has all but disappeared from modern political discourse; my modern dictionary of political ideas does not contain the word. This is not surprising when interest group politics has become the norm almost everywhere. Mancur Olson’s _The Rise and Fall of Nations_ analyses this trend and warns of its serious consequences. DESTRUCTION OF THE COMMONWEALTH IN MODERN INDIA The sad story of modern India, free from the British but not free from the machinations of all sorts of particular interests, is a story in which the word ‘commonwealth’ does not feature. If anything, the government of independent India has scripted a story favouring special interests alone: crony businessmen, the vast bureaucracy, and the innumerable public sector enterprises that offer so many opportunities for patronage as well as kickbacks…as the story unfolds, the honest taxpayer is forced to admit that nothing has been done to further those vital interests that all Indians have in common, and for the pursuance of which they are supposed to have come together to set up this republic. The license-quota-permit raj played private interests in a closed economy against each other– but in the end, most of these businessmen gained at the expense of the citizens as consumers. The annual budget was always used to bestow favours by varying tax rates so that competition was affected because relative prices were altered. These ills are still with us. Let us take the example of the import of cars, including second-hand ones, which is the direct path to universal automobile ownership– and thus in the genuine interest of the ‘commonwealth’ because if every Indian owns a car, every Indian is wealthy. However, how the ‘voodoo liberalisation’ of the automobile industry has been carried out has meant that, instead of aiming for an India where everyone has a car, India has become a nation where most Indians own bikes and scooters, some Indians own cars, some foreign multinational car companies are operating small assembly lines for some of the products of their extensive stables, and all the old cronies are still prospering–and yes, in all that, we still have some amount of government ownership in Suzuki India, a company with a commanding market share. Quite clearly, ‘commonwealth’ is not the objective; instead, playing favours in the marketplace–where the government remains a major player– is the dominant ethic(!). The citizen as the consumer has always had his interests sacrificed, so this exploitation is nothing new, but what of the citizen as a taxpayer? Now, customs duties on second-hand car imports are 180 per cent. This means there is zero trade and hence zero revenue collection. The same is the case with imports of wines and spirits, where duties are over 400 per cent and have become a matter of international dispute at teh WTO. At such an astronomical tariff level, there is once again zero trade and, consequently, zero revenue collection. As far as the citizen as a taxpayer is concerned, the overall size of the public treasury is the ‘commonwealth’ – and the bigger it is, the better, provided the collections place an equitable burden on all. In both these cases, if imports had been allowed on low duty, citizens would have gained hugely as consumers–dump the bike and drive the wife and kids in a second-hand Toyota, chuck up the horse’s rum for an inexpensive and healthy bottle of Italian wine. But the citizens would have also gained as taxpayers because huge revenues would have been painlessly collected. If the government had these revenues, it could have avoided imposing a special education tax; indeed, many–if not all– of the new rapacious taxes that have been devised could have been avoided. I recently flew Delhi-Goa by a budget airline. My cheap ticket cost 2100 rupees, but the taxes totalled 1700 rupees! When the government gives up vast amounts of revenue by imposing tariff walls that bar trade, it must collect it by some other means – for it must feed its troops. But the taxpayer loses a great deal in the process because the idea of ‘commonwealth’ has not informed the authorities. Poor citizen! Condemned to ferrying the wife and kids on a motorcycle; Condemned to hauling the wife and kids on a bike; condemned to the uncomfortable autorickshaw when in need of public transport; condemned to the harsh grogs of IMFL, and condemned to cough up the revenues thereby sacrificed to restore the public treasury! How far removed indeed from the idea of ‘commonwealth’? The socialist Indian state is always a predator of the people because it has no principles and always acts according to expediency. In an earlier age, especially in politics, a man without principles would be disgraced. Still, in the _chalta hai_ (it’s okay) times we live in, expediency is considered clever and intelligent, while principled people are considered ‘idealistic’, ‘utopian’ or, worse still, ‘theoretical’. However, the absence of principles in our opponents is ultimately derived from a complete lack of understanding of society, economics and politics– and such a level of ignorance can only spell doom. In the long run, I am confident principles must prevail. Enough of this government! Socialists and protectionists have converted the ‘ship of state’ into a ‘pirate ship’. For the common profit of the realm, a new ‘merchant ship’ must be built. Let us, therefore, turn away from government and consider how free commerce can significantly improve the wealth of every ordinary Indian, thereby augmenting the ‘commonwealth’ via what Adam Smith called the ‘invisible hand’. THE CASE FOR UNILATERAL FREE TRADE Let us start with the most extreme position: Would we Indians, as far as our ‘common profit’ was concerned, lose anything if the customs department was abolished at one stroke and the entire sub-continent became the largest duty-free trading area in the world, wherein every shop, even the paan-bidi shop, was a duty-free shop? Frederic Bastiat, a great free trader who Richard Cobden and the Masnchesterites inspired, gave us the best way to answer this question through a thought experiment: Make an inventory of every possession of every Indian on the night before the abolition of the customs department and then make another such inventory a year later. Will the latter inventory show that the possessions and properties of all Indians have improved or declined? Of course, they will offer a marked improvement. This, the ‘wealth of the nation’, which correctly consists of the wealth of every Indian added up, which is the ‘common profit’, will significantly rise. However, many particular interests would lose out in the competition. But then, impartiality demands that what matters is how competition is played out, not its results. It is then that the ‘common profit’ is realised. There is no ‘right to profit’. Therefore, the antics of India’s minister of foreign trade, Kamal Nath, who walked out of the WTO ministerial in Hong Kong–and who is consequently a protectionist at heart as well as in practice–must be viewed as opposed to the expected profit of the realm: in other words, he is, strictly speaking, an ‘anti-national’. But do we need WTO to trade with foreigners? According to our principle, the government is subsidiary to the natural order that extends beyond our shores. For example, when we order books or music from Amazon.com with our credit cards and receive them without the assistance of any government. Does the freedom to trade with foreigners need our government to meet with other governments to ‘negotiate’ terms? Can we not negotiate terms with our foreign buyers and suppliers much better as free individuals? The best way to investigate foreign trade is, once again, through individualism. Individuals trade, not nations. When individuals trade, reciprocity is meaningless. I do not buy a Nokia phone because the Nokia manager dines in my restaurant regularly. Indeed, I can jolly well buy a Motorola phone and not offend my customer. It is not a ‘just expectation’ that those who believe in you should demand that you buy from them. In the market, there is ‘continuous competition’. The act of buying and the act of selling are two separate acts to which different forces of competition apply. Since reciprocity is meaningless when individuals trade, it must be utterly devoid of all meaning when applied to nations. We do not need the WTO: we must declare free trade unilaterally. If revenue is what the government needs –which is not the situation today, when income is being sacrificed for particular interests – then the customs department can stay, but a flat rate, extremely low revenue tariff should be imposed. Revenues will soar, other taxes can be slashed, and competition will be free and fair because relative prices will be unaffected. I once lectured to a group of students in Panjim, Goa, and the lecture hall on the rooftop overlooking the Arabian Sea. I pointed to the blue waters and asked my class: Suppose you want a car. Will you get it from this direction? Or, I continued, pointing towards the land, from the other side, where Poona lies and where the Bajaj types live? After hesitating, my class said they wanted to get their cars via the sea route. It is a symptom of the absence of principles in the thinking of our rulers that overland trade routes between India and China are being opened in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh while the 2000-mile-long coastline is 364 not being opened up to free international trade. When principles do not guide action, nothing makes sense. Madmen or idiots might as well rule us. _Previous musing: [Dr B R Ambedkar on Village Panchayats](https://indianliberals.in/content/dr-br-ambedkar-on-village-panchayats/)_ --- ## [Musing] The Gold Problem in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/gold-problem-india/ ### Body The gold problem in India, if there is such a problem at all, has been the subject of intensive public debate and discussion in recent days. The gold problem in India, if there is such a problem at all, has been the subject of intensive public debate and discussion in recent days. The Forum of Free Enterprise, following its practice of stimulating public thinking on national economic problems published a booklet on the gold problem in July 1963. The booklet included four essays, examining the gold problem from the historic, economic and constitutional viewpoints. The authors of the booklet are: Prof. B. R. Shenoy, Director of the School of Social Sciences, Gujarat University, an authority on the gold problem; Mr. M. A. Sreenivasan, eminent industrialist who was formerly the Chairman of the Kolar Gold Mines; Dr. Kersi Doodha, of the Department of Economics of the University of Bombay, who is author of books on monetary problems, and Mr. Phiroze J. Shroff, well-known economist and an authority on constitutional law. The booklet examines the Gold Problem under four principal heads: - What is the Gold Problem? - How and when did it arise? - What measures have we adopted to tackle it and with what success? - If these measures have not been successful, what alternative measures could we adopt? _Access the full document[here](http://v2.indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=1750398613.pdf)._ _First Published in the Forum of Free Enterprise in July 1963._ _Other editions of the publication can be accessed at [Indian Liberals](http://indianliberals.in/index), an open, multilingual digital archive committed to preserving liberal voices in the Indian public sphere._ [Read More SO Musings](https://spontaneousorder.in/?s=SO+Musings) --- ## [Musing] Grievances in and of the Supreme Court URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/grievances-in-and-of-the-supreme-court/ ### Body With the four senior judges of the Supreme Court publicly expressing their dissatisfaction with the Chief Justice of India, Vineet Bhalla reflects on the lack of an institutional grievance redressal mechanism in the Judiciary. On 12 January, four of the senior-most puisne judges of the Supreme Court of India invited a[press conference](http://indianexpress.com/article/india/supreme-court-crisis-4-retired-judges-write-open-letter-to-cji-dipak-misra-5024257/) to express their dissatisfaction with the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Speaking up against the arbitrariness in case allocation, a power exclusive to CJI as master of the roster, in a manner unprecedented in the history of independent India, they left no doubt that there has been a complete breakdown of trust and communication between the CJI and the four judges. A key takeaway from this fiasco is that there is no institutional mechanism in the judicial system to address the judges’ grievances. This is symptomatic of the larger malaise of lack of accountability within the Indian judiciary, indicated by, among other things, the Supreme Court’s [resistance](https://thewire.in/124766/judiciary-accountability-transparency-rti/) to the application of the Right to Information Act, and being completely [opaque](http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/towards-transparency/article19829914.ece) about judicial appointments and promotions till October of last year. It is vital for us to keep in mind that this crisis is as much an indictment of institutional failure within the Supreme Court as it is of the individual occupying the CJI office. That Justice Misra can choose to completely ignore this matter without any ramifications is deeply troubling. Unless the judiciary makes some concerted efforts to whittle down the walls of its closed Big Boys Club (and the reforms need to come from within, since the principles of judicial autonomy effectively insulate it from any outside interference), it could risk losing the exalted status it occupies in the minds of the Indian public. Currently, the unwritten rules of judicial convention dictate administrative matters in the court, from judicial appointments to setting of the case roster. The first step should be, [as suggested by several experts](http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/supreme-court-crisis-constitution-judiciary-cji-unconventional-wisdom-5026083/), to put these rules out in the form of a written document to act as an express guide to the Hon’ble Judges of the Supreme Court as well as the public on these matters. The Supreme Court is far too important an institution to leave its credibility on the conscience of individuals. As doubts arise over the [silence of the CJI](https://scroll.in/article/865686/one-week-of-top-judges-dissent-to-ride-out-the-crisis-on-silence-is-a-disservice-to-the-people) over the matter, we must all keep this conversation going. What are the different ways in which structural reform can be brought into the workings of the apex court, without imperilling judicial autonomy? _Views expressed are of the author’s, and should not be taken as the stance/opinion of Spontaneous Order or Centre for Civil Society._ --- ## [Musing] Gurajada Apparao: Liberal and Feminist Insights in Kanyasulkam URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/gurajada-apparao-liberal-and-feminist-insights-in-kanyasulkam/ ### Body _Gurajada Venkata Apparao also called as ‘Gurajada’ was a social reformer and liberal thinker. He is also considered as the pathfinder of modernism in Telugu literature. Through his works, he strongly criticised social evils such as child marriage and dowry. He was a strong advocate for Women’s education and empowerment. He was posthumously awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian award, in 1954. _ Gurajada Venkata Apparao was a remarkable literary figure in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, acclaimed for his eloquent contribution to liberal ideas in literature. He was born on September 21, 1862, in Rayavaram village of Visakhapatnam District. Gurajada is regarded as a modernist pioneer in Telugu literature. Kanyasulkam is the first Telugu drama written entirely in spoken dialect. Even after a century of publication, the prose play Kanyasulkam, written in the Visakhapatnam dialect, remains popular. In 1892, Gurajada's acclaimed drama "Kanyasulkam" was staged for the general public. His other works include 'Kukku', an English poem (1882), 'Sarangadhara' an English poem (1883), 'Kondubhattiyam' (1906), 'Neelagiri paatalu' (1907), 'Mutyalasaramulu', 'Kasulu'(1910), 'Bilhaniyam', 'Lavana Rajula Kala'(1911), 'Kanyaka' (1912), 'Subhadra'(1913), 'Dinchu Langaru'(1914) and 'Langarettumu'(1915). Through his works, Apparao challenged the authoritarian and orthodox beliefs deeply ingrained in Indian society and culture. As a pioneer of liberal ideas, he advocated for individual freedom, rational thinking, and empowerment of women and marginalised communities. His exposition of social hindrances and his progressive stance on prevalent social issues made him a revolutionary figure in the literary scene of his era. His works testify to art's capacity to inspire social change and oppose repressive ideologies.  By emphasising individual freedom and progressive values, Apparao consistently encouraged the conception that individuals have the right to live according to their beliefs and desires, free from social prejudices. His works are often linked with themes such as personal autonomy, the pursuit of happiness, and challenging traditional norms and values.  Kanyasulkam is the price paid by the bridegroom to the bride’s family in exchange for the girl in marriage. Kanyasulkam was an evil practice that perpetuated treating women as commodities to be bought and sold. It also forced women into unwanted marriages and relationships.  Apparao’s patron, Maharaja Ananda Gajapati of Vizianagaram, was gathering information on child weddings a decade before Gurajada wrote the play, with the purpose of saving the unfortunate segment of womankind from a galling type of social demoralisation. This heinous tradition pricked the heart of Maharaja Ananda Gajapati. As a member of the Madras Legislative Council, Ananda Gajapati proposed a bill to prevent such marriages; nevertheless, the Committee rejected the bill, and he was unable to bring out the necessary legislation to restrict this social scourge.  Gurajada created Kanyasulkam drama with Maharaja Ananda Gajapati's encouragement. The drama depicts not just Kanyasulkam practice but also corruption, language reform, widow remarriages, child marriages, and prostitution. He used humour to deal with sensitive topics of that age. He dedicated Kanyasulkam drama to Maharaja Ananda Gajapati, who, as a liberal thinker of his time, was deeply worried about societal problems and evils. Kanyasulkam drama centres around Lubdhavadhanulu, an elderly, scholarly, thrifty, and widowed man of means. He is manipulated into a remarriage by a shrewd mediator Ramappa Pantulu, who seeks personal gain. Lubdhavadhanulu's union is arranged with the 10-year-old Subbi, the younger daughter of the determined yet scholarly Agnihotravadhanulu, who intends to marry off his son using the money. Subbi’s uncle Karataka Sastry devises a plan to save her from this marriage. He disguises his student Mahesam as the bride and himself as the bride’s father. Thwarting the alliance with Subbi, Lubhdhavadhanulu is lured into marriage with the disguised student Mahesam.  As the story unfolds, Kartaka Sastry’s insistence on a gold ornament during the wedding causes tensions between Lubdhavadhanulu and Ramappa Pantulu. The latter borrows a gold ornament from Madhuravani, his mistress, to stop the cancellation of the marriage. Kartaka Sastry then performs a rushed, one-night marriage and later escapes from the scene with the Kanyasulkam money. He instructs Mahesam to escape from the scene. After Mahesam escapes, Lubdhavadhanulu is accused of murder.   Amid the confusion, Lubdhavadhanulu is accused of murder when the bride disappears, leading to a legal battle. Madhuravani reveals the truth to the lawyer Soujanya Rao Pantulu, saving Lubdhavadhanulu from a grim fate. The play poignantly exposes the societal pressures, deceptions, and gender-related struggles during its time, weaving a compelling narrative that remains relevant in exploring timeless human complexities.  Coming to the characters and themes of the play, each character is significant since each reflects a distinct social reality of that period. Agnihotravadhanlu, Venkatesham, Girisham, and Madhuravani are the main characters of the play. Especially characters of Girisam and Madhuravani are the finest characters in Telugu Literature which stand for foolishness, immorality, sarcasm, and incongruity.  Girisam can be considered as the main protagonist of the play, if not a hero who represents so-called modernity, western ethos, and embodiment of crookedness with his command over English and philosophy. Readers often regard his character as “a pest, an enemy within”, “evil product of the alliance between traditional and modern social orders on the one hand and patriarchy on the other”. Gurajada created this character to shed light on the plight of the young widows at the hands of exploitative men. Posing as a reformer, Girisam abuses young widows and prostitutes. But Girisam, with all his flaws, is a loveable negative character, much like Mr. Jingle of The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens. Probably, Girisam represents the generation of social reformers who have internalised the progressive outlook but not solutions. Another main character of the play is Madhuravani. Born into the family of Devadasis, she is a young, beautiful, and charming woman of 22 years. As a prostitute, her character depicts issues such as the morality of occupation, righteousness, and courage to speak up for oneself. Her dialogues represent dilemma and skepticism about the social reform activity of that time. She displays intelligence and liberal thinking, and as the play progresses, her actions contribute to conflict resolution. Madhuravani challenges traditional gender roles and expectations.  Gurajada Venkata Apparao's legacy as a liberal thinker shines through his unwavering commitment to progressive thought. A literary luminary of his time, he wrote stories that dismantled the chains of convention. Through Kanyasulkam, he ignited a fire of belief in the audience and illuminated a path towards a liberated and equitable society.  References - Rao, V. N. (2011). The indigenous modernity of Gurajada Apparao and Fakir Mohan Senapati. In _Palgrave Macmillan US eBooks_ (pp. 135–152). [https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230118348_6](https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230118348_6) - Srilatha, G., & Siddhartha, P. B. (2018). Language and Culture in Kanyasulkam. _International Journal for Research in Engineering Application & Management_. _Previous musing: [FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM : THE TUMULTUOUS LEGACY OF RAGHUNATH KARVE](https://indianliberals.in/content/fighting-for-freedom-the-tumulous-legacy-of-raghunath-karve/)_ [](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/IMG_20220724_121630_copy-removebg-preview.png) **Ch Prashanth** Prashanth is pursuing his Master's in International Relations and Politics at the Central University of Kerala. He likes to spend his weekdays at the library or gym. His weekends are spent in front of the television watching the Premier League. --- ## [Musing] Gurcharan Das: Champion of liberal ideals URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/gurcharan-das-champion-of-liberal-ideas/ ### Body _Gurcharan Das is a prominent liberal thinker promoting individual freedom and free market economics. His critical analysis of inequality, socialism and the pursuit of fairness continues to shape India’s liberal discourse. This article narrates different ideas and viewpoints of Gurcharan Das through his works._ Gurcharan Das is an Indian author, liberal thinker, and acclaimed public intellectual known for his wise writings on various aspects, including economics, politics, culture, and society. He was born in Lyallpur (present-day Faisalabad, Pakistan) on October 3, 1943, and grew up in India after his family left following the partition.    Das attended Harvard University and had a successful career in business and management. He worked in various roles for several international organisations, including Procter & Gamble, which equipped him with a thorough awareness of the economic and corporate world.  His primary passion, however, was writing and contributing to India’s intellectual dialogue. He quit the corporate world in the late 1990s to pursue a full-time career as a writer and political pundit. He is now primarily considered a leading contemporary liberal author and commentator in India.  As a liberal figure, Das advocates for individual freedom, limited government intervention, and free-market economics. His book “India Unbound: From Independence to the Global Information Age,” published in 2000, is one of his critically praised works. Das provides a detailed account of India’s economic journey since independence, analysing the country’s transformation from a closed, socialist economy to an open, market-oriented one.  Some of his other influential works include "The Difficulty of Being Good: On the Subtle Art of Dharma," which delves into the concept of dharma and its relevance in modern times, and "The Elephant Paradigm: India Wrestles with Change," in which he reflects on India's distinct cultural and historical identity in the face of globalisation.  In one of his articles titled “Worry about Opportunity, Not about Inequality”, Das explores the rhetoric of inequality, presenting a thoughtful perspective on economic inequality and its implications for India’s social and political landscape.  One of the key takeaways from the article is the recognition that the pursuit of absolute equality might be idealistic but impracticable. Human nature pushes us to seek fairness and justice, yet achieving complete equality in all facets of life is complicated.  The Russian Revolution of 1917 was a significant event in world history. Attempting to create an egalitarian society, the Bolsheviks aimed to overthrow the Tsarist monarchy from power. The idea was to establish a classless society that pledged equality and prosperity for all. The reality of pursuing absolute equality led to a series of failures that culminated in the collapse of the Soviet Union.  The Soviet Union in 1922 embarked on a program of central planning and state control over the economy. The measures initiated were the nationalisation of industries, agriculture collectivisation, and planned economy establishment. The results were production inefficiencies, shortages, and misallocation of resources.  India’s quest for economic equality during the Nehru era severely impacted the economy. Nehru’s socialistic tendencies hurt India economically. Between 1947 and 1990, the license raj was in place as a system of licenses and regulations to regulate the Indian economy and promote growth. However, it stifled the economy by creating bureaucratic red tape, making it difficult for businesses to operate. India missed out on opportunities for economic growth during this period.  Das is an ardent critic of socialist societies. He wrote, “If greed is the vice of capitalism, envy is the flaw of socialism”.  The Soviet Union was plagued by envy, which arose more commonly between near equals than those widespread in fortune. As an egalitarian liberal, John Rawls said, “A person who envies another is prepared to make both persons worse off to reduce the gap between them.” Socialist societies not only produce envious citizens, but it also kills the hardworking instincts of their subjects. Thus, socialism ruins the fundamental human incentivisation of work, the reward.  Gurcharan Das presents a different viewpoint on inequalities and how societies accept inequalities. In his article, he writes, "We accept inequalities if we believe them to be fair”. A [study](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/01/09/views-of-economic-inequality/)conducted by the Pew Research Center in the United States Of  America found that Americans are more likely to accept inequalities if they believe it is due to hard work and talent rather than luck or privilege. If the rich pay their taxes on time, create employment, and generate wealth for the nation, then the inequalities that rose during this process are justified. [Figures](https://www.oxfam.org/en/india-extreme-inequality-numbers)reported by Oxfam International suggest the widening gap between the rich and the poor in India. The gap occurs mainly due to a lack of opportunity for the poor oppressed classes. Das [analysed](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/men-and-ideas/modis-moment-is-about-middle-class-dignity/)the power shift in the 2014 general elections from a socio-economic perspective. While the UPA promised jobs for the unemployed, the general public was tilted in favour of the BJP, which promised to create 2 Crore jobs every year if it came to power. The difference here was that the UPA’s approach towards job creation was solely based on employment guarantee schemes, whereas the BJP promised jobs based on “Development”. This development included creating economic systems that allowed Individuals and Firms to pursue their interests in an enabling environment. Apart from employment creation, the BJP pledged to reduce corporate taxes and simplify the tax system. In short, the government was liberal in its approach towards complex issues such as unemployment, corporate taxation, economic growth and infrastructure improvement. While the government’s intent is positive, more must be done to fuel India in the right direction.   Das is also an ardent supporter of a robust education and healthcare system. Indeed, they are essential for individual development and the overall well-being of a nation. A robust education system provides the knowledge and skills to improve employment opportunities. A robust healthcare system ensures universal access to quality healthcare, providing people with proper facilities to stay healthy and lead productive lives. Education and Healthcare are thus powerful tools to reduce inequalities because of their potential to level the playing field for everyone. As both sectors play a decisive role in shaping the life of citizens, the State must play an enabling role to ensure the delivery of Progressive Education and Quality healthcare services. Education and Healthcare essentially provide the environment for equality of opportunity.  Gurcharan Das’s writings and his liberal ideas have profoundly impacted India’s intellectual landscape. His staunch advocacy for individual freedom and equal opportunities has left a legacy for young thinkers to follow. Through critical analysis of issues and events, he challenges societies to seek pragmatic solutions that prioritise individual growth and fairness.  References - Das, G. (2014, June 1). _Modi’s moment is about middle class dignity_. Times of India Blog. [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/men-and-ideas/modis-moment-is-about-middle-class-dignity/](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/men-and-ideas/modis-moment-is-about-middle-class-dignity/) - _India: extreme inequality in numbers | Oxfam International_. (2022, September 9). Oxfam International. [https://www.oxfam.org/en/india-extreme-inequality-numbers](https://www.oxfam.org/en/india-extreme-inequality-numbers) - Mitchell, T. (2020, January 9). _2. Views of economic inequality_. Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project. [https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/01/09/views-of-economic-inequality/](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/01/09/views-of-economic-inequality/) _Previous musing: Dr Muthulakshmi Reddi: Beacon of Women's Liberty_ [](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/IMG_20220724_121630_copy-removebg-preview.png) **Ch Prashanth** Prashanth is pursuing his Master's in International Relations and Politics at the Central University of Kerala. He likes to spend his weekdays at the library or gym. His weekends are spent in front of the television watching the Premier League. --- ## [Musing] Hindi Raj and Hindu Raj URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/hindu-raj/ ### Body All attempts to sustain and promote the national and emotional unity of India are gravely thwarted by the imminent threat of Hindi Raj and the potential threat of Hindu Raj. This is an excerpt from an article written by P Kodanda Rao for the July 1962 issue of The Indian Libertarian Journal. “Normally, if people desire anything, for pleasure or profit, they seek it voluntarily and without official pressure. For instance, more and more people are travelling by rail, road, air and water, voluntarily and without official coercion. The voluntary demand for educational facilities has far exceeded the current supply, and more students are voluntarily seeking education in science and technology than in arts because of their superior usefulness. Similarly, if Hindi has any all-India value, it will be sought after without the unconscionable pull and push of the mighty Government of India armed with enormous persuasive and coercive powers and only too willing to use them ruthlessly. English, on the other hand, because of its intrinsic merits, is being sought voluntarily, in spite of discouragements and restrictions imposed by the Government… … Hindi Raj is a sinister advance guard of Hindu Raj. The Government of India, with Its Hindi mania, is, consciously or unconsciously, playing into the hands of Jan Sangh and RSS. The patriotic and nationalist Indians, who would stave off the twin calamity, must bestir themselves before it is too late and bring into operation maximum constitutional pressure on Hindi Government and Hindu RSS by agitating immediately for _English Ever: Hindi Never_.” _Access the full document [here.](http://v2.indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=654359818.pdf)_ _First Published in The Indian Libertarian – September 1958_ _Other editions of the publication can be accessed at [Indian Liberals](http://indianliberals.in/index), an open, multilingual digital archive committed to preserving liberal voices in the Indian public sphere._ --- ## [Musing] Have We Lost Our Will To Be Free? URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/have-we-lost-our-will-to-be-free/ ### Body _C Rajagopalachari’s “Have We Lost Our Will To Be Free,” written in 1965, speaks about the difference between freedom from British rule and freedom in its true sense. He suggests that the people should be free from the excessive control by a State-Socialist Economy and should not succumb to a slave mentality. This essay was published in ‘Souvenir’ at the Swatantra Party’s Sixth National Convention in 1973 after he passed away._ _You can read the complete, unabridged version [here](https://indianliberals.in/swatantra-party/sixth-national-convention-swatantra-souvenirs-1973.pdf) ___ Shortly after the Philadelphia Convention, the story goes that a lady asked Benjamin Franklin about the nature of the Constitution hatched at the convention, to which he replied "We have given you a republic, madam if you can keep it." In 1947 we were emancipated from British sovereignty. We were made free. But in the course of time, the Government into whose hands we placed ourselves has, in the name of socialism, taken away all the economic freedom that the citizens enjoyed for thousands of years, and the people have shown little inclination to resist this usurpation, the will to be free not being exercised.  Two elements are relevant in this connection. One is the basic human desire to be free or its obverse, the dislike to be ruled by any external authority. The other element is the economic rationality of socialism, apart from the question of the citizen's liberty. Even when the second point is thoroughly discussed and accepted, viz., the irrationality of disregarding natural laws and seeking to increase production and furthering prosperity through bureaucratic management, replacing private ownership and private management, the economic conviction does not take shape in action, where the will to be free is not strong enough but has been weakened by long sufferance of foreign rule. People appear to be quite willing to suffer bondage as they did before 1947.  Freedom rests not on constitutions but on the will to be free. Freedom endures only in the measure and only so long as this will last. Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women. When it is not there burning and alive, no constitution, no law, no court can save it, as an American judge put it. Often have I felt surprised when at by-elections the Congress Party won in spite of widespread dissatisfaction with Congress rule and disapproval of Congress policies shown beyond doubt at vastly attended public meetings? I have asked myself the question, why do these people get into the Congress lorries and buses and jeeps and go and vote for shackles? Is it to be attributed to bribery? Or the terror of pains and penalties likely to issue from disobedience? Surely, I have said to myself, this cannot be. This absence of the will can resolve the puzzle of being free. Gandhiji used to call it slave mentality. He fought hard to eliminate it. But the reaction was just anti-Britishism, not, as we now regretfully realize, the positive love of freedom and a readiness to sacrifice for retaining those precious possessions against anyone interfering with it. 'Our' own Government can be as great an enemy of freedom as any foreign usurper. The problem is, therefore, how to revive this will to be free and to recover it from the terrible entanglements of the State-socialist economy. It was not so entangled when the British Parliament governed us. Controlled production, controlled prices, and other similar controls mean in the ultimate analysis controlling of persons. Under a controlled economy, it is persons, not things, who are told by some persons who are collectively called government what they must or must not do. It is this that goes contrary to respect for human personality, gradually robs the victims of the will to be free, and develops in the government a hunger for owning slaves. Happiness, even mere physical happiness, requires not only food, clothing, and shelter; but also a sense of freedom. A shortage or total deprivation of any of these essentials makes men and women unhappy. Whether the rope that strangles human beings is made in England or elsewhere or is indigenous make, makes no difference. Men and women can by continued force be got to accept unhappiness as a normal condition either by society or governments. And this can be carried up to a point when protests and resistance disappear, and they even prefer a state of dependence to the responsibility which goes with freedom. One may wonder whether the electorate in India has come to that stage; or whether we can save ourselves from that sub-human condition. The Swatantra Party hopes that this is possible. It has been truly said that every significant movement in history has been led by one or just a few individuals with a small group of energetic supporters. We saw it not so long ago in Gandhi’s Swaraj movement in 1920, which came like an accident on top of the Khilafat movement. Liberation from the present permit-license-raj will come, too, in that way. _Previous musing: [Profit-Shy Asians (1957)](https://indianliberals.in/content/profit-shy-asians-by-kd-valicha/)_ --- ## [Musing] Homi Mody: Free Enterprise & Foreign Exchange URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/homi-mody-free-enterprise-foreign-exchange/ ### Body The following text was originally delivered as a presidential address at the Annual General Meeting of the Employers' Federation of India in Calcutta by Homi Mody in February 1957. The text was published by the [Forum of Free Enterprise.](https://indianliberals.in/content/two-alarming-phenomena-by-sir-homi-mody-mr-s-l-kirloskar-and-mr-ramnivas-r-ruia-february-1957/) In my speech last year, I had commented at some length on the Second Five-Year Plan, examined its targets and the resources available and had pressed for a little more gradualness in the process of transforming our age-old economy. I had also expressed my apprehensions with regard to the imposition of penal taxation, widening controls and consumption curbs, which were calculated to cause considerable hardship to every section of the people. Mr. K.C. Neogy, a member of the Planning Commission, subsequently voiced similar apprehensions and uttered a warning that inflation, progressively heavy taxation and rigid controls might well set in motion forces of reaction and demoralization at different levels of society. Mr. John Strachey, a British labour leader and economist who had visited India recently, also expressed the view that the danger of serious inflation developing, was real. Similarly, the World Bank, after an investigation by its representatives on the spot, arrived at the conclusion that the Plan was too ambitious and that, insofar as the public sector was concerned, the targets were too high to be completed within the time limit of five years. Recent developments have lent point to these observations. The problem of foreign exchange, particularly, has become very acute. The total requirements of the Plan had been estimated at Rs. 1,100 crores. It was recognised that, without a liberal measure of assistance from the U.S.A. and under the Colombo Plan, it would be difficult to meet these requirements. The experience of the last nine months shows that the planners have underestimated the foreign exchange component of the large investment programme which they wanted to undertake. It was intended to spend, over the five years, Rs. 200 crores from the exchange reserves of the country, consisting mainly of sterling balances. This amount has, however, been spent during the first nine months of the Plan. Foreign exchange resources can only be obtained by stepping up the export trade of the country and by securing foreign aid and investment and it is hoped that, as a result of the recent visit of our Prime Minister to the U.S.A., American aid will be forthcoming in a larger measure than might otherwise have been the case. It is not likely, however, to cover the entire gap in India's foreign exchange requirements, and it is to be seen to what extent the measures which the Government have adopted will relieve the situation. So far as the development of the industry in the private sector is concerned, they are bound to have adverse effects. The action taken to restrict import licenses for capital goods to those cases only which would not involve large foreign exchange commitments, or in which assurances of long-term credit or deferred payment on the part of foreign manufacturers have been obtained is an instance in point. In consequence of the stepping up of the investment in the State sector from Rs. 4,800 to Rs. 5,300 crores, the difficulties pointed out last year have been further aggravated. As deficit financing of the order of Rs. 1,200 crores is in itself likely to give rise to dangerous inflationary pressures, the higher investment would obviously have to be sought to be met chiefly by means of additional taxation, as an upward revision of the resources to be obtained through loans and small savings, rai1way receipts, provident funds and other deposits would add up to a small amount. Taking into account the uncovered gap of Rs. 400 crores, which cannot be bridged by any other means except by fresh impositions, the total additional taxation which may have to be resorted to would reach an alarming figure. Even after implementing all the proposals of the Taxation Enquiry Commission, additional revenue of such proportions would be impossible to secure without disrupting the entire economy. It is unnecessary to emphasize that the objectives of the Plan command wide-spread support and, if there are differences, they relate to the manner and method of implementing them. I have no doubt whatever that, in a matter of a couple of decades, India is bound to become one of the most important industrial nations of the world. The real issue is whether, in the process of achieving such a position, policies are to be pursued which would strain the economy of the country to breaking point and whether the fundamental liberties and democratic institutions which are ours today would remain intact and inviolate. Since liberty is never lost at one stroke, but by a gradual and step by step abridgement, it is necessary that the closest scrutiny should be applied to Governmental measures purported to be taken in the general interest. Equally necessary it is to ensure that the steady and progressive development of the country's resources is not jeopardized by any hastily conceived measures to force the pace.  The revised Industrial Policy Statement issues in April 1956, was welcomed by some of us, as at least a clear enunciation of future policy and as affording a promise of co-existence to the private sector in a defined sphere. However much we may deplore the fact that the policy which was announced displaced the private sector from a number of industries which are its legitimate sphere of activity, we felt it embodied some valuable assurances which we had sought. We had the promise of adequate assistance in fulfilling the role assigned to free enterprise, and we had the assurance that there would be no precipitate encroachments on the private sector of the economy. We were, therefore, greatly surprised by the announcement that the Government had decided to take over, by executive fiat, the internal trade in cement and other commodities. No valid reason was advanced in support of this drastic action. We were vaguely told that State trading had become necessary for facilitating trade with communist countries. Whatever the validity of this argument, the subsequent extension of the limits of State trading afford another example of the snow-balling effect of power in the hands of the Government. Commerce and trade are so essentially the province of individual enterprise and so little suited to bureaucratic handling that we cannot but look upon this action as the severest encroachment, to date, on the functions of private enterprise.  Measures have also been taken to curtail the resources available to the free sector of industry to carry out its allotted tasks. The recent imposition of fresh taxation of an unusual character and the proposal for compulsory deposit of reserves announced by the Finance Minister have created a crisis of confidence at a moment when all available resources need to be employed in utilizing, to the fullest extent possible, the productive capacity of the country. In the present political climate, it may appear an academic exercise to assess the proper role of the State in economic matters. But all over the world, thought is being given to the question, and even socialist thinkers are deprecating the arrogation of unlimited power by the State. In this connection, it may be profitable to recall a dictum of Abraham Lincoln: "The legitimate object of Government is to do for a community of people whatever they' need to have done, but cannot do at all, or cannot so well do for themselves in their separate and individual capacities. And in all that the people can individually do as well themselves, Government ought not to interfere.''  _Previous musing: _[CONSUMER SOVEREIGNTY LEADS TO RAPID ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT](https://indianliberals.in/content/consumer-sovereignty-leads-to-rapid-economic-development/) --- ## [Musing] Any Hope for Indian Liberals? URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/hope-for-indian-liberals/ ### Body In this article, late Sharad Anantrao Joshi, President of the Swatantra Bharat Paksh, questions if there is any promise to Indian liberalism and comes to the conclusion that despite plenty of gloom, history has ample evidence that liberty blossoms in the most unexpected of places and at seemingly impossible times. _The ancient “Vedanta tradition was a cradle of liberal tenets. The liberalism of ancient India, however, got suppressed under successive foreign rulers. Even the forces that came along with the freedom movement were all statist in the sense that they all favoured a strong interventionist state and even Gandhi’s anarchism proved to be little more than a scoring point with them. Today, with the fall of the Nehruvian model, there still seems to be little hope for the liberal democrats. With the Government itself resorting to blatantly populist measures, a serious programme of liberalisation would require the restoration of law and order, clearance of the Aegean stables of the judiciary, further pruning of the forest of economic regulations, dismantling of the bureaucracy, restoration of fundamental rights under the constitution and the working out of a reasonable exit policy._ Liberalism is far from being the dominant or even the mainstream school of thought in India. Worse still, most consider liberalism as an idea imported from abroad and as being derogatory to national pride. Within the country, the cry goes, that liberalism suits the convenience of the affluent and the strong minority and militates against the welfare security net that the weaker masses of the society need so badly. The defunct Nehruvian Socialism is being replaced not by the vibrant forces of liberal entrepreneurship but by lumpen chauvinistic and communal jingoism… …**But history has ample evidence that liberty blossoms in the most unexpected of places and at seemingly impossible times**. The world is moving towards demolishing walls that have fragmented and distorted the world. India could not remain for long an island of statism. Indian history shows that people believe in minimal decencies and are capable of fighting against tyrants if a Gandhi comes along. An Indian Hitler will have to be exceptionally lucky to survive for any length of time. This much hope ought to be enough for seekers of liberty and equality. _Access the full document [here](http://v2.indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=477849139.pdf)._ _First Published in The Liberal Times – November 1995_ _Other editions of the publication can be accessed at [Indian Liberals](http://indianliberals.in/index), an open, multilingual digital archive committed to preserving liberal voices in the Indian public sphere._ --- ## [Musing] Has Private Enterprise Failed? URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/has-private-enterprise-failed-a-d-shroff/ ### Body With the impending slowdown in the Indian economy, many analysts have wondered if Private Enterprise has failed in India. It is imperative to point out that since the 1950s the failures of Private Enterprises in India have been questioned. In this speech made before the Commerce Graduates' Association in Bombay in October 1956, eminent industrialist, banker and economist A D Shroff points out that despite numerous impediments to growth Private Enterprise in India is alive and flourishing. His words remain as true today as they were in then. For some time past, Private Enterprise in India has been continuously under fire. It has been suggested that Private Enterprise is incapable of undertaking large-scale and rapid economic development of the country. It is also suggested that Private Enterprise only results in the concentration of economic power in the hands of a few people. It is further said that-and it was said only a few days ago by no less a person than the Prime Minister of India in Calcutta-that Private Enterprise and Democracy are incompatible. But the main provocation for the choice of the subject is a speech made by Mr. T. T. Krishnamachari, who was then the Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, at Madurai on 4th of August. In the course of his speech, he observed that “Private Enterprise has failed me”, and that Private Enterprise was not showing either initiative or enterprise. Before I proceed to examine the validity of the various contentions which have led some people to the conclusion that Private Enterprise has failed in this country, I should mention that of all Ministers of Industries since India attained independence, Mr. T. T. Krishnamachari must be acknowledged as an outstanding success. Some of us may differ from him on some of the views he holds and propagates. But I think there is not the slightest doubt that in the discharge of his very high responsibilities as the Minister for Industries, he has shown remarkable drive, energy and understanding of business problems, and above all a capacity for taking quick decisions. It is, therefore, all the more incomprehensible for me that a man of such fine understanding of business and industrial problems and a man who has first-hand opportunities of witnessing from day to day what was being done in the industrial sphere in the last few years, should have preferred to make this charge against Private Enterprise in this country. To quote a Shakespearean phrase, to me it has come as “the most unkindest cut of all”. Before I examine the charge, it is very necessary that I should give you a brief historical review of Private Industry in this country, particularly before India attained Independence. If you look back to the history of Private Enterprise for 60 or 70 years before India attained independence, you must take into consideration the circumstances and the environment under which Private Industry had to struggle. For one thing, we were under a regime, which was quite indifferent and apathetic, if not in some cases definitely antagonistic, to any industrial development in the country. If you for instance study the Tariff Policy of those days, the Transport Policy, or the fixation of Railway freight, all these will show you the conditions under which Private Enterprise had to struggle. ‘Even in later years, when the Government came to adopt-and that too very grudgingly-a policy of discriminating protection, that policy was too halting and unsuited to bring about any rapid development of industries in the country. In spite of all these limitations and disabilities, Private Enterprise was subject to in those days, it was surely I through the enterprise and endeavour of Private Enterprise that India was put on the industrial map of the world and attained the eighth place among the industrial nations in the world. To quote one or two instances; the Cotton Textile Industry (remember only about 40 years ago we used to import every year Rs. 60 crores worth of piece-goods from abroad) has now developed substantially in the last few years when we have become a very important exporter of cotton piece-goods to about 40 to 45 different markets in the world. The very fact that Indian piece-goods should effectively compete with shrewd and established exporters from Lancashire and Japan bears ample testimony to the efficiency with which Textile Industry has been built up in this country. I would also like to remind you of the days when the late Mr. J. N. Tata first thought of starting the Steel Industry. I do not know if you are aware that a leading British businessman of Calcutta ridiculed the idea as a dream, and he even offered to consume every pound of steel made in India! Fortunately for him, he is not alive today; otherwise he would have suffered not a little from indigestion. But the fact of the matter is that a great pioneering effort succeeded in giving India the largest single individual steel-making unit in the British Commonwealth of Nations, and I believe India will be proud also of the fact that she is today one of the most economical and cheapest producers of steel in the world. Take for instance also the development of hydroelectric power-entirely undertaken by Private Enterprise-a tremendous venture in those days, a venture not only in the sense of generating power but even of making Bombay millowners believe that power could be generated and supplied to Bombay mills. You know today what it stands for in the economic life of Bombay. The above two or three instances might show what Private Enterprise, functioning under the limitations and disabilities to which it was subject in those days, could achieve. I may also mention Shipping. Shipping in India against the powerfully entrenched foreign shipping companies almost looked like a dream. It was due to the pioneering effort of the late Shri Narottam Morarji and Shri Walchand Hirachand that Indian Shipping has come to stay and offers today very fine promise of supplying a much-needed complementary transport service to sustain our economy. Even before we attained Independence, in 1944 seven business men of India got together and put before the people a plan for the economic development of the country. The plan was sufficiently ambitious; it involved an estimated expenditure of Rs. 10,0001 crores over a period of 15 years and out of that it envisaged spending something like Rs. 4,4001 crores on development of Industries. I am mentioning this to show that Private Enterprise in India, even before Independence, was fully conscious of the needs of the country and also had faith in itself that it could undertake development on a very large and extensive scale. After 1947 the Government started taking more active interest in the economic development of the country. Private Enterprise also did not fail to assist in the process of development. The curve of industrial production during the last five years has been continuously rising. If you take 1946 as the base year, i.e., 100, industrial production went up to 117.2 in 1951, 128.9 in 1952, 135.3 in 1953, 146.6 in 1954, and in 1955 it stood at 161.5. Let me make it clear that the overwhelming proportion of the increased production was contributed by Private Enterprise because the few State Enterprises which came into operation were mainly confined to the Sindri Fertilizer Factory, the Chittaranjan Locomotives, and the Indian Telephone Factory at Bangalore, etc. If you take the aggregate value of the production, contribution by the Public Sector represents a comparatively negligible percentage of the total. But the more interesting thing was this: if you break up the general index of industries and some of the new industries, taking 1946 as the base year representing 100, the increase has been for Old Industries: ![](https://spontaneousorder.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Capture.jpg) This remarkable increase in industrial production during the past five years in which both old and new industries have equally participated and to which the State Enterprise has contributed comparatively very little ought to give a lie direct to the very charge that Private Enterprise has Failed to do its duty in this country. The index figures I have just read do not convey the whole story; besides this, important new industries were started, for instance Rayon. It was started and is prospering well and perhaps in the course of the next 3 to 5 years India will be self-sufficient in regard to requirements of Rayon yarn. Take again the Steel Tubes industry. Though this project was mooted even before the last war, owing to the exigencies of the War it could not be brought into operation. It has since been started and is one of the important industries in the country. Similarly, reference may be made to automobiles and trucks. These are facts which of course cannot particularly be unknown to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. They are there to tell their own story. But I would not like to quote anything which comes from private enterprise itself. Here is a statement made by the Planning Commission in a publication which is entitled “Progress of Industrial Development 1956-1961”: “New investment on industries in the public sector during the First Plan was expected to amount to about Rs. 94 crores. The actual outlay according to the latest estimates has only been about Rs. 57 crores. Investment by the Private Sector on new projects and expansion programmes was expected to about Rs. 233 crores and the latest estimates indicate that the actual investment has been of this order.” There is a body called the Industrial Finance Corporation of India-one of the few financial institutions which have come into existence after India attained independence. It has just published its 8th Annual Report in which it is stated that the total amount of loans sanctioned has risen from Rs. 9.5 crores in 1951 to Rs. 43.20 crores in 1956, and the number of applications for loans received have doubled from 43 to 86 during the course of the last 2 years. Further, from the office of the Registrar of Jt. Stock Companies, you will find that the number of joint stock companies registered and in actual operation have risen from 22,675 in 1947-48 to 29,779 in 1954-55. You must be aware that one of the important new pieces of legislation after independence is the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act of 1951. Under this Act, you cannot put up a factory without obtaining a licence. According to the latest figures available, for 3 years up to 1955, out of 1,440 applications made to the Government for licences, 1,142 were granted. Of these, there were 363 licences for new schemes, 657 for expansion schemes and 122 for organisational changes without additional capacity. I have referred to these few facts to confirm that private enterprise is not only alive, but is kicking all right. Private Enterprise would have shown perhaps a much better and a more impressive record of achievement, if it had not to work under a certain set of circumstances of which you are all so painfully aware for the last few years. I was on a Committee, which was asked by the Reserve Bank to consider the circumstances under which Private Enterprise was functioning and to explore ways and means of helping Private Enterprise particularly in the financial sphere. We had a very good opportunity of studying the situation in different parts of the country, and the unanimity of opinion which was represented to the Committee was that Government’s economic policy in the last few years had created an atmosphere of uncertainty in which naturally incentives are likely to be at a low ebb and that capital had been rendered very shy. Even if you refer to the First Industrial Policy Statement of April 1948, the threat of nationalisation which was uttered in respect of basic industries has served as a serious disincentive to further industrial effort in the country. Nationalisation of Airlines dealt a very serious blow to confidence and, as a matter of fact, it has created an atmosphere of crisis of confidence which still continues. I am very surprised that the charge of lack of incentive or enterprise should be laid at the door of Private Enterprise when it is too well known that it was only through Private Enterprise that a first-class international air service was built up within a comparatively short period. Nationalisation of Airlines gave a rude shock to confidence amongst the investing public and since then we have found it increasingly difficult in attracting the average investor to subscribe to any fresh industrial enterprise. Nationalisation of the Imperial Bank and recently Nationalisation of life Insurance have dealt further blows to Private Enterprise and have made capital more and more shy. I have been trying to look up the new Industrial issues during the last 8-9 months, and I have not come across, perhaps with the exception of one or two, any public issues for new industrial enterprise which has been supported by the investing public. The Industrial Policy statement of this year has certainly created further apprehensions not only in the minds of business men but of the investing public in general. The tragedy of the situation is this-that with a few exceptions, Indian business men and Indian public in general have not shown any due apprec6ation of the implications of this policy. Even a man like Sir John Strachey, who visited India some months ago, in his report has pointed out, although he is a man who has a definite Leftist bias, he was really surprised that when the Industrial Policy Statement was issued some Indian business men definitely welcomed it, while, most of them in general showed apathy or indifference about it. I will now come to the second criticism, viz., that “Private Enterprise results in concentration of economic power”. In this connection, I have particularly to ask members of the Commerce Graduates’ Association to read an article which recently appeared in the Tata Quarterly of April-July which deals in detail with some structural aspects of industry in India. The article in a very objective manner examines the problem whether in view of the fact that particularly in the last few years when demand has been outstripping the supply position generally in the country there has not been a trend towards the establishment of a sort of monopoly by Indian Industrialists. If you study that article, you will agree with the writer of the article that applying any test, which is usually applied to the scrutiny of the establishment of a monopoly in any branch of economic activity, you will come to the conclusion that no such thing has happened in India. The establishment of a monopoly for one thing suggests that those who are interested in the manufacture of particular products or commodities get together and manipulate the prices of these products or arrange production in such a manner that prices can be whipped up to the detriment of the community in general. An examination of the working of a number of leading industrial units in India, relating the price trends to the growing demand for the products, will lead to the objective conclusion that there is no basis of even an attempt to establish monopoly in #any of these industries in India. But when critics talk of concentration of economic power, they do not so much mean the establishment of monopoly, but what they really mean is that there are only a few industrial firms which are interested in a large number of industries, and, therefore, exercise control over them. In the first place, I need hardly point out that this betrays a lack of understanding of the basis of Joint Stock Enterprise. The basis of Joint Stock Enterprise is this: however big, influential and wealthy a firm may be, the magnitude of modern industrial operations is of such a character that no single firm can get together all the monetary resources to make any such enterprise possible. For instance, in one of our leading companies, the Tata Iron and Steel Company, there are about as many as 42,000 shareholders. It is true that the creditworthiness of some of the firms in India, their past record of achievement, enabled them to mobilise the savings of hundreds and thousands of small investors which alone make industrial enterprise in the modern sense possible. Legislation was recently undertaken in the shape of amendment to the Indian Companies’ Act which goes far enough to break any such concentration if it exists in the country. But conceding for a moment, the concentration of economic power in the hands of a few people, it is forgotten that in an underdeveloped country like India you cannot expect hundreds and thousands of people who could be promoters of industries. If one studies the economic history of a country like Japan, for instance, or even of Germany, it is the pooling of resources and the working together of two or three big firms which made possible the industrial progress achieved in these countries. There is one other important reason which might explain why industrial development in the last few years could not be quicker than what it has been. We who work in the private sector are believers in planned development. Planned development does assume some sort of regulation. But such regulation should not become restrictive as it has been in India. Take for instance, the Industries Development and Control Act and the licensing scheme which it has put up. Even if you think of starting an industry on your own, unless you satisfy certain norms which have been established by the Planning Commission, you are not likely to get permission to go into that industry. There are also certain administrative procedures and my Committee was particularly shown definite instances of administrative procedures where so much of red tape was involved that a number of industrial proposals which were put up in Madras and Bangalore had to be abandoned since the promoters got simply tired of travelling from Bangalore and Madras to New Delhi and back. It is not out of place to point out to the Government that in the interest of the industrial development of the country, some of these administrative procedures will have to be considerably simplified. Another subject of topical interest is the publication of a letter addressed by Mr. Eugene Black, Chairman of the World Bank, to our Finance Minister, Mr. T. T. Krishnamachari. The genesis of the letter is this: a few months ago, the World Bank sent out a mission-the World Bank has the practice of sending out missions to different countries getting loans from the Bank to make periodical surveys of economic conditions in those countries. The mission, after surveying the situation and after having very intimate talks with Government officials, Planning Commission and Ministers, submitted their report to the World Bank. In that Report, within the short space of about 18 paragraphs, the mission has highlighted the main elements of our economic situation. In one paragraph the mission writes thus: “The importance of private enterprise in the continuing economic development of the country is another factor which we would like to stress. We appreciate that the Second Five Bear Plan offers an opportunity for the ‘co-existence’ and simultaneous expansion of both the public and private sector and we have noted with gratification that the Prime Minister and other responsible Ministers have emphasised the need for Private Enterprise. Nevertheless, we believe that the importance of private business has not yet been sufficiently recognised and publicized. The record bears out the fact that private enterprise has performed creditably during the last five years with respect to both investment and production. In the organised sector of manufacturing and mining private business has contributed 90% of the increase in net output during this period. Owing to the capital-intensive nature of much of the contemplated public investment in Industry and mining during the Second Plan, Government plants and mines are expected to contribute only 29% of the anticipated increase in net output of mining and manufacturing as compared with a 54% share in the total planned investment. On the other hand, private business in this sec- tor is expected to account for 71% of the rise in net output. Considering the probability that the villages and small-scale industries may fall considerably short of the targets set for them by the Plan, the importance of the organised private sector becomes even more evident. It is, therefore, vital that the private sector be given adequate incentives and resources to enable it to make its requisite contribution.” On the basis of this report, Mr. Eugene Black addressed a letter to our Finance Minister, Mr. T. T. Krishnamachari. In the course of that letter Mr. Black has said: “In making my own comments, I should like first to emphasise once again my conviction that India’s interests lie in giving private enterprise, both Indian and foreign, every encouragement to make its maximum contribution to the development of economy, particularly in the industrial field. While I recognise that the Government itself must play an important role in India’s economic development, I have the distinct impression that potentialities of private enterprise are commonly under-estimated in India and that its operations are subjected to unnecessary restrictions there.” This letter has created a little flutter in certain dovecots. I do not know on how many occasions we have been told by the highest in the country that distinguished foreigners who are visiting India have been terribly impressed with the progress that this country is making. This is perhaps the first occasion when a friendly critic has dealt with a few things in a very outspoken fashion. I can personally vouch for one thing-that Mr. Eugene Black is a real and sincere friend of India. I have reasons to tell you that he earnestly desires that India should develop economically at a rapid pace. But Mr. Eugene Black also is a man who by his extensive knowledge of conditions in different parts of the world is convinced that there are certain well-proved and well-tried methods of economic development which have resulted in substantial progress in many countries of the world and there is no reason that one could see of a hasty departure from these proved and well-tried methods. It is after a very close study of conditions in India as reported to him by the mission, and also because of the great personal interest he takes in watching the progress that India is making, that he has expressed views and tendered some advice which one could expect will be taken in the same spirit in which it was offered. I must say that the reply given by the Finance Minister is a very courteous, dignified and understanding reply. On the other hand, the criticism that we hear from other quarters appears to be rather unwarranted. It appears to be based again on the same thing to which Mr. Black refers–doctrinaire and ideological approach to the problems. There are certain people highly placed in this country who simply refuse to come down to earth and face problems in a realistic manner. I would like to pay my personal tribute to Mr. Black for the service he has rendered to India particularly at this critical juncture when we want a little more realism in the formulation and implementation of our economic policy. I am not referring to other parts of Mr. Black’s letter or to other suggestions which have been made by the World Bank Mission. I am glad that the views held by some of us are being fully confirmed by the conclusions given by the World Bank Mission in its report in a matter like the Textile Policy. The textile problem is a very simple problem provided it is approached in a realistic way. Money worth crores is being pumped into circulation. How many people, who had no employment before, or who had no adequate employment, have started earning! In a poor and underdeveloped country like India, the two essential things to be provided are – food and clothing. The demand for food and cloth is on the increase and if our economy is to be sustained on a largely independent basis, it will be the first and primary responsibility of Government to see that demand does not outstrip supply. It is a very simple problem, and instead of tackling the problem in a realistic way, ideological and doctrinaire approach is brought to bear on the solution of the problem, with the result that there is nothing else but tinkering with the problem. Merely putting additional excise duties or advertising what are considered as fair prices will not result in producing additional cloth which is being needed every day by the country. There is, however, one very interesting statement made by Mr. T. T. Krishnamachari in his reply to Mr. Black’s letter. Mr. Black refers to State Enterprises and Private Enterprises, and Mr. T. T. Krishnamachari of course thinks differently on the relative importance of the two sectors. He makes a bold statement that although the experience of State Enterprise has not been very long, at least in some cases State Enterprise has been found to be more efficient than Private Enterprise. In the course of my activities in the Forum of Free Enterprise, I have had to answer questions in different places. In Calcutta I was pointedly asked whether I had any opinion to express on the working of State Enterprises. In any case, it would be fair to State Enterprise to say that the experience has been so short that it is premature to express any definite opinion. However, since Mr. T. T. Krishnamachari has found it fit to make up his mind that State Enterprise had been in some cases more efficient than Private Enterprise, I can only suggest to him that he should ask for some impartial assessment of the problem. We, in Private Enterprise, are very willing to learn. The more we learn and the more we improve; it is better for us and the country. Therefore, if Mr. T. T. Krishnamachari would call for an impartial assessment of the working of State Enterprise, Private Enterprise will have a lot to learn. Finally, I will examine if Private Enterprise and Democracy are incompatible. Coming as it does from the highest in the land, it does need very close consideration and examination. I would, however, like to state that there are a number of thinking people in India who not only do not agree with the view but on the contrary honestly believe that if Free Enterprise is not allowed to continue in this country, subject of course to our accepting planned development of the country and the necessary regulations involved, and if Free Enterprise is going to be thwarted and restricted in its operations, it can only result in a serious diminution of the democratic way of life if not its ultimate destruction. I for one have been thinking for some time past and trying to understand if this statement could be correct-that Private Enterprise and Democracy are incompatible. Either I do not understand the content of democracy or I cannot understand the meaning of the statement “Private Enterprise and Democracy are incompatible.” As a matter of fact, we, particularly in the Forum of Free Enterprise, find our view confirmed by thousands of people in the country that Democracy, which is a blessing we enjoy and the Democratic way of life which has been assured to us in our constitution, is likely to suffer very severely if Free Enterprise is not allowed to be practised in this country. _Access the original document [**here**](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/has-private-enterprise-failed-ad-shroff-230ct-1956.pdf)._ _First Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in November 1956._ _Other editions of the publication can be accessed at [**Indian Liberals**](http://indianliberals.in/index), an open, multilingual digital archive committed to preserving liberal voices in the Indian public sphere._ [**Read More SO Musings**](https://spontaneousorder.in/?s=SO+Musings) --- ## [Musing] Humanism, Science and Rationalism URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/humanism-science-and-rationalism/ ### Body _Produced below is a piece published in the[February 1961 issue of the Indian Libertarian Magazine](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-feb1-1961.pdf). The author Mr. R.C. Traill discusses the origins of humanism and its interplay with religion. He further goes on to explain the way forward for humanist discourse. _Primitive man in tribal society is surrounded on every hand by superstition, and he practices a magical ritual which, ostensibly to him, controls his environment for his benefit. It does not of course have any such effect, but we should not therefore condemn it as useless, while having no objective effect on nature it does have a subjective effect on him and maintains the tribal structure without which he would be just an animal on a level with other animals. The tribe, and the beliefs that hold it together, are all that he has to preserve his human status.As the tribe emerged into a class society, magic and ritual were taken over by the priestly caste, and put to use to maintain their special status. Such a society is well represented by ancient Egypt.  A rational, naturalistic attitude to the world was first developed by the Ionian Greeks; Cornford writes : “The Milesian system pushed back to the very beginning of things the operation of processes as familiar and ordinary as a shower of rain. It made the formation of the world no longer supernatural but a natural event. Thanks to the Ionians, and to no one else, this. has become the universal premise of all modern science. To later Greeks, especially those concerned with. maintaining the structure of the principal City states in Greece proper, based as they were on slavery, such ideas were disruptive, and a theistic view was actively encouraged. Christianity developed out of Judaism, which had helped the struggle of Jewish nationalism against enslavement by neighboring powers; and carried this struggle forward into the new conditions under the Roman empire, until it was astutely bought out by Constantine. Neither religion contributed appreciably to science, but they did contain important humanitarian ideas otherwise unknown at the time such as the Sabbath day of rest, and the commandment against murder. In Britain, catholicism, the religious counterpart, companion, and upholder of feudalism, was replaced by militant protestantism, which for centuries rightly regarded catholicism as the enemy of its new-found liberty and individualism. Though modern science was born soon after the rise of protestantism, its real development awaited the rise of industries following the industrial revolution. Rationalism arose at the same time, by making man the centre of interest, it inherited the mantle of humanism, and by using the results of science and criticism as tools it became more firmly established theoretically and can justly lay claim to the title of scientific humanism. This is not to suppose that rationalists as such are scientists, though a large proportion of scientists tend to take up a rationalist position, in their scientific work at least, and very often in their private beliefs.  While the defeat it has suffered in the battle of ideas has caused religion to retreat everywhere, it is still very strong and officially encouraged because it is still needed to give support to powerful people (even our so called secular Federal Government managed to give material aid to the British and Foreign Bible Society by making land available free for its Canberra offices). And seemingly any religion is better for this purpose than none, for the protestant militancy that once defied Rome has given place to a complacent acceptance of the flirtation with Rome by highly placed persons in the state. What of the future of rationalism, or scientific humanism? We shall continue to affirm the place of man in the centre, not indeed of the universe as in the middle ages, but of our purposes, so that what is of benefit to man on earth will be good to us, and what is of no benefit will be rejected. But we must mean by man not just one class or nation, or even a group of nations, but all human beings on the earth. Before the last century it was possible to maintain that only a few could benefit from the limited resources available, and that the majority must needs go without but with the expansion of economic life brought about by the industrial revolution, and the scientific revolution of today, it becomes more and more apparent that we can extend the world's benefits to all. This change in outlook made the birth of rationalism possible; and, when we have learned how to complete our new industrial revolution, it will make possible also a true humanism in which each man is really free to develop himself to his own ends.  How such a practical humanism is to be achieved is a political matter, and rationalists will not all agree on the steps we should take. This then must set the boundary to what we, as a movement, can achieve under present conditions, though it need not set a boundary on our discussions. We are however agreed that it must be achieved by the use of rational thought, based on the best available scientific evidence, and free from the shackles of religious prejudice, which, rooted in the past, tries to hold us back in the past, to prevent change, in the interest of this or that group; and to frustrate the expectations of millions in the benefits that science and industry could heap upon us. --- ## [Musing] The Role of Ideas in Politics URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/ideas-in-politics/ ### Body Many of the sources of trouble in current politics is due to the prevalence of notions only imperfectly understood and applied hastily in garbled forms to justify partisan interests. The following is an excerpt from an article published in the Indian Libertarian Magazine by M A Venkata Rao in November 1960. _“The pen is mightier than the sword. This adage is being illustrated in several spheres of life today in the world and particularly in our country. The idea of the sovereignty of the people as the basis and justification of democracy, in particular, is being enacted in politics before our very eyes._ _Many of the sources of trouble in current politics is due to the prevalence of notions only imperfectly understood and applied hastily in garbled forms to justify partisan interests. This is an age of propaganda. Half-truths with an aura of authority derived from some popular leader or author, Hitler or Nietzche. Nehru or Gandhi are riding rough-shod over our lives creating havoc and seem to be well-nigh uncontrollable. . . _“ Access the full document **[here](http://v2.indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=601783472.pdf)**. (page 4) First Published in the Indian Libertarian in November 1960. Other editions of the publication can be accessed at [Indian Liberals](http://indianliberals.in/), an open, multilingual digital archive committed to preserving liberal voices in the Indian public sphere. --- ## [Musing] India, the Tiger Caged URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/india-the-tiger-caged/ ### Body The public debate over the IMF loan has been turned into a question of India’s self-respect and sovereignty. The fact of the matter is we are broke - thanks to forty years of "Nehruvian socialism". Like an individual who in state of a financial crisis goes to a bank for a loan, our country is compelled to go to the IMF for a loan. _As India scrambles to respond to the novel COVID-19 disease, experts have also warned of the severe economic repercussions from the pandemic outbreak. Indian economy, of late, has already been in a bad shape and the virus-induced lockdown further adds to the worry. As the _[_emerging markets_](https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/28/coronavirus-biggest-emerging-markets-crisis-ever/)_ brace to face the recessionary pressure, here is a detailed analysis of another monumental economic crisis which entailed a fundamental shift in the Indian political economy._ _In the wake of the balance of payment crisis in 1991, The Economist produced a story on economic mismanagement under socialism. The story generated considerable attention in the Indian press and was cited by the Indian liberal opinion-makers. Freedom First, a liberal magazine established by Minoo Masani, published the report in two parts in its own issues for a wider public reach._ _Produced below is an excerpt (with an introductory note by the editors) from the first part of the story from the July 1991 issue of the Freed0m First._ The Economist “Survey of India” (May 4, 1991) has attracted considerable attention in the Indian press. Yet, none of our newspapers have, to our knowledge, thought it useful to share with their readers its contents, The story of what went wrong and why India went bankrupt need to be understood. The public debate over the IMF loan has been turned into a question of India’s self-respect and sovereignty. The fact of the matter is we are broke – thanks to forty years of “Nehruvian socialism”. Like an individual who in state of a financial crisis goes to a bank for a loan, our country is compelled to go to the IMF for a loan. We patterned our development on the Soviet model. The Soviets are broke. So are we. They are going around asking for help. So are we. The Survey helps us understand what went wrong and suggests what needs to be done. We wish we could have reproduced the Survey in its entirety. We cannot afford to. Hence we have done the next best. Given you extract in this issue- and, hopefully, some more in the next. “…few of India’s troubles are as intractable as Indians, especially, suppose them to be. Of all its miseries, the greatest by far is the country’s economic failure, which is as broad and deep as the poverty that it sustains. If India could put its economy right, many of its other difficulties would immediately seem less overpowering; they would not vanish, by any means, but they would at least begin to seem to be beatable. Undeniably, political stability and human progress in India depend on greater economic success. That is exactly why so many Indians smile with resignation at the hopelessness of their case. They are wrong. Nowhere else, not even in communist China or the Soviet Union, is the gap between what might have been achieved and what has been achieved as great as in India. The country is rich in the resources that matter most for economic advance- not physical resource which it also has but human resources. Indian are capable of punishingly hard work; remarkably for people so poor, they are thrifty; they are entrepreneurial; they are ambitious and materialistic. When Indians have ignored the Hindu injunction never to cross the “black sea” and travel abroad, they have prospered within a generation. Only at home are so many imprisoned, in their hundreds of millions, in a sink of despair and degradation. _The full text is accessible _[_here_](http://www.freedomfirst.in/issue/issue.aspx?issue=410). (page 17 onwards) [_IndianLiberals.in_](http://indianliberals.in/)_ is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ Read more: [SO Musings](https://spontaneousorder.in/category/so-musings/). --- ## [Musing] Indian agricultural policy in a nutshell URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/indian-agricultural-policy-in-a-nutshell/ ### Body _The following is an article written by Farmer Leader Mr. Sharad Joshi in Down to Earth in 2012. Joshi founded the Shetkari Sanghatana, a non-political union of farmers formed to secure ‘Freedom of access to markets and technology,’ which later emerged as one of the largest farm groups in India. He was also the founder of the largest organization of rural women, Shetkari Mahila Aghadi, celebrated for its work for women’s property rights. _ A large number of researchers and scholars who wish to study agriculture in India are intrigued by the extreme penury of the farmers and the low levels of productivity. It surprises them that the peasantry of a country so well endowed in water resources and sunlight should be so miserably placed. It was only as late as in 1990 that the documentation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) clearly established that the government of India imposed a negative subsidy on Indian farmers. In the WTO parlance, the term ‘negative subsidy’ has a specific meaning. It refers to cases where the income received by the farmer by the sale of his proceeds is less than the income he would have received in a hypothetically free market where the government does not intervene in any manner. On the other hand, ‘positive subsidy’ refers to cases where the farmers receive an income that is higher than what they would have received in a hypothetically free market, thanks to the intervention of the government. The central and the most essential fact about Indian agriculture is that it suffers from either the caprices of nature or, when the nature is benign, by the tyranny of governmental interventions. It is astonishing that most learned reports and books on Indian agriculture skillfully avoid referring to this central fact. For years, all economists and agronomists have held that the poverty of the farmers and the low productivity of agriculture in India are interconnected and are both caused by the illiteracy, wasteful expenditure and large incidence of alcohol and other vices amongst the farmers. It is strange that this calumny persisted for long decades of the British Rule as also the first five decades after independence. The farmers and the agriculture are the source of all wealth and multiplication thereof, at least in the physiocratic sense. In the peasant idiom, ‘if a farmer sows one seed the crop is hundred- or even a thousand-fold.’ How come the one industry where there is an actual physical multiplication suffers from the most serious deprivations? Practically every regional language in India has a proverb that maintains that agriculture is the best of all vocations; the trade comes only second and the service is the least honorable of all. The proverb persists even though the reality has turned upside down, particularly after the independence. Now a job, particularly the government service is the most prestigious and agriculture almost passage to poverty, indebtedness and suicide. Even though the learned economists and the erudite scholars refuse to recognize the fact of the negative subsidy in agriculture, there was abundant evidence of the social recognition that agriculture was the most arduous of all vocations. Children of farmers, who had the good fortune of getting higher education, systematically preferred jobs and turned their backs on the parental lands. Daughters of non-agrarians have, for decades, clearly expressed their reluctance to be married into agricultural families. The life of a farmer housewife is a continuous misery comparable to life imprisonment. Now, even the farmers’ daughters indicate a clear preference for grooms in non-agricultural vocations, be they even menial. The instruments of intervention that the government of India used were simple but lethal. Until as late as 1960s, government imposed a compulsory levy on the food grains produced by the farmers. If a farmer had produced less quantity than was required to be given as ‘levy’ he was required to make up the difference by purchasing the food grains in the open market at higher prices and delivering them to the government at lower levy prices. If he failed to discharge his ‘levy’ obligations he risked being handcuffed and paraded in public places in great ignominy. All transport, storage, trade, processing and export of agricultural produce were severely restricted if not totally banned. This was done by raising the boggy of consumers’ interest and the obligation on the part of the government to ensure food security. The government did put up a show of ensuring remunerative prices by introducing a system of Minimum Support Prices (MSPs); but manipulating to make them work not as minimum prices the farmers should ever receive but as the signal of the maximum prices the traders need to pay for the agricultural produce. The government did not need to depress the prices of each of the hundreds of agricultural commodities. It could depress the agricultural economy in general and keep the farmers permanently ‘needy’ by depressing artificially prices of just about a dozen commodities. These anti-farmer policies were sought to be justified by various arguments: 1. The desirability of low-cost economy; 2. The need to promote industry by keeping prices of wage goods and raw material low; 3. Need for comprehensive consumer protection; etc This is a brief summary of the essentials of the State policy on agriculture. And, all that I have written in last 30 years was essentially a commentary on the various methods used by the government to exploit the ‘Bharat’ to the benefit of the ‘India’. _Previous musing: [Fundamental Right to Property by V M Tarkunde](https://indianliberals.in/content/fundamental-right-to-property-by-v-m-tarkunde/)_ --- ## [Musing] Is Socialism Outdated? URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/is-socialism-outdated/ ### Body The following text is taken from a booklet published by [Forum of Free Enterprise](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/is-socialism-outdated-n-a-palkhivala-mar10-1966.pdf) published on March 10, 1966. The first article, ‘The Shells of Socialism’ was authored by Nani A Palkhivala. It addresses the policies proposed by the then Union Minister for Planning. A time of trouble is a time of imbalance and distortion; at such a moment mere words from men in high office can easily sap people's morale and blight public confidence. Mr. Asoka Mehta's convocation address to Saugor University, described as "his first major speech after joining the Central Cabinet," contained such sweeping pronouncements of economic policies and was imbued with such political undertones that one wonders whether a university convocation address was the appropriate vehicle for conveying to the nation such portentous views of the Union Minister for Planning. If the speech did not reflect the collective thinking of the present Cabinet, it was a grave mistake to give a gratuitous jolt to the capital market, unnerve foreign investors and cast a pall of gloom over the national economy. If it did presage Cabinet action, we can only see ahead even dimmer days and shadows lengthening across the path. The tragedy of India today is the tragedy of waste - waste of manpower, waste of industrial capacity, waste of talent, experience and the spirit of enterprise which could be harnessed to greater national purposes. The need of the moment is that the Government and the people, the authorities and the business community, should come closer together and work in harmony for the common good. The Tashkent spirit should be imported into the economic sphere, the spirit of mutual trust and understanding, mutual respect and consideration. Till then we shall not be able to get out of the quagmire in which we have been floundering so dangerously long. On the other hand, Mr. Asoka Mehta's speech will only serve to widen the chasm between the Government and private enterprise. In other countries, the issue of nationalisation is naturally decided in different ways by different political parties succeeding each other. But in our country, although the same political party continues in uninterrupted power with the same economic objects, fear and uncertainty grip the public mind because of divergent views publicly expressed by different Ministers from time to time. On May 22, 1964 Prime Minister Nehru assured the public that "there was no immediate question of bank nationalisation." On June 5, 1964, Mr. T. T. Krishnamachari announced that "nationalisation should be the last step in any effort to control banks." There was little justification for such State action in 1964; and there is less justification now. If our economy is not to be dogged by a growing feeling of insecurity and instability, it is imperative that on such a basic issue as bank nationalisation individual Ministers should not air their personal views but that the Cabinet alone should speak as a body. The State Bank of India (which is almost wholly owned by the Government) and its subsidiaries, account for 25 per cent of the paid-up capital and 32 per cent of the deposits of all Indian Scheduled Banks. They extend 29 per cent of the total crcclit to the public and own 32 per cent of all Indian branches and offices of scheduled banks. Thus, there is already a hard core of the public sector in the field of banking. Pragmatism, and not ideology alone, should dictate any further change in the structure of Indian banking. Under the Reserve Bank of India Act and the Banking Companies Act, the Reserve Bank enjoys as wide powers as are known to the central bank of any other country, for imposing general credit controls and selective credit controls on banks. The Reserve Bank has full powers - which it constantly exercises - of controlling banks' ending policies, the rates of interest to be charged to customers or to be paid to depositors, the size of loans to particular individuals or groups, the creation of reserves, and in fact of controlling all banking activities. It is difficult to envisage what new laws Mr. Mehta has in mind as necessary to promote healthy banking. Mr. Mehta referred to 650 accounts constituting roughly two-thirds of the total advances of the banking system. That shows that some companies, because of the size of their operations, have much larger requirements for loans than others. It does not prove unfair banking practice. If one looks at the figures of advances by the State Bank of India, which is in the public sector, they would make the same pattern. All successful socialist countries have big corporate bodies, whose borrowings, compared with the borrowings of smaller units are on the scale referred to by Mr. Mehta. India has already priced herself out of the world market and is going through a phase of abnormal inflation. Both these unhealthy features would be aggravated but for the functioning of big companies with large bank accounts. The trade unions of the United Kingdom expressly submitted to the Monopolies Commission in that country that they were in favour of big corporations since such corporations could give security of service, afford to pay better wages and at the same time help to hold the price line. Not all the theories of economists, not all the wit of our Planners, can get round the ineluctable law of life you cannot divide more than you produce. No doubt, rewards must be shared, but first they have to be earned; wealth must be distributed, but first it has to be created. What one sadly misses in Mr. Mehta's address is that whereas there is no reference at all to the claimant's need to increase production in the fields and in the factories, the emphasis is solely on increasing state ownership and widening state control as if that were a sure panacea for all economic ills. Are we sure that the bureaucrat's love of power and zest for more power will be any less detrimental to economic progress than the citizen's love of profit? What public good is promoted by continuing control on textiles, with six months' stocks accumulated with the mills; and what disasters have followed in the wake of decontrol of steel and cement? Mr. Mehta referred to the desirability of "curbing the private sector monopolies". This type of suggestion may be politically useful in that it conveys to the ill-fed, ill-clothed and ill-housed citizen that his economic plight is due not to official incompetence but to the anti-social activities of a few business houses; but it is not based on facts and is contradicted by the Report of the Monopolies Commission. In India enterprises can be brought into existence and they can expand and diversify under Government control and license only; and there can be as much and as free competition as the Government alone wills. When India faces the most acute food crisis of decades and our food production has to be increased by all proper incentives, Mr. Mehta suggests that the bigger agriculturists are unduly favoured and he favours a "trend towards making ownership of say, over ten acres of irrigated land uneconomic by levying heavy imposts upon such holdings." It is impossible to see how food production will be increased, or what sound agricultural policy will be promoted, by such a levy. There seems to be no doubt that a heavy impost which would render ownership of more than ten acres of irrigated land uneconomic would only aggravate the food crisis. Does our socialism primarily aim at filling empty stomachs with food, or at filling them with the satisfaction that their neighbours are no less hungry than they are? Mr. Mehta is reported to have said that the constitutional guarantee about the right to property made it difficult for "the forces of socialism to operate on the level of a change in the structure of private property". The fundamental right to property at present exists in a most attenuated and abridged form: the adequacy of compensation paid for property acquired by the State is not even justiciable in a court of law. If this truncated right to property stands in the way of "socialism", there must be something wrong with that brand of socialism. Mr. Mehta referred to "the spectacular tussle between the old capitalistic economic order and the new socialist order in India", and ruefully noted the continuation of "a capitalistic economic order with a powerful hangover of a feudal social framework." Such words are wholly unrelated to reality. So long as the official thinking of our planners is that a mixed economy like ours must tolerate the private sector as a necessary evil, and that the end of the private sector is merely private benefit and the end of the public sector alone is public good, there can be no hope of reviving the comatose economy. Economic wisdom can never be reduced to an unbending system. Indian socialism, in the true sense, aims at reducing the disparity between wealth and poverty, and raising the standard of living of the people and giving them social security. In that sense, today every thinking mind must be socialist. It is important to remember that the Preamble to our Constitution does not use the empty label "socialist" at all, but uses the meaningful words, "justice, social, economic and political; and Equality of status and opportunity." The concept gets distorted when one stubbornly adheres to state ownership as the only means of achieving the goal. You may adopt state ownership in areas where such ownership affords the only sure and safe launching pad; or you may tap the immeasurable reservoir of the people's response and initiative, energy and endeavour, prosaically called the private sector. Socialism must be elastic enough to promote economic growth by drawing upon normal human instincts and incentives; otherwise, we shall be only planning for poverty and equal distribution of misery. It is trite knowledge that even Russia has awakened to the necessity of absorbing that heresy of capitalism-the profit-motive. The quintessence of socialism consists not in levelling down but in levelling up. It strives to bring forth "the maximum gifts of each for the fullest enjoyment of all". State ownership is to social justice what ritual is to religion and dogma to truth. State ownership and State control are the shells of socialism which were really intended to protect and promote the growth of the kernel; but rigid shells merely constrict its growth. - (Reproduced from "Economic Times" of Feb. 7, 1966, _with kind permission of the Editor._)**  ** _Previous musing: [MAKING INDIAN INDUSTRY GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE](https://indianliberals.in/bn/content/making-indian-industry-globally-competitive/)_ --- ## [Musing] India: Seeing the Future in its Past URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/india-seeing-the-future-in-its-past/ ### Body Because employment was so important for India, encouragement was given to small-scale industries by reserving specific areas of production for them. But because firms could not grow to efficient scale, production was unprofitable, so few jobs were actually created. _Back in 2006, Dr Raghuram Rajan, a leading economist, professor, and bureaucrat, delivered a public lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise as part of its Golden Jubilee celebration series. In the speech, he outlined the broad trajectory of economic mismanagement under socialism in India; the differing impact of economic reforms under decentralized federalism; and the high-skilled, capital-intensive nature of economic dynamism. He also laid out his reform agenda which included liberalization of higher education; management of urban growth; building faith in public institutions; flexible labour laws; infrastructure development; and a focus on incentives, not coercion._ _Produced below is an excerpt from the lecture. The lecture was published in the booklet form by the Forum of Free Enterprise._ AD Shroff, who started the Forum of Free Enterprise in the 1950s, was an unofficial delegate to the Bretton Woods Conference that set up the International Monetary Fund – an interesting connection between this forum and my organization. His aim was, in part, to combat the tendencies towards excessive regulation that permeated the Indian economy. Among the others associated with this organization was Nani Palkhivala. These were important but lonely voices against the socialism practised in India then, arguing as Palkhivala said, that it was a fraud – transferring wealth from the honest rich to the dishonest rich. Instead, people like Mr Shroff and Mr Palkhivala maintained a lonely but necessary vigil then, keeping alight the lamp of free enterprise. I am privileged to be speaking from the same forum as these stalwarts. Since I am an international bureaucrat, what I say reflects my own opinions, and not necessarily those of my organization. But the Fund clearly welcomes free enterprise and attempts to help create the conditions for it to flourish around the world. I therefore particularly welcome the opportunity to speak at this forum and thank the organizers for inviting me. What I want to focus on today is not just how far India has come from those lonely days, but also how far it has to go. Let me start by asking you to go back just 25 years. Unlike today when you can walk across to a shop to get a working state-of-the-art mobile phone, then one had to wait for years to be allotted a phone, and when that miracle happened, it took a further act of God and the benevolence of the P&T man for the phone to work after that. We had black and white TV then. Urban youth like us had to watch Krishi Darshan for entertainment on the monopoly Doordarshan network, where farmers responded to penetrating questions like “Kya aap khet ko pani dete hain?” Of course, most of the intended audience, villagers, did not have access to a TV even in the few cases they had the electricity to power it with. Starting around 1980, the Indian economy became a veritable dynamo, posting an average growth of nearly 6 per cent per year over the last twenty-five years. Despite the inevitable unfavourable comparisons with China, very few countries have grown so fast for such a prolonged period of time, or reduced poverty so sharply. We should indeed be proud of what India has achieved, and clearly, many of us are. There is a buzz today in India, a sense of limitless optimism. But is it justified? To answer this question, let us start by asking how we got here. The best description of India’s path is really “constrained adaptation”. “Constrained” because of the numerous policies and regulations inflicted on us by an untrusting government and “adaptation” because Indians are by nature entrepreneurial. As a result, the law of unintended consequences was at work big time – what the policies produced was very different from what was intended. Consider some. Barriers were erected against the foreign competition to protect domestic enterprise – the idea was this would give a respite to our infant industries, allowing them a nurturing environment while they would grow up and became competitive. But the nurturing environment proved so comfortable that our infants adapted by never growing up. The canonical example was the Ambassador car – a version of the Oxford Morris which remained virtually unchanged over 40 years of production. We waited with bated breath for every new model to see what the shape of the headlights would look like – for it seemed that was all that changed. A second objective was to use scarce capital resources in the most effective way possible. To do this, the so-called “commanding heights”, such as steel, petrochemicals, and heavy electricals, were commandeered by the public sector. In yet other sectors, private entrepreneurs were allowed in, but heavily constrained by regulations on how much, and what they could do, and where. But because much of the economy was in the hands of those who did not care about profits, and in the rest, the profitable could not grow, the outcome was that India used its scarce capital very inefficiently. Because employment was so important for India, encouragement was given to small-scale industries by reserving specific areas of production for them. But because firms could not grow to efficient scale, production was unprofitable, so few jobs were actually created. The government sought to protect unskilled labour in large firms – for example, through laws against firing. But this again meant that large firms stayed away from labour-intensive industries, so fewer jobs were created. Moreover, firms resorted to temporary workers or stayed small so that labour laws did not apply. In short, labour laws neither led to the creation of more jobs nor to the protection of most workers. I can go on but will stop with one last example. An overarching principle was to prevent the concentration of wealth in a few hands. This was another rationale for licensing, as also the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act. But again, in an attempt to use government rules to eliminate privilege, we created the opposite – the industrialist who magically got all the licenses as well as the requisite financing. No wonder business was a dirty word. So what were the consequences of this jumble of policies for India’s pattern of development circa 1980? First and foremost, these policies held India’s growth to a low, but not disastrous, level, famously dubbed the Hindu rate of growth. Indian industry was inefficient, not innovative, and exported very little. Surprisingly, these policies did not mean that India produced less manufacturing goods as a whole for a country at its stage of development. It did mean, however, that the composition of its manufacturing activity was unusual: India produced more than its share of capital- and skill-intensive goods (think public sector petrochemical plant) while underutilizing what it had in plentiful supply-its abundant labour or even its innovative capacity. That many engineering graduates like me left engineering or even the country was partly because the economic environment in the country at that time simply did not need the creativity and the innovation that we brought to the table. To me, this message was forcefully reinforced when after doing a degree in management, I joined one of the country’s foremost business groups as a management trainee. A CEO of one of the group companies berated the engineers in the group of management trainees he was taking around, arguing that we had wasted the nation’s money by taking a precious engineering place and then departing to the ranks of management. While he was showing us around the factory, however, we noticed two elevators going up. We appeared to be waiting for the elevator on the left even though the elevator on the right was available. When asked why, he replied, “We are waiting for the management elevator, this one is for the engineers and workers”. It was not just the middle class that did not benefit, our villages were still not electrified and our poor still had no access to safe clean drinking water. So despite all the rhetoric about socialism, government policies were of the few, by the few, and for the few. I have argued that this may have been unintended, but perhaps I am being charitable. Perhaps indeed the consequences were fully intended but were cloaked in the rhetoric of social purpose, and the public confused with smoke and mirrors. Perhaps India’s greatest enemy was not the proverbial foreign hand but the vested interests inside. Be that as it may, there was a silver lining. The constraints caused India to be highly diversified in its manufacturing even back in 1980. And a portion of its labour force was highly skilled, a clear legacy of Pandit Nehru’s emphasis on science, higher education, and also leading-edge technologies for the public sector. How many countries, at India’s then stage of development, could boast of having a space program? How many advanced countries even now can boast of schools of the calibre of the IIT’s? Thus India had the capabilities provided the constraints were loosened and the right opportunities emerged. And that is indeed what happened. In 1980, government attitudes towards the economy, and the private sector, in particular, started to change. Under Mrs Gandhi and then Rajiv, pro-business reforms were set in motion, with liberalized access for domestic firms to capital imports (including, presciently, to computers), technology, and foreign exchange, and the gradual relaxation of industrial licensing. Later, in the aftermath of the foreign exchange crisis in 1990, broader reforms that were more genuinely pro-competition were introduced-barriers to foreign trade were dismantled, inward foreign investment was liberalized, and important services such as telecommunications and finance were opened up. Second, but no less important, India started becoming more decentralized politically. The decline of the Congress’ power and the rise of regional parties conferred greater political autonomy on the states, translating to autonomy even in the economic sphere. States increasingly prospered, or not, based on what they did rather than because of actions at the centre. _The full text of the lecture is accessible [here](http://www.forumindia.org/images/pdf/4lot/India-Seeing_the_future_in_its_Past.pdf)_ (page no. 5). To read more musings, [click here](https://spontaneousorder.in/?s=SO+Musings). _[IndianLiberals.in](http://indianliberals.in/) is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ --- ## [Musing] Is There A Middle Way? - Dr F. A. Mehta URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/is-there-a-middle-way-dr-fredie-a-mehta/ ### Body _Produced below is a booklet by Dr F. A. Mehta, published in January 1995 by the [Forum of Free Enterprise.](https://indianliberals.in/content/is-there-a-middle-way-by-dr-f-a-mehta-january-15-1995/)  In the booklet, Mehta explores the possibility of a "Middle Way" between capitalism and socialism, between efficiency and equity. _The question that I propose to answer and elaborate upon is: Is there a Middle Way between Capitalism and Socialism, between the Price Mechanism and Planning, between Efficiency and Equity? The question is simple, so simple as to be denounced superficial to a point of being superfluous. The spiritual heritage of mankind has long advocated the virtues of moderation. Lord Zarathushtra expressly insisted on moderation as one of the supreme virtues of the Good Life; Lord Buddha dwelt at length on the virtues of the Middle Path; and Confucious insisted that life must be a mixture of the positive and the negative. Every calamity has in it the seeds of an opportunity and every great fortune the seeds of a collapse. The Middle Path, therefore, is almost spiritually ordained.  But, to come down (literally!) from the sublime to the ridiculous, the middle path also has some pragmatic virtues. It seems to offer the best of both the worlds; it also offers an easy escape route for people. A classic example of the former was when Isadora Duncan is alleged to have approached George Bernard Shaw with a request for marriage on the ground that the product would be unique, combining her beauty with his brains. But GBS is alleged to have retorted: "Madam, what if the child has my beauty and your brains?" The classic case of the escape route is provided by the Chairman of a club who had to introduce the Mayor of the city. He took the middle path by stating that some people thought that the Mayor was a rogue and others thought that he was not. He, on his part, took the middle view!  We, in India, now stand in the Company of nearly a hundred countries which have dedicated themselves to a Free Enterprise System. We are conscious that the transitional period from a system of bureaucratic regulation to one of free enterprise is fraught with several problems and pains. But, as the entire world has discovered, there is no escape from the system of free enterprise. Yet, as we all agree, it has to be free enterprise with a human face.  When, therefore, early this year the Prime Minister pushed aside his written speech before the August gathering of World Economic Leaders at Davos, and said that India's destiny is to follow The Middle Path, he was, in fact, stating no more and no less that India as a Democratic, Federal country with innumerable vested interests ranging from the Industrial Lobbies through the Farm Lobbies to the Trade Unions, with 3 States at varying levels of socio-economic development, and with a background of 40 years of bureaucratic socialism could not be expected to perform a miracle overnight. The Thatcherite Big Bang thesis cannot work here. In a Democratic country, PEOPLE CAN BE BRAIN-WASHED; THEY CANNOT BE BROW-BEATEN. MILITARY TANKS CANNOT BE USED; THINK TANKS HAVE TO BE USED. People must have time to adjust themselves intellectually and emotionally to the new regime of Free Enterprise. We need Gradualism both on pragmatic and humane grounds. More specifically, the Prime Minister said that a program of rapid Industrial Productivity such as would throw millions of workers on the streets was totally unacceptable to a country committed to the doctrines of Mahatma Gandhi. No less, and perhaps more significantly, he added; "We must recognise that even if 7 to 10 years from now, the MNCs are able to deal with the problems of the first 50% of India's population, it will remain the responsibility of the Government of India to deal with the problems of employment, and of livelihood of the remaining 50%.” These observations were received with surprise by the Proponents of the Economic reforms in India; by fear from the Right Wing Critics, and with scorn by the Left Wing Opponents. The Proponents of Economic reforms were surprised as India, perhaps uniquely among the 40-45 developing countries of the World attempting Economic reforms, had secured the maximum gains with the minimum pains. No doubt, in the initial 2-3 years, the transitional period saw a contraction in the Industrial output of the country; no doubt, the reduction in subsidies resulted in intensified inflation; and no doubt, the reduced allocations due to reduced Governmental expansion did cause hardship to various sectors of the economy. Most importantly, the sharp inflation in the prices of basic items, particularly all food grains was a disconcerting factor which could not be missed out, particularly with a relatively weak Public Distribution System (PDS).  But, having said all this, there has been no large scale displacement of labour, even though Industrial employment may not have gone up. On the other hand, there was a tremendous outburst of activity, first in the Financial and then in the Industrial Sector of the Economy. The Foreign Exchange reserves rose magnificently from Rs. 1.6 Mn. in June 1991 to nearly Rs. 20 Bn; the rate of inflation, though still worrisome, had been subdued; Industrial Houses were vying one with the other to come out with new programs of modernisation, expansion, diversification and globalisation. Foreigners no longer spoke of "China, then India"; indeed, many reversed the scheme, with India emerging as the darling of foreign Investors. Why then did the Prime Minister, apparently all too suddenly break out into a discourse on "The Middle Path" at Davos?  **Free Enterprise But With Gradualism ** Fear was then expressed that the Prime Minister was now trying to put a break on the speed of Economic reforms. He was trying to prevent any significant attempts to secure major gains in Industrial productivity. He was, in effect, trying to protect the old bureaucracy, and far more importantly the question was raised: "Has the Prime Minister begun to think of his Vote-Banks rather than of Economic reforms?"  On the other hand, the Left Wing criticism was true to form. It saw his speech as nothing but a skillful decoy to continue with his policy of liberalisation but uttering the slogans of soft socialism. Be that as it may, the Prime Minister had made the intelligentsia and the Policy Makers in India sit up and ask the question: Have we moved three steps forward only to move two steps backwards?  One can debate whether one should move one step or two steps backwards, but anyone familiar with the problems of Management must know that no policy implementation takes place at once and down the line. It meets resistance; it even invites a back-lash. Therefore, skillful Managers always prepare for a fall-back position when a Policy runs into too many problems with too many people at too many places. This is all the more so in a Democracy. Are we not indirectly preaching that The Middle Path must always make a provision of not going towards extremes and with extreme haste?  Even at a downright practical level, we have to recognise that the ills of 40 years cannot be undone in four years. For 40 years, Indian industry was condemned to be small and to remain small. It was, in fact, "Pygmytised". To call upon it all of a sudden, to compete with giant global MNCs within a matter of 3-4 years does not make sense. Again, proponents of Privatisation - and I am one of them - would certainly want to see the programs in this area move faster and more meaningfully. But, we have to recognise that the Public Sector is today the dominant sector, and inspite of programs of privatisation will remain a dominant sector for years to come. Managerially, the Public Sector needs to be re-activated and re-oriented towards the goals of Free Enterprise, but given the fact that the Public Sector today accounts for 96% of the power supply in the country and 92% of the Bank deposits, let us not believe that even giant leaps into Privatisation will radically alter these ratios. We are not, therefore, arguing for dragging our feet when it comes to Economic reforms. Nothing would be more dangerous and self-defeating. We are arguing for a correct perspective to be brought to the programs of Economic reforms, and their sequencing. Unless this perspective is obtained in a correct manner, we are inviting back-lashes, perhaps even disasters.  **Pains In The Short-Run, Gains In The Long-Term ** John Maynard Keynes once said in a celebrated sentence "In the long run, we are all dead". The tragedy is that for a country embarking on Economic reforms with the goals of Free Enterprise and Competition, the reverse is true, and it is the short run that is particularly painful. In the short run, Economic reforms carry a variety of pains and penalties; with the reduction in subsidiaries, with the reduction in Government allocations, with a compression in the availability of both domestic credit and foreign exchange, the first round of Economic reforms becomes one of both stagnation with inflation. We have seen this in one country after another, but no where so dramatically and tragically as in Russia today. By contrast in the first round of Socialism, people "enjoy the bliss" of assured employment, social services and for the masses a great degree of law and order.  In the long run, Free Enterprise almost always delivers the goods, whereas a planned economy almost always breaks down. This makes Capitalism and Competition particularly painful in the short run; by contrast, it makes Socialism particularly attractive. That is why we are today witnessing in one country after another, that the Communists, now in their new garb of "Social Democrats”, are coming back to power. The greatest problem before Economic reformers is that while in the long run their remedies do promise a great deal of success and prosperity, in the short run, they do tend to bring a great deal of economic insecurity and dislocations, often accompanied by outburst of crime and corruption which imperils the law and order situation. In short, periods of transition have often been accompanied by chaos, corruption, and even crime.  From this point of view, we have to congratulate our present Government that by a wise system of gradualism on the one side and proper sequencing of reforms on the other side, they have been able now to ward off those tragic consequences which one has witnessed in so many countries embarking on Economic reforms. It has been said repeatedly that our Economic reforms have not touched the politically sensitive areas. Even granting that this is true, is there no wisdom in going "one step at a time?" There is this basic conflict between the short-run and the long-term. Most political and economic reformers know this only too well and our Government, to-date, has succeeded in doing a good piece of "fine-tuning". Once again the triumph of "The Middle Path".  **Free Enterprise And The Caring State Mutually Beneficial ** It is necessary, however, that we clear a considerable amount of misunderstandings that have developed in this area, of what may be called "The Middle Path". Over the last century, the Leftists have been so vigorous in demanding a greater share for the State that today Statism is almost automatically equated with Leftism. This is really interesting, because Adam Smith when he called for an attack on the powers of the State over two centuries ago was, in fact, attacking what in modern terminology would be called "The Right Wing, Mercantile Lobby". The State has been used by both the Right-Wing and the Left-Wing and indeed, in a number of Asian Pacific countries that have recently shown a spectacular rate of economic growth, the State and the free enterprise forces have worked in an amazing harmony for quite a few decades. Statism, therefore, is not the monopoly of the Leftists though in the last century, it has been largely so.  The second point on which we must be clear is that the Price Mechanism on whose altar the proponents of Free Enterprise offer their incense is not a sweet, soft or sugary mechanism. The Price Mechanism is, in fact, a very strict disciplinarian, and sometimes, the proponents of Free Enterprise themselves seek the help of the State to escape its rigours. As Sir W. Arthur Lewis has said, "The Free market is a powerful instrument of social control, which directs production to the service of demand, stimulates progress and eliminates excessive earnings". In countries, where the free market operates, there are more bankruptcies per thousand companies than anywhere else. The Price Mechanism allocates resources to different industries on the basis of their conceived profitability, but if these companies or industries do not supply what the market needs, they could literally be out of existence. That is why Joseph Schumpeter spoke of Competition as "the gale of creative destruction" - creative, insofar as new products, new processes and new technologies come into existence, and destruction because those not so equipped to face competition now face extinction. The popular conception that the Price Mechanism is a magic wand that inflicts few hardships and ensures fast growth is somewhat misplaced. In strict truth, it demands continuous innovations, continuous cost-cutting, continuous R and D, and continuous obedience to the consumers. It is rewarding to sustained efficiency - it is very punishing to sustained inefficiency.  **Free Enterprise And The Creation Of Social Surplus ** Thirdly, Free Enterprise Economics, even when they keep the economic activities of the State to what may be called the barest minimum, do not hesitate to utilise the State for a number of activities, Social Military and Humanitarian. Thus, it has been a striking feature of several Free Enterprises of the World, particularly since 1945 that while the pure economic role of the state is diminished, the expenditures of the State on Defence, Social Services, Subsidies and so on, are so large as to account for not less than 45-70% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Sweden is an extreme case, but by no means a rare example of a country which is basically committed to Free Enterprise, but where Public Sector expenditure consumes some 73% of the GDP of Sweden and the tax burden is close to 60% of GDP. No less conspicuously, the share of employment in the Public Sector in the total employment has shown an increase in Europe from about 25% in the mid-fifties to as much as 50% in the mid-eighties. Indeed, ironical as it sounds, the battle cry against "over-regulations, over-taxation, over-government", has been raised in the very countries which are basically dedicated to Free Enterprise, and this is precisely what gave rise to the phenomenon of Thatcherism and Reaganism. Free Enterprise and the Public Sector both grow together, especially when their activities far from being competitive are mutually complementary; free enterprise releasing the surplus resources for the State, and the State, in turn, creating the socio-economic infra-structure for the benefit of the private sector.  The reason why in not only the advanced countries of the World, but also in the fast-developing countries of the Asia Pacific Region we find two seemingly contradictory trends developed is on bottom a simple one - atleast it must appear simple to those who are not ideological addicts. On the one side, Free Enterprise with its concomitants of the Price Mechanism and competition are allowed the maximum freedom, subject to certain regulations; on the other side, the public sector share in both the total employment and in the national expenditure of the country continues to increase. There is no contradiction because once the State, or more accurately the Government in power, has set the broad guidelines, and in the case of indicative planning the specific deadlines (as currently the Indian Government is seeking to do), then the State finds that instead of wasting its abilities, energies, and expenditure on a number of activities which the private sector can do, or can do better, these can now be dedicated to such vital visible and invisible areas of the economic and social infrastructure of the country. Health, education, the rural sector, the administration of specific anti-poverty schemes - to all these areas the State must now dedicate its capabilities and its resources, apart of course, from those of national defence and law and order.  **Productivity Central To The Welfare State ** It then becomes the duty of the economic sector of the country (including the private, the public, the co-operative and the joint sectors) to create such increases in productivity as will release the resources to the Government to implement its programmes of socio-economic development. The failure to increase productivity will imperil the creation of a Welfare State. Subsidies, social services and safety nets are vital to ensure Free Enterprise with a humane face, but at the end of the day they can be sustained only by such continuous increases in productivity as will release resources for the State. The collapse of the erstwhile Soviet Russia and the agony of such welfare States like Sweden can, in no small part be attributed to the fact that without continuous increases in productivity, surpluses cannot be generated as will finance subsidies, safety nets and social services.  **Low Tax-Rates And High Tax-Revenues ** If the first condition of creating a socially-oriented market economy in which welfare schemes can be continuously maintained is the continuous increases in national productivity, then the second condition is for the tax revenues to increase not only because of sharp increases in economic growth, but also due to a continuous expansion of the tax base. It cannot have escaped notice that during the decade of the 1980s, though there has been unfortunately, an alarming increase in income inequalities in both the U.K. and the U.S.A., the single most important fad is that the sharp decreases in tax rates were accompanied by sharp increases in tax revenues. This, therefore, supplies the relevant model under which productivity increase must be accompanied by tax incentives in such a manner that surpluses are created on the one side and increased tax revenues are obtained on the other side.  **The Role Of Privatisation  ** If we do take privatisation to be a very meaningful mechanism of the transition of a bureaucratic, over-planned State to one of the market mechanism, then it is also the duty of the private sector to release resources such as will increasingly supplement the resources of the state in such vital areas like power generation, telecommunications, road-building, etc. The very essence of privatisation is that while the State reduces its expenditure and its activities in this area, the private sector comes forth with increasing resources so as not only to compensate, but to more than make up the reduction in the resources allocated to these vital sectors.  **The Role Of Price Mechanism ** Last but not the least, the market mechanism cannot do all at all times, and in any case, in conditions of war or of a crisis, it has to be subordinated to broad State activity. Having said this, one can legitimately entertain the hope that the price mechanism will now allocate resources of the country in a most productive manner. Resources will be allocated and made use of in the most economical manner due to the price mechanism. Switzerland does not produce cars and planes; Sweden does not produce textiles and shoes; but none is the poorer for it. The discipline of the price mechanism ensures not only consumer sovereignty but also the optimisation of the economic resources of the country.  **The Middle Way Can Be A Muddled Way ** However, at a practical level, one has to recognise that the "mix" between Free Enterprise and the Welfare State will vary from country to country, and even within the same country, from one time period to another. That is why in a light-hearted manner, the opponents of the Mixed Economy say that it often ends up by being a "Mixed-up economy". More severe critics allege that the Mixed Economy ends up by being a "a muddled economy". In truth, these accusations may be valid every now and then but it is in the very nature of the Middle Path that there will be some swings from one position to another at varying times. At the onset of the economic reforms, we had to go lock, stock and barrel for ascertaining the virtues of Free Enterprise with a humane face, we want a market economy that is socially-oriented and socially-motivated.  Indeed, as the Appendix to our lecture will show some of the greatest proponents of the Price Mechanism have been none other than the socialists themselves; and some of the greatest proponents of the social conscience of society have been none other than the proponents of Free Enterprise. This is the beauty of the Middle Path and our quotations spread over a period of a century from 1894 show that again and again it is the socialists who have argued for the Price Mechanism, and it is the Capitalists who have argued for the Welfare State.  **The Middle Class And The Middle Path ** It is in this context that I may have to say a few things about the Middle Class, to which I myself belong, which may not be altogether complimentary. In too much of the literature on our economic reforms, in general, but on the Free Enterprise system in particular, we have made it appear as if the entire success of economic reforms are of the middle class, by the middle class and for the middle class. It is perfectly true that both the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister have been stressing time and again the dangers of this misconception, but the fact remains that in our presentations both within and outside India, the role of the middle class is eulogised to an extent which is politically dangerous for its survival and growth.  Do the middle classes of India recognise that there is a middle path? One can easily take a bet that of the over 1,000 articles written or speeches delivered on the process and progress of economic reforms from June 1991, 750 are almost entirely dedicated to lauding the process and the purchasing power of the middle classes of India. In the remaining 250 some references are made here and there to the "poor masses of India", but there should be no doubt as to who are the heroes in this drama.  To the middle classes it appears as the dawn of a glorious era with the spectacular rise in the prices of scrips in the stock market, with the abundant availability of more consumer durable goods coming on to the markets, with the sizable increases in the salaries and perquisites, and not least, with India's triumphs in the "beauty contests'' in the world. Every now and then some words of sympathy for the poor do leak out, but we expect that somehow the poor will be taken care of in some way. The Trade Unions and the managerial classes both say in harmony: "I am all right, Jack". The former are protected by the increasing Dearness Allowances guaranteed to them; the latter have been protected by the increasing pay scales. The question as to whether the poor do come into the picture is treated virtually as a cry of out-dated socialism.  It is not. Even at the most obviously pragmatic level, the poor still have the vote banks with them. They do not get inspired by the schemes of VRS; they want the effective working of the Public Distribution System. They are not impressed by the spectacular increases in stock market prices; they are affected by the sizable increases in the prices of foodgrains. They are not impressed by the schemes of safety net for the privileged few who belong to the organised sector; they want a safety net not for the organised classes, but for the unorganized masses.  **The Need For Honest And Efficient Anti-poverty Programmes ** The fact that "anti-poverty programs" in the past have been both political hoaxes and economic frauds, does not mean that we do not need them; it only means that they need correction, administratively and economically. Indeed, contrary to a popular assertion, the Central and the State expenditures on social services and rural development as a percentage of total GDP has not declined during the last three years, but it has not increased either. Secondly, and, perhaps more agonisingly, there has been a re-allocation within these heads so that some sectors have suffered by way of reduced allocations and others have benefited. But the perception is there, that the true victims of inflation have been the poor and the needy; not the middle classes of India.  If we do wish to follow the Middle Path, then the middle class must give considerable attention to how they can devise safety nets, not for their own selves but for the millions who do not belong to this class. After all, the very use of the words "The Middle Class'' implies that there is not only "an Upper Class", but also a larger "Under Class". All this has nothing to do with socialism. To plead that we must have a passion for economic growth with a compassion for the poor is not to repeat a cliché of socialism; it is only to recall the "talisman" that Gandhiji bequeathed to all of us.  I seem to have sung the praises of the Middle Path so eloquently that I may leave you with an impression that it is an easy path to follow. In some ways, it is; in many ways it is not. To reiterate: If during the initial transitional period of the introduction of economic reforms, in fact the inequalities multiply, inflation rages, unemployment shrinks or is believed to have shrunk, crime and corruption is visibly increased, then people are going to swing to one extreme or the other, and here it is that it is going to be extremely difficult to maintain and assist The Middle Path.  **Middle Path Can Convert Economic Warfare Into Economic Welfare** However, I do believe, and this I now say as the finale to my speech that if we approach The Middle Path with a spirit of compassion, with a sense of compromise and with some degree of innovation in our thinking, The Middle Path offers to us a path both of peace and of progress. Let me hasten to elaborate.  During the last 40 years of our economic policies, we, consciously at sometimes, but sub-consciously at most times have created not merely an economy, but a society that is split into warring segments. Through our policies of licensing, controls, reservations, taxations, differentials and subsidies, we have reared a society which far from being harmonised into the _INDIA INC_ on the pattern of _JAPAN INC_ has actually converted our economy into warring segments. We may not have had competition in the market place, but we have had any amount of savage struggles by all sorts of vested interests. Each economic policies had put -  THE PUBLIC SECTOR AGAINST THE PRIVATE SECTOR  THE INDIAN SECTOR VERSUS THE FOREIGN SECTOR  THE LARGE SCALE SECTOR VERSUS THE SMALL SCALE SECTOR  INDUSTRIAL LABOUR AGAINST INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT  TENANTS VERSUS LANDLORDS AND SO ON  In splitting our Society into such warring fragments by ever-multiplying legislation of all types, we have deprived our society of the quest for unity, the will to compromise, of the skills in innovative policy-making, of the sense and spirit of harmony - the very virtues which have made the various conflicting interests in Japan come together in a spirit of harmony to forge Japan Inc - a cry so frequently heard in India, but hardly, if ever, achieved, except during periods of war.  **Examples Of Needless Economic Warfare ** How else can we explain to the World what we have come to have in India:  - **Rents prevalent in 1994 which in money terms are the same as in 1940 and in real terms 2% as those in 1940**. By what canons of democracy can this dictatorship of tenants be defended? Yet, is it too much to ask that an innovative formula be worked out reconciling in a spirit of give-and-take the conflicting interests of the tenants and landlords? The late L.K. Jha once submitted a whole Report showing how so many democratic countries (and cities) have worked out a number of innovative formulae in a spirit of compromise; in 1983 he noted, for example, that in Washington D.C., rents were revised once every three years to the extent of one half of the increase in the Consumer Price Index. But till very recently, Government legislation in many parts of India ruled out any attempt at innovation and compromise by its draconian rent-control legislation. The search for vote-banks negated all principles of fair-play, atrophied the spirit of compromise - the Middle Path was exiled. - **The same tragedy has befallen us in the area of Industrial Relations.** Foreign commentators, on the Indian economy, are absolutely horrified to find that, per 1000 Industrial man-days, India loses due to poor Industrial relations, more man-days than any other country in the World. Ironically, our very Legislation and Labour Judiciary exalts the conflicts and cleavages between Labour and Management instead of encouraging them to arrive at some measure of consensus at the bargaining table, the table of Collective Bargaining. Consider the gigantic losses suffered by the Indian economy: each year, 15 days are lost due to Port strikes, 15 days are lost due to Transporters' strike, 10 days are lost due to Bank strikes, and 22 to 26 million man-days are lost due to strikes and lock-outs in Indian Industry - not to speak of the many, many more millions of man-days lost due to deliberate, go-slows and the disruptions and destructions caused by public ire or "public-interest" causes. **** - **Consider again the cleavages and conflicts deliberately introduced by government legislation between the small scale and the large scale sector. ** The manner we have structured and fostered our small scale industries is a tribute to our spirit of generosity but not to our sense of economics. Thanks predominantly to a continuously enlarged list of reservations, tax rebates and outright subsidies the small scale industries of India have been brought to a stage when even with these major crutches, most of them cannot justify their existence. Conspicuously in Japan, in Germany and in Sweden, over 75% of all industrial establishments employ less than 100 persons. In some areas, their productivity per person is even higher than that in the large-scale industries; in other areas, they have carved out a niche for their activities and products; but in most areas, they have built up a synergistic relationship with the large-scale industries. In India, on the other hand, a great majority of the small scale industries have been nothing but, small scale replica of the large-scale industries, and instead of relying on their basic economic or technological strength to grow, they have relied almost entirely on tax incentives and the system of reservations in order to survive. Once again, instead of building up synergistic relationship between large-sale and the small-scale, as we find so prominently in the two great industrial countries of the world, namely Japan and Germany, the small-scale industry in India has been reduced largely (though happily, not entirely) to being a sector, whose principal survival is built on subsidies and governmental protection, and the continuous clashes between small-scale and the large-scale have, therefore, become the order of the day; what should have been an arena for joint growth has become a battle-field for snatching concessions.  All the above three illustrations show that with some degree of innovation and a greater degree to compromise, we could have evolved a situation which instead of giving us economic warfare, would have given us economic welfare.  **Middle Path Leaves Room For Compromise And Innovation ** Not only is the Middle Path one that makes us seek compromises and evolve consensus to the mutual good of the conflicting parties, but it also provides by its very nature a fertile field for the evolution of imaginative policies. By definition, the Middle Path is free from ideology; but it is not free from the conflict of different interests. Let us see how it could have been, or it could now have been applied to a question which is so dear to the hearts of so many Industrialists.  **A Scheme To Marry The Interests Of Indian Promoters, Investors And The Poor**  Right at this present moment, many Indian industrialists are disturbed that, sooner or later, they will be subjected to a raid by either Indian or Foreign parties, and for this purpose, there has been a persistent demand that a preferential allotment of shares be issued to the Promoters of Indian industries at preferential prices. This demand has been perceived throughout the country as nothing but an example of blatant selfishness. Could it have been possible to come out with alternative schemes? My own suggestion takes its inspiration from the Trusteeship Concept bequeathed to us by Mahatma Gandhi. In such a scheme of things, the following could be the major planks:  - The Indian promoters would be allowed to hold additional shares of upto 10% of the enlarged capital of the Company that they manage, provided these shares would be put in a Specified Trust, whose activities would primarily deal with genuine applications from and for the poor and the needy. - The Indian promoters would be permitted to create shares by paying one-third of the average price for the last six months. - In return, this investment made by the Indian promoters would become the property of the Trust, but the voting power would be exercised in favour of the Indian promoters, and would continue to do so unless the Company managed by them fails to declare a dividend for 3 years in succession. - The dividend received would, after deducting the cost of administering the Trust be distributed by the Trust for specific purpose which must be directly related to the needs of the poor. - The Trustees must be persons totally independent of the Industrial house, and once appointed should not be removed except for moral turpitude. - The Trust shall stand dissolved after a period of 15 years and its corpus of the shares vested in the Trust by the Indian promoters will revert to them. - In this manner, the Indian promoters will be able to buy their shares at a relatively low price, provided the dividends received during this period of 15 years are entirely used for charitable purposes. It simultaneously assures that in the absence of total inefficiency or non-viability of the Company, they have managed that they will be protected by the voting rights invested in the Trust against hostile raids. This then would represent the marriage of both the practical and the philanthropic goals, and the Trust would, in effect, serve as a concrete symbol of the Trusteeship concept bequeathed to us by Gandhiji. By no means is our suggestion fool-proof. Certainly, it is subject to several improvements and various legislative changes. But this is the very essence of the mixed economy, that we bring a pragmatic consensus approach to most matters and in so doing are not only to subdue our own passions and prejudices, but also to use law for man, and not man for law.  The Middle Path is not free from difficulties, particularly for an economy, which is about to make a transition from 40 years of over-planning, over-bureaucratisation, over-controls but, the key words in this are: Gradualism, Compromise, Tolerance and Pragmatism. At the best of times, the market-mechanism, the hand-maiden of Free Enterprise, has its limitations, its injustices, its excesses. That is why over a century ago, Count Otto von Bismark insisted that German Capitalism must be "oiled" with the safety-nets of social security schemes, and that is why sixty years later, Dr. Ludwig von Erhard insisted that the market mechanism must be "socially oriented". That is why both Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Lord Keynes insisted on strategic State Intervention and a social security network as essential concomitants of a Free Enterprise system. That is why so many democratic socialists sing the praises of the price-mechanism; and in reverse, so many exponents of Free Enterprise call for "the safetynet of social services."  **Conclusion ** We, in India, need Free Enterprise to unleash the gigantic entrepreneurial wealth of our country. We need it to correct the excesses of an over-politicalised, over-planned, over-bureaucratised economy. We need it to prevent the further global isolation of India and instead make her a global player in the next six to seven years. But, let us reiterate our credo: Gradualism, Compromise and Compassion must be simultaneously our watchwords. As we said before, and now say it again in conclusion, to combine a passion for rapid economic growth with a compassion for the poor is not to repeat a cliché of socialism - it is only to recall the 'talisman' which the Father of our Nation bequeathed to all of us long years ago. --- ## [Musing] Kandukuri Veeresalingam: Icon of Andhra’s Renaissance URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/kandukuri-veeresalingam-icon-of-andhras-renaissance/ ### Body _Sri Kandukuri Veeresalingam is considered the father of Renaissance in Andhra Pradesh. He was not only a literary figure but also a social reformer. He awakened the masses out of their medieval orthodox customs and superstitions.  He was a multifaceted personality whose literary and revolutionary activities left an indelible mark on Andhra society._ Rao Bahadur Kandukuri Veeresalingam Pantulu was born on 16 April 1848 at Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh. Veersalingam was born to an orthodox Brahmin family as the son of Subbarayudu and Poornamma. Unfortunately, he lost his father when he was just four years old. His paternal uncle raised him, and through his support, Veeresalingam studied in local schools. His zeal to learn earned him academic accolades at a young age.  With constant support from his mother and uncle, Veeresalingam finished his matriculation in 1869. He then worked as a schoolteacher in Korangi Village, Andhra Pradesh. Later, he got married to Rajyalakshmi.  Veeresalingam used literature as a tool to banish the darkness of superstition and social vices, and spread awareness. He adopted a simple, lucid, and straightforward style of writing. He was the first writer to pen a Telugu novel. In 1880, his novel titled “Rajasekhara Charitramu” was published.  Veeresalingam is also credited with introducing essays and autobiography into Telugu literature. His autobiography, “Sweeyacharitha,” was the first autobiography written in Telugu. He also composed several plays in Telugu. Through his plays, he addressed the social evils of his time.  In 1880, Veeresalingam wrote ‘Vyavahara Dharmabodhini’. This became the [first](https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/theatre/Telugu-theatre-day-celebrated/article14691489.ece) staged Telugu drama. In the same year, he wrote ‘Bramha Vivaham’ which ridiculed the opposers of women’s education through satire. He also penned ‘Satyaraja Poorvadesayatralu’, a satirical piece on male dominance in society.  Hailing from a Brahmin family, Veeresalingam never hesitated to criticise the upper-class attitude of Brahmins in society. Some of his plays portrayed the attitude of Bramhin priests and Bramhins in power. Among his notable works are “Viveka Deepika” in 1880, “Prahlada” in 1885, “Satya Harischandra” in 1886, and “Tiryag- Vidvan Mahasabha” in 1889.   Veeresalingam translated several prominent works into Telugu. His valuable translations include primarily from Sanskrit and English. He enabled the typical Telugu reader to access prominent Sanskrit and English works through his translations.  Apart from being an exceptional writer, Veeresalingam was also a progressive social reformer. He was heavily influenced by the ideas and activities of  “Bramha Samaj”. He greatly respected thinkers such as Atmuri Lakshmi Narasimham, district munsif of Rajahmundry and a staunch critic of caste system, and Keshav Chandra Sen, philosopher and social reformer. He ardently supported women’s education. In 1874, Veeresalingam opened a girls school in Dhavaleshwaram. In 1884, he opened another girls school in Innisipeta, Rajahmundry. Besides supporting women’s education, he took time to educate his wife, Rajyalakshmi.  In 1876, Veeresalingam started a monthly magazine called “Vivekavardhini”. Through this magazine, he fearlessly exposed the corrupt practices of government officials. He wrote several articles on ‘the importance of women’s education ’ and ‘evils of child marriage’. In 1873, Veeresalingam penned “Stree Vidhya” a collection os poems. In stree Vidhya he maintains strong stance on women’s education.  Apart from these, he ardently criticised superstitious beliefs. He also launched “Sahithabodhini” to advocate for widow remarriage and women’s education.  Veeresalingam was heavily moved by societal norms and practices that denied women several opportunities. He was the torch bearer for the widow’s remarriage movement in Andhra Pradesh. In 1879, Veeresalingam delivered a speech on widow’s remarriage. This speech created a sensation throughout Andhra Pradesh. Many upper-caste members vehemently criticised him for his stance on widow’s remarriage.  In 1910, he published “Athibalya vivaham”, a commentary on child marriage. In that Veeresalingam writes _“These child marriages have been prevalent in our country for a very long time. But the question arises, what is the necessity of this practice in today's world? Why should young girls and boys be forced into a marriage at such a young age? The injustices related to marriage are not just limited to the poor, it's widespread. It's time to rethink and break this cycle._ _We should ensure that our children have a good education and lead a life full of happiness and fulfillment rather than being burdened with the responsibilities of marriage at such a tender age. We need to stop these injustices and stand up for what is right. It's high time that we put an end to child marriages, whether among the rich or the poor.” _ The plight of young widowed women influenced Veersealingam. He believed that young women can lead a joyful life after remarriage. Despite the strong opposition from orthodoxy, Veeresalingam conducted the first widow remarriage in Andhra Pradesh on December 11, 1881.  In India, this news quickly spread across different parts of the country, and many imminent social reformers appreciated his efforts.  In 1898, MG Ranade, in a meeting, acclaimed Veeresalingam as “Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar of South”. He went on to deliver several lectures on widow’s remarriage. He often cited Shlokas from ancient Hindu scriptures to educate people that Hindu dharma didn’t forbid widow’s remarriage.   Sri Kandukuri Veeresalingam Panthulu dedicated his whole life to eradicating the social injustice against women. As a literary icon, he fearlessly attacked the prevailing social evils through his plays, journals, and magazines. As a social reformer, he inspired people to think and act progressively. He laid the foundation of a modern Andhra society with the significant reforms he brought during his time.  References - [https://amritmahotsav.nic.in/district-reopsitory-detail.htm?3788](https://amritmahotsav.nic.in/district-reopsitory-detail.htm?3788) - [https://indianculture.gov.in/node/2833251](https://indianculture.gov.in/node/2833251) - Rani, S. (2012). Women’s worlds in the novels of Kandukuri and Gilman. _CLCWeb_,_14_(2). [https://doi.org/10.7771/1481-4374.1963](https://doi.org/10.7771/1481-4374.1963) - Uma, A., & Sridhar, M. (2021). Kandukuri Veeresalingam: Women’s Education [February 1875]. In _Routledge eBooks_ (pp. 28–34). [https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003224761-2](https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003224761-2) _Previous musing: [TWO STRANDS OF LIBERAL EXPRESSION : DR. ANANDIBAI JOSHI AND LAKSHMIBAI TILAK](https://indianliberals.in/content/two-strands-of-liberal-expression-dr-anandibai-joshi-and-lakshmibai-tilak/)_ [](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/IMG_20220724_121630_copy-removebg-preview.png) **Ch Prashanth** Prashanth is pursuing his Master's in International Relations and Politics at the Central University of Kerala. He likes to spend his weekdays at the library or gym. His weekends are spent in front of the television watching the Premier League. --- ## [Musing] Is This The Freedom We Fought For? URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/is-this-the-freedom-we-fought-for/ ### Body _Produced below is an essay by _Sadanand Varde, published in a 1997 booklet titled [Fifty Years After.](https://indianliberals.in/content/fifty-years-after/)_ The booklet was edited and published by Indian liberal stalwart S.V. Raju, and was jointly sponsored by the Project for Economic Education and Friedrich Naumann Stiftung. _I left Elphinstone college where I was a student, joined the freedom struggle in 1942 and was jailed for a year. Hence I was labelled 'freedom fighter'. But the nomenclature 'freedom fighter' and all that is associated with it is not something that I carry with any pride or enthusiasm because many persons who carry that 'designation' have ruled the country and some of them, very distinguished ones at that, have been hauled in courts for criminal offences. Those who have been freedom fighters and those who were born after freedom, have a sense of sadness, a sense even of alienation with the sorry state of affairs of our country today.  **A Vision of Free India ** When Gandhiji gave the "Do or Die" call, many like me responded. We had dreams of what we would do after freedom. And those dreams, or the vision that we had were described, for example, in the 8th August 1942 Gowalia Tank resolution which proclaimed that power would belong to the toilers in the fields and factories and depicted a very inspiring picture of things to come.  **Why Bhagat Master Wept ** Recently I was at an institution in Neral called the Kotwal Wadi Trust. Kotwal was a freedom fighter. By profession a lawyer, he belonged to the barber community, and responding to Gandhiji's call, he did a big job in the Karjat taluka, to the extent of making the functioning of government administration almost impossible. He was much sought after by the British, and he went underground. This function to which I went was to celebrate the completion of 50 years of the Kotwal Wadi Trust, founded by Mr. Haribhau Bharsale, a humble Gandhian who has been working among the adivasis. On that occasion, my friend Liladhar Hegde sang a ballad composed by Vasant Bapat on the revolutionary exploits of Bhai Kotwal, who was shot dead during an encounter in 1943. As he was singing that beautiful composition, Mr. Bharsale said that of the 18 people who were associated in that struggle in 1943, only one had survived and pointed out to an old man ('Bhagat Master', he called him) sitting in a corner. I could see tears flowing down his cheeks, and I asked myself the question why Bhagat Master was crying. Is it because he remembers Bhai Kotwal or is it because he is sorry that he is alive today to witness the sorry state of affairs of the country.  **What Have We Done to India? ** The question is what has happened to India? What have we done to India? What have we done to our representative institutions, to our law and order agencies, to our education; to our growing population? Now, while trying to answer these questions, I must mention two things that struck me. Once, while going through India Today magazine I came across a beautiful photograph of Gandhiji. In fact, it was Ben Kingsley's photo. And the title said: "India, the land that worships feet". Gandhiji was sitting and an elderly woman with her little child was touching his feet. The lower portion of that page read: "Lakhani, the shoes that worship feet". Gandhiji was being used to promote a product. I am not going into the question of whether it was right or wrong, but when this advertisement is criticised by many as the outcome of the influence of Western ideas, I feel highly offended. This is a totally indigenous product. I don't remember having seen any advertisement or product promotion using Lincoln's or Kennedy's name.  Recently, I read a news item that some six so-called 'freedom fighters' were sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment for having forged documents to create a record that they were freedom fighters. Though they did not undergo any imprisonment during the freedom struggle they did undergo rigorous imprisonment after freedom!  I don't take the view that over the last fifty years, nothing has happened in the country. Take a balance sheet. We have had industrial development, our coverage of education has expanded, we have succeeded in establishing a large network of railways and communications and we have a reasonably modern scientific establishment to mention a few. But by and large when we take an overall view, the development that has taken place has bypassed a large majority of the people for whom, the 1942 resolution proclaimed, freedom was to be fought. Maybe we had this illusion that when we attained freedom, all our problems would be solved. And therefore, I would like to quote from Winston Churchill's speech in the British Parliament when he attacked Clement Attlee. It is a very malicious statement. This is what he said:  "Power will go into the hands of rascals, rogues and freebooters. Not a bottle of water or loaf shall escape taxation. Only air will be free and the blood of these hungry millions will be on the head of Clement Attlee. These are men of straw of whom no trace will be found after a few years. They will fight among themselves and India will be lost in political squabbles."  When I look at the present scenario in the country, the most dominant factor in our public life today is political squabbles, be it in a state or in Delhi.  **Who is to Blame? ** When I said that the Development that has taken place has bypassed a large majority of the people, I refer to the lack of the basic minimum amenities of life. We have, after 50 years of independence, a government drawing out a common minimum programme, in terms of drinking water, primary education and health facility! This is not the result of the new economic policies that have been pursued in the last 5 years i.e., since July 1991. It is as though Mr. Manmohan Singh is the real villain of the piece, on account of whom we have landed ourselves into problems of growing poverty, unemployment, overpopulation and so on. I don't also subscribe to the view that the onslaught of multinationals in the country is jeopardising our sovereignty - our freedom. When I make my submissions, let it not be misunderstood that it is with reference to policies that have been pursued in the last five years.  As the poet William Wordsworth wrote 'Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, but to be young was very heaven". That was the period in which I was involved in the freedom movement, and therefore I quote from an interview which Mr. Achyut Patwardhan gave over fifteen years ago around the time the Bofors scandal had surfaced. This is what he, one of the tallest among freedom fighters, said:  "Initially I believed that India would flourish when the British left; later I believed that India would flourish when it adopted socialism. Now that I am proved wrong both times, I would prefer to be quiet."  It is only great men like him who could speak with such humility. Achyut Patwardhan went on to say:  "Today, the State has lost all moral authority. It is viewed as the creation of crooks, by crooks for crooks. Nothing seems to work without the use of money, muscle power or influence. So even if we have achieved a little prosperity, people think it is "inspite" and not "because" of the State. Back in 1947, you could distinguish between 'bandits" and "politicians", not now. That is a measure of how far we have fallen."  These agonising words came from him much before the Kesris and the Sukhrams, came on the Indian political scene.  **An All-Powerful State ** When, after Independence, we established the National Planning Commission, in our early enthusiasm we placed the State at the head of the economy in all the decision making processes hoping that the controlling mechanism would bring out all that is necessary for rapid economic development. We did not realise that the business of government is not business. We therefore created a closed economy, raised a big tariff wall to protect our industrial structure so that it could grow, which for some time no doubt was necessary. But we created an industrial and trade regime in which enormous powers were handed over to ministers and bureaucrats. We followed in the wake of that model of development, with fiscal policies or taxation policies which could never be expected to be complied with, but which instead led to the growth of a parallel economy which today accounts for nearly half the economic activities equated to half the national production of the country.  We created a huge public sector. We have sunk more than Rs. Two lakh crores in the public sector. And we associated the public sector with public interest in only one sense - protecting the employment of those who are employed. Whether they are productive, whether they add to national wealth, whether they meet the needs of the community, were considered irrelevant considerations and the capital of over two lakh crores did not give a return of even 2.5% on investment.  As the loss making industries were supported with annual budgetary grants, the managers were happy that losses would be taken care of. The result was, that funds from the state exchequer which ought to have legitimately gone to education, infrastructure, health services, were denied those resources. In the process, we inherited a system where government became a very important agent, a very powerful factor in all decision-making processes.  **VIP Republic ** The next point I would like to refer is the complete debasement of the entire political class. There are very many outstanding examples, no doubt, of men committed to ideals, to values. The debasement of the political class has led to what we have in the last 50 years created - a VIP Republic. We wanted to create a democratic republic but what we have created is a VIP Republic.  In this VIP Republic we have MPs who occupy government bungalows even though they have ceased to be MPs. They are in heavy arrears of rent and telephone bills. The result is that those to whom people look to solve their problems, to set the economy going, are the very people who are using their positions of power, their offices whether as MPs or MIAs, to pursue interests which are neither social nor national. During a discussion I attended recently someone asked "How is it that Dr. Ambedkar, after having considered so many constitutions of the world did not make any provision for controlling defections?”  **Crabs or Lobsters? ** We have representative institutions which speak in terms of parliamentary privilege. I remember, when Pandit Nehru was the Prime Minister, he picked up the telephone and spoke to the Speaker Mr. Mavalankar: 'Will you please drop in, I have some work' requested Pandit Nehru. In reply Mavalankar sent him a note saying: ‘Mr. Prime Minister, the Speaker does not go to the ministers' chambers.' Within seconds, Nehru rushed to Mavalankar's chamber and said, 'I am sorry.’ But what do we have now? We have in our parliamentary institutions new conventions e.g. a government is defeated, yet its budget survives! These are the result basically of the debasement, the degeneration of the political class. Mr. Biju Patnaik (he is no more) was also a part of that establishment. He described the United Front which is in power, as a group of lobsters. George Fernandes in his response said that crabs were being upgraded as lobsters.  I mentioned earlier the point made by Achyut Patwardhan in his press interview about criminals being indistinguishable from politicians. We have a very similar version here in Mumbai. The Shiv Sena took the stand that if you want to apprehend the goondas, you must not apprehend the Marathi goondas before you have apprehended the other goondas! We have the spectacle of an elected member of parliament going on fast within the precincts of a police station because a notorious criminal was arrested by the police. And the MP could not be arrested because parliament was in session. When parliament is in session, you cannot arrest an MP without the permission of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha or the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. If parliament was in session, he should have been there.  That is why I said we have created a VIP democracy. Crores that go into VIP security and the crores that go into maintaining this establishment is an indication of the opportunities that are denied to the common people. I don't think the law and order situation immediately after independence or even in the worst days of Partition was so bad as it is today. The agents of law and order are looked upon more as enemies of the people than as friends.  The question is: Is this a systemic failure? Have we adopted a political system, a constitutional apparatus which is alien to our genius and our tradition, or is it a shameful failure of the principal play actors in the system?  **A Question of Legitimacy ** Then there is the question of legitimacy. What is legitimate? We have come to a situation where anything that has the sanction and support of powerful groups or interests or the power to hold society to ransom is considered legitimate. Demands get legitimised on the basis of the capacity of those who make the demand to hold the society to ransom. And then, in sheer helplessness the people on the other side yield to the demand. Today is the third day of the BEST strike. It has caused considerable hardship to millions of people travelling by buses. So we now have new ideas of legitimacy.  **Competitive Populism ** In our zeal to provide for those who are below the poverty line, we have been dishing out various kinds of programmes with a delivery system which is incompetent and corrupt. Andhra Pradesh has been following for quite some time a policy of dual cards in their rationing system. A study made of their scheme proved that the total number covered by the dual card system, amounted to more than the total population of Andhra Pradesh!  And then we have, both on the side of people's organisations and on the side of the government what one may call competitive populism. Whether it is a trade union, a government department or it is a people's organisation clamouring for something, the demands made are often at variance or totally indifferent to the overall requirements of the nation. This has resulted in our governments following the policy of open ended subsidies of different kinds representing a wastage of resources and which are not cost effective - be it in the power sector, or in the sector of education as a result of which our economy has suffered.  **New Federalism? ** Currently there is talk about what is called new federalism. This is a new development. I am of the view that the founding fathers of the Indian Constitution conceived India as a federation where the focus of power would be more in the states than in the central government. The provision of the Grants Commission every five years is in itself some kind of a guarantee for balanced regional development so that resources can be transferred from the better off states to the not so better off states. We have now a situation where the chief minister of Punjab after having come to power gives water and power free to farmers and before the ink on that order has dried, and without batting an eyelid, he comes to the central government with a request that a particular loan extended by the central government for a particular purpose be completely waived.  To what extent is the Tamil Manila Congress an expression of the regional aspirations of the Tamilians other than that represented by the DMK and the AIADMK. I concede the point that there is such diversity in terms of problems etc. that it is necessary to take note of this, but let us remember that it is in this era of planned development that the central government in the name of centrally sponsored schemes has acquired more and more power. So this again is a problem with our republic.  And then, we have over 2.5 million pending court cases. We have not been able as yet to devise a system where we could do something to sort out this problem.  **Wasted opportunities ** Therefore, when I look back, I do feel that these 50 years have been years of wasted opportunities and lost morality. I think the decline started when Indira Gandhi became the prime minister. Not that these elements were not present in the polity before that, but using men as material to achieve objectives became fashionable and the decline started from that time. Therefore, we are now in a situation where we want freedom without responsibility, power without accountability, rights without duties, remuneration without work. In such a situation where there seems to be an attitude of total unconcern and a no-holds barred obsession to pursue sectional interests, the country is really facing a major crisis. This is not the freedom that I visualised when at the age of 17. I left college and joined the struggle.  I would like to end by reading out to you a letter from Sheila Kaul to Nanasaheb Goray. At that time, Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister, during whose tenure, there were different kinds of gimmicks. And one such gimmick was the 'Freedom Run'. Another was 'Dandi March Run'. In her letter Sheila Kaul requested Nanasaheb Goray to associate himself with this particular run. This was Nanasaheb's reply:  "March 8, 1988.  Dear Sheilaji,  I have to thank you for your letter dated 22.2.1988. The proposed 'Dandi March' is, in my opinion, a parody of the original, as comic as the freedom run in Delhi. Instead of wasting money on this pseudo heroic march, make salt cheaper by 50%. That will be some tribute to the memorable event. Why not leave Bapu alone? At that time, Gandhiji had compared the real income of the common man with the salary and perks of the Viceroy of India Is Rajivji willing to do it now. Needless to say, I will have nothing to do with these funsters. I hope they will have plenty of Pepsi Cola on their way to Dandi." --- ## [Musing] Kanwal Rekhi on Liberalisation for the Sake of the Poor URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/kanwal-rekhi-on-liberalisation-for-the-sake-of-the-poor/ ### Body Spontaneous Order presents “Spontaneous Musings”, a section for tid-bits that inspire discussion and debate. Economic Liberalisation in India, since 1991, has been by and large liberalisation of the elite, by the elite and for the elite. Taking good care of them, India has liberalised every sector to the limit that affects its elite- may it be the financial sector, the automobile sector, aviation, foreign exchange, or even overseas investments — the list goes on. However, the sectors that help the poor have yet to be liberalised in the same manner and efficiency. This barring of liberalising anything that directly affects the poor is ironically done under the banner of “protecting the poor”. Liberalisation of India’s labor laws, for example, would directly uplift the poor as it would enable labor intensive industries to absorb those employed in the unorganised sector. At present, only 10% of the indian workforce resides in the organised sector (with 90% employment in agriculture and 70% in non- agricultural economy falling under the unorganised sector) — a statistic that instinctively bears grim consequences for the country’s poor. India’s labor laws (most stringent in the world) have thus, choked off employment opportunities- by focusing more on preservation of jobs rather than its creation! India should be creating low-end labor intensive industries for its multitude of unskilled and semi-skilled population. Instead, it is creating a plethora of high-end service jobs. The way forward is to have a single item economic policy, with the sole focus of creating jobs. Labor policy, Tax policy, Land policy, FDI policy should only have one goal- does it create jobs in India? Everything else will take care of itself. _1) http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Young-Hans/2017-07-14/An-analysis-on-the-role-of-Indias-informal-economy/312388_ --- ## [Musing] Jamshed Antia's Views On Sales Tax URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/jamshed-antia-views-on-sales-tax/ ### Body _Produced below is a piece published in the [June 1958 issue of the Forum of Free Enterprise periodical.](https://indianliberals.in/content/sales-tax-by-jamshed-m-antia-jun-1-1958/) The author Mr Jamshed M. Antia discusses implications of existing implementation of sales tax in India at the time. He further goes on to recommend changes in implementation mechanism that could benefit industry, consumer, and national economy. _During the last 20 years Sales Tax has become an important feature of India's Public Finances. The first Sales Tax took the form of a tax on the sale of motor spirit, which was imposed by the Central Provinces in 1937. Madras was the first Province to adopt the General Sales Tax in 1938. With the recognition of its potentialities as a revenue earner Sales Tax has been adopted by all the States. Indeed, today it has become the mainstay of State Finances, rivalling in importance even Land Revenue. In States such as Bombay its importance is greater than that of Land Revenue. It has also proved one of the most fruitful sources of revenue. Whereas in 1944 the total revenue of all States from Sales Tax was only Rs. 8 crores, today it is more than Rs. 80 crores, and is very nearly equal to the revenue from the Central Income-tax other than Corporation Tax. With rising money incomes the Sales Tax promises to rival in importance even the Income-tax. **THE NATURE OF SALES TAX** Sales Tax, as its name implies, is a tax on the sale of goods, and is assessed on the seller. It may take the form of a General Sales Tax imposed on the sale of all goods, or alternatively, it may take the form of Selective Sales Tax imposed on the sale of certain specified goods only. Selective Sales Tax in India is imposed on the sale of motor spirit, electricity, entertainment and transport. There are also General Sales Taxes which, in India, are imposed by the Centre as well as by the States on the sale of goods generally. One variant of the tax on a sale is the Purchase Tax. As the purchase and sale are two aspects of the same transaction it will be readily appreciated that the Purchase Tax is really a form of Sales Tax. There is, however, one difference. It is assessed on the purchaser instead of the seller. This tax is found in some States in India. There are three main systems of Sales Tax, namely, the multi-point, the single-point and the double-point. When tax is levied on every sale regardless of whether the goods involved in each sale have borne tax on any previous occasion, the tax is known as the Multi-point Sales Tax. On the other hand, under the Single-point system of Sales Tax the tax is levied at only one point before the goods are finally sold to the consumer. This tax may be levied either on the first point of sale or the last. In some States the Single-point Sales Tax is levied both at the first point of sale and at the last point of sale. Such a system has come to be known as the Double-point system. All the above systems with their variants are to be found in the States of India. Sometimes the Single-point system is applied in the case of certain specified goods, while the Multi-point system applies to all other transactions. There is no uniformity in taxation of sales by the States. The Union, however, only levies the Multi-point Inter-state Sales Tax on sales in the course of Inter-state Trade. In the discussion which follows, references to Sales Tax will refer not so much to any particular type of tax, but rather to the totality of the various Sales Taxes, General and Selective, which are levied by the States of the Union. Our discussion will also cover the Central Sales Tax on Inter-state Trade. **CONSTITUTIONAL BACKGROUND** Let us review, very briefly, the history of the Sales Tax legislation against the Constitutional background, as it throws some light on the reasons for lack of uniformity in taxation of sales in India. Under a Federal Constitution such as India's, there is a division of powers between the Centre and the States. All laws have, therefore, to be framed in accordance with the Constitution; otherwise they will be held invalid by the Courts. The Government of India Act, 1935, divided the sources of revenue between the Centre and the Provinces. Under that division Sales Tax was made a Provincial subject and the various Provincial Sales Taxes were levied under the authority of that Act. However, there were no clear cut principles for determining the location of a sale and various States claimed the right to tax the same transaction for a variety of reasons. As a result there was confusion and great diversity in Sales Tax laws accompanied by multiple taxation of the same transaction by different States. After Independence, the Constituent Assembly applied itself to the task of dividing the revenues between the Union and the States. The States were given the right to tax purchases and sales inside the State of goods other than newspapers or advertisements in newspapers. Further, by Article 286 of the Constitution, they were prohibited from levying Sales Tax on sales effected outside their territorial limits even when such sales were made by resident dealers. The Constitution also prohibited them from taxing sales in the course of import and export or in the course of Inter-state Trade. Accordingly, State Sales Tax laws were modified to conform to the Constitutional requirements. However, there was an Explanation to Article 286 according to which a sale was deemed to take place in the State in which the goods were delivered. Under this, States claimed the right to tax non-resident dealers, and hence sales in the course of Inter-state Trade. The interpretation of this Explanation caused a great deal of difficulty. Ultimately the Supreme Court ruled that it was within the competence of the States to tax sales effected within the States by dealers resident outside the State. This Court ruling nullified the prohibition of taxation by States of sales in the course of Inter-state Trade. Later the Court reversed its stand. The whole question was reviewed by the Taxation Inquiry Commission and, following this inquiry, the Constitution was amended in 1956. This Amendment removed from Article 286 the Explanation which caused so much difficulty. The amended Article 286 prohibits States from taxing - Sales outside the State. - Sales in the course of import or export. - Sales in the course of Inter-state Trade. It also authorises Parliament to formulate principles for determining where a sale takes place in any of the three ways just mentioned. Further, Sales Tax on sales in the course of Inter-state Trade was made a Central subject. The Constituent Assembly recognised that certain goods were essential to the life of the nation and that taxes on their sales should be Centrally regulated. It was, therefore, provided by the Constitution that no tax on the sale or purchase of any goods declared by Parliament by law to be essential to the life of the community should be imposed unless it had received the prior approval of the President. Accordingly, the Essential Goods Act, 1952, was passed and 15 commodities, including among others, cereals, coal, and raw cotton, were declared to be essential goods. The aim of the Constituent Assembly was to introduce a certain degree of uniformity in the taxation of these goods and not to completely exempt them from taxation. The President however adopted the policy of freezing the existing tax structures which caused considerable discontent, and the opportunity was taken at the time of amending the Constitution to introduce a further provision to the effect that taxation of the sale or purchase of goods declared by Parliament by law to be of special importance in Inter-state Trade or Commerce would be subject to such restrictions and conditions in regard to the levy, rates and other incidents of taxes as Parliament may by law impose. **THE CENTRAL SALES TAX ACT, 1956** Following the Sixth Amendment, Parliament enacted the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956. Its object was threefold. Firstly, it formulated the principles for determining whether a sale took place in the course of Inter-state Trade, or whether it took place in the course of import or export, or inside a State. Secondly, it declared certain goods to be of special importance in Inter-state Trade and imposed restrictions and conditions which all State laws imposing taxes on these declared goods have to observe. Thirdly, it provided for the uniform levy, collection and distribution of taxes on the sale of goods in the course of Inter-state Trade. a. Principles for determining various types of Sales: The Central Sales Tax Act has formulated the principles for determining various types of sales under the Act. A sale is defined as any transfer of property in goods from one person to another for cash or deferred payment or for any valuable consideration. Four types of sales are distinguished by the Act. - **Sale inside a State** - A sale will be deemed to have taken place inside a State if at the time of the contract of sale the goods are within the State. - **Sale outside a State** - Any sale which is inside any State will be deemed to be outside all other States. - **Sale in the course of Import or Export** - A sale is regarded as being in the course of import or export if the property in the goods passes by transfer of documents while the goods are still beyond the frontiers 9f India, or if such sale or purchase occasions the export or import of goods. - **Sale in the course of Inter-state Trade** - A sale will be deemed to be in the course of Inter-state Trade either when the contract of sale occasions the movement of goods from one State to another, or when the property in the goods passes by transfer of documents while the goods are in transit from one State to another. b. Goods declared to be of special importance in Inter-state Trade:  The Central Act repealed the Essential Goods Act, 1952 and in its place declared certain goods to be of special importance in Inter-state Trade. The States are prohibited from taxing sales of these declared goods at rates higher than 2%, nor may they levy such tax except at the last stage. But if the goods enter into Inter-state Trade the States will not be permitted to levy this tax even at the last stage. c. Uniform levy of Sales Tax on sales in the course of Inter-state Trade: The Central Sales Tax is a Multi-point Sales Tax and every dealer who sells goods in the course of Inter-state Trade is chargeable to it. All dealers are required to register themselves in whichever State their liability to Central Sales Tax arises. There is no exemption limit related to turnover. The tax is levied by the Centre but the collection and administration of the tax is entrusted to the appropriate State Governments. It is, therefore, interesting to ascertain the meaning of "appropriate State". In relation to any sale the "appropriate State" under the Act will be either the State from which goods are despatched or the State in which the sale is effected by delivery of documents. **STRUCTURE OF SALES TAX RATES** a. Rates of Sales Tax on sales in the course of Inter-state Trade: The effect of the several provisions of the Central Act as regards rates of tax on Inter-state sales is as follows: -  - In the case of declared goods intended for resale Central Sales Tax is chargeable at 1%. Where, however, such goods, sold in the course of Inter-state Trade, are intended for manufacture of other goods, they will not be liable to any tax. - Where a registered dealer sells to another registered dealer in the course of Inter-state Trade, Sales Tax is chargeable at 1% of the price, provided the purchasing dealer obtains from the selling dealer a declaration in Form "C" to the effect that the goods are either intended for resale or for use in the manufacture of goods for sale or for use by him in the execution of any contract and that such goods are included in his certificate of registration. Where, however, such goods are either exempt or are chargeable at rates lower than 1% in the appropriate State, the Tax will be either nil or at the lower rate prevailing in that State. - Where a registered dealer sells in the course of Inter-state Trade or Commerce goods to an unregistered dealer or to a consumer, the sale will be treated as though it had taken place inside the State and will be taxed at the General Sales Tax rate in the despatching State. b. Sales Tax on sales inside the State: Intra-state sales are subject to varying rates ranging from less than 1% to 30%. These differ from State to State. **THE BURDEN OF SALES TAX** On whom does the burden of Sales Tax fall? Whatever be the initial impact of this tax, it is ultimately borne either by the consumer or the manufacturer or by the trader. The proportion in which it is borne depends upon the relative bargaining power of the consumer and the manufacturer. Sales Tax can be passed on fully to the consumer only where the consumer's demand is totally unaffected by price changes. Where higher prices lead consumers to purchase smaller quantities of goods only a part of the Sales Tax can be passed on, as any attempt to pass it on fully would result in stocks being left unsold. The profit margins of the manufacturers and dealers will, therefore, be squeezed to some extent depending upon the relative bargaining position of the consumer vis-a-vis the dealer and the manufacturer. However, in conditions of short supply most of the burden of tax will be passed to the consumer. No comprehensive statistics of the burden of the tax on manufacturers are available. However, figures published by the Millowners' Association suggest that profit margins of the cotton mills have been squeezed to some extent, and this probably holds good for other industries as well. Let us now consider statistics of the distribution of this tax, between the States, between social groups and on the consumers. The burden per head for all-India population works out to nearly Rs. 2.2. But the Finance Commission's report shows that this burden is heavier, per head, in Industrial States than in Agricultural States. Thus Bombay and West Bengal are the most heavily taxed States, while Rajasthan has the lowest tax burden per head. Further, the tax weighs more heavily on town population than on rural population. Thus, out of the total Sales Tax revenue of Rs. 32 crores in Bombay, more than half came from Bombay city and Ahmedabad. The Taxation Inquiry Commission worked out the burden on the consumer with an income below Rs. 300 p.m., and came to the conclusion that the burden was 1% and that it was proportional to income. Following the same basis I have re-worked the burden of the Sales Tax in Bombay City taking into account the present rates of Sales Tax in Bombay and including Selective Sales Taxes. The analysis reveals that the present burden is approximately 4% of the income. However, when this Sales Tax burden is compared with the Income-tax burden, the analysis takes on new significance. Thus all unmarried individuals having incomes between Rs. 300/- to Rs. 400/- per month would actually pay twice as much by way of Sales Tax as they would by way of Income-tax, and individuals having incomes between Rs. 400/- per month and Rs. 650/- per month would pay more by way of Sales Tax than by way of Income-tax. It is only at an income level of about Rs. 700/- that the burden of Sales Tax and Income-tax become equal. But these comparisons refer to unmarried individuals. In the case of married individuals having two children the burden of Sales Tax is actually greater than that of Income-tax on all such individuals having incomes below Rs. 9oo/- per month. How can there be integration in taxation when all the efforts of the Centre to give reliefs based on equitable principles are undone by State Governments with their regressive taxes? _Table illustrating the relative burden of Sales Tax __and Income-tax in Bombay City_ **Income Monthly** **(Rs.)** **Monthly Estimated Sales Tax if the Monthly Income is spent (Rs.)** **Monthly Estimated Income-tax (Rs.) ** _Married individuals with 2 children _ _Unmarried individuals_ 300 12.01 nil 6.50 400 17.99 3.00 9.50 500 22.11 8.50 15.00 600  27.76 14.50 21.00 700 33.20 23.89 30.71 800 39.95 33.34 40.16 900 45.26 44.18 49.01 **EFFECTS OF SALES TAX ON THE INDIAN ECONOMY** a. Effects on Trade: Under the powers given by the Government of India Act, 1935, and by the Constitution, the States started levying Sales Tax solely to raise revenues to cover their deficits arising from Prohibition and from their Development Schemes. There was no all-India co-ordination, and the various States experimented with and imposed taxes based on various formulae. As the rates and systems of Sales Tax differed, the incentives to sell goods in different parts of the Union were distorted. As sales outside the State in which the selling dealer was registered could not be taxed by the dealer's State, trade was diverted to those States which had the lower Sales Tax. Indeed, so pronounced was this diversion that States found it profitable to tax non-resident dealers selling goods within the State. This diversion of trade was more pronounced amongst adjacent States than among those more distant, as higher transport charges sometimes wiped out the tax advantage. In States like Madras, having multi-point taxes at high rates, the competitive position of the Madras dealers was destroyed by the cumulative effects of the multi-point tax. The economic adjustment took the form of elimination of certain middle channels of distribution and manufacturers set up their own purchasing and distributing organizations. But the most serious aspect of these diversities in rates was felt by the nation as a whole. Differences in Inter-state Sales Tax rates act like tariff barriers and hamper the growth of trade. This has serious consequences for the economy. If trade does not expand, each State will aim at self-sufficiency and specialization will not be encouraged. Inability to specialise will result in inefficient small scale methods of production as the market for each product will be limited by the State boundaries. Production will, therefore, decline. The Inter-state difference in Sales Tax rates will thus reduce the level of production, the level of employment and of national income. The standard of living will be lower than if trade was allowed to flourish unhampered by differences in Sales Tax rates. The tremendous distortion of channels of distribution which these complex and varied taxes produced underlined heavily the need for the introduction of uniformity and all-India co-ordination. But as sectarian interests predominated, nothing much was achieved. Ultimately Parliament had to pass the Essential Goods Act, 1952, regulating the taxation of goods which were essential to the life of the nation, but its administration only resulted in freezing the rate differentials. These have been sought to be removed by the Central Sales Tax Act. Furthermore, recently certain goods have been removed from the list of goods subject to State Sales Tax and have been made subject to Central Excise Duties. These have gone some way towards introducing uniformity and order into the scheme of Sales Tax but they have not eliminated rate differentials. The Central Sales Tax Act provides for uniform levy of Sales Tax on transactions in the course of Inter-state Trade. But the uniformity of rates is more apparent than real, for the rates differ according to the Sales Tax status of the dealers and upon the declaration forms obtained. So, the Central Sales Tax Act cannot be said to have completely eliminated rate differences which act as barriers to Inter-state Commerce. Indeed, other barriers to trade have been raised as a result of the reaction of the States to the Central Act. Thus, in Bombay, dealers are now unable to purchase goods free of General Sales Tax unless they intend to re-sell these in the State of Bombay. It is true that Sales Tax paid on purchases is refunded or set-off in the final assessment, but full set-off is only obtained if goods are sold in Bombay or in the course of Inter-state Trade. There is also a reduced refund in the case of consignment stock transfers outside Bombay, the net effect of which is to leave the dealer bearing a charge of 1% of the purchase price paid by him. As 1% tax on the selling price is normally higher than 1% on the purchase price dealers have an inducement to sell outside Bombay on consignment basis and, therefore, Inter-state Trade, as visualised by the Central Act, will decline. The Bombay Set-off Rules represent double and unwarranted taxation of Inter-state Trade and Commerce. b. Effects on Agriculture: Agriculture has been favoured by the Sales Tax legislation. Widespread exemptions on the grounds of essentiality, smallness of turnover, lack of money consideration and the desire to avoid rises in food prices have left agriculture comparatively unaffected except in Multi-point States like Madras. However, agricultural producers have not really suffered as the tax has been passed to the consumer. c. Effects on Small-Scale and Cottage Industries: With a view to encouraging the growth of small-scale and cottage industries, many Governments have exempted the sale of their products from Sales Tax, and the effect on these industries has been to give them a relative and substantial advantage over machine-made goods competing with them. d. Effects on Industry: Let us now consider the effects on costs in industry. Where the distribution channels for supplies of industrial raw materials have been long, raw material costs have been increased by as much as 10% in States imposing Multi-point Taxes. Some industries have, therefore, reacted by undertaking all the processes from the purchase of raw materials to the sale of the finished product. This has meant that industries supplying these firms have suffered a set-back. Moreover, some industrial States have levied taxes based on purchase of goods used in any manufacture in the State (Bihar). As a cumulative result of these taxes entering into the cost of production the cost structures have been indeed distorted and made very rigid. But raw materials are not the only items entering into cost. There are also Selective Taxes on electricity and on motor spirit. The tax on electricity is most unfortunate. It increases industrial costs. It is a tax on power to drive the industrial machine. It is, therefore, a tax on industrialization and keeps down the standard of living of the common man by denying him the fruits of technological progress. It is a tax on health and on mechanization. Similarly, the tax on motor spirit and on certain industrial oils is most undesirable as these fuels are the spear-heads of modern technological progress. It means the continuance of outmoded and obsolete methods of production and represents a drag on development of road transport. When you consider that more than two-thirds of all motor spirit is used for industrial purposes the seriousness of the effects on industrial costs can hardly be underestimated. Another aspect of increases in industrial costs deserves more than a passing mention. We all work so that we may enjoy the fruits of our labours and we all have a certain scale of preference between leisure and work. We all want a fair wage for a fair day's work. That is our birthright, and when it is denied to us we naturally fight for it. And so industrial labour, when it finds its standard of living reduced by Sales Taxes demands higher wages and we have a series of industrial disputes, which end in wage increases. As labour spends its increased wages, prices and the cost of living go up. This results in new demands for higher wages. Thus, Sales Tax on commodities which enter into the cost of living of industrial labour may touch off a wage-price inflationary spiral. In India, some States like Andhra and Madras have not appreciated the effects on industrial costs of Sales Tax and have imposed Sales Tax on items consumed by labour. Thus we find States taxing food products, clothing, etc., with a total disregard for the inflationary effects of their taxes. The Government has often talked of hanging on grimly to the hard core of the Plan. Has it occurred to them how difficult they are making it for themselves by raising industrial costs? How can targets under the Plan be achieved if money costs and money incomes keep on rising without a corresponding increase in productivity? e. Effects on Exports: Sales in the course of export are free from State Sales Taxes. But the definition of such a sale under the Central Act only makes the final sale, resulting in the actual export, free of tax. All sales prior to the final sale may be taxed. It is, therefore, probable that our competitive position in export markets has been undermined to some extent. At a time of foreign exchange shortage, such as we are experiencing today, it would be desirable to refund all Sales Tax borne by exports at any stage. Other countries like the U.K. experiencing foreign exchange difficulties give full remission of their Purchase Tax with a view to promoting exports. Apart from keeping our prices competitive, such a remission would make the export markets more attractive to manufacturers than the home market, and the country would benefit from higher foreign exchange earnings. **ADMINISTRATION OF SALES TAX** The burden of administration of Sales Tax falls on the State Governments. Even in the case of the Central Sales Tax, although it is levied by the Centre, its collection is entrusted to the appropriate State Governments who collect the Central Sales Tax on behalf of the Union. The machinery of assessment, collection and appeals has generally followed the lines of the Income-tax administration. How efficient is the Sales Tax administration? Considerable dissatisfaction with the administration of Sales Tax has been expressed amongst the business community. As the administration of the Act affects the interests of the community in general and of the dealers in particular, the dealers' complaints deserve close examination. Dealers have generally complained of the departmental delays arising from the cumbersome machinery of registration, licensing, assessment and appeal. It appears that this machinery has been built up against the background of suspicion with which the Sales Tax Authorities approach the inspection of the dealers' accounts. This suspicion results in the accounts being verified first by the Inspectors and then by the Sales Tax Officers themselves. Where accounts audited by Chartered Accountants are submitted, there should be no need for this long-winded double verification, but for some unknown reason Sales Tax consultants are not popular. Why should this be so? Do Sales Tax Inspectors know more about accounts than Chartered Accountants? Or are Chartered Accountants less skilled in detecting frauds? It is also a common complaint that Sales Tax Officers follow very closely departmental instructions and have no initiative. It would be advantageous if the Sales Tax Officers made more and proper use of the discretionary powers vested in them. Failure to exercise them and adherence too closely to procedure and departmental instructions have been the causes of unnecessary hardship to dealers who have been thus subjected to penalties even for inadvertent procedural omissions. Particularly unfortunate is the practice of imposing penalties when the recitals in the declaration form are not complied with due to unforeseen circumstances. The machinery of appeals has been instituted by the legislature to ensure that the assessee receives a fair deal. But it has been noticed that the Department is not very efficient or expeditious in the disposing of appeals. To keep the appeals pending is tantamount to denial of justice. As a great jurist has said, "Justice delayed is justice denied." It has also been alleged that the Administration is corrupt. I believe that our Sales Tax Administrators are men of integrity, but as there is no smoke without fire, the charges of corruption deserve to be investigated. Even the Taxation Inquiry Commission was not prepared to discount wholly these charges. It would appear that conditions in the Sales Tax Department do provide scope for corruption. The complicated rules and laws, the secrecy attached to departmental instructions and the elastic interpretation put on various terms leave room for questionable practices. Furthermore, the inspection of accounts is entrusted to the subordinate staff who are more likely to be amenable to material inducements. The departmental salaries also do not appear to bear a proper relation to the responsibilities shouldered by the officers. **SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT** In conclusion, it may fairly be said that Sales Tax as it has been operated in the country has retarded the pace of urbanization, has put a heavy burden on manufacturers and consumers, has seriously distorted the cost structures, has reduced the volume of trade and thereby the level of national income and employment. Last but not least it has stifled free enterprise, caused great hardship to the trading community, resulted in unwarranted interference with the rights of individuals through the inordinate growth of delegated legislation, has done incalculable harm to the small dealer and has denied justice and fair treatment to the man in the street. The recognition of some of the damage wrought by the Sales Tax laws has resulted in efforts to rationalise the Sales Tax laws. In the main, efforts have been directed in five directions. Firstly, schemes are being devised for introducing uniformity in taxation within each State. The Bombay Sales Tax Inquiry Committee is at present applying itself to that task. Secondly, tariff barriers on goods which are of special importance in Inter-state Commerce are sought to be eliminated vide Section 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956. Thirdly, a measure of uniformity has been sought to be introduced in the taxation of Inter-state sales. Fourthly, certain goods which were subject to Sales Tax have now been made subject to Central Excise. Lastly, Mr. B. R. Bhagat, the Union Deputy Finance Minister, announced in Parliament that efforts were being made to persuade State Governments to impose taxes at uniform rates on certain less essential goods sold inside the State. However, all suggestions for reform of the Sales Tax system seem to proceed on the assumption that it is essential to provide the States with a source of revenue. This assumption has wrought more mischief than any other factor. Unfortunately, our legislators and administrators have not been able to disabuse their minds of the conception that the purpose of taxation is to raise revenue and that the States must raise their own revenues. But the purpose of taxation is not merely to raise revenue for the State. Taxation is today used to promote public policy and to control the tempo of economic activity. The needs of the National Economy must dictate fiscal policy in regard to all taxes. The aim of an integrated tax structure would be defeated if the States of the Union followed divergent policies. Accordingly, it is my recommendation that  - sales tax should be made a Central subject by an amendment of the Constitution; - the tax structure should be simplified so that the man in the street and the trading community may be able to understand their obligations. It should minimise hardships and spread the burden of the tax equitably on all sections of the community; - the tax should be levied uniformly all over India. This will eliminate the necessity for a separate Inter-state Sales Tax, at the same time reducing considerably the hardships arising from the existence of different systems and the paper work associated with them; - the tax should be a single-point tax levied on the dealers only at the last point of sale to the consumers. This will enable the level of consumption in the economy to be controlled effectively and democratically by changes in Sales Tax rates; - the rates of tax should be governed by the needs of the economy but there should be no differences in rates in different parts of the country. Necessaries of life and exports should be totally exempt from tax and rates of tax on luxuries should be higher than those on semi-luxuries to make the tax progressive. - the States should be compensated for loss of revenue by grants in accordance with formulae which can be worked out by the Finance Commission. To make the Administration more efficient, I recommend that the salaries of Sales Tax Officers should be increased to make them more consistent with the wide powers wielded by these officers. Revision of salaries may be expected to eliminate any possible temptations to stray from the path of strict integrity. But revision of salaries will not by itself be sufficient. It is also essential that the Department and its Officers should be re-educated in their responsibilities. Further, Sales Tax Officers should be thoroughly trained and should be made to approach the assessee with an open mind. I also most strongly urge that the Department should insist on accounts and sales breakdowns being audited by Chartered Accountants. In this connection I point to the practice adopted by the Income-tax Department. Thirdly, the machinery of Administration should be streamlined so as to eliminate departmental delays. The appointment of a Public Relations Officer may help in this direction. If the above improvements in the Sales Tax are undertaken, they will place in the hands of the Government a most powerful weapon for controlling the economy in a democratic manner. Through the medium of Sales Tax the Government will be able to control the direction of resources without stifling private enterprise. It will mean more popularity for the Government, lower burdens on the consumer, and greater flexibility in the economy resulting in higher living standards and more production. It will create a climate of confidence in which free enterprise will be able to play a major role in promoting the welfare of the nation and will bring nearer the day when India's dream of an integrated tax structure will become a reality. --- ## [Musing] Khoj : January - February, 2008 URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/khoj-january-february-2008/ ### Body Khoj : January - April, 2009 type=content&p=1612). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] Liberalism and Freedom URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/liberalism-and-freedom/ ### Body This is an excerpt from the Liberal Times, a forum for liberal policy in South Asia, Volume III. In this excerpt, the editor refers to the principles embedded in the very philosophy of Liberalism, the bedrock of which is freedom. At the core of the concept of Liberalism lies the principle of freedom. Therefore, ‘ democracy, rule of law, market economy, free trade and pluralism are integral parts of Liberalism. This further implies ‘that values like tolerance, self-reliance, freedom of expression and attitudes like critical assessment, openness, dialogic and dissent, truthfulness and fairness also inherent in this concept. The essence of liberal belief was in fact defined in 1776 in the Virginia Declaration of Rights which formed a model for the Bill of Rights added to the U. S. Constitution 15 years later. It declared that “all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent rights” of which they cannot deprive themselves or their posterity. These were “the enjoyment of life and Liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.” _Access the full document [here](http://v2.indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=477849139.pdf)._ _This article is from the Liberal Times, Volume III- Number 4, published in 1995._ [Read More SO Musings](https://spontaneousorder.in/?s=SO+Musings) --- ## [Musing] Laying The Foundations For An Economic Miracle URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/laying-the-foundations-for-an-economic-miracle/ ### Body _Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, a non-political organization founded in 1956 by AD Shroff, the text titled “Union Budget 1993-94: Laying The Foundations For An Economic Miracle” was delivered as a speech by HP Ranina at a public meeting in Bombay on 1st March 1993._ _HP Ranina was a well-known tax expert and lawyer based in India. He founded H.P. Ranina & Co., a Mumbai-based law firm specializing in taxation and corporate law._ _Ranina was known for his extensive knowledge and expertise in tax law, and he was often sought after by businesses and individuals for his advice and guidance. He was also a prolific writer and speaker on tax-related topics, with articles and insights widely respected in the Indian business community._ _You can read the original, unabridged version _[_here_](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/the-union-budget-1993-94-laying-the-foundation-for-an-economic-miracle-by-HP-ranina-april-13-1993.pdf)_._ This year’s Budget will go down in the fiscal history of India as the one which will create the right environment for engineering an economic miracle that has, so far, eluded the country. India is indeed fortunate to have one of its most distinguished and internationally respected economists, Dr Manmohan Singh presents his third successive Budget within twenty months. Certainly, Dr Singh has performed a miraculous feat of cutting indirect taxes by Rs. 4,522 crores, increasing developmental plan expenditure, and at the same time, reducing the budgetary deficit to Rs. 4,314 crores, which is the lowest ever in the fiscal history of India. The greatest merit of the budget proposals is that the Finance Minister has, with single-minded devotion, attempted to revive the recession-ridden industrial sector. The cutting of excise and customs duties, resulting in a loss of revenue of almost Rs. 4,500 crores, will galvanize industry because the cut will enable industrial units to achieve two objectives: - Compensate them for the increase in costs; and - Pass on the part of the reliefs to the consumers, which would create a new wave of demand, reversing the recessionary trend. The government has put the economy in high gear and sought to achieve the following objectives after having gotten over the critical period of the last one and a half years successfully: - Globalization of the Indian economy by making the Indian industry truly competitive; - Strengthening the fundamentals of the corporate sector in India by reducing excise duties and customs duty across the board, reducing the interest rate, and making more credit available through a reduction in the CRR and SLR ratios on deposits with banks; - Creating an environment for a new consumer boom, which will also help the growing middle class; - Giving a boost to exports by removing the indirect tax imposed as a result of the dual exchange rate; exports slated to register a growth rate of 9% in dollar terms; - Infusing the right amount of funds in the rural and agricultural sectors would also increase the purchasing power in the hands of the rural masses, leading to greater demand for consumer durables. ...The Finance Minister has emphasized the development of the agricultural sector. The farm output will be at an all-time high of about 190 million tonnes. Coupled with this increase, the higher procurement prices will result in greater purchasing power in the hands of the rural masses. Thus, the demand-oriented boom will revive industrial fortunes and set the consumer goods industry on unprecedented growth. The consumer goods industry, which is labour intensive, will also generate greater employment opportunities, again generating more funds in the hands of the people to fulfil their need for consumer goods. The Indian agricultural sector will significantly benefit from the Government’s strategy of reducing the high levels of protection given to Indian industry. The more competitive exchange rate, which has been brought about, will also boost exports of agricultural commodities and agro-based products, again leading to greater resources in the hands of the rural masses... As enunciated by the Finance Minister in his first Budget introduced in July 1991, the new policy towards foreign investment has led to the globalization of the Indian economy. While our neighbouring country China attracts around US$ 40 billion of foreign investment annually, India’s record in this regard has been dismal over the past decade, as we have attracted no more than US$ 300 million annually. During 1992-93, about US$ 2.3 billion in investment proposals were approved, but the funds have yet to flow into the country. In this context, the announcement made by the Finance Minister in Paragraph 28 of his Budget Speech is indeed heartening. He has mentioned that the Government has signed the MIGA Convention, whereby investments made by foreign countries will be guaranteed so that foreign investors have the requisite security, especially regarding their repatriation rights. Once India becomes a member of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, separate bilateral investment treaties will be signed by India with several countries, including the United States of America, Germany, and the United Kingdom. This will ensure a substantial flow of investible resources into India, and by 1996-97, India should be assured of a flow of at least US$ 10 billion per annum. Foreign investment will, in its wake, bring about the upgradation of the technical base of India as well as new disciplines, apart from generating employment opportunities for the millions of unemployed and contributing an immense amount of revenue to the Exchequer. The Finance Minister has been wise enough to realize that industrial modernization, and especially the creation of internationally competitive industries, requires a massive expansion of and qualitative improvement in infrastructure. This is especially true of power generation, telecommunications, and roads. Traditionally, these areas have been the preserve of the public sector. Substantial expansion of public investment in these areas is undoubtedly necessary. However, the country's needs are far beyond the capacity of the public sector to deliver in a reasonable time frame. The Government has, therefore, adopted a policy of encouraging private sector involvement and participation in these areas to supplement the efforts made by the public sector. Changing these sectors' policies, procedures, and regulatory frameworks will be necessary to attract such investment... ...To sum up, the budget proposals for 1993-94 will put the economy on the fast lane to industrial recovery and growth. A new phase of consumer boom is on the anvil, leading to a demand-oriented recovery. Exports are also set to record an increase in Dollar terms which will improve the balance of payments situation and put the Indian economy in a better position to reduce its dependence on external borrowing. Undoubtedly, the last three Budgets of Dr Manmohan Singh have embarked on the exciting task of economic rejuvenation. Industrial and social development have been given top priority and have been put back on the national agenda. India should now play a significant role in the global economic scene. A vibrant and rapidly expanding economy is accelerating its pace to achieve a growth rate of 9% per annum beginning from 1995. This would ensure that the per capita national income will increase before this century is out from US$ 350 to well over US$ 1,000. A sizeable number of people will emerge from the grinding poverty they are in today. Then, the people will look back and consider the twenty-month tenure of Dr Manmohan Singh's Finance Ministership as constituting the turning point in India's economic history. _Previous musing: [The Liberal Budget](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-liberal-budget/)_ --- ## [Musing] We Wish You A Happy New Year! URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/libertarian-happy-new-year/ ### Body Libertarianism, with its limited government, sets a limit, both on the actions of the individual as well as the State. Liberty of one must not encroach on the like liberty of his fellow-being. Citizens of a State under libertarianism have full right to do as they please so long as they do not infringe on the like rights of their fellow-beings. Under libertarianism, the State is not allowed to become the industrialist, the trader, the transporter, the educationist, the ethical preacher, the "do-gooder". _The following article, published in the January 1958 issue of the Indian Libertarian by Kusum R Lotwalla highlights the basic tenants of libertarianism and highlights the fact that the fight for freedom is not a lost cause. Her words hold as true today as they were then. Around the world, and in India, people today are taking to the street to defend the freedoms our forefathers fought for. Just like Ms Lotwalla, we at Spontaneous Order also pledge to “fight against all the old and present-day socio-political clichés that thwart human progress, explore new roads to human happiness, along the libertarian paths, while examining anew old traditions and institutions, drawing from them all which human experience has proved valid and sound. That is our creed and our belief.”_ Time marches on and one more year–1957–has gone into the limbo of oblivion. We face the new year–1958–with hopes and aspirations for better times and a world free from the tensions of hot wars or cold wars. the rivalry between the rival Power blocs on the international plane, the end of internal tensions between “haves” and the “have-nots,” the exploited and the exploiters, the workers and the employers, between class and class and nation and nation. To the eternal rivalry between the Power blocs is added the enormous destructive potential of the nuclear weapons and the atomic developments. Humanity is threatened with total annihilation. Underlying all these conflicts are institutions that breed exploitation, inequality and oppression. These old, archaic and anti-diluvian institutions have to be replaced by a society based on Libertarian principles, which proclaim “equal freedom for ALL in a Free Society.” The libertarians have no cut and dried Plan or a blueprint. Without trying to put forth a so-called Code of Conduct to be strictly adhered to, we can indicate the general lines along which a solution for these problems could he found. The exploitative societies of today be replaced by a new Libertarian world, free from oppression and exploitation. Freedom without equal opportunities leads to privilege and injustice. Freedom without political liberty leads to totalitarianism. The monopoly of power which is the State must be replaced by a federation of free communities, labour councils and cooperatives operating according to the principles of free agreement, healthy competition and co-operation. Centralism, totalitarianism or Marxism means regimentation from the top down. This must be replaced by federalism which means cooperation from the bottom up. **What is libertarianism** In a word, the world must switch back once more to Libertarianism. Libertarianism, as described by Webster’s dictionary, means, “One who holds to the principle of free will; also one who upholds the principles of liberty, especially individual liberty of thought and action.” Politically it means strong opposition to the authoritarianism of all kinds. whether of the Right or of the Left. It is opposed, therefore, to all forms of regimentation and totalitarianism which absorb the whole field of private relations and individual life into the sphere of Government action. It is opposed to all the so-called welfare plans. It stands for limited Government. Government, according to the philosophy we stand for should confine itself to Defence, Justice and the Rule of Law as against “welfarism” or regimentation. The Libertarians oppose that the Government is above the law, whether in the name of Government, administration or the State. Thus, we run counter to the present-day fashionable slogans of socialism, communism, and even Planned Economy. The Libertarians believe that the human collective has no being and consciousness of its own, to override the rights and happiness of the individual citizen. The State has evolved into being, in the course of human history, to defend society against external aggression and to enforce justice between man and man. Beyond it the State should not go and if it does that, it encroaches on the inalienable rights of the individual. In the limited government the right entrusted to the State to enforce justice between man and man, and to defend against aggression, through organised Army and the Police, is to be used strictly according to law and in conformity with the rights of the individual. The libertarians are not concerned with the metaphysical discussion as to the ultimate nature of the human being, whether it is a soul, a spirit or only organic nature with an emergent consciousness. In any case, it is clear that the human being needs liberty of action to realize its full consciousness, and blossom forth to the full height of his stature. Liberty of action is part of his being, and without this liberty of action, he is reduced to a robot or a mere tool in the gigantic machinery of a totalitarian State. Freedom to choose his calling or trade, his hobbies and his pursuits, is an integral part of human nature. If these rights are denied to the individual, as it always happens under totalitarianism. such as earning a livelihood of his choice, associating with men of like mentality for the enjoyment of art, science and fellowship, the life of an individual is reduced to dead routine. without purpose and without any future. **Libertarianism doesn’t mean licence** Libertarianism does not mean licence or anarchy. Libertarianism, with its limited government, sets a limit, both on the actions of the individual as well as the State. Liberty of one must not encroach on the like liberty of his fellow-being. Citizens of a State under libertarianism have full right to do as they please so long as they do not infringe on the like rights of their fellow-beings. Under libertarianism, the State is not allowed to become the industrialist, the trader, the transporter, the educationist, the ethical preacher, the “do-gooder”. The practice of all “Welfare” States in taking upon themselves these duties invariably lead to corruption and an irresponsible and unremovable bureaucracy. As obligations of the State increase under totalitarianism, the taxes rise to ever-increasing spiral, until all incentive to production diminishes and production takes a downward trend. Added to these on the economic plane, the political trends of socialism and communism are ultimately destructive of democracy and democratic institutions. Since the Government of India embarked on their Planned economy all these evil trends are seen in the country. It is, therefore, all the more necessary for the intelligent section of the Indian public to clearly understand what is meant by “socialist pattern of society” and what is connoted by socialism or planned economy. It is here that the Libertarian philosophy shows the way out. It may appear to the superficially-minded person that we are championing a “lost cause”. It is not so, the more so when one knows how the British Socialist Party found itself against a dead wall in its crazy pursuit of socialism, and it had to be ousted. This has led to real re-thinking amongst the “brain-trust” of the British Socialist Party. The same thing is happening in the Iron Curtain countries, the hesitant policy of de-Stalinisation in Moscow, the Gomulka programme in Poland, and lastly the Hungarian revolt against communism and planned economy-all these events show that we, the Indian Libertarians, ARE CHAMPIONING A LIVE CAUSE. Man cannot be long deprived of his inherent right of Liberty and Freedom. On this New Year Day, the Indian Libertarian pledges itself to go ahead with its propaganda and education, strong in the belief that in the ultimate end it is bound to succeed to the glory of India and of Humanity. The Libertarian Social Institute, Bombay, with its branches at Bangalore, Baroda, Nagpur, Patna and Madras is keeping aloft the torch of Libertarianism in the country. By our consistent propaganda and education, we shall fight against all the old and present-day socio-political clichés that thwart human progress, explore new roads to human happiness, along the libertarian paths, while examining anew old traditions and institutions, drawing from them all which human experience has proved valid and sound. That is our creed and our belief. Here’s wishing all our readers a Happy and Prosperous New Year and the best of life’s good things. _The original document can be accessed _[_here_](http://indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=928760873.pdf)_._ [_IndianLiberals.in_](http://indianliberals.in/)_ is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ [_Read More SO Musings_](https://spontaneousorder.in/?s=SO+Musings) --- ## [Musing] Limits and Limitations of State Trading URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/limits-and-limitations-of-state-trading/ ### Body _The Forum of Free Enterprise organised a Convention on State Trading in Bombay on April 28, 1958, attended by: Mr N Dandeker, I.C.S. (Retd.); Mr S C Bose, President of Utkal Mining and Industrial Association, Calcutta; Mr Murarji J Vaidya, former President of the Indian Merchants' Chamber, and Mr D B Futnani, President of Iron, Steel and Hardware Merchants' Chamber of India._ _Following is the speech delivered by Mr N Dandekar, also a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha (Jamnagar) 1967, called “The Limits and Limitations of State Trading.”_ _You can read the complete unabridged version here: [State Trading](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/State-Trading.pdf)_ I wish to confine myself to some general observations concerning the grounds on which I think rigorous limits ought to be set to Trading by the State and also as to the limitations to which State Trading is necessarily subject. Now, quite frankly, when it comes to the first question, namely, what precisely should be the limit, in general terms, beyond which State Trading is not justifiable at all, and within which alone it can have some justification, the answer to a question of that kind depends entirely upon one’s own political philosophy. The political society that we have adopted for ourselves–quite irrespective of the political policy announced by the ruling party, whether it is a socialistic pattern, communistic pattern or any other pattern–is to be found in the Constitution. There it will be seen that we have adopted in this country a democratic Constitution grounded on two very important foundations–a series of fundamental rights and a series of personal or individual liberties. This is the context within which we have all to work, including the State itself. The State is not entitled to disregard this context because that is the context within which both the state (the Central and State Governments) as well as individuals and corporations-every one of us in this country–in fact, have to work. For it is our “organic law”, that is to say, the basis on which we are required to work and within the limits of which we have to work. Therefore the first proposition that I make as to the limit of State activity is that it must be such as in no way encroaching upon the fundamental rights or individual liberties because the moment it does so, it destroys the very foundation of our Constitution. Until the country changes that Constitution, nevermind what particular policy the ruling party may follow; for instance, the Communist party has got its own political policy and so have several other parties–that democratic Constitution which has given us certain fundamental rights and certain individual liberties, the preservation of that ‘Constitution sets a definite limit on any State activity. I deliberately refer to “State activity” in general terms because any activity of the State, and in particular State Trading, must be considered from that standpoint. Actually; State Trading is one of those activities which is the most dangerous because it has no clear-cut boundaries, as is the case with state activity in Industry, such as Steel projects or Hydroelectric projects. State Trading can be anything from international trading restricted to teh Iron Curtain countries to a very wide range of international and internal trading; it can embrace the holding of stocks, the financing of international trade, the owning and chartering of ships etc. It can thus go so very deep into the economic fabric of the country that it becomes a matter of the utmost importance to be clear in our minds as to what is the limit within which alone the State shall function in this field and beyond which State Trading may not go. ‘Has the State laid down any general proposition or test to limit its activities in matters of that kind? What is the specific test that one should apply when the proposition is “Shall the State trade in commodities X or engage in a particular field of trading Y?” In other words, by what test should be we satisfied before we admit the validity of State Trading so that if it does not satisfy those criteria, it can be said to have overstepped the poor limit? It is a difficult problem, but not too difficult. In any case, an attempt to define the limit is very necessary and must be made. In my view, the test can be formulated in the form of a statement in two propositions. In the first place, any new State activity in the economic field, irrespective of what it is–any activity of a kind that has not been previously undertaken by the State and which encroaches upon the domain of individual rights and liberties–must be _demonstrably necessary_ for the public interests. Secondly–and this is just as important as the first because there is a lot of hot air talked over what is in the public interest, the specific characteristic with reference to which one can test the validity of any given State activity is whether the desired purpose is not capable of being achieved equally well, if the activity in question were left to ordinary individuals, i.e., to free enterprise, or whether it is essential that the State must step in. In other words, if it is a question of State trading in general, or shall we say the merits or demerits of State trading in specific things like cement, textiles, chemical manure etc., the primary question would be: is it _demonstrably necessary _in the public interest? Is it, moreover, in the public interest that the State _and nobody else_ should trade in any given commodity? Because that is one of the inevitable corollaries of State Trading. It is not merely a question of State Trading but of _exclusive_ State Trading. The first question, therefore, is: is it demonstrably necessary in the public interest that the State and nobody else should undertake that trade? Or be allowed to undertake that trade? Can the desired objectives, which are to be achieved in the best public interests by State Trading, not be achieved in the best public interests by State Trading not be achieved equally well in the field of free enterprise by the ordinary men and private corporations? To put it more specifically, cannot the desired objectives be achieved by the regulated operation of free enterprise of free men indulging in those trades? If the answers to those questions are unequivocally and fundamentally in favour of the State, then alone would the State be within proper limits in indulging in a particular trade; but not otherwise. Now if you look at some of the things that the State Trading Corporation has been trading in–from these angles–was it demonstrably in the public interests that it should have done so? Was it demonstrably in the public interest that it alone should be engaged in those trades and no one else? Was it demonstrably in the public interest that others should have been excluded? Was it demonstrably established that the desired objectives could not have been attained through all the other persons previously engaged in these trades, that is to say, by ordinary Free Enterprise, you and I, all of us engaged in the trade and commerce in the country? When we put it that way, we begin to get somewhat startling answers; we begin to get a more clear-cut idea as to the limit beyond which State Trading cannot be allowed to go, except at the cost of our own fundamental rights and liberties and without thereby achieving any major over-riding public objective. Now let us turn to the question of the _limitations_ inherent in State Trade Trading, as distinct from the _limits_ within which alone it should function. Of course, in general, the limitations from which State Trading cannot escape will be more or less the same as those which we encounter in any other field of State activity, e.g., in industry or public utility. In other words, there are certain inherent limitations in State activity in the economic field from which State Trading also necessarily suffers. Assuming, for example, that within given limits, State Trading, whether in iron and steel or manganese with, for instance, the Iron Curtain countries, might be considered to the benefit of the country and that such trade should be undertaken by the State–even in an admitted case of that kind, State activity has very definite limitations. The first of these is the lack of autonomy from which these Public Corporations suffer. This may be inevitable, and I don’t want to join the issue over it here. But the fact remains that there is factually and inevitably almost complete absence of autonomy. What is the result? Let us not talk here vaguely in terms of public services being inefficient and incompetent; they are actually very much the opposite. What happens in the absence of autonomy is that you begin to get backdoor avenues for the impact of political parties upon things with which they are not concerned. Also, backdoor avenues for doubtful interests to exercise an influence which they ought not to have–not in that particular way and at the public expense. So the first limitation of State enterprise, the absence of autonomy, is rightly or wrongly a fact. Being a  very serious limitation, it leads us quite properly to the proposition: State activity in this field should be limited to the barest necessities of the case and should not go beyond it. Another serious limitation, specifically in relation to State Trading, is the unfortunate fact that the moment State Trading goes beyond the limit that I indicated earlier, as is the case when it embraces internal trade in cement, trading in iron and steel, trade with America in Manganese, the trade in boots and shoes and so on–the moment the State Trading Corporation extends its activities in that way, you get not only misuse but also abuse of the power vested in the Government servants or in the same persons acting in another capacity. Controls over imports and exports, the grant or refusal of licenses–these can be manipulated in numerous ways to suit the State Trading Corporation. They can manipulate transport priorities in collaboration with another wing of the Government to suit the requirements of the State Trading Corporation at the expense of some other person engaged in the same trade. They can create not merely a monopoly in a commodity but also a monopoly in the procedures upon which the success in trade often depends. Why should public servants have powers of that kind to abuse in the field of trading? But such abuse and misuse of power are unavoidable and inevitable. When you get concentration in the hands of officers of the State Trading Corporation of the bulk of the trade in various commodities, internally or externally, and those same officers, and their colleagues in charge of other departments of Government, have also at their disposal the power to grant or withhold licenses, transport priorities and numerous other items of discretionary patronage of that kind, there is bound to be a misuse of not abuse of these powers.  Then there is another thing. I won’t call it misuse. That would be characterising as bad something which is essential. After all, if the State has got to trade, the trading organisation has got to have finance. But I don’t know whether many of you have had a look at the State Trading Corporation’s Report. There is almost _unlimited finance_ placed at its disposal. The effect of this on trading by other people is immense. Such huge and unlimited resources are not available to any other private person or trading corporation. It enables the State Trading Corporation to advance money here, to give credit there and do all kinds of transactions of a colour, magnitude and character which enable it, in fact, to acquire a _de facto_ financial monopoly over the situation and which, in turn, renders it impossible for any ordinary man or private corporation or for the ordinary importer or exporter, to compete. If one takes into account these inherent limitations, which count for abuse or misuse of power, it becomes a matter of the utmost urgency that any proposal for State Trading must be scrupulously scrutinised and rigorously limited to the very barest essential purpose. Otherwise, what usually happens is that whenever the occasion arises, whatever argument that suits the occasion _ex post facto_ is pressed into service to justify the results of State Trading. If the STC makes profits, State Trading is justified on the ground that it makes good money for the State. If it does not make money but incurs losses, the State Trading is justified on the ground that it was in the “public interest” _not_ to have made money in that particular trade or a particular commodity. If it makes too much money, as the State Trading Corporation did in cement, the charge of immoral profiteering is brushed aside on ‘the ground that it was, after all, the _State_ which earned the profits, even though admittedly it would have been highly immoral if any individual or private corporation made that money. Altogether, we get a whole lot of hotchpotch, contradictory and conflicting explanations which merely suit the occasion and draw upon a whole stock of doctrinaire arguments, or commercial considerations, or non-commercial considerations, whichever may for the time being suit the occasion, to justify the results of State trade _ex post facto_. This leaves the field wide open for the Government to do (through the STC) in an uncontrolled way whatever they wish. My submission is, therefore, that this tremendous increase in the State’s activities in the field of Trading is far worse than any specific State activity, for instance, the steel plants. You and I may disagree on whether it shouldn’t have been just one steel plant or two instead of three. But most of us will agree there was an urgent need for one or two more steel plants in the country of the highest public interest. Most of us will also agree that it was not within the capacity of free enterprise to increase the steel output of the country by anything like the figure contemplated. I do not say that the need was for an increase of five million tons or four or 3 1/2 million, but something of that order of magnitude was certainly required. In a specific case of that kind, therefore, it is comparatively easy to come to agreed conclusions. But when you come to State Trading, I must emphasise, over-emphasise and reemphasise, firstly, that the fundamental limits to State Trading must be set by things that are fundamental and guaranteed in our Constitution; and secondly, that State Trading, even when permissible within those limits, must be rigidly circumscribed. Otherwise, the limitations inherent in this field of State activity are so injurious that State Trading is most likely to get completely out of hand. _Previous musing: [Swatantra Party: 64th Foundation Year](https://indianliberals.in/content/swatantra-party-foundation-year/)_ --- ## [Musing] The Mission of Libertarianism URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/libertarian-mission/ ### Body Libertarians call for a greater simplification of institutions, a reform in the use of property and a return to the limited role of the State in social life so that the submerged individual may be released for a new career of purposeful, healthy activity in which science and the other achievements of the modern spirit may be used more wholesomely to help men and women to fulfil themselves in pursuits within their reach and power of assimilation. _The following article, written by M A Venkata Rao first appeared in the [October 1958 issue](http://indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=877412702.pdf) of [The Indian Libertarian](http://indianliberals.in/periodicals-details?id=28)magazine._ In Europe and America, a branch of the Enlightenment school of thought that prepared for and preceded the French Revolution developed a strand of socialism. While the central stream of inspiration released by the Revolution guided thought and reconstruction into channels of national democracy under the lead of the new commercial and industrial classes (whom Karl Marx called the bourgeoisie) side streams of what may be roughly called “socialist thought” sprung up seeking to mould social institutions including property and State on equality and fraternity rather than on liberty. The liberal democratic State evolved all over the continent and in North America on the basis of individualism which in the realm of economics assumed the shape of capitalism. The leaders of the French Revolution and of the subsequent democratic evolution in England and other States evolved a philosophy of individualism stressing the key role of free economy or freedom of enterprise as the pivot of progress. Socialist thinkers like Proudhon, Fourier and Saint Simon were not satisfied with the early decades of the working of capitalism in the Napoleonic era and the Restoration of the Bourbons. They saw clearly that the ideals of equality and fraternity that imparted such a glow to the revolutionaries as if they were the creators of a new dawn of perfection were jettisoned by the bourgeoisie. The new enterprise and wealth joined hands with empire and were concentrated in the hands of the new rich, a small section of the nation. The bulk of the masses remained poor and were exploited by the bourgeoisie almost as much as the aristocracy oppressed the peasants in their ancestral estates. In England too discontent at the new exploitation of the bourgeoisie strengthened and expressed itself in a number of movements of which the Chartist struggle was the chief. Factory Acts and the First Reform Act of 1832 were the first symptoms of the new social conscience. The new world of commerce and industry of the Industrial Revolution came to be defended by liberal democratic thought of which Bentham, James Mill and his more famous son John Stuart Mill were the principal protagonists. Their work in economic, legal and political thought guided the development of democratic institutions and civil rights throughout the nineteenth century. But towards the end of it, new streams of thought came to be felt making for socialism and collectivism. One was the idealism of T. H. Green and Bernard Bosanquet, which gave a new ethical basis to the State and coalesced in its effect with socialism. Fabianism assumed greater importance as the source of reform and welfare as the century turned the corner and the Labour Party adopted it as the sheet-anchor of their policy. Thus British thought sublimated the hate-filled class-war doctrine of violent revolution sponsored by Karl Marx into its own characteristic evolutionary, non-violent, parliamentary way of introducing socialism or collectivism. Today it has become the official philosophy of the Labour Party and the climate of thought generally among the intelligentsia of all parties. On the continent, the early part of the century began with the dominance of the Positivism and Religion of Humanity of August Comte. His scientific humanitarianism coloured the intellectual landscape in France and was reinforced with the integral or communitarian forms of socialism sponsored by Proudhon, Saint Simon and Fourier. These thinkers tried to cure property of its individualism or selfishness by suggesting methods of sharing it in communes or phalansteries of various kinds. They opposed also the centralising bureaucratism of the expanding State. A sideline of thought adopted forms of anarchism in trying to resist the crushing power of the Omni-competent State. Prince Kropotkin and Bakunin became the principal representatives of this anarcho-communist trend of thought. But the most successful of these trends was that represented by Karl Marx, partly because he founded the International Working Men’s Movement which acquired influence from the middle of the century and ultimately became the dominant form of socialism. It has been the misfortune of humanity that it was the violent, class-war doctrines of Karl Marx that got crystallised as the authentic form of socialism and the sole scientific system and saviour of labour throughout the world. The adherence of Lenin and the Russian revolutionaries and that of the German social democrats under Lassalle contributed to enthrone Marxist communism in this dominant position. The Russian Revolution of 1917 and its triumphant career to its present position of World Power challenging the whole free world has added hypnotic power to this collectivist, conspiratorial, violent form of communism. Communism has today become the climate of thought in most countries. Even where a small part of the intelligentsia is free from the prevailing views, they are influenced all the same to a more or less extent, so that the cause of freedom is put on its defence. It is not State aggrandisement that has to explain and justify itself but on the other hand the claim of human liberty and individuality! The capitalist Robert Owen fell in with the French socialists and initiated worker’s communes or settlements in England, Scotland and even the United States in the early decades of the last century. An American thinker called Josiah Warren joined Owen’s socialistic settlement and was inspired to start his own village settlements on a more individualist basis. He developed a time and labour theory of value in his own way. In Karl Marx’s hands, the theory was distorted to become the surplus theory of value in order to support the thesis that all capital is robbery of the value created by labour. In Warren’s hands, it became the foundation of a new equalitarian individualism which asserted the right of each individual to the proceeds of his labour as measured by the time taken in producing the product of industry. Measurement of labour contributions became a subtle and vexatious calculation and source of trouble among members of settlements. His example inspired a line of thinkers to reflect on the social aspects of individual liberty. Stephen Pearl Andrews developed the outlines of a science of society. Others developed the aspects of cooperation and mutual aid in banking and other forms of economic production and exchange. Others specialised in problems of currency and inflation. Others investigated the effects of State interference in banking, currency and economy generally. These thinkers of the libertarian school in America developed reflection both into the role of property, its meaning, function and limitations and into the role of the State in social affairs and individual life. The general line of thought in regard to both aspects was to discover the degree of waste and frustration and complication involved in anti-social uses of property such as are indulged in by monopolies and cartels by the State outrunning its legitimate field of police and justice and by welfare policies of robbing Ram to pay Kishen. These excesses of the individual and the State lead to ever-rising costs of production, to excessive pressure of economic groups on the State to get something for nothing, to rising inflation and confusion of values all round and to the collapse of confidence in currency and economic production generally and to the emergence of unnecessary economic crises with over-or under-production and unemployment. The remedy is to return to individualist economy regulated by provisions against monopolies to safeguard the equal liberty of all. This principle of the equal liberty of all for engaging in free enterprise within the law (to exclude fraud and the annexation of unearned profits) is sufficient, say the libertarians, to justify the imposition of checks on those who take undue advantage of the freedom granted. If these principles are intelligently followed, it is urged, the State and society will be freed from the excessive burdens from which they are suffering at present under the influence of collective ideas. They will be free from much of the present load of public debt. The State will be compelled by individualist citizens to live within its means and not to create artificial money by issue of loans and not to burden the present generation by ever-rising loads of interest on public debt. Though the principal is supposed to be paid by future generations, as a matter of fact, it is the present generation that has to pay heavy interest. These interest payments to one class of citizens namely bond-holders will distort the economy by conferring on them more purchasing power than on the rest of the community. This distorts the economy in favour of unearned incomes annexing too much of the capital resources of the community towards the satisfaction of a few, leaving the demands of the vast majority starved and unfulfilled or under-fulfilled. The central stream of thought in advanced democratic countries like the USA is that of liberal democracy formulated in the early and middle periods of the nineteenth century. Today technological industry, the growth of population and the advance of communication media-radio, newspapers, wireless, aeroplane for passenger and goods traffic etc. have all conspired to confer more and more powers on the State to regulate the myriads of new inter-relations among citizens. Organisation has tended to become ever more complex and interwoven. Hence the feeling of inevitability in regard to the growing tendency towards collectivism and the expansion of State power. Collectivism has become the _illusion of the epoch_ today in which the rights and duties of the individual citizen as a self-determining and self-realising person are lost to view. Individuals and small groups feel lost in the vast agglomerations of large nation-States. Even small States feel a prey to massive influences and pressures impinging into their life from outside. The wheel has come full circle. The individualist philosophy of John Stuart Mill and his followers which guided liberal democracy is today eclipsed by the communist collectivism of Karl Marx, particularly in respect of economy. Adam Smith and Mill are both put into the shade. They have become “Gods that failed”. But today doubts and misgivings are being felt in many quarters that we have embraced a remedy worse than the disease. After all, the only known reality in human life is the individual centre of experience, of thought, feeling, action and fellowship-individual men and women. Sociologists are formulating theories of the right relationship between primary and secondary groups. The former like the home, neighbourhood and religious or educational fellowship are primary in moulding human life. They deal with individuals as full rounded persons and not as fragments-hands or members or customers or wage earners or employers or officers or rank and file anonymous common men. Secondary associations like occupations, amusements or casual groups as in hotels and railway carriages are necessary but if they crowd out much of the scene and activity of life, man is atomised and impoverished. Neuroses come to prevail. Suicides, mental aberrations, juvenile delinquents, divorce proceedings, prostitution, gambling, alcoholism, corruption in economic and political life-will all make themselves felt in disturbing degrees. Libertarians call for a greater simplification of institutions, a reform in the use of property and a return to the limited role of the State in social life so that the submerged individual may be released for a new career of purposeful, healthy activity in which science and the other achievements of the modern spirit may be used more wholesomely to help men and women to fulfil themselves in pursuits within their reach and power of assimilation. The libertarians call for a new relationship to land, so that unearned income may not accumulate in hands that do not contribute to production. Since land is limited unlike other forms of industrial or commercial property, it needs to be kept in the hands of people who actually use it for production, eliminating functionless or parasitic holders. The libertarians are also interested in education. They are exploring the avenues whereby the individual may be led through self-directed thought and investigation to discover the right relations between individual and society. The new aim is to strengthen dispositions of cooperation and individual self-reliance during the process of learning. It is also necessary to destroy the roots of class antagonism by imparting the joys and skills of using tools so that the ancient class distinction of workers and lords may disappear in the minds of men and women. Work and culture should be integrated. Freedom in economic and political life has to be supported by a new psychology of cooperative and creative living. fostered in creative education inspired by a vision of human unity and human progress in free and joyous fellowship. If a gradually increasing _elite_ imbued with these ideals could be developed through discussion, propaganda and group life, the collectivist _illusion of the epoch_ could be made to melt and a better day of happy, free, cooperative humanity can be ushered in by and by. This is the aim of the Libertarian Social Institute. _The original document can be accessed [here](http://indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=877412702.pdf)._ _[IndianLiberals.in](http://indianliberals.in/index)is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ [Read More SO Musings](https://spontaneousorder.in/?s=SO+Musings) --- ## [Musing] Lokmanya Tilak : A Conservative Liberal? URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/lokmanya-tilak-a-conservative-liberal/ ### Body _Bal Gangadhar Tilak was well known as an extremist and revolutionary. By limiting him to these terms, historians misjudged him with a bias towards Anglo-saxan supremacy and left different facets of Tilak unexplored._ Bal Gangadhar Tilak, popularly known as Lokmanya Tilak has been referred to as ‘the father of Indian unrest’. He has often been interpreted and largely misinterpreted as a revolutionary, an extremist, and a nationalist leader who supported the use of violence. Historians, both British and Indian have classified Indian leaders into water-tight compartments of “liberal” and “conservative” (implying orthodox); it is no surprise then that Tilak has been forced into the box of conservatism. It is imperative to understand the reasons behind this misinterpretation of Tilak - what A.B Shah terms as ‘miscarriage of historical scholarship’[1]. According to Shah, while studying Tilak and his ideas, Indian historians have judged Tilak entirely according to the norms of the Gandhian age. Their scholarship fails to recognise that M.K Gandhi’s ideas were a product of the dialectic between the previous generation of Indian leaders like Tilak, Gokhale, Bipin Chandra Pal, Sir Rashbehari Ghosh among many others. Secondly, Indian historians have favoured British sources over vernacular Indian sources. It is implicit that the sources of an imperial government, of racist writers and journalists, cannot do much justice to Tilak[2]. Indian scholarship has comfortably relied on writers like Valentine Chirol who were instructed by their belief in the white man’s burden and in Anglo-Saxon supremacy. The introduction to Chirol’s book written by Sir Alfred C. Lyall reveals the larger attitudes held by such writers. Lyall writes, “Chirol’s whole narrative illustrates the perils that beset a government which finds its own principles perverted against its efforts, and its foremost opponents among the class that has been the first to profit” (Lyall, 1910, viii). It is interesting to note that the repressive measures of the imperial government have been touted as liberal principles and the opposition to such repression has been criticised. The idea of European supremacy is voiced unambiguously as Lyall writes, “In India, the eighteenth century was a period of abnormal and extensive political confusion. In Europe, on the other hand, national wealth, scientific discoveries, the arts of war and peace, had made extraordinary progress” (Lyall, 1910, ix). While commenting on the possibility of democracy in India, Chirol states unequivocally, “There was and is no room for Parliament in India, because, so long as British rule remains a reality, the Government of India, as Lord Morley has plainly stated, must be an autocracy - benevolent and full of sympathy with Indian ideas, but still an autocracy” (Chirol, 1910, 154). How a “benevolent” autocracy is compatible with the liberal British political system must be best known to Valentine Chirol. The ideas of leaders like Tilak come to be distorted when seen through the lens of writers like Chirol.  The purpose of this article is to bring to light the liberal nuances of Tilak’s ideas which challenge the labels attributed to him. The Age of Consent controversy of 1891 is routinely used to paint Tilak as a parochial traditionalist. However, a closer look at Tilak’s position reveals that Tilak was not opposed to increasing the age of consent from 10 to 12 years of age for girls. Tilak’s opposition was not against social reform but against state intervention. Tilak believed that an alien government, the state, had no right to meddle in the affairs of a community, however beneficial the meddling may be. He reiterated the liberal principle that law must be derived from the practices, beliefs and traditions of the community; he suggested that the public opinion had to be shaped before enacting laws. What is often missed is that Tilak got his daughters Krushnabai, Durgamai, and Mathutai married only after they turned 12 years of age. While Tilak opposed the Age of Consent Bill, he believed in increasing the age of consent for girls, and he practised what he believed in. In contradiction to Tilak’s attitude of practising what he preached, several reformers within the Bombay presidency failed to practise what they preached. In October 1890, Tilak proposed a convention before the reformers who had gathered for a meeting. The convention stated that the reformers would not get their daughters married before they turned 12 years of age and that reformer men above the age of 40 would only marry widows. The convention also stated that those reformers who were found to violate these clauses would be fined. It is interesting to note that only Tilak, Agarkar, Bhandarkar and a few others signed the convention while most others refused to sign the convention[3].   As a leader from the Brahmin community, Tilak has been presented as a man who believed in caste hierarchy. Once again, the Indian historical scholarship falls short in understanding the true nature of Tilak’s ideas on caste. The ‘moderate’ leadership in the late 19th century included Gopal Krishna Gokhale, M.G Ranade, Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, Sir Surendranath Bannerjee, Sir Rashbehari Ghosh among others. The moderate leadership was largely homogenous in their composition in the sense that all were English educated. The moderate leadership believed in prayers and petitions and sought to develop a dialogue with the British administration. The moderates believed in gatekeeping this dialogue for a few elite intellectuals (mostly from classes and castes that were considered as upper). Gokhale firmly believed that the ordinary citizens of the country must not become a part of the struggle against the imperial state (Pagdi, 2011). B. Pattabhisitaramiah suggests that Gokhale’s methods sought to win the foreigner, Tilak’s to replace him; Gokhale looked to the intelligentsia, Tilak to the masses; Gokhale’s arena was the Council Chamber, Tilak’s forum was the village mandap[4]. Tilak sought to give the national struggle a truly national character by involving people from all walks of life. Tilak was given the epithet ‘तेल्या - तांबोळ्यांचे पुढारी’ (_telya-tambolyanche pudhari_), meaning the leader of the working classes[5]. He spoke and wrote in favour of abolition of untouchability. Tilak spoke at the Conference on Abolition of Untouchability, held on 23-24 March 1918, and presided over by Sir Sayajirao Gaekwad. Tilak stated unequivocally, “If God were to tolerate untouchability, I would not recognise him as God at all” (Shah, 1983, 206). Tilak has often been portrayed as a Hindu revivalist and as a leader who was dismissive of minorities. A thorough study of Tilak and his relation with his contemporaries, however, reveals a different truth. Tilak believed that the minorities, especially the Muslims must have an equal place in the local and national platforms for Swarajya. The accusation that Tilak alienated Muslims from the struggle against the imperial state is rightly challenged by his 1916 speech. At the Lucknow session in 1916, Tilak put up the proposition of changing the three-way fight among the British, the Hindus and the Muslims into a two-way fight where Hindus and Muslim would fight united against the imperial British state. Among Tilak’s close friends and admirers were Barrister Mohammed Ali Jinnah and Maulana Hasrat Mohani. When Tilak was charged with sedition in 1908, Barrister Jinnah quickly moved the bail application which eventually was rejected. The Lucknow pact signed between Tilak and Jinnah in 1916 was a sincere attempt at weaving a thread of unity between the Hindu and Muslim communities. When in Chindwara prison, Jinnah wrote to Tilak, “Your courage, resolution and fortitude are an example to us, younger men, whatever be our politics, and these have convinced me, that after going through all this, you could never contemplate with equanimity, much less desire, that even a particle of the same suffering should be inflicted on a fellow countryman, no matter of what caste or creed, equally in the defence of freedom and self-respect”[6]. Although Tilak was a staunch practising Hindu, “Tilak was free of communal bias and preferred to keep religious agenda out of politics” (Pagdi, 2011, 115). Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a strong supporter of Tilak[7]. In 1907, when Tilak walked out of the Congress party, Maulana left with him[8]. Maulana wrote a moving poem on the death of Tilak. He wrote :  _Maatam ho na kyun Bharat mein bapa, duniya se sidhare aaj Tilak_ _Balwant Tilak, Maharaaj Tilak aazaadon ke sartaaj Tilak_ _Jab tak wo rahe duniya mein raha hum sab ke dilon par zor unka_ _Ab reh ke behisht mein nizde Khuda rooho’n par karenge raaj Tilak _ (Why wouldn’t Bharat grieve, Tilak has left this world today.  Balwant Tilak, Maharaj Tilak, the pride of the free-spirited  Till he lived he ruled our hearts Now that he’s with the maker, he will rule our souls)  The liberal nuances in Tilak’s thoughts and ideas are crystallised in his defence arguments when he was charged with sedition in 1908. Tilak’s central concern “was to publicly articulate the Indian people’s rejection of a law grounded in the primacy of colonial/ imperial power and not on popular sovereignty. Colonial law so far as it was not anchored in society, nation and community, Tilak publicly declared, was by its very nature, illegitimate” (Mukherjee, 2017, 4). Tilak defended not only his writings in Kesari but sought to defend the freedom of the native press in India. According to Gerald Barrier, more than two thousand Indian newspapers came to be censored by the British government between 1901 and 1947 (Barrier, 1974). Against the repressive measures taken against native press, Tilak asked the jury, “if the press in England had the right to criticise the bureaucracy and raise public opinion about the policies of the government in England, why should the press in India be denied the same rights?” (Mukherjee, 2017, 11) The British rule of law could interpret any word as seditious or libellous, and in such conditions, Tilak said, “you could only beg, not claim as a right. Political discussion could only be carried out on the sufferance of the government” (Kelkar, 1908, 175). Inevitable as it was, the imperial British judiciary convicted Tilak of sedition. His remarks on the pronouncement of his verdict are deeply reminiscent of Thomas More’s last words addressed to King Henry VIII[9]. Thomas More said before his execution, “I die the King’s good servant, but God’s first”. Tilak rejected the very legitimacy of the law which convicted him and yet accepted the consequences. “All I wish to state is that in spite of the verdict of the Jury I maintain that I am innocent. There are higher Powers that rule the destiny of things and it may be the will of Providence that the cause which I represent may prosper more by my suffering than by my remaining free” (Kelkar, 1908, Part 2). Lokmanya Tilak is an amalgamation of a variety of political thoughts. A staunch believer in spirituality, Swarajya, and a man who vehemently opposed state intervention and British misrule, Lokmanya Tilak was a teacher, a writer, a journalist, and a national leader. He relentlessly exposed the hypocrisies and the fallacies of the British administration in India. He believed that those who were in awe of the colonisers could never put up a genuine fight to get rid of them; they could never concede the shortcomings of the imperial state and instead would keep pointing to the perceived progress the British brought to India. Tilak never publicly endorsed the use of violence but he was critical of the ‘moderate’ method of prayers, petitions and constitutional political movement. In an article in Kesari, titled, _Sanadshir ka Kaydeshir_ (Constitutional or Legal), Tilak refuted the idea of constitutional movement saying, “Britain has not set any Charter of rights to Hindustan, therefore it would be ridiculous to say that the movement be conducted as per the Charter” (Pagdi, 2011, 96). Tilak was a man of many facets and an excessive focus on any one facet leads to an obfuscation of others, as has been the case with Indian scholarship. In Tilak, the conservative and the liberal intertwine imperceptibly. As A.B Shah says that Tilak was a conservative liberal and certainly not a revivalist as he is often painted. **Endnotes** [1] Shah, A. B. (1983). Tilak and secularism [Print]. In _Political Thought and Leadership of Lokmanya Tilak_ (pp. 201–220). Concept. [2] See Arthur Crawford’s _Our Troubles in Poona and the Deccan_ (1897). Gayatri Pagdi refers to Crawford as ‘a man maddened by racism’ (2011). [3] Find more in A.B Shah’s _Tilak and Secularism_ (1983). [4]_Tilak and Gokhale : A Comparative Study_, Mohammed Shabbir Khan, Ashish Publishing House, 1992. Qtd in Pagadi, 2011, 91. [5] Tilak was a strong supporter of workers’ rights and he organised the workers to fight for the cause of boycott of foreign goods and Swadeshi initiatives. For more, refer to Pagdi, 2011, pp 199-214 [6] Inamdar, N. R. (Ed.). (1982). _Political Thought and Leadership of Lokmanya Tilak_ [Print]. Concept. [7]  Qtd. in Pagadi, 2011, 116 [8] For more on Maulana Hasrat Mohani, see Jawed Naqvi’s piece in _Dawn_, 11 August 2010. [9] Thomas More was an English judge, philosopher, bureaucrat and a humanist. He opposed King Henry VIII’s takeover of the church which in his view was a violation of secular principles. Along with many other dissidents, More was executed in 1535. **References ** Barrier, N. G. (1974). _Banned; Controversial Literature and Political control in British India, 1907-1947_. [Columbia] : University of Missouri Press. Chirol, V. (1910). _Indian Unrest_ [Print]. Macmillan and Co. Limited. Inamdar, N. R. (Ed.). (1982). _Political Thought and Leadership of Lokmanya Tilak_ [Print]. Concept. Kelkar, N. C. (Ed.). (1908). _Full and Authentic Report of the Tilak Trial_. Indu-Prakash Steam Press. Lyall, A. C. (1910). Introduction [Print]. In _Indian Unrest_ (pp. viii–xvi). Macmillan and Co. Limited. Mukherjee, M. (2017). Sedition, Law, and the British Empire in India: The Trial of Tilak (1908). _Law, Culture and the Humanities_, _16_(3), 454–476. https://doi.org/10.1177/1743872116685034 Pagdi, G. (2011). _Lokmanya Tilak: The First National Leader_ [Print]. Indus Source Books. Shah, A. B. (1983). Tilak and secularism [Print]. In _Political Thought and Leadership of Lokmanya Tilak_ (pp. 201–220). Concept. [_Previous musing: Gopal Ganesh Agarkar and the Vindication of Women’s Education_](https://indianliberals.in/content/gopal-ganesh-agarkar-and-the-vindication-of-womens-education/) [](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMG_4159_Original.jpg) **Avanti Lele** Avanti Lele is a Minoo Masani Liberal Fellow. She is pursuing her PhD in English Literature from Lancaster University. She has worked as a lecturer of English Literature and as a Spanish language instructor. Her research interests include but are not limited to women's writing, liberal feminism, postcolonial studies, indigeneity. --- ## [Musing] MAKING CAPITAL OUT OF CONSUMER GOODS URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/making-capital-out-of-consumer-goods/ ### Body The following text was originally delivered as a speech by Abid Hussain at the 24th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture held in October 1989, originally published by the Forum of Free Enterprise. The author was an Indian economist, civil servant, and member of the Planning Commission, Government of India. It is a great honour to be speaking at the Silver Jubilee celebrations of this august institution. I offer you my deepfelt thanks for inviting me. And I offer you my sincere congratulations and those of the world business community represented in the International Chamber of Commerce, on your first, immensely successful, 25 years. May you go from strength to strength during the course of your next quarter century!  The Forum was, of course, founded by a very great man, the late A. D. Shroff. And the high standards he set have been admirably maintained by the eminent persons who have followed him as President- the late Murarji Vaidya, J. H. Doshi, and your present distinguished leader, N. A. Palkhivala, who enjoys the profound respect not only of his fellow countrymen but of informed people and decision-makers throughout the whole world. His annual lectures on the Union Budget must rank as one of the most remarkable phenomena of the modern age and I'm sure I do not need to remind you how fortunate the Forum is to have such a celebrated statesman in its Presidential chair.  I have been greatly impressed by the work this Forum accomplishes in this huge country. May I suggest that one of your objectives for your next 25 years should be to share your ideas and methods - your recipe for success, as it were - with as many other countries as possible. So very many of them desperately need their own Forums of Free Enterprise. Could not India take the lead in encouraging their establishment elsewhere? The ICC would be more than willing to help with such an initiative. Your shining example would be a major asset in inducing others to pursue the same path towards a better future for a larger part of mankind.  It is with some hesitation that I rise to address you today - you the descendants of those great entrepreneurs which this sub-continent produced. They were far-sighted individuals who both believed in and practised free enterprise. They ventured all over the world, men of no formal education or technical knowhow, but honest and hard-working and with a firm and confident faith in the free economy system. Is it not presumptuous of me to lecture the sons and grandsons of such masters of entrepreneurship on the virtues of free enterprise? Or is it perhaps salutary to remind ourselves of those virtues in an age which so takes freedom for granted that it is being whittled away under our noses, diluting the blood of entrepreneurship in our veins without us fully realising it?  Any individual who did business at the beginning of this century would be shocked by today's world if he had not gradually got used to it over the passage of time - as many of us have. He would be shocked not so much by the oneness of the world and the closeness of different countries forged by the revolution in communications and transport- advances of which humanity is justifiably proud. Rather he would be shocked by the degree to which business is restricted, hampered and fenced in by government regulations and controls. In this sense, distances are far greater than before. You may be able technically to finalise a deal over the telephone or by telex in a few short minutes or hours - and may even be able to rush supplies to wherever they are needed with what must effectively be considered no delay at all. Bu·t and it is a very important 'but' - these technical gains in speed are frequently more than offset by the tediously protracted processes of completing official formalities and seeking bureaucratic permissions and approvals. In this respect, we live in many different worlds which relate with each other only over and around considerable man-made obstacles. As has been the case throughout history, the unifying forces of commerce are frustrated by the divisive forces of politics.  Barriers to trade and investment between countries, though regrettable by the absolute standards of the one-world ideologue and frequently harmful to the cause of maximising global economic efficiency, are not alone and of themselves a major catastrophe. What does the real damage is that government controls and restrictions extend deep and wide into our national economies, thwarting and distorting competition and the free enterprise system on a massive scale.  The fundamental raison d'etre of the free enterprise system is that it harnesses for progress the energy and drive of individuals and their yearning for self-betterment. It achieves this through a competitive process which encourages people to work hard and efficiently in producing what consumers wish to buy at minimum cost. Remove competition, and private enterprise stands defenceless. Profit ceases to have either economic significance or moral justification. If we allow controls to proliferate which strangulate both competition and individual initiative, why do we need private enterprise at all?  In my own mind, I have no doubt whatsoever that the free market economy is the key to all freedoms. In fact, the market and freedom are really synonymous terms. We should never forget that the only thing governments can control is people. One yard of textile does not care what its price is. But people care: the people who manufacture the textile, the wholesalers who sell to the retailers, and the retailers who sell to the consumers. And that is all controls can ever mean: 'people' control. It is never prices or goods and services but only people who are controlled, subsidised or supported by government. It is this that so many citizens fail to see or choose to ignore.  The expression "control" frequently conjures up an image of government action to help people. But when we give it its correct descriptive title of "people control", quite another image comes to mind. For obviously, when government controls people it necessarily deprives them of some freedom. Economic controls are automatically destructive of the market economy in which people voluntarily buy and sell on mutually acceptable terms. For controls involve compelling people to act in ways they would not necessarily choose voluntarily.  In many developing countries where there is a conscious striving for economic progress, almost every policy of government has come to be justified as necessary for development and the success of the PLAN. Yet there is scarcely any yardstick by which such claims can be measured and evaluated. This would be a difficult enough exercise even if we had access to the sort of sophisticated statistics and tools of analysis available in the developed countries. Given the notorious unreliability of total absence of data in the developing countries, it is downright impossible. So the policies and programmes campaigned for by vocal sections of our population can all be justified as promoting development without fear that their actual impact might be subject to critical measurement.  I am not at all against the idea of government publishing its view on future developments in a country in the form of an overall development plan for the general guidance of its own agencies and the private sector.. But that is all it should be. Unfortunately, as far as the private sector is concerned, our experience both now and in the past is just the contrary. I once engaged in a discussion with a planner in a high official position who Clearly believed that, without his forecasts and guidance, his country's economy would be "flying blind". To him, as to all planners, the world of private enterprise was one in which everybody works at cross-purpose and takes decisions solely in his "private" interest rather than in the wider "public" interest – whatever that may be.   Planning always involves compulsion even when, as it usually is, dressed up in a variety of guises to misguide its victims. Government planners will, of course, try to persuade people that The Plan has been drawn up for their own good and that the only persons who will be subject to coercion are those whose activities are "not'' in the public ''interest". They will claim, in their new-fangled phraseology, that their plans are not "imperative" but merely "indicative". They will make a great public parade of democracy, freedom and co-operation by "consulting all groups in society" — "business", "industry", "workers", and even "consumers" — to seek their help in drawing up The Plan and their acceptance of its specific goals or targets.   But, of course, if the planners really succeeded in accommodating the wishes of everyone, if The Plan allowed everyone to arrange their economic activities in the manner they intended to do anyway, then it would be quite pointless and useless exercise, a complete waste of time and effort. The Plan is only meaningful if it compels individuals to produce and consume different items — or different quantities of those items — than they would have done voluntarily given the freedom to choose in unfettered markets. If The Plan is to be meaningful, it must in the nature of things resort to compulsion. Two excuses are invariably offered for the inevitable coercion. One is that the free market produces the "wrong" goods and only government planning and direction can assure the production of the "right" ones — with the bureaucracy, of course, possessing a monopoly of mystical powers to determine what is right and what is wrong. The second excuse is that the free market does not produce enough goods and that government planning is needed to speed up the production process. In actual practice, of course, government planning does not so much speed it up as impede the progress.   I want to dwell a little on this strangely powerful notion that government direction and coercion can in some magical way increase production above the level achievable by individual citizens applying their own enterprise and taking their own decisions in a regime of economic freedom. It seems to me self-evident that when people are free, welfare tends to be maximised — or, at least, optimised. This is because in a system of free markets and private enterprise everybody's reward tends to equal the value of what he produces. What he gets for his production (assuming he is allowed to keep it) is what it is worth in the market — the value placed on it by voluntary, uncoerced buyers. If he wants to double his income next year, he is free to try — and may succeed if he is able to double his production over the year, or if the market worth of his production rises. If he is content with the income he has - or if he feels he can only increase it by excessive effort or risk, then he is under pressure to raise his output. In a free market economy everyone is at liberty to maximise his own satisfaction, whether this consists of more leisure or more goods.  There is among planners a profound mystical belief in the power of words. They declare, for example, that they are not content with an annual growth rate of. a .mere 2.8% and stipulate that henceforth it shall be 5%. And having thus stipulated, they assume that that in itself has propelled the economy half-way to their new target. I am not being frivolous. Such must be their assumption for, otherwise, it would be impossible to explain the deep earnestness with which they argue among themselves whether the growth rate ought to be 4 or 5 or 6%. The only thing they always agree upon is that it ought to be higher than whatever it actually is.  But why do they assume that setting their magic targets will increase the rate of production? By what processes do they imagine that the behaviour of millions of individual citizens will suddenly change to ensure that the national economy as a whole hits their targets? Is the man who is already making 50,000 rupees a year to be coerced into working for an income of 52,000 next year? Is the man who is making only 5,000 rupees a year to be forbidden to earn more than 2,500 next year? If not, what is gained by setting a specific annual growth rate as a government target? Why not just permit or encourage everybody to do his best and make his own decisions and let the average growth be whatever it turns out to be. Rapid economic growth is a by-product of good government policy; it cannot be a government policy in itself.  The effective route to rapid economic growth - assuming this is the aim - is to encourage production, saving, investment, and employment. And the way to do this is to maintain a free market economy and a stable currency freely convertible into others at a rate determined by the market. It is to respect profits - which will in turn promote both investment and jobs. It is to refrain from oppressive taxation which drives away funds for productive investment. It is to refrain from wage controls and cumbersome labour legislation which destroy jobs. It is to permit interest rates to find their own levels and thus maximise saving and investment.  The way to slow down economic growth is, of course, precisely the opposite of this. It is to discourage production, saving, investment and employment by incessant government interventions, controls, threats, harassment  and exorbitant taxation. It is to frown upon profits, to repeatedly declare them excessive, to control prices by law or intimidation, to hold interest rates down artificially, to bestow exceptional privileges and legal immunities on labour unions so that their demands become chronically excessive and threaten chronic unemployment - and then to try to offset the ill-effects of all these policies by higher government spending and consequent deficits which have to be financed by inflationary recourse to the currency printing presses.  All persons of goodwill share the same goal of raising the living standards of mankind. The differences – about which men fight, including men of goodwill – revolve around the methods to achieve the goal. Let me briefly compare those methods. The free market method permits individuals to use their own money, skills and hardwork to back their own economic decisions in the market place. They reap the rewards of good judgement and suffer the consequences of poor judgement. Under this system, no one buys or sells or participates unless his judgement tells him to.  The socialist or centralised method means that government compels individual citizens against their will and better judgement to contribute their money or time to implement its ideas and schemes. There is no sure way to determine whether the official decisions are commercially sound because the only true economic measurement there is – the test of the market – is forbidden.  And there is a third method now popular in several developing countries – a method which I call the "compromising way" and which stems from the delusion that a middle path exists between the market method on one side and the socialist method on the other. In my book, this middle path is the socialist method. The fact that government may permit a great deal of private ownership and some private initiative in partnership with itself in no way means that government is not fully in charge. When you think about it, why should government bother to nationalise productive assets or need to compel people to act in this way or that if they cooperate voluntarily and submissively? Stalin would never have murdered any one if he had been sure that everyone would willingly have done exactly as he wanted.  The advocate of the third method may sincerely and indignantly deny that his is the government way. He will claim to favour only certain specified controls by government. But, in so doing, he opens the way for one control after another because he cannot put his finger on any generally accepted principle defining the limits of government activity, and thus he has no logically defensible ground for protesting against an indefinite number of additional controls. This is how - even though they may be quite innocently unaware of the ultimate consequences of their acts - the proponents of the third method are paving the way for socialism and coercion.  I accept that, if we are forbidden a free market economy, then a half-free one is better than none at all. But I hope we all agree that a half-free one is not only very far from ideal but is also invariably unstable in the sense that the coercive part is inherently expansionist. And that is bad for business confidence, bad for investment, bad for jobs and bad for economic growth and development.  Let me try to pinpoint some of the specific consequences of the socialist method which has been adopted to a greater or lesser degree in practically all countries of the world today. I shall, however, gear my remarks towards the developing countries and towards the impact on the business sector.  Does anyone seriously believe that government intervention in the economy nowadays is merely to protect the weak or to redress the inequalities supposedly produced by the free enterprise system? I hope not. For, in reality, the intervention goes far beyond that. The truly disturbing aspect today is the intervention – large and growing – that takes place purely and simply to placate or curry favour with organised, vocal and politically powerful groups in society irrespective of their economic condition.  Out of this arises much of the wastage of human and other economic resources which holds production below its potenti.al capacity. Because the assets and dynamism of the free enterprise system are suppressed, distorted and prevented from translating their full capability into actual output of goods and services, poverty and misery persist and a large part of humanity lives in constant fear of unemployment and starvation. Glaring examples of this can be found in the developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. And I would like to highlight some of the policies pursued in these regions in the name of industrialisation and economic development but which have the perverse effect of perpetuating poverty and backwardness. Not that I believe their poverty is entirely of their own doing, I may add. The developed world is far from blameless in pursuing policies - particularly on the trade front - which inhibit the progress of poorer countries and set the additional obstacles to overcome which they could well do without. But let us look at ourselves for the moment since prosperity - like charity begins at home.  _Previous musing: [FREE MARKET ECONOMY: KEY TO ECONOMIC PROGRESS AND FREEDOMS](https://indianliberals.in/content/free-market-economy/)_ --- ## [Musing] Manifesto for Indian Liberals URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/manifesto-for-indian-liberals/ ### Body _The following manifesto was drawn up at the Conference Of Indian Liberals held on November 21, 1985 at the Royal Bombay Yacht Club.  It was originally published in the same year by the _[_Indian Liberal Group._](https://indianliberals.in/content/manifesto-for-indian-liberals-1985/) We, the liberals of India assembled in Bombay on November 21, 1985 at a time of gross violations of human rights and persistent grave tensions which threaten peace and democracy, are convinced that this condition is largely due to the abandonment of liberal principles and affirm our faith in this Declaration. I. Democracy & Freedom - Man is first and foremost a being endowed with the power of independent thought and action, and with the ability to distinguish right from wrong. - Respect for the individual as guaranteed under the original Constitution of 1950 is the true basis of society. - The State is only the instrument of the community: it should assume no power which conflicts with the fundamental rights of the citizens and with the conditions essential for a responsible and creative life; namely: a) Personal freedom, guaranteed by the independence of the administration of law and justice.  b) Freedom of worship and conscience.  c) Freedom to associate or not to associate.  d) Free choice of occupation.  e) The right to free and compulsory education for all upto a minimum basic level.  f) The right to private ownership of property and the right to embark on individual enterprise. g) Consumer's free choice and the opportunity to reap the full benefit of the productivity of the soil and the enterprise of man.  h) Equality of rights between men and women.  - These rights and conditions can be secured only by true democracy which is inseparable from political liberty and is based on the conscious, free and enlightened consent of the majority, expressed through a free and secret ballot, with due respect for the liberties and opinions of minorities and even the individual. - The wide-spread disenchantment or disaffection, prevalent especially among the young, is the result of the failure to create, support and promote desirable values as well as of the  incapacity to adapt institutions and to ensure more justice and a better quality of living. In extreme cases, this disaffection has led to terrorism, in others, to anarchism or to a refusal to participate in public life. The values of freedom and independence, promoted by liberalism, can overcome this void, particularly if liberals make it clear that freedom for the individual is not to be confused with egoism, but is freedom within the context of community, implying responsibility and solidarity with fellow men. II. Decentralisation and Freedom i) Co-operation and solidarity between free men are a growing necessity in the modern world. However, the drive towards unhealthy centralisation has encouraged the downgrading of parliamentary institutions, the excessive dependence of the individual on the State and the growth of new forms of absolutism and of irresponsible centres of power through uncontrolled bureaucratic growth, the formation of public and private monopolies and the restrictiveness of some combination of employers, of workers, or of both together. ii) We believe that these tendencies can only be fought by devoted concentration on the overriding need for freedom in all its aspects, and in particular by: - The greatest possible devolution and spread of power in the economic, social and governmental fields, especially by determined action against monopolies. - maintenance of the widest multiplicity of expression and initiative in all matters of education and culture, including mass media of communication. - making all necessary information available to enable each citizen to form objective judgments on all matters of public interest. - protection of the rights of minorities to enjoy the essential liberties. - elimination of racial and all other forms oppressive discrimination. - protection of the individual and group from all forms of unwarranted invasion of personal, private life. iii) One area which requires immediate consideration is the relationship between the Centre and the States. The Constitution of India enacted in 1950 has balanced fairly the needs of national unity with those of reasonable authority for States. During the last 30 years, however, all major economic power has been concentrated in the hands of the Union Government, as a consequence of centralised planning. This imbalance has to be rectified by a greater measure of autonomy for the States and local self Government within the frame-work of the original Constitution of the Republic. There is no reason why a strong Centre should mean weak States or vice-versa. III. Institutional Issues In Modern Democracies i) Liberalism requires the continual reform and renewal of democratic institutions.  ii) Improvement and renewal in the institution of State and Society is seen by modern liberals as most important in:  (a) the effective representation of the people's will in the legislative power, e.g. through proportional representation which will ensure a legislature which fairly reflects the will of the people and the protection of minorities to ensure equality of opportunity; b) the decentralization of power by the proper and clearly defined organisation of State and local self government; c) the inclusion of trade unions and business professional associations in the liberal democratic system of checks and balances, in order to achieve healthier and more just industrial relations; (d) without individual initiative and responsibility both in the private and public sectors, the State turns itself into a soulless bureaucratic machine and rapidly loses efficiency. IV. Educational and Cultural Issues i) Modern liberalism is faced with:  - worldwide pluralism of cultures; - the need for a uniform Civil Code; - the need for freedom and pluralism in the media; ii) The main instrument with which to break down barriers to culture and to fight cultural, political and racial intolerance is education, based on democratic methods. Liberals, therefore, ask for the promotion of education for both sexes and all ages.  iii) Freedom and pluralism in the mass media are essential to a liberal society. There can be no political freedom where the media are in the hands of a monopoly or a quasi-monopoly, private or public. Liberals see, with growing concern, the powerful attacks against press freedom. V. Economic Issues i) The following are of crucial importance today:  - the role of economy in a liberal democracy; - the limited role of the State and planning in a social market economy; - new technologies and protection of the environment. ii) The basic liberal principle in the economy is that there can be no political freedom where the State dominates the economy and less room is left for private initiative. Notwithstanding some delusions to the contrary, there can also be no real and lasting economic freedom where the importance of political freedom is not understood and human rights are not respected. It is particularly emphasised that economic growth cannot and should not be at the cost of political freedom.  iii) The link which exists for liberals between a social market economy and liberal democracy also implies a constant battle against monopolies, cartels, restrictive trusts, restrictive practises, and so-called “dominant positions”, open or disguised, private or public except for cases authorised by law for justified and defined social needs.  iv) The liberal concept of the market is not that of the economy controlled by purely monetary means but to the contrary it includes and is closely associated with the interests of the poor and the community as a whole.  v) The state controlled and dominated the system as practised in India for the past over three decades is the root of slow economic growth, rampant lawlessness and corruption and proliferation of the black market economy. The only solution is a changeover to a liberal system which can undo the damage.   vi) Planning, in the liberal sense of the word, means indicative planning of and for liberty leading to a minimum or limited government. A strong vested interest has developed in the existing system where the public sector has become the private sector of the politician, the bureaucrat, the trader and entrepreneur who thrive on it and the disciplined worker with the consumer, left to fend for himself and live in a despondent milieu of 'choicelessness' and resulting 'voicelessness’. vii) With this undogmatic approach towards the role of the State in the economy, liberals do not see the relations between the private and the public sector in a given economy and at a given time as static or final. Whilst the State or local authorities can be at times forced by their obligations to public welfare to take over economic activities, there must be a constant review of the public activities, to decide which of them should be returned in some form to private enterprise or to voluntary organisations.  viii) The corrective role of the State must not make everybody dependent on it. The main dangers inherent in an overextended welfare State are: - It makes people dependent on the government and bureaucracy, thereby reducing their sense of responsibility and their freedom; - It creates an expanding bureaucracy which inclines to grab power for itself which is detrimental to the national economy, increasing waste and corruption. - by taxes or by waste, it subtracts too large a portion of the national income from the growing needs for productive investment , research and development; - it can feed inflation and, therefore, make employment and investment more difficult. ix) Liberals believe that taxation should be fairly balanced between the needs of the individual and the needs of society for saving and investment. Taxation should, therefore, play a positive role in encouraging enterprise and in ensuring a greater equality of opportunity. x) To try to eliminate poverty and social injustice is not to accept egalitarianism viz. the abstract right to rigid equality of conditions for all, independent of talent, work or forethought. While liberals strongly support measures to reduce differences in wealth, to protect each citizen and to increase equality of opportunity, they decidedly oppose egalitarianism which degrades the individual, whereas the recognition of merit in conditions of social justice is stimulating.  The Test of Character  India's development by a democratic and liberal philosophy and action presupposes and requires that the elected representatives firmly believe in integrity and competence. India also needs men and women who uphold values and excellence, protect public interest, whose motivation is achievement - not power - and whose faith is outside partisan politics. To develop such men and women with such faith and principles is the real task and goal before liberals. If India has to reach its full potential, the test of Character is of prime importance.  Access/download the pdf version of the manifesto [here](https://indianliberals.in/indian-liberal-group/manifesto-1985.pdf). --- ## [Musing] Making Indian Industry Globally Competitive URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/making-indian-industry-globally-competitive/ ### Body The following text is taken from a booklet published by [Forum of Free Enterprise.](https://indianliberals.in/liberals/making-indian-industry-globally-competitive-15-may-1995.pdf) Authored by Indian jurist and liberal economist Nani Palkhivala, the text is based on the 12th T. A. Pai Memorial Lecture delivered on 17th January 1995 and takes an approach towards understanding the mighty scope of Indian human resource in the coming years. I feel happy and honoured to have been invited to deliver the Memorial Lecture this year to commemorate the birth anniversary of the late T. A. Pai which falls today. Entrepreneurship comes naturally to Indians. In the field of entrepreneurship it may be doubted whether any single family has done more than the Pai family of Manipal. And in the Pai family no one distinguished himself more than the late T. A. Pai. His was a rare blend of vision and pragmatism. He had the Midas touch. He used his enormous talent to turn a small rural bank into one of the top ten in the country. He was a master of the art of business management before that art was recognized as the most priceless asset of any corporation or business group. I remember meeting him on several occasions when he was connected with the Life Insurance Corporation of lndia or was a minister in the Central Cabinet. He served the country in a number of capacities, and it would be true to say of him that, in the hackneyed phrase, he did not touch anything which he did not adorn. It is true that T. A. Pai was a member of the I government which imposed strangulating controls on India, even as Mr. P. V. Narasimha Rao, our present Prime Minister, and Dr. Manmohan Singh, our present Finance Minister, were also members of the same government. But T. A. Pai’s natural inclination was towards liberalization; just as Mr. Narasimha Rao's and Dr. Manmohan Singh's instincts incline them in that direction. Nations go through periods of concerted folly when individuals with the right instincts are not able to assert themselves. Having known T. A. Pai as I did, I have no doubt that he would have been much happier if he had to function in the present climate. Let me cast a glance at the lost decades which have been, providentially, gathered to the past. For the first forty years of our history as a republic the pace of our economic growth had been sedate, if not glacial. Then came the economic transformation with a big bang. The period of collective insanity was over. The biggest metamorphosis in the economic climate came with the enunciation of the New Industrial Policy in July 1991. The world's fifth largest democracy reached a turning point in its history: for the first time it looked less like a tortoise and more like a tiger. The arthritic economy started performing like an athletic economy. Liberalization and globalization are dictated by the Zeitgeist - the spirit of the times. To be globally competitive, a country must be blessed with two favourable factors - an unlimited reservoir of talented and skilled labour and an abundance of capital available for new projects. A World Bank report, published a few years ago, indicated that lndia had both these factors in abundance. We have 5000 years of civilization behind us - a civilization which reached "the summit of human thought" in the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson. We inherited great skills and many splendoured intelligence, since the genes had evolved over five luminous millenia. The trader's instinct is innate in our ethos. I am never tired of repeating that an Indian can buy from a Jew and sell to a Scot, and yet make a profit! Giant multinational corporations are engaged in worldwide competition for the most scarce resource of all - talent. lndia has never been charged with an inadequate supply of this resource. Sir William Ryrie said, as the Executive Vice President of the International Finance Corporation, that lndia has some of "the most creative entrepreneurs . . . the most dynamic business leaders . . . and the sharpest financial brains in the world." Incidentally, IFC has invested nearly $ 650 million in India's private sector in fiscal 1994, raising the country to the status of Number One in its worldwide portfolio. I should like to give you some figures which illustrate the sea change - revolutionary transformation which has been effected in the last three years. An annual average amount of just Rs. 90 crore was raised in the 1970's in the primary market by promoters of new companies; while Rs. 30,900 crore was raised in 1993-94 - an astonishing 344 times upsurge. Coming to the secondary market, the number of listed companies has risen from less than 2,300 in 1980, to about 8,000 today, catapulting lndia to the first position in the world overtaking the United States which had about 7,250 listed domestic companies at the end of 1993. No less than 500 new public companies were floated during the last twelve months. The Centre for Monitoring the lndian Economy (CMIE) places the value of total investments on ongoing projects at the end of 1994 at Rs. 776 thousand crore, comprising 3,093 projects. For those who are still unconvinced that lndia has arrived, let me quote a few more facts. There are 23 stock exchanges in lndia and 30 mutual funds (public and private). Truly, lndia has now become a shareholding democracy. Among those who buy or subscribe for shares there are many who have no idea whether Wall Street is a thoroughfare or a new mouthwash. But they take the view that the stock exchange is the one place where you can get money without earning it. The number of shareholders and investors in mutual funds has risen sharply from about two million in 1980 to over 40 million. Thus lndia has today the second largest investor population, next only to the United States which has about 51 million investors. I now come to the main theme of my talk - the necessity for making lndian industry globally competitive. The first necessity is to spread education more widely among our people. Today, lndia is competing, with only half its manpower, with the rest of the world, - since half of the lndian population is literally illiterate. We must make education the priority of priorities. The real resource of any country today is knowledge. Instead of capitalists and the working class, we are today having knowledge workers and service workers. Even in America, the Morgans, the Rockefellers and the Carnegies have been replaced by professional managers. Today, the well established pension funds increasingly control the supply and allocation of money in developed countries. These funds own in the USA half of the capital of the country's largest businesses. The pension funds are run by a new breed of "capitalists" - the faceless and anonymous employees who run the pension funds, and investment analysts and portfolio managers. As Peter Drucker observed, we are living in a new era which is both non-socialist and post-capitalist. Investing in education is to the 1990s what nationalization was to the 1940s and privatization was to the 1980s - the universal panacea of the day. All thinkers are agreed that in our times human capital is the most precious form of capital there is. The skill and calibre of corporate manpower can never appear in any balance sheet; but it is widely acknowledged throughout the world that the greatest resource of a company is trained manpower. In a book published recently by the famous economist, Julian Simon, the human resource is rightly defined in the title of the book as "The Ultimate Resource." Among the nations of the world, India ranks very high in innate intelligence, but abysmally low in wisdom - what the ancient rishis called _buddhi_. This is both the cause and the effect of our total indifference towards education. The criminalization of politics and the deplorably low moral tone of our public life are the direct consequences of the failure to impart value based education. When Indians are better educated, they will know how to behave better as workers and to discharge with greater responsibility their duties as citizens. Liberty without accountability is the freedom of the fool. Our concept of freedom will remain an impoverished one, until it is rounded and deepened by liberal education. Education is the rock on which India must build her political salvation. Our country will be built not with bricks but with brains; not with cement but with enlightenment. If we cannot afford education, we cannot afford to remain a civilized society. Secondly, we must privatize the public sector undertakings. Privatization means that the majority of shares should be allowed to go into public hands, while the government may only retain a minority interest. British Airways was privatized, and the standard of service improved beyond recognition. The Government of lndia has never understood that half-hearted reforms yield only half-baked results. There are hundreds of public sector enterprises run by the Union government, and more than three times that number are run by the State governments. These public sector enterprises are the black holes, the money guzzlers, and they have been extracting an exorbitant price for our past doctrinaire socialism. India's public sector earns a return of barely two per cent on the capital employed. The British government is toying with the idea of privatizing even Air Traffic Control. In India, there is no political will to privatize any of the industries which are today in the public sector. The utmost the government is willing to do is to offer a minority shareholding in public sector enterprises to private parties, which means that control and management would continue to be in the hands of the government. The products and services offered by the public sector undertakings, - e.g. the coal mined by the Coal Corporation of lndia - are excessively expensive, with the result that many of the inputs in lndian industry are proportionately costlier than they should be. The inevitable result is that some of our end products are uncompetitive in the world markets. Thirdly, the quality of service rendered by the public sector undertakings is pathetic, if not hopeless. lndia has vast infrastructural gaps. It has to add 100,000 mw of power capacity in the next ten years. It has to upgrade, both quantitatively and qualitatively, telecommunications network. Take our telephone service which still continues to be the monopoly of the Union government. The lndian telephone service is undoubtedly the most inefficient in any important country of the world. But it has now reached a degree of inefficiency and corruption which is almost unbelievable. Quite often, you have to dial the required number half a dozen times before you get a connection, and dead telephones and wrong connections are the rule rather than the exception. The most serious fraud is committed in those cases where an outsider bribes telephone employees to illegally divert to himself a telephone line and makes calls for which the bill goes to the registered owner of the telephone. On the top of it all, service tax has been imposed upon every telephone call since last July. If there were a World Cup to be awarded to any government which has levied the most impudent and shameless tax, the lndian government would, without question, defeat all its rivals. The tax on telephones is called a service tax. As a matter of fidelity to the English language, I suggest that the service tax on our telephones should be called "disservice tax". It is a long time since the lndian telephones last rendered any service to the long suffering public. What a dramatic change there would be in the field of telephones if the government monopoly were ended. Competition is the only answer as in other areas of the public sector. Fourthly, strangulating controls have, to a considerable extent, been relaxed. But the top-heavy bureaucracy still continues to function. The lndian governmental machinery has been likened to some prehistoric monster incapable of intelligently controlling itself. The general impression has been that the lndian bureaucracy is the most obdurate and most inflexible the free world has ever known. As I have said before, there is a persistent tendency in lndia to have too much government and too little administration; too many laws and too little justice; too many public servants and too little public service; too many controls and too little welfare. The licence raj has been dismantled, but the inspector raj still lives on. I am aware that all this is changing but the rest of the world is changing much, much faster. We must stop frittering away our people's time and energy in inane, unproductive, useless activities. The tax system has reached the point where its tangled mass helps nobody. India's tax system is a nightmare. To call the lndian Income-tax Act a national disgrace would be to err on the side of under-statement. Even the last four Budgets which changed the fiscal and economic laws beyond recognition, were cluttered with about 600 amendments which serve no purpose other than create work for the legal and accountancy professions. Fifthly, we must drastically change our labour policy. Lee Kuan Yew, the wisest statesman of our times, had a point when he said that the main reason why lndia has not progressed as fast as the other countries of the East, is that all emphasis is on liberty while there is no regard for dedication and discipline. The Finance Minister had promised an exit policy but no action whatever has been taken in that direction. lndia will find it impossible to compete with the rest of the world so long as the law forbids even a humane exit policy and prohibits closure of a unit without the government's permission. Our labour unions live in a thought-free zone. For reasons which are painfully apparent, they are stoutly opposed to the government offering even a minority shareholding to the public in nationalized industries. Sixthly, if there is any one political factor which is bound to impede the forward economic march of India, it is the resurgence of the age-old curse of casteism. History will record that the greatest Himalayan blunder of lndia in this decade has been to encourage casteism by making rigid reservations for employment under the state in its infinite variety and for admission to educational institutions, on the basis of caste. Ever since Mr. V. P. Singh began to use casteism as a political weapon, lndia has been paying the highest price any country has ever paid for democracy. Reservations in different States have already resulted in the substandard replacing the standard and the reins of power passing from meritocracy to mediocrity. Unfortunately, the calibre of politicians in lndia has reached an all-time low and intellectual pygmyism is the order of the day. There is already a scramble among State politicians to vie with one another in prescribing larger reservations. Reservations of the type sought to be made in different States can be allowed to prevail only by scrapping what Chief Justice Mahajan called "our sublime Constitution" and by promulgating a backward Constitution for a backward nation. It would not be too much to say that one of the policy imperatives for creating a globally competitive Indian industry is to change our policy of shortsighted political expediency, adhere to the clear mandate of the Constitution, and prevent the States from pursuing the suicidal policy of casteism. Verily, lndia has an unusual talent for self-destruction. Lastly, the government must make sure that the fruits of liberalization reach the masses. This is the most important lesson which lndia has to learn from Mexico. Our inflation must be brought down from 9.9 per cent to a level where it hurts the lower classes less. For instance, the price of food articles has risen as much as 55 per cent since the economic reforms began in July 1991. Let me say a word about the future prospects of lndia in the world which has become globally competitive. I do believe that lndia has a great future and can hold its own in competition with other countries. All that it needs is great moral leadership. No democracy in the world today has great moral leadership. But in countries like Japan this desideratum does not have discernible ill-effects because the people are totally disciplined, characterized by exemplary dedication, and there is hundred per cent literacy. By contrast, we Indians lack discipline and dedication and have at least half of our population literally illiterate. Therefore, we find ourselves rudderless in the absence of moral leadership. We suffer acutely from four plagues - regionalism, communalism, casteism and corruption. There are various categories of democracies - intelligent democracies, guided democracies and misguided democracies. The four plagues have made it possible for self-seeking politicians to convert our democracy into a misguided democracy. lndia produced Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest moral force of this century. But today it is pathetically lacking even in mediocre moral leadership. Some decades ago, the weekly Punch, now defunct, came out with one word of advice to those about to get married - Don't. Sir Thomas Bingham, the Master of the Rolls, gave the same advice the other day to those about to embark on a litigation. Today, the opposite would be the advice to those about to invest in lndia - Do. Lord Keynes said that investment is not just a matter of cold calculation, but an act of faith on the part of risk-taking entrepreneurs. A recent issue of Forbes, the American business magazine, says in its lead story, "lndia may be the best emerging market of all". Forbes marshals facts in support of its view. There is twice as much American direct investment now going into lndia as into China. Unlike China, lndia operates within the rule of law. lndia also has a much larger and far more capable infrastructure of local companies which serve as good partners and tough competitors. Forbes further added that unlike China, lndia had much more than cheap labour to offer. That is why Motorola is planning to make lndia what it calls a 'brain centre' for engineering and design work; and why the Japanese subsidiary of Digital Equipment Corporation chose Indian software engineers, over its own Japanese employees, to write the tricky computer programmes that translate English code into Japanese characters. The celebrated investment bank, Merrill Lynch, has opined that liberalization in lndia had reached a point where it would be impossible to turn the clock back. In a recent report, Baring Securities mentions lndia among the best emerging markets. The vitality of lndia is remarkable. The country does not have a powerful economy, but has all the raw materials to build one. The Indian economy is like a sleeping giant who, if awakened, could make a powerful impact on the global economy. It would not be mere chauvinism to say that lndia is a giant with a bad cold, not a pygmy with cancer. The heart of the nation is sound and the human raw material is excellent. To a western mind, India's inner strength and capacity for patient endurance are almost beyond belief. Hundreds of millions who have no standard of living, still have a standard of life. Ambassador J. K. Galbraith remarked that while he had seen poverty in many countries of the world, he found an uncommon attribute among the poor of lndia - a richness in their poverty. They do not count their wealth in money alone. A nation's worth is not measured merely by its gross national product, any more than an individual's worth is measured by his bank account. Credit should go to Dr. Manmohan Singh for his endeavour to introduce fruitful egalitarianism in place of sterile socialism. But in that direction we still have a long way to go. lndia still waits for the type of revolutionary turnaround effected by the Labour Party of Britain under John Smith, its great leader and one of the finest gentlemen of our times, who passed away recently. Last year, John Smith said that he was relaunching the Labour Party as the party of the citizens and that he intended to chart a future in which the traditional associations of the Party with state ownership, high taxation and trade union power would be buried for ever. In a reference to the Labour Party's old attachment to public ownership of the commanding heights of the economy, John Smith said that the new commanding heights were education and training. He categorically said that there would be no commitment to renationalization in the next manifesto of the Labour Party and that the most important priority would be to invest in people, to provide opportunities and skills that were the building blocks for individuals and national prosperity. India purported to become a Socialist Republic by a constitutional amendment in 1976. The nation anxiously waits for the dawn of a new era when our politicians will, like John Smith and the present British Labour leader, Tony Blair, openly dissociate themselves from ideological socialism and espouse social justice which is ethical socialism. _Previous musing: [NANI PALKHIVALA: THE TASK BEFORE A FREE PEOPLE](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-task-before-a-free-people/)_ --- ## [Musing] Marx and Theory of Value URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/marx-and-theory-of-value/ ### Body Marx's theory of surplus-value is not the result of unbiased research. Marx knew what he wanted to prove. What he wanted was to unmask exploitation under capitalism but the economic development made by capitalistic countries has falsified the very basic structure of Marxism. The following is an article written by **Prof. G N Lawande** in November 1962 issue of The Indian Libertarian, an independent journal of public affairs. In the article, Prof. Lawande provides a critical analysis of Marx’s labour theory of value. At present that there are many in our country who believe that capitalism has failed to deliver the goods and the only remedy to overcome the evils of capitalism is to adopt socialism. On the basis of this assumption, our government has adopted a socialist pattern of society as one of the objectives of our Five-Year Plans. Karl Marx was the first economist to give us a systematic analysis of socialism. There were other economists but they were called Utopian Socialists. Marx was the most powerful of all critics of capitalism. At present many have accepted Marxism as the gospel of truth and have embraced it as a religion, “which promises paradise on this side of the grave”. Marx’s critique of capitalism is based on the idea that there is no harmony of interests as believed by classical economists. Marx “conceives of economic life in terms of conflict of interests between owners of property who do not work and workers who own no property”. He wanted to show that the capitalist process was the process of exploitation of one class by the other and that the economic consequence of this exploitation will ultimately destroy capitalism. The economic theory which explains this process of exploitation is the theory of surplus-value which in tum is based upon the labour theory of value. Marx begins his labour theory of value with the analysis of a commodity. In order to maximise his profit capitalist is spending money on labour, transforms labour into commodities and sells these commodities for a larger amount of money. This can be expressed as M—C—M’. The difference between M and M’ Is the surplus-value, the result of exploitation. According to Marx, this kind of exploitation is attributable to the variable capital i.e. the wages of labour because the constant capital i.e. machinery does not undergo any quantitative alteration of value. Marx defines a commodity as an article which has utility and is the result of human labour and that it is produced for sale in the market. One can easily see that Marx excludes gifts of nature which have exchange value. Marx argues that because as use-values commodities are of different qualities the exchange value cannot contain ‘”an atom of use-value”. From this, he has drawn the uncalled-for conclusion “If then we leave out of consideration the use-value of commodities, they have only one common property left, that of being products of labour”. It must be pointed out here that there are certain other qualities which are common to commodities, namely that they are scarce and secondly that they are the products of the scarce factors of production and not mercenarily of labour alone. Marx bad Ignored the simple fact that commodities which were not the products of human labour but which have exchange value and this he did so because he wanted to support the labour theory of value of Ricardo in order to prove exploitation in capitalism. In the words of John Robinson, “Marx wanted to keep insistently before the mind of the reader a picture of the capitalist process as a system of piracy, preying upon the very life of the workers.” Marx did not realise the fact that the labour theory of value was unnecessary to support the conviction that capitalism is mainly a system of exploitation. It is in the words of Lerner “an unfounded dogma that, unless we go in for all this rigmarole about value, we cannot say that capitalists get part of the social product without working”. “Marx’s assertion that the exchange value of a commodity is determined by the only property common to all i.e. abstract human labour, is entirely arbitrary. Its fallacy is revealed by even the most superficial observation of how prices are actually determined on the real markets of the capitalist economy. Nowhere do commodities exchange according to the amount of abstract human labour contained in them. The exchange value of commodities is determined by conditions of demand and supply and, in equilibrium by production costs provided that the commodities in question are the result of production. Production costs do not consist of wages alone; they consist of anything which is needed, is scarce and commands a price. Labour itself is a factor supplied in an infinite variety of qualities reducible to abstract human labour only by market forces”. Though Marx Insisted upon the labour theory of value in order to prove the exploitation process in capitalism yet he returns to market conditions of demand and supply when his labour theory does not offer him any solution. He admits: ”that in order that a commodity may be sold at its market value, that is to say, in proportion to the necessary social labour contained in it, the total quantity of social labour devoted to that total mass of this kind of commodities must correspond to the quantity of the social demand for them meaning the solvent social demand.” From this, it is quite clear that Marx throws his labour theory to the wind when he does not derive any solution from it. While elaborating his labour theory of value to determine the exchange value of commodities Marx points out that only socially necessary labour should be counted. To find out the socially necessary labour time the following points should be kept in mind, namely, the normal conditions must be given. Labour must be supported by machinery. Secondly, the product must be in demand. Labour cannot be called socially necessary labour unless the product is demanded by the people. Thirdly labour time includes the past as well as present labour. Lastly socially necessary labour time is the time spent by labour possessing the average skill and working with average intensity. Skilled labour should be reduced to average labour. Marx admits that there must be social demand for the product in order to define socially necessary labour. If the supply of a commodity is greater than demand for it then it cannot be sold at a price which corresponds to the socially necessary labour time and the production must be contracted and on the other, if the exchange value of commodity exceeds the value of the labour contained in it must be expanded. Marx did not pursue this matter further because It endangers his labour theory of value. “The exchange value of labour must not be derived from the exchange value of its product if the labour theory of value and the theory of surplus-value are to be maintained. As soon as the relative scarcity of the product and of the factors of production are admitted as determining factors the whole labour theory of value becomes superfluous and is exposed as an excessively weak foundation of the theory of capitalist development. “Some critics have pointed out that the prices do not in capitalist economy correspond with Marxian values which Marx was mainly concerned to analyse. They find a contradiction in the analysis. To Bohm Baerk and Pareto this contradiction is fatal to the whole Marxian theory since it appears to them that Marx’s solution Is logically unsound. To Bernstein, the contradiction reduces the Marxian concept of value to nothing more than a reality but only as a theory of natural right or a mere standard of comparing one type of society to another. To Joan Robinson, the contradiction reduces the theory to mystification and metaphysics. Though the labour theory of value as analysed by Marx does not explain existing price relations in capitalism yet Marx maintains that his theory can be applied to explain exchange values in planned economy when he says, “only when production will be under the conscious and prearranged control of society, will society establish a direct relation between the quantity of social labour-time employed in the production of definite articles and the quantity of demand for them. It may be for this cryptic remark that our government has adopted a socialist pattern of society as one of the objectives of our plans, which has resulted in the expansion of public sector at the cost of the private sector. Our economic progress cannot be accelerated unless we reverse this policy and give a proper role to the private sector in the economic development of our country. Our progress cannot be based on Marxian analysis which is a myth, and not a reality. Marx conceived his theory of surplus-value before he worked out his theory.” He knew the result he wished to obtain and must obtain, and so he twisted and manipulated his patent ideas and logical premises with admirable skill and subtlety until they actually yielded the desired result in seemingly respectable syllogistic form”. His theory of surplus-value is not the result of unbiased research. Marx knew what he wanted to prove. What he wanted was to unmask exploitation under capitalism but the economic development made by capitalistic countries has falsified the very basic structure of Marxism. Access the original text **[here](http://v2.indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=2036209718.pdf)**. (page 9) First Published in the Indian Libertarian in November 1962. Other editions of the publication can be accessed at [Indian Liberals](http://indianliberals.in/), an open, multilingual digital archive committed to preserving liberal voices in the Indian public sphere. --- ## [Musing] Corruption of Thought URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/mavenkata-rao-corruption-of-thought/ ### Body This is an excerpt from an article written by M A Venkata Rao for the September 1958 issue of The Indian Libertarian Journal. In the article, Mr Rao explains how Marxist ideas have corrupted public discourse in favour of statist interventionism and emphasises the need for intellectuals to seek and propagate the truth behind harmful policies to purify public opinion. “But in addition to such academic functions performed by trained persons in existing institutions, there is a dire need for a group or groups of thinkers who will devote themselves to applying pure thought to the stream of ideas coursing through the public mind, influencing public policies and creating dominant centers and streams of tendency in ideas. The climate of thought and opinion, imagination and sense of values in which the modern world lives has been the creation of Eur-American experience and thought through the centuries. India has taken this body of ideas and values over into her social life and plans of reconstruction without proper assimilation. Indian thinkers have no doubt done a certain amount of thinking about social problems. But it is all too little and too superficial. It has not enabled Indians to relate the new ideas to their own experience today and their inherited traditions and standards of judgment and values. Hence we find hasty policies being introduced by the ruling group. During the life of Gandhi, older ideas of life’s values were predominant though he stimulated much thought on all matters of current reconstruction. But today we find the current of _Leftist thought_ dominating everything and forcing the pace in directions that have already produced a reaction in Eur-america and are under strong criticism. We are taking over the cast-off clothes of the West!…” _Access the full document [here.](http://v2.indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=654359818.pdf)_ _First Published in The Indian Libertarian – September 1958_ _Other editions of the publication can be accessed at [Indian Liberals](http://indianliberals.in/index), an open, multilingual digital archive committed to preserving liberal voices in the Indian public sphere._ --- ## [Musing] Minoo Masani on Citizenship URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/minoo-masani-on-citizenship/ ### Body As the recent wave of youth-led protests surge across the country, Indian civil society seems to have come of age in demanding accountability from the government. Political scientists and keen observers have often deplored the mere procedural nature of Indian democracy where democratic participation amounts to the ritual of voting. However, recent mass mobilisations, mostly in urban areas, herald an active civil society, practicing “everyday democracy” in streets. Most notably, the protests are concerned with state coercion and citizenship rights. _Below is an excerpt from the Minoo Masani piece on Citizenship, first published in 1969. In this piece, Masani deplored the inefficient state capacity, made case for a strong but limited government, and exhorted the youth to actively engage with democracy in the domain of civil society. Many of his arguments are still relevant as prescriptions for strengthening Indian democracy._ What are the causes of decay in our public life? I think I would analyse it under three or four major heads. One is the reluctance to be in opposition. Everyone wants to be in power or office today or tomorrow. Normally, parliamentary democracy functions in countries where 40 per cent of the country’s politicians are prepared to be in opposition at any given time. About 60 per cent are in office, about 40 per cent in Opposition. This is the law of democratic politics. But not in India. In India, 90 per cent of the politicians must be in the office at any given time! This, I suppose, was the basic reason why the Congress Party rejected Gandhiji’s advice on the achievement of Independence when he suggested that the Congress retire from political life, become a constructive organisation and that two parties be formed – a radical one under Jawaharlal Nehru, a conservative one under Vallabhbhai Patel. Both sides rejected the advice because both wanted to be in office at the same time. A second basic factor is that the party, which is a means to an end, has become an end to itself. Not only “my country right or wrong”, but “my party right or wrong”. Politics is about power, but power is not an end in itself. Power is for the purpose of carrying out your principles and your policies. Now, it has become power for its own sake; office for its own sake. Nothing is more painful to me than to watch my friends in the office today – old friends of the Congress Party to which I once belonged. A third reason for the decay of our politics is the cult of personality – the preoccupation with men rather than with measures, with personalities rather than with principles. “Will Mr Kamaraj Nadar get into the cabinet” is a question I am asked more often by my fellow intelligentsia than any other question concerning this country. But what does it matter whether Mr Kamaraj Nadar is in the Cabinet or not? Do you think it will make two _annas_ worth of difference to the life of the common man in India? Lastly, there is the fact of an illiterate electorate – not that illiterate people are stupid, but illiterate people are difficult to communicate with since they can’t read, your manifesto doesn’t touch them, you can’t write to them. You can meet only a few persons, you can attend a few public meetings. The radio is under government control, T.V. will be under government control. The channels of communication, the conveyor belt, is missing. This, of course, makes for the quality of the politician being what it is. Now, we as a people have some very strong points. We have love of religion, love of the family, and the home, love of the land, patience, contentment, perhaps even resignation with our individual lot, a high degree of intelligence, strong individualism – these are very fine traits of the Indian character. The full article could be accessed [here](http://indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=590973500.pdf). (page 51) To read more works by Minoo Masani, [click here](https://spontaneousorder.in/minoo-masani-from-socialism-to-liberal-swatantra-party/). type=content&p=2185). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] Minoo Masani: Old Liberalism & New Liberalism URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/minoo-masani-old-liberalism-new-liberalism/ ### Body _Produced below is part of an essay by Minoo Masani, published in the 1970. The essay was originally published by the Indian Liberal Group, founded by the author.  Among the most prominent proponents of classical liberalism at the time, in this essay, Mr Masani outlines the essentials of Liberalism. The original publication can be accessed on the** [Freedom First website](https://indianliberals.in/periodicals/freedom-first/).** Read the first half of the essay **[here.](https://indianliberals.in/content/minoo-masani-liberalism/) **_**The Old Liberalism** Liberalism is making a beginning in India. But this is not the first time that Liberalism has come to India. It came in the 19th century also. There was the old liberalism in India. Its leaders were Dadabhai Naoroji, Ranade, Gokhale, Ram Mohan Roy, Surendra Nath Bannerjee, whose names you know. I saw many of them when I was a boy or a student, attending lectures of Srinivasa Shastri. I remember as a boy playing around the feet of Dadabhai Naoroji at Versova where he was a neighbour of ours. I have seen Dinshaw Vachha. I saw Pherozeshah Mehta. I knew Sapru and Jayakar. They have all gone and the old Liberalism has gone also. It was killed by Mahatma Gandhi. When Gandhiji came on the scene as a dynamic nationalist following Tilak and Lajpatrai, he had no use for the old Liberalism, because the old Liberals were extremely moderate in their opposition to British rule. They were for Indian self-government. As you know, Dadabhai Naoroji coined the word _Swaraj_. But the method of fight was very temperate and very moderate. He joined the British Parliament as a Liberal Member. He argued for India, but was a constitutionalist. Liberals are not people who go to the streets, wreck things, attack people and so on. Even today, they are not. So, being constitutional, they appeared to be terribly moderate. As a young man, I was extremely impatient with my father and liberals of that type for being so slow and gentle about the evil of foreign rule.  **Nationalism** Even today, I am not against nationalism. I have been a very ardent nationalist in my time. But when we become free, we don't need nationalism any more. It is like the measles. When you grow up, you don't have children's diseases like chickenpox and measles. Nationalism is a disease of foreign rule. When somebody is sitting on your chest, you want independence very ardently. You can't breathe without freedom and that is as it should be. But when you are free, you don't have to go on talking about your nationalism. Mature, advanced countries are not very nationalistic. They don't need it. Go to Switzerland. They are a very patriotic people, but they don't talk about Switzerland being the most wonderful country in the world! They are wonderful, but they don't talk about it. So, as we grow up, there is no need to be juvenile about nationalism. Of course, love of the country must be there. When the country is attacked, we must rush to its rescue. We must make sacrifices for it every day. But we don't want to be chauvinists. We don't have to hate foreigners. We don't have to throw out missionaries. Nationalism, while a good thing, has had its day. We can afford to relax on nationalism. **Ends And Means** Socialism has failed to deliver the goods. It has produced neither equality nor a better life for the masses of the people. The aims of socialism are good: I am still a socialist in that sense. If you put it to me: "Do you believe in Lenin's 'free and equal society' " I will say 'yes'. If freedom and equality are the objectives of socialism, I am for it. But when I find that the weapon that I have used does not create freedom or equality, but creates tyranny and slavery on the one side and inequality and poverty on the other, then I would be a fool if I stuck to that weapon. I am not that conservative that I cling to an out-of-date blunderbuss when the weapon has become obsolete. What I am trying to say is, that the objectives of socialism are still valid, but the methods are lousy. The methods have failed. State planning, nationalisation, collective farming, these are weapons that have been tried and failed and only a stupid man hangs on to a weapon when he knows it can't deliver the goods. We have to be true to the objective, not true to the method.  This I learnt from Mahatma Gandhi with whom I used to argue as a young socialist. He kept on saying that by doubtful methods, you can't gel a good end. Ends and means are meshed, interlinked. The end does not justify the means. We have seen from experience that we cannot gel the good result of a free and equal society by injustice, by regimentation, by oppression, by lies.  **The New Liberalism** So the new Liberalism has come to India after the failure of socialism. It is a fusion of western Liberalism and Gandhi. When the Swatantra Party was formed and I was drafting its programme, that is how I put it in an article in Life magazine - that two streams of thought had gone into the making of this effort, Western Liberalism as they understand it plus the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.  What are these teachings that we graft on to Liberalism or fuse with Liberalism. First, that ends and means are interlinked; that if we want a decent society our methods must be decent. We cannot create a free and equal society by expropriation, liquidation, lying as the communists claim they can. Secondly, as Gandhiji used to say repeatedly, "that Government is best which governs the least.'' Minimum government. The essential thing is to leave the people free. Thirdly, Trusteeship, that those who have the good things of life, those who have wealth must use them for the good of the community. While we have a good time with what we have, we must not be devoid of a social conscience or a sense of social obligation. Gandhiji called it Trusteeship of the rich for the poor. He said: let every rich man use his wealth. Certainly, let him keep it. Nobody should take it away. But let him use it so that he can have a good conscience that he is doing what he can for those around who are not so fortunate.  Now democracy has its disadvantages. I am not starry eyed about democracy. I realise its limitations, its corruption, its deficiencies. Winston Churchill was a great democrat. He was asked a question about democracy towards the end of his life. He had tasted both the fruits and bitterness of democracy. He had been in political exile for many years before World War II. He was brought in during World War II, and then he was put back on the scrap heap when World War II was over. This is how democracy works. It is just as well. We in this country don't place our great men on the scrap heap and that is why we are going down. After giving a little thought, Churchill said: "Of all the known systems of government, democracy is undoubtedly the worst - except for all the others"! That great Liberal in Asia, Carlos Romulo was once heckled by some communist students, in the University of which he was President, who asked him for a declaration of policy. They asked: "Mr. President, are you going left or right?" Romulo answered: "I am going forward". That is the essence of Liberalism. Neither left nor right, but right ahead. --- ## [Musing] Minoo Masani on Liberalism URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/minoo-masani-liberalism/ ### Body _Produced below is part of an essay by Minoo Masani, published in the 1970. The essay was originally published by the Indian Liberal Group, founded by the author.  Among the most prominent proponents of classical liberalism at the time, in this essay, Mr Masani outlines the essentials of Liberalism. The original publication can be accessed on the [Freedom First website](https://indianliberals.in/periodicals/freedom-first/). _The word "Liberalism" derives from liberty. In other words, the individual is in the centre of the picture. Society is there to serve the individual and not the other way round as certain other systems of thought like communism or socialism try to make out.  The essential elements of Liberalism are all-pervasive and touch every aspect of life. Insofar as matters of the spirit are concerned, tolerance, particularly tolerance of dissent, is basic. Whether an issue is religious, communal, regional, national or pertains to small groupings like caste and linguistic groups, tolerance of the other point of view and willingness to argue about it are of the essence of Liberalism. Insofar as religion is concerned, Liberalism is not anti-religious but it is non-denominational and perhaps sceptical. A good Liberal does not attack all religions equally as a 'secularist' would do. A good Liberal would tolerate and respect all religions equally. In that sense, Gandhiji's attitude to religion was much more liberal than that of those who call themselves 'secular' and who look at all religions with an equally malevolent eye. The Indian Constitution is, in that sense highly liberal and extends equal respect to all religions and religious institutions.  **Pragmatism ** Another basic characteristic of Liberalism is its pragmatic approach to whatever problem there may happen to be at a particular time. The Liberal does not approach any problem with a dogmatic or preconceived attitude. He is open-minded on all issues. Thus, for instance, in so far as democratic socialism is concerned, the Liberal would be quite prepared to accept a large dose of State control as the circumstances of a particular country, case and time may warrant. While holding the view that competition, consumer preference and the laws of the market should predominate, the Liberal is flexible about the exact nature of the mixed economy which would be desirable in a particular context.  **Pluralism ** The Liberal is of necessity a pluralist, that is, he does not accept the predominance of any one line of thought or dogma or even one class of society. In the Liberal's mansion, there are many chambers and there is room for everything. The Liberal, therefore, believes in a pluralistic society where there are checks and balances between different organs of government, such as the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. In a federal form of government, there have also to be checks and balances between the federal government on the one side and the state government on the other. ln the case of countries with multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multilingual groups, such as India, the Liberal believes in the protection of the rights of the minorities. ln the conflict between the individual and the state, there should be fundamental rights for the citizens with an appeal to the Courts of Law. There should be a separation of political and economic power. In other words, the Liberal believes in limited government. “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's”. God, in this case, is the conscience of the individual.  The Liberal is never a determinist. He never says that such and such a thing is bound to happen, as does the Marxist. All he can say is that, on the basis of a rational analysis, certain things are likely to result if certain things happen.  **Justice And Modernity ** The Liberal stands for justice for the underdog, whoever he may be. Thus, he is for equality of women with men, though he may not be for Women's Lib with all its aberrations. The Liberal stands up for the rights of children and decent treatment for them. So too, the Liberal pleads for sympathy for the criminal and the odd man out.  The Liberal is a modernist. He is an advocate of change. He welcomes and cheerfully accepts modern technology with all its implications. He stresses the role of managerial skills in industry and business and other walks of life. He accepts the importance of science in modern society. It is not an accident that technology only thrives in freedom and, where freedom is denied to the scientist and technologist, there is stagnation.  ln the conflict between modernism on the one side and obscurantism, whether that of the nation, caste or religion on the other, the Liberal is on the side of modernism and change. The Liberal is not against tradition. On the contrary, the Liberal respects what is good in the tradition of people and seeks to build and change on the basis of the tradition. ln that sense, the Liberal is not an incendiary or disrupter but a constructive element of change.  **"Bread Or Freedom?" ** The Liberal rejects the false antitheses between freedom and bread which the communists and the fascists always pose. They ask: "Do you want bread or freedom?" As if we have to choose the one or the other. As if, when you have freedom, you don't have bread or, to have bread, you must give up your freedom? Now this is a huge hoax. Because, actually you don't get bread except through freedom. There is no known instance in human history where a country of slaves get bread. Now, by bread, we don't mean only bread. By bread we mean the good things of life - the material values of life, consumer goods, as we call them. There is no known example in human history till this day where, by denying people freedom, you give them a prosperous life. On the contrary the 'Affluent Society' comes only where there is maximum freedom.  Which are the countries where you have the most bread, to put it like that, that is, the best time? Obviously, the U.S.A. leads, Canada, Australia and New Zealand come very close, then come the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, then comes Switzerland, then you get West Germany, France, Italy, Japan and so on. Right down at the bottom along with us, you get the Soviet Union ahead of us, and China below us. In other words, when you do deny people freedom, you take away their bread also. That is natural. Why should slaves be well fed? Why should any government feed its slaves well? The Egyptians, who used slave labour to build pyramids, did not treat them well. They flogged them until they built the Pyramids and died in the process. It is only the free man who has a right to ask for bread. Because he has the right, he has got the strength, he has the vote, whatever you like to call it. **A Free Economy ** A free economy therefore means that government has to play a rather limited and restricted part. Social control must be limited to a minimum. The whole idea of control is to interfere with people when something is going wrong. You stop a man from stealing, you stop a man from hitting somebody else, you stop a man from cheating somebody else, you stop an employer from cheating his worker - that is fair. But you don't stop a man from doing something which he should be doing. So controls are only police measures to stop somebody from doing something he should not. The government should not be like the mother who told the nanny: "Mary, go and see what Johnny is doing and tell him not to"! Johnny should only be stopped when he is really doing something which he shouldn't.  The second characteristic of a free society is that "the consumer is king". Everything must be done to serve the needs of the consumer, not of the industrialist, not of the businessman, not of the factory worker, but of the man who consumes, because he is the ordinary citizen. We all consume. There is not a single human being in India today who doesn't consume. He would be dead if he didn't. We consume, you consume, our children consume. Now what does "the consumer is king" mean? It means that the consumer must determine the pattern of production. The consumer must tell the industrialist what to produce and what not to produce. The consumer can do this by his purchasing power, by the little money in his pocket. The industrialist or businessman only produces what he thinks will make a profit. In other words, if there is a demand for a commodity, you produce it. If there is no demand, you are a fool if you produce it because nobody will buy it and you will lose your capital. In this way, the smallest consumer can determine the pattern of production in a free country.  Every time we go shopping, we cast a vote. As you buy a ticket to back a horse, so you go to a shop and say "I want Hamam" or "I want Liril", or whatsoever it is. You cast a vote for that particular brand of soap against another brand, just as you vote for the Congress Party and not for me, or just as you back one horse and not another. Now, all these preferences for soaps and perfumes, for bread and biscuits and cakes, and whatever else you like, are totalled up on the economic tote and, by looking at the economic state, the business community and industrialist decide what is popular, what is favoured. They shift their production according to the demand.  That is what consumer being king means. It has led to the highest prosperity known in history, the highest standard of life and also of equality of opportunity and status. This is a paradox. The countries where there is greatest equality - there is nowhere perfect equality, nor can there be - but wherever there is equality of opportunity and of status, it is in the capitalist countries. Which is the country in the world where the worker calls his boss by his first name? The American worker never call his boss Mr. so and so. He always says Tom or John. That is the United States. People in Europe are shocked at this kind of "vulgarity" or lack of good breeding because they are still class bound. So you get this strange phenomenon that you get not only the most prosperity but also the greatest measure of equality, which is supposed to belong to socialism, only in so called capitalist, or what I call liberal countries.  Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, the very intelligent Prime Minister of Singapore, who is a socialist came to Bombay to meet Indian socialists some years ago and he asked a question of them. He said: "It is pertinent to ask how is it that in Asia, countries like Japan, Hongkong, Formosa, Thailand and Malaysia, which are bustling free enterprise economies, have achieved success, while countries professing Socialism have failed to produce satisfactory results?"  Prof. Kenneth Galbraith, who was American Ambassador in Delhi and who was an ardent socialist and planner in Mr. Nehru's time wrote a book called _The New Industrial State_. This is what he writes in this book:  "In India and Ceylon, and also in some of the new African countries, public enterprises have not, as in Britain, been accorded autonomy. Here the democratic socialist prerogative has, in effect, been fully asserted. India, in particular, has a legacy of colonial administration, has an illusion of official omniscience which extends to highly technical decisions... The effect in these countries of this denial of autonomy has been exceeding inefficiency in operations by the public firms... In India and Ceylon, nearly all public-owned corporations operate at a loss. The situation is similar in other new countries... One result is, that a large number of socialists have come to feel that public corporations are by their nature, in the words of a minister in the Wilson Government, 'remote', irresponsible bodies, immune from public scrutiny or democratic control".  The reason why this should be so is very simple. The body politic is like our own bodies. It consists of organs developed by society over the last few thousand years since we were primitive apes or beasts. Now as human society develops, it throws up institutions. The Joint Stock Company has been thrown up in the last two hundred years to run business. The Government or State has been thrown up to rule, to maintain order. Our bodies are like that. We smell through our nose, we eat through our mouth, we hear through our ears, we breathe through our lungs, we digest in the stomach and so on. Now what would happen if we tried to distort our organs and asked them to do something different from what they were meant to do. Supposing we tried to breathe through our stomach and digest with our lungs or hear through the nose and smell with the ear? What would happen? It just wouldn't work. That is exactly what happens when we try to misuse an organ of society. Governments were thrown up by society and civilisation to protect the country from attack, to stop one person from attacking another, to see that justice is done. In other words, governments are there to keep law and order, do justice, protect people, protect the country from attack. That is where the basic functions of government stop. When government tries to run a factory and to produce either penicillin or steel or whatever it is, it makes a flop because governments are not made to make profits or to produce goods. Governments are not made to produce anything. Governments are meant to consume things, to keep order and give you a chance to produce. So State Socialism and Communism are a perversion of the laws of social growth. Therefore, they are bound to fail. The conclusion to which one is driven then is that we have got to turn to Liberalism from this barren path. --- ## [Musing] My Idea of A Welfare State - B.R. Shenoy URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/my-idea-of-a-welfare-state/ ### Body _Produced below is an essay by B.R. Shenoy, published in a December 1957 issue of [The Indian Libertarian Magazine](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-indian-libertarian-december-1-1957/). The author was an Indian economist and notable critic of the India's five-year planning model. A proponent of individual freedoms, in this essay, Shenoy outlines the characteristics of a true welfare state. _The accent of the welfare state is, clearly, on welfare as there can be no welfare state without welfare. The question at once arises, whose welfare does the welfare state aim at achieving? The answer, probably, would be the welfare of the common man. If it is objected that the common man is very hard to find, we would, probably, amend our answer and say that the objective of the welfare state is the welfare of the masses of people, the maximum of well-being of the maximum of people.  At first sight this answer might seem to satisfy the question well enough. But it really begs the question. We have said little more than that welfare is equal to well-being of man. We are still far from formulating the issues. If we wish to be scientific and logically consistent, we cannot run away from certain fundamentals of the problem of welfare. Human well-being is inseparably bound up with the immediate and the ultimate purpose of human existence. We cannot escape the question, what are we here for? Are we here to worship on the altar of man's standard of living? Would it be right to say that the purpose of human existence is to live a life of carefree comfort? Much of our thinking to-day seems to move in that direction.  **What Is The Aim Of Life ** What has Gandhi to say on the subject? He is always a good and safe guide in these matters. Gandhi had his feet firmly on Indian soil. His thinking went to the roots of our tradition. He has answered the question of what is the purpose of human existence in the Introduction to _The Story of My Experiments with Truth_. Says Gandhi: "What I want to achieve- what I have been striving and pining to achieve these thirty years is self-realisation,.... to attain Moksha. I live and move and have my being in pursuit of this goal. All that I do by way of speaking and writing, and all my ventures in the political field, are directed to this same end" (p. 5). Since it is Gandhi that writes, he means every syllable of what he has recorded. The purpose of all his activities, public and private, political activities not excluded, was the attainment of Moksha. This goal of life conforms to the traditional teachings of this land.  The problem of human welfare, of how best to cater to it, is not a recent problem. It is as old as the human race, and, therefore, dates back to the early phase of this Manvantaric age when man, with the lighting (activation) of Manas, which had been hitherto latent, acquired self-consciousness. Man has been since pursuing the goal of his life, the Compassionate Ones who attained the goal helping the rest in the great task.  Our institutions and our way of life were attuned to it. The attunement was done scientifically and with rigorous logical consistency. Our daily duties and responsibilities on the mundane plane broadly fall under two categories, the wealth or income acquiring (Arthic) activities and the want satisfying (Kamic) activities. Since both activities had to be regulated as to attain Moksha, their roots had necessarily to be well-grounded in Dharma. For speeding up the inner journey towards Nirvana, it is important that we acquire wealth only in consistence with Dharma and Dharma alone should govern the propensity for the satisfaction of wants.  Where does the State fit into this context? It is obvious that the State has no jurisdiction over the inner changes leading to self-realization, Nirvana. But the remaining three, Dharma, Artha and Kama, the thri-vargas, fall within its purview. The responsibility of the king, who symbolised the State, was to propagate the thri-vargas, subject to the overriding requirement that the Arthic and the Kamic activities were always conditioned by Dharma. It is significant that, under Indian polity, sovereignty lay, not in the people, but in Dharma. The concern of the executive wing of the State, the king and his ministers, was to ensure that the rule of the sovereign Dharma prevailed. Dharma, like Truth, is indivisible and all pervasive. The state enforced the Rule of Dharma in all the activities of the people coming within its ambit, in the administration of justice, in the collection and disbursal of revenues, in the defence of the country, and in every other of its functions and responsibilities.  A state where the Rule of Dharma prevails, is a welfare state, the objective of welfare here being the creation, to the extent permissible on the governmental side, of conditions facilitating the attainment of the goal of life by individuals. How far can such a state go in developing its public sector of economic activity, to borrow a familiar phrase of present-day discussion on planning in India? It is relevant to quote here that tradition enjoins an individual to select a vocation which is homogeneous with his nature. **The Essence Of Welfare State ** It follows that under the Indian concept of a (welfare) state each individual should be left free to pursue his lawfully chosen vocation. Free enterprise, subject only to the Rule of Dharma, is an essential feature of the economic set-up of the (welfare) state. As the injunction applied to the king and the ministers, it follows, too, that the state, consistently with the Rule of Dharma, cannot enter into the sphere of economic activities, which is the sacred domain of the private sector, even if the state was capable (which is a matter of serious doubt) of more efficient production than private firms. The Rule of Dharma would restrict governmental activities to public utilities, basic industries (which the private sector is unable to undertake), basic needs of development, industries of strategic importance from the standpoint of defence, and the like. In particular, a policy of indiscriminate nationalisation of private enterprise was contrary to this doctrine. **Minimum State, The Ideal Of India ** This suggests that the Indian concept of a welfare state was a minimum state. It was wholly antagonistic to a garrison police state. The latter rests on violence and _Adharma_; under it the individual is coerced into yielding to the will of the state, which, in practice, means the tyranny of an individual or a group of individuals, who are, for the time being, in possession of the machinery of state.  The concept of a welfare state to-day is linked up with the provision for all citizens of "minimum" standards of consumption. It provides (or aims at providing) minimum standards of food, shelter, education, health and income (either by way of minimum wages or public assistance for the destitute). The minima are a floor below which no individual would be allowed to fall. In an economy with an expanding national income, the minimum standards would be progressively lifted up.  This concept of a welfare state does not necessarily conflict with the Indian concept. It is the responsibility of an enlightened state to provide relief from abject poverty, which causes starvation or such other suffering. Even in the richer economies, there may be people in need of such relief. But how far shall the state go in lifting up the minimum for all? Will it be the responsibility of the state to provide the more unfortunate families of the nuclear age with motor cars, at least scooters, washing machines, refrigerators, telephones, television and radio sets, and the like? Or would we say, that to do so would be  going too far. I wish to suggest that this difficult problem may not confront the welfare state of the Indian conception. The limiting condition of the Rule of Dharma will prevent the state from acquiring such large revenues as vulgar charity of this character may demand. Already in U.K. the national government acquires over 25 per cent of the national income in furtherance of the concept of the welfare state and in U.S.A. over 30 per cent. The need for ensuring minimum standards of consumption is great in under-developed economies, like ours, where the level of consumption of even foodgrains by the masses of people is below nutritional standards. But this cannot be done by legislation alone, Indian national income at the close of the First Plan averaged Rs. 23.42 per month, per individual. The corresponding figure for U.S.A. was Rs. 775 and for U.K. Rs. 413. It is not possible to prescribe, with any hope of successful implementation, minimum consumption standards before the physical volume of output would permit such benevolent action.  **The Lurking Danger ** The pressing necessity for a speedy increase in national output has presently rivetted our attention on a successful execution of the Second Plan. An overriding emphasis on accelerated economic growth is beset with serious dangers to the welfare of the individual in the sense of maximum freedom to arrange and pursue his own affairs in his own way. This may lead, step by step, to a totalitarian state, so that, if the tendency was not curbed soon enough, we may be cutting at the very roots of welfare in an effort to accelerate the pace of attaining it.  Economic development was a function of invested savings. Savings were both limited and slow to grow in a democratic set-up, where the individual, after payment of tax, had full sovereignty of disposal over income. As habits of consumption changed slowly, savings in the short-run were a more or less rigidly fixed percentage of the national income, the change in the rate of saving responding only to changes in real national income. During the five years of the First Plan period the rate of saving in India rose 6 to 7 per cent of the national income. The rate of investment which this permitted, yielded but a commensurate rate of growth of national income, the rate during the First Plan period being 3.5 per cent per annum.  Communist experience has shown that it is possible to accelerate the pace of progress by an expansion of the public sector to cover the entire economy. The state would, then, take over from the pricing system the allocation of the resources of production among the several trades and industries, such allocation being effected arbitrarily by the Planning Commission. By reducing the allocations to the consumption trades sufficiently, it becomes possible, under this arrangement, to add to the quantity of saved resources and implement a plan of development much more speedily than a democratic set-up would permit. According to official statistics the rate of increase in national income of communist economies varies between 12 to 16 per cent per year. The rate of increase in U.S.A. during the past decade was 4.9 per cent. Under communist technique it may be possible to implement the Second Plan even without foreign aid.  **Guided By Communist Advisers ** In the formulation of the Second Plan we have availed of the advice of technicians subscribing to the communist philosophy of life. We are not without Marxists in the Administration and among our advisers. Some have advocated, in the interest of speed in production, communist planning under the euphemistic guises of "co-operativization" "physical controls", and "extension of the public sector."  But to take recourse to this device would be to sacrifice freedom for speed in economic progress. For, the changed conditions will no longer permit free enterprise, a free pricing system, free markets, and, what is most diabolical, freedom of choice of one's own occupation. We will have total planning and a totalitarian state- a garrison police state in the name of planning. Is it possible to strike a via media between these extremes? We cannot surrender our freedom and have it at the same time. The self of matter and the self of spirit can never meet. One of the two must disappear. There is no place for both. To accept this development would be to extinguish with our own hands the best heritage of this land, which it should be our effort to revive. In the Indian context of poverty, the urgency to raise the ratio of goods to man needs no stress. But shall we do this at the sacrifice of the dignity and freedom of the individual?  What use is that welfare, which ignores the true goal of human life and sets aside the elevating Rule of Dharma. A welfare state, which aims solely at Artha and Kama (suppressing Dharma or leaving it out in the cold), is devoid of true welfare. Our happiness and welfare (and also our greatness) would be in proportion to our success in recapturing and translating into our daily life and activities the Dharma-pradhan ideal of life. To think that to do so, we would have to run away from the external appendages of the modern world or of the nuclear age of tomorrow, is to miss the essence of that ideal. Consistently with that ideal, our conception of a welfare state would be a minimum state. To quote Gandhi: "That state is perfect and non-violent where the people are governed the least" (Harijan, 12, 1940).  To summarise, the objective of life, was the attainment of self-realisation (Nirvana). The changes, inner to man, which characterised the progress toward Nirvana, were beyond the jurisdiction of the state.  But they were attained in the course of the mundane activities of man. These fell broadly under two categories, Arthic (wealth or income earnings) and Kamic (want satisfying). The objective of life being Moksha, both activities were rooted in, conditioned by, Dharma. These three, Dharma, Artha and kama, (the Thrivargas) fell within the ambit of the state. Their propagation was its sole purpose.  Sovereignty, according to Indian polity, lay, not in the people, but in Dharma. It was the responsibility of the king to enforce the Rule of Dharma. A state where the Rule of Dharma prevailed was a welfare state, the objective of welfare being to assist man in the attainment of the goal of life. The welfare state of the traditional Indian concept was, thus, a minimum state. It was wholly antagonistic to a garrison police state. It did not conflict with the present-day idea of a welfare state guaranteeing minimum standards of consumption. In the excessive importance we are paying to the successful implementation of the Second Plan there was inherent danger to this concept of the welfare state as, insistence on the Plan, might lead, step by step, to the adoption of totalitarian devices for raising the requisite resources. To prevent this we have to be constantly on the vigil.  - From a speech at a symposium on “My Idea OfA Welfare State'' at Bharatia Vidya Bhavan, Bombay. --- ## [Musing] N. A. Palkhivala's Views on Socialism URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/nani-palkhivala-on-socialism/ ### Body The following is an article published on March 10, 1966  in Forum of Free Enterprise's booklet titled "Is Socialism Outdated?" The author Mr. Nani Palkhivala, in this article on "The Shells of Socialism", discusses various aspects pertaining to socialism and State control. A time of trouble is a time of imbalance and distortion; at such a moment mere words from men in high office can easily sap people's morale and blight public confidence. Mr. Asoka Mehta's convocation address to Saugor University, described as "his first major speech after joining the Central Cabinet," contained such sweeping pronouncements of economic policies and was imbued with such political undertones that one wonders whether a university convocation address was the appropriate vehicle for conveying to the nation such portentous views of the Union Minister for Planning. If the speech did not reflect the collective thinking of the present Cabinet, it was a grave mistake to give a gratuitous jolt to the capital market, unnerve foreign investors and cast a pall of gloom over the national economy. If it did presage Cabinet action, we can only see ahead even dimmer days and shadows lengthening across the path.  The tragedy of India today is the tragedy of waste - waste of manpower, waste of industrial capacity, waste of talent, experience and the spirit of enterprise which could be harnessed to greater national purposes. The need of the moment is that the Government and the people, the authorities and the business community, should come closer together and work in harmony for the common good. The Tashkent spirit should be imported into the economic sphere, the spirit of mutual trust and understanding, mutual respect and consideration. Till then we shall not be able to get out of the quagmire in which we have been floundering so dangerously long. On the other hand, Mr. Asoka Mehta's speech will only serve to widen the chasm between the Government and private enterprise. Perhaps the most disquieting feature of Mr. Mehta's address was the unveiled threat to commercial banks. He contemplated the possibility of the State being "directly involved in the operation of these powerful bodies," or, in plain words, nationalisation of the banking system.  In other countries, the issue of nationalisation is naturally decided in different ways by different political parties succeeding each other. But in our country, although the same political party continues in uninterrupted power with the same economic objects, fear and uncertainty grip the public mind because of divergent views publicly expressed by different Ministers from time to time. On May 22, 1964 Prime Minister Nehru assured the public that "there was no immediate question of bank nationalisation." On June 5, 1964, Mr. T. T. Krishnamachari announced that "nationalisation should be the last step in any effort to control banks." There was little justification for such State action in 1964; and there is less justification now. If our economy is not to be dogged by a growing feeling of insecurity and instability, it is imperative that on such a basic issue as bank nationalisation, individual Ministers should not air their personal views but that the Cabinet alone should speak as a body.  The State Bank of India (which is almost wholly owned by the Government) and its subsidiaries, account for 25 per cent. of the paid-up capital and 32 per cent. of the deposits of all Indian Scheduled Banks. They extend 29 per cent. of the total credit to the public and own 32 per cent. of all Indian branches and offices of scheduled banks. Thus, there is already a hard core of the public sector in the field of banking. Pragmatism, and not ideology alone, should dictate any further change in the structure of Indian banking. Under the Reserve Bank of India Act and the Banking Companies Act, the Reserve Bank enjoys as wide powers as are known to the central bank of any other country, for imposing general credit controls and selective credit controls on banks. The Reserve Bank has full powers-which it constantly exercises-of controlling banks' :ending policies, the rates of interest to be charged to customers or to be paid to depositors, the size of loans to particular individuals or groups, the creation of reserves, and in fact controlling all banking activities. It is difficult to envisage what new laws Mr. Mehta has in mind as necessary to promote healthy banking. Mr. Mehta referred to 650 accounts constituting roughly two-thirds of the total advances of the banking system. That shows that some companies, because of the size of their operations, have much larger requirements for loans than others. It does not prove unfair banking practice. If one looks at the figures of advances by the State Bank of India, which is in the public sector, they would make the same pat- tern. All successful socialist countries have big corporate bodies, whose borrowings, compared with the borrowings of smaller units are on the scale referred to by Mr. Mehta. India has already priced herself out of the world market and is going through a phase of abnormal inflation. Both these unhealthy features would be aggravated but for the functioning of big companies with large bank accounts. The trade unions of the United Kingdom expressly submitted to the Monopolies Commission in that country that they were in favour of big corporations since such corporations could give security of service, afford to pay better wages and at the same time help to hold the price line.  Not all the theories of economists, not all the wit of our Planners, can get round the ineluctable law of life-you cannot divide more than you produce. No doubt, rewards must be shared, but first they have to be earned; wealth must be distributed, but first it has to be created. What one sadly misses in Mr. Mehta's address is that whereas there is no reference at all to the clamant need to increase production in the fields and in the factories, the emphasis is solely on increasing state ownership and widening state control as if that were a sure panacea for all economic ills. Are we sure that the bureaucrat's love of power and zest for more power will be any the less detrimental to economic progress than the citizen's love of profit? What public good is promoted by continuing control on textiles, with six months' stocks accumulated with the mills; and what disasters have followed in the wake of decontrol of steel and cement?  Mr. Mehta referred to the desirability of "curbing the private sector monopolies". This type of suggestion may be politically useful in that it conveys to the ill-fed, ill-clothed and ill-housed citizen that his economic plight is due not to official incompetence but to the anti-social activities of a few business houses; but it is not based on facts and is contradicted by the Report of the Monopolies Commission. In India enterprises can be brought into existence and they can expand and diversify under Government control and licence only; and there can be as much and as free competition as the Government alone wills.  When India faces the most acute food crisis of decades and our food production has to be increased by all proper incentives, Mr. Mehta suggests that the bigger agriculturists are unduly favoured and he favours a "trend towards making ownership of say, over ten acres of irrigated land uneconomic by levying heavy imposts upon such holdings." It is impossible to see how food production will be increased, or what sound agricultural policy will be promoted, by such a levy. There is no doubt that a heavy impost which would render ownership of more than ten acres of irrigated land uneconomic would only aggravate the food crisis. Does our socialism primarily aim at filling empty stomachs with food or at filling them with the satisfaction that their neighbours are no less hungry than they are?  Mr. Mehta is reported to have said that the constitutional guarantee about the right to property made it difficult for "the forces of socialism to operate on the level of a change in the structure of private property". The fundamental right to property at present exists in a most attenuated and abridged form: the adequacy of compensation paid for property acquired by the State is not even justiciable in a court of law. If this truncated right to property stands in the way of "socialism", there must be something wrong with that brand of socialism. Mr. Mehta referred to "the spectacular tussle between the old capitalistic economic order and the new socialist order in India", and ruefully noted the continuation of "a capitalistic economic order with a powerful hangover of a feudal social framework." Such words are wholly unrelated to reality. So long as the official thinking of our planners is that a mixed economy like ours must tolerate the private sector as a necessary evil, and that the end of the private sector is merely private benefit and the end of the public sector alone is public good, there can be no hope of reviving the comatose economy.  Economic wisdom can never be reduced to an unbending system. Indian socialism, in the true sense, aims at reducing the disparity between wealth and poverty, and raising the standard of living of the people and giving them social security. In that sense, today every thinking mind must be socialist. It is important to remember that the Preamble to our Constitution does not use the empty label "socialist" at all, but uses the meaningful words, "justice, social, economic and political; and Equality of status and opportunity." The concept gets distorted when one stubbornly adheres to state ownership as the only means of achieving the goal. You may adopt state ownership in areas where such ownership affords the only sure and safe launching pad; or you may tap the immeasurable reservoir of the people's response and initiative, energy and endeavour, prosaically called the private sector. Socialism must be elastic enough to promote economic growth by drawing upon normal human instincts and incentives; otherwise, we shall be only planning for poverty and equal distribution of misery. It is trite knowledge that even Russia has awakened to the necessity of absorbing that heresy of capitalism-the profit-motive.  The quintessence of socialism consists not in levelling down but in levelling up. It strives to bring forth "the maximum gifts of each for the fullest enjoyment of all". State ownership is to social justice what ritual is to religion and dogma to truth. State ownership and State control are the shells of socialism which were really intended to protect and promote the growth of the kernel; but rigid shells merely constrict its growth._-(Reproduced from "Economic Times" of Feb. 7, 1966, with kind permission of the Editor.)_ --- ## [Musing] Nani Palkhivala’s Publications to Serve Public Education | M.R. Pai URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/nani-palkhivala-publications-to-serve-public-education/ ### Body _MR Pai paid a heartfelt tribute to Nani Palkhivala through his book titled "The Legend of Nani Palkhivala", published in 2002. The book is an attempt to record Palkhivala’s great achievements, from the vantage of a close associate who was part of his public life for over four decades since 1957. _ _While Nani Palkhivala is known to be a legendary figure, there are fewer sources that document major events of his lifetime. This book fills that gap.  Nani Palkhivala’s belief in principles of freedom was unshakable. He was a prolific writer who expressed these ideas in a clear way. An excerpt from one of the chapters called "Public Education through Publications", reproduced below, contains MR Pai’s recollection of Nani Palkhivala’s writing repository, the impact of his written works, and tales of various individuals involved in their publication._ Everyone concerned with taxation is familiar with the book The Law and Practice of Income-Tax by Kanga and Palkhivala. It is the standard reference book on Taxation. Even income tax authorities respect its authoritative contents. Chief Justice M.C. Chagla referred to it as “The Book”. Once I had to meet an income tax officer with regard to an assessment of a Trust as a trustee. He said, “Mr. Pai, I know that the Chairman of your Trust is none other than India’s leading income tax authority, Mr. Nani Palkhivala. According to his standard book of reference, what you are saying is right. I also agree with him personally. But my department takes a different view.” When I reported the matter to Palkhivala, in his typically pragmatic manner he said: “Pay the small amount, but with a letter saying that the assessment is unjustified. However, in order to avoid litigation involving a great deal of wastage of time and money of a public charitable trust, which could be fruitfully used for promoting its objective, the amount is paid under protest.” While Palkhivala’s classic on the law and practice of taxation was popular in corporate and tax circles at all levels, his enormous contribution to public education through the written word deserves great appreciation. He has left for future generations a legacy of noble thoughts. It is noteworthy that he did not derive any personal monetary benefit from these public service publications. The first such work which literally shook the Establishment and opened the eyes of the educated was his [**Highest Taxed Nation**](https://books.google.co.in/books/about/The_Highest_Taxed_Nation.html?id=MEVKAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y). By citing facts and figures he demonstrated that India was the highest taxed nation, and that hurt not only taxpayers, but also the economic development of the country because it destroyed individual initiative and enterprise. His theme was that by raising taxation to such high levels, the honest rich were being destroyed while the dishonest were being encouraged. He pointed out that when the tax rate reached 97.5 per cent, human nature asserted itself because it was easier to conceal thirty Rupees rather than earn one thousand Rupees and pay the Government nine hundred and seventy five Rupees. The book was like a bombshell. As one of his great critics, an economist from London School of Economics, who propagated the idea of heavy taxation, wrote: “The most conservative of all Government departments was made to change its thinking as a result of this book”. For sceptics, this book is an illustration of the power of ideas to change the hard realities of life. Neither the Government, nor the socialist apologists could refute either the facts or arguments in this book. A book which literally shook the establishment was [**Our Constitution — Defaced and Defiled**](https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.136232). First published in December 1974 by Macmillans, it went into several editions. The theme of the book as stated in the Introduction was “1947 and 1973 are the key dates in India’s twentieth century history. The first marked the end of the struggle for winning freedom. The second saw the beginning of the struggle for preservation of freedom... Politicians have been able to get away with virtual destruction of our fundamental rights simply because of the ignorance and apathy of the people... Freedom cannot be inherited in the bloodstream. Each generation will have to defend it and fight for it — then alone will it survive to be passed on to the next.” The book is a scholarly review of basic human rights, Rule of Law, and the power of the judiciary. Parliament’s power to amend the constitution, what had happened to India's noble constitution, and how in the Fundamental Rights case the law of the land was finally laid down. Whenever Palkhivala addressed a meeting after its publication hundreds of copies were eagerly snatched by the audience as the book had been modestly priced, only to cover the cost of production and distribution. As with his other books, Palkhivala did not derive any monetary benefit, and M.G. Wasani of Macmillans considered it a privilege to serve this great cause by pricing it nominally. Exactly a decade afterwards appeared another magnificent book, a compilation of selected articles by Palkhivala under the title [**We, the People**](https://ia804709.us.archive.org/29/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.147290/2015.147290.We-The-People-India-the-Largest-Democracy.pdf). The genesis of this book is interesting. For years, I had been urging him to write the story of his life, a proposition he did not accept. It was suggested that as he was reluctant to write an autobiography, he should at least record the major cases he had fought. Even this he would not agree to. His view was that he would have to reveal many things about several persons on the Bench, Bar and the Government and he had no desire to hurt anyone. He was not willing to write at all unless it was the truth as he saw it. Palkhivala did not agree even to write it for posthumous publication. Such was his concern for truth on the one hand, and adherence to his principle in life of not hurting anyone by telling the truth. While rejecting the pleas for an autobiography or a book on historic cases he had fought, Palkhivala agreed for a compilation of his important works. The result was a magnificent compilation, We, the People, which any publisher would have been glad to publish. It was, however, published and0 marketed by a non-conventional publisher, a bookseller who out of his regard and admiration of Palkhivala broke his rule of not going into publishing line, Strand Book Stall of Bombay. The book was a bestseller from the time it hit the markets, and ran into several reprints. The introduction and a personal note of this book is noteworthy. For the first time, Palkhivala wrote something about himself — his belief in destiny, and his eternal gratitude to his parents. The last paragraph of his personal note was touching: “I can hope for no greater reward than that young readers with their life before them may find in this volume something to inspire them with an earnest and unflagging zeal for renewing the youth of the State.” Exactly after a decade, he published another book, a sort of companion volume, under the title [**We the Nation — the Lost Decades**](https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.170056/mode/2up). It was a collection of his articles on various subjects — with comments on great Indians like Dadabhai Naoroji to political subjects like dismissal of a Governor, to budgets and musings on life. It showed the vast range of Palkhivala’s reading, and considered views on men and matters. Published by UBS Publishers’ Distributors Ltd., in 1994, this book was also lapped up by the readers. By this time, Palkhivala commanded a big following of intellectuals as also common people. The unabridged version of the book chapter can be found [here](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/M.R.-Pai-The-legend-of-Nani-Palkhivala.pdf#page=56). type=content&p=8544). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] National Priorities for 1970 URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/national-priorities-for-1970-by-minoo-masani/ ### Body _Published by the Swatantra Party in 1970, the musing below was originally the transcript of a press conference addressed by Mr M. R. Masani, M.P., President, Swatantra Party, in New Delhi on 31 December 1969. The speech laid emphasis on matters that needed to be given immediate priority. First, a clean, efficient and prompt administration; second, the restoration of law and order; third, increased production and hard work; and lastly, a pragmatic approach to national problems, free from ideological emphasis or pre-conceptions. Masani argued how the Indira Gandhi government failed to address any of the aforementioned matters of priority._ _You can read the complete, unabridged version here [National-Priorities-for-1970](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/National-Priorities-for-1970.pdf)_ **I: Introductory Remarks ** First of all, let me wish you all, what is coming in a few hours time, a happy and satisfactory New Year, and we all hope it will be a good one for our country, also. I thought I should share a few thoughts with you at this juncture. The first thought that comes to me is that, in the euphoria of the rival Congress session in Bombay, the question of whether the ruling party has the mandate to give effect to its economic programmes appears to have been overlooked. Nobody seems to have mentioned it. As far as I can make out, the original mandate that Mrs Gandhi had got from the people in 1967 has expired as a result of the breaking up of the Party and her losing her majority. For the proposals made in Bombay and elsewhere, she has no mandate at all to legislate or carry out those policies, and democratic practice requires that she should go to the people for a fresh mandate. I would, therefore, like to suggest that, if she knows her constitutional duty, she will dissolve Parliament and go to the people and get a mandate. If she does not, then it is obvious that she recognises that she does not enjoy the confidence of the people and is not prepared to face them. I would be inclined to agree with her on that! My own feeling is that if she goes to the polls, she will be decisively defeated at the present juncture. I think her so-called popularity is grossly exaggerated. I, for one, do not think it extends beyond the bigger cities and urban areas. Even there, my own impression is that her main support comes from two classes in the cities–one is that class of businessmen which wants to make a quick rupee through permit-license-raj, and the other class is what the Marxists would call the lumpen (rag) proletariat, the rootless sections in the cities who have been well-known to support the Fascist parties in Germany, Italy and other parts of the world. I think these are the two classes from whom real support comes to her. I believe the need for a change of government is more than ever acute because the security and stability of the country require a change. What can be more dangerous to the stability and security of the country requires a change. What can be more dangerous to the stability and security of the country than a minority government, particularly when it depends for its survival on Communist support? I think this poses a threat to the security and stability of the country. Nor is this government, in my view, capable of dealing with any of the major needs of the country. I would like to suggest for your consideration that there are four things which almost every one of us would accept the country’s needs call for, namely, first, a clean, efficient and prompt administration which is at present utterly lacking; the second is the restoration of law and order, particularly in Bengal, but also in the bulk of the country where there has been an abdication of the obligation to provide law and order; the third is hard work and increased production; and the fourth is a pragmatic approach to our problems, free from ideological emphasis or preconceptions. As far as I can make out, this government is incapable of providing any one of these four needs. In so far as the economic programmes that have emerged from the Bombay session are concerned, they give no answer to two of the prime needs of the country, one of which is a stable price level or, if you like, a stable rupee and the other is more jobs, more employment to cope with the growing unemployment. So far as a stable rupee is concerned, there seems to be galloping inflation in the last few weeks. The official figures for the week ending 12th December 1969 show that there has been an increase in the circulation of currency notes; money in the hands of the public has increased by Rs 50.53 crores during that one week. If you take two weeks, that is, the fortnight before 12th December, the figure is Rs. 125 crores; that is to say, more and more currency notes are pumped into the system. This inevitably means increasing Inflationary tendencies, a rising price level, and consequent suffering for the people. As for jobs, we all recognise that without more production, there cannot be more jobs. The policies that have been suggested in Bombay give no hope of increased production. Indeed, all the policies suggested are going to retard production in various fields. It was interesting to find in one of the dailies of yesterday a Finance Ministry estimate of the effects of the nationalisation of industries, all of which show no increased production or output but a loss, which is not at all surprising. What can be expected from a party whose President makes the remark, which Mr Jagjivan Ram did in Bombay, that distribution is more important than production? Distribution of what? Of something that does not exist? Can one distribute what one has not produced? It is interesting that Mr Jawaharlal Nehru, while speaking in Kathmandu in the middle fifties, gave the answer to Mr Jagjivan Ram when he said, “Socialism in a poor country means only the distribution of poverty.” Finally, there is talk of abolishing teh fundamental right to property. There can be no other fundamental right without man’s right to property. If a man does not control his environment, he cannot exercise any other fundamental liberty. In other words, a pauper is not likely to enjoy the rights of a free press, freedom of expression, freedom of association or freedom of movement. It is only through control over one’s physical environment that, to some extent, one is able to operate as a free man, as Karl Marx said. That is why he wanted the proletariat to revolt. But, while saying so, he made a big mistake in coming to the wrong conclusion. Instead of saying that everyone must therefore have property so that everyone may be free, he came to the conclusion that everyone must be deprived of property! The Marxist Congress Party, led by the Prime Minister, wanted to follow that policy at a time when Marxism itself had become out of date. Here I would like to refer to what Justice Hegde said a few days ago in Bangalore when he answered the suggestion that the present Constitution comes in the way of progressive social and economic legislation. He said it was not so. I quote from _The Hindu_ of 28th December 1969- “To Mr Hegde’s mind the criticism made by some that the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution were incompatible with the social goals envisaged in the Constitution and that they should therefore be scrapped did not appear to be well-founded. Theirs was a Constitution which provided for securing the interests of the society as well as of individuals composing it. Experience had shown that legisltaures and governments were likely under stress of circumstances to ignore basic human rights. Therefore it was necessary to safeguard the individual against the State. The best Constitution was that which harmonised individual rights with his social duties.” I think this is a wise statement, coming from the quarter it does. The motive for this attack on the property as a right can only be the intention to take the farms away from the peasants. Of all forms of property, this is the least vulnerable, and undoubtedly, you cannot take away a man’s four acres or eight acres under the present Constitution because the Courts will not allow it. It appears to me that the new attack on the right to property can only be aimed at the system of peasant proprietorship which exists in India. You will remember that a similar attack was started by Mr Jawaharlal Nehru after the Nagpur Resolution in 1959. That, in fact, was the provocation for the coming into existence of my Party. That attack was beaten back. It seems to me that this attack is going to be revived by another misguided attempt to co-operativise or collectivise the farms. This is the first short of the coming attack on peasant farms, however small they may be. If that is so, we shall certainly lead the fight against any such attempt, as we led the fight against any such attempt, as we led the fight against any such attempt, as we led the fight against the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Bill in 1963. We would like to appeal to the rural population throughout the country to beware of this danger and to rise against it and wage war in defence of the basic way of life in the countryside–of a small farmer cultivating his own land.  All this inevitably leads to the need for an alternative government. That alternative government is not so far visible. I, for one, do not claim that my Party can single-handedly do this job. It will be wise for all other parties to recognise that in the present political situation, no single party can do the job of replacing the present government. I am very glad, therefore, that a strong opponent of coalitions like Mr Morarji Desai has now veered around to the view that coalitions are now inevitable. As you know, I have been talking about the era of coalitions for the last few years. I am glad that it is now becoming an accepted fact, a reality. There is no democratic country in the world where one party is always in the majority. So, often, a coalition government is a normal democratic way of life. In West Germany, Italy, Israel, Scandinavian countries, and in so many parts of the world, there have been permanent coalitions since the Second World War and yet no instability. Therefore, we need not worry. My Party stands for a combination, the coming together of all patriotic and democratic elements in the country, cutting across present party alignments, leaving out the Communists alone. The issue is not one of “left” or “right”. There are meaningless terms. After all, all parties accept a mixed economy, which Mrs Gandhi commended recently in Bombay. The difference is only on the question of emphasis, how much of each element is in a mixed economy, and what should be the emphasis from time to time. This is something which is negotiable between Liberal democrats like myself and Social democrats. There is no barrier. It is a matter of argument, negotiation, give and take. These economic differences, in my view, are negotiable. What is not negotiable is the security of the country, its independence, and its democratic way of life under the Constitution. So, we want all patriotic and democratic elements to come together. I, therefore, welcome Acharya Kripalani’s very sane advice, given at Ahmedabad, that opposition parties like the Opposition Congress, the Jan Sangh, and the Socialist parties should stop competing with the Prime Minister in her demagogy. The opposition would do better for itself if it were to give up competing with the ruling party in socialist slogan-mongering and engage itself in building a broad-based, patriotic, democratic front so that it could provide a clean government. We have been saying always that we would like to bring together people on a minimum programme of the basic needs of the country. I have listed them as good and efficient government, the restoration of law and order, hard work and more production, and a pragmatic approach to our economic problems. We think that if the parties in opposition which belief in democracy agree on these four points or something of this nature, it should be possible, even immediately, to provide the country with an alternative government. Before I end, may I take a few minutes to refer to my own Party, which has elected me as President for the next two years? We are a party of change. We came into existence in 1959 to change the pattern of socialism which has been imposed on the country during the last twenty years. We, therefore, stand for drastic change and the liberation of the people from the shackles of control, red tape and Statism. We agree with Dr Ludwig Erhard, the maker of the German miracle, when he said, “Let the men and the money loose; and they will make the country strong.” This is the policy of liberalisation which Mr Dubcek, for instance, was trying in Czechoslovakia when it was run over by the Soviet Red Army. Our basic creed is free competition, a free market economy, plus Gandhiji’s theory of Trusteeship. We believe in the Gandhian path to social justice, as opposed to that of Karl Marx. We stand for modernism. We want to modernise this country so that it can come up to the level of the more advanced countries of the world. Take Japan, for instance. It is emerging as Super Power No 2 in the industrial world, next only to the United States. We do not see why we should not follow that path. We have nothing in common with obscurantism. For instance, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee of the Jan Sangh is quoted in the _Indian Express_ this morning as saying that there are three classes of people who need to be brought back to the “path of rectitude” and “Indianised”. One of them is the Muslims, the second is the Communists and the third, I am rather interested to hear, are people who like the Western way of life. By this, I presume he means the modern way of life. If that is so, I am afraid he is up against quite a number of people because, as I understand it, there are lakhs and lakhs of young men and women in this country who want nothing more than to modernise this country. If anyone wants to turn back that tide, wants to turn India back from the march towards modernism, he will find it a very difficult task indeed. We have nothing in common with the state of mind which wants to turn its back on modernism. We are essentially a Party which believes in progress–modern techniques, modern management, modern administration, and thus catching up with the rest of the world. The National Executive and the office-bearers elected in Madras on the 27th and 28th, I find, are a new team with a lot of young blood; particularly the five Joint Secretaries that the party has elevated to help us, each of them is a new man to the national leadership and a young man. I know that they are all dynamic young men. The key-note to the leadership of the Swatantra Party will be dynamism and discipline. We believe that Indian politics are now entering a period of a war of movement, a turbulent period, when a Maginot Line mentality of staying put and defending one’s position will not do. We will have to show a lot of initiative and drive. So, the first keynote will be dynamism. The second will be disciplined. You are aware of the fact that I have been arguing within my Party for having disciplined and ethical methods of work. Since the Party has placed me at the helm of affairs, I assume it has accepted the plea that I had made. If that is so, then I expect the new Executive to provide full support in putting an end to the kind of indiscipline which, unfortunately, we have been witnessing for the last year or two. _Previous musing: [Democracy in India (1959)](https://indianliberals.in/content/democracy-in-india-by-jm-lobo-prabhu/)_ --- ## [Musing] Modern Policing for Modern India URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/modern-policing-for-modern-india/ ### Body _The following is an excerpt from a talk delivered by Mrs. Maja Daruwala who served as the Executive Director, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, New Delhi. The text is based on a talk delivered in Mumbai on 30th January 2009 under the joint auspices of Forum of Free Enterprise, M.R. Pai Foundation, Action for Good Governance and Networking in India, BCAS Foundation, Mahiti Adhikar Manch, Public Concern for Governance Trust and Citizens Take Charge. _A good vibrant stable solid democracy must belong to the people and for this people need information and people need justice. They need easy remedies so that they can enforce their rights. The big issue is of course that the challenges of accessing justice are so large and so much needs repair and remedy that to do anything well needs focus. My focus today is police reform. Surely that will prompt someone to say but what about the Judiciary? I agree we cannot look just at policing if we want to right the whole system. But when the problem is as big as we have in our criminal justice system there is merit in breaking it up to focus on one area. Changes in that area - if it can be brought about - will create tensions in the status quo and have a knock on effect on other areas and hopefully the whole will change.  Few human rights groups presently look at and seek to address whole systems but rather are justifiably concerned with individual human rights violations by police. We (Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, CHRI) are trying to address the problem of violations through seeking to bring about systemic reforms, particularly in the context of developing countries and certainly in the context of India, which is the crucible of our work.  Police Reforms is really a vital issue and it is desperately needed. There can be little doubt about that. I won't rehearse all that is wrong but suffice it to say we don't deserve the police we have. The proof of this lies in the public's perception of the police as inefficient, untrustworthy and ineffective.  Today, even when the police do the right thing and even when their actions are credible there are few who will believe them. They are seen as the most corrupt agency by the Transparency International. Year after year after year, the National Human Rights Commission's statistics indicate that over 60%, 70%, even 80% of all the complaints they receive are against the police. All the Commissions that have looked into the police reforms say that even when they are trying to be effective 60% of all the arrests that they make are quite unnecessary. So much so that now the legislature has recently felt it necessary to pass a law about how and when the police can use their discretion to make an arrest.  If the public are getting a raw deal the police are too. They have their problems. Some systemic, others to do with outsiders, but a great many brought upon themselves. They too easily allow themselves to be wrongfully used by their political masters and extend too many excuses for doing so. Their unwillingness to face this problem has meant that their operational efficiency has been badly mauled over the years and their chain of command has been broken and compromised by the unconscionable levels of political interference at every level of policing that has come into play. The service conditions their rank and file has to put up with are evidence of poor leadership. The lot of the majority is in desperate need of improvement. Improvements have to go beyond mere hardware and equipment. Attention needs to be paid to fair internal management, honest recruitment, providing soft skills, training and investigation skills and reasonable service conditions: they need specialization and most of all they need the confidence of the public they serve. This is something they are unable in their present situation to get.   But all these deficiencies and difficulties even when taken together cannot be an excuse for the way in which the police function today. I am not talking about large egregious violations that come easily to our minds. They are shocking, shameful and inexcusable. It is true, but here I am talking about day to day performance. Surely we as free citizens of a democratic country, whose taxes pay for policing, can expect the police not to be an oppressive force but an essential service with our safety and security as its core function. The greatest problem of policing today is not that they are unable to be effective in highly dramatic and sensational circumstances like terrorist attacks. But they are not everyday effective on the streets. They are not effective against petty or grave crimes or against individual criminals or organized gangs. They are baffled by the subtleties of white collar crime and don't easily accept that it is their duty to implement social legislation against the traditionally vulnerable groups like women, Dalits and children. They are certainly not effective in punishing their own. If they could do just that much, there would be a high level of trust in the police once again. There would be cooperation and respect from a population that badly wants to believe in the police but simply has no basis on which to do this at the moment.  Even as I am critical of the police I am not against them. They are after all an essential service and provide amazing examples of personal courage in the face of danger. In Mumbai their acts of personal bravery are deeply appreciated and will be remembered long after the recent incidents are forgotten. But frankly, I would rather see an ordinary, average, work-a-day human being working in the police doing a good job and going home to his wife and children than have to look at the coffins of dead heroes. Someone has to look after the public and someone has also to look after the police. That is the responsibility of the government. They are bound to take care of the police, equip them well and make them into an effective service andait is the duty of the public to insist that they get these services.  If there are problems in policing there are also cures. We cannot believe that a solution is impossible. If we did, we must accept that we need to disband the police and start all over again. But in the absence of such radical surgery, over the decades the experts have indicated many practical ways to cure this institution. To devise a cure we must begin with the question: what kind of a police we need in a democracy? What kind of police do we want? Democratic countries need democratic policing. It is true that the colonials left behind a police that was structured for the colonies. But that was over 60 years ago. We cannot keep on pointing to the dead carcass of imperialism and keep saying we can do nothing to change it. If we are retaining an outmoded outdated structure it is because we are comfortable with it.   But there are many alternatives to our present way of policing. We seem to be ignoring them deliberately. For example, the common law countries with which we share a common legal heritage have worked to develop some of the best policing in the world. We need to look at the best and adapt it for ourselves. In a democracy the first thing to recognize is that the police are not mere enforcers alone. They are upholders of the law. There is a difference. Enforcement has the connotation of unquestionable authority. It assumes all power to the police and no challenge to it; the notion of upholding the law adds the dimension that in doing their duty the police must also act always in accordance with the law, never be outside it and ever be answerable to it.  If the police are to be turned from being a force to becoming a service their functions must be restated to take account of many things that today are taken for granted as basic Constitutional assumptions but which had no place in colonial policing. Colonial rule required that the government of the day own the police. The police had to be a force that could quell any rebelliousness in the population. So it had to be extremely hierarchical, over-disciplined and militaristic. White officers from within the power elite had to rule with an iron hand over less trusted 'coloureds' and finally native men, who were stereotyped as less intelligent and essentially untrustworthy occupied the bottom rungs with no hope of ever rising through the ranks to positions of responsibility. The primary function of the police was the maintenance of law and order; prevention and detection of crime was almost an adjunct function and intelligence gathering was prioritized as a means of keeping the rulers informed. This formula was suitable for a numerically small number of foreigners ruling over a vast heterogeneous population.  That model has no relevance today. Today we rule ourselves. Our leaders are our elected representatives. They, as well as ourselves, the people and the police, function under the Constitution. We are all equal to each other and equally bound by it. The role of the State, the police and the public and their relationship with each other is governed only by what is in the Constitution.  According to the Constitution we all have a duty to live by the rule of law. The State's primary duty is to protect life and liberty, ensure each citizen equal safety and security. As an arm of the State, the police has the duty not only to protect our lives and our property but also to protect our liberties and ensure us an environment in which we can enjoy our freedoms optimally. This is the true function of the police in a democratic society. This is the only way of understanding what the legitimate role of police is in a democracy, defining its vision and designing the machinery that can fulfill that role. Once the vision is in place it will tell us what the police organizations, their structures, systems, and their functions should look like so that the vision is best implemented.  It is not as if we as a nation have never thought about these things. We have. State commissions have repeatedly looked at how to remodel policing but stubbornly retained the 1861 Police Act as a template on which to model our present laws. In 1978, after the Emergency, we saw the police acting as prime functionary in the violations and the oppressions of those months. Serious consideration was given to reformulating policing and really good recommendations, relevant even today were produced - in 8 volumes- which examined policing from top to toe. Political considerations again raised its ugly head and nothing was done to implement the National Police Commission's recommendations. Similar State commissions set up from time to time suffered no better fate.  The decay and degeneration of policing was allowed to continue. It remained a fiefdom of whichever ruler was momentarily in power. Crime and uncertainty increased, distrust and civil disorder thrived, until there was and is no power in the State to deal with extremism, militancy, violent fundamentalism, communalism, and other types of social unrest - call it what you will. Decades later prompted by concerned citizens and retired police officers who kept calling for attention to this fundamental area of governance the then Central Government set up more committees. Mr. J.F. Ribeiro, an ally of my work for a long time, was the head of one. Mr. K.Padhmanabiah was the head of another. Mr. Soli Sorabjee was head of yet another. There are even now other committees and sub-committees of the Police Mission looking at the same tired issues. A cursory examination of all of them shows their agreement on core issues and the similarity of recommendations, with some variations, can be the basis of serious informed public debate and sound beneficial changes.  In the meantime for over ten years, Mr. Prakash Singh, a retired police officer has been before the Supreme Court in a public interest litigation that basically asks that the sensible recommendations of the National Police Commission be implemented in order to improve the police's ability to do their job better.  Finally in 2006 the Supreme Court directed the Central and State governments to make six major changes that would - if taken together in the spirit of the judgment - tackle the major ills that plague policing today. Simply put, these ills relate to: ensuring the police are at arms length from illegitimate political interference, have professionalized internal systems of management based on transparent criteria, and are much more accountable.  The Court's orders include a fixed tenure for the head of the police and also indicate how he should be chosen. This is in order to introduce the notion of merit rather than patronage and a scheme to strengthen this most important office. Their directions also indicated the way other seniors should be appointed. To make sure that they were selected on a combination of merit and seniority the Court said that each state should have a State Security Commission.  The State Security Commission is a body that is made up of individuals who are independent. They can be experts, can be from the ruling party and most importantly must also have in it, the opposition. This is to ensure that policing is a bi-partisan subject outside the exclusive ruling party zone. Having an independent body with properly appointed people, that creates a panel from which the Chief Minister can choose his chief and which collectively with government and police lays down the overall policing policy for the state and its annual policing goals, makes policing a non-party organization whose unbiased character people can have faith in.  Those who resist the creation of a buffer body say that this amounts to interference with the functions of the elected representatives who have primary responsibility of providing safety and security and should therefore have a completely free hand in how they handle the police. This is a misreading of the intention of the Court, which by the way only reflects the arrangements which are in place in jurisdictions which have very well respected police services.  No police with all its powers to use authorized violence can be completely independent of all executive control. That would be wrong and was never the Court's intention. The responsibility of the political executive and the operational responsibility of the police are interlinked spheres. But the control and supervision of the police by the political executive has to be conditioned so that each one's powers and spheres of responsibility are specifically put down in a way that there is no room for ambivalence or overlap. The Legislations of Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, U.K., South Africa, all lay down clear spheres of responsibility for politicians, bureaucrats and police chief. This is the kind of effort we have to make. It is not enough for legislation to make general statements that leave wide discretions open. Today when something bad happens, we don't know whom to blame. Blame shifts. Accountability suffers and comes to rest on the most powerless. The Chief Minister shifts his problem on to the Home Minister; from there it will likely move to the Home Secretary and then through the police hierarchy. Indeed a very bad precedent has come up of blaming the constable or the mid level policeman and to insulate the Chief of Police from his responsibility. Few heads roll. No lessons are learned and the public remains as insecure and un-served as ever.  The new systems directed by the Supreme Court - and based on various earlier recommendations - is intended to make sure that every single police officer is working to the maximum of his ability to provide day to day security. Not just when, and only when unusual circumstances - like terrorist attacks or communal riots - happen. Good policing is intended to protect every person everyday: the woman being teased on the street or assaulted at home, the worker going for night work without having to fear for safety or attacks on her person, the Dalit, the migrant, the stranger, the foreigner, the tourist, the minority, must all have a high and equal level of assurance that they can go about their business in an atmosphere of certain safety. This is not the case today and the outcomes are plain to see.  The Supreme Court also recognized that the police themselves were fearful and unhappy within their own hierarchies. It recognized that merit is not respected, that seniority goes by the board; that to accommodate discontent the government creates new posts, without specific and clearly defined mandates, until nobody is certain of what their jobs or their authorities are. No one would tolerate such fuzziness in the corporate world.  To curb ad hocism and patronage the Court has said that there must be established within the force a Police Establishment Board with four people from within the police including the Chief of Police on it, so that promotions are done in a transparent manner against laid down criteria without undue influence peddling and extraneous considerations seeping in.  In order to address the issue of too little police accountability for both everyday performance and serious violations and abuse of power the Court directed states and the Centre to set up Police Complaints Authorities at state and district levels. This is a body of civilians who may be experts or lay people but should be made up of a diverse group of credible people from various segments of society. Its mandate is to examine complaints from the public against the police for a variety of criminal and disciplinary acts. Police Complaints Authorities can be recommendatory or binding.  Unfortunately, in its order the Court did not specify that these Complaint Authorities must be independent civilian authorities. Nowhere in the world do Police Complaint Authority's members include either sewing or even retired police officers. Occasionally you may find one but you can be sure that people will criticize. But in the few states which have set up these Authorities there are inevitably policemen on it which means that you have created nothing. Simple logic indicates that the police have their own independent internal machinery for correcting the police and the new Authorities were intended as outside oversight bodies. This additional level of oversight was necessary because internal mechanisms do not at all function or function very badly or function only to correct small and minimal disciplinary proceedings. They also function behind closed doors and do nothing to persuade the public that there is real accountability for police misbehaviour.  The Police Complaints Authorities presently set up are nascent. They are not fully provisioned and are hardly known. Their design is faulty and their powers weak. Any impact may take a long time to discern. Has the Supreme Court's scheme for all round improvement in policing been embraced with respect that must be accorded to the Apex Court? The answer is no. It is now nearly three years since that September 2006 ruling and everywhere there is resistance to bringing about beneficial changes. To get out from under the Supreme Court's orders some states have legislated pretending to obey the Court's orders but in reality subverting and diluting them so they will have little corrective value. Some States have taken the opportunity to introduce retrograde legislation that leaves the 1861 colonial model behind in its unsuitability. Other states have protested the Court's orders and sought a review. The Court has refused to countenance this.  The Centre, which could have provided a reformative model for others to follow has instead been completely disobedient to the Court's orders and done nothing toward obeying them. In exasperation the Court has set up a monitoring commiitee under Justice K.T. Thomas, a former Supreme Court Judge. Along with two others he is to monitor what each state is doing and to report back to the Supreme Court. We at CHRl have analysed the compliance of every state's behaviour up to the present and provide the Committee with briefs on the state that is under review. The Committee which has a two year mandate will present its interim findings 1 to the Court in July or so.  While the matter meanders through the courts and the bureaucracy, hits hurdles and takes steps backwards, forward and sideways toward any discernable progress, time is flying and with it people's discontent with policing. As well, the police are continuing their deterioration through deliberate neglect.  A few days ago I read a report on torture in India. And I thought I was reading a current report when I found that it was dated 1903. We have to recognize that we have had the opportunity in Independent India to do something but we have never done it. It is my view that nothing will change or gather speed unless there is a public groundswell for reform. This in turn will not happen unless there is knowledge about what reform means and how it can be achieved. At the moment there is silence.  It is particularly striking in Maharashtra where the recent bombings of the train, the station and the hotels should have spurred people to ask for reformed policing and question what has been done to improve it. Queries to the Maharashtra Government indicate that, to date, there has been neither compliance with the Supreme Court's orders nor any moves to change things outside of that. The furthest the Government has gone is to have internal resolutions saying that they will set up a Security State Commission and all the three bodies that the Supreme Court has asked for.  Several people have gone to the Bombay High Court in public interest litigation. The judiciary has set up what is known as the State Security Council under Justice Shri Krishna. But that is a Council set up by the Court and has nothing to do with what the Supreme Court has said. In the meantime the Maharashtra State has set up a State Council on its own. It has over 60 people on it from different walks of life. At present one meeting has been held. The ungainly number and broadly worded terms and conditions do not hold out the hope of developing concrete steps towards ensuring better safety and security for the Mumbaikar.   It is important to understand where the resistance to reform is coming from so that one can counter it. First the resistance comes from politicians. They do not want their unfettered control over the police to be curbed but want to retain their present ability of using them for narrow political ends and to intimidate enemies and stifle dissent. To my mind this is a short sighted view and does not in the end benefit politicians. Increasingly as each government changes, the ones in power level the most horrendous charges of rape, murder, corruption, against the opposition. When their five years are up the process reverses itself with the obliging police now doing the bidding of another set in power. The upshot is that the criminal justice process has become a locus for political bargaining and not for the delivery of justice.  Then there is resistance from within the police themselves. They want better conditions, less interference, perhaps, but they don't want accountability and many are simply comfortable with the present system of patronage, unevaluated performance and unchecked power. There is also resistance from the bureaucracy. There has been a traditional rivalry between IAS and IPS and an increasing inter-service tension which sees any improvement as a gain for one service that will threaten present power structures by removing the police from the clutches of the bureaucracy. So, maintaining the status quo becomes a goal in itself.  I must immediately add here that this analysis is a broad brush and does not take into account those voices from within each system of government that do want change and will argue for it. It is just that the space for this is limited and the voices still muted. Finally there is ambivalence within the public itself. Everyone wants better policing but differ on what that may mean. Some want a police that will in all circumstances uphold the law, provide a service and enhance the environment in which we can realize our human rights. But there are many others who are quite content with the way the police is because there are favours to be bought, influence to be pedalled and also because many of us - within the middle class particularly - like the notion of 'tough policing' 'Tough policing' is usually a nice way of saying there is a willingness to go along with illegal policing if it eases the way and so long as it does not impact on you yourself in a negative way.  My talk today is intended to be a call to action. Mumbaikars deserve a better police than they have at present. They deserve that the government acts to ensure future safety and security even if it could not provide it earlier. Their efforts and actions have to go beyond merely giving police arms and ammunition but insisting that underlying systems change and be responsive to the public's needs and rights. I am not sure we have evidence of that intention today. --- ## [Musing] Not a Rich People’s Lobby URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/not-a-rich-peoples-lobby/ ### Body The Swatantra Party's principles and the policies it commends are the only policies and principles that can help general welfare and national progress. _The detractors of the Swatantra Party, PM Nehru included, used to dismiss it as a reactionary party serving the business interest. The party’s advocacy of pro-market policy (competition, low entry barrier, less taxation, easy regulation, etc.) were dismissed as masking the interests of the Bombay business houses. It fell upon C Rajagopalachari to lay out the difference between pro-business and pro-market policies in an article published on July 6, 1968. In the article, Rajaji laid out the need for a market-driven economy to generate prosperity for all; took dig at big businesses which had a vested interest in maintaining socialist controls; and decried the lack of nuance in the public discourse to make the distinction between freedom and cronyism._ _Rajaji’s advocacy of market capitalism has bearing today for a relatively liberalized but still crony and stagnant Indian economy. Produced below is the full text of the article-_ There can be nothing more untrue than the notion that still persists among people who ought to be better informed but who do not care to enquire, that the Swatantra Party works for rich people. The Swatantra Party works to propagate truth, to educate people who have undertaken the difficult tasks of democracy in the truth that economic progress rests on healthy competition and on the incentives that make people work for their own advantage while also serving the nation. The party works to make people see that management by Government means management by inefficient and uninterested officials or the creation of monopolies for favoured licencees who are interested in making more for themselves than for their customers or for the general public. The Swatantra Party finds some help from some moneyed individuals because it has to find it somehow. But these people give help, not to win politicians to serve their personal or group interests but because they are convinced that the economic principles advocated by the Swatantra Party are correct principles and will contribute to the national good. But there is nothing harder than to get money from wealthy folk even for a good cause which they appreciate and accept as right in principle. The Swatantra Party has learnt, as libertarians have learnt in other countries, those big businessmen cannot be relied upon as good allies in the battle against government’s encroachments. Businessmen will often advocate tariffs, import prohibitions and restrictions on competition because they think rightly or wrongly that these interventions will be in their personal interest or in the interest of their companies, and are not concerned whether they may be at the expense of the general public. Many businessmen do not realize or reflect on what the actual consequences will be of the particular measures they propose or support. They do not perceive the cumulative debilitating effects of growing restrictions on human liberty. Most often businessmen acquiesce in controls out of sheer timidity. In the capitalistic system, there is a tendency towards self-destruction. Big businessmen facing direct attack display much cowardice. Truth must and will triumph at last. But this may take far too long a time for the national economy to wait. We want success in the elections and resulting strength in the State and Central legislatures in order to hasten the victory of reality over illusion. Parliamentary democracy has made this necessary, because it is a form of government in which the relatively ill-informed get power, and in India, this takes a very acute shape. In fact, without disrespect, I may say the Government in India is nearly as illiterate in the effective sense, as the electorate is in the ordinary sense. It is Government of the illiterate by the illiterate but unfortunately not for the illiterate. The national good can be served only by those who are truly educated and are motivated not by a party or personal interests but by an ardent desire to lift the nation up from poverty and bankruptcy to solvency. Calumny has had a start and it keeps on maintaining the falsehood that the Swatantra Party is a rich men’s lobby. The rich men know where to go; they go to the party in power. “Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny.” I make bold to assert that the Swatantra Party has never once stood up for untruth or to help any single rich exploiter at the cost of justice or fair play. The Party has stood for reduction of taxes and for reduction of public expenditure. This is because such a reduction is good for the nation since it increases savings and productive investment of such savings. The Swatantra Party’s principles and the policies it commends are the only policies and principles that can help general welfare and national progress. The original text could be accessed [here](http://indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=804797230.pdf). [_IndianLiberals.in_](http://indianliberals.in/)_ is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ To read more about C. Rajagopalachari, [click here](https://spontaneousorder.in/rajaji-relevance-to-todays-politics-of-the-right/). --- ## [Musing] OBSTACLES TO LIBERALISATION AND MARKET ECONOMY URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/obstacles-to-liberalisation-and-market-economy/ ### Body The following text was originally delivered by Manu Shroff as the keynote address delivered at a seminar organised by the Project for Economic Education in November 1992. It was published by the [Forum of Free Enterprise](https://indianliberals.in/content/obstacles-to-liberalisation-and-market-economy-by-manu-shroff-february-14-1993/) in 1993. Shroff was an Indian economist, Editor of The Economic Times and Advisor to the Unit Trust of India (statutory public sector investment institution).If I have to speak on the theme of the seminar - viz. Obstacles to liberalisation, there could not be an easier task set for me. This is because there is, sadly, no dearth of obstacles to liberalisation and no elaborate search is necessary. The social, political, economic and administrative environment in our country has been bedevilled by feudal attitudes which are totally at variance with individualism and enterprise. Status rather than contract, by and large, determines human relations in our society. And this has been so as much in the traditional society ridden with the divisions of caste as in the modern educated segment which has inherited quite a bit of the British-style hierarchy deriving from lineage, school and civil service status.  When we sought to bring about economic change, it was almost natural for us then to choose the path of a paternalistic government taking on the major responsibility for setting the pace and direction of economic development. In the name of socialism, we ignored individual enterprise and looked to the state to provide the impetus for growth and removal of poverty. The result was comprehensive central planning backed by an ever expanding bureaucracy which undertook to direct economic activity in its minutest detail.  From one economic crisis to another, we learnt from experience, but ever so slowly, preferring at every stage to believe that the path chosen by us was wrong, only the implementation went awry, as if the distortions which the licensing system created were not the inevitable consequence of the system but resulted from its corruption; as if the poor performance of public sector was not a consequence of the inherent weaknesses of extensive public ownership of means of production, but was caused only by the corruption of the political and administrative system; as if the very corruption did not have its roots in the design of central planning and extensive government intervention. May I draw your attention at this stage to the late Dr. Sukhumoy Chakravarty's little book entitled "Development Planning" which typified the attitudes I have just described and which I had occasion to point out in my review of that book entitled "Learning by learning" published in the Economic Times dated 11th January 1988. We never learn from experience. We try to learn only from our own previous learning! Such a Brahminical mind-set has been the major obstacle to liberalisation and I am constrained to say that we have not yet managed to get rid of it.  Those who thought that after July 1991, it would take but a short space of time to move to free enterprise and market economy probably understated the strength of the attitudes I have just described. And it is a change in these attitudes which is far more important than specific policy reforms if we are to move to a market economy in a meaningful way. The hope is that deregulation and competition will help bring about such a change. And they well may, if the society is able to absorb the harsh shocks of competition without political turmoil.  Let me turn now to the specific policy initiatives taken in the past few years and the obstacles they have encountered. It is hardly necessary for me to recount to a distinguished and experienced audience like this the various policy reforms that have been introduced. As is well known, they have straddled the areas of fiscal and monetary policies, industrial licensing, price controls, foreign trade and foreign investment. Fiscal policy, in a way, is at the centre of the reform package. Without stabilisation, structural reforms do not work. The defined objective is to reduce the fiscal deficit to 5% of GDP this year, having already brought about a reduction from 8.6% to 6.5% last year. The major instruments have been reduction in government expenditure, in particular, subsidies and privatisation. As you all know, the task has not been  easy. The agricultural lobby has stalled the progress on cutting subsidies, forcing the government to adopt a gradualist approach - and push forward much of the burden of cuts in fertiliser subsidies from wealthy farmers to the general tax payer and the less-well-to-do consumers of food. As fertiliser subsidies have been reduced, the procurement prices of foodgrains have been raised necessitating partly an increase in issue price of foodgrains to some extent and partly an increase in food subsidies. The general reduction in government expenditure is also moving at a slow pace. Although industrial licensing is virtually abolished and import controls greatly reduced, not a single government department has been closed down. Retrenchment is next to impossible; even redeployment encounters stubborn resistance. There are numerous activities which scores of government departments have got into which can be easily dispensed with or contracted out. But the pull of vested interests is strong. Privatisation moves have aroused suspicion and anger among left politicians and the employees of public enterprises - the former unable to shed the ideological baggage of the past, the latter reluctant to part with the cosy comforts provided by the so-called model employers. The result is that instead of privatisation, all that the government is able to do is divestment of a part of its holdings in public enterprises to raise resources. The techniques of divestment have not been without criticism. Is the government underselling its assets ? Is it 'forcing' publicly owned investment institutions to overbid ? Who is exploiting whom is not specified, and no one seems to care, so long as some "exploitation" is shown to have occurred. Auction means competition. But we seem to be averse to accepting the reality of competition. After the latest auction which was a bit of a flop, there seems to be an impasse.  Similar problems have been encountered in the progress of the reform of the financial sector. The extreme view would be denationalisation of the banking system in order to restore its health and viability. But even a compromise position that new private banks be allowed to set up in order to promote genuine competition has not so far been accepted. The Reserve Bank has issued guidelines for achieving capital adequacy norms, but there was little hint (until a few days ago) that at least a few of the banks which have strong balance sheets, would be allowed to raise capital from the market. And yet, the burden of providing adequate capital for banks can hardly be borne by the budget. The dilemma is acute and leads to inaction. But how long can we postpone facing the issues squarely?  True, the Government and the Reserve Bank have taken steps to gradually implement some of the Narasimham Committee's recommendations. The SLR has been reduced. Interest rates are freer than before. Accounting norms have been laid down. Capital issues control is abolished and SEBI clothed with statutory powers. But the securities scam has caused doubts about the future. The blame for the scandal is wrongly laid at the door of liberalisation. As I have argued elsewhere (ET 23rd June 1992), the scam was the result of incomplete liberalisation. The furious activity in the ready forward market was the inevitable consequence of the RBI controls on call money rates (since given up), on interest rates on deposits (which continue) and restrictions on leading to certain categories of borrowers which included brokers. Restraints on public sector units about where they can bank and the forms in which they can deploy their surplus funds, while at the same time imposing new norms of profitability on them, added fuel to fire. Had all interest rates been free, SLR reduced to reasonably low levels and bank financing of stock market transactions permitted and hence brought within the discipline of the RBI, the scam could not have occurred. And yet the mind-set I referred to earlier would derive the opposite conclusion from this experience and block all further reforms in this sector!  Let me now turn to domestic and foreign investment. Reforms in these areas have moved speedily and despite the continued doubts and apprehensions on the part of foreign investors, they represent a genuine break with the past. Industrial licensing and MRTP restrictions have been virtually given up. The rigour of import licensing has been greatly reduced and import duties brought down. There are hardly any price controls left. Several activities have been thrown open to private sector, the latest being steel. Direct foreign investment upto 51% is allowed as a matter of course in a large number of sectors and higher ratios considered for approval. Technology import has been freed to a great extent. Greater freedom has been given for Indian joint ventures abroad. Foreign institutional investors can buy and sell stock on the Indian stock markets without too many restraints. The Indian economy has been rapidly opened up and the stage set for Indian industry '" achieve world-scale capacities, technology and competitive strength. But there are grave doubts if these policies will be allowed to reach their fruition. What the Finance Minister has called the East India Country syndrome or chauvinism for short, has been displayed by the opposition parties, who seem to be all agreed that while domestic liberalisation is all right, opening up to the world is anti-national. Such an attitude reduces the credibility of the steps already taken, endangers their success and slows down further moves in the same direction. Meanwhile, China, which has been regarded by most observers as our competitor in the development process, has gone ahead with unprecedented vigour attracting massive foreign investments, not all of which is from the overseas Chinese and has shown a remarkable double digit growth rate.  I do not want to make light of the burdens society has to bear during the initial period of reforms; nor do I want to belittle the importance of ensuring that these burdens do not fall on the poor. To a large extent this means a dogged determination on the part of government to control inflation. But how can anti-inflationary policies succeed if every section of society wants to pass on the burden of adjustment to the next section? The politically powerful generally succeed in doing so, and they are by no means poor. As the impact of liberalisation and competition begin to be felt the problem is likely to become more acute. An aspect of this is the so-called 'exit' policy.  It stands to reason that if 'entry' into an activity is free from controls, exit from it must also be possible without restraint. This is the law of competition. Winners survive; losers have to quit and do something else. But what happens to the labour force made redundant when an enterprise has to close down? We have no social security other than that provided by the family or traditional · community. There is no unemployment insurance. Can we throw workers out on the street ? Clearly, this is not feasible, whatever the logic of competition. Hence what is needed is a policy of redeployment and renewal of the potentially redundant labour force, be it in industry or the service sector, including government administration. And the government has rightly followed a cautious approach, developing a consensus before going ahead with the statutory and other reforms which are required. Slowly the idea is being accepted that poor productivity in loss-making activities is not wholly due to inefficiency of labour but a consequence of market forces or bad government policies in the past. Labour alone cannot be asked to bear the cost of these failures. Equally, therefore, redeployment of labour in more successful activities, with some retraining as necessary, should ensure improvement in productivity in general. The notion that employment has to be secured in the same firm, in the same occupation at the same site is clearly infeasible and detrimental to the long term interests of labour. However secure the workers may feel in  their present employment, they just cannot ignore that change invariably means some dislocation and must further learn that the challenge such change offers can prove to be a strong stimulus to improvement in their productivity and hence welfare. Most of us have been displaced from our traditional milieu. As the villages move to towns and the towns to cities, there is dislocation and 'redeployment' all along the line. Such a process has not been allowed to take place for many years in the case of industry. The clearance of the accumulated problem thus assumes critical proportions and causes serious socio-political tensions. In almost all areas of economic reform, we are dealing with the neglect of decades. The task cannot be accomplished overnight. And yet it has to be done soon enough.   One of the reservations about liberalisation, especially of the external sector, is that it will push us even more heavily into foreign indebtedness. Even those who favour deregulation of economic activity generally are thus wary of excessive or speedy liberalisation of imports. Clearly, it would be wrong to permit import of luxury consumer goods and the recent gaffe of policy makers about special import licenses for exporters which would be valid for import of consumer electronics is a pointer to the temptations which arise. At the same time, it is next to impossible to insulate all export activity from domestic sales even when we go the route of export zones. Should we then give up the prospect of promoting export of consumer goods (which will require freer imports of capital goods and components required for their production) merely because some of these goods e.g. the so-called white goods - will be sold to domestic consumers, usually the relatively well-to-do? I think we fall prey to what the late Prof. Alan Whitehead called the "fallacy of misplaced concreteness" if we confuse the need to curb consumption generally with the notion that particular kinds of goods should not be produced or imported. A good tax policy should be able to take care of the distortions that may arise. To say this is not to imply that we do not need to worry about foreign debt. The economic reform is of no significance to the country if it does not aim at and succeed in bringing about improved allocation of resources which enhance productivity and exports, thus closing, over the next five years or so, the critical gap in our balance of payments. But this does not mean that we can close the gap and reduce our foreign indebtedness by import restrictions. Our own experience shows the futility of such policies.  Another reservation about liberalisation is. that it will accentuate the duality in our society While the urban middle class forges ahead, borne on the dynamism of a market economy, the rural poor will be left behind. This assumes that the rich will look after themselves any way and that the urban poor being vocal will not lose out a lot. How will the reforms affect the rural poor? Is there anything in the package to directly address their problem ? The answer is clearly in the negative. It is a paradox of our experience that while the failures in industry have been due to excessive government intervention, those in agriculture seems to be due to inadequate intervention. The introduction of market economy in agriculture, in the absence of land reforms, spell disaster for the poor farmers. And the massive transfers from the urban to the rural sector through pricing policies and subsidies of all kinds have only accentuated rural inequalities, reinforcing the acute caste-based inequalities which persist.  To ask for greater and more meaningful Government intervention in the rural sector is not a contradiction but an assertion that market forces cannot work without a strong framework of laws and rules which ensure that markets are not distorted. This is true of industry and financial services as well. A level playing field is necessary for economic agents freely to compete. In the rural sector, this means meaningful land reforms, massive public or publicly induced investments in social and economic infrastructure - transport, power, irrigation, technology diffusion and policies which aim at direct attack on poverty and unemployment - e.g. employment guarantee schemes and enlarged and more meaningful public distribution system.  But what about existing inequalities of wealth and incomes? This is a legitimate question to which there are no easy answers. Other models of development which try to attack these inequalities through state action seem to have failed. What is being tried now is allowing freer play of market with safety nets for the weak, in the hope that the resulting gains will, in the end, benefit all. But this is not yet a proven case. I cannot assert that distribution of income and wealth has become more equal in developing countries which have followed the market-oriented pattern. But with growth, poverty has been reduced in most such societies. In this context, the Chinese experiment with "market socialism" will be watched with interest.  In sum, I have argued that but for the economic crisis, we may never have moved so far the direction of a liberal market economy, given the feudal attitudes and the ideological baggage of the past. Happily, the direction is set and as the Prime Minister has said more than once, the process of economic reform is irreversible. The old mind-set must, however, change, as it may under the impact of reforms, in order that we may move forward in the same direction.  _Previous musing: [FREE ENTERPRISE IN INDIA AND FREEDOM](https://indianliberals.in/content/free-enterprise-in-indian-and-freedom/)_ --- ## [Musing] Our Economic Future URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/our-economic-future/ ### Body _The following essay was published in April 1958 by [**The Forum of Free Enterprise.**](https://indianliberals.in/content/our-economic-future-by-a-d-shroff-apr-7-1958/) Authored by A. D. Shroff, the essay talks about the challenging economic situation of the country and makes a rapid survey of the economic situation, the hardships of the common man. _Of all the problems facing this country today, none is as challenging as the present economic situation. It is a tragedy that when all the energy of the country should be mobilised in meeting the unusually difficult economic situation, comparatively smaller issues of regional interest are tearing the country to pieces. The country will not grow one inch taller in stature nor will its material prosperity be enhanced whether English or Hindi was the official language or whether the reorganization of States which has recently been brought about is allowed to stay or is changed. The fruitless controversies over these regional problems confirm the impression that the country is not sufficiently appreciative of the dangers it is confronted with on the economic front. I would, therefore, make a rapid survey of the present economic situation in the country. That a country which is in the process of an enormous development programme should experience hardships and privations is nothing unexpected, but that after ten years of independence with unfettered freedom to our Government to shape its policies, the country should experience continued shortage of foodgrains is significantly symptomatic of something wrong in the State of Denmark. Making due allowance for the freaks of nature, insufficient monsoons and droughts, we must confess that we have failed to plan with intelligence and foresight for adequate supplies to meet the most elementary requirements of our people. The Food Minister has times without number given the country an estimate of the food situation and, without exaggeration, till very recently all his estimates have proved wrong as soon as they were made. Very recently we were told by the Food Minister that all the efforts made by him to procure additional rice from abroad have not produced much result. The country, therefore, will have to be content with whatever supplies are available which would mean a very heavy call on a large section of the people to go without the bare quantity of rice to which they have been accustomed as a primary diet. From the Prime Minister downwards the country has been told that the food production can be raised by 60 to 70 per cent, but we are yet to be told how it is to be done. The only concrete contribution made by Government towards the solution of this grave problem is, we are told, a decision by the Cabinet Minister not to eat rice till there is shortage in the country.  Apart from the hardship involved to the common man in putting up with this acute shortage of foodgrains, the problem involves a heavy drain on our foreign exchange resources at a time when we are at our wit's end in collecting every Dollar or Pound to honour our international obligations. It is not generally realised that when Ministers talk glibly of increasing the food production of this country, this objective cannot be attained quickly without importing large quantities of expensive fertilizers from abroad. The process, therefore, of augmenting our food resources in the coming years will involve substantial expenditure of foreign exchange in the purchase of fertilizers. That Government are seriously thinking of giving up or at least postponing one or two of the fertilizer projects in the immediate future is a tragic reminder of the vicious circle in which the country has been caught by the ill-considered policies which are pursued in the economic field. The country must be educated to appreciate that the food problem is not a passing difficulty. It is a long-term problem which will continue to be with us for many years to come, and further that till we attain self-sufficiency, ensuring adequate supplies of food-stuffs would continue to cause a heavy drain on our foreign exchange resources.  Apart from food, we are faced today with a very critical situation in regard to our external resources. For the week ended 3rd January, our Sterling balances have declined in a year by Rs. 330 crores. Deducting Rs. 95 crores which was a temporary loan from the International Monetary Fund, we were left last week with Rs. 198 crores. Against this, according to Government's own statement, we have outstanding gap of Rs. 700 crores. Ignoring for the present our total requirements for the balance of the Second Five-Year Plan period, our minimum requirements for the next 12 months are so heavy that they are causing serious concern to all thinking people and Government: have not yet cared to take the country into confidence as to how the country will meet its maturing liabilities in the next 12 months. India has a very fine record of meeting all her international obligations punctually and faithfully and let us only pray that Province will come to our assistance in maintaining this unsullied record. Very serious and earnest efforts have been made in recent months to secure assistance from foreign countries. It is, however, still anybody's guess as to the extent and magnitude of the assistance that may be forthcoming, but unless a very energetic effort is made at our end not to allow any further drain on our available resources, the situation will become extremely critical in the next six months. I have pleaded before and I plead again today for a very drastic cut in imports. I am fully conscious of the hardships such restrictions may cause, involving a reduction on the tempo of our industrial activity in general, but any complacency in this regard and undue optimism about foreign aid will bring us nothing but disaster.  Whilst it is imperative that we should concentrate all our energies in a constructive way towards meeting this immediately difficult situation, it is only fair to the country that it should know how this crisis was created. It is really amazing that nobody yet has raised a discussion in Parliament as to the origin of this crisis. The thoughtless and indiscriminate issue of import licenses in 1956, possibly inspired by an over-enthusiastic effort to push the tempo of development, has been responsible for creating our present plight. This has been sought to be explained away as a crisis of development, as something which is inevitable in a country which has embarked on a large-scale programme of economic development. Without the slightest fear of contradiction, I would say that this has been a crisis of planless planning. The Planning Commission recently issued a statement explaining a number of causes which have led to the present crisis of foreign exchange. The only one and the real explanation has been omitted, viz., that it was due to their under-estimate of the foreign exchange resources which would be needed to implement the Plan targets that the country today has been landed into this perilous situation. I want to leave it to the common man in this country to judge for himself the validity of the explanation that it has been a crisis of development. Only a few days ago I received a circular from an importing house stating that German Silver-plated ware and Rosenthal Crockery have just been received. This stuff might have arrived in India under one of the licences given in 1956 and we are asked to believe that the economic development of this country could not have proceeded if German Silver-plated ware and Rosenthal Crockery was not licensed to be imported into India. I still feel, and I know that there are a number of thinking people strongly feeling that way, that Parliament should order an enquiry into the method and manner in which licences were indiscriminately issued in 1956.  It would not be proper to hold the Commerce Ministry solely responsible for this exchange crisis unless the Government tells us that there is no co-ordinating machinery between the Commerce and Finance Ministries to regulate import policy. The Commerce Ministry cannot, of course, plead complete ignorance of the availability of foreign exchange resources when it sanctioned all the import licences, but, at the same time, the Finance Ministry which handles our foreign exchange resources should have been vigilant enough to pull up the Commerce Ministry in its senseless spree over the issue of licences.  The country is undoubtedly most anxious that every possible effort should be made to augment our external resources at least to meet the obligations we have so far undertaken. In our anxiety to secure adequate foreign assistance it is very essential that we should continuously keep under review the total amount of obligations we are incurring abroad though they have to be paid in subsequent years. Nobody who has even a nodding acquaintance with the problem of our foreign trade and external resources can seriously contend that this is a passing short-term problem. If development is to continue, and it must continue, the problem of foreign exchange will continue to engage our attention for the next many years to come. And, having been lost in the muddle which has been created during the last two years, we should keep a very close watch of the total new commitments we are creating abroad and how they can be related to the total available resources.  It is only very recently that a realistic appreciation is to be found in official circles regarding the availability of internal resources. Government have not been very successful on their public borrowings. The Small Savings Movement on which so much reliance was placed has, in recent months, shown definite signs of dwindling interest. Taxation, both direct and indirect, has been raised so high that there is very little scope left for imposing further burdens on the tax-payer. The additional taxation of about Rs. 100 crores through the fantastic Budgets of last year will soon be absorbed in meeting the demands of Government employees and the Defence Ministry. There will thus be very little left for meeting the expenditure under the Plan. At the same time, we are told that Government have decided to control deficit financing and, on the other hand, the Prime Minister stated only a few days ago that the Second Five-Year Plan must be implemented at all costs. This is for the Public Sector.  When you turn for a moment to the requirements of the Private Sector, you find that the new Capital Market is practically dead. Under-writers of new issues have had the unfortunate experience of being left with large chunks of new issues, in some cases as high as 90 to 95 per cent of the total issue. Industries, therefore, have to lean more heavily on banks with the result that in order to maintain reasonable liquidity banks are finding it increasingly difficult to meet all the demands made on them. The leading Stock Exchanges in India present a pathetic picture with brokers reporting that investors are not interested in any further investments. Investments in preference shares have become practically unrealisable and equity shares today are seeking buyers with attractive yields: from anything up to 10 or 12 per cent. Analyse the situation as you like, but you cannot escape the unavoidable conclusion that the taxation policy has both drastically reduced the capacity to save and has also dissuaded investors from taking the normal risk of investment as all incentive to save and invest has been destroyed by the growing burden of taxes. I make bold to suggest that all the implications of the new taxation pattern and the almost confiscatory level to which direct taxation has been pushed have not yet been sufficiently realised by the country. As the incidence of these new taxes comes to be felt, there will be an undoubted slowing down of economic activity in the country in general.  Having made a brief survey of the principal aspects of our economy today, it seems to me that the immediate economic future of the country is definitely bleak and will continue to be so unless there is a radical change in our economic policies.  Whilst I am a consistent and convinced believer in planned development, I have come to feel that the concept of periodic Plans is not suited to our conditions. The economic development of the country must be a continuous process. In view, moreover, of our experience of the inadequacy of the necessary tools and equipment for coordinated and comprehensive planning, what we should do in future is to draw up a programme of development which should not be attempted to be completed within a specified period. The idea of making planning flexible under a rigid periodic plan is not practicable. The programme should outline a number of targets in respect of various items of production and the detailed drawing up of the projects for the fulfilment of the targets should be conditioned by the availability of resources and the inter-relation of the simultaneous progress made by different targets under various heads. The Second Five-Year Plan has broken down on many fronts mainly because of the wrong determination of priorities and lack of coordination in the simultaneous progress of different projects. That failure can be avoided in future if a suitable readjustment in priorities was made so that, for instance, transport should be found available to move materials for construction projects or that adequate quantities of cement would be available for building dams, shipbuilding yards and new factories before the projects for the latter are finally decided upon.  One important contributory cause in delaying implementation of projects and substantially increasing the cost of the projects is to be found in the elaborate procedures which are a concomitant of the endless regulation of practically every economic activity in the country. I would very strongly urge Parliament to appoint a small committee to examine the procedures set up under the various regulations with a view to simplify and I am sure that simplification of procedures will both accelerate the pace of development and reduce substantially its cost.  Our economic future will be seriously impeded if inflationary pressure is not continuously kept under control. It has been suggested that the expenditure during the Second Five-Year Plan in the Public Sector may now be restricted to Rs. 4,800 crores. As Rs. 1,500 crores will have been spent in the first two years, Rs. 3,300 crores will have to be spent in the next three years. In view of the attenuated resources; both internal and external, I am definitely of the opinion that expenditure of this magnitude in the next three years will release additional purchasing power which will not be matched with increased production and will thus accentuate inflationary pressure on the economy, particularly when the drastic import restrictions which are unavoidable will not be able to off-set this pressure. If expenditure of this magnitude is persisted in, I am afraid our economy will not be able to stand the additional strain and may well aggravate an already difficult situation. I will never tire of repeating that the Second Five-Year Plan has been basically wrong and although realism has been recently dawning on our authorities in that the Plan has now been reduced to what is called the "core of the Plan", any persistence for the sake of prestige will subject the country to untold and unjustified hardship and misery. In this regard the country must realise to an increasing extent that if the price-line is to be held, Government alone cannot do the job. There are sufficient indications already that as a result of import restrictions prices of various commodities have started rising. Unscrupulous dealers have been exploiting shortages and have been holding back stocks with a view to profiteering. The public must be disciplined to take concerted action against such antisocial activities and I suggest that consumers' associations should be formed to keep a vigilant watch over these anti-social activities, the most effective way of controlling which would be by mobilizing public opinion against them. If the voluntarily organized consumers' associations act vigilantly and rouse public opinion against unjustified increase in prices and expose the miscreants, it would be possible to control these anti-social activities.  Government themselves can help the public in resisting hoarding and profiteering by setting a good example through their own trading activities. It has now been abundantly proved that the State Trading Corporation has profiteered to the tune of over five crores of rupees in the exclusive monopoly of distributing cement in the country. It is really surprising that Government should not immediately reduce the price of cement and avoid profiteering and thus set a good example to other traders in the country.  One serious threat to our economic future lies in the extent of corruption that prevails both in the Private and Public Sector. Recently the Home Minister assured Parliament and the country that Government will take very active measure to eliminate corruption, particularly in the Administration. The Forum of Free Enterprise, while assuring the Home Minister of their wholehearted support in any measures Government may take in eliminating corruption, suggested that Government should compile for the information of the public a statement in respect of relations of Ministers both at the Centre and in the States who are connected with any Government department either through service or through contracts or through firms in which they are directly or indirectly interested in respect of contracts with Government departments or of licences for import and export. The Home Minister considered this proposal not practicable. I fail to see what practical difficulty the Home Ministry sees in compiling such a statement and publishing it for general information. The very publication of such information will prove a deterrent to the continuance of corruption through such relationship with the Ministers and officers of Government. I would strongly urge Parliament to insist on obtaining this information from Government.  The economic future of this country can be assured by creating a climate in the country which would make possible a regular flow of capital from foreign investors. Apart from other things, the most important deterrent today is the pattern of taxation. In an amateurish attempt to plug all real and imaginary loopholes, a pattern of taxation has been devised which can only result in destroying all incentive to enterprise in the country and to act as a scarecrow to possible investment from abroad. Unless, therefore, there is a radical overhaul of this fantastic pattern of taxation, it is difficult to see how further development on any extensive scale can be expected in future.  In the background of our experience of the last ten years, it is becoming increasingly clear that large-scale and rapid economic development cannot be the exclusive responsibility of one ruling party in the country. Certainly the members of this ruling party cannot claim that they are the exclusive and ultimate repository of all economic wisdom in the country. If our economic future is to be ensured on right lines, what is needed today is the pooling of ideas, experience and resources of all citizens of the country irrespective of their political affiliations. Amateurs of yesterday cannot be accepted by the country as authorities on planning and public finance. The actions of such men have landed the country today in a mess which now calls forth the combined wisdom of all sections of the community to find a way out. The attempt to destroy the acquisitive society is fast turning into an acquisitive society and the continuous addition of powers assumed by Government happens to turn this country into an authoritarian State. Let us pray that both wisdom and realism will soon dawn upon the authorities in power and this country may be saved from the disaster with which it is faced today._Last week's musing: [MANIFESTO FOR INDIAN LIBERALS](https://indianliberals.in/content/manifesto-for-india-liberals/)_ --- ## [Musing] Panchayati Raj URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/panchayati-raj/ ### Body _This article was published in the March 1961 issue of Freedom First by Jayaprakash Narayan, popularly referred to as Lok Nayak (Hindi for "People's leader"). This excerpt was part of a paper prepared for the Seminar on “South and South-East Asia has Second Look at Democracy.” You can read the original, unabridged version _[_here_](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/106.pdf)_.__ _In the past few months much has been written about Panchayati Raj and there is no need to describe it in any detail. A few observations, however, are called for. First, it should be noted that the initiative for Panchayati Raj originally came not from the political motive of broadening the bases of our democracy or laying the foundations of what I have called ‘participating democracy’ but from the anxiety to obtain full public cooperation in the execution of development programme. On account of this restricted aim with which the experiment was started, its significance has not so well been grasped even by the conscious political elements in the country, much less by the people at large. It is clear, however, that the logic of the movement is driving it forward and constantly enlarging and deepening its implications. There is still a need, however, to arouse popular enthusiasm about this measure and to make the people realize that what was intended was not a procedural reform of the administration at the lower levels but a political revolution of the greatest significance for the people: that in effect the intention and the attempt were to bring Swaraj to the people. This understanding and enthusiasm cannot be brought about by Development Officers but by the democratic and popular leaders of the country irrespective of party and ideology and by social workers and intellectual and moral leaders generally. In order for the Panchayati Raj may become the base of a true participating democracy, certain conditions must be fulfilled. First, the education of the people, understood in the widest sense of the term, is an essential condition for the success of the experiment. This education can best be imparted by disinterested, non-partisan agencies engaged in social service or tasks of rural development. Political parties may also make a great contribution in this respect, provided they address themselves to the task in a non-partisan spirit. Perhaps the best way for them would be to create a common agency through which to carry on this work. Government officers and agencies might also do useful work in this sphere. Schools, libraries, and cooperative societies have an important role to play here. It should also be considered whether a non-party and purely educative body of the voters which might be called the 'All-India Voters' Association' should not be formed in order to render educative service to the voters. There might also be a Centre jointly set up and conducted by the Union Community Development Ministry, the All-India Panchayat Parishad, and other All-India Rural Service Agencies. Such a Centre could help by way of producing literature, conducting surveys, studying problems, etc. Second, it is well worth emphasising that the success of the Panchayati Raj would depend upon the extent to which organised political parties refrained from interfering with it and trying to convert it into their hand-maiden and use it as a jumping ground to climb to power. There is no doubt that as consciousness grows among the people at the ground level, they would be less liable to be moved about as pawns by political parties and ambitious politicians. But in the initial stages, it is necessary for political parties, in the interests of the people whom they claim to be anxious to serve, to place themselves under a self-denying ordinance and keep away from either setting up party candidates or putting pressure on the elected representatives to become party members, so as to be able to control the basic institutions of democracy. Third, there should be a real devolution of power and not a make belief. It is possible to construct the outward structure of Panchayati Rai and to give it no substance. That would be like a body without a soul, dead from the start, a stillborn child. What is needed here are sincerity, imagination and courage. The people must be trusted. There is a tendency among those of us who have received some education to distrust the ability and intelligence of the common people, and it is possible to talk of devolution of power without in reality surrendering any power. No one can learn to discharge responsibility unless responsibility was really given to one. Withholding of responsibility, either on account of a lack of confidence in the people or of reluctance to surrender power, would lead naturally, as it has already done to a considerable extent, to an attitude of irresponsibility in the people who will forever be the look-out for heroes and miracle-makers to solve their problems. It is out of such a psychological situation that dictators are born. For democracy to be a success, it is necessary that the people are prepared and given full opportunity to shoulder responsibility. Fourth, it is imperative that at each level the local authority should be given its own minimum resources. If control of resources remains in the hands of the State Government, the devolution is bound to be rather nominal. ‘He who pays the piper calls the tune’ would be as true here as anywhere. I am afraid in this sphere the progress has been even less marked than in the case of the devolution of authority and functions. In this connection, Iand revenue, even though it does not amount to very much, should be the first resource to be placed totally at the disposal of the village Panchayat and Panchayat Samiti. It should not be the prerogative of the State Government to allocate certain sums out of land revenue to these bodies. Subject to an equalization fund for the purpose of aiding the poorer villages and blocks, the entire land revenue should be left in the hands of the Panchayats and the Samitis.  Other possible sources of revenue must be found and placed at the disposal of the Panchayati Raj in order that it might function with dignity and enjoy its autonomy. Fifth, Panchayati Raj should be able as soon as possible to exercise real authority over the civil servants under its charge, who should be held fully accountable to it. Even in the matter of recruitment, it would be advisable to associate with the local authorities or their nominees. At the same time provision should be made to assure the civil servant's justice and security of service and freedom to discharge their duties without improper interference. Sixth - and as important as any of the previous conditions - it is my emphatic view that elections to village panchayats should be held without any electoral contests. This view has been severely criticised in some quarters. In some other quarters, opinion seems to have veered around to my point of view. I should like to say that the more I have thought over this question, the more convinced have I become that if Panchayati Raj is to succeed, contests in the elections to village panchayats must be avoided. The village today is a much-divided house. There are caste and class differences; there are family and other factions. There is no collective will in the village. On the other hand, the task that the villages face can never be tackled unless there is a united and collective effort. A community spirit must first be created before there might be proper community development. To introduce electoral contests into the village is to throw a monkey wrench into the works. Several suggestions have been made as to how contests could be avoided. It should be remembered that I am speaking only of the village panchayats which, it has been generally agreed, should not be constituted of more than a thousand to two thousand souls. If the principle is accepted, it should not be difficult to find a way of putting it into practice. Unfortunately, it is the view in many quarters that unless there is an electoral contest, there is no democracy. It is this static, abstract and narrow view of democracy that comes in the way of finding a solution. But I am certain that unless a solution is found, Panchayati Rai and participating democracy would never be a success. While the attempt to establish Panchayati Raj is a step in the direction of a more stable, popular and satisfying form of democracy, a step that, when properly executed, might succeed in taking swaraj to the people, it is not adequate by itself. In order that the edifice of democracy might be strong and invulnerable, the top layers of it must be built into the foundational structure. But, as the situation stands at present, the foundational structures will rise only upto the district level. Beyond which, i.e., at the State and Union levels, a completely different structure will continue to exist, resting on nothing more solid than a sand heap, namely, the amorphous mass of individual and disparate voters. This is a very unhappy mixture of two different principles and processes of democracy that, like water and oil, will not mix. The differences between the two may be summed up as follows: The system that rests on individual voters has invariably a tendency towards concentration of power at the top, while the other system tends towards dispersal of power; in the former, organised parties that are run from above by small and powerful elites play the decisive role; in the latter, communities and communal representative bodies working from below exert the decisive influence; in the former, again, the representatives elected by the unorganised voters are not and cannot be under their control, in the latter the communal bodies exercise a continuous influence over the representatives they send to the higher levels; in the former system peoples’ participation is limited to casting of votes, in the latter there is direct participation of the whole people through the _gram sabha_ and fairly close participation through the higher communal representative bodies; in the former system elections are expensive, in the latter just the opposite; the former requires mass media of propaganda and involves unhealthy psychological and emotional excitement, in the latter these evils are reduced to the minimum; in the former most voters are more unlikely to understand the issues which are placed before them than in the latter in which the voters at each level are likely to be well acquainted with the problems that they have to deal with. It has been observed earlier that the amorphous, or inorganic, democracy, based on individual voters, tends to concentrate power at the top and does not provide for any control over the voters' representatives. This is a very vital matter but unfortunately is not much appreciated. In this type of democracy, there is hardly any force that tends to pull power down towards the people. The voters, though their number may run into millions, in the nature of things lack any organizational means to check the upward concentration of power. There are, of course, political parties and their membership too might run into millions, but the trend everywhere is, even in the democratic parties, for power to be concentrated in a caucus of leaders. There are also special interests, chiefly economic, that attempt to influence this type of democracy, but this influence tends to be exercised over the centres of power. The growth of economic centralization which aids and abets political centralization has already been referred to. It is true that there are trade unions, cooperative societies and other similar organizations that provide a broadening structure for this democracy, but (a) they are not built-in structures of the democratic pattern concerned and (b) they themselves tend to become top-heavy and over-centralized. The position is quite different in the case of participating or organic democracy. It is indeed being created in our country right now, but quite illogically, only halfway through. Because this democracy will be built up several tiers beginning with the basic tier of the _gram sabha _(which should be distinguished from a mere arithmetic sum of the voters in the village because it is endowed with a political entity and definite collective powers and privileges) and going up to the Lok Sabha, and because the powers and functions and duties and resources of each tier are clearly defined, power cannot but be dispersed in this system. Further, because the higher tiers are constituted of the representatives of the bodies at the lower tiers, power is much more likely to be exercised from below upwards rather than from the top downwards. For the same reason, the representatives at the higher level are under the constant gaze of the bodies–they are organised, statutory bodies and not a mere collection of amorphous individuals, let it be remembered–at the lower levels, and thus subject to the control of the latter. This little elaboration will serve to make clear the vital differences between the two types of democracy. Now if Panchayati Rai stops at the district level and above that, shall we say, Party Raj rules supreme, the people are bound to feel cheated. They will interpret this illogical situation to mean reluctance on the part of the politicians really to give up power. It should seem to them–and they would be right–that real power still remained locked up in Delhi and the State capitals and that what had been given to them was not the real stuff. This kind of disillusionment might produce disastrous results. Therefore, Panchayati Raj must not be terminated at the district level but extended forward upto New Delhi. Although this cannot be, done immediately, this should be declared to be our goal. _Previous musing: [Constitution and the Common Man](https://indianliberals.in/content/constitution-and-the-common-man/)_ --- ## [Musing] Parth Shah on Education and Choice URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/parth-shah-on-education-and-choice/ ### Body The following is an excerpt from the transcript of Education in India (an audio podcast) hosted by K. Satyanarayan with Parth J. Shah (Founder President of Centre for Civil Society). The podcast was recorded on June 09, 2014. In the excerpt, Parth comments on the importance of “choice” as a prerequisite to articulating the definition of quality education. In any country, there are three key issues that plague education- access, quality and equity. All three hold equally true in the case of India as well. In terms of the first issue, there is pretty good consensus now that we have been able to provide access to education to most children in India through SSA and other government reforms. The key challenge remains of quality and equity. Equity cannot be addressed without first gaining clarity on what we mean when we say ‘quality of education’. So we looked into the relevant literature, and what we realised is that quality is ultimately in the eye of the beholder. There is no absolute standard of quality. Of course we can agree on many parameters of quality, there’s no doubt. But to say definitively that this is quality and get everybody to agree to it is next to impossible. So we worked backwards and looked at the consumers of education. Parents and students can only articulate what good education or quality education is, if they are able to explore different options by having the freedom to choose. What follows then is that choice is a prerequisite for defining quality education. As long as we create an ecosystem of education, where every parent has a choice of school, choice of pedagogy, choice of curriculum, of examination system etc., then the consensus on the definition of quality education can be reached more organically. There has to be a bottom-up approach to defining quality rather than something that comes top-down. But without the first step of ‘choice’, the progression to what quality education is and how it should be disseminated is moot. Note: The full version of the trancript can be found [here](http://prayatna.typepad.com/files/2014_06_09_parth_shah_education_in_india_podcast_transcript.html). --- ## [Musing] Pandita Ramabai: A Trailblazing Feminist URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/pandita-ramabai-a-trailblazing-feminist/ ### Body _Pandita Ramabai (1858-1922) was an Indian social reformer, women's rights activist, scholar, and educator. She is best known for her pioneering work in promoting women's education and empowerment in India, publishing books on a wide range of topics, including the status of women in India, the Bible, and Sanskrit literature. She travelled extensively in India and abroad, advocating against child marriage, widowhood, and other social injustices against women. Ramabai's life and work continue to inspire feminists, educators, and social justice activists worldwide._ Born on April 23, 1858, in a Marathi-speaking Brahmin family as Rama Dongre, Ramabai was the daughter of Lakshmibai and Anant Shastri Dongre, a Sanskrit scholar and roving reciter of Hindu epics and religious books. Ramabai had two elder siblings: her sister Krishnabai and her brother Srinivas.  When her parents and Krishnabai died in the great famine of 1876, Ramabai, equipped with only her education, moved with Srinivas to Calcutta for a better life. Upon reaching Calcutta, Ramabai defied societal expectations and took up the cause of distressed women as her calling. She made a name for herself in the city as a reputed scholar and passionately advocated for the emancipation of women. At the age of twenty, she became the first woman in India to earn the titles of **_Pandita_** (the feminine of pundit, or Sanskrit scholar) and **_Saraswati_** after examination by the faculty of the University of Calcutta. She joined the **_Brahmo Samaj_** in June 1880. The same year, after her brother's death, she married his friend, Bepin Behari Das Medhavi, a Bengali lawyer from a lower caste- thereby creating fury amongst the society members. Her only child, Manorama, was born in April 1881. Less than a year later, her husband died of Cholera, leaving her in the unenviable situation of a high-caste Hindu widow. After Medhavi died in 1882, Ramabai moved to Pune, where she founded the **_Arya Mahila Samaj_**, a society of high-caste Hindu women working to educate girls and against child marriage. She published her first book, **_Morals for Women_**, in the original Marathi _Stri Dharma Niti_. She also testified before the Hunter Commission on Education in India, an enquiry set up by the British government. She suggested that teachers be trained, women school inspectors be appointed, and that Indian women should be admitted to medical colleges. Ramabai’s evidence created a great sensation and reached Queen Victoria. In time, it also contributed to the beginnings of the Women’s Medical Movement, which aimed to improve women’s healthcare in India. Through the influence of Nehemiah Goreh’s apologetical writings, she became intellectually convinced that whatever was true in Brahmo theology was Christian in origin. In 1883, during her visit to England, she was baptised in Wantage, England, and pursued her studies at the Cheltenham Ladies’ College and Bedford College. She was in Europe to pursue a medical degree; however, her deafness caused serious impediments to her medical education. Instead, she used her time to continue the study of Christianity, which she had begun in India and had her young daughter baptised as Anglican Christian. From 1883 to 1886, Ramabai was, in the formal sense, an Anglo-Catholic, lecturing and studying social reform and education.  Having relinquished her dreams of a medical degree, in 1886, she travelled to the USA to attend the graduation from the Women’s Medical College in Philadelphia of Anandibai Joshee, the first Indian woman to become a medical doctor, who was also her cousin. She remained in the USA for two years, translating textbooks and giving lectures throughout the United States and Canada. In 1887 she published her first English book, **_The High-Caste Hindu Woman_**, a relentless indictment of Hindu India’s treatment of its women. The same year, Ramabai met Frances Willard–an American educator and a woman suffragist– who later invited her to address the convention of women’s organisation. On February 1, 1889, Ramabai returned to India and, within a month, established **Sharada Sadan**, or the Home of Learning, in Bombay with two students. She successfully lobbied for aid to start a secular school for child widows in India and formed **The Ramabai Association**, which pledged ten years of financial support for the cause. Under the **_Mukti Mission_**, the school quickly grew and was transferred to Poona. In 1891, the school was involved in controversy when the Indian reformers condemned Ramabai for preaching Christianity to students. Despite the condemnation, by 1895, the school was a resounding success, with 26 child widows and 13 non-widows in the school.  In 1896, during a severe famine, Ramabai toured the villages of Maharashtra with a caravan of bullock carts, rescuing thousands of children, child widows, orphans and destitute women and bringing them to the shelter of Mukti and **_Sharada Sadan_**. By 1900, 1500 residents and over a hundred cattle were in the Mukti mission. The **_Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission_** is still active today, providing housing, education, and vocational training to widows, orphans and those with sight impairments. Her daughter Manoramabai also established a new school, and in 1919, government recognition was finally granted to the Sharada Sadan School. Pandita Ramabai was awarded the Kaiser É Hind Medal in 1919. By 1920, Ramabai sensed a growing physical weakness and designated her daughter to supervise the activities of the Mukti Mission. Manorama died in 1921, and Ramabai herself died in 1922. She authored several influential works in her lifetime, including **_The Testimony of an Indian Woman_**, **_Pandita Ramabai’s American Encounter: The Peoples of the United States (1889)_** and **_Mukti Prakash_** (1923) - a Marathi-language book compiled and published posthumously by her followers. Through these works, she brought the plight of women in Indian society out of the closet and made relentless efforts to realise their emancipation and empowerment. **References ** Zubaan. [_Pandita Ramabai_.](https://artsandculture.google.com/story/pandita-ramabai-zubaan/4wVx8_4U248xIQ?hl=en) Google Arts & Culture. Eric J. Sharpe, “[Ramabai, Dongre Medhavi.](https://www.bu.edu/missiology/ramabai-dongre-medhavi/) The History of Missiology, Boston University. Edited by Gerald H. Anderson (New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 1998), 557. _Previous musing: [Government and Society in a Free and Prosperous Commonwealth](https://indianliberals.in/content/government-and-society-in-free-commonwealth/)_ --- ## [Musing] Philosophy of Freedom URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/philosophy-of-freedom/ ### Body _Published in Freedom First Magazine 1955, the following article by Mr. M.B Shah has timeless relevance to issues surrounding the idea of freedom, the position of an individual and the challenges of totalitarianism which the world faces in various forms. The author attempts to bridge the gap between positive and negative freedom while recognizing the sovereignty of the individual. _The function of philosophy is to find out the fundamental postulates from which a particular system of thought or values is derived. The task of the philosophy of freedom is to explain the basis on which the value of freedom is founded. In nature itself there is neither freedom nor bondage. Freedom is a human value. The primary urge of every living organism is to exist, grow, develop and perpetuate its species. In order to satisfy this primary urge, the living organism has to act on its surrounding environment. In the sub-human animal world, this urge leads to mechanical adaptation to the environment. However, as man has a better organized neural system endowing him with the powers of memory, reflection and transmission of his experiences to his like species, the primary urge expresses itself in conscious action and reaction to his environment. In the course of this action and reaction on the environment, man gathers experiences and knowledge of his surrounding nature. This knowledge becomes a powerful lever in man's further progress. However, man as an individual is powerless to struggle against the mighty forces of nature. Hence, his co- operation with other human beings which ultimately results in the development of society and all its various organizations, political, economic, social, cultural, spiritual and the like. With the help of these organizations growing up in the course of the satisfaction of his primary urge, man embarks upon the attainment of freedom. Freedom can be defined as "the progressive disappearance of all restrictions on the unfolding of the potentialities of the individuals as human beings and not as cogs in the wheels of a mechanized social organism". _(M N Roy in the Principles of Radical Democracy)_. Functionally, freedom means "the conditions necessary and sufficient for the formation of a purpose, it's translation into effective action through organized cultural instrumentalities and the full enjoyment of the results of such activity”. _(Bronislaw Malinowsky in Freedom and Civilisation). _ Freedom has two sides, one positive and another negative. Negative freedom is freedom from the forces crushing man's assertion of individuation from the rest of the nature including human society. Positive freedom is one which creates the necessary conditions and affords proper opportunities for "the realization of his individual self, i.e. the expression of his intellectual, emotional and sensuous potentialities". _(Erich Fromm in The Fear of Freedom)_. ln the course of his struggle for the satisfaction of his primary urges, man has to struggle against nature to secure his physical requirements like food, shelter, clothing, etc. The overpowering of natural forces has been attained to a very large extent and man has now come of age with the help of scientific knowledge and technological advancements. Likewise, in the course of history, man progressively liberated himself from the controlling forces of church, state and social slavery. With the ushering in of the industrial revolution, a powerful ideology of liberalism and economic laissez faire made man a completely individualistic person to care for himself. However, this very process of individuation from the original ties working for his security and oneness with nature and society made him also an atomized individual to make his way wherever he could single-handedly. With the Declaration of the Rights of Man in the great French Revolution, man's inherent dignity was asserted. Democracy, the greatest invention of man's genius. was ushered in and put on a practical experimental plane. However, in practice, it turned out that democracy was working in the social and economic frames which were not conducive to the assertion of human dignity and realization of the best potentialities in man. Man was not considered as an end in himself to be respected and cultivated but an economic entity driven by his animal passions and selfishness. ln these circumstances, the ideals of fraternity, equality and liberty were negatived in practice and man became a lonely and powerless creature at the mercy of uncontrollable economic and social forces. Man of flesh and blood ceased to be an entity, an end in itself. lnstead of security and co-operation of society, man became isolated from society and a dichotomy was created between man and society. The issues were posed like man versus society, freedom versus organization, etc. instead of man in society, freedom with organization and the like. Thus all the values of man like love, brotherhood, creativity, etc. were nullified in practice. Individual man not endowed with the biological superior capacities to make room for himself by elbowing out others and also man with principles and scruples was relegated to the devil's care as good-for-nothing. The result was man's loss of confidence in the utility of freedom and democracy, the loss of confidence in himself and in society. Ultimately, helplessness, resignation, frustration, destructiveness, submissiveness and such other anti-human and anti- social characters took hold of man. Man became afraid of his own freedom and was prepared to surrender the same in search of security though it may be an illusory one. Man preferred to be either a slave, master or an automation rather than a free, spontaneous, creative, acting and loving person. In this situation of frustration, resignation, submission and destructiveness all sorts of totalitarian and authoritarian ideologies like fascism, nazism, nihilism and communism drawing their inspiration from extra-human forces possessed man. All these movements exhibited and exhibit the symptoms of the sickness of society and the spiritual and cultural crises of mankind. They all promised panaceas and liberation from anxiety, isolation, frustration, resignation. ln the search of security from this burden, man surrendered his freedom and self to these authoritarian and totalitarian ideologies. After the defeat in the last world war, fascism and nazism have been weakened to a very large extent, though they are not completely annihilated. However, on account of the combination of certain factors, communism has come out as a nightmare to the free world. It has expanded its control over vast areas and populations. And with the resources at its command, it is threatening other parts of the free world. Therefore, the main problem facing mankind today is freedom versus totalitarianism. All other problems and issues are either subordinate to this problem or merge in it. However, if totalitarian onslaughts are to be fought out, democracy will have to orient itself to positive freedom and will have to overhaul its social, economic, cultural and spiritual set up with a view to give full scope for the assertion of the human self, i.e. for the full realization of emotional, intellectual and sensuous potentialities of human beings. Its new set up will be of a kind in which man's individualism is integrated with society on a higher level of co-operation, equality, liberty, creativity and love as between free men. The economic-man will have to end and a new rational and moral man will have to rise to take his place. The whole social set up will be based on the principle that he is the measure of all values. All collective endeavours will be measured in terms of the actual benefit conferred on constituent units. The position of the individual will be the measure of the progressive and liberating significance of any collective effort or social organization. As Erich Fromm states in his _Fear of Freedom_, "The victory of freedom is possible only if democracy develops into a society in which the individual, his growth and happiness, is the aim and purpose of culture, in which life does not need any justification in success or anything else, and in which the individual is not subordinated to or manipulated by any power outside himself, be it the state or the economic machine; finally, a society in which his conscience and ideals are not the internalization of external demands, but are really his and express the aims that result from the peculiarity of his self. These aims could not be fully realized in any previous period of modern history; they had to remain largely ideological aims, because the material basis for the development of genuine individualism was lacking. Capitalism has created this premise. The problem of production is solved in principle at least - and we can visualize a future of abundance, in which the fight for economic privileges is no longer necessitated by economic scarcity. The problem we are confronted with today is that of the organization of social and economic forces, so that man - as a member of organized society - may become the master of these forces and cease to be their slave" **Mr. M. B. Shah was a rationalist and a businessman.** The article was originally published [here.](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/455.pdf) --- ## [Musing] Pitfalls in Our Industrial Policy URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/pitfalls-in-our-industrial-policy/ ### Body _The following booklet, titled “Pitfalls in Our Industrial Policy,” was published in 1959 and was authored by M A Master. The author highlighted the momentum of private enterprise that made it possible to develop several privatised industries against all the substantial odds. He highlighted the radical shift that transgressed to economic thinking, leading to the state's industrial policy breach against the private sector. M A Master concentrated on the approach the then government adopted and highlighted the creation of economic revolution and the monopoly of the State. Furthermore, the author focused on the democratic stand, corroborating the balance between the public and the private sectors, and laid down the contention of anything contrary to the former approach as the model for the prevalence of dictatorship._ _The author concluded by accentuating the prevention of the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few individuals through the governance of the fundamental principles in the directive policy of the State. _ While India was under British Rule, there was no national policy for the industrialisation of the country. It was in the interest of Great Britain that India should continue to be the exporter of raw materials and the importer of finished products. It was only a few years before the fight for Independence gathered strong momentum that the Policy of discriminating protection was announced. It was halting and half-hearted. That Policy was hemmed in with so many limitations and restrictions that neither could it provide opportunities nor supply a driving force for India's rapid and all-sided industrial development. Private enterprise has, therefore, earned the country's gratitude for the faith and courage with which it developed such industries as Textiles, Jute, Steel, Sugar, Shipping, etc., against heavy odds and at considerable sacrifices. With the advent of independence, the position has radically changed. The days of laissez-faire have been over. The age of development under a planned economy has already gathered strength. It should not, however, be forgotten that Private enterprise had recognised the need for a planned economy even before India obtained her freedom. The publication of the Bombay Plan in 1944 was one of the most remarkable documents which recognised and advocated the vital need and great importance of developing the country in all directions under a well-thought-out and well-balanced plan. On the 6th of April, 1948, the Government of free and independent India announced for the first time the National Industrial Policy of the country. It made it clear that the manufacture of arms and ammunition, the production and control of atomic energy, and the ownership and management of railway transport shall be the exclusive monopoly of the Central Government. It also laid down that in six other industries, viz., coal, iron and steel, aircraft manufacture, shipbuilding, manufacture of telephones, telegraph and wireless apparatus and mineral oils, the State alone will be exclusively responsible for the establishment of new undertakings.  The rest of the industrial field will normally be open to private enterprises, individuals, and co-operatives. The economic thought in New Delhi had not visualised at that time the public sector becoming the dominant feature of the industrial landscape purely on ideological considerations. It is also significant to note that the First Five-Year Plan made the following categorical national policy statement. It laid down that _“**the scope and need for development are so great that it is best for the public sector to develop those industries in which private enterprise is unable or unwilling to put up the resources required and running the risks involved, leaving the rest of the field for private enterprise.**”_ The first radical shift in this economic thinking of the Government came with the nationalisation of air services on the 1st of August 1953. This was the first breach in the Industrial Policy of the State. With the return of the Prime Minister from China in the latter part of 1954, the government's economic thinking witnessed a further fundamental departure from the announced industrial Policy of India. Although the First Plan had stated that “the ownership and the control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good”, the Prime Minister announced on the 9th November 1954, before the National Development Council, that “the means of production should be socially owned, and controlled for the benefit of society as a whole.” Here lay the vitalising germ of the revolution in the economic policy to follow. On the 21st December 1954, the Prime Minister remarked in the Lok Sabha- “We cannot progress except by State initiative and by enlarging the public sector and except also by controlling the private sector.” This was followed by another statement made by the Prime Minister in his address to the A.I.C.C. on the 19th of January, 1955, when he clinched the issue and observed- “In any planned approach to a socialised economy, the public sector must grow and become the dominant feature of the landscape.” With the Lok Sabha of the Avadi Resolution's endorsement for establishing a Socialistic Pattern of Society, the revolution in economic thought in New Delhi was complete. The private sector's ability and willingness to play its part were no longer the criteria for the country's industrial development. The ideological considerations underlying the new gospel of building up a socialistic pattern of society would alone be the determining force of the future industrial Policy of India. The invasion of the rights of private property guaranteed by the Constitution, the provision of a clause in the Act making the compensation issue unjustifiable, and the investing of the Government with full powers to acquire any industry and run it at the risk of the shareholders without the payment of any compensation, was the first revolutionary steps taken for the building up of a socialistic pattern of society by making vital changes in the Constitution of India. There was no halt in this onward revolutionary march of the Government. The Imperial Bank of India was nationalised in July 1955; the Life Insurance Companies in the country were swallowed in one stroke by the State in January 1956. There was thus a three-fold attack on private enterprise. The people were deprived of their sacred rights of property. The services they had built up with the struggles and sacrifices of several decades were taken away by the State. The streams which provided finance for the private enterprise were brought entirely under the control and ownership of the State. The real objects of nationalising Life Assurance seem to be two-fold: the first was to take over crores of rupees which accumulated from the premia collected by the Life Assurance Companies, and the second was to obtain control, when necessary, over several important industries in which the Life Assurance Companies held a substantial number of shares.  Nationalisation was coming in by the backdoor. This was the new technique of the Government to provide opportunities for the people to cooperate with them, and all this in the name of democracy! The visit of the Prime Minister to China and Russia had brought new wisdom and a new philosophy which, no doubt, were playing their effective part in shaping the future destiny of our country. The new industrial policy resolution was announced on the 30th of April, 1956. The revolution in the government's economic thought, manifesting during the First Plan period in several directions, as mentioned above, found its fuller and more vigorous expression in the new national industrial Policy placed before the county. Not only was the field of activities of the private sector drastically limited, but it was also assigned a subordinate place even in the industries in which it had been allowed to play its part. The ability and the willingness of the people, as mentioned above, will not continue now to be the true tests of economic growth and the speeding up of industrialisation. Still, the ideological considerations and the zeal for establishing an egalitarian society will inspire the State to “progressively assume a predominant and direct responsibility for setting up new industrial undertakings and for developing transport facilities.” The resolution added that “the adoption of the socialist pattern of society as the national objective as well as the need for planned and rapid development, require that all industries of basic and strategic importance or in the nature of public utility services, should be in the public sector.” The new philosophy was thus creating a new economic revolution. Even the field of trade and commerce was to become the monopoly of the State. The resolution stated that the State “will also undertake state trading on an increasing scale.” The country has already witnessed the unjustifiable inroads of the State Trading Corporation in diverting several trades from their normal channels to the monopolistic field of the State and under State control. People engaged in some of these trades have lost their means of livelihood. This is how the socialist pattern of society is being built up, and this is how democracy functions in actual life. It is difficult to imagine how it will affect the country when the procurement and distribution of foodgrains are brought completely under the control of the State. Eleven more industries have now been included in the field of industrial development, which will be the exclusive monopoly and responsibility of the State. Even in the field of industries where the private sector is allowed to function, the resolution has made it crystal clear that it will be the Policy of the State to “take the initiative in establishing new undertakings.” Private enterprise is expected now even in that field, namely, the 12 industries included under schedule ‘B’, merely “to supplement the effort of the State.” Private enterprise will not be allowed in future to be the driving and inspiring force of creating a new industrial India. Still, it will only be allowed to play a minor role as an agent for planned national development._You can access the complete, unabridged musing [here](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/pitfalls-in-ouri-ndustrial-policy-m-a-master-nov6-1959.pdf)._ _Previous musing: [Pandita Ramabai: A Trailblazing Feminist](https://indianliberals.in/content/pandita-ramabai-a-trailblazing-feminist/)_ --- ## [Musing] Piyush vs Piyush -‘Beautiful Policies are Not Enough’ URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/piyush-vs-piyush-beautiful-policies-are-not-enough/ ### Body In the following passage, Luis Miranda recounts the highlights of a gripping panel discussion at the AIIB AGM wherein a Minister and CEO articulated the loopholes of policy-making in India. While the policies may seem effective on paper, their “operational challenges” render them handicapped. Luis, thus, underscores the need to create policies that can be implemented on the ground as well as they can be expressed on paper. Policy stability is more than just drafting ‘beautiful’ policies; if there are hurdles to implement them, it is not easy to do business. These are the words of the President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Jin Liquin, as he played referee at the battle of the two Piyush’s recently at the AIIB AGM in Mumbai. They were on a panel to discuss mobilising finance for infrastructure in Asia. Most panels are boring because everyone is polite and agrees with the other panellists. This one was different because two panellists had very different views — Piyush Goyal, India’s Finance Minister, and Piyush Gupta, CEO of DBS Bank Singapore. The fact that we could have such a frank exchange of views is a tribute to the open society that we have in India. So, here are the highlights of the Piyush vs Piyush debate. Piyush Goyal kicked off with a very lucid summary of the regulatory environment in India. He talked about how infrastructure improvements have transformed lives in India. And how the integrity of processes and individuals are attracting funding to infrastructure. He quoted examples — licenses cannot be subsequently cancelled and he talked about the change in mindset with more focus on monitoring and accountability. If projects are designed properly there will be enough finance. India has rule of law and frameworks like the media and public response. India has never had a default in international infrastructure financing. Politics will continue to play a role in any democracy, and that should be factored in when looking at the large opportunity in the country. He also talked about how land acquisition challenges are being reduced by involving communities in the upside of infra projects. Piyush Gupta, the CEO of DBS Bank of Singapore, countered by saying that money is not that easy to come by for projects in India. There is an urgent need for long term debt markets. Pre-operation risks like land acquisition have deterred investors and regime changes across the region have led to policy uncertainty (as is being currently seen in Malaysia). Banks need more capital for longer tenor loans and higher perceived political risks. He concluded that in India there is indeed no sovereign risk, but there is significant project risk. If the government anchored key infra projects, the risk could be significantly reduced. Jin Liquin moved in to say that money is like water — it follows the path of least resistance. Therefore, governments should not just focus on policies. They should also help reduce the practical difficulties faced by infra developers and financiers in their daily work. And therein lies a lesson for policy makers — drafting good policies is not enough. Day-to-day hassles faced by infra developers have also to be also addressed to see significant increase in private sector participation in infrastructure. The key central ministries in India — power, roads and railways — have seen huge investment interest thanks to the policies of the central government. But operational challenges at the State level and challenges with the implementation of these policies can negate the benefits of ‘beautiful’ policies. --- ## [Musing] Planning by Minoo Masani URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/planning-by-minoo-masani-1945/ ### Body _The following piece on 'Planning' is taken from Minoo Masani at 90 published by Freedom First in 1995. This article written by Minoo Masani in 1945 takes the reader through various viewpoints on Central Planning and the role of the state. You can read the original article [here.](https://indianliberals.in/liberals/minoo-masani-at-90-freedom-first-1995.pdf)_ Who is to organise the increased production, and who is to see to it that the benefits are equitably shared? The answer is - we ourselves, all of us. After all, this is our country, or rather it is going to be, and if we don't do all this, who else will? Our instrument for this purpose is the one which people throughout the world have created to manage their affairs. This is called the Government or ,the State. Now, what kind of Government or State shall we need in order to put such a Plan into effect? A British scientist recently declared that India's greatest need is the fuller application of science to her problems. A Plan like this is in fact nothing more than the application of various sciences to our economic problems. We have to make sure, however, that the people who give effect to the Plan will have only the interest of our people at heart. Just as an injection can cure or kill a man, so too a Plan can enrich or ruin a country. And because the patient must have confidence in his doctor, a Plan such as this can only be put into operation by a purely Indian government representative of the people. That does not mean that any and every government made up of Indians will do. We shall have to see to it that it is not made up of selfish people who are out to feather their own nests. The only method human beings have so far devised of guarding against selfish cliques is what is called democracy - that is, making the government look for its authority to the people as a whole. Such a government is called a responsible government - that is, it is elected by the people, it is responsible for its actions to the people, and it can be removed by the people. Abraham Lincoln described it as government of the people, by the people and for the people. This is the only kind of government which can be trusted with a Plan of this kind. For many years now, people have been arguing about the respective merits of various kinds of economic systems. Roughly, they have so far been labelled as either 'capitalist' or 'socialist'. To put it very simply, a capitalist society is one where the ownership and control of things like land,' mines, factories, ships, railways, banks and shops belong to individuals or groups of people organised in what we know as corporations or joint-stock companies. Those who own and control these enterprises supply the wants of the people, and, in the course of doing so, make profits and run the riskof losses. Another name by which the capitalist system is known is that of Free Enterprise. A socialist society by contrast is one where the instruments of production, distribution and exchange are owned and controlled by the State representing the community - all individuals being employees of one kind or another of the State. The State meets the wants of the people by planning production and distribution in such manner as it thinks best. The profits of production go to the State which can then use them for the good of the community as a whole. It is claimed that such a system of society would not only make for increased production but also for equitable distribution and would create a classless society based on the principle: From each according to his capacity, to each according to his need. Actually, neither system in its pure form exists at present in any country in the world. On the one hand, in what are called the capitalist countries, the principle of free enterprise has in the course of this century been so largely modified by State intervention in various spheres of economic activity that 'in many of its characteristic aspects capitalism has been transformed almost beyond recognition." On the other hand, Russia, which after the revolution of 1917 attempted to build a socialist society, has in recent years found it necessary to accept the capitalistic ideas of competition and differential monetary reward as incentives to efficient production. Also, the claim that Russia has been able to raise the standard of life of the people only because of collectivization is not borne out by the facts. All this indicates the desirability of concerning ourselves with ways of life rather than with labels. Experiments in developing what has been called a middle way of life have so far been successfully carried out in small countries like the Scandinavian States of Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark, and in such regions as the one served by the Tennessee Valley Authority in America. Professor Julian Huxley has written that 'the initials TVA are beginning to be familiar as the symbol of a new possibility for the democratic countries - the possibility of obtaining the efficiency of a co-ordinated plan without totalitarian regimentation' A more positive role to be played by the State in the economic sphere is the prerequisite of all planning. The control of the instruments of production, distribution and exchange is the method by which the State can perform this task. In India, the land is by far the greatest single unit of production. What part is the State going to play in relation to the land? Today, only about a third of our land belongs to those who actually cultivate it. The percentages of areas owned by cultivators in other countries before World War I1 were : France 60, Switzerland 80, Germany 88, and Czechoslovakia 90. As we have seen earlier, the State will have to examine the claims to ownership of those who do not work on the land. How then will the land be redistributed? Should the State create huge collective farms and set the people to cultivate them with the use of tractors and other machines? There are people who claim that collectivized and mechanized agriculture in Russia has worked wonders and transformed the face of the countryside. There are others, however, who take a different view and rule out such a course on the ground that it would tend to impoverish the soil, reduce the peasantry to serfdom, and create unemployment of staggering proportions. It would seem that the choice for India lies between two systems. One would be that of peasant farming of inalienable and indivisible farms of an economic size, with the State helping and guiding the peasant in various ways to put his land to the best use. The other would be co-operative farming of a larger unit, such as a village, where the ownership of the smaller plots which make up the unit would remain with the peasant but farming operations would be jointly performed. There is ample room in India for both these systems to play their part. In so far as industries are concerned, we have seen that a great part of our industrial production will be in cottages and small workshops spread throughout the countryside. The ownership and management of such industries will be with those individuals or groups or co-operatives who run them. The State here can only play the part of 'big brother' in helping such industries along by making tools. raw materials, electric power and credit facilities available to them and helping with the marketing of their products. Till recently, it was considered modern to describe rural and cottage industries as antediluvian, but in the last few years a different attitude is coming to be adopted by people all over the world. In our country, Mahatma Gandhi stressed the importance of village industries almost twenty years back and educated us slowly to stop thinking, in a lop-sided way, of industries consisting only of huge factories situated in big cities. In the West too, people have more recently started realizing that the latest developments of science no longer make it necessary for people to congregate in huge cities, work in giant factories, and live in foul slums. We must remember, however, that neither agriculture nor rural industries can flourish without certain basic large-scale industries sometimes called key industries and public utilities. Such are mining and metallurgy, engineering, heavy chemicals, fertilizers, cement, electric power, railways, shipping, aviation, posts, telegraphs, telephones and radio. Here the State will have to be more assertive. For one thing, in the kind of society we are thinking of, there should be no place for a few Big Businessmen who own these workshops and utilities to control the lives of the people and to make big profits at their expense. For another, planning implies a deliberate decision taken in advance regarding operations which cannot therefore be left to the sweet will or caprice of individuals, each concerned with his own profits. Does that mean that all these industries should be owned and managed by the State? Not necessarily. The experience of Russia and Germany has shown that what matters most is neither legal ownership nor management but control. The case of elasticity and diversity, in controlling industries in general as well as particular units within each industry, has been put by the British socialist writer G.D.H. Cole as follows: 'There is no need to socialize at once all the forms of production, it may prove desirable to socialize some time; nor is there any reason why a form of production, socialized at first, should not be handed back, under proper safeguards, to private enterprise if socialization does not yield good results. Within a single branch of production, there may be some parts which it is desirable to socialize, and others which are best left under private ownership and control. The less rigidly the line is drawn, the more room will there be both for diverse experiment and for suiting different types of men and women with jobs in which they have a decent chance of being happy ... the more gigantic the essential instruments of power become, the greater grows the danger that, in centralizing their administration, we may be drawn to create a political machine too vast and complicated to be amenable to any real democratic control, and may thus become ourselves the victims of the very power-mania which we are organising ourselves to defeat. It is a clear lesson of recent history that democracy cannot be real unless it rests on small groups as its basic units - on groups small enough to be competently administered and led by men of normal stature and mental makeup. This should make even Socialists wary by now of tearing up by the roots any small man's refuge that is left in a world so ridden as ours by hugeness. It should make them regard the farmer, the shopkeeper, the small manufacturer, not as obstacles in the way of universal centralization, but as valuable checks upon a dangerous agglormerative tendency.' This leads to the conclusion that our objective should be the 'mobilization of all the available means of production and their direction towards socially desirable ends'. This Object can in some cases be furthered best by State ownership and management, in other cases by State ownership without management or by State management without ownership, and in yet other cases by State control without either State ownership or management. What should be constant in all such cases is the control of the State. This will take the form of licensing, the nomination of some directors on the board of management, the prescribing of conditions of work and wages, ,the fixing of prices, and the limitation of dividends. Whether ownership or management should be added to these forms of control is a matter of convenience to be decided on in each case. It is possible, however, to state broadly the categories where such ownership or management may be called for. Where the State finances an enterprise , there is a strong presumption in favour of its also acquiring the ownership. In fact, in the case of some non-existent industries, that may be the only way in which under the present conditions they can be started at all. Other enterprises which it may be necessary for the State to own are monopolies, and such vital services and public utilities as post, telegraphs, telephones, radio and railways. State management should normally follow where an enterprise is owned by the &te, but it need nnot do so in all cases. Even State owned enterprises may sometimes with advantage be left to the management of private parties, as in the case of many enterprises in the United States during World War 11, or to ad hocpublic corporations of the type of the London Passenger Transport Board, in which the State would be represented. In addition to the control of key industries and public utilities, the State would also, during the period of the Plan, have to exercise a more general control over economic processes. Such a control would include that of prices, of priorities in the distribution of raw materials and manufactured goods, of the flow of investmennt of capital, and of foreign trade and exchange. The part that the State will thus have to play will obviously call for a great increase in the administrative machinery. Till the outbreak of war in 1939, the administration in the country could fairly be described as most rudimentary - its main purpose being the collection of revenue and the maintenance of order. A State of the kind we have imagined would need, a far larger body of persons with special education, training and experience. Perhaps one of the best instruments for such a purpose would be a newly created Economic Civil Service. The creation of a large army of officials of various kinds and the concentration of administrative and economic power in their hands bring us face to face with perhaps the basic problem of the rest of our century, which is that of whether the people are to own the State or the State is to own the people. To put the matter differently, it is the problem of finding 'the most fruitful method of combining planning - the right kind and degree of planning - with freedom'. It has been argued by a-learned professor that the path of total planning is the road to serfdom. Is this assumption true, that a planned econmy can only function within the political framework of dictatorship? Such a fear is natural, 'since in the two countries which have witnessed the most impressive experiments in economic planning undertaken in recent years, namely Soviet Russia and Germany, the State has exerted over the activities of its citizens in every sphere of life a degree of authority which provides little scope for the exercise of individual freedom'. These States have been described as 'Managerial States', that is, State where the managers of industry and the bureaucrats of administration monopolize all power. It has been said that 'in a country where the sole employer is the State, opposition means death by slow starvation. The old principle: who does not work shall not eat, has been replaced by a new one: who does not obey shall not eat'. It is therefore a natural fear that Lin Yu-Tang has put it, 'When democracy falls into the hands of the experts, democracy just falls'. But to agree to surrender liberty for the sake of planning, or vice versa, would be to accept defeat too easily. There is no reason why, learning the lessons which these experiments have to teach us, we should not devise safeguards which will make it possible for planning in India to take place democratically. In our planning we have to make a choice not so much between Socialism and Totatlitarian Collectivism. 'Democracy rests on the belief that the freedom of the individual to give full expression to his personality is one of the supreme values of life and among its basic needs: the State cannot demand a surrender of that freedom except for well-defined ends and except with the assent of the community freely expressed through constitutional channels and with opportunities for the free functioning of parties holding divergent views. If a planned economy involves, as it necessarily must, the restriction of individual freedom in varying degrees, such restriction under a democratic government will be of limited duration and confined to specific purposes. Whereas in a totalitarian society the individual is merged in the State and belongs to it, having no rights except those which the State chooses to confer, in a democracy the State belongs to the people and is but a means of securing the fulfilment of the Individual's rights and therefore any restriction which it imposes on his freedom must be justified by that test.' On the economic side, planning for freedom calls for the widest possible decentralization of the process of production and the widest possible distribution of economic power. As far as possible, such decentralization of ownership should be combined with co-operative endeavour - through the encouragement of co-operative farming by peasant proprietors and industrial co-operative movement. The value of co-operation is that it gives scope for individual initiative and freedom without the evils of individual selfishness and for the benefit of collective action without the evils of bureaucratic collectivism which reduces the common people to being 'small screws in the great machine of State'. The best guarantee for the preservation of political liberty is that of free opposition to the government of the day. Indeed, an acid test of democracy is the existence of opposition parties functioning freely and with every hope of winning the support of the majority and thus becoming the government. No State which does not allow such freedom of oppostion can claim to be democratic in any sense of the word. A mixed society, with several autonomous sections acting as checks and balances, provides the most likely soil in which such democracy can flourish. Above all, what needs to be remembered is that planning is but a means to an end. It is an instrument by the use of which certain desired results may be achieved and, like all tools, it can be used for good or for ill. The question therefore arises: Planning, yes, but to what end? _Previous musing: [Fundamental Right to Property by V M Tarkunde](https://indianliberals.in/content/fundamental-right-to-property-by-v-m-tarkunde/)_ --- ## [Musing] Population Causes Prosperity URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/population-causes-prosperity/ ### Body _Published by the Centre for Civil Society, a public policy think tank based out of New Delhi, the excerpt below has been borrowed from the handbook “Free Your Mind: A Beginner’s Guide to Political Economy” by Sauvik Chakraverti in 2002._ _The handbook is a concise introduction to the principles of political economy and is aimed at readers who are new to the subject. An easy read for anyone interested in understanding how the politico-economic system works and makes them conversant with the essential errors of socialism, the book is written in a clear and accessible style. It uses real-world examples to illustrate its key concepts._ _One of the book's central themes is the importance of individual freedom and the harmful effects of excessive government intervention in the economy. The author argues that a free market system, where individuals can make their own choices and pursue their interests, is the best way to promote prosperity and innovation._ _Sauvik Chakraverti was an Indian columnist and author. He wrote extensively on politics, economics, and culture, and his writings often focused on promoting classical liberal ideas._ _Chakraverti regularly contributed to several Indian newspapers and magazines, including Livemint. He was also the author of several books, including "Udarwad: Raj, Samaj aur Bazar ka Naya Paath,” “Antidote: Essays against the Socialist Indian State,” and “Natural Order: Essays Exploring Civil Government and the Rule of Law.”_ _Chakraverti's writings were known for their incisive analysis and unconventional perspectives, and he was a strong advocate of individual freedom and free markets. He passed away in 2014, leaving a legacy of thought-provoking commentary on Indian society and politics._ _You can read the original, unabridged version _[_here_](https://ccs.in/sites/default/files/2022-08/free_your_mind_1-40_Part1.PDF)_._ Having said that _Homo Economicus _is a machine programmed to generate wealth, it becomes necessary to examine the argument taught in Indian Economics that India’s substantial human population is a cause of poverty.  If humans are the only species capable of creating wealth, then how can more of their number cause poverty? What is the truth? The truth is that every dot on the map, representing a town or a city, is densely populated with human beings–and is rich. More millionaires, cellphones, Mitsubishi Lancers, and swimming pools are in crowded Delhi than in vacant Jhoomritalaiya. Why is this so? For the answer, we must turn to Economics, which studies_ the production of wealth._ Because we can trade, we SPECIALISE in doing what we do best and exchange with others for what they do best. Unlike animals, human beings are **_not self-sufficient. _**Instead, they tend to find specialised niches in which to work. They produce goods and services from these niches, which they exchange in the market economy. Thus you have farmers, fishermen, goatherds, journalists, dentists, washermen, etc. No other species specialises in this manner because they do not have a market economy, resulting from our remarkable trade ability. _This is how wealth is created._ Human beings, being “economical”, should never be advised to be “self-sufficient.” Imagine your plight if you decided to opt out of the exchange of goods and services and had to do everything yourself. Imagine what would happen if your family became “self-sufficient”; and then your village or town. This would mean that not only would you be compelled to grow your food and wash your clothes, but it would also mean that you would have to learn to build your own house and learn surgery. At no level does self-sufficiency improve the lives of those who practice it. All it does is divert your productive energies from areas where you are most competent to those in which you are relatively unskilled. If it is terrible for a person, a family, a village or a town to practice self-sufficiency, a great nation like India cannot gain by pursuing such a path. _Self-sufficiency is economic suicide._ A little experiment can be attempted: Go to a kindergarten class and ask the little children what they want to be when they grow up. They will answer: actor, dancer, policeman, and so on. I’ll bet that little child will not say: I want to grow up and be self-sufficient. If it goes against the logic of little children, how could it be logical for the entire nation to practice self-sufficiency? When we specialise in the market economy, a phenomenon occurs that economists call the **_Division of Labour._** ECONOMICS IS THE STUDY OF THE PRODUCTION OF WEALTH THROUGH THE DIVISION OF LABOUR. Dividing labour into numerous specialised roles is the best possible in an urban area– denoted by a dot on the map. It is challenging in a rural area where there are very few people, and thus, the minimal scope for being, for example, a successful dentist or even a _dhobi_. Therefore, every dot on the map (representing a town or city) is densely populated and relatively affluent. Wherever human veins are densely crowded, as in a city or a town, there is greater prosperity than in any vacant countryside simply because of a more significant division of labour. The extent/degree of the division of labour depends on the market size. For example, if you wanted to open a Thai restaurant and you needed 100 diners a day to break even, and if one out of every 100 people wanted Thai food on any given day, you would have to set up shop in a town where are at least 10,000 potential customers. This is why crowded cities are prosperous: there is a more significant division of labour. This is a universal phenomenon: not just Delhi and Bombay but London, Tokyo, New York, and Paris are densely populated and affluent. The world is 50 per cent urbanised today: half the world’s population lives in towns and cities. India is far below the world average at about 30 per cent, but the wealthiest states of India–Gujarat and Maharashtra–report urbanisation levels close to the world’s average of 50 per cent. India's poorest states, like Assam and Bihar, reported urbanisation levels below 10 per cent. It is important to note that the word “civilisation” has its root in the Latin word _civitas_, which means “city.” The story of civilisation is the story of great cities coming up around the Mediterranean and linking up, supplying goods and services to each other: the small, safe sea provides the transportation backdrop around which trade could take place. Mohenjodaro and Harappa were great cities linked to the Mediterranean through the port of _Lothal._ _Cities and towns are the anthills of human colonists. _It is futile to pursue “development” while cities face ruin. Across the world, urbanisation causes prosperity by aiding the division of labour. Countries like India would therefore be better off pursuing urbanisation as a means to wealth instead of doing what our government has been doing all these 50 years–spending money uselessly on “rural development.” A recent Arthur Andersen-_Fortune_ survey of cities worldwide found Indian cities to be the worst in the world! This is not the way to become a prosperous country, Apart from general misgovernance, one of the prime reasons for the ruination of our urban areas is the undersupply of roads. We shall later discuss this issue in greater detail. For now, let it be understood that there are over 400 names in the STD code book. Still, most of urban India (62.5 per cent of India’s total urban population by some estimates) is focused on a handful of huge metros growing daily. Urban geographers, those who study the geography of towns and cities, call this phenomenon **_primacy_**. Primacy occurs when the primary city bloats up because it is not adequately linked to the surrounding villages. If there had been proper roads, satellite towns would have blossomed, and each of the 400 names in the STD code book would have become a tiny Singapore. The British built many acceptable cities and countless “hill stations” in their time. In the last 50 years, our urban areas have all been ruined. In British India, the hill stations were all linked to a metro: the Darjeeling-Shillong belt to Calcutta; the Poona-Mahabaleshwar belt to Bombay; the Ooty-Coonoor belt to Madras; and the Simla-Mussoorie belt to Delhi. With such strong links to urban metropolises, all our urban centres can become like Singapore. Remember, Singapore received independence only in 1965. From a dirty little town crowded with coolies and hawkers, it has become a thriving city today. Because of the undersupply of roads, there is urban overcrowding in India, but that does not mean the country is “overpopulated.” Travel by train or plane around India, and you will see vast open spaces. India’s population density (number of people per square kilometre) is LESS than that of Japan, Germany, Holland, and Belgium. And these countries do not report urban overcrowding. The solution to urban overcrowding lies not in birth control but in inroads that will allow many more towns to come up and link up with the central city. With more urban areas–400 Singapore–Indians will have sufficient living space, and overcrowding will end. This argument, therefore, generates **_A Conflict of Visions._** Instead of seeing the future of India in terms of thousands of self-governing and self-sufficient village republics (the Gandhi-Nehru vision), we can see India as an urban civilisation. With 400 excellent cities, all well linked to each other by rail, road and air, a maximum of trade can take place at the least cost. A poor transportation network makes business slow and expensive. A truck travels 250 km a day on Indian highways; they do more than 600 km a day in the rest of the world! It is said that “every great city sits like a giant spider on its transportation network.” India needs such cities and towns. SINCE HUMANS ALONE ARE ECONOMICAL, AND SINCE CITIES ARE RICH, IT MUST BE SAID THAT THE ARGUMENT THAT POPULATION CAUSES POVERTY IS THE DEVIL’S PHILOSOPHY. It makes mothers and fathers ashamed of producing children. It makes children feel that they are not a resource; instead, they are a problem. It makes cynics look at traffic accident statistics and say that our unsafe roads are a means of solving “the population problem.” Human beings are the world’s ultimate resource–because they all possess the human mind. You are trying to pour knowledge into that mind. Please make sure that what you feed your mind is the truth. A false philosophy will deaden your mind. It will not make you see that, with your mind and the ability to trade, you can generate wealth by doing what you do best in a free market economy. Instead, it will train you to look upon yourself and your brethren as a huge problem that requires political action to solve. To understand why political interference in the market economy harms us and our country, let us focus on the **_political market._** I’m off to Bombay To make my fortune There are jobs a-plenty there— I’ll be a watchman, waiter, cop Even a film star— if I dare I’m off to Bombay Where millions live And a million dreams come true. My village is poor, with nothing to give So what else is there to do? _Previous musing: [Laying The Foundations For An Economic Miracle](https://indianliberals.in/content/laying-the-foundations-for-an-economic-miracle/)_ --- ## [Musing] Post Reform Labour and Employment Issues - The Liberal Budget URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/post-reform-labour-and-employment-issues-liberal-budget/ ### Body _The following musing is taken from ‘_**_The Liberal Budget_**_’ published by the _**_Indian Liberal Group_**_ for the year 2007-08, titled ‘_[**_Taking Reforms to the Poor_**](https://indianliberals.in/indian-liberal-group/liberal-budget-reforms-for-poor.pdf)_’. The text reproduced below is the introduction of its third chapter on _**_Post Reform Labour and Employment Issues_**_._ _In light of the [2024 budget](https://www.financialexpress.com/budget/budget-2024-live-updates-when-will-govt-make-a-formal-announcement-on-the-budget-presentation-date-stay-tuned-3540014/#:~:text=Budget%202024%20Live%20Updates%3A%20FM,%2C%20sources%20told%20FinancialExpress.com.) being presented by the newly formed government this month, which aims to address the [ever increasing problem of unemployment](https://www.cmie.com/kommon/bin/sr.php?kall=warticle&dt=20240502160006&msec=476) in the country, this aspiring liberal budget gives some much needed perspectives on the challenges and opportunities that we are faced with._ Being a populous country, lndia has had to face the perennial problem of **labour and employment**. Providing employment to the millions of job seekers has been a major challenge for our planners since the beginning of India's planning process. Till the economy remained closed (mid-80s and more particularly the beginning of the 90s) under the socialistic pattern model, employment generation and labour protection was an overriding goal. Particularly, the organized sector was legally obliged to protect employment in return for protection from competition. The interventionist regime created a complex web of labour laws and extensive executive machinery.** This resulted in a well-laid framework seeking to provide security of tenure of employment in the organized sector while largely ignoring similar efforts in the unorganized and small-scale sectors.**  The economic scene started changing in the nineties. The New Economic Policy (NEP) introduced stabilization and structural adjustment programmes. Stabilization measures basically aimed at controlling fiscal balance, balance of payment deficit and maintaining lower inflation while structural programmes focused on measures for integrating the domestic economy with the global economy, productivity enhancement, and higher movement of capital. This exposed the economy to both domestic and global competition. During the post reforms period labour-saving modern technology was adopted by industry in order to attain higher goals in terms of quality and quantity, while de-reservation led to increasing the scale of the economy. These measures in turn resulted in higher output but lower employment generation particularly in the organized sector. As a result, the higher growth achieved during the post-reforms period without a corresponding rise in employment was termed as 'jobless-growth'. Even as the protection given to the organized sector was taken away under the new policy framework, labour law rigidities remained unchanged. This started the conflict between employers and employees. As the employment generation potential of the organized sector started waning, labour started moving into the unorganized sector. This in turn led to an increase in the number of those engaged in low quality employment (lack of decent jobs) and other related issues. _The growing unorganized sector also became a source of income inequalities in the country._ After a decade and half of reforms, lndia is at the crossroads.** It is high time to complete the unfinished agenda of reforms by adopting a second dose of hardcore reforms including the labour reforms. **At the same time, demographic changes resulting in a growing proportion of economically active younger population, throws a major challenge as well as an opportunity for the economy. The trade off between capital intensive (higher productivity) and labour intensive (employment generating) techniques adds to the complexities. Simultaneously, the problems of child labour, and gender bias in the labour market continue to bother.  In the post-reform period, lndia has embarked on a high growth path leaving behind a Hindu growth rate of 3.5%. Today the economy is capable of posting a sustained growth of 8%. Most importantly, our policy makers have realized the significance of 'inclusive growth'. The draft Approach Paper to the 11th Five Year Plan mentions that “...the 11th plan provides an opportunity to restructure policies to achieve new vision of growth that will be much more broad-based and inclusive..” **Labour and employment issues in our economy cannot be seen in isolation. On the contrary they are closely connected to the issues of income and poverty levels and overall developmental policies** - the topics dealt separately in this edition of the Liberal Budget.  With this background, we attempt to briefly analyse the issues relating to labour and employment particularly during the post-reforms period and also try to find out solutions in broad terms. The chapter is broadly divided into three parts. The first part deals with the structural changes in the labour and employment scene in India. The second part discusses the imperatives inherent in the problem while the last part deals with the challenges posed by these problems Read the complete chapter [here](https://indianliberals.in/indian-liberal-group/liberal-budget-reforms-for-poor.pdf) (pages 23-30) type=content&p=8576). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] Profit-Shy Asians URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/profit-shy-asians-by-kd-valicha/ ### Body _K D Valicha’s piece “Profit-Shy Asians,” featured in the August 1957 edition of The Indian Libertarian magazine, discussed "free enterprise." The edition was released on the 10th anniversary of the Indian Independence movement. While the country was still carving its niche on the global map, Valicha’s cogent analysis of the significance of free enterprise and the skewed definition and, therefore, aversion to Profit not only gives a glimpse of the country’s economic outlook but also finds relevance even after six decades of publication._ _You can read the complete, unabridged version here [The India Libertarian Aug 1957](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/The-India-Libertarian-Aug-1957.pdf)___ Many people in India today believe that free enterprise, unchecked and unrestricted by any State control, will lead to anarchy and disorder. This wrong notion arises from a misconception about the term 'free enterprise.' Logically, there can be no anarchy; there can only be various orders. The difference between free enterprise and socialism or communism is not that the former is disorderly while the latter is given to order but a difference between patterns of economy. Under free enterprise, there is an absence of an authority to establish and regulate the hierarchy of needs and wants and the proportion of each for the individual, while under communism, all desires of the individual are dictated by a central, supreme authority. Thus those libertarians who defend free enterprise are not in the pay of capitalists but in the pay of their conscience. The libertarian believes that liberty is the sine qua non to progress, that progress is impossible without freedom. Liberty is defined as the faculty and possibility of making a choice. This implies a double-ness; for freedom is both social and individual. The faculty to choose is a personal quality and calls for individual development. Whereas the possibility to exercise choice depends upon social conditions and environment. Free enterprise is the only guarantee of the broadest possible choice. Free enterprise does not mean repealing all laws, for all laws are by no means necessarily a narrowing of freedom. Specific laws are necessary for the maintenance of justice and the prevention of crime. The method of free enterprise is that of democratic legislation; it seeks to minimize injustice through legislation and not through political intervention. Thus, for example, evils like the various monopolies can only be eradicated by proper legislation reform, not by nationalization.  Furthermore, free enterprise is the only system that guarantees maximum productivity and hence the greatest good of the most significant number. Capital in a capitalistic society is the tool used for production. Since any socialist State which owns all the tools will have to pay interest on its bonds, it boils down to a question of State capitalism versus Private capitalism. The capitalist payment or profit is a payment for using tools. So far, no State has been devised which will use the tools for greater productivity. Why then concentrate all the capital into the hands of the politicians and create the greatest and the most tyrannical monopoly that ever existed?  From irrational inclinations comes also the vilification of profits. Profits and morality have nothing to do with each other. Profits are bad only when they are not enough; profits are the wealth of a nation. The more the profits, the more the prosperity. All abuses against profits arise from a misconception and ignorance of the nature of economic processes. Some profits are no doubt improper, but these are due to monopolies. Even Government enterprises cannot afford to neglect profits. The test of any enterprise is ultimately profits, except in the case of social and public works. Maurice Zinkin writes in Development for Free Asia:  _“All Asian planning, therefore, should make profit the centre of its attention. Yet so deep is the aversion to the idea of profit…that none of the plans which have been prepared, not even the lengthy and detailed Indian First Five-Year Plan, discusses profit at all. The question the planners ask in Asia is not 'How can the national income (which, it must be remembered, is purely a measure of satisfactions in terms of money and takes no account of the relative moral value of those satisfactions) be increased the most at the least cost? Instead they begin from a whole series of different premises and build upon them. They argue that wealth comes from industrialisation; so they create uneconomic industries and bolster them with protection. They accept that national safety requires a high degree of autarchy [autocracy]; so they build up defence industries and automobile industries which run expensively because their production is too small. They consider that the handicraftsman represents certain social values it is important to preserve; so they keep him in existence by subsides. They worry about their balance of payments; so they lend money to shipping companies at uneconomiCally low rates of interest, or talk of synthetic petrol plants. They  have the political pressures on their Ministers to consider; so they spread schemes evenly over the country and give special attention to backward areas. They share the intelligentsia's suspicion of the businessman and faith in the State; so they crib and cabin the businessman at every turn and extend the State's sphere constantly, though the State is short of entrepreneurial and managerial talent, and its size gives it a bias towards the long-term low-return scheme rather than the short-term high-return scheme.”_ Rational economic thinking cannot afford to be dictated by personal whims and ideological quackery. To brush aside capitalism as evil or to decree profits is to neglect one's interests. Capitalism is the bedrock of all economic progress. Socialism is a parasite. British socialism is all the while sustained on American capitalism. Libertarianism, which seeks to retain capitalism while curing it of monopoly, has always been fighting. In the anti-mercantilist epoch, its champion was Adam Smith. In the anti-conservative epoch, John Stuart Mill stood out as its defender. Today is the anti-socialist era. Libertarianism is fighting, dedicated with all its power and love of liberty. It does not matter whether it wins in the political sphere. What matters is not political parties but ideas. _Previous musing: [The Evils of Child Marriage (1850)](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-evils-of-child-marriage-by-ishwar-chandra-vidyasagar/)_ --- ## [Musing] Prospects of Democracy in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/prospects-of-democracy-in-india/ ### Body _Published in the June 1961 issue of Freedom First magazine, author SP Aiyar makes a case for the evolution of democratic ideals and institutions in India. The introduction of Montagu-Chelmsford reforms ensured that India and its leaders were trained in the democratic system, unlike the future of some other colonies in the world. He lauds the leaders of independent India for trusting and consolidating the democratic system through the 1951 general election._ _You can read the original, unabridged version on _[_Page 7_](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/109.pdf)_ here._ Democratic government and politics rest on the idea of the responsibility of the rulers to the people, who are considered to be the ultimate repositories of political power. Implicit is the notion that people can exercise their choice to decide who, in their opinion, is most trustworthy and competent to govern them. They have the right to recall a government in which they have no confidence. By People is meant the electorate, which exercises its political decisions through the electoral system on the principle of one man, one vote. The bewildering variety of opinions in society is polarised by the party system, which in democratic countries is considered the bedrock of representative government. From this, it follows that though men are unequal in the endowments of Nature, they have the equal right to decide the form of government under which they live–for what touches all must approve all. They also have the right to live in a society that does not hamper their natural development. Further, from the fundamental postulate that every man is a centre of absolute value, it follows that democracy is not an arbitrary government but one of the principles, the principles being embodied in the constitution of the land which is considered more important than the men who framed it or those who are at the helm of a temporarily constituted government. This is the implication of the saying that_ democracy is a government of laws, not men_. When men conflict with the arbitrary actions or decisions of those in authority, they have the right to appeal to the law of the land interpreted by a free and fearless judiciary. The corpus of democratic ideas in the form non stated is a product of Western political development. “Looking back to traditional societies of Asia”, says a wise interpreter of Asian institutions, “it is difficult to discern any approach to the values of democracy.” In India, the British official policy for a long time rested on the assumption that the people of India were not mature enough to run the institutions of free government and that it would be unwise and unfair to introduce these into the country in the form of which they were found in England. A good deal of current sociological thinking still supports this view. But the articulate sections of Indian society educated in the liberal ideas of English politics furiously repudiated the official point of view and condemned it as the excuse of an imperialist power to hold on to India. A great Indian statesman and one who all along was deeply sympathetic to British policy in India wrote an article with a significant title, “Leave India, to her Fate.” The temper of Indian nationalism after the First World War compelled England to work out a compromise, and it was decided by the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms to grant self-governing institutions by stages. The executive was to become gradually responsible to the people's representatives in a lawfully elected legislature. The strength of political forces within the country and outside compelled a speedier transfer of power than what was contemplated by the rulers or anticipated by the people of the country. But for an entire generation, the country's governing elite had been under probation–under the guidance of a foreign government that, with all its faults, was constitutional-minded. This training period has been of immense advantage to India. To view it from the proper perspective, one must compare India’s experience under the British to that of Indonesia under the Dutch or of Congo under the Belgians. The comparative stability of democracy in India in spite of fissiparous tendencies too well-known to require comment is an eloquent testimony to the advantages of British rule. When Independence came, those who had long been in opposition and trained in the techniques of agitation found themselves in positions of power and were naturally confident of their ability to govern the country. Nor did the people doubt their competence. Within a remarkably short period, a Constitution was framed for the country, which, though it has not been wanting critics both within the country and abroad, has stood the test of a decade of stress and strain. By the end of 1951, it was decided to hold a general election based on an adult franchise, which produced an electorate of 190 million. Dr Rajendra Prasad described this as an act of faith. Professor Hugh Tinker says that this was an act of faith in another sense also–in the Civil Service–for upon the officials fell the valuable task of making the elections possible. Considering the peculiarities of Indian society, even the task of preparing the electoral roll has been a great achievement. A second election in 1957 gave the country greater confidence in the operating technique of elections. Two five-year plans have registered a programme which is remarkable when one considers the difficulties in implementing these plans and the immature administration techniques which cannot be changed all of a sudden. The challenges in keeping close to the targets set in the plan and the divergent points of view that have been expressed are due to the fact that the Planning Commission has itself been passing through a phase of experimentation. The achievements of the Indian Government in many fields, however, are contrasted by considerable popular discontent. The fissiparous tendencies that one notices in India today and the pulls exercised by State Governments on the National Development Council to procure for themselves as many resources as possible are at least partly economic in character, the prospects of democracy must be viewed against the background of Indian economic conditions and the struggles that they have given rise to. It is significant that 13 years ago, few people asked whether democracy would succeed in India; today, few don’t ask this question. This change in outlook is partially accountable for the unfortunate experience of newly independent countries in Asia and Africa. What thinking men and women in the country want to know is whether the institutions of democracy have taken root after the efforts of a decade. There is, of course, no way of ascertaining this. Even an experienced gardener is not always sure if the saplings that he has planted will grow. In the case of human institutions, it is indefinitely more challenging to speak with confidence, for they do not grow by themselves and are moreover constantly disturbed, if not uprooted, by the violent passions of men. Criticism of democracy in India is made from many angles, and it is impossible to examine all these here. Let us consider the working of democracy from a few prominent angles. It is said that in India, there is no opposition, and where there is no opposition, there can be no genuine democracy either. The idea that democracy requires opposition arises from the fact that no individual or group of men in society can claim to be infallible. The human mind, even if it has access to all the channels of information, including a free press, is an imperfect instrument for knowing the truth in all its aspects and it is necessary to evolve a system which ensures the dash of opposite points of view so that the different facets of an intricate problem can be seen as a whole. The word opposition in politics has a meaning similar to what it has in mechanics. When opposition becomes an end in itself, it defeats its own purpose and degenerates into obstructionism. This is what has happened in India. Often the attitude of the opposition parties has been negative and destructive rather than positive and purposeful. On the other hand, the Government of India needs to be more responsive to public opinion. This is true or false according to what one is thinking about. In several cases, the Government of India has yielded to public opinion. In this context, one is reminded of the difficulties in the passage of the Hindu Code Bill. But in several cases, the government has also been obstinate. The influence of Government works subtly in various directions, and we often hear of pressures on particular issues or persons. All this may be true or false to varying degrees. It must be admitted, however, that a widespread belief in these undesirable ways of Government can, in the long run, be damaging to the cause of democracy. Further, critics of democracy in India maintain that Parliamentary control over the administration is too imperfect to ensure responsibility. It must be admitted that there are twilight areas in the country’s administration. Students of Public Administration have often pointed this out - Dean Appleby, for instance. It is also true that publicity in Indian Administration is highly defective. There is no systematic or organised way of enabling the public to receive reports concerning various aspects of administration—the more critical the information, the greater its scarcity, e.g., Mr Gorwala's Report on the Administration of Mysore is extremely difficult to get in Bombay. Even for research purposes, institutions need help to keep themselves continuously informed. A word must also be said concerning the authenticity of the reports. Prof. Morris-Jones tells us that the inaccuracies in the Rau Committee's report on the administration of the Damodar Valley Corporation were due to the inaccurate information supplied by the Government to the Committee. There is also a large measure of truth in the criticism often heard that the Government does not take action on several reports. In other directions, the conduct of the Government has been praiseworthy. For example, the U.P.S.C., in its Report for 1957-58, states that during the year, there was not a single instance in which its advice was not accepted. If the Commission can report in this manner in the coming years, nourishing traditions will have been laid, and it will go a long way in providing a clean, civil service. Though we have yet to go a long way in learning the ethics of parliamentary life, the working of India's parliament leaves no room for despair. Parliament has become conscious of its rights and privileges. It is also necessary to remember that Nehru has been an educative influence on the Parliament and has been responsible for making the country aware of its value. What is essential to consider in any evaluation of democracy in India is not the weakness of the opposition parties but the temper and outlook of the ruling party. What strikes the student of Indian politics most is not the occasional departure from strict democratic etiquette, which one notices in the statement of rival political parties but the fact that all political parties consider the Constitution as preeminent and believe in the efficiency of constitutional methods. It is, of course, confirmed that the rank and file of the principal parties have yet to be thoroughly educated, but this will necessarily be a slow process. The present leadership of the country under Nehru has sound democratic instincts and can be trusted not to misuse the tremendous powers that it now enjoys. The prospects of democracy in India will ultimately depend on whether the democratic leadership will perpetuate itself. The electorate in India is free to choose between rival political parties and will exercise its right in the future as it has done in the past. Meanwhile, much will depend on Congress as the ruling party sets up norms of political morality and standards of behaviour for its rank and file and other political parties in the country. The excellent task before Congress for the present and future is to conduct itself in recognition that in a democratic system, no party enjoys the privilege of immortality. _Previous musing: [The Education of the Electorate](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-education-of-the-electorate/)_ --- ## [Musing] Rajaji- Man with a Mission URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/rajaji-man-with-a-mission/ ### Body In the book 'Profiles of Courage: Dissent in Indian Socialism', G Narayanaswamy writes about the journey of C Rajagopalachari, the pioneer of the liberal movement in India. Rajaji, as he was popularly known, realised the urgency of strong opposition to the single dominant party at the time, which led him to establish the Swatantra Party. Rajaji frequently interacted with his visitors from different walks of life and news appearing in the press had kept him informed of political developments both at national and international levels. He had also realized that Congress had become the largest monolithic party and Nehru its unquestioned leader. There was no one in Congress to criticize him. Even if there was criticism, Nehru resented and silenced the critics. Rajaji had always been emphasising the importance and the need for an effective opposition in a democracy. To use his own phrase, a democracy “without a strong opposition is a motor car without a break and is liable to get involved in an accident at any time.” Probably the most significant contribution which he had made- and which none else could have- to the Indian political life was the founding of the Swatantra Party and thus proving that an alternative to Congress was possible. If there is a fairly stable non-Congress Government functioning in Centre and States, its seeds were sown by Rajaji in 1959. _This is an excerpt from the book Profiles in Courage: Dissent in Indian Socialism, a compilation on the lone voices of liberalism and economic freedom, including those of Rajaji, __Minoo Masani_ _, N G Ranga, B R Shenoy, Piloo Mody, Khasa Subba Rau and A D Shroff during the era of socialist command. You can access this book for free on _**[_our website_](https://ccs.in/sites/default/files/2022-08/profiles_in_courage.pdf)**_._ [Read more on Indian Liberal Tradition](https://spontaneousorder.in/tag/indian-liberal-tradition/) --- ## [Musing] Rajaji Was Prescient About Electoral Funding URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/rajaji-was-prescient-about-electoral-funding/ ### Body As I have often pointed out, much of the expense is really what the State ought to bear on behalf of all the candidates. We should see to this transfer of the burden from candidates to the State, while at the same time safeguarding the voters against the blandishments of the party in power. _The post-1947 polity in India was characterised by the dominance of  a single party or the ‘Congress System’, as the political scientist Rajni Kothari termed it. The single-party dominated democracy went together with the state-controlled planned economy. _ _Apparently, the stymied competition in both electoral and economic marketplace didn’t bode well for the progress of the fragile Republic. One obvious manifestation of the monopolised political economy lay in the domain of electoral funding mechanism. Since the Congress politicians in power could employ levers of the state (license, quota, permit, import substitution mechanism) to decide the fate of the corporate houses, the Big Business paid paeans to socialism and filled Congress coffers with donation money. _ _These corporate donations oiled the Congress electoral machinery, which was formidable until the onset of the second phase of the party system in 1967.  The corporate houses also walked the talk on India’s mixed economy model which protected them from foreign competition and allowed them to make profits in an economy characterized by scarcity for consumers. It was a win-win for both, the big business and the political party in power._ _The monopolising tendency in the system didn’t go unnoticed and unchallenged though. Politicians, public intellectuals, and columnists warned of the dangers of the system degenerating into totalitarianism. Most prominent of the lot undoubtedly was the freedom fighter C Rajagopalachari. Apart from the criticism of planned economy and single-party dominance, he also wrote on corporate funding of political parties, which was connected with both matters of polity and economy. _ _Produced below is his column from 1968, in which he argued for making the elections inexpensive. Such a proposal, in his view, would lead to an influx of deserving and meritorious public-spirited leaders in legislatures and serve as an important check on the attempts by political parties to hijack the agenda for governance.  _ Serious and sufficient attention has not been given in responsible quarters to the problem of making elections to Parliament and to the State legislatures very much less expensive than they are now. I have for a long time been insisting on this as an essential reform. If we desire to have good Government in India this is an absolutely necessary step to be attended to at once. Whether we desire to rest the Government on the majority party basis, or on a coalition basis or a no-party basis, or on a proportional representation system, this reform is a condition precedent. We must make it possible for candidates to contest seats though not able themselves to bear much expense and not desire to depend on wealthy friends or wealthy parties. The more expensive we make elections, the greater the dependence on political parties will be. The loss of that independence which Edmund Burke wanted for members of Parliament becomes a necessary consequence. The nexus that has developed between the ruling party and the permit-licence-raj which prevails will be a permanent feature of India’s economy if we do not take serious, effective steps to make elections very much less expensive. The party in the office can raise funds from its potential clientele; not other parties. Every nation has its own peculiarities. Poverty is our peculiarity in India. Poor people should perhaps be content with a monarchic system of government. But we have been ambitious and plunged for democracy, based on elections. This ambition cannot be truly fulfilled unless our experienced administrators find a way to make elections dead cheap. I would go so far as to say that we ought to be willing to sacrifice many good features if we can succeed in making seat in the legislature available to a man or woman of merit, however poor he or she may be, without having to go and beg for money from others to enable him or her even to try. We have had quite a few general elections, and some of our retired officials as well as some still in office, have acquired considerable knowledge of all the details of expenditure which a candidate has to go through. They can sit together and devise adequate measures to bring about the reforms I am insisting upon. The party now ruling in Delhi should realize that this is one of its most important and urgent responsibilities. It should give up the temptation to maintain its own life by perpetuating the expensiveness of elections for candidates willing to serve in Parliament or in the State legislatures. As I have often pointed out, much of the expense is really what the State ought to bear on behalf of all the candidates. We should see to this transfer of the burden from candidates to the State, while at the same time safeguarding the voters against the blandishments of the party in power. The High Command of the election proceedings should be an autonomous Board totally independent of the ruling executive. This is not a difficult task to organize, as we have already a fairly independent judiciary throughout the country as well as at the top in the Supreme Court. Let us remember that there is not a single reference to political parties in the Constitution. The tendency has however been to make the party system more and more firmly planted. Instead of this, we ought to make it more and more easy and popular for independent candidates to enter the legislatures. It may be administratively easier to handle things if candidates come in only through recognized political parties. But what is easy is not always the best way to attain national welfare and efficiency. We have had enough of political parties. Wherever else this system may have done well, it is not doing well in India, and will not do better as time goes on but will get worse and worse. It is crude, undemocratic and immoral to make elections so expensive as to drive candidates to sell themselves to parties by shutting other avenues against them in order to reduce the number of candidates and make official work easy. A panel of experienced men should be immediately set up to deal with this matter of making elections less expensive for candidates desiring to be independent of the financial help of political parties or of wealthy bosses. If the increase in the number of candidates is thought to be undesirable from any other point of view, a system of voting which will obtain the voters preferences and enable the unspent vote to be transferred to the next preference can be devised. All aspects of the problem should be thoroughly gone into by an expert committee, without losing sight of the main objective, viz., to make elections as inexpensive as possible for candidates. Politics should not become a preserve of wealthy parties or of wealthy men’s stooges. _The original text of the article can be accessed _[_here_](http://indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=785760897.pdf)_._ _[IndianLiberals.in](http://indianliberals.in/) is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ Read more: [De-Stalinisation Versus Communism](https://spontaneousorder.in/so-musings-de-stalinisation-versus-communism/) --- ## [Musing] Rajkumari Amrit Kaur: Philanthropy and Politics URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/rajkumari-amrit-kaur-philanthropy-and-politics/ ### Body _Known as “a princess in her nation’s service”, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur of Kapurthala wore many hats  – a freedom fighter, philanthropist, Parliamentarian, and a far-sighted Union Health Minister–the first woman to hold a Cabinet rank in Nehru’s Cabinet post-Independence. She was also one of the 15 founding members of the 299-member Constituent Assembly that came together to debate and draft the Constitution in December 1946._ _Like many women in the Constituent Assembly, she did not believe in reservations for women. “In the matter of representation it was felt that if practical equality were secured for women in the domain of franchise, they would be able to find their way into the legislative and administrative institutions of the country through the open door or ordinary election, and no special expedients such as reservation of seats, nomination, co-option or separate electorates would then be necessary,” she wrote._ Amrit Kaur was born on 2 February 1889 in the royal family of Kapurthala in Punjab to Raja Sir Harnam Singh Ahluwalia and Priscilla Golaknath- whose father had mentored Harnam Singh and guided him during his conversion to Christianity. Amrit Kaur was raised as a Christian and shared her father’s political inclinations, introducing her to freedom fighters like Gopal Krishna Gokhale. She said, _“The flames of my passionate desire to see India free from foreign domination were fanned by him [Gokhale].” _ Amrit Kaur received her education in England and, upon her return, took up the cause of the Indian independence movement. Deeply inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s commitment to the nation’s freedom and development, she joined Gandhi’s Sewagram Ashram and worked as his secretary for 16 years. Her close association with Gandhi’s views and ideals made her determined and committed to India’s independence. She said, _“There was a quiet strength, an earnestness and deep humility about him that went straight to my young heart .... I feel I have owed allegiance to him and to his cause from that time on."_ Despite her privileged background, she led a simple life at the Ashram, wearing _Khadi_ and doing regular chores like cleaning, sweeping, and washing. She actively participated in the Salt Satyagraha and was arrested in Bombay. Later, she was detained for leading many processions during the Quit India movement for 20 months. Amrit Kaur was one of the founder members of the All India Women’s Conference (AIWC) in 1927 and worked as AIWC’s secretary in 1930 and as its President from 1931-33. The organisation was dedicated to improving education for women and children and other women’s rights issues, like the right to divorce, vote and inherit. She was a strong advocate of women’s education and believed that primary education uplifts the social status of women. She said, _“In the realm of educational reform, we have urged ever since our inception that there should be free and compulsory education. Again as far as proper facilities for female education are concerned until such time as universal, free and compulsory primary education as well as an adequate supply of infant and girl's schools equipped with trained women teachers are introduced, we must continue to do our utmost to have the system of education in our existing institutions changed.”_ She vehemently opposed child marriages and the dowry system. She supported women’s right to inheritance of property in the Hindu Code Bill. She believed in women’s political participation for better representation and even criticised Jawaharlal Nehru for not having enough women members in the 1936 Congress Working Committee. Her accomplishments as a Union Health Minister (1947-1957) were exemplary. She introduced the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bill in Lok Sabha in 1956, establishing the AIIMS as one of the premier medical education institutions in South East Asia. She said, _“It has been one of my cherished dreams that for postgraduate study and for the maintenance of high standards of medical education in our country, we should have an institute of this nature which would enable our young men and women to have their postgraduate education in their own country.”_ She collected donations and medical equipment for AIIMS from countries like New Zealand and Australia and international organisations like Rockefeller Foundation and Ford Foundation. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur protected the autonomous nature of the Institute. She maintained that the Institute became autonomous from 15th November 1956, and all posts with a minimum pay of Rs. 600/- per month or more would be created with the approval of the Government, while no prior permission was necessary for posts carrying a minimum pay of less than Rs. 600/- per month.  This decision allowed the Governing Body to fill 35 Assistant Professors' posts without waiting for the Government's prior approval. She considered increasing the number of trained nurses as a more practical solution to rural health care than increasing the number of doctors. She set up a committee to study various aspects of nursing service and nursing education in 1954. Kaur emphasised the need to maintain high standards of nursing and promote nursing as a profession in her speeches during the Indian Nursing Council Amendment Bill 1957.  Amrit Kaur represented India at World Health Organization (WHO) meetings (years). Elected as the President of WHO in 1950, she noted in her presidential address, _“I am sure history will record that in spite of wars and rumours of war which every country witnessed throughout and also continues to witness, the most significant human development has been in the field of social welfare. The world has been so narrowed down by the discoveries of science which have eliminated the obstacles of  both time and distance that it is impossible any longer for any one nation to live unto itself.”_ She was a realist and looked at the healthcare infrastructure of India through a practical lens. In one of her speeches about health amenities in rural areas, she noted, _“So long as we do not pay our doctors adequately we cannot have both good men and women and good work. You have to pay the doctors a living wage, a wage that will not only attract them, but will make it possible for them to serve. We should not make conditions of service impossible for anyone.”_ She was the President of the Indian Leprosy Association and the Tuberculosis Association. She campaigned to eradicate Tuberculosis and promoted BCG vaccination amidst mass scepticism about its efficacy. Kaur also was Chairperson of the Indian Red Cross Society for 14 years. In 1957, she was awarded the Court Bernadotte Gold Medal by the League of Red Cross Societies of 14 countries–Europe, Asia and Africa for her outstanding contribution and dedicated service. She was a member of the Lok Sabha from 1952-57 and the Rajya Sabha from 1957-62 and contributed to the legislation and Parliamentary debates on health and other issues like the Prevention of Food Adulteration Bill 1954, Delhi Municipal Corporation Bill 1957, Dowry Prohibition Bill 1959, and Geneva Conventions Bill 1960. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur thus carved a special place for herself in Indian history. As India’s first female Health Minister, she became an architect of public healthcare infrastructure in India’s nascent years as an independent Republic. She paved the way for forthcoming health welfare schemes. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur was a pioneer who inspired many women to aspire to and follow their true calling. **References** [_Eminent Parliamentarians Monograph Series: Rajkumari Amrit Kaur_](https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/761593/1/Eminent_Parliamentarians_Series_Rajkumari_Amrit_Kaur_English.pdf)_,_ Lok Sabha Secretariat (New Delhi, 1993). V Srinivas, [_AIIMS Diamond Jubilee Celebrations_](https://www.aiims.edu/images/pdf/notice/aiims-23-9-16.pdf), AIIMS New Delhi (New Delhi, 2016). Adrija Roychowdhury, [_Rajkumari Amrit Kaur: The princess who built AIIMS_](https://indianexpress.com/article/research/rajkumari-amrit-kaur-the-princess-who-built-aiims-6570937/), Indian Express (New Delhi, 2020). [_Learn About Rajkumari Amrit Kaur_](https://artsandculture.google.com/story/learn-about-rajkumari-amrit-kaur/lwVxJZq1ZEmmWg?hl=en), Google Arts & Culture. _Previous musing: [A Resilient Soul: Ramadevi Chowdhuri](https://indianliberals.in/content/a-resilient-soul-ramadevi-chowdhuri/)_ --- ## [Musing] Raja Ram Mohan Roy on Press Freedom URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/ram-mohan-roy-press-freedom/ ### Body The following text has been taken from Indian historian and author, Ramachandra Guha's _Makers of Modern India _(2010). In the book, Guha recognizes Raja Ram Mohan Roy as India's first liberal. The text below is among the letters Roy wrote to the Colonial government, persuading them to allow press freedom in Bengal. The strategically and carefully worded letter was written after an ordinance curbing press freedoms was passed in 1824. The ordinance required newspapers and journals to attain a license that would be issued and withdrawn, issued and withdrawn on government discretion.Your Lordship may have learned from the works of the Christian Missionaries, and also from other sources,  that ever since the art of printing has become generally known among the Natives of Calcutta, numerous Publications have been circulated in the Bengalee Language, which by introducing free discussion among the Natives and inducing them to reflect and inquire after knowledge, have already served greatly to improve their minds and ameliorate their condition. This desirable object has been chiefly promoted by the establishment of four Native Newspapers, two in the Bengalee and two in the Persian Languages, published for the purpose of communicating to those residing in the interior of the country, accounts of whatever occurs worthy of notice at the Presidency or in the country, and also the interesting and valuable intelligence of what is passing in England and in other parts of the world, conveyed through the English Newspapers or other channels … While your Memorialists were indulging the hope that Government, from a conviction of the manifold advantages of being put in possession of full and impartial information regarding what is passing in all parts of the Country, would encourage the establishment of Newspapers in the cities and districts under the special patronage and protection of Government, that they might furnish the Supreme Authorities in Calcutta with an accurate account of local occurrences and reports of Judicial proceedings, they have the misfortune to observe, that on the contrary, his Excellency the Governor General in Council has lately promulgated a Rule and Ordinance imposing severe restraints on the Press and prohibiting all Periodical Publications even at the Presidency and in the Native Languages, unless sanctioned by a Licence from Government, which is to be revocable at pleasure whenever it shall appear to Government that a publication has contained anything of an unsuitable character. Those Natives who are in more favourable circumstances and of respectable character, have such an invincible prejudice against making a voluntary affidavit, or undergoing the solemnities of an oath, that they will never think of establishing a publication which can only be supported by a series of oaths and affidavits, abhorrent to their feelings and derogatory to their reputation amongst their countrymen. After this Rule and Ordinance shall have been carried into execution, your Memorialists are therefore extremely sorry to observe, that a complete stop will be put to the diffusion of knowledge and the consequent mental improvement now going on, either by translations into the popular dialect of this country from the learned languages of the East, or by the circulation of literary intelligence drawn from foreign publications. And the same cause will also prevent those Natives who are better versed in the laws and customs of the British Nation, from communicating to their fellow subjects a knowledge of the admirable system of Government established by the British, and the peculiar excellences of the means they have adopted for the strict and impartial administration of justice. Another evil of equal importance in the eyes of a just Ruler is, that it will also preclude the Natives from making the Government readily acquainted with the errors and injustice that may be committed by its executive officers in the various parts of this extensive country; and it will also preclude the Natives from communicating frankly and honestly to their Gracious Sovereign in England and his Council, the real condition of his Majesty’s faithful subjects in this distant part of his dominions and the treatment they experience from the local Government; since information cannot in future be conveyed to England, as it has heretofore been, either by the translations from the Native publications inserted in the English Newspapers printed here and sent to Europe, or by the English publications which the Natives themselves had in contemplation to establish, before this Rule and Ordinance was proposed. After this sudden deprivation of one of the most precious of their rights, which has been freely allowed them since the Establishment of the British Power, a right which they do not have, and cannot be charged with having ever abused, the inhabitants of Calcutta would be no longer justified in boasting, that they are fortunately placed by Providence under the protection of the whole British Nation or that the King of England and Lords and Commons are their Legislators, and that they are secured in the enjoyment of the same civil and religious privileges that every Briton is entitled to in England. Your Memorialists are persuaded that the British Government is not disposed to adopt the political maxim so often acted upon by Asiatic Princes, that the more a people are kept in darkness, their Rulers will derive the greater advantages from them; since, by reference to History, it is found that this was but a short-sighted policy which did not ultimately answer the purpose of its authors. On the contrary, it rather proved disadvantageous to them; for we find that as often as an ignorant people, when an opportunity offered, have revolted against their Rulers, all sorts of barbarous excesses and cruelties have been the consequence; whereas a people naturally disposed to peace and ease, when placed under a good Government from which they experience just and liberal treatment, must become the more attached to it, in proportion as they become enlightened and the great body of the people are taught to appreciate the value of the blessings they enjoy under its Rule. Every good Ruler, who is convinced of the imperfection of human nature, and reverences the Eternal Governor of the world, must be conscious of the great liability to error in managing the affairs of a vast empire; and therefore he will be anxious to afford every individual the readiest means of bringing to his notice whatever may require his interference. To secure this important object, the unrestrained Liberty of Publication is the only effectual means that can be employed. And should it ever be abused, the established Law of the Land is very properly armed with efficient powers to punish those who may be found guilty of misrepresenting the conduct or character of Government, which are effectually guarded by the same Laws to which individuals must look for protection of their reputation and good name. Your Memorialists conclude by humbly entreating your Lordship to take this Memorial into your gracious consideration; and that you will be pleased by not registering the above Rule and Ordinance, to permit the Natives of this country to continue in possession of the civil rights and privileges which they and their fathers have so long enjoyed under the auspices of the British nation, whose kindness, and confidence, they are not aware of having done anything to forfeit. _Previous musing: [AMBEDKAR’S ANNIHILATION OF CASTE](https://indianliberals.in/content/ambedkar-annihilation-of-caste/)_ --- ## [Musing] Remembering Dr Ambedkar URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/remembering-dr-ambedkar/ ### Body Masani had the chance to read Ambedkar’s work on Indian finance in his college days and was also examined by him. Next, they worked together in the Constituent Assembly. On the issue of Uniform Civil Code, Masani and Ambedkar were on the same page though their efforts didn’t come to fruition. _Of late, Dr Ambedkar has emerged out of oblivion to reclaim a prominent space in India’s public life, and rightly so. As a political leader, social reformer, and author, Ambedkar interacted with a range of other leading figures of his times, all belonging to different ideology and political camps. _ _Produced below is a short article by the liberal politician Minoo Masani reminiscing his interactions with the Doctor. Masani had the chance to read Ambedkar’s work on Indian finance in his college days and was also examined by him. Next, they worked together in the Constituent Assembly. On the issue of Uniform Civil Code, Masani and Ambedkar were on the same page though their efforts didn’t come to fruition. Masani’s admiration for Ambedkar’s intellect and service to the nation is clearly reflected in the piece. To us, Masani’s recollection piece is a reflection of the shared pedigree of Indian liberalism which went on to shape the nation._ Recently Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s 35th death anniversary was celebrated in Bombay with great eclat. My path crossed Dr. Ambedkar’s at two stages of my life. One was when I was a student of economics at Elphinstone College and I read Dr. Ambedkar’s excellent book, “The Problem of the Rupee”. The book was both readable and sound. The Common Indian point of view based on the businessman’s interests was that the rupee should be pegged at 1 sh 4 d. I happened to agree with Dr. Ambedkar who took the other view espoused by the British Government that the rupee should be pegged at 1 sh 6 d. When I appeared for the B.A. examination, my economics paper contained a question on this issue. I naturally wrote in favour of Dr. Ambedkar’s view on the subject. I did not know then that he would be the examiner. The result of this accident was that my paper was very well marked by him! It was not till 1947 when I was a Member of the Constituent Assembly of India that I came across Dr. Ambedkar in person. He was a very active member of the Constituent Assembly and our Constitution owes a lot to his labours. He and I were both members of the Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights. There were several issues of a progressive nature when Dr. Ambedkar and I did not have our way. In the company of Mrs. Hansa Mehta, we therefore signed Minutes of Dissent to the official line. As far as I can recall two of the issues were a Common Civil Code and making free and compulsory primary education a fundamental right enforceable by law and not merely a Directive Principle as was the majority view. Dr. K.M. Munshi refers to this in his book on the subject and describes us as the three idealists which I suppose we were. I am very proud that I was in the distinguished company of Mrs. Hansa Mehta and Dr. Ambedkar. _Published in the January-March, 1992 issue of the Freedom First magazine, the original text could be accessed [here](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/412.pdf). (page 23)_ _[IndianLiberals.in](http://indianliberals.in/) is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ To read more about Minoo Masani, click [here](https://spontaneousorder.in/minoo-masani-from-socialism-to-liberal-swatantra-party/). --- ## [Musing] Replace the GDP URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/replace-the-gdp/ ### Body Adam Smith said that the final measure of an economy is the well-being of the people. Yet this is the one question that the policy establishment never asks. The government studies the supposed means to that end in exacting detail. It can tell us how many televisions we buy, how much money the drug or record industry invests, practically down to the last penny. _Originally conceived as a measure of national production around the Great Depression and WWII, Gross Domestic Product has turned into the magical single yardstick indicative of a nation’s progress. The discourse on prosperity and poverty across the globe in media, political slugfest, think-tanks, and academics revolves around the benchmark of GDP growth. However, as a statistical instrument originally meant to cater to the wartime manufacturing economy, the relevance of GDP has come under doubts in the increasingly digitised economy threatened by ecological collapse._ _Back in 1996, Jonathan Rowe in his The Washington Monthly article titled “Replace the GDP” pointed to the deficiencies of GDP as a measure for the flourishing of society. GDP’s focus on production, Rowe argued, accounted for the activity as gain which actually caused hardship for people. He also questioned the monetary focus of GDP which ignored the care economy and environmental quality, an essential aspect of human well-being. _ _India’s leading liberal journal Freedom First republished Rowe’s article in its April 1996 issue. Produced below is an excerpt._ Adam Smith said that the final measure of an economy is the well-being of the people. Yet this is the one question that the policy establishment never asks. The government studies the supposed means to that end in exacting detail. It can tell us how many televisions we buy, how much money the drug or record industry invests, practically down to the last penny. But nobody bothers to ask whether such means actually bring about the desired end. Economists simply assume it, and this assumption is the implicit baseline of just about every policy debate in Washington. More consumption or investment will bring about more well-being, regardless of what that consumption and investment consist and the actual impact on people’s lives. The result has been a growing chasm between the way the policy establishment measures the economy and the way Americans actually experience it. The experts keep saying the economy is up; Americans experience it as down. Economist Robert Lucas, the Nobel laureate, says the economy is in “excellent shape.” Ask your neighbours about that. Like the former Soviet rulers, America’s policy establishment dismisses such skepticism of official economics as a sign of the psychological disorder. You are spending more money, folks, they say; what possibly could be troubling you? Alan Greenspan, the Federal Reserve Board chairman, has scratched his head publicly over the ” extraordinarily  deep-rooted foreboding about the (economic) outlook.” Yet just maybe the people are on to something. Until our politicians cast off their archaic assumptions about well-being and what it helps bring about, their efforts to make things better will continue to make them worse. A good place to start would be the official gauge of economic progress, the Gross Domestic Product. The GDP is accepted as the main measure of economic policy and performance. Yet it is built upon several stunning fallacies. The first is the assumption that everything produced and sold is a ” good” by definition; more production and buying automatically equal more economic well-being. The result is a Mad Hatter’s accounting system that adds but can’t subtract. Car wrecks, divorces, disease, crime – social and environmental breakdowns of all kinds- get tallied in Washington as economic growth, simply because they cost money. _The full article could be accessed _[_here_](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/429.pdf)_._ Read More: [SO Musing: The Tiger Caged – Part II](https://spontaneousorder.in/the-tiger-caged-concluding-installment-from-the-economists-survey-of-india/) [_IndianLiberals.in_](http://indianliberals.in/)_ is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures, and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century to the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explains the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ --- ## [Musing] Rukhmabai Raut: A Beacon of Courage and Change in British India URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/rukhmabai-raut-a-beacon-of-courage-and-change-in-british-india/ ### Body ______ Rukhmabai Raut was a pioneering woman who became one of the first female doctors to practice medicine in British India. Born in 1864, Raut's life took a significant turn when she was married off at a young age of 11. However, she courageously resisted the marriage and fought a legal battle, the Dadaji Bhikaji vs. Rukhmabai case, which attracted national attention. Eventually, Queen Victoria dissolved her marriage, and Raut pursued further medical studies in England. Her activism and influence played a pivotal role in enacting the Age of Consent Act in 1891, which ended child marriages. Raut dedicated 35 years of her life to serving as the Chief Medical Officer at a state hospital in Rajkot before retiring to Bombay. Her remarkable contributions to medicine and the cause of women's rights continue to inspire generations. Read more about her journey [here](https://indianliberals.in/bn/content/rukhmabai-an-unrelenting-force-against-patriarchal-norms/). Read the stories of many other Indian Liberals [here](https://indianliberals.in/25-visionaries-indian-liberals-of-modern-india/) where we celebrate 25 visionaries of modern India. _Previous musing: [Acharya N G Ranga: The Farmer's Friend and Swatantra Party Stalwart](https://indianliberals.in/content/acharya-n-g-ranga-the-farmers-friend-and-swatantra-party-stalwart/)_ --- ## [Musing] Satyagraha and the Political System URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/satyagraha-and-the-political-system/ ### Body _The Gandhian form of non-violent civil disobedience i.e. the Satyagraha has been a part of India's political picture before as well as after Independence. It has manifested in various protests against State action. H0wever, there has always been a debate on people's assertion of their demands through Satyagraha in an independent India governed by a working Constitution. In an article published in July-September 1970 issue of Quest magazine, the author Mr. Nageshwar Prasad discusses the relevance of Satygaraha in the political system. Produced below is the full text of the article. _The technique of non-violent direct action (satyagraha) has not been examined with reference to its application to a political system that claims to rest on legitimacy. The term legitimacy was first used by Max Weber while discussing the typology of authority on the basis of its acceptance or non-acceptance by the people in the system. The International Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences defines legitimacy as 'the foundation of such governmental power as is exercised both with consciousness on the government's part that it has a right to govern and with some recognition by the governed of that right.' (International ... 1968 p. 244). Legitimacy, therefore, in the first instance, presupposes the right of the authority to govern and second the consent of the governed to such a right. From the point of view of this definition, no other system than democracy can approximate an ideal type of legitimacy because the democratic authority rests on the consent of the majority of the governed.  The technique of satyagraha was not developed in a system which claimed to rest on legitimacy. Both in South Africa and India the system that confronted Gandhi was based on illegitimacy. They derived their authority to govern from naked force rather than consent. Alienation from the system rather than participation in it was the distinguishing feature of these systems. It was to such illegitimate systems that the technique of non-violent direct action was directed. And therefore it could be justified. But in a legitimate system such as democracy, it is supposed that democratic institutions and procedures are effective means of satisfying the basic functions of the government. In such a system, therefore, no other means which fall outside the boundary of the democratic framework, it is argued, can be used if the end sought is the fulfilment of the basic functions of the government. At this point, we should define the functions of the government. For the time being, we accept the government and the political system as the same, although the latter is a much wider concept (Almond and Coleman, 1960, p. 5). According to Almond, there are four input and three output functions of a political system. (Ibid., p. 17). Of the seven functions, two are most germane for our discussion here. The political system articulates the interests, claims and demands for political action. This he calls interest-articulation. The second function which the political system performs is the formulation of general policies where interests which have been articulated may be combined, accommodated and compromised. This he calls the interest-aggregation function of the political system. The effectiveness of a system therefore can be judged in terms of the extent to which it aggregates different interests which are articulated by different groups in society. In other words, the demands that the system articulates at the political level must be combined and accommodated at the policy output level. This does not mean that the political system performs its interest-aggregation function in a natural or a mechanical way, that there remains nothing to be done once the demands have been articulated. The ideal situation of course would be that the system should combine and compromise demands into policy output. But this does not happen. There are many groups competing with each other, demanding that their interests be responded to by the political system. In a democracy, such competition is very common. The more developed democracy is, the more organised will be the competition of different groups in society. But however organised group competition might be, it is not always possible for the system to aggregate the interests and demands of all the groups at the same time. This is for three reasons. First, the political system may not command sufficient resources to satisfy the demands of all competing groups. Second, as a natural corollary of the first, the groups that command greater political resources (Dahl, 1963, p. 15) may be able to influence the policy output in their favour and third, a politically resourceless group may not command easy access to the political machine to influence it in their favour, because as Dahl says, the 'control over political resources is distributed unevenly even among adults.' (Ibid.). Among political resources, Dahl mentions 'money, information, food, the threat of force, jobs, friendship, social standing, the right to make laws, votes and a great variety of other things.' (Ibid.) This state of resourcelesness is likely to exist in all societies, perhaps in under-developed societies more than others. To the extent that these resources are not accessible to the groups in society, the legitimacy of the political system will always remain questionable to them. The greater the number of such groups, the greater will be their alienation from the system and the lower will be the scale of legitimacy. In turn the greater the inaccessibility of such groups to political resources, the more haphazard, intermittent, spasmodic and unorganised will be their interest articulation. If this happens, the legitimacy of the political system will always remain in crisis. It is necessary here to refer to two of the categories among Dahl's political resources mentioned above. The first is the vote and the second is the threat of force. A case is often made out that the right to vote guarantees certain mechanisms through which groups periodically may express their demands for satisfaction. Together with votes go other instruments through which demands can be articulated. It is true that in such a system opportunities for the expression of demands exist. But the democratic political system has till now not been able to satisfy all sections of the population through these traditional means. This applies even to such an advanced political system as the American where the ethnic minority still continues to languish under many disabilities. Thus the necessary guarantee of the usual instruments of interest articulation may not succeed in inducing the system to respond to the demands of certain groups in society. Or the process of interest aggregation may be partial and slow, with the result that the frustration resulting from such groups might outstrip the usual channels. We now turn to the political resource that Dahl characterises as 'threat of force'. By this, we mean to resort to violence by certain politically resourceless groups for making demands upon the political system. The use of force in a system may be justifiable on many counts. First, the system may have alienated an overwhelming majority of the population. Second, the system may be bogged down in continuous ineffectiveness and the ruling elite might have become so self-centred as not to permit interest articulation and interest aggregation functions to take place at all. Such a closed system will then need to be replaced and therefore the use of force in such extreme cases may be justified. But in an open political system such as democracy, the politically resourceless groups should find some other instrument of self-articulation which is different from the usual democratic channels and which eschews violence but does not become dysfunctional for the democratic framework.  Gandhi faced this problem, as I have stated, early in his public career in South Africa and later in India. In South Africa, the Indians as a group were shut off from the political system. Gandhi, therefore, challenged the very basis of the legitimacy of the system. In India, a whole nation was rigorously kept out of participating in the decision-making process of the system. In terms of Lipset's formulation, therefore, the systems were both illegitimate and ineffective (Lipset, 1963, p. 69). Gandhi, therefore, invented the technique of satyagraha (non-violent direct action) to undo this unequal status of the groups in the former and overthrow the latter. But what about a situation in which the legitimacy of the democratic system is unquestioned but effectiveness in terms of response to the demands of certain groups in society is low? And if these groups are politically resourceless, can the use of satyagraha be justifiable? Gandhi's answer in such a situation would be a straight 'yes'. If the system becomes so inefficient that demand input and policy output are not in equilibrium, it obviously loses the confidence of certain sections of the population. In the face of persisting inertia on the part of the system, non-violent direct action is the only course that can be conceived outside the usual democratic procedures. Such a system at least ceases to depend upon the consent of the politically resourceless groups. Gandhi, therefore, wrote as long back as 1914 in Indian Opinion 'In politics, its (satyagraha’s) use is based upon the immutable maxim that government of the people is possible only so long as they consent either consciously or unconsciously to be governed .. .' (Gandhi, 1951, p. 35). In other words, the legitimacy of the system rests only on the consent of the different groups in the political system.  If, then, some of the constituents of the system, as a result of persistent denial of access to it, come to a point where they have to choose between violent and non-violent direct action, Gandhi prefers the latter. Such a situation is not unlikely to develop in a legitimate political system, especially in emerging nations which have opted for the democratic system. In his evidence before the Hunter Committee, Gandhi conceded this point. 'I can conceive the necessity of satyagraha in opposition to the would-be full responsible government.' (Ibid. p. 33). To the question whether 'with all the rights of self-government we shall be able to dismiss the government', he replied, 'I cannot feel on that point so assured forever. In England, it often happens that ministers can continue in the executive even though they lose all the confidence of the public. The same thing may happen here too and therefore I can imagine a state of things in this country which would need satyagraha even under Home Rule.' (Ibid., p. 34). Once the use of satyagraha is conceded in a democracy, certain consequences might follow for the system. One of these, which has been very often emphasised, is that any mass action, however non-violent, is likely to generate forces of anomie which may endanger the stability of the system. The answer to this will depend upon the responsiveness of the system. How soon can the system process the demand and satisfy the groups making it- this will, eventually, test the system's stability. Apart from the system’s ability to satisfy demands, Gandhi prescribed some pre-conditions for non-violent direct action. In the first place, the technique was to be used only when all legal, formal and other peaceful methods had been exhausted. In the second place, if satyagraha seemed inevitable, the participants had to be trained in such a way as to be able to exercise this weapon without deviating from the norms and values envisaged by the technique. In other words, like Almond's political culture, the culture of satyagraha presupposed cognitive, affective and evaluative orientation of the participants in the action process.  Just as democracy cannot be sustained without a certain kind of attitude orientation, satyagraha too cannot be sustained without the psychological orientation to the whole process. In other words, the culture of satyagraha, like the political culture, refers to the entire technique with all its norms and values as internalised in the cognitions, feelings and evaluations of the participants in the action process.  Almond and Verba, 1963, p. 14). Gandhi subsumed it under what he called the discipline of satyagraha. We call it the culture of Satyagraha because the term broadens the entire meaning of the technique. Thus the term signifies the participant’s knowledge and belief about the technique which we subsumed under cognitive orientation. Similarly, by affective and evaluative orientation, we mean the emotive commitment to and judgment and opinion of the participants about the action technique.  The question is how realistic it is to expect a large mass of people to participate in the action to internalise the satyagrahi culture. To the extent that the participating masses are not trained in the culture, the danger of deviation from the strict path of non-violence will always loom on the horizon. It is here that the role of training in non-violence and leadership is of inestimable value. This leadership aspect of the action is of crucial value to our discussion.  Almond and Verba in the Civic Culture discuss this aspect of the political culture in detail. I am trying to apply it to the concept of what I call the culture of satyagraha (see Almond and Verba, pp. 14-15). The role of leadership consists of planning, directing and guiding the whole course of satyagraha action. Gandhi made this very clear before the Hunter Commission. ‘As I intended to make it a mass movement, I thought the constitution of some such Committee (i.e. the satyagraha Committee) as we had appointed was necessary, so that no man should become a law unto himself, and, therefore we conceived the plan that the Committee should be able to show what laws might be broken'. (Gandhi, 1951, p. 21). If, therefore, the participants were not as well trained as could be expected, the leadership of the movement must be thoroughly soaked in the satyagrahi culture. Emphasising this aspect, Gandhi declared, 'Satyagraha by the vast masses of mankind would be impossible if they had all to assimilate the doctrine in all its implications. I cannot claim to have assimilated all its implications nor do I claim even to know them all. A soldier in an army does not know the whole of military science; so also does a satyagrahi not know the whole science of satyagraha. It is enough if he trusts his commander and honestly follows his instructions and is ready to suffer unto death without bearing malice against the so-called enemy.’ (Ibid., p. 363).  _The article was originally published [here.](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/quest/pdf/QT066.pdf) _ --- ## [Musing] The Secular State URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/secular-state-rajaji/ ### Body What the Indian Constitution-makers aimed at was not a general indifference to religion but a tolerant and broadminded appreciation of all creeds and denominations and a respect for one another's religious beliefs and practices. It has been repeatedly affirmed that when the Indian Constitution laid down that India shall be a secular State, it was not intended that the State should discourage or be hostile towards religion, but that what was intended was impartiality towards all creeds and denominations. It was a refusal to accept the theory that different religions made different nations or that the State should belong to one religion more than another. In a recent article in the _American Review of Politics_, an eminent writer has expounded (it great length how although the United States of America is a ‘secular’ State as far as any one denomination is concerned, it is at the same time a ‘religious commonwealth’. America, according, to this writer, believes in the necessity of a truly religious basis of citizenship. According to the American Constitution, Congress cannot make any law ‘establishing’ any religion or prohibiting the free exercise of any religion. But the American Constitution presupposes a religious society. ‘Secular’ in the American language means ‘non-sectarian’, and not a negation of or indifference to religion. The basic relationship between religious life and politics in America is not founded on a negative policy of non-encouragement. It is a positive policy of impartial encouragement of all religions and of all religious life and activity in American society. The European concept of the ‘secular’ State is very different. It is a concept hostile to religion starting out of a feeling that religion is a political nuisance and that religious belief is a threat to political unity and stable government. The American concept of the ‘secular’ State, on the other hand, is grounded on a firm belief in the incomparable value of the religious life. The separation of the State and Church in America arose out of the desire to protect religion and not out of hostility or dislike. The American people hold religion to be indispensable to the maintenance of republican institutions (Tocqueville). The framers of the American Constitution believed that the State can be free only it the people are basically a religious people. Although there has been some misunderstanding in some quarters about it, it may be stated that the Indian conception of a ‘secular’ State is nearer to the American concept than to the European. The Constitution did not intend to discourage or undervalue the place of religion in society. It placed all denominations and creeds on a religious basis without reference to the strength of their following. It marked out a different path from what was chosen by Pakistan. It is true that national integration is rendered more difficult by differences in creed or denomination. But national stability would be fully endangered if all religious faith should gradually disappear. Whatever the forms and rituals of different creeds and denominations, religion and the restraints it imposes on human behaviour are of inestimable value to society, What the Indian Constitution-makers aimed at was not a general indifference to religion but a tolerant and broadminded appreciation of all creeds and denominations and a respect for one another’s religious beliefs and practices. This article by C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) first appeared in the August 1957 issue of Swarajya Magazine. The original document can be accessed [here](http://indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=477576353.pdf). _[IndianLiberals.in](http://indianliberals.in/) is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ [Read More SO Musings](https://spontaneousorder.in/?s=SO+Musings) --- ## [Musing] Sharad Joshi on Liberalism in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/sharad-joshi-on-liberalism-in-india/ ### Body _Published in Freedom First Magazine 1996, the following article by Mr. Sharad Joshi offers valuable insights on liberalism in India vis-a-vis its past, present and future.  The author who was himself a liberal farmer leader and parliamentarian reflects on liberalism in ancient India and the lessons it has for liberals today. _Liberalism is far from being the dominant or even the mainstream school of thought in India. Worse still, most consider liberalism as an idea imported from abroad, derogatory to national pride. Within the country, the cry goes that liberalism suits the convenience of the affluent and the strong minority and militates against the welfare security net that the weaker masses of society need so badly. The defunct Nehruvian socialism is being replaced not by the vibrant forces of liberal entrepreneurship but by lumpen chauvinistic and communal jingoism. Socialism is yielding place to fascism and the fastest riding comets on the Indian horizon flaunt unabashedly their admiration for Hitler. The liberals, on the other hand, are handicapped under the electoral laws which require that to be eligible for registration and recognition political parties must swear allegiance to socialism and so reaffirm in a specific affidavit before the Election Commission. The situation is serious and fraught with grave consequences. If India goes the wrong way, even if temporarily, the cost could be very high and the long term consequences could well spread to other regions as well. The doctrine as also the 'realpolitik’ of liberalism in India would bear close scrutiny. **Seven Centuries of Liberal Eclipse** Is it true that liberalism is an alien transplant on Indian soil? Liberal writers are partly to be blamed for this mistaken impression. Most of them come from the city-based English-speaking western-cultured class of elites. In their writings, they trace the beginnings of liberalism to J.S. Mill and Adam Smith and of Indian liberalism to Dadabhai Naoroji, Gokhale, Raja Rammohan Roy, Narmad, Phule, Agarkar, et al. These great masters remained briefly on the centre stage in the early days of British rule between 1860 and 1920, and were swept aside by the tide of nationalist-chauvinistic and socialist forces. Liberal writers have left an impression that the pre-British indigenous culture was one of despotic authority tyrannizing subjects resigned to their preordained fate. Apart from being untrue, this notion has given rise to a broad feeling that this alien phenomenon is unlikely to take root here. Indian liberals are, at least partly, responsible for their predicament. The 'despotic rulers and tyrannized masses’ scenario certainly fit the situation in India after the Muslim invasions in the 13th century. Aggressors can never rule a conquered territory through liberal democracy. Power in occupied territories, not only political but also educational, economic and even cultural, tends to get centred in the political government. Liberalism in India got stamped out as far as the non-muslim subjects were concerned, except perhaps at the village level. **Early Polycentred Society** That does not mean liberalism was unknown to India. In fact, there is reason to believe that ancient India was the cradle of tenets that form  the core of modern day liberalism. Traditional Indian societies were generally pluralistic. The king, kshatriya by caste, was the unquestioned sovereign who was venerated as the very incarnation of super-god ‘Vishnu’ but had little power over the seats of learning and over the poor but scholarly brahmins. Rajaji was fond of quoting a Gujarati proverb meaning, ‘Where the king is a trader his subjects are paupers’. The political head had little to do in matters of learning and trade.  This polycentrism may not, because of its caste basis, pass modern day scrutiny; but it constituted, at least in theory, a rare combination of muzzled monarchy and social prestige divorced from both wealth and power. The reality might not have been fully as rosy as all that; that such values were cherished at all so early in history is itself remarkable even when compared to the situation then prevailing in Europe, China or Japan. **Cradle of Liberal Tenets ** The liberalism of ancient Indian society does not appear to have been limited to superficial social and political structures. The ancient Indians, particularly of the mainstream ‘Vedanta' school propounded theses that came very close to the philosophical assumptions of modern liberalism - uniqueness of the individual, rejection of absolutism, scepticism of authority and trust in the efficacy of competition. Firstly, the ‘Vedanta' system held all qualitative attributes to be illusory and refuted all claims of authority by temporal institutions claiming divine contacts. Truth, beauty and goodness represent eternal pursuits - paths and not stations- on which the mighty 'Shiva’ wends his way.  Secondly, since the journey is the thing, every individual charts his course according to his own light. Despite the illusory nature of all existence one is not to renounce action but pursue with full devotion all undertakings without any attachment.  Thirdly, there is no contradiction between the unitary and the holistic. The lights of an individual are consistent with the object of the Universe. All intermediaries like the Church and Planning Commission are pointless and counter-productive.  The tyranny of a monarch or of a church would have been inconceivable in the ‘Vedanta’ society. It is a pity that those wise men sought to increase their degrees of freedom through abstinence rather than through generation of affluence. This made them vulnerable to attacks by barbarian hordes. Worse still, they succumbed to the vainglory that they had come to the end of history and could not do better than continue in static equilibrium till the end of time. This they ordained the disastrous caste system- division of labour by accident of birth- resulting in internal contradictions that were to prove so disastrous.  **Plethora of Statists** The British who, unlike the Muslim invaders, had a liberal background, established the rule of law and in many ways treated India as a laboratory for model-building. Their efforts to bring equality in the caste-ridden land were effectively thwarted by the revolt of 1857 and, thereafter they limited their rule to administration and colonial exploitation. Maintenance of the Raj, naturally, had overriding priority. Consequently British rule, though soft by colonial standards, was far from being a liberal democracy. The coming of the British gave rise to the grand masters of Indian liberalism, who generally held the view that freedom without equality would be pointless and that a period of probation under the British would help in removing the inequalities of Indian society. It would also give birth to a genuine nation of unified people in a new era of freedom. But there were other schools which pandered to popular chauvinistic cravings more effectively.  **Socio-Religious Movements** Firstly, there were a number of socio-religious reformist movements which argued that there was nothing basically wrong with Hindu society. All it needed was some face-lift and a few corrections here and there. Hindus were divided and needed to be forged into unity through community activities. These movements prompted various activities like community or mass prayers on the lines of the Christian prayers and Muslim ‘namaz’. This was tantamount to abandoning the essence of the Hindu’s individualistic relationship with one’s personal God. There were others like Tilak who used public worship of God Ganesha for political mobilization.  Secondly, there were movements that sought to glorify indigenous traditions and history in order to concretise the idea of a Hindu nation- yet another attempt to follow the example of the victors. They were ostensibly upholding Hinduism, but in fact jettisoning its precious core frightened by the engulfing storm. The present day communal forces- BJP, RSS, VHP, Shiv Sena- are descendants of these movements.  **Oppressed Communities** A third force that sprung up was basically a reaction to the attempts of the high-castes to arrogate to themselves the leadership of the entire Hindu people including those castes and communities that were not allowed to enter Hindu temples or to touch Hindu scriptures. These were denied all access to education, decent livelihood and were considered untouchable. Ambedkar, Periyar, Ramaswami Naicker and others organised certain castes and communities from the backward classes. The oppressed communities have traditionally been artisans, and largely self-employed workers. A programme for the de-strangulation of village industries would have been appropriate for the general advancement of these people. It is strange that the leaders of the oppressed classes failed to evolve an economic programme of this type. To this date, the modern day descendants of this movement are infatuated with reservation of jobs.  **Gandhian Platform** Gandhi represented  a platform much truer to Hindu thought that upheld at the same time some sort of ecumenism- the identity of all faiths. The Mahatma worked actively for social reform, propounded a village-based constructive programme for economic advancement and introduced a spiritual dimension in political activity which was to become his hallmark. Truth and non-violence were his creed and he was opposed to the very idea of a state which could not exist without violence. Gandhi was as close as one can come to the idea of an anarchist society. Faced with the harsh realities of life, he made concessions and compromises in his later years to such an extent that he accepted at one stage the need to nationalize all basic industries. Nevertheless, Gandhism essentially stood for minimal and decentralised Government. **Failure of the Nehruvian Model ** The Russian revolution, claims of socio-economic achievement by the new czars there and the anti-imperialist tirades of these latter had struck a sympathetic chord and endeared socialism to the Indian masses as also intellectuals. The Congress Socialist Party was formed within the Congress itself, Nehru was himself full of social effervescence since his visits to the USSR. Socialism in India meant not nationalization but rather ownership by the toiler. But the State was to be the instrument of this transformation. In sum, the ‘Vedanta’  tradition of liberalism got suppressed under successive foreign rulers and the forces that participated in the freedom movement were all statist in the sense that they looked upon the State as the instrument for  the desired transformation. All of them favored a strong interventionist State. Gandhi’s anarchism proved to be little more than the scoring point of an obscurantist vision. Independent India, instead of marking the first step in the direction of dissolution of the State, as the Mahatma envisioned, became an infamous example of the license-permit regime with all its inevitable consequences: poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, indebtedness, an inefficient and corrupt bureaucracy, criminalisation of politics, etc. The end of the Cold War pulled the rug from under the feet of many a tinpot socialist edifice had begun to crumble.  This ought to gladden the hearts of all freedom-loving people who have suffered for almost half a century under the heels of a moth eaten planning regime. A regime which worked, in effect, as crony capitalism- everything is banned unless you have the necessary contacts. Unfortunately, they find themselves caught between the devil and the deep sea.  The fall of a socialist brand of Statism, however, holds little promise for liberal democrats. The socialists are fighting a not so valiant last ditch battle advocating welfare programmes, protection of the environment and a policy of doles. The economic _impasse _has caused disillusionment in the public mind over the capacity of any government to do any collective good.  The situation is very similar to the post Versailles situation in Germany. The foreign exchange crisis that forced the then ruling party to start talking of economic reforms has been overcome, at least for the time being, without any improvement in the balance of trade.The fiscal deficit is running uncontrolled. Political stability is a thing of the past. It only needs one reversal, economic or political, to put the people in a mood to welcome any comic-book Hitler. A good number of aspirants are already hovering around stoking the fires of  age-old animosities and preaching communal and caste hatred. **Fascism to Replace Socialism?** Out of the various political forces which emerged after the advent of the Raj, the anarchist Gandhian school has fallen by the wayside and become irrelevant. Nehruvian socialism stands discredited but the dynasty continues to be venerated all the same. Left-to-Centre parties are trying to sensitize the nation to the issue of ‘reverse injustice’ through reservation of jobs in a bureaucracy that has become the most difficult burden for the country. It is the Hindu chauvinistic parties capitalising on issues like desecration or demolition to this temple or that, the absence of a common civil code, Bangladesh immigrants, or the status of Jammu and Kashmir, to mention a few, that appear to be benefiting from the situation.  The Hindu political parties are understandably taking a protectionist position in their economic programme to reinforce their patriotic image. They are drawing a good response to their opposition to the entry of multinationals into India. Where do the liberal forces stand in all this? Organising liberals is almost a contradiction in terms and hence a formidable task in any country. How does one set about organising a highly individualistic people opposed to the very idea of authority? **The Swatantra Party** Rajaji, who had a very high standing among the followers of Gandhi and who became the first Indian Governor General of independent India, had correctly foreseen the disaster that Nehru’s license-permit quota Raj would produce. He founded the first liberal political party in India, The Swatantra Party. It started off well but was swept out in the Indira wave after her Bangladesh triumph in 1971. **Swatantra Bharat Party** In 1994, an attempt was made to create a new liberal party, Swatantra Bharat. It pulled over a million votes in the elections to the Maharashtra State assembly but  secured only two seats. Its chances in forthcoming elections are negligible since it cannot even register  itself without dishonestly swearing allegiance to socialism. Economic reforms have come to a grinding halt. The government considers itself under obligation to take recourse to blatantly populist measures. A serious programme of liberalisation will need to restore law and order, clear the Augean stables of the judiciary, cut down the forest of economic regulations, dismantle bureaucracy, restore fundamental rights under the Constitution and work out a reasonable exit policy. Such a formidable agenda would require a strong government. There is no prospect of this happening in the near or distant future.  **Chances for a Liberal Polity** In fact, very few appear to be interested in a liberal polity. The beneficiaries of the socialist epoch are trying hard to thwart reforms in every possible way. Political leaders have got used to earning commissions for securing government favours. Industrialists think they cannot do without state protection. Employees with their cushy jobs and side-incomes want the bureaucracy to expand and are not enthusiastic about privatization. Mafias control politicians and governments and would not like to see their underground empires demolished through liberalisation. The only two categories of people who would be interested in liberalisation and globalisation would be the farmers who have suffered hefty negative subsidies and consumers who have been fleeced by the socialist monopolist and have had to pay exorbitant prices for shoddy goods. The prospects are far from bright. **The Indian Liberals’ only Ally** But history gives ample evidence that liberty blossoms in the most unexpected of places and at seemingly impossible times. The world is moving towards demolishing walls that have fragmented and distorted the world. India cannot remain for long an island of statism. Indian history shows that our people believe in fighting over tyrants if an Indira Gandhi comes along. An Indian Hitler will have to be exceptionally lucky to survive for any length of time. This much hope ought to be enough for seekers of liberty and equality. --- ## [Musing] Sharad Joshi on The Tragedy of Being a Farmer in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/sharad-joshi-tragedy-of-being-a-farmer-in-india/ ### Body The following is an extract from a speech delivered in the Rajya Sabha by Mr. Sharad Joshi in August 2005 on the question of farmers' suicides. It was subsequently published in the October 2007 edition of the Freedom First magazine with a brief introduction written by Sharad Joshi himself.  In this piece, he has aptly captured the problem faced by India's farmers and advised the Government to take immediate measures by addressing the root of the crises. I have accepted the editor's suggestion to keep the readers of 'Freedom First informed about my interventions in the Rajya Sabha. I am the only Member of Parliament of the Swatantra Bharat Paksha (SBP), India's only liberal party that proudly claims to be the successor of the erstwhile Swatantra Party of Chakravarti Rajgopalachari. Every party in Parliament is allotted a quota of time depending upon its numerical strength in the Parliament. No quotas are given for alliances like UPA or NDA. Fortunately, even the minor parties get a minimum of five minutes in each debate. This is a serious handicap and also an opportunity - On most subjects, as an activist of the farmers' movement and the national President of the SBP, I have something to say that marks a different paradigm. Hence, considering the time limit, there is no scope for any explanations, elaborations, and elucidations and much less for ornamentation. The paradox is that parties like the Congress and the BJP who have been in power at the Centre and hence, responsible for the present sad state of affairs in the country, get the maximum time most of which is consumed by one or two senior leaders of the party to indulge in soapbox oratory accusations and counter-accusations. The SBP's turn comes invariably at the end of the debate, mostly late in the evening, when the Rajya Sabha often wears a deserted look. In the last two years there is growing awareness that the liberal point of view that I put forward is always original and, hence, quite a few members from all sides make it a point to be present when I get up to speak. Since I have little respect for the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty and an unconcealed antipathy for leftist economists, there are often interruptions and rowdy sloganeering from their benches during my speech. My speech, published below, for the readers of Freedom First was marked by intermittent interruptions from the Congress benches and a spirited defence by Mrs. Sushama Swaraj For the last two years farmers have been committing suicide practically every hour. It is not just a matter of social tragedy or a tragedy for the whole of the farmers' movement, it is a personal tragedy for me. The fact that the Prime Minister himself went to Vidarbha supported by so many eminent economists but could not forge a solution that could give the farmers hope enough to, at least, postpone the decision of suicide by a couple of hours or by a couple of days, is a personal tragedy for me. Thirty years back, we launched the first farmers' movement in lndia after the Green Revolution. The Green Revolution had increased the productivity of agriculture by 10 to 15 times and farmers had reached a state where the more they grew, the less they got and that was when the farmers' movement began. We took an oath, extracts of which are saying that we will secure for the farmers remunerative prices for their produce, the full reward for their toil so that they can live a life of self-respect and happiness exactly like any other citizen in this country. Now, I confess that I have failed. Because, 25 years after I took that oath, for the first time I find that the whole of India is strewn with bodies of the farmers who found it impossible to make a living and had no hope that their conditions would be any better. In the 1950s, Lal Bahadur Shastri's slogan of ' Jai lawan, Jai Kisan' and the accompanying Green Revolution started two processes: - the Jawan went on the war-front, sacrificed himself and became a martyr; - the Kisan, on the food front, fought and tried his best to contribute to the foodgrains production in the country. The Green Revolution succeeded; productivity increased. But, at the same time, the government failed to see that for his added effort would the farmer get an adequate reward. While productivity grew while production grew, the farmers were not able to cover even the cost of production and it is this wound which has gangrened over the last 50 years. This was the policy which was followed regularly over the last 55 years. We do not need to find out whether the BJP government followed policies that hurt the farmers or whether the successive Congress governments did it. All that you have to see is during which period was the farmers' subsidy negative. If the Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS) was negative, that is to say the farmers' prices were less than the cost of cultivation, that means that government is guilty of the ongoing genocide by farmers. In which case, governments are also guilty of murder. The simple index is, did you have a negative AMS or a positive one. C. Subramaniam, the minister of Agriculture under Lal Bahadur Shastri recognised, for the first time, that agriculture was a losing proposition and that to make with the Green Revolution a success, farmers have to be given adequate remunerative prices. He appointed an Agricultural Prices Commission (APC). That was a creation of Bharat Ratna C. Subramaniam. For the first five years, the Agricultural Prices Commission did succeed in giving comfortable prices to farmers which resulted in not only agricultural growth in Punjab, but even industrial development in that State. But, after those five years were over and after Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister, the Chairmanship of the Agricultural Prices Commission was given to one of the Leftists, who are by their dogma, against the farmers, calling them kulaks and so the Commission was used systematically against farmers. It is the appointment of Leftist Chairmen which resulted in farmers getting inadequate prices. I am not putting these things on record to criticize this or that government. The farmers' present critical state is a gangrene wound of more than 50 years. Before giving suggestions one has to do the diagnosis. How can one give a prescription without diagnosis? Whether the government was good to the farmers or not, can be examined by an objective criterion, i.e., whether during that period, the AMS was positive or negative. This is a very positive criterion. When you examine it, you will find that all this period the AMS was negative. A calculation shows that from 1980 to 2000 alone the loss caused to the farmers by government policies was of the order of Rs. 300,000 crores. Finally, I came to the conclusion that the gangrened wounds of the farmers over these 55 years are now expressing themselves in the form of mass suicides. Now, I will come to the prescription as to what has to be done, and, these are some very concrete suggestions. I think, what the Prime Minister could not achieve in going to Vidarbha, you will be able to achieve, if government is sincerely concerned about the lot of the farmers and is prepared to show the necessary courage to act on these suggestions. Providing additional credit is not going to help. When the Prime Minister declared from the Red Fort that the supply of credit has increased from Rs. 87,000 crores to Rs. 1,68,000 crores, a senior officer of NABARD was declaring that not only has refinancing come down, but cooperative banks are also not giving loans at 7 % because they have certain apprehensions about the policy of 7 %. At the same time, the same officer declared that even though the amount of credit had increased, the number of beneficiaries had not increased. That means that the same people were getting the new loans as well. Now, if this is the situation, additional credits are not going to help the farmers. On the other hand, additional credits will get them into further indebtedness and suicides. There is a finding of a very respectable body that 40% of our farmers want to leave agriculture because they find that it is no more possible to live in it. And, I had made a suggestion and this is something that I am prepared to convince the farmers about. The farmers, even though they talk of the black mother, the mother earth, etc., in fact, whenever they get an opportunity, they quit agriculture. They vote with their feet. I think, what needs to be done is, (as happened before the Green Revolution, that when the farmers got a chance to quit because of the tenancy legislation, because of the Land Ceiling Act, etc., on the threshhold of the coming agricultural revolution) they have to be given some, kind of a way out, a kind of a golden handshake, a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) by developing a land market where the farmers can offer a land for sale and those who think they can do better in agriculture in the new atmosphere, can purchase the land and come in. That is going to be the best solution, giving a ray of hope to the farmers, if the Minister for Agriculture shows the courage. A point particularly about Vidarbha. The accentuating factor in Vidarbha, where a thousand farmers committed suicide in 2006 so far, has been the forcing of Vidarbha, for political reasons, into Maharashtra. This resulted in the imposition of the Cotton Monopoly Procurement Scheme which has resulted in a massive exploitation of the cotton-growing farmers in Vidarbha and in the diversion of irrigation funds from Vidarbha to Southern Maharashtra on the pretext that if water there is not saved, it will go to Karnataka or Andhra Pradesh. If the present government makes an announcement, (it is already talking about Telangana) that they will also give serious consideration to the separation of Vidarbha, that itself will be a good signal and will stop most of the farmers' suicides which are mainly due to indebtedness. I am glad that the Agriculture Minister's party has already given a sort of green signal to the idea of a separate Vidarbha, provided the people there support it. I hope, ultimately, it will result in the formation of a separate Vidarbha. From that day onwards, I am sure there will not be a single farmer suicide in Vidarbha. Prepare a Helpline network so that farmers, who feel desperate, can contact the competent official who should see them and find out what precisely are the problems that the family is facing and try to resolve them. Last but not the least, the government should stop paying compensation for people who commit suicide because that actually encourages suicides. People find that if the bereaved family is to get the money, then, it is worthwhile committing suicide so that, at least, the rest will live happily. In fact, there are doubts that, at least, in some cases, old and invalid members of the family have not been dissuaded sufficiently energetically from committing suicide. This is a very dangerous precedent. If payment of lump sum compensation, results in encouraging suicide it is, in law, a crime. Giving them Rs. one lakh as compensation is bad in law, bad in public policy. And I hope the Minister for Agriculture will review the situation and take some positive steps that will put an immediate halt to suicides. [Extracts from Sharad Joshi's speech during the debate in the Rajya Sabha on 23 August 2005 on Farmers' Suicides. The piece was originally published [here](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/473.pdf).] --- ## [Musing] The Shetkari Sangathana and the History of the Farmers' Movement in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/shetkari-sangathana-history-farmers-movement-india/ ### Body _The farmers’ movement in India is as old as time itself. Throughout our independent history, there have been numerous struggles and demands for reforms by Indian farmers against all dispensations. The demand for reforming the agricultural sector, giving access to open markets and de-regulating the economic freedom of farmers has been time and again raised in the past decades._ _The following musing is an excerpt from a booklet titled ‘Visionaries of a New Bharat – Shetkari Sanghathana’ which traces the evolution, the ideology, and the vision of the Shetkari Sanghatana, a farmer’s movement spearheaded by Sharad Anantrao Joshi, and elaborately lays down their demands with their rationale. _ The Shetkari Sangathana (SS) in Maharashtra functioning since 1998 is a true representative of the present epoch of the farmer’s movement. The SS has been spearheading the developmental and ideological debate. The SS was kick-started in the late 1970s by Sharad Joshi. The SS is a non-political, non communal and non-pastoral union of peasants with a single point-programme – “Securing remunerative prices for the agricultural produce.” The single point may seem to be extremely simplistic, but, according to the thought of SS, it is the key to the economic development of India.  ## HISTORY OF FARMERS’ MOVEMENT IN INDIA Movements; agitations, uprisings and revolts by peasants are as old as history itself. The primary objective of the farmers’ uprising, agitations and conquests during the period of British Rule was to seek abolition of the Zamindari as against the Ryotwari (lease holder) system. In the long tradition of lndian history, the land in the village belonged to the village Panchayat. The division of agricultural labour continued from generation to generation between the cultivators and the artisans. The British brought in their own revenue system based on private ownership of land. Land was measured, numbered and allotted to prominent villagers who undertook to collect their revenue for the government or to those whose traditional role came closest to that of the cultivator/accountant.  The British land tenure system had two effects. The invasion of the Indian domestic market by cheap products of the British industry, particularly textiles, crippled the village artisans and dried up the money inflows into the village economy. Under these circumstances, levy of land-taxes payable strictly in cash, drove even the relatively well-off farmers to borrow money from whoever happened to have some spare cash, howsoever paltry. In a very short time, indebtedness mounted and the mortgaged lands passed on to the moneylenders/zamindars. The resultant discontent was directed at the moneylender and revenue collecting landlords instead of the prime villains i.e. the Colonial State. The newly English educated and articulate nationalists movement blamed the state of Indian agriculture on the internal contradiction between the rich farmers and the small peasants.  Till the independence in 1947, the poverty of the countryside was attributed to either the weaknesses of the cultivator or to the exploitation by the landlords and the moneylenders. The independence in 1947 brought in the abolition of both the revenue collector zamindars as also the moneylenders. The despised institutions were replaced by rigid credit and bureaucratic institutions that did not attenuate the level of exploitation but carried the agricultural surplus away from the countryside to the urban areas.  The independence and the partition marked the beginning of the years of food shortage and famines. The new national State started taking draconian measures calculated to take away food surplus from the villages to urban industrial areas. The commonly prevalent notion, at the time, was that the poverty of the farmers was due to low productivity, illiteracy, poorer health conditions and age-old social customs. The generally pervading spirit of nationalities did not permit the emergence of any farmers’ movement directed against the State. The Green Revolution of the 1960s changed all that. The agricultural productivity in most areas and crops multiplied manifolds. The farmers found, nevertheless, that their income was inversely proportional to the yields they obtained. India had a “Green Revolution” producing an abundance of crops but leaving the farmers indebted and poor.  This signalled the right moment for the emergence of a Nationalist farmers’ organisation. The blame for the poverty could no more be put on the moneylenders or on the landlords. It was no more possible to blame the illiteracy, the indolence and wasteful social customs. The time survived for the emergence of the Shetkari Sanghatana.   To read the full text, click on this [link](https://indianliberals.in/liberals/visionaries-of-a-new-bharat-shetkari-sanghatana.pdf). type=content&p=8520). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] Sikkim – Through Other Eyes URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/sikkim-through-other-eyes/ ### Body "In 1975, before I had ever had any thought of visiting Sikkim, I followed the events leading up to annexation by India very closely because I could see no justification for the takeover, the abolishment of the sovereignty of the tiny nation of 300,000 people, the rude levelling of their Chogyal, whose dynasty was 340 years old, to the rank of a commoner, and the subsequent house arrest to which he was confined." _The anti-colonial genesis of Indian nationalism allowed the postcolonial Indian state to position itself as the promoter of the anti-colonial, anti-racist Third World solidarity agenda on International platforms. The most influential and eloquent proponents of this variant of Indian exceptionalism included Pandit Nehru, VK Krishna Menon, Indira Gandhi, KM Panikkar. Periodic paeans to India’s syncretic civilizational heritage and Gandhi’s principles of satyagraha and non-violence buttressed the Indian Foreign Policy rhetoric. However, the imperatives of survival often drove the postcolonial nation-state to pursue the hegemonic policy. Notable examples would include the tensions over Kashmir, Goa, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Punjab where the Indian state applied the prerogative of a sovereign in a manner that contradicted its claim to idealism. _ _Whatever the underlying motives of the Indian state, the civil society didn’t unequivocally support these actions. Some saw in the Indian deployment of force over its own population or in the neighbourhood the signs of imperial conduct. The most prominent anti-imperialists, not incidentally, were the veteran nationalists, lifelong fighters of India’s anti-colonial movement. The camp boasted the likes of Jayprakash Narayan, C Rajagopalachari, and Minoo Masani. _ _The triumvirate was unified in its advocacy for a peaceful solution to the Naga question and opposition to the detention of Sheikh Abdullah in Kashmir. JP offered to mediate between the Naga rebels and the Indian state. Rajaji led the delegation to President Kennedy advocating nuclear non-proliferation. Masani objected to the way Sikkim was made part of India and made his displeasure known in public in 1982. _ _In responding to a reader in the Freedom First magazine, Masani questioned the double standards of his compatriots on the ‘Indian imperialism’, dubbed JP the ‘real anti-imperialist’, and upheld the liberty of people in cases of Nagas, Kashmir, and Sikkim._ _Produced below is the article by Minoo Masani._ The other day I received a letter from a regular reader of Freedom First, who happens to be living in another Asian country. That letter contained, along with praise for Freedom First, a challenge which was posed in the following words: “l have now read twice the two lead articles in the January Freedom First, No, 348, Nissim Ezekiel’s brilliant editorial “Lies About Poland,” and “Betrayal of Poland” by Mr P. N. Irkbi. Both magnificent, forthright, dauntless, moving pieces of writing. I am glad-very glad indeed-that such ringing blows were struck for Poland, and my only wish, if I may be granted a wish, is that these valiant, intrepid warriors would bring their forces to bear in the cause of Sikkim, the tiny, defenceless kingdom that has vanished under the heel of imperialism, not Russian but Indian.” How are we in Freedom First who have stood for the freedom of all countries without exception to respond to this challenge? But first let me quote a few extracts from the letter I have received as they stem from deep conviction and anguish: “In 1975, before I had ever had any thought of visiting Sikkim, I followed the events leading up to annexation by India very closely because I could see no justification for the takeover, the abolishment of the sovereignty of the tiny nation of 300,000 people, the rude levelling of their Chogyal, whose dynasty was 340 years old, to the rank of a commoner, and the subsequent house arrest to which he was confined. I saw no reason whatsoever for India to resort to the same brand of imperialism that Nehru and others spent years in prison trying to fight, in their struggle to wrest India’s independence from Britain. And now, more than ever after having visited Sikkim three times, I see absolutely no reason for India’s presence there. “You have in this whole sordid story of political annexation of a sovereign state a perfect example of the double standard that has come to be popularly associated with India in the eyes of the world. Everyone from Mahatma Gandhi to Indira Gandhi loathes imperialism in any form, except of course where India herself can employ it with impunity on tiny neighbouring states.” A pretty angry indictment which I for one do not feel like contradicting. When Sikkim was taken over by India in the seventies, I felt quite disgusted. Not being in parliament then, I had no opportunity to voice my protest, but I was glad when Mr. Morarji Desai, Prime Minister of India some years later, admitted that he could not justify the taking over of Sikkim. Unfortunately, he did not feel strong enough to undo the mischief. Long before the occupation of Sikkim, I had noticed the double standards observed by most of our compatriots on the issue of imperialism. Whether it was in regard to our persecution of Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah or our Government’s activities in Nagaland there was only one prominent Indian who acted like a real anti-imperialist and that was my good friend Jayprakash Narayan. In regard to Kashmir, he formed the India-Pakistan Conciliation Group which still exists in New Delhi with Mrs. Malati Singh as convener. I readily joined that group. In so far as Nagaland is concerned, I supported JP’s efforts, which finally succeeded in bringing about a cease-fire between the Indian Army and the army of the Nagaland “Republic”. I was able, during my visit to Nagaland as a member of the Parliamentary delegation sent there by Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, to do my bit in helping Mr Shastri and his Government to bring about a better awareness in Parliament about the case of the Naga people. But, alas! the names of Indian public men who have stood up against the imperialism of their own country are few and far between. Most of us who have declaimed against British imperialism, French imperialism in Algeria, American imperialism in Latin America and Russian imperialism in Eastern Europe and Afghanistan are unable to apply the same yardstick to our own country. We can see the mote in the other man’s eye, but not the beam in our own. So we can say to our reader overseas: “You are right to be angry and we as a nation must, we feel, plead guilty to your charge, but all we can say is that we in Freedom First have never lowered our flag and that our record, whether on Kashmir or Nagaland, is one of which we have no reason to be ashamed. We thank you for having given us an opportunity to speak up for the people of Sikkim.” _The original text can be accessed _[_here_](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/352.pdf)_. _ [_IndianLiberals.in_](http://indianliberals.in/)_ is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ Read more: [SO Musings: The Retreat from Socialism](https://spontaneousorder.in/the-retreat-from-socialism/) --- ## [Musing] Soviet Dissidents, Detente and Liberty URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/soviet-dissidents-detente-and-liberty/ ### Body The hub of the matter is that while Russia accepted an agenda for the Geneva talks which includes references to human rights and "better conditions for increased cultural and educational exchanges, for broader dissemination of information, for contacts between people, and for the solution of humanitarian problems," on the other hand it has insisted that co-operation should be "carried out on the basis of respect for the sovereignty, laws and customs of each country," a euphemism for its totalitarian system. _The global Cold War has been variously interpreted as the conflict between two Great Powers for global hegemony (John Mearsheimer) or conflict between two strong versions of nationalism (Jawaharlal Nehru). But, the most prevalent explanation of the Cold War pits it as a fight between two opposing universalistic ideologies- liberalism and communism. The presence of nuclear weapons and the threat of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) prevented direct military confrontation between the two powers. However, the proxy war which was in full swing included the promotion of competing visions of the arrangement of society. _ _The US and its Western allies saw themselves as the promoter of individualism, democracy, freedom of expression, consumerist prosperity, human rights, and free markets. Communist USSR saw itself as the defender of the oppressed against Western imperialism and capitalist exploitation by presenting an alternate model of planned economy and authoritarian polity, euphemistically called the dictatorship of the proletariat._ _The global extent of the Cold War competition meant India wasn’t to be left untouched. Indian public space engaged with the events in the wider field of the Cold War around the globe. Indian liberals here were no exception. For instance, in 1975, A G Noorani published his critique of Soviet communism in the form of a book review in the liberal journal Freedom First. Noorani’s review article focused on edited volumes of the writings of Nobel prize winners Andrei Sakharov and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, two of the most remarkable dissidents against Soviet Communism in the 1970s._ _Sakharov and Solzhenitsyn used their writings effectively to criticize the human rights violation by the USSR. Historian Thomas Borstelmann has argued that the revelation of the horrors of Soviet governance in the 1970s contributed significantly to the weakening of the Soviet empire.  Noorani’s review of the writings of the two courageous dissidents praised the good fight and made the case for the Western powers to put pressure on the USSR to accept human rights norms as part of the ongoing detente negotiations. The negotiations finally culminated in the Helsinki Accords of 1975. According to Thomas Borstelmann, the Accord provided a very powerful weapon to the dissidents within the Soviet regime and advanced the cause of human rights._ _Noorani’s book review, in this sense, was prescient in agreeing with the Western intellectuals who demanded the USSR’s acceptance of human rights as part of the ongoing negotiations during the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe in 1973. The review further focused on the need for intellectual freedom to uncover the arbitrary uses of state power. Noorani portrayed the dissident duos as examples of lovers of liberty the world over would forget only at their peril._ _Following the exhortation of Noorani, produced below is an excerpt from his book review._ In October 1973, more than twenty West European intellectuals signed and published a statement declaring that vital principles of intellectual freedom were in danger of being neglected at the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe which Russians were trying to hustle through. They said “We hope for growing political detente, but so far attempts to achieve this have in fact been accompanied by a worsening in the cultural situation both within the countries of Eastern Europe and in their relations with the West . . . Intellectual co-operation and mutual understanding will remain empty slogans unless minimum conditions of cultural freedom are observed in all countries concerned.” (The Times, London October 12, 1973). Among the signatories were men like Raymond Aron, Denis de Rougement, Gunter Grass, and Leopold Labedz. The hub of the matter is that while Russia accepted an agenda for the Geneva talks which includes references to human rights and “better conditions for increased cultural and educational exchanges, for broader dissemination of information, for contacts between people, and for the solution of humanitarian problems,” on the other hand it has insisted that co-operation should be “carried out on the basis of respect for the sovereignty, laws and customs of each country,” a euphemism for its totalitarian system. Is the quest for detente, then, reconcilable with support for individual liberty in Russia? No more authoritative opinion on this subject can be expressed than the one Dr Andrei Sakharov, the distinguished nuclear physicist and spokesman for Russia’s Human Rights Movement did in an interview he gave to Western correspondents at his Moscow flat on August 2I, 1973, “Detente without democratization, a rapprochement when the West in fact accepts our rules of the game in this process of rapprochement, such a rapprochement would be very dangerous in that respect, and wouldn’t solve any of the world’s problems, and would mean simply a capitulation to our real or exaggerated strength. lt would mean an attempt to trade, to get from us gas and oil, neglecting all other aspects of the problems. I think it’s very dangerous. “By liberating ourselves from problems we can’t solve ourselves, we could concentrate on accommodating strength, and as a result, the whole world would be disarmed and facing our uncontrollable bureaucratic apparatus. I think that detente without any qualifications, accepting our rules of the game, would be very bad. _The full text of the review can be accessed _[_here_](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/276.pdf)_.  _ [_IndianLiberals.in_](http://indianliberals.in/)_ is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ Read more: [SO Musings: Liberalism and Freedom](https://spontaneousorder.in/liberalism-and-freedom/) --- ## [Musing] Socialism or State Capitalism URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/socialism-or-state-capitalism/ ### Body _The musing shared below is a 1970 piece published by the Forum of Free Enterprise and authored by K Santhanam. In 1948, Santhanam was the Minister of State for Railways and Transport in the Government of India, followed by a stint as the Lieutenant Governor of Vindhya Pradesh. A prolific writer, Santhanam also served as the first editor of the Indian Express from 1932 until 1940, subsequently becoming the joint editor of the Hindustan Times. In 1962, Santhanam was appointed as the chairman of the Committee on Prevention of Corruption. The recommendations of this Committee, also known as the Santhanam Committee, resulted in the establishment of the Central Vigilance Commission in 1964._ _You can read the unabridged version with contributions from Dr R C Cooper and Prof. C L Gheevala here [Socialism or State Capitalism](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Socialism-or-State-Capitalism.pdf)___ It is bad enough that India should be a hundred years behind advanced nations in industrial development. It is a much more serious handicap that intellectuals and politicians should be more out of date in their ideals. This is particularly true of capitalism and socialism, the nature of which has undergone a great change since Karl Marx expounded his theory. Both these concepts arose out of the industrial revolution. In the early stages, the main characteristics of industrialisation were: 1) low wages based upon the ordinary wages of persons engaged in agriculture and cottage industries; (2) harsh conditions of labour, long hours, unhealthy and unsanitary conditions and no provision for sickness etc. (3) large surpluses due to the productivity of machinery in comparison with manual labour and cheap labour; and (4) appropriation of the surpluses by a small number of capitalists owning the new industries. Karl Marx put forward his doctrine of socialism, assuming that these were inescapable conditions of capitalist production. He argued that in order to prevent the exploitation of labour, ensure reasonable conditions for workers and utilise the surpluses produced by machine production for social welfare, it was necessary to socialise the means of production. He did not mean by socialisation State ownership or management of industry or commerce. In his essay, “Socialism, Utopian and Scientific”, Frederick Engels wrote, “The modern state, no matter what its form, is essentially a capitalist machine, the state of the capitalists, the ideal personification of the total national capital. The more it proceeds to the taking over of productive forces, the more it actually becomes the national capitalist, and the more citizens it exploits. The workers remain wage-earners-proletarians. The capitalist relation is not done away with. It is rather brought to a head." When the revolution took place in Russia, industrialisation had not proceeded far in that country, and such industrialisation as existed was controlled by foreign capitalists to a large extent. Therefore Lenin turned to State Capitalism as the only means of industrialising Russia.  Stalin wanted to make dictatorship absolute and totalitarian and, therefore, made State Capitalism the exclusive form of economic development in the USSR, and this has to a large extent, been followed by other communist countries of Eastern Europe. As a matter of fact, the capitalism of modern times is almost the opposite of that of the 19th century. The capital of big industrial undertakings is not owned by a few individuals and their families but by thousands of shareholders distributed over a wide area. They are managed by highly skilled and trained managers who almost dictate their terms to the Board of Directors. Far from being exploited, the workers in such undertakings are members of labour unions, which are recognised and regulated by law and are able to bargain with the management on equal terms. Not only are high wages provided, but the undertakings are obliged to provide proper conditions of health and sanitation, medical care, bonus, provident fund and other benefits which the 19th-century worker did not even dream of. Finally, a major part of the profits earned by the undertaking is taken away by the State in the form of taxation and utilised for providing social services like education, health, roads etc. In advanced countries, these undertakings have also contributed substantially to a comprehensive social security system available to all citizens. The company laws under which these organisations function are complicated and seek to ensure that they work largely in the spirit of public trust. In India, the remuneration of the Directors and their perquisites, limitation on investments of surplus profits and proper auditing and publication of accounts are all provided for. It is, therefore, a misnomer to call a public limited company as belonging to the Private Sector. It is private only in the sense that it is not a direct Government undertaking and has got its own Board of Management responsible to the shareholders. There are, of course, industrial and commercial undertakings managed by cooperative societies and individuals or partnerships. The latter is generally only medium and light industries where the capital requirement is not much. It should be carefully noted that modern industrial production is essentially capitalistic. It does not matter who owns the capital or manages the undertakings. The characteristics of accumulation of capital, expert management, satisfactory labour relations and elaborate accounting are all common characteristics. It is also generally agreed that competition is a necessary factor to enable these undertakings to function responsibly and in the public interest, and monopolies should be prevented and, where it is not possible to do so, should be strictly regulated. From the beginning, the Planning Commission in India has made the mistake of confusing State Capitalism with socialism. There may be some scope and even necessity for State Capitalism in India. Railways, Posts and telegraphs, Irrigation, Roads, Forts and other services which constitute the indispensable infrastructure of the modem economy can best be developed as State enterprises, mainly because private capital will not flow into them, especially in undeveloped countries. But it is a great mistake to think that these undertakings managed by the State serve the people in some unique way which cannot be claimed for corporate, cooperative or individual capitalism. As a matter of fact, State Capitalism suffers from three special disadvantages, which makes it less beneficial to the interest of the people than the other forms of capitalism. It tends to become a monopoly as it finds it difficult to compete with the more efficiently and economically managed undertakings of the same kind run by corporate or other forms of capitalism. State Capitalism also suffers from bureaucratic management and complicated official procedure. Thirdly, its management is liable to be interfered with by politicians in power and their party henchmen. It is also not true that labour gets a better deal in State Capitalism. Wages and conditions of labour benefit in proportion to the economy and efficiency of the undertaking, and as State Capitalism is generally wasteful and inefficient, its capacity to pay the workers is proportionately less. In the case of disputes between the management and labour in a non-State undertaking, the Government can come in as an impartial conciliator and arbitrator. Still, where there is a dispute in a Government undertaking, all the official influence is bound to be on the side of the management and against the labour. In the rather unstable political conditions of India, workers in State undertakings may be able to bully the management through threats of strikes and go-slow methods. Still, no sooner than the Central and State Governments become strong and well-established, then their first task will be to ensure labour discipline through banning or severe restriction of the right to strikes and participation in absenteeism and go-slow methods. It is the only way by which state undertakings can show even moderate results and escape incurring unbearable losses. The record of the Public Sector in India during the last 20 years has not been such as to justify their expansion. The myth has been propagated that the State should control the commanding heights of the economy as the necessary means to socialism in India. State Capitalism tends to expand its activities without limit till it monopolises all economic activities. The more inefficient and unprofitable it is, the greater its hunger for expansion. The Government of India has recently decided to set up a Government undertaking for the manufacture of a small car, for establishing a scooter unit and for taking over the cotton trade, both imports and exports. Pressure has been exercised on the U.P. Government to take over the sugar industry in the State. It is to be noted that none of these projects has been recommended by the Planning Commission or included in the Fourth Plan, nor can it be contended that any of these three is necessary for promoting the welfare of the masses or for the reduction of economic inequalities or for purposes remotely connected with true socialism. The concentration of economic power under the influence of the State has become an obsession. In communist countries, the evils of inefficiency and unprofitability of State Capitalism are sought to be mitigated through the banning of strikes and forcible disciplining of labour on the one hand and judging management by performance accompanied by stern punishment to those who cannot deliver the goods. Even with all these, not only Yugoslavia but also other communist countries like Romania and Hungary are seeking to find a way out of rigid State Capitalism without reverting to ordinary capitalism. They are experimenting with the idea of autonomous and competitive industrial and financial undertakings. In India, State Capitalism suffers not only from the inefficiency and inability of bureaucratic management but also intransigence and indiscipline of workers. The costly Durgapur Steel plant and its allied industrial complex are paralysed. Owing to the sudden illegal strike in Ashoka Hotel, an official lunch in honour of the visiting Japanese Foreign Minister had to be transferred at the last moment to another hotel. In the case of private undertakings like the Standard Motors of Madras, they have the remedy of closure on account of labour trouble. Big Government undertakings cannot close without incurring intense popular displeasure. In these circumstances, it is sheer madness and irresponsibility for the Government of India to seek to enter new fields which are not of essential importance. It would be strange if those who are shaping the industrial policy of the Government of India were not aware that motor cars, scooters etc., are not considered to be important in communist countries. Only a small number of persons are allowed to possess them for functional purposes. It is indeed strange socialism that the major concern of our government should be to increase the differences between the upper and lower middle classes, which can be the only result of the production of large numbers of small cars and scooters in the Public Sector. While cotton is produced by individual farmers and is finally used by the textile mills, which are in the non-Government sector, is it not altogether foolish that the Government should intervene in the middle stage? It is natural that the State Government in India also should wish to imitate the Centre in extending its own share of State Capitalism. Successive Finance Commissions have found that the States are not able to run their transport and electricity undertakings without incurring losses. If they are allowed to take up commercial undertakings like the Standard Motors or Sugar factories, the finances of State Governments are bound to deteriorate further, with a consequent increase in bitterness in the relations between the Centre and the States. Socialism is essentially a doctrine relating to the equitable distribution of national work and income. Its principal objectives are (i) full employment on living wages, (ii) progressive development of social services free for all members of the community, and (iii) a comprehensive system of social security ensuring the development of children and generous protection for the old and the unfortunate victims of sickness, accident or other misfortune. Developing on these ideas, the Scandinavian and other countries of Western Europe, including the UK, have developed a modem and highly beneficial conception of socialism which deserves to be understood and accepted by Indian politicians and economic thinkers. It is now conceded that one of the major objectives of socialism is full employment on living wages. This is perhaps the most difficult as well as the most important objective to be aimed at in this country. On the one hand, scientific and mechanised agriculture is likely to displace agricultural labour. On the other, the adoption of the most modern equipment and management, including computerisation in our factories, is likely to render a certain fraction of labour unemployed. Ultimately, when our economy is fully modernised and highly productive, the expanding needs of social services and social security may be expected to absorb a large number of our educated youth. Still, the transitional problems are bound to exist for some decades, if not for a century, and are so difficult and complicated that they require endless patience, farsightedness and human sympathy. It is in this context that the claims of large-scale industries, small-scale industries and cottage industries have to be equitably adjusted. Such adjustment has necessarily to be flexible and capable of readjustment after a period of 10 or 15 years. It is a matter of surprise that while, on the one hand, the Planning Commission and the Government of India are anxious to promote small-scale industries to provide employment for the technicians coming out of our higher technological institutions and polytechnics, large rice mills and bakeries should be established in various parts of the country. It may be admitted that modem rice mills and bakeries have advantages from the point of view of the consumer. Still, it cannot be claimed that without these, there would be any serious inconvenience. It is necessary to sort out what products can be economically produced in cottage industries, small-scale industries using power, medium industries and large-scale industries. There should be no rigid schedule for coding any product to any of these classes. Still, taxation, particularly customs duties on raw materials, export duties, import duties and sales taxes, should be so adjusted that where there can be no competition, cottage industries may get a preference of about 20 per cent over small-scale industries and the latter, the same amount over medium and large scale industries. In order to provide full employment, develop social services and provide social security, it is necessary that all material production by whatever agency should produce a surplus after wages, depreciation and interest on capital are met. Efficient means should be evolved through taxation to appropriate these surpluses for the development of social services and social security. It is a great pity that too much concentration on inefficient and unprofitable State Capitalism has prevented the Government of India from making even the beginning of a social security system, which is particularly essential for the poorer sections of the population in rural and urban areas. Any economic system in which the socialistic objectives mentioned above are achieved satisfactorily will have automatically reduced the range of inequality between incomes. The people are not generally told that this range is less in many of the modern so-called capitalist countries of Western Europe and even in Japan and the USA than in communist countries or undeveloped countries like India, which profess socialism. The reason is evident. When all persons are employed, and productivity is high, the lowest wages tend to be high. On the other hand, where productivity is low, and production is inefficient, the lowest-level worker is paid low wages. At the same time, the technicians and managing staff have to be paid comparatively high salaries in order to induce them to use their talents to the utmost. While in most advanced countries, the general range between the highest and the lowest income is of the order of 10 to 1, in India, it is 1 to 40. It may be true that in the USA, Japan and other advanced countries, there may be a few individuals who derive very large incomes. Still, under progressive income and wealth tax, a very large part of their income is appropriated by the State. Socialism is often claimed to aim at a classless society where there is no distinction between the classes and the masses. But when we look at the structure of the so-called communist States, which claim to be based on the teachings of Karl Marx, we find that the classes in those countries are as sharply distinguished from the masses as in the capitalist countries. The leaders and officials of the Communist party, the management personnel of their nationalised undertakings, and the academicians and professors of their universities occupy a higher status than even the upper classes in the non-socialist States. Even among the workers, the skilled, the semi-skilled and the unskilled form distinct sections. The only difference between the classes in the socialist and the capitalist society is that in the latter, there is a class based on ownership of property and receipt of unearned income. At the same time, in communist countries, they are replaced by party officials for whom the profession of communist ideology performs the same function as possession of the property in capitalist countries. Thus, the class structure is inherent in any social system, which is based on the division of labour and provision of inducements for the skilled and the unskilled labour and special facilities for highly complicated work such as scientific research, management of big industries and administering the big departments of modern government. The main thing is that these classes should not become rigid. There should be easy mobility from one class to another on the basis of skill and merit, and as I have stated already, the range of inequality should be strictly limited. In India, almost all politicians and thinkers demand an immediate and visible improvement of the condition of our peasant masses and urban proletariat, but this is no issue between capitalism and socialism, and those who cherish the illusion of eliminating poverty and squalor through State Capitalism miscalled socialism is only postponing the attainment of this legitimate objective. All those who are interested in the uplift of the masses should let the protagonists of all forms of capitalism, including State Capitalism, fight amongst themselves and arrive at whatever compromise they deem fit. The major issues for the masses in India, whether urban or rural, are employment, food, houses, health and education. Some efforts have been made under the plans to increase food production and promote health and education, but little has been done in the matter of housing. I would like any member of the Planning Commission or of the Government of India to stand up and say where and when the landless agricultural labourers and small peasants and slum dwellers of the cities and towns will be able to have houses which are fit for human living. I have no doubt that so long as these people live in miserable and unsanitary huts, as at present, neither education nor high wages will benefit them. If any of our leaders paused to think of the psychological, emotional and sanitary aspects of the problem of housing, they would have to admit that their indifference is almost criminal.  I think it is possible to have a housing programme by which the village panchayat and municipal corporations will undertake to build houses on a phased programme so that there will be no unsanitary huts and slums in our villages and towns. A similar concerted attack on unemployment is no less essential. It is almost a cynical contempt of our masses which permits the Central and State Ministers to talk airily of socialism when the number of unemployed in rural and urban areas is steadily increasing. It is foolish to contend that there is no work for the 20 or 30 million unemployed in this country. At the same time, West Germany and Japan, which were almost completely destroyed in the Second WorId War, not only provided full employment for their people but provided work for the unemployed of the neighbouring countries. State Capitalism cannot now or in the near future provide work for the unemployed. It is only through a wide decentralisation of economic initiative and active encouragement of all agencies of production and use of social services that the problem of unemployment and housing can be adequately tackled. India has still to make a beginning in social security which requires that our production be efficient and produce a surplus. I stand whole-heartedly for true socialism in India, which I equate with efficient production, full employment, generous social services and comprehensive social security. Every form of production which is consistent with these objectives should be actively encouraged, and every form which, through inherent inefficiency or psychological inadequacy, is likely to obstruct their achievement should be rejected as inconsistent with true socialism. _Previous musing: [Limits and Limitations of State Trading (1958)](https://indianliberals.in/content/limits-and-limitations-of-state-trading/)_ --- ## [Musing] STATE MONOPOLIES AND THE CITIZEN IN A DEMOCRACY URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/state-monopolies-and-the-citizen-in-a-democracy/ ### Body _The following essay was published in August 1959 by the [Forum of Free Enterprise](https://indianliberals.in/content/state-monoplies-and-the-citizen-in-a-democracy-by-v-k-narasimhan-aug-7-1959/). Authored by V.K. Narasimhan, the essay provides a comprehensive understanding of how state monopolies impact the economy and citizens' rights in a democracy. _I propose to examine the question how far the promotion and maintenance of State Monopolies in the production of goods or the operation of services is compatible with the rights of citizens in a democracy to operate similar enterprises.  I was attracted to this subject in 1956 when by an ordinance the Life Insurance Companies in India were taken over by the Government and subsequently they were nationalised and a completely state-owned monopolistic Life Insurance Corporation was brought into existence. I shall discuss later the merits and demerits of the state operation of monopolies but what struck me most at the time was whether it was proper for the state to take over businesses which were well run and which, to all intents and purposes, satisfied the needs of the customers whom they served. It seemed to me that where a business was being run according to the law of the land and where apparently it was carrying on a perfectly legitimate and socially useful activity a democratic state had morally no right to take over such a business.  The question then intrigued me how there was no protest at all from any quarter against what seemed to be a palpable invasion of the right of the citizens in a democracy to come together and operate any kind of legitimate business or industrial activity. I then discovered that the power to extinguish the citizens' rights in this regard had been taken by an amendment to the Constitution in 1951. Probing further into this amendment, I discovered an astonishing failure on the part of democratic-minded public men to realise the danger implicit in this amendment and the need to correct the situation created by the amendment if we are not to let ourselves in for the complete regimentation of economic life in this country by the State.  To explain my point, I shall go in detail into the history of this constitutional provision. The wise makers of our Constitution provided in the Fundamental Rights clause of the Constitution a provision which declared :  Article 19(1)(g): All citizens shall have the right to practise any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.  To this clause there was a proviso in Article 19(6) which stated: “Nothing in sub-clause (g) of the said clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it imposes, or prevent the State from making any law imposing, in the interests of the general public, reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub-clause, and, in particular, nothing in the said sub-clause, shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it relates to, or prevent the State from making any law relating to, the professional or technical qualifications necessary for practising any profession or carrying on any occupation, trade or business."  This was the original provision. It conferred a right to carry on any profession, trade, occupation or business subject to reasonable restrictions in the interests of the general public and subject to the power of the State to fix professional or technical qualifications. Shortly after the Constitution came into force, the U.P. Government decided to take over the operation of certain bus services and in pursuance of this decision did not renew the licences of certain private bus operators after the expiry of licences. The Allahabad High Court held that the denial of licences on the ground that the State intended to take over the services was _ultra vires_ of the Motor Vehicles Act. In the course of the proceedings in this case, a distinction was sought to be made between the power to impose restrictions on the exercise of a right and the power of total exclusion from its exercise. To impose conditions in the public interest for operating any service or industry is one thing; to say that no citizen shall operate a particular service is entirely different.  That this judgment should have alarmed the Government, which had its own programme of nationalisation and extending the public sector, was understandable. To meet the situation created by the Allahabad judgment, an amendment was incorporated in the comprehensive Bill embodying the First Amendment to the Constitution which made a sweeping provision for the creation of State monopolies which potentially negatived the right given under Article 19(1)(g). This amendment added to the original proviso to Article 19(6) an additional clause, viz., "Nothing in the said sub-clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it relates to, or prevent the State from making any law relating to, the carrying on by the State or by a corporation owned and controlled by the State, of any trade, business, industry or service, whether to the exclusion, complete or partial, of citizens or otherwise." Judged by any test, this is an astonishing provision. It seems to me that this clause is of such a sweeping character that there is no business, trade, industry or service which the State cannot take over at any time if it so chose. The mischief of this provision is so far-reaching that unless this provision is repealed or a fresh constitutional safeguard is added to it, it looks as if no form of private enterprise, however innocuous and however legitimate it may be, is safe from the unholy hands of the State. As you all know, the "State", under the Constitution, may refer to any public authority from a Panchayat to Parliament and as the Constitution stands there is nothing to prevent, say, the Communist Government of Kerala from passing a law enabling panchayats in that State to operate all businesses and industries in their areas and thereby completely destroy any form of private enterprise.  I do not want to be alarmistic. Having seen how the power under the provision has been actually utilised in the past eight years for the incursion of the State into various forms of business from life insurance to the export of iron and manganese ore on a monopolistic basis, I feel that it would be extremely dangerous to let the amended constitutional provision remain unchallenged and unqualified.  It is a great pity that at the time this provision was being incorporated in the Constitution, public attention was so much diverted to other amendments and provisions of the Constitution (First Amendment) Bill-particularly the amendment relating to freedom of speech and expression-that little or no attention was paid to this far-reaching and, in my opinion, utterly anti-democratic provision of the amending Bill. Out of curiosity to see whether and how many members had cared to study the provision of the amending Bill and to draw the attention of Parliament to the mischief of this provision, I went through the Parliamentary debates on the Constitution (First Amendment) Bill and I was surprised to make two discoveries. The first was that except two gallant members who spoke on this particular provision and showed some realisation of its dangerous potentialities, few other members realised its implications. The second discovery was that an amendment to this provision moved by Mr. Shyam Nandan Sahaya with a view to providing some safeguard to citizens who may be adversely affected by an act of the State in excluding them from a business or trade was printed in the official records as having been adopted but which, to my surprise, I found had not been incorporated in the final Act. When I pursued this matter with the Speaker of the Lok Sabha I was told there was a misprint in the official proceedings and that where it was stated that Mr. Shyam Nandan Sahaya's amendment had been "adopted", it should read that it had been "negatived". It is extraordinary that on a vital matter like this there should have been such a major printer's error which had not been corrected in any subsequent issues of the official proceedings.  I mentioned earlier that only two members had referred to this clause during the debates on the Constitution Amendment Bill. One was Pandit Hridayanath Kunzru. Pandit Kunzru argued that contrary to the Law Minister's view that the Allahabad judgment necessitated the amendment to Article 19(6), there was no need for such an amendment at all on this particular ground. Pandit Kunzru went on to refer to the more serious implications of the amendment and stated:  "There is another point, too, that I should like the House to consider. For, though clause (6) of article 19 has not received the attention that it deserves in view of its importance, it relates to a very important matter. The amendment of the latter part of clause (6) provides for any restrictions that the State may place on trade, business, industry or service in order to carry it on itself or have it carried on by a corporation owned or controlled by it. These provisions do not really mean nationalisation so much as the creation of a State monopoly. Suppose Government starts a cotton textile mill of their own in Delhi and they issue an order to the Delhi Cloth Mill to cease working. I suppose such an order would, if the necessary legislation were passed, be valid. And, as the Government would not, merely by issuing the order, be acquiring a property, their action, I suppose, would not fall under article 31 of the Constitution. I should like to know from the Prime Minister what is the exact intention of the Government in respect of this matter. How do they propose to use the amendment to the latter part of clause (6) of article 19? I am sure the House will agree that if it is used in such a way as to give no compensation to people whose property is rendered valueless, then, although they might not come under the operation of Article 31, they would nevertheless be committing a grave injustice. I do not want that this amendment should be used to circumvent article 31 in respect of trade and industry in the same way as the proposed article 31A and 31B would be used in respect of agricultural estates. I hope that my hon. friend the Prime Minister would be able to throw light on this matter and to assure us that Government wants to do nothing contrary to the spirit of the Constitution and have no intention of setting at naught in an indirect way the provisions of Article 31 in respect of trade and industry."  There is nothing in the subsequent proceedings to suggest that the Prime Minister recognised the importance of this issue or cared to answer the points raised by Pandit Kunzru.  I now come to Mr. Shyam Nandan Sahaya's intervention in this affair. He moved an amendment to the effect:  "Provided, however, that where such exclusion results in the displacement of citizens or otherwise from pursuing their normal avocation, the State shall either take over their property affected by such exclusion or shall compensate them to the extent of their loss due to such displacement."  As I mentioned earlier, according to the official proceedings (column 9878 of Parliamentary Debates dated 1st June 1951) Mr. Shyam Nandan Sahaya's amendment is stated to have been adopted. Considering the sweeping character of the official amendment, I should have thought that the adoption of Mr. Sahaya's amendment was the barest minimum that Parliament could have thought of as a safeguard or protection for those citizens whose interests might be adversely affected by the creation of State monopolies. I am still unable to discover how this misprint occurred when the report scrupulously records how hundreds of other amendments to the official Bill were negatived. I shall leave it to members of Parliament and to interested persons to probe into this mystery and ascertain what really happened.  I may mention this connection that several other amendments to this provision were moved by other members which were all negatived. One of those amendments was a very salutary provision suggested by Prof. K.T. Shah that where a State-sponsored enterprise functions side by side with a private enterprise in the same field, no discrimination should be made by the State in the conditions for carrying on the trade or business in favour of the State enterprise. Dr. S.P. Mookerjee had suggested that a law passed under the amended Article 19(6) by any State Legislature shall be reserved for the consideration of the President.  The position today as a result of the Constitutional amendment of 1951 is this: The State has an unrestricted right to create monopolies in "any trade, business, trade or service." Where such monopolies are created, as in the case of the nationalisation of life insurance companies, by the taking over of existing enterprises compensation will no doubt be given to the owners of the businesses taken over. Under the amended Article 31 such compensation need not be necessarily adequate compensation for the full value of the assets taken over. But nationalisation is not the only means by which a new state monopoly can be brought into existence. As we have seen in the case of the State excluding private motor transport services from operating in certain areas and in the manner in which the State Trading Corporation has acquired a monopoly of the export or import trade in certain commodities, it is clear that by the mere process of refusing to renew licence or by specific legislation in this behalf, the State can extinguish private business in any field and bring a state monopoly into existence.  The question I am concerned with is not whether under the amended provision the State may do something absurd or not but whether it should have a power which is liable to abuse. In discussing this matter we must proceed on some fundamental assumptions. The democratic system, I take it, is based on the principle that the State exists for the citizens and that there are some fundamental rights which the Stale cannot infringe except under clearly laid down conditions. It is implicit in this concept that the citizens of a democratic state shall have the right, individually or in concert, to pursue any trade, business or industry so long as they do not work against the public interest or violate the laws of the land. Implicit in this right is the principle that whenever the citizen is excluded, partially or otherwise, from a business, trade or vocation, it shall be for reasons demonstrably in the public interest and also on demonstrable grounds that the State can serve the public interest better than the citizens concerned. From this it follows that there ought to be, in every case of the creation of a State enterprise or monopoly, a prior enquiry into the operation of private enterprise in the particular field and an opportunity given to citizens engaged in it whether or not they have served the public interest. There would be no case for the State stepping in unless it is proved that the private enterprise in question has failed to promote the public interest or that a public enterprise would promote public interests better than private enterprise.  In the case of the nationalisation of the life insurance companies, for instance, arguments in defence of nationalisation were advanced after the country had been presented with a _fait accompli_. Except for some articles in the "A.I.C.C. Economic Review,"-the author of which is no longer connected with the journal,-the country was given no indication that anything was seriously wrong with the Life Insurance Companies as a whole though as in every industry, public or private, there may be some black sheep. The nationalisation of life insurance came, in fact, after a year in which record business had been done by the insurance companies and it looked as if they were well set for further striking progress. No case was made out for setting up a monolithic corporation unknown in any other democratic country in the world. What justification could there be for nationalising companies which were well-managed and whose record was unimpeachable? Why should co-operative and mutual insurance societies which were well run and financially sound be nationalised? What canon of public interest or social justice demanded that no citizen or combination of citizens shall have anything to do with life insurance as a business? In other countries there are life insurance businesses run by private managements to which no State operated insurance concern can hold a candle. We were told that once the 200 odd competing companies were eliminated, there would be a great economy in operation and that life insurance premia would be reduced and insurance would be made accessible to the masses. I do not know whether the expenses of the Life Insurance Corporation are less than what the combined companies were spending before nationalisation. I agree that in strict theory there is a case for a monopolistic operation of social insurance because in insurance the larger the number of people over whom the risks are spread the cheaper the costs of insurance. But in the life insurance business which the Government took over, it was not merely a minimum social insurance for everybody that was involved, but life insurance of all kinds from policies running into lakhs of rupees to so-called _Janata_ policies. I cannot understand why a State wedded to a socialistic pattern, should care to insure anybody for very large sums in a State enterprise.  From the experience of the working of the Life Insurance Corporation in the past three years we can see most of the evils of a State monopoly in operation. The organisation tends to be bureaucratic. The absence of competition makes for complacency and indifference to the consumer at every level. The danger of misuse of large public funds passing through a single agency are enormously increased. Above all freedom of choice for the consumer and the employee, which are very real advantages under conditions in which there are a number of competing enterprises in a particular industry, is completely destroyed under a monopoly. What this means can be seen, for instance, in the opportunities for employment open to capable insurance organisers or actuaries under the L.I.C. as a sole employer. Anyone who is not satisfied with conditions of service in the Corporation has no option but to give up life insurance as a career altogether and turn to some other enterprise in which he cannot be equally interested or for which he cannot be equally qualified.  Another fundamental question which arises in connection with the starting of State monopolies is whether it is proper on the part of the State just because it feels that it can improve its financial resources, to take over any existing well-conducted private enterprise. Under the United States Constitution, State incursion into business is virtually impossible except under severely limited conditions. In India we may concede that the State has to play a more positive role and there is considerable room for public enterprise of various kinds to be started. Of course, where large investments are involved out of public funds, whatever the source from which they may be raised, there is constant need to see that the utmost economy is practised and to ensure that the public enterprises are run efficiently and economically. Subject to this essential safeguard, we may concede that there is room for extension of public enterprises.  But if we accept the democratic basis of our system and consider that the citizen has a fundamental right to pursue any legitimate business, trade, profession or industry, it must be laid down that no citizen shall be excluded from any business or industry he has built up except on grounds of overwhelming public interest. This implies that any citizen who may be adversely affected by the extension of the public sector shall have a right to see a judicial remedy, not only to prevent the State from excluding him from the business which he has been, carrying on, but also to seek compensation for any loss he might suffer as a result of such exclusion if the Court holds that the exclusion was justified in terms of the larger public interest but the citizen in question had suffered a loss thereby for no fault of his and, therefore, deserved to be compensated.  Senior Members of Parliament who were in the Constituent Assembly at the time when the First Amendment was being discussed have told me that when the amendment to Article 19(6) was included in the Bill they had imagined that it was only intended to cover cases of nationalisation like the taking over of bus transport and public utilities. They also told me that they never expected that this power would be utilized for extending State activity in fields like trading in ores. If State monopolies had been thought of in this limited sense, there would be some justification for the Constitutional amendment. Although all monopolies, whether public or private, lend themselves to abuse in one way or other and therefore have to be checked by some regulatory device, we know that in certain types of activity monopolistic operation is inherent in the nature of the service if economy and efficiency are to be ensured. Operation of a tramway or the distribution of electricity) in a particular area or the running of a telephone system, to give only a few examples, necessarily call for operation by a single agency. All over the world recognised methods have been evolved to see that such monopolistic operators are governed by regulations which ensure the public interest in regard to efficiency of operation and the rates charged to users. If State monopolies are limited to this category of public utilities there would be no serious grievance, provided the safeguards which consumers will have in the case of private monopolies are maintained even when they are operated by the State. The mischief of the amended Article 19(6) would have been considerably reduced if the scope of State monopolies had been limited to essential public services like transport, electric lighting, etc., and had not been omnivorously extended to cover "any trade, business, industry or service".  But for this omnibus provision it would have been inconceivable that persons in authority would have lightheartedly thought of creating State trading monopolies to handle foodgrains and other products. Public opinion must be vigorously educated to realise that whenever a monopoly is created, whether in the public or private field, there is an inherent and grave danger to the public interest. Even when the public interest demands that prices should be controlled by regulating movement and sale of goods, it is always wiser to keep, as far as possible, competing agencies in operation instead of eliminating them. Here is an example of how unthinking intervention by the State with the mechanism of trade and distribution can create incalculable hardship and misery. I quote from the report of the Gauhati correspondent of The Statesman on State Trading in foodgrains which "is running a chequered career in the Nowgong District of Assam." He wrote: "I made a sample study of the State trading operation round about Hojai, the district's rice bowl, and had discussions with people connected with and affected by State trading early this week … State trading had thrown out of gear the district's 30 rice mills, which for decades had been carrying on the procurement, storing, milling and distribution of food through the network of their organisation. Dealer's licences held by rice millers had been abruptly cancelled, and the millers' traditional machinery for procurement and distribution indirectly employing 4,000 personnel in the district, replaced overnight by those of the co-operatives”.  "This has given rise to new problems for the rice milling industry, which had not been forewarned about this changeover. As a result, the district's milling industry, having a stake of Rs. 1.54 crores in block and working capital and about 2,200 employees on the permanent payroll, is faced with the question, to be or not to be. In the present scheme of things the mills are not allowed to procure paddy by themselves. Secondly, there is no guarantee by the Government to keep the mills going by supplying paddy according to the capacity of each mill. Thirdly, milling charge per maund of paddy has been fixed at 75 nP. against the actual cost of Rs. 1.35 nP. as quoted by millers in Assam, and Rs. 1.50 nP. milling charge fixed by the West Bengal Government in North Bengal.  "What is most lacking is popular enthusiasm and co-operation, an essential pre-requisite of the scheme. On the contrary, an impression has got currency that the primary co-operatives are not real producers' co-operatives, and that these have been hastily drawn up more or less on the basis of existing Mandal Congress Committees with Mandal Congress presidents and secretaries as chairman of the co-operatives, thus indirectly lending a political colour to the whole scheme. Even Leftist political parties, who had once been the more steadfast supporters of State trading, are today among its bitterest critics."  This tragic story which has been more or less repeated in other parts of the country where similar rude intervention with the existing machinery of distribution has produced more or less similar consequences, should be a warning to the general public as to what is in store whenever a multiplicity of buying or selling agencies is replaced by a monopolistic agency. The growth of bureaucracy or corruption and a widespread black-market have been the inevitable results each time State intervention in trade has taken the form of substituting monopoly procurement and monopoly distribution for the channels of competitive private trade. Whatever may be the justification for such monopolistic controls during a grave emergency, like war or during a very severe food crisis, it would be an unmitigated disaster to envisage such monopolistic State trading as a normal appurtenance of peace time.  I should like to sum up my broad conclusions on the subject of State monopolies and the citizen as I follows:  - It is implicit in the basic conceptions of the democratic system that all citizens shall have the amplest freedom to engage in any form of economic activity that is not demonstrably against the public interest, without their being subject to threats actual or potential, of their exclusion from such activities by the intervention of the State. - There must be a more precise and narrowed definition of the area in which the State would be entitled to set up monopolies than is envisaged under the existing provisions of the Constitution. (It is significant that in Britain, where the Labour Party has long been an advocate of nationalisation, there has been in recent years a complete change in opinion in regard to the advantages of nationalisation and a radical change in attitude towards well-managed private enterprises. Not only is there no enthusiasm for renationalising the steel industry but there is a recognition that "under increasingly professional management, large firms are as a whole serving the nation well." The Labour Party now admits that no intervention by the State will take place "where any firm is doing a good job." Moreover, opinion in the Labour Party is veering to the view that where private Companies are "failing down" on their job, it is preferable to control them instead of nationalising them). - No State monopoly should be brought into existence without a prior enquiry into the operations of the private sector in that field and without a full opportunity being given to those engaged in that industry to vindicate themselves. - In no circumstance should an enterprise conducted by citizens on sound lines-except in the limited field of public utilities- be taken over by the State or be prevented from operation by the setting up of a State monopoly. (If such a safeguard had been in existence before 1956 some at least of the Life Insurance Companies which were nationalised could not have been taken over by the State). - When any particular existing enterprise suffers a loss as a result of the creation of a State monopoly there should be provision for compensation to the extent of such loss by the State. - In addition to purely Parliamentary bodies like the Public Accounts Committee or the Estimates Committee, which may periodically go into the working of State-run enterprises, there must be an impartial and quasi-Judicial body like the Tariff Commission in India, or the Monopolies Commission in England, to review the operations of State monopolistic enterprises to hear complaints from the public and from private concerns that may suffer in one way or other and to make recommendations for the better functioning of these enterprises to prevent abuses. _Last week's musing: [GLOBALISATION AND THE POOR](https://indianliberals.in/content/globalisation-and-the-poor-2/)_ --- ## [Musing] Statement of the Principles of Swatantra Party URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/statement-of-principles-of-swatantra-party/ ### Body The Statement of the Principles of the Swatantra Party was adopted at the Preparatory Convention held at Bombay on August l and 2, 1959. The 21 principles which were adopted laid the ground for a liberal and market-oriented approach to politics in India. The Swatantra Party was the first political party to openly endorse free enterprise and liberal values in India.1. The Swatantra Party is pledged to Social Justice and equality of opportunity for all people without distinction of religion, caste, occupation, or political affiliation. 2. The Party holds that the progress, welfare, and happiness of the people depend on individual initiative, enterprise, and energy. The Party stands for the principle of maximum freedom for the individual and minimum interference by the State, consistent with the obligation to prevent and punish anti-social activities, to protect the weaker elements of society, and to create the conditions in which individual initiative will thrive and be fruitful. The Party is, therefore opposed to increasing State interference of the kind now being pursued. 3. The Party holds that the State should foster and utilise the sense of moral obligation, the pride, satisfaction, and fulfilment felt by individuals in serving others, which are inherent in our tradition, instead of adopting legislative or other forms of compulsion which commence with want of faith in the people and are consummated in the serfdom of the governed under the official machine, in an omnipotent State controlled by a political party voted to power. The Party, therefore, adheres to the principle of Trusteeship adumbrated by Gandhiji. 4. The Party holds that the policies of Government should be founded on faith in the people and not on State compulsion and the encouragement of hatred and conflict between class and class, expropriation, repudiation of obligations, and the conferment of more and more powers on the officials of Government at the expense of the freedom of the citizens. 5. The Party stands for every effort being made to foster and maintain spiritual values and preserve what is good in our culture and tradition, and avoid the dominance of a purely materialist philosophy of life which thinks only ·in terms of the standard of life without any reference to its content or quality. 6. The Party holds that steps should be taken to remove the pervading sense of uncertainty that has been created by the present policies of the Government and its varying forecasts of future plans, leading to the drying up of initiative and enterprise in land, shop and factory alike. The Party holds that a sense of stability and incentive for individual effort can be restored only by strict adherence to the Fundamental Rights and Guarantees specified in the Constitution as originally adopted in respect of freedom of property, trade and occupation, and just compensation for any property compulsorily acquired by the State for public purposes. 7. The Party holds that in the policies adopted for national development, priority must be assigned to the basic needs of the people, namely, food, water, housing, and clothing. 8. The Party believes that every citizen has a fundamental right to educate his children according to his choice and in a free atmosphere untrammelled by official directives and that the State should afford facilities for such education without discrimination. 9. The Party holds that the paramount need is for increasing food production and that this is best attained through the self-employed peasant-proprietor who is interested in obtaining the highest yield from his land. The Party believes in an intensive programme of agricultural improvement by promoting the material and psychological inducements for greater production without disturbing the harmony of rural life. The Party holds that there should be no disturbance of ownership, management, and cultivation of land, but believes in a more effective programme than is being followed at present in respect of irrigation, and the supply of material, implements, credit and marketing facilities. The Party believes in the need for giving every kind of help to agriculture, but is opposed to cultivation through organisations which reduce private ownership to an empty paper-title and which bring into being a loose kind of multiple ownership which is certain to sap the incentive of the farmer and his family, reduce output, and take us to a collective economy with official management. It is firmly opposed to collectivisation and bureaucratic management of the rural economy. The Party takes note of the dissatisfaction amongst the rural population that adequate attention has not been paid to their needs. It holds that the level of life of the rural people Should be improved by removing all such impediments as are likely to stand in the way of their attaining a high standard of life and by taking all steps necessary for the purpose, in particular for maintaining a reasonable and steady price for agricultural produce, which is in parity with other prices. 10. In industry, the Party believes in the incentives for higher production and expansion inherent in competitive enterprise, with adequate safeguards for the protection of labour and against unreasonable profits, prices and dividends, where there is no competition or where competition does not secure the necessary corrective. The Party stands for the restriction of State enterprise to heavy industries such as are necessary to supplement private enterprise in that field, such national services as Railways, and the starting of new enterprises which are difficult for private initiative. The Party is opposed to the State entering the field of trade and disturbing free distribution, and introducing controls and official management with all its wastefulness and inefficiency. The Party believes that in the field of production, the free choice of the producer and the consumer must be given basic place and importance. 11. The Party stands for the preservation of the freedom of the small and self-employed artisans, craftsmen, and traders, who are in danger of losing their occupational opportunities, by reason of the policy of Statism. These persons perform a great, widespread, and inexpensive function in our society, and their gradual extinction will be a national misfortune and add to our unemployment problem. 12. The Party stands for greater thrift in public expenditure, It holds that taxation should be kept at such levels as will not interfere with reasonable living standards for the people, both rural and urban, and which, while being necessary and sufficient for the carrying on of administration and such social and economic services as are taken up by the State, is yet not so high and exacting or so ubiquitous as to prevent capital formation and private investment.. 13. The Party is opposed to a programme of development based on crippling taxation, abnormal deficit financing, and foreign loans which are beyond the capacity of the country to repay. 14. The Party is opposed to all policies that lead to excessive inflation, high prices that reduce the value of savings, endowments, and fixed incomes, and which create undue hardship for the present generation in the hope of a distant gain. 15. The Party believes that the cost of Public Administration should be reduced considerably. It stands for integrity and efficiency in the services. It is against the expansion of the bureaucratic machine, with a hierarchy of officials asked to do work which is best done by citizens and private agencies, resulting in unproductive waste of national resources. 16. The Party believes that the State will best serve the nation by encouraging and affording facilities for a decentralised distribution of industry and by limiting its own regulatory function to the prevention and punishment of antisocial activities wherever called for. 17. The Party stands for the creation of opportunities for full and lasting employment in all sectors of life. It stands for a programme of all-round industrialisation with a view to developing national resources and reducing unemployment. It believes in a balanced development of capital-goods industries, organised consumer goods industries, and rural industries that afford supplementary employment in the small-scale processing of the products of agriculture. 18. The Party stands for a fair deal for labour, whether in the field, factory or office and for correlating wages to increased productivity and for the workers’ right to organise for the purpose of collective bargaining. It stands for harmonising the interests. of capital and labour when they get into conflict. 19. The Party is opposed to any form of political pressure being put on officials to deflect them from the course of fair and just discharge of duties without discrimination. It stands for the rule of law, an independent judiciary, and for the full play of the powers of judicial review given to the Courts by the Constitution. 20. The Party shall, in all matters, keep before itself the cardinal teachings of Gandhiji, maintaining faith in the people and in the efficacy of truth and non-violence. 21. The Swatantra · Party holds that democracy is best served if every political Party allows freedom of opinion to its members on all matters outside the Fundamental Principles of the Party. It, therefore, gives its members, full liberty on all questions not falling within the scope of the Principles stated above. --- ## [Musing] Swatantra Party: 64th Foundation Year URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/swatantra-party-foundation-year/ ### Body _To commemorate the 64th Foundation Year of the first and the only Liberal political party in India, we share the following musing published by the Swatantra Party. "Why Swatantra" is a conjoined effort of C Rajagopalachari, N G Ranga, K M Munshi and Minoo Masani as they analyse with incisive logic the need for a new party and explain with great clarity the party’s fundamental philosophy and programmes. Why Swantantra? They answer: To Save Freedom (Rajagopalachari), To Preserve the Family Economy (N G Ranga), To Restore Fundamental Rights (K M Munshi) and To Provide a Democratic Alternative (Masani)._ You can read the complete musing here: [Why Swatantra](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Why-Swatantra.pdf) **C Rajagopalachari - To Save Freedom** The Swatantra Party stands for the protection of the individual citizen against the increasing trespasses of the State. it is an answer to the challenge of the so-called Socialism of the Indian Congress Party. It is founded on the conviction that social justice and welfare can be attained through the fostering of individual enterprise in all fields better than through State ownership and Government control. It is based on the truth that bureaucratic management leads to loss of incentives and waste of resources. When the State trespasses beyond what is legitimately within its province, it just hands over the management from those who are interested in frugal and efficient management to bureaucracy which is ingrained and uninterested except in its own survival. The Swatantra Party is founded on the claim that individual citizens should be free to hold their property and carry on their professions freely and through binding mutual agreements among themselves and that the State should assist and encourage in every possible way the individual in this freedom, but not seek to replace him. The new party seeks to oppose the trend of the ruling Congress Party to adopt the ways and ideals of the Communists in its eagerness to prevent the Communists from going forward. The Swatantra Party believes that going over to the enemy is not a defence but a surrender. The Swatantra Party apart from the ideology here explained, hopes to furnish a real opposition to the Congress Party so that parliamentary democracy may be properly balanced. The absence of true opposition has led to the rapid deterioration of democracy into a kind of totalitarianism. Voices have been heard from all quarters calling for a strong opposition and the new party is supplying a felt want. This party of freedom is further making a novel experiment in restricting disciplinary control over party members to essential issues, giving freedom in all other matters to vote according to individual opinion. This is not a mere strategy to "net in" discordant miscellaneous elements as at first might appear. It is really an answer to the constantly expressed sense of dissatisfaction with party rigidity and to the complaint that it often amounts to suppression of opinion and rule by a minority in the name of a majority. A majority in the ruling caucus can always, under present conditions, impose their views on all and every issue in the Parliament of the nation. The Swatantra Party intends to initiate a departure from the usual practice of political parties and, true to its name, give _Swatantra_ or freedom to its members to vote according to their own convictions and conscience on all but the party's fundamentals so that the decisions of Parliament may on those issues truly reflect the prevailing opinion, and not be just a replica of the majority opinion of the ruling party or the fads of the ruling clique. Without the inconveniences resulting from proportional representation and, in particular, the instability of governments formed under such a system, the reduction of voting in accordance with whips to the barest minimum, as proposed by the Swatantra Party would be a healthy example for all parties. If followed generally or even by the more important ones among the various parties, the freedom given to members on all but essential issues would result in government more in accordance with the ideals of those who conceived the system of proportional representation and laid high hopes hereon. In this matter, the new party may claim to have initiated a great democratic advance worthy of trial in all countries really believing in democracy and not willing to be subjected to a form of dictatorship in the name of party discipline which often serves only th ambition of individuals or groups. The new party does not believe that legislative compulsion, any more than the violence that preceded and enthroned Communism in certain countries, can contribute to true or lasting human happiness. We must depend on the moral sense of the people in order to equalise without destroying freedom. It may be that there are a large number of people in our ancient land who have now lost the capacity to respond to moral appeals and who are impervious to the call of _dharma_. There have been causes that have brought about this state of things. But this large number of bad and successful men of the world should not blind us to the fact that in the large mass, _dharma_ still rules and supports our society. The millions that make up our nation are still moved and guided by their sense of _dharma_ and the voice of their conscience. If the cynics who deny this were right, our society would have broken down long ago and perished. We should have been hearing of starvation deaths in thousands every day. If we take a survey of the numerous charitable foundations and trusts that work as a matter of routine in the country and which were born of a sense of _dharma _without any kind of State compulsion, we can cure our cynicism with irrefutable and abundant facts. The charitable motives and compulsions of the heart prevailed in the days when these trusts and charitable institutions were founded and can prevail today, for we are the same people after all. "There is no need for charity when there is an obligation; let the State compel." This is the slogan of the Socialists. But it is forgotten that this will lead irresistibly to total serfdom. The cynics are not right. Our society is still maintained by the inner law. The outer laws can touch but the fringe of life. They deal with criminals and keep order going. Normal life does not depend on the laws. It depends on the moral consciousness of people. This moral sense has not been effaced whatever changes may have taken place in the rituals and observances of forms. It is by _dharma_ that society is sustained, _Lokah dhriyate._ It is on _dharma_ we must build and not on the sand of material motives and our capacity to satisfy them quickly and get votes to be in power. The good seed is not lost. It is still there. We must not ignore its availability. The soil also is good and God will send us the rains. Let us not fail to look after it. _Previous musing: [Rajkumari Amrit Kaur: Philanthropy and Politics](https://indianliberals.in/content/rajkumari-amrit-kaur-philanthropy-and-politics/)_ type=content&p=8107). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] Swatantra Liberals and Indian Foreign Policy URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/swatantra-liberals-and-indian-foreign-policy/ ### Body On November 15, 1965, Minoo Masani gave a speech in the Parliament outlining his vision of foreign policy for India. After diagnosing the failure of the government on matters connected to India’s external relations, Masani came up with his own agenda. The measures proposed included the formation of a regional security alliance, support to Tibet and Taiwan, diplomatic relations with Israel, normal relations with Pakistan in order to focus on the biggest threat and acceptance of help from both the US and USSR. _In the everyday politics of the chaotic democracy that India is, foreign policy issues figure down the priority list except when it comes to matters of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and the Kashmir dispute. _ _The recent border impasse with China, however, has brought foreign policy and strategic analysis to the forefront. It is likely that the current crisis would lead to a change in the direction of Indian foreign policy. The shibboleth of Indian foreign policymakers has been the mantra of ‘strategic autonomy’, which might as well be a repackaged version of Non-Alignment. _ _As the balance of power is clearly skewed in favour of China, some analysts have argued for a closer alignment with the US to balance against China. The proposal also includes sustained cooperation with middle powers in the Indo-Pacific region like Japan, Australia, Indonesia, among others, which goes against the grain of strategic autonomy._ _As the debate over contours of foreign policy continues, produced below is an excerpt advocating revision in the then well-known Indian external affairs strategy of Non-Alignment. On November 15, 1965, Minoo Masani gave a speech in the Parliament outlining his vision of foreign policy for India. After diagnosing the failure of the government on matters connected to India’s external relations, Masani came up with his own agenda. The measures proposed included the formation of a regional security alliance, support to Tibet and Taiwan, diplomatic relations with Israel, normal relations with Pakistan in order to focus on the biggest threat and acceptance of help from both the US and USSR._ Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to support our (the Swatantra Party’s) alternative motion which says: “The House … is of opinion that, in the face of the combined hostility of Communist China and Pakistan, the country needs a radical revision in its foreign policy, the discarding of dogma and the adoption of realistic diplomacy involving, inter alia, (a) measures for building a system of regional collective security for all countries between India, Japan and Australasia; (b) forthright support for the defence of South Vietnam and Malaysia against aggression; (c) steps towards the liberation of Tibet and the recognition of the Dalai Lama as the head of a Free Tibetan Government; and (d) the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Republic of China and Israel.” Sir, on an occasion like this, we in this House speak from a sense of heightened responsibility, both because what we say may have implications for our national interests which we must bear in mind, and at the same time, because we are anxious that the advantage that this country possesses over its opponents in Pakistan and China, of being a Democracy in a crisis, where free discussion, free criticism and free opposition prevail, that advantage this country should not lightly throw away. As the Foreign Minister has said, this country has gone through a tremendous experience. We cannot do otherwise than to start with paying our tribute to the gallantry of our Armed Forces; we have had the unfortunate memories of 1962 thus wiped out, and the prestige and pride of our armed forces, which they had over centuries, have been re-established. Let us hope that there will be no tinkering or tampering with the morale of our forces, which has thus been re-established. The Foreign Minister was also right in paying a tribute to our people for rallying to the defence of the country, for the unity of purpose that they showed and for the communal harmony that was maintained throughout. **Unwarranted Complacency** But I wish I could share the smug complacency with which he referred to the successes of our diplomacy and our foreign policy. These recent events have also some very hard lessons to teach us. The hardest of them was that, in the face of that crisis, India was isolated. I do not say that we did not have friends. But in our own corner, in our fight with Pakistan, except for Malaysia and Singapore, there was nobody. Let us not try to forget this fact of isolation; it is pretty bad. In the General Assembly of the UN, at the end of the debate, the Press Trust of India made an analysis of the trends in regard to our dispute with Pakistan. I am quoting from the Hindustan Times of 23rd October: According to the PTI, the spokesmen of 63 nations were neutral and did not go beyond appealing for peace, 19 were hostile to India and, of these 19, 11 were members of the Arab League. 3 made passing references but did not say anything. 25 ignored the issue. Out of 110, not one spoke up for us. This is something that cannot be side-tracked by recording satisfaction at our success in the Security Council. This has left our people bewildered; it has left some of our people rather angry. It is no good flying into a rage when nobody else can see our point of view. It reminds me of the story of the fond mother who went to see a military parade. At the end of the parade, her comment was, “Everybody was out of step except my Johnny”. That was her son! We cannot afford to be Johnny. We are living in a world community, where we must be in step with decent, democratic nations, whose friendship we regard. We cannot resign from the Human Race and turn our back on humanity. In a way, let us console ourselves that, since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, other nations have copied us and remained non-aligned in our dispute. We have so many times taken the stand that we will not judge what is right or wrong over the last 15 years. We should take sportingly the fact that other countries are now giving back to us a little of our own medicine! The important thing is: why did this happen and how do we prevent a recurrence of this isolation? That, surely, should be the purpose of this debate. Let us look at the facts in the face. Was it only bad public relations, as some of our colleagues allege? Was it the fault of our diplomats? Let me say, in all fairness to our diplomatic service and publicity, that it was not a failure of public relations or diplomacy. I have been a practitioner of public relations. You cannot sell a product if the product cannot be sold. The first thing in public relations is to have a good product which can be sold. Then only can you advertise it and sell it. It is no good blaming our diplomats and ambassadors. The fault lay deeper. It lay in our foreign policy. We did not give them a product they could successfully sell in the councils of the world. _The full text of the article can be accessed [here](http://indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=590973500.pdf)_. _[IndianLiberals.in](http://indianliberals.in/) is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ Read more: [Venkataraman Sundaram-Scholar, Economist and Civil Servant (1942-2014)](https://spontaneousorder.in/venkataraman-sundaram-scholar-economist-and-civil-servant-1942-2014/) --- ## [Musing] Tanguturi Prakasam Panthulu: A Visionary Leader and pioneer of Press Freedom URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/tanguturi-prakasam-panthulu-a-visionary-leader-and-pioneer-of-press-freedom/ ### Body _Tanguturi Prakasam was the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He was a visionary leader and able administrator. His dynamic personality earned him a lasting reputation in the hearts of the Telugu people. He championed Press freedom as a reputed journalist and carried out crucial reforms for the development of Rural people._ - Tanguturi Prakasam was born on 23rd August 1987 to Sri Gopalakrishnayya and Srimati Subbamma. He was born into a middle-class family and spent most of his childhood in his native village, Vinodarayudupalem, in Ongole taluk of then Madras Province. When Tanguturi was twelve years old, his father passed away. The sudden demise of his father left Tanguturi in shock. By 1885, Tanguturi’s family was facing financial difficulties. Owing to these circumstances, Tanguturi and his mother moved to Ongole Town. Tanguturi’s mother ran a small hotel and supported him to study. Tanguturi departed for Rajahmundry, located in Andhra Pradesh, where he successfully passed his Matriculation examination. In 1890, he entered into matrimony with Hanumayamma. Subsequently, he enrolled at Arts College in Rajahmundry and successfully completed the 'Fellow of Arts program’. In 1892, he relocated to Madras, where he joined the Law College and completed his legal education. After completing his legal studies, he began his career as a pleader. Later, he returned to Rajahmundry, establishing a solid presence as a pleader and actively participating in local politics.In 1904, Tanguturi moved to the United Kingdom to further his legal studies. Upon completing his studies and qualifying as a Barrister, he returned to India in 1907 and commenced legal practice in the Madras High Court. For the ensuing fourteen years until 1921, he continued his dedicated service in the legal profession. However, Tanguturi’s career started taking a political turn when he began to attend Congress party meetings regularly. After the ‘Surat Split’ in 1907, Tanguturi became an active follower of Congress. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, he renounced his profession as an advocate and got wholly involved in politics. On October 29, 1921, he founded ‘Swarajya’, an English daily. He was also the working editor of the publication. Swarajya’s closure came in the year 1936.  Later, in 1956, Khasa Subbarao, freedom fighter and journalist, started a magazine with the patronage of C Rajagopalachari and named it “Swarajya” magazine, carrying forward the legacy of Tanguturi Prakasam. Through Swarajya, Tanguturi published Congress's aims and its blueprint of events. During the Nationalist movement, Swarajya was published in English, Telugu, and Tamil.  During the provincial elections held in 1937, Congress came into power in Madras province. Under the ministry of Shri C Rajagopalachari, Tanguturi worked as the Revenue Minister of Madras. He played a brave role during the ‘Anti-Simon’ agitations in South India. During the Anti- Simon protests, Tanguturi faced the armed police, tore his shirt bared his chest and dared them to shoot. Due to his brave act of defiance, he was called “Andhra Kesari”. In 1946, he became the Chief Minister of Madras province. He remained in office for eleven months and later relinquished his post.  Apart from his political achievements, his liberal outlook towards press freedom was remarkable. The Library movement started in India in 1910 and played a significant role in promoting literacy, education, and dissemination of knowledge throughout the country. The Andhra Library movement began in 1914, and Tanguturi actively attended the Andhra Library conferences. He suggested establishing printing presses to spread the library movement. He contributed significantly to publications like Madras Law Times, Praja Patrika, and Swarajya.  Tanguturi was passionate about introducing village libraries to promote literacy and knowledge among the rural folk. He firmly believed that Journalism and the Library Movement could be used for education and the political awareness of the masses.  Tanguturi immensely contributed to the social development of Andhra Pradesh. After several years of agitation, the Andhra State was formed in 1953. Tanguturi became the first chief minister of the newly formed state. As a visionary leader, he understood the importance of educating the masses. He believed everyone must have access to education irrespective of caste, creed, religion, and gender. To cater to the educational needs of the people in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra, Tanguturi founded Sri Venkateshwara University in 1954 at Tirupati.  He also laid great emphasis on rural development. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, Tanguturi pioneered reforms to uplift Dalits, handloom workers, and downtrodden sections of society. He believed that villages must be formed based on self-sufficiency and self-governance. He was appointed Chairman of the “Zamindari Enquiry Committee” in Madras. Under his guidance, the committee prepared a report which became the precursor of the Government's efforts to abolish the Zamindari system in the country.  In the early 1950s, Tanguturi came up with the Firka development concept for rural development. The prime objectives of this concept were to improve the standard of living of the rural folk and to develop the rural economy through self-employment and community building. This concept was implemented in Madras presidency and focused on several areas, including agriculture, rural infrastructure and cottage Industries. Firka development concept was successful as it brought positive changes to the lives of rural people in Madras presidency. It became a vanguard of the community development programme launched throughout India in 1952.  Tanguturi Prakasam inspired a generation of leaders as a role model politician of all times. His dauntless courage and bravery during Anti- Simon movement brought him widespread admiration. He had a  multifaceted personality. He was a valiant freedom fighter for the nation, a distinguished editor of Swarajya, and an able administrator of Andhra Pradesh. With a liberal outlook towards rural development, Tanguturi always remained an idol of the masses.  References [Proud Moment For Swarajya: University Named After First AP CM And Publication’s Original Founder Prakasham Panthulu (swarajyamag.com)](https://swarajyamag.com/insta/proud-moment-for-swarajya-university-named-after-first-ap-cm-and-publications-original-founder-prakasham-panthulu) - [T. Prakasam - Constitution of India](https://www.constitutionofindia.net/members/t-prakasam/) - [Tanguturi Prakasam's Role in the Library Movement | INDIAN CULTURE](https://indianculture.gov.in/node/2831650) - [Tanguturi Prakasham (amritmahotsav.nic.in)](https://cmsadmin.amritmahotsav.nic.in/unsung-heroes-detail.htm?376) - [Tanguturi Prakasham Pantulu (amritmahotsav.nic.in)](https://cmsadmin.amritmahotsav.nic.in/unsung-heroes-detail.htm?2885) _Previous musing: [KANDUKURI VEERESALINGAM: ICON OF ANDHRA’S RENAISSANCE](https://indianliberals.in/content/kandukuri-veeresalingam-icon-of-andhras-renaissance/)_ [](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/IMG_20220724_121630_copy-removebg-preview.png) **Ch Prashanth** Prashanth is pursuing his Master's in International Relations and Politics at the Central University of Kerala. He likes to spend his weekdays at the library or gym. His weekends are spent in front of the television watching the Premier League. --- ## [Musing] Tagore's Humanistic Approach To Indian Nationalism URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/tagore-s-humanistic-approach-to-nationalism-a-ranganathao/ ### Body _Produced below is an excerpt from an article by A. Ranganathan called "Tagore's Humanistic Approach to Indian Nationalism," where the author explores Rabindranath Tagore's unique perspective on Indian nationalism. The article delves into how Tagore distinguished Indian nationalism from European forms, emphasized the importance of cultural exchange with the West, and believed that true freedom extended beyond political independence into the realm of the mind and spirit._ In order to appreciate the significance of Tagore's most precious gifts to our country, it is necessary to view the backdrop of the 'Indian Renaissance' in its historic setting. The transition from medieval to modern India, which resulted in that great cultural awakening known as the 'Indian Renaissance', was effected by Raja Ram Mohan Roy. Indeed, the day of Raja Ram Mohan Roy's birth was also the birthday of modern India. A new spirit was abroad, a new buoyancy of life symbolizing the streaks of a rosy dawn after the long medieval night which had enveloped India for centuries. The various forces which have contributed to the shaping of modern India originated in the mind of Raja Ram Mohan Roy. And Tagore not only constituted a historic link in the long chain of India's cultural evolution, but was also the prophet of the Indian Renaissance heralded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy. Tagore had drawn the vital distinction between the Western Nation and the spirit of the West in his celebrated lectures on "Nationalism": "This reign of law in our present government in India (the British Government) has established order in this vast land inhabited by peoples different in their races and customs. It has made it possible for these peoples to come into closer touch with one another and cultivate a common aspiration." Indian nationalism was an aspect of the 'Indian Renaissance' movement. It is well to remember, however, that the nature of Indian nationalism, although influenced by European nationalism, is entirely different from European nationalism. Indian nationalism succeeded in welding the political unity of India, whereas European nationalism split up Europe into several nations based on ethnic considerations. If Swami Vivekananda could be regarded as the prophet of Indian nationalism in its philosophical (Vedantic) context, Dr. Ananda Coomaraswamy, who had spent much of his career at the Boston Museum, can be looked upon as the most articulate exponent of the aesthetic philosophy of Indian nationalism. And Tagore's approach to Indian nationalism differed from that of his distinguished contemporaries, who had merely Indianized the concept of Mazzinian nationalism. Tagore's greatness lies in the fact that he infused the spirit of poetry into the Indian national movement. In the final analysis, Tagore had universalized the concept of freedom. 'Swaraj', as Tagore interpreted it, was not a mere political actuality. It was a process which extended the frontiers of the mind. He was certainly opposed to the continuance of British rule in India. However, even in the heat of political controversies, he never lost his sense of perspective. In fact, he had relinquished his knighthood in the wake of the Amritsar tragedy of 1919. And our National Anthem was one of his greatest contributions to Indian nationalism. Like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Tagore knew the value of English and could foresee its impact on Indian cultural life. Tagore, who was profoundly influenced by Keats and Shelley, had felt that the impact of the English language on the mind of the Indian nation did not generate a process of cultural enslavement, but was the harbinger of a new era of creative consciousness. Western literary forms like the essay and the novel which became assimilated into the mainstream of our languages, and the brilliant contributions to modern science by some of our scientists, are some of the outstanding features of the 'Indian Renaissance'. Indeed, Tagore commented: "Gandhi Mahatma is making various efforts to make Hindi the language for the entire country. These efforts, however thriving today, may one day as well peter out." And Tagore had hoped in his "Talks in China" that "the awakening of the East" would "impel us consciously to discover the essential and universal meaning of our own civilization." Viewed in the perspective of cultural history, the British impact on India resulted in a phenomenon similar to the effect of the Westernizing policy of Peter the Great. And today, there is undoubtedly a need for a rethinking of the philosophy of nationalism in its proper perspective. It is remarkable that Tagore had pioneered a new approach to nationalism in tune with the Time-Spirit. As the eminent historian of Nationalism, Prof. Hans Kohn wrote in his "A New Look at Nationalism": "None has spoken more strongly against the cult of one's own nation or nationalism than Vladimir Solovyov in Russia or Rabindranath Tagore in India, both men deeply rooted in the spiritual tradition of their community and yet wide open to the critical insight of the West." As pointed out by Prof. Hans Kohn, the possibility of a deeper cultural intercourse between India and the liberal West can arise only if we no longer allow our thinking to be channeled into widely accepted stereotypes about nationalism and its relation to liberty. "The time has arrived," wrote C. E. Trevelyan in his "The Education of the People of India", "when the ancient debt of civilization which Europe owes to Asia is about to be repaid; and the sciences cradled in the East and brought into maturity in the West may now by a few efforts overspread the world." And this dispensation, which followed in the wake of Raja Ram Mohan Roy's letter to Lord Amherst, was not regarded by Tagore as an invasion of Western ideas, but as a step towards the intellectual dialogue of cultures and civilizations. Read the complete text and other articles from this issue of the Indian Libertarian **[here](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-nov15-1962.pdf)**. type=content&p=8647). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] THE DANGERS OF JOINT CO-OPERATIVE FARMING URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-dangers-of-cooperative-farming/ ### Body _The following essay was published in 1950 by the [Forum of Free Enterprise.](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-dangers-of-joint-co-operative-farming-by-m-r-masani-m-p-mar-7-1950/) Authored by M. R. Masani, the essay outlines the Chinese and Soviet models of co-operative farming. He highlighted the possible shortfalls of co-operative farming in India and the Gadhian vision of rural industries for increasing employment. _I have been a life-long supporter of co-operation. I am one of the founders of the Industrial Co-operative Association in Bombay, and my own little bank account has never been in a capitalist bank but always in the Bombay State Co-operative Bank. I believe very strongly in the principle of genuine co-operation. But when we use these terms like co-operation, we have to be very clear as to what co-operation really is, and what it is not. The views I express will be in line with those of co-operators such as the Indian Co-operative Union in India, the British Co-operative Union and all co-operators throughout the free world.  True co-operation can take many forms. It can take the form of co-operative credit; of multipurpose co-operatives which help the peasant who owns his own land to get good seed, borrow or loan a tractor, if necessary, to have fertilisers, to get credit for all these services. And he can also use the co-operative for selling his goods in the market, that is, marketing co-operatives. They can be separate or together. But the essence of genuine co-operation is that the peasant must own and cultivate his own land. Co-operation can only be between free men, not between serfs. Co-operation can be between men who say, "This land is mine, I shall cultivate it with the members of my family, but for the sake of greater production and mutual assistance, I shall come together with others of my kind."  But there is another kind of co-operation, so-called, which is not co-operation at all, and that is collective farming of the Soviet-Chinese model. That collective farming, as Marshal Tito recently said about China, has nothing to do with Marxism or socialism. That system has been devised so that the greatest amount of surplus value or surplus grain can be squeezed out of the peasantry for the greater glory of the dictatorship, its military machine and for the forced process of industrialisation which is being erected on the backs of the 4 groaning peasantry of Russia and China.  According to an editorial in "The Hindu" of the 11th January, 1959: "The Nagpur programme appears to be borrowed from China where the fabric of society was destroyed by war and revolutions and where the Communist party was in a position to do anything it wanted."  It is in the light of this distinction that I would judge the policies which today go under the name of joint "cooperative" farming. In my view and the view of co-operators, the dividing line is: if you allow a peasant to keep his land and his boundaries, if he farms it with his own hands and those of his family and hired labour, then he is member of a genuine co-operative; but if you uproot these boundaries, if you pool the land, if you create a big farm and call it a co-operative, it does not change anything. It is still collective farming minus the name. In the light of this distinction, let us look at the Nagpur Resolution. "The future agrarian pattern", says the resolution, "should be that of co-operative joint farming in which the land shall be pooled for joint cultivation, the farmers continuing to retain their property rights and getting a share from the common produce in proportion to their land. Further, those who actually work on the land, whether they own the land or not will get a share in proportion to the work put in by them on joint farms. As a first step", says the resolution, "prior to the institution of joint farming, service co-operative should be completed within a period of three years; even within this period, however, wherever possible and when generally agreed to by the farmers, joint cultivation may be started."  In the context of the resolution, what will property rights mean? When the boundaries of the farm have been uprooted, when tractors and machines are running over that land which once was six, eight, ten or twenty farms, the right of property will mean a mere piece of paper given to the peasant to console him saying "You once owned so many acres; your property is still intact." This is the dodge that was tried and practised in China and in other Communist countries. But after a while, the question is raised "Why should this man who is not working hard or not doing as much as the other fellow draw a large share because he owned once some land?" In other words, you start by saying that the people in the farm will be remunerated partly in proportion to the land contributed, and partly in proportion to labour contributed. That is fair enough. But this can never last, because the functionless owner is no owner. His property actually has been taken away from him without telling him so, and he is being fobbed off with a scrap of paper which a future government will have no hesitation on "equitable grounds" in tearing up, because his utility to society ends on the day on which the farm ceases to be his.  It is doubtful whether those who are party to this decision have understood the implications of what has been enacted in their name. I have no hesitation in asserting that the resolution passed at Nagpur, whether those who passed it are aware or not, is a resolution for collective farming of the Soviet-Chinese pattern and not for genuine co-operative farming. Therefore, this insidious attempt to bring in collective farming by the back-door needs to be opposed by every true democrat.  Some reasons have been given why co-operative or collective farming - let us use the two interchangeably, because the Congress pattern of co-operative farming, if ever carried 'out, will be collective farming - is advocated.  The first is that production will increase. I am amazed that, in the face of all the facts from every country in the world there should still be Government spokesmen who repeat this claim parrot-like. Collective farming or co-operative farming of that pattern has failed to increase production. On the contrary, production has invariably gone down, whether it has been tried in a Communist country or otherwise.  First of all, the assumption that a bigger farm produces more is not true. Statistics of rice and wheat produced throughout the world show that countries which have small farms, like ours, produce more per acre than countries with big farms. Let us take an example of wheat and rice. The two countries with big farms in the world are the U.S.A. and TJSSR; both have relatively very low yields of wheat. The USA produces 12.2 quintals per hectare and the USSR 9.3. In the U.K., with small farms, the figure is 28.5 quintals per hectare, in Denmark - smaller still - it is 34.4 quintals and in Japan - whose average holdings are smaller than ours - the figure is 22.6 quintals per hectare or twice as much as in the U.S.A. and 2-112 times that in the USSR. - The USA produces 28.3 quintals of rice per hectare and the USSR produces 25. Japan, with smaller farms, produces 48.5 quintals per hectare - twice as much.  In India according to a study made by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute of sugarcane production, ploughing by bullocks yielded 410 maunds of sugarcane, ploughing with tractor farming upto 6 inches 361.5 maunds; with tractor farming upto 10 inches 356 maunds. In other words, the bullocks gave the best return, a little dose of tractor farming gave less, and full tractor farming gave the least.  Countries which have tried collective or co-operative fanning have always failed. The USSR, it is notorious, lags behind the rest of the world in production per acre and per man. Yugoslavia, which tried collective farming from 1948, gave it up in 1957. The Yugoslav Parliament passed a law on April 27, 1957, abandoning collective farming. It said that it had shown negative results - loss of interest by the peasants and decrease in production. Communist Poland, which also in its Stalinist phase, tried collectivisation, had to give it up. In Poland, 80 per cent of the collective farms and co-operatives have been liquidated in the last two or three years. Motor tractor stations have been broken up and the tractors have actually been sold to individual peasants. The tax advantage given to co-operatives has been taken away by the Gomulka Government on the ground that there should be fair competition between co-operatives and individual peasants. Mr. Gomulka, Prime Minister of Poland, said in October 1956 that peasant production per hectare was 16.7 per cent higher than in the co-operative farms and 37.2 per cent higher than in State farms. This was the reason why even the Communist Government of Poland has given up cooperative and collective farming and given back land to the peasants. Eighty per cent of the co-operatives and collectives have been liquidated.  By going in for this red herring of joint co-operative fanning on doctrinaire grounds, the Government and the Congress Party are diverting interest and attention from the real need which is to give the peasant more water, better seed, better know-how and better tools.  It is said that co-operative farming would increase employment. Co-operative or collective farming reduces employment. By pooling land, by bringing in methods of rationalisation or mechanisation, you reduce the need for labour. The one thing that co-operative farming can be expected to do - whatever else it does not - is to increase unemployment in the countryside.  There is only one way to create more employment in the countryside, and that is the method that Mahatma Gandhi always urged, the establishment of rural industries, the taking of industry to the countryside with electric power or without. My own emphasis, like Mahatma Gandhi's, would be on decentralised industry, small people working on electric tools through power taken to the countryside. I believe that that ahead of all of us by many generations.  Finally, it has been said that co-operative farming is a higher form of society, it is part of the socialist pattern. Collectivisation is no part of democratic socialism in any part of the free world. Warning this country against following the Chinese path of so-called co-operatives, on his last visit to Delhi, Mr. Aneurin Bevan, Left-wing leader of the British Labour Party, said:  "India cannot afford to make the mistake that Russia has committed, because she does not possess empty spaces which could be called upon to make up for the failures and mistakes in agriculture as in Russia. India has to bring about an economic revolution in harmony with the needs of the countryside. The application of the principles of collectivisation, mechanisation and centralised control has  proved a failure in the field of agriculture in the Soviet Union. The whole countryside in Russia seethed with discontent. The number of cattle in Russia today is less than before the revolution. The Russian experience was being repeated in China and the Communist States of Eastern and Central Europe."  Let us examine what has been said on this subject by a man whose knowledge on this subject is unsurpassed in this country. Mr. Charan Singh, who is a member and leading light of the Congress Party, has made a lifelong study of this subject much better than anybody else. This is what he says:  "Human nature being what it is, even brothers usually separate from one another after the head of the family, the father, has been removed by death or other cause. In the circumstances, it is Utopian to expect that an average householder will, all of a sudden, identify his interest with the interests of these hundreds of persons in the village or neighborhood who were total strangers to his life before."  We know that murders are committed between cousins and between relations for land. To say that because of a resolution or a law, we are going to change a human being overnight and make people who love their lands with passion to pool their lands in a voluntary manner is thoroughly Utopian.  There is only one way in which this kind of joint farming can be brought about, by coercion and violence.  Let us take another example. We know about the gramdan villages. In Koraput, Acharya Vinobha Bhave and Mr. Jaya Prakash Narayan tried to ask the local people to cultivate them as a village and not to ask for distribution of the land. Mr. Jaya Prakash confessed that this experiment had not succeeded because the peasant does not want to farm village lad jointly; he wants something of his own. That is part of human nature. We all want something of our own. We are not prepared to share everything with everyone in an equal measure. The human being is largely selfish, though not entirely so. Are we going to legislate for human beings or for angels who do not exist?  The Government of India announced last April that there should be 3,000 co-operative farms by the end of the Second Plan and of them 600 should be brought into existence by the end of the financial year 1958-59. It is a farce to talk of voluntary co-operation and targets. Mr. Gomulka pointed out very rightly that targets and voluntary co-operation cannot go together, He said:  "Quantitative development of producers' co-operation cannot be planned because, on the basis of voluntary entry to co-operatives, this would mean the planning of the growth of human consciousness, and that cannot be planned."  What kind of administration have we with which to guarantee this gigantic experiment, after three years, of destroying peasant proprietorship, in taking people away from their lands, millions and millions of them, and pooling them in joint farms?  In its Report, the Agriculture Administration Committee appointed by our Government says that there is only a handful of competent senior officers in the Department of Agriculture. No replacements are available for this handful of senior competent officers. Directors of Agriculture in the States have said that if such replacements were available, they would like to replace 30 to 40 per cent of their staff who are not up to the mark. The scales of pay in the Agricultural Service are lower than in other services. It is common for an Officer to be promoted to a gazetted post after 20 years of service and then to retire on the magnificent salary of Rs. 400 a month! The service rules have in many States not been revised for 25 years. It is no wonder that Sir Malcolm Darling, an experienced and enthusiastic co-operator, who was asked by Government to come to this country a couple of years ago and have another look at the picture that Indian co-operatives presented, summed up his impressions by saying: "In every State the path of co-operation is strewn with wreckage." Out of this wreckage, this great mausoleum. of joint co-operative farming is to be erected after three years!  Hazarding a guess as to the kind of autonomy these cooperative societies will enjoy, we may wonder: "Are we really serious when we talk of co-operatives, or are we only intending that we will impose a super-zamindari from Delhi on the poor peasants and call it co-operation in order to pacify them?"  Let us look at the recommendations of the Co-operative Law Committee which reported only a few days back. It was a committee of Registrars of Co-operative Societies and other gentlemen who will have to administer co-operative farming after three years. Their main recommendations are:  - The Registrar should have the right to have the accounts of any society audited "under his own direction and control" and then to give directives to the society to put its house in order. - The Registrar has the right to "settle disputes of any kind, to appoint another officer to settle the disputes or to appoint an arbitrator." And no appeal shall lie to a court of law in regard to any of these disputes. (At one stroke the Registrar would abolish the jurisdiction of the rule of law.) - The Registrar will have the power to supersede any society; and he may run any society so superseded for two years and, at his own discretion, extend the period to four years. (What kind of a co-operative society is it which has to be run by a nominated official over the heads of the society for 4 years? Why not admit defeat and dissolve the society?) - The Registrar may make an order directing the winding up of any society. - The State Government may become a member of any co-operative society and when it becomes a member of a co-operative society, "each person nominated by the State Government on the committee shall have one vote." It is surprising to have this kind of report from those who are going to administer the agricultural co-operatives in this country. The Indian Co-operative Union, a leading body of co-operative enthusiasts in this country, have said that the effect of such a report, if accepted, would be to 'reduce the co-operatives to little colonies of backward, ignorant and helpless people to be "administered," "controlled", "supervised", "audited", "inspected", "superseded", "adjudged" and "dissolved" by one single authority, the Registrar of Co-operative Societies.'  There is no wonder that Prof. Chandrasekhar, one of our finest demographers who recently visited China, described the Chinese communes as a "a new form of colonialism".  It seems to me that there are two alternatives with which we are faced. One is that an attempt will seriously be made to implement this programme of destroying peasant proprietorship after three years and to try to bring in collective farming. I hope that such an attempt will not be made. But, if it is made, it can only be made by threats, by coercion; if a serious attempt is made, it will unfortunately lead to civil war and bloodshed and the death of thousands of people in this country. Anyone who thinks he' can persuade the peasants of India to give up their lands and become landless serfs again or a super-zamindari in Delhi or the State capital is living in a fool's paradise. It is to caution the government against taking steps that may involve the country in such horrible developments that I am mentioning these dangers. Untold damage will be done in the attempt to bring it about even if the effort is given up half-way. In Communist Poland, only 9.2 per cent of land was actually collectivised but the production in even the private farms fell until the policy of collectivisation was abandoned for every peasant felt that his turn might come in a few months' time. The incentive to production was taken away. Even the psychological damage of talking about joint "co-operative" farming will be considerable.  The Prime Minister, talking at Bareili on the 10th February, is reported to have said: "Those who tell you that co-operative farming amounts to some sort of confiscation of land are trying to cheat you."  I wish he had not used this uncharitable remark about people as diverse as Shri C. Rajagopalachari, Shri K. M. Munshi, Shri Jaya Prakash Narayan and many others who have said that. For instance, Shri Jaya Prakash Narayan has said in Banaras that co-operative farming in today's context means creating "puppets in the hands of officials." It is not good to say of these patriotic sons of the soil that they are cheating the people.  Whatever the motives may be, whatever they may be thinking they will be doing, the people who are really misleading the country are those who say that this Nagpur pattern of joint co-operative farming will not take the land away from the peasants. It is those who are denying this who are misleading the people and not those who are bringing this matter to the light of the people and performing a patriotic duty that they must perform. The ruling party has set its face on the wrong road, wrong from the point of view of public morality, from the point of view of a free society and also, wrong from the point of view of self-interest.  It is wrong even from the point of view of self-interest because for the sake of a minority, a majority is sought to be penalised. Let us see figures of the landed and the landless people in this country. The National Sample Survey of 1954-55 came to the conclusion that there were 66 million households owning land with five members per household, while there were 15 million households not owning land at all - about 20 per cent of those with land. "Indian Agriculture in Brief," published by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1957, gives these figures. Those who are self-employed in agriculture are 53.7 per cent of the population. Those who are landless labourers are only 12.6 per cent. You may say it is a small plot that most of the peasants own, but they love that land, small as it may be, as they love their baby, because it is small.  Our real duty to the peasant today lies in giving water to the cultivator. In giving them better fertilisers and seed and teaching them how to cultivate their lands better than they have been used to do through the ages. This is the way in which Japan and other countries have shot forward in the production of wheat and rice. Instead of doing that, we are drawing the red herring of collective farming across the track and diverting attention from our gigantic tasks. Even if it is never carried out, it will divert attention from constructive pursuits and will take class war into the villages setting the landless against the landed, small-landed against the big-landed, and so on.  Gandhi ji used to say: "We of the cities will do everything for the peasant except get off his back." This formula of joint co-operative farming is invented by urban, doctrinaire people who have very little to do with them and is another attempt in a roundabout way to keep on the backs of our peasantry._Last week’s musing: [FREE ENTERPRISE AND FREEDOM](https://indianliberals.in/content/free-enterprise-and-freedom/)_ --- ## [Musing] The Budget Versus The People URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-budget-versus-the-people-2/ ### Body _The Budget versus The People is a compendium of speeches delivered by Swatantra Party Members of Parliament like MR Masani and N. Dandekar in the Lok Sabha and Dahyabhai V Patel, M Ruthnaswamy and SS Mariswamy in the Rajya Sabha during the discussion on the Union Budget of 1965-66. __Across the five speeches, the MPs were able to highlight some fundamental problems caused by the Congress administration and the lack of emphasis on the Budget on some issues. In contrast, there was an over-emphasis on some others._ _Dahyabhai Vallbhbai Patel was a Congressman and an elected member of the Bombay Municipal Corporation in 1939. He was the mayor of Bombay in 1954, and after quitting the party in 1957, he became the vice president of the Maha Gujarat Janta Parishad. He was elected to Rajya Sabha as a Parishad member in 1958. He was elected thrice and remained a Rajya Sabha MP till his death in 1973 at the age of 67. He was remembered in his obit as 'an outspoken Swatantra leader and a stalwart parliamentarian'._ _You can read the original, unabridged version on _[_Page 42_](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/The-Budget-versus-the-people.pdf)_ here._ The Budget for next year has provided for a total expenditure of Rs 4,290 crores; of this, Rs 2,116 crores will be in the revenue account and Rs 2,174 crore in the capital account. The total expenditure of the Government will be higher than the previous year's revised estimate by Rs 216 crores-Rs 117 crores on the revenue account and Rs 99 crores on the capital account. The Budget provides a total defence expenditure of Rs 879 crores in 1965-66 on revenue and capital account, compared to the revised estimate of Rs 835 crores in 1964-65. The Finance Minister has, however, mentioned that the actual rupee expenditure would not increase much because purchases of stores and aircraft, the total value included in the expenditure estimates, are being made on deferred payment terms. To this extent, the inflationary impact of such expenditure will be less. The total transfer of resources by the Centre to the States will be Rs 1,307 crores in 1965-66, as against Rs 847 crores in 1961-62, the first year of the Third Plan. teh share of divisible taxes and duties in the Third Plan period has increased by Rs 93 crores, revenue grants by Rs 89 crores, capital grants by Rs 35 crores and loans by Rs 241 crores. Thus, the States have come to depend more on the Centre for financial assistance. Has not this over-dependence on Central assistance encouraged lassitude on the part of the States and impaired fiscal prudence? It is worth thinking over. ### **Assurances Flouted** The assurance given at the time of the Chief Ministers' Conference in June 1964 that the Centre would save Rs 70 crores mainly on non-productive items has not been given effect to, and the total expenditure has actually exceeded the Budget provision. It has become imperative to achieve greater fiscal discipline and secure better use of funds, for such expenditures generate inflationary pressures and weakens productive enterprise. The Budget has been formulated on the assumption that balancing the capital expenditure cannot be done entirely by mobilising voluntary savings and external assistance and that it has to be supplemented increasingly by public savings realised through revenue surplus. The present tax rates have discouraged savings of the people and the corporate sector, and it has not been possible for Government to make good these deficiencies. As a result, the overall savings capacity of teh economy has remained depressed. A large part of national production, particularly agricultural, is almost wholly unrelated to the Budget. In 1964-65 it was expected that foodgrain production would reach about 87 million tonnes, nearly 8 million more than in 1963-64. This will improve the present food shortage and enable us to accumulate buffer stocks. ### **No Incentives** Industrial production and growth are, on the other hand, conditioned by Budget operations. In his Budget speech, the Finance Minister accepted the necessity and the urgency for Indian industry to branch out into new and complex lines of development. Still, the Budget itself does not contain any incentives and does not even aim at creating normal conditions in which growth can take place. The factors which depressed the development of industry in the first four years of the Third Plan continue. The climate for investment is not such as would promote the inflow of private foreign investment in the requisite measure. If at all, the only redeeming factor is the assurance that the "policy of hospitable and fair treatment (to foreign investment) will be continued in future." It is further indicated that the "general policy, whether in regard to taxation, industrial licensing or price controls, must be consistent with our desire to harness every possible source of dynamism and enterprise, whether domestic or foreign, public or private, to the task of rapid economic growth." The last two are quotations from some of the pronouncements made by the Finance Minister. Referring to the need for significant investments in the public and private sectors during the following Plan, the Finance Minister, in his Budget Speech for the Union Budget for 1965-66, stated: _"The first and foremost precondition for mobilisation of resources for financing these investments is the maintenance of an environment of financial and monetary stability. It is only then that voluntary savings could be encouraged and directed to productive uses. Equally important is a degree of stability in our taxation policies. A greater degree of stability in regard to the structure of direct taxation is of vital importance as it has a bearing on long term decisions in regard to savings and investment."_ He also observed: _"It is equally important to encourage a larger flow of individual savings so as to promote a greater participation by individual citizens in the growth of industry…The primary objective must be to  raise the capacity for individual savings and to improve the performance of industry so that it is able to earn and offer an attractive return on the capital invested."_ Despite these observations, like those he made in his Union Budget Speech last year and on several occasions, the Budget proposals he has formulated and announced do not reflect the proper perspective of the principles he has enunciated so far. ### **Half-Hearted Reliefs** The reliefs he has announced have been granted in a halting and hesitant manner. They do not go for enough and have failed to infuse the confidence and vigour the capital market has needed for some time. The concessions are only marginal and do not relieve the pressures on the industry at the vital spots. With a large surplus of Rs 237 crores next year at the existing rate of taxation and a small overall surplus of Rs 10 crores, the Finance Minister could have given genuine relief to the industry and taxpayers. ### **Punitive Taxes** Unfortunately, in India, we still seem to be clinging to old notions. India has the unique position of being the most taxed nation in the world. We have the largest number of taxes, and their complexity is indeed bewildering. Even tax experts sometimes find themselves at sea when trying to correctly interpret the implications of the various tax laws whose rates at certain levels are punitive and confiscatory because they exceed the total income of an assessee. Nowhere in the world does such a situation obtain. Even socialistic countries like Norway, Sweden and Denmark, which are often referred to as ideals to be followed, have a ceiling rate of 80 per cent tax liability on assessable income. Even compared to other developing countries like Pakistan, Burma, Malaya and Brazil, India has the distinction of having much higher tax rates. It is so in regard to the rates of both personal and corporate taxation. ### **Inaccurate Estimates** The revenue surplus for 1963-64 is expected to be as high as Rs 229 crores as against the Budget Estimate of Rs 83 crores. No matter how often it is stressed and who stresses it, even if it be the Public Accounts Committee, the Finance Ministry continues to underestimate its revenues grossly. If these estimates had been properly made, perhaps the need for imposing such high taxation rates would not have been there. It would be pertinent to quote from the Twenty-Seventh Report (Third Lok Sabha) of the Public Accounts Committee, 1964-65. The Committee stated: "Even so, it cannot be denied that the estimates of revenue, the estimates of expenditure and the fresh taxation proposals are closely inter-linked; and that the former two serve as some indicators for the quantum of fresh taxation effort necessary. The importance of arriving at accurate budget estimates cannot therefore, be overstressed so as to avoid teh risk of the public being taxed unconsciously more than necessary." Despite these observations, wide variations between Budget Estimates and actual collections continue. Next year also, the same story will be repeated. Year after year, the need for restraint on wasteful and avoidable expenditure is emphasised, and the Finance Minister has recognised its validity. However, it remains a matter of speculation how far Government's efforts to enforce the economy and avoid wasteful expenditure are fruitful. ### **Investors Reluctant** We must take note of the observations of Dr Hans Kuntze, leader of the West German Business Delegation, which recently visited India when he said that India was not the only country asking for aid. He said, "You should remember that other countries are competing with you. I would be delighted if in this competition you beat them all." Similar sentiments were expressed at the last sessions of the International Chamber of Commerce, which was recently held in Delhi. The delegates then pointed out that the private investor in developing countries faced several obstacles, including insufficient return on investment, inhibiting tax structures and too many restrictive controls by the local governments. The Finance Minister has granted concessions regarding excise duties on certain articles consumed by the common man. Still, the burden on the consumers is raised by the increase in the import duty on stainless steel plates and sheers and steel tin plates, etc., which is over and above the regulatory Customs duty at 10 per cent of the value of the imported goods, which was announced a few days back. It is disappointing to note that despite representations made by the industry and its genuine need, the dividend tax has been retained. Similarly, there has been no change in the capital gains tax, though a marginal relief has been granted in the case of bonus shares. ### **Confidence Destroyed** As pointed out earlier, these taxes have profoundly affected the capital market and the general sentiment of the investing public. They have done incalculable harm to the process of capital formation. The argument of the Finance Minister that the dividend tax has not materially affected the distribution pattern of dividends is fallacious. The proposal to provide a ceiling limit to the income tax, including the tax charges with reference to the distribution of equity dividends and surtax at 70 per cent of companies' total income, is illusory. This high ceiling will be beneficial to a few companies only. It should be reduced to a more rational level, as in the case of other advanced countries. The proposal to impose an additional wealth tax on urban properties beyond a specific limit comes like the proverbial last straw on the back of the assessees - who are already overburdened by a multitude of taxes of a highly oppressive character. This is indeed a very harsh step to take and will cause undue hardship. Moreover, it will greatly affect private housing construction in urban areas, aggravating urban housing scarcity. ### **Government All-Powerful** In India, Government has vast discretionary and arbitrary powers. Due to the licensing and permit system, every citizen of the country has to run from pillar to post to get the necessary clearance for his application. In the circumstances, it appears idle to talk of economic power in anybody's hands. Economic power rests in the hands of the Government and the Ministers and the enormous bureaucracy that has increased during the last few years. As long as income-tax rates, the Estate Duty and the Gift Tax remain at the existing high levels, the will to save and invest will be lacking. It is only when these taxes are brought down to more reasonable levels that the investor will feel inclined to work, save and invest in productive enterprises because if, after all his efforts and endeavours, his savings and capital are taken away as a result of confiscatory rates of income-tax, Estate Duty and Gift Tax, he will be left with no initiative. ### **Sheer Waste** I would also like the Finance Minister to examine the matter in one way. What is the amount of expenditure the Government must incur to collect small amounts of tax? It will be about Rs 80  to Rs 90 from small assessees yearly. Is it worth the expenditure? Government has to maintain a large department to do all this. Is it worth all the trouble, the paper and the staff required to collect the money? Another aspect–I know that he cannot do it by himself–by which the Finance Minister can help the country with his Budget is through greater production. Whether in State enterprises, Railways, or everywhere, the production level is very low. It is so even in the industry. Therefore, what the Finance Minister needs to do is to increase production everywhere. All Government Departments are known for being overstaffed, for people not having enough work, though many people are kept on the payroll. Charity should begin at home. The Government should start with Government Department, State enterprises and the Railways. How long will we have this sorry spectacle of State enterprises being deficit institutions? We were just told that our public steel projects, the biggest in the public sector, are still making five per cent losses instead of making that much profit. ### **Public Sector Obsession** This morning we had a question about the Coal Development Corporation. There too, we are losing Rs 40 lakhs every year. That also adds to our tax burdens. As if this were not enough, this morning's papers announced that the Government still has the faulty notion of placing small car production in the public sector. I thought the matter had been set at rest a few years ago, but some people revived it. I hope the Finance Minister understands this implication and will not allow this to be done; it will not help the country. Apart from the Steel and Coal Corporations, we understand that the State Trading Corporation had bought edible oil worth Rs 80,000, which it had to sell for Rs 20,000 recently. If such is the achievement of the State Trading Corporation, can anybody say it is giving us any benefit? The Government have got a large number of Advisory Committees, but I do not know whether they listen to what is said in these committees. In the Central Advisory Council of Industries, Mr Tata disclosed that taxation confiscated the whole income. Mr Birla said that the Bihar Government was fatally interfering on behalf of labour - particularly for the monopoly of Bihari labour. ### **Corrupt Rampant** Then, of course, we have the burning question of the day what is happening in the great State of Orissa? What do Mr Nanda and the Sadachar Samiti have to say? I will not repeat what I said yesterday on certain provisions of the Bill before us, but is this the way the Sadachar Samiti and the Home Minister are proceeding? Will the Sadachar Samiti be turned into a Gestapo of the Home Minister? The country is entitled to know why we are being asked to pay more and more if this is how the money will be taken and spent. ### **Discrimination** Before I conclude, I would also like to add how Departments of Government - it is not only the Finance Department but other Departments also - are being used. I have before me the case of a paper taught was supposed to be started as a weekly by no less a person than a grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. I hope nobody will say he is not a patriotic citizen. He did not get a license for newsprint. He cannot get it even now, while the allies of the Communists and fellow travellers get the machinery, paper, buildings and everything in this country, in this city of Delhi. Where are we heading? These are some severe shortcomings that Government should apply its mind to and correct if it wants the people's confidence. Of course, I have been often held, I have often said, that the policy of the Government, the taxation policy particularly, is oppressive. It is a policy aimed at crushing the people so that they cannot rise and do nothing but meekly submit.  Before I sit down, I would repeat my appeal to the Finance Minister to reconsider and revise his proposals and give some relief to the poor who have been taxed so much, particularly after the fall in the value of the rupee. _Previous musing: [The Party or the People?](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-party-or-the-people/)_ --- ## [Musing] The Education of the Electorate URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-education-of-the-electorate/ ### Body _MA Venkata Rao published this piece in the October 1961 issue of The Indian Libertarian magazine  The edition was published amid the time when India’s frontier policy failed. M. A. Venkata Rao in “The Education Of The Electorate,” highlighted the strategy needed for winning the votes through the purview of the economic standing of the voters in order to maintain a national democratic stand._ _You can read the original, unabridged version _[_here_](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-oct1-1961.pdf)_. __ _ The characteristics of the electorate everywhere determine the quality of democracy and its influence on beneficial or otherwise affairs. In our country today, we have substantial constituencies consisting of voters given political rights on an adult basis irrespective of property, education and sex. For the Lok Sabha, we have constituencies running into lakhs of voters in rural areas, spreading over several townships. To contact them would require ample funds for conveyance and great leisure. Only men of means can contemplate candidature for Lok Sabha or men favoured by parties with significant funds to "invest" in the enterprise of capturing power. In such circumstances, the strategy to win a majority will have to consider several psychological factors, even where sufficient funds are secured. The strategy depends on the psychology and economic standing of the voters as well as their scatter over a large area. It would be helpful to record the outstanding features of the mind of the voters in a city, as revealed to the present writer during his campaign for a seat in Lok Sabha in the last elections. They will resemble similar electoral districts in other parts of the country in urban constituencies. One of the outstanding impressions left on the writer's mind during his contacts with individual voters, both educated and uneducated, was the surprising degree of cynicism they displayed. They said frankly that in their deliberate opinion, one candidate was as good or as bad as another and that parties made little difference to the outcome of good administration! One of the educated voters, a prominent lawyer, cut the candidate's appeal short with the curt remark, “Stop that stuff. All parties make promises and claim to be better than their rivals! But I am voting for you as an individual because I know you. We want informed and reliable persons in Parliament”. Another graduate said he would not vote for any candidate, for all parties and candidates would be the same. They stand for their advancement, and parties only aim at power and the opportunity to exercise patronage among their supporters. A cigarette and pan vendor asked, “Why should we vote for you to enable you to become one of the ‘high and mighty’, travelling to and from Delhi First Class? We shall not see your face after the elections and remain as uncared for as ever!”  A farmer asked whether he or his party would reduce taxes. He answered the question himself and said that _no government would do so_. He felt that new governments would impose new tariffs to favour their groups. Whether _Maharajas_ or elected Ministers, there is no respite from tax burdens to the farmers and other producers. And so, these elections are a costly farce. People's governments are in fashion these days, and so the world goes on until the fashion changes, as in Pakistan, as we hear.” Many voters of all ranks feel helpless and ineffective in the democratic system. Their vote coming at long intervals and giving no control to them over the representatives ultimately chosen to govern the country gives them a feeling of frustration and futility. The doctrine of the people's government of the sovereignty of the people does not enthuse them. It makes no difference in their lives. The class of representatives and the rulers chosen by them to form Ministries become a new class to take the place of the old white bureaucrats. In the exercise of power, they do not find any difference between the old and the new system, except that the new men make several hypocritical claims to serve the people, but they “serve” the people _at a higher cost_ with less justice and integrity. The individual voter feels lost in the vast machinery and numbers involved. He does not think that his vote counts for anything. Hence, the most significant difficulty is bringing him to the polling booth. Large proportions of the middle and educated lower middle classes enjoy the holiday given to offices and factories and spend it in recreation or mid-day siesta or visiting relatives and friends. Only a few can be persuaded to take the trouble to vote if a conveyance is furnished. Such conveyance offer is contrary to electoral law but is more honoured in the breach than in the observance. All parties provide such convenience to the extent they can afford it. It is an open secret. If the workers of parties seek to report the malpractices of their rivals, disputes and fights often break out. Even the breaking of heads and murders are not out of the reckoning. The coming elections are likely to engender more bitter feelings and cause more significant law and order disturbances than previous ones. The Congress will go all out to retain power, more significant numbers of communists will enter the fray, and the _Jan Sangh_ men are not pacifists or timid in emergencies they are extending their influence to new areas and consolidating their hold in their original districts and States. There is a great need to dispel the ordinary voter's cynicism and give him a sense of purpose and importance in participation in the electoral process. Most voters complain that the candidate is remote from their lives and indifferent to their interests. Therefore, parties should take care to nominate candidates who have a sense of rapport with the bulk of the voting people in the constituency. The other day, a Swatantra party organiser was boasting that a high official, a director of medical services, and a doctor of wide popularity during his term of service would be given a party ticket. He was confident that he would sweep the polls. He may, but he has to reckon with the fad that there is a social and intellectual gulf between the eminent doctor and the bulk of the electorate. The ranks of voters don't want high qualifications like M.R.C.P. etc. but like a person who _identifies himself_ with them, with their joys and sorrows and their grievances and is willing to give time and energy to act as an effective liaison between them and the ranks of government. Most think not so much of the government's general policies like socialism and five-year plans but of their individual needs. They expect members of parliament, whether of Lok Subha or of the State Assembly, to use their influence to get jobs, promotions and seats in college for their sons and sons-in-law and nephews! Or they want them to assist in the securing of trade licences or quotas or permits if they are businessmen. These are undoubtedly illegitimate demands on the part of voters, but they are in their minds while voting or joining a party. Corruption is condemned in the abstract, but everyone seeks to get a more than equal share in the loaves and fishes of office! Of course, there are genuine cases where the representative is expected to secure justice for his constituents if it had been denied in any case owing to negligence or the influence of rival party men in positions of power or advantage. One way to remove the frustration debilitating democracy at the roots today is to get the voter to keep in touch with his representative after the election. He should demand of him that he should stay in touch with his constituency and visit his constituency at intervals of the parliamentary sessions and inform his supporters and others of what was taking place in the legislatures. He should explain the policies of the party in power and the opposition's criticisms. This contact between voters and representatives during off-session periods creates a sense of reality in parliamentary government in the multitude of voters. During sessions, voters should communicate by post with their candidate in the legislature. On important occasions, they can send delegations to him to explain local reactions to Bills on the anvil of parliament. Rousseau foresaw this difficulty in representative democracy. He said the British voter was accessible only on election day once in four years. But with our large populations,  we cannot go back to the direct democracies of Greek days. All we can do is increase contacts and communication between primary voters and representatives through modern means of communication supplemented by increased intimacy between them during off-sessions, when direct meetings in the constituency may occur. The indirect information voters obtain through the newspapers, photographs, and radio can acquire direct face-to-face primary, personal character and vitality during these exchanges between voters and representatives. The second snag in the electoral process that any candidate comes up against is the fact of caste. It is natural for voters of any caste to feel a kinship with a representative of their own caste and to vote for him. But it has been the writer's experience that in this matter, it is the candidate and the party managers who are the greater sinners against nationalism and democracy. They deliberately appeal to caste feelings where they help secure their candidate's favour. It is not the uneducated voter who is primarily responsible for the havoc done in his name and the eclipse of broader nationalist motivations during elections and in democratic governance. It has been found that where an appeal is made straight to the national and democratic consciousness of the people, caste barriers have been crossed to a considerable and encouraging extent. The present writer received a few hundred votes even from Muslims, after a straight appeal in a single speech in a predominantly Muslim locality! It is wrong to assume that Hindus will vote Hindus and Muslims will vote Muslims, that Brahmins will vote Brahmins and Non-brahmins, Non-brahmins and so on. It is the sacred duty of the candidate and his supporting party not to appeal to sectarian motives but to have faith in human nature and the higher feelings of nationalism and democracy, even in uneducated, unsophisticated voters. It is a mistake to think that formal education confers any superiority on the graduate. The unlettered person can better understand ethical motives and react to moral appeals than the educated classes. The ignorant persons lack information about the world, but they are wise judges of character and can judge who is a better representative to speak for them in parliament. The feeling of participation in a human and classless way with teh lives, hopes, and fears of the masses counts in the electoral process. This can be conveyed to the uneducated more easily than doctrines regarding democracy. But the voter also needs some basic information to vote intelligently and to have the right expectations about democratic government. All voters, whether literate or illiterate, should understand the constitution and its fundamental rights. The role of the press, the distinction of the party from government, the responsibility of Ministers, the difference between delegate and democratic member of parliament and the duty of using his best judgement–such information should be imparted to the voters. Non-party Voter’s Clubs best do it, one for each Assembly constituency, which ought to develop into a primary face-to-face association, cutting across wealth, office, birth, education and political power. Such Clubs run on a non-party basis should develop into primary cells of the national democratic organism. They will take the sting out of the party boss system. Patriotism demands that some educated persons come forward to form and develop such Voter’s Clubs all over the country. Particular attention should be paid to removing or at least mitigating the cynicism and frustration of the individual voter. The voter should be informed that given the country's vastness, it is impossible to establish a direct democracy, as in the Greek City States and the Indian republics of old in the days of Chanakya and Chandragupta Maurya. The next best thing is to have assemblies of representatives. To keep the masses manageable for business and practical discussion, it is necessary to limit their number to around 500 for the country and about 200 for the state. And the necessity has its advantages to countervail the disadvantage; namely, we can have a selection of the abler among the rank and file who will act as representatives to think for the people and develop expertise instead of being gramophone records or more delegates. It is impossible to convey all the differing opinions of tens and thousands of voters. The members should listen to all ideas, form their own views, and arrive at a consensus that may include an element of value in essential aspects of the discussion. The voter should be informed that he should regard the vote as an element of sovereignty which he should put into action as in sacred duty by the nation. He should not disregard it as of no avail. Avail or no avail, he should use his vote as a matter of duty. Every people obtain the government they deserve, and if the voter does not exercise his vote, the opinion of others will prevail, and he has himself to blame. Also, the voter should refrain from selling his vote on otherwise misusing it. He should form the habit of using it in favour of the best candidate offering himself for election, best to represent the constituency as a whole and not a sect of caste or kinship group or the following of a local leader who has become prominent on other grounds. A candidate from a high family in the last elections stood as an independent for the Lok Sabha and was supported by the communist party. His only claim was that he could see Pandit Nehru at any time of the day without a formal engagement for an interview! A business magnate paid his election expenses in the hope that such a person could obtain permits, quotas, and licenses that could compensate. He was also a comic poet and brought cinema stars, male and female, to gather huge audiences for him. And he succeeded in getting 45,000 votes though he hailed from a different part of the country and did not know the voters' language! The voter's frustration could be overcome by pointing to the opportunities for rising for them in the local bodies, which they could later use as stepping stones for the Lok Sabha or Assembly. Participation in Voter’s Clubs will restore the human touch and fill the void to a great extent. _Previous musing: [The Universality of Human Values](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-universality-of-human-values/)_ --- ## [Musing] The Emerging Scenario in Education URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-emerging-scenario-in-education-2/ ### Body _Published by the Nani A Palkhivala Trust in 2011, the following [booklet](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-emerging-scenario-in-education/) is the textual reproduction of the eighth Nani A Palkhivala Memorial Lecture delivered by Kapil Sibal. The booklet outlines his vision for transforming the Indian education landscape over the course of the next decade. _I remember the day way back when Nani was arguing before the thirteen judge constitutional bench in the Supreme Court which was seeking the reversal of Keshavnand Bharati, I happened to be in court mesmerized by his forensic ability and realised what a giant he was. Nani was no ordinary man. He single handedly stood for Constitutional principles against unconstitutional means and fought the battle alone. At the end of the second day, the Chief Justice dispersed the bench. The rest is history. For me to remember such a man at the Eighth Memorial Lecture is indeed a great honour. I have also had the great privilege to be with Nani In several matters in court and, in particular, the river water dispute between Haryana and Punjab where he, at my request, led me for the State of Haryana. He single handedly interpreted the references in such a manner that it has till date not been implemented. This was the extent of his forensic ability. Nani, apart from being a giant of an intellect, was also a wonderful human being. He had qualities of both head and heart and the way he spoke to you no matter how high a dignitary you might be, he spoke from his heart honestly, directly and never held back the truth. It is time that in India, leadership does that; it is time for the political establishment to set the facts out so that people are informed and through that process a dialogue starts between Government and civil society. Together, we then can face the challenges of today and come up with solutions for tomorrow.  Today, I hope to start a dialogue with you on the emerging scenario in education. Let me give you some facts before we start this dialogue.  The facts are these. We are about 1.2 billion people and of those 1.2 billion people, 220 million children go to school. To put things in perspective, 220 million children are twothirds the population of the United States of America and almost half the population of Europe. In India, that is the number of children who go to school. But of the 220 million children who go to school, only 13 million reach college. This is a frightening scenario. How can a nation move forward when of the 220 million children who go to school only 13 million reach college? The reason why I say this to you is because the wealth of a nation does not depend on the physical assets of the nation. It does not depend on factories and bank balances or multinational corporations. It depends on the intellectual capital of a nation. It depends on the intellectual capital of a nation. The wealth of a nation is created by that intellectual capital and that intellectual capital finds its germplasm in the university system.  If you don't have a critical mass of people moving into the university system you will never be able to create national wealth. Now let me give you the difference between lndia and Europe and lndia and the United States of America. The first point of difference is evidenced by the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER), which is the number of children between the age group 18 to 24 who go to college. The GER in the developed world is anywhere between 50 per cent to 70 per cent. That means for every 100 children, in the age group of 18 to 24, 50 to 70 go to college. In stark contrast, the GER in lndia is 12.4 per cent. This is the real difference between the developed and the developing world. The gap between the developed and developing countries is not on account of the national highways of Europe or the autobahns of Germany. Nor is it the result of the scale of their factories or the export figures or the GDP growth.  The root cause of this gap is the wide chasm in education between the developed and the developing world. This needs to be addressed.  Let me share with you another fact that might surprise you.  In the ultimate analysis I firmly believe, national wealth grows in the university system. This wealth grows through research. Research creates IPR, intellectual property. Successful IPR is translated into goods and services that then become the foundation of trade and finally generates national wealth. Therefore, it is very important to figure out what is the extent of research and technology within the university system in any country.  Let us look at some numbers. For every million people in the Western world, the number of people doing research is anywhere between 4700 and 7000. The figure is close to 7000 in the Scandinavian countries. In America it is around 5000. In lndia the figure is 156. What does that tell you? That tells you that it is time that lndia started investing in knowledge because that is the only way to create wealth. Wealth needs to be understood along with the concept of empowerment. The word "power" is very important there because it tells you that it is an unequal commodity in any society. People are powerful because they have wealth. They are powerful because they have access to schools, to universities and access to all the resources. Those who are marginalized, those who are disadvantaged, have no access to power and therefore they are not empowered. We need to empower people and Nani used to say that the best way to empower people is through education. How do you bring about that empowerment? Our Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said the other day that we need to give access to people at the bottom of the pyramid and we need to ensure that there is investment in research and technology at the top of the pyramid. The Right to Education Act, 2009, takes care of the bottom of the pyramid. The reason why it was important for us to pass this legislation is because we wanted to get that critical mass of people into the university system. If I can ensure through the Right to Education Act that all the marginalized children in the country, from the schedule caste/ tribes, members of the minorities, especially the Muslim minorities ; children in the North East, tribals residing in the central and other regions of our country, if we can get all these disadvantaged groups into the school system, and we ensure in the years to come that the rate of retention of the children as they move through school is a hundred percent, we would have created a critical mass of people in the age group of 18 to 24 who will go to college. This is the rationale and philosophy behind the Right to Education Act. It needs to be understood that this vision is not something that the Central Government can enforce overnight. The Right to Education Act (RTE), 2009 came into effect on April 1, 2010. But under the Act itself we are giving ourselves three years for implementation. We have set a timeline of five years for teachers to acquire minimum qualifications to be able to teach in schools. Implementing this vision needs the cooperation of civil society. In fact, we need the cooperation of all the key players in the system, This includes the State Government, the Municipalities, the school management, the NGOs, the teachers, the parents, and most importantly the buy in from the children. It would be wrong to think that the Central Government on its own can drive this movement and achieve the goal that we want to achieve. This is a national priority I and it requires a national effort. People in this country need to realize the significance of RTE 1 as a national endeavour. At present, I do not think even the political establishment realizes the importance of this national endeavour. There can be no politics in this because we are talking about our children. We are talking about the future of India. So there should be no political debate. You can have a political debate as to how to reach the goal but to educate our children is a goal in itself. But more needs to be done to the system of education than just getting children to schools. We need to understand that merely sending children to school does not create intellectual property. That is not enough. We need to change the way we teach our children. We I need to change the relationship between the teacher and the student. We need to change the way the student reacts to the teacher. We need to change our discourse in education. For the last sixty years we have been foisting text books on our children so that their vision is restricted by the four corners of the class room. It is important to understand the difference between education and study. You study text books but they do not necessarily educate you. You get educated when you relate what you read to the world outside the four walls of the class room, which is what Gandhiji talked about. Your knowledge must be related to the problems of tomorrow so that you can, through the investment in the child, seek the solutions for tomorrow. The teacher is no longer the repository of knowledge. Children today have access to knowledge from sources beyond the teacher. And therefore the teacher needs to be a collaborator through this journey of the child as the child grows and moves from one class to the other. And that requires a different approach. Each child, I believe and I am passionate about that, has a genius in him or her and the role of the teacher is to allow that genius to mushroom. One of the ways to do this, is not to have end- semester exams or end of a year Board exams that test, mainly the memory of the child.  What you need is a continuous and comprehensive evaluation of the attributes of the child. One child maybe interested in mathematics, the other may be interested in music. One child might want an art form, which he wishes to develop, another child may be immersed in literature.  Democracy in the political sense is about the choice to elect your own people. But real democracy, I believe, is freedom in the class room. Democracy is not about politics. It is about freedom in the class room. That's the way India will move forward.  So we have brought about through the Right to Education Act, a process of continuous and comprehensive evaluation. Under this, the teacher evaluates the child comprehensively and continuously. The evaluation process is designed to be comprehensive.  This recognizes that the attributes of the child are multifarious and the teacher needs to evaluate those attributes. Unlike the memory based system of year-end examinations, this process evaluates the children's ability to learn; his/ her ability to concentrate, as also, his or her ability in the context of their interests; sensitive to what the child wants to do.  It assesses whether the child has capacities to communicate. The new evaluation process under RTE also attempts to capture what are the child's thought processes. Most important, it puts into place a framework so that the teacher can help the child realize his/ her real potential.  Unfortunately, we talk about education in the context of management most of the time. We talk about administration; we talk about teachers; we talk about salaries of teachers. But education is none of this.  Education is about children. And it is time that education policies of our Government are based on what the children of our country want. It should not be based on what administrations, State or Central Government, desire. This spells out the heart of the matter. This is the rationale behind the Right to Education Act. An important component of the RTE is a provision by which 25 per cent children from the disadvantaged community must be admitted to private schools. Why did I have this stipulation? It is because I think that will empower the children. Access to the best education should be made available to the most disadvantaged. I know that there are private interests involved and I know that this wind will face storms but the wind has the capacity to destroy those storms as long as we are together and as long as we know what is in our national interest.  Well having looked at issues related to primary education, let us move on to college and higher education.  There is a revolution happening in the world outside. You cannot even imagine how education will be as a way of learning in the twenty-first century. The mouse was discovered in 1964 and see how it has changed the way we learn things and communicate with each other. And what is going to happen in the next ten to fifteen years?  Let me give you a little insight into it so that we know what the challenges are and what are the emerging scenarios. At the moment, there is a movement around the world dealing with connectivity. The world is truly becoming a global village. But I dare say in the times to come, in the field of education, it will be a global enterprise.  In the next two to three years lndia will be connecting every university, every college in India. We have 26,000 colleges and about 800 universities. All of these will be connected through fiber optics. This implies that there will be a free flow of information and most of that information will be open source. So a child in one college, if he/she likes, can access a lecture or lecturer in another university, and earn credits for it.  I go back to the issue of choice. The more choice we give our children, the more freedom and flexibility they have in choosing their courses, the more we will empower them. Why should a child not do mathematics and music together? There is a lot of mathematics in music. And for some, mathematics is music. So why should children not have both? Why should a child not study physics and literature? You know Nani, essentially was a man of literature and which is why he was uniquely sensitive. He could keep you spell bound by his knowledge of literature. Why cannot literature and mathematics go together? They can. But we need to change our mindset to understand that. And so the world of knowledge will be compressed and people around the world will have access to knowledge like never before. When I talked about fiber optics, I talked about the delivery systems of knowledge. But the knowledge has to be created. Those courses have to be created. The content of courses has to be created.  The enormous work that we have to do now is to ensure that the content to the knowledge, national knowledge network, reaches every child so that they can access that.  Today knowledge is created at the cross sections of disciplines. What do I mean when I say that? If you go to a hospital or you go to a university teaching medicine, you will find there are people who are mathematicians and biologists working today; bio-scientists, people specializing in physics and biology, working together. And the reason is simple, because in many of the cutting edge solutions of today, we need the multi-disciplinary approach.  That again brings us to the element of choice in education. How do you have a multi-disciplinary approach if you cannot allow the child to choose whatever subject he or she wants to choose? Which means you must have a system in lndia where the university allows the flexibility to the student. That flexibility will only come about if we change our administrative structures.  I am sorry to say that a large number of politicians own educational institutions. And this is standing in the way of reform. But this is a national battle. We have to fight it. And the only way to fight it is to ensure that there is an element of uniformity in quality within our educational systems. Why do you think I have been talking day in and day out about the semester system being embraced by every university in this country? The reason why I want the semester system to be embraced is because that will allow flexibility. If one university does not have a semester system and it is an annual exam at the end of three years or at the end of one year, then you cannot have the flexibility, you cannot earn the credits. And in the absence of that flexibility you will not have that element of choice, which is necessary for education.  To put in place the National knowledge network and allow data to flow through that network to the students, it is imperative that adequate administrative systems at the State level are put in place. The State Governments have an enormous responsibility to change their administrative structures so that we can actually allow that information and data to flow freely to the student, enabling him to access whatever he wants and discard what he doesn't.  Now let me go back to the numbers that I gave you. Earlier, I told you that 13 million children go to college in lndia which gives us a gross enrollment ratio of just 12.4 per cent. I aim to increase this to 30 per cent by 2020.  Out of India's population of around 1.2 billion people, there are 220 million children between the age group of 18-24. If 30 per cent of them actually go to college, I will have a critical mass of our population actually creating the intellectual property that will breed national wealth. This is my firm belief. So we have made a commitment that by 2020 we shall ensure that the Growth Enrollment Ratio moves from 12.4 per cent to 30 per cent. If this happens by 2020, the number of children going to college and university will increase from 13 to 45 million. But this puts a lot of demand on the facilities that are required to meet that increasing demand.  That means that if 26,000 colleges serve 13 million children, you can imagine how many colleges will have to be built to serve 45 million. That means in the next ten years, we need another 50,000 colleges. If 800 universities serve 13 million children then how many universities will we need in the next ten years to serve the balance 32 million? We will need more than 1000 universities. So if I need another forty, fifty thousand colleges and I need a thousand universities for the next ten years, what should I do to the education system to allow that to happen? That is the philosophy behind the reforms in the Higher Education. Because I know that when there will be a proliferation of colleges and universities, there will be large number of disputes.  There is therefore a need for a redressal system. In anticipation of this we have enacted the Educational Tribunals Bill and the Bill to Prohibit and Punish Educational Malpractices.  You may be familiar with certain educational malpractices in the institutions. At least I am familiar with reported malpractices. The primary reason for this problem in lndia is the typical demand and supply mismatch in educational institutions that Nani talked about in the context of our economy. And Nani's words proved right. We decontrolled the system after 1991 and are now witnessing a new India. You couldn't have imagined the lndia of today if we thought of lndia prior to 1991. Nani was talking about this vision of lndia all the time. This is what we want to do with education. We want to open up the system and bridge the problem of demand and supply. Therefore, we need to ensure that there is enough investment that goes into education. We need to ensure that there are enough number of good institutions for children to opt for. This will ensure that children do not have to pay the kind of capitation fee they are paying currently. The reason and the rationale for the capitation fee is that there are very few good institutions. Everybody's parents want admission into these institutions. Educational institutions take advantage of this mismatch between demand and supply. So we need to expand this sector. Allow the private sector to come in because no Government can set up 1000 universities and 50,000 colleges. We neither have the finances nor do we have the administrative wherewithal.  But we also want to make sure that we move away from the 'licence raj'. In the current system people inspect institutions and declare them fit/ unfit institutions. We must move away from this inspection raj. And so under the Education Malpractices Bill, I have a system under which we are not going to inspect any educational institution. At the beginning of the academic year, the educational institution has to placein the public domain, on their website details of its infrastructure, what is the fees they are going to charge, what is the faculty it has. (There are instances where institutions rent faculty. During inspection institutions would rent faculty from somewhere else and show it as permanent faculty). Under the new proposal the institutions have to disclose comprehensive details on its website. It discloses faculty, infrastructure, fees and the services that it has on its website.  The institution has to disclose everything about itself on its website. This pool of information is then housed in the Ministry of Human Resources Development. If and when we find that any fact in that website is wrong, we shall prosecute. No inspection raj. So it depends on the institution. If it wants to tell the truth and save itself from prosecution, it must disclose all the facts. And we are going to make capitation fee, a cognizable offence. That is the second legislation.  Along with the Educational Tribunals Bill and the Bill to Prohibit Educational Malpractices, the third legislation that will be put in place to monitor the system of Higher Education is the Bill on Mandatory Accreditation.  This deals with quality because education is not just about reading and writing, it is, about quality. And quality impacts on national wealth and therefore under the Accreditation Bill every educational institution has to be mandatorily accredited. It is quality that has to be ensured. At the moment, seeking accreditation is voluntary. Once the Act comes into force then there will be separate agencies for accreditation that will accredit institutions for quality.  This will allow children to know which institution they are getting admission into, what is the quality of that institution, and all the facts about that institution. Ultimately, I want a situation in which my child sitting at home through his computer can access every institution, can actually walk through every institution. It is easy through technology. All we need to do is combine aerial photography with satellite imagery and software. I can make you walk through an institution, so that the child can choose where he wants to be. That's the kind of future that you have in the field of education.  And then the next legislative move is the Foreign Education Provider's Bill. The reason why we want the Foreign Education Provider's Bill is that willy-nilly education is not about living in silos. It's about collaboration. It is about expanding your mind.  One day Nani was arguing a case in the Supreme Court. He was talking about education and he said "steel plants produce steel". This was a newsprint case. He said, steel plants produce steel but newsprint produces ideas, and therefore he defended the freedom of newsprint because it is directly related to freedom of speech. This argument is very important and it is what prompts our Foreign Education Provider's Bill. With the support of appropriate science and technology, we aim to give access and allow foreign institutions to invest in India. Remember I gave you the figure of 45 million but you know I forgot about the balance from the estimated 220 million children in India. If 45 million reach university, what happens to the balance? We need to think about them as well.  Not all of them go to university, or become doctors and engineers. Neither all of them will get doctorates or opt for post doctoral research. These are children who want a job. A child on completing class 12 may not want to go to university, but may want a job.  How do you make your education system such that the child can have access to a job? What are we going to do for these children? Do we have an answer to their situation?  The National Vocational Qualification Framework, proposed to be announced by May 2011, is an answer I have for this situation. We are going to offer vocational courses from class IX, X, XI and XII. Now what does 'vocational' include? To name a few prominent vocational courses that are thrust areas for our economy: Hospitality, Para legal, para medics, lab assistants, music (which I consider as a vocation), tourism, simple electrician, mechanics and several such hands-on, skill oriented courses. In fact, we have started planning for structuring these courses with the help of industry. I have initiated a dialogue with industry because these courses can be made meaningful only with their collaboration.  I had a meeting with the automobile sector the other day. And I discussed the proposal, to introduce, automobile engineering in the school CBSE system. I also called all State Chief Ministers and explained this proposal to them. They are very happy about it and they want to move forward with its implementation. We had a three to four hours long meeting with the automobile sector. We realized that there are about 150 vocational courses that can be taught just in the automobile sector. Automobile technology is moving to electronics now. Previously it was mechanical engineers who would deal with automobiles. In the technologies of tomorrow everything will be telemetric. The industry will need electronic engineers. We need to see where the industry is moving and how to ensure that the education system actually relates itself to the industry. This will ensure that industry gets the people they want.  Similarly, other than automobiles, we are going to prepare diverse vocational training courses in various fields.  We had a talk with the telecom sector. And there are about hundred potential vocational training courses appropriate for this sector.  We proposed a meeting with the construction sector. The Prime Minister said recently, that one trillion dollars would be invested in the construction sector in the next five years. You can imagine the kind of expertise that will be required by the construction sector in the years to come. The education system must be geared to make that expertise ready. This is my vision for the children who opt out of the university track of higher education and want jobs instead.  Some of the courses have already started. For example for the city of Mumbai, Bollywood is a great place to begin executing this vision. Hence, I called Mr. Subhash Ghai and had a dialogue with him. The outcome of which are courses in animation, which are now offered in about 26 to 29 schools in this country. A lot of people in Bollywood need young children who know about animation. And it is like playing with computers which young children are adept at. We have started such courses so that children, who do not want to go in for formal higher education can be endowed with skills to be directly employed by Bollywood. While in a limited way such options do exist at present, what is unique of my vision is that children will have flexibility to change tracks as they go on in life. For example, a student completing vocational education may after a few years want to re-enter academic life.  So if he wants to do a doctorate/ go for higher studies we are going to have systems in place by which he can move from school to polytechnic and from polytechnic to university  if he so wants, so that he can get additional credit. Supposing a person getting a CBSE academic degree wants to do vocational course, he will do an additional 'X' number of hours in a particular vocation and can move to vocational and if he wants to come back to academics, within the university system he should have the flexibility to do so.  This is what we are going to do, to take care of the balance children, who are not opting for higher education immediately on completing their school/ XII grade. We envisage that most of the investment by the Foreign Education Providers will come in such skill development. If you look at the world in 2050 what is the scenario? The scenario is that lndia by 2050 will be the most populated country in the world. That is frightening but that is the reality. There is a demographic decline in almost all of Europe, Japan, Australia and Canada. Do you know that Quebec has recently passed a law that anybody who comes to do post graduation in Quebec can get citizenship? It's economics. They don't have the workforce. We have the workforce and we can supply that workforce not just for our own national needs but supply it for the global community as well. Therefore this is a great opportunity for us. Foreign investors are interested in investing in vocational education in lndia because they are very keen to get the workforce that they don't have. I know for a fact that lot of foreign universities want to come to lndia and are already collaborating with Indian universities. We benefit from such collaboration by getting access to best global practices and this will improve the quality of our own university system. This is the global scenario in which we live. In this scenario, in the ultimate analysis, we as a nation have to move forward. This I reiterate, cannot happen unless we invest in knowledge. This is the philosophy of the UPA Government in the field of education. In the heart of this philosophy is the belief that every child in this country is important. I I remember when Nani was a young child and he had a bowl of almonds, and his father told him, don't forget the orphan next door. He, in his generosity, gave the entire bowl to the orphan. It is time for us to have the bowl of almonds to give it to those who don't have it. Education is the only way forward._Last week’s musing: [WHAT MAKES JAPAN TICK: SOME LESSONS FOR INDIA](https://indianliberals.in/content/what-makes-japan-tick-some-lessons-for-india/)_ --- ## [Musing] The Essence of Democracy URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-essence-of-democracy-3/ ### Body The following text was authored by Indian Parliamentarian and liberal thinker, Minoo Masani. It was originally published by the Harold Laski Institute of Political Science, Ahmedabad in March 1989. In the essay, Masani discusses several necessary conditions of a liberal democracy. In a Parliamentary Democracy, the role of a speaker is crucial. A good start to a young Democracy on the achievement of Independence was given by Mr G.V. Mavlankar, who was an excellent Speaker of the Lok Sabha, and set a good example of independence from all political parties by his fair play and keeping the Prime Minister of the day in his place. Unfortunately, there has been a continuing fall in the behaviour of those occupying the Speaker’s office since the prevailing sycophancy has engulfed even the Speaker’s office, with a corresponding lack of respect for the chair shown by the Member of Parliament. Many years ago, Mr. E.F.M. Durbin, a junior member in a Labour Government in Britain, published a book entitled _The Politics of Democratic Socialism._ In one of his chapters Mr. Durbin, after rejecting various tests of a real democracy, came to the conclusion that where there was no effective opposition there was no democracy. According to him, the right to dissent is useless unless it is actually allowed to be exercised. **MAJORITY RULE**** ** Some people would reply that democracy means majority rule. How wrong they are! Stalin and Hitler after coming to power, repeatedly won elections by huge majorities which were presumably bogus, and then carried on ruthlessly oppressive and tyrannical regime. The dictators of the Black African countries, who are often ferocious autocrats, also claim to have been elected by a majority. As the anthropologist, Elspeth Huxley, has put it: “One man, on vote, once”. Mr. R. Venkataraman, President of our Republic, mentioned this in his Inaugural Address as President on July 25, 1987 that 'most of the newly independent countries which adopted a democratic form of government have lapsed into dictatorships'. There are countries covered by Mr. Venkatraman’s statement in Asia and Latin America which also qualify along with Africa.  The concept of majority rule is a particularly pernicious one in countries which are not of a homogenous nature ethnically, linguistically or by religion. Examples of such countries are the Union of South Africa, Fiji, Sri Lanka, and, of course, our own country. In these countries there is a built-in permanent majority based on race, language or religion. Majority rule in such cases would mean the tyranny of the majority community over the minority community or communities. In South Africa the result of "one man one vote" majority rule would be the domination of the Blacks over the Whites and the coloured peoples, including Indians who are all minorities. In Fiji it would mean the domination of the Indian immigrants over the original inhabitants there. In Sri Lanka it would mean the domination of Sinhalese over Tamils and in India it would mean the domination of the Hindus over the Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and other minorities. It is quite obvious, therefore, that majority rule is not democracy and can often be undemocratic. Having disposed of this myth, let us now turn to the various factors that make a real democracy.  **LIMITED GOVERNMENT** It is quite clear that a government which is not limited to essential purposes but dominates economic, educational, literary and artistic life of the country cannot be a democratic one. Where this happens, an effective opposition ceases to be possible, and Mr. Durbin's test cannot be fulfilled.  This has been proved by the case of the Soviet Union, Communist China and others in our time.  Italian theorist Benedetto Croce was able to foresee this when he wrote in the last quarter of the 19th century that where the Government or the State tends to become the only employer and the only landlord, that society ceases to be democratic, because there would be no one left to oppose except at great peril. That is why he argued that in a free society there have to be "autonomous social forces " such as the farmer owning his land, the industrialist owning his factory or business, the shopkeeper owning his shop and the professional man like the lawyer or doctor or consultant who works for himself. Later developments have proved how right Croce was.  In my opinion, India is in the border line between a limited government and a total one because of excessive controls, destruction of the balance of the mixed economy, control of the dominating heights of the economy, as Jawaharlal Nehru grandiloquently described it, through giant industrial units, the control of the State over universities, the absence of economic freedom, the institution of _Sahitya Academics_ and other government institutions which have undermined the independence of writers, artists and other members of the intelligentsia. Writing on 5th January 1969 in the _Times of India_, Mr. Nirad Choudhary asked :  “Where do contemporary Indian writers stand in the light of these ideals ? I cannot say they are not involved in current affairs. On the contrary, I would assert they are only too much involved in them, which means that they are wrongly involved. Most of them are doing their best to have a share of the loot of public money that has become the vocation of the upper middle class since Independence. All of them are enlisting or trying to enlist in the horde of _Pindaris _that the present ruling order of India is. The writers in this army will not indeed be _Amir Khans or Chittus _but they aspire to become quite prosperous thugs."  There have been repeated attempts to destroy the freedom of the press. All these have brought India to the position where it is possible to say that the so-called 'socialist pattern' and democracy cannot co-exist for long. This already happened for a brief period of two years after 1975, and could easily happen again for ' a longer duration. Therefore it is that the liberal insists that unless Government is limited and kept in its proper boundaries, it cannot be called a democratic one. Mahatma Gandhi said : "That Government is best which governs the least."  **SHARING OF POWER** Democracy has been defined as government of the people, for the people, and by the people, the last of these being the most important of the three. The sharing of power has to be both horizontal and vertical. It should be horizontal in the sense that minority groups have a right to participate in the government of the day along with the majority. It is not enough for members of the minority to be condescendingly included in the cabinet as are Muslims, Sikhs and others in India, and, Tamils and Muslims in Sri Lanka, at the 'meherbani' of the majority or of the White 'Uncle Toms' whom the Communist- dominated African National Congress would perhaps include in their new government, if ever they are allowed to come to power. What is necessary is for the Tamils and Muslims in Sri Lanka to be represented by those chosen by them. That Muslims and Sikhs in India should similarly have the right to choose their own members of the cabinet and that the Whites in a Black dominated country should have ministers of their own choice. This has been ensured only by the Swiss Constitution to which I shall refer later.  Vertical participation is equally important. The infrastructure of a democracy lies with grassroots vigilance and initiative which keeps political parties and governments on the straight and narrow path. Where such grass- roots vigilance and initiative are weak as in India today, political parties float on top without any infrastructure, without internal democracy, and with "Kangaroo courts" which 'expel' members without even asking them to show cause.  The element of grassroots vigilance is not one that can be created by law. It is primarily one that is dependent on home and school education and training of the young in the right to think for themselves, training in the right to stand up to authority-whether domestic, industrial or political, when the conscience demands it. Gandhiji defined a real _satyagrahi _as one who defies a law which he thinks is immoral even if he is in a minority of one, provided he is prepared to pay the price for his act. 111other words, democracy is contingent on the existence of independent, aware and courageous citizens who are prepared to speak up for their rights and do not always count the cost. As the poet said: "They are slaves who dare not be In the right with two or three". The main enemies of such initiative are the cult of personality, misguided loyalty of party “high command”, sycophancy which abounds in the capital and other parts of India and the presence of a controlled economy where the permit-license or quota is a precondition to economic survival. Here we are on very weak ground, The concept of good and active citizenship is not well understood in India, The result is “too much politics, too little citizenship”. We need much more grassroots vigilance and action. It is not periodic five-year elections that determine the quality of democracy but the day-to-day intervention of the ordinary citizen in the affairs of the state. Here we are very weak, and unless the quality and activity of our citizenship and becomes much more democratic, our political parties will continue to float on top and be utterly irresponsible as they are today. It is important that the people of India be educated on this subject. The Leslie Sawhny Programme, with which I am associated and the Harold Laski Institute of Political Science at Ahmedabad, are both examples of the kind of activity that may result in making India a real democracy. **RESERVATION** There remains the problem of ensuring participation and sharing in power by the backward classes in society who are unable to pull their full weight along with the rest of society. Such are the Schedules Castes (_Harijans_), the Scheduled Tribes (_Adivasis_) and the backward classes. As a remedy, but not to last more than ten years, our Constitution provided for reservation of seats in legislatures and jobs in government service for these classes. Unfortunately, this device has become a habit, like a pair of crutches. Every ten years Parliament prolongs its life because by now the spokesmen of the poorest classes have become a vested interest. Also, it provides one of the main points of corruption in our public life. The politicians, therefore, go along with this easy way of professing to provide social justice. This matter is dealt with in detail by an excellent report of a Seminar on Reservations organised in Bombay in may 1985 by the Indian Liberal Group and the Freedom First Foundation. I believe that time has come for Reservations to be terminated and if that is not feasible, at least to be phased out expeditiously. Both the U.S. Supreme Court in Bakke’s case, and the Supreme Court in our country in the case of the State of Kerala _vs _Thomas, have arrived at rather similar judgements taking the line that affirmative action in favour of these classes has to be both temporary and moderate. Any discrimination that is permanent or excessive should be struck down as _ultra vires _of the Constitution. **PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION** A much more civilised way by which minorities including the backward elements of society can be ensured fair representation in these legislature in some form of Proportional Representation. The only democratic countries in which the rule of race course, _viz._ “First past the post” is practised, are the U.K. and the U.S.A. the recent re-election of Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, however, welcome it might be on political grounds, illustrates the archaic nature of this system, since she obtained only a minority of votes cast but a big majority in Parliament as a result of gross under-representation of the Alliance of Social Democrats and Liberals, who polled a large proportion of votes cast but succeeded in getting only a miserable number of seats in Parliament. The Anglo-Saxon system involves a waste of millions of votes which remain unrepresented in parliament, Votes cast in the country do not carry the same weight, since the votes cast for some party carry more weight than those cast for other parties. Even the principle of “one man, one vote” is thus violated, since one man does not get one vote. Some get more than a vote and yet others have no effective vote at all. In India, which has followed the archaic British system since independence, not once has the Congress Party secured  majority of the votes cast. Yet in every Parliament including the present, the Congress Party has been a huge majority which is entirely bogus and does not reflect the will of the people. If, therefore, justice has to be done to the voter and particularly to minorities, the acceptance of some form of proportional representation is a must. With an illiterate electorate like ours, the Single Transferable Vote is not feasible. Some form of the List System such as is prevalent in West Germany, Israel and other countries is worth considering. **SEPARATION OF POWERS** Where power is allowed to be centralised in a few hands, democracy shrinks. That is why, in all written democratic constitutions, there is a provision for a division of powers or functions. The separation of powers in the U.S. Constitution between the President or the Administration, Congress and the Supreme Court is a good example of three independent authorities functioning side by side and often clashing with one another. Even where there is a Parliamentary form of government, as in France after Gaulle amended the Constitution, and in Sri Lanka after Mr. Jayewardene amended it, though there is a Prime Minister responsible to Parliament, there is also a President, who acts as a check on the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. It is not, therefore, true that in every Parliamentary Democracy the Prime Minister and Cabinet can overrule the President. Quite the contrary. The Constitution of the Republic of India as it emerged from the Constituent Assembly, of which I was proud to be a member, did precisely this by curbing the powers of the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the day through: - a)     The President - b)    The Supreme Court - c)     The Civil Service - d)    The States - e)     The Fundamental Rights of the citizen Unfortunately, most of these checks have been eroded by those in office in Delhi through their lust for centralising power in their own hands. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was able, with the bogus majority in Parliament that she enjoyed, even to amend the Constitution and truncate the Prerogatives of President and the Fundamental Rights of the citizen. **THE RULE OF LAW** An essential precondition of democracy is what the British called in Britain the Rule of Law and in the USA ‘due process of law’. This protects the citizen from arbitrary action on the part of government of the day and gives him the protection of the courts in case the law is violated. Obviously, when the courts are not independent and there is no Rule of Law, rule by parliamentary majority can be highly tyrannical and undemocratic.  **INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY** “The state is made for the individual and not the individual for the State”. This is a basic principle of liberal democracy. The rights of the individual, therefore, become the supreme consideration. As Lord Action has put it, liberty is the supreme good. Hence, freedom must come first. In countries like the USA, India and several others, the Fundamental Rights of the citizen are guaranteed under a written constitution or what is often called ‘A Bill of Rights”. Britain is one of the few real democracies which have no written constitution or Bill of Rights, and technically Parliament is sovereign and can pass any law it likes. However, as Dicey points out, if the House of Commons were to pass a law that all blue-eyed babies should be put to death, the people will throw the Parliament out the following day! This is what he calls the ‘external check’ which exists in Britain which has no written Constitution. Another old saying which draws attention to this priority is the Biblical one which says: “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s”. In our context, the individual’s conscience is his god. **FREEDOM OF THE PRESS** What applies to the individual’s right to dissent applies with even greater force to the Press. Freedom of the Press, is of course, an essential part of a free society. **POLYGLOT SOCIETIES** In the case of multi-lingual, multi-ethnic or multi-religious societies, the importance of these safeguards becomes more marked. Majority rule can have no meaning where there is a permanent majority of those bound together by a common race, common religion or common language. It is not democratic for such a majority to impose its will on minorities. Thus for instance, in Sri Lanka the nomination by Sinhalese of Tamil and Muslim minorities is not democratic. In India the nomination by Hindus of Sikhs, Muslims, Christians and others is not democratic, and in South Africa, the nomination by Blacks of Whites would be undemocratic. It is not enough in such cases that members of minorities are included in governments or cabinets. In Sri Lanka and India as of today, such minority membership is only at the behest or ‘_meherbani_’ of the majority. It is important for ministers belonging to minorities to be elected by their own kind through proportional representation. The only country where this is being practised is Switzerland owing to the existence of three groups- German Swiss, French Swiss and Italian Swiss, and of cantons which are jealous of their independence. The Government of Switzerland is run by a Council which is elected by proportional representation by Members of Parliament who, in turn, are themselves elected to Parliament by proportional representation. This means a National Government or a permanent coalition of sizable linguistic groups and political parties. The Swiss Constitution goes further and provides that the position of the Chairman of the Executive or the Prime Minister shall rotate among the members. It also provides for maximum autonomy to the cantons which are almost sovereign and have minimum government. Switzerland is among the least but the best administered countries of the world. Politics counts for little. Production counts for a lot. It is customary for a Swiss Cabinet Minister to call at the office of a Bank President, and not _vice-versa_. I have only briefly outlined my views on what constitutes the essence of democracy. _Previous musing: [FORTY-THREE YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE](https://indianliberals.in/content/forty-three-years-of-independence-2/)_ --- ## [Musing] The Essence of Democracy URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-essence-of-democracy/ ### Body _The following piece was published in the August 1953 edition of the Freedom First Magazine. It is an editorial piece written in response to Jayprakash Narayan's views on democracy as well as the role of opposition in a democratic setup. According to Mr. Narayan, there was no need for an opposition or political parties. The editorial contends with those arguments and presents a clearer picture of democracy and the flaw in Mr. Narayan's reasoning. _“Perhaps it is a mistake to always imagine that in a democracy there should be a ruling party and an opposition party. There should be some other way...They (political parties) do propaganda and set up their own candidates in elections. People have to select from amongst them. This is not correct democracy. People may not be able this way to select the best worker." Such were the disconcerting sentiments expressed by Shri Jayaprakash Narayan, the PSP leader, in the course of his whirlwind tour of Gujarat in support of Vinoba's Bhoodan Movement. Were it not for the fact that our infant democracy is already denounced as a sham and a fraud by those who would forcibly overthrow it in favour of "'a dictatorship of the proletariat," we might have taken the criticism in good part as that of a friendly critic who, moved by the misery and suffering of his people, is impatient with the slow and inefficient functioning of an imperfect democratic machinery. As it is, the criticism is liable to be misconstrued by interested parties as a repudiation of the democratic system by one of democracy's best friends, Let us, therefore, examine Jayaprakash's pronouncements dispassionately to see how far they are justified. Jayaprakash begins by questioning the validity of the unstated assumption in the Western concept of parliamentary democracy that there should be an Opposition to the party in power. In reply, we cannot do -better than quote E.F.M. Durbin in his excellent book _The Politics of Democratic Socialism_. Says Durbin, "If liberty is to exist, if the dependence of government upon the will of the people is to be real, there must always be a real choice before the people. This implies the steady maintenance of a critical and essential institution - that of freedom to oppose the Government of the day. Unless the electorate has more than one possible government before it; unless there is more than one party able to place its view before the country; unless that is to say that the opposition is free to prepare itself to take over power, and the government -to surrender it peacefully after an electoral decision against it; there is no choice before it." So there ! This is not to say that the duty of the opposition is to oppose everything and propose nothing. But it does unmistakably mean that opposition to the government of the day is of the very essence of democracy. And yet Jayaprakash thinks there should be some other system. As to what that system should be like, he is delightfully vague. And so we are left none the wiser for all his criticism of what to him is an outdated concept of democracy. In his philosophical peregrination, however, Jayaprakash is not altogether unconscious of the dangerous grounds he is treading. For he hastens to add: "I do not mean that there should be one party administration in the country. This will be suicidal. What I mean is that there should be no party at all. The constitution could be run without any party," Thanks for the tender mercy ! But without previous agreement on fundamentals how is a non-party administration set about its work? Will it stand for free enterprise, mixed economy or nationalisation? And what will be its foreign policy? We have no quarrel with the ideal of a non-party administration as our ultimate goal. But in the context of the present realities -it is a "consummation devoutly to be wished" but not attainable in the foreseeable future. Jayaprakash is, however, on surer ground when he says that the restricted choice the electorate is offered in voting for the candidates put up by political parties is not correct democracy, as the voters may not then be able to select the best worker. But here again the fault lies not with the system of democracy but with party politics. Intent upon enforcing rigid party discipline, leaders of political parties prefer docile men who can be relied upon to toe the party line and vote for the party regardless of the issues at stake. Independence of mind is not among the qualities they admire. As a consequence, the sins of party politics visit upon the machinery of democracy, defeating the very purpose of a democratic election which is to put at the helm of affairs the best men with whose general outlook the voters find themselves in sympathy. It is for the party leaders, therefore, to choose as their candidates men of outstanding ability and character so that people may have a chance to vote for them.  To sum up, we believe that the existence of a responsible opposition to the party in power is of the very essence of democracy and that the election of people's representatives by a vote of the people themselves is the best method of selecting an aristocracy of the ablest and the most outstanding men in the state. So vitally important in any democratic society is this freedom of the people to choose that to deprive it of the freedom would be to drain away its very lifeblood. It is precisely because Jayaprakash's criticism of democracy impinges upon the freedom to choose that we are provoked to pin issues with him. For if a cat may look on a king, so may in a democracy the editor of a small bulletin cross swords with a leader of Jayaprakash's stature. And if the leader wishes to attempt a riposte, the columns of this bulletin are open to him. For the editor is a great admirer of Voltaire when he says: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." --- ## [Musing] The Evils of Child Marriage URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-evils-of-child-marriage-by-ishwar-chandra-vidyasagar/ ### Body _Originally published in 1850 in Calcutta-based Bengali language periodical Sarva Subhakari, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar established numerous girls' schools, wrote many textbooks in addition to regular schools to realize the noble intention of education. And he used his writing for social reform. 'The fault of child marriage' is one such social consciousness work of his. In the article, Vidyasagar discusses the causes, ill effects, and other related issues of child marriage. Every chapter of the composition is the identity of his progressive mentality._ _As was later established by literary historians (Gopal Halder, 1972), this happens to be the very first among a multitude of articles and monographs that Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891) had penned in the course of his life as a tireless and pioneering social reformer of Bengal and India. _ _You can read the original, unabridged version in __Bengali here: [Evils of Child Marriage](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Evils-of-Child-Marriage.pdf)_ Marrying an 8-year-old daughter is a holy act of _gauri-daan_ (marrying the daughter before her first period) for her parents; giving away their 9-year-old daughter is as precious as their prized possession of land; arranging a groom for their 10-year-old daughter will lead the parents to the doorway of heaven…and all kinds of imagination, interpretation of religious texts, living in a delusional dream without much consideration of reality and the after-effects of one's actions, has led this country's humanity to normalize everything that is about child-marriage. Who can feign ignorance of the evils that these mindless acts have unleashed? The writers of such Shastra scriptures have not only sought to establish child marriage. They have also laid down rigid dicta to prevent waiting until post-pubescence when it comes to marrying girl-children off. Thus, if a girl is still unmarried and at her paternal home when she begins to menstruate, it is considered a grave sin not only of the parents but also of seven generations of their predecessors – who all go to hell because of such transgression – as the scriptures lay down. In such a situation, both the parents become 'impure,' have to perform penance all their lives, and are to be humiliated, ostracized, and considered 'untouchable' to such extent that they cannot be allowed to have food sitting beside other people of the society. Thus, A girl who turns into a woman without getting married is considered a source of evil, shame, and disgrace for her parents and the community.   Even if anger against this swells up in the heart of some suitable person, such a person can hardly speak out or take action in opposition to such rigidly enforced social diktat. Despite all earnestness, such thoughts rise like streaks of lightning, merely to fade to the timid darkness within. Tied to such widely prevalent and thoroughly enforced codes of conduct mandated by the Shastrascriptures, we have been witnessing and suffering from the harm of child marriages for ages. Boys and girls get married before ideas of love develop in their minds; thus get denied and, in turn, divest themselves of the sweet fruit of marriage that love is. Therefore, families live through discord and disaffection instead of living in harmony with love. Children born and raised in such families fail to receive a harmonious upbringing and grow up in harsh and rugged family environments. Newly wedded boys and girls keep themselves busy learning words of seduction and try all the time to learn and practice the arts of titillating, arousing, and entertaining each other sexually, and such becomes the sole source and purpose of their childhood and adolescence. As a result, they get denied all additional education necessary for all humans to develop themselves as wholesome beings. With their minds thus deprived of opportunities to grow, they turn into beings with human forms but empty of all humanity and human qualities necessary to stake claims to the human identity. The root of all happiness is physical health. Even that faces severe detriment from the practice of child marriages. Thus, undoubtedly, this harmful custom of child marriages is also the primary reason behind our country's abysmal and lamentable condition of physical and mental capacities compared to likewise capabilities and faculties of people from other human races. Alas! How long must we suffer till providence rescues us from such plight? How long must we wait? In any case, a movement has arisen on this issue, which is a good thing to happen. Perhaps, one blessed day, this custom shall be abolished, and the people of this country can find relief and respite. These days, much is being written and read about this and other harmful habits affecting society. Thus, undoubtedly, positive steps shall one day be taken toward ameliorating and abandoning such detrimental customs. If the earth is dug long enough, water is bound to come up. If two pieces of wood are rubbed against one another long enough, sparks are bound to fly, and fire will begin burning. Likewise, if the truth is sought for long enough, the same cannot stay entrapped forever within the nets woven by falsities. Such thoughts have played in my mind for long. So, I embark upon this voyage of writing my two bits on the issue of child marriages. The creator has created the male and female species among almost all creatures on the earth. Among all such animals, the female and the male unite to beget, that is, to create progeny. In this way, new life is born, and the species survives and sustains itself. Pertinently, among human beings, one female and one male, acceding to each other's requests, given to each other's love and the good rules of nature and instincts, unite to give birth to new human beings, thereby preserving the human order. It is difficult to say how long the human race has come to be since the world's creation. It isn't easy to ascertain how long since the arrival of the human race that the custom of marriage evolved. However, it can be stated without doubt that when clear ideas of matter, property, and ownership were conceived when political notions of power and rule began to rear their strong heads when concepts of distinction between the self and the other evolved along with those of conscience and conscientiousness, and, when it was realized by many human beings that, without affection, empathy, kindness, mercy, and pride, it is impossible to continue with the journey as human beings in the human community and society, that marriage becomes one of the prime causes behind origination and development of such sentiments – the concepts of wedding and matrimony evolved. The marriage and married life system has, ever since, evolved and made itself better and more humane in all countries. However, in our country, far from developing into better conditions, the system of weddings has worsened and fallen such that, through veritable discretion and consideration, it can be realized that the present rules of marriage that society binds us to have been the reasons behind the rueful plight of this country today. Here, parents of daughters seek to marry their children off at an early age. Either they search for the groom by themselves or through others. The only perceived quality they seek as 'ideal' in the groom is being high-born, born in a high-caste family. If this condition is satisfied, then it does not matter if the soon-to-be groom is illiterate or has not yet attained any age of maturity that would, in more hopeful circumstances, be deemed ideally suited for marriage. Thus, such parents pay no heed to their daughter's happiness or otherwise in her future, that is, married life. Marital bliss is one of the primary fountainheads of joy in this human world. When such pleasure and happiness are impeded, the married couple spends their marital and familial life in utter sorrow and dismay. Alas, for such is a matter of much sadness! The happiness of the husband on the wife depends on how much love one has for the other. The marital bond becomes happy if both are good, kind and of firm character. If such qualities and virtues are amiss, both lead lives drowned in sorrow. If no consent from the woman, the girl, is deemed necessary, if she is to give herself to her husband's sexual needs irrespective of his character, inconsequential to how much love he has and expresses towards her, then is there any scope of happiness for such a couple in their marital life? The roots of love lie in the unity of minds. Such agreement depends on many factors, such as age, situation, looks, virtues, character, external and internal volitions, etc. In this country, before their weddings, boys, and girls do not get to know anything about each other's intentions, hearts, characters, or material conditions. They are denied all opportunities to get to know one another in person and befriend or converse with others. They are even denied all chances of meeting or looking at one another. Instead, it is their parent's penchant and volition, dependant on the words of apathetic socially sanctioned matchmaker – _'Ghatak'_ – determine the staunch, inalienable, and absolute laws of matrimonial bonding that are to bind them for their lives in entirety. This is why, in our country, we find no love between the husband and the wife in marriage. The husband merely performs his social functions as the money earner. The wife stays subjugated to the social processes that necessitate her performance as the one who maintains & upkeeps the domestic households. Wise practitioners of the medical sciences, who were well versed with the theories, practices, and philosophies surrounding the human body, have said that a child, conceived and born when its parents are yet to attain the complete physical maturities that can develop only after such human beings reach a certain age, is prone die in infancy. Even if such a child does not die at childbirth, even if the child grows up till a certain age, such a child is often found to be of infirm health and natural dispositions. Such a child suffers much from physical ailments and afflictions and stays incapable of many human functions. Soon, as is seen quite often, even such a child falls into the throes of death, despite having lived for some years. Marriage and marital relations have evolved to ensure and sustain new lives, and generations keep coming up so that ns survive and function as societies. The custom of child marriage, the way it has evolved in this country by contributing to the ever-burgeoning rates of infant deaths, has ensured that the primary purpose and function of unions and conjugality gets and stays severely hampered. The people of our country are often seen as the meekest, cowardly, and feeble mental and physical dispositions compared with those from all the other places and races of the world. From a very early age, the people from our country become incapable of and inept at all forms of toil, involving agility and hardship. Listless weariness sets in. There might be multiple inter-connected reasons behind this. However, with a deep and insightful search, it can be established that the widespread prevalence of child marriages is one of the definitive causal factors behind such lamentable conditions. If the parents are not strong and do not possess firm, stable physical dispositions, they can't conceive and beget strong children. Everyone agrees that weak causes cannot lead to substantial effects. For instance, if we plant good-quality seeds in lands of inferior quality, we cannot harvest good crops. The harvest is terrible even when the field has good, fertile soil, but the seeds are lousy. Likewise, children begotten when the bodies of their parents have still not developed all functions involving childbirth to their full extent of maturity cannot have nature on their side. The situation was not like this in the olden days. It is not so that India – Bharatvarsha – had a shortage of heroes and brave people. Scriptures record annals of children born in the Kshatriya and, at times, even in the Brahmin caste, grew up to have their glorious deeds of valor, as put on display, often through adept skills in warfare, remembered in history. Histories embedded into mythic tales establish that once there were so many heroes, that is, Veer-s, in India, it had held the epithet Veer Prasavini – the Begetter of Heroes. Even today, in countries that lie in the western climes of the Indian subcontinent, we see many people who, through their deeds, actions, and vocations, uphold the truths behind such historically documented gallantry of their ancestors. And yet, Hindu people born in these more eastern parts of the same subcontinent have fallen to such feeble constitutions and dispositions. Is the widespread prevalence of the custom of child marriages not one of the leading causes behind such dereliction? In the olden days, people from all castes and races – _jaatis_ – would marry only after attaining maturity. The _Shastra_ scriptures speak of eight types of marriages. However, the most prevalent were four customs – _Gandharva, Asura, Rakshasa,_ and _Paishach_. Other than these, the custom of _swayamvara_ was also general, by which brides would get to choose and select a suitable groom among a host of prospective ones who would arrive at the pre-determined place at an agreed-upon time for the ritual to commence. None of these types and forms of marriages would happen until both the bride and the grown had attained ages of maturity. Further investigations make us realize that, in the places that lie more towards the western parts of the subcontinent, even to date, no wedding happens until the bride and the groom have fully grown up. Children born & brought up by such grown-up parents show no mental or physical infirmity. They grow up to become mighty and courageous. This is proved by the fact that, when denied opportunities to take up any alternative mode of employment, they take up professions as soldiers of royal forces or as gatekeepers and security guards of wealthy people. On the other hand, people from Bengal would instead and much more readily take up far more hideous and repulsive vocations than undertake tasks that necessitate courage and strength. This is why we see no Bengali person in the royal armies. It is said that the people from Utkala – Odisha – also possess very feeble physical and mental strength, just like the Bengalis. Even Bengali people denigrate people from the Utkala countries for their perceived lack of bravery and courage. Unlike in the western provinces of the subcontinent, the custom of child marriages akin to Bengal is also very much present in Odisha. The people from Bengal and Odisha – where child marriages are rampant – are perceived as weak and cowardly. On the other hand, those from the more western parts of the subcontinent, where such a heinous custom is not encouraged in society, are considered firm and courageous. Can we still not see how people born in places where child marriages are an everyday, happening reality are far more feeble and of weak bearings and dispositions compared to those born in areas where the same are not in practice? Had women's education been prevalent in our country, children could have begun to learn many things and receive instruction from their mothers from a very tender age. Children are closest to their mothers during their earliest years. During that phase of their lives, children do not feel as close with their fathers or other relatives as they do with their mothers. During such ages, sweet words spoken with love stir deep feelings and emotions in children; words of moral advice do not resonate as much. So, children, during their most tender ages, feel happier when they are with their mothers and other women in the family and society, as compared to when they are with men. So, children who begin to hear words learning and education spoken with kind love and fondness as soon as they quit drinking their mothers' milk become well educated at a very young age. Mothers' advice can make deep-seated impacts on the minds of young children. No other teacher's advice can ever have even a fraction of such an impact on them. In Europe, women's education is widespread. There, women can bestow educational advice to their children. Thus, from a very tender age, European children become well-educated and civil in disposition. Such benefits can never happen to our country unless the prevalence of child marriages is not curbed and the same is not abolished. We have learned that some people from educated families seek to educate their girl-children on par with their boy-children from an early age. However, when such girls even know the alphabet, the hour for their nuptials arrives. Their education comes to a halt. Afterward, such girls must go to their in-laws' place and stay there. Therein, they have to make themselves adept at homemaking skills such as caring for their inlaws, sweeping and cleaning the house, preparing the beds for sleeping, cooking and serving food, and other domestic chores. Every day, they have to make themselves acquainted with pots, pipkins, kettles, ladles, spoons, crockery, and cutlery; they have to become skilled at using the same to perform their social functions as housewives. Thus, before long, whatever little education they receive at their parental abodes before their weddings wither away from their minds. Had the parents of girls in this country not been so obedient to these custom of marrying their daughters off even before their education has barely begun, such daughters could have learned more, could have imparted better advice to their children, and could have turned such children into educated beings from a very young age. So, we appeal to the learned people of our civil society today – if you wish to work on the spreading of women's education, please also endeavor to eradicate the custom of child marriages – for if women are married off at such tender ages as they are today, it is impossible to ensure education for them. Marrying at a tender age can only disturb and distract us. This is because childhood and adolescence – the primary period for receiving an education – get spent in the sensual fun, frolic, and merriment that marital life brings. Then, before we are capable of earning, we become parents of children. As a result, we become desperate to solicit money from whichever source possible. The whole world seems empty to a householder faced with abject poverty. Even dishonest or criminal works become very much feasible and doable for them. The tendency to partake in such loathsome work rises in such conditions. We have even seen this in many instances that people of otherwise honest predispositions, when faced with situations of pennilessness and when surrounded by people in their families and society who are incapable of earning honest livings or partaking in natural livelihoods, turn to commit heinous works all for the sake of some money. Sometimes they lead their lives with their father's money and properties; sometimes, they mooch off from their brothers; sometimes, they live off their relatives. Such parasitic existence leads to them being and feeling humiliated and insulted at every step, and their lives wither away in such disgraceful a manner as is unbefitting of any productive member of the human race. The custom and widespread prevalence of child marriages lies at the root of such indignant life and living for so many. Is it thus not for the sake of society's broader, bigger, and wholesome benefit that this evil custom is discarded forthwith? Some people argue in favor of child marriages – stating that if the custom is abolished, young boys and girls will take to licentious activities from a very young age. This argument cannot be discarded in its entirety. However, it is clear that if childhood and adolescence are spent receiving worthwhile education, such young men and women can't turn to such prurience because instruction ensures that such base and vile intentions do not take root in their sensitive minds. Through education, we learn what is right and wrong – what brings benefit and what causes harm – we know what honest work is and what constitutes dishonesty. Thus, education strengthens the moral and conscientious foundations of our characters. Therefore, if we discern the role of education in character building with logic and reason, such arguments about child marriages keeping young men and women at bay from taking to lustful, passionate, and debased lifestyles cannot arise. If we approach the issue from the perspective of mortality rates, we discern that the chances of human beings who are not senile dying are the highest between the ages of zero and twenty. Thus, if the custom of child marriages is abolished, the number of widows will also decrease. Even parents of girls will not have to worry about their daughters becoming widows at a tender age in such situations. Who is unaware of the austere penances that the scriptures and customs of this country impose on widows? The lives of widows are weighed down by immense sadness. This strange human world is a forest devoid of human beings for a widowed woman. All her happiness ends with the life of her husband. With the grief of having to lose her husband arrive all other sorrows. Her penances include fasting without water on regular occasions. If, during the performance of such penances, she finds herself in the throes of death out of thirst or illness, our heartless societal customs permit not for a single drop of water to be poured on her dried and shriveled up tongue, nor for a single morsel of medicine to be given to her. Child marriages increase the chances of even young girls becoming widows while they are still young and increase the chances of them having to lead their lives at the crushing anvil of woe and penitence. Whose plight can be as lamentable as theirs are? Such vows and penances bring pain, which is unbearable even for grown-up people. Can there be anything as cruel as making young women, even ill-fated little girls, go through such harsh pain and suffering - something that is so widespread in our society? Child marriages, by increasing the risk of the girl child becoming a widow while still at a tender age, thus hurls such a girl child before the grinding wheels of the juggernaut of social and scripture-ordained customs – wherein she has to spend her entire life through such burning pain and suffering. Words do not suffice to narrate the full extent and intensity of this suffering. We have witnessed with our own eyes how, on nights of such fasting and repentance, hundreds of luck-bereft young girls – widowed at a tender age – become half-dead with thirst, their tongues and entire bodies dry up, all strength departs their limbs, and yet, nobody shows the courage to break such rigidly clamped social and scriptural norms, to give them, out of sheer empathy if nothing else, a drop of water to drink or a little bit of food to eat. Such customs become so firmly entrenched even in the minds of the young widows who fast and perform such severe penances that, even when they reach the very doors of death, even when life becomes all set to depart from their persons, they do not seek to drink a drop of water – even they do not dare to breach the stern rules that hold our society in three today. It indeed is extreme injustice that, when little girls should have grown up at their parental homes and should have found environments suited to the natural development of their minds and bodies – they are sacrificed at the altar of marriage, thrown into households of people who were strangers to them until they married into those families, into such vast an ocean of sadness as this woe of leading the life of a widow is in this society. As it can easily be discerned, families where widowed women live, fear the risk of grave sins being committed. Such widows, driven by the bodily instincts of nature, can engage in secretive, passionate relationships. If they get impregnated in the process, the heinous sin of feticide can also cast its long malevolent shadow on such households. All in all, the arrival of widowhood at young and tender ages is directly linked to the unjust atrocity of the custom of child marriages. So, we appeal before all the civil people of this country to unite and work towards ensuring that this inequity that child marriages are wiped away from the face of society in its entirety. The thoughts and arguments we publish today against the evil of child marriages are barely the beginning. It is akin to an introduction. Much of logic and reason, as well as exemplary, anecdotal, and empirical expositions against the social ailment of child marriages, lie yet to be placed. With time, we shall keep no stone unturned in our endeavor to write and publish more on this topic. _Previous musing: [Your Prosperity Through Freedom](https://indianliberals.in/content/your-prosperity-through-freedom/)_ --- ## [Musing] The Forgotten Legacy of Yashodabai Agarkar URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-forgotten-legacy-of-yashodabai-agarkar/ ### Body _Yashodabai Agarkar, known to most as Gopal Ganesh Agarkar's wife, was a social reformer and an advocate of women's education. The story of her personal struggles shows her courage and determination to follow the ideas inculcated by her husband and how she stood as an example to other women and widows ill treated by the society._ Yashodabai Agarkar is a figure missed entirely by history. An inconspicuous reference as Gopal Ganesh Agarkar’s wife has defined her identity. Born as Ambu Phadke in 1868, very little is known of her early life. She was married to Gopal Ganesh Agarkar in 1877, at the age of nine and lived as Yashodabai Agarkar all her life. Yashodabai’s marital life was one of countless struggles. She lived with her parents till she attained puberty and met Agarkar a few times after their wedding. Yashodabai writes of this time period[1], “It had been five years since our wedding. Every year when he [G.G Agarkar] came home for vacation, I would visit him for one-two months. And I would spend the rest of the time at my parents’ home”[2] (Ranade, 1997, p. 64). Even after Yashodabai moved into her matrimonial home in 1882, the separation continued. In 1883, Agarkar was convicted for defamation against the British-appointed Regent and was imprisoned for seven months[3]. Battling financial hardship, Yashodabai spent these seven months alone.  Gopal Ganesh Agarkar educated Yashodabai and kindled the spirit of reform in her. His thoughts on women’s upliftment and feminism seeped into Yashodabai. Against the wave of criticism and mockery leveled by the society against Agarkar, she stood by his side. While Agarkar was mockingly called as ‘Sudharak’ (meaning reformer; eponym of the newspaper started by Agarkar), Yashodabai was called as ‘Sudharakachi bayko’ (Reformer’s wife) (Deshpande, 2021). After Agarkar’s death in 1895, Yashodabai refused to shave her head, as was customary for widows. People around her advised her, warned her and at times even threatened her to follow the custom and shave her head. Yashodabai recounts - “People tried to instill fear in me telling me - ‘the kids are young and they are yet to be married. Just shave your head and follow the custom so that things will fall in place. Or else you will inflict pain on your family.’ But I didn’t care about their warnings or threats and I continued on the path Gopalrao had shown me”[4] (Ranade, 1977, p. 109). What empowered Yashodabai to fight the custom was her courage and also the promise she had made to Gopalrao. In 1893, Gopal Ganesh Agarkar had asked Yashodabai to promise him that she wouldn’t shave her head after his death.  Agarkar was saddened to see how the widows of his contemporaries were reduced to penury. He kept a small amount aside for his funeral expenses and asked his uncle Dattopant Bhagwat to look after Yashodabai and their children after his death. Accordingly, Yashodabai moved to Akola and was under the care of Dattopant Bhagwat. Dattopant was a rigid traditionalist and he fumed over Yashodabai’s decision to keep her hair intact. However, he was moved by Yashodabai’s commitment to her late husband; her resilience gradually brought about a change in him. Later in his life, he insisted that widows in his family not shave their heads. (Deshpande, 2021).  In Akola, Yashodabai met Manutai Bapat, a child widow. Recognising that it was education that had set her free from the clutches of customs and society, Yashodabai decided to start a school for widows. With Manutai as her first student, Yashodabai invited child widows across Akola to join her school (Deshpande, 2021). Under her leadership, Akola became a center for widow education. Several of her students went ahead and started imparting education to other widows. While working as an educator for widows, Yashodabai also began working as a midwife where she visited women from different castes. She had dedicated her life to women’s upliftment and despite financial hardships, Yashodabai did not charge money for her services as a midwife. Yashodabai was also instrumental in setting up Dabke medical center, the first maternity home in Akola.  According to Dr. Deshpande, a controversial conference was held in Akola and was presided over by Yashodabai Agarkar. The aim of this conference was to challenge regressive practices and to encourage widows to participate in society freely. Yashodabai applied kumkum to the widows who attended the conference[5]. Yashodabai is recorded to have delivered a fiery speech recounting her widowhood, her experience of teaching widows, and the importance of empowering widows in specific and women in general. Inspired by her late husband, Yashodabai later also joined the national struggle against the imperial state. She was a part of the Salt march and later in the 1930s, she supported the cause of satyagraha. She sought to involve widows in the national struggle; she took an active part in the Satyagraha organized by Varhad Prantik Sabha where she unfurled the national flag. Yashodabai was detained by the police for her involvement in various protests and satyagrahas but since she was above the age of sixty, she was never arrested.  Yashodabai Agarkar passed away in 1939 at the age of seventy one. Her life was marked by endless struggle as she faced widowhood, resistance from her family, mockery by the society, and poverty. She stood by Gopal Ganesh Agarkar through his hardships; Agarkar awakened the feminist, the liberal in her and she inculcated his commitment to social reform. The society discredited her as ‘sudharakachi bayko’ but through determination and dedication to upliftment of widows Yashodabai Agarkar carried her pursuit, molding the opinions of traditionalists and touching the lives of many. **Endnotes** [1] The translations are by the author of this piece. [2] होता होता पाच वर्षे लोटली. तेवढ्या अवधीत मी दरसाल दीड-दोन महिने ते सुट्टीत घरी आले म्हणजे सासरी जात असे. बाकीचा वेळ माहेरी असे. [3] For more, see _Public Opinion in Colonial India : The Kesari and the Kolhapur Affair, 1881-83_, Patil, A., Indian History Congress, 2006-07. [4] मला लोकांनी नाना तऱ्हांनी भीती घातली - 'तुझ्या मुलांची लग्नकार्य व्हायची आहेत. आपली मुकाट्याने सोवळी होऊन रुढींप्रमाणे वाग म्हणजे सर्वकाही सुसूत्र होईल. नाहीतर उगीच हाल अपेष्टा करून घेशील'. पण मला त्यावेळी कोणाच्याच म्हणण्याची पर्वा वाटली नाही व मी गोपाळरावांनी सांगितलेल्या मार्गापासून एक पाऊलभरही ढळले नाही.    [5] According to prevailing customs, applying kumkum on the forehead was forbidden for widows.  **References** Deshpande, A. (2021, August 3). _विद्रोहाची शलाका_. Maharashtra Times. https://maharashtratimes.com/editorial/article/dr-ajay-deshpande-talks-about-yashodabai-gopal-agarkar/articleshow/85005667.cms Ranade, P. (1997). _यशोदाबाई आगरकरांच्या आठवणी : एक आकलन_ (2nd ed.) [Print]. Rajhans Prakashan. [_Previous musing: Fighting for Freedom: The Tumultuous Legacy of Raghunath Karve_](https://indianliberals.in/content/fighting-for-freedom-the-tumultuous-legacy-of-raghunath-karve/) [](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMG_4159_Original.jpg) **Avanti Lele** Avanti Lele is a Minoo Masani Liberal Fellow. She is pursuing her PhD in English Literature from Lancaster University. She has worked as a lecturer of English Literature and as a Spanish language instructor. Her research interests include but are not limited to women's writing, liberal feminism, postcolonial studies, indigeneity. --- ## [Musing] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-indian-libertarian-3/ ### Body ‘The Indian Libertarian’ was a fortnightly journal, founded in 1954 by Indian liberal, Ranchhoddas Bhuvan Lotwala, and edited by his daughter Kusum R Lotwala. This edition (Vol. 8, No. 5) of the journal was published on June 1, 1960. The editorial covers the Summit Conference of 1960, developments in the Russia-Pakistan relations as well as Israel-Palestine conflict, and the tenth Commonwealth Conference, among others. The journal also publishes articles contributed by several writers. This edition contains works of M. N. Tholal, Sidney Hook and Henry Hazlitt, and in its ‘Rationalist Supplement’, articles by S. Ramanathan, Christopher N Finney and Walter Breen. The journal also features book reviews, a Delhi-specific column and letters to the editor. The main topics of discussion in this edition include the rising tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union in the international sphere, and economic and political developments in the domestic sphere. The latter includes the establishment and policy declaration of one of the earliest classical liberal political parties in India, the Swatantra Party, and opinion pieces on religion, caste, rationalism and rising inflation. type=content&p=1887). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] The Indian Constitution And Judiciary URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-indian-constitution-and-judiciary/ ### Body _The following piece was published in [The Forum of Free Enterprise](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/the-indian-constitution-and-judiciary-p-b-mukharji-october-1973.pdf) in October 1973. Following is the first A D Shroff Memorial Lecture delivered by  Dr. P B Mukharji on 27th October 1973. Dr Mukharji eloquently explains the relationship between the Indian Constitution, judiciary and the role politicians, executives and bureaucrats play. _Law, justice and judges of India are today at the crossroads. The atmosphere in the country is filled up with the hubbub of debates and controversies, is clouded by confused thinking and ideologies and is marred by political attacks on the system and ideas by interested parties. This public controversy has produced many slogans. Some of them are "Committed judiciary", "Servile judges", "Politicians are the masters of judges", "the Executive alone is to determine the calibre of judges", "neither the Constitution nor the Courts can stand against the so-called voice of Parliament and the Executive, and judges must decide according to the so-called public opinion". There are many more similar slogans. These battle cries indicate a misconception and misunderstanding of the whole problem. Misleading philosophies are used to support and contest these groups of contending thought. A new discovery is made about the social philosophy of the judges which has suddenly acquired a sinister meaning. Unless a man is of a particular social philosophy, he is not fit to become a judge or win the prizes of the judiciary. It disregards the signal fact that a social philosophy of a man or even a judge is not static but an evolving concept. Then there is looming large behind it, the question of class war and the classes from which judges are recruited. It is openly said with an aroma of modern logic that a judge from a particular class will always decide against some other class; a socialist judge, a communist judge, a capitalist judge, a traditional judge, an anti-tradition judge and so on. I want you to view the entire scene with as much composure as possible in the circumstances. At the dawn of history, justice was an individual notion. The problem then was an individual getting justice from another individual. The subject of this justice was crimes, personal laws of the family, marriage and children, private properties and of the prevailing morality and customs. Later on came further entrants into the fields-the tribes and the communities. Justice then became a question of tribal customs, tribal ownership, tribal wars and of tribal and communal rights and obligations. Then with the modern age came a further widening of the notion of justice. It began with the state regarded as an umpire and an arbitrator of the conflicts in society and the community, which developed on pluralistic lines of groups and interests. Gradually, the State became more involved as a direct participant in the conduct, control and regulation of human behaviour in the totality of life including crimes, property, civil rights, personal rights, trading rights and taxation. In other words, modern State slowly emerged into a Welfare State. Social welfare is its main accent. It is no longer a mere police state or a taxing state. As a result, we find today a vast body of laws, rules and regulations which touch a man's existence from life to death. On a proper administration of these laws, rules and regulations depends the happiness of millions of people. Economic prosperity, social expressions, happiness, cultural affluence and political and civic living-all depend upon the administration of law and justice. Justice has become a universal concept. Law and justice are today synonymous with life and living.   We have a Constitution. This Constitution is the common denomination of all laws, acts and regulations in the country. They must obey the constitutional mandates, observe its prohibitions and follow its directions. Therefore, judges in India swear by the Constitution. Ideally, a judge's first allegiance is to his own conscience. This conscience is shaped in a judge by his training, his education, his experience of nature, of the working of human mind and behaviour in the affairs of life. This conscience is not a whim or idiosyncrasy of a judge. This is a trained and finished product which contains the element of evolving. This is basically rooted in reverence and respect of individual freedom which is the basis of all creative judgements. This conscience is the resultant of the complex forces which we call life. His second allegiance is to the Constitution of India, which is the source of his appointment, which prescribes the oath of his office to uphold the Constitution and within the framework of which he has to fashion his legal and judicial concepts and cut his individual diamonds. Justice is a concept of a myriad-facet diamond. As no two individuals are the same, so different societies and cultures are not the same and therefore no two cases are similar. The Indian judges' commitment to the written Constitution is therefore absolute and yet elastic to suit the varying needs of changing individuals, society, time and environment. The word, "commitment' has acquired a sinister significance. Commitment to his conscience is understandable. Commitment to the Constitution is plain and explicit. The expression "Committed Judiciary" has come to mean that a Judiciary is committed to the policies and dictates of the Executive. The argument runs thus: the conscience of the judges is not free but is enslaved by the Constitution. The Constitution again is not transcendent and immutable. It is changeable by Parliament and the Cabinet and the ruling party depending on the exigencies of votes, elections and passions. So, ultimately it is the Parliament's and Executive's dictates which the judges should administer. In this view, judges are reduced to a bureaucracy and administrators. The experience of the world throughout the centuries and the mature political philosophy, political science and sociology therefore evolved a division of power in a state to keep the sources of law and justice and their administration pure and unsullied. Separation of powers is the very cornerstone of this safeguard. The three main divisions of state power are the Legislative, the Executive and the Judiciary. The Constitution separates and clearly demarcates their diverse spheres. No one is allowed to encroach upon the other. Parliament is regarded as supreme so far as the making of laws are concerned. Parliament is naturally jealous of this power. The Executive in turn, carries out the mandates of the law, as passed by Parliament and acts largely as the handmaid of the government. The Judiciary deals with the impact of the laws and the impact of the Executive on the public and the people in general. The Judiciary has to see whether the laws of Parliament mean a certain thing or a certain course of action and whether the Executive, in their application of these laws, is acting in accordance with them. Naturally, the Judiciary interprets the laws of Parliament and the orders of the Executive in the light of these considerations. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. In a sense, it is above Parliament and the Executive. The interpretation of the Constitution belongs to the Judiciary. It is an inevitable fact and inexorable logic. It has been said that the Constitution is what the judges interpret it to be and that judgement must be supreme in a society of many conflicting interests. It is true that Parliament can change the Constitution and that it can override the decisions of the Courts by legislation. But neither the amendment of the Constitution nor the overriding of the decisions of the Courts is to be resorted to at every turn when the Government of the day feels the pinch of the judicial verdict. The Constitution should not be amended as ordinary Legislative Acts, and specially a written Constitution. The sanctity of the Constitution must be observed and it should not be treated as a mere Legislative Act. That does not mean that the judges have to be blind to what goes round them in the sociological and economic environment. Judges, apart from individual instances, few and far between, have never been blind to these considerations. Law and justice have always been regarded as a sociological phenomena. Isolated living for a man is no longer possible in the world today. A few illustrations will help to clear the idea which I have in view; A handful of men cannot in the present circumstances own the entire land-wealth of the country and control its ownership and its use in the present age. It is no longer possible to accept the principle of absolute ownership of all lands and natural resources. So ceiling of some sort is enjoined in view of circumstances and by the turn of events. Then again privileges of the few cannot stand the scrutiny against the background of the unprivileged many. Poverty in India has been stark and naked. Most people are condemned to a life of sheer drudgery and small pittance. Eradication of this massive poverty is an urgent need in any society claiming to build a just social order. The problem is the same in education, health, food, necessities and housing. In spite of criticisms which are made of Benthem, this principle of the greatest good for the greatest number even today remains a vital Principle for any system of justice. Justice and system of justice, laws and their patterns would be meaningless in the midst of this appalling poverty and destitution in India which leads to widespread frustration and degradation of human beings. This means that all the resources of the country have to be harnessed with that one end in view. That means again that some of our basic concepts of law and justice require to be replaced by justice oriented by social principles. Control of enterprises, directions of human agency and building up organization suitable for that purpose are the prime needs of the hour. The legal system, the system of justice, the Courts and the laws generally have been under severe strain in the last twenty five years. The costs of the law courts are prohibitive for the common man. The mounting arrears and dockets in the courts are a glaring fact today. Many proposals are afoot today to deal with this problem - increase the number of judges, reduce their holidays and make the legal profession open to all and sundry, to make the laws simple and to make the courts' processes much quicker. Remember this is an atomic age, an age of computers and electronics, of space travels and interplanetary explorations, of mutation and biological changes and of most dynamic alterations in the physical, environmental and mental atmospheres. Air pollution, river pollution and land pollution have reached an alarming proportion and we have to find out certain methods to control, restrict and minimise these evils, if mankind is to survive. Controlling pollution is but one aspect of the more general problem of conservation of the environment and of the natural resources. Is it any wonder that our laws and system of judges is breaking under the strain of modern changes? I hope this will yield a place for something new and effective. This need for economic and social planning is presenting a problem to the world of law and justice. Law and justice are primarily a possible, but not a necessary quality of a social order, regulating the mutual relationships of men. Only secondarily it is a virtue of men, since a man is just, if his behaviour conforms to the norms of a social order supposed to be just. But what is the meaning of the expression that a social order is Just? A social order is never static except, but a living and dynamic aspect. Justice is a multifocal adjustment of manifocal differences, stress and strains of society. Justice is social happiness and the law and its administration must reflect it. Social ideals and systems of justice and law are organically united. It is to this commitment of the judges for which I plead. _Previous musing: [The Individual and Indian Constitution](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-individual-and-indian-constitution/)_ --- ## [Musing] The Individual and Indian Constitution URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-individual-and-indian-constitution/ ### Body _The following piece was published in the [June 1959 edition](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-jun1-1959.pdf) of the Indian Libertarian Magazine. The author of this piece, Mr. A Ranganathan discusses the Indian Constitution vis-a-vis individual freedom in the light of amendments as well as the enactment of laws promoting Co-operative farming. The issue of property rights has been mentioned as fundamental to the relationship between the individual and the Indian Constitution. _The success of democracy does not merely depend on the eloquent words enshrined in the Constitutional Preamble. Every student of political science knows that even such a centralized State as Russia is based on a constitution which is federal in theory! In the last analysis, the Constitution is an extremely delicate mechanism which is controlled by the mainspring of liberty in creating the proper balance between public authority and individual freedom.  The Indian Constitution is at once evolutionary and revolutionary-evolutionary because India's new constitution is patterned to a great extent on the Government of India Act of 1935, except for a few changes necessitated by the achievement of Indian Independence, and revolutionary since the Constitution is based on the republican idea, which is definitely a break with the Indian tradition of a monarchial form of government. The nineteenth century was a period of internecine struggle between democracy and monarchy ultimately resulting in the triumph of the democratic idea, which can be said to be the legacy of the twentieth century. But countries which emerged from a period of political domination (there have been exceptions in European history) generally plumped for a republican form of government. The adoption of the republican idea is therefore a product of the forces of history. THE PREAMBLE  The preamble, eloquently enough wishes to secure: 'JUSTICE, social, economic and political. 'LIBERTY' of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship. 'EQUALITY' of status and of opportunity and to promote among them all 'FRATERNITY' assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity of the Nation. The Indian Constitution is different from the previous ones in many respects. Nearly five hundred States which formed 'NATIVE INDIA' vanished from the scene. While the old dichotomy between 'British India' and 'Native States' had been removed, a new classification was introduced - part A states, part B states; and so on. The old princes were made to fit in with the new constitutional pattern, because clad in pseudo-purple and designated as _Rajpramukhs_ who have been abolished. Another important feature of the Constitution is adult suffrage which confers the status of a voter to every man and every woman who is a citizen of India and who is not less than twenty-one years. Perhaps the most Important feature of our new constitution is the section on Fundamental Rights.   CURBING INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS  Any discussion of a constitution must necessarily take into consideration the various amendments which take place from time to time. It is well known that changes, both economic and technological, promote the tendency towards centralization. In this connection it is interesting to recall the great role played by the American Supreme Court in fashioning a legal apparatus which was responsible in adopting the American Constitution, framed for a predominantly agricultural country with a few million people, to the ever growing needs of a great industrial power with more than thirty times the original population. The justification for a judicial interpretation of a constitution finds its expression in the historic words of Chief Justice Marshall who declared: "It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the Law is." And if a comparative study of the various amendments of the American Constitution and the amendments effected in the Indian Constitution is made, one can easily arrive at the conclusion that the scope of individual rights has been broadened in US whereas the area of individual freedom in India is being steadily narrowed.  EXECUTIVE POWER INCREASED Since Indian Independence, there has been a sustained effort to increase the powers of the Executive at the expense of the courts. Pandit Nehru has violently opposed the idea of the Supreme Court being the final arbiter on the quantum of compensation on the plea that the Supreme Court ought not to make itself a third chamber of legislature. It would be difficult to deny that this amendment which vested this power in parliament has made great inroads into the domain of the individual. This new power of fixing the amount of compensation is theoretically vested in parliament but in actual practice will have to be delegated to the ruling party and finally administered by the Executive officers. And it becomes all the more serious when the Government proposes to introduce Co-operative Farming.  In a recent lecture Mr. V. P. Menon has said that the policy of fixation of ceilings raises the question of right to property - "In contrast to the Zamindaris, the land to which the ceiling applied was purchased in the market out of honest savings and these land Reform Bills, would be the means for expropriation of private property." Indeed, there can be no doubt that cooperative farming on a nation-wide scale which is sought to be implemented by the nostrum-fed planners will do violence to the individual's freedom of action guaranteed by the Constitution. Another proposal of a serious nature is to set up administrative tribunals in different states on behalf of the Central Government to pronounce the final verdict on revenue disputes and also matters pertaining to Government employees. This measure, if brought into force, will prevent High Courts from discharging their normal functions. On the one hand we are assured of Fundamental Rights and on the other hand, everything is taken away in the name of social "progress and freedom." The Court is the last resort of the aggrieved citizen and if he is deprived of this right, it simply means the negation of democracy. This proposal is most surprising, if we reflect on the statements of Congress leaders who had asked for a separation of the judiciary from the executive during the British regime. The idea of instituting administrative tribunals is to take over the functions of the Judiciary by the Executive. The serious implications of this proposal can be grasped if we examine it in the light of various measures - Preventive Detention Act, Wealth Tax, Expenditure Tax, the Essential Services Maintenance Bill, all leading to an over-centralized bureaucracy contributing to an atmosphere of a police state.  THE NECESSARY AMENDMENT  Our Constitution as it is needs only one amendment. The time limit for the use of English in our day-to-day administration must be extended by a further period of twenty-five years, if not more. The most important thing at the moment is to make the Government take suitable steps to amend the Constitution to include English as one of the languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule. The next step would be to delete Part XVII of the Constitution.  Indeed, even article 315 of the Constitution has made it clear that Hindi is still an undeveloped language and it is difficult to understand the reason behind the idea of imposing Hindi, when English serves our purposes admirably. Again Article 344 (3) says that in making their recommendations, the (official language) commission shall have due regard to the industrial, cultural and scientific advancement of India and the just claims and the interests of persons belonging to the non-Hindi-speaking areas in regard to the public services. Mr. P. Medapa, says foreign language is legally untenable and constitutionally incorrect. It is well to remember in this connection that the Bombay High Court had shown that English is not a foreign language in pronouncing judgement on the celebrated Bombay School case. _Previous musing: [IS SOCIALISM OUTDATED?](https://indianliberals.in/content/is-socialism-outdated/)_ --- ## [Musing] The Liberal Budget: Building an Equitable Society URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-liberal-budget/ ### Body _Published by The Indian Liberal Group, a think tank founded in 1964 by Minoo Masani, the text titled “The Liberal Budget: Building an Equitable Society” authored by Mr Sunil S Bhandare - Chairman of the Group, Dr Ajit Karnik, Dr CS Deshpande, Mr Sanjay Panse and Ms Seetha - all members of the Indian Liberal Group was published in 2004 and has a total of three chapters: “Liberal perspectives and human development”, “The current budget scenario” and “Policy framework and structure of the Liberal Budget”._ _The following text is the Executive Summary of the brief. __You can read the original, unabridged version _[_here_](https://indianliberals.in/indian-liberal-group/liberal-budget-building-equitable-society.pdf)_._ Man is the measure of all things. This about sums up the Liberal credo. Liberalism has no dogma except one - the centrality of the human being; what is good for him or her is acceptable. What is not is not. Liberalism, like Socialism, aims to promote the welfare of all. As Ludwig von Mises, the great Liberal philosopher, put it, where the two differ is "_not be the goal at which it aims, but the means that it chooses to attain the goal._" Philosophically speaking, the Liberal position is very clear. It is that the business of government is governance and not business. In a Liberal State, the individual is supreme, and the State must work to further his or her potential. So it will focus its activities on law and order, defence, and physical and social infrastructure (health, education and a social safety net). When preparing this Liberal Budget from a Liberal perspective, we have kept these fundamentals in mind. The key basic tenets of this Liberal Budget are: - Effective Fiscal Governance - Fiscal Consolidation and Stabilisation - Efficiency and Productivity - Acceleration of Growth - Promotion of Equity The main focus of the Liberal Budget will be issues concerning human development or human capital formation - health, education and a social safety net for those who are not capable of looking after themselves. At the same time, no budget can be genuinely Liberal in its essence and powerful in its impact unless the overall economic policy regime becomes genuinely liberal, deregulated and capable of nurturing and fostering private and individual initiative. In other words, an interventionist State cannot be the right setting for a Liberal Budget. Unfortunately, over the past fifty years, the Indian State has become an interventionist, appropriating practically every aspect of human life. As a result, it has spread itself too thin and cannot play an effective role in any area, let alone the areas of its main responsibility. The Liberal Budget will, in a sense, attempt to set this right and provide resources for the government to effectively carry out its main responsibilities. What kind of targets relating to human development should the Liberal State set for itself? The Liberal Budget sets out the following **nine-point objectives** of a Liberal State: - Reduction of poverty ratio by 5 percentage points by 2007 and 15 percentage points by 2012. - All children in school by 2005; all children to complete five years of schooling by 2009. - Increase in the literacy rate to 75 per cent by 2007. - Reduction of infant mortality rate (IMR) to 45 per 1000 live births by 2007 and 28 by 2012. - Reduction in maternal mortality ratio (MMR) to 2 per 1000 live births by 2007 and 1 by 2012. - Improve infant and child feeding and caring practices to reduce the prevalence of underweight children under three years from 47 per cent to 40 per cent. - Reduce the prevalence of severe undernutrition in children in the 0-6 age group by 50 per cent. - Provide 100 per cent coverage of the rural and urban population with safe drinking water. - Provide cost-effective means of safe and sanitary disposal of solid waste and wastewater. While framing the Liberal Budget, we have recognised some distinctive recent changes, especially the tax policy, which reflects what Indian Liberals have been advocating in the preceding several decades. This change has already brought about several remarkable gains in our economic performance, particularly in the industry and the external sector of the economy. But this exercise is far from complete. Much more remains to be done, and we will endeavour to set out a strategy to make India a truly world-class economic power over the next decade, even while attending to the basic needs of the population, particularly in rural India. The liberal economic philosophy recognises the importance of expenditure policy as a powerful tool of fiscal policy. The expenditure policy impacts key parameters of socioeconomic development, employment generation and poverty alleviation. It directly affects or indirectly the sectoral composition of growth as well as patterns of the income distribution. Thus, an efficient expenditure policy is a critical component in accelerating growth and improving its quality. In this context, the effort of the Liberal Budget is not merely to reduce and rationalise expenditure but to shift the focus and direction of the expenditure policy. What are the key guideposts for this purpose? - First, expenditure growth in real terms over the next three years shall not exceed the anticipated real GDP growth. - Second, the composition of expenditure must change decisively in favour of developmental spending over the next three years. Thus, the development expenditure ratio shall increase from the present average of about 7% of GDP to 9% in stages over the next three years and remain at least around this level after that. - Third, the Liberal Budget strongly advocates the case for reducing non-developmental expenditure. The savings from non-developmental expenditure shall be redeployed largely to finance sustainable, well-conceived social sector and welfare programmes such as (i) primary education and healthcare; (ii) employment guarantee scheme; (iii) mid-day meal scheme for deserving school children ; (iv) health insurance for the poor; and (v) an effective pension scheme, etc. - Last, it is imperative to devise specific qualitative benchmarks to evaluate the effectiveness of both development and non-development expenditure. The Liberal Budget envisages a systematic and rigorous expenditure management process, essentially reflecting the following elements: - First, each Ministry and Department shall formulate inspiring missions, aspirations and targets for its activities for the future. At the same time, there must be a mechanism for mid-course corrections when found necessary; - Second, on the pattern of the "profit centre" favoured by corporate enterprises, there shall be "performace cells" in each Ministry and Department; - Third, there shall be an effective performance management system to monitor the achievements separately of each Ministry and Department together with those of the top officials from the level of Principal Secretary to Deputy Secretary. This must also be accompanied by a suitable "reward - punishment" mechanism; - Fourth, while there must be tight controls on budgets and performance against targets, there should be operational autonomy for the implementation of various projects/programmes. - Fifth, in designing the process, there must be a participation of the officials concerned so that there is a clear understanding of the missions, aspirations and targets. Also, a quarterly report card would become a useful tool for constantly monitoring the process. - Sixth, the process shall be transparent, and the aspirations and targets of these missions shall also become part of the public domain. Expenditure reduction has to be accompanied by steps to raise revenues to fund government spending in essential areas. Both tax and non-tax revenues have to be tapped. The policy prescriptions (both Budget and non-budget) set out in this document will result in significant buoyancy in tax and non-tax revenues. Restoring high growth levels and increased investment activity will automatically lead to the growth of revenues. Rationalising and simplifying Direct and Indirect Tax Laws and bringing them in line with the current needs of a liberalising and competitive global economy is an urgent task. Accordingly, in the area of tax reforms, the Liberal Budget would be guided by the following two broad principles: (i) Any increase in tax revenues would not be by growth in the tax rates but by rationalisation and simplification of the tax system. (ii) tax reforms would be through creating a simplified and rational tax policy and globally competitive tax rates. It is imperative to stress that the falling tax-GDP ratio is a source of worry. Still, the Liberal State doe snot envisage any drastic increase in this, given the need for substantive reduction and rationalisation of taxes, especially indirect taxes. However, the fact remains that the State does need to raise revenue to finance its various functions. This can be done, without increasing the incidence of tax rates, through efficient and innovative tax administration. The Report of the Task Force on direct/indirect taxes under the chairmanship of Dr Vijay Kelkar was submitted in November 2002. Though it provides radical changes in tax administration and addresses issues in the tax policies to achieve rationalisation and simplification, it has unfortunately not found acceptability with the government. However, the Liberal response to this report has generally been favourable, and hence, Liberals will give it serious consideration. All this will lead to better tax compliance. However, there will still be a host of defaulters, and the State cannot ignore its responsibility of improving tax administration without giving draconian powers to tax authorities, which they can use to harass taxpayers. While supporting a government with a will to govern and implement laws necessary to ensure their compliance, the Liberal way does not accept actions that lead to intimidation and the invasion of the individual's privacy. Thus, provisions for search and seizure will be abolished since they have not served their purpose of acting as deterrents but have been misused to harass taxpayers. Similarly, the "public interest provisions" (relating to disclosure of information about the assessee, exemption or reduction in taxation rates for oil companies, etc.), which give the government undue discretionary powers, would also be abolished. Inefficiencies in the tax administration system would be eliminated, and the powers of the assessing officers will be reviewed. Tax collections can be strict without being brutal. Taxpayers with an income up to Rs 5 lakhs will not be required to maintain books of accounts, and assessing officers will not have the right to demand books of accounts from them. Computerisation of all tax operations, including customs clearances, will be given the highest priority in the interest of transparency and efficiency. The Liberal Budget is concerned that the ratio of non-tax revenue to GDP has declined over the years. This occurs when the tax/GDP ratio has also been stagnant, putting considerable pressure on government finances. Therefore, we will endeavour to expand resource generation through dividend and interest receipts from PSUs and Departmental Undertakings by improving their efficiency and profitability on a continuing basis. In recent years, the Union Budget has been looked upon as an Annual Financial Statement and as a signalling mechanism to the world at large (and the investing community in particular) of the progress in India's economic reforms programme. Hence, it is necessary to: - Identify some of the crucial factors that influence the Budget; and - Suggest specific policy reforms to enable the Liberal Budget to become functionally effective. The process of disinvestment/privatisation of PSUs needs to be speeded up substantially and extended to state-level public sector enterprises. The criterion for privatisation must not be whether a PSU is loss-making or profit-making. The test should be whether the State should be in that field of activity in the first place. While deciding on issues of disinvestment/privatisation, the Liberal Budget will not be guided by arbitrary or ad hoc considerations of the strategic reasons for PSUs' businesses and operations. At the same time, while privatising a PSU, care will be taken to ensure that the process is completely transparent. Also, it is necessary to safeguard against a public sector monopoly being replaced by a private sector monopoly. The best way to do this would be to open up all sectors to competition. Where this is impossible or may take time, privatisation must be preceded by a strong independent regulator. This privatisation exercise is a temporary one in the sense that it is correcting a policy (of nationalisation) that was adopted at one point in time and which has resulted in putting a huge strain on the fiscal health of the country. In a genuinely liberal economic environment, there will be no PSUs in areas where the private sector is interested and capable of investing. Moreover, a whole range of reforms is necessary to improve the investment climate in the country. These include deregulation and liberating industry from the tyranny of inspectors; ending the practice of reserving sectors for small-scale industry or restricting entry into non-strategic areas; allowing companies the freedom to restructure; faster liquidation of companies; and a more flexible labour law regime, among other things. In the area of labour law, the government must not take upon itself the task of deciding the level of wages, etc. or standing judgement over whether or not companies should retrench workers. Instead, it should confine itself to enforcing contracts, for example, ensuring that workers get their termination benefits and that companies do not default on social security obligations. An improvement in the domestic investment climate need not do anything more apart from ensuring no restrictions on FDI in any areas or placing ceilings on levels of FDI. The Liberal Budget also calls for the following crucial policy initiatives: - A movement towards a more liberal interest rate and exchange rate regime. - Agriculture: The declining trend in investment in this sector has to be reversed. This has to be accompanied by better targeting of subsidies and increased investment in infrastructure, especially irrigation, power and rural infrastructure. All controls on the domestic movement in and trade of agricultural goods need to be lifted. An atmosphere conducive to attracting private investment in the agriculture sector needs to be created. Land ceilings also discourage investment and inhibit growth. These need to be reviewed. Contract farming and partnerships between the corporate sector and farmers must be encouraged. These steps will only strengthen the agricultural sector and enable it to not only face up the global competition but fully exploit global opportunities. - Trading Activity: Reforms are necessary for the legal arena, which should be geared towards creating a transparent system integrating the country into a single market. States should consider a single procedure for granting licenses. - Physical Infrastructure: It is necessary to have a phased but definite movement towards the promotion of private sector participation and public-private partnerships in the development and/or management of infrastructure, whether it be power, roads, ports, transport or telecom. - Reform of Legal/Judicial Appartus: A mammoth exercise has to be undertaken to repeal and amend several Central and state-level laws to reduce the costs of doing business and promote greater economic efficiency. In addition, judicial reforms are necessary to ensure the speedy disposal of cases and enforcement of contracts. The judiciary also needs to be sensitised about the effect of its decisions in economic matters. - Policies of States and Local Bodies: There is a dire need to ensure the percolation of liberal policies and procedures at the State and decentralised levels of administration. - Independent Regulators: Even in a free economy, a certain amount of regulation (like coordination, checking negative externalities and ensuring that the rules of the game are observed) is needed. Rather than the government, the task should be carried out by independent regulators. However, these regulators must be genuinely independent. They are still heavily dependent on the government, and their independence depends on the person heading the regulatory body. This is not a desirable state of affairs and will neither promote true competition nor check market failure. - Restructuring Government: The re-orientation of the role of the State will necessitate a restructuring of government as well. Reducing the number of government employees is an important measure which is outside the scope of the Budget but has a tremendous impact on it. Government salaries and pensions account for over 25 per cent of total revenue receipts and are one of the committed liabilities that cannot be cut down. The only answer, then, is to reduce the number of people to whom salaries are to be remunerated. Each ministry must be subjected to a performance audit, and ministries/departments found inconsistent with the liberal conception of the role of the State should be closed down. At the same time, a Liberal Budget does not call for a blind downsizing across the board. What is needed is rightsizing. This means that staff will be retained - and numbers increased - in areas where the government is needed, and this should be accompanied by measures to ensure accountability and increased responsibility. - Political Environment: It will not be possible to create a liberal economic environment unless there is a major change in the political environment and culture in the country. Political parties and politicians must learn to rise above narrow personal and partisan ends and addresses the needs of the nation. Besides, there is the phenomenon of legislative work being sacrificed at the altar of political grandstanding in Parliament and state assemblies. All this needs to be checked. Law and order is another issue that needs to be addressed. Though not an economic issue, it has a far-reaching impact on the country's economy. Neither domestic nor foreign investors would like to put their money in areas where the law and order situation is poor. The government has to make efforts to address the root causes of violence and maintain law and order firmly. In substance, the Liberal economy requires the Liberal Budget of the kind envisioned in this document. _Previous musing: [The Missed Opportunity](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-missed-opportunity/)_ --- ## [Musing] The Light of the Constitution URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-light-of-the-indian-constitution/ ### Body _The following piece was published in [The Forum of Free Enterprise](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/the-light-of-the-constitution-n-a-palkhivala-october-20-1976.pdf) in October 1976. The text is derived from an article originally published in The Indian Express highlighting the demerits posed by The Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Bill 1976. Palkhivala elucidates how the Bill threatens the integrity of the constitution and infringes on the fundamental rights of the citizens while raising questions regarding the freedom and liberty of the citizens and the imbalance of powers between the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary through this Bill. _Next week the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Bill 1976 will be taken up by Parliament, while the Prime Minister's wish that there should be a ‘free and open public debate’ and a ‘study in depth’ before the amendments are passed into law has remained unfulfilled. The Bill is so wide-ranging in its scope that a critical examination of its provisions, combining adequacy with brevity, would fill a handsome volume. The limited purpose of this article is to point out the glaring inconsistency between two of the ‘fundamental duties’ sought to be enjoined by the Bill on the one hand and the other provisions of the Bill and the arguments marshalled in support of them on the other hand. One of the fundamental duties is that every citizen of India (including two-thirds of the population who are still left illiterate) shall develop ‘the scientific temper’ and ‘the spirit of inquiry.’ The scientific temper postulates the habit of thinking with clarity and using words with precision and a calm and dispassionate consideration of every issue in conditions of normalcy. Thus, by definition, the scientific temper would necessarily rule out, in times of emergency, changes in the basic structure of the Constitution as are sought to be made by the Bill (assuming that Parliament is at all competent to make such changes). The Constitution is part of the heritage of every Indian citizen, irrespective of party politics. Any vote for or against any provision of the Bill, within or outside Parliament, should be according to the citizen's conscience regardless of party affiliations. In order that such a vote may be cast with the care and knowledge which the subject deserves, ‘the spirit of inquiry’ - one of our fundamental duties would imperatively indicate an intensive discussion for several months and an equal opportunity through the mass media of the radio, the television and the press for differing points of view to ascertain and arouse public opinion. It cannot be suggested that such a spirit of inquiry has been brought to bear on the Amendment Bill. Such a spirit involved almost three years of totally free public debate and profound deliberations in which all political parties and all shades of expert opinion took part before the founding fathers of the Constitution gave it the final shape. The other fundamental duty of every citizen is ‘to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom.’ One of the noblest ideals of the great visionaries and fighters for national freedom was to ensure for the country certain fundamental rights which would be inalienable and to guarantee liberties for man's unconquerable mind. The Constitution of India Bill, 1895, which is believed to have been inspired by Lokamanya Tilak, visualized a Constitution guaranteeing to every citizen certain basic rights, subject to reasonable legal restrictions, including the rights (a) to ‘take part in the affairs of his country’, (b) to ‘express his thoughts by words or writings, and publish them in print without liability to censure’, (c) to have ‘in his house an inviolable asylum’, and (d) of equality before the law.  The Commonwealth of India Bill, 1925, in the preparation of which Mrs Annie Besant had played an important part, enumerated fundamental rights which were almost identical in scope and nature with those adopted by the Irish Free State in its Constitution of 1921. In the authentic summary of the Bill, the ‘Declaration of Rights’ appeared in the forefront: “The following shall be the Fundamental Rights of every person: (a) liberty of person and security of his dwelling and property,...(c) free expression of opinion and the right of assembly peaceably and without arms and of forming associations and unions…(f) equality before the law…” In December 1927, the Forty-third Annual Session of the Congress at Madras passed a resolution empowering the Working Committee to opt and confer with similar Committees to be appointed by other organizations and ‘to draft a Swaraj Constitution for India, on the basis of a Declaration of Rights.’ Pursuant to the above resolution, the Motilal Nehru Committee was appointed, which submitted its Report in August 1928. The Committee observed that ‘the conditions obtaining in the Irish Free State approximated broadly to those prevailing in India; and the first concern of the people of Ireland, as of the people of India, is to secure fundamental rights hitherto denied to them… It is obvious that our first care should be to have our fundamental rights guaranteed in a manner which will not permit their withdrawal under any circumstances.’ Clause 4 of the Nehru Report set out nineteen fundamental rights. In 1945 a non-party Committee of intellectuals, of which Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru was the Chairman, reiterated the demand for fundamental rights. The Sapru Committee rested its demand on the ground that in the ‘peculiar circumstances of India fundamental rights are necessary, not only as assurances and guarantees to the minorities but also for prescribing a standard of conduct for the legislatures, the government and the courts.’ In answer to the British Cabinet Mission's Plan of May 1946, the Congress Working Committee passed a resolution in that month emphasizing that among the objectives of the Committee were ‘the guarantee of the fundamental rights of each individual so that he may have full and equal opportunities of growth, and further that each community should have opportunity to live the life of its choice within the larger framework.’ In the Constituent Assembly, a number of architects of the Constitution talked of the fundamental human freedoms as permanent and inalienable. Dr B. R. Ambedkar said: “The Declaration of the Rights of Man…has become part and parcel of our mental make-up…These principles have become the silent, immaculate premise of our outlook.” Dr S. Radhakrishnan said: “We must safeguard the liberty of the human spirit against the encroachments of the State. While State regulation is necessary to improve economic conditions, it should not be done at the expense of the human spirit…This declaration, which we make today, is of the nature of a pledge to our own people and a pact with the civilized world.” Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru said: “A fundamental right should be looked upon, not from the point of view of any particular difficulty of the moment, but as something that you want to make permanent in the Constitution.” Z. H. Lari said: “To assess the provisions of the Draft Constitution, we have to see how far the Draft Constitution ensures the inherent rights of man, rights without which life is not worth living.” Sardar Hukam Singh said: “It may be argued that under a national government, the legislature, representative of the people and elected on adult franchise, can and should be trusted for the safe custody of citizens' rights. But as has been aptly remarked, if the danger of executive aggression has disappeared, that from legislative interference has greatly increased, and it is largely against this danger that the modern declarations of fundamental rights are directed, as formerly they were dirested against the tyranny of autocratic kings.” Hundreds of similar passages can be quoted from the Constituent Assembly Debates to illustrate ‘the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom.’ How can one reconcile the fundamental duty to ‘cherish and follow’ the aforesaid ‘noble ideals’ with the proposal in the Bill to take away the basic human freedoms enshrined in Articles 14, 19 and 31 of the Constitution, including the right to equality before the law, freedom of speech and freedom of the press, the right to form associations or unions and to move freely throughout the territory of India? There is no socio-economic policy for the welfare of the masses which is in any way impeded by these human freedoms. (I am wholly in favour of removing the pathetic remnant of the right to property from the Chapter on fundamental rights so as to put an end to the perpetual and deliberate distortion of the issue of the basic human freedoms by snide references to the right to property.) Article 31C, as sought to be amended by the Bill, will permit any law giving effect to any of the directive principles of State policy to take away or abridge any of the aforesaid fundamental rights. Since every government acts or purports to act in pursuance of the directive principles of State policy, most laws, however arbitrary and authoritarian, would be said to be related to those principles. Article 31C empowers even State legislatures to pass laws which virtually involve a repeal of the fundamental rights. The consequence is that it will be open to the State legislatures to supersede a whole series of the basic human freedoms. Hereafter liberty may survive in some States and not in others, depending on the complexion of the political party in power. The Bill seeks to deny the protection of fundamental rights to any anti-national activities or anti-national associations and permits unrestricted freedom to enact a law to provide for the prevention or prohibition of such activities and associations. It is but right that anti-national activities and associations should not be allowed to wreck the State under the shield of fundamental rights. The real question is which authority should decide whether an activity or an association is anti-national. Under the Bill, it can be left solely to the executive to make such a decision without a judicial adjudication of the issue involved. In a country where the check of a strong well-informed public opinion is absent, there would be all. too natural a tendency to treat even honest criticism of the Government's policy as anti-national. Many other provisions of the Bill, particularly those dealing with restrictions on the powers of the Supreme Court and the High Courts, the devaluation of the High Courts, and the absolute obligation on the President of India to act in accordance with the advice of the Council of Ministers in all cases, are fraught with great dangers. The President's limited power, under Clause 59 of the Bill, of amending the Constitution would virtually be the power of the Central executive. In four respects at least, the Bill aims at altering or destroying the basic structure of the Constitution. First, it proposes to overthrow the supremacy of the Constitution and install Parliament (a creature of the Constitution) as the supreme authority to which the Constitution will be subservient. The instrument will become the master and the master the instrument. Secondly, the Bill seeks to enact that the eternal values enshrined as fundamental rights in the Constitution will no longer be justiciable or operate as brakes on legislative and executive action in most fields. Thirdly, the balance between the executive, the legislature and the judiciary will be rudely shaken, and the executive at the Centre will enormously gain in power at the expense of the other organs of the State, particularly the judiciary. Fourthly, the Bill envisages the enforcement of laws even after they are held unconstitutional by a majority of the Supreme Court or the High Court. Every major constitutional change represents a mood. Today, the mood of the nation which is searching for its identity is hardly conducive to a proper evaluation of the long-term, mind-boggling consequences of the proposed amendments. The Bill merely seeks to provide for the exigencies of the moment, forgetting that the Constitution is meant to endure through generations to come. It is Diwali, the festival of lights. As the lamps glimmer in and outside millions of homes, inexorable time will be ticking away the remaining few days before the light goes out of the Constitution. _Previous musing: [The Indian Constitution and Judiciary](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-individual-and-indian-constitution/)_ --- ## [Musing] The Missed Opportunity URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-missed-opportunity/ ### Body _Published by Swatantra Party, “The Missed Opportunity” comprises speeches by its MPs MR Masani, Charanjit Rai and N Dandekar, each of whom expressed their discontent towards the Central Budget of 1967-68. The Swatantra Party MPs, in addition to highlighting the shortfalls of the central budget, shed light on the poor outcome of previous policies of the then-ruling party that have failed to achieve their original objective._ _The following text is the speech delivered by Mr Charanjit Rai, MP from the constituency of Dausa, Rajasthan on June 8, 1967, in the Lok Sabha during a discussion on the General Budget._ _You can read the original, unabridged version on _[_Page 27_](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Copy-of-The-Missed-opportunity.pdf)_ here._ Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is a matter of common sense that the economic prosperity of any country can be brought about by the maximum utilisation of resources of that country. In that process, the human factor is important. It is the man who makes use of these resources to the maximum extent through his knowledge, hard work and sincerity of purpose, but for this, he needs incentives. Even Sri Morarji Desai did not wish to join the Cabinet till he was offered the incentive of a Deputy Prime Ministership. The day before yesterday, even Shri Dange accepted the principle of incentives. Sir, slogans, preaching and lectures can never be a substitute for incentives. The budget is not merely a statement of income and expenditure. It signifies much more. The budget starts a chain reaction in the economy, and it can either promote economic growth or retard it. I am going to comment on the budget from this angle. But, before I do that, I would like to briefly review the effect of the previous fiscal policies of the Government in relation to the Three Plans. ### **Plan Objectives** The objectives of the Plans were mainly: - To increase the National Income - To raise the Standard of Living of the people - To increase production, both agricultural and industrial, and - Lastly, to provide employment opportunities To achieve these objectives, the outlay on the Plans, leaving aside the investment in the private sector, was about Rs. 16,000 crores, of which leaving other things, Rs. 4,200 crores were by additional taxation, Rs. 2,500 crores from foreign aid, and Rs. 3,700 crores by deficit financing. The hardships caused to the people by high taxation and deficit financing would not have mattered much if the objectives had been achieved, but they matter because this did not happen. Let us see what has actually happened. ### **Failure** In the case of national income, the increase was 3.9 per cent annum, against a target of over 5 per cent per annum. Regarding the standard of living of the people, the per capita income on average increased by about 3 per cent per annum, whereas the consumer price index went up on average by about 6.6 per cent. It is very clear, therefore, that the standard of living of the people, instead of going up, has gone down. Regarding production, food production, particularly, the results were disappointing! Against a target of 101 million tonnes at the end of the Third Plan, the average production, with fluctuations, reached about 74 million tonnes. Self-sufficiency in food is the long-standing promise of this Government to the people, but it is as distant today as it was 15 years ago. Regarding industrial production, it is the same story. In many cases, production has fallen short of the target. As for employment, I am sorry to say that the number of unemployed men today is far higher than expected in the Plans. Actually, the number of unemployed has been increasing progressively with every Plan. Now the question arises why it is so when so much money has been spent. Why has it happened like that? Among other reasons, I will mention only three. The first is the undue importance given to the public sector. This defies reason when it has proved beyond doubt that most of the public sector undertakings were badly managed and, therefore, gave very small returns on the capital, as compared with the private sector. Secondly, crippling taxation was inflicted to meet the demands of the Congress Government’s policies. Very large sums were pumped into either non-yielding projects or low-yielding projects, with the result that less money was left to the people and the private sector. The result was that the productive effort of the private sector was hindered. Thirdly, the Government placed impediments in the path of economic progress of the country by checks and controls, particularly the Industrial Licensing Policy. By this policy, they created a very large installed capacity without caring to find out whether the country could feed this installed capacity with raw materials, either local or imported. It does not speak very well of a government which spends huge amounts of money for importing machinery, both for the public and private sectors, when that machinery cannot be used to the optimum extent just because the raw material is not there. ### ### **Lessons not Learnt** Sir, I have given you the aims, the failure and the reasons. Now the question arises whether the Government has learnt any lesson. The answer is “No”. I said originally that I would like to comment on the Budget from one angle; to see whether it promotes economic growth. Frankly, I see nothing in the Budget which does this. Economic growth can take place, and prices can be brought down only by higher production, both in industry and agriculture. About agriculture, we are told, the reason is “drought”. Surely the planners and the Government know that Indian agriculture has been dependent upon rainfall for thousands and thousands of years. It is not a new phenomenon. What has the Government done for the last twenty years to see that, if in one year there is a shortage of rain, the production does not go down to the level where people starve? I admit that they have started very large irrigation projects either in this part of the country or in that part of the country. They should have started minor and medium irrigation projects throughout India so that a farmer, no matter from which part of the country he comes, gets water to cultivate his land. To take shelter under drought is just to cover their own mistakes. I may point out that we have imported food grains even when we had a good year. The only difference is that we imported less when the rainfall was good, and we imported more when the rainfall was less. I am glad to see that the Government is giving up priority to agriculture. At least 15 years, they have learnt one lesson. Coming to the Industrial sector, I see that very small, minor reliefs have been given, which will not have much effect on growth. The same is the case with the capital market. What was required to be done was that there should have been a reduction in taxation on the corporate sector, dividend tax should have been abolished, the rebate should have been given for ploughed-back capital, and profit surtax should have been abolished. This would have brought in more investment in the Industry, and with the ploughed-back capital, the industrial growth would have been sizeable. They could have gone for expansion, and that would have enabled them to give a reasonable return to the investor. Today, the investor is not getting a reasonable return result because he is investing in unproductive spheres like land, houses and gold. ### ### **Economic Realities** The Finance Minister has a very fine opportunity to boost our economy by making an overall reduction in taxation so that in the corporate sector, it would not be more than 50 per cent; and on individuals 66 per cent. He might say, “I will lose money. Where will I get revenue from?” Countries like Japan, Germany and America have proved that if you judiciously lower taxation, the overall recovery is more. Some people might say that it may not work in India. I disagree with that. Surely, if we want to achieve anything, we cannot be cautious to the extent of being timid, as our Finance Minister has been. I would like to suggest that this experiment should be given a trial for at least one year, and even if it does not succeed, the heavens are not going to fall. The Finance Minister was very nice today that he would check prices. He must be a magician to do that. The prices can only come down when there is higher production. There is nothing in the Budget which promotes production. On the contrary, by the measures adopted by him, the common man will have to pay more for coffee, tea, shoes and cigarettes; he has to pay higher postal and telegraph charges; he has to pay more for rail journeys and lastly, the freight which has been increased would raise the cost of industrial products as well as agricultural products, excepting food. I am afraid we are going to see not what the Finance Minister sees, but we will see a price rise all around because when prices rise on one side, it has an overall effect on the general price level. Then there will be the same vicious circle of high prices, high wages, and high cost of production. Our Finance Minister has given some concessions for manganese ore and jute in order to promote export. Excise duty on tea and coffee has also been proposed for the same purpose. I admit that there will be some effect on the export of jute and manganese ore, but if you really want to go fast enough to achieve our target of exports, what needs to be done is to give incentives for all those products which have an international market. Our Finance Minister has been very shrewd. He has not given any figure of cut in the expenditure of Government; he has tried to satisfy us by saying… A Hon Member: That is the secret preserve of the Finance Minister. _Shri Charanjit Rai…_ by saying, “yes, we are going to cut”, and he says that he is going to start it with his own Department. I would remind the Finance Minister that he sent a note to the Congress Working Committee where he had suggested a cut of 10 per cent in Government expenditure. He has suggested this to the Congress Working Committee, but he has not taken any action on the Budget. ### ### **Concrete Steps** We have no quarrel with the Finance Minister when he says that we should bring confidence in the minds of investors, both in India and abroad. But this needs, taking concrete steps, and I can suggest a few: - Bold reduction of taxation on the corporate sector as well as on individuals; - No nationalisation for the sake of nationalisation because this sends fear into the mind of investors both in India and abroad; - Reduction of stress on the public sector; the projects should be placed in the private sector wherever they are likely to produce better results; and lastly, - I would like the Finance Minister to put into effect what he has recommended to the Congress Working Committee, and that is a cut of 10 per cent in Government expenditure. Once this is done, he has no need to propose new taxes; on the contrary, he can give relief. Sir, I have done, but before I sit down, I want to tell the Treasury Benches that they should take lessons from the past. The masses of India are seething with discontent. _(Interruptions)_ An Hon. Member: _Laissez-Faire_ _Shri Charanjit Rai: _I was talking about the economy. The dragon of mounting prices stares us in the face all the time. Mr Morarji Desai says that he would like to rehabilitate his confidence, but he has not taken any steps for it. I am afraid our Finance Minister looks at the problem, the economic problem, like so many Congressmen, through the glasses of politics. As long as this goes on, we will never be able to increase production; we will never be able to produce enough food and industrial and consumer goods, and the economy will just go down. _Previous musing: [The Budget Versus The People](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-budget-versus-the-people-2/)_ --- ## [Musing] The Myth of Free Education URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-myth-of-free-education/ ### Body _Produced below is an essay by Om Prakash Kahol from the magazine ‘The Indian Libertarian’ published in January 1959. _ There used to be a wide-spread belief among the illiterate masses before Partition that in Free India, milk and ghee would be supplied free to every child; all sorts of medicines would be available in the hospitals without any cost; customers would get provisions and sweet-meats in the market without having to pay any price. And in the same train of ideas came the fanciful notion that education up to the highest degree would be free. Ours is a land, where people seem to believe in all seriousness that Aladdin's Lamp is still preserved in the Mughal Fort at Delhi and Herculean tasks like the manufacture of penicillin, construction of moon-rockets and installation of thermonuclear plants can be accomplished without entailing any cost to ourselves.  When, for our defence, we can confidently depend upon the arrival of the Lord Himself with His Sudarshana Chakra and consider all military preparations unnecessary is there any wonder if we also genuinely believe that some superhuman race of teachers will someday descend on earth this part of it and convert by a magic touch, all students into engineers, doctors and lawyers without demanding a penny by way of remuneration? Thank God, ten years experience in Free India has taught them that we cannot get "something out of nothing." There are no shortcuts in the scheme of nature. We can deceive ourselves into the belief that in a free country we can get amenities without having to pay anything in return but we cannot deceive nature. Most people have been disillusioned by now and no longer labour under the myth that they can freely help themselves with a rosagulla, at the confectioner's shop and nobody would bother them about the price. Provisions, medicines and other necessaries have to be paid for even in Free India; and if someone is getting them free, rest assured, someone else not always in sight, is paying the price. Whenever we get comfort and have not paid for it, we must realise clearly that we are enjoying it at somebody else’s cost.  ### **“Free education” - a mere jugglery of words** The day dream of a free-education scheme is a hangover of the anti-rational mental attitudes of pre-Partition days. The talk of 'free-education’ appears very fashionable at first sight and, as the fallacy involved in it is not easy to detect, it proves a handy tool in the hands of crafty political demagogues at the time of elections.  Educational procedure involves labour of the teacher-which must be paid for. The question is: who should pay for it? If education is not 'free', the scholars pay for it in the form of tuition fees. And if it is imparted 'free', the teaching staff has still to be remunerated, but now the money comes in the form of taxes, or special levies from those, who may not be directly concerned in the matter. The description 'free education’ thus turns out in the ultimate analysis, to be a clever device for confusing the public mind and to keep them well-fed on glittering slogans. There is nothing 'free' about it, for what is rejected as tuition fee, is accepted in another form-as ‘educational cess' or as a 'special levy.' This jugglery with words can collectively hoodwink masses in lands of befogged intelligence only, where people are unable to detect, by analysis, the subtle fallacies inherent in the arguments of state bureaucrats and professional politicians. Any decision by a government to make education ‘free' or even 'cheap', must be taken by the people as a warning to be prepared for increased taxation; and the step would not be in any way different from a decision to abolish postal charges and quietly to double railway freight! In a rational financial system, the expenditure on a public utility department should, at least in part, be met by revenue accruing from the same. And when viewed against this background, the realisation of reasonable tuition fees from the scholars, especially from those in the higher classes, does not seem to be as baneful a practice as it is made out to be and need not be done away with. This, in fact, appears to be the only sound method to finance the education department. Extra taxes should only supplement income from tuition fees.  ### **Death warrant against private institutions** The point we have developed brings out the unsound nature of the decision of the Punjab Government to impart free education in state-controlled junior schools. From where will the money come for the salary bills of the teachers? No matter how cleverly they put it has to come from the public; and the procedure they have adopted means only one thing, if it means anything. It means that money spent on Tom should not come from Tom- that is a cruelty. Money spent on the education of Tom should come from the pocket of Dick. Let us look at the scheme from another angle. The number of scholars actually studying in government institutions is much smaller than those attending private ones. In the very nature of things, these privately-managed institutions cannot give education gratis, unless the salary bill of the staff is paid from the state exchequer. All other philanthropic sources- capitalists, landlords, Rajas and religious endowments-whence money could go to finance private enterprise in education in the past-have virtually dried up, thanks to the much-advertised Socialist and Secular pattern of society. If the state bureaucrats were really interested in popularising education they should have concurrently accepted the moral responsibility of meeting the annual budget of private institutions from the state revenues. The decision to remit fees in government schools, without any substantial aid to the privately-managed ones, is in effect a death warrant against them. And if some of them manage to survive, they will survive not because of the benign government but in spite of it.  If out of chagrin, the management of private institutions decide to withdraw from this unpleasant competition with the all-powerful government and suspend their activities, the education over seventy percent of the children, now at school, will come to a stop. It is a strange way of promoting child-welfare to provide free educational facilities to a privileged few, and to leave the vast majority to rot by the road-side! And that will be the result if some privately-managed institutions are forced to close down, being unable to compete with those financed by the government from out of the state funds. ### **Concrete suggestions** To sum up, we must recognise that: - There is no such thing as free education. Money paid to the teachers comes ultimately from the people, as taxes if not as school tuition fees. - The talk of free-education is tendentious. It is a clever device by which politicians are trying to confuse the public. - If the Government seeks to collect funds for purposes of education, not by raising tuition fees, but by enhanced taxes, the benefit of 'free' studentship must accrue to all pupils, who belong to the school-going age, and not to a favoured few only. The government must forthwith ban imposition of tuition fees on pupils in all the schools and remunerate the teachers engaged in approved institutions, from the government treasury. - If the government cannot bear the burden of imparting 'free-education' to all the scholars, it should desist from creating difficulties in the way of those private agencies which are sharing this burden with it. This means, that while all persons deriving the benefit of educational facilities must be required to pay the prescribed fees, whether in a government school or in a private one, the grant-in-aid rules should be so liberalised that the private institutions do not have to look to philanthropic people for help, but their deficit should be wholly met by the government. In the end, I should like to submit that, in my opinion, the educational institutions should be maintained neither exclusively on special taxes, nor exclusively on tuition fees, but on both. The fees should be rated low enough to leave a deficit of about 25% at the school stage and about 50% at the college and University stages. The deficit should be paid from the state treasury to the private institutions as well as to those under the direct control of the government. After all, the private agencies are promoting the same cause, for which the government stands and are drawing money from the public-money in the form of fees-by using their own influence on people, where the government may have to resort to more coercive methods: taxation and compulsory levy for achieving the same end.  All talk of 'free education' must end once for all, because it is deceptive. type=content&p=8606). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] THE MISSION OF LIBERTARIANISM URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-mission-of-libertarianism/ ### Body The following essay by M.A. Venkata Rao has been taken from a 1958 issue of [The Indian Libertarian](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-indian-libertarian-october-1-1958/). While outlining the rise of Karl Marx's labour theory of value, the author revisits theories of labour rooted in individualism. He revisits the need for individualism and a limited State, highlighting his take on the libertarian vision for labour, land, production, and education.In Europe and America a  branch of the Enlightenment school of thought that prepared for and preceded the French Revolution developed a  strand of socialism. While the central stream of inspiration released by the Revolution guided thought and reconstruction into channels of national democracy under the lead of the new commercial and industrial classes (whom Karl Marx called the bourgeoisie) side streams of what may be roughly called "socialist thought" sprung up seeking to mould social institutions including property and State on equality and fraternity rather than on liberty. The liberal democratic State evolved all over the continent and in North America on the basis of individualism which in the realm of economics assumed the shape of capitalism. The leaders of the French Revolution and of the subsequent democratic evolution in England and other States evolved a philosophy of individualism stressing the key role of free economy or freedom of enterprise as the pivot of progress. Socialist thinkers like Proudhon, Fourrier and Saint Simon were not satisfied with the early decades of the working of capitalism in the Napoleonic era and the Restoration of the Bourbons. They saw clearly that the ideals of equality and fraternity that imparted such a glow to the revolutionaries as if they were the creators of a new dawn of perfection were jettisoned by the bourgeoisie. The new enterprise and wealth joined hands with empire and were concentrated in the hands of the new rich, a  small section of the nation. The bulk of the masses remained poor and were exploited by the bourgeoisie almost as much as the aristocracy oppressed the peasants in their ancestral estates. In England too discontent at the new exploitation of the bourgeoisie strengthened and expressed itself in a number of movements of which the Chartist struggle was the chief. Factory Acts and the First Reform Act of 1832 were the first symptoms of the new social conscience. The new world of commerce and industry of the Industrial Revolution came to be defended by liberal democratic thought of which Bentham, James Mill and his more famous son John Stuart Mill were the principal protagonists. Their work in economic, legal and political thought guided the development of democratic institutions and civil rights throughout the nineteenth century. But towards the end of it, new streams of thought came to be felt making for socialism and collectivism. One was the idealism of T. H. Green and Bernard Bosanquet, which gave a new ethical basis to the State and coalesced in its effect with socialism. Fabianism assumed greater importance as the source of reform and welfare as the century turned the corner and the Labour Party adopted it as the sheet-anchor of their policy. Thus British thought sublimated the hate-filled class-war doctrine of violent revolution sponsored by Karl Marx into its own characteristic evolutionary, non-violent, parliamentary way of introducing socialism or collectivism. Today it has become the official philosophy of the Labour Party and the climate of thought generally among the intelligentsia of all parties. On the continent, the early part of the century began with the dominance of the Positivism and Religion of Humanity of August Comte. His scientific humanitarianism coloured the intellectual landscape in France and was reinforced with· the integral or communitarian forms of socialism sponsored by Proudhon, Saint Simon and Fourrier. These thinkers tried to cure property of its individualism or selfishness by suggesting methods of sharing it in communes or phalansteries of various kinds. They also opposed the centralizing bureaucratism of the expanding State. A side line of thought adopted forms of anarchism in trying to resist the crushing power of the Omnicompetent State. Prince Kropotkin and Bakunin became the principal representatives of this anarchocommunist trend of thought.  But the most successful of these trends was that represented by Karl Marx, partly because he founded the International Working Men's Movement which acquired influence from the middle of the century and ultimately became the dominant form of socialism. It has been the misfortune of humanity that it was the violent, class-war doctrines of Karl Marx that got crystallised as the authentic form of socialism and the sole scientific system . and saviour of labour throughout the world. The adherence of Lenin and the Russian revolutionaries and that of the German social democrats under Lassalle contributed to enthrone Marxist communism in this dominant position. The Russian Revolution of 1917 and its triumphant career to its present position of World Power challenging the whole free world has added hypnotic power to this collectivist, conspiratorial, violent form of communism. Communism has today become the climate of thought in most countries. Even where a small part of the intelligentsia is free from the prevailing views, they are influenced all the same to a more or less extent, so that the cause of freedom is put on its defence. It is not State aggrandisement that has to explain and justify itself but on the other hand the claim of human liberty and individuality! The capitalist Robert Owen fell in with the French socialists and initiated worker's communes or settlements in England, Scotland and even the United States in the early decades of the last century. An American thinker called Josiah Warren joined Owen's socialistic settlement and was inspired to start his own village settlements on a more individualist basis. He developed a time and labour theory of value in his own way. In Karl Marx's hands, the theory was distorted to become the surplus theory of value in order to support the thesis that all capital is robbery of the value created by labour. In Warren's hands, it became the foundation of a new equalitarian individualism which asserted the right of each individual to the proceeds of his labour as measured by the time taken in producing the product of industry. Measurement of labour contributions became a subtle and vexatious calculation and source of trouble among members of settlements. His example inspired a line of thinkers to reflect on the social aspects of individual liberty Stephen Pearl. Andrews developed the outlines of a science of society. Others developed the aspects of cooperation and mutual aid in banking and other forms of economic production and exchange. Others specialised in problems· of currency and inflation. Others investigated the effects of State interference in banking, currency and economy generally. These thinkers of the libertarian school in America developed reflection both into the role of property, its meaning, function and limitations .and into the role of the State in social affairs and individual life. The general line of thought in regard to both aspects was to discover the degree of waste and frustration and complication involved in anti-social uses of property such as are indulged in by monopolies and cartels by the State outrunning its legitimate field of police and justice and by welfare policies of robbing Ram to pay Kishen. These excesses of the individual and the State lead to ever rising costs of production, to excessive pressure of economic groups on the State to get something for nothing, to rising inflation and confusion of values all round and to the collapse of confidence in currency and economic production generally and to the emergence of unnecessary economic crises with over-or under-production and unemployment. The remedy is to return to individualist economy regulated by provisions against monopolies to safeguard the equal liberty of all. This principle of the, ·equal liberty of all for engaging in free enterprise within the law (to exclude fraud and the annexation of unearned profits) in sufficient, say the libertarians, to justify the imposition of checks on those who take undue advantage of the freedom granted. If these principles are intelligently followed, it is urged, the State and society will be freed from the excessive burdens from which they are suffering at present under the influence of collective ideas. They will be free from much of the present load of public debt. The State will be compelled by individualist citizens to live within its means and not to create artificial money by issue of loans and not to burden the present generation by ever-rising loads of interest on public dept. Though the principal is supposed to be paid by future generations, as a matter of fact it is the present generation that has to pay heavy interest.. These interest payments to one class of citizens namely bond-holders will distort the economy by conferring on them more purchasing power than on the rest of the community. This distorts the economy in favour of unearned incomes annexing too much of the capital resources of the community towards the satisfaction of a few, leaving the demands of the vast majority starved and unfulfilled or under-fulfilled. The central stream of thought in advanced democratic countries like the U.S.A. is that of liberal democracy formulated in the early and middle periods of the nineteenth century. Today technological industry, the growth of population and the advance of communication media-radio, newspapers, wireless, aeroplane for passenger and goods traffic etc. have all conspired to confer more and more powers on the State to regulate the myriads of new inter-relations among citizens. Organisation has tended to become ever more complex and interwoven. Hence the feeling of inevitability in regard to the growing tendency towards collectivism and the expansion of State power. Collectivism has become the illusion of the epoch today in which the rights and duties of the individual citizen as a self-determining and self-realising person are lost to view. Individuals and small groups feel lost in the vast agglomerations of large nation-States. Even small States feel a prey to massive influences and pressures impinging into their life from outside. The wheel has come full circle. The individualist philosophy of John Stuart Mill and his followers which guided liberal democracy is today eclipsed by the communist collectivism of Karl Marx, particularly in respect of economy. Adam Smith and Mill are both put into the shade. They have become "Gods that failed.” But today doubts and misgivings are being felt in many quarters that we have embraced a remedy worse than the disease. After all the only known reality in human life is the individual centre of experience, of thought, feeling, action and fellowship - individual men and women. Sociologists are formulating theories of the right relationship between primary and secondary groups. The former like the home, neighbourhood and religious or educational fellowship are primary in moulding human life. They deal with individuals as full rounded persons and not as fragments - hands or members or customers or wage earners or employers or officers or rank and file anonymous common men. Secondary associations like occupations, amusements or casual groups as in hotels and railway carriages are necessary but if they crowd out much of the scene and activity of life, man is atomised and impoverished. Neuroses come to prevail. Suicides, mental aberrations, juvenile delinquents, divorce proceedings, prostitution, gambling, alcoholism, corruption in economic and political life will all make themselves felt in disturbing degrees. Libertarians call for a greater simplification of institutions, a reform in the use of property and a return to the limited role of the State in social life so that the submerged individual may be released for a new career of purposeful, healthy activity in which science and the other achievements of the modern spirit may be used more wholesomely to help men and women to fulfil themselves in pursuits within their reach and power of assimilation. The libertarians call for a new relationship to land, so that unearned income may not accumulate in hands that do not contribute to production. Since land is limited unlike other forms of industrial or commercial property, it needs to be kept in the hands of people who actually use it for production, eliminating functionless or parasitic holders. The libertarians are also interested in education. They are exploring the avenues whereby the individual may be led through self-directed thought and investigation to discover the right relations between individual and society. The new aim is to strengthen dispositions of cooperation and individual self-reliance during the process of learning. It is also necessary to destroy the roots of class antagonism by imparting the joys and skills of using tools so that the ancient class distinction of workers and lords may disappear in the minds of men and women. Work and culture should be integrated.  Freedom in economic and political life has to be supported by a new psychology of cooperative and creative living. fostered in creative education inspired by a vision of human unity and human progress in free and joyous fellowship. If a gradually increasing elite imbued with these ideals could be developed through discussion, propaganda and group life, the collectivist illusion of the epoch could be made to melt and a better day of happy, free, cooperative humanity can be ushered in by and by. This is the aim of the Libertarian Social Institute. _Previous musing: [THE APPLICATION OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT](https://indianliberals.in/content/application-of-science-and-technology/)_ --- ## [Musing] The Nation by R N Tagore URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-nation-by-rn-tagore/ ### Body _Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was a renowned poet, novelist, and playwright widely acclaimed for his prolific literature in Bengali and English. His remarkable writings earned him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 for his collection of prose poems called Gitanjali. In addition to his literary achievements, Tagore was a prominent educator who founded Visva Bharati University at Shantiniketan. This esteemed university is renowned for its internationalism and excellence in the arts and is now considered one of the leading universities in India._ _In the following essay, Tagore reflects on the concept of nationalism and its relationship with culture. He argues that true nationalism should not be based on narrow and exclusive definitions of identity but should embrace diversity and celebrate the commonalities that unite humanity._ The People are living beings. They have their distinct personalities. But nations are organisations of power, and therefore their inner aspects and outward expressions are everywhere monotonously the same. Their differences are merely differences in the degree of efficiency. In the modern world, the fight is going on between the living spirit of the people and the methods of nation-organizing. It is like the struggle that began in Central Asia between cultivated areas of man’s habitation and the continually encroaching desert sands till the human region of life and beauty was choked out of existence. When the spread of higher ideals of humanity is not held to be important, the hardening method of national efficiency gains a certain strength; and for some limited period of time, at least, it proudly asserts itself as the fittest to survive. But it is the survival of that part of man which is the least living. And this is the reason why dead monotony is a sign of the spread of the Nation. The modern towns, which present the physiognomy due to this dominance of the Nation, are everywhere the same, from San Francisco to London, from London to Tokyo. They show no faces but merely masks. The People, being living personalities, must have their self-expression, and this leads to their distinctive creations. These creations are literature, art, social symbols and ceremonials. They are like different dishes at one common feast. They add richness to our enjoyment and understanding of truth. They are making the world of man fertile of life and variedly beautiful. But the nations do not create, they merely produce and destroy. Organisations for production are necessary. Even organisations for destruction may be so. But when actuated by greed and hatred, they crowd away into a corner the living man who creates, then the harmony is lost, and the people’s history runs at a break-neck speed towards some fatal catastrophe. Humanity, where it is living, is guided by inner ideals; but where it is a dead organisation, it becomes impervious to them. Its building process is only an external process, and in its response to the moral guidance it has to pass through obstacles that are gross and non-plastic. Man as a person has his individuality, which is the field where his spirit has its freedom to express itself and to grow. The professional man carries a rigid crust around him which has very little variation and hardly any elasticity. This professionalism is the region where men specialise their knowledge and organise their power, mercilessly elbowing each other in their struggle to come to the front. Professionalism is necessary, without doubt; but it must not be allowed to exceed its healthy limits, to assume complete mastery over the personal man, making him narrow and hard, exclusively intent upon the pursuit of success at the cost of his faith in ideals. In ancient India, professions were kept within limits by social regulation. They were considered primarily as social necessities and in second place as the means of livelihood for individuals. Thus man, being free from the constant urging of unbounded competition, could have the leisure to cultivate his nature in its completeness. The Cult of the Nation is the professionalism of the people. This cult is becoming their greatest danger because it is bringing them enormous success, making them impatient of the claims of higher ideals. The greater the amount of success, the stronger the conflicts of interest and jealousy and hatred which are aroused in men’s minds, thereby making it more and more necessary for other peoples, who are still living, to stiffen into nations. With the growth of nationalism, man has become the greatest menace to man. Therefore the continual presence of panic goads that very nationalism into ever-increasing menace. Crowd psychology is a blind force. Like steam and other physical forces, it can be utilised for creating a tremendous amount of power. And therefore rulers of men, who, out of greed and fear, are bent upon turning their peoples into machines of power, try to train this crowd psychology for their special purposes. They hold it to be their duty to foster in the popular mind universal panic, unreasoning pride in their own race, and hatred of others. Newspapers, school books, and even religious services are made use of for this object; and those who have the courage to express their disapprobation of this blind and impious cult are either punished in the law courts or are socially ostracised. The individual thinks, even when he feels; but the same individual, when he feels with the crowd, does not reason at all. His moral sense becomes blurred. This suppression of higher humanity in crowd minds is productive of enormous strength. For the crowd mind is essentially primitive; its forces are elemental. Therefore the Nation is forever watching to take advantage of this enormous power of darkness. The people’s instinct of self-preservation has been made dominant at particular times of crisis. Then, for the time being, the consciousness of its solidarity becomes aggressively wide awake. But in the Nation, this hyperconsciousness is kept alive for all time by artificial means. A man has to act the part of a policeman when he finds his house invaded by burglars. But if that remains his normal condition, then his consciousness of his household becomes acute and over-wrought, making him fly at every stranger passing near his house. This intensity of self-consciousness is nothing of which a man should feel proud; certainly, it is not healthful. In like manner, incessant self-consciousness in a nation is highly injurious for the people. It serves its immediate purpose but at the cost of the eternal in man. When a whole body of men train themselves for a particular narrow purpose, it becomes a common interest with them to keep up that purpose and preach absolute loyalty to it. Nationalism is the training of a whole people for a narrow ideal; when it gets hold of their minds, it is sure to lead them to moral degeneracy and intellectual blindness. We cannot but hold firm the faith that this Age of Nationalism, of gigantic vanity and selfishness, is only a passing phase in civilisation, and those who are making permanent arrangements for accommodating this temporary mood of history will be unable to fit themselves for the coming age when the true spirit of freedom will have sway. With the unchecked growth of Nationalism, the moral foundation of man’s civilisation is unconsciously undergoing a change. The idea of the social man is unselfishness, but the idea of the Nation, like that of the professional man, is selfishness. This is why selfishness in the individual is condemned, while in the nation, it is extolled, which leads to hopeless moral blindness, confusing the religion of the people with the religion of the nation. Therefore, to take an example, we find men more and more convinced of the superior claims of Christianity merely because Christian nations are in possession of the greater part of the world. It is like supporting a robber’s religion by quoting the amount of his stolen property. Nations celebrate their successful massacre of men in their churches. They forget that Thugs also ascribed their success in manslaughter to the favour of their goddess. But in the case of the latter, their goddess frankly represented the principle of destruction. It was the criminal tribe’s own murderous instinct deified—the instinct, not of one individual, but of the whole community, and therefore held sacred. In the same manner, in modern churches, selfishness, hatred and vanity in their collective aspect of national instincts do not scruple to share the homage paid to God. Of course, the pursuit of self-interest need not be wholly selfish; it can even be in harmony with the interest of all. Therefore, ideally speaking, nationalism, which stands for the expression of the collective self-interest of a people, need not be ashamed of itself if it maintains its true limitations. But what we see in practice is that every nation which has prospered has done so through its career of aggressive selfishness, either in commercial adventures or in foreign possessions, or in both. And this material prosperity not only feeds continually the selfish instincts of the people but impresses men’s minds with the lesson that, for a nation, selfishness is a necessity and, therefore, a virtue. It is the emphasis laid in Europe upon the idea of the Nation’s constant increase of power, which is becoming the greatest danger to man, both in its direct activity and its power of infection. We must admit that evils there are in human nature, in spite of our faith in moral laws and our training in self-control. But they carry on their foreheads their own brand of infamy, their very success adding to their monstrosity. All through man’s history, there will be some who suffer and others who cause suffering. The conquest of evil will never be a fully accomplished fact but a continuous process like the process of burning in a flame. In former ages, when some particular people became turbulent and tried to rob others of their human rights, they sometimes achieved success and sometimes failed. And it amounted to nothing more than that. But when this idea of the Nation, which has met with universal acceptance in the present day, tries to pass off the cult of collective selfishness as a moral duty, simply because that selfishness is gigantic in stature, it not only commits depredation but attacks the very vitals of humanity. It unconsciously generates in people’s minds an attitude of defiance against the moral law. For men are taught by repeated devices the lesson that the Nation is greater than the people, while yet it scatters to the winds the moral law that the people have held sacred. It has been said that a disease becomes most acutely critical when the brain is affected. For it is the brain that is constantly directing the siege against all disease forces. The spirit of national selfishness is that brain disease of a people which shows itself in red eyes and clenched fists, in the violence of talk and movements, all the while shattering its natural restorative powers. But the power of self-sacrifice, together with the moral faculty of sympathy and cooperation, is the guiding spirit of social vitality. Its function is to maintain a beneficent relation of harmony with its surroundings. But when it begins to ignore the moral law which is universal and uses it only within the bounds of its own narrow sphere, then its strength becomes like the strength of madness, which ends in self-destruction. What is worse, this aberration of a people, decked with the showy title of ‘patriotism’, proudly walks abroad, passing itself off as a highly moral influence. Thus it has spread its inflammatory contagion all over the world, proclaiming its fever flush to be the best sign of health. It is causing in the hearts of people, naturally inoffensive, a feeling of envy at not having their temperature as high as that of their delirious neighbours and not being able to cause as much mischief but merely having to suffer from it. I have often been asked by my Western friends how to cope with this evil, which has attained such sinister strength and vast dimensions. In fact, I have often been blamed for merely giving a warning and offering no alternative. When we suffer as a result of a particular system, we believe that some other system would bring us better luck. We are apt to forget that all systems produce evil sooner or later when the psychology which is at the root of them is wrong. The system which is national today may assume the shape of the international tomorrow; but so long as men have not forsaken their idolatry of primitive instincts and collective passions, the new system will only become a new instrument of suffering. And because we are trained to confound efficient systems with moral goodness itself, every ruined system makes us more and more distrustful of moral law. Therefore I do not put my faith in any new institution but in the individuals all over the world who think clearly, feel noble, and act rightly, thus becoming the channels of moral truth. Our moral ideals do not work with chisels and hammers. Like trees, they spread their roots in the soil and their branches in the sky without consulting any architect for their plans. **Reference:** Edited by Anikendra Sen, Devangshu Dutta and Nilanjana Roy, introduced by Ramachandra Guha. [Patriots, Poets and Prisoners: Selections from Ramananda Chatterjee's The Modern Review, 1907-1947](https://books.google.co.in/books/about/Patriots_Poets_and_Prisoners_Selections.html?id=F9oQvgAACAAJ&redir_esc=y). HarperCollins Publishers India. _Previous musing: [Pitfalls in Our Industrial Policy](https://indianliberals.in/content/pitfalls-in-our-industrial-policy/)_[(1959)](https://indianliberals.in/content/pitfalls-in-our-industrial-policy/) --- ## [Musing] The Party or the People? URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-party-or-the-people/ ### Body _Vasant Bhagawant Karnik an eminent trade unionist, author and writer penned his thoughts on “human nature’s difficulty to conform to a less-significant role” in the January 1961 issue of Freedom First magazine. He cites the tension between Dr Sampurnanand (the then-Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh) and Mr Chandra Bhanu Gupta (the future Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh) as one of the examples of differences between organisational and parliamentary wings of a political party in India._ _You can read the original, unabridged version on _[_Page 1_](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/104.pdf)_ here._ Differences and disputes between the organisational and the parliamentary wings of the Indian National Congress have now become a commonplace affair. Every day newspapers publish reports of a conflict in this or that State or of the efforts to patch it up. Ordinarily, these internal disputes in the party need not have concerned others. But the Congress Party holds such a preeminent position in the country that even internal quarrels amongst its members have a vital bearing upon its interests and, more particularly, upon the growth of democratic institutions and conventions. This gives those quarrels a much broader significance, and how they are tackled becomes a matter of national importance. In most cases, the quarrels involve no issues of principle or programme. They usually relate to questions of power and patronage. Those who are in charge of the organisational wing find it to their shame that, while they had some importance during the days of the elections, after the elections and the formation of the Ministry, all power and patronage get concentrated in the hands of Ministers, and they lose all their importance. Human nature being what it is, it is difficult for them to reconcile themselves to that position. In addition, there are always groups and cliques in a State. There is a variety of local and sectional interests. A Chief Minister can only satisfy some of their claims. Dissatisfaction and discontent develop, and they can easily assume the form of a dispute between the organisational and parliamentary wings and create a crisis for a Ministry. In Uttar Pradesh, the crisis appeared in its crassest form. A person disliked by the parliamentary wing was elected the President of the Pradesh Congress Committee. The Chief Minister, Dr Sampurnanand, had earlier made the election a prestige issue and had declared that he would regard the election of Mr CB Gupta as a vote of no-confidence in him. There was such a reason why Dr Sampurnanand should have adopted that position. It was not proper for him to dictate to the organisational wing as it would be wrong for the executive wing to dictate to the parliamentary branch. In the end, the dictation of the organisational wing prevailed, and Dr Sampurnanand had to make room for Mr CB Gupta as the Chief Minister. The dictation of the organisational wing prevailed through the instrumentality of the Congress High Command. The Congress High Command decided that Dr Sampurnanand should go and Mr CB Gupta should take his place. This decision was thrust upon the unwilling Congress Parliamentary Party of the State. The Parliamentary Party wanted Dr Sampurnanand to continue as the Chief Minister. When he disagreed, a large majority of its members decided to elect another to the post of another senior Minister. It was not, however, allowed that freedom. It was compelled to choose Mr CB Gupta as the High Command had decided to give him the place of Dr Sampurnanand. To any dispassionate observer, this would appear to be a gross violation of all democratic principles and practices. In a parliamentary democracy, it is the persons selected by the people who should have the final voice regarding the ministry's leadership and composition. They represent the people far better than the members of a party committee. The people elect them as a whole. In contrast, a party committee is elected only by the members of the party, who usually form a small percentage of the population. If a people’s government is aimed at it, the elected representatives of the people should rank higher than the officials of a party. If the latter is allowed to dictate to the former, the ultimate result will be the rule of a party in opposition to the rule of the people. The choice that the Indian National Congress has to face is the choice between the party and the people. What will its policy aim–to assert and maintain the importance of the party machine or help the people rule themselves through their elected representatives? There was a time when the people as a whole were identified with Congress. That was during the national struggle when the people’s will was expressed through that organisation. The situation underwent a radical change after attaining national independence and establishing a democratic government. A Parliament and State Assemblies are elected based on the adult franchise selected as the organs of the people’s will. The Congress had then taken a back seat as one of the political parties in the country though, no doubt, the most numerous and influential amongst them. The best and most talented Congress leaders entered Parliament and State Assemblies and began to function through them rather than through the party organisation. The parliamentary wing began to gain importance and precedence over the organisational wing. That process has begun; the organisational wing dislikes the development, but it will have to be reconciled to it if the country is to progress towards democracy. A parliamentary party is primarily responsible to the electorate which elects it. The organisational wing of a party must accept this essential fact and adjust its actions and policies accordingly. It is only in communist countries that the organisational wing gets the primacy, for in those countries, there is no parliament in the real sense of the term, and the highest authority that party members have to serve is the party and not the people. In our country, we have yet to build up our democracy. The Congress has to shoulder that task as the main and the major party. It has to create healthy conventions. Conflicts between the organisational and the parliamentary wings will arise from time to time. Instead of relying on the exigencies of the situation, a rule of general application will have to evolve for their solution. The rule will have to conform to the principles of democracy. Democracy demands that elected representatives must have in any conflict primacy over the managers of the party machine. As democracy develops, the parliamentary wing will gain predominance over the organisational wing. In UP, the former subordinated to the latter. That connotes the subordination of the people to the party, which is the sure road towards dictatorship and totalitarianism. _Previous musing: [Prospects of Democracy in India](https://indianliberals.in/content/prospects-of-democracy-in-india/)_ --- ## [Musing] The Perils of a Welfare State URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-perils-of-a-welfare-state/ ### Body Bibek Debroy, in this excerpt from the book 'After the Welfare State', talks about the perils of a Welfare State and questions whether it has actually aided the country's growth and if it is a sustainable model to follow. What has the socialist State done in India? It has prevented freedom of choice and opportunity. It has created a shortage economy. It is a myth that licensing ended in 1991. 1991 brought an end to licenses for manufacturing. Licensing and controls continue for assorted services and agriculture. The socialist State prevented competition. This deprived consumers and also made producers inefficient. And in the name of reducing poverty and inequality, the socialist State introduced public expenditure of doubtful efficacy and efficiency. Though the expression “welfare State” is not used all that often in India, when the public expenditure is criticized, there is often a defence in terms of the welfare states in developed countries. People who advance such justifications are rarely aware of what such so-called welfare States do in practice and of the opportunity costs of those expended resources, in terms of what future generations have to pay for that profligate public expenditure. _Access the full document [here](https://ccs.in/sites/default/files/2022-08/book-after-the-welfare-state.pdf)._ _This is an excerpt from the book ‘After Welfare State’_ _Read _more: [https://spontaneousorder.in/so-musings-the-limits-of-state-action/](https://spontaneousorder.in/so-musings-the-limits-of-state-action/) --- ## [Musing] The Perils of State Support URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-perils-of-state-support/ ### Body Plato the first philosopher-statesman had no compunction in accepting the fact that it was the business of the rulers to lie. In the Republic Plato wrote: "it is the business of the rulers of the city if it is anybody's business to tell lies, deceiving both its enemies and its own citizens for the benefit of the city." He urges that these are useful only as medicine, but the ruler of the state must not behave like some of those ordinary doctors who have no courage to administer strong medicines. He must be a more courageous man since he must be determined to administer a great many lies and deceptions - of course for the benefit of the ruled. In this sense, all modern rulers and politicians are 'Platonists.' _Public intellectuals and institutions like think-tanks essentially dabble in ideas, both to explain the world and help change it. The mechanism of the entrenched power, if exclusionary,  often poses an obstacle to widespread prosperity and human flourishing. Intellectuals, in this regard, uncover the operation of power and end up speaking truth to power. Liberals, in particular, tend to be wary of power exercised by the state, given its legitimate monopoly over violence._ _How should then the liberals see the relation between intellectuals and the state? In a 1986 article published in Freedom First, the prolific Marathi editor Govind Talwalkar provides an answer. For him, the pursuit of political power and intellectual endeavours are fundamentally contradictory undertakings. The former involves lying as business as explained by Plato while the latter is concerned with telling the truth and also beauty in case of literature. As such, intellectual morality ought to turn into a project of uncovering state oppression. _ _Talwaklar further argues against the state patronage of intellectual and creative undertakings, for it breeds inefficiency and makes intellectuals subservient to the state. Additionally, Talwalkar warns against the tendency of intellectuals to man the state-funded institutions only to perpetuate mediocrity and nepotism. The public universities and government-funded research institutions in India are the prime examples of ideological capturing, enabled by state control of funding and appointments. The implication of Talwalkar’s writing couldn’t be more explicit: intellectual enterprises would do well to maintain distance from state patronage and to keep speaking truth to power._ _Produced below is an extract from the article._ The modern state is all pervasive and the world of letters cannot function completely independent of it. But the role of the state and that of letters is contradictory if not in conflict with each other. Ideological states pledge themselves to control all aspects of human activity. Fired by a certain philosophy, they want to build an utopia and, what is worse, they concentrate excessive power and build a closed society. Plato the first philosopher-statesman had no compunction in accepting the fact that it was the business of the rulers to lie. In the Republic Plato wrote: “it is the business of the rulers of the city, if it is anybody’s business to tell lies, deceiving both its enemies and its own citizens for the benefit of the city.” He urges that these are useful only as medicine, but the ruler of the state must not behave like some of those ordinary doctors who have no courage to administer strong medicines. He must be a more courageous man, since he must be determined to administer a great many lies and deceptions – of course for the benefit of the ruled. In this sense all modern rulers and politicians are ‘Platonists.’ Literature as philosophy must seek truth as well as beauty and cannot reconcile itself with politics or the state. So, for centuries we have witnessed a conflict between the two and many writers, poets, and intellectuals have been condemned to poverty and prisons, even to sacrificing their lives. Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, many South American states and many Communist states offer examples. Osip Mandlestam’s life is a moving account of a poet’s struggle and Solzhenitsyn a living example of the undaunted spirit. If it is the business of the ruler to lie, it is the business of the writers to tell the truth. lt is not only totalitarian states that strangulate truth; democratic governments too do the same. ln Truth and Power, Mr. Hans Morgenthau wrote: “The President of the United States, too can do almost anything. He can play with truth, deform it and discard it at his whim. But there is one thing he cannot do, he cannot still the voice of truth.” Therefore the intellectuals have to stick to their guns. “In the face of this misunderstanding and scorn for the function the intellectual can and must perform for the political sphere, the intellectuals of America can do one thing; live by the standard of truth – that is their peculiar responsibility as intellectuals and by which the man of Power will ultimately be judged as well,” Morgenthau averred. However, it is not my contention that in a democratic society the world of letters should all the while be at loggerheads with the state. lt never is. Insolence of power must be resented but at the same time the arrogance of the intellect should not be tolerated. We have also to guard against hypocrisy and intellectual dishonesty. Everyone loves flattery, the difference is only one of degree. Writers and artists are easy victims. Even though writers and intellectuals are zealous about their freedom many of them crave for recognition from the powers that be. _The full text can be accessed _[_here_](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/391.pdf)_ (page 13). _ [_IndianLiberals.in_](http://indianliberals.in/)_ is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ Read more: [Connected Histories of Rammohan Roy’s Liberalism](https://spontaneousorder.in/connected-histories-of-rammohan-roys-liberalism/) --- ## [Musing] The Place of Free Enterprise in a Backward Economy URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-place-of-free-enterprise-in-a-backward-economy/ ### Body _D. N. Hosali’s publication, "The Place of Free Enterprise in a Backward Economy," critiques the shift towards socialism in India. Hosali argues that socialism stifles the growth and efficiency of the private sector, which is crucial for developing backward economies. He contends that free enterprise is more effective in driving economic progress and ensuring freedom._ Chambers of Commerce and trades bodies in the country performed a very useful function in our economy in the past. It was through the Chambers of Commerce that the business community voiced its grievances and sought redress for them at the hands of the Government. The Governments of the past also attached great importance to the pronouncements made by them and tried to modify their policies to the extent possible to suit the requirements of trade and industry. It was as a result of this that even under an alien Government our commerce and industry made significant progress during the past quarter of a century. But alas, during the past years we have seen a complete reversal of these policies. Although the old procedure of inviting Ministers of the Government to the Annual Meetings and submitting to them the difficulties of trade and industry continues, little or no importance is attached to the pronouncements of the Chambers of Commerce, and the policies of the Government are shaped in complete disregard of, and often in detriment to, the interests of trade and industry. I state this after due deliberation. As to the numerous representations made by this Chamber during the past two or three years, it has obtained redress hardly on any issue. This is a significant matter, as it indicates a change in the attitude of the Government towards that section of the population which is traditionally in the pursuits of private trade and industry. Since the decision of the Government to establish a socialist economy in the country, this section has come in for quite an unnecessary measure of discrimination and has been discredited and discouraged at every stage. It is told that ours is now a socialist state and hence the private sector must subordinate its interests to the state plan and if need be liquidate itself in course of time. The statements made by Ministers of the Government are quite baffling and are many a time diametrically opposed to each other. Prime Minister Nehru, who is a great believer in democracy, said at the A.I.C.C. meeting in January last that he would prefer slow progress to risking individual independence for rapid progress. On the other hand, Shri T. T. Krishnamachari, the Finance Minister, has declared that the Second Plan would demand sacrifice and regimentation of our economy, and Shri M. M. Shah, Union Minister of Heavy Industries, said the other day that the public and private sectors could easily coexist without any kind of trouble for the next ten or fifteen years which means by implication that after that the private sector must expect the deluge. Where do all these statements lead us? The private sector needs as much planning as the public sector. Is it possible for any group of entrepreneurs to go in for any big plan of industrialisation when the only lease of life you give them is ten to fifteen years? Needless to state that the policies of the Government act as a serious deterrent to the growth of any new industry in the private sector. This serious situation has arisen as a result of the adoption of the socialist economy by our Government. Our Government claim that their policy has been endorsed by the country; which means that the vast majority of the unthinking millions of the country have understood the implications of this policy and approve of it. On the other hand, there are thousands of thinking people in the country who are convinced that these policies will not only result in raising the standard of living, but may well create a totalitarian regime. But nevertheless the determination of our Government to press forward with their socialist plans seems to gather strength as time goes on, as though socialism is the only panacea for our economic ills, and the private sector represents all the anti-social evils in our body politic. Read the complete text [here](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/the-place-of-free-enterprise-in-a-backward-economy-by-dn-hosali.pdf). type=content&p=8592). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] The Principle of State Interference URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-principle-of-state-interference/ ### Body _Limited Government is one of the cardinal principles of liberalism. Although there has historically been a debate among liberals on where to draw the line on government interference, there is unanimity on expanding individual freedom. Produced below is a piece published in the August 1958 issue of the Indian Libertarian magazine. It discusses the principles behind State Interference. _We are being led speedily along the paths of a revolution made elsewhere. The social, economic and political ideas forming the substance of our revolution, of which the masterpilot is Jawaharlal Nehru, have been based on European experience and European speculation. They have no doubt some universal application in as much as all humanity has something in common. But ideas have to be assimilated in terms of our own experience and thought if they are to be beneficent in practice. Such relation to national experience is indispensable, especially where revolutionary ideas changing the governing ideals of society at breakneck speed have to be put into force in a democratic setup with the understanding and consent of the people. FOREIGN EXPERIENCE The socialistic pattern of society that is being imposed on our people by the "idealism" of Jawaharlal Nehru is in fact the end-result of a distorted reading of Eur-american experience and thought extending over a century and a half between the French Enlightenment and Revolution of the eighteenth century and the Marxist revolution of Tsarist Russia in October 1917. To the political freedom of the democratic revolution in France, the Russian revolution of 1817 added, in intention, the goal of economic freedom. Mere external freedom at law was found to be equivalent in practice only to the freedom to starve, and political equality was found to be surprisingly compatible with extreme inequality in economic condition. The two branches of revolutionary thought that arose in response to this situation, parliamentary and extra-parliamentary, evolutionary and catastrophic, one relying on rational persuasiveness and peaceful moulding of public opinion, and the other relying on class war, conspiracy and mobilisation of the working class for a final war on the capitalist class and their governmental agents, have influenced leaders of opinion ,everywhere, and came to be known as socialism. In our country, the advent of independence brought Pandit Nehru the opportunity at last to put his vision of socialism into practice. UNWILLING AND UNCONVINCED Today this situation has created a lag between the mind of the nation and the plans of the leaders. There is also a gulf between the socialism of the leaders and the ruling ideas and feelings of the bulk of persons in the administration and the ruling party. The socialistic pattern of society is being hustled into shape by the drive of the Prime Minister, without the understanding and willing consent of the bulk of the intelligentsia and the rank and file of the middle world between them and the masses. Sri Hanumanthaiya,  former chief minister of Mysore, compared this situation to the artificial religion of Din-i-ilahi imposed on his court and subjects by Akbar the Great Moghul. It disappeared like mist at sunrise after the emperor's demise. The socialist faith of our intelligentsia and administrators is largely a matter of outward conformity supported by sentiment and deference to authority. So too the opponents of socialism do not resort to any serious analysis of socialism and do not seek to defend their libertarian views concerning the freedom of the vocations (including that of economic enterprise) through rational criticism and constructive suggestion. They just demur faintly to the ideological nature of Government's policies and urge the authorities, with decreasing success, to let business survive on the empirical ground that it is making a success of its job, that it is fulfilling its targets in the Five Year Plan, and that Government will do well to use its own money for starting new industries instead of locking it up in the acquisition of existing units, and so on. This position is extremely unsatisfactory, both for the realisation of socialism as a permanent and beneficent revolution and for a safe and practicable return to a better basis or order of society if socialism should fail after all and not achieve the plenty and progress that it promises. ALL ROUND RE-THINKING From this point of view, the lacuna in thought between policy and experience should be bridged by fundamental thinking on all the issues involved in the socialistic pattern of society. Many aspects of social life are involved - _political_: concerning the nature of the State, of its legitimate sphere of action and of the conditions of successful democracy; _economic:_ concerning the role of private enterprise, the nature and limits of Governmental intervention, the destiny of the capitalist class, the status of the working class; _social and individual ideals_: whether a rising standard of living can be the be-all and end-all of social evolution or whether limitation of economic development may not be necessary to keep the pace of progress from corrupting the quality of human life; the role of equality as a social ideal and its apparent conflict with the equally indispensable ideal of liberty etc. The great issue of freedom versus totalitarianism throws its sombre colour over the whole scene of social life and organisation, and invests every question with the utmost gravity. It would be untenable to maintain that events in India are being guided by the composite elite in power on the basis of knowledge and foresight.  It is proposed in this article to suggest a point of view that may afford the right clues to the beneficent function of the State in relation to economic life. Such a vision of the right relation between the State and economic affair will resolve the conflict between individualism and collectivism, both of which are extremes and abstractions, bringing disaster if pressed into action in isolation unmodified by each other. The philosophical background that the present writer has in view is the opposing theories of individualism represented by J.S. Mill and of idealism represented by T. H. Green and Bernard Bosanquet. These two opposing lines of thought cover the field of social policy in principle and help us to define the lines of fruitful policy in every field of social life and enable us to resolve conflicts arising from partial views. If we take over the inspirations and conflicts of Marxism, as we are doing, we might as well (indeed we must) use the more comprehensive and wiser insights of these philosophers of the same period from the West to heal the wounds of class-war ideas. Indeed we may find it justifiable and useful to restrict the attractive term socialism to the golden mean between the extremes of individualism and collectivism and free it from undue and misleading association with Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist-Khruschevist Communism. THE NECESSITY OF FREEDOM Though the inherent inconsistencies of J.S. Mill's view of liberty have been shown by his opponents, the enduring value of the core of his thought has been recognised all round. It consists in a clear demonstration of the necessity of freedom for the growth and fulfilment of individuality. Freedom. from this point of view, is not only a means but an integral part of the end. No achievement in society-military power, scientific development, growth in the arts, etc is of any intrinsic value unless it issues from freedom and is assimilated in freedom by the individuals. This is the distinctive human quality, without which we will have only an ant-like society without independent self- reliant members, each a centre and efforescence of value-for-self as well as value-for-others. Freedom of thought and discussion, freedom of economic enterprise and political participation in public affairs, are all necessary for growth in individuality, self-fulfillment and realisation of the powers inherent in human personality. This view is substantially identical with the core of thought in the later "positive liberalism" of T. H. Green, though the philosophical background is different, namely concrete idealism deriving from Plato and Aristotle, Rousseau and Hegel, as against the empiricism of Locke, Hume and Mill. THE ANALYSIS OF FREEDOM According to idealism of this type, freedom has meaning at two levels. The basic meaning of freedom is freedom from restrictions preventing or limiting self-prompted activity. Freedom in the higher sense includes this but expands to include opportunity to choose ways of self-realisation through law. Law is the liberator of the higher self which restricts the lower of narrower self and makes possible the emergence of the self into the larger life of morality and truth. Morality is action which co-ordinates the activities of many to help their rise to more inclusive ways of life, reconciling their impulses into harmony and making possible the emergence of common good. Common good is good that synthesises the good of individuals and society. Self-realisation in society is achieved through contribution to common good through one's "station and its duties," to use the famous phrase of F. H. Bradely. The value of individuality and freedom for its growth and fulfillment is therefore common to Mill and Green. To safeguard this value, Mill proposed a distinction between two spheres in the life of the individual, one self-regarding or private and other public. The self-regarding sphere has consequences for the individual alone, while the public sphere is that concerned with the social consequences of our actions. In practice this distinction breaks down.as is pointed out by the idealist school. Society is an integral whole, such that every action of the individual has both self-regarding and other-regarding consequences. It is not possible to base law and State action on pure other-regarding consequences. Even intimate experiences like married life, and religion, where the self is supposed to be alone with his God, have aspects in which individuals may impinge on society, bringing them within the legitimate sphere of Government. Excessive cruelty, dessertion, adultery are matters which bring married life within the sphere of the law, for they have social consequences. · In religion, Government will have to intervene if gurudwaras or mosques are used for anti-social activities such as the encouragement of treachery in the guise of religious addresses or for attacking other religious groups from the protected premises. Even sleeping can come within governmental notice if the sleeper is a watchman or sentry who sleeps while on duty! --- ## [Musing] The Retreat from Socialism URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-retreat-from-socialism/ ### Body This is an excerpt from B.K. Nehru's C.D. Deshmukh Memorial Lecture on 14th January 1990. Mr Nehru makes a case against the reactionary economic policies that India followed post-independence at its own cost. He highlights the reasons behind the global shift away from Socialism. The reason for the retreat from socialism is that societies that tried to base their economies on ownership by the State, economic equality and the replacement of the market by the command of the bureaucracy, simply did not work. Such societies produced neither the non-material nor the material benefits which were supposed to follow from this kind of economic organisation. Believers in socialism were convinced that socialism would guarantee individual freedom; the facts showed that the [freedom of citizens of socialist States](http://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6224&context=penn_law_review) was in reality markedly less than in the capitalist States. In the communist societies of Eastern Europe and China, no individual freedom existed at all no matter what theoretical claims were made about it. The expectation that the worker and the peasant would work harder and more willingly for enterprises owned by the State or by a collectivity because he would feel that he was working for himself rather than for a capitalist, simply did not happen; people worked more or less as they work under capitalism, being driven by the twin forces of the carrot and the stick. In fact, there was more slackness and more pilfering on the part of the workers and probably more corruption on the part of the management than in capitalist societies. On the material side, it became obvious after the first spurt in production that the rate of growth of the economy of the genuinely socialist societies was markedly lower than that of the societies relying on the market to regulate their economies. One of the most striking failures of State or collective ownership has been in agriculture where a super-power like the Soviet Union, possessing one-sixth of the land surface of the globe, finds 70 years after the revolution that it cannot feed itself. [**Read More SO Musings**](https://spontaneousorder.in/?s=SO+Musings) --- ## [Musing] The Retreat from Socialism URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-retreat-from-socialism-2/ ### Body _A publication of the [Project for Economic Education](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-retreat-after-socialism/), co-sponsored by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, the following text is a reproduction of the 7th C. D. Deshmukh Lecture. The lecture was conducted by the India International Centre and delivered by B. K. Nehru. Through the lecture, he examined India's experiment with democratic socialism and why socialism retreated from the global political scenario. _I am thankful to the India International Centre for having invited me to deliver the Seventh C.D. Deshmukh Memorial Lecture thus giving me an opportunity to pay my tribute to a man whom I knew well and with whom I had the privilege of working for a number of years in various capacities. In fact, such knowledge of the mysteries of high finance that I ever had was due to the meticulous care which he took in chalking out the programme for training for me when I went to the Reserve Bank of India to be trained in those mysteries, as a fresh recruit to the then newly constituted finance and commerce pool of the Government of India 50 years ago.  Sir Chintaman Deshmukh, by which title his contemporaries knew him better, was then Secretary of the Reserve Bank and although he was physically absent, being on what was then called "home leave", the stamp of what he had decided I should learn was clearly visible on the teachers who taught me.  Sir Chintaman was a man of extraordinarily variegated talents and interests which he pursued till the end of his days. His knowledge of finance was of course well-known. He made a name for himself in this field first as Finance Secretary, of the then Central Provinces, then successively as Secretary, Deputy Governor and Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, for a short period as Ambassador at Large for Economic Affairs - in which capacity I followed him after a respectful interval - and finally as Finance Minister of India, during all of which time I came into intimate contact with him.  His interest in botany was lifelong; it was evidenced in the striking beauty of the gardens of the houses in which he lived - I remember particularly the Reserve Bank House in Bombay and No. 1, Willingdon Crescent in Delhi which developed under his tender care and became things of great beauty. To spend an evening with him when he was in the mood to recite Sanskrit slokas was a memorable experience, though for ignoramuses such as myself his recitation went above our heads and had to be translated into elementary English.  His contribution to this Centre is well-known to all of you; it could not have become what it now is had it not been for his guidance and the care with which he tended this infant plant. This afternoon I have chosen as the title of my lecture "The Retreat from Socialism". An alternative title could well have been "Chun kufr az ka'aba bar Khezad kuja manad musalmani". For when the High Priests of Socialism in the Soviet Union and China have themselves forsworn it, it is time to ponder at some length over this complete "bouleversement" in the existing world order. I do not wish this evening to discuss at all the political changes that are taking place but to limit myself to the economic. This is because while the political consequences of the change are of great importance they are not likely overly to affect our foreign policy.  I say this for the same reason as Mr. Lee Kuan Yew so pithily summed up in his remark "It is well-known that when elephants fight it is the grass alone that suffers; it is not equally well-known that when elephants make love it is again the grass alone that suffers". The economic changes on the other hand have lessons which it would be wise for us to learn. I propose to examine with you what this socialism is from which the world is retreating, the reasons why we in India adopted socialism as our guide, what the reasons are which have caused this retreat, the consequences of socialism in our country and finally what, in the light of changed circumstances, we should now do.  The word socialism literally is meant to convey only that society should be so organised that the interests of the members of that society as a whole should take precedence over the interests of a part of that society whenever there is a conflict between sectional interests~ and social interests that conflict must invariably be resolved in favour of the latter. With this objective nobody can possibly differ; whence it is that the word has got attached to it a magic connotation. But how this desirable end has to be achieved in human society, with its innumerable injustices and unfairnesses and illogicalities, is something on which people have never agreed.  Modern socialism, which has had its roots in the thoughts of seekers after a juster society in the Europe of the 18th and 19th centuries, can be separated broadly into two streams. One is the humanism of St. Simon and 3 Fourier in France and Robert Owen in England which believed in evolution, which culiminated in the Fabian socialism of the turn of this century in England. The other school was born in 1848 with the publication of Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto which believed not in evolution but in revolution and which has had the most profound effect on the history of the world. Fabian socialism (which was essentially what we adopted in India in common with much of the democratic world) while including in itself the humanism of the earlier thinkers was nevertheless powerfully affected by Marxist thought. While the Fabians rejected outright the revolutionary approach, they accepted certain parts of Marxism. These included, very importantly, the concept of ownership by the State of the means of production and distribution and the rejection of the free market economy, which they wished to replace with a command economy regulated through physical controls.  This was because quite patently a market economy unregulated by the State was not necessarily free. Being subject to enormous pulls and pressures of powerful vested interests, it did not result in the best utilisation of resources that the divine hand of Adam Smith thought that it would. The Great October Revolution of 1917 established for the first time in history a State based on Marxist principles. It is a strange irony that while Marxist theory, as propounded by its founder, said that communism could really only be established as a result of the growth of the contradictions inherent in a capitalist society, and therefore predicated the existence of a fully grown capitalism society before communism could be established, his greatest follower, Lenin, established, or at least attempted to establish, a fully communist state in a society which was, at that time, still at the threshold of capitalism.  That the kind of society that Lenin had in view was never in fact established; that the dictatorship of an individual, that the leadership of the communist party, as a result of the natural wastage of the earlier idealistic leaders and the long monopoly of power, resulted in corruption and inefficiency is another story.  The heyday of socialism as the ideal form of social organisation and the panacea for all the ills of society was between the 1920s and 1930s. It was then that in the colleges and universities throughout the world and certainly in the United Kingdom (from which we used to borrow, and continue to borrow, all the modern ideas which we have) it was believed that all progressive thought was socialistic.  The Soviet Revolution and the apparent success in the establishment of socialism in that country gave a great fillip to those ideas, and people began to look towards the new society that was being created in that state as the ideal society. I recall that Sydney and Beatrice Webb, two of the founders of Fabian socialism in Britain, published in 193 1 a book after their return from that country and called it "Soviet Communism - A New Civilization". We all looked towards that new civilization as something which we should try and establish in our own countries; its seamier side, which started to become apparent soon after, was then quite unknown.  The socialist creed spread throughout the world. Socialist and Communist parties had great support in the Western democracies; many had socialist governments in power then and later. India was no exception. There were in fact additional special reasons for its popularity in our country. It was during this period that there were trained, largely in the United Kingdom, that band of young people who occupied in India the seats of power after Independence and helped enthusiastically in the attempt to establish here what we thought would be a socialist society.  Jawaharlal Nehru's own early upbringing was during the beginning of Fabian thought, his later reading was that of socialist thinking as it developed, his visits abroad where he met the leaders of socialism and his visits to the Soviet Union (where he was shown and saw only the better sides of the new society) all helped to strengthen his belief in socialism. He was convinced that the socialist form of organisation was the only one which could give the answer to the problems of our country, and give to the enormous mass of the underprivileged who surrounded tiny islands of privilege, the rights which were by nature theirs.  The great appeal of socialism to all noble and sensitive minds, among whom Jawaharlal's was pre-eminent, was that it stood for the poor and the depressed and the oppressed as against those who were the possessors of property, the masters, the rulers and the oppressors. World War I1 again had the effect, though not deliberate, of encouraging socialism. It becomes essential in wartime for the state to play a far greater role in the regulation and management of all aspects, political, social and economic, of a country's life than it normally does in peacetime.  And the results among all belligerents was &t -taxes went up steeply, the play of the free market was interfered with and largely suppressed, the production apparatus of the country was put under government control producing exactly what the government needed for the war and not what the people wanted and the distribution of major commodities was controlled by the government. Production was largely taken up directly for the war effort and price control and large scale rationing introduced virtually all over the world. The war could not be efficiently fought except through these means. Additionally, during and particularly after the war, in the countries of Europe there were large scale nationalisations of industries which had nothing to do with ideology but which were caused by the political effects of the aftermath of the conflict. After the peace it was assumed, as it were, that if the economy could be made to produce and distribute during wartime all the goods and services required for the war, the organisation which had proved so successful in meeting the challenge of the enemy could also be harnessed to meet the challenge of underprivilege and poverty throughout the world. The United Kingdom voted to power in 1945 a socialist government wedded to the theory of Fabian Socialism.  It continued the controls and rationing of wartime into peacetime; it nationalised the basic industries such as coal and steel. Nationalisations were also practised in France and other European countries, and where fresh nationalisation was not undertaken, no 4 attempt was made to return to private ownership the industry which the government found itself owner of after the war. This was particularly true in Italy and Germany which had, as Italy continues to have, a very large 7 proportion of industry under government ownership. The combination in India of the controls on production, distribution and prices, and of rationing were continued in peacetime after Independence. Not only were they thought to be appropriate ways of organising the economy but they corresponded to socialist thought and the practice then prevalent in our mentor the United Kingdom.  Further, there were large scale nationalisations of the basic industries and very large sectors of the economy were reserved for the government sector. Where the private sector was allowed to operate, it was permitted to do so only subject to controls which went on proliferating in their numbers and complexity so that in essence the private sector became indistinguishable from the activities directly owned by government.  The advent of planning helped this process because a planned economy, it was assumed, could not be run or developed according to plan, unless it was subject to the command of the planners. The market mechanism was in effect suppressed; the economy became a command economy. In short, what we attempted to do was to put into practice the kind of economy that we thought had been established in the Soviet Union but attempted, at the same time, to combine it as a free and liberal political democracy with all the rights and privileges of a democracy enforceable by an independent judiciary. This was an experiment that had never been made in the world; its difficulties were recognised by our leaders but it was expected that there would be no contradictions between the political and the economic system.  The one great pillar of Fabian socialism was the ownership by the State of the means of production and distribution; the other was high rates of direct taxation so as directly to transfer wealth from the rich to the poor. This also we put into practice raising our taxes on income to a level which was almost confiscatory. Additionally, with the zeal of the convert, we introduced a wealth tax, which in effect is a recurring capital levy, which even the more committed socialist countries like the United Kingdom had never introduced.  However, with our ignorance of the realities of life and the conversionary zeal with which we followed the theories of our teachers, we continued to raise the rates of direct taxation to levels at which they could, realistically speaking, not be paid at all. There was a time when the rate of income tax went up to 97% and the rate of wealth tax to 5% of wealth. This was carrying our theories to absurdity but though the tax levels have been somewhat reduced our thinking remains as it was.  The reason for the retreat from socialism is that societies which tried to base their economies on ownership by the State, economic equality and the replacement of the market by the command of the bureaucracy, simply did not work. Such societies produced neither the non-material nor the material benefits which were supposed to follow from this kind of economic organisation. Believers in socialism were convinced that socialism would guarantee individual freedom; the facts showed that the freedom of citizens of socialist States was in reality markedly less than in the capitalist States.  In the communist societies of Eastern Europe and China no individual freedom existed at all no matter what theoretical claims were made about it. The expectation that the worker and the peasant would work harder and more willingly for enterprises owned by the State or by a collectivity because he would feel that he was working for himself rather than for a capitalist, simply did not happen; people worked more or less as they work under capitalism, being driven by the twin forces of the carrot and the stick. In fact, there was more slackness and more pilfering on the part of the workers and probably more corruption on the part of the management than in capitalist societies. On the material side, it became obvious after the first spurt in production that the rate of growth of the economy of the genuinely socialist societies was markedly lower than that of the societies relying on the market to regulate their economies.  One of the most striking failures of State or collective ownership has been in agriculture where a super-power like the Soviet Union, possessing one sixth of the land surface of the Globe finds seventy years after revolution that it cannot feed itself. Nor has the quest for equality succeeded. Communist societies have reduced, in law, the differential between various categories of workers. They found the aim of virtually absolute equality from which they started quite as totally unworkable as the attempt, with which also they started, to abolish all ranks in the defence services.  They soon discovered that all organised society must necessarily have a hierarchy, and that the hierarchy must not only be differentiated by power but the differences have also to be economic. A very long time ago, therefore, the communist motto of "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need" was changed in the Soviet Union without fanfare and almost surreptitiously to "From each according to his ability, to each according to his work". The Stakhanovites made a big dent into socialist theory by being given economic rewards for their work and the differentiation that has been subsequently introduced consists not so much in the money wage but payments in kind and in privilege to those who occupy higher positions in the hierarchy; this, if translated into money, would show a very substantial difference. One can live on revolutionary slogans and ideals for a short time but the flame does not last long. Lenin lived till the end of his life in one room in the Kremlin. Brezhnev lived in the equivalent of many palaces and owned a fleet of the most expensive of the world's cars.  _Last week’s musing: [THE DANGERS OF JOINT CO-OPERATIVE FARMING](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-dangers-of-joint-co-operative-farming/)_ --- ## [Musing] The Role of Judiciary in Parliamentary Democracy by Justice M.C. Chagla URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-role-of-judiciary-in-parliamentary-democracy-by-justice-m-c-chagla/ ### Body _The following is an excerpt from the A.D. Shroff Memorial Lecture titled 'The Role of Judiciary in Parliamentary Democracy' published by the Forum of Free Enterprise and delivered by Justice M.C. Chagla in 1974. It was republished as a booklet by Forum of Free Enterprise in January 2011. Justice M.C.Chagla, one of the finest Judges India has produced, had made in 1974, some very pertinent observations which have great bearing on contemporary developments in India._ The role of the Judiciary in our parliamentary democracy is a unique and crucial one. Parliamentary democracy is ruled by the people through their representatives elected to Parliament. In England, Parliament is supreme and sovereign. It does not only speak for the people, it decides for them. Its decisions are final and cannot be challenged by any authority. The Judiciary there must accept the laws as passed by Parliament - they cannot challenge their validity. Their role is comparatively a subsidiary one of interpreting the law and giving effect to it. Our Judiciary on the other hand, plays a major role which in a sense places it above Parliament. It does not merely interpret the laws passed by it, but it also decides their constitutionality. In our country, the Constitution is Supreme. And the Judiciary has been designated by the Constitution to keep Parliament within the bounds of the Constitution. If it oversteps it, the Judiciary can strike down the law. And there is no appeal from the Judgement of the Supreme Court. Its Judgement becomes the law of the land unless Parliament acting under its amending power changes the law as declared by the Supreme Court. It will be immediately noticed that vast and wide are the powers of the Supreme Court in this regard. Parliament may pass any law but it is the Supreme Court which is the ultimate arbiter of its validity. It would be erroneous to say that this gives a power of veto to the Supreme Court or constitutes it as a third chamber. The Supreme Court is only acting under the Constitution as indeed the Legislature or Executive is bound to do. One learned author has gone to the extent of suggesting that the Supreme Court in exercising its right of Judicial review is, in effect, legislating. I do not agree with this view. Legislation is quite a different process from the exercise of the Judicial function of considering the constitutionality of a law. The result may be that the view of the Supreme Court prevails over that of Parliament. But the Constitution has so willed it and has placed in the hands of the Judges a powerful weapon which can be wielded with consequences of infinite importance, both for the country and the nation. The American Supreme Court has a similar power and our founding fathers preferred the American model to the British one with a wisdom and foresight, which, particularly today, we can only appreciate and admire. In England, Parliament is elected by a small country and voters vote in small constituencies which make it possible for the candidate and the voters constantly to come in contact. Parliament there has also inherited the traditions of centuries and acts with restraint and the party in power never uses its majority to ride rough-shod over the opposition. Because it is conscious of the fact that the opposition also represents a section of the people and at the next election, it may come into power. In our country, the position is quite different. The Congress from being a national organisation which won us our freedom suddenly became the party in power with no viable opposition I to speak of. Unlimited power is a dangerous thing, more insidious than a heady wine. Because you can recover from intoxication caused by alcohol, but the intoxication caused by power may become a permanent state of alcoholism. Further, the voters in Britain are literate and educated. Here we have millions who are illiterate and although gifted with practical common sense, can be carried away by the tub-thumping orator or the millennium promised by the ideological fanatic. Therefore, without the power of Judicial review, we will be governed not by democracy, but by a one party Government and that one party might resolve itself into the dictatorship of a single individual. The most dangerous dictatorship is one which is based on democratic process, on the forms and paraphernalia of democracy-on general elections, on adult suffrage which ultimately throws up not a real representative Government but a dictator who masquerades as a democrat representing the people but is really carrying out his own whims and fancies however illogical they may be and however prejudicial to the country. The other function of the Judiciary is the protection of the individual's rights against the ever expanding powers of Government. Our Government is tending day by day to become more and more monolithic. It possesses power and patronage , in full and even extreme measure. Any opposition to its policies is either muted or silenced. The voice of dissent is either not heard or suppressed. This is really a negation of real democracy. For democracy postulates dispersal of power, the freedom to think and write what may be most unpalatable to Government. The citizen is helpless before such display of gargantuan power. The only check that the Constitution has provided to this runaway inflation of power is the Judiciary. It alone can safeguard the fundamental rights of the citizens. It alone can tell the Government-so far and no further. It alone can act like the angel with flaming swords guarding the citadel of human rights. Undoubtedly there has to be a balancing between the needs of society and the rights of the individual, and our Constitution rightly provides for reasonable restrictions on the freedoms it has guaranteed to the citizen. But in this balancing, the scales must tip in favour of the citizen. The state must prove that there is a clear and present danger which would justify it in depriving the citizen of his rights. Under the first amendment to the American Constitution, the right to freedom of speech and of the press and of assembly is absolute and cannot be abridged under any circumstances. That is why it was said that maximum personal freedom was the touchstone of a mature society. One American Judge has said that the freedoms guaranteed by the first amendment must be accorded to the ideas we hate or sooner or later they will be denied to the ideas we cherish. Justice Black has eloquently stated, "if there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion or other matters of opinion", and Mr. Justice Jackson has stated, "Legislation whose basis is economic wisdom can be redressed by the process of the ballot box or the pressure of opinion. But when the channels of opinion and of reasonable persuasion are corrupted or clogged, these political corrections can no longer be relied upon and the democratic system is threatened at its most vital point. In that event, the Court by intervening restores the processes of democratic Government, it does not disrupt them." This is the star in the constitutional constellation by which the Judiciary should chart its course. Our right to freedom is enshrined in Article 19-the charter of seven freedoms. It is true that it has been considerably curtailed by the recent Judgement of the Supreme Court enlarging the power of Parliament to amend the Constitution but one redeeming feature of that Judgement is that Parliament cannot alter the basic structure of the Constitution. If freedom is not the basis of democracy, what is ? It is like the savour of salt without which it is not salt. It is to be hoped that Parliament will not tamper with the seven freedoms and if it does, the Supreme Court will strike down such a law as affecting the basic structure of our Constitution. It may be pointed out that the American Supreme Court during Earle Warren's Chief Justiceship extended the principle of personal liberty to innumerable questions that had so far remained untouched. To give a few instances - the tremendous advance in civil rights, the rights of the accused of being represented by Counsel and setting its face against convictions extracted by confessions, the prohibition against any minority being forced to take part in religious exercises-even when it came to salute the national flag; the liberal attitude on obscenity laws on the ground that a discerning public should be left to judge what is literature and what is trash except when the case is of obvious and unmitigated pornography. In this connection, I may quote from an article written by Earle Warren, "Our Judges are not monks or scientists, but participants in the living stream of our national life, steering the law between the dangers of rigidity on the one hand and formlessness on the other. Our system faces no theoretical dilemma but a single continuous problem how to apply to ever changing conditions the never changing principles of freedom". In one sense, the Judiciary has a creative role to play, Justice Douglas has gone to the length of saying that the Judiciary is in a high sense the guardian of the conscience of the people as well as of the law of land. The conscience of the people is not always reflected in legislation. Without doing offence to the doctrine of judicial restraint, it can by its judgement awaken the conscience of the people to the evils in Society which are crying out for a remedy and quicken the rate of progress where social legislation is tardy or ineffective. If freedom as embodied is a star of first magnitude in the constitutional constellation, the Rule of Law is also a star of magnitude if not possessing the same brilliance as the former. The Rule of Law emerges from Article 14 of the Constitution which prohibits the state from denying to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws. Therefore, in the eye of the Constitution all citizens are equal and have equal rights. No discrimination is permitted as between citizen and citizen and no citizen is branded as a second class citizen or suffers from any disqualification because of his caste, community or sex. Even the lowest of the land can aspire to become the President of India. This represents the triumph of secularism which is one of the most important pillars on which the edifice of our Constitution stands. But you have also to read in Article 14 the provision that our country is governed by laws and not by men. No one, however powerful, can defy or refuse to give obedience to the Constitution and the laws of the land. In a recent historic judgement, our Supreme Court laid down that our President is not above the Constitution. His oath requires him to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court has equally in Nixon's case denied executive immunity to the President from obeying subpoenas legitimately served upon him. In an earlier case, the U.S. Supreme Court set aside the order of President Truman to seize the steel Mills to avert a strike during the Korean War. Truman relied on the aggregate of his powers as Chief Executive and Commander-in-Chief. The Court held that the order was not authorised by law. The Rule of Law also requires that law must be administered fairly. The standard of "fairness" has to be applied to all executive actions. Where rights are taken away, the Court insists that the party affected must be given notice and should be heard. Chief Justice Warren once confessed that when he heard cases affecting the rights of citizens, the question he always asked himself was "Is it fair?" Our Judges may well emulate the learned Chief Justice. Legal technicalities must take a second place before the paramount consideration of fairness. It is at the heart of equity if not of law and if Law is not tempered by equity, then it becomes a barren soulless ritual, a formality which fails to take into consideration the injury a decision might cause or fail to promote the remedy which the law itself intended. One learned author has opined that the Judicial function in representing the rule of law is best discharged when the Judge realises that he is on the Bench to protect the helpless and oppressed and uphold the values of free thought, free utterance and fair play. It is a mere truism to say that if the Judiciary is to be the custodian of the rights of citizens, it must inspire the confidence of the public. It must be independent and impartial. It must not call any one its master nor should any one be allowed to call it its servant. It must assign to the waste paper basket any directions it may receive even from the President or the Prime Minister, Every Judge before he comes to the Bench has a personal philosophy based on what Holmes called the inarticulate major premise. He may believe in a certain ideology. He may believe in communism, socialism or the tenets of the Maha Sabha or the Muslim League. He must leave all these behind and forget them. The only scripture he must consult and the only Bible he must revere is the Constitution. His philosophy must be the philosophy which is to be found in the Preamble of the constitution. That must be his friend, philosopher and guide, the light which must illumine his years on the Bench. The Courts are not a department of Government. They are an authority to coordinate with the Legislature and the Executive. Even Parliament, however wide and vast its powers, can only function under the Constitution. Even if legislation is passed by an overwhelming majority and Parliament has expressed its clear intention in no unequivocal terms, the legislation can be tested on the anvil of judicial review and if it fails the test, Parliament must submit to the decision of the Court. It is a mistake to call this a confrontation between Parliament and the Judiciary. Each is discharging its duty assigned to it by the Constitution. If we have faith in our Constitution, we should call it collaboration between two coordinate authorities rather than confrontation. Our judiciary down the years has enjoyed a reputation second to none in the judicial world. We have produced Judges of great eminence, of great learning, of great humanity who have enriched the pages of die Law Reports. Their independence and impartiality has never been doubted or suspect. Like a clap of thunder in a clear night, the atmosphere has changed. For the first time in the history of Judicial administration of our country, Government has publicly and officially proclaimed a policy which if given effect to, will destroy the independence of the Judiciary and make it not impartial, but partisan, and render the Judges henchmen of those in authority. I do not want to go into the question of the supersession of the three Judges of the Supreme Court in any detail. The facts are well known and the matter has been debated from a hundred platforms and the action of Government has been universally condemned-except by those who have eyes and will not see and ears and will not hear or by those who are committed body and soul to Government or by those who have gained or hope to gain by this policy of Government. But human memory is notoriously short and it is necessary to recapitulate briefly the highlights of this sorry and sordid episode. Chief Justice Sikri's term of office was coming to an end and he was never consulted about his proposed successor. He came to know when the name was announced on the radio like any other man in the street. The Judges superseded were also never informed. So important an event as the appointment of the Chief Justice of India was manipulated and presented as a fait accompli in the utmost secrecy, so that there should be no time for the Bar or the public to protest against so egregious an action. A similar action was intended at the time of Mr. Justice Shah, but it was foiled because the Bar and the Bench protested strongly when it came to know about it. The convention of appointing the senior most Judge to succeed as Chief Justice never departed from in the past was callously disregarded without any justification although the senior most Judge was respected by the Bar as one of the ablest incumbents of the Bench. The three judges superseded had all voted against the Government in the well-known Fundamental Rights case to which Government attached the greatest importance and treated it as a prestigious issue. The mere narration of these facts is sufficient to satisfy any impartial Judge that what happened was a calculated and preconceived plot on the part of Government to undermine if not destroy the independence of the Judiciary. The official explanation on the floor of Lok Sabha when there was a pained and shocked outcry from Bars all over lndia and from the general and thinking public, made matters worse. Government claimed an absolute right to appoint such Judge as they thought proper, and they left no doubt as to who they thought were proper Judges. A Judge must be forward looking; a Judge must be conscious of any change of wind; he must be in tune with the Congress policy. It need hardly be said that if this was going to be the policy in future for the appointment of Judges, every Judge who thought more of his preferment and promotion than his Judicial reputation or honesty of purpose would try to give satisfaction to Government by looking forward as far as he could from his chair on the Bench-the clearer the vision the greater the prospects. He would study the political weather report every morning, which way the political wind was blowing and he would try to decipher what the Congress policy was at any given point of time - a task which even political scientists would find difficult to accomplish. A deadly blow had been dealt at the one institution in lndia which had refused to conform to Government's views, which time and again had told Government in no unmistakable terms that it was wrong and which had courageously and steadfastly protected the rights of citizens against the ever increasing inroads of Government and Government-controlled Parliament, upon a free society which is another name for democracy in contradistinction to a captive and totalitarian society. But the Bar reacted gloriously. It was their finest hour and Government was made to realise that public opinion will not tolerate the destruction of one of the most important pillars of the Constitution. The Bar will always support an independent Judiciary, but in the ultimate analysis., it will depend upon the Judiciary itself. I have no doubt that our Judges with the glorious traditions of the Indian Judiciary which have been built up in the course of a century, will not succumb to the threats, blandishments or the temptations which Government will undoubtedly hold out. I may end this part of my lecture by a quotation from Lord Bryce's modern democracies: "There is no better test of the excellence of a Government than the efficiency of the Judicial system. If the law is dishonestly administered, the salt has lost savour. If the lamp of justice goes out in darkness, how great is the darkness". There are two or three provisions in the Constitution relating to the Judiciary to which I wish to advert. The first and foremost is the salary of High Court Judges. It is fixed at Rs. 3,5001-. It can neither be reduced nor increased without an amendment of the Constitution. By a strange irony, the provision regarding the salary of the Judges was inserted in the Constitution in order to give security to the Judges. It has now turned out that the salary has become frozen and instead of security, it has lead to penury. The Judges of the Bombay High Court, 100 years ago, used to draw a salary of Rs. 4,0001--today it is Rs. 3,5001-. In those halcyon days of old the Judges hardly paid any tax and the cost of living was about 10 times less and the Rupee was worth a rupee and not 30 paise as at present (It might have gone down further since I wrote these lines). The prospects at the Bar are much brighter. There are more Courts and Tribunals to practise before than there were when I was a Junior. And the rewards of success are most glittering. The result has been that every Chief Justice finds it almost impossible to persuade a young and able lawyer to accept a seat on the Bench. Perforce he has to depend for the strength of the Bench on District Judges. I have nothing against them - some have proved to be very good Judges. But I cannot conceive of the High Court as a glorified District Court. Unless the Bar is fully represented on the Bench, the whole character and atmosphere of the High Court will change. A practising lawyer brings to the Bench something which a District Judge, however able, can never do. We are told that now the highest Government Officer in the Civil Services does not draw more than Rs. 3,5001-. This is an entirely fallacious argument. There must be some relationship between income at the Bar and the salary you pay to your Judges. It is true that every good lawyer, when he accepts a Judgeship, must make a sacrifice in the public interest. But the sacrifice must be reasonable-not such as to break the back of the person making it. I have often suggested that if it is not possible to increase their salaries (for it would almost be impossible for a constitutional amendment to go through Parliament as it is at present constituted with its antipathy towards the Judiciary and its ideological outlook) there are several -what I might call-peripheral benefits that the Judge can be given so as to give him some relief. Consider such benefits which a member of the Civil Service enjoys or for the matter of that, a Minister or a Member of Parliament, even though on paper, their salary is the same or much less than that of the Judge. The second important matter which requires an immediate amendment of the Constitution is to place the Judge in the same position as the Auditor-General. The latter cannot hold any office under the Government or under the Government of any State after retirement. This is a salutary provision to ensure the utmost impartiality and integrity in an office of high responsibility. Does a Judge hold an office which is less responsible and which calls for less independence or impartiality? It is sad to see the number of Judges who pay Court to Ministers to get appointed to some Tribunal after retirement and it is sadder to see how many tribunals are manned by ex-Judges. There is one Judge I know of who has never ceased to be in charge of a Tribunal of some sort or another ever since his retirement which was a very long time ago. Only the cruel and relentless hand of death can remove him from a Tribunal. The consequences of this policy of Government have been highly prejudicial to the fair name of the Judiciary. Short time before retirement, every Judgement of a Judge, however honest, becomes suspect. If it is in favour of Government, and rightly so, he is accused of pleasing those who have patronage to bestow. And some Judges I know go out of their way to decide against Government in order to assert their independence, which is equally unfortunate. Government, in defence of their policy, say that they want judicial talent for most of their tribunals. The solution is very simple; take a sitting Judge and, if necessary, fill up his temporary vacancy by a fresh appointment. The other advantage of this solution will be that it would be the Chief Justice who would recommend the Judge for the Tribunal. Today, it is Government who bestow favours upon those whom they like or who have given them satisfaction by their Judgements. What about the right to practice? That stands on an entirely different footing. I may have the right to practice, but that does not mean that I will enjoy a practice. That would depend upon my own ability and the confidence that my clients may have in me. Government cannot dictate to a client which Counsel he should brief, except in Government cases, where there is considerable abuse in the preparation of a panel of Government advocates. But no system can be perfect and even Government wants able lawyers to fight their cases. Government has claimed the exclusive right and privilege of appointing Judges and Chief Justices of High Courts, and Supreme Court. Even in the U.S.A. where the President appoints the Federal Judges it is with the advice and consent of the Senate and the President before submitting his name to the Senate usually consults Bar Associations and leading jurists. In India, our constitution only provides for consultation in one of the modes provided by the Constitution. But consultation more often than not is an empty formality. For all practical purposes, the power to appoint is absolute in the hands of Government. After Government has announced its policy as stated before with regard to the qualifications required for appointment as a judge this absolutism has become even more dangerous and should no longer be permitted and the constitution should be amended to entrust the appointment of Judges to an independent authority. One suggestion is that the concurrence of the Chief Justice should be necessary in the case of every appointment of a Judge of the High Court or Supreme Court. In the case of appointment of the Chief Justice of a High Court, the concurrence of Chief Justice of lndia should be necessary add in the case of the appointment of the Chief Justice of lndia, the concurrence of the retiring Chief Justice should be required. Another suggestion is the constitution of a high powered Judicial Council whose concurrence would have to be sought. The Council should consist of retired chief justices not holding any office of profit under the state. It is also necessary that the initiative for the appointment of a Judge should come from the Chief Justice and not from the Government. This will empty the Darbar Halls of some Ministers and stop unnecessary canvassing by candidates to this high office. The last question I will deal with is the appointment of ad hoc Judges. The provision has been made for such appointment to seek a sudden contingency. But what was intended as a contingency has tended to become a settled practice. The  retiring age of every Judge is known-he cannot hide it as a woman is supposed to hide hers. Why does not Government make up its mind to fill up a vacancy long before it occurs, so that the strength of the Court is not reduced even for a short time ? Today, the vacancy is not filled up when it occurs  and the retiring Judge is very often asked to continue as an ad hoc Judge. This is a pernicious practice and contrary to the spirit of the Constitution. In effect, it extends the retiring age of a Judge. If a retired Judge continues as an ad hoc  Judge, then he retires not at the point of time fixed by the  Constitution but after an indefinite period determined by the Chief Justice. It may not be charitable to say so, but it is not far from the truth that Ministers like candidates for Judgeships to pay court to them, to attend their Darbar, dangle the glittering prize before them, to impress them with their power and authority and finally when a decision has reluctantly to be taken, appoint the favoured one. In conclusion, I must stress the importance of public opinion as far as the independence of the Judiciary is concerned. Whoever believes in democracy must believe in the ultimate triumph of public opinion, if it is strong, united and fearless. If it is the people who have to govern the country, then the will of the people can only be manifested through public opinion. Recently, it has toppled (to use an expression which has now become part of the political vocabulary of our country) the President of the United States-than whom there is no more powerful person in the world with the possible exception (and I must mention the exception) of our Prime Minister. If it can do that it can surely condemn back-sliding Judges and see that they remain on the right track, true to themselves, true to their high office and loyal to the Constitution. It can also prevent Government from pursuing any policy or taking any action which will undermine the prestige, the dignity and independence of the Judges. --- ## [Musing] The Role of Judiciary in Parliamentary Democracy URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-role-of-judiciary/ ### Body The following text is taken from a 1974 address by Justice M.C. Chagla, Indian judge and liberal, at the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture. Presenting a comparative analysis among the British, American and Indian judicial system, Justice Chagla highlighted challenges and responsibilities unique to the Indian judiciary.The role of the judiciary in our parliamentary democracy is a unique and crucial one. Parliamentary democracy is ruled by the people through their representatives elected to Parliament. In England, Parliament is supreme and sovereign. It does not only speak for the people, it decides for them. Its decisions are final and cannot be challenged by any authority. The judiciary there must accept the laws as passed by Parliament—they cannot challenge their validity. Their role is comparatively a subsidiary one of interpreting the law and giving effect to it. Our judiciary on the other hand, plays a major role which in a sense places it above Parliament. It does not merely interpret the laws passed by it, but it also decides their constitutionality. In our country, the Constitution is Supreme and the judiciary has been designated by the Constitution to keep Parliament within the bounds of the Constitution. If it oversteps it, the Judiciary can strike down the law. And there is no appeal from the Judgement of the Supreme Court. Its Judgement becomes the law of the land—unless Parliament acting under its amending power changes the law as declared by the Supreme Court.  It will be immediately noticed that vast and wide are the powers of the Supreme Court in this regard. Parliament may pass any law but it is the Supreme Court which is the ultimate arbiter of its validity. It would be erroneous to say that this gives a power of veto to the Supreme Court or constitutes it as a third chamber. The Supreme Court is only acting under the Constitution as indeed the Legislature or Executive is bound to do. One learned author has gone to the extent of suggesting that the Supreme Court in exercising its right of Judicial review is, in effect, legislating. I do not agree with this view. Legislation is quite a different process from the exercise of the Judicial function of considering the constitutionality of a law. The result may be that the view of the Supreme Court prevails over that of Parliament. But the Constitution has so willed it and has placed in the hands of the Judges a powerful weapon which can be wielded with consequences of infinite importance, both for the country and the nation.  The American Supreme Court has a similar power and our founding fathers preferred the American model to the British one with a wisdom and foresight, which, particularly today, we can only appreciate and admire. In England, Parliament is elected by a small country and voters vote in small constituencies which makes it possible for the candidate and the voters constantly to come in contact. Parliament there has also inherited the traditions of centuries and acts with restraint and the party in power never uses its majority to ride rough-shod over the opposition. Because it is conscious of the fact that the opposition also represents a section of the people and at the next election, it may come into power. In our country, the position is quite different. The Congress from being a national organisation which won us our freedom suddenly became the party in power with no viable opposition to speak of. Unlimited power is a dangerous thing, more insidious than a heady wine. Because you can recover from intoxication caused by alcohol, but the intoxication caused by power may become a permanent state of alcoholism.  Further, the voters in Britain are literate and educated - here we have millions who are illiterate and although gifted with practical common sense, can be carried away by the tub-thumping orator or the millennium promised by the ideological fanatic. Therefore, without the power of Judicial review, we will be governed not by democracy, but by a one-party Government and that one party might resolve itself into the dictatorship of a single individual. The most dangerous dictatorship is one which is based on democratic process- on the forms and paraphernalia of democracy on general elections, on adult suffrage which ultimately throws up not a real representative Government but a dictator who masquerades as a democrat representing the people but is really carrying out his own whims and fancies however illogical they may be and however prejudicial to the country.  The other function of the Judiciary is the protection of the individual's rights against the ever expanding powers of Government. Our Government is tending day by day to become more and more monolithic. It possesses power and patronage in full and even extreme measure. Any opposition to its policies is either muted or silenced. The voice of dissent is either not heard or suppressed. This is really a negation of real democracy. For democracy postulates dispersal of power, the freedom to think and write what may be most unpalatable to Government. The citizen is helpless before such display of gargantuan power. The only check that the Constitution has provided to this runaway inflation of power is the Judiciary. It alone can safeguard the fundamental rights of the citizens. It alone can tell the Government so far and no further. It alone can act like the angel with flaming swords guarding the citadel of human rights. Undoubtedly there has to be a balancing between the needs of society and the rights of the individual, and our Constitution rightly provides for reasonable restrictions on the freedoms it has guaranteed to the citizen. But in this balancing, the scales must tip in favour of the citizen. The state must prove that there is a clear and present danger which would justify it in depriving the citizen of his rights.  Under the first amendment to the American Constitution, the right to freedom of speech and of the press and of assembly is absolute and cannot be abridged under any circumstances. That is why it was said that maximum personal freedom was the touchstone of a mature society. One American Judge has said that the freedoms guaranteed by the first amendment must be accorded to the ideas we hate or sooner or later they will be denied to the ideas we cherish. Justice Black has eloquently stated, "if there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion or other matters of opinion", and Mr. Justice Jackson has stated, "Legislation whose basis is economic wisdom can be redressed by the process of the ballot box or the pressure of opinion. But when the channels of opinion and of reasonable persuasion are corrupted or clogged, these political corrections can no longer be relied upon and the democratic system is threatened at its most vital point. In that event, the Court by intervening restores the processes of democratic Government, it does not disrupt them."  This is the star in the constitutional constellation by which the judiciary should chart its course. Our right to freedom is enshrined in Article 19—the charter of seven freedoms. It is true that it has been considerably curtailed by the recent Judgement of the Supreme Court enlarging the power of Parliament to amend the Constitution but one redeeming feature of that judgement is that Parliament cannot alter the basic structure of the Constitution. If freedom is not the basis of democracy, what is? It is like the savour of salt without which it is not salt. It is to be hoped that parliament will not tamper with the seven freedoms and if it does, the Supreme Court will strike down such law as affecting the basic structure doctrine or our constitution. It may be pointed out that the American Supreme Court during Earle Warren’s Chief Justiceship extended the principle of personal liberty to innumerable questions that had so far remain untouched. To give a few instances—the tremendous advance in civil rights, the rights of the accused of being represented by Counsel and setting its face against convictions extracted by confessions, the prohibition  against any minority being forced to take part in religious exercises—even when it came to salute the national flag; the liberal attitude on obscenity laws on the ground that a discerning public should be left to judge what is literature and what is trash except when the case is of obvious and unmitigated pornography. In this connection, I may quote from an article written by Earle Warren. "Our Judges are not monks or scientists, but participants in the living stream of our national life, steering the law between the dangers of rigidity on the one hand and formlessness on the other. Our system faces no theoretical dilemma but a single continuous problem how to apply to ever changing conditions the never changing principles of freedom".  In one sense, the Judiciary has a creative role to play. Justice Douglas has gone to the length of saying that the Judiciary is in a high sense the guardian of the conscience of the people as well as of the law of land. The conscience of the people is not always reflected in legislation. Without doing offence to the doctrine of Judicial restraint, it can by its judgement awaken the conscience of the people to the evils in Society which are crying out for a remedy and quicken the rate of progress where social legislation is tardy or ineffective.  If freedom as embodied is a star of first magnitude in the constitutional constellation, the Rule of Law is also a star of magnitude if not possessing the same brilliance as the former. The Rule of Law emerges from Article 14 of the Constitution which prohibits the state from denying to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws. Therefore, in the eye of the Constitution all citizens are equal and have equal rights. No discrimination is permitted as between citizen and citizen and no citizen is branded as a second class citizen or suffers from any disqualification because of his caste, community or sex. Even the lowest of the land can aspire to become the President of India. This represents the triumph of secularism which is one of the most important pillars on which the edifice of our Constitution stands.  But you have also to read in Article 14 the provision that our country is governed by laws and not by men. No one, however powerful, can defy or refuse to give obedience to the Constitution and the laws of the land. In a recent historic Judgement, our Supreme Court laid down that our President is not above the Constitution. His oath requires him to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court has equally in Nixon's case denied executive immunity to the President from obeying subpoenas legitimately served upon him. In an earlier case, the U.S. Supreme Court set aside the order of President Truman to seize the steel Mills to avert a strike during the Korean War. Truman relied on the aggregate of his powers as Chief Executive and Commander-in-Chief. The Court held that the order was not authorised by law.  The Rule of Law also requires that law must be administered fairly. The standard of "fairness" has to be applied to all executive actions. Where rights are taken away, the Court insists that the party affected must be given notice and should be heard.  Chief Justice Warren once confessed that when he heard cases affecting the rights of citizens, the question he always asked himself was "Is it fair?" Our Judges may well emulate the learned Chief Justice. Legal technicalities must take a second place before the paramount consideration of fairness. It is at the heart of Equity if not of law and if Law is not tempered by equity, then it becomes a barren soulless ritual, a formality which fails to take into consideration the injury a decision might cause or fail to promote the remedy which the law itself intended. One learned author has opined that the Judicial function in representing the rule of law is best discharged when the Judge realises that he is on the Bench to protect the helpless and oppressed and uphold the values of free thought, free utterance and fair play.  It is a mere truism to say that if the Judiciary is to be the custodian of the rights of citizens, it must inspire the confidence of the public. It must be independent and impartial. It must not call anyone its master nor should anyone be allowed to call it its servant. It must assign to the waste paper basket any directions it may receive even from the dilemma but a single continuous problem how to apply to ever changing conditions the never changing principles of freedom".  In one sense, the Judiciary has a creative role to play. Justice Douglas has gone to the length of saying that the Judiciary is in a high sense the guardian of the conscience of the people as well as of the law of land. The conscience of the people is not always reflected in legislation. Without doing offence to the doctrine of Judicial restraint, it can by its judgement awaken the conscience of the people to the evils in Society which are crying out for a remedy and quicken the rate of progress where social legislation is tardy or ineffective.  If freedom as embodied is a star of first magnitude in the constitutional constellation, the Rule of Law is also a star of magnitude if not possessing the same brilliance as the former. The Rule of Law emerges from Article 14 of the Constitution which prohibits the state from denying to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws. Therefore, in the eye of the Constitution all citizens are equal and have equal rights. No discrimination is permitted as between citizen and citizen and no citizen is branded as a second class citizen or suffers from any disqualification because of his caste, community or sex. Even the lowest of the land can aspire to become the President of India. This represents the triumph of secularism which is one of the most important pillars on which the edifice of our Constitution stands.  But you have also to read in Article 14 the provision that our country is governed by laws and not by men. No one, however powerful, can defy or refuse to give obedience to the Constitution and the laws of the land. In a recent historic Judgement, our Supreme Court laid down that our President is not above the Constitution. His oath requires him to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court has equally in Nixon's case denied executive immunity to the President from obeying subpoenas legitimately served upon him. In an earlier case, the U.S. Supreme Court set aside the order of President Truman to seize the steel Mills to avert a strike during the Korean War. Truman relied on the aggregate of his powers as Chief Executive and Commander-in-Chief. The Court held that the order was not authorised by law.  The Rule of Law also requires that law must be administered fairly. The standard of "fairness" has to be applied to all executive actions. Where rights are taken away, the Court insists that the party affected must be given notice and should be heard.  Chief Justice Warren once confessed that when he heard cases affecting the rights of citizens, the question he always asked himself was "Is it fair?" Our Judges may well emulate the learned Chief Justice. Legal technicalities must take a second place before the paramount consideration of fairness. It is at the heart of Equity if not of law and if Law is not tempered by equity, then it becomes a barren soulless ritual, a formality which fails to take into consideration the injury a decision might cause or fail to promote the remedy which the law itself intended. One learned author has opined that the Judicial function in representing the rule of law is best discharged when the Judge realises that he is on the Bench to protect the helpless and oppressed and uphold the values of free thought, free utterance and fair play.  It is a mere truism to say that if the Judiciary is to be the custodian of the rights of citizens, it must inspire the confidence of the public. It must be independent and impartial. It must not call anyone its master nor should anyone be allowed to call it its servant. It must assign to the waste paper basket any directions it may receive even from the President or the Prime Minister, Every Judge before he comes to the Bench has a personal philosophy based on what Holmes called the inarticulate major premise. He may believe in a certain ideology. He may believe in communism, socialism or the tenets of the Mahasabha or the Muslim League. He must leave all these behind and forget them. The only scripture he must consult and the only Bible he must revere is the Constitution. His philosophy must be the philosophy which is to be found in the Preamble of the constitution. That must be his friend, philosopher and guide, the light which must illumine his years on the Bench. The Courts are not a department of Government. They are an authority to coordinate with the Legislature and the Executive. Even Parliament, however wide and vast its powers, can only function under the Constitution. Even if legislation is passed by an overwhelming majority and Parliament has expressed its clear intention in no unequivocal terms, the legislation can be tested on the anvil of Judicial review and if it fails the test, Parliament must submit to the decision of the Court. It is a mistake to call this a confrontation between Parliament and the Judiciary. Each is discharging its duty assigned to it by the Constitution. If we have faith in our Constitution, we should call it a collaboration between two coordinate authorities rather than confrontation.  Our judiciary down the years has enjoyed a reputation second to none in the Judicial world. We have produced Judges of great eminence, of great learning, of great humanity who have enriched the pages of die Law Reports. Their independence and impartiality has never been doubted or suspect. Like a clap of thunder in a clear night, the atmosphere has changed. For the first time in the history of Judicial administration of our country, government has publicly and officially proclaimed a policy which if given effect to, will destroy the independence of the Judiciary and make it not impartial, but partisan, and render the Judges henchmen of those in authority.  I do not want to go into the question of the supersession of the three Judges of the Supreme Court in any detail. The facts are well known and the matter has been debated from a hundred platforms and the action of Government has been universally condemned- except by those who have eyes and will not see and ears and will not hear or by those who are committed body and soul to Government or by those who have gained or hope to gain by this policy of Government. But human memory is notoriously short and it is necessary to recapitulate briefly the highlights of this sorry and sordid episode. Chief Justice Sikri's term of office was coming to an end and he was never consulted about his proposed successor. He came to know when the name was announced on the radio like any other man in the street. The Judges superseded were also never informed. So important an event as the appointment of the Chief Justice of India was manipulated and presented as a fait accompli in the utmost secrecy, so that there should be no time for the Bar or the public to protest against so egregious an action. A similar action was intended at the time of Mr. Justice Shah, but it was foiled because the Bar and the Bench protested strongly when it came to know about it. The convention of appointing the senior most Judge to succeed as Chief Justice never departed from in the past was callously disregarded without any justification although the senior most Judge was respected by the Bar as one of the ablest incumbents of the Bench. The three judges superseded had all voted against the Government in the well-known Fundamental Rights case to which Government attached the greatest importance and treated it as a prestigious issue. The mere narration of these facts is sufficient to satisfy any impartial judge hat what happened was a calculated and preconceived plot on the part of Government to undermine if not destroy the independence of the Judiciary.  The Official explanation on the floor of Lok Sabha when there was a pained and shocked outcry from Bars all over India and from the general and thinking public, made matters worse. Government claimed an absolute right to appoint such Judge as they thought proper, and they left no doubt as to who they thought were proper Judges. A Judge must be forward looking; a Judge must be conscious of any change of wind; he must be in tune with the Congress policy. It need hardly be said that if this was going to be the policy in future for the appointment of Judges, every Judge who thought more of his preferment and promotion than his Judicial reputation or honesty of purpose would try to give satisfaction to Government by looking forward as far as he could from his chair on the Bench- the clearer the vision the greater the prospects. He would study the political weather report every morning, which way the political wind was blowing and he would try to decipher what the Congress policy was at any given point of time- a task which even political scientists would find difficult to accomplish.  A deadly blow had been dealt at the one institution in India which had refused to conform to Government's views, which time and again had told Government in no unmistakable terms that it was wrong and which had courageously and steadfastly protected the rights of citizens against the ever-increasing inroads of Government and Government-controlled Parliament, upon a free society which is another name for democracy in contradistinction to a captive and totalitarian society. But the Bar reacted gloriously. It was their finest hour and Government was made to realise that public opinion will not tolerate the destruction of one of the most important pillars of the Constitution.  The Bar will always support an independent Judiciary, but in the ultimate analysis, it will depend upon the Judiciary itself. I have no doubt that our Judges with the glorious traditions of the Indian Judiciary which have been built up in the course of a century, will not succumb to the threats, blandishments or the temptations which Government will undoubtedly hold out.  I may end this part of my lecture by a quotation from Lord Bryce's modern democracies :  "There is no better test of the excellence of a Government than the efficiency of the Judicial system. If the law is dishonestly administered, the salt has lost savour. If the lamp of justice goes out in darkness, how great is the darkness".  There are two or three provisions in the Constitution relating to the Judiciary to which I wish to advert. The first and foremost is the salary of High Court Judges. It is fixed at Rs. 3,500. It can neither be reduced nor increased without an amendment of the Constitution. By a strange irony, the provision regarding the salary of the Judges was inserted in the Constitution in order to give security to the Judges. It has now turned out that the salary has become frozen and instead of security, it has led to penury. The Judges of the Bombay High Court, 100 years ago, used to draw a salary of Rs. 4,000 —today, it is Rs. 3,500. In those halcyon days of old the Judges hardly paid any tax and the cost of living was about 10 times less and the Rupee was worth a rupee and not 30 paise as at present (It might have gone down further since I wrote these lines). The prospects at the Bar are much brighter. There are more Courts and Tribunals to practise before than there were when I was a Junior. And the rewards of success are most glittering. The result has been that every Chief Justice finds it almost impossible to persuade a young and able lawyer to accept a seat on the Bench. Perforce he has to depend for the strength of the Bench on District Judges. I have nothing against them- some have proved to be very good Judges. But I cannot conceive of the High Court as a glorified District Court. Unless the Bar is fully represented on the Bench, the whole character and atmosphere of the High Court will change. A practising lawyer brings to the Bench something which a District Judge, however able, can never do.  We are told that now the highest Government Officer in the Civil Services does not draw more than Rs. 3,5001-. This is an entirely fallacious argument. There must be some relationship between income at the Bar and the salary you pay to your Judges. It is true that every good lawyer, when he accepts a Judgeship, must make a sacrifice in the public interest. But the sacrifice must be reasonable- not such as to break the back of the person making it.  I have often suggested that if it is not possible to increase their salaries (for it would almost be impossible for a constitutional amendment to go through Parliament as it is at present constituted with its antipathy towards the Judiciary and its ideological outlook) there are several - what I might call- peripheral benefits that the Judge can be given so as to give him some relief. Consider such benefits which a member of the Civil Service enjoys or for the matter of that, a Minister or a Member of Parliament, even though on paper, their salary is the same or much less than that of the Judge.  The second important matter which requires an immediate amendment of the Constitution is to place the Judge in the same position as the Auditor-General. The latter cannot hold any office under the Government or under the Government of any State after retirement. This is a salutary provision to ensure the utmost impartiality and integrity in an office of high responsibility. Does a Judge hold an office which is less responsible and which calls for less independence or impartiality? It is sad to see the number of Judges who pay Court to Ministers to get appointed to some Tribunal after retirement- and it is sadder to see how many tribunals are manned by ex-Judges. There is one Judge I know of who has never ceased to be in charge of a Tribunal of some sort or another ever since his retirement which was a very long time ago. Only the cruel and relentless hand of death can remove him from a Tribunal. The consequences of this policy of Government have been highly prejudicial to the fair name of the Judiciary. Short time before retirement, every Judgement of a Judge, however honest, becomes suspect. If it is in favour of Government, and rightly so, he is accused of pleasing those who have patronage to bestow. And some Judges I know go out of their way to decide against Government in order to assert their independence, which is equally unfortunate.  Government, in defence of their policy, say that they want judicial talent for most of their tribunals. The solution is very simple; take a Sitting Judge and, if necessary, fill up his temporary vacancy by a fresh appointment The other advantage of this solution will be that it would be the Chief Justice who would recommend the Judge for the Tribunal. Today, it is Government who bestow favours upon those whom they like or who have given them satisfaction by their Judgements.  What about the right to practice? That stands on an entirely different footing. I may have the right to practice, but that does not mean that I will enjoy a practice. That would depend upon my own ability and the confidence that my clients may have in me. Government cannot dictate to a client which Counsel he should brief, except in Government cases, where there is considerable abuse in the preparation of a panel of Government Advocates. But no system can be perfect and even Government wants able lawyers to fight their cases.  Government has claimed the exclusive right and privilege of appointing Judges and Chief Justices of High Courts, and Supreme Court. Even in the U.S.A. where the President appoints the Federal Judges it is with the advice and consent of the Senate and the President before submitting his name to the Senate usually consults Bar Associations and leading jurists. In India, our constitution only provides for consultation in one of the modes provided by the Constitution. But consultation more often than not is an empty formality. For all practical purposes, the power to appoint is absolute in the hands of Government. After Government has announced its policy as l stated before with regard to the qualifications required for appointment as a judge this absolutism has become even more dangerous and should no longer be permitted and the I constitution should be amended to entrust the appointment of i Judges to an independent authority.  One suggestion is that the concurrence of the Chief Justice should be necessary in the case of every appointment of a Judge of the High Court or Supreme Court. In the case of appointment of the Chief Justice of a High Court, the concurrence of Chief Justice of India should be necessary add in the case of the appointment of the Chief Justice of India the concurrence of the retiring Chief Justice should be required. Another suggestion is the constitution of a high powered Judicial Council whose concurrence would have to be sought. The Council should consist of retired chief justices not holding any office of profit under the state.  It is also necessary that the initiative for the appointment of a Judge should come from the Chief Justice and not Government. This will empty the Darbar Halls of some Ministers and stop unnecessary canvassing by candidates to this high office.  The last question I will deal with is the appointment of ad hoc Judges. The provision has been made for such appointment to seek a sudden contingency. But what was intended as a contingency has tended to become a settled practice. The retiring age of every Judge is known- he cannot hide it as a woman is supposed to hide hers. Why does not Government make up its mind to fill up a vacancy long before it occurs, so that the strength of the Court is not reduced even for a short time ? Today, the vacancy is not filled up when it occurs and the retiring Judge is very often asked to continue as an _ad _hoe Judge. This is a pernicious practice and contrary to the spirit of the Constitution. In effect, it extends the retiring age of a Judge. If a retired Judge continues as an ad hoc Judge, then he retires not at the point of time fixed by the Constitution but after an indefinite period determined by the Chief Justice. It may not be charitable to say so, but it is not far from the truth that Ministers like candidates for Judgeships to pay court to them, to attend their Darbar, dangle the glittering prize before them, to impress them with their power I and authority and finally when a decision has reluctantly to be taken, appoint the favoured one.  In conclusion, I must stress the importance of public opinion as far as the independence of the Judiciary is concerned. Whoever believes in democracy must believe in the ultimate triumph of public opinion, if it is strong, united and fearless. If it is the people who have to govern the country, then the will of the people can only be manifested through public opinion. Recently, it has toppled (to use an expression which has now become part of the political vocabulary of our country) the President of the United States- than whom there is no more powerful person in the world with the possible exception (and I must mention the exception) of our Prime Minister. If it can do that it can surely condemn back-sliding Judges and see that they remain on the right track, true to themselves, true to their high office and loyal to the Constitution. It can also prevent Government from pursuing any policy or taking any action which will undermine the prestige, the dignity and independence of the Judges.  _Previous musing: [THE ESSENCE OF DEMOCRACY](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-essence-of-democracy-3/)_ --- ## [Musing] The State of Enterprise in Free India URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-state-of-enterprise-in-little-india/ ### Body _The following excerpt has been taken from an essay titled 'Prosperity Beyond Our Cities by Spreading Enterprise' written by R. Gopalakrishnan, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in 2007._ _The term “Little India” has been used to refer to over 600,000 small towns and villages with a population less than 50,000._ India has had so much regulation that no amount of deregulation seems adequate. The chambers of commerce conduct conferences on subjects like "Is India Inc over-regulated?" If India Inc thinks so, imagine the situation in Little India.  There are many anecdotes about the feeling of hopelessness among the small town/rural population-about the lack of rural infrastructure, banks, schools, healthcare or transport to nearby towns, all of which are essential to support commerce and enterprise and the creation of jobs. I have traveled into small towns and villages to assess these feelings. I am shocked that it is a live story of economic deprivation, social injustice and hopelessness that big town folks like I cannot comprehend.  An IGP of police in UP once described to me the harsh social and economic realities he encounters every day. To my astonishment he concluded by saying "You folks from Delhi and Murnbai do not really live in India."  Citizens who have worked in Little India have experienced these shocking standards of public service and governance. "For more than 50 years, successive governments have initiated several programs to deal with poverty, but they have not made any major dent in the economic and social status of hundreds of millions," observes one such worker. The various public schemes are not entirely useless; but the state of public services by corrupt governments and inefficient bureaucracies are far below the community's needs. Looking at the way programs are managed by the government, these conditions are unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. So they may continue to appear useless for quite a long time.  The solution lies in leveraging the natural spirit of enterprise among the people of Little India by empowering them more. Intuitively it sounds like a worthy approach. Despite legislation and public pronouncements to delegate power to the communities in Little India through decentralized governance, our system has found it difficult to do.  There is of course a debate to be had on the practical merits: are the people capable, can they take care of their self-interests, will local 'lords' spirit away public money from the community? These are valid concerns and, as I have pointed out earlier, the debate was had even sixty years ago. Intellectuals and bureaucrats in the urban areas make the decisions about Little India. They are intrinsically more interested in subjects like organized industry, foreign investment, stock markets and so on.  The issue of Little India's economic growth continues to be partially attended. Something has to change. But having tried other alternatives in the past, it is now time to do something different.  However, we cannot replicate the dramatic effects achieved in industrial and urban India by the single act of scrapping industrial licensing. Being rooted in society and politics, Little India's change agenda will be somewhat evolutionary. But the time has come. Robert Reich, a professor of public policy, observes, "Democracy means more than a process of free and fair elections. Democracy is a system for accomplishing what can only be achieved by 12 citizens joining together with other citizens." The role of capitalism is to enlarge the economic pie. The slicing up of the economic pie is the role of governance and democracy. type=content&p=8610). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] The Swatantra Economy : Obstacles and Challenges URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-swatantra-economy-obstacles-and-challenges/ ### Body _The following piece was originally published in the October 1994 edition of the [Freedom First Magazine.](http://www.freedomfirst.in/issue/issue.aspx?issue=423) It contains important excerpts from the speech of Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil who was invited to deliver the Rajaji Birthday Lecture in 1994, by the Rajaji Foundation. _Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil delivered this year's. Rajaji Birthday Lecture. The subject: "The Swatantra Economy - Obstacles and Challenges". Referring to the new economic policy, Prof. Gadgil observed: "Even five years ago, it seemed impossible that such far-reaching changes in our economic policy and system would take place so soon and on such a scale. But the seemingly impossible appears to be taking place. Rajaji and those like Minoo Masani who shared his views stand vindicated. A Swatantra economy is enlarging and is taking shape."  Is the process of liberalization irreversible or will it continue by its own momentum and even gather strength? asked the speaker and answered that the process was unlikely to reverse itself for the simple reason that "socialist centrally planned and highly regulated economies do not work. They are not only inefficient, they are also unsustainable." However, warned Prof. Gadgil: "A realistic assessment of the situation does not indicate that the liberalization process will be unhampered and smooth." According to Prof. Gadgil factors favouring liberalisation were:  Economic power in the world was now in the hands of free economies who also control international institutions like the World Bank and the IMF. The rulers of these countries are convinced that "the economic lame ducks in the world can be set on their feet only through Liberalization" In Europe, in North America and in the Asia Pacific Region, large free trade areas are being established. Even diehard dictatorships in countries like Burma, Vietnam are liberalizing their economies for survival and growth. To obtain essential imports we have neither to export or obtain in capital from abroad. This necessitates our attracting foreign private investment which will only come if our economy is free and open in large measure.  While these factors indicate that liberalization is by and large irreversible, there are threats, as is evidenced from the problems in Russia where the process could end in failure and reversal.  Dealing with the conditions that could defeat the liberalization process in India, Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil pointed out the crucial importance of law and order and price stability. "If life and property are not secure, if criminals can interfere with and impose arbitrary burdens on business and commerce, if there is an unholy marriage of crime and politics and inflation runs wild the liberalization process would be arrested and throttled," warned Prof. Gadgil.  Evidence of a breakdown of law and older are already available not only in North East India and Kashmir but has reached serious proportions also in states like UP and Bihar. In Bombay criminal elements engaged in smuggling, drug trade and real estate development virtually brought commercial activity to a standstill twice in the recent past Another factor obstructing the liberalization process is the activities of trade unions engaged in large scale intimidation. By opposing the closure of inefficient, loss-making units;, the break-up of public sector monopolies and privatisation of public sector enterprises, these unions were actually throttling growth. What is worse is that they make use of criminal elements in doing so and some of them have been taken over by criminals.  Among other dangers to the liberalization process were :  - Fiscal discipline, frauds in the financial sector and uncontrolled monetary expansion; - the reluctance of public sector monopolies to relinquish their monopoly control with ministers in charge of these monopolies themselves resisting the process of liberalization and insisting on giving approvals on ‘a case by case’ basis or as some wags put it on ‘a suitcase by suitcase’ basis; - the fact that despite the declared intention in giving up licencing, controls and subsidies, entrepreneurs are continuously subjected to various regulations by politicians and bureaucrats. The politicians and bureaucrats who obstruct the liberalisation process for their own narrow selfish ends have unfortunately the support of large classes of people like employees in the public sector, farmers, small manufacturers and others who benefit from the controls, regulations and subsidies in our present economy. In reality the losses they suffer because of the present economic system, are far more than the gains they secure from it. It is however a very difficult task to bring it home to them. Perhaps the biggest obstacle to liberalization is the emasculation of the people and the development of the habit of total dependence on the state for the solution of their problems. "When a population loses its character and ability to be sturdily self-reliant, it is unlikely to support the dismantling of the socialist welfare state. On the contrary, the people are likely to support continuation of the socialist welfare state because it protects them from demands that a free market economy makes on them,” observed Prof. Gadgil.  Emphasizing the importance of voluntary organizations and voluntary effort in social life, Prof. Gadgil expressed the view that this would help reduce the social and political malaise from which the country is suffering. Unfortunately the country had "a large army of pseudo voluntary social workers, who are exploiting society for their.own benefit. Instead of being the defenders of individual liberty and independent voluntary effort, they are becoming instruments of corruption. These voluntary workers and the politicians generate cynicism in society and give rise to extremist movements, which are committed to wholesale destruction of the existing order." Pointing out the need for voluntary workers who steadily build independent social organisations which are committed to steady, constructive effort and which firmly resist encroachments on individual liberty by the Government”, Prof. Gadgil said that fortunately there were, even today a few such organisations in India. He pointed out men like Anna Hazare and Pandurangshastri Athavale who have built such organisations.  Concluding the 1994 Rajaji Birthday Lecture, Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil underlined the crucial need for the policy of liberalisation to succeed. He said: "Liberalisation might cause pain in the short run but it will bring immense benefits in the long run. It has been done in so many Asian countries, which until recently were as poor and undeveloped as we are. We must learn from their experience and find ways of minimizing economic distress as we progress along the path of liberalisation." --- ## [Musing] The Three Meanings of Secularism URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-three-meanings-of-secularism/ ### Body _The relationship of the State with religion has been a contentious issue. Can an individual's private practice of religion be curtailed by the State? Is secularism a challenge or an opportunity for religious traditions? A piece authored by M.P. Rege and republished in the March 1993 edition of the Freedom First Magazine sought to deconstruct the many meanings of secularism and their implications. _Given the Indian context the first component in the meaning of secularism which one would naturally single out is the idea that the state as a social institution has to be secular. This means that there is a shared area of social affairs in which all Indians, irrespective of the religious communities to which they belong, have an equal status and equal rights. Further, the goals and norms which direct and govern these affairs are not derived and do not draw their sanction from any particular religious tradition. In this sense they are secular or 'rational'. They include such values as law and order, equality before law, economic welfare, egalitarian justice, promotion of intrinsically worthwhile activities like scientific research, pursuit of knowledge and the arts. These values have complicated relationships, both genetic and logical with the values which were developed and propagated by various religious traditions. But as a matter of fact, in modern times they have come to be regarded as autonomous, in the sense that they do not need any religious sanction and that they can be perceived to be an essential part of a good human life, in its social as well as personal aspect. **Historically Multi-religious** In the Indian context, the idea of a secular state partly draws its significance from the fact that historically Indian society has been a multi-religious society. It must be remembered that this character antedates the advent of Muslim and Christian communities in our country. And may remark in passing that it is the primary responsibility of the majority community to safeguard the secular character of the Indian state. Unless members of minority communities experience, in their day to day living, that they are treated on par with members of the majority communities in all situations which fall within the jurisdiction of the state, the idea of a secular state embracing all Indians will lack substance and reality. And it is the responsibility of all religious communities to reformulate their traditional values and norms and reform traditional practices so as to bring them in harmony with the values and principles which govern the secular jurisdiction of the state. For these latter represent the moral consensus of modern times. **Sarva Dharma Samabhava** Another, peculiarly Indian element, in the concept of secularism is the value of sarva-dharma-samabhava, i.e. the attitude of equal respect for all religions. This value has nothing to do with the functioning of the state. It is recommended as a social and also religious value. A society in which this attitude is widespread and deeply rooted will be a secular society in this sense of secularism. To describe as secular a multi-religious society in which members of one religious community do not merely tolerate the presence of other religious communities but respect their individuality and autonomy certainly looks paradoxical. But it will not have this appearance for those who realise that the basic character of Indian society is that it is a group or federation of many religious communities and that these diverse religious traditions are living forces which determine the moral and spiritual values of their adherents, the goals they pursue in life, their whole way of life. Only a widespread attitude of respect for the autonomy of other religious communities provides a viable basis for a secular state in which individuals drawn from diverse communities treat and respect each other as equals. **Secularism Based on Rational Morality** The third sense of secularism is that it is a world-view which claims to be based on rational, i.e. scientific knowledge of things and rational morality, i.e. utilitarian morality qualified by some principle of justice. This is the aggressive element in secularism because it denies any place to the transcendent whether in the scheme of things or as a component in the human personality. Secularism even in this aggressive form has a positive role to play because it throws a challenge to traditional religions to put their houses in order, to purify, refine and develop their values so as to enable them to face the problems of contemporary life. But what place reason has in human knowledge and human life is a largely philosophical question which can have no agreed and definitive answer. As a world-view secularism is no more than one member of a family of world-views, relations between which need to be based on the principle of sarva-dharma-samabhava. --- ## [Musing] Nani Palkhivala: The Task Before A Free People URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-task-before-a-free-people/ ### Body The following text is taken from a booklet published by [Forum of Free Enterprise.](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-tasks-before-a-free-people-by-n-a-palkhivala-may-20-1977/) Authored by Indian jurist and liberal economist Nani Palkhivala, the text is based on an open letter written to the then Prime Minister, originally published in 1977. Marking the end of the Emergency, the 1977 Parliamentary election was among the most important in Indian political history. The impossible happened; and the inevitable did not happen. The triumph of the Janata-CFD party must have rung the bells of heaven the wildest peal for years. Reason, that torch of smoky pine, anticipated results which hovered between narrow victory and narrow defeat for the Congress. The difference between the expectation and the reality was the difference between a tremor and an earthquake, between a drizzle and a hurricane. The last Parliamentary election in India was one of the most significant in the entire history of freedom. At one stroke it doubled the number of free people on earth. In the words of Bernard Levin, India voted in a manner which put ancient and sophisticated democracies to shame. The electorate's verdict has vindicated our national motto- "Truth shall prevail"- which was wholly forgotten for 20 months. Secondly, it has once again proved that to the soul of India, sacrifice appeals more than success the returned candidates were mostly those who had suffered and sacrificed for the good of the country. Thirdly, the "illiterate intelligence" of the masses brought about a result which the "educated incapacity" of the intelligentsia could not foresee. A free nation can be stifled by indigenous autocrats only through its own apathy and folly - apart from brute military force. An authoritarian regime is only as puissant as the sycophants and the time-servers, the cringing and the craven, will make it. No human being can be more powerful than his henchmen will allow him to be. History will apportion the blame and the responsibility among a wide spectrum of the elected representatives who betrayed their trust. Jawaharlal Nehru's description of the condition of India under British domination must have come home with the atrocities of the Emergency to countless people: "We seemed to be helpless in the grip of some all-powerful monster; our limbs were paralysed, our minds deadened. . . . The dominant impulse in India was that of fear-pervasive, oppressing, strangling fear; fear of the army, the police, the widespread secret service, fear of the official class; fear of laws to suppress and of prison." Fear, born of terror, was more acute- particularly among the innocent- during the twenty months of the Emergency than it was during the two centuries of British rule. The first act of the liberated people should be to thank, from the depths of their souls, whatever Higher Forces they believe in- for the deliverance. "Above blind fate and the antagonist powers, Moveless there stands a high unchanging Will; To its omnipotence leave thy work's result. All things shall change in Cod's transfiguring hour." Human propensity to err is the favourite instrument of Providence for achieving its beneficent designs. Hitler, despite his super-efficient organization, attacks Russia instead of invading Britain- and it is the beginning of the end of the engulfing night. Nixon, notwithstanding his unsurpassed political cunning, tapes his own misdeeds- and the United States enters a brighter phase. The Indian autocracy, although armed with an all-powerful and all-pervasive secret intelligence force, calls for elections at a time of seething discontent simmering under the surface- and India secures a fresh lease of freedom. Next, since public memory is so alarmingly short, let us reiterate our gratitude to the men who suffered in diverse ways and whose sacrifices made the restoration of freedom possible. The first name which springs to anyone's mind is that of Jayaprakash Narayan. Not since the time of Gandhiji has moral force- personified by a frail invalid- triumphed so spectacularly over the forces of evil. He changed decisively the course of history. One life transformed the destiny of 620 millions. His epoch-making work must be carried on and the process of public education must never cease. Others will have to continue to propagate the great values which Jayaprakash has taught the nation - a lesson which our people may not always remember but which they will never wholly forget. There were of course countless others,- prominent figures as well as the humble and nameless who will never be known to the roll-call of honour. They were the ones who withstood the hundred thousand petty tyrants that mushroomed all over the country during the Emergency. William Makepeace Thackeray observed in "Pendennis": "Men serve women on their knees. When they rise, they go away." It is the same with our electorate. They love and worship their leaders. But when the spell is broken, they unfailingly transfer their allegiance elsewhere. In history there are few more telling examples of this truth than the difference between the results of the 1971 and the 1977 elections. Today the people are in a mood which comes rarely in the life of a country. They are looking forward, starry-eyed, to a new direction, a new era, a new life. It is time not merely for a new budget or a new licensing policy or a new price structure. It is the moment for shaping and moulding a new society, for giving a new and clear identity to the nation. Although we developed highly sophisticated technical skills, we basically remained a feudal and caste-ridden society. A deep and sudden realization dawned on the people last month which made their vote cut across the immemorial feudal and caste lines. The election could be made the matrix of a reborn nation. The mood of the people today clearly marks a transition from the feudal age to the modern age. The outdated values of feudalism-birth, wealth, position and power-have been drastically eroded, and the age of the common man has begun. This is the golden moment to transform our caste-ridden society into a modern society. Our people take their morals and their mores from their leaders. What can selfless leadership, imbued with vision and understanding, with knowledge and dedication, not do for this country at this historic juncture? We have in Shri Morarji Desai a Prime Minister who is a firm believer in moral values and high principles, and a Cabinet with vast talents and high administrative competence. All the auguries are auspicious for tackling the daunting tasks. The first task is to have leadership at all levels from the Prime Minister's to the panchayat's. True leadership is the exact opposite of the concentration of all power and decision-making authority in one individual. To be a true leader is to unleash the full power of the organization and to release the potential and energy in the rank and file by means of personal impact. Given selfless and dedicated leadership at this juncture, the objective, in the Janata Party Manifesto, of removing destitution within ten years can be achieved. We have to motivate the people so that they put the national interest above the sectional interest. It would be a tragedy if, having regained our freedom, we do not use it wisely and well and allow democracy to degenerate into mobocracy. The crying need of the hour is self-discipline and self-restraint. During the post-war period, trade unions in Germany voluntarily applied a wage-freeze on themselves, on condition that industry ploughed back its profits to increase the output and create further employment. The consequence of this self-imposed wage-freeze was more and more investment, resulting in more and more employment. Real wages per person were steady during this recovery period, but real wages per family increased because of more employment. In a country where all the groups function harmoniously, the results are fantastically gratifying-totally out of proportion to the inputs. Germany and japan are examples of the synergistic effect of such harmonious co-operation. Great Britain and Italy serve as warnings of the consequences of its absence. Plato thought poorly of democracy because it always degenerated into mobocracy. On the other hand, Gandhiji had great faith in the masses and believed that given the right leadership they were capable of self-restraint and self-discipline. Let us so conduct ourselves that we prove Gandhiji right and Plato wrong. At the Centre we must establish Government of India Limited - limited not in responsibility, but limited by the rule of law, by the discipline of the Constitution, and limited in its capacity to release an unending torrent of ill-digested laws on the people. The last Government treated the Constitution of India as its private property and dealt with Indian law as its personal backyard. Between 1971 and 1976 it made 19 amendments to the Constitution, passed 463 statutes, promulgated 96 Ordinances and 30 Regulations, and enacted 114 President's Acts for the States under Presidential rule. For good measure the Law Ministry drafted 36,515 Rules, Orders and Notifications. One of the first tasks is obviously to undo the mischief perpetrated by the 42nd Amendment--that monstrous outrage on the Constitution. Our original Constitution provided for stability without stagnation and growth without destruction of human values. The recent amendments have only achieved stagnation without stability and destruction of human values without growth. On 9th December 1946, Sachchidananda Sinha, in his Inaugural Address as Provisional Chairman to the Constituent Assembly, quoted the words of joseph Story (with reference to the American Constitution) which have proved truly prophetic: "The structure has been erected by architects of consummate skill and fidelity; its foundations are solid; its compartments are beautiful as well as useful; its arrangements are full of wisdom and order; and its defences are impregnable from without. It has been reared for immortality, if the work of man may justly aspire to such a title. It may, nevertheless, perish in an hour by the folly, or corruption, or negligence of its only keepers, the people. Republics are created-these are the words which I commend to you for your consideration -by the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens. They fall, when the wise are banished from the public councils, because they dare to be honest, and the profligate are rewarded, because they flatter the people, in order to betray them." The Government need not worry about getting a two-thirds majority in both the Houses of Parliament to nullify the worst features of the 42nd Amendment. The Supreme Court can do the job equally effectively in appropriate proceedings taken by a citizen. The Supreme Court held in Kesavananda Bharati's case that, while Parliament has the power to amend any part of the Constitution, the power cannot be so exercised as to alter or destroy the basic structure of the Constitution. This is the law of India today and it is binding on every authority throughout India, including Parliament. Following that decision, the Supreme Court can and should hold those provisions of the 42nd Amendment to be void which alter or destroy the basic structure of the Constitution. In four respects at least, the 42nd Amendment does alter or destroy the basic structure of the Constitution. First, it overthrows the supremacy of the Constitution and instals Parliament (a creature of the Constitution) as the supreme authority to which the Constitution is to be subservient. The instrument becomes the master, and the master the instrument. Secondly, the Amendment enacts that the eternal values enshrined as fundamental rights in the Constitution will no longer be justiciable or operate as brakes on legislative and executive action in most fields. Thirdly, the balance between the executive, the legislature and the judiciary is rudely shaken, and the executive at the Centre gains enormously in power at the expense of the other organs of the State, particularly the judiciary. Fourthly, the Amendment envisages the enforcement of laws even after they are held unconstitutional by a majority of the Supreme Court or the High Court. These provisions are clearly ultra vires the amending power of Parliament and should be struck down by the Supreme Court as void. The only remaining question is whether the Supreme Court is debarred from declaring the 42nd Amendment to be void by reason of the clauses added to Article 368 which are to the effect that no amendment "shall be called in question in any court on any ground" and that "there shall be no limitation whatever on the constituent power of Parliament to amend... the Constitution .. The correct position in law is that the above-quoted arrogant provision is itself void. Kesavananda Bharati's case makes it clear that if Parliament's original power was limited, it could not be enlarged or made plenary by any exercise of that very amending power. How can Parliament, whose amending power is limited, rationally or validly enact that any transgression of the limits of its power shall not be called in question in any court? How can the done of a limited power enlarge its own power? To any logical mind, the answer is beyond the pale of controversy. The members of the last Parliament, after taking the oath of true faith and allegiance to the Constitution, had no compunction in altering or destroying its basic structure. The members of the present Parliament, who took the pledge at Rajghat on 24th March 1977 "to uphold the inalienable rights to life and liberty of the citizens of our republic", cannot fulfil the pledge unless they are prepared to accept the supremacy of the fundamental rights in the Constitution. It is not the MPs, dressed in brief authority, who are supreme. It is the Constitution which is supreme. It is the eternal human freedoms which are supreme. It is the people who are supreme and it is they who have given the Constitution unto themselves. The facile assumption that the will of Parliament is the will of the people has never been so violently exploded as at the last election. It was Parliament which passed the 42nd Amendment and also approved of the proclamation of Emergency. Did it represent the will of the people? The people have given their resounding verdict on those misguided representatives who claimed to be supreme over the Constitution and over basic human values. The Australian electorate has approved only five of the thirty-two changes in the Constitution proposed by their Parliament in the last seventy-seven years. At the end of 1973 the Australian Parliament passed by an impressive majority two proposals for constitutional amendment, but both the proposals were rejected (on a referendum) by equally impressive majorities by the people in every single State of Australia. It is to be hoped that the present Government will pass such laws and take such executive action as are not meant merely to provide for the exigencies of the moment but calculated to ensure the good of the country in the long years ahead. Though the present electoral system has brought the Janata Party to power, the party would be rendering a lasting national service by effecting electoral reform. · Despite its shortcomings, proportional representation would, on the whole, be more just and fair than the present system of "first past the post". The Janata Party Manifesto is admirably drafted. With the amount of zeal and dedication that we have in the Cabinet today there is every hope that the Manifesto will not remain a historic parchment in a glass case but will be translated into action with all convenient speed. There can be no two opinions on the point that the topmost priority must be given to amelioration of the lot of the 40 percent who still live below the minimum subsistence line. Our first concern must be to look after the weakest-the man who is bowed by the weight of centuries, stolid and stunned, "dead to rapture and despair, a thing that grieves not and that never hopes". There are at least 40 million unemployed today in a country which cannot and does not afford any social benefits. Poverty is cruel, but it is curable. The only known cure is economic rationalism instead of economic theology. In the field of economics the tree of ideology has never borne any fruit. All "isms" are lethal. In a poor country like India, there can never be social justice without economic growth. We have countless chances for development. Opportunities multiply when they are seized; they die when neglected. We have barely tapped our immeasurable potential for growth. Immense man-power, superb skills and enterprise are to India what oil is to the Middle East. At least 250 million of our citizens are contributors to the national product. There is one way, and one way only, in which India can banish poverty, and that is by putting to the maximum productive use the 2,000 million man-hours which fleet over India every day, never to come again. To every economic policy and legislation we must apply the acid test-how far will it bend the talent. energy and time of our people to fruitful ends and how far will it dissipate them in coping with legal inanities and a bumbling bureaucracy. "Much to cast· down, much to build,. much to restore; Let the work not delay, time and the arm not waste; Let the clay be dug from the pit, let the saw cut the stone; Let the fire not be quenched in the forge." Irrigation has been sadly neglected during the last thirty years. On an average, India receives 3,000 million acrefeet rainfall in a year, - sufficient to submerge the entire country in a 45 feet deep layer of water. The total area under cultivation was about 422 million acres in 1975-76. Of this area, only about 111 million acres (or 26.3 percent) was provided with irrigational facilities. At the rate of extension of irrigational facilities achieved in the last fifteen years, we shall not be able to bring even half the arable area under irrigation till 2007 A.D. Three-fourths of the total flow of our rivers is wastefully emptied into the seas. Out of our groundwater resources of an estimated potential of 86 million acres, barely half is being utilized. How much greater would be our agricultural output, with a reduction in prices on account of economies of scale, if irrigation plans were vigorously pursued. In the Fifth Plan only 0.83 percent of the total public sector outlay is earmarked for roads, and even out of this paltry percentage three-fourths is intended to cover those road projects which have spilled over from the Fourth Plan. Few countries of the world are so poor in market roads. Road construction is one of the best ways to generate employment and to stimulate agricultural output by opening up enormous new markets. As regards industry, those laws should be scrapped which obstruct progress and constrict growth without any countervailing public benefit. While direct taxation on individuals has been brought to a reasonable level, the burden of indirect taxes is ridiculously high on many commodities. Out of the price paid for a truck by a consumer as much as 57 percent represents the burden of various indirect taxes levied at different stages. The excise on airconditioners is at the unconscionable level of 100 percent ad valorem on the wholesale price. The excise on cement is as much as 50 percent of the retention price allowed to the manufacturer. The Finance Minister has a great nation-building task ahead of him. An honest and efficient Government should be able to contain inflation and stop anti-social activities like smuggling, without suspending the rule of law. Now that the rule of law has been restored, prompt measures will have to be taken to deal with inflation which is raging at 15 percent per annum. An index to the revival of smuggling is provided by the fact that whereas during the last twelve months there was no depreciated rate for the rupee against foreign currencies in the free market, within a week of the election results a black market sprang into existence. For instance, whereas at the beginning of March the Singapore dollar fetched Rs. 3.45 (the official rate) in the free market, now the Singapore dollar quotes at Rs. 4.50. The remittances from Singapore and Malaysia to India through the official banking channels have now dwindled to just a trickle. The country can never prosper or be saved through the efforts of only ministers and civil servants. The people must be associated at all stages with the formulation and implementation of policies. We can have a truly participating democracy for the first time in India. Under the last regime, the Government and the people virtually became two hostile armed camps. Now we can have an exciting joint venture between the Government and the people. There should be no obsession with either the public sector or the private sector. The concept would be that of only one sector- the national sector. Pragmatism is all. The first major economic measure of the Government will be the budget. Millions of man-hours, crammed with intelligence and knowledge,- of tax gatherers, tax payers and tax advisers-are utterly wasted every year in grappling with the unmanageable spate of amendments. A stable fiscal policy is to a nation what a stable family life is to an individual. The rates of direct taxes should be fixed in advance for three to five years, as they are in other countries like the U.S.A. and Canada. There is no need for the outdated and ridiculous shroud of secrecy which envelops every budget-except as regards changes in customs and excise rates. Many progressive nations have a free and open public debate on budgetary proposals before the Bill is introduced in the legislature. It would be a historic event if under the present Government the Union Budget ceases to be an annual scourge and partakes of the nature of the presentation of annual accounts of a partnership between the Government and the people. Every budget contains a cartload of figures in black and white- but the stark figures represent the myriad lights and shades of India's life, the contrasting tones of poverty and wealth, and of bread so dear, and flesh and blood so cheap, the deep tints of adventure and enterprise and man's ageless struggle for a brighter morn. The very enormity and variety of the challenges facing the country are such as to touch the least tender to tears and the most incredulous to prayer. Shall we maintain discipline-or shall we witness revival of the barbarous Bandhs when government ceased to govern, mobocracy displaced democracy, and c1t1es were paralyzed by groups of men who regarded themselves as above the law? Shall we increase production, create national wealth and settle industrial disputes in the forums provided by the law-or shall we abuse our regained freedom by nine morchas a day? The nation is mature enough, and the Prime Minister and his colleagues are experienced enough, to ensure the rule of law while providing liberty under law. Those who talked of chaos as the alternative to authoritarianism overestimated their own calibre and underestimated the intelligence of our people. The Government should have the fullest co-operation from all quarters in the epochal demonstration watched by the whole civilized world-that liberty is not an "optional extra" in a democracy, that human rights are not a luxury intended merely for the elite and the affluent, and that our people, poor and downtrodden, are as intensely committed to the free way of life as the richest under the sun. _Previous musing: [ECONOMIC REFORMS IN INDIA: WHERE ARE WE AND WHERE DO WE GO?](https://indianliberals.in/content/economic-reforms-in-india-where-are-we-and-where-do-we-go/)_ --- ## [Musing] The Tiger Caged – Part II URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-tiger-caged-part-ii/ ### Body To stem the flood of imports that this regime might otherwise allow, the system has been bolstered in several other ways. Imports can be brought in only by an "actual user"; in other words, intermediaries are banned. As part of the domestic capacity licensing scheme, firms can be obliged to sign up for a "phased manufacturing programme": they are allowed to expand their factories, but only if they promise to reduce the import content of the goods they produce. _In continuation with last week’s _[_musing_](https://spontaneousorder.in/so-musing-india-the-tiger-caged/)_, produced below is an extract from the second part of The Economist’s coverage of the political economy of India in wake of the 1991 economic crisis. The article was re-published in the October 1991 issue of Freedom First, a liberal magazine established by Minoo Masani._ In the last issue of Freedom First, we had published extensive extracts from the Economic Survey of India (May 4, 1991). The comprehensive survey written in easy to understand English needs to be read by as many Indians as possible – particularly those being misguided by vested interests into opposing Dr Manmohan Singh’s reforms. The vested interests oppose the freeing of the economy for they will no longer have the protection of the state to keep their sinecures and continue making a fast buck at the expense of the people of India. While the reformists need our full support, we are unable to appreciate their plea that no purpose will be served discussing the past four decades. We must know what went wrong and why – to avoid such mistakes. Hence we at _Freedom First_ decided we should share with you the rest of the ‘Survey of India’. The first post discussed the ‘cage’ in general. The second dissects the nature of the cage and what needs to be done to enable the Indian tiger spring the cage. **Plain tales of the licence raj** India has one of the most protected domestic economies in the world. The guiding principle has been to allow imports only when necessary. Bureaucrats make that judgment largely case-by-case. To stem the flood of imports that this regime might otherwise allow, the system has been bolstered in several other ways. Imports can be brought in only by an “actual user”; in other words, intermediaries are banned. As part of the domestic capacity licensing scheme, firms can be obliged to sign up for a “phased manufacturing programme”: they are allowed to expand their factories, but only if they promise to reduce the import content of the goods they produce. An entirely separate set of procedures is used to monitor imports slated for a reduction under these programmes. Then there are 16 “canalising agencies”, government bodies that are granted a monopoly of certain imports: oil, steel, rubber, newsprint and so on. Finally, to be on the safe side, there are tariffs – which are the highest in the world. To complete India’s isolation from the world economy, the government has discouraged inward flows of know-how and capital. Despite some recent liberalisation, there are limits on the fees that Indian producers can pay for the use or purchase of foreign technology; technology imports may be banned if the import content of the production process is deemed too high. The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act of 1973 keeps a tight control on inward investment. Most foreign companies have been obliged to reduce their equity holdings to a maximum of 40%. The others are more tightly regulated than equivalent Indian firms. _The full text could be accessed _[_here_](http://www.freedomfirst.in/issue/issue.aspx?issue=411)_._ [_IndianLiberals.in_](http://indianliberals.in/)_ is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ Read more: [SO Musings](https://spontaneousorder.in/category/so-musings/). --- ## [Musing] THE UNION BUDGET 1992-93 by Nani Palkhivala URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-union-budget-1992-93/ ### Body _Following is an excerpt from a March 1992 booklet, titled [The Union Budget 1992-93.](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/the-union-budget-1992-93-by-na-palkhivala-march-3-1992.pdf) Authored by Indian jurist and liberal economist Nani A Palkhivala, the booklet was originally published Forum of Free Enterprise. In the booklet, Palkhivala critically examines India's first Union Budget post the 1991 liberalisation.  _This year's Budget is not a budget for the greedy, paid for by the needy. The Budget provisions properly so called (as distinct from the proposed amendments to the direct tax laws) are well conceived, and deserve the support of the well informed irrespective of party affiliations. **Four main thrusts of the Budget** The four main thrusts of the Budget are - liberalization, integration of India into the global economy, reduction of taxes, and a stable and healthy balance of payments.  - Liberalization is the key to the Budget. (The only criticism can be that it measures liberalization with coffee spoons.) It is a Watershed Budget which marks the beginning of a new chapter in India’s economic history. We have left behind the terminal stage of our forty-year affair with shabby State socialism. It was our ideological socialism which had been responsible for India remaining the twentieth poorest nation on earth. Our gross domestic product is smaller than that of greater Los Angeles (population 14 million). We have more than 15 per cent of the world’s population, and less than 1.5 per cent of the world’s income. Our per capita income did not even double since we became a republic — it only increased 92 per cent in real terms. This year’s historic Budget for the first time reflects the consciousness of our government that fast economic growth would be impossible with woolly, outworn socialism which betrays a severe hardening of intellectual arteries and a pathetic lack of knowledge of the revolutionary changes which have recently swept across the world. During the last 25 years, China’s economic growth, despite its communism, has been more than twice as fast as India’s. The annual investment in China by foreign companies exceeds the total  investment in India in the last 44 years. The new foreign investment in China totalled $10 billion last year! There are already more than 2500 foreign enterprises operating in the .27 hi-tech industrial parks recently started in China.  I have the highest opinion of Indian capacity and potential. But I find it impossible to refute the universal criticism that our two besetting sins are self-complacency and obstinate refusal to face the truth. We could have more realistically chosen the ostrich instead of the peacock as our national bird. The Survey on India, published by _The Economist _of 4th May 1991, showed the tiger “caged”. It should be made compulsory reading in every school and college, as well as for those adults who choose to enter Parliament or the civil service. The jugular vein of the article is that if India has more than its fair share of the world’s misery, it is not the fault (If former colonial masters or wicked western capitalists or the cruel hand of fate: it is largely India’s own doing.  We are slipping behind the rest of the world — except in population growth. This truth can hardly be better illustrated than by the fact that the present per capita income in South Korea is 13 times, and in Hong Kong 30 times, that of India, though the three countries started at about the same level.  The United Nations Development Report, published last June, ranks the nations of the world by reference to the Human Development Index (HOI). In determining a nation's position in the list, the HOI takes into account the expenditure incurred by the state on human priority sectors- health, water, sanitation, daily calorific intake, literacy, and education at primary and secondary levels. Having regard to the HOI, India is placed, for the second year running, pretty much at the bottom of the list- 123rd out of 160 countries. Dr. Manmohan Singh has rightly emphasized that unless certain values are adhered to by the nation, it  cannot come out of the recession. The Finance Minister has no Midas touch; he has no snake oil which can be used as having a  magical healing power in matters economic. - The proposed integration of India into the global economy has not come a day too soon. The emerging world economy has erased national boundaries. Capital and companies no longer stop at the border. If  India is to grow and prosper, it has no alternative but to be integrated into the world economy. - Reduction of taxes is one of the avowed aims of the Budget. In a  global economy, cutting taxes has become a  matter of national interest: high tax countries inevitably lose out. The days when the government could adopt any tax policy, as if the nation existed within a vacuum, are over. - If India is to have a stable and healthy balance of payments, it can only be through increased exports. Our share has dropped from 2.2 per cent of world exports in 1950 to 0.44 per cent. Among the exporting countries, India ranked sixteenth in 1950: today its rank has dropped to fortythird! Even Holland, one of the tiny countries of the world with a population of 15 million, has six times the exports of India! Hong Kong has almost three times the international trade of India, although its population is less than one per cent of India's - 0.7 per cent to be precise, while its land area is 0.03 per cent of India's. **Unjustified criticism** The least justified criticism of the Budget is that it has been framed under the dictates of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The censure is levelled by those whose critical perception does not exceed forty watts. They should credit India with enough intelligence to make the right decision for itself after forty years of mistaken policy. Some of the ablest men in the two international institutions are Indians: to say that the Indian Government cannot think for itself is gratuitous self-condemnation. In any event we must judge the policy underlying the Budget on its merits, and it is wholly irrelevant to be concerned about who suggested the path of wisdom. One of the great failings of democracy is the mistaken belief that it is the duty of the opposition to oppose. Secondly, the fear has been expressed in some quarters that India will be swamped by multinationals. The truth is that India runs no risk whatever of being dominated by foreign corporations. We must get rid of the illusion that we are still fighting the East India Company.  Thirdly, the view has been expressed that the Budget has not done enough to check inflation or to counter recession. To control inflation is possible, but to eliminate it is beyond hope at this juncture. The last time we had "negative inflation" (to use bad English) was when Mr. Morarji Desai was the Prime Minister (1977-79). The spirit of the nation -  the spirit of national dedication and confidence which then emerged after the tyranny of the Emergency -  had as much to do with the fall in prices as any budget.  Inflation is a worldwide phenomenon. A  dollar today is worth only 13 cents in 1945 money; a pound is worth six pence. Even the Deutschemark is only one-third of its value in 1948 when it replaced the worthless Reichsmark.  Again, the world economy is going through a period of recession. The current economic depression in the United States is billed as "the mother of all recessions" -the longest since 1945. General Motors, the giant among corporations, incurred a loss of $4.5 billion in 1991 -unparalleled in the Company's 84-year history. The critics claim that in Britain the recession is deeper than in any other country. About 20,000 companies went into liquidation in 1991, which works out to one in every 50 British companies. _Read the complete text: [The Union Budget 1992-93](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-union-budget-1992-93-by-n-a-palkhivala-march-3-1992/)__Read previous musing: [THE EMERGING SCENARIO IN EDUCATION](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-emerging-scenario-in-education-2/)_ --- ## [Musing] The Swatantra Manifesto URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-swatantra-manifesto/ ### Body _Produced below is an essay by Prof. G.N. Lawande, published in a 1961 edition of_[_The Indian Libertarian._](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-indian-libertarian-december-15-1961/)_ The essay dissects the forward-looking, reform-oriented manifesto of the Swatantra Party that argued against statist policies of the time. _The two year old party, namely, the Swatantra Party has just released its election manifesto to the press with a clear cut programme. What distinguishes it from other parties is that it makes no tall promises to the people in spite of the fact that its leaders are fully aware that there is little chance of its being voted to power. It will be welcomed by the intelligentsia of the Country because it is based on certain objectives and policies for which it will work, if given the opportunity. It is a challenge to the ruling party who by the acts of commission and omission and with a rule of dictatorship in the name of democracy has brought about misery, suffering and hardship to the people. In the preindependence era miseries and hardships were attributed to the British rule and it was expected that our national leaders would set the matter right but now the people have realised that the sufferings of the preindependence era were more enjoyable than the present ones. The British at least had some ideals and principles which are thrown to the wind by the present rulers. "Hoarding and unscrupulous black marketing are resorted to as a social menace to keep the position and influence and the distressed are overlooked for the privileges of a few. Character is thrown to the winds as against wealth. Justice is getting blinder and there is growing of a wide disparity amongst individuals. Unemployment is on the increase, the able-bodied men have to beg and live on doles; honesty is more a disqualification for a peaceful living and all is in turmoil. The country is being driven towards Communism and communalism and the democracy we dreamt of is now only the concentration of power and responsibility in the hands of a few people supported by Yes men and if this state of affairs is allowed to continue teeming millions of Indians will have to face more and more miseries in times to come." This is the sad experience that we are facing during the last fourteen years of Independence. This is mainly due to the fact that we have no strong opposition party either in the Centre or in the State. The various parties that exist today are not quite different from the ruling party and they have no proper programme and policies to be placed before the electorate for their support. The present opposition parties in Legislature are too weak and powerless. There is an urgent need to put a brake to the statism of the ruling party and the manifesto of Swatantra Party has offered the country “for the first time” with an opposition with a clear cut alternative way of governance which can take over from the present ruling party whenever the people call upon it to do so. The manifesto says "every voter who realises the importance of such an opposition and who does not want the all embracing statism of the Congress party will refuse to give it a fresh lease of untrammelled power, which would be tantamount to perpetuation of one party rule and will give their support to Swatantra Party candidates whenever they offer themselves for election, so that democracy may be safeguard."  The manifesto says that the primary obligation of the Government is to provide man with food, clothing and shelter and also fuller employment, more schools, more minor irrigation projects and more small industries. It also gives top priority to clean drinking water, to rural areas and to housing in both rural and urban areas. It has also realised the supreme importance of the development of roads and inland water transport. The manifesto realises the urgent need of mobile ambulance facilities in rural areas. The leaders of the Swatantra Party rightly believes that all these objectives are within the reach of the country, provided the large funds which are now spent on spectacular and gigantic projects are properly utilised for the welfare of the common man. At present the prices of consumer goods and especially of foodgrains are rising day by day and during the Second Five Year Plan they have increased by 42% and ruling party has miserably failed to stabilise them. The Swatantra Party rightly believes that the prices should be stabilised. It also promises that there should be a drastic reduction in heavy and reckless taxation and wasteful expenditure. It is against joint farming because of the official control that it involves and its conviction that individual ownership and effort will be more conducive to better results than collective ownership and organisation of production. It has also made attractive promises to the farmers. It promises abolition of land taxes except to the extent necessary for maintaining ownership records; support to an adequate level of agricultural prices relative to the prices of industrial commodities; establishment of insurance fund against natural calamities; adequate wages to the landless agricultural labour and protection of permanently employed labour in agriculture; speedy electrification in rural areas; establishment of small scale modernised industries in the country in order to absorb the surplus agricultural labour.  The manifesto of Swatantra Party is against Trading, bureaucratic controls, centralised planning and "extra constitutional dictation of the Planning Commission." On the other hand it is in favour of the development of small scale industries, consumer goods industries, rural electrification and road transport. The party is against monopoly and concentration of economic power whether in the public or in the private sector.  From this it is quite clear that the leaders of the Swatantra Party have rightly realised the difficulties of the common man. He is suffering from the rising prices but greatest peril according to the manifesto is statism which has expressed itself in "permit-licence-raj." This concentration of political and economic power has resulted in reckless and wasteful expenditure, spiralling inflation and blackmarketting. It is a fact that the ruling party has sacrificed the urgent needs of common man by adopting near communist planning. It must be admitted that the Swatantra Party is fully aware of the fact that it has to give a tough fight to a party well entrenched in the seats of power. It has to fight against the prevailing mood of the country in which large scale State intervention and initiative are taken for granted. This mood of looking up to the State for everything has to be changed if a libertarian society with minimum of state control is to be achieved. The chief merit of this manifesto lies in the fact that it has refused to make impossible promises in a bid for popular support. The manifesto may not have glamour but to say that it is uninspiring is nothing but nonsense. The party does hope not to come to power in the immediate future but to play the role of "missing component in the democratic framework of our national life." In other words it seeks to function as a strong Opposition Party which will serve as a check on the growing statism of the ruling party.  The manifesto is a challenge to the people because it is based on different outlook and ideology. It may be called a manifesto of Opposition and not the manifesto of Government. Economic development of our country cannot be rapid unless the present trends are reversed and that can be done only by Swatantra Party as a strong, vigilant opposition party. Economic development in India requires both accelerator and a brake. The public sector has provided an accelerator by increasing purchasing power through deficit financing and now time has come to apply a brake and a wise and intelligent voter will recognise that Swatantra Party in opposition is quite essential at this stage if the individual liberties as guaranteed in the Constitution are to be safeguarded. It is the duty of every voter to cast his or her vote in favour of Swatantra candidate. That is the only way to allow our democracy to function properly. One must congratulate those who have framed the Manifesto of the Party because "in that they have concentrated in a concise form both a philosophy and a plan of action which is new to Indian political life. It is hoped that it will have significant success at the polls to achieve its prime function, namely to place a brake on the monolithic power of the Congress effectively to promote individual effort and freedom." The party is to be judged by what it offers positively and this Swatantra Manifesto is a unique one because it has not only indicated what it will do and what it will not do but also how it proposes to implement its promises. It is the manifesto that will lead our country to prosperity through freedom. An impression is gaining ground that Swatantra Party is against Planning, foreign aid and development of heavy industries. But a careful study of the manifesto shows that it tries to show to the public the shortcomings of the approach of the party in power on a number of issues and to suggest workable alternatives such as would not offend the traditional and spiritual values that have always been prized by the people of this country. "However impressive the manifesto of a political party may be, its import and implications cannot be expected fully to percolate to the man in the street or the people in the remotest village. The voting will not therefore necessarily reflect an appreciation or understanding of the manifesto but it is bound to reflect at least in part, in the disapproval of certain policies and actions of the party in power, and if the section registering such disapproval is sufficiently large, the feeling in business circles is that it is probable that the political party benefitting largely by this will be the Swatantra Party. It would then be for the Swatantra Party to prove how effective as an opposition it will function. For it is not only the leaders and spokesmen of the Swatantra Party that want an effective opposition but all lovers of parliamentary democracy generally." We are sure that manifesto will infuse courage in the minds of the electorate and we have no doubt that a large number of voters will vote in favour of the Swatantra Party because it will lead the country to prosperity without destroying the individual liberties. All lovers of freedom are therefore required to cast their votes in favour of Swatantra. _Last week's musing: [MINOO MASANI: OLD LIBERALISM & NEW LIBERALISM](https://indianliberals.in/content/minoo-masani-old-liberalism-new-liberalism/)_ --- ## [Musing] The Universality of Human Values - M.R. Masani URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-universality-of-human-values-m-r-masani/ ### Body _Published below is an article written by Minoo Masani which appeared in the December 2002 edition of the Freedom First Magazine. This piece was written during the years of the cold war wherein Mr. Masani makes a coherent, impassioned and prudent plea to safeguard universal human values. (Image Credit : The Print)_In the Presidential Address delivered a few days back at the Annual Meeting of the British Association by Professor A. V. Hill, he took a step further the familiar proposition that Science has put in Man's hand more power than he has the wisdom to use. Dealing in particular with the problem of food and population, which is most acute in countries like India, Professor Hill asked whether Human Rights extended to unlimited reproduction with a consequent obligation falling on those more prudent. This is a question to which I, for one, would hesitate to venture an answer more specific than that given by Mahatma Gandhi in a wider context, namely, that each right carries with it a corresponding obligation. Certainly, all in India who ponder that the country's massive problems realize that the most serious attention needs to be devoted to the rectification through an all-sided approach, of the prevailing unbalance between production and population. An International Conference on Planned Population, which is due to meet in Bombay later this year and in which Dr. Margaret Sanger and other pioneers in the field will participate, is only one of the many signs that we in India are not altogether unaware of the pressing problem by drawing pointed attention to which Professor Hill performed a public service. As Professor Hill himself went on to state, the problem he raised is not confined to India nor to food. The wider question of what is the purpose of human life on earth is involved. The scientist is only the expert witness; the entire community is the judge; and to help in expressing that moral judgement is, according to Professor Hill, the "compelling duty of a good citizen". One thing is clear, as indeed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations recognizes, and this is that Human Rights must be universally recognized and applied. lf any attempt were to be made to restrict them to any narrower circle, they would cease to be human and indeed in some measure become exploitative. Obviously as this may sound, there is reason to believe that the universality of Human Values needs to be constantly re-asserted. In the _New Fabian Essays_, alongside much that is reasonable and humane, Mr. R. H. S. Crossman propounds a thesis that calls for analysis. Having made it clear that he regards totalitarian Communism as a reactionary force which the peoples of the Atlantic community must resist, Mr. Crossman proceeds to the assumption that, to quote his own words, "the coolie in Malaya, or for that matter the tribesman in Nigeria does not want _either_ liberty, equality and fraternity or the dictatorship of the proletariat. He is below the level of such political aspirations," says Mr. Crossman. He then asks his readers to join him in accepting "both intellectually and emotionally the fact that Communism outside Europe is still a liberative force”. We are then brought to a remarkable conclusion: "The American isolationist," writes Mr. Crossman, "who reacts so violently against the gigantic bill of rearmament and foreign aid, is nearer the tradition of Americanism than the New Deal prophets of America's world-wide responsibilities." Americans should, therefore, be encouraged, says Mr. Crossman, "to take the risk in Asia and Africa of leaving unfilled the 'political vacuum’ left by the dismantling of the old European empires ...We are opposed" writes Mr. Crossman, "to Russian expansion but also to American victory." Whatever the motivation of this line of thought may be, its implications are unfortunately hard to mistake. First, that Human Values are different for the peoples of Western Europe and North America on the one hand and for the peoples of the underdeveloped countries of Asia and Africa on the other. Secondly, that the claims of bread and freedom are antithetical and should in the case of the underdeveloped countries be resolved in favour of bread. Thirdly, that the West should write off these countries and these peoples and do nothing to protect them from being taken over by Communist expansion and aggression. Here then, from a leading spokesman of "left" wing Socialism in the West comes a strange echo of Rudyard Kipling” “East is East and West is West”; East of Suez, “there ain’t no Ten Commandments”; and what is reaction and tyranny for the European and American is liberation and progress for the “lesser bread without the law”.  Is there perchance any truth in this assertion that the masses of illiterate and underprivileged people in Asia and Africa are just empty stomachs and hungry food? The facts testify precisely to the contrary. While it may be true that some left wing intellectuals in India, as elsewhere, are obsessed with the desirability of the Soviet Model Five-Year Plans and of what Lewis Mumford has called "gigantism", the common people in India are much more attached to such things as their traditional way of life, their religions and their places of worship, their families and their homes, their cattle and their farms. While the Communist Party of India has attracted a section of the English speaking intelligentsia and is today more entrenched among its ranks that it is among classes less privileged, the Indian masses on the other hand have, by their unique response over three decades to Mahatma Gandhi shown that the man who evokes a response in their hearts is the one who talks to them of non-material values like God, Love, Truth, Human Brotherhood and the Equality of the untouchable Harijan and the proud Brahmin. Gandhi represents the complete antithesis to the Communist and has been recognized as such in the Moscow press and radio over three decades. The Communist swears by dialectical materialism - matter is the essence, the mind a by-product; Gandhi preaches the supremacy of spirit, of mind over matter. To the Communist, the end justifies the means; to Gandhi the means are everything - means and ends are like the seed and the tree; and so Gandhi pronounced Soviet Communism to be "repugnant to India". Stalin preaches the need to hate the class and national enemy; Gandhi the need to love all. Communism seeks to centralize and collectivize everything; Gandhi preaches the need to decentralize and distribute power both politically and economically. The Communist glorifies the State; Gandhi, conscious of the distinction drawn by Reinhold Niebuhr between Moral Man and Immoral Society, stresses the individual as an end in himself. Identifying himself with the lowliest in the scale of Caste - the Harijan or untouchables Gandhi recalls the words of Him who said: 'As long as you did it to one of _these my least brethren_, you did it to me." Those who today work for the lowliest of our people cannot escape the spirit of Gandhi. Only last month Jayaprakash Narayan wrote: "For many years I have worshipped at the shrine of the goddess Dialectical Materialism, which seemed to me intellectually more satisfying than any other philosophy. But while the main quest of philosophy remains unsatisfied, it has become patent to me that materialism of any sort robs man of the means to be truly human ... lt is clearer today than ever that social reconstruction is impossible without human reconstruction ... Only when materialism is transcended does an individual man come into his own and become an end in himself," concludes Jayaprakash. It is obvious then that for India the only genuine, the only Indian social revolution is the one that Gandhi commenced. I have felt it essential to stress the universality of human values so rudely questioned by Mr. Crossman because it is only too likely that his assumptions are not confined to the Bevanites in Britain and that they might indeed be shared by many men and women of goodwill in the United States. Let us put bread into the hungry mouths of the Asian masses, let us fill their empty stomachs, and we shall save Asia from Communism. Now, this line of thought is, in my view, fundamentally fallacious. Man does not live by bread alone - not even the brown or yellow or black man. Empty minds and souls provide as good a breeding ground for Communism as empty stomachs. Czechoslovakia did not go under the Iron Curtain because its people were groaning in starvation in the months that preceded the _coup d'etat _of February 1948. The model housing of Socialist Vienna provided no deterrent to Dolfuss and then to Hitler. How mistaken have been proved those prophets who foretold that once Iran lost the revenues that came to her from oil and felt the pinch, she would be brought to her senses. It would seem then that the lesson that Peter Drucker taught in his book _The End of Economic Man_ is all too easily forgotten. What decides whether a people will adhere to Democracy or succumb to Communism is primarily whether or not they believe in another ideology superior to Communism, whether or not they have the will to resist and whether or not they possess the leadership that will guide them to do so. Asia is today asserting not only its right to economic prosperity and progress but even more to equality of status in the world family, to self-respect and dignity, to racial equality and the end of discrimination. Surveys of opinion among industrial workers made in America in recent years have shown that in listing the priorities among incentives the American worker is inclined to place wages somewhere near the bottom of the list. It is the non-material incentives that take priority. This is true of our workers in India. If I have stressed non-material values and incentives as against material ones, it is not that I am insensible to the value that material things and their possession have in providing a fuller life and greater dignity to the human being. Nor is this to be construed as a plea that the United States should go slow on economic aid to the under-developed countries. On the contrary, I have been one of those in India who were for the acceptance of United States economic aid even before it became generally acceptable. Nor am I suggesting that America should stop rearming for the collective security of the free world against totalitarian aggression. On the contrary, I know that, to the extent that America rearms and reasserts the strength of the free world, she defends us who are militarily weaker, whether we know it or not. I do, however, urge the need to follow up economic and military cooperation on the ideological plane. Mr. Arthur Goodfriend in his significant book _The Only War We Seek,_ makes a similar plea. Writes Mr. Goodfriend: "They (the Chinese Communists) reached the people by means of education and political indoctrination. We tried too often to win them with charity ... We can, as we did in China, keep mum about the shameful record of Russian Communism. Or we can attack the soft underbelly of Communism by reciting its record on the values most precious to Asians and others - religion, the family, national independence and the ownership of the land ... Unless we are prepared to face the problem, the United States and the free world may be betrayed into a grievous error. The governments of underdeveloped peoples may rally to our side - but behind this facade the people may remain aloof and even antagonistic". Thus Mr. Goodfriend. There is no country in the world today so well placed to lead the social revolution in Asia as the United States of America, Professor M. A. Lineberger on the basis of his own personal experience in the Far East, presents us with a paradox. “The Americans believe in spiritual things," writes Professor Lineberger, "but they try to buy them by material means - by dollars, by gifts, by aid. The Communists believe in material things, but they offer people something to join, something to do, something to fight. We Americans offer property; the Communists offer a reason to be alive ... People who join the Communist side feel that they are needed, that the Communists want them. You could not join the American side, if you were an Asian. There isn't anything to join." How very true. Neither militarily, nor ideologically, nor morally, can one part of humanity afford to write off any other. If it was true in the time of Abraham Lincoln that no nation could be half slave and half free, it is equally true today in this shrinking world that we cannot have a world that is half slave and half free. More than ever it is true today that as the English poet, John Donne, wrote: "No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the maine, if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore never send to know for whom the Bell tolls; it tolls for thee." (The piece was originally published[here.](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/455.pdf) ) --- ## [Musing] The US-India Alignment in Cold War URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-us-india-alignment-in-cold-war/ ### Body _The Indian defeat in the 1962 border war with China not only resulted in loss of territory, but also raised questions about the foreign policy conduct of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. _ _Nehru’s formulation of Non-Alignment, which was couched in the language of third block neutrality, was interpreted as hedging by revisionist scholars, and came under intense criticism. _ _Indian liberals, a minor but vocal force of public opinion, were highly sceptical of Nehru’s neutral posturing and instead, advocated closer alignment with the US-led block. For Indian liberals, such posturing made sense given their own deep aversion to both the Chinese and Russian communism, the shared democratic credentials of India and US and with the benefit of hindsight, the possibility of allying with the winning side in the Cold War. _ _The muted Soviet response, hapless Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) posturing, and the Anglo-American promise and delivery of military support in the crucial moments of 1962, seemed to vindicate Indian liberals, even if temporarily._ _Produced below is the editorial from the 15__th__ December 1962, issue of the _Indian Libertarian_ magazine, which warns of the dangers of Chinese expansionism, suggests Indian leveraging of China’s Tibet problem, and argues for closer US-India alignment based on clear headed political realism._ 1962 will go down in history as a memorable year which, for the first time, witnessed the invasion of India by foreign hordes through the Himalayan passes. The impregnability and inviolability of India’s Himalayan borders have now proved to be a myth. Beyond the Himalayas, stretches today not the sacred land of the Lamas, but the Tibetan colony of the Chinese Red bandits who drove The Dalai Lama and his patriotic followers out of their motherland in 1960 and are now busy rooting out the time-hallowed Tibetan culture and civilisation and implanting there in its stead their miserable and despicable communist faith and their crude values of terror, deceit and fraud. No longer does India enjoy the centuries old peaceful and happy neighbourly relations with Tibet. The Red enemy from China is now not only at India’s Northern gates but he has also forcibly broken them open and occupied a strategically important position within India’s own precincts. Having accomplished this feat in one grand stride, he is now using all his communist wiles to lull India into a false sense of security so that he might be enabled to consolidate his position there. This, in short, is what the ‘Cease-Fire’ proposals of China amount to. China will never willingly relinquish unless forced to do so, her control of all the passes in the Himalayas right up from the Karakoram Pass near-about Ladakh in the North West, to Tawang and Walong in the NEFA region in the North East and the adjoining areas. She still reserves to herself by her cease-fire proposals, the right of a conqueror to re-occupy the proposed No Man’s Land (which, in fact, belongs to India) in case Nehru’s Government proves too intractable, pugnacious and defiant. She also wants some respite from her adventurist military operation in this region just to consolidate her ill-gotten gains and further tighten her grip of the Himalayan passes so as to be able to dominate and mould as suits her liking, India’s internal life, political, social and economic, by ever pointing out a loaded gun at her from these northern heights. To isolate India from her neighbours, China is cleverly wooing Pakistan, which is reeking, from its very birth, with intense communal and religious hatred for India. Communist intransigence of China and communal fanaticism of Pakistan may well come together as they have done. For they have one thing in common. Both detest the secular democratic spirit of India. But Pakistan will do well to remember that the day is not far off when she will have to pay dearly for such ill-conceived romantic adventure with China as India has done at a heavy cost. In this situation, India finds herself between the devil of China on the one hand and the deep sea of Pakistan on the other. Her leadership is at bay. It finds it hard to wriggle itself out of the ties and attachments for communist countries, fostered and strengthened over a number of years by its very ‘Non-Alignment’ policies. The leaders including Mr Nehru are now sincerely wanting to hurl back the Chinese invaders from our soil and for that purpose, have entered into military agreements with USA and Britain. But some mysterious forces seem to hold them back from going ahead with the full implementation of these agreements. The probable reason is that the ardent desire so long entertained by our leaders to carve out a distinctive kingdom of socialist pattern in India has drawn them irresistibly closer to the Communist bloc than to the Democratic bloc, despite India’s neutrality. It seems that they are not yet able to outlive this past even when the logic of Sino-Indian war has made them realise the stern reality of a world-wide titanic struggle proceeding between the forces of Red slavery and those of democratic freedom. They are now casting, however, a wishful look towards the Western nations for military aid and financial help in this hour of peril. The tragedy of the situation is that in the absence of a clear assurance forthcoming from India that she, as a genuinely non-aligned but democratic country, would always stand against totalitarianism and colonialism, wherever found, either in the old colonies of Western nations or the new colonies held by Russia and China, USA and UK willy-nilly have to carry on with a dubious ally like Pakistan in this region of South Asia. If only India should prove her bona-fides in regard to her faith in democratic freedom, all her difficulties with China and Pakistan would vanish into thin air. India would then be in a position not only to fight successfully the Chinese invaders but also to effectively counter and neutralise Pakistan’s capacity for mischief and trouble. But all this would be impossible without a furious rethinking on the part of our leaders of India’s foreign policy. Mr Nehru would then be not justified in making a fine metaphysical distinction after the manner of a Vedantin, between the ‘Maya’ (illusion) of Chinese chauvinism and the ‘Parabrahma’ (the Supreme Reality) of Communist Vedantism, as he did the other day. He would then have to rally the whole nation behind him not only to throw out the Chinese from the Indian soil, but also to fulfil the positive and inspiring ideal of preserving India’s Free Way of Living now menaced by the twentieth century Red Napoleonism of China. He would have also to dispel from the minds of the Western nations, the fears and suspicions that India’s Non-Alignment is not a mere way of escape from shouldering the onerous responsibility devolving on her as a Democracy, to fight relentlessly for saving Freedom and Democracy from world communism. In that event, India would have to play the special role of the Defender of Freedom of all South-East Asia- a role assigned to India by the prophet of Indian nationalism, Shri Aurobindo Ghosh as far back as 1950, with rare prophetic vision and political insight. Thus if our leadership should free itself from the political and ideological cobwebs that have polluted its mind and follow the straight – and may be even narrow- path to a fuller and richer democratic life, Western countries, which have proved themselves to be India’s real friends in the hour of her need, will do everything in their power to replenish her military strength and augment her economic resources and help her solve the knotty Kashmir problem. Thus, on a proper analysis of the relation of forces in the East and the West, it will be found that India finds herself in the present delicate situation as a result of her past misguided policies and ideological aberrations. It is, therefore, high time that India made a clear and unambiguous confession of her unflinching faith in Freedom and Democracy, which went into the very framing of the Indian constitution. The spiritual crisis she is passing through is no less great than her military crisis. In fact, the former has aggravated the latter. Let India make a wise and deliberate choice here and now and “Seek First the Kingdom of Freedom”. And it is certain as anything that within a short time ‘All Other Things Will be Added unto Her’ from within and from without and she will come triumphantly out of her present trials and travails. _The original text can be accessed _[_here_](http://indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=300361867.pdf)_._ --- ## [Musing] The Universality Of Human Values URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-universality-of-human-values/ ### Body _Published below is an article written by Minoo Masani in 1952, which appeared in the December 2002 edition of Freedom First Magazine. This piece was written during the years of the cold war wherein Mr Masani makes a coherent, impassioned and prudent plea to safeguard universal human values._ _You can read the unabridged version of the article _[_here_](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/455.pdf)_.__ _ In the Presidential Address delivered a few days back at the Annual Meeting of the British Association by Professor AV Hill, he took a step further with the familiar proposition that Science has put in Man's hands more power than he has the wisdom to use. Dealing in particular with the problem of food and population, which is most acute in countries like India, Professor Hill asked whether Human Rights extended to unlimited reproduction with a consequent obligation falling on those more prudent. This is a question to which I, for one, would hesitate to venture an answer more specific than that given by Mahatma Gandhi in a wider context, namely, that each right carries with it a corresponding obligation. Certainly, all in India who ponder that country's massive problems realize that the most serious attention needs to be devoted to rectification through an all-sided approach to the prevailing unbalance between production and population. An international Conference on Planned Population, which is due to meet in Bombay later this year and in which Dr Margaret Sanger and other pioneers in the field will participate, is only one of the many signs that we in India are not altogether unaware of the pressing problem by drawing pointed attention to which Professor Hill performed a public service. As Professor Hill himself went on to state, the problem he raised is not confined to India nor to food. The wider question of what is the purpose of human life on earth is involved. The scientist is only the expert witness; the entire community is the judge, and to help in expressing that moral judgement is, according to Professor Hill, the “compelling duty of a good citizen.” One thing is clear, as indeed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations recognizes, and this is that Human Rights must be universally recognized and applied. If any attempt were to be made to restrict them to any narrower circle, they would cease to be human and, in some measure, become exploitative. Obviously, as this may sound, there is reason to believe that the universality of Human Values needs to be constantly re-asserted. In the New Fabian Essays, alongside much that is reasonable and humane, Mr RHS Crossman propounds a thesis that calls for analysis. Having made it clear that he regards totalitarian Communism as a reactionary force that the peoples of the Atlantic community must resist, Mr Crossman proceeds to the assumption that, to quote his own words, “_the coolie in Malaya, or for that matter the tribesman in Nigeria does not want either liberty, equality and fraternity or the dictatorship of the proletariat. He is below the level of such political aspirations_,” says Mr Crossman. He then asks his readers to join him in accepting “_both intellectually and emotionally the fact that Communism outside Europe is still a liberating force. We are then brought to a remarkable conclusion: “The American isolationist_,” writes Mr Crossman, “_who reacts so violently against the gigantic bill of rearmament and foreign aid, is nearer the tradition of Americanism than the New Deal prophets of America's worldwide responsibilities._” Americans should, therefore, be encouraged, says Mr Crossman, “_to take the risk in Asia and Africa of leaving unfilled the “political vacuum” left by the dismantling of the old European empires_... _We are opposed_,” writes Mr Crossman, “_to Russian expansion but also to American victory_.” Whatever the motivation of this line of thought may be, its implications are unfortunately hard to mistake. First, Human Values are different for the peoples of Western Europe and North America on the one hand and for the peoples of the underdeveloped countries of Asia and Africa on the other. Secondly, the claims of bread and freedom are antithetical and should in the case of underdeveloped countries be resolved in favour of bread. Thirdly, the West should write off these countries and their peoples and do nothing to protect them from being overtaken by Communist expansion and aggression. Here then from a leading spokesman of “left” wing Socialism in the West comes a strange echo of Rudyard Kipling’s “_East is East and West is West_”; “_East of Suez, there ain't no Ten Commandments_”; and “_what is reaction and tyranny for the European and American is liberation and progress for the “lesser breeds without the law”_. Is there perchance any truth in this assertion that the masses of illiterate and underprivileged people in Asia and Africa are just empty stomachs and hungry for food? The facts testify precisely to the contrary. While it may be true that some left-wing intellectuals in India, as elsewhere, are obsessed with the desirability of the Soviet Model Five-Year Plans and of what Lewis Mumford has called “giantism”, the common people in India are much more attached to such things as their traditional way of life, their religions and their places of worship, their families and their homes, their cattle and their farms. While the Communist Party of India has attracted a section of the English-speaking intelligentsia and is today more entrenched among its ranks that it is among classes less privileged, the Indian masses on the other hand have, by their unique response over three decades to Mahatma Gandhi shown that the man who evokes a response in their hearts is the one who talks to them of non-material values like God, Love, Truth, Human Brotherhood and the Equality of the untouchable _Harijan_ and the proud Brahmin. Gandhi represents the complete antithesis of the Communist and has been recognized as such in the Moscow press and radio for over three decades. The Communist swears by dialectical materialism - matter is the essence, the mind a by-product; Gandhi preaches the supremacy of spirit, of mind over matter. To the Communists, the end justifies the means; to Gandhi, the means are everything - means and ends are like the seed and the tree, and so Gandhi pronounced Soviet Communism to be “repugnant to India”. Stalin preaches the need to hate the class and national enemy; Gandhi the need to love all. Communism seeks to centralize and collectivize everything; Gandhi preaches the need to decentralize and distribute political and economic power. The Communist glorifies the State; Gandhi, conscious of the distinction drawn by Reinhold Niebuhr between Moral Man and immoral Society, stresses the individual as an end in himself. ldentifying himself with the lowliest on the scale of Caste - the _Harijan_ or untouchable Gandhi recalls the words of Him who said, “_As long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me._” Those who today work for the lowliest of our people cannot escape the spirit of Gandhi. Only last month Jayaprakash Narayan wrote, “_For many years I have worshipped at the shrine of the goddess Dialectical Materialism, which seemed to me intellectually more satisfying than any other philosophy. But while the main quest of philosophy remains unsatisfied, it has become patent to me that materialism of any sort robs man of the means to be truly human...lt is clearer today than ever that social reconstruction is impossible without human reconstruction...Only when materialism is transcended does individual man come into his own and become an end in himself,_” concludes Jayaprakash. It is obvious then that for India the only genuine, the only Indian social revolution is the one that Gandhi commenced. I have felt it essential to stress the universality of human values so rudely questioned by Mr Crossman because it is only too likely that his assumptions are not confined to the Bevanites in Britain and that many men and women of goodwill might indeed share them in the United States. Let us put bread into the hungry mouths of the Asian masses, let us fill their empty stomachs, and we shall save Asia from Communism. Now, this line of thought is, in my view, fundamentally fallacious. Man does not live by bread alone - not even the brown, yellow, or black man. Empty minds and souls provide as good a breeding ground for Communism as empty stomachs. Czechoslovakia did not go under the “lron Curtain” because its people were starving in the months preceding the coup d'etat of February 1948. The model housing of Socialist Vienna provided no deterrent to Dolfuss and then to Hitler. How mistaken have been proved those prophets who foretold that once Iran lost the revenues that came to her from oil and felt the pinch, she would be brought to her senses. It would seem then that the lesson that Peter Drucker taught in his book “The End of Economic Man” is all too easily forgotten. What decides whether a people will adhere to Democracy or succumb to Communism is primarily whether or not they believe in another ideology superior to Communism, whether or not they have the will to resist and whether or not they possess the leadership that will guide them to do so. Asia is today asserting not only its right to economic prosperity and progress but even more to equality of status in the world family, to self-respect and dignity, to racial equality and the end of discrimination. Surveys of opinion among industrial workers made in America in recent years have shown that in listing the priorities among incentives, the American worker is inclined to place wages somewhere near the bottom of the list. It is the non-material incentives that take priority. This is true of our workers in India.  If I have stressed non-material values and incentives as against material ones, it is not that I am insensible to the value that material things and their possession have in providing a fuller life and greater dignity to the human being. Nor is this to be construed as a plea that the United States should go slow on economic aid to underdeveloped countries. On the contrary, I have been one of those in India who were for the acceptance of United States economic aid even before it became generally acceptable. Nor am I suggesting that America should stop rearming for the collective security of the free world against totalitarian aggression. On the contrary, I know that, to the extent that America rearms and reasserts the strength of the free world, she defends us who are militarily weaker, whether we know it or not. However, I urge the need to follow up on economic and military cooperation on the ideological plane. Mr Arthur Goodfriend in his significant book “The Only War We Seek,” makes a similar plea. Writes Mr Goodfriend, “_They (the Chinese Communists) reached the people by means of education and political indoctrination. We tried too often to win them with charity...We can, as we did in China, keep mum about the shameful record of Russian Communism. Or we can attack the soft underbelly of Communism by reciting its record on the values most precious to Asians and others - religion, the family, national independence and the ownership of the land...Unless we are prepared to face the problem, the United States and the free world may be betrayed into a grievous error. The governments of underdeveloped peoples may rally to our side - but behind this facade the people may remain aloof and even antagonistic_”. Thus Mr Goodfriend. There is no country in the world today so well placed to lead the social revolution in Asia as the United States of America, Professor M. A. Lineberger on the basis of his own personal experience in the Far East, presents us with a paradox. “_The Americans believe in spiritual things_,” writes Professor Lineberger, “_but they try to buy them by material means - by dollars, by gifts, by aid. The Communists believe in material things, but they offer people something to join, something to do, something to fight. We Americans offer property; the Communists offer a reason to being alive...People who join the Communist side feel that they are needed, that the Communists want them. You could not join the American side, if you were an Asian. There isn't anything to join_”. How very true. Neither militarily, ideologically, nor morally can one part of humanity afford to write off any other. If it was true in the time of Abraham Lincoln that no nation could be half slave and half free, it is equally true today in this shrinking world that we cannot have a world that is half slave and half free. More than ever is it true today that as the English poet John Donne wrote, “_No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own, were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee_”. _Previous musing: [Democracy means Bread and Freedom](https://indianliberals.in/content/democracy-means-bread-and-freedom/)_ --- ## [Musing] The Wisdom of the Rulers URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/the-wisdom-of-the-rulers/ ### Body _The qualifications, characteristics as well as the ideal values of rulers has been debated by various philosophers for ages. These philosophical debates have informed modern day democratic setups and they continue to catch the eye of those who seek to engage in the relationship between the ruler and the citizen. The following piece, published in the December 1961 edition of the Indian Libertarian magazine elucidates on the characteristics of rulers vis-a-vis ideas from ancient Indian thinkers. _Now that the principal parties in all the land have published their manifestos and there is but a short period for the voters to digest their programmes and assess their merits before the general elections in February 1962, it is worthwhile reminding ourselves of what qualifications and wisdom we wish the rulers to possess to deserve our choice and approval.  It is usual in a democracy with adult franchise to consider the qualifications of the voter and to feel that at least literacy should be universalised as soon as possible. But though literacy in the sense of the bare capacity to read and write in the native tongue is necessary, it is not enough by itself.  This will take decades more to compass at the slow rate at which primary schools are being increased under Congress rule. Meanwhile, the more important question is the qualification of the candidates for election i.e., for the right and power to rule.  **Yatha raja, tatha praja: **as is the king, so will be the people. It is not mere time that makes the yuga or time spirit but it is the king that determines the entire “progress-and-happiness conditioning” climate of society and state at any time. These sayings in Sanskrit literature bring out the critical importance of the character and ability of the rulers and governing class generally in any society and state.  Every considerable civilisation has developed its own nations of the model to be followed by the rulers- Greece, Rome, Medieval Christian Europe, the modern Eur-American civilisation of the present day as well as Indian and Chinese cultures. In Indian tradition, accepted treaties on raja dharma like the code of Manu in part, Arthasastra, Sukra Niti and a host of lesser ones lay down the type to which rulers were expected to conform.  The qualifications are twofold: one group refers to knowledge and wisdom. The raja or ruler together with his counselors should be trained in the highest sciences and arts then extant. First of all, they should have a knowledge of philosophy i.e., a knowledge of the vedas by which they meant a vision of the universe as governed by spiritual forces. They should have a view of nature as the field of natural enemies ultimately dominated by spirit.  But by the time of the **Arthashastra of Chanakya, **it was realised that it is possible for the ethical aspects of government to be pursued satisfactorily by kings and rulers and administrators even without faith in a spiritual reality pervading the universe. Chanakya himself was a **lokyata **or materialist in philosophy. But what was insisted upon was a clear and passion-free attitude to moral values i.e., **dharma**. The aim of the state was the maintenance of dharma or social morality through law and custom and **danda, **police and magistracy and defense against foreign aggressors.  Even in the Upanishads we have a glimpse of such a view. Narada in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad asks Sanatkumara for instruction in the highest knowledge. We profess to have a mastery of many sciences and arts but lack knowledge of the final unity of reality and value.  This synoptic vision is emphasised in Manu as essential to the education of the ruler. The vision of order and unity in the cosmos is held to be essential to help the ruler to stir his imagination and conscience to motivate his duty to maintain order and unity in the human society entrusted to his care. Dharma refers to the translation of such cosmic order in the social sphere.  In addition to such a synoptic view of the universe and of society, the ruler should have a high **character. **The first requisite should have mastered the passions of greed, miserliness, selfishness, indulgence in sense pleasures to the neglect of duty, such as women and wine and vice. Positively, he should have a high sense of duty to society and state and devote his entire energies to the tasks of administration without fear or favour. He should be above class. The welfare of the people in every sphere of life should be his sole care. Justice should be his ruling emotion. In addition to knowledge and justice, he should have respect to the ethos of the society-respect to men of wisdom, of experience, followers of the sciences and the arts. He should consult the elders in these lines everyday. He should develop ingrained habits of tapas by constant practise, that is, meditation for short spells everyday so that the great values can sink into the subconscious mind. The attitudes and conduct expected of the ruler and his subordinates in high administration, civil and military, were held in solution as they were in a keen and living public opinion of the society of the governing class. It was known to the people at large that the governing class were held responsible by public opinion and popular expectation.  To what extent such codes were actually effective in practice is another question that needs a historical investigation for answer. Turning to the western world, we find in Plato’s delineation of the philosopher kings a close approximation to the Indian ideas mentioned here. “Until philosophers are kings or until the kings and potentates of the world imbibe the spirit of philosophy, the world will not cease from ill.” This is the famous sutra or key sentiment of the treatise of Plato called The Republic. It would be interesting to compare and contrast the Indian and Platonic ideas of the ideal rulers but that would require more room than can be taken in this article. But the main approaches can be indicated briefly which would be if current interest in choosing our democratic rulers in the general elections.  Plato also puts synoptic knowledge of philosophy and science in the forefront of the qualifications of the ruler. In order to bring about a harmony of values and to adjust the claims of classes in society both feel that the ruler should have a vision of harmony in the cosmos and in society. The guardians should have transcendent devotion to social good. To fortify them in this spirit of service, Plato is not content with the public opinion as a cheque and stimulus. He proposes the abolition of private family and private property for the rulers! They can have all necessaries and comforts but no individual property. But instinct is not altogether suppressed, for Plato provides for sex and children in seasonal hymenial festivals when guardians of different sexes can unite in temporary marriage. Children are brought up by nurses without knowledge of their own parents. All the children are regarded as children of all the guardians. Women are given full equality and guardians are chosen among them also through educational sifting like men.  Capacity to think on the highest level is thus secured in both Indian and Platonic systems. In addition to pure theory, Plato’s guardians are put through practical experience in different branches of administration and are given military service as well. Their character and integrity are tested through fires of temptation while holding positions of power in the administrative hierarchy. They should be able to resist both pleasure and pain and to maintain their loyalty and devotion to duty unsullied.  Turning to the modern world, we find that the communist system as developed in Moscow approximates in several important respects to these ancient ideals so far as form and devotion to the state are concerned. The governing elite consists of the members of the communist party which numbers a few millions among the huge population of more than 200 million. There is a rigid hierarchy among the members of the party, tier on tier, rising from the recruits at the bottom to the top power-holders in the executives of the party and government.  Recruits are trained in the ideology of Marxism-Leninism which is developed as a closed system of dogmas or truths held to be final. This view of history and materialism as used by Lenin in the guidance of the October Revolution takes the place of the philosophy and sciences in the older systems of India and Greece. One difference is that theory is held in the spirit of final truth unmodifiable by anyone except in the way of practice. Such practical adaptations are to be made only by the authorised top masters in the Kremlin. The rest in the hierarchy should accept them in toto in a spirit of loyal devotion. The spirit recalls Semitic theologies in its rigour and intolerance. Deviations however honest are not allowed and are punished with savage cruelty if persisted in. Just as the Bible built its authority on current notions of creation with their false geology and ethnology and crude legal system, today communism has built itself on the theories of Karl Marx. To doubt the theory is to shake the throne of the Kremlin rulers which they cannot of course tolerate.  It is like doubting the theological doctrines of the Incarnation of Christ, his resurrection from the cross on which he was implied and of the Trinity. Such doubt shakes the throne and authority of the Pope, the sole Vicar of Christ on earth, lord of men and rulers! Catholic theology and law prescribes death by fire for heresy. More than 30,000 heretics are said to have been burned by the authority of the Inquisition Court in the centuries of Catholic supremacy in Europe! The liquidations of the Nazis and Communists run into several millions for a similar offense against authorised belief. This is a return to the Dark Ages.  But the kernel of truth behind this insistence on dogma refers to the need and value of a philosophy or total vision of affairs, natural and human, for the purpose of governing nations.  Communists take over Marx’s view of history as a gradual development of classes through different stages of organisation of property ownership and economic production- the primitive horde, nomadic cattle owners, landlords, industrial craft guilds, and finally the capitalist class of machine production. A change in the mode of property and production introduces a change in the relationship of the classes. New classes of owners arise with new classes of workers who are exploited by them, slaves, serfs and wage labourers in today’s factories.  There is a dialectic in these changes, each system provoking its opposite and giving place to it in a synthesis. Today’s stage of wage labour and factory ownership has provoked and trained the property-less class of the proletariat. They will seize power in the next stage of socialism and communism by the immanent law of dialectic history. It is also a law of materialism. The idealism of Hegel is repudiated and his spiritual dialectic is stood on its head and turned upside down by Marx. The next stage is regarded as inevitable and that no effort of will on the part of any group of people can prevent the revolution from emerging. It can hasten it or delay it but ward it off it cannot, by any means. This is the historical and economic determinism of Karl Marx.  This belief gives communist rulers an inexpugnable assurance of final victory, since history and the entire process of the cosmos is supposed to be on their side. This theory gives communists their orientation on the present social world and defines to them their mission of world revolution. They hold to this theory with marvelous tenacity since it is bound up with their fortunes as individuals and as a group holding supreme power. It gives them the feeling of being engaged in an exalted purpose tending to save humanity in the future from the dark ages of exploitation forever. They envisaged an earthly paradise through their ideology and rule.  Communist ideologies reproduce the fanaticism and fervour and deathless devotion and social cohesion of semitic faiths in their prime. It has the force of a living religion. Knowledge and character, faith and devotion of a particular kind are therefore inculcated by the communists system in their elite. The knowledge of Marxism-Leninism gives them a blueprint for revolution and world conquest. To set against the formidable rival entrenched in the Kremlin spreading its powerful tentacles throughout the world through its subordinate conspiratorial communist parties, the free world needs a philosophy and character of comparable power and scope.  What are the motive forces of such a saving system available to the free world?  The rival includes the whole of humanity in its province. The free world should do no less. We need therefore a strong and lively vision of humanity progressing in freedom and unity on the planet for our philosophy. Within its universal range, as a practical stage, we should harness the forces of nationalism and democracy for the substance of value-making faith. Our mission should be to prevent the calamity of mechanisation and robotisation of man under communism. Positively, we should develop the vision of a free world of nations cooperating as a world commonwealth pursuing the sciences, the arts and the philosophies in a spirit of free reason and universal sharing and goodwill. We should have the ideal of using science and technology to create abundance of the necessities and comforts of life for all members of the human family, not merely for a small class of governors.  The rulers should have sufficient knowledge of nature as can be pictured from time to time from a synthesis of scientific results. The open mind should be retained. “Order” which is common to all possible scientific views is sufficient without commitment to matter or spirit.  A new scale of moral values like humanism, nationalism and democracy such as the new Declaration of Human Rights should be expected of electoral candidates amongst us.  _The original piece appeared in the December 1961 edition of the Indian Libertarian Magazine which can be [accessed here.](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-dec1-1961.pdf) _ --- ## [Musing] To Prosperity through Freedom URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/to-prosperity-through-freedom-v-r-1960/ ### Body _The following musing is an excerpt from ‘To Prosperity through Freedom’, published in journal Incorporating the 'Free Economic Review' and 'The Indian Rationalist’ Vol. 8 No. 5. The piece written by V. R. discusses and contextualizes Swatantra Party’s Philosophy and Policy which was declared at Patna on 19 and 20 March 1960. _ Like Luther at Godeoburg, Mr. C. Rajqopalachari has nailed his Fourteen Points on the door of the Ruling Party in the crucial challenge. The Patna Convention authorised a statement of policy on 19 and 20 March 1960 which is issued to the general public in the form of a brochure called: To Prosperity through Freedom.  The Congress cannot ignore it any longer. The congress from the days of its founder Mahatma Gandhi has contented itself with practical programmes leaving ideology and refinement of ideals to the supreme leader. Moreover, the aim then was simple, namely, to get rid of the foreign ruler and to establish swaraj or government by the people. The governing sentiment was nationalism. The particular ideas and ideals developed by Gandhi in the course of his conduct of different campaigns had a general appeal but were not accepted by all on grounds of rational conviction. Even non-violence which Gandhi erected into an End in itself was accepted, for instance, by Jawaharlal Nehru as a Means necessary and inevitable under the circumstances of an unarmed people facing a modern fully-armed Government which could command every sphere of life and dominate every corner of the country through an all-pervasive network of government, roads, telegraphs, strategic railways and mobile military forces.  Khadi, prohibition, simplicity or even austerity of life, constructive work in preparing villages imbued by the Gandhian ideas, prayer, fasta. vows etc. were all accepted along with his theoretical notions of Hind Swaraj in a vague way.  One who was a Minister in Mysore told the present writer that there was no need to think afresh on social and political ideals and policies because all that had been sufficiently and efficiently done by Gandhi long ago. He represented the closed mind so characteristic of the Congress intellectual and politician.   Today we have a similar situation in the country with Nehru as supreme leader. Congress leaders and rank and file take their ideology and policy from Nehru passively without much of heart-searching and analysis or discussion. The very constitution queers the pitch for the future by including socialistic programmes in the directive principles of policy such as levelling the disparities of wealth, providing welfare through State control, the right of the State to take over any line of business from private hands for public purposes etc. The abolition·of the zamindari was accepted without discussion as something above and beyond reasonable challenge.   The Policy Declaration of 1948 regarding industrialization laid down the dogma of State ownership and control of all key industries. This is socialism before Avadi (1955). The ideology of Nehru by way of Marxist economy has come into force from the very beginning of independent government in 1947 and has now reached proportions threatening the destruction of the democratic foundations and structure of free India.  The Patna brochure of the Swatantra party describes this state of crises confronting the country in all its aspects, both general referring to the overall psychological effects on national character and specific referring to the actual policies, economic and social. It proceeds to delineate an alternative policy and programme designed to reverse these destructive trends and set the country on the true path of stability and progress. In doing this, it takes issue in a frontal manner with the basic doctrine of socialism and traces the of congress policy to the blind way in which the Soviet pattern of industrialisation with its undue stress on heavy industries and neglect of consumer goods and agriculture is being put into force despite all warning by knowledgeable persons both Indian and foreign. The Swatantra party is doing a genuine and much-needed service to the country by forcing a rational discussion of the philosophy and economy and polity of democracy in the light of our social and historical conditions. Democracy is goverment by discussion and it cannot be established accurately without the development of an unusually large class of persons in all walks of life taking part in the discussion of public affairs in different degrees. A free press and platform and the habit of discussing public events and policy proposals should be fostered in a democracy. So far the Congress Government is pursuing policy as if it were a private matter of the party and of its leaders. Publicity is sought only for approval and endoroement by the masses. Criticism is not welcomed, Day by day, the press is finding increasing pressure for conformity with ruling views.  In such a situation, the brochure of the Swatantra party as well as the challenging speeches of  Sri C. Rajagoalachari, Mr. M. R. Maoani, Mr. K. M. Muhani, Prof. Ranga, Mr. Ratnaswamy and others have initiated a debate on the fundamentals of socialism vs democratic freedom as governing principles of national reconstruction and progress consistent with stability.  As regards the general aspect of the situation, the brochure points out that the great aspirations natural to a great country with a historic culture and civilisation imposes a special responsibility on the Government. It holds that the Congreos governent has not risen to the occasion but has caused a deterioration in the national fibre by its conduct with wide gaps between high professions and demoralising slackness in administration. Nor has the lot of the common man improved in spite of huge expenditure on grandiose projects and industrial establishments. The middle classes in particular are being wiped out under conditions of great hardship and frustration due to the growing difficulty of maintaining their standards of education and simple comforts. A small group of Congress leaders has come to exercise an excess of governmental authority irresponsive to public opinion, banking on the past services of the Indian National Congress. Other Statist parties like the PSP have become but satellites of the ruling party with similar socialist ideals borrowed unintelligently from abroad. In the last section, the brochure discloses the mission of the Party of winning for the individual citizen freedom in the context of democratic life, which the struggle for national independence won for the nation. It declares that it will train the country for freedom, continuing the work of Gandhi and claims that the Swatantra party is a party that the country needs in order to fulfil its destiny-the party of ordered progress in and through freedom.  Like the Congress, therefore, the Swatantra party also claims to be a movement for building a society of free individuals and realising greatness for the country in the comity of nations and fulfilling the promise inherent in the greatness of past culture and civilisation.  Man does not live by bread alone. He needs some overflow feeling, some overall objectives beyond bread and butter, some horizon to expand his outlook and yield large aims for his immediate activities. Hence we find the Westerner referring to the white man's burden. Even the South African Boer has the ideal of preserving Christian white civilisation. The Nazi dreamt of Nietzsche's goal of supermen lording it over the earth by virtue of superior aristocratic blood. Mussolini dreamt of reviving the glories of the old Roman empire. The communists have the heady goal of ruling the whole world and transforming the whole of human society into the pattern of a New Mass Man in a New Mass society in which Government fades away after producing self-sustaining Plenty. Gandhi dreamt of Hind Swaraj. a republic of autonomous villages living an Arcadian life of simplicity close to nature.  Nehru has the vision of socialised society with industrialisation carried to its apogee, full of science and technology. To these glamorous visions, the Swatantra party opposes its own picture of a free society functioning in accordance with the principles of free economy with a minimum amount of social, political and legal regulation. Voluntary associations fill the scene in a free society with the State confining itself to the limited sphere of law, order, and justice. Perhaps it may pioneer industries in case of the unreadiness of voluntary groups to take them up. Free self-realisation through self-chosen activities in all the spheres of knowledge and action, art and science, industry and commerce, transport and communications, education, amusement and relaxation and happy associated activity in excursions and fellowship of various kinds; this is the picture presented by the Swatantra party. Hegel proclaimed that the goal of human society and civilisation is the attainment of Freedom. Karl Marx (the perverse student of Hegel) also had some dim notion of Freedom as the culmination of his communist society the State withering away, all class oppression vanishing and everyone doing his best for State and Society and every one obtaining from State and Society everything needed for human satisfaction and growth. It is in the picture of proximate ideals, of actual governmental policies that social goals come to have vastly differing impacts on the day-to-day lives of the people, giving them the exhilaration of expanding freedom or cribbing, cabinning and confining them into narrow grooves charged with pain and frustration. _You can access the complete piece _[_here_](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-jun1-1960.pdf)_._ type=content&p=8512). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] Trample the Wall URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/trample-the-wall/ ### Body Fechter's death also exposed the flabbiness of the Western position in Berlin. The American troops at the Checkpoint Charlie could have, if permitted, given medical aid to Fechter who was moaning helplessly for about half an hour before he succumbed to his injuries. But the fear of possible consequences of such an act rendered the American military authorities on the spot powerless. _The recent rise of right-wing strongmen and left-wing populists around the globe threaten the liberal world order premised on free trade, rule of law, human rights, and individual liberty. In the US, _[_both_](http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/2018/09/in-defense-of-openness-excerpt/)_ the left-wing Bernie Sanders and right-wing Donald Trump oppose the free movement of immigrants and by extension their bid for a dignified life._ _As the liberal values of freedom come under attack with the erection of walls on borders and hostile public discourse, it is imperative for liberals to push back. And what better way to do that than offering a lesson from history? Produced below is an excerpt from the 1962 reportage on the Berlin Wall published in the Freedom First magazine. _ _BK Desai recounts the life at the forefront of the Cold War in Berlin as the Berlin Wall had recently sprung up to divide the city between the capitalist and communist sphere of influence. The economic dynamism of the Western part in contrast to the staid Eastern Berlin offered a miniature natural experiment in history on the efficacy of Capitalism and Communism as an economic system. The reportage also captures the horrendous pain suffered by the Berliners as they sought to escape the misery of Communism even at the expense of putting their lives at risk._ A week before our arrival in West Berlin, the city was convulsed by the sudden explosion of an orgy of riots in which, for four days, thousands of West Berliners hurled rocks at East Berlin border guards, stoned Russian soldiers and shouted insults at American troops. The cause of this sudden outburst of violence was the tragic death of an eighteen-year-old East Berliner, Peter Fechter, who, while trying to cross the Wall, was shot by East Berlin border guards. Wounded by the bullets, he fell down from the Wall and was allowed slowly to bleed to death in full view of the crowd gathered on the Western side of the Wall who could do nothing but hopelessly watch his slow untended death from his wounds. Fechter was the fiftieth East German known to have been killed while trying to escape across the Wall. But the horrifying manner of his death suddenly spotlighted, for the West Berliners, the inhuman misery in which their 16 million countrymen were living behind the Wall, and the utter hopelessness of their own situation in the face of the brute power that was determined to retain its stranglehold over their countrymen in the Eastern zone. Fechter’s death also exposed the flabbiness of the Western position in Berlin. The American troops at the Checkpoint Charlie could have, if permitted, given medical aid to Fechter who was moaning helplessly for about half an hour before he succumbed to his injuries. But the fear of possible consequences of such an act rendered the American military authorities on the spot powerless. They refused, inspite of repeated requests from West Berliners, to extend the dying boy any medical assistance. This exaggerated fear of provoking the Soviet authorities into retaliatory measures has always paralysed the Western power at critical times and put them on the defensive. This has forced them to reduce their commitments in Berlin to the barest minimum and given the Soviets a free hand to accomplish their designs of piecemeal annexation of Berlin into the Soviet bloc. _The full text can be accessed _[_here_](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/125.pdf). [_IndianLiberals.in_](http://indianliberals.in/)_ is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ Read more: [SO Musings: Replace the GDP](https://spontaneousorder.in/so-musing-replace-the-gdp/) --- ## [Musing] Towards Party-less Democracy URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/towards-party-less-democracy/ ### Body _The issues plaguing our electoral system have much to do with the tyranny of political parties and any step towards reforming the system on this path is a welcome. The following article was written in February 1961 and published in the Freedom First magazine. It challenged the popular notion of multi-party democracy. The author M.A. Venkata Rao discussed the modalities of a party-less democracy and proposed structural adjustments.  _Distressed by the Himalayan evils that have corrupted public life and administration during these years of self-rule, thoughtful people are suggesting a form of parliamentary democracy without the party system. The late Mr M. N. Roy had worked out the idea in some detail. And now Mr. Jayaprakash Narayan is mobilising public opinion by means of seminars and the circulation of concrete proposals among uncommitted thinkers. The first question whether such a system is desirable does not need much persuasion to those aware of the evils that the party system has brought in its wake. The first casualty is that of moral and intellectual conscience. The party whip demands loyal support even when the member disapproves of the measure under contention. The fear of losing his parliamentary seat with the defeat of the party (that has been won at great expense) brings many a member to heel. Majority rule is prostituted too often to pass measures to win the suffrage of the people or a class of the people, like the astronomical subsidies paid in the USA to farmers to refrain from producing too much, whether grains or commercial crops.The American way of life with its sacred principle of free competition is thus flagrantly violated and no party has been able to end the policy for fear of losing the farmer's vote. In India, even grave excesses committed by the administration like police firing ending in the death of dozens of citizens have been refused judicial review for fear of revealing the extent of the enormity indulged in. The unprecedented provincial jealousy in Assam issuing in riot and arson to drive a section of population out of the State has escaped inquiry and punishment for fear of losing party popularity. In the financial sphere, the way in which the ruling party is collecting campaign funds from industrialists has been a scandal. The narrow-minded feelings of caste solidarity have had such a field day since independence that all ideals of integral nationalism and individual merit have been shamefully jettisoned. The natural process of transcending tribalism and extending social competition and emulation to the whole arena of the nation, under the principle that everyone in the nation is to have an equal chance on the ground of merit and service, has been halted by patty men rallying caste support in return for jobs and other favours. Indeed the extent of dissatisfaction with the role of the ruling party is so great today that many fear that India too may follow (suddenly without warning) the way of the rest of the newly independent countries of Asia and succumb to dictatorship. The situation today here is not much superior to that of the regime of Chiang Kai Shek on the eve of the communist takeover in 1949. What then is the remedy? Mr. Narayan’s suggestion is that of jettisoning the party altogether. What the administration in a democracy needs is a number of representatives of the people to whom the tasks of government are to be entrusted. It has been the solid result of history that no individual or family can be entrusted permanently with the powers and privileges of government. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Monarchies, aristocracies or oligarchies belong to the immaturity of political evolution. People’s representatives elected on the widest franchise possible should elect the governors of the country, watch their policies and doings from day to day and dismiss them if they are found unworthy or incompetent. Democracy has come into existence to enforce such responsibility on the holders of power. Representatives also interpret the interests of the people and help in translating them into practicable policies from time to time. The permanent civil servant will not concern himself with policy making but will occupy himself with the expert task if realising policy in the details of administration. The combination of the amateur representative and expert administrator has been found beneficial in democratic administration. These functions can be performed, it is felt by the sponsors of party-less democracy, without the organisation of rival political parties, each appealing to the people as if public salvation depended exclusively on returning them to power in preference to the others. There is something false and undignified in such claims. Power should be conferred unsought on worthy persons by a discerning public. It should not be sought with passion and the pledging of exclusive loyalties to groups. The party system has been so ingrained everywhere in the modern world where democracy prevails that an alternative way of electing and supervising leaders of government seems unthinkable. But there is nothing unthinkable or contrary to human nature or political actuality or possibility in the idea of democracy without parties. It is suggested that voters' associations be formed in each polling booth area. Voters in such areas will meet some time before the elections and discuss the several ideas, principles and policies before the public mind from the standpoint of immediate realisation by the next government to be elected. Teachers, political thinkers and men of experience in every line- doctors , lawyers, cooperators, merchants, industrialists and workers sufficiently awake to the appeal of public questions and good government will bring their minds and experience to bear on current ideas. The _small community _of the polling booth district will revive the _primary community_ corresponding to the village panchayat community. They may function like a club with departments to cater to the other interests of culture and develop a face-to-face community in which members get interested in each other as full persons and not merely representatives of a narrow line of business or occupation. Democracy in government by public discussion and the voters' association can provide a forum for' discussion and healthy clash of ideas from all points of view. Abstract ideas from books and accounts of experience from other countries may be tested in the light of common sense, experience and current needs of the country as they appear to the voters. The function performed by the party of formulating clear-cut programmes out of the floating welter of ideas and proposals may be performed by leading members of the voters' association. Voters' associations from all the different districts of the city may meet periodically for discussion so that ideas could be pooled and currents of public opinion may pervade the whole city in all the constituencies . Mr. Jayaprakash Narayan envisages full discussion and the canvass of all relevant ideas but without the distorting influence of the party. Ideas will be discussed and entertained on their own merit as affording guidance to policy makers.  One great advantage of this system if adopted is that the people of the locality can meet as _citizens_ without incurring the displeasure of ruling parties.At present many people, particularly, from the commercial and industrial classes, are afraid of seeming to support opposition parties. I know of authentic cases where the police have called upon wealthy people who had attended meetings of the Swatantra or Jana Sangh parties on the pretext of private enquiries. There is intimidation at many levels and in different degrees today vitiating the atmosphere. A party-less democracy will certainly clear the air. In fact, some prominent members of the suburbs in many cities have asked for such non-party associations under whose auspices they could all meet and hear the views of different leaders without fear of seeming to support the opposition. The voters' association will function all the time following current problems, Indian and foreign, as a discussion club but at election time, it will consider the choice of representatives. Mr. Narayan suggests that 'each voters' association might nominate three of their members. All these members from all the constituencies can then meet in an electoral college which will nominate candidates. The scramble for tickets so deleterious to political morals will be eliminated. To provide choice, they will have to nominate three or four persons for each constituency as competing candidates. They will have become known to each other through the meetings of the voters association held throughout the year. People with clear views and with a capacity for forceful expression will easily stand out from the rest of the citizen body. The elections will perform the final function of choosing the legislators. The legislators, say some 200 in number in the States of the Union, will then choose the Ministers by election from among themselves. The present system of the party choosing the Chief Minister and he nominating his colleagues will not be resorted to, naturally, in the absence of parties.  All Ministers will be elected by the whole body of legislators who will all have equal status. A chief will be chosen by the Ministers from among themselves. He will not have the power of appointing his colleagues and will not have much more power than the rest.  The legislators will discuss all relevant proposals and under the lead of ministers will formulate policies and programmes for being carried out in their term of office. They will not be divided into different groups on the basis of parties each committed to certain principles or party programmes. The programmes will be shaped on the basis of the merits of ideas from the standpoint of national interest as a whole. The deliberations will have the character of scientific discussion, taking all facts and possibilities into account. Administrative experts and special commissions for studying difficult and complex proposals and questions will furnish the data necessary for a wise decision. The procedure of formulating programmes will not be distorted by the inward anxiety to promise more than is possible or desirable to win support for the party at the next elections.  The press and pamphlet and platforms will also contribute as now to the mobilisation of ideas relating to public needs and programmes. There is nothing to prevent the Government from combining ideas from different philosophies into practicable programmes. For instance, it is possible to have a mixed economy programme combining socilist and individualist outlooks. The question of the priority or otherwise of heavy industries in the Plan can be discussed in terms of immediate effects.on the economy such as the level of prices, inflation and so on without taking a final decision on the theoretical value of communism. It is possible to evolve social security programmes without paying hostages to socialism and centralising all economic power. It can be done through private insurance aided by the Government if necessary. It is known that expenditures on social security such as old age pensions, socialised medicine, unemployment aid sickness insurance have risen so high that it has become more profitable for the beneficiaries to ask for their abolition in return for tax reliefs! Parties are tempted to increase these benefits to win the support of pressure groups and the mass of voters, particularly the most numerous of them, namely, the lower middle class. In some countries welfare legislation has advanced so much that the classes contributing to the public exchequer in their period of earning are beginning to resent such a large proportion of their earnings being spent on those who have passed the age of work!  The slogan of "social justice" has obliterated all restrictions stemming from merit, individual contribution and self-reliance. The process of soaking the rich has given place to that of soaking the poor through indirect taxation on all goods of common use.These temptations will disappear if party-less democracy can be got into working order. Instead of each party trying to stand well with the public as executive givers of plenty, deserved or undeserved, individual Ministers will stand out in the public eye for efficiency and integrity and devotion of public duty.The immense expense of party organisation, not only during election time but also during ordinary times for maintaining party bosses while out of office (and those out of office when their colleagues are enjoying office) will be saved. Pressure groups can be resisted more by individual Ministers and exposed than by party leaders anxious for augmenting party finances. Such Ministers will be in demand and will be elected again and again without the interruptions of party exigencies. In Switzerland, some such system of democratic functioning has been in existence for a long time. Parties exist there but are not regarded as exclusive and sacrosanct. Ministers are chosen by the elected representatives more for personal merit cutting across party alignments. It has been possible there on account for some favourable circumstances in that country. The cantons are little democracies in themselves wherein individual merit stands out in the primary community. Also, there is a high level of employment so that disappointed party men need not put pressure for illegal and unworthy gratifications from the ruling party. Also, Ministers need not accumulate enough to last them for the rest of their lives! They can get employment any time. Moreover, the great thing making such a system possible is the psychology of public service and simple living prevailing among the Swiss. These are virtues congenial to our best tradition and can be captured again. The difficulty stems from the fact that it is very difficult to affect a change from the present system. A body of volunteers have to set about organising voters' associations throughout the country and the Government should be persuaded to cease recognising parties during elections. But if it can be realised, the gain to political life will be immense.  The article was originally published[here.](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/105.pdf) --- ## [Musing] Two Greater Enemies of Freedom URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/two-greater-enemies-of-freedom-john-ridpath/ ### Body The following is an excerpt from the book 'History of the World' written by John Clark Ridpath. It was republished in [the Indian Libertarian magazine on October 15, 1962](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-oct15-1962.pdf). In this piece, the author puts forward some compelling arguments on the threat posed to freedom by the State and Society. One of the greatest enemies of freedom, and therefore of progress and happiness of our race is over-organisation. Mankind has been organised to death. The social, political, and ecclesiastical forms which have been instituted have become so hard and cold and obdurate that the life, the emotion, the soul within, has been well-nigh extinguished. Among all the civil, political and churchly institutions of the world, it would be difficult today to select that one which is not a large measure conducted in the interest of the beneficiaries. The Organisation has become the principal thing and the Man only a secondary consideration. It must be served and obeyed. He may be despised and neglected. It must be consulted, honoured, feared, crowned with flowers, starred and studded with gold. He may be left a starving pauper, homeless, friendless, childless, shivering in mildewed tatters, a scavenger and a beggar at the doorway of the court. All this must presently be reversed. Organisation is not the principal thing; man himself is better. The institution, the party, the crowd, the government – that does not serve him; does not conduce to his interests, progress and enlightenment; is not only a piece of superfluous rubbish on the stage of civilization, but a real stumbling block, a positive clog and detriment to the welfare and best hopes of mankind. Closely allied with this over-wrought organisation of society is the pernicious theory of paternalism –that delusive, medieval, doctrine, which proposes to effect the social and individual elevation of man by “protecting,” and therefore, subduing him. The theory is that man is a sort of half-infant, half imbecile, who must be led along and guarded as one would lead and guard a foolish and impertinent child. It is believed and taught that men seek not their own best interests; that they are natural enemies and destroyers of their own peace; that human energy when liberated and no longer guided by the factitious machinery of society and the state, either slides rapidly backward into barbarism or rushes forward to only to stumble and fall headlong by its own audacity. Therefore, society must be a good master, a garrulous old nurse to her children. She must take care of them; teach them what to do; lead them by the swaddling bang; coax them into feeble and well regulated activity; feed them on her inspired porridge with the antiquated spoons of her superstitions. The State must strengthen her apparatus, improve her machinery. She must put her subjects down; she must keep them down. She must keep them to be tame and tactable; to go at her will; to rise, to halt, to sit, to sleep, to wake at her bidding; to be humble and meek.  And all this with the belief that men so subordinated and put down can be, should be, ought to be, great and happy. They are so well cared for, so happily governed! On the contrary, if history has proved any one thing, it is this:  Man when least governed is greatest. When his heart, his brain, his limbs are unbound, he straightaway begins to flourish, to triumph, to be glorious.  Then indeed he sends up the green and blossoming trees of his ambition. Then indeed, he flings out both hands to grasp the skyline and the stars. Then indeed, he feels no longer a need for the mastery of society; no longer a want for some guardian and intermeddling state to inspire and direct his energies. He grows in freedom. His philanthropy expands; his nature rises to a noble stature; he springs forward to grasp the grand substance, the shadow of which he has seen in dreams. He is happy. He feels himself released from the dominion of an artificial scheme which has been used for long ages for the subjugation of his fathers and himself. What men want, what they need, what they hunger for, what they will one day have the courage to demand and take is less organic government – not more; a freer manhood and fewer shackles; a more cordial liberty, a lighter fetter of form and a more spontaneous virtue. (The above is an excerpt from the concluding portion of the book ‘History of the World’ written by one of the greatest American Historians – John Clark Ridpath. Though he wrote it 70 years ago, it could have been written today with equal force and truth) --- ## [Musing] Two Strands of Liberal Expression : Dr. Anandibai Joshi and Lakshmibai Tilak URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/two-strands-of-liberal-expression-dr-anandibai-joshi-and-lakshmibai-tilak/ ### Body _Dr. Anandibai Joshi and Lakshmibai Tilak embarked on two separate paths for education and yet their paths coalesce into a strong liberal expression for emancipation of the individual._ As liberal feminist ideas became more articulate and the suffrage movement became stronger in America, an intellectual churning shaped the Indian psyche in the latter half of the 19th century. At the center of this churning lay the issue of women’s education. Pandita Ramabai, Savitribai Phule, Ramabai Ranade, Dr. Anandibai Joshi, Lakshmibai Tilak among others, worked towards emancipation of women through education. This article looks at Dr. Anandibai Joshi and Lakshmibai Tilak and their fight for education. Dr. Anandibai Joshi and Lakshmibai Tilak embarked on two separate paths for education and yet their paths coalesce into a strong liberal expression for emancipation of the individual. At the mere age of 17, Anandibai Joshi sailed alone to America with the dream of becoming a doctor. Her journey up till this point is infused with grief, loss, and a constant battle against orthodoxy. Ever since their marriage when Anandibai was 9 years old, her husband, Gopalrao Joshi was keen on educating her. Against the wishes of Anandibai and her family, Gopalrao began educating her. His methods of teaching were often exacting and naturally Anandibai showed no keen inclination towards learning. When she was 14, she lost her infant; Anandibai came to believe that her infant could have been saved had there been a native, Hindu, female doctor that she could seek help from. This loss awakened the desire for education in her and she sought to get medical education. Gopalrao supported her decision and the couple decided to look for medical colleges abroad. In a speech at Serampore, Anandibai explained that most Indian medical colleges trained women for midwifery; the only college in Madras presidency which trained women to become doctors, treated female students with disdain.  Gopalrao began correspondences with several philanthropic organizations but received no response. He also appealed to Rev. Wilder of Princeton for helping him and his wife travel to America in September 1878. Rev. Wilder advised the couple to stay in India and to “confess to Christ immediately.” (Kosambi, 1996, p. 3190) While Gopalrao gave the suggestion a serious thought, Anandibai firmly rejected it. Anandibai was a staunch Hindu and refused an education that would strip her of her faith. Anandibai then applied to Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania where she could study while practicing her faith. Before leaving for America, Anandibai took a public vow at a gathering in Serampore, “I will go to America as a Hindu and return as a Hindu.” (Kosambi, 1996, p. 3195) Contrary to Gopalrao’s ambiguous position on colonialism and Hinduism, Anandibai was a nationalist and sought to retrieve ancient Hindu knowledge. Anandibai wrote to Mrs. Carpenter on 15 November 1880, “The Europeans are under the impression that there is nothing worth knowing in Hindu scriptures and I have therefore taken up Sanscrit to show them how sublime, useful, and instructive are the precepts in Hindu Shastras.” (Kosambi, 1996, p. 3194) Her steadfast belief in her faith is seen in her medical dissertation for MD, which was titled, ‘Obstetrics among the Aryan Hindoos’.  When Dr. Anandibai Joshi and Gopalrao returned to India in 1886, the Mahratta newspaper congratulated Dr. Anandibai and praised her for abiding by her public vow. “We bid a hearty welcome to Gopalrao Joshi and his wife, now Dr. Anandibai Joshi who returned to India by the last Mail Steamer… the difficulties of Mrs. Anandibai were such as no man or woman of ordinary moral and physical strength could have overcome. Happy it is that the worthy husband and wife have conquered all these difficulties and come back to India with Western culture but without a taint of Western vice. Mrs. Joshi has preserved her Hindu habits and customs and that too at no small personal inconvenience.” (_Mahratta_, 21 November 1886) While Dr. Anandibai stood by her public vow and her faith, she spoke openly about the restrictions imposed on Hindu women. In her speech at Serampore, she also highlighted the difficulties faced by Hindu women while seeking education. Dr. Anandibai said, “I am neither a Christian nor a Brahmo. To continue to live as a Hindu and go to school in any part of India is very difficult. A convert who wears an English dress is not stared at. Native christian ladies are free from the opposition of public scandal which Hindu ladies like myself have to meet within and without the zenana.” (Kosambi, 1996, p. 3194) Like Dr. Anandibai, another tale of perseverance, was taking shape in the form of Lakshmibai Tilak. Manakarna Gokhale was married off to Narayan Waman Tilak (henceforth Rev. Tilak) at the age of 11 and assumed the name Lakshmibai Tilak. Lakshmibai’s childhood was scarred by her father’s extreme conformity with orthodoxy and she was made to remain illiterate. After her marriage, she kept tackling orthodoxy as her father-in-law, Wamanrao Tilak ran the house on dictatorial terms. Wamanrao’s wife was literate and composed poems; concealing his contempt behind the facade of orthodoxy, Wamanrao burnt all of his wife’s poems. He also burnt a book on morality that was gifted to his wife by missionary women.  Against the severe contempt for women’s education, Rev. Tilak began educating his wife, Lakshmibai Tilak. His methods of teaching, much like those of Gopalrao, were taxing and Lakshmibai found no joy in learning. “Tilak wanted his wife to become something, someone renowned - a writer, a poet, or an orator. And he always took efforts in that direction” [1](Tilak, 2012, p. 251)[2]. But Tilak’s insistence on perfection and the larger societal restrictions became obstacles for Lakshmibai.  Rev. Tilak often left his wife alone as he went on spiritual quests and traveled in search of answers. At one point, he even declared renunciation of the world. Rev. Tilak’s erratic behavior was attributed to Lakshmibai, and her presence was often treated as a bad omen at her marital home. When Rev. Tilak converted to Christianity, he was excommunicated from his community. Lakshmibai, though continued to be a Hindu, suffered mistreatment at the hands of her own community. Lakshmibai and her toddler Dattu moved villages and lived isolated lives. During this period of isolation, Lakshmibai started reading books, working hard to master the difficult जोडाक्षर (alphabet with a vowel and two or more consonants). It brought about a transformation within her as writes in her autobiography, “the chains of casteism that had gripped my mind broke down. I shed my casteist beliefs. Henceforth, every living being is equal in my eyes.”[3] (Tilak, 2012, p. 231-2) In order to seek an education free of caste biases and of boundaries of ‘pure’ and ‘impure’, Lakshmibai converted to christianity. Lakshmibai refused to receive her baptism from the English missionaries or from upper caste christians and instead she received it from Rev. Vaniramji Bapuji Ohol. Staying true to her transformation, Lakshmibai adopted three beggar kids - Houshi, Daya and Bhiku.  Lakshmibai had also started addressing religious congregations in Ahmednagar. She refused to read out the speeches that Rev. Tilak wrote for her. “I will not read out [what you have written down]. I will speak what comes to my mind.”[4] (Tilak, 2012, p. 252) Around the same time, Lakshmibai decided to take up medical education from Dr. Julia Bisel, Dr. Bills and Dr. Harding. Lakshmibai had earlier studied Indian medicine and she complemented it with her American medical training. She also worked at the Plague camp as a nurse, providing medical aid to the patients. Lakshmibai had broken free of the orthodoxy that had kept women illiterate; this liberation set her mind free and she started composing poetry. Rev. Tilak had undertaken the task of writing ‘Khristayan’, an epic detailing the life of Christ; he passed away after writing 10 chapters. Lakshmibai completed the epic by adding 64 chapters to the poem. Subsequently, Lakshmibai also wrote her autobiography serialized in the weekly magazine _Sanjeevani_. Knowingly or unknowingly, Lakshmibai had truly transformed into a ‘a writer, a poet and also an orator’. Lakshmibai Tilak and Dr. Anandibai Joshi fought for emancipation and education. Both sought to free themselves from the orthodoxy that had caged and scarred women. Building on the primary education imparted by their respective husbands, both Lakshmibai and Dr. Anandibai carved out their own path and embodied agency. Dr. Anandibai and Lakshmibai, through their separate paths for empowerment, reiterated and affirmed liberal ideas in the intellectual churning of the 19th century.   **References** Kosambi, M. (1996). Anandibai Joshee : Retrieving a Fragmented Feminist Image. _Economic and Political Weekly_, _31_(49), 3189–3197. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4404856 Tilak, L. (2010). _Smritichitre_ (4th ed.) [Print]. Samanvay Prakashan. **Endnotes** [1] All translations are by the author of this piece. [2] टिळकांना फार हौस की आपल्या बायकोने कोणी तरी मोठ्ठे व्हावे. लेखिका, कवयित्री, वक्ती तिने बनावे. व ह्या दिशेने ते नेहमी प्रयत्न करीत.   [3] माझ्या मनाला जखडून टाकणाऱ्या जातीभेदाच्या साखळ्या खळाखळ तुटून पडल्या. बस. माझा जातीभेद गेला. यापुढे मला सर्व सारखे आहेत.  [4] मी पाठ करून बोलणार नाही. मला माझ्या मनाला वाटेल तसे बोलेन.   [_Previous musing: Lokmanya Tilak: A Conservative Liberal?_](https://indianliberals.in/content/lokmanya-tilak-a-conservative-liberal/) [](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMG_4159_Original.jpg) **Avanti Lele** Avanti Lele is a Minoo Masani Liberal Fellow. She is pursuing her PhD in English Literature from Lancaster University. She has worked as a lecturer of English Literature and as a Spanish language instructor. Her research interests include but are not limited to women's writing, liberal feminism, postcolonial studies, indigeneity. --- ## [Musing] Sharad Joshi on The Unchanged Quarter Century for Farmers URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/unchanged-quarter-century-for-farmers-sharad-joshi/ ### Body The following is an article written by Farmer Leader Mr. Sharad Joshi and published on 1st September 2004 in the Hindu Business Online and later reproduced on the website of Shetkari Sanghathana. The article is part of the _Down to Earth _series which Mr. Sharad Joshi used to write for the Hindu Business Online. In this article, he highlights the evolution of Farmers's movements in India, the formulation of the remunerative price theory and the many agitations which emphasised the need for freer markets for farmers. At the end of a quarter century of struggle, the typical farmer is as badly indebted as he was at the beginning but stands vindicated and cleared of all charges of being indolent, ignorant and incompetent. Farmers agitations in the present epoch started over a quarter century back in Tamil Nadu, with Narayan Swamy Naidu's bullock-cart blocking roads in protest against farm power tariff hikes and seeking their rollback. Farm power is free now in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. But the farmers, crushed under the burden of debt, still commit suicides in large numbers. Indian agriculture continues to be a gamble in the monsoon and suffers from poor infrastructure. What has a quarter century of farmers' movement to show by way of gains and what are the losses to the farm community? The movement concentrated on reduction of input costs for the first half-decade. It was only with the onion agitation in 1980 that it developed a comprehensive economic theory. "Remunerative prices for agricultural produce" came up as a single-point prescription for agriculture's malady and general poverty. Remunerative prices were to be obtained through elimination of all governmental interventions in the commodity market. Till such time as the State adopts the necessary level of liberalisation and economic reforms, it must ensure a minimum support price to make up for the price-depressing effects of its interventions: Restrictions on exports, domestic movement, processing, storage, etc., and non-commercial imports of farm commodities. General poverty arose out of the fact that the economy's main activity, agriculture, was a losing proposition. This, in turn, was directly attributable to the government's policies that depressed agricultural prices. The formulation of the `remunerative price' theory was straightforward and simple, and captivated the hearts of peasant masses that participated in large numbers in the farm agitations from Karnataka to Punjab and from Gujarat to Uttar Pradesh. However, the economic pundits and the politicians protested vehemently. They cried: - "Remunerative prices for agriculture are tantamount to subsidising the rural rich at the expense of the urban poor." - "Remunerative prices will benefit only the rural rich and not the landless poor." - "Agricultural losses are due to the long chain of intermediaries that needs to be eliminated so that, side-by-side with remunerative prices for farmers, the consumers will get the produce at reasonable prices." - "Free markets for agricultural commodities can produce shortages and food insecurity and, eventually, even starvation." The opposition of all the establishment economists notwithstanding, the farmers rallied in ever-larger numbers to the call of remunerative prices. The agitations produced immediate gains in the form of increase in support prices. - The Chakan agitation (1980) got the onion farmers a support price of 60 paise a kg in the place of the mere 7 paise they were getting at that time. The constant reaction of onion producers to all attempts at restricting export of the commodity ensured aprice of Rs 3-5 a kg now. - The tobacco Rasta Roko at Nipani (1981) was a terrible setback. The tobacco growers got little to show for the 13 dead in the SRP firing. - The Maharashtra-wide blockade of milk (1982) was also a failure. The farmers could not stop the supply of milk beyond three days and the government remained stubborn. - The sugarcane agitation centred in Nashik district (1980) succeeded in hiking the Statutory Minimum Price (SMP) of sugarcane from Rs 180 to Rs 300 per tonne. - The agitation against the Maharashtra State Cotton Monopoly Procurement Scheme, which required the growers to sell their produce exclusively to the State dragged on for 18 years and ended by vanquishing the monopoly procurement scheme. The guaranteed price of cotton was Rs 700 per quintal in 1986. Now growers get around Rs 3,000 per quintal. Apart from the concessions wrested by the thrust of farmers' agitations, the demonstrated clout of farmers' opinions and unity had its political consequences and the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) continued to increase year after year. In the decade since 1990-91, the procurement price of wheat went up by 258 per cent, that of coarse cereals by 215 per cent, of arhar by 275 per cent, of cotton by 270 per cent; and the Statutory Minimum Price of sugarcane by more than 300 per cent. The sheer strength of agitations and the political clout of the farm lobby were supplemented by yet another major development. The historic fall of the Soviet Union and the shift to the market paradigm ensured a successful culmination of the Uruguay Round GATT negotiations. The Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) endowed a large number of benefits to farmers in India. First, there was a clear vindication of the fact that the farmers here suffered under heavy negative Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS). Second, the abolition of Quantitative Restriction (QRs) took away all incentives for the political decision-makers and the bureaucracy to order imports in the nature of dumping. In 1996-97, the quantum of negative AMS for 14 major crops in India was Rs 113,000 crore. Since 1998, the indications are that the AMS has actually turned positive. That does not mean the Indian agriculture is no more a losing proposition. The AMS is probably positive; that is, the prices in India are not lower than those prevailing in the international referral market. But it also does not mean that the prices are higher than the costs. Since 1995, the domestic costs have increased while the international prices have remained low. The gains of the farmers' movement on the price front were too modest compared with the swelling costs and farmers continue to fall into debt, and death, traps. However, the gains of this movement on the doctrinal front are spectacular: - There is a universal acceptance that India has had a long regime of price-depressing policies that need to be reversed. - There is a clear understanding there is little conflict between the interests of the landless labourers and those of the landholding farmers. The wage rates increase much faster than farm produce prices. - There is also a realisation that the local chain of intermediaries is not the cause of the gap between the consumer and the producer prices. The India-Bharat syndrome is the more significant cause of the chasm and can be corrected by overall liberalisation and market reforms. At the end of a quarter century of struggle, the typical farmer is as badly indebted as he was at the beginning but stands vindicated and cleared of all charges of being indolent, ignorant and incompetent. [ The piece was originally published [here](http://www.sharadjoshi.in/node/55).] --- ## [Musing] Nani Palkhivala: Education, Leadership, and Vision of Free India URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/vision-of-free-india/ ### Body The following text is taken from a 1998 booklet published by [Forum of Free Enterprise.](https://indianliberals.in/content/education-leadership-and-vision-of-free-india-by-nani-a-palkhivala-february-20-1998/) This text includes two speeches by Nani Palkhivala - an acceptance speech delivered by him when he was conferred with the 1997 Dadabhai Naoroji Award and response speech Palkhivala to the University of Mumbai’s Special Convocation for conferment of Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) in 1998. **Dadabhai Naoroji's Vision of a Free India** Dadabhai Naoroji's vision of a free India was the vision of an enlightened and well-educated society. Dadabhai was an ardent advocate of free education and of the principle that every child should have the opportunity of receiving all the education it is capable of assimilating. His own words were, "I realize that I had been educated at the expense of the poor, to whom I myself belonged .... The thought developed itself in my mind, that as my education and all the benefits arising therefrom came from the people, I must return to them the best I had in me. I must devote myself to the service of the people."  Dadabhai was a great pioneer in the promotion of female education. He used to tell his grandchildren some stories of his early days- how as a college student he would go from house to house with a friend, persuading parents and guardians to allow him and his friend to sit on their verandahs and to teach the three R's to their girls; how some of them took advantage of the offer but some irate fathers threatened to throw them down the steps for making such a preposterous proposal! His biographer, Sir R.P. Masani, said that to capture a pupil was sometimes as difficult a task as to conquer a city: against them were arrayed the forces of stern orthodoxy and with it the misgivings of the ignorant regarding the consequences of such a movement on the social life of the people.  Dadabhai realized that the two finest characteristics of the British were that they had a sense of justice and, further, they had a sense of fairness. An instance of the average Englishman's sense of justice and fairness is supplied by Dadabhai's own election by Eng I ish men to the House of Commons. Unfortunately, Indians lack both these characteristics. We, Indians, need Article 17 of our Constitution to tell us that untouchability shall be abolished and its practice in any form shall be forbidden.   I have no doubt that if Dadabhai had lived long enough to take part in the framing of the Constitution of India, he would have embodied similar fund;:tmental rights as have been given by our Constitution. In other words, I believe that if Dadabhai had to frame a constitution for free India, he would have envisaged the same type of secular constitution, and any minorities, whether based on religion or language, would have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. Dadabhai believed that India's salvation lay in equality of all religions and equal reverence for all religions.   Dadabhai, in his wildest nightmare, would have never thought that India would reach such a low level of degradation and corruption as it has reached today fifty years after attaining independence, - the lowest level of degradation in its entire history of 5,000 years.  Dadabhai, the greatest Indian of his time, was a Zoroastrian by birth and by conviction, and he lived the religion of Prophet Zarathushtra - good thoughts, good words, good deeds. A regenerated secular India would have been the greatest monument to his memory.  **Education & Moral Leadership** I would like to pay my humble tribute to the teachers and the professors of this University and at the other universities of our country who trim the silver lamp of knowledge and keep its sacred flame bright from generation to generation. They expend their lives on significant but unadvertized work. Quite a few of them plough the lonely furrow of scholarship. Their dedication bears witness to the selflessness of the human spirit.  I am proud to say that during my days as a student, our teachers and professors used education as the technique of transmitting civilization. The education we received helped us to enlighten our understanding and enrich our character. If I may speak in a lighter vein, the greatest lesson taught to us was that a formal education at a university cannot do you much harm provided you start learning thereafter!  I am using the word "education" in its profound sense. Animals can be trained; only human beings can be educated. Education requires personal participation and transformation. It cannot be given to anyone; it must be inwardly appropriated. In ancient India, kings and emperors thought it a privilege to sit at the feet of men of learning. Intellectuals and men of knowledge were given the highest honour in society. King Janaka, himself a philosopher, journeyed on foot into the jungle to discourse with Yajnavalkya on high matters of state. In the eighth century, Sankaracharya travelled on foot from Kerala to Kashmir and from Dwarka in the west to Puri in the east. He could not have changed men's minds and established centres of learning in the far-flung corners of India but for the great esteem and reverence which intellectuals enjoyed.  Thomas Jefferson, one of the founders of the United States of America, remarked, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be." When a republic comes to birth, it is the leaders who produce the institutions. Later~ it is the institutions which produce the leaders. The question - where are the leaders of tomorrow? - can only be answered by the other question - where are the nation-building institutions which can produce the leaders of tomorrow.  Do we have educational institutions which aim at generating excellence? - institutions which are equipped to produce "movers of people, mobilizers of opinion" - integrated personalities whose minds, hearts and character have been developed in the noble traditions of our invaluable heritage?  Education today is in total disarray in our country. The ministry of education is considered a minor cabinet post which reflects a serious misunderstanding of the pivotal role of "human" capital in taking a nation to great heights. We have failed in imparting value-based education to our youth which I was fortunate in receiving both as a student and in the home. The result is that India which "should have led the world in life-nurturing ideas, is being led by the crass materialism of others."  We are quite right in making constant endeavours to raise the standard of living of our people. But the standard of life is even more significant than the standard of living. If we lose our sensitivity towards the quality of life, it can only mean that while our knowledge increases, our ignorance does not diminish.  What we need today more than anything else is moral leadership at all levels. It is particularly essential in the field of education - moral leadership founded on courage, intellectual integrity and a sense of values. We, the citizens of Maharashtra, are very fortunate that we are living in a State which has produced some of the greatest Indians of the last hundred years - Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji, Sir Pherozeshah Mehta, Mahadev Govind Ranade, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Gopal Krishna Gokhale- all of whom had the distinction of passing through the portals of this great University. They lived their lives in the service of the country and its people. I am sure none of the above eminent Indians, in their wildest nightmares, would have ever thought that India would reach such a low level of degradation and corruption as it has reached today fifty years after attaining independence - the lowest level in its entire history of five thousand years.  A regenerated secular India would have been the greatest monument to their memory.  I can only say that just as we do not deserve our sublime Constitution, just as we do not deserve to have great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, we did not deserve the galaxy of Indians mentioned earlier, who gave of their lives and of their selves in the service of the country. _Previous musing: [THE ROLE OF JUDICIARY IN PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-role-of-judiciary/)_ --- ## [Musing] Voltaire On Trade URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/voltaire-on-trade/ ### Body The following is an excerpt from Voltaire’s essay “On Trade” from Letters Concerning the English Nation, a key work from the Enlightenment period. Known for his sharp wit, the observations of the satirical polemicist are just as provocative and relevant in the 21st century as they were in the 18th. In France the Title of Marquis is given gratis to any one who will accept of it; and whosoever arrives at Paris from the midst of the most remote Provinces with Money in his Purse, and a Name terminating in ac or ille, may strut about, and cry, Such a Man as I! A Man of my Rank and Figure! And may look down upon a Trader with sovereign Contempt, whilst the Trader on the other Side, by thus often hearing his Profession treated so disdainfully, is Fool enough to blush at it. However, I cannot say which is most useful to a Nation; a Lord, powder’d in the tip of the Mode who knows exactly at what Clock a King rises and goes to bed; and who gives himself Airs of Grandeur and State, at the same Time that he is acting the Slave in the Anti-chamber of a prime Minister; or a Merchant, who enriches his Country, dispatches Orders from his Compting-House to Surat and Grand Cairo, and contributes to the felicity of the world. --- ## [Musing] War Between Opposing Ideologies URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/war-between-opposing-ideologies/ ### Body The founding father of Malaysia, Mr Tunku Abdul Rahman saw the border war as a struggle between communism and democracy. According to him, Chinese aggression towards a large democracy like India was an exercise in humiliating India. The humiliation was meant to serve as a lesson for other Asian countries. _In wake of the 1962 Sino-Indian war, the lack of proactive support from the Afro-Asian block put a question mark on Nehru’s pet project of Non-Alignment for its failure to serve the national interest. The few voices of explicit support, however, included that of the Malaysian Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman. The founding father of Malaysia, Mr Rahman saw the border war as a struggle between communism and democracy. According to him, Chinese aggression towards a large democracy like India was an exercise in humiliating India. The humiliation was meant to serve as a lesson for other Asian countries. Recognising the threat of communist advancement in Asia, Mr Rahman explicitly linked the fate of Malaysia’s democracy with that of India. He also took the initiative to set up a wartime donation fund to aid India in the war effort._ _Produced below is the November 10, 1962, radio speech that Mr Rahman delivered over Radio Malaya and was republished in the Freedom First magazine._ When I was in India, the border trouble blew up and it caught the Indian Government and the Indian people by surprise. They never thought that Communist China, whose cause they have been championing in the United Nations from time to time, and whose occupation of Tibet they have tolerated without a murmur of disapproval, should have turned against them without a word of warning and without rhyme or reason. To me, it came as no surprise. I told my Indian friends when I was there that Malaya had 12 years of emergency because of the acts of terrorism by the communists. After the first election, even before we were independent, I met the communist leader, Chin Peng, and pleaded with him to give up the struggle as we were approaching independence. He agreed to stop all hostilities as soon as Malaya gained independence from the British and as soon as my appointment as Chief Minister turned to Prime Minister. He tried to convince me that he was fighting not against the Malayan people but against the British to end colonialism and bring freedom to the Malayan people. I myself metaphorically speaking, saw him safely into the jungle, and gave a tacit order that in no circumstances should Chin Peng be hurt and if he were captured his life would be spared as I admired his honesty and sincerity. It was through him I learnt that communism will tolerate no other ideology or “ism”. I told him before we parted that his ideology and mine did not agree as I believe in a democracy which means complete freedom. Between us, there could be no pact, either he triumphed, and I was vanquished or more likely than not, he would be vanquished, and I would triumph as I was sure the Malayan people were with me. _The original text can be accessed _[_here_](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/127.pdf)_._ _[IndianLiberals.in](http://indianliberals.in/) is an online library of all Indian liberal writings, lectures and other materials in English and other Indian regional languages. The material that has been collected so far contains liberal commentary dating from the early 19th century till the present. The portal helps preserve an often unknown but very rich Indian liberal tradition and explain the relevance of the writings in today’s context._ Read more: [Road For LGBTQ+ Community In India Is Long And Uphill](https://spontaneousorder.in/road-for-lgbtq-community-in-india-is-long-and-uphill/) --- ## [Musing] What is Fascism? By Minoo Masani URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/what-is-fascism-minoo-masani/ ### Body _The following is a short article written by M.R. Masani and  published in the February 1975 issue of the Freedom First Magazine. Minoo Masani discussed the tenets of fascism, its pre-requisites and the various nuances under which it works. Masaani's reflections on Fascism are timeless and are relevant to the discussion surrounding Fascism today. _Writing about the so called anti-fascist conference in Patna sometime in December the leftist _Economic and Political Weekly_ wrote under the title 'Innocents at a Conference': "Thronging the venue of the conference were people ignorant of such matters as the interests of contending power blocs, of the meaning of fascism and of the import of the goings-on in the one-square-kilometre of Lalit Narain Mishra Nagar." In this context, it may perhaps be useful to delineate the essential features of fascism so that it may become easier to decide who is a fascist. Fascism is a historical phenomenon that originated in Italy under Mussolini and developed in Germany under Hitler. The essential features of Fascism may be listed as follows: Fascism attempts by the manipulation of nationalist sentiment to impose a dictatorship whose basic slogan is "One Nation, One Party, One Leader." A Fascist dictatorship and its leader are above the Law and the Judiciary is in consequence reduced to subservience. Fascism may tolerate some kind of mock Parliament which, however, is a tame instrument for rubber stamping its dictates. There can be no question of a free press under Fascism and the press is placed under heavy censorship and is prevented from providing honest reporting or dissenting comment. Opposition Parties are not tolerated and the leading opponents of the regime are deprived of their freedom. The economic expression of Fascism took the form of the "Corporate State" in Mussolini's Italy and "National Socialism" in Hitler's Germany. Capital, management and labour are all subordinated to the dictates of the Government which professes to act in the national interest. Collective bargaining and the right to strike become a dead letter and Trade Unions thus lose the very purpose of their existence, though they continue to function in name. While private ownership in Industry and Trade is not altogether abolished, Industry and Trade function under very heavy controls and all economic power is concentrated in the hands of the rulers. In an editorial article on 2nd December, 1975, the London Times, while discussing the nature of Fascism, observed: "There is therefore a characteristically corporatist transfer of rights or liberties from the individual to the corporate bodies concerned and to the state. Some people would say that this is indeed corporatism but not fascism, since fascism implies illegality. Yet if you control the State and pass laws which are binding on other people, and other laws which remove restraints on yourself, you are left with no advantage from illegality. All corporatism is oppression, because it is inherently anti-individual; in this sense, all corporatism is fascism." In such a regime, as Jawaharlal Nehru once wrote, "Fascism makes of the State a God on whose altar individual freedom and rights must be sacrificed". To justify all this, Fascism claims to have the monopoly of truth. It follows from this that Fascism hates the intellectual and culture. "Whenever I hear the word culture", said Goering, "I reach for my gun." This then is Fascism. ( The article was originally published [here. )](http://www.freedomfirst.in/issue/issue.aspx?issue=279) --- ## [Musing] Wastage in Public Sector Enterprises URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/wastage-in-public-sector-enterprises/ ### Body This is an excerpt from an article written by M A Venkata Rao for the September 1958 issue of The Indian Libertarian Journal. In the article, Mr Rao explains how Marxist ideas have corrupted public discourse in favour of statist interventionism and emphasises the need for intellectuals to seek and propagate the truth behind harmful policies to purify public opinion. “But in addition to such academic functions performed by trained persons in existing institutions, there is a dire need for a group or groups of thinkers who will devote themselves to applying pure thought to the stream of ideas coursing through the public mind, influencing public policies and creating dominant centers and streams of tendency in ideas. The climate of thought and opinion, imagination and sense of values in which the modern world lives has been the creation of Eur-American experience and thought through the centuries. India has taken this body of ideas and values over into her social life and plans of reconstruction without proper assimilation. Indian thinkers have no doubt done a certain amount of thinking about social problems. But it is all too little and too superficial. It has not enabled Indians to relate the new ideas to their own experience today and their inherited traditions and standards of judgment and values. Hence we find hasty policies being introduced by the ruling group. During the life of Gandhi, older ideas of life’s values were predominant though he stimulated much thought on all matters of current reconstruction. But today we find the current of _Leftist thought_ dominating everything and forcing the pace in directions that have already produced a reaction in Eur-america and are under strong criticism. We are taking over the cast-off clothes of the West!…” _Access the full document [here.](http://v2.indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=654359818.pdf)_ _First Published in The Indian Libertarian – September 1958_ _Other editions of the publication can be accessed at [Indian Liberals](http://indianliberals.in/index), an open, multilingual digital archive committed to preserving liberal voices in the Indian public sphere._ --- ## [Musing] Whithering Indian Urbanisation? - FP Antia URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/whithering-indian-urbanisation-fp-antia/ ### Body Produced below is an excerpt from an essay by FP Antia titled ‘Whither Indian Urbanisation?’ published by the Forum of Free Enterprise. The author is an eminent authority on transport and urban problems. This text is based on two lectures delivered in Chandigarh, under the auspices of the Department of Commerce & Business Management, Punjab University. Antia says that India's rapid urbanisation leads to overcrowded cities, inadequate housing, and strained infrastructure, especially in megacities like Bombay and Calcutta. He highlights that effective regional planning and controlled migration are essential for improving living conditions and managing urban growth. India’s rapid urbanisation is a defining feature of its modern landscape. The 1971 census recorded 109 million people, approximately 20% of the total population, living in urban areas. While this percentage is lower than countries like the US and Japan, the sheer number of urban dwellers ranked India as the third largest urban population globally. The rapid expansion of cities, especially those with populations exceeding 100,000, paints a picture of a nation grappling with the complexities of urban growth. The number of large cities has increased significantly over the decades, from 74 cities with populations over 100,000 in 1951 to 142 in 1971. Urbanisation in India, however, is often synonymous with the growth of mega-cities like Calcutta, Bombay, and Delhi. By 1971, Calcutta housed 7 million people, Bombay 6 million, and Delhi 3.6 million. These figures, already alarming, have only swelled in the years since. The urbanisation process appears certainly to have run amuck in this country. While urbanisation promises economic development, it also brings forth severe challenges, particularly in housing. In cities like Bombay, the disparity between pucca (permanent) and kaccha (temporary) housing is stark. In slum areas, basic amenities like water and sanitation are often nonexistent or shared by large numbers of people, adding to the misery of overcrowded living conditions. For instance, the percentage of households with access to independent water taps in Bombay’s pucca areas was only 49%, while in hutment areas, the figure dropped to 32%. Such challenges are compounded by an unreliable water supply. The common sight of taps running dry even in wealthier areas speaks volumes about the infrastructure strain in these urban spaces. The housing crisis is similarly dire. In Bombay, 77.6% of households had just one room, with many families comprising three or more people living in this space. The need for basic services like proper sanitation further aggravates living conditions. A 1971 survey found that only 31% of households in pucca areas had independent water closets, while in hutment areas, this figure was an abysmal 2.3%. What then is the solution? Controlling migration to urban areas is essential. The influx of people into cities like Bombay, Calcutta, and Delhi places enormous pressure on their limited resources. Regional plans that foster decongestion through the creation of satellite towns and employment opportunities in smaller towns and villages could help ease this urban stress. Urban planning that integrates new industrial townships and prioritises a holistic approach to housing and infrastructure is key to addressing India's urban challenges. But beyond infrastructure, the ultimate test lies in the quality of life provided to urban dwellers, as urban sociologists and planners have repeatedly pointed out. A concerted effort to improve living standards in India's rapidly expanding urban centres is the need of the hour. Read the complete text [here](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/whither-indian-urbanisation-f-p-antia-1977.pdf). type=content&p=8637). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Musing] Why I Oppose Socialism - M.R. Pai URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/why-i-oppose-socialism-m-r-pai/ ### Body _Many prominent Indian Liberals challenged the Socialist leaning of successive Indian Governments. They did not just critique the philosophy of Socialism but also presented a better approach to solving India's problems. Produced below is a piece published in the February 1970 edition of the Freedom First Magazine. The author Mr. M.R. Pai presents a coherent and comprehensive case on his opposition to Socialism. _Socialism is fashionable in India today, like sideburns and tight pants in her cities. The competitive race that politicians professing socialism are running with each other does not, however, mean that socialism is good for India. Nor, that it would endure. As a citizen of Indian democracy, I oppose socialism mainly on four grounds.  First, socialism cannot solve our problem of poverty. With socialism, India would slide from poverty to pauperism. Second, it would lead to the destruction of individual liberties. Our democratic constitution would disintegrate under the pressure of socialist policies. Third, socialism would result in glaring inequalities between the rulers and ruled and lead the country away from the path of social justice. Finally, it would come in the way of India’s greatness while destroying her noble traditions.   Since there is considerable confusion even among socialists on what it means, it is better to define socialism. Broadly, its objective is to create a society of the free and the equal. This is also the objective of several other ideologies and non-socialists. The crucial difference lies in the methodology of socialism. The methodology is (a) Central Planning of economic activities by the State, and (b) State ownership of means of production, distribution and exchange.  This methodology has failed elsewhere. It will not succeed in India either.  Opposition to Central Planning is generally confused with opposition to all planning or all state intervention in economic affairs. It is dubbed as a plea for _laissez-faire. _Far from it. The modern state has to _plan_ its own duties and obligations towards citizens. For instance, defence of territorial integrity and freedom; maintenance of law and order; provision of infrastructure facilities (such as honest and good administration, roads, ports, etc) which cannot be provided by citizens by themselves but without which there can be no economic activity; provision of basic amenities like drinking water, public sanitation, education, regulation of private enterprise, a stable currency, an institutional and legal framework for economic transactions etc., are obligations of the modern states. They have to be planned and provided for.  In place of these basic functions, which would keep an underdeveloped country’s government fully occupied, central planning has come to mean high-cost steel plants and other inefficiently run state enterprises and a tangle of monopolies or near-monopolies in insurance, air transport, banking etc. impeding economic activities of citizens and rapid economic growth.  State ownership through a Public Sector and nationalisation of private industries is no longer acceptable even to socialists in countries like Sweden and Great Britain, which have had socialist governments. In Sweden, over 90 per cent of the economy is in private enterprise. Yet Sweden has had socialist rule now for about 40 years! Most European Socialist have found that state ownership does not transform the economy into a paradise of plenty. In state enterprises, technological and managerial problems remain much the same. Production and productivity, the very basis of a better life for all, tend to fall precipitously. If Parliamentary control over the Public Sector is sought to be made effective, efficiency falls. If autonomy is granted in the interests of efficiency, then the bureaucracy in charge of the Public Sector runs amuck, enjoying power without accountability. Individual freedoms, including trade union rights of employees, are progressively destroyed. Poverty, our basic economic problem, can be solved quickly only by releasing the creative energies of the people. Freedom, not statism, is the answer. Socialists in India have developed a vested interest in poverty, just as communists have in disorder and chaos. The prescription of both will not eliminate poverty; it will add the tyranny of Authority to the tyranny of Poverty. Moreover, socialism in India will lead the country from poverty to pauperism because of the tremendous waste of scarce resources. The Public Sector, with its record of losses (Rs. 35 crores on an investment of Rs. 3,200 crores in central “running undertakings”) and misdirection of scarce resources into capital intensive, low-employment potential industries will aggravate Indian Poverty. Other consequences of this statism are food problems and inflation (i.e. a cruel tax on hard-working fixed income groups). Neither are calculated to eradicate poverty, nor promote social justice.  If the economy and people of India have survived the shock of socialist economic policies over the past 15 years, the reasons are to be found in the fortunate circumstance of a good sector of the population being beyond the pale of monetisation (and consequently the mischief of several government’s economic policies) and the immense capacity of the people to circumvent the plethora of impractical laws imposed on them by the rulers in the pursuit of socialism. As an old saying attributed to a farmer says: “What I eat today is mine: what I save for tomorrow will go to the king.” Socialism was described by someone as the bridge of totalitarianism. Socialists are verbal champions of freedom, but their actions destroy freedom. Thus, they pave way for totalitarianism.  With increasing state ownership, and control over the economy, Trotsky’s warning will come true: Formerly the rule was that he who does not work shall not eat, but now the rule is he who does not obey shall not eat! There need be no surprise over the totalitarian trends in our public life on the heels of bank nationalisation and other socialist measures. Threats to the freedom of the Press, the right to property, to every industry and trade, to sacred treaty obligations, and misuse for personal and factional ends, demand for a “committed bureaucracy” which will be followed by a demand for “committed armed forces” (in other words, “commissar” system) are inevitable first steps in the march towards a full-fledged socialist state. Destruction of family and religion would complete the process of transformation.  It is seldom realised that socialism is not only the enemy of individual freedoms- the socialist's rulers always having the uncontrollable itch to control everyone except themselves- but also specially so of farmers, middle classes and generally the small man. This is necessary because state ownership has a tendency towards bigness for sake of bigness, and for easy control over all the rules that bigness affords.  The developments in the banking field illustrate this. When we became independent, there were about 740 banks. Most of them were catering to the needs of small men. They were systematically destroyed by mergers and dissolutions until barely 70 banks were left at the time of nationalisation in 1969. Except in the case of a few weak units, this process was unjustified, and small people were adversely affected. Between 1960 and 1967, over 200 banks were thus destroyed. Now, when. Seven-eighths bank is appropriated by the government through nationalisation, and the trend towards centralisation and monopoly has been initiated, there are tears for helping the small man through these huge nationalised banks!  To cover up this thirst for bigness and monopolies in the state sector, there is a lot to talk about by socialists about monopolies and Big Business in private enterprise. Truth is of little consequence. A government-appointed commission could not find any monopolies in private enterprise. An intricate licensing policy of the government has prevented competition which is the best anti-dote for any tendencies towards monopolies in the economy. As for bigness, not a single Indian private company figures in the list of the world’s top 200 firms. A small country like Japan has 45, while a huge country like India, ranking 15th in national income in the world, has no private enterprise big enough to figure in the list!  The socialists always speak of social justice and set out to do things that destroy it. Take equality for instance. Equality of income and wealth is a mirage except in a stagnant society or a colony of slaves. The essence of equality is equality before the law. In the socialist state, it is destroyed. The rulers and the ruled become two distinct classes, with the same set of laws administered with a split personality. Socialists who preach equality of income and ceilings on income have no hesitation in enjoying huge perquisites at public cost. Central ministers who draw barely Rs. 2500 a month and enjoy perquisites worth Rs 17,000 a month are but one example of this conspicuous hypocrisy. Legislators are not much behind in the race for perquisites. Under socialism, professional politicians evolve a perquisites society and destroy equality before the law.  Equality is destroyed in another way. The huge and growing army of government servants is denied access to political power. The area of decision-making left to the citizens is progressively reduced and there is a concentration of decision-making in a few political hands. Social injustice is perpetuated in yet another way. The emphasis on equality of income and cry for ceilings result in similar rewards to the deserving and undeserving alike. After 50 years of bitter experience, the Soviet regime is realising the necessity for income differentials. As one Soviet economist, Prof. Alexander Birman, put it: Why should “loafers” get the same pay as good and efficient workers?  Socialism has introduced in Indian society the poison of class welfare. Big against small business, businessmen against the public, urban workers against farmers, landless labour against peasants - all are taught to hate others instead of creating economic opportunities for all and building bridges of understanding. The professional politicians are not aware of the consequences of setting a placid society on fire. When the day of disillusionment with socialism comes, as it is bound to, nobody can save these politicians from the fury of the masses which have been systematically taught to hate. The sight of legislators jumping from windows to escape the wrath of the ill-treated police in one State is only a warning to be heeded by all politicians of what happens when class warfare introduces distortions in society.  The cumulative effect of all these things is to place a premium on sub-mediocrity and to destroy excellence. Is it any wonder that with vigorous socialist measures, a larger number of people are running away from this country? In the phenomenon broadly known as the Brain Drain, during 1968-69, about 9,500 persons left this country. How many socialists politicians have left this country for good? Certainly not when they can live as the self-appointed sons-in-law of the Indian people.  A strategically located country like India, with its vast natural resources and resourcefulness of people, is designed to become a Big Power. Socialism is an obstacle in the early realisation of that supreme status because socialism will take the country from poverty to pauperism; and from freedom to slavery. But with the inevitable process of disillusionment, ultimately Indian people will reject socialism and find a philosophy more in tune with the genius and requirements of the country. Till such time, those who believe in freedom and national greatness have to fight a battle against incipient authoritarianism because socialism is indeed the Road to Disaster.  Those well-versed with organizational dynamics know that the real crisis in the rural areas is fragmentation of whatever organization that had traditionally existed. It is often not realised that break-up of existing organizational set-up generates quite a lot of tensions when compensatory new forms of organizations have not been built up. Our policy-makers and planners are so busily engaged in the process of breaking up existing organizations with least caring to provide for substitutes that many of the aspects of violence in rural areas are the conclusions of organizational break-up.  Where organizational integration has taken place in rural areas, stability has resulted and this stability has been able to cushion many onslaughts on it. For instance the best standards are possible for development when we see a phenomenon as organised as agriculture in the Plantations in rural areas. When plantations with larger and larger size developed, they generated standards arising out of orderliness and measurement that benefited everybody involved in the process of such organization. This organization has been able to provide a high degree of stability all around without in any way sacrificing equity and justice requirements. Somehow these lessons do not seem to have been learnt by the policy-makers nor by the Home Ministry when they deal with the problem of rural violence.  All vote-catching devices of radicalism can have very little significance if in actual fact the impact of such radicalism is towards break-up of organisation instead of generating or integrating organization. The present race seems to be between competitive anarchy and organisation, with the latter gradually losing the battle. The Home Ministry announcement about rural violence seems to be one more nail in the coffin of organizational development in the rural areas. --- ## [Musing] WHAT MAKES JAPAN TICK: SOME LESSONS FOR INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/what-makes-japan-tick/ ### Body _The following work was published as a [booklet](https://indianliberals.in/content/what-makes-japan-tick-some-lessons-for-india-by-minoo-r-shroff-october-15-1988/) in 1988 by the Forum of Free Enterprise. Authored by Minoo R Shroff, the booklet discusses the historical development in industrial and technology spaces in Japan. Outlining Japan's harmonious employer-employee relationships and government-market business relationship, the author focuses on some key learning areas for India. _Japan is one of the oldest states dating back to the later days of the Roman Empire, well before many of the countries of Europe came into existence. In fact, the power of the Court extended as far as the southern part of Korean peninsular in the fourth century.  Until the middle of last century, Japan was a very insular state. It was under Emperor Meiji in 1868 that the country broke off from the old shackles and entered a new era. This is why it is called Meiji Restoration and not Meiji Revolution. The Restoration marked the turning point between feudal and modern Japan. One aspect which clearly differentiates the Meiji Restoration from the revolutions of modern Europe and the 1911 Revolution in China is that, instead of overthrowing the traditional monarchy, it restored it to power.  The Meiji Government devoted its energies for the development of industry with focus on import of advanced technologies from the west. It abolished the various feudal trappings- ranks, titles and classes, thus declaring all men equal in the eyes of law. The Government also established a modern school system with elementary education compulsory.  The Second World War was indeed a most traumatic experience for Japan. It was the first experience the Japanese had of defeat by a foreign power and the occupation of their country by alien armed forces. In fact Japan’s victory over Russia in 1904 when it overwhelmed the formidable forces of the Czar by deploying submarines, was a reflection of the technological and industrial capabilities Japan had acquired at the turn of the century.  **PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT**  Japan is a long strip of land stretching 3,000 kms. from the north to the south. It embraces every conceivable climatic zone and is subject to hostile weather conditions like typhoons, cyclones, tidal waves and earthquakes. Consequently, the people have developed an immense capacity for combating the vicissitudes of nature and in the process have acquired great survival capability.  Japan has very limited arable land. In area, it is comparable to the state of Maharashtra with twice its population. However only 27% of total area is available for development, 15% being used for cultivation and 12% for industrial, commercial and domestic purposes. Naturally, land prices are prohibitive even by US and European standards. Barring water, the country has no natural resources worth the name. It has some coal deposits but the annual output is barely 18-20 million tonnes, which is sufficient to meet one fifth of its requirements. It is dependent on imports for as much as 90% of its energy needs and almost entirely for all raw materials and minerals. One third of its food requirements has to be imported, it being self-sufficient only in rice and fish.  The foundation laid for heavy industries like steel, engineering and chemicals before the Second World War provided the base for massive defence build-up. It also helped Japan in deploying a reservoir of technical skills.   The Allied occupation of Japan under General MacArthur led to considerable democratization of the country. The Zaibatsus which had held complete sway over practically all important economic sectors - trading, banking and manufacturing were dismantled and forced to unload their shareholdings. The Zaibatsus were also responsible for the present widely prevalent system of lifetime employment. However, its impact was totally onesided with employees committed to serve for a lifetime while the employers reserved the right to fire them.  The disbanding of Zaibatsus was accompanied by major land reforms and heavy taxation, the object being to usher in a more egalitarian society. There was also a new deal for labour which made it possible for them to get organised at the same time, making it virtually impossible for, industry to dismiss them.  **ATTITUDE TO WORK ** One of the striking features of the Japanese scene is their attitude to work. For an average Japanese work takes precedence over family, leisure and other creature comforts. This characteristic emerges from the social and spiritual ethos of the people- a degree of reverence for elders and for authority which is instilled right from childhood, both at home and school. It has had a traumatic impact on many individuals creating serious psychosomatic problems. This trait, however, is changing perceptibly with growing affluence- particularly among the growing tribe of young corporate executives and professionals with large discretionary incomes. **HARMONIOUS RELATIONS ** Japan went through serious industrial relations problems immediately after the war, but from this emerged an amazingly harmonious industrial milieu. Union-management relations in Japan are extremely cordial. There are, of course, problems and even strikes, but the interest of the enterprise is kept uppermost by the workers. They do their best to ensure that production is not lost at any cost even while striking.  This understanding has been a process of evolution and has found root in the fact that the unions are worked largely at enterprise level which in turn come together under an industrial federation of labour unions. These federations are further united to form joint organisations of which there are half a dozen. The federations set the guidelines for demands to be made for improvement in wage scales, benefits and working conditions and they also decide on campaign strategies. In certain industries, negotiations are held at industry level with the representatives of both labour union federations and employers' organisations participating. The demands made by the unions are generally moderate and reasonable and negotiations are conducted in an atmosphere of mutual trust. Unions respond very positively to the efforts made to improve productivity through automation and robotization. An average employee puts in 10%-20% more hours of work than his counterpart in the US or Europe. He has experienced his real income go up each year thus increasing his purchasing power enormously over the last two decades.  As a nation Japan is wedded to the philosophy of keeping the unemployment rate as low as possible. The national unemployment rate has hovered between 2.2% to 2.9% in recent years. This has been made possible as a result of close understanding between unions and management and the perception of shared sacrifices by all, particularly during periods of business recession. ·  On their part corporate managements adopt a highly enlightened approach and are known to be very sensitive to employee needs.  While the welfare system run by the state is modest by US or European standards, the employers have been known to be quite generous in providing two annual paid holidays, generally of ten days each, holiday homes and payment of bi-annual bonuses which range anywhere between three and six months' wages. The large lumpsum bonus payments inject substantial discretionary incomes and manifest themselves in increased expenditure on leisure and travel (both within the country and overseas) especially among the younger generation.  The lifetime employment concept which is often referred to does still exist, though it covers less than one fourth of the total employed population and is prevalent only in the larger companies. This ensures security and stability to employees; there is, of course, no absolute guarantee against dismissal in extreme cases. The Japanese system of management lays great stress on seniority, though merit is increasingly getting greater weightage in promotions. Wage increments also taper off with age. The ·differential between the maximum and minimum salaries in Japan is less than 10 to 1, far lower than in the other industrialised countries. Besides, top executives are not eligible for bonuses, stock options or golden parachutes. Mobility is now rising particularly amongst the qualified youth especially in areas such as financial services, computer software and other hi-tech operations.  The normal retirement age is 55, though this is not observed in the case of senior and top management personnel. Managers are generally not retrenched but absorbed in staff functions in the same company or provided openings in associate companies. When very senior personnel are retired, they are retained as advisors and counsellors and their advice is highly valued.  One remarkable factor of the Japanese industrial scene is that the employers perceive employees as associates. This is because, whenever companies experience serious problems or go into losses, the prescription for saving on costs or retrenchment tends to cover all employees - starting from the very top.  **GOVERNMENT RAPPORT WITH BUSINESS ** Since 1955 Japan has had one party in power, the Liberal Democratic Party. The Party has four major factions representing different interest groups. However, it is basically conservative in its economic outlook and has always enjoyed the close support of like minded bureaucrats and. businessmen.  Business and Government have worked in very close cooperation in Japan as integral parts of society and have not taken adverserial postures. Japan has a very strong federal organization of employers called Keidanren. This body projects unified thinking of business. It is widely respected for objectivity and enjoys close rapport with Government. In fact, it exerts an influence over public policy that business organisations in other countries can only envy. However, there is a growing feeling that it is too staid and needs to be rejuvenated in keeping with the fast changing industrial profile of the country.  **RESOURCES CONSERVATION** In view of the total dearth of resources and its consequent vulnerability in the event of any global hostility, Japan has been obsessed with the need to conserve. Hence, while selecting technologies or manufacturing processes, Japan has always opted for those which entail minimum use of resources. This is also the reason why it has excelled in miniaturisation.  Being totally devoid of petroleum resources, the five-fold hike in oil price in 1973 came as a bolt from the blue. National attention was immediately focused on exploring ways and means of how the use of energy could be minimised, the use of petroleum conserved and alternative sources of energy developed. As a consequence, Japan has now developed technologies and processes which are among the most fuel efficient in the world. The most notable success has been in the area of steel and automobiles. Japan imported 5.3 million barrels a day in 1979. In the 1979-85 plan, it was projected that it would be consuming between 6.3 and 6.9 million barrels a day in 1985 and assumed the price of crude as US$ 50 in yen equivalent terms. In actual fact, Japan's current consumption of oil is well under 5 million barrels a day with the price ruling at US $ 13 per barrel. Consequently, the oil import bill currently is less than one half of what it was in 1980 in US $terms and much lower in Yen terms, a major contributing factor for the enormous trade surplus.  **SAVINGS ** Asians as a race are generally thrifty by temperament. However, Japan takes the cake for having recorded the highest rate of saving in the last three decades averaging over 30% of GNP with a peak of 35% in the 1960's and 1970's. Out of this, personal savings have been between 16% and 20% of GNP. Personal annual savings currently exceed US$ 500 billion. Banks and financial institutions are by far the largest mobilizers of savings. The reasons behind the very high rate of saving in Japan, as compared to Western Europe, and more particularly the US, are the relatively early retirement age, modest welfare facilities provided by the state, longevity and incredibly high cost of housing. Besides till March 1988, the fiscal structure had provided  considerable inducement for savings by exempting interest on deposits upto 3 million Yen anti government bonds upto Yen 3-5 million each year. This led to widespread misuse by many individuals keeping multiple accounts in different names. The deduction of interest from taxable income has since been abolished.  Interest rates in Japan are among the lowest anywhere. Savers on an average get 12.5% to 3.5% on their short term investments. With the surge in savings and the removal of tax exemption on deposit interest money has been pouring into real estate and the stock market. By 1987, Japan had the highest market capitalization in the world exceeding that of the U.S.A. Currently, capitalization is reckoned to be over $3.5 trillion, representing 41% of the world market capitalization as against only 4.6% in 1970. Yields on equities are very low, the current average being 0.7%. The P/E ratio is the highest anywhere presently over 60, with the high flyers being quoted in the range of 100-150. The wide gap between Tokyo and other leading stock exchanges in regard to P/E ratio is due largely to differences in accounting, depreciation and reporting methods. The collapse in the world stock exchanges in October 1987- affected Japan the least. The current Nikkei index is near the peak touched last year( and 30% over the December 1987 level in Yen terms.  It is an established fact that the stock exchanges in Japan, particularly in Tokyo, are fairly well regulated with the fluctuations not allowed move beyond a certain range on any day. For some years now, warnings have been sounded to the effect that the Tokyo Stock Exchange has become overheated and that there could be a crash. The very robust performance of the Japanese economy since last year, now being led by 5% plus domestic growth, does not indicate any such likelihood in the foreseeable future. There is always the possibility of a downward slide along the way but the underlying trend is upwards due to the strong fundamentals.  **PRODUCTIVITY ** Japan has clocked the highest productivity rates attained anywhere in a wide segment of industry. Between 1960 and 1980, an annual growth of 10 to 11% in productivity was achieved in transportation equipment, electrical machinery, steel and chemical industries. While the rate has slowed down considerably to 4% - 5% since 1980, it is still the highest in the industrial world. This has been one of the contributing factors to the surge in overall production witnessed in Japan and its tremendous capacity to compete in world markets despite substantial rise in wages and sharp appreciation of yen. In fact, the Japanese have displayed an uncanny capacity to adapt to the vastly changed economic environment in a relatively short period of time. Corporations in Japan believe in the continuous renewal of their facilities, The average period being 6 years compared to 10 or 12 years in Europe and USA. Being great sticklers for high quality and productivity, the Japanese have not hesitated to replace equipment which would be considered completely serviceworthy in other countries, if replacement ensured higher productivity and lower costs.  Industry has also gone in for extensive robotisation backed by controlled technology.  **TECHNOLOGY ** The Japanese have been prolific importers of technology and more importantly the greatest adapters. In all major areas where Japan has achieved a spectacular breakthrough in global markets the invention was made elsewhere- transistor in the US, quartz watch in Switzerland and semi-conductor in the US and Europe. However, despite the initial lead-time the inventing countries had, Japan converted these inventions into marketable products well before anybody else and managed to have enormous penetration. The Japanese have been late entrants in the realm of technology and hence their research 9 and development efforts are largely focused on the developmental angle with relatively less emphasis on pure research. Their thrust lies been on developing products for today and. tomorrow's market place. Japan has not followed the west in accepting that successful applications of products cannot follow without first having successful basic research.  Over the years, Japan has perhaps paid more money as patent royalties than any other nation in history. Competition among Japanese manufacturers is so fierce that it has created a new standard for fees paid for borrowing technology. Many of the leading manufacturers of the world have, therefore, flocked to Japan to sell their technologies. Given the surplus of capital and an amazing capacity to adapt, Japan has transformed imported technologies into products which have changed the lifestyles not only in Japan but in many other countries. The same situation has occurred in the field of quality control (QC) which, though developed in the US, was put to practical use and produced very impressive results in Japan. It has gone to such an extent that the Americans and Europeans now come to Japan to learn QC. With unquestioned zeal, Japan proceeded through its own process of trial and error, continually adding new innovations to evolve a QC system that is uniquely Japanese. **FACING UP TO STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS ** The spectacular success achieved by Japan has been only to a limited extent export-led, though the presence of Japanese products in international markets has become so visible. Exports as a percentage of GNP have ranged between 9% and 12%, certainly much lower than the 20%-40% of NP consistently achieved by U.K., West Germany, Belgr.um, Netherlands, Switzerland and other European countries. Nevertheless, as far as the exporting industries and leading units therein are concerned, such as steel automobiles, consumer electronics, watches and cameras, the percentage has ranged anywhere between 35% to 60%. As a result of very high volumes, extensive standardisation, high productivity and cost effectiveness, exports were very profitable for most companies till 1985. The surge in the value of yen has no doubt posed considerable problems to Japanese manufacturers despite their best efforts to cut down costs and reduce margins. It has particularly hit hard the small and medium sized units. This has resulted in major strategy changes within the country. The Government partly under international pressures has been trying to stimulate the domestic economy and encourage imports. There is also the economic compulsion to do so in view of the enormous competition posed by the emerging tigers in Asia- South Korea, Taiwan, Hongkong and Singapore. Japan imports currently items like black and white television sets, calculators and fans to meet over 50% of the domestic market.  As a result of the growing affluence, the Japanese are becoming avid consumers of high priced designed consumer products. These products are in great demand in major cities despite the exceedingly high mark-ups, resulting in retail prices being 2 to 3 times those ruling in the exporting countries. The Japanese are also taking to foreign travel with great gusto and have become an important force in world tourism. Japan is now looking increasingly to overseas locations for siting plants for three important reasons: to get over the quota and/or tariff barriers erected or being erected by many countries to ward off Japanese competition; to overcome the problem of rising wage cost at home and meeting stiff competition in several fields from newly industrialised countries (NICs) in South East Asia; and to be near to the market place and thus save on marketing and distribution costs.   In view of the large capital surpluses, Japanese overseas investments are growing. Even so, Japan is still a relatively new entrant and the manufacture of Japanese goods overseas still accounts for only 4% of total national output as compared to 18% to 20% for US. This is projected to grow to 10% by 2000 A.D.  The Japanese Constitution prohibits the country from organizing its defence forces beyond the level required for its own defence. Hence, they are termed self-defence forces. Japan's expenditure on defence has been by far the lowest for any major country, an average of 0.8% of GNP till the current year when it is being raised to 1.0% as against 4%-7% for Western Europe and US. As a consequence, Japan has been able to channelise a much larger percentage of its savings for economic development and attain the highest level of growth in the industrialised world. However, pressures are building up for Japan to assume a larger defence burden.  **SOME SOCIAL ASPECTS ** Despite the economic heights attained by it, Japan does face several problems particularly social. While the average real earnings have increased more than four-fold since 1950, housing shortage is acute, particularly in big cities like Tokyo, conditions are very difficult in view of overcrowding. An average Japanese home is tiny (barely 500 sq. ft.) and incredibly expensive. Most employees have to commute to work daily involving 2 to 3 hours journey leading to strain on life. Indeed, one out of every three workers is treated for stress-related illness.  Japan has the highest longevity with an average life expectancy of 76 for males and 78 for females. The population over 60 is fast growing and a large number of businesses have to evolve strategies to cope with the ageing work force. On the plus side, as the work force ages, employees have a great deal to offer in terms of job experience and corporate loyalty. However they lack the background and the skills required for manning business men which call for newer technologies and international competitive_ strength. Hence to cope with future requirements, businesses now recognise the need for developing managerial capabilities and readapting the same to meet the emerging challenges. Instead of hiring new business graduates, many establishments are planning to secure the required personnel through hiring of experienced mid-career employees. These people are especially sought in areas such as new project development, R and D, and overseas projects.  The ageing population is making increasingly heavy demands on social welfare. Payments are expected to exceed contributions, making an increasing draft on general budgetary resources.  With enormous purchasing power in the hands of younger couples, the marketing emphasis is naturally changing fast to meet the needs of the youth.  There is a growing shift from saving to consumption. Household savings have been slowly declining and now account for 16% as against the peak of 23%. The younger generation is also acquiring taste for imported products including luxury automobiles, and travel. This year over 1.6 million Japanese are expected to travel overseas.  The middle-aged, more particularly the college educated, constitute the growing middle class with an average annual income of$ 75,000. They are becoming more conscious of their quality of life style and what they own -a marked change from the traditional frugal ethic. The national policy to encourage domestic consumption to soak up the output of the overheated economy also supports this trend. Japan is now facing increasing competition from the NICs in South East Asia. The penetration by the NICs in the main OECD markets has increased rapidly over the last 15 years. Initially the thrust of NICs was in clothing and textiles, but now it is increasingly being felt in industries like steel, ships, cars, consumer electronics, telecommunications equipment and machine tools.  **LESSONS FOR INDIA ** Japan and India have a lot in common in two respects- high personal savings rate and abundance of human skills. However, there are several areas where we have to learn a good deal from Japan, more particularly the following:  Importance of Time: To the Japanese time is money. They are extremely finicky about meeting their commitments on time. In contrast, in India, there is generally little concern for time. Work Ethos: An average Japanese takes enormous pride in his work. It is because of this that they as a nation have been able to attain high quality standards and penetrate deep into world markets. There is dire need in our country to infuse this sense of pride amongst employees at all levels.  Productivity: The Japanese lay utmost emphasis on consistently attaining the highest productivity levels possible. No wonder, Japan has emerged as one of the major competitors globally. But in India, productivity has either remained stagnant or tended to decline in almost all fields barring exceptions here and there. That is why our cost structure is so high and our products are being priced out internationally despite our relatively low wage costs.  Cost-Consciousness: With no natural resources worth the name, any waste is a matter of sacrilege for the Japanese. Hence every effort is made to conserve almost everything. Relatively India is a much poorer country than Japan, though it is abundantly endowed with natural resources. But that is no reason why we should be so profligate in their use, whether it be water or timber or electricity, or coal or petroleum. Even in the case of agricultural products there is enormous wastage for lack of adequate storage and preservation facilities. We need to become more alive and sensitive to conservation in the interest of ensuring speedy improvement in living standards.  Industrial Relations: Although Japan has a larger industrial labour force than ours, industrial relations are quite cordial. Not more than half a million man hours are lost on an average annually as against the loss of anywhere between 30 and 40 million man hours in India. A developing country like India just cannot afford this luxury. Conscious efforts to improve industrial relations through better understanding between management and labour are of the utmost importance.  Urge to Excel: As a people the Japanese have been constantly-striving to excel other countries, even themselves. This is because of the confidence gained as a result of wide acceptability of their products in almost all markets of the world. The Indians, too, had great pride in their craftsmanship once. This needs to be rekindled. To conclude, there is no doubt that, despite the current problems of adjustment, Japan will continue to forge ahead. This is because of the several innate qualities which  the nation has demonstrated over the years, the most remarkable of them being the capacity to adapt and innovate. The enormous investments made in technology development will also ensure sustained progress, though the annual growth may be relatively lower than the trend rate._Last week’s musing: [THE RETREAT FROM SOCIALISM](https://indianliberals.in/content/the-retreat-from-socialism-2/)_ --- ## [Musing] Your Prosperity Through Freedom URL: https://indianliberals.in/musings/your-prosperity-through-freedom/ ### Body _“Your Prosperity Through Freedom” was written by M. R. Pai and designed by Eric Francis. A graphic novel, it illustrates the meaning and essence of a Free enterprise–that work is not the only vital component for a prosperous economy; freedom is equally essential. Under state capitalism, the Government directs and owns all means of production, and it makes all the economic decisions without the nation’s consent. This leaves no place for individual liberty. Communist countries are the perfect example of state capitalism, where everything is directed, dictated, and managed by the Government. The author explains that even though socialism is minutely distinct from communism, its economic policies are similar to communist policies. Thus, the only way to have both prosperity and freedom is by having free enterprise. Free Enterprise is not reflective of an individualistic system but a society where rules and regulations are laid down by the economic representatives elected by the people. It is not against planning but asserts planning in favor of free enterprise. In such an atmosphere, the result is more industries, more employment, better opportunities for all, etc. Thus, Free Enterprise is a People’s enterprise and is the key to prosperity and freedom. _ _You can read the complete, unabridged version here [Your Prosperity Through Freedom](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Your-Prosperity-Through-Freedom.pdf)___ Work–yes, everyone has got to work. But few know why. Mostly all will say that we work for a livelihood. But it is not only for a livelihood we work. - We work because it is a social necessity. Today we are fast moving towards an industrial-based society that is based on **specialization **and **division** of labor. Example 1- Pattu is a farmer who grows wheat for his use. The surplus he sells to others. He needs a pair of _chappals_, cloth, kerosene, etc., and cannot live on wheat alone. So with the money he gets from his extra wheat, he buys chappals and cloth for himself and his family.  What he buys has, in turn, been produced by specialization and division of labor. The following factors lead to the final product: labor, management, raw material, and capital. This arrangement helps to create more goods and services for all. Since everyone specializes in one particular line, he does his job very well. Alone we could never produce everything and so many things.  - We work because it gives us a sense of satisfaction (an essential element in human nature) - Isn’t this article I wrote really great! - Look what a wonderful cake I baked! - O Boy! What a wonderful job I’ve done! - We work in order to buy leisure For instance, an employee gets his privilege leave every year, holidays every week, and on festival days or days of national importance. He also gets time for himself once he completes his eight-hour stretch at work. These leisure hours he can put to any use he likes, for instance-resting, photography, music, reading, outdoor life, games, etc.  It is important to not only have work but also the freedom to enjoy leisure and to lead a life of human dignity. A society can be organized in such a way that all means of production, distribution, and exchange of goods and services are exclusively in the hand of private individuals. In the hands of the government, which means state capitalism or a combination of both, what is known as mixed economy. When the government dominates and owns all means of production, distribution, and exchange, then there is **State Capitalism** as in communist countries. This means that, in effect, the state is above the individual. The government directs all economic activities without the consent of the people. This leaves no choice for individuals– - in choosing their work - spending their money - in what they buy - in putting their leisure to activities of their choice - neither have the liberties Leon Trotsky, the communist leader, after seeing communism in action, said: “Formerly the rule was- he who does not work shall not eat.’ Now the rule is– he who does not obey shall not eat.” Good examples of this state of affairs, viz. of **State Capitalism,** are communist countries. - No rule of law–the government is the law - No freedom of association - No freedom of expression, no free press - Strikes banned. No choice of jobs. - Buy what is sold at prices dictated by government factories - No private property but collective farms and state factories - No freedom of thought - There are no parties except one and no free elections Socialist countries, in their end result, are no different from communist ones. Like communism, socialism is a collectivist ideology. Socialism professes faith in individual freedom. But its method of promoting it by nationalization of private industries and state ownership of all means of production, distribution, and exchange led to state capitalism similar to that of a communist society. State ownership leads to state capitalism! _Previous musing: [National Priorities for 1970](https://indianliberals.in/content/national-priorities-for-1970-by-minoo-masani/)_ --- # Opinions ## [Opinion] B.R. Ambedkar on Justice Ranade, Social Reform and Failure of Indian Liberalism URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/b-r-ambedkar-social-reform-failure-of-indian-liberalism/ ### Body _Ambedkar argued, that the leading liberal figure reposed his faith in Congress, effectively paving way for a single party hegemony. Thus the collapse of the Liberal party was ‘really a disaster to the country’ because ‘the rule of a single party is fatal to Popular Government.’_India’s anti-imperial struggle against British colonialism constituted of many voices of the nation. Given the sheer geographical and social diversity of India, it only made sense that the national political aspirations took different expressions. Some forms of activism went beyond a narrow political demand for self-rule to fashion a broader conception of freedom and dignity. Prominent strands along this line consisted of moderate liberals and radical Dalit leaders. Differing in their modus operandi and view of the role of state, both constitutionalist liberals and subaltern leaders recognized the need to reform Indian society from inside to enable a ‘true’ sense of freedom for Indians. These two largely marginalized visions of nation overshadowed by the big tent Congress nationalism were brought in conversation in a speech by Bhimrao Ambedkar. Delivered in 1943 at the invitation of the Deccan Sabha to commemorate the 101st birthday of the liberal leader Mahadev Govind Ranade, Ambedkar’s speech discussed a host of issues relevant for the prevailing political climate, Ranade’s contributions, and the larger cause of social reforms. The speech was supposed to be an assessment of Ranade’s legacy, but it received widespread coverage in the contemporary press for an altogether different reason. Ambedkar’s embittered take on both Gandhi and Jinnah as a sideway reference in the speech opened him to criticism in the Indian press. Ambedkar defended himself on the ground that his love for India explained his dislike for the two giants who were no greater than the country. To me, though, the relevance of Ambedkar’s incisive speech lies in the meat of the matter which shall be discussed below. Bereft of any personal connection with Ranade, Ambedkar relied on the Great Man theory as propounded by Carlyle to assess him. Ambedkar’s view of history did not deny the role of structural forces in shaping human history but also underlined human agency in responding to structural constraints. For Ambedkar, Ranade’s sincerity, intellect, and commitment to social reform made him worthy of the epithet. Ranade’s recognition of ills in the Hindu society was complemented by his tireless efforts to bring change. Like a marathon sprinter, Ambedkar recalled, Ranade would conduct meetings, arrange missions, deliver lectures, publish articles, give interviews, write letters, establish societies, and found journals, all in pursuit of the noble cause. To give a more permanent footing to his social reform initiatives, Ranade founded the Social Conference, a pan-Indian body pursuing the agenda. The body operated as an adjunct to the Indian National Congress which in early years kept itself distanced from matters of social reform. Ambedkar’s appreciation of Ranade and by extension other contemporary liberal social reformers stemmed from his own preoccupation with the cause of Dalit dignity. Having borne the brunt of caste discrimination, Ambedkar was well aware of the tyranny of society which to him was more pernicious than the tyranny of the state. Consequently, his vision of individual freedom saw a role for the state as a counterbalance to the social sanction for untouchability, reflected later in constitutional sanction against untouchability and provision for affirmative action. Moreover, the stiff opposition faced by Ambedkar from social conservatives perhaps made him recognize the struggle of liberal social reformers who were in the same position in the late 19th century. Ambedkar argued that a reformer challenging established social mores is even more courageous than a political prisoner because the reformer lacks support and praise otherwise received by political activists. In line with Ambedkar’s argument, Ranade and other like-minded reformers faced opposition in the western province, not just from the masses but also from conservative thinkers like Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Vishnushastri Chiplunkar. In Bengal province, things were no different for liberal-minded reformers like Raja Rammohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, and Henry Derozio who were opposed by the likes of Raja Radhakanta Deb and his Dharma Sabha. Ambedkar recognized two different strands within the conservative intelligentsia. Activists like Chiplunkar were orthodox in belief but kept away from politics. They believed in a stylized vision of Hinduism serving as a guiding mechanism to arrange the society. Ambedkar in his speech tore down this conservative social vision by pointing out the graded hierarchy of caste system which would hollow out any society instead of infusing it with a sense of national unity. The idealistic individualism of Hindu philosophical schools, Ambedkar rightly pointed out, never came to challenge the dominating hold of hierarchical caste practice. Though, one might argue that such philosophical traditions might provide an indigenous intellectual base for Indian liberals to make the case for social reforms. The other strand of opposition to social reforms came from modernist politicians like Tilak who prioritized self-rule and thus opposed any colonial state intervention in local customs. In that sense, their modernist vision prioritized political emancipation over the social. Ambedkar, of course, took exception to this view. According to him, a Jeffersonian limited state protecting the natural rights of people would not make sense in India because these rights did not exist for a vast majority of people. Thus, ‘[R]ights must exist before policing becomes a serious matter of substance.’ Moreover, Ambedkar also recognized the futility of granting fundamental rights after political independence without a profound change in social attitude. Legal provisions against discrimination would not mean much if the social conscience refuses to recognize the validity of legal rights. In Ambedkar’s assessment, India’s prevalent condition was not suitable for social democracy. Echoes of such concern could also be heard in his famous last speech to the Constituent Assembly. It was the fundamental unsuitability of India for a social democracy that necessitated the breakdown of the artificial division between social reforms and political rights. Ranade, Ambedkar, and Gandhi recognized that social reforms were a necessary precursor to a functional democracy premised on substantive citizenship. Not only did Ambedkar recognize the important groundwork laid by Ranade and Phule in this regard, but he also approved of liberal gradualism as the method to bring change. The argumentative Ambedkar though was not just all praise for Justice Ranade and liberals. Speaking in front of a largely liberal gathering, he presented a clinical analysis of the failure of Indian liberals. Indian liberalism at the time basically amounted to a bunch of elite leaders, deemed the ultimate ‘contemptible’ of Indian politics. They lacked organization, mass outreach, ideological propaganda, emotional connection, and a rallying cry. The tragedy was such, Ambedkar argued, that the leading liberal figure reposed his faith in Congress, effectively paving way for a single party hegemony. Thus the collapse of the Liberal party was ‘really a disaster to the country’ because ‘the rule of a single party is fatal to Popular Government.’ In conclusion, Ambedkar himself was no liberal. That much he made clear in the speech itself. Yet, he was able to find a lot of common ground with them. Ranade’s career and his struggle for social reform in many sense mirrored Ambedkar’s later efforts in a similar direction. The radical in him notwithstanding, Ambedkar was very much willing to admit the connection. To me, herein lies the possibility of making an alliance between the ideological descendants of Ambedkar and Ranade in ensuring individual freedom. Moreover, Ambedkar’s diagnosis of Indian liberal failure also has relevance today. The lack of mass outreach, a distaste for identity-based emotive politics, and largely elite character of liberal individuals still account for the absence of a liberal political party in India. Indian liberals might as well do better to pay heed to Ambedkar’s counsel. --- ## [Opinion] B.R. Shenoy : India's First Neoliberal? URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/b-r-shenoy-indias-first-neoliberal/ ### Body _Shunned by Indian planners and economists for his radical views on India’s development trajectory, Shenoy found a home among the small and closely knit free-market advocacy group in India and the vigorous transnational network of neoliberal intellectuals active mostly in the West._Bellikoth Raghunath Shenoy, the monetary economist turned public intellectual in the decades of 1950s-60s, faced marginalization in his life and a prophetic revival in the afterlife. Shunned by Indian planners and economists for his radical views on India’s development trajectory, Shenoy found a home among the small and closely knit free-market advocacy group in India and the vigorous transnational network of neoliberal intellectuals active mostly in the West. The recent revival of interest in Shenoy has undoubtedly been enabled by India’s post-liberalization moment which seemingly saw economic growth enabled by policies advocated by Shenoy years earlier. Mostly espoused by Indian neoliberals, this revival undoubtedly has a vindictive streak tinged with a sense of loss of wasted decades when Shenoy’s policy prescriptions remained marginalized.     Born in the town of Bellikoth, Shenoy turned to the Gandhian non-cooperation movement in his early youth days. During his jail stint, he met nationalist and Hindu revivalist leader Madan Mohan Malaviya and went on to join the Banaras Hindu University for higher education. Historian Aditya Balasubramanian [points](https://penguin.co.in/book/the-language-of-history/) out Shenoy’s neoliberal tendency was shaped at BHU only as he studied for an MA degree under Professor Pran Nath. Professor Nath held a Ph.D. from Vienna where Austrian economics ruled the roost. Shenoy specialized in monetary economics as he proceeded to the LSE in late 1930. At LSE, he studied mostly under Philip Barrett Whale and Theodore Gregory and graduated with an MSc thesis on central banking in India. It was at LSE that Shenoy came in contact with Friedrich Hayek who was there to deliver lectures in the wake of the Great Depression of 1929. In the great economic debate on tackling the economic slump, Hayek’s influence on Shenoy was visible in [two](https://www.jstor.org/stable/1885616?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents) [papers](https://doi.org/10.2307/1885190) that he published in the prestigious _Quarterly Journal of Economics_. The influence translated into Shenoy’s advocacy of price theory and market efficiency.      After his stint at LSE from where he would fail to get a Ph.D. degree, historian Aditya Balasubramanian argues that Shenoy went on to have a peripatetic career as an economist. His employers would include Rajaram College in Kolhapur; the Ceylon University College and Board of Commissioners of Ceylon Currency in Colombo; SLD Arts College in Ahmedabad; the Reserve Bank of India in Bombay; the India Mission of the IMF in Washington. In his later role as a Cold War public intellectual, he would join the prestigious neoliberal Mont Pelerin Society; contribute to the _Times of India_, the _Wall Street Journal_, _Swarajya_; dispense advice to Swatantra Party on economic matters; run his own think-tank for a while. His published writings would advance a distinctly neoliberal position which saw him ignored at home but gained him recognition in the western neoliberal circle.       The turning point probably came with his Note of Dissent to the Second Five-Year Plan Frame which he submitted as part of the Panel of Economists working on the Frame. Shenoy took a dislike to the proposed financing measures to build the industrial capacity in India. His Note argued that a high degree of deficit financing would lead to uncontrolled inflation and it would be difficult for a democratic government to usurp a large part of domestic savings. The Note happened to receive the attention of economist Peter Bauer who inducted Shenoy into the 1959 annual meeting of the MPS at Oxford. Shenoy’s charged speech on the danger of Indian planning turning into a communist specter entrenched his position firmly in the neoliberal circles. Shenoy’s cautionary vision of Indian planning, though, did not have much traction in his time as most anti-communist and statist economists and policy-makers in the US saw Indian planning as a [model case](https://doi.org/10.1080/07341512.2016.1142633) of state-led development under a democratic framework. To these influential statist opinion-makers, the Indian story seemed to follow the path of American capitalism which was nurtured by the largesse of state intervention. In any case, Shenoy’s strident posturing brought him membership to MPS; effusive praise from the likes of Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, Peter Bauer, Henry Hazlitt; earned him a column space in The _Wall Street Journal_; visiting professorship to LSE and fellowship to the Hoover Institute. In the last few years of his life, Shenoy ran the think-tank called _Economics Research Centre_.                Apart from the fiscal profligacy-induced horror of inflation, Shenoy’s other pet peeve was the strident opposition to foreign aid to India which he saw as a wasteful distortion allowing Indian policymakers to get away with faulty economic policy. He had an unswerving [commitment](https://penguin.co.in/book/the-language-of-history/) to a balanced budget, rupee devaluation and export promotion, [direct cash transfer](https://swarajyamag.com/economy/how-b-r-shenoy-would-have-tackled-the-economic-slowdown), privatization of public enterprises, lower taxation rates, abolition of gold control measures, and a general approach of minimal state intervention. As a public intellectual, Shenoy’s trope to make the case for free-market involved contrasting the [postwar economic experience](https://www.libertarianism.org/publications/essays/east-west-berlin-study-free-vs-controlled-economy) of the West and East Germany under two different economic systems. Shenoy’s influence on Indian economic policy, though, remained minimal in his own lifetime. Interestingly, in a book review article, economist Jagdish Bhagwati [dismissed](https://doi.org/10.2307/2230415) Shenoy’s ‘strong ideology of the Friedmannite variety’ and saw his opposition to foreign aid as an ‘unfortunate tendency’. Further, Bhagwati argued that Shenoy’s ‘overall view of Indian economic policies is flawed seriously by his antipathy to planning _per se_.’ Published in 1969, Bhagwati’s remarks make for an interesting read today in the context of his consistent free-market advocacy and appreciation of Milton Friedman. Based on [declassified records](https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP86T00268R000800110008-6.pdf), though, we now know Shenoy’s views on the wasteful impact of foreign aid had some hearing in the US. A _Wall Street Journal_ article of September 18, 1959, discussing Shenoy’s Mont Pelerin speech was taken up by the National Security Council’s Planning Board for consideration on September 30. The WSJ article was circulated to the Planning Board members. It was of no use however as by 1961 the Eisenhower administration came up with an emergency aid package to India and the MPS [lost](https://doi.org/10.1080/07341512.2016.1142633) the public battle in the US. Peter Bauer’s [tribute](https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/1998/5/cj18n1-1.pdf) to Shenoy recalled the prevailing hostility to Shenoy’s ideas in the Delhi School of Economics and the National Council of Applied Economic Research. However, after his death, Shenoy’s daughter, a formidable economist in her own right, [received](https://penguin.co.in/book/the-language-of-history/) a moving letter from Henry Hazlitt. Peter Bauer, of course, was and remained an [admirer](https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/1998/5/cj18n1-1.pdf). Jagdish Bhagwati has tuned out to be a forceful proponent of India’s integration with the global economy. Aditya Balasubramanian, the leftist historian of Indian neoliberalism, has [published](https://penguin.co.in/book/the-language-of-history/) a comprehensive assessment of Shenoy’s career. Lastly, the [contemporary](https://twitter.com/CafeEconomics/status/952034022791655424?s=20) [admirers](https://twitter.com/kumaranand/status/605986884276215809?s=20) of B R Shenoy could be [found](https://twitter.com/dhume/status/605934182263422977?s=20) in India’s small but influential neoliberal circle. --- ## [Opinion] C Y Chintamani: The Liberal Editor, Politician URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/c-y-chintamani-the-liberal-editor-politician/ ### Body _A prodigy, nationalist, journalist, politician, thinker - C.Y. Chintamani was a liberal in every sense of the word.  As the editor of a leading national daily, Chintamani placed utmost importance on free speech. He did not shy away from criticizing the British Raj, INC, and even fellow liberals.  _In the first half of the 20th century, C Y Chintamani was among the few liberal Indian politicians balancing between opposing the British Raj and the Gandhian method of civil disobedience. The liberal commitment to constitutional means in the age of Gandhian mass movement nudged one away from public sentiment. However, this should not lead us to underestimate the notable, patriotic contributions of liberals. Neither should the liberal strand of Indian anti-colonial movement be allowed to lie in oblivion. In this context, the contribution of Chintamani as a politician and editor warrants commemoration. Born on 10 April 1880, in the town of Vizianagaram in Madras presidency, Chintamani spent much of his public life in the North Indian town of Allahabad. Back then, Allahabad was a vibrant intellectual and cultural center for Indian nationalists in North India. These included the Nehrus, Madan Mohan Malaviya, and moderates. Interestingly, Chintamani was able to sustain his intellectual and political activism in the Hindi heartland town without having learned to read and write in Hindi. Right from his young days, Chintamani was drawn to the moderate leaders of the Indian National Congress, who were influenced by liberal ideas. They focused on social reforms and political rights for Indians. Chintamani had a prodigious mind. He began editing the _Vizag Spectator_ at the age of 18. After his joining, the newspaper was renamed as Indian Herald. His biographer mentions that owing to financial difficulties which were all too common for native press ventures back then, Chintamani was not only an editor, but also the foreman, proof-reader, reporter, sub-editor, and manager all rolled into one. After 1899, he moved to Madras to join the _Madras Standard_ with G Subramania Iyer. However, the pinnacle of Chintamani’s journalistic career was to come with his association with _The Leader_. Published from Allahabad, _The_ _Leader_ emerged as a leading English nationalist newspaper in the United Province. Earlier, print media was mainly dominated by Anglo-Indian papers like the _Pioneer_, _The_ _Statesman_, and_ Times of India._ These did not see much representation of Indian issues. The only notable exceptions were Pandit Ajodhia Nath’s _India Herald_ and Babu Ganga Prasad Varma’s weekly _Advocate_. The _India Herald_ was a short-lived experiment, while the _Advocate_ didn’t carry much weight. _The Leader_ began as an English daily from Allahabad and incorporated the weekly _The Indian People_. This nationalist print media initiative was a joint venture of leading figures including Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Motilal Nehru, Sachchidnanda Sinha, and Tej Bahadur Sapru. Chintamani was first brought in as a joint editor with Nagendranath Gupta. He soon became the sole editor. In his role as the editor, Chintamani put a premium on editorial independence. He conceded to newspaper proprietors the right to frame the paper’s agenda and hire/fire people at will. However, he reserved to himself the right to decide the content and everyday management of the paper. The key to editorial independence in Chintamani’s case, argues his biographer, was his readiness to quit the job. Chintamani’s editorial integrity cost him friendship with Motilal Nehru and put him in the opposing camp to Malaviya, both of whom happened to be on the board of _The Leader_. The bone of contention with Motilal was rooted in his decision to invite Nautch dancers to perform at the Allahabad Congress session in 1910. The move drew sharp criticism from Chintamani who had no patience for this act of cultural rejuvenation amidst serious discussion of political matters. The final straw though came with Chintamani’s refusal to publish Motilal Nehru’s letter to the editor during the 1915-16 debate on the separate electorate for Muslims in  United Province municipalities. An incensed Motilal resigned from _The Leader_. The conflict with Malaviya occurred over the issue of Montagu-Chelmsford reforms. Predictably supported by Chintamani and opposed by Malaviya. In this case, however, it was Malaviya who resigned from the board of _The Leader_ in the best interest of the newspaper which was served in the able hands of its editor. Chintamani served in this capacity until his death in 1941, except for a brief stint with the _Indian Daily Mail_ in 1925. _The Leader_ was seen as a liberal party newspaper but it was not merely a mouthpiece organ. The newspaper criticized the British Raj, but also Congress leaders and even liberal colleagues. For instance, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, the patron saint of the Indian liberal pantheon, was not spared for his support to the Press Act of 1910. Chintamani’s response to Gokahle’s protest at the criticism went: ‘Sir, I have worshipped you all my life. Must you grudge my freedom even for one day?’ Chintamani’s political career began with the Congress in 1898. He left Congress in 1918 to form the Liberal Party with Surendranath Banerjea, Dinshaw Wacha, Chimanlal Setalvad, and Tej Bahadur Sapru. As a liberal, his preferred solution for India was the use of constitutional means to secure a dominion status for India within the empire. Like other liberals, he disagreed with the Gandhian mode of civil disobedience. He saw it as a sure path to disaster for it undermined the respect for law and authority among the masses. Apart from being a participant in the first Roundtable Conference, his other political roles involved membership in the Legislative Council and being a Leader of the Opposition. Chintamani’s fiercely independent personality was reflected in his unwavering commitment to principles which saw him criticizing fellow liberal travelers as well. Even after he was awarded the Knighthood, his criticism of the British Raj did not cease. Edwin Montagu recognized the genius of the Indian liberal nationalist editor-politician - "An extraordinarily intelligent man, I think the cleverest Indian in debate I have yet seen."          **![](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Latest-Photograph-264x300.jpg)** --- ## [Opinion] Dadabhai Naoroji: Social Reforms, Transnational Connections and Statistical Liberalism URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/dadabhai-naoroji-social-reforms-transnational-connections-statistical-liberalism/ ### Body _In his decades-long career in Britain, Naoroji laboured relentlessly to popularise the Indian cause. Given the uncooperative attitudes of colonial bureaucracy at home, Naoroji figured that the best way to serve Indian interests would be to influence decision-making in the British parliament. (Image Credits : The Asian Age) _The early phase of nationalist movement in India, dominated by the largely liberal-minded moderate faction of the Indian National Congress (INC), saw them envision a wholesome agenda for the regeneration of India. Prior to creating an Indian political subject, these liberal leaders were invested in the project of creating an Indian public sphere. The eventual culmination of the liberal political project lay in achieving self-rule- interpreted differently as political independence or dominion status- by constitutional means. The vision of modernisation wasn’t limited only to the political realm as Indian liberals also sought to reform the society deeply anchored in orthodoxy. The native Indian modernisation project under the colonial tutelage, though, had to contend with both the obstructive and accelerating tendencies of the imperial metropole. The career of Dadabhai Naoroji, the Grand Old Man of Indian nationalism and perhaps the most prominent liberal figure, captured the zeitgeist of this early phase of Indian nationalism. Even as liberals were first challenged by the ascendant Congress extremists and were later completely side-lined during the mass nationalism phase under Gandhi, their vision and ideas were co-opted by the later generation of Indian nationalist leaders, as shown by the late CA Bayly. In that sense, Indian liberalism remained foundational to the idea(s) of India even if in adopted fashion and as such merits scholarly attention. In pursuit of their agenda for social reform, political rights, and economic regeneration, Indian liberals, including Naoroji, employed a variety of measures. These included educational enterprise, creation of a reading public sphere, formation of political associations, petitions to the Raj administration, counter-preaching, historicism, turning of the defence witnesses, and both upward & downward hermeneutics. Naoroji’s career was emblematic of this liberal phase of Indian nationalism, in both his ideas and methods, which shall be explored below. **Naoroji as Social Reformer** Given the challenges of regressive social practices, religious orthodoxy, repressive colonialism as well as imperatives of the democratic polity, the need to create a civil society beyond the tyrannies of state was evident to Indian liberals. Gopal Krishna Gokhale’s Servants of India society, Mahadev Govind Ranade’s Deccan Sabha, and Poona Sarvajanik Sabha were some notable associations, which sprang up to represent Indian interests and demand rights from the state.  Mass illiteracy, however, posed a challenge to the broadening of civil society as well as the promulgation of rational discourse. Indian liberals thus turned to educational initiatives to foster mass literacy. The pedagogical element of the social reform agenda of liberals was concerned with both mass education and female literacy. Himself a beneficiary of benevolent scholarships, Naoroji was an ardent advocate of free education for masses. In his Bombay stint as an academic in the mid-1800s, he belonged to the Young Bombay clique of social reformers and educationists. As historian Dinyar Patel has argued convincingly, in contrast to Kolkata, the Bombay-based native Indian elites exercised considerable agency in the education sector as instructors and financiers. It was the alliance between progressive intellectuals and rich _shetias _(mercantile community) that fostered the social reform agenda of the Young Bombay. With its belief in the intrinsic value of the western liberal education, the Young Bombay group deployed education in service of social reforms and modernisation to create the liberal political subject in India. Naoroji was instrumental in shaping the educational reform agenda along with fellow western-educated, liberal-minded reformers- Navrozji Fardunji, Karsondas Mulji, Bhau Daji, Ardeshir Framji Moos and Behramji Malabari. The most enduring contribution of Naoroji came in the form of creating an enduring institutional base for liberal values in the domain of pedagogy. The initiatives undertaken included _Parsi Lehak Mandli_ where he was the founding member and first editor; the _Parsi Natak Mandli_ where he was a co-founder; and the _Framji Cowasji Institute_ where he was instrumental in raising funds. At Elphinstone’s College where he was teaching, Naoroji founded the _Students’ Literary and Scientific Society_ (SLSS) in 1848. Three months later, SLSS was followed by the _Dnyan Prasarak Mandli_ (Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge) as a branch of the SLSS, which produced content in Gujarati and Marathi language. Part of the initiative also included the promotion of female education. Naoroji’s reformist zeal for gender equality spurred his endeavour. In October 1849, he would go on to open six schools for girls under the banner of the SLSS. Again, the progressive _shetias _came to provide the financial ballast. The donors included Jagannath Shankarsheth, Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, Framji Cowasji Banaji, and Cowasji Jehangir Readymoney. The ambit of reforms went beyond social issues to rationalise religious practices deemed irrational. The initiative was partly an insider response to critical charges from Christian missionaries and partly a bid to create the liberal political subject through character building. Naoroji’s religious reforms were mostly focused on his own Parsi community. In this initiative, his partner was the haltingly English-speaking but reform-minded _shetia, _Kharshedji Nasarvanji Cama. Apart from widening the distribution of the Dnyan Prasarak Mandli’s publications, Cama was involved with Naoroji in two other reformist enterprises that riled the Parsi orthodoxy. In 1851, Naoroji and colleagues founded the _Rahnumae Mazdayasnan Sabha_ (Society of the Guides of the Mazdayasnan Path) and _Rast Goftar_, a newspaper in Gujarati. According to Dinyar Patel, the Sabha went on ‘protestantising aspects of Zoroastrianism by removing supposedly foreign and inauthentic customs and practices.’ Reformist in its orientation, _Rast Goftar _took a slew of causes, including the discontinuance of child marriages, the inappropriateness of nautches, and the rights of women in adopting European clothing. However, as Dinyar Patel points out, Naoroji succumbed to oriental stereotypes in his bid to reform Parsi tradition. Naoroji’s excuse for certain ‘irrational’ Parsi practices lay in attributing it to corruption borrowed from Hindu and Muslim traditions. In later years, the involvement of Karsandas Mulji increased the scope of the _Rast_._ _Meanwhile, Naoroji would go on to broaden the scope of both issues that he espoused and places that he went in advancing India’s interests. **Advancing Indian Causes in the Transnational Public Sphere** Naoroji’s concern with India’s regeneration was set in the context of the globalised production system and circulation of ideas. As a man of letters and public figure in both Britain and India, Naoroji was involved in crucial conversations on matters of anti-imperialism, political economy, race, gender rights and political economy. His long stay in Britain, including a parliamentary stint as an MP, meant he was a noteworthy participant in the transnational public sphere. The transmission of ideas happened in both directions, best captured in Bayly’s conception of upward and downward hermeneutics. Naoroji made references to international events in his writings, formed alliances with a variety of political actors abroad, and influenced public debates in Britain and other countries. For example, his formulation of the ‘drain of wealth’ theory deployed international statistical comparisons to hammer his point on India’s persistent impoverishment home. In “_The Wants and Means of India_”, he drew the balance of trade comparisons with the US, Australia, and Canada. By the mid-1870s, he turned to study the US economic experience and initiated correspondence with the US state officials in the Army Corps of Engineers and various state departments including those from Agriculture, Treasury, and the Interior. Dinyar Patel writes that Naoroji’s correspondence with the US officials concerned with statistics collection continued in the early 1900s. His work on the drain of wealth influenced public debates as far as Cyprus and the USA. In July 1902, Naoroji received the request for a copy of his recently published _Poverty and UnBritish Rule in India_ from the Cyprus-based M Sevasly. Mr Sevasly wanted to analyse the impact of British rule on his country with reference to Naoroji’s work on India. In the USA, Naoroji’s arguments on the exploitative nature of imperialism were wielded by the anti-imperial Progressives. According to Dinyar Patel, it was George Freeman, a reporter for the _New York Sun_, who introduced Naoroji’s ideas to Edward Atkinson, the founder of the American Anti-Imperialist League and William Jennings Bryan, the leading progressive leader in the US. In Naoroji’s description of degrading poverty under imperial rule, Freeman found support for his warnings against the US expansionism in the Pacific and Latin America. Freeman popularised Naoroji’s ideas by distributing it to political leaders, universities, public libraries and newspapers. He also convinced Naoroji to send his writings to the elected leaders in the US Senate. Though, we aren’t aware of further correspondence between Naoroji and serving senators on this matter. In his decades-long career in Britain, Naoroji laboured relentlessly to popularise the Indian cause. Given the uncooperative attitudes of colonial bureaucracy at home, Naoroji figured that the best way to serve Indian interests would be to influence decision-making in the British parliament. To this end, he fought multiple election campaigns in Britain, twice as a Liberal Party candidate and once as an independent Liberal candidate. The active political career in Britain entailed courting different constituencies in order to win elections as well as garner support for India. Naoroji’s wide-ranging connections as a politician had a distinctly progressive and anti-imperial character. Historian Dinyar Patel has uncovered Naoroji’s long friendship with and influence over Henry Hyndman. Among the leading members of British socialist movement, Hyndman drew heavily upon Naoroji’s drain theory in his article titled “_The Bankruptcy of India_”. Interestingly, as Dinyar Patel shows, Hyndman also told Karl Marx that “I want you very much to meet Mr Dadabhai Naoroji to whom I am much indebted for facts and ideas about India.” In August 1904, both Hyndman and Naoroji attended the International Socialist Congress in Amsterdam. In the initial stage of his electoral run, Naoroji also briefly considered courting a Tory candidacy, which he discussed with Scawen Blunt. To this end, George Birdwood offered to arrange meetings with British Conservative politicians. Dinyar Patel has argued that Naoroji mainly courted three constituencies during his stint in British politics- workers and trade unions, Irish nationalists, and the disenfranchised feminists. His alliance with feminist activists was reflected in his involvement with the feminist associations. Naoroji served as a vice president of the Women’s Progressive Society and the International Women’s Union. He was also a council member of the Women’s Franchise League. Himself a target of vicious racist jibes from no one less than the Conservative prime minister Lord Salisbury in the infamous Black Man incident of 1888, Naoroji took an active interest in transnational initiatives against racism. He forged ties with Catherine Impey who was the founder of a journal called _Anti-Caste_. The journal campaigned against all forms of racial injustice and attacked both casteism in India and lynching of Blacks in the post-reconstruction American South. Remarkably, Impey also introduced Naoroji to the famous black civil rights activist, Ida B Wells. Later in 1907, WEB DuBois published excerpts from Naoroji’s radical presidential speech at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress (1906) in his magazine _Horizon_. For all his progressive views and socialist leanings, Naoroji remained at core a member of the liberal establishment, both in India and Britain. In fact, it was his friends in Bombay, most notably AO Hume, who leveraged their connections to induct him in the British Liberal establishment of politicians, civil society associations and journalists. Not only did Naoroji fight the elections twice on the Liberal Party ticket, but he also engaged with the National Liberal Federation, London-based Liberal Central Association, Manchester-based National Reform Union, and the Holborn Liberal Association to name a few. **Statistical Liberalism and Drain of Wealth** Coined by CA Bayly, the term ‘statistical liberalism’ refers to the Indian political economy fashioned by liberals to challenge colonial appropriation and exploitation. According to Bayly, the “fundamental principle of Indian Statistical liberalism was that impoverishment and famine were not the natural outcomes of human improvidence and extravagance combined with overpopulation.” The most prominent practitioners of this version of political economy were RC Dutt, KT Telang, and Dadabhai Naoroji. Given his academic background in mathematics, Naoroji deployed statistics and empirical data to counter the official reports, which served the narrative of progress under the Raj’s ethnographic state and legitimised the colonisation project. Naoroji was, by no means, the original proponent of the drain theory. Noted Indian liberal Raja Rammohan Roy and the little known Ramkrishna Vishwanath as well as British officials, including James Silk Buckingham, Montgomery Martin and others had broached the topic earlier in their own ways. But, Naoroji arguably was the most prominent proponent of the theory. His statistical liberalism consisted of calculating the extent of poverty in India,  identifying the causal mechanism behind the drain (council bills deployed in the salary and pension payments for British officials in the Indian civil service), vigorously promoting the solution (Indianisation of the bureaucracy as well as self-rule under the dominion status which Dinyar Patel calls the ‘political corollary’ to the drain). Naoroji’s first public pronouncement on the matter came in 1867 with his delivery of “_England’s Duties to India_”. Dinyar Patel has identified two factors behind this political economy turn in Naoroji. The so-called Orissa famine of 1865-67 and the financial crisis in Bombay in the wake of the culmination of the American Civil War showed the precariousness of Indian lives and livelihoods. It was this degrading economic condition that might have drawn his attention to the matter. In a detailed study, Dinyar Patel has identified several methods involved in Naoroji’s engagement with statistical liberalism. To begin with, Naoroji ‘made the first-ever estimates of the country’s gross income per capita (technically, gross production per capita).’ The result punctured the myth of bountiful progress under the British Raj. To further make his polemical case effective, he relied on statistical comparisons for the shock value they produced. Witness for instance his claim that the income of the average Indian peasant was less than the bare minimum living expenditure on an Indian prisoner or coolie emigrant. The third method involved deploying the testimony of British officials to argue his case. CA Bayly argued this kind of turning of the defence witnesses ‘not only undermined the authority of the Anglo-Indians but it also neatly deflected the charge of sedition.’ The final step was criticising the veracity of official statistics on empirical grounds. This involved pointing out the obscuration of differing local conditions in the official data and relying on sources on the ground for additional information. Naoroji’s drain theory has come under criticism from later scholars of economic history and rightly so. Even historian Bipan Chandra, who otherwise sympathetically treated economic nationalism of Congress moderates- which is understandable given his Marxist leanings- found Naoroji’s fixation with the remittances absurd. More substantial criticism has come from other scholars though. KN Chaudhuri, for instance, calculated the drainage amounting to ‘less than 2 per cent of the value of India’s exports of commodities’ during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Others have pointed out the productive output generated in India from the so-called drain, which should be an investment. Vera Anstey argued if India had maintained its own army and navy, this arrangement might have cost more than the drain amount. Tirthankar Roy has argued that the services purchased abroad might have spurred the growth of businesses at home. Moreover, Indian nationalists were being cynical (Roy’s words, not mine!) in calling the cost of buying the technical knowledge drain. More recently, Dinyar Patel’s defence of Naoroji has come in the form of positioning drain theory as a political polemic rooted in data and empirical observations to further the anti-imperial cause, not a neutral, objective analysis. Of course, there is no denying the fact that the drain debate served the intended purpose of puncturing the legitimacy of the Raj. However, in so far as ideas tend to have an afterlife, the far-reaching impact of the drain formulation has been negative for the Indian economy. Naoroji and his fellow statistical liberals’ protectionist economic agenda, suspicion of foreign capital and trade, and envisioning of a larger role for the state went on to shape the economic agenda of Indian nationalists including Gandhi and resulted in the Nehruvian mixed economy. As the economic liberalisation of 1991 has made clear, for the folly of economic nationalism, part of the onus lies on Naoroji and his fellow travellers who institutionalised such ideas in the Indian nationalist movement. And, if anyone doubts the enduring impact of Naoroji’s ideas, one only has to look at the swadeshi ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and politician Shashi Tharoor’s tirade against the British Raj, which extensively quotes Dadabhai Naoroji! **Conclusion** In my opinion, the moniker that best captures the legacy and status of Indian liberal tradition is ‘forgotten’. Naoroji’s long public career in service of the nation has been no exception to this general trend. In this regard, a new biography of Dadabhai Naoroji, _Naoroji: The Pioneer of Indian Nationalism_, by historian Dinyar Patel might serve as a much-needed corrective though. _Author’s Note: This article draws heavily on the research of historian Dinyar Patel. The author gratefully acknowledges his contribution._ --- ## [Opinion] Babytai Kamble's Resolute Feminism URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/babytai-kamble-resolute-feminism/ ### Body Babytai Kamble was a pioneering voice of intersectional feminism in India. As a Dalit woman, she understood the complexities of caste, class and gender-based oppressions and their overlapping nature. Her life and work provides a critical lens into the intersectionality of feminism. "It is the woman who is the doer" – Babytai Kamble (Pandit) Babytai Kamble brings forth the struggles and oppression of Dalit women, who have conveniently been silenced and overshadowed in history. She created a space for herself and her community in the world of literature, activism and education. She did so through the standpoint of a Dalit woman, a rarity at the time. Her take on feminism within the multi-layered oppressions of class, caste and gender create a space for intersectionality.  A teacher, entrepreneur, human rights activist and a champion of women’s rights, Babytai Kamble’s life becomes an example of purposeful determination. An inspiration to many women, Kamble herself was inspired by the life of Dr B.R. Ambedkar and the contributions he made to the Dalit community. Taking his beliefs and morals forward, Kamble not only became a torchbearer of Ambedkar's values and motives but also created her legacy by paving the way for Dalit women in the realms of activism and literature. Kamble was born as Baby Kamble in the year 1929. She was given the name Babytai by her peers and supporters out of affection and adoration. A member of the Mahar community, one of the largest marginalized communities in Maharashtra, Kamble began her activism at a young age. She began going to public meetings that were organized by various Dalit activists that inspired her to work for her community. The meetings primarily focussed on emancipation of the marginalized communities. The prime ideas discussed in these meetings acknowledgement of violations of human rights, absence of fundamental individual rights,  and ways to implement these rights for the betterment of disadvantaged communities. In one such meeting, an activist portrayed women as leaders, which struck a chord with young Kamble. As per societal norms, women in the forefront of was a rare sight. Therefore to hear about the possibility of a woman being in a leadership position encouraged Kamble to follow the same path. These meetings led a lot of women within the community to actively take part in public life. It encouraged them to fight for their rights.  Kamble was married off at the tender age of thirteen, which was considered old in those times. Surrounded by poverty and unemployment, it was extremely important for Kamble and her husband to get jobs. Owing to the restrictions the upper caste community bestowed upon them, it was extremely difficult for anyone from the Mahar community to get a job. Therefore, Kamble and her husband both started a small business selling grapes. Slowly, they started making profits off of their business, which helped Kamble to support her family financially. This not only gave them the economic agency that was much needed but it also brought out the entrepreneur in Kamble. Her ideas and motives with regard to the business gave her the agency which most women were not allowed to access.  Kamble soon became a part of the[Mahila Mandal](https://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5035:i-hid-everything-i-wrote-for-20-years&catid=127:post-ambedkar-leaders&Itemid=158) that[Raja Malojiraje Nimbalkar and his wife Lakshmibai formed in Phaltan, Maharashtra.](http://lib.unipune.ac.in:8080/jspui/bitstream/123456789/9291/11/11_chapter%205.pdf) The Mahila Mandil focused on Dalit women's right to education and employment. Since her father had never allowed her mother to take part in public meetings and gatherings she made way for herself and became a member of the Mahila Mandil. She alongside other members of the organization fought for social equality for their community. In these meetings, they also took part in various deliberations in regards to women's emancipation. Kamble also ran an ashram for children of the disadvantaged and vulnerable communities that focused on the overall growth and development of those children through education. Being an advocate of human rights, Kamble wanted to pass on the same ideas of social equality and enlightenment to the children of her community. To be aware of one’s social rights at a young age is not only important for the emancipation of one’s community but also for the development of the individual self. By imparting her ideas and motives to the children of the ashram she was not only creating a safe space for them but also giving them the scope to be independent, something that she believed was crucial for one’s individuality.  While selling grapes at her shop, Kamble often used to read stories and narratives from the newspapers she used for packaging. In those stories, the lack of representation of the marginalized, especially Dalit women encouraged her to pen down her own lived experiences. Through extensive reading, note-taking, and utmost secrecy from her husband, Kamble's autobiography,[_Jina Amacha_ (_The Prisons We Broke_)](https://www.amazon.in/Prisons-We-Broke-Baby-Kamble/dp/935287370X) was born.   Through her book, Kamble made a significant achievement in the world of literature. Her book sheds light on the oppression of Dalit women, which lacked in mainstream narratives of literature. Being a woman from a marginalized community doubles the oppression through the virtue of gender and caste. The identification and acknowledgment of the layers of oppression Dalit women face becomes crucial to achieve individual fundamental rights. Kamble was not scared of being critical of her community when it came to the patriarchal subjugation of women. Dalit women are indeed doubly marginalized as they are not only subjected to the humiliation of the upper caste community but also from men of their community.  Kamble's autobiography becomes a way of reclaiming her identity as a Dalit woman. Not being allowed to read and write by her husband and often subjected to physical violence if caught in the acts of education, Kamble created a space for herself in a male-dominated world. The mere process of writing becomes an act of resistance from the atrocities and enormity of the world. By documenting the lived experiences and narratives of her community and individual self, Kamble creates a space for herself not just in the context of Indian literature but also Dalit history. The experiences of marginalized communities which have often been ignored and disregarded by history find room through her work.  Her autobiography becomes an important landmark in Indian literature as it not only throws light on Dalit experiences and narratives but specifically carves space for Dalit women's lived experiences.  She also published a collection of poems in Marathi titled _Man Bolata_. It mainly focused on the teachings of Ambedkar and the emancipation and empowerment of the Mahar Community. Kamble passed away in April 2021, leaving behind a legacy of freedom and equality. Her teachings, motives, and beliefs of education, unity, and morality become foremost to achieve intellectual freedom. She firmly believed in the urgency of young intellectuals who'd be responsible to bring significant change in their lives as well as in the lives of their community. Her ideals and beliefs help us to understand feminism on liberal ideas in a different context. A context which is seldom ignored and silenced. Her experiences as a Dalit woman - reclaiming her agency through entrepreneurship, activism and her biography puts light on the multi dimensional aspects of feminism. It forces one to think about the multifacetedness of narratives and that to visualize those narratives becomes the need of the hour. **![](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/bio.png)** --- ## [Opinion] Vaad Vivad on Decentralisation and Panchayati Raj in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/decentralisation-and-panchayati-raj-system-in-india/ ### Body **"**When the Panchayat Raj is established, public opinion will do what violence can never do.**" - Mahatma Gandhi** The Centre for Civil Society (CCS) in collaboration with Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) South Asia is pleased to announce Vaad Vivad on "Decentralisation and Panchayati Raj System" in India scheduled on 23rd April 2023 at CCS Office, New Delhi. To observe the 30th anniversary of the 73rd Amendment Act, our upcoming discussion Vaad Vivad will seek to explore the history of decentralisation in India, the constitutional status of the Panchayati Raj institution, and the status of implementation of local governance in India through the works of classical and contemporary literature. **What is Vaad Vivad?** An in-depth Socratic discussion wherein participants explore a specific theme together deliberating the methodology, ideology and approach in depth. A reference reader will be shared with the participants two weeks prior to provide a basic overview and understanding of the topic. Through this program, we create an environment where participants are encouraged to contribute to the discussions. Their shared inquiry is guided by a moderator who encourages thinking, asks probing questions and presents as devil's advocate. We would provide a certificate of participation for those who successfully attend and a few prizes. **Eligibility:** 18+ years of age **Last Date for Application: 12th April 2023** **Registration fee: INR 799/- (Early bird discount available), payable upon selection and has to be made online, details of which will be communicated later.** To apply, [click here](https://form.typeform.com/to/l9Imvnro) For any other queries, mail Sourya (sourya@ccs.in) or Anushka (anushka@ccs.in) --- ## [Opinion] Diversity, Democracy, and Dissent URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/diversity-democracy-and-dissent/ ### Body **DIVERSITY, DEMOCRACY AND DISSENT** - Lakshmi Ramanandan (Fourth Prize Winner, Indian Liberals Essay Contest 2019) Not much has been talked about Yuyutsu, Kaurava’s half-brother from the epic tale of Mahabharata. He openly protested against the injustice meted out against the Pandavas and decided to fight with them, against his own brothers. Cut to the modern era, we see Mahatma Gandhi, the “arch dissenter of the twentieth century” winning India its freedom in 1947.  In November 2015, writers from various Indian languages registered their dissent in the light of attacks against freedom of expression, by returning their Sahitya Akademi awards.  Evidently, the argumentative, skeptic Indian has continued to dissent and it is very much a part of the Indian psyche as much as democracy and diversity are. In any sophisticated society, there has to be a range of diverse opinions or philosophical departures to offer a variety of ways to seek the explanation of the world. Dissenting opinions enrich public discourse and they are to be encouraged. There was a strong tradition of dissent in India, beginning from the Ancient period, with the controversy between the ‘brahman’ and ‘shraman’/ nastik traditions. This contestation found echoes in works of Megasthenes, Ashokan inscriptions and Al Beruni who talks about the counter religion of the time, that of the Shramanas. In the Medieval era, there existed a great deal of sharp difference of opinion. For example, Sant Kabir and Ravidas gave one idea of religion and society while others propagated different, opposing ideas. To deny it would be wiping out half of Indian tradition and philosophy. What does the term ‘dissent’ entail? It is not just protesting or a difference of opinion on a particular subject; it is an art of questioning and an attempt to challenge the conformism and blind complacency in a democracy; it is an invitation to awareness. Recently, the Supreme Court of India came up with, perhaps, the best definition of the term when it referred to dissent as “the safety valve of democracy”. The Court was discussing the arrest of activists by Maharashtra Police post Bhima Koregoan violence that took place in January 2018. As a right, right to dissent is one facet of Article 19 (1) (a) of our Constitution. Along with the much celebrated demographic, religious, linguistic, cultural diversity we also have caste divisions within religions; rise of difference of views is quite inevitable in such a landscape. Despite speculations and arguments that such a country cannot hold together long as a single political entity, we did survive. The Indian model and its encounter with diversity offer a lesson to modern democracies in dealing with deep diversities. Interestingly, the ways in which dissent is articulated have changed across the years.   Films and documentaries are screened, books and articles are written, hunger strikes staged, speeches are made and cartoons drawn, songs sung and dances performed. Comedians are impressively using their medium of humor to drive home their views and make strong, subtle statements against the status quo. People kissed openly on the streets of Kochi to protest against moral policing and students shouted ‘azadi’ at the top of their voices. One major factor that has played a groundbreaking role in this space is the advent of the social media and the growing number of people using social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to express their opinions and views openly. This has two-fold implications. One, more people have awareness of the issues being discussed, thanks to the popularity of the media among the masses especially youth. Two, is a democratization of communication/ media. Social media offers an ordinary citizen the chance to be a journalist and speak out the truth, or be a whistleblower. Trolls and memes have totally overtaken the internet these days! However, this has had its own share of issues, the lack of a regulatory mechanism being a worrying aspect. How dissent and disagreement are dealt with by any government is an interesting aspect to examine. In a huge democracy like India, to be able to deal with the ideas and opinions of a diversity of people is a delicate task. Lately, criticisms have been leveled against what was perceived to be quite an irresponsible way of accommodating the dissenters and reluctance to take part in constructive dialogues. It is ironical that this happens in a country whose Constitution makers emphasized on cultivating constitutional morality and encouraged the citizens to interrogate the institutions when they trample upon people’s rights. We shall look into three such instances to understand the issues at hand. One is the continued use of sedition and criminal defamation laws against those who criticize the government. In April 2018, a folk singer was arrested by the Tamil Nadu state police for singing a song that allegedly criticized the Prime Minister. In June 2018, eight people were arrested in Bihar for sedition – they were accused of playing and dancing to an “anti-India” song.  Criticism of the government has begun to be equated with a criticism of the nation! Second, is the instance of State Governments resorting to blanket internet shutdowns to prevent people from using social media to incite violence.  Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan had to face this issue frequently last year. Third is the use of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) indiscriminately to target human rights activists and of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) to shut down NGOs that complain against specific government projects. Hate campaigns against journalists in social media have also to be mentioned. More than 70 years of independence, is the atmosphere not conducive to those who are trying to make their voice heard against those at the helm?  India’s ranking in Press Freedom Index dropped down to be ranked 140th in a list of 180 countries this year. This reminds one of the Orwellian universe, where nations are turned into republics of fear.  People are not able to make a speech questioning the state without being dubbed a threat to the country’s security and sovereignty. Fear and prejudice are ruling the day and journalists are scared of standing with the truth. This threatens both the liberal space that India has promised its citizens and the very idea of democracy where lies its identity. Accountability and transparency are affected which tarnishes the ideal of democratic paradise that India is projected to be. However, there are certain steps that can be taken to save the nation from taking an ugly turn. 2018 saw a historic Supreme Court verdict that ensured that the ‘safety valve’ is still relevant. The part of the colonial law - Section 377 of IPC, repeatedly used as a weapon against the LGBTQ community was decriminalized by the SC pointing out that it violated the right to equality guaranteed by the Constitution. It was a culmination of years of collective dissent by a group of activists and public against not just the regressive law but the societal prejudice towards the LGBTQ community as well. The Court reiterated that the dynamic and democratic nature of the Indian Constitution allows dissent. This stood out as an example of how diverse opinions are to be heard and answered to. The way forward might not be easy, but if democracy and diversity are to survive, the fresh breath of dissent has to blow. The first task is to take steps to repeal or amend regressive pieces of legislation, policies and regulations like the Sedition Act by holding discussions with the civil society and ensuring enough transparency in both the process and the laws. There have been laudable steps in this direction. Consider, for example, the repeal of Section 66A of IT Act that reinforced the belief in our right to free speech and expression. Archaic colonial laws like Section 153 – ‘wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot’ and Section 153A – ‘promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc’ that place limits to freedom of speech are to be re-examined in this post-colonial era. The police force and security institutions need to be sensitized to address such situations properly; there have been cases where we saw them taking the side of those who harass, say, writers or artists. Northern Ireland passed a legislation that made protection of human rights a police duty, on an equal level with other traditional police duties.  Also, inappropriate cases which impinge on free speech are filed in the courts. Steps should be taken to develop internal mechanisms and policies to support a robust legislative framework. To this end, NGOs play a huge role. They are significant to a functional democracy like India as they provide a platform for the civil society to engage productively with the governments and dissent in a reasoned manner. Laws that ensure transparent functioning of NGOs is what we need, not ones which disrupt their smooth conduct. A matter of urgent importance is to address the issue of journalist murders and take steps to ensure that press can work fearlessly and with complete freedom. Attack against freedom of speech is rampant on a global scale too; the near silence over the arrest of Julian Assange, publisher of WikiLeaks, hailed as the “first media hero of the 21st century” is frightening. Reports from Israel where government is creating barriers like fines and fees on people to exercise their right to protest is discouraging. It is our responsibility to ensure that another Ambikesh Mahapatra is not arrested for sharing cartoons, no Ravi is jailed for questioning  a minister’s assets and never again a Jawan is haunted for raising concerns about something as basic as quality of food. It is not just our right; it is our duty and obligation to dissent. There are international law principles and standards that guarantee protection against repressive practices that undermine freedom to speak and right to protest. Efforts have been taken by International Network of Civil Liberties Organisation (INCLO) and United Nations framework towards this end. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) has identified certain “rights to protest” – a list of rights that a state must protect to enable the citizens to protest and dissent. India should take steps to align the systems in place with these international benchmarks. For a democracy to function, dissent is indispensable as it renews the am aadmi’s faith in its representative nature. After all, a country that has celebrated dissent and revered fighters like Gargi who used arguments to wage wars of words cannot remain in the dark for long. Let more movements like #MeToo emerge and let more ‘pinjra’s be broken into pieces. Keralite. Completed Masters in English Language and literature from University of Delhi. Currently working as Assistant Professor, English at Christ Nagar College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Interested in public policy, women’s studies and cultural studies. type=content&p=1575). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Opinion] Dr Janaki Ammal: India’s First Woman Botanist URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/dr-janaki-ammal/ ### Body The following essay celebrates the life and works of Indian botanist and cytogeneticist, Dr Janaki Ammal. A brilliant scientist and often the only woman in a room full of men, Dr Janaki was awarded the Padma Shri in 1977.At a time where the country focuses on the importance of women’s education and employment, Edavaleth Kakkat Janaki Ammal, a botanist and cytogeneticist, best known for putting sweetness in India’s sugarcane varieties through her scientific methods, remains unknown outside of academia.  Janaki Ammal born in Tellicherry, Kerala inherited the curiosity and love for the natural sciences from her father, [Dewan Bahadur EK Krishnan](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Indian_Biographical_Dictionary_(1915)/Krishnan,_E._K.) who was a sub-judge in the then Madras Presidency. He was a man who was deeply interested in science. After completing her schooling in Tellicherry, Kerala, Janaki moved to Madras where she completed her Bachelor’s degree from Queen Mary’s College and her Honours degree in Botany from the Presidency College in 1921. After that, she started teaching at Women’s Christian College where she got the prestigious Barbour scholarship from the University of Michigan.  Janaki was among the few women who chose her career over marriage. A rather brave decision in those times.  She completed her Master’s in Botany which was followed by a doctoral thesis on the same. After that, she returned to India and became a Professor of Botany at Maharaja’s College of Science in Trivandrum. She taught there for two years, between 1932 and 1934. The decisions that she took for her education become an inspiration for women even today, which is the choice to prioritize one’s hopes and dreams even if it means going against the set norms of society. Even though we consider ourselves to be surrounded by modernity, most women today are not encouraged to study more than required with the fear that it would result in the passing of the “marriageable age”. The hardships and comments Janaki had to endure because of her marital status did not stop her from exploring better and bigger educational opportunities around the world. Her quest for knowledge led her to join the Sugarcane Breeding Station in Coimbatore, where she used her expertise in cytogenetics (the study of chromosomes and inheritance) to work on sugarcane biology. Janaki helped create a high-yielding strain of the sugarcane that would thrive in Indian conditions. Her research also helped analyze the geographical distribution of sugarcane across India. Owing to her brilliance, Janaki was selected as a research fellow under C V Raman but she constantly faced gender and caste discrimination. It created problems with her male colleagues, who refused to look beyond her gender and caste. Scientific curiosity and an unyielding spirit, however, led Janaki to London where she joined John Innes Horticultural Institute as an assistant cytologist. Impressed by her work, the [Royal Horticulture Society](https://www.rhs.org.uk/) invited her to work as a cytologist at their campus at Wisley. At the Society, one of the plants she worked on was the magnolia shrubs. Her work ethics were so exemplary that the Society’s campus at Wisley named their magnolia shrubs after her: Magnolia Kobus Janaki Ammal.  In 1951, the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru personally invited her to return to India and restructure the [Botanical Survey of India](https://bsi.gov.in/)(BSI). In a quest to make a name for herself and do something for her country through her ideas and abilities she accepted the offer and was appointed as the Officer on Special Duty to the BSI. She restructured the organization in a way that helped BSI to better its operations.   Janaki did not limit herself to a certain sect of the society and was always interested to look beyond what academia had to offer. This is also why Janaki was not afraid to also travel to remote areas of the country in search of the plant lore of the indigenous peoples of the subcontinent. She would spend time searching for medicinal plants in Wayanad before visiting Ladakh to explore methods of sustainable agriculture at high altitudes. Janaki was also an environmental activist. She took part in various protests that were held against environmental damage, one of which was the protest held against the building of a hydropower dam across the river Kunthipuzha in Kerala’s Silent Valley. Her active participation brought the credibility of a scientist to activism.  Janaki was also the only woman invitee to the landmark international symposium on environmental history, “[Man’s Role in Changing the Face of the Earth](http://www.wennergren.org/history/conferences-seminars-symposia/wenner-gren-symposia/wenner-gren-symposia1952-1960/mans-role-c)” organized by the Wenner Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research at Princeton in 1955. Creating a space for women at a conference which had “Man’s Role” in its title. It was Janaki’s individuality and belief in her ideas that led her to participate in conferences, protests, and events that had no space for women and were reserved for the privileged. She crossed every hindrance that life threw at her. Even her age could not stop her. After retirement, she continued researching. She served for a short period at the Atomic Research Station at Trombay before serving as an Emeritus Scientist at the Centre for Advanced Study in Botany, University of Madras. Few know that during her last years, Janaki’s main interest had been the rearing of a large family of cats and kittens.  For her exemplary contribution to science in India, Dr. Janaki Ammal was awarded the Padma Shri in 1977. In 2000, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry created the National Award of Taxonomy in her name. Janaki leaves her presence in the smell of Magnolia and her individuality in the sugar of Indian sugarcane reminding us that the result of believing in oneself is often sweet.  Books by Janaki [_The Chromosome Atlas of Cultivated Plants_](https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/395326) **![](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/bio.png)Naina Ojha ** Naina is a writer from Ghazibad, Uttar Pradesh. She is pursuing a Master’s in Gender Studies from Ambedkar University, Delhi. If she is not frantically typing on her computer to meet a deadline, she is probably sipping on green tea, reading or laughing at her own jokes. She loves books, movies and food. She is also a spoken word artist and has been a part of the community for six years. --- ## [Opinion] Anandibai Joshee: First Indian Woman Doctor URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/anandibai-joshee/ ### Body The following essay revisits the interesting life of Anandibai Joshee. Anandibai went from being married at the age of nine by her orthodox family to becoming India's first female doctor of Western medicine. _“_In my humble opinion there is a growing need for Hindu lady doctors in India, and I volunteer to qualify myself for one” – Anandibai Joshee (Dall) Anandibai Joshee nee Yamuna Joshi was born to a Brahmin family in Kalyan on March 30, 1865. At the tender age of nine, she was married to Gopalrao Joshee, a twenty-seven-year-old postmaster who lived in Nashik. On the condition of no interference from Anandi’s family in pursuit of her education, Gopalrao Joshee married Anandi. Thus began her journey to become the first Indian woman to receive an MD in western medicine.  Hailing from an impecunious orthodox family, Joshee’s entrance into Anandi’s life became the only source of her education. While Anandi’s father enrolled her in school, the kind of education she received owing to Joshee’s connections was not something her father could have provided even if he wanted to. This could be the reason why most of Anandibai’s biographers have indulged in painting Joshee as the hero of her life. Indeed, Joshee became an important medium through which Anandi set on a journey of higher education and enlightenment. It would, however, be wrong to not view Anandi in the context of her developing womanhood, liberal thinking, and fragmented feminism.  In pursuit of better educational opportunities, Anandi and Joshee frequently moved places within India. From Alibag to Bombay to Bhuj and then to the Bengal Presidency. In all these places, Anandi received heavy backlash from society for pursuing education. In one of her letters, she explains the backlash in detail,  “The Babus lay bare their levity by making fun of everything. "Who are you?" "What caste do you belong to?" "Whence do you come?" "Where do you go?" are, in my opinion, a question that should not be asked from strangers” (Dall). Even amidst societal distress,  Joshee was hell-bent on sending Anandi to America for higher education. Anandi shared her husband's ambition but for her independent reasons. She was determined to go to America for a medical degree as she believed in the urgent need for an Indian female doctor. She also believed that female doctors were better suited to understand the plight of female patients. Female patients were shy and would seldom consult male doctors. Anandibai’s aim to produce a safe space for women to avoid health repercussions was therefore an important and inclusive measure in healthcare.  In the process of finding ways to go to America, Joshee took the help of various Missionary reviews in America. It was a correspondence published in a review for the same that caught the eye of B.F Carpenter, a Philadelphian missionary. Carpenter was persuaded to offer her full support to Anandibai in her pursuit of a medical degree. In India, their ambition resulted in vehement societal opposition. In 1883, Anandibai successfully overcame the opposition through her cogent public address at Serampore College, West Bengal.  An excerpt from her speech,  “I go to America because I wish to study medicine. I now address the ladies present here, who will be the better judges of the importance of medical assistance in India. I never consider this subject without being surprised that none of those societies so laudably established in India for the promotion of sciences and female education have ever thought of sending one of their female members into the most civilized parts of the world. In my humble opinion, there is a growing need for Hindu lady doctors in India, and I volunteer to qualify myself for one” (Dall).  In 1883, with Carpenter’s help and escorted by American missionary women, an eighteen-year-old Anandibai reached America and joined the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. In 1886, Anandibai received her medical degree thus becoming the first Indian woman to successfully receive an MD in western medicine. Owing to her degrading health conditions, Anandibai scrapped the idea of spending another year in the US to gain experience and moved to Kolhapur where she was appointed as a lady doctor. Unfortunately, due to her deteriorating health, Anandibai was unable to start her practice and passed away soon after returning to India on February 29, 1887. Anandibai Joshee maintained a patriotic and nationalist stand in most of her public addresses.  She did not shy away from preaching the ideals of a devoted wife. She, alongside her husband, was also an ardent supporter of child marriage. However, in her many private letters to Carpenter, with whom she had developed a deep familial bond, she wrote about the gender discrimination she faced throughout her education. Her privately expressed views acknowledged women's subordinate role in marriage, obstacles in women's education, and lack of healthcare infrastructure for and by women. Further, her stance on healthcare for women was something she never shied away from, both publicly and privately. Despite being grateful to her husband,  she was critical of his ways which involved emotional and physical abuse, the scars of which had forever been imprinted in her heart. She was also extremely critical of son preference among Indian parents (Dall).  Anandibai’s critical liberal thinking on varied social issues travels back and forth between a sense of internalised loyalty towards her culture and the enlightenment she received through her education which allowed her to question everything around her. This brings into question the very nature of critical thinking. Are views only taken into consideration when they are explicitly expressed or do private views also find a space in intellectual liberal discourse? Women throughout history have been silenced and denied basic rights which have led to their absence in public life. It becomes necessary to acknowledge the liberal standpoints around marriage and education that women like Anandibai developed even if they were formed in a private setting. The fragments of these thoughts found their way in her public statements that demanded social reforms. Not only that but it also led a young Anandi to travel overseas alone to an alien land and culture and gain a medical degree amidst all odds.  Besides being an inspiring historical figure, Anandibai raised important questions about the parity of women’s views and opinions between public and private life. She encourages one to pick on the fragmented agency that women were allowed in societal structures and analyse the independent critical liberal thinking that women developed. It is only when one acknowledges and works directly towards decreasing the said parity can we have more liberal thinkers.  Even if Anandibai never got the chance to practice her education, she left a legacy to be remembered for eternity. Not only as a pioneer of women's education but also as a developing, transitioning critical liberal thinker. **References ** Dall, Caroline Healey.[_The Life of Dr. Anandabai Joshee: A Kinswoman of the Pundita Ramabai_.](https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-55130700R-bk) Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1888. Print. Joshi, [Through a Changing Feminist Lens: Three Biographies of Anandibai](https://www.epw.in/journal/2014/33/perspectives/through-changing-feminist-lens.html). "Prachi Gurjarpadhye." _Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 49, No. 33 _(August 16, 2014): 37-40. Print. Kosambi, Meera. "[Anandibai Joshee: Retrieving a Fragmented Feminist Image](https://www.jstor.org/stable/4404856)." _Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 31, No. 49._ (Dec. 7, 1996): 3189-3197. Print. --- ## [Opinion] Encoding Privacy in a Digital World URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/encoding-privacy-in-a-digital-world-by-shivani-a-tannu/ ### Body **Encoding Privacy in a Digital World** - Shivani A Tannu (Third Prize Winner, Indian Liberals Essay Contest 2019) The rise of internet and social media has led to privacy concerns as it encroaches our personal space and gives the online social providers access to the user’s personal data. The cost that user’s pay for accessing online services is not cash but voluntarily giving up on our personal data. The flip side – potential abuse and sharing of the data. In the case of most online providers, the consent to collect data is presumed and one can opt-out or disable some of these features that allow the provider to collect as well as share the data. The user gives up the ownership of his data when signing up for these online services.   While there are justifiable uses of data that are vastly beneficial, such centralization of data, profiling of individuals and increased surveillance, has led to mounting concerns relating to erosion of privacy of individuals, ability to impact public decision-making process and national security. Information could be used for the beneficial purpose; but the arbitrary and unregulated use of personal information has increased concerns regarding freedom of an individual and the privacy. The concerns are mostly related to centralized databases, individual profiling, surveillance leading to erosion of individual’s freedom. Data protection refers to the practices, safeguards, and binding rules put in place to protect user’s personal information and ensure that users remain in control of it[i]. The purpose of personal data protection isn’t to just protect a person’s data, but to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of persons that are related to that data[ii]. Data protection doesn’t mean abandoning intelligent business use of personal data – it means being responsible and transparent with that use; continuing to pursue company objectives, but not at the expense of, or even with priority over, the individual data rights of the customer[iii]. One challenge stands out when framing data protection regime for e-commerce– how to create a supporting environment for e-commerce that fosters innovation while placing the privacy concerns at the forefront of the approach. Good legislation should complement market forces in bringing values and welfare to both consumers and organizations[iv]. Privacy can have various meanings based on different context. It is important to understand the concepts of Privacy according to their context. Privacy has been identified with 3 broad types– s_patial privacy _(related to physical spaces and things), _decisional privacy _(related to certain significant decisions) and _informational privacy _(related to personal information)[v]. Data protection is related to informational privacy. With ubiquitous nature of technology, the impact of data protection can also be seen on spatial and decisional privacy too. In its judgement in the Puttaswamy vs. Union of India case, in August 2017, the Supreme Court recognised the fundamental Right to Privacy under the Indian Constitution. Existing Indian Laws[vi] India does not have an independent data privacy legislation; however, it does have what can be inferred as the code for data protection laws that is embedded in the Information Technology Act, 2000 (“IT Act”) and Information technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011 notified under the Section 43A IT Act. These Rules provide privacy law for protection of data in electronic transactions. Data as defined in the IT Act is restricted to collection, possession, handling/dealing or transfer of “personal” information which related to natural person. Thus, the law is restricted to an individual and does not deal with data between corporate entities. Also, the law makes no distinction regarding the obligation of a data collector and a data processor. Some salient features of privacy rules– ### **Personal Information vs. Sensitive Personal Data or Information (SPDI)** Data protection law in India does not protect all personal information but only “sensitive” personal data. The threshold of what is included as part of “sensitive” data is low. The definition includes critical financial information such as bank account details, debit and credit card details and other information related to payment instruments. These are deemed to be included as part of SPDI. ### **Collection of Information ** Regarding information, the obligation is to inform the data subject (an entity whose data is being protected under the law) that its information is being collected. In case of SPDI, the bar for compliance is higher since a written consent is mandated which can be revoked by intimation in writing. Rules 5(2) and 5(4) are laid down in accordance with global best practices that are known as “data minimization”. To ensure data subjects do not disclose SPDI, it creates an obligation on data collectors to obtain information only when necessary and must be retained only for as long as it is necessary to achieve the purpose of collection. ### **Transfer of Information: Consent vs. Necessary for Performance** Consent does not result into legitimizing all data collection, but only “necessary” information can be collected and transferred. As opposed to collection, in case of transfer compliance is not just restricted to SPDI but also applicable to the entire pool of information. Over and above, information can be transferred to a third party only when (i) the third party also adopts the same level of data protection as mentioned under the IT Rules; (ii) the transfer is necessary for performance of an existing contract and (iii) consent of data provider is obtained. ### **International Laws** GDPR is an important law that has recently been in force in European Union (EU) and the provisions of this regulation have been referred in the Indian draft Data Protection Policy and Justice B N Srikrishna Committee report. GDPR is a legal framework that provides guidelines for the collection and processing of personal information. While its jurisdiction is limited to EU, any state that transacts with EU member state and has access to its customer’s critical personal data will have to abide by GDPR guidelines. Non-compliances also attract a hefty penalty. While GDPR is not an act but guidelines that can be used to draft legislation by member nations, yet it is fruitful to compare the broad contours of GDPR with the relevant Indian law – Data Protection Bill. The major points of difference between the two are[vii] – - While GDPR mandates entities to share names and categories of other recipients of personal data with citizens whose data is being processed, the Indian draft bill does not require this rule - Citizens in Indian draft bill cannot demand erasure of their data while there is a separate article ‘Data reassure’ in GDPR for this provision - GDPR mandates time frame for which data will be stored by entities while the Indian draft bill does not mention any such time frame - GDPR explicitly mentions sharing of the source from which data has been acquired about citizens if it was not directly collected from him/her while there is no such requirement in a draft Indian bill - In the case of a data breach, the entities are not required to share this information with the citizens whose data is compromised according to draft Indian bill. Instead, the Data Protection Authority determines whether the breach should be reported to the affected persons. GDPR provides for such provision where all breaches are to be reported to the affected persons - GDPR requires that the data which is being processed about the citizens shall be made available to him/her while the Indian draft bill mentions the provision of the summary to the citizens without defining what summary means ### **Conclusion** Data privacy is a legal right and existing data protection framework in India under the IT Act is largely inadequate, in terms of implementation, protections and remedies and it lacks basic protections such as provisions for data breach notifications[viii]. Therefore, India urgently needs to enact a dedicated data protection law. In framing the data privacy regime, the policy makers will have to balance the access of businesses to technological innovations in data analytics with the need to protect customer data. This would also include the requirement of the government to ensure law enforcement and regulatory authorities would have access to Indian data upon requests and that the government would be able to limit the unwillingness of MNCs to respond to law enforcement requests. [i] Accessnow.com. _Data protection: why it matters and now to protect it_. (2018). Retrieved from [https://www.accessnow.org/data-protection-matters-protect/](https://www.accessnow.org/data-protection-matters-protect/) [ii] Njordlaw.com. _Three reasons why we need strict data protection regulations_. Retrieved from [https://www.njordlaw.com/three-reasons-need-strict-data-protection-regulations/](https://www.njordlaw.com/three-reasons-need-strict-data-protection-regulations/) [iii] Information-age.com. _Getting Value from your data under GDPR_. Retrieved from[https://www.information-age.com/data-under-gdpr-123476524/](https://www.information-age.com/data-under-gdpr-123476524/) [iv] Iapp.org. _Can we balance data protection with value creation._ Retrieved from[https://iapp.org/news/a/can-we-balance-data-protection-with-value-creation/](https://iapp.org/news/a/can-we-balance-data-protection-with-value-creation/) [v] Meity.gov.in. _White Paper of the Committee of Experts on a Data Protection Framework for India._ Retrieved from[http://meity.gov.in/writereaddata/files/white_paper_on_data_protection_in_india_18122017_final_v2.1.pdf](http://meity.gov.in/writereaddata/files/white_paper_on_data_protection_in_india_18122017_final_v2.1.pdf) [vi] Bar & Bench. (2018). Understanding Data Protection Laws in India. Retrieved from[https://barandbench.com/india-law-connect/legal-briefing/understanding-data-protection-laws-india/](https://barandbench.com/india-law-connect/legal-briefing/understanding-data-protection-laws-india/) [vii] Cioandleader.com. (2018). _8 differences between Indian data protection bill and GDPR!_ Retrieved from[https://www.cioandleader.com/article/2018/07/30/8-differences-between-indian-data-protection-bill-and-gdpr](https://www.cioandleader.com/article/2018/07/30/8-differences-between-indian-data-protection-bill-and-gdpr) [viii] Nipfp.org.in _Data localisation in India: Questioning the means and ends. (2018). _Retrieved from[https://www.nipfp.org.in/media/medialibrary/2018/10/WP_2018_242.pdf](https://www.nipfp.org.in/media/medialibrary/2018/10/WP_2018_242.pdf) I am Shivani Tannu, a Chartered Accountant from Pune. I am currently pursuing an MBA at IIM Bangalore. I have previously worked at Accenture as a Financial Analyst and now interning at Citi – securities and markets. Besides finance and law, I have a keen interest in the process of policy making, I have taken part in various youth parliament sessions before. My hobbies include trekking and reading. type=content&p=1572). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Opinion] Encoding Privacy in a Digital World URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/encoding-privacy-in-a-digital-world/ ### Body _**Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide, is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say."**_ _- Edward Snowden_ The privacy debate of today is a glass-half-empty, glass-half-full scenario. As soon as technophiles rejoice that “We’ve never had it so good”, a cautionary note is sounded by the less enthusiastic: “The world and our privacy is falling apart!”. Today’s digital age is the proverbial double-edged sword, and our privacy is increasingly the hilt of that sword. Never has this been more true than in light of the revelation that users’ Facebook data was harvested and exploited for political profiling, without these users’ direct consent1. When Sting crooned to “Every breath you take”2 in the 80s, who would have thought that ‘every move you make’ in the online world today is visible to not only those you trust but also those you don’t know. Privacy can be seen as a reflex of innovation. While one approach would be to say that privacy is a norm and that with modern technologies, the norm must be reconsidered and if necessary, abandoned. The conundrum, however, is how to ensure protection while retaining the critical aspects of our democratic systems such as free speech, freedom of assembly and association, and critically, the right to privacy. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other digital technologies have huge opportunities in strengthening national competitiveness, but also threats that are difficult to foresee today. From an economic perspective, in the early 1990s, Michael E. Porter, a professor from Harvard University, pointed out that “a nation’s competitiveness depends on the capacity of its industry to innovate and upgrade”.3 However, all it takes is one small glitch in the image for the Artificial Intelligence to see a toaster instead of a face! The feeling of excessive surveillance and the multiplication of errors can be particularly worrying. Another cause for concern is that the racial and social profiling techniques these intelligent systems might use could lead to significant errors and abuses.Consumers say they care about privacy, but at multiple points in the process end up making choices that are inconsistent with their stated preferences. The observation that small  incentives, costs or misdirection can lead people to safeguard their data less, can have two interpretations. On one hand, it might lead to policy makers to question the value of stated preferences for privacy when determining privacy policy. On the other hand, it might suggest the need for more extensive privacy protections, from the standpoint that people need to be protected from their willingness to share data in exchange for relatively small monetary incentives. Moreover, whenever privacy requires additional effort or comes at the cost of a less smooth user experience, participants are quick to abandon technology that would offer them greater protection. This suggests that privacy policy and regulation has to be careful about regulations that inadvertently lead consumers to be faced with additional effort or a less smooth experience in order to make a privacy-protective choice. Economists’ interest in privacy has primarily focused on its informational dimension: the trade-offs arising from protecting or sharing of personal data. Hal Varian, now Chief Economist at Google, argued in 1996 that customers are better off sharing information about themselves with marketers because it makes life easier. Junk mail or unsolicited calls that are an annoyance to consumers become less so when the company could target them better through data analysis. In particular, Varian (1997) noted how the consumer may rationally decide to share certain personal information with a firm because he/she expects to receive a net benefit from that transaction; however, he/she has little knowledge or control over how and by whom that data will later be used. Who, then, should hold an economic claim over personal data? The subject to whom the data refers, or the organization that invested resources in collecting the data? In accordance with the Coase Theorem (Coase, 1960), Noam (1997) argued that whether ornot a consumer’s data will remain protected does not depend on the initial allocation of rights on personal information protection (that is, it does not depend on the presence or lack of a privacy regulatory regime). Instead, whether data will eventually be disclosed or protected ultimately depends on the relative valuations of the parties interested in the information. The potential for an individual’s personal data to be used against him/her is the defining feature of this contemporary privacy debate. Economists such as Richard Posner have based their defence of this on Utilitarian grounds. Since businesses value the data more, imposing onerous ‘opt-in’ rules is a significant transaction cost. This could jeopardize the ability of digital companies to provide services and significantly degrade user experience. The efficient solution would be to award the initial ownership of data to the business but let users ‘opt-out’ if they want to. There is a need to redefine private spaces that will not be infringed as framing of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) is a win-win for everyone. IPR provides the necessary incentives to the producers and balances progress with the public distribution of intellectual goods. Moreover, Laudon (1997) proposed the creation of information markets where individuals own their personal data and can transfer the rights to that data to others in exchange for some type of compensation. Similar to the view proposed by Chicago School scholars, Laudon argued that the mere legal protection of privacy is outdated, and a system based on property rights over personal information would better satisfy the interests of both consumers and firms. George Orwell4 opined that the ultimate threat to privacy would be the bugging of bedrooms and offices. Today, an equally large threat to freedom is the systematic monitoring of public places through microphones, video cameras, surveillance satellites, and other remote sensing devices, combined with information processing technology. Soon it may be impossible for most people to escape the watchful outdoor eye. In the worst cases, countries are actually listening in on their own citizens using spy technology that we see on James Bond movies, remotely hacking into their computers and turning on web cameras, or logging in and intercepting video calls. Is it possible to be secure without giving up some privacy? Theoretically yes, although it is not so easy to implement as intelligence gathering has increasingly become integral to national and international security. The debate has become quite heated black swans of security or the worst-case scenarios. Another question often raised is that ‘Is it problematic if government agencies collect our digital footprint, metadata, online habits and digital history for eternity? This data can potentially be used and abused, however, it can also keep people safe. Privacy is indeed at a crossroads. Today, it is all too easy to imagine a world in which our digital autonomy has been stripped away, a world where our actions are monitored, our secrets are known, and our choices are therefore circumscribed. The only way that we can avoid this dystopian future is by acting today and tomorrow to bring about a different future The growing prominence of the Right to Privacy in the Digital Age over the past years would not have occurred without the presence of a robust and expert civil society constituency. Civil society organizations have been highly effective in influencing the evolving discourse on the right to privacy in the digital age. As we head into an era where we are intrinsically connected, to our devices and each other through the Internet of Things, privacy will become an even more disparate and complex landscape. Thus, civil society organisations should continue to have a strong voice in the privacy debate in order to make sure privacy rights are maintained and respected. Consider the following hypothetical situation - A rabid dog bites a person, what would you do? Impose a ban on people interacting with the dog or treat the dog for rabies? The former would give you short-term relief; remember there is still a rabid dog at large. The latter would ensure that an interaction with the dog in the future will be substantially safer, so would be the answer to this problem. Similarly, when there is a deep systemic problem such as the current attacks to our privacy, the solution does not come from ad hoc deletion of problematic software or applications, but it comes from education, digital literacy, global cooperation and tirelessly advocating on best practices. The strategic challenge for the future of the digital economy is to keep data open and free but, simultaneously, protected. This vision hinges on a balance of legislation and business ethics. What if you have no right to privacy to begin with? China is already undertaking the ‘Social Credit System’, a national trust score that is based on monitoring and evaluating citizens’ daily activities5. In addition to regulations, businesses also need to codify a set of ethics and bake it into their business models. In the words of Senator Bill Nelson of Florida speaking at a congressional hearing to Mark Zuckerberg: _“Let me just cut to the chase. If you and other social media companies do not get your act in order, none of us are going to have any privacy anymore.”6_ Just like in the past and present, privacy must remain an enduring virtue for our digital civilization, democracy and economy survival into the future. Do state’s rights overwrite the individual’s? Does national security outweigh privacy? Does economic liberty supersede social equality? While the fundamentals of these questions have been with us since the age of enlightenment, the future now rests on how we treat and manage data. Privacy implies serenity at home and the right to be let alone. Think before the next time you blithely sign up for a grocery store ‘bonus’ card, automatically hand out your telephone number or mumble the phrase, “What do I have to hide?” While it is the eleventh hour, it is not too late for the government to stop this vicious cycle of unlawfulness since privacy is a fundamental right that forms the backbone of democratic societies. ‘Do no harm’ in the digital age! 1 Matthew Rosenberg, Nicholas Confessore and Carole Cadwalladr, “How Trump Consultants Exploited the Facebook Data of Millions,” The New York Times, March 17, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/17/us/politics/cambridge-analytica-trump-campaign. html. 2 The Police, “Every Breath You Take,” Synchronicity, 1983, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMOGaugKpzs. 3 See: https://hbr.org/1990/03/the-competitive-advantage-of-nations 4 Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1949. 5 Simina Mistreanu, “Life Inside China’s Social Credit Laboratory,” Foreign Policy, April 3, 2018, http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/04/03/ life-inside-chinas-social-credit-laboratory/. 6 “Transcript of Mark Zuckerberg’s Senate Hearing,” The Washington Post, April 10, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the- switch/wp/2018/04/10/transcript-of-mark-zuckerbergs-senate- hearing/?utm_term=.acf5a31b87bf. Coase, R. H. (1960). The problem of social cost. Journal of Law and Economics 3(1), 1–44. Laudon, K. (1997, January). Extensions to the theory of markets and privacy: Mechanics of pricing information. Stern School of Business - New York University - Working Papers. Noam, E. M. (1997). Privacy and self-regulation: Markets for electronic privacy. In Privacy and Self-regulation in the Information Age. US Department of Commerce. Varian, Hal R. 1997. “Economics Aspects of Personal Privacy.” In Privacy and Self-Regulation in the Information Age. Washington, DC: US Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Age-22, Education- B.A. Economics Honours, St. Stephen’s College, Delhi (2015-18), Masters in Public Policy (MPP), St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Mumbai (2018-20), Centre for Civil Society (CCS) Alumna; ‘i-Policy for Development Leaders’ (October 2016). Simran is of the opinion that reality is what people make of it, more or less on the lines of Alexander Wendt. Her reality is about creating a shared space where people, diplomacy, economics and international realities can merge together to provide for an atmosphere of peaceful co-existence. She has been surviving on Amartya Sen, Fukoyama and Karl Marx not only for the sheer joy of critiquing, analyzing and learning their works but to see how economics and developmental policies could work in tandem. While currently interning at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) under the Multilateral Economic Relations (MER) Division, she is looking into the economic and political relations between G-20, BRICS and India. She is also working on her research paper on the bilateral trade relations between China, India and the United States. Her dissertation is centred around the theme of ‘Community and Healthcare’ wherein she would be analysing the positive correlation between increased community participation and the effectiveness of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme under the Ministry of Women and Child Development to reduce child malnutrition in Mumbai. type=content&p=1556). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Opinion] Forgotten Feminist, Educator: Fatima Sheikh URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/forgotten-feminist-fatima-sheikh/ ### Body A rarely remembered social reformer, Fatima Sheikh was among the first Indian Muslim woman educator. Speculated to be the first Muslim woman education of the 19th century. A peer of Jyotibai and Savitribai Phule, Fatima Sheikh made tremendous contributions to Indian women's education, especially those belonging to marginalised sections of society.Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule are widely known pioneers of Indian women’s education movements. Revered for their persistent efforts for securing individual rights, they are celebrated leaders in Indian political history. However, little do we know about Fatima Sheikh. A woman who played an important part in the lives of Jyotirao and Savitribai, without whom they would not have implemented their ideas in the ways they did. Like many women social reformers, Fatima Sheikh has been ignored in history.  So little is known about her that even her birth anniversary is speculated and not confirmed. The question then arises, why are we not celebrating her and why is so little known about her? Jyotirao and Savitribai’s liberal ideas of women’s education and emancipation were not accepted by society at large. This included their families. When Jyotirao and Savitribai were made to leave their ancestral home, it was Fatima who gave them refuge in her house. It is also said that it was the same house and building where Fatima lived that was used to start a [school](https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrPgxGJFGxhRlkAZwK7HAx.;_ylu=Y29sbwNzZzMEcG9zAzEEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Nj/RV=2/RE=1634501897/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fwww.kractivist.org%2findia-first-girls-school-started-by-savitribai-phule-and-fatima-begum-to-converted-into-commercial-complex-wtfnews%2f%23%3a~%3atext%3dSavitribai%2520Phule%2520was%2520the%2520wife%2520of%2520the%2520radical%2cfor%2520many%2520years%252C%2520is%2520no%2520longer%2520in%2520existence./RK=2/RS=eGGdPslA8h4HOz1AdV621d5fkzU-) for women by the Phules. Fatima also started teaching in the same school as Savitribai Phule. She was so resilient in her efforts towards women’s education that she used to spend hours counseling parents who did not wish to send their girls to schools. She is also speculated to be the first Muslim woman teacher of the 19th century, who went on to inspire other Muslim women to do the same. Savitribai and Fatima were accompanied by Saguna Bai, who also went on to become a leader of the education movement for Indian women. Yet another woman mercilessly ignored by history. Not to say that Savitribai was easily able to find space in history but the consistent elusion of Fatima from the pages of history draws a clear picture of the [exclusion of Muslim women reformers from social and political areas of the society](https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/old-site-downloads/download-130-Muslim-Women-in-India.pdf). Owing to the little to no documentation of her work or life, not much is known about Fatima. It is, however,  not hard to assume the kind of struggles a Muslim woman fighting for women’s education and emancipation would have had to face at the time.. Supporting Hindu leaders who were extremely vocal about the ill deeds of the caste system and who encouraged women’s education, she was reprimanded by the Hindu-dominated society as well as the Muslim community. This could also be the reason why she has been ignored by both Hindu and Muslim scholars.  It is fair to assume that Fatima valued individual rights over social validation. The same is evident through her unapologetic and revolutionary contributions. It was one thing to go against a community you belong to but it was a whole other thing to speak up against the dominant community. This tells us about the liberal ideas of education, progress, and individuality she possessed and wanted to inculcate in society.  There have been some attempts to recognize her work. Apart from her association with the Phules, the [Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research included a brief profile in their textbooks in 2014.](https://bookofachievers.com/articles/did-you-know-that-the-first-muslim-teacher-started-the-beti-padhao-movement) Special attention should also be paid to the friendship that Fatima formed with the Phules on the grounds of having the same ideologies of freedom, equality, and feminism. The lengths that Fatima went to maintain this friendship, be it going against her community and giving space to a Hindu woman in a Muslim household or supporting ideas that were frowned upon by the society at large throws light on the existence of female friendship that is based on mutual respect and admiration.  It also marks the start of an extremely important friendship between the representatives of the Dalit and Muslim communities and the paths this friendship opened up for other members of the said communities. This relationship implemented the ideology of secularism in its purest form and went beyond the restrictive shackles of sameness of one’s social category. Needless to say, Fatima’s contributions to society are of utmost importance concerning women’s rights and education. The amount of resistance and opposition she must have faced at the time is unfathomable. The lack of mention of any male figure in her life except her brother Usman can be indicative of the fact that her life was a rebellion in every sense against the patriarchal and orthodox nature of life in the 19th century.  Almost two centuries have passed since Fatima challenged the status quo to ensure that all children from all sections of the society have access to education despite their caste, class, gender, and religion. It is important to recognize her efforts and inculcate her ideas of freedom and equality in our day-to-day lives. **![](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/bio.png)Naina Ojha** Naina is a writer from Ghazibad, Uttar Pradesh. She is pursuing a Master’s in Gender Studies from Ambedkar University, Delhi. If she is not frantically typing on her computer to meet a deadline, she is probably sipping on green tea, reading or laughing at her own jokes. She loves books, movies and food. She is also a spoken word artist and has been a part of the community for six years. --- ## [Opinion] Fourth Industrial Revolution - What it Means for India? URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-for-india/ ### Body **Fourth Industrial Revolution - What it means for India?** - Tanisha Mitra (Second Prize Winner, Indian Liberals Essay Contest 2019) The Fourth Industrial Revolution is a term which was coined by a gentleman by the name of Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum. He defines the world as a place where individuals use technology to make the move between offline reality and digital domains which enables them to manage their lives. Though the previous three revolutions are considered to be separate events where the first revolution made the shift from an agrarian and handicraft economy to an industry and machine dominated one, the second focused on mass production brought about by oil and electricity, and the third automated the production process using information technology, studying them as a part of a continuous series in the form of innovations they have led to will assist in the creation of more advanced methods of production. Experts in the corporate, policy, and scholarly space over the past decade have reached the conclusion that when risks are mitigated, the ability of states to exploit the benefits of Big Data processing, Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), 3-D printing, and automation will play a significant role in the shaping of their growth, security, and stability prospects. But the debate surrounding the fourth industrial revolution is primarily based on what kind of impact these technologies and their coordination will have. The newspapers are flooded with lopsided headlines of the super-intelligent robots replacing humans and taking up their jobs and ultimately their dignity and political control which has created an environment of confusion and fear. The expectations often associated with technologies has been overinflated which has not only provided a conservative analysis of the perils and promises of emerging technologies in India and their adaptation but has also drawn fatalistic scenarios. Despite entering the race of producing beneficial technologies at a rather late stage, India has certain strategic advantages which can give it a distinct edge in the years to come. The technologies that belong to the fourth industrial revolution are united by the scope of their impact, the velocity of their cross-sectoral disruption, and the exponential pace of emergence. They possess the capability of transforming entire systems of production, management, and governance on the fusion of biological, digital, and physical strata. Economic gains associated with these technologies have also seen a tremendous rise. AI funding alone has increased from $862 million in 2012 to $6.4 billion in 2016 and a study by PwC confirmed that it could contribute $15.7 trillion worldwide by 2030, mainly by enhancing the productivity of labour using automation and product improvement in the sectors of internet and communication, finance, health, agriculture, military, intelligence analysis, transportation, and manufacturing. Therefore, to maintain competitiveness in the field of economics and the military, states are fostering and capitalizing the AI culture of innovation. Indian society has traditionally viewed technology as an enabler of economic growth and has perceived it as a vehicle to advance over modernized economies. The recent smartphone revolution and software miracle has entitled India to maintain its trademark as ‘info-nation’ and ‘IT superpower’ and is thus positioned to gain from the fourth industrial revolution and the ongoing digital transformation. Services have been extensively computerized in India since the late 1980s because of which it is the leading sourcing destination for the IT industry in the world today along with the largest IT workforce and the fastest growing startup and ecommerce market. Even though it is lagging behind China, Europe, and the USA in terms of private investment volume, India’s AI sector has grown by $150 million in the last five years and private investment has doubled from $44 million in 2016 to $73 million in 2017. Further, India has digitalized its economic, social, and political systems at an unprecedented scale and has experienced the highest growth rate of internet access. The potential benefits will only continue to multiply with the AI-enabled breakthroughs in this ecosystem. Yet, the fourth industrial revolution has its own set of economic, political, and military risks and the one which requires immediate attention is the displacement of millions of workers and the risk of losing jobs. This could escalate social tensions in the job market and magnify inequality by segregating the market into the high and low skill/pay categories. A sense of dissatisfaction is increasing among the middle class as incomes have stagnated or decreased due to technological progress. In comparison to high-wage economies like Japan and Germany, India can create sufficient new jobs to offset automation and has a modest potential for automation of about 19 per cent, given its low wage rates, but still the fear of ‘jobless growth’ persists. The disruption of democratic political processes and the facilitation of oppressive and authoritarian practices by the emerging technologies is another cause for major concern. Examples to consolidate authoritarian rule and subvert democracy include computational propaganda, robotic policing, social media abuse fuelling discontent, enhanced surveillance through AI-enabled group cognition, and AI-enabled election hacking. A novel system of digital authoritarianism where social organization combines with effective state control and economic growth is emerging, China being the most prominent example. Additionally, other experts have also highlighted the hollowing of privacy rights and loss of control over data. According to a study by the NGO Access Now, between January 2016 and May 2018, India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has intentionally disrupted mobile applications and the internet more than any other state and has been keen to control content. Moreover, the risk of misusing technology for fomenting violence is exhibited in a climate of hyper-nationalism. These technologies also have the potential to compromise national and international security. The weaponization of AI has already been begun by states which will revolutionize the military by empowering asymmetric warfare as small groups or individuals can cause mass harm, increase armed conflict escalation as ethical hurdles decrease, and instigate arms races as weaponized applications evolve and create market incentives. Despite India being a rival of China, a nation which has amassed sophisticated AI capabilities, policymakers believe that such scenarios lie only in the future and do not pose any threat today. However, a scenario which does hold relevance today is the detection of the AI-enabled attacks in November 2017 where malware used was spread by learning and adapting its methods, thus, revealing the vulnerabilities of India’s infrastructure to attacks powered by AI. National and international policy measures have been adopted by states to mitigate threats and maximize the benefits of these emerging technologies and not undermine innovation by managing social disruptions through multi-stakeholder regulation. Numerous efforts have been initiated by the United Nations at the global level to promote dialogue on how the means of warfare and nature of work is being transformed by AI and negotiations have been held between the global arms control regimes for the regulation of AI’s research and development. India, among other nations has published national AI strategies over the past years but overall has been struggling to keep pace with the rapid technological advances which calls for the need for coordinated policy responses that would not trigger any backlash, social disintegration, or gender exclusion. The challenges posed by the fourth industrial revolution have received a relatively fragmented and late response by the Indian state. By doubling public investment, an allocation of $480 million was made for AI and other emerging technologies in the federal budget for the financial year of 2018-2019. NITI Aayog, a government think tank released a discussion paper in June 2018 outlining a national AI strategy which concentrated on how IoT-based systems, data analytics, and AI can improve the quality and access to social services in the priority sectors of agriculture, education, health, smart mobility, and smart cities. The strategy acknowledges that India has experienced a delay in foundational AI resources, regulation, and research but now commits to securing a pool of talent by drawing on the vast IT and engineering workforce and expanding the startup scene in the country. By taking these nascent steps, involving all the stakeholders, and amalgamating comprehensive, integrated policy responses with strategic dialogue, India will not only be able to emerge as a major provider of AI solutions for the developing world but will also play a focal role in creating valuable fourth industrial revolution technologies.Currently interning at the Nepal Development Research Institute (NDRI), Patan in addition to working on a research paper on USA's foreign policy after 9/11 with UNESCO, India. I graduated from the University of Nottingham, UK with a BSc (Hons) in Economics and shall graduate from SOAS, University of London this year with an MSc in Development Economics. I wish to gain practical experience in developing nations in the near future after which I am keen to pursue a Ph.D. in the field of public policy/international development. When I am not critiquing articles in The Economist or writing my next article to be published (or not!), I enjoy reading, playing music, cooking lip-smacking dishes, indulging in self-care, and spending time with my friends and family (including my dogs Hector and Coco). type=content&p=1569). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Opinion] Freedom First's Resistance to Indira Gandhi's Emergency URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/freedom-first-resistance-to-indira-gandhis-emergency/ ### Body _Minoo Masani's Bombay-based journal, [Freedom First](https://indianliberals.in/periodicals/freedom-first/) was an undeniable force for safeguarding people's rights and liberty during the Emergency. The following essay encapsulates the role the journal played in enhancing ideas of liberalism in India._Not only did the promulgation of the Emergency saw the suspension of electoral democracy but also the curtailment of press freedom. The state of affairs was best summarized by Lal Krishna Advani’s remark **that** . While major media houses succumbed to the authoritarian pressure, Minoo Masani’s liberal journal _Freedom First_ stood as a notable exception in its resistance to the Emergency. To be sure, Masani’s magazine was not the only media platform to resist the censor diktats. But _Freedom First _undoubtedly played a [remarkable role](https://thewire.in/history/emergency-free-press) in advancing civil liberties, more so given its small clout and reach. Masani’s Freedom First was in the proverbial eye of the storm when it comes to press censorship. In the second half of 1975, after the promulgation of Emergency in June, _Freedom First_ ceased publication. The Bombay-based journal’s incorrigible democratic editor Minoo Masani had enough with the diktats of the censor. Instead of putting up with the order to prohibit eleven items from publication, he rather decided to stop publishing the magazine and also filed a case in the Bombay High Court. Fought by Soli Sorabjee on Masani’s behalf, first the judge R P Bhatt’s and later the division bench of D P Madon and M H Kania**’**s verdict saw the censorship order being quashed. With this victory, _Freedom First_ resumed its publication in January 1976. In the coming months, the pages of _Freedom First_ would see Masani’s constant railing against the Indian democracy’s authoritarian turn under Indira Gandhi. **Saving the Constitution** In response to a slew of constitutional changes brought to bolster the Emergency, Masani often cited his laurels as a founding member of the Constituent assembly to bolster his case. He also rhetorically pointed out that Indira Gandhi and her sycophants’ bid to overturn constitutional provisions was a turn away from the vision of Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhimrao Ambedkar, and Sardar Patel. Masani was, in particular, worried about the discarding of federalism due to the increased executive centralization during the Emergency. After the removal of state governments in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, Masani lamented about the effective demise of federalism in India: ‘Now there is no State government left of a different political colour from that at the Centre. India has for the time being become a unitary state.’ For Masani, the danger of centralizing overreach lay in paving way for fissiparous tendencies. The [argument](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/281.pdf) went that a country as diverse as India ‘needs a federal structure’ and the lack of reasonable autonomy for states would have led to a separatist tendency. In light of the Swaran Singh Committee recommendations, Masani again defended the constitution as promulgated by India’s founding fathers. He [argued](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/285.pdf) that the proposed fundamental duties should be voluntary in nature, not to be enforced by the sovereign in law. Gandhi’s warning of the state as the greatest threat to human liberty was also invoked repeatedly in Masani’s writings. To him, the three essential elements of the constitution which constituted basic structure included fundamental rights, federalism and state rights, and the right of presidents and governors to dissolve the legislatures and cabinets. The 42nd amendment bill, he argued in Bangalore, had watered down the basic doctrine of the constitution in favor of a move towards ‘a centralised and unitary government’. On the importance of fundamental rights to human freedom, he [wrote](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/286.pdf): ‘There are certain rights that the citizen possesses that cannot be subjected to the whims and fancies of the majority of the day and these are rights that we listed and described as Fundamental Rights.’  **Advancing Liberalism** Masani clearly saw the Emergency’s threat to liberal democracy and opposed different manifestations of the threat. For him, the invocation of Emergency amidst the prevailing situation was unconvincing as there ‘was no clear and present danger to the security of the State.’ The so-called positive steps undertaken by the Emergency regime might as well have been achieved without the severe cost. For all the gross violations of human rights and suspension of fundamental rights, Masani was careful enough to see the Emergency as a limited form of authoritarianism, not a turn towards fascism or a communist dictatorship. In his analysis of the Emergency in _Encounter_ magazine (republished later in _Freedom First_), Masani couldn’t avoid the temptation of playing a prophet whose pontifications came true. The Emergency proved correct his warnings in the 1960s about the incompatibility of the democratic process with a highly controlled planned economy and public sector monopolies, [wrote](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/283.pdf) Masani. One of the justifications provided to legitimize the suspension of political rights during the Emergency included the promise of prosperity under a centralized, authoritarian regime. However, the democrat in Masani took the opportunity to highlight the link between democracy and economic development. He pointed out that countries with a functioning democratic system were also more successful at providing economic betterment to their citizens. On the famous Bread versus Freedom choice offered by the apologists of totalitarian regimes, Masani [made](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/290.pdf) his choice clear: ‘There is no clash between bread and freedom or between elections and economic prosperity. On the contrary, by and large, they go together.’ Years later, S V Raju’s [editorial](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/402.pdf) on the Tiananmen Square massacre in _Freedom First_ would deploy a similar argument against the CCP regime. **Supporting Resistance** _Freedom First_ not only did feature Masani’s musings on the prevailing situation but also gave coverage to the acts of resistance against the Indira regime. Interestingly though, when the Emergency was in operation, the magazine did not discuss the clandestine resistance movement and neither did it cover RSS’ role in the anti-Indira coalition. This omission can perhaps be accounted for by the liberal tenor of the editor who believed in rule of law, free speech, and public debates. Be that as it may, Masani published in the [April 1976 issue](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/281.pdf) the Maharashtra Bar Council’s July 1975 resolution. The resolution appealed to the President to revoke the proclamation that made the Emergency possible. The delay in the publication of the resolution can be explained by the censorship order which was later struck down by the Bombay High Court. Apart from the Bar Council resolution, the magazine also covered the draft statement on the formation of a new party that would culminate in the Janata experiment. While S V Raju was sympathetic to the initiative, his editorial took objection to ‘egalitarian’ and ‘socialist’ pieties which found a mention in the draft. Apparently, Raju’s [liberal sensibility](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/284.pdf) made it difficult for him to accept the new party advancing the same old socialist talking points as their opponent Mrs. Gandhi. Later, Minoo Masani would [express](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/292.pdf) satisfaction at the improved manifesto of the Janata Party as it dropped ‘objectionable references to an “equalitarian society” and “total planning”.’ Further, the [March 1977 issue](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/292.pdf) featured a sharp commentary on the suppression of Justice H R Khanna for the position of Chief Justice of India despite him fulfilling the seniority criteria. The explanation was not difficult to find: ‘Mr. Justice Khanna had distinguished himself by passing down a minority judgment asserting the right of the citizen to the writ of _habeas corpus_ even during the Emergency. _The New York Times_ had remarked that the time would come when a statue of his would be erected in every city of India.’ The same issue also covered the statement from Freedom House in honor of C R Irani who received the prestigious Freedom House Award. Irani was the managing director of The Stateman and had fought a courageous battle for press freedom during the Emergency.               **Conclusion** The Cold warrior in Masani occasionally interpreted the events of Emergency from an anti-USSR prism. Two such instances could be found in the pages of _Freedom First_ published during the Emergency. In the [May 1976 issue](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/282.pdf), the punctilious Masani took a shot at Law minister H R Khanna for advocating watering down of Article 226 of the Constitution which empowers High Courts to admit writ petition. Masani argued that Gokhale’s coincidental meeting with the leader of a Soviet Law delegation might have something to do with the proposed measure: ‘His Soviet mentors will have no doubt nudged the Law Minister’s elbow in case this was needed.’ Second, the [August 1976 issue](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/285.pdf) saw a TASS report juxtaposed with The Times one on India’s authoritarian turn. The TASS commentator took umbrage with the western critique of ‘cardinal socio-economic transformations’ of the Indira government under the Emergency. The Times report, on the other hand, captured the British discontent and disappointment with India’s recent authoritarian turn. The underlying implication for Masani was clear: Indian democrats should not be in two minds about their friends abroad. The communists in USSR certainly weren’t the ones. It was in 1977 that Indira Gandhi finally decided to lift the Emergency and conduct elections again. In the wake of Janata’s electoral success in the 1977 general election, a jubilant Masani described it as not so much a victory for the Janata Party but a rejection of the dictatorship. As a cautious democrat in vigil, he took the opportunity to [suggest](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/293.pdf) remedies for democratic backsliding. The recommendations included the adoption of proportional representation system, independence of the judiciary from the purview of parliamentary majority, maintenance and strengthening of federalism, and limited government. Finally, Masani’s abiding belief in the redeeming feature of common folks of India led him to argue for cultivating citizenship and a voluntary sense of service. His idea of grassroot democracy comprised of voluntary institutions like consumer associations, environment protection groups, and the Bombay Civic Trust. --- ## [Opinion] India's Nuclear Ambitions: Minoo Masani as a Liberal Peacenik URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/freedom-firsts-resistance-to-indira-gandhis-emergency/ ### Body The following essay explores the stance taken by Minoo Masani against India's nuclear ambitions. In doing so, Masani made a critical economic argument to deter Indian policymakers from focusing on nuclear weapons development at the time.From the time of Nehru laying the foundation of the atomic energy program, India as a nuclear power has come a long way now with its acceptance in the global nuclear regime. India’s path to the bomb and emergence as a responsible nuclear power has not been a straightforward one. Among other factors, the domestic political debate has played a crucial role in shaping India’s nuclear trajectory.  PM Nehru was a proponent of nuclear disarmament but also endorsed the peaceful use of nuclear energy for development. Nehru’s party, the Indian National Congress had an ambivalent attitude towards nuclear weapons, given its ideological commitment to Gandhian principles and Nehru’s advocacy of disarmament. In contrast, scholars Harsh Pant and Yogesh Joshi have [argued](https://global.oup.com/academic/product/indian-nuclear-policy-9780199489022?cc=in&lang=en&) that ‘the right-wing political parties such as the Jan Sangh and the Swatantra Party....have always been pro-bomb.’ This article would uncover a part of the neglected but vigorous domestic nuclear policy debate by focusing on the Swatantra Party’s stand, as enunciated by its cerebral leaders Minoo Masani and C. Rajagopalachari. Rajaji’s vigorous campaign for the nuclear test ban has been discussed in some detail here. [link my earlier sent article on Rajaji against nuclear bomb] He disagreed with the logic of the balance of threat and was deeply worried about the repercussions of nuclear rivalry for human security. The preferred method to deal with the problem, of course, stemmed from his Gandhian conviction as a unilateral moratorium amidst a bipolar arms race would amount to nothing short of moral courage and sacrifice of self-interest.  Admittedly, Rajaji seems to have leaned favorably towards Khrushchev in his writings in the late 1950s, probably because Khrushchev first politely refused to pay heed to his call and then went on to announce a unilateral test moratorium. This, for Rajaji, stood in contrast with belligerent US posturing and the doctrine of brinkmanship under John Foster Dulles. Nonetheless, he went on to meet Kennedy to make the case for the nuclear test ban. About two years after the Sino-Indian border war, the People’s Republic of China declared it to be a nuclear weapons power in October 1964. In wake of the additional nuclear dimension to India’s security challenge in the neighborhood, it fell upon Minoo Masani to articulate Swatantra’s response to the Chinese bomb. In the December 1964 issue of [_Freedom First_](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/151.pdf), Masani presciently argued that China’s nuclear bomb posed peculiar challenges to India and both superpowers. The bomb would help China mitigate the threat of the US-backed Kuomintang invasion of the Chinese mainland. In the case of India, a nuclear-powered China would further diminish the prospect to wrestle back the territory lost in 1962 by way of force. Already facing strains and not too far from the split, the Chinese nuclear test tilted the Sino-Soviet relation in the favor of the former.          Not only did the bomb accord military and political advantage to China, but the PRC also harnessed the reputational gain among recently decolonized Third World nations as the first ‘colored’ country to break the ‘white’ monopoly of nuclear weapons. Masani pointed out that there came no condemnation of Chinese action from African nations and the Arab world which had objected to earlier tests. The nuclear test also dealt a blow to India’s prestige based on its self-image as a contender for leading the Third World, argued Masani. What should be the Indian response to China’s rise as a nuclear power? Masani could see three possible options for Indian policy-makers. According to him, the line toed by the likes of Krishna Menon of not doing anything since it would be foolish to enter the nuclear race amounted to foolishness. Such a position, argued Masani, would lead to ‘the consequent erosion of our national independence and our gradual deterioration to satellite status.’  The other option of India going nuclear also did not seem palatable to Masani. He would cite a range of sources on the unpalatable economic costs of the Indian nuclear weapon program. Apparently, Masani stressed butter in the classic guns versus butter debate as it corresponded to India’s nuclear policy under the PM Lal Bahadur Shastri. In making the economic objection to the nuclear bomb, Masani was on the same page with Shastri and Vikram Sarabhai. On the other hand, both the influential nuclear scientist Homi Bhabha and the right-wing Bhartiya Jan Sangh made the case for an Indian nuclear bomb.  Masani’s favored option was the demand for an extended nuclear deterrence guarantee from nuclear powers against China. However, there existed an ambivalence on Masani’s side on the question of approaching the nuclear guarantor. In his November 23rd [speech](https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/55399/1/lsd_03_10_23-11-1964.pdf) in Lok Sabha, he was okay with India entering into an agreement with the US and USSR, either jointly or separately. His acceptance of the multilateral nuclear umbrella for India against China at this stage was in line with Shastri’s own diplomatic approach of not dithering from non-alignment on the issue of nuclear deterrence.  However, a month later in _Freedom First_, Masani outlined his clear preference for the US on the matter of nuclear umbrella. He ruled out the Soviet Union on grounds of reliability. His suspicion of communist brethren bonhomie which would be inimical to Indian interest evinced in no less measure from the 1962 Sino-Indian war. On the matter of the US nuclear umbrella, president Lyndon Johnson’s assurance of support to Non-Nuclear Weapons States against nuclear blackmail was not sufficient to Masani. In a clearly pronounced case for greater alignment with the US, he advocated for getting the US nuclear defense commitment to India as a pre-emptive measure, not a responsive action. The next major turn in India’s nuclear trajectory would come with the Pokhran-I in May 1974 which turned India into nuclear power. By this time, Swatantra Party was routed in the last general election and would soon decide to dissolve itself in August, Rajaji had already passed away, and Masani was no longer in [active party politics](https://ccs.in/masani-and-swatantra-party). The larger motive behind Indira Gandhi’s decision [Oxford Short Introduction] to go nuclear stemmed from the now uncertain status of implicit US nuclear umbrella after the US-China rapprochement scripted by Henry Kissinger. Masani’s predictable criticism of India’s nuclear shift appeared in the July 1974 issue of [_Freedom First_](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/266.pdf). Taking umbrage to the Washington Post’s claim of widespread jubilation in India after Pokhran I, Masani cited a host of critical editorials - including from the Indian leftist outlets and western press - to oppose the WaPo report. His own criticism rested on the infeasibility of the nuclear weapons program for a country facing economic woes.  A self-proclaimed liberal, he saw the test as a hypocritical move from the preachers of socialist doctrine. From the socialist perspective, argued Masani, the money spent on building the bomb ought to be spent on digging wells and minor irrigation projects. What of the crucial importance of nuclear power for Indian national security interest though? Masani did not exactly address this question except for taking the US nuclear aid and reactors for peaceful uses.  In any case, three things are clear from the discussion so far: Rajaji’s worry about the health fallout of nuclear tests and his constant advocacy for disarmament; Masani’s opposition to indigenous nuclear weapons program on economic grounds; and his support to India seeking nuclear deterrence guarantee, preferably from the US. The archival records concerned with the Swatantra Party’s take on nuclear policy thus belies scholar Yogesh Joshi’s argument [bundling](https://warontherocks.com/2017/03/debating-the-nuclear-legacy-of-india-and-one-of-its-great-cold-war-strategists/) both the Swatantra and Jan Sangh as pro-bomb parties. As Howard Erdman has [argued](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2755178#metadata_info_tab_contents), there was a significant divergence between the Swatantra and Jan Sangh on Indian foreign policy. The ideological and policy difference extended to the nuclear bomb issue as well with the Jan Sangh taking a more bellicose, pro-bomb approach. Thus, not only does this discussion on Swatantra’s approach to nuclear policy seeks to set the record straight on the matter, but also indicates the vibrancy and diversity within the Indian right-wing tradition. --- ## [Opinion] GG Agarkar : Modern Indian Liberal and Reformer URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/gg-agarkar-modern-indian-liberal-and-reformer/ ### Body _The social reformer Gopal Ganesh Agarkar remains a marginalized figure in public discourse. The great Indian classic liberal that he was, Agarkar championed the cause of rationality and women emancipation in colonial Maharashtra. On his 163rd birth anniversary, here is a tribute to the man._The modern liberal tradition in Maharashtra has seen many remarkable individuals furthering the cause of individual dignity and human freedom. The prominent figures include western-educated M G Ranade, P M Mehta, K T Telang; orientalist R G Bhandarkar; nationalist Bal Gangadhar Tilak; and moderate S N Banerjee, Dadabhai Naoroji and Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Among the modern liberal luminaries stands out Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, for his radical social reformism and emphasis on rationality. Gopal Ganesh Agarkar was [inspired](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=6YxpAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=agarkar&f=false) from the Age of Enlightenment in Europe and the writings of Mill, Spencer, Voltaire and Rousseau which made him a proponent of scientific rationalism. His social reform agenda included women liberation, opposition to superstitious rituals, removal of caste discrimination, spread of scientific temperament and promotion of education for both men and women. Recognised by historian Gordon Johnson as the [most radical](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=4kaZV5CdzsAC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=snippet&q=pandita%20ramabai&f=false) Maharashtrian social reformer, Agarkar is remembered best for his rivalry with Bal Gangadhar Tilak. He first met Tilak at the Deccan College where they were classmates. The Tilak-Agarkar duo went on to set up a series of educational institutions to promote literacy and social reform, and evoke patriotism among masses. The _New English School_ was the first to be founded in Pune in January 1880. The collaboration further led to the formation of the Deccan Education Society (1884) and Fergusson College (1885). Meanwhile in 1881, Agarkar also took charge of the English journal _Keshari_ as an editor where he promoted the cause of social reform, often in [conflict](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=4kaZV5CdzsAC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=editorials&f=false) with other prominent nationalist leaders. The public exposure of Tilak-Agarkar duo came in 1882 due to the infamous [Kolhapur affair](https://www.jstor.org/stable/44147990?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents). The nationalist critique by _Kesari_ of the British attempt to control the Kolhapur Raja Shivaji IV by declaring him mentally unstable led the regent Karbhari Barve to file a defamation case against the duo. While the court implicated Tilak-Agarkar in the case, the public opinion lent overwhelming support to them. The differences between Tilak and Agarkar, however, laid in their priorities for the nation which has come to define the legacy of Agarkar. Tilak focused on the primacy of political freedom with a conservative approach towards social reform while for Agarkar, social reform came ahead of political freedom. The disagreement made Agarkar start his own journal _Sudharak_ as Tilak captured control of _Kesari_ to further his revivalist nationalism. As a modern liberal Agarkar was a strong proponent of rationalism and saw morality as distinct from religion. He lent support to Age of Consent Bill and Pandita Ramabai’s Widows’ Home in Puna. However, his [critics](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=6YxpAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=agarkar&f=false) accuse him of ignoring the writings and works of Puna-based contemporary caste crusader Jyotiba Phule. In assessing Agarkar’s legacy in Maharashtra, [N H Kulkarnee](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=6YxpAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=kulkarnee&f=false) argues that he is adopted most prominently by the organized rationalist movement. However, his writings and activism also influenced Hindutva activist Vinayak Savarkar who sought to rationalise Hindu religion. Even the rise of Marxism in Maharashtra in 1920s was unconsciously influenced by Agarkar, an ardent devotee of John Stuart Mill! Agarkar today remains a forgotten figure outside Maharashtra. The social reformer’s radical approach though merits him a place in the national pantheon of [Indian Liberals](http://indianliberals.in/). --- ## [Opinion] G.G. Agarkar : Revisiting a Misunderstood Legacy URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/gg-agarkar-revisiting-a-misunderstood-legacy/ ### Body _ Agarkar’s commentaries may be carrying a tinge of the 'enlightened despotism' that was the characteristic of philosophical radicals, but his works are still very useful to understand his diligence to expose common people to liberal-individualistic ideas._ Agarkar is most frequently remembered as a 'friend-turned-opponent' of Tilak. In Maharashtrian popular culture, Agarkar perhaps got this hyphenated identity that was seldom devoid of a reference to Tilak. I too got acquainted with Gopal Ganesh Agarkar through Tilak. Agarkar was an equal of Tilak in terms of his love for the land and intellectual prowess. Tilak's meteoric rise as a national leader was owing to his appealing and aggressive rhetoric. He had to tone it down as he widened his world-view after becoming a national leader. But Agarkar, his prison-mate of one time who later became a compeer, maintained his moderate and liberal positions all along.   Agarkar is commemorated for his work as a social reformer, as a rationalist and as an educationist. However, it is safe to say that even after 125 years of his demise, academicians failed to objectively understand and recognise his positions on many issues especially the ones on economics.  He often wrote essays commenting on the nature of discourse on economics prevalent during his time.  His essays are of particular significance to understand where exactly he stood as a 19th -century liberal and to comprehend the philosophical influences that propelled him to take those positions. The two essays that reveal his economic thoughts are titled ‘_Teen Arthashastre’ - _which can be broadly translated as ‘Three Strands of Economics’.  He opens his first essay with the analogy of an ongoing 'Tug of war' between what he called the extremely ignorant people of India on one hand and an extremely self-serving British government in India. And the liberal-intellectuals in the society were dismayed by the self-serving policy initiatives of the British government and equally by the lack of logic in Indian demands for economic redressal. As a member of the third party of intellectuals, not aligning with the views of the government or the vast majority of Indian nationals, he advanced suggestions for both the government and the people of India. Economics is about production, distribution and transactions or exchanges. India had a grave problem concerning all three aspects. India’s production was diminutive and thus the wealth produced was limited. Therefore, the other two factors of a healthy economy were also impaired. This was a result of the foreign rule in India. Agarkar categorized the then-existing views on economics under three labels. These can be broadly called Axiomatic or Classical Economics, Practical Economics and Illusory Economics. We shall discuss the three categories of the then prevalent thought in the same sequence as Agarkar did.   As per the tenets of Classical Economics, a government should stay away from interfering in production, distribution and trade in general. However, the British government in India used this very principle of non-intervention to ignore the grave economic conditions and to turn a blind eye toward the debilitating effects of its economic policies. It was obvious to Agarkar that the government chose to be brazenly opportune and abide by this principle where it helped serve the British national interest and it blatantly violated the same principle when it was not beneficial for its national interest. Given the complex political relationship between the British government of India and the Indian people, the conventional rules of economics wouldn't apply to the Indian conditions. According to Agarkar political freedom and economic freedom were inextricably intertwined and he was convinced that Indians would have to win them back in the same sequence in which they lost those to the British. He further argued that the British held India as a precious possession not because they cared for India or her people, but because India was geographically important in continuing the trade with other Asian countries. The colonial masters valued India for the access it granted to Britain to the distant parts of the orient. The trade via India benefited the British more than their occupation of Indian possessions and the Indian resources. Agarkar pointed out that India never had a consumerist culture. Wantonly enjoying different goods and services was yet to be deemed normal. This was one of the reasons why Indians never developed the skills, talents and means required to produce goods. Ironically, Indians had to depend on the British even for the essentials that could be easily and cost-effectively produced in India. This led to the infamous economic drain and rendered the nation vulnerable to rustification.  This begs a question that if the economic ordeal was real and so overt, then how did the government manage to govern India for decades after the first spark of consciousness among the Indian intellectuals? The answer lies in the fact that the government mastered the art of controlling the impoverished masses by offering temporary relief in various ways. At times the government appointed a commission when the popular discontent was too conspicuous. On some other occasions, it offered some concessions to the farmers. Yet another time it dug canals and wells, distributed seeds of cotton or wheat, established farms to carry out experiments or even established veterinary hospitals. Apart from these usual methods, Agarkar touched upon two more ways in which the government used its power supposedly for the redressal of grievances. One, the government at times sought to save the peasants by inflicting costs on the landlords - by pitting the classes against each other.  Secondly, the government opened up a ministry to manage agrarian affairs and manned it with intelligent bureaucrats. They had a lucrative remuneration for which Indians paid through their tax money. The government did all of this in the name of ‘agrarian reforms’ but none of the so-called reforms elevated the lifestyle of crores of poor Indians fundamentally.  As Agarkar put it "the fatal and deep wound of systemic impoverishment (that the economic policies of the government) inflicted on Indians could not be healed by mere band-aids." No amount of temporary relief could improve the economic condition of India. If India had to recover and reinvigorate herself, it would take some serious effort - a reliable 'tonic'.  Increasing the volume of the production (and subsequently trade) was the only suitable tonic that could impart vitality among Indians. He argued that countries like France, the United States of America, Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan, Switzerland and even England worked toward increasing the trade when their industries were at a nascent stage. But, when this historical fact was brought to the notice the British officials would respond frantically as if the laws of classical economics had always been sacrosanct for them. “Indian thinkers like Justice Telang, Justice Ranade and Dadabhai Naoroji had devised ways of stimulating Indian industries, commerce and agriculture without violating the laws of economics. But to what end?” Agarkar didn't hide his pessimism about the British nonchalance when he declared that these sane voices were falling on deaf ears. "Afterall one can be woken up from slumber if they are asleep, how can a person who pretends to be asleep be woken up?" - questioned Agarkar.    Given the nature of British rule, Agarkar concluded that the general laws of classical economics were not entirely suitable for the then prevailing conditions. His explanation for deviating from classical thought was that the principles of classical economics cannot be applied to every society as their applicability hinges upon the level of economic development in a given society. Typically the new colonies or underdeveloped countries require some modifications.  'If there are compelling reasons to believe that industry, if promoted, for the time being at least at the outset, can flourish and if it creates self-sustainable enterprises, it won't require the support of the state then such an industry should be incentivized by the state.' This state support would be purely temporary. This was the second and less prevalent view called Practical Economics.  It was the one that Agarkar adhered to. However, this was his second-best and he considered it a transitional arrangement to reach the ideals of Classical Economics.   The Indian public intellectuals such as Agarkar and economists like Ranade demanded a specific, temporary and transient role for the state - one that of a facilitator for free trade and industry. But the British government naturally showed the proclivity to protect the British businesses from any emergent competition. More so, if it was coming from the natives. On the other hand, Agarkar was also concerned with how many Indians extolled the so-called virtues of Indian products.  He ridiculed them as people with a 'misplaced sense of patriotism’. He placed them in the third category of those who believed in Illusory Economics. Dismissing the false sense of being useful to the nation that one may derive by promoting Swadeshi, he declared that 'no one has ever benefited from buying a costly product just because it is (swa)deshi’ or made in India.  Agarkar was convinced that both the British state and the Indian people had something in common. The extremely self-seeking character of the government and the naivety of the common people in India indeed had a point of concurrence - both the Indians and the British fell for protectionism of some sort. It clarifies that Agarkar wanted the state to create good conditions for industries to increase production, trade and commerce. He did not seek protection. His unequivocal rejection of the preferential treatment to products based on the place of their origin and opposition to state or society sponsored protection to businesses is testimony to his belief in fair play and competition.        A seasoned economist may find his methodology questionable because Agarkar was not an economist. He was still an educationist and editor who believed in liberty for all and all walks of life. Yet he had convictions much like the philosophical radicals in England. The influence of Mill on Agarkar is conspicuous. Agarkar’s commentaries may be carrying a tinge of the 'enlightened despotism' that was the characteristic of philosophical radicals, but his works are still very useful to understand his diligence to expose common people to liberal-individualistic ideas. --- ## [Opinion] Hamid Dalwai and the Muslim Satyashodhak Mandal URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/hamid-dalwai-and-the-muslim-satyashodhak-mandal/ ### Body _The Muslim Satyashodhak Mandal believed that the sanctimonious people from all major religions in India have escaped from accepting modern secularism in its truest sense and have resorted to a fraudulent term called ‘Sarvadharma samabhav’._In order to explain the true nature of communalism in India, Hamid Dalwai – a Marathi social reformer drew a parallel between India and Europe in his book _Rashtriya Ekatmata ani Bharatiya Musalman. _ He takes us back to the times when Arabs invaded Europe through Gibraltar in A.D 711. Arabs reached Tours (France) by A.D 732, in 21 years. After reaching Tours they steadily met with defeat and their campaign lost its steam. The Christians initiated a pushback, however, this process of winning back – Reconquista, took a long time. This process was over with the fall of Granada in 1492. This process of the Arab invasion and the Christian Reconquista indicates a complete cycle in the medieval history of Europe. The accounts of these invasions, conversions and even Christian inquisitions are well documented by European scholars. Hamid Dalwai argued that a similar process started in India when Mohammad Kasim invaded Sindh in A.D. 711. Interestingly enough, according to Dalwai, India’s communal problems exist because the aforesaid cycle that occurred in Europe did not take its full course in India. Therefore, a sense of disappointment engulfed the radical sections of the Muslim community for they couldn’t fully Islamize India and because they had to lose the power to the British. On the other hand, many Hindus regret their inability to salvage the situation the way Christians successfully did in Spain. (Dalwai, 2012, p. 26) Hindus not only couldn’t turn the tide but they also had to settle with a partition. In Dalwai’s words, ‘India couldn’t become Spain but she did not become Afghanistan either’. The historic conflict has led us to deadlock and the inability to resolve it has been a characteristic of late 19th and early 20th century India. This communal deadlock has also shaped the politics, history and geography of modern India and has left deep impressions on the thought processes of the two major communities in the subcontinent. **Indian Muslims after Independence****  ** The partition of India rendered the Muslims in India politically more vulnerable. (Kazi, 1996) In the face of uncertainty and insecurity, Indian Muslims responded in two major ways. Some traditionalists looked at the modern Indian Constitution as a _Mahida_ between Hindus and Muslims. Mahida refers to the contract that extended concessions to the religious minorities in the form of religious liberties and guarantees of non-intervention on the part of the state. But Dalwai argued that the same section that demanded religious autonomy also demanded government jobs in proportion to their numerical strength. (Dalwai, Swatantryottar Kalatil Muslim Rajakaran, 1996) This philosophy was dependent on a two-fold strategy of stating equal claims on national resources and at the same time refuting the superiority of political authority of the state over the religious authority. Unfortunately, the prime political parties in India exploited the insecurities and flirted with these retrograde sections.        On the other hand, there were social reformers like Dalwai and progressive organizations like the Muslim Satyashodhak Mandal (henceforth Mandal) who could see the regressive nature of the demands of the orthodoxy. They envisaged a truly secular nationalism based on equality. Therefore, the Mandal took an unequivocal stance against the demands for religious autonomy which they thought were akin to the Muslim League’s demands before independence.  After the partition, forging a secular compact among people (not communities) and secular institutions was perhaps our best chance at containing communal tensions and starting afresh by shedding the burden of history. The challenge was to create a society devoid of caste and religious discrimination. Working for the upliftment of women was indispensable. Jawaharlal Nehru’s government introduced and passed the Hindu Code Bill in 1955-56, defying the Hindu orthodoxy; however, his government couldn’t reform the unjust laws affecting Muslim women. Nehru clarified his intentions of introducing a uniform civil law applicable to both Hindus and Muslim in the future as soon as the community was amicable to such an idea. (Muslimancha Anunay, 2017)    The Mandal was convinced that a Uniform Family Code  is the only way to safeguard the women and their equal rights, to reform the community and impart a sense of national unity based on equal citizenship. Their support had a firm philosophical grounding in the modern principles of liberty, equality and most importantly the superiority of political authority as against religious authority. To understand what they stood for, we must look at what they stood up against. **Muslim Orthodoxy Deciphered** In its publication, the Mandal highlighted some problems with the psyche of the orthodox Muslims in India. In their observation, the Muslims who opposed the Uniform Civil Code had not developed the attitude necessary for living in a modern democracy. It was so because some still relished in the nostalgia of the medieval era when India was under Islamic dominance. According to the Mandal, many of them were yet to reconcile with the modern democratic institutions based on secular principles. (Saman Nagari Kayda, 2017, p. 32) The apprehensions of Muslims about Hindu collectivism and dominance under the democratic system were valid. But there were no signs of Muslim organizations arguing in favour of liberal constitutionalism which expects both the constitution and the state apparatus to be subjected to the principle of rule of law. The Mandal pointed out when the Islamic countries enacted new laws based on reformist interpretations that were suitable for modern times. These legislations were introduced by making changes to Sharia.  But the orthodoxy didn’t want the Indian parliament to enact laws even if they were in the best interest of Muslims. Some stretched it so far as to argue that Sharia is divine and thus sacrosanct. Going by this logic, no person or political authority including the ones in the Islamic world had the sanction to change the Islamic law.  Another group among the traditionalists argued that the Indian constitution granted rights to the minorities to protect their language, culture, and religious identity; they further added that the Indian Constitution recognizes and protects the personal laws that originate from Sharia. That is exactly why personal laws cannot be tempered. They questioned the sovereignty of the Indian parliament and upheld the religious laws as superior. (Saman Nagari Kayda, 2017) The attempt to alter these laws, according to them, would be tantamount to violation of the Indian Constitution. This attempt of using the constitution as the shield was seen as unfortunate by the Mandal. These socio-religious constructs and the notion of the infallibility of religious scriptures made Muslims too sensitive to have any reasonable discussion, change or reform, claimed the Mandal in its publication. (Dharmanirapekshata, 1996, p. 56) **Limiting Religion to the Private Sphere - Concepts of Aadat and Ibaadat** The Muslim Satyashodhak Mandal opined that the State had to work towards the introduction of the Uniform Civil Code. They outrightly rejected the argument that Sharia is a divine law created by God. They reasoned that the concept of religion encompasses two core ideas – namely, ‘Aadat’ and ‘Ibaadat’. Aadat deals with temporal affairs or the world that we live in. The other concept of Ibaadat is concerned with all that is spiritual. This broad distinction lies in the fact that what falls under Aadat is amendable, whereas the other part - Ibaadat should be protected by the state. However, most fatwas issued by the clergy deal with daily life and worldly matters. Laws that govern our lives are always made by society or people. Thus, Mandal believed that laws cannot be associated with the divine and the authority to govern the society must remain with the state and not with any religious institution. The Mandal was certain that where worldly affairs are segregated from the spiritual life, the religious liberties can remain relatively untouched. Rather the Mandal argued that the worldly aspects enshrined in any religious scripture must change as per the changing requirements of the society. The possibility to amend the way of life is what brings the much-needed flexibility that can in turn help us protect the cherished tenets and values of our respective religions. (Saman Nagari Kayda, 2017, p. 35) While the Mandal favoured managing worldly matters at the hands of the political authority, curtailing the pervasiveness of the religion, it also had a stated objective of destroying the clergy’s monopoly. Based on the aforesaid arguments and based on the philosophy of the Preamble to the Indian constitution, the Mandal believed that article 44 directs the State to work towards legislating to bring about social welfare and reform. However, only the power to legislate doesn’t suffice. These laws will fall short of achieving their stated objective if the mental make-up of people does not change. (Mukadam, 1996)   **Plea for Secularism, not Sarvadharma-Samabhav** The Muslim Satyashodhak Mandal believed that the sanctimonious people from all major religions in India have escaped from accepting modern secularism in its truest sense and have resorted to a fraudulent term called ‘Sarvadharma samabhav’. India is a country with multiple cultures, religions, sects and innumerable castes. There are religions, sects and castes that have contradictory traditions and customs. How can they all practice their customs together at the same time? How can a mongoose and a snake dwell in the same house? If neither wants to die, the only solution would be to make them both change their nature. Sarvadharma samabhav cannot achieve that. Because the term implies that if a particular religious institution is supported by the state, a similar concession is also to be extended to the institutions of other denominations. This will eventually culminate in a competition between religions. Which demands will the state fulfil? How far can it make concessions and favours to the religious denominations? And a more fundamental question is, what are the functions of the state? Why was the state created in the first place? It would defeat the whole purpose of the state if it degenerates into machinery stimulating religious institutions and (unduly) protecting religions.    Mandal firmly believed that only Secularism can help us. It drives religion out of the public sphere but it protects religion in private life. Secularism recognizes the right to practice any religion, any way of worship so far as it is contained in the private sphere. It does not support or promote religion. Secularism also stands for the recognition of the right to not believe in any religion.  The question persists, as to why we should read the works of Hamid Dalwai or the works of members of the Muslim Satyashodhak Mandal? They were social reformers whose economic ideas were more or less in tandem with the social democrats in the Congress or the Socialist Party. However, their political and social ideas were rooted in individualism. “India [Indian Constitution] has put restrictions that prompt the society to take the path of secularism. The religious liberties have been bestowed upon the individual, not religions.” (Dharmanirapekshata, 1996, p. 57).  The works of Hamid Dalwai and the Muslim Satyashodhak Mandal have been consciously written in a regional language and without any jargon of the academic language. The main reason behind such a practice is the firm belief in making the public politically informed, with the hope that if the citizens have an informed opinion, they are less likely to be swayed by the rhetorics of the political elites and the clergy. These works have a greater value than just being one more addition to many political ideas because they aim at releasing the citizens from being held emotionally hostage by people in power. --- ## [Opinion] Justice H.R. Khanna and the Art of Speaking Truth to Power URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/hans-raj-khanna-justice-speaking-truth-to-power/ ### Body _“The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities.”  ― Ayn Rand_“What is the cost of one’s voice – one man’s dissent?” – The life of Hans Raj Khanna depicts utmost courage and the hefty price paid for such courage.  Hans Raj Khanna was born in 1912, in Amritsar, Punjab. He was the son of lawyer and freedom fighter Sarb Dyal Khanna who later took charge as the Mayor of Amritsar. He was an alumnus of the DAV High School, Amritsar, the Hindu College, Amritsar and Khalsa College, Amritsar. Once he completed his Bachelor’s degree in Arts, he went to the Law College, Lahore and pursued his legal education. Post his graduation, he practised law (primarily civil) in Amritsar and grew & maintained his practise until his elevation to the bench in 1952. In September 1971, he was appointed as a Judge at the Supreme Court of India. Apart from tracing his academic and professional achievements, his contribution to the protection and growth of the **Right to Life and Freedom **is of grave importance, especially in the contemporary national as well as global context. The Emergency period of 1975 – 1977 is one of the darkest eras of Indian democracy, if not the most. A large number of people had been detained without trial under the regressive Maintenance of Internal Security Act. Several High Courts had given relief to the detainees by accepting their Right to Habeas Corpus as stated in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. This issue was debated upon in the case of the Additional District Magistrate of Jabalpur v. Shiv Kant Shukla, popularly known as the Habeas Corpus case, which came up for hearing in front of the Supreme Court in December 1975.  Considering the precarious nature of this subject, five of the most senior judges of the Supreme Court of India were appointed to hear this matter. Avoiding technical and legal jargon and flowery wordplay, the crux of the matter to be debated upon was quite simple – **Whether the citizens of India have the right to approach the court for the enforcement of their Fundamental Rights during the declaration of Emergency? **The Fundamental Right in question was primarily the Right to Life secured under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.  To a lay man or any man with a reasonable moral compass, it would appear that the Right to Life or his mere existence in safety and freedom should be given most importance. However, au contraire, the learned judges of the Supreme Court had an opposing viewpoint and went about declaring a Judgment to the effect that the Fundamental Rights and their enforcement stand suspended during the time of Emergency. Four of the judges of the Constitution Bench had agreed to this stance and Justice H. R. Khanna was the lone dissenting voice to this opinion.  While giving his dissenting opinion, Justice H.R. Khanna was quite aware of its implications and the lack of enthusiasm of the bench with regard to dissenting opinions. However, he was not ready to sacrifice his opinions for the ‘apparent unanimity’ of the judgment, especially when he had such strong opinions regarding the same. He explained the same in the judgment and stated that -  “_I am aware of the desirability of unanimity, if possible. Unanimity obtained without sacrifice of conviction comments the decision to public confidence. Unanimity which is merely formal and which is recorded at the expense of strong conflicting views is not desirable in a court of last resort.……… A dissent in a court of last resort to use his words, is an appeal to the brooding spirit of the law to the intelligence of a future day, when a later decision may possibly correct the error into which the dissenting judge believes the court to have been betrayed_.” Like he mentioned in this judgement, his dissent has made its mark in the history of the judiciary and became a reference point for the judgments to come. In his dissenting opinion in the Judgment, he upheld the values of man’s liberty and how it should be preserved at all costs. In plain terms, the Constitution is to exist for the protection and liberty of a citizen and it should not be used as a tool to deprive a man of his birth rights of Life and Freedom. This can be understood as a rather morally upright and simple reasoning for this matter of grave importance. He had analysed the role of Article 21 and its position as the safeguard of any individual’s fundamental right to life and liberty -   _“__It is urged that article 21 is the sole repository of one's right to life or personal liberty. The moment the right to move any court for enforcement of article 21 is suspended, no one can, according to the submission, complain to the court of deprivation of life or personal liberty for any redress sought from the court on that score would be enforcement of article 21. Petition under article 226 for the issue of a writ of habeas corpus, it is contended by learned Attorney General, is essentially a petition to enforce the right of personal liberty and as the right to move any court for the enforcement of the right conferred by article 21 is suspended, no relief can be granted to the petitioner in such petition.__”_ Contrary of the pleadings of the Attorney General, Justice H. R. Khanna was of the opinion that Article 21 should not be the sole guardian or enforcer for rights of an individual. He was a scholar of the school of natural rights and went on, in the judgment, to elaborate upon how the rights of an individual exist in a free world. In a vacuum, devoid of law and state mechanism, the individuals are still entitled to basic natural rights to live in peace and prosperity. Therefore, he was of the view that the Right to Life existed freely in a civil society and was not an additional benefit or safeguard provided by the Constitution or the State. The Constitution merely upholds the already existing rights and provides a thorough framework to ensure each individual access to his freedoms and rights in case of deprivation.  The Constitution of India does not explicitly mention the term Natural Rights. The bench recognised that the Fundamental Rights ensured in the Constitution is nothing but the natural rights. The following excerpt was taken from the conclusions made by Justice H. R. Khanna–  _(1) Article 21 cannot be considered to be the sole repository of the right to life and personal liberty. _ _(2) Even in the absence of article 21 in the Constitution, the State has got no power to deprive a person of his life or personal liberty without the authority of law. The essential postulate and basic assumption of the rule of law in every civilised society._ _(3) According to law in force in India before the coming into force of the Constitution, no one could be deprived of his life or personal liberty without the authority of law. Such a law continued to be in force after the coming into force of the Constitution in view of article 372 of the Constitution._ _(6) According to article 21, no one can be deprived or his life or personal liberty except in accordance with procedure established by law. Procedure for the exercise of power of depriving a person of his life or personal liberty necessarily postulates the existence of the substantive power. Then article 21 is in force, law relating to deprivation of life and personal liberty must provide both for the substantive power as well as the procedure for the exercise of such power. When right to move any Court for enforcement of right guaranteed by article 21 is suspended, it would have the effect of dispensing with the necessity of prescribing procedure for the exercise of substantive power to deprive a person of his life or personal liberty, it cannot have the effect of permitting an authority to deprive a person of his life or personal liberty without the existence of such substantive power.__”_ The conclusion emphasizes that the Right to Life and Liberty is the forerunner to the Constitution in itself. The Constitutional provisions are mere safeguards and facilitators for these existing natural rights and thus, the state mechanism cannot use the same to deprive man of these basic natural rights – as one does not have the authority to take away something that was not his to give in the first place.  The Constitution should not take away the rights of man and his redressal mechanisms to regain his rights. The due process of law is not something to be taken lightly. The law does provide for Preventive Detention in matters of internal security and for the prevention of unlawful activities. However, preventive detention can also be challenged in a court of law as there exists provisions for the same. The due process of law exists to make sure that there is no misuse of powers and Justice H. R. Khanna was adamant on his stand that the majority opinion stifles the Right to Life and Freedom of man and furthermore disregards the due process of law. He believed their interpretation to be flawed and detrimental to liberal values. And thus, even today, his dissenting opinion is an important text in the judicial history of India and as well as in the context of the development of individual liberty in India. The Constitution of India provides for a system of Separation of Powers, where there exists an independent Executive, Judiciary and Legislature. These three organisations are to function independent of each other with utmost good faith so as to uphold the values of Democracy. However, what followed this judgement was a rather dismal turn of events. Due to the pressure from the Executive, contrary to the usual practice of appointing the most senior Judge of the Supreme Court as the Chief Justice of India, Justice H.R. Khanna was surpassed by Justice M.H. Beg as the Chief Justice of India. It was intended as a blow to him for his dissenting opinion on the matter.  He promptly handed over his resignation and left the office in great dignity following this matter. Furthermore, once Former Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi lost the election of 1977, the newly victorious Janata Party offered him the position of the Head of the Commission of Inquiry against the illegal imposition of the Emergency and the various atrocities committed under the garb of the same. However, he courteously refused the position as he felt that he would appear to be biased against the Former Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi.  In my personal opinion, this truly depicts the sheer grace and high moral standards of H. R. Khanna. Even though he was in the right, the man truly followed the first principle of Natural Justice which states that _no man shall be the judge of his own cause_.  With reference to the words of eminent philosopher and writer Ayn Rand, H. R. Khanna was able to be the defender of the smallest minority of the world i.e., an individual, during one of the darkest days of Indian Democracy, where the letter of the law was sharpened against any voice that spoke against the State.  Thus, Justice H.R. Khanna deserves his own niche and spotlight in the history of the growth of liberalism in the Indian context. He pushed forth the values of liberty in a time where it was being muffled by the State, and that too, at the cost of a glorious career. His rigid stand in what he believed and grace in self conduct make him a hero the contemporary world deserves more to know about. --- ## [Opinion] Harish Chandra Mukherjee - A less known liberal URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/harish-chandra-mukherjee-a-less-known-liberal/ ### Body In the pre-independence era, two editors left an indelible mark on Indian journalism. Both of them were Bengalis. While one has been described as the father of Indian journalism, the other was a** **crusading commentator on events of his time. Ramachandra Chatterjee was the editor of The Modern Review (1907-1965) while Harish Chandra Mukherjee of Hindu Patriot (1853-84). Starting his career with writing bills, letters, petitions, and translating Bengali documents to English, he rose to the highest position an Indian could aspire for in those times - that of an assistant military auditor. In 1852 he joined the British India Association - becoming a man proficient in politics, leadership, history, and law. Harishchandra’s political and social views found expression in Hindu Patriot - an English weekly published under the proprietorship of Madhusudhan Roy, a Burrabazar banker. By 1856, he became the in-charge of writing and editing, coming forth nightly in support of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar who had launched a movement for introduction of remarriage for Hindu widows. For Harishchandra, politics and journalism were inseparable. Through his writings he fought against the onslaught on women, both as economic agents and as people. He wrote against the oppression of indigo planters, leading to the appointment of a commission of enquiry. His active years coincided with a event that is considered by many historians as the first war of independence - the revolt of 1857. Although the British managed to crush the revolt in the end, it was a direct attack on them in which regional rulers got together against foreign rule. They soon realized that in order to govern India, it is necessary to adopt stringent controls which meant liquidation of the East India Company and transference of its functions to the British crown. This led to imposition of direct rule by the British government and the shaping up imperialistic ambitions. Using principles of natural justice and fairness, Harishchandra sharply criticized the profligate use of Indian resources and indiscriminate practices employed by planters in Bengal. He assisted them, remarking: _"I invariably advised them to apply to the district authorities in the proper form for redress, and to go to the next appellate authority, if they found no redress at the hands of district authorities. I cautioned them against ever committing breaches of the peace, or committing themselves in any manner by acting illegally. I explained to them that the operation of the Act was temporary, and that better measures would be devised next year, when I was sure that they would be free to take or not to take advances. I generally advised them to seek for redress in Civil Courts, a mode of proceedings which I found was much less resorted to, than it should have been.”_ It is pertinent to mention here that there were some intellectuals such as Rammohan Roy and Dwarkanath who defended indigo planters as a class of entrepreneurs who wanted to raise the productivity of land and improve the condition of rural populace. Ultimately, Harishchandra’s demand for setting up a commission of enquiry to enquire into the charges levied by ryots against the planters was accepted. With Sector Karr as chairman, the commission found various instances of abuse and prejudiced practices being employed by planters and ordered remedial measures to be adopted. Some other issues brought forth by the Hindu Patriot were female education and widow remarriage. The columns in the paper supported legalizing widow remarriage and female education - asking people to follow the footsteps of Drinkwater Bethune - the lawyer who started a secular school for females in Calcutta. In those times, female education was seen as antithetical to the religious beliefs of Hindus, particularly Brahmins. While liberals such as Vidyasagar, Harishchandra and Dwarkanath supported it, the orthodox society reacted by saying: “Whatever was left of Kali Yuga (age of darkness), has come.Once the girls get hold of the books, nothing will be left.” In spite of financial crunches in the late part of the 19th century, Harish Chandra;s paper stood out as a highly influential paper. After his death Kristo Pal became its editor. He avowed British liberalism and offered vigilant criticism of government measures. Harish Chandra may be remembered as a not so conspicuous contributor to Indian journalism, boldly remarking: _“Can a revolution in the Indian Government be authorised by Parliament without consulting the wishes of vast millions of men for whose benefit it is proposed to be made.”_ type=content&p=1581). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Opinion] Hauling Down the Angels URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/hauling-down-the-angels/ ### Body **_Founders and investors in India have been roiled by the angel tax controversy. Who is responsible for this looming crisis and has the government found ways to address this issue?_** In 2016, the newly formed government launched the startup India initiative to nurture innovation and promote startups in the country. This initiative, inter alia, set up a corpus of 10,000 crores for the purpose of funding startups and gave tax exemption on capital gains invested in fund of funds (FOF). But not all is well in the Indian entrepreneurial story. The central government is facing flak from start-ups for issuing them notices every now and then about something called “Angel Tax”. This tax was introduced in the Union Budget of 2012 by then Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee. It refers to income tax payable under section 56 (2) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 payable on capital raised by unlisted companies through the issue of shares where the price of the shares sold is considered exceeding the fair market value of those shares. The difference amount is reckoned as “income from other sources” and taxed at the rate of 30.9%. So a startup receiving equity in excess of its fair value will be taxed. Consider for example Company A whose shares are valued at Rs. 1000 each sells them to an angel investor for Rs. 1500, the difference of Rs. 500 would be treated as income and not as investment. India being one of the youngest nations in the world, skill development, entrepreneurship and commensurate job creation are vital for harnessing the potential of our youth. With many early stage startups being harrassed on account of raising money, the concerns of budding entrepreneurs and investors (under Section 68 of Income Tax Act, 1961) have resurfaced. This has resulted in 40% reduction in angel investment and seed funding, much to the disappointment of young startups in the country. Several high profile investors have been vocal about expressing their displeasure with the government over this. In December 2017, former Infosys board member Mohandas Pai tweeted to finance minister Arun Jaitley: _@arunjaitley: Sir Start ups are getting harassed by IT for raising Capital,threatening to consider it as income!very bad scene and very many are angry and upset,may shift overseas.Appeal process broken, takes 15 years. Pl intervene, @OMOIndian @narendramodi @amitabhk87 @rprasad_ Tweeting in support of abolishing angel tax, billionaire entrepreneur Kiran Mazumdar Shaw tweeted: _Why is the Modi Govt blundering on the Start-up economy by recklessly introducing a tax on angel investments?  This will only drive away investments overseas n starve Indian start ups. @NITIAayog __ n MoF r failing young entrepreneurs n even killing jobs. @PMOIndia @TVMohandasPai_ **So why was this tax brought in?** Touted as an anti-abuse measure, angel tax was introduced in 2012 to curb money laundering. The rationale was that grafts and black money could be disguised as angel investment so as to evade taxes. Although the issue of angel tax has been stewing over among startup founders and angel investors for quite some time, recent trouble erupted in November 2018 when the Ministry of Consumer Affairs (MCA) sent notices to over 2000 startups that had raised money since 2013. In some cases, startups received notices levying taxes amounting to almost 40-50% of the total income raised. After startups, investors started receiving notices, asking them to explain the valuation of the company they had invested in. **Was it an ill-conceived move?** The intention may have been good, but the government was not mindful of the problems that could arise out of it. How does a taxman value a startup? Don’t valuations change quickly with time? Is there a credible formula that can be used to ascertain the fair value of a startup? For startups with little or no revenue and dicey futures, the task of valuation is very tricky and cumbersome. The cost to duplicate method which is often the starting point of valuing startups is not error-free. It uses objective variables, but does not capture intangible assets and therefore does not accurately reflect a startup’s future potential (profits, sales, returns, brand value, etc.) Another method used is the Discount to Cash Flow method. It involves forecasting the cash flows which the company will generate in future. The trouble here is that it depends overmuch on the analyst’s ability to forecast the future market landscape and make assumptions about how a company will perform in the long run. Thus, it is extremely difficult to estimate the future value of a company when it is still in its infancy. Well established methods for valuing mature companies do not work in case of startups. **Way forward** Sources of funding may be unscrupulous in certain cases, but being cynical and disbelieving of the valuations submitted by startups is not conducive to businesses. While speaking at the third edition of the National Entrepreneurship Awards this year, Minister of commerce and industry and civil aviation, Suresh Prabhu stated that the government is completely supportive of entrepreneurs and all possible efforts are being made to solve the regulatory and financing issues for enterprises. Investors and entrepreneurs are hoping for an instrumental change in the current policies so that the startup ecosystem in the country is promoted for the benefit of all and sundry. There is an impending fear of investors backing out of funding new startups for fear of being caught up in litigations. In an economy that is hardly producing jobs, having a tight bureaucratic structure may not bode well for those wanting to set up their own enterprises. An anti-evasion provision that should punish people who use startups as a way to launder money and turn black money into white is becoming a problem for genuine, honest investors. After much backlash, the government last week eased the process of startups seeking tax exemption on investments made by angel investors. It notified changes to section 56 of the IT Act for easing startups gain recognition. Startups need to send an application to DIPP which will then be scrutinized by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). However, in order to be eligible for exemption, the startups need to fulfil certain criteria. They will be required to furnish bank account details and return of income for the last three years. The exemption limit has been raised to Rs. 50 lakh from the earlier Rs. 25 lakh for financial year preceding the year of investment. Also, the earlier requirement of a startup having to submit a fair value certificate from a merchant banker specifying the fair market value of shares has been done away with. New and young establishments will shape the growth story of this country. Government initiatives for such as Startup India, Standup India and Skill India will not yield results with rigorous tax laws discourage youngsters from setting up new businesses. The government should revisit the valuation methodology and come up with a balanced policy that does not harass a promising community of startups in this country. With millions of young people joining the labour force every month, stifling entrepreneurship and innovation will be disastrous for one and all. type=content&p=1584). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Opinion] Homi Mody’s Liberalism: From Pro-Business to Pro-Market URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/homi-modys-liberalism-pro-business-to-pro-market/ ### Body _For Homi Mody, excessive regulation and increased outlays on planning posed a threat to economic freedom inherent in a democracy. He would use the business organisations' platform to voice his criticism._On the ideological inclinations of Indian business houses in the colonial era, Political Scientist Stanley Kochanek makes an interesting generalisation. The Bombay-based business houses sought to cooperate with the British Raj while the Marwaris were mostly aligned with the Gandhian, nationalist Congress. The businessman cum politician Homi Mody fell in the former faction. Temperamentally liberal and a constitutionalist, Homi Mody straddled the public life in both colonial and Independent India as a member of two outsized minority groupings, _i.e. _big business and Parsis. Mody’s relative obscurity in all the flavours of the “idea of India” warrants a novel approach towards engaging with India’s past. A brief career sketch of Homi Mody would help make the point clear. In the political domain, he was the member of Indian Legislative Assembly (1929-43), Viceroy’s Executive Council (1941-43), the Constituent Assembly (1948-49); a participant in the First Roundtable Conference (1930) to represent the Indian commerce and industrial interests; a delegate to the ILO Conference (1937) in Geneva; an appointed governor of Bombay (1947); and the Governor of UP (1949-52). In the business domain, he was the president of the Bombay Mill Owners’ Association, the Indian Merchants Chamber, and the Employers’ Fund of India; the chairman of the Associated Cement Companies and the Central Bank of India; a founder of the Indian Banks’ Association; and a close aide to the House of Tatas. Homi Mody’s politics during the colonial period was limited to the domain of the legislature and civic activism. He wasn’t associated with any political party and mainly served the interest of the Bombay business. The British policy of functional representation in the assembly ensured his membership in the legislative body. In this regard, he stood out from the Congress nationalists, Communists, the Muslim League, and Hindu Mahasabha politicians who indulged in the politics of masses. In fact, Mody often came at the receiving end of the brickbats of Congress politicians and the nationalist press for his close association with the Raj. As the Indian nationalist triumph in 1947 has come to guide history-writing, political figures like Mody remain marginalised because their roles don’t fit in the grand narrative of the Congress nationalist struggle. However, the colonial period saw varied “Indian” actors, strategies, and interests at play that didn’t necessarily conform to Congress nationalism but deserve due recognition. Mody’s politics as such could be categorised as liberal, albeit with certain caveats. Mody’s biographer called him a liberal by instinct in the mould of Pherozeshah Mehta. Mehta was also his political mentor, argues his biographer. Interestingly, both Mehta and Mody were Parsis who came to dominate the Bombay municipality. During his long stint with the Bombay municipality, Mody led the Progressive group against the Congress nationalists. His focus mostly lay on addressing the administrative issues plaguing the city. In the early 1920s, he was an active advocate of Home Rule. In 1928, he protested against the appointment of an all-white Simon Commission. Later in 1943, he would resign from the Executive Council as a protest against the Viceroy’s failure to release an ill Gandhi on fast. But, his belief in constitutionalism made him averse to the Gandhian methods and philosophy. In this sense, he was close to the liberals like Sapru and Sastri. But, he wouldn’t join the National Liberal Federation because they were too “spineless” and vacillating for him. In contrast, Homi Mody’s interests compelled him to advocate for the business community with a decisive fervour, largely on account of his oratorical skills. His pithy speeches laced with witty quips would receive special mention in the press. Not to mention, they also landed him in unsavoury controversies. It is in his advocacy of Indian industrial interests that Mody takes an illiberal turn. His constant prodding for tariff protection, calls for serving’ national interest’, criticism of ‘consumers’ interest’ arguments, cartelisation of the textile market based on the Bombay-Lancashire collusion in the Mody-Lees Pact, etc. perfectly fits in the framework of pro-business policy. In fact, on his retirement from the chairmanship of the Bombay Mill Owners’ Association, the Indian Textile Journal called him “an ardent protectionist” in its glowing tribute! In the wake of heated assembly debates, Mody would champion economic nationalism to counter the free-market policy. For instance, at the annual meeting of the FICCI in February 1930, he moved a resolution favouring the Coastal Reservation Bill and hit out at the opponents: _“Somehow or other, whenever national industries of the country were going to be protected, this bogey of consumer’s interests was trotted out as if these people whose Business it was to throttle the economic progress of the country were all the time doing so because they felt for the dumb millions of the country and poor inarticulate and unfortunate consumers.”_ Today, Homi Mody’s attitude may come as a surprise to Indian liberals who see him as one of the founding members of the Swatantra Party, featured on the [Libertarianism](https://www.libertarianism.org/publications/essays/whither-indian-planning/) blog. But, the colonial-era liberals were the champions of economic nationalism. Gokhale argued for the infant industry protection; Dadabhai Naoroji propounded the drain of wealth theory; Justice Ranade criticised the conservative statesmen for sacrificing Indian interests in the name of free trade. Like the earlier group of liberals known as the Congress moderates, Mody sought to tread a fine line between the full-blown nationalism and cooperation with the Raj. Mody held the demand for dominion status desirable; supported the Hindu Child Marriage Bill; and approved of the federal scheme during the first Roundtable Conference. He was also an enthusiastic supporter of the 1918 Montagu-Chelmsford reforms and the 1935 Government of India Act. In these regards, he was no different from his liberal predecessors. The making of the Indian Republic brought with it uncertainty as the state-business relation was open for negotiation and reshaping. The provision for the universal franchise came along with an end to the functional representation. In terms of economic policy, the state-led centralised planning was seemingly poised to play a significant role, as evident from the constitution of the [National Planning Committee](https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/312676.pdf/) in 1938.  The capitalist tycoons made a pact with planning-driven development. They came with their own version – the Bombay Plan of 1944. Mody was no exception. He “whole-heartedly welcomed the appointment of an Advisory Planning Board” by the interim government in 1946. Soon followed the December 1947 Tripartite Industrial Conference, with the state, industrialists, and labour being the parties. The outcome was the Industrial Policy Resolution of 1948. The resolution, writes Shankkar Aiyar, “paid obeisance to Gandhian thought, was socialist in tone and business-friendly in content.” The respite, however, was short-lived. In February 1953, Homi Mody attacked the government policy towards the private sector for the first time. In his speech to the Employers’ Fund of India, he criticised “the flow of labour legislation, irksome control over profits, production and distribution.” In January 1956, he was part of the delegation of industrialists to the PM Nehru. In an off-the-record meeting, he pointed to the deviations already made from the 1948 IPR and drew attention to the difficulty of doing business in the license-permit Raj. The arrival of the Second Five-Year Plan in 1956 entailed full-blown state domination of the economy as the Mahalanobis model sought to develop India in its image. Homi Mody criticised the Plan for being too ambitious in the wake of constrained resources. Mody’s discontent was shared by a bunch of public-spirited professionals and leaders. BR Shenoy was the part of the advisory committee of the economists to the Second Five Year Plan and had written a [note of dissent](http://indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=2002251069.PDF) to the proposed measures. Rajaji’s [columns in the Swarajya](http://indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=477576353.pdf) were increasingly turning critical of the centralisation in both economy and polity. Minoo Masani was [battling the communist](https://spontaneousorder.in/minoo-masani-from-socialism-to-liberal-swatantra-party/) propaganda in the public sphere with his Democratic Research Service, Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, and Freedom First magazine. It probably was their close association with the Tatas that brought Mody [in contact](https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/AL1dGwrVLENYQm0YhuGXFI/Unaffiliated-the-case-of-1957.html/) with Masani. The incorrigible Masani persuaded Homi Mody and a few other friends to fight the 1957 general election. The idea was to form a grouping of independent parliamentarians to challenge Congress domination. Mody lost to the local Congress candidate and only Masani managed to reach the Lower House. The defeat, however, didn’t dampen Mody’s attacks on government policies. For Homi Mody, excessive regulation and increased outlays on planning posed a threat to economic freedom inherent in a democracy. He would use the business organisations’ platform to voice his criticism. The political consolidation of disparate oppositional voices was enabled by the [1959 Congress Resolution at Nagpur](https://www.epw.in/system/files/pdf/1959_11/4-5-6/the_nagpur_resolutionagrarian_organisation_pattern.pdf) proposing cooperative farming. The resolution came out in January, and in the next month, Homi Mody stressed the need for a new party. The enterprising Masani was on the task and managed to persuade Rajaji to come on the board. He had also approached JP though the venerable Gandhian declined on the ground of his retirement from party politics. With Rajaji in charge, the formation of the Party was announced publicly in a 4th July 1959 meeting. Masani wrote to Mody on 19th June offering a position in the organising committee. Mody accepted the offer and came on board as the treasurer. Pundit Nehru and other detractors of the Party called it a party of frustrated old people championing the reactionary and business interests. A 1967 [analysis](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=0v0KFAAQCLkC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false) of political donations, however, shows that the Congress received almost thrice as much from the business houses than the Swatantra. Political scientist Howard Erdman has also pointed out the difficulty for the Swatantra party in [attracting donations](https://archive.org/details/swatantrapartyin00erdm/mode/2up) from the business houses. No less than Rajaji [bemoaned](https://spontaneousorder.in/so-musing-pro-market-policies/) the unfair charge: “Calumny has had a start, and it keeps on maintaining the falsehood that the Swatantra Party is a rich men’s lobby. The rich men know where to go; they go to the Party in power.” As a member of the “inner circle” of the Party, Homi Mody mostly addressed the public meetings criticising the economic and foreign policy of the government. For instance, in an article published in 1965 by the Forum of Free Enterprise, he criticised the continued infatuation with planning despite repeated failures: _“Agricultural and industrial production is stagnant—there have even been signs of a recession—and there are shortages in practically every commodity and service. But that does not seem to dampen the enthusiasm of the Planners who, as soon as a plan is nearing its end, are ready with another.”_ Homi Mody enunciated the Swatantra principles in terms of democratic freedom, social justice, and efficient administration. In the domain of foreign policy, Mody and the Party both advocated a pro-western stance and were critical of the NAM posturing. In the wake of China’s India war in 1962, Homi Mody criticised Nehru’s conduct, “Our so-called neutrality has brought us very few friends, and it is time the Prime Minister stopped airing his concepts of international diplomacy which have landed us in so many difficulties.” In one of his public speeches, he also criticised the Defence Minister VK Menon’s decision of continuing the support to China for its UNSC membership. He demanded the withdrawal of the Indian ambassador to China; resignation of the Defence Minister; and constitution of a National Defence Council to enable effective decision-making for the war. For all his eloquent witticism, Homi Mody’s role in the Party seemingly was limited as he catered to the westernised, English-speaking, urban constituency of business interests. Nonetheless, it is no unremarkable feat for him to go against the grain when opening up against the government could do real damage to his personal business interests. It becomes more evident when putting in the context of his earlier moderate conduct in the Raj years, maintaining a delicate balance between the colonial administration and the Congress nationalists. What, however, explains the transition of the temperamentally liberal Mody from being a pro-business to a pro-market politician? Mody’s biographer suggests an answer. The political philosophy, in Homi Mody’s case, was guided by a sense of practicality that sought to gain concession without consternation. As the broader context of the political economy changed, Mody’s response invariably varied. What remained constant, though, was his liberal conviction and sense of humour. --- ## [Opinion] Hriday Nath Kunzru – The Liberal Institution Builder URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/hriday-nath-kunzru-the-liberal-institution-builder/ ### Body The trajectory of liberal nationalism in colonial India is characterized by an early prominence followed by a steady marginalization in the nationalist discourse. The moderate phase of the Indian National Congress reflects a strong liberal tradition which is also well-recognized. However, the liberal contribution to the nation-building project after 1947 remains sketchily documented. The liberal “makers of modern India” seem to have been overshadowed by their equally-worthy Gandhian, socialist and democrat compatriots in the historical narrative. As even the icons of Hindu right are being revived, the liberal figures remain disowned in an increasingly illiberal India characterized by social majoritarianism and economic statism. Hriday Nath Kunzru embodies this typical caricature of the “ignored Indian liberal”, dedicated to the task of nation-building in its early years. Kunzru’s public life though goes back to the anti-colonial movement. His illustrious career began with his request to join the Servants of India Society when Gopal Krishna Gokhale visited Allahabad in 1908. The dedicated and tough public servant that Gokhale was, he cross-questioned Kunzru in Calcutta and made him write an essay on Madras Congress. Not until 1909 did Kunzru was admitted into the society. In 1911, Gokhale sent him to the London School of Economics on the behest of Gandhi’s friend Sheldon Pollack. At LSE, Kunzru was taught by the likes of Alfred Marshall and Sir John Maynard Keynes. Back in India, he worked for the Indian National Congress until came the liberal split of 1918. He would go on to join the Indian National Liberal Federation along with Tej Bahadur Sapru, V S Srinivasa Sastri and C Y Chintamani. In upcoming decades, Kunzru emerged as one of the few major liberal voices in both the legislature and public domain as the nationalist movement swept aside the liberal agenda. Alike other fellow liberals, he advocated constitutional means and was against non-cooperation, he demanded self-government within the then Commonwealth and fought for the indigenization of military and bureaucracy. A major part of Kunzru’s public career was dedicated to legislative participation. He was a member successively of the Legislative Council of the United Provinces (1921-26), the Central Legislative Assembly (1926-30), the Council of State (1936), the Constituent Assembly (1946-50), the Provisional Parliament (1950-52), and finally the Rajya Sabha (1952-64). As a quintessential parliamentarian, he fostered the democratic decision-making tradition with his impeccable debating skills and intelligent interventions. The roots of Indian democracy in the Nehru years were, in no small measure, strengthened by the labour of the likes of Kunzru. Kunzru’s more significant contribution to Indian democracy though lays elsewhere in his role as an institution builder. It is also here that his liberal conviction very clearly comes into play. On the state funding of civil society institutions, he was clear that “if the public cannot support the institution, I would prefer it to be closed down, rather than go to the government for help!” His wide-ranging associations with civil society organizations included his stint as the national commissioner of the Bharat Scouts and Guides; president of the Film Cultural Association of Delhi, president of Uttar Pradesh Harijan Sevak Sangh, executive committee member of the Bharatiya Adimjati Sevak Sangh, and connection with the Children’s Film Society of India. He also founded two pioneering Indian institutions in the domain of International Studies – the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) and Indian School of International Studies (ISIS, which now is the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University). His adherence to liberal values was evident in the way he handled the functioning of these institutions. Former JNU professor and a close friend of Kunzru, Prof M S Rajan [wrote](https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/45070851.pdf?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents) that he would never interfere in the intellectual freedom of the educational and research institutions he headed. Rajan also attested to the liberal political values embodied by Kunzru including individual liberty, freedom of the Press and association, the sanctity of private property, and a multi-party political system. Kunzru argued that the best government was the one that governed the least. He advocated for the limitation of state power in favour of the freedom of citizens. As a liberal, he made the distinction between the good intention and outcome of state policy or action. His criterion for the judgment of an individual, policy, or action was very clearly rooted in liberal philosophy, writes M S Rajan. Kunzru’s pioneering legacy is thriving today in the Sapru House and Jawaharlal Nehru University which house the institutions that he built from scratch. He helped found ICWA in 1943 and remained its President from 1949 to 1976. Kunzru travelled around the country to collect funds for the construction of Sapru House building. Prof B Vivekanandan [recounts](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/002088171104700403) the event in his tribute to M S Rajan who was also part of the initiative. Prof Rajan brought skilled artisans from Makrana (Rajasthan) who were persuaded by Kunzru to design the building without charging wages. The publicly funded project thus came to fruition. ICWA would later go on to host the famous Asian Relations Conference in 1947. The decline of ICWA after the death of Kunzru in 1978 only underscores his role in fostering institutions with care. His other initiative in the Indian study of international affairs came in the form of the Indian School of International Studies. Established in 1955 by ICWA and affiliated to Delhi University, the School was meant to create an Indian intellectual tradition in international affairs. The project also had the support of Pandit Nehru who sought foreign policy scholars to steer India in international affairs. In 1961, ISIS became an autonomous deemed university and pioneered area studies in India. Though, it also became involved in [controversy](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/002088171104700403) in the 1960s over its refusal to accept Hindi imposition. With the formation of JNU in 1969, the government sought to merge ISIS with the newly formed university. Kunzru, though opposed to the move, allowed himself to be persuaded by the faculty and students. The institution came to be known as the School of International Studies (SIS). Kunzru’s association with the school continued as he would consult faculty members in preparation for his speeches and debates. SIS annually conducts the prestigious [H N Kunzru Memorial Lecture](https://www.jnu.ac.in/content/sis-organising-pandit-hridya-nath-kunzru-memorial-lecture-series/) in tribute to its great liberal founding father. This is perhaps, unfortunately, what remains the only living memory of him. type=content&p=1566). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Opinion] Indian Liberals Annual Lecture 2023 URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/indian-liberals-annual-lecture-2023/ ### Body **"The Dilemma of an Indian Liberal"** **Introduction** The Indian Liberals Project (www.indianliberals.in) is managed by the Centre for Civil Society, New Delhi, and supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, South Asia. Launched in 2015, indianliberals.in remains India’s only online digital portal offering an exhaustive and comprehensive archive of resources on the liberal thought traditions in India. The digital archive continues to take India’s liberal histories to a growing audience of scholars, researchers, and keen readers. Along with digitized original and rare collections from India’s more and lesser-known liberal giants, the archive also holds audio-visual content. We continue to strive to curate and digitize content in multiple languages, with the archive already holding translated texts from Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, and Bengali. The digital archive today holds nearly 1 lakh digitized pages. **The Indian Liberals Annual Lecture ** The Indian Liberals Annual Lecture was started in November 2021 to have the ideals of classical liberalism highlighted by contemporary voices in India. Delivered by an eminent liberal philosopher, historian, thinker, or economist, the objective of the Indian Liberals Lecture is to educate and disseminate liberal understandings of India’s past as well as its implications on the advancement of liberalism today. The objective is to highlight the importance of liberal values such as freedom of expression, free enterprise, rule of law, constitutionalism, participatory democracy, religious freedom, and all other human liberties. The Lecture is part of our efforts to increase interest in the necessity of liberal thought in maintaining India’s vibrant democratic ethos. The first Indian Liberals annual lecture was delivered on the 27th of November 2021 by Ms. Sagarika Ghosh, noted author and journalist, who spoke on **[The Case for Individual Liberty](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjOWX9zaUGc).** The second Indian Liberals annual lecture was delivered on the 27th of November 2022 by Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, ex-IAS (Andhra Cadre), politician, and activist on [**The Sc**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWyLdJoqDrs)**[ope for Political Liberalism in India](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWyLdJoqDrs).** In 2023, Mr. Gurcharan Das, noted author, commentator, and public intellectual, would deliver the Indian Liberals Annual Lecture 2023 on_ "**The Dilemma of an Indian Liberal."**_ **Duration: **The Indian Liberals Lecture is scheduled to be for 60 minutes which includes a tentative 45 minutes of the Speaker's key address followed by a 15-minute Q&A session with the audience. **Date & Time: **4th September (Monday), 2023 **Venue:** India International Centre (IIC), 40, Max Mueller Marg, Lodhi Gardens, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi, 110003 To apply, **[click here.](https://form.typeform.com/to/DYIG9wQL?typeform-source=ccs.in)** For any other queries, mail Sourya (sourya@ccs.in) or Anushka (anushka@ccs.in) --- ## [Opinion] Indian Liberals Essay Contest - Results URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/indian-liberals-essay-contest-results/ ### Body **Results** **First Prize**: Encoding Privacy in a Digital World by _Simran Massie _ **Second Prize: **Fourth Industrial Revolution by _Tanisha Mitra_ **Third Prize:** Encoding Privacy in a Digital World by _Sihvani A Tannu_ **Fourth Prize: **Diversity, Democracy, and Dissent by_ Lakshmi Ramanandan _ **Fifth Prize: **The Imagined Democracy in India by _Dilip P Chandran_ Congratulations to all winners and participants! Read the winning essays on the **Opinion** page. type=content&p=1591). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Opinion] Indian Liberals Essay Contest URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/indian-liberals-essay-contest/ ### Body **"They are slaves who dare not be In the right with two or three." - Minoo Masani** An online repository of Indian liberal writings, indianliberals.in was launched in 2015. The intent of the Indian Liberals archive which presently hosts up to 50,000 digitized pages is to offer exhaustive and comprehensive resources on the liberal discourse in India by ensuring high diversity of content. Indian Liberals portal is a platform for consolidating and curating Indian liberal literature, to document, preserve and disseminate the robust strands on liberalist thinking that have marked Indian history. **Eligibility:** Open to youth throughout India. You must be at least 18 years and no older than 30 years of age. **Last Date for Submitting Your Essays (via email): 15th May 2019** **Registration fee:** The is NO registration fee for this event. **Language:** Essays should be written in English. You are welcome to write in your native language, but it must be translated into english for submission. **Where to submit:** All entries should be mailed to indianliberals@ccs.in OR hinan@ccs.in before the last date (15th May) Along with the essay, you are required to send a photograph and a brief bio. **Topics:** You can choose any one of the following topics - Diversity, Democracy, and Dissent - Liberalism in India - Then and Now - Encoding Privacy a Digital World - A Liberal Constitution for India - Manifesto for a Prosperous India - Vigilantism, Nationalism and Techno-Nationalism - Fourth Industrial Revolution - What it means for India? **Prizes:** - First Prize: INR 9,000 - Second Prize: INR 6,000 - Third Prize: INR 3,000 - Fourth and Fifth Prizes: INR 2,000 All the winners will receive a certificate of recognition from Centre for Civil Society. - Essays must be no fewer than 700 and no more than 2000 words. Spelling errors will count against the final grades. - Name your submission file as "firstname_ilessay2019". Mail your photograph and brief profile along with the submission. - Winning essays will be featured on our Indian Liberals website, alongside a brief profile and picture of the author. - One entry per participant. - All entries become the property of Centre for Civil Society and will not be returned.They may be reproduced on our website and/or shared with third parties for purposes of marketing. - For any other queries, mail Hinan at hinan@ccs.in type=content&p=1594). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Opinion] Indian Liberals Interviews Hindol Sengupta URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/indian-liberals-interviews-hindol-sengupta/ ### Body **An award-winning author of nine best selling books, Hindol is an author and journalist. His book, “Recasting India” was shortlisted for the Hayek Prize while his other book, “Being Hindu” won the Wilbur Award in 2018. He has worked for Bloomberg TV, CNN and CNBC. In 2011, he was voted by the global ideas platform IdeaMensch on its list of 33 Entrepreneurs Who Make The World A Better Place. In this interview with Hinan Ali, he talks about his books, politics, growth, elections, and entreprenuership in India.** #### _**From journalism to film making to to a historian and author. Hindol, tell us more about this exciting journey.**_ When I think about my career, I think that one of the most pertinent ways to perhaps explain it is through the divide between post-independence Indian history before and after 1991. Economic liberalisation was a clear break in the narrative. It gave rise to a generation, my generation, which has completely changed the country. My work represents a break from many of the traditions that had been set before 1991. I am one of the few writers who emerged through the process of liberalisation to tell a very different story of India from the one that had been set and told and retold since independence from colonial rule in 1947. How is it different? Well, in the following ways. First, our generation that rose to adulthood and prominence alongside economic liberalisation has, unlike any other since independence, has only known a growing (economically) country. This rising prosperity, as unequal as it has been in many ways, has still been broad-based enough (pulling out more than 130 million from abject poverty) for this to have become a cultural expectation for a whole generation. Along with that has come the expectation of shedding diffidence. My work has been about telling the story of how India shed its economic, social, historical and cultural diffidence. There are traces of this argument in some of my earliest work which argued for an Indian idea of global design - why should India only be a consumer of design, content, armament, goods and services? India should be a producer, an ideator, a conceptualiser and not merely a consumer. My work has also tried to go beyond the usual tropes of Indian history-writing, with its elitist definitions of heroes and villains, and explored other perspectives to nation-building and nationhood. Whether its Being Hindu, which won the first Wilbur Award for a book on Hinduism in 70 years in America or retelling the modernist tale in the life of Vivekananda or rediscovering Vallabhbhai Patel, my attempt has been to delve into the stories neglected by elitist India and explore all the nuances and richness that a shallow, indeed callow, idea of cosmopolitanism brings. As a believer in the depth and richness of the philosophy of plurality in India, writers like me go far beyond the 'tolerance' matrix - which I frankly find pedestrian - to dig deep into an epistemology of understanding and respect which mere tolerance can never bring. My generation will have to rewrite the history of India, this much is clear. We have to shed this rather superficial 'idea of India' and explore the ideas of India - and there are many of those. A lifetime of exciting work awaits.I am, for instance, writing a new book with a Pakistani co-author which aims to interrogate the absurdities of the 'Aman ki Asha' level of analysis and study the India-Pakistan relationship in all its depth and magnitude, and with critical realism to put forth ideas that could help citizens of both countries zero in on an achievable idea of peace and prosperity for the region. #### _**India is poised to become the youngest workforce by 2020. Your book Recasting India talks about the rise of entrepreneurship in India. Has the government realized the importance of skill development and entrepreneurship?**_ It is not well-understood that all talk of entrepreneur-led economy means nothing unless a far greater level of formalisation does not take place. As important as the informal sector has been, there is no doubt that it has also led to a forced downsizing of Indian firms. This enforced malnutrition of Indian enterprise is a tragedy. The task of formalisation has now begun in earnest and our tax collection depth is increasing significantly. It cannot be disputed that demonetisation did not achieve some of its key goals. It did not for instance reduce the use of cash or did not keep enough cash from being returned. What it did achieve was a sort of massification of the use of digital payments systems and it widened and added depth to the tax collection pool. The combination of deeper banking, mass use of digital technology and easy identification is the base upon which a wide formalisation of the economy will take place, and is taking place. It is only when this happens that we can have a realistic conversation about an economy fuelled by entrepreneurship. #### _**Are you an advocate of market capitalism (and against an idea of a social welfare state)?**_ I am an advocate of market capitalism with the very important caveat that evidence from around the world shows us that the market can only work efficiently if extremely strong rules and regulations are already in place and the penalty for breaking the rules is very high. Without an appropriately powerful punishment system for breaking rules, no market system can work. But the moment you talk about punishment, a gaggle of irresponsible and, frankly, dim-witted, emoticon-driven screaming and shouting begins. This sort of thing is bogus and irresponsible. If we are committed to prosperity, then we must be committed to a market economy - with the complete understanding that there are a few things that a government needs to deliver. Everything cannot be delivered efficiently through the market alone. For instance, healthcare and heavy infrastructure are things where a government role can never be ignored. Also, law and order - this you cannot privatize. You need a state-run police system. I am for a small but very strong government. The government needs to do a few things but do those things very well. The rest it should leave to the markets._**Capitalism, like America for Amerigo Bonasera in The Godfather, has been good to me.” Has it been good to all? If not, why?**_ It hasn't all been good because the deep-rooted corruption and the rotten core of elitism, faux socialism in India. In the name of socialism, what the Indian elite has always wanted is to keep the proletariat away from the fruits of the country, to keep them starved for crumbs from their high table. Capitalism is about the opening of doors of opportunity whereas the Indian elite ensured that even with capitalism they only opened the doors just enough to let in their cronies and shut the doors for everyone else. I believe that the doors that the elite shut should be kicked open so hard that they collapse behind them. We the people of India need to rise and kick open these doors and let the winds of opportunity gladden every heart. The time is now. I see my career as a journey of facing one closed door after another and facing one bitter elite after another - and kicking each of the doors open (and kicking the elites hard) one by one. There is no class that has done more disservice to its own civilisation, and the potential of its own country women, as the Indian elite._**You say that the book (Being Hindu: Old Faith, New World and You) is an act of dissent against what you call “popularly known truths”. Can you explain as to what truths you are talking about?**_ That book, Being Hindu, in particular is an act of dissent against what I felt was stifling opinion-making among the Indian elite where many say the assertion of ideas of spirituality in the public sphere as antithetical to the propagation of the ideals of liberalism. I, on the contrary, believe that some of the most profound and complex liberal ideas and ideals are in fact contained in some of the most ancient treatise of India. As I have pointed out, the Nasadiya Sukta or the origin hymn in the Rig Veda even questions the existence of god. But all this wisdom has been lost. Students are barely taught this. A student in India goes through all the years of schooling with almost zero understanding of what in other parts of the world would be called the classics. That because of a fake debate, students are not taught Sanskrit as a compulsory subject is truly tragic. Not one ever suggested that reading the ancient Greek and Latin texts would 'convert' you to the pagan religions of the ancient world (has everyone who has ever studied The Odyssey become a believer in the goddess Athena? What utter nonsense!), and similarly an Indian student learning the basics of the Vedas and Upanishads as some of the most profound philosophizing in history would not be 'converted' to Hinduism. That is stupid, silly idea that has kept generations away from the classics. And this is my dissent - against the stupidity of the Indian education system. How can the study of classics be denied?_**Your book, The Man Who Saved India discusses Sardar Patel’s idea of India. What was his idea of India and has that idea been realized?**_ Sardar Patel's idea of India was based on the ideas of enterprise and national security, i.e., a small but strong state. We are far away from his vision - though since 1991 and economic liberalisation we have come closer to it - because in the public sphere there is little or no understanding of India's core security concerns or the importance of economic reforms as the single-biggest anti-poverty measure in Indian history. The Patelian idea of India, though, is not about mindless privatization. It is about sensible and widespread privatisation but also making state-owned resources more and more efficient by measures like pay linked to performance and better accountability of public sector workers, especially bureaucrats. The Patelian idea of India would have a far stronger intelligence gathering system. We cannot forget that one prime minister in India, though this man was prime minister very briefly, managed to destroy years of assiduously created intelligence gathering system including a strong Pakistan desk in the Research and Analysis Wing. This is the sort of tragedy that a Patelian idea of India would prevent._**India adopted a secular constitution. But we are far from realizing this ideal. Recent controversies over religious conversions, bans on books and movies, hate speeches and mob violence is deplorable. What should be done to fix this?**_ The founding fathers of the Indian constitution, in their wisdom, and after much debate, decided to keep away the explicit assertion of secularism through the addition of that word in the constitution. This is not because they did not want the constitution to be secular but because it already was. In fact, it was more than secular - which is really a word that denotes the division between church and state and is not exactly applicable to the Indian context - it was plural and promoted plural in its assertion of the freedom to practice and propagate any religious belief etc. They understood that this was superfluous as pluralism in spirit and letter was already part of the Indian constitution and the word, a borrowed term from a different culture whose meaning was not very relevant to the Indian lived experience, might not be helpful in the Indian context. However, this word, along with socialism, were brought into the constitution illegally when parliament was not in session during the Emergency. As B. R. Ambedkar suggested, there was no need for these. There were other clauses in the constitution that anyway carried the spirit of greater material equality and pluralism. I am a believer in the pluralism of India. Pluralism is the lived experience of India. No one can take that away. The state needs to equally - in equal measure - exit from interfering on religious matters except when it is a case of impinging on fundamental rights. We have a curious case in India today that the state controls religious institutions of only one religion - Hinduism. These kinds of things are problems areas that we need to resolve. There are people who say that there was no 'Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb'. That's not true. We did have, and we do have, many examples of a truly heartwarming composite culture. But we also have a long history of terrible violence, plunder, invasion, destruction and suffering. Our history has conflict and it has bonhomie. We should recognise, contemplate, understand both. As I wrote in Being Hindu, one does not diminish or negate the other._**You gave us a list 100 things to know and debate before we voted to elect a new Parliament in 2014. What would be your first five things to know and debate before voting in the upcoming general elections?**_ a. A deeper, and more evolved, understanding of the India's national security challenges and where those challenges comes from. This is absent in our public sphere. b. A reflection on the question: do we as a people want our country to exist in the form that it does, in the very map that we use today? If yes, what would it take to preserve it? c. An appreciation of how far we have come since 1991 and all the progress that has only been possible because the country opened its economy. We are being brainwashed to hate all our achievements since 1991, to hate economic liberalisation. This is wrong. We have to appreciate that this was a seminal turning point that changed all our lives in myriad ways - mostly for the better. d.  A massive questioning of the environmental disaster that we face. Every major Indian city is unlivable and just the act of living in them is killing people. e. Why is that we still one of the most abysmal standard of primary education and healthcare in the world? How can we continue to grow and prosper if this remains true? type=content&p=1587). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Opinion] Indian Liberals, Quest Magazine and India's First Dictatorship URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/indian-liberals-quest-magazine-india-first-dictatorship/ ### Body _In what could be seen as the unfolding of high modernist ideology, Quest’s criticism took the form of rationalist railing against the religious objection to family planning. In its support of forced family planning and sterilization, the limits of Indian liberalism become apparent in terms of its rationalist high modernity and economic anxiety._India under the Emergency (1975-77) imposed by Indira Gandhi saw the suspension of fundamental rights, electoral democracy, and press freedom. A recent book aptly calls this authoritarian turn India’s first dictatorship. For the better, the dictatorship had its detractors as well who faced the risk of prison time yet resisted Indira Gandhi’s throttling of India’s audacious democratic experiment. India’s liberal intelligentsia formed a small but significant part of this resistance. One of the major intellectual outposts for Indian liberals during this period was _Quest_ magazine. Published by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (ICCF), _Quest _sought to advance the cause of cultural freedom and anti-communism in India. **Indian Anti-communism: ICCF and Quest** The ICCF was affiliated with the Paris-based Congress for Cultural Freedom (CCF), a covert CIA offensive to counter Soviet propaganda in the Cultural Cold war. Broadly speaking, the Cultural Cold War was a global competition between the Free World and Socialist Camp to win the heart and minds of people by way of covert/overt propaganda and soft power operations. India as a non-aligned nation fit into the CCF scheme of things so much so that the second CCF conference was organized in Bombay. Subsequently, ICCF was[formed](http://www.freedomfirst.in/freedom-first/about-iccf.aspx) under the tutelage of a broad anti-communist tent, comprising Jayaprakash Narayan, Minoo Masani, Asoka Mehta, and A D Gorwala. Initially, the group[launched](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/issues/pdf/1.pdf) _Freedom First_ magazine in 1952, edited by Minoo Masani. But Masani’s sharp anti-Nehru editorial line in _Freedom First_ made the Paris-based CCF secretariat uncomfortable. For Michael Josselson at the Paris headquarter of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, antagonizing Nehru would only make the job difficult for CCF in India. Nehru had already made clear his dislike of foreign propaganda efforts in India trying to affect his government’s foreign policy. Consequently, soon followed in 1954 the CCF decision to launch another Indian magazine which was less political and more literary in its tone. _Quest_, thus, officially arrived in the Indian public sphere in August 1955. By 1975, when the Emergency was declared, it was pretty clear that _Quest_’s impact on Indian public discourse had been minuscule. Published in English which largely remains the language of upper-class elites in India, the magazine had limited circulation and was seen as a [tool of US propaganda](https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9781137598660) by the left-leaning Indian public intelligentsia. During the Emergency, historian Eric Pullin has [argued](https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9781137598660), ‘**_Quest_**** opposed Gandhi’s policies only indirectly, if at all. The few articles that attempted to consider India’s interruption in constitutional government did so generally and theoretically.**’ (emphasis mine) Pullin cites a few articles published during the Emergency to make his point. These include the ICCF statement on censorship, Rajni Kothari on the crisis of India’s representational system, and the Pavnar resolution on restoring democracy in India. However, a more detailed perusal of articles related to the Emergency published in _Quest_ would make a plausible case for _Quest_’s clear oppositional stand on the Emergency.   **Press Censorship and Bureaucratic Centralisation** The September/October 1975 [issue](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/quest/pdf/QT097.pdf) of Quest published the ICCF Executive Council’s resolution on censorship. As an organization dedicated to protecting cultural freedom from the totalitarian onslaught, ICCF affirmed its commitment to freedom of expression during the Emergency. In an unequivocal resolution, the Executive Council demanded ‘an immediate revocation of the pre-censorship regulations and the restoration of the freedom of the press.’ In another article on the contemporary situation in the same issue, Daya Krishna sounded alarm on the future of democracy. He saw in the continuation of Emergency the betrayal of hope for liberal democracy’s audacious success in the Third World. Later in the March/April 1976 [issue](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/quest/pdf/QT100.pdf), A B Shah’s editorial on censorship again affirmed ICCF’s commitment to freedom of expression and steadfast opposition to the Emergency. In a clear reference to Emergency’s press censorship provision, Shah argued if the press is in chains, ‘it can neither be healthy nor uphold democracy.’ He also reminded Indira of his father’s commitment to absolute press freedom that he made in a speech in 1950: ‘I would rather have a completely free press with all the dangers involved in the wrong use of that freedom than a suppressed or regulated press.’ Shah’s no-hold-barred editorial raised objection over government authority threatening the indomitable A D Gorwala whose journal _Opinion_ was scathingly critical of the Emergency. _Quest_’s fearless editor made it clear that his publication was ‘‘prepared to face the consequences’ of our action.’     Quest’s November/December 1975 issue [published](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/quest/pdf/QT098.pdf) political scientist Rajni Kothari’s incisive speech that indirectly situated Indira’s Emergency in the long context of centralization of power under India’s centralized _administrative state_. Kothari argued that the centralization of power in the bureaucratic executive machinery had come at the expense of party organization and evaded democratic accountability. This centralizing tendency was further exacerbated by the planning model of economic development and endemic political instability in states which necessitated control from the high command. As Pullin has argued, Kothari’s remarks could be seen as an indirect swipe at excessive centralization that was a core feature of the Emergency. **Liberal Criticisms** The pages of Quest also saw an interesting debate on the Paunar statement on the Emergency which is understandable given the influence wielded by Vinoba Bhave. A meeting of public intellectuals called the All-India Acharya Sammelan saw the discussion on the current situation of democracy suspension. The gathering demanded a return to democratic normalcy but in a balancing attempt also praised ‘constructive developments’ of the crackdown on hoarding, the decline in the labor and student unrest, and check over inflation. However, in a clear stand against draconian trampling of fundamental rights, the resolution decried the arrests of political activists, curtailment of civil liberties, and press censorship. The conference resolution also called for constitutional amendment enacting fundamental duties for citizens, recommended curb over rich consumption, paid obeisance to Gandhi’s trusteeship doctrine, worried about population explosion, suggested Bhave’s mantra of self-restraint as the solution, decried ‘directionless’ science which can only be saved by an infusion of spirituality. The notable participants of the conference included Hindi literary figures like Jainendra Kumar and Kamil Bulke, former bureaucrat Tarlok Singh, economist P R Brahmanand, and BITS, Pilani director C R Mitra. The Paunar resolution instigated a vigorous debate in the pages of _Quest_. In his editorial, A B Shah endorsed the Paunar resolution but also made his difference known. Shah’s disagreements were concerned with the dubious statement on science and spirituality as well as the stress on the Fundamental duties of citizens. He, however, appreciated what he saw as the Conference’s unambiguous demand for lifting the Emergency. In the March/April 1976 [issue](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/quest/pdf/QT094.pdf), an author under the pseudonym ‘S’ also objected to parts of the resolution. In an affirmation of liberal constitutionalism, S took objection to the resolution on inserting fundamental duties in the constitution. For the author, a constitution is supposed only to determine the rights of citizens and division of power among state organs. In so far as citizens have obligations to each other and the state, these could be demarcated in the civil and criminal codes. The moral bearing brought by Bhave’s saintly proclivity also came under modern, liberal rationalist attack in the pages of _Quest_. Released in [May 1976](http://www.freedomfirst.in/uploads/quest/pdf/QT101.pdf), _Quest_’s last issue published a detailed criticism of the Swaran Singh Committee’s report. Authored again by S, the article took objection to recommendations including subordination of fundamental rights to directive principles, abolition of the right to property as a fundamental right, inclusion of terms ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ in the preamble, and curtailment of judicial review. In its affirmation of liberal constitutionalism based on individual rights and separation of power; support to private property rights; and advocacy of judiciary’s check on the executive, _Quest_’s criticism of the Swaran Singh committee report was clearly liberal in tenor. **Compulsory Sterilization** Interestingly though, it was on the issue of population control and compulsory sterilization that the _Quest_ lent support to the Indira Gandhi regime. Two articles dealing with the issue, both authored by S and published in 1976, supported the Maharashtra government’s legislative measure mandating sterilization to promote family planning. The justification was provided in terms of lack of natural resources and inability to feed ‘an ever-growing population’. The articles also criticized Muslim and Catholic organizations objecting to compulsory sterilization bid by the Maharashtra government. In what could be seen as the application of high modernist ideology, _Quest_’s criticism took the form of rationalist railing against the religious objection to family planning. In its support of forced family planning and sterilization, the limits of Indian liberalism become apparent in terms of its rationalist high modernity and economic anxiety. **Conclusion** During the Emergency, _Quest_ published in total six issues, from July 1975 to March 1976. These issues included _at least_ eight articles, editorials included, which were related to the Emergency. Far from indirect and theoretical opposition to Mrs. Gandhi’s suspension of Indian democracy (Pullin’s argument), as the above analysis purports to show, _Quest_ stood for press freedom, lent support to A D Gorwala’s _Opinion_ journal, debated the Pavnar statement on lifting the Emergency, criticized the Swaran Singh Committee report, and discussed the trend towards bureaucratic centralization in India.  To be sure, Quest also lent support to the forced sterilization drive of the Maharashtra government. Yet, instead of facing the wrath of government censor, the editors themselves decided to shut the magazine in mid-1976. Given the fact that _Quest_ was established in 1954 with the mandate to focus less on politics and more on cultural issues, it could plausibly be argued that the journal took a clear oppositional stand against the Emergency, with the support to compulsory sterilization program being the sole exception. Eric Pullin’s study on _Quest_, thus, warrants revision when it comes to the magazine’s role during the Emergency. However, Indian liberals’ opposition to the Emergency was not only limited to the pages of _Quest_. _Freedom First_, another Indian liberal magazine run by enterprising Minoo Masani, played an even more active role in fighting the Emergency. --- ## [Opinion] Iqbalunnisa Hussain: A Stalwart of Muslim Women’s Education URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/iqbalunnisa-hussain/ ### Body Iqbalunnisa Hussain's immense contribution to feminist literature and her vision for women's education played a tremendous role in reforming the lives of Muslim women in the 20th century. Her understanding of skill-based education for women is relevant to this day.In India, deep-seated patriarchal attitudes continue to subject women to subjugation and discrimination in the 21st century.  We have, however, come a long way from the state of affairs in the 20th century. The final years of the British Raj in India saw the rise and works of a spirited feminist and a liberal activist, Iqbalunnisa Hussain. She spent her life resisting orthodoxy and judgement from against emancipation and education of women, specifically Muslim women. Iqbalunnisa Hussain was born to Salima Ahmed in 1897, in Bangalore, Karnataka. Like most young girls at the time,  Iqbalunnisa fell prey to child marriage and was married off at the tender age of 15. She was wedded to a government official, Syed Ahmed Hussain. Her husband was an encouraging and progressive presence in her life. He pushed Iqbalunnisa to complete her education post their marriage. Iqbalunnisa proved to be an exceptional and talented student, winning accolades such as the gold medal for her undergraduate studies from Maharani’s College, Mysore. She then proceeded to travel to the United Kingdom in 1933 for her postgraduate studies in education, from the University of Leeds. Her oldest child out of seven, an infant at the time, accompanied her too. This was a major stride in Indian women’s quest for education. Iqbalunnisa was among the few Indian Muslim women of her time who held a degree from the United Kingdom to their name. Iqbalunnisa was fluent and well-versed in Persian and Urdu, and eventually in English too. Her grasp of the three languages coupled with her critical analysis of patriarchy enabled her to make immense contributions to feminist literature. Among these, the most prominent contributions were _Changing India: A Muslim Woman Speaks_ (1940) and _Purdah and Polygamy: Life in a Muslim Household_ (1944). _Changing India: A Muslim Woman Speaks_ (1940) is a collection of her essays that have been compiled together into a book.[_Purdah and Polygamy: Life in a Muslim Household (1944)_](https://thewire.in/books/iqbalunnisa-hussain-purdah-and-polygamy) is another highly acclaimed work of hers. The novel acts as a scathing critique of patriarchy, highlighting the problematic ideologies of the society which relegate women to a discriminatory status.  **Literary Contributions to the Feminist Movement** _Purdah and Polygamy: Life in a Muslim Household_ belongs to the genre of social realism, and deploys sarcasm often. The story is set in an unnamed Indian city, and revolves around gender-based tensions and conflicts that unfold within the ‘high walls’ of the protagonists’ family’s residence, named _Dilkusha_. The book tackles the themes of classical patriarchy and female solidarity. _Purdah and Polygamy: Life in a Muslim Household_ has garnered tremendous praise for a number of reasons. Notably, it was one of the first full-length English fiction work by a Muslim woman in British India. As argued by literary journalist and writer Muneeza Shamsie, _Purdah and Polygamy: Life in a Muslim Household_ is written in English as the language provides a ‘secular intellectual space’. Writing in English allowed liberal authors such as Iqbalunnisa Hussain to explore and write about controversial themes that would otherwise run into the risk of antagonising religious sentiments. Additionally, 19th century Indian society abhorred the idea of women learning to read and write in English. This was particularly true for Muslim men who belonged to highly patriarchal households. The act of writing and publishing a critique of  patriarchy, entirely in English, was a giant act of rebellion on Iqbalunnisa Hussain’s part. Her books are not solely targeted towards the men of the community. Iqbalunnisa did not spare the women belonging to what she terms[“uncivilised families](https://www.dawn.com/news/1204906),” for they shunned the reforming times and instead tied themselves to a regressive and archaic approach towards life. She goes on to label them as ‘she-dragons’, and expresses her anger at the lack of awareness and creativity that plagues these women. She also reprimands them for their attachment to the role of ‘selfish mischief-mongers’. Hence, Iqbalunnisa’s liberal outlook at life and breaking open women from their designated subservience attacked the patriarchal mind-set, and applied to both men and women. **Hussain’s Influential Contributions as an Educationist** As a pioneer for women’s education, Iqbalunnisa began her career as the headmistress of a primary school. Over time, her goals as a feminist and educationist led her to convert the school into an Urdu Girls’ Middle School. This step fuelled the fire of extreme ostracisation that Iqbalunnisa was already facing. The backlash from society, especially within her community, was quite severe. Despite the opposition forces, Iqbalunnisa Hussain treaded ahead and contributed towards Muslim women’s education. She achieved this by setting up an association of Muslim women educators, as well as establishing a school of home industries for Bangalore’s Muslim women. Notably, she was also a member of the historic Girl Guide Movement. In _Changing India: A Muslim Woman Speaks_, Iqbalunnisa Hussain delves into the educational lessons she grasped through the Girl Guide Movement. Through the essay _The Educative Value of the Girl Guide Movement_, she sheds light upon the scantiness that exists in the Indian education system, which ends up making women feel incapable of stepping out of their homes and working physically and psychologically. Her solution to the same was offered through her tireless advocacy for upskilling women and providing them with vocational training. She believed that developing a resourceful skill set was an essential aspect of reforming Indian education and making it accommodating of women from all walks of life. Along with her goal of educating girls and women, Iqbalunnisa was also a vocal critic of societal evils widely prevalent in her day, such as child marriage. **Contributions to Improving the State of Muslim Women** Arguably, her centre-most concern was the status and role that a Muslim Woman held within her community. Iqbalunnisa Hussain argued that the plight of Muslim women emerged from a male-centric view of society. She also felt that as individuals, Muslim women find themselves in a time-warp that does not encourage them to strive for better status. When appealing to the community about the emancipation of Muslim women from the shackles of the patriarchy, she deployed Islam, and presented the faith in a modern light. She called for the tenets of the faith to be interpreted and practiced in a way that does not trap women, but instead frees them. She elaborates in _Changing India: A Muslim Woman Speaks_, that Islam is a ‘religion of hope’. This proved to be an incredibly instrumental step, especially in pre-partition India, when there were increasing associations of backwardness with religion. Her contributions in this sphere also attempted to alienate faith from how it ended up being practiced. **Opposition and the Unwavering Spirit of Hussain** For her revolutionary and liberal advocacy within the feminist movement, Iqbalunnisa Hussain was also put through severe harsh criticism from the authoritative orthodoxy. She felt that communities suffered and were pushed into regressive practices with major influence from ‘male-dominated’ families. Patriarchal communities, regardless of faith, made women’s lives increasingly difficult and restrictive. No exception to this, she argues that Muslim patriarchy too worked persistently on making women dependent on the choices of the men of the households. She was tenacious in her movement to urge Muslim women to break the shackles that bound them to a sub-servient role, and fight for their agency and autonomy. Just like her continuous efforts, the ostracism too seemed endless. Despite the naysayers, Iqbalunnisa Hussain went on to represent India at the[Twelfth International Women’s Conference in Istanbul](https://feminisminindia.com/2021/05/31/iqbalunnisa-hussain-muslim-women-education/) - a platform for strong-minded, influential, and able women from all across the globe, to come together. **Inspirations, Influences, and Legacy** Iqbalunnisa Hussain’s return from the United Kingdom proved to be the first major step in her road to revolutionise the lives of Indian women- particularly, Muslim women. She led a path-breaking movement to dismantle the patriarchy. Using the power of educating women, and her expressive literary contributions, she managed to stand out of the norm and crack open the insecurity of men, who seethed at the sight of her success and capabilities. Her influence on her contemporaries and on the generations of women who have come after her, is unforgettable. Other reformers such as Khwaja Altaf Hussain authored pieces that shed light on the oppression faced by women. Scholar and reformist duo Mumtaz Ali and Mohammadi Begum together launched a newspaper called _Tehzeeb-e-Niswaan_. The newspaper laid emphasis on societal evils such as child marriage and woemn’s illiteracy. To this day, the feminist movement, just as other liberal struggles, are dismissed within orthodoxy as ‘modern’ and ‘western’ concepts that are solely aimed at dismantling the status-quo. Iqbalunnisa Hussain’s life and works, among many others, are proof of the fact that the struggle for gender equality has had trailblazing contributions in India’s glorious history. --- ## [Opinion] Kanuparti Varalakshmamma: A Feminist Writer And Social Activist URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/kanuparti-varalakshmamma-feminist-writer-social-activistwoman-doctor/ ### Body The following article revisits Kanuparti Varalkashmamma’s literary contributions to social change and improving women’s lives. Kanuparti Varalakshmamma was a prominent Telugu writer and social worker who contributed to the women’s movement during the Indian freedom struggle. Born in 1896 in Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh, she was encouraged by her father and brothers to read and write. She married early and was supported by her husband in pursuing her social and literary activities. She used to read and write letters for illiterate women around her and thus developed an interest in writing stories herself. She began her writing journey with a Telugu translation of an English story. It was published under her pseudonym ‘Saudamini’ in the monthly journal, ‘_Anasuya’_. She later wrote many stories like _Kuteeralakshmi_, _Penshanu Puchukunna Naati Ratri_, and novels like _Vasumati and Viswamitra_. She wrote columns named _Maa Chettuneeda Muchatlu_ in Andhrapatrika and _Sarada Lekhalu_ in Gruhalakshmi. She established _Stri Hitaishini Mandali_ in Bapatla, an organisation for women’s welfare.  She wrote and spoke vociferously on contemporary issues like Child marriage, Sarada Act, non-cooperation, Divorce Act, and so on.  Kanuparti Varalakshmamma was a pioneer of a literary process called _Lekha Sahityam_. These writings are in the form of letters written by the author or another fictional character and are in a casual tone similar to day-to-day conversations. _Sarada Lekhalu_ is one such literary marvel created by Varalakshmamma. It is a compilation of letters published as a column over six years that she wrote to her imaginary friend Kalpalata under the pseudonym Sarada. Through these letters, she promoted awareness, evoked debates about many social evils and problems faced by women, and tried to educate women about their rights. One of the letters narrates a conversation among women on a train about child marriage while Sarada was returning home from a trip.   An old woman says, ‘I heard they are bringing a law restricting a girl’s minimum age of marriage to fourteen years. Isn’t it against our customs and traditions?’ Then a young widow says, ‘Let it be! I was married off when I was five, and my husband died three months later. At least the women in the future would be saved from such episodes.’ Then the old woman replies, ‘Widowhood is a matter of fate. Can you avoid it even if you are married after fourteen years?’ The young widow responds, ‘At least women don’t have to experience it before fourteen. They would know what marriage is and who the husband is. Now I can’t even remember the face of my husband. Is it fair?’ The old woman had no answer. Another woman says, ‘This law has to be passed. Only then would the parents stop selling and trading their daughters in exchange for something. Girls are merely a tradable currency or a useless coin in the hands of their parents. My mother died when I was five, and my father was fifty. Society and his relatives advised him to remarry. Do you see the irony? If an old man becomes a widower, he is allowed to satisfy his desires by marrying someone again. But if a young girl becomes a widow, she has to give up all her desires and live the rest of her life alone. A young widow is expected to embrace _Vairagya_(renunciation), and an old widower is expected to embrace a new wife. How is this fair?’ She continued, ‘His new bride’s parents wanted my hand in exchange for their son, and my father agreed. My husband was sixteen and addicted to all kinds of vices. Parents don’t care whom their daughter is getting married to as long as their son is getting married. They care only about their son’s welfare and happiness and are willing to sacrifice their daughter’s life. Isn’t she also their offspring? My husband became a criminal and went missing. My father died, and my stepmother asked me to leave the house. Now I have nowhere to go!’ ‘My father sacrificed my life for his happiness. My in-laws sacrificed their daughter’s life for their son’s happiness. If women like me had agency over themselves, would they let these kinds of incidents happen? Considering the stories of such women, I support _Har Bilas Sarda’s Child Marriage Restraint Act_. I request all kind men and women to support this Act too. If women oppose this Act, they are digging their own graves. Our ancient scriptures don’t support child marriages as well. Child marriages continue to happen only because of our.…’ The train came to a halt ending the conversation abruptly, and Sarada had to get down at her station. In another letter, she described the abrupt rise in the number of child marriages just before this Act was implemented. In a letter published two years later, she discussed how the proposed amendments to the Sarada Act allowed parents to apply for an exemption to get their daughter married before the age of fourteen and how they made the Act useless. She used a simple conversational writing style in _Sarada Lekhalu_ to ask ingenious questions and promote awareness about women’s issues, contributing to the social movement of pre-independent India. --- ## [Opinion] Karsandas Mulji – The Forgotten ‘Indian Luther’ URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/karsandas-mulji-the-forgotten-indian-luther/ ### Body _Karsandas Mulji's reformist legacy is rooted in his efforts to break through conformist tendencies and question even the most superior authority. He is most famously known for the Maharaj Libel Case, 1852._Karsandas Mulji, a contemporary of Dadabhai Naoroji, was one of the pioneer Indian social reformers working for the cause of women emancipation. In 1850s-60s, Mulji was a prominent member of the “[Bombay intelligentsia](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=1V40DAAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA121#v=onepage&q=bombay%20intelligentsia&f=false)” in conflict with the “merchant aristocracy” over social issues. Mulji’s place in Indian history as a reformer is due to the Maharaj libel case in 1862, which earned him the [title](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=1V40DAAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA119#v=onepage&q=martin%20luther%20of%20banian%20caste&f=false) of “a Reformer, a Martin Luther of the Banian Cast”. Mulji’s early life was devoid of comfort as he was disowned by his family. He took to multiple professions – writer, editor, teacher, cloth merchant, and government administrator – to make ends meet. His reformist credentials, argues [J Barton Scott](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=1V40DAAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA122#v=onepage&q&f=false), put him at a disadvantage when it came to finding stable work. Mulji’s ideas were shaped in the [Elphinstone](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=1V40DAAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA121#v=onepage&q&f=false) of the 1840s-50s, where he shared space with the likes of Dadabhai Naoroji and Mahadev Govind Ranade. The Elphinstonians, well-versed in Western texts and the language of the new elites, were favourably positioned in the British-led administration. Mulji was no different; he was [mocked](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=1V40DAAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA121#v=onepage&q&f=false) for wearing trousers which amounted to a classic instance of Macaulay man. His reformism was first visible in public domain in 1853, with the publication of an essay advocating foreign travel, which was read in front of Buddhi Vardhak Hindu Sabha. The [essay](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=1V40DAAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA122#v=onepage&q=buddhi%20vardhak%20sabha) made him a rising star of the reform world. However, another draft essay advocating widow remarriage had him thrown out of his widowed aunt’s home, leading to his withdrawal from the Elphinstone College. Afterwards, he took work as a newspaper editor and school administrator. Then came the _Satya Prakash_ in 1855, a reformist paper targeting Gujarati Hindus. The paper had a meagre subscription of 500, yet its impact on the Bombay’s conservative Gujarati Hindu community can’t be overstated. In the 1850s, he went on to edit a series of newspapers. However, it was an article, _The Original Religion of the Hindus and the Present Heterodox Opinions,_ that has come to define the legacy of Mulji. Published in 1860, it was a reformist critique of the Vallabhacharyas and accused one of the Maharajas of sexual misconduct with the devotees. The Vallabha sampradaya is a Vaishnavite sect worshipping the child-god Krishna. The Maharajas are considered the priestly authority, acting as a mediator between the devotee and God. In response to the attack by Mulji, the Maharaja filed a libel case against him. The case was [called](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=1V40DAAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA124#v=onepage&q=greatest%20trial%20of%20modern%20times&f=false) the “greatest trial of modern times since the trial of Warren Hastings”. After the heated debate and salacious newspaper coverage, the Court dismissed the claims of the Maharaja. The decision was hailed as a victory for reform-minded liberals. For his contribution in exposing the corrupt practices of religious guru, Mulji was hailed as “Indian Luther” by his biographer B N Motiwala. However, historian [J Barton Scott](https://www.academia.edu/6412719/Luther_in_the_Tropics_Karsandas_Mulji_and_the_Colonial_Reformation_of_Hinduism_Journal_of_the_American_Academy_of_Religion_) has argued that representing Mulji as a reformer involved in _Protestantizing Hinduism_ would be an inadequate assessment of his legacy. Rather a more sound approach would be “to situate him within a network of reformist exchanges” as part of horizontal linkages with fellow reformists in Britain. In assessing his legacy, [Scott](https://www.academia.edu/6412719/Luther_in_the_Tropics_Karsandas_Mulji_and_the_Colonial_Reformation_of_Hinduism_Journal_of_the_American_Academy_of_Religion_) has further argued that Mulji’s reform agenda was “not simply about liberating liberal subjects but rather about producing them.” In that sense, Mulji deserves to occupy the place among the founding fathers in Indian liberal pantheon. **![](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Latest-Photograph-264x300.jpg)** --- ## [Opinion] M. G. Ranade on Wealth Creation URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/m-g-ranade-on-wealth-creation/ ### Body _A scholar, judge, reformer and liberal, M.G. Ranade played a significant role in dissecting the root causes behind India's economic stagnation in the second half of the 19th century. This article analyses two speeches by Ranade that outline his vision for wealth creation and economic progress in India.     _The latter half of the 19th century was very significant for the growth of Liberalism in India. For the first time census data of a country as vast as India was released. This data revealed unseen patterns and some crucial facts about the country and its economy. The concern of economic decay in the country prompted the intellectuals and businessmen to meet on 8th December 1872, at Phadtare Wada in Pune. The main motivation behind the meeting was to contemplate new ways of creating wealth and a skilled workforce in India. Rao Bahadur M.G. Ranade was invited to discuss the implications of the political condition and the economic policy of the British Indian government. He delivered two speeches in the meeting which saw the attendance of the members of Pune Vyapar Company. The arguments in these speeches were later collated by Vinayak Balkrishna Damle and were verified by Justice Ranade himself. A booklet was published in August 1873 with the title ‘_Vyapar Sambandhi Vyakhyane_’ which translates to ‘Lectures on Trade’.  In the first speech, Ranade discussed the reasons why the economic condition in India was exacerbating rapidly.  Any thinking mind in India could observe that India had a stagnation of sorts – people around were working hard and urban centres were increasing rapidly, the trade was growing and yet the nation was staggering. Many could see this phenomenon but very few could make a complete sense of it. Mahadeo Govind Ranade belonged to the latter category. He likened this situation to wasting disease. In the first few days and months, one doesn’t realize that he or she is suffering from a fatal disease because it doesn’t show any apparent sign of having swallowed the person. But it keeps on eroding the health of that person from inside. Similarly, the economic condition of India was deteriorating day by day and the people hadn’t yet realised that it was fatal for the nation. Ranade identified two root causes of this phenomenon. First, at that time India was being governed from London. It wasn’t just his criticism of the British who were governing India, but it was also about the place from where they administered the country. Secondly, India lacked the industries and the means of acquiring the skills and talents necessary for modern industries. India had not been a beneficiary of the industrial age and hence Indians didn’t have the means to gain the skills required to run the industries. The genius of Ranade lies in the fact that he used data to substantiate his economic arguments. He used ballpark estimates when data wasn’t easily available. He also supported his tentative estimates with reasons sound enough to prove that those estimates were moderate and were unlikely to produce a skewed result. For instance, he calculated and compared the per capita tax levied on the people in the territories and provinces governed by the British. According to him, it was Rupees 9 per person per annum in the British territories. On the other hand, the average tax for the people in princely states was technically higher. He estimated it to be around Rupees 12 per person per annum. This may give an impression that the native kingdoms and princely states were more exploitative. However, Ranade argued that this prima facie evidence about the average tax may be misleading. He provided the following details: - The British Indian government ordered the material for its offices from England and that cost around 1.5 crores. - The salaries of government servants in England and the establishment there would consume half a crore. - The army and navy had their share of two and a half crores. - The British fought wars and protected India from time to time for which they incurred heavy costs. This created a huge war debt of a hundred crores which the British decided to exact from Indians in instalments. When Ranade argued about this in 1872, there was still debt worth Rupees 90 crores and India was paying it back with the interest. This accounted for 4.5 crores per year. - The British government introduced the railways and since the project was running in loss, it was also being recovered from the revenues collected in India. The above-mentioned factors amounted to approximately 10.5 crores and this amount would effectively go to Britain. Around 150000 Europeans were working in India in the military and other bureaucratic positions and there were few traders. They had huge salaries and incomes, the total of which was worth 5.5 crores. This coupled with the previous 10.5 crores would ultimately end up in Britain. Ranade highlighted that India was sending a tribute worth 16 crores. He further argued that even if things were slightly different – such as if the government was being run from India and if possible, by Indians with the same salaries, a large amount of wealth would remain in India. He elaborates this giving the example of native states. In those princely states no matter how frivolously Indian princes and kings behaved they would still empty their treasures by and large on the native Indians. They might shower their wealth irrationally on the darbaris and dancers, and the prostitutes or priests. The wealth would still be distributed and circulated among Indians. That’s why Ranade opined that the princely states fared well in terms of protecting the Indian resources and wealth. After he made the point about the tributes being exacted by the British Indian government, he shifted his attention to the question of trade. He once again presented exhaustive data about the nature of India’s trade with the world. It may come as a surprise to many of us that India’s trade hadn’t reduced even when there was a continuous drain of wealth. Ranade established that international trade had risen in volume. The trade was increasing in terms of volume but the problem was that the terms of trade were unfavourable for India. India sent a humongous amount of raw material and imported finished goods of all sorts. These trade policies were formulated by the British government in a way that violated the cardinal principles of economics.   Ranade opined that India should import more than what she exports or she should import at least as much as she exports. This was not happening in the case of India. If India exported materials worth 52 crores she imported products worth 32 crores. The situation had remained constant in the last 20 odd years and he lamented that India was the exception to the general trend in international trade to allow this discrepancy between imports and exports.  He also mentioned that this system had created a situation where Indians were incrementally becoming dependent on imported goods and the Indian artisans and workers were now losing their market to the foreign goods due to artificial conditions. Ranade further tried to estimate the total savings of Indians based on the collection of income tax and the population in the British territories. According to his calculations around a quarter of the total savings of Indians would go abroad in the form of tribute. He argued that if this money was contained in India, it would have helped a great many people. He compared the situation in India to a vessel with a hole at its bottom. He wanted to convey that a country that regularly loses so much wealth to artificial conditions, cannot become prosperous.  Therefore, he suggested that we couldn’t possibly reinvigorate the economy without bringing about the most fundamental changes in how this country was being governed. There was very little that Indians could do about this political problem. The drain of wealth in the form of tribute and tax was not the only way the Indian economy was decaying. If the government was guilty of bad policies, the people of India were also guilty, to a lesser extent if not equally, of some irrational behavioural patterns that were costing them a fortune.  Ranade argued that Indians had a propensity to waste around 1/8th of the total savings. Warning people to not consider this as an exaggeration he stated the following sequence of facts.   - Gold and silver worth rupees 165 crores had come to India in ten years before 1872. - Gold and silver worth rupees 15 crores went out of India. - From the rest of 150 crore rupees worth of gold and silver, half was used to mint money. - The residual gold and silver – which was around 75 crores in value just disappeared into thin air! In other countries, the excess gold and silver would get into transactions and that is how it would quickly become a part of the economy. Whereas in India people made ornaments of all sorts for their wives and kids. This gold or silver would gradually wear off and reduce in quantity. Once the ornaments were made out of these valuable metals, they were hardly useful for the owner. They would be used if the owner suffered from economic difficulty. However, in most cases, these ornaments would just wane. According to Ranade, it was a dangerous and self-defeating practice. Gold and silver worth rupees 7-8 crore were reduced to nothing every year. When added to the aforesaid tribute of 16 crores, this amount was almost tantamount to a sum of 24-25 crores. This was the loss that India incurred regularly. Ranade proposed a simple but useful solution to increase the possibility of accumulation of wealth in India. He suggested that Indians, at such a juncture, must spend less. He argued for increasing the savings to nullify the effect of the lost 25 crores. He was also clear about how this accumulated wealth was to be used. This capital was to be wisely invested in profit-making businesses. Good returns would create a greater amount of new wealth. Finally, Ranade warned them against blindly accumulating the money and emphasized why it should be invested and reinvested to create more wealth for one’s own sake and for the nation. Thus Ranade’s solution to the worsening economic condition of India depended on a measured and disciplined frugality and well-thought investment of capital. --- ## [Opinion] Minoo Masani : From Socialism to Liberal Swatantra Party URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/minoo-masani-from-socialism-to-liberal-swatantra-party/ ### Body _In Masani, Indian liberals should find a more appropriate icon to emulate. Rajaji, after all, was a self-identified conservative rooted in his Hindu identity. Minoo Masani, in contrast, drew his ideas from the West to shape liberal India._The forgotten politician Minoo Masani’s illustrious public career was an exercise in collaboration and confrontation with the other leading Indian nationalist figures. Himself one of the founding fathers of modern India, Minoo was both a nationalist and an internationalist in his intellectual pursuits. As a young admirer of the USSR experiment and an advocate of democratic socialism, Minoo worked with Jayaprakash Narayan and Nehru to turn Congress towards the left in the 1930s. His active leadership of Congress Socialist Party (CSP) turned both Sardar Patel and C Rajagopalachari against him. Later in the 1950s though, Minoo Masani would collaborate with JP, Patel, and Rajaji to counter the spread of communism and Nehruvian socialist policies. Masani’s transition from an admirer of the Bolshevik Russia to the propagator of market liberalism in India reflects his pragmatism and open-mindedness, traits rarely found in most intellectuals and politicians. ### **Soviet Admiration and Communist Leanings ** Minoo Masani’s tryst with politics began during his stint at the London School of Economics. There, he came in contact with Harold Laski and V Krishna Menon; dabbled in student politics as a Labour member; and visited the Soviet Union. Masani [admitted](https://books.google.co.in/books/about/Bliss_was_it_in_that_Dawn.html?id=ulyUnAEACAAJ&redir_esc=y) to learning more about politics in LSE than many Indian politicians would do in a lifetime. While Moscow was a great improvement, Masani found Leningrad a shadow of its former self while visiting USSR in 1927. After his return, an impressed Masani wrote a series of articles for the Bombay Chronicles and advocated the USSR as a model for a free India to emulate. In his zeal, he even urged Pandit Nehru to visit the Soviet Union when the two met in London in 1927. Minoo Masani’s second visit to USSR would come in 1935 as a member of the CSP to foster a deal with the Soviet Communists. _Soviet Sidelights_, his book on the Russian experience, paid a glowing tribute to the Soviet achievements. Later, in retrospect, he would call it naïve. Back in India, Masani’s effort to start a socialist front had to wait for Gandhian manoeuvring. The failure of the first Roundtable talk led Gandhi to revive the civil disobedience movement. Masani also got involved this time and was imprisoned in Nashik in 1932. A group of socialists including JP, Achut Patwardhan, and Ashok Mehta were among the political prisoners in the Nashik jail. Minoo Masani’s discussions with JP paved the way for an anti-imperial socialist outfit within the Congress party. After their release, the Bombay branch of the CSP was formed in 1934. The CSP positioned itself as a national socialist group within Congress to challenge the programs of both Mahatma Gandhi and the conservative faction. Masani, who was then the Joint Secretary, went on a mission to bring more leaders to the fold. Earlier, in December 1933, he met Nehru in Allahabad and requested him to join the group. Nehru welcomed the formation of the socialist group in Congress. The radical socialists of Congress also had to face flak from outside and inside the party. CPI, following the Sixth Comintern Congress, labelled them as the social fascist. At the Lucknow Session of Congress in 1936, Rajendra Prasad took a jibe at Nehru and his socialist colleagues for deriving ideas from foreign books, inaccessible to Congress conservatives who came from a humble peasant background. Sardar Patel also had an intense dislike for the reds. He denounced the Congress socialists as the “sappers and miners of the Communist Party”. The wittiest takedown, however, came from Gandhi himself. In response to Minoo Masani’s socialist agenda, he wrote, “the progressive nationalisation of all the instruments of production, distribution and exchange” was “too sweeping to be admissible. Rabindranath Tagore is an instrument of marvellous production. I do not know that he will submit to be nationalised.” ### **Socialism Reconsidered and Democratic Planning ** Masani’s distancing from Soviet-style communism was seemingly precipitated by a series of events. In his later writings, he [attributed](https://ccs.in/sites/all/books/com_books/profiles_in_courage.pdf) it to the failure of the USSR to deliver material prosperity and the influence of Gandhi. The internationalist Masani was aware of the Stalinist purges and had criticised it in 1938 in the following words – “dictatorship of the proletariat has degenerated into a personal dictatorship”. He asked his fellow socialists to mobilise world socialist opinion to check further bloodshed. Characteristically, Indian communists, Nehru and JP criticised Minoo Masani for his scathing denouncement of totalitarian communism. By this time, Masani was also making a [distinction](https://books.google.co.in/books/about/Bliss_was_it_in_that_Dawn.html?id=ulyUnAEACAAJ&redir_esc=y) between his scientific socialism and the sentimental socialism: “The real choice today seems to me to be between scientific socialism and dogmatic or authoritarian socialism.” Minoo’s criticism of the communist movement was further bolstered by the Communist Party of India’s bid to capture the CSP. Under the United Front strategy of the 7th Communist International, CPI was seeking to collaborate with the CSP, only to use it later for communist ends. Masani published in 1938 the secret communist circular which detailed the tactics for the capture. Ultimately, both JP’s insistence on the Left unity and the Congress vacillation over joining World War II led Masani to resign from CSP and retire from active politics. In 1956, Masani [explained](https://ccs.in/sites/all/books/com_books/profiles_in_courage.pdf) Gandhi’s role in turning him away from communism. Gandhi’s dictum that the end doesn’t justify the means translated into a repudiation of communist insurrections. Moreover, his characterisation of the state as the biggest threat to human liberty helped Masani fix his battles. However, as Minoo Masani’s biographer [S V Raju notes](https://ccs.in/sites/all/books/com_books/profiles_in_courage.pdf), his departure from CSP didn’t turn him into an advocate of liberty. A series of essays on socialism published in the 1940s gives insight into the evolution of Masani as an intellectual shaped by the events around the globe. [_Socialism Reconsidered_](http://indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=590973500.pdf), published in 1944, sought to question four core assumptions of Marxism. Masani, in a candid admission, stressed on the need for self-criticism after 25 years of Bolshevik revolution. The pamphlet though didn’t go down well with Pandit Nehru who was furious at Masani for [calling](https://books.google.co.in/books/about/Bliss_was_it_in_that_Dawn.html?id=ulyUnAEACAAJ&redir_esc=y) October Revolution “a false dawn”. The four Marxist assumptions put under test included nationalisation leading to economic democracy; the dictatorship of the proletariat as a temporary transition phase; mobilisation of an international proletariat collective; and socialism as the only alternative to capitalism. On all these counts, the dogmatic doctrine floundered when applied to the real world. Minoo Masani’s desirable version of socialism would combine economic equality with individual liberty and political democracy. The influence of Gandhi was visible in Masani’s advocacy of trusteeship which for him served as a valuable transition technique. Masani’s conception of planning, as outlined in a [1945 article](http://indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=590973500.pdf), sought to combine Big State machinery with individual freedom and private enterprise. His democratic planning was seemingly influenced by FDR’s Big Deal and the Scandinavian social democracy. Gandhi’s agenda of small cottage workshops in the countryside also found a place in the plan. Even though Masani recognised the need to balance planning with freedom, his policy prescriptions (licensing, wage and working condition regulations, price fixation) would have led to the curtailment of economic freedom. India’s socialist regime later implemented many of these ideas resulting in economic inefficiency. With the publication of his next big idea on the mixed economy in 1947, Minoo Masani seems to have inched closer to liberalism. Delivered as a lecture at the Bombay University, [_A Plea for a Mixed Economy_](http://indianliberals.in/~_admin/pdflanguage?id=590973500.pdf) sought to combine free-market capitalism with a degree of state involvement. The importance of economic growth was recognised as he argued that the “economics of production must take precedence over the economics of distribution”. He would now oppose the nationalisation of the economy, explain profit in terms of incentive to entrepreneurs, compare the free market in the USA with the communist USSR, and advocate foreign capital inflow to spur industrialisation. The peculiar feature of Minoo Masani’s mixed economy was the three-sector model – nationalised existing sectors barring the basic industry; new Public-Sector Enterprises covering areas left by the free enterprise; and the rest of the economy driven by free markets. The PSEs were to be managed by a small board of professionals seeking to combine efficiency with welfare. The influential proposal was later adopted under the Nehruvian socialism which, according to [Masani](https://ccs.in/sites/all/books/com_books/profiles_in_courage.pdf), _turned ‘mixed economy’ into a ‘mixed-up economy’_! ### **Liberal Dissent and Swatantra Years ** Seemingly the failure of the mixed economy model propelled Masani into the liberal fold. He spent his earlier years on combating communist influence in India rather than a positive articulation of liberal ideas. In response to the communist infiltration of media and cultural outfits, Masani joined hands with JP, Ashok Mehta, and A D Gorwala to form the [Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom](https://ccs.in/sites/all/books/com_books/profiles_in_courage.pdf) in 1950. The Committee was affiliated with the Paris based Congress for Cultural Freedom, an American anti-communist advocacy group. Masani’s anti-communist avatar also made him amenable to Sardar Patel. With the help of Patel in the form of office space in Bombay, a telephone connection and funding, Masani founded Democratic Research Service in November 1950. The Service published pamphlets and Freedom First magazine, both disseminating anti-communist propaganda to the Indian public. In the_ Communist Party of India: A Short History_ (1954), Minoo Masani [called it](https://ccs.in/sites/all/books/com_books/profiles_in_courage.pdf) a dagger pointed at the heart of Indian democracy. The [1950s saw Minoo as a lonely liberal voice in parliament](https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/AL1dGwrVLENYQm0YhuGXFI/Unaffiliated-the-case-of-1957.html/) railing against the socialist policies of the Nehru government. Masani’s efforts at creating a liberal political front had to wait for the end of the decade. The opportunity came with the Nagpur Resolution of Congress in 1959. The Congress Socialists’ advocacy of joint cooperative farming was widely interpreted as the state bid to collectivise peasants’ property in emulation of China and the USSR. Sensing an opportunity to create a broad-based coalition of big business, urban middle class, peasant proprietors and big landlords, Minoo Masani persuaded Rajaji to lead the new political party. Rajai, for quite some time, was very critical of state interventionism in his public pronouncements. As political scientist [Howard Erdman](https://archive.org/details/swatantrapartyin00erdm) has argued, the newly minted Swatantra Party had both Forum for Free Enterprise and All India Agriculturists’ Forum as its midwives. The fact that Swatantra was a coalition of big business, feudal zamindars, princely interests as well as urban middle class and peasant-proprietors had opened it to criticism from the left. Pandit [Nehru dismissed the party](https://penguin.co.in/book/non-fiction/rajaji-a-life/) as belonging to ‘the middle ages of lords, castles and zamindars.’ Never mind the fact that the Party had difficulty in [attracting funds](https://penguin.co.in/book/non-fiction/rajaji-a-life/) from big business who were afraid of the repercussions from the Congress controlled state. In ideological terms as well, the party inherited a diverse lot. Rajaji and KM Munshi were Hindu conservatives; Homi Mody and Minoo Masani were westernised liberals; N G Ranga was the Gandhian peasant leader; the Raja of Ramgarh and Maharani Gayatri Devi represented princely interests. The Swatantra Party’s electoral career was akin to a short-lived boom and bust cycle. The 1967 election saw it emerging as the single largest opposition party only to be swept aside in the Indira wave of 1971. Masani had skilfully steered party as a General Secretary and then the President. The devastating defeat made Minoo Masani resign from the party presidency and retire from politics altogether. The sorry demise of Swatantra, however, didn’t put an end to Masani’s liberal activism. He would go on to build and nurture civil society organisations wedded to the liberal cause. DRS [winded up](https://ccs.in/sites/all/books/com_books/profiles_in_courage.pdf) after the fall of communism, and the Freedom First shifted focus from anti-communism to positive advocacy of liberalism. The [Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy](https://web.archive.org/web/20010809230349/http:/www.liberalsindia.com/indianliberals/profiles/minoomassani.php/) was Masani’s effort to train young people in democracy and build a liberal cadre. He also set up the Project for Economic Education in collaboration with the liberal economist B R Shenoy’s Economic Research Centre to disseminate liberal economic ideas in public domain. In Masani’s institution-building drive could be found lessons for Indian liberals of fostering a pro-liberty public opinion. Zareer Masani, historian and Minoo’s son, has [argued](https://theprint.in/opinion/no-accident-india-forgot-swatantra-leader-my-father-minoo-masani-the-beef-eating-parsi/250483/) that the public discourse in India has recently seen a revival of Rajaji’s legacy while Minoo, the beef-eating, westernised, and atheist Parsi, remains forgotten. I would argue that in Masani, Indian liberals should find a more appropriate icon to emulate. Rajaji, after all, was a [self-identified conservative](https://penguin.co.in/book/non-fiction/rajaji-a-life/) rooted in his Hindu identity. Minoo Masani, in contrast, drew his ideas from the West to shape liberal India. --- ## [Opinion] M.G. Ranade on Revival and Reform URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/m-g-ranade-on-revival-and-reform/ ### Body _Ranade’s ideas were so distinct because he managed to have a fine blend of Indian sensibility and Western Liberalism. Steering clear from the militancy of any kind, he sought to introduce reforms through persuasion._Aroon Tikekar, a renowned author, journalist and intellectual delivered a couple of lectures in 1998 at the University of Mumbai and the motivation behind the series was that he wanted to make the audience aware of the contribution of M.G. Ranade as a social reformer and also acquaint them with the forgotten intellectual landscape of the city. His passion for engaging with the audience and informing them about various persons, issues and events in history remains unparalleled. “It is my fond belief that, just as every aspiring cricketer wishes to exhibit someday his prowess at the game on the lawns of the Lords in London, so also every genuine Liberal, be he a professional researcher or journalist, in Maharashtra, nurtures a deep desire to interpret in his way the mission and message of Mahadeo Govind Ranade, progenitor of many reform movements in Western India,” said Late Prof. Aroon Tikekar at the beginning of his book about Mahadeo Govind Ranade. Interestingly, not long after having said this, he observed that the intellectual legacy of M.G Ranade is indeed in danger. He lamented that “The ruling elites in Maharashtra seem to have totally forgotten Ranade and the work he did for national regeneration.” Tikekar’s first statement demonstrates his high regard for Ranade. The second statement, however, attests to his level of disappointment in the political class for their utter disregard for the legacy of a truly versatile person who contributed immensely to the making of what we today call Maharashtra. In the rich tapestry of history, there are sporadic events or people whose memories or personalities shine through, Ranade was one of them. Tikekar enunciated his attainments and the most commendable aspects of his personality in the following words – “… a distinguished university student, eminent judge, brilliant ‘nationalist’ historian and economist, educative journalist, enlightened religious and social reformer, exemplary moral preacher, builder of institutions, maker of great men, friend, philosopher and guide of the young generation of his time…”.  When Tikekar saw how little people knew about Ranade during his public lectures at the University of Mumbai, he converted the transcripts and notes of his lectures into a small book ‘Ranade: Prabodhan Purush.’ Its English version is titled_ ‘Ranade: The Renaissance Man’_. This booklet serves as a primer for those who are interested in the contribution of Justice Ranade. It gave me a unique opportunity to revisit two brilliant liberals who in their way contributed to the intellectual life of Mumbai before, and to borrow the term from Tikekar himself, Mumbai got de-intellectualized. My objective is to shed light on some relevant ideas of Ranade as discussed by the author in the first chapter of the book. Ranade explained his brand of Liberalism in the prospectus of the then newly founded Deccan Sabha: “The spirit of Liberalism implies freedom from race and creed prejudices and steady devotion to all that seeks to do justice between man and man, giving to the rulers the loyalty that is due to the law they are bound to administer, but securing at the same time to the ruled the equality, which is their right under the law.”  Isn’t it interesting that Ranade was not suspicious of the political authority, but ‘giving the rulers the loyalty’ was entrenched in his idea of liberalism? This was because, unlike western liberalism that looked at the government with suspicion, Ranade’s liberalism had a strong element of moderation. Explaining the importance of moderation, he argued that “Moderation imposes the conditions of never vainly aspiring after the impossible or after too remote ideals, but striving each day to take the next step in the order of natural growth by doing the work that lies nearest on our hands in a spirit of compromise, and fairness…”. This attitude of his stood in stark contrast with some of his younger contemporaries such as Agarkar. Agarkar’s stance was anything but compromising on some of the important social issues. The difference lies in how they both approached the concepts of ‘social reform’ and ‘revival of traditions’.  Ranade strongly disapproved of revivalist ideology for he considered society as a living organism. While addressing the Eleventh Social Conference at Amraoti in 1897, he elaborated his views on the undesirability of revival. Responding to the extreme orthodox sections – those advocating a return to old ways and olden days, to the old authorities and the old sanctions, Ranade posed a simple yet important question - “What shall we revive?” The question left his orthodox friends perplexed. He reminded them of the wretched past that we could somehow leave behind. To establish the gravity of demands of returning to bygone days, he cited a vast array of questionable practices that the Hindu society had deemed normal in the past. Let us take the example of the institution of marriage. The old Hindu tradition recognized eight different types of marriages including the marriage by capture. Our society, once upon a time, recognized what is construed to be illegitimate intercourse today. The Niyoga system allowed procreating sons with the widowed wife of one’s brother. Practices like animal and human sacrifice, Sati, infanticide, hook-swinging and crushing beneath the chariots were prevalent in old days. The destructive wars between castes – especially between Brahmins and Kshatriyas and the cruel persecution of the aboriginal population was also a reality in the past. Lastly, going back in time would also require the Brahmins to cease being noble landlords and they would be expected to lead a modest existence. Ranade used these examples to prove that the plan to revive ancient customs was not a way to salvation. Those practices were far from being practicable. He concluded that “The dead and the buried or burnt are dead, buried and burnt once for all, and the dead past cannot, therefore, be revived except by the reformation of old materials into newly organized beings.” Once it is clear that revival is impossible, reformation remains as the only alternative open to sensible people. How should one tread carefully on the tough path of Reformation? In his address at Hislop College - Nagpur, Ranade outlined four methods of bringing about the desired reform. Of the four methods, the first is called the method of tradition. Those who support this method argue that the reform has to come from within and the reform has to come evolutionarily to be lasting.  This method tries to bring about reforms through the old texts that enjoy wide legitimacy in religious circles. Many times, renewed interpretations of these old texts can be used to propose reform. The second method was directly appealing to the conscience and reason of the people. Many newly educated writers like Dadoba Pandurang Tarkhadkar, Jyotiba Phule and Gopal Ganesh Agarkar were the most influential ones to appeal to the sense of justice and humanity of their readers. The third method of social reform was Reform by Penalties. This was the imposition of the constraint by the wise upon the ignorant in their common interest. The penalty was to be imposed by the state.  Ranade didn’t prefer this method of reform through social legislation. He believed that the state should step in only when the other non-coercive methods of reforms had failed.  The fourth and the last method was about separating from the rest and forming a new camp. Ranade did not approve of the last method; he opposed revivalism but he never advocated a complete break from the past. When he promoted healthy social practices such as widow marriages and marriages between grown-up persons, he was essentially revisiting the ancient traditions because they were conducive for social reforms. As Tikekar put it, “His recipe for reform was thus, a Tradition-Modernity Continuum.” He was convinced that “...there was nothing like optimum reform, it is always a half-written sentence. Every generation adds a word or two to it.” Tikekar argues that Ranade was unwilling to start on a _tabula rasa_, a clean slate.  Ranade’s idea of reform was to discard those elements in the past that were inimical to progress. And to use the enduring elements that were conducive to human welfare as a starting point for a new advance. Ranade’s ideas were so distinct because he managed to have a fine blend of Indian sensibility and Western Liberalism. Steering clear from the militancy of any kind, he sought to introduce reforms through persuasion. Ranade believed in convincing and persuading rather than imposing reforms. He tried to enkindle reason into the hearts and minds of those who opposed reforms instead of looking down upon them as the lesser mortals. The imposition of reforms was the last resort. Unfortunately, not many liberals have taken interest in interpreting the mission and message of Mahadeo Govind Ranade as Tikekar had envisaged. It makes one wonder if ideas are really immortal and can survive the onslaught of changing times as Mazzini once suggested. He said: "You may kill men; you cannot kill a great idea." Ambedkar thought it was a mistaken view. He argued “Men are mortal. So are ideas. It is wrong to hold that an idea will take roots _proprio vigore_. An idea needs propagation as much as a plant needs watering.” Ambedkar uttered these words in a[speech](http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ambedkar/txt_ambedkar_ranade.html#10) he delivered in remembrance of Ranade. The liberal, reformist and moderate ideas of Ranade are now required by the society more than ever, it is incumbent upon us to not allow Ranade's ideas to gather dust. --- ## [Opinion] N. Dandekar on the Role of the Indian Navy URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/n-dandekar-on-the-role-of-the-indian-navy/ ### Body When the world was divided between the communist and the capitalist blocs, India chose to remain non-aligned. The Indian government decided to use its resources primarily to undertake developmental programmes. Considerations of defence and security were always secondary. The accepted objective of the Indian armed forces was the defence of the country. The problems associated with strict adherence to this objective came to the fore after the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965. In the 1965 war, the Indian government issued an extraordinary instruction that Indian vessels should not operate north of a line due west of Porbunder. Even in the South of this line, the Indian Navy was not expected to engage enemy vessels beyond 200 (nautical) miles of the Indian coast. This was an inappropriate defence posturing in times of war. The weaknesses in this strategic thinking were exposed by Narayan Dandekar, a Member of Parliament representing the Swatantra Party in the Lok Sabha. In his speech delivered in 1967, he argued that defensive posture did not mean supinely waiting for somebody to attack us or waiting till we were ‘gheraoed’. This indifference towards the enemy when he armed himself and prepared for the war, coupled with our retaliation only in times we were under attack was seen as a misinterpretation of the word ‘defence’. Dandekar asserted that an appropriate posture for the armed forces would involve defence from strength. He described it as an aggressively defensive posture. In what came after the introduction to his speech he offered several examples of how the approach towards defence needed a complete conceptual and material overhaul.   **Need for Two Fleets** When N. Dandekar argued for this aggressively defensive role of the Indian Navy, he was unhappy with how the Indian Navy was organised at the time. Therefore, he made a strong case for two separate fleets operating under two commands. In 1967 when he expressed his dissatisfaction with India’s defence preparedness India had only one fleet based at Bombay and Cochin. It strained India’s capacity to guard its coasts at the same time. Even though the question of having two commands had been under consideration since Independence, the decision was not made. The Swatantra Party pressed for the creation of two naval commands and releasing grants for naval preparedness to protect India’s sovereignty and defend her freedom. **Defining the Role of the Indian Navy in the Bay of Bengal** In his speech, Dandekar identified Pakistan and China as two hostile countries. He expected India to prepare to defend itself against these two either acting separately or jointly or simultaneously. This threat perception from the neighbours informed the Swatantraite's understanding of what the Indian Navy’s role should have been. He listed five simple principles that the Indian Navy on the east, in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean would have to perform.  - Keeping a strict and continuous watch on the entrances into the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. - In case of hostilities with China or Pakistan the navy should detect, hunt down and destroy any intruder coming into the Bay of Bengal. - If the intruders entered India’s waters it was the job of the Indian Navy to defend the Andaman Islands. - If the enemy forces managed to go beyond these islands, the navy had to guard the eastern coast. - If the enemy was already present in the Bay of Bengal, the navy had to protect the commercial sea routes in the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean. **Centrality of Aircraft Carriers in the Fleets**** **Further, N. Dandekar discussed the composition of the proposed fleet protecting the East Coast. He highlighted the need to have two aircraft carriers for the Eastern Fleet. In case having two aircraft carriers was not possible, India needed at least one aircraft carrier in the Eastern Command. The fleet would also have an appropriate number of fast, well-armed protective units for each one of these aircraft carriers. These smaller faster well-armed offensive units would include destroyers, corvettes, and frigates poised to intrude vessels and especially submarines. While surface naval units would rarely intrude into Indian waters, Dandekar raised concerns about hostile submarines moving freely through the Indian waters. **Fortification of Andamans**** **Interestingly, Dandekar strongly recommended the fortification of Andamans. He wanted Andamans to be converted into a first-class Advance Base. He wanted this to become the Defence Ministry’s top consideration. This base would have highly trained units of the army, navy and air force. They should be constantly alert and routinely carry out combined exercises. In addition to this, he emphasised the need for the chain of airfields on the eastern coast of India from where long-range land-based reconnaissance air force units could keep an eye on incoming intruders.                **Relevance of Dandekar’s Ideas in Peacetime** The prescriptions of the Swatantra Party and its insistence on reorganisation of the Indian Navy did not fall on deaf ears. Indian Navy established the second naval command in March 1968. Today Indian Navy has two operational aircraft carriers. The second aircraft carrier was inducted only in 2022. The role of the Indian Navy has evolved and its footprint has now grown manifold. Now the Indian Navy deploys its ships from Seychelles to the South China Sea. The Indian Navy checks the Chinese threat in the neighbourhood and also defends the smaller neighbours and sea lanes of communication from non-state actors such as pirates. India responded quickly and perhaps was the first responder reaching out to Indonesia after the Tsunami in 2004 and to Myanmar when Cyclone Nargis hit in 2008. In 2014 when the desalination plant in Maldives got damaged in a fire, India moved quickly to provide 35 tonnes of freshwater. The Indian Navy played a crucial role in the delivery of water. India sealifted stranded Indian nationals and at times nationals of friendly and hostile countries alike from war zones and conflict-ridden areas of the Middle East. Operation Sukoon (2006) during the Israel-Lebanon crisis and Operation Raahat (2015) during the Yemen crisis are examples of the growing involvement and capabilities of the Indian Navy in the region. These are a few examples from among numerous instances of the Indian Navy offering humanitarian assistance.  The Swatantra Party and its members are remembered for their appreciation of the old liberal ideas. However, one must not forget that their ideas were shaped in the context of the Cold War. The Indian government had decided not to join any collective security arrangements. India chose to remain non-aligned and adopted a defensive self-help approach. Though Swatantraites were liberals so far as the economic issues were concerned, they frequently took a realist view of national security and foreign policy. Dandekar too was a realist and his threat perception was further augmented by the Cold War reality. The ideas he proposed and the approach of aggressive defence as outlined by him are relevant even today. The evolving role of the Indian Navy is in tandem with his approach of acting from the position of strength. The role of the Indian Navy is appreciated across the world because of its capabilities and long experience. Only the powerful can indeed protect their freedom in times of crisis, for which they prepare in times of peace. type=content&p=8580). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Opinion] Mithan Tata Lam – The Unexplored Life of an Indian Suffragist URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/mithan-tata-lam/ ### Body _Indian suffragists had an immense role to play both in the nationalist struggle and the subsequent universal adult franchise. One among them was Mithan Tata, one of the first women to be called to the English Bar and the first woman lawyer ever appointed to the Bombay High Court. _Unlike most large democracies, the Indian constitution has adopted universal suffrage from its inception. Indian suffragists deserve a significant share of the credit for this progressive cornerstone of independent India. Along with Madam Bhikaji Cama, Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, and Lolita Roy, Mithan Tata Lam too joined the women’s suffrage movement in British India. Mithan Tata Lam (1898-1981) was born in Maharashtra to Ardeshir Tata and Herabai Tata. Her father worked as an employee in a textile mill, while her mother was a women’s rights activist. Mithan’s parents ensured that their daughter gets a well-rounded education, and sent her to reputed schools. She pursued her graduate studies at Elphinstone College, Bombay, where in she earned an honours degree in Economics. Her brilliant academic performance also won her the Cobden Club Medal.  Mithan’s mother, Herabai, had an immense role to play in her introduction to the suffrage struggle. Together, the mother-daughter duo achieved many firsts for Indian women. Herabai’s interest in Theosophy led her to make acquaintances with Annie Besant. In addition to being a theosophist, Besant was a prominent women’s rights activist and Indian self-rule supporter at the time. In 1911, Herabai met with suffragette Princess Sophia Duleep Singh. At the time of their meeting, Singh donned a badge that read, “Votes for Women.” Much like the words on the badge, Singh's thoughts influenced Herabai’s understanding of the suffrage movement in India. She also interacted with other influential suffragists of the 20th century. By 1915, Herabai had become the honorary secretary of the Women’s Indian Association. In 1919, Mithan joined her mother’s work as a suffragist. The duo travelled to London to present[a memorandum on the women’s franchise](https://blogs.bl.uk/untoldlives/2015/07/herabai-and-mithibai-tata-british-support-for-indian-suffragists.html), alongside Sarojini Naidu, before the Southborough Franchise Committee. The  Committee was set up by the British in 1918. They sat in India for a year, and recommended a scheme of territorial urban and rural constituencies based on land revenue, communal and special interest representation. The suffragists’ meeting with the Franchise Committee was to address the British government while the final readings of the Government of India Bill (1919) were being put through the British Parliament. The suffragists’ goal was to eliminate sex disqualification in the bill, which explicitly barred women in India from franchise. Mithan and Herabai’s statement - titled _“Why Should Women Have Votes?” -_ was brought to the India Office on September 25th, 1919. Among their reasons for granting voting rights to women, Mithan and Herabai’s statement read: _“It has been recognised now in all countries that the sex barrier has been a grave mistake, is out of date, unworthy of the times, a relic of past days when might was above right … Why should India lag behind others in this respect and create a sex barrier where one does not exist, and thus brand Indian women as inferior to their sisters in other countries.”_ They also argued, _"Attempt to reform without the cooperation of women, and you are simply raising a paper fabric on foundations of sand."_ Mithan, Herabai and other Indian suffragists succeeded in placing the rights of Indian women on a global platform. For this liberal cause, they [brought together organisations and individuals from India and the United Kingdom](https://parsikhabar.net/events/commemorating-zoroastrian-and-indian-women-in-the-british-suffrage-movement/18713/). Though one nation was colonised by the other, individuals from both recognised their common goals in raising women’s presence and impact in the public sphere. In their support, suffrage organisations and individuals in Britain began sending letters to the India Office. Unfortunately, these statements and petitions from Mithan and Herabai, as well as British suffragists proved to be unsuccessful. The Government of India Bill (1919) did not include women’s franchise. However, the British government did concede autonomy to individual Indian provinces to provide enfranchisement to women. These efforts by the suffragists led to the enfranchisement of women for the first time, in Madras in 1921. The mother-daughter duo continued their stay in the United Kingdom. While Mithan pursued a post-graduate degree in economics and law at the  [London School of Economics](https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsehistory/2018/10/31/a-mother-and-daughter-at-lse-herabai-and-mithan-tata/), Herabai also enrolled in courses in administration, social sciences and economics at the institute, from 1919 to 1922. During the course of her [studies in London](https://www.lse.ac.uk/about-lse/lse-leading-women/biographies/herabai-mithan-tata), Mithan was one of the two students to be introduced to George V and Queen Mary. Mithan was also admitted to Lincoln’s Inn as a barrister in 1920 - only a year after Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act (1919) had allowed women to enter public office. In 1923, she became one of the first women to be called to the English Bar. A year later Herabai and Mithan returned to India, where Mithan practiced at the Bombay High Court as the first woman lawyer in its history. She was also a professor of law at the Government Law College, making her the first woman to be a law professor in India. Mithan described her time at the Bombay High Court as its lone female lawyer: _“Like a new animal at the zoo, with folks peeping through doorways…as soon as my shadow crossed from the library to the common room, there would be an uncomfortable silence, making me feel even more self-conscious."_ Interestingly, her first appearance at the Bombay High Court was fuelled by systemic misogyny. Reportedly, a solicitor whose client had a watertight case approached Mithan. He claimed about his client, “He has such a good case that he cannot lose…but he wants to inflict upon the opponent the humiliation of being defeated by a woman”. Being the first of her kind, Mithan rallied against sexism within the legal profession by asking [“how can a woman be declared unfit without even being given a trial?](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55134978)” Gender biases and misogyny within theoretical and professional disciplines is quite pervasive. Yet her efforts in the legal practice challenged the age-old hierarchies that thrive in courtrooms and public offices. These hierarchies are created and sustained by patriarchal powers, and Mithan led the way to dismantle those to the best of her ability. She is not only seen as a feminist icon but a liberal icon too, for her interventions in the legal sphere challenged and disrupted systemic misogyny. In doing so, they led to law becoming a more inclusive profession. Soon, Mithan became a reputed name in the legal channels of Bombay, and worked on cases ranging from currency counterfeiters to Jewish betrothals. Outside the court, her liberal attitudes caused her to work extensively on gendered legislation for inheritance and marriage. She also became a popular advocate for women’s and children’s rights. Mithan was married to fellow lawyer, Jamshed Sorab Lam. He supported her work on the betterment of Bombay’s slum dwellers by improving health and infrastructure facilities. After three years of practice at the Bombay High Court, Mithan Tata Lam was appointed as a Justice of Peace, and as a member of the committee on the Parsi Marriage Act (1865). Her contribution to the committee led to an [amendment](https://first100years.org.uk/mithan-tata-1898-1981/) of the Act, i.e. the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act (1936). Adding to her list of firsts, in 1947 Mithan became the first woman Sheriff of Bombay. She also chaired the Women’s Committee set up for the Relief and Rehabilitation of Refugees from Pakistan, in 1947. She was also an active member of the All India Women’s Conference, and served as its president from 1961-62. The AIWC also ran a journal called _Stri Dharma_, and Mithan served as its editor for five years. She held leadership and representative positions in the National Council of Indian Women, the Women Graduates Union of Bombay, the Indian Federation of Women Lawyers, the International Federation of Women Lawyers, and the United Nations. For her efforts and contributions, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1962, by the Government of India. Mithan Tata Lam passed away in 1981, leaving behind an everlasting legacy that revolutionised legal, social, and political reform in India. What sets her apart from most of the liberal and feminist figures of her time is the kind of upbringing she had. Through her mother, Mithan was inducted into the struggles on women’s rights. Herabai also provided a bridge for her daughter to interact and be influenced by pioneers in the Indian suffragists movement. Her father, Ardeshir Tata is also credited for being far ahead of his time. To this day millions of women are denied an education, and yet in the early 20th century, Ardeshir [helped his wife and daughter create a better future for themselves](https://feminisminindia.com/2019/12/13/mithan-tata-barrister-advocated-womens-voting-rights/). In 2021, we mark the 100 year anniversary of women first being enfranchised in Madras. The largest democracy in the world would not be what it is today without the consistent efforts and contributions of women such as Mithan Tata Lam. Hence, it is essential that we remember the efforts of the women who led the way for an inclusive and liberal society for the future generations of Indian women. **![](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Kavya-Sharma-Yearbook-Picture-scaled-e1628765339239-287x300.jpg)** --- ## [Opinion] Palkhivala’s Lost Battle Shapes the Future of Indian Online Gaming URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/palkhivalas-lost-battle-shapes-the-future-of-indian-online-gaming/ ### Body In 1957, the courtrooms in India witnessed a high-stakes legal battle. It was fought in two innings, first in the Bombay High Court and later in the Supreme Court of India. The Supreme Court's verdict in _R. M. D. Chamarbaugwalla vs. Union of India_ outlined core principles to determine if any economic activity constituted gambling. Even after 69 long years, the doctrines applied to interpret the Constitution inform our understanding on matters pertaining to gambling and betting. In the light of the recent ban on online real money games by the Union Government, this oft-forgotten legal dispute demands a fresh glance from anyone interested in public policy. One of the brightest advocates in independent India represented the parties involved in this legal conflict. Nani Palkhivala represented R. M. D. Chamarbaugwalla, the founder and Managing Director of R. M. D. C. (Mysore) Limited against the State of Bombay and later against the Union of India. **The Witch-hunt** The state legislature of Bombay regulated gambling and betting through the Bombay Lotteries and Prize Competitions Control and Tax Act, 1948. This law made licences mandatory for legal recognition. It further imposed taxes on the amounts received by promoters of licenced competitions. Renewal of licences was subject to administration’s discretion. To avoid taxes, stricter controls, and uncertainty, Chamarbaugwalla shifted his operations to the neighbouring State of Mysore. Anyone who understands the distinction between tax avoidance and tax evasion would appreciate this as a rational and economic choice.[1] Chamarbaugwalla ran a crossword prize competition in his weekly newspaper ‘Sporting Star’ printed and published from Bangalore in the erstwhile State of Mysore. He operated from this alternative location and continued to conduct the crossword competition in the State of Bombay until the state law was amended to his disadvantage. The Bombay Lotteries and Prize Competitions Control and Tax (Amendment) Act, 1952 deleted the clause that excluded prize competitions from newspapers ‘printed and published outside the province of Bombay’.[2] It extended the law's reach to include operations of R.M. D.C. (Mysore) Limited. Moreover, it inserted _Section 12(A)_ introducing a new tax for such competitions. Chamarbaugwalla was already paying substantial tax to the State of Mysore on his gross receipts from the crosswords. The amended rules increased compliance and operational costs and substantially eroded the profits of Chamarbaugwalla. Therefore, he challenged the Act and the amended rules. **Palkhivala Stunned the Government** The first round of legal action was played out in the Bombay High Court. The main contentions of Nani Palkhivala against the validity of law are summarized below. - The amendments introduced in 1952 were extra-territorial or outside the jurisdiction of the State of Bombay. - The prize competitions under scrutiny were valid commercial or trade activities. Therefore, the disputed Act fell within the scope of entries 26 and 60 of the State List in the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution.[3] This meant that these enterprises enjoyed the constitutional protection of _Article 19(1)(g)_ and _Article 301_ against unreasonable restrictions.[4] - The impugned act was meant for gambling, whereas the crossword prize competition was hardly a lottery or chance-based competition. Instead, it required exercise of skill and considerable knowledge. The Indian Constitution had protected the games that involve skill under the right to trade. Games of chance would not have enjoyed the same protection. The single judge bench of the Honourable High Court delivered a verdict in favour of Palkhivala. It ordered the State of Bombay to refrain from implementing the impugned Act and allowed the petitioners to carry on the business as usual. The State of Bombay appealed in the High Court.  The Court of Appeal upheld the ruling of the trial court while differing in some respects.[5]  It held that the State of Bombay was competent in enacting the Act under dispute. The Court held that prize competitions were valid businesses and they did not constitute gambling. Therefore, _Article 301_ was applicable to prize competitions. Moreover, the tax imposed on prize competitions under _Section 12(A)_ was to be seen as a tax on trade or profession under Entry 60 of List II. Lastly, it argued that the prize competitions including lottery-based ones, were not against public interest. **Supreme Court : The Final Frontier** **** After struggling to get judicial clearance, state legislatures chose a different path. Using provisions under _Article 252(1)_, several Indian states passed resolutions authorizing the Union Government to enact legislation on prize competitions. It was unusual because ‘gambling and betting’ which is a subset of prize competitions, is a subject enumerated in the State List. Regardless, the Union Government immediately passed the Prize Competition Act, 1955. The law limited the total prize value to Rs.1000/- per month and the number of entries to Rs. 2000/-. It introduced licences for all prize competitions falling under the prescribed limits. It mandated strict maintenance of accounts and laid down penalties. The licences could be suspended or cancelled.[6] This law effectively crippled the operations of Chamarbaugwalla and others. This led to Chamarbaugwalla and several aggrieved others to challenge the Prize Competition Act, 1955.    Palkhivala firmly argued that the law was unconstitutional in its entirety. He based his argument on three major pillars. - The definition of prize competitions under the law was too broad. It was so unqualified that along with gambling its scope included competitions that required a substantial degree of skill. - For skill-based competitions any legal provision limiting the prize value and restricting the number of entries was not reasonable regulation, but in effect prohibition. - The law constituted a single, indivisible enactment. Since it misassessed skill-based competitions, the entire law must be struck down even if it legitimately restricted some chance-based competitions. The Union Government contended that gambling activities were not trade or commerce. Therefore, the law was intended to regulate competitions with characteristics of gambling. It further conceded that the law was indeed broad. It argued that the provisions of the law were void for skill-based games. The government argued that the valid parts applicable for gambling could be separated from invalid parts related to skill-based competitions. The government was suggesting that the law automatically would not be applicable to skill-based competitions. In its verdict, the Supreme Court declared gambling _res extra commercium._**_[7]_** This meant gambling would not be considered commerce. Since gambling would not be a lawful trading activity it would not enjoy the protection of _Article 19(1)(g)_. Contrary to Palkhivala’s plea, the Supreme Court rejected a purely textual reading of the law. While recognizing that the law was partly void, the Supreme Court embraced the doctrine of severability. The Supreme Court upheld a law which was partly valid and partly invalid, echoing the argument made by the legal representatives of the Union Government. Earlier, the doctrine of severability had only been applicable in cases where the government exceeded its subject matter competence. It had not been applied when the government violated fundamental rights. The Supreme Court opined that the principle of severability was applicable even when the partial invalidity of the Act arose from its contravention of constitutional limits in the form of fundamental rights. **Summing Up** Independent India’s legal journey has come full circle with the promulgation of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act (2025). This law seeks to address the social and economic risks associated with the digital gaming industry. The law is admittedly rooted in the proverbial ‘good intentions’—specifically protecting vulnerable youth from predatory designs, addictive algorithms and subsequent financial ruin. This legislation marks a legal milestone in conceptualising safeguards for Indian citizens from what it considers an exacerbating public health problem. It mentions a wide range of problems such as social, economic, and national security threats. However, the law bans Online Money Games in their entirety. The current broad-brush approach is reminiscent of the Indian State’s position in 1957. It blurs the legal distinction between online money games of skill and money games of chance—a distinction upheld by the Supreme Court since 1957. The doctrine of severability applied by the Supreme Court in Chamarbaugwalla vs Union of India sets a somewhat frightening precedent. By severing bad parts of a law, rather than striking the whole thing down, the Court essentially saves poorly drafted legislation. It allows the government to be overly broad in its lawmaking. Let us imagine its implications for the online gaming industry. The degree of skill involved in a particular online game will ultimately be decided in a court of law. This will not only continue to burden the judiciary with scrutinising vague laws, but also allow the Union Government to keep introducing similarly broad laws. Persons and companies adversely affected by the law will be compelled to approach the court. The legal battles that would ensue will take several years for resolution or settlement. It would increase the costs for the companies developing online money games. This does not paint an encouraging picture for enterprises in India. This can create a ‘litigate-to-operate’ environment or an endless, exhausting hurdles-race that treats every entrepreneur as a gambler until proven otherwise in court. This is saddening given the abundant potential the industry holds in terms of growth and employment. In 2024,  the online gaming industry was a $3.7 billion ecosystem. It was projected to reach $9.1 billion by 2029.[8] The recent blanket ban has not just halted growth, it has caused flight of investments, and has triggered economic contraction in the sector.  Perhaps, Nani Palkhivala foresaw the possibility of such an unintended outcome. Therefore, he staunchly argued for treating exceedingly broad laws as single, indivisible enactments before striking them down fairly and squarely. type=content&p=9215). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Opinion] Piloo Mody: Swatantra’s Witty Parliamentarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/piloo-mody-swatantra-witty-parliamentarian/ ### Body _An architect by training and the son of venerable Parsi entrepreneur Homi Mody, Piloo also had a long political career as a parliamentarian_“[I am a CIA Agent](https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/no-aliens-under-our-beds/238178/),” read the placard on a politician in the premises of the Indian Parliament on one fine day in the 1970s. The pronouncement was a jibe at Indira Gandhi’s cynical approach towards her opponents. She would dub politicians the agents of US imperialism who sought to curtail her pro-people agenda. At the receiving end of her populist demagoguery were often the members of the Swatantra Party. And understandably so, because their eloquent advocacy of markets and liberalism had created consternation for the failed socialist government. The witty politician in the act was Piloo Mody. With a recourse to placard humour, he blunted the jingoistic politics of Indira Gandhi. An architect by training and the son of venerable Parsi entrepreneur Homi Mody, Piloo also had a long political career as a parliamentarian. However, there is a clear lack of published material on his ideas and legacy. Much of the press coverage reveals his good sense of humour which added joy to the parliamentary sessions. He was also a vocal oppositional voice during Indira Gandhi’s rule. After the imposition of [Emergency](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Politicians-wife-recalls-Emergency-times/articleshow/50701366.cms/) in 1975, he was one of the first politicians to be put behind bars under the provisions of the Maintenance of Internal Security Act. A close friend of Indira Gandhi though, Piloo Mody was offered conditional release which he rejected multiple times. Later in parliament, he vocally supported the bid to repeal the draconian act. Author and parliamentarian [Swapan Dasgupta](https://www.dailypioneer.com/2015/columnists/revisiting-unsung-heroes-who-defied-emergency.html/) recalls that Piloo Mody would visit the prestigious St Stephen’s College to address the student community. His witty take against the prevailing socialist narrative would draw a standing crowd. For such an unusual politician by Indian standards, it is rather tragic that Mody didn’t dabble much in writing. During the jail stint, he worked on the book titled _Democracy Means Bread and Freedom_. Called a [liberal polemic](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/books/story/19790831-book-review-democracy-means-bread-and-freedom-by-piloo-mody-822609-2014-02-27#ssologin=1#source=magazine/) by one reviewer, the book was his attempt to describe the meaning of democracy. Piloo Mody argued for a limited role of the state in the book to strengthen democracy. For him, decentralisation was the way for deepening of Indian democracy. While he began his political career with Swatantra, the death of Rajaji and subsequent defeat of the party in 1971 led to an existential crisis. Minoo Masani put in his resignation papers accepting the responsibility for the defeat. In the last general meeting of the party in 1974, Piloo Mody decided to [merge](https://swarajyamag.com/politics/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-swatantra-party/) the party with Charan Singh’s Bhartiya Kranti Dal. The decision came under fire from the liberal intelligentsia for understandable reasons. However, as [S V Raju](https://swarajyamag.com/politics/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-swatantra-party/) admitted, the party was already in terminal decline. Raju traced the [decline of Swatantra](https://ccs.in/sites/all/books/com_books/profiles_in_courage.pdf/) to Masani’s tenure as the president. He was a more efficient organiser-ideologue than the leader. The vacuum created at the organisational level and his lack of popular appeal probably caused damage to the party’s prospects in elections. I would also argue that the lack of a strong cadre added to the decline as the star leaders either passed away or left the outfit. Swatantra was able to attract people based on leadership and agenda. It was unable to create a loyal vote base though because it lacked organisational setup. Mody later went on to join the Janata Party and served as a parliamentarian till death. In one of his last interviews, he described his plan to create a [new political party](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19830228-the-world-revolves-around-an-idea-piloo-mody-771282-2013-08-23#ssologin=1#source=magazine/). Nav Nirman was intended to be a political movement of honest and dedicated individuals who would take out hours from their schedule to serve the citizens at the booth level in a constituency. His utopian vision of decentralised political activism though didn’t come to fruition. The project was left midway due to his death. --- ## [Opinion] Poona Sarvajanik Sabha and Its Liberal Affiliations URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/poona-sarvajanik-sabha-and-its-liberal-affiliations/ ### Body _Despite the predominantly urban middle-class character of the Sabha, its work as a mediating body between the state and peasantry stemmed from the liberal conviction of the Sabha leaders who sought to operate in the domain of civil society. _The formative years of the modern, pan-Indian nationalism can be traced back to the latter half of the 19th century. The culmination of the British expansion into a centralized governance mechanism partly contributed to this pan-Indian political consciousness. Inspired by the induction of ideas of modernity in India, the newly emergent political associations in major provincial centers responded to this consolidation of colonial administration. These associations fashioned themselves as representatives of native opinion and made claims on behalf of the community. Prominent among them in the western province was the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha. With a recent past of political gravity as the Maratha center of power that underpinned Poona, the local elites were infused with a strong nationalist sentiment that was inimical to the raj. Of course, as C A Bayly argued, the Marathas demonstrated a strong sense of territoriality which could be interpreted as an indigenous root of primordial patriotism. But, also influential were the ideas of European nationalists like Mazzini and Garibaldi. Moreover, the liberal ideas of self-rule, civil society, press freedom, and a responsible executive as well came to find adherents among the English-educated elites. After a couple of short-lived experiments in associational politics, the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha was founded on 2nd April 1870. Prior to the coming of the Indian National Congress, the Sabha easily was among the leading native associations in India. The origin story of the Sabha has been a matter of historical debate. Scholars like Ravindra Kumar, R C Majumdar, and S R Tikekar have seen it as a revived form of the earlier Poona Association which was founded in 1867. The Association went defunct by the middle of 1869. On the other hand, late historian S R Mehrotra traced its origin to the Parvati Temple fund controversy. Author N C Kelkar and historian Anil Seal regarded both the defunct Association and the temple fund controversy as the impetus for the formation of the Sabha. Based on the contemporary account in the 9 May 1871 issue of the Bombay-based _Star of India_, Mehrotra made a convincing case for the latter. The Sabha was meant to work as a mediating body between the state and people by airing the grievances of people and helping them make claims on the state. The Sabha has been described as the first Indian association with a representative character which lent some credence to its claim of being a mediating body. The membership to the Sabha was contingent on the production of a _mukhtiarnama_ (power of attorney) signed by at least fifty adults. What it essentially means is that every member of the Sabha could claim to represent and speak on behalf of these signatories on public matters. S R Mehrotra showed that by June 1871, the Sabha had 140 members serving as representatives of about 17,000 people. Moreover, the internal functioning of the Sabha also reflected its democratic character. The Sabha’s constitution made the provision for an annual meeting of all the electors. The office bearers who were to be elected annually and could stand for re-election included the President, Vice-President, secretaries, and treasurers. A general committee and a managing committee formed the governing apparatus of the Sabha. The decision-making in the Sabha followed the democratic principle of majority voting. However, there also existed a provision for dissenting members to have their arguments annexed in the minutes. The democratic functioning and representative base of membership apart, the Sabha was dominated by the wealthy and intellectual elites of the local community. As Mehrotra showed on the basis of the lists of members and office bearers, the Sabha was dominated by _sardars_, landholders, businessmen, retired government servants, lawyers, and teachers. Despite the heavy influence wielded by the Hindu brahmin elites, ‘the Sabha also had a fair number of Parsi, Moslem, and Christian members.’ The Sabha played a crucial role in creating a civic consciousness and public sphere in Poona and the nearby rural areas of Deccan. Moreover, despite the local character of the Sabha in initial years, it also made strides in fomenting a pan-Indian political community by making overtures to political associations in other provinces. In its demands, the Sabha was a moderate association jostling for concessions in terms of political representation and Indianisation of administrative services. Major issues that were of concern to the Sabha included relaxation in the age limit for and simultaneous conduct of the Indian Civil Services exam, state protection for nascent Indian industries against foreign competition, promotion of the swadeshi agenda, famine relief work, liberal political reform in native states, compulsory primary education, press freedom, fiscal accountability, the extension of the limited elective franchise in municipalities, and native Indian representation in the British parliament. According to Mehrotra, under the able leadership of Mahadev Govind Ranade and Ganesh Vasudev Joshi, the Sabha emerged as the foremost political association in India with a progressive bent. The Quarterly Journal of the Sabha was launched in July 1878 to educate and shape public opinion on matters of social, economic and political interest. In line with the Indian liberal tendency to find an indigenous root of liberal political institutions, the Sabha began to organize arbitration courts in the Deccan for the private settlement of civil disputes. As was stated in Poona Observer, the Sabha here was emulating the ancient institution of the panchayat. In the years of Deccan famines in 1872, 1876-78, and 1896-97, the Sabha sent its representatives to rural areas to collect accurate information which then were sent to the government demanding adequate famine relief measures. In the 1896-97 famine, the Sabha volunteers also made the peasantry aware of their rights under the Famine Relief Code. Despite the predominantly urban middle-class character of the Sabha, its work as a mediating body between the state and peasantry stemmed from the liberal conviction of the Sabha leaders who sought to operate in the domain of civil society. The Sabha’s mediating role though was essentially contingent upon the state acceptance of its legitimacy. Hence, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that with the state derecognition of the Sabha as a representative body, it went moribund after 1897. Earlier in 1895, the extremist faction under Tilak had taken control over the Sabha. The liberals- Gopal Krishan Gokhale and Mahadev Govind Ranade – left the Sabha to form Deccan Sabha in 1896. During the famine of 1896-97, the extremist criticism of the Bombay government led the latter to pass a resolution on 17th March 1897 derecognising the Sabha as a representative body. The Anglo-Indian press was already hostile to the Sabha due to the threat posed by its representative character. Problems were also exacerbated by the death of Joshi earlier in July 1880 who was the dynamic force behind the Sabha. The rift between liberals and conservatives weakened the prospect of cooperation under the auspices of a single body. The coming of new associations like the Indian National Congress, Abhinav Bharat, Deccan Sabha, Satyashodhak Samaj, Dinabandhu Sarvajanik Sabha, and Servants of India Society in the western province made the older association riven with conflict even more irrelevant in public discourse. In the long run, though, the legacy of the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha lies in its pioneering effort at representative politics and a pan-Indian outlook that has contributed to the making of modern Indian democracy. --- ## [Opinion] C. Rajagopalachari's Thoughts on Culture URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/rajagopalacharis-thoughts-on-culture/ ### Body _Rajaji defines that “culture is not just character or morality. Character is the inside of a man. Culture is external rather than internal. Culture has more to do with behaviour and way of living than with character. Broadly speaking, culture is external though of course, it has much to do with character too. Because, the outside has always much to do with the inside.”_The word culture denotes many things to many countries. But undoubtedly, it is one of the most misused and abused words in every literature. The word culture is also most confused among people during the debate and discussions in the domain of politics, administrations, social reforms, renaissance, etc. Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (1878-1972) was one of the greatest scholars of twentieth-century India. He was a multifaceted personality. He was a visionary and thinker. He ventured into many fields and excelled at great depth, like a legal and constitutional expert, freedom fighter and astute politician, a scholar in Indian literature, classical liberal thinker, statesman, an able administrator, scholar in Tamil literature, prolific writer, and author of hundreds of books, etc.  He was fondly called as Rajaji or C.R. by many. He was among few scholars who applied their mind into deep musing about what is culture not just in India but also of the other nations and how it evolves around the people’s social and economic progress. In the late 1950s, Rajaji was invited by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai to deliver a series of lectures on Culture. The Bhavan later published the lectures in a slim book which went several editions over the years since then.  Rajaji was a principled man and hesitated to give lectures on Culture. Though he has mastered and written quite copiously on Indian literature and knew world history, philosophy, and culture. He warned, however, that _“nothing can be expected from me on music, dance, the theatre or the silver screen”_ which were and still considered as the culture but these alone did not describe Rajaji. He spoke about the process of evolution of the culture of different nations and the case of India.   He succinctly asked _“how to utilise the traditional position to the best advantage for the general community, Shall we try to enforce the obligation on the individual in respect of the entire whole and reconcile ourselves to lapses and failures? Or Shall we utilise the natural force actually prevailing in smaller circles and add it all upto make it serve the whole?” _ According to Rajaji _“the way of living built up by groups of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another. People each with their own long history build up separate patterns of cultures. There is much that is common, but also a great deal that is particular to each nation.” _Further, _“culture is not literacy or ability to play on the veena” _said Rajaji, but_ “it has to do with general behaviour, speech, and conduct, and is different from goodness and badness of character." _Think about behaviour of political leaders in contemporary India. Also, think about behaviour of spiritual leaders across different faiths, the goodness and badness would vividly expose their character and their culture.  Unlike our confused textbooks in schools and colleges, Rajaji defines that _“culture is not just character or morality. Character is the inside of a man. Culture is external rather than internal. Culture has more to do with behaviour and way of living than with character. Broadly speaking, culture is external though of course, it has much to do with character too. Because, the outside has always much to do with the inside.”_ Most of the contemporary social ills have strong negative influences and distortions of cultural values of communities in different countries including India. Partly, the government system seems to be a vital force paving towards distortions of communities' culture which imposes restraints on an individual. _“Civilisation is not mere advance in technology and in the material aspects of life”_ warned Rajaji. _“We should remember it is an abstract noun and indicates a state of living and not things. Mainly, civilisation connotes the curbing of wildness, barbarity, and over- indulgence of passions and appetites”_ observed Rajaji.  According to Rajaji _“civilisation has two instruments to achieve the object of curbing the sensual instincts and preventing or deterring over-indulgence.”_ He explains that one instrument is the government's enforcement of the law through penal codes and other instruments, Importantly, the _“civilisation is culture which acts through family training, tradition, religious belief, literature, and education. Culture puts down over-indulgence acting as an internal force, as distinguished from penal laws which operate from outside. Where it fails, it acts, though social obloquy and in very bad cases, through social ostracism". _ As witnessed time and again in contemporary society, Rajaji warned of distortions of culture decades ago. He said that _“government and laws use physical force and compel people to restrain themselves. Culture is a subtle instrument. It acts silently. It makes people feel they are not forced to obey, but do it of their own free will and gives them a sense of pride in good behaviour.”_ Therefore, he vividly defined that the true _“culture is the habit of successful self-control; and that nothing that reduces self- control or which does not help self-control is culture”. _ Irrespective of the social and economic development status of any community in India, we could sensibly relate to their cultural values practiced over several centuries and trace back the ills found among the same people and community with which contemporary India is striving with multiple challenges especially ills against women and the girl child. Over-indulgence of pleasure by some people neither upholds the self-restraint nor keeps goodness of character both within their family and the community. This is a dangerous trend and India is now facing a furious frightening over culture.  Unlike other societies in the world, _“Indian culture is predominantly self-restraint”. And it is largely believed as noted by Rajaji that “man attains completion only when culture is added to what he has acquired for fulfilling his wants for the physical body and for satisfying his thirst for knowledge”. Thus, Rajaji observed that “so far as India is concerned, where we find simplicity in the pattern of our culture, it is not mere stunted development, but deliberate preference for simplicity and a conscious rejection of the complicate life and multiplication of wants, this being consistent with the philosophy and ethical code of our people.”  _ The fierce battles waged against the Hindu culture or any other culture has to do with the character of goodness and badness. The welfare state alone cannot solve the social illness seen against women or men of varied faiths. This also applies to societies in western countries wherein the racial issues are at the flame of constant fire with either instigation or undermining particular culture. In the war against the supremacy of culture, the people tend to _“forget the natural laws of propinquity and of emotions”_ said Rajaji.   Soon after attaining independence, the leaders at the helm of affairs had gravely ignored the strength of civilisational culture in India, which aided for the development of humanity for centuries. Rajaji spoke more often that how _"life depends on property, contracts, and security of possessions. All this was managed by culture wherever and whenever there was no law in the Austinian sense…Culture not only made life fuller; but in India, during many long periods of anarchy, it did duty for kings and officers who vacated their posts.”  _ The first forty years of independent India proved that a path chosen for development without cultural nurturing would lead to economic disasters or social chaos. Rajaji believed that the adoption of western culture and modern ideas of education have done their best to caricature and stifle the Indian culture by substitution of materialism and selfishness for narrow life.   However, Rajaji had never lost his hope of reviving Indian culture and nourishing it for generations to come. He wrote copiously on major ancient literature of India and Tamil. He firmly observed that _“from among our millions suddenly comes up someone who gives a new lease of life to religion and philosophy among our people.”_ Indian culture would aide for eternal boasting upon the progress of the peaceful social and economic development of all segments of people in years to come. Let’s not forget that our behaviour is our culture.  _The article is an excerpt from the author's original piece published [here.](https://theverandahclub.com/article/crajagopalacharis-venerable-thoughts-on-culture-90)_ --- ## [Opinion] Rajaji's Views on Nuclear Bomb URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/rajajis-views-on-nuclear-bomb/ ### Body _Rajaji’s September 1962 meeting with US President Kennedy. Credit: Abbie Rowe. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston._As the onset of the Indian republic coincided with the postwar bipolar order of superpower rivalry, Indian politicians with an active interest in international politics intervened vigorously in the debates about global order, world government, great power politics, and the nuclear arms race. While the internationalist vision of Nehru and his advocacy of non-alignment is well-recognized and deservedly so, the same is not the case with his comrade-turned-opponent C Rajagopalachari, also known as Rajaji. In a bid to uncover the forgotten internationalist vision of Rajaji, this article would focus on his take on the nuclear arms race unfolding between the US and USSR in the initial phase of the Cold war. The nuclear threat to stability and global order apparently haunted the conservative imagination of Rajaji. As a perusal of his [columns in _Swarajya_](https://archive.org/details/satyamevajayatev032466mbp) would clearly demonstrate, he was deeply concerned about the possible radioactive fallout of nuclear testings and saw with derision the mad specter of nuclear brinkmanship between the two superpowers. A trusted lieutenant of Gandhi in days of anti-colonial struggle, he reinvented himself as an anti-nuclear weapons activist as the Cold war picked pace. His main concern lay with the dangerous radioactive fallout from nuclear testing and the threat to human survival from nuclear weapons. Commenting on the tendency of nuclear powers to evade the responsibility for radioactive danger to human health, he compared them to Big Tobacco which dubiously tried to mislead public opinion on the deleterious health implications of smoking. Writing in the May 30, 1959 issue of _Swarajya_, he also criticized ‘hired scientists’ making the case against the nuclear test ban for their misleading claims about health hazards. He argued that ‘the health of the world is the real issue but that issue is pushed out by issues of security and mistrust as between the cold war blocs.’ In the race to achieve nuclear hegemony, the Cold war superpowers were willing to ignore the danger of radioactive fallout from nuclear tests. This, for Rajaji, amounted to ‘a wholly illegitimate attack on the health of the present and future generations of the uninvolved millions, who have not yet written off their rights in favour of the nuclear pugilists.’ (_Swarajya_, 20 June 1959)  Rajaji’s criticism, though, was not merely limited to the advocates of nuclear weapons. His disagreement also extended to a section of anti-nuclear activists. As he wrote in the January 3, 1959 issue of _Swarajya_, in most countries, the campaign against nuclear tests was closely associated with the campaign for the world government. Proponents of both sought to first establish the world government and then use it to put an end to the nuclear menace. Untenable and impractical a proposal that the world government was, Rajaji saw it as a convenient escape route for activists from the more difficult task of the campaign for peaceful co-existence of nuclear powers.  In the initial phase of the Cold war, the nuclear arms race led to an innovative nuclear strategy of Mutually Assured Destruction for survival in both Washington and Moscow to deal with the Cold war adversary.  However, the logic of the fragile balance of terror strategy of superpowers to pursue peace did not exactly sound convincing to Rajaji. For instance, he saw the Truman administration’s policy of brinkmanship as a contradiction in the sense that NATO wanted to avoid war at any cost and the West dreaded actual hostilities, yet believed in walking on the brink. In the exit of the abrasive Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, Rajaji saw the opportunity for a turning point in western policy away from brinkmanship. Earlier, he had criticized the Eisenhower doctrine which according to him nullified any hope for world disarmament in the near term. In a surprising endorsement of the Indian policy of non-alignment despite a clear break with Nehru in 1959, Rajaji clearly resented ‘the recent effort of some Western statesman to frighten India about China.’ To him, it was an invitation to India to join the Cold war which warranted unhesitating rejection. In the same article, he went on to criticize the lack of co-operation from America in Indian efforts to ban nuclear weapons. In line with the dominating theme of Third Worldism, he gave a call to action to other nations to hold the US and USSR accountable for nuclear damage. The tendency of western powers to treat newly decolonized nations as the playground for the Great Power rivalry also did not find favor with him. Rajaji’s initial adherence to non-alignment and advocacy for Third World autonomy seems to suggest a greater degree of convergence with Nehruvian foreign policy vision than what is commonly believed. This is not to deny the sharp differences that existed between the two giants on the issue of China, Pakistan, Kashmir’s autonomy, and alignment with the US. A veteran practitioner of the Gandhian civil disobedience mode of resistance to power, Rajaji favored morally courageous unilateral moratoriums as the way forward for the nuclear tests ban. In this regard, Nikita Khrushchev’s March 1958 unilateral announcement of the cessation of tests vindicated his belief that ‘there is greater moral power in right action, unilaterally undertaken.’ Interestingly, Rajaji had earlier written to Khrushchev asking the same which might explain his jubilatory tone at this move towards easing the nuclear tension. In service of the cause, he also undertook an arduous tour to meet president Kennedy in 1962. The meeting saw an eloquent Rajaji making case for a unilateral nuclear test moratorium and a charmed Kenndy listening patiently. B K Nehru, the then-ambassador to the US, later [noted](https://books.google.co.in/books/about/Rajaji.html?id=JjPHeRd7_UYC&redir_esc=y) ‘... I had seldom seen a case presented with such lucidity of argument, such economy of speech, such felicity of language, such gentleness of manner and such commands of facts as Rajaji displayed that day. It was interesting to watch President Kennedy’s reactions, for he too was a great admirer of style. One could almost see his eyes open wider and wider in wonder and in admiration of the frail little man who was making this masterly presentation.’ The US tour was followed by a meeting with Pope John XIII seeking his blessing for the campaign against nuclear tests. Rajaji also asked for a Papal plea against the nuclear tests. The Pope delivered on the demand by [issuing](https://books.google.co.in/books/about/Rajaji.html?id=JjPHeRd7_UYC&redir_esc=y) an encyclical containing a plea for stopping the nuclear test explosions.  In 1963, the Partial Test Ban Treaty followed the suit. In response to Rajaji’s congratulatory letter, Kennedy [acknowledged](https://books.google.co.in/books/about/Rajaji.html?id=JjPHeRd7_UYC&redir_esc=y) the great statesman’s role: ‘Even so limited a beginning cannot help but carry forward the cause of peace for which you have so devoutly laboured.’ Rajaji’s intellectual activism for a world safe from the menace of nuclear weapons stemmed from the conservative concern for stable order and was guided by a belief in the efficacy of Gandhian civil resistance to power. Even at a frail age, his sane voice made a small impact on bipolar powers as recognized in his correspondence with Kennedy and Khrushchev. --- ## [Opinion] Rani Rashmoni Das: Reform in 19th Century Bengal URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/rani-rashmoni-das/ ### Body The following essay celebrates the life of Rani Rashmoni Das, an unorthodox reformer of 19th century Bengal. Das, a widow who belonged to a lower caste community, established a revered position for herself among upper caste reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.19th century Bengal witnessed conflict between English aristocracy and elite Hindu priests and scholars. The priests perceived the increasing influence of the English as a threat to traditional Hindu society, and amped up the orthodoxy of rituals. This was, however, also a time of reform. Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s efforts had led to the abolishment of _Sati_. During this time, Rani Rashmoni Das, who belonged to what was deemed the lowest Hindu caste (_Shudra_), joined the reformist struggle.  Today, Rani Rashmoni Das is credited with the founding of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple, the construction of Babughat and Nimtala Ghat, and her philanthropic contributions to the Imperial Library and Presidency University. Das’ husband, Raj Chandra Das, belonged to one of the wealthiest business families of British Calcutta. The couple spent a fair share of their family wealth and resources on public service and welfare infrastructure. They built metal roads, ghats, and potable water resources. With her husband’s support, Das was able to interact with reformers and intellectuals such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. Inspired by their works and beliefs, Das also became a prominent voice against child marriage, and submitted a draft Bill against polygamy to the British authorities. In widowhood, Das took charge of her late husband’s business. She devoted her life to bringing social reform for women and lower-caste communities, fighting against elite Hindu orthodoxy and the oppressive colonisers. Das has also been hailed as a champion of the fishermen community in the Hooghly river region. In the 1840s, the East India Company imposed a tax on fishing boats as a means to reduce river traffic and increase revenue. Having had no help from the upper-caste landlords, who were unwilling to jeopardise their relations with the Company, the lower-caste fishing community turned to Das. She employed her pragmatism and business acumen to make the Hooghly and its usage more inclusive. Das offered ₹10,000 to the Company to lease a 10 km stretch along the river. She barricaded her zone for the fisher community to cast their nets. As the fishers flocked to the leased area, they met with a halt in passenger and commercial traffic on the Hooghly. They approached Das regarding the same, who then took it up with the Company. The traffic lowered the lease’s profitability. Das argued that as a leaseholder she had the right to protect any income generated from her property under British law, and if the Company believed otherwise, they could take her to court. Using the rule of law to protect her private property, she managed to get the taxes repealed and won free access to the Hooghly for the fishing community. Das did not shy away from taking on powerful British aristocracy or influential Bengali entrepreneurs. One such example was Bengali entrepreneur Dwarkanath Tagore. The entrepreneur had taken multiple loans from Das’ late husband, which remained due for repayment. Das tactfully persuaded Tagore to give away two of his highly profitable estates, which she then used for inhabiting thugs and their families. This acted as a rehabilitation mechanism for the thugs, who abandoned their old ways to build fisheries and join fishing communities. For a lower-caste widow in 19th century Bengal, Das was the first of her kind to exercise such confidence and power in an orthodox, upper-caste, patriarchal and colonial society. Her most famous contribution is the Dakshineswar Kali Temple, located on the eastern banks of the Hooghly river in Kolkata. The temple is today considered one of the holiest sites of Hindu pilgrimage. Legend has it, Das dreamt of the goddess Kali as she was on her pilgrimage to Banaras. The goddess called for a temple to be made in her honour on the banks of the Hooghly, and thus that was precisely the task Das undertook. In the 1850s, it was unheard of for a lower-caste widow to build a temple. Nevertheless, she acquired 33 acres of land for the temple from a Protestant businessman, Muslim landowners, and Hindu villagers. She did, however, keep intact a factory and water tank that belonged to the original plot. Given her so-called lower caste and widowhood, the priests refused to accept the Dakshineswar Temple as a valid Hindu temple. They argued that _Shudra _women were forbidden from offering _prasad_ to the deity according to the scriptures. However, the scriptures would allow for it to be considered a valid place of worship if the land was donated to a _Brahmin _priest, who would also install the deity. Das complied and set up what is today an immensely popular site in Hindu pilgrimage. The temple also became home to one of the most recognised Hindu philosophers and mystics, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. An icon in Bengali folklore, often hailed as the _Shudra _Queen, _Rani­_ Rashmoni Das made a place for herself among some of the most influential upper-caste men who led the social reform movements of 19th century Bengal. Das remains cemented in Bengali history through the temple, ghats, other infrastructural contributions, as well as her liberal outlook, individualism, and reformist efforts. **[](https://indianliberals.in/content/mithan-tata-lam/attachment/kavya-sharma-yearbook-picture/)** --- ## [Opinion] Rukhmabai - An Unrelenting Force Against Patriarchal Norms URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/rukhmabai-an-unrelenting-force-against-patriarchal-norms/ ### Body _Rukhmabai’s contributions in the areas of medicine and social justice formed the foundation of the subsequent Indian feminist movements._ Colonial India witnessed the rise of social reformers from various parts of the country. While most of us are aware of the works of the prominent male socio-religious reformers like Raja Rammohan Roy, the contributions of the female reformers, at a time when Indian society was still at odds with the concept of women’s rights and liberty, need to be highlighted. One such female social-reformer that deserves mention is Rukhmabai. Born on November 22, 1864, in Mumbai, Rukhmabai went on to become the first practising female doctor in British India. Apart from breaking the glass ceiling in the field of medicine, she became a major force against child marriage and other social evils in India.  Married off at the age of eleven, Rukhmabai continued to stay with her parents and prioritized her education. Her bold refusal to stay with her husband even after almost a decade of marriage resulted in the landmark case of the [Dadaji Bhikaji vs Rukhmabai case, 1885](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/623704/). Bhikaji, her husband, demanded the[‘restitution of conjugal rights’](https://www.indianbarassociation.org/restitution-of-conjugal-right-a-comparative-study-among-indian-personal-laws/). During this time, Rukhmabai wrote articles against infant marriage and forced widowhood under the pseudonym of 'A Hindu Lady' which were published in Times of India. In one of her widely read letters, she expressed, “The wicked practice of child marriage has destroyed the happiness of my life. It comes between me and the things I prize above all others - study and mental cultivation. Without the least fault of mine, I am doomed to seclusion; every aspiration of mine to rise above my ignorant sisters is looked down upon with suspicion and is interpreted in the most uncharitable manner.” Subsequently, [Justice Robert Hill Pinhey](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/623704/) ruled in favour of Rukhmabai and observed that since she was married off in ‘helpless infancy’, she cannot be coerced into cohabiting with Bhikaji. He expressed, “it would be a barbarous, a cruel, a revolting thing to do to compel a young lady, under those circumstances, to go to a man whom she dislikes, in order that he may cohabit with her against her will, and I am of opinion that neither the law nor the practice of our Courts either justified my malting such an order or even justifies the plaintiff in maintaining the present suit.” He also included a crucial clarification by noting, “It is a misnomer to call this a suit for the restitution of conjugal rights. When a married couple, after cohabitation separate and live apart, either of them can bring a suit against the other for the restitution of conjugal rights according to the practice in England, and according to the later practice of the Courts in India. But the present suit is not of that character.” He further highlighted that the practice of allowing suits for the restitution of conjugal rights originated in England and was transplanted from England into India; it had no foundation in Hindu law. The judgement drew flak from staunch Hindu conservatives for undermining their religious customs. Bal Gangadhar Tilak criticized Justice Pinhey for his inability to understand the spirit of Hindu laws.  While the wrangling over Hindu traditions and women’s autonomy continued, the final judgement of the retrial in 1887 compelled Rukhmabai to choose between either living with Bhikaji or facing imprisonment for six months. Her unrelenting resolve made her choose incarceration. However, the matter came to rest when Queen Victoria responded to Rukhmabai’s appeal by dissolving her marriage. Rukhmabai’s fight for justice set the ball rolling for a greater public discourse on women’s rights and liberty, resulting in but not limited to the [Age of Consent Act, 1891](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/026272809201200202?journalCode=sara) which raised the age of consent for sexual intercourse for all girls, married or unmarried, from ten to twelve years. Her career in the field of medicine kicked off when she moved to London to pursue a degree in medicine from the University of London. Rukhmabai making her way into the medical profession caused ripples in India where women’s education and equal status to men were frowned upon and proved to be an exemplary act in England where women were discouraged from obtaining degrees. Instead of settling in London and leading a comfortable personal and professional life, she chose to return to India to serve as a medical practitioner. She recognized the perilous state of women’s healthcare in India. The lack of women medical practitioners and health awareness in the country further deterred women to seek medical help from a man at that time. Rukhmabai served as the chief medical officer for almost thirty-five years in Surat and Rajkot. During this long period of unwavering service, she continued to voice her concerns against social evils like child marriage and the prevalent practice of ‘purdah’. Some of her published works include 'Indian Child Marriage (an Appeal to the British Government)' and 'Purdah - the Need for its Abolition'. Her work and personal life stood as a bulwark against unjust social practices inherent in the Hindu Law and customs because of which she unabatedly found herself to be disdained and outcasted by Indian society, especially by Hindu nationalists like Tilak and his followers. She passed away at the age of ninety-one while battling lung cancer.  Rukhmabai’s contributions in the areas of medicine and social justice formed the foundation of the subsequent Indian feminist movements. Her refusal to stay in wedlock triggered crucial debates and public discourse around women’s autonomy within. Her unrelenting spirit to prioritize her education and express her opinions unabashedly in a deeply patriarchal nineteenth-century colonial India is laudable. **![](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/20210315_141544-282x300.jpg)** --- ## [Opinion] Shareefa Hamid Ali: A Pioneer of Intersectional Feminism URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/shareefa-hamid-ali/ ### Body The following essay revisits the life and legacy of a largely neglected Indian liberal, Shareefa Hamid Ali. A prominent advocate of an intersectional approach to feminism and individual rights, Ali was the president of the All India Women's Conference and a founding member of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. We often come across inspiring tales of those who have made a mark in Indian history. Seldom, however, are these tales of women. Does this mean women were largely absent from Indian public spheres and hardly ever took on leadership roles? Or have they been neglected in Indian political and social history? The latter seems more plausible. A prey to such negligence have been the contributions of Shareefa Hamid Ali.  Ali was born on December 12, 1883, to a progressive Muslim family in Gujarat. Surrounded by family members whose ideologies were inherently liberal, Ali grew up with similar beliefs and ideas. Her father [Abbas J. Tyabji](https://heritagetimes.in/abbas-tyabji/), an Indian freedom fighter who also served as the Chief Justice of Baroda state (now known as Vadodara), and her mother [Ameena Tyabji](https://thewire.in/women/women-dandi-march-gandhi), among the first and most prominent Muslim women to disavow _purdah_, sowed the liberal seeds of individuality and justice in the mind of young Ali. Ali, like her mother, also explicitly disavowed the practice of _purdah _as she believed that the practice concealed a woman’s individuality and personality both literally and metaphorically.   Owing to her parents’ liberal outlook, Ali was among the few fortunate women who received an education at the time. She became well versed in Urdu, Marathi, Persian, French, and English.  Her political interests and ideas of justice and women's emancipation came to the forefront when she attended a session of the [Indian National Congress in 1907](https://inc.in/brief-history-of-congress/1905-1915). The session focused on the Swadeshi movement, which piqued Ali’s interest. It also encouraged her to work for the women of her community and the disadvantaged and marginalised sections of society.  Ali also helped improve access to health and education for the marginalised and neglected by teaching them about their right to education and healthcare. She firmly believed that to break the shackles of societal categories it was important for people to recognize their individual rights and value their personal liberty. Ali believed the same could be achieved through education. As a mother of seven daughters, two of whom had fallen prey to child marriages, Ali argued for a minimum marriageable age of 18 years for women. She organised a campaign in Sindh to support to mobilising Muslim women against child marriage. At the campaign, Ali argued that child marriage restricts women from identifying their individuality and often denies them their basic right to education. The campaign was supported by women from all sections of society. The movement was met with success and [the Sarda Act](https://wcd.nic.in/child-marriage-restraint-act-1929-19-1929) (Child Restraint Act, 1929), aimed at enforcing 21 years and 18 years as the minimum marriageable age for men and women respectively, was passed on 28 September 1929. This was the first legislation in India for the minimum age of marriage.  Ali, being a prominent leader in the Indian independence movement, was also a part of various organisations and committees that worked towards women’s emancipation. She was the president of the [All India Women’s Conference](https://web.archive.org/web/20180417173219/http://www.aiwc.org.in/pdf/History.pdf) (AIWC). The organisation aims to improve education for women and children. It also focuses on women's rights. Through this organisation, Ali gave her ideas of women's education a wider platform, not limited to India. She represented the organisation at the [Istanbul Congress of the International Alliance of Women](https://www.womenalliance.org/category/news/). By representing her country on an international platform, Ali marked her presence as a woman seeking basic rights for all women. She also brought to the forefront the presence of different kinds of feminism often separated by regions and countries.  By not limiting feminism to a one-dimensional view and understanding the role of intersectionality in feminism, Ali inspired one to look beyond one’s own social position in society and adopt a more inclusive lens.   Ali was also appointed to a women's sub-committee of the [National Planning Committee](https://www.npc.gov.np/en) in 1939. The sub-committee adopted an intersectional approach to women’s upliftment, reviewing social, economic, and legal status of Indian women. Ali represented Muslim women at the committee. She believed that to recommend measures of equal opportunity it was important to have representatives from all communities. It is only when violations of individual rights, and by extension violations against the rights of communities, are identified can a society achieve equality in all contexts.  In 1947, Ali represented India as one of the fifteen founding members the first [United Nations Commission on the Status of Women](https://www.unwomen.org/en/csw). Ali, alongside other delegates from all around the world established the guiding principles of the Commission. Needless to say, Ali brought her ideas of inclusivity while drafting the principles. The principles include the idea of raising the status of women irrespective of nationality, race, language and religion. These principles continue to guide the functioning of the Commission. Its presence can also be found in the principles of the [United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Declaration_of_Human_Rights).  An ardent advocate of individual, human and women's rights, Ali paved the way for younger generations of women to live their lives on their terms. --- ## [Opinion] Swatantra Party : A Big Tent Challenge to Congress Hegemony URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/swatantra-party-a-big-tent-challenge-to-congress-hegemony/ ### Body _What enabled this coalition of disparate groups was the Nehruvian Congress’ grip over political power which effectively turned India into one-party democracy and a radical left drift in economic policy_The[recent](https://theprint.in/opinion/when-maharajas-business-tycoons-and-peasant-leaders-joined-the-mundu-clad-rajaji-to-form-the-swatantra-party/33246/)[revival](https://spontaneousorder.in/why-we-need-a-swatantra-party-in-present-day-india/) of the Swatantra Party in the [public](https://theprint.in/opinion/60-years-ago-a-right-liberal-swatantra-party-had-challenged-nehrus-socialist-raj/246715/) [discourse](https://www.livemint.com/opinion/columns/opinion-the-contemporary-relevance-of-swatantra-party-s-liberal-view-1559032923329.html) has mostly been focused on its [economic](https://magazine.outlookindia.com/story/a-case-for-swatantra/291551) [liberalism](https://spontaneousorder.in/rajaji-relevance-to-todays-politics-of-the-right/) [agenda](https://twitter.com/ShashiTharoor/status/1135875167542865923?s=20). The underlying driving factor, of course, is the Indian market liberals’ search for the [Indian roots](http://indianliberals.in/) of liberalism. Also reflected in the Indian neoliberal writings on the Swatantra is a wishful tendency to see a [viable political home](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvGTl2JCNFo&t=4s&ab_channel=CentreforCivilSociety) in the Swatantra party, if only it had managed to survive the Indira onslaught in the early 1970s. Of course, the Swatantra’s economic and foreign policy positions have been[vindicated](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=Kkyom-cQNecC&lpg=PA446&vq=swatantra%20party&pg=PA436#v=snippet&q=swatantra%20party&f=false/) and in that sense, the party could claim victory, if only posthumously. Also, in contrast to the earlier[dismissive attitude](https://theprint.in/opinion/when-maharajas-business-tycoons-and-peasant-leaders-joined-the-mundu-clad-rajaji-to-form-the-swatantra-party/33246/) towards the Swatantra policy as a mere pro-business agenda, recent writings have brought more nuance to the debate about [economic](https://spontaneousorder.in/not-a-rich-peoples-lobby/) and even [foreign policy](https://theprint.in/opinion/swatantra-party-had-a-lot-to-say-on-china-after-1962-if-only-nehru-had-heard-them/465578/) elements of the Swatantra vision. However, what has been absent in the current discourse about the Swatantra is its interest/identity aggregation function. It is true that under the intellectual leadership of Minoo Masani, the party espoused a classic liberal agenda. But it also operated as a broad tent secular, conservative coalition of social groups. These groups included the business class, middle peasants and proprietors, conservative ex-Congressmen, former administrators, princely rulers, free-market liberals, and cultural conservatives. What enabled this coalition of disparate groups was the Nehruvian Congress’ grip over political power which effectively turned India into one-party democracy and a radical left drift in economic policy. Minoo Masani was arduously trying to stitch together a political platform to challenge Nehruvian socialism for some time. The immediate trigger was provided by the Nagpur Congress resolution which stoked the fears of Soviet-style farm collectivization. The disparate dissidents this time hobbled together and the Swatantra was born. As Howard Erdman argued, the core inner group of the Swatantra leaders [reflected](https://archive.org/stream/swatantrapartyin00erdm/swatantrapartyin00erdm_djvu.txt) three ideological streams- self-sufficient village conservatism, cultural nationalism, and industrial capitalism. This core group consisted of Rajaji, Minoo Masani, N G Ranga, K M Munshi, and a less active Homi Mody. Rajaji was a veteran Gandhi disciple turned dissident Congressman who had earlier served as the Chief Minister of Madras and the Home Minister of India. Ranga was an Oxford-educated Andhra peasant leader with a rather proficient party-hopping tendency. Educated at the London School of Economics, Masani participated in the Indian nationalist movement and founded the Congress Socialist Party only to be disillusioned with the left politics. Munshi was a freedom fighter, leading cultural nationalist, an architect of the Indian constitution, and an entrepreneurial revivalist of Hindu civilizational heritage reflected notably in the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan initiative. Homi Mody was a leading voice of the Bombay business community with significant experience of local self-governance in the Bombay municipality. Notables among the aristocrats included Maharani Gayatri Devi, Raja Kamakhya Narain Singh of Ramgarh who controlled a significant vote bank in the tribal Bihar, and Maharaja of Kalahandi whose Ganatantra Parishad [imitated](https://archive.org/stream/swatantrapartyin00erdm/swatantrapartyin00erdm_djvu.txt) Tory democrats. Rajaji is regarded as a leading Indian conservative figure and rightly so. In his writings, the Gandhian skepticism towards the destabilizing and degrading impact of the industrial urban landscape is often reflected. His defense of social stability against creative destruction brought by industrial capitalism made him a traditionalist seeking to unwittingly preserve the caste system. The charge was made explicitly against him when he sought to introduce a hereditary skill-based training program in Madras’ schools. However, it is my sense that as Rajaji turned to the political battleground with an anti-statist agenda, his writings reflected [a classic liberal turn](https://archive.org/stream/swatantrapartyin00erdm/swatantrapartyin00erdm_djvu.txt) that favored individualism and market forces. The anti-industrial attitude though was also shared by Ranga who was opposed to large-scale factories for its impact on artisans. With his rather unusual form of leftist populism, Ranga stood for peasant proprietorship against both feudal landlordism and state collectivization of farms. Mody, in sharp contrast, was one of the most influential voices of the business community and had been proactive in negotiations from the side of the community. His closeness to the business establishment probably led to his appointment as the party treasurer. Masani by then had adopted a classical liberal worldview with all its emphasis on individualism, free market, strong civil society, and a limited state. In terms of economic policy, he was critical of Nehru’s statism and advocated economic freedom for farmers, industrialists, and consumers. He would cite the likes of Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek in his writings. Moreover, in the Indian context, he was close to the economist B R Shenoy and would receive his advice on economic matters. In cultural terms, Rajaji again was a conservative sans communal leaning, rooted in the Hindu civilizational worldview. Biographer Rajmohan Gandhi [dubbed](https://books.google.co.in/books/about/Rajaji.html?id=JjPHeRd7_UYC&redir_esc=y) him ‘as unabashed a Hindu as a defender of Muslim rights’. Apart from authoring a very popular telling of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Rajaji also talked about the spiritualization of politics. In his view of progress driven by the restoration of culture and spirituality, Rajaji came closer to Munshi. Social institutions like _jati_, joint family, and village were seen by him as the pillars of Indian society serving the function of a welfare state of sorts. Rajaji’s spiritualized Hinduism though was no bar to progress and modernization. In many of his actions and speech-act, as Erdman [noted](https://archive.org/stream/swatantrapartyin00erdm/swatantrapartyin00erdm_djvu.txt), Rajaji reflected a Burkean acceptance of gradual progress. Munshi shared Rajaji’s belief in the relevance of Hindu cultural values but the similarity also went with differences. He certainly held more strong views on territorial nationalism than Rajaji and favored a strong centralized state. It is plausible that his views stemmed from the prevalent context of communal mobilization and partition-induced violence. For the same reason, he also wanted to ban religious outfits’ involvement in politics. Like many right-wing nationalists of today, Munshi deplored ‘minorityism’ and linguistic assertions. In contrast to the ‘unity in diversity’ vision of Indian nationalism, he preferred a strong sense of Indian national identity overriding other forms of identity. Moreover, his concern for Hindu unity led him to advocate social reforms and deplore the orthodoxy which defended the caste order. In sharp contrast to Rajaji and Munshi, [Masani](https://theprint.in/opinion/no-accident-india-forgot-swatantra-leader-my-father-minoo-masani-the-beef-eating-parsi/250483/) was a secular, westernized, and modern Parsi. Reflective of Masani’s credential was the [remark](https://archive.org/stream/swatantrapartyin00erdm/swatantrapartyin00erdm_djvu.txt) by political scientist Morris-Jones that no person prominent in Indian public life today is more unambiguously modernist than Masani. The discussion above captures the ideological diversity of the core Swatantra leadership in economic and cultural domains. However, not only did the Swatantra harbor a range of ideological positions, but it also had to deal with contending interest groups across provinces. Thus, the classic liberal, free-market agenda was part of a broad secular and conservative platform. Given the formidable political opposition from a statist left, it only made sense for market liberals like Masani to ally with traditionalists and democratic aristocrats. In fact, the fight against Congress hegemony led the Swatantra to enter into a grand alliance with the Jan Sangh and others. In the current context, the Swatantra lesson on coalition building to fight the ideological and electoral hegemony of a single party should be clear for political actors in India. --- ## [Opinion] Sharad Joshi and the Crisis of Trade Unions URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/sharad-joshi-and-the-crisis-of-trade-unions/ ### Body _Sharad Joshi addressed his criticism against the government as well as the then labour movements in the country. According to him, trade unionism in India had taken a path far different from their predecessors in Europe.  (Image Credit : The Times of India) _There's no better or succinct way to introduce Sharad Joshi than by narrating an interesting anecdote that he shared in his book [_Khulya Vyavasthekade Khulya Manane_](https://indianliberals.in/content/khulya-vayvasthekade-khulya-manane/)_._ It gives a glimpse of his politics and personality. In 1996, the government employees of the Department of Post went on one of their routine strikes and this irked Sharad Joshi so much that he made an interesting offer to the government. He proposed that the government should let him run the department of Post. He challenged that he would not only employ just half of the existing number of workers but he would also give them only half of the current remuneration and still ensure the required level of efficiency to distribute all postcards from any major city in India to another within 24 hours. His challenge to the government may seem a bit foolhardy today. But the fact remains that at that time it took almost five days for a postal delivery to take place from one major city to another. We can not even fathom the unending delays for a letter or parcel to reach the remotest corners of the country. Sharad Joshi addressed his criticism against the government as well as the then labour movements in the country. According to him, trade unionism in India had taken a path far different from their predecessors in Europe. The trade unions in nineteenth-century Europe emerged as a response to the nascent industrialization. The workers used strikes as a potent weapon to organize themselves and have their collective voice heard. These ‘have nots’ had no other option but to use such techniques. One must not forget that unlike today the working class of that time had very little role to play in political decision making. The franchise was limited and it often excluded the poor and the illiterate. The instrument of the strike was not easy to use. The workers would lose their daily wages and it would render them vulnerable to joblessness and dire hunger. The state would look at their strikes as a law-and-order problem and the police crackdowns used to be unbearable. Even if the state spared their lives, there was no guarantee that the goons hired by the owner of the workplace would be equally generous. The workers of the nineteenth century shed their blood and even made the ultimate sacrifice for basic economic rights. Sharad Joshi acknowledged the higher ideals and causes for which these early unions fought. Having acknowledged those, he argued that much of these above-mentioned excesses were a characteristic of an early capitalism which hadn’t developed enough. Sharad Joshi ascertains that much of these evils were a function of an economy that was devoid of properly developed markets. However, when the doctrine of Socialism took roots in Europe, a simplistic and permanent dichotomy of ‘monstrous haves’ and ‘oppressed have nots’ was established. Many legislations alleviated the working class from earlier miseries. The workers got several concessions in terms of their salary, bonus, allowances and the security of a job. This overhaul occurred first in the private sector and then in the public sector. Talking about the socialistic practices in India, Sharad Joshi argued that Socialism protected the rich industrialists from an international competition that never brought the best out of Indian producers. According to Joshi, socialism could never sustain without the licensing regime. It was a license - given to the industrialists to plunder the Indian consumers. While the Indian consumer used the substandard goods, the profits of these industrialists soared. The exponential growth in profits was not hidden from the union leaders. The smartest of leaders knew the extent of profit earned by the company owners. They also knew that many of these capitalists were not sharing the details of real profits with the workers and in turn threw peanuts at the workers. The union leaders exploited such opportunities to advance their unrealistic demands for wage hikes.  The owners of industries would have only two options; first, to raise the salary twofold or threefold and second to let the workers stop working and go on strike. If workers stopped working even for a day or two the owners would lose a humongous amount of money. Therefore, the reluctant capitalists would reconcile with the workers and make as many concessions as quickly as possible. This got converted into a trend where the union leaders started competing with each other. Blackmailing the capitalist became the quickest way to establish influence on the workers and prove their credibility as  leaders. If the economic reforms exposed the Indian capitalists to outside competition, they also reduced the vulnerability of the capitalist vis-à-vis the union leaders. After seeing the approaching liberalization of the economy, the industrialists turned more or less immune to the blackmailing of these trade unions. Therefore, upon hearing the news of the textile workers in Mumbai going on strike under the leadership of Dr. Datta Samant, far from being under pressure, the textile mill owners and their managers were ecstatic and thus unwavering! Joshi argued that by the 1980s the tide had turned against the workers and in favour of the industrialists. Now the blackmailed capitalists of yesteryears weren’t entirely vulnerable as they had multiple options at their disposal to maneuver against the calls for a strike. They could take strict measures in the face of reduced productivity. These measures come in different forms – right from reducing the number of workers by firing inefficient and underperforming workers to hiring workers on a contractual basis. They could also terminate all operations if the business showed no promise or if it ran into the irreparable loss. As stringent as these measures may seem they were necessary, after all the industrialists didn’t have the option of printing more money to fulfil the whims and fancies of the workers on strike. Unfortunately, these changes remained limited to the private sector. The government servants remained no less protected than the indigenous capitalists during the days of import substitution and socialism. The government jobs became prestigious due to the unreasonable amount of protection that the government granted to its workers. The government jobs became so lucrative that even doctors and engineers who could practice privately started contemplating and considering government positions. The protection provided to the government jobs created a political economy where the caste groups started demanding reserved positions in the recruitment to be able to enjoy the spoils of the spoils system called the government bureaucracy. Thus, the political demands of castes for quotas in government jobs can be traced back to the guarantee of security and economic benefits attached to these jobs.    Sharad Joshi draws our attention to another important fact related to the wages of Indian workers. He argued that the wages of Indian workers or servants are modest as compared to the workers and servants having similar responsibilities or performing the same tasks abroad. But if we compared the two based on their productivity and efficiency, the pay scales offered to Indian counterparts were higher than what they deserved. This invited the economic crisis, and the government became bankrupt. The economic compulsions propelled the government to lay off the workers and adopt austerity measures. There was a growing realization that consumers deserved commodities and services of good quality and that license raj was becoming a hurdle.  The License-permit regime was removed but the Indian economy was faced with new problems. There was an absolute dearth of good infrastructure. India didn’t have a steady supply of electricity and water; the roads were in a bad shape and the railways were inadequate. If India had to build a robust infrastructure it required capital and technology. Therefore, India was desperately looking for foreign investment. But the basic services like the postal service, telecom services, insurance and the banking sector were so obsolete that foreign investors would think a thousand times before considering India as a potential destination to invest their capital. Joshi unequivocally asserted that when the nation was embroiled in economic distress these workers and government servants were relatively silent because they were aware that they had put the country in this situation. However, as soon as the economic threat was averted, they bounced back and demanded that the government must spend more. They wanted the bureaucracy to expand once again. They wanted a regular and uninterrupted increase in their salaries and allowances. Joshi made a very interesting and pertinent argument when he said that these workers never utilized their superior position and economic standing to organize the unorganized workers or peasants. They used the trade unions to retain old economic benefits and acquire new privileges for themselves. Such workers have no right to talk about the (rich) legacy of workers’ movements, claimed Sharad Joshi. Sharad Joshi warned against the increasing government expenditure mainly on public sector enterprises that plundered consumers and created hurdles for those who wanted to increase productivity. He believed that unless the institutions can hire the efficient and fire the inefficient, this country is destined to see doomsday.  Sharad Joshi further commented that the members of trade unions carrying out the aforesaid strike have a strong belief that calling a strike is just and constitutional. He agreed with the just nature of the individual and collective rights of workers to negotiate the terms of their work. However, he emphasized that these workers don’t have the right to dictate that their factory owners should have a monopoly to produce a particular commodity. Such a monopoly or protection can hurt the way the consumers choose to live their lives and the workers don’t have a right to benefit financially at the cost of the rights of consumers. If the workers have a right to negotiate, the consumers have a right to choose, claimed Joshi. Gone are the days when the workers enjoyed all rights and the consumer had none.   If the workers claim that they can protest by calling strikes, the industrialists should have a right to decrease, increase or even cease the operations of a factory. The workers do have rights but their rights will be called just and fair only if they recognize the freedom of consumers, businessmen and industrialists to exercise their respective rights. No wonder Sharad Joshi’s challenge fell on deaf ears. Neither the government nor the government employees took it upon themselves to prove Sharad Joshi wrong. He made it a point to draw an example of the state of affairs in the country marked by blatant heedlessness of the government by saying “…this is what happens to the real owner (the common people of India) when the servants (the government bureaucracy and the political class) become the owners.” (The author has highlighted the key arguments of Sharad Anantrao Joshi from the ninth article - _Khuli Vyavastha ani Sampa_ of his book [_Khulya Vyavasthekade Khulya Manane_](https://indianliberals.in/content/khulya-vayvasthekade-khulya-manane/).) --- ## [Opinion] The Aborted Promise of Economic Liberalisation in Mid-1960s URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/the-aborted-promise-economic-liberalisation-1960s/ ### Body _Shastri’s appointment as the PM was welcomed by the business community for his non-ideological, pragmatic approach and connections with the business class. This stood in contrast to the socialist-minded Nehru who preferred to hobnob with the modern, secular intelligentsia instead of courting relations with the traditionalist businessmen operating in his mixed economy._From 1991 onwards, two characteristic features of economic liberalisation in India have been reforms during crisis and reforms by stealth. The successive political regimes after the watershed year of 1991 have resorted to the same mechanism. However, these twin features of the political economy of liberalisation were also present in the mid-1960s. Those years were marked by political uncertainty after Nehru’s death, serious food crisis, high levels of inflation, war with Pakistan, shortage of foreign exchange reserves, decline in industrial growth, rampant unemployment, and the failure of the plan to meet the targets.  Faced with such challenges in the post-Nehru era, Lal Bahadur Shastri as the prime minister sought to bring radical changes in the economic paradigm. After his sudden death in Tashkent, his successor PM Indira Gandhi initially followed a similar policy agenda. Ironically for the leader of the capitalist bloc during the Cold war, it actually took a betrayal by the US for India under Indira Gandhi to abandon the economic liberalisation agenda in favor of leftist populism. Shastri’s appointment as the PM was welcomed by the business community for his non-ideological, pragmatic approach and connections with the business class. This stood in contrast to the socialist-minded Nehru who preferred to hobnob with the modern, secular intelligentsia instead of courting relations with the traditionalist businessmen operating in his mixed economy. During his tenure as the Minister for Commerce and Industry between 1958 and 1960, many contracts for technical and foreign collaboration were approved while the number of new companies established in those nine months amounted to 1252. His track record thus showed the possibility of a wider role for the private sector now that he was the PM.  Moreover, the key members of the Shastri cabinet (T T Krishnamachari, C Subramaniam, Asoka Mehta) were devoid of an ideological commitment to socialism, sans the labor minister D Sanjivayya. All these influential ministers favored greater reliance on the market. The Railways minister and powerful regional _satrap _S K Patil had been openly critical of Nehruvian planning. L K Jha, the influential Principal Secretary to Shastri, was also very much a pro-market bureaucrat. Soon after his appointment to the post, he was involved in almost every secretary level committee on economic affairs in the Government of India. The first concrete step for liberalisation under Shastri came in the summer of 1964 when he announced in Parliament his intention to reconsider controls in general. It was followed by the removal of controls in the steel and cement sector. The privilege enjoyed by the unwieldy public sector came under question as Shastri ordered a review of major projects that had not taken off. Further, he sought to devolve decision-making power away from the Planning Commission. To this end, the National Planning Council as an advisory body on policy issues was set up in February 1965. The Council consisted of stakeholders like industrialists, economists, trade unionists, and rural workers. Also announced was the formation of a Business Advisory Council as a consultant body to the Planning Commission for formulating the industrial sector agenda in the Fourth Plan. The 1965 budget was seen as an attempt to recognize the importance of the private sector in the economy. The notable measures included relief in direct taxation, reduction in excise duty on several basic consumer items, tax relief to industries, and reduction in the rate of personal tax. In overall terms, the budget was seen as export and production oriented. Further impetus to economic liberalisation came from the outside. By this time, it was widely recognized in the West that the audacious project of democratic state-led development in the seemingly neutral India was faltering. Several studies by the World Bank and the ten-volume Bernard Bell Report made the case for a comprehensive overhaul of Indian economy by way of liberalisation. The World Bank and IMF wielded influence over Indian political leadership by way of the instrument of aid, a perennial need at that time given the failure to achieve sustained economic growth. Noticeably, Indian businessmen like G D Birla, S L Kirloskar, and M S Oberoi served as an intermediary between the donor organisations and Indian policymakers. The 1965 consultations between Indian policymakers and World Bank officials led to the understanding that India would liberalise its economy by changing exchange rate and allowing imports in return of promised aid. By the end of 1965, the decision to devalue the rupee in principle was communicated informally to the IMF. Soon after, though, Tashkent happened. In the ensuing succession battle, Indira Gandhi emerged as the next PM. In her early months in office, she continued with the economic policies and technocratic team put in place by Shastri. At a FICCI meeting in 1966, she made her intentions clear: “We have weeded out some controls and we will always be ready to eliminate those that outlive their utility.” The words were followed by action with the delicensing of eleven industries in May 1966. In late March 1966, Indira Gandhi visited the US to secure food and foreign exchange. Interestingly, the ground for her visit was prepared by G D Birla who went to Washington in the early March. Based on his extensive consultations, Birla suggested Ms Gandhi to adopt a positive approach towards liberalisation. During her visit, she agreed to devalue the currency, bring the US collaboration in fertiliser industry, and reduce state controls on industry. In return Johnson promised both food and aid in dollars. In a follow-up to her successful visit, Asoka Mehta engaged with the World Bank president George Woods and promised to replace import control with tariffs, simplify industrial licensing, and devalue the rupee. On June 6th 1966, the rupee devaluation drive was announced. The decision received flak from all corners mostly on sentimental grounds and put Indira Gandhi in a precarious political position. Even the Congress Working Committee passed a resolution denouncing the government move. More importantly, though, the Johnson administration went back on its promise and the aid did not materialise. Given the political fallout and the US betrayal, historian Medha Kudaisya has argued that Indira Gandhi decidedly shifted her economic policy away from liberalisation and also shunted out the pro-market technocrats. Nonetheless, the aborted liberalisation drive of the mid-1960s makes for a fascinating what-if account in contemporary Indian history.  ![](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/sanjeet.jpg) --- ## [Opinion] The Imagined Democracy in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/the-imagined-democracy-in-india/ ### Body **THE IMAGINED DEMOCRACY IN INDIA: A DEMOCRACY MINUS DISSENT?** _- _Dileep P Chandran (Fifth Prize Winner, Indian Liberals Essay Contest 2019) Democracy, in practice, is a rowdy affair. The definitional lacuna between the notions of democracy and majoritarianism is becoming less significant today. The ‘sacred’ sovereignty of states is an untouchable entity even for its own citizens. No one has the legitimate right to question majoritarian decisions taken by the “democratic state” which claim to establish a ‘good’ and ‘orderly’ society. Disagreeing with each other is a fundamental and natural human trait. Dissent, forming the essence of human nature, is quintessential for the ‘social’ survival of any human community. In simple terms, dissenting is a natural way of being in a society. Those who are in power is comprehending the notion of dissent in a way diametrically opposite to what it really is; and they are oblivious to the productive potential of the act of dissent which form and reform the human society perpetually. Once we are in power, we tend to think that every voice of disagreement as intended efforts to destabilize the apparatus of our orderly state. This prejudice goes to the extent in which the dissenting voices are silenced in the name of security and integrity of the nation. These are not abstract observations at least for India. For instance, Indira Gandhi, who was infamous for declaring national emergency in India in 1975, sometimes interpreted criticisms against herself as a move supported by external forces to stabilize her government. A society which ignores and discourages the right to dissent is doing an act of self-destruction or entering to the state of complete stagnation. Even for an individual, self-dissent is central to internal formation. One’s progress is possible only when one allows critical faculty within to act against oneself. Self-progress, in this sense, is not antithetical to self-rejection. So is the case with a human society. J S Mill in his _On Liberty _makes these arguments clear. He observes: _“If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, Mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind. … But the peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.”_ Thus, Mill rejects the assumption of infallibility of those who are in a position to make decisions with the consent of majority. For Mill, truth is possible only by collision of adverse opinions. Formation of truth is an act of reconciliation and combining of adverse opinions.  What we can infer from Mill’s words is that dissenting opinions are not only to be tolerated but also need to be encouraged. Then the idea of “tacit consent” of Locke - which is vulnerable to authoritarianism - is inherently a bad idea. Silent agreement as the sole determiner of social and political stability is a myth which has an immanent tendency for violence. Mature society or society of minimum evil knows at least how to respect the right to dissent of their members. In that sense democracy is the best available matured form of governance or social formation which has the inherent potential to encourage and combine adverse opinions in a diverse society. It is because of the presence of dissent in it which functions to rescue from the narrowing perspective of orthodoxy and corresponding abuses of power. Representative democracy in India is an imagined idea. The people who are represented do imagine the democracy when their voices are reflected in the formal apparatuses of government. Everyone’s opinion may not necessarily constitute the final decisions of the government. But the minimum acceptable condition is that their voices are not arbitrarily depressed or rejected. The representatives are expected to act and reflect on everyone’s behalf; not that of a majority which she or he may wish to please. When affirming and dissenting voices are in conflict with each other and final decisions are stem out of this conflict, everyone’s opinion is truly valued; only in that state everyone could equally imagine a democracy. Democracy fails when this imagination fails. Parliamentary debate and discussions is one formal level in which dissenting voices can be encouraged. Effective debates and discussions are possible outside the political society as well. Civil society movements are effective in raising voices which are neglected by the state.  Media is another effective agency of dissent. But the shrinking time of parliamentary debates and shrinking spaces of informal discussions are major concerns of democracy in India. Unfortunately, responses of the state against the dissenting movements show that both the method of violence and non-violence are judged by similar rationale. Partisan attitudes of other agencies of dissent such as media are also matter of concern. In this context Supreme Court of India recently observed: “Dissent is the safety valve of democracy. If you don’t allow the safety valve, pressure cooker will burst”. Gandhi gave a fine model of practicing dissent. His model which successfully practiced against the British colonial government, especially during the Salt _satygraha_ was unique in expressing dissent against the draconian law of the state. Ruler’s perceived fear of chaotic disorder was addressed by the agents of dissents, i.e. by freedom fighters, by expressing their willingness to accept consequences of the violation of the law as well. Gandhi knew that the reaction of a colonial government to all modes of dissent is solely grounded on fear of losing power. Does this Gandhian model of dissent is replicable in a democracy? Modern legal systems do not always exist to punish crimes which are already done, but to prevent human beings from committing crimes against the ‘common interest’ of the state. Hence, fear of human potential to err is the defining character of modern legal system. Disagree with the morality imposed by the power-mongers is also an intolerable crime even in the eyes of a democratic state. Democracy and dissent are not antithetical to each other is a principle which practitioners of democratic governance sometimes forgets intentionally. Rulers in democracy also wish to rule in a “state of exception” (state of undeclared emergency). As defined by Carl Schmitt “sovereign is he who decides on the exception”. Schmitt is of the opinion that it is the sovereign who alone decides on the exception. In this normal state of things the natural potential of the ruled to decide for themselves is undermined and neglected. Minority dissents are tagged as ‘anti-national’ now a day. But in fact, what is ‘anti-national’ is not dissent, but silence. Because, silence encourages complete stagnation of society by allowing only majority decisions to flourish. A true democracy needs dissenting opinions to conflict with majority decisions which in turn can create inclusive and better decisions. Then only a democracy can be imagined by everyone equally. In that sense, what is not ‘anti-democratic’ may not become ‘anti-national’ too. Right to dissent without the fear of possible victimization makes democracy the most acceptable form of government. The question of dissent emerges only when there is diversity in society. Hence the challenge of a heterogeneous society is to legitimize dissent and make the imagination of democracy complete for everyone equally. What makes democracy without right to dissent can be anything except democracy. Without dissent, there is no democracy between adversaries and hence no politics. There arise only forced unity and unmitigated enmity that is the end of politics and democracy. As Prof. Jyotirmaya Sharma rightly observed, “there are no good people and bad people, only good ideas and bad ideas”. Dissent has the immense potential to make every bad idea into relatively well. But no superpowers can convert bad people into good. Simply because both doesn’t exist. Ph.D Scholar (UGC-JRF), School of Gandhian Thought & Development Studies, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala type=content&p=1578). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Opinion] The Liberalism of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/the-liberalism-of-ishwar-chandra-vidyasagar/ ### Body _An undeniable pioneer of Indian liberalism and modernity, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar  was a social reformer, writer, educationist, and feminist. His reformist legacy is rooted in his efforts to end child marriage and high-caste polygamy, and enable widow remarriage.    _Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s many roles as an educationist, writer, social reformer, and feminist have rightly earned him the credential of being one of the early progenitors of Indian modernity. Underlying all these credentials of Vidyasagar, however, was his own brand of liberal humanism. While the modernising metropolitan West is considered to be the fertile ground for [liberal humanism](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=dWYyCwAAQBAJ&lpg=PA247&vq=liberal%20humanism&pg=PA247#v=snippet&q=liberal%20humanism&f=false) and indeed the colonizing mission brought these [newfound influences](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/recovering-liberties/DFFAC6CCD37E1844C0425E6B8866E443) to the periphery of Indian society, Vidyasagar essentially embodied [practical humanism](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=QqtVC-IUu2QC&lpg=PT117&vq=practical%20humanism&pg=PT117#v=snippet&q=practical%20humanism&f=false). The practical humanism of Vidyasagar was shaped by both his readings and lived experience. Born a poor Brahmin, his deprived childhood was made bearable by the generosity of kind strangers. Vidyasagar fondly recalls one particular widow Raimoni in [his memoirs](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=QqtVC-IUu2QC&lpg=PT119&dq=raimoni&pg=PT119#v=onepage&q=raimoni&f=false), who treated him as her own son. Besides, despite his training as a Sanskritist, he was also exposed to the Western Enlightenment ideas of secularism, agnosticism, rationalism, and liberty. These two distinct experiences determined the career trajectory of Vidyasagar. While it may be tempting to compare Vidyasagar with the great Bengali reformer and Father of Modern India, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, author Subrata Dasgupta underlines an important distinction between the two. This was in terms of their approach towards religion. The Raja’s worldview was always theocentric, rooted in his propagation of Vedanta and close study of Christian monotheism. The Sanskritist, on the other hand, had a [manifestly secular outlook](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=QqtVC-IUu2QC&lpg=PT119&dq=raimoni&pg=PT117#v=onepage&q=manifestly%20secular%20worldview&f=false). The remarkable reformism of Vidyasagar has been aptly captured in historian [Sarmila Bose](https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/02/201225115415732564.html)’s profile of the scholar: _“He was a Bengali Brahmin Sanskrit scholar. His image is that of a quintessential pandit, traditionally dressed in dhuti-chador. This was no Anglicised “brown sahib”. Yet this Sanskrit scholar battled to end child marriage and high-caste polygamy, and to enable Hindu widows to re-marry.”_ Vidyasagar’s reformism was informed by the plight of women who were at the receiving end of discriminatory social practices. It also extended to the domain of education as he advocated the policy of mass education to modernise the Bengali society. In 1854, he wrote a memorandum to the Council of Education arguing for use of vernacular for teaching masses, in contrast to the Anglicist liberal reformers. In a sense, Vidyasagar, himself a product of the Orientalist Sanskrit College, was merely continuing the “[Anglicist v/s Orientalist](https://scroll.in/magazine/821605/thomas-macaulay-and-the-debate-over-english-education-in-india)” debate of the 1830s. The year 1854 was remarkable in this regard. Wood’s Despatch incorporated Vidyasagar’s agenda in its recommendation of three-tier education system with primary education for the masses in vernacular medium. His efforts at educational reform, however, didn’t always bear fruit as in case of opening up of [Sanskrit College](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=H3g9BAAAQBAJ&lpg=PA42&ots=hu5L4rCbGr&dq=vidyasagar%20opening%20of%20sanskrit%20college%20to%20shudras&pg=PA42#v=onepage&q=vidyasagar%20opening%20of%20sanskrit%20college%20to%20shudras&f=false) to non-Brahmin students. He succumbed to orthodoxy and could only extend admission to Kayastha students. His more successful reform measure though had an earlier pedigree reflected in [Raja Rajballav](https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/02/201225115415732564.html)’s 1757 bid to remarry his widowed daughter as well as in the campaign of [radical Derozians](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=QqtVC-IUu2QC&lpg=PT119&dq=raimoni&pg=PT127#v=onepage&q=the%20bengal%20spectator&f=false) in the 1840s. But Vidyasagar’s advocacy turned out to be more effective. His skillful employment of colloquial language, mass media, the authority of the scriptural text and perhaps credential as a Brahmin scholar of Sanskrit resonated with the Company administrators who were seeking to reform Indian society under the influence of the dominant ideology of reformist [utilitarian liberalism.](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=0oVra0ulQ3QC&lpg=PP1&dq=editions%3AKhM5P9aBwwIC&pg=PA72#v=onepage&q&f=false) Vidyasagar’s approach towards widow remarriage was visible in two pamphlets that he published in 1855. The first pamphlet turned out to be an instant bestseller in which he used _Shastras _to advocate for widow remarriage, drawing sharp criticism from the Hindu orthodoxy. The relevant passages were found in the _Parasara Samhita_ which laid out the ground for a woman to remarry in certain circumstances. For widowed women, it suggested three options: remarriage, asceticism, and sati. Vidyasagar reasoned that since sati was illegal now and asceticism was too difficult a path to follow, the only plausible option remained was widow remarriage. His reformist campaign though had to face [opposition](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=QqtVC-IUu2QC&lpg=PT119&pg=PT128#v=onepage&q&f=false) from Hindu orthodoxy. The chief antagonist, of course, was the conservative Raja Radhakanta Deb who had also sparred with Ram Mohan Roy over Sati. Vidyasagar had to face opposition on the streets of Calcutta and amongst the Bengali _bhadralok_. The backlash also came in the form of a counter-petition with 30,000 signatories. However, the Widows’ Remarriage Act was passed successfully in 1856. Vidyasagar though was not so lucky in his other endeavor to emancipate the fallen women of the Hindu society. His campaign against the _kulin_ marriage tradition hit the wall in the post-mutiny Raj ruled by Queen Victoria. Victorian paternalism, argues [Shekhar Bandhopadhyay](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=0oVra0ulQ3QC&lpg=PP1&dq=editions%3AKhM5P9aBwwIC&pg=PA73#v=onepage&q&f=false), blamed the liberal reformism for the mutiny of 1857, and distanced itself from the earlier bid to liberalise the natives in Enlightenment mode. What followed was the limited sharing of power with the [conservative elite](http://thebookreviewindia.org/reappraising-an-intellectual-legacy/) and the ugly [racial authoritarianism](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=0oVra0ulQ3QC&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:KhM5P9aBwwIC&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiL6IPb4tnjAhWbXSsKHSlyA6wQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q&f=false) rooted in the racial anthropology of Victorian England. In this context, it is unsurprising to find that a native reformer’s plea saw no taker. Dejected at the conservatism of the Bengali _b__hadralok,_ which was sprinting towards the mystic guru Ramakrishna and racially charged authoritarian colonial overlords, Vidyasagar spent his last years working with the tribal population. Assessing the reformism of the ilk of Vidyasagar (Ram Mohan Roy included), historian [Ranjit Sen](https://www.jstor.org/stable/44142693) underlines two peculiar features- dependency on the Brahmins and the rich elites who determined the changing social parameters. For Sen, the oriental liberalism in this sense differed from the Western liberals. Mill, for instance, would never resort to appeal to priestly authority to make case for women’s rights. Indian reformers though had to resort to religious authority to successfully implement their liberal social agendas. Sen’s charges, I would argue, merit further clarification. The 19th century liberalism in the core and periphery of the Empire were rooted in their particular milieu. The Indian aspect of liberal tradition has been captured deftly in C A Bayly’s _Recovering Liberties_. John Stuart Mill’s liberalism was rooted in a Britain which inherited the legacy of the 16th century Reformation contributing to [secularization](http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674045637); [Glorious Revolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_liberalism) of 17th century advancing constitutionalism and “consent of the governed”; and the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century underpinned by a [laissez-faire market](http://jenni.uchicago.edu/WJP/papers/Harris_govt_and_econ.pdf) system. The cumulative effect of these historical developments shaped the ideas of classical liberal thinkers in Britain. India, in contrast, was a highly religious society with bustling port-centric commerce and fragmented polity in the 18th century as the East India Company’s political project was taking shape. The [orientalist disposition](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=0oVra0ulQ3QC&lpg=PP1&dq=editions%3AKhM5P9aBwwIC&pg=PA67#v=onepage&q&f=false) of the Company, in fact, cemented the hold of Brahmanical authority over Hindu society. Thus, the reformers had to contend with the forces of Hindu orthodoxy and also convince the new rulers of the merits of enacting reformist legislation. It is in this context that the resort of an otherwise [avowedly secular](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=QqtVC-IUu2QC&lpg=PT11&pg=PT130#v=onepage&q&f=false) Vidyasagar to the scriptural authority begins to make sense. [Dasgupta](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=QqtVC-IUu2QC&lpg=PT11&pg=PT127#v=onepage&q&f=false) further makes it clear in his discussion of widow remarriage that the rational and humanist arguments aren’t sufficient to bring change in a fundamentalist Hindu society and thus “the argument must be supported by scriptural sources to carry any weight.” Gandhi later adopted a similar strategy in his [battle against untouchability](https://india.oup.com/product/gandhi-against-caste-9780199474295?WT.mc_id=gac) where he proclaimed to be the most _sanatani_ of all while simultaneously attacking the pernicious practice of untouchability. How does one then assess the reformism of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, the Bengali Brahmin Sanskritist who was “rooted in traditional brahmin literati culture” for all his modernist ideas. I would venture out to suggest that [Vidyasagar](https://harvardmagazine.com/2014/05/vita-ishvarchandra-vidyasagar) was a [Mill-esque liberal](https://www.economist.com/open-future/2018/10/05/the-scandalous-love-affair-that-fuelled-john-stuart-mills-feminism) in his temperament towards women as the personal lived experience of both shaped their advocacy of women’s rights. However, in his reform methods, Vidyasagar approximated a Burkean approach of gradual reform and appealed to traditional authority. In his resort to rational argumentation, use of pamphlets to persuade public opinion and submission of a petition to the government, Vidyasagar emerges as a quintessential classical liberal. The poet-saint Rabindranath Tagore’s pithy tribute accurately captures the stature of Vidyasagar: “One wonders how God, in the process of producing forty million Bengalis, produced a man!” **![](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Latest-Photograph-264x300.jpg)** --- ## [Opinion] The Moderate Liberalism of “Ferocious Mehta” URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/the-moderate-liberalism-of-ferocious-mehta/ ### Body _A prominent voice of the liberal strand of the nationalist struggle was that of Sir Pherozeshah Mehta. A lawyer by education and among the founders of INC, Mehta advocated for local self-governance. His work towards the same in Bombay earned him the title of the "Father of the Municipal Government in Bombay."   _The enduring role of the Bombay-based moderate liberals in demanding political freedom and self-governance from the British Raj has been overshadowed by the subsequent turns in the Indian nationalist storytelling. Both the radicalism of the extremists and revolutionaries as well as the mass subaltern politics of Mahatma Gandhi have found a viable political constituency in the Republic of India. However, the shrinking of the liberal space and a clear absence of substantial liberal constituency have left the moderate nationalists heirless, so to speak. While Dadabhai Naoroji was the patron saint of the liberal nationalism, the Bombay-based, lawyer-dominated liberal intelligentsia comprised of a remarkable set of politicians. Sir Pherozeshah Mehta was part of this grouping, which went on to found Indian National Congress later in 1885. Born in a Parsi merchant family, the bid for upward mobility brought Mehta to London to pursue a degree in law. It was during this Britain stint (1865-68) that his liberalism was forged. In London, he actively engaged with the activities of the East India Association, an initiative of Dadabhai Naoroji to further Indian interests in Britain. Naoroji’s place in London was the hub of Indian liberal activists and it is here that Mehta made valuable connections. His friendship with the likes of Badruddin Taiyabji and Wyomesh Chandra Banerjee would later go on to shape the history of Indian nationalism. Besides, he was also influenced by Gladstonian liberalism, in vogue in Britain at the time. Mehta’s career as a politician would see him putting into practice his liberal conviction. In the annals of Indian nationalism, Mehta is largely seen as one of the founders of Indian National Congress and a leader of the moderate faction. But I would argue that his involvement with the Bombay self-governance project merits further recognition. It is also here that his political liberalism appears more prominently. Mehta has been dubbed as the “Father of the Municipal Government in Bombay”, both for his involvement in and advocacy for local self-governance. In response to the 1871 municipal reform agitation in Bombay, the Bombay Municipal Act of 1872 was passed which also incorporated Mehta’s proposal of a representative body. According to his biographer Homi Modi, Mehta’s proposals revealed “a political sagacity and breadth of outlook, which for a young man of twenty-six may well be considered astonishing…” [Mehta’s involvement](http://www.ampltd.co.uk/digital_guides/indian_newspaper_reports_parts_1_to_4/Publishers-Note-Part-6.aspx) with the Bombay city administration would continue in his role as municipal commissioner (1873), and chairman (1884-85 and 1905). In his role as a member of both Bombay and Imperial Legislative Council, he championed the interests of native Indians with a liberal stance on issues. He went on to oppose the Arms Act and Vernacular Press Act while lent support to Ilbert Bill. He also opposed Lord Curzon’s policy of bringing universities under the control of the government. In arguing for the introduction of elective principles in local bodies and decentralisation of authority, he resorted to John Stuart Mill and Herbert Spencer - _“We know that the highest authorities on the subject- Herbert Spencer and John Stuart Mill- have pointed out that you must have external or internal check on the working of these municipal bodies.”_ The [Ilbert Bill controversy](https://books.google.co.in/books?id=0oVra0ulQ3QC&lpg=PA213&vq=ilbert%20bill&pg=PA214#v=snippet&q=ilbert%20bill&f=false) (1883) turned out to be the last straw for Indian nationalists as they soon went on to form the Indian National Congress. One of the charges laid out by its detractors in early years was the limited reach of Congress, best captured in Lord Dufferin’s “microscopic minority” phrase. As one of the founding fathers of INC, it fell upon Mehta to defend the organization. In the 1890 Congress annual session, he argued that for all their differences and shortcomings, “the microscopic minority can far better and far more intuitively represent the needs and aspirations of their own countrymen than still more microscopic minority of the omniscient district officers.” Mehta’s advocacy of local self-governance and moderation in politics though had to face challenges from the political extremism of Tilak which demanded “_poorna swaraj_”. And, then the descent of Gandhi on national scene swept aside the “_plea-prayer-petition_” mode of political liberalism in favour of a non-violent mass movement. **![](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Latest-Photograph-264x300.jpg)** --- ## [Opinion] The Radical Humanism of Jyotiba Phule URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/the-radical-humanism-of-jyotiba-phule/ ### Body _In his struggle against the caste system, Jyotiba Phule’s innovation lay in overturning the ideological foundation of what he called Brahmanical order. He sought to transcend the caste-based division to unite the lower castes and untouchables in the category of Sudras-atisudras. (Image Credit: khabar.ndtv.com)_Brought by the modernising force of British Raj, the cosmopolitan ferment of Pune in the late 18th century fostered a small Indian intelligentsia which had an immense influence on the shaping of modern India. Ramchandra Guha has [pointed out](https://newrepublic.com/article/104203/the-other-liberal-light) that “between 1875 and 1910, the city of Poona (now Pune) was in the vanguard of social reform.” The likes of Gokhale, Tilak, Chiplunkar, and Agarkar sought to reform and mobilise the native population to create a modern Indian society and polity. Jyotiba Phule, a fellow Punekar, stands out in the group though for his radicalism and advocacy of the lower castes. Historian Gail Omvedt has [argued that Phule was an anti-nationalist](https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/jyotirao-phule-1827-1890/296679/) in the sense that he would prioritise the emancipation of lower castes over the project of national unity which left unaddressed the question of social justice. His idea of patriotism wasn’t limited to mere territorial unity. Instead, an educated and enlightened society constituted his swadeshi ideals. Jyotiba Phule’s radical humanism made him distinct from other nationalist leaders and was emulated by both E V Ramaswamy and Bhimrao Ambedkar. His remarkable legacy could be attested by the fact that a set of [social movements](https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/the-fragmented-heritage-of-jotiba-phule-30457/) in Maharashtra involving women, farmers, Dalits, and environmentalists consider Phule as their forerunner. Born in a family of gardeners that supplied flowers to the city’s elite, Jyotiba Phule had the opportunity to move between the upper caste elites and his _shudra_ community. This, argues historian Sunil Khilnani, [introduced him to a social arrangement](https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/jyotirao-phule-1827-1890/296679/) where opportunity was reserved for the few and privilege was preserved by the instrument of tradition. However, it was his missionary education that enabled him to challenge the oppressive caste system perpetuated by the Brahmanical order. With the introduction of western norms and administrative structure in the colonial enclaves, Phule sensed the importance of education in enabling social mobility for the lower castes and women. With the support of his wife Savitribai Phule, he went on to open the first school for girls by an Indian in 1848. The initiative drew resistance from the orthodoxy, and his father made him leave the paternal home. Undeterred, Phule the social reformer would go on to champion the cause of widow remarriage (1860s), establish an orphanage for illicit children (1863), published the seminal text Ghulamgiri (1873), write on the exploitation of the peasantry, and establish the Satyashodhak Samaj (1873). His activism merged the plight of lower castes with the subordination of women. In his struggle against the caste system, Jyotiba Phule’s innovation lay in overturning the ideological foundation of what he called Brahmanical order. He sought to transcend the caste-based division to unite the lower castes and untouchables in the category of Sudras-atisudras. To cement his construct of a united oppressed grouping, he inverted the Brahmanical mythology in a brilliant polemic and created a mythology for the subalterns. The then-prevalent notion of Aryan Invasion theory was employed by the Brahmins to talk of an Aryan Golden Age during the Vedic period. Phule’s golden age, in contrast, predated the arrival of Aryans when the original inhabitants ruled the roost. The aborigines offered stiff resistance to the Aryan invaders which is why they were hated and pushed into the lower fold in the Brahmanical social order. Phule equated the Aryan invasion to the western colonisation drive in their destruction of native population: _“The cruelties which the European settlers practised on the American Indians on their first settlement in the new world, had certainly their parallel in India on the advent of the Aryans and their subjugations of the aborigines.”_ Like a deft sociologist, Jyotiba Phule traced the continued exercise of power by the Brahmins to the system of laws, mythology and caste system that they devised. The counter came in the form of alternate mythology in which the different incarnations of Vishnu represented different phases of Aryan assault. Bali was a just Kshatriya king and brought prosperity for his people. Kshatriyas were the native inhabitants of the land (kshetra) who resisted Aryan onslaught and hence were labelled Shudras after their defeat. Maratha ruler Shivaji was the shudra king in the tradition of Bali who defended the lower castes- Kunbis, Mali, Mahar, etc. However, it was in the 1880s-90s that the Bahujan unity project of Phule geared towards an exclusive focus on the mobilisation of the Kunbi peasantry. This shift of focus, argues historian Shekhar Bandhopadhyay, led to an assertion of Maratha identity and their Kshatriya-hood. On the flip side, it meant less emphasis on the mobilisation of Dalits. It was, though, not only in the past that Phule sought emancipation. In his search for an emancipatory vision, Phule drew from West as well, and it is here that Indian liberals could stake a claim on him. In 1848, Phule came across Thomas Paine’s “Rights of Man” which was the most widely read pamphlet for reform in Britain in the 1790s. Paine’s ideas were influential in shaping Phule as well. Paine himself belonged to the classical liberal tradition and had provided intellectual support to the American Revolution. Jyotiba Phule dedicated his pamphlet Ghulamgiri to “the good people of the United States as a token of admiration for their sublime disinterested and self-sacrificing devotion in the cause of Negro slavery”. He also expected his fellow Indians to follow the American abolitionists in their fight for a just and equal order. In Phule, thus, we have an intellectual and activist with a global vision seeking to reform his own society. --- ## [Opinion] The Resolute Abala Bose: Educationist, Suffragist, Philanthropist URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/the-resolute-abala-bose/ ### Body The following essay celebrates Ambala Bose's remarkable contributions as an educationist, suffragist and philanthropist. She used her education, liberal upbringing and privileges to uplift the status of marginalised sections, largely focused on changing the peripheral role women played in Indian society at the time.There is a tendency of reducing women to their relationships with men who have achieved great feats. Lady Abala Bose too has been treated no differently by history. She spent her life working on the education, emancipation, and independence of women, and it is imperative that we remember her monumental contributions. Abala Bose (1865-1951) was born to Brahmo reformer Durga Mohan Das and Brahmamoyee Debi. While her father is known in history as a renowned advocate for women’s rights, her mother too helped young widows with education and shelter, in her short lifetime. During Abala’s childhood, her family faced ostracism from the community for their advocacy towards widow remarriage.  Abala was raised in a household with a highly liberal outlook in the 19th century, and their reformist thinking is also reflected in Abala’s siblings. Her sister Sarala Roy was a distinguished educationist, while her brother Satish Ranjan Das was the Advocate-General of Bengal. Moreover, her cousins were the celebrated freedom fighter Chittaranjan Das, and former Chief Justice of India, Sudhi Ranjan Das. Fostering an environment that encourages progressive attitudes has led to the creation of this highly decorated family in Indian history. Each member has made colossal contributions to the India that we live in today. At a time when educating women was not the norm, Abala did her schooling from Bangla Maha Vidyalaya and the celebrated Bethune School. With support from her father, she decided to pursue higher education in medicine. She secured admission at Madras University on a Bengal government scholarship. Though she cleared her final examination, she had to return to Calcutta due to her poor health. **Bose as an Educationist ** After her education, Abala got married to the ‘Father of Radio Science’- Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose. With his[knighthood](https://www.shethepeople.tv/sepia-stories/heres-what-you-should-know-about-abala-bose-the-early-indian-feminist/) in 1916, Abala too gained the title of a ‘Lady’. Owing to Sir Bose’s career, Lady Bose travelled the globe. It is during her travels that she began to learn different pedagogies adopted for educating girls in different parts of the world. She then applied these collected pedagogies to India. In 1910, she was elected as the Secretary for the Brahmo Balika Shikshalaya, a girls’ school in Kolkata. Over her 26-year-long term, Abala brought in significant innovations to the curriculum. Among the most prominent was the newly-devised Montessori system. Abala also approached the eminent teacher and social activist, Sister Nivedita, to train the teachers working at the kindergarten-level. Under the latter’s guidance, the school witnessed a reform in curriculum and educational methods. The girls enrolled in the school were exposed to a unique and unprecedented mode of learning. They were also provided self-defence training and visits to places of interest.  In 1919, Abala brought together influential individuals such as Jadumati Mukherjee, Prafulla Chandra Ray, Chittaranjan Das, Sir Nilratan Sircar, and Priambada Banerjee to set up the Nari Shiksha Samiti. The _Samiti_ was set up to bring about reforms for women at a mass level. The organisation was aimed at creation of a gender-sensitive curriculum, and the expansion of women’s education. It also sought to provide financial support to widows, promote women in STEM, and increase women’s representation in educational institutions - all of which aimed at enhancing individual freedom and agency for the women. She also co-founded the Beltala Girls’ School in Bhowanipore and the Muralidhar Girls’ College. Through the course of her life, Lady Bose set up[88 primary schools and 14 adult educational institutions](https://in.style.yahoo.com/the-story-of-lady-abala-bose-an-indian-feminist-who-spent-her-life-empowering-young-girls-and-widows-030044669.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANItsgm9ycdt3k0vjxpO3312g3niNv7N3vaSjHufLOq4P_5FsPtTCsNn8cMlvj2SGQo5hiT5MmbPmcBQQ0qRp6dvo7_lgS8ySxlJZAcC2CI4r2I2SjEq7G3TewE4EauFGDsO7N_emg0ylLG3b7j4qlR-a72WTInk37eN-fr9e_qa) in the Bengal Province of British India. **Bose as an Advocate for Widows’ Upliftment** From her family, Abala inherited a concern for widows and the hardships they face in a society that stigmatises them. With this in mind, she set up the Vidyasagar Bani Bhavan in 1925. It served as a rehabilitation centre for widows, especially from underprivileged households, who had been expelled from their families. At the centre, these widows were equipped with vocational skills. Teacher training and education was provided to the widows, who would further go on to gain employment at the primary schools established by the Nari Shiksha Samiti. Along these lines, the Abala Bose-led Nari Shakti Samiti also established Bani Bhavan and Mahila Shilpa Bhavan. These organisations skilled young unmarried girls, housewives, and widows in embroidery and sewing, so as to provide them with a channel of income. In 1935, the Women’s Industrial Cooperative Home was set up to aid financial independence. In addition to this, Abala was also appointed as the first president of the Bengal Women’s Education League. **Bose as a Suffragist ** Seen as one of the earliest Indian feminists, Abala is said to have influenced social worker Kamini Roy into the feminist movement. Roy is today seen as one of the most vocal advocates for women’s voting rights. What remains relatively unknown, however, is her classmate from Bethune, Abala, played a tremendous role in Roy’s feminist struggle.  Abala Bose’s contributions to the feminist movement extend well beyond educational reform and widow upliftment. She was also among the earliest trailblazers of the Indian suffragists’ movement. In 1917, she was part of a[delegation that met with Edwin Montagu](https://www.thebetterindia.com/246706/lady-abala-bose-indian-feminist-jagadish-chandra-bose-radio-science-women-education-widow-upliftment-british-raj-womens-suffrage-inspiration-div200/), during the negotiations of the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms. The delegation, which included suffragists such as Sarojini Naidu, Margaret Cousins, Ramabai Ranade, and Dorothy Jinarajadasa, contributed to women in India being first granted the right to vote in 1921, in Madras. In the English Magazine _Modern Review_,[Lady Abala Bose argued:](https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/3517870.pdf?ab_segments=0%252Fbasic_search_gsv2%252Fcontrol&refreqid=excelsior%3A29962efe66849ad61d9a491178347544) _“women should have a deeper and extended education, not because we may make better matches for our girls ... not even that the services of the daughter-in-law may be more valuable in the home of her adoption, but because woman like man is first of all a mind, and only in the second place physical and a body”_. This excerpt perfectly captures her progressive attitudes and the beliefs that drove her goal to uplift women. Her viewpoint was not to uplift women to make them more resourceful for their families or for their future generations. Instead, she primarily believed that a woman deserves a right to quality education simply because she too is first and foremost, a mind, that consists of the same human condition that makes up a man. This is an extraordinarily liberal outlook for a woman living in the early 20th century British India, and it is echoed in her work throughout her lifetime. **Bose’s Philanthropy and Final Days** Abala Bose had an empathetic understanding of the trials and tribulations most women faced in the society. Using her connections, resources, and privilege, contributed greatly towards broadening access to education. She also realised that in order to bring about significant change in society, she had to go beyond just setting up schools and educational centres. Holistic teacher training also played a major role in improving the quality of education imparted. Following Dr. Bose’s death in 1937, Abala Bose set up the Sister Nivedita Adult Education Fund, where she donated Rs.10,00,000. The fund sought to provide for first aid, literacy classes, home gardening, and other skills to women hailing from rural areas. She had also set up Sadhana Ashram, and handed it over to the Brahmo Samaj a day before her passing in 1951. Her drive to educate women went beyond the social hierarchies that are prevalent in society. As an early feminist, her work as an educationist was intersectional. One of the central aims behind her work was to eradicate casteism especially from rural areas. Additionally, she stressed on the need to bring women in purdah within the scope of her educational reforms, rather than wait for them to be able to venture out and seek an education for themselves. Moreover, in order to make the learning experience truly effective, Abala also underlined the fact that female teachers needed to replace Brahmin pandits to make the girls comfortable. Abala Bose’s aims were not just to expand the access to education, and ameliorate the quality of education. She also believed that basic education was necessary to combat the major societal evils of that time. For this, her efforts were centred around ensuring literacy, and to convey the basic elements of hygiene and sanitation- specifically for women. As an early feminist, Abala also influenced many educationists who came after her.[Saroj Nalini Dutt](https://feminisminindia.com/2019/01/04/abala-bose-pioneer/,) for instance, too emphasised on village reform. She advocated against the orthodoxy that prevented women from getting an education and having agency over their decisions. As a feminist, Abala Bose dedicated her life to championing the liberal cause, one that would put men and women on the same footing. As a philanthropist, social reformer and educationist, she paved the path for an equitable, progressive, and liberal India of the future. She channelled her resources and privileges towards the betterment of the marginalised sections of society. Though coming from a highly illustrious family and being married to a renowned scientist, Lady Abala Bose made a name for herself in history that often overlooks the efforts made by women. --- ## [Opinion] The Unwavering Feminism of Tarabai Shinde URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/the-unwavering-feminism-of-tarabai-shinde/ ### Body _Tarabai Shinde deserves to be known as one of the early feminists of India and a figure who espoused the cause of liberalism through her commitment to equal rights for women.  _The nineteenth century India was characterized by increasing demands of social reforms in the country. Along with their male contemporaries, women like Ramabai Ranade and Savitribai Phule questioned patriarchal norms of the society. One such advocate of women empowerment and gender equality was Tarabai Shinde.  Little is known about the background of Tarabai Shinde. Born in the town of Buldana in Maharashtra, her family was a part of the socially elite Maratha community. Though she did not receive formal education, she learnt to read and write Marathi, some English and Sanskrit at home under the guidance of her father. She was an avid reader of the newspapers and kept herself abreast about the happenings in the society. Her father Bapuji Hari Shinde worked as the Head Clerk at the office of Deputy Commissioner for Revenues. He was associated with Mahatma Phule’s Satyasahodhak Samaj though the level of participation and involvement is unknown. Like the traditions of the times, she was married at a young age but her husband went to live in her household (_gharjavai_) which is unusual in a patriarchal society. She believed that a woman had the same [value](https://www.thebetterindia.com/135270/me-too-19th-century-feminist-tarabai-shinde/) with or without a child and chose to remain childless in her marriage. She rallied against the patriarchal [code](https://www.the-criterion.com/V8/n3/IN22.pdf) of honour and morals when the then controversial ‘Vijaylakshmi case’ came up in 1881. [Vijaylakshmi](https://feminisminindia.com/2017/03/01/remembering-tarabai-shinde-essay/), a young pregnant widow, killed her unborn child in Surat. She was awarded a death penalty which was later changed to life imprisonment. The orthodox newspaper [Pune Vaibhav](https://m.dailyhunt.in/news/india/english/women+s+web+english-epaper-wmnwbe/tarabai+shinde+the+feminist+pioneer+of+the+1800s+who+s+still+relevant+to+us+today-newsid-n150133314) published a series of articles criticising Vijaylakshmi as the child symbolised the sexual relation she had, despite being a widow. The articles went on insulting women in general for their ‘loose morals’. As a response to these conservative articles, Tarabai Shinde penned her magnum opus- _Stri Purush Tulana_ (A comparison between men and women) in Marathi. It is a scathing critique of gender inequality and questions the institutional gender inequality entrenched in the social institutions of that time. The booklet resurfaced only after it was [republished](https://englishsummary.com/stri-purush-tulana-analysis/#gsc.tab=0) by S.G. Malshe in 1975.  It sheds light on the shortcomings of society with reference to the rights of women. She not only put forth her views and arguments but also criticised narrow literature works like _Stricharita_, _Manorama_ and _Muktamala_ for defining gender roles, giving it a moral sanction and generalization. In a society that looks down upon prostitutes, she humanised them and understood their plight. She argued vehemently against child marriages, polygamy, and forced marriages. She advocated agency of women when it was unheard of.  _Stri-Purush Tulana_, which is addressed to all the men, raises many questions about the unjust practices prevalent in the society that leads to subjugation of women. Considering that it was provoked due to injustice handed to a widow, she underlined the issues of widows in great detail. At the very start, Tarabai highlighted the plight of widows and questioned the authority of men over women and the concept of ‘pativrata’ i.e. undoubted obedience towards husband. At a time when widows were treated unfairly, she spoke about widow marriage and their conditions.  The societal norms mandated that a woman would be deprived of her ornaments, hair and beauty and led into an isolated life after the death of her husband. The loss of husband would translate into her loss of the already limited rights she previously enjoyed. She would be considered as an ill omen and not be invited for the social functions. However, in case of the wife’s death, the husband was free to marry and live his life. Tarabai Shinde was aghast at this unequal treatment and challenged the men to undertake the same path as women. She traced this sense of superiority of men to patriarchy and money. While making a case for widow marriage, she argued that the death of a king without a male heir caused instability in the kingdom. If women were allowed to remarry, the woman would not lose her rights and the kingdom would be stable.  She also promoted the cause of education and firmly believed that education would help the girls to face the circumstances around them. The interaction of educated women would make their minds aware, critical, and averse to superstitions. The training would give them courage to make decisions and chart their own life- a change not everyone was comfortable with. She criticised the editors of Pune Vaibhav for being enemies of women and opposing change. At a time where even talking about widow’s marriage was considered as a taboo, she openly spoke about the sexual desires of the widows and wives ignored by their husbands. In case of adultery, she blamed the husbands for not keeping their wives happy. However, she argued for equal punishment for the man and woman for committing adultery instead of only penalizing women.  She critically evaluated the Shashtras and pointed out how the interpretations have been misconstrued to suit the patriarchal narrative. By citing instances from mythology, she illustrated the importance of a woman’s role in a man’s life as a mother and wife. Tarabai Shinde demonstrated the way in which women were blamed, in mythology and real life, for the mistakes committed by men.  She denounced the menfolk for doing lip service to social reforms in the country. She observed: _“You hold these great meetings, you turn up at them in your fancy shawls and embroidered turbans, you go through a whole ton of supari nuts, cartloads of betel leaves,  you use up a tank full of rosewater, then come home. That’s it. That’s all you do”_.  [Published](https://thewire.in/books/a-lesson-in-tolerance-for-smriti-irani-from-19th-century-india) in 1882 by Shri Shivaji Press and priced at nine annas, the booklet generated great turbulence. The orthodox community was visibly shaken by the publication of the booklet . The local [newspapers](https://feminisminindia.com/2017/03/01/remembering-tarabai-shinde-essay/) ran targeted articles mocking her work. She was [condemned](https://www.longdom.org/open-access/a-case-study-of-tarabai-shinde-in-maharashtra-a-research-hypothesis-2167-0358-1000200.pdf) by social reformers like Krushnarao Bhalekar and Narayanrao Lokhande who were colleagues of Jyotiba Phule. It is speculated that the widespread criticism forced her to disappear from the public eye after the publication of her only work. In the public realm, only Jyotiba Phule voiced his support for Tarabai Shinde and her thoughts. He authored an elaborate defence of her work in the second issue of its magazine, [Satsar](https://www.shethepeople.tv/home-top-video/stri-purush-tulna-tarabai-shinde-first-feminist-text-india/). Addressing her as _chiranjivini_, he recommended the booklet to his colleagues for understanding the charges she put forth about the ill-treatment meted out to women and to respond suitably. He lauded her courageous and original attempt in articulating her views.  Unfortunately, some of the criticisms she made during her times hold true even today. Her work was more of a reaction to the circumstances around her in a scathing manner. However, she argued rationally by calling attention to the problematic trends in society that have been accepted as status quo. Her thoughts on other issues are unknown as _Stri Purush Tulana_ remained the sole work  authored by her. In the context of the times she lived in, the thoughts she articulated were way ahead of her times. The noted historian Ramchandra Guha [opines](https://www.amazon.in/Makers-Modern-India-Ramachandra-Guha-ebook/dp/B06XY58CWZ) that her writing deserves serious attention as it remains one of the most powerful pieces of social criticism ever written by an Indian. In a time where women received little or no education, she used her education to raise her voice to criticise the harsh gender realities. Reeta Kumari [observes](https://www.longdom.org/open-access/a-case-study-of-tarabai-shinde-in-maharashtra-a-research-hypothesis-2167-0358-1000200.pdf)that throughout her arguments, she demanded gender equality and refused to accept the superiority of men. Tarabai Shinde deserves to be known as one of the early feminists of India and a figure who espoused the cause of liberty through her commitment to equal rights for women.   **![](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/IMG_20200220_220742_725-e1622060117627-284x300.jpg)** --- ## [Opinion] The Swatantra Way for Forging a Formidable Coalition URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/the-swatantra-way-for-forging-a-formidable-coalition/ ### Body India, the world’s largest democracy, recently concluded its general elections. The date of the election results 4th June 2024 coincided with the date of establishment of the Swatantra Party. The formations that emerged from this largest electoral exercise in the world have more in common with the Swatantra Party than just the date. One would correctly wonder what could be so similar between a recently concluded election and a political party that was founded sixty-five years ago. The Swatantra Party contributed immensely to Indian political and electoral thinking. Much of this invaluable treasure of ideas has remained hidden in the old Swatantra documents and souvenirs waiting for researchers, young and old, willing to explore them. This article discusses the timeless wisdom of the Swatantrites, especially for the opposition parties faced with a formidable ruling party or a ruling coalition.  ### Pragmatism of the Swatantra Party The Swatantra Party had acquired a weird reputation for being too principled and politically promiscuous at the same time. It is more important to focus on the serious accusation of promiscuity.  A contemporary observer, Howard Erdman objected to the Swatantra Party’s decision to negotiate with all non-communist political parties including the right-wing parties to avoid a multi-cornered contest against the ruling Congress in the 1962 elections. To avoid a multi-cornered contest against the powerful Congress, the Swatantra Party negotiated with Ram Rajya Parishad, Bharatiya Jana Sangh and even Hindu Mahasabha. Swatantra Party had preferred to contest elections on its programme and yet it was ready to negotiate for the electoral arrangements.  Congress at the time was an amalgamation of ideologically divergent groups and interests. The flipside of this diversity was that ideologically the Congress stood for nothing specific. The Swatantra Party believed that the alternative to the then-dominant Congress had to be fundamentally different from Congress. In a democracy, parties and alliances must offer alternatives or choices to the voters through their programmes. The Swatantra Party held that there was a need for the polarisation of political parties based on principles and well-defined programmes and not on personalities or identities. Any attempt to create a consensus among all opposition parties was futile. It would not only create confusion but also lack a well-defined policy programme. (Masani, 1966a)  Coming from this position the Swatantra Party was ready to cooperate to the maximum extent specifically with ‘like-minded’ parties. Thus, the Swatantra Party was willing to defer to other illiberal right-wing parties to maximise the chances of defeating the Congress.  Minoo Masani did not support the Swatantra-Hindu Mahasabha association in the Lok Sabha given the latter’s frank position on the communal issues. However, the other founding member of the Swatantra Party - Rajaji, was ready to _‘ally with the devil himself’_ to defeat the Congress. (Erdman, 1963-1964) According to S. V. Raju, Masani and Rajaji were two liberals who agreed on nine out of ten things. Yet on an issue as crucial as the coalition policy of the Swatantra Party, they were rarely on the same page. **The Problem with the First-Past-the-Post System** The Swatantra Party diagnosed a problem in Indian democratic institutions. India adopted the first-past-the-post electoral system. This system is patterned after the British system. India has multiple political parties. According to Minoo Masani, the first-past-the-post electoral system evolved for countries with two-party systems. When only two candidates representing the two major political parties contest, the winner invariably garners support from the majority. However, abiding by the first-past-the-post rule in a multiparty democracy meant that an elected candidate would more often be the one whose performance was only marginally better than others and not necessarily the candidate who had the support of the majority of voters (above 50% votes) from his constituency. Latin American countries with multiparty systems had started moving away from the first-past-the-post system and adopted a system of majority run-offs as early as the 1960s. This meant that if no candidate won a clear majority in the first round of voting there would be another round of voting between the top two candidates from the first round. The electoral system in India in a way compelled the Swatantra Party to enter into electoral arrangements with other democratic political parties in the opposition. The Swatantra Party preferred contesting elections under its own banner. But to put an end to the distortion of the popular will through the first-past-the-post system, it was necessary to eliminate the contest between opposition parties. The opposition parties had to resort to the ‘second ballot’ or a majority runoff among themselves in advance. (Masani, 1966b) This meant they had to gauge who from among them could win against the Indian National Congress in a given constituency. **Importance of Collective Action** Sohrab Batlivala, a Swatantrite, made an interesting observation about the 1967 state election results. Certain states in India had shown a marked preference for particular opposition parties and their respective ideologies. For instance, Tamil Nadu voted Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to absolute power. Kerala voted for the Communists. Orissa elected a contingent of the Swatantra Party to its legislature. Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan had shown a liking for Bharatiya Jana Sangh.[1] There were very few states and regions without a well-organised opposition to the ruling Congress Party. Batlivala argued that these states could be strategically targeted by opposition parties. (Batlivala, 1971) A party like Bharatiya Jana Sangh could make inroads into Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Similarly, the Swatantra Party could extend its influence to the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Doing this tactfully and with mutual agreement was indeed the right thing for the opposition parties willing to put an end to the dominance of Congress. The like-minded opposition parties could collectively decide to not poach on the preserves of one another and share the states as their exclusive areas of influence amongst themselves. This arrangement would result in the following scenario: - Most of the states would immediately come under a two-party system consisting of only the ruling Congress and one opposition party. - If a non-Congress opposition party succeeded in getting a majority in the state assembly without forming a coalition, it would form a compact and homogeneous ministry of its own. This was seen as a much better option than forming a United Front with disunited partners. - The non-Congress Party would not have to get into the agonising task of forging the electoral adjustments with political rivals. Only if the opposition parties had adopted this way, the people of India would have been able to judge these parties for their ability to govern well. It would have led to a real competition between the political parties to prove to the nation the intrinsic worth of their respective economic policies, programmes and ideologies. Had this plan of having one opposition party per state been carefully implemented, it would have substantially reduced the overall cost of conducting the election campaigns. Every party would have had a congenial area for itself against the ruling Congress. They would not have to worry about contesting a much larger number of legislative seats which strained their resources in uncongenial regions. Most of the opposition parties would have secured far more seats than by competing against several rivals, claimed Batlivala. Further Batlivala observed four main divisions of nearly equal strength among the non-Congress opposition. Firstly, there was a Rightist group consisting of the Swatantra Party and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Secondly, there was a Middle or Centrist one consisting of the Opposition Congress or the Congress (O). Thirdly, there was a Leftist camp consisting of the Communists and the Socialist groups. Lastly, there was a motley crowd of various state parties and independents representing and advocating divergent views and policies on economic and political problems facing India. Such a heterogeneous and divided opposition would never be able to join hands to form a coalition to oust the ruling Congress from the seat of power.  According to Batlivala, the Congress could be stopped in the Lok Sabha if the opposition achieved at least one of the two things: (a) The opposition parties split up into Rightist and Leftist factions of nearly equal strength; or (b) The strength of the Congress was reduced to less than thirty percent of the entire membership of both Houses. ### **Conclusion** The Indian National Congress is no longer the dominant party. Most of the parties mentioned above have changed, have been replaced or have been rendered irrelevant. The Swatantra Party ceased to exist as early as the mid-1970s. However, some of these observations and ideas produced by the Swatantrites are valid even today. The political parties of today have gradually adopted these ideas after trial and error. When the opposition parties contesting against a common dominant ruling party fish in the same pond for the electorate, they inadvertently end up helping the dominant ruling party. This was evident during the Lok Sabha elections of 2014 and 2019 when the left-of-centre political parties such as the Samajwadi Party and the Indian National Congress contested against each other in Uttar Pradesh. This led to the victories of the Bharatiya Janata Party in two consecutive elections.  In the 2024 general elections, the Samajwadi Party entered into an arrangement with the Congress. The regional party (Samajwadi Party) in this case was able to persuade the much larger national party (Congress) to contest only 17 seats in Uttar Pradesh. The Samajwadi Party decided to contest 62 out of the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh. This led to a direct contest between the Samajwadi Party / Indian National Congress on one side and the Bharatiya Janata Party on the other in each constituency. This trend is much wider and goes beyond Uttar Pradesh.  Swatantrites observed that the Indian multiparty system could create a strong government at the centre but it was incapable of putting such a government on leash. The electoral rules adopted by India were more suitable for the two-party system. The first-past-the-post rule would not be reformed as it benefitted the political parties across the board. If this electoral rule cannot be reformed, the Indian multiparty system has to be converted into a two-party system. Therefore, the Swatantra Party sought to convert the elections into a two-party contest unofficially. Indian parties in opposition and parties in power can learn a lot from Swatantra’s prescription and avoid distortion of popular will.  **Notes:** - Other examples of the marked preference for regional parties included Akali Sikhs in Punjab, the new local Vishal Haryana Party in Haryana, the Peasants and Workers Party and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. **References:** - Batlivala, S. H. (1971). _Alternatives to Coalitions: United Fronts and Electoral Adjustments_. Swatantra Party. - [Erdman, H. (1963-1964, Winter)](https://doi.org/10.2307/2754685). _India's Swatantra Party_. Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia, 36(4), 394-410. - [Masani, M. R. (1966a)](https://books.google.co.in/books/about/Why_Swatantra.html?id=oSdEAQAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y). _Why Swatantra?_ Popular Prakashan. - [Masani, M. R. (1966b)](https://indianliberals.in/liberals/congress-misrule-and-the-swatantra-alternative.pdf). The Socialist Pattern. In _Congress Misrule and the Swatantra Alternative_ (pp. 1-40). Manaktalas, Bombay. type=content&p=8552). Needs editorial review._ --- ## [Opinion] Why Remember Sharad Joshi? URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/why-remember-sharad-joshi/ ### Body _Sharad Anantrao Joshi, founder of the Shetkari Sanghatana, was a champion of individual freedom; a liberal in the truest sense of the word. He envisioned an India where the state was not placed on a pedestal, one where individual freedoms would guarantee a dignified life.     _When Sharad Joshi came to India in the 70s, there was a huge boom of tragedy leaders in our country. Based on the points of mutual disputes and differences that have been rooted in the society for centuries, the leaders, who run their shops of prestige on them, used to pretend social service by sitting on the chests of farmers, Dalits and the underprivileged. All these leaders had one thing in common, their mood was feudal and they were going to invalidate and unroot the contribution of modern western countries in our lives. Their imagery of social service was like continuing the life-long treatment of the ailing patient but never treating. Their methods of the social reforms were cosmetic in nature, which on the face seemed very compassionate and giving, but internally could not be treated anywhere. As a result, the multiple so-called attempts to reform the society and the economy created an army of such reforming leaders in this country who had almost no knowledge and were not even remotely related to economics and modern science. By representing and leading their respective castes and religious crowds, these leaders had become the biggest enemies of India’s modernity and liberation. It almost seemed like that it was a well-strategized, well thought of formula to never demand freedom, instead, table a long list of demands before the government. Sharad Joshi was one of the first leaders to acknowledge the importance of freedom and dignity, and, that, there is no greater value than leading a free and dignified life. He firmly believed that governments were a necessary evil and thus he simply sought independence from the government and nothing else. He advocated that governments should not be made a matter of virtuous faith by repeatedly placing long demand letters in front of them. This puts the government on a pedestal and allows it to use its brutal power to infringe the dignity and freedom of a common man. Sharad Joshi had also initiated freedom of the producers by demanding relaxation and in fact complete elimination of the existing laws instead of seeking stringent laws. Laws which do not promote stronger punishments for the enemy, but promote values of freedom for them. After meeting Sharad Joshi, my entire view and way of respecting politicians had changed. Because of him, I started understanding leaders, not from their words or speeches, but the impact their thoughts on society. Today, I do not respect the leaders that build their imagery and prestige on the suffering of the others. I see them as the problem itself and not the problem-solvers or solution. These people are selfish and egoistic, they want people to remain unhappy so that they can be immortal in their remembrance. Had I not met Sharad Joshi, I would have been idolizing the Robinhood type heroes in Indian films, the leftist writers and environment activists But meeting Sharad Joshi on 25 December 1994 created a parameter within me on developing a binary of like and dislike about the leaders, which never there before. The real tribute to Sharad Joshi would not be to table a long list of demands to the government. It would rather be to make people’s lives more productive, dignified and artistic by posing in front of them, the ideas, thoughts and human innovations that have taken place in every corner of the world. As much as he was interested in the art and culture of the past, he was equally fascinated by the knowledge of the West. While he could recite and explain a poem written in Sanskrit, he was equally interested in French. He was a cosmopolitan, pioneered global greats of the era, who was beyond the boundaries of religion, caste, language, and nation. And that’s why he used to pick a funny bone by minimizing these identities as “degeneration of birth” only. He hoped from the youth to not fall prey to any misunderstanding of their past and present. He hoped from the youth to travel to the skies at the risk of failing, to go beyond the horizon but always keep finding ways of liberating their nation and the whole of humanity. For him, a vendor selling food on the streets was a much more valuable element than an unemployed youth seeking employment by sitting on his degrees. If he would have, he would probably go to the food selling vendor’s shop and get a photo of him. Sharad Joshi ridiculed and pointed out to the leaders who advanced the idea a casteless society, by sticking to their own caste identities. He wanted to inflict conceptualize and promote a world where nobody should ever require birth and caste certificates. At whatever age, whichever place one stand, one should get the right to the best expression. He aspired to reject every loop that binds human birth at any limit. I consider myself lucky that I got a chance to meet and interact with him, I got the fortune to hear his golden words from his mouth. I offer my heartfelt tribute to the great soul on this memorial day today. _(This piece has been sourced, translated and reproduced here with permission from the Facebook wall of Mr Dinesh Sharma.)_ --- ## [Opinion] V S Srinivasa Sastri: Diplomat, Politician, Liberal URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/v-s-srinivasa-sastri/ ### Body Sastri’s liberalism was evident in both his role as a politician and diplomat. He asserted the demand for equal rights and partnership under the Raj, not subordination: “We want political power; let there be no mistake about it. We want the right to rule ourselves.”Mahatma Gandhi is among that rare category of politicians which defy the conventional ideological label of liberal, left, conservative, or anarchist. His long career of engagement with ideas drew inspiration from scores of writings. Yet, Indian liberals, in some measure, could claim pedigree over Gandhi. His political activism in India was preceded by a year-long tour of the country, undertaken on the advice of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, the Poona-based leading liberal patriot. As is widely known, Gandhi accepted Gokhale as his political guru. The less known, however, is the another liberal politician who Gandhi called his elder brother, V S Srinivasa Sastri. He was a Tamilian school teacher-turned-editor, who joined the liberal fold under the influence of a single pamphlet written by Gokhale. A confidential note on the preamble and rules of Gokhale’s Servants of India Society, the pamphlet made Sastri leave his job to join the society. Around a decade later Gandhi would also seek to join the society only to withdraw the membership because of differences in thought. Sastri remained firmly in the liberal fold though, assisting Gokhale in his role as the Secretary of Indian National Congress and the member of Indian Legislative Council. He would highlight Gokhale’s patriotism in an article published in 1905 in the following words: “_If we look for the noblest type of patriotism, that which impels to sacrifice of self and takes joy therein, what name can be placed beside his, save only that of Dadabhai [Naoroji]?_” After Gokhale passed away in 1915, Sastri was made the President of the society which he would lead till his death in 1946. Sastri’s liberalism was evident in both his role as a politician and diplomat. He was one of the architects of the Congress-League scheme of 1916. The Lucknow Pact of 1916 was an Indian bid to prove their fitness for devising a constitutional mechanism. Sastri asserted the demand for equal rights and partnership under the raj, not subordination: “_We want political power; let there be no mistake about it. We want the right to rule ourselves._” Initially, though he only pushed for dominion status in internal matters for India. It was only later in 1922 that he would come to advocate self-determination. His moderate approach of changing stance in light of prevailing condition was also visible in the shift from responsive to the responsible model of governance. Not dissimilar to the [bitter experience](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/recovering-liberties/DFFAC6CCD37E1844C0425E6B8866E443) of other Indian liberals, Sastri also experienced [ugly racism](https://medium.com/afro-asian-visions/a-diplomat-a-speech-and-a-bomb-907e67077e5e), both within India and outside it. He came to advocate racial equality and argued for British dominions to accept citizenship right of Indians residing in their territories. In the domestic politics, he advocated democratization of princely states, saw separate electorate for Muslims as fait accompli, moved a resolution against the draconian Rowlatt Act, and demanded equal rights for women in all domains. Sastri’s opposition to Civil Disobedience and Non-cooperation sit uncomfortably with the mainstream nationalist movement and as such merits further explanation. In fact, Congress disapproval of the Montagu reforms and 1919 elections in favour of non-violent agitation led to the liberal break with the Congress. Though an admirer of Gandhi, Sastri’s principled opposition to non-cooperation was based on his faith in the rule of law. He had presciently argued that in breaking laws, Indian nationalism was setting the wrong precedent for future citizens. The sorry state of disregard for law today could, in some measure, be ascribed to the legitimacy accorded to [extra-constitutional protests](http://acorn.nationalinterest.in/2011/08/14/faq-why-is-anna-hazare-wrong-and-lok-pal-a-bad-idea/) by the nationalist movement. Sastri also had to face accusations of being a Raj sympathizer in his opposition to Congress. His response went that in appealing to the liberal faction of British law-makers, he was no different from the non-cooperation _satyagrahis_ seeking to influence British opinion. Besides, Sastri’s principled liberal stance of constitutional advancement conditioned him to seek cooperation with the Raj to earn its goodwill. I would here argue for the need to recognize the validity of differing Indian bids for dignity and political freedom instead of pitting one against the other. Such an approach would accurately capture the heterogeneous nature of Indian nationalism. Sastri’s illustrious career went beyond domestic politics to include his stint as a roving diplomat of colonial India. Vineet Thakur, historian and upcoming biographer of Sastri, sums up his approach to international relations in terms of [liberal internationalism](https://nias.knaw.nl/fellow/thakur-vineet/). Sastri the diplomat made a successful case for granting of citizenship rights to the Indians living in British dominions in the 1921 Imperial Conference. At the Geneva conference of the League of Nations, he outlined his vision for global citizenship and made case for disarmament. The Geneva stint was soon followed by a visit to Washington for the Naval Treaty Conference. Glowing coverage followed in the pages of the New York Times outlining his liberal credo: "_He [Sastri] has spoken for India twice, and those who predicted that he would present a purely official view, still more a purely British official view, have been badly mistaken. That he wants Indian self-government he does not conceal, nor that he takes the Indian national culture and character and Hindu religion seriously. But when he talks as a sane man who knows that everything cannot be done in a day and that it is much easier to tear down something fairly good than to build something a little better."_ His status as the “_de facto global ambassador of India_” would further be cemented by his visit to South Africa to make case for the Indian cause, egged on by both Gandhi and the Viceroy. His powerful rhetorical skill based on his mastery over English earned him accolades as well as helped further his cause. In the South African town of Klerksdorp, his public event was disrupted by [bombing](https://medium.com/afro-asian-visions/a-diplomat-a-speech-and-a-bomb-907e67077e5e) which fortunately didn’t cause much damage. Back at home, he would make case for Indian participation in international affairs by arguing that the arrangements made at the high seats of power had implications for India as well. It would thus serve India well to represent itself in the conferences and share responsibilities. Historians like Bipan Chandra have argued that under the visionary statesmanship of Nehru, Indian Republic punched above its weight in international affairs in initial years. I would argue that in V S Srinivasa Sastri, India has prehistory of outsized involvement in international affairs, dating back to its colonial moment. --- ## [Opinion] Women and Liberalism : The Life of Ramabai Ranade URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/women-and-liberalism-life-of-ramabai-ranade/ ### Body _ A distinctively liberal feature of Ramabai's work is how all women, despite their social or economic background, were accepted in the Seva Sadan._Ramabai Ranade was married at the age of 11, and according to the conventions of the era she lived in, her life should have been over with widowhood. However, Ramabai was not one to let society dictate. One of the most important social reformers of pre-independence India, Ramabai Ranade’s contributions have led to massive strides in the sphere of women empowerment. At a time when women were not to be seen in public often, and heard even less, Ranade’s life was nothing less than revolutionary. Ramabai Ranade was born on 25 January 1863 in the Kurlekar family, in Maharashtra. Albeit living in an era when women’s education was not considered important, Ramabai was able to educate herself with the active support and encouragement of her husband, M G Ranade. Justice Ranade was a scholar, social reformer, and a founding member of the Indian National Congress. His ideals inspired Ramabai Ranade and she devoted herself to getting educated, despite the criticisms of several members of her family. M G Ranade taught her several subjects such as mathematics, geography and languages, himself. Ramabai was also greatly inspired by Pandita Ramabai, with whom she took English classes from a christian missionary during the former’s stay at the Ranade residence.  It could be said that Ramabai’s most important legacy lies in the field of women empowerment. Ramabai’s foray into activism began with her involvement with the Prarthana Samaj, which first exposed her to the ideas of social reform and its liberal undertones. Prarthana Samaj was a movement for social reform and conducted meetings and lectures that addressed several important issues, including that of women empowerment. Ramabai Ranade attended these meetings, and would pass on these ideas to other women during social gatherings. She utilised social spaces provided by ritual gatherings like _kirtan_ to organise educational activities like essay writing and lectures that would further promote the reformist values among women.  Ramabai gradually developed her oratory skills and became a well-known public speaker. Her maiden speech was as the Chief Guest at Nasik High School, and since then she spoke in public on countless occasions, delivering simple and eloquent speeches in both English and Marathi. She also began to actively take on leadership roles, and established a branch of Arya Mahila Samaj in Bombay. She then went on to found the Hindu Ladies Social and Literary Club in the city. This organisation sought to train women in languages, handwork like knitting and tailoring, public speaking and other basic skills. Gradually she became increasingly involved in social service, which she’d initially engaged in due to M G Ranade’s influence.  After Justice Ranade’s death, Ramabai went into isolation for a year. But after this mourning period, she renewed her efforts as a reformer and an activist. She organised the first Bharat Mahila Parishad in Bombay, and became a regular visitor to the women’s wing of the Central Prison. She also visited the boys in the reformatory school and patients in local hospitals. During the famine of 1913, she organised relief in Gujarat and Kathiawar. She chaired the first session of India Women Conference, which was held in Bombay in 1904. She fought for the cause of the indentured labourers in Fiji and Kenya. She organized aid for female pilgrims visiting the shrine of Sant Dnyaneshwar. Ramabai also worked extensively to dismantle the system of child marriage. Until the very end of her life, she continued working to help a range of marginalised and oppressed groups, although the majority of her efforts were directed towards the cause of women empowerment.  Ramabai Ranade’s most liberal characteristic, it can be argued, was the manner in which she _practiced_ her precepts. Her most significant contribution is considered to be the establishment of Seva Sadan, to the extent whereby evoking Ramabai’s name is today synonymous to referring to the Seva Sadan. Seva Sadan was initially an idea that B M Malbari and Dayaram Gidumal put forth, with the aim of providing women with the training to become nurses. Ramabai joined the Bombay branch, and later established a Pune Seva Sadan.  She worked very closely with this organisation and by the time she passed away, the Pune branch alone was training over a thousand women. This was a significant feat to have achieved during a time when even literacy among women was not considered important or even accepted in many circles. Many conservative men and women, in fact, actively opposed such organisations. Despite the prevalence of such prejudices, under Ramabai’s guidance the organisation expanded to include a Women’s Training College, three hostels and several new departments that focused not only on basic education, but also vocational and professional training for women. The Seva Sadan in Bombay acted as a home for distressed women, including widows. A distinctively liberal feature of her work is how all women, despite their social or economic background, were accepted in the Seva Sadan. In her times, even reforms and upliftment activities were largely biased towards middle and upper class women. Eight other branches of Seva Sadan opened up across Maharashtra subsequently. The Seva Sadan encouraged economic independence among women through training women in activities like pickle making and basket weaving, in addition to nursing and other healthcare roles. Ramabai personally worked extensively to break prejudices surrounding working women, like in the case of the taboo surrounding female nurses touching male patients. Ramabai ingeniously combined several ‘traditional’ notions of womanhood such as the service involved in a woman’s role as wives and mothers, with more modern ideals of economic independence to enable women to transcend social barriers that prevented their entry to the public sphere of work.  Her role as a social activist in her later years focused on two main causes. One, extending primary education to all girls. Two, voting rights for women. Her work in these two aspects can be said to have been a major factor in liberalising Indian society as a whole, and in dismantling much of the oppressive structures of the patriarchy. Her almost single-minded focus on extending compulsory primary education to all girls can be credited with at least making a dent in the popular societal opposition to girls’ education. She established a girls’ school in Pune called the Poona Native Girls High School, which is incidentally the oldest Indian run girls’ high school in the country. Today the school is known as Huzurpaga.  On the political and civic rights front, Ramabai was at the forefront of organising the Women’s Suffrage Movement in Bombay in 1921-22. This was during the early stage of the suffrage movement in India, which can be said to have begun only as late as 1917 when the Women’s Indian Association was founded in Madras. The Association, under the leadership of Sarojini Naidu, raised the demand for including women’s suffrage in the new Franchise Bill that was being discussed by the Government of India at the time. Ramabai, along with other influential women, sent telegrams of support to the then Secretary of State, Edwin Montagu. Ramabai was, therefore, one of the earliest persons in the country to raise the demand for equal political rights for women.  Ramabai Ranade’s life and work can be read in her own words in ‘Himself: The Autobiography of a Hindu Lady’, written in Marathi and published in 1910. Like most things Ramabai had done in her life, she was the first woman to write an autobiography in the Marathi language. She details her experiences as a married woman and as a social reformer in this work. Ramabai was, ultimately, one of the most important liberal figures in Indian history whose work has brought about immense change in the conditions of Indian women. What makes her work even more inspiring is the fact that she did not have any precedence to draw upon; she was one of the first women in India to ask for political rights, support girls’ education and work for women’s economic independence. She was essentially one of the pioneers of the Indian women’s movement. Although she claimed to be nothing more than a shadow of her husband, whose own ideals and work initially inspired her to enter social service and activism, it is clear that her work has undeniably altered the social fabric of an erstwhile oppressive society. She grew up in a world where educating women would be laughed upon as a waste of resources, and she left the world after carving out space for women to stand up for themselves.  The idea of Seva Sadans, or the many women empowerment groups which Ramabai helped steer, becomes important when ascertaining Ramabai’s liberal credentials. She realised the role of civil society, community and entrepreneurship as the way forward for women and throughout her life engaged in harnessing the potential of women by making them economically independent as well as giving them a sense of individual dignity. ![](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/IMG_20210106_084858_Bokeh__01-scaled-e1610530101294-285x300.jpg) --- ## [Opinion] Women and Liberalism : The Life of Begum Rokeya URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/women-and-liberalism-the-life-of-begum-rokeya/ ### Body _Her life was itself her message and although she never focussed on defining herself within an ideological spectrum, most of her life struggles were indeed integral aspects of the liberal tradition._19th century Bengal is known for its renaissance movements that witnessed the awakening of intellectual currents in religious, social, cultural, economic, and artistic spheres. Begum Rokeya was one of the most prominent figures of the Bengali renaissance as she is considered the mother of Bengali Muslim women awakening. Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain also known as Begum Rokeya, was a litterateur, educationist, social reformer and feminist who worked tirelessly for the emancipation of Muslim women. Her book 'Sultana's Dream' is a rare feminist literature that imagined a utopia of an advanced scientifically developed society where gender roles were reversed; men were confined and women ruled the world. Such an extreme thought experiment was reflective of the condition of women in the era in which she lived.  Begum Rokeya was born on 9 December 1880 in a well-to-do aristocratic family in Pairaband, Rangpur in undivided Bengal. She grew up in an orthodox family, her father an orthodox Muslim only allowed women to learn Arabic and insisted that women maintain purdah. But she had always been keen on studying and learning new things, and with the assistance of her brother, she and her sister Karimunnesa got to learn to read and write Bangla and English. Karimunnessa was an erudite poet but she got married at the age of 15 and this led to the end of her academic exercise and what might have otherwise been a career in poetry. Perhaps during this time, Rokeya understood education as an important tool for the liberation of women. At the age of 16, her father arranged her marriage to a 40-year-old widower named Khan Bahadur Syed Sakhawat Hossain. He was a man of progressive ideas as he helped and made all the arrangements for her studies; with his help, Rokeya published her writings in Indian periodicals of that time. Her happiness didn't last long as her husband suffered from acute diabetes. It led to his loss of eyesight and eventually to his death. But this trauma couldn't become an impediment for her to work as an educationist and advocate for the cause of women. After five months of his demise, with the help of money that her husband left behind, she started a school called Sakhawat Girls Memorial High School in Bhagalpur. But due to a family feud with her stepdaughter and her husband, she was forced to close it down. Then, Rokeya moved to Calcutta where she re-opened the Sakhawat Memorial Girls High School. During those times, society considered it unnecessary to educate women. It was a daunting task for Rokeya to bring girls to the school who were mostly confined in the four walls of their homes. Muslim women coming from privileged backgrounds were the only ones who were allowed for religious studies by their instructors and that too in seclusion. Due to conservative influence on society, women of the time lacked self-awareness especially concerning their basic rights to be treated equally and with dignity. Rokeya understood this and her philosophy of education was mainly based on her personal experiences as she had experienced the condition of women in the Bengali Muslim community which suffered from the age-old traditions. She was passionate in her approach towards equal access to education to women and firmly believed that education would lead to the awakening of women regarding their rights. When Rokeya started visiting the houses to convince parents to send their girls to school, she faced severe criticism from orthodox and religious Muslims. During those times, it was considered a heretical activity, she understood that awakening was not possible without triumphing over religious orthodoxy. Rokeya had profound faith in Islam and she believed that it is the men who misrepresented the teachings of Islam in a way to manipulate and subjugate women, and as a practising muslim she considered it her duty to correct this wrong.  In 1916 she founded the Islamic women's organization named Anjuman-e-Khawateen-e-Islam. Through this organization, she offered financial and educational assistance to downtrodden Muslim women and raised the issue of Muslim women's rights to the general public. In this regard it is pertinent to mention her speech at "Bengal Women Educational Conference" : "I have been crying for the lowliest creature in India for the last twenty years. Do you know who that lowliest creature in India is? It is the Indian women...There are also people who feel for animals, so we see animal’s rights groups everywhere. If a dog is hit by a car, we hear an outcry in the Anglo-Indian media. But there is not a single soul in the whole of the subcontinent to mourn for incarcerated women like us." Rokeya perceived that men with their physical superiority have made women subservient to them and banished them from the economic zone. She identifies two main conditions for the subjugation of women: physical weakness and economic dependence. In her various works like "Istrijatir Abanati", "Delicia Hatta" and "Padmarag" she advocated for the economic independence of women. Rokeya reasoned that without economic independence it was impossible to imagine women's liberation. She wanted women to be educated, self-reliant, become good citizens, and contribute to society. In one of her writings, Rokeya gave a clarion call to the women to rise and take their rights wherein she stated that "I know that it is not easy to rise at the beginning. I know too that society will create a huge fuss about it. I know that Indian Muslims will be inclined to "slaughter‟ us (i.e., condemn us to capital punishment) and Hindus will drag us to the funeral pyre or a fire of eternal affliction. (I also know that our sisters have no intention to rise.) But rise we must for the sake of society." In her various writings, she draws the comparison of both Muslim and Hindu women as to how they have been both subjugated by the patriarchy. In one of her books 'Nari Puja,' she depicts vividly the nature in which the purdah system has plagued and subjugated the women from both ( Hindu and Muslim) religious communities for centuries and how men have treated them like animals and sometimes worse than animals. She asserted the rights of women and wanted men and women to stand side by side in both material and spiritual spheres of life. Begum Rokeya died on December 9, 1932. Her life was itself her message and although she never focussed on defining herself within an ideological spectrum, most of her life struggles were indeed integral aspects of the liberal tradition. Her commitment to uphold equal rights for men and women, her unwavering resolve to focus on economic independence of women and her use of civil society action as a tool for change, are all liberal values. The lives of women like Begum Rokeya need to be explored more in order to understand the socio-historical context in which liberal values shaped the progress of Indian society. Their focus towards establishing equality as well as dignity of the individual regardless of caste, creed, gender or any other similar consideration, are important lessons to recall and to emulate in light of the liberal struggle for freedom and opportunity. --- ## [Opinion] The Zealous Azizun Nisa URL: https://indianliberals.in/opinions/zealous-azizun-nisa/ ### Body The following essay revisits the liberal and patriotic contributions of Azizun Nisa, a forgotten warrior of the 1857 Revolt. It also raises important questions concerning rigid colonial ideas of morality that were historically alien to Indian minds.The First War of Independence in 1857 gave India a host of freedom fighters that would be revered for generations to come. Rani Lakshmi Bai, Tantia Tope, Nana Saheb Peshwa II and Begum Hazrat Mahal have been memorialized in Indian history for their contributions. Among the many names that do not end up getting the same kind of recognition for their contributions is Azizun Nisa - a courtesan who fought in the Siege of Cawnpore.  Azizun Nisa, also known as Azizun Bai, was born in Lucknow and spent her life in Kanpur. Professionally a courtesan of Lurkee Mahil, she donned the role of a warrior and a strategist in the Revolt of 1857. Kanpur was one of the primary sites of the 1857 conflict, where Tantia Tope and Nana Saheb were amassing support to fight the British. Azizun Nisa’s efforts aided the 2nd cavalry unit of the rebel soldiers from Kanpur. It is also reported that rebel soldiers and Indian freedom fighters often used Azizun Nisa’s residence as their venue to hold clandestine meetings and sessions among themselves. Azizun Nisa also[contributed to the struggle](https://ranasafvi.com/the-forgotten-women-of-1857-2/) by collecting and distributing arms, ammunition and other weaponry to these soldiers. In addition to this, she is also believed to have trained women for combat. During the Siege of Cawnpore in the First War of Independence, Azizun Nisa established her headquarters, where she stayed put with the soldiers. These headquarters were located in one of the gun batteries that were deployed to fire at the British soldiers, and when the need arose, she too armed herself with pistols and made her way into the battlefield. As one of the key conspirators,[it is believed that she was taken into custody by General Havelock](https://www.knocksense.com/kanpur/azizun-bai-courtesan-warrior-kanpur), who made multiple attempts at forcing her to confess. However, Azizun Nisa’s unyielding strength and courage ensured that she did not confess for forgiveness from the colonial powers. Her selfless and brave attitude chose martyrdom for her country over confessions. Despite her contributions in one of the most important moments in Indian history, Azizun Nisa remains forgotten. The lack of recognition and awareness regarding Azizun Nisa’s contributions is in tandem with the fate of the others who belong to marginalized sections. Courtesans have for centuries been seen as non-combatants. Their involvement and contributions in the movements forming the struggle for India’s independence have been erased. For example, Azizun Nisa’s role as a strategist and her engagements have been overlooked in the mainstream narrative. Involvement of these marginalized powers were so strong that even after the colonial rulers quelled the 1857 uprising, their properties were confiscated. In addition to this, resources were also deployed to malign the reputation of Azizun Nisa and other courtesans. Narratives were pushed to the forefront that pit the puritan ‘good and moral life’ against the ‘immoral and vulgar prostitute’. Azizun Nisa was referred to as a _tawaif_, which unlike today, could be used only by privileged women with intensive training in the classical arts, music, and dances. Additionally, these[_tawaifs_ were also seen as connoisseurs](https://feminisminindia.com/2021/09/29/azizun-nisa-the-courtesan-strategist-who-played-a-crucial-role-in-the-revolt-of-1857-indianwomeninhistory/) of literary works and performing arts, while also practicing poetry in Persian and Urdu. In the current day and age, _tawaifs _have been reduced to immorality. The British powers faced threats in the form of courtesans who held powerful, respectable, and well-connected positions in the royal courts. Narratives surrounding courtesans were built up in such a way that stripped them of an idea of respect, and continually reiterating that courtesans do not deserve it. This benefited the colonial powers as it kept these women at bay, and added obstacles in courtesans’ support for rebellion movements along the lines of the 1857 war. This ultimately caused the cultural, political, social, and economic decimation of courtesans’ power and contributions in the royal court. Women such as Rani Lakshmi Bai and Begum Hazrat Mahal have been at the forefront in discussions about the First War of Independence. At first instance, it could seem to future generations as one of the initial instances of interventions by women in the Indian independence movement. However, though history puts some women under spotlight, those such as Azizun Nisa have been made invisible due to ideas regarding morality and respect, as perpetuated by the British themselves. It is essential that we view all women’s contributions to the freedom struggle, as it would help us better gauge the society from the mid-19th century. We have come over 150 years from the Revolt of 1857, and it is high time that all women involved get their due credit- regardless of their profession or any other social marker. --- # Interviews ## [Interview] A.D. Shroff - Champion of Free Enterprise URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-d-shroff-champion-of-free-enterprise/ ### Body # A.D. Shroff - Champion of Free Enterprise Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5PVOC-V5jU Duration: 110.6s (empty transcript) _Cleaned: skipped (transcript empty or too short for speaker identification)._ --- ## [Interview] An Auxiliary for Historians: The Contribution of Older Austrians URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/an-auxiliary-for-historians-the-contribution-of-older-austrians/ ### Summary Sudha Shenoy delivers a lecture arguing that the 'older Austrians' — Menger, Mises, and Hayek — developed economic theory as an auxiliary discipline for the study of history, namely the concrete actions of human beings in particular historical contexts. She contrasts two illustrative households: a Californian family whose weekly shopping reflects a vast, internationally interlocked capital structure with millions of final goods, and a Malian family whose autarkic production of millet porridge depends on a short capital structure, household labour, and status-based access to land through lineage heads. From these contrasts she draws the broader claim that the developed capital structure is historically exceptional, took centuries to build (in England roughly from the fifteenth century onward), and is inseparable from the parallel transformation of legal order from status to 'ends-independent, instrumental' grown law — the English common law, Roman law, and Japanese merchants' law. She emphasises that the capital structure is a social formation: fixed and circulating capital combinations at every stage, an intricate network rather than a linear flow, and one that by the nineteenth century crossed political borders to constitute a worldwide economic order. She closes by placing the Austrians in a long lineage — Coke, Hale, Mandeville, Hume, Smith, Burke, Ferguson, Jones, Humboldt, Stewart — all of whom treated language, law, custom, and economic activity as cognate 'grown' social formations to be analysed through individual action. Hayek's 'catalaxy' and Mises's account of society as a product of the division of labour, reason, and language are the culmination of this tradition. ### Body # An Auxiliary for Historians: The Contribution of Older Austrians Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5dXcOx98LU Duration: 2769.6s **Sudha Shenoy** (00:04): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I hope you will excuse my sitting down. I hope you can hear me, even if you can't — all that you see is a sort of bit of hair sticking up or something. Right. Now, I said I'd be talking about an auxiliary for historians, the contribution of the older Austrians. Auxiliary is something which is auxiliary to a primary activity. The primary activity for which the older Austrians, that is to say, Menger, Mises and Hayek, were developing their work. That primary activity was history, history. The study of history because that is the actions of human beings, the actual actions of human beings, concrete actions of human beings in a particular historical context, the actions which actually create that context. And in developing this, the as we'll see, the older Austrians, in fact, came at the end of a long line of previous people who also worked in the same field, starting with Edward Coke back in the early seventeenth century and then continuing on from there. Now before I actually get into all that, I thought what I might do is illustrate the points practically. Because after all, we are looking at the, quote, the real world, historical world. I thought, therefore, that I might begin by simply looking at a couple of example, a couple of fairly simple, relatively simple historical facts, and then working through to see exactly what lies under the surface to show how that auxiliary works with the material to be studied to bring out particular points which otherwise would simply not be accessible. Okay. I'm starting out there with family in California, two adults, two children, and one invisible cat, who, of course, actually owns the family. And that's their weekly shopping. Okay. What's immediately visible, of course, is that there's very large quantities of the stuff. They're all industrial consumer goods, manufactured consumer goods. There's a large range, large variety, and superior quality. Okay. We now go to the other extreme, And we now have a family in Mali in West Africa. Now if you want to find Mali on the map, you first find the Sahara Desert, and then you move south until you hit Timbuktu. Because Timbuktu is, in fact, in Mali, surrounding it is Mali. Okay. Now, if we have a look at the, you know, what's, again, what's immediately visible, if we just have a look. First of all, there seems to be rather a lot of them. There's, in fact, four adults, young adults and about nine children. The second thing, of course, is that there's very much less weekly shopping or whatever it is, is very much less than for the Californian family. Also, you'll notice that much of it consists of basically raw materials. As you'll see, it consists of things like millet, rice, dried onions, a few tomatoes, etcetera. Okay. So, what I'll now do is put up a list which shows us a comparative list which allows us to see the difference between the two. Okay. As I said, the cat refused to be in the photograph, but the humans were there. Okay. Now, you go through that list, it's something which is familiar to all of us. We're all living in a developed country in the late twentieth century. And when I showed this list to my husband in Australia, he said, well, what we buy isn't all that different from what those Californians buy. Now, we have a look now with the family in Mali. We've got there 30 kilos of corn, 20 kilos of rice, 20 kilos of millet, oil, onions, etcetera. In other words, to repeat raw materials which have to be worked up further. And I thought I might add there, as simply an account of what they actually eat, the breakfast which consists of millet porridge with tamarind juice or, alternatively, rice porridge with sour milk. And lunch, which consists of that stew of tomatoes, onion, salt, and if they have money, they actually buy some dried fish. And supper, again, millet and corn or griddle cakes, okra soup, etcetera. Okay. Now what I'll do is start asking the next question. What are the production processes that go into the production of what the family in Mali consume. And we have a look there. Sorry. Okay. The I'll have a look at the millet porridge with tamarind juice. Now I don't know if any of us have actually eaten millet or products made with millet. But believe you me, it is not easy to eat. It's very heavy. It's not tasty, but just feel good. Okay. Now the final bit, as I said, millet porridge with tamarind juice. So what are the production processes, the capital structure which produces this? Well, you've got your cooking vessels. You've got your pounded millet, and we'll come to that in a minute. We've got a low earthen platform on the floor, which has a u shaped hole in it. And that's where you have your fire, and you've got twigs and sticks and so on, which you send the kids out to collect. And you've got well water and a hand fan of reeds because you have to keep fanning the thing to keep it going. It's going to boil your your porridge for you. The pounded millet, hand pounded several times daily. You've got a staff, a wooden staff about that big, and you've got a mortar, a wooden mortar about that high. And you put in your handfuls of millet, and you take your pestle your staff and you go thud, thud, thud until the wretched thing gets pounded. And then you do that several times daily. So as soon as you've had breakfast, you start pounding the millet for lunch, and so it goes. Okay. And I hope the ladies here are beginning to feel contented with their life. Okay. And there again, it's a household which has to do it. No one else is going to do it. Your soaked tamarind. Now a tamarind is a fruit which is sort of flat and sort of u shaped almost. And you have a large tree which is rather spready, and you get the fruit by throwing stones at the tree. Or alternatively, you climb it or you get a pole and try and shake the the fruit down. And that, again, someone has to do. Again, you send the kids out to do it. Well water, which you use, you have to go out and get it. And, again, you carry the urn on your head and you store it. And in other parts of the underdeveloped world where there's more water than in Mali, if you have if you're an upper income person in the village, you actually have the well inside the house. So that you all have to do is drop the bucket out the kitchen window and you get your your water. You don't have to go all the way down to the bottom of the street to the well to get the water. Okay. You then have to thresh the millet, which you pound every day. And the threshed millet is stored in sacks in the house. If you had a look at if you remember the photograph, everything was in sacks. And that's because you buy the thing at harvest and store it in the house and keep it until the next harvest. Okay. The fresh millet has to be picked over and winnowed, and I've done this sort of thing. And believe me, it is labor intensive. You have winnowing baskets, which are made of flat of reeds. You winnow the thing by shaking it up and down. Again, you have household labor. You've got harvested millet. You've got a threshing floor. You've got donkeys to tread the crop. I forgot to say that most many households in Mali also have a working donkey. This particular one doesn't, but other families do. Okay. Now, that household is autarkic. It produces its own millet. You have a small piece of land for each wife, and the land is obtained from the lineage head. Hubby belongs to a particular lineage. The head of that lineage gives him a bit of land for his wife, each wife, as he gets one. And then she grows the food for the household. Okay. So you've got seeds and you have pointed sticks in which you dig and put in the seeds. And then you have hoes. And throughout the season, you've got to put in your own labor, the household labor, sickles for harvesting. And you've got baskets and sacks and, of course, your donkey to transport the millet. Now, you only go outside the household now when you start getting your utensils, pottery utensils, pounding staffs, baskets, fans, etcetera. You've got a craftsman with hand tools, and you've got the things that come in, the wooden, the clay, and the reeds, and so forth. The pottery is sometimes fired out in the open. You have branches which you put on top of the pottery. You fire the branches, and then you get some sort of pottery. Alternatively, you've got a furnace which is much more expensive, and then you put in coal and coal or charcoal or whatever. And again, it's a craftsman's household who puts in the labor. Again, donkeys and sacks and so forth. Now, you've got a woodcutter then and a donkey with a rope for transporting the wood. The clay has to be dug out. It's transported in baskets again on poor donkey's back. And finally, we've got a blacksmith who makes all these tools, and he has hand tools and a shed and a furnace and iron bars and bellows. He does have an apprentice and, of course, again, your donkey for transport. Okay. Now I'll put that picture back up again because now we see something which we didn't see before. What we're looking at here is a production unit. It is not the same as that Californian family. The Californian family just consumes, if you want. This is a production unit. That's why you have all these people there. They're all helping in the production process. And I should add that the two ladies in the picture on either side of the of the gentleman, confided to the photographer that they hoped Hubby would get a third wife. The reason for this is they wanted some additional labor to help in the household production. Okay. So, when you've got autarkic production, you enlarge the household. That's the only way you're going to get the additional output. Alright. Now some further observations if we have a look at the oops. Where are we? Yep. Here we go. If you have a look at that capital structure, if you want, the one which produces your millet porridge every morning for breakfast. First point to note is that it's a relatively short production process. You're thinking in terms of one harvest to the next, one season to the next. It doesn't take very long to establish that production structure, and it doesn't take very long to turn out whatever you're producing. What you're producing in the end, the final goods that you get out, small in quantity, poor in quality, uncertain because you don't know what the weather is going to be like and you're completely dependent on the weather, and very limited in range. Okay. Again, if we have a look at that production structure there, we notice that we have extremely limited division of labor, extremely limited division of labor, a small group involved, small number of people, and we have, therefore, limited small groups, limited amount of interdependence. The bulk of the labor goes into the autarkic segment of the production process. Now, a broader point, which emerges when you have a look at the historical record. This is the way things have always been. This is the norm for humanity, the normal way that things are for all human beings, the way it's been since time began, the way it is for the bulk of the population of this planet. Short production processes, considerable autarky, and all that goes with it. The other point which also comes out is that what you have is a status based legal system. Chief major production asset is the land. And you get the land or get access to the land because of your status as a member of a particular lineage. And then you're allocated the land by the head of that lineage. There is where does the status legal system stop? And that stops when you start exchanging goods. You've got to pay the craftsman, and therefore, the exchange there is a different set of rules, a different kind of rule. That is your ends-independent commercial rule. It's a commercial exchange, whereas, of course, within the household, it's autarkic exchange. And you have very much well, it's central planning, basically. Each wife manages what she's going to produce. Okay. So you have, therefore, largely what you might call status based legal rules and a certain number of independent instrumental legal rules for the limited amount of exchange that you've got with the craftsman and so on and so forth. Okay. Now, you remember that Californian family complete with not not complete with cat and so on. We'll now use the example of one single item, which was there, which we all remember in in the photograph, and that is the bread. Your investments now, first order investments, you've got foodstuffs in the pantry or the larder or kitchen cupboards or whatever. Bread and other foodstuffs are there ready to go. You get that from the supermarket, the supermarket building fixtures and fittings, trolleys, etcetera, labor power and transport, kinds of labor that you'd need for producing whatever you produce in that stage of production. Okay. You then go on to get to the bakeries, which take in flour of various kinds. You've got yeast and salt and other ingredients, etcetera, etcetera. You can fill in those blanks. Or if you want, you can continue reading that. You've got a flour mill, again, with wheat or grains and so on, machinery, sacks and labor, power, transport, etcetera, distributors for the bakery equipment, warehouses for the grain, factories producing the flour mill machinery, factories producing stuff for the bakeries. And how far have you got? And it isn't until we finish going through there that we actually get to the farms. The farms, again, have seeds and fertilizers and pesticides and so forth, agricultural machinery, factories there producing the agricultural machinery, producing fertilizers and pesticides, separate farms which produce the seeds, steel mills, mines, and the factories who produce the mining machinery, and so on and so forth. Okay. Now as we go along through there, a couple of comments again. First comment, of course, is that in addition to everything else, we've got legal and insurance services at every stage. We've got certain loops in the flow. It's not a linear flow. We've got steel which goes into fifth, sixth, seventh, and tenth stages of production or whatever. Key point is that this is the way in which people use the goods. That's what the classification tells us. Okay. The other point, of course, is that what we have there is only the barest sketch the barest sketch of the kind of capital structure which you've got in developed countries in the late twentieth century. And even as we look at this very crude representation, we find that clearly that capital structure is going to produce millions upon millions of final products. In trying to find out how much the supermarket locals Woolworths supermarket carried, I went in there and trustingly asked them, can you tell me total number of items that you have on your shelves? They were scandalized. They accused me of being a spy for a rival grocery chain. Instead, it's a commercial secret. We can't tell you. But, again, you know, I mean, from from our daily experience in the developed shopping in a developed area, we can we know. We're talking about millions of items being turned out by this given this capital structure. And bread is being one item. But once you start going through it, what you find is that you've got a capital structure which in fact produces all these millions of items. And again, what you've got therefore is the stage of final production, whatever the range of goods are that come out in that stage. And then whatever other investments that you've got in stages further removed. Okay. Now let me make a few observations there on the capital structure that we've got here. Is there any way we can put both of those up? Let me try and put up both together if we can. Or it can rate, if saw it. Is it all there? Excellent. Good. Okay. First point I'd like to make is that at all stages of production, you've got both fixed and circulating capital. So that we're not talking about fixed capital by itself or circulating capital by itself. You need both. And there in every stage of production, you've got both fixed and circulating capital or what is known as that. You also got in all stages, everywhere you've got a range of capital combinations. This is one of the things which Menger noticed very early on. Capital combinations, and they have to be available in the right capital combination if they're going to have further production. Okay. The other point to note is the time taken from the time you start producing your mining machinery to the time when you finally turn out your millions upon millions of final consumer goods at the other end. Okay. Again, a point I want to emphasize, we are not simply saying inputs at one end plus t for time plus outputs at the other end. You have to have all of these things specifically if you're going to produce the final goods and services that you're producing. Okay. Another point. This capital structure did not drop from the sky overnight. It took time to develop. In fact, if we say take the example, say, of England or even of America, England, it started this sort of thing started to build it up to that level. You had to start you did start back in eleventh century or earlier, twelfth century, and so on. So this capital structure took time to develop. And another point, this is exceptional. Developed countries are exceptional. I said for most of mankind sorry. Politically incorrect. For most of humanity. For most of humanity, it is your shorter capital structure, which is what we are familiar with, what we live with. And even in in underdeveloped areas, even with higher income groups, you're still dependent very much on what is essentially a short capital structure. Structure. You're buying this year's harvest of grain. You're storing it, and you're using it you're using eat actually eating last year's harvest because grain is supposed to improve with keeping. And a lot of the final stages of production, in other words, are still within the household. Every time the harvest comes in, you hire women to come along and help you to winnow and pick over the grain, oil it down, store it in these great zinc drums with little bowls of insecticide for the legs to stand in so you don't get insects in the in the grain. The zinc, of course, means the rats can't get at the grain. And then it is still true, certainly in India, that you don't buy flour ready made. When you're ready to have, you know, some sort of grain food in the house, the grain is then taken down to the flour mill to be turned into flour and then brought back and stored in for three or four days, and then you the whole process starts again. Okay. And, of course, the bulk of your foodstuffs consists still of grain, not of the other foodstuffs which require much longer production processes before they turned out. Okay. Now, you notice that in all of the this longer production process, the capital structure in the developed countries, late twentieth century, we do not have any sort of status exchange a status system. Everything there, the title is through exchange. In other words, an ends independent and instrumental legal order. And another thing to notice, the developed countries are the common law countries, the English common law countries. Western Europe has Roman law. Roman law is like English common law, a grown law. And not legislation. It is not status either. It ends independent. It is instrumental. The more developed parts of the underdeveloped world are the ones in which English common law has become more widely absorbed and used. Roman law has become more widely absorbed and used. The Anglophone areas of the underdeveloped world or the francophone areas. Japan, the other developed area, has had similarly grown law, Japanese merchants law, which has been going since at least the sixteenth century, if not earlier. And again, in the Japanese case, the samurai, the ruling classes, simply concerned with themselves. They couldn't be bothered with, you know, such people beneath their notice like the merchants or farmers or whatever. And therefore, the Japanese economic order developed over centuries again with grown law rather than any sort of imposed legislation or status. It also was exchange based law, you might say. Okay. Next point. We've been talking about the capital structure here. It's a social formation. Again, what we're looking at, the investments in each firm are, as it were, small bits in the capital structure. They don't stand independently. They cannot. They're all part of capital structure. Okay. Now the other the question, therefore, which emerges from looking at things like in terms of the capital structure is, with any investment, what is the final good or service to which it contributes, which it helps to produce? Where does it stand in relation to that final good or service? In other words, every investment is really only part of the whole network of investments. Okay. We're looking here at a social formation which involves millions upon millions upon millions of people. The other point is that, except for The US, which is always odd man out, in the other developed countries you find that as early as fifteenth century, what you had were production processes which are already crossing political boundaries. And so if we are looking at a capital structure like this, we're looking at something which is already international. That's why Mises said, of course, that the market economy's field is the world. Okay. I'll put up now a little diagram. That's the stage furthest removed. Then you have the other stages, standard Hayekian triangle or what you want to call it. Okay. Now that, of course, is not really an en bloc. What you've got is an intricate, very intricate network of investments. And again, it's so complex that as Hayek said, you can state the principle on which it's formed, but you can't really describe each and every investment that goes into it. So you have to think of it as a sort of highly intricate sort of network like that. Okay. Now you've got your regular production processes then which turn out your final goods and services, but you've also got political boundaries. And what happens is that your political boundaries in relation to the production processes are completely random. So when you look at your export and import statistics, what you're really picking up, of course, are simply the flows from one stage to the next or within a stage or whatever. Okay. Now, for The US, for most of your history, your exports and imports, foreign trade has been about 10% or less of total aggregate output, however you measure it or define it. For all other developed countries foreign trade which is today exports and imports combined has always equaled 40 to 50% of total output. And in countries like France which don't like foreign trade very much it's still 35. And of course it goes up higher. Now that is simply another way of saying that the production processes that you've got here don't simply end there because you've got a political boundary. They continue on. And what you've really got there for is really by the time you get to the late nineteenth century, it's been growing for, you know, for centuries. By the time you get to the late nineteenth century you really have an international economic order worldwide economic order in which what you've got is say the Australia sector, the British sector, the German sector and so on. So, if you start studying economic history of any one country, you soon find that by the time you get to the sixteenth, seventeenth centuries or later, you're really very conscious, find that you are looking at only one part of a very much bigger, very much bigger picture. Okay. Now, as I said, that capital structure which I put which I, you know, very crudely put up, did not develop recently. What you had was a switch, a change from the status based economic activity, status based legal system, as you found in poor old Mali, gradually changing over time in the course of centuries to become what we see today. Now, the story is different in different countries. Being British I only know English, of course, complete monoglot. And I can tell you that so far as England is concerned, the switch changeover started, you might say, about roundabout the the fifteenth century. And what you notice if you compare the economic and the legal changes is that the substantial legal changes occur in the same period in which you've got your substantial economic changes. The major period of transformation of the English common law, and this is done by legal historians who haven't a clue as to what is happening in the economy even economic activity. Major changes were in the period 1450 to 1550. And you had a complete transformation. And that is the legal order which still continues. And you've got changes that still continues today in the common law countries. The autarkic restricted range of exchange, restricted range of goods being produced stage, if you want, circumstance, in England, at any rate, was certainly during the Anglo Saxon period and earlier periods. And after William the Conqueror came around, he then got a change for various reasons. And you got you can see in particular areas of England. Interestingly, those areas of England where you have what is known as a weak lordship. The lord didn't particularly know what was going on in his estates. Those are the areas where you start getting quite definite indicators of economic growth, of extension of the capital structure, and then the whole thing sort of merging eventually after the Black Death and then developing thereafter. Okay. Again, another point I want to emphasize. This is also in a very real sense an historical process. You started with the specific kinds of rules that you had in eleventh, twelfth century England, and then you started gradually changing those until you reached the kind of legal system, broader legal system, the ends independent instrumental rules that you've got today. If Mali were the country that were doing it, then Mali's rules would have changed. It would have been a specifically Malian sort of process. Okay. Some further observations. The difference between what we've seen for Mali and what we've seen for the developed areas, it cannot be summed up by the term industrialization. What Mali lacks is not just a few factories. Maybe you plunk down a few factories, it isn't going to help matters. You have to start with what you've got there in Mali, and then gradually transform it until it becomes developed, if you want. Okay. Now I'll put up that picture again, because there are a few indicators there of I can find my copy of the picture. Okay. Now, yes, now there are a few indicators of wider exchange. Where do we see see those? I don't know if it's very clear, but the young man there actually has a watch. He's wearing a watch from Taiwan or Japan or, you know, a very cheap watch. He's also wearing a shirt and trousers, factory made shirt and trousers, not the handmade hand woven clothing that the rest of the family are wearing. And if you can just see the young lady is obviously wearing a pair of manufactured slippers. Okay. Now that means that they are in contact with a wider international economic order, and they bought their things more cheaply than they would have bought otherwise. What Mali exports are livestock, ground nuts, or what you would call peanuts, and cotton. Obviously, all very poor quality. It is surrounded by countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and so on, which produce cocoa, which is obviously an internationally traded good. And so therefore, what you've got is part of this great multilateral exchange through Ghana, Nigeria, the cocoa production. You've got Mali also, the people in Mali also participating in and obtaining these international goods if you want, and therefore, obviously, somewhat better off than if they didn't have this sort of contact. Okay. Now, historically speaking, the greatest development of the international economy or the international economic order is in the nineteenth century. It's one of the most remarkable centuries that the world has seen. There were no major wars between 1815 and 1914. In fact, when 1914, the war broke out, the Royal Navy didn't know what to do. So they commissioned a report on how the Battle of Trafalgar had been fought back in the twelfth, whenever it was. It as I said, it's it's also the period in which you had greatest peaceful movement of people, 43 odd million people moving for no reason at all except to improve their conditions. From the areas in which you had large numbers of people, perhaps not quite as much capital, to places, of course, like The US, Canada, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and so on. Okay. That is also the period. Now, the other point to note is that, of course, you also have population growth along with the extension of the capital structure. Population in sixteenth century England was around 5,000,000 people. By the time you get to the late nineteenth century, it is in the region of 50,000,000 people or somewhat less 45,000,000 people or so. Enormously more prosperous, obviously, in living in proper brick houses, etcetera. And with much larger output. Okay. Have we reached the end of our time? Another fifteen minutes? Okay. I shall stop. Well, I won't stop there abruptly. What I will do now, I have one last handout to put up. And that is, of course, to tell you that how do we get this picture? What do we do here? What we've been doing here is, of course, looking at historical materials. And we've been using an auxiliary, which is our friend, the capital structure. That is not the only social formation that we got. In addition to the capital structure, similar social formations are, of course, the English common law, Roman law, private law, language as a whole, society itself, habits, customs, ways of doing things, and so on. They all belong in the same category. And what I've got there are, as it were, is as it were the where are we? Where's my copy of this thing? Here we are. The the list the the line which we have culminates, of course, in our the three that I mentioned, Menger, Mises, and Hayek. The first social formation of the kind which we've been looking at ends independent, growth over time, historical, rules based, etcetera, with the English common law. And Sir Edward Coke is, of course, the name there. Sir Matthew Hale also famous for his debate with Hobbes, Hobbes being the legal positivist, Matthew Hale trying to explain how the common law developed. Matthew Hale was a legal historian as well. Hale also mentioned that law was like language, but he hadn't any no further investigation after that. Mandeville, customs, habits, and economic activity, analyzed the develop the production of a piece of scarlet, scarlet being a kind of cloth. And what he showed there was not only the regional division of labor, but also the extent to which by this time, late seventeenth century, you were already getting in, say, dyestuffs from Russia, from Brazil, and all over the place. And he anticipated Menger by pointing out that the fixed investments or investments in the dye dyeing vats, the weavers' product production goods and so on was also a part of the total story. Okay. He saw that the division of labor is the foundation of society. And that, piece of analysis was then picked up by Mises later on. Hume wrote a history of England and, legal analyst as well as, economic activity. Adam Smith, as we know, the father of our science, such as it is. And if you read the Wealth of Nations, what you find is extensive historical comparisons. China, France, etcetera. Add Edmund Burke. Edmund Burke wrote an unfinished history of England and an unfinished history of the common law. Again, a legal thinker. Important because it is through Edmund Burke that the analysis of the common law reached Menger. Menger points out that Edmund Edmund Burke's historical analysis is at opposite poles from that of younger German historical school. They both historically says but in totally opposite senses. Adam Ferguson language again, the first to notice the development of the international economic order and, again historical sociologist wrote a history of the Roman Republic. Sir William Jones, the founder of historical linguistics, and it is by this time that you start to see language as something that belongs in the same category as economic activity, say, customs and so on and the common law. Humboldt, again, legal sorry, a linguist. Again, important because, again, through him reached Menger. And Dugald Stewart, again, law, mathematician, a philosopher, and an economist, and therefore totally impractical. And finally, of course, our great founder, Carl Menger. And you'll notice that he also he analyzes the common law and he adds another economic formation, which I've not mentioned yet. And that is the what Hayek later called the catalaxy. If you look at his appendix on national economy, you'll see he discovers that we have here an a formation which is much larger than your economic than your individual firm. It is analogous to what I've just drawn here, the capital structure with each firm being only an element in something much bigger. Okay. Mises. Again, the point about Mises here is that he analyzed the development of society. It's very, very interesting how he does it. He says that society is not an invention. It is not a large thing in itself. It is not the result of a social instinct, because that is not an explanation. It is not God given and therefore mysterious. It is the result of the division of labor. Division of labor, reason, and language, he says, are the three things which distinguish humanity from other beings. And those three, of course, he takes pre he takes from Adam Ferguson and Adam Smith. Okay. And finally Hayek, culminate culmination, you might say, who gives the name the catalaxy. Capital structure we have through from Menger, through Mises, and Hayek. All three contributed to, obviously, to what I've been saying here. And, also analyze the common law. Right. So that what we have here, a range of social formations which all belong in the same category and which all have to be analyzed as actions of individual people. Now I'll gallop through, Mr. Chairman, another minute or so. I won't go into the economics or whatever. I'll simply say what how linguists analyze language. It's something which people already do. They've been doing it for ever since they came out of the stage of being just ordinary primates. Complex set of rules on which people act, which they don't even know that they're acting on, developed historically over time. And so that is what the linguists are analyzing scientifically, systematically. The same sort of thing for all these other formations that I've mentioned, capital structure, common law, other economic phenomena. And finally, a point which I think I want to stress, and that is that both Mises and Hayek always talked about the pricing system as a whole. They did not talk about isolated prices or isolated markets. And Hayek in particular points out that it is only the economist's imagination which breaks up the economic system into individual markets. In fact, the whole thing is one interrelated social formation. Okay. Well, I think I'll stop there. Thank you very much. --- ## [Interview] BR Shenoy - A Prophet Without Honour? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/br-shenoy-a-prophet-without-honour/ ### Summary This short video discusses why B. R. Shenoy, one of the few Indian economists who opposed the socialist planning approach in post-independence India, was treated as a prophet without honour in his own country. The speaker — apparently Shenoy's child — recalls that Shenoy followed his own reasoned convictions rather than the prevailing orthodoxy, dismissing many well-known Indian economists as 'economic lawyers' who built arguments to fit politically dictated policy. Shenoy instead argued that since India was poor and unemployed, investment should flow to the activities that most efficiently generated employment, goods and services — an idea obscured by the era's fixation on Soviet-style heavy industry and central planning. The speaker notes that entrepreneurship, business, profit and even the concept of a market were treated as dirty words at the time, so Shenoy's unpopularity was unsurprising. His ideas, and those of fellow Indian liberals, found partial political expression in the Swatantra Party, and — though never credited by name — informed the 1991 reforms that have been called India's 'second independence'. ### Body # BR Shenoy - A Prophet Without Honour? Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ij6KISXzIGM Duration: 221.8s **Speaker** (00:09): One thing you could say about BRS is that he followed his own star. He followed his own opinion. We were sort of brought up with that as children. I mean, he he did not follow what other economists were saying unless it met the test of his own understanding. I mean, it's a bit like Lord Buddha. Right? He said, do not follow me blindly, but unless it meets the test of your own critical intelligence. So it's not surprising that he did not follow the existing party. I mean, party didn't pick him up for public policy because the atmosphere at the time was very difficult to imagine now. Entrepreneurship was a dirty word. Business was a dirty word. Profit was a very dirty word. And the concept of a market was simply not there. The concept of competition and a market. So in those, in the, and and the whole thing was to imitate the Soviet Union and heavy industry and having a central planning mechanism and so on. And one of the things my father used to say is that he didn't have much respect for the Indian well known economists who were what he called economic lawyers. He said a politician gives them a policy and then they formulate an argument to support that policy. So his early ideas was India is poor, India is unemployed, India needs employment. So therefore, you should invest in areas which generate employment and generate goods and services, in the most efficient way. This seems obvious, but not to the policymakers of the time. And they they just, one of the phrases which you used to describe the Planning Commission were just imitating the gross output index for economic growth and so on. This is, these people support a menu without prices. So yeah. As I said, it wasn't surprising he was not popular and he continued to be unpopular until his ideas and those of others in the Indian liberal movement had some impact in the form of the Swatantra Party, which is sadly no more, but the idea spread. And then when the time came, without invoking his name, the idea were used in the 1991 reforms, which have been referred to as a second independence of India. --- ## [Interview] Bollywood and Cultural Change in Attitude URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/bollywood-and-cultural-change-in-attitude/ ### Summary In this monologue, Nimish Adhia analyzes how Bollywood films reflected shifts in Indian cultural attitudes between the 1950s and 1990s. He observes that heroes in films of the 1950s and 1960s were typically pandits, poets, philosophers, or tour guides — never businessmen, who were almost always cast as villains. This pattern, he argues, revealed a deep suspicion of commerce and a belief that trade was a zero-sum game in which one person's gain came at another's loss. By the 1980s and 1990s, Adhia notes, heroes were increasingly portrayed as businessmen, signaling a dramatic ideological shift. Indians had begun to accept that commerce could benefit society as a whole rather than just enriching individuals. A parallel cultural change concerned the relationship between individual desires and national goals: where citizens had once endured the suppression of personal aspirations for the sake of state-led economic planning, the later decades saw individual pursuit of happiness become more legitimate and rebellious self-assertion more acceptable. ### Body # Bollywood and Cultural Change in Attitude Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6xDBpZ5McA Duration: 217.5s **Speaker** (00:04): In the films that I studied, I noticed a pattern that in the films of nineteen fifties and nineteen sixties, no hero in the film was ever a businessman. The heroes tend to be pandits, Joshis, jailers, even poets, philosophers, tour guides. Okay? But they were never businessmen. In fact, any character that was a businessman was almost inevitably the villain in that movie. So I think in the fifties and the sixties, there was a very strong suspicion of businessmen. And in fact, the whole activity of commerce, of profit making was looked down upon as an antisocial activity. I think the underlying belief was that trade or commerce is a zero sum game. Okay? If one person benefits, then it must necessarily come at the cost of the other person. And I think that changed over time. In eighties and the nineties, what I began to notice is that a lot of films had heroes who were shown to be businessmen. And that was — that was a dramatic shift, I thought, that revealed something about what was going on in the Indian society, some change in ideology or cultural beliefs. And I think that change was that people no longer considered business to be dirty or an antisocial activity. And it is something that is worthy of a hero to engage in. So I don't think the films had a particular tryst with any particular ideology, but I do think that films reflected the change in ideology that I talk about. People were more open to the idea that commerce can benefit society as a whole rather than benefiting just particular individuals. So I think this was a huge cultural change that took place in India. A second cultural change that took place in India is that earlier, the needs of the nation state as the national leaders defined it were considered above the individual needs of people. So if people wanted to earn money through business, if people wanted to consume imported goods, those needs were suppressed for the benefit of national economic development planning. And people were able to endure that suppression of their desires for the greater good. In the nineteen eighties and the nineteen nineties, I think that changed. People became more rebellious. Individual pursuit of happiness was considered to be more legitimate than it was previously. --- ## [Interview] Centre for Civil Society : A Journey in Time URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/centre-for-civil-society-a-journey-in-time/ ### Summary In this monologue, Parth J. Shah, founder and President of the Centre for Civil Society (CCS), reflects on the think tank's two-decade journey advancing liberal ideas in India. He frames his path as a deliberate choice to combine academic life with activism through a think tank rather than street-level campaigning, and likens his sense of good fortune to that captured in Rose and Milton Friedman's autobiography Two Lucky People. Looking back on twenty-four years since founding CCS in 1997, he expresses satisfaction with what has been achieved despite early skepticism that the venture would fold within a few years. Shah recounts a formative early encounter with the editorial team of a leading Indian business newspaper, where the first question posed to him was 'how much is CIA paying you?' He treats this anecdote as symptomatic of an Indian mindset — popularized by Indira Gandhi's rhetoric of the 'foreign hand' — that assumed no one would advocate liberal, pro-market ideas in India unless sinisterly funded from abroad. He argues this suspicion of arguments that markets can serve the poor still lingers in public discourse, and credits CCS's survival to the people who joined the organisation and carried its ideas into their own careers. ### Body # Centre for Civil Society: A Journey in Time Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGEp5QOr51g Duration: 285.8s **Parth J. Shah** (00:05): I think I would consider — I really like the biographical book, autobiographical book, of Rose and Milton Friedman. It's *Two Lucky People*. I certainly feel that way, that I got very fortunate in support that I received when I wanted to start a think tank in India. I saw that that was interesting way to combine academic life with an activist life. So I'm not a kind of activist who can go on the street and do the — and fight those battles on the street. I'm more of an academic by training, by temperament, and I think, generally, as a person. And I like the idea that I could engage with the ideas through think tank. Right? And maybe thereby contribute to larger public discourse in India. And I would say, no. Overall, looking back on the twenty four year journey, I'm quite happy with what we have been able to do despite the great odds against our survival and continuation. I think most people, when I started in 1997, thought that it was sort of crazy idea, a crazy game. I think many of them predicted that within a couple of years, I would get tired and go back to US. Some had given me five years, so that was most generous time horizon that I've seen at the time. That maybe five years would be good enough for you. After that, you are — will actually go back to where you came from in a sense. But I'm happy that I could stay on. I think largely because of the people like you as well and some of the people who are with CCS today and have been with CCS over the entire journey. So many people who worked with CCS, many of them who worked through our training programs and began to promote these ideas in their own walks of life wherever they went, you know, in their own career path. So I feel, overall, it's a very successful journey. I wouldn't do it otherwise, maybe any differently. Well, one can think about doing things differently. But I think in terms of broad choice, of doing what I set out to do, I think it has been a very fulfilling journey. I think in terms of initial experiences of starting CCS, I think one that comes to my mind, first and foremost, is about talk I had given, I think, first couple of years of CCS to one of the newspaper editorial team. So I was invited by the editor of the newspaper to give us a talk to the team in terms of, you know, what's my motivation, why I'm here, what I want to do, what trajectory of the work that I foresee CCS doing moving forward. So I've tried to make my brief presentation about the broad ideas about CCS and what I want to achieve, one of the first question that came from the actual team — and this was one of the pink newspapers, as we call it, in the business newspapers in India. Right? The first question I got from one of the senior members of the editorial team was, how much is CIA paying you? And I think that question is really symptomatic, right, in a very, very fundamental way of Indian mindset. Right? And that is how I think most people thought. Of course, some people are able to articulate and say it out loud. But many suddenly thought, yeah, in the back of their mind, right, that nobody will come to India to talk about liberal ideas and sort of open markets, market working for the poor, and how the market actually help the poor. Right? Why markets are important for them, not just for future business for goods. Right? And their whole set of ideas, they thought that nobody can talk about this. Nobody would willing to come to India to talk about them unless somebody is paying them, right, in some sinister way and promoting them to come to India to do this. Right? I think that's certainly the mindset, of course, popularized by Indira Gandhi in terms of the foreign hand, and even continues to some extent today in much of the public discourse. --- ## [Interview] Chakravarti Rajagopalachari - Gandhi's Conscience Keeper URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/chakravarti-rajagopalachari-gandhis-conscience-keeper/ ### Body # Chakravarti Rajagopalachari - Gandhi's Conscience Keeper Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNsu2k-U3DA Duration: 128.3s (empty transcript) _Cleaned: skipped (transcript empty or too short for speaker identification)._ --- ## [Interview] D R Pendse on Doing Business in India before 1991 Reforms URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/d-r-pendse-on-doing-business-in-india-before-1991-reforms/ ### Summary D. R. Pendse, who retired in 1991 alongside JRD Tata, recounts what it was like to operate inside India's controlled economy, particularly from 1969 onwards when controls intensified. He catalogs the apparatus of the License Raj: industrial licensing under the Dutt Committee recommendations, the MRTP Act of 1969 and its 'Concentration of Economic Power' chapter, waves of nationalization (banks, life insurance, general insurance, coal), FERA's micromanagement of foreign exchange, the Planning Commission's gap-based licensing, and even a gold control order limiting Indian women to 14-carat jewelry. Pendse contrasts two industrialist responses to this regime. Most firms gamed it — grabbing licenses in industries where they had no expertise, then sitting on them to manufacture scarcity, inflated prices, and untaxed black money. JRD Tata refused that path, insisting that a bad law must still be obeyed while one worked publicly to change it. As a result, Tata Power could not get clearance for a 500 MW project, and TELCO was denied expansion in commercial vehicles on 'concentration of economic power' grounds, while less scrupulous competitors thrived. Pendse frames the 1991 reforms, delivered through Manmohan Singh's first budget, as vindication of JRD's stance: the very provisions Tata had fought were repealed, and the group could finally grow — though by then both he and JRD had retired. ### Body # D. R. Pendse on Doing Business in India before 1991 Reforms Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbdFNzbM1P8 Duration: 645.8s **D. R. Pendse** (00:09): I myself retired in 1991. JRD himself retired in 1991. So my experience is with pre-reform. Post-reform, we both had retired. So I don't think he can say much about it or I can say much about it. But you have to observe, observe the the economy, what is happening. Yes, but my main experience and direct contact was in connection with pre-reform or the controlled economy. And the controls were at the worst from 1969 onwards. And that was the time when I was there. And JRD also was very much perturbed about that. So our experiences were about controls which were becoming worse and worse almost every day. And I will give you several examples of that. First, they had started what you call the industrial licensing system, which was not there. There was a Dutt Committee report on industrial licensing, whereby all major or big companies required a license to start any industry in any commodity. There was the MRTP Act, that is the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1969. The worst part of that was a chapter called Concentration of Economic Power. That chapter was derived from a part in a constitution apparently saying that concentration of economic power to the common detriment should be curbed. But that word to the common detriment was conveniently forgotten, that any concentration of economic power was considered bad and they decided to curb it, which was absurd. Any large entity cannot be bad for the country. If it is working to the common detriment, it is bad. But that is MRTP Act, concentration of economic power. Then they started nationalizing at the drop of the hat, as I said. They nationalized banks, they nationalized life insurance, they nationalized general insurance, they nationalized coal mines and all sorts of things. One after another they started nationalization, which was again very wrong thing to do. But as I said, they are parts of the controlled Raj. Then they had what you call the Foreign Exchange and Regulation Act, FERA. So every small transaction in foreign exchange had to be controlled, regulated and approval of the government of of babus had to be taken. So if you have to go abroad, I had to take six, seven different approvals to get my daily allowance in foreign exchange. So that was a Foreign Exchange Regulation Act. Then there were the Planning Commission, which was the one of the worst. It became a fifth wheel, I would say, or super cabinet because every project of any size had to be approved also by the Planning Commission. Their approach was they they looked at how much was being produced in the country. Then they decided how much we needed at the end of the five year plan. Then they worked out the gap. That means if 5,000 were produced and they required 8,000, I mean, the 3,000 is the gap. So they will allow people to start industries to produce up to 3,000. That was the gap. Now who will produce it? The public sector was given the first chance. If the public sector does not want to produce it, then the small scale industry would be. Then they also don't want to produce, then it will be open to the private sector. So that whole thing was absurd to the maximum extent. So that was the way I am putting it very crudely, but that is exactly how it works. That was a Planning Commission. Then so the Planning Commission and then the various controls. Planning Commission, instead of becoming a help, became a control or control part. Then there was a gold, gold policy also decided that Indian ladies should not use more than 14 carat of gold. One day, then she decided, and anything more than 14 carat became illegal. You can't do that. One suddenly one. Hundreds and thousands of years, Indian ladies have been using 22 carat gold jewelry. Now everybody who was using 22 carat became became a unlawful, became a law breaker for doing nothing. So that is a sort of way the way things, now, of course, after twenty years, his successor, he withdrew all that. But after twenty years, when enough damage was done, and was gracious enough to say it was glad that his successor removed it, though it was not working. But he introduced it in the first place. So I am giving you all these examples how the controls were at the maximum and where comes your throttle of the industry. So that is the area, that is the time when we were functioning or we could not function effectively. Now JRD's approach or response to this area of there are two approaches. One approach many industries took the approach. So what do they want? They want to know what is the gap and they want to give you license for if there's a gap. So even if you are capable, supposing you are not capable, you are you are you are in one industry, say, commercial vehicles, and you have nothing to do with some other industries like wagons. But there's a gap in wagon, and they are allowing giving licenses to wagon. Apply for wagons. You have no no expertise, nothing at all. So you got a license. So ask for license wherever licenses are available. Not worried about what you are capable of. Then take the license, then sit over it. Then don't start producing. Don't start producing. Well, if you produce, then the production will increase, prices will come down. So they don't get the license and then give them excuses why you cannot produce, some trouble, this thing, that thing, and give them excuses for not producing it. So get a license, sit over it, and then make, so if you sit over the license and the production does not increase, the scarcity is increased. And then your scarcity is increased, then you make black money on the existing production. So that was the approach of many industrialists. That in this in this wonderful economy, best thing is to just get a license, whatever you can get, and then not don't act on it. And you make magnificent money for the next three generations. Because you make scarcity profits, then don't pay tax on it. So that is also black money. So nothing, everything was fine. But was not like that. Felt this is very wrong. Approach was different. Approach was that law, you see, it is famously said that law is an ass, but we must respect it as long as it exists. That is I think William Peter or somebody said that. Believed in that. Say law is a law may be bad. So you are having this law. The MRTP, bad law. Gold, bad law. Industrial licensing, bad law, but government has made it. So you can't break it. That was his approach. If you have if you have made the law, you must try to change the law. So create public opinion, explain to the public, create public sentiment that the laws are bad and not in the interest of the country and get the law changed. But as long as the law remains, you must abide by it. That was JRD's approach. Now that approach, because of that most of the companies of JRD Tata Group, they could not expand because of all these controls. They found it extremely difficult to put. Now Tata giving two example, Tata Power, they wanted to have a 500 megawatt project. For five years, they went down from here to there, there to here, no license given. And Tata Motors, TELCO, at that time, it was called TELCO. They wanted a expansion of producing producing truck, commercial vehicles. No way. Well, they said that will increase the concentration of economic power. You are already a large company. You will become larger and your economic power will be more concentrated, so we don't want it. So all that, that is a sort of thing they were having. So we had big problems in all that. So we are trying to get a license for becoming a problem. And others were doing it enjoying that Licensing Raj. But we could not do that. That was the JRD's effort. But he remember, ultimately, he won. His team, from 1960 to 1991, the whole whole philosophy was changed. Everybody agreed that whatever was done was wrong, and all the laws were repealed by Manmohan Singh first budget 1991. Reforms, we call it. The first budget that was a reform, a repeal of all these provisions. Now that is a great compliment to JRD's thinking that all these things were bad. So they were repealed and then JRD's company and Tata company started growing. But by that time he retired, I had also retired. But after seeing that we got what we wanted, that is what I am saying. So that was the added department. Other industries again were telling, so so many people used to tell me in industries, Mister Pendse, why are you worried of changing all these structure? Wonderful. If we did want the license, you get a license, but we are making a profit. So while trying to get the change and competition and market, who wants all that? Without doing anything, sitting at home, we are making good money. So that was it. That is the Control Raj, as I told you. First first question, I think that is what I wanted to say. --- ## [Interview] D R Pendse on his Relationship with JRD Tata URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/d-r-pendse-on-his-relationship-with-jrd-tata/ ### Summary D. R. Pendse reflects on his decades-long working relationship with J. R. D. Tata as the in-house economist of the Tata group. He describes a working pattern in which he would draft articles or notes on economic policy, send them to JRD for approval, and almost invariably receive enthusiastic agreement. Pendse emphasizes that JRD never obstructed his writing, speeches, or public commentary, trusting that whatever he produced would serve the interests of both the country and industry. Pendse claims a direct line of influence between his published proposals and major Indian economic policy shifts — including the dismantling of the Monopolies Act, gold control, and industrial licensing reforms — though he carefully qualifies that JRD acted on these ideas not because Pendse proposed them, but because the two had long, symbiotic discussions and JRD was independently convinced of their merit. The piece is brief but offers a window into the trust-based intellectual partnership between a leading industrialist and his economic advisor. ### Body # D R Pendse on his Relationship with JRD Tata Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si8F_I4P8xY Duration: 124.7s **D. R. Pendse** (00:09): When I made a proposal, I will always first write a note, send it to — I will write — publish the article or send a note to JRD. And JRD, he will always say first class, excellent, very good. And and I also said, do you agree? He said, yes. I seem to agree with everything what you say. Because that is a fact because I mean, I'm a huge economist. So if I have interest of Tata than private sector industry, I'm bound to say something which is the interest of industry. You could see that. He — and he often said that there are really nothing to say. I seem to agree with everything what you say. So he never never obstructed me from writing anything. Never. Never obstructed me from giving a speech. Never obstructed me to make a comment. Nothing. Never. Just left it to me because he was confident. He had complete faith that I will do something. Whatever I do will be in the interest of the country. It will be in the interest of industry. Because I was in — in my opinion, I was in his 18. He believed in me. And that is — and he decided why should he not believe in me? I've certainly done something which is good for the country in terms of economic policy. And all these economic policies which adopted, most of them are straight from articles. I I proposed this. Monopoly act canceled. I will propose. Industrial, send in gold control. This, that, that, all these things were — and that that he didn't do it directly because I propose. He did it because I may propose. I may propose because they had long discussions with me, and they are symbiotic. I'm not saying that they did only because I — they must have been convinced about it. --- ## [Interview] D R Pendse on India’s ‘Open and Prosperous Past’ URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/d-r-pendse-on-indias-open-and-prosperous-past/ ### Summary D. R. Pendse argues that India's reputation as a perennially poor and backward country is a misreading confined to the last two hundred years. For thousands of years before the industrial revolution and the post-independence control regime, India consisted of many small kingdoms that were uniformly prosperous and commercially open to the world. He invokes the familiar image of ships arriving daily laden with gold because India produced everything the world wanted while needing nothing in return, sustaining a permanent trade surplus settled in bullion. Pendse frames this historical claim as the foundation for a contemporary liberal argument: openness caused prosperity, and the controls introduced after independence reversed both. He calls the early Indian control regime 'absurd to the limit,' unprecedented for an economy that had never known such restrictions. The interview lays out a two-part program: first rewrite world history to re-establish that India was open and prosperous, and then use that record to persuade Indians to reopen the economy and recover prosperity. ### Body # D R Pendse on India's 'Open and Prosperous Past' Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKkwm22E5bY Duration: 212.7s **D. R. Pendse** (00:10): Throughout history, except the last two hundred years, which include the industrial revolution and of course the post-independence, including post treatment, except the last two hundred years, India has been an open and prosperous country. That is the first fact which people have forgotten. People have always considered India to be perennially a backward poor country, which is wrong. India has been a perennially backward poor country only for the last two hundred years. Thousands of thousands of years before that, all along India has been an open and a prosperous country. Now India was not one country. India was a several kingdoms. They made into one country when the British came. So otherwise, there were small kingdoms all over the all over the geographical area of India. But all these kingdoms, they were famous for being very prosperous, very prosperous. I was telling you yesterday that our balance of trade was so surplus, we had nothing to buy from the world. We had only produced everything which the world needed, we produced it. And where there was nothing which the world produced and we didn't we didn't produce. So there was nothing which we could buy from the world. But we the world kept on buying things from us. We kept on buying clothes, kept on buying instruments, kept on buying jewelry, kept on buying everything. They wanted it and India had it. And every day, one ship fully laden with gold would come to the Indian shores. They would buy whatever it is and since India had nothing, they had nothing to give, they would give gold to the Indians. That is the only thing which Indians could accept because there was nothing else to accept. They didn't want anything. That was the level of prosperity where and there is not one year or two year, there is for thousands of years. But that is that people have forgotten. Right? Anyway, so we were and we were open and we are prosperous. Now we are closed and we are poor. So I want to say it. So we want to have two areas. One is we want to establish that we were we were all along in history. We were open, and because we were open, we were prosperous. So we now go on to convince people that we should be open again so that we become prosperous. Fantastic. That is what and and then with with the independence and all the industrial revolution, we started controlling. I told you first control large. Whole thing was absurd to the limit. We never had economy and never experienced such controls. So that is one thing is that. So we want the first thing is we to reestablish and rewrite world history is to establish that India was prosperous, India was all open, India was open, and therein prosperous. So let us make it open in order to make it prosperous. --- ## [Interview] D R Pendse on Liberating India s Entrepreneurs URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/d-r-pendse-on-liberating-india-s-entrepreneurs/ ### Summary D. R. Pendse argues that Indian entrepreneurship is world-class but has been systematically curbed by decades of governmental control, licensing, and restrictions. He contends that when policy denies legitimate avenues to make money through industry, it perversely incentivizes rent-seeking behavior — entrepreneurs grab licenses and sit on them rather than building productive enterprises. Profit-making, in his view, is mutually beneficial: the entrepreneur takes the risk, and if they succeed, society gains; if they fail, they bear the cost. To crystallize his argument, Pendse invokes Alfred Marshall's 1924 observation that 'a score of Tatas might do more for India than any government, British or indigenous, can accomplish.' He distinguishes JRD Tata's law-abiding approach from those entrepreneurs who flouted bad laws because they believed their work served the country — sympathizing with both. He closes by framing two messages for a think tank like CCS: India's past was open and therefore prosperous, so make it open again; and give Indian entrepreneurship the position it deserves rather than curbing it. He stresses that establishing these ideas requires sustained research output — fifty books, fifty papers — characterizing think tank work as a continuous 'ideas industry.' ### Body # D R Pendse on Liberating India's Entrepreneurs Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJtw5aOk1Pw Duration: 421.1s **D. R. Pendse** (00:10): Indian entrepreneurs are tops, tops, tops. Entrepreneurs — that was the, that important idea is entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship was, instead of entrepreneurship being given full scope, we try to control entrepreneurship. So then what when we try to control entrepreneurship and they say, no. Don't take that industrial and don't do that. The people, the entrepreneurs said, oh, we we want to make money. The entrepreneurs want to make money. What is wrong in it? Everybody, you want to work salary, so they want to make money. So if they want to make money and you don't allow them to make money by starting industry and you want, you say that you can make money by grabbing a license and sitting on it, we will do that. But we want to make money. Naturally, that is the business. They want to make money, you wanna allow them to make money. What is wrong in it? The whole world is making money. So why should you stop them from making money regularly so that and induce them to make money in the wrong way. That is the Indian entrepreneurship is, therefore, I'm saying, is absolutely tops. And therefore, I'm now concluding by quoting Alfred Marshall. Alfred Marshall was one of the best known, by one, the best known economist of the twentieth century. He was from Kenya. He had a picture of a poor man in his study, and he used, he said, a score of Tatas might do more for India than any government, British or indigenous, can accomplish. It is not the government where the country needs. It is a score, 20 Tatas, will do more for this country than any number of, whether it is British government or Indian government. They, we don't need them. They're contented there. The score of Tata, Tatas been good. Remember, he didn't say score of entrepreneurs or score of industrialists, score of Tatas. Tatas are very well known, honest, good, integrity industrialists. So score of 20 industrialists like Tata can do better, more for the Indian, India, than any government, whether it is British government or Indian, and he said it in 1924 when we were in the British rule, under the British rule. He said that. Now that is important. So he also realized that Indian entrepreneurship is superb. Nobody can bear go ahead of that. So but we are curbing Indian, that is the whole thing. Our whole tragedy has been there. Whatever is good, we curb that instead of promoting that. The Indian, we're curbing that. I told you that if if somebody wants to make a property, you don't allow him to make a property. And he said, then they grab industrialized and make a profit. They don't realize that making profit is helping both of us. That benefit both of us. No. But why not? What is what is wrong? You see, if you, you are earning a salary, you want the promotion? Promotion, want more income? If you want more income, somebody in the industry, he wants more income. Why not? If he fails, he will fail. He will, he will go out. He will go to gutters. Nobody will remember him. Doesn't matter. He's not asking you for any favor. He taking the risk. But if he fails, if he succeeds, if he succeeds in the industry, we should be rewarded. And he's not coming to the government for that. He's succeeding. People are paying him. What is wrong about all this? Now others will compete with him. They will drive him out. Others will not be able to compete with him. They will make still more money. What is wrong about all this? That is what I'm saying. The whole idea is score of Tatas can do more for India than any government, indigenous or British, can ever accomplish. So it is not the government with the government India needs for India growth. It is the Tatas, the good entrepreneurs, with the Indian, Indian needs. And we have the entrepreneurs, but the government is curbing them. Twenty, thirty, forty years, we curbed that, as I told you right in the beginning. It was absurd to the extent, maximum. That is why people like me felt that why our entrepreneurs are being, that is why they told you some industries that if it is good for the country, I don't care whether it is in the law or not. I will do it. I can understand their feeling. I don't share that. I, I shared JRD's approach, but I can understand them. If they feel that something is good for the country, who cares for the law? You should change your law in your own time. If you don't want to change, I'm going to do that. I'm convinced that it is in the industry of the country. That is entrepreneurship. And Indian entrepreneurs are absolutely on top. So that is my second message, message — the last message is two. One is to have two, two points established. One is India's past was, India was always open and therefore prosperous. So let us make it open to make it prosper, one. And second, give Indian entrepreneurship the position which it deserves and don't curb it. So if that is, this is the role for a think tank. Both these are to be done by a proper think tank, massive think tank industry is required to establish these things. And that is why CCS is just a small part. Use, use scope. As I told you, these are ideas industry. There are so many, so many ideas. This is just a one point, which, but this point, to be established, require 50 points. One after one, after another. So 50 books, 50 research papers, 50. Easy. It never ends. There's a continuous thing. It is a very big idea industry. So that is a role of a think tank. And I feel that it didn't necessarily, I, I really feel that India is absolute. We don't see our, our own problem is ourselves. We ourselves are our own enemies. There's all these things. Anyway. --- ## [Interview] D R Pendse on the 1991 Crisis URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/d-r-pendse-on-the-1991-crisis/ ### Summary D. R. Pendse reflects on the 1991 economic crisis and the subsequent reforms, arguing that India's two decades of socialist policies drove the country to the humiliation of physically shipping gold to Geneva to secure foreign exchange. He credits the IMF as the only institution willing to extend a loan, conditioned on a package of economic reforms that aligned with what he and a few other liberal economists had been advocating for years. Pendse contends that Manmohan Singh, whom he respects as a personal friend and patriot, was ideologically left-of-centre and not genuinely a reformer by conviction — he accepted the IMF package because there was no alternative, then implemented it with such passion that India repaid the loan a year early, an unprecedented feat in IMF history. Pendse also recounts his own role: writing articles, advising the Tata management under JRD Tata's strong support, and famously declaring that "the shortest route from Bombay to Delhi is via Washington" — meaning he chose to persuade the IMF directly, knowing Delhi would eventually be forced to accept whatever the IMF imposed. He notes that IMF delegations visited Bombay House three times in two years to discuss economic policy with him. ### Body # D R Pendse on the 1991 Crisis Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXe-SwtuHww Duration: 607.7s **D. R. Pendse** (00:09): India ultimately got the whole thing changed, as I told you. All the — the laws were — most of the laws were repealed in 1991 budget and the reforms of Doctor — which Doctor announced in 1991. Most of the things were repealed, and the very fact that the government, whatever they had done over the last twenty years were repealed, that showed that they were wrong. But they repealed it. So anyway, they repealed it and then they got — and we benefited by that. We see the benefits of the reform we — we could see immediately. So that is — but who is responsible for that? You see, normally, the people say — I mean, have great respect for Doctor Manmohan Singh. He is a personal — he used to be a personal friend of mine. He used to be even now, but I have not met him for last ten years. But he was also from Cambridge University as I was, and I used to meet him many times in the past. So and I have great respect for him. I have very great even now. I think we did not deserve the man of that height anyway. So what he — he was not, in my opinion, he was not a reformer. He was ideologically. He was left of centre. He did not honestly believe in the sort of reforms that we ultimately accepted. The reforms were accepted, to use a very strong word, at the point of gun from the IMF. And at the point of gun in the sense — because our socialist, all these things which we are practicing made our situation so bad that we had to — we had to move our gold actually from India, actually physically move gold to Geneva to deposit it to get foreign exchange. It was so bad. It has never happened. It is a very great humiliation for a sovereign country that the people don't believe in your word. They actually want to possess gold. So we had to despatch the gold from Bombay to Geneva, give — hand over the gold, and then we could get foreign exchange. It was so bad. And because it was so bad, it was very humiliating indeed for us. I mean, there's no doubt at all about it. But we — we led ourselves to that situation. Our all these wrong policies drove us to that situation. We were ourselves responsible for it. So we can't blame anybody else for that. Anyway, since that happened, the IMF was the only party in the world which were able to give us a loan which will cover temporarily, help us — call it. Nobody else. At the — at that time, the private loans — as now their private loans are huge — private loans are available. IMF handed over that package to him on that if you accept that package, then you will get our loan. And that loan was absolutely necessary if you wanted to get our gold back and if we wanted to come out of the complete value of this. So we had to accept the IMF package because there was nobody else giving — willing to give us a loan at all in the whole world. We had such a bad — bad name. Nobody else. So we went to the IMF because they were the only people who were willing. And IMF is a lender. They want to make sure that what they'll give us a loan must come back. So they said if we will give you a loan, but we will give you a loan if you accept certain changes in economic policy. Because they felt that unless the changes in economic policy are made, your situation will not improve. That is exactly what we were feeling. Because the whole situation was dragged to that because of the wrong economic policy. So we had to change the economic policy and the economic — how they had to be changed, I — I have been — I and maybe one or two others, we have been writing all along last twenty — those twenty years, I have been doing exactly that. Every time I used to write, do this, do this, not do this, do this. Every now and then, every — on every aspect of economic and industrial policy, I've been writing articles, giving speeches that do this and do that. So and that was exactly what the IMF also wanted. So it's all that. So, ultimately, you see, you must remember that ultimately — well, IMF — lucky that IMF wanted something which we also wanted. We — we mean they are Pendse and some other few others like — like me — want — wanted. So IMF gave you a package, gave one more thing — a package that accept this economic policy package. Say that we will introduce these policies, then we will give you the loan. Now you see, that is also humiliating for independent country, sovereign country, for somebody else to tell you that do this economic policy. Even if the policies are right, for a foreigner to tell you that adopt these policies, otherwise, I will not give the money. It is — it is humiliating. Yes. I know. So it was — it was humiliating, but had to accept it because the whole country was driven to that debt. So he accepted that. But as — a humiliation was so great and he was such a patriot that he decided that if I am expected to return the money in four years, I will do it before that. And he introduced the reforms in such a great passion that we repaid the loan one year earlier. Our loan was to be repaid in four years. We actually repaid in three years. And in IMF history, this is the first loan which was prepaid. First loan. Now see Greece at present. For months and months, it is going on. Nothing is happening. And IMF is not giving, and Greece is going down and down and down. But we did that. But, anyway — so we — so we said that, you know, this humiliation is no good. So I will do reforms so passionately that this thing will improve. Not because he was impressed by the — he knew that this was the package which was necessary, and if the package is accepted, the economic situation will improve. He — he knew that. And he had to accept it because there was no other way. So he accepted it not because he was convinced, because he, in my opinion, was not a man who was intellectually or emotionally convinced about those. He accepted it because the IMF asked him to do that. And he was a patriot. He wanted to get the loan and get the loan repaid quickly. And there was no alternative except to accept it. Now coming to personally, I'm — I told you that I have been writing articles and given speeches on all aspects of economic policy. Well, and JRD knew it very much, he strongly supported me. And that was my whole function in Tata. First, to inform the — inform or guide the Tata management as to what the government policies are, how they are bad, how they impact — and then suggest changes. Suggest changes to the public, suggest changes to the government, and tell the Tata management how the policy will affect different industries. So that was my work, and that is what I was doing. Now I will tell you, and it is a fact that it is on record. There was one big news — newspaper, whole eight columns. I gave an interview, and they published that interview with the title, "The shortest route from Bombay to Delhi is via Washington," says — . Now what is this shortest route from Bombay? Bombay means economists like me from Bombay. And we wanted to convince the Delhi — Delhi central government to do this, do that, do that. They never accepted it. So I said in my mind, if you don't accept it, then I think — that is absolutely necessary we must do it. And I know that one day you will have to go to IMF with a begging bowl. You can't do anything. You have to do it because you will go down and down. And then they will tell you, and you will accept whatever they tell you. So best thing is that I go to IMF myself. Tell them what is necessary for the country. And if they accept what — what I think, I'm — one day, they will tell you and do that. Exactly. Tell you whatever. So shortest route — if I want to convince the Delhi government to do something, I must go to Washington. I will go to IMF, convince them that these are the economic policy packages necessary. Then they are convinced that they will impose the packages, and then our government will accept. But if I tell you that accept these packages, they will not accept. That was unfortunate. And that is exactly what happened. Now mind you, it is on record. Our Bombay House — there are three IMF delegations, three times in two years, came to Bombay and had three hour discussions with me and my one or two of my officers in Bombay House about the — what should be done about economic policy. And it is — it is on record. In Bombay, they — they came to see me, the IMF delegation. It is a fact. So they didn't come to discuss — whether they came because they — they realized that I was writing something which is exactly what they wanted. --- ## [Interview] D R Pendse on the Criticism he faced through his Career URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/d-r-pendse-on-the-criticism-he-faced-through-his-career/ ### Summary D. R. Pendse reflects on the criticism he endured throughout his career as an economist who championed liberal economic views in a climate hostile to them. Politicians, economists, and academics frequently labeled him a 'reactionary,' 'fundamentalist,' and 'anti-national,' yet he refused to abandon his convictions, believing time would vindicate his positions. He recounts an anecdote in which a professor of economics, introducing him at a meeting attended by Japanese delegates, publicly admitted that for twenty-five years they had dismissed Pendse as a stooge of monopoly, only to realize—after India's 1991 crisis when gold had to be transported abroad—that he had been right all along. Pendse credits JRD Tata with shaping his resolve. When Pendse complained that members of the Octroi alternatives committee (to which JRD had nominated him) refused to accept his views, JRD told him bluntly that he had not been appointed to win any popularity contest—if he was convinced he was right, he must keep saying so emphatically. Pendse describes this counsel as the guiding principle of his life as an economic adviser: to think, analyze, develop sound positions, and then speak them regardless of reception. ### Body # D R Pendse on the Criticism he faced through his Career Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrZSeDVMwEI Duration: 316.9s **D. R. Pendse** (00:09): In India, many people, politicians, economists call me anti-national. They just couldn't believe what I was talking was the right thing for the country. So so many — I've got so many letters — like reactionary, fundamentalist, anti-national. All these are adjectives for me. Well, I will not — I'm not going to stop that. I — I'm convinced in my mind that I'm doing the right thing. I will do it. And, eventually, you have proven right? Ultimately. And that in my book, there's a — towards the end, I have written one — one I After JRD. There's one section I have written. Actually, that is slightly beyond the our discussion, but I don't — because it's anecdote, as you said. There was a college in — So they had a — in that college, Premay said there was a meeting. Some — in the some industries call it — some Japanese people or something like that, and they invited me as a — So I went there. Somebody was a professor of economics in that college introduced me. I don't remember his name now, by the way. Introduced me. And during the introduction, he said, and I still remember that. He said, I would like to introduce Mister Pendse to me because Mister Pendse has always been writing letter articles for the last twenty five years. I've been reading them, and we always considered him as a reactionary and anti-national. He was writing something which we never — which we could never accept in our society. We thought he was a stooge of the monopoly, stooge of that. That's all. He said that in introducing me. We thought that. And but then gradually, things became — started becoming so bad that we realized one day — and one day when our gold had to be transported and all that. We never knew that things were so bad. Then we realized that we were all wrong, and he was the only man right. And that is what Mister Pendse is — Mister Pendse. But there's a lot of Japanese people who had come there. So introducing me to them, It was a big meeting. So he said that. So that is — that is my my testimony. That I was considered anti-national, but then they said, no. There is — not anti-national. I had also a sense of patriotism in my mind. And that is that I mentioned in my JRD book, I After JRD. And because, you know, what I said is that one must — you see, there again, He put me on a Octroi alternatives committee. He was against the Octroi, and I was also against it. So there was a Government of Maharashtra that appointed a committee. Well, this is a change of subject, but it's as a — as a — Please. I think doctors will be interested. So I'll donate you. So they asked him to be a member. He said, no. I'm not an economist. I will — my Mister Pendse is our economist. I will request him to be a — said, alright. So I became a member. And then I find — found that whatever I was saying, none of the members could accept. I just couldn't — what had happened to me. And I become — whatever I said, they were always object, other members of the committee. Some bureaucrats, some of these, some of professional. I said, this is bad. I — I told Mister one day. So I said, you have appointed me, but I'm becoming very unpopular in the committee. Nobody accept my view. Nobody would want to listen to me. And then you know what he told me? He said remember, we have not put you there to win any popularity contest. If you are convinced that what you are saying is the right thing, you must say it and you must keep on saying it emphatically. Don't worry. We have not put you there to win any popularity contest. And that is what has guided me. I kept on saying — if I am convinced, I kept on saying that whatever people say, I will skip. That is what this man also, he said, we thought that he was anti-national, but he evolved. Now we formed it. And even if we are not formed, it doesn't matter. Now many sides and which I have made, still people think they're absurd. It doesn't matter. Let them say so. I'm convinced about it. I'm going to say that. You see what I'm — so that thinking that — do not — we have not put you there for winning any popularity contest. So the economic adviser job is not to win any popularity contest. The economic adviser job is to pursue — to first think, analyze, develop thinking, which is right, and then speak it. Whatever it is. That is what he was thinking. I have followed that. --- ## [Interview] D R Pendse on the Indian Liberal Tradition URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/d-r-pendse-on-the-indian-liberal-tradition/ ### Summary D. R. Pendse reflects on the meaning of being an Indian liberal, framing his answer almost entirely through the lens of economic policy. He places liberalism on a left-right spectrum and identifies himself with right-of-center economics, arguing that under the BJP government — at the time of recording — Indian policy had moved closer to mainstream global economic thinking than at any point in the previous several decades. From this vantage he challenges the framing of S. V. Raju as a 'lone warrior': in his view the liberal cause Raju championed has substantially prevailed and should be celebrated rather than mourned. Pendse then sketches a typology of four figures he sees as anchors of the Indian liberal tradition: C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji), Nani Palkhivala, Minoo Masani, and M. R. Pai. He distinguishes them by role rather than ideology — politician, jurist/ambassador, parliamentarian-publicist, and implementer-communicator — all broadly supportive of right-of-center economics. He singles out M. R. Pai's work through the Forum of Free Enterprise as a model for translating liberal ideas into public opinion. He concedes he never met Rajaji and knew Masani only slightly, but expresses deep respect for the project of building public opinion in favor of economic freedom. ### Body # D. R. Pendse on the Indian Liberal Tradition Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_7NoDmhvvA Duration: 391.2s **D. R. Pendse** (00:09): In terms of economic policy or economic thinking, we can say there's a center. Then there is a right of center, which is a — there's a far right at the extreme end. Then there's a left of center, which is a complete communist. And then there's a center. Isn't it? There is center. So somebody — are, are you a liberal? I mean, somebody asked me, are you a liberal? I would say, what is a liberal? Well, if you say, do you believe in a right of center policy? I say, yes. Now if you look at that, I'm talking mainly from the point of view of economic policy, as economy. So my approach is that at present, I find that liberal policy, or policies which the so-called liberals would have favored, are being favored. So although there are some — subject to some exceptions, but although never before in the last twenty, forty, fifty years, the policies have been so close to the world thinking. Because since last year, BJP government taking over, whatever broad orders we see as a policy, the government policy, seem to be broadly close to the world thinking. Not exactly equal to, but close to. They're closer to the world thinking than ever before. So I'm going by that. So if I'm going by that, the — so, so then that I say, yes. I, I favor liberal — liberal — I, I definitely favor right of center economic policy. That is, if that is liberalism, yes, I am, I am liberal. But unless you define what is a liberal, or unless you say these are liberal party, and are you a member? I said, no, I'm not a member of any party. Well, I mean, that's broadly what we have. You see, people say, lone liberal, lone warrior, Raju. But why lone warrior? Whatever he was aspiring, whatever he was fighting for is won. The liberal values are weak now. So we should celebrate whatever he was fighting for, whatever we all wanted — our present policies are close to that. They are not exactly equal, but are close, closer than ever before. So that is what I'm — saying, looking at it, unless you have a proper definition of a liberal — so unless you have a — I, I don't think there is a definition of a liberal party. So if there is no — that is why I, I find it very difficult to answer the question when you use the word liberal, Indian liberal group. I mean, I can understand liberal group. So, anyway, with that, that is a broad thing. I'm definitely in favor of economic policy — on the whole, the government policies to be, let, right of center. At present, they are on the whole right of center. They are more — they are closer to what most liberals would have liked than ever before. So to that extent, liberals are winning, in my opinion, to that extent, and I'm happy about it. So with that, I'm — with that preface, I'm giving the answer to that. Now when you say Rajaji, I never met Rajaji, I do not really know. Isn't it? He wanted to see how he can get across the laws and all that sort. That is also important. Palkhivala was not a politician. He was an ambassador and all that — that is a separate thing. But that is it. Then MRP, he was the implementer. He was the, what do you call, media man. So he knew what the things — knew the conclusions of this thing, he knew how to put them across. Forum of Free Enterprise was a model through which he used that, which is — which is also important. There's no use having all the things in a book. They will be carried forward to the people. So Forum of Free Enterprise was one way of doing it. So he did extremely well. So I'm not — but there are four different categories. Rajaji, Palkhivala, Minoo Masani, and Vinaymar. They're all important, but they are all in different categories, all generally favoring the right of center economic policy. And they all should be very happy about the present day. That's what I'm saying. And I did not know Rajaji. I knew Minoo Masani only — to some extent I knew him. But, of course, I have the greatest respect for public opinion, developing public opinion, creating public opinion, and getting things done. --- ## [Interview] D R Pendse on Think Tanks and the Power of Ideas URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/d-r-pendse-on-think-tanks-and-the-power-of-ideas/ ### Summary D. R. Pendse reflects on his working relationship with J. R. D. Tata during his tenure as a Tata economist. He describes a pattern in which he would draft articles or notes proposing economic policies, share them with JRD, and consistently receive enthusiastic endorsement. Pendse attributes this to JRD's complete trust in him and a shared conviction that his proposals served both industry and country. Pendse claims that several major economic policy reforms — including the cancellation of the Monopolies Act and gold control — were ideas first floated in his articles. He stresses the symbiotic nature of his relationship with JRD: while he proposed ideas, JRD acted on them out of independent conviction formed through long discussions, not mere deference. ### Body # D R Pendse on Think Tanks and the Power of Ideas Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si8F_I4P8xY Duration: 124.7s **D. R. Pendse** (00:09): When I made a proposal, I will always first write a note, send it to — I will write, publish the article or send a note to JRD. And JRD, he will always say, "First class, excellent, very good." And I also said, "Do you agree?" He said, "Yes. I seem to agree with everything what you say." Because that is a fact, because I mean, I'm a Tata economist. So if I have interest of Tata than private sector industry, I'm bound to say something which is the interest of industry. You could see that. And he often said that there are really nothing to say. "I seem to agree with everything what you say." So he never, never obstructed me from writing anything. Never. Never obstructed me from giving a speech. Never obstructed me to make a comment. Nothing. Never. Just left it to me because he was confident. He had complete faith that I will do something. Whatever I do will be in the interest of the country. It will be in the interest of industry. Because I was, in my opinion, I was in his 18. He believed in me. And that is — and he decided, why should he not believe in me? I've certainly done something which is good for the country in terms of economic policy. And all these economic policies which adopted, most of them are straight from articles. I proposed this. Monopoly Act cancelled. I will propose. Industrial, send in gold control. This, that, that — all these things were. And that — he didn't do it directly because I propose. He did it because I may propose. I may propose because they had long discussions with me, and they are symbiotic. I'm not saying that they did only because I — they must have been convinced about it. --- ## [Interview] Did Bollywood Liberalise India or Did India Liberalise Bollywood? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/did-bollywood-liberalise-india-or-did-india-liberalise-bollywood/ ### Summary In this monologue, Nimish Adhia reflects on the reciprocal relationship between Bollywood cinema and India's economic liberalisation. He argues it is a chicken-and-egg dynamic: liberal ideas in films reflected shifts already occurring in Indian society, while films in turn reinforced and propagated those ideas in a self-feeding loop. Filmmakers were not consciously driving ideology; they were chasing audience tastes that had moved away from themes of self-sacrifice toward new sensibilities. To illustrate the shift, Adhia contrasts the moral portrayal of businessmen across decades. He cites a Zanjeer-era Amitabh Bachchan line — 'all businesses are shady' — as emblematic of 1970s suspicion of commerce, and contrasts it with the 1990s Yash Chopra–Karan Johar films where wealthy heroes run businesses yet are virtuous, kind to employees and family. The disappearance of the 1950s trope of businessmen 'beating widows and children to extract a few pennies' signals a 360-degree turn in cultural mindset. Adhia ties this cultural shift to economic policy: a society that sees businessmen as inherently evil will not embrace liberal economic policies, whereas one that sees them as ordinary people — capable of morality like anyone else — is far more receptive to economic liberalisation. ### Body # Did Bollywood Liberalise India or Did India Liberalise Bollywood? Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqoEQS_LJPI Duration: 231.6s **Speaker** (00:05): Yeah. It's like the chicken and egg question. Right? Which one came first? And it's hard to tell, but I suspect it's both. Right? I think, the liberal ideas being reflected in Indian films, were a reflection of what was going on in the society, but also in turn, it spurred further, liberal ideas. So I think we were in kind of a self reinforcing loop over there. What came first? I don't know. But once it started, they kept on feeding each other. I don't think anyone was consciously doing it. I think people were simply making movies that they thought appealed to the audience that they they had. And I guess films about self sacrifice were no longer selling the way they were before, and therefore they decided to experiment with different themes which were much more successful and more in tune with, the sensibilities of the people of the time. There was this movies, I think it was Zanjeer of Amitabh Bachchan. I forget the name. I'll have to quickly look up the name. But in that film, like Amitabh Bachchan is a young man and he's looking for a job and you know, he's working for this like this shady underworld don. And his father advises him. He says, you know, don't don't work for this guy. He seems shady. And Amitabh Bachchan just says, well, all businesses are shady, you know. And I thought that that line kind of reflected a very common sentiment of the earlier era, of the seventies particularly, that all businesses are shady. Okay? And if you look at the films in the nineteen nineties, you know, the Yash Chopra-Karan Johar films. Right? The heroes are fabulously wealthy. They run business, but they are also very virtuous and moral. They take such good care of their employees. You know, they're kind to their servants. They are very solicitous of the women and their family. You know, so there is like a 360 degree turn in how business people are morally portrayed or how their morality is being portrayed. That is really, really stunning. We don't have films anymore where they show businessmen like beating widows and children to extract a few pennies that, you know, though in nineteen fifties, we did have such films. Okay. So some of these changes are so striking. Okay? And you have to you have to have to admit that, you know, it reflects a very different mindset that has, bearing on what kind of economic policies the country as a whole is likely to pursue in these two different times. If you believe that, you know, businessmen are basically evil and, you know, they would, they would beat widows and children to pinch pennies out of them, then you're not gonna have very liberal economic policies. Okay? But if you make allowance for the fact that business people are just like other people, they may or may not be moral, then you are much more open to to liberal economic policies. --- ## [Interview] Forest Rights Act, 2006 : The Struggle for Implementation - Part I URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/forest-rights-act-2006-the-struggle-for-implementation-part-i/ ### Summary Activists Ambrish Mehta and Trupti Mehta (Parekh) of ARCH-Vahini explain the architecture of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 and the obstacles to implementing it on the ground. The speaker walks through the two principal categories of rights the Act recognizes: individual rights over land cultivated or occupied before December 2005, and community rights vested in the Gram Sabha — including 100% ownership of all minor forest produce. A notable shift, the speaker emphasizes, is that the 2006 Act reclassified bamboo as a minor forest produce (rather than a tree, as the Indian Forest Act had treated it), transferring its ownership to forest-dwelling communities. The speaker treats the most consequential provision as the right of communities to sustainably use and manage their forests, including preparing their own management plans that must be incorporated into the forest department's working plan. The remainder of the segment turns to the practical burden this places on Gram Sabhas — inviting claims, verifying evidence, conducting field verification, and adjudicating pre-2005 occupation — in tribal areas where literacy is limited. The Act's provision for a Forest Rights Committee, drawn from Gram Sabha members, is presented as the mechanism by which this work is delegated. ### Body # Forest Rights Act, 2006 : The Struggle for Implementation - Part I Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mcSR2vAUBA Duration: 233.9s **Speaker** (00:05): As I said, this act recognizes two types of mainly two types of rights. One is individual rights on individual land for cultivation and for habitation. And there is a condition that the land should be occupied before 2005, December 2005. Another very important provision of this act is Gram Sabhas and people's rights on the forest resources. That includes rights on all minor forest produce. That is ownership. 100% ownership rights on all minor forest produces, including bamboo. And that is the first time the Forest Rights Act, because in the Indian Forest Act, bamboo was considered a tree. But in 2006, the Forest Rights Act considered bamboo as minor forest produce and not trees. And so it gives 100% ownership rights of bamboo and other minor forest produce to the Gram Sabha and the people. Another means other rights are rights of water, water waste, water produce, grazing, all sorts of these things. My my means and intellectual property rights also. But the most important right which is given in this act, is right to manage, to use sustainably and to manage their — and not only that, people, means they are interested to prepare a management plan of their forest. That would be and that should be included in the forest department's working plan. And I think that is the most important provision for our right recognizing this act. And so what happened that as I said, Gram Sabha was interested to initiate the process, to invite the claims, to record the claimants' evidences or to verify them, to go for a field verification and to write down whatever was there and not means and after all these verification, verification of the field and of the record, then they will have to come to a conclusion that whether he or she was cultivating this land or having means she he or she was occupying this land for cultivation or for habitation before 2005 or not. And if yes, how much? So in that sense, Gram Sabha's task and Gram Sabha's responsibility was too much. And as you know, in tribal areas, most of the people are either semi literate or many of them are illiterate. And so the it was a very big task, big responsibility on the heirs of the Gram Sabha. There is a provision in the act to that the Gram Sabha would form a forest rights committee amongst from amongst the members of the Gram Sabha. And the forest rights committee would carry out all this work on behalf of the Gram Sabha. --- ## [Interview] Forest Departments, Incentives and the Environment URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/forest-departments-incentives-and-the-environment/ ### Summary Activists from ARCH-Vahini argue that India's forest crisis stems not from tribal overuse but from the state's takeover of common-pool resources. The original 'tragedy of commons' rationale for state forestry ignored that forest-dwelling communities operated regulated commons sustainably for centuries — they bore both the benefits of healthy forests and the costs of degradation, giving them strong stewardship incentives. Once the Forest Department took over, tribals lost both rights and interest, and the department itself perpetrated the largest post-Independence destruction by clear-felling multi-species forests for monoculture plantations in the 1960s–70s, while blaming tribals. The speaker argues the Forest Rights Act reverses this by restoring community and individual rights over minor and major forest produce. In roughly 30–50 villages where ARCH-Vahini works, Gram Sabhas became active once rights were recognized, turned away outside loggers, and stopped internal cutting. Denuded hilltops in their working area have regenerated into thick forest since 1989 with no plantation spending — only community protection against cutting and forest fires. The lesson: secure long-term tenure is what aligns local incentives with regeneration, which is a 5–10 year horizon. ### Body # Forest Departments, Incentives and the Environment Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrOK1gu3-Cc Duration: 463.9s **Speaker** (00:05): The very idea. The very idea. And that this was also in a way, in a way, this was also the so-called rationale for the creation of forestry. The whole thing was that these are common lands not owned by any individuals. Forests are — is the common resource, common property resource. So if not regulated by state, it would lead to tragedy of commons, and we would lose if it is left, if the things are left on its own. The people would destroy it because no single person owns this land or owns forest. So it would — tragedy of commons would be. So unless and until we have a state authority which controls and manages this resource, this resource would be lost. That was the whole reason for creation of forestry. Now there is a very good article by Ridley, Ridley, Ridley. Ridley. Ridley. In fact, that is — although this was a commons, this is, this is a common area. It's a regulated commons because people are living there on the ground, and they know that who is extracting more and who is extracting, who is overusing, and who is underusing, so they can easily control. So a regulated common, well-regulated common can function sustainably for a very long time. Initially, they had all the rights over the resource. They could use it, and they could benefit if the resource is in good health. And they would have to pay a price if the resource is in the bad health. So they had all the incentive to preserve and regenerate and use it in a proper way. But once this — it becomes forest department properties, the tribals who are living there, other forest communities who are living in the midst of the forest, they lost all interest in protecting this forest, forest, because they won't get — in any case, they won't get anything that belong to the forest. So even outsiders started coming, destroying the forest. And most of the destruction of forest post-Independence — it was done by the forest department legally. They took down — I don't know whether you know or not. During sixties and seventies, large tracts of very productive multi-species forests were clearly removed, clear-felled. All trees were cut to create plantations, in plantations. That was the major assault on the forests of India, during which most of the forests were destroyed. These were destroyed by forest department, not the tribals. And — and so even forest department is an agency, government agency. So individual foresters, they don't have that that type of commitment, some in there, some exceptions apart. Generally, the people don't have that much stake. It belongs to the state, and it is open access. So hardly — most of the time, you find that forest officers are involved in illegal smuggling of wood, illegal cutting, encouraging cutting also. And — and at that time and at the same time, blaming tribals for the loss of forests. So they could get away, get away, get away with lots of things and blaming tribals for the same thing. That happens. On-the-ground priority. And that is what the Forest Rights Act is also — aims. Its overall philosophy is that if you give to the local communities the rights over the resource, that is why the ownership of not only minor forest produce, but also even of major forest produce matters. The very fact that you have — you have the right to manage the forest, and then it gives us strength. We have seen it. And their incentive to preserve, regenerate, recreate forest goes up like anything. And we have seen this with our own eyes. Once the Forest Rights Act came into being and people were confident that now all the rights are going to be recognized, not only individual rights, but community rights. And community rights have also been recognized. We immediately saw in our area. We are working with about thirty, fifty villages in that whole area. Everywhere Gram Sabhas became active, they informed our neighbors from Maharashtra and other places who were coming to cut the trees in their area that now the forest belong to us. And whole thing stopped. They also respected it. And the, the, the those, those who were coming, they also respected it. Now this belongs to the villagers, so now we cannot go and cut any tree without the permission of the local. But individuals within the forest, our in — yeah. Individuals within the villages, they also started respecting this. What happens is that this confidence, it all depends on whether the people have confidence that forest department will allow them to reap the benefits. First, preserving and regenerating forest is a long-term goal. You — you are not going to be able to see the forest regeneration within few years. Will take five years, ten years. And once if they regenerate the forest with all their efforts, after ten years, if they are not allowed to use, use the benefits of them, then — and when they lose this benefit, lose this confidence that they would be able to use it, they lost — they lose interest. Here we have seen that whenever individual forest rights, they are confident that now rights on agriculture are going to improve, they would start preserving the forest. Once they've done that is up, then then the rights are rejected. In the — even individual forest rights claims are rejected, and their enthusiasm to work for forest protection goes down. Stop doing it. No else. These all sorts of things happen. But once if you give them freedom and if you give them proper authority, then they are the people. And most of the enlightened foresters also recognize that without involving — involving local communities or without giving them the freedom to manage the forest in their own way, there is no way a government department can manage it immediately. That is very much very well known. So although this is counterintuitive, this is — it is one has to really see. We have seen in these villages where all the denuded hilltops, which were all denuded in just 1989, are now full thick thick with forests. They have regenerated forests without any major investment. No plantation, no other activity, just protection. The protection given by the villagers. Protection against harmful cutting and protection against forest fires. When the forest fires happen, they would go there and see to it that it does not spread. We take measures so that the forest fires do not occur. All these measures, they help a lot in regenerating forest. But one has — one needs to see these things with their own eyes. Normally, we can realize, realize that this is what happens. --- ## [Interview] Forest Rights Act, 2006: The Struggle for Implementation - Part II URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/forest-rights-act-2006-the-struggle-for-implementation-part-ii/ ### Summary In Part II of this interview on the Forest Rights Act, 2006, ARCH-Vahini activists Ambrish Mehta and Trupti Mehta (Parekh) describe their experience helping tribal gram sabhas in Gujarat implement the FRA on the ground. They detail how they developed model forms (Panchnama and Rojkam) for field verification, trained Forest Rights Committee members to document claims meticulously with all required evidence, and watched gram sabha members put in extraordinary effort to file airtight claims. Despite this preparation, the Forest Department systematically obstructed implementation: although it held only one seat on the sub-divisional and district level committees, those committees deferred almost entirely to forest department verification, approving only about 10% of claims (often with reduced acreage) and rejecting the rest without valid reasons. In Gujarat, of 1.82 lakh claims filed, only 30,000 were initially approved and 1.2 lakh were rejected. ARCH-Vahini took the matter to the Gujarat High Court, which delivered a landmark judgment forcing the government to reopen all rejected claims; after 2013, approvals rose to 90,000, but the speaker concludes that even twelve years on, implementation remains inadequate due to forest department opposition and general administrative apathy. ### Body # Forest Rights Act, 2006: The Struggle for Implementation - Part II Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9k9zmFRn9w Duration: 445.8s **Speaker** (00:05): The first and foremost challenge before us when we started the implementation, we started helping them in the implementation. The first and foremost challenge was how these gram sabhas would carry out all these responsibilities. Not only that, they didn't know all these things. They knew who was cultivating or who was occupying the land, where from when, but the question was to put it down on the paper, formally write it down. And so we had lots of meetings with the people, not only in our organizational villages, but across Gujarat, 12 districts, tribal districts. And we with the help of our payments, our interaction with the people, we formulated some of the model forms. How do means how when they go for field verification, what to know, what to write down. We didn't know that what would prove that this land was before 2005 or more. But the people knew that what types of signs and signals would show this thing. So all these things were put down in the Panchnama and Rojkam and means in Gujarat, we call it Rojkam when we go for field verification. They have to write down all these things formally. Means this thing. So and the people, we were so means, we still cannot believe that people put in so much efforts to do all these things, and we are witness to that that this FRC persons, presidents, means the chairperson, and the secretaries, and other members, they did a lot of work during this time. Because the first thing that and in the gram sabhas also more unlike the gram sabhas, which the panchayat gram sabhas, which are means being held. Most of the people remain present in this gram sabhas because it was their work. It was their land, which was the agenda. And so these people carried out all these things. Problem was another at that time, we were thinking that this is the only problem. But no. We also had some inkling that and we used to tell the people also that we have to prepare such type of claims, claim files that even if the forest department or the government wanted to reject them, they could not. So they prepared the files, the claim files in such a way that we believe, and people also believe that this would be of course, all the evidences are there, everything, every procedural. I mean, they had followed all the procedures, and evidences were there. And so their their claims are going to be approved. But, no, that was not the case. And after one year, one, two years, we found out that the government the forest departments was so against this. And so because of the forest department's interference another thing is that even the forest department is the forest department's representative is only one member of the subdivisional level committee and the district level committee. These are the committees which are which have to examine whatever the resolution the Gram Sabha passes. So after the Gram Sabha submitted their claims with the resolution to the sub regional level committee, what it did in most of the in I should I I could say in Gujarat, that was the norm, and I could also say that that have this happened in all over India. That these files, these claims files were sent to the forest department for verification. And the forest department approved only one 10% or so and with reduced area and sentiment. And the sub divisional level committee and the district level committees, they just passed. They just approved whatever the forest department approved. And so after one or two years, most of the claims in Gujarat were rejected. I should I I I can say the in Gujarat, one lakh 82,000 claims were filed in all the tribal districts. From this one lakh 82,000 claims, only 30,000 claims were approved, and one lakh 20,000 claims were rejected without giving any reasons. Reason approved. Because reason was this that you they gave of course, they gave the reasons, but they were all wrong reasons. Say for example, in Narmada, there were 17,000 claims, and only one reason that was given was because of the lack of the evidences, which was not true. So these were the hurdles which we encountered, and then we had to go to the High Court, Gujarat High Court. Gujarat High Court gave a very good landmark judgment in this, And and that means the government had to re Sorry. Government had to renew reopen all the rejected claims. And so after 2013, all the claims were reviewed in all the districts, 90,000. So from 30,000 to 90,000 claims are is approved till now. But it's not it is also not not enough and not correct. So we are still trying. So after twelve years of implementation, we are at this stage. And because mainly because one thing, forest department's total opposition. Another thing is general administration and the government's apathy and carelessness, just carelessness. --- ## [Interview] How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Trade Deficit | Sudha Shenoy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/how-i-stopped-worrying-and-learned-to-love-the-trade-deficit-sudha-shenoy/ ### Summary Sudha R. Shenoy delivers a Mises Institute lecture (2006) arguing that the U.S. trade deficit, far from being a recent crisis, is a historical phenomenon dating to 1980 (trade balance) and 1983 (capital account turnaround), and must be explained from that period rather than from recent consumption trends. Working from OECD and U.S. balance-of-payments data, she shows that the composition of U.S. imports has remained broadly unchanged since 1951 (roughly two-thirds production/capital goods, one-third consumer goods), U.S. gross fixed capital formation has been steady since 1970, and Western European household savings — declining but still above U.S. levels — have flowed into U.S. investment opportunities. She insists the capital inflow and the rise in U.S. consumption are two separate causal chains, not a knee-jerk relationship. Shenoy then dismantles popular explanations: OPEC dollar invoicing and official reserve demand are dwarfed by private-sector flows (roughly five times larger on both demand and supply sides), and demands for dollars from narcotics, international finance, and stores of value would have to be comparable in scale to show up meaningfully. She separates private from government flows, noting that U.S. government borrowing comes almost entirely from other governments (notably Japan and China holding dollars to suppress their currencies — a self-defeating exercise visible in the yen's long-run appreciation) and argues those governments are simply hurting themselves and their own workers. Her broader point: floating exchange rates since 1973 plus 24-hour global currency markets make 'reserve currency' framing obsolete, and economists keep waving their hands instead of looking at the numbers. ### Body # How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Trade Deficit | Sudha Shenoy Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQgsvzJaBD8 Duration: 2641.9s **Interviewer** (00:00): Okay, let's get started here this afternoon for our special lecture with Doctor Sudha Shenoy. I'd like to begin by of course reminding everybody that the imperialism conference starts tomorrow here at the institute. We'll be broadcasting on the Internet starting at 01:30 Central Time. Professor Shenoy is an honorary associate at the University of Newcastle in Australia. She is an adjunct faculty member at the Mises Institute and a research associate with the European Center for Austrian Economics. She is the author of India, Progress or Poverty, Underdevelopment and Economic Growth and the editor of A Tiger by the Tail: The Keynesian Legacy of Inflation. Her topic today is How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Trade Deficit. And for your further information, we have an interview, an in-depth interview with Doctor Shenoy on mises.org called The Global Perspective, which I encourage you all to take a look at. Professor, thank you. **Sudha Shenoy** (01:12): Thank you, Mark. Rather small group here. Think we can all ask questions at any point if anything strikes you. Okay. What happened originally, which got me started looking into this particular topic, is actually back in 1992, the Smith Centre at Hayward College asked me to talk about something and I started — at that time, everybody was hugely worried about the Japanese capital inflow and so on and so forth. So I started looking and discovered that the U.S. had turned around from capital surplus, capital exporting, to capital importing, roughly around about 1980, 1983. And at that time, of course, it was only nine years into the changeover or whatever, no one was worried, no jumping up and down, sky was not falling or anything of the sort. 2006 now and the sky is falling. Sky is falling, we've got this huge U.S. trade deficit, we've got all these huge sums of money flowing in. Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize winner, believe, no less, tells us that the world financial system can't put up with all this money flowing into the U.S., etc, etc. The reason for the inflows — rise in U.S. consumption, your Puritan heritage coming in, you know, you mustn't consume too much, it's not good for you, etc. Everybody is now concerned. Okay, so as I said I started looking into this and I started looking at it from the historian's perspective. We have had some sort of change occurring in the US balance of payments, which is an historical phenomenon. The question is when it started and the reasons. Now, I've already given away one part of the secret, the one part being of course that it did not start three months ago, six months ago, even eight years ago. 1980 is when we started with the change in the trade figures. And is that quite clear? Yes. 1983 was when we changed round to capital importing. Now, a point which even economists forget, the trade balance is not the current account balance. The current account balance includes income from abroad or income paid abroad. It also includes unilateral transfers and it includes services. For some countries the invisibles as they are called are much more important than the visibles, the things that go chunk when you drop them. Okay, so 1980 we find that the US balance of trade has turned. We are in deficit. But the current account is still in surplus. And it's in surplus because of the other items which I mentioned, the invisibles. 1983 is when you get a complete turnaround. And of course, what's been happening is that you have a rise now in the trade deficit and therefore, obviously, in due course, get a current account deficit and therefore, net capital inflows. Okay, now that is lesson number two, which I keep trying to hammer into my students. And that is that you have a balance of payments, you do not have a simple balance of trade, you do not even have a simple current account balance. You always have capital and current account together. So it's always the balance of payments overall which gives you a complete picture as to what is happening, what is not happening and so on. Okay, so our turning point is 1983. In other words, if we're going to explain the trade deficit, our explanation must begin in 1980. It's no use saying that housing prices started rising in 1992. The trade deficit began in 1983. And similarly, it's no use saying U.S. consumption started rising in 1995 because you've got capital inflows since 1983 on net. And so the explanation has to start then. You may have later changes occurring, later influences, which replace your original, but that is when your explanation has to start. Okay, the other point which I then decided to have a look at because one hears so much about rising US consumption causing problems, etc. I hadn't done this before, so I thought I'm bound to find that US imports, huge rise in consumer goods imports, decline in capital goods imports, because we're all consuming too much. Okay. The composition of US imports I found has remained unchanged, broadly unchanged, since 1951. For fifty years or more, you have had no change in basic composition of US imports. As you can see, broadly speaking, you always had production goods, capital goods, industrial inputs, one sort or another. The bulk of your imports, two thirds or more, and roughly a third, or less than a third, of consumer goods imports. Okay, so for fifty five years approximately, fifty one, whatever, however many years you want to take it, there's been no change. Okay, so in other words, just by looking at the composition of US imports you would not know that all these dreadful things have been happening, capital imports and all the rest of it. One caveat, and that is of course over this period of fifty odd years, half a century, you've had obvious changes in the standard industrial classification. And so therefore, the categories, the definitions and things have changed. However, if you look at the very broad categories that there are, you can broadly identify the industrial inputs. Rotary drills are clearly not consumer goods. Most furniture is likely to be a consumer good, but of course some furniture could be going into restaurants or hotels or offices or whatever. Okay, so the composition of imports hasn't changed despite all the fuss and feathers about rising U.S. consumption. We'll come back to that question later. Okay, next point is the rise in consumption therefore obviously fall in capital formation. Rising consumption, fall in GFCF. We're all economists here, gross fixed capital formation. Correct? Okay, so I thought I'd have a look at what is happening in the US and incidentally other countries as well. And what do I find? Virtually no change in the U.S. GFCF and that goes back to 1970. And that is partly because, well that is because I looked at the OECD figures. Again on the grounds that if you're looking at more than one country an intergovernmental organization goes around homogenizing the national figures you hope and therefore I use the OECD figures. Right. Okay, now there's been a slight decline in the U.S. GFCF, but again by looking at the U.S. GFCF figures, capital formation figures, going back to 1970, which is what, thirty six years now, you would not know that there was anything drastic happening at all. Okay, now I'm anticipating here because the figures are up there already. The anticipation is simply that in Western Europe, which is where most of your capital comes from, in Western Europe you find that the capital formation figures have been declining and in more recent years from the 1990s onwards they have come more or less close to the U.S. figures. Now the odd years up there, UK 1970–79, Germany 1973, etcetera, is because when you look at the figures for each country individually, the decline begins in different years. The periodization is different and obviously that is because the circumstances for various countries are different. Okay, so as you can see they all started up above the US and now they're all come down to pretty close to the U.S. And again, I'll anticipate and say that we know that U.S. household savings figures have been falling. And what the OECD have found at least from 1988 onwards is that you also had declining household savings in Western Europe. But these figures, Western European savings figures for most countries, are still above the U.S. figures. So that prima facie, you have savings in one country, investment in another. Savings being made, looking for investment opportunities as it happens crossing a political boundary, therefore showing up in balance of payments figures. That's not the complete story because some countries have very low household savings figures and in Western Europe and they still invest here in the US and some of them are even lower than the US. So it's not the complete story. The other point is that I found that alone of all the figures that you could look up, the household savings figures were all over the shop. For the same three years in succession OECD tell me that the US household savings figure was 7%. I look at the U.S. statistical abstract, one year it says 4%, another year it says 4.5%, the third year when I look up it says 3.5% or whatever. And so when you look at the U.S. statistical abstract, alone of all the statistical runs you can look at, these figures are all over the shop. And so therefore I'm a bit wary about household savings figures anyway, just as a warning. Okay, so now we have at least part of the story. Part of the story being that you have savings in Western Europe looking for investment outlets, finding those in the US. All right, now one point I would like to stress and that is we have two separate chains of causation operating here. There is no necessary link between capital imports and savings, rising consumption. If there were no savings abroad, if there were no investment opportunities in the US preferable to others, you would not have a capital imports coming in. So that is a separate causation. Without the capital imports supposing you stop saving in the US, all that would happen is that you would eat up your capital stock, end of story. As it happens, this is circumstantial, not necessary, as it happens there are investment opportunities here or appearing here and therefore you've drawn in savings from Western Europe. Okay, the other point about the dates that we are looking at, that is from the 1983, 'eighties onwards, that is when you also start getting the end of increased capital formation, you might say, in Western Europe, therefore savings and therefore investment in other countries. Okay, now that is the main thing. If we now analyze further the capital, as we all know, we have foreign direct investment. We have FDI and we also have portfolio investment, investment in stocks and shares. And the FDI, when you look it up for the US, it's the same countries, the same firms virtually, and virtually the same lines of production for the last one hundred and thirty years. The same Philips and others who invested here one hundred and thirty years ago are still continuing to invest here. And that's the foreign direct investment. However, you've also got a large number of European countries who have foreign direct investments in the US. And some countries which appear to be slightly odd if I can remember them. If I can find my notes, disorganised as I usually am. Okay. Here we go. The UK, Netherlands and Switzerland have always been investors here. But in the last forty four years since between 1960 and 2004, you added in Spain, Austria, Norway, Ireland, Denmark, Finland. Finland which has a household savings ratio of virtually zero, if the OECD are to be believed. You also got a whole heap of little smaller countries now investing in the US, including Australia, as well as Israel and the Cayman Islands which is obviously pulling in money from who knows where. Okay, now the other change which has occurred and that has occurred in both directions, into the U.S. and out of the U.S., is the rise in portfolio investments. Again since 1980, we find that the U.S. investment abroad for some reason 1990 it dropped and then it shot up again. Whatever. I mean, main point is that portfolio investment has always been part of the total. The particular point about investment in the U.S. is that it's become an increasing part of the whole. And I read somewhere and I was unable to find the reference afterwards that apparently Wall Street waits every month with fingers crossed for the European portfolio investors to arrive to keep the stock market going. It's a fairly important part of U.S. stock market investment. Okay. Now so much for all that. When I put this up initially on the web as part of the blog I do with Liberty and Power, libertarian historians, I got a number of responses, a number of responses which I'll come to later on because I've just looked at my notes here and what I've forgotten is the US government. So far we've been looking at, I forgot to say again, should have stressed, we've been looking simply at private investments, private flows, goods and services, capital, what have you, the private sector. The US balance of payments figures in that respect are very neat. You can neatly separate out private from government transactions. Most cases, it's fairly clear and therefore you can sort out the honest from the dishonest transactions. Okay, now with the US government, what you find is the equivalent, if you're looking at the numbers, find the equivalent of a bull in a China shop. Figures are proceeding as it were as usual, no great changes, then all of a sudden whammy, something happens to capital inflows or somewhere else and then the dust settles and you carry on as usual. Okay, now so far as the U.S. government is concerned, I think it is proper to say, I think we would all agree, that what we have is a very clear case of capital being borrowed to finance current consumption. I had a quick look at the U.S. budget and I was unable to find anything which looked like capital investment. I'm sure there is, but I didn't have the time to invest in looking for investment. So far as I could see, the whole shebang was nothing but consumption. Okay. Now I don't seem to put up — any put together any tables for the U.S. government capital flow, I'll come back to that later. What I can tell you is is a government capital inflows are a rising proportion of the total. 1980–85 roughly 16% of total capital inflows were government borrowings abroad. By the time you get to February, which is the latest figures that I've got, it is something like 36% of the whole. And between 1980, '85 and February, private capital inflows have risen just under nine times, roughly nine times. Government capital inflows have risen 24 times. And again what you find is that particular years you find the things concentrated, the capital coming in. Okay, now at this point I'm going to again knock one of the criticisms that I had on the head. I want to make it quite clear that the US government only borrows from other governments, presumably those that can bully or otherwise want to hold US dollars for God knows what reason. What you find is that all the capital inflows are on the official side of the ledger. Can look at the figures. They're all official capital inflows. You do have some sales of treasury securities to private investors, but they're very small. They're less than one half of 1%. They're about one half of 1% of total private investment, and they're not a very large proportion of US government finances anyway. So basically it's US government borrowing from other foreign governments, those governments holding US government securities. So one of my critics said in capital letters, you know, this is going to cause real problems because it's not private investors but a few governments are going to make these decisions. And the short answer is in that case that the governments are going to suffer. Everyone else sensibly has refused to buy US government securities. So if the central banks or governments want to do stupid things, so be it. Okay, now again I'll pick up some of the other points. Yes, one of the points which came up more than once was that the composition of US imports, which we've just looked at mostly production goods, minority consumer goods. One objection which was raised was that the US production of capital goods has been falling, US production of consumer goods has been rising and therefore you have capital imports replacing domestic production. Reply number one, I mean that cannot have been happening for fifty five years. So you have to explain at what point something happened in the changeover or whatever happened. What happened before and what happened afterwards. Point number two is that capital formation rates have remained constant in the US. And therefore, you cannot say. Obviously domestic production has also remained constant. And the two together, imports having remained constant over the years means domestic production of capital goods has remained constant and that's why your capital formation figures have remained constant. The proportion has remained constant. The other thing is, let me point out, that the people who raised these objections were all economists. Economists are supposed to be numerate and these historians are supposed to be innumerate. Not one of these people looked up the US figures to tell me this is what actually happened to capital goods production and this is what actually happened to consumer goods production. They just, you know, waved their hands in the air and said, you know, this is what's happening. Historians couldn't get away with that. They would be asked to produce the evidence. In other words, the figures. Okay. Now another point which I would like to raise and which I think is fairly important, again related to the inflow of capital and the fact that it is a separate thing from the U.S. rise in U.S. consumption. The point I want to stress is that we do not have a knee jerk relationship between rising U.S. consumption in the capital. It's definitely a case of people looking for investment opportunities and therefore you must remember they are two separate things. Again, sort of footnote in case I hadn't mentioned it earlier. Alright, okay. Now, what else? Two more points, again, people talking again without looking at the numbers which are easily available if they're prepared to look for them. Standard point which is constantly raised: certain reasons why the US trade deficit is being pushed upwards. That is demand for US dollars for various purposes. Okay, here we go. I'll put that up as well. For some we have figures, for some we don't. Official demand for U.S. dollars. Governments want to hold U.S. dollars as a reserve currency and therefore there is pushing up the trade deficit. Again, bearing in mind that the trade deficit began in 1983 and that was not when the U.S. started selling securities abroad, it was much later. We have a look at the numbers there, just bear those in mind for later reference. The other reason we are told why there is a demand for U.S. dollars, OPEC. OPEC insists on being paid in U.S. dollars, God bless them, and therefore there is demand. People want to buy U.S. dollars. So all right, here we have the OPEC, all OPEC oil exports for what year, whatever the year is, 2003, that is the last year I could get information. And that OPEC figure is off the official OPEC website. So it has to be accurate. The official demand for US dollars is the same thing as official capital inflow into the US. Okay? Three other sources of demand for US dollars, which there are no estimates that anyone has made that I know of, illegal narcotics, financing of international transactions, and people who want to hold dollars as a store of value. Now for those three, if they are going to affect the US deficit, they must bear some sort of relationship to the components of the US balance of payments. In other words, they must be somewhere close to those figures. If they're not close to the components of the US balance of payments, you can't say that they're having any real influence on the trade deficit. Alright, we now have gone to have a look at some of these components and see what happens. Again, I am separating the private sector from the government sector on the grounds that government in any case is law unto itself. Okay, components of the U.S. balance of payments, private sector only. Exports of goods and services for the same year, 2003, well over a million million dollars, and it's a trillion dollars. And I put it there as demand for US dollars, that is exporters must be paid in US dollars, therefore you need US dollars for that. Income from abroad, because that is converted into US dollars by US residents. And capital inflow, foreign investors need dollars to invest in this country. Alright, you add all of those up, there's also demand for US dollars. It's almost five times the official capital inflow and 4.7 times OPEC oil exports. So that if OPEC oil and the official demand for US dollars are driving up the US deficit, why are the other components that much bigger? Right, the other side, supply of US dollars to supply the illegal narcotics trade etc, all these people who want to hold US dollars. Here we go. Imports of goods and services. Importers have to be paid in their own currencies. You can't use US dollars in France. Income which is sent abroad from the US, foreigners have to be paid in their own currencies. If you're investing abroad you have to invest in foreign currencies. So these are the supply of US dollars and therefore demand for foreign currencies and therefore supply for illegal narcotics blah blah blah. Okay, they add up to more than five times the capital inflow, U.S. official demand for dollars, more than five times again OPEC demand for dollars. And so therefore, I would say that neither OPEC nor official demand for dollars are a huge explanation of the US trade deficit. Figures aren't big enough. And so far as the other items are concerned for which we have no estimates of any sort, they would have to come close to at least somewhere near these components if they're going to have any influence. In fact, where these things do show up is in the errors and omissions segment of the balance of payments. That's where the illegal payments all show up. I haven't looked into that again, what's been happening to errors and omissions. But if someone wanted to do that, suspect that that's where they find the evidence for these non quantified and non quantifiable demands for U.S. dollars. Okay, again someone made a virtue out of the borrowing by foreign governments or lending by foreign governments to the US government. The argument being that the rate of return on government securities is very low. And therefore, you have a contribution to net inflow of income into the US on current account. You pay out less to foreign governments but you do have more coming in from abroad and therefore you have net inflow of income into the US. Alright, again we have a look at the numbers. Economists don't look at numbers, historians do. Okay, 2002 this time, sorry. 2002, no, should be 2000 no, this is 2002, 2024. Sorry, it's a separate set of calculations that I did for this. Alright, if you have a look at government income payments out and you have a look at private income in, private income out, same thing for the ten odd years or eleven odd years 1991, 2001. In all cases you find that the private flows swamp government flows. So it's the other way about. It's the earnings abroad on US investments plus the fact that the payments out on foreign investments in the US is still not very high or relatively high, that sustains that gap which brings a net income into the US. Private income in, which would pay for the government income out, is about almost four times. Private income out, which also requires foreign exchange, is almost three times. So whichever way you look at it, the private flows swamp government flows. And so the fact that the US government pays a low rate of interest on its securities abroad is neither here nor there. It's between the two governments concerned, another example of government stupidity on both sides. Right, okay, I think I've covered all the points that were raised against me. Yes, there we go. I pointed out that there cannot be any reserve demand for US dollars. That is itself a misnomer. It's a misnomer because we've had floating exchange rates since 1973. You don't need reserves. However, we do have some governments holding US dollars for various reasons. One is the Chinese government. The Chinese government does this because it wants to prevent the yuan from rising. And by preventing the yuan from rising, what it's doing is cutting the real wages of some of the poorest workers in the world, the Chinese workers. The other large holder of US dollars is the Japanese government. The Japanese government has been doing this again stupidly trying to prevent the yen from rising against the US dollar. Know, finger in the dike virtually trying to stop it from breaking. And we can see with what success. Here we go. The Japanese government has managed to prevent the yen from rising despite holding all those large quantities of US dollars buying foreign exchange to prevent the yen from rising down to about less than half in the space of a rise of double against the US dollar in the space of about twenty four years. It's again whistling in the wind. And those are your OECD figures again, so again reasonably homogenized and reliable. Right, okay, now I think I've managed to deal with all the points that I generally made in relation to, oh yes, now hang on, the East Asians and the Chinese, yes, the cunning foreigners as always. Alright, I'll do it from memory. No, here we are, I have got it here. Now, the Chinese. Again, I want to make a point here. First of all, if you go back and read the Guardian article and if you read other articles, Chinese are supposed to be sinister, baleful, blah, what have you. Okay, 2004. China supplies somewhat over 13% of US imports of goods. In other words, the rest of the world supplies 87% of US imports. Okay, the change in sources of imports, 1965 to say 2004, decrease in the developed countries share, increase in the share of East and Southeast Asia. And that is South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. The reason for this is simply industrialization in these areas. Industrialization in these areas therefore production of good quality but cheaper manufactured goods of all sorts. South Korea is in fact the world's number one supplier for a range of electronics goods and therefore since they supply the world they also happen to supply the US. And I don't know if anyone wants to guess how important the U.S. is as a market to China. Know, all these jumping up and down and sky is falling and all that. Do we in the U.S. take perhaps 50% of Chinese exports? 60%? 21%. The rest of the world takes another whatever it is 87%, 88, 89%. And a good proportion in fact goes to other parts of Southeast Asia, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, So it's circulating within the countries which are already themselves industrializing. Okay, and I must repeat again perhaps ad nauseam and that is that the Chinese have not developed on the basis of the U.S. trade deficit as some people have suggested. Nor have they developed on the basis of US investments, they have developed on the basis of overseas Chinese investments. Huge investments from Taiwan and from Hong Kong. In fact the sociologists have discovered the Taiwanese businessmen go across to China to supervise their investments, see how things are going and Chinese style is set up concubines there. And wife number one in Taiwan discovers what's going on and you can imagine divorce courts are very busy. Okay. Alright, now the other point I want to, I should have perhaps mentioned with regard to this notion of a reserve currency, etcetera, and all that. World currency markets operate twenty four hours a day and a little over five days a week. Sydney's opening time to San Francisco's closing time is your trading period which is twenty four hours a day except for a Friday evening in San Francisco to Monday morning in Sydney. If you're doing internet banking you can do it twenty four hours, seven days a week. And so therefore any idea that you could have even dirty floats is I think simply impossible. What you do do is central banks losing large quantities of money by pretending to influence exchange rates. And 1973, the fixed exchange rate system collapsed, the Bretton Woods system collapsed. That was exactly the Asian crisis of 1997–98 or whatever the year was. Southeast Asian governments for some reason wanted to have fixed exchange rates against the dollar and of course the whole thing went bank in the space of a very short period of time. Okay, I think I've covered more or less all the points that were raised either I raised or were raised by people who wrote in criticism including as I said one economist Brad Setser in some financial blog or the other. Amongst other things he accused me of misusing statistics without bothering to use any statistics himself, that's by the way. Right, okay. Any questions, please? **Interviewer** (40:36): Yes. Without all that stupid central bank intervention, particularly on the part of the Japanese and the Chinese, what would you expect to happen to the value of our dollar and trade patterns in general? **Sudha Shenoy** (40:55): Would expect — the U.S. dollar has risen and has fallen and has risen and fallen over the years. I would expect simply to continue to rise and fall according to whatever changes and circumstances there are. I mean the same thing has happened to other countries including for example the Australian dollar. At one time it was worth almost 2 American dollars. Now it's down to about 75–80 cents US. And at one time the US dollar was plunging heavily against all other currencies. And since then it's been rising. It's like any other price. I mean what happens to a price if there is no intervention? Prices change according to whatever the circumstances are. The price of the US dollar is simply price of foreign exchange. The US dollar price of foreign exchange. So, you know, it's pretty much what's happening now anyway. As I said, the quantities that are flowing through exchange markets, the forward foreign exchange markets, it is in fact now very much a market price. And the yuan and the yen, yen important though it might be, it's still only one of a number of other currencies. Mean the Japanese government has not been able to hold the yen down. And they won't be able to hold the yuan down either. There's already a black market in the yuan. So once you start getting black markets and currencies, you're on the way to something happening. Yes. I imagine it's U.S. dollar government securities. I think when you trace back these official capital inflows into the US, they are probably going to be not only Japan and China, but various other Southeast Asian countries apparently governments have also been holding U.S. dollar government securities. The Japanese government's holdings are partly because of the attempt to keep the yen down. So they've had to buy in huge quantities of U.S. dollars, which would include obviously commercial bank deposits. But presumably, would exchange those for U.S. government securities of one sort or another. However, again, of these US commentators bothered to read anything outside the US. The Asia Times has been saying for weeks now, months now, that various East Asian governments have been quietly getting out of the US dollar including the Bank of China. It's all of course hidden behind all these official figures. --- ## [Interview] IL Explainer - Ep 2 | Sultana's Dream by Begum Rokeya URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/il-explainer-ep-2-begum-rokeya/ ### Summary This short IL Explainer episode introduces Begum Rokeya's 1905 feminist utopian novella *Sultana's Dream*, set in a fictional land called Ladyland where women move freely in public life while men are confined indoors, and the society is free from purdah, domination, and war. The narrator traces the dialogue between the protagonist Sultana — initially convinced that women are a 'naturally weak sex' deserving of seclusion — and her guide, who reframes the practice of locking women indoors as caging the victims of social deviance rather than its perpetrators. The episode situates Rokeya as a liberal thinker, educator, and author whose work predates Charlotte Perkins Gilman's *Herland* by a decade and stands as an early articulation of women's claim to a voice in their own social affairs. ### Body # IL Explainer - Ep 2 | Sultana's Dream by Begum Rokeya Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eGt-oaFcvU Duration: 163.8s **Narrator** (00:01): Begum Rokeya is a popular name in feminist circles. She was a liberal, a thinker, an educator, and an author. Among her most popular works is Sultana's Dream. This is a feminist utopian novel that talks of a world called Ladyland. Now Ladyland is a place free from seclusion of women and purdah. It's a place free from the domination of men over women, and it's also a place that is filled with virtue. It's a place where women roam free and have a say in their social affairs. The literary brilliance of this text, however, is rooted in its unconvinced protagonist, Sultana, who must then be convinced that seclusion of women from their own social affairs is an absurdity. When the confused protagonist is told that in Ladyland men are kept indoors and women roam free, she's perplexed and she almost interprets this as a joke. She laughs at the absurdity of locking men indoors, an idea that was more than normalized for women at the time. Sultana's guide to Ladyland then urges her to think about how unfair it was to lock harmless women indoors. To which Sultana, her response, we are nat— we have a naturally weak sex. It's nothing but natural for us to be locked indoors. This was also reflective of women's social conditioning at the time and the internalization of patriarchal seclusion. After some back and forth, the guide gets Sultana to question whether it's fair to cage social deviance or to cage the victims of social deviance. The guide then says, as a matter of fact, in your country, this very thing is done. That is, caging victims of social deviance is what is done in your country. Men who do or are at least capable of doing harm to women roam free while innocent women are locked up. The guide then says, we have no hand or voice in the management of our own social affairs. In India, man is lord and master. He has taken to himself all powers and privileges and shut up women. Begum Rokeya's Sultana's Dream was published in 1905, a decade before American author and feminist Charlotte Gilman's Herland, a similar utopian text that talks about a world where women are in power or are in charge, and it's a world free of dominance, conflict, and war. --- ## [Interview] IL Explainer - Ep 3 | Streer Potro by Rabindranath Tagore URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/il-explainer-ep-3-streer-potro-tagore/ ### Summary This IL Explainer episode revisits Rabindranath Tagore's 1914 epistolary short story Streer Potro (A Wife's Letter), framed as a tribute on Rabindra Jayanti. The discussion follows Mrinal, the narrator, who writes a letter to her husband articulating her selfhood and refusing to be defined solely as mother, wife, or sister. The hosts trace the parallel plight of Bindu, a young widow taken in as a near-servant by Mrinal's in-laws, married off to a violent man, and ultimately driven to suicide despite Mrinal's attempts to defend her. The conversation situates the story in the legal-historical context of widow remarriage, noting that although remarriage had been a legal right for decades by 1914, social attitudes lagged far behind. Through Mrinal's hidden poetry and her eventual assertion of an identity beyond domestic roles, Tagore is positioned as a liberal voice whose women protagonists challenged patriarchal norms and demanded individuality. ### Body # IL Explainer - Ep 3 | Streer Potro by Rabindranath Tagore Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg9gKnFIY-U Duration: 410.5s **Speaker 1** (00:00): Today, we'll be discussing Streer Potro, the wife's letter, by Rabindranath Tagore. It's a 1914 epistolary, and Tagore is, as we know, he's a poet, thinker, writer, and, of course, an Indian liberal. And and it's very interesting to me that she's she just treated like an unpaid servant. She's not, and especially because she is a relative of the sister-in-law, she's not directly related to them. She's, you know, she's she's just an outsider who's seeking refuge, and she, and a widowed young widow at that. And she, you know, it's it's really poor treatment for her. And then Mrinal grows fond of her. She tries to stand up for her. But, eventually, nothing's come, nothing comes of that that as well. She's just married off to to an unstable violent man. When she, when she runs away from that, she, you know, she's again, she's the one who's seen shown in poor light for running away from from. And eventually, she succumbs, and she, you know, she commits suicide, and Mrinal is not able to stand up for her, save her despite her desperate attempts. I think I think that brings us to something very interesting. This was written in 1914, so widow remarriage was a legal right for a few decades now. But despite that legal right existing, **Speaker 2** (04:09): in front of the vast ocean, and she's talking about freedom. She writes the letter to her husband, and that's the treatment of the story. Right? It's in the form of the letter that Mrinal writes to her husband. And the way she that she mentions that, you know, she just wants to be herself. She does not want to be identified as a mother, as a wife, as a sister. She just wants to be herself, and, you know, writing poetry or expressing herself through words is not done in, you know, confined space where she's not hiding that poetry or that, you know, that that form of expression anymore. And and and I think she mentions it also in the story that she, you know, mentions it to her husband saying that you never realize that I write poetry. It was a well hidden fact from you. And when that fact was hidden, it was also my identity that I was, you know, hiding away from you. So even though she stood up for Bindu from time to time, even when Bindu's own sister did, she not, was lacking in her personal life where she was not treated as an equal an equal --- ## [Interview] IL Explainer - Ep 4 | Socialism Reconsidered by Minoo Masani URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/il-explainer-ep-4-socialism-reconsidered-by-minoo-masani/ ### Summary This IL Explainer episode unpacks Minoo Masani's 1944 essay Socialism Reconsidered, in which Masani — once a committed socialist — questions four core assumptions of Marxist socialism. The narrator walks through each assumption: that abolishing private property automatically yields a classless society, that the dictatorship of the proletariat is a necessary transitional state that will wither away, that socialism can be built on the collective selflessness of the working class and its hatred for property owners, and that socialism is the only alternative to capitalism's gaps. Drawing on the Soviet and British experiences, Masani argues each assumption fails in practice, with the Russian state's stranglehold tightening rather than withering and the British Labour Party becoming a perpetuator of empire. The episode situates these critiques in the Indian context, noting how deeply seated caste, class, and gender hierarchies complicate nationalization, and credits Masani as among the earliest Indian proponents of a mixed economy. ### Body # IL Explainer - Ep 4 | Socialism Reconsidered by Minoo Masani Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHWzp2Z0ONA Duration: 277.6s **Narrator** (00:00): Today, we'll be discussing Socialism Reconsidered. This is a 1944 essay by Minoo Masani. Minoo Masani was an Indian parliamentarian, a public intellectual, and, of course, an Indian leader. In Socialism Reconsidered, Masani included, there were at least four assumptions of Marxist socialism that required reconsideration. The first among these was the assumption that argued that the abolition of private property and its nationalization would automatically lead to a society with economic democracy and a classless and and would lead to a classless society. Now Masani spoke of this assumption in the context of Russia where where despite Marxist socialism, we weren't able to arrive at a classless society. Now if we want to consider this in the Indian context, in a society where caste, caste, class, gender based, their equalities are so deep seated, to think of a society which is which lacks private property and has absolute nationalization, it's it's very difficult for marginalized and vulnerable groups that lack political bargaining power to to to achieve socioeconomic mobility. The second Marxist assumption that Masani suggested, he did while viewing, assumed that the dictatorship of the proletariat was is a possible and indeed a necessary transition state to socialism. The theory was that having served its purpose, the dictatorship would evaporate and indeed as Lenin following Engels put it, the state will then wither away. Now, Masani spoke of this assumption in the context of Russia. He said the state was far from withering away. In fact, the stranglehold of the state on individual liberty had increased. Let's look at this assumption in the context of India or let's generalize it further and think about it in the context of the incentives that get created in a society where the state is so greatly empowered. In a society where state holds great power to this extent, there do not exist incentives to for there to be a change in structure for the power to shift from the governing to the One assumption that Masani suggested that it required reviewing was one that argued that socialism could be achieved by appealing to the collective selflessness of the working class and its collective hatred for the property owning classes. Now, unfortunately, Masani said that this this appeal to the collective selflessness of the working class often leads to them becoming them becoming party to the injustice that they were essentially arguing against. Now he he explains this in the context of Britain when the collective working class was empowered through the Labour Party and was given a small share of the profits of the empire, the Labour Party then eventually ended up becoming a perpetuator of the same imperialism that it was, you know, that it was trying to oppose. Now if you were to think of this in a more abstract sense, in a society where you try to counter the flaws or gaps in the in the system by becoming, you know, part of the system and so deeply such a deeply seated part of the same system, then you end up perpetuating the gaps or the flaws of the system. Now the fourth assumption that Masani outlined before I I jump into the fourth assumption, I must tell you that Masani himself held socialist belief till the light late nineteen thirties, shortly before this this essay was written. And he then suggested that the fourth assumption of socialism was that it is the only alternative to capitalism or existing gaps in capitalism. Now he he he said that this might be a might be an unfair assumption to say the least because there must exist a system that is better. One and Masani, in fact, was among the the early proponents of mixed economy. Now whether or not the mixed economy that India eventually ended up having was the one that Masani envisioned is is is up for debate, but he was definitely among the first proponents of a mixed economy. --- ## [Interview] IL Explainer - Ep 5 | Free Enterprise and Freedom URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/il-explainer-ep-5-free-enterprise-and-freedom/ ### Summary This Episode 5 of the IL Explainer Series revisits Murarji J. Vaidya's 1956 essay "Free Enterprise and Freedom," which examines India's Second Five-Year Plan. The Planning Commission's stated goals — reducing income and wealth inequality and redistributing economic power — would, in Vaidya's reading, simply transfer concentrated power from business owners and industrialists to politicians and bureaucrats. The explainer warns that fusing political and economic power in the same hands puts individual liberty and democracy itself at risk. ### Body # IL Explainer - Ep 5 | Free Enterprise and Freedom Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOqQV3_qb3M Duration: 177.4s **Murarji Vaidya** (00:01): Today, I'll be discussing freedom and free enterprise. This is a 1956 essay by Murarji Vaidya. The essay begins by talking about the second five year plan of India. Now as per the Planning Commission, the second five year plan, what is the main objectives of the second five year plan was reducing income and wealth inequalities and improving the redistribution of economic power. Now with this, their business owners or industrialists or they're politicians and bureaucrats. Now exploited by the few. It will simply shift from business owners and industrialists to, call it, those with political power, that is politicians and civil servants. Now however, with such concentration of both political and economic power, India might risk its individual liberty and democracy. --- ## [Interview] IL Explainer - Ep 1 | Economic Growth with Social Justice by B.R. Shenoy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/il-explainer-ep1-br-shenoy/ ### Summary This IL Explainer episode unpacks B. R. Shenoy's 1977 paper 'Economic Growth with Social Justice', focusing on the link he drew between consumer sovereignty, economic freedom, and social justice. The narrator explains Shenoy's view that in a free society, consumers — not the state — direct the economy through their preferences, which in turn determine prices, production, and the allocation of resources. Shenoy is contrasted with the communist model, in which the state determines needs, arranges distribution, allocates resources, and denies individuals fundamental economic rights. The episode then turns to Shenoy's definition of social injustice as an inevitable feature of socialist systems, which entrench inequalities via monopolies, privileges, and subsidies that hand unearned incomes to favoured individuals and groups at the expense of the community. Greater economic freedom, by Shenoy's argument, leaves no room for such monopolies in production, distribution, imports, or exports, and ensures wages, interest, rents, and profits track each person's actual contribution — eliminating windfalls and, with them, social injustice. ### Body # IL Explainer - Ep 1 | Economic Growth with Social Justice by B.R. Shenoy Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hCLozngwE8 Duration: 157.7s **Narrator** (00:00): In a 1977 paper titled Economic Growth with Social Justice, B. R. Shenoy, an Indian liberal and economist, spoke about the relationship between consumer sovereignty, economic freedoms, and social justice. In this video, I'll take a deeper look at what he meant by the relationship between consumer sovereignty and social justice. Shenoy argued that in truly free societies, citizens or consumers control economic affairs. All economic affairs of a free ir own. Then do that we have make goods and services in an economy, and then in turn the prices define the direction of the economy. Now but what exactly is meant by consumer sovereignty? Consumer sovereignty as an economic concept argues that consumers have some power over the goods and services that are produced in an economy. This also means that consumers are the best judge of their own welfare in an economy. Now an economy that is focused on the individual on individual consumer can be better understood by what it's not. Shenoy did this by talking about the consumer in a communist society. In his paper, he wrote, in a communist society, the state determines the needs of consumers, arranges the distribution of goods and services, and allocates resources among alternative uses. Individuals do not enjoy fundamental economic rights, and forward markets do not exist. What did Shenoy mean when he used the word social injustice in this context? He defined social injustice as an inevitable state under the socialist economic system, which would inevitably then reinforce various inequalities. These inequalities, he argued, would be reinforced through monopolies, privileges, and even subsidies. He argued such a system would bring to privilege in individuals and groups unearned and unmerited incomes at the expense of the rest of the community. With greater economic freedom, he argued that there was no need or no room for monopolies to exist. Now there was also no need for monopolies in production, distribution, imports, and exports. All incomes of all individuals, wages, interests, rents, and profits would correspond to their respective contributions to the national project. Situation permits windfalls. Hence, no one can appropriate someone else's earnings. That is there can be no social injustice. --- ## [Interview] IL Explainer - Ep 6 | Why Are Fundamental Rights Not Amendable? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/il-explainer-episode-6/ ### Summary This IL Explainer episode reconstructs the 1967 constitutional debate over whether Parliament can amend the Fundamental Rights in Part III of the Indian Constitution. Following the Supreme Court's Golak Nath v. State of Punjab judgement — in which Justice Hidayatullah held that Parliament could not abridge or take away fundamental rights — MP Nath Pai introduced a bill to vest that very amending power in Parliament, arguing that an elected body of representatives should hold it. Swatantra Party MP Sriraj Meghrajji countered with an amending bill of his own, proposing that any change to Part III be put to a referendum. The narrator unpacks Meghrajji's reasoning: India's framers deliberately went beyond a merely political constitution to entrench the 'fundamental constitution of society,' insulating natural rights from both the state and the legislature. Citing Ambedkar to show that ordinary amendments require only a two-thirds majority while Part III was deliberately walled off, Meghrajji argued Parliament has no mandate from voters to assume constituent-assembly powers over the entire gamut of fundamental rights. The episode frames his referendum proposal as the liberal safeguard against legislative encroachment on citizens' supreme rights. ### Body # IL Explainer - Ep 6 | Why Are Fundamental Rights Not Amendable? Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhJlE9kIgbU Duration: 356.8s **Narrator** (00:02): In a 1967 case, see Golak Nath versus the State of Punjab, Justice Hidayatullah, former Chief Justice of India, declared that it was — it was not within the powers of the Parliament to abridge or take away fundamental rights of a citizen. Said, our liberal constitution has given the individual all that he should have, freedom of speech, of association, of assembly, of religion, of promotion, and locomotion, of property, trade, and profession. Now now in addition, it has made the state incapable of abridging or taking away these rights to the extent guaranteed and itself shown how far enjoyment of these rights can be curtailed. It has given guaranteed right to the person affected to move the court. The guarantee is worthless if the rights are capable of being taken away. What followed was very interesting. In April 1967, then member of parliament, Nath Pai, proposed a bill which was — which aimed at securing these rights for the Parliament or these powers for the Parliament. What were these powers? This is the power to amend the fundamental rights mentioned in Part Three of the Indian Constitution. Now following which later the same year, in September 1967, an amendment to this bill was proposed, which was admitted as a bill by Shri Raj Mehra. Now Shri Raj Mehra was then a member of Parliament and a member of the Swatantra Party. His bill proposed that any amendment to the fundamental rights should be a subject of referendum. Now Shri Raj Mehra defended this, this line of thought of why it should be a subject of referendum. But before that, we must understand that Nath Pai aimed at securing those powers for the Parliament because he believed that the Parliament was an elected body of people's chosen representatives. And therefore, any amendment to fundamental rights or any amendments to Part Three of the Constitution would have been made by people's chosen representatives. Now Shri Raj Mehra did agree with this line of thought and then he still proposed that we think about it in — we we think about when we think about amending or abridging or taking away fundamental rights, we must make it a subject of referendum. Why? This was because as we explained, yes, the part — the Constitution is a dynamic amendable document, and it is — it it is not completely rigid in — in being an amendable document but it is partly rigid. And before I get into how it's partly rigid, let's think about the Constitution for a second. Constitutions in many parts of the world, whether written or unwritten, may be political — may may comprise the political constitution and may not extend to the fundamental constitution of society or of a people. What does this mean? That a lot of the things that — or a lot of the rights that are mentioned in our fundamental rights may be seen as natural rights in most democrats. And legal protection for these natural rights would be normal in most countries or in most democratic countries. But Shri Raj Mehra argued that our far seeing framers of the Constitution — of the Constituent Assembly — was was mindful when they put the fundamental rights in our written Constitution. They went beyond the political constitution and really included the fundamental constitution of the society of the people. They — in doing so, they also protected these rights from legislative action. They protected these — lie — rights from the state and the Parliament as citizens' rights for supreme. And the supremacy of of the fundamental rights compared to other part — amendable parts of the Constitution is well reflected in — in a court by Ambedkar. Shri Raj Mehra quoted Ambedkar. He said, if the future Parliament wishes to amend any particular article, which is not mentioned in Part Three, all that is necessary for them is to have two thirds majority, then they can amend it. Clearly states that Part Three, that is the fundamental rights of the Constitution, are not amendable by the Parliament. Shri Raj Mehra then went down to point out to the members of the Parliament present there that it was the responsibility of the Parliament to promote and protect the interests of the people. It was the responsibility of the Parliament to uphold the Constitution. He said, by what right can the Parliament turn itself into a sort of constituent assembly and so assume itself the powers which the Constitution has expressly denied. This clearly pointed out that not only is — is Part Three of the Constitution amendable. The power of amending it has not been given to the Parliament, but also it has actively been denied to the Parliament. The state or legislative bodies do not have the right to take away people's fundamental rights. He ended his powerful statements by asking the Parliament, has any honorable member put the issue of his elect — put this issue to his electorate that in clear and explicit terms, if elected, he will try to procure for Parliament the comprehensive power to amend not this or that right, but the entire gamut of fundamental rights embodied in Part Three of the Constitution. If anyone has, he alone has the right to support Nath Pai's bill. --- ## [Interview] In Conversation with Ronald Meinardus - Regional Director, FNF South Asia URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/in-conversation-with-ronald-meinardus-regional-director-fnf-south-asia/ ### Body Transcript not available. --- ## [Interview] Indian Liberal Tradition - GP Manish URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/indian-liberal-tradition-gp-manish/ ### Body Transcript not available. --- ## [Interview] India's Greatest Liberal - Gopal Krishna Gokhale URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/indias-greatest-liberal-gopal-krishna-gokhale/ ### Body # India's Greatest Liberal - Gopal Krishna Gokhale Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfRjMb_2GHY Duration: 119.4s (empty transcript) _Cleaned: skipped (transcript empty or too short for speaker identification)._ --- ## [Interview] India's forest-dwellers: From Owners to Encroachers URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/indias-forest-dwellers-from-owners-to-encroachers/ ### Summary The speaker traces how India's forest-dwelling tribal communities were transformed from de facto owners of land and forest resources into legal "encroachers" on their own ancestral land. Historically, tribals lived self-sufficiently in remote hilly and forest areas with minimal state reach, cultivating land they had cleared and collecting forest produce — including major produce like teak and bamboo — under customary rights recognized within the community but never recorded in government registers. Although legal title nominally vested in the princely state or sovereign, in practice people exercised full rights over land, forest, and habitation. The colonial assault began in earnest with forest legislation from 1927 onward and intensified after 1937, when the British, as conquering rulers, refused to recognize pre-existing customary rights. After independence the pattern continued: forest settlement officers surveyed cultivated lands but disqualified families who could not demonstrate 25–30 years of prior possession, classifying them as encroachers on lands they had in fact opened up themselves. In former princely states, vast forests were declared reserve forests overnight without any settlement process at all. The consequence, the speaker argues, is the criminalization of an entire population — cultivators rendered encroachers, produce-gatherers rendered thieves — and the structural impoverishment of communities living amid land, mineral, and forest wealth over which they hold no legal right. This historical denial of property and resource rights is presented as the root cause of tribal poverty and dispossession in India. ### Body # India's forest-dwellers: From Owners to Encroachers Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF6pYsIkPLM Duration: 515.5s **Speaker** (00:05): It is important to realize how the tribals have lost their rights on the natural resources — land, forest, and other livelihoods — is very, very, very, very important in that sense. Historically, they have been living in these mountains, hilly areas where the reach of the administration was not very much there. They were living there, largely living a sort of a self-sufficient life, very little, few exchanges with outside world. The of the of the kings or whatever, princely states or whatever other governments were there, their reach, of their administrative reach was also very, very, very minimal. So they were largely on their own. And so, and also the resources were abundant compared to the populace. Populace was really populace and density was relatively low. So people used to cultivate their lands, and they did not have to really think of future, in the sense that they were cultivating lands. They were collecting forest produce, selling forest produce. All these things — technically, all the forest areas belong to the state or the princely king or whatever, the princely state or any other government. So legally, all these areas belong to the state. But in effect, people were enjoying all these rights. They could cultivate whatever piece of land they were cultivating. They really did not have to worry about future also, in the sense that when the son, family and ladies and the sons get adult, they would start cultivating the new piece of that. So, and one thing was clear — clearing the forest, yes. And this second cultivation started only after population started beginning to rise. So, so the — because then now you, no longer you can depend on collecting through, say, hunting sort of a, or. So then settled agricultural practices started as population began to rise. And then also, the whole thing was that there were no, there was nothing in those, in the, in in the way of, in which that the state has given you right. People themselves acquired rights of the lands by clearing the forest, starting cultivating. So by basically, to open up the forest and clear the land for cultivation requires a lot of labor and a lot of effort. So once a person puts in effort to clear a piece of land and starts cultivating it, the remainder of the society, all the remaining people, they would respect that right. And they would, they they would without any law, also, would understand that this happens, and they would — it passes from him to his son or or daughter, whatever it is. But they basically, it's a sort of, his right is recognized by everybody. So once you put in your labor on the natural right, on the natural resource of land, you can't, like to work it. That was the situation. But none of this was in, on government records — this person is cultivating this land. Although in the society, everybody knows who is cultivating which land, what are there. So those sorts of things were already there, but nobody knows that. That was one thing. Settlement and forest also. Similarly with forest. They, legally, they had no right over the forest. But in actual practice, most of them had access to forest produce. They could collect the forest, sell not only just minor forest produce, but also teak and other major forest produce, bamboo, everything. If you look through these Gazetteer records, you'll find that there have been traditions where, where people have been collecting forest produce and selling them. Similarly with the homes, their bandhs, their habitats, their settlements. And so those also — whenever they can create houses, this practice continued till late, not only before the independence, but up till now, this practice was very much there. But eventually, British has decided that since they have, they are the ruler, they had defeated the previous ruler, and these lands and forests belong to the ruler. So now by legally, it belongs to them. So they they are not bound to respect any of the rights of the local people. That was one thing. The — and this thing started from 1927 onwards. Although there were previous history that forest rights, forest acts were enacted previously, but the main main main assault on the forest areas or the tribal areas of, you know, and and many other states started after 1937. So, historically, it is very well known that during this settlement of forest, during this of forest, the rights which the people had over forest — both forest and the lands which they were cultivating — they were not recognized. This was very much true for the colonial period, but even after independence. After independence, you can, you'll have seen so many forest settlement reports of the forest settlement officers. Revenue officers were appointed. They went to the village, stayed in the village for one month, actually surveyed all the lands that were being cultivated by the families, individual families. They surveyed them. They — each person is cultivating how much of land. All these records were prepared. And as per the Forest Act, all these lands would have been surveyed because these calculations are made prior to the notification for forest. So they were cultivating this land, so they should have regularized these lands and given proper rights, made them as agricultural land. Most of them, they recorded the rights. And in the end, they treated as encroachers because they did not meet a specific demand of twenty years back. This would have one possession of twenty-five, thirty years. Then only it can be recognized, as if they treated as if the land was already forest. Although land was not forest. There were new land. For these — and these practices, princely states were there in many areas, princely states were there. Whatever forests were there in the princely states, after independence, they were overnight declared as reserve forest without carrying out any settlement process. Who is contributing there? Who is living there? Nothing was, nothing was recorded, and everything was declared as. So overnight, by declaration of a piece of land and the area as reserve forest, people became sort of encroachers because although they were cultivating this land from very beginning, they were collect — not only encroachers as far as agriculture is concerned, the encroachers and illegal collectors as far as forest goods were concerned. Because now the forest would be state, and even minor forest goods, bamboo, everything belong to state. And whoever collects anything, it becomes a thief. He's an illegal encroacher or illegal collector. So did this in, in a way, this is the main bane of our tribal areas. This is responsible for the poverty of these tribal, tribal areas, for people living in the, in this forest. But — and also that you have criminalized the whole section of. All these thousands of people living and eking out their livelihood. Right? Doing their own labor, collect, cultivating lands, collecting produce, and buying, selling. Everything is illegal. It's criminal. We have criminalized the whole section of people and wronged them. And that is the main important — because now that, so that led to so many problems. This is only in the tribal areas you find that areas where the people are living are very, they are very rich. So many resources are there. Minerals are there. Forests are there. Lands are there. And yet local communities or local individuals have no right or any, no legal right over any of these resources. That is how, that is the context of historical injustice. --- ## [Interview] India's Transition : Choice, Competition, and Individual Dignity URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/indias-transition-choice-competition-and-individual-dignity/ ### Summary In this Indian Liberals monologue, Dr. Parth J. Shah, President of the Centre for Civil Society, reflects on how India's economic liberalisation transformed not just markets but the everyday dignity of Indian citizens. Drawing on his personal experience after returning from the United States to set up life in Delhi, he recounts how paying a simple electricity bill required hours of queueing — an indignity that revealed how statism and government monopoly in service provision diminish the citizen as a human being. He contrasts this with the post-liberalisation telecom sector, where the same lineman who once extorted 'baksheesh' from his CCS office stopped doing so once private operators created competition and consumer choice. Shah uses this lived contrast to argue that the principle of choice and competition — even where the state continues to fund a service — eliminates corruption, restores dignity, and improves quality at lower cost. He extends the lesson to schooling and healthcare, asking why a democracy that trusts citizens to choose their political representatives still denies them the power to choose their schools and hospitals. ### Body # India's Transition: Choice, Competition, and Individual Dignity Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOZuRhNETrU Duration: 405.0s **Parth Shah** (00:04): I had not realized how much impact on a personal life, right, that the current system of governance has. Right? So we talk about the statism and then how state dominates the economy and the reserve of services to citizens. Right? We think the more in terms of at least, was thinking more in terms of the larger system principles and principles of philosophy and design in a way. Right? And then how do you create institutions that would support freedom and to support people's desire to achieve best in their lives? I think coming to India, I so the first experience that made me sort of you know, brought me face to face. This is not just about it's not about politics. It's not about economics. It's not about political sort of principles. It's so much about your personal life. So I wanted to be independent just like I was, you know, running in my own apartment in The US. I thought I can do the same with a single person, the small apartment that I had in Delhi. But, you know, I, of course, clean my own toilet, clean my own bathrooms, did the for quite some time on my own to maintain the apartment. And that was when has bigger problem, frankly. I could do all of those things. But when I had to pay my first electricity bill, right, and I sort of took the bill, went to pay the bill, and I stood in the line for almost three hours. I said, yeah. Of course, I must have forgotten. I grew up in India, obviously. Was and that time, my parents must have taken care of all these things. And I just was so shocked that, you know, you to give money. This is like, I'm not even asking for anything. I'm just doing that to give money. Right? Even to take money, government makes you wait for this many hours. And, actually, I was fortunate because some people just took pity on the effect that they realized that I was not used to this this kind of standing in queues and got me up up out of the line. But paying, let's say, the bill, paying the telephone bill. Right? Well, luckily, I had a telephone already installed in my apartment, so that wasn't a problem. I already had a gas connection also. That was all taken care of the apartment that I rented. But paying those bills really is felt how it makes you small just makes you lose your basic dignity, right, as a human being, right, as a citizen. And that actually had a huge impact on me in terms of my own sort of deeper understanding of why we need to fight this battle. Right? It's not just for larger ideas, not from largest system reform, which is, of course, as I was thinking earlier, been training economics and all of that. Right? But it's so much personal. Right? It's so much, that each individual's life is so directly impacted by what kind of system we put in place. Right? How we design this service delivery, in the country. And I think that was really a big learning experience in my own life. And that's been sort of made my resolve even stronger to do what I set out to do. Of course, life has changed dramatically as you pointed out. It's no longer the case. It was turning to to pay your bills. I think it's largely because I think this simple principle, right, of promoting choice and competition, which is very sort of market principle. So even though you may have government provision of service, we don't want to have government monopoly of provision of service. Right? Which is what it was in case of telecom and electricity earlier. Right? We have government companies providing those services. It's only one place to go. It was MTNL or BSNL at the time. Right? I remember very clearly at CCS office, that, you know, a linesman would come regularly almost sometime every month to say hello, to say Right? And, you know, of course, he's not asking for how you are doing. He's just reminding you that your telephone is working in your office because of pain, and he needs to be given some baksheesh, some consideration for making it work. Right? And I saw I mean, we had the same linesman after a few years when the private sector was allowed to operate in telecom. Right? The same linesman in this in our office area. After when the private telecoms came in, after some time, he stopped coming to office asking for those gifts. Right? And I can see that how it has changed. Even the linesman understood that now there's a competition. People have a choice in terms of where they want to go, and therefore, cannot extort as normally did. Right? And I think after that, we are giving him some baksheesh with sort of open heart. Right? Yes. We recognize his contribution. He's the one who's there at twelve at midnight, right, to fix the telephone line if it does break down. So you want to recognize his contribution, his support that he's providing. It was much more voluntary out of goodness of the heart, out of service that we provided. Right? It wasn't seen as extortion or a bribe that we have to pay. And I think that has been a huge change. People don't realize that how much corruption has been eliminated just by the simple competition that we brought in, the choice that we are allowed to consumers in many of these public services, which are used to be a government monopoly earlier. I'm sort of afraid that we are not applying the same principle to other domains that we need to apply even today. Right? Why is the government supporting students as it does in case of, you know, in case of private schools as it does in case of state schools? So then opening those choices to citizens is a far better way of, giving them dignity, first of all, but also to provide better service to lower cost. Right? All the good thing that you want can come out of that process of giving more choice to citizens, and this should be a no brainer in a democracy. People are given the power to choose their own representatives. Why can't we trust them to give power to choose their school, their hospitals? Right? And that service providers. --- ## [Interview] Jagdish Bhagwati on Milton Friedman URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/jagdish-bhagwati-on-milton-friedman/ ### Summary Jagdish Bhagwati recounts Milton Friedman's visit to India and his appearance before the Planning Commission, where Friedman bluntly advised that the Commission should be wound up. Bhagwati describes Friedman as a sharp debater who, despite an overreach claiming no public-sector enterprise had ever succeeded (countered by Robert Neild's mention of Volkswagen), toured the country urging India to loosen central controls. His arguments were largely ignored by the press and dismissed as ideological, with Joan Robinson later retracing Friedman's itinerary to undo his influence. Bhagwati situates this within the broader intellectual climate of post-Independence India, where pro-planning views were treated as pragmatic and pro-market views as ideological. He notes that Nehru's First Five Year Plan was not heavily interventionist; licensing and foreign-exchange allocation entered with the Second Plan in response to balance-of-payments difficulties — a counterintuitive instinct, he argues, akin to steering away from a skid. Only after years of poor outcomes, when Bhagwati, Padma Desai, T. N. Srinivasan and others broke ranks, did Friedman's earlier views come to be vindicated. ### Body # Jagdish Bhagwati on Milton Friedman Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_k6v-rVR40 Duration: 327.3s **Jagdish Bhagwati** (00:08): I heard him actually in the Planning Commission, and he was bold enough to say in the in the Planning Commission that my main advice is that you people should be wound up. So it was then, of course, he was a fine debater, so it was very difficult to trap him in anything. But there were a lot of people who were for planning in the audience. And then Friedman went a little too far, and he said there was not a single instance where a public sector enterprise had ever been successful. So one of my English friends who was who was also an adviser, Robert Neild, and he said, what about Volkswagen? So Milton Friedman said, but that's only one example. But the point is, he had said that there's no example. So he just turned around very quickly and so on. So but he also had the he went around the country at that time. I don't know if anybody has told you that. And at that time, when Mrs. Robinson came later and she was, of course, for planning and so on, she found out what the itinerary of Milton Friedman was, you know, all the different cities he had visited. And then she went through each one of them to undo the damage which Milton Friedman had done. It was very funny. Who actually said that you know, how we should loosen up and so on. It was not even reported in the newspapers at the time. And, you know, it was quite astonishing. But, you know, there's a sort of self censorship sometimes. And particularly if you're challenging the very assumptions under which the government is doing the planning and so on, it's very difficult to get any kind of, you know, outlet. I mean, now, of course, there are more people. But I think it was generally the feeling was that any economist who was not in favor of planning was not a very good was an ideological economist. Whereas if you were practical and, you know, pragmatic, then you would really go for some element of intervention. The only problem was as soon as you admitted that possibility that you could actually have a, you know, essential intervention with them, then the question was, you know, whether government would actually be doing the correct things and in many cases, they don't do that. De facto, the under under Prime Minister Nehru, it was it was sort of not strong socialism of any kind. None. There was not even a licensing system in the first five year plan. And because the economy was doing reasonably well, it all came in with the second five year plan, and as a result of balance of payments difficulty. As soon as balance of payments difficulty arose, then people began to say, Ah, now, foreign exchange is scarce, therefore, we must start allocating foreign exchange, which is again, you know, I mean, sounds like reasonable that if something is scarce, you should allocate. Right? It's like, I mean, when you're driving a car in snow in in in United States, they say if the car starts skidding, then you must steer in the direction of the skid, which is completely counterintuitive because if it's going that way, you want to steer this way, right? And so this is the same thing about intervention also. When you think things are scarce, you feel you've got to kind of hustle the resources, must, you know, allocate. So it is counterintuitive idea. And I think most most people fell for it, you know, and that obviously it is so obvious, so pragmatic, so non ideological that you should really, you know, manage something which is scarce. So it took a long time, you know, also way down the road that people began to really think through the thing in light of experience because the thing became so ridiculously bad that, you know, people who had appeared ideological at one time like Milton Friedman, and to some extent, Milton was ideological. He wasn't speaking from actual because there weren't there weren't so many experiments. He was just ahead of his time to think through all these things. Right? I mean, he turned out to be right, you see, but he appeared ideological. So one of the problems in the early days was that anybody who was from markets appeared ideological rather than really, you know, in command of the I mean, to be really perceptive. That happened after when people like, you know, me and Padma Desai and T. N. Srinivasan, a whole slew of us started departing from the ranks. In light of experiences, I said, you know, we saw what Yojana Bhavan was doing, and we were horrified, I mean, that anybody could be planning that way. --- ## [Interview] Liberalism and the Challenge of Polarisation URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/liberalism-and-the-challenge-of-polarisation/ ### Summary In this monologue, Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan (founder of the Lok Satta Movement) confronts the global challenge of polarisation, framing it as both an Indian and worldwide phenomenon amplified by social media. He argues that the most powerful antidote available to liberals is a 'politics of individuation' — focusing political life on the concrete, daily concerns of citizens (electricity, schools, hospitals, roads, drainage) rather than on inflamed identities of caste, religion, region, or language. Drawing on behavioural economics, particularly Daniel Kahneman's account of fast tribal instinct versus slower rational thought, he warns that humans default to tribalism when discourse moves too quickly, citing the irrational support enjoyed by figures like Donald Trump as an example. Narayan urges liberals to focus on issues rather than personalities or parties, to be truthful and consistent, to recognise good people across all political formations (BJP, Congress, TDP, TRS, DMK), and to refuse to brand opponents wholesale. He places faith in technology as a double-edged tool that, used with perseverance and integrity, can propagate truth as effectively as it currently spreads hatred. Invoking the long arc of human history — from the persecution of those who said the earth revolved around the sun, to today's ridicule of flat-earth claims — he insists that societies do change generationally, led by a few who pay the price early. He closes by warning liberals against turning their own creed into dogma: be empirical, humble, nimble, and willing to recognise that no single philosophy works in all times. ### Body # Liberalism and the Challenge of Polarisation Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18qwRftuXoc Duration: 439.8s **Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan** (00:05): I think it's a challenge, as of that. I would not like to minimize the challenge. I'm a great optimist. But a good optimist is also a realist, while an optimist is is fundamentally a believer that things can improve, and after all, history is constant struggle for improvement with success. But we must not underestimate the challenges ahead, and it's a global challenge. It's not merely Indian. We are also part of the decline in public discourse, unfortunately. But, unfortunately, many other countries are seeing a very similar pattern, so we should not underestimate that. And if anything, the social media, which are actually liberating instrument and empowering instrument, have also become a very polarizing instrument. So we have a challenge. I think we can do some things to make it better. I I don't have any prescriptions as to how to handle social media. I don't know much about it, the technology stuff. I only can, come out with examples of what we can do as individuals, and hopefully, if enough people do it, things will improve because people realize the value of it for their personal lives. The first is, and this is important, particularly for a country like India with so many caste, regions, religions, languages, sub caste. No. Everything is about identity, sub identity, sub sub identity, all kinds of things. I think the most important principle that we have ignored in India in fighting polarization is that ultimately individuation politics of individuation. Look at what matters to people. The the elevator, whether it functions well or not, the electricity that you get at home or not, the school your kids go to, the hospital your family needs, the road in front of your house, the potholes there, or the drainage or the stormwater drainage are in Hyderabad City. I am in Hyderabad City right now. And the two, three days of heavy rain and even moderate rain, the the the the roads are flooded. These are the things that matter. If you focus on those, then that is the best way people can forget their alleged differences, their perceived differences of caste, religion, religion, etcetera. Individuation, a lesson that we all forget. That is the art of democratic politics. You know? As behavioral economists tell us, the the great book of Daniel Kahneman, for instance, Thinking, Fast and Slow, and many other behavioral economists got a few got Nobel Prizes in recent past. They told us that human beings are tribal by nature. There is a clash between our technology and our mind power on the one hand, our instinct and tribalism on the other hand, the old brain and the new brains. Oftentimes, if you don't give enough time and if you don't reflect carefully, the old brain, the instinct kicks in. That is the nature of things. Otherwise, imagine the kind of support Donald Trump gets, not for the economic policies or some of the more rational things that he argues for, but for the irrational outbursts and for the very uncivil behavior because of tribalism. I'm not talking of party politics. I'm talking of human behavior. And we can only counter that when we make people realize what's important for their families, not by telling them how wonderfully important it is to look at all mankind. I know what I'm saying is not very romantic, but I would urge you to consider that. And if that is the case, then focus again as individual on individuals on issues, not individuals and parties. And therefore, on a certain issue, the individuals and parties can be right. Another issue, they can be wrong. And be consistent, be truthful. Do not doctor the information, the data, or do not pervert the logic to suit your conditions, be consistent about it. Then over time, people will listen because they realize their self interest, not because they are the most logical people, but because they understand their self interest. And in all political parties, in all movements, there are good people. Do not categorize them and brand them and say they're all bad, or they're deplorable, or they're bad, but nothing of the kind. There are good people in in Indian conditions, BJP, in Congress, in TDP, in regional parties, in TRS, in any party, DMK, any party. And there are people who are out for their own personal gain in any formation. Recognize the people of value and respect them and encourage them. Do not brand them just because they happen to have, in a broad sense, a different point of view or belong to a different formation. And then have faith in technology. While technology is in some ways a problem today, the social media are actually creating more and more of this, this polarization and this hatred. The same technology, if you persevere and if you innovate, and if you stick to truth consistently with certain safeguards, can also propagate the the right message. We have to have faith in that. Sometimes in the short term, there may be some hard knocks. But unless we have faith and unless we look at the human history and that's where our deeper understanding of human history. I think as any serious student of public life and politics in the world must also be a serious student of anthropology. What happened to human societies over over millennia and how we have actually matured. Remember, not too long ago by by the by the standards of geological age, if somebody said that earth revolved around the sun, they would have been hanged or crucified or shot to death. Not too long ago. Today, it's an absurd proposition that you would oppose that. Not too long ago, people argued that earth is flat. Today, it's a ridiculous thing. It's an object of ridicule. If somebody says that, it's an object of ridicule. Remember. So human beings do change, but not immediately. They change generationally. A few individuals, they see the truth, they have the smartness, they have the goodness, they have the decency. They lead, but they pay the price oftentimes. But eventually, as most people realize what's important for them and how it's beneficial to them, they change their beliefs. And we must have the patience and perseverance, and we must have the optimism. And finally, we must be willing to constantly innovate. Don't be dogmatic. Do not make liberalism or your principle a dogma which is unchanging. Be more empirical. Be more humble. Recognize that you are prone to error as well, recognize that no philosophy works in all times, be the first to recognize so that they recognize that this philosophy also has strengths. Instead, if you only harp on your basic orthodoxy, then they harp on their own basic orthodoxy, and there's no meeting point. Be nimble. Be innovative. Be flexible. I don't know if more can be done, but at least if these we practice individually and collectively, I'm sure things will get better. --- ## [Interview] Liberalism and the Populist Challenge URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/liberalism-and-the-populist-challenge/ ### Summary In this 2020 Indian Liberals monologue, Dr. Parth J. Shah, President of the Centre for Civil Society, argues that the prevailing explanation for the global rise of populism — that hyper-globalization (especially China's WTO-era entry and manufacturing dominance) hollowed out blue-collar jobs and bred despair across the West — does not fully stand up to scrutiny and cannot explain cases like the current Indian regime. Shah contends that what is broken is politics, not economics: globalization has been broadly positive, but mid-twenty-first-century challenges have outpaced the political institutions meant to address them. His core diagnosis is institutional. The rules governing the basic unit of the economy — the firm — are detailed, transparent, and accountable, while the rules governing the basic unit of democracy — the political party — are feeble, opaque, and require almost no internal democracy (in India, parties rarely hold internal elections). Drawing on public choice theory and constitutional economics, Shah argues that constitutional rules structuring political and economic interaction must be updated as society evolves. He identifies electoral system design as a particularly neglected lever: India's first-past-the-post, the U.S. primary system, and other arrangements convert voter preferences into outcomes with very different fidelity, yet receive little deep thought across the world's 100-plus democracies. Until liberals and reformers fix the rules that govern parties and elections, Shah concludes, the populist challenge cannot be answered. ### Body # Liberalism and the Populist Challenge Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9BJbO9L9aM Duration: 468.8s **Speaker** (00:05): I think, broadly, my take is that the current understanding of the rise of populism is not fully accurate. So the standard storyline that tries to explain the phenomena of global populism is that that economics is broken. What has happened is because of the superglobalization, of the last twenty five, thirty years, right, under WTO and the international trading regime, which has given particularly, access to global market for China. Right? So China joined the WTO in 2001, got sort of favored nation treatment from The US. And therefore, China's export market opened up in The US and which has led to this sudden rise of China. So I think that globalization and the related developments, particularly with with China, is what is seen as the larger reason behind this backlash. And because of this, China becoming the world's factory, people begin to lose jobs in manufacturing, particularly, which were the sort of blue collar jobs, not just in The US but around Western countries. And that has the loss of those jobs, the breakdown of community, therefore, the despair, which has taken over much of this blue collar world. And that's the explanation which has been given for the rise of populism in The US and I think much, much around the world. Though, obviously, that does not gel, if you see the current regime in India as a populist regime, then that's not the reason why I think the current regime has come to power for this from that from that point of view. But, anyway, that's the larger global story. My sense is that that's not fully accurate story. I think globalization has been generally very positive. There's a lot of research being done in terms of impact of China and The US and the western countries particularly. It doesn't really stand up to the scrutiny. If you begin to look at the data about the imports from China and the the industrialization, in much of the world. Right? To my mind, what is broken? First and foremost is the politics. What is broken is that we have not been able to deal with the challenges or emerging challenges mid mid twentieth century or mid twenty first century. And those challenges are the ones which are having dealt still have been dealt with by the politics in these countries. It's not so much an economic issue, but much more a political issue. Right? And why is politics broken? I think it's broken fundamentally because the rules of the game that apply to politics are not as transparent, not as accountable, right, nor as democratic as they are, for the economy. So we look at the, for example, the basic unit of economy being a firm for a company. The rules which govern a company, right, in India or any other country for that matter are far more severe, far more detailed. They require huge amount of transparency and accountability from the companies. Now if you compare those rules that apply to companies, the rules that apply to, say, a political party. A political parties are the basic unit of democracy just like companies are for the economy. The rules that apply to political parties are rather feeble. Right? They are not as watertight. Right? They don't require much democracy, even within the political parties even though they are supposed to be serving the larger cause of democracy. Right? There are as you know, there are hardly any elections that happens in the political parties in India, and I'm sure that's true with many, many countries in a similar situation. So I think what is broken are the rules that govern political parties, which is basic unit of democracy, and the larger rules of the govern the democracy itself. So as we know, the public choice theory and the constitutional economics tells us a lot about how the constitution and the rules which are laid down in the constitution are so much more important, right, in structuring the interaction within economic domain as well as in the political domain. And those rules, I think, are not thought through, have not been updated as the society and economy have evolved. And unless we update those rules that govern democracy, that govern particular political parties, I see that that fixing cannot happen. And that's where I see is the biggest challenge in addressing the problem. Not just from the political point of view. I think one can argue what kind of rules liberals you want to see governing political parties and the democracy. But I think I think generally from any particular point of view, those are the important rules that need to be thought through. Just to give an example, we know that we have India has the first past the post system. The selection in The US is done through a primary system. There are many such electoral systems around the world, and we know that quite often, the result of an election is not so much is what voters want. It is also result as much of the electoral system through which we process the preferences of the voter to convert them into a final outcome. Right? And I think there has not been much thought around the electoral systems, which are better ones, what impact they have currently in the outcome of the elections. Right? So, ideally, you want elect electoral system that converts converts the preferences of the voters as faithfully, as comprehensively as possible into the outcome that voters would like to see in terms of who are the elected representatives and how are they going to be governing the system once they are elected. And I think those rules are not really robust. Those electoral systems are not so robust. And that, I think, fundamental problem of democracy of how effectively are we able to convert voter preferences into final electoral outcomes or in the final election of representatives. That's the fundamental issue in the whole process, not really deeply thought about. As you know, we want we have probably more than 100 democracies in the world, and each one has a very different system of selecting representatives at the local level, state level, at provincial level, or at the national level. I think there needs to be much deeper thought around that. And my so I suspect that is the really the thinking that needs to be done by liberals as well as by the people who are concerned about the current populism that is on the rise. Unless we are able to fix politics broadly defined, I don't really see how we can address the populist challenge. --- ## [Interview] Making Tax Compliance Attractive URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/making-tax-compliance-attractive/ ### Body Transcript not available. --- ## [Interview] Minoo Masani on Nehru's Adoption of Socialism - In Conversation with Zareer Masani URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/minoo-masani-on-nehrus-adoption-of-socialism-in-conversation-with-zareer-masani/ ### Body Transcript not available. --- ## [Interview] Minoo Masani's Disenchantment with the Soviet Economic Model - In Coversation with Zareer Masani URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/minoo-masanis-disenchantment-with-the-soviet-economic-model-in-coversation-with-zareer-masani/ ### Summary Zareer Masani recounts his father Minoo Masani's two visits to the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 1930s. Unlike contemporaries such as Krishna Menon and Jawaharlal Nehru, Minoo Masani saw past the surface of the Soviet experiment, recognizing its dictatorial one-party character and glimpsing the early evidence of Stalin's purges and gulags. He returned to India around 1930 as a committed socialist but firmly anti-communist, later articulating his break with the Soviet model in his book Socialism Reconsidered, which examined the role of communists in India and called for a rethinking of socialism itself. ### Body # Minoo Masani's Disenchantment with the Soviet Economic Model - In Conversation with Zareer Masani Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLJXAWvmi18 Duration: 117.2s **Zareer Masani** (00:05): He made a couple of trips to Russia. I think one in the nineteen twenties and one later in the nineteen thirties. And on both occasions, he traveled quite widely and was sympathetic to the Russian experiment, but noticed all kinds of things which people like Krishna Menon and Nehru didn't when they went. I mean, he noticed the fact that it was being run as a dictatorship, one party state, that, you know, there was a lot of one didn't know the full extent then of Stalin's purges and the gulags and how many people were killed, but he saw the tip of the iceberg and didn't like what he saw. So he came back to India around 1930 as a socialist but quite an anti-communist socialist. He also wrote a book called Socialism Reconsidered, which was his, you know, reasons for disenchantment with the Soviet model and Stalin's purges and why what the role of the communists in India and why socialism itself needed to be reconsidered. --- ## [Interview] Minoo Shroff on A D Shroff Memorial Trust and the Forum of Free Enterprise URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/minoo-shroff-on-a-d-shroff-memorial-trust-and-the-forum-of-free-enterprise/ ### Summary Minoo Shroff recounts the origins and evolution of the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust, founded a year after A. D. Shroff's death to carry forward his work in public education, financial literacy, publishing biographies, and elocution contests — partly overlapping with the Forum of Free Enterprise but filling gaps where no other body existed. He describes a tightly linked ecosystem of liberal institutions in Bombay (the Forum, the Palkhivala Trust, the M. R. Pai Trust, the Leslie Sawhny Foundation) that share infrastructure, donors, and personnel. Shroff explains how Nani Palkhivala, as his health failed, personally asked him to take over the Leslie Sawhny Foundation, then the Forum, and eventually the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust after Deepak Parekh found it too demanding alongside his other commitments. He credits M. R. Pai with training the next generation, especially Diwakar, and lists corporate patrons — Piramals, Godrej, ECC, Tatas, ITC — who built sizable corpuses for these bodies. The interview closes on the operational ethos inherited from Shroff and Palkhivala — punctuality, commitment, traveling across the country to spread economic literacy — and on the Forum's continuing brand strength: RBI Governors and ex-finance ministers (Shroff cites D. Subbarao) readily accept invitations to its platform. ### Body # Minoo Shroff on A D Shroff Memorial Trust and the Forum of Free Enterprise Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rI3OuqWi7k Duration: 267.8s **Minoo Shroff** (00:08): Yes, it was founded a year after he died and there are many people who said that this is fine, but why don't you have a memorial trust for objects which were... because one was public education, financial literacy, partly overlap of the Forum. But if Forum was not there, this would... because there was no organization. Then it was for publishing biographies of famous people and elocution contests and the other because he was a professor, part time professor in Sydenham College. So keep the memory on, started in a small way, now we are much better organized because we have so many trusts' support, you see, Palkhivala Trust is there, they have a large corpus. And Forum is there, M. R. Pai Trust is there, all have their separate niche. And now everybody is supporting, Piramals, Godrej is supporting Palkhivala Trust. And ECC and Tatas gave large corpus donation, ITC also, to Palkhivala Trust and because Palkhivala, if there is a body, it can carry on. So we provide the infrastructure, the word which has become common. And Pai was central and he trained up... One of Pai's great contributions was Diwakar. It was a great help. When when Mr. Palkhivala was getting... had his strokes and was getting very inactive, he approached me, and I took on first the Leslie Sawhny Foundation for Democracy. He asked me to take over and then the Forum of Free Enterprise. He asked me to preside at a meeting and then followed. And then A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust for a year or two, Deepak Parekh was there. So Deepak says you are a natural choice and I've got so many things in. It requires more attention. By that time, I was the executive vice chairman of the JK group, very involved with Raymond and going abroad. Malegam is associated with the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust. Adi Godrej is there. Deepak Parekh is there. They're all senior to me, my colleagues, but I'm there. And in Forum also, have got a battery of... but people with active involvement is involved, giving money, raising money. So we have built up quite a solid corpus now and I also go and speak at various... You see people with vast experience are very few. It is difficult to go across now. So he has got an assistant who was with ICICI, Swati Kapadia, she is also very helpful. So at least in our periphery and even to Southern states, most colleges call us. So we have mobilized several trainers and we get very laudatory remarks of these people have never had like good grooming, effective speaking, time management. He was very, very particular about time management. Even now, Diwakar gets very impatient when we start a minute late whether there is audience or not. He is training from five because both Mr. Shroff and Mr. Palkhivala were immaculate about keeping time and keeping their commitments. They went around the country, they spoke to people, opened their eyes. But you see now the things have opened up, Forum's role is on the economic literacy and so on. Our booklets are very much appreciated. We have memorial lectures, two, one — A. D. Shroff by Forum, now we have decided to have one. Difficult, all people who are worthwhile have, if you see our booklets, I write to anybody worthwhile, he will say, if people like Governors of Reserve Bank, ex finance ministers have all come on your platform, how can I say no? Like Subbarao. When he couldn't come, he said, look, can I do it next day? He rang me up. So you see the... it has that brand image. --- ## [Interview] Minoo Shroff on His Uncle A D Shroff URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/minoo-shroff-on-his-uncle-a-d-shroff/ ### Summary Minoo Shroff reflects on his uncle A. D. Shroff, portraying him as a born liberal whose conviction in democracy and free enterprise made him a courageous public critic of Nehru-era economic policy. He emphasizes that Shroff distinguished between admiration for Nehru's idealism and opposition to his statist policies, refused to curry favour with the government as most businessmen did, and was even rejected by the State Bank because his American (Chase Bank) training did not fit British dogmatism. Shroff's career was shaped by mentors like Dinshaw Wacha, R. D. Tata, and Purushottamdas Thakurdas, and his integrity was respected by figures such as J. R. D. Tata and Lord Bagri. Minoo also defends his uncle against the charge of being a mouthpiece for private enterprise, noting that Shroff was the first to propose conversion of loans into equity and championed the Forum's code of conduct, which became a model. He recounts Shroff's retort to T. T. Krishnamachari that the dishonest were the ones benefiting from licences (STC, coal mining, aircraft), not the principled businessmen who lived by a code of conduct. ### Body # Minoo Shroff on His Uncle A D Shroff Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rYRIs9byu8 Duration: 332.2s **Minoo Shroff** (00:10): We thought democracy or freedom in life, speech, doing business, were as important as critical to democracy. He greatly admired Nehru's idealism, his democracy, that he was sincere in what he did. But he thought that he was carried away on the wrong path, and somebody had to resist it. It's a great pity that in those days business didn't support, they wanted to curry favour with the government, and they could easily do it because the government didn't know business. I know this because I started as a young man in import export business. How often you had to go there, and you had to explain to those people what was right for the country, what was right. When they thought you were sincere, they helped you with a license, but they were too small, fragmented. Some people have criticized him that he talked to private enterprise, but he was the first one to suggest that there should be conversion of loan into equity. He said, look, let there be an astroker, let there be some, because all businessmen know that's why the code of conduct, the code of conduct of the Forum is better than most. In fact, many people, Padgaonkar and others came to give their memorial lectures when they saw our code of conduct. People thought of when he was rebuked by Krishnamurti that this is all no freedom, all enterprise, what he meant was exploitation. He said that look, we are prepared by a code of conduct, but the dishonest are supported by you. Who are the chaps who got in through the STC? Who are the chaps who got the licenses for coal mining? Who are the licenses who got for aircraft? People who had only sat in it. He was a born liberal, though born in a lower middle class family, but I suppose going to England also liberated him, not only that, I was wondering how people like R. D. Tata, Purushottamdas Thakurdas, Sarkadas, Sir Dinshaw Wacha recommended, how he got in touch with them. And they encouraged him to go to London. Dinshaw Wacha said, you should become the first covenanted Indian officer in State Bank of which he was the Governor. He was a nationalist, I don't know how he got into the State Bank Board, but he was not that rabid, and the British government supported him, then became the president of the Indian National Congress. And so they supported him, he went there, and he came back and he was rejected. He was rejected because he was trained by American banks, Chase Bank. Now look at the British dogmatism, trained in London, London branch of Chase Bank but stayed an American bank and the British banks never took Indian training. So when he came back, the State Bank didn't take him and you must have read in his book by J. R. D. Tata himself that later when the State Bank asked him to become a director, he said, I have no interest. It requires lot of courage for a young man, it was great. In those days, it was great honour to be a director of State Bank, other banks were very tiny. So that was built in, it was no hypo what was he gaining by? He was getting alienated even amongst his colleagues, many of his colleagues were Congress supporters, I do not mean to mention him. It was because of his tremendous courage and that he lasted in Tatas. If a foreigner told him that, oh, you criticize the government this morning and you are asking me to invest, his ready report was that, I am not against the government, against the nation. India has the best entrepreneurs and the largest market and future skills. I'm against the policies of the present government. So it was a staunch and I have heard this from many. Lord Bagri, who was the first Indian to be chairman of the London Metal Exchange, Komanko Binani, he is still a lord and he is old now. So he was sitting next to me in a plane one day going to London, and he was a great admirer of me. He said, oh, are you are you? He is my guru, mentor, and I wanted to take my collaborators. So but Mr. Shroff said that look, I mean, you will be putting them off because I will be very frank and one. No, but the collaborators want to meet somebody who can give an objective opinion. So he was on the second plane. He said, don't talk of my public criticism. What am I criticizing? I'm not criticizing Nehru as a man criticizing his policy. I'm criticizing because he's misguided. Otherwise, I would not have joined the Congress Planning Commission. You see that the question is, you turn around not for a political advantage. So he was steadfast too, and the code of conduct which is so beautifully drafted itself shows. --- ## [Interview] Minoo Shroff on Nehru, Welfare and India's Promise URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/minoo-shroff-on-nehru-welfare-and-indias-promise/ ### Summary Minoo Shroff reflects on the entitlement mindset bred by cradle-to-grave welfare states, arguing that India inherited a similar dependence on the state even as its public services lack a service mindset and capacity to deliver. He praises India's conceptual and planning abilities but laments the chronic delivery gap, citing Alexander Fleming's quip that India had the best 'museum' of British equipment but no manpower to use it. He holds up JN Tata's late nineteenth-century foresight in founding the Indian Institute and Tata Steel — and Jamshedpur as a working 'smart city' and CSR model — as proof that Indians had homegrown templates that were ignored in favour of leaning on the West. Comparing the Soviet collapse (heavy industry but no consumer goods) with India's post-liberalisation consumer boom, he credits the private sector with lifting growth from the Hindu rate of 3.5% to 6.5–8%, and defends even America's 'robber barons' as eventual philanthropists and educationists. ### Body # Minoo Shroff on Nehru, Welfare and India's Promise Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2q2QiXK7zY Duration: 239.8s **Minoo Shroff** (00:09): We thought look at the welfare from cradle to grave, there was welfare. In fact, some of the people in Eastern Europe could not get themselves reconciled even after Soviet Union collapsed. Even today, there are some who are thinking of that, because they got used to that entitlement. This is what we are suffering from and what many people are saying that this entitlement business, people totally dependent on the state, and we are not able to deliver, our public services are not kept busy, because their mindset for service is not there. We have set up a lot of institutions, passed a lot of acts, well meaning, but we didn't see that our capacity to deliver, and that is our weakness even today. We are some of the greatest conceptualisers, our plans have been greatly lauded abroad, but they said, where is the delivery? When the first chemical factory was settled, they were great. When Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin came here, he said, I find the best museum of British equipment here, I hope they deliver. Where were the manpower? We had set examples. Look look at the foresight of JN Tata, starting an Indian Institute when he was looked down upon that you can't feed your people. And when did he think of it? In eighteen nineties, when he was totally discouraged. But one thought that if I get somebody, let me get the best. That is how Tata Steel is a model of development. We talk of now smart cities. There is no better city. Now many people have said that why do you want to learn a CSR, go to Jamshedpur. Many socialists have also written articles on this. The question is, we have got such models. We have got model farms also in Punjab and Haryana and so on. But we don't when we want, we totally lean on the West, or we land on the developed countries. Now Russia is also a developed country, but look how it's broken down because there was nothing there except armament and steel, no consumer goods. People want bread, they want lipsticks, women, they want clothes. And how our consumer product industry has gone up, we were living in a country, I remember because I am older than many of you, now there nothing available here. Look at the shops today, in the smallest towns you get everything from a motorbicycle, even a car. Our biggest motorcar demand for small cars is in small places like Nanded, Aurangabad, even Mercedes Benz, they used to open up their showrooms there. Now that has blazoned aspirations. So just calling, passing resolutions on aspiration did not take us to the promised land. What you need is coterminous delivery. So I think now that we have been opened up at least very substantially, we see the benefit from Hindu rate of growth of three and a half percent to an average of six and a half, seven now going aspiring for eight, eight and a half, which we achieved. And which is the prime word? The private sector. Of course, there are always shortcomings. Are there not robber barons in United States? But didn't they satellite United States development? Later they all became philanthropists and educationists. --- ## [Interview] Mithan Tata Lam- An Indian Lawyer & Suffragist URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/mithan-tata-lam-an-indian-lawyer-and-suffragist/ ### Summary This short documentary profiles Mithan Tata Lam (1898–1981), a Parsi-born barrister, suffragist, and social reformer who became the first Indian woman called to the Bar in the United Kingdom and the first woman permitted to practice before the Bombay High Court. Raised in Bombay by a progressive father, Ardeshir Tata, and the women's-rights activist Herabai Tata, she earned the Cobden Club Medal in economics at Elphinstone College before traveling to London with her mother in 1919 to lobby British parliamentarians on the Government of India Bill and the case for female enfranchisement. The video traces her admission to Lincoln's Inn in 1920, her call to the bar in January 1923, her pupillage with Bhulabhai Desai, and her appointment as India's first woman professor of law at the Government Law College in Mumbai. It outlines the incremental provincial victories for women's suffrage (Madras 1921, Bengal 1925, Punjab 1926) that her campaigns helped secure, her role in shaping the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act of 1936, and her appointment as the first woman Sheriff of Bombay in 1947. It closes by describing her post-legal career in social work — chairing the women's rehabilitation committee for Partition refugees, leading the Maharashtra State Women's Council, organising slum-improvement work in the Matunga Labour Camp, and campaigning against child labour and hunger — culminating in her Padma Bhushan in 1962. ### Body # Mithan Tata Lam - An Indian Lawyer & Suffragist Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRXCo8XWgXQ Duration: 494.5s **Narrator** (00:04): India's 2014 general elections saw a women's voter turnout of 65.3%. The total voter turnout for the 1957 general election was 63.73%. The women's suffrage movement has been a topic of great interest for scholars across the globe. Between New Zealand enfranchising its female citizens in 1893 and Saudi Arabia granting women equal voting rights in 2015, we have come a long way in formally introducing universal adult franchise in electoral politics. Today, we would like you to meet someone who along with her fellow suffragettes appealed, convinced, and ensured equal voting rights for women in India. At 25, Mithan Tata became the first woman allowed to practice law before the Bombay High Court. Mithan was born in a Parsi family to Ardeshir Tata, a textile mill employee, and women's rights activist Herabai Tata in 1898. Having a progressive and encouraging father who helped her focus on education, Mithan grew up with strong support since childhood. Her mother, Herabai Tata, was a passionate advocate of women's rights who tried to elevate the condition of rural Indian women. Mithan pursued her bachelor's in economics from Elphinstone College in Bombay. She was the first woman awarded the Cobden Club Medal for securing the highest marks in economics. In 1911, while on holiday in Kashmir, Herabai Tata met Princess Sophia Duleep Singh. Princess Sophia was active in the British suffrage movement, and her influence led to both Herabai and Mithan taking up the cause of women's votes in India. Mithan Tata saw no contradiction between the two demands, branding men's reservations against women's voting rights as soap bubble material. **Mithan Tata Lam** (01:49): Men say Home Rule is our birthright. We say the right to vote is our birthright, and we want it. **Narrator** (01:57): In 1919, Mithan toured around Britain with her mother and other women to present a memorandum on the women's franchise while the 1919 Government of India Bill was under discussion. **Mithan Tata Lam** (02:08): Why should India lag behind others in this respect and create a barrier where one does not exist and thus brand Indian women as inferior to their sisters in other countries. **Narrator** (02:19): On behalf of the Bombay Women's Committee of Social Workers, Mithan toured England and Scotland lecturing on the need for equal voting rights for Indian women. She was one of the speakers in the House of Commons along with Annie Besant, Sarojini Naidu, and Major Graham Pole to speak for women's right to vote in India. The effort resulted in the first Indian reform bill passed as an act of parliament. The only one to let women vote immediately was Madras in 1921. While in London, she decided to pursue a legal education and a master's degree in economics from the London School of Economics. On 04/13/1920, Miss Tata got admitted to Lincoln's Inn only one year after the 1919 Sex Disqualification Removal Act had allowed women to enter public office. In 1933, Mithan married Jamshed Sorab Lam, a lawyer and registrar who encouraged her in her work and activism. In her early days, Mithan stated how grateful she was to have a supportive father who encouraged his wife and daughter's education. **Mithan Tata Lam** (03:21): I have been greatly lucky in my menfolk, a liberal father of very advanced views, a loving and generous husband, and a fine son. **Narrator** (03:31): During her stay in London, she associated with several other women leaders such as Sarojini Naidu and Annie Besant, who helped her liberate her thoughts and were also active in campaigning for women's rights in India. She was called to the bar on 01/26/1923, less than a year after Ivy Williams, the first woman to be called to the English bar. In the winter of 1923, Mithan Tata joined the chambers of legendary Bhulabhai Desai at the Bombay High Court and became a professor of law at the Government Law College in Mumbai, the first woman professor of law in India. Mithan bagged her first legal case from a client who wanted to inflict upon the opponent the humiliation of being defeated by a woman. She recalls appearing in court, arousing the curiosity of men who peep through the doorways to catch a glimpse of this unique species. In 1925, Lady Meherbai Tata, wife of Sir Dorab Tata, established the National Council of Women in India. President Tata led the legislative committee to improve women's status. As a sign of their first victory, the Bengal presidency passed the bill for women's suffrage in 1925, and Punjab approved it in 1926. The same year, the British parliament allowed the government of India to amend the electoral rules, granting women the right to become legislative members. Madras immediately granted women the right to contest elections from the provincial legislative council. Mithan wrote in her journal to educate the public about women's empowerment and the need for education, which should be equal for both men and women. When Mithan was called to the bar in London, she stated **Mithan Tata Lam** (05:21): The history of India holds witness to the women rulers and philosophers who fought for their territory and that they should receive the right to vote and be considered equal. **Narrator** (05:31): She was appointed as a justice of peace and executive magistrate as well as a member of the committee of the Parsi Marriage Act of 1865, which helped her to contribute to the amendment of the act that came to be known as the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act of 1936. In 1947, the government of India appointed Mithan as the women's committee's chairman for the relief and rehabilitation of refugees from Pakistan. The same year, she was appointed the first woman sheriff to the Bombay High Court. From their headquarters, Mithan with other women workers visited the camps at Mulund, Kalyan, and other parts of the state, traveling extensively to bring comfort and help to the uprooted women and children who had been victims of the partition of India. Later, Mithan retired from the legal profession of her own will and devoted her time to social work. She joined the Maharashtra State Women's Council and was elected chairman of its labor subcommittee. Along with other committee members, she started to work in the Matunga Labor Camp, which was one of the slums in Bombay. She advocated for democratic rights, otherwise deprived to women, especially voting rights. As part of her work, she also succeeded in providing them with some basic facilities like electricity, water, a dispensary, a nursery school, and sewing classes for women. Later, she became the president of the Maharashtra State Women's Council. But her activism was not restricted to only women's issues. She also spearheaded hunger eradication programs, anti child labor advocacy, and slum improvement projects in India. In 1928, she joined protests with the Bombay Youths League about a proposed school fee hike for secondary education in India. The Bombay Chronicle noted In 1962, the government recognized her contribution to Indian society, and she became a recipient of the Padma Bhushan. --- ## [Interview] Minoo Shroff on Doing Business in Nehru's India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/minoo-shroff-on-doing-business-in-nehrus-india/ ### Summary Minoo Shroff reflects on the economic trajectory of post-independence India under Jawaharlal Nehru, framing Nehru's policy choices as ideologically shaped by his early-1930s visit to Stalin's Soviet Union, where he was impressed by rapid industrialization, literacy, and state-led capital mobilization. Shroff explains how Nehru concluded that India's low growth, weak savings, and capital scarcity required dominant state participation in heavy industry — steel, cement, machinery — relegating the private sector to the fringes, a philosophy already visible in Nehru's 1936 Congress presidency speeches against private profit motive. Shroff traces the operational unraveling of this model: the Planning Commission staffed with London School-trained Keynesian ideologues, the foreign exchange crisis of 1957–58, Western (especially American) hostility forcing reliance on Soviet credits and obsolete Eastern Bloc equipment, and the rise of the licence-permit Raj with its attendant corruption and 'dubious crowd of businessmen' who peddled influence in Delhi. He notes the brain drain that seeded Silicon Valley, and credits Nehru's lasting contribution as the IITs and IIMs. The latter portion catalogues private-sector workarounds: the Mahindras importing jeeps, Walchand's heavy industry ventures, and Tata's pivot from locomotives (TELCO) into trucks via the Daimler-Benz/Mercedes-Benz collaboration, which seeded India's automobile and heavy-equipment industries. Shroff's tone is that of an insider — a Skoda agent and businessman of the era — recounting frustrations from inside the system. ### Body # Minoo Shroff on Doing Business in Nehru's India Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkKmQMD_Kcs Duration: 679.3s **Minoo Shroff** (00:10): I was a student of economics and was involved in business and I felt things were getting off the rails. Of course, one was greatly inspired by the national movement and I had great regard for Nehru, but I thought his economic policies were wonky. As I started reading, I could see how he was inspired. In all fairness to him, when he went in the early 30s to Soviet Union, and Soviet Union in those days was a massive empire, was very underdeveloped, agrarian, and the reforms which Stalin brought in — though he shut people up and there was no freedom, what they wanted was some economic development and so he took on agricultural reforms, though they were communes and so on, but they needed large capital and state support. The other thing one impressed about the Soviet Union was the great importance they gave to education. In fact, at that point in time, their literacy standards were as good or better than those of America and Britain. So anyway, and power was another thing, which we find out now, which is so critical to development. So, Nehru was greatly impressed that our country, though huge, but very low growth rate, no development, no long term vision, had been in a few years transformed. When he saw this was counterpoised with how the British had kept Indians backward, our growth rate was hardly half a percent, there was hardly any industry but basic. Of course, we had industry of cotton, jute, sugar, cement to some extent and Tata had started a steel plant and that led to some building of heavy industry as well. But by and far, we were quite backward. So he felt that the capital formation was very low, savings rate was hardly one fourth of what it was at the peak. So it struck him that the quicker and better way of the rapid development was through government's major participation, not totally keeping out our private sector, but involving them only at the fringes. But he thought all heavy, the basic roadblocks of development, steel, cement was not on their agenda then, heavy industry, machinery building and so on should be in the public sector for two reasons, one the government could mobilize funds and do it rapidly. So that thinking permeated, and this was not new because when he was President of the Indian National Congress in 1936, his philosophy was that he was against private profit motive and against accumulation of capital beyond what was required for immediate needs like housing, farm and so on. And that is how it led to the acquisition of surplus land and abolition of Zamindari and so on and so forth. Now, in the initial years 1947 to 1954-1955, it did not gather much momentum, because the state was not organized and we had the steel frame, which was not very convinced whether bureaucracy could do the job. Many of them were attuned to development of Indian industry, whatever it was, by the private sector. In fact, India became the theatre of war and a lot of rail equipment, even modest armament, ordnance factories were all mobilized in India. Ordnance factory was under because of security reasons, but the other mobilization was done by the private sector or jointly with the private. Tata Steel played a very key role in supplying, because if we did not have steel, we would not have at least the light armaments, railway equipment, which was very necessary for communication. Now, when it came to the Planning Commission was set up, and let us face it that the members were initially ideologues, they also believed that was the temper of the many of were educated at the London School and they believed in the Keynesian theory. And so that was the shape of the first and second plans, till we found that the public sector was neither producing the resources nor did they have the manpower to really manage it well and strong criticism arose in the country out of from academics and business community. First plan was a marginal success, because we had foreign exchange balances that ran out by '57, '58, there were massive import cuts that again reduced the capital inflow of savings to support the large import bill, because we were largely dependent on imported inputs. So there was a sudden clamp down and then we were in a tizzy going around the world, but our policy was not appealing to the Western countries and particularly United States was inimical. The only country which came forth was Soviet Union to start with, there was no Eastern Zone and Western Zone in those days and the Eastern European countries were very much, I know I was agent for Skoda and so on, the Czechs were as prominent capitalists as any Western country and made some very sophisticated equipment. So that imports continued under the rupee payment agreement and Soviet Union gave us large credits, they were the first to give credits, so steel plant came in and they came in later for heavy equipment. And we had the Bharat Heavy Equipment and Bharat Electricals and all these factories coming up under the public sector umbrella. Some Western technology was later taken, but it was only technology not capital, because we found that Eastern equipment was not up to par and you could not develop and what we got from the Eastern Union was backdated, obsolete, but we had to because there was no foreign exchange available and the rupee payment started. And there were lot of gaps there and corruption grew, because we had the licence permit Raj and as licensing become more difficult, somewhat dubious crowd of businessmen grew on this, who could pedal influence in Delhi, and for which we are still suffering to an extent of course reduced considerably. The British started leaving, their might was largely in Calcutta or Braithwaite and Burn and Company and Indian Iron and Steel and so on. And they had set up some capital equipment plants, but they were not up to par. So foreign inflow was very difficult, we did not have the technical skills and Nehru's great contribution or some coming part of that was setting up our own technical institutions, the IITs and the IIMs that created the bedrock, which has later helped India. But then not seeing opportunities here, a lot of managerial and technical flights, and this is why the America today, Silicon Valley is more a creation of India. Of course, it has helped us also, there has been a rub off effect. Now in this state of mind, there was a lot of frustration, people went to Delhi for licences, they were not forthcoming, but they did not have the courage to speak out. Then State Trading Corporation was added, that even trading was transferred to the public sector and they did not know what to buy, because they were not trade savvy and we got sort of substandard material, it was all tied up to rupee payment areas and so on, and getting licences was necessary whether it was state trading or not. So you started this leakages in the system because anybody who could pedal favours in Delhi rightly or wrongly could. Now, this frustrated the wing of people who are pretty straightforward who had set some platforms for private development, the Minders in a small way starting with importing jeeps and trucks and so on. Walchand started the heavy industry, the Hindustan Electronics and making some heavy trucks and so on. And Tata's, so Tata's first was given a licence for making locomotives because they were imported, that is how TELCO — Tata Locomotive and Electronic — and they found the orders were electronic. So what they thought the right fit was trucks and heavy trucks and they entered into collaboration with Mercedes-Benz, Daimler-Benz, and that really created a platform, a nuclei for the automobile industry and also heavy equipment, because TELCO diversified then into making of lot of heavy equipment like earth movers and stone crushers and road building equipment. Largely training was also done to Soviet Union, I think the first technical agreement for exchange. So, the first bait of people who came. The other thing is the eminent economics and intellectuals were also groomed in Britain. At the time, they were not socialist then, but there was a lot of socialist thinking. --- ## [Interview] N.G. Ranga - Guardian of Peasants' Rights URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/n-g-ranga-guardian-of-peasants-rights/ ### Body # N.G. Ranga - Guardian of Peasants' Rights Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8cROlCrq-Q Duration: 122.5s (empty transcript) _Cleaned: skipped (transcript empty or too short for speaker identification)._ --- ## [Interview] The Public Distribution System : A Boon or a Bane? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/public-distribution-system-boon-or-bane/ ### Body # The Public Distribution System : A Boon or a Bane? Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yErKQisBB8 Duration: 149.1s Speaker 0 (00:05): Public distribution system politicians corruption. _Cleaned: skipped (transcript empty or too short for speaker identification)._ --- ## [Interview] Role of Civil Society in the Pandemic URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/role-of-civil-society-in-the-pandemic/ ### Summary In this Indian Liberals interview, Dr. Parth J. Shah, President of the Centre for Civil Society, reflects on the dual expansion of state and civil society during the COVID-19 pandemic. He argues that while the government's role visibly grew, the unsung story is how civil society stepped in to support roughly 700 million daily-wage earners and small entrepreneurs who lost livelihoods overnight when the lockdown closed businesses. People, he notes, know where people are — making local civic networks the most effective first responders to catastrophe, even if the data on private giving is hard to capture. Shah then turns to the costs of state expansion: the erosion of privacy through centralised contact-tracing databases, and the fiscal burden of vast subsidies and handouts. He suggests technology allows contact tracing to be kept localised on personal devices without surrendering data to a central authority, and that similar restraint should shape fiscal support. Invoking the maxim that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, he warns that without scrutiny of the state's pandemic-era powers, India risks emerging from the crisis in a worse condition than it entered. ### Body # Role of Civil Society in the Pandemic Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmuWgBJ9OWM Duration: 342.9s **Speaker** (00:05): The pandemic has done two things. Yes, you are right that it's expanded the scope and the scale of government role or engagement. Right? There's no doubt that's true across the world. But it, I think, also at the same time — that this something is not as emphasized or talked about, unfortunately. Right? Is the scope, the scope and the scale of civil society. Right? As you know, it is in India that we know more, more specifically. Right? Much of the initial help that people needed, right, as the businesses, as a lockdown got implemented, right, businesses got closed down. Right? People who were daily wage earners, the small entrepreneurs on the streets of India, right, all of them lost their livelihood almost overnight. And much of the support for that group of people in the country — and there are 700 millions of people in that group, right, who live, making living on a daily basis. Right? And they got support not so much from the state. A civil — how civil society has come together and take up the mantle of leadership in providing that initial support. Yes, civil society is limited in capacity to some extent — it comes so hard, the skill that they can provide you support. And, ultimately, you do depend on the state to continue that work, but much of the initial help came from civil society. Right? And it also makes sense. The government does not know where the people are in that sense. Right? People know where the people are, and therefore, people are the best sort of early helpers in any, any catastrophe, any tragedy. I think lockdown impact, in the severity of that impact, to the extent that it was so counterbalanced is largely because of civil society efforts. So I think that part must be emphasized. I think we don't see much talk about it because data is not easy, as easily available. Right? Nobody talks about that I contributed 10,000 or 20,000 more, plan to lakhs, or 10, right, to various groups of people, including people who used to work in my own company or household. And then that part of this is difficult to collect data, but I think it's important to remind people how critical that has been in weathering the storm. I, I do agree that, no, there's a huge challenge of the scale at which state has expanded, both in terms of, in terms of private lives. And, of course, there are very good reasons given that we need to do contact tracing, that requires that you authorize particular apps to be able to track you down, right, and also track who you are meeting, who are the people in your surrounding areas, where you have gone. Now I think we know there are better ways of doing it. Right? You can have contact tracing without any central database being created. So we can keep things localized on the cell phones of the people, right, the app that people are using. So there are many ways in which we can follow some of the procedures we need to follow for safety and health, right, without giving too much power to the state, without giving the data the state can abuse now or later. I think there's a lot of learning that we had in terms of how to use technology more effectively and then constructively, so that we don't give up the personal liberties and freedoms. And also, I think, personal information, to people who don't need to add that information. There's also other side to it is a fiscal problem. Right? So one is the privacy and personal freedom issue. Second is, there was fiscal issue in terms of the expansion of the state. Right? And as you know, the scale of subsidies and handouts and the state support which has been given to people. I think that this needs to be analyzed a little more deeply in terms of how much is really helping, how much is simply helping the state to expand its powers and intrusion in people's lives? I think there has to be some balancing act that we need to think about. Yes, people do need help. There is no doubt. But there are better ways of helping them, as we found in case of technology, better ways to do the contact tracing without really giving all information to one single central database. I think we do apply that thinking also to the fiscal support that we need to provide. I don't want to go into sort of mechanics of how to do that because there are, of course, many ideas on the table. Right? And this is well discussed, debated issue. I think it does require deep thinking on our part. But how do you create a system where people get the help they need without actually the fear of the future? Important phase. The internal vigilance is the price of liberty. Right? It's far becoming far more evident, right, on a day to day basis now. Unless you keep eye on what the state is doing, how it's been done, we are going to be in a far worse situation coming out of the pandemic than we went into. --- ## [Interview] Role of Ideology in India's Liberalisation URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/role-of-ideology-in-indias-liberalisation/ ### Summary In this monologue, economist Nimish Adhia argues that India's 1991 economic liberalization had a crucial ideological component, not merely an economic or political one. He contrasts the older 'Nehruvian consensus' — which sought to avoid Russia- or China-style class conflict by leaving existing property untouched while channeling the fruits of future growth to the poor through an interventionist state — with the more liberal ideological vision that emerged in the 1980s. Adhia explains that the Nehruvian framework relied on two pre-existing cultural beliefs in Indian society: a deep suspicion of businessmen rooted in the Hindu caste hierarchy (where the trading caste ranked below the Brahmin scholar-leaders), and the subordination of individual desires to the collective needs of the nation-state. Over the course of the 1980s, both beliefs weakened — individuals grew unwilling to suppress personal desires for the community, and commerce came to be seen as having redeeming social qualities — making the 1991 turn toward liberal economic policies culturally possible. ### Body # Role of Ideology in India's Liberalisation Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFVJ7aF5ts0 Duration: 392.0s **Speaker** (00:05): So I think there was an ideological component to India's economic liberalization that started in 1991. I think the old economic policies were motivated by a different ideology that changed in the course of the eighties. And what shaped the new policies was a different ideological vision, a more liberal ideological vision. The old ideology was what is often called a Nehruvian consensus. So the Nehruvian consensus was that, unlike in China and Russia, we want to avoid a conflict between the property holders and without property. And the Indian leaders were very much in favor of redistribution, but they wanted to avoid the class conflict that had led to violent revolutions in Russia and China. And so what they did was they said, okay, we are not going to expropriate the property after property class after independence, but instead, we are going to implement such economic policies that the fruits of any future economic growth, okay, would largely go to the poor people. Okay? So property people, you can keep your property. Okay? But future growth is going to be for the benefit of the poor. And that was the Nehruvian consensus. Now, implementing that Nehruvian consensus required sacrifices all around. It required the freedom of the property holders and the business people to be highly circumscribed, ok, because of the interventionist state. There were high taxes. There was the License Raj. There were import controls. Also, people's consumption had to be curtailed in order to generate the resources for investment to push for the state led, the state led industrialization. And it is difficult to extract resources from people for, for that was required for planning under a democratic setup. And, in order to justify their actions, in order to justify their interventionist economic policies, the Indian leaders relied on certain ideological beliefs that were already very prevalent in the Indian society. So one of those beliefs was a strong suspicion of businessmen in India, and that is also related to the caste structure. So in the Indian caste structure or the Hindu caste structure, the businessmen don't rank very high. They are the third caste in the hierarchy of castes. And so those who come from the top two castes, the Brahmins, the scholars, the castes from which most of the national leaders were drawn from, looked down upon businessmen. And so traditionally, business activity has not been accorded a very high social status in Indian or Hindu society. And the Indian leaders were able to draw upon that low status of businessmen to to to justify exercising control over them. You don't want to entrust the nation to these business people, do you? Right? And it's better to leave economic policy to the hand of the scholars, disinterested people, which is what the Indian leaders considered themselves to be. The second ideological point that Indian leaders were able to draw on was this idea that individual desires should be subdued to the needs of the community. And, in this case, the community was the nation state rather than, you know, your smaller local community. And so people were told, right, you guys wanna consume, you guys wanna import, you guys wanna do business, but we can't let you do that because the needs of the community, the nation state, the developmental needs of the nation state are paramount. Okay? Now, over the course of the nineteen eighties, those ideological beliefs kind of weakened and this is what we see in the films. Okay? People were no longer willing to suppress their individual desires, okay, for the benefit of the community as a whole. And businessmen were no longer seen as necessarily antisocial elements. Okay? People were beginning to think that trading, commerce has some redeeming social qualities. And it was because of these two cultural or ideological changes in India that the Indian government was able to move towards more economically liberal policies in the nineteen nineties. --- ## [Interview] S. Divakara on Nani Palkhivala's Union Budget Commentaries URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/s-divakara-on-nani-palkhivalas-union-budget-commentaries/ ### Summary S. Divakara, Director-General of the Forum of Free Enterprise, recounts the origin and astonishing growth of Nani Palkhivala's annual Union Budget commentaries in Bombay. M. R. Pai, the Forum's first Secretary, discovered Palkhivala in January 1957; Palkhivala's first public lecture for the Forum followed in February 1957, and his first Budget talk in March 1958 drew about 800 people at Green's Hotel. As audiences swelled, the venue moved to Museum Hall (1963), the CCI East Lawn (1965), and finally Brabourne Stadium (1983–1994), where attendance grew from 35,000 to over 100,000 — a scale Milton Friedman, on seeing photographs, called 'mind-boggling'. Divakara recalls the logistical rituals around the meeting: company secretaries phoning months in advance to schedule board meetings around the lecture, requests to reserve seats despite the meeting being free and open, and Palkhivala's insistence on no barricades. He shares an anecdote about Dr. Freddy Mehta sharing a chair when he arrived late, and notes that pre-liberalisation tax rates of 97.5% eventually fell to roughly 35%, vindicating the Forum's economic advocacy. He closes by describing Palkhivala's nationwide circuit — Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Calcutta, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Pune — and a remark by Karnataka Chief Minister Veerappa Moily, who, on hearing Palkhivala praise V. P. Singh's first budget, quipped that it was the government, not Palkhivala, that had changed. ### Body # S. Divakara on Nani Palkhivala's Union Budget Commentaries Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3imZDLWPs3A Duration: 473.6s **S. Divakara** (00:08): One of the objects of the Forum also is to bring younger and younger people on its platform. That's how Mr. M. R. Pai, who was the first Secretary of the Forum of Free Enterprise right since the day it started until 1978 when he resigned as Secretary and became our Honorary Vice President, he discovered Mr. Nani Palkhivala in 1957. Somebody told him that there is a very brilliant lawyer, who is specialised in taxation, so he had set an appointment with him, he met him on the 11/01/1957. The result was Mr. Palkhivala's first talk, public lecture, the subject was recent changes in tax structure, that was on 12/02/1957 at the Green's Hotel near Gateway where the Taj Intercontinental is standing now. And he spoke on the Union Budget for the first time in March 1958. The audience was about 800. From 1958 to 1962, he spoke in that venue, when the hotel people told Mr. Pai, we can't afford to have our meetings here because we can't accommodate the people who come, audience went on increasing. So 1963 the meeting had to be shifted to Museum Hall, even that was found to be inadequate. So 1965 it was shifted to the CCI East Lawn, and there the first year the audience was in the region of about 3,000. It went on increasing — 3,000, 5,000, 10,000. 1982, it exceeded 20,000 people, I could see because I was involved in arranging that meeting, and people standing on the walls, sitting on the balconies, everywhere, every possible place. And Mr. Vijay Merchant, he was presiding over that meeting. Casually he told me, Divakar, why don't you shift it to the Brabourne Stadium? And next day, I went to him in his office, he was President of the CCI, Cricket Club of India. What brings you here? I said, Mr. Merchant, yesterday you said that we should shift it to Brabourne area, we want to shift. Then he thought, no, I only joked. I said no, we want to take it seriously. Then he said, you give a letter, I'll put it in the committee. And within matter of two weeks he said, the committee has agreed to your proposal, we'll be happy to accommodate your meeting. So from 1983 till 1994, all our meetings addressed by Mr. Palkhivala on the budget were on the Brabourne Stadium, which is now known as Brabourne Stadium. Except in one year in 1991, he did not speak because of the heart surgery, and the attendance went on increasing. The first time we went to Brabourne Stadium it was 35,000, it went on increasing — 92, 93, 94. It is not my estimate, estimated by the newspaper, they said it was in excess of 100,000. I still remember we used to be very closely in touch with Professor Milton Friedman, because we had the privilege of having him on our platform a couple of times earlier, we have also published his booklets. We used to keep him informed about our activities. One of the annual reports mentioned about the attendance at this meeting, he saw the photographs, said it is mind-boggling, this attendance is mind-boggling. And in fact there are many — in many meetings I could see people from other countries coming. Mr. Pai too also told me that there have been instances where parliamentarians from England and from Australia, they have attended. I used to get telephone calls right from November-December onwards — the meeting is always in the first week of March — from November-December onwards from company secretaries asking, Mr. Divakar, when is the meeting of Mr. Nani Palkhivala on the budget next year? Because we want to schedule our board meetings to suit our outstation members and our directors to attend the meeting. And there have been many such instances. And from February onwards, I was always flooded with telephone calls, please reserve a seat for me, please. Actually these invitations had no meaning because it was a public meeting open to anyone. We were only blocking a few seats in the front rows for Mr. Palkhivala's friends and our own supporters and others. We are keeping about 10,000 chairs, and in no time we open the gate at five, by 05:15 it will be full. And then people who come later will go to the stands, and there has not been one single instance where we had any problem with the audience, I must salute the audience. And we always were keen — Mr. Palkhivala said don't put up any barricade anywhere, because he did not like those barricades which are generally put up in such meetings. Not once did anyone give us any trouble. If there is a chair they will go and sit, otherwise they go to the stand or they come and sit on the lawns. In fact I remember a couple of times when at least once two Tata directors came a little late, one of them got a chair, the other man did not get. I saw him sharing a chair with another one. Next day I telephoned him, I said sorry, I did — Dr. Freddy Mehta. I said, Dr. Mehta, I'm very sorry, we couldn't give you a chair. And no, Divakar, it is not your fault, it was my fault, I came late. Initially, we were from 1956 till 1991, we used to have a number of meetings every year on economic subjects, and there were any number of subjects also available. And after the liberalization, of course, what we wanted was achieved through liberalization, the rates of taxation came down. At one time in the early 60s it was 97.5, now it is in the 30s, 35% or something like that. And in fact, he used to address meetings on the budget in other places also. After speaking first in Bombay, he will go to Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Calcutta, Delhi, Ahmedabad and sometimes Pune also, and sometimes there are couple of other places. Every time in Bangalore the meeting was held at Vidhana Soudha Banquet Hall, because the local chamber of commerce, the Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce, always involved the Chief Minister as president of the meeting. In one meeting Mr. Veerappa Moily was the Chief Minister, he was presiding, he made a very fine remark. He said, as a student I used to attend Mr. Palkhivala's lectures, he was very critical of the budget. This time he has praised this budget. Because that time it was V. P. Singh's budget, he praised the first budget of Mr. V. P. Singh. Mr. Palkhivala said there are many good things in the budget. So, what Mr. Veerappa Moily said was, all these years he was critical, this year he has praised the budget, that means Mr. Palkhivala has not changed, the government has changed its policies. --- ## [Interview] S. Divakara on The Forum of Free Enterprise URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/s-divakara-on-the-forum-of-free-enterprise/ ### Summary S. Divakara, long-time Director-General of The Forum of Free Enterprise, recounts the institution's origin and six-decade arc. He traces its founding to a 1956 pair of Times of India articles by A. D. Shroff and Murarji Vaidya advocating the defence of free enterprise — a conversation in the lift at Bombay House between Shroff and Farooq Mulla then crystallised into the Forum itself, with Shroff providing seed funding. From 1956 the Forum focused on educating the public on economic affairs through some 800 booklets and over 2,400 public meetings, hosting figures like Milton Friedman and Peter Bauer despite early hostility from a business community wary of opposing government economic policy. Divakara recalls his mentor M. R. Pai, with whom he worked from 1964 until Pai's death in 2003, and describes the Forum's evolution into a constellation of allied trusts: the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust, the M. R. Pai Foundation (2004) running leadership camps for youth in small towns across six states, and the Nani Palkhivala Memorial Trust (2004) that organises an annual memorial lecture and confers the Nani Palkhivala Civil Liberties Award. He closes with anecdotes — V. K. R. V. Rao, once a staunch socialist critic, privately endorsing the Forum's work, and George Fernandes spotted reading a Forum booklet on a flight — to illustrate the brand the Forum has built as a non-profit, non-political platform for economic discourse. ### Body # S. Divakara on The Forum of Free Enterprise Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBdRExrgG2I Duration: 445.4s **S. Divakara** (00:00): I had the good fortune of working with Mr. M. R. Pai from 1964 till he passed away in 2003. He used to tell me some interesting story about two articles which appeared in Times of India on 03/31/1956. One was written by Mr. Murarji Vaidya and the other was written by Mr. A. D. Shroff, both were on the same theme about protecting free enterprise in our country. And Mr. Pai told me a number of times on that day I believe Mr. Farooq Mulla, who was at that time the Chief Public Relations Officer of Tatas, he was in the lift in Bombay House, Mr. Eddie Shroff also was there in the same lift. Mr. Mulla complimented Mr. Shroff, Mr. Shroff the your article is very good, he has said that an organization should be set up to protect and preserve free enterprise in our country, I will be happy to help you. Then Eddie Shroff said I will give you the money, you start, I will also be there. That is how the forum started, it was Mr. Farooq Mulla, Mr. Eddie Shroff and a number of other people. The Forum of Free Enterprise was started in 1956 by Eddie Shroff with the main object of educating the public on economic affairs. The Forum publishes booklets on economic subjects, we have published so far about 800 booklets. Initially, we were publishing almost every month one booklet, sometimes more than one booklet, all having a bearing on economics. Number of public meetings have been held since 1956, in fact it's just more than 2,400 public meetings, most of them in Bombay, but hundreds of them have also been held in different parts of the country with different speakers on different economic subjects. When the forum started, of course, there was some opposition in fact from the business community itself because they were scared of coming on a platform which was opposed to the Government's economic policies. But it must be said to the credit of the founders of the Forum that they maintained their integrity, their transparency and their approach to issues. The Forum does not take any stand on any economic subject or any policy matter, but it allows people to come and air their different views on economic subjects. A number of well known economists and others have appeared on our platform. We had the privilege of having on a platform Professor Milton Friedman on more than one occasion, Professor Peter Bauer had come. In fact, I had the privilege of arranging his meeting. In August 1965 when Mr. A. D. Shroff was President of the Forum, he always liked to encourage the young students to participate in economic activities. His belief was every Indian whether you are a doctor, engineer or any other professional should have some knowledge about basic economic problems of the country. He always encouraged the students. From the very first year the forum was conducting All India essay competition for college students with the object of helping them to think and write on economic subjects. So, in August 1965, Mr. Eddie Shroff at one of the committee meetings of the forum said we must also institute elocution competitions for college students to enable them to think and speak on economic subjects. After Mr. Pai died in 2003, we started the M. R. Pai Foundation in 2004 and after Mr. Palkhivala passed away in 2002, we started the Nani Palkhivala Memorial Trust in 2004. So together with these two organizations, the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust, the Forum of Free Enterprise has been organizing jointly various programs for the youth, main object is developing good citizenship. Palkhivala Memorial Trust organizes every year a memorial lecture and the first lecture was delivered by Mr. Fali Nariman and then a series of eminent persons have delivered this lecture. Last year we had Mr. Harish Salve, before that we had the then Chief Justice Mr. S. H. Kapadia, then Mr. Soli Sorabjee, Mr. Narayana Murthy, Mr. Arun Shourie, Dr. Bimal Jalan, the various number of eminent people have delivered the lecture. The Trust also gives the Nani Palkhivala Civil Liberties Award to those who protect and preserve civil liberties and human rights in India every year. The award carries a cash prize of 2.5 lakhs at the citation. The M. R. Pai Foundation is an organization where we have been mandated to have programs for the youth in small towns and cities. So, we go to at the present we are going to about six states Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Goa where we have about 40 to 50 leadership camps of two days each, where interactive sessions are conducted by expert trainers on subjects such as goal setting, communication, teamwork, communication, self esteem and allied subjects. And we are deliberately going to small towns and cities because there the youngsters do not have any exposure. In cities the students are saturated with any number of activities, but in small places this is the only activity they have. The forum is still like non profit, non political organization and fortunately for us their brand has been built over a period of now we will be completing sixty years in 2016, that brand name has been built, we are happy about it, wherever I go the forum is recognized, I don't have to, in fact Mr. Pai had the experience, he was travelling in aircraft and for me I believe Mr. George Fernandes who was a minister at that time, he was in one of the front rows and he happened to see Mr. Pai and then he come where he was sitting he showed a book of the forum to Mr. Pai, Mr. Pai I am reading your booklet, that is the brand that is the popularity of the forum that Mr. Pai has been able to build. And I met Dr. V. K. R. V. Rao who was known to be a very, was a minister in the Indira Gandhi government, was supposed to be a staunch socialist and I met him in a wedding, I was introduced to him and then he asked me what are you doing, I told him I gave him my card, this was in the 80s, by the time he had given up his office, then he took me to a small corner, you are doing good work, you continue. Mr. Pai told me when the forum started he was one of the staunchest opponents, now he is recognizing what we are doing but this is a fact. --- ## [Interview] Shetkari Sanghathana : A Movement for Freedom - Part II URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghathana-a-movement-for-freedom-part-2/ ### Body # Shetkari Sanghathana : A Movement for Freedom - Part II Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUaD_a1VdVE Duration: 274.0s (empty transcript) _Cleaned: skipped (transcript empty or too short for speaker identification)._ --- ## [Interview] Shetkari Sanghathana : A Movement for Freedom - Part I URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghathana-a-movement-for-freedom-part-i/ ### Body # Shetkari Sanghathana : A Movement for Freedom - Part I Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8tp7pIdEA0 Duration: 362.3s (empty transcript) _Cleaned: skipped (transcript empty or too short for speaker identification)._ --- ## [Interview] Sunil Bhandare on enlarging the "constituency of reforms" in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/sunil-bhandare-on-enlarging-the-constituency-of-reforms-in-india/ ### Summary Sunil S. Bhandare argues that India's "constituency of reforms" — those who support liberal economic thinking — remains confined to urban elites, professionals, industrialists, and traders, and has not reached the bottom of the pyramid. He attributes this narrowness to weak communication skills among liberals (contrasting them unfavorably with Prime Minister Modi's), a credibility deficit fuelled by scams and crony capitalism, and gaps in the regulatory, judicial, and institutional architecture that allow public suspicion of private enterprise to persist. Decades of disillusionment, he says, have left even well-intentioned schemes like Swachh Bharat Yojana being dismissed by ordinary citizens as "photo op" exercises. To widen the constituency, Bhandare proposes a multi-pronged approach: better networking among like-minded organizations such as the Centre for Civil Society, Freedom First, Liberals India for Good Governance, and the Forum of Free Enterprise; broader dissemination of e-publications; and more workshops, summits, and media-sponsored meets dedicated to liberal thought. He also flags the decline of the Project for Economic Education, attributing it to leadership, funding, and organizational gaps, and warns that funding for purely liberal advocacy is hard to come by without the right institutional scaffolding. ### Body # sunil-bhandare-on-enlarging-the-constituency-of-reforms-in-india Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toFirg2z7bQ Duration: 333.8s **Sunil S. Bhandare** (00:06): What I would call the constituency of reforms or constituency of liberal economic thinking is still restricted, is restricted to a the urban class within urban class to the elites of the urban class, the professionals, the business people, the industrialists, the traders and so on. It has not gone to the bottom end of the pyramid. Now, how does one expand that constituency of reforms, because that is the major challenge for the liberal thought process. That constituency of reforms requires a great deal of communication skills, the kind of communication skills which probably the Prime Minister Modi is trying to display. Now, that communication skills amongst the liberals is still found wanting. Now, that credibility issue comes into the picture, because people still as you said very rightly look upon with lot of suspicion on the private enterprise. The reason is that there have been number of those scams and scandals and people are familiar with what is being said as a crony capitalism, and that crony capitalism arises of the because of the fact that there are still gaps in the entire regulatory judicial system, because the system of justice, system of taking actual recourse to the various kinds of grievances that still found wanting. Now, if you have that system in place, a proper regulatory system in place, institution system in place, judicial reforms in place, probably large part of this skepticism will get out of the system. Also political leadership needs to be showing some degree of maturity, maturity in terms of what they preach and what they perform. So that is not going to be there, and I think it's going to be a very long drawn process. The long drawn process because the fact that last fifty years people have sort of completely disillusioned about the system. And because of that disillusionment, it takes very long time. For example, even the Swachh Bharat Yojana. Now if you go and ask people walking on the streets of Shivaji Park, all all of those people, they say it is a photo op operations. It's a photo kind of a session. And therefore, people don't believe. People say that this is not going to happen. So number of such schemes, which probably are seen to be doing some good is not being looked upon with certain degree of confidence and credibility. And for that mindset to change I think will take many many more years to come. Basically, I think there will be multiple approach one can think about. One is of course, there has to be good networking amongst the institutions which are working to on the similar cause. For example, I think your organization that is Centre for Civil Society, Freedom First, Liberals India for Good Governance, Forum of Free Enterprise, I think they need to network and there may be many such organizations in Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Calcutta. So, at least in cities where such organizations are there, they should do good bit of networking. The second important thing is that you normally make use of this sort of all these e-publications, those e-publications need to be shared amongst wider audience. But, you see but, that again you know all these networking e-communications and all that serves limited purpose, because people are not sort of you know used to accessing them. The third of course, is that you need to have many more sort of you know interactions to workshops being held and we need to find out a good sponsors typically the media kind of a sponsors. So, is a media organizes number of those annual summits and meets they should also organize similar kind of meets and summits of the for the liberal thought process. So, that is the kind of thing one could think about immediately. The Project for Economic Education also got subdued. The one reason for this is that there is basically a leadership problem, and the second is the funds problem, organizational problem. So and I think just for the liberal thoughts, nobody is going to give you funding. So one has to find out the right kind of funding mechanism, right kind of leadership, and organization for these things to really get off the ground. --- ## [Interview] Sunil Bhandare on Getting Disillusioned With Socialism and His Journey to Become A Liberal URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/sunil-bhandare-on-getting-disillusioned-with-socialism-and-his-journey-to-become-a-liberal/ ### Summary Sunil S. Bhandare, a long-time Tata Group economist, recounts his ideological journey from Nehruvian socialism to liberal economic thinking. Joining the Reserve Bank of India in 1962 and Tata's in 1967, he was initially steeped in socialist orthodoxy, even welcoming the 1969 bank nationalization, despite working alongside figures like Nani Palkhivala and being aware of A. D. Shroff, M. R. Pai, and the Forum of Free Enterprise. The failure of the Third Five Year Plan, the resort to plan holidays, and the Emergency forced a reckoning that disillusioned him with the prevailing model. He describes how Professor B. R. Shenoy's writings on the public sector vestige convinced him that government had no business being in business, and how his firsthand experience at Tata's — sending memoranda against the MRTP Act and licensing restrictions, watching Tata Steel and Tata Motors denied expansion as a 'monopoly house' with merely Rs. 100 crore in assets — exposed the system's perverse incentives. He recalls JRD Tata's chairman's statements protesting denied expansions and distorted steel pricing, and personal indignities like waiting seven years for a telephone and standing in queues for cement, steel, and two-wheelers. Bhandare concludes that democratic socialism delivered nothing for the common man, generating only inefficiency, corruption, and black markets. He credits S. V. Raju and the Forum of Free Enterprise for drawing him into the liberal fold, and frames his conversion as learning by experience rather than dogma — eventually concluding that liberal economic thinking is simply the right economic thinking. ### Body # Sunil Bhandare on Getting Disillusioned With Socialism and His Journey to Become A Liberal Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S_AFbaYqZs Duration: 685.6s **Sunil S. Bhandare** (00:06): I was working with the Reserve Bank of India from 1962 to '67. We were under tremendous influence of Nehruvian ideology and that was quite natural because the surroundings in the Reserve Bank of India was typically supportive of that kind of a thought process. And for us, we were being told during those days that at the age of 20, if you are not a socialist, you need to examine your heart. And therefore, all of us were typically emotionally being driven. We were more guided by the socialist thought process. My journey towards liberal thought came very much later. Till about 1974, I was typically a socialist minded in thought process. In 1967, I joined Tata's. Although in my early stages of career, I would have probably been influenced by what the private sector is trying to do. And there was giants like Mr. Palkhivala, and we used to hear about A. D. Shroff, we used to hear about the Forum of Free Enterprise, Mr. M. R. Pai. And I used to attend some of their public meetings, but nevertheless, I never got really impressed by what was being done there. And I used to read Economic and Political Weekly and those those were the days when Economic and Political Weekly used to be quite attractive for us. Also, my colleagues from the university, they were also by and large of leftist orientation by and large. And although there were couple of professors like Professor Brahmananda, C. N. Vakil, they had a different thoughts even on the second five year plan for example. But nevertheless, I think we never got very much sort of impressed by the liberal thought process. And I never got even in fact, you will be quite surprised that 1969 when bank nationalization took place, we were the ones who sort of appreciated that kind of a state while working with Tata's and that was quite, I mean, in tune with the prevailing scenario. Then the whole process went on till about the emergency was declared. Around that time, we started reading about what is going wrong with the public sector enterprises, how the third five year plan has failed, and then how the plan holidays are getting announced, planning commission was not becoming effective. Then the Nehruvian ideology gradually was losing some kind of an appeal for the youngsters. So somewhere around after that emergency, we started thinking about different thought process and that's how the liberal thought process sort of started guiding my own thinking. And then, I got in touch with Raju and then also the Forum of Free Enterprise and that's how the the influence started gathering momentum. And then I started also addressing some of their public meetings on very interesting, but not necessarily deep thinking kind of public meetings. So gradually, we started feeling that there is nothing great about the erstwhile socialist thought process, it has not done anything for the last previous twenty years since the beginning of five year plan. And therefore, I think we need to think in terms of something which is better alternative for the for the economic system. We started analyzing what what is going wrong with the public sector enterprises and then there there was a Professor B. R. Shenoy's wonderful speech and articles on the public sector vestige wherein he tried to sort of articulate how the public sector has not done the kind of things which were expected. But here are fundamental issues also and those fundamental issues about public sector is not the thing which is right for this for this economy. The the the idea of government is needs to be quite different. It has not to be in the business. The the business of the government is to do the governance and not to be in the business. So those ideas started attracting our attention, and we started believing in those ideas. Now, we also saw that private sector by and large has started doing lot of good things and having worked with Tata's and then that was a interesting experience because before the reforms process started, we were used to sending the memorandum to the government and memorandum on what issues on licensing policy, memorandum on Monopoly Restrictive Practices Act and it will be quite sort of people would not believe that during those days a group of enterprises which had asset together of 100 crores were considered concentration of economic power. Now, are small medium sized companies nowadays which invest 100 crores. But during those days Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Chemicals, all these companies got interrelated. And by virtue of their interrelationship, they became a monopoly house. And being a monopoly house, we used to approach the monopolies commission whenever the applications were being made for some industrial license. The classical example was when Tata Steel wanted to expand its capacity, I believe from 2,000,000 tons to 3,000,000 tons for that extra 1,000,000 tons you have to your application used to be held up, it used to go through the licensing committee from licensing committee to monopolies commission and the whole thing oftentimes gets scuttled. There never used to be things which were granted easily. Similarly, when the Tata Motors wanted to expand their capacity, I thought it was 12,000 numbers they were producing commercial vehicles and they wanted to increase it by another 8,000. There was a whole lot of capacity in terms of infrastructure which was there, but the Tata Motors was denied that. So those were the days and you know during those time I think the JRD Tata, the chairman of the Tata Group used to write in his chairman statement stories about how the companies have been denied the opportunities of expansion and growth. In fact, he wrote on the question about entire pricing policy for steel. And that pricing policy led to, of course, creation of black market in the steel sector. But the companies were denied the opportunities of generating enough of profits by pricing the steel depending upon the market conditions. And he said that if they were given the right kind of prices, probably the Tata Steel would have been able to expand its capacity multifold. And we were importing steel, and the domestic producers were denied the opportunities to expand their production only because there will be so called concentration of economic power. Effectively that kind of a system created huge opportunities for black market use. And there used to be queues as many people would be aware, queues for cement bags to be made available, steel supply being made available for construction activity. Then there is a shortage of two wheelers. People used to stand in the queue for eight years. And my own personal experience about my telephone. My telephone, I I made an application, it took seven years for us to get the telephone. And when we got the telephone, we actually did a Puja of that telephone. So those were the days of pre liberalization period which was dominated by particular thought process. That thought process was based on the economic ideology of democratic socialism. That democratic socialism did not deliver anything for the common man, for to the consumers at large, it did not create job opportunities, it created all sets of inefficiencies and corruption and all these questions about the black money in generation used to happen during those days through this whole process. So, that was complete disillusionment about the system, the disillusionment about the model of economic development which we had chosen. And we believed in that model only because it it came down from Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and everybody fancied him so well, so much, and that was his legacy. Of course, contribution number of other years is remarkable. But in the economic philosophy of this country and economic planning and strategy, I think he did not do right thing. He could not envisage what could happen by the kind of economic system he was trying to give to the country. So that was the story about how we moved towards different thought process, namely of liberal economic thinking. But you see, I think I mean, this was a good process. You started experiencing yourself and learning by experience you came to realize that what was being done was not correct and therefore after you realize that your earlier thought process has to be evolved and you cannot stubbornly held hold those earlier views you know in a in a dogmatic fashion. So, we became more practical and we started learning by experience and we became more oriented towards the to towards the right kind of economic thinking. I am not saying liberal economic thinking, right kind economic thinking, because liberal economic thinking eventually has proved to be the right economic thinking. --- ## [Interview] Sunil Bhandare on his experiences with Indian liberal organisations URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/sunil-bhandare-on-his-experiences-with-indian-liberal-organisations/ ### Summary Sunil Bhandare recounts his involvement with Indian liberal organisations beginning in the mid-1980s with the Forum of Free Enterprise and continuing in the early 1990s with the Indian Liberal Group. He describes attending conferences organised by S. V. Raju on economic reforms, privatisation and globalisation, and his subsequent participation in Freedom First and the Project for Economic Education. The core of his account focuses on the Project for Economic Education's effort to produce alternative 'liberal budgets' in the weeks before each Union Budget. Preparatory workshops were held at the Leslie Sawhney Programme near Nashik, drawing participants such as T. N. Ninan and Suresh Tendulkar, and covered fiscal, trade, pricing and regulatory policy. Four or five alternative budgets were ultimately produced and presented at press conferences in Bombay and Delhi, with input from figures like former finance secretary Geethakrishnan, though Bhandare notes the initiative did not receive the attention they had hoped for. ### Body # Sunil Bhandare on his experiences with Indian liberal organisations Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g52qPVVXICE Duration: 222.6s **Sunil Bhandare** (00:05): My sort of association with Forum of Free Enterprise started probably somewhere in the mid eighties, quite late, and with the Indian Liberal Group early nineties. Now, in early nineties I think there were lots of those conferences which are being organized by the Raju on understanding the economic reforms process, question about privatization, questions about globalization and so on. So I used to participate in that and there used to be a great number of great thinkers coming for those kind of deliberations and discussions. And that is how the whole process became sort of you know participative for me getting involved with the Raju's Freedom First and as well as the Project for Economic Education. Now, the Project for Economic Education, which is a wing of the Indian Liberal Group sort of thought about producing alternative budgets and just before the presentation of the normal central budget, just about two to three weeks before that or about a month before that, we used to come out with our own publication. And there were in the early stages of this particular first liberal budget which was being presented, We had a had a conference held in in what is this place sort of in Nashik, close to Nashik, I forget the name of the place, but Leslie Sawhney programme which was there and we used to have the this kind of a workshops and conferences. And the first that kind of a conference was attended by T. N. Ninan, then Suresh Tendulkar all these people were there and we used to discuss about what should be the fiscal policy for this country, what should be the trade policy, what should be the pricing policy, what should be the regulatory institutions and all that. Based on those deliberations we came out with the first Indian liberal budget and we also made presentations on that liberal budget both in Bombay and in Delhi held the press conferences and so on. It did receive some attention, but the kind of attention which we were expecting from that kind of activity did not happen. We came out with another three subsequent publications of the Indian Liberal Group's, so in all about four or five such alternative budgets were being prepared. So, these budgets enable us to at least look at the entire fiscal system at a great deal of sort of in a specific details. We had discussions with Geethakrishnan who was the former finance secretary and he was from Chennai and many others. That was a good kind of contribution which came from the Project for Economic Education for liberal economic thinking. --- ## [Interview] Sunil Bhandare on private enterprise post 1991 reforms URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/sunil-bhandare-on-private-enterprise-post-1991-reforms/ ### Summary Sunil Bhandare recounts his involvement with the Forum of Free Enterprise (from the mid-1980s) and the Indian Liberal Group (from the early 1990s), a period that coincided with India's economic reforms. He describes participating in conferences on liberalization, privatization, and globalization organized by S. V. Raju, and his work with the Project for Economic Education, a wing of the Indian Liberal Group. A central focus of his recollection is the preparation of 'alternative liberal budgets' — published roughly a month before the central budget. The first such effort emerged from a workshop at the Leslie Sawhny Programme near Nashik, attended by T. N. Ninan, Suresh Tendulkar, and others, where participants debated fiscal, trade, pricing, and regulatory policy. Four or five such alternative budgets were published in total, accompanied by press conferences in Bombay and Delhi. Bhandare reflects that while the alternative budgets received some attention, they fell short of the impact participants had hoped for. He frames the exercise as a useful contribution to liberal economic thinking in India, deepening engagement with the fiscal system through discussions with figures like the former finance secretary Geethakrishnan. ### Body # Sunil Bhandare on private enterprise post 1991 reforms Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g52qPVVXICE Duration: 222.6s **Sunil S. Bhandare** (00:05): My sort of association with Forum of Free Enterprise started probably somewhere in the mid eighties, quite late, and with the Indian Liberal Group early nineties. Now, in early nineties I think there were lots of those conferences which are being organized by Raju on understanding the economic reforms process, question about privatization, questions about globalization and so on. So I used to participate in that and there used to be a great number of great thinkers coming for those kind of deliberations and discussions. And that is how the whole process became sort of you know participative for me, getting involved with Raju's Freedom First and as well as the Project for Economic Education. Now, the Project for Economic Education, which is a wing of the Indian Liberal Group, sort of thought about producing alternative budgets, and just before the presentation of the normal central budget, just about two to three weeks before that or about a month before that, we used to come out with our own publication. And there were in the early stages of this particular first liberal budget which was being presented, we had a conference held in in what is this place sort of in Nashik, close to Nashik, I forget the name of the place, but Leslie Sawhny Programme which was there and we used to have these kind of workshops and conferences. And the first that kind of a conference was attended by T. N. Ninan, then Suresh Tendulkar, all these people were there and we used to discuss about what should be the fiscal policy for this country, what should be the trade policy, what should be the pricing policy, what should be the regulatory institutions and all that. Based on those deliberations we came out with the first Indian liberal budget and we also made presentations on that liberal budget both in Bombay and in Delhi, held the press conferences and so on. It did receive some attention, but the kind of attention which we were expecting from that kind of activity did not happen. We came out with another three subsequent publications of the Indian Liberal Group's, so in all about four or five such alternative budgets were being prepared. So, these budgets enabled us to at least look at the entire fiscal system at a great deal of sort of in a specific details. We had discussions with Geethakrishnan who was the former finance secretary and he was from Chennai and many others. That was a good kind of contribution which came from the Project for Economic Education for liberal economic thinking. --- ## [Interview] Swatantra Party : India's First Liberal Party URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/swatantra-party-indias-first-liberal-party/ ### Body # Swatantra Party : India's First Liberal Party Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHRwzulx6dY Duration: 202.0s (empty transcript) _Cleaned: skipped (transcript empty or too short for speaker identification)._ --- ## [Interview] The Case Against Neo-Protectionism URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-case-against-neo-protectionism/ ### Summary In this talk, economist and historian Sudha Shenoy delivers a systematic rebuttal to Paul Craig Roberts' neo-protectionist arguments against U.S. trade deficits, capital flows, and the offshoring of manufacturing and services. She argues that the world has changed dramatically since the 1970s through massive capital accumulation in Western Europe, Japan, East Asia, Southeast Asia and China, and that declining U.S. manufacturing employment is part of a universal adjustment that every developed economy is undergoing — not an American pathology. Using U.S. balance-of-payments data for 2001 and surrounding years, she shows that the private sector earns all the foreign exchange it needs (with a small surplus) and that the only sector running a real foreign-exchange deficit is the U.S. government itself. Shenoy invokes the Ricardian principle of association as restated by Mises to defend specialization and exchange, and dismisses as 'insulting' the claim that Indian or Asian service workers represent 'sweatshop' competition that Americans cannot match. She points out that India's gem-polishing and software exports thrived precisely because central planners ignored them. Historically, she stresses, unilateral free trade — Britain from 1846 to 1931, Hong Kong, the relative openness of nineteenth-century France, Germany and the Indian textile industry — produced flourishing, not ruin; and tariffs (e.g. Bush-era steel duties, EU retaliation) merely compound losses by reducing real incomes on both sides. Her conclusion is a thoroughgoing laissez-faire one: balance-of-payments figures summarise what millions of individuals are doing and should not be moralised as if the nation were a single household; any government intervention — tariffs, retaliation, minimum-wage harmonisation — leaves both populations worse off, while the diffused gains from cheap imports are real but invisible. ### Body # The Case Against Neo-Protectionism Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1tih4LpfwA Duration: 3116.6s **Sudha Shenoy** (00:02): Okay. Now what gave rise to this was reading things that is that legible there? Reading stuff that Paul Craig Roberts wrote, which is posted up on the Mises website and then the subsequent attempts to reply to him, which I thought very poor show. And so I thought someone should tackle it particularly when I found the time after time people are prepared to make grandiose statements without taking the slightest look at any facts or any figures or anything. So I thought that as an historian, it's my job to set the record straight. Incidentally, if you have any questions or anything, just keep asking as we go along because there aren't very many of us anyway, and we're all friends. So just feel free to comment or whatever. Okay. We'll start now with the things which I put up there, which are the elements of the argument. We begin by saying manufacturing employment in The US has fallen. You now import manufactured goods. You have trade deficits. Income flows out to those wicked foreigners. American assets are sold to pay for the trade deficit. Now foreigners, god bless them, own trillions of dollars worth of assets. More income flows out in rent, interest, dividends, profits. Manufacturing jobs have been exported as a result of investing overseas. Americans are now investing to sell goods inside America, dreadful thought. And now they've started importing services from Asian countries where you have low living standards, people live on the smell of an oil rag, excess supply of labor, marginal product, is not labor doesn't get its marginal product. We cannot, the Americans cannot reduce our living standards to match. We have large and growing deficits and so free trade and goods is one thing, capital mobility is something else. You might have very sinister consequences. Okay. Now my initial reaction after looking at that is, first of all, apparently, we foreigners do nothing but sit around with folded hands waiting for the Americans to make a mistake and then we come rushing in with our manufactured goods. Okay? We're just sort of sitting there passively. Second point is that the world should have stood still. If it had stood still when the American manufacturing employment was x million or whatever the magic figure is, everything would have been alright. It's only because the world has changed, yeah, in this dreadful position. Third question, of course, why has US manufacturing employment fallen? In order to create trade deficits and problems, you know, it has to be a reason. So what you've got is something simply dropping from the sky, concentrating on a few fairly what appear to be fairly obvious things. US balances saving certain features in the late nineteen nineties and then carrying on as if, you know, it all simply occurred in a total vacuum. Okay. Now my response to that runs to about three pages, but we proceed step by step. Okay. Now I have another thing somewhere here. I can't find where I put it. Oh, here we are. I'm taking everything out. Okay. So the first point, of course, is that the world does not stand still. There have been vast changes since the nineteen seventies, and what we want to do is have a look at what some of these changes are. Okay. The what the changes will add up to ultimately is simply vast increase in capital accumulation in the rest of the world, production in areas which hitherto had not had industrial production, and therefore everybody else obviously having to adapt. You can't keep on doing what you've been doing for the last fifteen, twenty, thirty, forty, a hundred years and then expect to continue along those lines. Okay. So that the first thing is the new developments that we've got. First of all, we have continued capital accumulation, continued development in all the developed countries. Western Europe, Japan, all moving even further into industrial production, new types of industrial production, etcetera. Then what we also have is the the growth of industrial development in the East And Southeast Asian territories, South Korea, Taiwan, and the newly industrialized countries of Southeast Asia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, etcetera. Okay. And therefore what we have is, as I said, also now China. And so therefore in consequence what we have is the need to adapt. And so what we have is adaptation in the developed areas. Developed areas adapting which has been occurring in all developed areas since the nineteen seventies. Okay. I might add that the growth in these countries is not new, and it is something which has been going on for a long time. Now finally, it's reached the point where even The US has to take account of what's going on. Okay. Japan, as we know, has been developing since at least the sixteenth century. It's continuing. South Korea, seventeenth century onwards. And in the early nineteenth early twentieth century started developing as part of the development of the Japanese economy in relate as you might say the career sector of the Japanese economy. Southeast Asian countries, international growth of the international economy in the late nineteenth century produced growth there. Growth in both the economy and in populations. Huge increase in populations all around And that growth was of course export of commodities to manufacturing countries. And then on top of that you had further industrial growth in the twentieth century. Okay. I might add that the newly industrializing countries of Southeast Asia only developed after the late nineteen seventies because then government stopped protecting industries and open economies up. So that is in itself another example of the growth to market order. And of course China only developed after its rulers opened it up to the market economy. Okay. And so therefore, as a result, you have the growth in all these areas, therefore growth in exports from these countries. Okay. US therefore no exception also having to adapt. One method of assessing the growth of production in the outside world, and that is the proportion of foreign trade to aggregate output in The US. 11% in 1970, 26% in 2000. I might add that for all the developed countries, the proportions usually run from 35 to 60% and more. In other words, they're all completely and fully integrated into, world economy. And most developed countries are in a sense sectors, the British sector, the Australia sector, the German sector, etcetera of the world economy. Okay. Another example of increasing capital accumulation in the early nineteen sixties, as I if you've got a I haven't put it up there, but if you looked at the world's largest banks, insurance companies, chemicals producers, car manufacturers, etcetera, most were American. But by the early nine early nineteen eighties, the majority were non American. Japanese, German, Canadian, French, Swedish, what have you. In other words, capital accumulation elsewhere produces results which everyone has to adapt to. Okay, as capital accumulation grows and diversifies, we have labor moving into those occupations where labor is the chief import. Therefore, you find growth of services. And that has been true of all the developed countries. I don't know if any of you remember this, but I do. Back in the late nineteen sixties, and this was first observed, the chancellor of the exchequer imposed his notorious selective employment tax in Britain to try and reverse the process. And what happened? Manufacturing employment declined by 38.5% between 1975 and 2001. Okay? Even in Japan you find the decreases. Now the decreases are first proportional. And then in more recent times, can have a look, there are absolute declines. So that again, The US is not exceptional. Everybody has been experiencing decline in manufacturing employment. Even in the newly industrializing countries, you find there's a slight relative growth in services. Okay. Now I've got I don't know if I've mentioned there the I'll come to that later. Anyway, if you have a look at the direction of trade for The US, what you find is that, of course, the bulk of the trade is with the developed countries. In other words, its trading main trading partners are the ones whose manufacturing employment is also falling. Okay. Right. Now if we go on from there and tackle next question, And that is capital exports and imports. Capital exports and imports. Now I would like to underline the point that US capital exports have been going on since the late nineteenth century. So capital exports are not new. And the, operations overseas or in foreign countries have been exactly virtually this, in the same category throughout manufacturing. Particular kinds of manufacturing at which the Americans are best, mass production, high technology, capital intensive, relatively little labor, relatively little skilled labor, and producing again the kinds of mass production goods. A range of things, cars, of course, obviously, goods, adding machines, office machinery, lifts, all the lifts in the world are probably American elevators and so on. They've been doing this since, you know, late '18 late nineteenth century. US inward investment into The US again unchanged. Going on since the nineteenth late nineteenth century, exactly the same, people as who invested in the late nineteenth century are still chief investors today. And more or less, again, broadly the same lines, the kinds of things which they are best at doing, French producing cars, tires, Italians also producing tires, and certain sorts of highly specialized goods, which in fact, these companies produce for the world market. So they're simply add also producing for the for The US market. Okay. So that it's no use looking at capital exports or capital imports. As I said, these things have just been going on. Okay. So we now come therefore to the other points that were made. The actual figures for US balance of payments. Now one reason why I again raised that issue is because again we have lots of economists who are prepared to say, of course, it's really foreign central banks and others holding US dollars. Therefore, we can run a trade deficit. In other words, the rest of the world gives us the goods, free in order that they might have the privilege of holding US dollars. Okay. Well, let's have a look at the numbers then to try and see, exactly what sorts of numbers are involved. I've also, looked at separating the private transactions from government transactions for a particular reason. And what we see okay. Have a look at all these numbers anyway. Yeah. Might be useful. Okay. There we are. I've just pointed out that the FDI in The US comes mainly from the developed countries. And if you have a look, it's exactly the same countries that were investing at the end of the nineteenth century. Japan is in fact minor proportion of the total and all the others have in fact declined again proportionately. Alright. Now what I did there for the next two tables, if you'll have a look, please, is classified according to the inflow and outflow of foreign exchange. That is probably the simplest way of putting it all together because then put in both capital and current account transactions. And I did that for 2001. You can do the same for all the other, years. Right. Now, if we look at private transactions, we find exports of goods, exports of services, and imports of services, and we'll come back to this. We have, you know, import of services increasing, etcetera, etcetera. You notice that there is still net export of services. Income in, income out, there's still net income inflow. Capital inflow which provides foreign exchange, and you'll notice at the end that the private sector has not only been providing all of its own foreign exchange requirements, there's even a surplus which can go to government if government wants it, probably always does. Okay. And if you look at government transactions, you'll notice a very small inflow, very large outflow. And in fact, I don't know why that's happened there but the income out has been a huge increase in more recent years and possibly someone who knows what's going on would be able to tell me but that is a major outflow on a government account. Okay. And as you can see, it's in deficit and the deficit has been made up by private sector earnings. Okay. Now what does this mean? This means that again the sky is not falling. Exactly, you know, perfectly normal situation. From various sources, private sector has been obtaining foreign exchange from various sources, and it's been using it for various purposes. Okay. Now before I let me go on to have a look at the overall picture, and then we'll go back to see about capital inflows and outflows, what exactly they do. **Speaker 1** (17:07): The number at the bottom **Sudha Shenoy** (17:08): there Mhmm. 94,000,000,000. Yep. Is that trade debts? No. No. No. No. No. No. What is it's simply inflow foreign exchange, outflow foreign exchange. Ignoring everything. Just whichever things brings in the exchange and takes it out. And as you can see, the US government overall is in deficits and someone else has we had to supply the foreign exchange. That's for 2001. Now I haven't done all the years. It could be done. I work better at using computers. What I've done there is simply looked at these one two three four five years. Now I haven't actually looked further into these figures, would like to, but you'll notice that so far as the private sector is concerned, in general except for two years, it's been providing itself with its own foreign exchange. So the earnings of foreign exchange and outcurve foreign exchange more not just balanced, but in 2001 you provided the US government with some money. 1990, there was a small surplus. And in the two years in which apparently US government has been supplying the foreign exchange, you'll notice that practically all went straight into private sector transactions. The important thing really is the extent to which the US government has been met, demanding foreign exchange with someone else has to supply and that someone else being either other central banks which means that the poorer populations of poorer countries are providing goods for free so that their governments can hold US dollars so that US government can run a deficit on its own account. Alternatively, in some years, as I said, you've had the inflows. Now as I said, I want to go into these further, but I suspect that in the years in which I haven't had a look, you'll have pretty much the same sort of pattern. Okay. Now capital imports, capital exports, what do capital imports and capital exports do? If you're going to be a net capital exporter, you have to save the foreign exchange, and that means you have to run a capital current account surplus. This is first your economics, sir. And, therefore, you can run a capital account deficit. Vice versa, if you're a net capital importer or net, then you have a surplus in capital account and because people are investing in your country, your territory, you can now get in extra goods from abroad over and above your own current earnings. So you have extra goods coming in. And if it's on capital account, it means that in, in effect, you're you're, getting in extra capital goods from somewhere without reducing your own domestic production of consumer goods. Okay. Now The US before 1981 ran a capital account surplus, deficit in the current account surplus. In other words, it was a net capital exporter. Since then, things turned around and The US is now capital importer and therefore runs the current account deficit. It is in a position to import effectively, increase its supplies of capital goods without, reducing consumption because other people are wanting to invest in here. Okay. Now it's consistent. That picture is consistent because clearly you've got far greater capital accumulation elsewhere, therefore, they're investing here. It is not a case of individually outrunning your own budget and therefore having to borrow and therefore having to sell your house, etcetera, etcetera. The great fallacy of treating the nation as if it were a single individual, it is not. Your balance of payments is a summary of what millions of people are doing. And that's the way it has to be analyzed is what millions of people are doing, the net result. And that shows up because someone somewhere collects an estimate. So balance of payments figures. Okay. What else can I go on to talk about, which I had a note, to talk about? Oh, yes. The growth in capital flows, again consistent with increasing capital accumulation everywhere. In, China as I said, investment has come from Hong Kong, from Taiwan, the overseas Chinese. The Japanese have not only been investing in Western Europe and The US, they've also been investing in South Korea and in the newly industrialized countries. Most of the growth in Southeast Asia is to a large part due to Japanese capital exports. And South Koreans now exporting to Southeast Asia etcetera and therefore obviously part of all this you've got, increasing flows from The US to Western Europe and increasing flows from Western Europe to The US. If you look at the figures, you have, what appear to be two away flows, what is really simply increasing production of specific kinds of goods as a result of capital accumulation, complementarity if you want. Okay. Import of services, I'll go back to that argument. People in the underdeveloped areas have very low living standards, live on the smell of an oil rag, Americans have mortgages to meet, we can't reduce our living standards and therefore it's impossible for us to compete with suppliers of services elsewhere. Two comments, one, these were exactly the arguments that are put forward for objecting to import of goods from the poorer countries. The workers live on the smell of an oil drag and therefore they'll be able to sell their goods dirt cheap and therefore we will all suffer and we can't allow these imports to come in. Exactly the same services. Three comments actually. Second comment, this is a very insulting attitude to take towards peoples of the undeveloped areas because the peoples who supply these services represent the investments of their families. You have to have long training periods in order to provide computer services, bookkeeping, whatever services are being imported. Lots of people fail, fall by the wayside. So what you've got are people who have large debts to pay, who owe their families, sums of money and therefore to say that, of course, you could afford to reduce your living standards. This is I said pure insult. Lots of people now who could not otherwise get high incomes are now able to do so. Again, you know, for a rich country like The US or rich Americans to complain is I think very poor show. Third point, of course, the great Ricardian principle of association which, which Mises enunciated. It doesn't matter even if someone is better at doing everything than someone else, they can still gain from specialization and exchange. And that is precisely the situation here. Okay. So the people some people in the underdeveloped areas are specializing in providing certain sorts of services that opens up opportunities for providing other sorts of services. And that is the same argument of course for goods. If they provide certain sorts of goods, it opens up opportunities for providing other sorts of goods. Okay. Another point is that in India, in particular, which is where most of these services come from, not China. Again, you couldn't even be bothered to look at the facts. The in in India, why has the computer industry developed or why have these exports of services developed precisely because the planners in their wisdom did not get there. Planners in their wisdom have been concentrating on industrial production centrally planning it and therefore killing it. On the other hand, two things which have really developed in India and taken off the two viable exports which have occurred more recent years, polishing of gemstones. Diamonds and so forth are imported into India from all over the place Israel and so on. Polished and set and so on, highly skilled labor, very little capital, highly skilled labor and then the gemstones are sent out. And the plan is of course never thought of this therefore they could not interfere therefore it developed. Similarly with services, this is the one thing the planners can't control. Therefore, it developed and as you can see developed, to the extent to which, you have Indian computer companies now floating themselves on, the New York Stock Exchange no less. And again, it's because they've managed to somehow get around what otherwise the planners would have loved to stop. Okay. Various other points which I noted. Bear with me and I'll find where they are and get at them. Oh, yes. Incidentally, again, more patronizing and insulting comments from Gephardt no less. He says the minimum wage, we should have a minimum wage imposed in various countries according to each country so that the Americans do not have to import goods produced by slave labor, child labor, sweatshop labor, Thank you very much. There's 29,000,000 people employed in factories, modern factories doing far better than they would have done otherwise throughout South Korea, the newly industrialized countries of Southeast Asia. And, you know, I mean, it's I can't imagine a greater insult. I find it very insulting and patronizing to say this. Okay. Oh, yes. Now there are some economists who are prepared to say that exports increase jobs, imports reduce jobs. Capital exports increase reduce jobs, capital imports increase jobs. Okay. The other side of capital imports is import of goods. I can't have it both ways. If the capital imports increase jobs, the corresponding capital imports imports of capital goods have to reduce jobs. Conversely, if capital exports reduce jobs, the other side of capital exports is of course the export of capital goods, other goods correspondingly. That therefore increases jobs. And let us proceed now. We haven't done this before, but I think we should do that. Let us proceed to the reduction ad absurdum of exports creating jobs and imports reducing jobs. Okay? We will ban all imports because they reduce jobs. We export every single thing that we produce. We have no goods in the country but we have a very high level of employment indeed. The poor foreigner, all of his goods are at home. No exports. He's unemployed. What's more, all these imports that have come in from elsewhere sitting there on the walls. He's even more unemployed. Just sitting there wistfully looking at all these goods, which you can't get. And, you know, I mean, there's clearly something wrong. It's that's the kind of reasoning. Now the superficial plausibility is, of course, that if you have tariffs or in other words subsidies, what you're doing is preventing those incremental adjustments which would occur day by day, month by month, year by year. And then when you remove the tariffs, you then have to do everything all at once. And therefore, you know, remove tariffs, free trade, dreadful things happen. Let's go back to the old regime. Okay. Another point which I'd like to make is that many of these points we already see in the rest of the world. And the kinds of arguments which I've been mentioning here, which have been being put forward seriously. My serious papers like the Christian Science Monitor and so on. My second year students in Australia would laugh at them, because we've had the experience and we know positively that with growth in real incomes and output in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, we can now sell them goods. With the import, cheaper goods, living standards have increased. The other question which isn't asked, everybody says how nice, imports reduce prices. Okay. But what do people do with the extra income which they save? Stick it under the mattress, sit on it. You can now buy not only what you had before, you can buy other goats. I mean, very homely example. Before we reduce tariffs in Australia, we had to buy Australian made jerseys, woolen jerseys. They cost $50.60, $70 a piece. After the tariffs were removed, Chinese send in jerseys. You can buy them for $10 apiece. So now I can buy two two jerseys for tennis and I still have $30.40, $50 leftover which I can spend on other things. Of course, I do. Now the real problem, of course, is that that expenditure is diffused. Because it's diffused, there's no way anyone can actually see it. You don't have other other outputs increasing and then coming with little labels tied on their neck saying, you remember those tariff reductions? Well, I am the increasing output that resulted. Okay. Your steel tariffs here. Okay. The lesson here is the conclusion which I will be reaching is that laissez faire is best, not because this is the best of all possible worlds, because anything you do is going to make things worse. Therefore, do nothing. Okay. Your government in its wisdom has imposed steel tariffs. What is the consequence inside the country? Higher costs and therefore reduced output. People doing exactly working as hard as they did before but getting less in return because output has fallen. And the other consequence, you start importing cheaper goods from elsewhere and therefore surprise surprise, your trade deficit gets worse and, you know, everybody jumps up in and says, you know, terrible, terrible. Okay. Now, the Franco German Empire imposes restrictions on US exports. In its wisdom, what happens? Real income falls inside the EU. People are working just as hard as before, they're getting less. Both sets of populations are suffering because they've got governments. And therefore, as I said, laissez faire is the best policy. The US government had done nothing when in when steel import cheaper steel imports were coming in, then you would have had the adjustment which is necessary. Capital and operating losses in the steel industry, people having to move out and find somewhere else to work. Painful for them. Yes. But eventually, things would have settled down. If the EU had not imposed restrictions on US export, what would have happened? Okay. Steel exports are reduced, but at least you don't suffer further reduction in real income. And now what's happened is as a result of the so called retaliation, both countries have suffered double reductions in real incomes. And the only people are better off, if anyone is better off, these bureaucrats who can now hit the headlines of politicians and, you know, saving the economy and blah blah blah, etcetera etcetera. Okay. I think that's about all the thoughts that I had after reading Craig Roberts. As I said, I was infuriated. Kinds of things he was saying, and no one was answering you properly. Yes. Well, he didn't actually write out say that government should do something but the implication was clearly left hanging there. Somebody has to do something sometime at some point and the real villain in the piece is capital export. I mean, if you think that's true again, it's garbage because you cannot ever have balanced trade. You're going to have some capital movements one way or the other. And of course, with the kinds of changes you've had going on in the real world, growth of capital accumulation, you're going to have increasing capital movements. **Speaker 2** (35:34): In his testimony before congress, you kindly did that the other shoe drop and proposed a a kind of regional a global system of regional autarky. **Sudha Shenoy** (35:48): Oh, yep. Another point. Yes. Another point we said with, again, economists have been bringing up, and that is that all the now developed countries developed first and then they removed their tariff barriers. Okay, garbage. The British had unilateral free trade from 1846 to 1931 and free trade was abandoned only with the very greatest reluctance because they felt they had no choice partly because of what The US was doing. And in that period of unilateral free trade, all its trading partners, of course, restricted did try to restrict British exports one way or the other, even the colonies did. And colonial office didn't stop them. Nevertheless, of course, Britain as we know flourished as the green bay tree. You had, you know, huge increases in output per capita income rose, population rose, etcetera etcetera. The other twentieth century example is, of course, Hong Kong. You know, what's Hong Kong going to do to anybody who tries to, reduce its exports, you know, send a popcorn out or something. So, again, you've had unilateral free trade throughout. And as you know, it flourished as the green bay tree. It now exports more than most developed countries. South Korea, by the way, is the world's twelfth largest exporter and the world's second largest producer of certain types of electronic consumer goods and so on. If anybody wants to talk about South Korea, I can say, definitively that it is in fact the result of free access to world markets. Because if you look at what South Korea has been doing, in effect, the inputs were purchased at world prices, capital goods and so forth were purchased at world prices. And if you look at their trading partners, the major trading partners for a long time were The US and Japan. So that in effect, what you had was a trilateral, you might say, free trade area. And then, of course, with the Southeast Asia developing, you started getting more multilateral trade. Okay. That's the other thing that your US trade figures show, and that is growth in multilateral trade. In other words, trade not only with the developed countries, but growing trade, of course, with all these other countries, that are growing. Okay. Back to, the late the the nineteenth century. Even the French had very low tariffs. In the course of the nineteenth century, there was even a short period of free trade, the Cobden treaty, with Britain. Germany had relatively low tariffs. They had internal huge free trade area with the with free trade. And, of course, throughout free trade area except for where, you know, the colonies imposed tariffs. Even then, not all of them did in Australia and New South Wales is a free trade area, but Victoria, it's always been a very bad state had, again, tariffs and protection. The Indian textile industry developed as a result under, precisely under this regime. In fact, we had the first textile mill in India before Japan got a textile mill. So the Japan the Indian textile industry is older than the Japanese. The Japanese were forbidden to impose tariffs as a result of the so called unequal treaties. And so the early period when you're supposed to need the tariffs precisely when they didn't have them. And tariffs in any case of subsidies, I mean, most are saying that if you subsidize something, it's going to grow. But of course, it's going to grow, but at which whose expense? You know, what's really happening is that the growth has overtaken the results of the tariffs. And then you're in other words, you're peacocking around in borrowed feathers. That's about what it amounts to. **Speaker 1** (40:00): Yes. With Jobs business program on CNN? **Sudha Shenoy** (40:04): Yes. Yes. I was horrified when **Speaker 1** (40:06): I No. No. He's become from some unknown reason of being a protectionist. And I can't quite figure that out unless he's planning on running for president someday. **Sudha Shenoy** (40:17): But **Speaker 1** (40:19): he turned his guns last week to the the export of service jobs to India **Sudha Shenoy** (40:25): Mhmm. **Speaker 1** (40:26): And other countries. And he had a a professor, a business professor from New York. I think he's a management professor from New York University of Columbia. And he made a very good argument that the export of these service jobs actually saves jobs in The United States because companies that basically were in the absence of these service jobs being exported abroad, that they would have to shut down or at least curtail operations **Speaker 3** (40:58): in The **Speaker 1** (40:58): United States so that our retail operations and finance and electronics can remain viable simply by exporting various categories of of service jobs. **Speaker 3** (41:15): I think it was a **Speaker 1** (41:17): good argument that he that he made it. Well, it actually was effective in encountering the docs. The only sad part of that was that they reported the the next night that the that that professor had died. **Sudha Shenoy** (41:29): Oh, yeah. Overnight. Mhmm. All **Speaker 2** (41:31): of those were talking about. **Speaker 3** (41:33): Okay. Well, I don't know. But it's **Speaker 1** (41:36): it's an interesting development. **Sudha Shenoy** (41:38): Yeah. Well, I mean, it's it's common sense says if you can get something cheaply, a fraction of what it used to cost you, it's a good thing. You know, you've got the extra income, output, whatever to do something else with. So that if the Asians can supply particular services, particular goods or whatever, anybody can supply it. A fact a fraction of the previous cost. You can now use your resources to produce the whole range of other things. As I said, the only trouble is that the other things which you produce will not come with these labels tied around their necks saying, you know, remember those cheap imports, we are the result of, you know, increased output. So therefore, one has to argue in a sense it is a completely abstract argument, which I think many people would find difficult to to follow through. **Speaker 2** (42:29): Can I ask about the the politics of these international trade negotiations? It seems that at at the Cancun that talks to World Trade Organization, the developing world represented on balance, of course, for free trade, and the industrialized world is all for harmonization of regulation, opening up tariffs, removing tariffs abroad, but keeping them on at home, and generally promoting a kind of regulatory protectionist program. Is that a new development, or is it just more visible now that we have these international trade talks? Is the developing world always been a force for liberalization? **Sudha Shenoy** (43:10): Yes. The developing world would have been here long since if it hadn't been for your blessed development economists who taught the policymakers there that you have to subsidize, you have to regulate, you have to plan, etcetera. The developing world is developed only after all that was dropped. And therefore, they are now discovering, of course, that, you know, all these things are a real problem now. Again, I think in these in these circumstances, given that all governments are going to be doing something nasty all the time, the best principle for everybody is unilateral free trade. Okay. So The US negotiators come out and say, open up your economies. We want to send goods and let them get the goods. The Americans by maintaining their tariffs are cutting off their nose to spite their face. They are busy buying things at higher cost than they need to. We can buy whatever Americans produce at world prices. Why should we you know, why complain? **Speaker 3** (44:20): I I have two questions. Strictly speaking true so that the trade deficit was not financed by dollars. And you printed okay, but I didn't see — none of your figures seem actually to address this point. **Sudha Shenoy** (44:54): Ah, yes. Well, I didn't want to do it the conventional way, which is, you know, balance on services, balance on goods and because that is just analytically meaningless. The trade deficit is huge. Huge. And as you can see, you also have very large capital imports. And that's the link between the two. The link is between those two. The growth in capital in, capital accumulation elsewhere, and therefore, exported capital directly to the exporting of our goods. And again, if you import capital, it means you can import more goods than with your current earnings. And that's what's been happening. That's why the, demonstration, I think, there or at least what the figures seem to show that the private sector earns all its own foreign exchange plus some, which means that none of this is being financed by somebody somewhere holding dollars. That trade deficit is being paid for by either capital imports or foreign exchange earnings of some sort. Because when you balance when you compare that to what you've got is at least in 2001, a small surplus for the private sector. **Speaker 3** (46:12): But, I mean, we we agree that if there are dollars being stockpiled in the Bank of China or Bank of India or wherever, **Speaker 1** (46:19): that has been used to finance **Speaker 3** (46:23): commodity imports in The US. Now the question the question is only how, what is the actual quantitative significance of this? **Sudha Shenoy** (46:31): Quantitative significance is zero. That's what the figure showed because if some of the deficit was being, some of the trade deficit was being financed by people holding dollars, then you would not be able to show that the private sector was earning all the foreign exchange which is spent. There would be a discrepancy in the figures, at least you would have some inputs coming in, some imports or something coming in, which is not paid for by foreign exchange earnings. Okay. You would be running a deficit. The only sector which is running a deficit is the US government. It's The US Government's expenditures that are being financed by central banks holding dollars or whatever, you know, however they they've been doing it, pulling others to pay for it or whatever. **Speaker 3** (47:21): My my second question would be, do you know what forfeit Robert's views on immigration are? **Sudha Shenoy** (47:28): No. I don't. Does anyone other people might know if he has **Speaker 3** (48:35): and immigration. I mean, these people do not come just because they love so much the Alps or and and you know, that's cheaper than that. Yeah. **Speaker 1** (48:48): The one there was an interesting possibility you sort of raised, which is when you said that in 1981, The United States had a trade surplus. But that now, of course, the trend seems to be upward ever higher, is that we have a trade deficit, a growing trade deficit. Of course the government deficits have also decreased during that period, but in 1981, you have the monetary decontrol act here in The United States, was a major regime shift Mhmm. Of the US dollar. Mhmm. We have ramifications **Speaker 3** (49:34): as we go forward **Speaker 1** (49:35): in terms of trade. **Sudha Shenoy** (49:38): No. What have we been looking at really are these fairly long term changes, real changes. And basically, think what's been driving the whole scenario is the growth in capital accumulation output diversification elsewhere. And that's how the I mean, it's these adjustments that are showing up in the trade figures. Now up to 1981, what happened was that The US as I said was a net capital exporter and therefore it had to have, a trade surplus. The rest of the world therefore by definition was a net capital importer from The US and therefore had a trade deficit with The US. Okay. Now that's another point which we might perhaps make. If the Craig Roberts argument is correct, then before 1981, it was The US which was busy draining income away from the rest of the world to because they had a trade deficit with The US. In The US, it was which is busy, you know, obtaining trillions of dollars worth of assets from other people, because it was exporting capital to them and further draining away rent. That case, how did the rest of the world suddenly turned around and, start doing exactly the same to The US itself? You know, I mean, that is not what's been happening. What it has been happening are these other changes. These other changes have been therefore showing up one way or the other inside, in the structure and competition whatever, balance of payments everywhere. And the these are, you know, solid long term changes, solid long term developments. **Speaker 1** (51:25): For the rest of **Sudha Shenoy** (51:27): the For everyone. I mean, there's no way we're going to, you know, drive in Southeast Asian countries back to where they were 1861 or wherever. There's no way Japan is going I mean, you know, they're there. And already, I would you know, seriously, the rest of the world has adjusted. It's just The US, which is now beginning to discover that even it has to adjust despite the size of its economy. Yep. --- ## [Interview] The Case for Liberalism in Indian History URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-case-for-liberalism-in-indian-history/ ### Summary In this short monologue, Dr Parth J. Shah, President of the Centre for Civil Society, argues that liberal ideas — particularly those concerning markets, individual dignity, and limited state power — are often mistakenly viewed as Western imports in India, when in fact they have deep roots in Indian intellectual history of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He notes that a magazine called Indian Libertarian was regularly published in the 1920s, and that this strand of thought has been neglected in Indian history education at every level. Shah sketches a distinctively Indian liberalism by drawing together threads from Gandhi (whose politics he characterises as essentially anarchist, distrusting the state and favouring self-governing communities), Tagore (cosmopolitanism and openness to the world), Rajaji (free markets and laissez faire), and Ambedkar (social transformation grounded in equal dignity for every individual irrespective of caste or class). He frames CCS's academy and programmatic work as an effort to recover and build on this tradition, and hopes future thinkers will adapt these ideas to current Indian challenges. ### Body # The Case for Liberalism in Indian History Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-N8fgzrIro Duration: 234.5s **Speaker** (00:05): Most people, when they hear about these ideas about markets, empowering poor to enter markets, to make better life for themselves through the markets as opposed to through states from handouts and subsidies. Right? People are still finding very difficult, and they feel that these are sort of Western ideas. They don't see that these are Indian ideas, which actually is one of the biggest challenge. Nothing is great disservice we have done in teaching our own history to our own children. Right? They feel that some of these ideas are completely Western ideas. Even though it's very true that, you know, most of these ideas have been there in our own intellectual life, particularly in the, you know, late nineteenth, early twentieth century, and, of course, even before him to some extent. So I think looking at these ideas as much as part of the Indian ethos, yes, they have not been dominant ideas, which is true. Like, they're not the most prominent ideas in the intellectual life of India, but they have been there. Right? There's a publication called Indian Libertarian in nineteen twenties. Right? Even though I think most people find the term libertarian very out of the context in India today. Right? But we had Indian Libertarian magazine being published regularly. There's a huge intellectual life of India that did focus on some of these ideas in a very fundamental way. Somehow we have lost that sort of trajectory, you know, in in the likes. This is not being taught anywhere in our history books, not just in school, but also in, you many people who masters in history for that. I think that's important part of our journey that we need to remember. Right? I think, secondly, if you look at the ideas of Gandhi, for example, Tagore, Ambedkar, Rajaji, right, some of just a few names of recent modern times that one can think about, you can pull those ideas together, and you will see that there is very unique Indian sort of liberal theme or a version of liberalism that one can construct. Right? Just it's already there. Right? So Gandhi's ideas in politics, for example, which are very much anarchist ideas, Gandhi did not believe in the last state. Actually, he did not believe in state at all for that matter. Right? And believed in sort of people taking charge of their lives, the public life, and not running into the state. Right? Rajaji obviously talked about free markets, completely markets, laissez faire in very different context, but very similar ideas. Right? I will talk about why this would be cosmopolitan, why world is of a theater, and we should not be limited by the boundaries of our sort of walls of the house or windows being not being opened. Right? And Ambedkar talked about how the social transformation needs to happen in India. Right? And how and there are very liberal ideas in that sense about how societies would treat each individual with the same dignity and respect. Right? Irrespective of the caste or class. Right? And that's very much a very liberal ethos in a sense that Ambedkar had talked about in terms of what India has to do to bring people the same level of dignity. I think these are very much Indian ideas. And I think we can build on those ideas. And CCS has tried, as you know, do since academy work and many other program that we run to build on those ideas. I'm hoping that, you know, as we move forward, as we have more and more people thinking about this deeply, addressing the current challenges that we are facing, that we'll we will go back and look at these ideas and begin to see how we can apply them, how we can adapt them to the modern sort of current situation. --- ## [Interview] The Challenges for Liberal Grassroots Movements URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-challenges-for-liberal-grassroots-movements/ ### Summary In this 2020 monologue, Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, founder of the Lok Satta Movement, reflects on the three foundational challenges that confronted a liberal grassroots movement in India in the years following the partial 1991 economic reforms. He recalls a public culture in which 'liberalism' was a dirty word, the state was treated as a presiding deity, and politics itself was rejected by the educated middle classes and urban youth as something too sullied to engage with. Narayan credits Manmohan Singh for honestly executing the limited 1991 liberalization, but stresses it was forced by compulsion rather than conviction, leaving statist instincts intact. He describes the operational difficulty of building a constitutional, non-agitational movement: refusing dharnas, rasta rokos, and noisy protest in favor of the vote and responsibly exercised freedom — tools, he says, that 'Doctor' (Ambedkar) had prescribed and that India has since forgotten. With no social media and only nascent email, he travelled almost every day for ten to twelve years, addressing roughly 10,000 gatherings across the Telugu-speaking regions, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, each followed by long, unscripted question-and-answer sessions dominated by public-sector-versus-private-sector anxieties. ### Body # The Challenges for Liberal Grassroots Movements Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIfQ-rkTsYw Duration: 358.3s **Jayaprakash Narayan** (00:04): Yazad, if you recall, even the word liberalism was hardly known in India at that time. And if people understood the meaning of liberalism, most people considered that as a dirty word because the state was the presiding deity. It was accepted that the state was right, despite the economic reform out of compulsion — partial reform, I would say, in 1991 — was not out of conviction, remember. Though, we must compliment Mr. and Dr. Manmohan Singh for doing it honestly to the limited extent they attempted it. They did not do it in, you know, in patches. They actually did it sincerely, though very partially. But despite that, the state was still god in the minds of the people. So the biggest challenge for me was twofold. The first was, politics was rejected by the middle classes, the educated people, and the and the youth, particularly the urban people. They thought it was dirty. You must not sully your hands. You must stay away from that. Therefore, one of my primary concerns in those days was to to communicate to my fellow countrymen and women that, look, politics cannot be ignored because it shapes your lives. The obvious, truism, a self-evident proposition have to be drilled into the minds of the people again and again and again. Perhaps even now, continue to do that, but it's a little less necessary now because a lot more people recognize that whether you like politics or not, you have to be engaged because, you know, politics does shape your life and your future and your surroundings. But in those days, that that consciousness was not there, particularly among the middle classes and the and the youth and the urban people. The second is the muddled notions of the state. As I said, despite economic liberalization, a very partial economic liberalization attempt in '91, the default options for most Indians is that state is right. And therefore, the commonest question I faced — no. My interactions were unlike normal moments and the public discourse in India. I always had a question-answer session, a very lengthy one, not five minutes, ten minutes perfunctory one, but no. There used to be typically a two-hour session. Every day I was traveling intensively. Thirty days a month, thirty-one days a month. Morning to night. From morning 5:00, my tour would begin and end oftentimes at 10 or 11:00 in the night. That's the kind of intensity that I had to bring to the table. And almost every interaction had detailed question and session, at least in our question and answer session. Very honest, they were not premeditated. They were not doctored. There was no screening or anything. It was very open, free-for-all kind of a thing. So the commonest question in those days I faced is public sector versus private sector. People were so, so anxious because public sector was supposed to be good. That was the given thing. Maybe because the word public sector or because of the notion that government is right ultimately and private is bad. Today, I don't think it's that, that serious. Though even today, you do have some remnants of that. But for a liberal reform movement, that was a very testing time. The third is the difficulty in mobilizing people the way I wanted to mobilize, because I have forsaken the dharna and the and the typical vociferous noise-making protests and rasta rokos. Because I always believed that in a constitutional democracy, the only tools available for people for change are the vote and the freedom exercised responsibly. That's what Doctor said, and that's what we have forgotten, unfortunately. I have never, I can say with complete conviction, never ever deviated from that no matter what provocation or what what temptation. But that means it was very difficult to mobilize people. And remember, we had no technology — yet, you know, the Internet, but just beginning, the emails, nothing more. No social platforms, social media platforms, and a very difficult environment. That's the reason why I had to travel every single day. For about ten, twelve years, I traveled every single day. I must have addressed, at least at the very least, about 10,000 gatherings in about ten, twelve years, ranging from a few dozens to a few, few hundreds, and, literally, a few cases, a few thousands across the length and breadth of Telugu land, but also in Karnataka and and Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. But mostly in the Telugu land and both the states of Andhra Pradesh. And, of course, oftentimes travel to Delhi and other parts of India when there were some national deliberations and and conferences and so on and so forth. Therefore, to mobilize people and public opinion in a responsible way, the way it should be in a constitutional democracy without the power of technology that is now available today. So as I would say, these are the three fundamental challenges: the middle-class apathy, the and rejection of politics; the notion that government is good and private is bad still prevailing in the country; and the inefficient tools in the Indian — prevailing Indian — climate where the normal mobilization is, you know, a lot of noise and and all that, not thoughtful, thoughtful action, not informed collective assertion. --- ## [Interview] The Challenges leading to the Forest Rights Act, 2006 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-challenges-leading-to-the-forest-rights-act-2006/ ### Summary Activists Ambrish Mehta and Trupti Mehta of ARCH-Vahini recount the long struggle that culminated in the Forest Rights Act, 2006. They trace the arc from the 1980s, when activists pressed for recognition of tribal cultivators' land rights under state-level resolutions such as Gujarat's 1972 and 1992 orders, through the 1995 Godavarman PIL in the Supreme Court that expanded judicial oversight of forests nationwide. A November 2001 interlocutory application about encroachments led the Ministry of Environment and Forest to issue a 5 March 2002 circular ordering all states to evict encroachers by 30 September — triggering home demolitions (including with elephants) in Maharashtra, Odisha and Assam. This crisis catalysed the Campaign for Survival and Dignity, an umbrella of grassroots groups and individuals working on tribal rights, which lobbied political parties and met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Singh proposed a statutory solution, with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (not Environment and Forest) as the nodal agency, after the Supreme Court had earlier struck down a Vajpayee-era regularization circular as an election gimmick. Campaign members were included in drafting. The speakers underscore that the resulting Act — passed unanimously in Parliament in 2006 and notified in January 2008 — was unprecedented in centring the Gram Sabha rather than revenue or forest officers in inviting, examining and deciding individual rights claims. ### Body # The Challenges leading to the Forest Rights Act, 2006 Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqCp8knf-_A Duration: 471.1s **Speaker** (00:05): From the nineteen eighties, people like us were struggling, were helping the people to struggle and have their rights recognized. So in many of the states, there were some government resolutions also passed that regularize the land. Say, for example, in Gujarat, there was one 1972 resolution. And then in 1992 resolution, they had stated, they provided that so and so person was cultivating land before 1980, he or she should be, her, their, his or her rights will be recognized. But in Gujarat, we saw that most of the people who were cultivating, they didn't get their, they could get the rights recognized. So there was a big, I mean, big movement. Almost means the people, the tribal people, and the people like us were, of course, had means were struggling to get it. At that time, meanwhile, what happened that in 1995, there was a case in the Supreme Court. One Mr. Godavarman filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court against the illicit cutting that was taking place in the estate that was there, his own forefathers had nurtured. So Supreme Court took up this case. Not only that, the Supreme Court gave many orders regarding this. Supreme Court extended the scope of the of this PIL and extended to all the states of India. So it was known as forest case, and it is, only it is now also, it is very much there in the Supreme Court. So in 2001, in November 2001, Mr. Michael's query, he filed an interlocutory application in this case that there are so many encroachers, and that is very worrisome. So the Supreme Court just wanted to ask, wanted to know how much encroachment exists in five or six states. And the Supreme Court passed an order on that. Interestingly, taking a cue from this, the Ministry of Environment and Forest, what they did, they passed an order. They just, they just wrote out a circular to all the states, not only five to six states, but to all the states, asking the state governments to remove all the encroachments in their respective states within three months. So this order was passed. This circular was brought out in on 05/03/2002. And they gave the timeline of that before September 30, they they have to remove all the encroachments. And it happened also in Maharashtra, in Odisha, in Assam. Many of these forest departments, they started removing these encroachments. They started razing the houses also with the help of elephants also. So at that time, there was very much, you and I. And many many people like us, this ticket means for us, it was enough, for enough was enough. So we worked together, and then this Campaign for Survival and Dignity was born. That is a organization. It is a loose organization. Well, it's it's an umbrella organization in which most of, means, most of the organizations and grassroots activists and individuals who were working on this issue, tribal's rights, they joined this campaign. We were also part of that, and then we lobbied and we campaigned for this. We met the prime minister, at that time was Manmohan Singh, and Manmohan Singh suggested that we should have a statute. I'm not going into the details of the history. Why he suggested this? Because in the time of Vajpayee government, there was the Ministry of Environment. They had brought out one circular to regularize this thing, but the Supreme Court shut, shut it down, that shut it down that because of this, this is a election gimmick. And so it is no longer, it should not be valid. So Manmohan Singh himself suggested that there should be a statute, and the nodal agency should not be the Environment and Forest Ministry, but it should be the Tribal Ministry. And at that time, this, this the seeds were sown in this meeting with the, month with the prime minister. He also suggested that some of the people from campaign also should be a part of this drafting process, and it was, I think, it was very good because it, because this is the first statute. This is the first act which has recognized the role of the Gram Sabha. Otherwise, what has happened? In most, in not most, in all of the acts, it is the, the officers either from the revenue department or from the forest department. It is the officers who would decide who cultivates where and all these things, and they prepare a basic list of the people. Here, the whole situation was changed. It was the Gram Sabha which should initiate the process of inviting the claims. And then it is, it is the Gram Sabha which decides, which examines and decides the claims of the individuals. So in that sense, this act was a very, I think, landmark act, and it was unprecedented. And this was the, I think it was, it was the beginning of the drafting process, and it was the beginning of the act. So after, means we had to lobby with all the political parties and everything. Meantime, it they they were the years of too much lobbying and campaigning and everybody, means all the parties, because this act was passed unanimously in the parliament, and it was passed in 2006. So, so one year was left before the rules were notified and the act came into being, came to be implemented. And in January 2008, the Forest Rights Act was notified, and it's done, the implementation of the act was started. --- ## [Interview] The Early Years, Emergency Era and Tryst with Civil Services URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-early-years-emergency-era-and-tryst-with-civil-services/ ### Summary Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, founder of the Lok Satta Movement, recounts his formative years in a Telugu-medium village school, his Jesuit college education at Loyola, and his medical training — and how a voracious BBC-fed adolescent curiosity made him, by his own reckoning, one of the better-informed young people anywhere by 1973-74. He describes his political awakening through the Nav Nirman agitation in Gujarat, the JP movement in Bihar, and the trauma of the Emergency, contrasting India's democratic regression with the institutional self-correction Watergate produced in the United States. He frames his entry into the civil services as accidental rather than aspirational — opened up only after the Kothari Commission allowed doctors to apply — and insists that the worldview he formed by 1974 (committing him to freedom, opportunity, fairness and dignified living conditions for ordinary Indians) has remained essentially unchanged ever since. ### Body # The Early Years, Emergency Era and Tryst with Civil Services Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN1kPu5pTzk Duration: 481.8s **Jayaprakash Narayan** (00:05): Yes. I grew up in a village in circumstances that are anything but privileged. You know, an ordinary village school, Telugu medium, primary school, the, what we call high school of tenth grade. Then went to plus two to a Jesuit college at Loyola. And then medical school because if you're supposed to be a reasonably bright kid, you know, your family has ambitions for you and you look at medicine and engineering, that's the normal trajectory in India, particularly in those days. I really had no understanding of society or politics beyond what I could read in textbooks or other things. So because I had tremendous curiosity, though the access was limited, and therefore, I would read everything that is printed anywhere that I could access. But slowly, by about nineteen seventy one, seventy two, seventy two, I was 16 years old, I began to seriously explore, understand what's happening in our country and the rest of the world. Probably by about '73-'74, I was one of the best informed persons in the world among young people. I spent about six to eight hours, ten hours a day listening to BBC. Almost anything that happened anywhere in the world at any point of time, was instantly aware and I was discussing, debating, analyzing, thinking, studying, so on and so forth. That's the backdrop. By nineteen seventy two, seventy three, the first flush of enthusiasm about the freedom of India started diminishing because people were recognizing that we were shortchanged. We were not getting what we expected. The opportunity for all people or a decent government or corruption free services, you know, and of course, and poverty, the whole thing. And as a medical student, one advantage that I had related to my compatriots in other branches of learning is now most education in India is isolated. It's very little to do with the society, sadly. But medicine, by the way of training, you have to deal with patients. Even if you don't go to society often, the society comes to you every day. So you understand intuitively and instantly what is happening to their lives, the suffering, the sickness, the links between the living conditions and the sickness, between poverty and the disease, and their own lives, so on and so forth. And then there were two developments, parallel developments. One in India, the movements that arose out of the anger against the misgovernance and failed governance and missed opportunities resulted in Nav Nirman Samiti in Gujarat, then Lok Nayak JP movement, Chhatra Sangharsh Samiti in Bihar, and the emergency that those things led to. Unfortunately, the elites of India, the governance system, instead of creatively engaging with the people and figuring out what are the changes required, has dealt a body blow to democracy and freedom. Remember, 1978 is when China has actually changed course in terms of economic freedom and opportunity and so on and so forth. This was in nineteen seventy four, seventy five. Our elites in a democratic society with far greater exposure to the rest of the world should have seized that opportunity to change course and figure out where we have gone wrong. Instead, they doubled down and imposed emergency, incarcerated a 100,000 people, converted the whole nation into a jail, so to speak, extinguished all liberties. And that was extremely, extremely distressing to many, many of us. Tens of thousands of young people. I was one of those. If Lok Nayak JP or somebody said, you jump off from the 3rd floor hospital of yours, and that'll help the country in some way or the other, I would have gladly jumped off. We were that angry, that emotional, that excited, and that charged and that committed. And on the other hand, around the same time in the United States, Watergate, a mighty president was felled by the institutional strength of American democracy because of relatively minor infractions. You know? When you look back what Nixon had done, they were pretty trivial offenses by contemporary American standards, let alone Indian standards, what Donald Trump is doing today in America, for instance. I mean, there's no comparison at all. And, of course, India was a different world altogether. And yet, the system rejected a powerful president who otherwise served the nation pretty well. The contrast between the two, though, notionally, are democracies, both have written constitutions, both swayed by rule of law and accountability and so on and so forth, that was one of the most powerful impressions on my mind. I remember writing an editorial in the college magazine. I was editor of the English section of the college magazine in those days. And if I look back and read that editorial, if I can find that, I'm pretty certain what I feel and believe today are very much the beliefs and my feelings in 1974. That was August 11. I wrote the edit piece two days after Nixon resigned. And in a broad sense, my worldview has not changed except that I acquired knowledge and understanding after I joined civil services and a depth and experience that certainly enhances your ability to impact. But the broad worldview is fundamentally shaped then. Then the angst, you know, post emergency, they were all rejoicing that Janata Party came to power. We thought there was a Gandhian revolutionary dawn. Those are the times when we still believed that an election actually meant a revolution. Now I know it doesn't really matter. It's just the change of players. It's what they do that matters. But in those days, now I still remember on the 21st of March 1977, literally dancing with joy. I don't know how to dance, but the ecstasy quickly gave way to agony. Well, the freedom was restored. Nothing much has changed. And from that angst came the decision when a friend of mine suggested you're already deeply distressed about the country. Why don't you join the civil services? Around the same time, doctors who were earlier foolishly banned from joining the civil services were allowed. You know, the Kothari Commission they appointed, and they recommended among other things the doctors should be allowed to join civil services. So my journey into civil services was accidental. It was not aspirational in a creative sense. It was not premeditated. It was at the late stage in my internship, house surgeoncy as we call it in India. I finished my medicine and acquired my degree, and the path for most medical doctors from my college in most parts of India those days is pretty well laid out. You do a post graduation, practice medicine in a country which is desperately in need of health care providers. Or as my college contemporaries did, about 80% or so, 50 to 80% moved for the registration in next six months to one year. Opportunities are there all over the world. But I never opted for that. I was clear in my mind that I had to do something in this country. And it should be about democracy, and it should be about the fruits of democracy reaching the people. So for me, it is not merely a notional thing, and it's not merely freedom but without any opportunities. It has to be freedom. It has to be opportunity. It has to be fairness and justice. It has to be harmony in society. It has to be better living conditions for everybody. --- ## [Interview] The Future of Liberalism in a Post-Pandemic World URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-future-of-liberalism-in-a-post-pandemic-world/ ### Summary In this short post-pandemic reflection, Parth J. Shah argues that the COVID-19 era and global populist resurgence have expanded state power to a degree that threatens both personal and economic liberty, creating an opening for thoughtful people across the left-right spectrum to form new alliances. He frames the central political fault line no longer as state-versus-market or state-versus-individual, but as state-versus-everyone-else, and calls on civil society to build common ground while setting aside narrower disagreements about the proper scope of government. Shah's second argument is about temperament: he observes that moral outrage in contemporary social-justice movements, especially in the United States, flows mostly from one side, while liberals — committed to tolerance and accommodation — risk appearing complacent when their own values are trampled. He urges liberals to generate and channel their own moral outrage and to communicate to the wider public why classical-liberal values are worth defending. ### Body # The Future of Liberalism in a Post-Pandemic World Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBQCrw6L6MY Duration: 232.3s **Speaker** (00:05): One thing I do see as a result of the pandemic, not just pandemic, but the populist sort of uprising that you see around the world, right, that the sort of thinking people, that's me sort of, I don't know how to define them, basically, but thinking people from left and from the right, all left, all right, so put it that way, right, are coming together. Both of them realize, right, that what they cherish the most, right, would be personal liberty or economic liberties. Right? Both are under threat and by the current system, like current sort of expanse of state powers. I think I see that that's a potential sort of ground to build off. So common ground that's emerging. I think there's sort of right thinking people that is no longer about, right, state versus market or state versus personal freedom. Right? I mean, state for state as individual. It is going to be about state and everybody else from the other side, and therefore, we all need to come together. Right? Keep some differences aside. Yes. We do have differences in terms of the role of the state and how the party should do and should not do. But I think by any measure, all sides agree that what the state is doing is far, far greater than what it should be doing. Right? And therefore, I think I see that as a potential sort of post-COVID scenario that can emerge with the people on the left and the right finding a common ground on many of the issue. Maybe not on all the issues, but many, many issues, a common ground would exist. Right? And that could be, I think, a a way of dealing with the situation that we are in, is building that common ground. So I see collaboration, building common ground as an important way of rethinking the engagement of civil society with the state, with with the larger social social challenges that we face. And that could be, I think, one way to think about it. I think second is becoming more and more obvious by looking at some of the social justice movements around the world, and particularly in The US, that the moral outrage is only on one side. Nothing the liberals do not show as much moral outrage. I think we, in a sense, seem to be more I mean, it's the word complacent or is it tolerance on what we have? We believe in tolerance. We believe in accommodation, right, of different points of views. But when I think our values are being crushed, right, trampled upon, killed. Right? At that point, I think I feel that we need to show our own moral outrage as much. Right? I think unless we find a way of channeling that outrage, first of course, generating the outrage to begin with. Right? Feeling that outrage in our own hearts and minds, and then channeling that outrage to the larger society. We need a balancing of the outrage in the sense. Outrage is only on one side by and large, and that also is pushing society despite the fact I think most people don't want to go there. Right? It's pushing us in that direction. I think that's important that liberals, the right mind right minded people find a way to show their own outrage, right, and find a way to communicate that with larger public, why some of these values are so critical to our society, to our way of life, and why we need to fight for them and continue to fight for them. --- ## [Interview] The Hayek-Keynes Debate, 1931-1971 | by Sudha R. Shenoy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-hayek-keynes-debate-1931-1971-by-sudha-r-shenoy/ ### Summary Sudha R. Shenoy's article, excerpted from 'A Tiger by the Tail: The Keynesian Legacy of Inflation,' traces the theoretical confrontation between Keynesian macroeconomics and the Austrian framework developed by Friedrich Hayek from the 1930s through the early 1970s. Shenoy argues that while Keynes' General Theory (1936) provided a theoretical foundation for aggregative thinking that became orthodoxy by the 1940s, dissenting voices including Hayek, W. H. Hutt, and later Jacob Viner warned that full-employment commitments would generate chronic wage-price spirals. The central analytical contrast is between Keynes' aggregative concepts (total demand, total investment) and Hayek's focus on the structure of relative prices and production, built on foundations laid by Menger, Wieser, Böhm-Bawerk, and Mises. Hayek criticized Keynes' Treatise on Money for ignoring how monetary expansion distorts the capital structure even when aggregate profits are zero, and questioned the very notion of a 'price level' that obscures micro-level dislocations. Shenoy concludes that incomes policies adopted by the UK and US from the 1950s onward merely freeze a given array of prices and wage rates without addressing the discoordinative potential of non-market institutions like unions. To inflate is to have a tiger by the tail: once output depends on inflation, slowing the pace produces recession, and the alternative — permanent wage and price controls — implies a centrally controlled economy. ### Body # The Hayek-Keynes Debate, 1931-1971 | by Sudha R. Shenoy Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdqP9_U1GjE Duration: 1536.4s **Sudha R. Shenoy** (00:02): The Hayek-Keynes debate, 1931-1971, by Sudha R. Shenoy. This article is excerpted from A Tiger by the Tail, The Keynesian Legacy of Inflation. The roots of current economic ideas and of those guiding wage policy lie in the 1930s in discussion inspired by the publication of The General Theory. Though Keynes' ideas diverged significantly from the theoretical structure of Pigou and Marshall with which he was most familiar, Keynesian ways of thinking had been fairly widespread in Britain and The United States before the general theory appeared in 1936. Keynes provided a theoretical foundation for these new ways of thinking. Since the publication of the general theory, there has been an extensive elaboration of the theoretical system outlined in or generally associated with it together with a further development of an alternative system of concepts called the classical system. This was close to a mirror image of the Keynesian system in the main relationships, for example, between the quantity of money and total expenditure, between interest, saving, and investment, between the wage level and the level of employment, and so on. But whereas the Keynesian system was couched wholly in terms of aggregates, the so called classical system contained what may be termed a price dimension. The changes in the price level associated with changes in the total money stock were held by the classical system to imply equiproportional changes in all prices. And variations in the price level, in turn, were associated with changes in the level of economic activity. In a sense, the Keynesian approach may be regarded as a logical extension and elaboration of this rather crudely aggregative element in the classical system. Challenge to Keynes. The doctrines generally accepted among English economists contemporaneous with Keynes were challenged in fundamental respects by an alternative analysis developed on the continent and propounded in Britain by Professor Hayek. But by the 1940s, the Keynesian approach was almost universally adopted by economists. Initially, many appeared to believe that the macro problems of unemployment and depression were solved and that few other major economic problems would emerge. The only problem remaining, it seemed, was the methods required to ensure full employment. Now that the principle of adequate effective demand is so firmly established, declared Professor Arthur Smithies, economists should devote particular attention to defining the responsibilities of the state. The British white paper on employment policy in 1944 and the full employment commitment in the UN Charter reflected this belief as did the 1946 Employment Act in The United States. A few dissenting voices warned of trouble ahead. Professor Jacob Viner observed of a report to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, National and International Measures for Full Employment, prepared by a group of distinguished economists, J. M. Clark, A. Smithies, N. Kaldor, P. Uri, and E. R. Walker. The $64 question with respect to the relations between unemployment and full employment policy is what to do if a policy to guarantee full employment leads to chronic upward pressure on money wages through the operation of collective bargaining. The authors take a good look at the question and run away. Effective demand to provide employment was the key concept in recommendations that Professor Viner rated as much more Keynesian than was the final Keynes himself. Shortly after the general theory appeared, Professor W. H. Hutt argued that it was a specific for inflation. Even Keynes had doubts a few years after the general theory. In his essay, How to Pay for the War, London Macmillan 1940, he warned the trade unions of the futility of demanding an increase in money rates of wages to compensate for every increase in the cost of living. To prevent inflation, he insisted, some means must be found for withdrawing purchasing power from the market or prices must rise until the available goods are selling at figures which absorb the increased quantity of expenditure. In other words, the method of inflation. And in the discussion of financing war expenditure, a demand on the part of the trade unions for an increase in money rates of wages to compensate for every increase in the cost of living is futile and greatly to the disadvantage of the working class. Like the dog in the fable, they lose the substance in grasping at the shadow. It is true that the better organized might benefit at the expense of other consumers, but except as an effort at group selfishness, as a means of hustling someone else out of the queue, it is a mug's game. The approach to an income policy. Over the following twenty five odd years, the early Keynesian theory was further elaborated and refined and a highly sophisticated series of macroeconomic models developed. The 1950s, more especially, saw the discovery of cost inflation in which a rise in wages pushed up the cost level. As prices were determined by cost and in crucial sectors of the economy were administered on the cost plus markup practice, prices rose to protect profit margins. But since wages were also incomes, the cost and price increases had no deflationary effect as effective demand rose simultaneously. In these circumstances, a contractionary monetary fiscal policy would be deflationary. It would lead to socially intolerable levels of unemployment and excess capacity. An alternative measure, directed specifically at rising cost, would have to be devised. If price stability and full employment could both be achieved by keeping wage increases within the limits set by rises in productivity, this implied an income policy. Further investigation into the implications for the price and wage level of linking sectoral wage increases with productivity strengthened the case for a nationally determined wage policy covering both relative wage rates and the general wage level. If wages rose in the sectors where productivity was rising, the result would be a rise in demand for the outputs of other sectors resulting in a rise in their prices. Economic policy in The United Kingdom and The United States from 1950 on reflected the adoption of these views. There was a gradual shift from exhortations, guidelines, and pay policies to more direct attempts to influence and control wages. That such direct control of wages and prices would be needed to forestall the vicious wage price spiral resulting from full employment had been forecast by Lord Beveridge as early as 1944. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, more economists came to favor an income policy. Some reluctantly, Robbins, Meade, Paish, Brittan, Morgan. Others enthusiastically, Balogh, Streeten, Opie. Lord Robbins' case is particularly interesting. In the early 1950s, he analyzed clearly the inflationary implications of the full employment policy contemplated by Beveridge. It gave union leaders a virtual guarantee that whatever wage rates they succeeded in getting, unemployment would not be permitted to emerge. It would give them a continuous incentive to push wages beyond increases in productivity setting off a vicious spiral of more inflation. This, in turn, might force governments to act directly on wage rates. The present determination of wages by bargain between employer and employed would be suspended. Wage fixing by the state would take its place. He believed, however, that this alternative would be rejected on the ground that in the end, its efficient operation would prove to be incompatible with the continuation of political democracy. Seventeen years later, he argued for an income policy as temporary shock tactics to afford a breathing space in which fundamental monetary fiscal reforms might be advanced and understood. Despairing of the good sense of union leaders, he sought to bring pressure on them indirectly, suggesting that businessmen be restrained from granting inflationary wage increases by restrictions on aggregate demand, even to the point of precipitating bankruptcies, thus preventing the payment of higher wages that would simply be recouped by higher prices. A suggested alternative or parallel measure would be to tax inflationary wage increases granted by firms. He hoped that union leaders' expectations of automatic increases in wages would thereby be frustrated. A similar view is taken by Professors E. Victor Morgan, F. W. Paish, and Sidney Weintraub. An alternative type of income policy was proposed by Mr. Samuel Brittan. The government would control the level to which wage rates would be permitted to rise while allowing employers short of labor to offer higher rates, but without pretending to determine relative wage rates on the basis of social justice. Such a policy, he said, must be treated as a supplement to monetary and fiscal policies that provide sufficient demand to prevent unemployment but prevent the emergence of excess demand. He suggested, as a stop gap, a temporary price and wage freeze until these policies were implemented. Two possible implications of this suggestion may be considered. First, if such a brake on wage increases is to be more than advice, unions must be willing to accept the guidance of the income authority, implying a permanent watchdog role for the authority, or at least an existence parallel to that of the unions as wage fixers. If the unions refuse to cooperate, presumably the authority will have to take over their wage fixing function. Secondly, in common with other recommendations for income policies, this proposal would perpetuate a given structure of relative wage rates since all the rates to which it applied would be allowed to rise only by a given percentage, save in labor scarcity. This relative wage structure today reflects not so much the allocative forces of the market, but the relative power or pushfulness of the different unions. Can we assume that they would be content to retain indefinitely whatever relative positions they had achieved at the moment the income policy came into existence? Micro dimensions acknowledged. The common thread running through these discussions is the alleviation of specific wage rate maladjustments. They have moved some distance from the aggregative analysis. The macro problem of adequate demand management has, it now appears, a micro dimension, that of establishing or obtaining an appropriate scale of prices. In other words, from the viewpoint of practical policy, the macro problem of a persistent upward push or pull on the price level is now seen to have micro roots in the specific pricing methods used by specific groups of workers. Macro measures acting on aggregate expenditure may have allowed us hitherto to ignore this basic micro discoordination, but events have seemingly brought the issue forward unavoidably. Macro measures, it would appear, may offset micro problems, but they are no substitute for appropriate micro solutions. The significance of coordination at the micro level appears here, in the light of a third type of analysis, which Professor Hayek developed on foundations laid by the Austrians Menger, Wieser, and Böhm-Bawerk, culminating in the works of Mises. Hayek concentrated on the analysis of the structure of relative prices and their interrelations. He did not adopt the framework of a general equilibrium system nor treat price changes as elements in a dynamic shift between two general equilibria. He regarded prices, rather, as empirical reflectors of specific circumstances and price changes as an interrelated series of changes in these signals that produced a gradual adaptation in the entire price structure and hence in the outputs of different commodities and services to the constant unpredictable changes in the real world. Pricing, in short, is seen as a continuous information collecting and disseminating process. But it is the institutional framework that determines both the extent to which and the degree of success with which prices are enabled to perform this potential signaling or allocative function. This Austrian analysis constitutes a substantial break with classical economic theory from Adam Smith to J. S. Mill. It differs also both from the doctrines of the English economists after Mill and from the theoretical preoccupations of the Lausanne school with the conditions of general equilibrium. Is there a price level? In his first English work, the four lectures published as Prices and Production, Hayek questioned the concept of price level, that is a relationship between the total money stock and the total volume of production, variations in this level being associated with variations in aggregate output. He argued that such a concept failed to show that there were specific influences of changes in the stream of money expenditure on the structure of relative prices and hence on the structure of production. These price and output changes, he maintained, occurred irrespective of changes in the price level. Hayek's analysis implied that if the price level is held stable by offsetting monetary measures under conditions where the relative price changes would result in a falling price level, the real dislocations would be the same as if prices were made to rise by monetary measures, if otherwise they might have remained stable. In either case, the outcome is a painful correction of the preceding real misdirection, that is, a depression. During the 1920s, the widespread theoretical and policy influence of the stabilizationists meant that considerations of the kind sketched by Professor Hayek were not incorporated into either theoretical or policy analysis. Consequently, the price level stability of the period was read as implying a lack of maladjustment in the underlying price structure. This is an extremely oversimplified summary of a complex historical situation, the specific conditions of which were not uniform in all countries. Theoretically and practically, it may be argued that in conditions of depression, there is little choice save to augment the level of monetary expenditure to the highest possible degree. Hayekian analysis, while readily conceding that depressionary symptoms may thus be overlaid, would argue that the problems are then transformed into those arising out of a situation where every reappearance of recessionary symptoms has to be met by ever larger increases of monetary expenditure, eventually issuing in the stagflationist dilemma. This is not necessarily to say that the specific policies pursued in the 1920s and 1930s or the economic and monetary framework of the time represented an approximation to the Hayekian ideal. Hayek has said with regard to the period 1927-1932, up to 1927, I should indeed have expected that because during the preceding boom period prices did not rise but rather tended to fall, the subsequent depression would be very mild. But as is well known, in that year, an entirely unprecedented action was taken by the American monetary authorities, which makes it impossible to compare the effects of the boom on the subsequent depression with any previous experience. The authorities succeeded by means of an easy money policy inaugurated as soon as the symptoms of an impending reaction were noticed in prolonging the boom for two years beyond what would otherwise have been its natural end. And when the crisis finally occurred, for almost two more years, deliberate attempts were made to prevent by all conceivable means the normal process of liquidation. It seems to me that these facts have had a far greater influence on the character of the depression than the developments up to 1927, which from all we know might instead have led to a comparatively mild depression in and after 1927. Shortly after the publication of the first edition of Prices and Production, Professor Hayek published in Economica, the first part of a long substantive review of Keynes' Treatise on Money. This provoked a reply from Keynes followed by rejoinder before the publication of the second part of the review. Hayek criticized Keynes for his neglect of the real structure of production, arguing that Keynes' predilection for concentrating on the immediate and purely monetary phenomena accompanying changes in money expenditure, together with his penchant for aggregative macro concepts, total profits, total investment, had led him into contradictory or untenable conclusions. Keynes apparently held that if there were no entrepreneurial profits or losses in the aggregate, total output would be held constant. Hayek replied that if profits in the lower stages of production, nearer consumption, were exactly counterbalanced by losses in the higher stages, there would be a contraction in the capital structure and a fall in output and employment even though there were no aggregate profits or losses. In his reply, Keynes failed to take up the numerous substantial criticisms made by Hayek. The main point of interest is his explicit statement that in my view, saving and investment can get out of gear, there being no automatic mechanism in the economic system to keep the two rates equal. Hayek's reply to this was based on his analysis of the relative price structure. Mr. Keynes' assertion that there is no automatic mechanism in the economic system to keep the rate of savings and the rate of investing equal might, with equal justification, be extended to the more general contention that there is no automatic mechanism in the economic system to adapt production to any other shift in demand. Further implications of Hayekian analysis. There are further implications of the Hayekian approach. A, if the current level of output and employment is made to depend on inflation, a slowing down in the pace of inflation will produce recessionary symptoms. Moreover, as the economy becomes adjusted to a particular rate of inflation, the rate must itself be continuously increased if symptoms of a depression are to be avoided. To inflate is to have a tiger by the tail. B, to limit price or wage rate increases by an income policy is to freeze a particular set of price and wage rate interrelationships while underlying circumstances of supply and demand are continually changing. This is like the stability of a set of defective gauges perpetually pointing to the same set of readings. It reinforces other institutional factors preventing the specific changes in relative prices and wage rates necessary to the maintenance of full employment. Or to put this same point from a different angle, if full employment is to be maintained at union determined wage rates, which are inflexible downwards, all other prices and wage rates must be adjusted to them. Other prices and wage rates must be set at or reach levels consistent with this objective. Even if union determined wage rates were held down to a maximum percentage increase, it still does not follow that the same percentage increase or lesser increase in all other prices and wage rates would suffice to achieve full employment. This is why it may be necessary for incomes to rise faster than output even to secure that increase in output. C, the major objection to an income policy approach is that it merely freezes a given array of prices and wage rates. It does nothing to bring about coordination or to introduce coordinated institutions into the labor sector. So long as the discoordinative potential of such nonmarket institutions as unions is not tackled, the problem will recur again and again. There may be no substitute for a very painful reshaping of institutions or other means of bringing within the ambit of the pricing system wage rates made impervious to market forces. The alternative is a permanent income policy, an all around fixing of wage rates and prices, that is, an effectively centrally controlled economy with all its problems. Although we may, as it were, back into this situation unintentionally, this is to say nothing about whether it is desirable politically. --- ## [Interview] The Hope for a Liberal Political Alternative URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-hope-for-a-liberal-political-alternative/ ### Summary In this monologue, Jayaprakash Narayan, founder of the Lok Satta Movement, reflects on the difficulty of building a liberal political alternative in India and explains why Lok Satta chose to enter formal politics despite his own non-combative temperament. He argues that even without winning seats, a consistent 10% reformist vote share would force the major parties to absorb that agenda, but that this threshold has only been reachable in urban and metropolitan India. Rural India, he says, remains structurally hostile to reformist forces because of money power, freebies, the deliberate fostering of social divisions, and a first-past-the-post system that treats third-party votes as wasted. Narayan points to Delhi as a partial proof of concept: its chief minister is India's most empowered mayor by accident of history, so voters can see a direct link between their ballot and service delivery in education, health care, and anti-corruption work. From this he distills three priorities for liberals serious about political change — democratize the internal life of existing dominant parties (especially candidate and leadership selection), fight for genuine local government empowerment in cities, and reform the electoral system so that doing the right thing is not so punishingly costly. He cautions against the illusion that a new party will sweep to power, urging instead patient, system-level reform. ### Body # The Hope for a Liberal Political Alternative Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fWgfaSvlyM Duration: 558.8s **Jayaprakash Narayan** (00:05): It's a great question, Yazad. I keep getting it every day, and the people who would like to see something like Lok Satta, they sometimes are angry with me out of love and affection, but still angry because they believe that they have taken away the option for them in parts of India where we could make that impact. But while I understand their angst, we must understand the reality. Politics is about people's voice. Vox populi, vox Dei. It's about the people's willingness to vote on the day that matters. It's not what you say in between alone. It's not your pious proclamations. It's about political choices. It's not for any fault of the people of the country, but for a variety of reasons, we created conditions where the people cannot really work in their best interest. When we founded a political party, it was with great reluctance because I'm not a — by now, you would have realized over the past twenty years that I'm not a combative person who tries and fights and isolates and separates people and polarizes them and converts them into war. My temptation, my proclivity, my basic inclination always is to unite people, bring them together, to build harmony, and to see how best we can come together rather than how to exaggerate the differences. Therefore, politics in a normal sense, in a party political sense, partisan sense is not my cup of tea. But after a great deal of internal debate and very public discussion, we have decided to found a political formation because we felt two things. One, that the path for fundamental reform in India is going to be somewhat more difficult without a political formation. While Lok Satta is very lucky, singularly fortunate perhaps in the country and perhaps even in the world in achieving significant outcomes — three constitutional amendments, seven or eight major laws, four or five major policy changes in the country, including some judicial pronouncements and so on and so forth — very few organizations in the world can have that privilege of being able to significantly change at least certain sectors and certain legal frameworks without formal political power. But we could see that there is a limit. The parties in office or out of office, willing to go up to a point but not beyond. The fundamentals of Indian politics and governance, they're less likely to change because there's too much of resistance, too much of status quoism and inertia. So we felt that if the political parties, the major parties, see a significant proportion of vote — let us say about 10% of vote — you may not get the seats, and it's not important. But it could be helpful because we are in the first past the post system. 10% vote will not give you any seats really in most cases, but doesn't matter. But if 10% vote is consistently available, then the parties are smart enough to recognize that they have to embrace that. And when it's also good for the country, there's a perfect synergy. What is good for the country, what's good for you as a political party. So we wanted to demonstrate that. But the second is, we made an assessment that given India's partial liberalization by that time and therefore embracing the market principle and the urban middle classes, rising income, some optimism in the country, perhaps 10% vote is there in the country. But our experience taught us that politics at the grassroots level in most parts of India, particularly rural India, is extremely harsh. We all know the problems of money power, freebies, fostering divisions in society for political gain. The three things which are an enigma for any civilized person, an enigma for Lok Satta. I have never ever, even in a most indirect manner, supported these three. I consistently and vociferously opposed and resisted these. And we took a stand that we will never compromise on these for the sake of short term political gain because it'll then become part of the problem. Some people criticize me for being too rigid and principled. I plead guilty. Future will decide whether my approach is right or wrong. It is too short of duration to be able to say that. What is right? What is wrong? But what we found is that urban India, we are getting 10% vote, metropolitan India in particular. Rural India, we were getting 2% vote, not because people did not know. If you ask about the trust and credibility in the two states of Telugu speaking region — Andhra Pradesh and Telangana — even today, I probably stand tall. Even today, my word is respected as more or less the last word on any issue, on any fundamental issue beyond party politics. The moment there is a crisis and people want to know what is right, what is wrong, when I open my mouth, in general, that is more or less the last word. So it's not about the credibility or trust. It's about the political process. The first past the post system, where unless you are seen to be a potential winner, a vote for you is seen as wasted. And second, the immense money power. People take money from both the parties and vote for whomever they like, but without money being transferred to them, the party is not in contention in most cases. Once in a while, an occasional candidate may get a chance. Unless by a miracle you become a second party. A third party disappears for whatever reason. And, of course, the dependence on the political parties and the political machine for the delivery of even the simplest services in rural India in particular. So we realized that we don't have conditions for reformist forces to become politically powerful. But it happens in urban India where — Delhi, for instance. The reason why Delhi, there could be some beginning of change, whether you like the change fully or not, liberal — illiberal — but it's definitely an attempt to try and transform politics, an attempt in the right direction, an attempt to gather votes without money power, and focusing on education, health care, and service delivery free from corruption. I think we should welcome that. And it could happen because there is a powerful local government by Indian standards there because of historical accident. Delhi's chief minister is India's most empowered mayor, less empowered than mayors of any other city in all the civilized countries in the world, but more empowered than any mayor of India. Though the power is limited, it is definite. It's real. People could see that there is a link between the vote they give and the consequences to their lives, not some Bharat Mata. And therefore, the impulse for change could be translated into vote. And any liberal who wants change through political vote must recognize that. To me, there are three things we should focus on if you're serious about this pursuit. One, how to completely democratize the political parties? Because you can't always form a new political party and make it viable. Believe me, it's an incredibly hard thing, and it's very unlikely to work in most parts of the world most of the time. Very occasionally, because of unique set of circumstances, it may work. But in general, it is not possible to found a political party and make it work anywhere in the world. Therefore, changing the existing dominant political parties is the key. Internal democracy in the parties, in the choice of candidates and the choice of leadership, in particular, these two things. That's critical — fight for that. Then all the party workers, they're a vast majority. They're the palanquin bearers. They are the people who have the flag. They are the workers of the party. Without them, there's no party. They all become your allies. They're not your enemies. So fight for them. It may take some time. The second is fight for local government. At least some degree of empowerment like in Delhi, at least in urban India, at least in cities, if not elsewhere. Because rural India, even if you have local empowerment, the scale and the flight of talent and the lack of resources and the complete dependence and poverty — in all those conditions, to make democracy much more mature overnight is harder. But urban India must lead the way. And the third is fight for the electoral system which will make it easier. It should not be so hard and so painstaking to fight for the right things for the constitutional values and the same electoral system. And once you fight for these things and fight on specific issues, there'll be opportunities opening up in cities, in some of the important cities, and seize them. Let's see how it goes. But don't have illusions that there's going to be a dramatic political change in a sense of the party coming to power overnight in many parts of the country given the existing systemic rigidities. --- ## [Interview] The Life and Times of Sharad Joshi URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-life-and-times-of-sharad-joshi/ ### Body # The Life and Times of Sharad Joshi Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a72QmbIbDe4 Duration: 460.2s Speaker 0 (00:05): Is a great man. He was one of the best English speakers in India. _Cleaned: skipped (transcript empty or too short for speaker identification)._ --- ## [Interview] The Life & Legacy of Lady Abala Bose URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-life-legacy-of-lady-abala-bose/ ### Summary This narrated video biography traces the life of Lady Abala Bose (1865-1951), a suffragist, educationist, and social reformer born in Barisal to Brahmo reformer Durga Mohan Das and Brahmamoyee Devi. Ostracized as a child for her family's advocacy of widow remarriage, Abala studied at Bethune School for Girls, became one of the first women at Calcutta University, pursued medicine in Madras, and married the physicist Jagadish Chandra Bose, gaining the title Lady Bose after his 1916 knighthood. Her travels to England, Italy, America, and Japan — recorded in Bengali travelogues like England Bhraman, Italy Bhraman, and Japan Bhraman — shaped her conviction that Indian women deserved liberated, educated lives comparable to what she witnessed abroad, especially in Japan. Inspired by Japanese women's education, she founded the Nari Shiksha Samiti in 1919, pressing for female representation in educational bodies and gender-sensitive curricula. She set up roughly 275 primary schools and 32 adult education centers in undivided Bengal, established the Vidyasagar Bani Bhavan (1925) to train primary teachers and educate widows, the Mahila Shilpa Bhavan (1926) for women's entrepreneurship, and the Women's Industrial Cooperative Home (1935) which later rehabilitated refugees from Bangladesh. As secretary of the Brahmo Balika Shikshalaya she introduced the Montessori method and self-defense into the curriculum. Abala was also a pioneer of the Indian suffragist movement, joining a 1917 delegation — alongside Sarojini Naidu, Margaret Cousins, and Ramabai Ranade — that met Edwin Montagu during the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms negotiations. Her writings argued that women were entitled to education not for marital value but because, like men, they were first of all minds. ### Body # The Life & Legacy of Lady Abala Bose Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5Iak1JY59Y Duration: 437.7s **Narrator** (00:00): A renowned suffragist, social reformer, and an Indian liberal. Born on 08/08/1865 in the river bound district of Barisal in South Central Bangladesh, Abala devoted her entire life to break the oppressive shackles of a society that engulfed the lives of women. Inheriting reformist instinct from her parents, Durga Mohan Das, a renowned Brahmo reformer and one of the founders of Bethune College School for Girls, and Brahmamoyee Devi, who devoted all her short lived life to the betterment of the conditions of the widows. Bose devoted her life advocating for women's rights and education. When Abala Bose was five, her family was ostracized by the community for advocating the remarriage of widows. Abala and her sister, Sarala, received their education from Bethune School for Girls. The sisters went on to become two of the first women to attend Calcutta University, after which Abala pursued medicine in Madras. Post college, Abala married Jagadish Chandra Bose, who went on to be known as the father of radio science. In 1916, he received his knighthood, and Abala subsequently came to be known as Lady Bose. Accompanying her celebrated husband, she was one of the few women in nineteenth century Bengal who traveled abroad. Articulated her travel experiences in the narratives, which trace her personal growth and adventures in foreign lands. Bose recorded her travel experiences in England, Italy, America, and Japan. England Bhraman, traveled to England, written in three parts in 1897 to 1898. Italy Bhraman, traveled to Italy, written in 1901. In 1915, her traveler called Japan Bhraman, traveled to Japan, published in famous Bengali periodical Mukul, she wrote how the birth of a child, irrespective of its gender identity, was an occasion of merriment there. She recollected how women are liberated there without feeling ashamed. They freely roam on the roads. If the maidservant is not available, the housewives take the children out. As the practice of veiling does not exist here, the women here are healthy and strong. Men and women traveling together in rails and trams is a familiar sight there. Japanese women are educated, hardworking, and adept housekeepers. Bose presented herself as an informed discriminatory observer and acute commentator under the pseudonym Srimati Abala Bose. Her insightful female gaze found a similarity between the gender based discrimination in the zenana of Lucknow and the apparently liberated space of the English parliament. Her voyage to Japan played an instrumental role in shaping up her subjectivity and journey towards self fulfillment. In her essay, Nari Shiksha Samiti, women's education committee in Modern Review, she recollected how she was inspired by the Japanese women. On witnessing the development of education in Japan during my visit there in 1914, I became conscious of the deplorable state of education in my country. It triggered me to set up the Nari Shiksha Samiti. In 1919, she established the Nari Shiksha Samiti to promote the spread of education for women and provide financial assistance to widows. The organization worked hard to ensure female representation in educational bodies and pressed for gender sensitive syllabus in schools. Bose's travel writings presented a fine arrangement between the traditional culture and foreign culture, highlighting the inner conflict to fit in with the modern colonial mannerisms while keeping alive one's traditional upbringing. She published her travel writings in Mukul and Prabasi. Abala was appointed as secretary of the Brahmo Balika Shikshalaya in 1910 and became an educational innovator, broadening the curriculum to include self defense and introducing new methods such as the Maria Montessori system. In her lifetime, Abala set up around 275 primary schools and 32 adult education centers in different parts of undivided Bengal. Abala and her husband were close friends with Swami Vivekananda and Sister Nivedita, his disciple. With her help, Abala was able to train teachers at the kindergarten level, and the two revolutionized the educational system. In 1925, Abala established the Vidyasagar Bani Bhavan, the first institution in Bengal that trained primary and preprimary teachers. It provided teachers trainings as well as education to widows. These women would then be employed by schools that came under the jurisdiction of the Nari Shiksha Samiti. Abala's exposure to the contemporary education system in Europe proved to be helpful in setting up the training system. In 1926, Lady Bose set up the Mahila Shilpa Bhavan in Kolkata and Jhargram to encourage distressed women and widows to take up entrepreneurship and ensure financial independence. These women were trained in different arts and crafts, and the institute would then help them set up their own business. In 1935, she opened the Women's Industrial Cooperative Home in Kolkata, which later became a relief and rehabilitation center for women from Bangladesh. Abala Bose did not limit herself to education. She was amongst the earliest trailblazers of the Indian suffragist movement. In 1917, she was part of a delegation that met with Edwin Montagu, the then secretary of state during the negotiations of the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms, which included suffragists such as Sarojini Naidu, Margaret Cousins, and Ramabai Ranade. In a piece, the present state of primary education in Bengal, she wrote for Modern Review in March 1927. Women were entitled to better education not so they can get better matches in terms of marriage and not even so they become more valuable as daughters in law in their new homes, but because a woman like a man is first of all a mind and only in the second place physical and a body. --- ## [Interview] The New Global Marketplace | Sudha Shenoy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-new-global-marketplace-sudha-shenoy/ ### Body # The New Global Marketplace | Sudha Shenoy Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y856OjQDLwg Duration: 1734.2s (empty transcript) _Cleaned: skipped (transcript empty or too short for speaker identification)._ --- ## [Interview] The Relationship Between Citizen and State URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-relationship-between-citizen-and-state/ ### Summary In this short monologue, Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan (founder of the Lok Satta Movement) sets out the larger philosophical framework of liberalism beyond its economic principles: the relationship between citizen and state. He argues that sovereignty rests with free individuals who collectively organize a state to fulfill needs they cannot meet alone, and therefore the state must have a limited but definite role. Power, where it must be exercised collectively, should sit as close to the citizen as possible — the principle of subsidiarity — moving outward only when scale, jurisdictional complexity, or national functions like defense, currency, and grid infrastructure demand it. Narayan attacks the notion of government-as-god and the monarchical, feudal mindset that still pervades Indian governance, including the centralizing language of 'central government.' He defends decentralization on three grounds: it prevents the absolute corruption of absolute power, it permits a thousand local experiments so the cost of mistakes is contained and innovation diffuses, and it makes citizens' voices effective at the level where services actually touch their lives. He illustrates this with the mundane example of a broken elevator in his fifth-floor apartment — the level at which democracy is real — and contrasts India's centralizing instincts with the radical localism of Sweden, Norway, Singapore, the US, Germany, Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. ### Body # The Relationship Between Citizen and State Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzFNdSpu4ZU Duration: 536.8s **Speaker** (00:05): So we are often lost in the economic, principles of, liberalism and market and so on and so forth. But there's a larger philosophy at work. It's about the relationship between the citizen and the state. We are free people. We are born free. We have collectively come together to organize ourselves into a state system, a government, in order to fulfill our collective needs that we as individuals cannot fulfill. Therefore, the sovereignty rests with us. Even today, even in a country like India where people don't understand the role of the state adequately, those in power think that they are the lords and masters of the universe. The reality is that 80 to 90% of the things that matter in our lives are decided by us and our family or individually, good, bad, ugly, and we go on with life. And that's a saving grace. That's the reason why India is surviving despite bad governance and abject poverty and many other maladies. So the state has a limited role, but definite role. And that role cannot not necessarily be in one focus of power in Delhi, in Red Fort or in the the the union secretariat, I I despise the word central or central government or central therefore, you know, I'm pedantic, and I use some of these terms. Forgive me for that. Indulge me. The union government secretariat or Rashtrapati Bhavan. No. The power to the extent that has to be accessed collectively must be as close to the citizen as possible. That is the principle of subsidiarity. If a family cannot take care of the issues, collective work is required, then transfer the power to community or stakeholders. It may be a farmers producers organization. It may be a cooperative. It may be a school board to take care of your school because after all, who are the people who are concerned about the school's functioning? The parents and the kids who go to their school. Others don't really care except in a broad, generic sense that, you India is poorly educated. But otherwise, you don't have personal stakes in that. A community of stakeholders. Define them and empower them as much as you can. Then the local government, because there are some areas where you cannot define a stakeholder. I cannot define precisely who are the people who use the road in front of my house. Anybody can use it. You cannot say only you people use it. If it's a gated community, probably the road inside the gated community is primarily used by the residents of the community. But otherwise, there's there are a lot of things, services and public goods, which are used by people who cannot be defined clearly as stakeholders. There's a larger community as stakeholder. Therefore, territorial government as local as possible. There are some things because of economies of scale or because of jurisdictional overlap or complexity of management, they require organization and management at a larger level. That is where the province, the state comes. The state has province. The state government. There are some things, by the very nature of things, the defense of the realm, the currency management, and some other areas of the national highways framework, larger communication network, or or the transport transportation networks, or electricity grid at the national level, obviously require a broad national framework, then the union government comes. So unless we understand the link between the citizen and the states and the relationship, we always get confused. This notion that government is god, that the head of the government is a monarch. He is thereby a divine dispensation, and that he knows everything, that he encompasses everything, that we are subjects. It is a notion of monarchy. It is a notion of a feudal government. It is completely antiquated. It is completely unreal. It is completely dangerous. Now unless we understand that, it is not giving up the role of the state. You you have seen even in this discussion, I have been repeatedly urging. Do not underestimate the role of the state. State has a critical, though limited role. Whoever dismisses the role of the state is is doing that at his own peril. It is at the cost of society. Only when there is a strong and effective state, efficient state that clearly defined functions discharged well, can there be an efficient and working market. But that state need not be at one place for a number of good reasons. Number one, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Don't give anybody absolute power. Therefore, horizontal decentralization. Number two, if there are multiplicities of of authority, then you can experiment and innovate. Supposing I commit a horrendous mistake, I may be well meaning, but we are all human. Human beings are frail. We are prone to error. Now my misjudgment, my mistakes will not visit upon the whole society. A thousand people will try a thousand experiments. We'll see which works better, and then the society learns from that. The cost of mistakes is low, and the price of innovation is low. The benefits of innovation are high. That's the advantage of decentralization. The third is you and I, as citizens, we have the voice. Now your voice and my voice is much more effective in our own community. I keep telling people about I I right now, I'm speaking to you from the fifth floor apartment, in this residential complex. Suppose the elevator does not function here, I'm going to holler, not because Bharat Mata is in danger or constitution is in jeopardy. Because the elevator doesn't function, I cannot simply climb up every time. I'm now 64 years old. I'm pretty healthy, I believe. But doctors tell me that after a certain age, you walk as long and as fast as you want, but don't climb upstairs and climb down. And therefore, elevator is important. And my aged mother certainly cannot climb upstairs. So I'm not going to keep quiet until the elevator is set right or the water supply to my apartment, or the electricity, the outages within the apartment complex, you know, because there's a fuse box problem or something, or the watch and ward, because these are things that matter to me and my quality of life. I holler. I make it happen. Because there are other mobilizations, the caste, the the region, the religion, or the bigger Bharat Mata or emotional, they don't matter. What matters is what's important for me and my family. And that's what true democracy is. Democracy is not about Bharat Mata. Democracy is not about an emotional sloganeering. It's about the link between the citizen and the services she gets. What happens with the tax money? That link is clear only when the power is as local as possible. It does not require genius. Every successful democracy, without exception, has very effective local governments. You know, a country like Sweden, with just about five, six million population, maybe seven, eight million, you know what they're saying about local governments, Sweden and Norway? My god. We cannot look at school education at a centralized level, a small tiny country which is equal to, say, a large district in India. I held a district charge some thirty three years ago with a population at the time of 5,000,000 people. Now a country of 5,000,000 size, they say, my god, it's too big. We cannot centralize. We have to transfer power to the local communities. I was with many people talk about Singapore. Now I was with Singapore Public Service Commission chairperson, a lady in 2005 or so. She said, look, we do not and we cannot recruit public servants for all of Singapore. My god. It's too centralized. Each department recruits their own. We only make sure that there is a proper mechanism and there's a fairness in recruitment. Whereas in India, we think it's perfect and natural for that one authority at one level to do everything, and that's the right way. It's an absurd way of doing things. You take United States, you take Germany, you take Britain, you take France, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, any country. It's the communities and the local governments, and then the states and the federation, and then the federal government. Federal government may may get a lot of publicity in this age because the media people love the the the capital of the country and politics at a mega scale, but the real things that matter are local. --- ## [Interview] What is the Role of Government in Agriculture? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-role-of-government-in-agriculture/ ### Body # What is the Role of Government in Agriculture? Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azQ-UjT-zHA Duration: 360.1s Speaker 0 (04:04): 40%. _Cleaned: skipped (transcript empty or too short for speaker identification)._ --- ## [Interview] Tribals and Development: Countering the Myths URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/tribals-and-development-countering-the-myths/ ### Summary Ambrish Mehta of ARCH-Vahini argues that the widespread belief that tribals do not want development is a myth. He insists tribals desire better lives, education, health, and housing, but that for sixty years post-independence the Indian state has not offered them development of their own — instead asking them to sacrifice for the development of others through displacement. Mehta contends that secure land rights, particularly through Forest Rights Act (FRA) titles, transform tribal economic behavior: once tribals receive titles, they invest migrant earnings into land levelling, irrigation, farm ponds, and orchards, dramatically improving productivity, raising incomes, and enabling them to fund their children's education. He concludes there is no inherent conflict between development and environment — forests can thrive alongside prospering tribal communities. ### Body # Tribals and Development: Countering the Myths Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4lKI0b-J5k Duration: 277.7s **Ambrish Mehta** (00:05): Most of the tribals, you ask them, this is the myth. The tribals don't want development. This is complete myth. They don't want better life for themselves and their children and their families. First of all, no outsider has any right to say that they must live like this. That is our first thing. At the same time, we would also believe that in the name, no government has the right to displace them in the name of their work. Because then we are not carrying out any developmental activity for them. They're basically making making them sacrifice for the development of others. That is what has happened throughout the last sixty years after independence that we have asked. Right? We have not really given them an alternative of developing themselves. We have given them the alternative of sacrificing for the development of others. That has has happened. And that is the thing which is creating resistance, protest, and all these things are because of that and not because the the tribals don't want development. They want development. They want education. They want good health. They want good houses. Tribal women who said that they're dead. They don't enjoy living in these kachcha huts where they're where they they have to do back-breaking work every year. They want good houses where they don't have to work all the time, and they don't have to spend most of the time maintaining those houses. These types of things are happening. And the main thing which we have found and which we have thing, because what happens that it all depends on how much you do you have the right over the resource or not? As soon as FRA titles, people started receiving FRA titles. First thing they have done in most of the villages, and, you know, I am sure this must be true for all all over the country where the people have issued proper titles. First thing they invest in, to develop the land. They would carry out land levelling activity. They would create irrigation infrastructure. They would create construct farm ponds. They would create even orchards, mango orchards, and all this. So their overall view of that land, initially, they could not do these things because the land did not belong to them. And they would be investing their hard earned money from the labour which they go out to the cities and earn money. Whatever money they earn from their migrant through migration, they are investing in these lands. And the productivity of the land is going up like anything. And this we could see only in very few years, over three years, the whole landscape of the villages have changed. And where you saw initially barren, unirrigated land, you now see cultivated lands with greenery all over the year. And growing forests. Now they have improved productivity, and they are selling their produce. They are growing vegetables. They are growing mangoes for sale in urban area. And they are they they they are demanding irrigation so that the productivity goes even further. All these things are happening. And they are all of them with little bit economic security. Once the economic situation started improving through earnings from the labour and through this improved level of productivity, the first priority is education of the children. They are the children are they are spending a lot of money. Send them children for education outside because locally, there are no good schools. So they will send them outside in residential schools where they have to gain much more money. It's not that they get free education. And even for higher education, technical education, nurse, and all of the things, they are the type of farmers that's spending a lot of money. So these are the these are this is what they want. The most important thing is that you give them the rights, and there is no conflict between development and environment. Forests also can also become healthy, and tribals can also prosper. That is what we we believe in and live in. --- ## [Interview] Union Budget 1992-93 by Nani Palkhivala URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/union-budget-1992-1993-by-nani-palkhivala/ ### Summary This 2023 video commentary unpacks Nani Palkhivala's analysis of the Union Budget 1992-93, the first budget after India's 1991 liberalisation. Palkhivala called it a 'watershed budget' marking a new chapter in India's economic history, anchored on four thrusts: liberalisation, global integration, tax reduction, and a stable balance of payments. He attributed India's post-independence poverty to ideological socialism, contrasting India's stagnant per-capita income with the multi-fold gains of South Korea and Hong Kong over the same period. Palkhivala rebutted critics who claimed the budget was dictated by the World Bank and IMF, asserting the Indian government's capacity to think independently after forty years of mistaken policy. He dismissed fears of multinationals 'swamping' India by noting that the world economy was no longer the era of the East India Company, and framed inflation worries in the context of a global recession. The narrator walks through the macroeconomic logic: the June 1991 balance of payments crisis (driven by NRI deposit withdrawals, the Iraq war oil shock, and weak exports), the move to partial rupee convertibility (illustrated by the Pakistani rupee's appreciation against the Indian rupee after full convertibility), and the reduction of the Statutory Liquidity Ratio from 38.5% to 30% to free up bank credit for businesses. ### Body # Union Budget 1992-93 by Nani Palkhivala Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br2z9rOkPbE Duration: 372.9s **Nani Palkhivala** (00:00): Balance of trade deficit arises from the fact that we import goods worth 33,000 crores as we did in this year, and we export goods worth 28,000 crores. So there is a deficit of 5,000 crores. But it's not the deficit of one year. It has been going on year after year after year. If you ask me, is this country capable of exporting more? I think there is not the slightest doubt that it can, provided we follow the right policies. This country, I'm never tired of saying, is not poor by nature, but it is poor by policy. **Narrator** (00:42): Today, we are going to talk about Nani Palkhivala's take on the Union Budget nineteen ninety two ninety three, which was done as part of India's liberalization reforms. He mentioned that the four main thrusts of this budget were liberalization, integration of India into the global economy, reduction of taxes, and a stable and healthy balance of payment situation. He called this a watershed budget, which indeed it was, and that it marked the beginning of a new chapter in India's economic history. Of course, it did. He believed that India's poverty since independence was a result of our ideological socialism. He made his point by comparing India's economic indicators with other similar countries. Back then, we had 15% of the world's population, but less than 1.5% of the world's income. While South Korea, Hong Kong, and India started at the same level, South Korea's per capita income was 13 times, and Hong Kong's per capita income was 30 times higher than that of India's. India's per capita income did not even double since it became a republic. He also addressed unjustified criticism made about this budget. While some said this budget was dictated by the World Bank and IMF, Nani Palkhivala said that he believed in the potential of this country and that the government was capable of thinking by itself after forty years of mistaken policy. He rebutted the fears of being swamped by the multinationals, saying that the entire world is not East India Company and that the emerging world economy was erasing the national boundaries. While some complained that the budget did not do enough to counter inflation, he said that inflation was a worldwide phenomenon in the context of the then ongoing recession. He explained why this budget made sense through various macroeconomic indicators. First, India was facing a balance of payments crisis before this budget. Let us try to understand this in a simple manner. Balance of payments of a country is an account statement of its transactions with respect to the rest of the world. It comprises of current account and capital account. The current account comprises imports and exports of goods and services, grants, transfer payments, etcetera, while the capital account comprises foreign investments, loans, assets, and so on. The sum of these two should be zero for the balance of payments to be in equilibrium. By June 1991, our imports far exceeded our exports, and our foreign reserves were insufficient to pay for our imports. In addition, India saw withdrawal of non-resident deposits, a rise in oil prices due to the Iraq war, and lackluster exports. This was called the balance of payments crisis. In this article, Nani Palkhivala pointed out that the balance of payments was restored to less than critical level. Second, Nani Palkhivala called the partial convertibility of the rupee a sensible step. Convertibility of a currency means the ease at which the currency can be converted into international currencies at market exchange rates. When we say a particular country's currency is fully convertible, it means that it can be converted into any other country's currency without any regulatory hurdles. When we say a particular currency is partially convertible, it means that the currency can still be converted into other currencies but might need regulatory approvals beyond a certain threshold. Currency convertibility accelerates global trade in that currency because it can be used by anyone across the world. Prior to 1991, any transaction in foreign currency through the Indian rupee had to be approved by the RBI, and this imposed restrictions on the magnitude of exports from India. Nani Palkhivala explained this using the example of Pakistani rupee. At the beginning of 1992, 100 Pakistani rupees equaled 86 Indian rupees. But after Pakistani rupee was made fully convertible, 100 Pakistani rupees equaled 111 by the time of this budget. Nani Palkhivala also appreciated the reduction of statutory liquidity ratio from 38.5% to 30% since it would allow banks to lend more to businesses and reduce the bank interest rate. SLR refers to a minimum reserve that the commercial banks have to maintain with them according to the RBI's monetary policy. The idea behind this policy is to reduce the risks taken by the banks and thereby protect the deposits of the public. However, a high SLR means that the bank has less capital to lend, thus negatively impacting the credit options for the entrepreneurs. Hence, a moderate SLR helps to maintain this balance between reducing the risk rate of the banks and enabling the growth of businesses. Currently, SLR is at a rate of 18%. If you want to know more about Nani Palkhivala's take on the Union Budget nineteen ninety two ninety three, read his entire article on the link provided below. --- ## [Interview] Vision for a Prosperous India - Gurcharan Das URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/vision-for-a-prosperous-india-gurcharan-das/ ### Summary In this short interview, Gurcharan Das lays out his vision for a prosperous India centered on sustained high growth as the precondition for inclusion. He dismisses 'jobless growth' as a misdiagnosis and argues that real equity flows from formal, productive jobs created by a market economy, not from redistribution divorced from growth. The agenda he proposes is concrete: fix the three factors of production — land, labor, and capital — by scrapping India's restrictive labor laws, sorting out land, and reforming capital markets, while continuing to climb the Ease of Doing Business rankings (he cites the jump from 142 to 100 and sets a top-30 aspiration). He calls for dismantling the 'Inspector Raj' by moving citizen-state interactions online, improving contract enforcement, and ending the tax department's adversarial posture toward citizens. On human capital, he insists India must first deliver the basics of a good education — the ability to question a text, write a clear paragraph, and speak clearly in five minutes — framing education as a means of 'making a life,' not merely a living. ### Body # Vision for a Prosperous India - Gurcharan Das Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvLLuK8wYiE Duration: 361.9s **Gurcharan Das** (00:07): It is true that we can't even begin discussing a prosperity for India unless we have growth. So growth skeptics are basically idiots. The reality is, yes, we want that growth to be inclusive. We want to create formal jobs. But unless you have a growth rate between above eight, between 9%, you won't get those things. And so it's very easy to say, oh, but it's jobless growth. Well, that's rubbish. There's no such thing as jobless growth. Jobless growth may be but certainly for a country like India. And even now when people say this is jobless growth, it's it's wrong. I mean, it's not the kind of growth we wanted to bring Ached in. We wanted more jobs which come through exports, etcetera, more productive high productivity jobs. But so, you know, I'm saying these are the issues exactly that to make up your mind whether growth and equity go together or do they go separately. The best thing you can do for entrepreneurship is what you can do for the whole economy. One, you have to get rid of the labor legislation that we have on record. It's the worst in the world. It positively discourages jobs. Secondly, land. So land, labor, and capital, are the three factors of production, today we have got them wrong. Those need to be fixed. So as long as you can make India an as a friendly place to do business, meaning keep raising the country's rank, we brought it this government brought it from 142 to a 100. That's a big jump. I think if you can take that up, we should be aspiring to be in the top 30 countries in the world. Now Modi had this target of 50. We'll find out what the 2019 will show. Certainly, yes, I do still believe that India needs to get rid of this Inspector Raj. A lot of it is going away because everything is going online. And so the citizen and the official are not you know, you're removing the official from the citizen interface. We've got to keep doing more of that. We have to keep improving the the enforcement of contracts, which is one of the worst in the world in India. So all these areas will help improve will ease the doing of business in India. That will do plus the labor, land reforms will make India a better place to do business. So if you do that, you automatically help entrepreneurs. That's the mistake because nobody has sold the market in India, and that's why the leaders can make this false trade off between growth and equity. It's a false trade off because real equity real equity comes through jobs. It comes from the market, comes through economic growth. Yes. The economy is going to change. There'll be new kinds of jobs. But I would say that India's priority is still to deliver the basics of a good education. You know, the basics of a good education means to be able to ask questions with confidence, to be able to interrogate a text rather than mug up text, you know, the the the confidence to which comes from writing clearly, writing a paragraph clearly, communicating in five minutes clearly, these are the needs. And all the rest, one will learn through if we can if you can get the basics right and you can have the confidence to write and speak clearly, that's the best thing that education can give you. Education is about making a life. It's not only about making a living. And if you can learn to make a life, you have it for the rest of your life. And you have to change the attitude of people like the tax department who treat everybody like a criminal. You know? So I I I would say that just and and the tax department too. They've they've clipped their wings, you know, of the tax department. You can now online put your I mean, I paid my taxes online. I paid the I got the refund online. I never saw a taxman in the last three years. --- ## [Interview] Why is it Difficult to De-regulate Labor in India? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/why-is-it-difficult-to-de-regulate-labor-in-india/ ### Summary An unnamed speaker (likely a policy commentator or economist) argues that while India's labor regulations create perverse incentives — encouraging firms to stay small to access subsidies and evade heavy-handed rules — complete deregulation is politically unsellable in the near term. The reason, the speaker contends, is institutional: India is a 'fairly lawless society' with a sluggish judicial system, so heavy labor regulation has served as a crude substitute for affordable, timely legal recourse for aggrieved workers and consumers. Removing that protective layer before strengthening the courts would leave workers exposed, especially given the conduct of industrialists like Vijay Mallya, who allegedly fled India owing employees thousands of crores. The speaker frames this as a 'chicken and egg' sequencing problem: judicial reform and labor deregulation must move together, but the order matters. While conceding that a 'nanny state' or maibaap relationship between citizen and state is undesirable in principle, the speaker insists that Indian industrialists must first become 'far more socially responsible' before the regulatory scaffolding can be safely dismantled. ### Body # Why is it Difficult to De-regulate Labor in India? Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO8hP9ZwUhc Duration: 275.2s **Speaker** (00:26): On labor relations, the problem is a little larger. That it is undisputed that as soon as you provide an incentive for industry to remain small or for industry not to grow, it will do so. Because it is profitable for them to use the incentives, the subsidies that are provided for the small and medium sector. It is also useful for them to evade the heavy handed regulation that we do of the labor sector. But I think that it would be in the Indian context is it would be politically unsellable to completely deregulate on the labor regulation aspect for the simple reason that we are a fairly lawless society in that sense. Our judicial system is not as active as it should be. So a person who is aggrieved by let us say his employer or a person who is a consumer who is aggrieved by a supplier, they have no recourse really in the near term and at an economical level of cost to the judicial system. As a result of that, heavier regulation, right, was one way of ensuring a low level of security from risk. That's a short term solution we need to— Yeah. The forming the issue is strengthening. Absolutely, yeah. But the chicken and the egg situation also have to be thought of. You know, which do you do first? Do both do both together? Or should there be a sequencing? I mean, in a very practical sense, imagine if you were a minister tomorrow, and you stood up in parliament and you said that I am deregulating labour completely. Right? Knowing full well that no other legal recourse then, real legal recourse would be left to those people amongst the labor force who may have genuine grievances. I mean, consider the case of Vijay Mallya for instance. This is a guy who is living in luxury even in London today. But he left the country without paying his employees a few thousand crores, which is probably the cost of his buttons or, you know, maybe the cost of one month's culture. But he didn't pay these guys, and he left. And he's not a small time entrepreneur. He's been a member of parliament. He was one of the biggest, you know, formal sector industrialists. They have to be they have to become more socially responsible in a far more positive way than they are today. And until that is done, just removing labour regulation is a long call politically. In terms of, you know, if you take a very technocratic approach, certainly, you know, the more you know, a nanny state is no good for anybody. And labor regulations are part of the nanny state where you're considered to be a child all your life and there is a mother which is the state, the maibaap, you know, which is looking after you. Certainly that has to go but I think we need to think a little more about the sequencing. --- ## [Interview] The Life & Legacy of Dr Janaki Ammal URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/women-liberals-dr-janaki/ ### Body Transcript not available. --- # ThePrint mirror > Canonical version on theprint.in. Cite the theprint_url field, not this mirror. ## [ThePrint] Free-enterprise features are reshaping Russia’s socialist institutions: AD Shroff URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/ad-shroff-socialism-free-enterprise-lessons/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/ad-shroff-socialism-free-enterprise-lessons/2794663/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-11-29. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Free-enterprise features are reshaping Russia’s socialist institutions: AD Shroff Democratic socialism has been offered as a solution. A scientific study of democratic socialism is, therefore, necessary. Fortunately for us, the experience of countries which have experimented with it is available. Socialism has no commonly accepted definition. There are so many definitions that C. E. M. Joad observed that socialism was like a hat which had lost its shape because too many people had worn it. But, for a scientific economic analysis, socialism can be divided into two parts: its objective, and methods employed to achieve that objective. The objective: “a society of the free and the equal.” The methodology: *state ownership* of the means of production, distribution and exchange, by nationalisation of existing enterprises, and through the establishment of a Public Sector (or state enterprise); and centralised comprehensive planning of all economic activities under the auspices of the state. Democratic socialism uses this methodology through parliamentary means and relies on evolutionary changes. Communism, also described as “scientific socialism,” relies on the dictatorship of one party and revolutionary changes. Several European countries like Great Britain and Sweden have experimented with democratic socialism, while Soviet Russia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Communist China, etc. have experimented with Communism or “scientific socialism.” Their experience is worth close study because the universally acceptable objective of human welfare itself is considerably affected by the socialist methodology. The swing today is away from both state ownership and centralised comprehensive planning in socialist and Communist countries. A well-known British economist, Graham Hutton, has commented: “Private property, private enterprise and private enterprisers provide a democracy’s dynamic. Take these away and you take away both democracy and its dynamic, as we have long seen in communist countries. This is a dilemma in which Europe’s Social-Democrats called by Communists ‘reformist socialists’ today, but formerly termed ‘capitalist lackeys’ have been landed with what used to be called “socialism.” The changing ideas of European socialists are expressed in a remarkable book entitled : “Socialism in the New Society”. The author is Mr. Douglas Jay, a leading member of the British Labour Party and a close associate of the former party leader, the late Mr. Hugh Gaitskell. Having observed the effects of socialist methods, Mr. Jay concludes that “absence of private property is also a denial of freedom.” Dismissing the socialist concept of “perfect equality” as impractical, he pleads for “not equal shares, but fair shares; not equality, but social justice”. While on the one hand state ownership and nationalisation thus stand discredited among socialists, on the other, communist countries, notably Soviet Russia, are progressively finding that the socialist method of centralised, comprehensive planning does not lead to rapid economic growth. To appreciate this changed thinking, one must understand what is meant by centralised comprehensive planning. Essentially it means (a) mobilisation of all resources by the state and their use on the basis of a comprehensive plan drawn up by a planning board or commission according to its ideas of priority; (b) the strategy of concentrating on heavy industries at the cost of agriculture and consumer goods industries; (c) management of industries through state enterprises and of farming through state farms or collectives also known as joint co-operative farms;(d) and, finally, administration of all economic activities by the Government through a framework of extensive and intricate controls at every stage of production, distribution and exchange. This form of economic activity ignores some basic laws of economics such as incentives as a means of greater production, consumer preference as a source of investment decision and rational allocation of resources in the economy, and the cost factor in production. But these factors are slowly finding their entry into the Soviet economic system. Just as the economic waste of centralised planning and the price of ignoring incentives are being realised, the failure on the agricultural front and in the production of consumer goods is also making a dent on doctrinaire thinking in the Soviet Union. The emphasis has shifted from heavy industries to agriculture. Having been put to the necessity of importing food grains from free enterprise countries like Canada, “the Central Committee of the Party is presently planning to carry out such measures which will make it possible to lay a stable foundation for our country to obtain big guaranteed harvests, especially of grain.” Years of experimentation with joint co-operative or collective farming have had disastrous results on production of food grains. Once again, principles of free enterprise have been vindicated even in this sphere. A survey by the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organisation, in October 1962, revealed that private small holdings accounted for about a third of Soviet agricultural output. It said that the family plot of farmers of every collective or state farm represented not only a “compromise between the persistent individualism of the peasant and the communist doctrine” but also met current Soviet economic needs. With growing realisation of such inadequacies under centralised planning, Russians are introducing free enterprise features in their economy. For instance, trade marks and advertising have been introduced. One Soviet economist says: “The trademark makes it possible for the consumer to select the goods which he likes. This forces other firms to improve the quality of their own product in harmony with the demands of the consumer. Thus the trademark promotes the drive for raising the quality of production.” Dr. Marshall Goldman, of Harvard’s Russian Centre, has disclosed that in 1963 Soviet enterprises would spend about 40 million dollars (about Rs. 20 crores) on advertising. There were already over 30 advertising agencies as a link between the producer and the consumer. Thus free enterprise features are not only changing socialist economic institutions in Russia, but also finding vigorous proponents there. It is amusing to read the advice offered by Soviet economists to Communist China. Recent Soviet press articles have chided Chinese leaders for ignoring “objective economic laws.” A Soviet economist is quoted as saying that Chinese leaders had ignored “all laws of economic development” and had sought to replace “planning and cost accounting” by “volitional decisions.” These policies and the setting up of communes, he declared, had led to an “abrupt drop in the living standard” of the Chinese people. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals](https://indianliberals.in) archive, a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in). The following is an excerpt from the Indian Libertarian Journal, titled: “Make English The Lingua Franca of India,” published on 15 January 1964. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-jan15-1964.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] Bank nationalisation will be a blow to India’s mixed economy, lead to totalitarianism: Phiroze Shroff URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/bank-nationalisation-indias-mixed-economy-totalitarianism-phiroze-shroff/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/bank-nationalisation-indias-mixed-economy-totalitarianism-phiroze-shroff/2717568/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-08-09. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Bank nationalisation will be a blow to India’s mixed economy, lead to totalitarianism: Phiroze Shroff Every now and then we hear the cry that banks should be nationalised. The taking over of banks by the State is urged on various grounds, namely, that it is necessary in order “to mobilise resources” for the economic development of the country, “to prevent the concentration of economic power”, “to check malpractices in the working of banks” and to put a stop to profiteering” by banks. All these arguments will be found to be untenable on a dispassionate scrutiny of the issues involved. The primary function of banks is to mobilise resources for economic development and that is exactly what the banks in our country have been doing. They have been working to attract deposits from those who have funds to spare on [a] long or short term basis. They have been making loans for industrial as well as agricultural expansion in accordance with numerous legislative requirements. During recent years, they have opened numerous branches in order to extend credit facilities to people even in remote areas, even though the banking business in several branches has proved unremunerative. They have invested more than Rs 600 crore in Government securities. They have been broadening their capital base and increasing their reserves in accordance with statutory requirements. The enormous increase in their deposits during recent years bears testimony to the confidence which the public have in their working. By undertaking the foreign exchange business, our banks render considerable help in promoting exports. An occasional appearance of a black sheep in the sphere of banking, as in any other sphere, does not detract from the value of the service which the banks as a whole are rendering to the country. What is regrettable is that though the Reserve Bank is invested with extensive powers to prevent malpractices, in one or two cases it failed to exercise them to protect the interests of the depositors as well as shareholders. Ninety-five per cent of bank advances in India are secured loans. The corresponding figures for the USA, is only thirty per cent. This amply bears out the fact that our banks pursue a very conservative and safe policy while using the depositors’ money for making loans. Various legislative measures have been taken to prevent possible malpractices by banks. The Deposit Insurance Scheme ensures security to depositors. Under the Scheme, the premium payable is 1/20 of 1 per cent. At present, the annual premium on the total deposits with the banks amounts to a little over one crore of rupees. If the Government desires to increase banking facilities, nothing prevents it from expanding the number and activities of its own banking and credit institutions and competing with banks in the private sector in terms of equality and fair play. There is no force in the argument that the banks are making huge profits. The dividends which the shareholders receive on their investments work out to about six to eight per cent taxable, on the basis of ruling quotations. In most cases, dividends are considerably less on the basis of actual investment by the shareholders. Assuming some banks have made somewhat higher profits during recent years, it is the Government which has been the greatest beneficiary. Not only does it take 50 per cent of the profits by way of the corporation tax, but it takes a considerable slice as income-tax on dividends in the hands of the shareholders. Indeed, the Government itself makes much higher profits in a few of the Public Sector concerns where it enjoys a virtual monopoly, though its over-all performance in the working of the numerous public sector concerns is highly disappointing. The banking industry in our country is subject to numerous controls, some of which are not only irksome but are uncalled for in the interest of the development of banking along right lines. However, the sphere in which banks can work on their own initiative is very valuable from the point of view of the society. The relationship between a bank and its client is one of great mutual confidence. It should be as intimate as between a physician and his patients. If the banks were to be nationalised this relationship would become truncated if not totally destroyed. A banker is required to make quick decisions after bearing in mind various factors in his relationship with his client. He has to assume a reasonable degree of responsibility in making the decisions. The employee of a state-managed bank is naturally reluctant to shoulder this responsibility. He is anxious to fortify himself with authority and approval from his superiors. The process of obtaining such approval is time-consuming and defeats the purpose for which the institution of banking exists. It would be pertinent to quote in this context Mr C Subramaniam, Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries. Mr Subramaniam recently said that the Government had thought that members of the I.C.S., who had been excellent public administrators, would manage public corporations too, but very few of them had proved successful. The Minister observed that, “In Government departments decisions are taken on the basis of precedents, no matter how long it takes to find out the precedent. In industry and business, it is absolutely necessary to take quick decisions. Hesitancy and delay in taking decisions is the greatest harm to industry and business.” An unimaginative compliance with regulations for extending credit is not the best way of transacting banking business. Government servants in the role of bankers would import red-tapism into banking. Needless to say these inseparable adjuncts of civil service are fatal to sound banking practices. Further, it has to be noted that civil servants have not made themselves conspicuous for courtesy or consideration to the members of the public. To give one instance, whereas some banks have made arrangements for the cashing of the current account cheques within five minutes of their presentation, we need not be surprised that because of red-tape procedures under bank nationalisation a holder of a cheque may have to wait for fifty minutes or more before his cheque is cashed. If banks were to be nationalised, politicians would start interfering with bank officials and put on them undue pressure. The Government would get huge patronage in respect of making appointments on the staff as also extending credit to various interests. An element of nepotism and favouritism may be introduced in the sphere of banking which should be free from these vices. Unscrupulous elements may use the enormous power of granting or denying credit to stifle political opposition. This might deal one more blow to the working of democracy in our country. Nationalisation of banks would not be to the interest of the bank employees. Against the combined role of the State and the employer, the employees will not be able to get their legitimate dues. Complaints have been made that labour legislation is often ignored in Public Sector concerns, giving rise to much discontent amongst labour. Friction between management and labour is responsible for lowered productivity. A number of Public Sector concerns are notorious for indiscipline of the employees and high degree of absenteeism. The country suffers as a result of all this. Idle capacity in men as well as machines in Public Sector concerns has been criticised by the Estimates Committee of the Lok Sabha. The latest Audit Report (commercial) placed on the table of the Lok Sabha by the Finance Minister has referred on the irregularities in the accounting and auditing systems of Government companies. For instance, Hindustan Shipyard and Indian Rare Earths diverted their audit staff for the preparation of final accounts, thereby, as rightly pointed out by the Audit Report, “defeating the very object of internal audit.” This kind of irregularity in keeping accounts in case of nationalised banks would undermine the credit structure in the country, resulting in the loss of public confidence and consequent economic disruption. Our banks are sometimes blamed for not holding the price line. The banks, their employees and the public generally are themselves victims of governmental measures and policies which push up prices. To hold the banks responsible for the failure to hold the price line is unjustified. Far from nationalising banks, the time has come to institute a thorough probe into the working of the Public Sector concerns and to hand over to private management all State concerns which are working inefficiently. Without a free market economy there will be an end to all fundamental rights. There can be no true democracy without the recognition and enforcement of fundamental rights. Fundamental rights must necessarily include the right of the people to practise any legitimate trade, profession or calling. Accordingly, people should be free to carry on banking subject to reasonable regulation. State monopoly of banking will deal a serious blow to our mixed economy and pave the way for a totalitarian regime. Advocates of totalitarianism are fully conscious of this development, which explains their enthusiasm for bank nationalisation. The people and the Government must, therefore, remain vigilant against the machinations of the enemies of democracy and basic freedoms. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](https://theprint.in/indianliberals.in), a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in/). It is taken from the economic supplement of The Indian Libertarian and titled ‘Bank Nationalisation Will Endanger Our Democracy And Economic Growth’, published on 15 December 1963. The original version can be accessed [here](http://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-dec15-1963.pdf#page=11).* --- ## [ThePrint] Capitalism is the bedrock of all economic progress. Socialism is a parasite: KD Valicha URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/capitalism-is-the-bedrock-of-all-economic-progress-socialism-is-a-parasite-kd-valicha/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/capitalism-is-the-bedrock-of-all-economic-progress-socialism-is-a-parasite-kd-valicha/2784867/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-11-15. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Capitalism is the bedrock of all economic progress. Socialism is a parasite: KD Valicha Many people in India today believe that free enterprise, unchecked and unrestricted by any State control, will lead to anarchy and disorder. This wrong notion arises from a misconception about the term ‘free enterprise.’  Logically, there can be no anarchy; there can only be various orders. The difference between free enterprise and socialism or communism is not that the former is disorderly while the latter are given to order but a difference between patterns of economy. Under free enterprise, there is absence of an authority to establish and regulate the hierarchy of needs and wants and the proportion of each for the individual while under communism all wants of the individual are dictated by a central, supreme authority. Thus those libertarians who defend free enterprise are not in the pay of capitalists but in the pay of their own conscience. The libertarian believes that liberty is the sine qua non to progress, that progress is impossible without freedom. Liberty is defined as the faculty and possibility of making a choice. This implies a double-ness; for, freedom is both social and individual. The faculty to choose is a personal quality and calls for individual development. Whereas the possibility to exercise choice depends upon social conditions and environment. Free enterprise is the only guarantee of the widest possible choice. Free enterprise does not mean a repeal of all laws for all laws are by no means necessarily a narrowing of freedom. Certain laws are necessary for the maintenance of justice and prevention of crime. The method of free enterprise is that of democratic legislation; it seeks to minimise injustice through legislation and not through political intervention. Thus, for example, evils like the various monopolies can only be eradicated by a proper reform of legislation, not by nationalisation. Furthermore, free enterprise is the only system that guarantees a maximum of productivity and hence the greatest good of the greatest number. Capital in a capitalistic society is the tool used for production. Since any socialist State which owns all the tools will have to pay interest on its bonds, it boils down to a question of State capitalism versus Private capitalism. For, the capitalist payment or profit is really payment for the use of tools. Now, so far no State has been devised which will use the tools to a greater productivity. Why then concentrate all the capital into the hands of the politicians and create the greatest and the most tyrannical monopoly that ever existed?  From irrational inclinations comes also the vilification of profits. Profits and morality have nothing to do with each other. Profits are bad only when they are not enough; profits are the wealth of a nation. The more the profits, the more the prosperity. All abuses against profits arise out of a misconception and ignorance of the nature of economic processes. Some profits are no doubt improper; but these are due to monopolies.  Even Government enterprises cannot afford to neglect profits. The test of any enterprise is ultimately profits, except in the case of social and public works. Maurice Zinkin writes in Development for Free Asia: “All Asian planning, therefore, should make profit the centre of its attention. Yet so deep is the aversion to the idea of profit. . .that none of the plans which have been prepared, not even the lengthy and detailed Indian First Five-Year Plan, discusses profit at all. The question the planners ask in Asia is not ‘How can the national income (which, it must be remembered, is purely a measure of satisfaction in terms of money, and takes no account of the relative moral value of those satisfactions) be increased the most at the least cost?’ Instead they begin from a whole series of different premises and build upon them. They argue that wealth comes from industrialisation; so they create uneconomic industries and bolster them with protection. They accept that national safety requires a high degree of autarchy; so they build up defence industries and automobile industries which run expensively because their production is too small.  “They consider that the handicraftsman represents certain social values it is important to preserve; so they keep him in existence by subsidies. They worry about their balance of payments; so they lend money to shipping companies at uneconomically low rates of interest, or talk of synthetic petrol plants. They have the political pressures on their Ministers to consider; so they spread schemes evenly over the country and give equal attention to backward areas. They share the intelligentsia’s suspicion of the businessman and faith in the State; so they crib and cabin the businessman at every turn and extend the State’s sphere constantly, though the State is short of entrepreneurial and managerial talent, and its size gives it a bias towards the long-term low-return scheme rather than the short-term high-return scheme.” Rational economic thinking cannot afford to be dictated by personal whims and ideological quackery. To brush aside capitalism as evil or to decree profits is to neglect one’s own interests. For capitalism is the bed-rock of all economic progress. Socialism is a parasite. British socialism is all the while sustained on American capitalism. Libertarianism which seeks to retain capitalism while curing it of monopoly has always been fighting. In the anti-mercantilist epoch, its champion was Adam Smith. In the anti-conservative epoch, John Stuart Mill stood out as its defender.  Today is the anti-socialist era. Libertarianism is fighting; dedicated with all its power and love of liberty. It does not matter whether it wins in the political sphere. What matters is not political parties but ideas. *This essay is part of a series from the *[*Indian Liberals*](https://indianliberals.in/)* archive, a project of the *[*Centre for Civil Society*](https://ccs.in/)*.** It is excerpted from The Indian Libertarian Journal, with the essay originally titled: “Independence Day-looking before and after,” published on 15 August 1957. The edition was released on the 10th anniversary of the Indian Independence. The original version can be accessed *[*here*](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-aug15-1957.pdf)*.* --- ## [ThePrint] Capitalism isn’t responsible for mass unemployment. Look at Japan, Singapore: BS Iyer URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/capitalism-mass-unemployment-japan-bs-iyer/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/capitalism-mass-unemployment-japan-bs-iyer/2848007/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2026-02-07. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Capitalism isn’t responsible for mass unemployment. Look at Japan, Singapore: BS Iyer It is only in recent times that a good deal of attention has been given to the problem of unemployment. Not very long ago, it was thought that a person was unemployed because of some defect in him. It took very long time to realise that personal characteristics may not have anything to do with unemployment which may arise due to inefficiency of economic system. However, when this was realised, the problem was analysed in detail because the cost of unemployment is heavy. Further unemployment must be eradicated at the earliest because prolonged unemployment works like trap which turns unemployed workers into unemployable workers. By unemployment let us take it to mean involuntary unemployment. Further in the context of Indian conditions it’s necessary for us to add one more branch of unemployment viz., that of disguised unemployment. The problem of unemployment has taken a serious turn in India because of the high rate of growth of population and the consequent growth of potential labour force amounting to 1.5 to 2 million per year. ### **Is socialism the solution to the problem of unemployment?** Apparently there seems to be no relationship between a particular “ism” and the successful solution of the problem of unemployment. No economic system has “unemployment” as one of its implied or expressed feature. The most important factors responsible for unemployment and underemployment in India is the scarcity of capital. The solution, therefore, lies in stepping up the rate of investment. We may have to invest as much as 20% of the national income to have any favourable impact on unemployment situation. There are certain factors which must be taken into consideration. The first is the growth of consumption. If more employment is created, the demand for consumer goods will step up, and unless steps are taken to restrict the growth of consumption inflationary pressures in the economy will increase and either the pace of development will be reduced or the painful process of inflation will bring about a redistribution in consumption. Therefore, it becomes necessary to control prices of essential commodities and to restrain consumption of non-essential commodities by taxing them or stepping their imports or production in the economy. In addition, steps must be taken to increase the supply of consumer goods (mainly wage goods) and to increase productivity of available resources. Such drastic controls cannot function automatically in a free enterprise economy. But, in a socialist economy, there is ample scope for the introduction and success of such step when taken through governmental machinery. There are many lines of production where labour can be utilised in schemes which have a short gestation period. Some labour intensive activities in rural areas are; local capital construction (to increase and regulate water supplies build roads, constructing storage facilities, improving village social services and amenities, more labour intensive methods of cultivation (double or treble cropping, heavy manure, deeper ploughing, closer planting, more wedding) development of rural industries or other productive activities (animal husbandry; afforestration, poultry farming, fruit growing, rural handicrafts, etc.) In urban areas more employment opportunities can be created by fuller utilisation of existing capacity, (multiple shifts) development of handicrafts cottage and small-scale industries, construction works etc. It may, however, be pointed out that the crux of the problem, of successful implementation depends much upon the ability and efficiency of a central organisation. The effective supply of complimentary resources can be increased by raising the productivity of existing resources which does not require much additional investment. These measures will increase production of capital and consumer goods and thus improve the employment potential of the economy. In agriculture output can be increased by introducing simple improvements in farming methods, selection of seeds, rotation of crops, soil protection, use of machines insecticides etc. In handicrafts and small scale industries, productivity can be stepped up by providing adequate and cheap credit facilities improved arrangements for purchasing, a steady flow of cheap and good raw materials, improved marketing arrangements, merger of small uneconomic units, establishment of co-operatives etc. Further, small-scale industries can be establish by maintaining complimentary relationships with modern industries which will increase their productivity and also reduce the problem of displacement of labour. Lastly in modern large scale industries productivity and output can be raised by effective use of existing plant and equipment of the labour force, etc. ***Also read:**** [Welfare state is socially and economically a national disaster: GN Lawande](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/welfare-state-is-socially-and-economically-a-national-disaster-gn-lawande/2841240/)* ### **The role of capitalist enterprises in financing socialism** The fact that there exists in almost every country permanent mass unemployment is confirmed by public opinion as conclusive proof that capitalism is incapable of solving this economic problem and that, therefore, government interference, totalitarian planning and socialism are necessary. Unemployment in capitalist countries is not a proof of the inefficiency of capitalist system, nor is the absence of unemployment in communist, Russia proof of the efficiency of communist system. It is not capitalism which is responsible for the evils of permanent mass unemployment but the policies of the stateman which paralyses its working. What has been done in recent years has been nothing else than a series of attempts to conceal the effects of an economic policy which is rightly blamed for the productivity of labour; which is now needed is a return to a policy which ensures higher productivity of labour. The confidence in capitalistic methods to solve the problem of unemployment will be strengthened if we have a look at the miracle that capitalistic approach has played in countries like Japan, Singapore etc. Should we then, therefore, ask ourselves why and how those and many other developing countries have done so much better than we have in creating mass employment, widely shared prosperity of stability for their people while, after twenty years of planning, draconian controls and Rs. 30,000 crores invested in development, our economy continues to stagnate, unemployment grows and wholesale shortages prevail? All these countries, unlike India, are totally free from economic dogma. All of them, including those with socialist governments, rely mainly on private enterprise for production and distribution and hence for creating employment opportunities. All of them go out of their way to create conditions favourable to private investment, initiative and enterprise. None of them impose on their business and industrial community India’s nightmarish licensing system and paralyzing all pervasive controls. None of them seek to counter the mythical danger of a concentration of economic power in private hands by concentrating it in those of a handful of ministers and bureaucrats. None of them believe, as our government does, that socialism primarily means the nationalisation of trade and industry and a dominant public sector. On the contrary, they consider a dominant private sector entirely compatible with socialism. None of them have adopted the savagely high rate of personal taxation prevailing here which have provided such a powerful deterrent to investment and initiative and hence to the creation of more employment opportunities. Thus we see modern socialist governments going all out to encourage private enterprise to create the wealth from which they can extract the tax resources required to pay for the welfare services of a socialist state. They have understood, what our socialists have failed to do, that capitalist enterprises can play a crucial role in financing socialism, and in making available the fruits of economic development to the people in the very process of development; the cake, so to speak, being distributed while it is being made. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals](https://indianliberals.in/) archive, a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in/). It has been excerpted from the journal ‘The Indian Libertarian’, published in July 1971. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-jan-1971-2.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] Violent class-war doctrines of Marx became the sole saviour of labour: MA Venkata Rao URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/collectivism-liberty-limited-state-ma-venkata-rao/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/collectivism-liberty-limited-state-ma-venkata-rao/2866268/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2026-02-28. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Violent class-war doctrines of Marx became the sole saviour of labour: MA Venkata Rao It has been the misfortune of humanity that it was the violent, class-war doctrines of Karl Marx that got crystallised as the authentic form of socialism and the sole scientific system and saviour of labour throughout the world. The adherence of Lenin and the Russian revolutionaries and that of the German social democrats under Lassalle contributed to enhance Marxist communism in this dominant position. The Russian Revolution of 1917 and its triumphant career to its present position of World Power challenged the whole free world has added hypnotic power to this collectivist, conspiratorial, violent form of communism. Communism has today become the climate of thought in most countries. Even where a small part of the intelligentsia is free from the prevailing views, they are influenced all the same to a more or less extent, so that the cause of freedom is put on its defence. It is not State aggrandisement that has to explain and justify itself but on the other hand the claims of human liberty and individuality! The capitalist Robert Owen fell in with the French socialists and initiated workers’ communes or settlements in England, Scotland and even the United States in the early decades of the last century. An American thinker called Josiah Warren joined Owen’s socialistic settlement and was inspired to start his own village settlements on a more individualist basis. He developed a* time* and* labour* theory of value in his own way. In Karl Marx’s hands, the theory was distorted to become the surplus theory of value in order to support the thesis that all capital is robbery of the value created by labour. In Warren’s hands, it became the foundation of a new equalitarian individualism which asserted the right of each individual to the proceeds of his labour as measured by the time taken in producing the product of industry. Measurement of labour contributions became a subtle and vexatious calculation and source of trouble among members of settlements. His example inspired a line of thinkers to reflect on the social aspects of individual liberty. Stephen Pearl Andrews developed the outlines of a science of society. Others developed the aspects of cooperation and mutual aid in banking and other forms of economic production and exchange. Others specialised in problems of currency and inflation. Others investigated the effects of State interference in banking, currency and economy generally. These thinkers of the libertarian school in America developed reflection both into the role of property, its meaning, function and limitations and into the role of the State in social affairs and individual life. The general line of thought in regard to both aspects was to discover the degree of waste and frustration and complication involved in anti-social uses of property such as are indulged in by monopolies and cartels by the State outrunning its legitimate field of police and justice and by welfare policies of robbing Ram to pay Kishen. These excesses of the individual and the State lead to ever rising costs of production, to excessive pressure of economic groups on the State to get something for nothing, to rising inflation and confusion of values all round and to the collapse of confidence in currency and economic production generally and to the emergence of unnecessary economic crises with over- or under-production and unemployment. The remedy is to return to individualist economy regulated by provisions against monopolies to safeguard the equal liberty of all. This principle of the equal liberty of all for engaging in free enterprise within the law (to exclude fraud and the annexation of unearned profits) is sufficient, say the libertarians, to justify the imposition of checks on those who take undue advantage of the freedom granted. If these principles are intelligently followed, it is urged, the State and society will be freed from this excessive burdens from which they are suffering at present under the influence of collectivist ideas. They will be free from much of the present load of public debt. The State will be compelled by individualist citizens to live within its means and not to create artificial money by issue of loans and not to burden the present generation by ever-rising loads of interest on public debt. Though the principal is supposed to be paid by future generations, as a matter of fact it is the present generation that has to pay heavy interest. These interest payments to one class of citizens namely bond-holders will distort the economy by conferring on them more purchasing power than on the rest of the community. This distorts the economy in favour of unearned incomes annexing too much of the capital resources of the community towards the satisfaction of a few, leaving the demands of the vast majority starved and unfulfilled or under-fulfilled. The central stream of thought in advanced democratic countries like the U.S.A. is that of liberal democracy formulated in the early and middle periods of the nineteenth century. Today technological industry, the growth of population and the advance of communication media-radio, newspapers, wireless, aeroplane for passenger and goods traffic etc. have all conspired to confer more and more powers on the State to regulate the myriads of new inter-relations among citizens. Organisation has tended to become ever more complex and interwoven. Hence the feeling of inevitability in regard to the growing tendency towards collectivism and the expansion of State power. Collectivism has become the* illusion of the epoch *today in which the rights and duties of the individual citizen as a self-determining and self-realising person are lost to view. Individuals and small groups feel lost in the vast agglomerations of large nation-States. Even small States feel a prey to massive influences and pressures impinging into their life from outside. The wheel has come full circle. The individualist philosophy of John Stuart Mill and his followers which guided liberal democracy is today eclipsed by the dominant collectivism of Karl Marx, particularly in respect of economy. Adam Smith and Mill are both put into the shade. They have become “Gods that failed.” But today doubts and misgivings are being felt in many quarters that we have embraced a remedy worse than the disease. After all, the only known reality is human life is the individual centre of experience, of thought, feeling, action and fellowship-individual men and women. Sociologists are formulating theories of the right relationship between primary and secondary groups. The former like the home, neighbourhood and religious or educational fellowship are primary in moulding human life. They deal with individuals as full-rounded persons and not as fragments-hands or members or customers or wage earners or employers or officers or rank and file anonymous common men. Secondary associations like occupations, amusements or casual groups as in hotels and railway carriages are necessary but if they crowd out much of the scene and activity of life, man is atomised and impoverished. Neuroses come to prevail. Suicides, mental aberrations, juvenile delinquents, divorce proceedings, prostitution, gambling, alcoholism, corruption in economic and political life-will all make themselves felt in disturbing degrees. Libertarians call for a greater simplification of institutions, a reform in the use of property and a return to the limited role of the State in social life so that the submerged individual may be released for a new career of purposeful, healthy activity in which science and the other achievements of the modern spirit may be used more wholesomely to help men and women to fulfil themselves in pursuits within their reach and power of assimilation. The libertarians call for a new relationship to land, so that unearned income may not accumulate in hands that do not contribute to production. Since land is limited unlike other forms of industrial or commercial property, it needs to be kept in the hands of people who actually use it for production, eliminating functionless or parasitic holders. The libertarians are also interested in education. They are exploring the avenues whereby the individual may be led through self-directed thought and investigation to discover the right relations between individual and society. The new aim is to strengthen dispositions of cooperation and individual self-reliance *during the process of learning*. It is also necessary to destroy the roots of class antagonism by imparting the joys and skills of using tools so that the ancient class distinction of workers and lords may disappear in the minds of men and women. Work and culture should be integrated. Freedom in economic and political life has to be supported by a new psychology of cooperative and creative living, fostered in creative education inspired by a vision of human unity and human progress in free and joyous fellowship. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals](https://indianliberals.in) archive, a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in). This essay is excerpted from the journal “The Indian Libertarian”, published on 1 October 1958. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-oct1-1958.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] Communism is based on self-deluding assumptions, it can’t be realised in practice: GN Lawande URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/communism-assumptions-gn-lawande/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/communism-assumptions-gn-lawande/2878812/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2026-03-14. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Communism is based on self-deluding assumptions, it can’t be realised in practice: GN Lawande In view of the importance of Communism at the present time, some acquaintance with the principles which lead men become communists is desirable. It must be said at the outset, that communism is a reaction to capitalism; it is believed by communists that capitalism is the cause of all the present ills that the people face and the only remedy lies in the adoption of communism.  But if we examine its philosophy we find that it is based on self deluding assumptions which can never be realised in actual practice. The most important of these assumptions is the public ownership of the means of production. It is said that under capitalism wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few individuals and the large number of people is exploited by these privileged few.  But in any regime providing free opportunity, a small percentage will rise to the top. This fact will cause no injury to anyone if the way is kept open for all persons to strive toward the top, and for each to go as far as he can. It is the law of progress that a few persons must go to the top in order to show the possibilities and opportunities, so that others might emulate and follow them.  If all the people were to try to march at the same time, then who will guide them? There is every possibility that like goats they may fall in ditches and there will be none to lift them up from their positions. “Plant a vine, watch it grow, and you will find how human society is carried upward by the individuals who first go upwards.” ### **Public ownership** It is assumed by the Communists that under Communism alone the proletariat will own the capital and other economic processes of a country; but it appears that communists have either not properly understood the meaning of the term public ownership or they are practising a self-deception or fraud on the minds of the people.  “The ownership of a thing is the right of one or more persons to possess and use it to the exclusion of others”. If this is so, then the terms “public” and “ownership” are contradictory to each other. The Communists have failed to recognise this distinction. If they had realised it, then their argument does not stand; and if it can be shown that the argument is invalid then the whole ideology of communists falls to the ground. ### **No control by the people** In public ownership only a few individuals at any given time have control of public property and the people as a whole cannot have the control and management of any item of property: they cannot have the possession of it as they can have under capitalism. Under capitalism an individual is free to own and dispose of his property as he likes.  Under communism, the capital assets of a nation are in the absolute control of a handful of individuals over whom the people have no control. This same small group controls all activities of the people and their main object is to maintain their own position and their own power at any cost. At this they are cunning, cruel and relentless.  In spite of their power they are always under fear. They too do not enjoy complete freedom. It is said by one writer “there is no freedom on earth or in any star for those who deny freedom to others.” So under communism people have no control of the nation’s property and they lose what they have. They have to accept without any visible complaint what they receive from these tyrant-capitalists. ***Also read: **[Indian welfarists destroyed right to property by guaranteeing rights to life, liberty](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/indian-welfarists-right-property-life-liberty/2872286/)* ### **Utopian dream** It is also assumed that the handful of planners in control of a nation’s economic progress can plan and handle those processes to better advantage for the people than the people can, if free to use their own resources, their own genius and to direct their own energies to the supplying of their own and others needs and wants.  This is nothing but an Utopian dream. Even Nature does not concentrate her resources into the possession of any few entities. “Billions of stars and millions of galaxies are in her heavens; on earth, the variety of her creation, in relation to any person’s knowledge is infinite; among human beings aptitudes and capacities are so widely distributed that no one can foretell where talent, extraordinary ability or genius can crop out. In this fact lies the second most cogent practical justification for freedom (The first lies simply in the spirit of the individual man, which no other person has an authority to dominate in the inelienable rights that derive from that fact).” Men must be free if society is to receive what nature intends that it shall have, and what she is prepared to give. No handful of dictatorial planners can even conceive more than the tiniest fraction of the varied contributions that people if free, could and would make to cultural and economic advancement and to varied utilitarian values in their society. This would be true even if the dictator-planners were persons of extraordinary wisdom, intellectual fertility, character and understanding-Only little men profess to know enough to run everybody’s business. It is that little man at times definitely psychopathic who having acquired in some way (may we say foul?) a ruling authority becomes the arbitrary planner for a nation’s economic activities. It is that little man, sometimes a madman who in his fear, surrounds himself with a labyrinthine army of secret police, closes all the channels of free information, discussion and education and dissipates much of the energies of his subjects to bulwark himself and his co-conspirators with Cyclopean armament not needed for any honest or constructive purpose.  “It is that little man always behind the promulgation of an ideology that makes the individual only a pawn and helot of a mystical god called the “state,” a promise derived from either a profound ignorance or a licentious lust for power.”  In capitalism we know that all these functions are performed by individual persons in the most economical and efficient manner each “a self aware, self disciplined spirit that can best serve society through the guidance of his own inspiration, ideals, intuition, intelligence, self-knowledge, judgment, will and ambition.”  So competitive and open capitalism is keyed to the facts and as Goethe said “there is no trifling with nature-it defies incompetency, but reveals its secret to the competent, truthful and the pure.” ### **Classless society** Communism promises to produce a classless society but this is nothing but a dream. When Nature has made human beings as different as they can be and still have enough in common to be identifiable as members of the same species, it is impossible for the Communists to achieve this false promise in practice.  Even in Russia class distinctions are still existing, in spite of the fact that she had enjoyed the fruits of Communist for the last 40 years. In open and competitive capitalism no class exists except the natural groupings of people and none exists with a closed door as we see in Communists countries. So the idea of classless society is nothing but a fraud of communist propaganda. ***Also read: **[Violent class-war doctrines of Marx became the sole saviour of labour: MA Venkata Rao](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/collectivism-liberty-limited-state-ma-venkata-rao/2866268/)* ### **Dictatorship by proletariat** The other fraud of Communism is the promise to establish a dictatorship of the proletariat. This is a bait for the ignorant people; it is not fulfilled and will never be fulfilled. It allows the tyrant capitalists to gain the control of a nation’s capital assets, to use mob psychology and ignorance and lastly cruelty of the mob.  The term ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ is a self-contradiction. If there are more than one dictator, either the dictators must agree or one of them must disappear. This same phenomenon we find at present in Russia. How can the people become dictators over themselves?  If they were to be the dictators over themselves, how could they learn what dictates they might agree on except by a full, free and secret ballot? And if they disagreed how could they recouncile their disagreement except by the principle of majority rule? In case they would pursue these methods, what they actually would have is democracy and not dictatorship. There is no possibility of adopting these methods by Communists. ### **Low wages in Communism** In communism workers are promised that they would receive full fruits of their labour and that they would not be exploited by the capitalists. In every economic system workers have to be paid wages to live. The wage is much greater in capitalism than in communism.  The proof of this statement can be verified by comparing the living standards and per capita income of the people in Russia and America. If the workers are to receive a share of profits above their wages, then profits must be made at first, but under communist profits are taboo; they are the evils that the communists want to end.  In capitalism profits are earned by the capitalists as a compensation for the use of the funds invested by them and the services rendered by them for the satisfaction of the needs of their own as well as of the others. The purpose and methods of communism are to deprive everyone of profits, and make everyone completely dependent upon the state or rather upon the few who rule and who call themselves the ‘State.’ *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals](https://indianliberals.in/) archive, a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in/). It has been excerpted from the journal “The Indian Libertarian”, published on 1 August 1963. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-aug1-1963.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] Congress was committed to alcohol ban law without being practical: MA Venkata Rao URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/congress-alcohol-ban-ma-venkata-rao/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/congress-alcohol-ban-ma-venkata-rao/2902018/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2026-04-11. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Congress was committed to alcohol ban law without being practical: MA Venkata Rao The law prohibiting the consumption of intoxicating drinks in any form or quantity except for medicinal and research purposes was passed as part of the reformist new Gandhian life of free India after the advent of national independence in August 1947. It was part of the Gandhian ideology like khadi and nonviolence to which the Congress was committed without much thought about the practical aspects of carrying out the spirit of the reform through legislation. Congress leaders had before them the example of the United States of America that had to abolish the Prohibition Law after years of futile attempts to enforce it through special police. It was passed in a moment of exalted idealism during the war of 1914-18 at the instance of temperance propagandists, cleric and lay, and reformers, educational and penal. They had collected impressive statistics of the amount of man-hours wasted by the ill-effects wrought by drink and of the demoralisation it worked in the domestic life of all classes from labour to the intellectual elite. But actual experience of the enforcement of the law showed that the bulk of the people did not agree that the right of the individual citizen to drink in moderation for pleasure and social enjoyment should be abrogated by the compulsive force of the state. It was felt that state action in this sphere of life was an intolerable infringement of personal liberty and should not be allowed in a free country. Since the bulk of citizens did not regard drinking as a crime, they had no respect for the prohibition laws and did not cooperate with the police and vigilance associations to enforce them. There was widespread defiance of the unwanted laws. Illicit manufacture and sale of liquor became widespread and made a mockery of the laws. Law was brought into contempt and legal offences increased. We have been having similar experiences in India since 1947. People are beginning to doubt the wisdom of legislation of this kind to make men moral by law and governmental force. A number of auxiliary repercussions unfavourable to decency in social life and purity in administration have made themselves felt in India as in America before the cancellation of prohibition. There has been much illicit distillation of country liquor throughout the countryside (and even in towns and cities) by classes and groups thrown out of employment by the abolition of legitimate toddy tapping and the manufacture and sale of liquor under licence. It is said that the only cottage industry that is flourishing in the countryside is that of illicit distillation and sale of toddy! The big traders (some of them) have taken to smuggling foreign liquor and secret sale in the black market. It has become a lucrative trade for them. Habitual addicts succeed in obtaining permits on grounds of health for limited quantities but they manage to exceed the limitation by collusion with the licensed traders. Foreigners and army men are permitted to have drinks under permit which is obtainable liberally by them. Before the prohibition laws came into force, the women of the working class were largely free from the drinking habit. They censured their menfolk for indulging in the costly habit which cut into household finance. The higher castes were largely free from the habit on the whole, though It was only the Jains and Brahmans who observed the rule against drink strictly, barring exceptions. The other high castes Indulged in drink in moderation and mostly on festive occasions. This example had a great social effect in keeping the drink evil within limits. Alcoholism in India never rose to the dangerous limits that it did in Europe and America, where it has become a serious economic and social evil. The quantity of wine consumed by the average farmer in France and Italy is enormous and has had deleterious effects on the efficiency of the population. ***Also read: **[Farmers’ agitations started in developed states like Coimbatore & Ludhiana: Sharad Joshi](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/farmers-agitations-coimbatore-ludhiana-sharad-joshi/2890665/)* But the question is whether this social and moral evil, (which drinking becomes when It passes wholesome limits) is a suitable subject for governmental legislation. Government has to act by force and by automatism and uniformity which can only be worked satisfactorily by a paid whole-time staff. The administrative machine is not likely to have any genuine interest in temperance or any of the moral fads that may be taken up by governments at the pressure of propagandists. Pacifists, for example, urge unilateral disarmament. If this is applied to the police and the police force reduced to any extent, it is not hard to anticipate the devastating effects it will have on law and order and security of life and property. Prohibition has been introduced without widespread discussion on the different aspects of the question out of a deference to the opinions or feelings of Mahatma Gandhi. Law has a chance of success only where it can secure the willing consent and support of the bulk of the citizen body. A minority of recalcitrants can then be dealt with by force successfully. The sphere of law is the sphere of force. The sphere of moral action on the other hand is the realm of freedom and self-determination.  Religion and morality derive their quality and essence from a free motivation and response of the inmost self of man to the mysterious element in the universe and to the sense of values operating in motives and Intentions issuing in plans of life and fulfilment. Force will only produce outer conformity, if it is efficiently applied with punishment that cannot be easily escaped. And enforced religion and morality are no religion and morality at all. “Compulsory religion is better than no religion,” said a religious leader. “I fail to see the difference”, answered a lay citizen. The first thing to consider in this controversy is that drinking an intoxicating stuff is not a crime by itself. It is true that drinking to Intoxication leads to loss of self-control temporarily until the effects disappear after sleep and rest in a few hours. But the damage, if any, is confined to the individual, if he does not go in for drunken and disorderly conduct in public, producing disgust in and inconvenience to others. Generally speaking, law should come into operation only where an individual impinges on others disadvantageously through the unwise exercise of his freedom. It is truly said that a man’s freedom to swing his stick or umbrella stops at the tip of the nose of another in his vicinity! In extreme cases, we may admit that an exercise of freedom that damages only the agent is also contrary to civilised law. The well-known instance is suicide. Even in suicide, the agent may try to evade his moral obligations to his family or dependents. It is a question whether the law against suicide should apply in cases where the ill effects concern only the individual. In such cases, it may be that the law against attempted suicide needs reconsideration. From this point of view, euthanasia or the attempt to died by suicide by slow poison without painful effects is defended as permissible by some social thinkers. We know that in India Jain saints are respected for the act of courting death by fasting when undertaken at the end of life to quit life voluntarily instead of being subject to the vicissitudes of the bodily condition. A parallel case where similar problems arise is vice-sexual or other. Rape definately is a crime because it violates the freedom and dignity of the woman. But if the woman consents and she is adult and free from contractual obligations by marriage to a different person, namely her legally wedded husband, the sexual relation between that man and that woman would concern only themselves alone. Law will have no ground to enter and interfere with them. But if a child appears, they will assume legally enforceable obligations to the child in respect of maintenance and upbringing. Thus if an individual drinks in moderation in a manner that does not affect his normal conduct, law should have no ground to interfere. Many people can take a certain amount of drink without any visible effects on their efficiency in work or decency of behaviour in society. Law has no business to punish such persons for the mere act of drinking. This is where the prohibition law errs against freedom and personality. It empowers the police to book any man or woman for merely drinking and containing liquor, if only the smell thereof is detectable! *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](https://indianliberals.in/), a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in/). This essay is excerpted from the journal “The Indian Libertarian”, published on 15 December 1962. The original version can be accessed on this [link](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-dec15-1962.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] Demonetisation is a wild hit at the bull’s eye. It will not hurt the guilty: BP Adarkar URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/demonetisation-black-money-bp-adarkar/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/demonetisation-black-money-bp-adarkar/2813221/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-12-27. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Demonetisation is a wild hit at the bull’s eye. It will not hurt the guilty: BP Adarkar How to deal with black money? In the hot pursuit of black-money holders, some people seem to have lost their sense of direction and have advocated the demonetisation of 100-rupee notes. However, this remedy will be worse than the disease itself. First of all the real culprits have got away; they have converted their 100-rupee notes into notes of smaller denomination, viz., Rs 20, Rs 10, Rs 5. Also, as stated earlier, they have bought land and housing property, gold and jewellery, art treasures etc., and also dispersed their holdings in small bank accounts in the names of members of their families, apart from paying for various goods, services, rents etc., in cash. By all means, track down black money, if you can, to its source, although it does become a wild-goose chase.  But, demonetisation of 100-rupee notes is a wild hit at the bull’s eye: it will not hurt the guilty ones but a lot of innocent people. Not all 100-rupee notes are black money. Many are held in small numbers by middle-class people. In fact, statistically speaking, although the people of these classes have only a few 100-rupee notes each, the number of the people multiplied by the average holding of each will probably add up to a figure far bigger than the holdings of the richer holders, who are comparatively fewer and many of whom have already got rid of them.  Actually, demonetisation is no terror to those politicians, officials and big business men, who have had enough notice to take the necessary precautions. It is the dumb goats which will be caught: the black sheep have jumped the fence long ago! Moreover, the other side of the medal of black money is corruption, which seems to prevail at all levels, from top to bottom. In the event of demonetisation, the Devil will take care of his own, and many may escape the rigours of demonetisation. Administratively, it will involve enormous and fruitless work for the Reserve Bank of India of investigating claims of hundreds of thousands of people all over the country, for which it may have to open thousands of temporary offices in many cities, towns and even villages. Also, inevitably, there can be much corruption in the process. Apart from this, the effects of demonetisation on the economic system as a whole may prove quite disastrous. Black money accumulation is unethical and needs to be strongly condemned. However, currently whether we like it or not, black money is used for financing many (even normal) business transactions partly or wholly. If it is suddenly withdrawn, much of the business**—**even regular business—will come to a grinding halt. Also, demonetisation could shake the public confidence in the nation’s currency, with serious repercussions on its international value as well. This confidence factor becomes particularly important in view of the fact that nearly half of the rupee currency is in terms of 100-rupee notes. Does black money cause inflation? This is a major misconception which seems to have coloured the thinking of those who have been advocating demonetisation. Far from causing inflation, black money is actually an anti-inflationary factor, as its velocity of circulation is much lower than that of white money. Where it is locked up in safes or in safe deposit lockers, its velocity of circulation is actually zero; where it is used for illicit transactions, it can be somewhat higher. In a sense, it has been a blessing. So far as inflation is concerned, a large part of the currency expansion brought about by deficit financing has not circulated freely but gone underground! If all black money became white overnight, prices would indeed rocket sky-high, and indeed that would be some Inflation! ### **The real solution for black money****** The real solution for the evil of black money lies not in lopping off its branches (by demonetisation etc.) but in attacking it at its roots. In other words, we must identify the causes and then try to remove them or at least to mitigate them. First of all, the Government should reduce the level of taxation all round. In spite of the fact that the Wanchoo Committee made this as a major recommendation, the Government has set it aside in the mistaken belief that by reducing the tax rates, less revenue would be collected. This, however, is a fallacy and an optical illusion. The experience of France, which I quoted earlier, gives the lie directly to it. Not only the income tax rates should be reduced, but the lower limit of Rs. 5,000 for exemption should be raised to Rs 7,500 or even Rs 10 000, in view of the fall in the value of the rupee and the fact that at this level the poor taxpayer has less incentive to avoid taxation, As regards the Wealth Tax, it should be abolished altogether, as it involves double taxation and is a potent cause of black money and corruption. The third suggestion I would like to make is that the entire system of licensing and controls, which has resulted in the creation of the “Permit Raj”, should be drastically overhauled and gradually done away with. The more the controls, the greater is the black money and corruption potential. Even the foreign exchange control should be abolished. In the first place, this control was never very essential, as India had been receiving large chunks of foreign exchange under the various Aid programmes and Loans, which were quite adequate for the five-year plans. Secondly, because of the exchange control, large quantities of foreign exchange have been held abroad by Indians in number accounts etc., which would have normally been repatriated to India, if the owners of the funds had a reasonable guarantee that they would get their exchange requirements from the Government whenever necessary. This would have provided for a great relief in our foreign exchange market and could have even strengthened our currency in the international market. Not only this, but the Government would have had at its disposal large amounts of foreign exchange also.  Whether the Rupee should be a free currency and be based upon floating rates is a separate question, which cannot be considered here. It was unfortunate that the Government in its hurry to grab every possible pound and dollar in its anxiety and obsession for Planning did not consider the possible effects of exchange control on the Rupee and indirectly on the functioning of the planned economy itself. Similarly, instead of import and export controls, which were no doubt partially responsible for the exchange control, the Government could have (a) raised the import duties on various items to a sufficiently high level, and (b) in suitable cases, put an embargo on imports of certain types. As it is, the system of controls has encouraged smuggling on a vast scale, and in the process, the Government has lost much of its foreign exchange as well! The fourth measure I would suggest is that the Government should issue a notification asking holders of black money to hand it over and accept 90% of its value in white money from Government, up to a fixed date, say 1st April 1974: after that, any further surrender of black money should be allowed against 75% of its value, up to say, 1st July 1974. And, after that date, the Government should confiscate any undeclared black money, wherever it is found, as also property etc. purchased with black money. Such rigorous measures alone will be necessary to eradicate the evil of black money, but they will be of no use, unless the Government’s administrative machinery is strict and incorruptible, which means a reform of the corrupt, which must start at the top everywhere and end up at lower levels. In this connection. I may refer to the successful measures recently adopted along these lines by President Morcos in the Philippines. The fifth group of measures in this connection will be those relating to the Government’s plan and non-plan expenditures. There is no doubt that a large part of the money spent by the Government both at the Centre and in the States through the Five-Year Plans and through the normal non-plan budgets, has not only inflated the money supply beyond the limits of necessity and thus caused a steep rise in prices, but also enabled unscrupulous politicians, officials and even ministers to feather their own nests in the process. On the whole, the Government should now go slow on the Five-Year Plans. For one thing, the Plans have not been at all successful in achieving their target rates of economic growth. Many developing countries which had no five-year plans of any kind have been able to achieve much higher growth rates than India with her plans. For another thing, the system of planning adopted by the Government has tied up into knots all industrial and commercial activity throughout the country.  Therefore, I am inclined to the view that there will be no great calamity if we now gradually wind up the entire system of Planning and replace it with a system in which the Government concentrates on its main nation-building functions, viz., the provision of an infra-structure for a free national development, consisting of increased transport facilities, technical education, population control, aerial navigation, tele-communications, various public utilities etc. I feel that the country has by now after 20 years of planning somehow reached the “take-off stage” of industrial development, and if private enterprise, as well as the public sector industries, are given complete freedom to grow and function, economic development will not only take care of itself but achieve a rate of growth far better than the Government planners have been able to achieve. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals](https://indianliberals.in) archive, a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in). This essay is excerpted from a journal published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, based on a speech delivered by Prof BP Adarkar in September 1973. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/rising-prices-black-money-and-demonetisation-prof-b-p-adarkar-october-14-1973.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] Nothing suits dictatorship more than a subservient judiciary: Justice HR Khanna URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/dictatorship-subservient-judiciary-justice-hr-khanna/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/dictatorship-subservient-judiciary-justice-hr-khanna/2775553/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-11-02. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Nothing suits dictatorship more than a subservient judiciary: Justice HR Khanna Free enterprise, in the words of A. D. Shroff, “was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives”. It is an offspring of the quest for freedom, a live rendering of the longing in human heart to shape one’s affairs unhindered by official cramps The freedom to disseminate ideas, opinions and concepts, the freedom to treat with complete candour the various aspects of human life and activity, and the freedom to voice one’s aspirations and feelings are vital to progress in a free society. Freedom of enterprise is one step ahead of the freedom to disseminate ideas, still the two have a close nexus and are linked with each other.  Nothing brings law into greater disrepute and breeds [a] stronger feeling of defiance than an attempt on its part to make men see opinions which they hold for true, regarded as crime. Likewise nothing creates greater frustration and dismay than the mandarin obstruction to any venture marked by spirit of initiative and enterprise. Freedom at the same time is not and cannot afford to be allergic to all restraint. It indeed needs some restraint for its own survival. As such there is no conflict between restraint per se and freedom. The real conflict is between the restraint that cramps the personal life and the spiritual order and the restraint that is aimed at securing the external and material conditions of their free and unimpeded development.  The essence of freedom lies in the unhampered development of the personality of each individual so that the efflorescence of his faculties might lead to satisfactory harmonisation of impulses. Restraint degenerates into an attack upon freedom where it stifles such development. Any restraint which frustrates life and spiritual enrichment must be looked upon as an evil. The world has a certain stock of knowledge, which has been garnered through the toil of succeeding generations of men. Each generation as the successor of the earlier generations has a right to put that knowledge to use. It is not wise under the garb or because of any notion of paternal supervision to deny opportunities to individual members of the society from pushing the bounds of that knowledge further and harnessing it to proper use. All that has to be ensured is that in doing so the individual does not impinge upon the rights of others or commit breach of any provision for the benefit of society as a whole. Any talk of freedom inevitably takes our thoughts to the courts and judges, for through the course of years and in the corridor of time they have acquired the image of being sentinels of human freedom and guardians of basic rights. Whenever, therefore, there is a mission of freedom and infringement of rights we turn to the courts and judges to provide redress. Indeed it is the capacity of the judges and the courts to provide redress in such cases, which furnishes the real index of the prevalence of the rule of law as against the rule of men.  But courts and judges have not always satisfied that test. Past history of mankind and contemporary world are not lacking in instances when law has been used as an instrument to abridge or extinguish freedom instead of expanding its frontiers and the machinery of courts has been used to exterminate the political opponents and silence the voice of dissent.  While ideals of justice and the concept of over-riding rule of law have at times helped to limit arbitrary and unjust rule, it is also unfortunately true, as observed by a discerning writer, that great and systematic iniquity has been done by men who claimed to be acting under law and whose actions were facilitated by institutions like legislatures and courts that we would generally characterise as legal. Nothing suits dictatorship more than a subservient judiciary willing to carry out its behest. The totalitarian states indeed are never tired of claiming a legal basis for their action and are too eager to make use of conventional legal institutions to further their ends. Justice then has to bow out because the court in such a situation becomes an instrument of power.  Judges are soldiers putting down rebellion and a so-called trial is nothing more than a punitive expedition or ceremonial execution — its victims being Joan of Arc, a Bruno or a Galileo. It is for this reason that all lovers of freedom have also espoused the cause of a strong and independent judiciary, of having persons on the Judge’s seat who would not falter or swerve from the ideal of administering justice without fear or favour, whatever may be the pressure and however great the temptation. Weak minds and timid characters, they know, ill go together with the office of a judge. The title, “Reform of the Judiciary” should not lead us to suppose that there is something basically wrong with the judiciary and it calls for radical and wholesale reform. By and large the judiciary, especially the judiciary in India, has maintained high standards. Speaking as I am to an audience in the city of Bombay, I have no doubt that most of you would agree having had experience during post independence years on Bombay High Court of a Chief Justice who though now frail in health is strong in will and epitomises within himself the great and noble traditions of judiciary. At the same time it would not be realistic to shut our eyes to some of the infirmities which have crept into the judiciary and made themselves manifest. It is apposite that the question of reform not only of the judicial system but of the judiciary is engaging serious attention. We are today passing through an age of social questioning. There is all round a spirit of iconoclasm. The gods we worshipped till yesterday have been slowly and gradually dethroned from the minds of the people. No institution can take for granted the reverence of the community. The community demands from every institution the justification of its existence, the proof of its utility. There was, at one time, an aura about the judiciary. It created a sense of there being something mystique about it in the minds of the people. Under the cover of that, we could hide some of the short-comings and drawbacks of the institution.  To some extent, we in the world of law have thus thrived on the ignorance of others. Such a time is now past and no more. The legal institutions and the courts have to earn reverence through the test of truth. They cannot brush under the carpet criticism, if true, however unpalatable it may be. It may become essential to do a bit of heart-searching and indulge in a bit of introspection. If, in the process, we discover drawbacks and infirmities, enlightened self-interest demands that we should set the same right.  *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals](https://indianliberals.in) archive, a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in). This essay is excerpted from a lecture delivered by Justice HR Khanna, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, as part of the AD Shroff Memorial Lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise, on 13 October 1980. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/the-reform-of-the-judiciary-justice-h-r-khanna-october-15-1980.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] Don’t trade votes for bread. Democracy and growth should go hand in hand: MR Masani URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/dont-trade-votes-for-bread-democracy-and-growth-should-go-hand-in-hand-mr-masani/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/dont-trade-votes-for-bread-democracy-and-growth-should-go-hand-in-hand-mr-masani/2977593/) on 2026-07-11. Originally published 2026-07-04. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Don’t trade votes for bread. Democracy and growth should go hand in hand: MR Masani In 1977, Constituent Assembly member MR Masani wrote about how only governments vulnerable to being voted out by the electorate will genuinely prioritise civic needs. --- ## [ThePrint] A shame-faced modesty pervades 1991 reforms. This is strange and inappropriate: Ashok Desai URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/economic-controls-in-india-liberalisation-history/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/economic-controls-in-india-liberalisation-history/2804705/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-12-13. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # A shame-faced modesty pervades 1991 reforms. This is strange and inappropriate: Ashok Desai As part of the British empire, India took part in the second World War on the side of the Allies; it thereby also became a part of the economic machine created by the Allies to fight the war. This economic machine embodied stringent controls. For instance, shortage of shipping and the risk of its loss on high seas led to the rationing of shipping space and hence of imports; to allocate the scarce imports, a Chief Controller of Imports and Exports was set up. The high war expenditure generated inflation and shortages; to protect urban population from food shortages, a system of food grain procurement and distribution was set up. Imported and local raw materials had to be rationed out amongst industrial firms; to govern this allocation, productive capacities of firms were monitored and controlled. In this way, a comprehensive framework of economic controls was built up during the war. After the war, inflation and shortages continued, and they justified the continuance of wartime controls. So when India became independent in 1947, it had a very comprehensive system of controls. Independence was followed by a conflict in power sharing between the industrialised provinces on the eastern, western and southern coasts and the northern agricultural hinterlands: in a democratic framework, the under-industrialised north won. Hence, the government retained the controls as a means of keeping industry on a leash and bending it to the will of the north. Socialism was a mere slogan, in India as elsewhere: it was a means of regulating conflicts between regions and between classes. Over the ensuing forty years, the system of controls was used for favouring the development of the north to the retardation of the more advanced regions, and concurrently to favour the growing educated middle class against owners of industry. The major instruments of control employed were: **Industrial licensing: **This was used at various times for favouring state enterprises, small enterprises and co-operatives (which were mostly a form of state enterprises) against large and foreign enterprises. *Control of capital flows*: Through central ownership of the major banks as well as long-term investment Institutions, the government controlled the flow of investible funds to industry. This control further reinforced industrial licensing. *Import controls*: These were primarily used for favouring import substitution. But within import-substituting enterprises, the same priorities were followed as in industrial licensing. In particular, state enterprises were favoured against private enterprises. *Agricultural procurement and distribution*: These controls were initially employed for ensuring secure and cheap supplies of foodgrains for the urban population. But as farmers acquired political power, the aim of agricultural controls also changed to raising farm incomes through high prices. *Discriminatory taxation*: This further reinforced the preferences embodies in the other controls. But as the taxes rose, pressure grew from various lobbies, and exemptions and rebates were introduced which made the tax systems, both at the centre and in the states, very complex. **Liberalisation episodes without liberal philosophy** This comprehensively controlled system was highly inefficient and ran into a crisis every few years. But when this happened, some of the controls were relaxed to introduce competition and to curb inefficiency. As the economy grew, the old-style, labour-intensive controls also became impractical; so they were modified to accommodate the growth in the size and complexity of the system. But as soon as a crisis was over, the system tended to return to its old mode. This was because powerful interests grew up in politics, bureaucracy and industry which benefited from the controls. The bouts of relaxation of controls were termed liberalisation episodes by *Bhagwati and Srinivasan,* and so they were in a sense. In every episode certain controls – mainly industrial licensing and import licensing – were relaxed. But liberalisation had a practical aim, namely to reduce systemic inefficiency to sustainable levels. There was economic liberalisation, but there was no liberal philosophy behind it. **Liberal philosophy** Liberal philosophy has two roots. There is the liberalism of Western Europe – the liberalism of the Whigs and the Liberals in Britain and the Liberal Party in Germany: comparable parties were to be found in most western Europe countries. This liberalism was an outgrowth of monarchic systems and developed in conflict with monarchic autocracy. It opposed absolutism and put forward individual freedom protected by rule of law. As monarchic systems gave way to managed democracies, kings were replaced by conservative parties – parties of property owners which tried to use the state for the preservation of inherited hierarchical systems. This change in the character of the ruling elite led to a change in the orientation of liberals. Besides individual freedom and the rule of law, Liberals also came to espouse a caring state which assumed growing social responsibilities – responsibilities towards the poor but later towards entire populations. These social responsibilities came to be taken even more seriously after the second World War. The draconian systems of taxation that were built up during the war yielded large surpluses once the need for wartime expenditures was over. At the same time, the war left a great deal of devastation in some countries. Hence the surpluses were used in industrial countries to fund social services. In this way, very elaborate systems of social security were built up. In a sense, social liberalism triumphed over personal liberalism in the post-war era. **Social liberalism** India belongs to the post-war era and was more influenced by social liberalism. The highly attractive ideals of social insurance, health insurance, free education etc. were readily received. But the means to finance those laudable social services were very limited. The result was that the services always ran in the midst of unmanageable shortages, their reach remained limited and fitful. The failure of social liberalism in India is a failure to match the means to the ends. **Idea of personal liberty** On the other hand, libertarianism has always been a weakly growth in India. The basis of libertarianism is the idea of human freedom, and the related idea of tolerance for the freedom of others. Indians regard themselves as highly tolerant. But tolerance is relative. Because India is such a large and diverse country, the diversity gives Indians the feeling that they tolerate it. But the same diversity leads them to put curbs on individual freedom designed to keep down social tensions. Thus, there have been occasions when the Indian government has banned publications. Yet, bans are not frequently imposed; and the grounds for the bans are very limited. The most common are religion and history; the object every time is to avoid offending some religious or parochial sentiment. Despite their limited scope, the bans reflect a widespread underlying consensus that personal freedom must be curbed for the sake of social order. Instead of an ideology of personal liberty, there is an underlying sense of personal duty; of restraint on behaviour, enforced if necessary by the state. **Economic reforms: On the defensive** This, in my view, is why the liberal economic reforms since 1991 have always been on the defensive. It is not for lack of success; starting from an abyss of collapsed growth and self-confidence, the economy is growing today at a very creditable rate which may well touch 11 percent this year. The balance of payments, which was impossibly adverse only four years ago, is strong today. Industry is growing at 13 per cent. Apart from these cold statistics, there is for the first time a sense of excitement in the air; people feel that there are undefinable opportunities, unquantifiable hope. This is a revolutionary change in the atmosphere, and it is entirely due to the economic reforms. And yet, no one boasts of the reforms, least of all those who did the reforms. No one celebrates the reforms. A certain shame-faced modesty pervades the reforms. This is strange and inappropriate. This shyness, this awkwardness arises from the fact that liberty is not accepted in India as the ultimate goal of political systems. This is why, for instance, there is so much paranoia about foreign investments. The foreign enterprise is seen as an intruder upon the economic space of the Indian enterprise, just as yesterday, the large enterprise was seen as an intruder on the space of the small enterprise, or the private enterprise as an intruder on the space of the government enterprise. The idea that the consumer is sovereign, that it is in the consumer’s interest that all enterprises, Indian and foreign, small and large, private and public, should compete in a level playing field, is still very foreign to India. The idea that choice is a part of individual freedom, that an individual should be able to choose from where he wants to buy his electricity or telephone services, is still very grudgingly accepted, and even then, many people would make all sorts of unnecessary reservations. The whole point of being the national of such a large and diverse country as India is to be free – free to believe what one likes, free to do what one likes, as long as it does not impinge on others’ freedom. Now that economic liberalism has arrived, almost by stealth, we must cultivate extremism in the service of liberty; only then will we provoke a fertile ground for the growth of economic liberalism. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals](https://indianliberals.in) archive, a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in). It is excerpted from the article titled ‘Liberalisation and Liberalism in India,’ published in Liberal Times Magazine in 1995. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/liberal-times/liberalism-in-south-asia.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] Economist DR Pendse’s 7-point plan to cut expenditure and control budget deficit URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/economist-dr-pendse-cut-expenditure-budget-deficit/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/economist-dr-pendse-cut-expenditure-budget-deficit/2752397/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-09-27. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Economist DR Pendse’s 7-point plan to cut expenditure and control budget deficit The root cause of India’s Budget crisis is in impossibly high deficits. Deficits can be controlled only in two ways: (a) by raising revenue, and/or (b) by cutting expenditure. Harsh budgets come in two flavours: Budgets that would unravel either a savage plan for revenue generation or a savage plan for cutting expenditure, or possibly both. I remain convinced that, for various reasons, revenue generation is not the answer for us; It does not work. In fact, it aggravates the malady. We must concentrate on curbing expenditure, and this is still within our capabilities. Therefore, if the F. M. had produced a budget with a savage revenue generation plan, I would not have liked it at all; but it would have certainly passed the test of being called a harsh budget. If on the other hand, the F. M. had produced in his Budget a plan for savage cuts in expenditure, I would have readily welcomed it. He produced neither. I therefore, will take the liberty to outline my illustrative seven-point plan to control expenditure. It is not only harsh, it is ‘savage’. Not one single element in it will be politically acceptable. However, if we want to avoid yet more ominous implications in future, there is no escape from it. - Total government expenditure should be frozen. If the total expenditure is Rs. 3,03,738 crores in 1999-00, so it shall be Rs. 3,03,738 crores in 2000-01 too. This will apply to every Ministry and Agency. Thus, e.g., if the expenditure of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers is Rs. 9,147 crores in 1999-00, it should be the same in 2000-01 too. Each Minister concerned should be delegated complete freedom to manage his Ministry’s affairs within the overall ceiling. If he chooses to spend more on a particular activity, he will thus be obliged to first effect equivalent savings on some other activities. Some may wish to start more projects that are new and postpone existing ones; others the other way round. Some, to spend more on cars; others, more on travelling. Some, on employing more people; others on less. Some may want more office space, others may sell away some of the existing space. Etc.  - Borrowing and/or lending of resources among the various ministries should be permitted. If Minister A feels that from his allocation he can save say, Rs. 500 crores this year, he is welcome to lend this amount to his colleague Minister B, for say, one or two years, at a mutually agreed rate of interest. Similarly, Ministers can lend and borrow employees, office space and other resources. I visualise that large chunks of funds and employees will be made available under this dispensation.  - At present there is a spending spree among ministries and departments in February and March every year. For, if the actual expenditure is less than budget grant, the grant for the next year is almost certain to be reduced proportionately. If it exceeds the grant, the ministry’s hands are stronger in demanding a higher grant for the following year. Not only a carry-forward should be permitted, it should be well rewarded. If a ministry has a budget grant of say Rs 1,000 crores for 2000-01 but manages within Rs. 900 crores, not only should the saved Rs 100 crores be added to its allocation in the following year, but the ministry should be given an extra 15% of the saved amount as a gesture of appreciation.  - Ministries should be free to ask surplus staff members to sit at home for say two years or so, with their full salary cheques being sent to them every month. There are at least four good reasons to propose this. First, it is well accepted that the total cost of an employee to the employer is much more than the salary paid. Many prosperous organisations work out these estimates to ensure that the extra return to them from every additional employee is well above this total cost. Secondly, as a necessary result of market-oriented structural reforms, several government activities have become largely superfluous. Thirdly, this not only works but also in fact gives striking results. Recently, a multinational company reportedly asked hundreds of workers in its Sewri factory to thus stay at home. It is also well known that when the employees working at some Octrai nakas in Mumbai went on strike, the octrai collections increased more than two-fold at the hands of substitute college students! Finally, there is evidence from other countries too that most of the workers sitting at home, even on full salary cheques, find other and better jobs, and do not report back after the stipulated period.  - When employees retire, the resulting vacancies should not be filled up, particularly when there are several posts of an identical designation. If there is only one single Cabinet Secretary, it is understandable that his post should be filled up when he retires. However, if there are say fifty undersecretaries and five were to retire, the remaining forty-five should have to manage the total workload. Here again the Minister concerned should be given the freedom not to fill up specific posts.  - After all these steps are taken on Day-1, a further exercise of zero-based budgeting should be forthwith initiated and implemented. Persons with a radical mind-set who are not bogged down by conventional wisdom should be requested to advise, with an assurance of implementation. There are dozens of government activities that have lost their relevance in the context of reforms. There is duplication all round. I feel often sad to see so many talented and well-qualified Indians rusting in the bureaucracy. Some friends, with a more radical mindset, have argued with me e.g. that there is a strong case for privatising the Planning Commission and turn it into an independent think-tank; or that if Octrai collection can be privatised with conspicuous success, why not the income tax collection? The possibilities of zero base budgeting are immense. That perhaps explains why everybody talks of zero-based budgeting, but none will actually do anything about it.  - This much about the existing spread of the Government. Government should not take up any, repeat any, new activities of any size without the express approval of the Prime Minister; and unless they are of a strategic or sensitive nature, details about these should be publicised. The latest Economic Survey has underlined the fact, in the context of the success of the IT industry, (Information technology, not income tax please), that things move far better when the Government keeps itself out of them[6] and that many more success stories will be added if only, government would free those areas from its helping (!) hand. Lord Keynes reportedly said, “Man will do the rational thing, but only after trying all the irrational alternatives.” Did he foresee the budgets of the Government of India? Are anymore irrational alternatives left? *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](https://indianliberals.in), a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in). This essay is taken from the budget commentary titled “Budget (200-01) Drifting Towards the Cliff” published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in March 2000. The original version can be accessed on [this link](https://indianliberals.in/liberals/budget-2000-01-&-drifting-towards-the-cliff-march-2000.pdf#page=7).* --- ## [ThePrint] English didn’t enslave India. It was the harbinger of a new creative consciousness: A Ranganathan URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/english-didnt-enslave-india-it-was-the-harbinger-of-a-new-creative-consciousness-a-ranganathan/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/english-didnt-enslave-india-it-was-the-harbinger-of-a-new-creative-consciousness-a-ranganathan/2756857/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-10-04. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # English didn’t enslave India. It was the harbinger of a new creative consciousness: A Ranganathan In order to appreciate the significance of Tagore’s contribution to modern political thought, it is necessary to view the background of the ‘Indian Renaissance’ in its historic setting. And the transition of mediaeval to modern India, which resulted in that great cultural awakening now known as the ‘Indian Renaissance’ was effected by Raja Ram Mohan Roy. Indeed, the day of Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s birth was the birthday of modern India. A new spirit was abroad, a new buoyancy of life symbolizing the streaks of a rosy dawn after the long mediaeval night which had enveloped India for centuries. The various forces which have contributed to the shaping of modern India originated in the mind of Raja Ram Mohan Roy. And Tagore not only constituted a historic link in the long chain of India’s cultural evolution, but was also the prophet of the Indian Renaissance heralded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy. Indian nationalism was an aspect of the ‘Indian Renaissance’ movement. It is well to remember, however, that the nature of Indian nationalism, although influenced by European nationalism, is entirely different from European nationalism. Indian nationalism succeeded in welding the political unity of India, whereas European nationalism split up Europe into several nations based on ethnic considerations. If Swami Vivekananda could be regarded as the prophet of Indian nationalism in his philosophical (Vedantic) context, Dr. Ananda Coomaraswamy, who had spent much of his career at the Boston Museum, can be looked upon as the most articulate exponent of the aesthetic philosophy of Indian nationalism. And Tagore’s approach to Indian nationalism differed from that of his distinguished contemporaries, who had merely Indianised the concept of Mazzinian nationalism. Tagore’s greatness lies in the fact that he had infused the spirit of poetry into the Indian national movement. And in the final analysis, Tagore had universalized the concept of freedom. “Swatantra,” as Tagore interpreted it, was not a mere political secularity. It was a process which extended the frontiers of the mind. He was certainly opposed to the continuance of British rule in India. However, even in the heat of political controversies, he never lost his sense of perspective. In fact, he had relinquished his Knighthood in the wake of the Amritsar tragedy as a protest against the atrocities committed by the British Indian Government. Tagore’s most precious gift to our country. But, Tagore was opposed to any form of ignorant and uninformed cultural chauvinism. Tagore, who had much in common with the artist-philosophers of Renaissance Humanism had warned the nation that “in this morning of the world’s awakening, if in only our own national striving there is no response to its universal aspiration, that will betoken the poverty of our spirit”. Tagore had drawn the vital distinction between the Western Nation and the spirit of the West, in his celebrated lectures on “Nationalism”: “This reign of law in our present government in India (the British Government) has established order in this vast land inhabited by peoples different in their races and customs. It has made it possible for these peoples to come into closer touch with one another and cultivate a common aspiration”. The reference is to Macaulay’s Penal Code which had transformed the basis of Indian society, since it established the legal principle of equality for the first time. Indeed, the movements of liberal thought which developed in England during the course of one or two centuries were compressed into a few decades in an entirely different setting. The Indian Penal Code was drafted by Lord Macaulay (who, incidentally had pleaded for religious liberty in the House of Commons while speaking in the debate on the civil disabilities of the Jews) was a landmark in the evolution of democracy in India. Independent India’s secular outlook owes not a little to the legal system based on Macaulay’s Code. While Tagore had appealed to certain sections in the West to rid themselves of that narrow cultural provincialism which tacitly assumed that the history of Western civilization was also the history of civilization he made it clear that “the desire for a common bond of comradeship among the different races of India has been the work of the spirit of the West, not that of the Nation of the West”. Mahatma Gandhi (incidentally, it was Tagore who had first hailed Gandhiji as the ‘Mahatma’), who was deeply influenced by Ruskin’s “Unto This Last” was opposed to the Western mode of industrialism. ‘Industrialism’ as Gandhi understood it was the ‘Curse of mankind’ and machinery constituted the ‘great sin’. And Tagore agreed with Gandhi upto a point. Tagore’s view was essentially that of an artist—“the product of the artist’s loom, the magic of man’s living fingers find its expression and its human harmonies with the music of life”. However, when Mahatma Gandhi began his nation-wide campaign to burn foreign cloth, Tagore had strongly opposed this proposal. With his characteristic dignity and the strength that flows from deep conviction, Tagore stated that in considering foreign, especially British-made cloth, as impure, economics was bundled out and a fictitious moral dictum dragged into its pace”. And Tagore was also against this “terrible habit of blindly obeying orders” and felt that “the clothes to be burnt really belong to those who most sorely need them”. And he cogently argued his case in these reflections: “In the West, a real anxiety and effort of their higher mind to rise superior to business considerations is beginning to be seen…I have seen…many in England…who have accepted persecution and contumely from their fellow-countrymen in their struggles to free other peoples from the oppression of their own Government in their struggles to free other peoples from the oppression of their own country’s pride of power. Some of them are amongst us here in India…Romain Rolland…is an outcast from his own people…I have watched the faces of European students all aglow with the hope of a united mankind, prepared manfully to bear all the blows, cheerfully to submit to all the insults, of the present age for the glory of the age to come. And are we alone to be content with telling the beads of negation, harping on others’ faults and proceeding with the erection of ‘Swaraj’ on a foundation of quarrelsomeness”. Like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Tagore knew the value of English and could foresee its impact on Indian cultural life. Tagore, who was profoundly influenced by Keats and Shelley had felt that the impact of the English language on the mind of the Indian nation did not generate a process of cultural enslavement, but was the harbinger of a new era of creative consciousness. Western literary forms like the essay and the novel which became assimilated into the instrumental of our languages and the brilliant contributions to modern Science by some of our scientists are some of the outstanding features of the ‘Indian Renaissance’. Indeed, Tagore commented: “Gandhi Mahatma is making various efforts to make Hindi the language for the entire country. These efforts, however thriving today, may one day as well peter out”. And Tagore had hoped in his “Talks in China”, that “the awakening of the East” would “impart the conscious discovery of her own mind and universal meanings of our civilization, to re- derive its freedom from its past, to rescue it from the bondage of stagnation that produces impurities, to make it a great channel for communication between all human races”. Tagore was convinced that to realize the ideal of “Vishwabharati, which is similar to Whitman’s poetic ideal “of the marriage of continents, Climates, and Oceans”, in a world which has shrunk due to scientific advances we need a bridge of fundamental ideas and cultural values spanning civilizations through time and space. The impact of Indian philosophical thought on Western thinkers like Emerson, Whitman, Thoreau, W. B. Yeats, A. E. and several others, and Western influence on our thinkers like Ram Mohan Roy, Tagore and Tilak and Tagore’s impact on Gandhi are some aspects of this cross- fertilization of culture leading on to an International exchange of ideas. In fact, Tagore stated that “Vishw-Bharathi acknowledges India’s obligation to offer to others the hospitality of her best culture and India’s right to accept from others their best”. Viewed in the perspective of cultural history, the British impact on India resulted in a phenomenon which is similar to the effect of the Westernizing policy of Peter the Great. And today, there is undoubtedly a need for a re- thinking of the philosophy of nationalism in its proper perspective. It is remarkable that Tagore had pioneered a new approach to nationalism, in tune with the Time-spirit. As the eminent historian of Nationalism, Prof. Hans Kohn wrote in his “A NEW LOOK AT NATIONALISM”: “None has spoken more strongly against the cult of one’s own nation or rather than Vladimir Solovyev in Russia or Rabin- dranath Tagore in India, both men deeply rooted in the spiritual tradition of their Community and yet wide open to the critical insights of the West”. And as pointed out by Prof. Hans Kohn, the possibility of a deeper cultural intercourse between India and the liberal West can arise only if we no longer allow “our thinking to be channelled into widely accepted stereotypes about nationalism and its relation to liberty”. “The time has arrived”, wrote C. E. Trevelyan in his “The Education of the People of India”, “when the ancient debt of civilization which Europe owes to Asia is about to be repaid; and the sciences created in the East and brought to maturity in the West are now by a final effort to overspread the world”. And this new dispensation which followed in the wake of Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s letter to Lord Amherst was not regarded by Tagore as an invasion of Western ideas, but as a step in the direction of intellectual dialogue of cultures and civilizations. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](https://theprint.in/indianliberals.in), a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in/). It is taken from The Indian Libertarian, with the essay originally titled ‘Tagore’s Humanistic Approach to Indian Nationalism’, published on 15 November 1962. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-nov15-1962.pdf#page=14).* --- ## [ThePrint] Farmers’ agitations started in developed states like Coimbatore & Ludhiana: Sharad Joshi URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/farmers-agitations-coimbatore-ludhiana-sharad-joshi/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/farmers-agitations-coimbatore-ludhiana-sharad-joshi/2890665/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2026-03-28. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Farmers’ agitations started in developed states like Coimbatore & Ludhiana: Sharad Joshi Though it manifested in full strength in the early 1980s, the new agrarian mobilization was launched in the early 70s. The farmers’ agitations did not start in the poorest of the states but in the more developed and progressive ones such as Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu in 1970 and Ludhiana district of Punjab in 1972. Unlike many parts of the country having subsistence agriculture, these districts were well endowed with irrigation facilities and their agriculture, by the late sixties, had already become heavily market-oriented. The leaders of agitations in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu showed a remarkable capacity to formulate effective political strategies and articulate powerful idioms for rural mobilization. Sharad Joshi, in Maharashtra in particular, stood out as the strategist and communicator, whose imaginative slogan of the ‘Bharat-India’ divide became a new idiom of rural mobilization. With “remunerative agricultural prices” and “Freedom of access to markets and Technology” as its principal slogans, the Shetkari Sanghatana and other associated farmers’ organizations led many successful agitations under the banner of the Kisan Co-ordination Committee (KCC), which attracted farmers in numbers ranging between 1,00,000 to 5,00,000 on successive occasions over the last three decades. By 1982, over 36 farmers were shot down by the police for the ‘crime’ of demanding fair prices. At the global level, this was far more massive movement than the one led by Lech Walesa in Poland. The farmers’ cause is not a popular one in the urban intellectual milieu. Consequently, the farmers’ revolt in India went largely unnoticed. ***Also read: **[Social injustice is inevitable under socialist economic systems: BR Shenoy](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/social-injustice-socialist-economic-systems-br-shenoy/2884958/)* ### **The role of Shetkari Sanghatana** SS (Shetkari Sanghatana) underlines five distinguishing features of the new agrarianism. First, the new agrarianism does not put on a pedestal lifestyle as being particularly virtuous for its blissful simplicity and spiritual richness. Second, it does not glorify the pastoral/agrarian pattern. Rather, the new agrarianism is aimed at ensuring, for the farmers, highest possible degrees of freedom as also a life of self-respect on par with that of the non-farming communities. Third, the SS recognizes that capital formation of the new industry needs to come out of surplus from agriculture. In the Soviet Union, the matter was debated in during the Stalin reign, to the conclusion by Stalin sending tanks against farmers. In India, the debate was resolved by establishing a complex of economic system which encouraged higher production but denied the farmer remunerative prices. Fourth, unlike peasants’ movements of the past, which pitched tenants against the landlords, the lower castes against the higher castes, the SS farmers’ movement was not ‘divisive’ of the rural community. The significant line of internal contradiction was between “Bharat” and “India”. Mahatma Gandhi as also Marx have emphasized the conflict between the town and the country. Sharad Joshi’s view does not make a geographical division. As he states it, “Bharat is that notional entity which continues to be exploited by the same policies as those of the Colonial Rule even after the British left; while India is that notional entity which has obtained the inheritance of Colonial exploitation.” The misery in the village is not caused by the “slightly” better-off farmers in the neighborhood but by an “outside exploiter” – the urban India. “Transcontinental imperialism” represented by the British has been replaced by “internal colonialism.” Finally, since surplus in agriculture expropriated through a policy of cheap raw materials and artificially depressed prices constitute the main technique used by the exploiters (the government) the agenda of the SS has been to bring in a one-point programme of “Remunerative prices”. The remunerative prices for their agricultural produce are to be acquired not through a hackneyed system of Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs), Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), Food Corporation of India (FCI), and Public Distribution System (PDS). These four institutions have been the basic instruments of exploitation of the farmers. A genuinely free market assures a price that adequately covers the cost of production. Freedom of market and opposition to all forms of State interventions in the market mechanism becomes the basic plank of the farmers’ movement. The rationale for the remunerative price agenda is as follows: - Farmers respond rationally to price movements; they will react to price incentives by increasing acreage and investment and by adopting improved technology. - Farmers’ response will increase demand for labour and, hence, wage earners will benefit even more than the cultivators. - As a consequence of additional income so received, farmers will undertake non-agricultural activities; thus, creating employment and the incremental income that will bolster secondary, tertiary as also service sector growth. - Trade and the exchange are beneficial for attaining higher levels of production and higher standards of living. Self-sufficiency is the virtue of less cerebral species. The system based on self-sufficiency will often be exposed to lists of droughts and famines. - The cerebral character of the human species would sit in a separate category. Human societies have ruled many Bloomsbury forecasters wrong through innovation and technology. The history of mankind shows that the good of the masses comes not so much from social or political institutions as from advancement of technology. - All technologies have their good aspects and bad aspects. Societies accept technologies when their benign expressions are more relevant. Societies tend to question the use of those very technologies when the times change and the less savoury aspects thereof manifest themselves. - The advancement of human societies has been achieved not by going back into obscurantist past but by innovating higher technology that will limit the bad effects of the old ones. Thus, the overall philosophy of the Shetkari Sanghatana is that price incentives in agriculture and a “natural” process of capital accumulation driven by an agriculture revolution can benefit the entire economy and break the vicious circle of poverty. As opposed to this, an accumulation process driven by industrial revolution (before agricultural revolution takes place) is always premised upon a coercive expropriation of agricultural surplus.  The SS is the only farmers’ organization in favour of an uncontrolled market in agriculture produce and international free trade in both inputs and outputs in agriculture. Though regional in base, the Shetkari Sanghatana has been able to force a debate on the developmental path chosen by India in the context of its demands at the highest level. The organization has played a crucial role in shaping the ideology and the demands of the largest coalition of farmers’ organisations in India. *This essay is part of a series from the Indian Liberals *[*archive*](https://indianliberals.in/)*, a project of the *[*Centre for Civil Societ*](https://ccs.in/)*. This essay is an excerpt from a booklet published by “Shetkari Sanghatana”  titled “Visionaries of a new “Bharat ” in 1999. The original version can be accessed on this *[*link*](https://indianliberals.in/liberals/visionaries-of-a-new-bharat-shetkari-sanghatana.pdf)*.* --- ## [ThePrint] Free education is mere jugglery of words. A hangover of anti-rational pre-Partition days URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/free-education-is-mere-jugglery-of-words-a-hangover-of-anti-rational-pre-partition-days/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/free-education-is-mere-jugglery-of-words-a-hangover-of-anti-rational-pre-partition-days/2665374/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-06-21. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Free education is mere jugglery of words. A hangover of anti-rational pre-Partition days There used to be a wide-spread belief among the illiterate masses before Partition that in Free India, milk and ghee would be supplied free to every child; all sorts of medicines would be available in the hospitals without any cost; customers would get provisions and sweet-meats in the market without having to pay any price. And in the same train of ideas came the fanciful notion that education up to the highest degree would be free. Ours is a land, where people seem to believe in all seriousness that Aladin’s Lamp is still preserved in the Moghal Fort at Delhi and Herculean tasks like the manufacture of penicillin, construction of moon-rockets and installation of thermo-nuclear plants can be accomplished without entailing any cost to ourselves. When, for our defence, we can confidently depend upon the arrival of the Lord Himself with His Sudarshana Chakra, and consider all military preparations unnecessary, is there any wonder if we also genuinely believe that some superman race of teachers will some day descend on earth—in this part of it—and convert, by a magic touch, all students into engineers, doctors and lawyers, without demanding a penny by way of remuneration? Thank God, ten years’ experience in Free India has taught them that we cannot get “something out of nothing.” There are no shortcuts in the scheme of nature. We can deceive ourselves into the belief that in a free country, we can get amenities without having to pay anything in return, but we cannot deceive nature. Most people have been disillusioned by now, and no longer labour under the myth that they can freely help themselves with a rosagulla at the confectioner’s shop, and nobody would bother them about the price. Provisions, medicines and other necessaries have to be paid for even in Free India; and if someone is getting them free, rest assured, someone else, not always in sight, is paying the price. Whenever we get comfort and have not paid for it, we must realise clearly that we are enjoying it at somebody else’s cost. ### **Free education—a mere jugglery of words** The day-dream of a free-education scheme is a hangover of the anti-rational mental attitudes of pre-Partition days. The talk of ‘free-education’ appears very fashionable at the first sight, and, as the fallacy involved in it is not so easy to detect, it proves a handy tool in the hands of crafty political demagogues at the time of elections. Educational procedure involves labour—of the teacher—which must be paid for. The question is: who should pay for it? If education is not ‘free’ the scholars pay for it in the form of tuition fees. And if it is imparted ‘free’, the teaching staff has still to be remunerated, but now the money comes in the form of taxes, or special levies from those, who may not be directly concerned in the matter. The description ‘free education’ thus burns out, in the ultimate analysis, to be a clever device for confusing the public mind and to keep them well-fed on glittering slogans. There is nothing ‘free’ about it, for what is rejected as tuition fee, is accepted in another form, as ‘educational cess’ or as a ‘special levy’. This jugglery with words can effectively hoodwink masses in lands of befogged intelligence only, where people are unable to detect, by analysis, the subtle fallacies inherent in the arguments of state bureaucrats and professional politicians. Any decision by a government to make education ‘free’ or even ‘cheap’, must be taken by the people as a warning to be prepared for increased taxation; and the step would not be in any way different from a decision to abolish postal charges and quietly to double railway freights! In a rational financial system, the expenditure on a public utility department should, at least in part, be met by revenue accruing from the same. And when viewed against this background, the realisation of reasonable tuition fees from the scholars, especially from those in the higher classes, does not seem to be as baneful a practice as it is made out to be and need not be done away with. This, in fact, appears to be the only sound method to finance the education department. Extra taxes should only supplement income from tuition fees. ***Also read:** [Slide in govt school enrolments continued in 2024-25; UP alone witnessed drop of 21.82 lakh](https://theprint.in/india/education/slide-in-govt-school-enrolments-continued-in-2024-25-up-alone-witnessed-drop-of-21-82-lakh/2624027/)* ### **Death warrant against private institutions** The point we have developed brings out the unnatural nature of the decision of the Punjab Government to impart free education in state-controlled junior schools. From where will the money come for the salary bills of the teachers? No matter how cleverly they put it, it has to come from the public; and the procedure they have adopted means only one thing, if it means anything. It means that money spent on Tom should not come from Tom—that is a cruelty. Money spent on the education of Tom should come from the pocket of Dick! Let us look at the scheme from another angle. The number of scholars actually studying in government institutions is much smaller than of those attending private ones. In the very nature of things, these privately-managed institutions cannot give education gratis, unless the salary bill of the staff is paid from the state exchequer. All other philanthropic sources—capitalists, landlords, Rajas and religious endowments—whence money could go to finance private enterprise in education—in the past have virtually dried up thanks to the much-advertised Socialist and Secular pattern of society. If the state bureaucrats were really interested in popularising education, they should have concurrently accepted the moral responsibility of meeting the annual budget of private institutions from the state revenues. The decision to remit fees in government schools, without any substantial aim to the privately-managed ones, is in effect a death warrant against them. And if some of them manage to survive, they will survive, not because of the ‘benign’ government, but in spite of it. If out of chagrin, the managements of private institutions decide to withdraw from this unpleasant competition with the all-powerful government and suspend their activities, the education of over seventy per cent of the children, now at school, will come to a stop. It is a strange way of promoting child-welfare to provide free educational facilities to a privileged few, and leave the vast majority to rot by the roadside! And that will be the result if some privately-managed institutions are forced to close down, being unable to compete with those financed by government from out of the state funds. ***Also read: **[Govt school enrolments dipped by 87 lakh in 2023-24. Bihar saw sharpest decline, followed by UP](https://theprint.in/india/education/govt-school-enrolments-dipped-by-87-lakh-in-2023-24-bihar-saw-sharpest-decline-followed-by-up/2427200/)* ### **Concrete suggestions** To sum up, we must recognise that: - a) There is no such thing as ‘free-education’. Money paid to the teachers comes ultimately from the people, as taxes if not as tuition fees. - b) The talk of ‘free-education’ is tendencious. It is a clever device by which political leaders are trying to confuse the public. - c) If the Government seeks to collect funds for purposes of education, not by raising tuition fees, but by enhanced taxes, the benefit of ‘free’ studentship must accrue to all pupils, who belong to the school-going age, and not to a favoured few only. The Government must forthwith ban imposition of tuition fees on pupils in all the schools and remunerate the teachers, engaged in approved institutions, from the government treasury. - d) If the Government cannot bear the burden of imparting ‘free-education’ to all the scholars, it should desist from creating difficulties in the way of those private agencies, which are sharing this burden with it. This means, that while all persons deriving the benefit of educational facilities must be required to pay the prescribed fees, whether in a government school or in a private one, the grant-in-aid rules should be so liberalised that the private institutions do not have to look to philanthropic people for help, but their deficit should be wholly met by the government. In the end, I should like to submit that, in my opinion, the educational institutions should be maintained neither exclusively on special taxes, nor exclusively on tuition fees, but on both. The fees should be rated low enough to locate a deficit of about 25% at the school stage and about 50% at the College and University stages. The deficit should be paid from the state treasury to the private institutions as well as to those under the direct control of the government. After all, the private agencies are promoting the same cause, for which the government stands, and are drawing money from the public—money in the form of fees—by using their own influence on people, where the government may have to resort to more coercive methods—taxation and compulsory levy—for achieving the same end. All talk of ‘free-education’ must end once for all, because it is deceptive. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](https://indianliberals.in), a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in). This essay first appeared in the Indian Libertarian magazine on 1 January 1959. The original version can be [accessed on this ](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-jan1-1959.pdf)link.* --- ## [ThePrint] Without free enterprise in economic life, we cannot maintain democracy: Minoo Masani URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/free-enterprise-in-economic-life-minoo-masani/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/free-enterprise-in-economic-life-minoo-masani/2920077/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2026-05-02. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Without free enterprise in economic life, we cannot maintain democracy: Minoo Masani I shall give two major reasons why it is important that free enterprise remains a major element in our economic life. My first argument is purely on economic grounds that free enterprise is the more productive way of life. It delivers the goods more than any other system. So far as industry is concerned, we know the facts. There are so many fields where we can test this. Mr. Graham Hutton, the British Liberal writer, gave a good analogy. He says that the government, when it enters the field of production, is like a dog in the barnyard—it can’t lay eggs itself and it stops the hens from laying eggs.  This experience of inefficiency of State enterprise in industry is making countries, even Communist countries like Yugoslavia and, for a little while, Poland, try to edge away from the State capitalist system. The Yugoslavs have invented a theory of workers’ control in order to end what they call State Capitalism of the Soviet kind. They do not admit that Russia is communist or socialist in any way. They say that it is a distortion of Marxism and Socialism. Russia is state capitalist in a vicious kind of way, and so the Yugoslav communists are trying to get away from the Statist pattern by ostensibly giving the factory back to the workers. That is partly theoretical, but one thing happens—the enterprise becomes more autonomous and the laws of competition come into existence.  I have heard leading Yugoslav Communists tell me in 1955, “We must get back to the laws of the market”, and they are quite logical and ruthless about it. If you ask them what happens if a shoe factory cannot sell its shoes. Because either the price is high or the products are not acceptable, they say that the factory must shut down. It must go out of competition because the consumer does not want their products. Consumer preference comes back and not the dictat of the Planning Commission. If you ask what happens to the workers, they say they are unemployed, and they will have to find other jobs. The managers are punished by not being allowed to be managers any more for some gears and being sent back to the bench because they have made a hash of their enterprise. So they get back to the laws of the market in a rather downright and crude way even in a communist economy, the moment it feels able to edge away from the unproductive system of production that State capitalism always is.  Even on the land, it is very clear that only private enterprise delivers the goods and that wherever the government tries to collectivise the land and farm it under State control, the yield drops. The smaller the farm, the more productivity per acre and the higher yield per acre, contrary to fashionable thinking in Delhi. I was very amused to see some time ago with a great sense of discovery the Delhi papers announced that the larger the farm the less the production, as if some new law of nature had been discovered. This was based on a study by a government official, who investigated on behalf of the Institute of Agricultural Research and the Ministry of Agriculture have now published a monograph which contradicts completely everything that the Prime Minister said in Parliament during our big debates on Co-operative Farming. This is a historical and universal phenomenon. In the U.S.S.R., which has the system of highly mechanised collective farms, the weekly yield is 9.3 quintals per hectare; U.S.A., which has private enterprise on big farms, also mechanised, 12.2 quintals per hectare. In Britain, where the farms are very much smaller and private, it is 28.5 quintals. In Denmark, where the farms are even smaller and private, 34.4 quintals, and in Japan 22.6, where the farms are only 1/2 acres to 1 acre or 2 acres, much smaller than in India. In other words, Japan, with farms much smaller than ours, produces twice as much wheat per hectare as the USA and two and a half times as much as the U.S.S.R. In the case of rice, you will find the same story — U.S.S.R., 25 quintals per hectare, U.S.A., 28.3 quintals and Japan and Formosa, 48.5 quintals per hectare.  My other reason for saying that the continuance of free enterprise is essential or desirable is its political and social effects. Unless there is a large measure of free enterprise in economic life, we cannot maintain a free society; we cannot maintain a democratic constitution or Government. To start with, there is no known example in the world of a State owning everything—land, factories and business— and yet having a Parliamentary or any other kind of democracy with individual liberty. There is no known example yet. Maybe, thousands of years from now, such an example might evolve, but at present, human beings as they are, if there is no private enterprise there can be no political democracy and individual liberty.  Apart from the fact that it has not yet been done, which is pretty conclusive, logically also it must be so. Let us start by saying that unless we can have freedom of speech and expression and opposition in a society, we cannot have political democracy, democratic government and individual liberty. The need for an opposition, therefore, is at the core of a democratic system; if we cannot tolerate opposition, then obviously the Government becomes permanent, and it cannot be changed or replaced by the will of the people.  There cannot be a free opposition or effective opposition without free enterprise. Let us consider who will provide the opposition. In a system of society where everyone is either an officer or an employee of Government, as would be the case in Russia and China today–more or less everyone is an employee of government—where does the opposition come from? Obviously, a civil servant cannot start an opposition and get elected to Parliament in the face of a government that owns everything. So since one cannot go into opposition without losing one’s job and ration card, one does not go into opposition. Therefore, there is no opposition. Trotsky, who was a communist till he was murdered by Stalin, in his later years realised rather belatedly the nature of this truth when he said that in place of the old slogan “he who does not work neither shall he eat”, the new slogan in a communist society is “he who does not obey, neither shall he eat”. He came to the conclusion that this was the nature of State ownership. When the State became the universal employer, then obedience to the universal employer, the Government, was the test of whether one earned a living and could eat.  The only classes which can possibly provide opposition or the basis of opposition in society are what an Italian political thinker in the second half of the 19th century called “autonomous social forces”. The autonomous social forces are the businessmen, the factory owners, the shop keepers, the peasants who own the land, the artisans who create with their hands, the self-employed people, the professionals, (the lawyers, the doctors, the architects, the auditors etc.). These are “the autonomous social forces”, which means that they stand on their own legs.    ***Also read: **[Farmers’ agitations started in developed states like Coimbatore & Ludhiana: Sharad Joshi](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/farmers-agitations-coimbatore-ludhiana-sharad-joshi/2890665/)* They are not beholden to the government of the day for their bread and butter. The professional man, the businessman in a free economy, the landed peasant, the artisan and the self-employed man stand on their own legs and they can say to Government that they do not agree. They are the classes who can possibly go into opposition. They are the classes who can maintain a free press. They are the classes who can have any kind of voluntary society or organisation which is not dependent on Government patronage. Abolish these classes by nationalisation of private property and land and industry, and you will destroy every autonomous social force.  Then everyone is at the mercy of the State. That is why a command economy replaces not only the ballot box of the marketplace but a totalitarian Government replaces a democratic government provided by the Constitution.  These are two very basic reasons why everyone who believes in individual liberty and democratic government or the Constitution of Indian Republic cannot but come to the conclusion that the maintenance of free enterprise in agriculture and industry is a sine qua non of the maintenance of the free Constitution of India. *This essay is part of a series from the Indian Liberals *[*archive*](https://indianliberals.in/)*, a project of the *[*Centre for Civil Societ*](https://ccs.in/)*. This essay is an excerpt from a monograph published by the Forum of Free Enterprise titled “The Future of Free Enterprise in India” in June 1961. The original version can be accessed on this *[*link*](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/the-future-of-free-enterprise-in-india-jun8-1961.pdf))*.* --- ## [ThePrint] The Press is not artillery — neither for the ruling party nor the Opposition: Sachin Sen URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/free-press-sachin-sen/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/free-press-sachin-sen/2770399/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-10-25. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # The Press is not artillery — neither for the ruling party nor the Opposition: Sachin Sen Man lives differently; hence he thinks differently. It is, therefore, not strange that there are competing beliefs and differing ideologies. The Press is to serve society. Two points are to be taken note of. First, the needs of a plural society cannot be answered by uniform principles. Secondly, there are several roads to the achievement of the goal. In this view of the situation, the Press must be free to serve society in its own way. It must have a soul of its own. It must not play a subservient role. It has to function as an autonomous institution. In political science, it is accepted that the State is the most supreme authority. It knows no competitor. But in sober reality, the State never acts; it is acted for by those who are in control of the coercive apparatus of the State. They form the government. Democracy cannot function on creative lines if governments do not encourage the growth of autonomous institutions to serve society in their own way without any pressure. Thus, the interests of democracy demand that the Press has to be nursed as an autonomous institution. In political theory, anti-State activities and anti-government activities are not to be confused. The Government has the inherent right to curb anti-State activities; but it must not use its coercive authority to drill and discipline legitimate activities against it. A democratic government must respect this border-line. The ruling party must not think that it is coeval with the State, nor should it try to create conditions for the withering away of all dissenting opinions. That is what liberal democracy asks for. The accent of Communist democracy is on the creation of the party-State, so that, in fullness of time the State may wither away and the dominance of the party is installed. In my view, the freedom of the Press cannot be understood unless the character of the State is known. The expression, freedom, cannot have identical connotations in a liberal democracy and in a Communist democracy. In a police State, much importance is attached to subjective truths; in a social service State, there is the emphasis on objective truths; in the Communist party-State, there is the supremacy of party truths. Liberal democracy of today has favoured the emergence of the social service State, and it stands for objective truths. To get at objective truths, we need experimental minds. There should be trial and error methods; all experimentations have to be assessed scientifically. There can be no experimentation in social growth and progress if the doctrine of free trade in ideas is rejected. Truth has different facets. It is the basic assumption of a liberal democracy that truth cannot be known unless both sides are presented. Thus, the Press in a liberal democracy has to be a forum for the expression of different points of view. It must not suppress, taint or adulterate news. Hence, it is said that news is sacred. The same news may be read differently by different persons. Thus, Press freedom consists in the freedom of gathering and printing news and in the freedom of reading and commenting on news without prompting from any extraneous authority. On a rigorous analysis, it can be argued that any newspaper which feeds its readers with one-sided news may win a political bout, but it does not serve the cause of liberal democracy. Pressmen are not a type of artillery, clearing the deck either for the ruling party or for the Opposition. They are not to “brainwash” people, nor should they carry iron curtains in their skulls. They are to serve society and to widen the horizon of the people. The world is both diverse and dynamic. We pressmen must not remain indifferent to this stern reality. The freedom of the Press is an institutional freedom, and as such all newspapers need not sing in the same tune. But every newspaper must have the freedom to gather and to receive news and to read news in its own way. A modern newspaper has two facets, the commercial aspect and the public service aspect. We journalists are concerned with the public service aspect of the newspaper. If we lose our historical role, we vulgarise the profession. Advocates of the Press or the Government should not think that they are infallible. It is the vulgar mind which has confidence in its infallibility. The Press must not falter to judge; it must not hesitate to present news fairly. Accordingly, I do not think much of the subsidised Press or of the obliging Press or of the party Press or of the irresponsible Press. A free Press is linked with free enterprise and a free society. Those who frown on free enterprise and free society are the grave-diggers of the free Press. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](https://indianliberals.in), a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in). It is taken from a monograph published by the Forum of Free Enterprise titled: “A Free press is linked with Free Enterprise and a Free Society,” published on 8 June 1960. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/a-free-press-is-linked-with-free-enterprise-&-a-free-society-by-dr-sachin-sen-june-8-1960.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] If fundamental right to property can be taken away, so can all the others: AG Mulgaokar URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/fundamental-right-to-property-ag-mulgaokar/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/fundamental-right-to-property-ag-mulgaokar/2761912/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-10-11. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # If fundamental right to property can be taken away, so can all the others: AG Mulgaokar The Indian Constitution in embodying in a separate chapter certain rights including those to personal freedom and to private property and designating this as the Chapter of Fundamental Rights recognised certain cardinal principles, some explicitly and others by implication. What is fundamental if it is not inherent and unalterable; and how much fundamental is a right if it can be restricted or taken away by just an ordinary legislative process as the fancy takes some legislators? The issue involves not only legal or constitutional but moral as well as social and economic considerations. If all these considerations are fully and dispassionately weighed it will be seen that the move is an altogether retrograde step. The fundamental rights guaranteed to the Indian citizen in the Constitution are broadly his life and freedom, certain liberties like free speech and right to practice any profession or trade, and lastly acquire and hold property. It should be remembered that the term property covers a very wide field, but it is not necessary to go into all its details for the purposes of our discussion. What is attempted by the contemplated move is for the present to remove the right to acquire and hold property from those guaranteed to the citizen in the Constitution. How long, then, before the others are attacked? Perhaps one by one, as the whim or fancy takes the necessary number of legislators. Take the right to move to any place in the union territory given to every citizen. Is it difficult to imagine that it will be one of the next ones to be attacked? At this rate no right can be considered fundamental. If anyone can be taken away, so can all. Now the Indian Constitution in guaranteeing these various rights and freedom to the Indian citizen has not placed them in a totally rigid and inviolate form. They are subject to abridgement and even suspension provided this is reasonable and in public interest. So if the public interest necessitates it and it is reasonably done, a fundamental right can be by legislation restricted. If in spite of all this the move is to be persisted in, then who can believe in the fundamentalness of these fundamental rights? This, then, is the moral issue. There is also another aspect to this moral issue which no sensible legislator can afford to omit from his consideration. Nature has planted in Man the instinct of self-preservation. We see evidence of it even in a child when it refuses to part with a battered toy and in an adult when he saves for his own future or for his dependants. The result of his savings is his property and he is entitled to do what he likes with it subject to what is known as social control. (Even the paper Constitution of the U.S.S.R. recognises this right.) This world-wide, not excluding communist countries, recognition is as much due to the natural instinct planted in man as also because thereby the national economy is strengthened. As the individual citizen saves, he adds to national wealth. Therefore, if you take away the individual’s rights over his property, two results can be expected to follow. We have already seen what disastrous results have followed from prohibition. This is what naturally happens when an attempt is made to fly in the face of public opinion or a natural human instinct. This is exactly what will happen, there will be widespread evasions and breaches of the law. In the second place there will be, if this step even partially achieves its desired results, so much dislocation in the country’s economic structure as to prove a national calamity. Indian history tells of a Delhi King transferring his seat from Delhi to Daulatabad and forcing the whole population to follow suit. The disastrous results that followed have to be read to be believed. ***Also read: **[Watch CuttheClutter: How the Socialist state took right to property & new SC order starts a correction](https://theprint.in/judiciary/watch-cuttheclutter-how-the-socialist-state-took-right-to-property-new-sc-order-starts-a-correction/2347209/)* Having considered the moral and economic aspects of the question, it only remains briefly to consider the legal or constitutional aspect of the matter. By a recent decision of the Supreme Court it has been held that Parliament has no power to amend the Constitution so as to take away or abridge the fundamental rights. The Court has however expressly saved from the application of this ruling all the earlier amendments to the Constitution on the doctrine of prospective overruling. It held that under Art. 368 the Parliament has the power to amend the Constitution. But under 13(2) no law which takes away or abridges fundamental rights is valid. It answers the question whether an amendment is law affirmatively. Five of the six judges who expressed the majority view hold that amendment is made in exercise of residuary power under Art. 245 and Art. 368 prescribes the procedure to be followed. One judge, however, held that the power to amend was explicitly given in Art. 368. But as we see, in any case, as the result of an amendment to a law is also a law and therefore, if it abridges a fundamental right, it must attract the application of Art., 13(2) which prohibits the making of any law which takes away a fundamental right. The only alternative therefore would be the summoning of another Constituent Assembly charged with the specific task of either amending the Constitution or writing up another. Here, again, another very important constitutional consideration arises. It cannot be said that the last general election was fought by any party on the issue of amendment of the Constitution. It is a cardinal principle of parliamentary democracy that no bill causing major constitutional change should be allowed to be brought in the life of a parliament unless this was placed before the electorate at the election time by the party concerned. Those who know their Constitutional Law will remember that Asquith fought a general election in January 1910 (in Edward VII’s lifetime) and came to power. The issue had been the revolutionary Budget of Lloyd George which the House of Lords was blocking. When Asquith approached George V (Edward VII had died in May 1916) to promise to create enough number of peers to ensure the successful passage of the Budget through the Lords, the King, though only a few weeks on the throne, insisted that Asquith face another general election on the specific issues of Budget and amendment of the powers of the Rouse of Lords. So that, although a general election had only taken place in January 1910, the ruling Liberal Party under Asquith had to fight another general election within a few months (in October 1910) and the country had to face all the inevitable dislocation and expense. That Asquith won the election and the two measures, the Budget and the Parliament Act, were duly passed is a matter of history. My object in recounting this important event in the constitutional history of British democracy is to point out the great lesson it holds for this country but in a great sense for President Giri. It is his bounden duty to warn the Prime Minister that whatever the Supreme Court does or does not do, he will be unable to accord his assent to an Act amending the Constitution in such a major way unless the people have had a chance of declaring their wishes in the matter in a general election. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](https://indianliberals.in), a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in), and originally appeared in the December 1969 issue of Freedom First magazine under the title ‘Is Right to Property Not Fundamental?’ It was then reproduced in a publication of Forum of Free Enterprise on 9 April 1970. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/is-right-to-property-c-k-daphtary-april-9-1970.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] Government monopolies are the worst monopolies: Minoo Masani URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/government-monopolies-minoo-masani/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/government-monopolies-minoo-masani/2958813/) on 2026-07-11. Originally published 2026-06-13. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Government monopolies are the worst monopolies: Minoo Masani Private monopolies have the police power of the government to check them. But where the government becomes a factory-owner, there is no appeal, Minoo Masani said. --- ## [ThePrint] Govt should respect the autonomy of higher education institutes: GD Parikh URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/govt-autonomy-higher-education-institutes-gd-parikh/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/govt-autonomy-higher-education-institutes-gd-parikh/2932764/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2026-05-16. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Govt should respect the autonomy of higher education institutes: GD Parikh The educational policies of the Indian Union and of some of the state governments have been responsible recently for raising the issue of academic freedom. The Universities (Regulation of Standards) Bill, circulated by the Ministry of Education to the universities for eliciting their opinion, came in for a strong criticism from these bodies on the ground that it threatened their autonomy and was likely to jeоpardise academic freedom.  In UP, a controversy seems to be growing around the issue of interference by the state government in the working of the universities. In Bombay, a Bill to consolidate the law relating to the University of Bombay has been published and has come in for criticism on the ground of its failure to concede the autonomy of the university. These and similar other developments are likely to focus increasingly the attention of the people on the nature of the freedom of the institutions of higher education. The purpose of this note is to analyse briefly this problem and to bring out possible directions in which it can be tackled, given our concern for promoting the democratic way of life. To formulate a clear definition of academic freedom and to indicate its precise limitations is a difficult task, not perhaps altogether free from controversy. What can better be attempted is a general description of it, which may serve a useful purpose in tackling problems pertaining to it on a practical level. It is generally recognised that such freedom is essential for institutions working at all the different levels of the educational pyramid.  Although the respective spheres of ‘guidance’ and ‘spontaneity’ and the relation between the two at the early levels of education may be a matter of difference of opinion, prevention of indoctrination is a point of general agreement. At the same time, the responsibility of the public authority, national, regional or local, has generally been viewed as more direct at these levels, and a certain amount of control in their behalf as unavoidable. Instruction tends to become education, ‘method’ begins yielding place to ‘content,’ which again later comes to serve the purpose of promoting the quest of truth as we proceed higher up in the educational structure and the need for freedom becomes all the more pronounced and essential.  Such freedom has therefore come to be looked upon as one of the most basic and vital principles of a free society. Academic freedom can be said to imply the freedom and autonomy of the institutions of higher education in their functioning, the freedom of their academic and administrative bodies from any external influence or authority in laying down courses and curricula, prescribing texts, recommending readings and references, determining minimum standards for entrance as well as the necessary attainments to qualify for the degrees, diplomas and other honours, and regulating the nature and functioning of constituent or affiliated institutions.  It also implies the freedom of research, of collecting and arranging data and presenting the same along with findings deduced therefrom, on any problem considered as worthy of investigation. It also involves the freedom of the teacher to teach the prescribed courses of studies in his own manner, on the basis of free access to all material with a bearing, direct or remote, on his work and in doing so, the freedom to comment on issues, events, personalities or controversies in a manner he considers necessary for enhancing the understanding and appreciation of the subject.  It is also essential that a teacher as a citizen must be free to participate in the social, political and cultural life of the community provided that such participation does not affect adversely the discharge of the duties and responsibilities of his function as a teacher. And in respect of the latter, the verdict of his academic and administrative supervisors, and not the *prima facie* views of an external authority, ought to be the decisive factor. ***Also read: **[An inefficient entrepreneur deserves to be branded as anti-social: Arvind Narottam Lalbhai](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/inefficient-entrepreneur-anti-social-arvind-narottam-lalbhai/2926117/)* Given the level of our development along democratic lines, it is natural that the problem of academic freedom should arise in our country in a form different from that elsewhere. We have a formal democratic constitution but hardly any deep-rooted democratic sentiments or traditions. Our institutions of higher education do not have their autonomy threatened; by and large, they have still to win it. On the other hand, the continual characterisation of the existent system as built up essentially for producing suitable personnel to man the administrative machinery of an alien rule has promoted a crass utilitarian attitude towards education, further rendered vulgar through growing skepticism about its usefulness.  The system has thus come to be dominated by curriculum, the teachers preoccupied with texts and the students, with their degree-mindedness, concerned solely with the examinations. Though improving when viewed against the background of the past, our educational standards compare unfavourably with many other countries of the world. Thus a peculiarity of our educational situation is the simultaneous appearance of the problem of widening the freedom of our universities and other institutions of higher education and ensuring an improvement in their functional efficiency and standards. And with the passage of time, growing numbers and the resultant overcrowding in institutions, or issues like that of the medium of instruction may be expected to aggravate these problems. Two distinct points of view seem to be gradually crystallising regarding the basic issue. One is the view that improvements in functional efficiency and standards of education are not possible in the absence of an external control, exercised directly by or under the supervision of the political authority; and the other is the view of those who argue that widening of the freedom of educational institutions is an essential pre-condition for improving their functioning and the educational standards. The former finds an expression in the policies of the governments, the latter in the report of the University Education Commission and the views of the Inter-University Board, individual universities and educationists. A choice between the two approaches is inescapable. It is not necessary, however, that the protagonists of the two aforementioned views must come in clash with each other. Given the realisation, on one side, that state control of education making it subservient to ends considered by politicians as desirable is the very negation of a democratic outlook, and the recognition, on the other, that the autonomy of educational institutions cannot be absolute, any possibility of such a clash can be easily ruled out. And a common ground between the conflicting approaches can be discovered on which solutions consistent with the promotion of the freedom and autonomy of educational institutions can be tried on the practical level with a view to improving the standards of education. External control can only pave the way to regimentation. It can lead to standardisation and not to an improvement of standards. It will substitute a dull lifeless uniformity for the enriching variety available at present. Instead of trying to impose such control, the state should, while devising suitable methods of co-ordination and safeguards against any irretrievable deterioration, recognise and respect the autonomy of institutions of higher education.  An intensive functioning of the Inter-University Board can be depended upon for solving the problem of coordination; the power of the State to lay down the constitution of the universities is, on the other hand, one significant safeguard against deterioration in their functioning; and a University Grants Commission along the lines recommended by the University Education Commission can be another. There is hardly any reason why the autonomy of the universities should not be recognised in such a setting by those concerned with the promotion of the democratic life and institutions. To refuse to do so is not merely to harm the present but also to undermine all healthy possibilities for the future. It would not be desirable to be scared away by the argument that the universities have hitherto shown numerous defects and deficiencies in their functioning, and if left to themselves, may deteriorate further. It is true that abuse of freedom is potentially involved in freedom itself. But there is no better guarantee against the possibility of such abuse than a sense of responsibility and discrimination which freedom alone can produce. It is therefore desirable to create an atmosphere in which the inner correctives of our university life will be able to emerge and influence the situation. That alone will create the basis of a sound and stable improvement. Our universities need not be looked upon as our despair; they are, on the other hand, one of the few hopes we have for the future of a free society in India. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](https://indianliberals.in), a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in). This essay is excerpted from the booklet Freedom First with the title “On Academic Freedom”, which was published in March 1953. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/FF010_compressed.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] Henry George’s Single Tax offers a democratic alternative to communist remedies: DM Kulkarni URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/henry-george-single-tax-land-value-taxation/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/henry-george-single-tax-land-value-taxation/2809653/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-12-20. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Henry George’s Single Tax offers a democratic alternative to communist remedies: DM Kulkarni The ideals of individual Liberty and Freedom, long cherished by mankind, are being constantly challenged today by the Communist totalitarianism. All freedom loving people of the world are therefore greatly exercised over finding out the best means and ways of combating this menace to modern civilisation. The great American Economist and thinker, Henry George, (1839 -1897) was one of those great minds that applied themselves to this serious problem. The remedy that he suggested in his epoch-making book “PROGRESS & POVERTY (1879)” has come to be known as “Single Tax” and his followers now call themselves “Single Taxers”. **In tune with the moral law****** It is generally agreed that communism and its mild variety [of] socialism thrive well in a society in which extreme poverty of the many prevails side by side with the great affluence of the few. So all leading democratic countries of the world have evolved elaborate and complicated systems of taxing the rich heavily for the benefit of the poor. But this method, as experience has shown, has its own serious defects. The special tax on the rich, can be evaded in more ways than one, or a large portion of it can be passed on to the poor consumers, who are made to pay higher prices of goods they purchase in the market. The worst part of it is, that it dries up the springs of industry and enterprise. Henry George, therefore, did not favour it. After mature thought and study, his acute mind lighted upon an effective method of taxation which would at once remove the appalling poverty of the workers, without obstructing the smooth running of the wheels of modern industry and also would supply the modern governments with necessary funds to discharge their public functions. The reform that he proposed was “to appropriate rent by taxation and to abolish all taxation save that upon rental values.” (“PROGRESS & POVERTY” Book V, Chapter II) In this reform, Henry George saw perfect harmony between the moral, law and the economic law. The amazing phenomenon of persistence of poverty in the midst of plenty, resulting from modern industry, led him to infer that “in the social organisation, moral law has been defied and the natural rights of man have been ignored.” (H. George—’Social Problems’ Chapter—’Rights of Man’). In this view, social institutions, in order to have a healthy growth, must conform to the great absolute moral laws. He implicitly believed in the malienable human rights of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”, as set forth in the American Declaration of Independence, and heartily agreed with the diagnosis of social evils made in the Declaration of Rights of the French National Assembly (1789), that “ignorance, neglect or Contempt of Human Rights are the sole causes of public misfortunes and corruptions of Government”. He held that these equal rights of all to life and liberty were flagrantly violated by denying to man the right to the free and equal use of land, which was as much of nature’s bounty as sunshine and air. A few land-owners monopolised all land and unjustly took rent from the tenants for its use and thus deprived the producers of their full share in the produce of their labour. This rent was a social value attached to the land, created by the presence of the community and its social and economic activities. Rents rose high with the growth of the population. Therefore, this social value should properly go to the community and the State would be perfectly justified in assessing a tax on land, equal to its annual rental value, and using it for the benefit of the community. Thus alone would the equal rights of the people to the equal use of the land, basically essential for the pursuit of life and happiness, be fully assured and protected. This rent, according to this theory, did not include the consideration paid by the people to owners for the use of the buildings, industrial structures raised and other improvements made by the owners on the land with their capital and labour. So improvements and such other forms of wealth were to be exempted from taxation, since they constituted the private property of the individuals in the real sense of the term, on which the State could lay no claim. This “Single Tax” was to be assessed on all lands whether used or kept out of use by landowners, out of speculative considerations, since what was to be taxed really, was not merely the actual rent yielded by the land but also the potential rental value of every land in use or out of use. ### **The benefits of ‘Single Tax’ ****** The immediate beneficial effect of this tax would be to reduce the sale prices of land to nominal ones. Landowners would no longer find it profitable to keep for themselves idle lands, since they would have to pay taxes for them equally with the rest. So lands would be available to the farmers and industrialists on easy terms. New industries would spring up; production would rise to great heights and wealth would increase by leaps and bounds. The element of rent, having been largely eliminated from the prices of commodities, the cost of living would go down considerably. Workers would be in a position to employ themselves on easily accessible lands. They would no more be compelled to sell their labour for a minimum wage. Hence, competition would not be one-sided among the labourers only, but employers also would be competing with one another for getting good and efficient labour. This would tend to increase workers’ wages, bring about a fair distribution of wealth, and normalise the relations between capital and labour. Consequently, the intervention in such matters, of the Trade Unions which Henry George called “Trade Trusts” would become outmoded and unnecessary.  Industrial prosperity, thus induced in a natural way, would stop the periodic paroxysms of booms and slumps overtaking trade and industry. Industrial stability and full employment at home, would pave the way for international free-trade and consequently for international peace, amity and goodwill. Moreover, Georgians claim that this “Single Tax”, if properly assessed on land values or annual rentals, would provide ample funds even to modern governments for carrying out their manifold duties. ### **His confession of faith****** After the publication of “PROGRESS & POVERTY”, Henry George came in for a good deal of criticism at the hands of Herbert Spencer and others, that he was no better than a Communist, out for nationalisation of land. In a spirited rejoinder to such criticism, Henry George succinctly and precisely made his confession of faith in the following words : “I have never been a land nationalist. I have never advocated taking of land by the State or the holding of the land by the State, further than needed for public use. From my first word on the subject, I have advocated what has come to be widely known as the ‘Single Tax’, i.e raising of public revenues by taxation which, as far as possible, and as far as practicable, should be made to absorb economic rent, and take the place of all other taxes. I have been an active, consistent and absolute free-trader and an opponent of all schemes that would limit the freedom of the individual. I have opposed every proposition to help the poor at the expense of the rich. I always insisted that no man should be taxed because of his wealth and that no matter how many millions a man might rightfully get, society should leave him every penny of them.” (Henry George in “THE PERPLEXED PHILOSOPHER” page 66). He did not detest capital. It was to him the ‘hand-maid’ of labour. He did not set a ceiling on wealth as our Indian Government and our socialist friends are seeking to do. In fact, he denounced communism as “robbery that would bring destruction.” Nor did he base his system on charity or “Dan” as we call it in India. This reform rested solely on human rights and moral justice. He was not opposed to the accumulation of riches. He wrote “I would not have it dinned into his (rich man’s) ears that it is his duty to help the poor. What he does with his wealth is his own business.” (‘Social Problems’). Our ‘Bhoodan’ and trusteeship faddists, who are never tired of sermonising to the rich and the well-to-do that they should hold their wealth and property in trust for the poor, may well ponder over these wise words of a great economist, moralist and humanitarian. His means of achieving the ends were legislation, persuasion and education of public opinion and appealing to the sense of duty which was “more potent for social improvement than the idea of self-interest, that in sympathy is a stronger social force than selfishness.” Therefore the communist methods of appealing to the narrow and selfish class interests and of violent class conflict had no use for him. ### **The great law of progress****** A close study of ancient civilisations of Rome and other countries enabled him to discover the important law of progress which he expressed in the telling phrase “Association in Equality”. It meant humanity progressed through mutual association among men and this association could be effective only among equals. Inequality bred fruitless struggles and conflicts and frittered away the creative energies of people needed for the building of a healthy society. This law, he held, explained the growth and decay of all civilisations ancient and modern, “all diversities, all advances, all halts and retrogressions.” (“PROGRESS & POVERTY” Book VI Chapter III). ### **Radical cure for a deep-seated malady****** Georgians look upon ‘Single Tax Reform’ as the most natural and radical cure for the disease of the poverty of the masses. Communist remedies, in their opinion, are at most palliatives and may in the end, do more harm than good. This reform movement is gaining influence in all industrialised democratic countries of the world like America, Australia, Denmark, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa, especially in consequence of the ever increasing burden of taxation on the people in the aftermath of the Second Great War. There are, according to ‘Encyclopaedia America’, a million ‘Single Taxers’ throughout the world today. India, too with her traditional respect for ‘Dharma’ that is to say the Moral Law, which is also the central core of Henry George’s teachings, will find in the ‘Single Tax’ much that is useful and instructive in her present endeavour to end poverty and to catch up industrially and materially with the progressive nations of the world. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals](https://indianliberals.in) archive, a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in). This essay is excerpted from the journal “The Indian Libertarian”, published in January 1960. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-jan-1971-2.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] No constitutional provision deserves repeal more than the one imposing Hindi: P Kodanda Rao URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/hindi-imposition-constitution/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/hindi-imposition-constitution/2799636/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-12-06. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # No constitutional provision deserves repeal more than the one imposing Hindi: P Kodanda Rao Mr. C. Rajagopalachari lamented that 1965 was a “mournful new year for the South.” The Dravida Munetra Kazhagam cursed January 26 as the “day of mourning” because on that day Hindi replaced English as the official language of the Government of India according to the terms of the Constitution. On the other hand, the champions of Hindi hail the occasion as the day of deliverance from English. And they invoke the Indian Constitution, which unlike the American Constitution—which it follows in some other respects—provided for an official language for the Government of India, and named Hindi for it. They claim for the Indian Constitution, and for Hindi for an integral part of it, the high moral sanctity and legal finality accorded to the American Constitution by the Americans. But the comparison is not on all fours. The Indian Constitution has, no doubt, the same legal authority as the American, but it has not the same ‘moral sanctity’ because of several major differences in evolution. For one thing, the American Constitutional Convention, which was called into existence by the American people after they had, by their unilateral action, declared independence. On the other hand, the Indian Constitution was enacted by the Indian Constituent Assembly, or Consembly for short, which was created by the British Government before it conceded Dominion status to India. Unlike its American counterpart, the Indian Consembly was based on communal electorates and was conducted on party lines and acted both as a body to enact the Constitution and as Parliament to enact laws. The Indian National Congress acted as a political party with a majority in the Consembly, met separately and privately, took decisions, invoked party discipline, and secured the enactment of its decisions. As a consequence, the Consembly was more a legislature than a Consembly. These, among other deviations and departures from the proprieties, denied to the Indian Consembly and the Indian Constitution the moral authority which their American counterparts rightly command. **Casting vote****** The moral sanction for Hindi is very much less than for the Constitution. At the critical meeting of the Congress party, Hindi secured a majority of one vote at a second ballot! And that was the casting vote of the chairman, who in violation of all proprieties and well-established conventions, gave it in favour of “Change” to Hindi instead of the status quo ante, that was English. The proceedings of the meetings of the party were private and have not been published. But Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, then the chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Consembly, had access to the private meetings. In his book, Thoughts On Linguistic States, he said : “There was no article which proved more controversial than Article 115 which dealt with the (Hindi) question. No article produced more opposition. No article more heat. After prolonged discussion: when the question was put, the vote was 77 against 77. The tie could not be resolved. After a long time, the question was put to the meeting once more, the result was 77 against 78 for Hindi. Hindi won its Place as a national language by one vote.” **Bitter conflict****** The sharp differences of opinion were voiced in the open meetings of the Consembly almost from its beginning. Some members like Seth Govind Das insisted that Hindi should first be declared as the “national” language of India, and that the Constitution should be drafted, discussed and passed in that language. As there was strong opposition to it, discussion on the official language was postponed till September 12, 1948, the fag end of the Consembly, in the hope of securing an agreed solution. In the meanwhile the draft Constitution in English was discussed and passed. The article to adopt Hindi as the official language of the Union was moved by Mr. N. Gopalaswami Iyengar. The fact that he was from Madras has been exploited to assert that non-Hindi members welcomed Hindi. If this had been the case, there would not have been the prolonged and bitter conflict in the Congress party itself, and there should have been no occasion to vote on it. Mr. Gopalaswami Iyengar’s speech in proposing Hindi as the official language was not of an enthusiastic supporter, as it would have been the case if Seth Govind Das had moved it. Said Mr Iyengar: I for one did not easily reach the conclusion that was arrived at the end of the discussion because it involved our bidding goodbye to a language on which, I think, we built and achieved our freedom. Though I accepted the conclusion at the end that the language should be given up in due course and in its place we should substitute a language of this country, it was not without a pang that I agreed to this decision.” As chairman of the Drafting Committee, Dr. Ambedkar should have moved the proposition. In pressurising Mr. Iyengar to do so, the Hindi champions resorted to an astute diplomatic maneuver or a mean and cruel trick. But their success was marred by the public confession of Mr. Iyengar of his real feelings and his efforts to salvage English for as long as possible. The speeches of Mr. T. A. Ramalingam Chettiar and other non-Hindi members were more bitterly against Hindi than friendly to it. They resented the chauvinism of the Hindi champions so much so that Mr. Nehru was driven to admonish the latter. He said : In some of the speeches I have listened to here and elsewhere, there is very much a tone of authoritarianism, very much a tone of Hindi-speaking areas being the centre of things in India, the centre of gravity, and others just the fringes of India. This is not only an incorrect approach, but it is a dangerous one. **Hopes dashed****** Those who reluctantly acquiesced in Hindi as the official language sought comfort in the constitutional provision that English should continue for 15 years after the Constitution was passed, which would give them opportunities for reconsideration of the decision without precipitating an insuperable deadlock immediately. They also hoped that, since the Congress itself was pretty equally divided on the issue, the Congress Government of India would not take advantage of the proviso that Hindi might also be used during the first 15 years of the Constitution. But their hopes were dashed. The Government of India started pushing Hindi almost immediately and steadily and relentlessly. Under power given by the Constitution, Parliament passed an Act in 1963 permitting the use also of English for another ten years, after which a parliamentary commission would decide its future. Speaking in the Consembly on November 5, 1949, Mr. T. T. Krishnamachari, who is now the Union Finance Minister, said that the English language was no longer hated in South India, that he refused to be compelled to learn Hindi to participate in parliament, and that he would not willingly learn Hindi because of the constraint put on him. To this day he has not spoken in Hindi in Parliament. He warned that “Hindi imperialism” would mean the “enslavement” of the non-Hindi people, and pointed to the movement in South India for separation because of Hindi imperialism.” He ended by saying that it was for the Hindi champions to decide whether India would remain as a single unit, or suffer partition. “If we are left out, well, we will only curse our luck and hope for better times to come.” He hoped in vain. He has not so far publicly recanted his dreadful apprehensions. Whether he does or not, he never said anything truer than when he asserted that Hindi ‘imperialism’ would lead to the enslavement of India. No article in the Constitution is less worthy of respect and more worthy of repeal. Hindi has the same moral value as Shylock’s bond. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals](https://indianliberals.in) archive, a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in). The following excerpt is from the Indian Libertarian Journal, published on 24 March 1988. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-jan-1971.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] Hitlerite vegetarianism is not virtue. India’s food debates need more science, less sentiment URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/hitlerite-vegetarianism-india-food-science-sentiment/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/hitlerite-vegetarianism-india-food-science-sentiment/2766589/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-10-18. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Hitlerite vegetarianism is not virtue. India’s food debates need more science, less sentiment In a country like India where pure milk and cheap vegetables are not easily available in sufficient quantities, any campaign against meat-eating is not desirable. In Delhi, pure milk is sold at the rate of As. 12 a seer. Nothing to say about the views of Jawaharlal Nehru, in whose opinion milk is not a “must*”* maintaining normal health. While addressing Congress MPs recently in the Capital, the Prime Minister quoted a Chinese scientist as having attributed the resistance of the Chinese people to diseases to their avoiding milk. In these circumstances man again finds himself between the devil and the deep sea. What to eat and what to avoid seems to be the most pricking question which does not appear to have been solved as yet. ### **Pills of happiness****** Much has been said against non-vegetarian foods. Dr. Rajendra Prasad, President of the Indian Republic, says vegetarianism can save humanity from the devastations of the nuclear weapons. Madame Clarence Gasque, President, World Vegetarian Congress, charges meat for causing cancer and other diseases to the Americans. Her advice to the Indian people is, “If you do not want diseases from the West to come to you, do not change your vegetarian food habits.” Good words and a nice suggestion indeed. But what about the bad effects of the “Pills of Happiness” widely used by the people of America to get relief from mental worries and nervous tensions. It is quite possible that the mounting number of diseases in the U.S.A. may be due to her present social, political and environmental conditions which are quite different from ours. To say that man by nature is vegetarian is baseless and misguiding. Primitive man lived by hunting, and man by nature is violent, which is why wars have not yet ended. The way of living of the various tribes in India and other parts of the world is enough to support this view. ### **Hitler was a vegetarian****** Moreover, one may also agree with the argument of Hakim Abdul Hameed of Delhi, who has discussed the subject of vegetarianism in the editorial columns of his fortnightly news-magazine “Hamdard”, an organ of the indigenous systems of medicine. While quoting three staunch vegetarians from Cabel to Hitler and Godse, Hakim Hameed asks in his editorial, “Is it possible to popularise vegetarianism without studying the various aspects of man’s life such as his physiological system, individual temperament, geographical conditions, economic problems, social environment etc.?” Cabel, the eldest vegetarian son of Adam, killed his non-vegetarian brother Abel in a love affair. Hitler, the staunch vegetarian of his time, and whose cook also used to be a vegetarian, launched the Second World War. And vegetarian Godse assassinated vegetarian Mahatma Gandhi. “Suppose if the philosophy of the vegetarians is accepted in its present form, various new animal problems will arise along with the present food difficulties of the human beings,” Hakim Abdul Hameed adds in his article under reference. Of the ten basic rules of Buddhism, the first is “I accept the precept to refrain from harming living beings”. But there are historical evidences that it did not involve complete vegetarianism, though it came to do so in many Buddhist communities. A monk might eat meat if the animal providing it was not specially killed for his benefit. When a Chinese traveller Fa-hsien visited India in the 5th century he reported that no respectable person ate meat the consumption of which was confined to low castes. The growth of vegetarianism in India was of course linked with the doctrine of non-violence, which was already old at the time of Fa-hsien. ### **Meat-eating and drinking not against Indian tradition****** But the Arthashastra accepts meat-eating as quite normal and lays down rules for the management of slaughter-houses and the maintenance of the purity of meat. Medical texts even of ancient India go so far as to recommend the use of both meat and alcohol in moderation and do not forbid the eating of beef. It is doubtful if complete vegetarianism has ever been universal in any part of India. With the prohibition of meat-eating some religious texts included that of eating garlic and onions. But the Russian scientists have developed a science of “Onionology” for the treatment of the decayed gums and other diseases of the mouth and stomach. For such a controversial subject like vegetarianism, it will be very difficult to determine the category of fish and eggs. Because fish has life, it has bones, sinews and blood. To eat fish one has to catch and kill it. And also, an egg is intended to be a chicken and those who eat it, do really eat chickens in the embryo. It is an act of infanticide. If you leave eating fish and egg, you are deprived of two most potent foods. Eighty per cent of an egg is said to be protein. Fish provides you with Vitamins A and D. And it has been declared by some American scientists recently that cod-liver oil is specific for T.B. ### **Vegetarianism — a fad****** Furthermore, animal protein is generally accepted to be more valuable than vegetable protein for growth because the creation of new tissues requires abundant supplies of essential amino acids, which are more readily available and in appropriate quantities and groupings in the animal product. The truth is that much depends upon the appropriate mixing of animal and vegetable proteins. Investigations have shown that milk and eggs, alone of the animal protein foods, exceed in value the mixed proteins found in normal dietaries. And if man is unfortunately persuaded to avoid non-vegetarian foods like fish, eggs, meat etc. nature knows better what will happen to him. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](https://indianliberals.in), a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in). It is taken from The Indian Libertarian journal, with the essay originally titled: “Hitlerite Vegetarianism,” published on 1 January 1953. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-jan1-1958.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] India’s labour policy left it unable to compete with other eastern economies: Nani A Palkhivala URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/india-labour-policy-competition-eastern-economies-nani-a-palkhivala/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/india-labour-policy-competition-eastern-economies-nani-a-palkhivala/2789818/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-11-22. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # India’s labour policy left it unable to compete with other eastern economies: Nani A Palkhivala I now come to the main theme of my talk — the necessity for making Indian industry globally competitive. The first necessity is to spread education more widely among our people. Today, India is competing, with only half its manpower, with the rest of the world, — since half of the Indian population is literally illiterate. We must make education the priority of priorities. The real resource of any country today is knowledge. Instead of capitalists and the working class, we are today having knowledge workers and service workers. Even in America, the Morgans, the Rockefellers and the Carnegies have been replaced by professional managers. Today, the well established pension funds increasingly control the supply and allocation of money in developed countries. These funds own in the USA half of the capital of the country’s largest businesses. The pension funds are run by a new breed of “capitalists” — the faceless and anonymous employees who run the pension funds, and investment analysts and portfolio managers. As Peter Drucker observed, we are living in a new era which is both non-socialist and post-capitalist.  Investing in education is to the 1990s what nationalization was to the 1940s and privatization was to the 1980s — the universal panacea of the day. All thinkers are agreed that in our times human capital is the most precious form of capital there is. The skill and calibre of corporate manpower can never appear in any balance sheet; but it is widely acknowledged throughout the world that the greatest resource of a company is trained manpower. In a book published recently by the famous economist, Julian Simon, the human resource is rightly defined in the title of the book as “The Ultimate Resource”. Among the nations of the world, India ranks very high in innate intelligence, but abysmally low in wisdom — what the ancient* rishis* called *buddhi*. This is both the cause and the effect of our total indifference towards education. The criminalization of politics and the deplorably low moral tone of our public life are the direct consequences of the failure to impart value-based education. When Indians are better educated, they will know how to behave better as workers and to discharge with greater responsibility their duties as citizens. Liberty without accountability is the freedom of the fool. Our concept of freedom will remain an impoverished one, until it is rounded and deepened by liberal education. Education is the rock on which India must build her political salvation. Our country will be built not with bricks but with brains; not with cement but with enlightenment. If we cannot afford education, we cannot afford to remain a civilized society. Secondly, we must privatize the public sector undertakings. Privatization means that the majority of shares should be allowed to go into public hands, while the government may only retain a minority interest. British Airways was privatized, and the standard of service improved beyond recognition. The Government of India has never understood that half-hearted reforms yield only half-baked results. There are hundreds of public sector enterprises run by the Union government, and more than three times that number are run by the State governments. These public sector enterprises are the black holes, the money guzzlers, and they have been extracting an exorbitant price for our past doctrinaire socialism. India’s public sector earns a return of barely two per cent on the capital employed. The British government is toying with the idea of privatizing even Air Traffic Control. In India, there is no political will to privatize any of the industries which are today in the public sector. The utmost the government is willing to do is to offer a minority shareholding in public sector enterprises to private parties, which means that control and management would continue to be in the hands of the government. The products and services offered by the public sector undertakings, — e.g. the coal mined by the Coal Corporation of India — are excessively expensive, with the result that many of the inputs in Indian industry are proportionately costlier than they should be. The inevitable result is that some of our end products are uncompetitive in the world markets. Thirdly, the quality of service rendered by the public sector undertakings is pathetic, if not hopeless. India has vast infrastructural gaps. It has to add 100,000 mw of power capacity in the next ten years. It has to upgrade, both quantitatively and qualitatively, telecommunications network. Take our telephone service which still continues to be the monopoly of the Union government. The Indian telephone service is undoubtedly the most inefficient in any important country of the world. But it has now reached a degree of inefficiency and corruption which is almost unbelievable. Quite often, you have to dial the required number half a dozen times before you get a connection, and dead telephones and wrong connections are the rule rather than the exception. The most serious fraud is committed in those cases where an outsider bribes telephone employees to illegally divert to himself a telephone line and makes calls for which the bill goes to the registered owner of the telephone. On the top of it all, service tax has been imposed upon every telephone call since last July. If there were a World Cup to be awarded to any government which has levied the most impudent and shameless tax, the Indian government would, without question, defeat all its rivals. The tax on telephones is called a service tax. As a matter of fidelity to the English language, I suggest that the service tax on our telephones should be called “disservice tax”. It is a long time since the Indian telephones last rendered any service to the long suffering public. What a dramatic change there would be in the field of telephones if the government monopoly were ended. Competition is the only answer as in other areas of the public sector. ***Also read:**** [Capitalism is the bedrock of all economic progress. Socialism is a parasite: KD Valicha](https://theprint.in/opinion/capitalism-is-the-bedrock-of-all-economic-progress-socialism-is-a-parasite-kd-valicha/2784867/)* Fourthly, strangulating controls have, to a considerable extent, been relaxed. But the top-heavy bureaucracy still continues to function. The Indian governmental machinery has been likened to some prehistoric monster incapable of intelligently controlling itself. The general impression has been that the Indian bureaucracy is the most obdurate and most inflexible the free world has ever known. As I have said before, there is a persistent tendency in India to have too much government and too little administration; too many laws and too little justice; too many public servants and too little public service; too many controls and too little welfare. The licence raj has been dismantled, but the inspector raj still lives on. I am aware that all this is changing but the rest of the world is changing much, much faster. We must stop frittering away our people’s time and energy in inane, unproductive, useless activities. The tax system has reached the point where its tangled mass helps nobody. India’s tax system is a nightmare. To call the Indian Income-tax Act a national disgrace would be to err on the side of under-statement. Even the last four Budgets which changed the fiscal and economic laws beyond recognition, were cluttered with about 600 amendments which serve no purpose other than create work for the legal and accountancy professions. Fifthly, we must drastically change our labour policy. Lee Kuan Yew, the wisest statesman of our times, had a point when he said that the main reason why India has not progressed as fast as the other countries of the East, is that all emphasis is on liberty while there is no regard for dedication and discipline. The Finance Minister had promised an exit policy but no action whatever has been taken in that direction. India will find it impossible to compete with the rest of the world so long as the law forbids even a humane exit policy and prohibits closure of a unit without the government’s permission. Our labour unions live in a thought-free zone. For reasons which are painfully apparent, they are stoutly opposed to the government offering even a minority shareholding to the public in nationalized industries. Sixthly, if there is any one political factor which is bound to impede the forward economic march of India, it is the resurgence of the age-old curse of casteism. History will record that the greatest Himalayan blunder of India in this decade has been to encourage casteism by making rigid reservations for employment under the state in its infinite variety and for admission to educational institutions, on the basis of caste. Ever since Mr. V. P. Singh began to use casteism as a political weapon, India has been paying the highest price any country has ever paid for democracy. Reservations in different States have already resulted in the substandard replacing the standard and the reins of power passing from meritocracy to mediocrity. Unfortunately, the calibre of politicians in India has reached an all-time low and intellectual pygmyism is the order of the day. There is already a scramble among State politicians to vie with one another in prescribing larger reservations. Reservations of the type sought to be made in different States can be allowed to prevail only by scrapping what Chief Justice Mahajan called “our sublime Constitution” and by promulgating a backward Constitution for a backward nation. It would not be too much to say that one of the policy imperatives for creating a globally competitive Indian industry is to change our policy of shortsighted political expediency, adhere to the clear mandate of the Constitution, and prevent the States from pursuing the suicidal policy of casteism. Verily, India has an unusual talent for self-destruction. Lastly, the government must make sure that the fruits of liberalization reach the masses. This is the most important lesson which India has to learn from Mexico. Our inflation must be brought down from 9.9 per cent to a level where it hurts the lower classes less. For instance, the price of food articles has risen as much as 55 per cent since the economic reforms began in July 1991. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](https://indianliberals.in)**, a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in)**. This essay is excerpted  from a booklet published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, based on the 12th TA Pai Memorial Lecture delivered by Nani A Palkhivala on 17 January 1995. **The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/liberals/making-indian-industry-globally-competitive-15-may-1995.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] India is under the spell of socialism. It has fooled common man and capitalist alike URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/india-socialism-common-man-capitalist/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/india-socialism-common-man-capitalist/2971270/) on 2026-07-11. Originally published 2026-06-27. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # India is under the spell of socialism. It has fooled common man and capitalist alike ‘What good are ample wages to a worker if he cannot buy property by judicious saving? And who would like to trade freedom for bread alone?’ asked HR Pasricha in 1974. --- ## [ThePrint] Indian bureaucracy should be given incentives and rewards: MH Mody URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/indian-bureaucracy-incentives-rewards/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/indian-bureaucracy-incentives-rewards/2817020/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2026-01-03. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Indian bureaucracy should be given incentives and rewards: MH Mody Bureaucracy, which is the machinery through which a government functions, closely follows the politicians in power. The bureau concept is wide enough to encompass governmentally-run undertakings—such as railways or telecommunications, as well as state sector undertakings—in addition to the administrative machinery that administers the law and order system. Irrespective of the wideness or narrowness of the concept, an underlying relationship can be easily detected between the politicians and the bureaucracy. The politician is dependent on the bureaucracy for its services that are in compliance with his interests. In turn, the bureaucracy is dependent on the politician for its annual grants or budgets. Over a period of time, a relationship of mutual interdependence develops so that the activities of a bureau fosters and at the same time feeds upon the politician. But for the fact that this is a socially destructive activity, one would call this relationship symbiotic. All bureaucratic activities must be subject to what the Americans call “sunset laws”, i.e., any government department must, by a specific statutory provision, have a limited life. Under this provision, on the expiry of the period, which in my view should seldom exceed ten years, its continuance beyond that period would require specific legislative approval and would therefore involve a re-examination of its functions. Consider now the limitations of the bureaucracy. Firstly, the bureaucracy is not subject to any quantitative test of efficiency. Secondly, there are no economic incentives that could motivate a bureau to make the most of a given budget. In short, there is the absence of a measure of performance and the incentive of “profit”. The word “profit” is anathema to a bureaucrat. Indeed, the secular trend in bureaucracies is that they grow in size rapidly irrespective of the relevance or the efficiency of the function they perform. Inevitably, they find a rationale for their existence even if the underlying basis of their creation may have ceased altogether. Even in areas which are considered as appropriate for a modern government to undertake, there is no method by which the cost of delay by a bureaucracy can be quantified. The Indian bureaucracy has much to account for in this area of delay. Many decisions taken are wise, if not actually profound; but the delay to which the decision-making process is subjected is itself self-defeating. A bureaucracy may be very effective in its work but the official rhetoric of a bureau is socialistic. One big advantage of socialism over capitalism is clearly a matter of rhetoric and argumentation rather than performance. It simply appears too self-serving when an individual who has profited greatly from the system says: “My labours also improve the country as a whole”. In a socialist system, all are presumably working directly for the common good. The fact that the elites in most third world socialist countries are uncommonly well rewarded for their labour is frequently overlooked. A perceptive and witty scholar has observed: “Those countries devoted to freedom have done more for equality than those devoted to equality have done for freedom or equality”. The concept of the faceless bureaucrat who self-effacingly carries out orders from above, merely executing but not making policy, and motivated by the noble motive of public interest, is a myth deliberately created by the bureaucracy. Bureaucrats, as has been demonstrated in the last few decades, cannot be considered as economically neutral. They will seek to expand the size of their bureaus since it is universally accepted that the salary and perquisites of office are related directly to the size of the budget which is administered by a bureau. The built-in force for expansion, which inherently exists in a bureaucracy, results in a budget maximising department. Tax payers end up by being no better off than they would be without the provision of a public good or service. All their “net benefits” are squeezed out by the bureaucrats. The implication is that each and every public good or service, whether it is medical services, education, transport or defence, tends to be expanded beyond a tolerable level of efficiency. It would be ideal if a system of incentives and pecuniary rewards is introduced in the bureaucracy. A competitive environment is as healthy for a bureau as it is for industry. Anyone who has worked with bureaucrats will agree that so many of them are admirable and gifted individuals. They must surely be capable of better performances in their task than we actually get from them. Is there a place for a counter-bureaucracy, such as that represented by the Ombudsman? Or a separate and competing bureaucracy under the administrative and financial control of parliamentary committees to counter balance the force of the executive’s bureaucracy? Other likely solutions would be competition between bureaus, altering the reward system for bureaucrats, payments being made on results or on economy in use of resources, turning over the production of certain goods and services to private firms for a price, e.g. education, sewage disposal or waste disposal, hospital services. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](https://indianliberals.in))**, a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in))**. This essay is excerpted from a journal published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, based on an address delivered by M. H. Mody to an international seminar at Goa in December 1980. The original version can be read [here](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/the-new-class-in-a-state-dominated-economy-by-mh-moody-1980.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] From Vedanta, India turned to Nehruvian socialism and buried its liberal roots: Sharad Joshi URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/indian-liberalism-vedanta-nehruvian-socialism/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/indian-liberalism-vedanta-nehruvian-socialism/2732308/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-08-30. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # From Vedanta, India turned to Nehruvian socialism and buried its liberal roots: Sharad Joshi The ancient “Vedanta” tradition was a cradle of liberal tenets. The liberalism of ancient India, however, got suppressed under successive foreign rulers. Even the forces that came along with the freedom movement were all statist in the sense that they all favoured a strong interventionist state and even Gandhi’s anarchism proved to be little more than a scoring point with them. Today, with the fall of the Nehruvian model, there still seems to be little hope for the liberal democrats. With the Government itself resorting to blatantly populist measures, a serious programme of liberalisation would require the restoration of law and order, clearance of the Aegean stables of the judiciary, further pruning of the forest of economic regulations, dismantling of the bureaucracy, restoration of fundamental rights under the constitution and the working out of a reasonable exit policy. **Misconceptions****** Liberalism is far from being the dominant or even the mainstream school of thought in India. Worse still, most consider liberalism as an idea imported from abroad and as being derogatory to national pride. Within the country, the cry goes that liberalism suits the convenience of the affluent and the strong minority and militates against the welfare security net that the weaker masses of the society need so badly. The defunct Nehruvian socialism is being replaced not by the vibrant forces of liberal entrepreneurship but by lumpen chauvinistic and communal jingoism. The liberals, on the other hand, are handicapped under the electoral laws which require that to be eligible for registration and recognition, parties must swear allegiance to socialism and so reaffirm in a specific affidavit before the Election Commission. The situation is serious and fraught with grave consequences. If India goes the wrong way, even temporarily, the cost could be very high and the long-term consequences could well spread to other regions as well. **Seven centuries of liberal eclipse****** Is it true that liberalism is an alien transplant on Indian soil? Liberal writers are partly to be blamed for this mistaken impression. Most of them come from the city-based, English-speaking westernised class of elites. In their writings, they trace the beginnings of liberalism to J. S. Mill and Adam Smith and of Indian liberalism to Dadabhai Naoroji, Gokhale, Ram Mohan Roy, Narmad, Phule, Agarkar, etc. These great masters remained briefly on the centre stage in the early days of British rule between 1860 and 1920, and were swept aside by the tide of nationalist-chauvinist and socialist forces. Liberal writers have left an impression that the pre-British indigenous culture was one of despotic authority tyrannising subjects resigned to their preordained fate. Apart from being untrue, this notion has given rise to a broad feeling that this alien phenomenon is unlikely to take root here. **Cradle of liberal tenets** That does not mean liberalism was unknown to India. In fact, there is reason to believe that ancient India was the cradle of tenets that form the core of modern-day liberalism. The traditional Indian societies were generally pluralistic. The King — *Kshatriya* by caste — was the unquestioned sovereign who was venerated as the very incarnation of Super-God *Vishnu*, but had little to do with the affairs of learning and trade. Rajaji was fond of quoting a Gujarati proverb meaning, “Where the King is trader, his subjects are paupers.” This poly-centrism may not, because of its caste basis, pass modern-day scrutiny; but it constituted, at least in theory, a rare combination of muzzled monarchy and social prestige divorced from both wealth and power. The reality might not have been exactly as rosy as all that, but that such values were cherished at all so early in history is itself remarkable when compared to the situation then prevailing in Europe, China or Japan. The liberalism of ancient Indian society does not appear to have been limited to superficial social and political structures. The ancient *Vedanta* philosophy comes very close to the philosophical assumptions of modern liberalism — the uniqueness of individuals, rejection of absolutism, scepticism of authority, and trust in the efficacy of competition. The ‘Vedanta’ system held the material world to be illusory and rejected all claims of authority by temporal institutions claiming divine contacts. **Plethora of statists****** The British, who unlike the Muslim invaders had a liberal background, established the rule of law and in many ways treated India as a laboratory of model-building.  After the revolt of 1857, they limited their rule to administration and colonial exploitation. Maintenance of the Raj, naturally had overriding priority. Consequently British rule, though soft by colonial standards, was far from being a liberal democracy. The coming of the British gave rise to the grand masters of Indian liberalism, who generally held the view that freedom without equality would be pointless and that a period of probation under the British would help remove the iniquities of Indian society. It would also give birth to a genuine nation of unified people in a new era of freedom. But there were other schools which pandered to popular chauvinistic cravings more effectively. Firstly, there were a number of socio-religious reformist movements which argued that there was nothing basically wrong with Hindu society. Hindus were divided and needed to be forged into unity through community activities. These movements promoted various activities like community or mass prayers on the lines of the Christian prayers and Muslim ‘namaz’. Secondly, there were movements that sought to glorify indigenous traditions and history in order to concretise the idea of a Hindu Nation — yet another attempt to follow the example of the victors. They were ostensibly upholding Hinduism, but in fact jettisoning its precious core. A third force that sprung up was basically a reaction to the attempts of the high-castes to arrogate to themselves the leadership of the entire Hindu people including those castes and communities that were not allowed to enter Hindu temples or to touch Hindu scriptures. To this date, the modern day descendants of this movement are infatuated with the reservation of jobs. **Gandhi – proponent of anarchism****** Gandhi represented a platform much truer to Hindu thought, upholding at the same time ecumenism — the identity of all faiths. The Mahatma worked actively for social reform, propounded a village-based constructive programme for economic advancement and introduced a spiritual dimension in political activity which was to become his hallmark. Truth and non-violence were his creed, and he was opposed to the very idea of a state which could not exist without violence. Gandhi was as close as one can come to the idea of an anarchist society. Faced with the harsh realities of life, he made concessions and compromises in his later years to such an extent that he accepted at one stage the need to nationalise all basic industries. Nevertheless, Gandhism essentially stood for minimal and decenatralised government. **Decline and fall of the Nehruvian model****** The end of the cold war pulled the rug from under the feet of many a tin-pot socialist regime. The Nehruvian socialist edifice had begun to crumble. This ought to gladden the hearts of all freedom-loving people who have suffered for almost half a century under the heels of a moth eaten planning regime which worked, in effect, as crony-capitalism – everything is banned unless you have the necessary contacts. Unfortunately, they find themselves caught between the devil and the deep sea. **Prospects for the liberals?****** Where do the liberals forces stand in all this? Organising liberals is almost a contradiction in terms and, hence, a formidable task in any country. How does one set about organising highly individualistic people opposed to the very idea of authority? Rajaji who had a very high standing among the followers of Gandhi and who became the first Indian Governor-General of Independent India, had correctly foreseen the disaster that Nehru’s license-permit-inspector Raj would produce. He founded the first liberal political party in India, the ‘Swatantra Party’. It started off well but was swept out in the Indira wave after the Bangladesh triumph in 1971. In 1994, an attempt was made to create a new liberal party – ‘Swatantra Bharat’. It polled over a million votes in the state Assembly elections of Maharashtra but secured only two seats in the Assembly. Its chances in the forthcoming parliamentary elections are negligible since it cannot even register itself without dishonestly swearing false allegiance to socialism. A serious Programme of liberalisation will need to restore law and order, to clear the Aegean stables of the judiciary, to cut down the forest of economic regulations, to dismantle bureaucracy, to restore fundamental rights under the constitution and to work out a reasonable exit policy. Such a formidable agenda would require a very strong Government. There is no prospect of this happening in the near or distant future. In fact, very few appear to be interested in a liberal polity. The beneficiaries of the Socialist epoch are trying hard to thwart reforms in every possible way. The political leaders have got used to earning commissions for securing governmental favours. Industrialists think they cannot do without state protection. Employees with their cushy jobs and side incomes want the bureaucracy to expand and are not enthusiastic about privatisation. Mafias control politicians and governments, and would not like to see their underground empires demolished through liberalisation. The only two categories of people who would be interested in liberalisation and globalisation would be the farmers who have suffered hefty negative subsidies and consumers who have been fleeced by the socialist monopolist and have had to pay exorbitant prices for shoddy goods. The prospects are far from bright. **History – Indian liberals’ only ally****** But History has ample evidence that liberty blossoms in the most unexpected of places and at seemingly impossible times. The world is moving towards demolishing walls that have fragmented and distorted the world. India could not remain for long an island of statism. Indian history shows that people believe in minimal decencies and are capable of fighting against tyrants if a Gandhi comes along. An Indian Hitler will have to be exceptionally lucky to survive for any length of time. This much hope ought to be enough for seekers of liberty and equality. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](https://theprint.in/indianliberals.in), a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in/). It is an excerpt from a monograph titled ‘Any Hope for Indian Liberals?’ published by the Liberal Times Magazine in 1995. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/liberal-times/liberalism-in-south-asia.pdf#page=4-8).* --- ## [ThePrint] Fall of the Indian economists is their own doing: MR Pai URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/indian-economists-mr-pai/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/indian-economists-mr-pai/2951999/) on 2026-07-11. Originally published 2026-06-06. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Fall of the Indian economists is their own doing: MR Pai The public may be deluded into thinking that an economist influences the politician or the authorities, though more often than not, it is the latter who, by picking the suitable brand of advisers, gets some technical support for his own positions. --- ## [ThePrint] An inefficient entrepreneur deserves to be branded as anti-social: Arvind Narottam Lalbhai URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/inefficient-entrepreneur-anti-social-arvind-narottam-lalbhai/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/inefficient-entrepreneur-anti-social-arvind-narottam-lalbhai/2926117/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2026-05-09. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # An inefficient entrepreneur deserves to be branded as anti-social: Arvind Narottam Lalbhai It is a great misfortune that we are more concerned with symptoms rather than the diseases. We feel self-complacent by treating the symptoms by palliatives. If there is a shortage of sugar, we think more in terms of distribution channels, controls and price fixations. But we do not think in terms of increasing the supply and thereby respecting the law of supply and demand.  We think seriously that controls, price fixation and distribution of commodities through co-operative stores and fair price shops will solve the problem. We do not think in terms of allowing the prices to rise according to the law of supply and demand and thereby induce entrepreneurs to expand their productive capacities or to set up new plants. The thinking in those terms requires the firm determination to enlighten and educate the public that this is the only effective way to hold the level of prices. The determination is not there. During the intervening period, prices are bound to rise. But, that being a passing phase, should not cause unusual concern. If the policy of competitive economy and free markets is allowed to operate, the prices are bound to register a permanent and substantial fall in the long run. We are not prepared to think in terms of shifting emphasis from heavy capital industries to agricultural produce and consumer products industries, nor are we taking effective measures against the rate of population growth, which substantially offsets the rate of economic growth.  What holds good in the matter of holding the level of prices, holds good equally in respect of other fields of economic activities and the fiscal policy pursued by the government.  Instead of being moved by the stark poverty of millions of people in the direction of encouraging higher and higher volume of economic activities, which will ensure higher employment; fall in prices, adequate supply of commodities and even larger amount of taxes, we feel more concerned with the concentration of economic power in the hands of a few individuals and avoidance of monopolistic trends. An unwise policy aimed at mitigating the fear of concentration of economic power in a few hands is pursued; the fear is only imaginary. But in following such a policy, economic development is slowed down. One wonders and feels indignant whether our concept of socialism is one of the distribution of poverty. The concept of monopoly conveys the existence of one or a few large concerns that have acquired such a dominant control over the production of a commodity that they are in a position, if they so desire, to manipulate the supply and price of that commodity in their own interest, with the full awareness that there is a large demand for the same in the country. In such a monopoly, there is no effective competition from other parties and this is the source of the strength of the monopolists. In our country, the monopoly so defined does not really exist. But in fact, a situation similar to that is allowed to persist not because of the entrepreneurs having joined hands for the purpose, but because of the government’s unwise policy of imposing controls in the name of planned economy and avoidance of wastage of scarce resources.  The policy, apart from encouraging, really discourages the growth of a competitive economy, which is the only antidote to monopoly. This gives a very curious picture of self-contradiction that though the Government, on the one hand, is anxious to prevent the growth of monopolistic trends, it pursues a policy which leads to the opposite result. The position becomes still more aggravated when judged in the context of the facts that while the imports are curtailed in advance, in very many cases the targets of production are not hit in time which creates scarcity conditions and provides a sellers’ market. It gives suppliers an opportunity to dictate prices, ultimately leading to inflation. The very fact that such a policy of the government itself creates a sellers’ market does not make the manufacturer think seriously in terms of reducing costs. People in authority have wrong notions about profit. Profit is not being hailed as an index of efficiency but is being condemned as a sin against society by labelling it as profiteering. It is high time that a firm line of demarcation is drawn between profit and profiteering. Profit is not only an index of efficiency but is also a must for the continuance and growth of all economic activities. Profit is a legitimate return on funds employed in the business and a reward for the efforts put in by the managerial personnel. One fails to understand how any economy can ever progress without its entrepreneurs making adequate profits from the economic activities carried on by them.  ***Also read: **[Without free enterprise in economic life, we cannot maintain democracy: Minoo Masani](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/free-enterprise-in-economic-life-minoo-masani/2920077/)* The word profiteering needs to be correctly understood and well defined. Simply because certain industrial managements happen to be competent and make more profits compared with others even in the same industry, those who make more profits cannot be labelled as profiteers. If the entrepreneurs join hands either in curtailing production and thereby creating an artificial shortage leading to soaring prices or if they jointly decide not to charge prices below a certain level, and if in this way they make huge profits they can be accused of profiteering. If an entrepreneur happens to be inefficient and does not make any profit, he is not by any means serving society. In fact, he does a greater amount of disservice by not avoiding waste, raising efficiency and reducing costs. Such a level of performance deserves to be branded as anti-social.  Of the latter class, undertakings in the public sector provide overwhelming evidence. Many a time, the workings of the undertakings in the public sector have been analysed by the application of various management accountancy ratios, which really provide a very sad and disappointing reading. In spite of this painful realisation, the government is thinking more and more in terms of setting up undertakings in the public sector. All these ideological obsessions make them forget the fundamental that the super-structure of a socialist pattern of society cannot rest on the mud foundations of waste and inefficiency, but only on the solid foundation of prosperity.  *This essay is part of a series from the Indian Liberals *[*archive*](https://indianliberals.in/)*, a project of the *[*Centre for Civil Society*](https://ccs.in/)*. This essay is an excerpt from a monograph published by the Forum of Free Enterprise titled “Are there monopolies and concentration of economic power in India?” in July 1964. The original version can be accessed on this *[*link*](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/are-there-monopolies-and-concentration-of-economic-power-in-india-arvind-narotta-lalbhai-h-venkatasubbiah-july-5-1964.pdf))*.* --- ## [ThePrint] Indian welfarists destroyed right to property by guaranteeing rights to life, liberty URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/indian-welfarists-right-property-life-liberty/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/indian-welfarists-right-property-life-liberty/2872286/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2026-03-07. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Indian welfarists destroyed right to property by guaranteeing rights to life, liberty The so-called welfare state is a new phrase for an old theory of government under which planners or Government Officials, as the case may be, assume complete responsibility for the material welfare of the people. The actions of the government in the material sphere naturally affect the other aspects (vital as they are in many cases) of human life. Welfare has to balance the basic ideas that will never be at ease with one another—property vs equality. Each of those incompatible ideas stem out of the implementation of welfarism without regard to the sacrifice of both these ideas, namely, liberty and property. The evolution of human life is consistently the idea of guaranteeing first, a right to life; secondly to liberty; thirdly to property. The Welfarists destroy property by guaranteeing rights to life and liberty. But in the process of securing welfare to the masses, they withhold liberty against the promised guarantee of plenty to the community. The issue is profound because it sticks by man’s conception and feeling of dignity. It is clearly not the duty of government to take a measure of freedom from one person to enhance the freedom of another. The myth of welfarism largely consists in the liberal guarantee of the welfarists to make possible for everyone to be completely free at the same time. The essence of the welfare state which the equalitarians have developed is quite a paradox. The federal units single out special groups for unequal treatment under law—agriculturist, factory workers, consumers—in order to keep the various segments, of the country’s population in rough balance. As the federal units push forward these groups, the centre pulls back others. ### **Practical alternative to welfare state** Welfare is an end by itself and not a means to an end. Welfarists in India, are not only concerned with the attainment of this end, but also advocate drastic policies which, in their opinion, lead to Welfare State. Their suggestions will wither and deaden the average citizen’s sense of participation and partnership in governmental affairs. They forget that this citizen participation is largely responsible in strengthening democracy. The practical alternative to the Welfare State is not something called laissez-faire or rugged individualism, or any of the other hackneyed phrases for capitalism. I am inclined to call the alternative the free economy if—we did not distract the objective connotations which the word ‘Free’ has come to have. In so far as security must be one objective of the good society, the practical alternative to the Welfare State should be of securing a situation wherein welfare devices such as productivity, excellence, creativeness, adventure, dignity, and the chance to take a chance, are effectively guarded and promoted. Such a society relies not on government but on organisation promoted by the people themselves. Thus when people are not restrained to experiment with their own forms of association for mutual aid true welfarism emerges. I am not here figuring a society without a government. Far be from me. The government has a defined role in securing general welfare such as public works, conservation which cannot always be promoted on a large and efficient scale by voluntary private organisations. I would like to emphasise that welfare on a self-reliant basis is not a vague utopian hope but a very practical thing, the realisation of which largely depends on the experimentative spirit of the people, and government on a limited basis. ***Also read:***[* Violent class-war doctrines of Marx became the sole saviour of labour: MA Venkata Rao*](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/collectivism-liberty-limited-state-ma-venkata-rao/2866268/) ### **Social prestige at stake** The free economy produces true welfare of the masses, as it adheres firmly to the following two principles: - “Whenever the welfare of a community requires a common action, the unity of that common action must be assured by higher organs of the community.” - “Whenever a task can be satisfactorily achieved by the initiative of the individual and that of small social units, the fulfilment of that task must be left to the initiative of the individual or that of the small social units.” Because the vitality of free society does not come from the gifts of a ruling group at the top. The Welfarists in India want the government to launch Welfare programmes and carry them out in utter disregard to the wishes of the people. A Welfare State grows out of mutual co-operation and spontaneity and not through measures thrust forcibly upon the masses and carried out by mere compulsion or sheer violence. Then democracy disappears and in its place totalitarianism and dictatorship reign supreme. The individual dignity and social prestige are then at stake. We cannot establish a good society simply by a series of uncorrelated measures pushed through by pressure. A good society abhors those welfare measures which involve a denial of personality and an abrogation of responsibility. The welfarism secured in a free economy is bound to last longer since the two ideas of authority and administration of authority are divorced by the allowance of spontaneity in the public life of the country, and reconciled successfully by the preservation of individual dignity and liberty. The anarchy of totalitarianism is bound to come to an end from its own instability and grave lack of logical unity. But once fostered, retreat from totalitarianism is cent per cent impracticable. There is no hope of restoring democracy, of reviving liberty; the destination of totalitarian government being ultimate destruction of liberty and individual dignity. Men intoxicated with power will never voluntarily surrender the power to spend the money of other people in the name of welfare and general well being. Life always has been, and always will be, something of the nature of a race. But there is not much fun in taking part in or in watching a race where in advance the Umpires impose handicaps which will effectively ensure that all the competitors will arrive simultaneously at the winning post. And it is not I, but Alexander Gray, who says so. Now, are you willing to participate in such a race or prefer one in which your ability to run is recognised and rewarded? *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals](https://indianliberals.in) archive**, a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in)**. This essay is excerpted from a journal published by “The Indian Libertarian”, published in March 1959. The original version can be accessed on [this link](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-mar1-1959.pdf)**.* --- ## [ThePrint] Jawaharlal Nehru opposed idea of SC being final arbiter of compensation: A Ranganathan URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/jawaharlal-nehru-sc-compensation-a-ranganathan/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/jawaharlal-nehru-sc-compensation-a-ranganathan/2907825/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2026-04-18. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Jawaharlal Nehru opposed idea of SC being final arbiter of compensation: A Ranganathan Essentially the Indian Constitution,” observed Sir Iver Jennings “is an individualist document. Its prophets are Burke, Mill and Dicey; yet some at least of the members of the Constituent Assembly thought in collectivist terms. The result is a curious dichotomy. On the one hand the individualism of the nineteenth century has sought to limit the powers of the government in the interest of liberty; on the other hand the collectivist trend of the century has sought to expand the powers of government in order that the state may regulate economic life and incidentally restrict liberty.”  And since Indian Independence, there has been a gradual but sustained effort to increase the powers of the executive at the expense of the courts. Indeed, Pandit Nehru had opposed the idea of the Supreme Court being the final arbiter of compensation on the plea that the Supreme Court ought not to make itself a “third House of Parliament”. It is well known that the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth amendments to the American Constitution constitute a source of reserved power for the judiciary to act as a restraining influence on legislative and executive bodies when they tend to limit the freedom of the individual. While there is no Due Process Clause as such in the Indian Constitution, the Indian judiciary became empowered to regulate property rights in India. The ‘Right to Property’ was originally guaranteed by Article 31 of the Indian Constitution. In the document as drafted in 1950, Article 31(1) read: “No person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law”. And Article 31(2) read: “No property, movable or immovable, including any interest in, or any company owing any commercial or industrial undertaking, shall be taken possession of or acquired for public purposes under any law authorising the taking of such possession or such acquisition, unless the law provides for compensation for the property taken possession of or acquired and either fixes the amount of compensation or signifies the principles on which and the manner in which the compensation is to be determined and given.” However, on 27 April 1955, an amendment was passed which substituted for Article 31 (2) the following clauses: 31(2) No Property shall be compulsorily acquired or requisitioned save for a public purpose and save by authority of a law which provides for compensation for the property so acquired or requisitioned and either fixes the amount of compensation or specifies the principles on which and the manner in which the compensation is to be determined and given; and no such law shall be called in question in any court on the ground that the compensation provided by the law is not adequate. 31 (2-A) where a law does not provide for the transfer of the ownership or right to possession of any property to the State or to a corporation owned or controlled by the State, it shall not be deemed to provide for the compulsory acquisition or requisitioning of property, notwithstanding that it deprives any person of its property”. The article, as amended, creates a situation of intense uncertainty since we do not have clauses similar to the Due Process Clauses in the American Constitution.  ***Also read: **[Congress was committed to alcohol ban law without being practical: MA Venkata Rao](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/congress-alcohol-ban-ma-venkata-rao/2902018/)* Indeed as pointed out by Justice Douglas (in “We the Judges), it is clear that India has broken with one tradition of the law of eminent domain—the 1955 Amendment casts a shadow over every private factory, plant or other individual enterprise in India. The legislature may now appropriate at any price it desires, substantial or nominal.  There is no review of the reasonableness of the amount of compensation. The result can be just compensation or confiscation, dependent wholly on the mood of Parliament”. This new power of fixing the amount of compensation is theoretically vested in Parliament, but in actual practice will have to be delegated to the ruling party and finally administered by the executive officials. The situation is particularly gloomy if viewed in the light of the various measures which have followed in the wake of the ‘Socialistic Pattern of Society’—the Nagpur resolution on Cooperative Farming, Nationalisation of the Insurance, State Tradings, Ceilings on land holdings etc.  It is well to recall that several years ago, Lord Hewart, a distinguished jurist and former Lord Chief Justice of England, pointed to the dangers of what he termed “the new despotism” of those in authority who are allowed to dominate the private sector. This is even more true in a country like India where (as accurately summed up by N Raghunathan in his “Our New- Rulers”) “we have an illiterate public which plausible demagogues promising the millennium out of hand can sway with unpredictable results, a long tradition of docile submission to authority, and what is in reality a one-party State.” In the final analysis, the right to own property is linked with individual freedom. As argued by the liberal historian Prof. Massimo Salvadori, Karl Marx was correct when he said that those who owned property were free and those who did not were unfree, but was wrong when he deduced illogically that greater freedom would be achieved through the abolition of private property.  Actually, it is this concept of individual freedom as explained by thinkers like Locke, Turgot and Jefferson which gives democracy its distinctive profile. The belief of our planners who are perpetually thinking in terms of constitutional encroachments into the domain of the individual can only find its scope in gigantomania by building colossal structures and voicing the usual slogan of production and more production at the expense of urgent consumer needs and dismissing informed criticism as “reactionary or lacking even a grain of intelligence”. It is high time that we halted this remorseless process of divesting the people of their property rights, if we are to preserve the spirit of democracy as distinguished from its outer trappings. *This essay is part of a series from the *[*Indian Liberals archive*](https://indianliberals.in)*, a project of the *[*Centre for Civil Society*](https://ccs.in)*. This essay is excerpted from the journal “The Indian Libertarian”, published on 1 January 1962. The original version can be accessed on this *[*link*](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-jan1-1962.pdf)*.* --- ## [ThePrint] Like a gambler, govts squandered India’s legacy through mindless socialism: Nani Palkhivala URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/like-a-gambler-govts-squandered-indias-legacy-through-mindless-socialism-nani-palkhivala/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/like-a-gambler-govts-squandered-indias-legacy-through-mindless-socialism-nani-palkhivala/2722087/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-08-16. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Like a gambler, govts squandered India’s legacy through mindless socialism: Nani Palkhivala At the stroke of midnight on 14th August 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru made his famous speech wherein he referred to India keeping her tryst with destiny and awaking to life and freedom. To review the last three and forty years in an hour is like trying to see the Himalayas at night in one flash of lightning. One thing I promise you — I shall “nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice.” I would be dishonouring the memory of Pandit Nehru and of his mentor, Mahatma Gandhi, if I tried to be economical with the truth. The greatest achievement of Indian democracy is that it has survived unfractured for forty-three years. Eight hundred and forty million people — more than the combined population of Africa and South America — live together as one political entity under conditions of freedom. Never before in history, and nowhere else in the world today, has one-sixth of the human race existed as a single free nation. ### **Three inestimable advantages****** In 1950, we started as a Republic with three inestimable advantages. First, we had 5000 years of civilization behind us — a civilization which had reached “the summit of human thought”. The trader’s instinct is innate in Indian genes. An Indian can buy from a jew and sell to a Scot, and yet make a profit! Secondly, whereas before 1858 India was never a united political entity, that year the accident of British rule welded us into one country, one nation; and when independence came, we had been in unified nationality for almost a century under one head of state. Thirdly, our Founding Fathers, after two long years of laborious and painful toil, gave us a Constitution which a former Chief Justice of India rightly described as “sublime.” It was the longest Constitution in the world till, a few years ago, Yugoslavia had the impertinence to adopt a longer Constitution. The right to carry on any occupation, trade or business is again guaranteed right. The concept of “socialism” did not figure anywhere in the Constitution as originally enacted. On the contrary, the Constitution provided for the Directive Principle of State Policy that the State shall endeavour to secure that “the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good” and that “the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment”. These words rule out State ownership – the Monolithic State – which is the hallmark of communism, euphemistically called socialism. India is the only country in the world where, in the States which are governed by the Communist party, human rights are fully respected — and that is only because the Bill of Rights is firmly entrenched in our national Constitution. We can proudly say that our Constitution gave us a flying start and equipped us adequately to meet the challenges of the future. Unfortunately, over the years we dissipated every advantage we started with, like a compulsive gambler bent upon squandering an invaluable legacy. I am afraid, India today is only a caricature of the noble democracy which Nehru strove to bring to life and freedom in 1947. ***Also read: ***[*Easier to throw off foreign tyranny than tyranny of elected representative: Nani Palkhivala* ](https://theprint.in/opinion/great-speeches/easier-to-throw-off-foreign-tyranny-than-tyranny-of-elected-representative-nani-palkhivala/2452052/) ### **Shells of socialism and state controls****** Successive governments imposed mindless socialism on the nation, which held in thrall the people’s endeavour and enterprise. They respected the shells of socialism — state control and state ownership — while the kernel, the spirit of social justice, was left no chance of coming to life. We shut our eyes to the fact that socialism is to social justice what ritual is to religion and dogma is to truth. The peacock is our national bird, but we could have more appropriately chosen the ostrich! The Economist rightly remarked in January 1987 that socialism as practised in India has been a fraud. Our brand of socialism did not result in transfer of wealth from the rich to the poor but only from the honest rich to the dishonest rich. We built up State-Owned Enterprises — called the public sector in India. The sleeping sickness of socialism is now universally acknowledged, — but not officially in India. No less than 231 public sector enterprises are run by the Union Government, and 636 by the State Governments. These have been the black holes of our economy. There is a tidal wave of privatization sweeping across the world from Bangladesh to Brazil, but it has turned aside in its course and passed India by. The most persistent tendency in India has been to have too much government and too little administration; too many laws and too little justice; too many public servants and too little public service; too many controls and too little welfare. From the very first decade of the republic the steel claws of the permit-licence-quota raj were laid upon the national economy, and even today their grip continues with insignificant relaxation. Today the situation remains unchanged, – only the number of files has increased a thousandfold. Millions of manhours are wasted every day in coping with inane bureaucratic regulations and a torrential spate of amendments. Legal redress is so time-consuming enough to make infinity intelligible. A lawsuit once started in India is the nearest thing to eternal life ever seen on this earth. Close to two million cases are pending in the eighteen High Courts alone, and more than 2,10,000 cases in the Supreme Court for admission or final hearing or miscellaneous relief. History will record that the greatest mistake of the Indian Republic in the first forty years of its existence was to make far less investment in human resources — investment in education, family planning, nutrition and public health — than in brick and mortar, plants and factories. We had quantitative growth without qualitative development. Different parts of India still live in different centuries so far as basic amenities and cultural awareness are concerned. ***Also read: **[Private enterprise didn’t fail in India. JN Tata’s steel dream soared despite British ridicule](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/private-enterprise-didnt-fail-in-india-jn-tatas-steel-dream-soared-despite-british-ridicule/2688008/)* ### **Still plagued by three problems****** Small wonder that after forty-three years of independence, we are still plagued by three basic problems — poverty, unemployment, and foreign exchange trade deficit. India has 15 per cent of the world’s population, but only 1.5 per cent of the world’s income. In the four decades since we became a republic, our per capita income in real terms did not even double but increased by only 91 per cent. Today we are still the twenty-first poorest nation on earth. Perceptive observers in foreign countries where Indians work and prosper are baffled by one question — how does India, with its great human potential and natural resources, manage to remain poor? The answer is that we are not poor by nature but poor by policy. You would not be far wrong if you called India the world’s leading expert in the art of perpetuating poverty. Most of our politicians and bureaucrats, untainted by knowledge of development in the outside world, have no desire to search for genes of ideas which deserve to be called “a high-yielding variety of economics.” We are smugly reconciled to low yield from high ideals. India is rattling — and rattling violently — with spare human capacity. More than 30 million are registered on our 840 Employment Exchanges. According to objective estimates, there must be at least 20 million other unemployed who are not registered. In 1950, India ranked sixteenth in the list of exporting countries of the world; today it ranks forty-third. Using another yardstick, in 1950 India had 2.2 per cent of the world export market; today its share stands reduced to 0.45 per cent. ***Also read: **[Free education is mere jugglery of words. A hangover of anti-rational pre-Partition days](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/free-education-is-mere-jugglery-of-words-a-hangover-of-anti-rational-pre-partition-days/2665374/)* ### **Hope for the future****** There is no instant solution for our multitudinous problems and the short-term prospect may only be of shadows lengthening across the path, an objective overview would justify confidence in the long-term future of the country. In the affairs of nations, as in the world of elements, winds shift, tides ebb and flow, the ship rocks. Only let the anchor hold. The vitality of India is remarkable. The country does not have a powerful economy, but has all the raw materials to build one. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Indian economy is a sleeping giant who, if awakened, could make an impact on the global economy. A nation’s worth is not measured merely by its gross national product, any more than an individual’s worth is measured by his bank account. Ambassador John Kenneth Galbraith remarked that while he had seen poverty in many countries of the world, he found one unusual attribute among the poor of India — “There is richness in their poverty.” It is true that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. But it is true, in an even deeper sense, that eternal responsibility is also part of the price of liberty. Excessive authority, without liberty, is intolerable; but excessive liberty, without authority and without responsibility, soon becomes equally intolerable. De Tocqueville made the profound observation that liberty cannot stand alone but must be paired with a companion virtue: liberty and morality; liberty and law; liberty and justice; liberty and the common good; liberty and civic responsibility. The day will come when the 26 States of India will realize that in a profound sense they are culturally akin, ethnically identical, linguistically knit, and historically related. The greatest task before India today is to acquire a keener sense of national identity, to gain the wisdom to cherish its priceless heritage, and to create a cohesive society with the cement of Indian culture. We shall then celebrate the 15th day of August not as the Day of Independence but as the Day of Inter-dependence — the dependence of the States upon one another, the dependence of our numerous communities upon one another, the dependence of the many castes and clans upon one another — in the sure knowledge that we are one nation. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](https://theprint.in/indianliberals.in), a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in/). It is an excerpt from a monograph titled ‘Forty-three years of Independence’ published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in 1991. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/forty-three-years-of-independence-by-nani-a-palkhivala-january-18-1991.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] Marxism extinguishes democratic rights the moment it captures power: MA Venkata Rao URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/marxism-democratic-rights-ma-venkata-rao/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/marxism-democratic-rights-ma-venkata-rao/2835440/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2026-01-24. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Marxism extinguishes democratic rights the moment it captures power: MA Venkata Rao Even today there are too many good citizens in all lands including Western countries like Britain who think of communism in terms of a humanitarian ethical movement for propagating notions of social justice and for quickening the social conscience. And in addition, they think of it on the analogy of democratic parties out to win power through honest propaganda for well-thought-out policies of redistributive justice and economic re-organisation with a view to obtain a better deal for the under-dog. Most fellow travellers are quite innocent of the sinister implications of joining in the communist movement. They are not aware that more than being a simple democratic party, it is primarily a conspiracy to win political power exclusively for itself as a one-party totalitarian dictatorship extinguishing democratic rights the moment power is won! Also, many good people are not aware that the communist party in their midst owes its primary allegiance to international communism by passing loyalty to their own nation and country. They are pledged to obey the dictates of Moscow rather than those of Delhi in India. The only hesitation in the minds of some Indian communists concerns the relative importance of Moscow and Peking in their Authority over them! This attitude of communists is rooted in the theory and practice of Karl Marx himself. It appears that there are some socialists (strange as it may seem to students of the subject acquainted with the fundamental texts of Marx, Lenin, Stalin and the Resolutions of the world Congresses of all Communist Parties led by the Russian Communist Party) who hold that Karl Marx is innocent of all responsibility for the doings of the Russian Revolutionists—Lenin and Stalin and the system they established and are carrying on—(today by Khrushchev.) A letter appearing in The Indian Libertarian of 1st June 1963 over the signature of Mrs Goodman, secretary, Overseas Contacts, The Socialist Standard, London, asserts that the Socialist Party of Great Britain has taken up this position exonerating Marx of all taint of responsibility by doctrine and precept and example for the system established in Russia in 1917 and its operation ever since! It must be conceded that England was led more by evolutionary communism or socialism than by the revolutionary variety which was more prominent in the thought and precept of Karl Marx. British socialists were primarily Fabian socialists who [relied on] gradual, educative methods for introducing socialism through the ballot box. Marx himself admitted once that perhaps in Britain and the United States (as also in Holland), peaceful democratic methods of persuasion might succeed in realising socialism, namely, the liquidation of the capitalist class. But he also held [that] more likely than not, the bourgeoisie will sooner resort to arms to preserve their privileges than surrender them even to the ballot box verdict! Marx was always ambiguous about violence but he made no bones about it. He was not squeamish about its use when necessary for the sake of the revolution. Dr. Karl Popper in his substantial two volume work The Open Society and Its Enemies has expounded the turns and twists of Marx’s teaching on all these points in great detail which leaves no excuse for any innocence or ignorance on the part of fellow travellers to remain blind to the dangers of the Marxist revolutionary ideas. Now, even Mr. Attlee’s Government (socialist in character) proceeded to nationalise a good part of the economy—the commanding heights of the economy as they were called—i.e. road transport, railways, communications by air steel, the Bank of England and a number of other institutions. This policy curtailed personal freedoms to invest capital in accordance with one’s own judgment. The result was a marked degree of inflation, high prices, a decrease in production, a flight of capital from the land to foreign parts, lack of investment in capital goods in sufficient degree and so on. The result is that today the rate of England’s production is lesser than Italy’s and Germany’s! As a contrast, the experiment in free competition conducted boldly in West Germany by Dr [Ludwig] Erhard has registered a remarkable success and has taken that country to the first place among European countries in resurgent economic development and prosperity. Socialist Britain adopted Marxist economics to a significant extent and suffered markedly therefrom. Socialist Russia adopted the same Marxist economy to a fuller extent but any success by way of higher rates of production there is vitiated by unprecedented repression and regimentation, force and intimidation. The difference is one of comparative freedom but the failure of economy stems from the same policy, namely, Marxist centralisation of economy and its identification with political power. Marx was a-moral with regard to violence both as a means to achieve revolution and to maintain socialism after it was achieved. Hence Lenin and Stalin were only carrying out the letter and spirit of the Master’s Word in applying force in day-to-day administration—the reign of terror. The revelations of [Nikita] Khrushchev in 1956 in the Twentieth Congress of Communist Parties of the world in Moscow that shook the communist bloc and shocked the whole world concerned only the brutalities of Stalin with regard to his own official and party subordinates. They did not show any concern for the part of Khrushchev and his friends for the Russian citizen as such—the unknown man, the ordinary communist citizen and his dignity, his rights of person and property; what the free world is accustomed to think of as fundamental rights. If Khrushchev is less terroristic than Stalin, it is only because he does not dare to! His power is not so secure and well-established as Stalin’s was! Stalin’s violence in liquidating millions (for example eight millions of peasants to make cooperative and state farming secure!) is thus only a matter of degree! It does not transcend Marx’s principles. If British democracy behaves differently with greater regard to the sacredness of the human personality, it is more due to the 800 years of British history in which the Britisher and his race have fought his ruling groups to establish his rights as a free man. The British do not owe them to Marx or any socialist of them all. The British socialist experiment during 1945–50 has already produced a reaction and second thoughts even among socialists. The New Fabian Socialist Essays edited by Crossman (a prominent British Labour Party ideologist M.P.) speaks of the new despotism, of the encroachments of the vast bureaucracy that had proliferated during Labour socialist rule. This is the thin end of the wedge which might make room for liberty to leak away in course of time! Socialism has a built-in tendency to damage democracy since it concentrates both political and economic power in the hands of [the] Government—that is, the same party and ruling group! The dispersion of power among different semi-independent or totally independent groups, economic, legal, political, religious, educational, cultural etc. that is such a healthy feature of a free society will vanish in a society ruled by socialism which will become severely monolithic in power and affiliation. Another angle of vision popularised by Marx which is also dangerous to independence of judgment and character is his economic determination of culture or class derivation of truth. In this view of the super-structure of culture as determined by the economic foundation which in turn is determined by the pattern of property ownership in production (relations of production), Marx abandons his rationalist spirit and method and becomes a relativist in his view of truth and science, philosophy and culture. So [the] truth will differ from class to class! That is to say, there is no such thing as objective, universal and necessary truth! If so, there is nothing to choose between Fascism and Communism, Marx and Hitler! Why blame the bourgeoisie if they take to arms to crush the communist gangs? Marx himself gives up the quest for objective truth when he declares that the main thing is to change. history not— understand it. Another tenet of Marx was internationalism. He believed in the internationalism of the proletariat and repudiated nationalism. But there can be different varieties of internationalism. One variety will recognise the nations as a social unit entitled to run its social affairs under a government of its own democratically chosen and democratically conducted. Such democratically conducted national governments of particular national societies small or large can co-operate to establish a world federation with a minimum of Police Powers under a World Court interpreting a World Law confined to international relations. This would leave internal affairs to local autonomy. The present United Nations Organisation would be mended in this direction or ended and a new One erected in its place. Meanwhile nations would proceed by collective security, all nations entering into a pact to rush to the defence of any of their number who may be attacked by any one. But Marx’s internationalism is erected on the abolition of existing national structures and the antagonising of all classes and middle classes not educated, leading classes in all countries. It is based on class war which is a totally unnecessary and false doctrine motivated more by universal hatred engendered by racial memory of the oppression of the Jews by Gentiles (Marx coming of Jewish ancestry). Being founded on class war, any State founded on Marxism is bound to set itself in opposition, bitter and all-out, against all other nations. This is what we find in Soviet Russia and the Communist States adopting her ideology like China. They cannot therefore feel safe until they conquer the whole world! The difference between the different communist states is only about the pace and method and timing of war strategy against the rest of the world. The Communist Party of India is camouflaging its true position as an agent of international communism and of Soviet Powers, Russia and China. It is getting respectability by being recognised as a patriotic and entrusted with negotiating with Communist States! This is the limit. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals](https://indianliberals.in) archive, a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in). It has been excerpted from the journal “The Indian Libertarian”, published on 1 August 1963. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-aug1-1963.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] Liberal methods reach social justice faster than socialism: Minoo Masani URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/minoo-masani-liberalism-free-markets-india/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/minoo-masani-liberalism-free-markets-india/2823730/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2026-01-10. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Liberal methods reach social justice faster than socialism: Minoo Masani What is liberalism? Liberalism, according to Hobhouse, the great British liberal, in his book on *Liberalism,* which is a classic, is “a belief that society can safely be founded on the self-directing power of personality, that it is only on this foundation that the true community can be built. Liberty then becomes not so much a right of the individual, as a necessity of society.” Prof. Parkinson said in an article recently published in England, “The word Liberal means generous or open-handed. Be generous with what? With freedom and political responsibility.” Now, these are two quite good definitions of liberalism. How do we apply them to the problems of social welfare or social justice with which we are concerned? Their application to the economy means a free economy. What is a free economy? There are many variations of the free economy in different parts of the world, but one thing is common to all of them—the Government plays a limited and restricted part. Liberal economics are the economics of limited government. Social controls and regulation are necessary, but must be restricted to the minimum. That is one aspect. The other aspect of a free economy is that “the consumer must be king”. What does this mean? Who is the consumer? All of us are consumers. We all buy something or other. Therefore, the whole country is made up of consumers. What doe; it mean that the consumer must be king? This means that what is produced in a country should be what the people want, should be something for which the people are prepared to pay a price in the market. The pattern of production must be dictated, not by Government, not by a Planning Commission, not by the diktat of anyone, but by the collective will of the people as expressed in the marketplace. This has been well described as “the ballot of the marketplace”. The ballot of the marketplace is superior to the ballot of the political election. You can shift your choice from hour to hour and day to day. You can buy one brand of soap one day, change over to another brand the next day, if you do not find it good. You can change your perfume, your shoes, your clothes—everything. How does this choice of the small man—it does not matter whether he has ten rupees in his pocket or a thousand rupees—affect the pattern of production? It affects it through the profit motive, through what is called the *law* of the *market*, which is the only sane economic law—the law of supply and demand. The industrialist or the businessman does not produce for fun or for love. He produces for *a* profit. He produces what will get him a profit in the market. Any profit is made when the demand exceeds the supply, because when the demand exceeds the supply, then prices go up. But where the supply exceed; the demand, prices drop. The biggest capitalist has thus to consider what the smallest man in the market wants. This is how the consumer is king and this is what is called a free market economy. This is the liberal economy, as opposed to the socialist. Socialism says that a group of 5 or 10 or 15 people sitting in Moscow or Delhi will dictate to the people what they shall take. This is 100 per cent true in Moscow and 40 per cent true in Delhi. The National Planning Commission, arbitrarily selected, become God. They decide what you shall buy and what you shall not buy, and at what price you shall buy it. The liberal way, on the other hand, is the way of letting people freely decide what shall be produced for their needs. This is a system which is practised in the whole world, except for the communist countries, in different forms. The Manifesto of the Liberal International, which was adopted many years ago, is still valid because liberal principles do not change every five or ten years. Among these principles in the Manifesto, there are certain items of an economic nature: “The right to private ownership of property and the right to embark on individual enterprise; consumers’ free choice, and the opportunity to reap the full benefit of the productivity of the soil and the industry of man. The suppression of economic freedom must lead to the disappearance of political freedom. We oppose such suppression whether brought about by State ownership or control or by private monopolies, cartels and trusts. We admit State ownership only for those undertakings which are beyond the scope of private enterprise, or in which competition no longer plays its part. The welfare of the community must prevail and must be safeguarded from abuse of power by sectional interests.” I think this is a very fair statement of what I have been trying to say. The examples of this kind of a free economy range from the United States, which have achieved the highest standards of life and equality for their people, Britain, the Scandinavian countries, France, West Germany, with its German miracle produced by Dr. Erhard, a great Liberal, Japan, the one country in Asia which has raised its standard of life to the European level, Australia and New Zealand. What are the results? One is prosperity. The buying power of the man in these countries is out of all proportion to what it is in the socialist countries. Here are the figures of how long a worker has to work in America and Russia to obtain the same commodity. It is very interesting. It shows you where labour is exploited, and where it is really free. For a loaf of bread—this was valid last year and could not have changed now very much—the U.S. worker had to work for six minutes. The Soviet worker had to work for 36 minutes to buy the same loaf of bread. For a pound of butter the U.S. worker works 19 minutes, the Soviet worker 3½ hours, a ratio of 10:1. For a pound of sugar, the American worker works for three minutes, the Soviet worker for 54 minutes—18:1. For a man’s cotton shirt, 1¼ hours in the U.S. and 13 hours in the Soviet Union—again 10:1. The same for shoes, 10:1, 11:1 for a suit: 10:1 for women’s shoes: 10:1 for soap,—and 5:1 for vodka. Even the Indian worker, under so-called capitalism, is better off than Russia under socialism, since he does not have to work as long as a Russian worker, to get a pair of shoes or some cloth. I think I have said enough to show that there is no question about the fact that liberal methods lead much faster to the socialist objective than socialist methods. Liberal methods. which are economic freedom or economic democracy, lead to social justice, equality, prosperity and freedom much quicker than the methods of State Capitalism or State-ism, which in France is called *Etatisme*. That is a much more accurate name than socialism, which may mean anything or nothing. It is interesting that most of the world is beginning to see this. The world trend is away from communism and socialism and towards liberal democracy. This is not surprising because, after all, human intelligence wins in the end. Even the Communists are now moving away from socialism. Even in Poland, Hungary and the Soviet Union they are edging away, as fast as they can under a dictatorship, from collectivism or Stat-ism. You have only to read the works of Professor Liebermann who, while protesting that he is a socialist, is trying to get away from the dead hand of the past, which is keeping down the standard of life of the Russian people. It is important that we discard labels and look at the facts behind them pragmatically. An American professor has coined a very good phrase on this point. He has said that in our time all “isms” have become “wasms”. There is a great Liberal in the Philippines, He is Carlos Romulo, who represented his country with great distinction in the UN for many years. Two or three years ago he was nominated President of the University of the Philippines in Manila. A group of “Leftist” or communist students went to him and put to him a question, asking for his declaration of policy. He was asked: “Mr. President, are you going left or right?” Carlos Romulo, a good Liberal, answered: “I am going forward.” *This essay is part of a series from the *[*Indian Liberals*](https://indianliberals.in)* archive, a project of the *[*Centre for Civil Society*](https://ccs.in)*. This essay is excerpted from a booklet (Is Socialism Outdated?) published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, based on an article by Minoo Masani, in March 1966. The original version can be accessed *[*here*](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/is-socialism-outdated-n-a-palkhivala-mar10-1966.pdf)*.* --- ## [ThePrint] There’s no need for the outdated and ridiculous shroud of secrecy around Budget: Nani Palkhivala URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/nani-palkhivala-poverty-economic-growth-liberalism/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/nani-palkhivala-poverty-economic-growth-liberalism/2829385/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2026-01-17. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # There’s no need for the outdated and ridiculous shroud of secrecy around Budget: Nani Palkhivala Poverty is cruel, but it is curable. The only known cure is economic rationalism instead of economic theology. In the field of economics the tree of ideology has never borne any fruit. All “isms” are lethal. In a poor country like India, there can never be social justice without economic growth. We have count-less chances for development. Opportunities multiply when they are seized; they die when neglected. We have barely tapped our immeasurable potential for growth. Immense man-power, superb skills and enter-prise are to India what oil is to the Middle East. At least 250 million of our citizens are contributors to the national product. There is one way, and only one way, in which India can banish poverty, and that is by putting to the maximum productive use the 2,000 million man-hours which fleet over India every day, never to come again. To every economic policy and legislation we must apply the acid test—how far will it bend the talent, energy and time of our people to fruitful ends and how far will it dissipate them in coping with legal inanities and a bumbling bureaucracy. “Much to cast down, much to build, much to restore; Let the work not delay, time and the arm not waste; Let the clay be dug from the pit, let the saw cut the stone; Let the fire not be quenched in the forge.” Irrigation has been sadly neglected during the last thirty years. On an average, India receives 3,000 million acrefeet rainfall in a year—sufficient to submerge the entire country in a 45 feet deep layer of water. The total** **area under cultivation was about 422 million acres in 1975-76. Of this area, only about 111 million acres (or 26.3 percent) was provided with irrigational facilities. At the rate of extension of irrigational facilities achieved in the last fifteen years, we shall not be able to bring even half the arable area under irrigation till 2007 A.D. Three-fourths of the total flow of our rivers is waste-fully emptied into the seas. Out of our groundwater resources of an estimated potential of 86 million acres, barely half is being utilized. How much greater would be our agricultural output, with a reduction in prices on account of economies of scale, if irrigation plans were vigorously pursued. In the Fifth Plan only 0.83 percent of the total public sector outlay is earmarked for roads, and even out of this paltry percentage three-fourths is intended to cover those road projects which have spilled over from the Fourth Plan. Few countries of the world are so poor in market roads. Road construction is one of the best ways to generate employment and to stimulate agricultural output by opening up enormous new markets. As regards industry, those laws should be scrapped which obstruct progress and constrict growth without any countervailing public benefit. While direct taxation on individuals has been brought to a reasonable level, the burden of indirect taxes is ridiculously high on many commodities. Out of the price paid for a truck by a consumer as much as 57 percent represents the burden of various indirect taxes levied at different stages. The excise on air conditioners is at the unconscionable level of 100 percent ad valorem on the wholesale price. The excise on cement is as much as 50 percent of the retention price allowed to the manufacturer. The Finance Minister has a great nation-building task ahead of him. An honest and efficient Government should be able to contain inflation and stop anti-social activities like smuggling, without suspending the rule of law. Now that the rule of law has been restored, prompt measures will** **have to be taken to deal with inflation which is raging at 15 percent per annum. An index to the revival of smuggling is provided by the fact that whereas during the last twelve months there was no depreciated rate for the rupee against foreign currencies in the free market, within a week of the election results a black market sprang into existence. For instance, whereas at the beginning of March the Singapore dollar fetched Rs. 3.45 (the official rate) in the free market, now the Singapore dollar quotes at Rs. 4.50. The remittances from Singapore and Malaysia to India through the official banking channels have now dwindled to just a trickle. The country can never prosper or be saved through the efforts of only ministers and civil servants. The people must be associated at all stages with the formulation and implementation of policies. We can have a truly participating democracy for the first time in India. Under the last regime, the Government and the people virtually became two hostile armed camps. Now we can have an exciting joint venture between the Government and the people. There should be no obsession with either the public sector or the private sector. The concept would be that of only one sector- the national sector. Pragmatism is all. The first major economic measure of the Government will be the budget. Millions of man-hours, crammed with intelligence and knowledge, of tax gatherers, tax payers and tax advisers-are utterly wasted every year in grappling with the unmanageable spate of amendments. A stable fiscal policy is to a nation what a stable family life is to an individual. The rates of direct taxes should be fixed in advance for three to five years, as they are in other countries like the U.S.A. and Canada. There is no need for the outdated and ridiculous shroud of secrecy which envelops every budget-except as regards changes in customs and excise rates. Many progressive nations have a free and open public debate on budgetary proposals before the Bill is introduced in the legislature. It would be a historic event if under the present Government the Union Budget ceases to be an annual  11 scourge and partakes of the nature of the presentation of annual accounts of a partnership between the Government and the people.  Every budget contains a cartload of figures in black and white- but the stark figures represent the myriad lights and shades of India’s life, the contrasting tones of poverty and wealth, and of bread so dear, and flesh and blood so cheap, the deep tints of adventure and enterprise and man’s ageless struggle for a brighter morn. The very enormity and variety of the challenges facing the country are such as to touch the least tender to tears and the most incredulous to prayer. Shall we maintain discipline-or shall we witness revival of the barbarous Bandhs when government ceased to govern, mobocracy displaced democracy, and cities were paralyzed by groups of men who regarded themselves as above the law? Shall we increase production, create national wealth and settle industrial disputes in the forums provided by the law-or shall we abuse our regained freedom by nine morchas a day? *This essay is part of a series from the *[*Indian Liberals*](https://indianliberals.in)* archive, a project of the *[*Centre for Civil Society*](https://ccs.in)*. This essay is excerpted from *the journal “*Forum of Free Enterprise,*”* *published on 20 May 1977*. The original version can be accessed *[*here*](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/the-tasks-before-a-free-people-n-a-palkhivala-may-20-1977.pdf)*.* --- ## [ThePrint] Planning for the free market, not state control, will lift India out of poverty: BR Shenoy URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/planning-free-market-state-control-india-poverty-br-shenoy/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/planning-free-market-state-control-india-poverty-br-shenoy/2727537/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-08-23. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Planning for the free market, not state control, will lift India out of poverty: BR Shenoy Professor JK Galbraith has made planning a theme of his weighty pronouncements more than once during his tour round India. At a press conference in Ahmedabad, commenting on the fears expressed in some quarters in India that the present tempo of our planning might lead to an authoritarian regime, he observed that “lack of planning” in underdeveloped economies “carried a greater risk of leading to authoritarian regimes than proper planning”. He utterly ridiculed these fears, saying that “whenever somebody wants to denounce something, he says it is likely to lead to authoritarianism.” In addition to planning, he continued, public ownership, agricultural price support, trade unions and large corporations had been accused, by different sections of the people, at different times, as precursors of authoritarianism. But their cry of “wolf” had proved false alarms. It was safe enough guarantee against this calamity, if the “spirit of democracy is deeply implanted in the mind of peoples and in their institutions”. The logical basis of Prof. Galbraith’s conviction, which is widely shared in India, is simple. A country facing the problem of lifting itself from poverty and of providing a better life for its people would be condemned to frustration without planning. From the “discontent” born of the tyranny of unrelieved poverty, they might fall an easy prey to the promises of Communism. This danger can be averted by a “proper planning of its resources”. It will at once be agreed that the greatest single problem before underdeveloped countries is their abject poverty. Everything hangs on its eradication. Failure to tackle it effectively might engender social and political instability, though the fear in this regard is often unduly overdrawn. The question is whether this central objective — the eradication of poverty — may be best and most speedily achieved through planning as we have seen it in action during the past decade; and as Prof. Galbraith, a devotee of Indian planning, seems to understands the term. The answer centres round the problem of maximising output from our meagre resources. The faster the growth of output, the sooner is poverty liquidated. Any programme for maximising output cannot ignore the prevailing, extremely complex, pattern of production of the Indian economy. Fully 50 per cent of the national product is from agriculture and about 70 per cent of the population lives on it. Agricultural production is in the hands of 67 million independent farmers scattered round the country, the average holding per family being 5.5 acres. Cotton textiles comprise about 38 per cent of industrial production. Textile output ensues from 478 mills, 80,000 to 90,000 powerlooms and 2 million handlooms. The remaining sectors, too, comprise tens of millions of independent production units. Save and except under the Communist steam-roller, this production set-up cannot change overnight, so to speak. Two policy compulsions emerge from this set-up, if we must accelerate output. First, agriculture, textiles and the basic consumer goods industries, which constitute the bulk of productive activity, must receive first claim on productive resources. Secondly, centralised planning—in the sense of state control over the allocation of resources—is not practical, though simpleton administrators might think otherwise. Centralised planning can only produce chaos and retard the hands of progress, when the planners have to deal with tens of millions of production units scattered round a sub-continent. We have violated both policy compulsions in the name of planning. The Public Sector will appropriate, in the Third Plan, 65 per cent of investment resources. The percentage was 57 in the Second Plan. These resources will go to heavy industries, mammoth river valley projects and costly social overheads. Large parts of the remaining resources would also be forced into heavy industries and industries producing intermediate and other non-consumer goods, through exercise of the control over capital issues, import licensing, permits for raw materials, concessions and quotas. This leaves little of the productive resources for use in agriculture and for producing cloth and the other consumer needs of the masses. Resources drawn into heavy industries would add to the national product, but an order of 14 per cent of their value; they would add an order of 36 per cent if employed in consumer goods industries and of 65 per cent if employed in agriculture. The outcome of our developing heavy industries at the expense of consumer goods industries, and of developing both at the expense of agriculture, has been two-fold: Indian national income has risen during the past decade at an annual rate of about 3.5 per cent; and the consumption of food and cloth by the masses has declined, or is semi-stagnant. In the absence of planning-forced diversion of the largest bulk of Plan finance into wasteful projects-productive resources would flow into channels where they yield the highest output, through the usual market mechanism. Two results would ensue from this, simultaneously: first, national income might increase at an annual rate of 8 to 10 per cent; secondly, output of the basic consumer needs of the masses—principally, food and cloth—would go up simultaneously with the national product, as investments in these directions yield the highest returns and as economic activity would now be controlled and directed by the consumer, not by the Planning Commission. This is not to say that, under the free-market system and the sovereignty of the consumer, there is no room for any planning. Orderly progress is inconceivable without planning. In the private sector, then, planning will be done by the millions of individual production units; in the Public Sector, by the state. The Public Sector will be confined to activities which cannot be effectively undertaken by private enterprise, e.g., the provision of an honest rupee, the rule of law, basic transport and communications, standardisation of weights and measures, education and public health. In particular, the state should not stray into trade and industry, or interfere with the distribution of productive resources. To do so would be to upset the planning of millions of production units, to the detriment of the national product and social justice, causing untold human suffering in the Indian context of extreme poverty. Thus, the “discontent”, and possible explosion, which must ensue from the pursuit of the prevailing economic and social policies, carries the very “risks of authoritarianism”, which Prof. Galbraith thinks we would avert through the so-called “proper planning of our resources”. These risks cannot be averted with greater certainty than through planning for the free market under the banner of consumer sovereignty. Planning for the free market has yielded blinding economic and social dividends wherever it has been given a chance. In the post-war world, it produced the first miracle in West Germany. It then spread, with as good or better results, to the other EEC countries, Israel, Japan, Hong Kong, Spain and, latterly, the Philippines. The eagerness of UK to join the EEC, even risking severance from its political kith and kin, is evidence of the vitality of the new movement. News of this powerful reaction away from statism has not reached New Delhi yet; nor the Indian universities generally, where economists still fondly cherish outmoded dirigiste doctrines, fancying them to be tenets of the nuclear era. The Galbraiths, Millikans, Rostows and Wards, not to mention the pronounced left-wingers like the Baloghs, Bettelheims, Langes and Robinsons—all sincere theorists and hot favourites of our Government–through their expositions, probably stand in the way of our properly appreciating the tremendous potentialities of planning for the free market under the aegis of consumer sovereignty. The illicit beneficiaries of planning, now the power behind the throne, who, too, are champions of mass prosperity, are another great hurdle to be overcome. But neither economic nor social salvation is possible except through policies of economic and social freedom. The task before the policy reformer is indeed overwhelming. The situation provokes the prayer: “Good Lord, protect me from my friend; against mine enemies I can defend myself.” *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](https://theprint.in/indianliberals.in), a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in/). It is taken from the economic supplement of The Indian Libertarian and titled ‘Consumer Sovereignty Leads To Rapid Economic Development’, published on 15 January 1963. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-jan15-1963.pdf#page=11-12).*** --- ## [ThePrint] Planning in India has failed because political factors dominate economic ones: MR Pai URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/planning-in-india-has-failed-because-political-factors-dominate-economic-ones-mr-pai/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/planning-in-india-has-failed-because-political-factors-dominate-economic-ones-mr-pai/2939160/) on 2026-07-11. Originally published 2026-05-23. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Planning in India has failed because political factors dominate economic ones: MR Pai There is no yardstick of efficiency to judge the performance of monopoly services like LIC and Indian Airlines, wrote Mangalore Ranga Pai in 1962. --- ## [ThePrint] Socialist planners aggravated unemployment problem URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/planning-unemployment-india-five-year-plans/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/planning-unemployment-india-five-year-plans/2711035/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-08-02. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Socialist planners aggravated unemployment problem Our Five-Year Plans are based on certain objectives and one of them is to achieve maximum utilisation of manpower in order to achieve full employment but one must say with regret that employment is not the main objective with our planners with the result that little attention has been paid to the need for maximising employment which has been regarded as the bye-product of economic development. This view can be seen from the following excerpts. At the time of Second Five-Year Plan it was stated by the Planning authorities that “the problem of unemployment especially in an under­developed country like ours can only be solved after a period of intensive development in determining the programme for the next five years the prime consideration is that at least the deterioration in the unemployment situation should be arrested”. The same view persisted during the Third Five-Year Plan, “Full utilisation of manpower resources can be achieved after a considerable period of development”. From these it is quite clear that the Planners have given a secondary importance to the employment aspect with the result that the backlog of unemployment is increasing from plan to plan. Now the question is whether it is possible and advisable to plan to achieve full employment in the short period, and whether our planners bent upon establishing socialist pattern of society can achieve the same. It is now recognised that the two objectives of achieving maximum rate of economic growth and the attainment of full employment do not go together in the short period of time though they are compatible in the long run. In the words of Shri V. V. Giri, “The primary object of democratic planning in India should be to absorb the surplus work force by so drafting the programme of development as to yield full employment.” The Directives in the Constitution envisage full employment and the right to work and live, but employment is full when everybody who wants to work can find it at established rates of pay. According to W. Beveridge, “Full employment exists only when there are always more vacant jobs than unemployed men. It means that the jobs are at fair wages, of such a kind, and so located that the unemployed men can reasonably be expected to take them; it means, by consequence, that the moral lag between losing one job and finding another will be very short”. It must be remembered here that in normal times 100% of the working population in employment can never exist; a minimum of unemployment is bound to exist but in our country unemployment problem has become a very serious problem next to exchange crisis; it was argued that free capitalist countries failed to achieve full employment and only socialist economy can do the trick but our socialist planners have aggravated the problem by adopting unrealistic fiscal policy. By imposing direct as well as indirect taxes in the name of emergency and development incentives to save and invest have been greatly reduced. Employment cannot be increased without investment. Investment is based on the expectation of profit, which is a sine qua non of economic progress, but our Finance Minister has imposed super profit tax in the last budget so that the private sector will have no incentive to invest and as a consequence of this, employment will tend to fall. The backlog of unemployment at the end of Second Plan in 1961 is reckoned at 9 million. The number of new entrants to the labour force during the Third Plan period (1961-66) will be as many as 17 million. The Planners are expected to provide employment opportunities for about 14 million people. Thus the reserve army of man-power at the end of the Third Plan will be as high as 12 million persons. For this reason, the planners should give priority to the eradication of unemployment once and for all during the Third Plan. The Mahalanobis strategy, in this respect, has miserably failed because it was based on a wrong assumption, namely, that increasing purchasing power through investment in heavy industries in the public sector, and through expenditure on health, education, and social services, and, secondly, a planned supply of consumer goods could meet the increasing demand. The problem of unemployment can be solved. This strategy would have been successful if capital were available in adequate quantity to expand the consumer goods industries when the development and expansion of heavy and basic industries were given top priority in the Second Plan period. The Planning Commission gave more emphasis on cottage and household industries rather than on large-scale consumer goods industries. The problem of unemployment could not be tackled satisfactorily by the Planning Commission due to the absence of the creation of adequate new employment opportunities in large-scale industries producing consumer goods. The problem of unemployment would not have taken a serious turn during the Second Plan period if the planners had curtailed the volume of investment in heavy industries and released capital was utilised for the expansion of employment in the large-scale consumer goods industries. As a consequence of this policy the price level would have come down and the value of rupee would have gone up. During the Second Plan period the prices rose by 6 per cent per annum and this was mainly due to the large dose of deficit financing during the last two years of the Second Plan. In the Third Plan we find that the Planning Commission has not attempted to frame a co-ordinated policy for creating employment opportunities for 26 million persons. The Planning Commission has chalked out a programme for creating employment for 14 million persons, but whether even this can be achieved or not is problematic. The imposition of super profit tax will certainly kill the incentive of the private sector to invest and this will aggravate the problem of unemployment in the Third Plan and the Fourth plan will begin with a backlog of unemployment not less than 15 million persons. The major burden of reducing unemployment lies in raising the level of investment in the economy which is the key factor in increasing employment as well as to increase the tempo of economic development. To achieve this objective, the private sector should be given proper scope to play a vital role in the economic growth of our economy. The present policy based on ideological grounds should be reversed and then alone the twin problems of unemployment and rapid economic growth can be solved. The private sector should not be treated with indifference. Economic growth should not be the monopoly of the public sector alone. Rural as well as urban unemployment can be successfully tackled if labour intensive or capital saving techniques are adopted. This may lead to a slow progress in our planning but that is inevitable. Planning aims at utilisation of available resources in the best possible manner to attain the higher standard of living. Economic growth of a country is as much dependent on the development of its people and the people who are denied employment are the people who are denied the chance of development. In a country like ours with large unemployed and underemployed manpower planning for employment is preferable because employment will bring about an increase in output. Abundant labour supply should be regarded as an asset rather than a liability in the sense that it presents opportunities for augmenting production. Because of this factor, employment planning has a greater significance in a country like India. A suitable strategy for employment planning can be thought out only in regard to the future. In the Third Plan greater attention is paid to growth than to employment. The unemployment problem is bound to become serious and the Fourth and Fifth Five-Year Plans should give top priority to the employment problem. It is estimated that during the Fourth and Fifth Plan, addition to the labour force would be about 23 and 30 million. This reinforces the case for an active population policy. In the Third Plan, the Government has also failed to frame a realistic population policy to control the rate of growth of population. The price policy has failed to keep the rising prices under control. In this respect, one cannot expect that the Government should be able to create employment opportunities for 14 million persons. In this regard, Japanese experience has a good bearing for India. In that country, the absorption of manpower in non-agricultural occupations has shown a very great rise in the inter-war period. This was mainly due to the labour intensiveness of Japanese small-scale units. This policy can be followed in our country by giving small-scale industries, which are employment-creating industries. They will not only create employment opportunities but will also increase the total supply of consumer goods, which is scarce in relation to demand. In these industries, the gestation period is shorter than in the large-scale heavy industries, which are capital intensive. So the problem of unemployment can be eradicated in the next two Five-Year plans if top priority is given to the employment aspect instead of the growth aspect. Economic development and employment must go hand in hand and this can be achieved by adopting a free market economy. The planned economy has failed to solve the problem. West Germany and Japan have shown the way. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](https://theprint.in/indianliberals.in), a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in/). It is taken from the economic supplement of The Indian Libertarian and titled ‘Planning and Employment in India’, published on 15 April 1963. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-apr15-1963.pdf#page=9).* --- ## [ThePrint] Socialism doesn’t deliver prosperity or produce equality. Does it give freedom? Of course not URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/minoo-masani-liberalism-vs-socialism-liberal-democracy/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/minoo-masani-liberalism-vs-socialism-liberal-democracy/2702912/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-07-26. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Socialism doesn’t deliver prosperity or produce equality. Does it give freedom? Of course not There is an idea afoot that liberalism came before socialism and therefore must fade out before socialism. I would like to examine that assumption and, looking fifty or a hundred years ahead, to consider which is more likely to survive, and which is getting outdated today. Our great leader, Mahatma Gandhi, used to say that consistency in political affairs is “the virtue of an ass.” He was himself a very inconsistent person, who moved from position to position as he developed and the world developed. The point I am making is that it would be very stupid for anyone to hold on to a point of view or a dogma, disregarding what is happening around him. Now, Gandhi taught us two things, basically. One was that ends and means are interlinked, that you cannot produce a better society by methods that are not clean and decent, that the end does not justify the means. By the time your means, which are dubious, are practised, your end gets vitiated. In other words, to cite the Soviet Union, by liquidations and butchery, by distortion and lying, you cannot produce a more fraternal society. The other thing Gandhiji taught us was that the State in the 20th century is no longer a great friend of freedom and progress, that perhaps the biggest threat to human freedom comes from the State. This Gandhi repeated a hundred times in different ways, by saying that there is no violence as evil as the violence of the Government. All other violence can be forgiven, understood or controlled, but when the Government becomes violent and dominates and oppresses the people, that is the most foul kind of violence. Socialism does not deliver prosperity. It does not produce equality. Does it give freedom? Of course not. The loss of liberty is the most obvious thing in the socialist countries. Lenin was a great man. He was an idealist gone wrong. He imagined that, after a short period of dictatorship, liberty would be restored by the benign Communist Party to the people. The State would “wither away.” Now, some of us have been waiting patiently for this process to start. There are no signs of it yet, either in the Soviet Union or in any other communist country. The State keeps its monopoly of power very securely in its hands. Now, all this had been foreseen by a very wise Italian philosopher, Benedetto Croce, who said that in any country where there were no “autonomous social forces,” liberty was bound to disappear. By “autonomous social force” he meant people who own their factories, people who own their shops, people who own their land, people who practise independent professions like lawyers, doctors, engineers and accountants. In other words, when everyone is an employee of the Government, you cannot have freedom or democracy because there is no one to oppose or criticize the Government. It is only when a peasant can say: “This land is mine,” that he can stand up to the official. But when you have no peasant proprietors, no businessmen, no free professional people, it becomes a slave State. ***Also read: **[Socialism hinders India’s industrial growth. We need free enterprise first](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/socialism-hinders-indias-industrial-growth-we-need-free-enterprise-first/2695489/)* Now, let us consider what has been happening in a semi socialist society like India. We have been practising, or trying to practise, socialist methods for the last 15 years. Is there more prosperity? Are we better off than we were in 1947? The answer is “No.” Living standards have been stagnant since the British left in 1947. Some classes have benefited, some are worse off. The Government admits that the real income of the agricultural labourer, the landless labourer in the village, has gone down in the last fifteen years. He does not take home as much as he could in the old days under the British. The real income of the industrial labourer is more or less stagnant, thanks to dearness allowances. Anyone who knows anything about the middle class knows that its standards have gone down shockingly in the last fifteen years. In fact, the middle class is being ground out of existence today in India. The biggest victim of socialism is the lower middle class, the educated man with a small income, the clerk, the schoolmaster, the shopkeeper. Then, who has benefited? If the middle class, the working class and the landless labourer are all worse off, who has benefited? The answer is a small number of people have benefited. Because we have a mixed economy, we have a mixed “New Class.” They are not all commissars. Some of them are commissars and some are businessmen. What they do is that by means of a controlled so-called socialist economy, where more or less sheltered conditions are created, they share the profit. If I am in power and I give a licence to somebody to produce something with a protected market, he gives me back 10 per cent or 20 per cent of what he makes. So political patronage, operated by dishonest politicians, officials and businessmen, creates a new ring of exploiters which replaces the old system. Equality? Even the advocates of socialism themselves complain that every time a Five Year Plan is put across, it creates more inequalities, for the reason I have just explained. Now I come to the alternative, the Liberal path. If socialism does not serve the purposes for which it was intended, that is, moving towards a freer and more equal society, is liberalism the alternative? What is liberalism? Liberalism, according to Hobhouse, the great British liberal, in his book on Liberalism, which is a classic, is “a belief that society can safely be founded on the self-directing power of personality, that it is only on this foundation that the true community can be built. Liberty then becomes not so much a right of the individual, as a necessity of society.” Professor Parkinson said in an article recently published in England: “The word Liberal means generous or open-handed. Be generous with what? With freedom and political responsibility.” Now, these are two quite good definitions of liberalism. How do we apply them to the problems of social welfare or social justice with which we are concerned? Their application to the economy means a free economy. What is a free economy? There are many variations of the free economy in different parts of the world, but one thing is common to all of them—the Government plays a limited and restricted part. Liberal economics are the economics of limited government. Social controls and regulations are necessary, but must be restricted to the minimum. That is one aspect. The other aspect of a free economy is that “the consumer must be king.” What does this mean? Who is the consumer? All of us are consumers. We all buy something or other. Therefore, the whole country is made up of consumers. What does it mean that the consumer must be king? This means that what is produced in a country should be what the people want, should be something for which the people are prepared to pay a price in the market. The pattern of production must be dictated, not by Government, not by a Planning Commission, not by the dictates of anyone, but by the collective will of the people, as expressed in the market place. This has been well described as “the ballot of the market place.” The ballot of the market place is superior to the ballot of the political election. You can shift your choice from hour to hour and day to day. You can buy one brand of soap one day, change over to another brand the next day, if you do not find it good. You can change your perfume, your shoes, your clothes—everything. How does this choice of the small man—it does not matter whether he has ten rupees in his pocket or a thousand rupees—affect the pattern of production? It affects it through the profit motive, through what is called the law of the market, which is the only sane economic law—the law of supply and demand. The industrialist or the businessman does not produce for fun or for love. He produces for a profit. He produces what will get him a profit in the market. A profit is made when the demand exceeds the supply because when the demand exceeds the supply, then prices go up. But where the supply exceeds the demand, prices drop. The biggest capitalist has thus to consider what the smallest man in the market wants. This is how the consumer is king and this is what is called a free market economy. This is the liberal economy, as opposed to the socialist. What are the results? One is prosperity. The buying power of the man in these countries is out of all proportion to what it is in the socialist countries. Even the Indian worker, under so-called capitalism is better off than Russia under socialism, since he does not have to work as long as a Russian worker, to get a pair of shoes or some cloth. Liberal methods, which are economic freedom or economic democracy, lead to social justice, equality, prosperity and freedom much quicker than the methods of State Capitalism or State-ism, which in France is called Etatisme. That is a much more accurate name than socialism, which may mean anything or nothing. It is interesting that most of the world is beginning to see this. The world trend is away from communism and socialism and towards liberal democracy. This is not surprising because, after all, human intelligence wins in the end. *This essay is part of a series from the *[*Indian Liberals archive*](https://theprint.in/indianliberals.in)*, a project of the *[*Centre for Civil Society*](https://ccs.in/)*. **It is excerpted from Minoo Masani’s essay in the book* Congress Misrule and the Swatantra Alternative*, published in November 1966. The original version can be accessed *[*here*](https://indianliberals.in/liberals/congress-misrule-and-the-swatantra-alternative.pdf#page=201)*.* --- ## [ThePrint] Population causes poverty is the devil’s philosophy. It causes prosperity: Sauvik Chakraverti URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/population-poverty-prosperity-sauvik-chakraverti/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/population-poverty-prosperity-sauvik-chakraverti/2779838/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-11-08. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Population causes poverty is the devil’s philosophy. It causes prosperity: Sauvik Chakraverti Having said that *Homo Economicus* is a machine programmed to generate wealth, it becomes necessary to examine the argument taught in Indian Economics that India’s huge human population is a cause of poverty. If humans are the only species capable of creating wealth, then how can more of their number cause poverty? What is the truth? The truth is that every dot on the map, representing a town or a city, is densely populated with human beings—and is rich. There are more millionaires, cellphones, Mitsubishi Lancers, and swimming pools in crowded Delhi than in vacant Jhoomritalaiya. Why is this so? For the answer, we must turn to Economics, which is the study of the production of wealth. Because we can trade, we specialise in doing what we do best and exchange with others for the things that they do best. Unlike animals, human beings are not self-sufficient. Instead, they tend to find specialised niches in which to work. From these niches they produce goods and services which they exchange in the market economy. Thus you have farmers, fishermen, goatherds, journalists, dentists, washermen and so on. No other species specialises in this manner because they do not have a market economy, which is the result of our special ability to trade. This is how wealth is created. Human beings, being “economic”, should never be advised to be “self-sufficient”. Imagine your plight if you decided to opt out of the exchange of goods and services and had to do everything yourself. Imagine what would happen if your family became “self-sufficient”; and then your village, or your town. This would mean that not only would you be compelled to grow your own food and wash your own clothes, it would also mean that you would have to learn to build your own house and learn surgery. At no level does self-sufficiency improve the lives of those who practice it. All it does is to divert your productive energies from those areas which you are most competent to those where you are relatively unskilled. If it is bad for a person, a family, a village or a town to practice self-sufficiency, surely a great nation like India cannot gain by pursuing such a path. Self-sufficiency is economic suicide. A little experiment can be attempted: Go to a kindergarten class and ask the little children what they want to be when they grow up. They will answer: actor, dancer, policeman, and so on. I’ll bet that not a single little child will say: I want to grow up and be self-sufficient. If it goes against the logic of little children, how could it be logical for the entire nation to practice self-sufficiency? When we specialise in the market economy, a phenomenon occurs which economists call the Division of Labour. Economics is the study of the production of wealth through the division of labour. The division of labour into innumerable specialised roles is best possible in an urban area—denoted by a dot on the map. It is extremely difficult in a rural area where there are very few people, and thus, very little scope for being, for example, a successful dentist or even a *dhobi*. Therefore, every dot on the map (representing a town or city) is densely populated and quite rich. Wherever human beings are densely crowded, as in a city or a town, there is greater prosperity than in any vacant countryside simply because there is greater division of labour. The extent/degree of the division of labour depends on the size of the market. For example, if you wanted to open a Thai restaurant and you needed 100 diners a day to break even; and if one out of every 100 people wanted Thai food on any given day, you would have to set up shop in a town where there are at least 10,000 potential customers. This is why crowded cities are rich: there is greater division of labour. This is a universal phenomenon: Not just Delhi and Bombay, but London, Tokyo, New York, and Paris are densely populated and rich. The world is 50 per cent urbanised today: half the world’s population lives in towns and cities. India is far below the world average at about 30 per cent, but the richest states of India—Gujarat and Maharashtra—report urbanisation levels close to the world’s average of 50 per cent. The poorest states of India, like Assam and Bihar, report urbanisation levels below 10 per cent. It is important to note that the word “civilisation” has its root in the Latin word *civitas*, which means “city”. The story of civilisation is the story of great cities coming up around the Mediterranean and linking up supplying goods and services to each other: the small, safe sea providing the transportational backdrop around which trade could take place. Mohenjo­daro and Harappa were great cities, linked to the Mediterranean through the port of Lothal. *Cities and towns are the anthills of human colonists.* It is futile to pursue “development” while cities face ruin. Across the world, urbanisation causes prosperity by aiding division of labour. Countries like India would therefore be better off pursuing urbanisation as a means to prosperity instead of doing what our government has been doing all these 50 years—spending money uselessly on “rural development.” A recent Arthur Andersen-*Fortune* survey of cities world-wide found Indian cities to be the worst in the world! This is not the way to become a prosperous country. Apart from general misgovernance, one of the prime reasons for the ruination of our urban areas is the undersupply of roads. We shall later discuss this issue in greater detail. For now, let it be understood that there are over 400 names in the STD code-book but most of urban India (62.5 per cent of India’s total urban population by some estimates) is focussed in a handful of huge metros, which are growing every day. Urban geographers, those who study the geography of towns and cities, call this phenomenon primacy. Primacy occurs when the primary city bloats up because it is not properly linked to the surrounding towns. If there had been proper roads, satellite towns would have blossomed, and each of the 400 names in the STD code-book would have become a little Singapore.Justify all the para. The British built many fine cities and countless “hill-stations” in their time. In the last 50 years our urban areas have all been ruined. In British India, the hill-stations were all linked to a metro: the Darjeeling–Shillong belt to Calcutta; the Poona–Mahabaleshwar belt to Bombay; the Ooty–Coonoor belt to Madras; and the Simla–Mussoorie belt to Delhi. With such strong links to urban metropolises, all our urban centres can become like Singapore. Remember Singapore received independence only in 1965. From a dirty little town crowded with coolies and hawkers, it has become a thriving city today. Because of the undersupply of roads there is urban overcrowding in India, but that does not mean the country is “overpopulated.” Travel by train or plane around India and you will see vast open spaces. India’s population density (number of people per square kilometre) is LESS than that of Japan, Germany, Holland, and Belgium. And these countries do not report urban overcrowding. The solution to urban overcrowding lies not in birth control, but in roads that will allow many more towns to come up and link up with the main city. With more urban areas—400 Singapores—Indians will have sufficient living space and overcrowding would end. This argument therefore generates a conflict of visions. Instead of seeing the future of India in terms of thousands of self-governing and self-sufficient village republics (the Gandhi–Nehru vision), we can see India as an urban civilisation. With 400 excellent cities, all well linked to each other by rail, road and air, a maximum of trade can take place at the least cost. A poor transportation network makes trade slow and expensive. A truck travels 250 km a day on Indian highways; they do no more than 600 km a day in the rest of the world! It is said that “every great city sits like a giant spider on its transportation network.” India needs such cities and towns. Since humans alone are economic, and since cities are rich, it must be said that the argument that population causes poverty is the devil’s philosophy. It makes mothers and fathers ashamed of producing children. It makes children feel that they are not a resource, rather, they are a problem. It makes cynics look at traffic accident statistics and say that our unsafe roads are a means of solving “the population problem.” Human beings are the world’s ultimate resource—because they all possess the human mind. You are trying to pour knowledge into that mind. Please make sure that what you feed your mind is the truth. A false philosophy will deaden your mind. It will not make you see that, with your mind and the ability to trade, you can generate wealth by doing what you do best in a free market economy. Instead, it will train you to look upon yourself and your brethren as a huge problem that requires political action to solve. To understand why political interference in the market economy is very harmful to us and our country, let us now turn our attention to the political market. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals](https://indianliberals.in) archive, a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in). This essay is excerpted from Chapter 2 of Sauvik Chakraverti’s book *Free Your Mind: A Beginner’s Guide to Political Economy*, published in 2002. The original version can be accessed [here](https://ccs.in/sites/default/files/2022-08/free_your_mind_1-40_Part1.PDF). * --- ## [ThePrint] Why legal provisions are necessary to curb the power of trade unions: MH Mody URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/power-of-trade-unions-mh-mody/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/power-of-trade-unions-mh-mody/2859967/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2026-02-21. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Why legal provisions are necessary to curb the power of trade unions: MH Mody The trade union movement has come to play a very significant role in all the advanced economies of the world. Even where the movement is ruthlessly suppressed, as in communist countries, it still exerts a pressure upon the system to achieve some of its ends. Recent developments in Poland are an illustration of what could happen even in communist countries. The trade union movement in most western countries as well as in India was started to improve the working conditions of the work force. There is no question that they made a very substantial contribution, in the early stages of the movement, to ameliorating the conditions of the working classes and there is scope even now for *bona fide* trade union activities in certain sectors of the economy. But trade union bosses soon came to realise that their power lay not only in their capacity to withhold their labour from the employer. In a modern democracy, they had also acquired the power to influence, if not actually to coerce, the political system. The trade union movement therefore has become a very important and significant part of the political system in most countries, except possibly in America where, in spite of the power which they have, the trade unions have continued to have a healthy distrust of the political system. Employers themselves have contributed not a little to add to the power of the trade unions. This happens where they are engaged in activities which are of a monopolistic or oligopolistic nature, or where the goods are in short supply as in the controlled economies of the developing countries. Employers have in these circumstances not hesitated to arrive at liberal settlements with their trade unions in paying wages and other benefits which are totally out of line with their skills, or comparable levels of salary in other industries. In India, for instance, many employers, in spite of a legal provision to the contrary, have made under various guises settlements involving payment of bonus at rates of 35 to 40 per cent. This they have been able to do because they have felt confident that the increased burden will be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices without in any way impairing the profitability of their businesses. We have instances now of large public companies where company drivers appear in the list of persons drawing a remuneration of more than Rs. 3,000 per month and yet there are people who even today pay a salary of Rs 300 per month to the drivers employed by them. By a tacit concurrence, businessmen and trade unions are able to raise the wages of their work forces only at the expense of reducing employment opportunities or at the expense of other workers who receive lower wages. Several economists have felt that collective bargaining will inevitably lead to an increase in both unemployment and the rate of inflation. I think that it is necessary to make suitable legal provisions for curbing the power of the trade unions along the following lines:- (a) Elimination of inter-union rivalry through a provision that only one union will be recognised as a bargaining agent in any manufacturing enterprise. (b) In order that the actual status of the union can be ascertained, a system of union checkoff must be introduced so that union contributions can be collected in a *bona-fide* and voluntary manner. (c) All contracts entered into by a union would be legally binding and the union and its officials would be liable for financial and other penalties for breach of contracts as in the case of any other commercial contract. (d) No strikes can be started except as a result of a strike ballot and with the support of a majority of the work force, whether unionised or not. The collusion between the new class of bureaucrats, politicians, businessmen and trade union bosses perpetuates itself partly because of the short-run benefits and also partly because they see no way out of the system. The average businessman realises that his profits in the existing system are only illusory. They are the profits of inflation. The real worth of his enterprise is not going to sustain him long. The bureaucrat is also aware of the limits to the fiscal capacity of the government, and of the fact that the bureaucracy’s expenditure of government resources does not create my great wealth.  As has been demonstrated in India, the limit of taxation is reached soon enough and there are therefore no additional resources available. Hence the constant complaint of the politician, at least in this country, of a resource constraint. The politician too nurses a fear that if the economy does not grow, it would be prone to internal turbulence as well as external dangers. The trade union bosses know only too well that their action has reduced the growth of employment, and the rapidly growing but unorganised group of rural workers, the self-employed and the workers in the unorganised sector constitute a threat to their cosy system. It is time now that the bureaucrat, the politician, the businessman and the trade union boss shed their cloak of pretence and open up to the real issues that threaten a bleak future. If they begin to be true to themselves and prepare themselves for a workable reform, there should not be any question about their being able to change the system. A vicious system is not amenable to change, without those operating it themselves accepting the need for reform. I feel that the time has now come for this. There.is a slow recognition even in our country that there is a need for a radical reform of the present system. There is, still a lot of groping in the dark about what needs to be done but I personally feel that it is a hopeful sign that there is a recognition of the need for reform. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](https://indianliberals.in))**, a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in))**. This article is excerpted from an essay titled ‘The New Class in a State Dominated Economy’ by MH Mody, published in the journal “Forum of Free Enterprise” in December 1980. The original version can be read [here](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/the-new-class-in-a-state-dominated-economy-by-mh-moody-1980.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] Prices, like water, will find their own level. Controls breed vested interests: Minoo Masani URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/prices-like-water-will-find-their-own-level-controls-breed-vested-interests-minoo-masani/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/prices-like-water-will-find-their-own-level-controls-breed-vested-interests-minoo-masani/2670255/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-06-28. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Prices, like water, will find their own level. Controls breed vested interests: Minoo Masani Controls are the main bane of our economy. It is said we should stop prices rising by putting on controls. If I may say so, that is flying in the face of the laws of economics. Nothing can stop prices rising if the supply and demand position warrants it. A British economist has said that to try to stop prices by controls is like a lady going to a surgeon to remove her double chin, and the thing comes out at the back of her neck in a bump! In other words, you treat a symptom, you do not treat the disease. The disease of inflation is due to the policies pursued by the Government. Until these are changed, no controls are going to succeed. Two days ago, I read that the L.K. Jha Committee having failed to stop the rise in prices, the matter will now be referred to a committee at a higher level of Cabinet Ministers, as if the level of the committee decides whether controls would be effective or not! Suppose the Ministers’ committee fails, where are you going any higher? Who is going to form the next committee to stop prices rising if the committee of three Cabinet Ministers fails where Mr Jha and his colleagues have failed? You cannot defeat the law of supply and demand. Prices, like water, will find their own level, and no amount of juggling will stop the laws of hydrodynamics or the laws of economics from having play. And that is why the team of the World Bank which visited India in February or March this year—let me remind the House that the World Bank is our biggest foreign benefactor today, generous, friendly and helpful—singled out for particular castigation Government’s present policies, which in its opinion make for inefficiency and high costs, and controls which hamper industry at every turn. ***Also read:** [For Minoo Masani, Indira Gandhi’s bank nationalisation Bill ‘came in the dark, like a thief’](https://theprint.in/opinion/great-speeches/for-minoo-masani-indira-gandhis-bank-nationalisation-bill-came-in-the-dark-like-a-thief/1942507/)* What is a control? A control is giving an official, even a small one, the power of life and death over a peasant, a shopkeeper or a businessman. Human nature being what it is, is it a matter for surprise that our public life is now riddled with corruption? I am not putting on any cloak of moral superiority. We are all the same under the skin, whatever party we may belong to. But the danger is that, when you combine economic and political power in the same hands, you are creating opportunities for corruption that should not be created. I would not entrust anybody, including my own party, with the unlimited power that you give to the bureaucracy and politicians to exercise controls. I would recognize that human nature being what it is, there must be checks and balances, a division of power. Why do we have a division of power between the judiciary, executive and the legislature? Similarly, we must have a division of authority, political and economic. The day on which you give economic power to those with police power, you have surrendered the liberties of the people, and that is what state capitalism as practised by the present Government means. ***Also read:** [Minoo Masani is India’s forgotten liberal who went against Nehru’s all-pervasive socialism](https://theprint.in/opinion/minoo-masani-is-indias-forgotten-liberal-who-went-against-nehrus-all-pervasive-socialism/836948/)* Controls involve bureaucracy. Let me give you a few findings of the studies made by the Organization and Methods Division of the Government itself. Official files in the Union Ministries increase at an annual rate of three lakhs; 21 lakhs of files are awaiting screening and destruction; 22 to 45 per cent of the working space allotted to the staff on an austerity basis is occupied by undisposed files. In the Central Public Works Department, 18 to 25 months are needed for a proposal to reach the stage of execution. And in that particular Ministry the study cites the case of the Land and Development Office where the allotment of a piece of land involves no less than 370 steps from the beginning till the end. This is the controlled economy. I was very glad that my friend, the Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries, speaking at a seminar in Delhi on August 6, confessed that we are now over-regulated, and he has stated that our framework of detailed control needs alteration, and the multiplicity of points at which they operate needs to be reduced. I am quoting him now: “It is a painful but inexorable fact that today an industrial manager spends more time getting across or around controls than in the task of management.” This is a very laudable discovery, however belated it may be, but the removal of controls is not so easy. The Minister for Steel has already found that out in his very laudable desire or attempt, which has so far failed, to decontrol steel. That is because every control breeds a new vested interest. Vested interests on the business and official side creep up which resist the abolition of the control, and it needs a very stout heart and great guts, like the late Mr Kidwai, to scrap the whole lot and go back from control to decontrol as Mahatma Gandhi advised. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](https://indianliberals.in)**, a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in). This essay first appeared in the book ‘Congress Misrule and the Swatantra Alternative’, published in November 1966. The original version can be accessed on this *[*link.*](https://indianliberals.in/liberals/congress-misrule-and-the-swatantra-alternative.pdf#page=71) --- ## [ThePrint] Private enterprise built India’s industries. Now it’s strangled by Gods in Delhi URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/private-enterprise-built-indias-industries-now-its-strangled-by-gods-in-delhi/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/private-enterprise-built-indias-industries-now-its-strangled-by-gods-in-delhi/2680404/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-07-05. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Private enterprise built India’s industries. Now it’s strangled by Gods in Delhi It is stated as one of the objectives of planned economy in India that there should be “reduction of inequalities in income and wealth and more even distribution of economic power.” We are told again and again that we should prevent the concentration of economic power in the hands of a few individuals. What do the critics of private enterprise mean to convey? Do they contend that too much power is already concentrated in the hands of private enterprise and it should, therefore, be broken up? Or is it their view that there is the danger of such power being concentrated in the hands of the private sector and all possible steps should, therefore, be taken to stop such concentration? Let us, therefore, examine what has happened hitherto and what is being done now and ascertain where economic power is being concentrated in recent years. It may be argued that individuals acquire economic power (1) by building up industries, (2) by widening their trade activities, (3) by regulating production, (4) by keeping the distribution of important and vital commodities in their hands, (5) by determining the price policy of products which are largely in demand, and (6) by acquiring and building up monopolies in industries, trade and in the distribution of vital products. At the same time, it is admitted on all hands, that if a nation has to develop its economic life, it must have the spirit of enterprise; it must have the private sector. No nation can become prosperous without the existence of a vigorous private sector which plays its vital role in the development of trade, commerce and industry of the country. I, therefore, felt very happy when I heard the Prime Minister telling us recently that he welcomed enterprise in individuals, enterprise to take risks, to climb the Mount Everest. We all realise the hazards, dangers and risks of going to the top of the greatest mountain in the world. I was, therefore, glad to find that here at last was the Prime Minister who appreciates and is anxious to encourage the spirit of enterprise in the private sector. But when I went on reading his speech further, I felt a sense of keen disappointment. After welcoming the spirit of enterprise in individuals in his characteristic manner, I wonder whether the Prime Minister was giving expression to his deep conviction when he added: “Free enterprise means creation of monopoly which prevents others from progressing, unless they come under the shadow of that monopoly.” When such a serious charge is made by the Prime Minister of the country, it is bound to have serious repercussions on the fortunes of private enterprise. The question before us, therefore, is: “Does free enterprise create monopoly?” It is the private enterprise that built up a number of industries during the last few decades. It is responsible for the present position of the textile, the jute, the silk, the rayon, the cement, the sugar, the shipping, the automobile and such other industries. Whichever industry we take, we find that private enterprise has made a remarkable contribution to its development. It had to struggle hard for the establishment of these industries against heavy odds. It had to make heavy sacrifices in putting them on a sound economic basis. No attempt has been made or can be made under such circumstances, to establish monopoly in any of these industrial fields. Whether the monopoly is acquired or not in any industrial field can be determined by the application of two important tests. Can you prevent the entry of a new entrepreneur to run the industry in which you are engaged? Can a single illustration be given to prove that if anybody wanted to start the textile industry or the jute industry, or the sugar mill, etc., he was prevented from doing so? The second test is whether any industrialist created such conditions in any industry as helped him in continuously exploiting the consumers of the products of that industry, or in raising the price of his products to such high levels as would hold the public to ransom. The critics have not adduced any evidence to justify their charge. We must, therefore, discard the theory that enormous economic power was concentrated in the hands of a few individuals before Independence, particularly when we know that some of these industries had actually to struggle for their very existence. I do not, therefore, for one moment believe that free enterprise creates monopoly. On the contrary, competition of free enterprise is the best guarantee against formation of monopolies. Coming to recent times, let us see if any radical change has taken place in the situation. Is such a monopoly being secured by a few individuals since India attained independence? With the enormous powers which the Government has taken to itself for the licensing of industries, for regulating production and distribution, for fixing the prices of commodities and for appointing the managing agents or the managing director of the industries concerned, it is unthinkable that private enterprise can establish monopoly in any industry either by preventing a fresh entrepreneur from coming into his field or by fixing such a price of his products as would lead to the complete exploitation of the consumer. We, therefore, regret we cannot agree with the view of the Prime Minister that free enterprise means the creation of monopoly. With the vigorous manner in which the industrial activities of the individuals and of the joint stock companies are controlled under the various provisions of the Industrial Development and Regulation Act, from pre-birth to after-death, it would not be possible for individuals and companies now to build up monopolies in any industries in which they may have been working. There are a number of controls which are imposed under the different provisions of the Industrial Development and Regulation Act. I do not wish to deal with all the controls which the Government is exercising today. There is one control which, however, merits special attention because it cuts at the very root of the economic power which one might like to acquire. Suppose my friend, Mr. A. D. Shroff, wants to start an industry. Suppose he has acquired the licence to do so and has also obtained the permission to raise the necessary capital from the Controller of Capital Issues. He then invites the public to go in for the shares of the company he may have floated. You and I will run to buy the shares of that industry. The capital may even be oversubscribed. The response of the public to his invitation to subscribe to the shares of his company will show that they have got full confidence in his integrity and ability to run the industry in question. But the crucial question is—and it is a serious “but”—will he be able to run the industry if the Gods at Delhi are not favourably inclined towards him? In spite of the unanimous decision of the shareholders of the company, the Government may not appoint him as the managing director or the managing agent. Who has got the economic power – the industrialist who wants to run the industry or the powers-that-be at Delhi, who accuse private enterprise in season and out of season, that vast economic power is being concentrated in the hands of a few individuals? Let us, therefore, remain under no delusion that private enterprise will come into its own because the Prime Minister wants competition between the public and the private sectors. There can be no competition in a field which is the monopoly of the State. Moreover, even in the fields which are open to private enterprise, the basic and large-scale industries are to be directly developed by the State. No competition worth the name can, therefore, find its place in those industries. Moreover, competition can only be possible and can be carried on healthy lines, if both the sectors are given uniform and encouraging treatment. We have been told repeatedly from the Prime Minister downwards that we are living under democracy. But actual power and responsibility, as remarked by Acharya Vinoba Bhave, has got concentrated in the hands of a very few at the apex. As rightly remarked by him: “Government has power over the entire life of the people. There is hardly a sphere of life which  is absolutely private and personal. This is a dangerous state of affairs.” Both political authority and economic power are being now concentrated more and more in the hands of the ministers and the bureaucracy. Democracy is bound, under such circumstances, to degenerate into dictatorship. Private sector, as remarked by Mr. J.R.D. Tata, is not against “the general objectives of a Welfare State.” If the true values of real democracy are, therefore, to be maintained and if the real salvation of the Indian people is to be attained; the Government will have to radically revise its present policy and will have to create a new atmosphere of hope, confidence and cheer where, as remarked by Mr. Tata, private enterprise will get the fullest encouragement and inspiration “to contribute to the fullest extent to the industrial development of the country and in the process to earn and pay a reasonable return on the monies entrusted to it. It asks no special favour but claims the right to live and serve the country in dignity and in peace and to be afforded some relief from the surfeit of Government control and interference.” *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](https://indianliberals.in/), a project **of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in/). This essay first appeared as a monograph titled “Where is Economic Power Being Concentrated?” published by the Forum of Free Enterprise on 8 August 1960. The original version can be accessed on [this link](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/where-is-economic-power-being-concentrated-m-a-masters-august-8-1958.pdf)).* --- ## [ThePrint] Private enterprise didn’t fail in India. JN Tata’s steel dream soared despite British ridicule URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/private-enterprise-didnt-fail-in-india-jn-tatas-steel-dream-soared-despite-british-ridicule/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/private-enterprise-didnt-fail-in-india-jn-tatas-steel-dream-soared-despite-british-ridicule/2688008/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-07-12. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Private enterprise didn’t fail in India. JN Tata’s steel dream soared despite British ridicule For some time past, Private Enterprise in India has been continuously under fire. It has been suggested that Private Enterprise is incapable of undertaking large-scale and rapid economic development of the country. It is also suggested that Private Enterprise only results in the concentration of economic power in hands of a few people. It is further said that—and it was said only a few days ago by no less a person than the Prime Minister of India in Calcutta—that Private Enterprise and Democracy are incompatible. But the main provocation for the choice of the subject is a speech made by Mr. T. T. Krishnamachari, who was then the Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, at Madurai on 4th of August. In the course of his speech, he observed that “Private Enterprise has failed me”, and that Private Enterprise was not showing either initiative or enterprise. Before I proceed to examine the validity of the various contentions which have led some people to the conclusion that Private Enterprise has failed in this country, I should mention that of all Ministers of Industries since India attained independence, Mr. T. T. Krishnamachari must be acknowledged as an outstanding success. Some of us may differ from him on some of the views he holds and propagates. But I think there is not the slightest doubt that in the discharge of his very high responsibilities as the Minister for Industries, he has shown remarkable drive, energy and understanding of business problems, and above all a capacity for taking quick decisions. It is, therefore, all the more incomprehensible for me that a man of such fine understanding of business and industrial problems and a man who has first-hand opportunities of witnessing from day to day what is being done in the industrial sphere in the last few years, should have preferred to make this charge against Private Enterprise in this country. To quote a Shakespearean phrase, to me it has come as “the most unkindest cut of all”. Before I examine the charge, it is very necessary that I should give you a brief historical review of Private Industry in this country, particularly before India attained Independence. If you look back to the history of Private Enterprise for 60 or 70 years before India attained independence, you must take into consideration the circumstances and the environment under which Private Industry had to struggle. ***Also read:** [India hasn’t done much on privatising PSUs. Unprepared for 21st century: Vajpayee](https://theprint.in/opinion/great-speeches/india-hasnt-done-much-on-privatising-psus-unprepared-for-21st-century-vajpayee/2681093/)* For one thing, we were under a regime, which was quite indifferent and apathetic, if not in some cases definitely antagonistic, to any industrial development in the country. If you for instance study the Tariff Policy of those days, the Transport Policy, or the location of Railway freight, all these will show you the conditions under which Private Enterprise had to struggle. Even in later years, when the Government came to adopt—and that too very grudgingly—a policy of discriminating protection, that policy was too halting and unsuited to bring about any rapid development of industries in the country. In spite of all these limitations and disabilities Private Enterprise was subject to in those days, it was surely through the enterprise and endeavour of Private Enterprise that India was put on the industrial map of the world and attained the eighth place among the industrial nations in the world. To quote one or two instances; the Cotton Textile Industry (remember only about 40 years ago we used to import every year Rs. 60 crores worth of piece-goods from abroad) has now developed substantially in the last few years when we have become a very important exporter of cotton piece-goods to about 40 to 45 different markets in the world. The very fact that Indian piece-goods should effectively compete with shrewd and established exporters from Lancashire and Japan bears ample testimony to the efficiency with which Textile Industry has been built up in this country. I would also like to remind you of the days when the late Mr. J. N. Tata first thought of starting the Steel Industry. I do not know if you are aware that a leading British business man of Calcutta ridiculed the idea as a dream, and he even offered to consume every pound of steel made in India! Fortunately for him, he is not alive today; otherwise he would have suffered not a little from indigestion. But the fact of the matter is that a great pioneering effort succeeded in giving India the largest single individual steel-making unit in the British Commonwealth of Nations, and I believe India will be proud also of the fact that she is today one of the most economic and cheapest producers of steel in the world. Take for instance also the development of hydroelectric power—entirely undertaken by Private Enterprise—a tremendous venture in those days, a venture not only in the sense of generating power but even of making Bombay mill owners believe that power could be generated and supplied to Bombay mills. You know today what it stands for in the economic life of Bombay. The above two or three instances might show what Private Enterprise, functioning under the limitations and disabilities to which it was subject in those days, could achieve. I may also mention Shipping. Shipping in India against the powerfully entrenched foreign shipping companies almost looked like a dream. It was due to the pioneering effort of the late Shri Narottam Morarji and Shri Walchand Hirachand that Indian Shipping has come to stay and offers today very fine promise of supplying a much-needed complementary transport service to sustain our economy. Even before we attained Independence, in 1944, seven businessmen of India got together and put before the people a plan for the economic development of the country. Private Enterprise in India was fully conscious of the needs of the country and also had faith in itself that it could undertake development on a very large and extensive scale. After 1947, the Government started taking more active interest in the economic development of the country. Private Enterprise also did not fail to assist in the process of development. The curve of industrial production during the last five years has been continuously rising. If you take 1946 as the base year, i.e., 100, industrial production went up to 117.2 in 1951, 128.9 in 1952, 135.3 in 1953, 146.6 in 1954, and in 1955 it stood at 161.5. Private Enterprise would have shown perhaps a such better and a more impressive record of achievement, if it had not to work under a certain set of circumstances of which you are all so painfully aware for the last few years. I was on a Committee, which was asked by the Reserve Bank to consider the circumstances under which Private Enterprise was functioning and to explore ways and means of helping Private Enterprise, particularly in the financial sphere. We had a very good opportunity of studying the situation in different parts of the country, and the unanimity of opinion which was represented to the Committee was that Government’s economic policy in the last few years had created an atmosphere of uncertainty in which naturally incentives are likely to be at a low ebb and that capital had been rendered very shy. Nationalisation of the Imperial Bank and recently Nationalisation of life Insurance have dealt further blows to Private Enterprise and have made capital more and more shy. Another subject of topical interest is the publication of a letter addressed by Mr. Eugene Black, Chairman of the World Bank, to our Finance Minister, Mr. T. T. Krishnamachari. The genesis of the letter is this: a few months ago, the World Bank sent out a mission. After surveying the situation and after having very intimate talks with Government officials, Planning Commission and Ministers, it submitted their report to the World Bank. On the basis of this report, Mr. Eugene Black addressed a letter to our Finance Minister, Mr. T. T. Krishnamachari. In the course of that letter, Mr. Black has said: “In making my own comments, I should like first to emphasise once again my conviction that India’s interests lie in giving private enterprise, both Indian and foreign, every encouragement to make its maximum contribution to the development of economy, particularly in the industrial field. While I recognise that the Government itself must play an important role in India’s economic development, I have the distinct impression that potentialities of private enterprise are commonly under-estimated in India and that its operations are subjected to unnecessary restrictions there.” This letter has crested a little flutter in certain dovecots. I do not know on how many occasions we have been told by the highest in the country that distinguished foreigners who are visiting India have been terribly impressed with the progress that this country is making. This is perhaps the first occasion when a friendly critic has dealt with a few things in a very outspoken fashion. I can personally vouch for one thing — that Mr. Eugene Black is a real and sincere friend of India. I have reasons to tell you that he earnestly desires that India should develop economically at a rapid pace. But Mr. Eugene Black also is a man who by his extensive knowledge of conditions in different parts of the world is convinced that there are certain well-proved and well-tried methods of economic development which have resulted in substantial progress in many countries of the world and there is no reason that one could see of a hasty departure from these proved and well-tried methods. I am glad that the views held by some of us are being fully confirmed by the conclusions given by the World Bank Mission in its report. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](https://indianliberals.in/), a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in/). It is excerpted from a monograph published by the Forum of Free Enterprise on 23 October 1956, titled *Has Private Enterprise Failed*. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/has-private-enterprise-failed-ad-shroff-230ct-1956.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] When the rupee’s value keeps falling, govt servants grow more corrupt: Pheroze J. Shroff URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/rupees-value-falling-govt-servants-corrupt-pheroze-j-shroff/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/rupees-value-falling-govt-servants-corrupt-pheroze-j-shroff/2945839/) on 2026-07-11. Originally published 2026-05-30. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # When the rupee’s value keeps falling, govt servants grow more corrupt: Pheroze J. Shroff If the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers do even one-tenth of the sermonizing to their own colleagues in the ministries as they do to the people, there may be improvement in the tone of public administration. --- ## [ThePrint] Russian-style socialism dominated Nehru’s imagination. It was disastrous URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/russian-socialism-nehru-imagination/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/russian-socialism-nehru-imagination/2742456/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-09-13. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Russian-style socialism dominated Nehru’s imagination. It was disastrous Hemingway has a short story set in the Spanish Civil War context in which an old man leaving his town on the approach of rebel armies sits on the outskirts and shows concern, to a questioner (a foreign correspondent) with the fate of his old cat that he was obliged to leave behind than with the tragedy of the people involved in the horrors of the unusually savage civil war! We know that all through the long national liberation movement in India the British could find quite a number of Indian collaborators at the expense of their own countrymen. They did not feel the passion for freedom to any marked extent. They could not imagine how the country could manage without the British to govern them! To the large majority of people everywhere the status quo and the customary round seem to be as much part of nature as the stars, the sun and the moon. They cannot imagine a different state of affairs. **Marxist Gospel** In moral experience we are keenly aware that people have the greatest difficulty in realising in imagination the inward feelings and attitudes of their own neighbours. A great writer has a short story showing how the heads of husband and wife on adjacent pillows entertain widely different thoughts that seem to belong to separate worlds! The great problem of human life is this one of increasing understanding of men of each other’s inward life by means of a more sensitive imagination. Socialist (communist) propaganda takes full advantage of this failing of human beings. It depicts the ideal state of affairs under their Utopia in such a complete fashion that nothing is left to the imagination of those who are carried away by the promises of socialism regarding its new heaven and new earth, regarding its abolition of poverty, its reign of equality, its opportunity for self-realisation for all and so on. No schemes of logical criticism of the economics, psychology and philosophy of communism can have any effect on the believer and the fellow traveller. He comes to believe in the Marxist Gospel as in a new Bible or Koran as an infallible revelation for the scientific age of the present and future. The picture presented by the propaganda of the communist-socialists occupies the imagination of the intelligentsia of the present age, by and large, by reiteration, emphasis and appeal to humanitarianism as the only way of redeeming the under-dog. It benumbs the critical faculties. Moreover, criticism presupposes knowledge of alternatives. The greatest service that philosophy as a systematic science of reflection on ultimate reality and ultimate values renders to civilisation, as pointed out so impressively by Dr. A. N. Whitehead, is the suggestion of alternative vision of society and natural relations or structure. Such alternative ideas release the mind from the stranglehold of custom or dogma, new or old and create an attitude of mind more open and hospitable to new ideas and rival hypotheses. It is therefore necessary to break the spell of socialist dogma on the imagination of fellow travellers and those attracted by its dogma on travellers and those attracted by its Utopia as the only way of progress based on science. This can be done by showing alternatives. ***Also read:**** [State control blocks India’s progress and exploits its people: C Rajagopalachari](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/state-control-india-progress-exploitation-c-rajagopalachari/2737203/)* **Failure of imagination** Professor Bauer (specialist in the economy of backward peoples in the University of London) has said after a study of Indian Plans and Policies that the Indian Government seems more interested in realising socialism than in economic development itself! He has recorded his deliberate opinion that in the absence of the elaborate structure of controls and regulations, cribbing, cabinning and confining Indian enterprise in the private field, a faster and more many-sided progress in development would result. That is to say, his special knowledge of economic facts and ideas enabled him to see other alternative possibilities in the Indian scene at present blocked by official programmes and policies and their acceptance as good and inevitable by the public. Even the opposition parties have failed to present sufficiently well-informed and comprehensive schemes of development making for better results without curbing individual initiative, repressing capital formation and freezing investment in the private sector. Another reason for this state of affairs, that is, for the failure of imagination on the part of critics and the general public to visualise their own schemes of development inspired by their own principles, views of social ideals and economic well-being and to present them to the electorate in rivalry to the official policy is their inability to think of alternatives. There was an opportunity before Indian leaders at the advent of independence in August 1947. But unfortunately India had a leader, sold body and soul to socialism at the moment of national self-government. Even before the first Five-Year Plan was launched under the auspices of the Planning Commission in perfect imitation of the Soviets, Parliament was enacting the Industrial Policy Resolution (1949) which laid down the outline of socialist policy reserving the commanding heights of the economy, as the phrase goes (in British Socialist parlance) meaning nationalisation or otherwise taking control of the key industries, transport, insurance, railways, communications, mines, steel and other heavy industries for government ownership and management. The imagination of Shri Jawaharlal Nehru was completely dominated by the socialist programme of centralised economy after the pattern of Soviet Russia. **Slave mentality of Indian leaders** The other members of Parliament had not the imagination to visualise the deleterious consequences for production and liberty, price levels, tax levels, misery depths and so on of such socialism as was realised through the years. They did not think out the rationale of the policies of socialism afresh. They took the European programmes for granted. They betrayed slave mentality in the intellectual and temporal field to an astonishing extent, for which the country is suffering even today. For one thing, the policies have not been reviewed from a rationalist and experiential point of view in the light of Indian conditions. The results of the Plans in terms of actual effects on the economy—prices, taxes, production, redistribution, national income, prosperity all round etc. have not been assessed from an independent point of view even yet. The founding of the Swatantra party is one sign of the awakening on the part of the intelligentsia that an alternative policy is possible and necessary. The work of the Libertarian Social Institute of Mr. Lotvala has been earliest in the field with its own independent and critical rethinking of Marx and communist programme in general and criticism of Indian policies in particular in the light of free economy and free society. Research and publicity has gone hand in hand in this work with its library at Bombay and Bangalore and the journal Indian Libertarian published fortnightly. **Dictatorship, not democracy** In the field of agriculture, the very first plan contained the germ of the policy which blossomed fully into the communist pattern of co-operative farm, the imposition of ceilings on holdings with nominal compensation to lands acquired by the state for transfer to the tiller. The full communist tactics of salami division of the farming community into landless labourer, small farmer, middle farmer, large farmer and large landowner was adopted. The zamindar corresponded to the feudal large landowner and was removed with ridiculous compensation in 1948. This is proof that the governing leadership had their minds made up before the advent of independence and put their notions of imported land revolution into force at the earliest opportunity without taking the intelligentsia in confidence. They posed as omniscient rulers and disdained to consult the people. This is not democracy but dictatorship—doing good to the people without their knowledge and intelligent consent! It was the good intention of the socialists in Germany that ruined her in the Hitler regime’s policies. The people did not read either the Industrial Policy Declaration of 1948 which is fully socialist in inspiration and aim nor the Five-Year Plan Reports on Land Reforms, which is modelled on the Russian and Chinese patterns, even to the minute details except for the killings and violence. The killings were unnecessary in India as the intelligentsia had not yet taken a measure of their responsibilities under democracy. The peasants and their leaders were too scattered to organise resistance. They held their first Federation in 1958 which precipitated the Nagpur Resolution of the Congress party and the founding of the Swatantra Party but the so-called ‘land reforms’ have only been slowed down a little. No alternative scheme modelled on the democratic, constructive, evolutionary reforms of the Dutch, German and Scandinavian countries have yet been presented to the country by Indian agricultural leaders. They lack constructive imagination and the necessary stamina, grit, devotion and unsleeping vigilance both in their own interests and in the interests of democracy, to build an alternative society bringing men freedom. Both facts and creative imagination are necessary. The Seventeenth Amendment to be brought forward in August seeks to make ryotwari land also subject to the zamindari abolition reforms tactics. If passed, it makes an end of poverty as a fundamental right and so weakens democracy at a vital point. *This essay is part of a series from the Indian Liberals [archive](https://indianliberals.in), a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in). This essay is an excerpt taken from ‘Indian Libertarian’ magazine with the original title “Social Imagination and Revolution” published on 15 August 1963. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-aug15-1963.pdf#page=5).* --- ## [ThePrint] Social injustice is inevitable under socialist economic systems: BR Shenoy URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/social-injustice-socialist-economic-systems-br-shenoy/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/social-injustice-socialist-economic-systems-br-shenoy/2884958/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2026-03-21. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Social injustice is inevitable under socialist economic systems: BR Shenoy Under consumer sovereignty, four desiderata are integral to the functioning of the system. First, to seek consumer patronage, entrepreneurs would strive to reduce costs and improve quality. With consumer approval and appreciation of such effort, high-cost and low-quality products would continually tend to be replaced, through resource shifts and technological progress, by low-cost and high-quality products; and this will continually tend to lift up production, and hence employment, income and the level of living.  Secondly, rapid expansion of employment is built into the economic system where everybody’s concern is to meet the demands — which, it may be noted, are most exacting, in addition to being ruthless —  of the consumer. The expansion of employment at current, or rising, wage rates is a function, not of investment, as Indian experience has shown; nor of stepping down the technology of production, which is currently in use. It is solely a function of the expansion of overall production. Since consumer sovereignty makes for rapidity of growth of the national product, it may, therefore, liquidate unemployment with corresponding rapidity. To illustrate the working of this built-in urge to expand employment: in Japan, low wages, the heavy pressure of population on land, 291 persons per square kilometer, – the average land holding in the country, as a result of this population pressure, is but 1.01 hectares  —  the scarcity and high cost of capital, induced farmers to adopt labour-intensive methods of cultivation in agriculture.  Japanese agricultural output is well above the world average. The Japanese output of paddy, per hectare, in 1974 was 5.84 tonnes, as against the world average of 2.36 tonnes. Japanese agriculture employs 2,031 workers per 1,000 hectares of cultivated land. In the US, on the other hand, capital is less scarce; the average holding is 157.6 hectares, population density is 22 per square kilometer, and the country adopted capital-intensive methods of cultivation, the labour employed per 1,000 hectares of cultivated land being a mere 17.  These differing systems of cultivation were adopted, not under the direction of a planning commission, but by independent farmers in free economies, the course and destinies of which are, on the whole, determined by sovereign consumers. By contrast, the Russian Gosplan copied the American method of capital-intensive cultivation, notwithstanding low wages, with none too complimentary results.  Thirdly, under full consumer sovereignty, there is no need, nor room for monopolies in production, distribution, imports or exports; and incomes of all individuals — wages, interest, rent and profits — would correspond to their respective contributions to the national product. Such a situation permits no windfalls. Hence, none can appropriate someone else’s earnings, i.e., there can be no social injustice. Social injustice, on the other hand, is inevitable under socialist economic systems, which abound in monopolies, privileges and subsidies; and hence bring to privileged individuals and groups unearned and also unmerited incomes, at the expense of the rest of the community.  Fourthly, income contrasts tend to decline as economic development progresses, under consumer sovereignty. This is so not merely because of the absence of social injustice, but also as a consequence of, on the one hand, a natural decline in interest, rent and profits, the earnings of the economic elite, and a natural increase, on the other, of wages and salaries. As a free economy progresses, the proportion of wages and salaries to the national product tends to increase and the proportion of interest, rent and profits tends to decline. In Japan, wages and salaries rose continually from 41.3% of GDP, in 1960, to 50.8%, in 1974. In West Germany, this percentage rose from 46.9 to 54.7. By contrast, in Socialist India, this percentage fluctuated within a narrow range and was, in 1974-75, 28.2 or lower than in 1960-61, 29.9.  The growing prosperity of the masses of the people in free societies is evidenced by the overwhelming proportion of economic activity being directed to the turning out of articles of mass consumption and by the vast multiplicity of departmental stores, safeways, shopping centres and the endless series of retail shops which purvey these products.  Many of these products would be, if then available, matters for envy among the noblemen and the elite of the 18th century. The shoppers that crowd these places are not plutocrats but farm and factory workers and salaried people. Except in Communist countries, cars are no longer a luxury transport, accessible only to the favoured top crust of the community.  In a communist society, none of the economic constituents of a free economy hold true. The state determines the needs of consumers, arranges the distribution of goods and services and allocates resources among alternative uses. Individuals do not enjoy fundamental economic rights; and forward markets do not exist. *This essay is part of a series from the Indian Liberals *[*archive*](https://indianliberals.in/)*, a project of the *[*Centre for Civil Society*](https://ccs.in)*. This essay is an excerpt from a monograph published by the “Forum of Free Enterprise” titled “Economic Growth with Social justice” in August 1977. The original version can be accessed *[*here*](http://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/economic-growth-with-social-justice-dr-b-r-shenoy-august-1977.pdf)*. * --- ## [ThePrint] The so-called ‘socialist pattern’ and democracy cannot co-exist for long: Minoo Masani URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/socialism-democracy-minoo-masani/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/socialism-democracy-minoo-masani/2854700/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2026-02-14. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # The so-called ‘socialist pattern’ and democracy cannot co-exist for long: Minoo Masani Some people would reply that democracy means majority rule. How wrong they are! Stalin and Hitler, after coming to power, repeatedly won elections by huge majorities which were presumably bogus, and then carried on a ruthlessly oppressive and tyrannical regime. The dictators of the Black African countries, who are often ferocious autocrats, also claim to have been elected by a majority. As the anthropologist, Elspeth Huxley, has put it : “One man one vote, once”. Mr. R. Venkataraman, President of our Republic, mentioned this in his Inaugural Address as President on July 25, 1987 that ‘most of the newly independent countries which adopted a democratic form of government have lapsed into dictatorships’. There are countries covered by Mr. Venkataraman’s statement in Asia and Latin America which also qualify along with Africa. The concept of majority rule is a particularly pernicious one in countries which are not of a homogenous nature ethnically, linguistically or by religion. Examples of such countries are the Union of South Africa, Fiji, Sri Lanka, and, of course, our own country. In these countries there is a built-in permanent majority based on race, language or religion. Majority rule in such cases would mean the tyranny of the majority community over the minority community or communities. In South Africa the result of “one man one vote” majority rule would be the domination of the Blacks over the Whites and the coloured peoples including Indians who are all minorities. In Fiji it would mean the domination of the Indian immigrants over the original inhabitants there. In Sri Lanka it would mean the domination of Sinhalese over Tamils and in India it would mean the domination of the Hindus over the Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and other minorities. It is quite obvious, therefore, that majority rule is not democracy and can often be undemocratic. Having disposed of this myth, let us now turn to the various factors that make a real democracy. ***Also read: ***[*Liberal methods reach social justice faster than socialism: Minoo Masani* ](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/minoo-masani-liberalism-free-markets-india/2823730/) ### **Limited government****** It is quite clear that a government which is not limited to essential purposes but dominates [the] economic, educational, literary and artistic life of the country cannot be a democratic one. Where this happens, an effective opposition ceases to be possible, and Mr. Durbin’s test cannot be fulfilled. This has been proved by the case of the Soviet Union, Communist China and others in our time. Italian theorist Benedetto Croce was able to foresee this when he wrote in the last quarter of the 19th century that where the Government or the State tends to become the only employer and the only landlord, that society ceases to be democratic, because there would be no one left to oppose except at great peril. That is why he argued that in a free society there have to be “autonomous social forces” such as the farmer owning his land, the industrialist owning his factory or business, the shopkeeper owning his shop and the professional man like the lawyer or doctor or consultant who works for himself. Later developments have proved how right Croce was. In my opinion, India is in the border line between a limited government and a total one because of excessive controls, destruction of the balance of the mixed economy, control of the dominating heights of the economy, as Jawaharlal Nehru grandiloquently described it, through giant industrial units, the control of the State over universities, the absence of economic freedom, the institution of *Sahitya Academies* and other government institutions which have undermined the independence of writers, artists and other members of the intelligentsia. Writing on 5th January 1969 in the *Times of India*, Mr. Nirad Choudhary asked: “Where do contemporary Indian writers stand in the light of these ideals? I cannot say they are not involved in current affairs. On the contrary, I would assert they are only too much involved in them, which means that they are wrongly involved. Most of them are doing their best to have a share of the loot of public money that has become the vocation of the upper middle class since Independence. All of them are enlisting or trying to enlist in the horde of *Pindaris* that the present ruling order of India is. The writers in this army will not indeed be* Amir Khans* or *Chittus *but they aspire to become quite prosperous *thugs*.” There have been repeated attempts to destroy the freedom of the press. All these have brought India to the position where it is possible to say that the so-called ‘socialist pattern’ and democracy cannot co-exist for long. This already happened for a brief period of two years after 1975, and could easily happen again for a longer duration. Therefore it is that the liberal insists that unless [the] Government is limited and kept in its proper boundaries, it cannot be called a democratic one. Mahatma Gandhi said: “That Government is best which governs the least.” ***Also read: ***[*Prices, like water, will find their own level. Controls breed vested interests: Minoo Masani* ](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/prices-like-water-will-find-their-own-level-controls-breed-vested-interests-minoo-masani/2670255/) ### **Sharing of power****** Democracy has been defined as [the] government of the people, for the people, and by the people, the last of these being the most important of the three. The sharing of power has to be both horizontal and vertical. It should be horizontal in the sense that minority groups have a right to participate in the government of the day along with the majority. It is not enough for members of the minority to be condescendingly included in the cabinet as are Muslims, Sikhs and others in India, and, Tamils and Muslims in Sri Lanka, at the *‘meherbari*’ of the majority or of the White ‘Uncle Toms’ whom the Communist-dominated African National Congress would perhaps include in their new government, if ever they are allowed to come to power. What is necessary is for the Tamils and Muslims in Sri Lanka to be represented by those chosen by them. That Muslims and Sikhs in India should similarly have the right to choose their own members of the cabinet and that the Whites in a Black dominated country should have ministers of their own choice. This has been ensured only by the Swiss Constitution to which I shall refer later. Vertical participation is equally important. The infrastructure of a democracy lies with grassroots vigilance and initiative which keeps political parties and governments on the straight and narrow path. Where such grassroots vigilance and initiative are weak as in India today, political parties float on top without any infrastructure, without internal democracy, and with “Kangaroo courts” which ‘expel’ members without even asking them to show cause. The element of grassroots vigilance is not one that can be created by law. It is primarily one that is dependent on home and school education and training of the young in the right to think for themselves, training in the right to stand up to authority—whether domestic, industrial or political, when the conscience demands it. Gandhiji defined a real *satyagrahi* as one who defies a law which he thinks is immoral even if he is in a minority of one, provided he is prepared to pay the price for his act. In other words, democracy is contingent on the existence of independent, aware and courageous citizens who are prepared to speak up for their rights and do not always count the cost. As the poet said: “They are slaves who dare not be  In the right with two or three”. The main enemies of such initiative are the cult of personality, misguided loyalty to party “high command”, sycophancy which abounds in the capital and other parts of India and the presence of a controlled economy where the permit-licence or quota is a pre-condition to economic survival. Here we are on very weak ground. The concept of good and active citizenship is not well understood in India. The result is “too much politics, too little citizenship”. We need much more grassroots vigilance and action. It is not periodic five-year elections that determine the quality of democracy but the day-to-day intervention of the ordinary citizen in the affairs of the State. Here we are very weak, and unless the quality and activity of our citizenship improve and become much more democratic, our political parties will continue to float on top and be utterly irresponsible as they are today. It is important that the people of India be educated on this subject. It is important that the people of India be educated on this subject. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals](https://indianliberals.in) archive, a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in). This essay was published by the Harold Laski Institute of Political Science, Ahmedabad on 24 March 1989. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Copy-of-The-Essence-of-Democracy.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] Socialism hinders India’s industrial growth. We need free enterprise first URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/socialism-hinders-indias-industrial-growth-we-need-free-enterprise-first/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/socialism-hinders-indias-industrial-growth-we-need-free-enterprise-first/2695489/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-07-19. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Socialism hinders India’s industrial growth. We need free enterprise first Chambers of Commerce and trade bodies in the country performed a very useful function in our economy in the past. It was through the Chambers of Commerce that the business community voiced its grievances and sought redress for them at the hands of the Government. The Governments of the past also attached great importance to the pronouncements made by them and tried to modify their policies to the extent possible to suit the requirements of trade and industry. It was as a result of this that even under an alien Government our commerce and industry made significant progress during the past quarter of a century. But alas, during the past years we have seen a complete reversal of these policies. This is a significant matter, as it indicates a change in the attitude of the Government towards that section of the population which is traditionally in the pursuits of private trade and industry. Since the decision of the Government to establish a socialist economy in the country, this section has come in for quite an unnecessary measure of discrimination and has been discredited and discouraged at every stage. It is told that ours is now a socialist state and hence the private sector must subordinate its interests to the state plan and if need be liquidate itself in course of time. The statements made by Ministers of the Government are quite baffling and are many a time diametrically opposed to each other. Prime Minister Nehru, who is a great believer in democracy, said at the A.I.C.C. meeting in January last that he would prefer slow progress to risking individual independence for rapid progress. On the other hand Shri T. T. Krishnamachari, the Finance Minister, has declared that the Second Plan would demand sacrifice and regimentation of our economy, and Shri M. M. Shah, Union Minister of Heavy Industries, said the other day that the public and private sectors could easily coexist without any kind of trouble for the next ten or fifteen years which means by implication that after that the private sector must expect the deluge. Where do all these statements lead us? The private sector needs as much planning as the public sector. Is it possible for any group of entrepreneurs to go in for any big plan of industrialisation when the only lease of life you give them is ten to fifteen years? Needless to state that the policies of the Government act as a serious deterrent to the growth of any new industry in the private sector. This serious situation has arisen as a result of the adoption of the socialist economy by our Government. Our Government claim that their policy has been endorsed by the country; which means that the vast majority of the unthinking millions of the country have understood the implications of this policy and approve of it. On the other hand there are thousands of thinking people in the country who are convinced that these policies will not only result in raising the standard of living, but may well create a totalitarian regime. But nevertheless the determination of our Government to press forward with their socialist plans seems to gather strength as time goes on, as though socialism is the only panacea for our economic ills, and the private sector represents all the anti-social evils in our body politic. ***Also read:** [Private enterprise built India’s industries. Now it’s strangled by Gods in Delhi](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/private-enterprise-built-indias-industries-now-its-strangled-by-gods-in-delhi/2680404/)* The tirade against capitalism is wholly unfounded. Capitalism as it has shaped during the past quarter of a century is a far better method of developing the economic resources of any country, as well as obtaining the ends of social justice, whereas socialism is inevitably a tyranny. To say that the people of this country have accepted socialism as their goal is false. The large mass do not understand what they are being bamboozled into accepting. The view of those who understand its implications is being treated with contempt. It will be therefore right for us to dwell here on the merits and demerits of the two systems. There was a time when the socialists were able to make damaging criticisms of the system of free enterprise. They pointed to the high degree of economic inequality it gave rise to, the insecurity of the worker, and the inadequate use of resources, causing persistent unemployment. In those days there were no socialist systems with which comparisons could be made. They were comparing socialist theory with capitalist practice. If socialist practice had been brought into the discussion, the balance might have been less unequal. Nevertheless these were serious defects in the private enterprise system. But all have been largely or wholly abolished by the developments of the past quarter century. Perhaps the decisive event was the publication of Keynes’ great book, *The General Theory*, in the early 1930s. This book showed how, by manipulation of the bank rate, direct investment activity, and deficit financing, it is possible for a government while preserving private enterprise, to secure full employment and the maximum use of economic resources. At the same time the doctrine of the Welfare State began to be put into force on a large scale. This greatly reduced economic inequality and secured the worker against the economic disasters of casual unemployment, injury, sickness and old age. It is now possible for upholders of free enterprise to challenge the socialists and deny that their system is in any respect superior. Socialism in practice has not fulfilled its promise to bring about equality among men. In fact socialist societies show just as much inequality as capitalist societies. And the free enterprise system retains the inestimable advantage, in which no socialist system can rival it—that it is free. Far back in the nineteenth century, when these problems were first discussed, the opponents of socialism pointed out that that idealistic system would in practice turn out to be a system of slavery. They have been fully justified by the test of experience. Socialism is slavery, whereas free enterprise is free—not only for the capitalist but for the worker, and for the professional man and the intellectual. But all this discussion applies to highly industrialised economies. What is its application to India, where industrialism is still far from fully developed? Until very recently it was the assumption of all on both sides that socialism has no application to backward economies. Marx himself, and all the other socialists, laid it down that the backward economies must be industrialised by free enterprise, and that when that process had reached a certain stage of completeness, socialism would take over. The socialists believed that socialism requires a wealthy economy: it is no use distributing poverty. They also held that for socialism to be practicable, the public, including the workers, must be highly educated, and that cannot be the case unless the nation has been wealthy enough to afford a comprehensive educational system for a generation or more. If you try to impose socialism on a poor and ill-educated community, you inevitably get a dictatorship of the educated minority over the illiterate majority. The socialists were therefore arguing quite sensibly when they said that socialism has no application to backward economies. But now we are faced with a new proposal, unheard of among the classical theorists of socialism. That is that socialism is to be introduced into backward countries straightaway, without waiting for free enterprise to lay the necessary economic foundations. What becomes of Marx’s warnings against this policy? They are ignored. But they will come true: we can see them coming true in India today. Under the form of democracy, we see growing up an economic dictatorship of the politicians and the bureaucracy; and the illiterate electorate is powerless to check it. The socialist theorists go further. They argue that socialism can carry a backward country through the process of industrialisation quicker than free enterprise can do it. Look, they say, at our huge hydroelectric and steel plants: how could private enterprise ever undertake tasks of that magnitude? But the argument is a fallacy. It is right for the state to build hydro-electric and steel works, because it is known that there will be a market for their products, and the magnitude of these enterprises places them, for the present, beyond the reach of private capital. In fact the state, with its vast resources, can jump ahead faster than free enterprise can. But that is true only where there is a known demand and therefore a clearly defined economic goal—so much steel, so many kilowatt-hours. Where the state takes it upon itself to supply all the vast variety of the wants of the public, it has no such advantage. In fact, it suffers from great disadvantages as compared with private enterprise. For the state cannot solve the problem of allocation of resources. Under free enterprise that problem is solved by the market, by public demand. Under socialism it is solved by bureaucratic decrees, and such decrees must often be wrong. A bureaucratic management cannot take the place of the market economy. It does not know, and cannot know, how to allocate resources. Only the market can tell that. And moreover, the bureaucratic type of management is less efficient in detail than private management. I know there will be protests at this statement, but you have only to glance round at the state enterprises in Bangalore to see that, whatever else they may achieve, efficiency and economy are minor considerations with them. I conclude that this new-fangled theory of socialism as specially suitable for backward countries is a huge mistake. Socialism in India now is putting the cart before the horse: it is distributing poverty and obstructing development; and worst of all, it is putting into power a vast, irresponsible bureaucracy which will make either political or economic democracy impossible. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](/indianliberals.in), a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in/). It is excerpted from a monograph published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in 1956, titled *The Place of Free Enterprise in a Backward Economy*. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/the-place-of-free-enterprise-in-a-backward-economy-by-dn-hosali.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] Socialism has failed everywhere, it won’t survive in India: M. R. Pai URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/socialism-wont-survive-in-india-m-r-pai/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/socialism-wont-survive-in-india-m-r-pai/2964818/) on 2026-07-11. Originally published 2026-06-20. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Socialism has failed everywhere, it won’t survive in India: M. R. Pai As a citizen of Indian democracy, I oppose socialism mainly on four grounds. --- ## [ThePrint] State control blocks India’s progress and exploits its people: C Rajagopalachari URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/state-control-india-progress-exploitation-c-rajagopalachari/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/state-control-india-progress-exploitation-c-rajagopalachari/2737203/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-09-06. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # State control blocks India’s progress and exploits its people: C Rajagopalachari A workman who quarrels with his tools is a bad workman. Amendments to the chapter on Fundamental Rights in the Constitution are an insult to the intelligence of those who framed the Constitution, besides being a demonstration of the incapacity of the Government to govern. Before going into this matter, let me make a Swatantra affirmation so that the ground may be cleared. The Swatantra Party and the Swatantra movement have often been classified by foreign observers as ‘conservative’. Swatantra does want the State to conserve what is good in anything before proceeding to reform it. It can be called conservative for that reason. But the word ‘conservative’ has been put to such various uses that it has become quite a misleading appellation. The Swatantra Party wants the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution of 1950 restored and preserved intact. What Swatantra stands for, as its name implies, is the ‘restoration of the citizen’s freedom of action not inconsistent with the general welfare, and therefore it wants the removal of the barbed-wire entanglements known as the permit-licence-quota raj, which sits heavily over all national production and trade. This was conceived with the intention of preventing chaotic development and illegal exploitation; but in fact it has impeded development and actually promotes exploitation. What appears as progress has been achieved in spite of the incubus, and not on account of the regimentation. Swatantra wants this permit-licence-quota entanglement removed. It wants the constitutional guarantees of fundamental rights fully restored. Swatantra wants less government and more freedom. At no time in the history of India did Government press so heavily on the minds of the people at all levels as now. And this pressure is an incubus, not a contributor of health or strength to the individuals who, after all, compose the nation, and whose health and strength make up the nation’s health and strength. **Protecting workers** Let it be clearly remembered that Swatantra wants everything to be done to give full security to tenants and every opportunity for the welfare of workers, rural and industrial. Swatantra wants urban and rural workers to be well protected against any tyranny on the part of those who furnish capital and manage production and distribution. It holds at the same time that sound management and capital are necessary both for the production of goods and for the welfare of all those engaged in that production. Swatantra opposes State regimentation and State interventionism for any purposes other than such protection and such welfare as aforesaid; Swatantra is opposed to interventionism to prevent free competition, and is opposed to every policy that tends to frighten capital out of its function. We cannot produce without capital, and we should not levy taxes to obtain capital but furnish incentives for savings voluntarily to become capital. It is only this that distinguishes progress and prosperity under freedom from a mere appearance of prosperity. **Dresed-up statism** Swatantra wants the Congress to realize the complicated nature of our large country. Agricultural practices and the structure of the agricultural apparatus vary from region to region. Steam-roller ‘reforms’ designed by people ignorant of conditions and by persons scheming to develop popular prejudices and exploit ignorance for party purposes, have caused widespread uncertainty and damaged production. Swatantra wants land reforms to be based on informed leadership, to be executed without attempting to extinguish the fundamental freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution. Swatantra is opposed to statism dressed up in attractive garments. The authors of the Constitution desired all the tenancy reforms and all the protection for workers that Congress policies now seek to achieve, but they were convinced that they could all be achieved without withdrawing any of the fundamental rights they wrote down as inviolable in Part III of the Constitution. The Directive Principles formulated in Part IV of the Constitution were framed for the purpose of achieving general welfare, without subtracting from the principles of the free way of life guaranteed in the earlier chapter, viz., Part III of the Constitution. It was taken for granted that there was no contradiction between these two chapters of the Constitution and that the two parts can stand together, and the nation can march to progress without asking the people to accept the economy or the way of life of communist countries. It is an insult to the intelligence of the Fathers of the Constitution to presume that there is any contradiction between the principles underlying one part of it and those formulated in another. **Communist conception of progress** The Swatantra Party and Swatantra movement cannot be equated with the conservatives or the liberals or any other party in UK or US. It would be best to call it a ‘Constitutionalist Party’ if Swatantra is not enough of a name. The ruling Congress Party’s conceptions are bodily lifted from communist conceptions of the short and coercive way to progress and prosperity. The original of this copy has failed, as we are able to see in the present plight of those countries which adopted the communist economy. The communist conception was based on coercion and does not provide an adequate substitute for the functions performed by competition and self-interest in the free way of life. Any system working against human nature is bound to fail, even if it began with a deceptive promise at the outset as a result of brutal compulsion. Some human activities can be kept up at a good pitch through pure idealism—art or science, for example. But the hundreds of humble and difficult jobs like rice-growing or brick and mortar work, or fruit-gardening or weaving call for the satisfaction of the urge to earn and save and keep something for oneself; further, this must be adequate in relation to the work and drudgery involved. The desire to have property is rooted in human nature, and civilization itself is rooted in it. In a free economy, zeal and enthusiasm are automatically guaranteed: whoever is not owner today hopes to become an owner tomorrow. In the socialist world, the only proprietor is the State; therefore, neglect and apathy become the national climate where coercion is evaded or removed. This cannot be counteracted by the wasteful proliferation and enlargement of the bureaucracy. The Swatantra Party thus opposes the ruling Congress Party’s Statist policies based on a repudiation of the fundamental principles of the Constitution and the freedoms guaranteed therein. To those who are in the Swatantra movement and who feel abashed at the power which the ruling party has secured by being in office and acquiring control over the economy, I say, let us do what we should do and not be concerned about results; let us not yield to the temptation of non-doing and become apathetic. Let us have faith in the national mantra, *Satyameva Jayate*, and carry on our work, not looking for results. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](https://theprint.in/indianliberals.in), a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in/). It is taken from the Delhi Letter section of the Indian Libertarian magazine, with the original title, ‘Workman Quarrels With His Tools’, published on 15 December 1963. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-dec15-1963.pdf#page=16).* --- ## [ThePrint] Was India’s public sector born out of European envy? URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/was-indias-public-sector-born-out-of-european-envy/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/was-indias-public-sector-born-out-of-european-envy/2747391/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2025-09-20. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Was India’s public sector born out of European envy? The biggest problems facing India today are poverty and unemployment. Eight months ago, a new government was formed in New Delhi. People’s hopes were aroused but for a short time only. Already, there is strong evidence of manifestations of frustration. As no other large country in the world faces the twin’ problems of poverty and unemployment of the magnitude as India, the new government’s responsibility is very grave. It would do well to bear in mind that ultimately economics rules politics. It is recognised in some quarters that even with half of India’s population, everything else remaining the same, the difficulties in transforming India into a welfare state are immense.  When India became free on the 15th August 1947, a tremendous euphoria was generated. It was considered to be the dawn. But it is clear as daylight now that the economic dawn is nowhere in sight.  After the end of the Second World War, the common man’s lot, especially in Western Europe, improved vastly and rapidly. He was better fed, clothed, and housed than ever before. In developed countries, economic growth and social welfare proceeded side by side. This feature gained universal acceptance. The proportion of the national income spent by the state in democratic capitalist countries rose sharply, and thus gave rise to the concomitant growth of the public sector. Indian thinking was naturally influenced by this. In a number of capitalist countries, up to one-half of the national income was spent on the public sector. The running of the public sector was something entirely new for Indians. Take, for example, the case of the railways. In 1947, India had one of the biggest networks, and several joint-stock companies were owned and run by Britishers. In the financial and engineering management, Indians had no part and no experience. Apart from that, the concept of predominance of the public sector was adopted for ideological reasons, without checking the likelihood of its success under the then prevailing Indian conditions. The question that naturally arises is whether Parliament was enamoured of this idea even before considering whether it was in a position to make a success of it. Whether the government sector of industry was conceived out of envy as a prominent and responsible industrialist once said in a public lecture, is worth a doctoral dissertation on the part of an enthusiastic youngster. It is pertinent to quote Collins in this context: “When I was young I thought socialism was the mathematics of justice. Now I realize it is only, the arithmetic of envy.” **Hunger in India** Let us now review what characterizes India today. More than three decades after Independence, half the people are below the Poverty Line. Most of the other half are also poor. What happens when someone consumes calories below the minimum daily requirement? The Minister for Planning did not go into this question nor did members of the Rajya Sabha think of asking him this question. However, there is information from elsewhere about the effects of malnutrition. Someone found that among 500 middle class children only one had an IQ below 80, but among 500 poor children who suffered serious protein calories malnutrition in their first months, some 62 per cent had IQs below 80. There is another way of looking at calories intake. A daily intake of some 2,250 calories is appropriate according to dieticians for an eight year-old child in a Western country. In India, an adult male doing heavy physical labour in the fields for more than 12 hours a day gets less than 2,000 calories from his food. The human effects of this have also been described “chronically hungry people are physically less developed and mentally less alert than people who eat enough.” In this connection, we would be wise to heed Bernard Shaw’s warning: “Those who minister to poverty and disease are accomplices in the two worst of all crimes.” **Neglect of agriculture** About 70 per cent of Indians are dependent on agriculture. If the first priority had been given to agriculture, and the second priority to industry, we would have fared much better in every way. As things stand, many of the poor do not have the purchasing power to buy enough foodgrains, the per-person consumption of which is gradually falling with every passing year, although the consumption earlier was always on the low side. A significant consequence of the neglect of agriculture is that the per-hectare yields of most agricultural crops are about half of the world average, let alone the peaks achieved in many countries. If we had provided all the agricultural inputs; when the world-wide rate of inflation was low, even after deficit financing, if found necessary; we would have been a surplus agricultural country *par excellence*. We should not forget that among big countries, lndia is unique, in that half of the total area is arable. Nature has liberally endowed us, as no other country in the world. At the same time, like foodgrains production, our oilseeds production would also have gone up, and given a tremendous impetus to another huge agricultural industry. **Neglect of education** The other front on which we have failed is education. It always got a low priority, possibly, because the economic growth was too low to fund the education department from the national savings. It is said that there are more illiterates now than in 1947. This comes in the way of the birth control programme, as it is very difficult to convey any message to the illiterates. As compared with the achievement of other countries, ours, in this field also, pales into insignificance. Economic growth and the reduction of illiteracy help in overcoming the problem of population growth. Priority should be given to a sound economic policy. In my opinion, only that economic policy can be successful which is framed within an average real (that is, after accounting for inflation) economic growth of at least three per cent per annum per person. One may well question how we can achieve in future three times the actual growth in the past. The answer is that the envisaged figure is by itself modest but could not be achieved because of the system we adopted. In the case of India, one cannot put the blame on the people, but only on the economic system which stifles initiative, obstructs activity, saps vitality, leads to corruption, etc. Medicines cannot cure our ills. What we need is surgery. In future, the free market economy is necessary. Otherwise it would be like hoping against hope. And this should be within the framework of democratic capitalism which has worked wonders in many countries, and which has unfortunately not even been given a trial in India. Just as there is only one optimum move in chess, there is no alternative. The trouble in India is, as the growth diminishes the squeeze on the private sector increases. No one can say that the present economic system was not given a long enough trial. The biggest threat to the private sector is the loss of freedom of action. **Dynamic force of capitalism** For all capitalism’s proven success in producing material prosperity, the ultimate justification for the system does not rest on its output of cars or cosmetics. Capitalism’s fundamental rationale is that it permits and promotes freedom by enhancing the rights of the individual and limiting the power of the state. While some capitalist countries are not democracies, no Communist or totally socialist economy has remained a democracy for long. And every democracy practices some version of capitalism. The reason is clear: political freedom is impossible without economic freedom. As the. British poet and essayist Hilaire Belloc noted, “The control of the production of wealth is the control of human life itself.” While tackling the herculean task, capitalism must demonstrate anew the daring and flexibility that were once its hallmarks. Plainly, capitalism is not working well enough. But there is no evidence to show that the fault is in the system or that there is a better alternative. Though neither comfortable nor easy, free enterprise contains. The protean potential that will be needed in the coming difficult years. For all its obvious blemishes and needed reforms; capitalism alone holds out the most creative and dynamic force that any civilization has ever discovered: the power of the free, ambitious individual. Every child should have Freedom, Bread, and Enlightenment. Freedom is considered even more important than Bread, because otherwise a tyrant can deny Bread, as history teaches us. Enlightenment should be such that the younger generation should not have any scope to put the blame on the older generation. Teaching self-restraint should be an integral part of the enlightenment. The youth should be reared in such a way that all the safety valves of their bodies are intact. This way, their future will be in their hands. Such children can impart the benefit of their experience to others. We can thus prevent wastage of humankind. John Dewey’s fervent wish “What the best and wisest parent wants for his child, the community should want for all its children” would become a reality. We should not forget that it is the system which creates deviates. With the introduction of the right kind of enlightenment, it is hoped to eliminate violence, and also the degeneration of mankind. At present, even in affluent countries, happiness is rare. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals archive](https://indianliberals.in/), a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in/). This essay is an excerpt from a monograph published by the ‘Forum of Free Enterprise’ with the original title, “A Blueprint for Eradication of Poverty”, published on 15 December 1980. The original version can be accessed on [this link](https://indianliberals.in/forum-of-free-enterprise/a-blueprint-for-eradication-of-poverty-dr-b-p-godrej-december-15-1980.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] Welfare state is socially and economically a national disaster: GN Lawande URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/welfare-state-is-socially-and-economically-a-national-disaster-gn-lawande/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/welfare-state-is-socially-and-economically-a-national-disaster-gn-lawande/2841240/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2026-01-31. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Welfare state is socially and economically a national disaster: GN Lawande Socialists claim that the “welfare” state alone has the merit of granting us social and economic security, but such a security will not function permanently, and even if it could do so, it would be as a long-term policy, both morally and socially undesirable. The political object of security is to remove from the minds of the people the fear of unemployment. Full employment, which is regarded as one of the aims of the Welfare State, is, in the final analysis, a fraud. It is a farce because as soon as employment is created in one direction, it creates unemployment in the other direction. This is what we find at present in our country, and to add salt to the injury, our ministers, well-versed in making illogical and irresponsible statements, tell us that their aim is to increase the welfare of the people, raise their standard of life and give them complete freedom. These are empty slogans which do not fill the stomach of the common man. “Welfare” is based upon employment and employment is based upon production. What we find today more and more people are thrown out of employment due to confiscatory pattern of taxation. Unless our production increases, national income cannot increase, and unless national income rises the welfare cannot increase. Welfare State is the prime cause of reducing productivity of the country. Coercion can always provide full employment, but what it cannot do is to provide us with a civilized standard of living and the means to enjoy it in the free fresh air of freedom. The real problem is not that there will be 11 millions of jobs by 1961 i.e. by the end of the Second Five Year Plan, but how much shall we produce and what in consequence will be our standard of life? The problem of distribution on which much stress is being laid today and for which confiscatory taxation is imposed upon the people, rich and poor alike, is after all more easily solved, the more there is to distribute. It is this truth that must prevail, if we, in India are to survive. Our national survival depends not on employment *qua* employment, but production *qua* production and given the latter, the former will take care of itself. At present we are suffering from rising prices due to inflation and the people are not even able to get two square meals per day. Is it ever possible under this circumstance to increase their welfare under socialist pattern of society? Certainly not. The only solution to the present economic malaise is the increase in production but this can take place only if the private enterprise is allowed free scope. ### **Economic emancipation** American Economy is successful at increasing production i.e. the output per man hour. This is mainly due to economic freedom and to the large measure of free enterprise. West Germany was able to achieve a “miracle” due to economic freedom. God helps those who help themselves. Soon we say farewell to the State welfare and become our own physicians sooner. We will achieve emancipation from the State itself. Welfare cannot be increased unless we have economic freedom. Political freedom is meaningless unless we have economic freedom. Economic freedom can be understood in two senses, namely, international field and domestic field. In the international field economic freedom means free trade and free currency exchange and in the domestic field it means freedom to choose your profession and occupation, free competition at all levels, freedom to grow rich or go broke, freedom to make all the profit you can to acquire a fortune and to bequeath or inherit the said fortune. Economic freedom means private enterprise and the free market as against Statism or socialism or the rugged market. The imposition of checks and controls by Government, especially transference of income from one class of community to another by means of taxation is not only monstrous but also blasphemous and to hope to increase welfare is to cry for the moon. It is the private enterprise and free competition that work for the public good and sooner we realise this and bid farewell to the welfare state we will be increased. So the remedy for the present malaise is the free economy and not planning. Von Mises, Hayek and Schumpeter like three witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth had predicted that every deviation from free enterprise would propel the free nations irresistibly from capitalism to socialism and from socialism to some sort of police state, and it is our misfortune to see that this prediction has come to pass in our own country. We allowed our leaders to make our country a Heaven and they have turned it into a Hell. It is our “Herculean” blunder to place our destiny in the hands of others. Now we cannot escape the consequence of degradation of our manhood. We have become cyphers in the code of politics and now we must be prepared to love, obey and honour the State against our own free will. The “Welfare” State presupposes political and economic planning. It also assumes that man can live by bread alone but the loaf is shamelessly poor. The Planning Commission does not realise the fact that it is first-class Plans (if at all) produce third class results at first class prices. So welfare state is both socially and economically a national disaster. Socially because man is incited to believe that it is not his own personal responsibility to work out his own destiny and economically because it leads to inflation and bankruptcy. It is parasitic and retrogressive. It produces so many unhappy, frustrated and disgruntled citizens that superintendents and inspectorship become imperative, if good order is to prevail. In a welfare state the rule of law has been defiled and public opinion and sovereignty of the people, the very foundations of democracy, are being superseded by the undemocratic decrees of the ministers. The distinguishing feature of welfare state is universal poverty. It tries to make the wrong people strong but as Abraham Lincoln aptly puts it “You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong”. ***Also read: **[Marxism extinguishes democratic rights the moment it captures power: MA Venkata Rao](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/marxism-democratic-rights-ma-venkata-rao/2835440/)* ### **The vicious circle** It is wrongly assumed that the taxation of higher income groups means limitation of expenditure on the part of these groups and what is expended off from the purchasing power can be directed to social ends in the lower income groups. But it must be remembered that higher income groups according to professor Ropke provide the foundations which are essential to certain functions of society, namely, capital formation, investment etc. If higher income groups, are liquidated by means of progressive taxation, these functions will hardly be carried out since they are vital to a healthy society, there is no alternative but for them to be take over by the State. It means that purchasing power is not available for the purpose of welfare state and welfare mechanism has to be abandoned. It is not the masses who gain through confiscatory taxation of higher income but the State which acquires extra power and influence. The consequence is an extraordinary promotion of modern absolutism with its centralisation of decision in all the most important fields i.e. in capital formation, in capital expenditure, in education, research and profits, “charity, honorary functions, liberality, conversation, leisure,” everything that Burke included in the expression “unbought graces of life” all these are strangled by the choking grip of the State. ### **The road to serfdom** The moral that can be drawn from this is simple. To run after Welfare State is to degrade oneself. Socialism seems to involve a state monopoly of supreme economic planning and in the words of professor Hayek this is a road to serfdom. The only remedy for this is libertarianism. Libertarianism tries to secure the greatest possible freedom for the greatest number of individuals and groups. According to libertarianism real happiness cannot exist without freedom. Libertarians believe that man is born with and without freedom and cannot feel happy if subdued and subjugated. To him liberty is the essential basis for happiness and welfare. State is not a welfare producing machine. Libertarianism is not a specific economic system, and it is rooted in a non-materialistic conception of human nature. It represents a contrast to Marxian Socialism. The fundamental idea of libertarianism is that of freedom or liberty. Liberty is the faculty or possibility of making a choice. Liberty is individual and social. As an economic system it makes predominant use of reason appeal and interest appeal. The interest appeal is effected by price mechanism. Freedom of purchase is the very cornerstone of economic liberalism. It is through the use of this liberty that the people direct production and trade. Free purchase means the liberty of everyone to acquire the means for the satisfaction of his wants to the extent his economy permits. It is more democratic than democracy itself. Liberalism does not wish the State to enter as party into any conflict between capital and labour. It regards the State as the supreme institution which has to stand above economic conflicts. Libertarian State always has some form of democratic government. Forced free competition is a contradiction in terms. Economic libertarianism is a system of free economic adaptation. So it is Free Economy and not Welfare State that will raise the standard of living of the people and increase their welfare. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals](https://indianliberals.in/) archive, a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in/). It has been excerpted from the journal “The Indian Libertarian”, published on 1 August 1963. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-aug1-1963.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] No amount of welfarism and futurist illusion can remove poverty of Indian people: BS Sanyal URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/welfarism-poverty-indian-people-bs-sanyal/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/welfarism-poverty-indian-people-bs-sanyal/2896578/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2026-04-04. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # No amount of welfarism and futurist illusion can remove poverty of Indian people: BS Sanyal No amount of welfarist blab can prove that their poverty has been caused by capitalism. On the contrary it is the absence of capitalism that is the root cause of their poverty. And the absence of capitalism may be traced to the vestigial ascetic and feudal mentality, hostility to foreign investors, lack of energy honesty and righteousness, increasing population, little capital accumulation, extremely low per capita quota of capital investment, low capacity to absorb capital, encysted market, and, above all, the new found love for escapist and self-stultifying method of realising economic good. All these and many other factors checkmate the growth of a healthy and virile profit-seeking entrepreneurship. No amount of welfarist nationalist sentiment, again can blame the erstwhile colonial powers for the poverty of the Indian people. That the Imperialists in India did some harm to our age-old cottage industries is offset by the fact that the foreign rulers imported and invested capital and did all they could for the material well-being of the people. Neither has the poverty of the Indian people been caused by the microscopic minority of the allegedly privileged groups inside or outside the country.  ### **Welfarism creates slavery and poverty** And, even an ignoramus like the present writer has no difficulty in seeing that the political shortcut to the welfarist utopia is like Belzeebub’s driving the special train along the celestial rail-road.  Again, no amount of welfarist wish-fulfilment and futurist illusion can remove the poverty of the Indian people. The operation of the Free Market alone can deliver the goods.  The relationship between consumption and investment being that of inverse variation, quick economic development makes the problem of poverty and backwardness acute. Besides, look into the aspirations of erstwhile colonial peoples. Individually, they would like to have the prosperity of an American, and nationally, the security of the British Welfare State. Given the above relation between investment and consumption and the above aspirations of the people, the welfare politicians will have to give them only regimentation and totalitarianism.  We are not taking an alarmist view. To add to the available resources, the plough-back of resources and the pace of development, the State takes over and actually runs the industries; it tries to mobilise the saving potential latent in rural unemployment and then begin to control production in the rural sector. And one dark noon it reaches autarchy. That this will not be a mere transitional phase followed by a release of private initiative is more than well-founded on the contemporary experiments in totalitarian economies in the backward countries which are now communist states. Neither can state action be justified on grounds that a mixed economy involving coexistence of a public sector and private sector ‘amounts merely to a modification of the components of the mixture and hence constitutes no threat to freedom.’ The reason is, as Prof. G. D. Parikh has pointed out, that “with the replacement of atomistic decisions about investment by the so-called social priorities, the private sector in such controlled economies ceases to be private and the entrepreneur is often reduced to a semi-civil servant. There being no theoretical basis for determining the nature of the sectoral mixture, a mixed economy remains an inherently unstable pattern subject to pressures of diverse kinds. And the pressures that generally assert themselves in underdeveloped countries are those leading to increasing centralisation and bureaucratisation.” (RIViALRY BETWEEN DEMOCRACY AND TOTALITARIANISM, The Future of Freedom, p.302).  Mixed economy of the welfarist is a myth. By definition, it is a negation of the market economy. Interventionism is the beginning of totalitarianism. We are already in the throes of it. It uses the method of compulsion. That the government would graciously give the private sector “encouragement in every way” and “would not touch them for at least ten years, may be more” does not do away with the grim facts that the government has already taken control of the economic life of the people, and that the government may nationalise whatever and whenever it leases. The words quoted were recently spelled by the arch welfarist of India, namely, Nehru, who also added, “We do not know when we shall nationalise them.” (Jawaharlal Nehru, Independence and After, p. 192). So it is coming, the day of universal pauperization and regimentation.  Thus, we are left with only two alternatives: the free market economy and the totalitarian economy. The free market implies that people use their own money and skills to realise their own economic decisions and either gain or lose. If their judgements are correct, they gain; if wrong, they lose. There is thus a freedom and there is an equality of freedom which is justice. The socialist pattern works through compulsion. The market is by-passed. The bureaucrat collects taxes and compels the participants against their will and judgement to give a portion of their money or energy to realise the official plans and schemes.  The welfarist may argue, though he does not, that this proves only loss of freedom and that this does not prove that poverty is not removed. The capitalist rejoins that welfarism creates poverty too. Bureaucrats have won a notoriety for their inefficient utilisation of the available resources. Credit expansion and inflation foil the common man’s attempts to save. Taxation appropriates savings for the public sector and atrophies the private sector. Private sector retaliates by diverting the savings. A part of the tax receipts may represent the potential savings of the taxpayers: heavy taxation thus reduces the national saving and retards economic progress. The bureaucrats cannot increase savings by tampering with the usual devices: they cannot invest resources which are simply not there. A part of the tax-receipts is consumed by administrative expenditure. Tax measures thus produce the opposite effect. Deficit financing is a plain fraud. Over-investment diverts a part of the resources away from the Public investment.  The various big Hydel projects like TVA, Dneprostroi, Aswan and our DVC are glaring instances of colossal waste achieved by our politicians turned economic bosses. Also look into the repercussions of the tax proposals towards the financing of the Second Five Year Plan. The artificial pressure of the expected heavy taxation has already resulted in a decline in the prices of industrial equities. The fall in share values is showing a tendency to cause a diversion of savings {into less essential urban property, concealed investment overseas or into gold hoards) and also a withdrawal of private foreign capital and a further flagging in national product. Thus, tax-measures to accelerate progress may produce the opposite effect.  ***Also read: **[Violent class-war doctrines of Marx became the sole saviour of labour: MA Venkata Rao](https://theprint.in/opinion/indian-liberals-matter/collectivism-liberty-limited-state-ma-venkata-rao/2866268/)* ### **The capitalist attitude of poverty** The capitalist attitude to poverty is more rational than that of the welfare propagandists who are suffering from a fixation on feudalist mentality. In a Capitalist society, the notion of poverty refers only to those who are invalids, have no property of their own and are not taken care of by their next of kin. And in the capitalist society, both the government and private charitable institutions, religious or secular, vie with one another in charity. Welfare romanticists do not approve of charity on two counts, economic and psychological. Individual charities can never yield sufficient wherewithal with which all invalids can be fed clothed and housed The psychological objection rests on a sentimental reason that charity is mere charity and mercy, that there is an indignity inherent in it.  The capitalist rejoinder to the first objection is that the progress of capitalism will add to the capacity for donation and reduce the number of the beneficiaries. Besides, as Dr. Mises sardonically points out, it is highly probable that had there been no interventionism sabotaging the market economy, the charity funds in capitalist societies would be more than sufficient. Credit expansion and inflation foil the common man’s attempts to save for bad days. Thus the majority of the beneficiaries are needy only because of interventionism. Besides, inflation and interventionist tampering with the rate of interest bringing it down below the potential market rate virtually expropriate the endowments of orphanages, asylums, hospitals etc. Dr. Mises thus rightly concludes that in lamenting the paucity of charity funds, the welfarists lament one of the results of their own policies.  The other objection of the welfarist is valid. The element of indignity and humiliation in becoming an almsman cannot be denied even by the greatest of rational Spinoza-like egoists.  But then, no interpersonal relationship can escape a similar fate. The chances of indignity and humiliation will always be there, may be in changing forms. On the contrary, the chances will be greater when a professional class of ‘do-gooders’ in power will dispense their providential care to the class of ‘done good to’.  Compare this with the capitalist’s attitude. The invalids’ right to sustenance is justified on grounds of the metaphysical doctrine of natural right, that before God or Nature all men are equal and have an inalienable right to live. While fully endorsing the religious and moral duty in this respect, we may very well question whether the recognition of this duty enjoins the choice of uneconomic methods. The methods of the welfarist reduce the productivity of the human effort and thus affect the welfare of the invalids as well as of the able-bodied. This is a greater injustice. *This essay is part of a series from the [Indian Liberals](https://indianliberals.in/) archive, a project of the [Centre for Civil Society](https://ccs.in/). It has been excerpted from the journal “The Indian Libertarian”, published on 15 July 1957.. The original version can be accessed [here](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-jul15-1957.pdf).* --- ## [ThePrint] Worker has no freedom in socialist society. India is moving in that direction: MA Venkata Rao URL: https://indianliberals.in/theprint-mirror/worker-in-socialist-society-india-ma-venkata-rao/ ### Body _Mirrored from [ThePrint](https://theprint.in/opinion/worker-in-socialist-society-india-ma-venkata-rao/2913464/) on 2026-05-16. Originally published 2026-04-25. Author retains all rights; the canonical version on ThePrint should be cited. This mirror exists for AI-agent readability — search engines are asked not to index it (canonical SEO weight stays with ThePrint)._ # Worker has no freedom in socialist society. India is moving in that direction: MA Venkata Rao It is the chief characteristic of libertarian societies that such social exchange and association (and culture generally) is totally free from State control and regimentation, except for the universal subjection to civil and criminal law.   In totalitarian societies, on the other hand, the State lays down the lines of thought to be accepted as a dogma in all professions. The case of Lisenko is relevant in this context. As a biologist, he had to defend the State doctrine of the transmission of acquired characters from parent to offspring without respect for his own personal opinion based on findings by his own research. Even in art, the State in Russia (and her satellites) lays down the overall policy to be embodied by the artists in their creations—even in music, opera, drama, poetry, literature. The test laid down is Partism; that is, the doctrine that the work should, in its overall effect on the reader or listener or spectator, have the effect of strengthening the Socialist sentiment. It should make them more resolved to go forth and put more will and energy into their work in the building of socialism! It should not raise doubts about Marxism-Leninism-Stalinism or Khrushchevism in the Soviet people. The doctrine of State authority in the arts and sciences and philosophies and even in history and anthropology resembles the dogmatic theology of the Roman Catholic Church which is laid down only by the authorised clergy and should be believed in on pain of punishment even unto death:—Witness the claims of the dread institution of the Inquisition in the Catholic Church, which is said to have got thirty thousand heretics burnt at the stake in the days of its power! The purges of Stalin are similar, though more extensive in numbers. In recent years, we have had the example of the literary man Dr. Pasternak, whose work was disapproved by the Kremlin and who was prevented from accepting the Nobel Prize award from abroad. Even the friends who used to help him in his work were persecuted after his death. In the libertarian pattern of society, cultural life in all its spheres—literature, the other arts, sciences, technologies, history, education etc. will be totally free from State interference both in their internal administration such as the appointments of experts and their housing of deserving personnel as well as in the ideas they accept from time to time as the truth in their specialties. They will be free to follow truth entirely on the guidance of their own experience and investigation, experiment, hypothesis and verification. Every accepted idea will be held subject to continual verification by others and so long as it satisfies their criteria of truth and verification.  Works of art will be appreciated solely on the grounds of their appeal to qualified persons– as in the music and art. Fashions may change but change will follow the free impulse of the devotees of the vocation or speciality. State ideology will not influence their ideas and appreciations. Similarly in economic life. The libertarian society will not seek to pour the entire economic activities of the people into any strait-jacket of State Planned system of targets hemmed in by State-determined regulations of trade quotas, of licences and tariffs in import and export except to the extent necessary for revenue and probably for short periods for protecting nascent industries. Even then the degree of protective tariffs will not shut our foreign goods altogether but will make them somewhat costlier so that the citizens may encourage *swadeshi *manufactures without too great a loss. In socialism, there will be no private industry and commerce at all. We in India are moving in that direction, our mixed economy being in the nature of Lenin’s New Economic Policy—a temporary make shift. All investment will be made by planning authorities without any say in the matter being granted to the consumer. In the libertarian society, on the other hand, all investment will be made by private individuals in industrial plants established by industrialists. They will choose industries likely, on the strength of the market for the goods to be manufactured and of the efficiency likely to be attained by the Directors of the enterprise. There will be scope for the intelligence, knowledge and experience of the investor in putting his savings into industry. The consumer thus determines the lines of production in a free society. In socialism, he loses this *sovereignty* and has to buy whatever is put on the market by the State at prices determined by officials. He cannot plan his own economic life, his savings and his provision for the future. Even banking will be run by the State in a socialist countries with the result that interest rates are fixed by the State and will not attract voluntary deposits. Socialist dictatorships have this disconcerting habit of repudiating debt obligations. Khrushchev declared two years ago that the Government Loans that had matured after twenty years would not be paid; he postponed payment to an indefinite future! Even the accumulated interest was not paid! Moreover, since all income earners in Soviet Russia and other communist countries are government employees, the State collects forced Loans from them whenever necessary, deducting them from their salaries! In a dictatorship, grumbling against such levies is dangerous and will be visited with dire punishment. Moreover, the earnings of everybody in socialist States depend on their worth as assessed by their official superiors who watch their work day-in; day-out in factory or office. Human nature being what it is, it happens too often that it is not the conscientious worker who gets recognised for salary improvements and promotions to better posts, but he who pleases the bosses by servility and extra-work service or compliance! The subservient sycophants have better chances of rising than the honest and efficient worker or officer! And since all employment depends on the same* State everywhere* within the country, the dissatisfied worker cannot seek justice elsewhere. If he leaves in search of better or alternative employment, he must carry a card giving clearance from his previous employing unit. No one will be taken anywhere without such clearance cards!  The worker, therefore, has no freedom worth the name in a socialist society. Marx spoke of the industrial workers under capitalist employers as wage slaves. But the workers in Socialist States are more of such wage slaves–(in fact actual serfs tied to work in the units allotted to them by the State)–than workers in free economy and free society. The first sufferers on the emergence of socialism are the workers who will lose their right to strike and deny their labour if dissatisfied with the terms and treatment they get.  Workers in a free society have the further advantage of having the freedom and opportunity of obtaining work from an alternative establishment run by competitors of the unit they are leaving. Workers in Bombay Mills have been known to acquire skills and obtain better paid employment from time to time in the other mills. Without the possibility of such alternative employment, a man cannot enjoy freedom in any real sense. Legal freedom is not enough though it is not to be despised. Variety of alternative opportunities as well as facilities for acquiring higher skills by experience and in continuation, technical schools are essential for the realisation of freedom. This is feasible only in a libertarian or free society with a free economy. At all levels of capacity and income, whether that of the worker, foreman, mechanic, office clerk, accountant, manager or capitalist director and investor as entrepreneur, what functions as a powerful incentive to work and improvement is the knowledge that every one can get the reward naturally accruing, from the contribution: It may be labour, supervision, office work, accounts, management, risk-taking with regard to investments or skill in salesmanship or knowledge of markets facilitating economical purchase– no one can work to the top of his capacity with zeal unless he has the assurance that social and economic institutions work in such a way as to harmonise skill and reward, effort and compensation, efficiency and monetary returns. Progress in career should also depend, not on the opinion of superiors entirely but no objective tests of contribution. In free economy, the management have a motive in rewarding merit and efficiency in their own interest– namely that of maximising profits by the marketing of good articles of consumption needed by society. The priorities of production in a free economy are those determined by the consumer. A free economy therefore will show a bubbling enthusiasm and self-reliance on the part of all participants in production, marketing and distribution and will elicit the maximum levels and variety of production. This does not mean that the State has no role to play beyond the maintenance of civil and criminal law in a libertarian pattern of society.  The State has to watch the working of the economy in all spheres and aid it by means of fiscal and monetary policies to keep it at an even keel. It can encourage investments into priority lines of consumer goods by the offer of suitable inducements, such as tax reduction or subsidy. It can pioneer new industries such as steel manufacture in India if private enterprise is unready for it. But it should turn it over to private enterprise as soon as it is ready. The State should maintain statistical institutions that gather and disseminate accurate information on important matters of commercial and industrial development.  It should also develop communications and transport either directly or indirectly through the encouragement of private bodies.  It should maintain educational and research institutions without monopolising them for itself. It should carry on international negotiations for the facilitation of foreign trade. It should not nationalise industries on a doctrinaire basis. Only the socialisation of the “economic vacuum” is permissible and not the supplantation of citizen enterprise.  *This essay is part of a series from the *[*Indian Liberals archive*](https://indianliberals.in/)*, a project of the *[*Centre for Civil Society*](https://ccs.in/)*. This essay is excerpted from the journal “The Indian Libertarian”, published on 1 January 1962. The original version can be accessed on this *[*link*](https://indianliberals.in/the-indian-libertarian/the-indian-libertarian-jan1-1962.pdf)*.* --- # Primary works (Tier B — summaries only) > Tier B: cite to the PDF, not as if the body text was read. ## [Primary work] A Blueprint for Eradication of Poverty URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-blueprint-for-eradication-of-poverty-dr-b-p-godrej-december-15-1980/ ### Summary Delivered as a public lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 16 September 1980 and published as a pamphlet in December of that year, Dr. B. P. Godrej's address opens by naming poverty and unemployment as India's greatest crises. Drawing on official surveys and press reports, he establishes that more than 356 million Indians lived below the poverty line in 1978—defined as the caloric threshold below which a worker cannot perform a full day's labour—and that malnutrition was measurably depressing the cognitive development of the rural poor. The first half of the lecture dissects the causes of this failure. Godrej argues that the ideological adoption of a dominant public sector, without regard for India's actual conditions, had produced a nationalised economy that could not deliver energy, transport, or industrial goods efficiently. The government sector absorbed Rs. 15,000 crores of investment yet chronically underperformed; monopolistic bank employees exploited their captive position; and the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act starved legitimate private enterprise of licences and room to grow.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as a public lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 16 September 1980 and published as a pamphlet in December of that year, Dr. B. P. Godrej's address opens by naming poverty and unemployment as India's greatest crises. Drawing on official surveys and press reports, he establishes that more than 356 million Indians lived below the poverty line in 1978—defined as the caloric threshold below which a worker cannot perform a full day's labour—and that malnutrition was measurably depressing the cognitive development of the rural poor. The first half of the lecture dissects the causes of this failure. Godrej argues that the ideological adoption of a dominant public sector, without regard for India's actual conditions, had produced a nationalised economy that could not deliver energy, transport, or industrial goods efficiently. The government sector absorbed Rs. 15,000 crores of investment yet chronically underperformed; monopolistic bank employees exploited their captive position; and the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act starved legitimate private enterprise of licences and room to grow. Confiscatory personal and corporate tax rates drove capital underground, rewarding evasion rather than production. Agriculture, neglected in favour of state industry, lagged at half world-average yields despite India's unique endowment of arable land. The second half, under the heading 'THE SOLUTION', offers a programme anchored in free-market democratic capitalism. Godrej's first priority is population control by persuasion, backed by a dedicated well-funded ministry staffed by serious administrators rather than publicity-conscious figures. His second priority is a sound economic policy capable of delivering at least three per cent per annum real per-capita growth—something he judges unachievable without surgery on the present system: liberalisation of the private sector, conversion of government units to joint-stock enterprises with professional chief executives, rationalisation of tax rates to end evasion, and an ambitious national water-management scheme that could simultaneously address unemployment and food security. He draws on the post-war trajectories of Germany and Japan to argue that democratic capitalism—not aid or reparations—is the reliable engine of mass welfare, and cites international data showing that development assistance sent from Germany to the Third World returns one-and-a-half times its value to Germany itself. The lecture closes with a humanist coda: the ultimate desideratum is not poverty eradication as a statistic but the happiness of all people, and every child deserves freedom, bread, and enlightenment—in that order. ## Key points - Over 356 million Indians (50% of the population) lived below the poverty line in 1978, defined by a caloric floor that adult male labourers were failing to meet. - The state-dominated industrial policy produced a public sector absorbing Rs. 15,000 crores in investment while chronically underdelivering on energy, transport, and consumer goods. - Confiscatory personal and corporate tax rates—the highest among developed countries—drove massive evasion of taxes and accumulation of unaccounted money, harming honest taxpayers. - Agricultural neglect left India's per-hectare yields at roughly half the world average despite the country having a uniquely large share of arable land. - The lecture's solution calls for a minimum 3% real per-capita annual growth, achievable only through free-market reform, tax rationalisation, professional management of public assets, and a national water-management scheme. - Germany and Japan are cited as proof that democratic capitalism, not socialist planning, is the reliable post-war route to prosperity; the Soviet path produced neither quality consumer goods nor adequate agricultural output. - The lecture ends with a three-fold aspiration for every child: Freedom, Bread, and Enlightenment—with freedom ranked first because a tyrant can deny bread to those who lack it. --- ## [Primary work] 15th Finance Commission URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/15th-finance-commission-dr-indira-rajaraman-dr-abhay-pethe-dr-c-rangarajan-dr-d-k-srivastava/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, edited by Sunil S. Bhandare and sponsored by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust, compiles three Livemint articles (all May 2018) by four senior Indian economists — Indira Rajaraman, Abhay Pethe, C. Rangarajan and D. K. Srivastava — on the contested Terms of Reference (ToR) of the 15th Finance Commission, constituted in November 2017 and due to submit its recommendations by October 2019 for the award period 2020–25. The collection addresses the most politically charged provision of the ToR — the shift from 1971 to 2011 census population data for determining state shares — as well as the appropriate size of the vertical divisible pool, the use of GST data for measuring taxable capacity, migration-related fiscal strains, and the governance of cities. Bhandare's editorial introduction identifies five cross-cutting themes on which all three articles converge: the intellectual case for using current (2011) population figures, the constitutional question of whether the divisible pool share should be fixed by amendment rather than by each FC, the equalization logic of the formula, the role of GST in revealing true relative taxable capacities, and the neglect of urban local bodies. Indira Rajaraman's essay responds to the April 2018 Thiruvananthapuram meeting of southern finance ministers protesting the 2011-census ToR by dismantling the anti-southern-bias claim: the fall in southern states' statutory shares since the mid-1980s mostly predated FC-14 and largely reflects faster economic growth, a legitimate formula outcome. She then argues constructively that GST provides the first direct cross-state measure of relative taxable capacity (reducing reliance on imperfect SDP proxies) and that temporary migration, uncaptured in census counts, creates real fiscal strains on destination states that need compensation — defending finance commissions' institutional independence in dealing with their ToR. Abhay Pethe focuses on the population census basis and the composition of the commission itself, strongly endorsing the 2011 figures, dismissing the 'Business As Usual' north-south divide argument as premature, and attributing the real risk of north-south division to the commission's lack of southern representation rather than to the census change. He is also the dissenting voice on the vertical share, arguing that the 14th FC's 42% devolution rate was wrong-headed and should be reduced to 36%, while pressing for better fiscal provision for urban local bodies. C. Rangarajan and D. K. Srivastava co-author the third article, raising the possibility of a constitutional amendment to fix the vertical divisible-pool share permanently — removing it from each Finance Commission's discretion — and arguing that equalization and growth are not in tension. Together with Rajaraman and Pethe they converge on endorsing 2011 census figures and rejecting the 1971 freeze as 'irrelevant and long-outdated'. ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, edited by Sunil S. Bhandare and sponsored by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust, compiles three Livemint articles (all May 2018) by four senior Indian economists on the contested Terms of Reference (ToR) of the 15th Finance Commission, constituted in November 2017 and due to submit its recommendations by October 2019 for the award period 2020–25. The collection addresses the most politically charged provision of the ToR — the shift from 1971 to 2011 census population data for determining state shares — as well as the appropriate size of the vertical divisible pool, the use of GST data for measuring taxable capacity, migration-related fiscal strains, and the governance of cities. Bhandare's editorial introduction identifies five cross-cutting themes on which all three articles converge: the intellectual case for using current (2011) population figures, the constitutional question of whether the divisible pool share should be fixed by amendment rather than by each FC, the equalization logic of the formula, the role of GST in revealing true relative taxable capacities, and the neglect of urban local bodies. ## Essays ### Essay 0 Sunil S. Bhandare's Editorial Introduction traces the constitutional basis of the Finance Commission under Article 280, reviews the landmark 14th FC decision to raise the states' share in the divisible pool from 32% to 42%, and contextualises the 15th FC's controversial ToR. Bhandare summarises the three collected articles in five pointed observations: all three authors converge on endorsing 2011 census figures; Rangarajan and Srivastava raise the possibility of a constitutional amendment to fix the vertical share permanently; all authors argue that equalization and growth need not be in conflict; Rajaraman highlights GST as a new tool for measuring taxable capacity and flags the problem of temporary migration; and Pethe dissents from the 42% devolution rate, arguing it should be reduced to 36%, while also pressing for better fiscal provision for urban local bodies. - Article 280 mandates a Finance Commission every five years; fourteen have been constituted before the 15th FC. - The 14th FC's unprecedented jump from 32% to 42% state share in the divisible pool forms the baseline context. - All three essays endorse using 2011 census population data and reject the 1971 freeze as 'irrelevant and long-outdated'. - Rangarajan and Srivastava float the idea of a constitutional amendment to fix the vertical share, removing it from FC discretion. - Pethe controversially argues that the 42% devolution rate was wrong-headed and recommends reduction to 36%, while also advocating fund-flows to urban local bodies. ### The Southern Alliance and the 15th Finance Commission *By Dr. Indira Rajaraman* Rajaraman's essay responds to the April 2018 meeting of finance ministers from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Puducherry who convened at Thiruvananthapuram to protest the 15th FC's ToR — specifically the direction to use 2011 census data. She dismantles the claim of anti-southern bias in this shift, arguing that the fall in southern states' statutory shares over the past two decades predated FC-14 and largely reflects faster economic growth, which is a legitimate formula outcome rather than discrimination. She then turns constructive, making two significant arguments: first, that the arrival of GST provides, for the first time, a direct measure of relative taxable capacity across states, reducing the need to rely on imperfect state domestic product proxies; and second, that temporary migration — not captured in census counts — creates real fiscal strains on destination states that are not adequately compensated. She concludes by defending the institutional independence of finance commissions from their ToR, noting that a strong tradition exists by which commissions deal with their terms as they choose. - The southern states' declining statutory share since the mid-1980s is largely due to faster economic growth — a formula consequence, not an anti-southern bias. - More than 90% of the post-2000 drop in southern shares happened before FC-14, while the 1971 census freeze was still in force. - GST provides the first close approximation to relative taxable base across states, reducing reliance on state domestic product as a proxy. - Temporary migration (estimated at 9 million per year net, or 27 million gross) creates infrastructure strains on destination states not reflected in census-based entitlements. - Delhi, as a Union territory, is excluded from FC calculations even though it is the largest migrant destination; Rajaraman suggests a carve-out from the divisible pool for Union territories. - Finance commissions have an established institutional tradition of treating their ToR freely — the independence of the commission is itself a safeguard. ### Why 15th FC ToR flaws need to be addressed urgently *By Dr. Abhay Pethe* Pethe's article opens by establishing the Finance Commission's constitutional function as the arbiter of grant-in-aid to states and local bodies for ensuring equity in public service delivery. He focuses on two specific ToR elements: the population census basis and the composition of the commission itself. On population, he strongly endorses switching to 2011 figures, dismissing the 'Business As Usual' north-south divide argument as premature and arguing the 15th FC has the capacity to manage the transition through adjusted weighting. He attributes the real risk of north-south division not to the census change but to the commission's lack of southern representation. The essay continues past the 20 pages rendered. - The Finance Commission determines grant-in-aid to states and local bodies under Article 280, aiming for equity in public service delivery across India. - The 1971 census, used as the basis for the last ten FCs with NDC support, is described as 'an irrelevant and long-outdated statistical dataset'. - The current population is the best measure of states' 'need'; even Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies computations already use latest population figures. - The north-south divide argument is challenged as a 'Business As Usual' scenario that underestimates the 15th FC's ability to reduce weight on the population criterion. - The more probable cause of north-south tension is the commission's lack of representation from southern states — a composition problem, not a formula problem. --- ## [Primary work] A Formula for Increasing Agricultural Production URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-formula-for-increasing-agricultural-production-by-ma-sreenivasan-march-8-1964/ ### Summary In this four-page FFE leaflet dated 8 March 1964, M. A. Sreenivasan — a former Minister of Agriculture in Mysore and a plantation-sector authority — argues that India's coffee industry achieved its remarkable production gains in the decade 1950–1960 precisely because it was left relatively free from bureaucratic interference. Coffee output more than tripled over those ten years, earning the country substantial foreign exchange, and the plantation companies paid significant taxes while providing housing, water, canteens, and crèches to their workers and families. Sreenivasan attributes this success to the freedom planters enjoyed to manage their own estates without the encroachments that hamper other agricultural sectors. The bulk of the essay is a detailed indictment of the legislative and fiscal assault that cut short this freedom from around 1962 onward.… ### Body ## Summary In this four-page FFE leaflet dated 8 March 1964, M. A. Sreenivasan — a former Minister of Agriculture in Mysore and a plantation-sector authority — argues that India's coffee industry achieved its remarkable production gains in the decade 1950–1960 precisely because it was left relatively free from bureaucratic interference. Coffee output more than tripled over those ten years, earning the country substantial foreign exchange, and the plantation companies paid significant taxes while providing housing, water, canteens, and crèches to their workers and families. Sreenivasan attributes this success to the freedom planters enjoyed to manage their own estates without the encroachments that hamper other agricultural sectors. The bulk of the essay is a detailed indictment of the legislative and fiscal assault that cut short this freedom from around 1962 onward. Sreenivasan catalogs the layered taxes — a Mysore agricultural income-tax raised from 25% to 40% then to 60%, Kerala excise duties on Arabica coffee, a 20% surcharge, fresh duties on Robusta — plus two new Acts (the Mysore Agricultural Income-Tax Amendment Act and the Mysore Forest Bill) and a mandatory fidelity-guarantee insurance scheme administered exclusively through the government-owned Life Insurance Corporation at a premium of Rs. 1,250 per year. He shows that by 1963 taxation consumed over 57% of a bumper crop and that the slab system falls most heavily on large companies, incentivising subdivision and fragmentation of plantations. He also attacks a Company Law amendment that bars deduction of directors' remuneration as a legitimate business expense. Together, he argues, these measures have reversed the production incentive: output is falling, not growing. Sreenivasan closes with a plea to the Planters' Associations and the U.P.A.S.I. to press for a legislative reversal, and asserts that if the industry is granted another decade of the relative freedom it enjoyed in the 1950s it can reach still higher production peaks and earn more foreign exchange. The essay is squarely in the FFE mould of policy advocacy: free the producer, reduce taxation, remove bureaucratic controls, and output will follow. ## Key points - Coffee production in Mysore more than tripled between 1950 and 1960 under conditions of relative economic freedom, earning valuable foreign exchange and vindicating a market-friendly model. - From 1962 onward a cascade of taxation — Mysore agricultural income-tax raised in steps to 60%, excise duties on Arabica and Robusta, and a 20% surcharge — consumed over 57% of a bumper crop by 1963. - The slab-rate system penalises large plantation companies disproportionately, incentivising subdivision of holdings: the number of holdings of 250 acres and above fell from 227 to 157 over seven years while sub-10-acre holdings rose to 38,000. - New legislation (Mysore Agricultural Income-Tax Amendment Act, Mysore Forest Bill) and a mandatory LIC fidelity-guarantee insurance scheme at Rs. 1,250 per year added further non-tax burdens. - A Company Law amendment that disallows directors' remuneration as a deductible expense is singled out as an especially counterproductive measure. - Sreenivasan argues that paddy cannot be produced by legislation nor coffee grown by exhortation or export drives — only boom or near-boom conditions for the grower will raise output. - The essay calls on the Planters' Associations and U.P.A.S.I. to lobby for a reversal of recent deals and a restoration of the freedom the industry enjoyed in the previous decade. --- ## [Primary work] A FREE PRESS IS LINKED WITH FREE ENTERPRISE & A FREE SOCIETY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-free-press-is-linked-with-free-enterprise---a-free-society-by-dr-sachin-sen-june-8-1960/ ### Summary In this brief 1960 leaflet — originally published in the New Delhi journal 'The Editor' and reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise — Dr. Sachin Sen, then editor of the 'Indian Nation' (Patna) and former President of the All-India Newspaper Editors' Conference, argues that a free press is structurally inseparable from free enterprise and a free society. His core claim is that democracy requires autonomous institutions, and the press must function as one such institution: free from State coercion, free from party discipline, and free from the obligation to serve any government's ideological agenda. Sen draws a pointed contrast between liberal democracy and Communist democracy. In a liberal democracy, freedom of the press means access to objective truths; in a communist party-state, the press merely transmits party truths. He insists that press freedom consists in the freedom to gather, print, and comment on news without prompting from any extraneous authority — and that any newspaper feeding its readers one-sided views may win political battles but does not serve the cause of liberal democracy. The leaflet closes with a direct warning: those who frown on free enterprise and a free society are the grave-diggers of the free Press. ### Body ## Summary In this brief 1960 leaflet — originally published in the New Delhi journal 'The Editor' and reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise — Dr. Sachin Sen, then editor of the 'Indian Nation' (Patna) and former President of the All-India Newspaper Editors' Conference, argues that a free press is structurally inseparable from free enterprise and a free society. His core claim is that democracy requires autonomous institutions, and the press must function as one such institution: free from State coercion, free from party discipline, and free from the obligation to serve any government's ideological agenda. Sen draws a pointed contrast between liberal democracy and Communist democracy. In a liberal democracy, freedom of the press means access to objective truths; in a communist party-state, the press merely transmits party truths. He insists that press freedom consists in the freedom to gather, print, and comment on news without prompting from any extraneous authority — and that any newspaper feeding its readers one-sided views may win political battles but does not serve the cause of liberal democracy. The leaflet closes with a direct warning: those who frown on free enterprise and a free society are the grave-diggers of the free Press. ## Key points - The Press must function as an autonomous institution, not a subservient arm of the State or ruling party. - Democracy demands that the Press be nurtured as an autonomous institution because the State, though supreme in theory, is in practice controlled by those who hold the coercive apparatus. - A sharp contrast is drawn between liberal democracy (where press freedom means access to objective truths via trial-and-error methods) and Communist democracy (where the press is an organ of party truths). - Press freedom is defined operationally: the freedom to gather and receive news and to comment on it, without prompting from any extraneous authority. - Pressmen are not artillery for any party or government; their role is to serve society and to widen the horizon of the people. - A newspaper may win a political bout with one-sided news but it does not serve the cause of liberal democracy. - Free press, free enterprise, and free society are presented as a single, mutually dependent triad — opponents of any one are 'the grave-diggers of the free Press'. --- ## [Primary work] A Historic Budget URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-historic-budget-by-hp-ranina-april-13-1994/ ### Summary This 19-page FFE pamphlet, based on a talk delivered by tax lawyer H.P. Ranina at a public meeting in Bombay on 1 March 1994, offers a detailed commentary on Dr. Manmohan Singh's fourth Union Budget (1994-95). Ranina frames the budget as 'historic' because it advances three inter-linked objectives: structural simplification of indirect-tax law, acceleration of industrial liberalisation out of recession, and a push toward full current-account convertibility within three years. Writing from a free-enterprise standpoint, he celebrates the corporate sector's gains — reductions in corporate tax rates, long-term capital gains tax, and import duties — while flagging two adverse provisions: the move of the first advance-tax instalment to 15 June and the shortening of the filing deadline to 31 October. A substantial section is devoted to the revamping of capital gains law, where Ranina explains at length how the Finance Bill, 1994 proposes to override settled Supreme Court interpretations on self-generated assets (citing CIT v. BC Srinivasa Setty, 128 ITR 294 SC, and Ms. Dhun Dadabhoy Kapadia v.… ### Body ## Summary This 19-page FFE pamphlet, based on a talk delivered by tax lawyer H.P. Ranina at a public meeting in Bombay on 1 March 1994, offers a detailed commentary on Dr. Manmohan Singh's fourth Union Budget (1994-95). Ranina frames the budget as 'historic' because it advances three inter-linked objectives: structural simplification of indirect-tax law, acceleration of industrial liberalisation out of recession, and a push toward full current-account convertibility within three years. Writing from a free-enterprise standpoint, he celebrates the corporate sector's gains — reductions in corporate tax rates, long-term capital gains tax, and import duties — while flagging two adverse provisions: the move of the first advance-tax instalment to 15 June and the shortening of the filing deadline to 31 October. A substantial section is devoted to the revamping of capital gains law, where Ranina explains at length how the Finance Bill, 1994 proposes to override settled Supreme Court interpretations on self-generated assets (citing CIT v. BC Srinivasa Setty, 128 ITR 294 SC, and Ms. Dhun Dadabhoy Kapadia v. CIT, 63 ITR 651) and to deem nil the cost of acquisition for tenancy rights, route permits, and loom hours. He also analyses the treatment of rights entitlement and the unchanged capital gains structure for Foreign Institutional Investors, arguing that the Government should abolish capital gains tax altogether subject to reinvestment conditions, so as to align FII and domestic investor treatment. Ranina then turns to presumptive taxation, noting that India's 150-million-strong middle class yields only 8 million taxpayers, and explaining the new Sections 44-AD (civil construction contracts up to Rs. 40 lakhs, income estimated at 8% of gross receipts) and 44-AE (truck operators owning up to ten trucks, income estimated at Rs. 2,500 per heavy-goods vehicle per month). The final section, 'Further Liberalisation Measures', endorses export-earnings retention at 25%, tourism liberalisation (U.S. $2,000 per year for foreign travel), full foreign-exchange liberalisation for medical and educational purposes, and the halving of hotel-expenditure tax from 20% to 10%. Ranina concludes that 1994-95 will see liberalisation bear fruit through industrial growth, rising GDP, burgeoning forex reserves, greater FDI inflow, and, above all, more employment for the poor. ## Key points - Budget 1994-95 identified as historic for its structural overhaul of customs and excise law, pace-setting on liberalisation, and push toward full convertibility within three years. - Corporate sector is the principal beneficiary: cuts in corporate tax, long-term capital gains tax, and import duties; extension of Modvat to capital goods and petroleum; excise restructuring toward ad valorem rates and a future VAT. - Finance Bill, 1994 overrides Supreme Court judgments on self-generated assets by deeming nil the cost of acquisition for tenancy rights, route permits, and loom hours — a move Ranina treats as legally significant. - Capital gains tax structure for FIIs left unchanged; Ranina argues for total abolition conditioned on reinvestment, to remove discrimination against domestic investors. - Presumptive taxation schemes (Sections 44-AD for civil contractors, 44-AE for truck operators) aim to widen the tax base from the anemic 8-million taxpayer count in a 150-million middle-class country. - Exporters may now retain 25% of earnings in foreign currency; Indians permitted U.S. $2,000 per year for foreign travel; hotel expenditure tax halved from 20% to 10%. - Government to prepay IMF obligations ahead of schedule; Rupee expected to remain strong, requiring RBI intervention to protect exporters. - Ranina projects that 1994-95 will produce higher industrial growth, rising GDP, growing forex reserves, larger FDI, and greater employment for the poor. --- ## [Primary work] A Job-Oriented Fifth Five-Year Plan URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-job-oriented-fifth-year-plan-j-m-lobo-prabhu-september-15-1972/ ### Summary J. M. Lobo Prabhu, a retired ICS officer, economist, and former Member of Parliament, argues in this 1972 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet that India's forthcoming Fifth Five-Year Plan will fail unless it reorients itself around full employment as the primary goal rather than treating employment as a by-product of aggregate development. He opens with the stark observation that the Plan must offer work to five million registered unemployed and many times that number in rural areas — including 80 million agricultural workers with only five months of employment per year — and warns that persisting with the existing approach will produce nothing more than another five-year collection of budgets providing restrictions rather than resources. The bulk of the essay advances a series of institutional and sectoral proposals. On institutional design, Lobo Prabhu calls for a Bureau of Agricultural Costs and Prices to set rational floor prices, a Bureau of Wages and Fees to anchor all wages to a minimum pegged at 25 per cent below current market rates, a Bureau of Construction Rates and Costs to stabilise the building sector, and anti-corruption vigilance committees at every district level.… ### Body ## Summary J. M. Lobo Prabhu, a retired ICS officer, economist, and former Member of Parliament, argues in this 1972 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet that India's forthcoming Fifth Five-Year Plan will fail unless it reorients itself around full employment as the primary goal rather than treating employment as a by-product of aggregate development. He opens with the stark observation that the Plan must offer work to five million registered unemployed and many times that number in rural areas — including 80 million agricultural workers with only five months of employment per year — and warns that persisting with the existing approach will produce nothing more than another five-year collection of budgets providing restrictions rather than resources. The bulk of the essay advances a series of institutional and sectoral proposals. On institutional design, Lobo Prabhu calls for a Bureau of Agricultural Costs and Prices to set rational floor prices, a Bureau of Wages and Fees to anchor all wages to a minimum pegged at 25 per cent below current market rates, a Bureau of Construction Rates and Costs to stabilise the building sector, and anti-corruption vigilance committees at every district level. He argues that the Joint Sector — with mandatory minimum public dividends and up to 49 per cent private participation — should replace both purely private and purely public enterprise, partly as an anti-inflation device. For agriculture, he proposes 16.6 million hectares of idle land development, a Land Development Corporation, expanded minor irrigation funded without additional Plan allocation, and crop insurance for small farmers. For industry, he indicts the Planning Commission for ignoring data showing that a crore of rupees invested in agriculture yields employment for 4,000 people while heavy industry yields only 500, and calls for an end to the sheltered market conditions and labour regulations that make Indian industry uncompetitive. On trade, he is sharply critical of the State Trading Corporation, arguing that its import monopoly insulates domestic prices from international competition and suppresses export competitiveness, as illustrated by steel pipes and tubes selling abroad at Rs. 915 per tonne while the internal price was Rs. 2,162. For transport and communications, education, and health, he offers detailed Plan-allocation critiques, advocating Railway conversion to the joint sector, a Kerala-style shift-system in schools to absorb illiterates, and a frank assessment that Family Planning expenditure (Rs. 437 crores) has failed. The essay closes with a finance section arguing that an employment-oriented plan need add only Rs. 5,000 crores to the Fourth Plan baseline and that the Planning Commission's Rs. 30,000 crore total would be dangerously inflationary. ## Key points - The central argument is that employment must be the primary goal of the Fifth Plan, not a by-product: 'Development being a product of full employment' rather than employment being a by-product of development. - Four new institutional bureaux are proposed: Agricultural Costs and Prices, Wages and Fees (with a minimum wage 25 per cent below current wages), Construction Rates and Costs, and Industrial Costs and Prices — all intended to introduce transparency and curb inflation. - The Joint Sector model — combining public minimum dividends with up to 49 per cent private participation — is presented as the solution to both the inefficiency of state enterprises and the anti-social tendencies of purely private capital. - Lobo Prabhu marshals productivity-per-rupee figures from Prof. Mahalanobis to show that agriculture and roads create far more employment per crore of investment than heavy industry, and criticises the Planning Commission for ignoring these ratios. - The State Trading Corporation and Cotton Corporation are singled out for practices that raise internal prices, suppress exports, and enrich intermediaries at the expense of producers and consumers. - 16.6 million hectares of idle and waste land are identified as developable for agriculture, and the Maharashtra Government's Standing Offer of Work programme is held up as a constitutional model the Fifth Plan should generalise. - The total Plan outlay proposed by the Commission (Rs. 30,000 crores) is condemned as inflationary; Lobo Prabhu argues the employment objectives can be met by adding only Rs. 5,000 crores to the Fourth Plan baseline. --- ## [Primary work] A Look at the Bombay Plan in the Light of Today URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-look-at-the-bombay-plan-in-the-light-of-today-h-v-r-iengar-january-11-1968/ ### Summary Delivered as the Second A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Bombay on 27 October 1967 and published as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet on 11 January 1968, H. V. R. Iengar's address takes the 1944 Bombay Plan — co-authored by A. D. Shroff alongside Purshotamdas Thakurdas, J. R. D. Tata, G. D. Birla, Sriram, Kasturbhai Lalbhai and John Matthai — as a mirror for India's later experience with state planning. Iengar reads the Bombay Plan as the prototype of the post-independence Planning Commission's approach: massive State intervention, a mixed economy with public-sector primacy, emphasis on heavy industry, foreign capital, and deficit financing. He argues that the Planning Commission "got its inspiration from the Bombay plan", and that A. D. Shroff himself was, in 1944, one of its principal proponents. The core of the lecture explains why Shroff later broke with that doctrine and set up the Forum of Free Enterprise in 1956.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the Second A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Bombay on 27 October 1967 and published as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet on 11 January 1968, H. V. R. Iengar's address takes the 1944 Bombay Plan — co-authored by A. D. Shroff alongside Purshotamdas Thakurdas, J. R. D. Tata, G. D. Birla, Sriram, Kasturbhai Lalbhai and John Matthai — as a mirror for India's later experience with state planning. Iengar reads the Bombay Plan as the prototype of the post-independence Planning Commission's approach: massive State intervention, a mixed economy with public-sector primacy, emphasis on heavy industry, foreign capital, and deficit financing. He argues that the Planning Commission "got its inspiration from the Bombay plan", and that A. D. Shroff himself was, in 1944, one of its principal proponents. The core of the lecture explains why Shroff later broke with that doctrine and set up the Forum of Free Enterprise in 1956. Quoting at length from the Forum's manifesto, Iengar locates the difference "in two things": the Forum demands the greatest possible scope for private enterprise rather than a vast and rapidly expanding public sector, and the reduction of controls to a minimum so that a market economy can operate. He traces Shroff's growing disillusion through the 1960 speech "Controls in a Planned Economy", in which Shroff condemned licensing, capital-issue and foreign-exchange controls as bad in practice however defensible in theory — a "wintry despair" compared with the "high noon" of the Bombay plan. Iengar then offers his own diagnosis of why India's planning experiment has disappointed. The Bombay Plan and the Government plans both assumed two impossible conditions — a Government in real rapport with the people, and an efficient administrative machinery for executing controls and public-sector projects — and both assumptions, he says, have proved false. Repeated electoral dominance by a monolithic Congress bred doctrinaire intolerance of criticism; treatment of industry as "anti-social and unpatriotic"; proliferation of red tape; and a bureaucracy demoralised in the face of an impossible task. He recalls J. R. D. Tata's call (later vindicated by events) for a "plan holiday" after the third Five-Year Plan, and his own self-censored years at the Reserve Bank as illustrations of the price India pays for the "fear complex" between business and Government. The lecture closes with a guarded liberal optimism. The Forum's manifesto — which rejects both nineteenth-century laissez-faire and Marxist state ownership in favour of "socially responsible private initiative" within a planned economy — would, Iengar argues, form the best foundation for economic progress. India is passing through a transitional stage between forces of property rights and the Rule of Law on one side and forces of expropriation and "revolution through chaos" on the other; survival of the liberal option depends on frank speech, governmental willingness to listen, and the special responsibility resting on business leaders — "Herein lies the great example of A. D. Shroff." A short editorial biography of Shroff and the Forum's standard membership pages close the booklet. ## Key points - Iengar argues that the 1944 Bombay Plan — co-authored by A. D. Shroff with Thakurdas, Tata, Birla, Sriram, Kasturbhai Lalbhai and John Matthai — supplied the template of massive State intervention later adopted by the Planning Commission of India. - The Bombay Plan envisaged doubling per-capita income in 15 years at a total outlay of Rs. 10,000 crores (about Rs. 50,000–60,000 crores at late-1960s prices), and explicitly required rigorous State controls including price-fixation, dividend limits and licensing. - Shroff's subsequent founding of the Forum of Free Enterprise in 1956 and his 1960 lecture "Controls in a Planned Economy" mark a substantive break from his Bombay-Plan-era acceptance of "rigorous" State control. - The Forum's manifesto, which Iengar endorses, rejects both nineteenth-century laissez-faire and Marxist state-ownership, advocating instead "socially responsible private initiative" within a planned but market-led economy. - Iengar identifies two false assumptions behind Indian planning: real rapport between Government and people, and an efficient bureaucracy capable of administering controls and public-sector projects. - He attributes the Congress regime's intolerance of criticism, doctrinaire posture and proliferation of red tape to the monolithic dominance of a single party — a condition only now beginning to loosen. - He invokes J. R. D. Tata's earlier proposal for a 'plan holiday' after the third Five-Year Plan, noting that events ultimately forced Government to adopt it. - The lecture closes by framing India as passing through a transitional contest between forces of property rights and the Rule of Law and forces of expropriation and revolutionary chaos, and assigns a 'special responsibility' to business leaders to defend the liberal option. --- ## [Primary work] A National Water Policy for India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-national-water-policy-for-india-k-l-rao-15-december-1975/ ### Summary Dr. K. L. Rao, a former Union Minister for Power and Irrigation, delivers the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture for the Forum of Free Enterprise (27 October 1975, Delhi) on India's looming water crisis and the case for a planned, integrated, nation-level response. He frames water — alongside air — as the binding physical constraint on the future progress of mankind: the world's stock is fixed, demand is rising, and pollution and evaporation are eroding what is usable. India's resources are erratic by geography and monsoon: 14 major and 44 medium rivers carry roughly 90% of the flow, total annual river flow averages about 1,645 thousand million cubic metres, and ground water adds another 2,55,000 million cum — but only about half is usable, and storage today captures only 15% of that. Rao argues that irrigation is the decisive lever for Indian agriculture and that the popular line that 'minor irrigation will be sufficient' is propaganda. He benchmarks Indian foodgrain output against the U.S.A., U.S.S.R.… ### Body ## Summary Dr. K. L. Rao, a former Union Minister for Power and Irrigation, delivers the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture for the Forum of Free Enterprise (27 October 1975, Delhi) on India's looming water crisis and the case for a planned, integrated, nation-level response. He frames water — alongside air — as the binding physical constraint on the future progress of mankind: the world's stock is fixed, demand is rising, and pollution and evaporation are eroding what is usable. India's resources are erratic by geography and monsoon: 14 major and 44 medium rivers carry roughly 90% of the flow, total annual river flow averages about 1,645 thousand million cubic metres, and ground water adds another 2,55,000 million cum — but only about half is usable, and storage today captures only 15% of that. Rao argues that irrigation is the decisive lever for Indian agriculture and that the popular line that 'minor irrigation will be sufficient' is propaganda. He benchmarks Indian foodgrain output against the U.S.A., U.S.S.R. and China, noting that India farms 16% of the world's foodgrain area but produces only 9%, that Punjab (with 80% irrigation) far outproduces Madhya Pradesh (with 8%) per unit land, and that irrigation today still reaches only about 25% of India's sown area. He also surveys non-agricultural demands — urban water supply (Delhi from 2 million gallons/day in 1896 toward an expected 1,000 million gallons/day by century's end), industry, hydro and thermal power cooling, fishing and recreation — and warns about sewage pollution at Banaras on the Ganga and at Delhi on the Jamuna. The heart of the lecture is a centralising policy prescription. Drawing on California's 5,200 million cum north-to-south transfer, Soviet inter-basin plans, and India's earlier Periyar, Jamuna and Indus diversions, Rao endorses a 'National Water Grid' — a Brahmaputra–Ganga–Son–Cauvery link via Farakka, with a feeder linking the Chambal to the Rajasthan canal at Nagaur — quoting a United Nations team that says such a grid 'will be a necessity' by the year 2000. To execute it he calls for the formal declaration of a National Water Policy and the creation of a National Water Authority chaired by the Prime Minister, on the premise that the waters of the country belong to the nation and not to its states. He frames cooperation with Nepal, Bangla Desh, Bhutan and even China on the Brahmaputra as essential, and proposes a 'Bhagirath Service' — a citizens' national service for cheap canal construction — alongside cost-saving engineering (system analysis, computer studies, radar rainfall measurement, aerial flood survey) and independent post-valuation of completed projects. He closes with a warning on rising per-acre irrigation costs (from Rs. 300–400 a quarter-century earlier to Rs. 1,500–2,000) and a plea to put planning on a 'correct footing' so that India's precious water reaches all in good time. The booklet carries the standard Forum of Free Enterprise disclaimer that the views are not necessarily those of the Forum. ## Key points - Frames water (with air) as the fundamental physical constraint on human progress and warns that pollution and unchecked use are shrinking India's usable share. - Quantifies India's hydrology: 14 major and 44 medium rivers carry ~90% of flow; annual river flow ~1,645 thousand million cubic metres; ground water ~2,55,000 million cum; only half usable and only 15% presently stored. - Rejects the line that 'minor irrigation will be sufficient,' arguing that India produces 9% of world foodgrains from 16% of the area while the U.S.A. produces 17% from 9%, and that Punjab's 80% irrigation outperforms Madhya Pradesh's 8% land-for-land. - Surveys non-agricultural demand — urban supply (Delhi rising toward 1,000 million gallons/day), industry, hydro and thermal cooling — and flags Ganga and Jamuna sewage pollution at Banaras and Delhi. - Endorses inter-basin transfer (citing California, the USSR, Periyar, Jamuna, Indus) and a 'National Water Grid' linking Brahmaputra–Ganga–Son–Cauvery with a Chambal–Rajasthan feeder, citing a UN team's call for a grid by AD 2000. - Calls for a declared National Water Policy and a National Water Authority chaired by the Prime Minister, on the principle that India's waters belong to the nation, not to its constituent states. - Proposes international cooperation with Nepal, Bangla Desh, Bhutan and China — including upper-Brahmaputra dams — to control floods (Ghagra, Rapti, Brahmaputra) and unlock hydro power. - Proposes a 'Bhagirath Service' of citizen-built canal works, cheaper engineering through system analysis and computer studies, and independent post-valuation, in response to per-acre irrigation costs rising from Rs. 300–400 to Rs. 1,500–2,000. --- ## [Primary work] A Drastic Budget URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-drastic-budget-n-a-palkhivala-1959/ ### Summary Delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 9 March 1959 and subsequently printed as a pamphlet, "A Drastic Budget" is N. A. Palkhivala's forensic assault on the Union Budget for 1959–60. Speaking as one of India's leading tax lawyers, Palkhivala argues that the Budget is the most destructive India has seen within living memory — not merely harsh in its rates but reckless in its drafting, illogical in its structure, and contemptuous of parliamentary scrutiny. His central charge is that year-on-year legislative churn, driven by what he sardonically labels a 'dynamic' ideology, has stripped the tax code of its two most essential qualities: stability and certainty. The speech works through the three major direct taxes in turn. On income-tax, Palkhivala condemns the proposed abolition of the grossing-up of dividends principle, a long-standing safeguard against double taxation of shareholders, and attacks the arbitrary hiking of mandatory dividend declarations under Section 23A with no justification in changed economic circumstances. On wealth-tax, he shows arithmetically that a salaried professional with a capital of just Rs.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 9 March 1959 and subsequently printed as a pamphlet, "A Drastic Budget" is N. A. Palkhivala's forensic assault on the Union Budget for 1959–60. Speaking as one of India's leading tax lawyers, Palkhivala argues that the Budget is the most destructive India has seen within living memory — not merely harsh in its rates but reckless in its drafting, illogical in its structure, and contemptuous of parliamentary scrutiny. His central charge is that year-on-year legislative churn, driven by what he sardonically labels a 'dynamic' ideology, has stripped the tax code of its two most essential qualities: stability and certainty. The speech works through the three major direct taxes in turn. On income-tax, Palkhivala condemns the proposed abolition of the grossing-up of dividends principle, a long-standing safeguard against double taxation of shareholders, and attacks the arbitrary hiking of mandatory dividend declarations under Section 23A with no justification in changed economic circumstances. On wealth-tax, he shows arithmetically that a salaried professional with a capital of just Rs. 2 lakhs could face a combined income-tax, super-tax, and wealth-tax burden exceeding 109 per cent of his investment income, a result he calls a reductio ad absurdum of the Welfare State. On expenditure-tax, he exposes how the Finance Bill proposes to extend the tax's reach to ordinary property maintenance, gifts from third parties, and family expenditure — all while the Notes on Clauses attached to the Bill are, in his view, not merely misleading but positively fraudulent in their description of the proposed changes. Palkhivala closes with a broader political indictment: the Five-Year Plans, he argues, divert a large share of the enormous sums raised by punitive taxation into waste and scandal, while the national income twenty years hence will still leave India among the world's poorest nations. He contrasts India's direct-tax ceiling — which already exceeds 100 per cent of income at certain wealth levels — with the 11 per cent maximum in the Soviet Union and the practice of no other country in the world. The conclusion is that a Welfare State which denies a citizen the fruits of his own labour is a contradiction in terms. ## Key points - The 1959 Union Budget is characterised as the most drastic in India's living memory, militating against capital formation and the financial policy the government itself professes. - Abolition of the grossing-up principle for dividends will result in effective double taxation of shareholders, reducing the yield on middle-class equity investments. - Mandatory dividend percentages under Section 23A are raised yet again — for the twelfth time in a few years — without any rational economic justification, exemplifying the instability of Indian tax law. - The combined income-tax, super-tax, and wealth-tax on investment income of a person with Rs. 2 lakhs in capital can exceed 109 per cent of that income — a burden Palkhivala calls irrational and internationally unique. - The Expenditure-tax Act amendments extend the tax to property maintenance, third-party gifts, and family expenditure while the accompanying Notes on Clauses are described as actively misleading Parliament. - Important amendments are routinely introduced through Finance Bills that bypass Select Committee scrutiny, which Palkhivala characterises as oligarchy rather than democracy. - Twenty years of Five-Year Plan spending will still leave India among the world's poorest nations; a large portion of tax receipts is wasted on public-sector scandals and extravagance. - No other country in the world levies direct taxes aggregating more than 100 per cent of income; India's tax structure is divorced from all considerations of justice and fairplay. --- ## [Primary work] A NEW ECONOMIC POLICY FOR INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-new-economic-policy-for-india-murarji-j-vaidya-november-15-1967/ ### Summary Delivered as the eleventh annual presidential address at the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on October 4, 1967, and published as a booklet by the Forum on 15 November 1967, Murarji J. Vaidya's lecture is a sustained indictment of the Soviet-style centralised comprehensive planning that India adopted from the Second Plan onwards and a manifesto for what he calls a "new economic policy". Vaidya opens by registering the disenchantment with planning that has reached even Indira Gandhi, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, G. L. Nanda, Jayaprakash Narayan and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman D. R. Gadgil, and reads the 1967 election verdict, via an Indian Institute of Public Opinion analysis, as the country settling "slightly right of centre". He weighs the achievements of fifteen years of planning — a near-doubling of national income, food output rising to a potential 90 million tonnes, an industrial production index up from 73.5 to 200, expanded social services — against a long bill of failures: dependence on food imports, galloping inflation, idle capacity in heavy industry, foreign-exchange assets crashing from Rs.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the eleventh annual presidential address at the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on October 4, 1967, and published as a booklet by the Forum on 15 November 1967, Murarji J. Vaidya's lecture is a sustained indictment of the Soviet-style centralised comprehensive planning that India adopted from the Second Plan onwards and a manifesto for what he calls a "new economic policy". Vaidya opens by registering the disenchantment with planning that has reached even Indira Gandhi, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, G. L. Nanda, Jayaprakash Narayan and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman D. R. Gadgil, and reads the 1967 election verdict, via an Indian Institute of Public Opinion analysis, as the country settling "slightly right of centre". He weighs the achievements of fifteen years of planning — a near-doubling of national income, food output rising to a potential 90 million tonnes, an industrial production index up from 73.5 to 200, expanded social services — against a long bill of failures: dependence on food imports, galloping inflation, idle capacity in heavy industry, foreign-exchange assets crashing from Rs. 1,030 crores to barely above the statutory minimum, public debt swelling to Rs. 15,308 crores, and unemployment back to 12 million on the eve of the Fourth Plan. The core diagnosis is that the Soviet model inverted the natural order of growth by starving agriculture to feed massive heavy industries, and that even the U.S.S.R., Burma, Britain's Labour Party and Soviet enterprises under the Liebermann thesis are now reversing course toward markets and the profit motive. Vaidya then unfolds three lessons. First, agriculture is the "king-pin" of the Indian economy and the farmer must be given price incentives rather than monopoly procurement, food zones and hidden export bonuses that punish both producer and consumer; he cites Ceylonese rice gains and the Administrative Reforms Commission's call to abolish food zones. Second, plans cannot be financed beyond the country's resources: he tracks money supply from Rs. 2,016 crores in 1950–51 to Rs. 4,529 crores by 1965–66, calls inflation "a tax on the cash holdings of the community", and exposes the Reserve Bank's "unfunded debts" as concealed deficit financing. Third, money is more productive in private than in state hands: he marshals Auditor-General figures showing Rs. 9.93 crores returned on Rs. 2,226 crores of central public-sector capital, Punjab audit objections worth Rs. 74 crores, chronic losses at Durgapur, and an Economic and Scientific Research Foundation estimate of Rs. 100 crores per year of lost industrial output from public-sector inefficiency. The prescription is a turn from centralised comprehensive to French-style indicative planning, scrapping of controls, drastic cuts in government expenditure, abolition of confiscatory and Annuity Deposit taxation, and firm restoration of law and order against gheraos and bandhs. Citing Malaysia under Tun Abdul Razak, Britain under James Callaghan and President Lyndon Johnson's Asian Development Bank appeal, Vaidya closes that a new economic policy which releases "the creative energies of the people" is the only route out of stagnation toward prosperity in a free society. ## Key points - The text is the eleventh annual presidential address of the Forum of Free Enterprise, delivered by Murarji J. Vaidya in Bombay on 4 October 1967 and printed as a booklet on 15 November 1967. - Vaidya registers a bipartisan disenchantment with centralised planning, citing Indira Gandhi, Radhakrishnan, G. L. Nanda, Jayaprakash Narayan and D. R. Gadgil, and reads the 1967 elections as a verdict 'slightly right of centre'. - He tabulates planning's achievements (national income, food, industrial index, social services) but argues these are dwarfed by deficits: food imports, inflation of 16.5% in 1966–67, idle heavy-industry capacity, foreign-exchange exhaustion, Rs. 15,308 crores of public debt and 12 million unemployed. - His central thesis is that the Soviet model inverted the natural order of growth by starving agriculture; he insists the farmer is the 'king-pin' of the Indian economy and must be given price incentives, not monopoly procurement and food zones. - He attacks inflation as a hidden tax 'on the cash holdings of the community' engineered by deficit financing concealed in Reserve Bank 'support to public loans' and 'unfunded debts'. - Public-sector enterprises are pilloried with Auditor-General data: Rs. 9.93 crores return on Rs. 2,226 crores of capital, cumulative Hindustan Steel losses of Rs. 59.3 crores, Durgapur losses of Rs. 13 crores, and a national output loss of about Rs. 100 crores per year. - Vaidya invokes the U.S.S.R.'s Liebermann thesis, Burma's reopening of food trade, Britain's Labour Party under James Callaghan, and Malaysia under Tun Abdul Razak as evidence that even socialist economies are retreating toward private enterprise. - The prescription: replace centralised comprehensive planning with French-style indicative planning, scrap controls, abolish confiscatory taxation and the Annuity Deposit Scheme, restore law and order against gheraos and bandhs, and unleash the creative energies of private enterprise. --- ## [Primary work] A Note of Dissent on the Memorandum of the Panel of Economists URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-note-of-dissent-on-the-memorandum-of-the-panel-of-economists/ ### Summary This is B.R. Shenoy's celebrated minority "Note of Dissent" against the Memorandum of the Panel of Economists that underpinned the Plan Frame of India's Second Five Year Plan (1956–61). Written in 1955 and originally appended to the Planning Commission's planning documents, the note (reproduced here from a 1998 Economics Research Centre edition, with key passages highlighted in red) records Shenoy's inability to subscribe to his colleagues' views on three counts: the size of the Plan, deficit financing as a means of raising real resources, and certain policy and institutional implications of the Plan Frame. On the size of the Plan, Shenoy argues that the proposed outlay — built on a 25–27 per cent rise in national income and an investment programme of the order of Rs. 8,800 crores — outruns the country's available real resources, since total net investment cannot exceed the community's net savings plus foreign assistance.… ### Body # A Note of Dissent on the Memorandum of the Panel of Economists *By B. R. Shenoy* ## Summary This is B.R. Shenoy's celebrated minority "Note of Dissent" against the Memorandum of the Panel of Economists that underpinned the Plan Frame of India's Second Five Year Plan (1956–61). Written in 1955 and originally appended to the Planning Commission's planning documents, the note (reproduced here from a 1998 Economics Research Centre edition, with key passages highlighted in red) records Shenoy's inability to subscribe to his colleagues' views on three counts: the size of the Plan, deficit financing as a means of raising real resources, and certain policy and institutional implications of the Plan Frame. On the size of the Plan, Shenoy argues that the proposed outlay — built on a 25–27 per cent rise in national income and an investment programme of the order of Rs. 8,800 crores — outruns the country's available real resources, since total net investment cannot exceed the community's net savings plus foreign assistance. Devices such as revenue surpluses, loans, ploughing back of profits, credit creation and deficit financing, he insists, merely appropriate existing savings: "There is no device of creating real resources which are not saved." An over-ambitious plan, forced through against the limits of real resources, would breed uncontrolled inflation and endanger individual liberty and democratic institutions. On deficit financing (Section II) he concedes a limited, carefully watched role but rejects the analogy between unemployment in industrial economies and underemployment in underdeveloped ones; in India the binding scarcity is savings and complementary real resources, for which created money is no substitute. In Section III he turns to policy and institutional implications, warning that legislative and administrative measures to force up the savings rate may by degrees undermine the democratic social order and infringe individual liberty. He opposes taxation that further depresses lower-income consumption, would confine nationalisation to public utilities and national security (leaving competitive enterprise to private entrepreneurs and the price system), urges the removal rather than continuance of physical controls and allocations, examines agricultural price support, and is sceptical of the proposed National Labour Force. The recurring thread is a plea for "economic rationalisation, for progress with stability" — keeping fiscal, monetary, investment, tariff and exchange-rate policy mutually consistent and within the bounds of genuinely available savings. ## Key points - Shenoy's 1955 minority dissent from the Panel of Economists' Memorandum on the Plan Frame of the Second Five Year Plan; reproduced from a 1998 Economics Research Centre edition. - He dissents on three heads: the size of the Plan, deficit financing, and the Plan Frame's policy/institutional implications. - Core economic claim: total net investment cannot exceed net savings plus foreign assistance — 'There is no device of creating real resources which are not saved.' - An over-ambitious plan forced past real-resource limits would generate uncontrolled inflation and threaten individual liberty and democratic institutions. - On deficit financing, he allows a limited measured role but rejects equating industrial-economy unemployment with underdeveloped-economy underemployment; created money is no substitute for savings. - He warns that legislative/administrative drives to raise the savings rate could undermine the democratic social order. - He would limit nationalisation to public utilities and national security, leaving competitive enterprise to private entrepreneurs and the price system. - He favours decontrol over the continuance of physical controls, opposes taxing lower-income groups further, and is sceptical of the proposed National Labour Force. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] A Package Plan to Fight Inflation URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-package-plan-for-inflation-dr-r-c-cooper-dhirajlal-maganlal-minoo-r-shroff-prof-gangadhar-gadgil-july-1974/ ### Summary A Package Plan to Fight Inflation gathers four public lectures delivered in July 1974 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise — by Dr. R. C. Cooper (Bangalore Centre, 11 July), Dhirajlal Maganlal (Bombay, 11 July), Minoo R. Shroff (Bombay, 10 July), and Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil (Bombay, 10 July). Speaking against a backdrop of devaluation, a 54.1% rise in the Wholesale Price Index between May 1972 and May 1974, and the spectre of mass unrest already manifest in Gujarat and Bihar, the four contributors converge on a common diagnosis: India's inflation is not an imported accident but the cumulative product of deficit financing, heavy-industry-biased planning, licensing-permit raj, hoarding, and the suffocation of agriculture and consumer-goods output. ### Body ## Summary A Package Plan to Fight Inflation gathers four public lectures delivered in July 1974 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise — by Dr. R. C. Cooper (Bangalore Centre, 11 July), Dhirajlal Maganlal (Bombay, 11 July), Minoo R. Shroff (Bombay, 10 July), and Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil (Bombay, 10 July). Speaking against a backdrop of devaluation, a 54.1% rise in the Wholesale Price Index between May 1972 and May 1974, and the spectre of mass unrest already manifest in Gujarat and Bihar, the four contributors converge on a common diagnosis: India's inflation is not an imported accident but the cumulative product of deficit financing, heavy-industry-biased planning, licensing-permit raj, hoarding, and the suffocation of agriculture and consumer-goods output. ## Essays ### I. Some Practical Measures *By DR. R. C. COOPER* Dr. R. C. Cooper opens the volume with a programme of 'some practical measures' to attack the basic causes of inflation. He argues that committees and notifications cannot help — only a fundamental change of attitude can — and lists what such a change would mean in operation: scrapping the licence-permit-quota system rather than tinkering with it, narrowing the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act so it targets actual consumer exploitation rather than penalising scale, freeing the larger industrial houses to organise mass production of essentials, and rejecting fashionable hoarding 'solutions' (high interest rates, ECA/MISA enforcement, freezing of deposits or demonetisation) as either unworkable or destructive of public confidence in banking. In their place he proposes selective dumping of imported commodities to break hoarding rings, an attack on the parallel black-money economy via political-funding reform and tax-rate cuts, a massive integrated rural-roads programme as a make-work and growth multiplier (at least Rs. 500 crores a year), peaceful underground and external nuclear explosions for mining and water-works, recycling of scarce resources including municipal garbage, and Free Trade Zones to attract West German, Japanese and American labour-intensive industry. The Tata Chemicals Fertiliser Project is held up as the emblematic instance of ideological delay damaging the real economy. - Frames inflation as solvable only by attacking basic causes — production, employment, population growth — not by committees or controls. - Calls for wholesale scrapping of the licensing-permit-quota system; argues the 'Subramaniam Formula' failed because bureaucrats resent loss of patronage. - Reads the MRTP Act as a brake on the very industrial houses best able to organise mass production of essentials; the 'fear of dominance' is 'a myth.' - Proposes a Rs. 500-crore-a-year rural roads programme as the principal plank — integrating rural and urban economies and easing congestion. - Argues for peaceful underground/external nuclear explosions in mining, dams and irrigation; recycling of scarce materials; and Free Trade Zones to import capital and technology at no cost. ### II. Planning Policies are Defective *By DHIRAJLAL MAGANLAL* Dhirajlal Maganlal — a past President of the Bombay Stock Exchange writing as a businessman who watched the warnings ignored — locates the seeds of present inflation in the Second Five-Year Plan's heavy-industry bias and the consequent neglect of agriculture. He marshals the figures: 80 per cent price rise across the Second and Third Plans; 57 per cent rupee devaluation in 1966; a 60 per cent rise in the general price level over 1969–1974; food prices up 62 per cent, paper money up 70 per cent, while real output of necessities rose only 12 per cent; in 1973–74 alone, prices up 29 per cent, money supply up 17 per cent and the rupee's purchasing power down 19 per cent. The disastrous effects, he writes, run from labour unrest and mass upsurges in Gujarat and Bihar to a corruption of moral standards that 'may even devour democracy.' His package: positive incentives for production via excise relief and lower taxes, an end to deficit financing, replacement of price controls by dual pricing, liquidation of inventories under industrial pressure, and mopping up of high-denomination black money through schemes like SEMIBOMBLA. - Diagnoses Second Plan heavy-industry bias and agricultural neglect as the structural origin of India's inflationary pressures. - Cites cumulative price rises of 80 per cent over the Second and Third Plans, a 57 per cent devaluation in 1966, and a 29 per cent price rise in 1973–74 alone. - Reads inflation as the 'worst form of taxation on weaker sections' and the engine of mass upsurges in Gujarat and Bihar. - Demands stoppage of deficit financing and unauthorised overdrafts on the Reserve Bank (Rs. 1,200 crores in 1973–74). - Recommends replacing price controls with dual pricing for sugar and steel and demonetising high-denomination notes via SEMIBOMBLA-type schemes. ### III. Increase Production to Curb Inflation *By MINOO R. SHROFF* Minoo R. Shroff rebuts the consoling claim that, because inflation is now a global phenomenon, its Indian incidence need not cause anxiety. The test, he writes, must be a country's own growth record; on that test India is failing. Wholesale Price Index inflation, under 2.5 per cent compound through the 1950s and 6.5 per cent through the 1960s, rose 54.1 per cent between May 1972 and May 1974. Money supply has grown at 15 per cent annually in the last two years — twice the rate of WPI rise in the preceding decade — driven by lower per-capita foodgrain availability, stagnant industrial production, the psychology of scarcity, and government incapacity. Compound growth rates of rice, pulses, oilseeds and cotton actually fell between the 1950s and 1960s; Fourth Plan industrial targets in cloth, fertilisers, cement, steel and aluminium were missed by 15–60 per cent; power shortages run 15–60 per cent across the country. Shroff insists that monetary instruments, despite their limitations, have a 'vital role' at the present juncture, and that the most enduring solution is to raise productivity across all sectors with active cooperation from trade, industry, labour, administration and consumers. - Rejects the argument that worldwide inflation makes Indian inflation tolerable — each country must be judged by its own growth record. - Reports WPI rising 54.1 per cent between May 1972 and May 1974, with money supply growth of 15 per cent per annum, twice WPI growth in the previous decade. - Documents falling compound growth rates between the 1950s and 1960s for rice, pulses, oilseeds and cotton, and Fourth Plan shortfalls of 15–60 per cent in cloth, fertilisers, cement, steel and aluminium. - Warns of a 'virtual breakdown' of infrastructure — power, coal at 79 million tonnes growing only 5 per cent in a decade, rail and wagon shortages. - Argues monetary measures plus a national push on productivity, not theatrical anti-hoarding raids, are the path out of inflation. ### IV. Measures to Control Inflation *By PROF. GANGADHAR GADGIL* In the rendered pages of his lecture, Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil — Economic Adviser to the Apte group of industries — places India's situation on a spectrum: inflation below 10 per cent is a 'worry but not serious worry'; 10–15 per cent is serious; above 15 per cent is cause for alarm; India's prices have risen over 28 per cent in the past year, so 'all the alarm bells should be ringing.' Unchecked, he warns, the economy will collapse and the social and political structure will disintegrate. He attributes the inflation to six factors — 14.2 per cent money-supply growth in 1973–74, stagnation in industry and agriculture, an inefficient distribution system, hoarding and speculation in the parallel economy, imported inflation, and the oil-cum-PL480 shock. With production unlikely to rise in the near term, he argues, monetary measures must do the heavy lifting; the rendered pages survey demonetisation (likely to lower prices and wages mechanically without eliminating scarcity psychology), the SEMIBOMBLA variant (more effective in the organised sector and on black money but a 'surgical operation' with disturbing effects on contracts), and compulsory savings (an equitable, predictable squeeze of purchasing power) — the discussion is cut off at page 18. - Treats inflation above 15 per cent as a regime-level alarm; cites India's last-year rise of over 28 per cent. - Lists six contributory factors: rapid money-supply growth (14.2% in 1973–74), industrial-cum-agricultural stagnation, inefficient distribution, hoarding, world-market inflation, and the oil-and-PL480 import shock. - Argues monetary measures must lead the response because production cannot rise quickly enough. - Surveys demonetisation, SEMIBOMBLA and compulsory savings; weighs their efficacy on prices, wages, black money and the 'scarcity psychology.' - Reads SEMIBOMBLA as more potent than demonetisation but a 'surgical operation' that disturbs contracts and inflicts undeserved losses on buyers. --- ## [Primary work] A PHILOSOPHY OF BUSINESS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-philosophy-of-business-s-s-kanoria-january-1972/ ### Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture at the Calcutta Centre of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 27 October 1971, this pamphlet is S. S. Kanoria's attempt — written as the then-President of FICCI — to articulate a positive 'philosophy of business' for Indian private enterprise. Kanoria opens by honouring Shroff as an industrialist-economist whose convictions inspired the Forum, and uses Keynes' dictum about the long reach of ideas to argue that India's economic debates are at root a 'battle of ideas, a struggle for men's minds'. He rejects two extremes: the laissez-faire of Adam Smith and the Manchester School, which he calls 'as dead as the dodo', and full state ownership and centralised planning, which he treats as its dogmatic mirror image. The philosophy he advances is that of a mixed economy in which private enterprise is 'infused with social purpose' and accountable to consumers, workers, investors, the state, and the local community.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture at the Calcutta Centre of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 27 October 1971, this pamphlet is S. S. Kanoria's attempt — written as the then-President of FICCI — to articulate a positive 'philosophy of business' for Indian private enterprise. Kanoria opens by honouring Shroff as an industrialist-economist whose convictions inspired the Forum, and uses Keynes' dictum about the long reach of ideas to argue that India's economic debates are at root a 'battle of ideas, a struggle for men's minds'. He rejects two extremes: the laissez-faire of Adam Smith and the Manchester School, which he calls 'as dead as the dodo', and full state ownership and centralised planning, which he treats as its dogmatic mirror image. The philosophy he advances is that of a mixed economy in which private enterprise is 'infused with social purpose' and accountable to consumers, workers, investors, the state, and the local community. Drawing on Gunnar Myrdal's Asian Drama, he attacks discretionary administrative controls, industrial licensing, and the bogey of 'concentration of economic power', arguing that the diffusion of economic power through small and medium enterprise and broad-based shareholding — not its transfer to the state — is the proper liberal remedy. He cites Hayek's Road to Serfdom and Mahatma Gandhi on the dangers of state aggrandisement, defends profits as a signal of efficient resource use, and rejects the doctrine of class war. Kanoria closes by stretching the philosophy outward and forward. Echoing Galbraith's New Industrial State, he welcomes the rise of professional management; drawing on Kuznets, Bauer, Yamey, Streeten and others, he insists that human-capital expenditure (health, education, training) is genuinely developmental, citing the post-war recovery of Germany and Japan. He warns against the 'soft state' diagnosis that would trade democratic freedom for social discipline, arguing instead that India's mission is to demonstrate that rapid development of an underdeveloped economy is achievable within a democratic framework. Business, he concludes, must be the vanguard of a 'relevant radicalism' — outward-looking, export-competitive, and constructively engaged in eradicating poverty. ## Key points - The lecture honours A. D. Shroff and grounds the Forum of Free Enterprise's mission in Shroff's life and convictions. - Kanoria rejects both classical laissez-faire and Soviet-style state ownership, arguing for a mixed economy where private enterprise is regulated in the common interest. - He insists that 'dogmatism' in the name of socialism has turned what should be a philosophy of business into a theology, hardening orthodoxy in policy circles. - Profits are defended as the seeds of growth and an indicator of efficient resource use — including by reference to public-sector underperformance in India. - He attacks discretionary administrative controls and industrial licensing, drawing explicitly on Gunnar Myrdal's distinction between positive/negative and discretionary/non-discretionary controls in Asian Drama. - The supposed problem of 'concentration of economic power' is treated as a political bogey; the remedy is the spread of small and medium enterprise and broad shareholding, not statisation. - Citing Kuznets, Bauer, Yamey, Streeten and others, he argues that investment in human capital — health, education, training — is itself developmental and crucial to growth. - Closing the lecture, Kanoria argues India must demonstrate rapid development is compatible with democratic freedom, and calls for a forward- and outward-looking 'relevant radicalism' rooted in private enterprise. --- ## [Primary work] A Policy for Harmonious Industrial Relations URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-policy-for-harmonious-industry-relations-naval-h-tata-april-14-1980/ ### Summary Naval H. Tata, President of the Employers' Federation of India, delivers a Forum of Free Enterprise address (14 April 1980) diagnosing what he calls a labour scene of chaos, confusion and despair. He frames the brief in starkly practical terms: 32 million man-days lost to strikes in 1979 alone, illegal lock-outs and gheraos becoming routine, and State Governments amending labour law unilaterally outside the tripartite Labour Conference. The new Government, he argues, cannot revive growth without first restoring cordial industrial relations, and he sets out four areas demanding immediate attention — orderly collective bargaining through truly representative unions, speedy dispute settlement through independent labour courts and voluntary arbitration, prevention of violence with strict enforcement of law and order, and an equitable wage policy with indexing for cost-of-living fluctuations and a clear bonus law. The first half of the pamphlet works through each of these heads.… ### Body ## Summary Naval H. Tata, President of the Employers' Federation of India, delivers a Forum of Free Enterprise address (14 April 1980) diagnosing what he calls a labour scene of chaos, confusion and despair. He frames the brief in starkly practical terms: 32 million man-days lost to strikes in 1979 alone, illegal lock-outs and gheraos becoming routine, and State Governments amending labour law unilaterally outside the tripartite Labour Conference. The new Government, he argues, cannot revive growth without first restoring cordial industrial relations, and he sets out four areas demanding immediate attention — orderly collective bargaining through truly representative unions, speedy dispute settlement through independent labour courts and voluntary arbitration, prevention of violence with strict enforcement of law and order, and an equitable wage policy with indexing for cost-of-living fluctuations and a clear bonus law. The first half of the pamphlet works through each of these heads. Tata urges statutory recognition of a sole bargaining agent under a Central law applicable to undertakings employing more than one hundred workers, with the secret ballot preferred over verification of membership for selecting that agent on democratic principles. He calls for reviving and activating the tripartite National Commission on Labour's recommendation to set up independent Industrial Relations Commissions at the State and Centre, freed from executive influence, with concurrent rights to refer disputes to adjudication. Voluntary arbitration on the American model — where the arbitrator is named in the agreement itself — is offered as a way out of the cumbersome compulsory adjudication regime. On violence, he insists that gheraos and physical assault forfeit the immunity that trade unions otherwise enjoy under the Constitution: unions guilty of violence should face derecognition for three years, and office-bearers disqualification for five to seven. The wage-policy section is illustrated by a 'Wage Map of Bombay' tabulating basic plus dearness allowance for sixteen occupational categories as of June 1977. The second part of the pamphlet, 'The Bonus Tangle: A Way Out', argues that the Payment of Bonus Act of 1965 — far from securing industrial peace — has become a recurring trigger for agitation every June through November. Tata defends the original Bonus Commission view (chaired by the late M. R. Meher, I.C.S.) that bonus is a share in profits, not a deferred wage, and warns that treating it as a deferred wage would require disbursements running to Rs. 1,500 crores per annum for Government employees alone. He proposes deleting the existing minimum bonus by abolition or, as a compromise, merging it into wages over three years; restoring the productivity-linked bonus provision the Janata Party abandoned; scrapping Section 34(1) of the Act, which has been exploited by militant unions to extract awards of 35 to 40 per cent through coercive bargaining; and, more radically, financing an annual national dividend to labour through a four-per-cent excise surcharge on industrial production to displace plant-level bonus disputes altogether. ## Key points - Diagnoses the 1979–80 labour climate as one of chaos: 32 million man-days lost to strikes in 1979, illegal lock-outs, and unilateral State amendments to central labour law bypassing the tripartite Labour Conference. - Proposes four reform heads: orderly collective bargaining through truly representative unions, speedy dispute settlement, prevention of violence, and an equitable indexed wage policy with a clear bonus law. - Argues for statutory recognition of a sole bargaining agent under a Central law for undertakings of 100+ workers, with the secret ballot preferred over membership verification on democratic grounds. - Calls for reviving the National Commission on Labour's proposal for tripartite Industrial Relations Commissions at State and Central levels, independent of the executive and capable of adjudicating disputes referred by either party. - Endorses voluntary arbitration on the American model — where the arbitrator is named in the collective agreement itself — to escape the cumbersome compulsory-adjudication regime. - Holds that violence, gheraos, and intimidation are not legitimate parts of collective bargaining and should forfeit union immunity, with derecognition of offending unions for three years and disqualification of office-bearers for five to seven years. - Treats the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 as a recurring trigger of industrial strife (notoriously between June and November each year), and defends the M. R. Meher Bonus Commission's reading of bonus as a share in profits, not a deferred wage. - Proposes deleting the minimum bonus, restoring productivity-linked bonus, scrapping Section 34(1) of the Bonus Act, and exploring a national bonus fund financed by a 4-per-cent excise surcharge as an alternative to plant-level bonus disputes. --- ## [Primary work] A Policy Framework for Broadbasing the Capital Market URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-policy-framework-for-broadbasing-the-capital-market-james-s-raj-february-17-1978/ ### Summary James S. Raj's 1978 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture — delivered in Bombay on 18 January 1978 and published by the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust — sets out a policy framework for broadbasing India's capital market. Raj, then Chairman of the Reserve Bank's Committee on Public Sector Banks and Deputy Chairman of ICICI, argues that a 'broadbased and expanding capital market is absolutely essential for any developing country which has chosen a mixed economy in preference to a completely State-run one.' His central diagnostic move is to visualise the policy environment as a series of concentric circles surrounding the capital market: basic attitudes towards economic administration on the outside, industrial policy next, monetary policy nearer the core, and the capital-market regulations themselves at the centre. He works his way inward, identifying at each layer the constraints that inhibit the volume and diversity of savings reaching the market. On attitudes, Raj names 'the all-pervading mistrust of the market mechanism, and the firm belief that all prices can be controlled by administrative fiat' as the binding constraint that policy-makers and the public share.… ### Body ## Summary James S. Raj's 1978 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture — delivered in Bombay on 18 January 1978 and published by the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust — sets out a policy framework for broadbasing India's capital market. Raj, then Chairman of the Reserve Bank's Committee on Public Sector Banks and Deputy Chairman of ICICI, argues that a 'broadbased and expanding capital market is absolutely essential for any developing country which has chosen a mixed economy in preference to a completely State-run one.' His central diagnostic move is to visualise the policy environment as a series of concentric circles surrounding the capital market: basic attitudes towards economic administration on the outside, industrial policy next, monetary policy nearer the core, and the capital-market regulations themselves at the centre. He works his way inward, identifying at each layer the constraints that inhibit the volume and diversity of savings reaching the market. On attitudes, Raj names 'the all-pervading mistrust of the market mechanism, and the firm belief that all prices can be controlled by administrative fiat' as the binding constraint that policy-makers and the public share. He treats this as politically immovable, but draws out its consequences for equity investment: pervasive price controls turn most large-industry shares into instruments of risk without upside, and dividend limitation — a 'plank in the Janata Party's economic policy' — punishes the very middle-class shareholders, widows and orphans who have been caught when 'the music' stopped. On industrial policy he is sceptical that the small-scale and 'tiny' sector emphasis matters for the capital market, since a single fertiliser project at Rs. 150 crores dwarfs thousands of tiny units; what matters is the pace at which nationalisation and the establishment of new public-sector units pre-empt the savings pool. Moving to the inner layers, Raj documents how monetary and capital-market regulation now operate as a 'captive supply' system: banks must invest roughly 33% of deposit liabilities in Government securities at under 6% interest, LIC and Provident Funds are similarly bound, and a 4.5% gap between Government and industrial-debenture rates has been rationalised on grounds that Government projects do not even earn 5% on capital employed. Tax policy is 'loaded against equity shares'; institutional underwriters end up holding new issues; and growth companies' shares are gradually 'soaked up' by public financial institutions, hollowing out small-shareholder oversight. Raj closes the rendered section by arguing that India must abandon the consumption-oriented model it has imitated and 'build up a savings-oriented society, using the same methods of marketing to popularise savings,' and that the first order of business is a Government policy decision restoring the attractiveness of direct equity, debenture, and preference-share investment relative to deposits in monolithic financial institutions. The lecture pivots at the end of these rendered pages to begin outlining specific modifications to industrial-sector policy, which continue beyond this chunk. ## Key points - Raj frames the capital-market policy environment as concentric circles: basic economic attitudes on the outside, industrial policy, monetary policy, and the capital-market regulations themselves at the core. - He identifies the binding ideological constraint as an 'all-pervading mistrust of the market mechanism' and a belief that all prices can be set by administrative fiat — a creed shared by authorities and the urban public alike. - Dividend limitation, described as a plank of the Janata Party's economic policy, is criticised on the ground that it hurts middle-class shareholders, widows and orphans rather than 'bloated capitalists'. - Industrial policy's tilt towards small-scale and 'tiny' units is largely irrelevant to the capital market, because those units do not draw on it; what matters is the public-sector's pre-emption of savings via nationalisation and new units. - Roughly 33% of bank deposit liabilities are locked into Central and State Government securities at under 6% interest, with LIC and Provident Funds similarly captive — creating a hidden 4.5% gap between Government and industrial-debenture rates. - Tax policy is 'loaded against equity shares': dividend deduction at source, liquidity penalties via holding-period rules for capital-gains treatment, and no incentive for subscribers to new issues that may yield no dividend for years. - Public financial institutions are gradually 'soaking up' the equity of attractive growth companies (Larsen & Toubro, TELCO, Century Enka, CAFI), shrinking the small-shareholder base both relatively and in vigilance. - Raj's prescription: stop imitating a consumption-oriented society and build a savings-oriented one, beginning with a Government policy decision restoring direct investment in equities, debentures and preference shares to attractiveness. --- ## [Primary work] A Pragmatic Economic Policy for a Government That Works URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-pragmatic-economic-policy-for-a-government-thatworks-june-13-1981/ ### Summary Reproducing an article originally published in Tata Economic Consultancy Services' bulletin Economic Scene and reissued as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet in June 1981, this anonymous "study team of three" steps back from year-to-year quarrels over rains, strikes and remittances to argue that India's three-decade rise in prices is an endemic phenomenon driven by aggregate investment that exceeds the economy's capacity to bear. The authors call for a tough counter-inflationary programme even at the risk of recession, and reject the popular consolation — voiced by the Prime Minister and many industrialists — that more production will by itself cure inflation. In an Indian setting of overstretched resources, they argue, the attempt to push output further raises money incomes more than proportionately and so feeds the very inflation it claims to fight. The authors propose treating monetary stability and the mobilisation of savings as two distinct functions, personified as the "Stability Man" and the "Growth Man".… ### Body ## Summary Reproducing an article originally published in Tata Economic Consultancy Services' bulletin Economic Scene and reissued as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet in June 1981, this anonymous "study team of three" steps back from year-to-year quarrels over rains, strikes and remittances to argue that India's three-decade rise in prices is an endemic phenomenon driven by aggregate investment that exceeds the economy's capacity to bear. The authors call for a tough counter-inflationary programme even at the risk of recession, and reject the popular consolation — voiced by the Prime Minister and many industrialists — that more production will by itself cure inflation. In an Indian setting of overstretched resources, they argue, the attempt to push output further raises money incomes more than proportionately and so feeds the very inflation it claims to fight. The authors propose treating monetary stability and the mobilisation of savings as two distinct functions, personified as the "Stability Man" and the "Growth Man". They want the Stability Man — the monetary authority — given much greater authority, including a stiffer liquidity ratio, higher interest rates, an end to the "lend more and be lenient" reflex of nationalised banks, tighter discipline on state overdrafts and, above all, a sharp curb on Reserve Bank credit to the Centre, which they identify as the principal factor behind India's endemic inflation. They are sceptical of the new special bearer bonds (because their transferability makes them quasi-money), critical of Maruti as inflation-financed investment that private money could have bought for one-hundredth of the cost, and impatient with a finance ministry that refuses to let a private unit trust compete with the public one or to publish "White Papers" arguing the pros and cons of policy. On the savings side they urge a richer ecology of institutions and incentives — state lotteries that convert consumption into savings, denationalisation of some banks to restore competition, easier capital-issue rules, and minority public shareholding in public-sector undertakings — arguing that India has been so preoccupied with controlling the use of savings that it has neglected the prior question of generating them. The closing pages turn to industrial policy, which the team says has shrunk to "two ideas: control the big industrialist and help (protect) the small industrialist", neither of which has worked. They propose dropping the small/medium/large dividing lines, adopting a "universalised" industrial policy that asks every firm to bear social obligations in proportion to its capacity, and re-conceiving the state not as owner of a "sector" but as a multi-role "ARM" — builder, promoter, manager, collaborator, specialist and trouble-shooter — whose entry into lucrative consumer fields like polyester is judged on its merits rather than as a cross-subsidy device. ## Key points - Frames India's three-decade price rise (1.5% in the '50s, 6.1% in the '60s, 9.7% in the '70s) as endemic inflation driven by aggregate investment outrunning the economy's capacity to bear it, not by passing shocks. - Rejects the Prime Minister's and industrialists' claim that more production cures inflation, arguing that in an overstretched Indian economy higher output raises money incomes more than proportionately. - Proposes separating the functions of monetary stability ("Stability Man") from savings mobilisation ("Growth Man") and giving the Stability Man much greater authority over liquidity, interest rates and credit. - Identifies Reserve Bank credit to the Centre as the principal source of created money behind the endemic inflation, and presses for the Centre to be "strict to itself" in deficit financing. - Criticises the Finance Minister's special bearer bonds (transferability makes them token money), Maruti as inflation-financed investment, and the refusal to let a private unit trust compete with the public one. - Argues for re-energising private savings through state lotteries, easier capital-issue rules, minority public shareholding in PSUs, and asks whether India will have the "courage to denationalize some banks" to restore competition. - Reframes industrial policy as "universalised" — scrap the small/medium/large dividing lines, free every industrialist to expand subject to public-interest rules, and impose social obligations in proportion to capacity. - Proposes the term "ARM" rather than "sector" for the state's industrial role, recognising it as builder, promoter, manager, collaborator, specialist and trouble-shooter rather than as a permanent owner of segments. --- ## [Primary work] A Review of Current Economic Problems URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-review-of-current-economic-problems-sir-h-p-mody-sep10-1965/ ### Summary A slim Forum of Free Enterprise booklet dated 10 September 1965, collecting three short pieces that together amount to a classical-liberal post-mortem on the first decade and a half of Indian planning. Sir H. P. Mody opens with a polemic against the planning apparatus itself; Prof. B. R. Shenoy diagnoses the food crisis as the product of deficit financing and the misdirection of public-sector resources rather than hoarding; and P. S. Narayan walks through the country's foreign exchange crisis, arguing that ad-hoc controls and devaluation are no substitute for getting at the fiscal and monetary fundamentals. The shared frame is that India's troubles are self-inflicted by ever-larger plans, expanding public expenditure, and bureaucratic controls, and that consolidation, fiscal discipline, and a serious rehabilitation of private enterprise are the only honest remedies. ### Body ## Summary A slim Forum of Free Enterprise booklet dated 10 September 1965, collecting three short pieces that together amount to a classical-liberal post-mortem on the first decade and a half of Indian planning. Sir H. P. Mody opens with a polemic against the planning apparatus itself; Prof. B. R. Shenoy diagnoses the food crisis as the product of deficit financing and the misdirection of public-sector resources rather than hoarding; and P. S. Narayan walks through the country's foreign exchange crisis, arguing that ad-hoc controls and devaluation are no substitute for getting at the fiscal and monetary fundamentals. The shared frame is that India's troubles are self-inflicted by ever-larger plans, expanding public expenditure, and bureaucratic controls, and that consolidation, fiscal discipline, and a serious rehabilitation of private enterprise are the only honest remedies. ## Essays ### Whither Indian Planning? *By Sir H. P. Mody* Mody's address 'Whither Indian Planning?' arraigns the entire mechanics of the Five-Year Plan regime. He notes that since 1951 the country has lived under a succession of plans whose targets, resources and production schedules have proved 'hopelessly wrong', yet each new plan is required to be larger than the last. He argues that planning, far from being questioned in principle, has been corrupted in practice: large-scale public enterprises have aggravated shortages, agricultural productivity remains low, the Centre blames the cultivator instead of itself, and the tax burden — by Ashok Mehta's own admission — has reached staggering proportions. Mody warns that unless the obsession with 'gigantism' is abandoned in favour of consolidation and realism, the Third Plan target of food self-sufficiency by 1981 will be a fresh casualty of the same mindset. - Frames Indian planning as a self-perpetuating ritual where each plan must be larger than its predecessor regardless of how badly the prior one failed. - Blames large-scale public enterprises and bureaucratic interference for accentuating, not relieving, shortages across foodgrains, water, housing, transport and telecommunications. - Argues the State has used the cultivator as a scapegoat while remaining itself the 'all-powerful Government' responsible for low agricultural productivity. - Cites Ashok Mehta's admission that India is the most heavily taxed country in the world as evidence that the tax burden is no longer defensible. - Calls for ideology and reckless experimentation to give way to realism, and for the Third Plan's gigantism to be replaced by consolidation. ### India's Food Problem *By B. R. Shenoy* Shenoy's 'India's Food Problem' refuses the then-fashionable explanation that the food crisis is the work of hoarders and traders. Rains and physical shortages, he argues, are the symptoms; the underlying cause is the misdirection of resources, the neglect of agriculture, and above all the inflation generated by deficit financing — the Planning Commission, Ministry of Finance and Reserve Bank inflating monetary circulation while traders and farmers are scapegoated. He distinguishes short-term remedies (PL-480 imports already in train) from the long-term task of raising domestic farm output through better seeds, fertilisers, irrigation, storage, marketing and, crucially, restoring the credit-worthiness of farmers and tenants whose access to the money-lender has been legislated away without a working substitute. Without redirecting public-sector investment funds away from steel mills and 'so-called infra-structure industries' towards agriculture, he warns, no permanent solution to the food problem is possible. - Rejects the 'unholy alliance' theory of traders and farmers as the cause of high food prices; locates the real cause in physical shortages plus monetary inflation. - Names the Planning Commission, Ministry of Finance and Reserve Bank as the agents 'inflating monetary circulation' while farmers and traders are blamed. - Identifies neglect of agriculture — only 6.7 per cent of plan investment, even as 70 per cent of investment resources come through public appropriation — as the structural distortion. - Argues anti-usury legislation has crippled tenant credit-worthiness, pushing money-lenders out without functioning replacements, and inflating effective interest on farm credit. - Concludes no lasting solution is possible without redirecting public-sector investment away from steel and 'infra-structure industries' towards agriculture. ### The Foreign Exchange Crisis *By P. S. Narayan* Narayan's 'The Foreign Exchange Crisis' surveys the deficit in India's balance of payments and rejects palliatives. Foreign exchange scarcity, he writes, should not cause alarm unless it persists and leads to stringency and a critical situation — which is precisely where India now is, with reserves down from Rs. 188 crores in March 1964 to Rs. 116 crores in March 1965 and an IMF gain and standby credit consumed within a year. He surveys recent measures (raising the Bank Rate, ten per cent regulatory duty surcharge, compulsory deposits on imports) and finds them piecemeal and counter-productive: credit squeeze hits small and medium industries hardest while inflationary government expenditure goes untouched, and import-substitution drives are pushed through under conditions where domestic costs cannot match imports. He argues for genuine export promotion (including tourism), serious cuts in Government expenditure, and rejection of devaluation and moratorium in favour of long-term funding of obligations. Citing A. D. Shroff, he concludes that the wise course is consolidation, completion of projects in hand, and a Fourth Plan outlay framed with realism rather than gigantism. - Quantifies the crisis: reserves fell from Rs. 188 crores (March 1964) to Rs. 116 crores (March 1965); standby credit of 200 million dollars from the IMF largely consumed in a year. - Argues piecemeal credit and import controls hurt small and medium industries while leaving inflationary public expenditure untouched. - Rejects devaluation and moratorium: devaluation will not solve the deficit because exports are price-inelastic and imports inelastic in quantity; moratorium would damage credit standing. - Calls for serious export promotion (including tourism — citing France, Switzerland and the U.A.R. as commercial-tourism models) and full utilisation of installed capacity through fiscal incentives. - Endorses A. D. Shroff's prescription: halt new expansion programmes, consolidate, and finance the Fourth Plan from realistically available resources. --- ## [Primary work] A REVIEW OF THE FINANCE (No. 2) BILL, 1962 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-review-of-the-finace-bill-n-a-palkhivala-jun8-1962/ ### Summary N. A. Palkhivala's pamphlet — based on a talk delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on May 7, 1962 — is a clause-by-clause critique of the Finance (No. 2) Bill, 1962. His central charge is that the Bill's treatment of capital gains and capital losses is the "most blatantly unjust proposal" in the Budget, indefensible "by any process of reasoning or by reference to any notion of fairplay in a socialistic or welfare State." By limiting the rate on long-term gains while abolishing the right to carry forward long-term capital losses, the Bill places "the thrifty citizen who helps the progress and growth of the nation by saving and investing, in a worse position in many respects than the gambler and the speculator." Palkhivala walks through three archetypes — Mr. Speculator, Mr. Trader and Mr. Investor — to show that only the long-term investor, "the backbone of a stable and progressive nation," is denied symmetrical treatment of losses. The pamphlet then turns to corporate taxation, dividend taxation, the abolition of entertainment-expense deductions, the export incentive, and personal taxation.… ### Body ## Summary N. A. Palkhivala's pamphlet — based on a talk delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on May 7, 1962 — is a clause-by-clause critique of the Finance (No. 2) Bill, 1962. His central charge is that the Bill's treatment of capital gains and capital losses is the "most blatantly unjust proposal" in the Budget, indefensible "by any process of reasoning or by reference to any notion of fairplay in a socialistic or welfare State." By limiting the rate on long-term gains while abolishing the right to carry forward long-term capital losses, the Bill places "the thrifty citizen who helps the progress and growth of the nation by saving and investing, in a worse position in many respects than the gambler and the speculator." Palkhivala walks through three archetypes — Mr. Speculator, Mr. Trader and Mr. Investor — to show that only the long-term investor, "the backbone of a stable and progressive nation," is denied symmetrical treatment of losses. The pamphlet then turns to corporate taxation, dividend taxation, the abolition of entertainment-expense deductions, the export incentive, and personal taxation. Palkhivala argues that the proposed rise in corporate tax to 50 per cent, layered onto cascading taxes on inter-corporate dividends, will leave net margins below what the Tariff Commission itself contemplated when fixing administered prices. He notes that the Department's fear of bogus capital-loss claims is already met by Section 52 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and that suspending genuine rights because of a handful of wrong-doers "is not a democracy, it is despotism." In the final pages Palkhivala turns to personal income-tax and wealth-tax rates — among the highest in the world — showing that the marginal investor of an additional Rs. 100 yielding Rs. 6 will pay more than Rs. 6 in combined wealth-tax and income-tax, a confiscatory result. He praises Morarji Desai's "great courage and independent thinking" in abolishing the Expenditure Tax but laments that the recommendations of the Law Commission, the Direct Taxes Administration Enquiry Committee, and the Mudaliar-led export committee continue to be ignored. The piece closes with the hope that the Finance Minister will "rise to the occasion and respond to the appeal of reason and justice and withdraw some of the unsatisfactory features of the Budget proposals." ## Key points - Frames the capital-gains and capital-losses provisions of the Finance (No. 2) Bill, 1962 as the Bill's most indefensible feature, penalising the long-term saver relative to the speculator and the trader. - Walks through three archetypes — Mr. Speculator, Mr. Trader, Mr. Investor — to show that only the investor is denied the right to carry forward losses, despite being the country's source of productive capital. - Argues that abolishing carry-forward of long-term capital losses, while leaving long-term gains taxed at a concessional rate, has "the astounding result of putting the thrifty citizen ... in a worse position than the gambler and the speculator." - Rejects the Department's anti-abuse rationale: Section 52 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 already empowers it to disallow bogus loss claims, so collective punishment of genuine investors is unjustified. - Critiques the proposed rise in corporate taxation to 50 per cent and the cascading taxation of inter-corporate dividends, which renders the Tariff Commission's earlier price-fixing assumptions obsolete. - Attacks the ceiling on entertainment expenses (Rs. 1,00,000 dropped to Rs. 60,000) and the arbitrary cuts in the export-profits rebate as ill-conceived and likely to deter legitimate business activity. - Documents that individual income-tax rates in India are among the highest in the world — rising to 82 per cent on earned and 87 per cent on unearned income — and that combined wealth-tax plus income-tax can exceed the total yield on an additional investment. - Calls on the Finance Minister to honour the recommendations of the Law Commission, the Direct Taxes Administration Enquiry Committee, and the Mudaliar-led export committee, and to withdraw the Bill's most unjust features. --- ## [Primary work] A Review of the Rupee Trade URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-review-of-the-rupee-trade-dr-jayashekar-june-15-1983/ ### Summary Dr. Jayashekar, a Jawaharlal Nehru University faculty member, audits India's two-decade experience under the Rupee Payments Arrangement with the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. He marshals trade data from 1970-71 through 1981-82 to show that although the total turnover of Rupee trade rose more than five-and-a-half times, its compound growth lagged India's trade with hard-currency partners, and its share in India's foreign trade fluctuated wildly between roughly 9 and 23 per cent. The pamphlet argues that this instability, combined with India's persistent trade surplus in non-convertible roubles, has converted Rupee trade from a development asset into a structural drag on India's exports and industrial choices. The argument is organised around four critiques. First, the secrecy surrounding India's Rupee dealings denies citizens the data needed to evaluate the gains, with Jayashekar bluntly observing that 'Rupee trade rivals defence matters' in opacity.… ### Body ## Summary Dr. Jayashekar, a Jawaharlal Nehru University faculty member, audits India's two-decade experience under the Rupee Payments Arrangement with the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. He marshals trade data from 1970-71 through 1981-82 to show that although the total turnover of Rupee trade rose more than five-and-a-half times, its compound growth lagged India's trade with hard-currency partners, and its share in India's foreign trade fluctuated wildly between roughly 9 and 23 per cent. The pamphlet argues that this instability, combined with India's persistent trade surplus in non-convertible roubles, has converted Rupee trade from a development asset into a structural drag on India's exports and industrial choices. The argument is organised around four critiques. First, the secrecy surrounding India's Rupee dealings denies citizens the data needed to evaluate the gains, with Jayashekar bluntly observing that 'Rupee trade rivals defence matters' in opacity. Second, the static and dynamic gains-from-trade analysis fails on India's side: economies of scale and technical change in agricultural-heavy export baskets are negligible, and switch trade, high rouble exchange rates, and rising import content of exports compound the losses. Third, the terms of trade have moved against India because cash crop prices have stagnated while machinery and oil prices have multiplied, with Soviet data suggesting India is the cheapest or near-cheapest supplier of most commodities into the Soviet market. Fourth, the Soviet response to India's changing development needs has been 'reluctant, tardy, and inadequate,' offering instead pressure to absorb obsolete Soviet machinery and unwanted textile equipment. In the closing 'Proposal for Modification' section Jayashekar calls for progressively switching Rupee surpluses into convertible currencies, diversifying the export basket so that 70 per cent of exports to the Rupee Trade Area consist of manufactured goods within five years, resisting Soviet dumping of unwanted equipment, insisting on global tenders, building Soviet-US Grain-Agreement-style commodity ceilings, and treating any continued surplus as an interest-bearing loan at 2.5 per cent. He frames the moment — falling oil prices, a widening Soviet deficit with India, and India's own industrial maturation — as opportune for India to move to convertible-currency trade with the Soviet Union. A short table appendix (Tables I-III) supplies the balance-of-trade and export-composition figures that underpin the polemic. ## Key points - Total India-Eastern Europe/Soviet trade turnover rose from Rs. 589.9 crore in 1970-71 to Rs. 2,782.6 crore in 1981-82, but compound growth in Rupee trade lagged India's trade with hard-currency partners. - India accumulated a Rupee-trade surplus in ten of the twelve years since 1970-71, with cumulative surplus exceeding 1,145 million roubles in India's favour — a 'phenomenon that ought not to have come about under the Rupee trade system'. - Jayashekar attacks the secrecy of Indo-Soviet trade, arguing it 'rivals defence matters' and denies citizens the data needed to assess gains, leaving even researchers to make 'impressionistic' judgements. - Static and dynamic gains-from-trade are weak on India's side: export baskets are concentrated in agricultural raw materials and cash crops whose prices have stagnated, while imports (machinery, oil) have appreciated. - Surplus production in Soviet capital-goods industries — driven by planning inconsistencies, technological obsolescence, and frequent policy shifts — has led the USSR to dump unwanted machinery and obsolete textile equipment on India. - Soviet aided projects such as BHEL, HEC, MAMC, IDPL and Instrumentation India Ltd 'languished for long periods' before being made viable through Western technology infusion. - Jayashekar proposes converting Rupee surpluses into convertible currencies, diversifying exports so 70 per cent become manufactured goods within five years, charging 2.5 per cent interest on any continuing surplus, and adopting Soviet-US Grain-Agreement-style commodity ceilings. - He frames the present moment — falling oil prices, widening Soviet deficit with India, India's industrial maturation — as the opportune time to switch to convertible-currency trade with the Soviet Union. --- ## [Primary work] A Socialist Society Cannot Be Democratic URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-socialist-society-cannot-be-democratic-t-mathew-june-8-1960/ ### Summary T. Mathew's prize-winning essay — awarded the second prize in a Forum of Free Enterprise public competition on "Democracy in India" — argues that the socialist programme being pursued by the Congress Party is logically and historically incompatible with the democratic ideals enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Mathew, a lecturer in economics, first reconstructs democracy from first principles: it is not majoritarian quantity but a society of "living selves" whose moral and material progress depends on liberty, equality, justice, education, and the rule of law. Each of these is then turned into a yardstick against which planned socialism is measured and found wanting. A long central section anchors liberty in the right to private property. Citing Hilaire Belloc, Max Eastman, and Marx's own logic, Mathew argues that diffused control of the means of production is the precondition of every other freedom, and that the Fourth Amendment of 1955 — which removed judicial review of compensation in property acquisition — has made the constitutional guarantee illusory and put "the mansion of democracy" in a precarious condition.… ### Body ## Summary T. Mathew's prize-winning essay — awarded the second prize in a Forum of Free Enterprise public competition on "Democracy in India" — argues that the socialist programme being pursued by the Congress Party is logically and historically incompatible with the democratic ideals enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Mathew, a lecturer in economics, first reconstructs democracy from first principles: it is not majoritarian quantity but a society of "living selves" whose moral and material progress depends on liberty, equality, justice, education, and the rule of law. Each of these is then turned into a yardstick against which planned socialism is measured and found wanting. A long central section anchors liberty in the right to private property. Citing Hilaire Belloc, Max Eastman, and Marx's own logic, Mathew argues that diffused control of the means of production is the precondition of every other freedom, and that the Fourth Amendment of 1955 — which removed judicial review of compensation in property acquisition — has made the constitutional guarantee illusory and put "the mansion of democracy" in a precarious condition. Equality, in turn, is reframed as a spiritual claim about the unique personality of every individual, against which India's caste system and a centralising state apparatus are equally corrosive. Education must therefore be free of state regimentation, and political parties must be programmatic and national rather than communal, linguistic, or sectional — the Hindu Mahasabha, Jan Sangh, DMK and Muslim League are named as failing this test. Mathew then turns to party competition itself, claiming Indian democracy lacks a real opposition because Congress, having absorbed first the Praja Socialist and then the Communist programme at its Nagpur session, has reduced parliamentary debate to "a huge joke" — a state of affairs the newly formed Swatantra Party is welcomed as the corrective for. The argument culminates in the rule-of-law section, where, drawing on Dicey, Hayek and Tocqueville, Mathew contends that planning's necessary discretion is constitutive of arbitrary government, that "discretionary authority of the government" is contradictory to the rule of law, and that a planned socialist economy cannot coexist with the certainty under known rules that allows individuals to pursue their lives in freedom. The essay closes by quoting Tocqueville's line that democracy seeks equality in liberty while socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude, endorsing W. M. Chamberlin's view that democratic socialism belongs "to the world of utopias," and appealing to India's "centuries-old tradition of 'Dharma'" not to be "disowned" in the "fashionable craze after material mirages." The booklet is rounded out by A. D. Shroff's signature dictum on free enterprise and Eugene Black's epigraph that private enterprise must be accepted "not as a necessary evil, but as an affirmative good." ## Key points - Democracy is defined morally rather than numerically: it is a society of "living selves" requiring liberty, equality, justice, education and the rule of law as its operating conditions. - Private property is treated as the foundational right that secures all other liberties; the 1955 Fourth Amendment is criticised for hollowing out the constitutional guarantee by removing judicial review of compensation. - Equality is reframed as a spiritual recognition of the unique personality of each individual, against which both India's caste system and centralised state planning are corrosive. - Free, non-"nationalised" education is presented as essential to democratic citizenship and to national unity, with criticism of linguistic-state regimentation and politicised education ministries. - Communal and regional outfits — Hindu Mahasabha, Jan Sangh, DMK, Muslim League — are disqualified as democratic parties because they appeal to sectional rather than national constituencies. - Congress is faulted for absorbing the Praja Socialist and (at Nagpur) the Communist programmes, eliminating real opposition until the formation of the Swatantra Party. - Drawing on Dicey, Hayek and Tocqueville, the essay argues that the discretionary authority required by central planning is structurally incompatible with the rule of law. - The closing appeal invokes the Indian tradition of "Dharma" against the "material mirages" promised by socialism "or any other 'ism'." --- ## [Primary work] A Solution to the Housing Problem in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-solution-to-the-housing-problem-in-india-h-t-parekh-14-august-1976/ ### Summary Writing in 1975-76 as Chairman of ICICI, H. T. Parekh opens with a blunt indictment: after twenty-five years and five Five-Year Plans, India has made no significant dent in its housing shortage — roughly four million units in the cities and twelve million more in the villages. Indian planning, he argues, has consistently treated housing as a low-priority sector, allocating only Rs 4,200 crores (under 8 per cent) of the Fifth Plan and just Rs 600 crores from the public sector. Most of whatever has been built has come from private initiative, supplemented by State Housing Boards, LIC and the newly-established HUDCO. Parekh's central rebuttal to the "low priority" argument is economic: housing construction is labour-intensive, with a capital-employment ratio of about Rs 5,000 per worker — five to ten times better than industry or transport — and an investment multiplier in which one Rupee of construction outlay yields Rs 10 of income, largely in wages.… ### Body ## Summary Writing in 1975-76 as Chairman of ICICI, H. T. Parekh opens with a blunt indictment: after twenty-five years and five Five-Year Plans, India has made no significant dent in its housing shortage — roughly four million units in the cities and twelve million more in the villages. Indian planning, he argues, has consistently treated housing as a low-priority sector, allocating only Rs 4,200 crores (under 8 per cent) of the Fifth Plan and just Rs 600 crores from the public sector. Most of whatever has been built has come from private initiative, supplemented by State Housing Boards, LIC and the newly-established HUDCO. Parekh's central rebuttal to the "low priority" argument is economic: housing construction is labour-intensive, with a capital-employment ratio of about Rs 5,000 per worker — five to ten times better than industry or transport — and an investment multiplier in which one Rupee of construction outlay yields Rs 10 of income, largely in wages. He cites the United States (two million dwellings a year), the United Kingdom, and Singapore (forty per cent of its population rehoused by government in fifteen years) to argue that house-building doubles as employment policy and welfare policy. He then audits the existing institutional sources of housing finance — HUDCO's Rs 127 crores of sanctions and 93,000 dwellings, LIC's Rs 582 crores of cumulative housing contribution, the Delhi Development Authority, Bombay's stock of 30,000 buildings (20,000 of them over fifty years old) — and concludes that these efforts are "only marginally helping" against demand of this magnitude. The booklet's constructive core is a proposal for a new, privately-organised specialised housing finance institution — "The Housing Finance and Development Corporation of India Limited (HFDCI)" — modelled on building societies in Britain and savings-and-loan associations in the United States. It would lend to individuals, cooperative societies and groups in urban and rural areas; finance estate development, shopping centres and major repairs; lend to contractors and builders; and concentrate on low- and middle-income housing. Crucially it would operate on a viable basis at moderate interest rates, take no direct capital, grant or subsidy from government, and instead mobilise household savings while initiating a separate interest-subsidy fund for the poorest borrowers. This is, in effect, the public blueprint for what would become HDFC. The text is followed by three appendices reproducing official sources — the Working Group on Housing for the Fourth Plan (1968), the Middle Class Family Living Survey (1958-9), and the Draft Fifth Five-Year Plan's housing chapter — which together document the scale of the shortage and the modesty of official ambition. ## Key points - Twenty-five years of five-year planning have failed to make material progress on housing; urban shortage is around four million units and rural shortage about twelve million. - Of the Rs 53,000-crore Fifth Plan, only Rs 4,200 crores (under 8 per cent) is earmarked for housing, and only Rs 600 crores of that from the public sector — most expected investment (Rs 3,600 crores) is private. - The standard defence of low housing priority — that scarce resources must go to higher-priority sectors — collapses once housing is reframed as employment generation: construction is labour-intensive, with a capital-employment ratio of Rs 5,000 per worker. - Per the Planning Commission, in the Fifth Plan construction generates Rs 10 of income per Rupee invested (against Rs 3.50 economy-wide), mainly as wages. - HUDCO, LIC, State Housing Boards and the Delhi Development Authority are doing useful work — HUDCO has sanctioned Rs 127 crores for 93,000 dwellings, LIC has contributed Rs 582 crores cumulatively — but their scale is marginal against demand and HUDCO does not lend directly to individuals. - In Bombay, 20,000 of the existing 30,000 buildings are over fifty years old; private builders show enterprise but concentrate on the better-off, while buyers themselves furnish most house finance through instalment payments. - Parekh proposes a new privately-organised "Housing Finance and Development Corporation of India Limited (HFDCI)" modelled on UK building societies and US savings-and-loan associations to mobilise individual savings for low- and middle-income housing in urban and rural areas. - The proposed corporation will take no government capital, grant or subsidy, will lend at moderate rates on a viable basis, and will separately create a fund to subsidise interest for low-income housing. --- ## [Primary work] A Strategy for Exports URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-strategy-for-exports-16-july-1975/ ### Summary In this 1975 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet, Dr. R. L. Varshney — then Jt. Director of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade — assesses the dramatic jump in India's exports during the closing years of the Fourth Plan and argues that the boom is largely a windfall rather than a tribute to Indian policy. He attributes the 22.6 per cent rise in 1972-73 and the 26 per cent rise in 1973-74 to four fortuitous factors: trade with Bangla Desh, the de facto devaluation of the rupee through its sterling link, the international price boom in primary products, and the energy crisis's revival of natural fibres and leather. Once those tailwinds are stripped out, India's structural position remains weak: its share of world trade has fallen continuously from 2.2 per cent in 1950 to 0.577 per cent in 1973, and exports as a share of GNP have collapsed from 6.3 per cent in 1950-51 to about 4.2 per cent in 1970-71. The heart of the pamphlet is a strategy menu for converting the cyclical bounce into a sustained export drive.… ### Body ## Summary In this 1975 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet, Dr. R. L. Varshney — then Jt. Director of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade — assesses the dramatic jump in India's exports during the closing years of the Fourth Plan and argues that the boom is largely a windfall rather than a tribute to Indian policy. He attributes the 22.6 per cent rise in 1972-73 and the 26 per cent rise in 1973-74 to four fortuitous factors: trade with Bangla Desh, the de facto devaluation of the rupee through its sterling link, the international price boom in primary products, and the energy crisis's revival of natural fibres and leather. Once those tailwinds are stripped out, India's structural position remains weak: its share of world trade has fallen continuously from 2.2 per cent in 1950 to 0.577 per cent in 1973, and exports as a share of GNP have collapsed from 6.3 per cent in 1950-51 to about 4.2 per cent in 1970-71. The heart of the pamphlet is a strategy menu for converting the cyclical bounce into a sustained export drive. Varshney calls for identifying sectors of true comparative advantage (steel, aluminium, engineering goods, components and spare parts), increasing production rather than relying on "distress sales" forced out of a constrained domestic market, taming inflation through fiscal-monetary reform, and lowering costs through modernisation, full capacity utilisation, and linking wage growth to productivity. He challenges the regulatory architecture directly: he wants the export sector exempted from the MRTP "freeze" on large industrial houses, urges decanalisation and free competition between the STC and private exporters, and asks why India cannot welcome foreign capital and joint ventures of the kind the USSR has invited from West Germany, the U.S. and Japan. Throughout, Varshney positions weak performance as a policy choice rather than fate. He criticises diffuse incentive bureaucracies, opaque drawback schemes, an export-obligation regime pegged at a punitive 60 per cent of new capacity, and the absence of any parliamentary follow-through on the 1970 Export Policy Resolution. Drawing repeatedly on the Japanese and West German examples, he insists that price stability, scale economies, professional market intelligence, and an industry-government "rapport" — not exhortation, compulsion, or state monopoly — are what turn export markets into durable foreign-exchange earners. ## Key points - India's 22.6% (1972-73) and 26% (1973-74) export surges produced a 12.8% Fourth Plan compound growth rate against a 7% target, but Varshney argues 85% of the rise was unit-value (price) gains, not real volume. - India's share of world exports fell continuously from 2.2% in 1950 to 0.577% in 1973; exports/GNP collapsed from 6.3% in 1950-51 to 4.2% in 1970-71. - He attributes the recent boom to four fortuitous causes — Bangla Desh trade, the rupee-sterling devaluation, the 1972-73 primary-commodity price boom, and oil-crisis substitution toward natural fibres and leather — none of which is durable. - Capacity constraints (raw materials, power cuts, transport, labour, credit) and a profitable sheltered domestic market starve exports; banning or compelling exports has produced "distress sales" without expanding supply. - Strategy proposals: identify true comparative-advantage sectors (steel, aluminium, engineering goods, components), use foreign capital where needed, control inflation, and modernise plant to international scale. - Regulatory reform: exempt export-oriented industrial units from the MRTP freeze, allow private exporters to compete with the STC, decanalise inputs, and re-examine the 60% minimum export-obligation on new capacities. - Institutional reform: cut the diffuse exporter-assistance bureaucracy down to one or two agencies, introduce selectivity in licensing export houses, and set up an Export-Import Bank to finance turnkey and consultancy exports to Asian and African co-developing countries. - He repeatedly invokes the Japanese and West German models — price stability, scale, "filling the order", and industry-government rapport — as the operative template, and notes that the 1970 Export Policy Resolution has gone largely unimplemented. --- ## [Primary work] A Study of a State Monopoly Enterprise in Operation URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-study-of-a-state-monopoly-enterprise-in-operation-by-m-r-pai-june-9-1963/ ### Summary M. R. Pai's two-page Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet, dated 9 June 1963, is a tightly argued critique of the Life Insurance Corporation as a working example of a state monopoly. Pai opens by recalling the Forum's 1956 manifesto, which warned that monopoly of any kind — public or private — would upset the delicate mechanism of a free and democratic social order, leaving consumers, workers, investors and entrepreneurs all stripped of meaningful choice. He frames the LIC's recent annual statement as a case study that vindicates that warning. The core of the piece is a forensic reading of the LIC chairman's own figures. The Corporation's switch from a calendar year to a financial year of accounting from 1963 stretched the comparison period to fifteen months (January 1962 to March 1963), producing a headline new-business figure of Rs. 745 crores that the chairman called 'a tinge of complacency'. Pai shows that when the figure is restored to a twelve-month basis (Rs. 596 crores) it actually falls Rs. 12.82 crores, or 2.2 per cent, below the Rs. 608.82 crore calendar-year figure for 1961 — the first decline since LIC's inception six years earlier.… ### Body ## Summary M. R. Pai's two-page Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet, dated 9 June 1963, is a tightly argued critique of the Life Insurance Corporation as a working example of a state monopoly. Pai opens by recalling the Forum's 1956 manifesto, which warned that monopoly of any kind — public or private — would upset the delicate mechanism of a free and democratic social order, leaving consumers, workers, investors and entrepreneurs all stripped of meaningful choice. He frames the LIC's recent annual statement as a case study that vindicates that warning. The core of the piece is a forensic reading of the LIC chairman's own figures. The Corporation's switch from a calendar year to a financial year of accounting from 1963 stretched the comparison period to fifteen months (January 1962 to March 1963), producing a headline new-business figure of Rs. 745 crores that the chairman called 'a tinge of complacency'. Pai shows that when the figure is restored to a twelve-month basis (Rs. 596 crores) it actually falls Rs. 12.82 crores, or 2.2 per cent, below the Rs. 608.82 crore calendar-year figure for 1961 — the first decline since LIC's inception six years earlier. He further notes that monthly averages and per-policy averages tell the same story, and that two extra post-harvest seasons inflate the rural component of the fifteen-month window. Pai stacks two further pieces of evidence against the official optimism: a lapse ratio that has climbed continuously from 6.4 in 1958 to 7.0 in 1961 and 5.1 in 1958 — pointing to deteriorating policyholder retention, weak monetary capacity of the insured, or aggressive selling to unsuited clients — and an insurance coverage that, with only 8.36 lakh policies in force on 31 December 1961, reaches less than one per cent of the country's population. He closes by anticipating, and dismissing, the likely defence that the 1962 national emergency depressed business, observing that the downward trend was already visible by mid-1962 and that countries such as the United States showed new-business growth despite war footing. ## Key points - Frames the LIC's 1962-63 results as a real-world test of the Forum of Free Enterprise's 1956 warning against monopoly of any kind, public or private. - Argues that the Corporation's shift from a calendar to a financial accounting year stretched its reporting period to fifteen months and disguised a year-on-year decline. - Recasts the Rs. 745 crore new-business figure on a proportionate twelve-month basis at Rs. 596 crores — Rs. 12.82 crores, or 2.2 per cent, below 1961's Rs. 608.82 crores. - Highlights that the fifteen-month window includes two post-harvest seasons rather than one, inflating the rural-policy component of the comparison. - Points to a continuously rising lapse ratio (6.4 in 1958, 7.0 in 1961) as evidence of deteriorating retention, weak premium-paying capacity, or mis-selling. - Notes that only 8.36 lakh policies were in force on 31 December 1961 — less than one per cent of the population — undermining LIC's claim of broad reach. - Pre-empts the official defence that the 1962 national emergency caused the fall, observing that the downward trend predates the emergency and that wartime America showed growth in new insurance business. - Presents a tabular reconstruction of LIC new business from 1957 to 1962-63, normalised to twelve months, to make the comparison transparent for readers. --- ## [Primary work] A Survey of Socialism Today URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-survey-of-socialism-today-a-d-shroff-murarji-vaidya-professor-c-l-gheevala-september-8-1961/ ### Summary A short pamphlet issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise (Bombay, 1961) collecting three contributions on the meaning and consequences of pursuing a 'socialist pattern of society' in India. The unsigned introduction frames the booklet's central premise — that 'a democratic society and a socialist society cannot be the same; in fact, they are mutually contradictory concepts' — and previews three essays: A. D. Shroff contrasts socialist comprehensive planning with planning for free enterprise, Murarji J. Vaidya reviews state enterprises in Indian democracy, and Prof. C. L. Gheevala subjects the concept of socialism to a searching analysis with comparative reference to socialist experience elsewhere. Two appendices — selected quotations on socialism and a reading list — close the volume. The rendered pages cover the cover, an epigraph from Eugene Black of the World Bank, the title page, the two-page introduction, Shroff's essay in full, and the opening seven printed pages of Vaidya's essay. Gheevala's essay and the appendices are not in this chunk.… ### Body ## Summary A short pamphlet issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise (Bombay, 1961) collecting three contributions on the meaning and consequences of pursuing a 'socialist pattern of society' in India. The unsigned introduction frames the booklet's central premise — that 'a democratic society and a socialist society cannot be the same; in fact, they are mutually contradictory concepts' — and previews three essays: A. D. Shroff contrasts socialist comprehensive planning with planning for free enterprise, Murarji J. Vaidya reviews state enterprises in Indian democracy, and Prof. C. L. Gheevala subjects the concept of socialism to a searching analysis with comparative reference to socialist experience elsewhere. Two appendices — selected quotations on socialism and a reading list — close the volume. The rendered pages cover the cover, an epigraph from Eugene Black of the World Bank, the title page, the two-page introduction, Shroff's essay in full, and the opening seven printed pages of Vaidya's essay. Gheevala's essay and the appendices are not in this chunk. The booklet reads as an argumentative intervention: it accepts the case for planning in an underdeveloped economy but insists planning need not be monolithic, totalitarian, or hostile to private enterprise; instead the State should act as a 'catalyst' that builds infrastructure, fosters competition, and respects private property, while State Undertakings should be justified case by case on grounds of efficiency, accountability and consumer welfare rather than ideological compulsion. ## Essays ### Socialist Planning vs. Planning for Free Enterprise & Prosperity *By A. D. Shroff* Shroff opens by puncturing what he calls the cultivated myth that private enterprise in India is opposed to planning, reminding readers that the Bombay Plan of 1944 — the first major attempt to mobilise Indian opinion around planning to raise mass living standards — was authored by industrialists, himself among them. The real argument, he says, is not whether to plan but how: the First Five-Year Plan worked as a loose conglomeration of projects under which the 'much maligned private sector' over-fulfilled its investment targets while the public sector fell roughly 40% short; the Second Plan, by contrast, imported totalitarian techniques from the Soviet Union — all-comprehensive central direction, physical targets searched for resources after the fact, a heavy-industry bias that starves agriculture and consumer goods, and a monolithic administrative apparatus backed (in its parent form) by secret police. None of these conditions, Shroff argues, can be reproduced inside a democratic, pluralistic India without dismantling democratic values themselves. The essay's positive programme outlines 'planning for free enterprise': start from human nature as it is, not as it ought to be; firmly establish private property; recognise the pluralism of Indian society and the limits of any central authority's knowledge; let the State set reasonable targets, build infrastructure (roads, railways, ports, schools, telecoms, an apolitical administration), foster competition rather than monopoly, and refrain from nationalising existing industries or starting insulated state monopolies. Where the State must enter industry, it should compete on fair terms with the private sector. The goal — production of adequate consumer goods, rising incomes, all-round prosperity — depends on millions of individual decisions rather than 'godlike book-keeping of human destiny' by a few planners. - Private enterprise is not anti-planning; the Bombay Plan (1944) was conceived by industrialists, and the First Five-Year Plan saw the private sector over-fulfil its investment targets while the public sector fell ~40% short. - The Second Five-Year Plan imported Soviet-style totalitarian planning techniques (all-comprehensive scope, physical targets without resources, heavy-industry bias, monolithic administration) which are structurally incompatible with Indian democracy and pluralism. - Comprehensive central planning fails in India for two further reasons: inadequate statistical data magnifies any error nationally, and a pluralistic society cannot be subjected to monolithic solutions. - Realistic planning must begin from human nature 'as it is and not as it ought to be,' firmly establish the right to private property, and treat the State as a catalyst rather than a substitute for individual and joint-stock enterprise. - The State's positive role is to build infrastructure, ensure an apolitical administrative machinery, foster competition, and avoid creating insulated monopolies — production of consumer goods, not ideology, gives meaning to 'standard of living.' ### State Enterprises in a Democracy *By Murarji J. Vaidya* Vaidya opens with a semantic complaint: 'people's democracies' are not democracies and the Indian 'public sector' is not public — its undertakings are merely owned in theory by the people, the way a reflection in a river is part of the river. He surveys the eight varieties of State Undertaking catalogued by a Congress Parliamentary Party sub-committee (State Banks, statutory corporations, departmental undertakings, commodity and control boards, commissions, port trusts and local authorities, limited companies) and notes that state ownership of mints, postal services and mines is ancient, not a socialist invention — what is new in India is the ideological compulsion behind the expansion of the politico-bureaucratic sector. As an illustration, the diversion of ordnance factories to truck production while private automobile capacity sits idle has produced an arms shortage at the very moment Chinese 'Communist imperialism' threatens the frontier. From this Vaidya derives six criteria by which any State Undertaking must be justified: that the move is productive rather than ideological; that it is not a monopoly holding the consumer hostage; that it is run efficiently and economically; that workers are fairly treated without imposing disproportionate burdens on the community; that it can be freed of political interference and patronage; and that it remains controllable by Parliament and ultimately the people. Applied honestly, he argues, the criteria mostly disqualify the existing expansion. The rendered pages reach the third criterion — efficiency — where Vaidya cites the Congress sub-committee's own admission that Hindustan Aircraft Ltd. and Bharat Electronics Ltd. cannot even be compared with private firms because they operate under defence secrecy, and a 1959 CPSU decree confessing consumer-goods shortages in the Soviet Union, before the chunk ends mid-argument on political freedom for state employees. - 'Public sector' is a misleading label: State Undertakings are public only in the notional sense that their ownership theoretically vests in the people. - State ownership of certain functions (mints, postal services, mines) is ancient and uncontroversial; what is novel is the *ideological* compulsion driving the present expansion in India. - The diversion of ordnance factories to truck production while idle private capacity exists has caused an arms shortage at a moment of Chinese threat — an illustration of ideological allocation harming national interest. - Vaidya proposes six tests for justifying any State Undertaking: productive (not ideological) motive, absence of monopoly power, efficient operation, fair treatment of workers without burdening the community, freedom from political patronage, and accountability to Parliament. - Even much-praised state undertakings like Hindustan Machine Tools show the gap between professed worker-ownership and actual labour-management schism; the Pay Commission has endorsed denying state employees the political freedoms guaranteed to other citizens. --- ## [Primary work] A Survey of State Enterprises in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-survey-of-state-enterprises-a-d-shroff-may8-1962/ ### Summary A Survey of State Enterprises in India is a 1962 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet that reprints a sequence of Economic Times articles and editorials from 8 and 16 February 1962, framed by an introduction signed by A. D. Shroff, the Forum's President. The booklet collates a comparative study of sixteen large Central Government companies — covering roughly 91 per cent of actively functioning Central Government undertakings by paid-up capital — alongside private-sector benchmarks drawn from a Reserve Bank of India sample of 1,001 industrial companies and the Economic Times' own panel of 51 industrial giants. Shroff's introduction frames the booklet as a corrective to information opacity: even Parliament's Estimates Committee, he notes, has had to flag the difficulty of obtaining authentic data on state enterprises.… ### Body ## Summary A Survey of State Enterprises in India is a 1962 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet that reprints a sequence of Economic Times articles and editorials from 8 and 16 February 1962, framed by an introduction signed by A. D. Shroff, the Forum's President. The booklet collates a comparative study of sixteen large Central Government companies — covering roughly 91 per cent of actively functioning Central Government undertakings by paid-up capital — alongside private-sector benchmarks drawn from a Reserve Bank of India sample of 1,001 industrial companies and the Economic Times' own panel of 51 industrial giants. Shroff's introduction frames the booklet as a corrective to information opacity: even Parliament's Estimates Committee, he notes, has had to flag the difficulty of obtaining authentic data on state enterprises. The argumentative spine of the survey is that the public sector underperforms the private sector across every standard profitability measure — profits before tax as a percentage of total capital employed, gross profits to net worth plus borrowings, and profits after tax to net worth alike — and that the position is aggravated by the very low interest charge (around 2½ per cent) on government loans to these enterprises, which at normal market rates would have wiped out reported profits. The booklet further argues that, contrary to claims of pro-consumer pricing, public-sector units realised a 15.3 per cent profit margin on sales in 1959-60 and 24.9 per cent in 1960-61 against an average of 10 per cent charged by the private sector — so the consumer, too, has 'had a raw deal'. A second cluster of pieces attacks the accounting practices of state enterprises directly: publication delays beyond the limits set by Section 210 of the Companies Act; aggregation of salaries, fuel and power into uninformative 'overhead' lines; physically uncounted or wrongly valued stocks at Hindustan Shipyard, Praga Tools, Hindustan Steel, the National Coal Development Corporation and Fertiliser Corporation of India that have left profits overstated by lakhs and crores; and a Reserve Bank Bulletin study judged to have 'struck a vacuum instead of gold' by skipping the profit analysis altogether. An Appendix of six tables, supported by illustrative bar-charts of relative size, balance-sheet structure and profit ratios, supplies the underlying data on which the polemic rests. The booklet brackets its data with two ideological frames: a quoted line from Eugene Black, then President of the World Bank, insisting that private enterprise be accepted 'as an affirmative good' rather than 'a necessary evil', and a closing aphorism by Shroff himself — 'Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives.' ## Key points - The booklet reprints two Economic Times articles (8 February 1962) and an editorial (16 February 1962) under the Forum of Free Enterprise imprint, framed by an introduction by A. D. Shroff. - The survey covers 16 large Central Government companies — about 91 per cent of actively functioning Central Government undertakings by paid-up capital — benchmarked against a Reserve Bank sample of 1,001 firms and the Economic Times' panel of 51 industrial giants. - Across every standard ratio — profits before tax to capital employed, gross profits to net worth plus borrowings, profits after tax to net worth — the public sector trails the private sector substantially. - The relative advantage public-sector units show in post-tax figures is attributed to large tax concessions arising from the youth of the companies, not from operational efficiency. - Public-sector units charged a higher profit margin on sales (15.3 per cent in 1959-60, 24.9 per cent in 1960-61) than the private sector's ~10 per cent average, refuting claims of consumer-friendly pricing. - Interest on government borrowings worked out at only about 2½ per cent — well below market rates — and at commercial rates would have wiped out reported public-sector profits. - Published accounts of state enterprises are shown to breach Companies Act Section 210 timelines, conceal salaries and fuel within 'overhead', and carry unverifiable inventory and unrecognised losses across multiple corporations (Hindustan Shipyard, Praga Tools, Hindustan Steel, National Coal Development Corporation). - A Reserve Bank of India Bulletin study of these enterprises is dismissed for skipping the profit analysis altogether — 'struck a vacuum instead of gold'. --- ## [Primary work] A Total War on Indian Poverty URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-total-war-on-indian-poverty-eric-p-w-da-costa-january-1973/ ### Summary "A Total War on Indian Poverty" is the text of the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture delivered by Eric P. W. da Costa at the Delhi Centre of the Forum of Free Enterprise and issued as a Forum booklet dated 15 January 1973. Da Costa, then Managing Director of the Indian Institute of Public Opinion, opens by restating what he calls Shroff's two-strand economic philosophy: that the central role of development belongs to individual entrepreneurs who conceive and shape productive enterprises, and that such entrepreneurship is best secured in societies not overwhelmed by State regulations and the armoury of political power. He measures India's record against that philosophy and finds it wanting — the 1961 Census revealed that employment projections had been built on a 1.25 per cent population growth that was in fact twice as fast; the Second and Third Plans squandered scarce capital; foreign debt approached Rs.… ### Body ## Summary "A Total War on Indian Poverty" is the text of the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture delivered by Eric P. W. da Costa at the Delhi Centre of the Forum of Free Enterprise and issued as a Forum booklet dated 15 January 1973. Da Costa, then Managing Director of the Indian Institute of Public Opinion, opens by restating what he calls Shroff's two-strand economic philosophy: that the central role of development belongs to individual entrepreneurs who conceive and shape productive enterprises, and that such entrepreneurship is best secured in societies not overwhelmed by State regulations and the armoury of political power. He measures India's record against that philosophy and finds it wanting — the 1961 Census revealed that employment projections had been built on a 1.25 per cent population growth that was in fact twice as fast; the Second and Third Plans squandered scarce capital; foreign debt approached Rs. 8,000 crore; prices had doubled since 1961; and the country was now planning a Fifth Plan around a growth rate of perhaps 6 per cent while Brazil, Iran, South Korea and Taiwan had moved into the 10–15 per cent range. The positive programme da Costa proposes is a "total war" on poverty along Gandhian lines but with classical-liberal instruments. He calls for halving the Capital:Output ratio toward the 2:1 figure of the First Plan, sustaining a 7 per cent annual growth rate, generating six million jobs a year (63 million over the coming decade), and channelling rural works of roughly Rs. 1,250 crore per year into agriculture, small irrigation, medium and small industry, and the labour-intensive "mistri" economy. Punjab is held up as a working prototype of integrated agricultural and industrial revolution, contrasted with the "great losing giants like Hindustan Steel" and the inflationary record of large multi-purpose projects. Government must mobilise resources and raise revenues from about 20 to 25 per cent of GNP by 1982, but the people must equally be able to discipline the Government — freedom of expression and constitutional rights, even as though in an emergency, must operate without restraint. Da Costa frames the lecture as a moral as well as economic argument. Quoting Diocletian's failed price edict of 301 A.D. and warning against Fair Price Shops without supplies, he insists that the basic laws of supply and demand are no respecters of persons. He concedes he cannot prescribe a single ideological answer — "We know that it is not Socialism, nor Free Enterprise, nor Resources nor Plans, which have down the years, been the catalytic agents of any nation's will" — but reduces the social content of justice in India to food, clothing, shelter and jobs, declaring that "Social Justice means jobs." The closing paragraphs invoke 1922 and the 1971 Bangladesh war as proof that India retains the capacity for superhuman tasks, and call on intellectuals and the private sector alike to abandon hobby-horses and join a single-point national programme against endemic poverty. ## Key points - Restates A. D. Shroff's twin theses: development is driven by individual entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurship requires societies not overwhelmed by State regulation and political power. - Uses the 1961 Census revision of working-population growth (from 1.25% to roughly twice that rate) to indict the Second through Fourth Plans for relegating employment to a 'lowly place'. - Charges economists and planners with wildly inefficient use of scarce capital — foreign debt near Rs. 8,000 crore, prices doubled since 1961, growth stuck near 4% while South Korea, Taiwan, Brazil and Iran posted 10–15%. - Prescribes a Capital:Output ratio of 2:1, a 7% growth rate, 14% domestic savings, and 6 per cent foodgrain growth as the non-inflationary path. - Calls for rural works of around Rs. 1,250 crore per year and 63 million additional jobs over the coming decade — about 6 million jobs annually. - Holds up Punjab as a working prototype of simultaneous agricultural (8%) and industrial (10%) revolution, and rejects high-capital labour-short technologies outside steel, cement, paper and petrochemicals. - Argues that Government must raise revenues from ~20% to 25% of GNP by 1982 but that people must equally discipline Government — constitutional rights and free expression must operate without restraint even in emergency. - Reframes 'Social Justice' as concretely food, clothing, shelter and jobs, refusing both pure socialist and pure free-enterprise answers and invoking a Gandhian register of mass mobilisation. --- ## [Primary work] A Viable Agriculture Policy for Sustained Growth URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-vaiable-agriculture-policy-s-starapore-september-3-2012/ ### Summary S. S. Tarapore — economist and former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India — uses this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet (a reprint of his April–June 2012 Inclusion article, framed by an introduction from editor Sunil S. Bhandare) to argue that Indian agriculture has been hollowed out by a development model that lets the share of agriculture in GDP fall to 14.4 per cent while seventy per cent of the population still lives in rural areas. Writing against the looming 2012-13 drought, he warns that if this 'sectoral distribution of income' is not corrected, the resulting rural-to-urban migration will not be absorbed by Indian cities and will produce a 'severe social explosion'. Tarapore lays out a five-point reform agenda for a 'viable' agricultural policy: India must become a major and predictable commodity producer and exporter; overhaul its procurement-pricing system; expand the production of pulses and oilseeds; selectively corporatise farming on uncultivated government land; and promote allied activities such as livestock, fisheries, horticulture and floriculture.… ### Body ## Summary S. S. Tarapore — economist and former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India — uses this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet (a reprint of his April–June 2012 Inclusion article, framed by an introduction from editor Sunil S. Bhandare) to argue that Indian agriculture has been hollowed out by a development model that lets the share of agriculture in GDP fall to 14.4 per cent while seventy per cent of the population still lives in rural areas. Writing against the looming 2012-13 drought, he warns that if this 'sectoral distribution of income' is not corrected, the resulting rural-to-urban migration will not be absorbed by Indian cities and will produce a 'severe social explosion'. Tarapore lays out a five-point reform agenda for a 'viable' agricultural policy: India must become a major and predictable commodity producer and exporter; overhaul its procurement-pricing system; expand the production of pulses and oilseeds; selectively corporatise farming on uncultivated government land; and promote allied activities such as livestock, fisheries, horticulture and floriculture. Central to all of this is the demand that the 'export control raj' — periodic bans on rice, sugar, onions and cotton — 'must be totally abandoned' so that domestic producers receive world prices and farm incomes rise. The second half of the essay is a critique of the foodgrain procurement-and-storage regime. Drawing on a seminal Economic Times piece by CACP Chairman Ashok Gulati, Tarapore notes that public-sector foodgrain stocks would exceed 75 million tonnes against storage capacity of only 50 million tonnes, generating a 'colossal damage' the authorities cannot publicly acknowledge. He recommends exporting stocks even at 20–25 per cent below MSP, ending state bonus-leapfrogging above the MSP, and using free PDS distribution to clear excess inventories rather than feed rats. Recalling Indira Gandhi's 1980s admission about scuttled oil-palm corporatisation — 'We did some funny things, didn't we?' — he urges leasing uncultivated government land to corporates for pulses and oilseed production. The booklet ends with a Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council data table on farm crop output for 2004-05 to 2011-12, a tribute to Shailesh Kapadia (whose memorial trust sponsored the booklet), and a one-page note on the Forum of Free Enterprise. ## Key points - Frames the 2012-13 drought as a precipitating crisis that exposes deeper, structural fault-lines in Indian agriculture rather than a one-off shock. - Identifies the central macroeconomic problem as the gap between agriculture's 14.4 per cent share of GDP and its 70 per cent share of population, which guarantees forced rural-to-urban migration unless reversed. - Calls for India to become a major commodity producer and exporter by abolishing the 'export control raj' of periodic bans on rice, sugar, onions and cotton. - Proposes overhauling the procurement-pricing regime, restricting state bonuses above the MSP, and exporting surplus foodgrain stocks even at 20–25 per cent below MSP rather than letting them rot in open storage. - Cites Ashok Gulati on the 'foodgrain mountain' — stocks projected to exceed 75 million tonnes against only 50 million tonnes of covered storage — as evidence of a political-economic-social imbroglio. - Recommends selective corporatisation of agriculture by leasing uncultivated government land to corporates for pulses and oilseed production, invoking Indira Gandhi's regret over a scuttled 1970s oil-palm proposal. - Argues that without an aggressive policy to lift agriculture's growth rate to four per cent per annum, 'abject poverty will never be alleviated' even if overall GDP grows at ten per cent. - Frames the booklet within the Forum of Free Enterprise's broader project, opening with A. D. Shroff's 'Free Enterprise was born with man' epigraph and closing with Eugene Black's defence of private enterprise as 'an affirmative good'. --- ## [Primary work] आंदोलन URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/aandolan-anant-umrikar/ ### Summary आंदोलन (Andolan, 'Agitation/Movement') is a Marathi-language book of four long reportage essays by Anant Umrikar, a journalist and associate of Shetkari Sanghatana leader Sharad Joshi, first published on 9 August 1992 and revised for a third edition in 2008. The book is dedicated to Sharad Joshi. In the rendered pages (covering the preface, TOC, and the opening of the first two essays), Umrikar writes in a first-person eyewitness style, immersing readers in the lived texture of the farmers' agitation movement in Maharashtra in the early 1990s. The first essay, 'पाउले चालती परभणीची वाट' ('Footsteps on the Parbhani Road'), documents a large Shetkari Sanghatana conference held in Parbhani. In the rendered pages, Umrikar describes arriving at the weekly market, meeting a local activist named Prasad, and then witnessing the extraordinary mobilisation of tens of thousands of farmers from across Maharashtra. Sharad Joshi himself arrives and addresses the crowd; folk songs (powadas) in praise of the movement and its leader are reproduced in the Marathi text.… ### Body ## Summary आंदोलन (Andolan, 'Agitation/Movement') is a Marathi-language book of four long reportage essays by Anant Umrikar, a journalist and associate of Shetkari Sanghatana leader Sharad Joshi, first published on 9 August 1992 and revised for a third edition in 2008. The book is dedicated to Sharad Joshi. In the rendered pages (covering the preface, TOC, and the opening of the first two essays), Umrikar writes in a first-person eyewitness style, immersing readers in the lived texture of the farmers' agitation movement in Maharashtra in the early 1990s. The first essay, 'पाउले चालती परभणीची वाट' ('Footsteps on the Parbhani Road'), documents a large Shetkari Sanghatana conference held in Parbhani. In the rendered pages, Umrikar describes arriving at the weekly market, meeting a local activist named Prasad, and then witnessing the extraordinary mobilisation of tens of thousands of farmers from across Maharashtra. Sharad Joshi himself arrives and addresses the crowd; folk songs (powadas) in praise of the movement and its leader are reproduced in the Marathi text. The essay captures not only the logistics and spectacle of mass organising but also the ideological conviction that the Shetkari Sanghatana's advocacy of free-market agricultural economics represents a genuinely revolutionary idea, one the mainstream urban reader has yet to appreciate. The second essay, 'आंदोलन' ('Agitation'), begins with a train journey to Delhi for a Shetkari Sanghatana protest march. In the rendered pages, a large contingent of activists — including named organisers such as Vijay Jawandhia, Bhaskarrao, and Prahlad Patil, alongside many women workers — boards a train from Parbhani and travels north. Umrikar records snatches of conversation, the mood of anticipation and apprehension on the journey, and early scenes of the protest. The preface explicitly frames the book's purpose: to carry the Shetkari Sanghatana's free-market ideas beyond the rural base and into the urban Marathi reading public. ## Key points - The book is dedicated to Sharad Joshi and is written entirely within the intellectual and organisational orbit of the Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement. - In the rendered pages, Umrikar writes as a participant-observer, embedding himself in the crowd at the Parbhani conference and then in the Delhi-bound protest train. - The preface explicitly identifies the book's political purpose: to popularise free-market (मुक्त अर्थव्यवस्था) agricultural ideas among urban Marathi readers who treat them as heretical. - Marathi folk songs (powadas) praising Sharad Joshi are reproduced verbatim in the first essay, signalling that the book blends journalism with movement literature. - Named activists appearing in the rendered pages include Prasad (Parbhani), Harshendra Deshkar, Anant Gore, Madhav Khandekar, Vijay Jawandhia, Bhaskarrao, and Prahlad Patil — indicating the thick network of Shetkari Sanghatana cadre across Vidarbha and Marathwada. - The Parbhani conference described in essay 1 drew participants from Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and other states, marking the Shetkari Sanghatana as a supra-regional mobilisation. - The third edition (2008) incorporates pieces from an earlier Umrikar book 'Vatchal', expanding the original 1992 volume. --- ## [Primary work] A VISION OF INDIA IN 2020 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/a-vision-on-new-india-2020-mukesh-a-ambani/ ### Summary Delivered as a Forum of Free Enterprise talk in April 1998 under the auspices of the Ladies' Wing of the Indian Merchants' Chamber, Mukesh D. Ambani's booklet is a sustained argument that India can become one of the world's five leading economic powers by 2020. Ambani frames the coming two decades as a transition from the industrial age to an information-driven, globalised economy in which transparency, speed, and human capital decide national success. He insists that the orthodox forecast of 7% annual growth would condemn India to wait 68 years to reach developed-world GDP, and instead urges a strategy aimed at doubling per capita income every five years — a target India must meet because, he writes, the country has "really no options" between great-power status and going under. The substantive programme rests on two leapfrog sectors. Agriculture, with 329 million hectares of land and a competitive advantage in soil, sunshine and rain, can be quintupled in output by raising yields to international standards, employing 120 million additional workers on wasteland and reversing rural-to-urban migration.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as a Forum of Free Enterprise talk in April 1998 under the auspices of the Ladies' Wing of the Indian Merchants' Chamber, Mukesh D. Ambani's booklet is a sustained argument that India can become one of the world's five leading economic powers by 2020. Ambani frames the coming two decades as a transition from the industrial age to an information-driven, globalised economy in which transparency, speed, and human capital decide national success. He insists that the orthodox forecast of 7% annual growth would condemn India to wait 68 years to reach developed-world GDP, and instead urges a strategy aimed at doubling per capita income every five years — a target India must meet because, he writes, the country has "really no options" between great-power status and going under. The substantive programme rests on two leapfrog sectors. Agriculture, with 329 million hectares of land and a competitive advantage in soil, sunshine and rain, can be quintupled in output by raising yields to international standards, employing 120 million additional workers on wasteland and reversing rural-to-urban migration. Information technology can place an Indian worker at USD 20,000 a year, eventually drawing in roughly a trillion dollars over twenty years as 50 million skilled young workers service global demand. Around these pillars Ambani lists six "foundations" — a young population (400 million Indians under 35 by 2020), a large domestic market, the dramatic compression of doubling times since Japan and Korea, India's pluralist and democratic ethos, the resilience of the Indian family, and the easing of infrastructure constraints by technology. The second half of the booklet shifts from forecast to prescription. Ambani argues that a 21st-century economy cannot be administered by an 18th-century state apparatus: the government-people relationship must move from "benefactor and supplicants" to one of partnership, and he explicitly rejects the cliché that the state has no role in a market-driven economy, assigning it macro-economic management and a competition-promoting regulatory framework. Education reform, participatory institutions, the return of non-resident professionals, and — given centrality — the full participation of women in the knowledge economy are presented as non-negotiable. The work closes with a personal credo, the "Mantras" Ambani says he learned from his father at Reliance: think big, work long-term, demand excellence, embrace technology, never accept defeat. An A. D. Shroff epigraph at the front and a Eugene Black epigraph at the back frame the booklet within the Forum's classical-liberal advocacy of private enterprise as an affirmative good. ## Key points - Sets the target of India becoming one of the world's five major economic powers by 2020, alongside USA, Germany, China and Japan. - Rejects the consensus 7% growth path; argues India must double per capita income every five years and that double-digit GDP growth is feasible on a sustained basis. - Identifies agriculture and information technology as the two leapfrog sectors capable of generating maximum wealth on modest investment. - Frames a demographic dividend: roughly 400 million Indians below 35 by 2020 — a young, English-conversant workforce primed for the information economy. - Argues that India's pluralist, tolerant, democratic and family-centred ethos is itself a competitive advantage in the information age. - Calls for modernising the state — a 21st-century economy cannot operate with an 18th-century state apparatus — while explicitly rejecting the view that government has no role in a market-driven economy. - Treats full participation of women in the workforce as a non-negotiable condition of a knowledge-based society, holding up Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai and Kalpana Chawla as exemplars. - Closes with a personal credo ("Mantras") learnt at Reliance — think big, demand excellence, embrace technology, never accept defeat. --- ## [Primary work] Access to Medicines at Affordable Prices URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/access-to-medicines-at-affordable-prices-dr-y-k-hamied-january-4-2014/ ### Summary Dr. Y. K. Hamied, Chairman of Cipla Ltd., uses his 25th Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture (delivered 12 November 2013 in Mumbai under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise) to argue that access to affordable, life-saving medicines is a fundamental human right that India's patent regime ought to protect. He divides the world into a Rich global North of 600 million and a Developing global South of 3 billion, observing that one-third of humanity — and roughly half of Asia and Africa — lacks access to even basic medicines. Against this backdrop he indicts both multinational drug companies that have aggressively blocked low-cost AIDS drugs to Africa, and the Indian government, whose 2005 Indian Patent Bill (incorporating product patents and section 3(d) loopholes) he says has stalled the affordability gains that the 1970 Patent Act, which patented only the process and not the product, had previously secured. Hamied walks the reader through the legal mechanics: the distinction between patents and compulsory licensing (CL), the GATT-era pressures that forced India to accept TRIPS in 1995, the 10-year transition that ended in January 2005, the introduction of EMR and the mail-… ### Body ## Summary Dr. Y. K. Hamied, Chairman of Cipla Ltd., uses his 25th Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture (delivered 12 November 2013 in Mumbai under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise) to argue that access to affordable, life-saving medicines is a fundamental human right that India's patent regime ought to protect. He divides the world into a Rich global North of 600 million and a Developing global South of 3 billion, observing that one-third of humanity — and roughly half of Asia and Africa — lacks access to even basic medicines. Against this backdrop he indicts both multinational drug companies that have aggressively blocked low-cost AIDS drugs to Africa, and the Indian government, whose 2005 Indian Patent Bill (incorporating product patents and section 3(d) loopholes) he says has stalled the affordability gains that the 1970 Patent Act, which patented only the process and not the product, had previously secured. Hamied walks the reader through the legal mechanics: the distinction between patents and compulsory licensing (CL), the GATT-era pressures that forced India to accept TRIPS in 1995, the 10-year transition that ended in January 2005, the introduction of EMR and the mail-box system for 6,000–7,000 backdated patents, the 2001 DOHA declaration that 149 countries unanimously adopted (and the USA later tried to gut), and the I. K. Gujral Parliamentary Committee's 1993 verdict that the process-patent regime should be maintained and a 20-year term should not be conceded. He insists that compulsory licensing — better named 'Obligatory or Essential Drug Licensing' — is fully TRIPS-compliant when used pragmatically to break monopoly pricing on essential medicines. The lecture closes on a credo: vision, imagination and enthusiasm are the qualities India's pharmaceutical industry must marshal to remain the 'Pharmacy Center of the world', expanding R&D capacity and matching the technological parity of the developed world without sacrificing its mission of affordability. Hamied quotes a 1981 WHO statement attributed to Indira Gandhi — that medical discoveries should be free of patents and free of profiteering on life or death — and frames Cipla's work, including its free Palliative Care Centre in Pune, as a working demonstration that corporate capability can serve moral obligation. A foreword by Minoo R. Shroff, President of the Forum of Free Enterprise, situates the lecture alongside the documentary 'Fire In The Blood' as evidence of how vision and daring can be wielded by private enterprise to alleviate suffering. ## Key points - Frames access to affordable medicines as a fundamental, universal human right, with one-third of the world's population (50% in Asia and Africa) lacking access to even basic medicines. - Defends the 1970 Indian Patent Act's process-only patent regime as the engine that made Indian generics globally competitive, and faults the 2005 Indian Patent Bill (excepting section 3(d)) for restoring product monopolies that price drugs out of reach. - Argues that compulsory licensing is a legally recognised, TRIPS-compliant tool to overcome access barriers when a patented drug is unavailable or unaffordable, and proposes renaming it 'Obligatory or Essential Drug Licensing' to reflect its public-health logic. - Recounts India's reluctant acceptance of GATT/WTO/TRIPS under US pressure (1989 onward), the 1995 grant of a 10-year transition, and the December 2000 introduction of EMR and a mail-box system for 6,000–7,000 backdated patents — describing the backdating itself as 'beyond all rational thinking'. - Cites the disease burden in India — 110 million mentally ill, 80 million cardiac, 60 million diabetic, 60 million asthmatic, 50 million hepatitis cases, 1 in 3 Indians with latent TB — and projects 1.65 billion population by 2050 with 800 million still without sanitation and 500 million without electricity, to argue for a 'need-based patent regime'. - Highlights the 2001 DOHA declaration (149 countries) and the USA's 2003 attempt to dilute it (vetoed 148-to-1 in a Doha ratification meeting, leaving the declaration unratified), as evidence that powerful states resist a public-health reading of TRIPS. - Calls on the Indian pharmaceutical industry to expand R&D, achieve technological parity with the developed world, and remain self-reliant — invoking vision, imagination and enthusiasm as the three values that must guide future progress. - Closes with a 1981 WHO statement attributed to Indira Gandhi — that medical discoveries should be free of patents and free of profiteering on life or death — as the moral horizon for India's pharma policy. --- ## [Primary work] Accountability in Public Service URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/accountability-in-public-sevice-n-vittal-february-4-2011/ ### Summary Reproduced from successive issues of Freedom First (November–December 2010 and January 2011), this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet by former Central Vigilance Commissioner N. Vittal frames accountability as the missing soul of Indian public service. Sunil Bhandare's editorial preface places the essay in the immediate context of the 2010–11 scams and an open letter of fourteen prominent citizens calling for empowered Lok Ayuktas and the Lok Pal Bill, while invoking M. C. Chagla's Ninth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture on the judiciary as a long-standing Forum touchstone for the 'principle of zero tolerance' toward corruption. Vittal's central argument is a simple equation — Input × Accountability = Output — that he uses to insist accountability is finally fixable only on individual human beings, never on the abstract 'organisation'.… ### Body ## Summary Reproduced from successive issues of Freedom First (November–December 2010 and January 2011), this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet by former Central Vigilance Commissioner N. Vittal frames accountability as the missing soul of Indian public service. Sunil Bhandare's editorial preface places the essay in the immediate context of the 2010–11 scams and an open letter of fourteen prominent citizens calling for empowered Lok Ayuktas and the Lok Pal Bill, while invoking M. C. Chagla's Ninth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture on the judiciary as a long-standing Forum touchstone for the 'principle of zero tolerance' toward corruption. Vittal's central argument is a simple equation — Input × Accountability = Output — that he uses to insist accountability is finally fixable only on individual human beings, never on the abstract 'organisation'. He diagnoses several Indian pathologies that erode this individual responsibility: Parkinson's Law expansion of the bureaucracy; the constitutional cushion of Article 311, which converts the public servant's relationship with the state from a contract into a security tenure and 'blunts' performance discipline; a broken Annual Confidential Reports system in which 'good' has become a synonym for average or even poor; caste and reservation-related complications around adverse remarks; entrenched opacity nourished by the Official Secrets Act; and corruption itself, which Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index tracks year after year. The second half of the essay turns prescriptive. Vittal endorses the Right to Information Act of 2005 as 'a great blessing' and recommends the standard procedural toolkit of elimination, combination, e-sequencing, substitution and modification, alongside aggressive use of information technology (the Railways' passenger reservation system is his model case). He draws extensively on Pradip Khandwalla's Transforming Governance through New Public Management to argue for a directly elected Prime Minister and Chief Ministers serving fixed five-year terms, run-off elections requiring 50%+1 majorities, Margaret Thatcher-style agencification of two-thirds of departmental functions, and competition as a cure (the 1994 telecom de-monopolisation having delivered teledensity from 1 in 1990 to 53 by 2010). The 3G spectrum auction is cited approvingly against the 2G scam as proof that transparent processes pay. Vittal closes optimistically at 'the age of 72', resting his hope on India's free press, alert electronic and print media, residual self-correction (the courts have forced corrections via the Hawala case and the Vineet Narain judgement of December 1997, which made the CBI and Enforcement Directorate statutory under CVC supervision), and on culture-building through professional ethics codes and Hippocratic-style oaths. A short biographical note on Shailesh Kapadia (1949–1988), whose Memorial Trust sponsored the booklet, and a Eugene Black epigraph on private enterprise as 'an affirmative good' close the volume. ## Key points - Frames the quality of public service as Input × Accountability = Output (I × A = O), with accountability fixable only on individuals, never on the abstract organisation. - Diagnoses Article 311 of the Constitution as a security-tenure shield that converts the public servant–state relation from contract to status and blunts accountability; proposes replacing it with a rolling contract. - Indicts the Annual Confidential Reports system: 'good' has become a synonym for average or even poor, with adverse remarks chilled by reservation politics and post-Andhra Pradesh judicial scrutiny. - Identifies four root causes of corruption in Indian bureaucracy — lack of transparency, red tape, complicated procedures, and 'groupism or brotherhood' culture nourished by the Official Secrets Act. - Endorses the Right to Information Act 2005 as 'a great blessing' and recommends elimination–combination–e-sequencing–substitution–modification of procedures plus e-governance (Railways reservation as model). - Borrows Pradip Khandwalla's New Public Management agenda: directly elected PM/CMs on fixed five-year terms, run-off elections at 50%+1, Thatcher-style agencification of two-thirds of departmental functions. - Cites the 1994 telecom de-monopolisation and the 3G auction as evidence that competition and transparent design dramatically reduce corruption while expanding service. - Closes with a culture-and-ethics argument: Hippocratic-style oaths, ethics modules in professional education, and a free press as the indispensable countervailing force. --- ## [Primary work] Adapting Indian Industry to Globalization URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/adapting-indian-industry-to-globalization-tarun-das-may-8-2007/ ### Summary Delivered on 19 July 2006 at the Forum of Free Enterprise's Golden Jubilee in Mumbai and published as a 2007 booklet, Tarun Das's address tracks Indian industry's transit from the post-1947 'commanding heights' regime to the open, competitive landscape of the mid-2000s. Speaking as Chief Mentor of the Confederation of Indian Industry, Das frames 1947–1991 as four decades in which 'stringent controls, licensing and regulations with extensive micro management of the private sector' preempted enterprise; 1991 onward then ushers in a continuous regime of competition, foreign capital, and globalised consumer markets in which Indian firms are expected to perform without protection. The argumentative centre of the talk is that competitiveness has become an unending discipline rather than a milestone — 'one can not say I am competitive and stop at that' — and that Indian companies must move past the joint-venture model of the mid-1990s towards indigenous strength in technology, R&D, and corporate governance.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered on 19 July 2006 at the Forum of Free Enterprise's Golden Jubilee in Mumbai and published as a 2007 booklet, Tarun Das's address tracks Indian industry's transit from the post-1947 'commanding heights' regime to the open, competitive landscape of the mid-2000s. Speaking as Chief Mentor of the Confederation of Indian Industry, Das frames 1947–1991 as four decades in which 'stringent controls, licensing and regulations with extensive micro management of the private sector' preempted enterprise; 1991 onward then ushers in a continuous regime of competition, foreign capital, and globalised consumer markets in which Indian firms are expected to perform without protection. The argumentative centre of the talk is that competitiveness has become an unending discipline rather than a milestone — 'one can not say I am competitive and stop at that' — and that Indian companies must move past the joint-venture model of the mid-1990s towards indigenous strength in technology, R&D, and corporate governance. Das catalogues the externalities Indian industry must now absorb (US interest rates, the Iraq war, the rise of China, global commodity shifts) and the rising non-tariff barriers in the West reacting to outsourcing and to Indian acquisitions abroad such as Tata's Corus deal and Hindalco's Novelis purchase. He calls for ethics and values to anchor the new corporate ambition, holding up the Tatas as a benchmark and identifying a domestic 'crab mentality' that pulls down pioneers. A second register of the address attends to corporate social responsibility, employability, multinational workforces, and the still-pending liberation of food and agriculture from the controls already lifted from industry. Das closes optimistically on three engines — government 'gradually getting out of the way', Indian entrepreneurship coming of age, and India's demographic youth — predicting manufacturing parity with China, R&D-led global emergence, and India as 'the food factory to the world'. The booklet wraps Das's address with a 1956 Forum 'A Manifesto' creed of free enterprise and standard organisational matter — historical material reproduced from earlier Forum publications rather than authored by Das. ## Key points - Frames the 1947–1991 era as one of 'stringent controls, licensing and regulations' that preempted private initiative, contrasted with post-1991 liberalization that now requires Indian firms to compete without protection. - Argues that competitiveness is a continuous, never-completed process — quality, productivity, cost control, and R&D must be sustained, not declared. - Critiques the joint-venture model dominant before 1991 because foreign partners retained virtual control of technology; calls for Indian industry to build R&D and technology capacity on its own. - Reads globalization as multi-directional: Indian firms acquiring abroad (Tata–Corus in the UK, Hindalco–Novelis in the US) while Western markets erect non-tariff barriers in response to outsourcing. - Identifies a domestic 'crab mentality' that pulls down successful Indian pioneers, and urges adoption of Tata-style ethics and corporate values as a competitive moat. - Reads CSR — community health, disaster response, training, HIV/AIDS programmes — as integral to globalized corporate citizenship, not optional add-on. - Calls for deregulation of food and agriculture along the same lines as industry, predicting India will emerge as 'the food factory to the world' and as a global R&D destination. - Anchors optimism in three forces: government withdrawal from operational economy, maturing Indian entrepreneurship, and a youth-heavy demographic (≈500 million under 30). --- ## [Primary work] Administrators, Managers and Leadership URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/administrators-managers-and-leadership-by-deepak-parekh-1997/ ### Summary Delivered as the Lalit Doshi Memorial Lecture in Mumbai on 4th August 1997 and reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise, Deepak Parekh — then Chairman of HDFC — uses the occasion to argue that India's bureaucratic cadre must consciously evolve from administrators into managers and finally into leaders. He sketches the three roles as a developmental arc: the administrator ensures that decisions are executed and rules followed; the manager organises and reacts to information and external stimuli; the leader overlays both with risk-taking, vision, and the charisma to inspire willing followers. The lecture is anchored in the contention that the ICS legacy inherited from the British, while disciplined, produced a rule-bound and at times elitist civil service whose attitudes must now be re-engineered in step with India's liberalisation. The core argument unfolds through a discussion of the emerging environment.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the Lalit Doshi Memorial Lecture in Mumbai on 4th August 1997 and reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise, Deepak Parekh — then Chairman of HDFC — uses the occasion to argue that India's bureaucratic cadre must consciously evolve from administrators into managers and finally into leaders. He sketches the three roles as a developmental arc: the administrator ensures that decisions are executed and rules followed; the manager organises and reacts to information and external stimuli; the leader overlays both with risk-taking, vision, and the charisma to inspire willing followers. The lecture is anchored in the contention that the ICS legacy inherited from the British, while disciplined, produced a rule-bound and at times elitist civil service whose attitudes must now be re-engineered in step with India's liberalisation. The core argument unfolds through a discussion of the emerging environment. With governments rightly retreating from breadmaking and bicycles, Parekh insists that bureaucracy must shift from patron, licenser and enforcer to facilitator and partner — a transition he illustrates with Singapore Inc., where the head of state delivers an annual chairman-style report and the civil services work in tandem with private enterprise. He maps the same arc on to career progression: an IAS probationer should hone administrative skills until the level of director, develop managerial skills up to joint secretary, and be groomed for leadership thereafter, much as a corporate Vice-President is prepared for a CEO role. Examples from the central, state and PSU cadres convince him that the talent exists; the problem is that too few make the full transition, and that top slots are too often filled with officers carrying only a few months of residual tenure — a structural design that makes vision and judgement calls almost impossible. The second half turns to governance. Corporate governance in family-run private firms needs strengthening, but Parekh reserves his sharpest critique for public-sector corporate governance, where PSU boards are subservient to ministries, government nominees crowd out independent representation, and managements are encouraged to maintain the status quo. He extends the same diagnostic to the state itself: a peculiarly complex legal, fiscal and regulatory environment that regulates rather than supervises and complicates rather than clarifies, producing what he memorably calls a 'corruption tax'. The remedy is a concerted re-engineering of government procedures — the famous file-noting system, he argues, suits rule-based administration but breaks down under public-private partnership where judgement calls are routine — together with the development of specialists inside the civil service and a willingness to draw talent from the private sector. The rendered chunk closes as Parekh begins his final section on what constitutes a good leader, naming customers and employees as the two constituencies that emerging leaders must serve. ## Key points - Parekh posits a three-tier developmental arc — administrator (rule-executor), manager (process-organiser and information-handler), and leader (risk-taker with vision and the charisma to inspire willing followers). - He attributes the rule-bound, sometimes elitist character of the Indian bureaucracy to its ICS inheritance and argues that liberalisation now demands a shift in approach and a segmentation of roles. - Career segmentation should mirror corporate grooming: administrative skill at probationer-to-director level, managerial skill from joint secretary onward, and conscious leadership development at the top. - The role of the state must move from patron, licenser and enforcer to partner, facilitator and regulator — illustrated through the Singapore Inc. model and through India's own creation of bodies like NHAI and TRAI. - Public-sector corporate governance is the weakest link: PSU boards are subservient to ministries, lack independent representation, and managements are pushed toward inertia rather than risk. - A peculiarly complex Indian regulatory environment regulates rather than supervises and complicates rather than clarifies, producing what Parekh terms a 'corruption tax' that accrues to others rather than the exchequer. - Filling the highest bureaucratic slots with officers who have only months of residual service makes leadership impossible, since no CEO can lead within a horizon of a few months. - Civil services need to cultivate specialists alongside generalists and should be opened more systematically to talent from the private sector, as Parekh has done at IL&FS. --- ## [Primary work] Agriculture & Economic Growth URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/agriculture-and-economic-growth-9-january-1974/ ### Summary Based on a public lecture delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 9 January 1974, this booklet by the economist Colin Clark — then Director of the Agricultural Economics Institute at Oxford — argues that India is on the verge of aborting its post-1950 economic take-off through a self-inflicted food crisis. Clark warns that the gravest threat is not external but a Government response built on procurement, price control, and the systematic neglect of agriculture. The famines that followed Lenin's procurement policy, Stalin's 1929 collectivisation, China's collectivised farming, and the experiments in Cuba, Algeria and Tunisia are paraded as the empirical record of what happens when the state replaces the market in the countryside. The core diagnosis is that Indian agriculture has been stagnant since 1910 — per-capita output essentially flat for sixty years — while the planners under Mahalanobis privileged heavy industry.… ### Body ## Summary Based on a public lecture delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 9 January 1974, this booklet by the economist Colin Clark — then Director of the Agricultural Economics Institute at Oxford — argues that India is on the verge of aborting its post-1950 economic take-off through a self-inflicted food crisis. Clark warns that the gravest threat is not external but a Government response built on procurement, price control, and the systematic neglect of agriculture. The famines that followed Lenin's procurement policy, Stalin's 1929 collectivisation, China's collectivised farming, and the experiments in Cuba, Algeria and Tunisia are paraded as the empirical record of what happens when the state replaces the market in the countryside. The core diagnosis is that Indian agriculture has been stagnant since 1910 — per-capita output essentially flat for sixty years — while the planners under Mahalanobis privileged heavy industry. About 25 per cent of Indians are hungry in the literal sense; yields of rice, wheat, maize and sorghum are a fraction of those obtained in Japan, Italy, Taiwan or Egypt; more than 60 per cent of the labour force remains tied to the land at productivity barely above subsistence. Clark identifies fertiliser starvation as the binding constraint: India uses 12 kg per hectare to China's 30, Egypt's 100, and Taiwan's 250, and the Government's six-year blockage of the Tata Fertiliser Project in Gujarat has, on his calculation, destroyed 4½ million tonnes of grain a year. The prescription is unsparing. Abandon procurement entirely; postpone land ceilings by ten to twenty years until literacy improves; give absolute priority to fertilisers and to capital spending on agriculture and exports; cut the Central and State Governments' deficit spending to halt inflation; sink tube-wells in preference to mechanisation outside Punjab; and restore land taxation on the Australian model of unimproved capital valuation, which would reward rather than penalise the improving farmer. Clark closes by noting that he favours, for now, continuing not to assess agricultural income to income-tax, given the depth of India's food shortage. The Forum's standard disclaimer that the views are not necessarily its own is appended. ## Key points - Clark dates India's economic take-off — in W. W. Rostow's sense — to around 1950, with the savings rate rising from about 5% to 10% of national income, but warns the take-off can still be aborted by food crisis and inflation. - He rejects food procurement as 'utterly and completely wrong,' invoking a personal interview with Mahatma Gandhi at the end of 1947 in which Gandhi opposed Nehru's procurement, price-control and rationing scheme. - Collectivisation is condemned via comparative history: Lenin's procurement, Stalin's 1929 collectivisation and the 1933 famine, China's 1961 famine, and recent declines in Cuba and Algeria; Tunisia reversed its 1969 collectivisation on seeing the effect. - Indian agricultural production per capita has stagnated since 1910, while industry and services have advanced; about 25% of Indians are hungry in the literal sense (calorie minimum estimated at 1,650). - Yields are a fraction of those in Japan, Italy or Egypt — rice 1.67 vs 5.5 t/ha, wheat 1.23 vs 2.4, maize 1.15 vs 5, sorghum 0.49 vs 4 — and Indian fertiliser use (12 kg/ha) trails China (30), Egypt (100) and Taiwan (250). - Land ceilings, Clark argues from his Oxford fieldwork, work only where farmers are literate (Japan, Taiwan, Egypt, Ireland) and should be postponed 10–20 years in India. - The Government's six-year blockage of the Tata Fertiliser Project in Gujarat is held responsible for the loss of about 4½ million tonnes of grain a year and Rs. 500 crores in foreign exchange savings. - Policy recommendations: end deficit spending, give capital priority to agriculture and exports, sink tube-wells, mechanise only in Punjab-like regions, restore land taxation on the Australian unimproved-capital-valuation model that rewards farmer improvements. --- ## [Primary work] Administrators, Managers and Leadership URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/administrators-managers-leadership-deepak-parekh/ ### Summary Delivered as the Lalit Doshi Memorial Lecture in Mumbai on 4 August 1997 and reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise, Deepak Parekh's address argues that India's post-liberalisation moment demands a deliberate metamorphosis of its civil services from rule-bound administrators into managers and, ultimately, leaders. Parekh begins by distinguishing the three roles: an administrator ensures decisions are executed and rules followed; a manager organises people and information to react to external stimuli; a leader adds risk-taking, foresight and the charisma to inspire willing followers. He treats his late friend Lalit Doshi as the case study — a celebrated IAS officer whose work on inward investment to Maharashtra showed bureaucracy at its best. The core diagnosis is that the ICS-to-IAS legacy bred an elitist, rule-bound officialdom that suited an information-scarce industrial age but is now obsolete. With liberalisation, the state must shrink from patron-licenser-enforcer to partner-facilitator. Parekh borrows the Singapore Inc.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the Lalit Doshi Memorial Lecture in Mumbai on 4 August 1997 and reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise, Deepak Parekh's address argues that India's post-liberalisation moment demands a deliberate metamorphosis of its civil services from rule-bound administrators into managers and, ultimately, leaders. Parekh begins by distinguishing the three roles: an administrator ensures decisions are executed and rules followed; a manager organises people and information to react to external stimuli; a leader adds risk-taking, foresight and the charisma to inspire willing followers. He treats his late friend Lalit Doshi as the case study — a celebrated IAS officer whose work on inward investment to Maharashtra showed bureaucracy at its best. The core diagnosis is that the ICS-to-IAS legacy bred an elitist, rule-bound officialdom that suited an information-scarce industrial age but is now obsolete. With liberalisation, the state must shrink from patron-licenser-enforcer to partner-facilitator. Parekh borrows the Singapore Inc. analogy — civil services working in tandem with the private sector, with the head of state issuing a chairman's-style annual report — and urges India's bureaucracy to follow CEOs in evolving from administrator to manager to leader. He calls for in-service training (Stanford, Oxford-style executive courses), lateral entry of private-sector talent, and the cultivation of specialists alongside generalists. On governance, Parekh argues that the loudest deficits sit in the public sector: PSU boards subservient to ministries, CEO appointments delayed, and accountability missing. He attacks the "peculiarly complex legal, fiscal and regulatory" environment that "regulates rather than supervises; complicates rather than clarifies" and coins the line that complexity generates "a corruption tax which accrue to others rather than the exchequer." Two structural pathologies receive special censure: the colonial-era filing system, ill-suited to public-private partnership projects that require quick judgement calls, and the practice of filling top bureaucratic slots with officers who have only months of tenure left — leaving them risk-averse, especially given the threat that pensions could be revoked years into retirement. Parekh closes by sketching the leader of tomorrow: customer-and-employee facing, willing to re-engineer government as the corporate sector has re-engineered itself, and citing IL&FS as proof that talented IAS officers, given specialist roles, deliver outsized results. The rendered chunk runs through page 18 of a 24-page pamphlet; the closing pages on what constitutes a good leader continue beyond this set. ## Key points - Frames a three-tier hierarchy — administrator, manager, leader — and argues that India's civil services must climb it, with probationers honing administrative skills to director level, joint secretaries shifting to managerial focus, and senior bureaucrats consciously cultivating leadership. - Treats the ICS/IAS legacy as a rule-bound, elitist inheritance suited to an information-scarce industrial age but obsolete in an information-rich, liberalised economy where government must become a partner and facilitator, not a patron-licenser-enforcer. - Proposes Singapore Inc. as a model: civil services working in tandem with the private sector under a unified national framework, with the head of state issuing a chairman-style annual report on the country's balance sheet. - Diagnoses public-sector governance as the real corporate-governance crisis — PSU boards subservient to ministries, CEO appointments delayed, accountability absent — and contrasts this with private-sector AGMs scrutinised by analysts and financial journalists. - Attacks India's regulatory complexity as itself a corruption-generating mechanism, coining the line that complexity is a "corruption tax which accrue to others rather than the exchequer." - Identifies two structural pathologies of governance: the century-old colonial filing system, which breaks down on judgement-call decisions needed for public-private partnership projects; and the practice of filling top bureaucratic slots with officers whose residual tenure is only months, sapping vision and risk appetite. - Notes that the threat of post-retirement pension revocation and decades-later allegations from junior officers' file notings disincentivises bureaucrats from making honest judgement calls — a candid defence of risk-averse senior officials. - Calls for specialist tracks within the civil services alongside general-management grooming, and for opening the doors consciously to private-sector lateral entry, citing IL&FS's success in deploying seconded IAS officers. --- ## [Primary work] Agricultural Investment URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/agricultural-investment-by-dr-gvk-rao-september-14-1993/ ### Summary Dr. G.V.K. Rao — then Chairman of Agricultural Finance Corporation Ltd. and a former Member of the Planning Commission — diagnoses why Indian agricultural growth slackened in the 1980s and lays out an investment-and-credit programme to revive it. Although agriculture's share of GDP had fallen to about 28 per cent, the sector still supported roughly 70 per cent of the labour force and supplied wage goods, industrial raw material and export earnings. Foodgrain output grew at only 1.7 per cent per annum during the first seven years of the eighties, a slackening Rao attributes to a relative decline in investment in agriculture. The pamphlet argues that future growth must come from intensification, technology upgrading and watershed-based rain-fed farming, and lists nine concrete investment areas — better water management in existing irrigation projects, bio-technology applications, a National Poultry Development Board on the Operation Flood model, drip and sprinkler irrigation, food processing, afforestation of 40 million tree-less forest hectares, sericulture, agricultural exports through APEDA, and horticultural marketing infrastructure modelled on the Delhi NDDB scheme. The seco… ### Body ## Summary Dr. G.V.K. Rao — then Chairman of Agricultural Finance Corporation Ltd. and a former Member of the Planning Commission — diagnoses why Indian agricultural growth slackened in the 1980s and lays out an investment-and-credit programme to revive it. Although agriculture's share of GDP had fallen to about 28 per cent, the sector still supported roughly 70 per cent of the labour force and supplied wage goods, industrial raw material and export earnings. Foodgrain output grew at only 1.7 per cent per annum during the first seven years of the eighties, a slackening Rao attributes to a relative decline in investment in agriculture. The pamphlet argues that future growth must come from intensification, technology upgrading and watershed-based rain-fed farming, and lists nine concrete investment areas — better water management in existing irrigation projects, bio-technology applications, a National Poultry Development Board on the Operation Flood model, drip and sprinkler irrigation, food processing, afforestation of 40 million tree-less forest hectares, sericulture, agricultural exports through APEDA, and horticultural marketing infrastructure modelled on the Delhi NDDB scheme. The second half of the booklet is a credit-supply calculation. The share of agriculture in total investment had fallen from 26.1 per cent in the First Plan to 11.9 per cent in the Seventh, and real gross capital formation in agriculture had actually contracted at 2 per cent per annum between 1979-80 and 1987-88. Rao estimates the Eighth Plan credit requirement at Rs. 53,600 crores against an institutional supply of Rs. 39,200 crores — a gap of Rs. 14,400 crores. To close it he proposes raising the credit-deposit ratio per the Narasimham Committee, exempting incremental rural deposits from SLR and CRR, freeing co-operatives from official interference so they function like business institutions, mobilising rural surpluses through bonds and mutual funds, and recovering the Rs. 8,026 crore overdue book (55 per cent of demand) so that lendable resources can be recycled. Rao closes by emphasising that volume of credit alone will not suffice: project formulation, monitoring, cost-effective alternatives to expensive hard-rock dug-wells, and community participation through watershed-style compact-area development are equally necessary to maximise returns on agricultural investment. ## Key points - Agriculture's share of GDP has fallen to about 28 per cent but the sector still supports nearly 70 per cent of the labour force and supplies wage goods, industrial raw material and a growing share of exports. - Foodgrain growth slowed from 4 per cent per annum in the post-Green-Revolution years to only 1.7 per cent per annum in the first seven years of the eighties, rescued to 3.1 per cent only by exceptional 1983-84 and 1988-89 harvests. - The share of agriculture in total investment fell from 26.1 per cent in the First Plan to 15.1 per cent in the Sixth and 11.9 per cent in the Seventh; real gross capital formation actually declined at 2 per cent per annum between 1979-80 and 1987-88. - Future growth must come from intensification and technology upgrading — watershed-based rain-fed farming, biotechnology, horticulture and floriculture, oilseeds and pulses, post-harvest technology, and agri-business. - Nine specific investment heads are identified, including World Bank-style irrigation upgrades, a National Poultry Development Board on the Operation Flood model, drip irrigation on 1,00,000 hectares with a 50 per cent government subsidy, and afforestation of 1.5 million hectares per year. - Eighth Plan term-credit requirement is estimated at Rs. 53,600 crores against institutional supply of Rs. 39,200 crores, leaving a gap of Rs. 14,400 crores at 1991-92 prices. - Proposed remedies: raise the credit-deposit ratio per the Narasimham Committee, exempt incremental rural deposits from SLR and CRR, free co-operatives from official interference, and mobilise rural savings through bonds, mutual funds and other instruments. - Recovery of the Rs. 8,026 crore overdue book (55 per cent of demand in 1989-90) and cost-effective project design — not interest-rate manipulation — are presented as the binding constraints on rural credit performance. --- ## [Primary work] Agriculture in Asia URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/agriculture-in-asia-colin-clark-march-10-1971/ ### Summary Colin Clark's pamphlet, reproduced from the Autumn 1970 issue of Pacific Community and re-published by the Forum of Free Enterprise on 10 March 1971, argues that Asian agriculture is widely misdescribed by Western economists, international agencies, and central planners. He traces a continuum from 'cut and burn' cultivation through ox-plough subsistence to mechanised mixed farming, using De Vries's grain-equivalent classification to locate India, Pakistan, Ceylon, and Burma uncomfortably close to the subsistence line while Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea, and Thailand are pulling ahead. He insists that 'subsistence' has a precise calorific meaning and attacks Lord Boyd-Orr's and the F.A.O.'s repeated claims that one-half to two-thirds of humanity is malnourished as statistical confusions that an Australian anthropologist and a Stanford researcher have already exposed. The second movement of the essay is a sustained critique of planning orthodoxy.… ### Body ## Summary Colin Clark's pamphlet, reproduced from the Autumn 1970 issue of Pacific Community and re-published by the Forum of Free Enterprise on 10 March 1971, argues that Asian agriculture is widely misdescribed by Western economists, international agencies, and central planners. He traces a continuum from 'cut and burn' cultivation through ox-plough subsistence to mechanised mixed farming, using De Vries's grain-equivalent classification to locate India, Pakistan, Ceylon, and Burma uncomfortably close to the subsistence line while Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea, and Thailand are pulling ahead. He insists that 'subsistence' has a precise calorific meaning and attacks Lord Boyd-Orr's and the F.A.O.'s repeated claims that one-half to two-thirds of humanity is malnourished as statistical confusions that an Australian anthropologist and a Stanford researcher have already exposed. The second movement of the essay is a sustained critique of planning orthodoxy. Clark dismantles the idea that Asian farming suffers from 'disguised unemployment' or rural over-population — the doctrine, he notes, that Mao acted on in the Great Leap Forward 'and the resulting chaos in Chinese agriculture has not yet been fully repaired.' He revisits the Law of Diminishing Returns using Ishikawa's productivity comparisons and shows that, country by country, intensification of labour on land continues to yield more output, with Taiwan supporting up to 64 persons per hectare at subsistence. Population growth, he contends, has historically driven productivity gains in Holland, England, Japan, and now India, rather than producing the disasters predicted by 'population explosion' theorists. Clark then turns to land reform and trade. He concedes that concentrated ownership creates 'unbearable social and political tensions' but warns that legislated rent controls are easily evaded and that the world's record on land reform — from Mexico in 1910 through Eastern Europe in the 1920s to Diem's South Vietnam — is uneven; the Irish 1904, Japanese 1945, and Taiwanese 1950s reforms are the rare successes. He rejects the Marxian preconception that export agriculture is intrinsically exploitative, points out that Russia and Spain are the only modern non-communist economies to have tried autarky and suffered for it, and argues that the wealthier countries can help developing Asia most by cutting their own subsidised farm exports and granting market preferences for manufactures — measures Australia, he notes with approval, has begun to legislate. ## Key points - Asian agriculture spans a technical ladder from 'cut and burn' through ox-plough to mechanised mixed farming; most of Asia sits at the ox-plough stage that European agriculture left only in the eighteenth century. - Clark redefines 'subsistence' in calorific terms (roughly 1,600–2,000 kcal per head per day, 250 kg of grain-equivalent per year) and rejects the F.A.O.'s 2,300-calorie universal standard as statistically and biologically unfounded. - Using De Vries's grain-equivalent classification, India (382 kg/head) and Pakistan (432 kg/head) sit close to subsistence while Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea, and Thailand show output growth markedly outpacing population. - The doctrine of 'disguised unemployment' or rural surplus labour — believed by Mao and embedded in much planning — is shown to be empirically wrong; seasonal labour shortages, not surpluses, characterise monsoonal Asia. - The Law of Diminishing Returns holds only when technique and social organisation are fixed; Ishikawa's data show productivity rising sharply with labour input in Japan, China, Korea, and especially Taiwan (10,000 man-hours per hectare, 16 tons of milled rice). - Population growth historically facilitates industrialisation and saving — demonstrated by the Dutch, English, Japanese, and now Indians — contradicting 'population explosion' alarmism. - Land reform has a mixed historical record; Clark cites Ireland 1904, Mexico 1910, Japan 1945, and Taiwan in the 1950s as outcomes ranging from successful to destructive, and warns that rent-control legislation is easily evaded. - Soviet collectivisation (1933), Maoist agriculture (1961), and autarkic policies under Stalin and Franco are presented as cautionary failures; export-oriented producers like Malaysia and Taiwan fare better than countries that retreat from trade. --- ## [Primary work] AIR TRAVEL IN INDIA — SAFETY AND SERVICE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/air-travel-in-india-safety-and-service-by-wing-commander-vijay-mahajan-alka-sen-rn-kini-june-14-1990/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, dated 14 June 1990, gathers three talks delivered at a public meeting in Bombay on 13th March 1990, in the shadow of the Indian Airlines A-320 crash at Bangalore the previous month. Wing Commander Vijay Mahajan, a former Indian Air Force officer with over 6,000 flying hours, argues that India lacks a national aviation policy, that political and bureaucratic meddling has corroded the airlines' selection, training and route-planning, and that the country's airports, navigational aids and air traffic control are unfit for the traffic that the 1990s will bring; he ends with three reform options — autonomy, deregulation or privatisation — and defends privatisation by comparing British Airways, Lufthansa, KLM, Quantas and Singapore Airlines with their state-owned Indian counterparts. Aviation journalist Alka Sen, editor of Indian Aviation - Civil and Military, locates the problem in indiscipline among employees and in government neglect of infrastructure and senior appointments, endorsing the National Transport Safety Board's tougher pilot-rating procedures and Cockpit Voice Recorder checks, calling for serious follow-through on the Ramdas Committee Report on A320 induction, and praising Civil Aviation Minister Arif Mohammed Khan for treating discipline as a 'non-negotiable issue' while faulting the government for leaving DGCA, IAAI, Indian Airlines and Vayudoot top posts unfilled and for stalling the Rs. 300 crore Bombay-Delhi airport modernisation programme. R. N. Kini, General Manager of Voltas Systems Ltd. and a survivor of the Indian Airlines A-320 crash at Bangalore on 14 February 1990, contributes a short address that distils his experience into 'Ten Commandments' for passengers — fasten seatbelts, learn the emergency-exit literature, listen to the safety briefing, leave hand baggage behind, run from the wreck without looking back, report medical history at hospital — insisting that a crash 'is not the time for decision-making on a participative basis' and recording public appreciation for the air hostesses' presence of mind and for the Bangalore hospital and Indian Airlines staff who attended the injured. The argumentative centre of the volume is a Forum-house case for retreat of the state from civil aviation, with the Tata Commission's recommendations, the booklet repeatedly notes, having been 'consigned to the dustbin' by the bureaucracy. ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, dated 14 June 1990, gathers three talks delivered at a public meeting in Bombay on 13th March 1990, in the shadow of the Indian Airlines A-320 crash at Bangalore the previous month. Wing Commander Vijay Mahajan, a former Indian Air Force officer with over 6,000 flying hours, argues that India lacks a national aviation policy, that political and bureaucratic meddling has corroded the airlines' selection, training and route-planning, and that the country's airports, navigational aids and air traffic control are unfit for the traffic that the 1990s will bring. Aviation journalist Alka Sen, editor of Indian Aviation - Civil and Military, locates the problem in indiscipline among employees and in government neglect of infrastructure and senior appointments. R. N. Kini, a survivor of the Bangalore A-320 crash, distils his experience into ten commandments for passengers. The argumentative centre of the volume is a Forum-house case for retreat of the state from civil aviation: Mahajan ends with three options — making the corporations autonomous, deregulating, or privatising — and defends privatisation by comparing British Airways, Lufthansa, KLM, Quantas and Singapore Airlines with their state-owned Indian counterparts. The Tata Commission's recommendations, the booklet repeatedly notes, have been "consigned to the dustbin" by the bureaucracy. ## Essays ### AIR TRAVEL IN INDIA — SAFETY AND SERVICE *By Wing Commander VIJAY MAHAJAN* Wing Commander Vijay Mahajan opens with four indictments of Indian civil aviation: no national aviation policy, failure to attract the best young talent into the field, three national airlines whose internal policies do not complement each other, and pervasive political and bureaucratic interference in day-to-day operations. He contrasts U.S. "aviation management science" training — selection boards, months as cockpit observers, flight-engineer apprenticeships — with Indian boys returning from American flying clubs with a Commercial Pilot's Licence and 200 hours of flying who are seated straight away as co-pilots. He notes that the heads of Indian Airlines, Vayudoot and Air-India are all non-aviation men, more preoccupied with logos, liveries and hostesses' saris than with the safety of those whose lives depend on the men at the controls. The second half catalogues infrastructural decay: none of India's four international airports meets ICAO standards; air-traffic control at Bombay is manned at two-thirds of its 1980 sanction with ninety per cent of controllers "unrated"; VOR, DME, VHF/HFR/T and NDB equipment is erratic or broken; runway lights fail without standby generators; the DGCA, IAAI and NAAI work at cross-purposes; and the Tata Commission's recommendations sit ignored. Mahajan closes with three options — autonomy, deregulation, or privatisation — and argues that privatisation is the best, citing British Airways, Aeroflot, Quantas, Lufthansa, KLM and Singapore Airlines as evidence that privately owned carriers have better safety records and that 90 per cent of India's current airline management would not survive accountability to private owners. - India has no national aviation policy; selection and training of pilots, personnel and equipment is bureaucratic and quota-driven. - Chairmen and managing directors of Indian Airlines, Vayudoot and Air-India are non-aviation men focused on image rather than flight safety. - None of India's four international airports meets full ICAO standards; ATC at Bombay is manned far below sanction and most controllers are unrated. - Three overlapping agencies (DGCA, IAAI, NAAI) do not coordinate; merging IAAI and NAAI would relieve NAAI's fund shortage by ending IAAI's tax outflow. - Tata Commission recommendations have been consigned to the dustbin by the bureaucracy. - Privatisation is the best of three reform options (autonomy, deregulation, privatisation) because privately owned carriers worldwide show lower accident rates. ### [Section II — untitled, by ALKA SEN] *By ALKA SEN* Alka Sen, editor of Indian Aviation - Civil and Military, frames the safety problem at Indian Airlines, Vayudoot, Pawan Hans and Air-India less as a training failure than as a discipline failure. She endorses the National Transport Safety Board's recent measures — random Cockpit Voice Recorder checks, stricter procedures for pilot-in-command rating, prohibiting pilots from flying more than one type of aircraft — and calls for serious follow-through on the Ramdas Committee Report, which had found Indian Airlines unprepared to induct so many Airbus A320s in so short a time. She defends Indian pilots from foreign condescension, citing Capt. Xavier Baral of the French Pilots' Union and Capt. V. K. Mehta on the Ahmedabad 737 crash. The essay then widens to industrial action: continual employee agitations over A320 training and engineer training abroad. She praises Civil Aviation Minister Arif Mohammed Khan for making discipline "a non-negotiable issue" and faults the government for letting key posts (DGCA, IAAI chairman, Indian Airlines MD after Prasad's resignation, Vayudoot MD after Harsh Vardhan's exit following the Pune Dornier 228 crash) lie unfilled. She closes by faulting the government for stalling on a Rs. 300 crore Bombay-Delhi airport modernisation programme and on infrastructure for the smaller airports beyond. - Indian Airlines' safety problems are mainly indiscipline, not inadequate training syllabus. - Cockpit Voice Recorder random checks, tougher pilot rating procedures and the Ramdas Committee findings on A320 induction must be acted on. - Indian pilots are as competent as their foreign counterparts; foreign condescension (Baral's "Mercedes Benz to a camel driver") is misplaced. - Continual employee agitations — over which pilots train on the A320, over engineers' training abroad — disrupted maintenance. - Civil Aviation Minister Arif Mohammed Khan's hard line on discipline is welcome; government delay in filling DGCA, IAAI, Indian Airlines and Vayudoot top posts is not. - Approved Rs. 300 crore modernisation of Bombay and Delhi airports has yet to be cleared, and the rest of the airport network is being ignored. ### [Section III — TEN COMMANDMENTS, by R. N. KINI] *By R. N. KINI* R. N. Kini, General Manager of Voltas Systems Ltd. and a survivor of the Indian Airlines A-320 crash at Bangalore on 14th February 1990, offers a short address that opens with thanks to God for his lease of life and sorrow for his fellow passengers who did not survive. He then sets out "Ten Commandments" for passengers drawing on what he saw: fasten seatbelts always; read the emergency exit literature; listen to air-hostess safety briefings; do not retrieve hand baggage from the overhead rack in danger; keep running once off the aircraft and do not look back; report previous medical history and blood group at hospital; be alert at take-off and landing; and recognise that "this is not the time for decision-making on a participative basis." He closes by recording public appreciation for the air hostesses who opened the door as soon as the plane crashed and for the Bangalore hospital and Indian Airlines staff who attended the injured. - Author is a survivor of the Indian Airlines A-320 crash at Bangalore on 14 February 1990. - Ten commandments for passenger conduct: seatbelts, emergency-door literacy, listen to safety briefings, leave bags behind, run from the wreck without looking back, observe no-smoking, share medical history at hospital. - A crash is not a moment for participative decision-making — passengers must act on training and instructions, not deliberate. - Public acknowledgement for the air hostesses' presence of mind and for the Bangalore hospital and Indian Airlines staff. --- ## [Primary work] Rural Development is Key to Welfare of the Masses URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/an-analysis-of-the-bonus-problem-m-c-munshi-september-14-1977/ ### Summary Note: the file is labelled "An Analysis of the Bonus Problem — M. C. Munshi (September 14, 1977)" in the pipeline, but the rendered booklet is in fact "Rural Development is Key to Welfare of the Masses" by J. H. Doshi, President of the Forum of Free Enterprise, based on his presidential address at the Forum's 21st Annual General Meeting in Bombay on 17 October 1977. Doshi opens with a stock-taking of three decades of independence and twenty-six years of planning: real progress, he concedes, but small compared to the country's potential — a record of lost opportunities driven by policymakers who ignored India's most favourable assets, especially entrepreneurial talent and the Indian diaspora. He marshals an extended quotation from agriculture minister Bhanu Pratap Singh to show that, despite headline buffer stocks and foreign-exchange reserves, per capita consumption of foodgrains, pulses, edible oils, sugar and cloth has fallen; that growth in major crops has stalled since 1960-61; and that industrial growth slipped from 7.9% (1950–65) to 3.3% (1965–75).… ### Body ## Summary Note: the file is labelled "An Analysis of the Bonus Problem — M. C. Munshi (September 14, 1977)" in the pipeline, but the rendered booklet is in fact "Rural Development is Key to Welfare of the Masses" by J. H. Doshi, President of the Forum of Free Enterprise, based on his presidential address at the Forum's 21st Annual General Meeting in Bombay on 17 October 1977. Doshi opens with a stock-taking of three decades of independence and twenty-six years of planning: real progress, he concedes, but small compared to the country's potential — a record of lost opportunities driven by policymakers who ignored India's most favourable assets, especially entrepreneurial talent and the Indian diaspora. He marshals an extended quotation from agriculture minister Bhanu Pratap Singh to show that, despite headline buffer stocks and foreign-exchange reserves, per capita consumption of foodgrains, pulses, edible oils, sugar and cloth has fallen; that growth in major crops has stalled since 1960-61; and that industrial growth slipped from 7.9% (1950–65) to 3.3% (1965–75). Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore are held up as the contrasting model. Doshi then offers a four-part post-mortem of "what has gone wrong": (1) deficit financing from the Second Plan onwards, driven by a confusion of expenditure with investment; (2) misdirection of planned outlays towards heavy industry and urban areas while neglecting agriculture, dairy and craftsmanship — pushing millions "from poverty to pauperism"; (3) over-centralisation that diverts a third of national income through Central and State governments and traps it in loss-making state-owned industries (he cites West Germany, Sweden and Singapore for the proposition that the modern state's role is regulation, not ownership, and singles out the State Trading Corporation and the MRTP Act); and (4) a "plethora of controls" — including state excise versus sales tax, octroi, and licensing — that breed corruption, black money, and wasted entrepreneurial energy. The constructive programme is rural development understood broadly: roads to distant villages, irrigation, warehousing, fertilisers and pesticides, agricultural R&D, reforestation, drinking water, primary education, postal facilities and rural health. Doshi welcomes the new "rolling plan" and the Janata government's pragmatic, anti-control turn (citing Morarji Desai), and closes on the theme that economic democracy — citizen participation as consumers and producers — is what makes political democracy substantive. The pamphlet is bookended by quotations from Eugene Black (private enterprise as "an affirmative good") and Forum founder A. D. Shroff ("Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives"). ## Key points - Frames the 30-year record post-1947 as one of "lost opportunities" — real progress dwarfed by what better policy could have delivered. - Argues that headline indicators (buffer stocks, forex reserves, doubled agricultural output since 1950-51) mask falling per capita consumption of foodgrains, pulses, edible oils, sugar and cloth. - Documents the slowdown of industrial growth from 7.9% (1950–65) to 3.3% (1965–75), and holds up Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore as countries that pulled the common man up despite tighter constraints. - Offers a four-factor post-mortem: deficit financing from the Second Plan, misdirection of outlays to heavy industry over agriculture, over-centralisation of decision-making, and a stifling network of controls. - Distinguishes ownership from regulation — invokes West Germany, Sweden and Singapore to argue the modern state should regulate, not own, productive enterprise; criticises the State Trading Corporation and the MRTP Act by name. - Identifies state sales tax versus excise, octroi, and licensing controls as anachronisms that produce delay, corruption and black money. - Proposes rural development as the constructive agenda: roads, irrigation, warehousing, fertilisers, agricultural R&D, reforestation, drinking water, primary education, postal services and rural health. - Welcomes the Janata government's "rolling plan" and anti-control turn and frames economic democracy — daily citizen participation as consumers and producers — as the foundation of political democracy. --- ## [Primary work] An Analysis of the Bonus Problem URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/an-analysis-of-the-bonus-problemm-c-munshi-september-14-1977/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, written by Dr. M. C. Munshi a few days before the Janata government's September 1977 decision on bonus, traces the legal and administrative history of bonus payments in India and indicts the policy edifice that has grown around them. What began as an ex-gratia festival payment around the First World War drifted by stages into a compulsory statutory entitlement: through wartime industrial bargains, the Bombay High Court's 1944 General Motors decision, the 1950 Labour Appellate Tribunal's "available surplus" formula, Supreme Court obiter dicta in the 1955 Kanpur mills case, the 1962 Meher Commission, and the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 with its 4% minimum and 20% maximum. Munshi argues that each successive concession — raising the floor to 8.33%, jettisoning the ceiling under Section 34(3) collective bargaining, repeated tax-rebate amendments — has further unmoored bonus from any coherent economic rationale. The 1972 Bonus Review Committee under Dr. B. K.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, written by Dr. M. C. Munshi a few days before the Janata government's September 1977 decision on bonus, traces the legal and administrative history of bonus payments in India and indicts the policy edifice that has grown around them. What began as an ex-gratia festival payment around the First World War drifted by stages into a compulsory statutory entitlement: through wartime industrial bargains, the Bombay High Court's 1944 General Motors decision, the 1950 Labour Appellate Tribunal's "available surplus" formula, Supreme Court obiter dicta in the 1955 Kanpur mills case, the 1962 Meher Commission, and the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 with its 4% minimum and 20% maximum. Munshi argues that each successive concession — raising the floor to 8.33%, jettisoning the ceiling under Section 34(3) collective bargaining, repeated tax-rebate amendments — has further unmoored bonus from any coherent economic rationale. The 1972 Bonus Review Committee under Dr. B. K. Madan ended in divided counsel and its report was never officially published; the Emergency produced a 1975 Ordinance re-pegging bonus to profits and a 1976 Amending Act allowing production-linked payments, but no universal principle was laid down. He treats the "deferred wage" thesis — popularised by labour leaders and conceded in the Janata Party's election manifesto — as a slogan with no scientific basis, marshalling the Supreme Court, the National Commission on Labour, and the ILO's 1948 Payment of Wages convention to argue that bonus is surplus-based, not cost-based, and that the Marxian Labour Theory of Value which underwrites alternative claims was "exploded nearly a century ago" in economic doctrine. The polemical centre of the booklet is the consumer's missing seat at the bargaining table. Munshi contends that available surpluses in an era of inflation and protected markets are not "adventitious gains" from the risks of enterprise but extractions from higher prices paid by consumers, who are unorganised and routinely forgotten while employers and unions divide the spoils. He warns that the organised sector covered by bonus is only about 1½ to 2 per cent of the labour force and that compulsory bonus has therefore created a "privileged class" inside a country where 40 per cent live below subsistence and another 30 per cent just above. The booklet closes with prescriptions: government should declare bonus a form of profit-sharing, lighten the consumer's burden, work out coherent wages and prices policies, and consider an industry-by-industry Wage-Incentive Scheme — while cautioning that profit-sharing schemes elsewhere in the world have not been uniformly successful. ## Key points - Traces bonus from a WWI ex-gratia festival payment to a compulsory statutory entitlement under the 1965 Payment of Bonus Act, via M. C. Chagla's 1944 General Motors ruling, the 1950 Labour Appellate Tribunal "available surplus" formula, and the 1962 Bonus (Meher) Commission. - Documents how successive concessions — raising the floor from 4% to 8.33% (and ad hoc 8¼% and 4%+4% "advance" formulas), suspending the 20% ceiling under Section 34(3) collective bargaining, and the 1969 Section 5 tax-rebate amendment — progressively detached bonus from the surplus formula. - Recounts the 1972 Bonus Review Committee under Dr. B. K. Madan: divided counsel, never officially published, with one member (Mahesh Desai) breaking with the majority to demand uncapped bargained bonus. - Argues that despite being primarily an economic issue, no economist was consulted in the formative judicial decisions, and that the "deferred wage" theory has been rejected by the Supreme Court (Greaves Cotton, 1954) and the National Commission on Labour as surplus-based not cost-based. - Charges that compulsory bonus has manufactured a "privileged class" of workers — 1½ to 2 per cent of the labour force, organised — who impose costs on the unorganised 98 per cent as consumers, in a country where 40 per cent live below subsistence and 30 per cent just above. - Insists that the consumer is "conspicuous by its absence at the bargaining table": in an era of inflation and controlled markets, the available surplus is extracted from higher prices, so part of it should flow back to consumers as lower prices. - Dismisses the Marxian Labour Theory of Value underwriting labour-union claims to the whole surplus as long discredited, citing S. R. Mohan Das's June 1977 Economic Times column on "deferred wages" as a "parrot cry". - Recommends: declare bonus a form of profit-sharing; lighten the consumer's burden; develop wages and prices policies; introduce industry-specific Wage-Incentive Schemes — while noting that profit-sharing schemes worldwide have not been uniformly successful. --- ## [Primary work] An Analysis of Union Budget 1965-66 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/an-analysis-of-union-budget1965-a-d-shroff-apr10-1965/ ### Summary A. D. Shroff, President of the Forum of Free Enterprise, delivers a clause-by-clause critique of the Union Budget 1965-66 (originally a talk of 9 March 1965). He opens by praising Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari for being unusually transparent — for the first time the budget papers, especially the Economic Survey, allow the tax-payer to see the country's true position — and for the welcome simplification of the tax structure (the folding of surcharges into a unified income-tax). But his approval ends there. The compilers, he argues, habitually underestimate revenue and overestimate expenditure; the upshot is an unnecessary additional tax burden on a country whose statistical machinery is itself decades behind the times. The core of the pamphlet is a sustained attack on the rising burden of indirect taxes — customs and especially excise — which have climbed from Rs. 157 crores in 1950-51 to Rs. 827 crores by 1965, falling hardest on items of daily necessity like kerosene, matches and sugar consumed by 62 percent of villagers.… ### Body ## Summary A. D. Shroff, President of the Forum of Free Enterprise, delivers a clause-by-clause critique of the Union Budget 1965-66 (originally a talk of 9 March 1965). He opens by praising Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari for being unusually transparent — for the first time the budget papers, especially the Economic Survey, allow the tax-payer to see the country's true position — and for the welcome simplification of the tax structure (the folding of surcharges into a unified income-tax). But his approval ends there. The compilers, he argues, habitually underestimate revenue and overestimate expenditure; the upshot is an unnecessary additional tax burden on a country whose statistical machinery is itself decades behind the times. The core of the pamphlet is a sustained attack on the rising burden of indirect taxes — customs and especially excise — which have climbed from Rs. 157 crores in 1950-51 to Rs. 827 crores by 1965, falling hardest on items of daily necessity like kerosene, matches and sugar consumed by 62 percent of villagers. Shroff calls for the abolition of the Annuity Deposit Scheme, the Estate Duty and the Dividend Tax, which between them destroy the investor's incentive and starve the capital market; he urges India to learn the "Kennedy philosophy of taxation" that lower rates yield higher revenue and shrink the black-money economy. On public expenditure he is scathing: a total investment of Rs. 1,500 crores in public undertakings yields the Government a "magnificent" return of Rs. 2 crores 85 lakhs. He invokes the post-First-World-War Inchcape Committee as a model for a powerful expenditure-scrutiny body, arguing that at least Rs. 150–200 crores a year could be saved on an outlay of over Rs. 2,000 crores. On the foreign-exchange front he commends the Finance Minister's frank admission that the position has deteriorated every year through the Plan periods, but warns that the new 10 percent regulatory import duty will inflate costs, defeat export promotion and worsen idle industrial capacity. Throughout, the underlying plea is that economic policy be "informed by basic and inexorable laws of economics" rather than ideology — the standing Forum of Free Enterprise refrain. ## Key points - Welcomes the Finance Minister's Economic Survey and the simplification of the income-tax structure (merging surcharges into a unified rate) as the first genuinely informative Budget in years. - Charges that compilers systematically underestimate revenue and overestimate expenditure, imposing an unnecessary additional tax burden — non-Plan expenditure that was to fall by Rs. 70 crores has instead risen by Rs. 117 crores. - Attacks the runaway growth of indirect taxes: Excise Duty climbed from Rs. 157 crores in 1950-51 to Rs. 827 crores in 1965-66, with regressive incidence on kerosene (45% of the price), matches (62%) and sugar. - Calls for abolition of the Annuity Deposit Scheme (a Rs. 65-crore drain on investors), the Estate Duty (destroys the saver's natural desire to provide for his family) and the Dividend Tax on the corporate sector. - Endorses the Kennedy lesson that lower tax rates expand the economy and shrink black money; punitive Indian rates leave "no incentive to earn as much as he likes". - Indicts the public sector: Rs. 1,500 crores invested in Government undertakings returned only Rs. 2 crores 85 lakhs in 1965-66 — a "magnificent" yield that hides cross-subsidy by the tax-payer. - Proposes a powerful expenditure-scrutiny committee modelled on the post-WWI Inchcape Committee, arguing Rs. 150–200 crores could be saved annually on an outlay of over Rs. 2,000 crores. - Warns that the new 10% regulatory import duty will inflate costs, leave industrial capacity idle, and defeat export promotion; foreign-exchange situation has worsened with every Plan. --- ## [Primary work] An Economic Review — 1957 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/an-economic-review1957-a-d-shroff-dec9-1957/ ### Summary Delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on December 9, 1957, A. D. Shroff's address is a frontal critique of the Second Five-Year Plan and of the Nehru government's economic management one year into its execution. Opening with the line that "speech is silvern and silence is golden," Shroff argues that the moment demands public honesty: the Plan was built on the "socialist pattern of society," pursued comprehensive planning without the technical and informational base to support it, and is now manifestly unworkable. He charges the Planning Commission and its supporters with substituting slogans — most pointedly the newly minted phrase "core of the Plan" — for an actual operating strategy, and he criticises ministers for honouring Gandhi's memory by "practising considerable economy of truth." Shroff then turns to the foreign-exchange collapse, noting that India's balances fell from Rs. 536 crores at the end of November 1956 to roughly Rs. 214 crores a year later (net of an IMF loan of Rs. 95 crores), and that ad-hoc, secretive licence allocations have squandered scarce reserves.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on December 9, 1957, A. D. Shroff's address is a frontal critique of the Second Five-Year Plan and of the Nehru government's economic management one year into its execution. Opening with the line that "speech is silvern and silence is golden," Shroff argues that the moment demands public honesty: the Plan was built on the "socialist pattern of society," pursued comprehensive planning without the technical and informational base to support it, and is now manifestly unworkable. He charges the Planning Commission and its supporters with substituting slogans — most pointedly the newly minted phrase "core of the Plan" — for an actual operating strategy, and he criticises ministers for honouring Gandhi's memory by "practising considerable economy of truth." Shroff then turns to the foreign-exchange collapse, noting that India's balances fell from Rs. 536 crores at the end of November 1956 to roughly Rs. 214 crores a year later (net of an IMF loan of Rs. 95 crores), and that ad-hoc, secretive licence allocations have squandered scarce reserves. He calls for a drastic curtailment of future imports, a serious effort to attract foreign capital and tourism, and the abandonment of "humiliating conditions like reporting to the police on arrival." On taxation, he attacks the Wealth Tax and Expenditure Tax — what he calls Prof. Kaldor's "test-tube babies" — as a Pandora's Box that has frightened domestic investors, killed the new-issue market, idled the textile industry, and produced an overall climate in which "first-class investments on a yield basis of anything between 6 and 12 per cent are going a-begging." The second half of the talk indicts the bureaucratic and public-sector apparatus of the planned economy. Citing a Hindustan Times report of November 29, 1957, Shroff recounts the Prime Minister's own admission that under the present law on co-operatives he could not get a project through; he relays an American industrialist's account of contacting more than twenty authorities to start an industrial project; and he highlights Mr. Gulzarilal Nanda's restriction of the Plan to Rs. 4,800 crores as a belated concession to realism. He documents how the State Bank's dominance, the routing of P.L.480 counterpart funds away from the private sector, and the State Trading Corporation's profiteering on cement imports have all squeezed private enterprise out of working and long-term capital. Shroff closes with a constitutional warning rather than a fiscal one. The "limitless powers vested in the bureaucracy" are producing, he says, a "growing army of 'chota Hitlers'" that threatens democracy itself; the remedy is candour. "A true democracy always functions best when it is told the worst," he insists, and his "earnest appeal and strongest advice to the authorities is, 'consult your purse, and not your pride.'" The pamphlet ends with the slogan that became his signature: "Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives." ## Key points - Shroff frames public criticism of the Second Five-Year Plan as a moral duty, accusing the government of an 'economy of truth' inconsistent with Gandhi's legacy. - He argues the Plan rests on a socialist-pattern philosophy and on amateurish, unrelated assumptions, and that its commitments have already proved unworkable — the newly coined phrase 'core of the Plan' is a face-saving fiction. - Foreign exchange reserves collapsed from Rs. 536 crores (Nov 1956) to roughly Rs. 214 crores (Nov 1957) net of a Rs. 95 crore IMF loan; licence-issuing machinery was indiscriminate and lacked basic arithmetic. - Solutions he proposes: drastic curtailment of imports, a serious climate for foreign private capital, and a tourism push (Rs. 15–20 crores investment could yield Rs. 50 crores of exchange annually). - The Wealth Tax and Expenditure Tax — Kaldor's 'test-tube babies' — have destroyed incentives, killed the new-issue market, idled textile mills, and made first-class equities yielding 6–12 per cent unsaleable. - Internal resources are starved as much as foreign ones: the State Bank's predominant position distorts banking data, P.L.480 counterpart funds are denied to the private sector, and the State Trading Corporation has profiteered on cement imports. - Citing a Hindustan Times report and an American industrialist's testimony, Shroff dramatises bureaucratic obstruction — even the Prime Minister could not push a co-operative through the Registrar's office in Punjab. - His closing warning is constitutional: a 'growing army of chota Hitlers' in the bureaucracy menaces democracy, and recovery requires that the government 'consult its purse, not its pride.' --- ## [Primary work] An Evaluation of Common Minimum Programme URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/an-evaluation-of-common-minimum-programme-by-ss-bhandare-and-jk-mukhopadhyay-july-15-1996/ ### Summary This 16-page Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, jointly written by Tata Services economists S.S. Bhandare and J.K. Mukhopadhyay within days of the United Front (UF) Government's installation in 1996, offers a sceptical but not hostile reading of the 13-party coalition's Common Minimum Programme. The authors concede that the CMP is a creditable consensus statement of intent — covering federalism, decentralisation, fiscal consolidation, PSU restructuring, financial-sector reform, agriculture, and a 'human face' for adjustment — and they note that it broadly tracks the famous 10-point medium-term objectives of Dr. Manmohan Singh's interim 1996-97 budget.… ### Body ## Summary This 16-page Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, jointly written by Tata Services economists S.S. Bhandare and J.K. Mukhopadhyay within days of the United Front (UF) Government's installation in 1996, offers a sceptical but not hostile reading of the 13-party coalition's Common Minimum Programme. The authors concede that the CMP is a creditable consensus statement of intent — covering federalism, decentralisation, fiscal consolidation, PSU restructuring, financial-sector reform, agriculture, and a 'human face' for adjustment — and they note that it broadly tracks the famous 10-point medium-term objectives of Dr. Manmohan Singh's interim 1996-97 budget. But they argue that, as a coalition compromise, the CMP is 'neither a blue-print' nor a credible action programme: it dodges the politically costly items (exit policy, Companies Act amendment, opening coal and oil to private capital) and leaves the institutional mechanism for delivery unspecified. The analytic core of the booklet is what Bhandare and Mukhopadhyay call the 'financial iron triangle' — an inadequate domestic savings ratio (around 24% of GDP, against the 30-35% of East Asian peers), an unsustainable fiscal deficit the CMP wants to bring from roughly 6% down to 4% of GDP, and the RBI's prudent 1.5%-of-GDP cap on the current account deficit. Inside that triangle, the authors argue, the CMP's simultaneous goals of 7% GDP growth, 12% industrial growth and significantly higher social-sector spending (an extra Rs. 12,000-15,000 crore) are 'not internally consistent', and trade-offs between growth, inflation and social justice are bound to bite. They flag a missing 'resource position' chapter, the crowding-out from a high revenue deficit, ambivalence about whether fiscal discipline will spare 'development or investment', and the populist drift in CMP-style federalisation as States pursue prohibition, cheap-rice and free-power schemes that mount fresh claims on the Centre. The political reading is equally hard-edged. The authors warn that some UF constituents — notably the CPI(M) on insurance — may walk back even the diluted commitments, that trade-union militancy could be reawakened, and that Mr. Narasimha Rao's epigram 'unity at Centre and struggle in the States' captures the coalition's tight-rope walk. The CMP, they conclude, is 'Common Maximum Pussy-footing' — a deceleration of reform rather than a reversal — and 'there is still some enchanting music of socialism even in the midst of the market oriented reform.' Yet they end on a constructive note: reforms have now acquired wider acceptability across the Indian polity, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's early expenditure-management and PSU-dividend guidelines are commended, and the booklet closes with an exhortation that the CMP demands a matching 'Common Maximum Effort' from all stakeholders. An Appendix reproduces a detailed digest of the CMP's policy proposals across federalism, agriculture, industry, fiscal issues, and social-sector goals. ## Key points - Treats the United Front's 25-page Common Minimum Programme as a creditable but compromised consensus statement of intent rather than a deliverable blueprint, while noting the CMP is 'not a White Paper' on the state of the economy. - Argues that the CMP largely re-states the 10-point medium-term objectives of Dr. Manmohan Singh's interim 1996-97 budget, signalling continuity of reforms but at a decelerated pace ('Common Maximum Pussy-footing'). - Identifies a 'financial iron triangle' — inadequate domestic savings (~24% of GDP), high fiscal/revenue deficits driving crowding-out, and the RBI's 1.5%-of-GDP current-account cap — as the binding constraint that the CMP fails to address. - Flags the internal inconsistency of pursuing 7% GDP growth, 12% industrial growth, a 4% fiscal-deficit-to-GDP target, and an additional Rs. 12,000-15,000 crore of social-sector spending simultaneously. - Catalogues areas the CMP 'deliberately overlooked or ignored' — exit policy, reconstruction of the National Renewal Fund, amendment of the Companies Act, and opening of coal, minerals and oil to private investment. - Warns that the federalisation drive — review of Sarkaria Commission recommendations, more autonomy to States — risks aggravating fiscal imbalance as States pursue populist schemes such as Andhra Pradesh's prohibition and cheap-rice programmes. - Notes coalition fragility: the CPI(M)'s stated opposition to opening insurance, the prospect of trade-union militancy, and Narasimha Rao's barb about 'unity at Centre and struggle in the states'. - Commends Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's early guidelines on expenditure management and minimum PSU dividend payouts (20% of equity or 20% of post-tax profits, 30% for oil/petrochemical/infrastructure PSUs) as a 'business-like' early signal. - Concludes with cautious optimism that reforms have gained acceptability across the Indian polity and that the CMP demands an answering 'Common Maximum Effort' rather than coalition spoils-sharing. --- ## [Primary work] An Inflationary Budget URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/an-infationary-budget-a-d-shroff-jun7-1959/ ### Summary Delivered as a speech on 11 March 1959 under the joint auspices of the Democratic Group and the Progressive Group in Bombay, and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, A. D. Shroff's address dissects the Union Budget for 1959-60 presented by Finance Minister Morarji Desai. Shroff opens by chiding the Lok Sabha for the casual treatment given to a document that shapes the livelihood of millions, then walks his audience through the budget's revenue and expenditure sides before issuing his central warning: the budget is fundamentally inflationary, and the inflationary trajectory of the Second Five-Year Plan has now reached a point where 'runaway inflation' is a live risk. On revenue, Shroff highlights how excise duties have leapt from Rs. 156 crores in 1956-57 to Rs. 325 crores in 1959-60, becoming the single largest individual head, while the gap between estimates and Plan demand is closed by deficit financing that compels the Reserve Bank to print fresh notes at the Nasik Security Printing Press. Defence expenditure, although reduced to Rs. 243 crores, still exceeds the Rs. 200-crore ceiling he urges for a country that professes Gandhian non-violence.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as a speech on 11 March 1959 under the joint auspices of the Democratic Group and the Progressive Group in Bombay, and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, A. D. Shroff's address dissects the Union Budget for 1959-60 presented by Finance Minister Morarji Desai. Shroff opens by chiding the Lok Sabha for the casual treatment given to a document that shapes the livelihood of millions, then walks his audience through the budget's revenue and expenditure sides before issuing his central warning: the budget is fundamentally inflationary, and the inflationary trajectory of the Second Five-Year Plan has now reached a point where 'runaway inflation' is a live risk. On revenue, Shroff highlights how excise duties have leapt from Rs. 156 crores in 1956-57 to Rs. 325 crores in 1959-60, becoming the single largest individual head, while the gap between estimates and Plan demand is closed by deficit financing that compels the Reserve Bank to print fresh notes at the Nasik Security Printing Press. Defence expenditure, although reduced to Rs. 243 crores, still exceeds the Rs. 200-crore ceiling he urges for a country that professes Gandhian non-violence. The Plan has come to dominate the entire budget: during the first three years of the Second Plan only about 36% of expenditure was met from domestic borrowings while 63% came from foreign borrowings and deficit financing. Sterling balances are essentially exhausted, the price level has risen by some 15%, and the Government's earlier assumption that Rs. 1,200 crores of deficit financing would not be inflationary has been falsified by events. The bulk of the address scrutinises taxation. Shroff judges the much-advertised 'simplification' of corporate tax — abolition of the excess-dividend tax and a re-grossing of dividends in shareholders' hands — to be in practice a form of double taxation that raises the effective burden on joint-stock companies to roughly 51.5%, while Section 23-A, restored as the 'most obnoxious' provision in the Income-Tax Act, will throttle small and medium enterprises. The new wealth tax (introduced earlier by T. T. Krishnamachari), the expenditure tax, the gift tax and the capital-gains tax are dismissed as variously unworkable, perverse or counter-productive; estate duty has produced only Rs. 1.20 crores because, in one of his most memorable lines, 'rich people are not obliging the Government by dying too soon.' Throughout, Shroff frames the budget as further evidence of a deliberate diversion of resources from the private to the public sector — a drift, he insists, that contradicts the Congress Party's own Nagpur resolution affirming that national income rises with rapidity only when private-sector-led capital formation is sustained. He concedes one welcome reform: Morarji R. Desai's formal abolition of the compulsory deposit scheme that the Forum had earlier denounced. The pamphlet closes with the signature Shroff epigram — 'Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives.' ## Key points - Speech delivered 11 March 1959 in Bombay under joint auspices of the Democratic Group and Progressive Group; issued as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet analysing the Union Budget for 1959-60. - Excise duties have risen from Rs. 156 crores in 1956-57 to Rs. 325 crores in 1959-60, becoming the single largest individual head of revenue; corporation tax expected to yield Rs. 58.75 crores against Rs. 56 crores. - About 63% of Plan financing in the first three years of the Second Plan came from foreign borrowings and deficit financing, against only ~36% in the First Plan — sterling balances are nearly exhausted. - Cost of living has risen by roughly 15%; with imports falling under exchange restrictions the cushioning effect on prices is gone and inflationary pressure is set to intensify. - Defence outlay at Rs. 243 crores still exceeds Shroff's recommended Rs. 200-crore ceiling for a country committed to Gandhian non-violence. - Corporate-tax 'simplification' raises the effective burden on joint-stock companies to roughly 51.5% by re-grossing dividends and reintroducing what amounts to double taxation; Section 23-A is revived as the most obnoxious provision in the Income-Tax Act. - Wealth tax (introduced earlier by T. T. Krishnamachari), capital-gains tax, expenditure tax, gift tax and revived Section 23-A together suppress private capital formation; estate duty yields only Rs. 1.20 crores against earlier projections of Rs. 12-15 crores. - The budget's pattern continues a deliberate diversion of resources from the private to the public sector, contradicting the Congress Party's own Nagpur resolution on private-led capital formation. - One welcome reform: Morarji R. Desai's formal abolition of the compulsory deposit scheme, previously denounced by the Forum. --- ## [Primary work] An Integrated Approach to Pricing & Marketing of Agricultural Produce URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/an-integrated-approach-to-pricing-and-marketing-of-the-agricultural-produce-bhanu-pratap-mehta-november-14-1981/ ### Summary Bhanu Pratap Singh, a former Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Irrigation, argues that India's foodgrain pricing and marketing regime — built in the 1960s scarcity years to shield urban consumers — has become structurally hostile to the producer in a country that is now sitting on a marginal surplus. Drawing on the National Demonstration Plots and the Punjab experience, he contends that India has the land, water, sunshine, technology and seed to be the world's largest farm exporter, and that the gap between potential and performance is the product of a feudal-colonial mental inheritance under which agriculturists are the only producers who have no say in the price of their own produce. The booklet then dissects the machinery of price suppression: heavy buffer stocks built on subsidised imports, transport and wagon shortages that trap grain in deficit pockets, export bans, and an Agricultural Prices Commission whose cost-of-production methodology ignores risk, assumes sub-optimal input use, and is selectively followed only when its recommendations suit the consumer.… ### Body ## Summary Bhanu Pratap Singh, a former Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Irrigation, argues that India's foodgrain pricing and marketing regime — built in the 1960s scarcity years to shield urban consumers — has become structurally hostile to the producer in a country that is now sitting on a marginal surplus. Drawing on the National Demonstration Plots and the Punjab experience, he contends that India has the land, water, sunshine, technology and seed to be the world's largest farm exporter, and that the gap between potential and performance is the product of a feudal-colonial mental inheritance under which agriculturists are the only producers who have no say in the price of their own produce. The booklet then dissects the machinery of price suppression: heavy buffer stocks built on subsidised imports, transport and wagon shortages that trap grain in deficit pockets, export bans, and an Agricultural Prices Commission whose cost-of-production methodology ignores risk, assumes sub-optimal input use, and is selectively followed only when its recommendations suit the consumer. He documents the widening divergence between farm and non-farm wholesale price indices, the hidden losses and concessional credit lavished on the Food Corporation of India, the captive dumping of deteriorated stocks on roller flour mills, and the near-total neglect of coarse foodgrains consumed by adivasis and the rural poor — concluding that the present arrangement has pauperised the farming community while protecting only the urban consumer. In the closing pages Singh sets out a ten-point alternative: treat the whole country as a single market, fix a 'parity' price tied to a base year, define a 'support'–'intervention' band of 85–115 per cent, build co-operative warehouses at vikas kendras for prompt payment to small farmers, license only stocks above 100 quintals through a light register-and-return regime, free perishables for export, and build grading, processing and cold-chain infrastructure for horticulture. The case is buttressed by two appended tables — the widening farm/non-farm price divergence to 1980, and the collapse in the purchasing power of one quintal of wheat against fertilisers, insecticides, diesel, tractors and other key inputs. ## Key points - Pricing and marketing policies framed in the scarcity decades remain in force even though India has shifted from import-dependence to marginal surplus, so the protected party should now be the producer rather than the consumer. - India has the land, irrigation, climate and technology to become the world's largest farm exporter; National Demonstration Plots already yield three to four times the national average, and replicating Punjab's performance on all irrigable land would transform the country's external position. - Open-market farm prices are not natural but contrived — through buffer stocks built on subsidised imports, liberal import policy, export bans, and wagon and credit constraints that block private movement of grain. - The Agricultural Prices Commission's cost-of-production method is methodologically broken: it ignores weather and pest risk, uses year-old input figures, assumes actual rather than optimum input use, and is followed selectively only when its findings keep procurement prices low. - Public distribution looks cheap but costs over Rs. 191 per quintal of wheat once subsidies and FCI losses are counted, while the rural poor (who exceed the urban population) receive less than one-fourth of distributed grain and coarse cereals are almost wholly ignored. - Modernising one hectare of farmland costs roughly Rs. 8,000; with 90 per cent of Indian farms still unmodernised, the required Rs. 1,024 billion cannot be raised so long as price manipulation prevents capital formation within the farm sector itself. - Singh proposes a 'parity' pricing system with a Government-announced 85–115 per cent support–intervention band, free internal movement of foodgrains, light-touch stock licensing above 100 quintals, co-operative warehouses at vikas kendras for distress-sale protection, and free export of perishables. - Two annexed tables show the farm/non-farm wholesale price divergence widening from 0.8 per cent in 1973 to 36.6 per cent in 1980, and the purchasing power of one quintal of wheat falling to 40–70 per cent of its 1970–71 level against fertilisers, diesel, tractors and other inputs. --- ## [Primary work] An Open Letter to L.I.C. URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/an-open-letter-to-lic-by-peregrine-december-5-1962/ ### Summary An Open Letter to L.I.C., signed by the pseudonymous "Peregrine" and reproduced from the Amrit Bazar Patrika of September 1, 1962, is a sceptical reading of the Life Insurance Corporation's first major progress report by a writer who is also a policy-holder. While most papers, the letter notes, have "sung hallelujah" to the LIC's claimed jump in new business from Rs. 497.54 crores in 1960 to Rs. 608.82 crores in 1961, Peregrine argues that the corresponding rise in "business in force" — Rs. 452 crores, or 19.8 per cent — is too small to be consistent with that growth once first-year lapsation is honestly counted. The gap of Rs. 156.82 crores, he writes, either reflects accounting jugglery or simply measures policies that lapsed within the first year; his own estimate of true first-year lapsation is about Rs. 182.4 crores, or roughly 30 per cent of new business nationally and as high as 59 per cent in pockets such as Jalpaiguri. The second half of the letter shifts from arithmetic to incentives. Peregrine traces the LIC's promotional culture back to Morarji Desai's 1959 Lok Sabha exhortation to reach Rs.… ### Body ## Summary An Open Letter to L.I.C., signed by the pseudonymous "Peregrine" and reproduced from the Amrit Bazar Patrika of September 1, 1962, is a sceptical reading of the Life Insurance Corporation's first major progress report by a writer who is also a policy-holder. While most papers, the letter notes, have "sung hallelujah" to the LIC's claimed jump in new business from Rs. 497.54 crores in 1960 to Rs. 608.82 crores in 1961, Peregrine argues that the corresponding rise in "business in force" — Rs. 452 crores, or 19.8 per cent — is too small to be consistent with that growth once first-year lapsation is honestly counted. The gap of Rs. 156.82 crores, he writes, either reflects accounting jugglery or simply measures policies that lapsed within the first year; his own estimate of true first-year lapsation is about Rs. 182.4 crores, or roughly 30 per cent of new business nationally and as high as 59 per cent in pockets such as Jalpaiguri. The second half of the letter shifts from arithmetic to incentives. Peregrine traces the LIC's promotional culture back to Morarji Desai's 1959 Lok Sabha exhortation to reach Rs. 1,000 crores of new business as soon as possible, and argues that the resulting target-chasing has hardened into a system where field workers are rated chiefly on "gross completed business" — with the predictable result that officials are promoted for booking volumes of "unsound or simply fictitious" policies. He recounts a Calcutta Division episode in which Rs. 20 crores of new business was reportedly booked in a single day to save end-of-year quotas, and cites the Lok Sabha Estimates Committee's April 1962 report — which scolded the Corporation for emphasising expansion over servicing — to show that even Parliament has noticed the pattern. The pamphlet closes by demanding that the LIC make its admitted "adverse trend" public and asserts a citizen-and-policy-holder right to know the actual condition of the national insurance monopoly. The Forum of Free Enterprise reissued the letter in December 1962 with its standard disclaimer that the views expressed are not necessarily those of the Forum. ## Key points - Frames itself as the dissenting "brickbat" against a press chorus celebrating the LIC's 1961 results. - Argues that the Rs. 156.82 crore gap between claimed new business (Rs. 608.82 cr) and the marginal increase in "business in force" (Rs. 452 cr) measures first-year lapsation hidden by the Corporation's framing. - Estimates true first-year lapsation in 1961 at about Rs. 182.4 crores (~30 per cent of new business), citing Jalpaiguri's 59 per cent ratio as an example of regional concentration. - Cites the LIC's own admission that 5.46 lakh of 14.70 lakh policies issued in 1961 lapsed, and works out a unit economics example showing each lapsed policy costs the Corporation a net Rs. 13. - Traces the incentive distortion to Morarji Desai's 1959 Lok Sabha target of Rs. 1,000 crores and to internal appraisal formulae that weight "gross completed business" above servicing and retention. - Recounts a Calcutta Division episode where Rs. 20 crores of new business was reportedly booked on the last day of the year to save divisional prestige. - Invokes the Lok Sabha Estimates Committee's April 1962 report, which faulted the LIC for prioritising expansion over servicing, as Parliamentary corroboration. - Closes by asserting a citizen-and-policy-holder right to know, demanding the Corporation publish the "adverse trend" it has admitted only internally. --- ## [Primary work] An Analysis of Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, 1988. URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/analysis-of-direct-tax-laws-amendment-bill-dinesh-vyas-1988/ ### Summary Dinesh Vyas, a practising Supreme Court advocate, takes apart the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, 1988 — a piece of legislation introduced to walk back the most contentious portions of the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987. He sets the dispute in long historical terms: taxation is a perpetual battle between the State's financial claims and the citizen's proprietary rights, and the 1987 Act provoked the bitterest such battle Indian tax law has seen, with public bandhs in Delhi, Bombay, and Ahmedabad and an appeal to the President to withhold assent. The 1988 Bill, he argues, is the Government's incomplete retreat: it deletes some provisions, restores some pre-1987 schemes (notably for charitable trusts and the taxation of firms and partners), but retains the new assessment scheme and reintroduces stiffer concealment penalties. Section by section, Vyas weighs which 1988 changes are welcome and which deserve resistance.… ### Body ## Summary Dinesh Vyas, a practising Supreme Court advocate, takes apart the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, 1988 — a piece of legislation introduced to walk back the most contentious portions of the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987. He sets the dispute in long historical terms: taxation is a perpetual battle between the State's financial claims and the citizen's proprietary rights, and the 1987 Act provoked the bitterest such battle Indian tax law has seen, with public bandhs in Delhi, Bombay, and Ahmedabad and an appeal to the President to withhold assent. The 1988 Bill, he argues, is the Government's incomplete retreat: it deletes some provisions, restores some pre-1987 schemes (notably for charitable trusts and the taxation of firms and partners), but retains the new assessment scheme and reintroduces stiffer concealment penalties. Section by section, Vyas weighs which 1988 changes are welcome and which deserve resistance. He praises the new Section 80HHD for hotels and licensed travel agents earning convertible foreign exchange, the carve-out of export profits from the Section 115J minimum-tax net, the new Section 10(6C) exemption for technical-services fees paid to foreign companies, and the reintroduced Investment Allowance for new plant and machinery installed after 31 March 1988. He objects, however, to the proposed reading of Section 80HHC that would condition the export deduction on actual profits — removing the impetus that previously sustained loss-making exports — and to new valuation rules under the Wealth Tax and Gift Tax Acts that switch unquoted shares to break-up value and burden post-1974 residential property owners. His fiercest criticism is reserved for the proposed widening of "income" in Section 2(24) to bring employee allowances within the tax net, made retrospective to 1 April 1962. The amendment would supersede two decades of judicial pronouncements favouring employees, fall hardest on the salaried lower-middle class, and require even completed assessments to be reopened. He treats the move as both unjust to working-class taxpayers and a violation of the canons of certainty and stability in tax law. Vyas closes with a broader indictment: the Income-tax Act, 1961 has been mauled by Parliamentary onslaught since its birth, the canons of simplicity and certainty have been "mercilessly violated", and the "undue anxiety to reach the last paisa through a statutory net" has produced a foolproof-on-paper system that in practice weakens administration and rewards evasion. India deserves, he writes, simpler direct tax laws tailored to the twenty-first century. ## Key points - Frames the 1988 Bill as a partial Government retreat after the 1987 Direct Tax Laws Amendment Act provoked unprecedented public protest (city bandhs in Delhi, Bombay, Ahmedabad) and an appeal to the President. - Welcomes restoration of the pre-1987 schemes for charitable trusts and institutions, and for taxation of firms and their partners, while noting new conditions on trust exemptions. - Praises export-sector reliefs: new Section 80HHD for hotels and licensed travel agents earning convertible foreign exchange, and the exclusion of export profits from the Section 115J minimum-tax computation. - Criticises the amendment to Section 80HHC, arguing that conditioning the export deduction on profits removes the incentive that sustained exports even in loss years. - Welcomes the reintroduction of Investment Allowance for plant and machinery installed after 31 March 1988, but flags as illusory the requirement that the option, once exercised, is locked in for five years. - Strongly opposes the widening of "income" in Section 2(24) to tax employee allowances retrospectively from 1 April 1962, arguing it supersedes two decades of judicial pronouncements and crushes the salaried lower-middle class. - Objects to new Wealth Tax / Gift Tax valuation rules that depart from settled Supreme Court principles by applying the break-up method to unquoted shares and that adversely revalue post-1974 residential property. - Diagnoses Indian direct tax law as suffering chronic instability — invoking a 1958 verdict that no Act in the country's history had been changed beyond recognition like the 1922 Income-tax Act, and arguing the 1961 Act has been worse. - Argues that the canons of simplicity and certainty have been violated by the State's anxiety to plug every gap, weakening administration and aiding evasion, and calls for direct tax laws tailored to twenty-first-century India. --- ## [Primary work] AN ANALYSIS OF BUDGET PROPOSALS (1963-64) URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ananalysis-of-budget-proposals-n-a-palkhivala-feb15-1963/ ### Summary N. A. Palkhivala's pamphlet — published by the Forum of Free Enterprise on the eve of the post-1962 emergency Budget — is a sustained classical-liberal attack on the 1963-64 Union Budget, with the proposed Super Profits Tax as its central target. Palkhivala opens by insisting that even an emergency cannot suspend "the principles of economics and the rules which regulate human conduct," and uses cross-national comparison (Japan halving its income-tax on the middle classes, US/UK/Germany/France direct-tax reductions, the National Institute's report to the UK Government, articles in The Times, The Economist and Time) to argue that progressive economies grow revenues by lowering rates, not by piling them on already-confiscatory marginal rates of 50% on companies and 87% on individuals. The heart of the booklet is a numbered indictment of the Super Profits Tax under eight heads: it taxes capital rather than profit; ignores the labour component of firms like agencies and partnerships; punishes lean-year recoveries; double-taxes corporate-shareholder structures; deters foreign collaboration; freezes new company formation; cripples banks by exhausting their reserve base; and will trigge… ### Body ## Summary N. A. Palkhivala's pamphlet — published by the Forum of Free Enterprise on the eve of the post-1962 emergency Budget — is a sustained classical-liberal attack on the 1963-64 Union Budget, with the proposed Super Profits Tax as its central target. Palkhivala opens by insisting that even an emergency cannot suspend "the principles of economics and the rules which regulate human conduct," and uses cross-national comparison (Japan halving its income-tax on the middle classes, US/UK/Germany/France direct-tax reductions, the National Institute's report to the UK Government, articles in The Times, The Economist and Time) to argue that progressive economies grow revenues by lowering rates, not by piling them on already-confiscatory marginal rates of 50% on companies and 87% on individuals. The heart of the booklet is a numbered indictment of the Super Profits Tax under eight heads: it taxes capital rather than profit; ignores the labour component of firms like agencies and partnerships; punishes lean-year recoveries; double-taxes corporate-shareholder structures; deters foreign collaboration; freezes new company formation; cripples banks by exhausting their reserve base; and will trigger a financial crisis worse than the emergency it is meant to fund. Palkhivala renames the proposal "The Economic Hara-kiri Act, 1963" and, if abolition is impossible, prescribes eight statutory amendments — restricting the levy to the emergency period, lifting the 6% standard return, excluding inter-company dividends from a third round of tax, ringfencing the Income-Tax Officer's discretion over commission and entertainment expenses, and exempting banks entirely. The later pages widen the attack to Section 40 of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 (the proposed Rs. 60,000-per-year ceiling on deductible employee remuneration, which he calls double taxation and a deterrent to foreign talent), the 20% surcharge on registered firms ("Tyranny through the Democratic Process"), and the 5%-plus-10% surcharge on machinery customs that he says will choke private investment in power and other capital-intensive sectors. Palkhivala closes by demanding that New Delhi receive "not merely a breath of fresh air but a blast of fresh air to sweep away the cobwebs of wrong fiscal thinking," with A. D. Shroff's epigraph on free enterprise sealing the pamphlet's worldview. ## Key points - Frames the Budget critique with the dictum that emergencies may suspend fundamental rights but not the principles of economics. - Marshals comparative evidence — Japan, USA, UK, Germany, France, plus citations of The Times, The Economist, Time and a National Institute report — to show that lowering direct-tax rates expands revenue. - Treats the Super Profits Tax as the Budget's central evil and lists eight specific defects, from taxing capital rather than profit to crippling bank reserves. - Renames the proposed levy 'The Economic Hara-kiri Act, 1963' and offers eight statutory amendments to make it bearable if outright repeal is impossible. - Attacks Section 40's Rs. 60,000 ceiling on deductible employee remuneration as arbitrary, double-taxing, and a deterrent to recruiting foreign technical talent. - Calls the 20% surcharge on registered firms 'Tyranny through the Democratic Process', arguing it confuses partnerships with limited companies and taxes labour income as if it were capital. - Warns that the customs surcharge on machinery (raising rates to 22% and 16.5%) will derail thermal-electricity and other capital-intensive projects already budgeted under earlier rates. - Closes with A. D. Shroff's aphorism on free enterprise and Palkhivala's own metaphor of needing 'a blast of fresh air to sweep away the cobwebs of wrong fiscal thinking' in New Delhi. --- ## [Primary work] An Analysis of Dutt Committee Report on Industrial Licensing URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ananlaysis-of-dutt-committe-november-9-1969/ ### Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in November 1969, this short booklet bundles two journalistic critiques of the Dutt Committee Report on Industrial Licensing. The first piece, by an unnamed "Special Correspondent" reproduced from the Indian Express, argues that the Committee's loaded terms of reference produced a document whose summary recommendations do not flow from its own factual analysis. Marshalling the Committee's own tables — the 23.8 per cent share of licences held by the 73 large houses and their second tiers, the 4.2 per cent share of the large independents, the 9.3 per cent and 6 per cent rates of non-implementation respectively — the correspondent contends that on every numerical criterion (share of licences, share of capital goods imports, rates of rejection and non-implementation) the large industrial sector performed at least as well as, and often better than, the rest of the private sector, the small-scale sector and the public sector.… ### Body ## Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in November 1969, this short booklet bundles two journalistic critiques of the Dutt Committee Report on Industrial Licensing. The first piece, by an unnamed "Special Correspondent" reproduced from the Indian Express, argues that the Committee's loaded terms of reference produced a document whose summary recommendations do not flow from its own factual analysis. Marshalling the Committee's own tables — the 23.8 per cent share of licences held by the 73 large houses and their second tiers, the 4.2 per cent share of the large independents, the 9.3 per cent and 6 per cent rates of non-implementation respectively — the correspondent contends that on every numerical criterion (share of licences, share of capital goods imports, rates of rejection and non-implementation) the large industrial sector performed at least as well as, and often better than, the rest of the private sector, the small-scale sector and the public sector. The villainising of "large houses" therefore rests on rhetoric rather than data, and the report's failure to summon witnesses or examine demand-forecasting reflects a methodological vacuum that the Monopolies Bill and bank nationalisation have, in any case, already overtaken. The analysis then turns to policy. It charges that the Committee ignored the role of demand variability, raw-material availability and the long lead-times between licensing and production; it accepts the case for a joint sector but warns that financial-institution directors cannot be expected to participate meaningfully in management; it notes that the recommendation for a "core sector" reserved to public undertakings contradicts the Industrial Policy Resolution and the Industrial Development Minister's own statement on entrepreneurial freedom; and it argues that a rigid five-year ban on growth in the "middle sector" would suppress exports, raise prices and depress public revenues. Citing the Maharashtra Government's SICOM scheme, the correspondent recommends positive incentives over blanket area bans, an independent judicial chairman for the licensing committee, and a high-quality monitoring committee under a retired Supreme Court judge. The second piece, an editorial titled "Vintage in Small Pack" reproduced from the Economic & Political Weekly of 6 September 1969, takes a sharper tone. It complains that two years of labour have yielded a report unable to demarcate clearly between the "core" and "middle" sectors, that the Committee's casual recommendation to plant public-institution directors on company boards betrays an outdated "pocket-sized" conception of control, and that neither technology nor organisation — the two factors most integral to size — receives any worthwhile attention. The editorial closes with the booklet's central indictment: that the Committee has bequeathed more problems than it has solved, and that "its contribution is more academic. And that is a failure of mind." Two epigraphs — Eugene Black on accepting private enterprise as an "affirmative good" and A. D. Shroff on the perpetuity of free enterprise — frame the booklet as a Forum statement of position rather than a neutral commentary. ## Key points - The booklet packages two press critiques of the Dutt Committee Report — a Special Correspondent piece from the Indian Express and an Economic & Political Weekly editorial titled "Vintage in Small Pack". - Central argument: the Committee's summary recommendations do not flow from its own factual analysis; its conclusions "loaded" the case against large industrial houses in spite of data that exonerates them. - Statistical case: the 73 large houses and their second tiers accounted for only 23.8 per cent of licences and 9.3 per cent of non-implementation; large independents, only 4.2 per cent of licences and 6 per cent of non-implementation — performance at least as good as other sectors. - Methodological critique: the Committee did not summon witnesses, failed to address demand forecasting, the three-to-five-year lead-times between licensing and production, raw-material variability, or capacity definitions. - Policy critique: the recommended five-year ban on growth in the "middle sector" would damage exports and revenues; the Maharashtra SICOM model of positive incentives is preferred to blanket area bans. - On the joint sector: financial-institution nominees cannot meaningfully participate in management; modern control rests on investment, reporting and information systems, not on directors' physical presence. - On the core sector: the Committee's recommendation of state monopoly over basic and heavy industries contradicts the Industrial Policy Resolution and the Industrial Development Minister's own pronouncements on entrepreneurial freedom. - Implementation reform: the licensing committee should be chaired by an independent judicial figure, ideally a retired Supreme Court judge, supported by a high-quality top-level monitoring committee. - The booklet positions itself as a Forum of Free Enterprise polemic — book-ended by Eugene Black's epigraph defending private enterprise as an "affirmative good" and A. D. Shroff's posthumous declaration on the perpetuity of free enterprise. --- ## [Primary work] अंगारमळा URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/angarmala-sharad-joshi/ ### Summary अंगारमळा (Angarmala, literally 'Ember-Garden') is a Marathi-language collection of nineteen essays by Sharad Joshi, the founder of the Shetkari Sanghatana, first published in 2008 and expanded in a second edition (2015). The title is a metaphor for the scorching toil of the peasant life and the movement Joshi built around it. In the rendered pages the book opens with three autobiographical essays drawn from columns published in the weeklies Saptahik Vakari and Saptahik Gyanba. The publisher's foreword by Shrikant Umariker notes that the book received Maharashtra government recognition for outstanding literary creation and that the second edition adds four new essays, including biographical portraits of former Prime Minister Charan Singh, Shetkari Sanghatana leaders Anil Gote and Ramchandrabapu Patil, and a history of the Vakari weekly itself. The title essay 'अंगारमळा' is an intimate autobiographical account of Joshi's early activist decades — his marriage, the family's peripatetic life across Delhi, Shimla, Agra, and Pune, and the grinding daily reality of building a mass farmer movement from scratch.… ### Body ## Summary अंगारमळा (Angarmala, literally 'Ember-Garden') is a Marathi-language collection of nineteen essays by Sharad Joshi, the founder of the Shetkari Sanghatana, first published in 2008 and expanded in a second edition (2015). The title is a metaphor for the scorching toil of the peasant life and the movement Joshi built around it. In the rendered pages the book opens with three autobiographical essays drawn from columns published in the weeklies Saptahik Vakari and Saptahik Gyanba. The publisher's foreword by Shrikant Umariker notes that the book received Maharashtra government recognition for outstanding literary creation and that the second edition adds four new essays, including biographical portraits of former Prime Minister Charan Singh, Shetkari Sanghatana leaders Anil Gote and Ramchandrabapu Patil, and a history of the Vakari weekly itself. The title essay 'अंगारमळा' is an intimate autobiographical account of Joshi's early activist decades — his marriage, the family's peripatetic life across Delhi, Shimla, Agra, and Pune, and the grinding daily reality of building a mass farmer movement from scratch. Joshi writes with unusual candour about the personal cost of political life: his wife Shreya's sacrifices, the difficulty of farm-income questions, encounters with landless labourers, and the slow radicalisation that turned a civil-servant intellectual into a peasant-movement leader. The narrative reaches the January 1973 agitation launch and closes with Joshi's reflections on collective action and land-amalgamation policy failures. The second essay, 'माझी ब्राह्मण्याची गाथा' ('My Story of Being a Brahmin'), turns inward: Joshi examines the tension between his Brahmin caste identity and his role as the chief voice of Maharashtra's farming poor. He interrogates the pride, shame, and political vulnerability that attach to caste in activist life, and asks whether Hindu religious tradition can be reconciled with genuine agrarian solidarity. The third essay, 'इति एकाध्याय' ('Thus Ends a Chapter'), is a vivid, scene-by-scene account of a crisis period in the Shetkari Sanghatana in the early 1990s, weaving together episodes of agitation, his wife Gauri's serious illness in Delhi, confrontations with government officials, and the emotional cost of sustaining a movement under hostile political conditions. All three essays in the rendered pages are sourced to their original periodical publication dates (1988–1992), underscoring the collection's character as recovered journalism. ## Key points - The book is a single-author collection of essays originally published in Marathi weeklies; the rendered pages cover essays 1–3 (printed pp. 7–34) out of 19 essays across 104 PDF pages. - The title essay is an autobiographical account of Joshi's entry into the shetkari movement, combining personal memoir (marriage, family displacement, financial hardship) with political history of the 1960s–1970s agitation period. - Essay 2 directly confronts the caste question: as a Brahmin leading a farmers' movement, Joshi reflects on how caste identity complicates and sometimes delegitimises agrarian activism in the eyes of both supporters and opponents. - Essay 3 records a crisis in the Shetkari Sanghatana in the early 1990s, including his wife Gauri's illness, political setbacks, and the strain of sustaining collective action against bureaucratic and electoral pressures. - The publisher's foreword identifies a Maharashtra state literary award, the inclusion of four new essays in the 2015 edition, and the book's warm reception among farmers and literary critics alike. - Each of the three rendered essays is anchored to a specific periodical source and date, affirming the collection's nature as compiled journalism rather than retrospective memoir. - Sharad Joshi employs lyrical, literary Marathi — as the publisher foreword notes, making him a rare movement leader whose writing crosses into literary culture. --- ## [Primary work] अन्वयार्थ - १ URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/anvyartha-1-sharad-joshi/ ### Summary अन्वयार्थ - १ (Anvyartha Vol. 1) is a Marathi-language collection of newspaper columns by Sharad Joshi, the founder of the Shetkari Sanghatna (Farmers' Organisation), published in 2010 by Janashakti Vachak Chalavala, Aurangabad. According to the publisher's note, the pieces were originally published in Dai. Lokmat between 1992–1994 and 2000–2001 under the 'Anvyartha' column-head, and the collection is being issued as part of Joshi's amrit-mahotsav (75th birthday) publication series. The book carries a government of Maharashtra award. In the rendered pages, Joshi advances his signature thesis — that the root cause of India's political and social dysfunction is the systematic looting of agricultural production by the state, a pattern he traces from British colonial rule through post-independence socialism. His preface frames every topic he writes on — literacy, science, electoral corruption, gender, the arts — as ultimately connected to this foundational agrarian critique.… ### Body ## Summary अन्वयार्थ - १ (Anvyartha Vol. 1) is a Marathi-language collection of newspaper columns by Sharad Joshi, the founder of the Shetkari Sanghatna (Farmers' Organisation), published in 2010 by Janashakti Vachak Chalavala, Aurangabad. According to the publisher's note, the pieces were originally published in Dai. Lokmat between 1992–1994 and 2000–2001 under the 'Anvyartha' column-head, and the collection is being issued as part of Joshi's amrit-mahotsav (75th birthday) publication series. The book carries a government of Maharashtra award. In the rendered pages, Joshi advances his signature thesis — that the root cause of India's political and social dysfunction is the systematic looting of agricultural production by the state, a pattern he traces from British colonial rule through post-independence socialism. His preface frames every topic he writes on — literacy, science, electoral corruption, gender, the arts — as ultimately connected to this foundational agrarian critique. The opening essay, 'नव्या शतकातील माणूस — माणूस असेल' (Human in the New Century — Will He Remain Human?), surveys human progress from evolution through organised religion and modern science, arguing that whereas each ideology has tried to reform human nature rather than accept market-compatible self-interest, the new century's challenge is to harness rationality and science toward genuine individual flourishing. A second essay, ''सियावरत्यक्ता सीता' एक अनादी पीडित' (Sita Abandoned by Siyavar — A Timeless Victim), reads the Ramayana's Sita as an emblem of the woman who is perpetually punished despite blamelessness, and attacks the continuing social norm that enforces female sacrifice for family and male honour. A third essay, 'विद्वानांची 'स्वायत्तता लिमिटेड'' (Scholars' Autonomy, Limited), targets academics and literary institutions — universities, the Sahitya Akademi — for their dependence on and deference to the ruling party, arguing that genuine intellectual autonomy has been extinguished by state patronage. A fourth essay, 'नवे कलुषा कब्जी' (The New Corrupt Captors), attacks the post-liberalisation rentier class of economists and planning-commission functionaries, notably Ashok Mitra and Dantewala, who champion planning-era controls while benefiting from them, and exposes how price controls damage farmers. The fifth essay fragment visible in the rendered pages, 'पाहिजे 'एक सरकार'' (We Need 'One Government'), critiques the policy chaos that followed the 1992 Ayodhya riots and the resulting loss of foreign investment confidence. ## Key points - The collection gathers Marathi columns originally published in Dai. Lokmat (1992–94 and 2000–01); in the rendered pages only the front matter, preface, table of contents, and the first five essays (partially) are visible. - Joshi's preface states the central thesis of Shetkari Sanghatna: all governance systems — colonial and post-colonial — have sustained themselves by looting agricultural output; licence-permit-quota raj is the post-independence avatar of the same extraction. - The first essay surveys evolutionary and intellectual history to argue that human nature cannot be reformed by religion, ideology or collectivism, and that the new century should accept rational self-interest as the basis of economic organisation. - The Sita essay deploys the Ramayana as a critique of patriarchal social norms, arguing that women remain punished for their own virtue; Joshi's reading is explicitly feminist and anti-traditionalist within a liberal frame. - The 'Scholars' Autonomy Limited' essay argues that Indian universities and cultural institutions have surrendered independent thought to state patronage, creating a class of intellectuals who cannot critique the government that funds them. - In the rendered pages, Ashok Mitra and M. L. Dantewala are named as economists who provide ideological cover for planning-era price controls while personally benefiting from the system. - The table of contents shows 77 essays across 197 pages spanning topics from agrarian economics and liberalisation to the Ramayana, Bofors, the Dunkel Draft, Russia's transition, and Shiv Sena — none of these later essays are visible in the rendered pages. --- ## [Primary work] APPROACH TO THE FIFTH PLAN URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/approach-to-the-fifth-plan-dr-phiroze-b-medhora-february-1973/ ### Summary Reproduced from the first of two lectures Dr. Phiroze B. Medhora delivered at Surat under the auspices of the South Gujarat University on 6 February 1973, this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet is a sustained critique of the Planning Commission's revised Approach Paper to the Fifth Five-Year Plan (1974–79). Medhora argues that after a quarter-century of planning the Commission has 'apparently learnt nothing—and has certainly not forgotten the cliches.' He compares the original Approach Paper of October 1972 with the revised version of January 1973 and finds the latter to be a 'slide-back' — a fundamental change in concept and strategy disguised as a drafting revision, the most visible symptom of which is the cut in the target growth rate from 6.5 per cent to 5.5 per cent. Medhora frames the planning debate as one over objectives. He distinguishes the western 'growth versus distribution' dilemma popularised by Mahbub-ul-Haq from the Indian problem, which he insists is essentially distributive, since India's physical resources are not so exhausted as to force a trade-off with employment.… ### Body ## Summary Reproduced from the first of two lectures Dr. Phiroze B. Medhora delivered at Surat under the auspices of the South Gujarat University on 6 February 1973, this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet is a sustained critique of the Planning Commission's revised Approach Paper to the Fifth Five-Year Plan (1974–79). Medhora argues that after a quarter-century of planning the Commission has 'apparently learnt nothing—and has certainly not forgotten the cliches.' He compares the original Approach Paper of October 1972 with the revised version of January 1973 and finds the latter to be a 'slide-back' — a fundamental change in concept and strategy disguised as a drafting revision, the most visible symptom of which is the cut in the target growth rate from 6.5 per cent to 5.5 per cent. Medhora frames the planning debate as one over objectives. He distinguishes the western 'growth versus distribution' dilemma popularised by Mahbub-ul-Haq from the Indian problem, which he insists is essentially distributive, since India's physical resources are not so exhausted as to force a trade-off with employment. Yet the revised Paper, he contends, has reduced the question of minimum subsistence for the poor to a re-arrangement of existing income, leaving the production structure largely untouched. He shows arithmetically that bringing the poorest sections up to a minimum consumption level of Rs. 20 per capita (1961–62 prices) requires a 33 per cent rise in consumption of foodgrains, edible oils, cloth and fuel, against planned growth rates for these items of only around 5 per cent — a gap that is not technical but political. The core of the lecture is a methodological attack on the Commission's single-model planning. Medhora argues that with the same level of investment, a redistribution of investment across sectors (heavier weight to agriculture) and a lower capital-output ratio could yield a 7.5 per cent growth rate rather than 5.5 per cent, requiring perhaps Rs. 5,000 crores more in total outlay. He rejects the 'defeatist' treatment of exports as inelastic — pointing out that world trade grew 10–12 per cent annually through the 1960s — and the bureaucratic instinct to take foreign aid and imports, but not exports, as policy variables. Citing Japan's tolerated 5–6 per cent inflation alongside 10–11 per cent real growth in the sixties, he argues that the level of investment, the rate of inflation, and the resource envelope are all choices, not constraints. Medhora closes by charging the revised Approach Paper with being an exercise in 'academic planning' — a paper approach in which computers, rather than human effort, decide the country's destiny. The Paper accepts its own self-enunciated objectives uncritically, offers no alternative paths, and disdains to present the country with real choices. 'Even a nominal etatist economy', he writes, could achieve the modest targets envisaged; the planning exercise as currently practised is 'timid in its approach, academic in its conception and irrelevant to the task the Planning Commission should be concerned with.' ## Key points - Medhora reads the revised Approach Paper of January 1973 as a substantive 'slide-back' from the October 1972 draft, not a mere drafting revision; the cut in the target growth rate from 6.5 to 5.5 per cent is the most visible symptom. - He distinguishes Mahbub-ul-Haq's growth-vs-distribution dilemma (a western framing imported from Pakistan's experience) from India's situation, which he argues is essentially distributive since physical resources are not so exhausted as to force the trade-off. - Bringing the poorest population up to minimum subsistence (Rs. 20 per capita at 1961–62 prices) requires a 33 per cent increase in consumption of foodgrains, edible oils, cloth and fuel — against planned growth rates near 5 per cent — exposing the gap between rhetoric and targets. - Re-arranging investment across sectors with greater weight to agriculture, and accepting a lower capital-output ratio than the Commission's 3.14:1, could deliver a 7.5 per cent growth rate at the same investment level; reaching the higher target would require about Rs. 5,000 crores more in total outlay. - He rejects the treatment of Indian exports as inelastic, noting world trade grew 10–12 per cent per year through the 1960s, and criticises the Planning Commission for treating only foreign aid and imports — not exports — as policy variables. - Inflation is reframed as a choice rather than a hard ceiling: he cites Japan's deliberate 5–6 per cent inflation alongside 10–11 per cent real growth in the sixties to argue that the level of investment is a policy variable. - He attacks the Commission's monopoly on model-building: by offering 'one final model to choose from', it reduces national economic strategy to tinkering rather than genuine alternative-comparison. - Medhora's closing charge is that the revised Approach Paper is 'academic planning' — a paper exercise in which computers, not human effort, decide destiny — and is therefore timid, academic and irrelevant to the real task before the Planning Commission. --- ## [Primary work] Approach to the Fourth Five-Year Plan URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/approach-to-the-fourth-five-year-plan-dr-r-c-cooper-s-m-dahanukar-y-a-fazalbhoy-november-10-1968/ ### Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise on 10 November 1968 to coincide with the Planning Commission's circulation of its 'Approach to the Fourth Five-Year Plan' note, this pamphlet collects three addresses by Dr. Rustom C. Cooper, Y. A. Fazalbhoy and S. M. Dahanukar — a chartered accountant and Indian Merchants' Chamber past president, the head of the All-India Manufacturers' Organisation, and the president of the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce. The FFE introduction frames the volume as a continuation of its post-1956 campaign against Soviet-style centralised planning, citing inflation, foreign exchange crises, food shortages and industrial recession as vindication of warnings earlier issued by A. D. Shroff, Murarji J. Vaidya, N. A. Palkhivala, Prof. P. T. Bauer and Prof. B. R.… ### Body ## Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise on 10 November 1968 to coincide with the Planning Commission's circulation of its 'Approach to the Fourth Five-Year Plan' note, this pamphlet collects three addresses by Dr. Rustom C. Cooper, Y. A. Fazalbhoy and S. M. Dahanukar — a chartered accountant and Indian Merchants' Chamber past president, the head of the All-India Manufacturers' Organisation, and the president of the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce. The FFE introduction frames the volume as a continuation of its post-1956 campaign against Soviet-style centralised planning, citing inflation, foreign exchange crises, food shortages and industrial recession as vindication of warnings earlier issued by A. D. Shroff, Murarji J. Vaidya, N. A. Palkhivala, Prof. P. T. Bauer and Prof. B. R. Shenoy. The three contributors converge on a single argumentative centre: fifteen years of plans have produced a 'marginal' economy by Asian standards, the Planning Commission has been doctrinaire, over-ambitious and overly bureaucratic, and the Fourth Plan can only succeed if it is resource-based rather than need-based, gives the private sector greater latitude, conditions further public-sector investment on a 10 per cent rate of return, and replaces licensing with a more permissive industrial policy. ## Essays ### Approach to the Fourth Plan — Indian Planning at Crossroads *By Dr. Rustom C. Cooper* Dr. Rustom C. Cooper, then a Past President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and of the Indian Merchants' Chamber, argues that 'Indian planning has reached the crossroads' after three Plans and an enforced plan holiday. He compares the doctrines of Balanced and Imbalanced Growth, then audits the record: an average growth rate of 3.3 per cent against 6–8 per cent in Japan, Thailand, China and Korea; per capita national income growth of only 1.2 per cent between 1951 and 1966; Third Plan inflation of 32 per cent; unemployment backlog rising from 5.3 to 10 million; indirect taxes producing 75 per cent of total revenue; and Public Sector returns of 1.8 per cent on capital with losses in seven of eleven years between 1960-61 and 1964-65. From this audit Cooper enumerates seven errors — doctrinaire planning, unrealistic planning, over-ambition, over-planning, resource over-estimation, bureaucratic implementation, Centre-State discord and neglect of population control — and proposes ten remedies for the Fourth Plan period, including performance budgeting for both public and private sectors, conditioning further Public Sector investment on rates of return, price stabilisation, lower dependence on external aid, export priority, and reducing reliance on government agencies. He warns that mobilising the additional Rs. 200–300 crores demanded by the 'Approach' should be 'thoroughly re-examined' if existing Public Sector concerns of over Rs. 3,000 crores were forced to yield a reasonable 10 per cent return. - Indian planning is at a crossroads after three Plans and an enforced plan holiday; this is the moment to choose between Balanced and Imbalanced Growth and to decide whether 'regimented' planning suits a democracy. - The economy has grown at only 3.3 per cent per annum; per capita growth between 1951 and 1966 was just 1.2 per cent, and India's rate is marginal compared with 6 per cent in Japan, 7 per cent in Thailand and 8 per cent in Nationalist China. - Seven errors of past planning — doctrinaire, unrealistic, over-ambitious, over-planned, resource over-estimating, bureaucratic, and Centre-State discordant — must be acknowledged before any Fourth Plan strategy can succeed. - Public Sector undertakings have earned a return of only 1.8 per cent on invested capital and made losses in seven of the last eleven years; further investment must be conditional on the rate of return on existing assets. - The Fourth Plan should be self-reliant, prioritise exports, restore harmony in industrial relations, and demand at least a 10 per cent return on the existing Rs. 3,000 crores of Public Sector industrial investment before any new resource mobilisation. ### A Judicious Industrial Licensing Policy is Essential *By Y. A. Fazalbhoy* Y. A. Fazalbhoy, President of the All-India Manufacturers' Organisation, endorses the 'Approach' note's call for 'Growth with Stability' and welcomes signs that the Planning Commission is moving toward delicensing and decontrol, but argues that the Commission still hesitates to extend free scope for industrial licensing to its full impact on production and productivity. He defends de-licensing against the standard objections — fear that small-scale units will be wiped out, that planning targets cannot be achieved without licences, that licensing is needed to ration scarce capital, and that delicensing will produce monopolies — by pointing to American practice (where the Small Business Act and Small Investment Corporation Act protect smaller firms within a competitive economy) and to Justice Learned Hand's warning against confusing restraint of monopoly with the loss of common freedom. Fazalbhoy also urges a more liberal approach to the import of foreign know-how. Annual royalty payments have risen only from Rs. 16 crores in 1957-58 to Rs. 32 crores in 1967-68, and cost of know-how is generally less than 7½ per cent of overall cost; the Government, he argues, should not follow any 'hard and fast rule' but consider each case on merit, permitting purchase or royalty agreements where they serve the national interest, rather than restricting know-how imports because of foreign-exchange anxiety. - 'Growth with Stability' is the right banner for the Fourth Plan, but agricultural prices must be stabilised first if industrial stability is to follow. - Decontrol and delicensing should go further; objections from small-scale-industry advocates and monopoly-fearers can be met with American-style legislation (Small Business Act, Small Investment Corporation Act) and indicative targets backed by tax concessions rather than by licensing. - Capital is scarce, so investment in existing units that yields more output per rupee is preferable to creating new units; service-sector expansion will eventually absorb most of the working population, as in developed economies. - Foreign know-how imports should not be rationed by a single rule; the cost is less than 7½ per cent of total cost, and confining manufacturers to one technology would 'throttle initiative' and weaken competitiveness. ### Fourth Plan should be Based on Available Resources *By S. M. Dahanukar* S. M. Dahanukar, President of the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, opens his commentary on the 'Approach' note by praising its thoughtful drafting and its move to reorient planning onto a 'practical basis'. He welcomes its insistence that Public Sector investment must yield profits before fresh resources are committed, its proposal to give the Private Sector greater latitude through reduced controls, its emphasis on financial assistance to agriculturists through co-operative and commercial bank credit, and its attention to small rain-fed cultivators. On price stabilisation he supports the note's proposal that the Government build buffer stocks of foodgrains and expand distribution through fair-price shops and consumer co-operatives. In the rendered pages, Dahanukar pivots to a critique of the old planning method: targets were fixed first, programmes built around them, and then the Planning Commission scrambled to find resources, leaving an 'unbridged gap' filled by deficit financing and foreign aid. He calls for this approach to be abandoned in favour of a different one — the substantive proposal is cut off where the rendered chunk ends on printed page 18. - The 'Approach' note correctly insists that fresh Public Sector investment wait until existing units become profitable, and that the Private Sector be given greater latitude through reduced controls. - Agricultural credit through co-operative and commercial banks, plus targeted aid for small rain-dependent cultivators, is rightly emphasised in the note. - Buffer stocks of foodgrains operated by Government, plus expanded fair-price shops and consumer co-operatives, are the right instruments for stabilising prices across other commodities. - Past plans wrongly fixed targets first and then chased resources, producing deficit financing, dependence on foreign aid and an 'unbridged gap' — the rendered chunk ends just as Dahanukar begins to propose a replacement method. --- ## [Primary work] Are There Monopolies and Concentration of Economic Power in India? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/are-there-monopolies-and-concentration-of-economic-power-in-india-arvind-narotta-lalbhai-h-venkatasubbiah-july-5-1964/ ### Summary Are There Monopolies and Concentration of Economic Power in India? is a short Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, published in Bombay in July 1964 and printed by M. R. Pai. The Forum frames the booklet as a dispassionate intervention against what it calls 'ill-informed talk' on monopolies and concentration of economic power, and reproduces two newspaper articles already published earlier in 1964 — H. Venkatasubbiah's 'A Naive Analysis of Economic Power' (from The Hindu, 9 May 1964) and Arvind Narottam Lalbhai's 'Government's Obsession with "Monopolies" — A Threat to Economic Progress' (from The Economic Times, 15 April 1964) — together with an Appendix of selected quotations from Wilhelm Roepke's Economics of the Free Society. The argumentative centre is a sceptical reading of the Mahalanobis Committee on Distribution of Income and Levels of Living: Venkatasubbiah's piece dissects what he treats as the Committee's conceptual confusions between wealth, economic power and decision-making power, and argues that a politicised concentration of economic power in the State is no remedy.… ### Body ## Summary Are There Monopolies and Concentration of Economic Power in India? is a short Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, published in Bombay in July 1964 and printed by M. R. Pai. The Forum frames the booklet as a dispassionate intervention against what it calls 'ill-informed talk' on monopolies and concentration of economic power, and reproduces two newspaper articles already published earlier in 1964 — H. Venkatasubbiah's 'A Naive Analysis of Economic Power' (from The Hindu, 9 May 1964) and Arvind Narottam Lalbhai's 'Government's Obsession with "Monopolies" — A Threat to Economic Progress' (from The Economic Times, 15 April 1964) — together with an Appendix of selected quotations from Wilhelm Roepke's Economics of the Free Society. The argumentative centre is a sceptical reading of the Mahalanobis Committee on Distribution of Income and Levels of Living: Venkatasubbiah's piece dissects what he treats as the Committee's conceptual confusions between wealth, economic power and decision-making power, and argues that a politicised concentration of economic power in the State is no remedy. Lalbhai goes further, arguing that the 'monopolies' under attack do not in fact exist, that the Government's anti-concentration policy itself produces sellers' markets and inflation, and that 'if capitalism is bad, State capitalism is worse'. The Roepke appendix and the closing A. D. Shroff and Eugene Black aphorisms tie the booklet's particular Indian arguments into the Forum's broader classical-liberal frame of free enterprise as an 'affirmative good'. ## Essays ### A Naive Analysis of Economic Power *By H. Venkatasubbiah* Venkatasubbiah's article — reproduced from The Hindu of 9 May 1964 — is a close, sceptical reading of the Mahalanobis Committee's third term of reference, which asked the Committee to ascertain how far the operation of the economic system had concentrated wealth and the means of production. He argues that the Committee elides three distinct things — wealth, economic power, and decision-making power over the disposition of capital — and that the Indian situation is in fact 'much more complicated' than the equation of wealth with power allows: small capitalists with access to ministerial cells may wield more economic power than big ones, caste matters, and workers' organisations may exert as much productive influence as employers'. From this analytical base he attacks the Committee's preferred remedy of building 'countervailing economic power' through enlargement of the public sector. He contends that the answer to one form of concentration cannot be another form of concentration; that public-sector personnel, once given economic power, are not freed from the political pathologies the Committee fears; and that the Vivian Bose Commission's enquiries into the Dalmia-Jain group show that the real problem is not the existence of decision-making power but policing it. He closes by noting that the Committee has done no appreciable original work, and warns that planning that cannot reconcile growth with social justice will leave India with 'a distribution of poverty'. - Argues that the Mahalanobis Committee on Distribution of Income and Levels of Living conflates wealth, economic power and decision-making power, producing a 'naive' analysis. - Holds that in Indian conditions small capitalists with access to 'cells of Ministerial power' may be more powerful than big ones, and that caste is itself a factor in economic power. - Rejects the Committee's prescription of enlarging the public sector as 'countervailing' power, calling it the answer of one form of concentration by another. - Concedes industrialisation has 'its own logic' — economies of scale and use of scarce talent cannot be sacrificed to fears of concentration. - Reads the Committee's posture as recommending restriction of the private sector's scope relative to the public sector in the Fourth and subsequent Plans, while doing little original data work. - Closes with the warning that an Indian socialism that fails to reconcile growth with social justice will deliver only 'a distribution of poverty'. ### Government's Obsession with "Monopolies" — A Threat to Economic Progress *By Arvind Narottam Lalbhai* Lalbhai's article — reproduced from The Economic Times of 15 April 1964 — is a polemic against what he calls the 'Governmental obsession' with monopolies, arguing that the alleged Indian monopolies 'simply do not exist' and that the Government's anti-monopoly policy is itself the cause of the sellers' markets, scarcity and inflation it claims to fight. He treats the textile industry as the prime victim, hamstrung by restrictions on capacity expansion 'for the protection of the handloom and power-loom industries' and by 'misplaced fears of concentration of economic power'. He defends profit as 'an index of efficiency' and 'a must for the continuance and growth of all economic activities', distinguishes it sharply from profiteering, and argues that small re-invested concentrations of capital in the hands of a few entrepreneurs are precisely what an early-industrialising economy needs. Citing Fortune magazine's 1963 list of the 500 largest U.S. corporations — reproduced on p.13 as a data exhibit comparing General Motors and the 500th-ranked Interlake Iron — he contends that Indian firms are 'only a dwarf' before American counterparts, and that the United States' anti-monopoly framework operates through courts to prevent collusion rather than to prevent diversification. The article culminates in the claim that bureaucrats armed with both political and economic power are a worse danger than private monopoly: 'If capitalism is bad, State capitalism is worse and here lies the greatest danger even for the future of democracy in India.' - Argues monopolies in the strict sense — single firms able to manipulate price and supply — 'do not really exist' in India; what exists is Government-induced scarcity. - Holds that the controls-and-fair-price-shops mentality treats symptoms not diseases, and that competitive markets are the only true antidote to monopoly. - Defends profit as a legitimate return and the only sustainable basis for industrial growth, sharply distinguishing it from profiteering. - Praises diversification of company funds across activities as 'the libido of prosperity' and attacks Company Law restrictions on inter-company investment. - Uses Fortune magazine's 1963 league table to argue Indian firms are 'a dwarf' beside U.S. corporations and that concentration in early industrialisation is desirable. - Concludes that public-sector accumulation of both political and economic power is more dangerous to Indian democracy than private monopoly: 'State capitalism is worse'. --- ## [Primary work] At Liberty: Freedom to Express and Offend URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/at-liberty-to-express-and-offend/ ### Summary At Liberty: Freedom to Express and Offend is a polemical booklet by journalist Ravi Shanker Kapoor, published in 2012 by the Liberty Institute (New Delhi) in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung für die Freiheit. Across four sections it mounts an unapologetically absolutist case for free speech, opening with the claim that 'Freedom of expression ought to be absolute—or it is no freedom at all.' The author anticipates the standard Indian objection — that there is no point in gratuitously offending the religious or communal sentiments of groups — and argues that any 'offence principle' of the kind proposed by philosopher Joel Feinberg, which would go beyond John Stuart Mill's Harm Principle, opens the door to limitless censorship. Section I ('For absolute freedom of expression') develops the philosophical core, distinguishing expression from criminal incitement and answering the 'fear of freedom' raised by both Islamist menace and Maoist violence; Kapoor contends these problems are products of bad governance and weak rule of law rather than of unlimited speech.… ### Body # At Liberty: Freedom to Express and Offend *By Ravi Shanker Kapoor* ## Summary At Liberty: Freedom to Express and Offend is a polemical booklet by journalist Ravi Shanker Kapoor, published in 2012 by the Liberty Institute (New Delhi) in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung für die Freiheit. Across four sections it mounts an unapologetically absolutist case for free speech, opening with the claim that 'Freedom of expression ought to be absolute—or it is no freedom at all.' The author anticipates the standard Indian objection — that there is no point in gratuitously offending the religious or communal sentiments of groups — and argues that any 'offence principle' of the kind proposed by philosopher Joel Feinberg, which would go beyond John Stuart Mill's Harm Principle, opens the door to limitless censorship. Section I ('For absolute freedom of expression') develops the philosophical core, distinguishing expression from criminal incitement and answering the 'fear of freedom' raised by both Islamist menace and Maoist violence; Kapoor contends these problems are products of bad governance and weak rule of law rather than of unlimited speech. He treats the 1988 ban on Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses as a watershed that emboldened fundamentalists and demoralised writers, and notes the persecution of Taslima Nasreen. Section II ('Freedom of expression in Independent India') and Section IV ('Censorship and the Law of Inexorability') turn to the Indian legal-institutional machinery of censorship. In the rendered pages, Section IV examines film censorship in particular, describing the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) — a statutory body under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting operating under the Cinematograph Act, 1952 — its U/UA/A/S certification categories, and the broader constellation of forces that curtail filmmakers' creative freedom. The booklet's recurring thesis is that piecemeal, well-intentioned restrictions are inexorable: once granted, the logic of censorship expands without natural limit. ## Key points - Single-author polemic by journalist Ravi Shanker Kapoor arguing that freedom of expression must be absolute or it is not freedom at all. - Published 2012 by Liberty Institute (New Delhi) in partnership with Friedrich Naumann Stiftung für die Freiheit. - Engages John Stuart Mill's Harm Principle and rejects Joel Feinberg's 'Offence Principle' as a license for open-ended censorship. - Distinguishes protected expression from criminal incitement, arguing penalising incitement is not curbing free speech. - Treats the 1988 ban on Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses as a watershed that emboldened fundamentalists; cites the persecution of Taslima Nasreen. - Argues that Islamist and Maoist threats stem from bad governance and weak rule of law, not from unlimited speech. - Section IV details India's film-censorship apparatus: the CBFC under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, its certification categories, and pressures on filmmakers. - Central thesis is a 'Law of Inexorability' — once admitted, censorship expands without natural limit. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] बळीचे राज्य येणार आहे URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/baliche-rajey-yenar-aahe-sharad-joshi/ ### Summary Baliche Rajya Yenar Aahe (बळीचे राज्य येणार आहे, 'The Kingdom of Bali Is Coming') is a collected-works volume of Marathi-language writings by Sharad Joshi (1935–2015), the founding leader of the Shetkari Sanghatana (Farmers' Organisation), published by Janashakti Vachak Chalval, Aurangabad, in October 2010 to mark Joshi's birth anniversary. The book gathers essays, speeches, and polemical pieces written across roughly three decades on Indian farm policy, the structural exploitation of agriculturalists, and the theory and practice of the shetkari movement. In the rendered pages, the volume opens with a section called 'Chintan' (Reflection) and launches immediately into three substantive essays. In the rendered pages, the opening essay — 'Annadata la purensa khau dya, to jagala potabhar khau ghailil' ('Let the food-giver eat his fill, and he will feed the world') — is a long historical argument tracing how industrialisation in England and later Russia was built on the deliberate suppression of agricultural prices and the exploitation of farm labour.… ### Body ## Summary Baliche Rajya Yenar Aahe (बळीचे राज्य येणार आहे, 'The Kingdom of Bali Is Coming') is a collected-works volume of Marathi-language writings by Sharad Joshi (1935–2015), the founding leader of the Shetkari Sanghatana (Farmers' Organisation), published by Janashakti Vachak Chalval, Aurangabad, in October 2010 to mark Joshi's birth anniversary. The book gathers essays, speeches, and polemical pieces written across roughly three decades on Indian farm policy, the structural exploitation of agriculturalists, and the theory and practice of the shetkari movement. In the rendered pages, the volume opens with a section called 'Chintan' (Reflection) and launches immediately into three substantive essays. In the rendered pages, the opening essay — 'Annadata la purensa khau dya, to jagala potabhar khau ghailil' ('Let the food-giver eat his fill, and he will feed the world') — is a long historical argument tracing how industrialisation in England and later Russia was built on the deliberate suppression of agricultural prices and the exploitation of farm labour. Joshi argues, in the rendered pages, that the Corn Laws controversy, Stalin's collectivisation, and independent India's Nehruvian planning framework all share a common logic: cheap food for the urban-industrial sector is extracted from the countryside at the cost of the peasant's livelihood. He contests the Marxist framing of agriculture as a 'primitive' sector and insists that industrial capital accumulation everywhere has been premised on agricultural surplus extraction rather than on market exchange. The second essay in the rendered pages, 'Prashikshanача khara arth' ('The True Meaning of Training'), is an address to Shetkari Sanghatana organisers about the philosophical underpinnings of movement work. Joshi argues, in the rendered pages, that rote training programmes miss the movement's true intellectual challenge; genuine training means instilling the capacity for independent economic analysis in farmers themselves. The third essay, 'Bharat dashkatil chaturang sheti' ('Four-pronged farming in India's decade'), begins in the rendered pages and frames the Shetkari Sanghatana's programmatic shift toward comprehensive agricultural reform — covering crop markets, processing, exports, and input pricing — after its founding announcement. The bulk of the book (essays 4–48, covering fertiliser pricing, wheat imports, land policy, farmer suicides, sugar cooperatives, and more) falls outside the rendered pages. ## Key points - In the rendered pages, Joshi frames global industrialisation — in England, Russia, and India — as historically dependent on the coercive suppression of farm-gate prices, a structural condition the Shetkari movement must dismantle. - In the rendered pages, Joshi explicitly rejects the Marxist characterisation of agriculture as a 'primitive' (आदिम) sector and argues that agrarian surplus extraction, not factory labour, was the true engine of capital accumulation. - In the rendered pages, he draws a pointed comparison between Stalin's collectivisation (which destroyed the kulak class) and Nehru's planning framework (which similarly subordinated farmers to an urban-industrial agenda), tracing a shared anti-peasant logic across ideological lines. - In the rendered pages, the essay on 'true training' argues that movement-building requires teaching farmers to analyse economic price mechanisms for themselves, not merely passing on organisational instructions. - In the rendered pages, Joshi's tone is polemical and hortatory: the title 'The Kingdom of Bali Is Coming' invokes the Marathi folk-mythological figure of Bali Raja (the farmer-king) as a millennial promise of agrarian justice. - The publisher's foreword (signed by Shrikant Anant Umarikar, 2 October 2010) confirms this is a collected edition and situates the volume as a tribute on Joshi's birth anniversary. - The TOC lists 48 numbered chapters/essays organised under four thematic sections: Chintan (Reflection), Andolan (Movement), Sahkar (Cooperatives — cotton, milk, credit), and Karzabali (Debt-sacrifice, i.e. farmer suicides), plus an appendix. --- ## [Primary work] বাল্য বিবাহের দোষ URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/balyo-bibaher-dosh-ishwar-chandra-vidyasagar/ ### Summary Written in Bengali, 'বাল্য বিবাহের দোষ' (Balya Bibaher Dosh — 'The Harms of Child Marriage') is a short polemical pamphlet by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar directed against the practice of marrying off young girls before they have reached physical or intellectual maturity. The pamphlet opens by identifying child marriage as a deep-rooted social ill in Bengali Hindu society and argues, on grounds of compassion and reason, that the practice inflicts severe bodily harm on young girls who are compelled to bear the physical demands of conjugal life and childbearing before their bodies are capable of sustaining them. Vidyasagar draws on observable suffering — premature widowhood, physical debility, and stunted lives — to make a case that the custom cannot be defended by appeal to tradition alone. The pamphlet's second movement turns to the social and intellectual consequences: child marriage keeps women in ignorance, denies them the possibility of education and self-development, and entrenches a subordinate status that the author regards as unjust.… ### Body ## Summary Written in Bengali, 'বাল্য বিবাহের দোষ' (Balya Bibaher Dosh — 'The Harms of Child Marriage') is a short polemical pamphlet by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar directed against the practice of marrying off young girls before they have reached physical or intellectual maturity. The pamphlet opens by identifying child marriage as a deep-rooted social ill in Bengali Hindu society and argues, on grounds of compassion and reason, that the practice inflicts severe bodily harm on young girls who are compelled to bear the physical demands of conjugal life and childbearing before their bodies are capable of sustaining them. Vidyasagar draws on observable suffering — premature widowhood, physical debility, and stunted lives — to make a case that the custom cannot be defended by appeal to tradition alone. The pamphlet's second movement turns to the social and intellectual consequences: child marriage keeps women in ignorance, denies them the possibility of education and self-development, and entrenches a subordinate status that the author regards as unjust. Vidyasagar appeals directly to educated men and reformers, arguing that those with the capacity to understand the harm bear a special responsibility to resist it. The pamphlet closes with a direct exhortation to abandon the practice in the interest of women's welfare and the health of society as a whole. No other named thinkers are cited; the argument is built entirely on moral reasoning and appeal to lived consequences. ## Key points - Child marriage (বাল্য বিবাহ) is identified as a pervasive harm in Bengali Hindu society, not merely a private misfortune. - The pamphlet argues that premature marriage ruins young girls' physical health by subjecting them to conjugal life and childbearing before their bodies are mature. - Early marriage leads to early widowhood, compounding the suffering of women who have barely emerged from childhood. - Tradition and scriptural sanction are explicitly rejected as sufficient defenses for a custom that causes manifest suffering. - Educated men and social reformers are addressed as having a particular moral duty to oppose child marriage. - The argument proceeds entirely from rational and compassionate premises, without citation of external authorities. - The pamphlet ends with a direct appeal to society to abolish the practice for the sake of women's welfare and social progress. --- ## [Primary work] BANKER AND CORPORATE CUSTOMER URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/banker-and-corporate-customer-mr-r-k-talwar-june-27-1974/ ### Summary Delivered as the 1974 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture by R. K. Talwar, then Chairman of the State Bank of India, this short volume sets out how the relationship between banks and their large corporate borrowers had been transformed in the two decades since the 1953–54 Committee on Finance for the Private Sector (the Shroff Committee). Talwar opens with a careful tribute to A. D. Shroff — recovering Shroff as a pragmatist who founded the Forum of Free Enterprise but who had also served on the National Planning Committee and helped author the Bombay Plan of 1944 — and insists that Shroff's name was unfairly linked to a discredited laissez-faire doctrine. Against that backdrop Talwar argues that the banker can no longer be primarily a guarantor of security. With managing agency houses gone, banks nationalised, and top-management increasingly professionalised, the banker must assess the quality of management, the end-use of funds, the cash flows and the viability of operations. Bank credit, he insists, is not a substitute for capital; the comforting fiction that cash-credit and overdraft advances are short-term and repayable on demand is a 'myth'.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the 1974 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture by R. K. Talwar, then Chairman of the State Bank of India, this short volume sets out how the relationship between banks and their large corporate borrowers had been transformed in the two decades since the 1953–54 Committee on Finance for the Private Sector (the Shroff Committee). Talwar opens with a careful tribute to A. D. Shroff — recovering Shroff as a pragmatist who founded the Forum of Free Enterprise but who had also served on the National Planning Committee and helped author the Bombay Plan of 1944 — and insists that Shroff's name was unfairly linked to a discredited laissez-faire doctrine. Against that backdrop Talwar argues that the banker can no longer be primarily a guarantor of security. With managing agency houses gone, banks nationalised, and top-management increasingly professionalised, the banker must assess the quality of management, the end-use of funds, the cash flows and the viability of operations. Bank credit, he insists, is not a substitute for capital; the comforting fiction that cash-credit and overdraft advances are short-term and repayable on demand is a 'myth'. The banker must therefore involve himself more deeply in the corporate customer's affairs — calling for budgets, stipulating limits on dividends and inter-corporate investments, and even placing nominee directors — while channelling credit toward priority sectors and weaker sections in line with social policy. The lecture frames this new 'discipline' as a meeting ground rather than a clash of interests: the banker safeguards depositors and shareholders, detects danger signals, and takes responsibility for revival rather than abandoning the company to government takeover under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act. Talwar closes by extending the same logic to the joint sector and to the auditor's role, calling for a tripartite cooperation between banker, customer and auditor in the interest of preserving the safety of bank funds and the profitability of enterprise. ## Key points - Talwar recovers A. D. Shroff as a pragmatist who served on the National Planning Committee and co-authored the Bombay Plan, rejecting the popular pairing of his name with a 19th-century laissez-faire doctrine. - He cites the 1953–54 Reserve Bank Committee on Finance for the Private Sector (the Shroff Committee) as the first organised attempt to assess the banking system's capacity to meet the targets of the First Plan. - Bank deposits had grown from roughly Rs. 850 crores at the time of the Shroff Committee to Rs. 10,000 crores by 1974, with more than half of total credit now going to large and medium industry. - Talwar argues that the disappearance of managing agency houses and the nationalisation of the big commercial banks have shifted the banker's emphasis from security to quality of management. - He insists bank credit is no substitute for capital, and that the supposed liquidity of cash-credit and overdraft advances 'repayable on demand' is a myth in practice. - The new credit discipline requires budgets, cash-flow data, end-use monitoring, conditions on dividends and inter-corporate investment, and occasionally nominee directors on boards. - Banks must also direct an increased share of credit to priority sectors and weaker sections, consistent with the socio-economic priorities of the post-nationalisation era. - Talwar prefers banker-led rehabilitation of sick units over takeover by Government under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, and calls for tripartite cooperation between banker, customer and auditor. --- ## [Primary work] Banks' Relationship with Customers - Evolving Perspectives URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/banks-relationship-with-customers-mrs-shyamala-gopinath-may-6-2008/ ### Summary Delivered as the chief-guest address at the 4th M. R. Pai Memorial Award Function on 8 April 2008 in Mumbai and issued as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, Mrs. Shyamala Gopinath, then Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, surveys how the banker-customer relationship has been reshaped by the post-1991 liberalisation of Indian banking. She positions her remarks as a tribute to the late M. R. Pai, "the doyen of consumer activism in India," and argues that even in a deregulated environment dominated by private banks, new technology, and rapid product innovation, the consumer's position remains structurally unequal — what she calls an "information asymmetry, which renders the banker-customer relationship one of unequals." The address moves systematically through the policy architecture the RBI has built to redress that asymmetry: deregulation of deposit and lending rates, new private-sector licensing in 1993, the revised Banking Ombudsman Scheme, the establishment of the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (BCSBI) as an autonomous self-regulator, and detailed customer-protection guidelines for deposit accounts, settlement of deceased depositors' claims, KYC, fair-pr… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the chief-guest address at the 4th M. R. Pai Memorial Award Function on 8 April 2008 in Mumbai and issued as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, Mrs. Shyamala Gopinath, then Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, surveys how the banker-customer relationship has been reshaped by the post-1991 liberalisation of Indian banking. She positions her remarks as a tribute to the late M. R. Pai, "the doyen of consumer activism in India," and argues that even in a deregulated environment dominated by private banks, new technology, and rapid product innovation, the consumer's position remains structurally unequal — what she calls an "information asymmetry, which renders the banker-customer relationship one of unequals." The address moves systematically through the policy architecture the RBI has built to redress that asymmetry: deregulation of deposit and lending rates, new private-sector licensing in 1993, the revised Banking Ombudsman Scheme, the establishment of the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (BCSBI) as an autonomous self-regulator, and detailed customer-protection guidelines for deposit accounts, settlement of deceased depositors' claims, KYC, fair-practices codes for lending, credit-card operations, foreign-exchange transactions for residents, and reasonableness of service charges. Gopinath stresses that self-regulation "would have been the ideal redressal," but heterogeneity of practice forced regulatory intervention. Later sections address payment-system modernisation (the Cheque Truncation System, RTGS/NEFT/ECS, the goal of electronic products reaching 50% of volume by March 2009), currency-management reforms via currency chests and Note Sorting Machines, and what she identifies as the "very significant aspect" of financial education and inclusion. She frames financial inclusion as a "missionary purpose," details the basic 'no-frills' account, simplified KYC for low-income groups, the General Credit Card, business correspondent/business facilitator models, and the proposed Financial Literacy and Counselling Centres, citing Y. V. Reddy's 2004-05 policy speech on the exclusionary tendencies of post-reform banking. She closes by quoting Reddy on banking as a "trust-based relationship" and committing the RBI to "democratization of the financial sector." ## Key points - The address is a tribute to M. R. Pai and is positioned within his tradition of consumer activism, with Gopinath insisting that consumer-protection issues are "as pressing as ever, even more so" in the post-reform economy. - Deregulation of deposit and lending rates and the 1993 round of private-bank licensing are framed as the defining features of the reforms, but they also generated new problems — service-quality gaps, unsolicited products, fine print, and customer financial unawareness. - Self-regulation by the industry is described as the preferred model, but the heterogeneity of practice forced RBI to intervene through the revised Banking Ombudsman Scheme and the creation of the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (BCSBI), an autonomous self-regulatory body which by the date of the address had 70 member banks. - Detailed prudential and consumer-facing rules are listed across deposit accounts (minimum-balance disclosure, NRO joint accounts, cheque-collection policy), settlement of deceased depositors' claims (simplified procedures, threshold limits, indemnity replacing succession certificates), and KYC (simplified procedures for accounts below Rs 50,000 and small/low-income customers). - On lending the focus is on Fair Practices Code disclosure, comprehensive credit-card-operation guidelines (November 2005) covering DSAs, debt-collection, billing and confidentiality, and the August 2006 Working Group on reasonableness of bank charges. - Payment-system modernisation includes the Cheque Truncation System launched in the NCR in February 2008 (10-bank pilot), and a vision for electronic products to reach 50% of volume and 95% of value by March 2009; on currency management, RBI mandated Note Sorting Machines and the Clean Note Policy. - Financial inclusion is treated as a "missionary purpose" — no-frills accounts, simplified KYC, the General Credit Card (Rs 25,000 revolving credit at rural/semi-urban branches with deregulated interest), business correspondent/business facilitator models since January 2006, and a 13-language multilingual financial-education website launched June 2007. - The closing frame, quoting Y. V. Reddy, defines banking as a "trust-based relationship" undermined by stealth banking, negative-option marketing, misleading advertisements, and data-harvesting for cross-selling — leading to the verdict that information asymmetry makes the banker-customer relationship "one of unequals." --- ## [Primary work] Banks' Relationship with Customers - Evolving Perspectives URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/banks-relationship-with-customers-evolving-perspectives-mrs-shyamala-gopinath-may-6-2008/ ### Summary Delivered as the 4th M. R. Pai Memorial Award lecture on 8 April 2008 in Mumbai, Shyamala Gopinath — then Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India — uses her platform to map how the banker-customer relationship has been remade by India's post-1991 liberalisation. She opens by paying tribute to M. R. Pai's consumer-activism legacy and argues, with a Sanskrit aside that 'the world has always been the same,' that customer protection in financial services has only grown more urgent as deregulation, private-sector entry and technology have multiplied product choices and the surface area for grievance. The bulk of the booklet is a regulator's tour of the customer-protection architecture the RBI has built around the reformed banking system. Gopinath walks through the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (BCSBI) as an autonomous self-regulatory body, the revised Banking Ombudsman Scheme that now covers credit-card complaints and unilateral service-charge hikes, and detailed RBI directions on deposit accounts, deceased-depositor settlements, KYC simplification for low-income customers, fair lending and credit-card practices, and curbs on excessive interest and charges.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the 4th M. R. Pai Memorial Award lecture on 8 April 2008 in Mumbai, Shyamala Gopinath — then Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India — uses her platform to map how the banker-customer relationship has been remade by India's post-1991 liberalisation. She opens by paying tribute to M. R. Pai's consumer-activism legacy and argues, with a Sanskrit aside that 'the world has always been the same,' that customer protection in financial services has only grown more urgent as deregulation, private-sector entry and technology have multiplied product choices and the surface area for grievance. The bulk of the booklet is a regulator's tour of the customer-protection architecture the RBI has built around the reformed banking system. Gopinath walks through the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (BCSBI) as an autonomous self-regulatory body, the revised Banking Ombudsman Scheme that now covers credit-card complaints and unilateral service-charge hikes, and detailed RBI directions on deposit accounts, deceased-depositor settlements, KYC simplification for low-income customers, fair lending and credit-card practices, and curbs on excessive interest and charges. She then turns to foreign exchange — where RBI has shifted from regulator to facilitator and resident individuals can now remit up to USD 200,000 per year — and to payment systems, flagging the Cheque Truncation System launched in the National Capital Region on 1 February 2008. The concluding sections frame currency management, financial education and financial inclusion as the next frontier: 'no-frills' accounts, simplified KYC, General Purpose Credit Cards, business-correspondent models, an Andhra Pradesh pension-and-employment payments pilot, and the proposed Financial Literacy and Counselling Centres. She closes by quoting Governor Y. V. Reddy's defence of banking as a 'trust-based relationship' and lists a six-point RBI approach — sensitising bank Boards, transparency and reasonable pricing, self-imposed codes, BCSBI compliance monitoring, stronger dispute resolution, lean regulation, and rationalising the RBI's own procedures — through which, she argues, a customer-oriented banking culture and 'democratization of the financial sector' can be built. ## Key points - Frames the lecture as a tribute to M. R. Pai's consumer-activism legacy and argues that liberalisation has made customer-protection issues more, not less, urgent. - Catalogues the regulatory infrastructure built since the early 1990s — BCSBI, revised Banking Ombudsman Scheme, fair-practices codes — as the answer to gaps thrown up by deregulation, private-sector entry and tech-driven service delivery. - Lays out detailed RBI prescriptions on deposit accounts (minimum-balance disclosure, NRO joint accounts, cheque-collection timelines) and on settlements involving deceased depositors, aimed at minimum-friction service. - Reviews lending-side guidance: Fair Practices Code for Lenders, reasons-in-writing for loan rejections, Comprehensive Credit Card Guidelines of November 2005, and a ceiling on usurious interest and charges on small personal loans. - Describes the foreign-exchange regime as a paradigm shift from regulator to facilitator — AD Category-II licensing, franchisee arrangements for money changers, and resident remittances up to USD 200,000 per financial year. - Highlights operational milestones: Cheque Truncation System launched in NCR on 1 February 2008, electronic-payments target of 50% of volume by March 2009, and the currency-chest and note-sorting infrastructure. - Treats financial inclusion as a 'missionary' RBI priority — 'no-frills' accounts, simplified KYC for low-income customers, General Purpose Credit Cards, business-correspondent and SHG-linked models, and a multilingual banking website in 13 Indian languages launched on 18 June 2007. - Closes with Governor Y. V. Reddy's framing of banking as a trust-based relationship and a six-point RBI approach centred on transparency, reasonableness, codes, BCSBI compliance, dispute resolution and lean regulation. --- ## [Primary work] Barons of Banking - Glimpses of Indian Banking History URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/baron-of-banking-dr-y-v-reddy-february-3-2014/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, published on 03/Feb/2014, gathers the remarks delivered on 25 October 2013 at the Mumbai launch of Bakhtiar K. Dadabhoy's book 'Barons of Banking — Glimpses of Indian Banking History', a volume commissioned at the behest of the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust. After an Introduction by Forum President Minoo R. Shroff, three substantial addresses follow: Dr. Y. V. Reddy (former RBI Governor and Chairman of the 14th Finance Commission), the economist S. S. Tarapore, and the chartered accountant Y. H. Malegam, who is also a Trustee of the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust. The contributors converge on the book's framing of six 'barons' — Sir Sorabji Pochkhanawalla, Sir Purushottamdas Thakurdas and Sir C. D. Deshmukh from the pre-Independence era, and Raj Kumar Talwar, A. D. Shroff and H. T. Parekh from the post-Independence period — as institution-builders whose dharma shaped the Imperial Bank, the Reserve Bank of India, SBI, ICICI, IDBI and the Unit Trust of India.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, published on 03/Feb/2014, gathers the remarks delivered on 25 October 2013 at the Mumbai launch of Bakhtiar K. Dadabhoy's book 'Barons of Banking — Glimpses of Indian Banking History', a volume commissioned at the behest of the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust. After an Introduction by Forum President Minoo R. Shroff, three substantial addresses follow: Dr. Y. V. Reddy (former RBI Governor and Chairman of the 14th Finance Commission), the economist S. S. Tarapore, and the chartered accountant Y. H. Malegam, who is also a Trustee of the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust. The contributors converge on the book's framing of six 'barons' — Sir Sorabji Pochkhanawalla, Sir Purushottamdas Thakurdas and Sir C. D. Deshmukh from the pre-Independence era, and Raj Kumar Talwar, A. D. Shroff and H. T. Parekh from the post-Independence period — as institution-builders whose dharma shaped the Imperial Bank, the Reserve Bank of India, SBI, ICICI, IDBI and the Unit Trust of India. Across the three reflections, the booklet uses the lives of the barons to argue for central bank accountability and independence, for revisiting the Shroff Committee's verdict on private-sector discipline, for renewed faith in development banking, and for a future generation of bankers that is younger, more gender-balanced and geographically more diverse. The booklet is sponsored by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust. ## Essays ### Introduction *By Minoo R. Shroff, President, Forum of Free Enterprise* Minoo R. Shroff, President of the Forum of Free Enterprise, opens the booklet by setting the stage for the three reflections that follow. He describes how the book 'Barons of Banking' was conceptualised by Y. H. Malegam — modelled on Liaquat Ahmed's 'Lords of Finance' — and how the launch event drew Reddy, Tarapore and Malegam as principal speakers. Shroff summarises each speaker's argument: Malegam's insistence that history is critical assessment rather than mere narration, Tarapore's prediction that the book will become the locus classicus on Indian monetary and banking history, and Reddy's plea that the private sector adopt self-discipline along the lines of the Shroff Committee's findings. He records Reddy's suggestion that a future edition include women bankers and younger figures, and closes with the data point that six thousand copies sold within five weeks of launch. - Frames the booklet as a precis of three release-event addresses at the launch of Dadabhoy's 'Barons of Banking' on 25 October 2013. - Argues for history as critical assessment of past events against contemporary norms, not mere narration. - Records Tarapore's claim that the book will become 'the locus classicus on India's monetary and banking history'. - Quotes the Shroff Committee on the limits of finance supply absent an improved private-sector investment climate. - Notes Reddy's call for a future edition to include women bankers and younger leaders, and reports 6000 copies sold within five weeks. ### I. Dr. Y. V. Reddy *By Dr. Y. V. Reddy* Reddy frames Dadabhoy's volume as a study of how individuals and institutions co-produce one another, arguing that 'institutions in the ultimate analysis are creatures of individuals'. He moves through the book's chapters: the pre-RBI debates around the rupee ratio that Sir Purushottamdas Thakurdas's Note of Dissent crystallised; Sir Sorabji Pochkhanawalla's Central Bank of India and his doctrine that thrift-banking is the highest service to the public; the rocky founding of the RBI under Osborne Smith; the SBI under Talwar; the contested record of bank nationalisation; the design of public-sector governance compared to the standards expected of private banks ('the famous Talwar affair?'); the slow build-out of development banking through IDBI, ICICI and UTI; and Shroff Committee findings on the duties of the private sector. Reddy uses the book to defend an independent and accountable RBI, to query the road-map for foreign-bank entry, and to ask why Indian banks have failed where Indian corporates have succeeded as global competitors. He closes with a vision for the next generation of barons — more women, broader geography, more diverse social backgrounds, and returnees with global exposure — and warns that excessive risk-taking is 'a macho phenomenon' from which a gender-balanced banking sector would stabilise. - Reads the book as proof that institutions are 'creatures of individuals' and that the six barons embodied dharma within their roles. - Uses Pochkhanawalla's doctrine — 'A banker can render no higher service... than by teaching them thrift' — to anchor a defence of household savings over consumer credit. - Argues that central bank independence and accountability has gained renewed salience after the global crisis, and questions whether public-sector banks can be judged by the same governance standards as private banks (the 'Talwar affair'). - Defends the Shroff Committee's verdict that an improved climate for private-sector investment matters more than supply of finance, and presses industry associations to introspect. - Calls for a future cohort of bankers that is younger, more gender-balanced, more geographically diverse, and includes Indians returning from global financial centres. ### II. Mr. S. S. Tarapore *By Mr. S. S. Tarapore* Tarapore offers brief 'snippets' on individual barons rather than a continuous reading of the book. He celebrates Sir Sorabji Pochkhanawalla's single-handed setting up of an Indian bank — the Central Bank of India — against the dominance of the Exchange Banks; restates Sir Purushottamdas Thakurdas's Note of Dissent against the Hilton Young Commission's exchange-rate views as still relevant in 2013; recounts A. D. Shroff's commendation by Keynes at Bretton Woods and the nationalist sympathies that cost him the Deputy Governorship of RBI; recalls H. T. Parekh's book on the Indian money market as mandatory reading for students of money and banking; and reads the troubled, brief tenure of Sir Osborne Smith as the RBI's first Governor as the institution's foundational episode. Tarapore urges the RBI to publish, with external help if required, the work on the Osborne Smith episode and the Taylor Papers, declaring that the RBI should not remain influenced by the British Raj. - Pochkhanawalla's 'single-handed' founding of the Central Bank of India against Exchange Bank dominance is treated as the epic struggle of pre-Independence Indian banking. - Thakurdas's Note of Dissent on the rupee-ratio question is still useful — 'A rising exchange rate (appreciation) discourages exports and stimulates imports while a depreciation has the opposite effect'. - Frames A. D. Shroff as the economist commended by Keynes at Bretton Woods whose nationalist sympathies cost him the RBI Deputy Governorship. - Reads the Osborne Smith episode as crucial to the RBI's institutional unconscious and calls for the Taylor Papers and the in-house RBI work on Osborne Smith to be published. - Sees in Yezdi Malegam 'a modern Sir PT' sought after by RBI, government and the private sector. ### III. Mr. Y. H. Malegam *By Mr. Y. H. Malegam* Y. H. Malegam, Trustee of the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust, delivers a brief endorsement of Dadabhoy's volume. He names the six legendary institution-builders the book profiles — Pochkhanawala, Thakurdas and Deshmukh from the pre-Independence era; Raj Kumar Talwar, A. D. Shroff and H. T. Parekh from the post-Independence period — and presents the book as a treatise on institution building that is also a record of personal struggle, recommending it to anyone interested in finance. - Identifies the book's six 'legendary institution builders' across pre- and post-Independence India. - Frames the volume as 'as much a treatise on institution building as about the personal struggles of the individuals contributing to the process'. - Argues that the contributions of these doyens are 'hardly known and appreciated' and that the book is a welcome attempt to bridge the gap. --- ## [Primary work] Basic Documents URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/basic-documents-forum-of-free-enterprise-july-18-1956/ ### Summary This pamphlet collects the three foundational documents of the Forum of Free Enterprise: "A Manifesto" (originally published 18 July 1956, the day the Forum was constituted), a "Code of Conduct" for those working in the private sector, and a position paper titled "What the Forum stands for." The printing in hand was issued by M. R. Pai for the Forum on 10 July 1970, and it opens with frontispiece epigraphs from A. D. Shroff, the Founder-President, and from Eugene Black. The Manifesto is built as a cascade of twelve "WE BELIEVE" articles arguing that free enterprise is an integral part of Indian democratic life and that, since Independence, its case has been allowed to go by default under sustained attack. It defines the free enterpriser broadly — shopkeeper, farmer, artisan, worker, manager, doctor, lawyer alike — and defends the legitimate expectation of reward, while sharply distinguishing it from profiteering.… ### Body ## Summary This pamphlet collects the three foundational documents of the Forum of Free Enterprise: "A Manifesto" (originally published 18 July 1956, the day the Forum was constituted), a "Code of Conduct" for those working in the private sector, and a position paper titled "What the Forum stands for." The printing in hand was issued by M. R. Pai for the Forum on 10 July 1970, and it opens with frontispiece epigraphs from A. D. Shroff, the Founder-President, and from Eugene Black. The Manifesto is built as a cascade of twelve "WE BELIEVE" articles arguing that free enterprise is an integral part of Indian democratic life and that, since Independence, its case has been allowed to go by default under sustained attack. It defines the free enterpriser broadly — shopkeeper, farmer, artisan, worker, manager, doctor, lawyer alike — and defends the legitimate expectation of reward, while sharply distinguishing it from profiteering. Crucially, the Forum does not demand the retreat of the State: it accepts that "there is ample room for State enterprise to function alongside of Free Enterprise," warning instead against monopoly of any kind, whether state or private, and citing the displacement of normal trade channels by State trading as the kind of trend it most fears. The Code of Conduct then translates the manifesto into ethical obligations binding producers, employers, management, professional men, and citizens at large — including fair measure to consumers, fair wages and recognition of "stable and democratic trade unions" for workers, fair return commensurate with risk for investors, honest tax payment, and the explicit condemnation of hoarding, black-marketing and profiteering. The closing essay, "What the Forum stands for," stakes out a deliberately middle position: nineteenth-century laissez-faire is rejected as "dead as the dodo," and the Marxist route of nationalising the means of production is rejected as "outmoded in time and thoroughly discredited in practice." The Forum endorses the welfare-state objectives of a "socialistic pattern of society" and accepts the coexistence of State-controlled and Free Enterprise sectors, but draws the line at indefinite expansion of the State sector — singling out the nationalisation of life insurance, the introduction of State trading and the acquisition of the Kolar Gold Fields as examples of "unwarranted State intervention" that must be curbed. The pamphlet ends with a membership leaflet inviting industrialists, businessmen, professionals and students to join the Forum. ## Key points - Three-in-one charter pamphlet of the Forum of Free Enterprise: Manifesto (18 July 1956), Code of Conduct, and the essay "What the Forum stands for"; this printing is dated 10 July 1970 and was issued by M. R. Pai for the Forum. - The Manifesto's twelve "WE BELIEVE" articles frame free enterprise as integral to Indian democracy and as the natural condition of producers across every walk of life, from shopkeeper and artisan to manager and professional. - The Forum explicitly accepts a role for State enterprise alongside private enterprise, but treats monopoly of any kind — public or private — as the principal threat to a free and democratic social order. - The Code of Conduct imposes reciprocal duties: quality and fair measure for consumers, fair wages and recognition of trade unions for workers, fair return for investors, honest tax payment by all, and an explicit condemnation of hoarding, black-marketing and profiteering as "anti-social and evil." - "What the Forum stands for" stakes a self-consciously middle position: it rejects both 19th-century laissez-faire and the Marxist route of nationalising the means of production, while accepting the welfare-state objectives of the "socialistic pattern of society." - Specific contemporary State actions are flagged as unwarranted intervention: the nationalisation of life insurance, the introduction of State trading, and the acquisition of the Kolar Gold Fields — contrasted with the Bhakra-Nangal Dam, the Sindri Fertiliser Factory and the Aarey Milk Colony, which are praised as legitimate State achievements. - The frontispiece deliberately pairs A. D. Shroff's aphorism with Eugene Black's call to treat private enterprise as "an affirmative good," linking the Forum's voice to international classical-liberal currents. - The Forum presents itself as non-political and non-partisan, with its core mission defined as public education on the economic and moral case for voluntary enterprise. --- ## [Primary work] Basic Principles URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/basic-principles-march-2000/ ### Summary "Basic Principles: Guidelines for Action" is the Indian Liberal Group's foundational statement of doctrine, adopted on 5 March 2000 and issued from the Group's Mumbai office. It opens by grounding liberalism in the "essential rationality of man," affirming equality as a natural right and democracy as the political system that best preserves the dignity and sovereignty of the individual. From there it sets out the Group's positions across seven areas: individual freedom and liberties, the right to information, economic prosperity through freedom, technology and human development, active citizenship, governance, and social issues. On liberties, the ILG names immediate concerns — muzzling of free expression, illegal detention, fundamentalism, political violence, the criminalisation of politics, and pervasive corruption — and champions right-to-information legislation at the Centre and in the states.… ### Body # Basic Principles ## Summary "Basic Principles: Guidelines for Action" is the Indian Liberal Group's foundational statement of doctrine, adopted on 5 March 2000 and issued from the Group's Mumbai office. It opens by grounding liberalism in the "essential rationality of man," affirming equality as a natural right and democracy as the political system that best preserves the dignity and sovereignty of the individual. From there it sets out the Group's positions across seven areas: individual freedom and liberties, the right to information, economic prosperity through freedom, technology and human development, active citizenship, governance, and social issues. On liberties, the ILG names immediate concerns — muzzling of free expression, illegal detention, fundamentalism, political violence, the criminalisation of politics, and pervasive corruption — and champions right-to-information legislation at the Centre and in the states. Its economic vision is a "social market economy": a fair return for the farmer, untrammelled industry and trade, consumer sovereignty, enforceable private property rights, the dismantling of the permit-licence-quota raj and subsidy regime, and a government that concentrates on the social sector (clean water, primary healthcare and education, basic infrastructure) without insisting on monopoly. It treats science and technology as engines of human development, favouring competition, R&D and a limited regulatory state. The later sections stress active citizenship — democracy as more than five-yearly voting — citizens' charters, and grassroots accountability, alongside governance reforms: the rule of law, redistribution of power closer to the people, review of the Representation of the People Act (including removing the requirement that registered parties affirm socialism), sunset legislation, and balanced taxation. On social issues it backs small families, women's and children's education, full literacy, exemplary punishment of corruption, protection of minority rights with the state as neutral referee, fair treatment of displaced tribals (adivasis), and a critical periodic review of reservations. The document closes with the Group's contact details rather than any individual signature. ## Key points - Foundational statement of the Indian Liberal Group, adopted 5 March 2000 and issued from Mumbai. - Grounds liberalism in human rationality, equality as a natural right, and democracy safeguarding individual dignity. - Flags concrete liberty threats: censorship, illegal detention, fundamentalism, political violence, criminalisation of politics, corruption. - Champions right-to-information legislation, with secrecy the exception not the rule. - Advocates a 'social market economy': farmer fairness, free trade, consumer sovereignty, private property rights, dismantling the permit-licence-quota raj. - Casts government's proper role as the social sector and infrastructure, without monopoly. - Calls for active citizenship, citizens' charters, and grassroots accountability beyond five-yearly voting. - Governance reforms: rule of law, power closer to people, review of the Representation of the People Act (drop the socialism affirmation), sunset legislation, balanced taxation. - Social positions: small families, women's/children's education, full literacy, minority rights with a neutral state, adivasi protection, critical review of reservations. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Basic Principles of Planning URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/basic-principles-of-planning-j-h-doshi-september-18-1978/ ### Summary J. H. Doshi, then President of the Forum of Free Enterprise, delivered this address to the Forum's 22nd Annual General Meeting in Bombay on 18 September 1978 — roughly eighteen months after the 1977 ballot-box defeat of the Emergency-era Congress government. He opens by acknowledging that the new government has rightly shifted economic priorities (towards agriculture and rural development, towards employment-intensive technology, towards small and cottage industries, and towards decontrol of food zones and sugar), but argues that growth has nevertheless stalled because the Government has failed to grasp "the basic principles of planning, viz., strict priorities and its own limitations as an instrument." The state, he insists, possesses coercive power but is not omniscient; when it spreads itself thin over too many objectives, it wastes resources mobilised from "some of the poorest people in the world." Doshi's positive prescription is a sharply truncated state focused on a small set of irreducible public goods: defence, law and order, an efficient judicial system, and physical infrastructure — irrigation, flood control, rural roads, drinking water, primary education, and rural m… ### Body ## Summary J. H. Doshi, then President of the Forum of Free Enterprise, delivered this address to the Forum's 22nd Annual General Meeting in Bombay on 18 September 1978 — roughly eighteen months after the 1977 ballot-box defeat of the Emergency-era Congress government. He opens by acknowledging that the new government has rightly shifted economic priorities (towards agriculture and rural development, towards employment-intensive technology, towards small and cottage industries, and towards decontrol of food zones and sugar), but argues that growth has nevertheless stalled because the Government has failed to grasp "the basic principles of planning, viz., strict priorities and its own limitations as an instrument." The state, he insists, possesses coercive power but is not omniscient; when it spreads itself thin over too many objectives, it wastes resources mobilised from "some of the poorest people in the world." Doshi's positive prescription is a sharply truncated state focused on a small set of irreducible public goods: defence, law and order, an efficient judicial system, and physical infrastructure — irrigation, flood control, rural roads, drinking water, primary education, and rural marketing. He devotes substantial space to land and water mismanagement, quoting at length from B. B. Vohra's Indian Express piece of 11 September 1978 on deforestation, soil erosion, water-logging and the absence of basic field-level irrigation works, to argue that India's recurrent floods and famines are "virtually manmade." He attacks the Government's reflex of running bakeries and bus services while neglecting these basic duties. On industrial policy he defends large business houses against the "monopoly" label (the only true monopolies, he notes, are in the state sector), warns against artificially favouring small units without marketing support, and rejects the campaign against business families on the grounds that family-run firms also incubate professional managerial talent. He calls for the Government to sell 49% of its public-sector shareholdings to employees and the public, list them on stock exchanges, strip public-sector units of their monopoly character, and subject them to competition — and applauds the recent removal of the 10% public-sector price advantage. Two printed pages (10–11) covering, by inference, state-government finances and centre–state fiscal relations are missing from the scanned booklet; the rendered text resumes on printed page 12 with a closing passage attacking octroi as "the most obnoxious form of taxation" and warning that the real constraint is not mobilisation of resources but their proper utilisation. The address ends with an urgent appeal: "Our scarcest resource today is time. It is running out. So is the patience of the people." ## Key points - Frames the 1977 general election as a 'ballot box revolution' for Rule of Law, basic freedoms and relief from poverty after 30 years of independence. - Concedes that the post-Emergency Government has rightly reoriented investment towards agriculture, employment-generation, small and cottage industries, and decontrol — but argues implementation has been faulty and bureaucratic 'deadwood' has not been cleared. - Central thesis: the state is coercive but not omniscient, so planning must observe strict priorities — defence, law and order, judicial efficiency, irrigation, flood control, roads, drinking water, primary education, rural marketing — and stop spreading itself thin over low-priority items like 'making of bread, beverages, running buses'. - Quotes B. B. Vohra (Indian Express, 11 September 1978) at length: 90 million hectares suffering water erosion, 50 million from wind erosion, 20 million susceptible to flooding, 10 million canal-irrigated hectares producing at fractional capacity — making 60% of the land surface in urgent need of attention. - Defends 'big business' as pygmies by international standards, rejects the 'monopoly houses' label (true monopolies sit in the state sector), and warns that the campaign against business families curbs the rare entrepreneurial spirit needed for growth. - Proposes selling 49% of Public Sector shareholdings to employees and the public, listing them on stock exchanges, ending PSU monopoly status, and subjecting them to competition; welcomes the removal of the 10% PSU price advantage. - Identifies octroi as 'the most obnoxious form of taxation' and a marker of politicians' lack of seriousness about economic development. - Closes by reframing the development question as one of utilisation rather than mobilisation: 'Our scarcest resource today is time. It is running out. So is the patience of the people.' --- ## [Primary work] Black Money and Special Bearer Bonds Scheme URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/black-money-and-special-beraer-bonds-scheme-d-r-pendse-vadilal-bagli/ ### Summary Black Money and Special Bearer Bonds Scheme bundles two short pieces issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise to oppose the Special Bearer Bonds Scheme of 1991 on classical-liberal grounds. Vadilal Dagli, editor of Commerce and chairman of the Dagli Committee on Controls and Subsidies, opens with the polemic 'Respectability for Black Money', casting the bonds as the fifth and most cynical official attempt since 1951 to absorb unaccounted money, and argues that the scheme grants the black-money baron a tax-free premium and statutory immunity while leaving the underlying flow untouched. Economist D. R. Pendse follows with 'The Problem of Black Money', a structured analytical essay that distinguishes illegal-source from tax-evaded legal-source income, surveys magnitude estimates and international comparisons, and begins a seven-point catalogue of underlying causes — controls, scarcities, high tax rates, changing social attitudes, interference with traditional values, low salaries of government servants, and election finance.… ### Body ## Summary Black Money and Special Bearer Bonds Scheme bundles two short pieces issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise to oppose the Special Bearer Bonds Scheme of 1991 on classical-liberal grounds. Vadilal Dagli, editor of Commerce and chairman of the Dagli Committee on Controls and Subsidies, opens with the polemic 'Respectability for Black Money', casting the bonds as the fifth and most cynical official attempt since 1951 to absorb unaccounted money, and argues that the scheme grants the black-money baron a tax-free premium and statutory immunity while leaving the underlying flow untouched. Economist D. R. Pendse follows with 'The Problem of Black Money', a structured analytical essay that distinguishes illegal-source from tax-evaded legal-source income, surveys magnitude estimates and international comparisons, and begins a seven-point catalogue of underlying causes — controls, scarcities, high tax rates, changing social attitudes, interference with traditional values, low salaries of government servants, and election finance. Together the pamphlet advances the Forum's standing argument that black money is a man-made consequence of controls, inflation and politicised election finance rather than an inevitable feature of Indian commerce. ## Essays ### Respectability for Black Money *By Vadilal Dagli* Vadilal Dagli treats the Special Bearer Bonds Scheme of 1991 as the fifth and most damaging in a sequence of official attempts to flush out black money since 1951, behind the voluntary disclosure schemes of 1951, 1965 and 1975 and the 1978 demonetisation. He charges that the new bonds — by promising a 20 per cent maturity premium free of income, wealth, gift and capital-gains tax, immunity from prosecution under the Indian Penal Code, and access to bank credit on the bonds as collateral — confer respectability on the very holders who had refused every earlier amnesty, chiefly the politicians, bureaucrats, professionals and bribe-takers who finance Indian public life. Citing Finance Minister R. Venkataraman's own earlier warning to Parliament against legitimising black money, Dagli asks whether 'the forces that finance political power in this country [are] more powerful than the Finance Minister'. He closes with a four-point national consensus: cap annual money-supply growth at 3–4 per cent above real national income; sunset all statutory controls older than three years unless re-justified to Parliament; legislate West-German and US-style public financing of recognised parties paired with audited annual party accounts; and cut the top marginal personal income tax rate from 66 to 50 per cent. None of these, he argues, is revolutionary — what is missing is 'a modicum of political honesty' from a ruling class whose foresight alone can curb black-money power and forestall 'political convulsions'. - Black money operates from the centre, not the periphery, of Indian economic and political life, making the black-money baron more powerful than Prime Minister, Chief Minister or industrialist. - The Special Bearer Bonds Scheme of 1991 is the fifth official attempt to surface unaccounted money — after voluntary disclosure schemes in 1951, 1965 and 1975, and the demonetisation of January 1978. - Unlike earlier schemes, the new bonds offer a tax-free 20 per cent maturity premium, no question on source, immunity from prosecution and bank credit against the bonds — thereby rewarding the holdouts of every previous amnesty. - The chief beneficiaries are politicians, officials and bribe-collecting professionals whose unaccounted funds had previously been parked in commodity hoarding or construction. - A four-point reform package: money-supply growth capped a few points above real income growth; automatic sunset of controls older than three years; legislated public financing of parties with audited accounts; and a 50 per cent ceiling on personal income tax. ### The Problem of Black Money *By D. R. Pendse* D. R. Pendse, in a piece reproduced from The Economic Times of 19–20 March 1981, presents black money as 'the cancer of the economy' and works through definition, magnitude, international comparison and underlying causes. He distinguishes illegal-source black money — pugri, smuggling, matka, foreign-exchange fiddles, bribes — from legal-source-but-undisclosed income earned by professionals such as lawyers and doctors, and rejects the common 'parallel economy' image: black and white money, he argues, are 'perpetually inter-locked' through transactions like under-receipted flat sales and lavish unrecorded hotel spending. Drawing on Dr D. K. Rangnekar's Wanchoo-committee formula (Rs. 7,500 crores, 6.8 per cent of national income) and other estimates running up to 22.7 per cent (Rs. 25,000 crores), Pendse settles on a working figure of about 10 per cent of national income, or Rs. 11,000 crores — equivalent to Rs. 1.25 crores per hour, and an annual flow exceeding the income of 125,000 honest top-slab taxpayers. He invokes Vito Tanzi on the United States ($135 bn in 1976, eight per cent of GNP), James Cook's 'The Invisible Enterprise', and observations on the UK and USSR to show the phenomenon is not uniquely Indian. He then opens a catalogue of underlying causes; the rendered pages cover seven — (1) controls, with Gandhiji's 1947 prayer-meeting warning and NCAER's Rs. 840-crore estimate from just six price-controlled commodities; (2) scarcities and abundance; (3) high tax rates, illustrated by a 97.75 per cent marginal rate driving an honest surgeon to evasion; (4) changing social attitudes; (5) interference with traditional values via socialist-style penal taxation; (6) low salaries of government servants, citing Nicholas Kaldor's 1956 Indian Tax Reform report; and (7) election laws and party finance, beginning with the Rs. 35,000-per-candidate ceiling in the 1980 Lok Sabha contest. The chunk ends mid-discussion of cause (7); the remedy section and any further argument lie in pages not rendered here. - Defines two categories of black money — illegal-source (smuggling, pugri, matka, bribes) and legal-source income concealed for tax purposes, with theft and robbery deliberately excluded. - Rejects the 'parallel economy' metaphor: black and white money are continuously inter-converted, e.g. under-receipted property sales or hotel bills paid in cash. - Working magnitude estimate: roughly 10 per cent of national income, about Rs. 11,000 crores — Rs. 1.25 crores per hour around the clock — exceeding the annual income of 125,000 honest top-slab taxpayers. - Cross-country comparisons drawn from Vito Tanzi on the US ($135 bn in 1976, ~8 per cent of GNP) and James Cook's 'The Invisible Enterprise'; UK debate on 'fraud Government ignores'; under-the-counter trade in the USSR. - Catalogues seven causes — controls, scarcities/abundance, high tax rates, changing social attitudes, interference with traditional values, low official salaries, and election finance — illustrated by NCAER's Rs. 840-crore estimate from six price-controlled commodities and a 97.75 per cent marginal-tax surgeon example. --- ## [Primary work] Bogey of Socialism Hinders Rapid Economic Growth URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/bogey-of-socialism-hinders-rapid-economic-growth-july-8-1962/ ### Summary This short Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet, reproduced from the Financial Express of 31 May 1962, is an anonymous polemic signed by "Critic" arguing that the Government of India's ideological attachment to socialism — what the title calls a "bogey" — is the principal obstacle to fulfilling the Third Five-Year Plan's most critical targets. The writer focuses on steel and the long-delayed Bokaro plant, contrasting the relatively contained problems at Rourkela and Durgapur (where West German and British suppliers are to blame for delays) with the much bigger failure at Bokaro, which lies "squarely" with the Central Government's refusal to consider any role for the private sector. The leaflet's central pragmatic claim is that Indian and foreign private capital — British, German, Japanese, Italian — are now ready and willing to build Bokaro on a profit-sharing basis for a limited number of years, and that the public-sector dogma keeping them out is incompatible with national economic interest.… ### Body ## Summary This short Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet, reproduced from the Financial Express of 31 May 1962, is an anonymous polemic signed by "Critic" arguing that the Government of India's ideological attachment to socialism — what the title calls a "bogey" — is the principal obstacle to fulfilling the Third Five-Year Plan's most critical targets. The writer focuses on steel and the long-delayed Bokaro plant, contrasting the relatively contained problems at Rourkela and Durgapur (where West German and British suppliers are to blame for delays) with the much bigger failure at Bokaro, which lies "squarely" with the Central Government's refusal to consider any role for the private sector. The leaflet's central pragmatic claim is that Indian and foreign private capital — British, German, Japanese, Italian — are now ready and willing to build Bokaro on a profit-sharing basis for a limited number of years, and that the public-sector dogma keeping them out is incompatible with national economic interest. The argument extends from steel to coal, power, and transport: official estimates concede shortages of half a million volts of electricity a year and a 10,000-crore ton-mile gap in transport capacity by 1966, and the writer warns that without private participation the Fourth Plan will begin "lame" and the 1972 target of 18 million tons of steel will remain "a pipe dream." The piece closes with a broader audit of Indian planning to date: the First Plan was "hardly a plan in the true sense of the word" but a conglomeration of projects; the Second Plan had better groundwork but collapsed into a foreign-exchange crisis because planners ignored international trade trends; and the Third Plan now risks the same fate unless dogmas give way to a "more realistic road." The leaflet ends with the standard Forum disclaimer that views expressed do not necessarily represent the Forum's, and the imprint of M. R. Pai as publisher. ## Key points - Written under the pseudonym "Critic" and reproduced from the Financial Express (31 May 1962), the leaflet treats steel as the test case for whether the Third Five-Year Plan can be saved. - Delays at Rourkela and Durgapur are blamed on West German and British suppliers, but the failure to start Bokaro is attributed "squarely" to the Central Government's refusal to admit private capital. - Foreign private interests — British, German, Japanese, Italian — are described as ready to build Bokaro on a profit-sharing basis for a limited number of years, contradicting the official line that only the State can deliver heavy industry. - Power and transport projections are used to extend the argument: a shortage of 4–5 million volts of electricity a year and a transport gap of around 7,000 crore ton-miles by 1966 are flagged as evidence that public-sector capacity alone cannot keep pace. - If the Third Plan misses its targets of 10 million tons of steel and 100 million tons of coal by 1966, the Fourth Plan begins "lame" and the 1972 target of 18 million tons of steel becomes "a pipe dream." - The leaflet retrospectively grades earlier plans: the First Plan was "hardly a plan," the Second Plan had better groundwork but underestimated population growth and foreign trade trends, leading to the foreign-exchange crisis. - The polemic is framed as a choice between "dogmas and shibboleths" and a "more realistic road" of mixed public–private development. - Published by M. R. Pai for the Forum of Free Enterprise from 235 Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji Road, Bombay, and printed at Karnatak Printing Press; dated 8 July 1962. --- ## [Primary work] BLACK MONEY MENACE IN INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/black-money-menace-in-india-time-for-action-k-v-m-pai-january-6-2009/ ### Summary Black Money Menace in India: Time for Action reproduces a 19 November 2008 Mangalore address by K. V. M. Pai, a former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, delivered under the joint auspices of the Indian Liberal Group, the Mangalore branch of the Forum of Free Enterprise, and the Economics Research Centre. The booklet opens with a Forum preface that situates Pai's argument inside a long Forum tradition of writing on tax evasion — citing earlier booklets by B. R. Shenoy, B. P. Adarkar, Vadilal Dagli, D. R. Pendse and H. P. Ranina, and a 1999 contribution by N. Vittal — and an editorial note that flags Pai's most dramatic claim: that India tops the Swiss Bank Report's table of foreign deposits. Pai's address moves from diagnosis to remedy. He marshals the Swiss Bank Report 2006 to argue that India holds $1,456 billion — more than Russia, the UK, Ukraine and China combined — and contends that repatriation alone could clear India's foreign debt many times over.… ### Body ## Summary Black Money Menace in India: Time for Action reproduces a 19 November 2008 Mangalore address by K. V. M. Pai, a former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, delivered under the joint auspices of the Indian Liberal Group, the Mangalore branch of the Forum of Free Enterprise, and the Economics Research Centre. The booklet opens with a Forum preface that situates Pai's argument inside a long Forum tradition of writing on tax evasion — citing earlier booklets by B. R. Shenoy, B. P. Adarkar, Vadilal Dagli, D. R. Pendse and H. P. Ranina, and a 1999 contribution by N. Vittal — and an editorial note that flags Pai's most dramatic claim: that India tops the Swiss Bank Report's table of foreign deposits. Pai's address moves from diagnosis to remedy. He marshals the Swiss Bank Report 2006 to argue that India holds $1,456 billion — more than Russia, the UK, Ukraine and China combined — and contends that repatriation alone could clear India's foreign debt many times over. He surveys the domestic terrain of evasion: real estate (where lower tax rates have cut, but not eliminated, the black portion of transactions), unaccounted gold and jewellery, benami investments, undisclosed stock-in-trade, share-market transactions, and Swiss and Dubai bank accounts uncovered in the Harshad Mehta searches. He chronicles successive disclosure schemes from 1965 to 1997 as low-yield expedients struck down by the Supreme Court, and reports Income Tax Department estimates that as much as 35% of personal and 43% of corporate tax collections in Mumbai go unpaid. The prescription is institutional. Drawing on the US Internal Revenue Service's Social Security Number-based computer system introduced by Commissioner Mortimer Caplin in 1963 — and noting comparable systems in Canada, the UK, Germany, Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore — Pai urges that India's PAN be made the foundation of a comprehensive national computer system that captures bank, real-estate registration, share, post-office and corporate data, backed by stiff penalties, enlarged reopening windows for Swiss-account cases, adequate budget for the Income Tax Department, and parliamentary legislation. He frames the project against the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act of 2003 and the Central Government's persistent revenue deficits, closes with a 1962 warning from B. R. Shenoy that the only real remedy is to abandon the policies of statism, and calls for active citizenship demanding action from Parliament, judiciary, executive and civil society. ## Key points - Pai is a former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Mumbai; the text reproduces his 19 November 2008 Mangalore talk under the auspices of the Indian Liberal Group, Forum of Free Enterprise Mangalore, and the Economics Research Centre. - He uses the Swiss Bank Report 2006 to claim Indian deposits of $1,456 billion — more than Russia ($470bn), the UK ($390bn), Ukraine ($100bn) and China ($96bn) combined — and argues repatriation could clear India's foreign debt in 24 hours. - He catalogues the domestic vehicles of black money: real estate (80% of transactions in cash even after rate cuts), gold and jewellery (Rs. 80,000 crore of annual purchases largely outside bank channels), benami investments, undisclosed stock-in-trade, and share-market activity not cross-checked by the Income Tax Department against Mumbai Stock Exchange data. - Successive disclosure schemes from 1965 to 1997 produced negligible yields; the Supreme Court struck down further disclosure schemes and asked the government to concentrate on detection through investigation and search. - Income Tax Department studies of cases searched in Mumbai found roughly 35% of personal income-tax and 43% of corporate-tax collections going unreported; only 3 crore of an estimated 30 crore taxable assessees actually file returns. - His central recommendation is to adopt the US IRS computer system (introduced by Commissioner Caplin in 1963) using PAN as a Social Security-style identifier, with comprehensive data feeds from banks, registrars, post offices and exchanges, and similar systems in Canada, the UK, Germany, Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore as further models. - He cites the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act 2003 and revenue deficits (2.6% of GDP in 2005-06 falling to a Budget Estimate of 1.0% in 2008-09, with the total internal debt projected at Rs. 29,39,238 crore by end-March 2009) to argue that legislation without effective execution is inadequate. - He closes by quoting B. R. Shenoy's 1962 warning that black money 'is well past the take off stage of development' and that the only remedy is 'abandonment of the policies of statism', appealing for citizen pressure on Parliament, judiciary, executive and civil society. --- ## [Primary work] BRIDGING (DIMINISHING) THE DIGITAL DIVIDE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/bridging-diminishing-the-digital-divide-by-dr-th-chowdhary-2002/ ### Summary Dr. T. H. Chowdary's lecture, delivered in Mumbai on 16 August 2002 under the joint auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise and the Indian Merchants' Chamber, reframes the much-discussed 'digital divide' as a tractable policy problem rather than an indictment of technology. He opens with a long historical arc — from oral transmission to Gutenberg's moving type, from libraries to electronified information — to argue that prosperity has always tracked the diffusion (not the concentration) of knowledge. The 19th-century take-off in per-capita world GDP, charted from Angus Maddison's data, is for him the visible signature of widely accessible information and skill. He then walks through the cost economics of telecommunications: the dramatic fall in trans-Atlantic cable costs from 1956 to 1996, the collapse in storage costs per megabyte, the rise of optical-fibre and satellite backbones, and the convergence of voice, video, text and data on the Internet.… ### Body ## Summary Dr. T. H. Chowdary's lecture, delivered in Mumbai on 16 August 2002 under the joint auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise and the Indian Merchants' Chamber, reframes the much-discussed 'digital divide' as a tractable policy problem rather than an indictment of technology. He opens with a long historical arc — from oral transmission to Gutenberg's moving type, from libraries to electronified information — to argue that prosperity has always tracked the diffusion (not the concentration) of knowledge. The 19th-century take-off in per-capita world GDP, charted from Angus Maddison's data, is for him the visible signature of widely accessible information and skill. He then walks through the cost economics of telecommunications: the dramatic fall in trans-Atlantic cable costs from 1956 to 1996, the collapse in storage costs per megabyte, the rise of optical-fibre and satellite backbones, and the convergence of voice, video, text and data on the Internet. From this he draws his central operational claim — 'carriage will be free but the content will be priced' — and argues that the Internet is best understood as a universal post office, broadcast studio, classroom, shop and clearing house rolled into one. On the divide itself, Chowdary distinguishes a populist usage (favoured, he says, by 'sociologists and politicians, especially the populist variety') from an engineer's diagnosis. India has already solved the 'missing link' problem for telephony — 450,000 of 650,000 villages now have a public telephone, and Very Small Aperture Terminals will pick up the remainder. The next step, he argues, is to upgrade Public Telephones into Public Tele-Information Centres (PTICs) staffed by a trained attendant — the village grocer, tailor or teacher — who can broker Internet access on behalf of illiterate or non-English-speaking users, much as he already does for the telephone. This 'attendant model' converts illiteracy and language from blocking constraints into routable problems. The final stretch is a classical-liberal indictment of Indian telecom policy circa 2002. Despite seven years of de-monopolisation, government has 'made the service costlier than what it could be' by piling on entrance fees, revenue share, cost-unrelated interconnection charges and inflated spectrum prices — extractions, he insists, that bear no relation to network costs and are simply revenue-grabs. He contrasts this with the IT Task Force's accepted recommendation that Internet service carry no such imposts, and with China, which adds 50 million mobile and 20 million fixed lines annually against India's 3 and 5 million. His prescription: scrap the punitive levies driven by the incumbent Bharat Sanchar, license-free entry for rural telephony and Internet kiosks, and a system designed so that the rise in per-capita income and the fall in telecom prices together make affordability rise non-linearly. ## Key points - Frames technology diffusion — not technology itself — as the historical driver of prosperity, citing literacy gains and Maddison's per-capita GDP series. - Uses falling TAT cable costs (1956–1996) and storage cost curves to argue that telecom carriage is approaching free, with pricing migrating to content. - Distinguishes the engineer's 'missing link' framing from the populist 'digital divide' framing, and proposes the latter is solvable with the same incrementalism that delivered village telephony. - Proposes upgrading rural Public Telephones into Public Tele-Information Centres (PTICs) operated by a trained local attendant who brokers Internet access for illiterate or non-English users. - Argues that India's main barrier to bridging the divide is not technology but government rent extraction — entrance fees, revenue share, interconnection charges, spectrum prices — that have no relation to network costs. - Cites China's lead in mobile, fixed and Internet uptake as proof that removing extraneous burdens unlocks non-linear growth in affordability. - Recommends a near-licence-free regime for rural Internet kiosks: registration with TRAI/DOT, technology compatibility as the only condition, and competition over revenue share with the network operator. --- ## [Primary work] Budget (2000-01): Drifting Towards the Cliff? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/budget-2000-01---drifting-towards-the-cliff-march-2000/ ### Summary In this 2000 Mumbai pamphlet, the economist D. R. Pendse offers a sharply critical reading of the Union Budget for 2000-01, opening with the verdict that while a few measures are deft, the budget as a whole leaves critical fiscal issues 'needlessly brushed under the carpet' even as 'the fisc drifts towards the cliff.' He organises the argument in three sections. Section I ('Some Budget Moves: A Mixed Bag') itemises specific proposals, grading each as creditable or not — praising the cut in the FM's discretionary exemption powers and dividend-tax changes, while faulting deletion of Section 54EA/54EB capital-gains relief and the raising of the corporate-surcharge. Section II ('The Budget Fumbles, the Economy Grows') argues the paradox at the heart of the work: although the fiscal position is deeply disturbing — Pendse marshals figures on ballooning government borrowing, interest payments and the fiscal deficit as a share of GDP — the broader economic outlook still offers scope for relief, with GDP growth recovering. He warns that runaway expenditure and rising debt-service have brought India repeatedly close to the kind of balance-of-payments crisis it narrowly escaped in 1991.… ### Body # Budget (2000-01): Drifting Towards the Cliff? *By D. R. Pendse* ## Summary In this 2000 Mumbai pamphlet, the economist D. R. Pendse offers a sharply critical reading of the Union Budget for 2000-01, opening with the verdict that while a few measures are deft, the budget as a whole leaves critical fiscal issues 'needlessly brushed under the carpet' even as 'the fisc drifts towards the cliff.' He organises the argument in three sections. Section I ('Some Budget Moves: A Mixed Bag') itemises specific proposals, grading each as creditable or not — praising the cut in the FM's discretionary exemption powers and dividend-tax changes, while faulting deletion of Section 54EA/54EB capital-gains relief and the raising of the corporate-surcharge. Section II ('The Budget Fumbles, the Economy Grows') argues the paradox at the heart of the work: although the fiscal position is deeply disturbing — Pendse marshals figures on ballooning government borrowing, interest payments and the fiscal deficit as a share of GDP — the broader economic outlook still offers scope for relief, with GDP growth recovering. He warns that runaway expenditure and rising debt-service have brought India repeatedly close to the kind of balance-of-payments crisis it narrowly escaped in 1991. Section III ('Curbing Government Expenditure: A Seven Point Savage Plan') sets out his prescription: a frozen total-expenditure ceiling, deep cuts to subsidies and the government wage bill, privatisation, and a freeze on fresh recruitment — measures he concedes have 'no chance' of being found politically acceptable, but which he insists are the only harsh options now left. Throughout, Pendse intersperses anecdotal 'boxes' — a journalist friend's quip about a 'kite-flying' budget, a vignette on Manmohan Singh and the 1991 reforms — to leaven what he calls an otherwise 'dull and depressing subject.' The pamphlet reads as a practitioner's plea for expenditure discipline over cosmetic budgeting. ## Key points - Pendse's central thesis: the 2000-01 budget ducks critical fiscal issues while 'the fisc drifts towards the cliff,' even though the wider economy is growing. - Section I grades individual budget measures as 'creditable' or 'not very creditable' — e.g. welcoming reduced FM discretionary exemption power, faulting deletion of Section 54EA/54EB capital-gains relief. - Section II documents the fiscal danger: rising government borrowing, mounting interest payments, and the fiscal deficit as a share of GDP. - He repeatedly invokes 1991, when India 'narrowly missed a brush with international default,' as the cautionary precedent for unchecked deficits. - Section III proposes a 'Seven Point Savage Plan': freeze total expenditure, slash subsidies and the wage bill, privatise, and halt fresh recruitment. - Pendse concedes the plan has 'no chance' of being politically acceptable but argues only harsh options remain. - Anecdotal sidebar boxes (a 'kite-flying' budget joke; a Manmohan Singh/1991 vignette) are used to relieve a 'dull and depressing subject.' - The work is a single-author practitioner pamphlet, priced Rs. 25, with no formal publisher imprint. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Budget Highlights & GST – Where Are We Today? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/budget-highlights-gst-where-are-we-today-h-p-ranina-bhavana-doshi/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet bundles two short policy commentaries on India's Interim Budget for FY 2019-20 and the state of the Goods and Services Tax regime, prefaced by an Editorial Introduction signed by Sunil S. Bhandare. The first article, by Forum President H. P. Ranina, surveys Finance Minister Piyush Goyal's Interim Budget and reads it as a 'road map' for a digitised, manufacturing-led economy that holds fiscal consolidation at 3.4% of GDP while extending social-security cover, direct income support to small farmers, and a conceptual Universal Basic Income. The second article, by indirect-tax expert Bhavna Doshi, takes stock of GST as a 'mixed bag' — what is amiss in compliance, rate design and federal coordination, and what the GST Council should change so the regime settles down faster. In the rendered pages only the Editorial Introduction (pp. 1–4) and the Ranina article (pp. 5 onward, seen through p. 18) appear; Doshi's article is not in this chunk and is summarised in this paragraph only by reference to the editor's preview, not extracted from her own text. ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet bundles two short policy commentaries on India's Interim Budget for FY 2019-20 and the state of the Goods and Services Tax regime, prefaced by an Editorial Introduction signed by Sunil S. Bhandare. The first article, by Forum President H. P. Ranina, surveys Finance Minister Piyush Goyal's Interim Budget and reads it as a 'road map' for a digitised, manufacturing-led economy that holds fiscal consolidation at 3.4% of GDP while extending social-security cover, direct income support to small farmers, and a conceptual Universal Basic Income. The second article, by indirect-tax expert Bhavna Doshi, takes stock of GST as a 'mixed bag' — what is amiss in compliance, rate design and federal coordination, and what the GST Council should change so the regime settles down faster. In the rendered pages only the Editorial Introduction (pp. 1–4) and the Ranina article (pp. 5 onward, seen through p. 18) appear; Doshi's article is not in this chunk and is summarised in this paragraph only by reference to the editor's preview, not extracted from her own text. ## Essays ### Budget Highlights — Laying the Foundation for the Second Largest Economy *By HP Ranina* Ranina reads the Modi government's last budget before the 2019 general elections as a 'road map for transforming the Indian economy by ushering an era of digitization', anchored on holding the fiscal deficit at 3.4% of GDP despite a Rs. 75,000 crore outlay on direct income support to small and marginal farmers. He treats the Interim Budget as a coherent package: a first-of-its-kind social security floor for unorganised-sector workers (Rs. 3,000 per month pension from age 60), a conceptual Universal Basic Income riding on the Jan Dhan financial-inclusion drive, recapitalisation of public-sector banks under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, expanded loan sanctions plus a 2% interest rebate for GST-registered MSMEs, and a 25% increase in the salaried standard deduction to Rs. 50,000. On the personal-tax front, Ranina walks through how the enhanced Section 87-A rebate can take individuals with actual incomes up to roughly Rs. 9 lakh per annum out of the tax net once 80-C, 80-CCD and Section 24 deductions are claimed, alongside liberalised withholding-tax thresholds, a two-house capital-gains rollover under Section 54, and full digitisation of the Income Tax Department with 24-hour return processing. He frames the Goods & Services Tax as 'the biggest taxation reform undertaken since India became independent', citing monthly GST revenue averaging Rs. 97,000 crore (Rs. 1 lakh crore breached in January 2019), a doubled small-business exemption from Rs. 20 lakh to Rs. 40 lakh, and a lower 6% composition rate for service providers up to Rs. 50 lakh turnover. The essay closes — in the rendered pages — on the Finance Minister's Vision 2030: physical and social infrastructure, digitisation of the economy, a pollution-free nation, rural industrialisation, and the start of further pillars cut off at p. 18. - Ranina reads the Interim Budget as a digitisation-and-manufacturing road map that holds the fiscal deficit at 3.4% of GDP even after the Rs. 75,000 crore farmer income-support outlay. - A new unorganised-sector pension scheme paying Rs. 3,000 per month from age 60, plus a conceptual Universal Basic Income delivered through Jan Dhan accounts, is framed as the first serious social-security floor for India's informal workforce. - Public-sector bank recapitalisation, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code recoveries of roughly Rs. 3 lakh crore, and a 2% interest rebate for GST-registered small units are presented as a coherent financial-sector reform package. - On direct tax, the enlarged Section 87-A rebate combined with 80-C, 80-CCD and Section 24 deductions can take individuals with actual incomes up to about Rs. 9 lakh per annum to zero tax, while the salaried standard deduction rises 25% to Rs. 50,000. - GST is described as the biggest tax reform since Independence, with monthly revenue averaging Rs. 97,000 crore, crossing Rs. 1 lakh crore in January 2019, and the small-business exemption doubled from Rs. 20 lakh to Rs. 40 lakh. - Infrastructure claims — 27 km/day of highway construction, 4,087 Rkm of rail electrification, the Sagarmala port programme, and the India-hosted International Solar Alliance — are offered as evidence of the budget's continuity with prior years' physical-capex push. - The Vision 2030 framing is introduced (physical/social infrastructure, digitisation, pollution-free transport, rural industrialisation), but the full ten-pillar list is cut off at the end of this rendered chunk. --- ## [Primary work] Business-Government Understanding URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/business-government-understanding-naval-h-mehta-february-14-1984/ ### Summary Naval H. Tata, then President of the Employers' Federation of India, delivers an address (originally given at the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce & Industries in Pune on 4 January 1984 and reissued as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet on 14 February 1984) that diagnoses the strained, suspicion-laden relationship between Indian business and the Government three and a half decades after Independence. Tata argues that the working partnership the mixed economy presupposes has not materialised: businessmen complain of a cobweb of laws, unimaginative tax policies and licensing restrictions, while bureaucrats and public-sector heads in turn suspect industry of taking the Government for a ride.… ### Body ## Summary Naval H. Tata, then President of the Employers' Federation of India, delivers an address (originally given at the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce & Industries in Pune on 4 January 1984 and reissued as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet on 14 February 1984) that diagnoses the strained, suspicion-laden relationship between Indian business and the Government three and a half decades after Independence. Tata argues that the working partnership the mixed economy presupposes has not materialised: businessmen complain of a cobweb of laws, unimaginative tax policies and licensing restrictions, while bureaucrats and public-sector heads in turn suspect industry of taking the Government for a ride. He calls on Chambers of Commerce to do their own soul-searching, to defend the legitimate role of large houses against populist campaigns, and to enlarge their membership base by absorbing small-scale units rather than letting an artificial small-vs-large quarrel be weaponised against the private sector as a whole. The second half of the booklet is a concrete eight-point reform list addressed to the Government: relax penalties on units producing above 'licensed capacity', permit orderly closures and mergers of sick enterprises instead of nationalising them, revisit a 'prices and incomes' policy under which 9.6% of the labour force (the organised sector) captures 33.9% of national income, prevent the unorganised cotton-textile sector from throttling organised mills, soften the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act and the MRTP Act, and revive the Air-India formula of 51:49 joint-sector partnerships. Tata closes by insisting that 'mixed economy' is not incompatible with 'free enterprise', invoking the U.S. 19th-century example and India's own Green Revolution in Punjab to show what flexibility and private initiative can achieve, and pleading for a meaningful dialogue in which the private sector is treated as a co-equal stakeholder in national policy-making rather than an object of suspicion. ## Key points - Frames the Chamber of Commerce's primary duty as activating a working relationship between Government and business, and treats the prevailing 'gulf of misunderstanding' as the central problem of post-Independence economic management. - Rejects the populist campaign against large business houses (the 'money bags' attack on apex chamber bodies) as misrepresentation, defending TELCO, Bajaj Auto and Birla/Mafatla/Tata-class firms as nurturers of small enterprise rather than predators. - Argues India's organised labour, far from being repressed, enjoys more freedom than in almost any Third World country; defends the National Security Act and Essential Services Act as analogous to U.S. enactments invoked by Reagan against the Air Controllers strike. - Presents an eight-item reform list: penalties on 'over-capacity' production, mandatory continuation of insolvent units, the bar on merger-based rescues, the prices-and-incomes distortion, fiscal favouritism toward the unorganised sector, the IDRA, the MRTP Act, and absence of joint-sector vehicles. - Cites L. K. Jha's 'Economic Strategy for 1980' as authoritative criticism of the IDRA, arguing that the Act 'regulate[s] development but does not encourage it' and that taxation has reached self-defeating levels. - Argues the organised sector, just 9.6% of the labour force (employers included), claims 33.9% of national income, calling for a prices-and-incomes review in the name of social justice to the rest of the population. - Recommends a revived Air-India-style joint sector — 51% private equity with management, 49% government with a reserve right to 2% more — as a way to align public and private capital without nationalisation. - Closes with a defence of the compatibility of 'mixed economy' and 'free enterprise', citing 19th-century Anglo-American agricultural prosperity and Punjab's Green Revolution as evidence that flexibility and private initiative produce miracles when government refrains from obstruction. --- ## [Primary work] CEMENT INDUSTRY IN INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/cement-industry-in-india-n-dandekar-oct9-1956/ ### Summary Reprinted from The Times of India of 5 and 9 October 1956, this Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet by N. Dandekar and L. Sawhny offers a stewardship audit of the Indian cement industry as a case study in what private capital, organised through the Associated Cement Companies Ltd., has achieved for the country. The authors trace the industry's history from the failed Madras factory of 1904 through the boom and bust of the inter-war years, the 1936 consolidation that produced ACC, and the post-Independence expansion that nearly trebled production between 1948 and 1955 — reaching 4.4 million tons in 1955 and beating the First Five-Year Plan target. The core argument is that the cement industry has met both the social and economic obligations set out in the Forum's Manifesto: producing a basic infrastructure good of comparable quality to the best in the world, holding the rise in cement prices to 179 per cent against an all-industry index of 288 per cent, employing 22,000 people on long-term contracts with welfare provision well above the norm, and distributing modest dividends (an average of 5.65 per cent on invested capital over ten years).… ### Body ## Summary Reprinted from The Times of India of 5 and 9 October 1956, this Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet by N. Dandekar and L. Sawhny offers a stewardship audit of the Indian cement industry as a case study in what private capital, organised through the Associated Cement Companies Ltd., has achieved for the country. The authors trace the industry's history from the failed Madras factory of 1904 through the boom and bust of the inter-war years, the 1936 consolidation that produced ACC, and the post-Independence expansion that nearly trebled production between 1948 and 1955 — reaching 4.4 million tons in 1955 and beating the First Five-Year Plan target. The core argument is that the cement industry has met both the social and economic obligations set out in the Forum's Manifesto: producing a basic infrastructure good of comparable quality to the best in the world, holding the rise in cement prices to 179 per cent against an all-industry index of 288 per cent, employing 22,000 people on long-term contracts with welfare provision well above the norm, and distributing modest dividends (an average of 5.65 per cent on invested capital over ten years). The authors stress that cement is sold only at Government-approved prices, that 92 per cent of company capital is held by a broad cross-section of the public, and that some 70 per cent of the managing agents' commission flows back to Government as tax — pre-empting common critiques of "monopoly", "profiteering" and concentration of economic power. The closing pages defend the managing agency commission, point to ACC's voluntary expansion plan (to 5.2 million tons by 1961, requiring Rs. 30 crores of fresh capital without Government assistance), and emphasise that the industry has built up indigenous machinery-making capacity covering 70 per cent of cement-plant requirements, saving foreign exchange. The article culminates in an explicit ideological claim: that this stewardship is precisely how free enterprise works in a free democratic country, deserving — in the Forum's view — to be "increasingly encouraged and relied upon" rather than supplanted by the state. ## Key points - Frames the cement industry as a test case for the Forum of Free Enterprise's Manifesto claim that private enterprise meets both economic efficiency and social propriety standards. - Traces industry history: 1904 Madras failure, WWI revival, 1919-1924 over-expansion and losses, 1925 Indian Cement Manufacturers Association, 1936 merger producing Associated Cement Companies Ltd. - Documents that cement production rose from 15.42 lakh tons in 1946 to 44.16 lakh tons in 1955 — nearly trebling between 1948-1955 and exceeding First Five-Year Plan targets. - Argues quality is comparable to fully industrialised economies, tested by the Indian Standards Institution and the Government Test House at Alipore. - Highlights that cement is sold only at Government-approved prices since 1953, with the industry voluntarily reducing prices on at least one occasion; cement-price rise (179%) is roughly half the all-industry wholesale index increase (288%) since 1939. - Describes employment of 22,000 workers with welfare provisions — schools, hospitals, creches, canteens, gratuity, provident fund — emphasising that wages and benefits rose 39 per cent during 1948-49. - Counters the concentration-of-power critique with shareholding data: 28,747 holders of 100 shares or less (94.7%), with 43 private shareholders holding only 8% of issued stock. - Defends the managing agency commission by showing roughly 70% of agents' commission accrues to Government via taxation, and announces a Rs. 30 crore expansion plan to reach 5.2 million tons by 1961 without Government finance. --- ## [Primary work] Central Economic Planning URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/central-economic-planning-professor-milton-friedman-rose-friedman-september14-1982/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces an excerpt from Milton and Rose Friedman's 'Free to Choose' (1979) under the title 'Central Economic Planning'. Drawing on the Friedmans' travels in underdeveloped countries, the text opens by contrasting the convictions of intellectuals — for whom central planning is 'the wave of the future' — with the empirical record. Wherever the state controls economic activity in detail, the authors argue, ordinary citizens remain in political fetters and material poverty, even as the state and its privileged classes prosper. The argument is built around a sequence of comparative case studies. East Germany versus West Germany shows what the free market and Ludwig Erhard's 1948 currency-and-price liberalisation produced relative to a walled, grey command economy. Russia, Yugoslavia, Israel, Egypt, and the Far Asian economies (Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan) are arrayed along a spectrum where reliance on markets correlates with prosperity and political freedom.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces an excerpt from Milton and Rose Friedman's 'Free to Choose' (1979) under the title 'Central Economic Planning'. Drawing on the Friedmans' travels in underdeveloped countries, the text opens by contrasting the convictions of intellectuals — for whom central planning is 'the wave of the future' — with the empirical record. Wherever the state controls economic activity in detail, the authors argue, ordinary citizens remain in political fetters and material poverty, even as the state and its privileged classes prosper. The argument is built around a sequence of comparative case studies. East Germany versus West Germany shows what the free market and Ludwig Erhard's 1948 currency-and-price liberalisation produced relative to a walled, grey command economy. Russia, Yugoslavia, Israel, Egypt, and the Far Asian economies (Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan) are arrayed along a spectrum where reliance on markets correlates with prosperity and political freedom. The centrepiece is an extended comparison of post-Meiji Japan (1867 onward) with post-independence India (1947 onward): in nearly every initial condition India was the more favoured country, yet Japan dismantled feudalism and embraced voluntary cooperation while India embarked on Russian-type five-year plans, foreign-exchange controls, licensing of investment, and ubiquitous tariffs and quotas. The Friedmans dismiss cultural explanations for India's stagnation — fatalism, caste, sloth — by pointing to the entrepreneurial success of Indians in Africa, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Fiji, Panama, and Britain, and to the immigrant Chinese in Hong Kong. The decisive variable, they conclude, is not the attributes of the masses but the economic system: 'sloth and lack of enterprise flourish when hard work and the taking of risks are not rewarded.' A handloom-textile comparison drives the point home — Britain's nineteenth-century royal commission rejected exactly the protective subsidy India later adopted. The final section, 'Controls and Freedom', pivots to the United States, warning that even without formal central planning, fifty years of expanding government have cost both economic progress and human freedom. The authors invoke Abraham Lincoln's 'House Divided' speech to argue that a divided economy will fall to the collectivist side, and lay out a defence of economic freedom — to dispose of one's income, to enter occupations, to raise capital — that the rendered pages cut off mid-argument. ## Key points - Reproduces a chapter from Milton and Rose Friedman's 'Free to Choose' (1979) under FFE's imprint, framed by a publisher's introduction and an A. D. Shroff epigraph on free enterprise. - Contrasts the intellectual consensus favouring central planning with the empirical pattern: market-reliant economies show rising living standards and political freedom, whereas centrally planned economies (East Germany, Russia, Maoist China, India) show stagnation and repression. - Treats post-Meiji Japan (1867+) and independent India (1947+) as a near-controlled experiment: India had superior initial conditions yet adopted Russian-style five-year plans, while Japan relied on voluntary cooperation and free markets — with diametrically opposite outcomes. - Rejects cultural-fatalism explanations of Indian poverty by citing the entrepreneurial success of Indian diaspora communities in Africa, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Fiji, Panama, and Britain. - Uses the handloom-textile case to show that nineteenth-century Britain rejected the protectionist subsidy India later embraced — protection 'has meant expansion' of an industry that taxes the equally poor. - Argues that India's licensing, foreign-exchange controls, price controls, ubiquitous taxation, and self-sufficiency ideal produce smuggling, black markets, and a corrosion of respect for law, even as those evasions perform 'a valuable social service' by relieving central planning's rigidity. - Pivots to the United States in 'Controls and Freedom', warning that government's expansion has cost economic progress and human freedom, and invoking Lincoln's 'House Divided' speech to argue the mixed economy is unstable. - Sketches an account of economic freedom — choice over after-tax income, occupational entry, and capital formation — and contrasts ballot-box conformity with marketplace unanimity-without-conformity. --- ## [Primary work] Business and Public Welfare URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/business-and-public-welfare-v-k-narasimhan-march-9-1970/ ### Summary This pamphlet collects the background papers prepared for the Forum of Free Enterprise's February 1970 convention on Business and Public Welfare, held in Bombay, together with the convention's seven-point Final Statement adopted on 2 February 1970. The four papers — by V. K. Narasimhan (Resident Editor, Indian Express), Mrs. Krpshna Basrur (Editor, Consumer Guidance Society Bulletin), C. G. Vaidya (Principal, Chintamanrao College of Commerce, Sangli) and Dr. Ramu Pandit (Former Executive Director, Fair Trade Practices Association) — examine, in turn, the constitutional protection of property and enterprise, the consumer's experience of adulteration and profiteering, the public-private balance in India's mixed economy, and the image of the businessman in post-Independence society. The volume's argumentative centre is a defensive but reformist case for private enterprise: it warns that doctrinaire socialism and the dilution of Articles 19(6) and 31 threaten the constitutional foundations of business, but it also insists that businessmen earn legitimacy through self-regulation, ethical conduct, consumer protection and visible social responsibility.… ### Body ## Summary This pamphlet collects the background papers prepared for the Forum of Free Enterprise's February 1970 convention on Business and Public Welfare, held in Bombay, together with the convention's seven-point Final Statement adopted on 2 February 1970. The four papers — by V. K. Narasimhan (Resident Editor, Indian Express), Mrs. Krpshna Basrur (Editor, Consumer Guidance Society Bulletin), C. G. Vaidya (Principal, Chintamanrao College of Commerce, Sangli) and Dr. Ramu Pandit (Former Executive Director, Fair Trade Practices Association) — examine, in turn, the constitutional protection of property and enterprise, the consumer's experience of adulteration and profiteering, the public-private balance in India's mixed economy, and the image of the businessman in post-Independence society. The volume's argumentative centre is a defensive but reformist case for private enterprise: it warns that doctrinaire socialism and the dilution of Articles 19(6) and 31 threaten the constitutional foundations of business, but it also insists that businessmen earn legitimacy through self-regulation, ethical conduct, consumer protection and visible social responsibility. The Final Statement codifies these positions into a programme calling for a competitive mixed economy, restraint on nationalisation, professionalised self-discipline by traders, a stronger consumer movement, and an end to the inefficiency of State enterprises. ## Essays ### I. Business and Fundamental Rights *By V. K. NARASIMHAN* V. K. Narasimhan opens the volume by warning that the third decade of the Indian Republic begins amid crises of economy and democracy, with the split in the ruling Congress encouraging a competitive 'doctrinaire radicalism' that menaces the mixed economy and the property guarantees of the Constitution. He revisits the 1951 First Amendment and the inserted Article 19(6), arguing that its open-ended licence for State monopolies has been abused to nationalise without genuine public-interest test or independent inquiry, and treats the recent nationalisation of fourteen major commercial banks by ordinance as a case in point. Narasimhan calls on businessmen — not in isolation, but together with all who value constitutional liberty — to fight for the retention of the Fundamental Right to property, to demand prior independent quasi-judicial inquiry before any nationalisation, and to insist on the Rule of Law against the 'gherao' tactics tolerated by State governments in West Bengal and Kerala. His closing warning is that without persistent vigilance and continual education of the public, the law of the jungle will displace the constitutional order. - Frames the early 1970s as a moment when the Congress split has unleashed 'doctrinaire radicalism' against the mixed economy. - Treats Article 19(6) (introduced by the 1951 First Amendment) as the constitutional opening that legitimised expanding State monopolies and recent bank nationalisation. - Endorses a Jana Sangh proposal that no enterprise be nationalised without prior judicial enquiry in which the affected business can present its case. - Calls on all who value constitutional freedoms — not businessmen alone — to defend the Fundamental Right to property. - Names 'gherao' tactics tolerated in West Bengal and Kerala as a direct threat to the Rule of Law and to businessmen. ### II. Business and Consumers *By Mrs. KRPSHNA BASRUR* Mrs. Krpshna Basrur surveys the consumer's predicament in a scarcity economy: adulteration, profiteering, hoarding, price manipulation and shoddy workmanship are entrenched in a 'seller's market' that places few costs on bad practice. She cites a Fair Trade Practices Association survey of Bombay housewives in which 50 per cent of tradesmen are believed to profiteer, a Union Directorate of Health finding that roughly 30 per cent of food samples are adulterated, and recent poisonings from contaminated edible oil and underground Vanaspati to argue that the harm is concrete and ongoing. Her remedy is twofold. Consumer associations must shift consumers from passive grievance to active 'demanding' of quality, written complaints and patronage of certified shops; and business associations — naming the FTPA, the Forum of Free Enterprise and the Indian Merchants' Chamber — must lead a programme of education and self-regulation for small traders, expand product certification (Agmark, ISI), publish prices and expiry dates, and create a standing joint body of business and consumer representatives to address scarcity and distribution problems together. - Diagnoses the Indian consumer's situation as a seller's market produced by chronic shortages and weak buyer organisation. - Reports an FTPA survey finding 50 per cent of Bombay tradesmen reputed to profiteer and a 30 per cent national adulteration rate from the Directorate of Health. - Argues for active 'demanding consumers' using written complaints, boycotts and preferential buying from certified sellers. - Identifies certification (Agmark, ISI) and labelling reforms — round weights, expiry dates, content disclosure — as a progressive path. - Calls on business associations (FTPA, Forum of Free Enterprise, Indian Merchants' Chamber) to lead trader education and a joint consumer-business standing body. ### III. Business and Government in India *By C. G. VAIDYA* C. G. Vaidya frames the business-government relationship as the central institutional question of India's mixed economy. He traces the post-1947 decision to adopt mixed-economy planning to the perceived inadequacy of private capital alone, and observes that since 1951 the public sector has expanded rapidly into almost all important areas of the economy — often, in his view, on insufficient grounds and without producing efficiency, returns or freedom from foreign technical dependence. The co-operative sector, in his reading, has functioned more as a Government movement than a genuine peoples' movement. His suggestions are characteristically Forum-of-Free-Enterprise in temper: neither sector alone can deliver development; the State should respect the spheres reserved for private enterprise by the 1956 Industrial Policy Resolution and refrain from fresh undertakings there unless absolutely necessary; the public sector should pause expansion in favour of consolidation and efficiency; the private sector must be assured conditions allowing it to develop fully; and high efficiency in all three sectors is the prerequisite for rapid economic development. - Locates the origin of India's mixed economy in the 1947 judgment that private enterprise alone could not bear the development burden. - Criticises post-1956 'socialist pattern' drift as taking over means of production without adequate justification or efficiency gains. - Observes that the co-operative sector has functioned more as a Government movement than a genuine peoples' movement. - Urges the State to honour reserved spheres for private enterprise under the 1956 Industrial Policy Resolution. - Recommends a pause on public-sector expansion in favour of consolidation, with the private sector given assured conditions to grow. ### IV. Business and Public Image *By Dr. RAMU PANDIT* Dr. Ramu Pandit asks why the Indian businessman, who had earned national goodwill in the pre-Independence period, is now widely seen as a 'profiteer', 'monopolist' and 'exploiter of the masses'. Part of the answer, he concedes, is real: businessmen have missed the public mood, tolerated bad apples in their own ranks, and failed to internalise their social obligations in a young democracy whose values are 'in a melting pot'. He contrasts this with Japan, where post-war industrialists exercised strict voluntary controls and rebuilt national esteem within twenty years. Pandit argues that the situation can only be reversed by visible self-discipline and long-term, ethically grounded political engagement by businessmen — not the expediency-driven, short-run lobbying that further taints them. Drawing on R. H. Tawney's notion of business as a profession bound by service rules, and on the U.S. Business Ethics Advisory Council's 1962 declaration that the moral standards governing ordinary life apply equally to business, he urges Indian business organisations (the FTPA, Better Business Bureau, Committee to Promote Social Responsibilities of Business) to set and enforce voluntary standards. The image of the businessman as 'Mahajan', he concludes, must be earned by accepting public values before the State imposes them. - Diagnoses a sharp post-Independence decline in the public image of the Indian businessman from 'Mahajan' to 'profiteer'. - Holds Japan as a counter-example of how voluntary post-war self-discipline rebuilt business goodwill within two decades. - Calls for long-term, principled engagement in public life by businessmen rather than expedient short-run lobbying. - Invokes R. H. Tawney and the U.S. Business Ethics Advisory Council to argue that business ethics are simply general ethics applied at work. - Treats voluntary, association-led standards as a middle path between unrestrained competition and direct governmental regulation. ### Business-and Public Welfare — Final Statement The Final Statement, adopted at the Forum's Bombay convention on 2 February 1970, distils the four background papers into a seven-point resolution. It affirms a competitive mixed economy as the right vehicle for public welfare in India and assigns private enterprise an important but conditional role: legitimacy is to be earned through self-discipline, transparent obligations to consumers, employees, shareholders and the public, and the inclusion of small traders in business associations. The statement names vigorous controls, the threat of nationalisation and the threat to the Fundamental Right to property as deterrents to private enterprise's contribution; calls for winning over the public — especially employees and consumers — by treating business as a 'sacred trust'; urges encouragement of a strong consumer movement; and refuses to accept the poor performance of State enterprises, whether the remedy be outright abolition, conversion to mixed units, or insistence on autonomy and sound business lines. - Endorses a competitive mixed economy as the suitable framework for public welfare in India. - Identifies vigorous controls, nationalisation threats and erosion of the property right as direct deterrents to private enterprise. - Demands self-discipline and explicit obligations to consumers, employees, shareholders and the public from business. - Calls for a strong consumer movement as both a check on business and a precondition for rapid economic development. - Refuses to accept the status quo on State enterprises: they must be abolished, converted to mixed units, or made autonomous and run on sound business lines. --- ## [Primary work] CENTRAL PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/central-planning-prof-p-t-bauer-august-12-1970/ ### Summary Delivered on 2 February 1970 as the first Murarji J. Vaidya Memorial Lecture in Bombay and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise on 12 August 1970, this lecture by Peter Bauer of the London School of Economics is a frontal attack on the axiom — then dominant in development economics — that Comprehensive Central Planning, understood as state control of the composition of economic activity, is indispensable for the development of poor countries. Bauer takes Gunnar Myrdal as his principal target and treats the unanimity of governments, economists and aid agencies around this doctrine as itself the problem rather than evidence of its correctness, ranging Milton Friedman alongside himself as a dissenter and pointing to Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and parts of West Africa as cases of substantial material progress achieved without comprehensive planning. The constructive core of the lecture argues that comprehensive planning does not augment resources but centralises and actually creates power, replacing the decentralised decisions of consumers and producers with the choices of civil servants and politicians.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered on 2 February 1970 as the first Murarji J. Vaidya Memorial Lecture in Bombay and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise on 12 August 1970, this lecture by Peter Bauer of the London School of Economics is a frontal attack on the axiom — then dominant in development economics — that Comprehensive Central Planning, understood as state control of the composition of economic activity, is indispensable for the development of poor countries. Bauer takes Gunnar Myrdal as his principal target and treats the unanimity of governments, economists and aid agencies around this doctrine as itself the problem rather than evidence of its correctness, ranging Milton Friedman alongside himself as a dissenter and pointing to Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and parts of West Africa as cases of substantial material progress achieved without comprehensive planning. The constructive core of the lecture argues that comprehensive planning does not augment resources but centralises and actually creates power, replacing the decentralised decisions of consumers and producers with the choices of civil servants and politicians. Bauer raises three preliminary objections — that planning need not raise investment, that material progress is not the only end worth pursuing, and that people's faculties and attitudes (not natural resources) drive development — before arguing that planning reinforces authoritarian traditions in underdeveloped societies, suppresses self-reliance, sharpens political tension by making the state the prize for all groups, and is empirically associated nowhere with rising general living standards. In the closing pages Bauer narrows the legitimate tasks of government in poor countries to external relations, law and order, an honest monetary and fiscal framework, basic education and health, mass communications and agricultural extension — a list which, he insists, would already stretch the resources of the governments concerned. His indictment is that, in countries from Indonesia to Burma, regimes obsessed with planning the economy neglect even these elementary functions: 'The Governments seem anxious to plan and they are unable to govern,' more interested in controlling people's lives than in augmenting their resources or liberating their minds. ## Key points - Frames the lecture as an examination — and rejection — of the axiom that Comprehensive Central Planning is indispensable for the economic development of poor countries. - Identifies Gunnar Myrdal (Asian Drama; Development and Underdevelopment) as the most influential exponent of the planning-as-necessity thesis and names Milton Friedman as a dissenter. - Argues that comprehensive planning does not augment resources but centralises and creates power, transferring choice from consumers and producers to civil servants and politicians. - Cites Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and parts of West Africa as instances of substantial 19th- and 20th-century material progress without comprehensive planning. - Insists that the determinants of material advance are people's faculties, attitudes, beliefs and institutions — not natural resources or capital injections — and that planning reinforces an authoritarian tradition that suppresses self-reliance, experimentation and the desire for change. - Holds that planning intensifies political tension because state power becomes the prize for which all groups must compete, with especially destabilising effects in multi-racial societies. - Claims empirically that the adoption of comprehensive planning has nowhere raised general living standards, and that Soviet-type economies retain frontier controls precisely because of widespread material and non-material disillusionment. - Defines a limited but demanding set of legitimate government tasks — external affairs, law and order, sound money and fiscal policy, basic institutional framework, basic health and education, mass communications, agricultural extension and national defence — and accuses planning regimes of neglecting these in order to control private life. --- ## [Primary work] CENTRAL SALES TAX AMENDMENTS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/central-sales-tax-amendments-by-nc-mehta/ ### Summary N. C. Mehta, an eminent Chartered Accountant and authority on Sales Tax Laws, walks practitioners through the Finance Act, 2002 amendments to the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, which extended the Centre's sales-tax machinery to the 'deemed sales' brought into the constitutional definition by the 46th Amendment (clause 29A of article 366). The booklet explains how the levy now reaches indivisible works contracts, leases of goods, hire-purchase and instalment sales, supplies by clubs to members, and food served in hotels and restaurants, and traces the sequence of notifications under section 6(1) by which the Centre operationalised the charge from 11.5.2002. The core of Mehta's commentary is a sharp legal critique of a Maharashtra Commissioner's Circular (No. 15T of 2002) that treats the amendments as displacing earlier Supreme Court doctrine on the situs of lease of goods (the 20th Century Finance Corporation case) and as importing C.S.T. sections 3, 4 and 5 'with equal force' to the new deemed-sales transactions.… ### Body ## Summary N. C. Mehta, an eminent Chartered Accountant and authority on Sales Tax Laws, walks practitioners through the Finance Act, 2002 amendments to the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, which extended the Centre's sales-tax machinery to the 'deemed sales' brought into the constitutional definition by the 46th Amendment (clause 29A of article 366). The booklet explains how the levy now reaches indivisible works contracts, leases of goods, hire-purchase and instalment sales, supplies by clubs to members, and food served in hotels and restaurants, and traces the sequence of notifications under section 6(1) by which the Centre operationalised the charge from 11.5.2002. The core of Mehta's commentary is a sharp legal critique of a Maharashtra Commissioner's Circular (No. 15T of 2002) that treats the amendments as displacing earlier Supreme Court doctrine on the situs of lease of goods (the 20th Century Finance Corporation case) and as importing C.S.T. sections 3, 4 and 5 'with equal force' to the new deemed-sales transactions. Drawing on the Builders Association, Gannon Dunkerley, Tata Iron and Steel, Bimal Chandra Banerjee and Orissa Cement Titaghur Paper Mills rulings, he argues that the Centre's intended levy on works contracts and leases has overlooked the legal architecture the Supreme Court has already laid down, and that subordinate rules or notifications cannot travel beyond the parent Act. Mehta then runs through the operational mechanics: applicability of sections 3 and 5 to inter-State works contracts, determination of contract price (he doubts the Gannon Dunkerley apportionment is workable for individual deemed sales of incorporated materials), rates of tax under section 8(1) against and without C-D forms, the consequences of omitting section 8(2A), the appropriate State under section 9 when materials move from multiple despatch points, the curtailment of States' exemption power under section 8(5) after the Land Acquisition Officer-cum-DSWO v. B. V. Reddy ruling, the new Form F regime under section 6A, the carve-out for Special Economic Zone dealers under section 8(6)–(8), and the amendment of section 15 on declared goods. He closes by noting that to fully equate 'deemed purchase' with deemed sale, the drafting of clause (29A) of article 366 — or section 2(g) of the Act — should have extended the cognate-expressions formula to 'buy' and 'purchase'. The pamphlet is framed by the Forum of Free Enterprise's standard furniture — an A. D. Shroff aphorism on free enterprise at the front, a Eugene Black quotation at the back, and a closing note on the Forum's mission — placing this technical tax exposition inside the Forum's long-running public-education project around economic policy. ## Key points - Explains that the 46th Constitutional Amendment (clause 29A of article 366, effective 2.2.1983) created a category of 'deemed sales' covering works contracts, leases, hire-purchase, instalment sales, club supplies and food service, which the Finance Act 2002 then brought within the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 via amendments to sections 2(g), 6 and 7–13. - Critiques Maharashtra Sales Tax Commissioner's Circular No. 15T of 2002 for treating the amendment as superseding the Supreme Court's situs doctrine in 20th Century Finance Corporation v. State of Maharashtra and for asserting that C.S.T. sections 3, 4 and 5 apply 'with equal force' to the new deemed sales. - Argues, citing Builders Association (73 STC 370), Gannon Dunkerley (88 STC 204) and Tata Iron and Steel (11 STC 655), that inter-State sale of materials incorporated in an indivisible works contract can satisfy clause (a) but not clause (b) of section 3, since transfer of property occurs only after inter-State movement ends at the site of work. - Doubts that contract price for individual deemed sales of incorporated materials can be determined under the Gannon Dunkerley formula, and notes that Maharashtra's purchase/procurement-price proxy has not worked well in practice. - Walks through rates under section 8(1) for sales against and without C-D forms, the omission of section 8(2A), the appropriate-State rule under section 9 for despatches from multiple States, and the now-circumscribed State exemption power under section 8(5) following Land Acquisition Officer-cum-DSWO v. B. V. Reddy & Sons (2002 - 37 SCC 463). - Explains the amended Form F regime under section 6A: failure to furnish Form F makes a stock-transfer deemed an inter-State sale, but Bimal Chandra Banerjee (81 ITR 105) and Orissa Cement Titaghur Paper Mills (60 STC 213) limit how far rules and notifications can go beyond statutory power. - Sets out the new SEZ-dealer exemption built into section 8(6)–(8) of the Act for inter-State purchases of goods used in manufacture, processing, packaging and trading within a Special Economic Zone notified under the Central Excise Act, 1944. - Concludes that to equate 'deemed purchase' with deemed sale, the cognate-expressions formula in section 2(g) should also extend to the words 'buy' and 'purchase', a drafting gap the 2002 amendments leave open. --- ## [Primary work] Centre-State Relations: A Broad Perspective URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/centre-state-relations-a-broad-perspective-n-a-palkhivala-october-15-1983/ ### Summary Nani A. Palkhivala's 1983 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet diagnoses what he treats as the central political pathology of the Indian Republic in the early 1980s: the steady erosion of the federal scheme of the Constitution by an over-mighty Centre. Framing India since 1950 as 'the largest experiment ever undertaken in human history in the art of democratic living', he insists that the Centre is 'nothing but the States in their federal garb', and that the injuries done to the States have been largely self-inflicted by their own representatives in Parliament. The Constitution, he argues, was deliberately written with a bias in favour of the Union, but that bias must operate within reasonable limits; the question of the pamphlet is what those limits are. The essay then surveys the principal mechanisms of over-centralisation.… ### Body ## Summary Nani A. Palkhivala's 1983 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet diagnoses what he treats as the central political pathology of the Indian Republic in the early 1980s: the steady erosion of the federal scheme of the Constitution by an over-mighty Centre. Framing India since 1950 as 'the largest experiment ever undertaken in human history in the art of democratic living', he insists that the Centre is 'nothing but the States in their federal garb', and that the injuries done to the States have been largely self-inflicted by their own representatives in Parliament. The Constitution, he argues, was deliberately written with a bias in favour of the Union, but that bias must operate within reasonable limits; the question of the pamphlet is what those limits are. The essay then surveys the principal mechanisms of over-centralisation. Under 'Industries and Economic Development', Palkhivala attacks the progressive enlargement of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951, arguing that without any amendment to the Constitution at least 93 per cent of organised industry has been swallowed by the Union — an 'indefensible violation' that he ties directly to India's anaemic post-1950 growth in per capita income. Successive sections on President's Rule under article 356, the appointment and conduct of Governors, the reservation of State Bills for the President's assent, and the extra-constitutional ascendancy of the Planning Commission catalogue what Palkhivala presents as a systematic devaluation of constitutional institutions for partisan central ends. He draws repeatedly on the Rajamannar Committee, the Administrative Reforms Commission, and the observations of K. Santhanam and Dr K. Subba Rao to argue that the Planning Commission has created a 'vertical federation' displacing the horizontal scheme of the Constitution, and that 70 per cent of Centre-to-State grants now flow through discretionary article 282 channels rather than the Finance Commission. Under 'Financial Relations' Palkhivala makes the fiscal case that the existing tax-sharing regime is structurally unfair to the States: corporation tax is excluded from the divisible pool, surcharges on income-tax accrue exclusively to the Centre, and price rises on petroleum, steel, aluminium and coal have substituted for excise hikes in a way that, by one West Bengal Finance Minister's reckoning, deprived the States of about Rs 2,600 crores in their proper share. He calls for a legal — not discretionary — right to a larger share of central revenues, and for inter-State problems on electricity, water and rivers to be resolved by an active Inter-State Council under article 263 rather than by central intervention. The pamphlet closes with what Palkhivala calls 'The Only Lasting Solution': constitutional amendment is at best a last resort, and the real guarantee of federal fair dealing must come from constitutional morality, from the conscience of representatives, and from a vigorous and well-informed public opinion. Quoting Thomas Jefferson on the impossibility of an ignorant free nation and invoking the idea of 'Obedience to the Unenforceable', he warns that 'Dharma lives in the hearts of public men; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no amendment, can save it.' ## Key points - Frames India's post-1950 republic as the largest democratic experiment in human history and argues the Constitution deliberately built a bounded pro-Centre bias that has been pushed beyond its reasonable limits. - Insists the Centre is constituted entirely by representatives the States themselves return to Parliament, making the injuries done to the States in significant part self-inflicted rather than the product of an alien power. - Attacks the progressive expansion of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 — without any constitutional amendment — as having transferred roughly 93% of organised industry to Union control and as a primary cause of India's low growth (only 56% real per-capita income gain since 1950). - Critiques the abuse of President's Rule under article 356 (imposed more than 70 times, on all States except Sikkim) and reviews the Rajamannar Committee's recommendation that the article be deleted or hedged with safeguards. - Argues that the office of Governor has been systematically devalued into something resembling the colonial Resident Agent, and endorses Rajamannar-style proposals — consultation with the State Cabinet on appointment, no second term, removal only for proved misbehaviour after Supreme Court inquiry, and binding Instruments of Instructions. - Treats the Planning Commission as an extra-constitutional body that, via non-statutory article 282 grants, has built a 'vertical federation' displacing the horizontal scheme of the Constitution; 70% of Centre-to-State grants are now discretionary rather than Finance-Commission-mandated. - Makes a detailed fiscal case that distribution of taxes and revenues is far too favourable to the Centre — corporation tax is excluded from the divisible pool, the Centre's 12½% income-tax surcharge accrues only to it, and price rises in central-sector goods have allegedly cost the States about Rs 2,600 crores of legitimate excise share. - Closes by arguing that constitutional amendment is the wrong instrument: the lasting remedy lies in constitutional morality, healthy unwritten conventions, the conscience of elected representatives, and a vigorous public opinion — 'Obedience to the Unenforceable' rather than further statute-craft. --- ## [Primary work] Challenge Before the Administration URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/challenge-before-the-administration-c-s-seshadri-may-11-1980/ ### Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Bangalore on 30 October 1979 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, this booklet is C. S. Seshadri's diagnosis of what has gone wrong with Indian public administration after more than three decades of self-government. Drawing on his career as a senior civil servant (1943–1976), Seshadri argues that public administration is the indispensable infrastructure of national survival — whatever the constitutional form — and that India's administrative machinery, inherited from the colonial 'Steel Frame' system of area administrators, has deteriorated in both integrity and efficiency as ethical and moral standards in public life have declined. The lecture organises the diagnosis around three pressures on the system: the rising quantitative and qualitative demands of a more rights-conscious public; the shift of government into private-enterprise-like activities that has widened the opportunities for corruption; and chronic political instability.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Bangalore on 30 October 1979 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, this booklet is C. S. Seshadri's diagnosis of what has gone wrong with Indian public administration after more than three decades of self-government. Drawing on his career as a senior civil servant (1943–1976), Seshadri argues that public administration is the indispensable infrastructure of national survival — whatever the constitutional form — and that India's administrative machinery, inherited from the colonial 'Steel Frame' system of area administrators, has deteriorated in both integrity and efficiency as ethical and moral standards in public life have declined. The lecture organises the diagnosis around three pressures on the system: the rising quantitative and qualitative demands of a more rights-conscious public; the shift of government into private-enterprise-like activities that has widened the opportunities for corruption; and chronic political instability. Seshadri identifies three specific failures of the modern administration — delay and cumbersome procedure, widespread corruption at all levels, and an attitude of apathy and discourtesy toward the public — and traces them to the loss of status, integrity and competence that earlier attracted talented young people into the service. He laments that civil servants now resort to strikes, demonstrations and agitational methods, that ministers and secretaries are entangled in confused lines of control, and that audit and evaluation systems penalise initiative by treating every honest mistake as misconduct. His remedies are deliberately modest. He advocates strict enforcement of conduct rules and discipline; reorganisation of the secretariat and rationalisation of the minister–secretary structure; and adoption of modern management techniques — clear statement of objectives, delegation of powers, monitoring and evaluation — borrowed from the private sector, while warning that public administration is not identical to business management. The closing note is sobering: administrative efficiency can be improved, but moral and ethical standards in the administration ultimately depend on those of its political masters and, behind them, the people. ## Key points - Framed as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture (Bangalore, 30 October 1979), published 11 May 1980 by the Forum of Free Enterprise; Seshadri speaks as a retired IAS officer with 33 years of service. - Central thesis: no nation, whatever its form of government, can progress without a competent and honest administrative set-up, and India's is in clear ethical and operational decline. - Three structural pressures on the administration: rising quantitative and rights-based demands from the public; the state's expansion into business-like activities (which widens scope for corruption); and political instability with general deterioration in moral standards. - Three concrete criticisms of the administration: undue delays and cumbersome procedures; widespread corruption at almost all levels; and an attitude of apathy and discourtesy in dealing with the public. - Historical narrative: India's administrative system descends from a colonial 'area administrator' model — the British 'Steel Frame' staffed by ICS-style generalist career managers — that survived Independence but has steadily lost its earlier status, integrity and inducement to talent. - Audit/evaluation pathology: Seshadri argues current systems punish honest errors and any deviation from rules, producing a culture of 'management by objections' rather than 'management by objectives' and inducing decision-paralysis. - He deplores the spread of strikes, demonstrations and agitational methods among government employees and even essential-services magistrates, and calls for strict enforcement of conduct and discipline rules. - Reform agenda is administrative rather than ideological: reorganise the secretariat and minister–secretary structure, modernise equipment and procedures, adopt private-sector-style management tools (objectives, delegation, monitoring), without pretending that public administration is identical to business management. - Closing frame: 'The challenge before the administration is an integral part of the challenge before the nation' — administrative reform is possible, but the moral standard of the bureaucracy ultimately reflects the moral standard of its political masters and electorate. --- ## [Primary work] The Challenge of Poverty URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/challenge-of-povert-by-dr-otto-count-lambsdroff-and-swaminathan-a-aiyar-2002/ ### Summary This 2002 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet pairs two essays that mount a liberal case against welfare-bureaucracy and anti-globalisation responses to poverty. An editorial introduction by Minoo R. Shroff (FFE President, dated 31st October 2002) frames the volume in the context of the decade-long Indian debate on liberalisation and globalisation, and dedicates the work to FFE founder-president A. D. Shroff. The first essay, by German Free Democrat politician and former Federal Minister of Economics Otto Count Lambsdorff (then chairman of the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung), defends classical liberalism, private property rights, free trade and market-based delivery of services over transfer payments and welfare bureaucracies, leaning heavily on Hernando de Soto's argument that defective property rights are the principal cause of poverty in the global South; Lambsdorff also draws on the Fraser/FNF 'Economic Freedom of the World' index (originally masterminded by Milton Friedman) and Jagdish Bhagwati's defence of WTO-led liberalisation to argue that economic freedom correlates with growth, higher life expectancy, less corruption and lower income inequality. The second essay, by Swaminathan Anklesaria Aiyar (Consulting Editor, Economic Times), attacks the anti-globalisation narrative empirically. Conceding that incomes have plummeted in parts of the world since the Soviet collapse, Aiyar inverts the talking point: developing countries that seized the opportunities of globalisation (notably China and India, raising more than 350 million people above the poverty line in the 1990s) have outperformed those that did not, while Africa — which failed to integrate — has suffered the most; among ex-communist nations, Slovenia, Hungary and Estonia rebounded after integrating, while Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Tajikistan, which remained state-dominated, fared worst. He distinguishes 'real' globalisation (policies, institutions, infrastructure and education that let ordinary people participate in the world economy) from a façade of open trade captured by elites (Mobutu's Zaire, post-Soviet Russia), and reads post-colonial autarky — Nehruvian self-sufficiency, central planning, one-party rule — as a category error that conflated 19th-century colonialism with 20th-century economic integration, indicting the collapse of India's world-trade share from 2.5% at independence to 0.4% by 1985 against the counter-example of Singapore and Taiwan. Both pieces were originally reproduced from the journal Liberal Times (issue 2/02). ### Body ## Summary This 2002 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet pairs two essays that mount a liberal case against welfare-bureaucracy and anti-globalisation responses to poverty. An editorial introduction by Minoo R. Shroff (FFE President, dated 31st October 2002) frames the volume in the context of the decade-long Indian debate on liberalisation and globalisation, and dedicates the work to FFE founder-president A. D. Shroff. The first essay, by German Free Democrat politician and former Federal Minister of Economics Otto Count Lambsdorff (then chairman of the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung), defends classical liberalism, private property rights, free trade and market-based delivery of services over transfer payments and welfare bureaucracies, leaning heavily on Hernando de Soto's argument that defective property rights are the principal cause of poverty in the global South. The second essay, by Swaminathan Anklesaria Aiyar (Consulting Editor, Economic Times), attacks the anti-globalisation narrative empirically: countries that integrated with the world economy (China, India, Slovenia, Hungary, Estonia) rose, while those that pursued autarky and one-party paternalism (much of Africa, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Nehruvian India before 1991) stagnated. Both pieces were originally reproduced from the journal Liberal Times (issue 2/02). ## Essays ### The Challenge of Poverty *By Dr. Otto Count Lambsdorff* Lambsdorff opens with the World Bank figure of 1.2 billion people living on under one dollar a day in 1998 and argues that mass poverty is the chief challenge facing liberals, because extreme poverty is itself a daily attack on the individual's right to life and forces the poor into patron-client relations that hollow out democracy. He then makes the classical-liberal case that property — not transfer payments — is the proper instrument of poverty alleviation: the state's role is to enable citizens, especially the poor, to acquire private property, rather than to confiscate property in order to finance entitlements that breed dependency and a bloated welfare bureaucracy. The essay advances three interlocking claims. First, market mechanisms such as voucher-funded private schooling and forced retirement saving outperform monopoly state delivery and avoid the welfare bureaucracy's overhead. Second, drawing on the Fraser/FNF 'Economic Freedom of the World' index (originally masterminded by Milton Friedman) and Jagdish Bhagwati's defence of WTO-led liberalisation, Lambsdorff argues that economic freedom correlates with growth, higher life expectancy, less corruption and lower income inequality — countries 'left behind' are victims of their own governments, not of free trade. Third, leaning on Hernando de Soto, he contends that the poor in the South already control assets (huts, plots, slum housing) but lack the legal instruments to transform them into capital; recognising and registering those property rights — not devising new transfer schemes — is the political task before liberals, even where collective tribal landholding is involved. - Mass poverty is framed as a liberal concern because it strips individuals of the freedom and political voice presupposed by a liberal society. - Private property rights are recast as a tool of poverty alleviation, not merely a safeguard of existing wealth — the state should help the poor acquire property rather than tax property to fund entitlements. - Welfare-bureaucratic delivery (state schools, state hospitals) is challenged in favour of voucher-style market access and forced-saving retirement accounts run by private agencies under regulation. - The 'Economic Freedom of the World' study (co-published by 52 institutes including FNF, originally devised by Milton Friedman) is cited as empirical evidence that liberal economies show less illiteracy, less corruption and higher life expectancy. - Hernando de Soto's argument is presented as central: the poor are excluded from legal-economic instruments that turn assets into capital, and an estimated US$9 trillion of 'dead' capital sits unused in the global South. - Recognising the poor's property rights is described as a political — not technical — task, requiring that bureaucrats and slumlords not elbow out the poor during the transition to a stable property regime. ### Globalisation and Poverty *By Swaminathan Anklesaria Aiyar* Aiyar opens by conceding the anti-globalisation talking point — that incomes have plummeted in parts of the world since the Soviet collapse — and then inverts it: the developing countries that seized the opportunities of globalisation (China and India most prominently, raising over 350 million people above the poverty line in a decade) have outperformed those that did not, while Africa, which failed to integrate, has suffered the most. Among ex-communist nations the same pattern holds: Slovenia, Hungary and Estonia rebounded after integrating, while Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Tajikistan, which remained state-dominated, fared worst. He then defines globalisation against a common misreading: it is not merely the absence of tariffs (Mobutu's Zaire was nominally open but a personal fief), nor a high export ratio of natural resources captured by elites. True globalisation, on Aiyar's account, requires policies, institutions, infrastructure and education that let ordinary people participate in the world economy. The closing pages of the rendered chunk turn to the post-colonial story: leaders such as Nehru equated globalisation with 19th-century imperialism, opted for self-sufficiency, socialism and one-party rule, and produced over a hundred weak, aid-dependent states. India's share of world trade fell from 2.5 percent at independence to 0.4 percent by 1985 while Singapore and Taiwan, derided as neo-colonial puppets, grew rich. The chunk breaks off as Aiyar contrasts 19th-century colonising globalisation with 20th-century decolonising globalisation. - Reframes the empirical record: developing countries that integrated globally (notably China and India) lifted more than 350 million people above the poverty line in the 1990s, while non-integrators (mainly Africa) suffered most. - Distinguishes 'real' globalisation from a façade of open trade — exporting minerals under an elite-captured regime (Zaire, Russia) is not the same as enabling broad-based participation. - Argues that the chief problem of the worst-run countries is 'poverty caused by the lack of [globalisation]', not poverty caused by globalisation. - Reads post-colonial autarky — self-sufficiency, central planning, one-party rule — as a category error that conflated 19th-century colonialism with 20th-century economic integration. - Uses India's collapse in world-trade share (2.5% in 1947 to 0.4% by 1985) and the counter-example of Singapore and Taiwan as the indictment of Nehruvian self-sufficiency. --- ## [Primary work] Challenges Before Insurance Industry URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/challenges-before-insurance-industry-r-n-jha/ ### Summary R. N. Jha, a former Executive Director of the Life Insurance Corporation of India, surveys the state of Indian insurance at the moment of its third turn — from the private-sector era of 1818–1955, through more than four decades under LIC and GIC monopoly, to the reopening of the market to domestic and foreign private insurers under the IRDA Act of 1999. The booklet reproduces a keynote delivered on 19 February 2000 at the A. D. Shroff Birth Centenary Celebrations, and frames liberalisation as a vindication of long-standing free-enterprise arguments: the public-sector insurers, Jha concedes, never met the customer-service, product-innovation or savings-mobilisation objectives that nationalisation had promised. The core of the address is a benchmarking of how shallow Indian insurance penetration remains by international comparison — $8 per-capita premium against Japan's $4,800, a 2% premium-to-GDP ratio against double-digit figures in developed economies, and only 25% of the insurable life population covered.… ### Body ## Summary R. N. Jha, a former Executive Director of the Life Insurance Corporation of India, surveys the state of Indian insurance at the moment of its third turn — from the private-sector era of 1818–1955, through more than four decades under LIC and GIC monopoly, to the reopening of the market to domestic and foreign private insurers under the IRDA Act of 1999. The booklet reproduces a keynote delivered on 19 February 2000 at the A. D. Shroff Birth Centenary Celebrations, and frames liberalisation as a vindication of long-standing free-enterprise arguments: the public-sector insurers, Jha concedes, never met the customer-service, product-innovation or savings-mobilisation objectives that nationalisation had promised. The core of the address is a benchmarking of how shallow Indian insurance penetration remains by international comparison — $8 per-capita premium against Japan's $4,800, a 2% premium-to-GDP ratio against double-digit figures in developed economies, and only 25% of the insurable life population covered. From this diagnosis Jha sets out a six-fold challenge map for new insurers (capital lock-up, talent shortages, building distribution against entrenched incumbents) and for LIC and GIC (overstaffing, surplus employees post-computerisation, complacent products, dissatisfied policyholders, the risk of corporate clients defecting). Jha then turns to the regulator. He warns that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority must balance its twin mandates — "no game is possible without rules but too many rules spoil the game" — by enforcing prudent solvency reserves and entry rules that are nonetheless light enough to encourage many new licensees, while pushing development into niche markets such as pensions, health, rural cover and insurance for weaker sections. He closes on a market-forecast note: a Rs. 3,44,000 crore potential market of which only 10% has been tapped, sustainable for around 100 insurers, with the customer — "the real king" of the liberalised market — as the ultimate arbiter of who survives. The booklet is bookended by an A. D. Shroff epigraph on free enterprise and a Eugene Black epigraph urging that private enterprise be embraced not as a necessary evil but as an affirmative good. ## Key points - Frames the 2000 reopening of insurance to private players as the completion of a full circle — private sector 1818–1955, public sector 1956–1999, private once again from 2000 — closing four decades of LIC/GIC monopoly. - Treats the very existence of the Malhotra Committee (1993) and the IRDA Act 1999 as a tacit official admission that public-sector insurers failed to extend cover to the needy. - Benchmarks Indian penetration as far below world norms: per-capita premium of only $8 vs. $4,800 in Japan; premium-to-GDP of 2% vs. 9–14% in OECD economies; only 0.3% share of the global insurance market. - Maps challenges separately for new entrants (Rs. 100 crore capital lock-up, no profit for five years, talent shortages, building distribution against established incumbents) and for the incumbents LIC and GIC (overstaffing, mass surrender risk, corporate-client defection, sub-standard service). - Argues the deepest challenge for LIC and GIC is not structural but cultural — a change of mindset 'from top to bottom' to become genuinely customer-responsive. - Calls on IRDA to balance regulation against development — easy entry rules, realistic solvency reserves, niche-market emphasis on pensions, health, rural and weaker-section cover. - Sizes the market at roughly Rs. 3,44,000 crore ($80 billion) of which only 10% has been tapped, growing 10% a year and capable of sustaining about 100 insurers. - Positions the liberalised consumer — 'the real king' — as the final arbiter, and treats the insurance life fund as a strategic pool for financing infrastructure. --- ## [Primary work] Challenges of Transforming India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/challenges-of-transforming-india-amitabh-kant/ ### Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture under the joint auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise and the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust in Mumbai on 14 October 2016, and published as a booklet in January 2017, this lecture by Amitabh Kant—then CEO of NITI Aayog—opens with a single diagnostic: India was growing at 7.5 per cent per annum, but nothing short of 9–10 per cent sustained over three decades would be enough to lift its entire population above the poverty line. At India's 2016 per capita income of US$1,580, the difference between 7 per cent and 10 per cent growth by 2032 was the difference between a per capita of US$4,000 and US$6,800—and, at the higher trajectory, the complete elimination of poverty. Kant structures his argument as a checklist of seven interlocking challenges. The first is the complexity of doing business: 1,159 redundant Acts had been scrapped, company registration reduced to a single day, import-export forms cut from 9–11 to three, and India's World Bank Ease of Doing Business ranking improved by 12 positions—yet state governments remained the real bottleneck, and a 100-point inter-state ranking exercise (Gujarat first, Andhra Pradesh second, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh third and fourth) was being used to create competitive pressure. The second challenge is integration into global supply chains: FDI grew 53 per cent in two years while global FDI fell 16 per cent, making India the world's top FDI destination ahead of China. The third is the startup ecosystem: India already hosted roughly 19,000 startups with a market value of around US$75 billion, and Kant projected 100,000 startups and US$500 billion in market capitalisation by 2024–25. The fourth is innovation: some 1,400 multinational corporations had relocated global innovation centres to Bangalore and Hyderabad, with GE reducing its ECG machine cost from US$20,000 in the United States to US$1,800 in India and the per-test charge from US$20 to US$1. The fifth and most structurally urgent challenge is urbanisation. By 2050, roughly 700 million Indians will live in cities—requiring, in Kant's phrase, the creation of two-and-a-half Americas' worth of urban infrastructure. Because land, gas and water are now scarce, copying the American car-centric model would require four planet Earths; India must instead pioneer innovative, low-carbon urban forms. The sixth challenge is gender parity: women contributed only 17 per cent of GDP (compared to 39 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa and 41 per cent globally), and closing that gap by 2030 would add US$700 billion to output. The seventh challenge is institutional modernisation: the Medical Council of India, the UGC and the AICTE were all designed for a 19th-century state and needed root-and-branch redesign. Kant closes by invoking the 14th-century poet Amir Khusrau to argue that no structural reform will suffice without a renewal of popular spirit and civic pride—the government cannot do Swachh Bharat alone if citizens keep creating filth. ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture under the joint auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise and the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust in Mumbai on 14 October 2016, and published as a booklet in January 2017, this lecture by Amitabh Kant—then CEO of NITI Aayog—opens with a single diagnostic: India was growing at 7.5 per cent per annum, but nothing short of 9–10 per cent sustained over three decades would be enough to lift its entire population above the poverty line. At India's 2016 per capita income of US$1,580, the difference between 7 per cent and 10 per cent growth by 2032 was the difference between a per capita of US$4,000 and US$6,800—and, at the higher trajectory, the complete elimination of poverty. Kant structures his argument as a checklist of seven interlocking challenges. The first is the complexity of doing business: 1,159 redundant Acts had been scrapped, company registration reduced to a single day, import-export forms cut from 9–11 to three, and India's World Bank Ease of Doing Business ranking improved by 12 positions—yet state governments remained the real bottleneck, and a 100-point inter-state ranking exercise (Gujarat first, Andhra Pradesh second, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh third and fourth) was being used to create competitive pressure. The second challenge is integration into global supply chains: FDI grew 53 per cent in two years while global FDI fell 16 per cent, making India the world's top FDI destination ahead of China. The third is the startup ecosystem: India already hosted roughly 19,000 startups with a market value of around US$75 billion, and Kant projected 100,000 startups and US$500 billion in market capitalisation by 2024–25. The fourth is innovation: some 1,400 multinational corporations had relocated global innovation centres to Bangalore and Hyderabad, with GE reducing its ECG machine cost from US$20,000 in the United States to US$1,800 in India and the per-test charge from US$20 to US$1. The fifth and most structurally urgent challenge is urbanisation. By 2050, roughly 700 million Indians will live in cities—requiring, in Kant's phrase, the creation of two-and-a-half Americas' worth of urban infrastructure. Because land, gas and water are now scarce, copying the American car-centric model would require four planet Earths; India must instead pioneer innovative, low-carbon urban forms. The sixth challenge is gender parity: women contributed only 17 per cent of GDP (compared to 39 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa and 41 per cent globally), and closing that gap by 2030 would add US$700 billion to output. The seventh challenge is institutional modernisation: the Medical Council of India, the UGC and the AICTE were all designed for a 19th-century state and needed root-and-branch redesign. Kant closes by invoking the 14th-century poet Amir Khusrau to argue that no structural reform will suffice without a renewal of popular spirit and civic pride—the government cannot do Swachh Bharat alone if citizens keep creating filth. ## Key points - India needs to sustain 9–10% annual GDP growth for three decades to eliminate poverty; at 7% growth, per capita income reaches US$4,000 by 2032, but at 10% it reaches US$6,800 and poverty is eliminated. - The Modi government scrapped 1,159 redundant Acts and reduced company registration to one day; state-level ease-of-doing-business rankings introduced competitive pressure, with Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh leading. - India's FDI grew 53% in two years (2014–16) while global FDI fell 16%, making India the world's top FDI destination; but Kant warns that no country has sustained long-term growth on foreign capital alone. - India had roughly 19,000 startups worth approximately US$75 billion in 2016; Kant projected growth to 100,000 startups worth US$500 billion by 2024–25, citing CultureAlley's 'Hello English' app (nine million learners) as illustration. - Approximately 1,400 multinationals relocated global innovation centres to Bangalore and Hyderabad; GE cut its ECG machine price from US$20,000 to US$1,800 in India and the per-test charge from US$20 to US$1. - Urbanisation is the most critical structural challenge: 700 million Indians will move to cities by 2050, requiring infrastructure equivalent to two-and-a-half Americas, but replicating the Western car-centric model would demand four planet Earths. - Women contribute only 17% of India's GDP versus a global average of 41%; achieving gender parity by 2030 would add US$700 billion to output. - India's labour laws, framed in the socialist 1970s, are incompatible with 9–10% growth; Kant calls factor-market reform (land and labour) essential, noting that productivity efficiency accounted for 79% of China's GDP growth during its high-growth decades. --- ## [Primary work] CHINESE COMPETITION URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/chinese-competition-challenges-and-opportunities-by-dr-png-subramanian-2002/ ### Summary Delivered as the 36th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Mumbai on 23 October 2002 and circulated as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, P. N. G. Subramanian — a former Consul-General of India in Shanghai — sets out to explain to an Indian liberal audience how China engineered its sustained ascent and what that ascent now means for India. He locates the inflection point in December 1978, when the Party abandoned Class War for what he calls 'Economic Capitalism and Political Socialism', and traces an export-led, foreign-investment-rich growth model that has carried China to roughly $300 billion in exports, a savings rate above 40 per cent of GDP, and the world's tenth-largest trading nation status on the eve of full WTO accession. The lecture is candidly admiring of Chinese discipline without endorsing the political model. Subramanian repeatedly contrasts a 'ruthlessly efficient administration' that Indians are 'unaccustomed to', and a perspective-planning horizon stretching to 2030, with India's weaker absorptive capacity, looser governance, and shorter time-frames.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the 36th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Mumbai on 23 October 2002 and circulated as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, P. N. G. Subramanian — a former Consul-General of India in Shanghai — sets out to explain to an Indian liberal audience how China engineered its sustained ascent and what that ascent now means for India. He locates the inflection point in December 1978, when the Party abandoned Class War for what he calls 'Economic Capitalism and Political Socialism', and traces an export-led, foreign-investment-rich growth model that has carried China to roughly $300 billion in exports, a savings rate above 40 per cent of GDP, and the world's tenth-largest trading nation status on the eve of full WTO accession. The lecture is candidly admiring of Chinese discipline without endorsing the political model. Subramanian repeatedly contrasts a 'ruthlessly efficient administration' that Indians are 'unaccustomed to', and a perspective-planning horizon stretching to 2030, with India's weaker absorptive capacity, looser governance, and shorter time-frames. He surveys the running themes of Chinese reform — sick State-Owned Enterprises ('Iron Rice Bowl') threatening the public-sector banks, the macro-control balancing act between 8–9% growth and inflation control, ambitious industrial restructuring, the gradual dismantling of tariffs, quotas, import-licensing, import-substitution rules and services barriers under WTO commitments, and a still-vague but flexibly-enforced legal framework that nevertheless pulls in FDI 'to the detriment of other Asian developing countries, especially of India'. Having catalogued the advantages Chinese exporters enjoy (preferential tariffs, VAT rebates, Special Economic Zones, low MFN rates, anti-competitive cushions), the rendered pages turn to the implications for India: an impending MFA phase-out in 2005 that will deepen Chinese dominance in garments, textiles, electronics, footwear and toys; the centrality of human-resource development and innovation ('ten thousand Singapores'); and a call for an Action Plan covering Agriculture, Mineral Ores, Building Material, Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Computer Software, Hotel Industry, Professional Services and Audio-Visual sectors. The rendered chunk closes mid-Action-Plan with agriculture; the booklet's remaining four pages were not in the rendered set. ## Key points - Frames China's post-1978 trajectory as 'Economic Capitalism and Political Socialism' — an export-led, FDI-rich growth model that has roughly doubled China's per-capita income relative to India's since 1980. - Attributes Chinese competitiveness less to cheap labour than to a 'ruthlessly efficient administration', a 40%+ savings rate, $55 billion of annual FDI, and overseas Chinese diaspora investment. - Surveys structural strains in the Chinese model — over-90% SOE share in industrial output, NPAs threatening the major State banks, and the dilemma of liberalising the State sector without destabilising employment. - Walks through the post-WTO tariff, quota, licensing, import-substitution, services, and legal-framework reforms that will be required of China — and notes that even with reform, FDI flows are likely to keep diverting away from India. - Warns that the 2005 phase-out of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement will let China capture a much larger share of garments, textiles, electronics, footwear and toys, adversely affecting India's export niches. - Holds up Chinese perspective planning (5, 10, 15, 30-year horizons aimed at 'equalling the United States' by 2030) as a discipline India lacks. - Singles out education, R&D and human-resource policy as 'the crux' — citing Deng Xiaoping's 1976 prioritisation of education and Chinese ambitions to manufacture 'ten thousand Singapores'. - Closes (in the rendered pages) by proposing an Indian Action Plan in agriculture, minerals, building materials, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, software, hospitality, professional services and audio-visual — anchored to Premier Zhu Rongji's call to lift bilateral trade from $3 billion to $10 billion. --- ## [Primary work] CITIZENS' PARTICIPATION IN EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/citizens-participation-in-effective-governance-shailesh-gandhi-january-4-2010/ ### Summary Citizens' Participation in Effective Governance is the text of the 21st Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture, delivered by then-Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi in Mumbai on 9 December 2009 and published in January 2010 by the Forum of Free Enterprise. Gandhi opens by reminding readers that the Constituent Assembly, elected by under two per cent of the population, nevertheless framed a Constitution that conceived of India as a vibrant democracy of equal citizens. The promise, he argues, has been hollowed out: India settled for an 'elective democracy' that observes the forms of elections while losing the substance of citizen sovereignty, with the result that ordinary people meet the State with suspicion, derision and anger. The bulk of the lecture is a granular indictment of administrative failure built from Gandhi's own files as Information Commissioner.… ### Body ## Summary Citizens' Participation in Effective Governance is the text of the 21st Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture, delivered by then-Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi in Mumbai on 9 December 2009 and published in January 2010 by the Forum of Free Enterprise. Gandhi opens by reminding readers that the Constituent Assembly, elected by under two per cent of the population, nevertheless framed a Constitution that conceived of India as a vibrant democracy of equal citizens. The promise, he argues, has been hollowed out: India settled for an 'elective democracy' that observes the forms of elections while losing the substance of citizen sovereignty, with the result that ordinary people meet the State with suspicion, derision and anger. The bulk of the lecture is a granular indictment of administrative failure built from Gandhi's own files as Information Commissioner. He recounts a child sodomised by a policeman whose case has crawled through two inquiries in two years, lays out the data on Mumbai's cognizable-crime registration (which fell from 32,000 to 40,000 even as the city's population rose by 50 per cent), and describes how 4,532 mobile towers in Delhi were erected with only 2,015 of them having the requisite permissions, with the State subsequently issuing an ordinance to shield such 'unauthorised developments' from action. He treats the IIT-issued stability certificates for towers, the Salwa Judum experiment in privatising policing, the abdication of the State in school and health provision, the 26/11 attacks, and the Liberhan Commission as different faces of one disease: a governance structure structurally incapable of delivery in any reasonable time. Gandhi's diagnosis is procedural and human-resources oriented rather than ideological. Files tied with string, paper-pushing systems designed by colonial administrators who distrusted Indian officers, an HR regime in which promotions are by seniority and good performance is not even recorded, an ageing IAS cadre, and a downsizing drive that has hollowed out staff while contractors flout labour law together produce an 'outmoded, demotivated, low-productivity' machine staffed at roughly one-twentieth the per-capita ratio of the United States. Quoting at length from the Maharashtra Government Servants Regulation of Transfers Act, 2005, he shows how laws on the books are routinely ignored — 144 IPS transfers in 13 months, every one of them violating the three-year tenure rule — until citizens use the Right to Information and sustained public pressure to force compliance. The closing pages set out his theory of change. Citizens, he insists, are the sovereigns who delegated power to the State in return for the rule of law; they cannot outsource the repair of governance to a political class they correctly mistrust. The Administrative Reforms Committee's recommendations should be debated and acted on, management professionals should redesign workflows and training, and ordinary citizens should engage their elected representatives 'at regular intervals' rather than only at the ballot box. Better governance, he concludes, is not a difficult goal but a boring one — and one that will not arrive without 'citizens' sustained pressure'. ## Key points - Frames democracy as resting on individual citizen sovereignty rather than mere periodic elections — India has an 'elective' democracy without the participatory substance the Constituent Assembly intended. - Uses RTI-derived case files (a child sodomised by a policeman; non-registration of cognizable crimes in Mumbai; 4,532 mobile towers in Delhi with only 2,015 having permissions) to show systemic non-delivery and active State protection of well-connected lawbreakers. - Treats 26/11 as a governance failure rather than an isolated terror event — evidence that the Indian State is structurally incapable of timely action. - Diagnoses the bureaucracy as a colonial machine the Republic never overhauled: paper-bound file procedures, seniority-based promotion, no recognition of good performance, arbitrary transfers as punishment, and an ageing IAS cadre worsened by indiscriminate downsizing. - Argues the State cannot privatise its core functions (policing, schooling, health) without alienating citizens — the Salwa Judum and the closure of Bombay Municipal Corporation schools are read as abdication. - Quotes the Maharashtra Government Servants Regulation of Transfers Act, 2005 to demonstrate that even well-drafted Indian laws lie inert until citizens force enforcement through RTI and public pressure. - Lays responsibility on citizens rather than the political class: a 'sustained campaign' lasting a few years could shift the administrative structure, but only if citizens act as sovereigns rather than spectators who curse politicians. --- ## [Primary work] Commercial Banks in India after Nationalisation URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/commercial-bank-in-india-after-nationalisation-b-n-adarkar-may-26-1971/ ### Summary Delivered on 30th March 1971 as the second A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, B. N. Adarkar — a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and at the time Custodian of Central Bank of India Ltd. — uses the occasion to take stock of India's commercial banking system roughly eighteen months after the July 1969 nationalisation of fourteen major banks. Adarkar begins by paying homage to Shroff as a 'crusader for free enterprise' whose convictions in the potentialities of a free market economy he respected even where he did not share them, and then sets out his own brief: review the available data on the working of the nationalised banks and evaluate them against 'some general principles' of sound banking, while disclaiming that his views represent the Government, the RBI or Central Bank of India. The lecture's central proposition is that nationalisation has structurally strengthened the banking system — bringing the major nationalised banks into closer harmony with the State Bank group, raising the security of deposits, and creating a better environment for monetary and banking policy — but that the success of the experiment depends on preserving certain disciplines that pre‑date publ… ### Body ## Summary Delivered on 30th March 1971 as the second A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, B. N. Adarkar — a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and at the time Custodian of Central Bank of India Ltd. — uses the occasion to take stock of India's commercial banking system roughly eighteen months after the July 1969 nationalisation of fourteen major banks. Adarkar begins by paying homage to Shroff as a 'crusader for free enterprise' whose convictions in the potentialities of a free market economy he respected even where he did not share them, and then sets out his own brief: review the available data on the working of the nationalised banks and evaluate them against 'some general principles' of sound banking, while disclaiming that his views represent the Government, the RBI or Central Bank of India. The lecture's central proposition is that nationalisation has structurally strengthened the banking system — bringing the major nationalised banks into closer harmony with the State Bank group, raising the security of deposits, and creating a better environment for monetary and banking policy — but that the success of the experiment depends on preserving certain disciplines that pre‑date public ownership. Adarkar argues that banks 'do not cease to be commercial concerns even after nationalisation'; they remain trustees for community savings, and the return on the community's investment in their compensation bonds (carrying 5½ per cent interest) sets a minimum benchmark profitability cannot fall short of without becoming 'a drain on the Exchequer'. He pushes hard on the need to segregate genuinely social‑objective lending (rural branches, small loans, public‑policy directed credit) from a bank's normal operations so that managerial inefficiency cannot hide behind the language of social purpose. The second half of the rendered pages turns from financial discipline to monetary discipline. Adarkar warns that credit‑hungry economies suffering from chronic inflation must build credit planning into any scheme of credit restraint, since blanket restriction hurts genuine production as well as speculation. He defends RBI refinance as a legitimate bridge but criticises arrangements that let banks become indefinitely dependent on 'created money' from the Reserve Bank — particularly for food procurement and buffer‑stock financing — and endorses the penal‑rate mechanism for restraining excess borrowing. He closes the rendered portion by celebrating the achievements of branch expansion (6,633 offices at nationalisation rising to 8,598 by September 1970, of which 1,651 new offices opened in rural and semi‑urban areas) while noting that India still has only one bank office per 52,000 people versus 14,500 in Japan, 6,000 in the U.S. and 4,000 in the U.K., and warning that further branch expansion must be matched by stronger internal organisation, training, and Head Office control over branch managers. ## Key points - Frames the lecture as a tribute to A. D. Shroff and an evaluation of fourteen-bank nationalisation (July 1969) against general principles of sound banking, using data available roughly 18 months on. - Argues that nationalisation has strengthened the banking system structurally — closer co‑ordination with the State Bank group, better protected deposits, and a better environment for monetary policy. - Insists nationalised banks remain commercial concerns and trustees for community savings; the 5½ per cent interest on compensation bonds sets a minimum return on community capital that profits must, over a period of years, exceed. - Calls for management and accounting systems that segregate uneconomic, public‑policy‑driven operations (e.g. rural branches in undeveloped areas) from normal banking operations, so social objectives cannot be used to mask managerial inefficiency. - Distinguishes financial discipline from monetary discipline and argues that any credit‑restraint regime in a credit‑hungry, inflation‑prone economy must be paired with deposit mobilisation and rational credit planning across sectors. - Defends RBI refinance as legitimate bridge finance but warns against banks becoming indefinitely dependent on 'created money' — particularly for food procurement and buffer‑stock financing — and endorses the penal rate as a check on excessive borrowing. - Reports the rapid post‑nationalisation branch expansion (6,633 → 8,598 offices, with 1,651 new rural/semi‑urban branches in 14 months, an average of ~160 offices per month vs. 38 in the three preceding years). - Cautions that branch expansion must be matched by training of branch managers, choice of locations, inspection, and Head Office co‑ordination — over‑rapid expansion risks placing untrained managers in charge of a decentralised operation. --- ## [Primary work] Commercial Banks and Social Control URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/commercial-banks-and-social-control-m-l-tanan-professor-gangadhar-gadgil-professor-c-k-dalaya-march-12-1968/ ### Summary Edited volume from 1968 by M. L. Tannan, Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil and Prof. (Mrs.) C. K. Dalaya, published by Forum of Free Enterprise (Bombay). Topic indicated by themes: banking, nationalisation, economic-policy, private-enterprise, public-sector. Full content not yet imported. --- ## [Primary work] COMMERCIAL BANKS IN INDIA—A PERFORMANCE REVIEW URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/commercial-banks-in-india-a-performance-review-n-n-pai-july-14-1986/ ### Summary Delivered as the annual public lecture under the auspices of the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust in Bombay on 26 May 1986 and released as a booklet on 14 July 1986, this address by N. N. Pai—former Chairman and Managing Director of the Industrial Development Bank of India and Corporation Bank—offers a forensic review of the seventeen years since the nationalisation of fourteen major commercial banks in July 1969. Pai's central argument is that the banking system had achieved genuinely remarkable quantitative gains in social outreach, but that the pace and direction of that expansion had simultaneously degraded quality, eroded profitability, and starved the medium and large industrial sector of working capital. The balance sheet of social banking is impressive on its own terms. Bank branches expanded from 8,262 in June 1969 to 51,385 by June 1985—more than 65 per cent of new offices opened in centres that had never before had a commercial bank—and the average population per branch fell from 65,000 to 13,300. Deposits grew from Rs. 3,599 crores to Rs. 76,373 crores; individual deposit accounts rose from 38 million to 145 million. Priority-sector lending exceeded its mandated 40 per cent target, reaching Rs. 17,971 crores or 41.3 per cent of total credit by March 1985—a forty-one-fold increase over June 1969. Credit to small-scale industries expanded from 2.25 lakh units financed in December 1974 to 14.55 lakh units by 1984, with advances rising from Rs. 1,017 crores to Rs. 6,537 crores. Agricultural advances stood at Rs. 8,932 crores in December 1985, though the recovery rate was only around 50 per cent of demand. Against these achievements Pai sets a long indictment. The share of medium and large industry in gross bank credit collapsed from roughly 67 per cent in 1969 to barely 34 per cent by 1985—even though this sector is, in Pai's analysis, the lead dynamic force of any economy. Statutory Liquidity Ratio and Cash Reserve requirements locked up 56 per cent of new bank resources at below-cost yields, leaving only about 20 per cent of deposits available for reasonably profitable deployment; the net result was that on every Rs. 100 of deposits mobilised, the banking system lost almost a rupee. Industrial sickness worsened sharply: 93,371 sick units (545 large, 1,281 medium, 91,545 small) had Rs. 3,638 crores of bank credit locked up in them by December 1984—a 124 per cent increase over the Rs. 1,623 crores blocked in 1979, representing 8 per cent of total bank credit. Pai attributes sickness primarily to absent pre-loan appraisal, diversion of short-term credit to long-term assets, and lack of post-disbursement monitoring, and calls for banks to establish a professional cadre for 'turn-around missions'. On human resources, he argues that the banking sector's 6.42 lakh employees should be trained through dedicated university banking degrees rather than re-educated on the desk after hiring. He closes with a cautious appraisal of the Sukhamoy Chakravarty Committee's recommendations on interest-rate liberalisation, endorsing the linking of lending and deposit rates to long-term inflation but warning that rigid linkage would impair banks' ability to price out speculative borrowers during short bouts of high inflation. ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the annual public lecture under the auspices of the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust in Bombay on 26 May 1986 and released as a booklet on 14 July 1986, this address by N. N. Pai—former Chairman and Managing Director of the Industrial Development Bank of India and Corporation Bank—offers a forensic review of the seventeen years since the nationalisation of fourteen major commercial banks in July 1969. Pai's central argument is that the banking system had achieved genuinely remarkable quantitative gains in social outreach, but that the pace and direction of that expansion had simultaneously degraded quality, eroded profitability, and starved the medium and large industrial sector of working capital. The balance sheet of social banking is impressive on its own terms. Bank branches expanded from 8,262 in June 1969 to 51,385 by June 1985—more than 65 per cent of new offices opened in centres that had never before had a commercial bank—and the average population per branch fell from 65,000 to 13,300. Deposits grew from Rs. 3,599 crores to Rs. 76,373 crores; individual deposit accounts rose from 38 million to 145 million. Priority-sector lending exceeded its mandated 40 per cent target, reaching Rs. 17,971 crores or 41.3 per cent of total credit by March 1985—a forty-one-fold increase over June 1969. Credit to small-scale industries expanded from 2.25 lakh units financed in December 1974 to 14.55 lakh units by 1984, with advances rising from Rs. 1,017 crores to Rs. 6,537 crores. Agricultural advances stood at Rs. 8,932 crores in December 1985, though the recovery rate was only around 50 per cent of demand. Against these achievements Pai sets a long indictment. The share of medium and large industry in gross bank credit collapsed from roughly 67 per cent in 1969 to barely 34 per cent by 1985—even though this sector is, in Pai's analysis, the lead dynamic force of any economy. Statutory Liquidity Ratio and Cash Reserve requirements locked up 56 per cent of new bank resources at below-cost yields, leaving only about 20 per cent of deposits available for reasonably profitable deployment; the net result was that on every Rs. 100 of deposits mobilised, the banking system lost almost a rupee. Industrial sickness worsened sharply: 93,371 sick units (545 large, 1,281 medium, 91,545 small) had Rs. 3,638 crores of bank credit locked up in them by December 1984—a 124 per cent increase over the Rs. 1,623 crores blocked in 1979, representing 8 per cent of total bank credit. Pai attributes sickness primarily to absent pre-loan appraisal, diversion of short-term credit to long-term assets, and lack of post-disbursement monitoring, and calls for banks to establish a professional cadre for 'turn-around missions'. On human resources, he argues that the banking sector's 6.42 lakh employees should be trained through dedicated university banking degrees rather than re-educated on the desk after hiring. He closes with a cautious appraisal of the Sukhamoy Chakravarty Committee's recommendations on interest-rate liberalisation, endorsing the linking of lending and deposit rates to long-term inflation but warning that rigid linkage would impair banks' ability to price out speculative borrowers during short bouts of high inflation. ## Key points - Bank branches grew from 8,262 in June 1969 to 51,385 by June 1985—over 65% in previously unbanked centres—cutting the average population per branch from 65,000 to 13,300, an expansion Pai says no other country could match. - Priority-sector lending surpassed its 40% target, reaching Rs. 17,971 crores or 41.3% of total credit by March 1985—a forty-one-fold increase since June 1969. - The share of medium and large industry in gross bank credit collapsed from about 67% in 1969 to barely 34% by 1985; industrial output growth has never regained its Third Plan (1961–66) pace since this reorientation. - By December 1984, 93,371 sick industrial units had Rs. 3,638 crores of bank credit locked up in them—8% of total bank credit—a 124% increase over the Rs. 1,623 crores blocked in 1979. - Statutory Liquidity Ratio and Cash Reserve requirements pre-empted 56% of new bank resources at below-cost yields; only about 20% of deposits could be deployed profitably, causing the banking system to lose almost a rupee on every Rs. 100 of deposits mobilised. - Agricultural loan recovery rates stood at around 50% of demand; Pai blames poor appraisal, under-financing, irrational loan maturities, and politically motivated default on the eve of elections—but acknowledges banks themselves contributed to the overdues problem. - Pai argues for dedicated university banking degrees rather than on-the-desk training for the 20,000–25,000 new staff banks must recruit annually, and calls for the National Institute of Bank Management to lead this reform. - On the Chakravarty Committee proposals, Pai endorses linking lending rates to long-term inflation (implying a minimum lending rate of 13% if inflation stays near 8%) but warns that rigid rate linkage would prevent banks from pricing out speculative borrowers during short periods of acute inflation. --- ## [Primary work] COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/community-development-b-g-rao-mar8-1961/ ### Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise as a booklet dated 8 March 1961 and based on a speech delivered under the Forum's auspices in Bombay on 15 September 1960, this essay by B. G. Rao, ICS (Retd.) is a systematic indictment of nine years of planned community development in India. Rao opens by insisting that his purpose is not to deny all progress but to name failure honestly: the Programme Evaluation Organisation's Seventh Report (April 1960) found that the effort was 'inadequately co-ordinated, governmental rather than popular in character, and sustained more by hope than by achievement.' The A.I.C.C.'s own Economic Review raised a series of uncomfortable questions that the draft Third Five-Year Plan then conspicuously refused to answer—a silence Rao treats as evidence that the Planning Commission preferred parliamentary rubber-stamping to inconvenient self-scrutiny. The heart of Rao's critique is the absence of priorities. Both the First and Second Plans listed agriculture, co-operatives, land reform, small industries, rural electrification, social services and welfare all in one breath, with no ordering of precedence. The result, documented by a 1957 Committee on Plan Projects team, was that welfare activities—radio sets, community halls, tiled school roofs—crowded out economic development. A UN Technical Assistance mission found a development block where village streets had been paved with bricks while the urgent need was to drain excess water from cotton fields. Rao's prescription is blunt: the only first priority must be the increase in agricultural production; the only thing that may rank above it is the supply of drinking water. Everything else—social education, women's programmes, literacy classes—must follow, not precede, the farmer's acquisition of genuine economic strength. Rao extends this critique in three specific directions. On co-operatives, he argues that the 'one village, one co-operative' slogan, championed by two influential Planning Commission members against the unanimous evidence of the Reserve Bank's Rural Credit Survey, multiple expert teams and all State Governments, produces units too small to be viable; the draft Third Plan's maximum population coverage of 1,000 per co-operative is indefensible. On rural unemployment and cottage industries, he notes that the Programme Evaluation Organisation found 63 per cent wastage among trainees in pilot projects, while the draft plan offers only platitudes with no quantitative estimate of the scale of unemployment to be solved. On organisation, he argues that the existence of a separate Ministry of Community Development—duplicating Agriculture, Health, Education and Culture with its own expert staff, annual hill-station conferences and the Community Development Institute at Mussoorie—is an avoidable waste; the 1956 decision to integrate overlapping Central Social Welfare Board and Community Development activities had, four years later, been reduced to a pilot of twenty blocks. Rao closes by observing that the villager remains patient, but that people in positions of power have taken too little interest in examining what is actually being done in his name. ### Body ## Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise as a booklet dated 8 March 1961 and based on a speech delivered under the Forum's auspices in Bombay on 15 September 1960, this essay by B. G. Rao, ICS (Retd.) is a systematic indictment of nine years of planned community development in India. Rao opens by insisting that his purpose is not to deny all progress but to name failure honestly: the Programme Evaluation Organisation's Seventh Report (April 1960) found that the effort was 'inadequately co-ordinated, governmental rather than popular in character, and sustained more by hope than by achievement.' The A.I.C.C.'s own Economic Review raised a series of uncomfortable questions that the draft Third Five-Year Plan then conspicuously refused to answer—a silence Rao treats as evidence that the Planning Commission preferred parliamentary rubber-stamping to inconvenient self-scrutiny. The heart of Rao's critique is the absence of priorities. Both the First and Second Plans listed agriculture, co-operatives, land reform, small industries, rural electrification, social services and welfare all in one breath, with no ordering of precedence. The result, documented by a 1957 Committee on Plan Projects team, was that welfare activities—radio sets, community halls, tiled school roofs—crowded out economic development. A UN Technical Assistance mission found a development block where village streets had been paved with bricks while the urgent need was to drain excess water from cotton fields. Rao's prescription is blunt: the only first priority must be the increase in agricultural production; the only thing that may rank above it is the supply of drinking water. Everything else—social education, women's programmes, literacy classes—must follow, not precede, the farmer's acquisition of genuine economic strength. Rao extends this critique in three specific directions. On co-operatives, he argues that the 'one village, one co-operative' slogan, championed by two influential Planning Commission members against the unanimous evidence of the Reserve Bank's Rural Credit Survey, multiple expert teams and all State Governments, produces units too small to be viable; the draft Third Plan's maximum population coverage of 1,000 per co-operative is indefensible. On rural unemployment and cottage industries, he notes that the Programme Evaluation Organisation found 63 per cent wastage among trainees in pilot projects, while the draft plan offers only platitudes with no quantitative estimate of the scale of unemployment to be solved. On organisation, he argues that the existence of a separate Ministry of Community Development—duplicating Agriculture, Health, Education and Culture with its own expert staff, annual hill-station conferences and the Community Development Institute at Mussoorie—is an avoidable waste; the 1956 decision to integrate overlapping Central Social Welfare Board and Community Development activities had, four years later, been reduced to a pilot of twenty blocks. Rao closes by observing that the villager remains patient, but that people in positions of power have taken too little interest in examining what is actually being done in his name. ## Key points - The Programme Evaluation Organisation's Seventh Report (1960) found the community development programme 'inadequately co-ordinated, governmental rather than popular, and sustained more by hope than by achievement'—a conclusion the draft Third Plan deliberately ignored. - Neither the First nor the Second Plan prescribed any ordering of priorities among community development activities; welfare tasks (community halls, radio sets, tiled roofs) consistently displaced agricultural investment because they were 'popular, easy of achievement and impress the casual observer'. - A UN Technical Assistance mission found a development block where village streets had been paved with bricks while the urgent need was to drain excess water from cotton fields to protect the crop—a concrete illustration of misallocated resources. - Rao argues that the only legitimate first priority is agricultural production, with drinking-water supply as the sole claim to precedence; all social and welfare activities must follow, not precede, the farmer's economic strengthening. - The 'one village, one co-operative' formula—championed by two Planning Commission members against the Reserve Bank Rural Credit Survey, the Vaikunth Lal Mehta team and all State Governments—produced units too small to be viable; the draft Third Plan's cap of 1,000 population per co-operative had no evidential basis. - 63% of trainees in cottage-industry pilot projects abandoned the craft they were trained for; the draft Third Plan offered no estimate of the volume of rural unemployment it aimed to solve, substituting 'platitudes' for data. - The 1956 Central Government order to integrate the Community Development Organisation and the Central Social Welfare Board had, by 1960, been implemented in only 20 out of a planned 100 pilot blocks, with each agency blaming the other. - The existence of a separate Ministry of Community Development—duplicating Agriculture, Health and Education with its own experts, annual hill-station conferences and a residential institute at Mussoorie—is condemned as an avoidable waste; Rao calls the Ministry an anomaly that should be abolished. --- ## [Primary work] COMPANY LAW IN INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/company-law-in-india-justice-n-d-sinha-dec10-1964/ ### Summary Justice D. N. Sinha's address—delivered on 30 June 1964 to the Association of Company Secretaries & Executives in Calcutta and issued as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet in December 1964—traces the chequered history of Indian company law from the 1850 Act onward, through the Acts of 1857, 1860, 1866, 1882, 1913, and 1936, down to the 1956 Companies Act and its many amendments (notably the 218 changes culminating in section 388B). Sinha frames company legislation as an inheritance of English law, born of seventeenth-century chartered enterprises and the South Sea Bubble, and crystallised by the nineteenth-century invention of limited liability—what he calls a "stroke of genius" without which modern industrial prosperity could not have been built. The core argument is that the object of company law is twofold: to enable persons to band together for trade, business, and industry most effectively, and to ensure that this private power is consistent with political, social, and economic necessity. Drawing on Justice Douglas of the United States Supreme Court and on Lord Cranworth's classic dictum in Oakes v.… ### Body ## Summary Justice D. N. Sinha's address—delivered on 30 June 1964 to the Association of Company Secretaries & Executives in Calcutta and issued as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet in December 1964—traces the chequered history of Indian company law from the 1850 Act onward, through the Acts of 1857, 1860, 1866, 1882, 1913, and 1936, down to the 1956 Companies Act and its many amendments (notably the 218 changes culminating in section 388B). Sinha frames company legislation as an inheritance of English law, born of seventeenth-century chartered enterprises and the South Sea Bubble, and crystallised by the nineteenth-century invention of limited liability—what he calls a "stroke of genius" without which modern industrial prosperity could not have been built. The core argument is that the object of company law is twofold: to enable persons to band together for trade, business, and industry most effectively, and to ensure that this private power is consistent with political, social, and economic necessity. Drawing on Justice Douglas of the United States Supreme Court and on Lord Cranworth's classic dictum in Oakes v. Turques (1867), Sinha insists that corporations carry an element of public interest and that directors owe duties to labour, suppliers, consumers, and the wider community as well as to shareholders. He worries that Indian legislation, though constantly amended, has failed to achieve its purpose: it has become bulky, complex, and incomprehensible, defeating the very economic prosperity it aims to serve. The second half turns to taxation and to legislative craftsmanship. Sinha argues that India's tax regime—income tax, the Wealth Tax Act, the Gift Tax Act, the Estate Duty Act, the Compulsory Deposit and Annuity Deposit schemes—has become so prolix, technical, and unstable that ordinary taxpayers cannot understand their own liabilities, while "big business" devotes its energy to legitimate tax-avoidance schemes that thwart the spirit of the law. Citing Alexander Hamilton in The Federalist on the danger of laws "so voluminous that they cannot be read", he calls for ideal legislation that pinpoints the disease and prescribes a simple cure, drafted by men specifically trained in the art. He ends with a plea for serious legal research in India to clear away technicalities and protect the honest taxpayer, commending the West Bengal State Unit of the Indian Law Institute for beginning that work. ## Key points - Reconstructs the statutory history of Indian company law from the 1850 Act, through the 1857, 1860, 1866, 1882, 1913, and 1936 enactments, to the 1956 Companies Act and its 218 amendments culminating in section 388B. - Locates the origin of company legislation in seventeenth-century English chartered enterprises and the South Sea Bubble, and identifies limited liability—introduced after 1850—as the decisive innovation behind modern industrial prosperity. - Defines the object of company legislation as enabling collective enterprise while ensuring it serves political, social, and economic necessity, invoking Lord Cranworth in Oakes v. Turques (1867) and Justice Douglas of the U.S. Supreme Court on the public-interest dimension of corporations. - Argues that Indian company law has become so frequently amended, technical, and complex that it now obstructs rather than fosters the commercial community it was intended to serve. - Critiques India's tax regime—Income Tax, Wealth Tax, Gift Tax, Estate Duty, Compulsory Deposit, and Annuity Deposit Schemes—for being incomprehensible to the ordinary taxpayer and for driving 'big business' into elaborate but lawful avoidance schemes. - Notes that roughly 99% of Indians fall outside the income-tax net and that the burden on the honest middle-class taxpayer is rising even as revenue is leaking, citing Alexander Hamilton in The Federalist on the dangers of voluminous, ever-changing laws. - Calls for simpler, comprehensible legislation drafted by trained specialists, and for serious legal research—commending the West Bengal State Unit of the Indian Law Institute for taking up the task. --- ## [Primary work] COMPENSATION OR EXPROPRIATION? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/compensation-or-expropriation-by-dr-rustom-c-cooper/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet by Dr. Rustom C. Cooper offers a legal-constitutional critique of Article 31 of the Indian Constitution and the Fourth Constitutional Amendment that introduced Article 31A. Cooper argues that the original Article 31 — which obliged the State to compensate citizens whose property it acquired — was steadily eroded by a series of state acquisition statutes and by parliamentary amendments designed to insulate compensation amounts from judicial review. The pamphlet reads the constitutional history as a record of how 'doctrinaire thinking' progressively stripped property of its standing as a fundamental right. The argument moves through three registers. First, Cooper rehearses the textual change: Article 31's original language required compensation 'equivalent in value' to property taken, but Article 31A was inserted by Section 17 of the Fourth Amendment Act to immunise State legislation on agricultural estates from being struck down as a breach of fundamental rights.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet by Dr. Rustom C. Cooper offers a legal-constitutional critique of Article 31 of the Indian Constitution and the Fourth Constitutional Amendment that introduced Article 31A. Cooper argues that the original Article 31 — which obliged the State to compensate citizens whose property it acquired — was steadily eroded by a series of state acquisition statutes and by parliamentary amendments designed to insulate compensation amounts from judicial review. The pamphlet reads the constitutional history as a record of how 'doctrinaire thinking' progressively stripped property of its standing as a fundamental right. The argument moves through three registers. First, Cooper rehearses the textual change: Article 31's original language required compensation 'equivalent in value' to property taken, but Article 31A was inserted by Section 17 of the Fourth Amendment Act to immunise State legislation on agricultural estates from being struck down as a breach of fundamental rights. Second, he reads Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's 10 September 1949 Constituent Assembly speech against later practice — Nehru himself, Cooper notes, accepted that 'full compensation should be paid to small owners' while saying the legislature would not tolerate being 'interfered with by courts of law'. Third, Cooper supplies a worked case study: the Port Canning and Land Improvement Company Ltd., whose Rs. 60,00,000 capital invested over 85 years yielded an annual dividend of about 2.8 per cent and which, under the West Bengal Estates Acquisition Act 1953, would receive non-negotiable bonds at 3% interest worth roughly one-tenth of its original investment. Cooper closes by quoting an unnamed 'leading thinker' to the effect that freedom of speech, press, religion and assembly historically collapse wherever the right to own and manage property is denied. The pamphlet's polemical centre is that, by removing the judicial test of compensation, India has placed citizens — including widows, office clerks, retired persons and 'lower middle class people' holding small shareholdings in acquired companies — 'helpless before the Leviathan of the State'. He also cites Alan Gledhill's treatise Fundamental Rights in India for the proposition that Article 31's drift makes parliamentary majorities, not the constitutional text, the practical guarantor of property rights. ## Key points - Reads Article 31 of the Indian Constitution as a once-robust guarantee of compensation that has been progressively weakened by State legislation and the Fourth Constitutional Amendment (Article 31A). - Cites Nehru's 10 September 1949 Constituent Assembly speech to show that the original constitutional intent included 'just and equitable compensation' even for large properties, especially limited liability companies with many small shareholders. - Quotes Alan Gledhill (in Fundamental Rights in India) to argue that Article 31 now functions less as a justiciable right than as a 'temporary majority' subject to parliamentary will. - Anchors the abstract argument in the Port Canning and Land Improvement Company Ltd. case under the West Bengal Estates Acquisition Act 1953 — Rs. 60,00,000 paid-up capital, Rs. 32,00,000 spent on development, average annual dividend of 2.8% over 83 years, compensation roughly Rs. 6,00,000. - Notes that compensation is paid in non-negotiable bonds at 3% interest payable over 20 years, with the shareholder receiving roughly one-tenth of the original investment in real terms. - Identifies who actually bears the loss: widows, office clerks, retired persons and lower-middle-class shareholders, not the 'rich men' the legislation purports to reach. - Cites Supreme Court of Bihar vs Kameshwar, A.I.R. (1952) S.C. 252, on the principle that legislation effectively depriving citizens of property without colourable compensation must be void. - Closes with an unattributed quotation tying private-property rights to free speech, free press, freedom of religion and freedom of assembly — the pamphlet's framing of property as a precondition for the other liberties. --- ## [Primary work] Compulsory Deposit Scheme URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/compulsory-deposit-scheme-v-b-haribhakti-sep9-1963/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet collects two talks delivered in Bombay on 23 July 1963 attacking the Compulsory Deposit Scheme (C.D.S.) announced by the Finance Minister in the 28 February 1963 Budget Speech. V. B. Haribhakti, a chartered accountant, dissects the statute clause-by-clause to argue that the scheme is gigantic, ill-considered, and impossible to administer fairly on lower-income earners. H. C. Malkani, Principal of Bombay's College of Commerce and Economics, takes up the question of feasibility — comparing C.D.S. to Keynes-inspired British deferred-pay precedents, weighing it against ordinary taxation, and concluding that the implementation machinery is nowhere near ready for the colossal task. Both pieces share the Forum's classical-liberal framing — captured in the cover-leaf epigraphs from Eugene Black and A. D. Shroff — that compulsory saving on the poor is a contradiction in terms and that government overspending, not private consumption, is the real fiscal problem. ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet collects two talks delivered in Bombay on 23 July 1963 attacking the Compulsory Deposit Scheme (C.D.S.) announced by the Finance Minister in the 28 February 1963 Budget Speech. V. B. Haribhakti, a chartered accountant, dissects the statute clause-by-clause to argue that the scheme is gigantic, ill-considered, and impossible to administer fairly on lower-income earners. H. C. Malkani, Principal of Bombay's College of Commerce and Economics, takes up the question of feasibility — comparing C.D.S. to Keynes-inspired British deferred-pay precedents, weighing it against ordinary taxation, and concluding that the implementation machinery is nowhere near ready for the colossal task. Both pieces share the Forum's classical-liberal framing — captured in the cover-leaf epigraphs from Eugene Black and A. D. Shroff — that compulsory saving on the poor is a contradiction in terms and that government overspending, not private consumption, is the real fiscal problem. ## Essays ### COMPULSORY DEPOSIT SCHEME *By V. B. Haribhakti* Haribhakti opens by calling the C.D.S. 'a novel idea in the Indian Fiscal System' but also a 'Frankenstein' that emerged from only four paragraphs (57–60) of the 69-paragraph Budget Speech, and was drafted hastily. He works through the five statutory categories of compulsory depositors, the Rs. 12-crore revenue target, the definitions of 'salary' and 'employee' under Section 2(b) and Section 3(e), the 240-day employment condition, the 3% deposit rate (10.8% for the 1963-64 partial year), the depositing banks, Form 'A'/'B'/'C'/'D'/'E' procedures, the 4% interest, the five-year repayment cycle, and the cumbersome penalty mechanism on employers who fail to deduct. He shows that the scheme penalises bona fide salaried staff while leaving the genuinely better-off (urban property holders, Section-11 trust employees, casual labour) effectively outside its grasp. The essay closes with per-capita-income data (Rs. 292.50 for India in 1961-62 versus Rs. 11,118 for the United States) and survey evidence that 85% of urban households 'dis-saved' to argue that the scheme for incomes below Rs. 3,000 must simply be scrapped, and that the real avenue for resource mobilisation is curbing colossal Government expenditure. - The C.D.S. was buried in four paragraphs of a 69-paragraph Budget Speech and reflects a recent pattern of hasty Indian legislation. - The scheme's two stated objects — restraining demand and inculcating the saving habit — are doubtful for income-tax payers earning Rs. 125 to Rs. 250 a month. - Definitional inconsistencies between the C.D.S. Act and the Income-tax Act (especially around 'salary' and 'person') create implementation traps that may render the scheme illegal for many employees. - Employers face severe penalties and a quasi-banking burden of opening, maintaining, and repaying Compulsory Deposit Accounts in duplicate or triplicate. - Forms 'A', 'B', 'C', 'D', and 'E' and deposit machinery across the Reserve Bank, SBI, eight scheduled banks, and post offices add administrative load without clear benefit. - Indian per-capita income (Rs. 292.50) is a fraction of the U.S. figure (Rs. 11,118), so the saving capacity for compulsion to act on simply isn't there. - A 1960 Monthly Abstract of Statistics survey showed 85% of urban households had 'nil' or negative saving — for them 'compulsory saving' is a directive to 'compulsorily borrow'. ### C.D.S. IS DIFFICULT TO IMPLEMENT *By H. C. Malkani* Malkani's contribution, 'C.D.S. is Difficult to Implement', accepts that the Finance Minister's objects — supplementing taxation and inculcating austerity — are legitimate given that the Third Plan's required 11.5% saving rate has slipped against a stagnant 8.5% achievement, but rejects the chosen instrument. He recalls that Lord Keynes used compulsory saving with success in wartime Britain, and notes that compulsory deposits at 4% interest are preferable to taxation in form but suffer the same demand-inflationary limits and require deficit financing. Walking through each category C.D.S. is meant to capture — land-revenue payers above Rs. 5/-, income-tax payers, salaried staff between Rs. 1,500 and Rs. 3,000, shopkeepers above Rs. 15,000 turnover, urban immovable-property holders, and professionals outside income-tax — he shows that State Government arrears, NCAER 'nil savings' findings on the Rs. 1,500–3,000 group, the eight-lakh-account burden in Bombay City alone, and the un-perfected collection machinery together make the scheme practically unworkable. His verdict: objects laudable, implementation a very difficult task. - Common people, especially the middle classes, are worried because the scheme bites a population with low per-capita income, rising prices, and almost no capacity to save. - Compulsory deposits are preferable to taxation only because they are 'earning assets' at 4% — but they share taxation's inflationary and deficit-financing limits. - The Third Plan needed a 11.5% saving rate but achieved only ~8.5%, with growth slipping to 2.2–2.4% against a 7% target — the gap motivates C.D.S. but does not justify it. - Land-revenue payers above Rs. 5/- are the largest affected class, but State Governments — including Madras — are already grumbling about collecting on the Centre's behalf. - NCAER evidence reportedly shows that persons earning Rs. 1,500–3,000 'have on an average hardly, any net savings', and increased indirect taxes have already reduced their capacity to save. - Implementation arithmetic — 8.28 lakh income-tax payers plus ~355 lakh non-farm households in the Rs. 1,500–3,000 range, and 8 lakh accounts in Bombay City alone — makes the scheme a colossal administrative task. --- ## [Primary work] Concentration of Economic Power URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/concentration-of-economic-power-dr-pendse-july-14-1972/ ### Summary Delivered as the Sixth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Poona in 1971 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in July 1972, D. R. Pendse's booklet argues that India's intensifying preoccupation with the 'Concentration of Economic Power' (CEP) has itself become a danger to economic growth. Writing as Deputy Economic Adviser to Tatas, Pendse traces the policy lineage from Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's 1959 decision to commission what became the Mahalanobis study, through the Monopolies Inquiry Commission (1965), the Hazari Committee (1967) and the Dutt Committee (1969), to the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Act, which came into force in June 1970.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the Sixth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Poona in 1971 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in July 1972, D. R. Pendse's booklet argues that India's intensifying preoccupation with the 'Concentration of Economic Power' (CEP) has itself become a danger to economic growth. Writing as Deputy Economic Adviser to Tatas, Pendse traces the policy lineage from Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's 1959 decision to commission what became the Mahalanobis study, through the Monopolies Inquiry Commission (1965), the Hazari Committee (1967) and the Dutt Committee (1969), to the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Act, which came into force in June 1970. He contends that the Act — and especially its Chapter III, which vests sweeping discretionary powers in Government to approve or reject expansion proposals — already constitutes a more than adequate weapon against concentration; the trouble is the obsession that has grown around it. The lecture's central polemic targets the inherited framework of 'Larger Industrial Houses' (the list of twenty from the Dutt Committee's July 1969 Report on Industrial Licensing Policy), which Pendse calls outdated (resting on data from 31 December 1966), logically unsound, and substantively wrong as a proxy for the CEP problem. He proposes that Government instead set up a fresh Concentration Evaluation Commission, charged with evaluating concentrated economic power against the common good and saying who else is to the common detriment. In the meantime, he argues, genuine growth-oriented policies are being sacrificed to anti-concentration posture. Telco's truck-capacity expansion is held up by the Monopolies Commission while defence-grade trucks are short; mini-steel plants are blocked even though Bhilai's 2.5 million tonnes and Tisco's 2 million tonnes are nowhere near sufficient; banks are nationalised and then disabled from lending to managing agency systems by the same anti-concentration logic. Pendse then turns to the small-scale sector, arguing that its products often compare unfavourably with those of organised industry on both price and quality — by as much as 15 per cent in tenders — so that consumer welfare, especially that of the poor, is sacrificed to a mythologised image of the small producer. He defends the diffusion of entrepreneurship as a laudable objective in itself but rejects the zero-sum framing that one sector must shrink for another to grow: 'there is thus more than room for all.' Citing the Ruling Party's Garibi Hatao mandate and Professor Dandekar's recent pioneering study, which found that at least 60 per cent of Indians fall below the minimum per-capita consumption norms used by the Planning Commission, he closes by calling for 'sinking ideological differences' and mustering the co-operation of all — poor or rich, small or large — to meet the country's difficult economic emergency. That, in his view, is the road to good economics as well as to good politics. ## Key points - Argues that the obsession of policy-makers and the public with the 'Concentration of Economic Power' (CEP) has crowded out the more urgent task of accelerating economic growth. - Traces the institutional history of the CEP debate from Nehru's 1959 initiative through the Mahalanobis study, Monopolies Inquiry Commission (1965), Hazari Committee (1967), Dutt Committee (1969) and the MRTP Act of June 1970. - Holds that the MRTP Act's Chapter III, framed in pursuance of the Directive Principle of State Policy, already gives Government sweeping discretionary powers to police expansion, mergers, amalgamations and inter-connected undertakings. - Rejects the Dutt Committee's framework of 'Larger Industrial Houses' (the 20-House list, anchored in 31-12-1966 data) as outdated, internally inconsistent with the MRTP Act, and a poor proxy for the real CEP problem. - Proposes setting up an independent Concentration Evaluation Commission to define the criteria of 'common good' and 'common detriment' and to take a fresh, time-bound look at concentration. - Cites concrete cases — Telco's truck expansion delayed by the Monopolies Commission despite defence shortages; the blocking of 'mini-steel plants' against Bhilai's 2.5 mt and Tisco's 2 mt; bank nationalisation later kept from lending against managing agencies — to show how anti-concentration policy throttles essential capacity. - Challenges the assumption that the small-scale sector is automatically welfare-enhancing: its goods are often 15 per cent dearer than large-sector tenders and of lower quality, hurting the poor consumer who is the supposed beneficiary. - Closes with a plea to drop ideological postures and treat private enterprise — large and small — as a partner in tackling poverty, defence shortages and growth, citing Prof. Dandekar's poverty study and the Garibi Hatao mandate. --- ## [Primary work] Conditions for Economic Growth URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/conditions-for-economic-growth-prof-w-h-hutt-aug9-1964/ ### Summary Delivered as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet dated 9 August 1964, W. H. Hutt's Conditions for Economic Growth opens with the question of how India can most rapidly raise its average standards of living toward those of Western Europe and the United States, and answers it with a polemical inversion: altruistic foreign aid is of negligible importance compared with what private foreign profit-seekers, claiming no altruism whatever, would supply in capital, equipment and managerial competence if Indian policy permitted them entry under credible guarantees against nationalisation and confiscatory taxation. The 'most formidable internal & imposed barrier' to India's catching up, Hutt insists, is not any want of Indian talent but the legal-political restraint placed on the inflow of foreign capital and on the institutions of a competitive market. The pamphlet then enumerates conditions Hutt believes any under-developed economy must satisfy.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet dated 9 August 1964, W. H. Hutt's Conditions for Economic Growth opens with the question of how India can most rapidly raise its average standards of living toward those of Western Europe and the United States, and answers it with a polemical inversion: altruistic foreign aid is of negligible importance compared with what private foreign profit-seekers, claiming no altruism whatever, would supply in capital, equipment and managerial competence if Indian policy permitted them entry under credible guarantees against nationalisation and confiscatory taxation. The 'most formidable internal & imposed barrier' to India's catching up, Hutt insists, is not any want of Indian talent but the legal-political restraint placed on the inflow of foreign capital and on the institutions of a competitive market. The pamphlet then enumerates conditions Hutt believes any under-developed economy must satisfy. Growth depends on thrift — both as physical capital accumulation and as the 'human capital' built up through education and technical training; discriminatory ('progressive') taxation and naively administered death duties destroy incentive, while properly administered death duties whose proceeds are channelled into income-yielding investment can equalise opportunity. The democratic role of the market is that the consumer, not the planner, disciplines producers; Hutt cites Mises's 'omnipotent government' and Adam Smith's never-refuted critique of import-tariff protection. Protective tariffs that screen domestic industry from cheaper foreign supply are condemned, with South Africa offered as a counter-example of industrial progress achieved without infant-industry protection. He couples this with the claim that industrial growth cannot be financed at agriculture's expense — 'a vigorous development of factory production nearly always requires a parallel development of agriculture' — and proposes mechanisation of cultivation in parallel with industrialisation. The later sections attack labour unions for using strikes and boycotts to enforce wage rigidities that prevent labour markets from clearing, and Western governments for relying on inflation as a politically easy substitute for genuine co-ordination. Hutt closes with a ten-point summary: a tax system that does not discriminate against the provident; faith for foreign capital secured by an official renunciation of nationalisation; explicit recognition of profit as the reward for wise direction; constitutional bars on race-, caste- and income-based discrimination; abolition of tariff and quota restraints; mechanisation of agriculture alongside industrialisation; resistance to grandiose public capital schemes; prohibition of private coercion over prices, wages and outputs (strikes and boycotts); renunciation of inflationary monetary policy; and prevention of unbridled population growth. ## Key points - Hutt frames India's task as how to most rapidly close the gap with Western Europe and the United States, and re-poses it as: why are powerful world forces spreading modern technology being prevented from reaching the Indian masses? - Foreign 'aid' from altruism or enlightened self-interest is treated as negligible relative to what self-interested foreign profit-seekers would deliver if permitted entry under credible guarantees against nationalisation and confiscatory taxation. - Thrift — including 'human capital' built through education and technical training — is identified as the foundation of growth; discriminatory ('progressive') taxation and badly administered death duties destroy incentives, while death-duty proceeds must be 'maintained intact and devoted to the production of income-yielding assets'. - The chief obstacle to India's modernisation is described as an internal, imposed barrier on the inflow of foreign capital, not any deficiency of Indian managerial talent. - Protective tariffs for infant industries are rejected with Adam Smith's never-refuted arguments and a comparative appeal to South Africa, where industrial progress is said to have occurred without such protection. - Industrialisation and agricultural development are presented as inseparable: factory output cannot expand if farm productivity does not, and mechanisation of agriculture must proceed alongside industrial growth. - Labour unions are criticised for substituting collective coercion (strikes, boycotts) for free-market wage-rate adjustment, with resulting unemployment, regressive price pressure on the poor, and inequitable income distribution. - Inflation is named the chief contemporary weakness of Western policy — a politically convenient debasement that 'controllers' use in lieu of co-ordination — and Hutt calls for its renunciation. - The pamphlet closes with a ten-point programme covering taxation, foreign-capital guarantees, recognition of profit, constitutional anti-discrimination, removal of tariff/quota restraints, mechanisation of agriculture, restraint of grandiose public schemes, prohibition of private wage/output coercion, renunciation of inflation, and control of population growth. --- ## [Primary work] Congress Misrule and the Swatantra Alternative URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/congress-misrule-and-the-swatantra-alternative/ ### Summary In the rendered pages (front matter, foreword, introduction, and the opening of Section I), M. R. Masani assembles his parliamentary speeches into a sustained indictment of Congress economic policy and a programmatic case for the Swatantra Party as the only credible democratic alternative. C. Rajagopalachari's brief foreword frames the volume as criticism of the highest quality, arguing that the Swatantra Party exists to give India good government. Masani's own Introduction, written on the eve of the 1967 General Elections, addresses the scepticism of the educated classes toward the Party's electoral viability and marshals voting statistics to argue that Congress is a 'paper tiger'—a minority party whose parliamentary majority distorts actual public support. He contends that the real choice facing India is between Communist dictatorship and the liberal democratic programme of Swatantra. The opening sub-essay of Section I ('Call for a New Party', delivered in Bangalore in May 1959) sets the ideological frame for the whole collection in the rendered pages.… ### Body ## Summary In the rendered pages (front matter, foreword, introduction, and the opening of Section I), M. R. Masani assembles his parliamentary speeches into a sustained indictment of Congress economic policy and a programmatic case for the Swatantra Party as the only credible democratic alternative. C. Rajagopalachari's brief foreword frames the volume as criticism of the highest quality, arguing that the Swatantra Party exists to give India good government. Masani's own Introduction, written on the eve of the 1967 General Elections, addresses the scepticism of the educated classes toward the Party's electoral viability and marshals voting statistics to argue that Congress is a 'paper tiger'—a minority party whose parliamentary majority distorts actual public support. He contends that the real choice facing India is between Communist dictatorship and the liberal democratic programme of Swatantra. The opening sub-essay of Section I ('Call for a New Party', delivered in Bangalore in May 1959) sets the ideological frame for the whole collection in the rendered pages. Masani argues that the Second Five Year Plan has concentrated economic and political power to a dangerous degree, citing Acharya Vinoba Bhave's own warning about power being held by five or six people at the apex. He traces a line of causation from the 'Socialist Pattern' through excessive taxation, the destruction of peasant proprietorship under the Nagpur Resolution, and the collectivisation of agriculture, to a Soviet-style outcome incompatible with parliamentary democracy. He invokes Milovan Djilas's 'The New Class' and the testimony of demographer S. Chandrasekhar on Chinese communes to show that state capitalism produces a new exploiting bureaucratic class rather than social justice. Karl Marx is cited—ironically—for the observation that those who own property are free, a point Masani turns against the Congress logic of abolition. ## Key points - Rajagopalachari's foreword (p. v) certifies the volume as reproducing edited speeches to convey the Swatantra Party's programme with 'all the vigour it can command'. - The Introduction argues that Congress is a 'paper tiger' whose highest vote share was 48 per cent under Nehru and had fallen to 44.72 per cent by 1962, making it permanently a minority party in terms of popular votes in the rendered pages. - Masani presents the 1967 election as a binary choice between Communist Party rule and liberal democracy embodied in Swatantra, not a contest between Congress and its left-leaning rivals. - Ceylon's 1965 displacement of a Congress-type government by Dudley Senanayake's liberal government is cited in the rendered pages as proof that such a democratic transition is achievable. - The 'Call for a New Party' speech identifies the Nagpur Resolution's push for joint cooperative farming as a Soviet-style collectivisation that would give state officials 'virtual power of life and death over the peasant'. - Masani deploys Milovan Djilas's 'The New Class' and S. Chandrasekhar's account of Chinese communes to argue that state capitalism produces a more exploitative bureaucratic class than private capitalism in the rendered pages. - The Introduction characterises Swatantra as fundamentally an agrarian and peasant party, not an urban intelligentsia or business party, drawing on 1962 Election Commission data showing its vote base was predominantly rural. --- ## [Primary work] Constitution URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/constitution-march-2000/ ### Summary The Indian Liberal Group Constitution, adopted on 4 March 2000 in Mumbai, is the founding governing instrument of the ILG — a liberal civil-society organisation that traces its origins to 1964. The document opens with a substantive statement of objectives (Article 2) that articulates a coherent classical-liberal philosophy: individual liberty paired with personal responsibility as the foundation of civilised society; the state as servant rather than master of citizens; the inviolability of democratic accountability and the rule of law; and the defence of personal liberty, freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship, the right of association, private property, free choice of occupation, and the right to information.… ### Body ## Summary The Indian Liberal Group Constitution, adopted on 4 March 2000 in Mumbai, is the founding governing instrument of the ILG — a liberal civil-society organisation that traces its origins to 1964. The document opens with a substantive statement of objectives (Article 2) that articulates a coherent classical-liberal philosophy: individual liberty paired with personal responsibility as the foundation of civilised society; the state as servant rather than master of citizens; the inviolability of democratic accountability and the rule of law; and the defence of personal liberty, freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship, the right of association, private property, free choice of occupation, and the right to information. The objectives section also commits the ILG to tolerance — with the memorable qualification that 'while tolerance is integral to liberalism, the ILG will not tolerate intolerance' — and opposes all forms of monopoly while affirming that 'the business of government is governance, not business.' The remaining twenty clauses establish a three-tier federal governance structure: a National Council (comprising Presidents and Secretaries of State Executives) that elects the National President and up to twelve members of the National Executive and is responsible for all policy pronouncements; a National Executive that conducts day-to-day activities; and State Councils, State Executives, and District Committees mirroring the national structure at sub-national levels. Membership is open to individuals and like-minded organisations that accept Article 2's principles, with four categories — Life, Active, Ordinary, and Associate — carrying tiered subscription fees ranging from Rs.10 per year (Ordinary) to a one-time Rs.2,000 (Life). Political parties are explicitly barred from Associate Membership. The constitution caps office-bearer terms at two consecutive terms, sets a two-thirds supermajority for constitutional amendments, and requires a National Convention at least every three years. Three annexures list the 17-member Drafting Group, the 13 Founding Members of the Executive Committee, and the President and eight members of the Ad-hoc National Executive, with S. V. Raju named as President of the Ad-hoc National Executive. ## Key points - The ILG was founded in 1964 and formally constituted on 4 March 2000 when this document was adopted by its Executive Committee, whose members thereby became Founding Members. - Article 2 (Objectives) is the ideological core: it enumerates individual liberty, responsibility, tolerance, social justice, equality of opportunity, the rule of law, private property, free association, and freedom of expression as foundational liberal values. - The ILG explicitly positions itself against monopoly in any form and holds that 'the business of government is governance, not business.' - Governance is organised on a three-tier federal model — National Council / National Executive at the top, mirrored by State Councils / State Executives, and District Committees at the base. - Four membership categories (Life, Active, Ordinary, Associate) allow both individuals and voluntary organisations to join; political parties are explicitly excluded from Associate Membership. - Membership fees are split across tiers: Life and Active membership revenue flows 50% to the National Executive, 25% to State Executives, 25% to District Committees. - Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority; office-bearers are limited to two consecutive terms; a National Convention must be held at least once every three years. - S. V. Raju served as President of the Ad-hoc National Executive; the Drafting Group comprised 17 named members including Raju and several women (Anjali Patil Gaikwad, Kashmira Rao, Mary Thomas). --- ## [Primary work] CONSUMER SOVEREIGNTY LEADS TO RAPID ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/consumer-sovereignty-leads-to-rapid-economic-development-by-prof-br-shenoy-july-9-1962/ ### Summary B. R. Shenoy's July 1962 Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet is a direct riposte to J. K. Galbraith, whose pronouncements during his tours of India had cast doubt on those who criticised central planning. Reporting from a Press conference in Ahmedabad, Shenoy notes Galbraith's claim that 'the present tempo of our planning might lead to an authoritarian regime' yet his simultaneous insistence that 'whenever somebody wants to denounce something, he says it is likely to lead to authoritarianism.' Shenoy turns the warning back on its author: it is the architecture of centralised resource allocation, not the rhetoric of its critics, that incubates the authoritarian habit. The substantive argument is a critique of the Third Plan's investment pattern. With 65 per cent of investment resources sunk into the Public Sector and 57 per cent of that into 'heavy industries, mammoth river valley projects and costly social overheads,' the productive base for consumer goods, agriculture, textiles and trade is starved of capital.… ### Body ## Summary B. R. Shenoy's July 1962 Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet is a direct riposte to J. K. Galbraith, whose pronouncements during his tours of India had cast doubt on those who criticised central planning. Reporting from a Press conference in Ahmedabad, Shenoy notes Galbraith's claim that 'the present tempo of our planning might lead to an authoritarian regime' yet his simultaneous insistence that 'whenever somebody wants to denounce something, he says it is likely to lead to authoritarianism.' Shenoy turns the warning back on its author: it is the architecture of centralised resource allocation, not the rhetoric of its critics, that incubates the authoritarian habit. The substantive argument is a critique of the Third Plan's investment pattern. With 65 per cent of investment resources sunk into the Public Sector and 57 per cent of that into 'heavy industries, mammoth river valley projects and costly social overheads,' the productive base for consumer goods, agriculture, textiles and trade is starved of capital. The arithmetic, Shenoy argues, is unsparing: agricultural production is in the hands of 67 million independent farmers cultivating an average 5.5 acres each, and textile output emerges from 478 mills, 80,000 to 90,000 powerlooms and 2 million handlooms — yet planning channels capital away from these sectors. The consequence has been an Indian national income rising at roughly 3.5 per cent a year over the preceding decade against the 8–10 per cent the basic-needs strategy would yield, with food and cloth consumption stagnant or in decline. Against this, Shenoy offers what he calls 'planning for the free market under the aegis of consumer sovereignty' — pointing to the West German miracle, the EEC, Israel, Japan, Hong Kong, Spain and the Philippines as cases where market-led planning has produced 'blinding economic and social dividends.' He warns that this lesson has not reached New Delhi or Indian universities, where the imported authority of Galbraith, Millikan, Rostow, Ward, Balogh, Bettelheim, Lange and Robinson still props up the dirigiste consensus. The pamphlet closes with the prayer, 'Good Lord, protect me from my friends; against mine enemies I can defend myself' — a barb aimed at well-meaning Western advisers whose counsel, Shenoy holds, is more dangerous to Indian liberty than any avowed adversary. ## Key points - Rebuts J. K. Galbraith's argument — made during his India tours and a Press conference in Ahmedabad — that critics of planning court an authoritarian regime; Shenoy turns the charge around, arguing that centralised planning itself 'carries the very risks of authoritarianism' Galbraith claims to fear. - Identifies abject poverty as the central problem of underdeveloped countries and frames the policy question as whether eradicating it is best achieved through state planning or through the free market. - Documents that the Public Sector will absorb 65 per cent of Third Plan investment resources and that 57 per cent of plan outlay is going into heavy industry, river valley projects and social overheads — at the expense of agriculture, textiles and consumer-goods industries that produce for mass needs. - Quantifies the productive base being neglected: 67 million farmers averaging 5.5 acres each, 478 textile mills, 80,000–90,000 powerlooms and 2 million handlooms — all in independent hands and starved of capital by the plan's allocation choices. - Argues that re-directing investment toward consumer-good sectors and letting individual production units plan via the market would yield 8–10 per cent annual income growth alongside rising food and cloth output — versus the actual 3.5 per cent national-income growth and stagnant or declining mass consumption of the past decade. - Cites West Germany's post-war miracle, the EEC, Israel, Japan, Hong Kong, Spain, the Philippines and the United Kingdom's eagerness to join the EEC as evidence that 'planning for the free market' under consumer sovereignty has produced superior economic and social outcomes. - Names the imported intellectual authority sustaining Indian dirigisme — Galbraith, Millikan, Rostow, Ward, and left-wing figures Balogh, Bettleheim, Lange and Robinson — as 'illicit beneficiaries of planning' whose expositions stand in the way of Indians appreciating free-market potentialities. - Closes with the prayer 'Good Lord, protect me from my friends; against mine enemies I can defend myself,' positioning sympathetic Western planning advocates as a graver threat to Indian liberty than declared adversaries. --- ## [Primary work] CONSUMERS OF A STATE MONOPOLY: LIC POLICYHOLDERS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/consumers-of-a-state-monopoly-lic-policyholders-ptof-l-g-bapat-15-january-1975/ ### Summary Prof. L. G. Bapat's 1975 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet audits the Life Insurance Corporation of India eighteen years after nationalisation, asking whether LIC delivered on the better deal promised to policyholders when the Draft Bill was introduced in 1956. Bapat evaluates the corporation under four heads — premium rates, share in LIC's prosperity (bonus), service while the policy is in force, and settlement of claims on maturity — and finds the state monopoly wanting on every count. On premium rates, Bapat shows that LIC continues to base its tariffs on the obsolete Oriental (1925-35) Ultimate Mortality Table even though the death rate has fallen from 36.3 per 1,000 in the 1920s to 12 per 1,000, and even though the corporation's own valuations and an Administrative Reforms Commission recommendation called for an immediate 25 per cent cut.… ### Body ## Summary Prof. L. G. Bapat's 1975 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet audits the Life Insurance Corporation of India eighteen years after nationalisation, asking whether LIC delivered on the better deal promised to policyholders when the Draft Bill was introduced in 1956. Bapat evaluates the corporation under four heads — premium rates, share in LIC's prosperity (bonus), service while the policy is in force, and settlement of claims on maturity — and finds the state monopoly wanting on every count. On premium rates, Bapat shows that LIC continues to base its tariffs on the obsolete Oriental (1925-35) Ultimate Mortality Table even though the death rate has fallen from 36.3 per 1,000 in the 1920s to 12 per 1,000, and even though the corporation's own valuations and an Administrative Reforms Commission recommendation called for an immediate 25 per cent cut. He argues that by simultaneously assuming a much lower rate of interest than it actually earns and a much higher renewal expense ratio than it actually incurs, LIC artificially shrinks the surplus available for bonus, so the bonus declared on endowment and whole-life policies is consistently lower than what private companies (Western India, United India, Oriental) paid before nationalisation. On service, Bapat catalogues a steady rise in complaints (17,304 in 1972-73 at the central office alone), policy transfers that take three months or more, surrender values that are punitive compared to British insurers like Prudential and Eagle Star, an investment policy that locks 74.7 per cent of total investment in low-yielding government securities, and a rural-area neglect such that thirty districts still had no LIC branch in 1969. He also tracks how subordinate-employee headcount and per-capita salaries have ballooned — wages obtained complete neutralisation of inflation while policyholders were squeezed — and how only 3 per cent of death claims are settled within one month, with the balance taking 199-343 days. The conclusion is unambiguous: as long as LIC remains a monopoly it cannot honour the hopes of its creators. Bapat endorses Parliament's 1966 Public Undertaking Committee recommendation that LIC be broken into five or more autonomous units, and former LIC chairman T. A. Pai's call for splitting it into five corporations — and adds that the Government should either implement that recommendation or open the field to private competition immediately, in the interest of all concerned including LIC itself. ## Key points - Frames the booklet as a stocktaking of LIC against the 1956 ministerial promise of a 'better deal' for policyholders, eighteen years on. - Documents that LIC still prices premiums off the 1925-35 Oriental mortality table even though the death rate has fallen from 36.3 to 12 per 1,000 and an Administrative Reforms Commission recommended an immediate 25 per cent cut. - Demonstrates that LIC depresses declared bonus by assuming a 2-7/8% to 3-3/8% rate of interest while actually earning up to 5.97%, and by assuming 17-23.25% renewal expense ratios while actual ratios sit near 13-14%. - Shows the share of LIC's total income passed to policyholders has slid from 32.1% in 1956 to 23.4% in 1972-73, while subordinate-employee per-capita salaries rose 259% over the same span. - Cites comparative data — Indian surrender values at 56% of premiums paid where Prudential pays 95% and Eagle Star 77%; 49.7% of insurer assets locked in government securities against 2% in Canada and 4.8% in the USA. - Catalogues service failures: 17,304 complaints in 1972-73 at the central office, transfers taking 3+ months, only 3% of death claims settled within one month, urban concentration despite a stated rural mandate. - Argues that none of these distortions would survive in a competitive market — LIC behaves this way because it faces no threat of losing business. - Endorses the 1966 Public Undertaking Committee recommendation to break LIC into five or more autonomous units, or in the alternative to admit private competition at once. --- ## [Primary work] Controlling Inflation URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/controlling-inflation-dr-s-k-rao-december-6-2007/ ### Summary Controlling Inflation is a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet (Mumbai, 6 December 2007) that pairs two addresses on India's mid-2000s inflation against the backdrop of surging food and crude oil prices and the Reserve Bank of India's tightening cycle. Minoo R. Shroff's introduction (Mumbai, 16 November 2007) frames the booklet as a contribution by two 'eminently qualified' authors who diagnose the causes of price rise and propose pragmatic remedies in monetary, fiscal and supply-side policy, with particular emphasis on the credibility gap between the official Wholesale Price Index and the inflation that 'common man' households actually experience. The first essay, by Dr. S.R.K. Rao (formerly Principal Adviser, Reserve Bank of India), reworks a 4 June 2007 talk delivered at an Economics Research Centre (ERC) seminar held jointly with the Forum and the Indian Liberal Group in Mumbai. Rao argues that India alone among large economies measures headline inflation through the Wholesale Price Index — a commodity index that ignores services, housing, transport, education and the unorganised sector — and lays the blame for the credibility gap at the door of 'FOG — Failure of Governance', tracing the diagnosis through four causes: commodity-price hardening, supply-demand mismatch in foodgrains, the 'Dilemma of Capital Inflows' from foreign-exchange and FII money (much of it 'hot'), and rising off-balance-sheet public expenditure that threatens FRBM Act 2003 targets. His concrete proposals include an Agricultural Debt Redemption Corporation refinancing small farmers via 10–15-year produce bonds, a stronger public distribution system, vigilance over speculative inflows and strict adherence to the FRBM Act, closing with the line that monetary policy alone cannot curb inflation — fiscal restraint and political pragmatism must work in tandem. The second essay, by S.S. Bhandare (formerly Economic Adviser to Tatas), reprints a 29 July 2007 article from MEDC's Monthly News Digest assessing whether the moderation of WPI inflation from 6.7% in February 2007 to 4.3% by end-June 2007 is sustainable. Bhandare shows long-term WPI inflation falling structurally from 10.6% (1991–96) to 4.9% (2001–07) thanks to deregulation, liberalised imports and CENVAT/State VAT rationalisation, but warns that the wholesale figure diverges sharply from CPIs for industrial workers, agricultural labour and the urban middle class (all near 8%) — so the 'common man' still feels inflation 'is still high, and hurting them the most'. He identifies five sustainability risks (liquidity overhang from M3 growth, surging crude prices, basic-industry capacity constraints, infrastructure bottlenecks, and a manpower-driven 'wage push' in services) and outlines a five-pronged strategy — the next agricultural revolution, energy security, infrastructure modernisation, manpower capacity-building and good fiscal governance — concluding soberly that 'the battle against inflation is far from over'. ### Body ## Summary Controlling Inflation is a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet (Mumbai, 6 December 2007) that pairs two addresses on India's mid-2000s inflation against the backdrop of surging food and crude oil prices and the Reserve Bank of India's tightening cycle. Minoo R. Shroff's introduction (Mumbai, 16 November 2007) frames the booklet as a contribution by two 'eminently qualified' authors who diagnose the causes of price rise and propose pragmatic remedies in monetary, fiscal and supply-side policy, with particular emphasis on the credibility gap between the official Wholesale Price Index and the inflation that 'common man' households actually experience. The first essay, by Dr. S.R.K. Rao (formerly Principal Adviser, Reserve Bank of India), reworks a 4 June 2007 talk delivered at an Economics Research Centre (ERC) seminar held jointly with the Forum and the Indian Liberal Group in Mumbai; it lays the blame for India's inflation at the door of 'FOG — Failure of Governance'. The second, by S.S. Bhandare (formerly Economic Adviser to Tatas), reprints a 29 July 2007 article from MEDC's Monthly News Digest that assesses whether the moderation of WPI inflation from 6.7% in February 2007 to 4.3% by end-June 2007 is sustainable, and outlines a five-point strategy — agricultural revolution, energy security, infrastructure, manpower capacity, and fiscal governance — to consolidate that gain. ## Essays ### Controlling Inflation *By Dr. S.R.K. RAO* Dr. S.R.K. Rao opens by arguing that India alone among large economies measures headline inflation through the Wholesale Price Index, a commodity index that ignores services, housing, public utilities, transport, education and the unorganised sector, leaving a wide credibility gap between the government's 3–4% figure and the prices the housewife actually faces. He coins the diagnosis 'FOG — Failure of Governance' and applies it to four causes that the Finance Minister had identified: hardening prices of metals and crude oil (where the government should have used public-sector agencies abroad to send early warnings), supply-demand mismatch in sugar, wheat, pulses and oil (where the Agriculture Ministry crossed bridges only when reached), the income build-up from foreign exchange and FII inflows (the 'Dilemma of Capital Inflows', made worse because most inflows are 'hot money'), and rising public expenditure (where Oil Bonds, Small Savings and other off-balance-sheet liabilities understate the fiscal deficit and threaten the FRBM Act 2003 targets). In his policy suggestions Rao calls for an end to ad-hoc anti-inflation measures, scientific medium- and long-term planning for agriculture, the setting up of an Agricultural Debt Redemption Corporation that would buy out moneylender debts of small and marginal farmers against ten-to-fifteen-year produce bonds, a strengthened public distribution system, vigilance over the 'quantity as well as the quality' of capital inflows including detection of laundered money entering under different 'labels', and binding adherence to the FRBM Act. His closing line is that monetary policy alone cannot curb inflation: fiscal policy must work in tandem, and political considerations must give way to pragmatism. - WPI is a commodity index that misses services, housing, transport, education and the unorganised sector, opening a credibility gap with the inflation common households actually experience. - Rao's overarching diagnosis is 'FOG — Failure of Governance', applied to commodity hardening, supply-demand mismatch, capital-inflow-driven money supply, and rising public expenditure. - He cites an estimate that nearly 75% of recent capital inflows are 'hot money' (Hindustan Times, 12 April 2007), making sterilisation costly and the Dilemma of Capital Inflows acute. - Public debt is 62% of GDP and off-balance-sheet liabilities such as Oil Bonds (Rs. 28,000 crore in 2007) plus Sixth Pay Commission obligations risk 'side-stepping' the FRBM Act targets. - Concrete proposals: an Agricultural Debt Redemption Corporation refinancing small farmers via 10–15-year produce bonds, a stronger PDS, curbs on POL subsidies, and stricter monitoring of speculative inflows. - Closing message: monetary policy alone cannot curb inflation — fiscal restraint, efficient governance and political pragmatism must work in tandem. ### Strategizing the Battle Against Inflation: How Far Are We? *By S.S. BHANDARE* S.S. Bhandare welcomes the RBI's apparent success in pulling headline WPI inflation down from 6.7% in early February 2007 to about 4.3% by the week ending 30 June 2007, but argues that the picture is more complicated than the 'mood of self-congratulation' suggests. The wholesale figure diverges sharply from Consumer Price Indices for industrial workers, agricultural labour and the urban middle class — all of which remained near 8% — so the 'common man' continues to feel that inflation 'is still high, and hurting them the most'. Reviewing the post-reform period, Bhandare shows long-term WPI inflation falling from 10.6% (1991–96) to 4.9% (2001–07), a structural softening he attributes to deregulation, liberalised imports and the CENVAT / State VAT rationalisation that intensified competition. The second half of the address asks whether this softening is sustainable. Bhandare identifies a liquidity overhang from rapid M3 growth, surging international crude prices (the Indian basket at $73.96/barrel in mid-July 2007, up from $62.46 in 2006-07), capacity constraints in basic industries, infrastructure bottlenecks and a 'wage push' from manpower shortages in skilled services as the main risks to a sustained low-inflation regime. He calls for a broader-based 'national Producers Prices Index', harmonisation of CPI base years to 2005-06, and a five-pronged strategy: the next agricultural revolution, energy security, expansion and modernisation of critical infrastructure, capacity-building of manpower, and good fiscal governance. The closing note is sober: 'the battle against inflation is far from over'. - WPI inflation fell from 6.7% (early Feb 2007) to about 4.3% (week of 30 June 2007), but CPI for industrial workers, agricultural labour and the middle class hovered around 8%, signalling a divergence the 'common man' still feels. - Long-term WPI inflation has fallen from 10.6% (1991–96) to 5.1% (1996–2001) to 4.9% (2001–07), a structural softening driven by deregulation, import liberalisation and CENVAT / State VAT rationalisation. - Globalisation requires India's benchmark inflation to converge toward the 2–2.5% standard of major trading partners, well below the RBI's 5–5.5% target band. - Five sustainability risks: liquidity overhang from rapid M3 growth, surging crude prices (Indian basket $73.96/barrel in July 2007), basic-industry capacity constraints, infrastructure bottlenecks, and a manpower-driven 'wage push' in services. - Bhandare calls for a broader-based 'national Producers Prices Index' and harmonisation of CPI base years to 2005-06 in place of the existing 1993-94, 2000-01 and 1982 bases. - His closing strategy has five planks: the next agricultural revolution, energy security, expansion and modernisation of critical infrastructure, manpower capacity-building, and good fiscal governance. --- ## [Primary work] CONTROLS AND FREEDOM URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/controls-and-freedom-a-d-shroff-dec8-1960/ ### Summary Delivered as a Forum of Free Enterprise lecture in Bombay on 18 August 1960, M. A. Sreenivasan's pamphlet argues that controls and freedom are not antitheses — disciplined, self-imposed and rule-bound controls are in fact necessary for genuine liberty, while the proliferating peacetime controls of independent India have become its enemy. Drawing on his own experience as Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in princely Mysore, Sreenivasan recalls administering a 'bewildering maze of controls and permits and licences — a veritable Queutopia' during the war, and warns that the post-Independence state has multiplied such restrictions far beyond anything the colonial Defence of India Act ever imposed, until controls now reach into industry, agriculture, banking, transport, prices and even morals through Prohibition. The heart of the polemic is a sustained contrast between wartime and peacetime controls. Wartime controls, he writes, were 'plain, obvious and unsophisticated', justified by genuine emergency and self-limiting in scope.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as a Forum of Free Enterprise lecture in Bombay on 18 August 1960, M. A. Sreenivasan's pamphlet argues that controls and freedom are not antitheses — disciplined, self-imposed and rule-bound controls are in fact necessary for genuine liberty, while the proliferating peacetime controls of independent India have become its enemy. Drawing on his own experience as Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in princely Mysore, Sreenivasan recalls administering a 'bewildering maze of controls and permits and licences — a veritable Queutopia' during the war, and warns that the post-Independence state has multiplied such restrictions far beyond anything the colonial Defence of India Act ever imposed, until controls now reach into industry, agriculture, banking, transport, prices and even morals through Prohibition. The heart of the polemic is a sustained contrast between wartime and peacetime controls. Wartime controls, he writes, were 'plain, obvious and unsophisticated', justified by genuine emergency and self-limiting in scope. Independent India's controls, by contrast, are 'subtler, more refined, more pervading and less obvious… not ugly coils of barbed wire' but 'high-walled prisons of polished marble', sanctified by the language of planning and the Five-Year Plans, breeding hardship, evasion, the black market and corruption in turn. Sreenivasan invokes Gandhiji's preference for Swadharma over 'the violence of the State', Rajaji's lifting of food rationing in Madras, and Bertrand Russell on the absurdities Government can persuade citizens to swallow, to argue that the country's planners have lost faith in the capacity of ordinary Indians to raise their living standards through free enterprise. The closing pages frame a half-serious 'remedial' programme: further controls — but only on deficit financing, currency printing, the imposition of new controls, and political speech-making — as a satirical mirror of the regulatory mentality. The pamphlet ends with an exhortation to await the 'end of Control-Raj and the attainment of Swaraj', echoing the Forum of Free Enterprise's broader insistence that private initiative, hedged by minimal and impartial rules of the road, is the only durable basis for a free society. ## Key points - Frames controls and freedom as complementary rather than opposed: a free economy needs rules that 'regulate and safeguard' like traffic regulation, not 'road blocks' that regiment and emasculate. - Draws on the author's own service as Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in princely Mysore to describe the wartime control bureaucracy as a 'Queutopia' of permits, licences and rationing — and treats it as freer than independent India in 1960. - Argues that post-Independence controls have outgrown their wartime ancestors in reach and subtlety, extending to industry, agriculture, banking, foreign exchange, transport, the price of bread and personal morals (Prohibition). - Identifies a behavioural chain — control begetting hardship, resentment, evasion, black-marketing and corruption — as the predictable economic consequence of pervasive regulation. - Reads the planners' faith in controls as a loss of confidence in citizens: the State assumes the role of provider and educator while denying that ordinary Indians can improve their condition through free enterprise. - Invokes Gandhiji's Swadharma and his warning against 'the violence of the State' to argue that the only fully legitimate controls are self-imposed ones rooted in conscience and Dharma. - Cites Rajaji's abolition of food controls in Madras as a concrete demonstration that Indian leaders capable of dismantling the apparatus do exist, and praises 'lovers of freedom' who would 'not hanker for power'. - Closes with a satirical four-point counter-programme of 'antidotes' — controls on deficit financing, currency printing, the creation of new controls, and political speech-making — as a polemical mirror of the regulatory mind. --- ## [Primary work] CONTROLS IN A PLANNED ECONOMY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/controls-in-a-planned-economy-a-d-shroff-november-8-1960/ ### Summary A. D. Shroff's lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on September 1, 1960 and issued as a pamphlet, argues that the apparatus of controls erected to implement India's Second Five-Year Plan has grown so dense that it has begun to obstruct the very development it was meant to serve. Shroff invokes Hayek's warning that economic control is the control of the means for all our ends, and surveys, sector by sector, the maze of statutes — the Companies Act, the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, foreign-exchange control, the Controller of Capital Issues, textile control, sugar control, banking control — that an industrialist must navigate before a project can begin. The second half of the lecture moves from incident to indictment. Controls, Shroff contends, distort competition, breed vested interests inside the bureaucracy, and reliably generate black markets — a point he reinforces by quoting Winston Churchill.… ### Body ## Summary A. D. Shroff's lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on September 1, 1960 and issued as a pamphlet, argues that the apparatus of controls erected to implement India's Second Five-Year Plan has grown so dense that it has begun to obstruct the very development it was meant to serve. Shroff invokes Hayek's warning that economic control is the control of the means for all our ends, and surveys, sector by sector, the maze of statutes — the Companies Act, the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, foreign-exchange control, the Controller of Capital Issues, textile control, sugar control, banking control — that an industrialist must navigate before a project can begin. The second half of the lecture moves from incident to indictment. Controls, Shroff contends, distort competition, breed vested interests inside the bureaucracy, and reliably generate black markets — a point he reinforces by quoting Winston Churchill. He illustrates the lop-sidedness of administration through the diversion of scarce foreign exchange to import 160 Dodge cars for ministers and officials at the height of an austerity drive, and through stricter rules on share issues by established companies. He also cites Northcote Parkinson's laws as a portrait of the kind of officialdom that planned controls inevitably grow. The closing pages turn to monetary policy: the Reserve Bank's increased Cash Reserve Ratios in March and May 1960 have failed to halt prices, because the government continues to pump new money into circulation faster than goods can match it. Shroff frames the Labour Party's recanting of nationalisation (citing Douglas Jay) as a cautionary tale India should heed before committing further to a "socialistic pattern of society." His remedy is not technocratic but civic: only the mobilisation of informed public opinion, he argues, can arrest the inflation and force a retreat from the "crazy and mad race for unrealistic development through excessive and frustrating control." ## Key points - Shroff opens by accepting that some planning controls are necessary but argues India's controls have crossed the line into hindering the development they are meant to foster. - He cites Hayek's Road to Serfdom to frame economic control as control of the means for all human ends, not merely one sector. - He catalogues the regulatory stack — Companies Act, Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, Controller of Capital Issues, foreign-exchange control, local-authority approvals — that any industrialist must clear before raising capital or importing machinery. - Controls, he argues, breed vested interests inside the bureaucracy itself: the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Finance Ministry posts (Joint, Deputy, Under Secretaries) exist to administer controls and will resist their removal. - Controls inevitably create black markets (quoting Churchill on the corrosion of respect for law) and produce lop-sided enforcement, exemplified by the diversion of scarce foreign exchange to import 160 Dodge cars for ministers and officials. - He invokes Northcote Parkinson's laws to characterise an officialdom that expands to fill the time and revenue available, and warns the same dynamic is entrenched in India's Soviet-type planned economy. - On monetary policy, Shroff argues the Reserve Bank's March and May 1960 Cash Reserve Ratio hikes cannot halt prices while the government continues to pump crores of new money into circulation without matching production. - Citing the British Labour Party's public retreat from nationalisation (via Douglas Jay), he urges India to learn from foreign experience before extending the "socialistic pattern of society", and closes by calling on the thinking public to mobilise opinion against the system of controls. --- ## [Primary work] Convertibility of Rupee on Capital Account URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/convertibility-of-rupee-on-capital-account-dr-s-r-k-rao/ ### Summary Dr. S.R.K. Rao's pamphlet, based on a 30 September 1997 talk under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise, is a primer on capital account convertibility (CAC) and a stocktaking of where India stood at that moment. Rao defines convertibility on capital account as the freedom to swap local for foreign financial assets and vice versa at market-determined exchange rates without government controls, then lists its advantages: deeper integration with the global economy, cheaper access to foreign capital, portfolio diversification, alignment of domestic with international interest and tax regimes, deterrence of capital flight, and the development of a derivatives and risk-management market. The bulk of the pamphlet works through the preconditions and sequencing recommended by the Reserve Bank of India's Committee on Capital Account Convertibility (the Tarapore Committee): fiscal consolidation, an inflation target of 3–5 per cent, financial-sector strengthening, reduction of bank non-performing assets from 13.7 per cent to 5 per cent by 2000 A.D., a cut in average effective CRR to 3 per cent, an REER monitoring band of ±5 per cent, a rise in the current-receipts-to-GDP ratio from … ### Body ## Summary Dr. S.R.K. Rao's pamphlet, based on a 30 September 1997 talk under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise, is a primer on capital account convertibility (CAC) and a stocktaking of where India stood at that moment. Rao defines convertibility on capital account as the freedom to swap local for foreign financial assets and vice versa at market-determined exchange rates without government controls, then lists its advantages: deeper integration with the global economy, cheaper access to foreign capital, portfolio diversification, alignment of domestic with international interest and tax regimes, deterrence of capital flight, and the development of a derivatives and risk-management market. The bulk of the pamphlet works through the preconditions and sequencing recommended by the Reserve Bank of India's Committee on Capital Account Convertibility (the Tarapore Committee): fiscal consolidation, an inflation target of 3–5 per cent, financial-sector strengthening, reduction of bank non-performing assets from 13.7 per cent to 5 per cent by 2000 A.D., a cut in average effective CRR to 3 per cent, an REER monitoring band of ±5 per cent, a rise in the current-receipts-to-GDP ratio from 15 to 28 per cent, and a forex-reserve cushion of at least six months of imports. Rao tracks the liberalisation already undertaken since 1991 — devaluation, opening of FDI ceilings to 74/51 per cent, GDR and FCCB issues, FII access to debt markets, NRI deposit schemes shorn of exchange-rate guarantees, and current-account convertibility under IMF Article VIII in August 1994 — and notes that the RBI's 1996-97 Annual Report broke with the Committee by favouring an "eclectic" approach that liberalises while preconditions are still being met. A second half of the pamphlet examines sectoral consequences: stiff competition for banks with mergers, restructuring and pressure on small/regional banks; NPA reduction and risk-management upgrades; stock-market gains tempered by the need for international reporting norms, depositories, derivatives, T+1/T+3 settlement and end-to-end transparency; and a thin forward forex market that needs deepening if the rupee is to be insulated against volatility. Rao registers the perception that CAC will trigger capital flight, then cites Deputy Governor Y.V. Reddy's empirical rebuttal and former Governor S. Venkitaramanan's claim that the rupee is already three-fourths convertible. The pamphlet closes with a cautionary glance at the 1997 Asian currency crisis — Malaysia's Mahathir Mohammad blaming foreign fund managers such as George Soros, UNCTAD's worry about short-term speculative inflows, and proposals for a Tobin tax, "Global Watch dogs" and ethics rules for fund managers. Rao reads the Tarapore sequencing pragmatically (25 of 40 recommendations are ready for 1997-98), welcomes the replacement of FERA by FEMA, and recommends India follow Japan/US/Chile-style central-bank legislation to track large flows even after CAC. ## Key points - Defines capital account convertibility as two-way market-rate convertibility of local and foreign financial assets without government controls — distinguishing it from already-achieved current account convertibility. - Lays out the advantages of CAC: integration with global capital markets, cheaper foreign capital, portfolio diversification, alignment of domestic tax and interest rates with international levels, deterrence of capital flight, and growth of derivatives markets. - Catalogues the Tarapore Committee's preconditions — fiscal deficit to 3.5% by 2000 A.D., inflation 3–5%, bank NPAs from 13.7% to 5%, CRR to 3%, REER ±5% band, current-receipts/GDP from 15% to 28%, debt-service ratio to 20%, six-month forex reserve buffer. - Traces India's incremental liberalisation since July 1991 — devaluation, FDI ceilings raised to 74/51%, GDRs and FCCBs, FII access, NRI deposit reforms, Article VIII current-account convertibility from August 1994. - Highlights the divergence between the RBI's preferred "eclectic" approach and the Committee's preference for fulfilling preconditions before moving further toward CAC. - Sectoral impact: bank consolidation and pressure on small/regional banks, urgent NPA reduction, stock-exchange upgrades (depositories, derivatives, T+1/T+3 settlement, international reporting), and the need to deepen a thin forward forex market. - Treats the 1997 Asian/Malaysian currency crisis as a cautionary tale on weak banking, unregulated short-term flows and speculative attacks — citing Mahathir's clash with George Soros and UNCTAD's findings, and listing Tobin-tax-style remedies. - Recommends replacing FERA with FEMA, retaining central-bank monitoring of large inflows and outflows on the Japan/US/Chile model, and moving on the 25 of 40 Tarapore recommendations that are immediately actionable. --- ## [Primary work] Convertibility of Rupee on Capital Account URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/convertibility-of-rupee-on-capital-market-by-s-r-k-rao-1997/ ### Summary Dr. S. R. K. Rao, a former Principal Adviser to the Reserve Bank of India, uses this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet — based on a talk delivered in Mumbai on 30 September 1997 — to assess whether India should move to full capital account convertibility (CAC) of the rupee. He opens with a working definition: a currency is convertible on capital account when residents can freely convert local financial assets into foreign assets and vice versa at market-determined exchange rates, without government controls. He then catalogues the advantages — integration with global capital markets, cheaper foreign capital, higher growth, portfolio diversification, deeper derivatives and risk-management products, and alignment of the domestic tax regime with developed economies. The bulk of the booklet maps the pre-conditions for a successful transition and tracks the steps India has already taken.… ### Body ## Summary Dr. S. R. K. Rao, a former Principal Adviser to the Reserve Bank of India, uses this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet — based on a talk delivered in Mumbai on 30 September 1997 — to assess whether India should move to full capital account convertibility (CAC) of the rupee. He opens with a working definition: a currency is convertible on capital account when residents can freely convert local financial assets into foreign assets and vice versa at market-determined exchange rates, without government controls. He then catalogues the advantages — integration with global capital markets, cheaper foreign capital, higher growth, portfolio diversification, deeper derivatives and risk-management products, and alignment of the domestic tax regime with developed economies. The bulk of the booklet maps the pre-conditions for a successful transition and tracks the steps India has already taken. Rao stresses that capital account convertibility and domestic economic reforms are inseparable: fiscal consolidation, a manageable inflation target, deregulated interest rates, reduced cash reserve ratios, lower banking-sector NPAs, a strengthened balance-of-payments position, and at least six months of forex reserves must move in tandem. He chronicles India's progressive liberalisation since the July 1991 devaluation — automatic FDI approvals, FIPB and SIA mechanisms, FERA amendments, the August 1994 acceptance of Article VIII obligations of the IMF (current account convertibility), the unified market-determined exchange rate of March 1993, and the opening of GDR, FCCB, FCNR(B) and NRNRRD windows. Rao then walks through the Tarapore Committee on Capital Account Convertibility's recommendations — a three-year sequenced roadmap with explicit targets (fiscal deficit down to 3.5 per cent by 2000 AD, inflation of 3–5 per cent, NPAs to 5 per cent, CRR to 3 per cent, debt service to 20 per cent of current receipts) — and contrasts it with the RBI's preferred "eclectic approach" of liberalising even as pre-conditions are being met. He surveys the likely effects on banks (mergers and "narrow banks"), financial institutions, stock exchanges (need for an efficient Depository, T+3 settlement, derivatives, international disclosure norms), and the rupee's exchange rate (RBI intervention only within a ±5 per cent band). The booklet closes with a cautionary look at the 1997 Asian crisis. Drawing on Y. V. Reddy and S. Venkitaramanan, and citing Mahathir Mohammad's denunciation of speculative currency trading as "unnecessary, unproductive and immoral," Rao endorses the post-Hong Kong proposals for a Tobin tax, "Global Watch dogs" and stronger disclosure standards for global fund managers. He welcomes the replacement of FERA by FEMA and concludes that India can no longer treat full CAC as an academic question — the prudent course is the eclectic one of pushing ahead while strengthening banks, markets and forex reserves. ## Key points - Defines capital account convertibility as the free two-way movement of financial assets between residents and non-residents at market-determined exchange rates, with no government controls except against transactions of an "undesirable nature". - Lists CAC's advantages: integration with global capital markets, cheaper foreign capital, higher growth, portfolio diversification, deeper derivatives and risk-management products, and alignment of the domestic tax regime with developed economies. - Argues that capital account convertibility and domestic economic reforms are inseparable — fiscal consolidation, manageable inflation, deregulated interest rates, reduced NPAs, a strong BOP and at least six months of forex reserves are essential pre-conditions. - Chronicles India's liberalisation since the July 1991 devaluation: FDI/FII access, FIPB/SIA approvals, FERA amendments, March 1993 unified market-based exchange rate, and August 1994 acceptance of Article VIII current account convertibility. - Summarises the Tarapore Committee's three-year sequenced roadmap and its quantitative targets (fiscal deficit 3.5 per cent, inflation 3–5 per cent, NPAs 5 per cent, CRR 3 per cent, debt-service 20 per cent of current receipts by 2000 AD). - Contrasts the Committee's "pre-conditions first" stance with the RBI's preferred "eclectic approach" of liberalising even as pre-conditions are being met, and sides with the latter. - Maps likely sectoral impacts: bank consolidation and "narrow banks", squeezed spreads, demands on stock exchanges for a Depository, T+3 settlement and international disclosure norms, and RBI intervention within a ±5 per cent band on the rupee. - Reads the 1997 Asian crisis through Mahathir Mohammad's denunciation of speculative currency trading and endorses post-Hong Kong proposals for a Tobin tax, "Global Watch dogs" and disclosure rules for global fund managers, while welcoming the FERA-to-FEMA transition. --- ## [Primary work] Cooperatives in the Changing Economy of India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/cooperatives-in-the-changing-economy-of-india/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, prepared by the Cooperative Development Foundation (CDF) of Hyderabad and reprinted from Liberal Times (Vol. VI, No. 1, 1998), argues that the cooperative form of enterprise has been systematically distorted in India by restrictive laws that turn member-driven associations into instruments of state control. The opening sections set out the theory of cooperation — a voluntary association in which members are primarily users (not investors) of services they jointly need, with democratic decision-making and use-based profit sharing — and apply that theory to rural savings, credit, dairy marketing and supply services to show why cooperatives are uniquely suited to economies of small producers and consumers that purely commercial banks and private companies tend to underserve. The middle of the booklet shifts to a sustained critique of Indian cooperative law.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, prepared by the Cooperative Development Foundation (CDF) of Hyderabad and reprinted from Liberal Times (Vol. VI, No. 1, 1998), argues that the cooperative form of enterprise has been systematically distorted in India by restrictive laws that turn member-driven associations into instruments of state control. The opening sections set out the theory of cooperation — a voluntary association in which members are primarily users (not investors) of services they jointly need, with democratic decision-making and use-based profit sharing — and apply that theory to rural savings, credit, dairy marketing and supply services to show why cooperatives are uniquely suited to economies of small producers and consumers that purely commercial banks and private companies tend to underserve. The middle of the booklet shifts to a sustained critique of Indian cooperative law. The author argues that most Indian "cooperatives" are state-promoted and state-controlled rather than user-controlled: cooperative Registrars across the country can refuse registration, classify and reclassify societies, amend bylaws, supersede boards, nominate directors, decide staffing, control investments, and even liquidate cooperatives over their members' objections. The judiciary, citing Daman Singh vs State of Punjab, has held that because cooperatives are "created by statute, they are controlled by statute," leaving the right of voluntary association largely hollow. The final third of the booklet narrates the Andhra Pradesh reform of 1995. Faced with a choice between repealing the old cooperative law, adding a chapter for self-reliant cooperatives, or enacting a parallel statute, the state government — backed by floor leaders of every political party — passed the Andhra Pradesh Mutually Aided Cooperative Societies (APMACS) Act, 1995, allowing member-created, member-driven cooperatives free of government share capital and the Registrar's heavy hand. Over 800 cooperatives were registered under the new law by 1996, when Bihar followed with similar legislation. The booklet closes by linking cooperative reform to the broader economic liberalisation of the late 1990s: if domestic and multinational business are being freed from unnecessary controls, the cooperative sector "groaning under unheard of controls" deserves the same relief, and may have more to offer growth and development than other forms of enterprise. ## Key points - Defines a cooperative as a voluntary association of users (not investors) with democratic decision-making and use-based profit sharing — distinguishing it from share-capital enterprises. - Shows that purely commercial banks and private companies cannot economically serve small savers, small borrowers, scattered dairy producers, and other dispersed users, leaving cooperatives a structural niche the market does not fill. - Argues that the moneylender exploits small borrowers (high rates, threatening behaviour, especially toward women, over-collateralisation, lump-sum repayment), and that the banker undercharges but underserves them. - Catalogues the powers Indian cooperative laws give the Registrar: refuse registration, classify societies, amend bylaws, supersede boards, nominate directors, decide staffing, control investments, liquidate at will. - Cites Daman Singh vs State of Punjab as the judicial articulation of the position that cooperatives, being statutory creatures, can be controlled by statute without violating freedom of association. - Describes Andhra Pradesh's three reform options in 1995 — repeal, special chapter, or parallel law — and explains why a parallel law was chosen so as not to disturb existing state-interest "cooperatives". - Reports the unanimous passage of the APMACS Act, 1995, the registration of over 800 mutually aided cooperatives by 1996, and Bihar's adoption of similar legislation. - Frames the cooperative reform as a logical extension of the liberalisation freeing domestic and multinational business from controls, and as a corrective to projecting "the market" as a panacea. --- ## [Primary work] Co-operative Farming URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/cooperative-farming-sree-rama-murthy-jul5-1960/ ### Summary This 1960 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects the three prize-winning entries from the Forum's 1959 student essay competition on "Co-operative Farming." Judged by R. V. Murthy, Prof. C. L. Gheevala of the Indian Merchants' Chamber, and M. R. Pai, the volume presents essays by Sree Rama Murthy of Chirala (first prize), R. Venkata Ramana Rao of Quilon (second), and B. P. Patel of Surat (third). All three essays converge on a sceptical verdict: although the Indian National Congress at its Nagpur session (1959) made joint co-operative farming the centrepiece of agrarian policy, the contributors argue that pooling land under joint management is economically unproven, psychologically alien to Indian peasant attachment to the soil, and impossible to introduce without coercion. ### Body ## Summary This 1960 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects the three prize-winning entries from the Forum's 1959 student essay competition on "Co-operative Farming." Judged by R. V. Murthy, Prof. C. L. Gheevala of the Indian Merchants' Chamber, and M. R. Pai, the volume presents essays by Sree Rama Murthy of Chirala (first prize), R. Venkata Ramana Rao of Quilon (second), and B. P. Patel of Surat (third). All three essays converge on a sceptical verdict: although the Indian National Congress at its Nagpur session (1959) made joint co-operative farming the centrepiece of agrarian policy, the contributors argue that pooling land under joint management is economically unproven, psychologically alien to Indian peasant attachment to the soil, and impossible to introduce without coercion. ## Essays ### I *By Sree Rama Murthy* Sree Rama Murthy opens by parsing the four meanings of "co-operative farming" — better farming, joint farming, collective farming, and tenant farming — and notes that only the latter two extinguish individual ownership. Drawing on the Andhra Law Reforms Committee, the experience of China, the U.S.S.R., and Yugoslavia, and the testimony of foreign agricultural economists such as Prof. J. A. Venn and Dr. Chandrasekhar, he argues that the case for joint farming is unsupported by Indian evidence: most of the thousand-odd Government-sponsored societies have been founded only on refugee or landless settlement schemes, the Planning Commission's own survey of twenty societies found that in ten of them members did no farm work at all, and the peasant's attachment to his land is so deep that any policy aimed at dispossession will be resisted. Murthy concludes that compulsory co-operativisation is a "contradictory concept" in a democracy: persuasion will not produce voluntary pooling, while compulsion will degenerate into "undemocratic regimentation." He proposes that the State confine itself to building service co-operatives — credit, marketing, processing, input supply — and to creating a land-rights environment in which the cultivator can till his own holding. He coins this alternative "Co-operative Individual Farming" or "Co-operative Peasant Farming" and offers it as the only model compatible with both productivity and freedom. - Distinguishes four kinds of agricultural co-operation and isolates joint and collective farming as the controversial cases that abolish individual ownership. - Cites the Planning Commission's own survey: in 10 of 20 sample co-operative farming societies, members did no farm work; in 13 societies the work was done by hired hands rather than by member-cultivators. - Argues from foreign experience — China, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia, Palestine — that successes were driven by extraordinary religious or political conditions absent in India. - Identifies peasant attachment to land and family-based cultivation as the binding constraint that defeats joint farming on Indian soil. - Proposes "Co-operative Individual Farming" — service co-operatives plus secure individual land rights — as the workable middle path. ### II *By R. Venkata Ramana Rao* R. Venkata Ramana Rao frames co-operative farming as a productivity question first: a country in which 80% of the people live on the land and 48% of national income comes from agriculture cannot afford a farm policy that fails the food-production front. He summarises the main features of the Nagpur Resolution — joint cultivation with retained property rights, ceilings on existing holdings, surplus land vesting in Panchayats, and service co-operatives organised within three years — and accepts service co-operation as both useful and feasible. He rejects joint and collective farming on the strength of foreign evidence: Russian and Chinese collectivisation succeeded only under compulsion driven by industrial labour needs, Israeli kibbutz farming rested on religious-cultural cohesion, and Yugoslavia abandoned collective farming when output fell and peasant tax-paying capacity collapsed. From these comparisons Rao infers that joint farming in India would reduce the individual owner to a nullity, blunt the personal attention that crops and cattle require, swell the State payroll, encourage shirking once profit is decoupled from one's own field, and disrupt family relationships. His verdict is that co-operative farming, although an attractive ideal, cannot be implemented successfully in Indian conditions and must be deferred in favour of service co-operatives and individual cultivation. - Accepts the Nagpur Resolution's call for service co-operatives but rejects pooled joint cultivation as the next step. - Reads Russian and Chinese collectivisation as products of forced industrial labour-shedding, not as voluntary agricultural models. - Notes Yugoslavia's retreat from collective farming once output fell and peasants withdrew tax-paying capacity. - Identifies the loss of individual ownership and the disruption of family-cropping rhythms as the structural defects of joint farming. - Concludes that co-operative farming is an ideal that cannot be implemented in India given its multifarious problems. ### III *By B. P. Patel* B. P. Patel argues the question of voluntariness head-on. He observes that the Indian farm is too small and scattered to admit the economies of scale that proponents of joint farming claim, and that boundary lines on Kyari (paddy) and Jarayat (dry) holdings are functional protections against erosion rather than wasteful relics. The Indian farmer, he writes, is bound to his land by ancestral attachment, animal husbandry, family labour, and social status; under co-operative compulsion he would work "slow, work less, with less care, like an automaton or a cog in the whole machine." Patel then catalogues the indirect coercions through which the State would, in practice, force the small peasant into co-operative societies: registrar control over loans, seed, fertiliser, transport and irrigation priority; the routing of sugarcane through co-operatively run factories; the legislative power to fix ceilings and divert surplus land to landless members only on condition of joining. He concludes that the co-operative movement is sliding from Sahkari (voluntary) into Sarkari (State-run), and that even Acharya Vinoba Bhave has chosen to distribute Bhoodan lands to landless individuals rather than to collectives — a final verdict, for Patel, that co-operative farming is "unsuitable and undesirable in India." - Argues that small, scattered Indian holdings cannot yield economies of scale once boundary protections against erosion are factored in. - Lists the indirect coercions — subsidy, loan, seed, fertiliser, sugarcane procurement, ceiling laws — by which the State will, in practice, force voluntary co-operation. - Warns that co-operative bureaucratisation will swell the Registrar's establishment and route patronage through paid managers rather than members. - Captures the slippage as a shift from Sahkari (voluntary) to Sarkari (State-run) co-operation. - Invokes Vinoba Bhave's distribution of Bhoodan land to individual cultivators as evidence that even sympathetic moral authorities reject collectivisation. --- ## [Primary work] Corporate Governance – A Practitioner's Perspective URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/corporate-governance-a-practitioners-perspective-dr-mukund-rajan/ ### Summary Corporate Governance — A Practitioner's Perspective is the printed text of Dr. Mukund Rajan's inaugural keynote at the Forum of Free Enterprise's residential program on taxation held 2–4 August 2018 at the Gateway Hotel, Nashik. Speaking as a self-described practitioner who spent two decades inside the Tata Group, latterly as its Chief Ethics Officer, Rajan distinguishes ethics — 'doing the right things by stakeholders' and following the 'spirit' of right conduct — from compliance, which is rule-based and tracks the 'letter' of the law. He uses the Tata structure of Company and Local Ethics Counsellors and a separate cadre of Compliance Officers (for anti-bribery, anti-money-laundering, insider-trading and POSH matters) to illustrate how a large group operationalises both. Rajan's central diagnosis, framed early in the address, is that 'corporates today operate in an environment of significantly diminished trust.' He marshals roughly a decade-and-a-half of crises — the dot-com bust, Enron, the 2008 global financial crisis, Volkswagen's emissions fraud and the resulting USD 15+ billion in fines, and the 2018 collapse in Facebook's market capitalisation (a USD 119 billion single-d… ### Body ## Summary Corporate Governance — A Practitioner's Perspective is the printed text of Dr. Mukund Rajan's inaugural keynote at the Forum of Free Enterprise's residential program on taxation held 2–4 August 2018 at the Gateway Hotel, Nashik. Speaking as a self-described practitioner who spent two decades inside the Tata Group, latterly as its Chief Ethics Officer, Rajan distinguishes ethics — 'doing the right things by stakeholders' and following the 'spirit' of right conduct — from compliance, which is rule-based and tracks the 'letter' of the law. He uses the Tata structure of Company and Local Ethics Counsellors and a separate cadre of Compliance Officers (for anti-bribery, anti-money-laundering, insider-trading and POSH matters) to illustrate how a large group operationalises both. Rajan's central diagnosis, framed early in the address, is that 'corporates today operate in an environment of significantly diminished trust.' He marshals roughly a decade-and-a-half of crises — the dot-com bust, Enron, the 2008 global financial crisis, Volkswagen's emissions fraud and the resulting USD 15+ billion in fines, and the 2018 collapse in Facebook's market capitalisation (a USD 119 billion single-day loss after the Cambridge Analytica/data-privacy fallout) — to argue that even the world's largest firms now suffer brand-equity erosion or extinction when governance fails. The Indian half of the picture is a 'catharsis' against corruption: the Satyam, 2G and coal scams, sitting CEOs and politicians being jailed, the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party in 2012 on an anti-corruption platform, and the EY Asia Pacific Fraud Survey 2017 finding that 78% of Indian respondents agree bribery and corrupt practices occur widely in India. The rendered pages then map the policy and civic responses. On the state side, Rajan reads spectrum auctions, more objective allocation of mining rights and bank licences, demonetisation, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and the Goods and Services Tax as a deliberate attempt to clean up 'crony capitalism' — a phrase he uses bluntly. On the civic side, he points to social-media-enabled scrutiny (the #MeToo movement, rapper Sofia Ashraf's viral 'Kodaikanal Won't' song against Unilever's mercury-thermometer plant), cross-jurisdictional reach of laws such as the UK Bribery Act, and the Panama Papers fallout that contributed to Nawaz Sharif's exit in Pakistan. He cites a 2017 PwC study showing more CEOs being dismissed for ethical lapses — interpreted not as worsening behaviour but as tighter scrutiny. The last section in the rendered chunk pivots to what Rajan calls genuinely new pressures on corporate ethics: the environmental crisis and rising inequality. He introduces the concept of Earth Overshoot Day — the date when humanity's annual demand on ecological resources exceeds what Earth can regenerate — and notes it now arrives in August rather than 31 December. The Paris Climate Accord, he argues, gets the world to a 2°C ceiling at best; the real target is 1.5°C. Urbanisation compounds the strain — over a billion people will move to cities in the next decade, and 10 of the top 20 most polluted cities in the WHO ambient-air database are in India. The text breaks off mid-discussion of urban environmental disasters, with Rajan citing the 2015 Chennai floods. ## Key points - Rajan defines the ethics/compliance distinction operationally: ethics is value-based and follows the 'spirit' of right conduct ('even when nobody is looking'), while compliance is rules-based and follows the 'letter' of the law. - He describes the Tata Group's two-track governance plumbing — Company Ethics Counsellors backed by Local Ethics Counsellors drawn from HR, admin and internal audit, alongside a separate set of Compliance Officers for anti-bribery, AML, insider-trading and POSH matters. - The framing diagnosis is a trust deficit: corporates today operate in 'an environment of significantly diminished trust', evidenced by the dot-com bust, Enron, the 2008 crisis, Volkswagen's emissions fraud and Facebook's USD 119 billion one-day market-cap loss after the data-privacy scandal. - On India, Rajan reads the past decade as a corruption catharsis — Satyam, 2G, coal, jailed CEOs and politicians, the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party in 2012 — and cites the EY Asia Pacific Fraud Survey 2017 (78% of Indian respondents say bribery and corrupt practices occur widely; 58% would still work for organisations involved in fraud). - Policy responses he endorses as anti-cronyism: public spectrum auctions, more objective mining/banking-licence allocation, demonetisation, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, and GST. - Civic scrutiny has gone global and viral — the UK Bribery Act has extra-territorial reach against Indian firms, the Panama Papers contributed to Nawaz Sharif's exit, and #MeToo plus Sofia Ashraf's 'Kodaikanal Won't' show how no firm can outrun its past. - Two genuinely new ethical pressures, in Rajan's reading, are environmental impact and inequality: Earth Overshoot Day now falls in August, the Paris Accord at best caps warming at 2°C while 1.5°C is the real need, and 10 of the world's 20 most polluted cities are Indian. - Rajan invokes the Tata '4Es' framework (Education, Entrepreneurship, Employment, Employability) and the Tata Code of Conduct/Brand Equity and Business Promotion Agreement as practical instruments of corporate governance. --- ## [Primary work] Corporate Governance in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/corporate-governance-in-india-by-k-b-dadiseth-1997/ ### Summary Delivered as the 32nd A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture on 24 October 1997 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, K. B. Dadiseth's address reframes corporate governance for an India that is moving from a controlled economy into globalised competition. Speaking as Chairman of Hindustan Lever, Dadiseth argues that governance must be understood in its widest sense — almost as a trusteeship — and not reduced to statutory checks, committees and counts of non-executive directors. The Cadbury Code and similar prescriptions offer useful broad principles, but India must evolve its own solution because, on average, the basic capabilities of managing companies are still being built. The lecture moves through the institutional pillars of the firm. The Board must become the 'directing mind and will' of the corporation, supplying strategy rather than merely satisfying legal obligations. The Chairman, seen in India as the personification of the company, must be the first among equals — custodian of ethics, succession planner and primary link to shareholders.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the 32nd A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture on 24 October 1997 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, K. B. Dadiseth's address reframes corporate governance for an India that is moving from a controlled economy into globalised competition. Speaking as Chairman of Hindustan Lever, Dadiseth argues that governance must be understood in its widest sense — almost as a trusteeship — and not reduced to statutory checks, committees and counts of non-executive directors. The Cadbury Code and similar prescriptions offer useful broad principles, but India must evolve its own solution because, on average, the basic capabilities of managing companies are still being built. The lecture moves through the institutional pillars of the firm. The Board must become the 'directing mind and will' of the corporation, supplying strategy rather than merely satisfying legal obligations. The Chairman, seen in India as the personification of the company, must be the first among equals — custodian of ethics, succession planner and primary link to shareholders. Employees must be drawn into shared risks and responsibilities through embedded codes such as Hindustan Lever's own Code of Business Principles. Audit must be repositioned from fault-finding to positive assurance, and public disclosure from a quantity-driven exercise designed to placate regulators to a quality-driven narrative designed to build trustworthiness. Throughout, Dadiseth criticises the legacy of government-controlled ownership for letting managements abdicate responsibility while financial institutions, as significant shareholders, chose a passive role. The remedy is cultural rather than legalistic: a 'software' of corporate conscience, transparency and self-regulation that 'permeates the organisation as a totality'. The ultimate test, he concludes, is the ability to create self-driven, self-assessed, self-regulated organisations with a conscience — investors guided by unforgiving stock markets will shift allegiance overnight to companies that earn that trust. ## Key points - Corporate governance is framed as trusteeship and as a means to an outperforming organisation, not as a checklist of statutory checks and balances. - International prescriptions like the Cadbury Code are useful only for broad principles; India must evolve its own solution because basic management capabilities are still being built. - The Board must be the company's 'directing mind and will', focusing on strategy, customer service and shareholder value rather than only legal minima. - The Chairman is the personification of the company and the custodian of corporate ethics, with succession planning and decisive intervention as core duties. - Employees must share risks and responsibilities through embedded codes of conduct; Hindustan Lever's Code of Business Principles is cited as exemplar. - Audit should shift from fault-finding to positive assurance, supporting self-regulation rather than triggering defensive employee responses. - Public disclosure in India has been designed to satisfy regulators (quantity); it must instead furnish data that communicates trustworthiness (quality). - Government control of companies historically aggravated weak accountability by letting managements abdicate responsibility and financial institutions stay passive. - The ultimate goal of governance is self-driven, self-assessed and self-regulated organisations with a conscience — investors will desert those that fail this test. --- ## [Primary work] Corporate Governance URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/corporate-governance-by-adi-a-godrej-2004/ ### Summary This booklet reproduces the 15th Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture, delivered by Adi B. Godrej, Chairman of the Godrej Group, in Mumbai on 8 December 2003 and published in January 2004 by the Forum of Free Enterprise. Writing in the wake of the Enron, Arthur Andersen, Tyco, Global Crossing, Adelphia and Worldcom scandals, Godrej argues that corporate governance is neither a new concept nor a passing management fad: it dates at least to the post-Watergate internal-controls legislation of the 1970s, and the recent spate of malfeasance only makes the case for taking it seriously more urgent. He surveys the institutional history — the Treadway Commission, the Cadbury Code, the Combined Code of the London Stock Exchange, the Blue Ribbon Committee, the OECD Code of 1998 — and in India the Kumar Mangalam Birla, R. H. Patil, M. S. Verma, A. S.… ### Body ## Summary This booklet reproduces the 15th Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture, delivered by Adi B. Godrej, Chairman of the Godrej Group, in Mumbai on 8 December 2003 and published in January 2004 by the Forum of Free Enterprise. Writing in the wake of the Enron, Arthur Andersen, Tyco, Global Crossing, Adelphia and Worldcom scandals, Godrej argues that corporate governance is neither a new concept nor a passing management fad: it dates at least to the post-Watergate internal-controls legislation of the 1970s, and the recent spate of malfeasance only makes the case for taking it seriously more urgent. He surveys the institutional history — the Treadway Commission, the Cadbury Code, the Combined Code of the London Stock Exchange, the Blue Ribbon Committee, the OECD Code of 1998 — and in India the Kumar Mangalam Birla, R. H. Patil, M. S. Verma, A. S. Ganguly and Naresh Chandra committees. Godrej rejects the narrow shareholder-wealth definition associated with Milton Friedman and the World Bank president James Wolfensohn's broader "fairness, transparency, and accountability" framing in favour of his own: efficient supervision that protects the long-term interests of the company while conforming to laws and ethics. He insists that governance must serve the long-term good of the firm and all stakeholders — employees, vendors, customers, government, society — rather than minority shareholders alone, and that it should be principle-based rather than rule-based, since rules invite loophole-hunting while principles are harder to evade. A recurring warning runs through the lecture: the cure for malfeasance is enforcement of existing law, not the proliferation of new statutes, and over-regulation of process risks becoming what a friend of his calls "weapons of mass distraction". The second half illustrates these claims with practices from the 106-year-old Godrej Group. Godrej describes Economic Value Added (EVA) as the principal financial metric, with performance-linked variable remuneration partially held in reserve to encourage long-term thinking; force-ranking of managers; the Red Team / Blue Team / Plum Team bottom-up strategic planning exercise; a rotating Young Executive Board of managers in their late twenties and early thirties; an internal Think Tank; and Chairman's tea sessions for direct managerial feedback. On the board dimension he highlights Godrej Consumer Products Ltd., where half the directors are independent, board meetings run at least half a day with an annual two-day offsite, and ICRA has assigned a "CGR2" corporate-governance rating and an "SVG2" stakeholder-value rating. He closes by reframing corporate governance as "the ultimate management tool" — a journey, not a destination — and as being "both, about doing things right and doing the right thing". ## Key points - Corporate governance is not a new concept — it dates to the post-Watergate internal-controls legislation of the 1970s — and not a management fad; the recent spate of US corporate malfeasance (Enron, Arthur Andersen, Tyco, Global Crossing, Adelphia, Worldcom) only sharpens its urgency. - Godrej rejects Milton Friedman's narrow shareholder-wealth definition and proposes his own: governance is efficient supervision that protects the long-term interests of the company while conforming to law and ethics, serving all stakeholders rather than minority shareholders alone. - Governance must be principle-based rather than rule-based because principles are harder to circumvent than rules; the principles he favours are Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive and Transparent. - Enforcement of existing law, not new legislation, is the remedy for malfeasance — "Legislation alone is no panacea, and un-enforced legislation is worse than no legislation" — and over-regulation of process can become "weapons of mass distraction". - Markets are the definitive compliance officer: deregulation, disintermediation, institutionalisation, globalisation and tax reforms increasingly empower minority shareholders and discipline errant managers by denying them capital. - At the Godrej Group, Economic Value Added (EVA) anchors a performance-linked variable remuneration system, with portions held in reserve and modulated by a balanced-scorecard individual performance factor to enforce a long-term horizon. - Bottom-up HR practices — Red/Blue/Plum strategic teams of young managers, a rotating Young Executive Board, a senior-manager Think Tank, and Chairman's teas — operationalise the view that employees are the true custodians of the company's long-term interests. - Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. — with a board half-composed of independent directors and ICRA's "CGR2" and "SVG2" ratings — is offered as a working illustration that strong boards inhibit conflicts of interest among accountants, lawyers, analysts, investment bankers and consultants. --- ## [Primary work] CORPORATE GOVERNANCE – INDIAN EXPERIENCE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/corporate-governance-indian-experience-minoo-r-shroff/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet (published December 2000), the management consultant and Forum president Minoo R. Shroff offers a brisk practitioner's history of corporate governance in India and an argument for why the moment has arrived to take it seriously. He defines governance as 'management assuming the role of trusteeship' with checks and balances that lift performance, employee morale, shareholder value and social responsibility, insisting that 'the spirit is more important than the form' — codes alone do nothing without commitment at the top. Shroff traces the Indian corporate landscape from a family-dominated, board-as-formality past — with notable exceptions like the House of Tatas, which adopted worker welfare and even social audits decades ahead of legislation, and the 1956 Forum of Free Enterprise Code of Conduct (reproduced as an appendix).… ### Body ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet (published December 2000), the management consultant and Forum president Minoo R. Shroff offers a brisk practitioner's history of corporate governance in India and an argument for why the moment has arrived to take it seriously. He defines governance as 'management assuming the role of trusteeship' with checks and balances that lift performance, employee morale, shareholder value and social responsibility, insisting that 'the spirit is more important than the form' — codes alone do nothing without commitment at the top. Shroff traces the Indian corporate landscape from a family-dominated, board-as-formality past — with notable exceptions like the House of Tatas, which adopted worker welfare and even social audits decades ahead of legislation, and the 1956 Forum of Free Enterprise Code of Conduct (reproduced as an appendix). He then walks through the institutional arrivals that pushed change: post-Independence joint ventures with foreign collaborators who demanded real board engagement; the 1960s rise of nominee directors from public financial institutions (whose track record he judges 'far from inspiring'); and the formation of large public sector corporations whose civil-servant boards he charges with being 'largely ineffective', meticulous on compliance but unfit for strategy. He underscores the scale of the state's grip — funds 'exceed Rs 15,000 billion, almost 75% of the gross national product' — and calls for a total overhaul of how state enterprises are governed. The second half turns prescriptive. The chairman must be 'the custodian of corporate ethics' and run the board as 'a constellation of stars'; SEBI's reclassification of institutional directors as independent makes it urgent that nominees act on their own judgement and that institutions cultivate genuinely independent panels. He welcomes the CII and SEBI codes, mandatory retirement ages, the broadening of director pools to academics, scientists and foreign experts, and notes that 'shareholder activism, now becoming visible, and the growing threat of hostile takeovers will spur entrenched managements to ensure better governance.' The pamphlet closes with the full text of the Forum's 1956 Code of Conduct addressing obligations to consumers, labour, investors, professional ethics and the community, and an Eugene Black epigraph asking that private enterprise be accepted 'not as a necessary evil, but as an affirmative good.' ## Key points - Defines corporate governance as management-as-trusteeship: checks and balances that produce high performance, customer satisfaction, employee morale, shareholder value, and societal sensitivity — with the spirit of the code mattering more than its form. - Reads Indian corporate history as dominated by family/patriarchal control with boards 'for form's sake', flagging the House of Tatas (welfare measures, worker participation, social audit) and the Forum of Free Enterprise's 1956 Code of Conduct as far-sighted exceptions. - Credits post-Independence joint ventures and 1960s public-financial-institution nominee directors with professionalising boards, but argues the nominee directors' record is 'far from inspiring' — peripheral, passive, often awakened only by media disclosures. - Indicts public sector boards staffed by civil servants as largely ineffective: meticulous on procedure but contributing little to policy formulation or business monitoring, with leaderless PSUs and short tenures compounding the problem. - Quantifies the stakes: nationalised banks, FIs, insurers, mutuals and provident funds manage roughly Rs 10,000 billion of citizens' savings, and total state-controlled deployment exceeds Rs 15,000 billion — almost 75% of GNP — making overhaul urgent. - Argues the chairman is the pivot — 'custodian of corporate ethics' and orchestra leader of 'a constellation of stars' — responsible for tone, talent renewal, and a vision that mobilises employees. - Welcomes the CII and SEBI codes, mandatory retirement ages, second-generation promoters appointing competent non-executive directors, and the widening of board talent pools to academics, scientists, ex-civil servants and global experts. - Concludes that codes, regulators and research analysts can only do so much — the real cutting edge is self-assessment, with shareholder activism and hostile-takeover threats as final disciplines on entrenched managements. - Appendix reproduces the Forum of Free Enterprise's 18 July 1956 Code of Conduct, articulating producer/consumer, employer/labour, management/investor, professional and civic obligations as a charter for ethical free enterprise. --- ## [Primary work] Corporate Governance in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/corporate-governance-in-india-k-b-dadiseth/ ### Summary Corporate Governance in India is the text of the 32nd A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by K. B. Dadiseth, Chairman of Hindustan Lever Ltd., in Mumbai on 24th October 1997 and published as a booklet by the Forum of Free Enterprise. Dadiseth argues for an expansive, almost trusteeship-like conception of corporate governance: not merely a matter of statutory checks and balances, committees, and counts of non-executive directors, but a culture of conscience, transparency, accountability, and self-regulation that must permeate the whole organisation. The lecture is structured around the principal pillars of governance — the Board as the 'directing mind and will' of the corporation, the Chairman as first among equals and custodian of corporate ethics, employees as risk-bearing partners under a shared code of business principles, internal audit reoriented from fault-finding to positive assurance, and public disclosures that communicate trustworthiness.… ### Body ## Summary Corporate Governance in India is the text of the 32nd A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by K. B. Dadiseth, Chairman of Hindustan Lever Ltd., in Mumbai on 24th October 1997 and published as a booklet by the Forum of Free Enterprise. Dadiseth argues for an expansive, almost trusteeship-like conception of corporate governance: not merely a matter of statutory checks and balances, committees, and counts of non-executive directors, but a culture of conscience, transparency, accountability, and self-regulation that must permeate the whole organisation. The lecture is structured around the principal pillars of governance — the Board as the 'directing mind and will' of the corporation, the Chairman as first among equals and custodian of corporate ethics, employees as risk-bearing partners under a shared code of business principles, internal audit reoriented from fault-finding to positive assurance, and public disclosures that communicate trustworthiness. Dadiseth situates the Indian debate against the backdrop of the Cadbury Committee in the UK and acknowledges the Working Group on the Companies Act and the Confederation of Indian Industry's draft code, but insists that British or Western templates can only supply broad principles; India must evolve its own solution. A recurring polemical thread is a critique of the old controlled economy: government had taken on the role of controlling companies and thereby created scope for managements to abdicate responsibility, while financial institutions chose passivity as shareholders. With the shift toward a globalising, competitive India, Dadiseth contends that companies which fail to professionalise managements, plan succession, renew their Boards, and offer coherent narrative disclosures will be punished by unforgiving stock markets — and that the real differentiator going forward will be the capacity to build self-driven, self-assessed and self-regulated organisations with a conscience. ## Key points - Dadiseth defines Corporate Governance in its widest sense, 'almost like a trusteeship', stressing culture (conscience, consciousness, transparency, openness) over the 'hardware' of rules, committees and director headcounts. - He frames recent governance debates as a response to corporate disasters abroad — particularly the late-1980s UK failures that triggered the Cadbury Committee — and argues India must adapt broad principles rather than transplant the Cadbury Code wholesale. - He criticises the legacy of state control: by taking on the role of controlling companies the government 'created scope for such managements to abdicate what should have always been their responsibility', while financial institutions played a passive shareholder role. - The Board's role is recast around strategy, succession, professionalisation and the cultivation of executive directors who have grown with the company, supported but not replaced by carefully chosen non-executive directors. - The Chairman/CEO is positioned as 'first amongst equals' and custodian of corporate ethics — encouraging free debate, providing the reality check, and handing over an organisation stronger than the one inherited. - Self-regulation is grounded in a published Code of Business Principles (citing Hindustan Lever's own), an internal audit reoriented from fault-finding to assurance, and an Audit Committee that need not be formal. - Public disclosure is treated as the carrier of trustworthiness, contrasting Indian historical practice (quantity-driven, designed to enable regulatory interference) with the Cadbury ideal of a 'coherent narrative, supported by figures' that gives balanced weight to setbacks and successes. - Dadiseth concludes that, with investors no longer relying on regulators and stock markets shifting allegiance overnight, the decisive competitive edge will be the ability to build 'selfdriven, selfassessed, self-regulated organisations with a conscience.' --- ## [Primary work] Corporate Sector and Rural Development URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/corporate-sector-and-rural-development-n-s-ramaswamy-october-14-1977/ ### Summary This 1977 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects two papers by Prof. N. S. Ramaswamy — formerly Director of N.I.T.I.E., Bombay, and at the time of publication Director of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. The publisher's introduction frames the booklet as a response to the Union Budget 1977-78's incentive for corporate engagement with rural development, and as a contribution to Forum publications' long-running argument that India's agricultural and rural economy has been neglected by policy-makers and the modern industrial sector alike. In the first paper, 'Social Marketing', Ramaswamy argues that agencies of the State have proved 'largely ineffective' at transmitting science, technology and modern organisation to villages, and that business and industrial organisations must therefore play a complementary role. He coins 'social marketing' to describe the delivery of scientific and technological knowledge — alongside the products and services that industry already sells in rural areas — and frames this as 'enlightened self-interest' rather than philanthropy.… ### Body ## Summary This 1977 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects two papers by Prof. N. S. Ramaswamy — formerly Director of N.I.T.I.E., Bombay, and at the time of publication Director of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. The publisher's introduction frames the booklet as a response to the Union Budget 1977-78's incentive for corporate engagement with rural development, and as a contribution to Forum publications' long-running argument that India's agricultural and rural economy has been neglected by policy-makers and the modern industrial sector alike. In the first paper, 'Social Marketing', Ramaswamy argues that agencies of the State have proved 'largely ineffective' at transmitting science, technology and modern organisation to villages, and that business and industrial organisations must therefore play a complementary role. He coins 'social marketing' to describe the delivery of scientific and technological knowledge — alongside the products and services that industry already sells in rural areas — and frames this as 'enlightened self-interest' rather than philanthropy. Concrete agendas are sketched for steel producers, fertiliser firms, tyre and pump-set manufacturers, banks, insurers and food-processing companies. He cites a company that successfully augmented rural incomes in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh through R&D-led supply chains, and calls on rural banks to recover the relational, trust-based role of the older village money-lender. In the second paper, 'Modernizing the Bullock-Cart', Ramaswamy makes the case for the bullock-cart as appropriate technology for a 'capital-scarce, labour-surplus' economy. Drawing on Planning Commission, National Planning Committee and IIM-Bangalore field data, he documents that India has over 140 lakh carts carrying perhaps 40 billion tonne-kilometres of freight a year and employing some 200 lakh people, and argues that motorised vehicles cannot competitively replace bullock-carts on short rural routes. He calls for sustained R&D investment in cart design and in dual-purpose draught animals, arguing that doubling carrying capacity could double the incomes of rural people dependent on the system. Both papers share the booklet's central polemic: rural India deserves the same modernising attention the organised economy enjoys, and the corporate sector — through self-interested service rather than charity, and by valuing rather than displacing existing non-organised technologies — should be a principal vehicle of that modernisation. ## Key points - Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet (October 1977) reprinting extracts from two papers by N. S. Ramaswamy, framed by an editorial introduction linking the booklet to incentives in the Union Budget 1977-78 for corporate involvement in rural development. - Paper I argues State agencies have been 'largely ineffective' at modernising villages and that industry must complement them, coining 'social marketing' to describe the delivery of scientific and technological know-how alongside marketed goods. - Corporate engagement in rural areas is defended as 'enlightened self-interest' rather than philanthropy — industry ultimately gains through growing, marketable rural output. - Sector-specific agendas are sketched for steel, fertiliser, tyre, pump-set, pharmaceutical, food-processing and petroleum firms, and for banks and insurers willing to adapt to rural realities. - The author calls on rural banking to recover the relational, trust-based role once played by the village money-lender and notes that villagers are 'more willing to save than to borrow'. - Paper II positions the bullock-cart as 'appropriate technology' for a capital-scarce, labour-surplus economy, with over 140 lakh carts in use, an aggregate investment of around Rs. 3,000 crore and employment for roughly 200 lakh people. - Drawing on Planning Commission and IIM-Bangalore field data, Ramaswamy estimates that the bullock-cart system carries between 10 and 41 billion tonne-kilometres of freight a year — comparable in scale to the Railways and road transport. - He argues that the bullock-cart has been neglected because animals were assumed to be replaceable by tractors and trucks, but that motorised vehicles are uneconomic over short distances and require petroleum and paved roads that rural India lacks. - Modernising cart design and breeding dual-purpose draught animals could double rural transport incomes and create employment at roughly a tenth of the capital cost of equivalent truck-based jobs. --- ## [Primary work] Corruption Can Be Controlled URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/corruption-can-be-controlled-dr-pv-shenoi-ram-gandhi/ ### Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Mumbai on 14 October 1998, this booklet brings together two complementary addresses on the economics and politics of corruption in India. The first, by Dr. P. V. Shenoi, IAS (Retd.), Director of the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore, is based on a seminar presentation of January 1998; the second, by Ram Gandhi, immediate Past President of the Indian Merchants' Chamber, is drawn from his welcome address at an IMC meeting of 21 December 1997 at which Prime Minister I. K. Gujral was the chief guest. Both authors share a common premise—that India ranked among the world's ten most corrupt nations—but approach the problem from different angles: Shenoi from the standpoint of administrative and constitutional reform, Gandhi from the standpoint of economic costs and a sequenced action agenda. Shenoi's argument is that corruption flows from the top down. He documents the failure of the Lok Pal Bill to progress in thirty years, the routine appointment of 'transparently unfit people to high constitutional offices,' and the fact that an estimated one-quarter of legislators had criminal records. His prescriptions move through seven domains: transparent appointment councils for constitutional offices (chaired by the President/Governor and including the Chief Justice and opposition leaders); realistic election-expenditure ceilings and state funding of elections; salary parity for legislators with State/Central Government Secretaries, coupled with mandatory annual asset declarations; full privatisation of the public sector (which was earning only a 2 per cent return on an investment of roughly Rs. three lakh crores, financed by borrowings at 10 per cent); a business-like public service with market-comparable salaries and strict integrity enforcement; a Vigilance Commissioner drawn from the judiciary with adequate investigative staff and powers to lay traps; and replacement of the Official Secrets Act with a right-to-information law covering everything except genuine security matters. Gandhi's contribution focuses on the economic cost and tactical sequencing. He cites an IMF study of 70 countries showing that reducing corruption levels from India's to Scandinavia's would raise the annual investment rate by 10–12 per cent and GDP growth by 1.5 per cent; Harvard research estimated that India's corruption was equivalent to raising the effective marginal tax rate by 20 percentage points. Gandhi disaggregates corruption into three levels—petty (passport bribes), enterprise (customs clearances), and political (major contracts and licences)—and argues that petty corruption cannot be eradicated until political and enterprise corruption are tackled first. At the political level, his 'low-hanging fruit' are the Right to Information Bill and making the CBI independent of the executive (with Election Commission-like status). At the enterprise level, he notes that 67 per cent of India's laws had never been used in any court since independence, that 47 approvals were required to construct a building in Mumbai, and that small-scale entrepreneurs faced 36 inspectors monthly and 46 separate export documents—making time-bound decision-making and the scrapping of blanket discretionary clauses the most actionable first steps. ### Body ## Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Mumbai on 14 October 1998, this booklet brings together two complementary addresses on the economics and politics of corruption in India. The first, by Dr. P. V. Shenoi, IAS (Retd.), Director of the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore, is based on a seminar presentation of January 1998; the second, by Ram Gandhi, immediate Past President of the Indian Merchants' Chamber, is drawn from his welcome address at an IMC meeting of 21 December 1997 at which Prime Minister I. K. Gujral was the chief guest. Both authors share a common premise—that India ranked among the world's ten most corrupt nations—but approach the problem from different angles: Shenoi from the standpoint of administrative and constitutional reform, Gandhi from the standpoint of economic costs and a sequenced action agenda. Shenoi's argument is that corruption flows from the top down. He documents the failure of the Lok Pal Bill to progress in thirty years, the routine appointment of 'transparently unfit people to high constitutional offices,' and the fact that an estimated one-quarter of legislators had criminal records. His prescriptions move through seven domains: transparent appointment councils for constitutional offices (chaired by the President/Governor and including the Chief Justice and opposition leaders); realistic election-expenditure ceilings and state funding of elections; salary parity for legislators with State/Central Government Secretaries, coupled with mandatory annual asset declarations; full privatisation of the public sector (which was earning only a 2 per cent return on an investment of roughly Rs. three lakh crores, financed by borrowings at 10 per cent); a business-like public service with market-comparable salaries and strict integrity enforcement; a Vigilance Commissioner drawn from the judiciary with adequate investigative staff and powers to lay traps; and replacement of the Official Secrets Act with a right-to-information law covering everything except genuine security matters. Gandhi's contribution focuses on the economic cost and tactical sequencing. He cites an IMF study of 70 countries showing that reducing corruption levels from India's to Scandinavia's would raise the annual investment rate by 10–12 per cent and GDP growth by 1.5 per cent; Harvard research estimated that India's corruption was equivalent to raising the effective marginal tax rate by 20 percentage points. Gandhi disaggregates corruption into three levels—petty (passport bribes), enterprise (customs clearances), and political (major contracts and licences)—and argues that petty corruption cannot be eradicated until political and enterprise corruption are tackled first. At the political level, his 'low-hanging fruit' are the Right to Information Bill and making the CBI independent of the executive (with Election Commission-like status). At the enterprise level, he notes that 67 per cent of India's laws had never been used in any court since independence, that 47 approvals were required to construct a building in Mumbai, and that small-scale entrepreneurs faced 36 inspectors monthly and 46 separate export documents—making time-bound decision-making and the scrapping of blanket discretionary clauses the most actionable first steps. ## Key points - An IMF study of 70 countries estimated that reducing India's corruption to Scandinavian levels would raise investment by 10–12% per annum and GDP growth by 1.5% per annum; Harvard research put India's corruption burden as equivalent to a 20-percentage-point increase in the effective marginal tax rate. - India's public sector investment of approximately Rs. three lakh crores was earning only a 2% return while financed by borrowings at 10% per annum; Shenoi argues for full privatisation within five years, treating token disinvestment of 5–10% of shares as 'practically a joke'. - An estimated one-quarter of India's legislators held criminal records at the time of writing; Shenoi recommends salary parity with government Secretaries plus mandatory annual asset declarations open to public comment. - The Lok Pal Bill had been pending for thirty years; no Prime or Chief Minister wished to be subject to its integrity regime, and the bill's stagnation exemplified the broader failure of top-down accountability. - Gandhi identifies three distinct tiers of corruption—petty (passport and ration-card bribes), enterprise (customs and regulatory clearances) and political (major contracts and licences)—and argues that petty corruption can be eradicated only after the higher tiers are addressed first. - 67% of India's laws had never been used in any court since independence; 47 approvals were required to construct a building in Mumbai; a small-scale entrepreneur faced 36 monthly inspectors and 46 separate export documents—making procedural simplification the most tractable entry point for anti-corruption reform. - Gandhi proposes giving the CBI Election Commission-like statutory independence—ending the requirement to seek ministerial approval before prosecuting a public servant—and creating exclusive fast-track courts for all corruption cases. - A World Bank study cited in the booklet placed India in a corruption tier alongside Belarus, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Fiji and Malaysia; the top performers were Ireland and the United Kingdom. --- ## [Primary work] Corruption in Indian Medicine URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/corruption-in-indian-medecine-dr-s-nundy-august-25-2014/ ### Summary Published as a pamphlet by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Mumbai and dated August 25, 2014, this booklet reproduces an article by Dr. Samiran Nundy — gastrointestinal surgeon at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, and Editor-in-Chief of the journal Current Medicine Research and Practice — that first appeared in that journal's May–June 2014 issue (Vol. 4). The Forum's introduction by President Minoo R. Shroff frames the piece against a backdrop of public outrage: the Union Health Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, had himself used the word "cartelization" on the floor of the Lok Sabha to describe kickback arrangements between doctors and diagnostic laboratories, and US hospitals had been fined nearly $200 million in 2014 for extracting referral fees. Nundy's central argument is that corruption in Indian medicine is systemic and structurally embedded rather than a matter of individual misconduct. He traces its origins to the capitation-fee admissions racket at private medical colleges — most owned by politicians — where students encounter unqualified teachers and scarce patients, emerge poorly trained and deeply indebted, and then face a professional environment in which survival requires participating in referral kickbacks. Specific monetary details ground the account: CT scan referrals yield cuts of Rs. 1,500; organ transplant facilitation charges at corporate hospitals can reach Rs. 1–2 lakh per case; senior doctors in five-star hospitals are visited monthly by financial executives and pressured to justify revenue generation from investigations and procedures. Corruption, Nundy notes, extends equally into the public sector, where promotions and desirable postings are secured through political and bureaucratic influence. Transparency International had ranked the Indian healthcare sector as the second most corrupt institution a citizen encounters, after the police. Nundy argues that three questions must be answered: whether medical corruption is universal or India-specific; why it occurs; and how it can be addressed. He accepts its global existence but contends that in the third world, both petty corruption (queue-jumping, false certificates) and grand corruption (drug procurement, college recognition, plum postings) coexist, with the petty variety falling heaviest on the poorest patients. His prescribed remedies are practical and technology-mediated: full patient information about services and costs; electronic medical records — he discloses a conflicting interest as co-founder of the RaxaDoctor prototype — which evidence suggests both improve care quality and reduce scope for corruption; a national watchdog agency modelled on Britain's National Fraud Authority; and exemplary punishment for offenders. The booklet appends a relevant extract from the Economic Survey of July 2014 showing that India's health sector receives only 1.4 per cent of GDP despite a 200 per cent increase in central plan outlay between the Eleventh and Twelfth Plans. ### Body ## Summary Published as a pamphlet by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Mumbai and dated August 25, 2014, this booklet reproduces an article by Dr. Samiran Nundy — gastrointestinal surgeon at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, and Editor-in-Chief of the journal Current Medicine Research and Practice — that first appeared in that journal's May–June 2014 issue (Vol. 4). The Forum's introduction by President Minoo R. Shroff frames the piece against a backdrop of public outrage: the Union Health Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, had himself used the word "cartelization" on the floor of the Lok Sabha to describe kickback arrangements between doctors and diagnostic laboratories, and US hospitals had been fined nearly $200 million in 2014 for extracting referral fees. Nundy's central argument is that corruption in Indian medicine is systemic and structurally embedded rather than a matter of individual misconduct. He traces its origins to the capitation-fee admissions racket at private medical colleges — most owned by politicians — where students encounter unqualified teachers and scarce patients, emerge poorly trained and deeply indebted, and then face a professional environment in which survival requires participating in referral kickbacks. Specific monetary details ground the account: CT scan referrals yield cuts of Rs. 1,500; organ transplant facilitation charges at corporate hospitals can reach Rs. 1–2 lakh per case; senior doctors in five-star hospitals are visited monthly by financial executives and pressured to justify revenue generation from investigations and procedures. Corruption, Nundy notes, extends equally into the public sector, where promotions and desirable postings are secured through political and bureaucratic influence. Transparency International had ranked the Indian healthcare sector as the second most corrupt institution a citizen encounters, after the police. Nundy argues that three questions must be answered: whether medical corruption is universal or India-specific; why it occurs; and how it can be addressed. He accepts its global existence but contends that in the third world, both petty corruption (queue-jumping, false certificates) and grand corruption (drug procurement, college recognition, plum postings) coexist, with the petty variety falling heaviest on the poorest patients. His prescribed remedies are practical and technology-mediated: full patient information about services and costs; electronic medical records — he discloses a conflicting interest as co-founder of the RaxaDoctor prototype — which evidence suggests both improve care quality and reduce scope for corruption; a national watchdog agency modelled on Britain's National Fraud Authority; and exemplary punishment for offenders. The booklet appends a relevant extract from the Economic Survey of July 2014 showing that India's health sector receives only 1.4 per cent of GDP despite a 200 per cent increase in central plan outlay between the Eleventh and Twelfth Plans. ## Key points - Transparency International ranked Indian healthcare the second most corrupt sector citizens encounter, after the police. - The corruption chain begins at entry: capitation fees at privately owned medical colleges leave graduates indebted and professionally compromised before they begin practice. - Kickback rates are quantified: Rs. 1,500 per CT scan referral; Rs. 1–2 lakh per organ-transplant facilitation charge at corporate hospitals. - Five-star hospital management formally reviews senior doctors' revenue generation monthly, institutionalising financial pressure as a driver of over-investigation. - Public-sector corruption mirrors private-sector patterns: promotions and desirable postings are secured through politicians and bureaucrats rather than merit. - Nundy distinguishes petty corruption (queue-jumping, fitness certificates) from grand corruption (drug procurement, college recognition) and notes both coexist in India, unlike in developed countries. - Proposed remedies include mandatory patient cost disclosure, electronic medical records (which evidence shows also reduce corruption), a national healthcare fraud authority, and exemplary punishment. - The pamphlet's Forum introduction notes that Health Minister Harsh Vardhan himself used the term "cartelization" in the Lok Sabha and acknowledged the Medical Council of India as a major source of corruption — the very body he proposed to refer malpractices to. --- ## [Primary work] Cotton Policy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/cotton-policy-shri-ramniwas-r-rula-dec19-1956/ ### Summary Published as the full text of a press statement issued by Shri Ramniwas R. Ruia on 19 December 1956, responding to the Cotton Policy debate in the Lok Sabha, this piece appears as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet. Ruia writes as a cotton trade insider of three generations' standing — exporter, importer, buyer, seller, consumer, and manufacturer — with over thirty years of direct experience, and opens by asserting his constitutional right as a free citizen to criticise government policy without fear. Ruia's central argument is that Government intervention in the cotton forward market in December 1955, specifically the retrospective fixing of a new ceiling price of Rs. 700 within the existing ceiling of Rs. 745, was arbitrary, economically illiterate, and inflicted losses on the very growers and consumers it claimed to protect while inadvertently benefiting middlemen and those with privileged knowledge of official intentions. He reconstructs the sequence: forward prices were running at Rs. 750 when the Government abruptly slashed them to Rs. 700 with retrospective effect, then the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) closed the forward market the same night the Bombay High Court ordered it to convene and decide a fair price independently. The market remained closed from late December 1955 through approximately March 1956 — the peak crop-movement period — during which ready prices continued rising unchecked to and beyond the official ceiling, leaving the forward market functionless. Growers who had to sell their crop during this period received depressed prices while tame traders with accumulated stocks profited. Ruia challenges the Commerce Minister's characterisation of bear speculators as "unfortunate" victims, arguing they were pure gamblers with no legitimate cotton interest, while the genuine losers — growers forced to sell during the crisis months, merchants, and consumers with legitimate hedging needs — went unacknowledged. In his prescriptive section, Ruia calls for narrowing the Rs. 350 floor-to-ceiling spread (then Rs. 495 to Rs. 845) to no more than Rs. 150, reducing delivery periods from six to fewer per year, and requiring the Government to announce crop estimates and export quotas transparently at the season's outset rather than releasing them piecemeal as rumour fodder. He also calls for an independent impartial tribunal to investigate all cotton market transactions from the start of the 1955–56 contract. The statement closes with qualified optimism that the newly appointed Commerce and Industries Minister, Morarji Desai, would bring fairness and rule of law to the trade. ### Body ## Summary Published as the full text of a press statement issued by Shri Ramniwas R. Ruia on 19 December 1956, responding to the Cotton Policy debate in the Lok Sabha, this piece appears as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet. Ruia writes as a cotton trade insider of three generations' standing — exporter, importer, buyer, seller, consumer, and manufacturer — with over thirty years of direct experience, and opens by asserting his constitutional right as a free citizen to criticise government policy without fear. Ruia's central argument is that Government intervention in the cotton forward market in December 1955, specifically the retrospective fixing of a new ceiling price of Rs. 700 within the existing ceiling of Rs. 745, was arbitrary, economically illiterate, and inflicted losses on the very growers and consumers it claimed to protect while inadvertently benefiting middlemen and those with privileged knowledge of official intentions. He reconstructs the sequence: forward prices were running at Rs. 750 when the Government abruptly slashed them to Rs. 700 with retrospective effect, then the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) closed the forward market the same night the Bombay High Court ordered it to convene and decide a fair price independently. The market remained closed from late December 1955 through approximately March 1956 — the peak crop-movement period — during which ready prices continued rising unchecked to and beyond the official ceiling, leaving the forward market functionless. Growers who had to sell their crop during this period received depressed prices while tame traders with accumulated stocks profited. Ruia challenges the Commerce Minister's characterisation of bear speculators as "unfortunate" victims, arguing they were pure gamblers with no legitimate cotton interest, while the genuine losers — growers forced to sell during the crisis months, merchants, and consumers with legitimate hedging needs — went unacknowledged. In his prescriptive section, Ruia calls for narrowing the Rs. 350 floor-to-ceiling spread (then Rs. 495 to Rs. 845) to no more than Rs. 150, reducing delivery periods from six to fewer per year, and requiring the Government to announce crop estimates and export quotas transparently at the season's outset rather than releasing them piecemeal as rumour fodder. He also calls for an independent impartial tribunal to investigate all cotton market transactions from the start of the 1955–56 contract. The statement closes with qualified optimism that the newly appointed Commerce and Industries Minister, Morarji Desai, would bring fairness and rule of law to the trade. ## Key points - The Government retrospectively slashed the cotton forward market ceiling from Rs. 745 to Rs. 700, closing the forward market on the night the Bombay High Court ordered an independent price review — an action Ruia calls constitutionally and commercially improper. - The forward market remained closed from late December 1955 to approximately March 1956, precisely the peak crop-movement period, destroying the livelihoods of thousands dependent on it. - During the closure, ready cotton prices rose freely to and above the official ceiling, demonstrating that the government lacked both the will and the means to control ready-market prices while suppressing forward prices. - Ruia argues the action rewarded bear speculators (pure gamblers) who profited from the price dislocation, while penalising growers who had to liquidate crops at distressed prices and merchants who had hedged legitimately. - He proposes narrowing the floor-to-ceiling spread from Rs. 350 to Rs. 150, reducing the six delivery periods, and requiring the government to publish crop estimates, consumption figures, and export quotas transparently at the start of each season. - An independent tribunal to investigate all cotton market dealings from 1955–56 onwards is called for, given the minister's own admission that a "squeeze" was effected by half a dozen traders. - Ruia questions the simultaneous June 1956 decision to fix the same ceiling and floor for the 1956–57 crop despite it being estimated 10 per cent above normal — a 33 per cent swing versus the previous drought-hit season. - The statement defends the right of businessmen to voice constructive criticism of policy, arguing that a functioning democracy requires an informed, articulate citizenry willing to contradict those in power. --- ## [Primary work] COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY — PROBLEMS & SOLUTION URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/cotton-textile-industry-problems-and-solutions-bhaskar-g-kakatkar-february-11-1967/ ### Summary Delivered as a lecture by Bhaskar G. Kakatkar, Secretary-General of the Indian Cotton Mills Federation, under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 11 February 1967, and published as a pamphlet with a foreword by R. G. Saraiya dated 16 December 1966, this address surveys the structural crises confronting the Indian cotton textile industry in the mid-1960s. The foreword establishes the context starkly: cotton production reached only 55–56 lakh bales in 1965–66 against a Third Plan target of 70 lakh bales, while India simultaneously held the world's largest acreage under cotton — 20 million acres — yet achieved the lowest yield per acre, at 110–120 lbs against a world average of over 300 lbs. Kakatkar organises his argument around the industry's dependence on three interlocking failures: the cotton supply crisis, destructive price-control policy, and unequal competitive treatment across mill, powerloom, and handloom sectors. On cotton supply, he quantifies the gap precisely: the industry requires 70 lakh bales to maintain per capita cloth availability of 15–16 yards, but 1966–67 production was expected to reach only 55 lakh bales. Rather than directing resources toward raising per-acre yields — which Federation-run trials showed could be improved by 50–100 per cent on irrigated land, with 32 lakh irrigated acres capable of yielding 16 lakh additional bales at an input cost of Rs. 200 per acre — the Government had instead abolished the Indian Central Cotton Committee (on the advice of two unnamed American consultants whose report was never published) and was planning new spinning mills to share an already scarce raw material. On price controls, Kakatkar demonstrates their futility through a simple price series: the ceiling for Moglai Jarilla Fine cotton rose from Rs. 820 in 1961–62 to Rs. 947, Rs. 1,022, and Rs. 1,070 by 1966–67, each ceiling breached in turn. Mills were openly paying 14–50 per cent above official ceilings. He calls for abolition of ceiling prices, arguing they serve only to formalise black-market premiums. On the three-sector imbalance, Kakatkar presents detailed excise duty figures that illustrate the structural unfairness: a mill pays Rs. 3,300–11,000 per loom per year depending on cloth category, while a comparable powerloom pays only Rs. 25–150. The powerloom sector had grown from one-fifth of total production in 1951 to 40 per cent by 1965 without providing better employment conditions or export capacity. On rehabilitation, the American textile industry, 1.5 times India's size, was investing Rs. 500 crores per year in capital equipment; Japan, of comparable size, Rs. 200 crores; India's mills were spending only Rs. 50 crores annually, largely through borrowing. The address ends with a vision of India becoming the world's leading cotton textile exporter if cotton yields are prioritised — a prospect made plausible by India's unique position as one of the few major textile exporters with home-grown cotton. ### Body ## Summary Delivered as a lecture by Bhaskar G. Kakatkar, Secretary-General of the Indian Cotton Mills Federation, under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 11 February 1967, and published as a pamphlet with a foreword by R. G. Saraiya dated 16 December 1966, this address surveys the structural crises confronting the Indian cotton textile industry in the mid-1960s. The foreword establishes the context starkly: cotton production reached only 55–56 lakh bales in 1965–66 against a Third Plan target of 70 lakh bales, while India simultaneously held the world's largest acreage under cotton — 20 million acres — yet achieved the lowest yield per acre, at 110–120 lbs against a world average of over 300 lbs. Kakatkar organises his argument around the industry's dependence on three interlocking failures: the cotton supply crisis, destructive price-control policy, and unequal competitive treatment across mill, powerloom, and handloom sectors. On cotton supply, he quantifies the gap precisely: the industry requires 70 lakh bales to maintain per capita cloth availability of 15–16 yards, but 1966–67 production was expected to reach only 55 lakh bales. Rather than directing resources toward raising per-acre yields — which Federation-run trials showed could be improved by 50–100 per cent on irrigated land, with 32 lakh irrigated acres capable of yielding 16 lakh additional bales at an input cost of Rs. 200 per acre — the Government had instead abolished the Indian Central Cotton Committee (on the advice of two unnamed American consultants whose report was never published) and was planning new spinning mills to share an already scarce raw material. On price controls, Kakatkar demonstrates their futility through a simple price series: the ceiling for Moglai Jarilla Fine cotton rose from Rs. 820 in 1961–62 to Rs. 947, Rs. 1,022, and Rs. 1,070 by 1966–67, each ceiling breached in turn. Mills were openly paying 14–50 per cent above official ceilings. He calls for abolition of ceiling prices, arguing they serve only to formalise black-market premiums. On the three-sector imbalance, Kakatkar presents detailed excise duty figures that illustrate the structural unfairness: a mill pays Rs. 3,300–11,000 per loom per year depending on cloth category, while a comparable powerloom pays only Rs. 25–150. The powerloom sector had grown from one-fifth of total production in 1951 to 40 per cent by 1965 without providing better employment conditions or export capacity. On rehabilitation, the American textile industry, 1.5 times India's size, was investing Rs. 500 crores per year in capital equipment; Japan, of comparable size, Rs. 200 crores; India's mills were spending only Rs. 50 crores annually, largely through borrowing. The address ends with a vision of India becoming the world's leading cotton textile exporter if cotton yields are prioritised — a prospect made plausible by India's unique position as one of the few major textile exporters with home-grown cotton. ## Key points - India held the world's largest cotton acreage (20 million acres) in 1965–66 but the lowest yield per acre (110–120 lbs versus a world average of over 300 lbs), making yield improvement — not new capacity — the correct policy priority. - The Third Plan cotton target of 70 lakh bales went unmet; actual production was 55–56 lakh bales, leaving a shortfall of 15 lakh bales against the industry's minimum requirement. - Federation-run trials showed that irrigated cotton yields could be raised 50–100 per cent with an input of Rs. 200 per acre, sufficient to close the entire shortfall from the 32 lakh acres already under irrigation. - Ceiling price controls were demonstrably ineffective: the ceiling for Moglai Jarilla Fine cotton rose from Rs. 820 (1961–62) to Rs. 1,070 (1966–67), with mills openly paying 14–50 per cent above ceilings throughout — Kakatkar calls for their complete abolition. - The Government abolished the Indian Central Cotton Committee — responsible for the varietal improvements that had doubled cotton quality — on the advice of two American experts whose report was never released, replacing it with a body that had not met even once nine months after formation. - Mill excise duties ranged from Rs. 3,300 to Rs. 11,000 per loom per year; powerloom duties ranged from Rs. 25 to Rs. 150 — a ratio of up to one-hundredth — creating structural unfair competition that drove the decentralised sector from 20 per cent to 40 per cent of output between 1951 and 1965. - Indian mill workers had the highest textile wage relative to average industrial wage in the world (105 per cent) yet the lowest labour productivity — 2,864 kg yarn per worker per year versus 23,490 kg in the USA — due to outdated machinery and insufficient rationalisation. - India spent only Rs. 50 crores per year on mill rehabilitation against Rs. 500 crores by the American industry (1.5 times India's size) and Rs. 200 crores by Japan (roughly equal size), a disparity Kakatkar argues will prove fatal to export competitiveness. --- ## [Primary work] Crisis in Indian Banking Industry URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/crisis-in-indian-banking-industry-by-dr-dharmendra-bhandari-october-15-1991/ ### Summary Published on 15 October 1991 as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet and reproduced from a booklet issued by the Special Assistance Programme of the University Grants Commission's Department of Commerce at the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, this essay by Dr. Dharmendra Bhandari — Chartered Accountant, Assistant Professor of Accountancy at Rajasthan University, and at the time a sitting Director of a nationalised bank — presents a forensic crisis diagnosis of the Indian public-sector banking system in the wake of the 1991 economic emergency. Bhandari opens with unambiguous figures: of the Rs. 73,308 crores advanced by 20 nationalised banks as of March 1990, at least Rs. 35,000 crores were blocked in non-performing advances; a genuine stock audit of realisation values would place accumulated bad debts at no less than Rs. 20,000 crores. Aggregate deposit growth in all scheduled banks had already slowed from 9.4 per cent (April–September 1989–90) to 7.4 per cent in the corresponding 1990 period. Deposits in nationalised banks stood at Rs. 1,28,999 crores as of March 1990 — a sum the Reserve Bank could protect only by printing notes, making technical solvency a fiction. Recovery rates in agriculture and small-scale industry ranged from 15 to 50 per cent of advances raised. The essay then moves through four structural pathologies. First, banks lack the legal right to take forcible possession of hypothecated security without a civil court order — a process so slow and expensive (court fees of up to 10 per cent of the claimed amount) that securities routinely deteriorate or are transferred before judgment; Bhandari calls for a provision in the Banking Regulation Act equivalent to Section 29 of the State Financial Corporations Act, empowering branch managers to attach and auction assets directly. Second, Health Code classification (the RBI's 8-tier system for loan quality) is systematically manipulated to defer provisioning: banks keep loans in Health Code 4–5 rather than filing suits (Code 6), allowing fictitious interest income to be credited. Third, bank balance sheets since 1949 have been structured to conceal bad debt provisions, with the number of notes on accounts rising from 46 to over 300 since nationalisation; Bhandari compares this unfavourably with US, Canadian, and Western European disclosure norms. Fourth, parliamentary oversight is effectively neutered: financial committees have been denied recovery data outside the agriculture sector for over a decade despite repeated requests, with successive Finance Secretaries citing confidentiality; the Comptroller and Auditor General has been excluded from conducting supplementary audits of nationalised banks despite two Rajya Sabha committee recommendations (1983 and 1984) urging such inclusion. Bhandari's overarching warning is that without immediate legislative and accountability reform, the credit squeeze will tip inflation into triple digits with one bad monsoon. ### Body ## Summary Published on 15 October 1991 as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet and reproduced from a booklet issued by the Special Assistance Programme of the University Grants Commission's Department of Commerce at the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, this essay by Dr. Dharmendra Bhandari — Chartered Accountant, Assistant Professor of Accountancy at Rajasthan University, and at the time a sitting Director of a nationalised bank — presents a forensic crisis diagnosis of the Indian public-sector banking system in the wake of the 1991 economic emergency. Bhandari opens with unambiguous figures: of the Rs. 73,308 crores advanced by 20 nationalised banks as of March 1990, at least Rs. 35,000 crores were blocked in non-performing advances; a genuine stock audit of realisation values would place accumulated bad debts at no less than Rs. 20,000 crores. Aggregate deposit growth in all scheduled banks had already slowed from 9.4 per cent (April–September 1989–90) to 7.4 per cent in the corresponding 1990 period. Deposits in nationalised banks stood at Rs. 1,28,999 crores as of March 1990 — a sum the Reserve Bank could protect only by printing notes, making technical solvency a fiction. Recovery rates in agriculture and small-scale industry ranged from 15 to 50 per cent of advances raised. The essay then moves through four structural pathologies. First, banks lack the legal right to take forcible possession of hypothecated security without a civil court order — a process so slow and expensive (court fees of up to 10 per cent of the claimed amount) that securities routinely deteriorate or are transferred before judgment; Bhandari calls for a provision in the Banking Regulation Act equivalent to Section 29 of the State Financial Corporations Act, empowering branch managers to attach and auction assets directly. Second, Health Code classification (the RBI's 8-tier system for loan quality) is systematically manipulated to defer provisioning: banks keep loans in Health Code 4–5 rather than filing suits (Code 6), allowing fictitious interest income to be credited. Third, bank balance sheets since 1949 have been structured to conceal bad debt provisions, with the number of notes on accounts rising from 46 to over 300 since nationalisation; Bhandari compares this unfavourably with US, Canadian, and Western European disclosure norms. Fourth, parliamentary oversight is effectively neutered: financial committees have been denied recovery data outside the agriculture sector for over a decade despite repeated requests, with successive Finance Secretaries citing confidentiality; the Comptroller and Auditor General has been excluded from conducting supplementary audits of nationalised banks despite two Rajya Sabha committee recommendations (1983 and 1984) urging such inclusion. Bhandari's overarching warning is that without immediate legislative and accountability reform, the credit squeeze will tip inflation into triple digits with one bad monsoon. ## Key points - Of Rs. 73,308 crores advanced by 20 nationalised banks (March 1990), at least Rs. 35,000 crores were non-performing; a realistic stock audit would place actual bad debts at Rs. 20,000 crores or more — enough to wipe out the capital and reserves of all 20 banks several times over. - Deposit growth in scheduled banks had already decelerated from 9.4 per cent to 7.4 per cent year-on-year by mid-1990; Bhandari warns that unchecked inflation and eroded confidence could trigger a bank run the RBI could only address by printing currency. - Recovery rates in agriculture and small-scale industry ranged from 15 to 50 per cent, and recovery data for medium and large industry was withheld from Parliament — which Bhandari attributes to the figures being "alarmingly poor". - Banks lack the statutory right to take forcible possession of hypothecated security; suits for recovery can attract court fees as high as 10 per cent of the claimed amount, and by the time cases are heard, assets are often sold or stripped by the borrower. - Health Code classification is systematically manipulated: banks defer suit-filing (Health Code 6) and keep non-performing loans in Codes 4–5 to continue crediting fictitious interest income; the number of notes on accounts concealing this grew from 46 to over 300 since nationalisation in 1969. - India's bank balance-sheet format has been unchanged since the Banking Regulation Act of 1949; provisions for bad debts are not disclosed as separate line items, in contrast to US, Canadian, and Western European banking standards. - The CAG has been excluded from supplementary audit of nationalised banks despite two parliamentary committee recommendations (1983 and 1984) specifically calling for such inclusion; the Government's stated justification — that the CAG lacked actuarial knowledge — is treated by Bhandari as a pretext. - Bhandari calls for branch managers to be granted the legal power to attach and auction debtors' assets without external recourse, modelled on the tax-collection powers of assessing officers, as the only way to avert systemic collapse. --- ## [Primary work] CRISIS OF CONTROLS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/crisis-of-controls-murarji-j-vaidya-december-8-1960/ ### Summary Delivered as a public address under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 18 September 1960 and published as a pamphlet on 8 December 1960, Murarji J. Vaidya's "Crisis of Controls" takes the form of a direct argumentative lecture aimed at business and civic audiences in post-independence India. Opening with the observation that India is simultaneously afflicted by a "crisis of character" (as diagnosed by Vice-President Radhakrishnan), a "crisis of development," and a "dilemma of development" in foreign exchange, Vaidya contends that the worst of these crises is the Crisis of Controls — a creeping, totalising bureaucratic regimentation that has spread from the Planning Commission down to the lowest inspector in every corner of the country. Vaidya traces the pathology historically: controls imposed during the Second World War (from 1939 onward) persisted after Independence in 1947 when they should, as in West Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom, have been systematically dismantled. Instead, India became what he argues is the only free and democratic country in the world still suffering from extensive peacetime controls. He catalogues their reach in granular Bombay terms — milk rationed by booth cards, housing blocked by rent control and building-material permits, exporters stymied by the 305 (out of 375) items still requiring export licences, and industrialists unable to start even a theoretically licence-free small-scale unit (capital up to Rs. 5 lakhs) without separate permits for accommodation, building materials, machinery, and raw materials. The essay draws on Hayek ("economic control is the control of the means for all our ends") and Hilaire Belloc to argue that economic controls inevitably compound, demoralise citizenry, and corrode liberty. The Ludwig Erhard miracle in West Germany — where removing foreign-exchange controls caused shortages to vanish almost overnight — is held up as the proof of concept. Vaidya concludes with a call for the Planning Commission and Parliament to formally adopt a policy of progressively fewer controls, arguing that national development can only advance when individuals are free to deploy their honesty, initiative, and enterprise without fear of inspectors or permit offices. ### Body ## Summary Delivered as a public address under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 18 September 1960 and published as a pamphlet on 8 December 1960, Murarji J. Vaidya's "Crisis of Controls" takes the form of a direct argumentative lecture aimed at business and civic audiences in post-independence India. Opening with the observation that India is simultaneously afflicted by a "crisis of character" (as diagnosed by Vice-President Radhakrishnan), a "crisis of development," and a "dilemma of development" in foreign exchange, Vaidya contends that the worst of these crises is the Crisis of Controls — a creeping, totalising bureaucratic regimentation that has spread from the Planning Commission down to the lowest inspector in every corner of the country. Vaidya traces the pathology historically: controls imposed during the Second World War (from 1939 onward) persisted after Independence in 1947 when they should, as in West Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom, have been systematically dismantled. Instead, India became what he argues is the only free and democratic country in the world still suffering from extensive peacetime controls. He catalogues their reach in granular Bombay terms — milk rationed by booth cards, housing blocked by rent control and building-material permits, exporters stymied by the 305 (out of 375) items still requiring export licences, and industrialists unable to start even a theoretically licence-free small-scale unit (capital up to Rs. 5 lakhs) without separate permits for accommodation, building materials, machinery, and raw materials. The essay draws on Hayek ("economic control is the control of the means for all our ends") and Hilaire Belloc to argue that economic controls inevitably compound, demoralise citizenry, and corrode liberty. The Ludwig Erhard miracle in West Germany — where removing foreign-exchange controls caused shortages to vanish almost overnight — is held up as the proof of concept. Vaidya concludes with a call for the Planning Commission and Parliament to formally adopt a policy of progressively fewer controls, arguing that national development can only advance when individuals are free to deploy their honesty, initiative, and enterprise without fear of inspectors or permit offices. ## Key points - Delivered under Forum of Free Enterprise auspices in Bombay, September 1960; published December 1960. - Central thesis: India suffers a "Crisis of Controls" — the most damaging of several concurrent crises — stemming from wartime-era regulations retained and extended after Independence. - Controls span every layer of daily economic life: milk distribution, food pricing, housing, building materials, import-export licences, and industrial permits — even small-scale industries notionally exempt from licensing still require multiple separate permits. - Of 375 export items previously under control, only 70 had been freed by the time of the address, leaving 305 still requiring permits — a direct contradiction of the government's stated export-promotion policy. - Cites West Germany under Ludwig Erhard as the counter-model: removing foreign-exchange controls rapidly eliminated shortages, demonstrating that scarcity and hoarding are themselves products of control psychology. - Quotes Hayek and Hilaire Belloc to argue that economic control is inseparable from control over human life itself, and that extensive controls produce all-round demoralisation in both citizens and government servants. - The Forum of Free Enterprise explicitly accepts planning as legitimate but draws the line at control that deteriorates into near-regimentation, which it characterises as totalitarian rather than democratic. - Policy prescription: the Planning Commission must formally adopt a direction of progressively fewer controls, releasing individual initiative as the engine of genuine planned development. --- ## [Primary work] CRITICAL ISSUES RELATING TO RISING PRICES URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/critical-issues-relating-to-rising-prices-s-s-bhandare-august-17-1995/ ### Summary Published as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet based on the keynote address delivered by S. S. Bhandare — Economic Adviser, Tata Services Ltd. — at a seminar on "Rising Prices" held in Bombay on 12 August 1995 as a centenary tribute to the late economist Prof. C. N. Vakil, this essay offers a rigorous data-driven audit of India's four-and-a-half decades of inflationary experience and charts the unfinished reform agenda of the post-1991 liberalisation era. Bhandare opens with a stark statistical record: between 1950–51 and 1994–95, the Wholesale Price Index rose more than 16.5 times, at a compound annual rate of 6.6 percent. Out of 45 years of planned development, only 16 saw satisfactory price management (defined as inflation not exceeding 5 percent per annum), and in 13 of those 45 years inflation crossed the double-digit threshold. He respectfully contests Lord Meghnad Desai's characterisation of India as a low-inflation economy, noting that from a domestic welfare standpoint the record looks far grimmer, particularly given the adverse distributional effects on the poor. He then lays out five interlocking critical questions: the growth–inflation trade-off; the fiscal consolidation challenge; the management of revenue deficits; the urgency of raising the savings ratio; and the imperative of productivity improvement, including agricultural productivity. On the trade-off, Bhandare provocatively proposes that India may need to accept inflation in the 7–9 percent range in exchange for GDP growth of 7 percent — the growth rate needed to make a decisive impact on poverty and unemployment — rather than sacrificing growth at the altar of 5 percent price stability. He marshals data showing that fiscal consolidation since the 1991 reforms has been fragile: the fiscal deficit-to-GDP ratio fell from 8.4 percent in 1990–91 to 5.7 percent in 1992–93 but slipped back to 7.7 percent in 1993–94 and 6.7 percent in 1994–95. Revenue deficits are growing at 14.3 percent annually while receipts grow at only 13.1 percent; left unchecked, the revenue deficit of the central government could balloon from Rs. 35,541 crores in 1995–96 to Rs. 79,443 crores by 2001. He argues that agricultural productivity — illustrated by India's wheat yield of 2,320 kg per hectare against 7,250 kg in the UK and 3,440 kg in China — is the crucial supply-side lever without which wage-goods inflation cannot be moderated. Bhandare closes by calling for a rededication to Prof. Vakil's agenda: fiscal discipline, higher savings, productivity gains, and expanded wage-goods production. ### Body ## Summary Published as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet based on the keynote address delivered by S. S. Bhandare — Economic Adviser, Tata Services Ltd. — at a seminar on "Rising Prices" held in Bombay on 12 August 1995 as a centenary tribute to the late economist Prof. C. N. Vakil, this essay offers a rigorous data-driven audit of India's four-and-a-half decades of inflationary experience and charts the unfinished reform agenda of the post-1991 liberalisation era. Bhandare opens with a stark statistical record: between 1950–51 and 1994–95, the Wholesale Price Index rose more than 16.5 times, at a compound annual rate of 6.6 percent. Out of 45 years of planned development, only 16 saw satisfactory price management (defined as inflation not exceeding 5 percent per annum), and in 13 of those 45 years inflation crossed the double-digit threshold. He respectfully contests Lord Meghnad Desai's characterisation of India as a low-inflation economy, noting that from a domestic welfare standpoint the record looks far grimmer, particularly given the adverse distributional effects on the poor. He then lays out five interlocking critical questions: the growth–inflation trade-off; the fiscal consolidation challenge; the management of revenue deficits; the urgency of raising the savings ratio; and the imperative of productivity improvement, including agricultural productivity. On the trade-off, Bhandare provocatively proposes that India may need to accept inflation in the 7–9 percent range in exchange for GDP growth of 7 percent — the growth rate needed to make a decisive impact on poverty and unemployment — rather than sacrificing growth at the altar of 5 percent price stability. He marshals data showing that fiscal consolidation since the 1991 reforms has been fragile: the fiscal deficit-to-GDP ratio fell from 8.4 percent in 1990–91 to 5.7 percent in 1992–93 but slipped back to 7.7 percent in 1993–94 and 6.7 percent in 1994–95. Revenue deficits are growing at 14.3 percent annually while receipts grow at only 13.1 percent; left unchecked, the revenue deficit of the central government could balloon from Rs. 35,541 crores in 1995–96 to Rs. 79,443 crores by 2001. He argues that agricultural productivity — illustrated by India's wheat yield of 2,320 kg per hectare against 7,250 kg in the UK and 3,440 kg in China — is the crucial supply-side lever without which wage-goods inflation cannot be moderated. Bhandare closes by calling for a rededication to Prof. Vakil's agenda: fiscal discipline, higher savings, productivity gains, and expanded wage-goods production. ## Key points - Based on keynote address at a seminar in Bombay, 12 August 1995, honouring the birth centenary of economist Prof. C. N. Vakil. - WPI rose more than 16.5 times between 1950–51 and 1994–95 at a compound annual rate of 6.6 percent; only 16 of 45 plan years showed satisfactory price management; double-digit inflation occurred in 13 of those years. - Author challenges Lord Meghnad Desai's "low-inflation" characterisation of India, arguing inflation disproportionately harms the poor and constitutes a serious threat to political stability. - Proposes accepting 7–9 percent inflation as the price of 7 percent GDP growth rather than sacrificing growth for strict price stability, with the condition that at least 50 percent of growth gains reach those below the poverty line. - Fiscal consolidation post-1991 has been fragile: fiscal deficit-to-GDP rebounded to 7.7 percent in 1993–94 after falling to 5.7 percent in 1992–93; revenue expenditure grows at 14.3 percent annually against receipts growth of only 13.1 percent. - Revenue deficit projected to reach Rs. 79,443 crores by 2001 if trends continue unchecked; author proposes halving it by 2001 through 12 percent expenditure restraint and 18 percent revenue growth. - Agricultural productivity gap is a major supply-side constraint: India's wheat yield is 2,320 kg/hectare versus 7,250 kg in the UK; cotton yield is 290 kg/hectare versus 1,560 kg in Australia — unless addressed, wage-goods inflation cannot be moderated. - Savings ratio needs to reach 28–30 percent of GDP to sustain 7 percent growth; current fiscal deficits are diverting investible resources into the revenue deficit, crowding out productive capital formation. --- ## [Primary work] I. Current Economic Environment for Business; II. The Budget We Need URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/current-economic-environment-for-business---the-budget-we-need-february-1995/ ### Summary Written in Bombay in February 1995, this two-part pamphlet by the economist D. R. Pendse offers a practitioner's reading of India's economic climate on the eve of the 1995-96 Union Budget. Part I, 'Current Economic Environment for Business,' runs as a compact 'executive summary' of the parameters shaping business in post-liberalisation India: the durability of reforms, inflation, the budget, interest rates, capital-account convertibility, the rupee-dollar exchange rate, exports, and elections. Pendse's recurring worry is fiscal: he traces the 1991 crisis to 'huge fiscal deficits,' notes that the deficit which was cut to 6% of GDP has ballooned back toward Rs.65,000 crore (about 7.3%) for 1994-95, and warns that any 1995-96 budget figure above 5% of GDP should be read as a reversal of reforms 'to that extent.' He is sceptical of populist pre-election budgeting, cautious on full capital-account convertibility, and warns that high interest rates will persist because of the government's own market borrowing. Part II, 'The Budget We Need,' turns prescriptive.… ### Body # I. Current Economic Environment for Business; II. The Budget We Need *By D. R. Pendse* ## Summary Written in Bombay in February 1995, this two-part pamphlet by the economist D. R. Pendse offers a practitioner's reading of India's economic climate on the eve of the 1995-96 Union Budget. Part I, 'Current Economic Environment for Business,' runs as a compact 'executive summary' of the parameters shaping business in post-liberalisation India: the durability of reforms, inflation, the budget, interest rates, capital-account convertibility, the rupee-dollar exchange rate, exports, and elections. Pendse's recurring worry is fiscal: he traces the 1991 crisis to 'huge fiscal deficits,' notes that the deficit which was cut to 6% of GDP has ballooned back toward Rs.65,000 crore (about 7.3%) for 1994-95, and warns that any 1995-96 budget figure above 5% of GDP should be read as a reversal of reforms 'to that extent.' He is sceptical of populist pre-election budgeting, cautious on full capital-account convertibility, and warns that high interest rates will persist because of the government's own market borrowing. Part II, 'The Budget We Need,' turns prescriptive. Pendse argues the budget scenario is 'once more getting out of hand' and offers guidelines built on two mottoes he would have the Finance Minister paste on his office wall: 'populism will never alleviate poverty' and 'tax rates and tax revenues are two different things.' His concrete proposals include holding the fiscal deficit to about Rs.53,000 crore, a bolder gold and disinvestment policy, abolishing individual income tax on wages and salaries while using disinvestment proceeds to retire government debt, dismantling the 'national disgrace' of the Income Tax Act, and a 25% cut in ministry allocations to force a leaner government. He closes with a 'Tailpiece' — a serenity-prayer for India's leaders — and the conviction that rapid growth and inflation control, not populist schemes, are the 'best antidotes to poverty.' ## Key points - A two-part single-author pamphlet (Part I diagnostic, Part II prescriptive) on India's economy ahead of the 1995-96 budget. - Pendse roots the 1991 crisis in 'huge fiscal deficits' and warns the deficit has ballooned back toward Rs.65,000 crore (~7.3% of GDP) for 1994-95. - He treats any 1995-96 fiscal deficit above 5% of GDP (~Rs.53,000 crore) as a measurable reversal of reforms. - Skeptical of populist pre-election 'soft' budgets and of rushing into full capital-account convertibility of the rupee. - Two governing mottoes: 'populism will never alleviate poverty' and 'tax rates and tax revenues are two different things.' - Radical proposals: abolish individual income tax on wages/salaries, accelerate disinvestment (sell >50% of PSU equity), liberalise gold policy, and cut ministry allocations 25%. - Calls the Income Tax Act a 'national disgrace' and the tax department 'in shambles.' - Concludes that rapid growth and inflation control with 'a human face' are the best antidotes to poverty. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Crushing Burden of Taxation URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/crushing-burden-of-taxation-n-a-palkhivala-dec6-1958/ ### Summary Reproduced from The Hindu's Survey of Indian Industry (22 November 1958), this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet is a closely argued polemic by N. A. Palkhivala against the structure and conduct of Indian tax legislation in the eighth year of the Republic. Palkhivala opens with a constitutional complaint: although the Constitution preserves the balance between Legislature, Executive and Judiciary, in practice the Executive has become predominant, unchecked by any effective parliamentary Opposition or organised public opinion, and able to push tax bills through with almost no scrutiny. The Gift-tax Act of 1958, on which the Select Committee was given less than a week to report, is offered as a representative case of the haste with which half-baked tax legislation is being rushed onto the statute book. The core of the booklet is a forensic tour of recent fiscal statutes.… ### Body ## Summary Reproduced from The Hindu's Survey of Indian Industry (22 November 1958), this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet is a closely argued polemic by N. A. Palkhivala against the structure and conduct of Indian tax legislation in the eighth year of the Republic. Palkhivala opens with a constitutional complaint: although the Constitution preserves the balance between Legislature, Executive and Judiciary, in practice the Executive has become predominant, unchecked by any effective parliamentary Opposition or organised public opinion, and able to push tax bills through with almost no scrutiny. The Gift-tax Act of 1958, on which the Select Committee was given less than a week to report, is offered as a representative case of the haste with which half-baked tax legislation is being rushed onto the statute book. The core of the booklet is a forensic tour of recent fiscal statutes. Palkhivala dissects double taxation under the 1957 Wealth-tax Act, the post-1956 income-tax regime that levies tax twice over on registered firms and their partners, the unjustified penal super-tax on companies that declare large dividends out of past reserves (Section 23A) or refuse to declare a dividend at all (Section 33A), and the "business connection" doctrine of Section 42, which he argues is severely damaging India's trade with foreign countries. India, he notes with characteristic acidity, is the first country in the world to levy expenditure-tax, an unprecedented imposition on "a nation which has so little to expend", and one whose revenue yield is trivial set against its discouraging effect on businessmen. The second movement of the argument is moral and institutional. Palkhivala accuses the Government of treating taxation as an exercise in abstract theory and doctrinaire fiscal craftsmanship, designed by statistical experts who ignore the human element. He calls for "men of humanity, vision and imagination" — citing Charles Morgan's Liberties of the Mind — to be brought into the framing of tax law, and warns that the elaborate new taxing pattern has not in fact checked tax-evasion: "the income-tax, wealth-tax and expenditure-tax returns of some of the wealthiest men in India" should be made public if the authorities' claims are to be tested. The closing pages invoke Voltaire, Browning, Montesquieu, Justice Harman in Moorhouse v. Dooland, and an edict of Czar Peter I to warn that elected representatives, like autocrats, can grow deaf to reasoned public protest, and that despite all the grievances aired "there has been no response from New Delhi." ## Key points - Frames the central problem as constitutional: in the eighth year of the Republic, the Executive has become predominant over the Legislature and Judiciary, allowing tax bills to pass with negligible scrutiny. - Singles out the Gift-tax Act of 1958 as an emblem of rushed legislation: the Select Committee was given less than a week to report before it was passed and brought into force retrospectively. - Attacks the post-1956 income-tax regime and the 1957 Wealth-tax Act for systematically double-taxing registered firms, partners, companies and shareholders on the same income or assets. - Critiques Section 23A and Section 33A of the Income-tax Act for imposing penal super-tax on companies whether they declare large dividends out of past reserves or refuse to declare a dividend altogether. - Argues that the 'business connection' doctrine in Section 42 is uniquely Indian (with only Australia as a partial parallel) and is damaging the country's trade with foreign countries. - Highlights India as the first country in the world to levy expenditure-tax, a measure he calls economically misconceived and revenue-trivial, and one that may actually encourage evasion through corporate expense accounts. - Calls for tax legislation to be drafted with the help of 'men of humanity, vision and imagination' — humane counsellors of the sort that Commissions and Advisory Councils conspicuously lack — not only statistical experts. - Concludes that despite the elaborate new pattern of taxation, tax-evasion has not been checked, and that grievances ventilated through public protest have been met with silence from New Delhi. --- ## [Primary work] Customer Protection in Banks – Emerging Issues and Challenges URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/customer-protection-in-banks-dr-k-c-chakrabarty-december-3-2012/ ### Summary Dr. K. C. Chakrabarty, then Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, delivers the Eighth M. R. Pai Memorial Lecture in Mumbai on 6 September 2012. The Pai Award that year goes to SEWA — the Self-Employed Women's Association — and the function is jointly organised by Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank and the All-India Bank Depositors' Association (AIBDA). Chakrabarty uses the occasion to frame customer protection as a 'central issue' for developing economies opening their financial sectors, and to position Pai's lifelong advocacy of fair treatment, transparency, and non-exploitative pricing as the moral throughline that ties the older consumer-rights tradition to today's regulatory agenda. The argumentative core of the speech is that financial-services consumers are structurally disadvantaged: information asymmetry, the high cost of collective action, and the upper hand routinely enjoyed by providers mean that markets alone cannot deliver fair outcomes.… ### Body ## Summary Dr. K. C. Chakrabarty, then Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, delivers the Eighth M. R. Pai Memorial Lecture in Mumbai on 6 September 2012. The Pai Award that year goes to SEWA — the Self-Employed Women's Association — and the function is jointly organised by Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank and the All-India Bank Depositors' Association (AIBDA). Chakrabarty uses the occasion to frame customer protection as a 'central issue' for developing economies opening their financial sectors, and to position Pai's lifelong advocacy of fair treatment, transparency, and non-exploitative pricing as the moral throughline that ties the older consumer-rights tradition to today's regulatory agenda. The argumentative core of the speech is that financial-services consumers are structurally disadvantaged: information asymmetry, the high cost of collective action, and the upper hand routinely enjoyed by providers mean that markets alone cannot deliver fair outcomes. Banking, in particular, is a heavily regulated industry whose stiff entry barriers produce monopolistic conditions at the regional and local level, so the regulator must pursue 'twin objectives' — extending financial access to unbanked populations while protecting existing customers from exploitation. Unchecked market forces combined with lax oversight, Chakrabarty warns, can turn financial inclusion into a channel for exploiting the bottom of the pyramid rather than serving it. The speech then catalogues specific abuses: discriminatory interest rates that pay retail depositors less than bulk depositors though retail money is more stable; deceptive deposit-tenor pricing where rates jump or collapse at arbitrary cut-offs like 500, 501 or 499 days; opaque sweep-out facilities that quietly cut effective rates below savings-bank levels; non-transparent loan pricing; and the failure of falling transaction costs to translate into lower bank charges. Chakrabarty endorses the Damodaran Committee's recommendation that the burden of proving an unauthorised electronic transaction should rest on the bank rather than the customer, and argues that the Indian Banks' Association's zero-liability and compensation policies for card misuse remain inadequate. He treats customer education as 'an investment and not an expense', and in a counter-intuitive aside urges the poor not to invest in gold, because financial illiteracy traps small savers in yieldless metal that ends up enriching others. The closing sections welcome the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission's listing of customer protection as the first objective of financial regulation, recommend the FSLRC's framework on consumer rights, and call on banks, regulators, and civil-society organisations like AIBDA to build a 'strong, effective and robust consumer movement' as the truest tribute to Pai and SEWA. ## Key points - Chakrabarty frames customer protection in banking as the 'central issue' for developing economies opening their financial sectors, anchoring his case in M. R. Pai's lifelong advocacy of fair treatment and non-exploitative pricing. - He argues that financial-services consumers occupy a structurally disadvantaged position created by information asymmetry, dispersion, and the higher cost of organising into pressure groups, so market forces alone cannot deliver fair outcomes. - Banking's stiff entry barriers, he says, produce monopolistic conditions at the regional and local level; the regulator must therefore pursue 'twin objectives' of financial inclusion and customer protection. - He details specific abuses in deposit pricing — including the disparity between retail and bulk depositors and the manipulative use of 500/501/499-day cut-offs — and demands transparent, non-discriminatory pricing of deposits, credit, and ancillary services. - He endorses the Damodaran Committee recommendation that the burden of proving an unauthorised electronic transaction should rest on the bank rather than the customer, and criticises the Indian Banks' Association's zero-liability clause for card misuse as inadequate. - He argues that the falling unit cost of banking, driven by ICT, has not been passed on to consumers, and that customer education is 'an investment and not an expense' rather than a charity programme. - A counter-intuitive passage urges the poor to stop buying gold, on the ground that low financial literacy traps small savers in yieldless assets and drains household savings from the banking channel. - He welcomes the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC), chaired by Justice B N Srikrishna, for listing customer protection as the first objective of financial regulation, and calls for a 'strong, effective and robust consumer movement' as a tribute to Pai and SEWA. --- ## [Primary work] CUSTOMER URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/customer-raison-d-etre-of-business-anand-sinha-december-3-2013/ ### Summary Delivered by Anand Sinha, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, at the Ninth M. R. Pai Memorial Award Function in Mumbai on 31 October 2013 and published as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet on 3 December 2013, this address argues that the customer is the very 'raison d'être' of business and treats consumer protection and empowerment as the organising centre of banking policy. Sinha frames the talk as a tribute to M. R. Pai and to the award's recipient, Shirish Deshpande, casting both as exemplars of the consumer-rights tradition; he leans on Mahatma Gandhi's well-known lines on the customer as the speech's foundational text. The core argument rests on three 'mutually reinforcing pillars' of efficient customer service: promoting competition, enforcing regulation, and empowering customers through financial literacy.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered by Anand Sinha, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, at the Ninth M. R. Pai Memorial Award Function in Mumbai on 31 October 2013 and published as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet on 3 December 2013, this address argues that the customer is the very 'raison d'être' of business and treats consumer protection and empowerment as the organising centre of banking policy. Sinha frames the talk as a tribute to M. R. Pai and to the award's recipient, Shirish Deshpande, casting both as exemplars of the consumer-rights tradition; he leans on Mahatma Gandhi's well-known lines on the customer as the speech's foundational text. The core argument rests on three 'mutually reinforcing pillars' of efficient customer service: promoting competition, enforcing regulation, and empowering customers through financial literacy. Sinha defends regulation as a necessary discipline on service providers — using KYC norms (likened to airport frisking) as a worked example — and surveys the Reserve Bank's apparatus for customer redress, including the Banking Ombudsman Scheme (1995, fifteen offices, twenty-seven grounds of complaint) and the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (2006), alongside the Damodaran Committee and the recent Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) recommendations on consumer protection. A substantial middle section catalogues the Reserve Bank's financial-inclusion measures: branch-authorisation relaxations for unbanked Tier 2–6 centres, the Business Correspondent/Business Facilitator model, the Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account with Zero Balance, Kisan and General Credit Cards, and the three-year drive (April 2010–March 2013) that opened roughly 268,000 outlets and 109 million accounts. Sinha closes by arguing that competition alone cannot ensure good service — only regulation plus an informed, 'wary and alert' customer can — and exhorts service providers to 'get their act together' in meeting customer expectations. ## Key points - Memorial address by RBI Deputy Governor Anand Sinha at the Ninth M. R. Pai Memorial Award Function (31 October 2013, Mumbai), sponsored by Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank and arranged jointly by AIBDA, the Forum of Free Enterprise and the M. R. Pai Foundation. - Frames the customer as the 'raison d'être' of business and uses Mahatma Gandhi's lines on the customer as foundational text. - Proposes three mutually reinforcing pillars of efficient customer service: promoting competition, enforcing regulation, and empowering customers through financial literacy. - Surveys post-1991 banking competition — twelve private-bank licences across 1993 and 2001, current totals of 87 banks (26 public, 20 private, 41 foreign), 82 RRBs and 1,618 urban co-operative banks — and the RBI's Discussion Paper on 'Banking Structure in India — The Way Forward'. - Defends KYC norms as analogous to airport frisking and lists simplifications: small-account self-certification, Aadhaar, NREGA card, e-KYC, and the proposed Central KYC Registry. - Anchors customer redress in two institutional pillars — the Banking Ombudsman Scheme (1995; 15 offices; 27 grounds; free online complaint route) and the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (2006) — and cites the Talwar (1975), Goiporia (1990), Narasimham, Tarapore (2004), Damodaran (2010) committees, and the FSLRC. - Catalogues financial-inclusion measures: branching relaxations for Tier 2–6 unbanked centres, the BC/BF doorstep-banking model, the Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account with Zero Balance, KCC and GCC credit instruments — yielding ~268,000 banking outlets and ~109 million BSBDAs over April 2010 – March 2013. - Argues that competition alone is insufficient and that an informed, 'wary and alert' customer — supported by RBI Outreach, eBAAT and Financial Literacy Centres run with state governments and NGOs — is the biggest disciplining factor on service providers. --- ## [Primary work] DANGER OF OUTMODED SOCIALISM TO INDIA'S WELFARE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/danger-of-outmoded-socialism-to-indias-welfare-murarji-j-vaidya-janruary-15-1967/ ### Summary Murarji J. Vaidya's 1966 presidential address to the Forum of Free Enterprise — published as a pamphlet in January 1967 — diagnoses India's mid-1960s economic crisis as the cumulative consequence of the 'so-called socialist economic ideology' embraced by the Government since 1955. Writing in the wake of the rupee devaluation, runaway food imports, soaring prices and an aborted Third Plan, Vaidya argues that centralised comprehensive planning has produced not equality but inflation, food scarcity, capital flight and the political concentration that he sees as freedom's first casualty in self-described 'People's Democratic Republics.' The pamphlet marshals a battery of contemporary evidence — Reserve Bank price-rise figures, Parliamentary Committee reports on Public Undertakings, Audit Reports, World Bank and U.N. FAO assessments, and press accounts of agricultural waste — to indict deficit financing, zonal trading barriers, monopoly procurement and the loss-making expansion of the Public Sector.… ### Body ## Summary Murarji J. Vaidya's 1966 presidential address to the Forum of Free Enterprise — published as a pamphlet in January 1967 — diagnoses India's mid-1960s economic crisis as the cumulative consequence of the 'so-called socialist economic ideology' embraced by the Government since 1955. Writing in the wake of the rupee devaluation, runaway food imports, soaring prices and an aborted Third Plan, Vaidya argues that centralised comprehensive planning has produced not equality but inflation, food scarcity, capital flight and the political concentration that he sees as freedom's first casualty in self-described 'People's Democratic Republics.' The pamphlet marshals a battery of contemporary evidence — Reserve Bank price-rise figures, Parliamentary Committee reports on Public Undertakings, Audit Reports, World Bank and U.N. FAO assessments, and press accounts of agricultural waste — to indict deficit financing, zonal trading barriers, monopoly procurement and the loss-making expansion of the Public Sector. Vaidya draws ironic contrasts with reforms inside the Communist bloc itself: 86% of Yugoslav agricultural land in private hands, the Liberman Thesis of the 'profit motive' reshaping Soviet enterprise, and Polish and Hungarian retreats from collectivisation. India, he insists, is moving against this current rather than with it. The constructive half of the address calls not for abandoning planning but for transforming the Planning Commission into a purely advisory, non-political body of technical experts, and for the State to confine itself to infrastructure: administration and law-and-order, transport, communications, agricultural extension, education, public health and sanitation. Vaidya closes on the polemical frame that titles the pamphlet — India stands 'at the crossroads,' between persisting in the ideological errors of the past at the risk of jeopardising the democratic way of life, or adopting 'realistic economic measures based on the laws of the market' that would, in his phrase, 'give an edge to the honest' rather than to the dishonest. ## Key points - Frames India's mid-1960s economic crisis — galloping inflation, rupee devaluation, food scarcity, capital flight — as the cumulative consequence of the socialist ideology adopted by the Government since 1955, not as an overnight phenomenon. - Argues that the centralised comprehensive planning ideal has failed everywhere it has been tried, and that 'People's Democratic Republics' are in practice dictatorships of political and military cliques rather than vehicles of equality. - Documents that Communist states themselves are retreating from state ownership: 86% of Yugoslav agricultural land in private hands, the Liberman Thesis on profit motive in the USSR, Polish reforms, and the rediscovery of price incentives in Kommunist. - Indicts the Public Sector's record with concrete data — Rs. 111 crores of losses by 1964-65, Hindustan Machine Tools failing to declare a dividend, the Indore fan factory, Bhilai Steel surpluses, Traco Cable delays — and notes the flight of 14,063 officials from public undertakings to private firms. - Critiques deficit financing (Rs. 2,100 crores in Second and Third Plans), zonal trading barriers that profited state governments at the cost of producers and consumers, monopoly procurement at unremunerative prices, and the FCI as 'the biggest middleman'. - Calls for transforming the Planning Commission into a purely advisory, non-political technical body and confining the State to infrastructure: administration, transport, communications, agricultural extension, education, public health, postal services. - Cites Reserve Bank Governor warnings, Parliamentary Committee on Public Undertakings reports, Audit Report (Commercial), World Bank Mission findings and U.N. FAO data as the evidentiary base for the indictment. - Closes on the 'crossroads' frame: India must choose between persisting in ideological error or adopting market-based measures that 'give an edge to the honest' rather than penalise honest entrepreneurs and citizens. --- ## [Primary work] DANGERS OF WEALTH TAX URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/dangers-of-wealth-tax-by-sh-batlivala-may-26-1957/ ### Summary S. H. Batlivala's short polemic, reprinted from The Times of India of 26 May 1957 by the Forum of Free Enterprise, attacks the Wealth Tax and Expenditure Tax that India's recent budget had introduced as instruments to move the country towards 'our special brand of socialistic society.' Batlivala argues that experts were not properly consulted before this experiment was launched, and that a glance at recent economic history would have shown the dangers. He notes that the very same form of taxation was contemplated more than a quarter-century earlier in conservative, economically advanced Britain — and rejected after due deliberation. The bulk of the piece is a historical case study of the 1919 British debate on a capital levy proposed to reconstruct industry and reduce war debt after the First World War. He recounts that Dr. Hugh Dalton championed the idea, Lord Keynes and Lord Stamp engaged it in debate, and the Labour Party endorsed it only half-heartedly with a graduated levy on estates above £5,000. The Treasury and the economists, he says, ultimately concluded that the yield would be trifling compared to the administrative difficulties and economic damage.… ### Body ## Summary S. H. Batlivala's short polemic, reprinted from The Times of India of 26 May 1957 by the Forum of Free Enterprise, attacks the Wealth Tax and Expenditure Tax that India's recent budget had introduced as instruments to move the country towards 'our special brand of socialistic society.' Batlivala argues that experts were not properly consulted before this experiment was launched, and that a glance at recent economic history would have shown the dangers. He notes that the very same form of taxation was contemplated more than a quarter-century earlier in conservative, economically advanced Britain — and rejected after due deliberation. The bulk of the piece is a historical case study of the 1919 British debate on a capital levy proposed to reconstruct industry and reduce war debt after the First World War. He recounts that Dr. Hugh Dalton championed the idea, Lord Keynes and Lord Stamp engaged it in debate, and the Labour Party endorsed it only half-heartedly with a graduated levy on estates above £5,000. The Treasury and the economists, he says, ultimately concluded that the yield would be trifling compared to the administrative difficulties and economic damage. He enumerates six dangers raised against capital levies — including capital flight, the depression of security values, forced asset sales depressing market prices, and an unfair burden on widows and spendthrift-affected families. Batlivala then turns to the 1951 revival of the levy proposal in the U.K. by S. P. Chambers, a former British Civil Service member, and to Chambers's verdict that 'a tax which cannot be collected until 1955 is not much good for financing the expenditure of 1951.' Closing with rhetorical flourish, he warns that if the Indian Finance Minister persists in 'confiscatory methods aided and abetted by Ordinances,' the situation may be described in Disraeli's words uttered against Gladstone's Cabinet in 1872 — a picture of exhausted volcanoes, ministerial extravagance, and 'the dark rumblings of the sea.' ## Key points - Frames the 1957 Wealth Tax and Expenditure Tax as steps toward a 'special brand of socialistic society' and faults the government for not consulting economic experts before adopting them. - Argues from historical analogy: Britain considered and rejected a capital levy in 1919 after rigorous Treasury and economist scrutiny. - Identifies Dr. Hugh Dalton as the chief protagonist of the 1919 British capital-levy idea, with Lord Keynes and Lord Stamp also entering the debate. - Lists six concrete dangers of a capital levy: insufficient capital for industrial reconstruction, higher working capital and wage costs, forced universal liquidation of British securities, capital flight, depressed market prices for government and industrial shares, and a heavy fall in security values. - Notes that Mr. S. P. Chambers, reviving the proposal in the U.K. in 1951, conceded it was administratively useless because 'a tax which cannot be collected until 1955 is not much good for financing the expenditure of 1951.' - Warns that confiscatory levies, especially those imposed by ordinance, will produce the 'extravagance for energy' that Disraeli ascribed to Gladstone's late ministry in 1872. - Published as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet from 'Sohrab House', 235 Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji Road, Bombay-1. --- ## [Primary work] Decade of Determination to Achieve Sustainable Development URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/decades-of-determination-to-achieve-sustainable-development-prof-u-r-rao/ ### Summary Prof. U. R. Rao's T. A. Pai Memorial Lecture (delivered at Hyderabad in January 1997 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise) frames the next ten years as a decisive window in which India must commit to 'integrated sustainable development' or face a catastrophe of mass starvation. Drawing on the 1992 Rio Summit's language of a 'defining moment in history,' Rao opens with a stark stocktaking of post-independence India: a fivefold rise in GNP and self-sufficiency in food grains since 1950, set against 47% illiteracy, 130-per-thousand under-five mortality, a $1,000 per-capita GDP, rank 135 of 175 on the human development index, and a forest cover below 20%.… ### Body ## Summary Prof. U. R. Rao's T. A. Pai Memorial Lecture (delivered at Hyderabad in January 1997 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise) frames the next ten years as a decisive window in which India must commit to 'integrated sustainable development' or face a catastrophe of mass starvation. Drawing on the 1992 Rio Summit's language of a 'defining moment in history,' Rao opens with a stark stocktaking of post-independence India: a fivefold rise in GNP and self-sufficiency in food grains since 1950, set against 47% illiteracy, 130-per-thousand under-five mortality, a $1,000 per-capita GDP, rank 135 of 175 on the human development index, and a forest cover below 20%. He attributes the gap between aggregate growth and human well-being to runaway population growth, environmental degradation, the negative repercussions of the Green Revolution, and inadequate human-capital investment. The central argument is that only an aggressive harnessing of science and technology — biotechnology, watershed-based integrated agriculture, INSAT-driven communications, satellite remote sensing, GRAMSAT-enabled distance education, VSATs, and the information super-highway — can deliver fast, sustainable growth. Rao reports concrete watershed pilots in Ananthpur, Ahmednagar, and Panchamahals where integrated strategies recovered drought-prone districts within two years and offers a tour through global telecom developments (Iridium, Teledesic, LEO constellations, DTH-TV, multimedia) to argue that India's competitive advantage now depends on absorbing these tools rather than on raw natural resources. In the closing 'Policy Issues' section, Rao turns polemical: he attacks the 'beneficiary-oriented ad-hoc approach,' the licensing-and-subsidy regime, and what he calls the country's 'incestuous obsession with politics' at the expense of science. Citing economists' consensus that Import Substitution was a fundamental mistake — a policy that 'reproduced beautifully the disadvantages of communism without any of its benefits' — he calls for an 8% growth target, substantial privatisation of energy/transport/communications, higher allocations to education (3% of GDP), health (2%) and R&D (under 1%), and a proactive, rationally tariffed telecom regime to stop the outflow of foreign exchange to overseas satellite operators. The rendered pages end mid-discussion of GATT and the Rio/Montreal accords, just as Rao begins to argue that developing nations cannot compete on equal footing without first building indigenous scientific self-reliance. ## Key points - Frames the coming decade as a make-or-break window for 'integrated sustainable development', invoking the 1992 Rio Summit's 'defining moment in history' language. - Stacks impressive aggregate gains since 1950 (GNP up fivefold, food grains 55 to 190 m.t., life expectancy 30 to 60) against persistent failures: 40% poverty, 47% illiteracy, 66% female illiteracy, infant/child mortality of 130 per thousand, HDI rank 135/175. - Identifies population pressure, deforestation, soil/water degradation, mega-slum formation, and the 'very green revolution's' negative repercussions as the binding ecological constraints on growth. - Argues for a biotechnology-and-watershed-led second agricultural revolution to lift food output to 350 m.t. and cites pilot watersheds in Ananthpur, Ahmednagar and Panchamahals as proof that integrated strategies pay back inside two years. - Treats INSAT, GRAMSAT, VSAT, LEO constellations, digital video compression and the information super-highway as the central infrastructure of a knowledge economy in which 'information has become the most powerful currency of power'. - Attacks the licensing-subsidy regime and Import Substitution as having reproduced 'the disadvantages of communism without any of its benefits' and demands an 8% growth target with substantial privatisation of energy, transport and communications. - Calls out underinvestment in human capital — 3% of GDP on education, 2% on health, under 1% on R&D — as incompatible with becoming a competitive knowledge economy. - Singles out India's telecom monopoly and ad-hoc uplinking restrictions as a case study in 'short-sighted policy' that has pushed private TV networks to uplink from foreign soil and drained foreign exchange. --- ## [Primary work] Defence & Development with Stability URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/defence-and-devpt-adshroff-jan12-1965/ ### Summary Defence & Development with Stability is the text of A. D. Shroff's presidential address at the eighth annual general meeting of the Forum of Free Enterprise, delivered in Bombay on 9 December 1964 and published as a Forum pamphlet in January 1965. Shroff frames India's economic challenge along three axes: the rapid-development goal set by the 1948 First Industrial Policy Resolution, the dimension of defence forced on national consciousness by the Chinese aggression of 1962, and the new dimension of stability raised by the 1964 price upswing. Drawing on Adam Smith, Friedrich List, Hamilton, Jefferson, Clausewitz and the military commentator Edward Mead Earle, he argues that defence is the prior condition of liberty and prosperity, and that the political, psychological and economic foundations of defence are inseparable from the country's productive base. The bulk of the address is a sustained attack on the Second and Third Plans, which Shroff says were drawn up on ideological lines using Soviet 'physical planning' techniques.… ### Body ## Summary Defence & Development with Stability is the text of A. D. Shroff's presidential address at the eighth annual general meeting of the Forum of Free Enterprise, delivered in Bombay on 9 December 1964 and published as a Forum pamphlet in January 1965. Shroff frames India's economic challenge along three axes: the rapid-development goal set by the 1948 First Industrial Policy Resolution, the dimension of defence forced on national consciousness by the Chinese aggression of 1962, and the new dimension of stability raised by the 1964 price upswing. Drawing on Adam Smith, Friedrich List, Hamilton, Jefferson, Clausewitz and the military commentator Edward Mead Earle, he argues that defence is the prior condition of liberty and prosperity, and that the political, psychological and economic foundations of defence are inseparable from the country's productive base. The bulk of the address is a sustained attack on the Second and Third Plans, which Shroff says were drawn up on ideological lines using Soviet 'physical planning' techniques. He marshals Reserve Bank of India data — a 14% rise in prices for the year to September 1964, food articles up 23.6%, retained company profits down sharply — and traces the price spiral to deficit financing (money supply up 55% from 1955-56 to November 1964) rather than to hoarding alone. He devotes long passages to losses and mismanagement in public sector undertakings (Ashoka Hotel, Praga Tools, Hindustan Aircraft, Hindustan Machine Tools, Mysore's bicycle factory, the Slate Trading Corporation, Hindustan Steel and the Fertiliser Corporation of India), drawing on Comptroller and Auditor-General and Public Accounts Committee reports and on the criticism of trade-union leaders such as Satish Loomba of AITUC and George Fernandes. The address then turns to recent reforms in the Soviet bloc — Pravda's call for decentralisation in light industry, Walter Ulbricht's 'new economic policy' in East Germany, the Vienna communist conference's critique of Czechoslovakia, Khrushchev's reorganisation of Soviet agriculture, and writings by Lev Leontyev and Tiapeznikov — to argue that communists themselves are repudiating centralised planning. Shroff endorses Lal Bahadur Shastri's 'economic commonsense', cites M. C. Chagla's disclosure of bureaucratic delay over an International Students' Hostel, and concludes that the Planning Commission should be remodelled on French advisory lines and India should move from 'imperative planning' of the Soviet type to 'indicative planning' of the French type. The pamphlet closes with Shroff's signature line that free enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives. ## Key points - Frames India's economic challenge as a three-fold problem of defence (post-1962 Chinese aggression), development, and stability (1964 price upswing). - Invokes Adam Smith, Friedrich List, Hamilton and Jefferson to argue that defence is the precondition of liberty, property and prosperity. - Uses Reserve Bank of India data on the 14% price rise (food articles +23.6%, manufactures +4.7%) to attribute inflation to deficit financing, not hoarding alone. - Catalogues losses, overstaffing and mismanagement in public sector undertakings via Comptroller and Auditor-General, Estimates Committee and Public Accounts Committee reports. - Quotes trade-union leaders Satish Loomba (AITUC, 'New Age') and George Fernandes as witnesses that public sector enterprises are 'the biggest' but also 'the rotten-est' employer. - Reviews Soviet, East German, Czechoslovak and Chinese reforms — citing Pravda, Walter Ulbricht, Khrushchev, Lev Leontyev and Tiapeznikov — as evidence that communists themselves are abandoning centralised planning. - Endorses Lal Bahadur Shastri's call for a shift back to agriculture and consumer-goods industries and his rejection of runaway inflation. - Concludes by demanding that the Planning Commission be remodelled on French lines as a purely advisory body, replacing 'imperative planning' of the Soviet type with 'indicative planning' of the French type. --- ## [Primary work] Deficit Financing and Inflation URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/deficit-financing-and-inflation-prof-c-n-vakil-may-11-1967/ ### Summary Prof. C. N. Vakil's pamphlet collects a five-part series of articles, originally published in the Free Press Journal (Bombay, 15–20 March 1967) and reissued by the Forum of Free Enterprise in May 1967, that diagnoses India's continuously rising prices as the product of deliberate government action rather than impersonal market forces. Writing just after the formation of new governments at the Centre and in the States, Vakil opens with a historical detour through the British experience after the First World War, the unmasking of currency inflation by Sir Edwin Cannan, and the wartime Indian campaign led by Kumarappa's Harijan articles and a 30-economist manifesto of 1943 — used as a parable for how administrations characteristically deny inflation, prosecute their critics, and blame symptoms (hoarders, profiteers, black-marketeers) rather than the root cause. The analytic core of the booklet identifies that root cause as deficit financing: public expenditure 'greatly in excess of genuine resources,' funded by ad hoc treasury bills drawn on the Reserve Bank.… ### Body ## Summary Prof. C. N. Vakil's pamphlet collects a five-part series of articles, originally published in the Free Press Journal (Bombay, 15–20 March 1967) and reissued by the Forum of Free Enterprise in May 1967, that diagnoses India's continuously rising prices as the product of deliberate government action rather than impersonal market forces. Writing just after the formation of new governments at the Centre and in the States, Vakil opens with a historical detour through the British experience after the First World War, the unmasking of currency inflation by Sir Edwin Cannan, and the wartime Indian campaign led by Kumarappa's Harijan articles and a 30-economist manifesto of 1943 — used as a parable for how administrations characteristically deny inflation, prosecute their critics, and blame symptoms (hoarders, profiteers, black-marketeers) rather than the root cause. The analytic core of the booklet identifies that root cause as deficit financing: public expenditure 'greatly in excess of genuine resources,' funded by ad hoc treasury bills drawn on the Reserve Bank. Vakil traces how this creates artificial purchasing power, drives a wholesale-price index that rose from 125 in 1962 to 203.8 by late February 1967, hollows out small savings, pushes capital into land and gold, and reproduces itself through fresh dearness-allowance demands by organised trade unions and government commissions of enquiry — a circle he describes as a 'go-slow' on prices. He attacks inflation as 'a form of regressive taxation,' a hidden levy that falls hardest on the poor and middle classes, aggravates inequality, and creates the social and political instability that benefits parties promising the moon. The remedial chapters press for strict economy in public expenditure (Plan and non-Plan), revision of the tax structure to lighten essential consumption while extending agricultural income tax, removal of surplus government staff, a firm 'no more deficit financing' rule, freezing of all incomes and profits for a transition year with trade-union and political-party co-operation, and a unified Centre–States policy on prices, food-grain distribution and production. Vakil closes with a warning that without such a co-ordinated, statesmanlike response the country drifts toward 'unknown disasters,' and that the task before the Union Cabinet and the Union Finance Minister is 'unenviable.' ## Key points - Diagnoses India's 1967 inflation as a problem of policy choice — deficit financing through ad hoc treasury bills on the Reserve Bank — rather than of natural scarcity or external pressure. - Uses historical parallels (Britain post-1918, India 1943–44 under Kumarappa and 30 economists) to argue that governments habitually conceal inflation, prosecute critics, and scapegoat hoarders and profiteers. - Cites a wholesale-price index rising from 125 (1962) to 184 (June 1966 devaluation) to 203.8 by 25 February 1967, projecting 250 by the next agricultural season. - Treats inflation as 'regressive taxation' that erodes small savings, pauperises middle and poor classes, encourages flight into land, gold and foreign exchange, and creates artificial scarcity through hoarding. - Critiques the wage–price spiral driven by dearness-allowance commissions, trade-union go-slows and election-time promises of more rewards without more work. - Recommends strict economy in Centre and State expenditure, a firm 'no deficit financing' commitment, revision of the tax structure to extend agricultural income tax, removal of surplus government staff, and freezing of all incomes for about a year. - Argues that inflation control requires a unified, statesmanlike Centre–State policy on prices, food-grain distribution and production; isolated state action cannot work. - Frames the booklet within the Forum of Free Enterprise's stance — citing Eugene Black and A. D. Shroff in sidebar quotations — that private enterprise is an affirmative good, not a necessary evil. --- ## [Primary work] Deficit Financing, Inflation and Price Control URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/deficit-financing-inflation-and-price-control-k-j-ayaraman-november-14-1973/ ### Summary K. Jayaraman, a retired Indian Economic Service officer and former Director of Review and Research at the Tariff Commission, delivers this Forum of Free Enterprise lecture (Bombay, 25 July 1973; booklet dated 14 November 1973) as a diagnostic of the 1973 inflationary crisis. He opens with the headline fact that prices have risen by more than 22 per cent in a single year — the steepest in recent memory — with food articles accounting for over two-thirds of the rise and industrial raw materials up more than 30 per cent. The pamphlet treats inflation as "confiscation without compensation" and as "robbery on national scale," arguing that anti-price-rise demonstrations have begun to deteriorate into lawlessness while government pricing policy itself adds fuel. The central economic argument traces the rise of deficit financing from mild post-Independence levels through the 1964-65 acceleration, the 1966 rupee devaluation, the 1971-72 industrial slump, and the alarming jump in 1972-73 — culminating in deficit financing of Rs. 380 crores in the first three months of 1973-74 against a budgeted Rs. 75 crores for the whole year.… ### Body ## Summary K. Jayaraman, a retired Indian Economic Service officer and former Director of Review and Research at the Tariff Commission, delivers this Forum of Free Enterprise lecture (Bombay, 25 July 1973; booklet dated 14 November 1973) as a diagnostic of the 1973 inflationary crisis. He opens with the headline fact that prices have risen by more than 22 per cent in a single year — the steepest in recent memory — with food articles accounting for over two-thirds of the rise and industrial raw materials up more than 30 per cent. The pamphlet treats inflation as "confiscation without compensation" and as "robbery on national scale," arguing that anti-price-rise demonstrations have begun to deteriorate into lawlessness while government pricing policy itself adds fuel. The central economic argument traces the rise of deficit financing from mild post-Independence levels through the 1964-65 acceleration, the 1966 rupee devaluation, the 1971-72 industrial slump, and the alarming jump in 1972-73 — culminating in deficit financing of Rs. 380 crores in the first three months of 1973-74 against a budgeted Rs. 75 crores for the whole year. Jayaraman acknowledges the Reserve Bank's credit-squeeze and successive Bank Rate hikes but insists, citing Keynes, that interest-rate weapons are blunt in an oligopolistic, government-deficit-driven economy, and that real savings rather than passive deposit accumulation are what curb inflation. On price control he is scathing. Indian prices, he argues, are set neither by competitive markets nor by any coherent long-term strategy but by ad hoc administrative responses to immediate pressures. He works through the distortions — vanaspati and groundnut oil, rubber tyres feeding off priority rubber prices, steel as a strategic product priced below world levels — and adopts the late Professor D. R. Gadgil's verdict that cost-plus pricing is "the most costly way of enforcing price control," rewarding inefficient producers and penalising the honest consumer. He quotes J. R. D. Tata's 1972-73 Tata Iron and Steel annual report to argue that price-fixing authorities have evolved no norms or techniques of costing that would force producer and consumer alike to gain from cost cutting. The closing pages invoke Professor B. R. Shenoy's diagnosis of "perverse income shifts" and former RBI Governor L. K. Jha's warning that deficit financing must be a supplement to, not a substitute for, resources mobilisation. Jayaraman dismisses wage-freeze proposals on the ground that wages form only one-fifth of total commodity cost and barely six per cent of GNP, and that the link between Indian wages and prices is weak and erratic. His prescription is to maximise production by linking wage rises to productivity, eliminate licence-permit red tape, restrain conspicuous consumption, unearth black money, and streamline distribution — closing with a citation from Great Britain's The Accountant that "There is no golden rule to success in the battle against inflation." ## Key points - Prices have risen over 22 per cent in a single year; food articles account for more than two-thirds of the increase and industrial raw materials are up by over 30 per cent. - Deficit financing in the first three months of 1973-74 reached Rs. 380 crores — nearly 45 per cent of the whole of 1972-73 — against only Rs. 75 crores estimated in the Central Budget for the entire year. - Successive Bank Rate hikes and the May 1973 credit squeeze are necessary but insufficient; Keynes himself recognised the limits of re-discount rates as anti-inflation weapons in an oligopolistic economy. - Indian prices are determined by ad hoc administrative interventions, neither by a competitive market nor by a well-conceived long-term strategy, producing a price structure with no relationship to underlying economic conditions. - Cost-plus pricing — the dominant Indian method — entrenches inefficient marginal units, removes pressure for cost-cutting, and is described (after the late Professor D. R. Gadgil) as the most costly way of enforcing price control. - Half-controlled price structures produce supply distortions: controlling vanaspati while leaving groundnut oil free shifted output away from the controlled commodity; non-priority products like rubber tyres reap profits from priority-product price ceilings. - Wages form only one-fifth of total commodity cost and roughly six per cent of GNP; the wage-price link in India is weak and erratic, so wage freezes alone cannot arrest inflation. - The remedy lies in maximising production, linking wage rises to productivity, eliminating licence-permit red tape, restraining conspicuous consumption, unearthing black money, and streamlining the procurement and distribution of essential commodities. --- ## [Primary work] Democracy in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/democracy-in-india-j-m-lobo-prabhu-may8-1960/ ### Summary J. M. Lobo Prabhu's prize-winning 1959 Forum of Free Enterprise essay argues that Indian democracy is being hollowed out from within by the Constitution that was meant to secure it. Tracing democratic experience in India to barely sixty years of British administration, Lobo Prabhu charges the Constituent Assembly with importing the rhetoric of a Sovereign Democratic Republic while quietly drafting in the substance of the Soviet Socialist Republic — most visibly through the Directive Principles, the steadily expanding catalogue of administrative tribunals exempted from the ordinary law courts, and amendments (especially the First and the Fourth) that progressively dismantle property rights, freedom of expression and the Rule of Law as Dicey understood it. The essay proceeds along four "basic principles" the author finds violated. First, the supremacy of accepted social and economic principles: the Constitution opens with Fundamental Rights and then qualifies them away through Articles 14, 17, 22, 25, 30, 31 and 39, while State trading and nationalisation crowd out the small owner, the dealer and the worker.… ### Body ## Summary J. M. Lobo Prabhu's prize-winning 1959 Forum of Free Enterprise essay argues that Indian democracy is being hollowed out from within by the Constitution that was meant to secure it. Tracing democratic experience in India to barely sixty years of British administration, Lobo Prabhu charges the Constituent Assembly with importing the rhetoric of a Sovereign Democratic Republic while quietly drafting in the substance of the Soviet Socialist Republic — most visibly through the Directive Principles, the steadily expanding catalogue of administrative tribunals exempted from the ordinary law courts, and amendments (especially the First and the Fourth) that progressively dismantle property rights, freedom of expression and the Rule of Law as Dicey understood it. The essay proceeds along four "basic principles" the author finds violated. First, the supremacy of accepted social and economic principles: the Constitution opens with Fundamental Rights and then qualifies them away through Articles 14, 17, 22, 25, 30, 31 and 39, while State trading and nationalisation crowd out the small owner, the dealer and the worker. Second, the Sovereignty of Parliament: Lobo Prabhu finds the legislature reduced to "aiding and advising" a Prime Minister whose powers, lifted verbatim from the American Constitution into a parliamentary setting, are in practice exercised without genuine cabinet check — an unstable hybrid he contrasts with Eire, Burma, Pakistan, Indonesia and Sudan. Third, an unhealthy polarisation of power inside the party system, where mass-fundraising machinery silences the back-bench member and Congress survival reflexes outbid new ideas. Fourth, the polarisation of power inside the ministries, where a politicised, lobbied, and gradually de-professionalised civil service replaces the older ICS habit of fearless advice with appointment-by-favour. Lobo Prabhu also indicts the suppression of public opinion: a press dependent on government advertising, import permits and staff restraints; an absence of independent forums for discussing administration; the cultivation of councils stacked with co-opted loyalists. His remedy is constitutional reconstruction rather than revolution — confine the State to what people cannot do for themselves, guarantee employment through stimulating private enterprise plus public works rather than through nationalisation, devolve productive discipline to the panchayats already named in the Constitution, and rebuild the separation of powers so that ministers, legislators and the permanent services each recover their distinct competences. The booklet closes with the assurance that "within the framework of democracy the needs of the individual and of the country will be satisfied." ## Key points - Frames Indian democracy as imperilled less by hostile actors than by a Constitution drafted under socialist enthusiasm whose Fundamental Rights are systematically undercut by their own provisos. - Reads the proliferation of Administrative Tribunals and exemptions to Article 17 as contraventions of the Rule of Law in Dicey's sense, citing Lord Hewett's New Despotism to characterise the trend. - Treats the First and Fourth Amendments as the decisive blows: the First overrode Article 19 free-speech protections; the Fourth gutted Article 31 property protections, making "property a matter of hide and seek." - Argues State enterprise is economically and politically restrictive — replacing dispersed initiative with official indifference, immobilising capital, and politicising employment in khadi, cooperatives, prohibition and similar Congress schemes. - Identifies a hybrid presidential-parliamentary structure as a constitutional weakness: powers copied from the U.S. Constitution sit awkwardly in a Westminster shell, and proposes amending Article 73 or restoring genuine cabinet stature for ministers. - Diagnoses the polarisation of power inside the party system — finance and organisational reach concentrate ideas in a handful of leaders while back-benchers depend on bosses rather than constituents. - Diagnoses a parallel polarisation inside the executive: politicised promotions, discretionary postings (e.g. a Madras Collector kept beyond statutory limits), and the routine bypassing of Public Service Commissions through temporary appointments. - Indicts the suppression of public opinion by State leverage over the press (advertisements, import permits, staffing) and by the absence of independent forums for discussion of administration. - Proposes a remedial scheme: confine the State to what individuals cannot do, guarantee employment through a self-generating Insurance for Employment funded by private enterprise plus State public-works projects, and devolve productive discipline to the panchayats rather than co-operative farming or State trading. --- ## [Primary work] Deregulation of Savings Banks' Deposit Interest Rates URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/deregulation-of-savings-banks-usha-thorat-august-4-2011/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet records the panel discussion at the 7th M. R. Pai Memorial Award function held in Mumbai on 7 July 2011, hosted by the All India Bank Depositors' Association (AIBDA) and the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank, plus three supporting annexures. Three former Deputy Governors of the Reserve Bank of India — Usha Thorat, Kishori J. Udeshi and S. S. Tarapore — respond to the RBI's April 2011 Discussion Paper on deregulation of the savings bank (SB) deposit interest rate, which had been administered at 4 per cent since May 2011 (3.5 per cent before that). All three agree that deregulation is overdue, that the question is no longer whether but when and how, and that the present moment — with inflation high and the term structure already deregulated since the 1990s — is right. They argue for a phased approach with a regulator-prescribed floor rate, uniform monthly interest application, and clear safeguards for rural, pensioner and small depositors.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet records the panel discussion at the 7th M. R. Pai Memorial Award function held in Mumbai on 7 July 2011, hosted by the All India Bank Depositors' Association (AIBDA) and the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank, plus three supporting annexures. Three former Deputy Governors of the Reserve Bank of India — Usha Thorat, Kishori J. Udeshi and S. S. Tarapore — respond to the RBI's April 2011 Discussion Paper on deregulation of the savings bank (SB) deposit interest rate, which had been administered at 4 per cent since May 2011 (3.5 per cent before that). All three agree that deregulation is overdue, that the question is no longer whether but when and how, and that the present moment — with inflation high and the term structure already deregulated since the 1990s — is right. They argue for a phased approach with a regulator-prescribed floor rate, uniform monthly interest application, and clear safeguards for rural, pensioner and small depositors. The volume's argumentative centre is that small depositors have been silently taxed by a regulated 4 per cent ceiling against high inflation, and that market-based pricing — supervised but not capped — is the cure. Annexures I and II reproduce AIBDA's initial and revised submissions to the RBI on behalf of depositors; Annexure III, a detailed analytical paper by Prof. Ashish Das of IIT Bombay, marshals data showing persistent negative real returns on SB accounts and dissects how the changeover to daily-balance interest calculation in April 2010, far from helping savers, was offset by RBI's simultaneous cut in the prescribed rate. ## Essays ### Deregulation of Savings Banks' Deposit Interest Rates *By Usha Thorat, Kishori J. Udeshi, S.S. Tarapore* Usha Thorat, then Director of the Centre for Advanced Financial Research & Learning and former RBI Deputy Governor, opens the panel by reframing the question. Whether to deregulate, she says, is no longer in dispute; only the timing and the safeguards matter, and a period of high inflation is the right moment to move because customers can switch banks freely if rates fall too low. She walks through the case for a temporary floor rate — banks compressed deposit rates well below 3.5 per cent in 2009–10 when liquidity was abundant, and the rural or uninformed semi-urban depositor cannot easily move funds — but adds that deregulation 'fully' may work better than experimenting with a floor, since the floor itself risks becoming a ceiling. She rejects the asset-liability-mismatch fear (a 1 per cent rate rise on SB accounts adds only about 25 bps to the cost of deposits), insists that any new charges on cheque-book or transactional facilities must satisfy the Sadasivan committee's reasonableness, fairness, equity and transparency tests, and warns that the periodicity asymmetry — monthly rests on loans versus quarterly rests on deposits — needs regulator review. - Deregulation is no longer a question of 'whether' but of timing and sequencing; high inflation makes 2011 the right window. - A floor rate would prevent banks from pushing SB rates below 3.5 per cent during glut periods, as happened in 2009–10, but risks ossifying into a ceiling. - The asset-liability-mismatch argument is overstated: a 1 per cent rise in SB rates only adds ~25 bps to overall deposit cost, on a ceteris paribus basis. - Service charges on cheque-book and other facilities must follow the Sadasivan committee principles of reasonableness, fairness, equity and transparency. - The asymmetry between monthly interest application on loans and quarterly rests on deposits needs regulatory correction. ### All India Bank Depositors' Association — Mumbai (AIBDA): Deregulation of Savings Bank Deposit Interest Rate — Submission to the RBI (Annexure I) *By All India Bank Depositors' Association (AIBDA)* Kishori J. Udeshi, Chairman of the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India and former RBI Deputy Governor, frames the issue from three angles: encouraging household savings, deepening financial inclusion, and protecting depositors. She notes that the share of saving deposits to aggregate deposits has fallen from 24 per cent in 2005 to 22.1 per cent in 2009 and asks pointedly whether deregulation will help. Drawing on the experience of Indonesia and Malaysia, she argues that deregulation alone produces negative real returns unless paired with central-bank inflation-anchoring; the goal must be a sustained positive real interest rate. She accepts that competitive forces will sometimes push rates down — invoking the parable of a man satisfied with three chapatis a day not minding receiving them as halves on alternate days — and reminds her audience that the SB rate was 6 per cent as recently as 1992. Cross-subsidisation of cheque-book and ATM costs has gone on too long; depositors must accept higher transactional charges as the price of liberalised returns. She closes by reasserting the role of supervision (quoting John Crow at the C. D. Deshmukh Memorial Lecture) and by calling for the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation to be empowered as a vigilant overseer. - Saving-deposit share has dropped from 24 per cent (2005) to 22.1 per cent (2009); deregulation alone will not reverse this without inflation-anchoring. - Indonesia and Malaysia show that deregulation without monetary discipline produces negative real returns. - Decades of cross-subsidising cheque-book and ATM costs have unfairly burdened term-deposit and borrower customers. - Depositors must shed the old assumption that basic banking should be free; product innovation will arrive only if rates and charges are both free. - The DICGC needs broader powers and a more active role as 'vigilant overseer' of depositors' interests. ### Deregulation of Savings Bank Deposit Rates — A Revised Submission to RBI from AIBDA (Annexure II) *By All India Bank Depositors' Association (AIBDA)* S. S. Tarapore — the third panelist and a long-time campaigner on the subject — narrows the focus to depositors' rights and the mechanics of sequencing. He treats the April 2011 RBI Discussion Paper as a long-overdue admission that the case for deregulation is closed and time for action has come. He proposes that the RBI prescribe a range (4–5 per cent) for the SB rate in the second half of 2011–12, mandate uniform interest rest periods across all banks, and complete the process in rapid phased steps within the same year. He links the short-term anchor to the long-term yield curve by pointing out that the regulated SB rate of 4 per cent sits well below the bank-determined one-year deposit rate of 9 per cent or more, producing the perverse outcome that SB holders cross-subsidise term depositors and borrowers. Against the bank-lobby claim that freeing the SB rate will destroy financial inclusion and No-Frills accounts, he is scathing: deregulation cannot be used to sanctify predatory pricing, and the prevailing assumption that depositors will meekly accept low rates is itself the danger. He closes by invoking L. K. Jha's old dictum that fair banking gives the highest possible rate to depositors and the lowest possible rate to borrowers, and calls on depositors to organise — comparing the RBI's belated acceptance of deregulation to General George S. Patten's 'Lead, follow or get out of the way'. - Tarapore proposes a deregulated SB rate range of 4.0–5.0 per cent in the first half of 2011–12, completed in rapid phased steps that same year. - Uniform interest application frequency must be mandated across banks; no discrimination by depositor size or location. - Holding SB rates at 4 per cent while one-year term rates exceed 9 per cent forces SB holders to subsidise borrowers and term depositors. - The 'financial inclusion will collapse' argument from banks is rejected as predatory rhetoric, not policy. - Depositors are the legitimate owners of banks and must be prepared to organise — Tarapore calls for a 'depositors' revolt' if their rights continue to be ignored. ### Savings Bank Accounts - Interest Rate Deregulation (Annexure III) *By Ashish Das* Annexure I reproduces the All India Bank Depositors' Association (AIBDA) submission to the RBI on the Discussion Paper. The submission situates the SB-rate issue inside two decades of gradual interest-rate deregulation — completed for term deposits by October 1997 — and argues that continued regulation of the SB rate has deprived depositors of market returns and created complacency among banks, who have come to treat the captive 40 per cent (CASA) of low-cost deposits as a 'virtually perpetual basis' funding source. AIBDA insists deregulation is necessary to complete the liberalising arc, to inject healthy competition, and to protect small consumers. It cautions, however, that special groups — senior citizens, pensioners and rural savers who find it difficult to switch banks — need a floor rate as a permanent protective feature, possibly with an extra 50 basis points above the floor. - Term and fixed-deposit rate deregulation was completed by RBI in October 1997; SB rate alone has remained regulated, at 3.5 per cent since 2003 and 4 per cent since May 2011. - Banks have built complacency around the captive 40 per cent CASA share that funds them at administered low cost. - AIBDA recommends immediate deregulation but with an RBI-prescribed floor rate retained as a permanent protection. - Senior citizens, pensioners and rural savers should receive an additional 50 basis points or higher above the floor, given their reduced ability to switch banks. ### Essay 5 Annexure II is AIBDA's revised submission, prepared after consultations with Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn and after taking on board feedback from individual bankers and the Indian Banks' Association. It evaluates five policy options — no floor or ceiling, ceiling only, floor only, fixed floor and ceiling, and different floor and ceiling — and recommends a regulated floor (to protect small depositors) with a ceiling abandoned. AIBDA proposes a concrete formula: the floor rate should be pegged at half the repo rate rounded up to the nearest whole percentage, revised only when the repo rate moves by 200 basis points or more, and applied with monthly interest computation. A historical back-test from 2001 to 2011 shows that this formula would have tracked the regulator-fixed SB rate to within about 25 basis points on average. AIBDA also presses RBI to mandate transparent, reasonable service charges so that what banks gain on the ceiling-free rate side is not silently clawed back through opaque fees. - Five regulatory options are weighed; AIBDA endorses 'floor only', with the ceiling abolished. - Proposed floor formula: half the repo rate, rounded up to the nearest whole percentage, revised only on 200-bp repo moves. - Historical back-test (2001–2011) shows the proposed floor would have tracked the RBI-fixed SB rate to within ~25 basis points. - Interest application frequency should be made monthly as a first step toward simple, transparent net returns. - Service charges must be regulated for reasonableness so that liberalised returns are not clawed back through opaque fees. ### Essay 6 Annexure III is an analytical paper by Ashish Das, Professor of Statistics at IIT Bombay, that puts numbers behind the panel's arguments. He shows that scheduled commercial banks held Rs. 492 million SB accounts (about 74 per cent of all deposit accounts) as of March 2009, that the SB rate has been downward-sticky despite favourable conditions for raises, and that the April 2010 shift to daily-balance interest computation — widely sold as a depositor win — was offset within months when RBI cut the prescribed rate from 4 per cent to 3.5 per cent and produced negligible net gains. He documents real SB returns turning persistently negative from 2003 onward (with the brief 2009 deflation a transient exception) and computes that the spread between declared nominal rates and effective rates of interest (using older calculation methods) was about 80 basis points until April 2010. He critiques RBI's discretionary changes in interest application frequency on cash-reserve balances, RBI advances and public lending — each tilted in favour of banks — and argues that the deregulation of service charges, without standards on transparency, has shifted further surplus to bank profit margins. In the rendered pages his prescriptions cluster around three asks: deregulate the SB rate immediately, mandate monthly interest application as a transparency baseline, and discourage paper-based transactions through differentiated pricing rather than penalty fees. - As of March 2009, scheduled commercial banks held about 492 million SB accounts — roughly 74 per cent of all deposit accounts. - The April 2010 shift to daily-balance interest computation was offset by RBI's near-simultaneous rate cut from 4 per cent to 3.5 per cent, yielding little net gain to depositors. - Effective SB rates were typically about 80 basis points lower than declared rates under the pre-April-2010 method, due to month-minimum-balance computation. - Real SB returns turned and stayed negative from 2003 onward (with brief 2009 exception), pinching small savers who lack bargaining power. - RBI's discretionary changes in interest application frequency on CRR, repo and bank loans have systematically favoured banks over depositors. - Deregulated service charges, without transparency standards, have widened bank net interest margins rather than passing benefits to savers. --- ## [Primary work] Designing and Development of Payment System in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/designing-and-development-of-payment-system-in-india-abhaya-prasad-hota/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet prints the acceptance speech that Abhaya Prasad Hota — former Chief General Manager of the Reserve Bank of India and former MD & CEO of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) — delivered on receiving the Thirteenth M. R. Pai Memorial Award in Mumbai on 21st August 2017. The volume opens with a biographical note on M. R. Pai (1931–2003), the consumer-rights crusader who joined A. D. Shroff at the founding of the Forum of Free Enterprise in 1956 and went on to fight a long series of public-interest battles against telephone departments, banks, Indian Airlines and other monopolies. It is followed by a recorded tribute from Suresh Prabhu, then Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, and an editorial introduction by Sunil S. Bhandare that frames Hota's career as a continuation of Pai's consumer-protection mission, this time through the architecture of payment systems rather than the courts. Hota's own text — beginning on printed page 11 — traces the institutional design of Indian retail payments across roughly three decades.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet prints the acceptance speech that Abhaya Prasad Hota — former Chief General Manager of the Reserve Bank of India and former MD & CEO of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) — delivered on receiving the Thirteenth M. R. Pai Memorial Award in Mumbai on 21st August 2017. The volume opens with a biographical note on M. R. Pai (1931–2003), the consumer-rights crusader who joined A. D. Shroff at the founding of the Forum of Free Enterprise in 1956 and went on to fight a long series of public-interest battles against telephone departments, banks, Indian Airlines and other monopolies. It is followed by a recorded tribute from Suresh Prabhu, then Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, and an editorial introduction by Sunil S. Bhandare that frames Hota's career as a continuation of Pai's consumer-protection mission, this time through the architecture of payment systems rather than the courts. Hota's own text — beginning on printed page 11 — traces the institutional design of Indian retail payments across roughly three decades. He outlines five stages: traditional cheque clearing (and its migration through MICR processing to Cheque Truncation, which now clears any cheque in two days); the build-out of real-time inter-bank transfer rails (RTGS, NEFT, IMPS, UPI, BHIM, *99#); the universalisation of card payments through RuPay; the Aadhaar payments platform; and the ECS rebuild after NPCI took it over in 2010. Within the rendered chunk he reaches the start of the Aadhaar section. Throughout, Hota credits regulatory action at the RBI/NPCI level for compressing both time and cost — a Rs.10,000 fee to remit Rs.1 crore in 2004 collapsing to near-zero with widespread RTGS, and India becoming, in 2010, the first country to operate a 24x7 real-time retail payments system through IMPS. The argumentative thread is that pro-consumer outcomes in finance have come less from market competition alone than from centralised infrastructure decisions that 'directly impact the ability of the banks to serve their customers better' — payment standardisation, default RuPay issuance to 225 million Jan Dhan accountholders, BHIM in twelve languages, USSD channels for feature phones. The Forum frames the booklet as a financial-literacy resource for bank depositors, students and researchers, in keeping with its long-standing free-enterprise-with-consumer-voice posture. ## Key points - Booklet reprints Abhaya Prasad Hota's acceptance speech for the 13th M. R. Pai Memorial Award (Mumbai, 21 August 2017), jointly hosted by AIBDA and the Forum of Free Enterprise. - Front matter establishes the M. R. Pai lineage of consumer activism — his association with A. D. Shroff at the Forum's 1956 founding, his role with the All-India Bank Depositors' Association, and tributes from Minister Suresh Prabhu. - Hota frames payment-system design as a 'leveraging' activity: small interventions at RBI or NPCI level magnify into customer-facing improvements across the banking system. - Cheque clearing is presented as the first stage — MICR plus Cheque Truncation cut typical clearing from up to a month (for outstation cheques) to two days regardless of cheque type. - Money transfer is the second stage: RTGS, NEFT, IMPS, UPI, BHIM and *99# replaced inter-bank cheques and demand drafts; in 2004 a Rs.1 crore RTGS remittance could cost up to Rs.10,000, since collapsed by RBI pricing intervention. - India became, in 2010, the first country to operate a 24x7 real-time retail payments system (IMPS); more than thirty countries have since adopted IMPS-like rails, and BHIM/UPI made money transfer 'as easy as sending an email'. - Card-payment universalisation through RuPay extended access from roughly 55 banks to 800+, and RuPay was issued as the default debit card to 225 million Jan Dhan account holders. - Aadhaar Payment platform (the fourth stage, partially rendered) underpins direct benefit transfers, e-KYC, biometric cash-out at business correspondents, and account-credit using Aadhaar as a reference number. --- ## [Primary work] Desperate Proposals URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/desperate-proposals-a-d-shroff-jun1-1957/ ### Summary A. D. Shroff's address to the Commerce Graduates' Association in Bombay on 22 May 1957 is a sharp, line-by-line attack on the Union Budget of 1957–58, which he treats as the financial expression of a Second Five-Year Plan that has lost contact with India's productive capacity. Shroff concedes that some deficit financing under planned development is unavoidable, but argues that taxes to cover the Rs. 33-crore current-account deficit could have been raised without the revolutionary new burdens the Finance Minister proposes. The actual package — fresh excises on tea, cloth, matches, sugar, cement and steel ingots, a sharply lowered minimum income-tax slab, a heavier super-tax and bonus tax, a new wealth tax and an unprecedented expenditure tax — is, in his telling, dictated only by the need to extract as much revenue as possible from a population already living at bare subsistence. The critique moves outward from prices to politics. Shroff documents how government control of cement and steel has produced shortage, illegitimate State Trading Corporation profits and what he calls open profiteering by the State, even as the private sector is denounced for the same conduct.… ### Body ## Summary A. D. Shroff's address to the Commerce Graduates' Association in Bombay on 22 May 1957 is a sharp, line-by-line attack on the Union Budget of 1957–58, which he treats as the financial expression of a Second Five-Year Plan that has lost contact with India's productive capacity. Shroff concedes that some deficit financing under planned development is unavoidable, but argues that taxes to cover the Rs. 33-crore current-account deficit could have been raised without the revolutionary new burdens the Finance Minister proposes. The actual package — fresh excises on tea, cloth, matches, sugar, cement and steel ingots, a sharply lowered minimum income-tax slab, a heavier super-tax and bonus tax, a new wealth tax and an unprecedented expenditure tax — is, in his telling, dictated only by the need to extract as much revenue as possible from a population already living at bare subsistence. The critique moves outward from prices to politics. Shroff documents how government control of cement and steel has produced shortage, illegitimate State Trading Corporation profits and what he calls open profiteering by the State, even as the private sector is denounced for the same conduct. He reads the wealth tax and expenditure tax as administratively impossible without a 'Police Raj', certain to invite evasion, corruption and double taxation of company shareholders. The wider charge is that the Plan has become 'the Government's Plan' rather than a People's Plan, that it is being pushed through at a cost the country cannot bear, and that foreign-exchange reserves have been squandered through indiscriminate import licences, leaving India with a sterling balance of only Rs. 400 crores and dependent on IMF drawings. The speech closes on a procedural demand: an independent committee, on the model of the post-First-World-War Inchcape Committee, to scrutinise the runaway growth of public expenditure that the Finance Minister's speech, in Shroff's view, refuses to examine. Throughout, the polemical frame is that of the title — a 'gamble in planning' whose budget is the 'last throw of a desperate gambler' — and the pamphlet is issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise as part of its campaign for a recognised, secure role for private enterprise in Indian development. ## Key points - Shroff frames the 1957–58 Union Budget as 'a gamble in planning' whose revolutionary new taxes flow from the attempt to force through the Second Five-Year Plan rather than from sound fiscal logic. - He estimates the new tax incidence at about Rs. 93 crores (of which excise duties account for over Rs. 63 crores) and argues these levies fall hardest on consumers already at bare subsistence, citing a village where only 58 of around 900 children attend school because the rest 'had no clothes to put on'. - On controlled commodities like cement and steel, he charges the State Trading Corporation with 'an illegitimate profit of Rs. 12 per ton' and accuses the Government of 'a daylight robbery of Rs. 12/- per ton' — profiteering of the kind for which private business is condemned. - He attacks the new wealth tax and expenditure tax as administratively unworkable, doubly taxing company shareholders and capable of effective enforcement only under what he calls 'a Police Raj'. - Shroff retracts an earlier welcome of the Prime Minister's assurance that the private sector has 'an assured and respected place', concluding that the proposals 'can only have a limited life of its own'. - He warns that wholesale prices have risen 13 per cent in the last year, that food and high prices are spreading despite fair price shops, and that talk of controlling inflation through fresh excises is 'a phantasmagoric hallucination'. - Indiscriminate import licensing in 1956 has, in his account, drawn down India's sterling balance from about Rs. 710 crores to roughly Rs. 300 crores and forced reliance on $127 million already drawn from the IMF out of a $200 million entitlement. - He demands an independent committee, on the model of the post-First-World-War Inchcape Committee, to carry out a 'thorough and all-sided scrutiny of public expense', noting that the Finance Minister's speech contains 'no word' about expenditure restraint. --- ## [Primary work] Devaluation of the Rupee URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/devaluation-of-the-rupee-causes-and-consequnces-n-a-palkhivala-s-m-dr-keesr-doodha-1966/ ### Summary A 1966 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collecting three responses to the June 1966 devaluation of the rupee. The constitutional lawyer N. A. Palkhivala opens with a talk delivered to the Forum on 27 June 1966 framing devaluation as the legal recognition of an economic fait accompli and listing seven disciplines without which the measure will fail. A pseudonymous columnist 'S. M.' follows with a piece reproduced from the Hindustan Times of 22 June 1966 that defends devaluation against the charge of foreign coercion and ties its success to renewed fiscal restraint and a deferred Fourth Plan. Dr. Kersi D. Doodha, an economist in a commercial bank, closes with a primer on what devaluation actually is, how the IMF's Articles of Agreement frame 'fundamental disequilibrium', and the supply-side conditions under which a change in par value can correct a payments imbalance. ### Body ## Summary A 1966 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collecting three responses to the June 1966 devaluation of the rupee. The constitutional lawyer N. A. Palkhivala opens with a talk delivered to the Forum on 27 June 1966 framing devaluation as the legal recognition of an economic fait accompli and listing seven disciplines without which the measure will fail. A pseudonymous columnist 'S. M.' follows with a piece reproduced from the Hindustan Times of 22 June 1966 that defends devaluation against the charge of foreign coercion and ties its success to renewed fiscal restraint and a deferred Fourth Plan. Dr. Kersi D. Doodha, an economist in a commercial bank, closes with a primer on what devaluation actually is, how the IMF's Articles of Agreement frame 'fundamental disequilibrium', and the supply-side conditions under which a change in par value can correct a payments imbalance. ## Essays ### Devaluation Brings India to Crossroads *By N. A. PALKHIVALA* Palkhivala welcomes the Government's decision to acknowledge de jure a de facto devaluation but insists that devaluation by itself can only put India at a crossroads: it can lead either to the disciplined recovery seen in France and Yugoslavia, or to the Indonesian descent into soaring prices. He defends India's foreign creditors as the natural beneficiaries of devaluation and warns that to blame the United States and the World Bank for the decision is unintentionally comic. The bulk of the talk lays out seven concrete measures to extract maximum benefit: private-sector price restraint even at the cost of margins; an absolute priority for price stability over Fourth Plan tonnage targets; an attack on stifling controls and the 'pen-and-pencil armies' of bureaucrats; an end to deficit financing and to living beyond the nation's means; a hard accounting from a Rs. 2,000 crore public sector returning only 0.6%; removal of the new 10% surcharge on industry coupled with proper depreciation on revalued fixed assets; and an intensified, stable export-duty regime. - Devaluation is presented as the de jure recognition of a de facto position the law of economics had already imposed; its virtue is less remedial than confessional. - Palkhivala contrasts a French/Yugoslav road of disciplined recovery with an Indonesian road of post-devaluation hyperinflation; devaluation only opens the choice. - He rejects the populist charge that the United States and the World Bank coerced India into devaluation, calling such blame a sign that economic distress has not cost Indians their sense of humour. - Stifling bureaucratic controls are named as the central cause of stagnation, with the Economic and Scientific Research Foundation cited that India's rate of growth is the lowest in Asia barring Indonesia. - Sustaining the gains requires Centre and States to abandon deficit financing (last year's deficit ran to Rs. 435 crores) and to force a real return out of a Rs. 2,000 crore public-sector investment whose 60 Corporations average only 0.6%. - Seven concrete prescriptions are listed, including removal of the 10% industrial surcharge, depreciation on debt-revalued fixed assets, and an end to frequent changes in export duty. ### Devaluation Points Up the Need for Discipline *By S. M.* Writing in the Hindustan Times of 22 June 1966 (reproduced here with permission), the anonymous columnist S. M. defends the devaluation against the political backlash building inside Congress on the eve of the elections. He concedes the discomfort in the Cabinet — including warnings to Mrs. Gandhi and the publicised reservations of Kamaraj — but argues that the IMF was created precisely to regulate par values, and that India's long-running system of selective export incentives championed by Manubhai Shah had already been an undeclared partial devaluation. The piece then pivots to the discipline that devaluation now demands: Centre and States must stop taking a share of the national cake faster than the cake is growing; production-restricting controls must be abandoned; installed capacity should be sweated before new plants are built; and the Fourth Plan must be deferred for at least a year while aid discussions with the World Bank are concluded around a Centre-led plan. The closing political note defends the Government's earlier proposal to separate Central and State elections as a legitimate parliamentary instrument. - The columnist treats foreign 'pressure' from the IMF as advice the borrowing country must judge on its merits, not as imposed coercion. - Selective export incentives identified with Manubhai Shah amounted to an undeclared devaluation; making it official ends the smuggling premium and revives remittances from Indians abroad. - Devaluation is only a short-term corrective; it works only if joined to four neglected disciplines — fiscal restraint, abandonment of production-restricting controls, prior use of installed capacity, and a one-year Plan deferral. - Drafting a detailed Fourth Plan now is dismissed as 'whistling in the dark'; better to negotiate a Central plan with the World Bank and postpone State-level projects. - The piece defends the proposal to separate Central and State elections as constitutionally proper, arguing a parliamentary government has the right to choose when to seek a fresh mandate. ### What Is Devaluation? *By DR. KERSI D. DOODHA* Doodha, writing as an economist in a commercial bank, offers a careful primer on what devaluation actually is and is not. He rejects the popular conflation of devaluation with a fall in the rupee's domestic purchasing power: the measure targets the external par value in order to restore equilibrium between internal prices and those prevailing in foreign markets. The bulk of the essay walks through the IMF's notion of 'fundamental disequilibrium' as set out in Article I of the Articles of Agreement, the Fund's distinction between temporary and fundamental disturbances, the cumulative 10% rule and the 72-hour notice requirement for changes in par value, and Harry G. Johnson's working definition framed around the U.S. dollar. The essay closes with the supply-side conditions under which a devaluation can actually work — demand-elastic exports, available exportable supplies, an elastic domestic supply structure, substitutes for items currently exported away — and warns that devaluation undertaken in inflationary conditions will be neutralised by the expectation of rising prices. - The popular reading that the rupee has lost 36.5% of its purchasing power is rejected; devaluation acts on the external par value, not the internal one. - The IMF's Article I notion of 'fundamental disequilibrium' is unpacked through three signals: persistent payments deficits, repeated reliance on Fund credit, and book-keeping repurchases rather than genuine repayments. - Procedural mechanics are spelled out: cumulative changes up to 10% need only notification to the Fund; larger changes require Fund advice, plus a 72-hour notice rule. - Devaluation works only when four supply-side conditions hold — demand elasticity of exports, sufficient export supplies, an elastic domestic supply structure, and substitutes for goods being exported away. - The essay's central warning is that devaluation undertaken in inflationary conditions is self-defeating, because expectations of rising prices neutralise the corrective effect on relative prices. --- ## [Primary work] Developmental Dimension to Financial Sector URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/development-dimension-to-financial-sector-dr-y-v-reddy-may-5-2010/ ### Summary Delivered on 6 May 2010 at the Sixth M. R. Pai Memorial Award function in Mumbai and published as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, Dr. Y. V. Reddy's lecture revisits the role of the financial sector in economic management in the wake of the 2008–09 global financial crisis. Speaking as a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (2003–08) and earlier Deputy Governor (1996–2003), Reddy treats the award as recognition of the RBI's work on depositors' interests and uses the occasion to argue that the post-crisis 'rebalancing' of financial regulation under discussion globally must give equal weight to developmental objectives, not only to stability. Reddy traces the long arc from the post-colonial era of financial repression — when banks were nationalised and credit was directed to development priorities — through the worldwide deregulation movement that began around 1980.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered on 6 May 2010 at the Sixth M. R. Pai Memorial Award function in Mumbai and published as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, Dr. Y. V. Reddy's lecture revisits the role of the financial sector in economic management in the wake of the 2008–09 global financial crisis. Speaking as a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (2003–08) and earlier Deputy Governor (1996–2003), Reddy treats the award as recognition of the RBI's work on depositors' interests and uses the occasion to argue that the post-crisis 'rebalancing' of financial regulation under discussion globally must give equal weight to developmental objectives, not only to stability. Reddy traces the long arc from the post-colonial era of financial repression — when banks were nationalised and credit was directed to development priorities — through the worldwide deregulation movement that began around 1980. He acknowledges that deregulation produced real gains in efficiency, intermediation and the growth of equity, debt and forex markets, but argues that excessive deregulation in many economies enabled large, too-big-to-fail institutions, predatory lending in housing finance, and the systemic risks that crystallised in 2008. He carefully distinguishes between the consequences of soft regulation in advanced financial centres (USA, UK, parts of Europe) and the more cautious paths followed in Asia, India and China, which suffered less. The core argument is that the rebalanced regulatory regime now being designed — through bodies such as the newly constituted Financial Stability Board, counter-cyclical and macro-prudential measures, the Volcker rule on bank activities, and stiffer capital prescriptions for systemically important institutions — risks confining itself to stability alone while ceding developmental finance entirely to market forces. Reddy contends that since the financial system already requires regulation to dampen cyclical fluctuations, there is no principled objection to using public policy to channel finance toward structural transformation, financial inclusion and productive investment, provided extremes of both over-regulation and under-regulation are avoided. Applied to India, the lecture endorses neither a return to the regulatory regime of the 1970s nor an unbounded deregulation. Reddy points to the hollowing of traditional bank lending to agriculture and SMEs, the troubles of urban co-operative banks under softer regulation, and the migration of banks away from depositors toward fee income and capital-market activity. The speech closes on a depositor-centric note: banking is being treated 'as a public utility', and the evolving regulatory framework must remember that 'there are no banks if there are no depositors.' ## Key points - Reddy frames the speech as a delayed personal tribute to M. R. Pai and treats the Sixth M. R. Pai Memorial Award as recognition of the RBI's work on depositors' interests. - Argues that the 2008–09 global financial crisis has forced a worldwide reassessment of the role of the financial sector and of the policy framework within which it operates. - Distinguishes between deregulation as efficiency-enhancing reform and excessive deregulation, which he holds responsible for too-big-to-fail institutions, predatory housing finance, and the migration of banks away from traditional lending. - Welcomes the post-crisis institutional response — counter-cyclical and macro-prudential regulation, oversight of the shadow banking system, and the Financial Stability Board — but warns that rebalancing risks treating only stability while ignoring development. - Maintains that since the financial system already needs regulation to dampen cycles and large asset bubbles, there is no principled reason to oppose using public policy to direct finance toward structural transformation, financial inclusion and productive investment. - Argues that India's gradual liberalisation, cautious capital-account opening and continued role for public-sector banks insulated it from the worst of the crisis and yield lessons relevant to the global rebalancing debate. - Cautions that under softer regulation many newly licensed Indian private banks and urban co-operative banks deteriorated, while traditional lending to agriculture and SMEs was hollowed out. - Closes with a depositor-centric framing of banking as a public utility, insisting that any new regulatory balance must protect retail depositors — 'there are no banks if there are no depositors.' --- ## [Primary work] Discrimination Between the Two Sectors URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/discrimination-between-the-two-sectors-m-a-master-jan10-1966/ ### Summary M. A. Master's pamphlet, issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise on 10 January 1966, is a sustained polemic against the official position that public and private sectors should be folded into a single 'National Sector' for the purposes of planning discourse. Master argues that the realities of finance, taxation, foreign exchange, pricing policy and corporate law all show that the two sectors have been treated on radically unequal terms — with the Public Sector enjoying privileges denied to the Private Sector. He marshals figures from the first three Plans to show that of Rs. 14,060 crores of total outlay on the Public Sector, roughly 46 per cent came from sources (additional taxation and deficit financing) that carry no obligation to declare dividends or repay capital, while the Private Sector must service every rupee it raises through equity or borrowing. The core of the argument is a sector-by-sector inventory of discrimination. Foreign aid and World Bank credits, grants of Rs.… ### Body ## Summary M. A. Master's pamphlet, issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise on 10 January 1966, is a sustained polemic against the official position that public and private sectors should be folded into a single 'National Sector' for the purposes of planning discourse. Master argues that the realities of finance, taxation, foreign exchange, pricing policy and corporate law all show that the two sectors have been treated on radically unequal terms — with the Public Sector enjoying privileges denied to the Private Sector. He marshals figures from the first three Plans to show that of Rs. 14,060 crores of total outlay on the Public Sector, roughly 46 per cent came from sources (additional taxation and deficit financing) that carry no obligation to declare dividends or repay capital, while the Private Sector must service every rupee it raises through equity or borrowing. The core of the argument is a sector-by-sector inventory of discrimination. Foreign aid and World Bank credits, grants of Rs. 480 crores under PL 480, tax concessions on Defence Deposit Certificates and Annuity Deposits, foreign exchange for plant and equipment, 'Committed Expenditure' guarantees in the Plans, and reimbursement of operating losses (as in the case of the Government Shipping Corporation) all flow exclusively or overwhelmingly to public undertakings. Master cites Finance Ministers Morarji R. Desai (1962-63) and T. T. Krishnamachari (1964-65) to show that even the Government now concedes that public-sector units must earn 'adequate' profits and build reserves for future expansion — yet, he notes, the Tariff Commission's recommendation that the Tata Iron & Steel Company and the Indian Iron & Steel Company be allowed a retention price of Rs. 8 per tonne to amortise their loans was rejected, and the same companies were squeezed for Rs. 5 crores in cash under threat of nationalisation. The pamphlet closes with a warning that the State's accumulating share in private undertakings via the Life Insurance Corporation and the Unit Trust (a total holding of about 40 per cent on his estimate) could allow it to 'nationalise industries by the backdoor' through controlling shareholdings — an outcome he frames as contrary to a worldwide trend in which socialist and communist countries are themselves expanding scope for private initiative. The author's plea is for 'equal and fair treatment to both Private and Public Sectors' and for economic realism over dogma. ## Key points - Reframes the official 'one National Sector' formula as a cover for systematic privileging of the Public Sector at the expense of the Private Sector. - Quantifies the asymmetry: of Rs. 14,060 crores total Public Sector outlay across the first three Plans, Rs. 6,523.28 crores (about 46%) came from additional taxation, deficit financing and grants — sources that carry no debt-service obligation. - Catalogues the financing channels closed to the Private Sector: World Bank and foreign-government loans, Ford Foundation and TCA grants, PL 480 funds, 'Committed Expenditure' provisions, and loss reimbursement (e.g. Government Shipping Corporation). - Documents tax discrimination via Defence Deposit Certificates, Annuity Deposits and Unit Trust investment, all of which channel private savings to the Government on concessional terms unavailable to the Private Sector. - Uses speeches of Finance Ministers Morarji R. Desai and T. T. Krishnamachari to show the Government concedes the Public Sector must earn 'adequate returns', yet denies the Private Sector parallel treatment (the Tata Iron & Steel / Indian Iron & Steel retention-price case). - Highlights the Companies Act asymmetry — bonus, balance-sheet and Managing Director appointment obligations bind the Private Sector but not the Public Sector. - Warns that LIC and Unit Trust holdings (about 40% of certain private undertakings) give the Government a 'powerful grip' that could enable de facto nationalisation through the backdoor. - Frames the argument against a wider international trend: nationalisation on ideological grounds is being abandoned even in socialist and communist countries in favour of greater scope for individual initiative. --- ## [Primary work] Dimensions of Public Expenditure Management URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/dimensions-of-public-expenditure-by-dr-k-venkataraman/ ### Summary Dr. K. Venkataraman, a former civil servant and Chairman of the Public Expenditure Round Table (PERT) in Chennai, uses this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet to argue that India's public expenditure has grown into a quietly destabilising force that academic and political debate has neglected. Drawing on numbers through the late 1990s, he documents that Central Government expenditure was doubling roughly every five years through the 1980s and 1990s, that the combined fiscal deficit of the Centre and the States hovered near 10% of GDP, and that as much as 86% of the Centre's internal borrowings were going to service existing debt — a trajectory he labels a possible "debt trap" in which an entire revenue budget could one day be consumed by interest payments alone. Venkataraman frames this not just as a budgetary problem but as a paradigm shift that has happened without articulation: the revenue/capital distinction has eroded, subsidies have become a permanent fixture, public capital formation has stalled, and competitive populism between States — symbolised by free agricultural electricity — keeps Chief Ministers trapped in a "Who will bell the cat?" stand-off.… ### Body ## Summary Dr. K. Venkataraman, a former civil servant and Chairman of the Public Expenditure Round Table (PERT) in Chennai, uses this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet to argue that India's public expenditure has grown into a quietly destabilising force that academic and political debate has neglected. Drawing on numbers through the late 1990s, he documents that Central Government expenditure was doubling roughly every five years through the 1980s and 1990s, that the combined fiscal deficit of the Centre and the States hovered near 10% of GDP, and that as much as 86% of the Centre's internal borrowings were going to service existing debt — a trajectory he labels a possible "debt trap" in which an entire revenue budget could one day be consumed by interest payments alone. Venkataraman frames this not just as a budgetary problem but as a paradigm shift that has happened without articulation: the revenue/capital distinction has eroded, subsidies have become a permanent fixture, public capital formation has stalled, and competitive populism between States — symbolised by free agricultural electricity — keeps Chief Ministers trapped in a "Who will bell the cat?" stand-off. He calls for the Centre and States to negotiate a joint Expenditure Policy Resolution for the next decade, for the Finance Commission and State Finance Commissions to systematically match functions to finances through vertical transfers, and for a White Paper exercise modelled on the UK Government's early-1980s reform. The second half of the booklet turns to procedure and accountability. Venkataraman flags weak parliamentary scrutiny (guillotine voting on demands for grants, neglected Public Accounts Committee reports), the conflation of "spending the allocation" with "effectiveness," and the absence of impact analysis or beneficiary feedback. He floats borrowing Quality Circles and ISO 9000 thinking for public services, asks whether sunset rules and measurable departmental outputs can be imported into Indian budgeting, and proposes a four-pronged "awareness generation" programme — transparent budget documents, informed public debate, civic education of the young, and direct beneficiary feedback to departments — with the media as connective tissue. His closing argument is that the *problematique* of public expenditure is a "creeping malaise" that coalition politics has made political will harder to summon, and that the subject is "too important to be left to governments alone" — a citizens-and-taxpayers project rather than a Finance Ministry one. ## Key points - Central Government expenditure grew by 136% in the first half of the 1980s, 98% in the second half, and 74% in the first half of the 1990s; the combined Centre+State fiscal deficit is around 10% of GDP. - Interest payments now consume over 25% of the Centre's revenue budget and the State Governments' interest burden has risen 50% in three years; the Comptroller and Auditor General has flagged that 86% of internal borrowings go to debt service — a possible debt trap. - The revenue/capital distinction has been hollowed out, public capital formation has slowed, and capital expenditure is taking a back seat to a "predatory revenue deficit." - Competitive subsidisation between States (e.g., free electricity for agricultural consumers) is recognised as unviable even by the States themselves, but no single Chief Minister can step back unilaterally; a joint Centre–State review is proposed. - Venkataraman calls for matching functions and finances through more rigorous vertical transfers, a White Paper on public expenditure (modelled on the UK reform of the early 1980s), measurable departmental outputs, sunset rules, and a multi-year medium-term expenditure forecast. - Democratic accountability has failed to stem the tide: legislatures pass demands for grants by guillotine, Parliamentary Standing Committees lack sustained impact, and Public Accounts Committee reports rarely move the executive. - He proposes a four-part "awareness generation" programme — demystified budget documents, informed public debates, civic education of younger citizens, and direct beneficiary feedback to government departments — with media as an indispensable amplifier. - The booklet positions the Public Expenditure Round Table (PERT), Chennai, as one institutional vehicle for this citizen-side scrutiny and reaffirms the Forum of Free Enterprise's stance that fiscal restraint is a condition for democratic free enterprise. --- ## [Primary work] Draft Sixth Plan URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/draft-sixth-plan-prof-c-n-vakil-july-14-1978/ ### Summary Prof. C. N. Vakil's lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 6 June 1978 and published as a booklet on 14 July 1978, offers an early Janata-era critique of India's Draft Sixth Plan (1978–83). Vakil welcomes the Plan's stated departure from earlier Plans — its emphasis on rural development, small-scale industries, a 'minimum needs programme' covering drinking water, housing, roads, elementary education, rural health and electrification, and the explicit recognition that the fruits of three decades of planning have not reached the rural masses. He uses this opening to retell, with some satisfaction, an old defeat: in 1956 he and P. R. Brahmanand had submitted to the Panel of Economists a 'Wage-Goods Model' that prioritised abundant production of food and essentials of life over heavy industry; the Panel, mesmerised by Russian advisers and by P. C. Mahalanobis's Plan Frame, set the suggestion aside. After thirty years, he writes, 'the defects pointed out in 1956 have been realised.' The body of the lecture is organised in three sections — Aspirations and Limitations, Techniques of Planning, and Plan Model Should Suit Indian Conditions.… ### Body ## Summary Prof. C. N. Vakil's lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 6 June 1978 and published as a booklet on 14 July 1978, offers an early Janata-era critique of India's Draft Sixth Plan (1978–83). Vakil welcomes the Plan's stated departure from earlier Plans — its emphasis on rural development, small-scale industries, a 'minimum needs programme' covering drinking water, housing, roads, elementary education, rural health and electrification, and the explicit recognition that the fruits of three decades of planning have not reached the rural masses. He uses this opening to retell, with some satisfaction, an old defeat: in 1956 he and P. R. Brahmanand had submitted to the Panel of Economists a 'Wage-Goods Model' that prioritised abundant production of food and essentials of life over heavy industry; the Panel, mesmerised by Russian advisers and by P. C. Mahalanobis's Plan Frame, set the suggestion aside. After thirty years, he writes, 'the defects pointed out in 1956 have been realised.' The body of the lecture is organised in three sections — Aspirations and Limitations, Techniques of Planning, and Plan Model Should Suit Indian Conditions. Vakil argues that the Plan's rural-development rhetoric will fail unless the entire technique of planning is recast: the bureaucratic machinery delivers only forty percent of allocated rural funds to the farmer (sixty percent is 'swallowed up by the administration'); Panchayats and co-operative societies have become 'centres of political rivalries and intrigues'; commercial banks have expanded branches without altering the concept of lead bank lending; and the Rolling Plan device merely keeps targets up to date without changing the underlying method. He insists that solutions require a national consensus, the involvement of the public, a powerful Expenditure Commission to cut waste, and an end to deficit financing that the first year's budget (Rs. 1,080 crores) has already breached. In the third section Vakil presses the deeper theoretical point: imported assumptions — that national income growth automatically raises savings, that heavy industry creates employment, that Plans built on coefficients derived from advanced economies fit India — have all been falsified by experience. The Wage-Goods Model, he argues, builds on the realities of Indian agriculture, surplus rural labour, and the structure of internal demand; it would 'convert periods of surplus production into periods of boon' by mobilising unutilised labour into capital formation through appropriate institutional devices and social incentives. The booklet closes with an A. D. Shroff epigraph affirming free enterprise as coeval with man — a deliberate framing by the Forum that situates Vakil's technical critique within its longer classical-liberal lineage. ## Key points - Welcomes the Draft Sixth Plan's stated shift toward rural development and a 'minimum needs programme' (drinking water, housing, roads, elementary education, rural health, rural electrification) as overdue recognition that earlier plans bypassed the rural majority. - Recovers a 1956 dissent: Vakil and P. R. Brahmanand submitted a 'Wage-Goods Model' to the Panel of Economists, prioritising abundant production of food and essentials of life; the Panel, under the sway of Russian advisers and Mahalanobis's Plan Frame, set it aside — and Vakil now claims thirty years of stagnation as vindication. - Catalogues bureaucratic and institutional limits to implementation: sixty percent of rural-development funds are absorbed by administration before reaching the farmer; Panchayats and co-operative societies have become arenas of political rivalry; commercial banks have multiplied branches without changing lending behaviour. - Treats deficit financing of Rs. 2,250 crores in the Plan as 'disastrous' — already exceeded in year one (Rs. 1,080 crores in the 1978-79 Budget) — and calls for a powerful Expenditure Commission on the model of the Inchcape Committee to release resources without additional taxation or deficit financing. - Argues that the 'Rolling Plan' is not a new technique but a way of keeping the Plan up to date in its targets and achievements — the underlying method has not changed. - Rejects the orthodoxy that growth in national income automatically increases savings: in India 'national income has tended to have gone up, savings do not show any appreciable rise' — so plan models built on advanced-economy coefficients misfit Indian realities. - Frames the Wage-Goods Model as a solution: convert excess rural labour into capital formation through institutional devices and social incentives, build mutual dependence between villages and towns, and keep food and other wage-goods abundant and cheap. - The Forum of Free Enterprise's editorial framing — Eugene Black epigraph on private enterprise as 'an affirmative good', closing A. D. Shroff epigraph — places Vakil's technocratic critique within the Forum's classical-liberal lineage. --- ## [Primary work] E-Commerce and Sales Tax URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/e-commerce-and-sales-tax-n-c-mehta/ ### Summary N. C. Mehta — a chartered accountant and sales-tax specialist writing for the Forum of Free Enterprise — distils, in twelve dense pages, the constitutional and case-law framework that governs how Indian states may tax transactions completed over the internet. The booklet is a faithful piece of practitioner literature: it begins from the Supreme Court's Titaghur Paper Mills doctrine that no state may treat as a taxable 'sale' anything that is not a sale of goods under the Sale of Goods Act, 1930, and then traces how the Forty-sixth Amendment to the Constitution and article 366(29A) extended the states' reach to a list of 'deemed sales' (works contracts, hire-purchase, leases, lottery participation, transfer of right to use goods, and so on). Mehta then surveys the Supreme Court's progressive enlargement of what counts as 'goods' — from electricity (Madhya Pradesh Electricity Board), through lottery tickets (Anraj), to REP licences, exim scrips, patents, trademarks, software packages, DEPB credits, copyrights and know-how.… ### Body ## Summary N. C. Mehta — a chartered accountant and sales-tax specialist writing for the Forum of Free Enterprise — distils, in twelve dense pages, the constitutional and case-law framework that governs how Indian states may tax transactions completed over the internet. The booklet is a faithful piece of practitioner literature: it begins from the Supreme Court's Titaghur Paper Mills doctrine that no state may treat as a taxable 'sale' anything that is not a sale of goods under the Sale of Goods Act, 1930, and then traces how the Forty-sixth Amendment to the Constitution and article 366(29A) extended the states' reach to a list of 'deemed sales' (works contracts, hire-purchase, leases, lottery participation, transfer of right to use goods, and so on). Mehta then surveys the Supreme Court's progressive enlargement of what counts as 'goods' — from electricity (Madhya Pradesh Electricity Board), through lottery tickets (Anraj), to REP licences, exim scrips, patents, trademarks, software packages, DEPB credits, copyrights and know-how. Because most e-commerce traffic involves these incorporeal or intangible items, the booklet's analytical centre of gravity is the question of situs: where, in law, does a sale of an intangible take place? Section 4(2) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 fixes situs for tangible goods, but for intangibles Mehta leans on Salmond on Jurisprudence and an English line of authority (Smelting Co. of Australia, Muller & Co.'s Margarine) to argue that incorporeal property is situated where the right is exercised and enjoyed. The practical pay-off comes in eleven worked illustrations — A in country X delivering Indian stock to B, exports against purchase orders routed through the internet, software downloaded by a Mumbai user from a US-hosted server, machinery imported on lease, internet auctions concluded by bid acceptance. Mehta's headline conclusion is that a Mumbai customer who downloads software installed on a foreign 'Webnet' is making a taxable acquisition of the right to use intangible goods in Maharashtra, and is therefore exigible to that state's sales tax. He closes by reading indivisible works contracts and hire-purchase / installment sales back into the same framework. The pamphlet, originally a 26 April 2000 presentation in Mumbai, is published with the Forum's standard disclaimer and bracketed by the Forum's signature inspirational quotes from A. D. Shroff and Eugene Black. ## Key points - Anchors the analysis in Titaghur Paper Mills (1985): a state may not tax by legislation, rule or notification anything that is not a sale of goods under the Sale of Goods Act, 1930. - Explains how the Forty-sixth Constitutional Amendment and article 366(29A) created a category of 'deemed sales' — works contracts, hire-purchase, leases, transfer of right to use goods, lottery tickets — to plug the gaps the Supreme Court had opened. - Maps the Supreme Court's enlargement of 'goods' to include electricity, lottery participation rights (Anraj), REP and exim licences, DEPB credits, patents, trademarks, copyright, technical know-how and software. - Distinguishes situs of sale for tangible goods (section 4(2) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956) from situs for incorporeal property, which Mehta — following Salmond on Jurisprudence — locates where the right is exercised and enjoyed. - Concludes that software downloaded in Mumbai from a server installed in the United States is a transfer of the right to use intangible goods exigible to Maharashtra sales tax. - Works through eleven worked e-commerce illustrations covering cross-border stock delivery, equity-participation imports, lease-and-purchase chains, internet auctions and exports against online orders. - Notes that Parliament has not exercised its article 246(1) power to tax inter-State 'deemed sales', so such transactions remain immune from both state and central sales tax. - Originated as a 26 April 2000 Forum of Free Enterprise presentation in Mumbai and is published by M. R. Pai with the Forum's standard non-attribution disclaimer. --- ## [Primary work] Economic Democracy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/economic-democracy-r-a-tariton-feb5-1969/ ### Summary B. A. Tarlton's 18-page lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise's Calcutta centre in 1968 and published as a booklet in February 1969, opens with a balance-sheet of disillusionment. Fifteen years after independence the politicians' promised "sunlit plateaus of prosperity" remain out of reach, centralised planning has failed to lift average living standards, and India has slid from being a net international creditor of over Rs. 700 crores in 1956 to a net debtor of over Rs. 5,000 crores in 1968. From this prelude Tarlton mounts a sustained case for rethinking what "economic democracy" should mean for India. He distinguishes a "classical" concept of democracy — rule by a particular person, class, or even a majority — from a "liberal" concept in which political authority is vested equally in every citizen, anchored by full adult suffrage, periodic elections, an independent judiciary and a free press.… ### Body ## Summary B. A. Tarlton's 18-page lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise's Calcutta centre in 1968 and published as a booklet in February 1969, opens with a balance-sheet of disillusionment. Fifteen years after independence the politicians' promised "sunlit plateaus of prosperity" remain out of reach, centralised planning has failed to lift average living standards, and India has slid from being a net international creditor of over Rs. 700 crores in 1956 to a net debtor of over Rs. 5,000 crores in 1968. From this prelude Tarlton mounts a sustained case for rethinking what "economic democracy" should mean for India. He distinguishes a "classical" concept of democracy — rule by a particular person, class, or even a majority — from a "liberal" concept in which political authority is vested equally in every citizen, anchored by full adult suffrage, periodic elections, an independent judiciary and a free press. Lincoln's formulation, "government of the people by the people for the people," is offered as the model, and Nehru's preferred extension of this idea into the economic sphere — socialist planning and public-sector expansion — is rejected as both ideologically incoherent and economically destructive. He marshals data on the runaway growth of government undertakings (from 6% to 43% of paid-up corporate capital between the Second and Third Plans) and on the loss-making Indian Railways and ordnance factories to argue that state ownership has "absorbed huge domestic resources" while consistently underperforming. Tarlton then weighs alternatives. The Yugoslav model of workers' self-management is conceded as a serious attempt at economic democracy but is judged inadequate because it remains imprisoned within socialist organisation and severs the producer from consumer signals. The correct model, he insists, is consumer sovereignty inside a competitive market: producers must "queue up" before the buyer just as candidates queue up before the voter. Drawing on Adam Smith's argument from self-interest, Mahatma Gandhi's distrust of concentrated power, J. F. Kennedy's defence of the dispersed free market, and the visible take-off of Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand against the centrally directed economies of India, Burma and Indonesia, he makes both a principled and an empirical case that free enterprise simultaneously disperses power and raises living standards. The closing pages turn polemical. The Indian businessman, Tarlton complains, has been "daubed with so much ideological tar" — exploiter, profiteer, parasite, gambler — that he is tempted to retreat into compromise and "back-door" relief from administrators. Tarlton calls instead for a positive, public defence: the entrepreneur is "the main architect of economic democracy," and the businessman's task is not to plead for protection but to demand the basic freedoms — to decide, invest, produce, hire and be honestly taxed — that allow him to create wealth and employment as a civic contribution to a democratic society. ## Key points - Centralised planning is presented as a measurable failure: India moved from net international creditor of Rs. 700 crores (1956) to net debtor of over Rs. 5,000 crores (1968), with stagnant living standards and rising unemployment. - Tarlton distinguishes a 'classical' democracy (rule by a particular class or majority) from a 'liberal' democracy (political authority vested equally in every citizen), and treats the liberal concept as the only one suited to India. - He attacks the size and inefficiency of the Indian public sector — government share of paid-up corporate capital grew from 6% to 43% across the Second and Third Plans, with sub-1% returns against planned 11–12%. - The Yugoslav self-management experiment is acknowledged as the closest socialist approach to economic democracy but is dismissed because it remains divorced from consumer signals. - Economic democracy, in Tarlton's reframing, is consumer sovereignty inside a competitive market — producers must compete for the consumer's vote just as politicians compete for the citizen's. - He marshals comparative evidence: East Asian free-enterprise economies (Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand) have outpaced the centrally directed economies of India, Burma and Indonesia. - The entrepreneur is framed as the 'main architect of economic democracy,' and the booklet closes with a call for businessmen to mount a positive, public defence of free enterprise rather than retreat into back-door lobbying. --- ## [Primary work] Economic Development and Conservation of Natural Resources URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/economic-development-and-conservation-of-natural-resources-zafar-futehally-february-12-1972/ ### Summary Zafar Futehally's lecture, delivered on 23rd July 1971 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise and published as a Forum booklet in February 1972, argues that India's pursuit of economic development has proceeded without serious accounting for the natural-resource base on which civilisation rests. Distinguishing renewable resources (fresh water, clean air, soil, vegetation, animal life) from non-renewable ones (oil, coal, iron ore, minerals), he confines his attention to the renewable category and warns that even renewables collapse once their progenitor — nature itself — is destroyed. He marshals examples from the Sahara, the Rajasthan deserts, the silted hydrology of the Aswan Dam, the DDT load in the body fat of Delhi residents, and the deforestation-induced floods of South-East Asia to show that the over-exploitation of nature long predates synthetic chemicals and heavy machinery. The central argument is that development plans must be grounded in the natural principles of land use, following the ecologist Edward Graham.… ### Body ## Summary Zafar Futehally's lecture, delivered on 23rd July 1971 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise and published as a Forum booklet in February 1972, argues that India's pursuit of economic development has proceeded without serious accounting for the natural-resource base on which civilisation rests. Distinguishing renewable resources (fresh water, clean air, soil, vegetation, animal life) from non-renewable ones (oil, coal, iron ore, minerals), he confines his attention to the renewable category and warns that even renewables collapse once their progenitor — nature itself — is destroyed. He marshals examples from the Sahara, the Rajasthan deserts, the silted hydrology of the Aswan Dam, the DDT load in the body fat of Delhi residents, and the deforestation-induced floods of South-East Asia to show that the over-exploitation of nature long predates synthetic chemicals and heavy machinery. The central argument is that development plans must be grounded in the natural principles of land use, following the ecologist Edward Graham. Futehally presses the unfashionable conclusion that India's 229 million cattle and 106 million sheep and goats are themselves a national waste, eroding the productivity of the 13 per cent of Indian land devoted to grazing and pasture; only by reducing those numbers, and by turning arid marginal land over to wildlife harvested on a sustained-yield basis, can the productivity of the land be raised. He cites the Bombay Natural History Society's Gir Sanctuary studies, comparative data from Utah, and the work of Juan Spillett and Lee Talbot to back the claim that wildlife exploits habitat resources more efficiently than domestic cattle. A secondary thread concerns watersheds, forests and wetlands. The 1952 National Forest Policy reserving 33 per cent of land for forest cover has remained a 'paper dream'; illegal felling and the conversion of forest to agriculture have hollowed it out. Drawing on Lee Talbot's Philippines watershed report and the testimony of nineteenth-century famine commissioners — Sir Richard Temple in 1877 and the Indian Famine Commission of 1880 — he treats today's catastrophic floods and droughts as the predictable consequence of a denuded landscape. Wetlands and marshes, he insists, are economic assets in their own right: fish farming outyields reclamation for wheat, marshes regulate the hydrology of surrounding countryside, and they have educational and recreational value comparable to the angling and waterfowl economies of England and the United States. The closing image is the Indonesian island of Krakatoa, which was sterilised by volcanic ash in 1883 and recolonised within fifty years into a mature forest. Futehally ends with a rhetorical question that crystallises the booklet's argumentative frame: 'Would it not be wiser for us to conserve nature rather than conquer it?' ## Key points - Civilisation ultimately depends on natural resources, a proposition that economic and industrial development of the past century has effectively forgotten. - Renewable resources (water, air, soil, vegetation, animal life) are reusable indefinitely only if their progenitor — nature itself — is not destroyed; soil takes about 600 years per inch to form. - Over-exploitation of the environment is not a modern industrial phenomenon: bare hands plus goats, sheep and cattle reduced the Sahara and Rajasthan to deserts. - Pollution is not a problem reserved for the developed West — DDT content in the body fat of Delhi residents is higher than anywhere else in the world, owing to liberal use in godowns and warehouses. - Indian development plans must follow Edward Graham's natural principles of land use; with 46 per cent of land already under cultivation, productivity must come from intensification rather than further extension. - India's 229 million cattle and 106 million sheep and goats are degrading the 13 per cent of land used for grazing; reducing these numbers and turning marginal land over to wildlife (harvested on a sustained-yield basis, as in Utah) would raise productivity. - The 1952 National Forest Policy reserving 33 per cent of land for forest cover has remained a paper dream, and watershed degradation is implicated in the recurring cycle of floods and droughts described by Sir Richard Temple in 1877 and the 1880 Indian Famine Commission. - Wetlands outperform reclaimed land in food yield, regulate the hydrology of surrounding regions, and have educational and recreational value — their drainage is a highly undesirable undertaking. --- ## [Primary work] Economic Development of Backward Areas URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/economic-development-of-backward-areas-d-r-pendse-september-14-1976/ ### Summary D. R. Pendse, then Economic Adviser to the House of Tatas, presents a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet drawn from a longer note he wrote for the Financial Express, Bombay. The pamphlet traces how regional-economics theory has shifted from a laissez-faire view — that unrestricted trade and the rising costs of crowded developed regions would in time equalise living standards across the country — to today's mainstream acceptance of active government policy. The case for intervention, in Pendse's reading, rests on persistent socio-economic and political pressures, the slowness of percolation, technological obsolescence (he cites Britain's coal districts and Kolhapur's diesel-engine industry), and the political reality that democracies cannot wait. The middle section is a comparative survey. In Britain, "development area" Industrial Development Certificates, capital grants, 100% free depreciation, and government-built factories make Whitehall "the largest industrial landlord in the country". Yugoslavia funds a Federal Fund out of 1.55% of GNP and lends, rather than grants, to backward republics.… ### Body ## Summary D. R. Pendse, then Economic Adviser to the House of Tatas, presents a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet drawn from a longer note he wrote for the Financial Express, Bombay. The pamphlet traces how regional-economics theory has shifted from a laissez-faire view — that unrestricted trade and the rising costs of crowded developed regions would in time equalise living standards across the country — to today's mainstream acceptance of active government policy. The case for intervention, in Pendse's reading, rests on persistent socio-economic and political pressures, the slowness of percolation, technological obsolescence (he cites Britain's coal districts and Kolhapur's diesel-engine industry), and the political reality that democracies cannot wait. The middle section is a comparative survey. In Britain, "development area" Industrial Development Certificates, capital grants, 100% free depreciation, and government-built factories make Whitehall "the largest industrial landlord in the country". Yugoslavia funds a Federal Fund out of 1.55% of GNP and lends, rather than grants, to backward republics. Brazil's "decentralised concentration" — pooling resources around growth centres anchored by SUDENE in the North-East, with the Banco do Nordeste matching diverted federal income-tax — lets a highly rated project ride on as little as 12.5% of the investor's own funds. Japan, faced not with backwardness but with congestion, surrounds Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya with "adjustment" and "developing" belts to relocate industry — a parallel Pendse draws explicitly for Bombay. Turning to India, Pendse reviews how each Plan has recognised regional balance, culminating in the Fourth Plan's allocation of 77% of Central Industrial Project investment to backward States and the National Development Council's 10% earmark of Central assistance for States with below-average per-capita income. He then critiques the 1968 Planning Commission exercise: the Pande Working Group's "very selective" approach (20–30 districts) and the Wanchoo Group's incentive package were, he writes, "considerably diluted at the hands of the NDC", which spread subsidies thinly across backward areas in every State. Pendse warns that mechanical statistical criteria can flag uninhabitable areas — the Sahyadri valleys, the deserts of Rajasthan — where rehabilitation, not infrastructure, is the right response; he endorses delicensing in backward areas, concentrated growth centres on the Brazilian model, and selective fiscal incentives. The booklet closes with the reminder that "the focus is, and must always be on the people, and not on the areas", and that planners must not let "pre-mature enthusiasm get the better of a mature balancing of social costs and social benefits." ## Key points - Pendse traces the shift in regional-economics theory from a laissez-faire confidence that markets would equalise inter-regional living standards to today's broad acceptance that democratic governments cannot ignore the political and social pressure for active policy. - He distinguishes the developed-country problem (acute local unemployment in skilled regions) from the under-developed-country problem, which he describes as one of 'backwardness itself' rather than mere under-industrialisation. - A comparative survey covers Britain's Industrial Development Certificate regime and grant ladder, Yugoslavia's Federal Fund financed by 1.55% of GNP, Brazil's 'decentralised concentration' anchored by SUDENE and the Banco do Nordeste, and Japan's removal-and-relocation belts around Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya — the last offered as a model for Bombay. - Indian planning has recognised regional balance from the First Plan onwards; the Fourth Plan put 77% of Central Industrial Project outlays into backward States and the National Development Council set aside 10% of Central assistance for States with below-average per-capita income. - In 1968 the Planning Commission constituted two working groups — the Pande Group on criteria and the Wanchoo Group on incentives; both were 'considerably diluted at the hands of the NDC', which extended financial incentives to backward areas in every State rather than concentrating them. - Pendse criticises this dilution and warns that purely statistical criteria can throw up uninhabitable areas (Sahyadri valleys, Rajasthan deserts) where a rehabilitation programme for the inhabitants is more sensible than pouring scarce resources into infrastructure. - Among the corrective measures he favours: delicensing in backward areas, 2–3 selected growth points per State on the Brazilian pattern, attached industrial estates of the Faridabad type, and fiscal incentives such as higher development rebates, transport subsidies, and tax exemptions. - His closing message is that policy must focus on people rather than areas, that success depends on financial resources and 'the perseverance and the will of the people', and that planners must balance social costs against social benefits before yielding to enthusiasm. --- ## [Primary work] Economic Growth in a Free Society URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/economic-growth-in-a-free-society-by-ww-rowstow-november-5-1963/ ### Summary W. W. Rostow's address, reprinted from The Hindu of 2–4 September 1963 and circulated by the Forum of Free Enterprise in November 1963, argues that economic development is the central problem of the modern world: the gap between nations with roughly $3,000 per head of gross national product and those with as little as $50 per head. Rostow insists that the operational criterion is regular, equitable growth substantially exceeding population increase, and that no nation has been spared the common sequence of problems — only the resources, technology, and political and social arrangements available to solve them differ. The pamphlet's argumentative centre is a defence of private enterprise as the engine of growth inside a framework that only government can supply. Foreign aid, Rostow says, is helpful only as a margin to self-mobilised national effort; he cites Adam Smith's prescription for eighteenth-century underdeveloped Britain to underline that national programming and government provision of social overhead capital — schools, irrigation, highways, land tenure reform — are preconditions for a vital private sector.… ### Body ## Summary W. W. Rostow's address, reprinted from The Hindu of 2–4 September 1963 and circulated by the Forum of Free Enterprise in November 1963, argues that economic development is the central problem of the modern world: the gap between nations with roughly $3,000 per head of gross national product and those with as little as $50 per head. Rostow insists that the operational criterion is regular, equitable growth substantially exceeding population increase, and that no nation has been spared the common sequence of problems — only the resources, technology, and political and social arrangements available to solve them differ. The pamphlet's argumentative centre is a defence of private enterprise as the engine of growth inside a framework that only government can supply. Foreign aid, Rostow says, is helpful only as a margin to self-mobilised national effort; he cites Adam Smith's prescription for eighteenth-century underdeveloped Britain to underline that national programming and government provision of social overhead capital — schools, irrigation, highways, land tenure reform — are preconditions for a vital private sector. He warns against the false antithesis between national planning and private enterprise, drawing on Japanese and American precedents where the state launched first-generation industry before private business took over. Rostow then attacks the doctrine that totalitarian regimes outpace free societies in growth. Citing 1962 GNP growth figures — 3.6 per cent for Communist nations, 4.8 per cent for NATO, 5.4 per cent for the United States — he holds that the economic gap between the Free World and the Communist bloc is widening, and that the Indian sub-continent's progress, achieved "under God and law," vindicates the principle of consent over police-state methods. He closes with an Alliance for Progress-style call to demonstrate the compatibility of human freedom and economic development, urging confidence in the "great humanistic tradition." ## Key points - Frames the rich-poor divide as the defining problem of the modern world — a gap stretching from $50 to almost $3,000 per head measured in gross national product. - Defines the operational criterion of development as regular, equitable growth at a rate substantially higher than population increase; stagnation, not absolute poverty, is the diagnostic. - Aid from outside a country only helps to the extent that the recipient government and people organise their own resources; aid is a margin, not a substitute, for national mobilisation. - Defends national programming as a prerequisite to a healthy private sector, citing Adam Smith on eighteenth-century Britain and Japan's state-launched industrialisation under the Meiji-era samurai class. - Argues that government must finance social overhead capital — schools, irrigation, highways, land-tenure reform — and create the macroeconomic framework within which agriculture and private enterprise can expand. - Treats agriculture and industry as complementary rather than competing claims on scarce capital, and insists that rural growth and the freedom of the peasant are essential to modernisation. - Rejects the once-credible proposition that Communist societies grow faster than free ones, citing 1962 GNP growth figures of 3.6% for Communist nations, 4.8% for NATO, and 5.4% for the United States. - Concludes with an Alliance for Progress-flavoured affirmation that human freedom and economic development are compatible, and that the great humanistic tradition can be sustained with wit, faith, and persistence. --- ## [Primary work] Economic Growth URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/economic-growth-prof-colin-clark-jan10-1969/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects four short lectures and a personal reminiscence by the Oxford economist Colin Clark, delivered in Bombay during his September 1968 visit to India. Section I argues that India's recently accelerated population growth, far from threatening living standards, has been accompanied by faster growth in real product per head: international comparisons of Latin American and Asian developing countries lead Clark to the counter-Malthusian conclusion that population growth rates up to about 3% per year are compatible with, and may even help create, sustained rises in productivity, partly because they raise the proportion of active savers and spread overhead costs of capital. Section II lays out three principles for designing taxation - administrative practicability, economic efficiency, and social justice - and uses them to argue for a 50% cap on top income tax rates, the abolition of estate duties and discriminatory income taxes on investment, restraint on welfare spending, and the substitution of a Value Added Tax for sales tax.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects four short lectures and a personal reminiscence by the Oxford economist Colin Clark, delivered in Bombay during his September 1968 visit to India. Section I argues that India's recently accelerated population growth, far from threatening living standards, has been accompanied by faster growth in real product per head: international comparisons of Latin American and Asian developing countries lead Clark to the counter-Malthusian conclusion that population growth rates up to about 3% per year are compatible with, and may even help create, sustained rises in productivity, partly because they raise the proportion of active savers and spread overhead costs of capital. Section II lays out three principles for designing taxation - administrative practicability, economic efficiency, and social justice - and uses them to argue for a 50% cap on top income tax rates, the abolition of estate duties and discriminatory income taxes on investment, restraint on welfare spending, and the substitution of a Value Added Tax for sales tax. Its sharpest recommendation is a heavy land tax pegged to the 'unimproved value' of land, modelled on Australian assessment practice and on Meiji Japan's rural taxation. Section III defines the 'conditions of economic growth.' Clark dismisses the planning orthodoxy that capital investment is the master variable, observes that industry has developed with considerably smaller capital investments than was previously thought necessary, and points instead to Energy, Enterprise and Education - 'three words which begin with the same letter' - as the dominant factors. He endorses the view of Hagen, Streeten and Hirschmann that a policy of 'balanced growth' is mistaken and that unbalanced growth, with windfall profits in unexpected quarters, is what actually mobilises enterprise. Section IV treats agriculture as a precondition for industrialisation: India's labour force remains roughly 70% rural with productivity stagnant since the 1881 census, food distribution is unequal across the rural poor, and imports have crept up to 7% of national product. Clark recommends fertilisers, water management through tube wells and small earth dams, rural all-weather roads, and universal primary schooling, drawing comparisons with Pakistan, Japan and Australia. The pamphlet closes with Clark's recollection of a November 1947 interview with Mahatma Gandhi, arranged through Professor Parekunnel Thomas, at G. D. Birla's New Delhi residence. Gandhi diagnosed the Indian condition not as a failure of investment or industrialisation but as a problem of idleness and speculative money-lending; defended village industry, decentralisation and the spiritual life against the rush to urbanise; condemned contraception and sterilisation; and, citing a statement by the State Governor Mr. Pakwasa, insisted that religion stands on its own platform, independent of nationality. M. R. Pai publishes the booklet for the Forum of Free Enterprise on 10 January 1969 as part of its educational series; sidebar quotes from Eugene Black and the Forum's founder A. D. Shroff frame the volume in the Forum's classical-liberal idiom. ## Key points - Population growth rates up to 3% per year are not incompatible with rising real product per head, and Clark argues they may actively help create growth by raising the share of active savers and spreading capital overheads. - Three principles must guide taxation - administrative practicability, economic efficiency, and social justice - and on these grounds top income tax should not exceed 50%, estate duties and discriminatory taxes on investment income should be abolished, and a Value Added Tax should replace sales tax. - A heavy land tax on the 'unimproved value' of land, modelled on Australian assessment practice and Meiji Japan's 1873 reform, is Clark's central recommendation for forcing productive use of agricultural land. - Government should restrict itself to defence, internal law and order, roads, water supply, public health, and partial support to education - all other activities, including industrial projects, housing, insurance and welfare, should be left to the private sector. - Public expenditure should be decentralised to Municipal or District Government wherever possible, with shared revenues and subsidies avoided so that local electors discipline local spending. - Capital investment is not the dominant factor in growth; the real drivers are Energy, Enterprise and Education, and 'balanced growth' planning is mistaken - unbalanced growth with windfall profits actually mobilises enterprise. - Indian agricultural productivity has barely shifted since the 1881 census and food is distributed unequally within rural communities, so the route to surplus runs through fertilisers, water management, rural roads and universal primary schooling rather than canal-irrigation megaprojects. - The booklet ends with a 1947 interview in which Gandhi diagnoses Indian poverty as a problem of idleness, defends decentralised village industry against urban concentration, condemns contraception, and insists religion is not subservient to nationality. --- ## [Primary work] Economic Growth Requires Reform of Tax Structure URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/economic-growth-requires-reform-prof-r-j-taraporevala-feb5-1962/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet — reprinted from Capital Annual 1961 and issued in February 1962 — argues that the tax structure assembled during India's Second Five-Year Plan has actively retarded the savings, investment, and entrepreneurial activity on which the Third Plan's six-per-cent growth target depends. Prof. Russi Jal Taraporevala opens with the principle that tax policy must serve multiple, often conflicting, objectives, and that in an under-developed mixed economy where the private sector still does most of the saving and investing, the dominant purpose of taxation must be to provide conditions which stimulate savings and promote risk-bearing enterprise. Citing National Council of Applied Economic Research figures, he shows that the Government's net savings rose from Rs. 208.9 crores (1951-52) to Rs. 1411.8 crores (1957-58) while Government investment grew from Rs. 221.1 crores to Rs.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet — reprinted from Capital Annual 1961 and issued in February 1962 — argues that the tax structure assembled during India's Second Five-Year Plan has actively retarded the savings, investment, and entrepreneurial activity on which the Third Plan's six-per-cent growth target depends. Prof. Russi Jal Taraporevala opens with the principle that tax policy must serve multiple, often conflicting, objectives, and that in an under-developed mixed economy where the private sector still does most of the saving and investing, the dominant purpose of taxation must be to provide conditions which stimulate savings and promote risk-bearing enterprise. Citing National Council of Applied Economic Research figures, he shows that the Government's net savings rose from Rs. 208.9 crores (1951-52) to Rs. 1411.8 crores (1957-58) while Government investment grew from Rs. 221.1 crores to Rs. 794.8 crores — a pattern that, on his reading, left the private sector squeezed by rapid-succession Budgets which 'created a state of chronic instability in the tax structure.' Taraporevala then catalogues what he treats as the wreckage of the Second Plan's fiscal experimentation: six different direct taxes on individuals (income, wealth, expenditure, gift, capital-gains, estate); a wealth tax that has yielded only between Rs. 4.50 and Rs. 7.50 crores a year while deterring foreign technical talent; an expenditure tax introduced on Nicholas Kaldor's advice that has produced trivial revenue (Rs. 9 lakhs in its first year, an estimated Rs. 90 lakhs for 1961-62) while generating disproportionate administrative cost; and a corporate-tax regime — the 1959 grossing-of-dividends scheme, the repeated tampering with bonus shares and the capitalisation of reserves, and Section 23A's penalty on small companies — that he says has almost crippled the entrepreneurship and risk-bearing of the business and industrial classes. He uses falling retained-earnings figures (Rs. 41.73 crores in 1955-56 down to Rs. 12.06 crores in 1957-58 for private corporations) to argue that the Second Plan's corporate tax burden has eaten into the internal financing on which industrial expansion in India depends. The reform programme follows directly from the critique. Taraporevala calls for abolishing the expenditure tax outright, reappraising and reducing personal income and wealth tax rates, capping the combined direct-tax bite at 80 per cent of an individual's annual income (with a 5 per cent exemption for those subscribing to new industrial enterprises), simplifying company taxation, abolishing the bonus tax, and amending Section 23A so it does not penalise small companies. He pleads for stability in indirect taxation — changes in excise duties should as a rule be confined to the annual Budget, with mid-year revisions reserved for national emergencies. Finally, in the search for revenue, he urges the Government to confront the politically inconvenient areas it has so far avoided: a salt tax, partial abolition or substantial relaxation of Prohibition, and serious reform of land-revenue taxation, all of which he estimates could yield hundreds of crores during the Third Plan with minimum economic sacrifice. The pamphlet closes with the standard Forum disclaimer and an A. D. Shroff epigraph on free enterprise. ## Key points - Argues that tax policy in an under-developed mixed economy must above all promote private savings and investment, since the private sector still bears the main burden of capital formation and entrepreneurship. - Documents that during the Second Plan, net savings of the Government Sector rose from Rs. 208.9 crores (1951-52) to Rs. 1411.8 crores (1957-58) while net investment in the Public Sector through Government grew from Rs. 221.1 crores to Rs. 794.8 crores — a pattern Taraporevala says crowded out private capital formation. - Counts six different direct taxes on individuals (income, wealth, expenditure, gift, capital-gains, estate duty) imposed during the Second Plan and treats their cumulative weight as a factor retarding India's economic development. - Singles out the expenditure tax — introduced on Nicholas Kaldor's advice by then Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari — as a clear failure: trivial revenue (Rs. 1 crore actual against Rs. 9 crores originally estimated for its first year), and disproportionately costly to administer. - Argues that the 1959 grossing-of-dividends scheme, Section 23A of the old Indian Income Tax Act, and the cumulative bonus-share and capital-reserves taxes have suppressed retained corporate earnings — the dominant funding source for industrial expansion in India. - Proposes that the combined direct-tax burden on an individual not exceed 80 per cent of annual income, with a 5 per cent exemption for those acquiring shares in declared new industrial enterprises. - Calls for abolishing the expenditure tax and the bonus tax, simplifying corporate taxation, and amending Section 23A so it does not retard the growth of small and medium companies. - Urges politically difficult revenue reforms — a salt tax, partial abolition or substantial relaxation of Prohibition, and overdue reform of land-revenue taxation — projected to yield hundreds of crores with minimal economic harm. --- ## [Primary work] Economic Infirmities Will Continue Under the Union Budget 1996-97 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/economic-infirmities-will-continue-under-the-union-budget-1996-97by-hp-ranina/ ### Summary This is a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet based on a Mumbai public lecture by chartered accountant and tax authority H. P. Ranina, dissecting Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's maiden Union Budget for 1996-97 under the United Front Government. Ranina concedes that the Budget tries to placate the parties supporting the Government by working within the Common Minimum Programme — bumping rural development outlays by more than Rs. 1,000 crore and social services by almost Rs. 1,700 crore — but argues that across all three of its stated objectives (fiscal stabilisation, poverty alleviation, infrastructure) the Budget falls short. He warns that the budgeted deficit of Rs. 6,578 crore (nearly 5% of GDP) probably understates reality, since the customs duty projection of Rs. 44,435 crore assumes an implausible 50% collection jump, and that scheme proliferation will simply fatten the bureaucracy without reaching the intended beneficiaries. The heart of the booklet is a tax-and-capital-markets critique.… ### Body ## Summary This is a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet based on a Mumbai public lecture by chartered accountant and tax authority H. P. Ranina, dissecting Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's maiden Union Budget for 1996-97 under the United Front Government. Ranina concedes that the Budget tries to placate the parties supporting the Government by working within the Common Minimum Programme — bumping rural development outlays by more than Rs. 1,000 crore and social services by almost Rs. 1,700 crore — but argues that across all three of its stated objectives (fiscal stabilisation, poverty alleviation, infrastructure) the Budget falls short. He warns that the budgeted deficit of Rs. 6,578 crore (nearly 5% of GDP) probably understates reality, since the customs duty projection of Rs. 44,435 crore assumes an implausible 50% collection jump, and that scheme proliferation will simply fatten the bureaucracy without reaching the intended beneficiaries. The heart of the booklet is a tax-and-capital-markets critique. Ranina condemns the proposed Minimum Alternative Tax under section 115-JA as 'totally regressive' and 'morally unjustifiable', because zero-tax status exists by the Government's own design (differential depreciation rules under the Companies Act 1956 and Income-tax Rules 1962) and the levy will punish exporters, R&D performers, and units in backward areas. He documents a liquidity crunch driven by Government borrowing crowding out industry, with interest rates 'preposterously high' at 20%, and savings rates fallen from 24% to about 19%. He treats the failure to abolish the tax on dividends — at a revenue cost of only about Rs. 75 crore — as a missed opportunity to revive investor confidence, and is sharply sceptical of new sections 54-EA and 54-EB, which he reads as a device to divert savings into Government-controlled instruments such as bonds of the new Infrastructure Development Finance Company. On infrastructure, Ranina calls the IDFC's Rs. 5,000 crore authorised capital and the Rs. 200 crore National Highway Authority allocation a 'scratch on the surface' against a fifteen-year requirement he estimates at roughly Rs. 250,000 crore. He flags the absence of any serious provision for land acquisition (35–40% of expressway costs), the dependence of the promised US$10 billion in foreign direct investment on credible infrastructure execution, and unfunded burdens in public health and irrigation. His indirect-tax pass shows winners (textiles, automobiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, detergents) and losers (steel, cement), and his conclusion is that, apart from the long-overdue permission to issue non-voting shares, the Budget contains 'nothing exciting' and leaves the Finance Minister with an unfinished agenda to be tested in February 1997. ## Key points - Ranina credits Chidambaram for working within the United Front's Common Minimum Programme and stepping up rural development (+Rs. 1,000 crore) and social services (+Rs. 1,700 crore, mostly education), but treats the political accommodation as the Budget's defining limit. - He doubts the credibility of the Rs. 6,578 crore (≈5% of GDP) deficit target, noting that Manmohan Singh's Rs. 5,000 crore deficit projection for 1995-96 overshot by 50% to Rs. 7,600 crore, and that the new customs duty estimate of Rs. 44,435 crore assumes an implausible 50% collection jump. - The proposed section 115-JA Minimum Alternative Tax is condemned as 'totally regressive', discriminatory against companies (sparing sole proprietors and partnerships) and as punishing units that align with national priorities — export promotion, R&D, backward-area industry. - Industry faces a structural liquidity crunch because Government borrowing absorbs new money supply, keeping interest rates at a 'preposterously high' 20%, while the household savings rate has slipped from 24% to about 19% with no offsetting incentives. - Ranina urges abolition of the tax on dividends (revenue loss only ≈Rs. 75 crore, since UTI, mutual funds and FIIs via the Mauritius route already pay little) as a low-cost lever to revive investor confidence and the capital market. - Sections 54-EA and 54-EB are read as a mechanism to divert capital-market proceeds into Government-controlled bonds — notably IDFC paper — rather than into listed equity, monopolising savings for socially-oriented sectors. - Infrastructure outlays (IDFC's Rs. 5,000 crore authorised capital, Rs. 200 crore for the National Highway Authority) are dismissed as scratching the surface of an estimated Rs. 250,000 crore fifteen-year requirement, with no allocation for the 35–40% of expressway cost that goes to land acquisition. - Sectoral winners from indirect-tax changes are textiles, automobiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and detergents; steel and cement are hurt by higher raw-material and freight costs; non-voting shares are the lone genuinely pro-industry reform. --- ## [Primary work] Economic Growth with Social Justice URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/economic-growth-with-social-justice-dr-b-r-shenoy-august-1977/ ### Summary Economic Growth with Social Justice is a short policy pamphlet by B. R. Shenoy, written in August 1977 a few months before his death and issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay. Shenoy sets out a compact theoretical case for consumer sovereignty: a free society is defined by citizens who function in the economic sphere under the doctrine of pragmatism, in which sovereign consumers — not a planning commission — direct production through a price-regulated market mechanism that includes trade, capital markets, and forward markets. He pairs this with the requirement of private property in the means of production (citing Ludwig von Mises and using the Soviet collective-farm experience as evidence that ownership matters), the four economic freedoms of the individual (use of income, choice of consumption, choice of savings, choice of occupation), and four resulting desiderata — cost-and-quality competition, employment expansion, the elimination of monopoly-bred social injustice, and a narrowing of income contrasts as the wage share of GDP rises. The second half of the pamphlet is a diagnosis of three decades of Indian socialism.… ### Body ## Summary Economic Growth with Social Justice is a short policy pamphlet by B. R. Shenoy, written in August 1977 a few months before his death and issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay. Shenoy sets out a compact theoretical case for consumer sovereignty: a free society is defined by citizens who function in the economic sphere under the doctrine of pragmatism, in which sovereign consumers — not a planning commission — direct production through a price-regulated market mechanism that includes trade, capital markets, and forward markets. He pairs this with the requirement of private property in the means of production (citing Ludwig von Mises and using the Soviet collective-farm experience as evidence that ownership matters), the four economic freedoms of the individual (use of income, choice of consumption, choice of savings, choice of occupation), and four resulting desiderata — cost-and-quality competition, employment expansion, the elimination of monopoly-bred social injustice, and a narrowing of income contrasts as the wage share of GDP rises. The second half of the pamphlet is a diagnosis of three decades of Indian socialism. Shenoy argues that the working of exchange control, import-export restrictions, the 1956 Industrial Policy Resolution, the Planning Commission, nationalisation, state trading, the Reserve Bank's credit controls and the licence-permit machinery has produced four sectors: a priority-fed public sector, a policy-favoured industrial sector, a harassed and neglected agricultural sector, and a corrupt sector that lives off the other three. He marshals figures — public-sector firms absorbing roughly 55% of investment but yielding only 17% of NNP in 1975-76; per-capita agricultural income falling from Rs. 219.20 in 1960-61 to Rs. 155.90 in 1976-77; the population below the poverty line moving from 39% to 45% — to argue that agriculture, on which 72% of the population lives, is being starved of capital while industry and the urban elite are pampered. The remedy Shenoy prescribes is a nine-point "right-about turn" toward what he calls the Gandhian concept of the state's role: divert resources into agriculture, remove internal and external trade barriers, revise the 1956 industrial policy, abolish licensing and subsidies, scale down public-sector outlays (even withdrawing existing investments), confine the state to its natural duties, remove exchange control and adopt a fully floating Rupee, cut taxation and balance the budget at a much lower level, and review all economic legislation for abandonment or restructuring. He cites West Germany under Ludwig Erhard, Spain, Japan and the "mini-Japans" of Asia as success cases, and India, Burma, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh as classic socialist failures. The pamphlet closes on the aphorism that consumer sovereignty and voter sovereignty are two aspects of the same free citizen. ## Key points - Defines a free society as a "pragmatic society" of consumer sovereignty operating through a price-regulated market mechanism that includes trade, capital markets and forward markets. - Treats private property in the means of production as foundational, citing von Mises and arguing the Soviet 3% of land under private plots produced 1/3 of USSR's gross farm output and 1/2 of its livestock. - Lists four economic freedoms of the individual: distribution of income between consumption and saving, choice of consumption, choice of savings allocation, and choice of occupation. - Identifies four sectors produced by Indian socialism — a pampered public sector, a policy-favoured industrial sector, a harassed agricultural sector, and a corrupt sector fed by licensing, exchange control and subsidies. - Quantifies failure: public sector absorbs ~55% of investment but contributes 17% of NNP (1975-76); per-capita agricultural income falls Rs. 219.20 (1960-61) to Rs. 155.90 (1976-77); population below the poverty line moves from 39% to 45%. - Contrasts the wage-and-salary share of GDP: Japan 41.3%→50.8% (1960-1974), West Germany 46.9→54.7, vs Socialist India fluctuating around 28-30%. - Proposes a nine-point U-turn including abolition of industrial licensing and subsidies, scaling down of public-sector outlays, a fully floating Rupee, lower taxation with a balanced budget, and a review of all economic legislation for repeal or restructuring. - Frames consumer sovereignty and voter sovereignty as two faces of the same free citizen, and praises West Germany under Erhard, Spain, Japan and Asia's "mini-Japans" as exemplars. --- ## [Primary work] ECONOMIC POLICY FOR INDIA IN 1980s URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/economic-policy-for-india-in-1980s-by-bk-nehru/ ### Summary Delivered as a lecture at the Leslie Sawhny Programme in New Delhi on 17 March 1983 and published as a booklet by the Forum of Free Enterprise, this essay by B. K. Nehru — former civil servant, distinguished economist, and then Governor of Jammu and Kashmir — offers a candid retrospective on India's first thirty-five years of economic policy and a forward-looking case for liberalising the economy in the 1980s. Nehru redefines the conventional label 'mixed economy' for India, arguing that what India actually runs is a command economy with a small residual market — production, distribution, pricing, and technology choices are all directed by government regardless of ownership. He traces the genesis of this system to the wartime controls inherited at Independence, the post-Depression fashion for socialism that captured Indian students in 1930s Britain (himself included), Jawaharlal Nehru's powerful Fabian leanings and admiration for the Soviet Union, and the objective shortages of capital, foreign exchange, industry and entrepreneurial talent that made directive policy seem necessary.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as a lecture at the Leslie Sawhny Programme in New Delhi on 17 March 1983 and published as a booklet by the Forum of Free Enterprise, this essay by B. K. Nehru — former civil servant, distinguished economist, and then Governor of Jammu and Kashmir — offers a candid retrospective on India's first thirty-five years of economic policy and a forward-looking case for liberalising the economy in the 1980s. Nehru redefines the conventional label 'mixed economy' for India, arguing that what India actually runs is a command economy with a small residual market — production, distribution, pricing, and technology choices are all directed by government regardless of ownership. He traces the genesis of this system to the wartime controls inherited at Independence, the post-Depression fashion for socialism that captured Indian students in 1930s Britain (himself included), Jawaharlal Nehru's powerful Fabian leanings and admiration for the Soviet Union, and the objective shortages of capital, foreign exchange, industry and entrepreneurial talent that made directive policy seem necessary. He grants real achievements — the build-out of physical infrastructure, the development of basic industries, the breakthrough in agriculture, and the creation of a large cadre of managers, scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs that India now exports. But he is unsparing about the failures: a miserly 3.5% average growth rate, demographic growth of 2.15% leaving per-capita gains at 1.35%, 48% of the population below the subsistence-level poverty line, 5.6% compounded inflation over 35 years, a bloated and unproductive public sector, and the cancer of corruption that has, in his view, virtually collapsed the administration. From this diagnosis Nehru argues that the objective conditions which once justified controls have changed: India now saves over 20% of GNP, has built creditworthiness in international markets, and possesses a surplus of trained manpower. He prescribes a five-part programme — move decisively from a command economy to a regulated market economy; reform the loss-making public sector and shed accretions kept alive only to provide jobs for MLAs; rebuild the administration; restructure the borrowed British-style trade union framework; and index money to deal with permanent inflation that is distorting depreciation, taxation, and wage differentials. He closes by naming the three vested interests — politicians, bureaucrats and established industrialists — that profit from the present system at the expense of the common man and therefore block reform. ## Key points - Nehru argues India does not have a true 'mixed economy' but a command economy with a small market residue — government dictates what is produced, by whom, with what technology, for whom, and at what price, regardless of ownership. - He traces the system's origins to wartime controls, the 1930s fashion for socialism in British universities, Jawaharlal Nehru's Fabian and pro-Soviet leanings, and objective shortages of capital, foreign exchange, industry and entrepreneurs at Independence. - Successes credited to the system include the build-out of infrastructure (roads, railways, power, steel, cement, fertilisers), basic-goods industries, agricultural development, and a deep stock of managers, technicians and entrepreneurs. - Failures itemised: 3.5% average growth on a tiny base, population growth of 2.15% leaving per-capita gains of only 1.35%, 48% of Indians below the poverty line, 5.6% compounded inflation over 35 years, a wasteful public sector, and endemic corruption. - The 'objective conditions' have inverted — India now saves over 20% of GNP, has international creditworthiness, and a surplus of trained manpower — so the rationale for controls is gone. - Reform programme: shift from a command economy to a regulated market economy, fix the public sector and shed jobs-for-MLAs accretions, revamp administration, restructure UK-borrowed trade unions, and index money against permanent inflation. - Three resistances stand in the way of change: ideological loyalty to a 1947 vintage of socialism that the rest of the world has abandoned; and the vested interests of politicians, bureaucrats and established industrialists who benefit from the status quo — the present system 'harms only the common man.' --- ## [Primary work] Economic Progress Demands Attention to Private Enterprise and Scientific Management URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/economic-progress-demands-attention-to-private-enterprise-and-scientific-management-by-dr--kk-das-may-8-1961/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet reprints an excerpt from Dr. K. K. Das's presidential address to the Fourteenth All-India Commerce Conference at Jabalpur (May 1961). Das, Professor of Commerce at Andhra University, argues that a doctrinaire pursuit of the "socialist pattern of society" has fragmented India's economic effort: the Industrial Policy Statement of 1948 was tolerable, but the 1956 revision and its schedule of activities reserved for state initiative have produced an unpredictable, shifting boundary between public and private enterprise — "somewhat after the manner of the Indo-Chinese border" — that betrays a concealed presumption against private enterprise and a refusal to release private initiative for the economic task before the country. Das marshals data to show that private enterprise has more than carried its weight while the public sector has lagged: targets in the Second Five-Year Plan were not only met but exceeded by private industry, which also made up for the shortfall in public-sector investment, while the Central Government and state companies (37 and 40 in number respectively) operate at an average pre-tax return of only 2.77% against the 7% tax-f… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet reprints an excerpt from Dr. K. K. Das's presidential address to the Fourteenth All-India Commerce Conference at Jabalpur (May 1961). Das, Professor of Commerce at Andhra University, argues that a doctrinaire pursuit of the "socialist pattern of society" has fragmented India's economic effort: the Industrial Policy Statement of 1948 was tolerable, but the 1956 revision and its schedule of activities reserved for state initiative have produced an unpredictable, shifting boundary between public and private enterprise — "somewhat after the manner of the Indo-Chinese border" — that betrays a concealed presumption against private enterprise and a refusal to release private initiative for the economic task before the country. Das marshals data to show that private enterprise has more than carried its weight while the public sector has lagged: targets in the Second Five-Year Plan were not only met but exceeded by private industry, which also made up for the shortfall in public-sector investment, while the Central Government and state companies (37 and 40 in number respectively) operate at an average pre-tax return of only 2.77% against the 7% tax-free earnings usually expected of private enterprise. He quotes Gandhi on the danger of expanding state power, and notes that, having failed with coal, the government is now turning back to private enterprise to make up the deficit. What Das recommends is a re-orientation of governmental attitude rather than a wholesale retreat. The state should help and aid private enterprise; it should act as a ready entrepreneur only where private capital genuinely cannot or will not step in; public and private undertakings should compete on equal terms and be measured by comparable performance; and the policy of "witch-hunting" pronouncements and threats against private enterprise must end. He invokes Adolf Berle on the managerial revolution and Chester Bernard on the firm as a human organisation to argue that ownership-versus-management is now a sharper question than ownership-versus-ownership. The closing pages press the case that India's binding constraint is no longer capital but managerial manpower. Das points to the dearth of trained managers — including in the public sector, which has had to draw on the Industrial Management Pool and government departments — and calls for a comprehensive, purposive, properly manned programme of management education that integrates commerce and management training. He closes with a 1956 quotation from Prime Minister Nehru on industrial development making larger demands on the country's technical and managerial personnel, underlining the last two words. ## Key points - Das frames the 1948 Industrial Policy Statement as workable but the 1956 socialist-pattern revision and its schedule of reserved activities as a doctrinaire intrusion that has fragmented national economic effort. - He likens the unpredictable, shifting public–private boundary to the Indo-Chinese border, arguing that governmental freedom has been exercised against private enterprise rather than for the economic task before the country. - Citing investment figures (Rs. 1,638 crores in the First Plan, Rs. 3,650 crores in the Second, Rs. 6,200 crores estimated for the Third) and noting that 37 Central and 40 state companies are now in operation, he documents a stupendous growth of public-sector entrepreneurial activity since Independence. - He shows that private enterprise has more than met its Second Plan targets — even making up for shortfalls in the Public Sector — while the average pre-tax profit of public enterprises is only 2.77% against the 7% tax-free earnings normally expected of private enterprise. - He quotes Gandhi on the danger of state power destroying individuality, and notes that having failed with coal the government is now turning back to private enterprise to make up the deficit. - Das proposes a four-part re-orientation: the state should aid private enterprise; act as a ready entrepreneur only where private capital cannot; compete on equal terms with comparable performance estimates; and end "witch-hunting" pronouncements against business. - He invokes Adolf Berle on the managerial revolution and Chester Bernard on the firm as a human organisation, arguing that ownership-versus-management has displaced ownership-versus-ownership as the central question of modern industrialism. - He closes by identifying managerial manpower as the binding constraint on industrialisation and calling for a comprehensive, integrated programme of commerce and management education, anchored by a 1956 Nehru quote on the country's need for technical and managerial personnel. --- ## [Primary work] Economic Reforms and the Relevance of Prof. B. R. Shenoy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/economic-reforms-and-the-relevance-of-b-r-shenoy-mrs-kishori-j-udeshi-june-8-2007/ ### Summary Delivered on 4 June 2007 as the Prof. B. R. Shenoy Birth Centenary Memorial Lecture under the joint auspices of the Economics Research Centre, Mumbai, the Indian Liberal Group and the Forum of Free Enterprise, Kishori Udeshi's address reads as both a tribute and a vindication. Speaking as a former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, she juxtaposes Shenoy's heterodox prescriptions of the 1950s–1970s against the post-1991 reform agenda and argues that almost every major liberalisation step—reining in deficit financing, channeling resources into agriculture, dismantling industrial licensing, scaling back the public sector, adopting a fully floating rupee, and rebalancing taxation and expenditure—was anticipated in Shenoy's writings. She treats him as 'the real founding father of the reforms of the past 15 years.' The lecture moves through a sequence of policy domains.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered on 4 June 2007 as the Prof. B. R. Shenoy Birth Centenary Memorial Lecture under the joint auspices of the Economics Research Centre, Mumbai, the Indian Liberal Group and the Forum of Free Enterprise, Kishori Udeshi's address reads as both a tribute and a vindication. Speaking as a former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, she juxtaposes Shenoy's heterodox prescriptions of the 1950s–1970s against the post-1991 reform agenda and argues that almost every major liberalisation step—reining in deficit financing, channeling resources into agriculture, dismantling industrial licensing, scaling back the public sector, adopting a fully floating rupee, and rebalancing taxation and expenditure—was anticipated in Shenoy's writings. She treats him as 'the real founding father of the reforms of the past 15 years.' The lecture moves through a sequence of policy domains. On deficit financing and the foreign-exchange crisis she anchors the discussion in Shenoy's Note of Dissent on the Second Five Year Plan, quoting at length his warning that forcing growth beyond available real resources guarantees uncontrolled inflation; she traces the 1957–58 and 1991 crises and the eventual passage of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2004, as belated acknowledgements. On monetary policy she imagines a 'monetary hawk' Shenoy as an inflation targeter for the post-1991 era of capital inflows. On industrial policy and the external sector she revisits his attack on indiscriminate import substitution and his early call for devaluation and a floating exchange rate. Udeshi devotes substantial attention to two issues where she finds Shenoy still ahead of policy: the gold trade—where his 1963 and 1992 proposals for a Gold Exchange Bank remain only partially implemented—and agriculture, where his critique of price support, procurement and the misallocation of plan outlay is offered as a diagnosis of present-day farmer distress, with allusions to recent farmer suicides and to the Mexican Chiapas crisis. She closes by likening Shenoy to Hayek—both 'hounded out of the corridors where economic counsel was sought,' but only Hayek belatedly honoured—and quotes Milton Friedman's tribute. The booklet, edited by S. S. Bhandare, also reproduces an editor's note framing Shenoy as a 'great thinker and visionary' who stood almost alone against Nehruvian planning. ## Key points - Frames B. R. Shenoy as 'the real founding father' of India's post-1991 liberalisation, treating his 1950s–1970s heterodoxy as prophecy now vindicated. - Reconstructs Shenoy's Note of Dissent on the Second Five Year Plan as the locus classicus on deficit financing, linking it to the 1957–58 and 1991 foreign-exchange crises and the FRBM Act, 2004. - Argues that in a liberalised, capital-inflow-heavy environment Shenoy would have been an 'inflation targeter' and monetary hawk, advocating sterilisation and aggressive intervention. - Reviews Shenoy's seven-point reform agenda—ending inflation, agricultural investment, dismantling licensing, public-sector scale-down, a floating rupee, lower taxation—as a template the 1991 reforms substantially fulfilled. - Singles out gold policy as unfinished business, recalling Shenoy's 1963 and 1992 proposals for a Gold Exchange Bank and noting that the 1997 liberalisation of gold imports still falls short. - Highlights agriculture as the domain where Shenoy's warnings about price support, procurement and misallocated plan outlay best diagnose current distress, with reference to farmer suicides and the Mexican Chiapas precedent. - Likens Shenoy to Friedrich Hayek—both ostracised from official economic counsel—and laments that Shenoy, unlike Hayek, never lived to see his ideas adopted nor received comparable recognition. - Marshals testimony from Rakesh Mohan, Parth Shah and Milton Friedman to underline how little official acknowledgement Shenoy still receives even in the post-reform consensus. --- ## [Primary work] Economic Prophecies URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/economic-prophecies/ ### Summary Economic Prophecies (Centre for Civil Society, 2004) is the first of a two-volume collected-works edition of B. R. Shenoy's writings, spanning 1954 to 1978. Edited by R K Amin and Parth J Shah, it assembles 36 essays across five thematic sections — Context, Planning, Foreign Aid, Policy Critiques, and Agriculture — originally published in economic periodicals, newspapers, and lecture forums. The editors' preface, written by R K Amin, frames the volume as a posthumous tribute: it recalls Shenoy's forecast, validated by Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman and Peter Bauer, that India's socialist dirigisme would fail, and situates his relevance for a post-1991 generation. The prologue, attributed to the editors, explains that the title Economic Prophecies was chosen because Friedman, as early as 1963, had identified Shenoy as a prophet, and that this first volume is aimed at the general reader while the companion Theoretical Vision targets students of economics. In the rendered pages, three essays from Section A (Context) are partially or fully visible.… ### Body ## Summary Economic Prophecies (Centre for Civil Society, 2004) is the first of a two-volume collected-works edition of B. R. Shenoy's writings, spanning 1954 to 1978. Edited by R K Amin and Parth J Shah, it assembles 36 essays across five thematic sections — Context, Planning, Foreign Aid, Policy Critiques, and Agriculture — originally published in economic periodicals, newspapers, and lecture forums. The editors' preface, written by R K Amin, frames the volume as a posthumous tribute: it recalls Shenoy's forecast, validated by Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman and Peter Bauer, that India's socialist dirigisme would fail, and situates his relevance for a post-1991 generation. The prologue, attributed to the editors, explains that the title Economic Prophecies was chosen because Friedman, as early as 1963, had identified Shenoy as a prophet, and that this first volume is aimed at the general reader while the companion Theoretical Vision targets students of economics. In the rendered pages, three essays from Section A (Context) are partially or fully visible. Essay 1 — 'Free enterprise in danger' (May 1975) — warns that communist infiltration into government, combined with the progressive appropriation of private-sector investment resources by the public sector, is placing private enterprise on the path to extinction. Shenoy marshals data on public-sector capital appropriations, the conversion of loans to equity, and stagnant per-capita incomes to argue that the prevailing 'schizophrenic policies' cannot be corrected without heavy cuts in public-sector outlays. Essay 2 — 'Image of the Indian entrepreneur' (October 1970) — rehabilitates the Vaishya trading community against socialist caricature, tracing the institutional roots of the hundi credit system and documenting how policy hostility to enterprise has distorted the public image of Indian businessmen. The essay quotes spokesmen of Swatantra Party and Jayaprakash Narayan to show that even ostensible friends of business community were unwilling to defend entrepreneurial freedom consistently. ## Essays ### Essay 0 *By B. R. Shenoy* The Editor's Note, written by R K Amin, contextualises Shenoy's life and method. It opens with Milton Friedman calling Shenoy 'a prophet unhonoured in his own country' and Peter Bauer describing him as 'a hero and a saint.' Amin recounts meeting Shenoy shortly before his death on 8 February 1978, at which Shenoy expressed despair that he could not change the government's mind. The Note elaborates Shenoy's methodological stance — that economic theory must be grounded in real-world observation, not self-created models — and defends the separation of the economist's analytical role from that of a policy adviser. It closes by arguing that truth ultimately wins, pointing to China, England, New Zealand and the Soviet Union's own abandonment of socialist economics as posthumous vindication of Shenoy's warnings. - Milton Friedman and Peter Bauer are cited as international witnesses to Shenoy's prophetic stature - Amin stresses Shenoy's empirical method: rejecting model-building in favour of observed market and policy realities - The Note argues that merging the roles of economist and policy adviser undermines both scientific rigour and professional dignity - Shenoy's pessimism at death ('I feel sorry I could not change the mind of the government') is contrasted with Amin's optimism that truth always prevails - Post-1978 global events — Thatcher, Reagan, collapse of USSR, India's 1991 liberalisation — are offered as retrospective proof ### Free enterprise in danger *By B. R. Shenoy* Written in May 1975 in support of statements made by industrialist J R D Tata at an ASSOCHAM seminar, 'Free enterprise in danger' argues that communist infiltration into government and the escalating appropriation of private-sector investment resources by the public sector are placing private enterprise on the path to extinction. Shenoy rebuts Planning Commission Deputy Chairman P N Haksar's counter-claim that 90 per cent of national product still comes from the private sector, showing that what matters is not share of current output but share of investment resources: by 1980, the third factor alone (government appropriation of private capital) may bring 50 per cent of industrial and mining capital under government ownership. He documents how plan outlays of Rs 41,250 million in 1973-74 generate corrupt payments ('kickbacks') of Rs 8,250–16,500 million per year, transforming plan investments into dead-weight consumer income. Shenoy closes by arguing that even a Gandhian government — with J P Narayan or Vinoba Bhave as prime minister — could not correct the chaos without a thorough restructuring of policies including heavy cuts in public-sector outlays. - JRD Tata's warning of communist infiltration into key government positions is endorsed and elaborated - Haksar's 90-per-cent private-sector-output defence is rejected: the decisive variable is the public sector's share of investment resources, not current output - By 1980, government ownership of industrial and mining capital may reach 50–80 per cent through loan-to-equity conversions and direct appropriation - Public-sector plan outlays in 1973-74 generate Rs 8,250–16,500 million in corrupt payments, neutralising productive investment - Per-capita agricultural output declined at 0.14 per cent per year (compound) 1961-74 despite rising industrial production, reflecting capital starvation of agriculture ### Image of the Indian entrepreneur *By B. R. Shenoy* Published in October 1970, 'Image of the Indian entrepreneur' defends the traditional business community — specifically the Vaishya caste and its Bania sub-groups — against socialist caricature. Shenoy traces the historical origins of the hundi credit instrument, crediting it as an institution of high integrity that enabled long-distance trade across the subcontinent. He argues that the negative popular image of the entrepreneur emerged not from any inherent dishonesty but from socialist policy itself: price controls, import licensing, and the Industrial Policy Resolution of 30 April 1956 created incentives for black-market dealings and corruption that otherwise would not have existed. The essay documents how the Swatantra Party, Jayaprakash Narayan, and M R Masani — ostensibly friends of free enterprise — nevertheless hedged their support for the business community. In the rendered pages (printed pp. 6–10), Shenoy reaches the point of examining how public discourse blames rising prices on entrepreneur 'profiteering' rather than on inflation and government mismanagement, and he references the Bengal famine of 1943 as a case study in how crises are falsely attributed to businessmen. - The hundi — an 18th-century indigenous bill-of-exchange — is cited as evidence of high commercial integrity in Vaishya trading tradition - Socialist policy, not inherent cupidity, is the proximate cause of dodgy business practices: price controls and licensing create black markets - Even sympathetic political voices (Swatantra, JP, Masani) do not consistently defend entrepreneurial freedom - The Industrial Policy Resolution of 1956 classifies industries into three categories that entrench state dominance over strategic and basic industries - The Bengal famine of 1943 with 1,873,749 deaths is attributed to hoarding by middle-men — an attribution Shenoy calls a 'misfortune frequently listed by socialists' --- ## [Primary work] Economic Reforms in India: Where are We and Where do We Go? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/economic-reforms-in-india-where-are-we-and-where-do-we-go-dr-rakesh-mohan-october-10-2006/ ### Summary Rakesh Mohan's 39th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered in Mumbai in December 2005 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in 2007, takes stock of fifteen years of economic reform in India and sketches an agenda for the next round. Mohan invokes Malcolm Gladwell's metaphor of the tipping point to argue that countless small, gradual reforms since 1991 have together released a 'burst of entrepreneurial energy', lifting trend growth from around 3–4 per cent for three decades to 6–6.5 per cent, slashing inflation, building comfortable foreign-exchange reserves and pulling poverty down by 23–26 percentage points since independence.… ### Body ## Summary Rakesh Mohan's 39th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered in Mumbai in December 2005 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in 2007, takes stock of fifteen years of economic reform in India and sketches an agenda for the next round. Mohan invokes Malcolm Gladwell's metaphor of the tipping point to argue that countless small, gradual reforms since 1991 have together released a 'burst of entrepreneurial energy', lifting trend growth from around 3–4 per cent for three decades to 6–6.5 per cent, slashing inflation, building comfortable foreign-exchange reserves and pulling poverty down by 23–26 percentage points since independence. He divides the story into macroeconomic reforms — tax simplification (with a central CENVAT rate of 16 per cent, a VAT roll-out, and the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act of 2004); monetary policy reforms that ended automatic monetisation of fiscal deficits, restored central-bank autonomy and halved average inflation; and external-sector reforms that devalued the rupee in 1991, moved to a managed float, cut peak tariffs from over 400 per cent to 12.5, and opened the current account with limited capital-account convertibility. Microeconomic reforms — industrial deregulation, infrastructure liberalisation in telecoms, highways, ports and civil aviation, financial-sector strengthening (Basel II, prudential norms, market listing of public-sector banks, SEBI, NSE, abolition of the Controller of Capital Issues, IRDA), and selective agricultural opening — receive a similarly approving review, with telecoms and capital markets singled out as successes and power-sector reform, urban infrastructure and railways flagged as laggards. Mohan documents the turnaround through tables on per-capita income, poverty, literacy, life expectancy, installed power capacity, sectoral growth rates, fiscal indicators, banking NPLs, openness ratios and corporate profitability, dating the corporate-sector revival to 2002–03 after a slowdown around 1997. Looking forward, Mohan argues that the first generation of reforms freed the private sector but that further acceleration in growth and poverty reduction will be capped by the weakness of public goods and services. He calls for a 'second generation' of reforms that empowers the public sector — at central, state and local levels — to deliver agricultural research and extension, urban infrastructure, human-resource development and quality regulation, often through public–private partnerships. Agriculture receives the most extended treatment: he argues that a second green revolution must be disaggregated, regionally tailored and oriented to diversification into dairy, horticulture, fisheries and meat, supported by rejuvenated agricultural universities, NABARD-financed rural infrastructure, and decentralised credit delivery. The rendered pages close on urbanisation, where Mohan notes the puzzle that urban-population growth and net rural–urban migration have slowed during the reform period, with only 21 per cent of urban growth between 1991 and 2001 coming from migration; he traces this to inappropriate small-scale-industry reservations, rigid labour laws and urban land-use restrictions that have suppressed manufacturing-led urbanisation. ## Key points - Frames fifteen years of Indian reform (1991–2006) as a Gladwellian 'tipping point' of many small changes adding up to structural transformation, lifting trend GDP growth from 3–4 per cent to 6–6.5 per cent. - Macroeconomic reform agenda traced across fiscal (CENVAT, VAT, FRBM 2004), monetary (end of automatic monetisation, independent RBI, inflation halved to ~5 per cent) and external-sector (1991 devaluation, peak tariff cut from over 400 per cent to 12.5 per cent, managed-float exchange regime) reforms. - Microeconomic reform: industrial delicensing in 1991, small-scale reservations cut from 836 to 326 industries, telecom (TRAI), capital markets (SEBI, NSE) and civil aviation cited as successes; power, railways and urban infrastructure flagged as unfinished business. - Financial-sector reform produced sharp falls in NPLs, recapitalisation of public-sector banks, listing and Basel II adoption, and entry of private and foreign insurance companies under IRDA after the 1956 nationalisations. - Selected indicators: per-capita real income roughly tripled since 1951 to ₹12,414; installed power capacity rose from 1,362 MW in 1951 to over 118,000 MW; life expectancy from 32 to ~65 years; poverty headcount 23–26 per cent in 1999–2000. - Argues the binding constraint on the next phase is weak delivery of public goods, not lack of private dynamism, and that the 'public sector' must be redefined to span centre, state and local government for delivering agriculture, urban, education and governance services. - Diagnoses agricultural deceleration in the 1990s and 2000s and calls for a regionally disaggregated 'second green revolution' covering dairy, horticulture, fisheries and poultry, backed by rejuvenated universities, NABARD-financed rural infrastructure, and public–private partnerships in extension. - Identifies a paradoxical slowdown in net rural-urban migration during the reform period (only 21 per cent of urban-population growth in 1991–2001), attributing it to small-scale-industry reservations, rigid labour law and constraining urban land policy that suppress manufacturing-led urbanisation. --- ## [Primary work] Economic Situation and Trends in Ceylon URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/economic-situation-and-trends-in-ceylon-a-programme-of-reform/ ### Summary This 1966 policy report by the classical-liberal economist B. R. Shenoy diagnoses the economy of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and prescribes a market-oriented reform programme. Shenoy opens with a clinical metaphor: the 'body economy, like the human body, is a living organism,' whose health is read through three 'economic P's' — Production, Prices, and the Balance of Payments. In the rendered pages he works through the first three diagnostic sections. On Production, he shows real income growing under 2% a year (1960-65) against 2.7% population growth, so that per-capita income is actually declining, and he ties the shortage of national savings (down from 13.6% of GNP in 1959 to 10.7% in 1965) to consumption-boosting socialist policies, especially subsidies on food, relief and social services that amounted to 45.7% of revenue collections. On Prices, Shenoy argues that in an under-developed economy like Ceylon's, inflation 'ensues from budget deficits' rather than from commercial-bank credit, because currency notes dominate monetary circulation.… ### Body # Economic Situation and Trends in Ceylon *By B. R. Shenoy* ## Summary This 1966 policy report by the classical-liberal economist B. R. Shenoy diagnoses the economy of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and prescribes a market-oriented reform programme. Shenoy opens with a clinical metaphor: the 'body economy, like the human body, is a living organism,' whose health is read through three 'economic P's' — Production, Prices, and the Balance of Payments. In the rendered pages he works through the first three diagnostic sections. On Production, he shows real income growing under 2% a year (1960-65) against 2.7% population growth, so that per-capita income is actually declining, and he ties the shortage of national savings (down from 13.6% of GNP in 1959 to 10.7% in 1965) to consumption-boosting socialist policies, especially subsidies on food, relief and social services that amounted to 45.7% of revenue collections. On Prices, Shenoy argues that in an under-developed economy like Ceylon's, inflation 'ensues from budget deficits' rather than from commercial-bank credit, because currency notes dominate monetary circulation. He distinguishes the 'Net Cash Operating Deficit' and analyses which parts of deficit financing are genuinely inflationary, concluding that loan-financed and foreign-aid-financed deficits merely shift money between pockets while monetised deficits expand the money supply. On the savings question he contends that freezing or reducing revenue collections would actually lift private savings, since every Rs.100 million of revenue increase 'eats up' roughly Rs.30 million of potential private saving. The rendered pages reach the opening of Section IV, 'Measures of Policy Reform,' where Shenoy synthesises the diagnosis: the biggest single problems are a shortage of national savings (driven by subsidised consumption), inflationary budget deficits, and an over-valued Ceylon rupee held at an unchanged exchange rate since 1925. He frames the first link in the chain of reform as eliminating the inflationary part of budget deficits to bring inflation to zero. The fuller reform prescriptions lie beyond the rendered pages. ## Key points - Shenoy diagnoses Ceylon's economy through three 'economic P's' — Production, Prices, and Balance of Payments — using a body/medicine metaphor. - Production: real income grew under 2%/year (1960-65) against 2.7% population growth, so per-capita income is declining. - National savings fell from 13.6% of GNP (1959) to 10.7% (1965), blamed on socialist consumption subsidies (45.7% of revenue collections). - Prices: in under-developed economies inflation 'ensues from budget deficits,' since currency notes dominate monetary circulation and bank credit is limited. - Shenoy distinguishes inflationary (monetised) from non-inflationary (loan/foreign-aid-financed) parts of the 'Net Cash Operating Deficit.' - He argues reducing revenue collections would raise private savings — every Rs.100m of revenue increase 'eats up' ~Rs.30m of potential private saving. - Section IV identifies the three core problems: savings shortage, inflationary budget deficits, and an over-valued rupee fixed at 1s.6d. since 1925. - First link in the reform chain: eliminate the inflationary part of budget deficits to reduce inflation to zero. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Economic Thinking of Prof. Milton Friedman URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/economic-thinking-of-prof-milton-friedman-milton-friedman-and-p-r-brahmananda-january-14-1977/ ### Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise on 14 January 1977 to mark Milton Friedman's Nobel Prize, this slim booklet pairs two complementary texts. The first is a reprint of a 1963 article by Friedman himself — 'India Needs A Free Market Exchange Rate' — which the Forum had originally issued as a leaflet in May 1963 and now reproduces with a note that 'developments on India's foreign exchange front have moved in the direction indicated by Prof. Friedman.' The second is 'Milton Friedman — Leader of Monetarist Revolution', a critical appraisal by P. R. Brahmananda, Professor of Monetary Economics at Bombay University, originally published in Commerce on 23 October 1976. Together the two pieces position Friedman as both a practical policy critic of India's exchange-control regime and as the synthesiser who restored the Quantity Theory of Money to the centre of macroeconomics. The Forum supplies a brief introduction and the customary disclaimer that the views are not necessarily its own, while the back matter carries the standard membership appeal and an A. D. Shroff epigraph. ### Body ## Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise on 14 January 1977 to mark Milton Friedman's Nobel Prize, this slim booklet pairs two complementary texts. The first is a reprint of a 1963 article by Friedman himself — 'India Needs A Free Market Exchange Rate' — which the Forum had originally issued as a leaflet in May 1963 and now reproduces with a note that 'developments on India's foreign exchange front have moved in the direction indicated by Prof. Friedman.' The second is 'Milton Friedman — Leader of Monetarist Revolution', a critical appraisal by P. R. Brahmananda, Professor of Monetary Economics at Bombay University, originally published in Commerce on 23 October 1976. Together the two pieces position Friedman as both a practical policy critic of India's exchange-control regime and as the synthesiser who restored the Quantity Theory of Money to the centre of macroeconomics. The Forum supplies a brief introduction and the customary disclaimer that the views are not necessarily its own, while the back matter carries the standard membership appeal and an A. D. Shroff epigraph. ## Essays ### Introduction Friedman's 1963 article diagnoses the overvalued, pegged rupee as the 'Achilles heel' of the Indian economy. Since 1955 internal Indian prices have risen 30–40 per cent while US, UK and German prices have risen at most 10 per cent, so at the unchanged official rate the rupee is worth far less than 21 cents in purchasing-power terms. Maintaining the peg, he argues, has forced the government down three increasingly damaging paths — drawing down reserves, soliciting more foreign aid and loans, and tightening direct exchange and import controls — while a fourth, unofficial channel of black-market transactions has expanded in step with the unreality of the official rate. Direct controls have failed to stimulate exports and instead misallocate imports, breed corruption around licence-granting, generate windfall rents for the lucky few, and corrode public trust in government. Friedman predicts an inevitable devaluation 'sometime within the next year or so', perhaps to seven rupees to the dollar or twenty to the pound, but warns that a new fixed peg will only buy time. The clean solution is to stop pegging altogether: let the rate float, ideally alongside the abolition of import quotas, export subsidies and other trade interference; if quotas cannot be removed, at minimum replace them with tariffs under a floating rate. A market exchange rate, he concludes, would enlist 'tens of millions of people in their everyday lives' as decentralised allocators of foreign exchange — a knowledge advantage that no central planner can match. - Diagnoses the overvalued pegged rupee as the central distortion in the Indian economy. - Documents the divergence between Indian and Western price levels between 1955 and 1963 to argue the rupee is worth far less than 21 cents. - Catalogues the three official responses to the peg — drawing down reserves, foreign aid and loans, direct controls — plus the black-market fourth channel. - Argues that direct import licensing breeds corruption, rent-seeking and public distrust without stimulating exports. - Predicts an imminent devaluation but rejects any new fixed peg as a stable solution. - Advocates a floating exchange rate, ideally combined with the abolition of quotas and subsidies, as an automatic adjustment mechanism. ### India Needs A Free Market Exchange Rate *By Prof. Milton Friedman* Brahmananda's appraisal positions Friedman as the leader of the 'Monetarist Revolution' and the chief modern champion of the Quantity Theory of Money, alongside Piero Sraffa's parallel revival of classical economics. He calls Friedman a 'hedgehog' in Isaiah Berlin's sense — the thinker who knows one big thing — and lays out the modern Quantity Theory in ten propositions covering the money multiplier, the income-velocity function, the transmission mechanism, the stable demand for money, the case for a fixed money-supply growth rule, real-balance saving, the Fisher distinction between real and nominal interest, and the long-run neutrality of money for real output. For each proposition, Brahmananda generously distributes credit — to Irving Fisher, Ralph Hawtrey, D. H. Robertson, Henry Simons, Don Patinkin, Vera Lutz, Hayek, the Austrians, Gurley and Shaw — arguing that Friedman's genuine originality lies less in the propositions themselves than in synthesising them and subjecting them to systematic empirical test. The second half is more critical. Brahmananda holds that Friedman has 'partly surrendered himself to Keynesianism' by conceding the necessity of effective demand under Keynesian short-run conditions, and that his recent advocacy of 100 per cent indexation amounts to abandoning the fight against inflation in favour of preserving the status-quo ante. He contrasts Friedman with Hayek, who 'cannot enter into any compromise … with the phenomenon of inflation', and aligns himself with classical economists — Ricardo, Hume, J. S. Mill, Marshall, Robertson — who favoured a falling-price-level path as more conducive to social justice for workers and savers. The essay closes with the verdict that 'Friedman's victory is for Monetarism against Fiscalism' but not for monetarist theory over the General Theory, and a call for Friedman to return to the older Quantity Theory tradition by recognising the rejection of Say's Law as the root of the trouble. - Frames Friedman as a 'hedgehog' who restored the Quantity Theory of Money to the centre of macroeconomics, on a par with Sraffa's revival of classical economics. - Lays out the modern Quantity Theory in ten propositions covering the money multiplier, velocity, transmission, demand for money, fixed-growth rule, indexation and long-run neutrality. - Distributes credit for individual propositions to Fisher, Hawtrey, Robertson, Simons, Patinkin, Lutz, Hayek, Gurley and Shaw, locating Friedman's originality in synthesis and empirical testing rather than novelty. - Argues Friedman has 'partly surrendered' to Keynesianism by admitting effective demand as a necessary condition for full-employment real income. - Criticises Friedman's espousal of 100 per cent indexation as a 'pain-killer preserving the status-quo ante' rather than a remedy for inflation. - Contrasts Hayek's uncompromising anti-inflation stance with Friedman's accommodation, aligning the author with classical economists like Ricardo, Hume, J. S. Mill and Marshall who preferred a falling-price-level path on grounds of social justice. - Concludes that Friedman's success is policy-level — 'Monetarism against Fiscalism' — and that the deeper task is to reject Say's Law and the doctrine of effective demand 'a la Keynes or a la Friedman'. --- ## [Primary work] ECONOMIC THINKING OF LORD KEYNES URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/economic-thinking-of-lord-keynes-july-11-1968/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, issued in Bombay on 11 July 1968, reprints an article by University of Maryland economist Dudley Dillard that originally appeared in Review, the journal of the Institute of Public Affairs in Australia. Dillard, author of an earlier popular exposition of The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1940), sets out to answer a question Forum readers had been asking with mounting urgency as Indian debate over deficit financing intensified: was Lord Keynes a socialist or a defender of capitalism? Forum president Murarji J. Vaidya frames the reprint as a service to students of public affairs in India who needed a clear, jargon-free account of Keynes' actual position rather than the caricatures circulating on either side. The body of the essay is a compact primer on the Keynesian system. Dillard places Keynes in the classical line that runs from Adam Smith and Ricardo through Mill and Marshall, then traces the General Theory's break with the older orthodoxy represented by Professor Pigou of Cambridge, who had argued that an all-round cut in wages would cure unemployment.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, issued in Bombay on 11 July 1968, reprints an article by University of Maryland economist Dudley Dillard that originally appeared in Review, the journal of the Institute of Public Affairs in Australia. Dillard, author of an earlier popular exposition of The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1940), sets out to answer a question Forum readers had been asking with mounting urgency as Indian debate over deficit financing intensified: was Lord Keynes a socialist or a defender of capitalism? Forum president Murarji J. Vaidya frames the reprint as a service to students of public affairs in India who needed a clear, jargon-free account of Keynes' actual position rather than the caricatures circulating on either side. The body of the essay is a compact primer on the Keynesian system. Dillard places Keynes in the classical line that runs from Adam Smith and Ricardo through Mill and Marshall, then traces the General Theory's break with the older orthodoxy represented by Professor Pigou of Cambridge, who had argued that an all-round cut in wages would cure unemployment. Against this Dillard expounds Keynes' theory of effective demand, the consumption-investment relationship and the multiplier, and the policy implications that follow: loan-financed public investment in depression, low and permanent long-term interest rates as a stimulus to private investment, and a sharp warning that fiscal weapons remain untested as a defence against renewed slumps. A short section on wartime inflation policy describes Keynes' plan for forced saving through deferred pay as an anti-inflationary counterpart to his depression programme, and his rejection of general wage-cutting as a cure for unemployment. Dillard closes by directly addressing the booklet's subtitle. Keynes, he argues, was 'quite hostile' to Marx and to Marxism — dismissing Capital as 'an obsolete textbook' — and his theory of employment cut against the classical-socialist case that greater equality would simultaneously raise welfare and accelerate accumulation. Yet Keynes was equally hostile to laissez-faire and to the rentier interest, and located the special faults of capitalism in its monetary, financial and speculative institutions. The conclusion is that Keynes is best characterised as a critic of financial capitalism and a defender of industrial capitalism, willing to dismantle laissez-faire in order to preserve private enterprise and economic individualism. For a Forum of Free Enterprise audience in 1968, the implicit lesson is that endorsing Keynesian remedies for the trade cycle does not commit one to socialism. ## Key points - Reprint of a Dudley Dillard article originally published in Review (Institute of Public Affairs, Australia), issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 11 July 1968 with permission from the IPA. - Forum president Murarji J. Vaidya frames the booklet as a corrective for Indian readers debating 'controlled' deficit financing and its inflationary effects. - Dillard situates Keynes alongside Adam Smith, Ricardo, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx and Alfred Marshall as a classical-rank figure and compares his disruption of economics to Einstein's of physics. - The exposition centres on Keynes' break with Professor Pigou of Cambridge over wage-cutting and on the theory of effective demand, the consumption-investment relationship and the multiplier. - Policy chapters cover loan-financed public investment in depression, Keynes' campaign for permanently low long-term interest rates, his wartime programme of forced saving against inflation, and his rejection of all-round wage cuts. - Dillard records Keynes' open hostility to Marxism — calling Capital 'an obsolete textbook' — and his impatience with classical economists who refused to recognise capitalism's faults. - The closing pages characterise Keynes as a critic of financial capitalism and a defender of industrial capitalism, aiming to end laissez-faire so as to preserve private enterprise and economic individualism. - The pamphlet closes with the Forum's standard disclaimer that the views are not necessarily its own, an A. D. Shroff epigraph on free enterprise, and a membership solicitation. --- ## [Primary work] ECONOMICS OF FREEDOM URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/economics-of-freedom-m-a-masani-feb12-1965/ ### Summary This pamphlet reproduces M. R. Masani's address to the Rotary Club of Bombay, framed as a sustained argument against India's drift toward what he calls 'State Capitalism and State Landlordism' on the Soviet–Chinese pattern. Masani opens by recalling a conversation with an influential ruling-party friend who shared his distaste for the Stalinist model yet still wished India to socialise large-scale industry and impose co-operative farming; the body of the talk explains why such a programme, however well-intentioned, must in his view extinguish political liberty. The argument proceeds on three fronts. First, Masani sets out the consumer-sovereignty case for the market: only the discipline of the price system, supply and demand and the balance sheet allows the citizen to choose what to buy, where to work, and whether to strike — freedoms that vanish once the State is the sole employer and sole supplier. Second, he attacks the feasibility of democratic planning, arguing that no parliamentary majority can sensibly arbitrate the thousands of microeconomic choices a single national plan demands. Citing Aneurin Bevan, Harold Laski and R. H. S.… ### Body ## Summary This pamphlet reproduces M. R. Masani's address to the Rotary Club of Bombay, framed as a sustained argument against India's drift toward what he calls 'State Capitalism and State Landlordism' on the Soviet–Chinese pattern. Masani opens by recalling a conversation with an influential ruling-party friend who shared his distaste for the Stalinist model yet still wished India to socialise large-scale industry and impose co-operative farming; the body of the talk explains why such a programme, however well-intentioned, must in his view extinguish political liberty. The argument proceeds on three fronts. First, Masani sets out the consumer-sovereignty case for the market: only the discipline of the price system, supply and demand and the balance sheet allows the citizen to choose what to buy, where to work, and whether to strike — freedoms that vanish once the State is the sole employer and sole supplier. Second, he attacks the feasibility of democratic planning, arguing that no parliamentary majority can sensibly arbitrate the thousands of microeconomic choices a single national plan demands. Citing Aneurin Bevan, Harold Laski and R. H. S. Crossman, he insists that even British socialists concede the same logic — that 'only power restrains power', and that monopoly economic power in the State liquidates the autonomous social forces on which an Opposition depends. Third, Masani enlists Indian witnesses: Gandhi's fear of an expanded State that destroys individuality, Acharya Vinoba Bhave's caution against centralising everything under the Welfare State, and Jayaprakash Narayan's warning that the Welfare State 'threatens as much to enslave man to the State as the totalitarian'. His positive prescription is the Mixed Economy he traces back to his 1946 Bombay Silver Jubilee lectures — Free Enterprise and State Enterprise functioning autonomously alongside each other, with peasant proprietorship and free trade unions intact — and he closes by warning that no constitution alone can save the Republic if the State swallows civil society. ## Key points - Frames India's choice as one between a Mixed Economy with peasant proprietorship and free enterprise on one side, and a Soviet/Stalinist-style monolithic totalitarian dictatorship on the other. - Uses the consumer-sovereignty argument: in a free economy, supply, demand and price make the consumer king, whereas a State monopoly leaves no exit for worker, peasant or consumer. - Argues that comprehensive central planning is incompatible with parliamentary democracy because a single national plan demands thousands of value-judgments no electorate can settle. - Invokes the principle that 'only power restrains power' and that autonomous social forces (industrial management, trade unions, peasant proprietors, religion) are the real assurance of liberty. - Cites British socialists Aneurin Bevan, R. H. S. Crossman and Harold Laski as conceding that the growth of central state bureaucracy under socialism threatens democracy and individual freedom. - Recruits Mahatma Gandhi, Acharya Vinoba Bhave and Jayaprakash Narayan as Indian moral authorities warning against the centralising drift of the Welfare State. - Defends the 'Mixed Economy' Masani had advocated since the 1946 Silver Jubilee Lectures of the Bombay School of Economics and Sociology — Free Enterprise and State Enterprise functioning autonomously side by side. - Closes with Gandhi's dictum that an increase in the power of the State, however well-meaning, destroys the individuality that lies at the root of all progress. --- ## [Primary work] Economy and Efficiency in Public Administration in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/economy-and-efficiency-in-public-administration-in-india-c-s-venkatachar-may-8-1963/ ### Summary C. S. Venkatachar's 1963 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet diagnoses what he calls a 'pronounced maladjustment of Government and politics with the administration' in the seventeenth year of Independence. Writing from the vantage point of a retired senior civil servant who had served as Secretary to the President of India, he distinguishes the old, manageable, two-person financial corruption of the colonial bureaucracy from a new structural corruption — a rot in the public morals of the ruling elite that, in his Turkish-proverb phrase, 'rots from head downwards' and prostitutes the administrative machinery to factional ends. He traces this rot to the statism unleashed by the 1952 turn to state trading, controls, licensing and bulk-buying of foodstuffs, compounded by a politically unreformed Congress party that finds it convenient to browbeat and hollow out the Civil Service rather than govern through it. The pamphlet's second movement borrows R. H. S. Crossman's recent essay on Walter Bagehot to argue that India, like post-war Britain, has drifted from Cabinet Government to Prime Ministerial Government.… ### Body ## Summary C. S. Venkatachar's 1963 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet diagnoses what he calls a 'pronounced maladjustment of Government and politics with the administration' in the seventeenth year of Independence. Writing from the vantage point of a retired senior civil servant who had served as Secretary to the President of India, he distinguishes the old, manageable, two-person financial corruption of the colonial bureaucracy from a new structural corruption — a rot in the public morals of the ruling elite that, in his Turkish-proverb phrase, 'rots from head downwards' and prostitutes the administrative machinery to factional ends. He traces this rot to the statism unleashed by the 1952 turn to state trading, controls, licensing and bulk-buying of foodstuffs, compounded by a politically unreformed Congress party that finds it convenient to browbeat and hollow out the Civil Service rather than govern through it. The pamphlet's second movement borrows R. H. S. Crossman's recent essay on Walter Bagehot to argue that India, like post-war Britain, has drifted from Cabinet Government to Prime Ministerial Government. The pre-existing centralised administrative machine, Venkatachar writes, fitted itself effortlessly around the Prime Minister, with the result — quoting Crossman — that 'loyalty has become the supreme virtue and independence of thought a dangerous adventure.' He follows the maladjustment down the escalator from the Centre to the district, where the Collector is reduced to factional politics with the Zila Parishad chairman and the Block Development Officer becomes a pawn of the Panchayat Samiti President. The Benthamite military-style hierarchy on which the Indian administrative system was built has collapsed, he argues, into 'non-accountability in the chain of command' and a collapse of internal discipline. Against this Venkatachar offers no policy therapy. The remedy, he insists, is moral: India still possesses a 'liberal, radical tradition' that is the moral heir to nineteenth-century philosophic radicalism, and reviving dissident opinion is the only counterpoise to the 'authoritarian forces of the present one-party State.' Quoting Pasternak and John Strachey on the spent appeal of communist totalitarianism, and closing with Arthur Koestler's borrowing of the Alcoholics Anonymous serenity prayer, he frames moral courage — not better planning — as the indispensable condition for genuine economy and efficiency in public administration. ## Key points - Venkatachar frames his theme as the 'pronounced maladjustment' between Indian politics and administration in the seventeenth year of Independence, and treats administration — not policy — as the only instrument by which national aims can be achieved. - He distinguishes the old, two-party, manageable financial corruption of the colonial bureaucracy from a new structural corruption that 'rots from head downwards', spreading from the political elite into the social hierarchy and prostituting the administrative machinery. - He attributes the post-Independence rise of corruption to the statism unleashed by the 1952 turn to state trading, controls, licensing and bulk-buying, compounded by a politically unreformed ruling party that browbeat the Civil Service rather than reform itself. - Adapting R. H. S. Crossman's reading of Walter Bagehot, he argues that India has practised Prime Ministerial Government rather than Cabinet Government, producing 'an immense accretion of power to the Prime Minister' and reducing ministers to his agents. - He documents the maladjustment cascading to Panchayati Raj, where the Collector is dragged into factional politics with the Zila Parishad chairman and the Block Development Officer becomes a pawn of the Panchayat Samiti President. - The Benthamite military-style chain of command on which the Indian administrative system was built has, in his diagnosis, collapsed into non-accountability and the disappearance of individual initiative under one-party dominance. - He invokes a 'liberal, radical tradition' surviving in India — the moral heir to nineteenth-century philosophic radicalism — and calls for dissident opinion and dissident groups as a counterpoise to the authoritarian one-party State. - Closing with Pasternak, John Strachey on the failure of Communist means, and Arthur Koestler's Alcoholics Anonymous serenity prayer, he frames moral courage rather than policy reform as the precondition for economy and efficiency in public administration. --- ## [Primary work] Education and India's Poverty URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/education-and-indias-poverty-v-v-john-15-november-1975/ ### Summary Delivered as the tenth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 27 October 1975, V. V. John's address argues that India's poverty is at root an educational problem and that the country's universities and colleges have failed in their duty to the poor. John, a former Vice-Chancellor of Jodhpur University, opens by saluting the scholarly studies of poverty by Dandekar and Rath, Fonseca, and Dantwala for moving the debate beyond sentimental generalities, but insists that poverty is ultimately a moral problem whose solution requires the active engagement of the intellectual class. With more than 250 million Indians, including 100 million children, going to bed hungry, he argues, compassion cannot be allowed to retreat into either economic technicality or the convenient fatalism he sees creeping into developed-country attitudes towards the Third World. The heart of the lecture is an indictment of Indian higher education as a "scandalous pyramid of privileges" subsidised by public funds for an academically privileged minority that returns little of value to the society that paid for its training.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the tenth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 27 October 1975, V. V. John's address argues that India's poverty is at root an educational problem and that the country's universities and colleges have failed in their duty to the poor. John, a former Vice-Chancellor of Jodhpur University, opens by saluting the scholarly studies of poverty by Dandekar and Rath, Fonseca, and Dantwala for moving the debate beyond sentimental generalities, but insists that poverty is ultimately a moral problem whose solution requires the active engagement of the intellectual class. With more than 250 million Indians, including 100 million children, going to bed hungry, he argues, compassion cannot be allowed to retreat into either economic technicality or the convenient fatalism he sees creeping into developed-country attitudes towards the Third World. The heart of the lecture is an indictment of Indian higher education as a "scandalous pyramid of privileges" subsidised by public funds for an academically privileged minority that returns little of value to the society that paid for its training. John mocks the brain drain debate as a "clever hoax," derides teachers' "relay hunger strikes" for higher emoluments in a country of literal hunger, and laments that the dream of every educated Indian is "a full-time salary for part-time work." The expansion of enrolments since the Kothari Commission has, in his telling, produced an illusion of opportunity rather than meaningful qualifications, while a privileged sector at the top consumes per-capita expenditure ten or fifteen times higher than the rest. John then turns to the politics of property and land reform, criticising progressives who would strip the right to property from the Constitution without distinguishing widely distributed small ownership from plutocratic concentration; drawing on Chesterton's debate with Yeats and on Henry George's Progress and Poverty, he defends small property as a safeguard of liberty against both private and state power. He rejects the GNP-first economics that asks the poor to wait for trickle-down, attacks the cult of "selective" quality education that screens out the children of the poor, and dismisses the equality preached by Coleman and Jencks as a narrow income-equality that education cannot deliver. Education's task, he concludes, is not to flatten differences but to enable every person's full self-development; commitment to a social order that disperses both economic and political power is, in his closing words, "a necessary postulate to any system of education aiming at the full development of human resources." ## Key points - Frames poverty as ultimately a moral and educational problem, not merely an economic one, and assigns educationists a primary share of responsibility for tackling it. - Cites a conservative reckoning that over 250 million Indians, including 100 million children, go to bed hungry every night, to anchor the lecture's stakes. - Indicts Indian universities and colleges as a 'scandalous pyramid of privileges' funded by public money but yielding little public return. - Dismisses the brain-drain lament as a 'clever hoax' staged by entrenched experts to inflate their own scarcity value. - Defends widely distributed small property — citing Chesterton's debate with Yeats — as a bulwark against both private plutocracy and state bureaucracy, and warns against abolishing the right to property without distinguishing kinds of ownership. - Attacks GNP-maximising economists who ask the poor to wait for redistribution and criticises 'selective' quality education that excludes children of the poor. - Disputes the sociological notion of equality drawn from Coleman, Jencks, Jensen and Eysenck, arguing that genuine equality is moral and spiritual, realised through self-fulfilment rather than equalised incomes. - Concludes that the right kind of education and a just social order — one that prevents concentration of wealth or power in either private hands or the state — are mutually constitutive. --- ## [Primary work] EDUCATION, LEADERSHIP AND VISION OF A FREE INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/education-leadership-and-vision-for-free-india-nani-a-palkhivala/ ### Summary This slim Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects two of Nani A. Palkhivala's late-1990s addresses. The first is his acceptance speech for the 1997 Dadabhai Naoroji Award, delivered on 12 August 1997; the second is his response at the University of Mumbai's Special Convocation on 19 January 1998, where Governor P. C. Alexander conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws on him. Both texts are framed around the conviction that India's freedom required, above all, an enlightened and well-educated citizenry. In the Naoroji tribute, Palkhivala portrays the Grand Old Man as a pioneer of free and female education who personally went door-to-door persuading families to let girls learn the three Rs. He argues that Naoroji's vision combined the British virtues of justice and fairness with a settled commitment to a secular Constitution in which all religions and linguistic minorities would enjoy equal reverence and the right to run their own institutions.… ### Body ## Summary This slim Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects two of Nani A. Palkhivala's late-1990s addresses. The first is his acceptance speech for the 1997 Dadabhai Naoroji Award, delivered on 12 August 1997; the second is his response at the University of Mumbai's Special Convocation on 19 January 1998, where Governor P. C. Alexander conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws on him. Both texts are framed around the conviction that India's freedom required, above all, an enlightened and well-educated citizenry. In the Naoroji tribute, Palkhivala portrays the Grand Old Man as a pioneer of free and female education who personally went door-to-door persuading families to let girls learn the three Rs. He argues that Naoroji's vision combined the British virtues of justice and fairness with a settled commitment to a secular Constitution in which all religions and linguistic minorities would enjoy equal reverence and the right to run their own institutions. Palkhivala laments that fifty years after independence India has slid to the "lowest level of degradation" in its 5,000-year history, far below what Naoroji could have imagined in his "wildest nightmare." The convocation address turns this concern outward into a meditation on moral leadership. Education, Palkhivala insists, is not training: it requires personal participation and inward transformation. Drawing on ancient India — King Janaka journeying to Yajnavalkya, Sankaracharya walking from Kerala to Kashmir — and on Thomas Jefferson's warning that no nation can be ignorant and free, he argues that leaders first build institutions and institutions in turn build later leaders. India's ministry of education has been treated as a minor cabinet post, value-based education has collapsed, and the country that should have led the world in "life-nurturing ideas" is led instead by others' "crass materialism." He closes by paying tribute to Bombay University's galaxy of alumni — Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, Ranade, Tilak, Gokhale — and concluding that contemporary India deserves neither its Constitution, nor a Gandhi, nor that earlier generation of nation-builders. ## Key points - The booklet pairs Palkhivala's 1997 Dadabhai Naoroji Award acceptance speech with his 1998 University of Mumbai LL.D. convocation response. - He reads Naoroji's vision of a free India as fundamentally educational — an enlightened, secular society with equal opportunity, including female education. - Palkhivala invokes Naoroji's biographer Sir R. P. Masani to dramatise the social resistance early female-education reformers faced. - He contends that had Naoroji helped frame the Constitution, he would have embodied the same secular fundamental rights and protections for religious and linguistic minorities. - Both addresses argue that post-independence India has reached the lowest moral and civic ebb of its 5,000-year history. - The convocation address sharply distinguishes training (which animals can receive) from education (which demands personal transformation). - Citing Jefferson and ancient Indian precedent, Palkhivala argues leaders build the institutions that later build leaders, and India's nation-building institutions have been allowed to decay. - He calls for moral leadership in education, grounded in courage, intellectual integrity, and a sense of values, and salutes the Bombay University tradition of Naoroji, Mehta, Ranade, Tilak, and Gokhale. --- ## [Primary work] EFFICIENCY "NOT POSSIBLE" IN PUBLIC UNDERTAKING URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/efficiency-not-possible-in-public-undertaking-by-mr-anantharamakrishnan-and-cp-ramaswamy-ayyar-october-24-1956/ ### Summary This three-page Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reprints an October 24, 1956 report from the 'Mail', Madras, of two speeches delivered at the 15th anniversary of the Sri Rama Vilas Service. The industrialist S. Anantharamakrishnan and the administrator-jurist Dr. C. P. Ramaswamy Ayyar mount a paired defence of the private sector at a moment when the Second Five-Year Plan and a wave of nationalisations were tilting the Indian economy toward state ownership. Their joint thesis is that efficiency is structurally impossible in a public undertaking and that the private sector has been doing the country's real economic work without acknowledgement. Ramaswamy Ayyar argues from administrative experience that everything the State has touched has slackened in efficiency 'bit by bit', whereas the private sector has consistently produced 'excellent results'; he calls for a clean enunciation of the Government's policy so that private enterprise can function without misgivings, and notes that even after the recent nationalisations 95 per cent of the country's economic activity still rests in private hands.… ### Body ## Summary This three-page Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reprints an October 24, 1956 report from the 'Mail', Madras, of two speeches delivered at the 15th anniversary of the Sri Rama Vilas Service. The industrialist S. Anantharamakrishnan and the administrator-jurist Dr. C. P. Ramaswamy Ayyar mount a paired defence of the private sector at a moment when the Second Five-Year Plan and a wave of nationalisations were tilting the Indian economy toward state ownership. Their joint thesis is that efficiency is structurally impossible in a public undertaking and that the private sector has been doing the country's real economic work without acknowledgement. Ramaswamy Ayyar argues from administrative experience that everything the State has touched has slackened in efficiency 'bit by bit', whereas the private sector has consistently produced 'excellent results'; he calls for a clean enunciation of the Government's policy so that private enterprise can function without misgivings, and notes that even after the recent nationalisations 95 per cent of the country's economic activity still rests in private hands. Anantharamakrishnan adds that public-sector inefficiency is a 'notorious fact' from any standard of judgement, criticises the lightning pace of legislation that even lawyers cannot keep up with, and rebuts the moral case for nationalisation by pointing out that 'black sheep' exist in every organisation — including the Congress party — without the whole being dissolved. The pamphlet's policy proposals are concrete and bounded: give nationalisation 'rest for 2 years'; allow the private sector a well-defined sphere within the Second Plan, including transport (currently a bottleneck where the gap between resources needed and resources available is large); enlist foreign capital; and treat the question of railway efficiency as an open empirical comparison with railways abroad rather than a settled article of faith. The closing image — 'Let them do things well for those already undertaken' — frames state expansion as imprudent until the State has proved itself on what it has already nationalised. ## Key points - Joint speech by industrialist S. Anantharamakrishnan and administrator C. P. Ramaswamy Ayyar at the 15th anniversary of the Sri Rama Vilas Service, reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise from the 'Mail', Madras. - Central claim: efficiency 'tended to slacken bit by bit' wherever the State entered, while the private sector produced 'excellent results' — making state efficiency structurally impossible. - Empirical counterweight to nationalisation rhetoric: even after liquidating maharajas, rajas, and zamindars, 95 per cent of India's economic activity still ran on the private sector. - Anantharamakrishnan attacks the moral case for nationalisation by analogy — 'black sheep' exist in every organisation, including the Congress party, but no one demands the party be dissolved on that ground. - Concrete policy ask: a two-year moratorium on nationalisation, a clean Government enunciation of the private sector's scope, and enlisting foreign capital alongside domestic enterprise. - Transport is singled out as a sphere where the Second Plan's resource gap is unbridgeable without private participation; the speakers question whether nationalised Indian railways are in fact as efficient as foreign railways. - Critique of legislative process: the speed of new laws outruns even lawyers' ability to grasp the essentials, leaving private enterprise to operate in legal fog. - Tone is conciliatory rather than confrontational — the speakers ask only that private enterprise be 'allowed to play its part' within a well-defined sphere, framing this as a falsifiable experiment rather than ideology. --- ## [Primary work] Efficient Planning in a Democratic Society URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/efficient-planning-in-a-democratic-society-f-a-mehta-aug10-1965/ ### Summary Originally delivered as a talk at an international symposium in Turkey in 1964 and issued in August 1965 as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, Dr. F. A. Mehta's essay confronts the central post-war development question: whether rapid economic growth can be secured, stimulated, and sustained within a framework of political democracy, individual liberty, and the rule of law. Writing for a readership of over a hundred under-developed countries, Mehta refuses both halves of the prevailing fatalism — that democracy must be sacrificed for growth, or that growth must be slowed to preserve democracy — and instead diagnoses the real source of strain: in the short run, growth itself generates rising prices, consumer-goods shortages, severe inequalities and harder working hours, all of which press on democratic stability before the gains diffuse downward. The second and longer half of the booklet turns from the tensions of growth to the methodology of growth — the mechanics and ideology of planning.… ### Body ## Summary Originally delivered as a talk at an international symposium in Turkey in 1964 and issued in August 1965 as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, Dr. F. A. Mehta's essay confronts the central post-war development question: whether rapid economic growth can be secured, stimulated, and sustained within a framework of political democracy, individual liberty, and the rule of law. Writing for a readership of over a hundred under-developed countries, Mehta refuses both halves of the prevailing fatalism — that democracy must be sacrificed for growth, or that growth must be slowed to preserve democracy — and instead diagnoses the real source of strain: in the short run, growth itself generates rising prices, consumer-goods shortages, severe inequalities and harder working hours, all of which press on democratic stability before the gains diffuse downward. The second and longer half of the booklet turns from the tensions of growth to the methodology of growth — the mechanics and ideology of planning. Mehta surveys the spectrum from the Communist model based on totalitarianism, through dirigiste planning grounded in physical controls, to a liberal-democratic planning that relies on the price mechanism as far as conditions permit. He argues that the price mechanism's defects are real but its virtues — efficient allocation of scarce resources and the harnessing of individual enthusiasm, skill and effort — are so substantial that developing countries' wholesale ideological rejection of it is "a bit pathetic, if not pathological." Citing Hugh T. Patrick on Japan, B. F. Johnston on agricultural productivity, W. W. Rostow and Simon Kuznets on growth cycles, and pointedly the Liebermann reforms in Soviet Russia, Mehta argues that even command economies are turning back to price signals; he singles out Prof. B. R. Shenoy as the lone eminent Indian economist arguing this line, with most Indian planners and businessmen having capitulated to "the magic word" of Planning. The closing pages lay down a quantitative liberal programme: planning must err on the side of caution rather than ambition; physical controls must carry strict "time-limits"; income tax in isolation should not exceed 60% and combined with other taxes not 45% of assessable income; inflation should be capped at 2-3% in a developing economy with growth at least 6-7%; interest rates should be high enough to encourage savings; nationalisation should be confined to areas where private enterprise has been proved unequal; and political leadership must find the "optimum" or "golden mean" by judgment, not formula. Mehta ends with the observation that economic growth, ironically, is fastest when driven by something like spiritual fervour — that monetary incentives alone do not move human beings, but neither will faith alone deliver the goods, and that an age is upon developing countries in which a system is judged by what it delivers. ## Key points - Frames the era's central economic-political question as whether rapid development can be secured within a framework of political democracy, individual liberty, the rule of law and freely elected governments. - Argues that in the short run economic growth raises tensions — rising prices, shortages of consumer goods, longer working hours and severe inequalities — and so endangers political stability before its gains are diffused. - Distinguishes two separable pressures on democracy: the tensions generated by rapid growth, and the mechanics and methodology of growth — that is, planning itself. - Defends the price mechanism as the best available instrument for combining efficiency and individual freedom, calling its blanket rejection in developing countries dogmatic and ideologically driven. - Cites Hugh T. Patrick on Japan, B. F. Johnston on agricultural productivity, and the writings of Simon Kuznets and W. W. Rostow to show that historically rapid growth has required tolerance of inequality and disparities of outcome. - Reads the Liebermann reforms in Soviet Russia as evidence that even command economies are returning to the price mechanism — "a system of capitalism without capitalists." - Singles out Prof. B. R. Shenoy as the lone eminent Indian economist consistently defending the price mechanism, against the consensus of Indian planners, businessmen and intellectuals — including Prof. M. L. Dantwala's more equivocal acceptance. - Concludes with a quantitative liberal programme: income tax ceilings (60% in isolation, 45% combined with wealth tax), inflation capped at 2-3% p.a., growth not below 6-7%, strict time-limits on physical controls, nationalisation confined to demonstrated failures of private enterprise, and political judgement to find the "golden mean." --- ## [Primary work] EFFICIENCY IN STATE ENTERPRISES IN INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/efficiency-in-state-enterprises-in-india-dr-n-das-feb5-1963/ ### Summary Dr. N. Das, a retired ICS officer and Director-General of the Employers' Federation of India, delivered this lecture to the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 26 October 1962. He traces the meteoric rise of India's public sector since the 1948 Industrial Policy Statement: from Rs. 179 crores in the First Plan, to Rs. 974 crores in the Second Plan, to Rs. 2,147 crores earmarked in the Third Plan—roughly 97 per cent of total Central Government industrial investment by 1960-61. The booklet asks a single, sharp question: with this scale of state investment, is the country getting commensurate value? The diagnostic core of the lecture is comparative profitability. Das cites the Finance Ministry's First Annual Report on the Working of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings of the Central Government, which showed that of 23 running concerns only nine declared dividends in 1960-61, averaging just 4.2 per cent on paid-up capital, while six showed losses and three earned under 3.3 per cent.… ### Body ## Summary Dr. N. Das, a retired ICS officer and Director-General of the Employers' Federation of India, delivered this lecture to the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 26 October 1962. He traces the meteoric rise of India's public sector since the 1948 Industrial Policy Statement: from Rs. 179 crores in the First Plan, to Rs. 974 crores in the Second Plan, to Rs. 2,147 crores earmarked in the Third Plan—roughly 97 per cent of total Central Government industrial investment by 1960-61. The booklet asks a single, sharp question: with this scale of state investment, is the country getting commensurate value? The diagnostic core of the lecture is comparative profitability. Das cites the Finance Ministry's First Annual Report on the Working of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings of the Central Government, which showed that of 23 running concerns only nine declared dividends in 1960-61, averaging just 4.2 per cent on paid-up capital, while six showed losses and three earned under 3.3 per cent. A June 1961 study by the Indian Institute of Public Opinion went further: in physical-output terms the Public Sector's return on capital employed was less than one-fourth that of comparable private firms, and in financial-return terms 2.7 per cent against the Private Sector's 9.7 per cent—an almost identical proportional gap from two different angles. Das attributes this underperformance to a stack of causes: inexperienced ICS recruits parachuted into senior managerial posts (he calls them "pro-consuls"), excessive Government regulation that consumes management time, delays of authority and supply (citing the German experts' complaint at Rourkela), labour indiscipline and absenteeism (the Heavy Electricals strike at Bhopal, the Rourkela unrest), poor cost accounting and capacity utilisation, and a politically dictated low-price policy that prevents surplus generation. He invokes Galbraith on how officials on boards destroy enterprise autonomy, the World Bank Mission's verdict that the Government had not helped strengthen the Public Sector, and Paul Appleby on the difficulty of measuring public-enterprise efficiency at all. The conclusion is deliberately measured rather than ideological. Das does not call for halting the expansion of state enterprises; he calls for parity of treatment with private undertakings so that genuine competition can discipline both. Reduce costs, lift efficiency, end monopoly-style protection, and the Public Sector can be made to earn its considerable place in the economy rather than become, as he puts it, a "costly" business in more senses than one. ## Key points - Frames the Public Sector's growth in budget terms: Rs. 179 crores in the First Plan, Rs. 974 crores in the Second, Rs. 2,147 crores planned in the Third—around 97% of Central Government industrial investment by 1960-61. - Uses the Finance Ministry's First Annual Report to show only 9 of 23 Central undertakings declared dividends in 1960-61, averaging 4.2% on paid-up capital, with 6 units running losses. - Cites the Indian Institute of Public Opinion's June 1961 study: Public Sector return on capital was 2.7% versus the Private Sector's 9.7% over 1958-59. - Identifies inexperienced ICS officers in senior managerial posts as a structural drag, with Galbraith quoted on boards becoming "a link in the Civil Service hierarchy". - Catalogues operational failures: Rourkela's purchasing bottlenecks flagged by the German Commission under Solveen; Bhopal Heavy Electricals strike; high absenteeism flagged in the Solveen Report. - Blames excessive Government regulation and the time "negotiating their way through Government regulations" consumes from public enterprise managements, echoing the World Bank Mission. - Argues that politically dictated low pricing of public-sector output suppresses surpluses, with Hindustan Machine Tools cutting prices 10-20 per cent and Hindustan Antibiotics offering 15% discounts as illustrations. - Does not oppose Public Sector expansion but demands equality of treatment between public and private sectors to generate healthy competition. --- ## [Primary work] Embracing Corporate Social Responsibility URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/embracing-csr-by-anu-a-aga-2003/ ### Summary Delivered as the 37th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Mumbai on 5 November 2003 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, Anu Aga's address makes a brisk, example-driven case for Corporate Social Responsibility as the 'saner alternative' to a narrow, profit-only conception of business. Aga frames CSR not as charity or PR but as a stewardship obligation that flows from the fact that companies draw their talent, customers and licence-to-operate from the wider community. She invokes Adam Smith (the author of A Theory of Moral Sentiments as well as The Wealth of Nations) and Gandhi's trusteeship model to argue that ethical conduct and commercial success have always been intertwined, and that the live question today is not whether but how CSR should be measured, audited and reported. The heart of the talk is a six-sided 'stakeholder hexagon'—customers, employees, shareholders and investors, environment and community, suppliers, and government—with the Board of Trustees at the centre balancing short-term shareholder interests against long-term stewardship.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the 37th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Mumbai on 5 November 2003 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, Anu Aga's address makes a brisk, example-driven case for Corporate Social Responsibility as the 'saner alternative' to a narrow, profit-only conception of business. Aga frames CSR not as charity or PR but as a stewardship obligation that flows from the fact that companies draw their talent, customers and licence-to-operate from the wider community. She invokes Adam Smith (the author of A Theory of Moral Sentiments as well as The Wealth of Nations) and Gandhi's trusteeship model to argue that ethical conduct and commercial success have always been intertwined, and that the live question today is not whether but how CSR should be measured, audited and reported. The heart of the talk is a six-sided 'stakeholder hexagon'—customers, employees, shareholders and investors, environment and community, suppliers, and government—with the Board of Trustees at the centre balancing short-term shareholder interests against long-term stewardship. Aga works through each face with international and Indian illustrations: Merck's free distribution of the river-blindness drug, Starbucks's low employee turnover, Brazil's Semco under Ricardo Semler (35–40% annual growth with an open work culture), Michael Porter's 'Green and Competitive' thesis, Nike's reluctant supply-chain reform after a sweatshop scandal, and Indian exemplars such as the Tatas at Jamshedpur, Godrej, the Birlas, and the NDDB's Operation Flood. A 1992 World Bank study, The Cost of Inaction, is cited to put Indian environmental damage at Rs 34,000 crores a year (4.5% of GDP). The political-economy register is recognisably classical-liberal: Aga thanks liberalisation for restoring the customer's 'no-confidence vote' that India's closed economy had suppressed, criticises Indian regulation as simultaneously over-prescriptive and unenforced (corrupt pollution inspectors, labour rules that push firms away from permanent hiring), and argues for a partnership model between government and business in place of the adversarial 'erring children to be chided' frame. The booklet's rendered pages cover the introduction by Minoo R. Shroff and Aga's address through the 'Government' section; the final stretch—Aga's specific recommendations for the Indian scene—lies in pages not rendered here. ## Key points - Frames CSR as a duty arising from the fact that companies draw talent, customers and resources from the community in which they operate, not as discretionary philanthropy. - Anchors the case in Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments and Gandhi's trusteeship doctrine to insist that ethics and capitalism are not in tension. - Proposes a six-sided stakeholder 'hexagon'—customers, employees, shareholders/investors, environment/community, suppliers, government—with the Board as steward balancing present and future interests. - Argues that liberalisation gave Indian customers the power to cast a 'no-confidence vote' that the closed economy had denied them, making CSR a competitive variable rather than a moralism. - Treats environmental neglect as a balance-sheet risk, citing the World Bank's 1992 'Cost of Inaction' study that pegged Indian environmental damage at Rs 34,000 crores—4.5% of GDP. - Holds up Merck (river-blindness drug), Starbucks (employee retention), and Brazil's Semco under Ricardo Semler as proof that CSR and profitability reinforce rather than cancel each other. - Reads Indian over-regulation as self-defeating: cheap non-functional pollution equipment plus bribed inspectors, and labour rules so onerous that firms avoid hiring permanent workers. - Calls for government and business to abandon the adversarial frame and act as 'mature adults' building a common, actionable agenda. --- ## [Primary work] The Emerging Challenges To Civil Society URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/emerging-challenges-to-civil-society/ ### Summary This pamphlet prints the Sixth Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Lecture, 'The Emerging Challenges to Civil Society,' delivered by P. Chidambaram — then Union Home Minister — in Mumbai on 5 October 2009 and published the same month by the Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Trust. The front matter pays tribute to Palkhivala (1920–2002), recalling his five-month argument before a thirteen-judge Supreme Court bench in the 1973 Kesavananda Bharati case that established the 'basic structure' doctrine, and his later defence of the citizen during the 1975–77 Emergency. It also supplies brief biographies of Palkhivala and of Chidambaram, and a foreword by Y. H. Malegam, the Trust's Chairman. In the lecture itself, Chidambaram opens by reflecting on Nehru's 1947 'tryst with destiny,' arguing it expressed a sense of destination rather than predetermined destiny. In the rendered pages he frames the challenges to civil society around two registers: inclusive economic growth and internal security. On the economic side he defends inclusive growth against the costs of subsidies and entitlement spending, citing budget figures, public-sector bank lending and tax-base data.… ### Body # The Emerging Challenges To Civil Society *By P. Chidambaram* ## Summary This pamphlet prints the Sixth Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Lecture, 'The Emerging Challenges to Civil Society,' delivered by P. Chidambaram — then Union Home Minister — in Mumbai on 5 October 2009 and published the same month by the Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Trust. The front matter pays tribute to Palkhivala (1920–2002), recalling his five-month argument before a thirteen-judge Supreme Court bench in the 1973 Kesavananda Bharati case that established the 'basic structure' doctrine, and his later defence of the citizen during the 1975–77 Emergency. It also supplies brief biographies of Palkhivala and of Chidambaram, and a foreword by Y. H. Malegam, the Trust's Chairman. In the lecture itself, Chidambaram opens by reflecting on Nehru's 1947 'tryst with destiny,' arguing it expressed a sense of destination rather than predetermined destiny. In the rendered pages he frames the challenges to civil society around two registers: inclusive economic growth and internal security. On the economic side he defends inclusive growth against the costs of subsidies and entitlement spending, citing budget figures, public-sector bank lending and tax-base data. On security he points to an outdated, ill-trained and ill-paid police system, the growing insurgency in the North-Eastern states, the Naxalite movement, and cross-border terrorism and terrorist cells based in India. The Trust's note frames these as issues vital to the stability and development of Indian society and invites public debate. ## Key points - Prints the Sixth Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Lecture, delivered by Home Minister P. Chidambaram on 5 October 2009 in Mumbai. - Published October 2009 by the Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Trust (c/o Forum of Free Enterprise, Mumbai). - Front matter honours Palkhivala's role in the 1973 Kesavananda Bharati 'basic structure' case and his stand during the Emergency. - Includes biographies of Palkhivala and Chidambaram plus a foreword by Trust Chairman Y. H. Malegam. - Chidambaram opens by reinterpreting Nehru's 'tryst with destiny' as a statement of destination rather than fixed destiny. - Argues for inclusive growth, weighing the fiscal cost of subsidies and entitlements against the imperative of equity. - Identifies internal security threats: an outdated police force, North-Eastern insurgency, the Naxalite movement, and cross-border terrorism. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] EMERGING SCENARIO IN THE CAPITAL MARKET AND SEBI'S ROLE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/emerging-scenario-in-the-capital-markets-and-sebi-role-by-vh-pandya-august-14-1994/ ### Summary Delivered as a session at the Forum of Free Enterprise on 28 June 1994 and published shortly thereafter, V.H. Pandya's address surveys the Indian capital market in the third year of the 1991 economic reforms, written from the perspective of an insider — Pandya retired only days later as Senior Executive Director of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). He situates the capital market within a transformed macroeconomy: an annual growth rate of about 5.5 percent through the 1980s, a domestic savings pool of roughly Rs. 1,750 billion, primary issuance leaping from around Rs. 90 crores a year in the late 1970s to Rs. 22,000 crores in 1993-94, market capitalisation rising from Rs. 6,750 crores in 1980 to over Rs. 340,000 crores in 1993-94, and the investor population swelling from about 2 million to around 40 million. The core of the pamphlet is a stocktaking of SEBI's regulatory architecture as it was being built.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as a session at the Forum of Free Enterprise on 28 June 1994 and published shortly thereafter, V.H. Pandya's address surveys the Indian capital market in the third year of the 1991 economic reforms, written from the perspective of an insider — Pandya retired only days later as Senior Executive Director of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). He situates the capital market within a transformed macroeconomy: an annual growth rate of about 5.5 percent through the 1980s, a domestic savings pool of roughly Rs. 1,750 billion, primary issuance leaping from around Rs. 90 crores a year in the late 1970s to Rs. 22,000 crores in 1993-94, market capitalisation rising from Rs. 6,750 crores in 1980 to over Rs. 340,000 crores in 1993-94, and the investor population swelling from about 2 million to around 40 million. The core of the pamphlet is a stocktaking of SEBI's regulatory architecture as it was being built. Pandya describes the Government's decision in February 1992 to give SEBI statutory recognition, the simultaneous repeal of the Capital Issues (Control) Act and removal of pricing controls, and SEBI's twin charter — investor protection as first priority and market development as second. He walks through the primary-market measures (registration and code of conduct for merchant bankers, underwriters, and registrars; redesigned prospectus formats; mandatory risk-factor disclosure; the abridged-prospectus Memorandum; the 'Stockinvest' instrument introduced in March 1992 to address allotment delays; rationalisation of promoters' contribution and reservations; firm-allotment and proportionate-allotment norms; Euro issues by way of GDRs and Euro-Convertibles totalling about US$ 2.5 billion by March 1994; Code of Advertisement and prudential norms for the now-15 Mutual Funds; registration of over 195 FIIs with about Rs. 6,000 crores invested). On the secondary market, Pandya describes the older, member-broker-dominated stock exchanges as 'inadequate, non transparent, hardly regulated and rarely geared for investor protection,' and reports SEBI's interventions: reconstitution of governing boards to give equal representation to non-broker public representatives, capital-adequacy norms for brokers, compulsory contract notes, weekly settlement cycles for non-specified scrips, regulation of broker-client relationships, and notification of insider-trading regulations under SCRA. He closes with a survey of investor-protection machinery — grievance redressal in conjunction with Investors' Associations and Consumer Fora, public representatives overseeing allotments, the March 1994 guidance series on Grey Market operations, and a planned TV/video Investor Education Programme — and a legislative review covering the Capital Issues (Control) Act 1947 (repealed 1992), the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act 1956, and the SEBI Act 1992 itself, noting that SEBI has exclusive power over the primary market but only concurrent power over the secondary market and Companies Act matters. ## Key points - Frames India's post-1991 capital market within a transformed macroeconomy — 5.5 percent average annual growth in the 1980s, a domestic savings pool of about Rs. 1,750 billion, and a primary-issuance jump from Rs. 90 crores a year in the late 1970s to Rs. 22,000 crores in 1993-94. - Argues that primary and secondary markets are 'equally important while not being mutually exclusive': a vibrant primary market depends on a transparent and disciplined secondary market that supplies liquidity. - Locates SEBI's mandate in the Narasimham Committee-inspired financial-sector reforms, with statutory recognition granted in February 1992 alongside the abolition of the Capital Issues (Control) Act and pricing controls. - Describes SEBI's charter as investor protection first, market development second — and recounts how this drove the redesign of prospectus formats, mandatory risk-factor disclosures, the abridged Memorandum, and a Code of Conduct for merchant bankers, underwriters, and registrars. - Highlights the 'Stockinvest' instrument introduced in March 1992 to compensate investors for funds blocked by oversubscription under the earlier pricing-control regime. - Tracks the new institutional architecture — over 450 registered merchant bankers, 125+ registrars, 195+ FIIs investing about Rs. 6,000 crores, 15 mutual funds, 21 stock exchanges including the OTCEI and the National Stock Exchange, and Euro-market issuance of about US$ 2.5 billion by March 1994. - Diagnoses the legacy secondary market as 'inadequate, non transparent, hardly regulated and rarely geared for investor protection,' and outlines reconstitution of governing boards, capital-adequacy norms for brokers, compulsory contract notes, weekly settlement for non-specified scrips, and insider-trading regulations under SCRA. - Closes with a legislative map (Capital Issues (Control) Act 1947 repealed in May 1992; Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act 1956; SEBI Act 1992) and notes the asymmetry that SEBI has exclusive power over the primary market but only concurrent power over the secondary market and Companies Act matters. --- ## [Primary work] Ending Hunger Through Sustainable Development URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ending-hunger-through-sustainable-development-by-maurice-f-strong-november-14-1989/ ### Summary Maurice F. Strong's lecture — delivered as the Third Annual Arturo Tanco Memorial Lecture in Tokyo on 6 April 1989 and republished by the Forum of Free Enterprise — argues that the eradication of hunger cannot be separated from the broader project of sustainable development. Drawing on his work as the first head of UNEP and as a member of the Brundtland Commission, Strong frames the late twentieth-century food problem not as a Malthusian shortfall but as a crisis of access, distribution, and ecological capital: the world has been 'literally living off the Earth's capital', and that capital is now seriously depleted. Despite the spectacular surplus production of 1950–1984 and a 300 per cent rise in Indian output under the Green Revolution, more than a hundred countries have become structurally dependent on North American grain, and Africa and Latin America have slid from self-sufficiency into deficit. The lecture's core argument is that sustainable food security must be built at three levels simultaneously — aggregate world supply, national access, and household-level command over food — and that each requires market-conscious policy and ecological literacy together.… ### Body ## Summary Maurice F. Strong's lecture — delivered as the Third Annual Arturo Tanco Memorial Lecture in Tokyo on 6 April 1989 and republished by the Forum of Free Enterprise — argues that the eradication of hunger cannot be separated from the broader project of sustainable development. Drawing on his work as the first head of UNEP and as a member of the Brundtland Commission, Strong frames the late twentieth-century food problem not as a Malthusian shortfall but as a crisis of access, distribution, and ecological capital: the world has been 'literally living off the Earth's capital', and that capital is now seriously depleted. Despite the spectacular surplus production of 1950–1984 and a 300 per cent rise in Indian output under the Green Revolution, more than a hundred countries have become structurally dependent on North American grain, and Africa and Latin America have slid from self-sufficiency into deficit. The lecture's core argument is that sustainable food security must be built at three levels simultaneously — aggregate world supply, national access, and household-level command over food — and that each requires market-conscious policy and ecological literacy together. Strong is sharply critical of the long-standing tendency of developing-country governments to suppress food prices for urban consumers at the expense of farmer incentives, and he attacks the institutional neglect of the small farmer. Cash-crop colonial legacies, energy-intensive agriculture made uneconomic by oil shocks, the erosion of soil and watersheds, accelerating land degradation through desertification and salination, and the looming politics of water scarcity all converge, he argues, on a single recommendation: a synthesis of traditional and modern practice anchored in the productive capacity of small farmers. Much of the booklet is given over to concrete case studies of community-led sustainability — two villages in the Indian Himalayan foothills supported by the Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Centre, the Forest Department, and the Ford Foundation; an integrated health-and-watershed programme in rural Nepal; a settled Nomad community in northern Mali; agro-forestry extension reaching 110,000 Haitian farmers; and a peasant cooperative revival in Talamanca, Costa Rica with which Strong was personally involved. From these examples he distils an emerging 'Agenda for Sustainable Development' grounded in equity, decentralised leadership, market-oriented agricultural pricing, and a strengthened research-and-extension chain — beginning, in the rendered pages, with calls for stronger national agricultural research linked to the CGIAR system, better extension services, and farmer participation in improved-seed programmes. ## Key points - Recasts hunger as a question of access and ecological capital rather than aggregate Malthusian scarcity, citing the Brundtland Commission's definition of sustainable development. - Identifies three simultaneous requirements for sustainable food security: sufficient world production, national access, and household-level means to acquire food. - Documents how the 1950–1984 surplus era, the Green Revolution (notably a 300 per cent increase in Indian food production), and Western/North American grain dominance have left over 100 countries chronically import-dependent. - Attacks the systematic suppression of farm-gate food prices in developing countries — which subsidises urban consumers while squeezing peasant producers — as a principal cause of stagnating food production. - Argues that high-energy, chemical-intensive agriculture became uneconomic after the oil shocks and that future productivity gains require a synthesis of traditional energy-efficient methods with modern technique. - Frames water as the next strategic resource conflict, predicting that water could 'become more important than oil as a source of conflict in the Middle East within the next decade'. - Showcases small-farmer-led sustainability projects in the Indian Himalayas, Nepal, Mali, Haiti, and Costa Rica as evidence that locally driven, externally supported initiatives can reconcile production growth with ecological repair. - Opens a policy agenda for sustainable development beginning with trade and exchange-rate neutrality toward agriculture, market-oriented pricing for farm products, stronger national research linked to CGIAR institutes, and farmer-inclusive extension and seed programmes. --- ## [Primary work] Energy Security Policy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/energy-security-policy-by-ma-pathan-2005/ ### Summary M. A. Pathan's Energy Security Policy is a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet adapted from his 10 December 2005 presentation at the J. R. D. Tata Memorial Seminar (organised in Mumbai by the Leslie Sawhny Endowment). Pathan, then Group Resident Director of Tata Services and formerly Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation (1997-2002), surveys the global energy outlook — worldwide consumption nearly doubled over the previous 35-40 years, fossil fuels will continue to dominate the mix, and demand from emerging economies (especially India, where GDP was growing above 8%) is set to balloon. Citing the International Energy Outlook 2005, he projects world energy use rising from 412 quadrillion Btu in 2002 to 645 quadrillion Btu in 2025, with oil prices climbing from US $10.29/barrel in 1998 to over US $65/barrel in 2005 and the International Energy Agency estimating that $17,000 billion of investment is required globally by 2030. The booklet's argumentative spine is that energy security must rest on two principles: minimising the energy needed to deliver services, and securing diverse access to supply and technology.… ### Body ## Summary M. A. Pathan's Energy Security Policy is a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet adapted from his 10 December 2005 presentation at the J. R. D. Tata Memorial Seminar (organised in Mumbai by the Leslie Sawhny Endowment). Pathan, then Group Resident Director of Tata Services and formerly Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation (1997-2002), surveys the global energy outlook — worldwide consumption nearly doubled over the previous 35-40 years, fossil fuels will continue to dominate the mix, and demand from emerging economies (especially India, where GDP was growing above 8%) is set to balloon. Citing the International Energy Outlook 2005, he projects world energy use rising from 412 quadrillion Btu in 2002 to 645 quadrillion Btu in 2025, with oil prices climbing from US $10.29/barrel in 1998 to over US $65/barrel in 2005 and the International Energy Agency estimating that $17,000 billion of investment is required globally by 2030. The booklet's argumentative spine is that energy security must rest on two principles: minimising the energy needed to deliver services, and securing diverse access to supply and technology. India, with 17% of the world's population but only 0.8% of known oil and gas, imports over 70% of its crude and is acutely exposed — a US $10 rise in oil price knocks roughly 1% off GDP and adds 2.6 percentage points to inflation. Pathan calls for an Energy Vision 2050 building on the existing Hydrocarbon Vision 2025, the consolidation of oil, gas, coal, power, renewables and nuclear under a comprehensive Ministry of Energy, the creation of strategic reserves, a separate Asian benchmark crude, and aggressive equity-oil investment abroad (citing ONGC Videsh, GAIL, OIL and the new ONGC-Mittal company). On the demand side he is unambiguously a price-and-incentives liberal: subsidised and free power to agriculture is condemned as "large scale wastages" that lull users into profligacy, while fiscal incentives, standards-and-labelling, benchmarking, building codes and time-of-day metering are urged to drive efficiency. India's energy intensity, he notes, is 2.88 times that of rich countries. On supply, he advocates coal gasification with carbon sequestration, coal-bed methane, gas-to-liquid technology, thorium-based nuclear reactors, biomass and bagasse co-generation, Jatropha-based bio-diesel on India's 30 million hectares of available wasteland, ethanol blending, and the National Hydrogen Energy Roadmap (then just presented by Ratan Tata, chairman of the Steering Group on Hydrogen Energy). The closing pages tie energy security to tariff design, an Oil Price Stabilisation Fund, defence postures protecting maritime routes and foreign policy — and insist that national energy policy must be "depoliticized" if it is to deliver in the long term. ## Key points - Pathan frames energy security around two principles: minimising energy needed to deliver services, and securing diverse, affordable, sustainable access to supply and technology. - India's exposure is structural — 17% of world population but 0.8% of known oil and gas, with crude imports already above 70% of requirement and projected to exceed 85% within two decades. - A $10/barrel oil price increase cuts Indian GDP by roughly 1% and adds about 2.6 percentage points to inflation, anchoring the booklet's macroeconomic case for energy security. - He calls for an Energy Vision 2050 extending the Hydrocarbon Vision 2025, a comprehensive Ministry of Energy unifying oil, gas, coal, power, renewables and nuclear, and a strategic petroleum reserve. - Subsidised and free power — especially to agriculture — is sharply criticised as encouraging profligacy; market-aligned tariffs, time-of-day pricing, standards-and-labelling, and fiscal incentives are urged in its place. - Supply-side diversification is multi-pronged: coal gasification with carbon sequestration, coal-bed methane, gas-to-liquid, thorium reactors and fusion R&D, Jatropha bio-diesel on 30 million hectares of wasteland, ethanol blending, and the National Hydrogen Energy Roadmap. - Regional integration is central — Asian benchmark crude, gas pipelines from Myanmar/Bangladesh/Turkmenistan/Iran, diesel exports to Pakistan, equity stakes in Sri Lanka, and overseas equity-oil acquisitions by ONGC Videsh, GAIL, OIL and the new ONGC-Mittal vehicle. - Energy security must reshape adjacent policy domains — tariff and tax structure, defence (maritime route protection), foreign policy, and an Oil Price Stabilisation Fund — and must be 'depoliticized' for durable effect. --- ## [Primary work] ENLIST CO-OPERATION OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/enlist-cooperation-of-pvt-enterprise-sir-b-rama-rau-aug7-1959/ ### Summary Sir B. Rama Rau's short address to the Rotary Club of Bombay (June 23, 1959), published as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, opens with a diagnosis of India's Parliamentary system: the absence of an effective democratic opposition has bred a public culture in which 'even honest businessmen, who have to depend on Government for licences and concessions in a rigidly controlled economy' are afraid to speak publicly on wider political issues, and the Press has only lately found its voice. He treats this nervousness as 'characteristic of a developing totalitarian regime' that only a serious opposition can cure.… ### Body ## Summary Sir B. Rama Rau's short address to the Rotary Club of Bombay (June 23, 1959), published as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, opens with a diagnosis of India's Parliamentary system: the absence of an effective democratic opposition has bred a public culture in which 'even honest businessmen, who have to depend on Government for licences and concessions in a rigidly controlled economy' are afraid to speak publicly on wider political issues, and the Press has only lately found its voice. He treats this nervousness as 'characteristic of a developing totalitarian regime' that only a serious opposition can cure. From this opening he welcomes Rajagopalachari's announcement of a new independent democratic party (with Jayaprakash Narayan's qualified blessing and Nehru's recognition that constructive criticism would serve Congress), and positions himself as a detached observer of recent economic and political developments. He credits the Congress with substantial achievements: the secular handling of Hindu–Muslim relations after Partition, the integration of the princely states, foreign-policy non-alignment, and a fiscal-and-monetary stance — 'Development with Stability' — praised by the World Bank and the IMF, with a stable banking system and rapid expansion of banking facilities laying the ground for industrial growth. But he turns sharply against the Avadi formulation of a 'Socialistic Pattern of Society', calling it vague and nebulous, and argues that the Beveridge-style Welfare State that Congress invokes has, in fact, been substantially built in Britain, the United States, and Erhard's West Germany 'without any departure from' capitalist and individualistic foundations, by giving 'the fullest encouragement to private enterprise and the competitive principle'. The capitalism Karl Marx attacked, on his reading, no longer exists in the older democracies; socialism has receded to the background. In the closing pages he addresses the Congress's lingering suspicion of the private sector. Profit, he insists, is not the worst appetite in public life — 'there is something worse than craving for profits, and that is craving for power' — and the politician's power, unlike the businessman's profit, is hard to tax or restrain, especially when dressed in austerity or patriotism. The cure is co-operation: the idealism of the politician married to 'the enterprise, the creative urge, the practical outlook and the organising capacity' of private industry. He uses the prohibition policy, with a reported annual revenue loss of a crore of rupees and ten thousand teachers' worth of forgone employment, as a case of Congress pursuing 'quick results' through constitutional directive without weighing administrative feasibility. Finally, anticipating Nehru's eventual retirement and the consequent splintering of Congress, he urges the immediate organisation of a progressive democratic opposition lest the Communists capture government, arguing that even short of victory such a party would do the country a great service by forcing Congress 'to concentrate on practical programmes rather than on slogans'. ## Key points - Frames the absence of an effective democratic opposition as the central pathology of post-independence India, with businessmen silenced by their dependence on Government licences in a 'rigidly controlled economy'. - Welcomes Rajagopalachari's announcement of a new independent democratic party; cites Jayaprakash Narayan's qualified blessing and Nehru's recognition that constructive opposition would benefit Congress. - Credits the Congress with the secular handling of Partition, integration of the princely states, foreign-policy non-alignment, and a 'Development with Stability' macro-policy praised by the World Bank and IMF. - Attacks the Avadi 'Socialistic Pattern of Society' as 'vague and nebulous', arguing Western Welfare States in Britain, the United States and Erhard's West Germany were built without departing from capitalist and individualist foundations. - Reads Karl Marx's nineteenth-century capitalism as defunct: the democratic Welfare State has absorbed its critiques without revolution, and the concept of socialism has receded to the background. - Rejects Congress moralism against the 'profit motive', insisting the politician's craving for power is the more dangerous appetite and far harder to curb than profit. - Uses prohibition (annual revenue loss of one crore of rupees, employment forgone for ten thousand teachers) as a worked example of Congress prioritising slogans over administrative feasibility. - Warns that Nehru's eventual retirement will splinter Congress and open the door for the Communists, making the immediate organisation of a progressive democratic opposition imperative. --- ## [Primary work] EQUITY IN A GLOBAL SOCIETY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/equity-in-a-global-society-by-dr-ig-patel-january-february-17-1996/ ### Summary Equity in a Global Society reproduces the LSE Centenary Lecture that Dr. I. G. Patel — a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and former Director of the London School of Economics — delivered on 26 October 1995, here published as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet. Patel uses the occasion to defend an unfashionable position: that social science cannot quarantine itself from value judgements, and that the emerging global society must be appraised against an explicit standard. He nominates 'equity' as that standard, defining it not as equality but as balance — between individual rights and group obligations, between tradition and reason, between what is desirable and what is achievable. From this premise Patel attacks the methodological prudery of the LSE economics he was once taught: the refusal to make interpersonal comparisons of utility. A dollar in the pocket of a Malawian peasant, he insists, is worth more than one in his own, and any honest economics must accept that and reason accordingly.… ### Body ## Summary Equity in a Global Society reproduces the LSE Centenary Lecture that Dr. I. G. Patel — a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and former Director of the London School of Economics — delivered on 26 October 1995, here published as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet. Patel uses the occasion to defend an unfashionable position: that social science cannot quarantine itself from value judgements, and that the emerging global society must be appraised against an explicit standard. He nominates 'equity' as that standard, defining it not as equality but as balance — between individual rights and group obligations, between tradition and reason, between what is desirable and what is achievable. From this premise Patel attacks the methodological prudery of the LSE economics he was once taught: the refusal to make interpersonal comparisons of utility. A dollar in the pocket of a Malawian peasant, he insists, is worth more than one in his own, and any honest economics must accept that and reason accordingly. The lecture then maps the institutional scaffolding of the global society already in place — the UN system, WHO, FAO, the World Bank, IMF, the new WTO and the dense lattice of voluntary organisations — and argues these can no longer be wished away, only made more effective and equitable. In the rendered pages Patel lays out five urgent problems for the next century: the legitimacy of individual and group rights vis-à-vis the global society; equity in the governance of international institutions; equity in international economic relations; equity and global environmental protection; and the matching of responsibilities with resources at the global level. He works through the first three economic issues here. On macroeconomic management he declares both Keynesian and Monetarist certainties dead and argues for reviving 'less fashionable' tools such as incomes policies and selective controls. On trade and unemployment he defends the open trade regime that built Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia and dismisses Northern protectionism dressed up as moral concern about labour or environmental standards. On poverty and aid he calls for developed-country aid budgets to be doubled to the 0.7% of national income target and frames the redistributive case through the parable of 'the accident of birth' — that no one earns the country they are born in, and the accumulated wealth of Sweden or a rich Indian family is not, by any honest reckoning, theirs alone. ## Key points - Patel argues that social sciences cannot exclude value judgements: every society — and the global society in particular — must be shaped against an explicit set of values and standards. - He chooses 'equity' as the master value, defining it as balance: between rights and obligations, tradition and reason, the desirable and the achievable, rather than mere equality of outcome. - He attacks the LSE-trained orthodoxy that interpersonal utility comparisons are impossible, insisting an extra dollar to a poor Malawian peasant is worth far more than one to a rich Westerner. - Patel maps the de facto institutional architecture of the global society — UN, ILO, WHO, FAO, IMF, World Bank, the new WTO and the NGO network — and argues these institutions can only be reformed, not wished away. - He sets out five urgent problems for the next century: legitimacy of individual and group rights, governance of international institutions, international economic relations, global environmental protection, and matching responsibilities with resources at the global level. - On macroeconomics he declares both Keynesian and Monetarist certainties exhausted, and urges reconsidering 'less fashionable' instruments like incomes policies, selective controls and modest redistribution. - He defends the open trade regime that lifted Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia, and rejects Northern protectionism dressed up as concern about foreign wages or environmental standards. - On poverty and aid he calls for developed-country aid budgets to be doubled toward the 0.7% of national income target, framing redistribution through the parable that 'the accident of birth' gives no one an inherent moral claim to inherited national wealth. --- ## [Primary work] Essays by Foreign Economists URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/essays-by-foreign-economists-august-1971/ ### Summary Essays by Foreign Economists is a compilation published in August 1971 by the Forum of Free Enterprise, Bombay (M. R. Pai, publisher), gathering twelve booklets the Forum had previously issued; the volume is explicitly marked 'not for sale' and circulated only to Forum members. In the rendered pages, the table of contents lists pieces by Milton Friedman, B. A. Tarlton, F. A. Hayek, G. Carl Wiegand, W. H. Hutt, Colin Clark (two essays), P. T. Bauer (three essays), Dudley Dillard, and Eugene Black, addressing the case for free enterprise, the failings of central planning, the conditions for economic growth, foreign aid, the economic thinking of Keynes, and the place of India's private sector. The chunk contains the full text of Friedman's opening essay 'Myths That Keep People Hungry' (reprinted from Harper's Magazine, April 1967), which sets the polemical frame for the volume by contrasting countries where private markets organise economic life with those subject to detailed central planning, and the opening pages of B. A. Tarlton's 1968 Calcutta lecture 'Economic Democracy'. ### Body ## Summary Essays by Foreign Economists is a compilation published in August 1971 by the Forum of Free Enterprise, Bombay (M. R. Pai, publisher), gathering twelve booklets the Forum had previously issued; the volume is explicitly marked 'not for sale' and circulated only to Forum members. In the rendered pages, the table of contents lists pieces by Milton Friedman, B. A. Tarlton, F. A. Hayek, G. Carl Wiegand, W. H. Hutt, Colin Clark (two essays), P. T. Bauer (three essays), Dudley Dillard, and Eugene Black, addressing the case for free enterprise, the failings of central planning, the conditions for economic growth, foreign aid, the economic thinking of Keynes, and the place of India's private sector. The chunk contains the full text of Friedman's opening essay 'Myths That Keep People Hungry' (reprinted from Harper's Magazine, April 1967), which sets the polemical frame for the volume by contrasting countries where private markets organise economic life with those subject to detailed central planning, and the opening pages of B. A. Tarlton's 1968 Calcutta lecture 'Economic Democracy'. ## Essays ### Myths that keep People Hungry *By By Prof. Milton Friedman* Drawing on a year-long journey with his wife through Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the Far East, Friedman lays out, in the rendered pages, the central contention that wherever private markets organise economic activity ordinary people enjoy material progress and personal freedom, and wherever the state controls economic life in detail the ordinary citizen becomes 'an instrument to be used for the state's purpose'. He walks the reader through a chain of comparisons — West and East Germany, Israel and Egypt, Singapore and Indonesia, Malaya and India, Yugoslavia and Russia — to argue that the difference in outcomes reflects the difference in economic organisation rather than resources or culture. The heart of the essay in the rendered pages is a sustained contrast between Japan after the 1868 Meiji restoration, which Friedman reads as a broadly free-market case that absorbed foreign techniques without depending on foreign aid, and India after 1948, which he reads as a case of Fabian socialism and detailed central planning that has frustrated initiative and impoverished the ordinary villager. He closes the essay with a warning that the climate of opinion hostile to markets — transmitted from the affluent West to the less-developed nations — may doom mankind 'to a renewed era of universal tyranny and misery'. - In the rendered pages Friedman organises the essay around a personal observation: wherever he found individual freedom and rising material welfare he also found private markets, and wherever central planning prevailed the ordinary man was 'in political fetters' and had a low standard of living. - He cites West Germany, Israel, Singapore, Malaya and post-Meiji Japan as cases of market-led progress, and contrasts them with East Germany, Egypt, Indonesia, post-Independence India, Yugoslavia and Russia. - A statistical anchor for the essay is that in the Soviet Union only 3 per cent of cultivated land is in private plots whose produce may be marketed privately, yet this 3 per cent produces one-third of total agricultural output. - Friedman reads Japan after 1868 and India after 1948 as a controlled experiment: both faced major political change and rigid class relations, but Japan followed a broadly free-market policy modelled on Britain while India followed Fabian-socialist central planning, with sharply divergent results. - Examples of waste under Indian controls include the prohibition of new car production, which forced wealthy buyers to pay around $1,500 for a 1950 Buick, and the substitution of bureaucratic 'procurement' for market exchange in cotton. - He closes by warning that the prevailing climate of opinion hostile to market arrangements, transmitted from the affluent West to less-developed nations, may consign mankind to 'a renewed era of universal tyranny and misery'. ### Economic Democracy *By By B. A. Tarlton* Tarlton, an economist with the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industries in Calcutta, opens his 1968 lecture by taking stock of India's mood after two decades of planning. In the rendered pages he notes that the 'sunlit plateaus of prosperity' once promised by the politicians have given way to disillusion: average living standards have not significantly improved, unemployment and the foreign trade deficit have risen, and India, a net international creditor of over Rs. 700 crores at the start of the Second Five Year Plan in 1956, had become a net international debtor of over Rs. 5,000 crores by 1968. The Planning Commission, he observes, has been cut down in size and confined to advisory functions, and the Fourth Plan shelved for three years. In the rendered pages he then begins to interrogate the title concept, distinguishing a 'classical' conception of democracy — rule by the 'demos' or common people, traceable to Plato and Aristotle and compatible with class dictatorship — from a 'liberal' conception that has emerged only over the past two or three hundred years and rests on equal political authority for every citizen and a principle of self-rule. The chunk ends mid-argument, with Tarlton starting to lay out the implications of this distinction for India's economic policy. - Tarlton frames the lecture against India's prevailing 'mood of doubt and pessimism' after two decades of central planning. - He marshals headline numbers in the rendered pages: India shifted from a net international creditor of over Rs. 700 crores in 1956 to a net debtor of over Rs. 5,000 crores by 1968 at the post-devaluation level. - He notes that the Planning Commission has been cut down in size and confined to advisory functions, while the Fourth Plan has been shelved for three years. - Using the Cotton Control Order as an example, he argues that government 'procurement' is in substance compulsory requisitioning at fixed prices. - He distinguishes a 'classical' conception of democracy as rule by the 'common people' (traceable to Plato and Aristotle, compatible with the dictatorship of the proletariat in modern China and the Soviet Union) from a 'liberal' conception of self-rule by equal citizens that has emerged only in the past two or three hundred years. --- ## [Primary work] ETHICS IN BUSINESS, INDUSTRY AND PUBLIC LIFE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ethics-in-business-industry-and-public-life-n-vittal/ ### Summary Delivered as the Tenth Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture in Mumbai on 8 January 1999 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, this booklet captures N. Vittal's diagnosis of India's corruption problem from his vantage as Central Vigilance Commissioner. Vittal opens with a tribute to Bhogilal Leherchand — the Bombay diamond merchant who diversified into textiles, engineering and petrochemicals while keeping a reputation for integrity — and uses that example to ask why ethical standards in Indian business, industry and public life have decayed so badly that the country is rated the world's ninth most corrupt. His central thesis is structural rather than moral. While ten per cent of Indians will be saintly and ten per cent crooked whatever the rules, the remaining eighty per cent calibrate their behaviour to the system — and India's system rewards corruption.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the Tenth Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture in Mumbai on 8 January 1999 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, this booklet captures N. Vittal's diagnosis of India's corruption problem from his vantage as Central Vigilance Commissioner. Vittal opens with a tribute to Bhogilal Leherchand — the Bombay diamond merchant who diversified into textiles, engineering and petrochemicals while keeping a reputation for integrity — and uses that example to ask why ethical standards in Indian business, industry and public life have decayed so badly that the country is rated the world's ninth most corrupt. His central thesis is structural rather than moral. While ten per cent of Indians will be saintly and ten per cent crooked whatever the rules, the remaining eighty per cent calibrate their behaviour to the system — and India's system rewards corruption. Vittal identifies five drivers: scarcity engineered by the permit-licence raj (the "neta babu lala raj"), opacity in decision making, delays and red tape that attract speed money, procedural cushions that shelter the guilty under the presumption of innocence, and the tribalism or biradri by which corrupt officials protect one another. The remedies he advances are practical and statutory rather than exhortatory: open sectors to competition (he cites the National Telecom Policy as a case of using market competition to dissolve scarcity-driven corruption); legislate a Freedom of Information Act and adopt a U.S.-style "sunset principle" so that no rule remains in perpetuity; raise the cost of corruption through the draft Corrupt Public Servants (Forfeiture of Property) Act 1999, whose clauses Vittal reproduces in detail; and use the statutory authority the CVC acquired through the Vineet Narain judgment to focus enforcement on the highest-level offenders so that the system is no longer "a spider's web" that catches only small insects. The lecture closes by invoking the Vedic dictum Aano bhadrah kritavo yantu vishwatah ("let noble thoughts come to us from all sides") and the Taitreya Upanishad's call to collective debate, framing anti-corruption reform as an exercise in moral as well as institutional renewal. ## Key points - Vittal speaks as Central Vigilance Commissioner, delivering the Tenth Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture under Forum of Free Enterprise auspices on 8 January 1999. - Frames ethics as a function of system design, not individual virtue: a 10/10/80 distribution where the 80 per cent majority responds to incentives rather than exhortation. - Identifies five drivers of corruption: scarcity (the permit-licence raj), opacity in decision making, delay and red tape, legal cushions that protect the accused, and biradri solidarity among corrupt officials. - Diagnoses corruption as "a low risk high profit business" and proposes raising its cost through the Corrupt Public Servants (Forfeiture of Property) Act 1999, reproducing the draft clauses in full. - Treats the Vineet Narain judgment (making the CVC a statutory body) and the JMM judgment (bringing Ministers and MPs within the Prevention of Corruption Act) as enabling instruments for prosecuting high-level corruption. - Advocates a U.S.-style sunset principle on rules, a Freedom of Information Act and the use of Information Technology to reduce official discretion. - Argues that opening sectors to competition — as in the National Telecom Policy — is the structural cure for scarcity-driven corruption. - Closes with Vedic and Upanishadic invocations, warning that unless top-level offenders are punished the public will see the system as a spider's web that catches only flies. --- ## [Primary work] Ethics in Business and Management URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ethics-in-business-management-d-veerendra-heggade/ ### Summary Ethics in Business and Management collects the text of the 9th Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture, delivered by D. Veerendra Heggade — the Dharmadhikari (hereditary religious head) of Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala in Karnataka — in Mumbai on 7 January 1998 and presided over by Nani A. Palkhivala. Published as a booklet by the Forum of Free Enterprise, the address asks whether the term 'Ethics' retains any meaning in a modern world enthralled by money, technology and unlimited consumption, and answers by drawing the management vocabulary back to dharmic categories: Artha, Kama, Moksha, and above all Dharma as a restraining force on the acquisition of wealth. Heggade builds his argument in successive sections — 'Nature—the Best Manager', 'Problems of Parigraha', 'Present Condition', 'A Way Out', 'Dharmasthala Model' and a closing 'Message'. He contrasts the natural restraint embedded in Vedic and Upanishadic ethics (Apariraha, Samyama, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam) with the 'TINA syndrome' and 'MAD' — Mutually Aided Destruction — that he sees in the science-and-technology-driven business order, in the hands of MNCs and TNCs.… ### Body ## Summary Ethics in Business and Management collects the text of the 9th Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture, delivered by D. Veerendra Heggade — the Dharmadhikari (hereditary religious head) of Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala in Karnataka — in Mumbai on 7 January 1998 and presided over by Nani A. Palkhivala. Published as a booklet by the Forum of Free Enterprise, the address asks whether the term 'Ethics' retains any meaning in a modern world enthralled by money, technology and unlimited consumption, and answers by drawing the management vocabulary back to dharmic categories: Artha, Kama, Moksha, and above all Dharma as a restraining force on the acquisition of wealth. Heggade builds his argument in successive sections — 'Nature—the Best Manager', 'Problems of Parigraha', 'Present Condition', 'A Way Out', 'Dharmasthala Model' and a closing 'Message'. He contrasts the natural restraint embedded in Vedic and Upanishadic ethics (Apariraha, Samyama, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam) with the 'TINA syndrome' and 'MAD' — Mutually Aided Destruction — that he sees in the science-and-technology-driven business order, in the hands of MNCs and TNCs. He singles out cigarette companies as 'global traders of death' whose CEOs win Best Manager awards, condemns the vulgarity of TV advertising for liquor and condoms aired during cricket broadcasts, and notes that around 40% of executives suffer psychosomatic illness from the resulting moral-emotional dichotomy. Against this, he offers the Dharmasthala temple administration as a working model of accountability: every Sanskramana day the Heggade must answer to the Dharma Devathas for the previous month's performance, with instant punishment for intentional lapses. He invokes Kautilya's Artha Shastra on yoga-kshema, the maxim 'yatha raja, thatha Praja', and the image of Rama with bow and arrow (Rama Bana) as warnings to political and business leaders who escape the fear of Danda. The lecture closes with a plea against Charvaka-style hedonism and a call for management institutes to produce 'Indianised, Indian value-based management experts' modelled on Koutilya and Manu rather than on imported American or Japanese systems. ## Key points - The booklet is the published text of the 9th Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture, delivered by Dharmasthala's Dharmadhikari D. Veerendra Heggade in Mumbai on 7 January 1998 under the chairmanship of Nani A. Palkhivala. - Heggade frames ethics through Indian categories — Niti, Prakriti, Samskriti, and the four Purusharthas (Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha) — arguing that ancient wisdom blessed earning but bound it by Apariraha (non-acquisitiveness) and Samyama (restraint). - He warns that science and technology in the hands of MNCs and TNCs have produced a 'TINA syndrome' and 'MAD' (Mutually Aided Destruction), exemplified by tobacco companies that he calls 'global traders of death' whose CEOs receive Best Manager awards. - Cultural critique targets cricket telecasts carrying liquor and condom advertisements, vulgarity in TV ads, the displacement of cottage industries by urban-marketed goods, and the loss of contentment in villages once exposed to TV. - The 'Dharmasthala Model' is offered as evidence that authority, responsibility, accountability and transparency were already embedded in temple administration — with the Heggade himself answerable monthly to the Dharma Devathas and silent (not oral) acceptance of lapses. - He invokes Kautilya's Artha Shastra on yoga-kshema ('In the happiness of the subjects lies the happiness of the king'), the principle 'yatha raja, thatha Praja', and the Rama Bana as a symbol of Danda that politicians no longer fear. - The closing 'Message' rejects Charvaka materialism and urges management institutes to produce graduates trained in Indian value-based management drawing on Koutilya and Manu rather than imitating American or Japanese systems. - Front-matter pairs the lecture with an A.D. Shroff aphorism on free enterprise, and the back cover with a Eugene Black quotation framing private enterprise as 'an affirmative good' — situating the address within the Forum of Free Enterprise's wider pedagogic project. --- ## [Primary work] European Common Market & India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/european-common-market-and-india-dr-hannan-ezekiel-feb5-1962/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces a symposium held in Bombay on 3 November 1961 on the implications of the European Common Market (ECM) for India. Three speakers — Dr. Hannan Ezekiel (Financial Editor, Economic Times), C. K. Narayanaswami (Assistant Editor, Free Press Journal), and Prof. C. L. Gheevala (Secretary, Indian Merchants' Chamber) — assess what Britain's anticipated entry into the European Economic Community would mean for Indian exports, the Commonwealth preference regime, and India's wider development strategy. A brief editorial introduction (drawn from a Deutsche Bank publication on the European Economic Community) summarises the Treaty of Rome's customs-union, social-policy and capital-mobility provisions and prints a 1959 chart comparing the Six with the USA and the USSR on population, steel, electricity, vehicles and external trade. Across the three contributions the speakers diverge in tone but converge on a single editorial line: Britain's accession is essentially inevitable, India will lose some Commonwealth preferences, and the right response is internal economic discipline, faster industrialisation and a search for new markets — not protest ag… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces a symposium held in Bombay on 3 November 1961 on the implications of the European Common Market (ECM) for India. Three speakers — Dr. Hannan Ezekiel (Financial Editor, Economic Times), C. K. Narayanaswami (Assistant Editor, Free Press Journal), and Prof. C. L. Gheevala (Secretary, Indian Merchants' Chamber) — assess what Britain's anticipated entry into the European Economic Community would mean for Indian exports, the Commonwealth preference regime, and India's wider development strategy. A brief editorial introduction (drawn from a Deutsche Bank publication on the European Economic Community) summarises the Treaty of Rome's customs-union, social-policy and capital-mobility provisions and prints a 1959 chart comparing the Six with the USA and the USSR on population, steel, electricity, vehicles and external trade. Across the three contributions the speakers diverge in tone but converge on a single editorial line: Britain's accession is essentially inevitable, India will lose some Commonwealth preferences, and the right response is internal economic discipline, faster industrialisation and a search for new markets — not protest against Europe. Ezekiel reads British entry as 'a very good idea' that will pull world trade toward the more liberal policies championed by the Kennedy administration and the Economic Commission for Europe. Narayanaswami warns against treating Britain as a betrayer and urges India to develop its own immense domestic market and, in the longer run, to build an Afro-Asian common market alongside African and Asian neighbours. Gheevala concentrates on foreign-exchange and competitiveness implications, documents India's heavy export dependence on the UK and the Six (around 35% of total exports combined), and argues that the country's high-cost, inflation-prone economy under defective planning must be reformed if India is to meet the slogan he calls operative: 'Export or stagnate'. ## Essays ### I. [Dr. Hannan Ezekiel] *By Dr. Hannan Ezekiel* Ezekiel opens the symposium by laying out the structural facts of the European Common Market and the three possible futures Britain faces: staying with the Commonwealth, joining the Common Market, or developing the European Free Trade Association. He explains that the Rome Treaty establishes a real free-trade area among the Six — backed by a common external tariff set as a weighted average of member duties — and that Britain's accession would replace Commonwealth preferences with that common tariff for Indian goods unless specific exceptions are negotiated. He concedes that textile exports, where India currently enjoys around a 17 per cent preference, would be among the most exposed. Against the static loss-counting that dominated the Indian reaction, Ezekiel insists on a dynamic reading: if British entry accelerates European growth, the expanding market will more than compensate for lost preferences. He frames Britain's accession as 'a very good idea' precisely because it pulls Europe — and through Europe, world trade policy — toward the more liberal external-tariff and import regime now being pressed by the Economic Commission for Europe and endorsed by the Kennedy administration. The essay closes by linking the Common Market debate to the wider Western swing in favour of trade-led help to underdeveloped countries. - Lays out the Rome Treaty's twelve-year, three-stage timetable for creating a customs union and a common external tariff among the Six, with internal duties progressively eliminated. - Walks through three scenarios for Britain — remaining with the Commonwealth, joining the Common Market, or building up the European Free Trade Association — and the differing implications of each for Indian exports. - Identifies textiles and cotton as the Indian export categories most exposed if Commonwealth preferences (around 17 per cent over the Common Market) are extinguished by Britain's accession. - Rejects a purely static analysis of preference loss in favour of a dynamic reading in which faster European growth from a wider market enlarges the absolute demand for Indian goods. - Cites the Kennedy administration's backing of the Economic Commission for Europe's call for more liberal external tariffs and import policies favourable to underdeveloped countries as evidence that British entry will reinforce a global liberal swing. ### II. [C. K. Narayanaswami] *By C. K. Narayanaswami* Narayanaswami situates the Common Market historically — from the Council of Europe statute signed in London in May 1949 through the European Coal and Steel Community (1950–51), Euratom and the Treaty of Rome (1957) — and reminds the audience that Britain originally scoffed at the project before changing course as the European Free Trade Association proved a thinner instrument. He stresses that the ECM is not purely an economic arrangement: its main animating force is political, an effort by Western European states to consolidate against the Soviet bloc and, in the process, raise their own standards of living. For India, Narayanaswami refuses both fatalism and grievance. He concedes that Britain's accession will cost India some preferences, particularly in textiles and other protected items, but argues that calling Britain a betrayer is unworthy and beside the point. The honourable response is to turn inward: develop the country's vast potential domestic market, lift mass purchasing power through better planning, and look outward to Africa and Asia for new trading partners and even an Afro-Asian common market. He cites a Ford Foundation study that judged India's domestic market to be one of the largest potential markets in the world, capable of producing 'perhaps the greatest industrial revolution ever seen' if cities and villages were developed together. - Traces the ECM's institutional lineage from the Council of Europe (1949) through the European Coal and Steel Community to Euratom and the Treaty of Rome (1957). - Argues that the principal force behind the Community is political — Western European consolidation against the powerful might of the Soviet bloc — and that Britain's earlier dismissal has given way to inevitable accession. - Rejects the framing of Britain as betraying India, treating preference loss as a survival problem for the UK rather than an act of hostility toward the Commonwealth. - Urges India to develop its enormous domestic market and to combine with African and Asian neighbours to evolve an Afro-Asian trade mechanism rather than seek charity from Europe. - Cites a Ford Foundation team's verdict that India's market is one of the largest potential domestic markets in the world and could stimulate a sweeping industrial revolution if developed across both cities and villages. ### III. [Prof. C. L. Gheevala] *By Prof. C. L. Gheevala* Gheevala treats Britain's accession to the ECM as a 'compulsion' the UK cannot avoid: with the Empire dissolved and Soviet pressure mounting, splendid isolation is no longer available. He argues that the EEC is at bottom a regional response to post-war European problems and must be viewed in that broader political-economic frame. For India the relevant question is foreign-exchange capacity: the UK accounts for roughly 27 per cent of Indian exports, the rest of the Common Market countries another 8 per cent, and the loss of about one-fifth of UK trade is a realistic risk if no concessions are negotiated. He rejects the language of charity in favour of enlightened self-interest. India must offer the Common Market goods and capital equipment that buyers actually want, on commercial terms, and use the proceeds to finance the imports its development plans require. The deeper problem, he argues, is internal: defective planning has produced a high-cost, inflation-prone economy whose products struggle in foreign markets. Unless India confronts the inflationary pressures generated by its own development pattern, it will fail to meet the challenge posed by Britain's entry into the ECM. He distils the choice in a slogan: 'Export or stagnate.' - Frames Britain's accession as an unavoidable compulsion produced by Empire's dissolution, shrinking political power and the consolidation of Western Europe against the Soviet bloc. - Quantifies India's exposure — roughly 27 per cent of Indian exports go to the UK and another 8 per cent to the Common Market countries (35 per cent combined), with a realistic risk of losing about one-fifth of UK trade. - Recasts the relationship from charity to enlightened self-interest: India should sell goods and capital equipment the Common Market actually wants, on commercial terms, rather than appeal for special concessions. - Identifies inflationary pressures, defective Third-Plan planning and high-cost domestic production as the underlying weakness behind India's export problem. - Distils India's options into the slogan 'Export or stagnate' and argues that meeting the ECM challenge requires confronting internal economic distortions rather than blaming external trade arrangements. --- ## [Primary work] EUROPEAN ECONOMIC & MONETARY INTEGRATION URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/european-economic---money-integration-s-l-n-sinha/ ### Summary S.L.N. Simha, former Principal Adviser to the Reserve Bank of India, reviews the fifty-year arc of European economic and monetary integration in a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet that reprints his January–March 1999 paper from the Indian Economic Journal. He frames the European achievement as a deliberate reproach to India: nations that fought repeated wars now bind themselves through mutual trust, a single market and a common currency, while Indian states cannot agree on river-water sharing, district boundaries or tehsil limits, producing only committees, walk-outs, bandhs, morchas and rasta roko. The opening pages position the study less as economic reportage than as an exhortation to Indian economists and policymakers to learn from Europe at a moment of accelerating globalisation. The narrative tracks integration from the Marshall Plan and the European Payments Union, through the European Coal and Steel Community of the early 1950s, the Treaty of Rome (1957) that created the EEC, the Single European Act (1987), and on to the Maastricht Treaty (1992), the renaming of the Community as the European Union (1993) and the launch of the Euro on 1 January 1999. Simha lays out the four elements of the European Monetary System established in 1979 — the ECU, the Exchange Rate Mechanism, the European Monetary Cooperation Fund and the Very Short-term Financing Facility — and walks readers through the evolution of the European Monetary Unit of Account, the EUA and the ECU as a closed basket of currencies. At the heart of the booklet is the Delors Committee report of April 1989 and the institutional architecture it produced: a European Central Bank insulated from political control, a European System of Central Banks, and convergence criteria capping public-sector deficits at 3 per cent of GDP and outstanding public debt at 60 per cent of GDP. Simha treats the fiscal Stability and Growth Pact (1997), the Article 104 prohibition on overdraft financing of governments, and Articles 107–108 on central-bank independence as the operative provisions that make monetary union credible. He notes the irrevocable conversion rates fixed in late 1998 for the eleven Euro entrants and the four hold-outs (the U.K., Sweden, Denmark and Greece). Within the rendered pages Simha repeatedly returns to price stability as the guiding principle of the new European order, with the ESCB tasked under Article 105 to support an open-market economy with free competition. He is candid that whether the ECB's independence will hold against governmental pressure 'remains to be seen', and he gestures — without endorsing — at the danger that developing-country central banks suffer inflation precisely because they finance their governments. The chunk closes inside the Treaty's articles on central-bank independence; remaining pages of the booklet are not yet in the rendered set. ### Body ## Summary S.L.N. Simha, former Principal Adviser to the Reserve Bank of India, reviews the fifty-year arc of European economic and monetary integration in a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet that reprints his January–March 1999 paper from the Indian Economic Journal. He frames the European achievement as a deliberate reproach to India: nations that fought repeated wars now bind themselves through mutual trust, a single market and a common currency, while Indian states cannot agree on river-water sharing, district boundaries or tehsil limits, producing only committees, walk-outs, bandhs, morchas and rasta roko. The opening pages position the study less as economic reportage than as an exhortation to Indian economists and policymakers to learn from Europe at a moment of accelerating globalisation. The narrative tracks integration from the Marshall Plan and the European Payments Union, through the European Coal and Steel Community of the early 1950s, the Treaty of Rome (1957) that created the EEC, the Single European Act (1987), and on to the Maastricht Treaty (1992), the renaming of the Community as the European Union (1993) and the launch of the Euro on 1 January 1999. Simha lays out the four elements of the European Monetary System established in 1979 — the ECU, the Exchange Rate Mechanism, the European Monetary Cooperation Fund and the Very Short-term Financing Facility — and walks readers through the evolution of the European Monetary Unit of Account, the EUA and the ECU as a closed basket of currencies. At the heart of the booklet is the Delors Committee report of April 1989 and the institutional architecture it produced: a European Central Bank insulated from political control, a European System of Central Banks, and convergence criteria capping public-sector deficits at 3 per cent of GDP and outstanding public debt at 60 per cent of GDP. Simha treats the fiscal Stability and Growth Pact (1997), the Article 104 prohibition on overdraft financing of governments, and Articles 107–108 on central-bank independence as the operative provisions that make monetary union credible. He notes the irrevocable conversion rates fixed in late 1998 for the eleven Euro entrants and the four hold-outs (the U.K., Sweden, Denmark and Greece). Within the rendered pages Simha repeatedly returns to price stability as the guiding principle of the new European order, with the ESCB tasked under Article 105 to support an open-market economy with free competition. He is candid that whether the ECB's independence will hold against governmental pressure 'remains to be seen', and he gestures — without endorsing — at the danger that developing-country central banks suffer inflation precisely because they finance their governments. The chunk closes inside the Treaty's articles on central-bank independence; remaining pages of the booklet are not yet in the rendered set. ## Key points - Frames European integration as a direct contrast to Indian inability to settle inter-State disputes, urging Indian economists to study the EU experience. - Traces a 50-year evolution from the Marshall Plan and European Payments Union through the ECSC, Treaty of Rome (1957), Single European Act (1987) and Maastricht Treaty (1992). - Explains the four elements of the 1979 European Monetary System — ECU, ERM, EMCF and VSTF — and the closed-basket nature of the ECU from November 1993. - Centres the Delors Committee Report (April 1989) as the document that prescribed a single currency, a European Central Bank and the three-stage path to union. - Lays out the convergence criteria: public-sector budget deficit not to exceed 3 per cent of GDP and outstanding public debt not to exceed 60 per cent of GDP. - Describes the Stability and Growth Pact of 1997, driven by Germany, and the irrevocable conversion rates for the eleven Euro entrants fixed in late 1998. - Quotes Maastricht Articles 2, 104, 105, 107 and 108 to show how central-bank independence and price stability are written into the Treaty architecture. - Notes implicitly that developing-country central banks finance governments and are thereby principal contributors to inflation — a pointed aside aimed at Indian readers. --- ## [Primary work] EXCELLENCE IN INDUSTRY THROUGH LEADERSHIP URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/excellence-in-industry-through-leadership-by-jj-irani-2001/ ### Summary Excellence in Industry Through Leadership is the text of the 35th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by Dr. J. J. Irani — then a Director of Tata Sons and former Managing Director of Tata Iron & Steel Co. (TISCO) — at the Forum of Free Enterprise in Mumbai on 1 November 2001. Irani uses the occasion to argue against the orthodoxy, most famously expressed by Milton Friedman, that "the business of business is business." He concedes the importance of profit as a motive but rejects single-minded profit maximisation as a long-term recipe for disaster, insisting that the legitimate purpose of industry is to serve customers, employees, the community and the nation — with profit and wealth as the natural by-product of excellence pursued in that spirit. The lecture is organised around five tenets Irani says he has lived by: serve stakeholders first; recycle wealth back into the community; protect and enhance the environment; lead by example; and treat Change as the only constant.… ### Body ## Summary Excellence in Industry Through Leadership is the text of the 35th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by Dr. J. J. Irani — then a Director of Tata Sons and former Managing Director of Tata Iron & Steel Co. (TISCO) — at the Forum of Free Enterprise in Mumbai on 1 November 2001. Irani uses the occasion to argue against the orthodoxy, most famously expressed by Milton Friedman, that "the business of business is business." He concedes the importance of profit as a motive but rejects single-minded profit maximisation as a long-term recipe for disaster, insisting that the legitimate purpose of industry is to serve customers, employees, the community and the nation — with profit and wealth as the natural by-product of excellence pursued in that spirit. The lecture is organised around five tenets Irani says he has lived by: serve stakeholders first; recycle wealth back into the community; protect and enhance the environment; lead by example; and treat Change as the only constant. He illustrates each through the biography and heritage of the Tata Group, especially founder Jamshetjee Nusserwanjee Tata — "a nationalist long before this word had any significance" — whose insistence on importing the latest science, building Jamshedpur as a city rather than a colliery, instituting provident funds and pensions decades ahead of the West, and treating business as a trustee for society anticipated by a century what the West now calls Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development. He cites successors R. D. Tata, JRD Tata, and current chairman Ratan Tata as keeping that tradition alive, and points to global counterparts (Shell, BP, Du Pont, Unilever, Hewlett-Packard, Ford) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development as evidence that the ethical model is finally converging with the Tata view. The second half turns outward. Irani argues that liberalisation, the WTO, and China's accession have raised the stakes for Indian industry, and that the new leadership task is Anticipation, Communication, Motivation and Action. Looking ahead, he is unfashionably optimistic about India's young: in an age when wealth depends on what "lies between the ears," Indian individualism — long treated as a cultural defect against Confucian discipline — could become an advantage in a world that rewards betting correctly on the unknown; and global investors, customers and talent will increasingly reward companies whose values, sustainability and social responsibility distinguish them. The mantra he leaves with Indian business is to "Go Global in every respect" — in ambition, ethics, governance, benchmarks and communication — closing with Longfellow's lines on footprints on the sands of time and the Forum's customary Eugene Black epigraph that private enterprise must be accepted not as a necessary evil but as an affirmative good. ## Key points - Frames the lecture against the Friedman doctrine that "the business of business is business," arguing that single-minded profit maximisation is short-termist and ultimately self-destructive. - Articulates five tenets of business leadership: serve stakeholders (profit follows), reinvest wealth in community and nation, protect and enhance the environment, lead by example, and master Change as the only constant. - Treats Jamshetjee Tata as the proto-theorist of Corporate Social Responsibility, anticipating by a century what Western business has only recently embraced — provident funds and pensions for workers, Jamshedpur built as a planned city, and an early insistence on Pittsburgh-grade technology for Indian industry. - Quotes JRD Tata to argue that the Tatas have deliberately sacrificed up to "100 per cent growth" rather than abandon ethical standards, and that this restraint is itself a competitive virtue. - Cites Stephan Schmidheiny's World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Carly Fiorina's H-P, Shell, BP, Du Pont, Norsk Hydro, Unilever, Hewlett-Packard, Ford, and Indian exemplars Godrej and Infosys as evidence the global mainstream is converging on the Tata model. - Reads liberalisation, the imminent extension of WTO coverage to services and agriculture, and China's WTO entry as raising competitive stakes for Indian manufacturing in the next two to three years. - Reframes Indian "sub-anarchic" individualism — usually contrasted unfavourably with Confucian discipline — as a comparative advantage in a knowledge economy that rewards betting on the unknown. - Distills today's leadership task into four verbs — Anticipation, Communication, Motivation, Action — and closes by urging Indian business to "Go Global in every respect": ambition, ethics, governance, benchmarks, communication. --- ## [Primary work] Farmer Loan Waiver & Absence of Free Enterprise in Indian Agriculture URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/farmer-loan-waiver-absence-of-free-enterprise-in-indian-agriculture-dr-c-l-dadhich-dr-barendra-kumar-bhoi-kumar-anandd/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, published in memory of chartered accountant Shailesh Kapadia (1949–1988) and sponsored by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust, bundles two independent essays on the crisis in Indian agriculture written against the backdrop of mounting state-level demands for farm loan waivers. A short editorial by Sunil S. Bhandare and an overview signed by Minoo R. Shroff (President-Emeritus, Forum of Free Enterprise, 8 August 2017) frame the volume's argumentative centre: that rural distress, farmer suicides and chronic indebtedness reflect a deeper unviability of agriculture as an occupation, and that competitive forces simply do not operate in farm input and output markets — leaving loan waivers as a populist soft option rather than a real remedy. The first essay, "Farm Loan Waiver: A Critical Evaluation" by Dr. C. L. Dadhich (Hon. Secretary, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics; former Director of Rural Economics at the Reserve Bank of India) and Dr.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, published in memory of chartered accountant Shailesh Kapadia (1949–1988) and sponsored by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust, bundles two independent essays on the crisis in Indian agriculture written against the backdrop of mounting state-level demands for farm loan waivers. A short editorial by Sunil S. Bhandare and an overview signed by Minoo R. Shroff (President-Emeritus, Forum of Free Enterprise, 8 August 2017) frame the volume's argumentative centre: that rural distress, farmer suicides and chronic indebtedness reflect a deeper unviability of agriculture as an occupation, and that competitive forces simply do not operate in farm input and output markets — leaving loan waivers as a populist soft option rather than a real remedy. The first essay, "Farm Loan Waiver: A Critical Evaluation" by Dr. C. L. Dadhich (Hon. Secretary, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics; former Director of Rural Economics at the Reserve Bank of India) and Dr. Barendra Kumar Bhoi (recently retired Principal Adviser and Head of Monetary Policy Department, RBI), uses NSSO and RBI data to argue that fragmented landholdings, growing reliance on non-institutional credit and an inefficient value chain dominated by middlemen have made cultivation structurally loss-making, and that competitive loan waivers distort credit culture without addressing the underlying causes. The second essay by Kumar Anand, described in the editorial as a young economic-liberal thinker, locates the same crisis in the absence of market principles at the input and output levels and questions whether central planning has truly been abandoned despite the dissolution of the Planning Commission. The rendered pages cover the front-matter, the foreword, the editorial and the opening sections (Introduction; Agrarian Distress; Rural Indebtedness; Inefficient Value Chain) of the first essay through printed page 18. ## Essays ### Farmer Loan Waiver - A Critical Evaluation *By Dr. C.L Dadhich; Dr. Barendra Kumar Bhoi* Dadhich and Bhoi open by situating the current wave of state-level farm loan waivers within India's longer history, noting that waivers were historically reserved for crop-failure emergencies but are now being demanded even when agricultural production is at record levels. They frame loan waiver as both a fiscal-discipline problem for central and state governments and, in the absence of a social security system, a humanitarian question — while reminding readers that agriculture is a state subject and that the RBI already has guidelines to restructure farm loans in distress. The analytical core of the rendered pages diagnoses agrarian distress along three axes. First, agriculture has become an unviable occupation: NSSO's 59th round (2003) found 40 per cent of farmers wanting to abandon farming, and the 70th round (2013) shows two-thirds of agricultural households now spending more than they earn, sustaining themselves through borrowing while capital formation collapses. Second, despite cooperatives, bank nationalisation, NABARD, Regional Rural Banks, priority sector lending and Kisan Credit Cards, the share of institutional credit to rural households fell from 69.4 per cent in 1991 to 56 per cent in 2012, with institutional lenders showing a clear bias toward larger asset-holders while non-institutional sources lend across the size distribution. Third, an inefficient value chain forces small and marginal farmers to dump produce at harvest, with procurement operations limited to a handful of crops and states and middlemen capturing the bulk of the retail price. The rendered section stops just as the authors begin to characterise the value-chain problem; the rest of the essay (policy implications and recommendations) lies beyond page 18. - Farm loan waivers have shifted from being an exceptional response to crop failure into a recurring state-level political demand even in years of record agricultural output. - NSSO surveys show roughly 40 per cent of farmers want to quit farming and that two-thirds of agricultural households now consume more than they earn, financing the gap through borrowing. - Institutional credit's share of rural lending fell from 69.4 per cent in 1991 to 56 per cent in 2012, with banks and cooperatives favouring asset-rich households while the poor rely on costlier non-institutional lenders. - Rising labour and input costs — not output-price weakness alone — are identified as the central drivers of cultivation's unviability, even after five years of large MSP hikes through 2013-14. - Bumper harvests in 2016-17 produced a collapse in pulses, oilseed and vegetable prices, so the latest wave of farmer agitation is described as a market-failure crisis rather than a crop-failure crisis. - Inadequate warehousing and procurement confined to a few crops and states (Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal) leave middlemen with the bulk of the final retail price. --- ## [Primary work] Fare Forward, Voyager... URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/fare-forward-voyager-by-frank-simoes-may-1990/ ### Summary Frank Simoes's "Fare Forward, Voyager..." is a biographical tribute to the Goan industrialist Vasudev M. Salgaocar (1916-1984), published in May 1990 by the A.D. Shroff Memorial Trust as Volume 3 of its "Builders of Indian Economy" series. In the rendered pages — the dust jacket, family tree, copyright page, contents, epigraph, prologue and the opening of the first chapter "Childhood's End" — the book positions itself as a journey of discovery undertaken by the author, a fellow Goan, drawing on roughly one hundred and fifty interviews and two hundred hours of taped material to assemble what the jacket calls "a democratic consensus" on its subject. The prologue, set in the pre-dawn hours of a single day at the Salgaocar mansion in Chicalim above Vasco da Gama, sketches the man at sixty-eight: a pioneer industrialist still negotiating with the Mormugao Port Trust, scanning the Financial Times and the Economist for international iron-ore signals, and dispatching telex messages to a grandchild.… ### Body ## Summary Frank Simoes's "Fare Forward, Voyager..." is a biographical tribute to the Goan industrialist Vasudev M. Salgaocar (1916-1984), published in May 1990 by the A.D. Shroff Memorial Trust as Volume 3 of its "Builders of Indian Economy" series. In the rendered pages — the dust jacket, family tree, copyright page, contents, epigraph, prologue and the opening of the first chapter "Childhood's End" — the book positions itself as a journey of discovery undertaken by the author, a fellow Goan, drawing on roughly one hundred and fifty interviews and two hundred hours of taped material to assemble what the jacket calls "a democratic consensus" on its subject. The prologue, set in the pre-dawn hours of a single day at the Salgaocar mansion in Chicalim above Vasco da Gama, sketches the man at sixty-eight: a pioneer industrialist still negotiating with the Mormugao Port Trust, scanning the Financial Times and the Economist for international iron-ore signals, and dispatching telex messages to a grandchild. In the rendered pages, the chapter "Childhood's End" then turns backward to 1916 Raibander, locating Salgaocar in a Goud Saraswat Brahmin family that had collapsed from gilded gentry into shopkeeping poverty under Portuguese colonial rule, and laying out the rigid colonial-Catholic hierarchy of Goa under the rising shadow of Salazar's Estado Novo. The rendered pages frame Salgaocar's later industrial achievement against this colonial pyramid: a Goan Hindu boy "disenfranchised" by religion and language, schooled in the markets of Vasco rather than in any classroom, who would later become "Goa's first true renaissance man." The polemical scaffolding of the book in the rendered pages is the contrast between the dismantling of liberal political thought in Portugal under Salazar — "the slender scaffolding of liberal political thought" — and the slow rise of an autodidact entrepreneur in its colonial periphery. ## Key points - Biographical tribute volume on Vasudev M. Salgaocar (1916-1984), Goan iron-ore industrialist and philanthropist, written by journalist-photographer Frank Simoes. - Published May 1990 by the A.D. Shroff Memorial Trust (M. R. Pai, Trustee) as 'Builders of Indian Economy Series: 3'; not for sale, distributed free to schools, colleges and libraries. - Jacket copy frames the project as a journey of discovery built from roughly 150 interviews and 200 hours of tape, ranging from Cabinet ministers to mine labourers. - Prologue depicts the 68-year-old Salgaocar before dawn in his Chicalim mansion negotiating with the Mormugao Port Trust, reading the Financial Times and Economist, and sending a playful telex to his grandson Vishal in Pune. - Opening chapter 'Childhood's End' locates Salgaocar's birth in 1916 to a Goud Saraswat Brahmin family in Raibander whose gilded fortune collapsed into petty shopkeeping under his father. - The rendered pages sketch the rigid Portuguese colonial pyramid in Goa — administrators and clergy at the top, landed gentry beneath, peasantry at the base — and the disenfranchisement of Goan Hindus. - Salazar's Estado Novo is invoked as the political backdrop, with the regime described as dismantling 'the slender scaffolding of liberal political thought' and reducing Parliament to a rubber stamp. - Table of contents lists six body sections — Childhood's End (3), The Sunday Club (25), The Good Earth (67), A Man For All Seasons (135), The Gathering Dusk (211), Journey's End (257) — none of which beyond the opening of the first are visible in the rendered pages. --- ## [Primary work] Federal Financial Relations in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/federa-lfinancial-relations-k-santhanam-dec11-1968/ ### Summary Delivered as the First A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise, K. Santhanam's address surveys the constitutional architecture of Centre–State financial relations in India and argues that planning has bent that architecture out of shape. After Murarji J. Vaidya's presidential remarks, which commemorate Shroff's pioneering work for free enterprise and recall Shroff's own wish for a talk on changing Union–State financial relations, Santhanam traces the lineage of Indian fiscal federalism from Lord Mayo's 1870 devolution through the Government of India Act, 1935, into Articles 268–281 of the Constitution. Santhanam credits the Constituent Assembly drafters — Ambedkar, B. N. Rau, Gopalaswamy Ayyangar and K. M. Munshi — with producing a precise, if cautious, federal scheme in which most taxes are demarcated between Union and States while income-tax and Union excise duties are shareable on the recommendations of a Finance Commission appointed every five years under Article 280.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the First A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise, K. Santhanam's address surveys the constitutional architecture of Centre–State financial relations in India and argues that planning has bent that architecture out of shape. After Murarji J. Vaidya's presidential remarks, which commemorate Shroff's pioneering work for free enterprise and recall Shroff's own wish for a talk on changing Union–State financial relations, Santhanam traces the lineage of Indian fiscal federalism from Lord Mayo's 1870 devolution through the Government of India Act, 1935, into Articles 268–281 of the Constitution. Santhanam credits the Constituent Assembly drafters — Ambedkar, B. N. Rau, Gopalaswamy Ayyangar and K. M. Munshi — with producing a precise, if cautious, federal scheme in which most taxes are demarcated between Union and States while income-tax and Union excise duties are shareable on the recommendations of a Finance Commission appointed every five years under Article 280. He walks through the work of the first four Finance Commissions (Neogi, Santhanam himself, Rajamannar's Fourth, and the intervening Third under Mahavir Tyagi), summarising how each handled the divisible pool of income-tax, the basis of distribution between collection and population, the widening of shareable excise duties, the consolidation of loans, and the chronic disagreement over sales tax and the merger of excises and sales tax. The lecture's polemical heart is a critique of the non-statutory Planning Commission. Santhanam contends that, because grants under Article 282 and plan transfers have outgrown the statutory grants under Article 275(1), the Planning Commission has effectively displaced the Finance Commission, making federal assistance discretionary, opaque and politically dependent. Quoting the Third Finance Commission and Dr. P. V. Rajamannar's dissenting minute, he argues that the federal balance has been seriously distorted by overlapping jurisdictions and by loans piling up on States that cannot service them. Santhanam closes with concrete reform proposals: distribute 75% of income-tax and 50% of all excise duties to the States on a population basis, abolish discretionary grants under Article 282, restrict Union loans to the States, route State borrowing through the Reserve Bank, and write off a slice of existing loans. He warns that without restoring federal financial relations to a definite constitutional and statutory footing, even the disappearance of State autonomy and the slide toward a unitary system may become possible. A closing biographical note on A. D. Shroff and a Forum membership appeal round out the booklet. ## Key points - Inaugural A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture under the Forum of Free Enterprise, framed by Murarji J. Vaidya's introductory remarks honouring Shroff as a champion of free enterprise. - Traces Indian fiscal federalism from Lord Mayo's 1870 devolution through the Government of India Act, 1935, into Articles 268–281 of the Constitution. - Praises the Constituent Assembly's drafting — naming Ambedkar, B. N. Rau, Gopalaswamy Ayyangar and K. M. Munshi — as a 'masterpiece' compared to the clumsiness of the 1935 Act on Finance Commissions. - Summarises the work of the first four Finance Commissions on the divisible income-tax pool, widening of shareable Union excise duties, consolidation of State loans, and the failed proposals for merging sales tax with Union excise. - Argues that the non-statutory Planning Commission has eclipsed the Finance Commission, with plan grants and Article 282 transfers exceeding Article 275(1) grants and making federal assistance discretionary. - Cites the Third Finance Commission's verdict on 'general weakness of federal-State financial relations' and Rajamannar's minute against the Planning Commission's encroachment. - Documents the spiralling burden of Union loans on the States — Rs. 44 crores in 1947, Rs. 3,100 crores by the end of the Third Plan — much of it unproductively spent and largely unrecoverable. - Proposes specific reforms: 75% of income-tax and 50% of excise duties to be shared on population basis; abolish Article 282 grants except to Union territories; restrict Union loans to the States and let them borrow from the RBI; write off Rs. 50 per capita of existing loans. - Closes with the warning that the federal financial relations must be restored to a definite constitutional and statutory basis lest the creation of Linguistic States and unitary drift extinguish State autonomy. --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff001/ ### Summary This is the inaugural issue (No. 1, June 1952) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, affiliated with the World Movement for Cultural Freedom (later the Congress for Cultural Freedom). In the rendered pages, the issue opens with an unsigned editorial, "The Open Society," that frames India's long tradition of intellectual tolerance as the basis for a modern anti-totalitarian project, followed by a "Notes" section commenting on current affairs (a Hind Mazdoor Sabha trade-union delegation to Communist China, the government's reluctance to host an international peace congress in Delhi, and a West Bengal proposal to remove British-era statues from the Calcutta Maidan). The issue also covers the Committee's participation in the Paris "Masterpieces of the 20th Century" exposition, reports on the first Annual General Meeting and the Bombay Committee's activities ("Our Tasks"), runs a satirical eyewitness account of a Soviet art exhibition in Bombay ("Exhibit One," bylined Viswamitra), and closes with the reprinted "Declaration on Cultural Freedom" adopted by the Indian Congress for Cultural Freedom on 31 March 1951, plus a membership coupon.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the inaugural issue (No. 1, June 1952) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, affiliated with the World Movement for Cultural Freedom (later the Congress for Cultural Freedom). In the rendered pages, the issue opens with an unsigned editorial, "The Open Society," that frames India's long tradition of intellectual tolerance as the basis for a modern anti-totalitarian project, followed by a "Notes" section commenting on current affairs (a Hind Mazdoor Sabha trade-union delegation to Communist China, the government's reluctance to host an international peace congress in Delhi, and a West Bengal proposal to remove British-era statues from the Calcutta Maidan). The issue also covers the Committee's participation in the Paris "Masterpieces of the 20th Century" exposition, reports on the first Annual General Meeting and the Bombay Committee's activities ("Our Tasks"), runs a satirical eyewitness account of a Soviet art exhibition in Bombay ("Exhibit One," bylined Viswamitra), and closes with the reprinted "Declaration on Cultural Freedom" adopted by the Indian Congress for Cultural Freedom on 31 March 1951, plus a membership coupon. The volume's argumentative center is a defence of the "open society" — free debate, tolerance of dissent, and resistance to totalitarian regimentation — pitched against both Communist and other authoritarian tendencies of the day. ## Essays ### The Open Society "The Open Society" is the unsigned lead editorial of this first issue. It opens with Gopal Krishna Gokhale's 1913 warning, on returning from Europe, that Europeans were living under a strain that would lead to conflict, and traces the subsequent decades of war and ideological struggle between individual freedom and submission to a "great Leviathan" of state or collective authority. The piece argues that India has a distinctive heritage of intellectual tolerance — thought free even under a caste-bound, custom-heavy social order — which produced a habit of confronting every idea with its critics, quoting Radhakumud Mukerji's account of Buddhist assemblies as an illustration. It presents the newly formed Movement for Cultural Freedom (i.e., the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom) as continuous with this national tradition, tracing a line from Rammohun Roy through Tagore and Gandhi, and states that the Movement has no fixed programme for social ills beyond insisting that solutions be worked out within a climate of freedom and open debate, not through submission to authority. - Opens with Gokhale's 1913 prediction of European strain and conflict as a framing device for the essay's argument. - Frames the 20th-century crisis as a conflict between the free man's autonomy and the pull toward a collectivist 'great Leviathan'. - Argues India has a historic 'climate of tolerance' in which thought remained free even though social behaviour was custom-bound. - Cites Dr. Radhakumud Mukerji's Hindu Civilization on Buddhist assembly practice as evidence of a deep-rooted Indian predilection for tolerance and dissent. - Positions the Movement for Cultural Freedom as heir to the reform lineage of Rammohun Roy, Tagore, and Gandhi. - States the Movement has no fixed programme ('nostrums') for society's ills beyond preserving the framework of free debate. - Warns against retreat into authoritarian 'security' as a response to modern anxiety, arguing suppression of doubt worsens underlying problems. ### Notes (Trade Unionists Trip; Delhi Hospitality; Tampering with History) The "Notes" section opens with "Trade Unionists Trip," criticizing a Hind Mazdoor Sabha delegation's attendance at May Day celebrations in Communist China, arguing the visit implicitly legitimized a regime that had destroyed independent Chinese trade unionism and comparing the delegation unfavourably to the Indian National Trade Union Congress, which had declined a similar invitation. It is followed by "Delhi Hospitality," which begins as a comment on India's acute housing shortage but pivots into an account of how the Indian Government's stated inability to accommodate delegates led to the postponement of an International Peace Forum congress in New Delhi — the piece implies this excuse concealed political pressure linked to Soviet and Chinese Communist diplomatic sensitivities, drawing a parallel to the earlier relocation of the Indian Congress for Cultural Freedom's own conference away from Delhi. A further item, "Tampering with History," criticizes a reported West Bengal government move to remove British-era statues from the Calcutta Maidan, endorsing historian Dr. Jadunath Sircar's view that such monuments are historical records that should stand, and drawing an analogy to Stalinist Russia's erasure of Leon Trotsky from official history and monuments. - Criticizes the Hind Mazdoor Sabha for sending a delegation to Communist China's May Day celebrations, arguing this legitimizes a regime that crushed independent trade unionism. - Contrasts the Hind Mazdoor Sabha's acceptance of the invitation with the Indian National Trade Union Congress's rejection of a similar invitation. - Reports that an International Peace Forum congress planned for New Delhi was postponed, ostensibly due to accommodation shortages, a claim the piece treats with scepticism. - Draws a parallel between the Delhi peace-congress postponement and the earlier relocation of the Indian Congress for Cultural Freedom's conference away from Delhi, implying political pressure from Communist embassies. - Endorses historian Dr. Jadunath Sircar's argument that removing British-era statues from Calcutta amounts to 'tampering with history'. - Uses Stalinist Russia's erasure of Leon Trotsky from official history as a cautionary parallel to the proposed removal of statues. ### Masterpieces of the 20th Century: International Exposition of the Arts in Paris "Masterpieces of the 20th Century" reports on the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's participation in the International Exposition of the Arts in Paris, sponsored by the Congress for Cultural Freedom. A five-member Indian delegation led by Sir Rustom Masani, including P. Y. Deshpande, Ramabriksha Benipuri, Ka. Naa. Subramaniam, and Philip Spratt, joined the exposition's literary discussions. The piece describes the exposition's scope (literary, art, musical, and dramatic programmes) and the Congress for Cultural Freedom's identity as an international body of intellectuals opposed to totalitarian control over creative life, naming honorary presidents Benedetto Croce, John Dewey, Karl Jaspers, Salvador de Madariaga, Jacques Maritain, and Bertrand Russell. - The Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom sent a five-member delegation, led by Sir Rustom Masani, to the Paris 'Masterpieces of the XXth Century' exposition's literary programme. - Delegation members included P. Y. Deshpande (Marathi author/critic), Ramabriksha Benipuri (Hindi writer), Ka. Naa. Subramaniam (Tamil novelist), and Philip Spratt (Secretary of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom). - The exposition covered literature, art, music, and drama, organized under the sponsorship of the Congress for Cultural Freedom. - The Congress for Cultural Freedom's honorary presidents are named as Benedetto Croce, John Dewey, Karl Jaspers, Salvador de Madariaga, Jacques Maritain and Bertrand Russell; its chairman is Denis de Rougemont and secretary-general is Nicolas Nabokov. - The literary forum's planned topics include isolation and mass communication, revolt and human fellowship, and diversity and universality. ### Our Tasks "Our Tasks" reports on the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's first Annual General Meeting, held in Bombay on 27 April 1925 (a date that appears to be a source/OCR anomaly given the periodical's own 1952 dateline), which set a programme including forming regional groups, publishing a monthly bulletin, building relations with Indian-language writers, and promoting cultural activities among university students. It reports the election of the 1952-53 Executive Committee (M. R. Masani, Asoka Mehta, Ram Singh, Sampurnanand, Jaipal Singh M.P., Raja Rao, P. Kodanda Rao as Honorary Treasurer, and Philip Spratt, P. Y. Deshpande, and Prof. J. C. Daruvala as Honorary Secretaries), and describes the Bombay Committee's March-April activities: syndicating Sydney Hook's article "Bread and Freedom" and Robert Guillain's articles on "Revolution in China," issuing an open letter to Democratic parties in South India, and hosting visitors including Ruth Fischer, Dr. Walter Eells, and representatives of the India League of America. - The first AGM, held in Bombay (chaired by Jayaprakash Narain per the meeting report), set a programme of regional groups, a monthly bulletin, and student cultural activities. - The 1952-53 Executive Committee is listed, including M. R. Masani, Asoka Mehta, Sampurnanand, Jaipal Singh, and Philip Spratt as Honorary Secretary. - The Bombay Committee syndicated Sydney Hook's 'Bread and Freedom' and Robert Guillain's articles on 'Revolution in China' to Indian-language newspapers. - An open letter was issued to Democratic parties reminding them not to let immediate differences aid anti-constitutional forces, particularly referencing South India. - Notable visitors hosted by the Bombay Committee included Ruth Fischer (former German Communist leader), Dr. Walter Eells, and Robert Delson of the India League of America. ### Exhibit One *By Viswamitra* "Exhibit One," bylined Viswamitra, is a satirical first-person account of the Soviet Art Exhibition at Bombay's Cowasji Jehangir (Cowasji) Art Gallery. The piece mocks the exhibition as gaudy, propagandistic 'Stalinist' art dominated by portraits of Stalin, contrasting the poor critical reception in Bombay (across the Times of India, Free Press Journal, Free Press Bulletin, and National Standard) with the earlier hype that had promised superior work at later Delhi and Calcutta showings. The essay closes with an anecdote in which the narrator needles a Soviet-connected guide about a large canvas depicting Stalin and Mao Zedong standing together over the Kremlin — noting that although the guide insisted Mao was much taller than Stalin in real life, the painting shows the two men as equal in height with Stalin appearing more dominant, which the narrator reads as evidence of politically motivated pictorial distortion in Soviet 'realism'. - Describes the Soviet Art Exhibition at the Cowasji Art Gallery, Bombay, as dominated by 'Stalinist concept of Art' rather than artistic merit. - Notes that the Bombay press (Times of India, Free Press Journal, Free Press Bulletin, National Standard) gave the exhibition uniformly poor reviews. - Recounts that photographic reproductions shown in Bombay were promoted as inferior previews of 'masterpieces' promised for Delhi and Calcutta. - Centres on a canvas depicting Stalin and Mao Zedong together above the Kremlin, used to probe questions of politically motivated distortion in Soviet Realist art. - The narrator's guide claims Mao was much taller than Stalin in life, yet the canvas depicts them as equal in height with Stalin more dominant — read as evidence of propagandistic manipulation. ### Declaration on Cultural Freedom The final page reprints the "Declaration on Cultural Freedom," the founding statement adopted by the Indian Congress for Cultural Freedom on 31 March 1951. Structured in eight numbered sections, it defines culture as having both individual and social content, holds that culture flourishes only in a free society that recognizes the integrity of the individual as a primary ethical value alongside social justice and equality of opportunity, and affirms that cultural variety among communities enriches a universal human culture. It argues that modern totalitarianism represents a uniquely destructive tyranny because it seeks to dictate not just the expression of truth but truth itself, making truth subservient to political and economic expediency, and it closes by declaring indifference toward this totalitarian threat a betrayal of the Indian tradition and of human values. The page also carries the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's membership coupon and address (Manekji Wadia Building, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1), and the printer's imprint (Dinkar Sakrikar at the Kannada Press, Podar Chambers, Parsi Bazaar St., Fort Bombay). - Defines culture as having both an individual attitude-to-life dimension and a social dimension arising from community integration. - Holds that a free society recognizing the integrity of the individual as a primary ethical value, alongside social justice and equal opportunity, is the precondition for culture to flourish. - Affirms that cultural diversity among communities enriches a universal human culture rather than threatening it. - Argues each geographically and historically defined social unit must have the independence to evolve and maintain its own culture. - Frames modern totalitarianism as uniquely dangerous because it seeks to dictate truth itself, not merely its expression, subordinating truth to political or economic expediency. - Declares that indifference or neutrality toward totalitarian tyranny amounts to a betrayal of the Indian tradition and of human/spiritual values. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff002/ ### Summary This is the July 1952 issue (No. 2) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (affiliated to the Congress for Cultural Freedom / World Movement for Cultural Freedom), printed in Bombay. The issue is anchored by Sidney Hook's memorial tribute to John Dewey, who had recently died, tracing Dewey's philosophy of experience, his opposition to totalitarianism (including his chairmanship of the 1937 inquiry into the Moscow trials), and closing with a full bibliography of Dewey's works. The unsigned editorial 'Notes' section takes anti-communist positions on several fronts: criticising an Indian goodwill delegation's credulous reporting from Communist China, defending the UN's refusal to forcibly repatriate Chinese POWs from Korea, praising anti-communist demonstrations in Delhi and Guatemala, criticising Finance Minister C. D. Deshmukh's evasiveness on Soviet and Chinese claims, commenting on a Hindu-Muslim intermarriage controversy in Delhi, supporting the South African satyagraha against apartheid while flagging communist infiltration of its leadership, and expressing concern over Owen Lattimore's possible visiting position at Delhi University.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the July 1952 issue (No. 2) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (affiliated to the Congress for Cultural Freedom / World Movement for Cultural Freedom), printed in Bombay. The issue is anchored by Sidney Hook's memorial tribute to John Dewey, who had recently died, tracing Dewey's philosophy of experience, his opposition to totalitarianism (including his chairmanship of the 1937 inquiry into the Moscow trials), and closing with a full bibliography of Dewey's works. The unsigned editorial 'Notes' section takes anti-communist positions on several fronts: criticising an Indian goodwill delegation's credulous reporting from Communist China, defending the UN's refusal to forcibly repatriate Chinese POWs from Korea, praising anti-communist demonstrations in Delhi and Guatemala, criticising Finance Minister C. D. Deshmukh's evasiveness on Soviet and Chinese claims, commenting on a Hindu-Muslim intermarriage controversy in Delhi, supporting the South African satyagraha against apartheid while flagging communist infiltration of its leadership, and expressing concern over Owen Lattimore's possible visiting position at Delhi University. Other contributions cover a proposed Yusuf Meherally memorial library, a report by Ka. Naa. Subramaniam on the International Exposition of the Arts and literary/anti-totalitarian debates at the 1952 Congress for Cultural Freedom gathering in Paris, an essay by P. Y. Deshpande (delivered as an address at that same Paris exposition) arguing that the modern spirit of revolt is compatible with, not opposed to, human fellowship, P. Spratt's review of Michael Polanyi's 'The Logic of Liberty', and a short piece on a Bombay Child Art Exhibition. The volume's overall center is a Cold War-era defence of intellectual and political freedom against totalitarianism of both left and right, combined with Indian liberal commentary on contemporary politics. ## Essays ### Salute To John Dewey *By SIDNEY HOOK* Sidney Hook's tribute to John Dewey, written on the occasion of the Congress for Cultural Freedom mourning the loss of one of its Honorary Presidents. Hook, who studied under Dewey and later chaired the Philosophy Department at NYU and the American Committee for Cultural Freedom, recalls Dewey's intellectual vitality, his lack of nostalgia, and his respect for the individuality of every person, including children. The piece (continued from page 1 to pages 10-11) explains Dewey's theory of experience, his belief that scientific method and freedom are mutually supportive, and the fierce hostility he drew from communists (including denunciations in the Moscow 'Bolshevik') for his work chairing the 1937 committee of inquiry into the Moscow trials, which found Trotsky innocent. Hook closes by calling Dewey's philosophy the most distinctive expression of the American liberal faith. The piece ends with a two-page selected bibliography of works by and about Dewey. - Dewey showed no nostalgia for the past and remained intensely engaged with contemporary ideas and events until his death. - Dewey's philosophy of education rested on respect for the individual's uniqueness and dignity, including that of children. - Dewey's theory of experience was shaped by findings in biology/psychology, anthropology, and the study of instruments (language, the body) in the growth of knowledge. - Dewey held that scientific inquiry, not ecclesiastical or political authority, is the only legitimate test of the validity of human ends and means. - Communist critics attacked Dewey venomously, comparing his views to 'imperialistic warmongering' for proposing that even Stalin's and Franco's ideals be judged by the actual consequences of the means used to achieve them. - In 1937 Dewey chaired an international commission of inquiry (sessions in New York and Mexico City) that concluded Trotsky was innocent of the charges made against him at the Moscow trials. - Non-communist critics like Bertrand Russell and George Santayana separately charged Dewey with a 'cosmic impiety' that gave insufficient place to play, resignation, or man's place in the universe. - Hook concludes that Dewey's philosophy is the most distinctive expression of the American liberal faith, articulating its goodwill, hard-headedness, and imaginative daring. ### Notes (Operation Cross-Eyed; Volunteering Out; Delhi and Gautemala; Obligations of Friendship; Delhi Marriage; South African Satyagraha; Lattimore in India?) The unsigned editorial 'Notes' section runs across pages 2-4 and covers seven short items reflecting the Committee's anti-communist, pro-democratic stance: (1) 'Operation Cross-eyed' criticises an official Indian goodwill delegation to Communist China (including Prof. V.K.R.V. Rao) for naive, uncritical reporting, and cites the low repatriation rate among Chinese POWs in Korea as proof of disaffection with Mao's regime; (2) 'Volunteering Out' extends this point about POWs not wishing to return to Communist China and endorses the UN's refusal to force repatriation as a matter of principle, quoting the socialist weekly Tribune; (3) 'Delhi and Gautemala' praises anti-communist demonstrations in front of Parliament House in Delhi and in Guatemala City; (4) 'Obligations of Friendship' criticises Union Finance Minister C. D. Deshmukh for evasiveness in Parliament about Soviet and Chinese claims, and notes an Indian scientist's refusal to join a call for Red Cross investigation of alleged US germ warfare in Korea because he was a government official; (5) 'Delhi Marriage' criticises an incident in which public pressure forced a Hindu bride to abandon her intention to marry a Muslim, and criticises Indian law requiring both parties to an inter-communal marriage to formally renounce their religious beliefs, holding up Switzerland's constitutional protection of inter-religious marriage as a model; (6) 'South African Satyagraha' supports the passive resistance campaign launched by Africans and Indians against apartheid on 26 June, while cautioning that communists have infiltrated its leadership; (7) 'Lattimore in India?' expresses concern over reports that Owen Lattimore, under US Congressional investigation over Soviet/Chinese sympathies, might take a year's lecturing post at Delhi University. - Criticises the official Indian goodwill delegation to Communist China for naive and misleading reporting, contrasting it with the low (24%) rate of Chinese POWs in Korea agreeing to repatriation. - Supports the UN's refusal to forcibly repatriate unwilling POWs as a moral stand consistent with the UN Charter and Declaration of Human Rights. - Praises anti-communist demonstrations in Delhi (calling for banning the Communist Party of India) and in Guatemala City. - Criticises Finance Minister C. D. Deshmukh's evasive parliamentary answers on Soviet/Chinese achievements as unworthy of a government that invokes Gandhi's name. - Criticises Indian law requiring inter-communal marriage partners to renounce their religious beliefs, citing an incident where a Hindu-Muslim marriage in Delhi was blocked by public pressure, and holds up the Swiss constitutional model. - Supports the South African satyagraha against apartheid while noting communist infiltration of the movement's leadership. - Expresses concern that Owen Lattimore, under US investigation for pro-Soviet/Chinese sympathies, may take a lecturing post at Delhi University. ### Yusuf Meherally Memorial Library *By L. F.* A short unsigned notice (initialled 'L.F.') proposing a Yusuf Meherally memorial library, built around Meherally's own book collection, to be run as a lending library circulating batches of books to other libraries, colleges, universities, and students' unions. It invites donations of books or money to be sent to Mr. Kantilal Shah, Honorary Secretary of the Yusuf Meherally Memorial Committee. - Yusuf Meherally is described as combining intellectual greatness with a genius for friendship, and as a bibliophile who constantly gave away and lent his books. - A memorial library is proposed using Meherally's own collection as its nucleus, supplemented by donations, including from friends at Mount Holyoke College in the USA. - The library is proposed to operate as a mobile lending institution, circulating book batches to other libraries, colleges, universities, and students' unions. - Donations of books or money are to be sent to Mr. Kantilal Shah, c/o S. C. Sheth & Co., Bombay. ### Freedom and the Arts *By Ka. Naa. SUBRAMANIAM* Ka. Naa. Subramaniam reports on the International Exposition of the Arts held in Paris in May 1952 under the auspices of the Congress for Cultural Freedom. He opens by arguing that twentieth-century artistic experimentation (Joyce, Eliot, Picasso, the Surrealists, Hindemith, Schoenburg) was hailed by many Western intellectuals as continuous with communism as an experimental social revolution, but that a decade of Soviet experience revealed the opposite: Stalin became 'the greatest artist of Russia' and all art was subordinated to shifting party lines. The Exposition presented, in retrospect, the best artistic, musical, and literary work of the first half of the twentieth century (naming numerous painters, orchestras, conductors, and literary figures who attended or were discussed), together with parallel literary discussions on the theme of freedom and creativity, and a session of the Association 'Les Amis de la Liberté'. Subramaniam closes by reporting his own remarks on the Indian writer's ambivalent awareness of communism, and calls for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom to sponsor an All-Asian writers' conference. - Argues that 20th-century artistic experimentation was initially seen by Western intellectuals as akin to the communist political-social experiment, but the reality of Soviet artistic control (Stalin as 'the greatest artist of Russia') dispelled that illusion. - Reports on the International Exposition of the Arts (Paris, May 1952), which presented retrospectively the finest Western achievements in music, ballet, painting, sculpture, and literature from the first half of the 20th century. - Named participants in the literary discussions included William Faulkner, Andre Malraux, Denis de Rougemont, Salvador de Madariaga, W. H. Auden, Herbert Read, Ignazio Silone, Stephen Spender, and others; Indian delegates Philip Spratt and P. Y. Deshpande stressed Indian perspectives, including Gandhi's technique of communication through love and sacrifice. - Describes an International session of 'Les Amis de la Liberté' (Friends of Freedom), with roughly 200 delegates from many countries debating totalitarianism versus liberty, the working class, letters and arts, and freedom. - Subramaniam reports his own remarks that the Indian writer today is aware of communism as a potent idea and humane ideal, but not yet aware of it as a conspiracy or political plot in practice. - Calls on the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom to sponsor an All-Asian Conference of writers, extending the work of the international cultural freedom movement into Asia. ### Revolt and Human Fellowship *By P. Y. DESHPANDE* P. Y. Deshpande's essay, based on an address delivered during the literary discussions at the Paris International Exposition of the Arts, argues against the assumption that there is an inherent conflict between the values of revolt and those of human fellowship. Tracing a historical arc from J. H. Rob's account (in the Encyclopaedia Britannica) of humanity's slow, unpremeditated cultural evolution, through Bacon's 'aggressive search for the hitherto unknown', to the last three centuries' spirit of revolt in science, art, literature and philosophy, Deshpande contends that this revolt was never a revolt of man against man but of individual consciousness against traditional blind faith, exemplified by Galileo's demonstration against Aristotelian authority and by the storm of criticism Deshpande's own 1927 Marathi novel 'Beyond Bondage' provoked. He distinguishes this genuine spirit of revolt sharply from the totalitarian doctrines of Marx and Engels, arguing that dialectical materialism and class war denied the reality of the individual and demanded total, dogmatic acceptance on pain of death, whereas true revolt was always an appeal to conscience that could be accepted or rejected freely. He concludes that all who value freedom, truth, and progressive human fellowship must revolt against totalitarian doctrine, out of which a new human fellowship will emerge. - Rejects the premise that revolt and human fellowship are inherently in conflict. - Traces the 'spirit of revolt' in science, art, literature and philosophy to the last three centuries, contrasting it with humanity's age-long conservatism before that. - Cites Galileo's Leaning Tower of Pisa experiment against Aristotelian authority as the paradigm case of individual consciousness challenging established social consciousness. - Uses his own experience publishing the Marathi novel 'Beyond Bondage' (1927), which provoked calls for it to be publicly burnt, as a personal illustration of this pattern. - Distinguishes the genuine spirit of revolt (individual conscience appealing to others, 'take it or leave it') from totalitarian doctrines of Marx and Engels, which he says demanded total dogmatic acceptance on pain of death and denied the reality of the individual. - Concludes that a worldwide revolt against totalitarianism will produce a new and significant human fellowship. ### Review: The Logic of Liberty by M. Polanyi *By P. SPRATT* P. Spratt reviews Michael Polanyi's 'The Logic of Liberty' (Routledge, 1951). Spratt situates Polanyi as a Continental refugee from totalitarianism who examines intellectual and political liberty through the lens of scientific thought. He summarises Polanyi's argument that traditional liberalism's doctrine of complete absence of restraint in thought provides no principled defence against totalitarianism and tends toward scepticism, which does not destroy but only suppresses the passion for ethical values, letting it reassert itself through belief in a mechanical, brutal process claimed to produce an earthly paradise. Polanyi argues liberty cannot be defended as an absolute but must flow from other absolutes (truth, justice, kindness, tolerance, loyalty, beauty), using the position of the scientist -- free to pursue problems but bound by scientific method and established results -- as an analogy for the citizen's freedom within a community bound by transcendent values. Spratt notes the book's later argument against economic planning of complex activities on efficiency grounds, recommending it especially to economists. - Polanyi is described as a Continental refugee from totalitarianism whose personal experience gives urgency to his analysis of intellectual and political liberty. - Polanyi argues traditional liberalism's ideal of complete freedom of thought cannot justify effective resistance to totalitarianism and tends to collapse into scepticism. - Totalitarianism is characterised as 'the child of unbelief', arising when scepticism suppresses (without destroying) the passion for ethical values, which then reasserts itself through a mechanical, brutal doctrine promising an earthly paradise. - Polanyi concludes liberty cannot be defended as an absolute in itself but must flow from other absolutes such as truth, justice, kindness, tolerance, loyalty and beauty. - Uses the position of the scientist, free within the discipline of scientific method, as an analogy for the citizen's freedom within a community bound by shared transcendent values. - The book's later sections argue against planning of complex activities on grounds of efficiency, which Spratt recommends especially to economists. ### A Selected Bibliography of and by John Dewey A short unsigned piece (initialled 'A.B.') on a Child Art Exhibition recently held in Bombay, celebrating the spontaneity, joy, and freedom of expression in children's art compared with the more constrained, controlled work of older children and adults. The piece closes by invoking Pulin Dutt's dictum that Child Art is eternal art, and calls on adults to reconnect with the joy, love, and freedom of childhood creation. - The writer describes the Bombay Child Art Exhibition as a treat after witnessing so little real art, praising the spontaneity and simplicity of children's work. - Argues that the innocent child, unspoilt by rigid adult discipline, lives nearer to Nature and creation. - Notes that as children get older, their art shows more adult control, pattern, order and rigidity, losing much of its charm. - Draws a comparison in the exhibition between Child Art and the work of great modern painters, noting the child merely gives vent to joy while the adult artist must consciously strive to break away from bondage. - Closes by citing Pulin Dutt's view that Child Art is eternal art, urging adults to rejoin that state of joy, love and freedom. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff004/ ### Summary This is the September 1952 issue (No. 4) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, affiliated to the World Movement for Cultural Freedom. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with Jayaprakash Narayan's essay "Incentives For Goodness," arguing that materialist philosophy (including the dialectical materialism he says he once embraced) cannot supply a rational incentive for individual goodness, and that social reconstruction requires a return to non-material, quasi-spiritual grounding for ethics. The issue then carries a "Notes" section covering the McCarran Act's exclusion of anti-Communist figures (Raja Kulkarni, Alberto Moravia), an item on ancient Athenian anti-dictatorship law versus India's Preventive Detention Bill, a report on Soviet "LitAg" (literary agent) propaganda methods and the case of journalist Iqbal Singh, and a note on Persia/the Persian Gulf as a target of Soviet expansion citing captured Nazi-Soviet cables. K. D.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the September 1952 issue (No. 4) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, affiliated to the World Movement for Cultural Freedom. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with Jayaprakash Narayan's essay "Incentives For Goodness," arguing that materialist philosophy (including the dialectical materialism he says he once embraced) cannot supply a rational incentive for individual goodness, and that social reconstruction requires a return to non-material, quasi-spiritual grounding for ethics. The issue then carries a "Notes" section covering the McCarran Act's exclusion of anti-Communist figures (Raja Kulkarni, Alberto Moravia), an item on ancient Athenian anti-dictatorship law versus India's Preventive Detention Bill, a report on Soviet "LitAg" (literary agent) propaganda methods and the case of journalist Iqbal Singh, and a note on Persia/the Persian Gulf as a target of Soviet expansion citing captured Nazi-Soviet cables. K. D. Sethna's tribute "Sri Aurobindo and Man's Future" and Frank Moraes's tribute "Ananda Coomaraswamy" follow, both occasioned by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's commemorations of the two figures' birthdays. Michael Padev reviews David Mitrany's book Marx Against the Peasant, framing Marxism as historically and structurally hostile to peasant interests. A "Review" section covers Herbert Philbrick's I Led 3 Lives and Matyas Rakosi's How We Took Over Hungary (with an introduction by Jayaprakash Narayan), plus Sidney Hook's booklet Heresy, Yes — Conspiracy, No! An unsigned piece, "Russia At The Olympics," contrasts Olympic ideals with alleged Soviet manipulation of medal counts at the 1952 Helsinki games. The issue closes with a "With Many Voices" digest of press quotations on Cold War politics, race, and Indian foreign policy, followed by a membership order form and further press-quotation notes on Nehru's foreign policy and Indian neutrality. ## Essays ### Incentives For Goodness *By Jayaprakash Narayan* In "Incentives For Goodness," Jayaprakash Narayan argues that the collapse of religious and moral certainties has stripped modern man of any rational incentive to be good, since a purely materialist worldview offers no logical reason to practise virtue over vice. He contends that the fate of society hinges on the moral character of its elite rather than the mass of ordinarily decent people, who can nonetheless turn suddenly vicious under social pressure. Narayan discloses that he was long drawn to dialectical materialism but has come to believe that any materialist philosophy robs man of the means to become truly human, and that social reconstruction cannot succeed under a materialist inspiration; he concludes that man must find incentives to goodness beyond the material. - Argues modern materialist society has removed traditional (religious) incentives to be good, leaving individuals asking why they should be virtuous at all. - Holds that the character of a society's elite, not just its ordinary decent members, determines whether evil or good prevails. - Describes decent, harmless people as capable of turning suddenly vicious under communal or political passions. - Reveals his own long attachment to dialectical materialism as an intellectually satisfying philosophy, now judged inadequate. - Concludes materialism of any kind cannot ground a rational incentive to goodness, and social reconstruction requires going beyond the material. ### Sri Aurobindo and Man's Future *By K. D. SETHNA* The unsigned "Notes" section (pages 3-4) covers several short items: an ancient Athenian anti-dictatorship law contrasted with India's Preventive Detention Bill; the barring of Raja Kulkarni and Alberto Moravia from the United States under the McCarran Act and the New Leader's criticism of this "swinging-door" policy; Soviet "LitAg" (literary agent) propaganda tactics, with journalist Iqbal Singh cited as an example operating in India; and a note on Persia/the Persian Gulf as a historic target of Russian and Soviet imperial ambition, citing a captured 1940 Nazi-Soviet diplomatic cable. - Cites a rediscovered ancient Athenian law making it lawful to kill anyone attempting to establish a dictatorship, contrasting it with India's Preventive Detention Bill. - Criticises the Preventive Detention Act for granting the Executive powers that impinge on fundamental rights rather than narrowly targeting anti-democratic conspirators. - Reports the McCarran Act's exclusion of Raja Kulkarni (Socialist trade union leader) and Alberto Moravia (Italian novelist) from the U.S., quoting the New Leader's editorial criticism. - Describes the Soviet 'LitAg' (Literary Agent) apparatus and names Iqbal Singh as a journalist allegedly serving pro-Soviet propaganda ends in Indian publications. - Cites a captured Nazi-Soviet cable (Nov. 1940) showing Soviet ambitions toward the Persian Gulf, linking historic Tsarist and Soviet imperial goals. ### Ananda Coomaraswamy *By FRANK MORAES* K. D. Sethna's essay "Sri Aurobindo and Man's Future" was written on the occasion of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's commemoration of Sri Aurobindo's birthday (which falls on India's Independence Day). Sethna surveys Sri Aurobindo's life as a synthesis of East and West -- his Cambridge education, early nationalist politics, and turn to yoga and philosophy -- and explains his concept of the 'Supermind' as the source and secret of earthly evolution, requiring humanity's 'conscious co-operation' to be realised. The essay describes the Pondicherry Ashram and a planned international university intended to spread this teaching, closing with lines from Sri Aurobindo's poem Savitri on freedom and universal solidarity. - Frames Sri Aurobindo's birthday as coinciding symbolically with India's Independence Day. - Describes Sri Aurobindo's biography: Tamil-lineage upbringing is not mentioned, but Cambridge education, early nationalist politics, and turn to yoga and philosophy are covered. - Explains the concept of the Supermind as the top of a gradation of being that must be attained through humanity's conscious co-operation. - Describes the Pondicherry Ashram and a proposed international university meant to spread the Aurobindonian teaching across nations. - Closes on lines from Sri Aurobindo's poem Savitri emphasising universal freedom and solidarity. ### Marxist Crusade Against The Peasant *By MICHAEL PADEV* Frank Moraes's tribute "Ananda Coomaraswamy," written for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's commemoration of Coomaraswamy's 75th birthday, celebrates him as a synthesis of East and West -- born to a Tamil father and English mother, once Director of the Mineralogical Survey of Ceylon before turning to Indian art and philosophy. Moraes praises Coomaraswamy's wide-ranging intellect across sociology, philology, politics, economics, anthropology, archaeology, music, and the sciences, and quotes Eric Gill's comparison of him to Michelangelo in versatility. - Describes Coomaraswamy as a synthesis of East and West, claimed by both Ceylon (birthplace) and India (cultural roots). - Notes his early career as Director of the Mineralogical Survey of Ceylon before his turn to Indian art and philosophy. - Praises his interpretive gifts and wide intellectual range across many disciplines. - Cites Eric Gill's tribute comparing Coomaraswamy to Michelangelo in versatility of genius. - Frames Coomaraswamy's own philosophy of life as grounded in the 'anarchy within ourselves' leading to anarchy outside if unresolved. ### Review: I Led 3 Lives (Herbert Philbrick) *By A.B.J.B.* In "Marxist Crusade Against The Peasant," Michael Padev reviews David Mitrany's book Marx Against the Peasant (George Weidenfeld & Nicolson), which he calls a monumental, thirty-years'-research study of the conflict between Communism and peasantries worldwide. Padev summarises Mitrany's argument that Marxist theory has been consistently and dogmatically hostile to peasants, that Communist support for peasant land demands is purely tactical, and that once in power Communists turn to liquidating the peasantry in favour of collectivised, industrial-style production. He highlights Mitrany's point that the peasant's power is one of passive resistance rather than action, and notes Soviet difficulties collectivising agriculture even after decades of the 'proletarian revolution.' - Frames Western diplomatic and journalistic circles as chronically under-informed about peasant life behind the Iron Curtain. - Summarises Mitrany's central thesis that Marxism has waged an ideological 'holy war' against the peasant despite tactical alliances during revolution. - Contrasts the Marxist view of land as mere production input with the peasant's view of land as a living organism bound to a way of life. - Notes that Communist power over peasants rests on organized coercion ('they have all the guns'), while peasant power is passive resistance capable of enduring decades. - Cites continuing Soviet difficulty with agricultural collectivisation and 'super' collective farms/Agro cities into the late 1940s as evidence of ongoing peasant resistance. ### Review: How We Took Over Hungary (Matyas Rakosi, intro. by Jayaprakash Narayan) *By M. R. M.* The "Review" section (pages 8-9) carries four short book/pamphlet reviews. A.B.J.B. reviews Herbert Philbrick's I Led 3 Lives, praising its unembellished account of nine years as an FBI informant inside American Communist front organisations. An unsigned note covers Matyas Rakosi's How We Took Over Hungary, with an introduction by Jayaprakash Narayan written while fasting in Poona, describing Communist united-front tactics used to destroy political rivals in Hungary. M.R.M. reviews an unnamed sixteen-page pamphlet critical of Indian delegations to China. J. B. H. Wadia reviews Sidney Hook's Heresy, Yes -- Conspiracy, No!, praising its distinction between Communism as heresy (which liberals need not fear) and Communism as conspiracy (which must be resisted through safeguards against infiltration, not McCarthyist vigilantism). - A.B.J.B. praises Philbrick's I Led 3 Lives as a well-documented, unembellished account of infiltrating Communist front organisations for the FBI over nine years. - Notes Matyas Rakosi's pamphlet How We Took Over Hungary carries an introduction by Jayaprakash Narayan, written from his sickbed while fasting in Poona. - M.R.M.'s brief note criticises Indian educationists and delegation members to China for not having read a pamphlet exposing Communist tactics. - J. B. H. Wadia's review of Sidney Hook's Heresy, Yes -- Conspiracy, No! stresses the liberal's need to distinguish Communism-as-heresy from Communism-as-conspiracy. - Wadia's review also covers Hook's second essay, 'The Dangers of Cultural Vigilantism,' criticising McCarthyist excesses as counter-productive to anti-Communist goals. ### Heresy, Yes—Conspiracy, No! (Sidney Hook) *By J. B. H. WADIA* The unsigned article "Russia At The Olympics," bylined at the end as "Croebos," traces the Olympic Games from their ancient Greek origins through Baron Pierre de Coubertin's revival in 1896, then describes the Soviet Union's first participation at the 1952 Helsinki games. It recounts alleged Soviet manipulation of medal-count computations, including erasing a scoreboard once the U.S. took the lead, and quotes sports critic A. F. S. Talyarkhan questioning the credibility of Soviet amateurism and suggesting political favouritism toward Soviet athletes. - Recounts the Olympic Games' ancient Greek origin (776 B.C.) and their modern revival in 1896 following Baron Pierre de Coubertin's idea. - Notes the Soviet Union entered the Olympics for the first time in 1952 at Helsinki after years of prior non-participation. - Describes Soviet insistence on their own points-computation method and the erasure of a scoreboard once American athletes took the lead. - Reports a later Soviet claim of having 'won' the Olympics, contradicted by Romanov (Soviet team leader), who acknowledged a tie, though the article states the American team actually won by a handsome margin. - Quotes sports critic A. F. S. Talyarkhan casting doubt on Soviet amateurism, citing state support and preferential treatment for star athletes. ### Russia At The Olympics *By "CROEBOS"* "With Many Voices" is a digest of quotations from newspapers, magazines, and public figures on themes of Cold War politics, race, and Indian foreign policy, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. Items include David Low's satirical comparison of Eastern, American, and British notions of democracy; Ram Manohar Lohia's remark on Congress as the lesser evil to Communism; anthropological comment on human ancestry and racial equality; commentary on the Schuman Coal and Steel Pool; a South African doctor's statement against racial segregation in blood transfusion; and criticism of Shankar's Weekly for failing to live up to its inspiration as an Indian Punch. This continues (unpaginated as a distinct byline) into further quotations on pages 11-12 concerning Nehru's foreign policy of neutrality, the Preventive Detention Bill debate, Rajendra Prasad's literary award, and warnings about the dangers of Indian neutrality in the Cold War from various commentators including Dr. Taraknath Das. - Opens with a Tennyson epigraph and David Low's satirical taxonomy of Eastern, American, and British 'kinds' of democracy. - Quotes Ram Manohar Lohia calling the Congress the lesser evil compared to the Communist Party. - Includes an anthropologist's claim that mankind descended from a Black ancestor, and a South African doctor's statement rejecting racial segregation in blood transfusion. - Notes the opening of the Schuman Coal and Steel Pool's high authority as the first instance of European diplomats swearing allegiance to a supranational parliament. - Closes (via continuation onto later pages) with quotations on Nehru's neutrality policy, the Preventive Detention Bill debate naming Communism, communalism, terrorism and Jagirdari as threats to India, and warnings from Dr. Taraknath Das that Indian neutrality could benefit Soviet and Chinese expansion. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff005/ ### Summary This is the October 1952 issue (No. 5) of Freedom First, organ of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited from Bombay. In the rendered pages the issue leads with an extended article by the American historian Bertram D. Wolfe, "Soviet Technique of Historiography," which dissects how Stalinist historiography retroactively rewrites the past — purging figures (Trotsky, Bukharin, Pokrovsky), rewriting textbooks, inflating the Stalin cult, and using history as a political weapon; the piece is marked "To be continued" and is incomplete in this rendered chunk. Also included are an unsigned "Notes" column commenting on the Fischer-Radhakrishnan controversy over free speech for foreign visitors, an obituary of Gandhian thinker K. G.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the October 1952 issue (No. 5) of Freedom First, organ of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited from Bombay. In the rendered pages the issue leads with an extended article by the American historian Bertram D. Wolfe, "Soviet Technique of Historiography," which dissects how Stalinist historiography retroactively rewrites the past — purging figures (Trotsky, Bukharin, Pokrovsky), rewriting textbooks, inflating the Stalin cult, and using history as a political weapon; the piece is marked "To be continued" and is incomplete in this rendered chunk. Also included are an unsigned "Notes" column commenting on the Fischer-Radhakrishnan controversy over free speech for foreign visitors, an obituary of Gandhian thinker K. G. Mashruwala, a note on General Naguib's Egypt, and an expose of the Communist-front "International Student Relief" organisation; a first-hand report by Purshottam Tricumdas on the International Congress of Jurists held in Berlin (25-31 July 1952), which investigated rule-of-law violations in East Germany and debated "The Right to Resist" totalitarianism; a book review section covering Walter Kolarz's Russia and Her Colonies, Louis Fischer's The Life and Death of Stalin, a Socialist Union pamphlet on the principles of socialism, and Aneurin Bevan's In Place of Fear; a reader's letter praising Jayaprakash Narayan's essay "Incentives for Goodness"; a compilation of press clippings titled "With Many Voices"; and a short note, "Stalin's Annual Income," by M. P. T. Acharya. The volume's argumentative center, in the rendered pages, is anti-totalitarian and anti-Communist: exposing Soviet propaganda techniques, defending civil liberties and free expression, and cataloguing Communist front organisations and Eastern Bloc repression. ## Essays ### Soviet Technique Of Historiography *By Bertram D. Wolfe* Bertram D. Wolfe's "Soviet Technique of Historiography" argues that Soviet history-writing has become an instrument of political control rather than a scholarly discipline. Wolfe traces the process by which historians, texts, and even museum exhibits are continually revised to match the Communist Party's shifting political line, with disfavoured figures (Trotsky, Bukharin, and the historian M. N. Pokrovsky among them) turned into "unpersons" and erased from the record. He shows how Stalin personally directed this rewriting from the 1920s onward, backdating his relationship with Lenin, eliminating Trotsky from accounts of the Revolution and Civil War, and eventually dictating the falsified History of the Communist Party: Short Course. The piece (marked "To be continued" at the end of the rendered pages) frames Soviet historiography as a form of Orwellian control over the present through control of the past. - Soviet historiography is described as being in continual crisis, with histories and historians alternately promoted and purged to match the Party line. - Whole nationalities (Volga Germans, Crimean Tartars) are said to be turned into 'unpeoples' in the new Great Encyclopedia and in museum displays. - The historian M. N. Pokrovsky is presented as a case study: dominant in the 1920s, praised by Lenin, then posthumously purged in 1934 for 'anti-national' and 'anti-Marxist' deviations. - Stalin is shown personally revising the historical record of his relationship to Lenin, backdating claims to leadership and inserting fabricated 'prophecies' into his own collected works. - The duality-unity 'Lenin-Trotsky' is described as forcibly replaced by 'Lenin-Stalin' in the historical record, with associated books and documents destroyed or 'corrected'. - Wolfe frames history as a 'weapon' of Soviet propaganda whose function is to retroactively justify current policy changes. - The article quotes Orwell's formula ('Who controls the present, controls the past') as summing up Stalin's attitude toward history. ### Notes (Fischer & Radhakrishnan; K. G. Mashruwala; Egypt; Trojan Horse) An unsigned 'Notes' column covers four short items: it defends Louis Fischer's right as a foreign visitor to criticise Indian Vice-President Radhakrishnan's remarks, arguing that free comment by visiting publicists should not be treated as a 'witch hunt' while similar criticism of foreign governments by Indians goes unremarked; it mourns the death of Gandhian thinker K. G. Mashruwala, editor of Harijan and a leading interpreter of Gandhi's thought; it comments favourably on General Naguib's reformist coup government in Egypt, particularly a land reform bill; and it exposes 'International Student Relief' as a Communist front organisation, a rival to the genuine World University Service, run by the Communist-controlled International Union of Students from Prague. - Defends Louis Fischer's right to criticise Vice-President Radhakrishnan's remarks as a matter of free expression for foreign visitors. - Accuses certain Indian commentators of applying a double standard on criticism of foreign vs domestic governments. - Eulogises K. G. Mashruwala as a philosopher of Gandhism and successor to Gandhi as editor of Harijan. - Praises General Naguib's Egyptian government for land reform limiting holdings to about 200 acres. - Identifies 'International Student Relief' (I.S.R.) as a Communist front set up by the Communist-controlled International Union of Students (I.U.S.) to rival the genuine World University Service. ### International Congress Of Jurists—Berlin, 25th July–31st July 1952 *By Purshottam Tricumdas* Purshottam Tricumdas reports on the International Congress of Jurists held in Berlin, 25-31 July 1952, convened by an Investigating Committee of West German lawyers under Dr. Friedenau and sponsored by the Federal Minister of Justice and Berlin's Mayor Dr. Reuter. The Congress, attended by about 150 delegates from 45 countries, documented flagrant violations of law and torture in East Germany, including the kidnapping of lawyer Dr. Linse by East German agents. Tricumdas describes his own push to broaden the Congress's scope to condemn human-rights violations everywhere (South Africa, Tunisia, Algeria) rather than only in the Iron Curtain countries, an effort that was diluted by the Congress's decision to limit itself to a factual report. The piece (continued from page 5 to page 12 in this chunk) concludes with an account of a session on 'The Right to Resist' totalitarianism, in which Tricumdas argued civil disobedience might be a viable mode of resistance even against ruthless regimes, and closes with tribute to Dr. Friedenau, Dr. Linse, and other German lawyers facing the totalitarian threat. - The Congress was convened by West German lawyers investigating rule-of-law violations in East Germany, including torture and the abduction of lawyer Dr. Linse by East German agents. - About 150 delegates from 45 countries attended, including judges from Japan, Canada, and several Asian and South American nations. - Tricumdas pushed unsuccessfully for the Congress to unequivocally condemn human rights violations everywhere, including South Africa, Tunisia, and Algeria, not just in Iron Curtain states. - The Congress ultimately limited itself to a factual report on East Germany rather than asserting general human-rights principles. - A session on 'The Right to Resist' debated whether civil disobedience could be effective against a ruthless totalitarian police state. - Tricumdas closes with tribute to Dr. Friedenau and Dr. Linse for their courage against the East German regime. ### Review: Russia and her Colonies (by Walter Kolarz) *By Polemicus* The 'Review' section carries four signed book notices. 'Polemicus' reviews Walter Kolarz's Russia and Her Colonies, praising its documentation (drawn almost exclusively from Soviet sources) of how Soviet nationalities policy has suppressed genuine national aspirations under a facade of solving the nationalities problem, driven by Russian chauvinism under Stalin. Ernest S. Pisko (reprinted from the Christian Science Monitor) reviews Louis Fischer's The Life and Death of Stalin as a brilliant, readable psychological and historical portrait of Stalin. K. K. Menon reviews the Socialist Union pamphlet Socialism: A New Statement of Principles, a British Labour Party group's rethinking of socialist ideals around ethical values rather than pure economic determinism. 'P.A.P.' reviews Aneurin Bevan's In Place of Fear, praising its attack on laissez-faire capitalism but faulting Bevan's naive faith in Soviet intentions in foreign policy. - Kolarz's book is said to explode the myth that the USSR has solved its nationalities problem, showing Stalin-era Russification and suppression of non-Russian cultures. - Fischer's Stalin biography is praised for combining biography with a broader analysis of Soviet history from 1917 onward. - The Socialist Union pamphlet is described as re-grounding British socialism in ethical values rather than mechanical economic determinism, in reaction to the failures of Soviet collectivism. - Bevan's In Place of Fear is praised for its critique of laissez-faire capitalism as unscientific and immoral, but criticised for a naive view of Soviet intentions in international affairs. ### Review: The Life and Death of Stalin (by Louis Fischer) *By Ernest S. Pisko* A letter to the editors from J. D'Souza, S.J., Director of the Indian Institute of Social Order, Poona, praises Jayaprakash Narayan's September article "Incentives for Goodness," which argued that materialism cannot provide an incentive for individual and social goodness. D'Souza reads Narayan's essay as a welcome return to the spiritual foundations of Indian culture and a critique of the determinism underlying both Marxism and secular humanism. - D'Souza congratulates the editors on publishing Jayaprakash Narayan's September article 'Incentives for Goodness.' - He reads Narayan's essay as arguing that individual and social good cannot be secured on a materialist creed. - D'Souza frames Narayan's position as a revolt against materialism on moral grounds, rooted in the spiritual foundations of Indian culture. - He expresses hope that Narayan's philosophical quest will continue along these lines, invoking the maxim 'Know Thyself.' ### Review: Socialism: A New Statement of Principles *By K. K. Menon* "With Many Voices" is a compilation of short press clippings from various publications (Hindustan Times, United Nations World, Times of India, Bharat Jyoti), prefaced by a Tennyson epigraph, covering items such as a new Soviet propaganda song about Stalin, V. K. Krishna Menon's dismissal of India's birth-rate as a concern, an East Berlin art exhibition praising Soviet industrial paintings previously shown under Hitler, a UN World prediction (borne out by Pravda) that Moscow would frame Eisenhower's candidacy as a Democratic ruse, the Geneva Universal Copyright Convention signed by 35 nations including India, Eisenhower's pledge to appoint a Black cabinet member if elected, and Henry Wallace's admission that he was wrong about Soviet intentions regarding the Cold War. - Reports a new Soviet propaganda song, 'The great Stalin is leading us to Communism,' tied to the new five-year plan. - Quotes V. K. Krishna Menon dismissing concern about India's birth-rate as 'utter nonsense.' - Notes a Soviet-zone art exhibition praising a painting that had earlier been shown under a Hitler-patronised exhibition with a different title. - Highlights a Universal Copyright Convention signed at Geneva by 35 nations including India. - Quotes Eisenhower's pledge to appoint a Black cabinet member if elected president. - Quotes Henry Wallace admitting 'I was wrong' about Soviet Communist intentions regarding the Cold War. ### Review: In Place of Fear (by Aneurin Bevan) *By P.A.P.* A brief note by M. P. T. Acharya, "Stalin's Annual Income," itemises Stalin's stated official earnings (60,000 roubles as Prime Minister, 60,000 as General Secretary of the Communist Party, 600,000 in book royalties, and 100,000 in expenses for villas and cars provided by the state), plus subsidised goods purchases, totalling roughly one million roubles a year. - Lists Stalin's stated income sources: 60,000 roubles as Prime Minister, 60,000 as General Secretary, 600,000 from book royalties, and 100,000 in state-provided expenses. - Notes Stalin is also given subsidised 'buying tickets' allowing him to purchase goods at 80 per cent below price. - Totals Stalin's annual income at about one million roubles. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff003/ ### Summary This is the August 1952 issue (No. 3) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (affiliated to the Congress for Cultural Freedom's World Movement for Cultural Freedom). The issue opens with Philip Spratt's travelogue-essay "After Twentysix Years," recounting his return to Europe after a 26-year absence to attend the Congress for Cultural Freedom's International Exposition of Arts in Paris, and defending modern art and music against both Stalinist and "lowbrow" charges of decadence. A "Notes" section covers Cold War-inflected items: US visa policy under the McCarran Act, V. K. Krishna Menon's remarks on forced labour in Communist China (rebutted with documentary evidence of Chinese slave-labour camps), the Tunisia self-determination question at the UN, and a controversy over Indian film censorship touching on J. B. H. Wadia's warnings about government control of the film industry. Tambimuttu, former editor of Poetry London, contributes a substantial essay, "The Poet and the Challenge of the Times," defending the autonomy of the modern poet against Marxist/historical-materialist literary criticism.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the August 1952 issue (No. 3) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (affiliated to the Congress for Cultural Freedom's World Movement for Cultural Freedom). The issue opens with Philip Spratt's travelogue-essay "After Twentysix Years," recounting his return to Europe after a 26-year absence to attend the Congress for Cultural Freedom's International Exposition of Arts in Paris, and defending modern art and music against both Stalinist and "lowbrow" charges of decadence. A "Notes" section covers Cold War-inflected items: US visa policy under the McCarran Act, V. K. Krishna Menon's remarks on forced labour in Communist China (rebutted with documentary evidence of Chinese slave-labour camps), the Tunisia self-determination question at the UN, and a controversy over Indian film censorship touching on J. B. H. Wadia's warnings about government control of the film industry. Tambimuttu, former editor of Poetry London, contributes a substantial essay, "The Poet and the Challenge of the Times," defending the autonomy of the modern poet against Marxist/historical-materialist literary criticism. A letters page ("To the Editor") carries reader responses on Hindu social reform, secularism, and the earlier article "The Open Society." A book review section covers Robert Guillain's Revolution in China and Edward Hunter's Brain Washing in Red China, both read as exposés of Chinese Communist terror methods; a film review covers the Japanese film Yukiwarisoo. "With Many Voices" is a compilation of quoted press clippings on Cold War and Indian topics (Ana Pauker's fall, Owen Lattimore, Jai Prakash Narayan's fast, M. C. Chagla on academic freedom, Chinese Stalin Prize winners), and the issue closes with short notes (theatre entertainment-tax exemption, an art exhibition review, the Artists' Aid Fund) and a satirical poem, "The Green Dean," reprinted from the New Statesman and Nation. ## Essays ### After Twentysix Years *By PHILIP SPRATT* Philip Spratt, a Secretary of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom who had helped found the Communist Party of India in 1926, recounts his first return to Europe in twenty-six years, prompted by the Congress for Cultural Freedom's International Exposition of Arts ("Masterpieces of the Twentieth Century") in Paris. He argues that the modern-art debate does not split cleanly along political lines: totalitarians (Nazi and Stalinist alike) have historically sided with lowbrow taste against avant-garde art, using a claim that its "queerness" reflects bourgeois decadence. Spratt rejects the Marxist "organic law" of capitalist decline, attributing modern art's strangeness instead to disorientating technological change, and describes being persuaded in person by critics and artists (Malraux, Herbert Read, Venturi, Cassou) that modern art represents a new liberty rather than decadence, with Cezanne's innovation opening a vigorous era. He extends the same defence to modern music (Britten, Hindemith, Shostakovich) and modern literature (Joyce, Eliot, Auden), while acknowledging that appreciating difficult art requires cultivated training, as Europeans have received and few others have. The essay closes with observations on postwar Britain: rising living standards and a maturing public, but also anxiety that Western prosperity, only partly owing to colonial exploitation, will need real sacrifice from Britain and France if they are to retain Asian and African goodwill. - Spratt returns to Europe after 26 years to attend the Congress for Cultural Freedom's Paris art exposition. - Argues totalitarians (Nazi and Soviet alike) have historically opposed modern art's individualism, unlike genuine libertarians. - Rejects the Marxist claim that capitalism is organically bound to decline; blames technological dislocation for modern art's 'queerness' instead. - Describes being persuaded by Malraux, Herbert Read, Venturi, Cassou and Weidel that Cezanne and his successors (Braque, Matisse, Picasso, Chagall) opened a genuinely new, non-decadent artistic era. - Extends the same defence to modern British music (Britten, Hindemith, Shostakovich) and modern literature (Joyce, Eliot, Auden). - Notes that appreciating modern art, like other complex cultural goods, requires training that much of Europe already possesses. - Observes rising prosperity and maturing public taste in postwar Britain, alongside fears the economic levelling of the upper and middle classes could cause cultural decline. - Warns that Western prosperity owes something to colonial exploitation, and that Britain and France must make further sacrifices to retain Asian and African friendship. ### Notes (How Not To Keep Friends / Proof of Slave Labour in China / Aid to Tunisia / The Right to Make Films) An unsigned "Notes" section covering several items. "How Not to Keep Friends" discusses the US McCarran Act barring entry to anyone who has ever held Communist Party membership, using the case of Indian trade unionist Raja Kulkarni (a former 1930s/40s CPI member, now anti-Communist and a Hind Mazdoor Sabha organiser) who was denied a timely US visa to attend a Harvard seminar, arguing the law's rigidity undermines America's own anti-Communist friendships. "Proof of Slave Labour in China" rebuts V. K. Krishna Menon's dismissive remarks (as outgoing Indian High Commissioner in London) about forced labour under Chinese Communism, countering with Chinese Communist press sources themselves documenting slave-labour camps, production quotas, and inhumane conditions. "Aid Tunisia" reports on the failed push for a special UN General Assembly session on Tunisian self-determination against French colonial rule, criticising French pressure on US allies and noting a Bombay public meeting (chaired by M. R. Masani) where the Democratic Research Service and Asoka Mehta backed an 'Aid Tunisia' campaign. "The Right to Make Films" begins a discussion of Dr. Keskar's controversial address to the Film Federation of India threatening stricter government censorship, and quotes J. B. H. Wadia's Screen article warning that government control of documentary and newsreel production could extend to direct control of the film industry, citing Poland as a cautionary example. - Criticises the US McCarran Act's rigid exclusion of former Communist Party members, illustrated by the case of trade unionist Raja Kulkarni, denied a timely US visa despite decades of anti-Communist activism. - Rebuts V. K. Krishna Menon's dismissive comments on Chinese forced labour, citing Chinese Communist newspapers (Sen Min Jih Pao, Ta Kung Pao) themselves documenting slave-labour production quotas and camps. - Reports UN discussion of Tunisian self-determination stalling for lack of the 31 member-state threshold, and criticises French pressure on the US within NATO to withhold support. - Notes a Bombay 'Aid Tunisia' campaign meeting chaired by M. R. Masani with Margaret Pope and Asoka Mehta. - Opens coverage of Dr. Keskar's threat of stricter film censorship and J. B. H. Wadia's warning that government control of documentaries could extend to direct control of feature-film production, citing Poland's state-directed film industry as a warning. ### The Poet and the Challenge of the Times *By TAMBIMUTTU (Former Editor of Poetry, London)* Continuing from the Notes item begun on page 4-5, J. B. H. Wadia — a pioneer of Indian talkies and twice President of the Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association — is quoted extensively warning that the government's already-existing virtual monopoly over documentary and newsreel production could expand into direct control of all feature-film production in India, disguised as help to improve production standards; he notes no democratic country (Britain or the US) has precedent for state-produced feature films. - J. B. H. Wadia warns that government's monopoly on documentaries and newsreels could be a first step toward direct control of feature-film production. - Argues the 'help the industry produce better-class films' rationale is a 'seductive argument' masking creeping state control. - Notes that no democratic country like Britain or the United States has a precedent for government-produced feature films for a ruling party in power. ### To the Editor (letter re: 'The Open Society') *By Raman K. Desai* Tambimuttu, former editor of Poetry, London, argues against Marxist/historical-materialist literary criticism (citing David Daiches, Christopher Caudwell, George Orwell) which reads the modern poet's individualism and 'ivory tower' withdrawal as a symptom of bourgeois decadence. He traces this deterministic mode of criticism through English literary history (Shakespeare, the metaphysical poets, Milton, the Romantics, the Victorians) to show its capacity to 'explain away' any period, and describes his own founding of Poetry, London as an attempt to encourage a catholic, pluralistic range of poetic voices (Marxists, ex-fascists, Catholics, Objective Reporters, romantic myth-makers) against both totalitarian aesthetics and the New Verse group's own narrow, mechanistic 'Objective Reporting' doctrine. He surveys English poets of his time (Walter de la Mare, Dylan Thomas, T. S. Eliot, W. H. Davies) and international examples of poets destroyed by state pressure (Lorca in Spain, Yessenin and Mayakovsky in the USSR) as evidence that state control kills, rather than liberates, poetic potential. He closes by rejecting purely economic explanations of literary change, arguing that individual talent, the state of language, and the influence of prior poetry all matter more, and criticising both Soviet-style state literary criticism and Pravda's misreadings of Eliot, Lawrence, and Joyce. - Rejects Marxist/historical-materialist literary criticism (Daiches, Caudwell, Orwell) that treats the modern poet's individualism as bourgeois decadence. - Traces this deterministic reading across English literary history — Shakespeare, the metaphysical poets, Milton, Romantics, Victorians — to show it can 'explain away' any era. - Describes founding Poetry, London as a pluralist venture publishing Marxists, ex-fascists, Catholics and Objective Reporters alike. - Criticises the New Verse group (Auden, Spender, MacNeice) for imposing its own 'totalitarian,' mechanistic Objective Reporting doctrine on poetry. - Cites Lorca (Spain), Yessenin and Mayakovsky (USSR) as poets destroyed by state pressure on artistic freedom. - Notes the paradox that Soviet state-subsidised poets enjoy huge circulations while English poets sell only a few hundred copies, arguing circulation is not the measure of poetic worth. - Argues individual talent, the state of language, and prior poetic tradition — not economics alone — explain literary change. - Concludes that Marxism's reduction of poetry to economic/emotional class factors is 'truly terrifying, unreal and intolerable,' citing Pravda's misreading of Eliot, Lawrence and Joyce. ### International Congress of Jurists / New Secretary of I.C.C.F. (Notes) A letters page headed 'To the Editor.' Raman K. Desai of Calcutta praises the bulletin's first issue and its article 'The Open Society,' invokes Justice Madgavkar's view that Hindu society survives through periodic reform led by reformist Acharyas rather than rigid structure, and criticises state deference to religious sentiment on matters like homeopathy, Ayurveda and birth control policy in a secular state, closing with an anecdote about a Roman Catholic acquaintance and the poet-critic Malinowsky's tragic suicide as illustrating the danger of demanding that all art serve a social purpose. Short notes follow: Purshottam Trikamdas representing India at the World Congress of Jurists in West Berlin, and Ka. Naa. Subramaniam's appointment as a new Secretary of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. - Reader Raman K. Desai (Calcutta) praises the debut article 'The Open Society' and quotes Justice Madgavkar's argument that Hindu society survives via periodic reform by great Acharyas, not rigid structure. - Desai criticises State deference to religious sentiment in matters like homeopathy/Ayurveda recognition and birth-control policy in an ostensibly secular state. - Desai recounts the Russian poet Malinowsky's suicide as a warning against demanding that all art serve social/political purpose. - Purshottam Trikamdas, a Bombay lawyer and Committee member, represents India at the World Congress of Jurists in West Berlin (25-31 July), examining Fundamental Rights and rule of law including behind the Iron Curtain. - Ka. Naa. Subramaniam, the Tamil writer, is co-opted to the Committee's Executive and named a Secretary of the ICCF. ### Review: Revolution in China (Robert Guillain) and Brain Washing in Red China (Edward Hunter) *By Ka. Naa. Subramaniam* An unsigned review (signed 'I' at the opening and later attributed to Ka. Naa. Subramaniam) of two books on Communist China: Robert Guillain's Revolution in China and Edward Hunter's Brain Washing in Red China. The reviewer opens by criticising fashionable Indian pro-Chinese sentiment (naming Nehru and unnamed 'eminent Gandhian' commentators) and argues both books expose the terror underlying Chinese Communist rule. Guillain, a French journalist who witnessed the Communist occupation of Shanghai, is praised for documenting systematic terror, public confessions, executions and mass mobilised denunciation as deliberate policy rather than excess. Hunter's book, an account of psychological 'brain washing' methods used on individuals (illustrated by the story of a student named Chi), is called even more disturbing, compared favourably to Orwell's 1984 as documentary rather than fiction, and recommended as essential reading against the illusion that Communism can be contained by economic goodwill alone. - Opens by criticising fashionable Indian pro-China sentiment, including remarks attributed to Nehru and to an unnamed 'eminent Gandhian.' - Robert Guillain's Revolution in China (five newspaper articles collected into a book) documents systematic terror, public confessions/executions and manufactured 'liquidation' figures under Chinese Communism, based on his time in occupied Shanghai. - Guillain concludes Chinese Communist terror is a cold-blooded, deliberate policy to destroy 'unassimilable' social categories, not an accident of revolution. - Edward Hunter's Brain Washing in Red China documents the 'calculated destruction of men's minds' via psychological methods previously used only on the insane, told through first-person accounts including a student named Chi sent to the North China People's Revolutionary University for reeducation. - The reviewer compares Hunter's book favourably to Orwell's 1984, arguing Orwell's fiction 'seems to have become reality in a decade' in China. - Concludes that no amount of Western economic progress or goodwork can by itself contain communism, per an unnamed cited authority. ### Films: Yukiwarisoo *By L.F.* A film review, signed 'L.F.', of the Japanese film Yukiwarisoo, viewed without English captions. The critic recounts the plot — a wife's resentment and eventual love for her husband's illegitimate son, and a climactic scene where the fleeing boy is nearly hit by a train — and praises the film's emotional restraint, subtlety and lack of overt 'scenes,' arguing its power comes from camera angle, shadow and small gesture rather than dialogue or spectacle. - Reviews the Japanese film Yukiwarisoo, watched without English captions. - Plot: a wife's resentment toward her husband's illegitimate son turns to attachment, then anger, resolved after a near-fatal train-track chase scene. - Praises the film's Japanese 'virtue of restraint' — no melodramatic love scenes or quarrels despite an emotionally charged plot. - Credits camera angle, shadow and small movement, rather than speech, with carrying the film's emotional effect. ### With Many Voices 'With Many Voices' is a compilation of short quoted excerpts from other publications (Daily Herald, Times of India, Hindustan Times, Free Press Bulletin, New China News Agency) on Cold War and Indian public affairs: the fall of Romanian Communist Ana Pauker; Pakistan's rule change allowing married women in the Central Superior Services; John Steinbeck's rebuke of Italian Communist claims of American 'germ warfare' in Korea; the US Senate Judiciary Committee's finding that Owen Lattimore was an 'articulate instrument of Soviet conspiracy'; commentary by Pyarelal and others on Jai Prakash Narayan's fast as an authentic use of Gandhian satyagraha; M. C. Chagla's denunciation of a reported Bombay government directive silencing academics on the medium-of-instruction question; and Chinese Stalin Prize awards to writers Ting Ling and Chou Li-po. - Quotes W. N. Ewer on the fall of Romanian Communist leader Ana Pauker, comparing any Communist's position to 'there but for the grace of God go I' under Stalin's whims. - Notes Pakistan permitting Central Superior Services women to marry/remarry without resignation, contrasted with prior rules. - Quotes John Steinbeck rebutting Italian Communist newspaper L'Unita's claim of American 'germ warfare' in Korea, calling UN leaflets 'the most dangerous...germs...the truth.' - Reports the US Senate Judiciary Committee finding Owen Lattimore an 'articulate instrument of Soviet conspiracy,' noted as vindicating an earlier Freedom First warning. - Quotes Pyarelal on Jai Prakash Narayan's fast as a pure, rightly-used instance of Gandhian satyagraha, self-directed and not aimed against anybody. - Quotes Bombay Chief Justice M. C. Chagla denouncing a reported directive silencing Bombay University academics on the medium-of-instruction controversy. - Reports Stalin Prizes awarded to Chinese writers Ting Ling and Chou Li-po, with Ting Ling's acceptance speech on Soviet recognition quoted. ### Artists' Aid Fund *By F. S. M.* Closing miscellany of the issue: continued notes on M. R. Masani's appeal for entertainment-tax exemption for amateur theatre and a similar deputation (led by Mrs. Kamladevi Chattopadhyaya) to Delhi Chief Minister Brahm Perkash; a critical note (signed F.S.M.) on judging standards at a child-art exhibition, questioning the top prizes awarded to evidently trained (not naive) child artists including 16-year-old Russian entrant Marina Voskaniynz; a note on Chinese-American philosopher-novelist Lin Yutang's new high-speed Chinese-character typewriter, withheld from the Chinese government pending patent payment; a Stockholm cabaret quip about Stalin's widow; a description of the Artists' Aid Fund, a Bombay self-help body founded in 1948 by the Leyden family providing studio facilities and a sales centre for needy artists; and 'The Green Dean,' a satirical poem by 'Sagittarius' reprinted from the New Statesman and Nation, mocking a clergyman's alarmist claims about Chinese 'germ warfare' evidence. The issue closes with its registration number and printer's colophon (Dinkar Sakrikar, Kanada Press, Bombay). - M. R. Masani appeals for entertainment-tax exemption for bona-fide amateur theatre groups; a similar Delhi deputation is led by Mrs. Kamladevi Chattopadhyaya to Chief Minister Brahm Perkash. - A note (signed F.S.M.) criticises a child-art exhibition's top prizes going to evidently trained, not naive, child artists, questioning the win of 16-year-old Russian entrant Marina Voskaniynz. - Reports Lin Yutang's invention of a fast Chinese-character typewriter, withheld from the Chinese government pending patent payment. - Describes the Artists' Aid Fund, founded 1948 by the Leyden family, a Bombay self-help body offering studio facilities, a sales centre, and a members' library for needy artists. - 'The Green Dean,' a satirical poem by Sagittarius reprinted from the New Statesman and Nation, mocks Cold War-era alarmism about Chinese 'germ warfare' claims. - The issue closes with its Registered No. B-6354 and printer's colophon: printed and published by Dinkar Sakrikar at the Kanada Press, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff008/ ### Summary This is issue No. 8 (January 1953) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, affiliated with the Congress for Cultural Freedom and its World Movement for Cultural Freedom. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with an unsigned editorial reproducing the Congress for Cultural Freedom's appeal to the UN Secretary-General demanding an investigation into the Prague show trial of eleven Communist leaders, framing the trial's use of antisemitic Zionist accusations as a revival of Nazi-style racial incitement. A 'Notes' section covers three items: a tribute to Sane Guruji's Antar-Bharati movement for inter-cultural exchange, a sharp critique of V. K. Krishna Menon's Korea peace resolution as appeasement rather than neutrality, and a report ('Injured Innocence') on a cleared privilege complaint involving Dr. Satyanarain Sinha and A. K. Gopalan over Communist-line criticism, drawing a parallel to the Owen Lattimore perjury case in the U.S.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 8 (January 1953) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, affiliated with the Congress for Cultural Freedom and its World Movement for Cultural Freedom. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with an unsigned editorial reproducing the Congress for Cultural Freedom's appeal to the UN Secretary-General demanding an investigation into the Prague show trial of eleven Communist leaders, framing the trial's use of antisemitic Zionist accusations as a revival of Nazi-style racial incitement. A 'Notes' section covers three items: a tribute to Sane Guruji's Antar-Bharati movement for inter-cultural exchange, a sharp critique of V. K. Krishna Menon's Korea peace resolution as appeasement rather than neutrality, and a report ('Injured Innocence') on a cleared privilege complaint involving Dr. Satyanarain Sinha and A. K. Gopalan over Communist-line criticism, drawing a parallel to the Owen Lattimore perjury case in the U.S. The issue carries two signed feature essays: Aamir Ali's 'Siddhartha Gautama, The Buddha,' presenting the Buddha as a pragmatic ethical teacher opposed to esoteric metaphysics and defending reason, tolerance and equality across caste; and excerpts from Prof. A. V. Hill's British Association presidential address, 'The Ethical Dilemma of Science,' which uses India's First Five-Year Plan population data to probe whether relieving disease without parallel population control creates a net ethical harm. The issue closes with book reviews (Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, UNESCO's What Is Race?, and Michel Padev's Dimitrov Wastes No Bullets on the Petkov trial), a lively 'To the Editors' letters page debating M. R. Masani, Moral Re-Armament, and All India Radio's music policy, a report on Francois Bondy's (Congress for Cultural Freedom) visit to Bombay and Madras, and a closing press-digest column, 'With Many Voices,' of quotations from contemporary Indian and international newspapers on Cold War and domestic political themes. ## Essays ### Congress Appeal To U.N. An unsigned editorial reproduces the Congress for Cultural Freedom's formal appeal to the UN Secretary-General for a special UN Commission to investigate the Prague trial, in which eleven Communist leaders were condemned to death and three to life imprisonment after confessing to fantastical charges. The piece argues the confessions were extracted through psychological coercion, condemns the introduction of 'Zionism' as an accusation against the mostly Jewish defendants as an echo of Nazi racial incitement, and reproduces the five-point appeal citing the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. - Eleven Communist leaders were condemned to death and three to life imprisonment in the Prague trial after publicly confessing. - The appeal argues confessions were produced through a deliberate technique of demoralization and spiritual corruption, with no genuine evidence of guilt. - Zionism was introduced as an accusation, with eleven of fourteen accused noted for Jewish origin, which the piece calls a revival of Nazi-style antisemitic incitement. - The Congress for Cultural Freedom formally petitioned the UN Secretary-General to place the matter before the Security Council, General Assembly, and Economic and Social Council. - The appeal invokes precedent from an earlier UN Economic and Social Council investigation into forced labour as an instrument of political coercion. - The appeal was endorsed by prominent intellectuals including Francois Mauriac, Bertrand Russell, Julian Huxley, Sidney Hook, and Andre Breton. ### Notes: Antar-Bharati The 'Notes' section gathers three short items. The first eulogizes Sane Guruji and his Antar-Bharati ideal of inter-lingual, inter-cultural centres to bind India's diverse regions together, noting the idea's practical realization at Poona but its general neglect after his death, and welcoming the Government of India's new Academy of National Literature as fulfilling a similar function. The second, 'Vital Distinction,' criticizes Krishna Menon's Korea peace resolution at the UN as appeasement rather than true neutrality, detailing its rejection by the Soviet Union (Vyshinsky), China (Chou En-lai), and even Korea itself, and citing Times of India columnist 'Vivek' on the naivety of Nehru and Menon's diplomacy. The third, 'Injured Innocence,' reports that a Privileges Committee cleared Dr. Satyanarain Sinha of A. K. Gopalan's charge of using forged documents to criticize Communist legislators, noting the Indian press's relative silence on the vindication compared to its earlier outcry, and draws a parallel to Owen Lattimore's indictment on perjury charges in the United States. - Sane Guruji's Antar-Bharati idea sought inter-lingual, inter-cultural centres to counter India's centrifugal linguistic and communal tensions after Partition. - The Government of India's planned Academy of National Literature is seen as advancing similar aims through cross-language translation. - Krishna Menon's Korea resolution was rejected in turn by the USSR, China, and Korea itself, and Menon repeatedly amended his position after each rebuff. - The piece argues India's 'neutral' diplomacy on Korea in practice tilted toward appeasement of Communist positions. - Dr. Satyanarain Sinha was cleared by a Privileges Committee of A. K. Gopalan's charge of using forged documents against Communist legislators. - The case is likened to Owen Lattimore's indictment for perjury in the U.S. Senate hearings, as an example of press double standards toward accused anti-Communists. ### Vital Distinction Aamir Ali's essay presents the Buddha as a figure whose essential humanity has been obscured by scholarly esotericism and Pali erudition, arguing for a more accessible, layman's understanding of his teachings. It stresses that the Buddha refused metaphysical speculation about the afterlife in favor of a practical, ethical Eightfold Path (right thinking, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, concentration), illustrating this with parables including the poisoned-arrow analogy, the leaves-in-the-hand parable on the limits of revealed knowledge, and the story of Kisa Gotami and the mustard seed teaching that death and mourning are universal. The essay closes by describing the Buddha's tolerance toward critics and his teaching of caste equality, likening the merging of castes under his teaching to rivers losing their separate identities in the ocean. - The essay argues excessive scholarly esotericism and Pali philology has obscured the Buddha's essential, accessible humanity. - The Buddha refused metaphysical speculation about life after death, holding it irrelevant to living a good life. - The poisoned-arrow parable illustrates the folly of demanding full metaphysical explanation before acting practically. - The story of Kisa Gotami and the mustard seed teaches that death and mourning are universal, not exceptional, human experiences. - The Buddha's tolerance stemmed from his willingness to hear all views and extract what was valid, even from hostile critics. - The essay frames the Buddha's teaching as attacking caste barriers and asserting the equality of all people. ### Is this Neutrality? Extracted from Prof. A. V. Hill's presidential address to the British Association for the Advancement of Science, this piece frames the central ethical dilemma of modern science: medical and public-health advances have dramatically increased population and lifespan even in poor countries, but without parallel investment in education (especially of women) and material development, that same relief from disease intensifies pressure on food and natural resources. Hill uses India's 1951 First Five-Year Plan report as his central case study, citing a population growth of roughly 5 million a year in a population of 360 million, and a struggle merely to restore pre-war (already miserable) standards of food and clothing. He argues there is no simple answer to whether alleviating suffering can be ethically wrong when its unintended consequences may be worse, but concludes that scientific integrity of thought must be paired with humane, courageous moral judgment by the wider community, since abandoning the pursuit of knowledge is neither possible nor desirable. - Hill's address, delivered at the British Association's annual meeting, discusses whether relieving human suffering through medical science can create graver problems via population increase. - India's First Five-Year Plan (1951) is cited as showing a nearly 1.5% annual population growth rate, adding about 5 million people yearly to a population of 360 million. - Even the full effort of the Five-Year Plan may only restore pre-war standards of food and clothing, themselves described as miserably poor. - Hill rejects both extremes: that suffering should be left unrelieved, and that science and its applications alone can guarantee prosperity. - He argues education, especially of women, is necessary for effective family planning but requires resources as great as those spent on medicine and hygiene. - Hill concludes there is no special ethical dilemma unique to scientists; moral judgment on the use of scientific discovery falls on the whole community, and integrity of thought remains the scientist's absolute duty. ### Injured Innocence Three signed book reviews appear on page 9. P.A.P. reviews Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, admiring its craftsmanship but questioning the American critical enthusiasm and any claim that it functions as a grand political symbol. Laeeq Futehally reviews UNESCO's What Is Race?, praising it as a scientifically grounded rebuttal of racial prejudice and urging its inclusion in university curricula. Keshav Gore reviews Michel Padev's Dimitrov Wastes No Bullets, an account of the trial and execution of Bulgarian Agrarian leader Nikola Petkov, framing it as an indictment of Western fellow-travellers rather than only of Communist prosecutors. - P.A.P.'s review of The Old Man and the Sea questions whether the novella carries the grand symbolic weight some American critics claimed for it. - Laeeq Futehally's review of What Is Race? calls it the most accurate and weighty answer yet to questions about the biological basis of race, crediting UNESCO's scientists and Julian Huxley's prose. - Futehally recommends the book be included in university syllabi given its potential contribution to keeping world peace. - Keshav Gore's review of Dimitrov Wastes No Bullets recounts the trial and execution of Bulgarian Agrarian party leader Nikola Petkov. - Gore argues the book's real target is Western 'fellow-travellers' who enabled Communist consolidation, not just the Bulgarian regime itself. ### Siddhartha Gautama, The Buddha *By by Aamir Ali* The letters section carries four contributions. Lucy Beach of California responds warmly to M. R. Masani's earlier Freedom First article on Indian spirituality and materialism, describing her own gesture of sending a plough to India through CARE with a note emphasizing spiritual over material giving. Sailesh K. Roy critiques Prof. Dantwala's piece on Bread versus Freedom, arguing that in under-developed countries hunger, not ideology, makes people vulnerable to Communism, and faulting Masani for prioritizing ideological refutation of Crossman over addressing material need. Shankar Raj writes an extended critique of Moral Re-Armament (M.R.A.), arguing it demands no intellectual effort and offers only vague talk of 'absolutes' rather than rigorous ethical thought, concluding M.R.A. leaves its followers self-centred and unchanged. J. B. H. Wadia writes sarcastically about All India Radio's crackdown on film music in favor of classical music, questioning the fairness of the sarcasm used against a female playback singer and suggesting the journal itself be renamed 'Fetters First.' - Lucy Beach's letter responds to M. R. Masani's article on Indian spirituality, recounting her gesture of sending a plough to India via CARE with a spiritual message attached. - Sailesh K. Roy argues hunger, not ideological confusion, is what makes populations in under-developed countries vulnerable to Communism. - Shankar Raj's letter is a sustained critique of Moral Re-Armament, arguing it substitutes vague talk of moral 'absolutes' for genuine intellectual and ethical rigor. - J. B. H. Wadia's letter criticizes an earlier note's sarcastic treatment of a female playback singer amid a debate over All India Radio's film-versus-classical-music policy, proposing the journal be renamed 'Fetters First.' ### The Ethical Dilemma of Science *By by Prof. A. V. Hill* This short news item reports on the visit of Francois Bondy, Secretary of the Congress for Cultural Freedom and editor of Preuves, to the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's Bombay and Madras chapters. Bondy addressed press conferences, university and civic audiences, and social gatherings in both cities, speaking on 'The Struggle for Cultural Freedom' in Madras and 'New Trends in European Literature and the Arts' under the P.E.N. All-India Centre in Bombay, and was received by civic and academic dignitaries including the Mayor of Bombay and the Vice-Chancellor of Bombay University. - Francois Bondy, Secretary of the Congress for Cultural Freedom and editor of Preuves, visited Bombay and Madras chapters of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. - In Madras, Bondy addressed a public meeting on 'The Struggle for Cultural Freedom' and met scientists at Madras University. - In Bombay, Bondy addressed students of Wilson College, was received by the Mayor and Bombay University's Vice-Chancellor, and spoke to the P.E.N. All-India Centre on European literature and the arts. - The Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom arranged a launch trip to the Elephanta Caves for Bondy. ### International Congress of Scientists The closing 'With Many Voices' column, prefaced by a Tennyson epigraph, compiles brief quotations from contemporary newspapers and public figures on political events of late 1952, including a London quip about Bevan, Strachey, Attlee and Morrison, Nehru's remarks to schoolchildren and his temper in the House of the People, Acharya Vinoba Bhave's comment on leaders who cannot control their own minds, Taya Zinkin's assessment of Yugoslavia as a police state edging toward liberty, a joint statement by the Socialist Parties of India, Indonesia and Burma rejecting Cominform Communism, and reports on anti-Communist tattooing among Korean POWs and Srangadhar Das's warning about Stalinism as a form of imperialism. - The column compiles short newspaper quotations on Cold War and Indian political topics from December 1952. - The Socialist Parties of India, Indonesia and Burma jointly rejected Cominform Communism as denying the dignity and equality of man. - Acharya Vinoba Bhave is quoted criticizing leaders who claim to control their people without controlling their own minds. - Taya Zinkin's Times of India piece describes Yugoslavia as still a police state but one beginning to move toward liberty. - Reports describe Communist Korean POWs tattooing themselves with anti-Communist slogans to avoid forcible repatriation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff007/ ### Summary This is issue No. 7 of Freedom First (December 1952), the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited under the banner "Organ of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom." The issue centers on a running debate about whether political parties need an ideology, opened by Philip Spratt's essay "Priorities" and continued by S. R. Mohan Das's "Principles And Incidentals," both responding to prior contributions by Asoka Mehta, Acharya Kripalani, and Rohit Dave. A second debate, "Freedom FIRST?", stages a direct exchange between Prof. M. L. Dantwala (arguing that hungry populations in under-developed countries are made vulnerable to Communism by material want, not by any deficit of ideals) and M. R. Masani (defending his view that non-material values and human dignity take priority over bread, while insisting both must be pursued together).… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 7 of Freedom First (December 1952), the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited under the banner "Organ of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom." The issue centers on a running debate about whether political parties need an ideology, opened by Philip Spratt's essay "Priorities" and continued by S. R. Mohan Das's "Principles And Incidentals," both responding to prior contributions by Asoka Mehta, Acharya Kripalani, and Rohit Dave. A second debate, "Freedom FIRST?", stages a direct exchange between Prof. M. L. Dantwala (arguing that hungry populations in under-developed countries are made vulnerable to Communism by material want, not by any deficit of ideals) and M. R. Masani (defending his view that non-material values and human dignity take priority over bread, while insisting both must be pursued together). The issue also carries obituary notes on Benedetto Croce and Chaim Weismann, a note on staged Communist "organised attendance" at rallies (based on a leaked Bulgarian document), commentary on All India Radio's film-song policy, a review of Woodrow Wyatt's Southwards from China, a review of a Soviet play ("Sins of the Commissars") satirizing Communist elite hypocrisy, a piece defending Moral Re-Armament (MRA) against critics from both Communist and traditionalist Indian camps, and reprinted vignettes and quotations from the world press under "With Many Voices" and standalone pieces ("Ferry to Nowhere," "Bull In A China Shop") illustrating Cold War themes of totalitarianism, propaganda, and the West's ideological contest with Communism. ## Essays ### Priorities *By Philip Spratt* Philip Spratt's "Priorities" asks whether a political party needs an ideology, and argues that historically parties combine an ethical/utopian ideal with an economic-sociological theory that mostly serves to disguise appeals to self-interest. He surveys Liberalism, Marxism, and Gandhism as case studies, arguing that each movement's ideal element retains validity even after its economic or sociological theory becomes outdated or is exposed as a rationalized appeal to sectional interest. He concludes that an Indian party seeking success should prioritize a worthy ethical ideal over elaborate economic theory, and should rely on demonstrated truth, hard work, and honest administration rather than sectional appeals. - Frames ideology as combining an ethical/utopian ideal with an economic or sociological theory. - Argues Liberalism's economic theory (property rights, free trade) was largely a disguised appeal to self-interest, though its ethical vision of equality and freedom retains validity. - Applies the same critique to Marxism, citing Machajski's fifty-year-old charge that Marxist theory disguises the self-interest of intellectuals. - Discusses Gandhism as an ideology whose political method (truth and non-violence) is less theoretical than Marxism's, and whose appeal to national sentiment caused its decline after Independence. - Recommends that an Indian party stress the abstract ethical ideal, give theory a secondary place, and rely on hard work, honest administration, and the Indian public's indulgence for lapses. ### Notes (Benedetto Croce / Chaim Weismann / Organised Attendance / A. I. R. and Film Songs) Prof. M. L. Dantwala's contribution to the "Freedom FIRST?" debate rebuts M. R. Masani's earlier claim that even impoverished Indian workers would rank freedom above bread. Dantwala argues that in under-developed countries with starving populations, the hungry stomach, not the empty mind, is what makes people vulnerable to Communism — a situation basically different from pre-Communist Czechoslovakia or the present-day United States. He insists this is not an argument against non-material values but a caution against generalizing from a well-fed worker's stated incentive priorities to the situation of India's poor, and closes by affirming that man does not live by bread alone but dies without it, and that non-material values should never be made a precondition, especially not one tied to US military or economic aid. - Directly rebuts Masani's Freedom First claim that freedom 'takes priority' over bread even among India's poor. - Distinguishes India's situation (mass hunger) from Czechoslovakia pre-1948 and the contemporary United States. - Warns against a 'simple statistical error' of projecting the preferences of the well-fed onto the starving. - Argues American aid should be accepted as an ally against poverty, not as a quid pro quo tied to ideological allegiance. - Concludes the fight against hunger must proceed without demanding non-material values as a precondition, trusting good means will produce good ends. ### Freedom FIRST? — NO, says Prof. M. L. Dantwala *By Prof. M. L. Dantwala* M. R. Masani's reply to Dantwala clarifies that he never claimed freedom takes strict priority over bread for India's poor, but rather that non-material values (traditional ways of life, religion, family, self-respect, dignity) take priority over left-wing intellectuals' obsession with Soviet-style Five-Year Plans and 'giantism.' He reveals his original remarks were a condensation of a Convocation Address delivered at Mount Holyoke College aimed at an American audience, arguing the US should continue giving unconditional material aid to India while seeking a meeting of hearts and minds with Asian peoples, without demanding India abandon neutralism as a condition of aid. He restates that Freedom First's title reflects Lord Acton's dictum that liberty is the supreme good, given priority in importance rather than in time, and voices hope that Dantwala will come to share the ideological emphasis Masani places today. - Denies claiming freedom 'takes priority' over bread for India's poor; clarifies the claim concerned non-material versus 'giantism'-obsessed intellectual priorities. - Reveals the original remarks were a condensed Convocation Address given at Mount Holyoke College, addressed to an American audience, not Indian readers. - Argues the US should keep giving unconditional aid to India without demanding ideological allegiance as quid pro quo. - Invokes Lord Acton to explain the title 'Freedom First' as priority in importance, not chronology. - Criticizes R.H.S. Crossman's 'condescending and offensive attitude' toward Asian and African peoples and cites his own 1944 book Socialism Reconsidered. ### Freedom FIRST? — YES, says M. R. Masani *By M. R. Masani* S. R. Mohan Das's "Principles And Incidentals" is a philosophical dissection of what 'ideology' means for a political party, responding to prior remarks by Asoka Mehta, Acharya Kripalani, and Rohit Dave. He argues that ideology is a continual synthesis of experience, requiring both a fixed base of 'first principles' and an evolving, revisable set of implementing methods ('instruments of engineering' such as socialization or decentralization). He warns that means can wrongly ossify into ends, using Gandhism's absolutist rejection of industrialisation and the Indian Socialists' partial convergence with Gandhian decentralisation (for very different philosophical reasons) as illustrations. He closes by arguing that the merger of the KMPP and the Socialist Party shows agreement on method more than on philosophy, and that a party's identity ultimately lies in its distinctive instruments for implementing first principles, not in the principles alone. - Defines ideology as demanding 'ceaseless investigation' rather than rigid conclusions, structured around a fixed base of first principles plus evolving implementing methods. - Distinguishes the Gandhian route to decentralisation (religious/mystic, anti-material) from the ultra-secular Socialists' route (materialist, secular) despite surface agreement. - Uses the KMPP-Socialist Party merger as a case study: agreement on 'means'/methods without necessarily any philosophical convergence. - Warns that means ('socialization,' 'decentralization') risk becoming mistaken for first principles themselves through a feedback/vested-interest dynamic. - Concludes a party's identity lies in its distinctive instruments for implementing shared first principles, which must remain elastic and open to revision. ### Principles And Incidentals *By S. R. Mohan Das* An unsigned review (a 'Sunday Times Correspondent') of Woodrow Wyatt's Southwards from China (Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1952), an Englishman's survey of South East Asia since 1945. The review praises Wyatt's first-hand knowledge from his time as a member of the Parliamentary Delegation to India, personal assistant to Sir Stafford Cripps, and a 1949 tour of Burma, Malaya, Siam, and Indonesia, but criticizes his pro-British-Labour bias for downplaying the role of popular nationalist movements and Gandhi's influence in defeating Communism in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. The reviewer highlights Wyatt's warnings about Chinese imperialism, his call for UN-backed collective resistance to Communist aggression modeled on Korea, and his emphasis on economic aid via the Colombo Plan, while insisting that the deeper battle against Communism in South East Asia is a 'trial and test of ideas and ideologies' that technical assistance alone cannot win. - Wyatt's book is framed as the 'Englishman's' counterpart to Michener's American survey of South East Asia (reviewed in a previous issue). - The reviewer credits Wyatt's on-the-ground access (Parliamentary Delegation to India, Assistant to Stafford Cripps, 1949 Asia tour) but faults his neglect of Gandhi and popular nationalist movements in explaining the containment of Communism in India/Pakistan. - Summarizes Wyatt's view that French mishandling of Indo-China nationalism has driven nationalists toward Communism. - Highlights Wyatt's proposal that UN treat Communist Chinese aggression in South East Asia the same as the Korea invasion, and his call for the US to fund the Colombo Plan alongside Britain. - The review closes on its own editorial claim that the fight against Communism in the region is a contest of ideologies, not solvable by technical assistance alone. ### Reviews: Southwards from China (by Woodrow Wyatt) "Sins of the Commissars," by a Sunday Times Correspondent, reports on a scandalous Soviet play, When We Are Beautiful, by October magazine editor Panfyorov, that depicts sexual and moral corruption among Communist Party elites in Moscow. The piece treats the play, though artistically poor, as sociologically revealing: its plot of adultery and infidelity among party secretaries, trade union officials, and artists exposes the hypocrisy of a supposedly puritanical Soviet elite. It notes the play was denounced by official Party organs Bolshevik and Pravda for giving 'a wholly misleading impression of life in the U.S.S.R. as a whole,' and connects this literary scandal to a genuine internal Party crackdown on corruption, embezzlement, and nepotism ahead of the October 5 Party Congress in Moscow. - Describes Panfyorov's play When We Are Beautiful as exposing 'the looseness of sexual morals among the privileged few in modern Russia.' - Notes official Party organs Bolshevik and Pravda denounced the play for artificially isolating and exaggerating negative aspects of Soviet life. - Frames the play as sociologically revealing despite being artistically weak. - Links the literary scandal to a real anti-corruption 'minor purge' underway in preparation for the Party Congress convening October 5 in Moscow. - Highlights the irony that Soviet elites accused of hypocrisy behave, in the reviewer's telling, 'like heroes in a cheap semi-pornographic novel.' ### Plays: Sins Of The Commissars *By By a Sunday Times Correspondent* An unsigned piece titled "M.R.A." (signed MONA) defends the Moral Re-Armament movement's Bombay visit against cynicism from two camps: Communists and fellow-travellers who attack MRA's founder Dr. Buchman over an alleged pro-Hitler remark (while ignoring the Soviet-Nazi pact), and cultural snobs who resent a Western movement echoing Gandhian moral ideas. The author credits MRA's team with genuine sincerity and effective dramatic technique, observes that its meetings dissolve class distinctions between society ladies, businessmen, and the poor into a shared sense of moral and spiritual equality, and argues that if MRA can durably instill the moral revolution Gandhiji embodied, it would be a major contribution to India's democratic uplift, even if it is 'old wine in new bottles.' - Identifies two sources of cynicism toward MRA's Bombay visit: Communists invoking Buchman's alleged 'Thank God for Hitler' remark, and cultural snobs resenting Western moral instruction echoing Gandhian ideas. - Notes MRA's ten days of activity in Bombay drew enthusiasm even from 'sober and sophisticated men' and militant trade unionists. - Observes that MRA meetings at the Taj Ballroom dissolve the 'ultra-sensitive consciousness of material inequality' among a socially mixed crowd into a sense of moral and spiritual equality. - Frames MRA as potentially reinforcing 'the moral revolution which Gandhiji so effectively lived for.' - Closes with the metaphor that MRA may be 'old wine in new bottles' but the wine's content (honesty, purity, unselfishness, love) matters more than the bottle. ### M. R. A. *By Mona* "Ferry to Nowhere," reprinted from the New York Times, recounts the plight of M. P. O'Brien, a stateless Hungarian-American man shuttling for two weeks on a ferry between Macao and Hong Kong because neither Portuguese Macao, British Hong Kong, nor the American consul will admit him. The piece uses his oscillation as a symbol for humanity caught between opposing tyrannies — of the Left and the Right — and for civilization's fluctuation between peace and war, hope and despair, closing with a wish that he, and by extension all such symbolic 'passengers,' find safe harbor. - Recounts the real predicament of stateless traveller M. P. O'Brien, shuttling between Macao and Hong Kong for two weeks without valid papers. - No jurisdiction — American, Portuguese, or British — will admit him. - Uses his situation as an extended metaphor for humanity's oscillation between the 'tyranny of the Left and the tyranny of the Right.' - Draws on Stanley Rich's Associated Press dispatch as a direct source for O'Brien's story. - Closes hoping 'all ferries come to their slips at last and all the passengers happily disembark.' ### Ferry to Nowhere *By New York Times (reprint)* "Bull In A China Shop," by David Anderson in the New York Times, narrates a real chance encounter at a Manhattan bookstore between Jacob A. Malik, the retiring Soviet permanent delegate to the United Nations, and Mikhail Koriakov, a Russian-émigré professor of Russian Literature at Fordham University and author of I'll Never Go Back. Koriakov needles Malik with pointed questions about why Moscow has no bookshop offering international literature the way New York's Four Continent Book Corporation does, and about Soviet censorship, until an irritated Malik ends the exchange by refusing to talk further, while Koriakov walks away 'beaming with contentment.' - Describes an unplanned real encounter between Soviet UN delegate Jacob A. Malik and émigré Professor Mikhail Koriakov at a New York bookstore. - Koriakov, without revealing his identity as the author of I'll Never Go Back, presses Malik on the absence of a Moscow bookshop selling foreign literature freely. - The exchange escalates to censorship and Communist author Maurice Thorez's book Le Fils du Peuple as the sole French title once available in the Moscow store. - Malik ends the conversation abruptly, refusing further discussion. - The piece is framed as a small symbolic victory of open intellectual exchange over Soviet evasiveness. ### Bull In A China Shop *By David Anderson in New York Times* "With Many Voices" is a miscellany of short, dated press excerpts and quotations from around the world illustrating Cold War themes: Dr. Frank Buchman comparing walking with Gandhiji to walking with Aristotle; a Singapore ship-captain's protest over a misreported flag-decoration gesture; East and West Berlin's rival teenage newspapers both titled 'The Young World'; John Foster Dulles declaring the colonial system obsolete; commentary on the Peking Peace Conference's muted references to the Soviet Union; Indian press claims that Communists will never gain power in India due to cultural heritage; C. D. Deshmukh's remark that Russia contributes nothing to UN assistance programmes; and a London Times editorial on Chinese POWs refusing repatriation. - Opens with Tennyson's 'With Many Voices' epigraph framing the miscellany. - Includes Dr. Frank Buchman's comparison of Gandhiji to Aristotle, and his claim that '600 million people who lived in Asia were a deciding factor at the crossroads of the world.' - Reports on East/West Berlin's rival 'Young World' newspapers and the Western version's use of rockets to distribute anti-Communist copies behind the Iron Curtain. - Cites John Foster Dulles calling the colonial system obsolete. - Quotes C. D. Deshmukh, India's Finance Minister, stating Russia contributes nothing to UN assistance programmes, and a London Times editorial on Chinese 'volunteers' refusing repatriation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff009/ ### Summary This is issue No. 9 of Freedom First (February 1953), the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by Aziz Madni. The issue opens with the first installment of a two-part article by Bertram D. Wolfe, 'Tito And Stalin-I,' analysing the Tito-Stalin split through multiple interpretive lenses (emotional, historical, national-interest, Balkan-federalist, personal-rivalry, and ideological) and giving a short biography of Tito. This is followed by an unsigned 'Notes' section with several short editorial items on Cold War and domestic politics: Clement Attlee's claim that Europe rather than Asia is the world's centre of gravity, Pakistan's possible adhesion to a Middle East defence pact, the Rawalpindi Conspiracy trial, a Bombay Bar Association dispute over D. N. Pritt, the Gandhian Seminar inaugurated by Nehru, Saifuddin Kitchlew's Stalin Peace Prize, and Vijayalakshmi Pandit's remarks on Cold War power blocs.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 9 of Freedom First (February 1953), the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by Aziz Madni. The issue opens with the first installment of a two-part article by Bertram D. Wolfe, 'Tito And Stalin-I,' analysing the Tito-Stalin split through multiple interpretive lenses (emotional, historical, national-interest, Balkan-federalist, personal-rivalry, and ideological) and giving a short biography of Tito. This is followed by an unsigned 'Notes' section with several short editorial items on Cold War and domestic politics: Clement Attlee's claim that Europe rather than Asia is the world's centre of gravity, Pakistan's possible adhesion to a Middle East defence pact, the Rawalpindi Conspiracy trial, a Bombay Bar Association dispute over D. N. Pritt, the Gandhian Seminar inaugurated by Nehru, Saifuddin Kitchlew's Stalin Peace Prize, and Vijayalakshmi Pandit's remarks on Cold War power blocs. Sampurnanand, UP Minister for Home and Labour, contributes 'The Tasks Of Our Leadership,' a reflection (reprinted from the Hindustan Times Congress Supplement) on corruption in Indian public life and the absence of a unifying philosophy or 'new values' to replace faded religious and nationalist sanctions. Zafar Futehally writes 'An Unrepentent Spy' on the case of British atomic scientist Alan Nunn May, convicted of passing nuclear secrets to the Soviets. Prof. Edwin D. Dickinson of the University of Pennsylvania Law School contributes 'Geneva Convention And U.N. Stand,' a legal analysis defending the right of states to grant asylum to prisoners of war who do not wish to be repatriated, discussed against the backdrop of the Korean War POW question. A brief note announces the XXth Century Music Award instituted by the Congress for Cultural Freedom. A 'Reviews' section (initialled A.S.P.) covers Whittaker Chambers' Witness, focusing on Chambers' testimony against Alger Hiss and his account of what it meant to be a communist. Two 'To The Editor' letters follow: one from 'A Scientist' criticizing Major-General S. S. Sokhey for pro-Soviet statements on germ warfare and Soviet economic development, and one from D. G. Sakrikar of the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, warning that the Cominform is using a 'Doctors for Peace' campaign to recruit Indian medical professionals. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a compilation of quoted remarks from Eisenhower, Truman, Rajagopalachari, Krishna Menon, Sampurnanand, and others, plus a membership enrolment form for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. ## Essays ### Tito And Stalin-I *By by Bertram D. Wolfe* Bertram D. Wolfe analyses the causes and meaning of the 1948 Tito-Stalin break, offering six successive interpretive frames: an emotional reading (the enduring force of national self-determination), a historical reading (divergent national traditions resisting homogenization), a national-interest reading (Stalin's fear of a Balkan Federation strong enough to exclude Soviet influence), a personal-rivalry reading (Tito as the ablest and most dangerous of Stalin's former disciples, given Stalinism's need for total, jealous loyalty), a geopolitical reading (Yugoslavia's peculiar wartime self-liberation and geographic distance from the USSR), and an ideological reading (Titoism as a heresy that claims to be a return to 'primitive Leninism' against Stalin's 'betrayals'). Wolfe also traces Tito's biography from his birth as Josip Broz in 1892 through his indoctrination as a Russian POW, his Comintern work in the Spanish Civil War purges, and his rise to lead a party that grew from 3,000 wartime survivors to 470,000 members by 1948. The piece ends 'To be continued,' with Part II to follow in a subsequent issue. - Wolfe frames the Tito-Stalin split as an accidental 'window' into normally secretive Cominform processes. - Argues Stalinism is inherently jealous, tolerating disciples but not partners or associates. - Identifies Stalin's fear of a strong, independent Balkan Federation as a key strategic motive for the break. - Notes Yugoslavia was the only East European state to self-liberate without Red Army occupation. - Provides Tito's biographical arc from WWI POW to Comintern operative in Spain to Yugoslav party chief. - States Titoism appeals variously to national patriots, doctrinal purists, and 'fellow travellers' seeking to exit orthodox Communism without losing revolutionary credentials. - Personally states preference for Tito as 'more useful as a Communist than he would be as a Democrat' from a Cold War standpoint. ### Notes (The Centre of Gravity; Much Ado; Why the Secrecy?; Justice — Two kinds; Gandhian Seminar; About Blocs) An unsigned editorial 'Notes' section comprising several short items. 'The Centre of Gravity' disputes Clement Attlee's claim (echoing Churchill) that the world's centre of gravity lies in Europe rather than Asia, arguing that Korea, Tibet, and Indo-China are the Kremlin's current primary zones of expansion and that Asia lacks Europe's NATO-style military and ideological defences. 'Much Ado' criticizes hysterical Indian press reaction to unconfirmed reports of Pakistan joining a Middle East Defence Organisation, arguing Indian commentary appeared 'officially inspired' per the London Times, while noting the much greater and less-remarked threat from Chinese action in Tibet. 'Why the Secrecy?' discusses the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case verdict against Sajjad Zaheer and Faiz Ahmed Faiz, criticizing the Pakistani government's in-camera trial procedure while accepting the substance of the conspiracy charge. 'Justice — Two kinds' praises the Bombay Bar Association's refusal to congratulate D. N. Pritt over a contempt-of-court matter, criticizing Comintern-linked lawyer Daniel Latifi. 'Gandhian Seminar' reports on Nehru's inauguration of a seminar on Gandhian methods for resolving international tensions, noting the conspicuous absence of Soviet and Chinese delegates and criticizing Maulana Azad's naiveté in expressing regret at that absence. 'Requiescat' criticizes Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew's Stalin Peace Prize and Ambassador K. P. S. Menon's attendance at the award ceremony as compromising India's professed neutrality. 'About Blocs' mocks Vijayalakshmi Pandit's objection to the word 'bloc' regarding the Asian-African group, arguing the Soviet bloc is the only genuinely rigid power bloc in the U.N. - Challenges Attlee's Europe-centric reading of Cold War geography, pointing to Korea, Tibet, and Indo-China as active Soviet/Chinese expansion zones. - Criticizes Indian press hysteria over a Pakistan-Middle East Defence Organisation report as possibly 'officially inspired.' - Accepts the substance of the Rawalpindi Conspiracy verdict but condemns the in-camera trial procedure as an executive overreach. - Praises the Bombay Bar Association's stance against D. N. Pritt and criticizes lawyer Daniel Latifi's Comintern links. - Criticizes the near-boycott of Nehru's Gandhian Seminar by communist states and Maulana Azad's naive regret over their absence. - Criticizes Saifuddin Kitchlew's Stalin Peace Prize and Ambassador Menon's participation in the award ceremony. - Argues the Soviet bloc, not the Asian-African group, is the only truly rigid power bloc in the U.N. ### The Tasks Of Our Leadership *By by Sampurnanand* Sampurnanand, Minister for Home and Labour in Uttar Pradesh, argues that India's leadership diagnoses corruption and moral decline in the country but offers only sermonizing rather than a workable remedy. He contends that leaders who condemn followers from a position of self-assumed moral superiority achieve nothing, and that real reform requires leaders to descend among the people with sympathetic understanding. He traces the roots of the corruption crisis to India's abrupt, unassimilated adoption of Western democratic institutions atop an unreformed caste hierarchy and a decaying religious/social sanction system, producing widespread psychological and material strain. Sampurnanand's central argument is that India lacks any unifying philosophy or 'concept' comparable to Marxism or capitalism to give its constitution and mixed economy coherent meaning; 'secularism,' he argues, is merely negative and cannot substitute for such a vision. He calls for a 're-interpreted' set of spiritual values, grounded in either religion or a philosophical substitute, arguing that moral education without such a basis is futile, and that the root of "all evil" is the absence of any ideal that compels sacrifice and self-restraint. - Criticizes Congress leaders for condemning corruption in dramatic rhetoric without offering remedies or leading by example. - Argues moral self-righteousness from leaders alienates rather than reforms followers. - Attributes national corruption to the abrupt, unassimilated transplant of Western democratic institutions onto an unreformed caste-based society. - Notes India has adopted a 'mixed economy' without any unifying philosophic vision, unlike Marxism or capitalism. - Argues secularism is a negative concept that cannot itself inspire a vision of national life. - Calls for reinterpreted spiritual values, rooted in religion or an equivalent philosophy, as the basis for genuine moral education. - Identifies the absence of any ideal demanding sacrifice and self-restraint as the root of all evil in Indian public life. ### An Unrepentent Spy *By Dr. Alan Nunn May* Zafar Futehally examines the case of Dr. Alan Nunn May, a British scientist convicted in 1946 of passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, who on release from prison declared he still believed he had acted rightly. Futehally recounts how May was recruited into a Soviet spy network in Canada around 1945, exposed via Igor Gouzenko's defection, and details the telegrams sent to Moscow via his handler 'Alec' describing the Trinity test, the Uranium-235 bomb dropped on Japan, and production rates at the Clinton plant, including a physical sample of Uranium-233 flown to Moscow. The piece quotes at length from May's own written statement and from Mr. Justice Oliver's sentencing remarks condemning May's betrayal of a knowingly-undertaken secrecy pledge. Futehally closes by generalizing from the case to warn about communists worldwide keeping Moscow informed and being 'systematically removed' from key positions in the U.S. and the U.N. - Recounts Alan Nunn May's 1946 conviction for passing atomic secrets to the USSR while working in Canada. - Details specific technical information passed via telegram to Moscow, including bomb test data and uranium production rates. - Quotes May's own claim that he still believed he 'acted rightly' after completing his prison term. - Quotes Mr. Justice Oliver's sentencing remarks condemning May's breach of his secrecy undertaking. - Generalizes the case into a broader warning about communist infiltration and the ongoing removal of communists from Western institutions. ### Geneva Convention And U. N. Stand *By by Prof. Edwin D. Dickinson* Prof. Edwin D. Dickinson of the University of Pennsylvania Law School argues against 'false notions' circulating in the debate over Korean War POW repatriation. He holds that in the absence of treaty, states have unlimited competence to grant asylum to political refugees — a principle he traces through historical precedent (the Treaty of Paris 1783, Versailles, Trianon, St. Germain, Soviet agreements after WWI) and affirms even in Soviet legal writing (Andrei Vyshinsky's The Law of the Soviet State). He reviews the 1947 and 1949 Geneva Conference negotiating history on POW repatriation, including the rejected Austrian amendment and Soviet objections from General Sklyarov, and concludes that Article 118 of the 1949 Geneva Convention was never intended to strip a detaining power of its power to grant asylum. Dickinson concludes that the U.N. Command's position at Panmunjom — refusing unconditional forced repatriation while not permitting indefinite retention of POWs — is consistent with both the Geneva Convention and established international law. - Argues the competence of states to grant asylum to political refugees, absent treaty, is legally unlimited. - Cites Andrei Vyshinsky's The Law of the Soviet State as itself acknowledging this principle. - Traces historical precedents including the 1783 Treaty of Paris, Versailles, Trianon, St. Germain, and post-WWI Soviet agreements. - Reviews the negotiating history of Geneva Convention Articles 109 and 118 at the 1947 and 1949 conferences, including the rejected Austrian amendment and Soviet General Sklyarov's objection. - Concludes Article 118 was not intended to deprive detaining powers of the power to grant asylum to unwilling POWs. - Concludes the U.N. Command position at Panmunjom is consistent with the Geneva Convention and international law precedent. ### THE XXTH CENTURY MUSIC AWARD A short unsigned notice announces the XXth Century Music Award, a new annual award for young composers instituted by the Congress for Cultural Freedom in cooperation with the European Cultural Centre in Geneva, funded through the generosity of Mr. Julius Fleischman, intended to promote modern compositions and broaden public familiarity with contemporary music. A suitable award procedure is described as still under consideration. - Announces a new annual XXth Century Music Award for young composers. - Instituted by the Congress for Cultural Freedom with the European Cultural Centre, Geneva. - Funded by Mr. Julius Fleischman. - Aims to acquaint the public with modern works and expand the repertory of contemporary music. - Award procedure still under consideration at time of publication. ### Reviews: Witness by Whittaker Chambers *By A. S. P.* A book review, initialled A.S.P., of Whittaker Chambers' Witness (Random House, 808 pp., $5). The reviewer frames the book as a testament of personal faith that led Chambers to testify against Alger Hiss, comparing Chambers favourably to Judas by arguing his self-crucifying revelation of the truth vindicates rather than betrays. The review summarizes the autobiographical first part of the book, describing how WWI-era privations drew Chambers toward Communism's promise of an end to historical crisis, and recounts Chambers' vignettes of his three communist 'heroes' — Felix Dzerzhinsky, Eugen Levine, and Ivan Kalyaev (misremembered by Chambers as Sazonov) — as illustrations of what it meant to be a communist, willing to accept death, humiliation, and self-immolation for the cause. The review then covers the book's second part, describing Chambers' gradual, agonized break with Communism and his turn toward a religious framework in which God, not Stalin, is the answer to man's need for organizing society and soul. The reviewer concludes the book's importance lies in its being a personal document warning against communist infiltration of institutions, and in affirming the individual's right to repudiate a former faith. - Reviews Whittaker Chambers' Witness, framing it as testimony that vindicates rather than betrays, unlike Judas's betrayal. - Summarizes Chambers' account of being drawn to Communism amid WWI-era privation and crisis. - Recounts Chambers' three communist 'heroes' — Dzerzhinsky, Levine, and Kalyaev (misnamed Sazonov) — as parables of communist self-sacrifice and fanaticism. - Covers Chambers' agonized break with communism and turn to religious faith, with God substituting for Stalin as the organizing principle of society. - Concludes the book's value lies in warning against communist infiltration and affirming a right to repudiate one's former faith. ### To The Editor: A General Gone Astray *By "A Scientist"* A letter to the editor signed 'A Scientist,' titled 'A General Gone Astray,' criticizes Major-General S. S. Sokhey for a pattern of pro-Soviet public statements over two decades, focusing on his recent remarks alleging germ warfare in Korea and praising Soviet economic development and the Five-Year Plan, and calling for 'fundamental, political, economic, social and administrative changes' in India. The letter connects Sokhey's statements to Communist Party organs (Cross Roads) and fellow-traveller committees, and questions the judgment behind his nomination to the Council of States. - Criticizes Major-General S. S. Sokhey's public statements alleging germ warfare use in Korea. - Notes Sokhey's praise for Soviet economic development and the Five-Year Plan. - Links Sokhey's rhetoric to Communist Party publications (Cross Roads) and fellow-traveller organisations. - Questions the wisdom of Sokhey's nomination to the Council of States given his stated views. ### To The Editor: Doctor's Dilemma *By D. G. Sakrikar, Executive Secretary, Democratic Research Service, Bombay* A letter to the editor from D. G. Sakrikar, Executive Secretary of the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, titled 'Doctor's Dilemma,' argues that a 1950 Cominform directive made 'the peace movement' the pivot of Indian Communist Party activity, and that a campaign is underway to enlist Indian doctors through 'Conference of Doctors for Peace' events, citing a Bihar State Conference in Patna and remarks by Dr. U. B. Narayan Rao suggesting India could host an International Doctors' Congress. The letter recounts how Dr. R. N. Cooper resigned from a preparatory committee for an International Doctors' Congress after the Democratic Research Service exposed its Cominform links, and warns that accusations against Soviet doctors of murdering Andrei Zhdanov and Alexander Sergeivitch Scherbekov should not be allowed to smear the medical profession or be exploited by pro-Soviet organisers in India. - Cites a 1950 Cominform directive making the 'peace movement' central to Indian Communist Party activity. - Describes a campaign to recruit Indian doctors via 'Conference of Doctors for Peace' meetings, including one in Patna. - Reports Dr. U. B. Narayan Rao's suggestion that supporting the peace movement could bring the International Doctors' Congress to India. - Recounts Dr. R. N. Cooper's resignation from a preparatory committee after Democratic Research Service exposed its Cominform ties. - Warns against the exploitation of the 'doctors' murder' accusations in Soviet purges to recruit Indian medical professionals. ### With Many Voices 'With Many Voices,' a closing compilation of quoted remarks and news items under a Tennyson epigraph, drawing from Eisenhower's Inaugural Address, Truman's message to Stalin in the New York Times, C. Rajagopalachari's Congress speech on fear of the atomic bomb replacing fear of God, Krishna Menon's self-deprecating comment on arrival in Bombay, Sampurnanand's remark on Purushottam Das Tandon's carelessness with punctuality, Daniel Brewster's comment on U.S. foreign policy, and brief international news items including a Czechoslovak chess champion's asylum request and a Soviet/Chinese boycott of a Burmese National Day function. The issue closes with a membership enrolment form for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom and a publication statement naming Aziz Madni as editor and Name Oliaji as printer/publisher. - Compiles quotations from Eisenhower's Inaugural Address on the burdens of war and peace. - Quotes Truman's message to Stalin arguing nuclear war cannot be a viable 'stage' toward communism. - Quotes C. Rajagopalachari on nations acting from fear of the atomic bomb rather than fear of God. - Includes Krishna Menon's remark that he is 'only a mouthpiece' for the Government of India. - Reports a Czechoslovak chess champion's asylum request in Switzerland and a Soviet/Chinese diplomatic boycott in Burma. - Closes with the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's membership enrolment form; masthead names Aziz Madni as editor. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff010/ ### Summary This is the complete March 1953 issue (No. 10) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by Aziz Madni. The issue opens with Prof. G. D. Parikh's essay on academic freedom in Indian universities, arguing that autonomy of higher-education institutions and improvement of academic standards are compatible goals rather than opposing ones. An unsigned editorial 'Notes' section addresses Reinhold Niebuhr's election as honorary president of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, defends Eisenhower's Formosa 'liberation' policy against Communist China, criticizes Aneurin Bevan's and Rammanohar Lohia's neutralist foreign-policy statements abroad, praises the seizure of Communist literature from P. C. Joshi and Romesh Chandra, and discusses the Praja Parishad agitation in Kashmir. J. B. H. Wadia contributes a rejoinder to Sampurnanand's article on secularism and moral education, arguing for 'liberal secularism' as the proper safeguard of individual liberty against both religious and state authoritarianism. Bertram D.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the complete March 1953 issue (No. 10) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by Aziz Madni. The issue opens with Prof. G. D. Parikh's essay on academic freedom in Indian universities, arguing that autonomy of higher-education institutions and improvement of academic standards are compatible goals rather than opposing ones. An unsigned editorial 'Notes' section addresses Reinhold Niebuhr's election as honorary president of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, defends Eisenhower's Formosa 'liberation' policy against Communist China, criticizes Aneurin Bevan's and Rammanohar Lohia's neutralist foreign-policy statements abroad, praises the seizure of Communist literature from P. C. Joshi and Romesh Chandra, and discusses the Praja Parishad agitation in Kashmir. J. B. H. Wadia contributes a rejoinder to Sampurnanand's article on secularism and moral education, arguing for 'liberal secularism' as the proper safeguard of individual liberty against both religious and state authoritarianism. Bertram D. Wolfe's two-part analysis 'Tito And Stalin' (part II) documents Soviet economic exploitation of Yugoslavia and the ideological logic of the Tito-Stalin split as a crack in the Cominform's authority. A short piece titled 'Demosthenes' Reproach' uses a Toynbee anecdote about Minoo Masani's warnings on Soviet imperialism. The issue closes with a book review by K. D. Sethna of two Arthur Goodfriend photo-essay books on anti-Communist democratic values, and a 'With Many Voices' column of press quotations on Cold War politics, plus a subscription coupon for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom and an advertisement for the French-language review Preuves. ## Essays ### On Academic Freedom *By by Prof. G. D. Parikh* Prof. G. D. Parikh's essay responds to controversies over the Universities (Regulation of Standards) Bill and state interference in university governance in Bombay and Uttar Pradesh. He defines academic freedom as institutional autonomy from external political authority in curricula, research, and teaching, paired with a teacher's freedom to comment on public issues. He argues that India's low educational standards and colonial-era utilitarian attitudes toward education create a peculiar problem: universities must simultaneously win greater freedom and improve functional efficiency. Rejecting the view that state control is necessary for quality, Parikh sides with the University Education Commission and the Inter-University Board in holding that autonomy is a precondition for improvement, proposing coordination mechanisms like the Inter-University Board and a University Grants Commission rather than direct state control. - Universities (Regulation of Standards) Bill and Bombay/U.P. university legislation prompted the essay's concern about threats to institutional autonomy. - Academic freedom is defined as freedom of institutions from external political control over curricula, degrees, and research, plus freedom of teachers to comment on public issues. - India's formal democratic constitution lacks deep-rooted democratic traditions, making the autonomy problem distinct from that in other countries. - Two views are contrasted: external control as necessary for standards versus institutional freedom as precondition for improvement. - Parikh recommends the Inter-University Board and a University Grants Commission (on UK lines) as coordination mechanisms instead of direct state control. - He warns that external control risks producing 'dull lifeless uniformity' rather than improved standards. ### Notes (Our New Honorary President; Onwards to Liberation; Well Done!; Praja Parishad Agitation; No Shaking Hands with Murder; To the Editor) The unsigned 'Notes' section is a set of short editorial commentaries. It profiles Reinhold Niebuhr on his election as honorary president of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, tracing his biography and theological break from liberal Protestantism. 'Onwards to Liberation' defends President Eisenhower's decision to de-neutralize Formosa against Indian and British press criticism, framing the policy as consistent with a strategy of active 'liberation' rather than mere containment of Communist China and Soviet imperialism. 'Well Done!' praises Bombay customs for seizing Communist literature brought by P. C. Joshi and Romesh Chandra. 'Bevan and Lohia' criticizes Aneurin Bevan's and Rammanohar Lohia's neutralist statements made on foreign soil, comparing double standards applied to Indian versus British/American critics abroad. 'No Shaking Hands with Murder' praises Henry Cabot Lodge's refusal to shake hands with Vyshinsky. 'Praja Parishad Agitation' expresses qualified sympathy for the Kashmir Praja Parishad's aims despite its communal composition, criticizing the Congress-Communist alliance against it. A reader's letter ('To The Editor') quotes a Mysindia passage likening Communist infiltration fears under Nehru to 1930s-40s Washington under Roosevelt. - Reinhold Niebuhr is profiled as the new honorary president of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, noted for his critique of liberal Protestant theology and his political activity with Americans for Democratic Action. - The 'Onwards to Liberation' item defends Eisenhower's Formosa policy and the U.S. shift from containment to 'liberation' of peoples under Soviet/Chinese Communist control. - Aneurin Bevan and Rammanohar Lohia are criticized (though Bevan is defended as within his democratic rights) for airing neutralist or critical foreign-policy views abroad, with a charge of double standards against Indian critics of their own government. - Bombay customs' seizure of Communist literature from P. C. Joshi and Romesh Chandra is praised as a minor but symbolically useful action. - The Kashmir Praja Parishad agitation is treated sympathetically despite its communal composition, with criticism of the Congress-Communist alliance against it and of the Preventive Detention Act's use against Parishad supporters. - A reader's letter draws a parallel between Communist infiltration fears in Nehru's Delhi and Roosevelt-era Washington, citing Whittaker Chambers' 'Witness'. ### The Tasks Of Our Leadership *By by J. B. H. Wadia* J. B. H. Wadia responds to Sampurnanand's article 'The Tasks Of Our Leaders' on the crisis of culture and the need for moral education grounded in religion or a philosophic substitute. Wadia argues that once a secular state allies itself with an authoritative religion, that alliance inevitably drifts toward authoritarianism, citing historical examples from Augustan Rome, the Reformation, Hindu Brahmanic priestcraft, Islam, Zoroastrianism, and Communism as a secular religion-substitute. He contends that the abuse of religion is inherent in religion's demand for abject subservience to a 'Supreme of Supremes,' and that the proper task of India's leaders is not loose secularism but 'liberal secularism' — practising secularism in the best traditions of liberalism, respecting individual liberty and giving citizens the choice to accept or discard religion. - Wadia is responding directly to Sampurnanand's essay 'The Tasks Of Our Leaders' on cultural crisis and moral education. - He argues religious education and secular education are 'irreconcilables' today and that no combination can let a state keep religious authority in check if it courts it. - Historical examples (Rome, Reformation, Brahmanic priestcraft, Jainism, Buddhism, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Communism) illustrate how religious or quasi-religious authority tends toward tyranny. - He locates the danger in religion's own demand for subservience to a 'postulated Supreme of Supremes,' not merely in its abuse. - Wadia proposes 'liberal secularism' — secularism practiced in the tradition of liberal philosophy — as the safeguard for individual liberty against both religious and state authoritarianism. - He frames Sampurnanand's reliance on religion for moral revival as 'rank opportunism' if pursued by state leaders. ### Demosthenes' Reproach This short piece opens with a preface noting it was written before Eisenhower's inaugural address. It recounts historian Arnold Toynbee's use of Demosthenes' 351 B.C. reproach to the Athenians (for failing to plan against Philip of Macedon and reacting only after crises hit) as an analogy for democracies' fecklessness in the face of Hitler in 1938-39. The piece then recalls Indian politician Minoo Masani (identified in text as 'Masani') invoking the same Demosthenes speech in a 1952 address to Canadian audiences in Ottawa, warning that Western democracies were similarly unprepared for the 'slow but inevitable motion' of Soviet Communism. - The piece uses Demosthenes' 351 B.C. speech against Athenian complacency toward Philip of Macedon as a recurring historical analogy. - Arnold Toynbee applied the Demosthenes quote to describe democracies' failure to prepare against Hitler in 1938-39. - Indian politician Minoo Masani applied the same Demosthenes quote in a 1952 Ottawa address warning of Soviet imperialism's threat to Asia. - The piece frames a triple parallel: Athens in 351 BC, the democracies in 1938-39, and the free world confronting Soviet Communism 'now'. ### Tito And Stalin—II *By by Bertram D. Wolfe* Bertram D. Wolfe's essay, the second installment of a two-part series, chronicles the Tito-Stalin split from Tito's 1945 and 1946 visits to Moscow through the 1948 Cominform break. Wolfe documents how the Soviet economic plan subordinated Yugoslavia to a raw-material role, imposed unequal joint-stock companies (juspad and justa), extracted metals at below-market prices, and sought pro-consular rights for Soviet agents. He argues Tito's defiance cracked the myth of Kremlin infallibility because criticisms of Soviet imperialism carried more weight coming from within the Communist camp. Wolfe analyzes the 'logic' of both Tito's and Stalin's positions — Tito forced to re-examine Leninism itself and to seek Western aid without dismantling his own Stalinist state apparatus, and Stalin forced after 1948 to tighten control over satellite states through purges (naming Rajk, Kostov, Clementis, Gomulka, and Jan Masaryk) rather than loosen them, a strategy Wolfe contrasts with Britain's gradual, successful loosening of empire into Commonwealth. - Tito's 1945 and 1946 Moscow visits revealed Soviet plans to subordinate Yugoslavia as a raw-material colony and to control its army and industry. - Soviet economic exploitation is documented via unequal joint-stock companies, below-market metal prices, and freight-rate disparities. - The 1948 Cominform-Tito break (Comniform blast of June 29, 1948) made the rift public after failed Soviet pressure via Kardelj's mission and troop withdrawals. - Wolfe argues Tito's crack in Cominform authority matters because anti-Soviet truths carry more weight from inside the Communist camp than from non-Communists. - Both Tito and Stalin face internal 'logics': Tito must re-examine Leninism and seek Western allies without dismantling his own authoritarian structures; Stalin must tighten (not loosen) control over satellites, provoking purges of nationally-rooted Communists like Rajk, Kostov, Clementis, Gomulka, and Jan Masaryk. - Wolfe contrasts Stalin's tightening strategy unfavorably with Britain's post-1776, post-imperial loosening into the Commonwealth. ### Review: What Can A Man Believe? / The Only War We Seek *By K. D. Sethna* K. D. Sethna reviews two books by Arthur Goodfriend — 'The Only War We Seek' (with a foreword by Chester Bowles, published for Americans for Democratic Action) and 'What Can A Man Believe?' Both are photo-essay books pairing effective photographs with pointed commentary to make an anti-Communist democratic argument aimed at the 'common man of Asia.' Sethna praises the first book for exposing America's past mistake in supporting the wrong methods in China, and welcomes Chester Bowles' foreword as a sign of a shift from government-level diplomacy toward engaging ordinary people's aspirations. He commends the second book for touching the religious level of the Asian mind, addressing Communism's pseudo-religious appeal (the classless society as an earthly heaven, Marxism as absolute revealed truth) and countering it with wisdom drawn from the Upanishads, Buddha, Lao-Tse, Mahavira, Mohammed, and Christ, though he notes Goodfriend does not probe religious consciousness very deeply. - Sethna reviews Arthur Goodfriend's 'What Can A Man Believe?' (1952) and 'The Only War We Seek' (1951, foreword by Chester Bowles). - Both books use photographs plus commentary to make a pro-democracy, anti-Communist argument aimed at ordinary Asians. - Sethna welcomes Bowles' foreword as signaling a shift from U.S. government-level diplomacy in India toward engaging common people's needs directly. - He argues Communism succeeds by usurping religion's place, presenting the classless state as 'earthly heaven' and Marxism as absolute revealed truth. - Goodfriend's second book is praised for engaging the religious level of the Asian mind using Upanishadic, Buddhist, Taoist, Jain, Islamic, and Christian wisdom, though not probing religious consciousness deeply. - Sethna recommends the book be translated into Asian languages for wider reach. ### With Many Voices The closing 'With Many Voices' column, prefaced with a Tennyson epigraph, compiles short press quotations from Indian and international sources on Cold War politics — including Eisenhower on winning the cold war, a comparison of Krishna Menon's role to Nehru with Nehru's own role to Gandhi, Jayaprakash Narayan on Russian expansionism as Asia's new danger, an anecdote about Churchill and Bevan, a quip from Yugoslav diplomat Bebler on Burmese Communists, and commentary on Nehru's use of the term 'communal.' The page also carries a subscription coupon for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, an advertisement for the French monthly review Preuves (published by the Congress for Cultural Freedom's International Secretariat), and the issue's colophon naming editor Aziz Madni and printer/publisher Narie Oliaji. - The 'With Many Voices' column collects short press quotations on Cold War and Indian politics from January-February 1953 sources. - Eisenhower is quoted on winning the cold war as the sole way to avoid total war. - Jayaprakash Narayan is quoted describing Russian expansionism, not colonialism, as Asia's new danger. - An anecdote contrasts Krishna Menon's rationalizing role for Nehru with Nehru's own historical role rationalizing Gandhi's teachings. - The page includes a subscription coupon for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom and an advertisement for the French review Preuves. - The issue's colophon identifies Aziz Madni as editor and Narie Oliaji as printer/publisher at Kanada Press, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff011/ ### Summary This is issue No. 11 of Freedom First (April 1953), the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by Aziz Madni and affiliated to the World Movement for Cultural Freedom. The issue opens with Asoka Mehta's essay 'Stalin,' written in the immediate aftermath of Stalin's death, diagnosing Stalinism as an attempt to erase individuality and culture in service of the state. A 'Notes' section comments on Indian and international affairs: the ethics of anti-communist coalition politics amid Praja Parishad agitation in Kashmir, a critical retrospective on U.S. Ambassador Chester Bowles's tenure in New Delhi, a report on a Tibetan earthquake suppressed by Chinese authorities, and support for banning communists from government service. The centerpiece is a condensed transcript of a Tokyo roundtable, 'The Intelligentsia in Modern Society' (November 1952), featuring Minoo Masani, François Bondy, Herbert Passin, Kenzo Takayanagi, Matsuhei Matsuo, Jinji Kobori, and Takeo Naoi, comparing the political role of intellectuals across the U.S., Europe, Japan, and India, with sustained attention to why intellectuals have proven vulnerable to totalitarian co-option.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 11 of Freedom First (April 1953), the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by Aziz Madni and affiliated to the World Movement for Cultural Freedom. The issue opens with Asoka Mehta's essay 'Stalin,' written in the immediate aftermath of Stalin's death, diagnosing Stalinism as an attempt to erase individuality and culture in service of the state. A 'Notes' section comments on Indian and international affairs: the ethics of anti-communist coalition politics amid Praja Parishad agitation in Kashmir, a critical retrospective on U.S. Ambassador Chester Bowles's tenure in New Delhi, a report on a Tibetan earthquake suppressed by Chinese authorities, and support for banning communists from government service. The centerpiece is a condensed transcript of a Tokyo roundtable, 'The Intelligentsia in Modern Society' (November 1952), featuring Minoo Masani, François Bondy, Herbert Passin, Kenzo Takayanagi, Matsuhei Matsuo, Jinji Kobori, and Takeo Naoi, comparing the political role of intellectuals across the U.S., Europe, Japan, and India, with sustained attention to why intellectuals have proven vulnerable to totalitarian co-option. A report on a Bombay public meeting, 'After Stalin,' records reactions from M. R. Masani, Purshottam Tricumdas, Prabhakar Padhye, G. D. Parikh, Umadevi, and Asoka Mehta. Adam Adil contributes 'The Tasks of Our Leadership,' a rejoinder in a running exchange with J. B. H. Wadia over Sampurnanand's argument for religion-based moral education, defending religion's historical role in India against charges of fostering tyranny. The issue closes with a reader's letter on communist infiltration of trade unions, a satirical poem on Hungary banning Sherlock Holmes, a review of Carsun Chang's The Third Force in China, and the recurring 'With Many Voices' column of quotations on Cold War themes. ## Essays ### Stalin *By by Asoka Mehta* Asoka Mehta's 'Stalin' argues that Stalin embodied an epoch in which capitalism's fragmentation of man was to be answered by socialism making him whole, but that Stalin instead sought to erase individuality altogether, reducing people to echoes of a single Voice. Mehta uses Bertolt Brecht's play Die Massnahme, contrasted with Ernst Toller's humanist tragedy Masses and Man, to show the pattern of Stalinist absorption of the individual into the collective. He argues Stalin subordinated art and culture to raison d'etat, rewrote history to unmoor collective memory, and set impossible productivist ideals (the Stakhanovite) against the older capitalist ideal of Economic Man. Mehta closes by locating hope not in socio-economic change alone but in a resurgence of humanity and self-culture achieved 'in the climate of freedom,' urging that cultural freedom, not counter-vileness, is the antidote to Stalinism. - Stalin is framed as attempting to dissolve individuality into a 'mass-man,' with Brecht's Die Massnahme cited as the literary enshrinement of this ethic - Ernst Toller is contrasted with Brecht as a humanist playwright destroyed by the same totalitarian pattern he depicted - Stalin is accused of retrospectively rewriting history and suppressing artistic non-conformity via strict Party control - Capitalism's 'Economic Man' and Stalin's 'Stakhanovite' are compared as parallel productivist ideals that rob man of other dimensions - The essay closes with a call for cultural freedom and self-culture as the only real antidote to Stalinism ### Notes (First Things First; Failure of a Mission; Suppressed Tremors; Communists in State Service; Shabash!) The 'Notes' section is an unsigned editorial column commenting on current affairs. 'First Things First' cautiously welcomes Congress-Praja Socialist Party cooperation talks but insists the primary democratic danger is international communism and its domestic fifth column, not communal politics, naming G. M. Sadiq and V. K. Krishna Menon as troubling figures. 'Failure of a Mission' offers a critical retrospective on outgoing U.S. Ambassador Chester Bowles, arguing his popularity in New Delhi came at the cost of a widened India-U.S. policy gulf, and that he failed to see India's foreign policy required more than personal appeals to Nehru. 'Suppressed Tremors' reports that a September 1952 Tibetan earthquake was concealed from the outside world for six months. 'Communists in State Service' endorses the Bombay government's move to ban communist employment in government service, framing Communist Party membership as incompatible with the objectivity required of teachers and civil servants. A closing 'Shabash!' item sarcastically congratulates Osmania University on hosting V. K. Krishna Menon as a visiting professor, mocking his record on Cold War issues. - Backs Congress-Praja Socialist Party cooperation but insists international communism, not communalism, is the primary democratic threat - Critiques Chester Bowles's ambassadorship as personally popular in Delhi but strategically ineffective for U.S.-India relations - Reports a six-month news blackout on a Tibetan earthquake as evidence of communist-state secrecy - Supports banning communist party members from government and teaching posts on academic-freedom grounds - Sarcastically criticizes V. K. Krishna Menon's appointment as a visiting professor at Osmania University ### The Intelligentsia In Modern Society *By MINOO MASANI, FRANCOIS BONDY, HERBERT PASSIN, KENZO TAKAYANAGI, MATSUHEI MATSUO, JINJI KOBORI, TAKEO NAOI* A condensed transcript of a November 1952 Tokyo roundtable on 'The Role of the Intelligentsia in Modern Society,' chaired by Kenzo Takayanagi and featuring Minoo Masani (India), François Bondy (Switzerland/Congress for Cultural Freedom), Herbert Passin (U.S.), Matsuhei Matsuo, Jinji Kobori, and Takeo Naoi (Japan). Bondy opens by describing intellectuals' historically central role in shaping Europe's political and moral climate, and the tension between intellectual responsibility and the temptation to defend theories that lead to oppression. Passin contrasts this with the U.S., where intellectuals are habitually denigrated and valued mainly for practical, applied contributions rather than theoretical authority. Masani argues India's colonial history created an unusually powerful but unrepresentative intelligentsia — a 'new Brahmin class' fluent in English, ruling by monopoly of literacy while cut off from the illiterate mass, a gap Gandhi alone had bridged and which communists now exploit by targeting the intelligentsia rather than peasants or workers. Kobori and Naoi describe the Japanese intelligentsia's isolation from both tradition and the masses since the Meiji restoration, which has bred political opportunism and vulnerability to both Nazi- and Soviet-style totalitarian appeals. Passin frames the discussion's central puzzle as why 20th-century intellectuals, of all people, have proven least capable of defending the conditions of their own intellectual freedom, citing German scientists' capitulation under Hitler and Soviet scientists' capitulation during the Lysenko affair. Masani invokes James Burnham's 'Managerial Revolution' to suggest technocrats and bureaucrats have a self-interested stake in communist dictatorship's promise of caste privilege. The panel closes agreeing that cultural freedom organizations must help liberate intellectuals from treating knowledge as a 'saleable commodity' and orient them instead toward truth. - Bondy: European intellectuals historically shaped political/moral climates but risk defending oppressive theories without confronting consequences - Passin: American intellectuals are systematically denigrated and valued chiefly for practical/applied rather than theoretical contributions - Masani: British colonial rule created a literate 'new Brahmin' intelligentsia ruling India while cut off from the illiterate masses, a gap Gandhi alone bridged - Masani: Communists in India concentrate their ideological attack on the intelligentsia rather than peasants or workers because of this social gap - Kobori/Naoi: Japan's post-1868 rush to absorb Euro-American culture left its intelligentsia isolated from both tradition and the masses, breeding opportunism - Passin frames the central puzzle as intellectuals' historical failure to defend their own freedom, citing Nazi Germany and the Soviet Lysenko affair - Masani invokes Burnham's 'Managerial Revolution' to explain technocrats' self-interested sympathy for communist dictatorship - The panel agrees cultural freedom work means freeing intellectuals from treating knowledge as a commodity, orienting them to truth instead ### After Stalin A report on a Bombay public meeting titled 'After Stalin,' organised by the Democratic Research Service on March 13, described as perhaps the first Indian gathering to denounce Stalinism after Stalin's death. M. R. Masani warned against complacency, calling Stalin 'the most efficient and ruthless embodiment of an evil system of total regimentation' and criticizing Indian press adulation of him. Purshottam Tricumdas, Prabhakar Padhye, and G. D. Parikh offered further critical assessments of Soviet succession politics, while Umadevi (Polish-born, now an Indian citizen) described communist-era massacres in Poland. Asoka Mehta, closing the meeting, called Stalin 'the apogee and the apotheosis of an epoch' but was doubtful a saner era would follow, pointing to Soviet expansionism and the ongoing war in Korea as evidence a 'hot war' was already underway. - M. R. Masani warned that relaxing vigilance after Stalin's death would be a tragic mistake and criticized Indian press adulation of Stalin - Purshottam Tricumdas accused responsible leaders of abetting communists in propagating a 'Stalin myth' - Prabhakar Padhye and G. D. Parikh downplayed hopes for a major break in Soviet policy after Stalin - Umadevi, Polish-born and now an Indian citizen, described communist massacres in Poland and satellite states - Asoka Mehta closed by calling talk of a 'cold war' misleading, since a hot war was already underway in Korea ### The Tasks Of Our Leadership *By by Adam Adil* Adam Adil's 'The Tasks of Our Leadership' is a rejoinder to J. B. H. Wadia's reply (in an earlier issue) to Sampurnanand's argument that moral education requires either religion or a philosophical substitute. Adil defends religion against Wadia's charge that it is inherently tied to tyranny and human degradation, arguing that Indian religious tradition has historically upheld tolerance and the right to hold one's own philosophy, citing the testimony of the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsiang and the non-Brahmin authorship of major Hindu texts and epics. He argues social and political degradation in India stemmed from economic self-interest, not religion, and invokes Freud, Whitehead, and the Sufi concept of universal religious truth to defend the possibility of a Bergsonian 'open religion' compatible with democratic values. Adil closes by arguing that if religion can be socially useful, as Wadia himself concedes, leaders should not be barred from making use of it. - Rejoinder to J. B. H. Wadia's critique of Sampurnanand's call for religion-based moral education - Argues Indian religious tradition has historically been more tolerant of dissenting philosophy than Wadia suggests, citing Hiuen Tsiang's testimony - Notes major Hindu religious/literary figures (Vyasa, Valmiki, Buddha, Krishna, Kalidas, Bhartrahari) were non-Brahmins, countering charges of Brahminic monopoly - Attributes India's social and political degradation to economic self-interest rather than religion itself - Invokes Freud, Whitehead, and Sufi teaching to frame religion as compatible with 'world loyalty' and democratic tolerance ### To The Editor *By M. Kerkera* A reader's letter from M. Kerkera, an insurance-employees' trade unionist, describes communist lawyers making inroads into white-collar trade unions by offering exploitative free legal services in the Industrial Courts, undermining non-communist lawyers who charge reasonable fees. The letter calls on Freedom First to rally democratic lawyers to work in the Industrial Courts to counter communist influence in the labour movement. - Describes communist lawyers displacing non-communist Industrial Court lawyers by offering free but exploitative legal services - Argues this tactic is part of a broader communist strategy to infiltrate white-collar trade unions - Calls on Freedom First and democratic lawyers to counter this by taking up Industrial Court work even at a financial loss ### Review: The Third Force in China (by Carsun Chang) *By Condensation of Review by Edward Hunter, in the New Leader* A short satirical poem by Richard Armour, reprinted from The New Leader, responds to the news item that Hungary has banned Sherlock Holmes, joking that authoritarian regimes fear detectives because they 'dig up' truth in lands where truth itself has been murdered. - Reprints a Richard Armour poem satirizing Hungary's ban on Sherlock Holmes as fear of truth-seeking under totalitarianism ### With Many Voices A condensed review by Edward Hunter (reprinted from The New Leader) of Carsun Chang's The Third Force in China (Bookman Associates). The review presents Chang, a Chinese liberal exile, as calling for the West to detach China militarily from Soviet Russia and support Formosa and mainland guerrillas. It highlights Chang's warnings to Nehru against India's 'pro-communist stand,' his portrayal of Indian ambassador Sardar Panikkar as either a communist sympathizer or a hypocrite, and his firsthand account of the failed U.S. Marshall mission mediating between Nationalists and Communists. The review credits Chang's book with the most impressive condemnation yet written of India's international policy, while noting the author does not fully resolve his own ambivalence about Chiang Kai-shek's culpability for the Nationalist collapse. - Reviews Carsun Chang's The Third Force in China, which calls for Western support of Formosa and anti-communist guerrillas in China - Highlights Chang's criticism of Nehru's India for adopting what he calls a pro-communist foreign policy stance - Notes Chang's portrayal of Indian ambassador Sardar Panikkar as either genuinely pro-communist or a hypocrite - Describes Chang's firsthand account of the failed U.S. Marshall mission and the Yalta concession of Manchuria to Soviet Russia - The reviewer credits the book as the most impressive condemnation of India's international policy he has read, while noting Chang does not fully resolve Chiang Kai-shek's culpability ### Essay 9 The recurring 'With Many Voices' column collects short excerpts and quotations from Indian and international press (Thought, The Hindustan Times, The Free Press Bulletin, The New Leader, Cross-Roads) on Cold War themes: Stalin's death and Soviet peace claims, communist rhetoric in Bombay, C. Rajagopalachari's defense of retaining English, U.S. Cold War posture under Eisenhower, Aneurin Bevan's remarks on Gandhi/Lenin/Stalin/Churchill, satire of Lysenkoism, criticism of 'Third Force' politics, and government censorship of the word 'satellites.' The page also carries an Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom membership enrollment form and the issue's printer's colophon (edited by Aziz Madni; printed and published by Narie Oliaji at Kanada Press, Bombay). - A curated quotations column drawing on Indian and international press covering Stalin's death, Cold War rhetoric, and Indian foreign policy debates - Includes C. Rajagopalachari's remark defending the retention of English in India - Includes Aneurin Bevan's quip about only discussing 'respectable people' (Gandhi, Lenin, Stalin) versus Churchill - Satirizes 'Lysenko-mania' among Soviet-aligned progressives with a Rumanian peasant joke - Notes the Government of India's directive against using the term 'satellites' in official communications - Carries the issue's ICCF membership enrollment form and printer's colophon --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff013/ ### Summary This is the June 1953 issue (No. 13) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (affiliated to the Congress for Cultural Freedom / World Movement for Cultural Freedom), edited by Aziz Madni. The issue is a Cold War-era anti-communist liberal periodical mixing signed essays, unsigned editorial notes, book reviews, letters, and a closing page of quoted excerpts from the press. Its argumentative center is anti-totalitarianism: warning against communist infiltration of Indian scientific, political, and cultural life, defending the U.N. position on non-forcible repatriation of Korean War prisoners, criticising Indian government (Nehru/Krishna Menon) equivocation towards communist aggression, and more broadly defending liberal, anti-Marxist positions on social reform and civil society. Contributors in this issue include Philip Spratt (on communist penetration of Indian scientific bodies), Prabhakar Padhye (on the history and future of Hindu social reform), and reviewers M. V. Pradhan, R. H., and Z. F., alongside a letter from Sidney Hook criticising Senator McCarthy's methods. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the June 1953 issue (No. 13) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (affiliated to the Congress for Cultural Freedom / World Movement for Cultural Freedom), edited by Aziz Madni. The issue is a Cold War-era anti-communist liberal periodical mixing signed essays, unsigned editorial notes, book reviews, letters, and a closing page of quoted excerpts from the press. Its argumentative center is anti-totalitarianism: warning against communist infiltration of Indian scientific, political, and cultural life, defending the U.N. position on non-forcible repatriation of Korean War prisoners, criticising Indian government (Nehru/Krishna Menon) equivocation towards communist aggression, and more broadly defending liberal, anti-Marxist positions on social reform and civil society. Contributors in this issue include Philip Spratt (on communist penetration of Indian scientific bodies), Prabhakar Padhye (on the history and future of Hindu social reform), and reviewers M. V. Pradhan, R. H., and Z. F., alongside a letter from Sidney Hook criticising Senator McCarthy's methods. ## Essays ### The Scientist's Responsibility *By Philip Spratt* Philip Spratt argues that scientific men, because of their social prestige and their habitual, near-absolute trust in expert authority, are unusually vulnerable to communist recruitment and unusually poor at detecting communist falsehood outside their own specialism. He documents the World Federation of Scientific Workers as a communist-controlled body (citing its 1952 Vienna executive committee membership) and argues the Association of Scientific Workers of India and its journal Vijnan Karmee have drifted into sympathetic coverage of communist positions -- welcoming the first Five Year Plan, protesting Joliot-Curie's dismissal from the French Atomic Energy Commission, and passing resolutions on atomic weapons and peace that mirror Soviet propaganda lines while ignoring Soviet aggression (Korea) and refusing Western-proposed nuclear inspection regimes. He closes by challenging the special claim of Marxist theory to scientific status, arguing communist states subordinate science to politics and use a sophisticated 'social relativity of truth' argument to justify a wholesale falsification of facts, citing the population-crisis debate as a case of real practical danger from this politicized science. - Scientific men carry prestige and influence beyond their specialist competence, which democrats should be concerned about if that influence tilts towards a totalitarian creed. - The World Federation of Scientific Workers is assessed as effectively under communist control based on its 1952 Vienna executive committee composition. - India's Association of Scientific Workers and its journal Vijnan Karmee are shown giving increasing space to communist viewpoints, including qualified criticism of the Five Year Plan for not being socialist enough. - Peace and anti-atomic-weapon resolutions from these bodies are argued to track Soviet propaganda lines exactly, ignoring the 1946 US offer of international atomic inspection that Russia refused. - Scientific men are argued to be especially easy prey for communist recruitment because their professional habit of deferring to authority and trusting expert claims makes them poor judges of political falsehood outside their specialism. - The essay challenges the Marxist claim that communist 'science of history' gives communist states superior authority to direct science, arguing this masks a wholesale license to invent facts for propaganda purposes. - The population question is cited as a concrete case where dogmatic communist theory ('overpopulation is reactionary, nay, cannibalism') creates a practical danger by overriding empirical debate. ### Notes (Congress Bans "Peace" Front; Trojan Camel; Symphonie Pathetique; Preservation of Wild Life; Theft of Names; History's Revenge) An unsigned Notes column covering several short items: the Congress Working Committee's directive banning members from participating in communist-organised 'Peace' front conferences, naming Dr. Kitchlew as the front's leader in India; criticism of the simultaneous election of V. K. Krishna Menon to the Rajya Sabha with Congress support, calling him a likely 'evil genius of Indian political life' and warning it may be a step toward his induction into the Union Cabinet; a commentary on continuing 'meeting Russia half way' rhetoric even after communist aggression in Laos, praising protests from Morocco's Istiqlal Party and Tunisia's Neo-Destour Party against 'the new style imperialism' of the USSR; a call for wildlife conservation legislation in India; an item on the Communist Party organ Cross Roads misusing the names of Mrs. Margaret Ahmadi, Mrs. Kamala Dongerkerry, Dr. Mrs. C. Kar, Mama Varerkar, and Mr. Shantilal Shah to imply support for communist-front bodies without authorisation; and a closing item on reports that Stalin's son was in disgrace in Moscow after trying to release his father's will. - The Congress Working Committee directed members not to join or attend communist-organised 'Peace' front conferences, describing such fronts as designed to further political purposes under cover of promoting peace. - The column criticises the election of V. K. Krishna Menon to the Rajya Sabha with Congress support as a 'Trojan camel', warning it may be a first step toward a Union Cabinet post. - It highlights North African anti-colonial parties (Istiqlal of Morocco, Neo-Destour of Tunisia) condemning Soviet 'communist imperialism' at the U.N. over the invasion of Laos, contrasted with the muted response of the Asian-Arab bloc. - It reports a Ministry of Food and Agriculture resolution (April 4, 1952) on a Central Board for wildlife, prompted by concern over vanishing species such as lion, rhinoceros, tragopan, and cheetah. - It documents the Communist Party organ Cross Roads including named individuals (teachers, doctors) in lists of supposed supporters of a communist-sponsored 'World Congress of Women' without their authorisation, and similar name misuse involving Marathi writer Mama Varerkar and Labour Minister Shantilal Shah. - A closing item recounts press reports that Stalin's son, a Red Army general, fell into disgrace after trying to remove and release his father's will, drawing an ironic parallel to Stalin's earlier suppression of Lenin's testament. ### Godspeed This unsigned piece argues that India's handling of the Korean POW repatriation issue at the U.N. has weakened the moral clarity of the Western position, and that Nehru's and Krishna Menon's statements reveal a 'thoroughly cynical and amoral' willingness to accept forcible repatriation if communist negotiators press hard enough. It reviews the history of the Indian resolution, communist counter-proposals for a neutral repatriation commission, and Krishna Menon's own closing U.N. speech, which the piece reads as confirming that no real screening or right of asylum was intended for unwilling prisoners. It urges the U.N. Command to resist pressure and, if negotiations stall, to unilaterally release the unwilling Korean and Chinese prisoners in South Korea as both a practical and a symbolic act of the West's declared policy of 'Liberation.' - The piece argues India's U.N. intervention on POW repatriation has 'confused, weakened and diluted the stand of the U.N. on a matter of moral principle' without any concession from communist negotiators. - It contrasts the U.N. Command's insistence on a time limit for forcible detention against communist proposals for a repatriation commission staffed by two Soviet satellites and three neutrals. - Nehru's January 17, 1953 statement to the Congress Party session is quoted as denying voluntary repatriation, denying prisoners' right to be asked their wishes, and denying any right of asylum for POWs. - Krishna Menon's closing U.N. speech is read as confirming there would be no interrogation or 'screening' process to separate willing from unwilling returnees. - The piece proposes that, if talks stall, the U.N. Command should unilaterally set at large in South Korea those Korean and Chinese prisoners unwilling to be repatriated, framing this as consistent with the policy of Liberation and the principle that freedom is indivisible. - It expresses sympathy for President Syngman Rhee and the Republic of Korea against what it calls the 'continued vivisection of their country.' ### Release The Prisoners A short unsigned notice describes a tea party and informal discussion the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom held with Adlai Stevenson during his brief visit to Bombay on May 11, welcomed by M. R. Masani, with fifty members and friends present including D. K. Kunte, Shantilal Shah, N. J. Wadia, John Matthai, Asoka Mehta, J. R. D. Tata, and A. D. Gorwala. The substantive discussion is noted as off-the-record and not shared with readers. - The Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom was the only Bombay group Adlai Stevenson found time to meet during his visit. - M. R. Masani welcomed Stevenson on the Committee's behalf; the discussion was frank and cordial but kept off-the-record. - Notable attendees included D. K. Kunte (Speaker, Bombay Legislative Assembly), Shantilal Shah, N. J. Wadia, John Matthai, Asoka Mehta, J. R. D. Tata, and A. D. Gorwala. ### Adlai Stevenson Meets I.C.C.F. Prabhakar Padhye argues that India's political-freedom and social-reform movements historically severed themselves from each other, to the detriment of both. He traces this to opposite errors: freedom-fighters like Tilak subordinated reform issues (e.g., opposing the Maratha Kshatriya community's right to wear the sacred thread) to avoid alienating orthodox political allies, while social reformers of the era wrongly believed reform would automatically follow from political freedom under a providential British-Indian imperial relationship, making them politically loyalist and estranging them from independence campaigners who saw reform as a distraction. Padhye then turns to a new, parallel danger: today's champions of economic equality similarly assume social reform will automatically follow economic redistribution, ignoring the deep, caste-rooted nature of Indian social inequality -- a problem so entrenched that even a formally casteless religion like Islam has failed to escape it in India. He praises Justice P. B. Gajendragadkar's presidential address to the recent Poona Social Reforms Conference for insisting that social equality cannot be reduced to economic uplift, while gently criticizing Gajendragadkar's appeal to 'progressive rationalism' as an incoherent and insufficiently examined concept, contrasting it with the 'humanist rationalism' exemplified (imperfectly) by the Agarkarian school of Maharashtra reform, which understood reason as in service of, but not a substitute for, humane values. - Padhye argues Indian freedom-fighters and social reformers made mirror-image errors: reformers subordinated to politics, or freedom subordinated to reform, rather than the two being seen as organically linked. - Tilak is cited as an example of a freedom-fighter who avoided challenging orthodox social practice (the sacred-thread controversy) so as not to alienate his political base. - Early social reformers ('the Liberals') are described as believing reform would automatically follow political freedom, framing British rule as providential and favouring continued Commonwealth ties rather than full independence -- a position the nationalist 'Extremists' saw as strengthening political servitude. - Padhye warns that today's champions of economic equality repeat the earlier reformers' mistake by assuming economic redistribution alone will dissolve caste-based social inequality. - He cites the failure of a 'casteless' religion like Islam to eliminate caste traces among Indian converts as evidence of how entrenched the caste system is. - He praises Justice P. B. Gajendragadkar's Poona Social Reforms Conference address for insisting mere economic upliftment will not resolve caste-based social inequality, and for giving a 'many-sided' agenda covering family planning, prohibition, and bhoodan. - Padhye criticises Gajendragadkar's call for 'progressive rationalism' as internally incoherent, arguing reason alone cannot supply the values needed for reform and that 'humanist rationalism' -- as embodied imperfectly by Maharashtra's Agarkarian reform school -- is the better frame. ### The Role Of Social Reform *By Prabhakar Padhye* An unsigned news roundup ('C.C.F. News') on Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom and Congress for Cultural Freedom activities: a send-off for Gujarati playwright Adi Marzban departing on a theatre-production scholarship to Europe and the U.S.; a new monthly English-language review of the Congress to be launched from September, edited jointly by Stephen Spender and Irving Kristol from the British Society for Cultural Freedom's offices; sponsorship, with the Mozarteum in Salzburg, of the first international students' orchestra under conductor Igor Markevitch; the Berlin Kongress fur die Freiheit der Kultur office's refugee-counselling and literature-distribution work in the Soviet Zone (156 refugees contacted, tens of thousands of pamphlets and newspapers distributed); and the March 1953 launch of Cuadernos, the Congress's new Spanish-language quarterly for Latin America and Spain. - The Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom and the Theatre Centre gave a send-off to Gujarati playwright Adi Marzban, departing on a scholarship to study theatre production in Europe and the U.S. - Stephen Spender and Irving Kristol will jointly edit a new monthly English-language review of the Congress for Cultural Freedom starting in September. - The Congress is sponsoring, with Salzburg's Mozarteum, the first international students' orchestra, to be trained under conductor Igor Markevitch and to tour Austria. - The Berlin affiliate Kongress fur die Freiheit der Kultur reports contacting 156 Soviet Zone refugees and distributing 285 books, ~49,000 pamphlets, ~12,000 illustrated reviews, and over 14,500 newspapers by mid-March 1953, plus a book drive across 84 refugee camps. - March 1, 1953 saw the launch of Cuadernos, the Congress's Spanish-language quarterly, with 6,000 copies distributed in Latin America and 2,000 mailed to Spain and Spanish residents in Europe and the U.S. ### C.C.F. News (Bon Voyage to Playwright; A New Trans-Atlantic Alliance; They Shall Have Music; Berlin Confreres Contact Refugees; Cuadernos Begins Publication) The Review section contains three short pieces. M. V. Pradhan reviews Morris L. Ernst and David Loth's 'Report on the American Communist' (Henry Holt, 1952), praising its case-study method (300 ex-communists) for showing that American communists are typically drawn from comfortable backgrounds, join between ages 18-23 out of a 'poverty of the spirit,' and leave the Party for psychological rather than specific political reasons; Pradhan questions the book's applicability to India, arguing that in an underdeveloped country the lure of communism among the unemployed middle class stems more from inadequate economic opportunity than personal psychological inadequacy, and that balanced economic development matters more than psychological profiling for combating communism there. 'R. H.' reviews Martin Buber's 'Eclipse of God' (Gollancz, 1953), summarizing Buber's argument that a strand of modern thought (starting with an unpublished Kantian proposition) has reduced God to a 'moral condition within us,' and Buber's critique of Sartre's and Heidegger's responses to Nietzsche's 'death of God,' concluding the book aims high but only partly succeeds in communicating its ideas. 'Z. F.' reviews a collection of Gandhi-Jamnalal Bajaj letters, 'To A Gandhian Capitalist' (Hind Books), describing Bajaj as a close Gandhi associate since 1919 whose correspondence shows how the Trusteeship ideal was lived out, with a foreword by Jawaharlal Nehru and a note by Kaka Kalelkar. - M. V. Pradhan reviews Ernst and Loth's 'Report on the American Communist,' noting its finding that American Communist Party rank-and-file typically join young (18-23) from comfortable backgrounds out of psychological rather than economic 'poverty,' and leave for psychological rather than doctrinal reasons. - Pradhan argues the Report's psychological framework is less applicable to India, where the lure of communism among the unemployed urban/rural middle-class intelligentsia stems more from an inadequate economic system than personal psychological inadequacy. - 'R. H.' reviews Martin Buber's 'Eclipse of God,' tracing Buber's argument from an unpublished Kantian proposition ('God is not external substance, but only a moral condition within us') through critiques of Sartre and Heidegger's responses to the Nietzschean 'death of God.' - 'Z. F.' reviews a volume of letters between Gandhi and Jamnalal Bajaj ('To A Gandhian Capitalist'), describing Bajaj as living out Gandhi's Trusteeship theory, with the book carrying a foreword by Nehru and a note by Kaka Kalelkar. ### Review: Report on the American Communist *By M. V. Pradhan* Two letters to the editor. Sidney Hook, writing from New York, argues Senator McCarthy is doing incalculable harm to America's international reputation and, more significantly, has shifted from investigating active communists to hounding former communists now loyally defending liberty, calling for a national movement to retire McCarthy from public life. A second letter, signed 'B.H.,' responds to an earlier Freedom First review of General Willoughby's book on Soviet spy Richard Sorge, arguing the reviewer overlooked the role of Guenther Stein -- then 'Special European Correspondent' of The Hindustan Times -- as a member of the Sorge spy ring, quoting the book's detailed claims about Stein's espionage activity and code-name identification by Soviet Army Intelligence, and questioning whether the Hindustan Times's editors were aware of whom they employed. - Sidney Hook's letter argues Senator McCarthy has become a liability to American democracy's international reputation and has turned to hounding reformed ex-communists rather than investigating actual threats. - Hook calls for organizing 'a national movement of men and women of all political parties' to retire McCarthy from public life. - The second letter (B.H.) argues a prior Freedom First review of a book on Soviet spy Richard Sorge overlooked Guenther Stein's role in the espionage ring. - B.H. identifies Guenther Stein as the 'Special European Correspondent' of The Hindustan Times at the time of writing, and quotes the reviewed book's claims that Stein was a top-level ring member known to Soviet Army Intelligence. - The letter questions whether Hindustan Times editors were aware of Stein's background when they engaged him as correspondent. ### Review: Eclipse of God *By R. H.* The closing page, 'With Many Voices' (epigraph from Tennyson), is a compilation of short quoted excerpts from other newspapers and commentators on current affairs in May 1953: on Asian versus American attitudes to communism, on Middle East neutrality, on the proposed five-power peace pact as a Russian device, on journalism and public authority (Sir Christopher Chancellor), on Sri Prakasa's warning to the middle class about the 'tidal wave of communism,' on Jayaprakash Narayan's bhoodan movement remarks, on the alleged Soviet patronage behind Joliot-Curie, Mrs. Felton, Sgr. Nenni, and Dr. Kitchlew, on Nehru's rejection of a joint India-Pakistan defence arrangement, on the consequences of a French defeat in Indo-China, and a closing reflection invoking Zamyatin's novel 'We' on the predictability of modern authoritarian elections. - The page compiles short excerpts from The National Standard, New Leader, The Eastern Economist, Thought, The Hindustan Times, and The Statesman (all dated May 1953) on communism, neutrality, and Cold War politics. - One excerpt (Thought, May 2, 1953) groups Joliot-Curie, Mrs. Felton, Sgr. Nenni, and Dr. Kitchlew together as recipients of 'Russian patronage in one form or another.' - An excerpt from The Hindustan Times (May 18, 1953) reports Jayaprakash Narayan noting that all political parties except the communists had taken up the bhoodan yajna movement. - An excerpt reports Nehru rejecting the idea of a joint India-Pakistan defence arrangement, asking against whom such an alliance would be directed. - The page closes with a reference to the novel 'We' by 'an ex-Russian supporter of the Bolshevik Revolution' (i.e., Zamyatin), comparing Chinese political predictability unfavourably to the imagined primitiveness of 'ancient' democratic uncertainty. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff014/ ### Summary This is the July 1953 issue (No. 14) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, published in Bombay and affiliated with the Congress for Cultural Freedom. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with P. Kodanda Rao's essay "Bilingualism For India," arguing against treating English as a "foreign" language and for a policy of vertical bilingualism (regional language plus English) in Indian education and administration, contra views attributed to P. V. Kane and in partial agreement with C. Rajagopalachari. This is followed by an unsigned "Notes" column covering the East German and Czechoslovak workers' riots, criticism of Nehru's stance on China and Russia, the Copenhagen Women's Congress, King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia, and Health Minister Rajkumari Amrit Kaur's praise of Soviet medicine. A long unsigned editorial, "Cutting The Gordian Knot," defends Syngman Rhee's position on Korean POW repatriation against U.N./Eisenhower policy. Bertram D.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the July 1953 issue (No. 14) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, published in Bombay and affiliated with the Congress for Cultural Freedom. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with P. Kodanda Rao's essay "Bilingualism For India," arguing against treating English as a "foreign" language and for a policy of vertical bilingualism (regional language plus English) in Indian education and administration, contra views attributed to P. V. Kane and in partial agreement with C. Rajagopalachari. This is followed by an unsigned "Notes" column covering the East German and Czechoslovak workers' riots, criticism of Nehru's stance on China and Russia, the Copenhagen Women's Congress, King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia, and Health Minister Rajkumari Amrit Kaur's praise of Soviet medicine. A long unsigned editorial, "Cutting The Gordian Knot," defends Syngman Rhee's position on Korean POW repatriation against U.N./Eisenhower policy. Bertram D. Wolfe contributes a personal memoir, "Memories of Yusuf Meherally," marking the third anniversary of Meherally's death and recalling their friendship in the late 1940s, Meherally's relationships with Jinnah and Gandhi, and his softened view of British rule over time. An unsigned piece, "Is Krishna Menon Pro-Communist?", lays out V. K. Krishna Menon's political record (Theosophist beginnings, India League, ties to British Communist-front figures, wartime line-shifts, and U.N. conduct) inviting the reader to judge for themselves. Philip Spratt reviews James Burnham's book Containment or Liberation? under the title "Containment Or Liberation?", endorsing Burnham's argument that mere containment cannot defeat Soviet expansionism and that a political offensive of liberation is required. A book review section follows: Prabhakar Padhye reviews George Fischer's Soviet Opposition to Stalin (on the Vlasov movement and Soviet "inertness"), and an author identified only as "R.H." reviews John Steinbeck's East of Eden. A "Book Notes" column previews forthcoming titles on Soviet affairs (works by Czeslaw Milosz, Ignazio Silone, Robert Magidoff, Isaac Deutscher, Marc Slonim, Hugh Seton-Watson, and a Nineteenth Congress documents volume from Frederick A. Praeger). The issue closes with a "To The Editor" letters section (on communist-front organisations proscribed by the British Labour Party, and on a prior review of Perspectives), a "C.C.F. News" section reporting a solidarity message to Berlin's mayor Ernst Reuter and recent Indian Committee talks by Herbert Passin, Joseph Murumbi, and Dnyaneshwar Nadkarni, and a closing page of press quotations titled "With Many Voices" on Cold War and Korea themes. ## Essays ### Bilingualism For India *By by P. Kodanda Rao* P. Kodanda Rao argues that English should not be regarded as a "foreign" language disqualified from a permanent role in Indian public life, contending that no language has an inherent nationality and that communicational utility, not historicity, should guide India's language policy. He proposes "vertical bilingualism": the regional language for arts subjects and daily administration, English for sciences, technology, higher education, and international purposes, with every pupil required to gain a working knowledge of both. - Responds to P. V. Kane's view (given in a Presidential Address at the Indian Languages Development Conference, Poona) that retaining English as official/university language indefinitely offends India's self-respect. - Cites C. Rajagopalachari's public position (Madura, 23 March 1953) that English is a gift 'given us by our Goddess Saraswati' and should be retained. - Argues 'foreign' is a political, not linguistic, concept and that no language belongs to a nationality, religion, or race. - Claims Urdu is not intrinsically the language of Muslims, since millions of Muslims do not speak it and millions of non-Muslims do. - Proposes vertical bilingualism: regional language for arts and lower administration, English for sciences/technology and higher/international administration. - Argues English delivers more practical economic value to ordinary workers than Hindi does, since more current knowledge circulates in English. - Uses the Switzerland/England-America contrast to argue common language is not required for national unity, but that English would serve unity better than any alternative if one were needed. ### Notes (Riots in Slave Land; Ignoring Facts; The Copenhagen Fiasco; Not the Satellite Way; Physician, Heal Thyself) An unsigned editorial 'Notes' column covers several current-affairs items: the East German and Czechoslovak workers' riots as a rebuke to Soviet propaganda; criticism of Nehru's televised remarks on China and Russia as inconsistent with his own recent warnings about border security; the Copenhagen 'World Congress of Democratic Women' turned embarrassing by the defection of Bulgarian delegate Sophie Ivanenko; a note distinguishing King Norodom Sihanouk's self-exile strategy from a pro-satellite path; and a sharp rebuke of Health Minister Rajkumari Amrit Kaur for praising Soviet medicine and birth-control policy uncritically. - The East German/Czechoslovak riots are read as exposing the falsity of Soviet propaganda about worker contentment. - Nehru is criticized for contradicting his own recent warnings about border infiltration by claiming China and Russia now desire peace. - The Copenhagen Women's Congress is mocked as backfiring when a Bulgarian delegate, Sophie Ivanenko, defected to freedom. - Sihanouk's flight to Bangkok and return is praised as distinct from following 'the satellite way' of Ho Chi Minh. - Rajkumari Amrit Kaur is criticized for praising Soviet medicine and approving of Soviet attitudes to birth control without scrutinizing Soviet 'statistics' or intellectuals' 'confessions.' ### Cutting The Gordian Knot An unsigned editorial, 'Cutting The Gordian Knot,' takes the side of South Korean President Syngman Rhee in his conflict with the U.N. and the Eisenhower administration over the terms of the Korean armistice, particularly the treatment of prisoners of war. It recounts the history of the U.N. resolution recognizing Rhee's government, the outbreak of the war, and the dispute over voluntary versus enforced repatriation of POWs, defending Rhee's unilateral release of prisoners as consistent with the principle of voluntary repatriation that the U.N. itself had endorsed. The piece criticizes the U.N.'s compromise as a betrayal of Korean interests under pressure from weaker member states and invokes the 1935 Abyssinia crisis as a cautionary historical parallel. - Frames the Korean crisis as a tragedy of 'good versus good' rather than good versus evil, given the rift between South Korea and its U.N. allies. - Defends Syngman Rhee's release of prisoners as consistent with the voluntary-repatriation principle the U.N. itself had proposed. - Criticizes President Eisenhower's letter to Rhee and the U.N.'s armistice terms as effectively sacrificing Korean interests for a show of Western solidarity. - Notes that General James Van Fleet conceded the armistice terms served U.S. rather than Korean interests, and that 'President Rhee had no alternative.' - Criticizes Indian commentators (naming Dr. Radhakrishnan) for condemning Rhee while not applying the same standard to Sheikh Abdullah's stance on Kashmir. - Draws an analogy to the League of Nations' failure over Abyssinia in 1935 as a precedent for the danger of appeasement. ### Memories Of Yusuf Meherally *By by Bertram D. Wolfe* Bertram D. Wolfe, author of Three Who Made A Revolution, offers a personal memoir on the third anniversary of Yusuf Meherally's death. He recalls first meeting Meherally in 1930 at V. F. Calverton's home, and reconnecting with him in New York in the late 1940s when Meherally, in poor health, was seeking to reach American contacts via Louis Fischer. Wolfe describes Meherally's shift over time from bitter condemnation of British rule to a more balanced appreciation of British contributions to Indian civil liberties, his relationships with Mohammed Ali Jinnah (under whom he read law) and Mahatma Gandhi (whom he loved as a son loves a father), his gift to Wolfe of a Gandhi birthday tribute book, and Wolfe's final parting from him before Meherally's premature death from heart failure. - Wolfe first met Meherally in 1930 at V. F. Calverton's home in a gathering arranged to introduce him to American writers. - Reunited with Meherally in New York in 1946/47, when Meherally, suffering from a bad heart, was still working tirelessly for his causes. - Meherally's attitude toward British rule softened dramatically after independence, moving from bitterness to gratitude for British contributions to civil liberties. - Meherally spoke of his early legal training and relationship with Mohammed Ali Jinnah, and his filial devotion to Mahatma Gandhi despite disagreements over industrialization and socialism. - Meherally gave Wolfe a limited-edition Gandhi 75th-birthday tribute book as a gift, which Wolfe calls his most cherished book. - Wolfe recounts Meherally's excessive baggage of books and manuscripts when returning to India, symbolic of his devotion to sharing culture and ideas. - Meherally died of heart failure shortly after returning to India, having refused Wolfe's advice to slow down his pace of political work. ### Is Krishna Menon Pro-Communist? *By (Contributed)* An unsigned article, 'Is Krishna Menon Pro-Communist?', surveys V. K. Krishna Menon's political record following his election to Parliament and speculation about a Cabinet post, in light of Jayaprakash Narayan's earlier warning about communists in government. It traces Menon's trajectory from Theosophist follower of Annie Besant and founder of the India League (initially attacked by Communists as reactionary) through the Comintern's 1935 United Front shift, his wartime 'Imperialist War' to 'People's War' line changes, his role at the U.N. General Assembly delegations of 1947 and 1952, and his shifting rhetoric toward the U.S., Soviet Union, and China, concluding by inviting readers to judge for themselves whether he is pro-communist. - Opens by invoking Jayaprakash Narayan's earlier warning that any country admitting a communist into its Cabinet endangers its security. - Traces Menon's origin as a Theosophist follower of Annie Besant and founder of the India League, initially opposed by Communists. - Describes the 1935 Comintern United Front shift that brought communist figures like Reginald Bridgeman and Ben Bradley onto the India League's Executive Committee. - Notes Menon's defiance of the British Labour Party's instruction to dissociate from United Front activities, costing him Labour candidacies in St. Pancras and Dundee. - Details Menon's wartime shift from the 'Imperialist War' to 'People's War' line and the India League's refusal to endorse Gandhi's Quit India movement, which triggered a revolt among Indian students in the U.K. - Describes his 1947 U.N. delegation conduct, including association with the American Negro Congress, and his 1952 POW resolution and subsequent statements blaming the U.S. for the breakdown while Vyshinsky called him an 'honest man.' ### Containment Or Liberation? *By by Philip Spratt* Philip Spratt reviews James Burnham's book Containment or Liberation? (The John Day Co., New York, 1953), defending Burnham against charges of alarmism and endorsing his central thesis that containment cannot succeed as a long-term Cold War policy because the Soviet empire's scale relative to the 'containing' power makes voluntary Soviet retreat implausible. Spratt summarizes Burnham's argument that the world's choice is between submission, coexistence, or destruction of Soviet power, that coexistence is impossible because the Soviets are not satisfied with it, and that a political offensive aimed at liberation is necessary, focused on Europe rather than Asia. Spratt notes Stalin's recent death does not change Burnham's basic argument but makes an offensive policy more feasible. - Defends Burnham against Orwell's and others' charge of alarmism, arguing Burnham has correctly grasped the significance of the era's events. - Summarizes Burnham's three-way policy choice for the free world regarding the Soviet empire: submit, coexist, or attack and destroy. - Cites Burnham's argument that containment fails because the Soviet empire (13 million sq. miles, 800 million people) vastly outweighs the containing power (3 million sq. miles, 150 million people). - Notes Burnham's point that containment is psychologically weak because it cedes moral high ground without persuading observers who care primarily 'who is going to win.' - Highlights Burnham's proposed main line of attack against Russia through Europe rather than the Far East, given that European Russia is the Soviet bloc's core. - Observes that Stalin's death, occurring after Burnham wrote the book, does not alter the book's basic argument but strengthens the practical case for an offensive. ### Review: Soviet Opposition to Stalin (George Fischer) *By Prabhakar Padhye* Prabhakar Padhye reviews George Fischer's Soviet Opposition to Stalin (Russian Research Centre Studies, Harvard University Press), a scholarly study of the Vlasov movement, the little-known episode in which Soviet POWs and defecting Red Army officers under General Vlasov attempted to organize a Russian Liberation Movement against Stalin during World War II. Padhye praises Fischer's rigor and his central finding that mass Soviet surrenders early in the war stemmed not from anti-Stalin sentiment but from the collapse of Soviet administrative order, and highlights Fischer's four-part breakdown of native Soviet opposition (rejection of terror, residual Bolshevik idealism, nationalism, and shared authoritarian political habits with the regime itself). - Fischer's book is a case study of the Vlasov movement, the attempt by defecting Soviet officers to organize a Russian Liberation Movement during the German invasion. - Fischer attributes the initial mass Soviet surrenders to administrative 'inertness' and chaos rather than anti-Stalin sentiment. - Fischer identifies four components of Soviet opposition to Stalin: rejection of terror/police state; residual humanitarian, anticapitalist Bolshevik idealism; nationalism; and shared authoritarian political mores with the regime. - Padhye credits Fischer for cautioning Americans against overestimating or oversimplifying the potential of Soviet internal opposition. - Padhye frames the book as important for understanding both Soviet psychology and the practical conduct of anti-Soviet strategy. ### East of Eden (review of John Steinbeck novel) *By R.H.* A reviewer identified as 'R.H.' reviews John Steinbeck's East of Eden (William Heinemann Ltd., London, 1953), reading the novel as an explicit rejection of the moral relativism and determinism sometimes associated with Steinbeck's earlier hardboiled realism. The review frames the novel's three-generation, Cain-Abel-structured narrative around Steinbeck's thesis that the deepest terror a child can experience is not being loved, and that rejection breeds anger, revenge, and guilt. The reviewer highlights the Chinese servant Lee's articulation, via the Hebrew word 'Timshel' ('Thou mayest'), of the novel's universal moral point, and closes by framing the book's ultimate merit as resting on whether its fable truly carries its thesis or merely moralizes. - Reads East of Eden as an explicit rejection of moral relativism and determinism found in Steinbeck's earlier work. - Identifies the novel's core thesis: 'The greatest terror a child can have is that he is not loved, and rejection is the hell he fears.' - Notes the Biblical Abel-Cain relationship symbolized across three generations via a childish gift offered by each brother to the father. - Highlights the character Lee, a 'plausible learned Chinese,' as the vehicle for the novel's universal religious point via the Hebrew word 'Timshel' ('Thou mayest'). - Concludes the novel's ultimate success depends on whether the moral is implicit in the story or merely imposed upon it. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff016/ ### Summary This is the September 1953 issue (No. 16) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (ICCF), affiliated to the Congress for Cultural Freedom. The issue opens with an editorial, "Another Landmark," previewing the Committee's second Annual General Meeting to be held in Madras that September, inaugurated by C. Rajagopalachari. A "Notes" section comments on Indian radio policy (arguing for an autonomous BBC-style broadcasting corporation and cautiously weighing commercial broadcasting), on the fall of Mossadegh in Iran as a defeat for Soviet expansionism, on the restoration of D. F. Karaka's passport, on Communist-organised "citizens' meetings" as anti-democratic fronts, on a polio outbreak overshadowing a Communist youth festival in Bucharest, and on "British Defeatism"—criticising Labour figures like Morgan Phillips and Clement Attlee for a double standard that admits Communist China's legitimacy while condemning Franco's Spain.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the September 1953 issue (No. 16) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (ICCF), affiliated to the Congress for Cultural Freedom. The issue opens with an editorial, "Another Landmark," previewing the Committee's second Annual General Meeting to be held in Madras that September, inaugurated by C. Rajagopalachari. A "Notes" section comments on Indian radio policy (arguing for an autonomous BBC-style broadcasting corporation and cautiously weighing commercial broadcasting), on the fall of Mossadegh in Iran as a defeat for Soviet expansionism, on the restoration of D. F. Karaka's passport, on Communist-organised "citizens' meetings" as anti-democratic fronts, on a polio outbreak overshadowing a Communist youth festival in Bucharest, and on "British Defeatism"—criticising Labour figures like Morgan Phillips and Clement Attlee for a double standard that admits Communist China's legitimacy while condemning Franco's Spain. Francois Bondy, Publications Director of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, reports at length on the Hamburg Congress on Science and Freedom (July 1953), surveying debates among scientists (Sydney Hook, James Franck, Michael Polanyi, Friedrich Hayek and others) on the responsibilities of scientists under totalitarianism, the corruption of Soviet science by Lyssenkoism, and the need for an international scientific solidarity. The issue reprints a notable exchange, "The Universality of Human Values," between the British Labour MP R. H. S. Crossman and M. R. Masani, debating whether Communism remains a "liberative force" in Asia and Africa and whether parliamentary democracy is suited to post-colonial societies; a brief unsigned review (by "R.H.") of Sartre's play Lucifer and the Lord follows. The bulk of the back half is the ICCF's own Annual Report ("A Year of Achievement," May 1952–August 1953), detailing the Committee's founding meeting, office-bearers, the launch of Freedom First itself, its programme of talks and receptions (including one for Adlai Stevenson), its Paris Exposition delegation, its press and literature-distribution activities, and current membership figures (495 members). The issue closes with a "With Many Voices" column of press quotations on current affairs and a membership solicitation ad listing the Committee's contributors. ## Essays ### Another Landmark An unsigned editorial announcing the second Annual General Meeting of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, to be held in Madras in September 1953. It recaps the founding of the Committee at the 1951 Indian Congress for Cultural Freedom in Bombay, the resulting Declaration on Cultural Freedom, and the Committee's activities since (publishing Freedom First, organising regional groups in Madras, Delhi, Patna, Bangalore, Nagpur and Poona). It details the Madras conference programme: seminars on "Why Freedom First?", "The Writer's Responsibility," and "Contemporary Trends in Music and Fine Arts"; a cultural show; and a public rally presided over by C. Subramaniam with C. Rajagopalachari inaugurating. - Announces the ICCF's second Annual General Meeting, Madras, September 12-13, 1953 - C. Rajagopalachari (Chief Minister of Madras) to inaugurate the conference - Recaps the 1951 Bombay Congress for Cultural Freedom and the resulting Declaration on Cultural Freedom - Lists existing regional groups: Madras, Delhi, Patna, Bangalore, Nagpur, Poona - Details conference programme: seminars, cultural show, public rally ### Notes (Autonomy For Radio; Commercial Broadcasts?; Iran Saved; The Right to Travel; Citizens' Meetings; Polio in Bucharest; British Defeatism) A set of unsigned short editorial notes on current affairs. "Autonomy For Radio" argues for a BBC-style autonomous broadcasting corporation for All India Radio, criticising nepotism, government propaganda and dull programming, and cautiously weighing the case for commercial/sponsored broadcasting on the U.S. model. "Iran Saved" celebrates the fall of Mohammad Mossadegh as a popular repudiation of Soviet-orbit drift, and criticises sections of the Indian press for having lionised him. "The Right to Travel" welcomes the restoration of journalist D. F. Karaka's passport. "Citizens' Meetings" warns that Communist-organised "peace" meetings after the Korean armistice are astroturfed fronts. "Polio in Bucharest" reports a polio epidemic concealed during a Communist youth festival. "British Defeatism" criticises British Labour figures (Morgan Phillips, Clement Attlee) for a double standard admitting Communist China to legitimacy while opposing Franco's Spain, framing this as the same neutralism that runs through the Crossman-Masani exchange reprinted later in the issue. - Advocates an autonomous, BBC-style broadcasting corporation to replace All India Radio's current governance - Weighs the pros and cons of commercial/sponsored radio broadcasting - Frames the fall of Mossadegh in Iran as a victory against Soviet influence and criticises Indian press coverage that had favoured him - Welcomes restoration of D. F. Karaka's passport as vindication of civil liberty - Describes Communist 'citizens' meetings' as astroturfed anti-democratic fronts following the Korean armistice - Reports a polio epidemic in Bucharest during a Communist-sponsored youth festival - Criticises British Labour figures for a double standard between Communist and fascist dictatorships ### Science And Freedom *By Francois Bondy* Francois Bondy, Publications Director of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, reports on the Conference on Science and Freedom held in Hamburg (July 23-26, 1953) under the auspices of the Congress and Hamburg University. One hundred and twenty scientists from nineteen countries -- including Lisa Meitner, James Franck, Arthur Compton, Max von Laue, Alexander Weissberg-Cybulski, and the geneticist Dobzhansky -- debated the rights, responsibilities and freedoms of scientists under totalitarianism. Sydney Hook argued scientific freedom is a positive value entailing the freedom of the scientist as citizen. German scientists (Jores, Kuhn) gave harrowing accounts of Nazi-era complicity and human experimentation, framing the conference's central tension between scientific 'neutrality' and civic responsibility. Geneticists including Dobzhansky and Nachtsheim documented the damage done to Soviet science by Lysenkoism. The report closes on debates about whether scientists are especially susceptible to totalitarian ideology (Theodor Litt, Helmut Plessner, Raymond Aron), Friedrich Hayek's argument that scientific freedom rests on the 'omnipresence of ignorance' rather than a search for final truth, and Michael Polanyi's comparison of scientific freedom to the free market, concluding with a proposal by Nicolas Nabokov for a permanent International Secretariat of scientists. - Reports on the Hamburg Congress on Science and Freedom, July 23-26, 1953, organised by the Congress for Cultural Freedom and Hamburg University - 120 scientists from 19 countries attended, including several who had suffered directly under Nazi or Soviet rule - Sydney Hook argued scientific freedom is inseparable from the scientist's freedom as a citizen: 'Liberty is contagious and revolutionary' - German scientists gave first-hand accounts of Nazi-era complicity in human experimentation, raising the question of scientists' civic responsibility versus claimed 'neutrality' - Geneticists documented how Lysenkoism and Mitschurinism devastated Soviet genetics and agricultural science - Friedrich Hayek argued the best case for scientific freedom lies in the 'omnipresence of ignorance,' not the search for final truth - Michael Polanyi compared scientific freedom to the free market as an autonomous social institution - Nicolas Nabokov proposed a permanent International Secretariat of scientists to continue the Congress's work ### The Universality Of Human Values *By R. H. S. Crossman, M.P. / M. R. Masani* R. H. S. Crossman's contribution to a reprinted exchange (originally in Socialist Commentary) responding to M. R. Masani's Freedom First article "The Universality of Human Values" (November 1952). Crossman defends his view that communism can still be a "liberative force" outside Europe where the democratic revolution -- land redistribution, the break-up of feudal power -- has not yet occurred, arguing that parliamentary democracy, suited to societies where political and social freedom is already established, may be inadequate or even an obstacle to rapid social change in places like the Arab world or parts of Asia. He maintains that American policy should not prop up colonial or client regimes (Bao Dai, Chiang Kai-shek, Syngman Rhee) to fill a 'political vacuum' left by decolonisation, and that the U.S. and France would be wiser to recognise Ho Chi Minh's government than continue the war in Indo-China. - Defends the claim that communism can be a 'liberative force' outside Europe and North America, where the democratic revolution has not yet taken place - Argues parliamentary institutions are suited only to societies where political, civil and social freedom are already established - Cites Britain's Irish troubles (1910-14) and Henry VIII's break with the Church as examples where parliamentary process would have stalled necessary change - Opposes American support for Bao Dai, Chiang Kai-shek and Syngman Rhee as propping up a 'political vacuum' left by decolonisation - Argues the U.S. and France should recognise Ho Chi Minh's regime rather than continue the Indo-China war ### Review: Lucifer And The Lord (by Jean-Paul Sartre) *By R.H.* M. R. Masani's reply to Crossman in the same reprinted exchange, rebutting Crossman's five points. Masani argues that no free Asian country is more reactionary by Crossman's own test than the Soviet or Chinese dictatorships, accuses Crossman of unknowingly reproducing the Leninist 'dictatorship of the proletariat' argument, and rejects the caricature of the 'young Arab' who must choose between a corrupt social order and Marxism-Leninism, citing Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia and Asoka Mehta as examples of Asians pursuing social change while resisting Soviet and Chinese imperialism. He criticises Crossman's proposal to recognise Ho Chi Minh's Indo-Chinese regime as legitimising a Soviet-trained agent, and closes by tracing what he sees as Crossman's confusion to the 'basic fallacy of neutralism.' - Argues no free Asian democracy is, by Crossman's own test, more reactionary than the Soviet or Chinese dictatorships - Accuses Crossman of unwittingly endorsing the Leninist concept of the 'dictatorship of the proletariat' - Cites Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia and Asoka Mehta as Asians who pursue social change while resisting Soviet/Chinese imperialism, rejecting Crossman's caricature of a 'young Arab' with only two choices - Criticises Ho Chi Minh as a Soviet-trained agent whose recognition would not constitute liberation - Attributes Crossman's position to the 'basic fallacy of neutralism', contrasting it with Crossman's earlier editorship of The God That Failed ### A Year Of Achievement — Annual Report of ICCF: May 1952 - August 1953 An unsigned review, initialled "R.H.," of Jean-Paul Sartre's play Lucifer and the Lord (Hamish Hamilton, 1952). The reviewer summarises Sartre's own account of the play's premise -- that if God exists, Good and Evil are the same, since the protagonist Goetz achieves identical destructive results whether he acts evilly or benevolently -- and judges the play 'rambling and ill-constructed,' with Goetz's character 'totally incoherent' after the first act. The review argues Sartre 'wants to have it both ways' regarding Goetz's belief in God, producing 'sheer chaos,' and questions why Goetz's rejection of God should lead him to throw in his lot with the peasants' revolutionary army, concluding that Sartre's assumed causal link between atheism and social revolution is not as ironclad as the play wants to suggest. - Reviews Sartre's play Lucifer and the Lord, set during the 16th-century German peasants' uprising - Summarises Sartre's stated premise: if God exists, Good and Evil produce identical results in the world - Judges the play 'rambling and ill-constructed' with an incoherent central character - Argues Sartre inconsistently wants Goetz to both believe and not believe in God - Questions the assumed causal connection in the play between atheism and social revolution ### With Many Voices The Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's Annual Report, 'A Year of Achievement,' covering May 1952 to August 1953. It records the first Annual General Meeting (Bombay, April 1952, chaired by Jayaprakash Narayan), the election of the Executive Committee (M. R. Masani, Asoka Mehta, Ram Singh, Jaipal Singh, Sampurnanand, Raja Rao, P. Kodanda Rao and others), the founding of Freedom First (first issue June 1, 1952; Aziz Madni appointed editor in January 1953), and a list of the bulletin's significant articles and book reviews over fifteen issues. It details international representation (M. R. Masani on the International Executive Committee; a Far East/South-East Asia tour by Masani and Francois Bondy), the Committee's delegation to the 1952 Paris Exposition of Arts, an extensive list of talks and meetings hosted in Bombay and Madras (with visiting speakers including Herbert Passin, Kenzo Takayanagi, and Francois Bondy), receptions including one for Adlai Stevenson at the Taj Mahal Hotel in May 1953, anniversary commemorations for Sri Aurobindo, Ananda Coomaraswamy and Raja Ram Mohan Roy, press and literature distribution activities (including 1,000 copies of Edward Hunter's Brain Washing in Red China), and current administrative details including total membership of 495 as of August 25, 1953, broken down by city. - Covers ICCF activity from May 1952 to August 1953, styled as the Committee's annual report - Records founding of Freedom First (first issue June 1, 1952) and its editorial board and staff changes - Lists international representation: M. R. Masani on the International Executive Committee; a Masani/Bondy tour of the Far East and South-East Asia - Details the Committee's delegation to the 1952 Paris Exposition of Arts ('The Masterpieces of the Twentieth Century') - Lists numerous talks, receptions and anniversary meetings hosted by the Committee in Bombay and Madras, including a reception for Adlai Stevenson - Reports total membership of 495 as of August 25, 1953, with a city-by-city breakdown (Bombay 204, Madras 102, etc.) - Describes press and literature distribution work, including distribution of Edward Hunter's Brain Washing in Red China ### Essay 8 The 'With Many Voices' column collects short press quotations on current affairs from Indian and international newspapers of August 1953, epigraphed with lines from Tennyson. Quotations touch on American policy in Kashmir, V. K. Krishna Menon's anti-communist remarks, Syngman Rhee's stance on Korean prisoners, an Indian municipality's protest over Beria's fate, and Adlai Stevenson's remark on Belgrade's reaction to Stalin's death, among others. The page also carries a membership recruitment advertisement for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, listing its contributors (including Sydney Hook, Jayaprakash Narayan, Michael Polanyi, Philip Spratt, Sampurnanand, M. R. Masani and Asoka Mehta) and an enrolment form. - Column of short press quotations on current affairs from August 1953, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson - Includes quotations touching Kashmir, Korea, Beria's downfall, and Stalin's death - Followed by a membership recruitment advertisement for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom listing its roster of contributors - Issue colophon: edited by Aziz Madni; printed and published by Narie Oliaji at Kanada Press, Bombay --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff015/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 15 (August 1953), organ of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, is a Cold War-era liberal-anticommunist monthly bulletin edited by Aziz Madni. The issue opens with the unsigned editorial 'Freedom's Opportunity', analyzing Lavrentii Beria's fall from power following Stalin's death and arguing that the Soviet succession crisis is an opportunity for the free world to support captive peoples rather than pursue Big Four appeasement. A 'Notes' section covers the silencing of the columnist Vivek, a UN/ILO report on forced labour in the USSR and South Africa, U.S. and Asian reactions to President Syngman Rhee's release of Korean POWs, China's ban on contraceptive imports, and a correction regarding Dr. Ralph Bunche's remarks on Indian universities. An editorial titled 'The Essence Of Democracy' rebuts Jayaprakash Narayan's criticism of party-based parliamentary opposition, invoking E.F.M. Durbin's The Politics of Democratic Socialism to defend organized opposition as essential to democracy.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 15 (August 1953), organ of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, is a Cold War-era liberal-anticommunist monthly bulletin edited by Aziz Madni. The issue opens with the unsigned editorial 'Freedom's Opportunity', analyzing Lavrentii Beria's fall from power following Stalin's death and arguing that the Soviet succession crisis is an opportunity for the free world to support captive peoples rather than pursue Big Four appeasement. A 'Notes' section covers the silencing of the columnist Vivek, a UN/ILO report on forced labour in the USSR and South Africa, U.S. and Asian reactions to President Syngman Rhee's release of Korean POWs, China's ban on contraceptive imports, and a correction regarding Dr. Ralph Bunche's remarks on Indian universities. An editorial titled 'The Essence Of Democracy' rebuts Jayaprakash Narayan's criticism of party-based parliamentary opposition, invoking E.F.M. Durbin's The Politics of Democratic Socialism to defend organized opposition as essential to democracy. Michael Polanyi contributes 'Protests And Problems', previewing the Hamburg 'Science and Freedom' conference and arguing that opposing totalitarian control of scholarship requires clearer principles of intellectual liberty than exist even in the West. Bertram D. Wolfe's 'Meherally, Gandhi & The C.S.P.' recounts, largely through recollected dialogue with Yusuf Meherally, how the Congress Socialist Party detected and expelled Communist Party infiltrators in the 1930s, and describes Wolfe's own political conversion from suspicion to admiration of Gandhi. A CCF message, 'Hands Across The Iron Curtain', greets scientists in communist countries. The unsigned piece 'The Need To Identify' defends the bulletin's practice of naming suspected communists and fellow-travellers, distinguishing this from McCarthyism on grounds of disinterestedness and the different (more lenient) climate for accused persons in India, and reports the dismissal of P. Padhye from Navashakti for attending a discussion on 'The World after Stalin'. A review section covers Arthur Koestler's autobiography Arrow in the Blue and Hector Hawton's The Feast of Unreason on Existentialism. Letters to the editor debate Einstein's remarks on refusing to testify before congressional committees, and J. C. Daruvala of the ICCF protests the cancellation of D. F. Karaka's passport as a violation of freedom of travel. The issue closes with notice of the ICCF's September 1953 Annual Conference in Madras and a 'With Many Voices' column of contemporary press quotations on communism, Korea, and the Cold War, followed by a membership form and the printing colophon. ## Essays ### Freedom's Opportunity In 'Protests And Problems', Michael Polanyi previews the International Conference on 'Science and Freedom', organised in Hamburg by the University of Hamburg and the Congress for Cultural Freedom (23-26 July). He argues that denouncing totalitarian control of scholarship is ineffectual without much clearer principles of intellectual liberty than currently exist, tracing how pacifism, Munich, and Yalta shaped Western attitudes toward liberty, and how state funding and the '19th-century' decline of academic tradition have weakened universities' sense of independent purpose. He contends that the West, too, operates under an intertwined political-scholarly authority that determines what counts as legitimate science (citing the Soviet imposition of Michurin and Lysenko's biology on the Academy as the extreme case), and closes by questioning whether the old Royal Society ideal of 'Nullius in verba' ('we recognise no authority') can still safely guide the pursuit of liberty today. - Frames the Hamburg 'Science and Freedom' conference (July 23-26, 1953) as a response to the treatment of scholars under totalitarianism. - Argues totalitarian obscurantism cannot be effectively denounced without clearer principles of intellectual liberty. - Traces the West's loss of faith in pacifism through Munich and Yalta to a new passion for liberty. - Criticizes the Soviet Communist Party's 1948 imposition of Michurin/Lysenko biology on the Academy, overriding Mendelian genetics. - Argues the West too has an authority -- prevailing scholarly opinion -- that frames what academic freedom protects, and that this authority, not its absence, safeguards academic freedom. - Ends by questioning whether 'Nullius in verba', the Royal Society's anti-authority motto, can still guide the ideal of liberty. ### Notes (A Light Snuffed Out; Malan and Malenkov; Reactionary China; Dr. Ralph Bunche; Justice For Korea) In 'Meherally, Gandhi & The C.S.P.', Bertram D. Wolfe recounts, largely as reported dialogue with Yusuf Meherally, how the Congress Socialist Party in India admitted Communist Party members in the 1930s under the Comintern's 'popular front' strategy, only to discover the communists were secretly working to capture the CSP and discredit Gandhi. Minoo Masani is credited as the lone early voice warning against admitting communists, resigning when unheeded; the party later expelled all known communists and sympathizers within a set deadline, suffering negligible losses -- which Wolfe attributes to Gandhi's moral influence immunizing the CSP against the corruption seen in other countries' socialist movements. The essay closes with Wolfe's personal account of his own shift from suspicion of Gandhi (during the 1922 non-cooperation suspension) to conviction that Gandhi was 'the greatest man of the first half of our century,' prompted by long observation of Gandhi's strategic and symbolic leadership of the independence movement. - Describes the Comintern's mid-1930s 'popular front' pivot and its effect of infiltrating socialist and Congress ranks in India via the Congress Socialist Party (CSP). - Minoo Masani is named as the only Indian socialist who warned early that communists were not morally fit for CSP or Congress membership, and who resigned over the issue. - Yusuf Meherally, quoted at length, describes accusing Communist Party faction leaders of 'moral duplicity' after obtaining a secret circular instructing them to sabotage CSP candidates. - The CSP set a one-week ultimatum for communists to withdraw or be expelled, and reports 'no serious losses' as a result, unlike socialist parties elsewhere. - Wolfe attributes the CSP's relative immunity to communist corruption to Gandhi's moral influence on the party. - Wolfe narrates his own political conversion, from believing (during the 1922 suspension of non-cooperation) that Gandhi had become 'a British puppet or a traitor,' to concluding Gandhi was one of the great men of the century. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff017/ ### Summary This is issue No. 17 (October 1953) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (ICCF), affiliated to the World Movement for Cultural Freedom. The issue centers on the ICCF's Second Annual Conference held in Madras on 12-13 September 1953, publishing the two keynote addresses in full: C. Rajagopalachari's inaugural address "True Freedom," which argues that Indian culture is built on self-control rather than freedom-as-licence or state-regulation, drawing on the Isa Vasya Upanishad and the Bhagavad Gita; and Dr. Sampurnanand's presidential address "The Neuroses of the Indian Intelligentsia," a diagnosis of the Indian intellectual's condition as one of uncertainty, faith-lessness, and rootlessness produced by the collision of communism, democracy, economic hardship, and a cultural leadership cut off from the masses.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 17 (October 1953) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (ICCF), affiliated to the World Movement for Cultural Freedom. The issue centers on the ICCF's Second Annual Conference held in Madras on 12-13 September 1953, publishing the two keynote addresses in full: C. Rajagopalachari's inaugural address "True Freedom," which argues that Indian culture is built on self-control rather than freedom-as-licence or state-regulation, drawing on the Isa Vasya Upanishad and the Bhagavad Gita; and Dr. Sampurnanand's presidential address "The Neuroses of the Indian Intelligentsia," a diagnosis of the Indian intellectual's condition as one of uncertainty, faith-lessness, and rootlessness produced by the collision of communism, democracy, economic hardship, and a cultural leadership cut off from the masses. The issue also carries the Annual General Meeting's seven resolutions (on Bhoodan, forced labour, the Asian communist threat, solidarity with victims of totalitarian tyranny, cultural freedom for Adivasis, the Committee's stand, and greetings to the World Movement), a report on the conference proceedings and its seminars, a review of D. F. Karaka's biography of Nehru, a "Notes" column commenting on Cold War propaganda and Indira Gandhi's remarks on the USSR, and a short report on ICCF activities including a reception for Dr. Harry Gideonse. ## Essays ### True Freedom *By C. Rajagopalachari* Rajagopalachari's inaugural address to the ICCF's Second Annual Conference argues that culture, properly understood, is not synonymous with freedom but with a pattern of self-imposed restraint that a people settle into through trial and error. He contrasts the Western polarity between the Soviet slogan of 'state-regulation' and the American slogan of 'freedom,' proposing instead that the true Indian answer to both is 'self-control' (drawn from the Upanishads and the Gita, and given modern force by Gandhi). He works through the opening verses of the Isa Vasya Upanishad and passages of the Gita to argue that action performed with detachment and dedicated to the divine is the only way to escape the contamination inherent in all activity, and that a culture based on recognition of the soul is what distinguishes Indian civilisation from a modern civilisation that has learned to control nature and the minds of others but not itself. He closes by rejecting relativism about truth (linking it to Hitlerism and Communism, both of which he says dethrone truth to dethrone God) and reaffirms that self-control, not freedom or regulation, should be the ICCF's watchword. - Culture is the pattern of restraints a people accept through trial and error, not the absence of restraint. - The 'freedom' slogan and the 'state-regulation' slogan are both partial answers to human difficulties; the truer Indian answer is self-control. - Rajagopalachari draws on the Isa Vasya Upanishad and Bhagavad Gita verses to argue for action performed with detachment and dedication to God. - Modern civilisation has mastered control over nature but not over the self, and has extended this failure into psychological control over other minds (Hitlerism, Communism). - Truth and moral values must be treated as inviolable; relativism about truth is what he most dislikes in Communism. - He proposes 'self-control' rather than 'freedom' as the ICCF's battle-standard. ### The Neuroses of the Indian Intelligentsia *By Sampurnanand* Dr. Sampurnanand's presidential address diagnoses a pervasive neurosis in the Indian intelligentsia (and, by extension, intelligentsias elsewhere outside the communist bloc), arising from acute uncertainty and instability. He traces this to India's independence coinciding with an age of ideological war between communism and democracy; to economic stagnation, unemployment, and the breakdown of old social bonds like the joint family; and to a leadership and intellectual class that has borrowed Western ideas wholesale without reworking them into anything indigenous. He contrasts India unfavourably with Russia, which he says preserved a cultural continuity even through revolution because Marxist philosophy filled the ideological void and Lenin and Gorky had genuine affinity with the people, whereas India's post-independence leadership lacks that intimate connection with the masses. Universities, he argues, have failed to create a genuinely Indian, integrative culture, teaching Indian civilisation as a dead subject rather than a living one. He criticises the Constitution and the 'Secular State' and 'Welfare State' concepts as spiritually inert ideals incapable of commanding sacrifice, and closes by calling for leadership to actively shape a cultural life rooted in Vedantic universalism (illustrated with Sanskrit verses) rather than borrowed Western abstractions. - The Indian intelligentsia suffers from a neurosis rooted in uncertainty, instability, and lack of faith, distinct from (though related to) similar disorders elsewhere. - Political independence arrived amid a global ideological war between communism and democracy, leaving young Indians pulled between the two. - Economic stagnation, unemployment, and social change (e.g. breakdown of the joint family) compound the intelligentsia's disorientation. - Russia, unlike India, preserved cultural continuity through revolution because Marxism filled the ideological vacuum and its leaders had genuine ties to the people; India's leadership lacks this intimacy with the masses. - Indian universities have failed to build an integrative national culture, teaching Indian civilisation as an inert academic subject. - The Constitution, the Secular State, and the Welfare State are criticized as spiritually thin concepts unable to inspire sacrifice or faith. - He calls for a renewed, Vedanta-rooted universalist culture ('the Absolute Existence is one, the wise call it by many names') to fill the spiritual vacuum, cautioning against both religious mumbo-jumbo dismissal and Hindu communalism. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff018/ ### Summary This is issue No. 18 of Freedom First (November 1953), the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, affiliated to the Congress for Cultural Freedom. The issue opens with an essay by mathematician R. Srinivasan on freedom and discipline as complementary forces in Karnatic music, followed by a substantial Notes section commenting on Cold War affairs (the Kazakh refugees, British Guiana's communist-infiltrated P.P.P. government, Chinese/North Korean POW repatriation, Stalin's disputed will, a tribute to the late Ernst Reuter of Berlin) and domestic cultural-policy concerns (state patronage of theatre). M. Bhaktavatsalam's welcome address to the Committee's Annual Conference in Madras argues that Gandhian ethics — the unity of moral means and ends — are the strongest defence against 'ideological germ-warfare' and the totalitarian capture of the individual mind.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 18 of Freedom First (November 1953), the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, affiliated to the Congress for Cultural Freedom. The issue opens with an essay by mathematician R. Srinivasan on freedom and discipline as complementary forces in Karnatic music, followed by a substantial Notes section commenting on Cold War affairs (the Kazakh refugees, British Guiana's communist-infiltrated P.P.P. government, Chinese/North Korean POW repatriation, Stalin's disputed will, a tribute to the late Ernst Reuter of Berlin) and domestic cultural-policy concerns (state patronage of theatre). M. Bhaktavatsalam's welcome address to the Committee's Annual Conference in Madras argues that Gandhian ethics — the unity of moral means and ends — are the strongest defence against 'ideological germ-warfare' and the totalitarian capture of the individual mind. A Review section covers Frank Moraes's Report on Mao's China (praised for puncturing illusions about the Chinese communist regime), Eugene O'Neill's play A Moon for the Misbegotten, Roger Martin du Gard's Notes on Andre Gide, and Geoffrey Ashe's The Tale of the Tub, plus a long appreciative notice of the newly launched Encounter magazine. The issue closes with a reader's letter from Santha Rama Rau contesting an earlier review, the I.C.C.F.'s formal membership and governance rules adopted at the Madras conference, and a closing page of pointed quotations ('With Many Voices') satirizing communist sympathizers and diplomatic doublespeak, alongside a membership subscription form. ## Essays ### Freedom And Discipline In Music *By by R. Srinivasan* R. Srinivasan, a mathematician and authority on Karnatic music theory, argues that freedom and discipline are not opposites but complementary: absolute freedom without self-imposed discipline collapses into chaos, while true cultural freedom is always 'disciplined freedom.' He illustrates the point through Indian classical music, where codified rules (exemplified in ragalapana) coexist with, and in fact enable, an almost unlimited scope for improvisation — quoting conductor Leopold Stokowski's praise of Indian music's flexibility and creative freedom compared to the more reproductive tendency of Western music. He extends the argument with the metaphor of Shruti (note-intervals) as the indulgent 'mother' and Laya (rhythm) as the disciplining 'father' of music, and closes by describing artistic and cultural progress as an undulating series of ever-higher crests, achievable only through this synthesis of freedom and discipline. - Freedom and discipline are presented as complementary, not contradictory, forces in both life generally and art specifically. - Self-imposed discipline is framed as the distinguishing mark of human cultural advancement over animal instinct. - Karnatic music's codified rules and traditions are argued to enable, rather than restrict, improvisation and creative freedom. - Leopold Stokowski is quoted praising Indian music's flexibility and freedom relative to Western reproduction-bound performance. - The Shruti/Laya (mother/father) metaphor is used to explain the interplay of expressive freedom and structural discipline. - Cultural progress is described as occurring in an undulating, crest-by-crest pattern driven by 'disciplined freedom.' ### Notes (Heads on Our Shoulders / The Show Must Go On / Who Speaks for Asia? / Ernst Reuter / Stalin's "Will" / The Lesson of Guiana / Chinese & North Koreans Vote / Thanu Pillai and the Rope) This unsigned Notes section comments on a run of Cold War and cultural-policy topics. It welcomes the defection of fifteen communist Kazakh refugees from China to Kashmir (noting their later departure for Turkey), criticizes the Bombay government's plan to fund new theatres and drama prizes from entertainment tax revenue on the grounds that state patronage will substitute bureaucratic moral judgment for aesthetic judgment (citing Somerset Maugham), and questions various claimants to speak 'for Asia,' including a satirical aside on Asian table-tennis rankings. It memorializes West Berlin's Lord Mayor Ernst Reuter as a symbol of resistance to Nazi and communist tyranny alike, reports that a widely circulated 'Stalin's Will' document is judged a Paris-manufactured forgery, and analyzes A. D. Gorwala's warnings (in the Statesman) about communist infiltration in Bengal in light of the collapse of Cheddi Jagan's P.P.P. government in British Guiana — presented as a cautionary parallel for India. It further reports that of 921 Chinese POWs given the choice, only 19 (2%) opted to return to communist China, taken as decisive evidence against communist claims of popular support, and closes by criticizing P. Thanu Pillai, a Praja Socialist leader in Travancore-Cochin, for reportedly favoring a United Front with communists, quoting Lenin's own cynical description of such alliances. - Fifteen Kazakh communist-refugee defectors are welcomed into Kashmir and their eventual departure for Turkey is noted with approval. - State funding of theatres via entertainment-tax revenue is criticized as inviting bureaucratic censorship of the arts over aesthetic judgment. - Ernst Reuter's death is marked with tribute to his resistance against Nazi and Soviet domination of Berlin. - A circulating document purporting to be 'Stalin's Will' is reported as a fabrication manufactured in Paris. - The collapse of Cheddi Jagan's P.P.P. government in British Guiana is presented as a lesson about communist infiltration relevant to India and Bengal specifically. - Only 19 of 921 Chinese POWs (2%) chose repatriation to communist China, cited as proof communism lacks popular support among its own captured soldiers. - P. Thanu Pillai of the Praja Socialist Party is criticized for reportedly favoring a communist-inclusive United Front in Travancore-Cochin elections. ### The New Serfdom *By by Philip Spratt* Philip Spratt reviews the 1953 Report of the ILO/ECOSOC Ad Hoc Committee on Forced Labour, chaired by Sir Ramaswamy Mudaliar, which investigated forced labour both for political coercion and for economic purposes worldwide. Spratt notes the Committee found forced labour for economic purposes existing on varying scales even in non-communist countries (Spain, South Africa, the U.S.A., and some colonies), with South Africa singled out as the worst offender outside the iron curtain, while communist countries — especially the Soviet Union — were found to use forced labour both to punish political dissent and as a structural element of the national economy. He quotes the Committee's finding that such systems 'violate the fundamental rights of the human person' and warns that broader, more insidious forms of state coercion beyond outright forced labour threaten liberty even in welfare states, closing with the fear that the report will be politically shelved rather than acted upon. - The essay reviews the 1953 ILO/UN Ad Hoc Committee on Forced Labour report chaired by Sir Ramaswamy Mudaliar. - The Committee distinguished forced labour for political coercion from forced labour for economic purposes. - Non-communist countries (Spain, South Africa, the U.S.A., some colonies) were found to have some forced labour, with South Africa cited as the worst case. - The Soviet Union's penal and labour legislation was found to function as both political punishment and an economic system element. - Spratt frames state-driven forced labour as an extreme instance of a broader, more insidious coercive trend affecting welfare states generally, not only totalitarian ones. - The piece ends pessimistically, predicting the report's findings will be shelved for the sake of political convenience. ### 'No Place For Ideological Germ-Warfare' (Welcome Address of Chairman, Reception Committee, at the Annual Conference of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom in Madras) *By by M. Bhaktavatsalam* M. Bhaktavatsalam's welcome address to the Annual Conference of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom in Madras argues that true democracy is a 'way of life' rather than a mere form of government, and warns that modern man risks being reduced to a purposeless 'man-machine' by both material ambition and ideological totalitarianism. He argues that societies need men who feel a mission and purpose, not citizens ground down under 'ideological steam-rollers,' and invokes the ancient Tamil Sangam ideal that 'the world is my home and all are my kin' as a model of universal fraternity opposed to sectarian hatred. The address's central argument is that Mahatma Gandhi's greatest contribution to modern thought was insisting that means must be as pure as ends — that no noble end can be achieved by foul means — and that this Gandhian ethic of unity between personal and public morality is the strongest available defence against 'ideological germ-warfare,' i.e., the totalitarian capture and annihilation of individual conscience. - Democracy is framed as a way of life and a partnership in progress, not merely a governmental form. - Modern man is described as at risk of being reduced to a purposeless 'man-machine' by both greed-driven material struggle and ideological absolutism. - The ancient Tamil Sangam saying 'the world is my home and all are my kin' is invoked as an ideal of universal brotherhood against sectarian division. - Gandhi's central ethical legacy is identified as insisting the means to any end must be as pure as the end itself. - A 'false moral code' separating personal from public morality is condemned as the enemy of the Gandhian way of life. - The essay concludes that education in culture and truth is the antidote to totalitarian 'ideological germ-warfare' that seeks to annihilate individuality. ### Review: Report on Mao's China (by Frank Moraes) *By Faiz Noorani* The Review section's lead piece, by Faiz Noorani, covers Frank Moraes's Report on Mao's China (Macmillan, 1953). Moraes, unlike many Western fellow-travelling visitors, brings a sceptical, liberally-educated common sense to his conducted tour, and the review praises his exposure of the pervasive thought control, absence of rule of law, and Soviet-derived ideological 'recipe' behind China's superficially Chinese 'trimmings.' The review does fault Moraes for a 'lapse' into providing a rationale for neutralism, arguing (against Moraes) that alliance among democratic countries against the communist threat is not itself 'an incitement to war,' and that there can be no genuine coexistence with a self-declared expansionist, imperialist communism. Shorter notices follow on Eugene O'Neill's A Moon for the Misbegotten (by Rustam Hormuzdiyar), Roger Martin du Gard's Notes on Andre Gide (by R.H.), and Geoffrey Ashe's The Tale of the Tub (by F.S.N.), plus notice of a new Chilean Committee for Cultural Freedom established in Santiago under Prof. G. Nicolai. - Faiz Noorani reviews Frank Moraes's Report on Mao's China, praising its clear-eyed exposure of communist thought control and absence of rule of law. - The review criticizes Moraes's defence of Indian neutrality as a lapse into providing intellectual cover for non-alignment. - The review argues democratic alliance against communism is not itself an incitement to war, contra Moraes's stated thesis. - Shorter notices cover O'Neill's A Moon for the Misbegotten, du Gard's Notes on Andre Gide, and Ashe's The Tale of the Tub. - A C.C.F. News item reports the founding of a Chilean Committee for Cultural Freedom in Santiago under Prof. G. Nicolai. ### Review: A Moon For The Misbegotten (by Eugene O'Neill) *By Rustam Hormuzdiyar* A review (signed R.H.) of the inaugural issue of Encounter, the new English-language literary-political monthly edited by Stephen Spender and Irving Kristol and sponsored by the Congress for Cultural Freedom, positioned as a companion to the Paris Bureau's French-language Preuves. The review highlights Nicolas Nabokov's essay on the state of music in the USSR (tracing Soviet composers' retreat from experimentation to conventional idiom as rooted in the 1930s transformation of Soviet society, and celebrating small cracks appearing in Stalin-era cultural repression), Leslie Fiedler's analysis of the Rosenberg case, and Denis de Rougemont's 'Looking For India,' an outsider's portrait of India that the reviewer finds ultimately patronizing. It closes praising the magazine as answering 'many an unacknowledged prayer' for untrammelled cultural exchange in the English-speaking world. - Encounter, edited by Stephen Spender and Irving Kristol, launches as an English-language sister publication to the Congress for Cultural Freedom's French Preuves. - Nicolas Nabokov's essay on Soviet music traces composers' abandonment of experimentation to the social transformation of the Russian state since 1930. - The review highlights the 'complete disappearance' of official portraits of Stalin and other Soviet figures as a hopeful sign. - Leslie Fiedler's piece on the Rosenberg case is quoted on the political uses of abstract declarations versus concrete suffering. - Denis de Rougemont's 'Looking For India' is treated as a somewhat patronizing outsider portrayal, ending on the line 'India is problems.' - The review closes by quoting Wordsworth's 'To Toussaint L'Ouverture' in tribute to the new magazine. ### Review: Notes On Andre Gide (by Roger Martin Du Gard) *By R.H.* A letter to the editor from Santha Rama Rau objects to a prior Freedom First review (in the May issue) of the quarterly Perspectives, written by a reviewer using the pseudonym 'Agni,' correcting factual errors about the Ford Foundation's Intercultural Publications Inc. and criticizing the review's tone as prejudiced and snobbish; she finds it odd that such an article appeared in a magazine dedicated to cultural freedom. The editor's brief reply defends the decision to publish both the original review and this rebuttal as consistent with the principle that cultural freedom calls for publication rather than suppression of criticism. The facing page carries an advertisement for Encounter magazine listing its full roster of contributors and subscription details. - Santha Rama Rau's letter disputes factual and tonal criticisms made by pseudonymous reviewer 'Agni' against the quarterly Perspectives in an earlier Freedom First issue. - She corrects 'Agni's' claim that 'Intercultural Publications Inc.' is merely a synonym for the Ford Foundation, noting the Foundation's broader activities. - She characterizes the original review as prejudiced, ignorant, and inconsistent with a magazine dedicated to cultural freedom. - The editor defends publishing both the original review and Rama Rau's rebuttal as consistent with cultural-freedom principles. - A facing advertisement for Encounter lists its contributor roster, including W. H. Auden, Albert Camus, Bertrand Russell, and Arthur Schlesinger Jr. ### Review: The Tale of the Tub (by Geoffrey Ashe) *By F. S. N.* The formal Rules of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (I.C.C.F.), adopted at the Annual Conference in Madras, are reproduced in full. They cover membership eligibility and application, the formation of autonomous Local Groups, procedures for Annual and Extraordinary General Meetings, voting arrangements by local group and cumulative vote for Executive Committee elections, the composition and powers of the twenty-member Executive Committee (which may co-opt up to five additional members), the Bombay office location, the Committee's affiliation to the Paris-headquartered Congress for Cultural Freedom, and the two-thirds-majority procedure required to amend the Rules. - Membership requires adherence to the 1951 Bombay Declaration on Cultural Freedom, a written application, paid subscription, and Executive Committee acceptance. - Local Groups of more than ten members may be authorised to operate autonomously under Executive Committee bye-laws. - General Meetings (Annual and Extraordinary) have defined notice periods, agendas, and voting-by-local-group procedures with cumulative voting for Executive Committee elections. - The Executive Committee has up to twenty members (fifteen elected, up to five co-opted) and meets at least twice yearly. - The Committee's office is in Bombay and it is affiliated with the Paris-headquartered Congress for Cultural Freedom. - Rule amendments require a two-thirds majority after fifteen days' prior notice. ### C.C.F. News The closing page, 'With Many Voices' (epigraph from Tennyson), is a compilation of pointed newspaper and magazine quotations from October 1953, mostly aimed at satirizing complacency or sympathy toward communism among Indian and international public figures. It includes C. Rajagopalachari comparing communists to bugs, B. R. Ambedkar's prediction that India would soon become communist, Vinoba Bhave on state-owned schools eliminating educational freedom, criticism of K. M. Panikkar's pro-Chinese neutrality, and barbed remarks from Malcolm Muggeridge on diplomats' careers built on appeasing dictators. The page closes with a membership enrolment form for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom and the publication's imprint line. - The page compiles satirical or pointed press quotations from October 1953 sources including Times of India, Christian Science Monitor, and Bombay Chronicle. - C. Rajagopalachari is quoted comparing communists to nocturnal bugs. - B. R. Ambedkar is quoted predicting India would soon become a communist country. - Vinoba Bhave warns that state ownership of all schools would eliminate freedom in education, citing Russia as precedent. - K. M. Panikkar is criticized (via Mark Alexander) as a fellow-travelling proponent of Egyptian/Arab and Indian neutrality aided by 'crypto-communist' journalists in Cairo. - Malcolm Muggeridge's satirical piece on diplomatic careers built on appeasing dictators (Gandhi, Goering, Stalin-era figures) closes the page. - A membership enrolment form for the I.C.C.F. (annual fee Rs. 3/-) appears alongside the imprint, edited by Aziz Mauni. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff019/ ### Summary This is the complete December 1953 issue (No. 19) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by Faiz Noorani and printed in Bombay. The issue mixes cultural commentary, anti-communist polemic, and domestic political commentary. Narie Oliaji opens with an essay on whether art has a purpose, rejecting Proudhon's utilitarian view of art in favour of Zola's idea that art transforms rather than merely serves. An unsigned Notes section comments on the Assam tribal incident, Ramon Magsaysay's election as President of the Philippines, film censorship and state prizes for art, a U.S. Army War Crimes Division report on Korean War atrocities, Justice P. B. Mukharji's inquiry into a Calcutta press-police clash, and a sardonic item on Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham's calypso-themed anti-imperialist tour. An anonymous contributor's 'The Limits Of A United Front' criticises the Praja Socialist Party's Travancore-Cochin electoral arrangement with the Communist Party as a dangerous first step toward a full alliance.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the complete December 1953 issue (No. 19) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by Faiz Noorani and printed in Bombay. The issue mixes cultural commentary, anti-communist polemic, and domestic political commentary. Narie Oliaji opens with an essay on whether art has a purpose, rejecting Proudhon's utilitarian view of art in favour of Zola's idea that art transforms rather than merely serves. An unsigned Notes section comments on the Assam tribal incident, Ramon Magsaysay's election as President of the Philippines, film censorship and state prizes for art, a U.S. Army War Crimes Division report on Korean War atrocities, Justice P. B. Mukharji's inquiry into a Calcutta press-police clash, and a sardonic item on Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham's calypso-themed anti-imperialist tour. An anonymous contributor's 'The Limits Of A United Front' criticises the Praja Socialist Party's Travancore-Cochin electoral arrangement with the Communist Party as a dangerous first step toward a full alliance. Bruno Shaw's 'The Saga Of Wang Ti-chiu' (reprinted from The New Leader) narrates the story of a Chinese POW from the Korean War who rejected repatriation to Communist China. J. B. H. Wadia's 'The New Humanism: A Plea' criticises the ICCF's own second conference for retreating into praise of restraint and religious tradition (citing Rajaji and Sampurnanandji's speeches) and argues instead for M. N. Roy's philosophy of Radical/New Humanism as the basis of cultural freedom. Faiz Noorani's 'Nothing Left For Communists To Destroy?' rebuts a despairing correspondent's threat to vote Communist out of frustration with the ruling regime, defending India's young democracy as slow but self-correcting. A Review section covers four books/journals: a symposium on Soviet Science, Carsun Chang's The Third Force in China, Karl Jaspers' Tragedy Is Not Enough, and the Pacific Spectator's Summer 1953 issue. A C.C.F. News section reports on Raymond Aron's November tour of Indian cities and the publication of the Madras ICCF conference proceedings. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a column of quoted press clippings and quips on Cold War and Indian political topics, a subscription/enrolment form for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, and the continuation of Noorani's essay. ## Essays ### Has Art A Purpose? *By by Narie Oliaji* Narie Oliaji argues against Proudhon's claim that art must serve a purpose (the uplift of humanity), holding that this doctrine forces artists into political binds and constrains their freedom. Zola's definition of art as nature seen through a temperament is preferred: art transforms rather than merely imitates, and its value lies in awakening a hunger for beauty rather than serving any social, political or moral end. Shakespeare is praised as the greatest artist precisely because he never took sides. The essay closes by quoting a Baudelaire poem on Beauty at length. - Proudhon's view that art's purpose is to uplift humanity is rejected as constraining the artist's freedom. - Zola's definition of art as 'a corner of the universe seen through a powerful temperament' is endorsed as explaining art's true nature. - Art's distinguishing feature is that it transforms rather than imitates nature. - Shakespeare is held up as the greatest artist because he never took political or moral sides. - The essay closes with an extended verbatim quotation from a Baudelaire poem on Beauty. ### Notes (The Assam Incident / Philippines Election / Bread And Circuses / War Crimes / Liberty Of The Press / Their Song For Us) An unsigned Notes column covering five items: the Assam Rifles/Dafla tribesmen incident, urging sympathetic and non-punitive handling of tribal peoples; the election of Ramon Magsaysay as President of the Philippines, praised for his anti-communist and anti-corruption record as Defence Minister; a critique of the Bombay government's practice of awarding state prizes for plays and films, arguing art needs no state patronage; a report on the U.S. Army's War Crimes Division findings on Korean War atrocities by Chinese/North Korean forces; a summary and endorsement of Justice P. B. Mukharji's finding that the Calcutta press had misconceived 'liberty of the press' as license to defy police in a Section 144 case; and a sardonic item on Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham's calypso-style anti-imperialist speaking tour outside British Guiana. - The Assam Rifles/Dafla tribesmen clash is used to reaffirm the ICCF Madras resolution calling for a sympathetic, non-punitive approach to tribal peoples. - Ramon Magsaysay's election as Philippines President is welcomed as an anti-communist milestone comparable to Adenauer's in Germany. - State prizes for films and plays are criticised: art needs no state patronage and is its own justification. - The U.S. Army War Crimes Division report tallies 29,815 victims of Communist Korean War atrocities, including the Taejon massacre. - Justice Mukharji's inquiry into a Calcutta press-police clash concluded the press had wrongly claimed a right to defy a Section 144 order. - A satirical note treats Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham's overseas anti-imperialist tour as an unconvincing 'calypso' performance. ### The Limits Of A United Front *By From A Contributor* An anonymous contributor criticises the Praja Socialist Party's National Executive decision to permit its Travancore-Cochin branch an electoral seat-sharing arrangement with the Communist Party, arguing this crosses the line from legitimate inter-party competition into collaboration with a totalitarian force. The essay traces the socialists' longstanding policy of non-cooperation with communists back to Jayaprakash Narayan's 'Never again' pledge after his obituary for Communist-Socialist cooperation in the 1930s, and warns that even a limited seat-sharing arrangement is 'the thin end of the wedge' that blurs the moral distinction between democrats and communists, ultimately aiding communist subversion of democratic institutions. - The PSP Executive's decision to let its Travancore-Cochin unit share seats with communists is condemned as stepping beyond legitimate democratic party competition. - Historical precedent is invoked: Jayaprakash Narayan's 1930s obituary for Communist-Socialist cooperation and his 'Never again' pledge. - The essay argues that blurring moral distinctions between democratic and communist parties favours communist subversion of democracy. - Two-cornered contests are endorsed only when both contestants are committed to democratic principles; alliances with totalitarian parties are condemned regardless of scale. - The essay expresses hope the forthcoming PSP Convention will reject any such alliance. ### The Saga Of Wang Ti-chiu *By by Bruno Shaw* Bruno Shaw's article, reprinted from The New Leader, narrates the story of Wang Ti-chiu, a 24-year-old Chinese peasant soldier from Honan who fought in the Korean War, grew disillusioned with Communist indoctrination and wartime hardship after reading a UN safe-conduct leaflet, and eventually defected with a small group of comrades to the enemy side, finding the leaflet's promises true. The piece situates Wang as one of roughly 16,000 Chinese and 6,300 Korean POWs who elected to reject repatriation to Communist territory under the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission, framing their choice as evidence of communism's failure to hold the loyalty of its own soldiers. - Wang Ti-chiu is a 24-year-old Chinese peasant soldier from Honan whose family suffered land confiscation and indoctrination under Communist rule. - He was taught obedience to 'Father Mao' and 'Brother Stalin' and to report even his parents' 'unpatriotic acts.' - Battle hardship and a UN safe-conduct leaflet led him and a small group to defect to UN forces rather than remain with Communist Chinese forces. - He is presented as one of about 16,000 Chinese and 6,300 Korean POWs who refused repatriation under the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission. - The article frames mass non-repatriation as proof that Communism could not command the loyalty of its own soldiers. ### The New Humanism: A Plea *By by J. B. H. Wadia* J. B. H. Wadia, a sponsor of the first ICCF conference, expresses disappointment that the speeches of Rajaji (C. Rajagopalachari) and Sampurnanandji at the second conference urged acceptance of restraints and traditional Indian religious/philosophical frameworks (including Varnashrama Dharma) as remedies for India's social malaise, which he sees as a betrayal of cultural freedom's spirit. He challenges the selective use of scriptural quotation to defend restraint, invoking the materialist/atheist schools of Indian philosophy (Charvaka, Kapila, Lokayatta) as equally 'Indian' as Vedanta. He proposes M. N. Roy's philosophy of New (Radical) Humanism — grounded in the sanctity of the individual and freedom from restraints — as the true programmatic answer to cultural freedom's challenge, and closes urging the ICCF to remain firmly anti-communist without lapsing into religious or traditionalist reaction. - Wadia criticises Rajaji and Sampurnanandji's second-conference speeches for urging 'joy and pride' in restraints and traditional religious frameworks. - He objects specifically to invoking Varnashrama Dharma, associating it with the caste system and untouchability. - He argues selective scriptural quotation is an unfruitful method, citing the materialist Charvaka and Lokayatta schools as counter-examples within the Indian tradition. - He proposes M. N. Roy's philosophy of New Humanism, centred on the sanctity of the individual, as cultural freedom's proper programme. - He warns that anti-communism must not curdle into religious or traditionalist reaction, since ICCF members are 'anti-totalitarian' on all fronts. ### Nothing Left For Communists To Destroy? *By by Faiz Noorani* Faiz Noorani responds to a despairing correspondent who wrote that he would vote Communist purely to punish the current government, arguing that such a vote would strengthen a foreign-controlled conspiracy and that democracy, while slow and imperfect, retains the crucial advantage of being reversible through free elections, unlike Communist dictatorship. Noorani surveys the achievements of independent India (a democratic constitution, guaranteed rights, industrial and production gains) alongside its shortcomings (illiteracy, inexperience, lack of informed public opinion), drawing on an Oxford University survey of the 1950 British general election to argue that democratic maturity takes time even in established democracies. He closes by warning that revolution and violence lead to outcomes worse than what they replace, and that India's citizens must exercise patience and their existing right to change government through elections rather than gamble on communism. - Noorani responds to a reader's threat to vote Communist purely out of frustration with the current government. - He argues democracy's key advantage over dictatorship is that it can be voted out, while a communist takeover would be irrevocable. - He lists national independence, rule of law, free press, and an electorate conscious of its rights and responsibilities as democracy's essential elements. - He cites an Oxford University survey of the 1950 British general election to argue that democratic maturity takes time even in advanced democracies. - He warns that revolution and violence typically produce outcomes worse than the conditions they sought to replace. ### Review: Soviet Science *By F. R. Bharucha* A Review section presents four short unsigned or initialed reviews. F. R. Bharucha reviews Soviet Science (a 1951 AAAS Philadelphia symposium, published 1952), noting that Soviet research, especially in genetics, is politically directed and that even the U.S. shows troubling parallels in its screening of atomic scientists, though it otherwise preserves greater scientific freedom. F.S.N. reviews Carsun Chang's The Third Force in China, praising its scholarly, unbiased account of the failed Chinese 'third force' between the Kuomintang and the communists, and its critique of Sardar Panikkar's and Sir Benegal Rau's views on India-China relations. R.H. reviews Karl Jaspers' Tragedy Is Not Enough, situating Jaspers among Existentialist thinkers second only to Heidegger and examining his account of tragedy through Oedipus and Hamlet. N.D.O. reviews the Pacific Spectator's Summer 1953 issue, noting its three India-related items (an article on Tamil life and letters and two short stories) alongside pieces by Henry R. Luce and an essay on Gogol's centenary. - Soviet Science (AAAS symposium) is reviewed as showing Soviet research, especially genetics, distorted by state political control. - The reviewer notes the U.S. screening of atomic scientists shows some parallel constraint, though American science otherwise remains freer. - Carsun Chang's The Third Force in China is praised as a scholarly, unbiased chronicle of China's failed democratic middle path between Kuomintang and communists. - Karl Jaspers' Tragedy Is Not Enough is reviewed as a translated excerpt of his larger work Von der Wahrheit, ranking him just below Heidegger among Existentialists. - The Pacific Spectator's Summer 1953 issue is noted for featuring three India-related items among ten total, including work on Tamil life and letters. ### Review: The Third Force in China *By F. S. N.* The C.C.F. News column reports two items: a note on Raymond Aron's November visit to India as a representative of the Congress for Cultural Freedom's International Executive, touring Calcutta, Nagpur, Madras, Bangalore, Bombay and Delhi and addressing meetings on topics from French literature to Marxism; and an announcement that the Proceedings of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's Annual Conference held in Madras, including addresses by C. Rajagopalachari, Sampurnanand, and M. Bhaktavatsalam, have been published in book form and are available for Rs. 2/8. - Raymond Aron, of the Congress for Cultural Freedom's International Executive, toured Calcutta, Nagpur, Madras, Bangalore, Bombay and Delhi in November 1953. - Aron addressed meetings on subjects ranging from 'Contemporary Trends in French Literature' to 'Marxism from Marx to Malenkov.' - The Madras ICCF Annual Conference Proceedings, including addresses by Rajagopalachari, Sampurnanand and M. Bhaktavatsalam, have been published and are available for purchase. ### Review: Tragedy Is Not Enough *By R. H.* The closing 'With Many Voices' column collects a series of press clippings and quotations on Cold War and Indian political topics, including an exchange between a Briton and Winston Churchill on foreign aid, Prof. George Catlin on American isolationism, Sir John Kotelawala on hartals and revolution, Ramon Magsaysay on collective security against communism, M. Ananthasayanam Ayyengar's remark that 'every quarelling Congressman is an unpaid agent of the Communist Party,' a Pan Mun Jon dispatch on Korean War POW repatriation refusal statistics, an arrest of a student for satyagraha at a Mahatma Gandhi college in Trivandrum, Lord Swinton on Britain's recognition of Nehru, and a quip equating communism with pregnancy ('there is no such thing as partly'). The page also carries an Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom membership enrolment form and the continuation of Noorani's essay from page 9. - The column collects short quoted press items from Times of India, New Leader, Indian Express, Bombay Chronicle, Evening News of India, Free Press Bulletin, and the London Times/Statesman. - Items span Cold War rhetoric, Korean War POW repatriation statistics, and Indian political commentary. - M. Ananthasayanam Ayyengar is quoted calling every quarrelling Congressman 'an unpaid agent of the Communist Party.' - A Pan Mun Jon dispatch reports that only 59 of 1,872 prisoners hearing Communist explanations had accepted repatriation as of November 4. - The page also carries an ICCF membership enrolment form and the continuation of Noorani's 'Nothing Left For Communists To Destroy?' essay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff020/ ### Summary This is the January 1954 issue (No. 20) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, published from Bombay. The issue opens with a lead essay by C. Rajagopalachari, "Hindu Philosophy In A Modern State," arguing that Vedanta and the Bhagavad Gita's doctrine of Karma-Yoga (disinterested, detached work) supply a spiritual foundation uniquely suited to a modern regulated economy, and defending Hindu philosophy's compatibility with science, catholicity of worship, and true (non-fatalistic) renunciation. A substantial "Notes" section covers current affairs: India's abstention on the UN Committee on Forced Labour's report on Soviet practices, student indiscipline and educational decline, a tribute to W. Somerset Maugham's 80th birthday, the plight of 400,000 unrepatriated prisoners of war held by the USSR, the Bermuda-to-Berlin diplomatic sequence with the Soviet bloc, and a satirical piece on self-styled Bombay theatre producers. Two further signed pieces address the arts: an unsigned "Postscript On Eugene O'Neill" surveying his dramatic career and stylistic restlessness, and T. V.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the January 1954 issue (No. 20) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, published from Bombay. The issue opens with a lead essay by C. Rajagopalachari, "Hindu Philosophy In A Modern State," arguing that Vedanta and the Bhagavad Gita's doctrine of Karma-Yoga (disinterested, detached work) supply a spiritual foundation uniquely suited to a modern regulated economy, and defending Hindu philosophy's compatibility with science, catholicity of worship, and true (non-fatalistic) renunciation. A substantial "Notes" section covers current affairs: India's abstention on the UN Committee on Forced Labour's report on Soviet practices, student indiscipline and educational decline, a tribute to W. Somerset Maugham's 80th birthday, the plight of 400,000 unrepatriated prisoners of war held by the USSR, the Bermuda-to-Berlin diplomatic sequence with the Soviet bloc, and a satirical piece on self-styled Bombay theatre producers. Two further signed pieces address the arts: an unsigned "Postscript On Eugene O'Neill" surveying his dramatic career and stylistic restlessness, and T. V. Subba Rao's "Freedom Of Self-Expression," which uses the Carnatic composer Tyagaraja and the concept of the raga to argue that true artistic freedom operates within, not against, inherited tradition. The issue closes with book reviews (of 'Vivek's' India Without Illusions and Raja Hutheesing's Window on China), brief notices of new books, a note on the founding of the Ceylon Committee for Cultural Freedom, and a "With Many Voices" page of press quotations on Cold War politics, ending with a membership form for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. ## Essays ### Hindu Philosophy In A Modern State *By C. Rajagopalachari* Rajagopalachari argues that Hindu philosophy, properly understood, is exceptionally well suited to shaping the civic conscience of a modern state. He claims Vedanta anticipated modern scientific ideas (evolution, the conservation of energy) and rests on the rule of law rather than fear of an arbitrary God. The essay's central move is to read the Bhagavad Gita's doctrine of Karma-Yoga -- work performed as duty and offering, without attachment to its fruits or to profit -- as the spiritual basis needed for a 'regulated', non-competitive economy that has replaced the profit motive across the modern world. He warns that movements which sought economic revolution by discarding religion as an 'opiate' committed a suicidal error, since only a spiritual faith, not state compulsion, can sustain genuinely unselfish conduct. He then defends Hindu catholicity (tolerance of all forms of worship as valid paths to God) as the doctrine's most valuable inheritance, and devotes a long section to rebutting the charge that Hinduism preaches fatalism: he distinguishes Karma (the moral law of cause and effect, compatible with free will and effort) from Fatalism, and argues that Grace and Karma are not contradictory, since penitence itself is an effortful, rewarded act. The essay ends by linking Karma-doctrine to Gandhi's example, addressing the objection that a self identifying with future rebirths lacks memory-based motivation (answered via the intrinsic 'joy of right conduct'), and closing with a vision of ever-widening circles of cooperation -- from village to patriotism to Vedanta -- as the basis for a better, self-regulating world order that does not need to rely on the coercive power of the state. - Argues Hindu/Vedantic philosophy anticipated modern scientific concepts (evolution, conservation of energy) and rests on natural law rather than fear of an authoritarian deity - Reads the Gita's Karma-Yoga (detached, dutiful work, not for profit) as the spiritual basis needed to sustain a regulated, non-competitive modern economy - Warns that revolutionary movements which discarded religion as an 'opiate' to enable economic upheaval committed a suicidal, ultimately unsustainable error - Defends Hindu catholicity -- tolerance of all forms of worship as valid paths to one God -- as compatible with, not opposed to, modern pluralist civic life - Distinguishes Karma (the moral law of cause and effect, compatible with free will and effort) from Fatalism, arguing Karma is 'the truest charter of freedom and initiative' - Reconciles the doctrines of Grace and Karma, arguing penitence is itself an effortful act rewarded within the law of Karma - Cites Gandhi's life as evidence that this philosophy inspires real-world civic resolve and fearlessness - Closes with an image of concentric cooperation -- village, patriotism, Vedanta -- producing a better world without relying on state compulsion ### Notes (India and Forced Labour; Students and Discipline; W. Somerset Maugham; Mislaid: 400,000 Souls; Bermuda to Berlin; Art for Who's Sake?) A miscellany of unsigned editorial notes on current affairs. Items include a sharp criticism of India's abstention (rather than condemnation) in the UN vote on the Committee on Forced Labour's report documenting Soviet forced-labour practices, contrasted with India's readiness to criticize Western colonial powers; a piece on student indiscipline in Indian universities linking it to declining educational standards and Communist exploitation of student unrest (quoting Congress politician Sampurnanand approvingly); a birthday tribute to W. Somerset Maugham on turning eighty; a note titled 'Mislaid: 400,000 Souls' on West German, Japanese, and Italian citizens still held in Soviet territory; a review of the Bermuda conference communique and the prospects for the upcoming Berlin conference with the Soviets, expressing skepticism that compromise will be possible except on Soviet terms; and a satirical sketch, 'Art for Who's Sake?', mocking self-promoting Bombay theatre producers. - Criticizes India's abstention in the UN vote on the Committee on Forced Labour's report on Soviet forced-labour practices as inconsistent with India's readiness to criticize Western colonial powers - Links recent student indiscipline in Indian universities to a broader decline in educational standards and to Communist exploitation of student unrest - Marks W. Somerset Maugham's 80th birthday with praise for his apolitical, unpolemical fiction - Highlights the unresolved issue of roughly 400,000 West German, Japanese, Italian, and Austrian nationals still held in Soviet territory since WWII - Assesses the Bermuda 'Big Three' communique and expresses skepticism about the prospects for the planned Berlin conference with the USSR - Satirizes self-promoting amateur theatre producers in contemporary Bombay ### A Postscript On Eugene O'Neill An unsigned appreciation of Eugene O'Neill's dramatic career, arguing that O'Neill lacked the 'perfect adjustment' between desire and stagecraft achieved by Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Shakespeare, and instead moved restlessly between styles (realism, expressionism, masks, marathon-length plays, a nine-play cycle) out of an unconscious recognition of his limits as a literary stylist. The piece traces his development from Beyond the Horizon and The Emperor Jones through The Hairy Ape and All God's Chillun Got Wings to the two late trilogies, Strange Interlude and Mourning Becomes Electra, judging the latter his closest approach to true tragic purpose, before closing on his late, disease-hampered career (The Iceman Cometh, A Moon for the Misbegotten) and an overall verdict that O'Neill had genius but lacked the 'final element of power and balance out of which greatness is born.' - Argues O'Neill, unlike Sophocles, Aeschylus, or Shakespeare, never achieved a perfect fit between his dramatic ambition and the stage, and restlessly tried nearly every theatrical style - Traces his stylistic evolution from Beyond the Horizon and The Emperor Jones through expressionist works (The Hairy Ape, All God's Chillun Got Wings) to the trilogies - Judges Mourning Becomes Electra his closest approach to true tragic purpose, more successful than the Freudian-inflected Strange Interlude - Criticizes O'Neill's reliance on exclamation marks and 'sharp cries, broken phrases' rather than language of real beauty - Notes his late career was hampered by a palsy-like illness, yielding The Iceman Cometh and the then-unstaged A Moon for the Misbegotten - Concludes O'Neill had genuine dramatic stature and genius but lacked the final quality from which greatness is born ### Freedom Of Self-Expression *By by T. V. Subba Rao* T. V. Subba Rao argues that freedom is meaningful only in tension with restraint, and illustrates this through the life and work of the Carnatic composer Tyagaraja, whom he presents as the supreme embodiment of creative self-expression reconciled with tradition. Tyagaraja's genius lay in transforming the Kirtana into a vehicle flexible enough to contain every other compositional form, and in inventing the improvisatory Manodharma Sangita, yet his devotion, his reverence for elders and the Purvacharyas, and his refusal to depart from traditional scales and rhythms show that his freedom operated within inherited constraint rather than against it. The essay extends this argument to the raga and the alap as Indian music's purest expression of creative freedom-within-form, and closes with a broader claim that censorship, when exercised by people of taste, is a legitimate restraint, while the greater danger to freedom is not restraint itself but the absence of it, which degenerates into licentiousness and chaos. - Frames freedom and restraint as forces that must be harmonized; unqualified freedom is 'unthinkable in practical life' - Presents Tyagaraja as the supreme reconciliation of creative liberty and traditional restraint in Carnatic music - Credits Tyagaraja with transforming the Kirtana into an elastic form capable of embodying all other compositional types, and with inventing Manodharma Sangita (improvisatory music) - Argues Tyagaraja's reverence for tradition and for the Purvacharyas (predecessor teachers) shows freedom flourishing through, not against, inherited form - Holds up the raga and the alap as the purest embodiment of freedom-within-form in Indian art - Concludes that the worst enemy of freedom is the lack of wholesome restraint, which causes it to degenerate into licentiousness and chaos ### Review: India Without Illusions (by 'Vivek') *By Faiz Noorani* A review section covering two books. Faiz Noorani reviews 'Vivek's' India Without Illusions (New Book Co., 1953), a collection of the pseudonymous columnist's Times of India articles, praising its 'forthright and serious' realism about India's foreign policy of neutrality (including a cited Mao Tse-tung line that 'a third way does not exist') and its treatment of domestic problems from over-population to corruption and prohibition, while noting disagreement with the author's assessment of Sardar Patel and of economic planning. Aziz Madni reviews Raja Hutheesing's Window on China (Casement Publications, 1953), an account of the author's two visits to Mao's China as part of the India-China Friendship Association delegation, praising its detached, unsentimental honesty about both the promises and the brutal costs of Communist rule, and closing on the observation that no Communist dictatorship, once clamped down, has ever been broken up from within. A shorter 'Books in Brief' column (by R.H.) surveys new titles including a Sartre excerpt on existential psychoanalysis, Andre Malraux's The Voices of Silence, Maria Bellonci's Lucrezia Borgia, and works by Walter de la Mare and E. H. Ramsden. - Faiz Noorani praises 'Vivek's' India Without Illusions for forthright realism about India's foreign policy of professed neutrality amid Cold War pressures - The review cites Mao Tse-tung's line that 'Neutrality is a facade and a third way does not exist' as central to Vivek's argument - Noorani disagrees with Vivek's estimate of Sardar Patel and of economic planning but calls the book's broader argument forceful - Aziz Madni reviews Raja Hutheesing's Window on China as a detached, non-propagandistic firsthand account from two visits (1951 and a later visit) as part of an India-China Friendship Association delegation - Madni notes the book's three parts cover the delegation's Peking visit, Chinese economy under land reform, and 'Chinese Democracy', with a closing observation that no Communist dictatorship has been broken from within except by war or comparable upheaval - Books in Brief column surveys new releases including a Sartre excerpt, Malraux's The Voices of Silence, and Maria Bellonci's Lucrezia Borgia ### Review: Window on China (by Raja Hutheesing) *By Aziz Madni* The issue's closing page, 'With Many Voices,' is a compilation of short press quotations on Cold War and international politics from November-December 1953 -- covering Soviet diplomatic posture, Korean POW disputes, Asian solidarity, and Communist Party statements in India and Ceylon -- framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. The page is followed by a note that the Ceylon Committee for Cultural Freedom was inaugurated in Colombo on November 17, 1953, and a membership enrollment form for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. - Compiles press quotations from November-December 1953 on Soviet diplomatic posture, Korean POW negotiations, and Communist statements in India and Ceylon - Includes a quotation from Sir John Kotelawala, Prime Minister of Ceylon, on tolerating all opposition parties except the Communist Party - Notes the Ceylon Committee for Cultural Freedom was inaugurated in Colombo on November 17, 1953 by J. R. Jayawardene - Closes the issue with a membership enrollment form for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff021/ ### Summary This is the complete February 1954 issue (No. 21) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, published from Bombay and affiliated to the World Movement for Cultural Freedom. The issue mixes literary criticism, anti-communist political commentary, and arts reviews. Rex Berry profiles the poet Dylan Thomas, who had died in November 1953; John S. Connor surveys the historical rise of Liberalism from the Middle Ages through the 19th century as a prelude to critiquing contemporary 'New Humanism' and 'Radical Humanism' as disguised revivals of a discredited philosophy; and S. M. Shakoor, a Guianese trade unionist, gives a detailed insider account of the 1953 British Guiana constitutional crisis, arguing that Cheddi Jagan's communist-led People's Progressive Party subverted democratic trade unions and provoked the British government into suspending the colony's constitution.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the complete February 1954 issue (No. 21) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, published from Bombay and affiliated to the World Movement for Cultural Freedom. The issue mixes literary criticism, anti-communist political commentary, and arts reviews. Rex Berry profiles the poet Dylan Thomas, who had died in November 1953; John S. Connor surveys the historical rise of Liberalism from the Middle Ages through the 19th century as a prelude to critiquing contemporary 'New Humanism' and 'Radical Humanism' as disguised revivals of a discredited philosophy; and S. M. Shakoor, a Guianese trade unionist, gives a detailed insider account of the 1953 British Guiana constitutional crisis, arguing that Cheddi Jagan's communist-led People's Progressive Party subverted democratic trade unions and provoked the British government into suspending the colony's constitution. An unsigned front-of-book 'Notes' section and the unsigned article 'Embrace of Death' cover Asian regional security, a Bombay Government order restricting English-medium school admissions, the repatriation of anti-communist Chinese/Korean POWs, an international legal conference in Delhi, warnings against politicised history textbooks, the treatment of Yugoslav dissident Milovan Djilas, and leaked correspondence exposing Communist Party of India tactics toward United Front partners ahead of the Travancore-Cochin elections. A 'Review' section covers a Soviet cultural delegation's ballet and variety performance in Bombay, an exhibition of painter Shiavax Chavda's work, and three book notices (Korean Tales, The Oliviers, and a 'Books in Brief' roundup covering Baudelaire, Yeats, Churchill's war memoirs, Simenon, and G. S. Fraser). The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a column of pointed quotations from the contemporary press on Indian foreign policy, communism, and world affairs, followed by an ICCF membership form and colophon. ## Essays ### Dylan Thomas – A Profile *By by Rex Berry* Rex Berry's profile sketches Dylan Thomas as a poet who cultivated a public persona of bardic excess while producing dense, self-consciously 'hewn' verse that critics found either brilliant or incoherent. Berry surveys the range of contemporary critical reaction -- from Edith Sitwell's praise to Louis MacNeice's ambivalence and Stephen Spender's charge that the poetry lacked 'beginning nor end, or intelligent control' -- and argues that Thomas's obscurity was less a pose than the product of rigorous compression rather than free-flowing effusion. The piece closes by reporting Thomas's recent death in a New York hospital and quoting several of his own lines as a fitting self-written epitaph. - Opens with an anecdote of Thomas's provocative behaviour at a Foyles literary luncheon - Surveys divided contemporary critical opinion (Sitwell, MacNeice, Spender, Henry Treece) - Argues Thomas sought no didactic or moral end, only to 'put his own house in order' - Defends Thomas's obscurity as a product of compression, not lack of control, quoting a Thomas letter reply to Spender - Reports Thomas's death in a New York hospital and closes with his own verse as epitaph ### The New Humanism—A Critique *By by John S. Connor* An unsigned front-of-book 'Notes' section covering several current-affairs items. It welcomes the Ceylonese Prime Minister's call for an Asian regional security pact against communist infiltration; criticises a Bombay Government order restricting English-medium school admission to Anglo-Indians and non-Asians as a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Indian Constitution, quoting Frank Anthony's description of it as 'educational apartheid'; welcomes the release of anti-communist Chinese and Korean prisoners of war despite communist propaganda efforts to prevent it; assesses a Delhi international legal conference as valuable mainly for its discussion of the UN Charter; warns against politicised, doctrinaire history teaching following an address by Dr. P. V. Kane; and expresses regret over the treatment of Yugoslav dissident Milovan Djilas, questioning the durability of Yugoslavia's break from Stalinism. A closing item criticises the Praja Socialist Party's flirtation with a United Front with communists in Travancore-Cochin as historically shortsighted. - Endorses Ceylon PM Kotelawala's call for an Asian collective-security pact against communism - Condemns the Bombay Government's restriction of English-school admissions as unconstitutional 'educational apartheid' - Welcomes release of anti-communist Chinese/Korean POWs as a propaganda defeat for communists - Faults an international legal conference in Delhi for weak agenda focus but credits its UN Charter debate - Warns against rewriting history for political ends, referencing Dr. P. V. Kane's History Congress address - Criticises Yugoslavia's persecution of Milovan Djilas as a relapse toward Soviet-style repression - Warns the Praja Socialist Party against repeating 1930s-style United Front collaboration with communists in Travancore-Cochin ### The British Guiana Crisis *By by S. M. Shakoor* This unsigned article reports a leaked correspondence, disclosed by the Democratic Research Service on the eve of Travancore-Cochin's general elections, between Dr. N. M. Jaisoorya, M.P., and Mr. G. M. Shroff of the Hyderabad P.D.F. and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India. The article argues the correspondence exposes the CPI's 'United Democratic Front' strategy as a Leninist tactic to destroy, not ally with, socialist and other democratic parties, quoting Lenin's own boast of giving 'the embrace that killed' to allied parties. It presents Jaisoorya and Shroff's letter of complaint that CPI 'working class leadership' really means unaccountable CPI dominance enforced through 'undemocratic methods and intrigues,' and the CPI Central Committee's dismissive, threatening reply accusing them of 'anti-communist slanders' and of being tools of 'imperialists and feudal landlords.' - Reports disclosure of secret CPI correspondence with Dr. N. M. Jaisoorya and G. M. Shroff ahead of Travancore-Cochin elections - Frames the CPI's 'United Democratic Front' proposal as a tactic to destroy allied socialist parties, not unite with them - Quotes Lenin on Bolshevik alliance tactics with 'bourgeois liberalism' and British socialists - Quotes Jaisoorya/Shroff's letter alleging CPI leadership means unaccountable, undemocratic CPI dominance over the Front - Quotes the CPI Central Committee's reply accusing the pair of repeating 'anti-communist slanders' and serving 'imperialists and feudal landlords' ### Review (Ballet-Hoo; The Art of Chavda; Korean Tales; The Oliviers; Books in Brief) *By B.A. / N.D.O. / F.S.N. / R.H.* John S. Connor traces the historical development of Western Liberalism from a revolt against medieval religious and spiritual authority, through the consolidation of a materialist, property-centred legal and economic order by the close of the 17th century, to its 'triumphant epoch' in the 19th century when freedom of contract and laissez-faire were elevated into unassailable doctrine. Connor argues that this classical Liberalism, for all its achievements, left the propertyless masses without real liberation and produced the conditions -- via Marx's synthesis of Hegel, Feuerbach, and Ricardo -- that gave rise to Communism as a reaction. The essay (whose second half, not covered by the essay's own title discussion here, argues against 'New Humanism' as a naive attempt to revive discredited Liberal humanist assumptions) closes by warning that the same intellectual carelessness that let Communism arise now threatens to give the 'New Humanism' undeserved credibility. - Traces Liberalism's origin to a revolt against religious/spiritual authority in the early modern period - Describes the emergence by the 17th century of a materialist, self-sufficient, property-focused legal-political order - Argues 19th-century Liberalism's freedom of contract doctrine left the propertyless working masses effectively unliberated - Credits (critically) Marx with synthesising Hegel's dialectics, Feuerbach's materialism, Proudhon's sociology and Ricardo's economics into Communism as Liberalism's chief challenger - Frames 'New Humanism' and 'Radical Humanism' as attempts to revive a philosophically bankrupt pragmatic liberalism under new names ### Embrace Of Death (unsigned editorial) S. M. Shakoor, described as a prominent Guianese trade unionist, gives an inside account of the 1953 British Guiana constitutional crisis following Dr. Cheddi Jagan's tour of India. He traces the history of trade unionism in the colony from Hubert Critchlow's founding of the British Guiana Labour Union through the 1940s rise of the Man-Power Citizens' Association, and describes how Dr. J. P. Lachhmansingh's rival Guiana Industrial Workers' Union, backed by Cheddi and Janet Jagan and Forbes Burnham (both said to have absorbed communist doctrine), gained ground through wildcat strikes and eventually captured 18 of 24 Assembly seats via the communist-dominated People's Progressive Party. Shakoor recounts the PPP government's controversial legislative agenda -- including a resolution on the Rosenbergs, repeal of a ban on communist literature, a compulsory land-cultivation bill, and the contentious Labour Relations Bill -- culminating in the British Government's dispatch of troops and warships and the Governor's suspension of the five-month-old constitution. He frames the episode as a warning about communist subversion of trade unions and calls on international trade unionists to help the free unions rebuild. - Introduces context: Cheddi Jagan's recent tour of India prompted this explanatory account by a fellow Guianese trade unionist - Traces the colony's trade union history from Hubert Critchlow's B.G. Labour Union through the Man-Power Citizens' Association's sugar-industry gains - Describes Dr. J. P. Lachhmansingh's rival Guiana Industrial Workers' Union and its communist backers, including Cheddi and Janet Jagan and Forbes Burnham - Details the PPP government's 18-of-24-seat Assembly majority and its controversial legislative programme - Covers the 25-day sugar strike, the Labour Relations Bill controversy, and the Speaker's refusal to suspend standing rules - Recounts the British Government's dispatch of troops/warships and the Governor's suspension of the constitution - Closes with a call for outside trade union help to rebuild free unions in British Guiana ### Notes (Asian Security; Freedom in Education; At Last; International Legal Conference; On Re-Writing History; Relapse?) A miscellany 'Review' section with four items. B.A. reviews a Soviet Cultural Delegation's ballet and variety performance at Bombay's Excelsior Theatre, finding the eclectic mixed programme disappointing overall, criticising ballerina Maya Plietskaya's technique and mocking the audience's enthusiastic reception of a mangled rendition of Iqbal's national song. N.D.O. profiles painter Shiavax Chavda's eleventh one-man exhibition in Bombay, praising his independence from political and artistic cliques and his documentation of Hindu temples in Indonesia. F.S.N. pans Melvin B. Voorhees's Korean Tales for its sweeping, condescending generalisations about 'Oriental' peoples. R.H. reviews Felix Barker's The Oliviers as a well-researched but quotation-heavy double biography, and contributes a 'Books in Brief' roundup covering new books on Baudelaire, an unpublished Yeats correspondence, the final volume of Churchill's Second World War memoirs, a new Simenon novel, and G. S. Fraser's The Modern Writer and His World. - B.A. criticises a Soviet Cultural Delegation ballet/variety show in Bombay as an uneven, disappointing hotch-potch - N.D.O. praises painter Shiavax Chavda's independence from political cliques and his Indonesian temple documentation - F.S.N. criticises Melvin Voorhees's Korean Tales for crude generalisations about 'Oriental' peoples and militaries - R.H. reviews Felix Barker's The Oliviers as detailed but overly reliant on quoted criticism - 'Books in Brief' notes new titles on Baudelaire, Yeats's correspondence, Churchill's war memoirs, Simenon, and G. S. Fraser ### I.C.C.F. News / Ceylon C.C.F. The issue's back page, 'With Many Voices,' is an unsigned column of pointed excerpts from the contemporary Indian and international press on foreign policy, communism, and world affairs -- including remarks from the Hindustan Times, Daily Telegraph, Newsweek on Nixon's India trip, Asoka Mehta on the failure of India's foreign policy, and Malcolm Muggeridge's quip on Marxism and Christianity. The page also carries an ICCF membership enrolment form and the issue's printing colophon (edited by Faiz S. Noorani; printed and published by Prabhakar Padhye at The Kanada Press, Bombay). - Unsigned quotations column excerpting Indian and international press commentary on foreign policy and communism - Includes Newsweek's report that Nixon saw Nehru's neutralism as rooted in belief India could dominate a weak, unarmed non-communist Asia - Includes Asoka Mehta's assessment that India's foreign policy had failed - Includes Malcolm Muggeridge's aphorism on Marxism becoming a 'Christian heresy' turned persecutor - Carries the issue's ICCF membership form and print colophon (Faiz S. Noorani, editor; Prabhakar Padhye, printer/publisher) --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff023/ ### Summary This is Issue No. 23 (April 1954) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (edited by Faiz S. Noorani). In the rendered pages the issue opens with Dr. Sampurnanand's essay on the spiritual and moral vacuum he sees underlying Indian society's vulnerability to communism, followed by an unsigned Notes section covering domestic politics (the Kerala election results, a challenge to the CPI over the 'Communist Conspiracy at Madurai' documents), colonial affairs (Goa, Kenya), and the decline of Senator McCarthy in the US. Cultural criticism follows: Rex Berry's profile-essay on Ernest Hemingway and Kobita Sarkar's survey of directorial 'style' in world cinema. Professor Harold H. Fisher contributes the second installment of an analysis of Soviet colonialism, arguing that satellite states and foreign Communist parties constitute new forms of colony. The issue also carries the American Committee for Cultural Freedom's 'Ethics of Controversy' statement (a response to McCarthyist rhetoric), I.C.C.F.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is Issue No. 23 (April 1954) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (edited by Faiz S. Noorani). In the rendered pages the issue opens with Dr. Sampurnanand's essay on the spiritual and moral vacuum he sees underlying Indian society's vulnerability to communism, followed by an unsigned Notes section covering domestic politics (the Kerala election results, a challenge to the CPI over the 'Communist Conspiracy at Madurai' documents), colonial affairs (Goa, Kenya), and the decline of Senator McCarthy in the US. Cultural criticism follows: Rex Berry's profile-essay on Ernest Hemingway and Kobita Sarkar's survey of directorial 'style' in world cinema. Professor Harold H. Fisher contributes the second installment of an analysis of Soviet colonialism, arguing that satellite states and foreign Communist parties constitute new forms of colony. The issue also carries the American Committee for Cultural Freedom's 'Ethics of Controversy' statement (a response to McCarthyist rhetoric), I.C.C.F. organisational news, book reviews (including Prabhakar Padhye on Klaus Mehnert's Stalin Versus Marx and an unsigned review of Kathleen Nott's The Emperor's Clothes), brief book notices, a reader letter reproducing the Tribune's retraction of allegations against the Democratic Research Service, and a closing page of quoted press excerpts ('With Many Voices'). The volume's argumentative center, in the rendered pages, is anti-Communist cultural and political criticism combined with reflection on India's own social and spiritual condition. ## Essays ### The Vulnerability Of Indian Society *By by Dr. Sampurnanand* Dr. Sampurnanand argues that Indian society's vulnerability stems from the erosion of the 'spiritual' beliefs that historically let it absorb political shocks (Huns, Scythians, Pathans, Moguls) without losing its character. He contends that contemporary India has confused secularism with the absence of any faith, producing a corrosive cynicism among the educated classes that is spreading to the masses, and that this moral vacuum leaves the country exposed to communism, which he calls a dangerous 'belief' precisely because it denies the individual's significance apart from society. He contrasts a democratic philosophy that treats the individual as an end in himself with the alternative of dictatorship, in which the individual becomes a mere instrument of the ruling clique. He also criticizes the cultural gap between New Delhi's Westernised leadership and the rest of India, and closes by calling for a revival of a genuinely Indian philosophy of life adapted to modern conditions, citing Gandhi as the last person to have attempted this successfully. - Argues India's social vulnerability is rooted in spiritual/moral factors more than political or economic ones - Historically Indian society absorbed foreign political domination (Huns, Scythians, Pathans, Moguls) without losing its character, because it held a common fundamental belief - Today's crisis is a loss of all belief, producing cynicism and a 'moral and intellectual anarchy' - Frames Communism as a dangerous belief because it denies the individual any significance apart from society - Argues democracy in India can rest only on recognition of human individuality; dictatorship reduces the individual to an instrument of the ruling clique - Criticizes New Delhi's leadership as culturally foreign/transplanted and out of touch with Indian tradition, wrongly equating secularism with contempt for religion - Calls for reviving an authentically Indian philosophy of life, citing Gandhi as the last to have translated it into practical terms ### Notes (Agarwal's Challenge to C.P.I.; Travancore-Cochin; Terror In Goa; Light in Kenya; Exit McCarthy?) An unsigned editorial Notes section covers five items: a challenge by Professor S. N. Agarwal (General Secretary of the AICC) demanding the Communist Party of India either prove in court that the 'Communist Conspiracy at Madurai' documents are forged or accept the charge of subverting the Indian Constitution; commentary on the Travancore-Cochin election results as a defeat for Communist-aligned forces and a call for clean, non-doctrinaire democratic governance; condemnation of Portuguese repression in Goa, citing the arrest and deportation of Dr. Gaitonde; cautious approval of Oliver Lyttleton's proposals for multi-racial government in Kenya; and a piece welcoming Senator Joseph McCarthy's apparent political decline as vindicating the argument that democracies cannot fight totalitarianism with totalitarian methods. - Professor S. N. Agarwal challenges the CPI to prove in court that the Madurai conspiracy documents are forged, or accept responsibility - Frames the Kerala/Travancore-Cochin election result as a victory of democratic over Communist forces, urging clean governance rather than doctrinaire anti-communism - Criticizes Portuguese colonial rule in Goa as tyrannical, citing the arrest and deportation of Dr. Gaitonde - Welcomes Oliver Lyttleton's Kenya proposals as a step toward multi-racial government, while noting they fall short of full multi-racial rule - Frames McCarthy's decline as proof that totalitarian methods cannot be used to fight totalitarianism without endangering democracy itself ### Hemingway—The Strange Old Man *By by Rex Berry* Rex Berry's essay, framed as an extract from an 'unwritten novel' based on obituary notices following a false report of Ernest Hemingway's death, is a satirical-affectionate portrait of the writer's public persona: the hard-drinking, adventure-seeking 'tough guy' image versus the private man who attends Mass, quotes Scripture, and reportedly has superstitions about black cats and Fridays. Berry surveys how other writers assess Hemingway's stature, quoting Arthur Koestler's claim that Hemingway is 'the greatest writer living today' and John O'Hara's assertion that he is 'the outstanding author since the death of Shakespeare,' while noting the exaggeration in both claims given contemporaries like Mann, Eliot, Shaw, and Faulkner. The piece closes (continued on p.4) with reflections on The Old Man and the Sea as possibly Hemingway's definitive, final statement. - Frames itself as an extract from an unwritten novel based on obituary notices after a false Hemingway death report - Contrasts Hemingway's public 'tough guy' image (fishing, shooting, drinking, fighting) with a more private, superstitious, churchgoing side - Surveys other writers' assessments of Hemingway's literary stature, including Koestler and O'Hara's outsized claims - Discusses The Old Man and the Sea as possibly Hemingway's 'last word' ### Style In The Cinema *By By Kobita Sarkar* Kobita Sarkar surveys 'style' in world cinema, defined as an individualistic, distinctive directorial imprint on a film. She characterizes national cinemas (American technical polish, British reliance on story, French suavity and poetic quality, Italian realism, Swedish atmosphere, Russian ideological colouring, German solidity, Japanese blending of Western and Oriental modes, and India's emphasis on quantity over originality), then discusses individual directors — Chaplin, Capra, Preston Sturges, de Mille, Hitchcock, Orson Welles, John Ford, John Huston, Robert Rossen, Carl Dreyer, Marcel Carne, Carol Reed, and various Italian directors including Rossellini, Blasetti, and de Sica — as examples of how a director's personal vision shapes a film's total effect, sometimes independent of story material or acting. - Defines cinematic 'style' as an individualistic or distinctive manner of self-expression, mainly attributable to the director - Surveys national cinema characteristics: American technical polish, British story-reliance, French suavity/poetry, Italian realism, Swedish atmosphere, Russian ideological colouring, Japanese East-West blending, India's quantity over quality - Profiles individual directors as exemplars of personal style: Chaplin, Capra, Preston Sturges, de Mille, Hitchcock, Orson Welles, John Ford, John Huston, Robert Rossen - Discusses Italian directors (Rossellini, Blasetti, de Sica) as inconsistent but often original - Concludes that when a director's style is sufficiently original, it dominates the finished product regardless of who else contributes to the film ### Three Kinds Of Communist Colonies—II *By by Professor Harold H. Fisher* In the second installment of his analysis, Professor Harold H. Fisher argues that the Communist bloc has produced a distinct 'third type' of colony: Communist parties operating within other countries, which are more tightly controlled and ideologically submissive to Moscow than traditional national colonies, and which work to replace their own governments with Soviet-modelled ones. He traces the shift in Communist theory from expecting revolution in advanced industrial countries to targeting underdeveloped countries as capitalism's 'weakest links,' quotes Stalin on the selective logic of supporting secession only where it serves Soviet interests, and describes Communist tactics of denouncing former nationalist allies (citing Nehru as an example) as having become tools of imperialism. He concludes that Chinese Communism will likely generate its own colonialism and eventually strain against Soviet dominance, and that the free world's defense of liberty must be paired with a genuine commitment to equality and international cooperation to be persuasive to non-aligned and newly independent peoples. - Argues Communist parties abroad constitute a 'third kind' of colony, more tightly controlled than traditional national colonies and dedicated to installing Soviet-modelled governments - Communist theory shifted from expecting revolution in advanced countries to targeting underdeveloped 'weakest links' of world capitalism - Quotes Stalin's selective logic on secession, supporting it for India/Arabia/Egypt but opposing it for regions bordering Russia - Describes Communist tactics of denouncing former nationalist leaders (e.g. Nehru) as having 'turned' toward imperialism once in power - Predicts Chinese Communism will develop its own colonialism and eventually chafe against Soviet primacy - Argues that championing liberty against Soviet colonialism must be paired with genuine commitment to equality and international cooperation to persuade newly independent, non-aligned peoples ### Ethics Of Controversy This unsigned piece reproduces the American Committee for Cultural Freedom's March 4, 1954 statement deploring McCarthyist trends in American political discourse, signed by figures including James T. Farrell, Arthur Koestler, John Steinbeck, Reinhold Niebuhr, Sidney Hook, and others, and lists ten standards of 'ethical controversy' the Committee urges public figures to observe (e.g., criticism should target policies rather than personal motives, admit gaps in knowledge, and never refuse discussion). It is followed by I.C.C.F. News reporting on M. R. Masani's and Prabhakar Padhye's visits to Madras, Delhi, Patna, Lucknow, Calcutta, and Nagpur to build the Committee's membership and deliver lectures, including Masani's lecture on 'The Social Significance of Bhoodan.' - Reproduces the ACCF's March 4, 1954 statement against McCarthyist trends in American public discourse, signed by prominent anti-Communist writers and scholars - Lists ten standards of 'ethical controversy,' including directing criticism at policies not persons, admitting uncertainty, and never refusing discussion - Announces an ACCF forum on 'The Ethics of Controversy' on April 8 featuring Sidney Hook, W. H. Auden, Daniel Bell, Henry Hazlitt, and Will Herberg - Reports M. R. Masani's visits to Madras, Delhi, and Patna, including a lecture on 'The Social Significance of Bhoodan' - Reports Prabhakar Padhye's organisational visits to Delhi, Lucknow, Patna, Calcutta, and Nagpur to expand I.C.C.F. membership ### I.C.C.F. News This review section carries two book notices. Prabhakar Padhye reviews Dr. Klaus Mehnert's Stalin Versus Marx, praising its detailed tracing of twelve elements by which Stalin revised Marxist doctrine, and framing Stalin's ambition to establish 'intellectual eminence' alongside his organisational power as rooted in an inferiority complex relative to more intellectually accomplished Bolshevik colleagues. An unsigned review (initialled R.H.) covers Kathleen Nott's The Emperor's Clothes, describing it as a defence of liberal and humanistic philosophy against neo-scholastic claims that humanism is a prideful, doomed philosophy, and summarizing Nott's critique of T. S. Eliot, Graham Greene, Dorothy Sayers, and C. S. Lewis for what she sees as dogmatic Catholic orthodoxy. - Padhye's review of Mehnert's Stalin Versus Marx traces twelve elements by which Stalin revised Marxist doctrine, including 'Socialism in One Country' - Argues Stalin's drive to establish 'intellectual eminence' stemmed from an inferiority complex relative to more intellectually accomplished Bolshevik colleagues like Trotsky - The Emperor's Clothes review frames Kathleen Nott's book as a defence of liberal humanism against a neo-scholastic claim that post-Enlightenment humanism is prideful and doomed - Summarizes Nott's attack on T. S. Eliot, Graham Greene, Dorothy Sayers, and C. S. Lewis as proponents of dogmatic Catholic orthodoxy - The reviewer questions whether Nott's charge that dogmatic abstractions are 'special poison' to charitable, aware artists holds up against counter-examples like Dante and Van Eyck ### Review: Stalin Versus Marx (Dr. Klaus Mehnert) *By Prabhakar Padhye* 'Books In Brief' offers short notices on Edith Sitwell's Gardeners and Astronomers, a study of De Sade's Selected Writings edited by Leonard de Saint-Yves, J. P. Stern's study of Ernst Junger, Francoise Mallet's novel Into the Labyrinth, and John Ruskin's collected letters to Kathleen Olander published as The Gulf of Years. This is followed by a reader letter from Shankar Shetty, Secretary of the Democratic Research Service, reproducing in full the London Tribune's unconditional retraction and apology (dated March 5, 1954) for its earlier article alleging the Democratic Research Service was Communist-linked and U.S.-funded. - Brief notices cover Edith Sitwell, a De Sade selected-writings volume, a study of Ernst Junger, Francoise Mallet's Into the Labyrinth, and Ruskin's letters to Kathleen Olander - Reader letter from Shankar Shetty reproduces the Tribune's March 5, 1954 retraction of its 'U.S. Spies in India' allegations against the Democratic Research Service - The Tribune's retraction confirms the Democratic Research Service received no USIS funding and was not Communist-run, and states it is 'strongly opposed to McCarthyism' ### Review: The Emperor's Clothes (Kathleen Nott) *By R.H.* 'With Many Voices' is a closing column of quoted press excerpts under a Tennyson epigraph, gathering remarks from Indian and international newspapers on communism, democracy, and current affairs from February-March 1954 — including comments from Nehru, S. N. Agarwal, Woodrow Wyatt, Syngman Rhee, and M. S. M. Sharma (who credits M. R. Masani's 'refreshing habit of calling a spade a spade' for endearing him to Mahatma Gandhi and for his work founding the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom). - Compiles quoted remarks from Indian and Western press (Times of India, Searchlight, Bombay Sentinel, etc.) from February-March 1954 - M. S. M. Sharma credits M. R. Masani's plainspokenness for endearing him to Mahatma Gandhi and for founding the I.C.C.F. - Woodrow Wyatt, Labour M.P., is quoted twice warning against cooperation between democratic socialists and Communists - Includes Nehru's remarks on Delhi not being representative of India and on India's role in Sudan's independence - Closes the issue; masthead notes it is edited by Faiz S. Noorani and printed by Prabhakar Padhye at The Kanada Press, Bombay --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff024/ ### Summary This is issue No. 24 (May 1954) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (affiliated to the Congress for Cultural Freedom / World Movement for Cultural Freedom), edited by Faiz S. Noorani and printed and published by Prabhakar Padhye at The Kanada Press, Bombay. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with Padhye's lead essay defending the Committee against charges of being a pro-American or Western stooge organisation, arguing instead that its anti-totalitarian stance is dictated by principle rather than any 'moral neutralism' between free and communist societies. This is followed by a Notes section commenting on the hydrogen bomb controversy and the Soviet-aligned Women's International Democratic Federation; short pieces on the Colombo Conference, famine in China, cooperative-movement jubilee celebrations, Jayaprakash Narayan's turn to Bhoodan, C. Rajagopalachari's political future, and a complaint about pro-communist reporting in the Times of India; a literary essay on W. H. Auden by Yatin Gaznavi; an extract from Dr. James T.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 24 (May 1954) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (affiliated to the Congress for Cultural Freedom / World Movement for Cultural Freedom), edited by Faiz S. Noorani and printed and published by Prabhakar Padhye at The Kanada Press, Bombay. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with Padhye's lead essay defending the Committee against charges of being a pro-American or Western stooge organisation, arguing instead that its anti-totalitarian stance is dictated by principle rather than any 'moral neutralism' between free and communist societies. This is followed by a Notes section commenting on the hydrogen bomb controversy and the Soviet-aligned Women's International Democratic Federation; short pieces on the Colombo Conference, famine in China, cooperative-movement jubilee celebrations, Jayaprakash Narayan's turn to Bhoodan, C. Rajagopalachari's political future, and a complaint about pro-communist reporting in the Times of India; a literary essay on W. H. Auden by Yatin Gaznavi; an extract from Dr. James T. Shotwell's poem 'The Way' read at the dedication of the Carnegie Endowment International Center; a books/review section covering works on Soviet forced labour and worker coercion, a report titled 'Communist Conspiracy At Madurai', and brief notices of several other books and the journal Encounter; the American Committee for Cultural Freedom's May Day statement; C.C.F. News notes on international activities; the continuation of Padhye's opening essay; and a closing page, 'With Many Voices', collecting contemporary press quotations on communism, Cold War alignment, and Indian politics, alongside a membership enrolment form for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. ## Essays ### The Committee And America *By by Prabhakar Padhye* Prabhakar Padhye's lead article responds to a reader who, while sympathetic to the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's aims, worries the organisation may function as a Western/American policy outpost. Padhye rebuts the charge, explains that the Committee declined financial contributions from the international movement in Paris even though such aid would have been unobjectionable in principle, and sets out the Committee's core commitment: freedom, democracy, and the 'sovereignty of the individual' as expressed in the Declaration of Cultural Freedom. He argues that modern totalitarianism is more insidious than any past tyranny because it seeks to dictate not just how truth is expressed but truth itself, and that the Committee judges issues by their bearing on this world struggle rather than by narrow national or pro-Western allegiance. The essay's continuation (rendered on page 11) argues that India's 'moral neutralism'-refusing to judge between the moral and immoral in international affairs-betrays the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, who, despite opposing violence, never withheld moral judgment from the Axis powers during the Second World War. Padhye contrasts this with what he sees as contemporary India's selective outrage (protesting the non-admission of Red China to the U.N. while staying silent on Ceylon and Japan) and insists the Committee's criticisms of neutralist policy are not anti-American but a defence of universal democratic values against a national malaise of moral indifference. - Padhye responds to a reader's suspicion that the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom is a covert instrument of Western/American policy. - The Committee's Executive Committee declined financial contributions from the Paris-based International Movement even though accepting them would not, in principle, have been objectionable. - The Committee's foundational commitment, per the Declaration of Cultural Freedom, is to the 'integrity of the individual' as a primary ethical value and to a free society as the precondition for cultural flourishing. - Modern totalitarianism is framed as uniquely dangerous because it seeks to dictate not only the expression of truth but truth itself. - The Committee is affiliated with the Congress for Cultural Freedom, described (quoting Hamburg's Lord Mayor Max Brauer) as a 'permanent Parliament' of the free world's spirit. - The Committee criticizes Indian 'moral neutralism'-illustrated by the U.N. Forced Labour Report controversy-as a betrayal of the Gandhian tradition of moral judgment, not a sign of pro-American bias. - Padhye contrasts India's outrage over China's U.N. exclusion with its silence on Ceylon's and Japan's non-admission, attributing the asymmetry to the Soviet veto and a biased 'apparatus of thought' in the External Affairs Ministry. ### Notes (The H. Bomb Racket; Women Dupes of the Communists) A short editorial 'Notes' section. 'The H. Bomb Racket' argues that international communist-led protests against U.S. hydrogen bomb testing are hypocritical, contending the Soviets themselves raced to develop the bomb and only began complaining once the U.S. pulled ahead technologically; it cites reported Soviet budget cuts to hydrogen bomb research as evidence the USSR quietly abandoned the weapon as impractical, and blames the Kremlin's obstruction of U.N. atomic-inspection powers for the ongoing arms danger. 'Women Dupes of the Communists' reports the U.N. Economic and Social Council's withdrawal of consultative status from the Women's International Democratic Federation (W.I.D.F.) for anti-U.N. propaganda, links the W.I.D.F. and the Indo-Soviet Cultural Society to Cominform front operations, and warns Indian women being courted for a 'Goodwill Delegation' to Moscow that they risk serving Communist Party interests. - The piece argues Soviet and communist objections to U.S. hydrogen bomb tests are opportunistic, mirroring the earlier Stockholm Peace Appeal against the atom bomb when the USSR lagged behind. - It claims reports show the Soviet cabinet slashed hydrogen bomb development spending by 3,820 million roubles between December 20-29 of the prior year, diverting resources to cosmic ray research. - It blames the Soviet government for blocking an effective International Atomic Energy Commission with real inspection powers, calling this the root of ongoing nuclear danger. - The W.I.D.F. lost its U.N. consultative status by a 10-3 vote for 'spreading propaganda against the U.N. and its work.' - The Indo-Soviet Cultural Society, headed by Dr. A. V. Baliga, is identified as successor to the banned 'Friends of the Soviet Union' and accused of recruiting Indian women for Moscow 'Goodwill Delegations' as a Communist Party front operation. - Mrs. Monica Felton, a Stalin Prize recipient, is cited as a W.I.D.F. spokesperson who visited India and defended communist conduct in Korea. ### Test at Colombo / Famine in China / Dr. Matthai's Reminder A cluster of short editorial notes. 'Test at Colombo' discusses the retreat of French imperialism in Indo-China under U.S. pressure, praises Philippine President Magsayay's linkage of Indo-China's independence to Pacific Pact participation, and calls on the upcoming Colombo Conference of South Asian Prime Ministers to build a regional collective-security system rather than rely on outside powers. 'Famine in China' reports an officially admitted food shortage affecting roughly 200 million people (half of China's population) and describes coercive state measures against peasants, arguing this disproves communist claims of having solved the agricultural problem. 'Dr. Matthai's Reminder' praises Dr. John Matthai's presidential address to the Indian Institute of Science warning against a purely utilitarian, vocational approach to education that neglects the humanities. - French imperialism is described as being forced, under U.S. persuasion, to release its grip on Indo-China, with lingering effects still visible in Tunisia and Pondicherry. - The piece calls for South and South-East Asian nations to form their own regional collective-security system at the Colombo Conference rather than rely on outside intervention. - China's food shortage is reported at 200 million people affected (half the population), per the official New China News Agency, with coercive measures against peasants including bans on private grain trading. - Dr. John Matthai warns that science education alone risks producing 'spiritual ignorance and poverty' without a parallel grounding in the humanities and a sense of values. ### Co-operative Movement / Jeevan Dan / Rajaji's Future Role / Fostering Asian Discord Further short notes. 'Co-operative Movement' marks the cooperative movement's golden jubilee, inaugurated by the Prime Minister in Bombay, praising cooperatives as a 'new way of life' distinct from both competitive free enterprise and state control, while noting the movement remains underdeveloped in production and distribution. 'Jeevan Dan' pays tribute to Jayaprakash Narayan's renunciation of Marxism (referencing his 1952 Freedom First article 'Incentives For Goodness') and his dedication to Vinoba Bhave's Bhoodan Yagna land-gift movement. 'Rajaji's Future Role' reflects on C. Rajagopalachari's retirement as Chief Minister of Madras, expressing confidence he will remain influential in public life. 'Fostering Asian Discord' criticizes correspondent G. K. Reddy of the Times of India for derogatory and pro-communist reporting on Far Eastern affairs, noting a formal protest from the Philippines' Minister Plenipotentiary in India. - The cooperative movement, celebrating its golden jubilee (fifty years), is praised as a middle path between free enterprise and state-controlled economic life, though still confined mainly to credit supply rather than production or distribution. - Jayaprakash Narayan is honored for renouncing Marxism ('that "False Goddess" of Dialectical Materialism') and dedicating himself to Vinoba Bhave's Bhoodan Yagna movement; Dada Dharmadhikari renamed the All India Sarvodaya Sammelan in Bodh Gaya as 'Jayaprakash Sammelan' in his honor. - C. Rajagopalachari's retirement from Madras chief ministership is treated as a loss to public life, with the Manchester Guardian quoted on his stature. - G. K. Reddy, Delhi correspondent for Blitz and a Times of India contributor, is accused of pro-communist bias and derogatory coverage of Asian affairs, prompting a formal protest from the Philippines' diplomatic representative in India. ### W. H. Auden: A View *By by Yatin Gaznavi* Yatin Gaznavi's literary essay, written on the occasion of W. H. Auden receiving the 1953 Bollingen Prize in Poetry, surveys the intellectual background and technical range of Auden's poetry. Gaznavi traces the 'thirties' generation's ambivalent debt to Marx and Freud, arguing Auden was exceptional among his contemporaries for genuinely absorbing psychoanalytic ideas (citing his acknowledged debt to Freud and Groddeck) rather than merely adopting a fashionable posture. The essay discusses Auden's 1930 poetry collection as a landmark that helped spawn the New Signatures anthology group in 1932, his stylistic range across cabaret jazz rhythms, ballad forms, and iambic metre, and his eventual return to Anglo-Catholicism. It closes by examining Auden's distinctive, unsettling use of childhood/nursery-rhyme imagery compared to de la Mare and Edith Sitwell, arguing that for Auden childhood symbols reflect buried terror rather than Victorian wholesomeness. - Gaznavi questions whether 'thirties' poets truly absorbed Marx and Freud or merely constructed generalized pictures of them, as the Elizabethans did with Machiavelli. - Auden is singled out as the exception who shows a 'profound and thorough knowledge of psycho-analysis' and explicitly acknowledged debts to Freud and Groddeck. - The 1930 publication of Auden's poems is called a landmark that gave rise to the New Signatures anthology group (1932) and jolted a moribund Georgian poetic tradition. - Auden's technical range is praised across cabaret jazz rhythm, ballad, and iambic metre, with his early social-criticism poetry still holding up as 'readable' and 'delightful.' - By 1941 Auden's poetry shows him 'eagerly in search of an absolute,' alongside his later return to Anglo-Catholicism. - Auden's use of nursery-rhyme and childhood imagery is contrasted with de la Mare and Sitwell: for Auden childhood symbols are 'reflections from a world of terror and mystery,' not merely 'wholesome.' ### The Way *By Dr. James T. Shotwell* An extract from Dr. James T. Shotwell's poem 'The Way,' read by Sir Cedric Hardwicke at the dedication of the Carnegie Endowment International Center in New York on October 19, 1953. The poem calls for global unity, justice, and a world order that transcends national loyalties and the 'ancient right of war,' invoking Biblical imagery (the Sermon on the Mount, Jerusalem) and the Golden Rule as the true foundation for lasting peace, and warns that neither wishful thinking nor rigid enforced law alone can secure it. - The poem was read by Sir Cedric Hardwicke at the dedication of the Carnegie Endowment International Center in New York, October 19, 1953. - It frames humanity's central task as uniting 'variant breeds' under justice while banishing war and violence. - It invokes the Sermon on the Mount ('a sunlit mount by a sea') as the essential guidance for building a safe and free world. - It states the Golden Rule as the 'missing fulcrum' needed to lift the weight of ancient hatred. - It cautions that peace cannot be achieved by wishful thinking or by rigid law enforced by a world police alone, but requires nations to surrender the 'ancient right of war' by joint consent. ### Review: Police State Methods in the Soviet Union / Coercion of the Worker in the Soviet Union *By Zafar Futehally* The Review section. Zafar Futehally reviews two Beacon Press pamphlets by David Rousset (distributed by Popular Book Depot, Bombay)-'Police State Methods in the Soviet Union' and 'Coercion of the Worker in the Soviet Union'-prepared by the International Commission against Concentration Camp Practices. The review stresses that Soviet tyranny is disturbing precisely because it operates through law rather than lawless abuse of power, detailing the G.P.U./N.K.V.D.'s judicial powers since 1934 and USSR labour laws restricting workers' job mobility, especially in 'Key Industries.' A second review covers 'Communist Conspiracy At Madurai' (Democratic Research Service, Popular Book Depot), a report on the Communist Party of India's Third Congress at Madurai, which is said to reveal internal Party divisions and a secret 'Tactical Line' document proposing a peasant-and-worker-led violent overthrow of the established order disguised as a 'Government of Democratic Unity.' The page also carries brief notices ('Books in Brief' and short reviews) of The Ontology of Existence by Michael Wyschogrod, Encounter issue 7, and works including The Diaries of Lewis Carroll, James Laver's The First Decadent (on Huysmans), Basil Taylor's The Impressionists And Their World, Philip Woodruff's The Founders, and Max Scheler's The Nature of Sympathy. - Rousset's pamphlets argue Soviet tyranny is especially troubling because it is grounded in and conforms to the country's own laws, not merely abuse of power. - The review traces the G.P.U./N.K.V.D. secret police's arrogation of Supreme Court-like functions since 1934 and Soviet labour laws restricting worker mobility, job assignment, and promotion, especially in 'Key Industries.' - 'Communist Conspiracy At Madurai' is presented as revealing sharp internal divisions within the CPI up to its politburo, and a secret tactical document proposing peasant/worker-led violent revolution under the guise of a 'Government of Democratic Unity.' - R. Ramamurti's reply to Dr. Jaisooriya (P.D.F. leader in Hyderabad), accusing him of 'imperialist' and 'anti-communist slander' rhetoric, is cited as evidence of the CPI's international loyalties. - Brief notices cover Michael Wyschogrod's The Ontology of Existence (on Heidegger and Kierkegaard's influence on modern ontology), Encounter issue 7 (praising Woodrow Wyatt on Churchill and an Auden guest editorial), and various other new books in brief. ### Communist Conspiracy At Madurai *By Mukkanna* The American Committee for Cultural Freedom's May Day statement (prepared by an ad hoc subcommittee of James T. Farrell, Norbert Muhlen, and William Phillips) reaffirms faith in freedom and calls for lifting the Iron Curtain, liberating political prisoners, and restoring freedoms of opinion, speech, worship, assembly and strike everywhere, while insisting that criticizing conditions in America itself is compatible with the moral case against Soviet totalitarianism. A following 'C.C.F. News' column reports on Congress for Cultural Freedom activities: an International Music Conference in Rome (April 4-15) with composers including Auric, Dallapiccola, Malipiero, Petrassi, and Stravinsky; American Committee discussion forums featuring Norman Thomas, Sidney Hook, and W. H. Auden among others; a $1000 award for the best manuscript on 'Cultural Freedom'; the Madras Group's celebration of 'T.K.C. Day' honoring T. K. Chidambaratha Mudaliar; an informal function honoring short-story prize winners Gangadhar Gadgil and Chunilal Madia; and a visit to India by David Rousset and Professor Balachowsky of the International Commission Against Concentration Camp Practices, who addressed meetings in Calcutta, Benares, Delhi and Bombay. - The American Committee's May Day statement calls for lifting the Iron Curtain, free exchange of ideas, and liberation of political prisoners, while affirming it is 'morally monstrous' to equate conditions in America with those under Soviet totalitarianism yet also acknowledging 'dangerous and repressive tendencies' exist in all countries including the U.S. - The Congress for Cultural Freedom organised an International Music Conference in Rome (April 4-15) on 'Music in the XXth Century' with composers including Auric, Dallapiccola, Malipiero, Petrassi, Roland Manuel, Sanget, and Stravinsky. - American Committee discussion forums included participants Norman Thomas, George S. Counts, Harry Schwartz, Bertram D. Wolfe, Sidney Hook, and W. H. Auden. - The Madras Group of the I.C.C.F. celebrated 'T.K.C. Day' honoring Tamil poet T. K. Chidambaratha Mudaliar, with tributes from R. Krishnamurthy (Kalki), P. Acharya, and Somasundaram. - David Rousset and Professor Balachowsky of the International Commission Against Concentration Camp Practices visited Calcutta, Benares, Delhi, and Bombay, addressing meetings including under the Alliance Francaise, Indian Council of World Affairs, and Praja Socialist Party auspices. ### The Ontology Of Existence (review) *By R. H.* The closing page, 'With Many Voices' (epigraph from Tennyson), is a compilation of contemporary press quotations on communism, Cold War alignment, and Indian politics, drawn from sources including the Hindustan Times, Blitz, the Eastern Economist, Free Economic Review, Free Press Bulletin, Times of India, The Hindu, The New Age, Indian Express, Dawn, and Janata (all dated February-April 1954). Quoted figures include Deputy Minister Raj Bahadur on Communist Party loyalty screening, R. K. Karanjia on demands for a hawkish foreign policy toward Goa, Pondicherry, and China, U.S. Secretary of State Dulles, Sir John Kotelawala of Ceylon on fearing Communist Party bribery and on democracy's vulnerabilities, Jayaprakash Narayan comparing Chinese land reform unfavourably to MacArthur's land reform in Japan, and Morarji Desai on dealing with Red Flag protesters. The page ends with a membership enrolment form for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom and the issue's colophon naming Faiz S. Noorani as editor and Prabhakar Padhye as printer/publisher at The Kanada Press, Bombay. - The page compiles press quotations from a range of Indian and international outlets (Feb-Apr 1954) on communism, Cold War policy, and domestic politics. - Sir John Kotelawala of Ceylon is quoted twice: fearing Communist Party bribery of Sri Lankan citizens, and criticizing democracy's vulnerability to abuse of freedom. - Jayaprakash Narayan is quoted (from The New Age) telling a Gaya Bhoodan meeting that Chinese land reform was 'no match' to Japan's land reform carried out under MacArthur. - Morarji Desai is quoted threatening Red Flag protesters who disrupted his meeting. - The issue's colophon identifies Faiz S. Noorani as editor and Prabhakar Padhye as printer and publisher, at The Kanada Press, 109 Parsi Bazaar Street, Bombay 1. - A membership enrolment form for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1) appears alongside the quotations, listing an annual fee of Rs. 3/-. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff025/ ### Summary This is issue No. 25 (June 1954) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, affiliated to the Congress for Cultural Freedom. The issue is anchored by V. B. Karnik's lead essay "Two Crusades Or One?", which rebuts Jawaharlal Nehru's characterisation of the Cold War as a symmetrical clash of two equally fanatical ideological crusades, arguing instead that the free nations share no common economic system but are united by a commitment to liberty, and that the real struggle is between liberty and tyranny rather than between two rival economic dogmas. An unsigned "Notes" section comments on the Colombo Conference of Prime Ministers, U Nu and the Pan-Buddhist Conference in Rangoon, Soviet "neo-imperialism," the India-China treaty over Tibet ("The Tibetan Sell Out"), the removal of communists from government service, Sheikh Abdullah's continued detention in Kashmir, the U.S. Supreme Court's school desegregation ruling, and the election of Asoka Mehta to the House of the People. R. B. Joshi reports critically on the P.E.N.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 25 (June 1954) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, affiliated to the Congress for Cultural Freedom. The issue is anchored by V. B. Karnik's lead essay "Two Crusades Or One?", which rebuts Jawaharlal Nehru's characterisation of the Cold War as a symmetrical clash of two equally fanatical ideological crusades, arguing instead that the free nations share no common economic system but are united by a commitment to liberty, and that the real struggle is between liberty and tyranny rather than between two rival economic dogmas. An unsigned "Notes" section comments on the Colombo Conference of Prime Ministers, U Nu and the Pan-Buddhist Conference in Rangoon, Soviet "neo-imperialism," the India-China treaty over Tibet ("The Tibetan Sell Out"), the removal of communists from government service, Sheikh Abdullah's continued detention in Kashmir, the U.S. Supreme Court's school desegregation ruling, and the election of Asoka Mehta to the House of the People. R. B. Joshi reports critically on the P.E.N. Third All-India Writers' Conference at Chidambaram, and Prabhakar Padhye contributes a second instalment on "The Committee And The Arts," defending the autonomy of aesthetic experience against totalitarian instrumentalization of art. Professor Theodor Litt's paper "Science And Moral Responsibility" (delivered at the Hamburg Conference on Science and Freedom) argues against the notion of scientific objectivity as morally neutral. Yatim Ghaznavi reviews Jean-Paul Sartre's scenario "In The Mesh," and an unsigned "Review" column covers the news magazine Jana, several books in brief, C.C.F. news (music prize winners, the Arthur Miller passport controversy), and I.C.C.F. news. The issue closes with "With Many Voices," a compilation of press quotations on Cold War and Colombo Conference themes, and a membership enrolment form for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. The volume is edited by Faiz S. Noorani and printed and published by Prabhakar Padhye. ## Essays ### Two Crusades Or One? *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik challenges Nehru's claim that the Cold War is a clash of two equally fanatical "crusades" waged by the United States and Soviet Russia for rival economic ideologies. Karnik argues this framing is superficial: the free nations are not bound by any single economic system (ranging from private enterprise to full socialism), and their unity rests solely on a shared commitment to liberty and self-government, not on any common economic dogma they seek to impose. He contrasts this with communism, which he presents as a totalising creed that must, by its own logic, seek to establish one economic and political order across the whole world, making the communist camp the true bearer of a crusading zeal. The essay (continued from page 2 to page 11) closes by insisting that the real axis of the struggle is liberty versus tyranny, not one ideology versus another, and that Nehru does the anti-communist cause an injustice by placing communism and anti-communism on the same moral plane. - Rebuts Nehru's Bombay speech describing the US-USSR conflict as a crusade of one ideology against another - Argues free nations have no single shared economic system (from private enterprise to full socialism, citing Tito's Yugoslavia) - Contends the only bond among free nations is love of liberty and the desire for self-government - Distinguishes the free-nations alliance (defensive, non-imposing) from communism's inherently totalising, globally expansionist logic - Frames the true struggle as one between liberty and tyranny, not between two economic ideologies - Criticizes Nehru for equating communism and anti-communism as morally equivalent 'crusades' - Argues the anti-communist fighter deserves support even if imperfect, since he defends liberty against the graver threat ### Notes (Colombo—A Balance Sheet; The Pan-Buddhist Conference; Neo-Imperialism of Soviet Russia; The Tibetan Sell Out; Communists in Government Service; Shaikh Abdulla's Detention; A Great Decision; Asoka Mehta) An unsigned editorial 'Notes' section covering several current events of May-June 1954. It offers a 'balance sheet' on the Colombo Conference of Prime Ministers, crediting Sir John Kotelawala's chairmanship and praising Burmese Prime Minister U Nu as the conference's quiet hero for his firm anti-communist stance, while criticizing V. K. Krishna Menon's attempts to misuse the occasion, and noting the conference's incompleteness given the exclusion of anti-communist Philippines and Thailand. A further note on the Pan-Buddhist Conference in Rangoon discusses U Nu's hopes to build an ideological Buddhist bulwark against communism, while warning that communist-aligned monks may attempt to turn the conference into a communist front. A note titled 'Neo-Imperialism of Soviet Russia' commends U Kyaw Nyein's warning about Soviet-style colonialism. 'The Tibetan Sell Out' condemns the India-China treaty over Tibet as a betrayal of Tibetan self-determination, praising Acharya Kripalani and P. D. Tandon for opposing it in Parliament. 'Communists in Government Service' reports on the removal of communists from Indian and American government posts, citing Home Minister Dr. Katju's parliamentary reply, and applauds provincial leaders such as Pandit Govind Vallabh Pant and Ujjal Singh for condemning communism, while criticizing some Congressmen for disregarding the AICC directive against communist-sponsored peace bodies. 'Shaikh Abdulla's Detention' supports Jayaprakash Narayan's demand for the Kashmir leader's release or trial, criticizing Bakshi Ghulam Mahomed's response. 'A Great Decision' praises the US Supreme Court's school desegregation ruling, invoking Ralph Bunche and Lincoln. A final note congratulates Asoka Mehta on his election to the House of the People. - Praises Sir John Kotelawala's chairing of the Colombo Conference and singles out U Nu of Burma as its real hero for insisting on resisting external communist interference - Criticizes V. K. Krishna Menon for attempting to misuse the Colombo Conference for ideological ends - Discusses the Pan-Buddhist Conference in Rangoon and the risk of communist infiltration of the Buddhist front - Condemns the India-China Tibet treaty as a betrayal of Tibetan self-determination ('The Tibetan Sell Out'), praising Kripalani and Tandon's parliamentary dissent - Reports Home Minister Katju's parliamentary disclosure that 85 government employees were investigated for subversive activity in 1953-54 - Praises provincial leaders (Pant, Ujjal Singh) for condemning communism and criticizes AICC members who ignore anti-communist directives - Supports Jayaprakash Narayan's call for the release or trial of Sheikh Abdullah, criticizing Bakshi Ghulam Mahomed - Welcomes the US Supreme Court's school desegregation ruling as an historic step for American democracy - Congratulates Asoka Mehta, a member of the Committee's Executive, on his election to Parliament ### The P.E.N. Conference At Chidambaram *By R. B. Joshi* R. B. Joshi reports on the P.E.N. Third All-India Writers' Conference held at Chidambaram, arguing the event squandered an opportunity for writers from different regions of India to genuinely get to know each other's literatures. Joshi criticizes the conference's crowded format — three symposia and two discussions on topics including the influence of the Ramayana on regional literature and the progress of regional literatures from 1948-53 — for allotting speakers only ten minutes each, producing hasty and confused speeches with no real discussion. He also critiques the session on 'The Role of English in Free India' for failing to address the practical question of how much English Indian graduates should be expected to know, and takes issue with points from Nehru's inaugural address, particularly Nehru's calls for 'one literature' and for writers to 'think in terms of the nation,' which Joshi argues runs counter to the nature of creative writing rooted in particular, concrete experience. He closes by urging the P.E.N. All-India Centre to organise regional centres and conferences to better connect with writers across India. - Argues the Chidambaram P.E.N. conference failed to let writers from different Indian regions get to know each other's literatures - Criticizes the crowded symposia format (ten minutes per speaker) for producing confused, undiscussed speeches - Notes serious but undiscussed views on whether Independence helped or hurt the inspirational force behind regional literatures - Critiques the session on the role of English in India for failing to address practical questions of adequacy and standard - Challenges Nehru's inaugural remarks urging 'one literature' and writers 'thinking in terms of the nation' as contrary to the particular, concrete nature of creative writing - Recommends the P.E.N. All-India Centre organise regional centres and periodical conferences ### The Committee And The Arts *By Prabhakar Padhye* Prabhakar Padhye continues his series on the Congress for Cultural Freedom's engagement with the arts, examining how the creative spirit is threatened by totalitarian instrumentalization of art in the name of 'progressive literature.' He argues that artistic truth is distinct from scientific or practical truth, and that all art is unique both because it is intensely individual and because it belongs to the aesthetic rather than logical or practical realm. Padhye, citing the critic C. Day Lewis, defends the reality of a distinct 'aesthetic emotion,' and argues that imposing practical, collective purposes on art destroys its uniqueness. He contends that so-called progressive art not only deprives ordinary people of genuine artistic enjoyment (rebutting the notion that 'the people' need simplified didactic art) but actually destroys the artist, citing the case of Krishna Chandra as an example of an artist whose work has been hollowed out by propagandist service. The essay closes by describing the Indian Committee's position: the Committee will not require the artist to be anti-totalitarian or anti-communist (itself a propagandist trick) but simply free. - Argues aesthetic truth is a distinct mode of truth, separate from scientific and practical truth - Defends the existence of a distinct 'aesthetic emotion,' citing C. Day Lewis's The Poetic Image - Contends imposing practical or collective purposes on art destroys its individualistic uniqueness - Rebuts the 'progressive literature' premise that ordinary people need didactic, practically-purposed art, citing folk-art and folk-literature as counter-evidence - Cites the Indian writer Krishna Chandra as an example of an artist whose work was hollowed out by ideological service - States the Committee's position: ask the artist to be free, not anti-totalitarian or anti-communist, since demanding the latter is itself a propagandist trick - Invokes J. W. N. Sullivan's idea that consciousness-widening art has been a significant factor in humanity's evolution from amoeba to man ### Science And Moral Responsibility *By Professor Dr. Theodor Litt* Professor Theodor Litt's paper, presented at the Hamburg Conference on 'Science and Freedom,' argues against the widespread view that scientific objectivity is morally neutral. Litt contends that the very act of pursuing knowledge transforms the investigator and is itself a moral activity, since adherence to truth is a moral quality that grows more important as forces seeking to falsify reality intensify. He argues that while natural science can maintain something close to 'objectivity' because its objects are unaffected by human inquiry, the study of human society is different: the investigator belongs to the same species as the object studied, so any failure of veracity damages not only the investigator's conscience but the society being studied, since human reality is shaped by the very ideas directed at it. Litt concludes that the moral responsibility of science becomes dominant when science acts as an enlightening and advisory force in society, especially given contemporary efforts to conscript scientists into propagating lies. - Challenges the view that scientific objectivity is morally neutral or free of moral assumptions - Argues the pursuit of knowledge itself transforms the investigator and is a vital part of human development - Holds that adherence to truth is itself a moral quality whose value rises as forces against truth intensify - Distinguishes natural science (where objects are unaffected by inquiry) from social/human inquiry, where the investigator belongs to the same species as the object studied - Argues human reality is shaped by ideas directed at it, so falsity in social theory damages both investigator and society - Concludes moral responsibility becomes paramount when science functions as an enlightening, advisory force in society ### In The Sartrian Mesh *By Yatim Ghaznavi* Yatim Ghaznavi reviews Jean-Paul Sartre's scenario 'In The Mesh' (translated by Mervyn Savill, Andrew Dakers, 1954), using it as an occasion to examine Sartre's existentialist philosophy of freedom. Ghaznavi frames Sartre's work through Gabriel Marcel's question of why Sartre finds existence 'nauseating rather than glorious,' and situates Sartre within a tradition of self-analysis extending from Pascal's discomfort with the self to Zola's dictum that the novelist 'must kill the hero.' The review examines the play's central figure, dictator Jean Aguerra, whose exercise and eventual resistance to the loss of freedom exemplifies Sartre's view that men are free but do not know it, and that submitting one's will to party, religion, or law is itself an act of denying one's freedom. Ghaznavi credits the play with keeping alive 'an uneasy conscience,' as Sartre believes literature should, but concludes that Sartre conflates his abstract concept of freedom with the unmitigated licence exercised by a figure like Aguerra, arguing a line must be drawn between freedom and licence even in existentialist terms. - Reviews Sartre's scenario 'In The Mesh' (Savill translation, Andrew Dakers, 1954, 128pp, 9 shillings) - Opens with Gabriel Marcel's question about Sartre finding existence nauseating rather than glorious - Situates Sartre in a lineage of self-analytical writers including Pascal and Zola - Analyzes dictator Jean Aguerra as a 'freedom caught in a trap,' resisting others who would reduce his capacity to resist - Quotes Sartre's L'Etre et le Neant on character existing only as an object of others' knowledge - Summarizes Sartre's core belief that men are free but unaware of it, and that submission to party, religion or law denies one's freedom - Concludes Sartre conflates freedom with 'unmitigated licence' and argues a line must be drawn between the two even in existentialist terms ### Review (Jana; Books in Brief) *By R.H.* An unsigned Review section (closing with the initials 'R.H.') covers the first issue of Jana, a new independent news magazine of 'resurgent Asia and Africa' published from Colombo, describing its coverage of the Colombo Prime Ministers' Conference. A 'Books in Brief' subsection notes Robert Gittings's John Keats: The Living Year, Jacques Maritain's Creative Intuition in Art and Poetry, Conrad Bonifazi's Christendom Attacked, and the second volume of Robert Musil's The Man Without Qualities, along with a comparison of Kierkegaard's and Nietzsche's shared contempt for mediocrity despite opposite aims regarding Christianity. A 'C.C.F. News' item reports winners of the Congress for Cultural Freedom's 'XXth Century Masterpiece Festival' international composers' contest (Lou Harrison, Jean-Louis Martinet, Mario Peragallo, Vladimir Vogel, Giselher Klebe), judged by a jury including Aaron Copland, and notes the American Committee for Cultural Freedom's protest against the denial of a passport to playwright Arthur Miller. An 'I.C.C.F. News' item records that Prof. R. B. Joshi addressed a May 10th meeting on the All-India Writers' Conference at Chidambaram. - Reviews the first issue of Jana, an independent Colombo-published news magazine of 'resurgent Asia and Africa' - Books in Brief notes new works by Robert Gittings (on Keats), Jacques Maritain (Creative Intuition in Art and Poetry), Conrad Bonifazi, and Robert Musil (The Man Without Qualities, vol. 2) - Compares Kierkegaard and Nietzsche as both hostile to mediocrity but opposed in their aims toward Christianity - Reports winners of the Congress for Cultural Freedom's XXth Century Masterpiece Festival composers' contest, judged by a jury including Aaron Copland - Notes the American Committee for Cultural Freedom's protest of the US State Department's denial of a passport to Arthur Miller - Records Prof. R. B. Joshi's May 10th address on the Chidambaram P.E.N. conference under ICCF auspices ### C.C.F. News 'With Many Voices' is a compilation of press quotations, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson, gathering statements from May 1954 on Cold War and Colombo Conference themes. Quoted figures and outlets include A. D. Gorwala in the Statesman, U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles writing in Nations' Business, the Archbishop of York in the Sunday Times, the Eastern Economist on the Colombo Conference and Dien Bien Phu, Pakistani Prime Minister Mahommed Ali on reciprocal restrictions on Soviet diplomats, Nehru's reply to Shri Valiula in the Council of States, the Hindu on Tass Agency personnel, Frank Moraes in the Times of India and the Hindustan Times on V. K. Krishna Menon's role at Colombo, and Acharya Kripalani's remarks in a Foreign Affairs debate reported in the Hindustan Times. The page also carries a membership enrolment form for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom and the publication's imprint: edited by Faiz S. Noorani, printed and published by Prabhakar Padhye at The Kanada Press, Bombay. - Compiles press quotations on Cold War and Colombo Conference themes from May 1954 - Quotes A. D. Gorwala, John Foster Dulles, the Archbishop of York, and the Eastern Economist - Includes Pakistani PM Mahommed Ali's statement on reciprocal restrictions on Soviet diplomats and Nehru's contrasting reply on the same issue - Multiple quotations concern V. K. Krishna Menon's controversial role and perceived pro-communist leanings at the Colombo Conference - Closes with the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's membership enrolment form and the issue's imprint (editor Faiz S. Noorani, printer/publisher Prabhakar Padhye) --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff026/ ### Summary This is the complete July 1954 issue (No. 26) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik and printed/published by Prabhakar Padhye in Bombay. The issue opens with an unsigned lead editorial, "Sapping The Foundation" (by V. B. Karnik), criticising the Congress Working Committee's proposed constitutional amendments to Article 31 as an executive encroachment on judicial review and the rule of law. A "Notes" section comments on the USSR's re-admission to the ILO, Soviet obstruction at the UN over Indo-China, and a magistrate's acquittal of artist Akbar Padmasee on an obscenity charge, alongside a note on the credibility of reports about a Soviet H-bomb setback. Two readers, Anant Kanekar and a contributor signing as "R", respond to a prior article on "The Committee and America," debating why well-meaning Indian intellectuals remain suspicious of the ICCF's stance toward the U.S. despite deep historical ties between Indian and American reform traditions. Sophia Wadia contributes a rejoinder, "Aims And Activities Of P.E.N.," defending the record and structure of the All-India P.E.N.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the complete July 1954 issue (No. 26) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik and printed/published by Prabhakar Padhye in Bombay. The issue opens with an unsigned lead editorial, "Sapping The Foundation" (by V. B. Karnik), criticising the Congress Working Committee's proposed constitutional amendments to Article 31 as an executive encroachment on judicial review and the rule of law. A "Notes" section comments on the USSR's re-admission to the ILO, Soviet obstruction at the UN over Indo-China, and a magistrate's acquittal of artist Akbar Padmasee on an obscenity charge, alongside a note on the credibility of reports about a Soviet H-bomb setback. Two readers, Anant Kanekar and a contributor signing as "R", respond to a prior article on "The Committee and America," debating why well-meaning Indian intellectuals remain suspicious of the ICCF's stance toward the U.S. despite deep historical ties between Indian and American reform traditions. Sophia Wadia contributes a rejoinder, "Aims And Activities Of P.E.N.," defending the record and structure of the All-India P.E.N. Centre against a prior mischaracterisation. Yatim Ghaznavi reviews Albert Camus's L'Homme Revolte (The Rebel) under the title "M. Camus And The 'Crimes De Logique'," assessing its reception and its argument against revolutionary violence. T. R. Fyvel's "The Broken Dialogue" (abridged from Encounter) dissects a breakdown in Anglo-American conversation over the Harry Dexter White espionage case, using it to explore differing British and American senses of security since 1945. The issue closes with a book review section (an unsigned or initialled review of Scott Buchanan's Essay in Politics by "G.D.P." and Zafar Futehally's review of A. Nevett's India Going Red?), a "Books in Brief" column, ICCF/ACCF organisational news, and a back-page compilation of topical quotations, "With Many Voices." ## Essays ### Sapping The Foundation *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead editorial argues that the Indian Parliament is not a sovereign body because the Constitution's Fundamental Rights and judicial review constrain it, and that this is by deliberate design of the framers rather than a defect. He criticises the Constitution Sub-Committee of the Congress Working Committee's proposed amendments, especially the plan to exclude courts from reviewing the quantum of compensation paid under Article 31 for property acquisition, and the proposal to curb High Courts' writ jurisdiction over tribunals. He frames these as attempts by the executive to escape judicial scrutiny rather than legitimate reform, arguing that constitutional change should expand rather than narrow the bounds of freedom. - The Constitution's Fundamental Rights and judicial review are deliberate checks the Indian people chose over unchecked majority rule. - The Congress Working Committee's Sub-Committee proposed excluding courts from reviewing compensation quantum under Article 31. - A further proposal would exclude 'tribunals' from High Court and Supreme Court superintendence. - The author argues these suggestions reflect distrust of an independent judiciary, which he calls essential to democracy. - He also objects to proposals denying public servants judicial recourse against dismissal or rank reduction. - The piece calls for constitutional changes to expand, not restrict, citizens' rights and liberties. ### Notes Two readers respond to Prabhakar Padhye's earlier article "The Committee and America." Anant Kanekar argues that suspicion of the ICCF among well-meaning Indian intellectuals arises because the democratic camp includes unattractive elements -- British imperialists, French colonialists, and American business interests -- who oppose communism for self-interested rather than principled reasons, making the West's anti-totalitarian stance appear inconsistent. A second respondent, signing as "R", counters by tracing a century of warm intellectual and institutional ties between India and the United States (Vivekananda, Har Dayal, Lajpat Rai, the Indian Constitution's debt to U.S. jurisprudence) and laments that this goodwill has waned since 1947, with Indian media giving disproportionate space to criticism of U.S. foreign policy while ignoring America's historical generosity and the U.S.S.R.'s failures on slave labour. - Kanekar argues the 'devil you know' logic does not fully explain Indian suspicion of the ICCF's pro-Western stance. - He notes fascism was seen by many Indians as more hateful than imperialism during WWII, complicating Western moral framing. - He points to a parallel suspicion among Asian Socialists, citing Dr. Lohia's call for a more actively anti-imperialist approach. - 'R' argues India-U.S. intellectual ties are deep and historically reciprocal, citing Vivekananda's reception in America and U.S. influence on India's constitution. - 'R' criticizes the Indian press for disproportionate criticism of U.S. policy relative to praise of Moscow/Peking by visiting dignitaries. - 'R' invokes the Spanish Civil War and Munich as cautionary historical analogies against appeasement-style 'balancing of evils.' ### The Committee And America *By Anant Kanekar; "R"* Sophia Wadia, responding to R. B. Joshi's June 1954 Freedom First article on the P.E.N. Conference at Chidambaram, defends the All-India P.E.N. Centre's record since its 1933 founding. She details its publications (Indian Writers in Council, The Indian Literatures of Today, Writers in Free India, an Indian Literatures Series), its monthly organ The Indian P.E.N. (in its 20th volume), and its roster of eminent regional-language writers as members. She disputes Joshi's claim that the Centre 'could easily serve as a link' between regional literatures and the world body, arguing it is already doing so, and cites the Centre's 1940 editorial defending Jawaharlal Nehru's free speech when he was imprisoned as evidence of its commitment to the P.E.N.'s free-expression principles. - The All-India P.E.N. Centre was founded in 1933 and has over 300 established-writer members. - Its Constitution's Preamble commits it to spreading appreciation of Indian literatures and serving cultural unity. - It has published multiple conference proceedings and a dedicated Indian Literatures Series in English translation. - Its monthly organ The Indian P.E.N. covers regional literatures, translations, reviews, and world P.E.N. news. - Wadia cites the Centre's 1940 defence of Jawaharlal Nehru's imprisonment as proof of its free-speech commitment. - She lists members representing Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Maithili, Marathi, Malayalam, Oriya, Panjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Sindhi, and Urdu literatures. ### Aims And Activities Of P.E.N. *By Sophia Wadia* Yatim Ghaznavi reviews Albert Camus's L'Homme Revolte, published in English as The Rebel, tracing its warm reception among some French critics (Sir Herbert Read, Emil Heuriot, Andre Billy) and its hostile reception among others, including Francis Jeanson in Les Temps Modernes and Jean-Paul Sartre, whose public break with Camus the review quotes. Ghaznavi summarises the book's argument -- that if Le Myth de Sisyphe asked whether suicide is justified, L'Homme Revolte asks whether murder, especially 'crimes de logique' like assassination and politically justified terrorism, can be justified -- and concludes that Camus's answer is no, urging a politics of moderation instead of revolutionary excess. The review notes the abridged English translation cut some of the book's best passages 'in interest of the economy' and finds the work more interesting than good, weaker in history and logic than in style. - The review situates L'Homme Revolte as a sequel in argument to Camus's Le Myth de Sisyphe. - Camus's central claim: no philosophical precept can justify killing, whether personal or 'crimes de logique' like assassination and terrorism. - The book's implicit conservatism alienated the Left (Sartre, Jeanson) while gaining praise from the French Right. - Ghaznavi criticizes the English abridgment (The Rebel) for cutting passages on Baudelaire and Lautremont for economy. - Camus's conclusion: rebellion must draw its inspiration from 'the only system of thought which recognizes limits.' - The review judges the book 'neither very good nor very bad, but intelligent and interesting enough.' ### M. Camus And The 'Crimes De Logique' *By Yatim Ghaznavi* T. R. Fyvel, in a piece abridged from Encounter, recounts a conversation between an American educationist and an English critic that broke down when the critic learned his American guest believed the espionage charges against former U.S. Treasury official Harry Dexter White, despite disliking the manner of the Republican attack on Truman. Fyvel uses the episode to diagnose a broader Anglo-American perception gap: Britain's long-held sense of insular security was never as sharply shattered as America's was by the atomic age and the rise of Soviet power after 1945, leaving Americans anxious about internal security in a way the British, comfortable in their post-imperial complacency, find hard to credit or take seriously. - An English critic and American visitor's amiable conversation collapsed over disagreement about the Harry Dexter White espionage case. - The critic disliked the manner of McCarthy-style accusations to the point of general skepticism about any communism charge. - Fyvel notes Hartley Shawcross's parallel disclosure of Communist infiltration among British civil servants, handled quietly rather than as public controversy. - Fyvel argues American loss of security dates from 1945 (atomic age, Soviet ascendance), unlike Britain's shock in August 1914. - The piece frames the White case as a genuine cause celebre given his key U.S. Treasury role from 1941-1946, including drafting the Morgenthau Plan. - Fyvel closes noting no signs the British-American perception gap over internal security will close soon. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff027/ ### Summary This is issue No. 27 (August 1954) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (affiliated to the Congress for Cultural Freedom / World Movement for Cultural Freedom), edited by V. B. Karnik and printed and published by Prabhakar Padhye at The Kanada Press, Bombay. The issue is dominated by anti-communist Cold War commentary from an Indian liberal-anticommunist standpoint: Karnik's lead essay surveys threats to freedom both from communism and from illiberal tendencies within the free world (colonialism, McCarthyism); a Guatemalan trade unionist recounts communist capture of the labour movement under the Arbenz government; Upton Sinclair defends civil liberties while warning against communist infiltration of liberal organisations; and a review essay assesses Robert C. North's study of Sino-Soviet communism. The issue also carries lighter and miscellaneous content: an essay on Burmese Prime Minister U Nu's anti-communist propaganda film 'The People Win Through' (reprinted from Encounter), a reader's rejoinder on the Committee's relationship to "Western" versus "international" values, several book reviews (on isms, on U.S.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 27 (August 1954) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (affiliated to the Congress for Cultural Freedom / World Movement for Cultural Freedom), edited by V. B. Karnik and printed and published by Prabhakar Padhye at The Kanada Press, Bombay. The issue is dominated by anti-communist Cold War commentary from an Indian liberal-anticommunist standpoint: Karnik's lead essay surveys threats to freedom both from communism and from illiberal tendencies within the free world (colonialism, McCarthyism); a Guatemalan trade unionist recounts communist capture of the labour movement under the Arbenz government; Upton Sinclair defends civil liberties while warning against communist infiltration of liberal organisations; and a review essay assesses Robert C. North's study of Sino-Soviet communism. The issue also carries lighter and miscellaneous content: an essay on Burmese Prime Minister U Nu's anti-communist propaganda film 'The People Win Through' (reprinted from Encounter), a reader's rejoinder on the Committee's relationship to "Western" versus "international" values, several book reviews (on isms, on U.S. racial desegregation, on Spanish culture, Cervantes, Edmund Wilson), a page of miscellaneous editorial notes, a page of quoted press excerpts ('With Many Voices') on Chou En-lai's India visit and communist affairs, and notices of C.C.F. activities in Paris. The overall centre of gravity is anti-communist cultural-freedom advocacy, inflected with concern about the erosion of civil liberties in the name of anti-communism, and a running argument about non-alignment/neutralism among Indian intellectuals. ## Essays ### Threats To Freedom In The Free World *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik surveys the state of the 'free world's' struggle against communism, arguing that while communism is the gravest threat to freedom, the free world itself harbours dangers that weaken its cause. He criticises the persistence of colonialism (singling out France's record in Indo-China, Morocco and Tunisia, and British suppression of the Mau Mau in Kenya) as a moral and strategic liability that hands communists a propaganda advantage among Asian and African peoples. He then turns to the United States, characterising McCarthyism as a tendency (not merely one senator) that, in the name of anti-communism, has infringed the civil liberties of American citizens through visa denials, dismissals on suspicion, and character assassination. Karnik warns that a 'pyrrhic victory' over communism achieved by abandoning liberal freedoms would itself be a defeat, and closes by affirming that in a free society, unlike a totalitarian one, threats to freedom can be openly identified, contested, and defeated by an alert citizenry. - The free world is not uniformly free; some allied nations offer little internally in the way of political or social freedom. - Colonialism (especially French rule in Indo-China, Morocco, Tunisia, and British action against the Mau Mau in Kenya) denies basic rights and hands communists a propaganda weapon. - McCarthyism represents a serious domestic threat to freedom in the U.S. because it is a tendency, not an isolated individual, and has led to persecution of innocent persons. - Fear of communism can itself produce suppression of non-conformist and dissenting views, undermining the free society it purports to defend. - A free society is distinguished from a totalitarian one by its capacity to recognise and defeat internal threats to freedom rather than deny they exist. ### Notes (How Not To Travel; New Palace For Lamas; Communist Criteria; Abolition Of Death Penalty) Daphne Whittam, in a piece reprinted from Encounter, describes how Burmese Prime Minister U Nu, a playwright before entering politics, wrote the play 'The People Win Through' and its subsequent film adaptation as a dramatisation of the futility of seizing power by armed revolt, aimed at the 1948 Communist insurrection in Burma. The essay traces U Nu's literary and political biography, summarises the play/film's plot (the disillusionment and death of a young Communist intellectual, Aung Min, torn between Party loyalty and his friend Aye Maung's anti-revolt arguments), and assesses its reception: popular with the 'common man' for whom it was intended but received coolly by the intelligentsia due to its artistic simplifications, though it gained topical resonance because Burmese audiences recognised its events as lived history rather than propaganda. - U Nu was already a playwright before becoming Burma's Prime Minister, and wrote 'The People Win Through' to dramatise the futility of armed revolt as a path to power. - The play/film centres on Aung Min, a Communist Party member who becomes disillusioned after witnessing the brutality of a unit commander and dies a 'hero' after abandoning the Party. - The film softened and restructured the original stage play's disjointed political harangues into a more dramatically coherent, popularly appealing narrative. - Despite being unambiguously anti-communist, the film portrays its central Communist character sympathetically as a sincere, misguided idealist rather than a villain. - The film was popular with ordinary audiences but viewed with some derision by Burmese intelligentsia, reflecting a broader gulf between intellectuals and the post-independence government. ### A Prime Minister Makes A Movie *By Daphne Whittam* Upton Sinclair recounts his decades of civil-liberties activism, beginning with his arrest during the 1924 Los Angeles longshoremen's strike while attempting to read the Bill of Rights, an episode that led to the founding of the Southern California branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. He then pivots to the present, describing communism as a 'new enemy' more dangerous than the strike-era authorities he once opposed, defending himself against Soviet and fellow-traveller accusations of being a 'Red-baiter,' and warning that American communists now disguise themselves as small-'d' democrats infiltrating and subverting genuine civil liberties organisations from within. - Sinclair recounts his 1920s arrest in Los Angeles for attempting to read the Bill of Rights during a longshoremen's strike, which led to the founding of the ACLU's Southern California branch. - He argues communism is now a more brutal and dangerous adversary of civil liberties than the authorities he once fought. - He rejects Soviet and fellow-traveller accusations that he has become a 'Red-baiter' and 'Wall Street lackey.' - He describes Soviet suppression of information and disappearance of dissenters based on testimony from former fellow-travellers. - He warns that American communists now pose as 'democrats with a small d' and infiltrate civil liberties organisations to redirect their policies from within. ### Democrats With A Small "d" *By Upton Sinclair* Ruben D. Villatoro, president of Guatemala's National Union of Free Workers, describes the post-1944 revolution rise of two rival labour federations: an independent Trade Union Federation and a communist-oriented Confederation of Workers of Guatemala (GGT), subsidised by Russian agents and affiliated with communist-controlled international bodies. He recounts how, under President Jacobo Arbenz's government, communists manoeuvred experienced labour leaders out and built a 'veritable communist trade union dictatorship,' and describes the harassment, arrest, torture and eventual forced deportation of himself and his colleagues after their independent union publicly challenged CGTG's communist funding and practices. An editorial note explains the piece was written before the Armas revolt that overthrew Arbenz. - The 1944 Guatemalan revolution enabled a genuine, independent trade union movement (SAMF, Teachers' Union, and others) based on freedom and independence from parties and government. - A rival, communist-oriented federation (GGT) was organised by teachers and political refugees, subsidised by Russian agents and affiliated to communist-controlled international labour bodies. - Under Arbenz, communists secured 70% of key positions in a merged General Confederation of Workers of Guatemala (CGTG) and forced out experienced, independent leaders. - Villatoro's independent National Union of Free Workers (UNTL) publicly challenged the CGTG's receipt of a $10,000 monthly subsidy and its sabotage of independent unions. - In January 1954 armed communists attacked the UNTL's headquarters, tortured its leaders (including Villatoro) to extract false confessions, and the government subsequently deported them to Mexico and Honduras. ### Red Dictatorship In Guatemala *By Ruben D. Villatoro* A reader writing under the initials X.Y.Z. responds to an earlier article by Mr. Padhye (in the May issue) on the Committee's relationship to Western/international values and America. The correspondent broadly agrees with the case for anti-communism but offers a personal reflection on Indian neutralism, arguing that India's 'moral neutrality' toward the Cold War stems from a deep-seated, ideologically-rooted habit of mind rather than mere strategic calculation, and that Indians' instinctive collectivism and suspicion of individual achievement make full acceptance of Western liberal values ('sovereignty of the individual') unlikely. The writer admits the Committee's values, though genuinely worth spreading, are foreign imports whose 'alienness' obstructs their acceptance, and wishes the Committee luck in what he calls a near-herculean task of converting Indians to these ideals. - The correspondent agrees with the anti-communist case made by the referenced Padhye article but wants to explain Indian 'moral neutralism' toward the Cold War. - India's neutralism is described as ideological and rooted in habits of mind ('Hindu, oriental, Asiatic, primitive'), not merely a response to security concerns. - The writer argues Indian culture harbours an 'ancient communism' — a collectivist ethic suspicious of individual achievement and property — that predisposes it against Western individualist liberal values. - He concedes the charge that the I.C.C.F. is 'an outpost of the West in India' is true insofar as its values are foreign imports, even though he judges them worth spreading. - Figures like Nehru are described as symbolic totems for Indians rather than individuals to be placed on either side of the Cold War binary. ### The Committee And America (letter responding to Mr. Padhye's May article) *By X.Y.Z.* A review (signed M.R.M.) of Robert C. North's 'Moscow and the Chinese Communists' (Stanford University Press), which the reviewer calls the first full-length authentic account of the communist conquest of China based on primary party documents. The review traces North's argument that Soviet and Chinese communism have functioned as a coordinated programme since Lenin's 1920 proposal to the Second Congress of the Communist International to capture nationalist revolutions in Asia, noting instances where Chinese leaders (not Russian ones) bore the cost when Moscow-directed policy failed. The reviewer highlights North's use of communist leaders' own words to show the state is conceived as 'an instrument of class warfare,' criticises North for assuming party rhetoric will be read literally by Western readers as it was intended for internal audiences, and closes by urging a cheaper edition for Asian readers given the book's importance for the region. - North's book is presented as the first full-length, documented account of the communist conquest of China, based directly on party documents. - Lenin's 1920 programme for the Second Congress of the Communist International aimed to co-opt nationalist movements in Asia (including China and India) while infiltrating and eventually capturing their labour and military forces. - Despite occasional Sino-Soviet friction, Chinese leaders (e.g., Li Li-san) — not Russian ones — were made to answer for failures of Moscow-directed policy, while Stalin's authority remained largely unchallenged. - The reviewer criticises North for taking communist leaders' public statements at face value without noting they were addressed to internal party audiences, not the West. - Mao Zedong is quoted as viewing the world as divided into only two camps (Soviet and 'imperialist'/democratic), rejecting any 'third way' or neutrality. - The reviewer connects the book's thesis to Burmese socialist leader U Kyaw Nyein's judgement that Soviet imperialism is more degrading and dangerous than other forms because it is more systematic. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff028/ ### Summary This is the September 1954 issue (No. 28) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik and published in Bombay. The issue is anti-communist and anti-totalitarian in orientation, built around the Cold War theme of intellectual and political non-conformity as a bulwark against both Soviet and Chinese communism and against fascism. Its centerpiece essays are Malcolm Muggeridge's "The Art Of Non-Conforming," which argues that mid-twentieth-century civilization is marked by credulity and conformism and that resistance requires individual non-conformity; Philip Spratt's autobiographical "The Dream He Lost," recounting his journey from British Communist Party membership and the Meerut Conspiracy Case to disillusionment and rejection of Marxism; and Denis de Rougemont's "The Anxiety Of Modern Man," a psychological account of why uprooted individuals in mass society flee freedom for totalitarian discipline. The issue also carries a page of unsigned "Notes" commenting on Chinese Communist diplomacy toward Nepal and Thailand, Dr.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the September 1954 issue (No. 28) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik and published in Bombay. The issue is anti-communist and anti-totalitarian in orientation, built around the Cold War theme of intellectual and political non-conformity as a bulwark against both Soviet and Chinese communism and against fascism. Its centerpiece essays are Malcolm Muggeridge's "The Art Of Non-Conforming," which argues that mid-twentieth-century civilization is marked by credulity and conformism and that resistance requires individual non-conformity; Philip Spratt's autobiographical "The Dream He Lost," recounting his journey from British Communist Party membership and the Meerut Conspiracy Case to disillusionment and rejection of Marxism; and Denis de Rougemont's "The Anxiety Of Modern Man," a psychological account of why uprooted individuals in mass society flee freedom for totalitarian discipline. The issue also carries a page of unsigned "Notes" commenting on Chinese Communist diplomacy toward Nepal and Thailand, Dr. Lin Yutang's appointment in Singapore, the restoration of trade unionism in Guatemala, Chinese communist propaganda against Aneurin Bevan, the revival of the Indian Honours List, and Indian delegates' conduct at communist-organised conferences; a satirical piece by "Croebos" on Soviet sports diplomacy ("Malenkov Invites You To Attend..."); an obituary note on the French novelist Colette; a book review by Gopal Krishna of Arthur Koestler's autobiography The Invisible Writing; a "Books In Brief" review column; a comic strip on the Indo-China settlement; a satirical verse ("Chouing Things Over") on the Chou En-lai/Attlee meeting; ICCF organisational news; and a closing "With Many Voices" page of topical quotations on communism and the Cold War from figures including B. R. Ambedkar, Carl Rowan, The Economist, James Burnham, Trygve Lie, and others. ## Essays ### The Art Of Non-Conforming *By by Malcolm Muggeridge* Malcolm Muggeridge, identified as Editor of Punch, argues that the mid-twentieth century, far from an age of enlightenment, has been marked by exceptional credulity, servility, and re-enslavement across large parts of the world. He contends that mass ideologies (Fascism, Nazism, Communism) attack the integrity of the individual, and that the impulse to non-conform is a vital form of resistance, though it carries risks of eccentricity or madness, as illustrated through Jonathan Swift and Don Quixote. He closes (in the page-11 continuation) by praising figures like Paulinus who kept faith amid civilizational collapse, and argues non-conformity is the root of humour, indispensable to a free society. - Argues the mid-20th century is marked by credulity, servility, and re-enslavement rather than enlightenment. - Criticizes uncritical faith in 'progress' despite mental homes, slave labour camps, and psychoanalysts' waiting rooms filling to overflowing. - Frames Marxism and Freudianism as partial, superficial doctrines wrongly elevated into full philosophies of life. - Holds that Fascism, Nazism, and Communism alike attack the separateness and inviolability of the individual. - Uses Jonathan Swift's epitaph and Don Quixote's fate to show both the value and the psychological danger of non-conformity. - Cites Paulinus tending a shrine amid Rome's collapse as the model of non-conforming at its sanest. - Argues non-conformity is the root of humour and that a wholly conformist society cannot laugh. ### The Dream He Lost *By by Philip Spratt* An unsigned page of editorial 'Notes' covering several short items: Chinese Communist hypocrisy toward Nepal over the fugitive Dr. K. I. Singh despite pledges of non-intervention; a Hanoi mayor's appeal for aid to Vietnamese fleeing communist-controlled Tonkin; Dr. Lin Yutang's appointment as Chancellor-designate of Nanyang University, Singapore; the restoration of a democratic trade union committee in Guatemala under Ruben Villatoro; a Chinese communist encyclopaedia entry mocking Aneurin Bevan as a 'foreign reactionary'; the Indian government's revival of the Honours List and its possible unconstitutionality under Article 18; and an account by academician N. R. Phatak, writing in the Marathi weekly Vividhvritta, of the poor conduct of Indian delegates at communist-sponsored international conferences. - Criticizes China's Chou En-lai for violating the 'five principles of peaceful co-existence' by backing Nepalese rebel Dr. K. I. Singh. - Reports the Mayor of Hanoi's appeal to free-world cities for aid to Vietnamese refugees from the Viet Minh regime. - Notes Dr. Lin Yutang's new post as Chancellor-designate of Nanyang University in Singapore. - Reports restoration of democratic trade unionism in Guatemala after the fall of the communist-dominated regime. - Cites a Chinese communist encyclopaedia listing Aneurin Bevan as a 'Foreign Reactionary' alongside Churchill and Eden. - Discusses the revival of India's Honours List and questions its constitutionality under Article 18. - Relays Prof. N. R. Phatak's account (via Vividhvritta) of undisciplined, embarrassing behaviour by Indian delegates at communist conferences in Prague, Berlin, and Moscow. ### Malenkov Invites You To Attend.... *By by "Croebos"* A short unsigned obituary notice on the French novelist Colette (Sidonie Gabrielle Claudine Colette), who died on 3 August 1954 at age 81. It recounts her election as the first woman president of the Goncourt Academy, her prolific output of novels and stories popular across social classes, and her frank, passionate treatment of love and sexuality in her writing. - Colette died 3 August 1954 in her Paris apartment at the Palais Royal, aged 81. - She was the first woman elected president of the Goncourt Academy. - Her fifty-odd novels and short stories were popular across social classes. - Her writing centered on women's problems of love, treated with notable sexual frankness. ### The Anxiety Of Modern Man *By by Denis De Rougemont* Philip Spratt, a former British Communist Party organiser in India and principal accused in the Meerut Conspiracy Case, gives an autobiographical account of why he joined and later left the Communist Party. He describes the bleak post-World-War-I atmosphere in Britain that drew him to communism in 1924, his active organising work in India including strikes and the Meerut trial and imprisonment, and his growing disillusionment with communist intrigue, factionalism, and dialectical reasoning. He describes rejecting Marxist philosophy as incoherent, the shock of the Soviet purges and the 'physical liquidation' of a British Party acquaintance, and his final break driven by the Nazi-Soviet Pact and the Soviet failure to work with the West after 1941, which he calls one of the biggest crimes committed even by the Soviet government. - Spratt joined the Communist Party in 1924, drawn by the bleak, class-bound atmosphere of post-WWI Britain. - He organised strikes in India and was the most prominent defendant in the Meerut Conspiracy Case. - He grew uncomfortable with communist intrigue, faction-fighting, and the gap between rhetoric and practice. - He wrote a book-length critique of Marxist dialectic, concluding it lacked validity outside a rough biological/psychological theory. - The Soviet purges, the disappearance of an acquaintance, and Eugene Lyons' Assignment in Utopia deepened his disillusionment. - The Nazi-Soviet Pact and the invasion of Finland pushed him to publicly criticise Soviet policy. - He concludes the Soviet Union's refusal to maintain the East-West wartime alliance was 'the biggest crime' even the Soviet government committed, ranging himself among its 'open enemies.' ### Review: The Invisible Writing: An Autobiography by Arthur Koestler *By Gopal Krishna* Writing under the pseudonym 'Croebos,' the author satirises Soviet and communist-bloc use of sport as propaganda, describing invitations extended to unqualified Indian athletes (such as table-tennis player Ranbir Bhandari, invited to Moscow despite protest from the Table-Tennis Federation of India) and government reluctance to fund a stronger Indian contingent to genuine events like the World University Summer Games in Budapest. The piece argues Western democracies neglect organised sport as a tool of goodwill and cultural diplomacy while the Iron Curtain countries exploit it as propaganda, and calls for greater government control over who accepts such invitations and more Western investment in countering this form of Communist activity. - Argues Iron Curtain countries use organised sport, tied to youth movements, as propaganda rather than for its own sake. - Cites the case of Ranbir Bhandari, invited to Moscow by Soviet sports authorities despite being far from India's top table-tennis player. - Notes India could only send four athletes to the Empire Games for lack of funds, while Iron Curtain-linked invitations to Budapest came with generous funding. - Calls for greater Indian government control over acceptance of foreign sporting invitations. - Urges Western democracies, especially the United States, to invest more in countering this Communist propaganda tactic. ### Notes (Profession And Practice; A Mayor's Appeal; Dr. Lin Comes Back; T.U.s Restored In Gautemala; Bevan Through Chinese Eyes; Titles Again; Indians In The Communist Circus) Denis de Rougemont examines why modern man fears freedom, describing a young European confronted by too many undefined choices in a world where traditional codes of custom, religion, and bourgeois morality have collapsed. He argues that this anxiety and rootlessness make individuals susceptible to totalitarian movements (Fascism, Nazism, Communism) which offer a reassuring, if illusory, sense of order and discipline in place of the burdens of individual choice. He cites Arthur Koestler's account of readers who, moved by The Yogi and the Commissar, nonetheless joined the Communist Party seeking the discipline it promised. De Rougemont warns that Western democracies cannot answer the totalitarian temptation with mere polemic unless they address the underlying material insecurity that drives people to seek refuge from freedom. - Frames modern man's fear of freedom as rooted in the collapse of inherited codes: bourgeois morality, custom, and religious faith. - Argues nationalism and political passions filled the vacuum left by weakened local patriotism and tradition after WWI. - Contends dictatorships (Duce, Fuehrer, Caudillo) succeeded by offering to relieve individuals of the burden of choice and moral guilt. - Cites Arthur Koestler's correspondents who joined the Communist Party precisely because of the discipline it promised, despite agreeing with anti-Stalinist critique. - Insists that Western democracies' anti-dictatorship rhetoric will fail unless they address the material insecurity underlying the flight from freedom. - Distinguishes the psychological need for discipline (to escape choice, risk, and guilt) from any innate love of slavery. ### Colette A short satirical verse, reprinted from Gene Sosin's piece in the New Leader, mocking the Attlee-Bevan Labour delegation's cordial banquet with Chou En-lai in China, warning readers not to be taken in by Chinese communist hospitality. - Satirises the Attlee-Bevan Labour delegation's banquet with Chou En-lai, reported under the headline 'Chou En-lai Fetes Attlee Group.' - Warns against being taken in ('swallowed whole') by Chinese communist hospitality and diplomacy. - Reprinted from Gene Sosin's piece in the New Leader. ### Chouing Things Over (verse) *By Gene Sosin in the New Leader (reprinted)* A brief news item reporting Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (ICCF) activities: a Bombay Committee public meeting on 30 August addressed by American journalist Carl Rowan on 'A Free Press In A Free Society,' presided over by R. V. Moorty; and the election of V. B. Karnik to the ICCF Executive Committee and as an Honorary Secretary. - Carl Rowan, described as a noted Negro journalist from the United States, addressed an ICCF Bombay Committee meeting on 30 August 1954 on 'A Free Press In A Free Society.' - R. V. Moorty presided over the meeting. - V. B. Karnik was elected to the ICCF Executive Committee and as an Honorary Secretary. ### I.C.C.F. News Gopal Krishna reviews Arthur Koestler's autobiography The Invisible Writing (Collins with Hamish Hamilton, 1954), covering the period 1931-1953 with emphasis on 1931-1940. The review calls it a 'political autobiography' and a 'typical case-history' of the educated European middle class of Koestler's generation, tracing his membership in the German Communist Party, his visit to the Soviet Union, his work with Comintern-linked agencies in Paris, his imprisonment and death sentence during the Spanish Civil War, and his eventual spiritual break with communism. Krishna praises Koestler's psychological insight, especially his explanation (echoing Darkness at Noon) of why Bolshevik defendants at the Moscow Trials made false confessions, and closes by framing Koestler's book as a warning about civilisation's struggle against totalitarian barbarism. - The Invisible Writing covers 1931-1953, with the bulk on 1931-1940, from Koestler's German Communist Party membership to his flight to England. - Koestler resigned from the German Communist Party in spring 1938 after his death-cell experience in the Spanish Civil War (Cell No. 40, Seville). - Krishna highlights Koestler's explanation for the false confessions at the Moscow Trials as driven by belief that confession served socialism's interests. - The review notes Koestler continued believing in Soviet 'foundations' even after leaving the Party, until the 1939 Stalin-Hitler Pact 'rudely destroyed this pious hope.' - Krishna frames the book as illuminating civilisation's central conflict with totalitarian barbarism. ### Books In Brief *By R. H.* An unsigned 'Books In Brief' column of short notices: Ignazio Silone's A Handful Of Blackberries; Arthur Colby Sprague's Shakespearian Players And Performances; T. S. Eliot's play The Confidential Clerk; a new English translation of the Mongol-dynasty Chinese play The Story Of The Circle Of Chalk by Hui-Lan-Ki; Cuba's award to Ernest Hemingway on his fifty-fifth birthday; and the launch of the quarterly East And West on Soviet and Baltic problems. - Reviews Ignazio Silone's A Handful Of Blackberries as a disappointing record of disillusionment following a false dawn. - Notes Arthur Colby Sprague's Shakespearian Players And Performances as a satisfying scholarly exercise. - Finds T. S. Eliot's The Confidential Clerk falls short of expectations set by The Cocktail Party. - Notes the first direct-from-Chinese English translation of the 13th-century Mongol-dynasty play The Story Of The Circle Of Chalk. - Reports Cuba's award of the Order of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes gold medal to Ernest Hemingway on his 55th birthday. - Announces the new quarterly East And West, devoted to Soviet and Baltic problems. ### With Many Voices The issue's closing page, 'With Many Voices,' collects short topical quotations on communism, the Cold War, and international diplomacy from a range of contemporary figures and publications, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. Quoted sources include Dr. B. R. Ambedkar warning against appeasement in the Council of States, Carl Rowan on Senator McCarthy, The Economist and James Burnham on co-existence with the Soviet bloc, the New Leader on Chinese Communism and the succession struggle around Mao Tse-tung, U Nu's preface to Burma Under the Japanese, Salvador de Madariaga on the Cold War and Soviet arming rhetoric, and News Chronicle on Chinese Communist ambitions toward Formosa. The page closes with the ICCF's Bombay address and a membership enrolment form, and the colophon naming V. B. Karnik as editor and Prabhakar Padhye as printer/publisher at The Kanada Press, Bombay. - Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, quoted from the Council of States (26 August 1954), warns that appeasement-style peace only feeds a giant that may later consume the appeaser. - Carl Rowan (Hindustan Times, 15 July 1954) states Senator McCarthy was hated by the American public as a demagogue riding Cold War fear. - The Economist (13 July 1954) likens the Geneva settlement to Dunkirk rather than a diplomatic victory, and argues peaceful co-existence must rest on strength and unity. - The New Leader (26 July / 2 August 1954) frames Chinese Communism as counter-revolutionary and reports on the succession struggle amid Mao Tse-tung's declining health. - Salvador de Madariaga (New Leader, 9 August 1954) argues the real issue is winning the Cold War, and relays a Soviet diplomat's remark on arms and revolution. - News Chronicle (16 August 1954) warns that communists 'only make peace in one place in order to make war in another,' citing Chinese rhetoric on 'liberating' Formosa. - The page includes an ICCF membership enrolment form (Rs. 3/- annual fee) and publication colophon naming editor V. B. Karnik and printer/publisher Prabhakar Padhye of The Kanada Press, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff029/ ### Summary This is the October 1954 issue (No. 29) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (affiliated to the World Movement for Cultural Freedom, later the Congress for Cultural Freedom), edited by V. B. Karnik and printed in Bombay. The issue opens with a lead article by Karnik assessing the Press Commission's report and arguing against state regulation of newspapers in favour of press freedom policed by public opinion rather than law. An unsigned "Notes" section comments on a run of contemporary political and cultural events: Chinese agricultural collectivisation contrasted with Yugoslav decollectivisation, British Labour figures' credulous visit to Moscow and Peking, the Special Marriage Bill then before Parliament, a Bhoodan land-distribution dispute between the Bombay government and Acharya Vinoba Bhave, a Delhi government seizure of an anti-communist pamphlet in Kashmir, the return of Viet-minh prisoners to communist custody after Geneva, the newly signed South-East Asia (Manila) collective-defence pact, the folding of John O'London's Weekly, and a forthcoming visit to India by the poet Stephen Spender.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the October 1954 issue (No. 29) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (affiliated to the World Movement for Cultural Freedom, later the Congress for Cultural Freedom), edited by V. B. Karnik and printed in Bombay. The issue opens with a lead article by Karnik assessing the Press Commission's report and arguing against state regulation of newspapers in favour of press freedom policed by public opinion rather than law. An unsigned "Notes" section comments on a run of contemporary political and cultural events: Chinese agricultural collectivisation contrasted with Yugoslav decollectivisation, British Labour figures' credulous visit to Moscow and Peking, the Special Marriage Bill then before Parliament, a Bhoodan land-distribution dispute between the Bombay government and Acharya Vinoba Bhave, a Delhi government seizure of an anti-communist pamphlet in Kashmir, the return of Viet-minh prisoners to communist custody after Geneva, the newly signed South-East Asia (Manila) collective-defence pact, the folding of John O'London's Weekly, and a forthcoming visit to India by the poet Stephen Spender. Two literary and review pieces follow: Yatim Ghaznavi's essay marking Arthur Rimbaud's birth centenary, and Nissim Ezekiel's review of Igor Gouzenko's anti-Soviet novel The Fall of a Titan. A book-review section covers Czeslaw Milosz's The Captive Mind, Lydia Kirk's Postmarked Moscow, and several capsule reviews ("Books in Brief"), followed by a letter to the editor, notes on Congress for Cultural Freedom activities worldwide, and the issue closes with "With Many Voices," a compilation of quoted press excerpts and remarks (Lenin, Nehru, Ambedkar, and others) on communism, neutrality, and Cold War politics. The volume's argumentative center is anti-communist, pro-press-freedom classical liberalism, consistent with the Committee's cultural-Cold-War orientation. ## Essays ### A Free Or Regulated Press? *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead article assesses the Report of the Press Commission and argues that while press abuses (sensationalism, ownership concentration, low pay for journalists) are real, the remedy of state regulation is worse than the disease. He supports the Commission's recommendations on journalists' pay scales but criticizes its price-page schedule proposal, its endorsement of continuing the Press (Objectionable Matters) Act, its plan for a government-created Press Council, and especially its suggestion that the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act be extended to newspapers, which he sees as opening the door to far-reaching government control. He invokes Thomas Jefferson's dictum that press freedom is the foundation of all other freedoms and closes by urging public opinion, not law, as the proper check on press abuses. - A free press is essential to democracy because it informs the people who must govern themselves. - Press abuses exist everywhere but government control is an ineffective and dangerous remedy, creating subservience of the press to the state. - The Press Commission's recommendation on journalists' pay and conditions is welcomed as a floor, not a ceiling. - The price-page schedule recommendation (limiting pages relative to price) is well-intentioned but unlikely to work and revives a wartime scarcity measure for a different purpose. - The proposal for a government-appointed Press Registrar to compile facts and figures is welcomed, provided its powers stay limited to information-gathering. - Continuation of the Press (Objectionable Matters) Act and a new defamation-of-public-servants offence are criticized as unnecessary special penalties beyond ordinary law. - Extending the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act to newspapers is called the most objectionable recommendation, since it would subject the press industry to close government control under the guise of statistics-gathering. - India's press industry (320 dailies, ~25 lakh circulation for 36 crore population) has vast room to grow, but growth depends on minimal state interference. ### Notes (Carbon Copy; Purblind; Special Marriage Bill; Bombay Government and Bhoodan; Unwarranted Action; Lost Ground; A Beginning; John O'London's Weekly; Stephen Spender's Visit) The unsigned "Notes" section is a set of short editorial commentaries. "Carbon Copy" criticizes Mao Zedong's acceleration of agricultural collectivisation in China even as Yugoslavia dismantles collective farming, and mocks British Labour visitors (Attlee, Bevan) for naively praising Moscow and Peking, contrasting their credulity with an Indian socialist's (Brajkishore Shastri) more clear-eyed account of Chinese press censorship in his book From My China Diary. "Purblind" continues by questioning who benefits from India's move to cut cable press rates with China, suggesting it serves only Chinese propaganda interests, and notes a British/Australian book Planned Perfidy defending North Korean/Chinese conduct. Other notes cover the Special Marriage Bill (supported as a modest step for social progress against orthodox opposition, credited partly to the Prime Minister's intervention), a dispute over the Bombay government's Bhoodan land-distribution committees bypassing Acharya Vinoba Bhave, the Delhi government's seizure of an anti-communist pamphlet on Kashmir without prosecution ("Unwarranted Action"), the forced return of Viet-minh prisoners to communist custody after their shipboard mutiny ("Lost Ground"), and the newly signed South-East Asia Defence (Manila) Pact, which the piece welcomes as a beginning of collective security against communist expansion in Asia, noting U Nu of Burma's earlier warnings. The section closes noting the demise of John O'London's Weekly and the upcoming Indian visit of poet Stephen Spender at the Committee's invitation. - Mao's China is accelerating farm collectivisation even as Yugoslavia moves away from it, framed as evidence communism 'learns nothing and forgets nothing.' - British Labour visitors to Moscow/Peking (Attlee, Bevan) are criticized for naive, uncritical impressions contrasted with a more clear-eyed Indian account of Chinese press censorship. - The piece questions the wisdom of India lowering cable rates with China, suspecting it serves only Chinese/Soviet propaganda interests. - The Special Marriage Bill is endorsed as a modest, welcome step toward a common civil marriage law over orthodox religious objection. - A Bhoodan land-redistribution dispute pits the Bombay government's own committees against Vinoba Bhave's movement. - The Delhi government's seizure of an anti-communist Kashmir pamphlet without prosecution is called a 'gross violation of the freedom of press.' - The forced repatriation of Viet-minh mutineer-prisoners to communist custody after the French capitulation at Geneva is described as a moral tragedy. - The newly concluded South-East Asia (Manila) collective defence pact is welcomed as a beginning against communist aggression, though weakened by dropping explicit anti-communist wording from the draft. ### Arthur Rimbaud: Le Voyant *By Yatim Ghaznavi* Yatim Ghaznavi's essay, published on the centenary of Rimbaud's birth, surveys critical approaches to Rimbaud's poetry (Une Saison en Enfer, Les Illuminations, Le Bateau Ivre) and argues against reducing the poet to any single explanatory system. The essay traces how Symbolists, mystics, and Surrealists each claimed Rimbaud for their own purposes, discusses his relationship with Verlaine, and analyzes Le Bateau Ivre as the archetype containing all his later themes—departure, marvel, disillusion, and the wish to return to childhood. The piece closes (continued on page 10) surveying further critical positions (Fondane's voyou, Riviere's Catholic Rimbaud, Reneville's Asiatic-mystic Rimbaud, Bousquet's Swedenborgian Rimbaud) and reflects on the poet's eventual silence as bound up with poetry's own fatal approximation to the absolute. - No single theory adequately explains Rimbaud; his major works reflect distinct moments of his development. - Symbolists admired Rimbaud partly for the mystery of his life and abandonment of poetry at twenty, more than for direct affinity with his work. - Surrealists later claimed Rimbaud as an investigator of the surreal, though his poetic method is described as more active and violent than their passive reliance on the subconscious. - Le Bateau Ivre is analyzed as the archetype of Rimbaud's whole body of work, containing his major themes and the arc from marvel through disillusion to a longing for return. - Rimbaud's eventual silence is linked to a near-mystical belief that for absolute truth there is no adequate literary expression. - Critics disagree sharply on how to categorize Rimbaud (Catholic, pagan, Marxist, mystic), which the essay treats as evidence of his poetry's irreducible ambiguity. ### Breaking The Human Spirit (review of The Fall of a Titan by Igor Gouzenko) *By Nissim Ezekiel* Nissim Ezekiel reviews Igor Gouzenko's novel The Fall of a Titan (Cassell, 18s.), written by the Soviet Embassy defector famous for exposing the Canadian spy network in 1945. Ezekiel finds the 680-page novel a convincing panoramic portrait of Soviet life built around the thinly-disguised story of Maxim Gorky's disillusion with communism (fictionalised as the writer Gorin), and praises its blandly prosaic realism as more effective than the concentrated terror of Darkness at Noon because it conveys fear as an all-pervasive, everyday condition of Soviet society rather than a dramatic exception. - The Fall of a Titan is Gouzenko's fictionalised, thinly-disguised account of Maxim Gorky's disillusion with and eventual destruction by Soviet communism. - Ezekiel judges the novel's realism 'blandly prosaic' but effective, conveying pervasive fear rather than concentrated terror. - The novel is praised for organic unity and panoramic range despite its length and huge cast of characters. - Women characters are singled out as particularly well realised, conveying dignity and tragic suffering. ### Review: The Captive Mind by Czeslaw Milosz *By R.V.L.* The Review section opens with R.V.L.'s review of Czeslaw Milosz's The Captive Mind (Secker & Warburg), praising it as a clinically accurate exposure of how Eastern European writers and intellectuals were seduced and coerced into ideological conformity under Soviet-imposed regimes. The review dwells on Milosz's concept of 'Ketman' (outward conformity concealing inward resistance, borrowed from Persian Islamic heretics) and quotes extensively on the psychological mechanisms of capitulation, before noting the book is at times overlong and would benefit from trimming into a sharper pamphlet. A.K.W. then reviews Lydia Kirk's Postmarked Moscow, the journal of the wife of the American ambassador to Russia (1949-1952), describing it as unoriginal in substance (forced labour, low living standards, restricted diplomatic contacts) but vivid in everyday detail, illustrating the tension between Western democratic and Soviet authoritarian worlds. - The Captive Mind is praised as a clinically precise account of how corruption, degradation, and subtle conversion bring East European intellectuals to heel under Soviet-aligned regimes. - Milosz's concept of 'Ketman' describes a system of outward conformity that lets individuals privately preserve a domain of freedom and resistance under totalitarian conditions. - The review criticizes uncritical Western emigre and propaganda responses to captive-country intellectuals as misdirected and harmful. - The reviewer suggests the book, though excellent, is overlong and would work better condensed into a sharper pamphlet form. - Postmarked Moscow is judged unoriginal but valuably detailed on daily Soviet life and the restricted, tense conditions faced by Western diplomats in Moscow. ### Review: Postmarked Moscow by Lydia Kirk *By A.K.W.* Capsule reviews under 'Books in Brief' (signed R.H.) cover H. W. Belmore's Rilke's Craftsmanship (criticized as repetitive and insufficiently insightful), Nancy Mitford's Madame de Pompadour (dismissed as poor history and gushily feminine writing), Wyndham Lewis's Self Condemned (found less impressive than its dust-jacket praise suggests), George Simenon's Strangers in the House (praised for Flaubertian irony), and Par Lagerkvist's The Eternal Smile and Other Stories, noting Lagerkvist's self-description as 'a believer without faith—a religious atheist.' This is followed by a Letter to the Editor referencing an appreciative citation of V. B. Karnik's June Freedom First article on Nehru's non-alignment doctrine in the Swiss Review of World Affairs, C.C.F. News reporting scholarships for exiled Eastern European students, the founding of the Mexican Committee for Cultural Freedom, a Congress for Cultural Freedom conference in Santiago de Chile, and a forthcoming Beacon Press book on McCarthy and the Communists. - Several capsule book reviews cover Rilke criticism, a Pompadour biography, Wyndham Lewis's novel, Simenon, and Nobel laureate Par Lagerkvist. - A letter to the editor cites praise in the Swiss Review of World Affairs for V. B. Karnik's earlier Freedom First critique of Nehru's non-alignment policy. - C.C.F. News reports scholarships granted to eight exiled Eastern European students for a seminar on the 'Situation and Tasks of the European East.' - The Mexican Committee for Cultural Freedom was formally inaugurated in August 1954, addressed by Salvador Azuelz of the University of Mexico. - A Congress for Cultural Freedom conference was held in Santiago de Chile with delegates from Chile, Mexico, Cuba, Honduras, and Uruguay. ### Books In Brief (Rilke's Craftsmanship; Madame de Pompadour; Self Condemned; Strangers In The House; The Eternal Smile and other stories) *By R.H.* "With Many Voices" closes the issue with a compilation of quoted excerpts from newspapers, journals, and public figures on communism, neutrality, and Cold War alignment, drawn from sources including the New York Times, Encounter, Times of India, Current, Mysindia, Hindustan Times, Janata, Free Press Bulletin, and Nippon Times, dated August-September 1954. Quoted figures include Lenin (on the acceptable cost of achieving worldwide communism), Nehru critic Aneurin Bevan, William Stenson, Dodds Parker, Raja Hutheesing, and Dr. Ambedkar, among others, illustrating a range of contemporary opinion on Soviet and Chinese communism, non-alignment, and coexistence. - A compilation of quotations from the international and Indian press on communism, neutrality, and Cold War politics, dated August-September 1954. - Includes a Lenin quotation (via Encounter) on the acceptability of mass loss of life if the surviving quarter of humanity were communist. - Includes Dr. Ambedkar's remark, quoted in The Examiner, likening communism to a 'forest fire' that made Indian talk of coexistence untenable. - Includes commentary on Nehru's cultural diplomacy toward China and Russia contrasted with Congress ministers' anti-communist rhetoric domestically. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff030/ ### Summary This is the November 1954 issue (No. 30) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (ICCF), edited by V. B. Karnik and printed in Bombay. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with Nissim Ezekiel's profile of the British poet Stephen Spender, tracing his shift from 1930s socialist-leaning poetry to his editorship of Encounter and his anti-communist 'revolutionary faith,' followed by a notice of Spender's month-long lecture tour of India under ICCF and PEN auspices. An unsigned 'Notes' section covers Nehru's parliamentary rebuke of the Communist Party of India's foreign ties, Chinese and Soviet economic policy, and headhunting practices among Naga tribes in NEFA, alongside commentary on the growth of the welfare-state bureaucracy and recommendations for teachers' pay and job security. Bertram D. Wolfe contributes a long biographical essay on the Mexican painter Diego Rivera's repeated expulsions from and readmissions to the Communist Party, his hosting and subsequent falling-out with the exiled Leon Trotsky, and Trotsky's eventual assassination by Stalinist agents. M. K.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the November 1954 issue (No. 30) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (ICCF), edited by V. B. Karnik and printed in Bombay. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with Nissim Ezekiel's profile of the British poet Stephen Spender, tracing his shift from 1930s socialist-leaning poetry to his editorship of Encounter and his anti-communist 'revolutionary faith,' followed by a notice of Spender's month-long lecture tour of India under ICCF and PEN auspices. An unsigned 'Notes' section covers Nehru's parliamentary rebuke of the Communist Party of India's foreign ties, Chinese and Soviet economic policy, and headhunting practices among Naga tribes in NEFA, alongside commentary on the growth of the welfare-state bureaucracy and recommendations for teachers' pay and job security. Bertram D. Wolfe contributes a long biographical essay on the Mexican painter Diego Rivera's repeated expulsions from and readmissions to the Communist Party, his hosting and subsequent falling-out with the exiled Leon Trotsky, and Trotsky's eventual assassination by Stalinist agents. M. K. Argus offers a satirical fictional 'parliamentary report' mocking credulous British visitors to Moscow. A substantial review section covers James Burnham's The Web of Subversion, Herbert Carleton Mayer's New Footprints of the Trojan Horse, Martin Turnell's study of Baudelaire, and a hostile review of Nazim Hikmet's Poems, plus shorter notices of several other books. The issue closes with a reader's letter warning about the communist-aligned 'All India Association of Democratic Lawyers' and a page of quotations from Nehru, Govind Ballabh Pant, and other public figures under the heading 'With Many Voices.' The volume's argumentative center throughout is anti-communist cultural and political commentary consistent with the Congress for Cultural Freedom's mission. ## Essays ### Stephen Spender *By Nissim Ezekiel* Nissim Ezekiel's profile traces Stephen Spender's literary career as inseparable from his politics: an ethically-rooted, gospel-derived socialism at Oxford that flowered into the political poetry of the 1930s alongside Auden and C. Day Lewis, followed by his post-war disillusionment with communism and his editorship of the anti-communist journal Encounter. Ezekiel defends Spender against a New Statesman critic who sneered at his transition from 'revolutionary poet' to Congress for Cultural Freedom editor, arguing that the same ethical sincerity underlies both phases of Spender's career. The essay closes by linking this trajectory to Spender's 1947 book Forward From Liberalism, in which he critiques the weaknesses of liberal freedom while refusing to abandon it for either fascism or communist utopianism. - Spender's political poetry of the 1930s grew from an ethical, gospel-rooted sensibility rather than doctrinaire ideology. - A New Statesman correspondent mocked Spender's shift from revolutionary poet to editor of the CCF-sponsored Encounter; Ezekiel defends this as consistent, not hypocritical. - Spender's Spanish Civil War poems show tenderness rather than the toughness typical of 1930s political verse. - The Fates, from Ruins and Visions, is cited as an underappreciated survey of interwar life. - Spender's 1947 book Forward From Liberalism analyses the weaknesses of liberal freedom while rejecting both fascist and communist alternatives to it. ### Notes (Premier Versus Sunderayya; Aping The Russians; Head Hunting In Nefa; Forms And Substance; Teachers And Their Condition) An unsigned notes column covers five short items: Nehru's parliamentary charge that Indian communists are tied to foreign interests, which P. Sunderayya denies but which the column defends by citing M. R. Masani's study The Communist Party of India — A Short History; Soviet and Chinese economic policy (wage suppression and 'petit bourgeois' egalitarianism per a Chou En-lai speech); the abolition of headhunting among Naga tribes in NEFA and its connection to Manipur hill custom; a sardonic comment on the growth of the Indian welfare-state bureaucracy and its proliferation of official forms; and an international team's recommendation (sponsored by the Ford Foundation) that Indian teachers' pay and job security be improved. - Nehru told Parliament (Sept 29 speech) that the Communist Party of India is tied to a foreign country that could exploit it; P. Sunderayya denied this as a 'hoary slander.' - The column cites M. R. Masani's The Communist Party of India — A Short History as documentary support for Nehru's charge. - A Chou En-lai speech reported by the New China news agency warned against 'petty bourgeois' equal-reward policies and excessive wage increases. - Headhunting among Naga tribes was reportedly abolished by the Political Department of NEFA; the practice is described as tied to marriage eligibility and social status. - A Ford Foundation-sponsored international team recommended raising Indian teachers' salaries and granting them job security after confirmation. ### Stephen Spender In India A short notice details the itinerary of Stephen Spender's month-long visit to India (28 October to 28 November 1954), listing his stops in Travancore-Cochin, Bangalore, Bombay, Poona, Calcutta, Banaras, Lucknow, and Delhi, and the public lectures and receptions arranged for him under the auspices of the ICCF, PEN, various universities, and the British Council. - Spender arrived in Madras on 28 October 1954 for a month-long Indian tour organized under ICCF and allied auspices. - His itinerary included public meetings, university lectures, and receptions in Bombay, Poona, Calcutta, Lucknow, and Delhi. - The tour was intended to bring Spender into contact with Indian writers, journalists, poets, and students. ### Strange Case Of Diego Rivera *By Bertram D. Wolfe* Bertram D. Wolfe recounts his personal history with Diego Rivera, whom he met in 1922 as the Mexican Communist Party absorbed the country's leading painters. Wolfe describes Rivera's chaotic tenure on the party's Executive Committee, his own effort to persuade Rivera to resign from party politics to focus on painting, and Rivera's subsequent expulsion in 1929 during a Stalinist heresy purge. The essay covers Rivera's hosting of the exiled Leon Trotsky in the 1930s, their personal and political rupture, and the GPU-orchestrated assassination attempts and eventual murder of Trotsky — in which Rivera's former collaborator David Alfaro Siqueiros participated in an armed raid. It closes with Rivera's repeated public self-denunciations and his fourth and final readmission to the Communist Party in 1954, alongside reflections on artistic freedom under Soviet communism, illustrated by an anecdote about Picasso. - Wolfe met Rivera in 1922 as Mexican painters, including Rivera, Siqueiros, and Xavier Guerrero, took over the Communist Party's cultural apparatus via the union and its paper El Machete. - Wolfe personally urged Rivera to resign from the party's Executive Committee in 1925 to focus on painting; Rivera was expelled again in 1929 during a Stalinist international purge. - Rivera hosted Leon Trotsky and his wife Natalia in his and Frida Kahlo's home after Trotsky's exile, but the two men's egos led to a rupture. - GPU agents attempted to assassinate Trotsky in Mexico; David Alfaro Siqueiros participated in an armed raid on Trotsky's house, and Trotsky's guard Sheldon Harte was murdered. - Rivera denounced his own 'Trotskyist' and 'socialist' sympathies three times before being readmitted to the Communist Party for a fourth time in 1954, despite murals still glorifying Trotsky. - The essay closes by questioning why artists like Picasso and Rivera serve a movement that, if victorious, would abolish the artistic freedom they depend on. ### I.C.C.F. News A brief news column reports ICCF activities: a Gandhi Jayanthi poets' meeting in Madras attended by Tamil writers under Chief Minister Kamaraj Nadar, and a Bombay reception for Tarkateertha Laxmanshastri Joshi on his election as President of the Marathi Literary Conference, presided over by V. B. Karnik with remarks by Durga Bhagwat and Prof. G. D. Parikh. - The ICCF's Madras committee held a 'Kavi Arangam' poets' meeting for Gandhi Jayanthi on 7 October, presided over by Chief Minister Kamaraj Nadar. - A Bombay reception honored Tarkateertha Laxmanshastri Joshi's election as President of the Marathi Literary Conference. ### A Parliamentary Report From Moscow *By M. K. Argus* M. K. Argus's satirical piece imagines the credulous reports British MPs might file after a Supreme Soviet-sponsored trip to Moscow, mocking their gullibility about Soviet hospitality, staged banquets, a scripted 'man in the street' encounter, and a collective farm visit — poking fun at Western visitors who take Soviet propaganda at face value. - The piece is a fictional parody of naive British parliamentary reports from a Moscow visit hosted by Marshal Voroshilov. - It satirizes staged encounters with 'ordinary' Russians who parrot state talking points about peace and Western aggression. - It mocks Western visitors' credulity toward Soviet claims of hospitality, abundance, and openness. ### Review (The Web of Subversion; New Footprints of the Trojan Horse; Baudelaire, A Study of His Poetry; Poems by Nasim Hikmet; Books In Brief) *By G.D.P. / Zaffar Futehally / Benedick / R.H.* A review by G.D.P. of James Burnham's The Web of Subversion, which documents communist-infiltrated networks within the United States government. The review credits Burnham's factual, narrowly-scoped approach but questions his selective moral judgments about individual guilt, and uses the book to reflect more broadly on the dangers of McCarthyist overreach even while endorsing vigilance against genuine subversion. - Burnham's book documents three 'cells' of communist-influenced officials across U.S. government agencies from the 1930s through the Cold War. - The reviewer questions whether Burnham's narrow factual scope avoids taking a position on the broader McCarthyism controversy. - The review argues that defending democracy against subversion must not itself violate democratic and legitimate means. ### Letter to the Editor: "All India Association Of Democratic Lawyers" *By Shankar Shetty* Zaffar Futehally reviews Herbert Carleton Mayer's New Footprints of the Trojan Horse, a history of communism's origin and progress framed as a warning against Indian impatience with American anti-communist 'hysteria.' The review endorses the book's Troy analogy — that free societies fall to internal infiltration rather than external invasion — and its argument that voluntary democratic cooperation must be distinguished from coerced compliance in the Soviet system. - The review responds to Indian impatience with American anti-communist measures like McCarthyism. - It endorses the book's central Troy/infiltration analogy for understanding communist subversion. - General Lucius Clay's introduction is quoted on the danger of repeated, unchallenged lies obscuring truth. ### With Many Voices Margaret Johnson reviews Martin Turnell's Baudelaire, A Study of His Poetry, praising its bibliographic detail but arguing that Turnell's cold analytical approach fails to convey sympathy for Baudelaire's poetry, ultimately serving the bibliographer more than the general reader. - Turnell's study covers Baudelaire's originality, the dating and structure of Les Fleurs du Mal, and his versification and imagery. - The reviewer argues Turnell lacks sympathy with Baudelaire and that cold analysis adds little to appreciation of the poetry. ### Essay 10 A reviewer signing as 'Benedick' harshly criticizes a translated collection of Nazim Hikmet's Poems (translated from Turkish by Ali Yunus), dismissing the introduction by Samuel Sillen and the poems themselves as propagandistic rather than poetic, quoting lines about imprisonment and persecution that the reviewer regards as doggerel serving communist messaging. - The review is skeptical of both translator competence and the introduction's political framing of Hikmet as a martyr-poet. - It quotes Hikmet's verse and Samuel Sillen's comparison of him to Paul Robeson. - The reviewer concludes the poems are propagandistic 'stupidities' rather than genuine poetry. ### Essay 11 A 'Books in Brief' column by R.H. gives short notices of several new titles: Vernon Watkins' The Death Bell: Poems and Ballads, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan's edition of The Principal Upanisads, Emlyn Williams' play Someone Waiting, Enid Starkie's biography Petrus Borel, The Lycanthrope, and Paride Rombi's novel Perdu and His Father. - Radhakrishnan's edition of the Upanisads is praised for completeness (eighteen Upanisads) but criticized for lacking idiomatic grace in translation. - Several other new poetry, drama, and fiction titles receive brief favorable notices. ### Essay 12 A letter to the editor from Shankar Shetty warns readers about the newly formed 'All India Association of Democratic Lawyers' in Calcutta, framing it as a front for the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (founded in Paris in 1946 under D. N. Pritt), and detailing the parent body's history of pro-Soviet advocacy, its expulsion of Yugoslav members in 1949, and its condemnation by the British Labour Party and UK Home Secretary as a vehicle for Soviet propaganda. - The letter alleges the new Calcutta association is a front for the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, founded in Paris in 1946 under D. N. Pritt. - It cites the parent body's 1949 expulsion of its Yugoslav section for alignment with the 'Tito clique.' - It cites a 1952 'Commission' report alleging U.S. germ warfare in Korea as evidence of the association's propagandistic character. - It notes the British Labour Party's 1953 declaration that membership was incompatible with party membership, and the UK Home Secretary's 1952 description of the group as carrying on Soviet propaganda. ### Essay 13 The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' is a compilation of topical quotations from Indian and international public figures on communism, the Cold War, and world affairs, drawn from October 1954 newspapers and journals, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. - Includes quotations from Jawaharlal Nehru, Govind Ballabh Pant, H. V. Kamath, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, and T. T. Krishnamachari among Indian figures. - Includes international commentary from Irving Brown, The Economist, and the New York Times on Soviet and Chinese policy. - Pant is quoted describing communism as treating human beings as 'mere cattle to be well looked after... but without any soul.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff033/ ### Summary This is issue No. 33 (February 1955) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, published in Bombay and affiliated to the world Congress for Cultural Freedom. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with an unsigned lead article (attributed at its close to Prabhakar Padhye) previewing the forthcoming Conference on Cultural Freedom in Asia (Rangoon, 17-20 February 1955), arguing that Asian intellectuals need positive democratic alternatives, not just anti-communist polemic, to compete with the appeal of totalitarian ideologies. A substantial 'Notes' section comments on Nehru's address to the Indian Science Congress, the trials of Yugoslav dissidents Milovan Djilas and Vladimir Dedijer, Rajagopalachari's appeal to America to scrap its atomic arsenal, Mrinalini Sarabhai's account of restricted freedoms during a dance tour of East Germany, reports of Chinese labourers sent to work in Soviet Siberia, and a call for genuine (rather than propagandistic) India-America cultural exchange. A short news item details the forthcoming Rangoon conference's delegate list, including Jayaprakash Narayan, M. R. Masani, Asoka Mehta, and others.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 33 (February 1955) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, published in Bombay and affiliated to the world Congress for Cultural Freedom. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with an unsigned lead article (attributed at its close to Prabhakar Padhye) previewing the forthcoming Conference on Cultural Freedom in Asia (Rangoon, 17-20 February 1955), arguing that Asian intellectuals need positive democratic alternatives, not just anti-communist polemic, to compete with the appeal of totalitarian ideologies. A substantial 'Notes' section comments on Nehru's address to the Indian Science Congress, the trials of Yugoslav dissidents Milovan Djilas and Vladimir Dedijer, Rajagopalachari's appeal to America to scrap its atomic arsenal, Mrinalini Sarabhai's account of restricted freedoms during a dance tour of East Germany, reports of Chinese labourers sent to work in Soviet Siberia, and a call for genuine (rather than propagandistic) India-America cultural exchange. A short news item details the forthcoming Rangoon conference's delegate list, including Jayaprakash Narayan, M. R. Masani, Asoka Mehta, and others. The issue's centerpiece, in the rendered pages, is a long scholarly essay by the German-American sinologist Karl A. Wittfogel, 'The Historical Position of Communist China: Doctrine and Reality,' which uses Marx's and Lenin's own (and later suppressed) writings on 'Oriental despotism' and 'Asiatic society' to argue that Communist China is not a proto-socialist society advancing toward Marxian socialism but a new form of 'general (state) slavery' organized around a monopoly managerial bureaucracy. Nissim Ezekiel announces the launch of a new bi-monthly arts-and-ideas journal, Quest, to be published by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom as a literary complement to Freedom First. A 'C.C.F. News' column reports on Congress for Cultural Freedom activities worldwide: the Ernst Reuter memorial lecture series in Berlin, Swedish Committee lectures, German Arciniegas's Latin American tour, a Preuves meeting in Paris featuring Polish composer Andrzej Panufnik and writer Czeslaw Milosz, and a Mexican Book Fair exhibit that drew Communist attacks. A Reviews section covers four books: U Nu's Burma Under the Japanese (reviewed by V.B.K.), Celina Lu Zanne's novel Heritage of Buddha (Madan Lal Sharma), James Rorty and Moshe Decter's McCarthy and the Communists (Faiz Noorani), and R. N. Carew Hunt's Marxism: Past and Present (Gopal Krishna). Letters to the Editor debate the Committee's anti-communist orientation and dispute the accuracy of a previous article's real-wages-in-Soviet-Russia statistics, with an editorial reply defending the figures. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a page of topical quotations from public figures including Rajagopalachari, Stalin, N. C. Chatterjee, Vinoba Bhave, Henry Cabot Lodge, S. Radhakrishnan, and the Pope. ## Essays ### The Problems Of Cultural Freedom In Asia *By Prabhakar Padhye* This unsigned lead article (signed at the end by Prabhakar Padhye) previews the Conference on Cultural Freedom in Asia, to be held in Rangoon from 17-20 February 1955. It argues that cultural freedom poses distinctive problems in Asia compared with the West: Asian peoples lack a long lived tradition of democratic values, are consumed by the struggle for basic subsistence, and their intellectuals suffer a 'hunger of the spirit' compounded by the erosion of traditional culture under colonial-era industrialisation. The essay contends that communism has found fertile ground in this vacuum not because it is intellectually superior but because of the absence of positive democratic alternatives, and that the Movement for Cultural Freedom must offer such alternatives -- reviving indigenous democratic and philosophical traditions (citing Gandhism, Radical Humanism, and Decentralised Socialism in India, and Buddhist Socialism in Burma) -- rather than relying solely on anti-communist critique. - Frames the Rangoon Conference on Cultural Freedom in Asia (17-20 Feb 1955) as the first serious attempt to bring Asian intellectuals together on cultural freedom questions. - Argues Asian conditions differ from Western ones: subsistence struggle and 'hunger of the spirit' among intellectuals, alongside a culture 'crusted' by centuries of inertness. - Claims communism succeeds in Asia through default -- absence of positive democratic alternatives -- not intellectual superiority. - Calls for developing positive, indigenous democratic approaches rather than mere exposure of totalitarian pretensions. - Cites Revolutionary Gandhism, Radical Humanism, and Decentralised Socialism in India, and Buddhist Socialism in Burma as examples of such alternatives. ### Notes (Scientific Spirit; Yugoslav Experiment; Rajaji's Appeal; Freedom in East Germany; Chinese Labourers for Soviet Russia; Cultural Delegations?; Cultured Pearls) A multi-item 'Notes' column of short editorial commentary. It praises Nehru's inaugural address to the Indian Science Congress in Baroda for its liberal-democratic insistence that scientists resist government and nationalistic pressure and preserve values even amid scientific progress. It reports with sympathy on the trials in Yugoslavia of Milovan Djilas and Vladimir Dedijer, framing Djilas's dissent (advocating a two-party system and criticizing Yugoslav communism) as a tragic case of a once-brilliant experiment in decentralisation curdling into orthodoxy. It criticizes Rajagopalachari's public appeal urging the United States to unilaterally scrap its atomic arsenal as naive, arguing deterrence prevents Soviet aggression given Russia's conventional military superiority, and quotes President Eisenhower's State of the Union framing of the Cold War as a struggle over 'the true nature of man.' It relates dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai's account of being confined and restricted during a tour of East Germany, questioning the sincerity of Soviet-bloc 'cultural freedom.' It notes reports of Chinese labourers being sent to the Soviet Union to relieve a Russian manpower shortage, questioning whether this treats 'men... as chattels.' Finally it responds to J. J. Singh's call (in a New York Times letter) for a new India-America cultural society, agreeing in principle but warning against propagandistic, showmanship-driven cultural delegations of the kind associated with Soviet-bloc exchanges. - Praises Nehru's Indian Science Congress address for insisting scientists resist political pressure and hold to values. - Covers the Yugoslav trials of Djilas and Dedijer as a tragic sign that the Yugoslav decentralisation experiment has become an ideological manoeuvre rather than a genuine break from Stalinism. - Criticizes Rajagopalachari's appeal for unilateral US nuclear disarmament as impractical, citing Eisenhower's framing of the Cold War as a struggle over the nature of man. - Relates Mrinalini Sarabhai's restricted, surveilled experience touring East Germany as evidence against Soviet-bloc claims of cultural freedom. - Reports transfers of Chinese labourers to the USSR amid a Soviet manpower shortage, questioning the ethics of treating workers as movable chattel. - Responds to J. J. Singh's proposal for an India-America cultural society, endorsing genuine long-term cultural engagement over showy, propagandistic delegations. ### Conference On Cultural Freedom In Asia A brief news report announcing the Conference on Cultural Freedom in Asia, to be held in Rangoon from 17-20 February 1955, organized jointly by the Congress for Cultural Freedom and Burma's Society for the Extension of Democratic Ideals. It lists sponsoring figures (including Madame Aung San, Jayaprakash Narayan, Dr. Lin Yutang, and Dr. Sampurnanand) and the topics to be discussed: the New Resurgence in Asia, the situation of the Asian intellectual, the impact of the West, planning versus freedom, and totalitarian threats to cultural freedom. It names India's six-person delegation -- Jayaprakash Narayan, M. R. Masani, Asoka Mehta, Eric da Costa, Ram Singh, and Laxmanshastri Joshi -- and notes several Indian intellectuals invited to submit papers, with Prabhakar Padhye serving as the Conference's General Secretary. - Announces the Rangoon Conference on Cultural Freedom in Asia (17-20 Feb 1955), jointly organized by the Congress for Cultural Freedom and Burma's Society for the Extension of Democratic Ideals. - Lists sponsoring intellectuals from across South, South-East, and East Asia. - Names India's six-member delegation: Jayaprakash Narayan, M. R. Masani, Asoka Mehta, Eric da Costa, Ram Singh, and Laxmanshastri Joshi. - Identifies discussion topics: economic development and democratic method, planning and freedom, totalitarian threats, and the State-Individual relation. - Notes Prabhakar Padhye as General Secretary of the Conference, already in Rangoon for arrangements. ### The Historical Position Of Communist China: Doctrine And Reality *By Karl A. Wittfogel* In two short humorous 'Notes' items, the column reports that Bihar's government has begun training police constables in dance, drama, and music to make them 'culture-minded' as part of an anti-crime drive, wryly imagining a constable interrogating suspects through classical raag performance, and speculating that Sherlock Holmes might have prevented more crime as a violinist than a detective. - Reports Bihar government's initiative to train police constables in classical dance, drama, and music to build 'a mass-consciousness against crime.' - Satirizes the scheme by imagining an interrogation conducted through classical raag performance. - Closes with a wry aside about Sherlock Holmes possibly being a mediocre violinist. ### A Journal Of Arts And Ideas: 'Quest' *By Nissim Ezekiel* Karl A. Wittfogel's essay examines whether Communist China, having declared itself on a path to socialism following the 1949 revolution, can be understood through the developmental scheme (slavery, feudalism, capitalism, socialism) that Chinese Communist doctrine claims to derive from Marx and Lenin. Wittfogel argues that this official Chinese Communist doctrine -- treating Chinese history as passing through slavery and feudalism into a 'semi-feudal, semi-colonial' phase before a 1949 leap toward socialism aided by the USSR -- radically distorts what Marx, Engels, and even the early Lenin actually believed. In the rendered pages, Wittfogel traces how the mature Marx (after settling in England and studying the classical economists) rejected a unilineal developmental scheme in favor of a distinct 'Asiatic' or 'Oriental' society, characterized by a despotic state managing large-scale irrigation ('hydraulic') works and a 'dispersed' peasantry, a category Marx and Engels applied not only to China but even to Tsarist Russia ('Semi-Asiatic'). Wittfogel shows that Lenin held this Asiatic-restoration concept as late as 1906-07 (in his debate with Plekhanov) and continued to fear an 'Asiatic restoration' of despotic bureaucratic rule through 1917, only to suppress this analysis after the Bolshevik seizure of power in favor of the simpler unilineal escalator scheme. He documents Lenin's own later admissions (in 1921, after Kronstadt) of anxiety about the 'non-proletarian' bureaucracy that had captured the Soviet state, and Lenin's veiled 1921 remark contrasting capitalism, socialism, and 'a bureaucracy connected with dispersed small producers' as an implicit acknowledgment of Asiatic-restoration dynamics inside the USSR itself. Wittfogel's conclusion, reached in the essay's final sections, is that Communist China is neither a socialist nor proto-socialist society in the Marxian sense but a new type of 'Oriental'-derived 'monopoly bureaucracy' or managerial apparatus state -- one that, unlike classical Oriental despotism, aspires to total (not merely political but also social and intellectual) control over an industrializing society, and that both the USSR and Communist China are moving toward a modern, industrial version of 'general (state) slavery,' a term Wittfogel borrows from Marx's own description of Asiatic society. - Argues Chinese Communist official doctrine (slavery-feudalism-capitalism-socialism) is not authentically Marxist but a later Cominform/Comintern-derived scheme. - Shows the mature Marx (post-1849, in Das Kapital-era writings) held a multilineal view of history featuring a distinct 'Asiatic'/'Oriental' society based on state-managed hydraulic works and dispersed peasant communities. - Documents that Marx and Engels applied the 'Asiatic'/'Semi-Asiatic' category even to Tsarist Russia, and that Lenin held an 'Asiatic restoration' fear through 1917 before suppressing this view after the Bolshevik revolution. - Cites Lenin's own 1921 post-Kronstadt anxieties about a 'non-proletarian' Soviet bureaucracy as an implicit, veiled admission of an Asiatic-restoration dynamic within the USSR. - Concludes Communist China is neither socialist nor proto-socialist but a new 'monopoly bureaucracy'/apparatus-state form, more totalizing than classical Oriental despotism because it seeks full social and intellectual as well as political control. - Frames both the USSR and Communist China as moving toward what Wittfogel calls a modern 'system of general (state) slavery,' borrowing Marx's own term for Asiatic society. - Extensively footnotes primary Marx, Engels, and Lenin texts (Das Kapital, Grundrisse, Gesammelte Schriften, Collected Works) to substantiate the argument that Soviet and Chinese ideologists suppressed inconvenient elements of Marxist theory. ### C. C. F. News Nissim Ezekiel, writing as editor, announces the launch of Quest, a new bi-monthly journal of arts and ideas to be sponsored by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, intended to succeed Freedom First's house-magazine function with a more ambitious, specifically literary and cultural publication. Ezekiel explains that Quest will cover the internal problems of the arts and creative life, publish translations from Indian languages, and maintain the 'hard-hitting, provocative politics' tradition established by Freedom First, while prioritizing Indian, then Asian, then international concerns in that order. - Announces Quest, a new bi-monthly arts-and-ideas journal sponsored by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by Nissim Ezekiel. - Frames Quest as succeeding Freedom First's house-magazine role with a more ambitious literary/cultural mandate. - States priorities: Indian concerns first, then Asian, then international, aiming for authenticity over vague 'international' posturing. - Notes Quest will publish translations from Indian languages and maintain a distinct political viewpoint rather than false 'impartiality.' ### Reviews (Burma under the Japanese; Heritage of Buddha; McCarthy and the Communists; Marxism: Past and Present) *By V.B.K.; Madan Lal Sharma; Faiz Noorani; Gopal Krishna* A news column reporting on Congress for Cultural Freedom activities internationally: an Ernst Reuter memorial lecture series in Berlin featuring speakers including Clement Attlee, Raymond Aron, Arthur Koestler, and Michael Polanyi; Swedish Committee lectures by Victor Vinde and James T. Farrell; German Arciniegas's lecture tour of Chile and Uruguay; a Preuves meeting in Paris where composer Andrzej Panufnik and writer Czeslaw Milosz gave testimony on artistic repression in Communist Poland; and a Mexican Book Fair exhibit that drew a hostile press campaign from the Diego Rivera-Siqueiros group. - Reports the Ernst Reuter memorial lecture series in Berlin, with speakers including Attlee, Aron, Koestler, Polanyi, and Silone. - Notes Swedish Committee lectures by Victor Vinde and American novelist James T. Farrell. - Covers German Arciniegas's Latin American lecture tour (Chile, Uruguay). - Details a Paris Preuves meeting where Andrzej Panufnik and Czeslaw Milosz testified about artistic repression in Poland. - Reports a Mexican Book Fair exhibit by the Mexican Committee that provoked a Communist press attack led by the Diego Rivera-Siqueiros group. ### Letters to the Editor (Call Of The Hour; Real Wages In Soviet Russia) *By J. K. Kotewal; J. Dubashi* A book reviews section covering four titles. V.B.K. reviews U Nu's Burma Under the Japanese (translated sketches on wartime Japanese occupation), praising its picturesque freshness and its warning against political 'Pied Pipers' understood as a reference to communist propagandists. Madan Lal Sharma reviews Celina Lu Zanne's novel Heritage of Buddha, a fictionalized biography of the Buddha, judged sincere though marked by factual ignorance of Indian life. Faiz Noorani reviews James Rorty and Moshe Decter's McCarthy and the Communists, an American Committee for Cultural Freedom-sponsored analysis that dissects Senator McCarthy's career and warns against demagoguery even while opposing communism. Gopal Krishna reviews R. N. Carew Hunt's Marxism: Past and Present, praising its scholarly dissection of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin and its thesis that Soviet practice is the logical outcome of Marxist doctrine rather than a democratic deviation from it. - U Nu's Burma Under the Japanese (reviewed by V.B.K.) is praised for vivid, firsthand sketches of wartime Japanese occupation and its warning against political 'Pied Pipers.' - Celina Lu Zanne's Heritage of Buddha (reviewed by Madan Lal Sharma) is judged a sincere, if factually imperfect, fictionalized life of the Buddha. - Rorty and Decter's McCarthy and the Communists (reviewed by Faiz Noorani) is described as a scholarly, unemotional dissection of Senator McCarthy's career, useful for opposing both communism and demagoguery. - R. N. Carew Hunt's Marxism: Past and Present (reviewed by Gopal Krishna) argues Soviet practice is the faithful logical outcome of Marxist doctrine, not a democratic betrayal of it. ### With Many Voices Two letters to the editor. J. K. Kotewal of Bombay defends the Committee's anti-communist activities against a correspondent's suggestion to focus purely on 'creative vitality,' arguing that in a 'life and death struggle' against a mortal threat to freedom and culture, anti-communist vigilance cannot be relaxed. J. Dubashi of Bombay disputes the accuracy of a previous 'Real Wages in Soviet Russia' article's statistics on Soviet consumer costs, to which the editor replies defending the figures (clarifying a units error, 'hours' for 'minutes') and citing further corroborating data from Thought magazine and industrialist S. L. Kirloskar on the high cost of living in Soviet Russia. - J. K. Kotewal's letter defends the Committee's continued anti-communist 'propaganda' work as an urgent duty, not a distraction from cultural stimulation. - J. Dubashi's letter challenges the accuracy of a prior article's Soviet real-wage/cost-of-living statistics. - The editor's reply clarifies a units printing error ('hours' should read 'minutes') and defends the underlying methodology. - The editor cites additional corroborating evidence (Thought magazine's British Food Fair analysis; industrialist S. L. Kirloskar's account) on the high cost of living in the USSR. ### Essay 10 The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' collects short topical quotations attributed to public figures from January 1955 press sources: Rajagopalachari on the cost of Soviet-style planning, Stalin on political purges, Cuban ambassador Santiago Claret on Russian imperialism, Gilbert Murray on the incompetence of proletarian rule, S. Radhakrishnan on British institutions, Joseph Stalin, N. C. Chatterjee on India's foreign-policy contradictions, Vinoba Bhave on Congress overreach, Henry Cabot Lodge on Chinese paranoia, H. V. Kamath on unequal treatment of Indian politicians, a Statesman comment on Jayaprakash Narayan's Bhoodan commitment, the Pope on Cold War paralysis, and S. A. Dange on Congress's 'State Capitalism' resolution, closing with Phillip Spratt's line that 'the C.P.I. may be a joke, but Communism is a danger.' - A curated page of topical public quotations from January 1955 Indian and international press. - Features Rajagopalachari, Stalin, Radhakrishnan, Vinoba Bhave, N. C. Chatterjee, Henry Cabot Lodge, H. V. Kamath, the Pope, S. A. Dange, and Phillip Spratt among others. - Touches on themes of Soviet planning costs, purges, Cold War paranoia, and Indian party politics. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff032/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 32 (January 1955), organ of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik, opens with Charles Morgan's presidential address to the XXVI International PEN Congress in Amsterdam, reflecting on peace, the writer's duty to bear witness, and the special obligation to the 'Centre of Writers in Exile.' The issue's editorial 'Notes' section takes up domestic controversies: the false 'bread or freedom' dichotomy, a Gandhian non-violent method used to quell rebellion in Tunisia, Rajya Sabha debate over film censorship and 'undesirable films,' the Criminal Procedure Code Amendment Bill's defamation-of-public-servants clause, a tribute to Dr. Sampurnanand on his election as U.P. Chief Minister, a satirical item on a Calcutta police hunger-strike, and obituary notes on the poet Jibanand Das and the Tamil writer-editor Kalki (R. Krishnamurthy). V. B. Karnik contributes a substantial analytical essay defending and extending Nehru's public attack on Indian communists, arguing that Indian communism is an instrument of an internationally directed Soviet-controlled movement rather than an indigenous political current.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 32 (January 1955), organ of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik, opens with Charles Morgan's presidential address to the XXVI International PEN Congress in Amsterdam, reflecting on peace, the writer's duty to bear witness, and the special obligation to the 'Centre of Writers in Exile.' The issue's editorial 'Notes' section takes up domestic controversies: the false 'bread or freedom' dichotomy, a Gandhian non-violent method used to quell rebellion in Tunisia, Rajya Sabha debate over film censorship and 'undesirable films,' the Criminal Procedure Code Amendment Bill's defamation-of-public-servants clause, a tribute to Dr. Sampurnanand on his election as U.P. Chief Minister, a satirical item on a Calcutta police hunger-strike, and obituary notes on the poet Jibanand Das and the Tamil writer-editor Kalki (R. Krishnamurthy). V. B. Karnik contributes a substantial analytical essay defending and extending Nehru's public attack on Indian communists, arguing that Indian communism is an instrument of an internationally directed Soviet-controlled movement rather than an indigenous political current. An unsigned piece, 'Real Wages In Soviet Russia,' reports Kasturbhai Lalbhai's assessment of Soviet living standards and summarises Janet G. Chapman's statistical study of Soviet real wages, concluding that Soviet workers in 1952 stood roughly where they had been before the 1917 revolution. Stephen Spender's essay 'The Writer And Freedom' is an extended meditation, cast partly as allegory, on the modern writer's relationship to bourgeois society and to Marxist criticism (engaging George Lukacs at length), arguing for a definition of artistic freedom as the 'vital margin' between individual vision and social consciousness. A report, 'Mr. Nabokov In India,' covers Nicolas Nabokov's (Secretary-General of the Congress for Cultural Freedom) visit to Bombay and Delhi. The issue closes with 'Letters to the Editor' (on Stephen Spender's earlier visit and on a review of Minoo Masani's book on the Communist Party of India) and 'With Many Voices,' a column of contemporary press quotations from Indian and international statesmen on communism, the Indian Constitution, and world affairs. ## Essays ### 'A June Night And No War' *By Charles Morgan* Charles Morgan's presidential address to the XXVI International PEN Congress in Amsterdam reflects on the rarity of peace for his generation, the writer's obligation to bear witness in his own idiom (pamphleteer or solitary artist), and a plea that the Congress not be wasted on partisan manoeuvring. He closes with tribute to the Netherlands and to 'suffering humanity' generally, invoking the PEN Centre of Writers in Exile as the movement's especial charge. - Delivered as the XXVI International PEN Congress presidential address in Amsterdam. - Morgan reflects that peace has been a 'rare gift' for his generation, most of whose prime years were spent in war. - He distinguishes writers who intervene as pamphleteers/satirists (citing Voltaire, Swift) from those who remain detached, arguing both are legitimate responses of conscience. - He invokes Tolstoy and Turgenev as emblematic of the 'militant' versus 'detached' writer temperaments. - He frames PEN's core purpose as ending the very condition of 'writers in exile.' - He closes with homage to the Netherlands' historical sacrifices for 'the liberties of the mind' and to suffering humanity broadly. ### Notes (Why Freedom First? / A Gandhian Experiment / 'Undesirable' and 'Objectionable' / Defamation of Public Servants / A Scholar Honoured / Fast & Win / Jibanand Das / Kalki) The unsigned 'Notes' section (editorial short items, likely by editor V. B. Karnik) covers: a rebuttal to the 'bread or freedom' false choice using Ignazio Silone's Encounter essay; a Gandhian-style unarmed peace mission used to quell rebellion in Tunisia; Rajya Sabha debate on film censorship following Mrs. (Lilavati) Munshi's resolution on 'undesirable' films and parallel Madras legislation against 'objectionable' drama; criticism of the enacted defamation-of-public-servants clause in the Criminal Procedure Code Amendment Bill; a tribute to Dr. Sampurnanand's election as Congress leader and U.P. Chief Minister; a satirical item on a Calcutta police pay hunger-strike ('Fast & Win'); and obituary notices for the Bengali poet Jibanand Das and the Tamil writer-editor Kalki (Sri R. Krishnamurthy). - Argues against treating 'Bread or Freedom' as a false binary, quoting Ignazio Silone's Encounter essay 'The Choice of Comrades.' - Praises a Tunisian experiment using unarmed Tunisian-French delegations to persuade Fellagha rebels to disarm, comparing it to Gandhi's peace missions. - Criticises calls in the Rajya Sabha (following Mrs. Munshi's resolution) and Madras State Assembly for stricter censorship of 'undesirable'/'objectionable' films and plays as vague and open to bureaucratic abuse. - Criticises the enacted defamation-of-public-servants clause as creating a privileged class shielded from press criticism. - Honours Dr. Sampurnanand's election as U.P. Chief Minister, recalling his 1953 address on 'The Neuroses of the Indian Intelligentsia.' - Satirises the Calcutta police force's hunger-strike for better pay and conditions. - Notes the deaths of Bengali poet Jibanand Das and Tamil writer/editor Kalki (R. Krishnamurthy). ### The Prime Minister And Communists *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's essay defends and elaborates Nehru's public condemnation of Indian communists as anti-national. Karnik argues Indian communism is not an indigenous movement but an instrument of an internationally directed, Moscow/Bucharest-controlled communist apparatus whose ultimate aim in every country is dictatorship of the proletariat achieved by any means, fair or foul. He contends the Prime Minister, while alert to internal communist danger, has not sufficiently reckoned with the subversive influence exercised by communist states abroad, and closes by urging that anti-communist criticism be paired with a non-hostile, but clear-eyed, stance toward communist countries generally. - Opens by summarising Nehru's Delhi speech condemning Indian communists as anti-national, unpatriotic, and violent. - Argues Indian communism is 'a foreign organisation planted on the soil of India' directed from Moscow (via the Cominform, now functioning from Bucharest). - Compares the international communist movement's structure to an army general staff directing national 'contingents.' - Asserts the ultimate aim of communist parties everywhere is dictatorship of the proletariat, pursued by any means including lying low or forming alliances. - Criticises the Prime Minister for insufficiently recognising the subversive influence of communist states abroad despite his China visit. - Concludes that condemnation of communism should not require hostility to communist nations, but must be paired with clear-eyed criticism of their methods. ### Real Wages In Soviet Russia This unsigned piece reports Kasturbhai Lalbhai's press-conference claim, after leading an Indian industrialists' delegation to the Soviet Union, that Russian workers' living standards are almost as low as those of Indian workers, and it corroborates this with an extended summary of American economist Janet G. Chapman's statistical study of Soviet real wages (1928-1952), published in The Review of Economics and Statistics. Detailed retail price and wage tables show prices rising far faster than money wages, with real wages after taxes and bond purchases in 1952 only marginally above (or, on 1937-weighted terms, close to) the 1928 level. The piece (continued on page 11) concludes that 35 years after the revolution the Soviet worker stood roughly where he had been four years before it, blaming forced collectivization and neglect of consumer goods under the Five Year Plans. - Kasturbhai Lalbhai, leading an Indian industrialists' delegation to the USSR, stated Soviet workers' standard of living is almost as low as Indian workers'. - Cites a 1953 Calcutta-published comparative study showing Soviet purchasing power considerably lower than American, British, or Indian counterparts for staples like bread and eggs. - Summarises Janet G. Chapman's study 'Real Wages in the Soviet Union, 1928-52,' based on indirect data since the USSR bans cost-of-living publication. - Presents detailed 1928/1937/1948/1952 retail price index and real-wage tables showing prices rose far faster than money wages. - Notes rising direct taxes and compulsory bond purchases further eroded Soviet workers' real income over the period. - Concludes (in the page-11 continuation) that 35 years after the revolution, Soviet workers' real wages stood roughly at pre-revolution (1913-level) parity, blaming forced collectivization and neglected consumer-goods production. ### The Writer And Freedom *By Stephen Spender* Stephen Spender's essay uses an extended marriage/divorce allegory to explore the modern writer's alienated relationship with bourgeois society, then turns to a direct engagement with Marxist critic George Lukacs, whose view that 'bourgeois freedom' is illusory Spender partly credits but ultimately rejects. Spender argues that true artistic freedom lies in the 'super-imposition' of individual vision onto socially shared concepts (illustrated via a painter's apple, and art from Ajanta to Picasso), and that what must be defended is not unfettered individualism but the 'absolutely vital margin' separating a socially responsible artist from being reduced to a mechanical instrument of ideology. - Opens with an allegory of the modern writer's 'marriage' to and eventual 'divorce' from bourgeois society. - Engages George Lukacs' Marxist literary criticism, quoting his Austrian Quarterly (Meanyin) essay preferring Tolstoy's example over Joyce's and defending socialist realism against 'dangerous decline of standards.' - Argues that pure individualism (epitomised by James Joyce) is also an illusion, though historically fruitful as a form of resistance. - Defines artistic freedom as the state in which the artist is simultaneously a social being and individually aware, illustrated by the 'double image' of a painted apple (shared concept plus unique vision). - Extends the argument across art history — Ajanta caves, Lascaux, Greek vase painting, Picasso — as evidence of art's dual contemporary/timeless character. - Concludes that what must be fought for is not complete individual freedom but the 'vital margin' that separates a person from being one of 'as many machines as there are members of the population.' ### Mr. Nabokov In India *By N.E.* This report (signed 'N.E.') covers the visit of Nicolas Nabokov, Secretary-General of the Congress for Cultural Freedom and noted composer/critic, to Bombay and Delhi under the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's auspices. It recounts his provocative press conference on the 'conformist tendency of modern intellectuals,' his public lecture 'Trends in Contemporary Music' at Jai Hind College, a Rotary Club address on 'Music — the universal language,' his meeting with the Prime Minister in Delhi, and social gatherings including a dinner hosted by H. R. Pardiwala and a reception at Mme. Sophia Wadia's home featuring a Bharat Natyam performance by Mrs. Shakuntala Masani. - Nicolas Nabokov, Secretary-General of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, visited Bombay and Delhi under the Indian Committee's invitation. - His Bombay press conference addressed the 'conformist tendency of modern intellectuals' across both totalitarian and democratic/commercial societies. - He delivered a public lecture, 'Trends in Contemporary Music,' at Jai Hind College Hall — the Committee's first music programme. - A misreport of his lecture in a Bombay daily required a published correction from Delhi regarding political terminology in musical aesthetics. - At Bombay's Rotary Club he spoke on the 'triple danger' facing the modern artist: economic peril, commercialism, and state dictation. - In Delhi he met Prime Minister Nehru to discuss cultural questions, and attended social gatherings including a Bharat Natyam performance by Shakuntala Masani. ### Letters to the Editor (Mr. Spender's Visit / A Sectarian Outlook?) *By Sailesh K. Roy; S. N. Tripathi* Two letters to the editor: Sailesh K. Roy of Calcutta writes on Stephen Spender's recent Indian visit, questioning whether the Congress for Cultural Freedom's activities are seen as more than intellectual opportunism, and urges the Committee to stimulate creative vitality rather than mere anti-communist propaganda (with an editorial reply defending the Committee's dual commitment to freedom and culture). S. N. Tripathi of Calcutta criticises Principal Dalvi's review of Minoo Masani's book Communist Party of India as unfairly dismissive of Gandhism and the Bhoodan Movement as anti-communist forces. - Sailesh K. Roy questions whether the Congress for Cultural Freedom is seen in Calcutta as more than a group of 'intellectual opportunists.' - Roy urges the Committee to focus on stimulating creative vitality, citing Encounter and Preuves as models, and hopes for festivals of arts in India. - The editor's reply insists the Committee is 'wedded to the ideal of freedom and culture,' not merely an anti-communist front. - S. N. Tripathi criticises Principal Dalvi's review of Minoo Masani's Communist Party of India for being contemptuous of Gandhism and the Bhoodan Movement without argument. - Tripathi argues humanism should breed tolerance for multiple anti-communist remedies rather than sectarian dismissal of others. ### With Many Voices 'With Many Voices' is the issue's closing column of quotations from contemporary press and public statements, epigraphed with lines from Tennyson. It gathers remarks from Indian and international statesmen and commentators — including Vinoba Bhave, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sucheta Kripalani, Acharya Kripalani, Jayaprakash Narayan, M. Patanjali Sastri, and foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan — on themes of communism, diplomatic flexibility, India's Constitution, and Cold War tensions. - Column of quotations from December 1954/November 1954 press sources, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. - Includes Hallam Tennyson quoting Vinoba (Bhave) on the difference between communism-minus-violence and being alive. - Quotes Nehru's exception in favour of not expecting responsibility from the Communist Party, since it does not itself believe in democracy. - Quotes Acharya Kripalani equating the need for a Preventive Detention Act internally with the need for the atom bomb internationally. - Cites M. Patanjali Sastri contrasting the U.S. Constitution's 22 amendments in 150+ years with India's Constitution already amended three times in five years. - Includes a call (via 'Rover' in Commerce) for Jayaprakash Narayan to add 'Sattadan' (gift of power) to his Bhoodan/Sampatidan/Shramdan/Samayadan quartet. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff031/ ### Summary This is the December 1954 issue (No. 31) of Freedom First, the monthly organ of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (I.C.C.F.), edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is anchored by Stephen Spender's essay reflecting on a hostile encounter with Communist writers during his Australian tour, followed by a news report chronicling his extensive lecture tour of India in October-November 1954. The unsigned 'Notes' section comments on Rajendra Prasad's warnings against executive overreach in the welfare state, the Rashtriya Seva Dal's voluntary-labour rally near Poona, India's diplomatic softness toward Communist China, the attack on Asoka Mehta in Kashmir, and Calcutta police's employment scheme for 'amateur' rowdies. Nissim Ezekiel contributes a sustained polemical dissection of 'Adib' (the pen name of Times of India columnist Sham Lal) for his hostile review of Salvador de Madariaga. 'Ashad' analyses Ilya Ehrenburg's essay on the poverty of contemporary Soviet literature and the condemnation of writers like Vera Panova. Principal G. R. Dalvi reviews M. R.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the December 1954 issue (No. 31) of Freedom First, the monthly organ of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (I.C.C.F.), edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is anchored by Stephen Spender's essay reflecting on a hostile encounter with Communist writers during his Australian tour, followed by a news report chronicling his extensive lecture tour of India in October-November 1954. The unsigned 'Notes' section comments on Rajendra Prasad's warnings against executive overreach in the welfare state, the Rashtriya Seva Dal's voluntary-labour rally near Poona, India's diplomatic softness toward Communist China, the attack on Asoka Mehta in Kashmir, and Calcutta police's employment scheme for 'amateur' rowdies. Nissim Ezekiel contributes a sustained polemical dissection of 'Adib' (the pen name of Times of India columnist Sham Lal) for his hostile review of Salvador de Madariaga. 'Ashad' analyses Ilya Ehrenburg's essay on the poverty of contemporary Soviet literature and the condemnation of writers like Vera Panova. Principal G. R. Dalvi reviews M. R. Masani's history of the Communist Party of India, arguing that anti-communist opposition needs a constructive humanist philosophy, not merely appeals to religion or nationalism. Further reviews cover Frank Rounds Jr.'s account of daily life in Moscow and Aubrey Mennen's satirical 'Rama Retold'. An unsigned obituary for Soviet prosecutor Andrei Vyshinsky recounts his role in the Stalinist purges, accompanied by a David Low cartoon on Nehru's Peking visit. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a compilation of press quotations on Communism, coexistence, and Indian foreign policy from figures including Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, B. R. Shenoy, and Herbert Morrison. ## Essays ### Thoughts Arising From An Incident *By by Stephen Spender* Stephen Spender recounts a 'personal comment' on an unpleasant encounter with Communist writers at a dinner in Melbourne during his Australian tour, provoked by a poem from David Martin accusing him of being a 'traitor' to the Spanish Republican cause for having criticized Soviet-era fabrications. Spender argues that consistent opposition to totalitarian fabrication of evidence does not make one disloyal to causes once supported, and that intellectuals should assume good faith across political camps even amid disagreement. He closes (in the continuation on page 8) by defending the Congress for Cultural Freedom against the charge that it is a one-note anti-Communist front, noting its broad executive committee (Raymond Aron, David Rousset, Ignazio Silone) and its positive cultural programming (the Festival of Twentieth Century Masterpieces, Encounter magazine), framing intellectual freedom as something to be built, not merely defended. - Spender was accused by fellow poet David Martin of being a 'traitor' to the Spanish Republican cause because of his criticism of Communist fabrication of evidence. - Spender questions whether loyalty to a cause requires ignoring crimes committed in its name, citing the Nazi-Soviet Pact and the handover of Spanish Republicans to Nazi camps. - He argues intellectuals across political camps should assume mutual good faith ('clercs' supporting causes sincerely) rather than accusing each other of bad faith. - He disagrees with peace manifestos on strategic grounds but does not think signatories act in bad faith. - In the continuation, he defends the Congress for Cultural Freedom against the charge that it exists solely for anti-Communist propaganda, citing its diverse international executive. - He frames the Congress's positive project as sustaining vital intellectual and artistic freedom through publications like Encounter and cultural festivals, not merely opposing McCarthyism or Communism defensively. ### Stephen Spender In India An unsigned news report details Stephen Spender's month-long tour of India (28 October to 28 November 1954) under I.C.C.F. auspices, listing his stops in Madras, Ernakulam, Trivandrum, Bangalore, Bombay, Poona, Calcutta, Banaras, Lucknow, and Delhi, the lectures and receptions he gave, and notable audiences including S. S. Vasan of Gemini Studios and the Left Book Club in Calcutta. - Spender arrived in India on 28 October 1954 and departed for Karachi on 28 November. - He addressed public meetings in Madras, Ernakulam, Trivandrum, Bangalore, Bombay, Poona, Calcutta, Banaras, Lucknow and Delhi under I.C.C.F. and university auspices. - Madras University instituted an annual 'Spender Prize' of Rs. 500 for the best student of the year. - In Bombay, M. R. Masani chaired a public meeting in place of an ill Governor G. S. Bajpai. - Spender met Tamil writers, Kanarese writers and poets, and members of the Left Book Club in Calcutta. ### Notes (The Welfare State and its Limitations; The R.S.D. Rally at Hadapsar; Who Rules Kashmir?; Student Sagacity; First Fruits; Selective Service) The unsigned 'Notes' section covers six short items: President Rajendra Prasad's warnings against executive and legislative overreach into judicial functions and against the state monopolising welfare; praise for the Rashtriya Seva Dal's voluntary-labour rally near Poona under Jayaprakash Narayan's guidance; India's diplomatic concessions to Communist China, including the expulsion of a Chinese-community newspaper editor and the cold-shouldering of exiled Hungarian leader Ferencz Nagy; the attack on socialist leader Asoka Mehta in Kashmir and the one-party rule of the National Conference; testimony from Indian student delegates who visited Soviet universities describing rigid Party control of education; and a satirical item on the Calcutta police's employment scheme for reformed 'amateur' rowdies. - President Rajendra Prasad warned against the executive/legislature usurping judicial functions and against the state monopolising the welfare field. - The Rashtra Seva Dal's 3,000-volunteer rally near Poona, under Jayaprakash Narayan's guidance, built a bund for a co-operative farm as part of a 'reconstruction of society through self-help.' - China expelled Dr. C. S. Liu, editor of the Chinese Journal of India, for publishing pro-Nationalist speeches; India also snubbed exiled Hungarian leader Ferencz Nagy at Peking's implicit pressure. - Socialist leader Asoka Mehta was attacked in Srinagar while organizing a Kashmir branch of the Praja Socialist Party; Acharya J. B. Kripalani called National Conference rule 'a reign of terror.' - Indian student delegates Satya Dev Sharma and D. N. Panigrahi, returning from a Moscow University-hosted trip, reported that dialectical materialism governed all education and student unions were tightly Party-controlled. - A satirical note describes Calcutta police's scheme to offer 'amateur' rowdies jobs to stop them throwing stones and burning tramcars. ### The Case Of Comrade Adib *By by Nissim Ezekiel* Nissim Ezekiel mounts a detailed polemical takedown of 'Adib,' the pen name of Sham Lal, an assistant editor of the Times of India whose 'Life and Letters' column Ezekiel accuses of being a vehicle for Communist propaganda dressed as literary criticism. Ezekiel analyses Adib's hostile review of Salvador de Madariaga's Essays With a Purpose in detail, showing how Adib selectively quotes, strips context, and constructs a fictional 'sophisticated lady' interlocutor to mock and discredit anti-Communist writers (Madariaga, Hemingway, Bertrand Russell, John Masters) while treating Communist and fellow-travelling authors with deference. Ezekiel concludes that beneath the sneering rhetorical technique, Adib's own ideas are thin and derivative, reducible to a handful of trite, self-congratulatory aphorisms. - 'Adib' is revealed to be the pen name of Sham Lal, an assistant editor of the Times of India writing the 'Life and Letters' column. - Ezekiel documents Adib's habitual technique: quoting selectively, removing qualifying punctuation, and using a fictional 'sophisticated lady' reader to mock ideas he opposes. - Adib's review of Madariaga's Essays With a Purpose ignores most of the book's content (essays on Spain, on writing) to focus solely on discrediting Madariaga's politics. - Ezekiel notes Adib has made six or seven attacks on Encounter articles since its inception, and that the magazine's editor declined to publish Ezekiel's own protest letter. - After 'demolishing' Madariaga, Adib also attacks Hemingway, Bertrand Russell and John Masters, inventing dialogue that Ezekiel says makes them 'talk like idiots.' - Ezekiel argues Adib maintains a double standard: harsh scrutiny for anti-Communist writers, deference for Communist or fellow-travelling authors. ### Ilya Ehrenburg And Soviet Literature *By by "Ashad"* Writing under the pseudonym 'Ashad,' this essay examines Ilya Ehrenburg's article 'The Writer and His Craft,' which had been celebrated by Bombay 'Russophiles' as an epoch-making analysis of Soviet literature's decline. Ashad shows that Ehrenburg, despite conceding that Soviet writing suffers from too much emphasis on public/industrial life and too little on personal, intimate experience, is unable to acknowledge that the root cause is political control of literature itself. The essay contrasts the freedom of the 'bourgeois capitalist' author to criticize his own society against the Soviet writer's obligation to affirm the party line, and cites the recent condemnation of authors (Vera Panova, Konstantin Sivonov's own denunciations) as evidence that Soviet literary criticism functions as political condemnation. - Ehrenburg's article responds to a young Leningrad engineer's complaint that contemporary Russian literature is 'paler than life' compared to Tsarist-era writing. - Ehrenburg attributes the weakness to excessive focus on public/industrial themes (tractors, dams, factories) and insufficient attention to personal and intimate life. - Vera Panova's novel 'The Seasons of the Year,' which depicted ongoing conflicts in Soviet society, was condemned despite having been publishable in the post-Stalin thaw. - Konstantine Sivonov, who himself had called for more literary realism in 1953, is the same critic who later condemned Ehrenburg's 'gloomy' story 'The Thaw.' - The author argues Soviet writers cannot truly criticize their society or its leaders in the way authors in the 'bourgeois capitalist world' can. - The essay is skeptical that Ehrenburg's optimistic claim -- that Soviet writers can now give a 'faithful and profound reflection' of Soviet society -- is credible, given ongoing condemnations. ### The Past and Future of Indian Communism (review of M. R. Masani's "The Communist Party of India — A Short History") *By by Principal G. R. Dalvi* Principal G. R. Dalvi reviews M. R. Masani's 'The Communist Party of India -- A Short History,' praising its factual, well-documented narration of the Party's history through the 1951 General Elections and its Third Congress at Madurai (December 1953), with an introduction by Guy Wint. Dalvi argues that while Masani's factual chapters (I-VIII) are valuable, the analytical chapters (IX, describing Communist infiltration of cultural/labour/welfare organisations, and XI, on outlook) are inadequate to help readers understand and counter the danger, especially given the risk that impressionable young readers might instead be drawn toward Communism. Dalvi contends that opposition to Communism cannot rely on religion, Gandhism, or nationalism alone, and must instead be grounded in a scientific, humanist social philosophy capable of matching Communism's own ideological appeal. - Masani's book covers the Communist Party of India's history since World War I through the 1951 General Elections (chapters I-VIII), with chapter X on the 1953 Madurai Third Congress. - Dalvi values the book's freedom from 'untruthful methodology' since it is written by a non-Communist, contra typical Communist or fellow-traveller historiography. - Dalvi criticizes chapters IX and XI as inadequate for helping readers understand or counter Communism's dangers, warning the book could risk making impressionable readers sympathetic to Communism. - Masani (via M. N. Roy) argues the decisive factors favoring Communism are psychological and emotional, not merely economic or illiteracy, and can be counteracted by 'inspiring and dynamic leadership.' - Dalvi lists the forces Masani identifies as opposed to Communism -- religion, socialists, the Five Year Plan, Gandhism, Bhoodan Yagna -- and argues these are inadequate or even counterproductive as anti-Communist strategies. - Dalvi calls for non-Communists to develop a 'superior social philosophy' grounded in humanism and modern scientific knowledge to defeat Communism in the realm of ideas. ### Review — A Window on Red Square (review of Frank Rounds, Jr.) *By Laeeq Futehally* Laeeq Futehally reviews Frank Rounds Jr.'s 'A Window on Red Square,' an account of everyday life in Moscow based on the author's 18 months as an attache at the American Embassy, praising it as a rare, reasonably objective account of ordinary Russian life -- housing, clothing, shops -- even though it lacks diplomatic secrets. The review notes that the most unpleasant aspect the book conveys is the sensation of being under constant surveillance, and the constant exposure of Soviet citizens to state propaganda. - Frank Rounds Jr. spent 18 months in Moscow as an attache in the American Embassy. - The book's value lies in giving an objective, non-secret account of everyday Soviet life -- housing, clothing, and daily routines. - The reviewer finds the depiction unflattering, particularly the sense of being continuously watched and the near-constant exposure to Soviet propaganda. ### Review — Rama Retold (review of Aubrey Mennen) *By Faiz Noorani* Faiz Noorani reviews Aubrey Mennen's 'Rama Retold,' criticizing it as a 'burlesque' version of the Ramayana interspersed with aphoristic 'Tales of Valmiki' and a concluding note on Indian thought, arguing the effort fails as serious literature and reflects Mennen's uneasy relationship with his own Indo-Irish heritage. - Mennen's book presents a 'burlesque' retelling of the Ramayana alongside 'morsels of wisdom' called Tales of Valmiki. - The book's morals suggest power matters more than right and wrong, and that virtue is 'comic.' - The reviewer characterizes Mennen (born Menon, of Indo-Irish extraction) as uncomfortable with his Indian heritage. - The review judges the book's twelve-page attempt to encapsulate Indian thought from pre-history to Gandhi as unsuccessful. ### In Memoriam (Andrei Yanourievitch Vyshinsky) An unsigned obituary for Andrei Vyshinsky, the Soviet prosecutor who died at his desk after more than 30 years of loyal service to the Bolshevik regime. It traces his path from a Menshevik lawyer who joined the Communist Party only after the Bolshevik coup, his instrumental role as prosecutor in the show trials of the Old Bolsheviks following Kirov's murder, and his later career as a diplomat and ambassador to the U.N., concluding that his memory will remain linked to the purges of the mid-1930s that killed millions. The page includes a David Low cartoon depicting Nehru's visit to Peking. - Vyshinsky, of Polish descent, studied law at St. Petersburg and initially belonged to the Menshevik faction before joining the Bolsheviks after their 1917 coup. - He helped the Cheka locate and 'liquidate' or exile former Menshevik colleagues, leading Maxim Gorky to privately call him the regime's 'most wicked police sniper.' - He became infamous in the mid-1930s as prosecutor in the show trials following Kirov's murder, sending many of Lenin's former colleagues to death or exile. - Despite his services, Stalin never admitted Vyshinsky to the inner Politburo sanctum. - He later served as a diplomat and ambassador to the U.N. Assembly, known for prolific oratory and frequent use of the veto and 'nyet.' - A David Low cartoon on the same page satirizes Nehru's visit to Peking, captioned 'Indians ... Chinese ... All the same you see?' ### With Many Voices The closing feature 'With Many Voices' compiles brief press quotations from October-November 1954 on themes of Communism, coexistence, and Indian foreign policy, drawn from sources including Indira Gandhi in the Times of India, Nehru in the Free Press Journal, B. R. Shenoy in the Times of India, Herbert Morrison in the New Leader, and George Meany in the New Leader, among others, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. - Indira Gandhi is quoted (Times of India, 21 Nov 1954) contrasting India's democratic elections with the guided elections of Russia and China. - Nehru is quoted (Free Press Journal, 1 Nov 1954) noting Chinese assurances against interference in Burma, Thailand, and Indonesia, with skepticism about the future. - B. R. Shenoy is quoted (Times of India, 6 Nov 1954) calling deficit financing for the Five-Year Plan 'the best subsidy to Communism.' - Herbert Morrison (New Leader) argues Communism is not a movement of the Left but a reactionary force worse than Tsarist autocracy. - The feature also quotes Principal F. Correia-Afonso on Portuguese claims in Goa, Dr. Katju on suspicion of cheap-book offers, and Governor Dewey on politics as public duty. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff034/ ### Summary This is issue No. 34 (March 1955) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, affiliated with the (Congress for) Cultural Freedom movement. The issue is dominated by coverage of the Conference on Cultural Freedom in Asia, held in Rangoon from 17-20 February 1955 and jointly organised by the Congress for Cultural Freedom and Burma's Society for the Extension of Democratic Ideals -- reproducing the Mayor of Rangoon's inaugural address, an unsigned report on the proceedings, and a set of messages sent to the conference by figures such as Lin Yutang, Sir Arthur Wijeyewardhene, Kotaro Tanaka, Han Suyin and Bertrand Russell. Alongside this, the issue carries an editorial 'Notes' section on Cold War and domestic Indian politics, a speech by film producer S. S. Vasan on the problems of the Indian cinema industry, an essay-review by Yatin Gaznavi engaging Jacques Maritain's Man and the State, three book/exhibition reviews, an I.C.C.F. News column on committee activities, and a closing page of press-quotation squibs ('With Many Voices') satirising Cold War commentary.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 34 (March 1955) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, affiliated with the (Congress for) Cultural Freedom movement. The issue is dominated by coverage of the Conference on Cultural Freedom in Asia, held in Rangoon from 17-20 February 1955 and jointly organised by the Congress for Cultural Freedom and Burma's Society for the Extension of Democratic Ideals -- reproducing the Mayor of Rangoon's inaugural address, an unsigned report on the proceedings, and a set of messages sent to the conference by figures such as Lin Yutang, Sir Arthur Wijeyewardhene, Kotaro Tanaka, Han Suyin and Bertrand Russell. Alongside this, the issue carries an editorial 'Notes' section on Cold War and domestic Indian politics, a speech by film producer S. S. Vasan on the problems of the Indian cinema industry, an essay-review by Yatin Gaznavi engaging Jacques Maritain's Man and the State, three book/exhibition reviews, an I.C.C.F. News column on committee activities, and a closing page of press-quotation squibs ('With Many Voices') satirising Cold War commentary. The volume's centre of gravity is anti-communist cultural-freedom advocacy: the case that intellectual liberty, tolerance and the right of opposition are indivisible conditions of democratic life, counterposed against both Soviet-style totalitarianism and complacent 'co-existence' framing. ## Essays ### Culture And Freedom *By U Ba Nyunt, Mayor of Rangoon* This is the inaugural address delivered by U Ba Nyunt, Mayor of Rangoon, at the opening session of the Conference on Cultural Freedom in Asia (17-20 February 1955). U Ba Nyunt argues that culture is inseparable from freedom: culture is the fruit of the human spirit, and a spirit that is caged or forced into a 'set pattern' stagnates and dies. He warns that the modern Welfare State, in the name of planning and progress, risks concentrating all authority in the hands of the State or a few individuals, producing 'a new form of imperialism' more dangerous than old colonial imperialism because it is more systematic and morally self-justifying. He calls on Asian nations, having won political freedom, to resist this drift, and to hold to indigenous democratic-cultural traditions -- Burmese Pyedawtha, Indian Gandhism and Bhoodan, Indonesian Pantjasila -- as bulwarks against totalitarian encroachment. He closes by welcoming delegates to Burma as an appropriate first venue for the movement, framing the choice of democracy over dictatorship as a deliberate, considered one. - Culture is defined as the fruit of the human spirit and cannot grow without freedom to explore and experiment. - The Welfare State's expansion of planning risks concentrating power and suppressing opposition, becoming 'even more degrading and more dangerous' than old-time imperialism. - Asian nations are urged to resist totalitarianism by holding to their own cultural-democratic traditions (Pyedawtha in Burma, Gandhism/Bhoodan in India, Pantjasila in Indonesia). - Burma's choice of democracy over dictatorship is presented as a deliberate, non-accidental national decision guided by PM U Nu. - The address frames the Rangoon conference as the first gathering of its kind to bring Asian intellectuals together against totalitarian threats to culture. ### Notes (The Fall of Malenkov; Telagu Writers' Statement) An unsigned 'Notes' column of short editorial comments on current affairs. The lead item analyses the ousting of Malenkov and installation of Bulganin as Soviet premier, reading it as evidence that Khruschev, though now dominant within the party, has had to concede ground to army interests (hence Bulganin's appointment and Zhukov's elevation to Defence Minister), and warns Asian democracies against being lulled by a 'friendlier' Soviet posture toward India, Burma and Indonesia, citing Czechoslovakia's Benes as a cautionary precedent. A second item praises a declaration by more than 150 Telugu writers and artists affirming 'unshakeable faith' in parliamentary-democratic Welfare State ideals and rejecting totalitarianism of both left and right, and notes a similar manifesto by a new Union of Indian Artists and Writers formed in Bangalore. A third item ('Pure Simons') satirises the formation of the doctrinally fractious 'United Marxist Party' in Bombay, mocking its claimed independence from Communist orthodoxy while it remains 'most friendly' toward the Soviet Union and Communist China. A closing item ('Bray, New World') is a satirical squib on a Madras Livestock Board scheme to address a shortage of donkeys through state planning, mocking bureaucratic 'planned progress'. - Malenkov's fall and Bulganin's installation are read as signs Khruschev has had to placate army interests rather than as evidence of a stable new order. - Asian democracies are warned not to be taken in by a Soviet 'friendly' posture toward India, Burma and Indonesia, with Czechoslovakia's fate cited as a warning. - A Telugu writers' declaration affirming Welfare-State/parliamentary democracy and opposing totalitarianism of left and right is praised as an encouraging sign. - A new Bombay 'United Marxist Party' is satirised for claiming independence from Communist orthodoxy while remaining pro-Soviet and pro-Communist-China. - A satirical item on state-planned donkey-breeding in Madras mocks bureaucratic overreach into 'planned progress'. ### Conference On Cultural Freedom In Asia An unsigned report on the Conference on Cultural Freedom in Asia held in Rangoon, 17-20 February 1955, jointly organised by the Congress for Cultural Freedom and Burma's Society for the Extension of Democratic Ideals. The report lists the thirty-five delegates from twelve countries (including Jayaprakash Narayan, M. R. Masani, Eric da'Costa, Tarkateerth Laxmanshastri Joshi, A. K. Mukerji and V. B. Karnik from India), describes the conference's Honorary Chairmen (a roster of prominent Asian intellectuals and officials), and summarises the proceedings across three topics: the condition of cultural freedom in Asia, the legacy of colonialism, the tension between economic planning and cultural freedom, and threats posed by international communism and Chinese totalitarianism to Overseas Chinese intellectuals. M. R. Masani's address to the conference argued that 'humanity cannot be half slave and half free' and that while co-existence between states might be possible, there can be no co-existence between the culture of democracy and the culture of communism. Jayaprakash Narayan's keynote stressed that man alone creates culture, that culture requires recognition of individual supremacy, and highlighted India's Bhoodan movement as a voluntary, non-state approach to social and economic problems. The conference concluded with resolutions to establish national Committees for Cultural Freedom and coordinate a regional movement, and closes by quoting London Observer correspondent Philip Deane's admiring account of the delegates as unembittered idealists willing to 'swim against the stream'. - Thirty-five delegates from twelve Asian countries attended, including a six-member Indian delegation led by Jayaprakash Narayan and M. R. Masani. - M. R. Masani's address held that co-existence may be possible between states with differing ideologies, but not between the culture of democracy and the culture of communism. - Jayaprakash Narayan's keynote emphasised man's creation of culture through recognising individual supremacy, and pointed to the Bhoodan movement as solving social problems through voluntary action rather than state legislation. - Discussion topics included the legacy of colonialism, the tension between state economic planning and cultural freedom, and threats from international communism to cultural minorities including Overseas Chinese. - The conference resolved to establish national Committees for Cultural Freedom in participating countries and to coordinate the emerging movement across Asia, with Mr Padhye tasked as regional coordinator. - Observer correspondent Philip Deane is quoted describing the delegates as 'not embittered second-raters' who could easily climb onto more popular bandwagons but chose instead to 'swim against the stream'. ### Problems Of The Indian Cinema *By S. S. Vasan* A compilation of extracts from messages of greeting and support sent to the Rangoon Conference on Cultural Freedom in Asia by prominent international figures, continued from page 7 onto page 11. Contributors include Dr Lin Yutang (urging that the Congress for Cultural Freedom stay free of party affiliations), Sir Arthur Wijeyewardhene (framing the conference as a step toward peace in Asia), Dr Kotaro Tanaka (arguing Asia's spiritual roots must be re-emphasised against overly material Western influence), Dr Han Suyin (a meditation on freedom's degraded and 'derisive' meaning amid Cold War propaganda, expressing regret at being unable to attend), and Bertrand Russell (expressing 'whole-hearted sympathy' with the conference's objects and hope for its success). - Lin Yutang urges that the Congress for Cultural Freedom keep itself free of party affiliations to function properly. - Sir Arthur Wijeyewardhene frames the conference as a step in a larger movement for peace in Asia and the world. - Kotaro Tanaka argues Asia must more clearly emphasise its spiritual and moral traditions against a purely material import of Western civilisation. - Han Suyin offers an extended reflection on how words like 'freedom' and 'peace' have been debased by propaganda and 'otiose fanaticism', while expressing hope the conference offers 'a way out of this swampy jungle'. - Bertrand Russell, Honorary President of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, sends wholehearted sympathy and hopes for the conference's success given cultural freedom's importance to the well-being of mankind. ### Man And The State *By Yatin Gaznavi* Extracts from a speech by S. S. Vasan, President of the Film Federation of India, delivered at a Film Seminar organised by the All India Sangeet Natak Akademi in New Delhi. Vasan argues that the Indian cinema, though young and often accused of neglecting artistic standards, has become an inescapable feature of national life, reaching millions daily and shaping their ideals and emotions. He attributes slow artistic progress to India's low economic standards and mass audience tastes favouring melodrama, and criticises public intellectuals and 'genteel' society for a snobbish, under-examined prejudice against the film industry. He surveys the varied legitimate uses of cinema (education, propaganda, advertisement, fine art, cultural diplomacy) and insists producers must remain entertainers first, quoting Rajaji's dictum that wholesome entertainment is itself a patriotic service. He closes with five concrete policy proposals to help the industry grow: unrestricted licensing of new cinemas, substantially reduced or abolished admission tax, liberalised censorship, subsidy for educational and artistic films, and government assistance in domestic manufacture of raw film stock and equipment. - Vasan argues cinema's growth is inevitable given its reach into millions of lives daily, regardless of doubts about its artistic stability. - He attributes the industry's slow artistic development chiefly to India's low economic standards and mass audiences' preference for melodrama. - He criticises 'genteel' public opinion and public men/philosophers for a closed-minded, class-based prejudice against the film industry and its performers. - Cinema's legitimate uses are surveyed as ranging from education and propaganda to fine art and cultural diplomacy, each requiring different sponsoring agencies. - He proposes five reforms: unrestricted cinema licensing, reduced/abolished admission tax, liberalised censorship, subsidy for artistic/educational films, and state help manufacturing raw film stock domestically. ### Reviews (Education for World Understanding; Reluctant Traveller in Russia; Czechoslovak Exhibition) *By Adam Adil; Laeeq Futehally; L.F.* An essay by Yatin Gaznavi reviewing/engaging Jacques Maritain's Man and the State (O'Sullivan, Hollis and Carter, 1954), continued from page 9 to page 11. Gaznavi lays out the philosophical problem of reconciling competing, non-absolute human rights -- economic, social and individual -- and argues that the real disagreement between liberal-individualist, communist and 'personalist' visions of society (Maritain's own, per the essay) lies not in the abstract lists of rights each proposes but in the hierarchy of values by which those rights are ordered in practice. He summarises Maritain's argument that a free society requires a shared practical (not doctrinal) democratic faith or 'common human creed', that the State has the right and duty to promote this creed through education but no right to impose a specific philosophical or religious conformity, and that freedom of expression, while not absolute, should be restricted only in narrowly practical rather than ideological terms. The essay concludes by noting Maritain's claim that only the Church, not the State, is equipped to deal with 'matters of intelligence' -- a claim Gaznavi presents as one that 'those who know their history well can scarcely find... difficult to disagree' with, marking dissent from Maritain's position. - Human rights are not absolute; the real political conflict lies in the hierarchy of values used to adjudicate between competing economic, social and individual rights. - Liberal-individualist, communist, and personalist (Maritain's) visions of society could produce near-identical lists of rights on paper but 'play the instrument' differently owing to differing value hierarchies. - A free society requires shared democratic faith of a practical, not doctrinal, nature; the State may promote this through education but may not impose religious or philosophical conformity. - Freedom of expression is not unconditional, but restriction should be judged by practical rather than ideological criteria -- the more removed from content, the better. - Maritain's claim that only 'the Church' can properly handle matters of intelligence is presented and then explicitly rebutted by the essay's closing line. ### Messages To The Conference A 'Reviews' page with three short pieces. Adam Adil reviews R. P. Masani's Education for World Understanding (K & J Cooper), praising it as a valuable contribution to fostering internationalist, humanistic education aligned with UNESCO ideals, noting a foreword by Dr Radhakrishnan and situating Masani in the tradition of Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Spencer and Dewey. Laeeq Futehally reviews Tadeusz Wittlin's Reluctant Traveller in Russia (Rinehart & Co.), an account of the author's ordeal after being caught fleeing Nazi-occupied Warsaw into Soviet-held territory and enduring two years in Soviet forced-labour camps, praising its ability to write 'lightly about extreme cruelty and horror' without bitterness. An unsigned (L.F.-initialled) review of a Czechoslovak Industries Exhibition in Bombay contrasts impressive machinery, motorcycles and crystal on display with disappointing, drab consumer textiles and a conspicuous absence of traditional Czech embroidery. - Adam Adil praises R. P. Masani's Education for World Understanding as advancing a UNESCO-aligned internationalist pedagogy, with a foreword by Dr Radhakrishnan. - Masani's book is situated by the reviewer within the educational tradition of Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Spencer and Dewey. - Laeeq Futehally praises Wittlin's Reluctant Traveller in Russia for recounting two years as a Soviet forced-labour prisoner with courage and humour rather than bitterness. - The Czechoslovak Exhibition review finds machinery, motorcycles and crystal glassware impressive but textiles and other consumer goods disappointingly drab, with traditional Czech embroidery notably absent. ### I.C.C.F. News A short 'I.C.C.F. News' column reporting on activities of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's local groups: the Calcutta Group's send-off tea party for Indian delegates travelling to the Rangoon conference (attended by Pt. Laxmanshastri Joshi and Eric Da Costa, with talks by Swami Agehananda Bharati and Prof. Nirmal Kumar Bose), and the Poona Group's lecture series on 'Revaluation of Reform Trends in Maharashtra during the last century,' covering reformist figures such as Agarkar, V. R. Shinde and Jotiba Phuley, with further lectures on Ranade and Lokahitawadi announced for March. - The Calcutta Group of the I.C.C.F. held a send-off tea party for Indian delegates departing for the Rangoon conference, though only two delegates could attend in the end. - Swami Agehananda Bharati and Prof. Nirmal Kumar Bose spoke at the Calcutta send-off on the significance of the conference. - The Poona Group ran a lecture series on 'Revaluation of Reform Trends in Maharashtra during the last century', covering Agarkar, V. R. Shinde and Jotiba Phuley. - Further Poona lectures on Ranade (by Dr D. R. Gadgil) and Lokahitawadi (by Prof. G. B. Sardar) were announced for March. ### With Many Voices 'With Many Voices' is the issue's closing column, an unsigned compilation of short press quotations (from the Free Press Journal, Thought, Times of India, Bangkok Post, The Radical Humanist, Pravda, The Current, and others, dated February 1955) juxtaposed with dry editorial commentary satirising Cold War rhetoric, Soviet leadership changes, and Indian political controversies such as the jeep scandal. Items include Clement Attlee's characterisation of Russian foreign policy as continuous with Tsarist imperialism, Sir John Kotelawala's remark that free Asia should thank America for the atom bomb, Harold Stassen's claim about Communist ambitions in Asia, British statements on Hong Kong and Quemoy/Matsu, and mordant asides on Malenkov's resignation and Cominform messaging on the hydrogen bomb. - The column collects short press quotations from Indian and international papers (Feb 1955) with sardonic editorial glosses. - Clement Attlee is quoted arguing Russian foreign policy under its current rulers closely follows Tsarist imperial patterns. - Sir John Kotelawala is quoted crediting America's atom bomb with keeping the 'free people of Asia' free of war. - Harold E. Stassen is quoted characterising Communist goals in Asia as aiming at possession or dominant control of a third of the world's population. - The column closes on domestic Indian items, including a note on the Public Accounts Committee and the 'jeep scandal'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff035/ ### Summary This is the April 1955 issue (No. 35) of Freedom First, the monthly organ of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is organised around anti-communist and pro-democratic themes typical of the Congress for Cultural Freedom network: a lead article by Prof. Hannan Ezekiel warns that Mahalanobis-style 'physical planning' threatens to import Soviet-style centralised direction of the economy into India's Five Year Plan; a reprinted message by Sir John Latham (President of the Australian Committee for Cultural Freedom) on the conflict between freedom and authority; an editorial 'Notes' section covering the Congress Party's defeat of the Communists in the Andhra elections, a forthright anti-communist speech by Sir Mirza Ismail, commentary on the newly released Yalta records, criticism of a Bombay Film Seminar, and a rebuke of Kingsley Martin (New Statesman) for urging a communist vote in Andhra; a report on the booklet 'Treatment of British Prisoners of War in Korea' describing Chinese communist mistreatment and political 're-education' of POWs; C.C.F.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the April 1955 issue (No. 35) of Freedom First, the monthly organ of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is organised around anti-communist and pro-democratic themes typical of the Congress for Cultural Freedom network: a lead article by Prof. Hannan Ezekiel warns that Mahalanobis-style 'physical planning' threatens to import Soviet-style centralised direction of the economy into India's Five Year Plan; a reprinted message by Sir John Latham (President of the Australian Committee for Cultural Freedom) on the conflict between freedom and authority; an editorial 'Notes' section covering the Congress Party's defeat of the Communists in the Andhra elections, a forthright anti-communist speech by Sir Mirza Ismail, commentary on the newly released Yalta records, criticism of a Bombay Film Seminar, and a rebuke of Kingsley Martin (New Statesman) for urging a communist vote in Andhra; a report on the booklet 'Treatment of British Prisoners of War in Korea' describing Chinese communist mistreatment and political 're-education' of POWs; C.C.F. News on the forthcoming Milan conference on 'The Future of Freedom' and an Italian Association event; a review-essay on the animated film of Orwell's Animal Farm by Martin S. Dworkin, reprinted from the New Leader; a Reviews section covering Manes Sperber's novel Journey Without End, C. Groves Haines's The Threat of Soviet Imperialism, a critical review of a Sochi Raut Roy poetry translation, Karl Barth's Against the Stream, Leslie Lipson's The Great Issues of Politics, and S. S. Bankeshwar's pamphlet Conspiracy in Kashmir; I.C.C.F. News on a Bombay members' meeting addressed by Masani and Purshottam Tricumdas; and a closing page of miscellaneous quotations ('With Many Voices') from public figures including Churchill, Attlee, Ambedkar, Dulles, and Niebuhr on communism and the Cold War. The volume's argumentative centre is a consistent anti-communist, anti-centralised-planning, pro-liberal-democratic line, characteristic of Freedom First's Cold War-era cultural-freedom politics. ## Essays ### The Dangers Of Physical Planning *By Prof. Hannan Ezekiel* Prof. Hannan Ezekiel warns that Indian democracy faces a new danger in the form of 'physical planning', associated with Prof. P. C. Mahalanobis of the Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta, who wields great influence with Pandit Nehru. The article argues that physical planning -- direction of resources in physical rather than value terms, decided by a small group of planners rather than through price signals reflecting popular wishes -- carries an inherently totalitarian tendency, citing the concentration of data-gathering power in the National Sample Survey under Mahalanobis's control and Prof. D. R. Gadgil's warning that the NSS could exterminate parallel data-gathering agencies. The author distinguishes this from the Planning Commission's existing (defensible) attention to physical resource constraints, and closes by urging Nehru not to entrust the country's future to planners bent on such centralisation. - Frames 'physical planning' (associated with P. C. Mahalanobis) as a back-door route to Soviet-style centralised direction of the Indian economy. - Notes Mahalanobis's Indian Statistical Institute employs foreign economists including Soviet Gosplan officials and Oscar Lange, contrasted with 'suspect' fellow-travelling Western econometricians. - Argues physical planning replaces democratic input into resource allocation with decisions by a small planning elite. - Cites D. R. Gadgil's criticism of the National Sample Survey as tending to 'exterminate all parallel agencies'. - Concedes some legitimate case for more attention to physical resource constraints in the First Five Year Plan, but distinguishes this from full Mahalanobis-style physical planning. - Warns Nehru against handing India's future to planners the author considers determined to destroy the value of liberty. ### The Free Spirit Of Man *By Sir John Latham* Sir John Latham, President of the Australian Committee for Cultural Freedom, argues that the conflict between freedom and authority cannot be resolved by any mechanical absolute rule, and that voluntary obligations (e.g., a minister bound by church doctrine) differ fundamentally from compulsory ones. He surveys historical examples of compulsory belief -- Roman emperor-worship, persecution of Arians -- and (continuing on page 11) argues that maximum freedom of the human spirit requires tolerance of opposing opinion, since any individual or party that believes itself infallible will treat opposition as heresy or treason, a path that leads to corrective labour camps, mass trials, and liquidation of dissidents. He closes by affirming the Australian Committee's commitment to resisting encroachment on the free spirit of man despite members' varying opinions. - Freedom versus authority cannot be settled by a single mechanical rule; obligations freely assumed (e.g., church membership) differ from compulsion. - Cites historical compulsory-belief regimes: Roman emperor-worship and persecution of the Arians. - Argues all developed societies have some restriction on individual liberty (e.g., treason/sedition laws), but distinguishes this from ideological conformity. - Warns that a ruler or party claiming infallibility treats all opposition as heresy or treason, leading to corrective labour camps, mass trials, and liquidation. - States that tolerance of opposing opinion is a condition of real human progress and civilisational health. - Notes the Australian Committee for Cultural Freedom unites members of varying opinions around resisting encroachments on intellectual and artistic freedom. ### Notes (Andhra Elections; A Forthright Speech; 'The Truth Shall Make Ye Free'; Film Seminar; Kingsley Martin's True Colours; A Noble Example; The Wages Of 'Friendship'; Guts Vs. Goondaism) The unsigned 'Notes' section covers several items: the Congress Party's decisive electoral victory over the Communist Party in Andhra (146 of 196 seats versus 15 for the Communists, though the Communists still polled 31.6% of votes), warning against complacency about continued communist strength; a 'forthright speech' by Sir Mirza Ismail identifying international communism as the chief threat to Indian democracy through infiltration, subversion, and internal revolution, and describing China's need for territorial expansion into South and South-East Asia; commentary on the newly released Yalta conference records exposing Roosevelt's naivety in dealing with Stalin; criticism of a poorly organised Bombay Film Seminar; and a sharp rebuke of New Statesman editor Kingsley Martin for declaring in a Delhi press conference that he would vote communist if he were an Andhra voter, contrasted with the Andhra electorate's rejection of the Communist Party. - Congress won 146/196 contested seats in the Andhra elections against a Communist Party that contested 169 and won only 15, though the Communists retained 31.6% of the vote share. - Sir Mirza Ismail's Bangalore speech identifies international communism, via infiltration, subversion, and internal revolution, as the central threat to Indian democracy, and frames China's demographic pressure as driving territorial expansion into South and South-East Asia. - The newly released Yalta 'Big Three' records are welcomed as exposing President Roosevelt's misplaced trust in Stalin ('Uncle Joe'). - A Bombay Film Seminar is criticised as hastily organised and of limited intellectual impact, though some practical suggestions (subsidies for educational films, censorship liberalisation) are noted approvingly. - Kingsley Martin, editor of the New Statesman, is criticised for stating he would have voted communist in the Andhra elections; the piece contrasts this with the electorate's rejection of the Communist Party. ### Communist China And Prisoners Of War *By S.D.N.* An unsigned sports commentary ('Guts vs. Goondaism') describes a Russian football team's tour of India, in which the Russian captain Netto's arrogant conduct toward an Indian referee (Utchil) during a Bombay match is presented as emblematic of Soviet 'blonde superiority complex' and poor sportsmanship, contrasted favourably with the referee's firmness and thirty-five thousand Indian spectators' disapproval. - Soviet football team's India tour is used as an allegory for Soviet arrogance and poor sportsmanship. - Russian captain Netto disputed a decision by Indian referee Utchil and was ordered off the field in a Bombay international match. - Thirty-five thousand spectators are said to have roared disapproval of the Russian captain's conduct. - The piece frames the episode as 'guts against goondaism', with referee Utchil standing firm. ### C.C.F. News An unsigned report summarises the UK Ministry of Defence booklet 'Treatment of British Prisoners of War in Korea', detailing the mistreatment of 978 British POWs held by Communist China during the Korean War. It describes the Chinese division of prisoners into 'progressives' and 'reactionaries' in violation of the Prisoners-of-War Convention, the 're-education' regime of lectures, informer networks, and eventual recourse to physical coercion and torture, and notes that only 40 of 978 prisoners were judged genuine converts and only one elected to remain in North Korea -- taken as evidence of the individual British soldier's resistance. The report also describes the role of communist and fellow-travelling journalists (including Alan Winnington, Michael Shapiro, Wilfred Burchett, Jack Gaster, and Monica Felton) who visited the camps and allegedly tried to bribe or blackmail British prisoners. - 978 British POWs were held by Communist China during the Korean War (China entered the war on 20 October 1950). - Prisoners were divided into 'progressives' and 'reactionaries', with the 'Lenient Policy' reserved for those willing to denounce their own governments -- a violation of Article 16 of the Prisoners-of-War Convention. - Re-education included lectures, study classes, informer networks, and ultimately psychological pressure, manipulation of welfare conditions, corruption, threats, segregation, force, and torture. - Only 40 of 978 prisoners were counted as genuine converts and only one chose to remain in North Korea. - Communist and fellow-travelling journalists -- named as Alan Winnington, Michael Shapiro, Wilfred Burchett, Jack Gaster, and Monica Felton -- allegedly tried to bribe and blackmail prisoners during camp visits. - The piece concludes the booklet gives only a partial picture since American prisoners suffered similar or worse treatment not covered by the booklet. ### George Orwell On The Screen *By Martin S. Dworkin, in the New Leader* The C.C.F. News column reports on the Congress for Cultural Freedom's forthcoming international conference on 'The Future of Freedom' in Milan (12-17 September 1955), listing prominent invited economists and social scientists, and on recent activities of the Italian Association for Cultural Freedom (debates on 'The Work of Art' and a film festival on the Italian Resistance) and a Paris exhibition of Indian painter Laxman Pai's work organised by the Congress for Cultural Freedom. - The Congress for Cultural Freedom will hold an international conference on 'The Future of Freedom' in Milan, 12-17 September 1955. - Invited participants include Colin Clark, Raymond Aron, Sumitro Djojohadikusumo, Hugh Gaitskell, Sidney Hook, Lionel Robbins, Arthur Lewis, F. Hayek, and Michael Polanyi. - The Italian Association for Cultural Freedom organised debates on 'The Work of Art' featuring Ignazio Silone, Venturi, Calogero, and Ungaretti, plus a film festival on the Italian Resistance. - The Congress for Cultural Freedom organised a Paris exhibition of paintings by 28-year-old Indian artist Laxman Pai at the Galerie Marcel Bernheim. ### Reviews: Journey Without End (Manes Sperber) *By N.E.* Martin S. Dworkin's essay, reprinted from the New Leader, critically reviews the British animated feature film of George Orwell's Animal Farm (produced by Halas and Batchelor, presented by Louis de Rochemont). Dworkin argues the film's Disney-influenced style undercuts Orwell's satirical intent, that the film's slow, over-literal, and 'heavy' narration makes it tedious compared to the book's economical prose, and questions whether the film is effective propaganda for any audience, suggesting it may work better for European audiences unfamiliar with Soviet history than for readers already versed in it. - Animal Farm the novel is described as tactical counter-propaganda directly targeting the Russian Revolution's capture by the Communists. - The 1954 animated film adaptation by Halas and Batchelor (presented by Louis de Rochemont) closely follows the book's plot but adopts a Disney-influenced visual style Dworkin finds unsuited to satire. - Dworkin criticises the film's 'heavy' narration and unimaginative animation style as undermining the satirical economy of Orwell's prose. - The film is judged to run too long (just under 90 minutes) relative to its content, making its point 'long before the half-way mark'. - Dworkin concludes the film may be more effective as propaganda for European audiences unfamiliar with communist history than for readers already convinced by the book. ### Reviews: The Threat of Soviet Imperialism (C. Groves Haines) *By M.B.S.* Reviews column, initialled N.E., praising Manes Sperber's novel Journey Without End (part of an epic trilogy following The Burned Bramble and The Abyss) as a literary, rather than merely political, achievement depicting Jewish resistance in a doomed Polish/Wolyna village against Nazi and Communist forces, with a tragic, contemplative vision embodied in protagonist Doino Faber. - Journey Without End is the third novel in Manes Sperber's trilogy, following The Burned Bramble and The Abyss. - The review argues ex-communist novelists like Sperber achieve real literary craft but struggle to reach non-politically-conscious readers. - Andre Malraux is cited praising a chapter of the novel as 'one of the great chronicles of Israel'. - The novel depicts the Jewish village of Wolyna facing annihilation, divided between resistance and waiting for divine intervention. - The review frames Sperber's vision as tragic, closing on the protagonist's despairing line that 'there'll be no peace'. ### Reviews: The Boatman Boy and Forty Poems (Sochi Raut Roy) *By N.E.* A review, initialled M.B.S., of C. Groves Haines's edited volume The Threat of Soviet Imperialism (Johns Hopkins Press, 1954), a collection of conference papers from a 1953 Washington conference on 'the Problem of Soviet Imperialism' featuring contributors including George F. Kennan. The reviewer welcomes the book as a timely corrective to complacency about Soviet 'peaceful coexistence' propaganda and notes it should be of particular interest to Asian countries given the Soviet focus on 'liberating' countries in the East, while flagging a factual error regarding M. N. Roy's presence in China. - The Threat of Soviet Imperialism collects papers from a 1953 Washington conference organised by the School of Advanced International Studies. - George F. Kennan, former US Ambassador to the USSR and author of the 'Containment Policy', is named among the contributors. - The reviewer argues the book is especially relevant to Asian/Indian readers given Soviet interest in South Korea, Indo-China, Formosa, Nepal, Burma, Kashmir, and India. - The review flags a factual error in the book: M. N. Roy is said to have been in China in 1937, when in fact he was there in 1927. - The reviewer regrets the absence of a paper on the fundamental postulates of Marxian philosophy. ### Reviews: Against the Stream (Karl Barth) *By N.E.* A sharply critical review, initialled N.E., of The Boatman Boy and Forty Poems, Harindranath Chattopadhyaya and B. Sinha's English translation of Oriya poet Sochi Raut Roy's poetry (Modern Review, Calcutta), calling the translation embarrassingly unreadable and mocking both the translated verse and Dr. Kalidas Nag's laudatory introduction to the volume's accompanying symposium. - The Boatman Boy and Forty Poems translates Oriya poet Sochi Raut Roy's work via Harindranath Chattopadhyaya and B. Sinha. - The reviewer finds the English translation 'embarrassingly unreadable', quoting several lines as examples. - Dr. Kalidas Nag's introduction to an accompanying symposium is mocked for its effusive, uncritical praise. - The reviewer notes Harindranath Chattopadhyaya's own prose ('Translator's Notes') is judged as bad as his verse translation. ### Reviews: The Great Issues of Politics (Leslie Lipson) *By Ved Prakash Luthera* A review, initialled N.E., of Karl Barth's Against the Stream (Philosophical Library), a collection of his shorter post-war writings edited by Ronald Gregor Smith. The reviewer examines Barth's controversy with Emil Brunner over refusing to condemn communism as he had condemned Nazism, and argues Barth's theological 'narrow path between Moscow and Rome' is untenable given communism's capacity for physical extermination of dissent, drawing an analogy to the impracticality of Gandhi's advice that Nazi Germany's Jews use passive resistance. - Against the Stream collects Karl Barth's shorter post-war writings (1946-1952), including his 1948 Hungary journey and the ensuing controversy with Emil Brunner. - Barth refuses to give communism the same political condemnation he gave Nazism, arguing the Church should stand 'quietly aloof from the present conflict' along a path 'midway between Moscow and Rome'. - The reviewer argues this stance collapses because Moscow's power permits no genuinely neutral middle path, and physical extermination has no spiritual answer. - The reviewer compares Barth's position to Gandhi's advice that Nazi-persecuted Jews use passive resistance, calling both impractical given the brutal realities of totalitarian power. - The review concludes that Barth's stance, though equivocal, still exposes a deeper flaw in his theological framework. ### Reviews: Conspiracy in Kashmir (S. S. Bankeshwar) *By V.B.K.* A brief review by Ved Prakash Luthera of Leslie Lipson's The Great Issues of Politics (Prentice-Hall, 1954), praising it as an excellent, well-documented study of fundamental issues in political science, beginning with the individual and ranging through family, group, state, society, and the international order. - The Great Issues of Politics by Leslie Lipson covers fundamental political-science issues from the individual through to the international order. - The book draws on George Catlin's framing of politics as the study of the control of man. - The reviewer praises the book's documentation, sub-heads, graphs, and tables as adding clarity. ### I.C.C.F. News A brief review, initialled V.B.K., of S. S. Bankeshwar's pamphlet Conspiracy in Kashmir (Society for Defence of Democracy, Bangalore), which the reviewer credits with drawing attention to communist influence over the Bakshi government in Jammu and Kashmir amid public sympathy for Kashmiris caught between India and Pakistan. - Conspiracy in Kashmir describes communist infiltration and influence over the Bakshi government in Jammu and Kashmir. - The reviewer frames this as an under-recognised new danger facing Kashmir beyond the India-Pakistan dispute. - The pamphlet is credited with drawing pointed attention to the danger, despite being described only as a short pamphlet. ### With Many Voices (quotations column) The I.C.C.F. News column reports that the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom has secured a new office at Army & Navy Building, Bombay, and summarises a 10 March meeting of Bombay committee members chaired by Purshottam Tricumdas, at which Mr. Masani reported on the Congress for Cultural Freedom's Paris executive meeting, Mr. Padhye reported on a Rangoon cultural-freedom conference, and M. David Rousset described evidence of slave labour camps in Communist China and plans for an Asian tribunal of inquiry. - The Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom has secured a new office at Army & Navy Building (3rd floor), 148 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay. - A Bombay members' meeting on 10 March was presided over by Purshottam Tricumdas. - Masani reported on the Congress for Cultural Freedom's International Executive meeting held in Paris in January. - Padhye reported on a Conference on Cultural Freedom in Asia held in Rangoon. - M. David Rousset, founder of the International Commission Against Concentration Camp Practices, described evidence of slave labour camps in Communist China and plans for an Asian tribunal of inquiry. ### Essay 15 The closing page, 'With Many Voices' (edited by V. B. Karnik), collects short quotations from public figures and newspapers on communism, the Cold War, and Nehru's foreign policy, drawn from sources dated January-March 1955, including Churchill, Attlee, Ambedkar, Dulles, Reston, Niebuhr, and Salvador de Madariaga, alongside a subscription form for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. - Compiles brief quotations on communism and Cold War diplomacy from a range of contemporary public figures and periodicals (Jan-March 1955). - Includes Dr. B. R. Ambedkar's remark comparing the Indian Constitution to a temple now occupied by 'devils' that must be burned down. - Includes Salvador de Madariaga's warning that 'Let's talk to Russia' rhetoric obscures that ordinary Russians, not the regime, hold the moral claim on Western sympathy. - Notes contradictions in Nehru's foreign-policy statements as 'the comfort of the Communists' (quoting 'Vivek' in the Bombay Chronicle). - Includes a membership subscription form for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (annual fee Rs. 3/-). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff036/ ### Summary This is issue No. 36 of Freedom First (May 1955), the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue's argumentative center is an unsigned editorial, 'Towards A Communist Pattern?', which attacks the composition of Prime Minister Nehru's Second Five Year Plan drafting team under Prof. P. C. Mahalanobis, alleging it is dominated by economists from Iron Curtain countries and fellow-travellers, and warns that the plan's 'physical approach' to planning will produce a 'highly centralised totalitarian kind of planning' modelled on Soviet Russia, with attendant threats to property rights and the rule of law. Guy J. Pauker contributes a sharply critical profile of K. M. Panikkar as an intellectual opportunist who tailors his historical writing to please shifting patrons and audiences, abridged from World Politics. Yatim Ghaznavi writes a literary-critical essay, ''Literature And Belief'', on the erosion of imaginative and religious sensibility in twentieth-century fiction and criticism.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 36 of Freedom First (May 1955), the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue's argumentative center is an unsigned editorial, 'Towards A Communist Pattern?', which attacks the composition of Prime Minister Nehru's Second Five Year Plan drafting team under Prof. P. C. Mahalanobis, alleging it is dominated by economists from Iron Curtain countries and fellow-travellers, and warns that the plan's 'physical approach' to planning will produce a 'highly centralised totalitarian kind of planning' modelled on Soviet Russia, with attendant threats to property rights and the rule of law. Guy J. Pauker contributes a sharply critical profile of K. M. Panikkar as an intellectual opportunist who tailors his historical writing to please shifting patrons and audiences, abridged from World Politics. Yatim Ghaznavi writes a literary-critical essay, ''Literature And Belief'', on the erosion of imaginative and religious sensibility in twentieth-century fiction and criticism. The reviews section covers Max Beloff's Soviet Policy in the Far East, a Ford Foundation report on its India-supported activities, and Ignazio Silone's novel A Handful of Blackberries. The issue also carries letters to the editor, a report on Justice U Chan Htoon's visit to Bombay under ICCF auspices, brief CCF News items, and the recurring 'With Many Voices' column of quoted press excerpts. ## Essays ### Towards A Communist Pattern? This unsigned editorial argues that India's Second Five Year Plan is being shaped behind closed doors by a team of experts under Prof. P. C. Mahalanobis that is heavily weighted toward economists from communist and fellow-traveller backgrounds, citing Jayaprakash Narayan's warning that 'the seven authors of Pandit Nehru's Second Five Year Plan are all men from behind the Iron Curtain.' It traces the 'physical approach' to planning to a working paper by the French communist economist Charles Bettleheim, which called for very high forced investment rates and predicted a doubling of national income, and argues this model requires rigid labour and resource control that is incompatible with a free society. The piece further criticizes Prof. V. K. R. V. Rao's proposal for a National Labour Force of one to two million persons operating under 'semi-military discipline' as a possible precursor to forced-labour camps, and links these planning trends to recent constitutional amendments removing compensation questions from judicial review, which the editorial says has effectively nullified the fundamental right to property. It closes by acknowledging Nehru's own declarations that India would not sacrifice democratic institutions for economic progress, but warns that the drift of planning may nonetheless carry the country toward centralised totalitarianism. - Alleges the Second Five Year Plan's expert drafting team, under Mahalanobis, is dominated by economists from Iron Curtain countries plus a few Western fellow-travellers - Cites Jayaprakash Narayan's charge that the plan's authors are 'all men from behind the Iron Curtain' - Attributes the 'physical approach' to planning to Charles Bettleheim's working paper proposing 10.8% and 15.3% investment rates for the second and third plans - Warns that rapid heavy-industry-focused industrialisation historically required Soviet-style coercion of labour and suppression of living standards - Criticizes V. K. R. V. Rao's proposed National Labour Force (1-2 million workers under 'semi-military discipline') as a possible precursor to forced labour - Argues recent constitutional amendments on compensation have effectively nullified the fundamental right to property by removing judicial review - Quotes Nehru's own assurances that India will not sacrifice democratic institutions, while warning that planners' 'craze for rapid industrialisation' may override such sentiments ### Sardar Panikkar—A Gifted Opportunist *By Guy J. Pauker* Guy J. Pauker's essay, abridged from World Politics (October 1954), portrays K. M. Panikkar as a career opportunist whose scholarly writing has consistently tracked and served his shifting positions in public life, from service to Indian princely states (Patiala, Bikaner) to his ambassadorial role in Communist China. Pauker traces Panikkar's admiring 1930 biography of Maharaja Gulab Singh, in which Panikkar praised the Maharaja's willingness to use 'tricks and stratagems,' as consistent with a Machiavellian reading of ancient Hindu political theory. He then turns to Panikkar's 1953 book Asia and Western Dominance, arguing it is best understood not as objective history but as a purposive rewrite crafted to flatter a particular Asian audience craving justification for accommodating Soviet and Chinese power, citing his treatment of colonial 'barbarism,' the opium trade, and especially his soft treatment of the Russian Revolution's impact on Asia. Pauker cites Raja Hutheesingh's report that Nehru himself remarked Panikkar 'will be Communist in Peking and a champion of freedom in Washington so long as it takes Mr. Panikkar somewhere,' and concludes that Panikkar is not a genuine communist but a 'gifted opportunist' who constructs the image of the communist bloc that 'neutralist' Asian intellectuals want to see. - Frames Panikkar's career as a pattern of scholarly works followed by advancement to corresponding positions of public power - Cites Panikkar's 1930 biography of Maharaja Gulab Singh praising the ruler's use of 'tricks and stratagems' as consistent with a Machiavellian reading of Hindu political theory - Argues Asia and Western Dominance (1953) was written to flatter an Asian audience seeking rationale for accommodating Soviet/Chinese power rather than as objective history - Notes Panikkar's restrained, non-Marxist treatment of the Russian Revolution's impact on Asia, crediting it with 'undermining' Western domination - Quotes Raja Hutheesingh's report of Nehru's remark that Panikkar will be 'Communist in Peking and a champion of freedom in Washington' depending on where it takes him - Concludes Panikkar is not a communist but an opportunist constructing the image of the communist bloc that neutralist Asian intellectuals want to see ### 'Literature And Belief' *By Yatim Ghaznavi* Yatim Ghaznavi's essay argues that twentieth-century creative writers face an 'erosion of the imaginative soil,' as territory once occupied by religious and metaphysical imagination has been progressively colonized by the natural sciences, psychology, and anthropology. He traces this shrinkage through philosophy's narrowing from 'the study of Reality' to 'the a priori study of language,' through psychoanalytic criticism's reduction of works like Hamlet to case-histories, and through the 'pragmatic, social' assessment of visual art as therapy. For writers of religious sensibility, Ghaznavi argues, this erosion forces a choice between aggressive unbelief, militant faith, or an eclectic humanism that abandons the belief-unbelief debate as unprofitable; he finds even self-consciously Catholic novelists like Graham Greene and Evelyn Waugh incapable of 'full-blooded doubt.' Drawing on Fr. Martin Jarrett-Kerr's Studies in Literature and Belief, he discusses James Joyce's own agonized relationship to the faith he abandoned, and closes by invoking Kafka's observation that 'whoever has faith cannot define it, and whoever has none can only give a definition which lies under the shadow of grace witheld.' - Argues twentieth-century fiction suffers from an 'erosion of the imaginative soil' as science, psychology, and anthropology annex territory once held by religious/metaphysical imagination - Traces the narrowing of philosophy from the study of Reality to empirical psychology to the a priori study of language - Criticizes psychoanalytic literary criticism (e.g., of Hamlet) for reducing drama to case-history and finding this a diminishment of genius - Argues the erosion forces the religious writer toward aggressive unbelief, militant faith, or a humanism that treats belief-unbelief as profitless - Finds even committed Catholic novelists (Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh) incapable of full-blooded doubt, lacking Donne's 'creative scepticism' - Discusses Joyce's unresolved relationship to the Catholic faith he abandoned, drawing on Fr. Jarrett-Kerr's Studies in Literature and Belief - Closes with Kafka's remark on the impossibility of defining faith from either side of belief or unbelief ### Reviews: Soviet Policy in the Far East (review of Max Beloff) *By Aziz Madni* A book-review page carrying three notices. Aziz Madni reviews Max Beloff's Soviet Policy in the Far East (Oxford University Press), praising its lucid, well-documented, dispassionate account of Soviet policy from Yalta to San Francisco and quoting Beloff's observations on the West's difficulty countering the charge of 'colonialism' in resisting Soviet expansion in Asia. An unsigned review by 'R.H.' covers The Ford Foundation and Foundation Supported Activities in India, describing the Foundation's post-1951 focus on hunger and rural development, and mildly suggesting it should also assist existing private agencies rather than operating solely through government-vetted programmes. Laeeq Futehally reviews Ignazio Silone's novel A Handful of Blackberries (tr. Darina Silone), about a disillusioned former Communist Party worker in the Italian countryside, praising Silone's ideas as more important than the somewhat 'staccato' English translation or the loosely woven plot. - Aziz Madni praises Max Beloff's Soviet Policy in the Far East for objectivity, documentation, and readability, calling it a 'must' for students of international affairs - Quotes Beloff's argument that Western powers were handicapped by their own history of colonialism in countering charges that anti-communism was a pretext for imperialism - R.H.'s review of the Ford Foundation report describes the Foundation's 1951 India entry amid famine and its focus on rural/social development programmes vetted with government - R.H. suggests the Foundation should also support existing private agencies directly, not only government-recommended programmes - Laeeq Futehally reviews Silone's A Handful of Blackberries, summarizing its plot of a disillusioned communist party worker (Rocco) and his beloved Stella's persecution by the party - Futehally judges the novel's ideas more compelling than its somewhat staccato translation or loose plotting ### Reviews: The Ford Foundation and Foundation Supported Activities in India *By R.H.* Two letters to the editor. P. Lal of Calcutta defends Dr. Kalidas Nag against a prior reviewer's ('N.E.') criticism of his foreword to Sochi Raut Roy's poetry collection, arguing Nag's role was to introduce new writers rather than act as a literary critic. L. R. Radhakrishnan of Bombay proposes forming an organisation, 'The Friends of Democratic Nations,' to educate Indians about democratic values and counter communist propaganda, inspired by contacts from Rangoon. A second letter, unsigned in the visible excerpt but addressing 'Democratic Education,' argues that anti-communist organisations like the ICCF neglect the more fundamental task of educating illiterate Indians in democratic principles, and criticizes the spread of cheap Soviet publications versus the neglect of popularising figures like Lincoln and Gandhi. - P. Lal defends Dr. Kalidas Nag's foreword to S. R. Roy's poems against a charge of weak literary criticism, saying Nag's aim was introducing new writers, not criticism - A letter on 'Democratic Education' argues anti-communist groups neglect educating illiterate Indians in democratic principles, alongside criticizing communist propaganda distribution - L. R. Radhakrishnan proposes forming 'The Friends of Democratic Nations' to disseminate democratic ideals domestically and abroad, inspired by contacts from Rangoon - The letters reflect ICCF-aligned readers debating the practical scope of anti-communist cultural work in India ### Reviews: A Handful of Blackberries (review of Ignazio Silone) *By Laeeq Futehally* A news report describes a four-day visit to Bombay by Justice U Chan Htoon, a judge of the Supreme Court of Burma and Buddhist leader, hosted by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. He addressed ICCF members, Buddhist scholars, and a public reception, discussing the revival of Buddhism in Burma, Thailand, and Ceylon as a counter to communism and materialism, and reflecting on the recent Rangoon Conference on Cultural Freedom in Asia and its effect on clarifying the distinction between state neutrality and individual neutrality on communism. A short 'C.C.F. News' column follows with brief items: the Italian Association for Cultural Freedom's annual meeting in Rome, an exhibition of 44 young European and American painters touring Rome, Brussels, and Paris under Congress for Cultural Freedom sponsorship, and a lecture series in Hamburg including a February talk by Professor Siegfried Landshut on 'Karl Marx in our Time.' - Justice U Chan Htoon of Burma's Supreme Court visited Bombay for four days at ICCF's invitation, addressing members, Buddhist scholars, and a public reception - He linked the revival of Buddhism in Burma, Thailand, and Ceylon to resistance against communism and materialism - He described the Rangoon Conference on Cultural Freedom in Asia as clarifying that state neutrality differs from individual neutrality on communism - C.C.F. News reports the Italian Association for Cultural Freedom's Rome meeting, a touring exhibition of 44 young painters, and a Hamburg lecture series including Siegfried Landshut on 'Karl Marx in our Time' ### Letters to the Editor: Dr. Kalidas Nag and S. R. Roy's Poems *By P. Lal* The closing 'With Many Voices' column collects short quoted excerpts from newspapers and journals of March-April 1955, mostly criticizing communist rhetoric, Soviet/Chinese policy, and domestic Indian political commentary on planning, compensation, and party politics. Contributors quoted include Sal Tas, Lal Bahadur Shastri, C. Subramaniam, an Economist editorial, an Onlooker column in the Times of India, G. K. Reddy, Jan Sevak, Master Tara Singh, a People's Daily editorial, Eugene Lyons, Salvador de Madariaga, Frank Anthony, N. C. Chatterjee, Jaipal Singh, and an Eastern Economist item on Mahalanobis. The page closes with an ICCF membership enrolment form and the masthead crediting V. B. Karnik as editor and Prabhakar Padhye as printer/publisher. - Compiles brief press quotations from March-April 1955 critical of communist governance and rhetoric in Asia and Europe - Includes domestic Indian political commentary on the Five Year Plan, compensation law, and party politics - Quotes Lal Bahadur Shastri on Soviet passenger fares and Master Tara Singh on communism as his 'chief enemy' - Quotes an Eastern Economist line describing Mahalanobis as embodying 'the mixed economy' - Includes the ICCF membership enrolment form and the issue's masthead crediting editor V. B. Karnik and printer/publisher Prabhakar Padhye --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff038/ ### Summary This is the July 1955 issue (No. 38) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (edited by V. B. Karnik, printed by Prabhakar Padhye). The issue is organized around a sustained defense of the magazine's earlier criticism of the Mahalanobis Plan Frame for the Second Five Year Plan, opening with the unsigned editorial "Let There Be No Mistake" and continuing across several other pieces. It also carries a reprinted British socialist article by W. Arthur Lewis on the tools of socialist economic policy, an original essay by Prabhakar Padhye on planning and freedom, a book review of a study of religious persecution behind the Iron Curtain, a statement on obscene-literature legislation from the Australian Committee for Cultural Freedom, a miscellany "Notes" section on current affairs (Soviet-Yugoslav relations, Tunisian home rule, Chinese payment-in-kind policy, the English-language debate, textbook shortages, obscenity law), news of Committee activities in India and abroad, and a closing column of quotations ("With Many Voices") plus a membership appeal. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the July 1955 issue (No. 38) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (edited by V. B. Karnik, printed by Prabhakar Padhye). The issue is organized around a sustained defense of the magazine's earlier criticism of the Mahalanobis Plan Frame for the Second Five Year Plan, opening with the unsigned editorial "Let There Be No Mistake" and continuing across several other pieces. It also carries a reprinted British socialist article by W. Arthur Lewis on the tools of socialist economic policy, an original essay by Prabhakar Padhye on planning and freedom, a book review of a study of religious persecution behind the Iron Curtain, a statement on obscene-literature legislation from the Australian Committee for Cultural Freedom, a miscellany "Notes" section on current affairs (Soviet-Yugoslav relations, Tunisian home rule, Chinese payment-in-kind policy, the English-language debate, textbook shortages, obscenity law), news of Committee activities in India and abroad, and a closing column of quotations ("With Many Voices") plus a membership appeal. ## Essays ### Let There Be No Mistake The unsigned lead editorial "Let There Be No Mistake" defends Freedom First's earlier, newspaper-based criticism of the Mahalanobis Plan Frame now that fuller documents (the Plan Frame itself, the joint Finance Ministry/Planning Commission note, the Panel of Economists' memorandum, and B. R. Shenoy's note of dissent) have been published. It marshals a chorus of authoritative critics -- West Bengal Chief Minister B. C. Roy's memorandum to the National Development Council, B. R. Shenoy's dissent warning of uncontrolled inflation from deficit financing, editorials in The Hindu and Thought (Delhi), and a passage from Kingsley Martin in the New Statesman and Nation -- to argue that the Plan's emphasis on heavy industry paired with reservation of consumer-goods production for hand and cottage industries risks a lopsided economy and edges toward totalitarian planning methods resembling those of Soviet and East European regimes. It rebuts Congress General Secretary Shriman Narayan's charge that the Committee is merely a mouthpiece for capitalists, insisting the Committee's sole criterion is impact on individual freedom, not any economic dogma. The piece resumes later in the issue (pp. 10-11) to weigh the Prime Minister's and Shriman Narayan's reassurances that the Plan envisions decentralised, cooperative rather than totalitarian methods, citing Barbara Wooton's Freedom Under Planning, the Radical Humanist, Asoka Mehta's charge of using controls to 'inveigle' Sarvodayavadis, V. K. R. V. Rao's suggestion of near-emergency presidential powers, G. D. Parikh's alarmed response to that suggestion, Maurice Dobb's comment on the Plan's Soviet-influenced emphasis on heavy industry, and a Times of India 'Onlooker' column noting that a majority of the Plan's foreign experts were Soviet, Polish, or fellow-traveller economists. It closes by warning against the 'logic of events' that could carry incremental centralising steps toward a fully totalitarian and regimented economy. - Defends Freedom First's prior criticism of the Mahalanobis Plan Frame now that primary documents are available for study - Cites B. C. Roy's dissenting note to the National Development Council calling the Plan 'unpractical' and warning of 'lop-sided' development - Cites B. R. Shenoy's warning that deficit financing of Rs. 1000 crores risks uncontrolled inflation that could erode liberty and democratic institutions - Quotes The Hindu, Thought, and Kingsley Martin (New Statesman and Nation) as independent critical voices - Rejects Shriman Narayan's charge that the Committee favors capitalists, noting its members span Sarvodaya, socialist, and free-enterprise viewpoints - Continuation (pp.10-11) surveys further reactions: Asoka Mehta, V. K. R. V. Rao, G. D. Parikh, Maurice Dobb, and Onlooker/Times of India on the Soviet-heavy composition of the Plan's foreign expert panel - Warns that accepting an initial 'highly centralised plan' risks a 'logic of events' pulling India toward totalitarian or regimented methods ### A Socialist Economic Policy *By by Prof. W. Arthur Lewis* Prof. W. Arthur Lewis's reprinted article "A Socialist Economic Policy" (originally in the Socialist Commentary) reviews the three classic tools of British Labour socialist economic policy -- budgetary policy (progressive taxation), economic controls, and nationalization -- arguing that each has reached the limits of its usefulness or produced disappointing results. Progressive taxation has been pushed to the point of discouraging risk-taking; wartime-inherited controls proved cumbersome, unpopular, and often unnecessary once budgetary policy could achieve the same ends; and nationalization has transferred property to the state rather than to workers, failing to reduce inequality quickly or democratize industrial power. Lewis proposes that socialists must design new tools: taxation that rewards enterprise while still burdening the rich, controls that preserve economic stability without petty tyranny, ways of humanizing large organizations, more genuinely democratic public ownership, wage-and-profit restraint appropriate to Britain's post-war problems of external solvency and productivity-linked wage growth, and mechanisms for redistributing property ownership more broadly rather than merely concentrating it in state hands. - Identifies budgetary policy, economic controls, and public ownership as the three inherited tools of British socialist economic policy - Argues Britain's progressive taxation has reached a limit beyond which it discourages enterprise and risk-taking - Argues wartime economic controls were dismantled because they were cumbersome, unpopular, and often unnecessary given budgetary alternatives - Critiques nationalization for transferring power to a centralized state machine rather than democratizing it or reducing wealth concentration quickly - Proposes redistributing property ownership broadly as a genuinely socialist alternative to further nationalization - Identifies external solvency and sustained economic/productivity growth as two entirely new problems unaddressed by earlier socialist doctrine - Calls for the Labour Party to accept high profits under a mixed economy provided ownership is either public or widely diffused ### Planning For Freedom *By by Prabhakar Padhye* Prabhakar Padhye's essay "Planning For Freedom" interrogates the Prime Minister's and Shriman Narayan's assurances that the Second Five Year Plan's physical-planning approach will not compromise democratic freedom. Padhye argues that a democratic constitution's formal existence does not guarantee meaningful freedom unless the people genuinely participate in planning decisions, and warns that in a legislature dominated by nominees of one party, plan approval risks being a mere formality akin to Soviet rubber-stamping. He is encouraged by the Plan's provision for hand and cottage industries as a decentralising counterweight to heavy industry, but doubts whether such protected industries can survive if government protection is later withdrawn, drawing a historical parallel to the collapse of Indian cottage industries under British mass-produced imports in the 18th-19th centuries. He calls for organic integration between village, small-scale, and heavy industry, and -- invoking Aneurin Bevan's language of workers' and peasants' 'enfranchisement' -- asks whether workers and consumers, not just peasants, will get a genuine share in managing both big and small factories. - Questions whether a formal democratic constitution alone secures meaningful freedom under Plan-style physical planning - Warns that a one-party-dominated legislature risks reducing plan approval to a formality, as in Soviet rubber-stamping of five-year plans - Welcomes cottage- and village-industry provisions in the Plan as a decentralising, freedom-broadening feature - Doubts the durability of protected cottage industries once state protection is eventually withdrawn, citing their historical collapse under British imports - Calls for organic integration of heavy, small-scale, and village industries rather than treating them as separate sectors - Frames freedom as requiring the 'enfranchisement' (Bevan's term) of workers and peasants, and asks whether workers and consumers will share in factory management ### Review: Religion Behind the Iron Curtain *By N. E.* A signed review (initialled N. E.) of George N. Schuster's Religion Behind the Iron Curtain (Macmillan, New York, $4) argues that the book documents, country by country across Eastern Germany, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Poland, Hungary, Albania, the Balkans, and Soviet Jewry, a systematic and thorough campaign to annihilate religious and personal dissent under communist rule. The reviewer, expecting the book to be ignored or dismissed in India despite Nehru's ongoing engagement with Russia and China, quotes two documents -- a son's letter in the Czechoslovak journal Rude Prave demanding his condemned father's execution, and Cardinal Mindszenty's final scribbled note to his mother before arrest -- as evidence that should compel scepticism toward Indian intellectuals' credulity about communist methods. - Reviews George N. Schuster's Religion Behind the Iron Curtain, documenting religious persecution across the Soviet bloc - Predicts the book will be ignored or dismissed by Indian intellectuals despite its thoroughness - Cites documentation covering East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Poland, Hungary, Albania, the Balkans, and Soviet Jewry - Quotes a 1952 Rude Prave letter from a condemned man's son and Cardinal Mindszenty's note to his mother as proof texts of communist terror - Calls on Indian readers to refuse to forget or dismiss such evidence of regimes based on terror and ruthlessness ### Notes (Soviet Delegation to Yugoslavia; Home Rule in Tunisia; Payment in Kind; Eliminating English?; An Onerous Gift; The Text-Book Muddle; Obscene Literature) A statement on obscene publications, drafted by President Sir John Latham and approved by the Executive of the Australian Committee for Cultural Freedom, sets out principles for pending legislation: censorship is undesirable in principle but customs control of imported obscene material is justifiable; locally produced material should face court prosecution rather than an administrative 'Board of Review'; and existing state laws, perhaps extended to cover low-grade exploitation of sex, cruelty, or horror, are about the best practical approach to a genuinely intractable problem. It insists sex and horror cannot be excluded from literature altogether, but that 'undue emphasis' for the purpose of unhealthy titillation is a legitimate target, while acknowledging any statute will necessarily leave courts wide discretion. - States that censorship is undesirable in principle except for customs control of imports - Recommends court prosecution over an administrative Board of Review for locally produced obscene material - Argues sex and horror cannot be excluded from literature as subjects but 'undue emphasis' for titillation can be targeted by law - Acknowledges any workable statute must leave substantial discretion to courts --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff037/ ### Summary This is Issue No. 37 (June 1955) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik and published from Bombay. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with Karnik's own lead essay on the Bandung Conference, arguing that despite communist China's conciliatory posture the conference turned into an unexpected rebuke of communism and a step toward integrating the new Asian-African nations into the free world rather than into the Soviet bloc. A "Notes" section covers Chinese trade-union subversion attempts, film censorship in India, Vinoba Bhave's and Morarji Desai's calls for education free of state control, student discipline, the persecution of the Kalmuck Buddhists in the USSR, and a wry item on monkeys invading MPs' quarters in Delhi. Hasan Muhammad Tiro contributes a report on communist infiltration of the Indonesian government under Premier Ali Sastroamidjojo, and Edward Hunter (author of Brain-Washing in Red China) recounts the communist campaign that forced Dr. Lin Yu-tang to abandon Nanyang University in Singapore.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is Issue No. 37 (June 1955) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik and published from Bombay. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with Karnik's own lead essay on the Bandung Conference, arguing that despite communist China's conciliatory posture the conference turned into an unexpected rebuke of communism and a step toward integrating the new Asian-African nations into the free world rather than into the Soviet bloc. A "Notes" section covers Chinese trade-union subversion attempts, film censorship in India, Vinoba Bhave's and Morarji Desai's calls for education free of state control, student discipline, the persecution of the Kalmuck Buddhists in the USSR, and a wry item on monkeys invading MPs' quarters in Delhi. Hasan Muhammad Tiro contributes a report on communist infiltration of the Indonesian government under Premier Ali Sastroamidjojo, and Edward Hunter (author of Brain-Washing in Red China) recounts the communist campaign that forced Dr. Lin Yu-tang to abandon Nanyang University in Singapore. A book review (by "N.E.") covers Maria Yen's The Umbrella Garden, an account of student life under communist rule in China. The issue closes with a second Bandung piece surveying international press reaction, a Letters to the Editor section, and a "With Many Voices" digest of quotations from world commentators on Bandung, communism, and world affairs. The volume's overall stance throughout is anti-communist and pro-free-society, consistent with the Committee's mandate under the World Movement for Cultural Freedom. ## Essays ### Bandung: A Step Towards Integration *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead essay argues that the Bandung Conference of 29 Asian-African nations, despite fears it would become either a pro-communist or an anti-Western platform, instead turned into a notable rebuke of communist expansion and a step toward integrating new nations into the free world. Communist China under Chou En-lai played a conciliatory role rather than using the conference for propaganda, but the conference's final resolutions nonetheless condemned colonialism, affirmed human rights and UN principles, and called for economic and cultural cooperation among diverse Asian and African societies. Karnik contends the conference's insistence on 'social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom' signals that the participating nations rejected both communist regimentation and narrow nationalist isolation, aligning instead with a broader vision of freedom, democracy, and international cooperation compatible with (though not identical to) the Western bloc. - Western fears that Bandung would become a virulently anti-West, anti-White platform were not borne out. - Communist expectations that China would use the conference for propaganda were also disappointed; China adopted a conciliatory posture. - The conference became, in Karnik's reading, an unexpectedly strong demonstration against communism, framed as a new and more dangerous form of imperialism. - The conference's ten principles affirmed human rights, UN principles, and a right to collective security in cooperation with Western countries if needed. - The conference called for cultural cooperation among Asian-African nations but explicitly rejected exclusiveness or rivalry toward other cultures. - Karnik frames integration of the new Asian-African nations into the free world -- distinct from alignment with the Anglo-American bloc -- as the great problem of the age and the true significance of Bandung. ### Notes An unsigned 'Notes' section covering six short items: Chinese Trade Union Federation's attempts to draw Indian trade unionists into pro-communist conferences under the guise of May Day invitations (and the Indian delegates from non-communist unions who refused); the Congress Working Committee's recommendation of stricter film censorship, criticized here as caving to 'prudes and moralists'; endorsement of Acharya Vinoba Bhave's and Morarji Desai's calls for education free of state control, with the caveat (unlike Herbert Spencer) that state financing of education is acceptable, but not state control of content; Dr. John Matthai's and Dr. R. P. Paranjpye's remarks on the need for student discipline; the persecution and deportation of Kalmuck Buddhists in the Soviet Union; and a satirical item on monkeys invading MPs' residences in Delhi, tying it to the absence of Western-style lobbying in Indian politics and a recent government export ban on monkeys. - Some Indian trade union delegates who accepted Chinese Trade Union Federation invitations to Peking's May Day parade returned as communist propagandists; others from the Hind Mazdur Sabha, Seafarers' Federation, and Dock Workers' Federation refused to be drawn into a communist-organized conference and are praised for it. - The Congress Working Committee's move toward stricter film censorship (following a memorandum from 64 MPs) is criticized; the essay cites Film Federation president S. S. Vasan's warning that rigid censorship would push producers toward superstition-laden 'stale stunts' rather than contemporary themes. - The piece endorses Vinoba Bhave's and Morarji Desai's calls for education free of state control, citing fascist and communist experience as proof that state control of education content denies freedom. - Student indiscipline is raised as a matter of public concern, with reference to Dr. John Matthai and Dr. R. P. Paranjpye on cultivating a sense of responsibility among students. - The disappearance and reported deportation to Siberian camps of the Kalmuck Buddhists (numbering about 220,725 in 1939) under Stalinist policy is presented as a human-rights concern. - A satirical closing item notes the absence of British/American-style lobbying culture in India's Parliament, illustrated by MPs' residences being 'invaded' by monkeys amid a new government export ban on monkeys. ### Out Shortly: Quest (advertisement) Hasan Muhammad Tiro reports that Indonesia, the world's sixth-largest nation, is on the verge of complete communist domination under the government of Premier Ali Sastroamidjojo, which has for a year and a half postponed general elections while purging anti-communist army officers, provincial governors, and civil servants, and promoting known communists and fellow-travellers to senior posts (including appointing convicted 1948 Madiun coup plotters Iwa Kusumasumantri and Mohamed Yamin as Ministers of Defence and Education respectively). Tiro details a newly formed Central Election Committee stacked with pro-communist parties while excluding the Masjumi and Socialist parties, and recounts a civil war in Sumatra, Java, Celebes, and Borneo between the regime and anti-communist Moslem forces under Tengu Daud Beureueh, alongside government-sponsored massacres and press suppression. He concludes that the international community, to whom he presented a list of human-rights violations at the UN General Assembly, has done nothing, and appeals to the free world's sympathy and support for Indonesians resisting a second loss of their freedom, this time to communism. - Indonesia's Sastroamidjojo regime has avoided a general election for over a year and a half, fearing the anti- and non-communist Masjumi and Socialist parties would win. - A newly formed Central Election Committee excludes the Masjumi (the country's largest party) and the Socialists while including the PKI (Communist Party) and other pro-communist or fellow-traveller parties. - Anti-communist army officers, provincial governors, and city officials have been purged and replaced by pro-communist or fellow-traveller figures; pro-communist officers who mutinied against superiors faced no insubordination charges and were promoted instead. - Convicted participants in the 1948 Madiun communist coup attempt, Iwa Kusumasumantri and Mohamed Yamin, were pardoned by Soekarno and appointed Minister of Defence and Minister of Education respectively. - A civil war has broken out between the regime and anti-communist Moslem forces led by Tengku Daud Beureueh, who hold de facto control of parts of North Sumatra, Java, Celebes, and Borneo. - Tiro presented a list of human-rights violations by the regime to the UN General Assembly, but no international action followed. - The essay ends with an appeal that Indonesians will resist losing their freedom to communism if they know they have the free world's sympathy and support. ### Red Threat In Indonesia *By Hasan Muhammad Tiro* This unsigned news item recounts how Dr. Lin Yu-tang, the celebrated Chinese scholar and philosopher, was invited from the United States to become founding Vice-Chancellor of Nanyang University in Singapore -- envisioned as an intellectual center for free overseas Chinese independent of Peking -- only to be forced to resign after sustained communist-directed opposition. Drawing on Lin's own account (from Life magazine) and a companion piece by Edward Hunter, the piece describes Lin's demands to British colonial authorities (deportation of communist student agitators and the alleged ringleader Mr. Lee Kong-chian) going unanswered, leading to what Lin calls the 'suicidal indifference' of British authorities and the effective destruction of Nanyang as a free institution. The University's collapse was followed by rioting among Chinese students that cost four lives and forced the Labour government of Singapore to reimpose emergency regulations. - Nanyang University was planned as an intellectual center for free overseas Chinese in Singapore, independent of Peking's communist regime. - Dr. Lin Yu-tang was invited from the U.S. to be founding Vice-Chancellor but faced communist opposition from Peking from the moment he began work. - Lin refused to head a 'second-rate' university that would function as a front for a Red-infiltrated institution, and was ultimately forced to resign. - Lin's demands to British authorities -- deporting known communist students and an alleged ringleader, and resisting 'co-existence' with communism in Singapore -- were not acted upon. - Lin foretold a gloomy prospect for Singapore, that it would 'slip away towards oblivion.' - The University's destruction was followed by student rioting that cost four lives, prompting reimposition of emergency regulations by Singapore's Labour government. ### Dr. Lin Yu-tang And Nanyang University Edward Hunter, author of Brain-Washing in Red China, gives a firsthand account (as a Singapore resident) of the communist campaign that destroyed Dr. Lin Yu-tang's Nanyang University project. He describes how Peking ordered Singapore's Chinese backers to remove Lin, and how communists -- avoiding overt reference to their own 'guerrilla warfare' in Malaya as 'communist' to avoid offending Peking or jeopardizing British recognition of Red China -- waged a coordinated smear campaign, intimidation of students, teachers, and parents, and exploitation of poor taxi drivers and dancehall girls who were pressured to contribute funds. Hunter links the campaign to Peking-based Chinese Red millionaire Tan Kah Kee, and concludes that the university's fall left Nanyang's original purpose -- a refuge for overseas Chinese who did not want pro-communist education -- unrealized. - Peking ordered Nanyang's Singapore backers to remove Dr. Lin Yu-tang as Chancellor after he refused to head a Red-dominated 'second-rate' university. - The communists saw Nanyang as as important an intellectual base against them as Formosa was militarily, motivating their determination to destroy it. - Hunter identifies Peking-based Chinese millionaire Tan Kah Kee as the key link between Peking and the Singapore subversion campaign. - A smear campaign against Lin included whispered insinuations, forged/pre-lodged student protest statements, and intimidation of teachers (some disfigured with acid). - Poor taxi drivers and dancehall girls contributed half the total funds raised for the university, despite Red claims to represent 'the workers.' - The original vision of Nanyang as a refuge for overseas Chinese throughout the region (not just Singapore) who did not want Red Chinese education was lost. ### The Sabotage Of A Noble Plan *By Edward Hunter (author, Brain-Washing in Red China)* A book review signed 'N.E.' covers Maria Yen's The Umbrella Garden (Macmillan, New York, $4), described as a sincere, concretely observed account of student life in Red China as witnessed firsthand by the author. The review praises the book's honesty (noting Yen's dismissal of sensationalized claims about sex among Chinese youth) and its narrow, unembellished focus on what she directly saw, which the reviewer says reinforces its credibility. It traces the arc the book describes: relatively benign early occupation-era discipline, then the introduction of state-directed 'democracy,' austerity, mandatory 'communal living,' endless political meetings, systemic surveillance among students, curriculum overhaul (abolition of philosophy, imposition of Mao Tse-tung's Thought), and finally state assignment of graduates to jobs regardless of their preferences -- a process the review calls 'the most insidiously tyrannical process in history.' - The review praises Maria Yen's The Umbrella Garden for its honesty, citing her dismissal of sensationalized claims that sex plays a large role in the lives of Chinese youth. - The book deliberately avoids drawing parallels to similar developments elsewhere, which the reviewer says strengthens the reader's confidence in its accuracy. - Early Communist occupation discipline (e.g. orders to 'return what you borrow,' 'don't beat or scold people') gave way to encroachments on personal and academic life via mandatory political participation. - The 'People's Study Aids' system replaced prior subsidies with a public-shaming-based rationing scheme in which most students ended up worse off than before. - Curriculum was reshaped: law courses deemed 'reactionary,' a translation of Mao Tse-tung's Thought prescribed in the Department of Western Languages, and the Department of Philosophy abolished. - Graduates are assigned jobs by the government regardless of their own taste and talent, sealing their fate. ### Review: The Umbrella Garden by Maria Yen *By N. E.* An unsigned companion piece, 'Bandung: As Others See It,' surveys international press commentary on the Bandung Conference, arguing that Indian newspapers gave distorted coverage focused excessively on V. K. Krishna Menon's role. It draws on New York Times correspondents Tilman Durdin and Robert Aldon: Durdin stresses there was no single 'Asian voice' at Bandung and that Chou En-lai achieved his goals of consolidating China's position while U.S. support proved stronger than expected; Aldon reports that Krishna Menon was dissatisfied with Nehru's handling of the conference and that Burma's U Nu was quietly effective. The piece characterizes three competing forces at Bandung -- pro-Western, pro-communist, and neutralist -- and closes with the Hindustan Times' 'Insaf' column judging that no single country or leader could claim to speak for all of Asia. - The essay criticizes Indian press coverage of Bandung as unobjective and overly focused on V. K. Krishna Menon's role, citing the Bombay weekly Current and 'Beachcomber' of Thought. - New York Times correspondent Tilman Durdin is quoted arguing there was 'no single Asian voice' at Bandung and that Chou En-lai succeeded in most of his diplomatic objectives. - Durdin's assessment: the U.S. fared better at the conference than expected, with friends of the U.S. remaining loyal and Chou En-lai less effective than anticipated at generating anti-U.S. sentiment. - New York Times correspondent Robert Aldon reported that Krishna Menon was privately critical of Nehru's handling of the conference, telling Brigadier General Romulo that Nehru was 'inexperienced' in international conferences. - Burma's U Nu is singled out by Aldon as quietly effective 'behind the scenes' even as 'the Indian liberal faltered.' - The Times identifies three competing forces at Bandung -- pro-Western, pro-Communist (led by China), and neutralist (led by India) -- with communist China judged to have enhanced its influence and prestige despite the conference's broadly anti-communist tenor. ### Bandung: As Others See It Two letters to the editor: Zafar Fatehally (Bombay) reports on a meeting of leading Bombay Muslims convened by Saif F. B. Tyabji to discuss why Muslim citizens have withdrawn from India's political and social life since 1947 and to encourage civic participation, concluding that existing organizations' cooperation, rather than a new body, would suffice. Raman Desai (Patna) writes a more idiosyncratic letter on foreign policy, arguing India's ancient spiritual heritage and instincts (contrasted with Western ideas 'from Socrates to John Stuart Mill') justify indifference to whether Formosa, Okinawa, or Indo-China 'go' one way or another, expressing confidence that spiritual truth will prevail regardless. - Zafar Fatehally reports a Bombay meeting convened by Saif F. B. Tyabji to address Muslim political withdrawal from Indian public life since 1947. - The meeting concluded Muslims should exercise their constitutional rights and privileges as citizens of a secular democracy. - The meeting decided cooperation among existing organizations, rather than forming a new one, was the right approach. - Raman Desai's letter argues for a policy of near-total disengagement from Asian geopolitical questions (Formosa, Okinawa, Indo-China, Thailand), framed through an appeal to Indian 'spiritual doctrines.' - Desai explicitly rejects Western intellectual influence 'from Socrates to John Stuart Mill' as childish compared to inherited spiritual instinct. ### Letters to the Editor (The Role of Muslims in India; Fire Brigade or Hand Pump?) *By Zafar Fatehally; Raman Desai* The closing 'With Many Voices' feature (prefaced by a Tennyson epigraph) is a curated digest of quotations from world newspapers and public figures on Bandung, communism, and international affairs, drawn from sources including the Times of India, Free Press Journal, New Leader, Manchester Guardian, Encounter, and The Times (London). Contributors quoted include Raymond Aron, Sir John Kotelawala, Chester Bowles, Mohamed Jamali, U. N. Dhebar, Lester B. Pearson, Arthur Koestler, and Lord Vansittart, among others, on topics ranging from the obligations of democracy, Bandung's results, communism's appeal to formerly colonized peoples, and Cold War diplomacy. - The section compiles brief quotations from international press and statesmen on Bandung and Cold War themes, without original editorial commentary beyond selection and arrangement. - Quotes range from serious diplomatic assessments (Lester B. Pearson on Bandung's anti-communist statements carrying more weight coming from Asians) to satirical asides (an 'Onlooker' comparing Nehru's followers' white caps to Mussolini's Blackshirts). - Chester Bowles is quoted twice: on Asian revolutions being led by frustrated middle-class intellectuals rather than hungry peasants, and on the folly of assuming the Soviet Union has moderated its long-range objectives. - Arthur Koestler's quote captures a chastened postwar mood: 'Once we hoped for Utopia; now... we can at best hope for a reprieve.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff039/ ### Summary This is issue No. 39 (August 1955) of Freedom First, at this point still the organ of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (I.C.C.F.). The issue's editorial, "At The Post," announces that this is the last number to appear under the I.C.C.F. banner: with the Committee's new arts-and-ideas journal Quest launching the same month, Freedom First will continue instead as an independent journal published by a sister body, the Democratic Research Service, and will narrow its focus to political, social, economic and ideological questions. The rest of the issue is characteristic Cold War liberal-anti-communist commentary: a "Notes" section on Geneva diplomacy, Vietnamese elections, the Indonesian cabinet crisis, the right to travel, and a Kerala legislative dispute over a leaked Communist Party document ("Tactical Line"); the first instalment of Arthur Koestler's essay "The Trail of the Dinosaur," reprinted from Encounter, on the growing gap between humanity's technological power and its moral development; an unsigned piece, "Planning and Democracy," criticising Nehru's suggestion that democracy might need to be reconsidered if it obstructs planning; J. G.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 39 (August 1955) of Freedom First, at this point still the organ of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (I.C.C.F.). The issue's editorial, "At The Post," announces that this is the last number to appear under the I.C.C.F. banner: with the Committee's new arts-and-ideas journal Quest launching the same month, Freedom First will continue instead as an independent journal published by a sister body, the Democratic Research Service, and will narrow its focus to political, social, economic and ideological questions. The rest of the issue is characteristic Cold War liberal-anti-communist commentary: a "Notes" section on Geneva diplomacy, Vietnamese elections, the Indonesian cabinet crisis, the right to travel, and a Kerala legislative dispute over a leaked Communist Party document ("Tactical Line"); the first instalment of Arthur Koestler's essay "The Trail of the Dinosaur," reprinted from Encounter, on the growing gap between humanity's technological power and its moral development; an unsigned piece, "Planning and Democracy," criticising Nehru's suggestion that democracy might need to be reconsidered if it obstructs planning; J. G. Tewari's "The Danger in Indo-China," warning that the Nehru-Bulganin declaration's call for early Vietnamese elections plays into a Communist strategy to absorb all of Vietnam; a book review of Robert St. John's Through Malan's Africa on apartheid; and a closing page of quoted press excerpts, "With Many Voices." ## Essays ### At The Post The unsigned editorial "At The Post" announces that this is the last issue of Freedom First published as the organ of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. With the Committee's new journal Quest taking over the literary and cultural brief, Freedom First will continue independently under the Democratic Research Service, concentrating on practical political, social, economic and ideological issues. The editorial reaffirms the journal's identity as a critic of totalitarianism and a defender of freedom and democracy, arguing that economic advancement without freedom is illusory ("there is no bread where freedom is lost") and that the fight against international communism is fundamentally a battle for the minds of men, especially urgent in a newly independent country like India where poverty and impatience make people vulnerable to communist appeals. It closes by appealing to readers to subscribe now that the journal must support itself independently. - This is the final issue of Freedom First under the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom; it becomes an independent journal published by the Democratic Research Service. - The new I.C.C.F. journal Quest (edited by Nissim Ezekiel) takes over the literary/cultural remit, freeing Freedom First to focus on political and economic issues. - The editorial insists there is no genuine choice between 'bread and freedom' — economic advancement without freedom is impossible. - It frames the Cold War as a battle for the minds of men, won through demonstrating a superior ideology and way of life, not force alone. - It argues India's democratic experiment, if successful, would be a model for the rest of Asia and Africa, and that this success alarms proponents of totalitarianism. - The journal commits to continuing as 'a stern critic of all forms of totalitarianism' and appeals to readers to subscribe to sustain it financially. ### Notes (Hands Off Asia; The Meaning of Free Elections; Crisis in Indonesia; The Right to Travel; Tactical Line) The unsigned "Notes" section covers five short items. "Hands Off Asia" comments on the Geneva Big Four summit and warns against any deal on Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand made without those peoples' elected representatives, invoking the Yalta precedent. "The Meaning of Free Elections" argues that the Geneva-mandated elections in a reunified Vietnam would be a sham unless the 13 million people in the Communist north have genuine freedom to vote against Ho Chi Minh's regime, and calls for a UN trusteeship supervising the election six to twelve months in advance, backing South Vietnam's Premier Diem's demand for guarantees. "Crisis in Indonesia" reports on the resignation of Defence Minister Iwa Kusumasumantri, a Moscow-trained communist, after his attempt to install a junior officer as army chief provoked a crisis for Ali Sastromidjojo's minority, communist-supported government. "The Right to Travel" praises a U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that citizens have a natural right to travel abroad without arbitrary State Department denial, contrasting this with restrictions communist states place on their own citizens (citing Chinese Muslim pilgrims to Mecca). "Tactical Line" recounts a Kerala Assembly controversy in which Chief Minister Panampally Govinda Menon read from a leaked Communist Party document called 'Tactical Line'; the opposition called it a forgery, but the Democratic Research Service had already published the document and it was never disproved. - Warns against Great Power deals over Asian nations (Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand) made without their own elected representatives, invoking the Yalta betrayal. - Argues Vietnam elections under the Geneva Agreement will be meaningless unless voters under Communist rule in the North have genuine freedom to vote against Ho Chi Minh. - Reports the Indonesian cabinet crisis triggered by Defence Minister Iwa Kusumasumantri's attempt to install a communist-friendly army chief. - Praises a US court ruling affirming citizens' natural right to travel abroad, contrasting it with Communist bloc travel restrictions on Chinese Muslim pilgrims. - Recounts the Kerala 'Tactical Line' document controversy in which a leaked Communist Party paper advocating violent seizure of power was read into the Assembly record and never disproved by the Communist Party. ### The Trail Of The Dinosaur—I *By by Arthur Koestler* In the first instalment of "The Trail of the Dinosaur" (reprinted from Encounter), Arthur Koestler constructs a set of imaginary charts to argue that humanity's material and destructive power has grown explosively over the last three hundred years while its moral and spiritual development has stagnated or declined — a divergence he calls catastrophic. He extends the metaphor to communications technology, arguing that the shrinking of physical distance through radio, television, and travel has not produced greater intellectual or moral cohesion between peoples; if anything, mass media has weakened the capacity for abstract thought in favor of passive perceptual consumption. Koestler then turns to the applied political problem: given that atomic war would be a collective suicide of the species, he weighs three options open to the West — continued nuclear development, one-sided disarmament, or preventive war — and rejects preventive war on both moral and prudential grounds, while noting that the Communist bloc, guided by dialectical materialism rather than Western ethical restraint, may not share the West's reluctance. This portion (through page 7) also revisits the classical deterrence argument, showing that atomic superiority is a poor deterrent against limited, camouflaged, non-atomic aggression, since using nuclear weapons against small provocations is politically and morally impossible — leaving conventional readiness and civic resolve as the only real safeguard against Soviet expansion (with the essay explicitly marked 'To be Continued'). - Koestler charts humanity's growing technological/destructive power against a stagnant or declining moral/spiritual curve, warning of a coming 'explosion.' - Argues that mass communications (radio, TV, cinema) have not increased intellectual or moral cohesion between peoples, and may be degrading the capacity for abstract thought. - Frames the atomic dilemma as three options for the West: continue nuclear armament, disarm unilaterally, or wage preventive war — and rejects preventive war as based on the discredited 'ends justify means' fallacy applied to unmanageable, unpredictable factors. - Contrasts Western ethical constraints on political leaders with the Soviet bloc's unconstrained, historically-justified approach to means, including war. - Argues atomic superiority cannot deter limited, camouflaged ('non-atomic') local aggression — a nuclear-armed power facing petty aggression is like a policeman with an atom bomb and nothing else. - Concludes only conventional military strength and civic resolve (citing Finland 1939, contrasted with Czechoslovakia and Poland) can deter such aggression; essay to be continued in a subsequent issue. ### Planning And Democracy This unsigned article, "Planning And Democracy," takes issue with a remark reportedly made by the Prime Minister (Nehru) at a press conference before his departure for Soviet Russia, that if planning proves incompatible with the democratic framework, 'one will have to think again of the structure.' The piece argues there is no inherent conflict between planning and democracy — planning is simply the rational arrangement of resources, which democracy does not oppose — but warns against subordinating democracy to economic reorganisation as an end in itself. It contends that economic progress divorced from democratic accountability risks serving the glorification of party, nation, or leader rather than popular well-being, citing the limited and uneven economic gains of totalitarian states (concentrated in heavy industry and war production) as proof that a 'free man alone can strive for his economic betterment.' It closes by insisting the country must place democracy first and planning second, only as a means to a better life within that democracy. - Responds critically to Nehru's reported remark that democracy's 'structure' might need reconsideration if it obstructs planning. - Argues there is no true conflict between planning and democracy: planning is rational resource arrangement, which democracy does not oppose. - Warns that treating economic progress as an end in itself, rather than a means serving popular well-being, risks sliding into a fetishised, totalitarian planning culture. - Points to the uneven, narrowly concentrated economic gains of totalitarian states (mainly heavy industry/war production) as evidence that unfreedom does not deliver general prosperity. - Concludes that democracy must come first and planning second, purely as an instrument for a better democratic life, not a substitute for it. ### The Danger In Indo-China *By by J. G. Tewari* J. G. Tewari's "The Danger In Indo-China" argues that the joint Nehru-Bulganin declaration's call for prompt elections in a unified Vietnam, without adequate safeguards, plays directly into the Communist strategy to conquer the whole country, and that this clause has already been seized on by Chou En-lai and publicised by the Moscow-Delhi communist press as evidence of Indian alignment with the Soviet position. Tewari lays out extensive evidence from the Indo-China Armistice Commission and International Supervisory Committee reports that the North Vietnamese (Vietminh) government has systematically obstructed the free movement of refugees guaranteed under the Geneva Agreement, that roughly 700,000 Vietnamese have already fled south (with estimates of up to a million more wanting to), that Communist forces in Laos and Cambodia have gone underground rather than disbanding as required, and that the Vietminh maintains a large army built up with Chinese and Soviet support. He concludes that immediate elections without a neutral, adequately verified democratic guarantee (a demand South Vietnamese Premier Diem insists on) would let a Communist-controlled North, holding 13 million people under 'iron grip,' swamp any nationwide vote, and that the accusation that America is the obstacle to elections conceals the Vietminh government's own repeated breaches of the Geneva Agreement. - Argues the Nehru-Bulganin joint declaration's call for Vietnam-wide elections, without safeguards, serves the Communist design to conquer all of Vietnam. - Cites Indo-China Armistice Commission findings that North Vietnam's government obstructed refugees' guaranteed freedom of movement (citing 10,000 refugees found 'congregated at a place and unable to move'). - Reports roughly 700,000 Vietnamese have migrated from Communist to South Vietnamese territory, with estimates that up to a million more would migrate given full freedom. - Notes Communist forces in Laos and Cambodia went underground instead of disbanding as the Geneva Agreement required, still receiving arms from the Vietminh government. - Argues genuine, safeguarded elections (which Premier Diem demands) are essential because a Communist-controlled North holding 13 million people would produce fraudulent near-unanimous votes. - Contends the Communist and 'fellow traveller' accusation that America obstructs Vietnamese elections conceals the Vietminh government's own repeated breaches of the Geneva Agreement. ### Review: Through Malan's Africa (Robert St. John, Gollancz 13/6) *By Sudhir Hendre* A book review by Sudhir Hendre of Robert St. John's Through Malan's Africa (Gollancz, 13/6) describes the book as an intimate, unsparing account of apartheid South Africa, depicting the brutal inequality between the white minority and African majority, the confiscation of African lands, the pass and tax systems forcing African men into wage labour, and the total absence of basic amenities in African townships such as 'Cook Bush.' The review also notes the book's chapter on the Natal Indian question and Manilal Gandhi's advocacy of passive resistance, tracing the escalation of discriminatory legislation from an 1892 poll-tax on Indian traders to the 1946 Ghetto Act. Facing the review, a notice to members of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom explains that Freedom First will now be published by the Democratic Research Service and appeals for continued subscriptions, alongside a subscription form. - Reviews Robert St. John's Through Malan's Africa, describing it as an intimate exposure of apartheid's brutal inequalities. - Highlights the book's contrast between white middle-class comfort (multiple servants) and African townships like 'Cook Bush' lacking water, electricity, sewage, or privies. - Notes Africans are confined to less fertile 'reserves' while more fertile land is taken by white settlers, and taxes force African men into wage labour in mines, factories and plantations. - Covers the book's treatment of the Natal Indian question and Manilal Gandhi's advocacy of passive resistance, and traces discriminatory legislation from the 1892 poll-tax to the 1946 Ghetto Act. - Accompanying notice informs ICCF members that Freedom First continues under the Democratic Research Service and solicits subscriptions. ### With Many Voices "With Many Voices" is the issue's closing page of quoted press excerpts on current affairs from around the world (June-July 1955), framed by a Tennyson epigraph. It juxtaposes clippings from the Economist, Blitz, the Times of India, the New York Times, the Examiner, Current, and other outlets on themes including Nehru's diplomacy with China and the Soviet Union, R. K. Karanjia's laudatory framing of Nehru as fulfilling Lenin's vision, Sir John Kotelawala's remark equating Chinese claims on Formosa with a hypothetical Indian claim on Ceylon, Stalin's cynicism about diplomacy and words versus actions, the free world's tendency to judge itself and communist states by a double standard, and closing observations on planning-driven unemployment (N. V. Gadgil) and a West Bengal Congress leader's statement that a party which resorts to violence and adopts a foreign flag (the Communist Party) has no right to exist in India. The page (and the issue) closes with the publication's registration and printing details, naming V. B. Karnik as editor. - A curated page of quotations from the international and Indian press (June-July 1955) on Cold War diplomacy, China, and communism. - Includes R. K. Karanjia's (Blitz) description of Nehru as history's chosen executor of Lenin's dream of India-China-Russia unity, quoted seemingly to illustrate a naive pro-Soviet framing the journal opposes. - Quotes the Economist on free nations' tendency to apply a 'double standard,' judging their own faults harshly while excusing communist states. - Includes Stalin's own cynical remark (as quoted in the Examiner) that words are a mask for concealing bad deeds and that sincere diplomacy is impossible. - Closes with N. V. Gadgil's quip on planning correlating with rising unemployment and Atulya Ghosh's statement that a violence-prone party flying a 'foreign flag' has no right to exist in India — an implicit reference to the Communist Party. - The masthead identifies V. B. Karnik as editor and names The Kanada Press (printer, Prabhakar Padhye) and Bombay as place of publication. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff040/ ### Summary This is the complete twelve-page issue No. 40 of *Freedom First* (September 1955), a Bombay-based monthly published by the Democratic Research Service and edited/printed by V. B. Karnik. The issue opens with Nissim Ezekiel's essay urging India to develop an informed, unsentimental policy toward Africa's anti-colonial struggles rather than reflexive moral posturing, followed by an unsigned report (byline Zafar Futehally) previewing the Congress for Cultural Freedom's international conference on "The Future of Freedom" in Milan. A substantial "Notes" section carries short editorial pieces on the right to travel and passport refusals, violence in Morocco and Algeria, the propriety of hartals and street demonstrations in a democracy, police reform following firings in Patna, and homage to those who died in the Goa liberation struggle.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the complete twelve-page issue No. 40 of *Freedom First* (September 1955), a Bombay-based monthly published by the Democratic Research Service and edited/printed by V. B. Karnik. The issue opens with Nissim Ezekiel's essay urging India to develop an informed, unsentimental policy toward Africa's anti-colonial struggles rather than reflexive moral posturing, followed by an unsigned report (byline Zafar Futehally) previewing the Congress for Cultural Freedom's international conference on "The Future of Freedom" in Milan. A substantial "Notes" section carries short editorial pieces on the right to travel and passport refusals, violence in Morocco and Algeria, the propriety of hartals and street demonstrations in a democracy, police reform following firings in Patna, and homage to those who died in the Goa liberation struggle. The issue's two major essays are Edward Shils's "Intellectuals and Politicians in America," tracing the historical estrangement between American intellectuals and politicians from the Republic's founding through McCarthyism, and the second installment of Arthur Koestler's "The Trail of the Dinosaur," a wide-ranging meditation on the balance of power between civilizational blocs and the long-term decline of religious faith since the Copernican revolution, reprinted from *Encounter*. The issue closes with a reader's letter on the bread-versus-freedom debate, ICCF news notices, and the recurring "With Many Voices" column of quotations from contemporary public figures and newspapers. ## Essays ### Our Concern For Africa *By Nissim Ezekiel* Nissim Ezekiel argues that India's official and popular attitude toward Africa is shaped by an uncompromising, undiscriminating condemnation of colonialism that substitutes moral indignation for genuine political understanding. He contends Indians are ill-informed about Africa's actual social, political, and racial complexities, and that this incuriosity undermines India's claimed solidarity with the African cause. He points to contradictions in Indian attitudes — professed anti-colonialism alongside a persistent colour consciousness toward Africans living in India — and questions whether the government's new Department of African Studies and a state-sponsored Africa exhibition will produce serious scholarship or merely reinforce a simplified, self-congratulatory narrative. - India's political class shows an uncompromising condemnation of colonialism paired with poor factual knowledge of Africa - The essay argues that treating 'enemies of our enemies' as automatic friends blocks honest appraisal of the anti-colonial camp - Domestic contradictions are named: criticizing colour bar abroad while India retains its own colour consciousness at home - The government sanctioned Rs. 65,000 for an Africa exhibition and created a Department of African Studies, moves the author calls welcome but insufficiently scrutinized - The piece questions whether the new Department will produce objective scholarship or merely reinforce existing, oversimplified narratives about Africa ### "The Future Of Freedom" *By Zafar Futehally* This unsigned report, signed by Zafar Futehally, previews the Congress for Cultural Freedom's International Conference on "The Future of Freedom," to be held in Milan from 12 to 17 September 1955. It frames the conference as a research project aimed at distinguishing real problems from pseudo-problems in the defence of free societies, listing topics such as threats to a free society, economic systems, and the strategy of freedom. The piece names prominent attendees including Raymond Aron, John Kenneth Galbraith, Hugh Gaitskell, Friedrich Hayek, Sidney Hook, and Indian delegates M. R. Masani, B. R. Shenoy, and Amlan Dutta, and closes by invoking Magna Carta and the atomic age as historical bookends framing the stakes of the conference. - The Congress for Cultural Freedom organized an International Conference on 'The Future of Freedom' in Milan, 12-17 September 1955 - The conference sought to distinguish real from pseudo-problems in economics, sociology, and political philosophy relevant to free societies - Named attendees span a wide ideological range, including Raymond Aron, J. K. Galbraith, Hugh Gaitskell, Friedrich Hayek, Sidney Hook, George Kennan, and India's M. R. Masani, B. R. Shenoy, and Amlan Dutta - The report frames the present crisis as one where the modern State increasingly intrudes on individual liberty even within democracies - It closes by comparing the conference to the barons at Runnymede, framing the Milan gathering as a modern defence of threatened liberties ### Notes (Right to Travel; Violence in Morocco; Hartal and Demonstrations; Educating the Police; Homage) The 'Notes' section is a set of short unsigned editorial items. 'Right to Travel' discusses whether the right to travel is a fundamental right, citing the US case Schachtman vs. Dulles and criticizing arbitrary Indian passport refusals, including a case pending in the Bombay High Court. 'Violence in Morocco' condemns escalating French-nationalist violence in Morocco and Algeria and calls for European powers to accommodate Asian and African aspirations for independence. 'Hartal and Demonstrations' argues that hartals, though useful under foreign rule, are increasingly inappropriate tools against an elected, changeable government and calls for restraint and civic responsibility. 'Educating the Police' reports Jayaprakash Narayan's condemnation of police firings in Patna in August 1955 and calls for police reform. 'Homage' pays tribute to Goa satyagrahis killed by Portuguese authorities and argues that Portuguese colonial rule in Goa is an anachronism that must end. - Right to Travel: questions whether India's passport regime, which allows arbitrary refusal without disclosed grounds, violates a fundamental right to travel, citing the US Schachtman vs. Dulles ruling - Violence in Morocco: over 1,500 lives lost in Morocco/Algeria violence; the piece urges France to address nationalist aspirations rather than rely on repression - Hartal and Demonstrations: argues that street hartals, a useful anti-colonial tool, are being overused against India's own elected government and calls for restraint by organizers and citizens - Educating the Police: recounts Jayaprakash Narayan's condemnation of the Patna firings of August 1955 as 'a matter of shame for all of us' and calls for police-code reform - Homage: honors satyagrahis killed in the Goa liberation struggle and frames continued Portuguese colonial rule as an international obligation to help end ### Intellectuals And Politicians In America *By Edward Shils* Edward Shils, an American sociologist visiting India, traces the historical relationship between intellectuals and politicians in the United States. He argues the American Republic was founded by intellectuals (Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Franklin) but that this patrician intelligentsia's hegemony was broken by Jacksonian mass democracy and the rise of urban immigrant political machines, then further eroded by industrialization and the 'robber baron' plutocracy. Shils describes the resulting estrangement of intellectuals from politics, evident in figures like Emerson, Melville, and Henry James, and in the muckraking literary tradition. He then examines the New Deal's expansion of the university-trained civil service under Franklin Roosevelt, arguing this created new resentments among politicians (culminating in McCarthyism), and situates the postwar exposure of Soviet espionage as fuel for a broader, unjust assault on American intellectuals — though he sees the McCarthy episode as a temporary setback within a longer-term healing of the intellectual-political estrangement. - The American Republic's founding generation of intellectuals (Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Franklin) gave way to a Jacksonian mass democracy that displaced the patrician intelligentsia - Irish immigration and urban party machines further weakened the old intellectual-mercantile class's political position after the Civil War - Industrial-era 'robber barons' produced a literary and academic backlash (Dreiser, Norris, muckrakers like Lincoln Steffens and Upton Sinclair) that kept intellectuals 'angrily anti-political' rather than apolitical - Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal brought university-trained intellectuals into the civil service in large numbers, protected by Roosevelt's personal authority from politicians' resentment - The postwar revelation that a handful of 1930s fellow-travelling intellectuals had spied for the Soviets was exploited by a 'resentful group of politicians' (McCarthy, McCarran, and others) to attack a far larger, innocent group - Shils argues McCarthyism set back, but did not reverse, a century-long healing of the rift between American intellectuals and politicians ### The Trail Of The Dinosaur—II *By Arthur Koestler* Arthur Koestler's essay (second installment, reprinted from Encounter) examines the long-term prospects for avoiding total civilizational conflict. He argues that historical polarizations between rival power blocs end either in subjugation or in a stalemate sustained by 'central' and 'peripheral' strength, and that lasting peace additionally requires a spontaneous 'mutation' in the spiritual climate that redirects mass psychological energy elsewhere. Koestler then traces a long history of the decline of religious faith since the Copernican revolution and the Thirty Years' War, arguing that science displaced religious authority without providing any replacement source of ethical meaning, producing a 'spiritual ice age' masked by competing secular ideologies (nationalism, Marxism, fascism). He closes by speculating, in admittedly vague terms, about whether a new form of faith might emerge to reunify reason and meaning before nuclear and biological weapons make the choice moot, ending with the dinosaur metaphor that gives the essay its title. - Historical power-bloc polarizations end either in subjugation (Rome vs Carthage pattern) or in stalemate (Christianity vs Islam pattern), the latter requiring both 'central' and 'peripheral' strength - A lasting resolution additionally requires a 'mutation' in the spiritual climate that shifts mass psychological energy away from the polarizing conflict - Koestler quotes C. V. Wedgwood's The Thirty Years War to show how religious authority collapsed into nationalist sentiment across the 17th century - The Copernican-Galilean-Newtonian revolution is presented as the deep historical rupture that removed transcendental meaning from human destiny, replacing it with impersonal mechanical, and later biological, determinants - Modern secular ideologies (Liberté-Égalité-Fraternité, humanist creeds, fascism, communism) are framed as failed substitutes for the lost 'oceanic feeling' of religious faith - The essay closes with the warning that nuclear and bacteriological weapons will, within decades, decide whether humanity 'goes the way of the dinosaur' or mutates toward a stabler future ### To The Editor (letter re: bread and freedom) *By Prabhakar Padhye* A letter to the editor from Prabhakar Padhye of New Delhi responds to an earlier Freedom First editorial ('At the Post') on the relationship between bread and freedom, arguing that the two are a unity rather than a false dichotomy, and that 'economic freedom' must be recognized alongside political freedom for the magazine's anti-communist and anti-totalitarian project to succeed. This is followed by an ICCF News column reporting on the opening of the Congress for Cultural Freedom's Asian office in New Delhi (declared open by economist Collin Clark), lectures by Kodanda Rao and Edward Shils in Bombay and Delhi, and a talk on atheism and modern science by Saif Tyabji. - Prabhakar Padhye's letter argues bread and freedom form a unity, not a false dichotomy, and presses Freedom First to recognize 'economic freedom' as integral to its concept of liberty - The Congress for Cultural Freedom opened an Asian Office in New Delhi at 5, Hailey Road, headed by Prabhakar Padhye as Asian Representative - Economist Collin Clark declared the ICCF Asian office open on 31 July 1955 with a speech on economic development in backward countries, chaired by Eric da Costa - Kodanda Rao of the Servants of India Society lectured in New Delhi under the Delhi Group of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom - Edward Shils spoke in Bombay on 8 August on 'The American Intellectuals', chaired by A. D. Gorwala; Saif Tyabji gave a talk on 'Atheists and Modern Science' ### I.C.C.F. News 'With Many Voices' is the issue's closing column of short quotations excerpted from contemporary newspapers and public figures, prefaced by a Tennyson epigraph. Quoted voices include Sir John Kotelawala (Prime Minister of Ceylon) on Ceylon-Russia relations, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy on public service, Colin Clark on India's oligarchic tendencies, Congress President U. N. Dhebar on capitalists, communist leader P. Ramamurthi praising Nehru's foreign policy, President Eisenhower on not trading freedom for false peace, and others from The Economist, Times of India, Blitz, and Thought, forming a satirical/documentary snapshot of contemporary political rhetoric. - The column compiles brief, often ironic quotations from contemporary politicians and press across India and abroad - Sir John Kotelawala's remarks on Ceylon's relations with Russia and the United Nations bookend the column - President Eisenhower is quoted warning the US must never trade away 'the freedom of men for the pottage of a false peace' - Communist leader P. Ramamurthi is quoted crediting Nehru's foreign policy to Lenin's thesis of peaceful co-existence, presented pointedly given the magazine's anti-communist stance - The column functions as an editorial device highlighting contradictions and rhetorical excesses in public discourse of August 1955 --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff042/ ### Summary This is the full November 1955 issue (No. 42) of Freedom First, the monthly periodical of the Democratic Research Service edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is a compact Cold War-era anti-communist and pro-democracy digest: a lead essay by Karnik weighs whether the post-Stalin Soviet 'thaw' in foreign policy is a genuine shift or a tactical feint; an unsigned Notes section comments on Vietnam's new republic, the North-East Frontier tribal problem, a Bombay speech on majority-minority democracy, trade-union opposition to NATO complicity with colonialism, the government's National Book Trust proposal, and a Travancore-Cochin communist-conspiracy vindication; M. R.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the full November 1955 issue (No. 42) of Freedom First, the monthly periodical of the Democratic Research Service edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is a compact Cold War-era anti-communist and pro-democracy digest: a lead essay by Karnik weighs whether the post-Stalin Soviet 'thaw' in foreign policy is a genuine shift or a tactical feint; an unsigned Notes section comments on Vietnam's new republic, the North-East Frontier tribal problem, a Bombay speech on majority-minority democracy, trade-union opposition to NATO complicity with colonialism, the government's National Book Trust proposal, and a Travancore-Cochin communist-conspiracy vindication; M. R. Masani reports at length on the Congress for Cultural Freedom's Milan conference; an unsigned piece surveys Indonesia's first general election as a dangerously fragmented result that could open the door to communist influence; an unsigned feature reproduces, side by side, the 1954 and 1955 Soviet Encyclopedic Dictionary entries on Malenkov to document Soviet historiographical revisionism; a Review section covers Philip Spratt's Blowing Up India and Dagobert Runes' The Soviet Impact on Society; and the issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a column of quotations from world figures on Cold War themes, plus subscription details. ## Essays ### A Tactic Or A New Policy? *By by V. B. Karnik* In 'A Tactic Or A New Policy?' V. B. Karnik examines whether the apparent 'thaw' in Soviet foreign policy after Stalin's death represents a genuine reorientation or merely another tactical shift in a long Soviet history of such shifts. He surveys the evidence for change (the Austrian Treaty, reconciliation with Yugoslavia, the Geneva summit, eased travel restrictions) alongside structural pressures pushing the USSR toward relaxation (fear of thermonuclear war, the new ruling class's desire for a higher standard of living, economic strain from the arms race). He then presents the skeptical counter-view, which holds that communists change tactics but never objectives, citing Khrushchev's own warning that the smile should not be mistaken for abandonment of Marxist-Leninist goals. Karnik notes contrary signals — the treatment of East Germany after Adenauer's departure and new Soviet arms aid to West Asia — that complicate any confident reading of Soviet intentions, and points to the upcoming Foreign Ministers' Conference as the real test of whether the shift is durable. - Frames the question as whether the Soviet 'thaw' is tactic or genuine policy change, not resolving it definitively. - Lists concrete evidence of change: the Austrian Treaty, the Yugoslavia climbdown, the Geneva summit conciliatory tone, and eased travel restrictions. - Identifies structural pressures for change: fear of thermonuclear war, a new Soviet ruling class wanting an easier life, and strain from prioritizing armaments over consumer goods. - Presents the skeptical counter-argument via Khrushchev's own remark that the smile does not mean abandoning Marx and Lenin. - Points to contradictory signals (East Germany, new arms aid to West Asia) as reasons for caution. - Identifies the upcoming Foreign Ministers' Conference as the coming test of Soviet intentions on Germany, European security, and trade/travel barriers. ### Notes (A New Asian Republic; North East Tribal Problem; Essentials of Democracy; A Commendable Lead; National Book Trust; D. R. S. Vindicated) The unsigned 'Notes' section comments on several current events. It welcomes South Vietnam's referendum ousting Bao Dai and the new republic under Diem as a democratic advance for Indo-China, and warns that the free countries of Asia now bear responsibility for its defence. A companion note on the North-East Frontier draws on Nehru's 1952 tour note to officials, endorsing his sympathetic, non-bureaucratic approach to tribal peoples while warning that Chinese communist infiltration among border tribes, aided by comparatively favourable treatment across the Tibet border, is a real danger requiring both goodwill and vigilance. - Welcomes the South Vietnamese referendum and Diem's new Republic of Vietnam as a democratic gain, replacing the discredited Bao Dai regime. - Frames defence of the three Indo-Chinese states against 'totalitarian threat from the North' as an obligation of the free world. - Endorses Nehru's 1952 note on the North-East Frontier tribal peoples, emphasising sympathy and non-bureaucratic handling over bureaucratic imposition. - Warns that Chinese treatment of border people may be perceived as more favourable, creating an opening for communist infiltration and arms supply to Nagas. - Calls on the Indian government to combine a sympathetic approach to tribal peoples with active resistance to Chinese communist infiltration. ### The Milan Conference—A Report *By by M. R. Masani* A further set of Notes covers domestic Indian affairs. It reports Bombay Governor Dr. Harekrushna Mahtab's Ahmedabad speech defining democracy as majority rule with minority consent, and warns against majoritarian degeneration into tyranny. It commends the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions for opposing NATO military support to colonial suppression of nationalist movements. It criticizes the Government of India's proposed National Book Trust, arguing state control of book publication risks political favouritism and suppression of independent authors, urging instead private-sector encouragement. Finally, it reports that the Travancore-Cochin Legislative Assembly's Privileges Committee upheld Chief Minister P. Govinda Menon's contention that the 'Madura thesis' document (revealing the Communist Party's real objective of overthrowing the Indian state, published in The Communist Conspiracy at Madurai by the Democratic Research Service) was genuine, despite communist protests. - Reports Dr. Harekrushna Mahtab's definition of democracy as majority rule with minority consent, delivered at the Harold Laski Institute in Ahmedabad. - Praises the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions for condemning NATO-linked support for colonial suppression of nationalist movements. - Criticizes the government's planned National Book Trust as risking political patronage and suppression of independent authors and books. - Advocates private publishers and market incentives over state control of book production. - Reports the Travancore-Cochin Assembly's Privileges Committee vindicating Chief Minister P. Govinda Menon and the authenticity of the Madurai communist conspiracy document against communist claims of fabrication. ### Indonesia; A Confused Picture M. R. Masani's report on the Milan conference of the Congress for Cultural Freedom describes a friendly, high-profile gathering (Hugh Gaitskell, George Kennan, Friedrich Hayek, Sydney Hook, Michael Polanyi, Raymond Aron and others among the notable attendees, with Patanjali Shastri and A. D. Gorwala representing India) and identifies its major defect as trying to cover too much ground with too many prominent people rather than smaller focused seminars. He recounts five debates: whether planning and freedom are reconcilable (most thought yes, viewing socialism-versus-capitalism as an increasingly dead framing); the extent of Soviet economic progress, sharply contested between Peter Wiles' claim of unprecedented Soviet growth and rebuttals from George Kennan, Woytinsky and Bertram Wolfe questioning Soviet statistics and human costs; whether the post-Stalin 'thaw' is genuine or tactical, with Bertram Wolfe arguing historical precedent (NEP, Litvinov disarmament era, Popular Front) shows such openings are reversible; the conservatism of the intelligentsia, per Michael Polanyi's 'reluctant Columbuses' framing; and a debate on underdeveloped countries where Masani himself pressed Western delegates on inadequate awareness, willingness to share prosperity, and openness to genuine solidarity, receiving a mixed response but general agreement from Gaitskell. The report closes with the Congress's three passed resolutions (on underdeveloped regions, the persecution of Hu Feng in China, and the suppression of El Tiempo in Colombia) and the re-election of the Executive Committee. - Names the Milan conference's most prominent attendees, including Hugh Gaitskell, George Kennan, Friedrich Hayek, Sydney Hook, Michael Polanyi and Raymond Aron, plus the Indian delegation led by Patanjali Shastri and A. D. Gorwala. - Identifies the conference's chief defect as inviting too many senior people for the format, preventing deeper engagement. - Summarizes the planning-versus-freedom debate: most delegates saw no inherent conflict, treating the capitalism/socialism dichotomy as an outdated framing. - Details the sharply argued debate on Soviet economic progress, contrasting Peter Wiles' pro-growth thesis against rebuttals questioning Soviet statistics and human cost. - Covers the debate on whether the post-Stalin thaw is genuine, with Bertram Wolfe citing historical Soviet precedents for reversible openings. - Reports Masani's own intervention on underdeveloped countries, pressing Western delegates on awareness, shared prosperity, and solidarity — met with a mixed but partly encouraging response including from Gaitskell. - Lists the three resolutions passed by the General Assembly of the Congress for Cultural Freedom: on underdeveloped regions, on persecuted Chinese writers including Hu Feng, and on suppression of the Colombian paper El Tiempo. ### History In The Making In Soviet Russia 'Indonesia; A Confused Picture' analyses the results of Indonesia's first general elections as dangerously fragmented: the Nationalist Party and the liberal Masjumi Party each won over 7.5 million votes, followed closely by the conservative Nahdatul Ulama and the Communist Party, with no party commanding a clear majority. The piece criticizes the Central Election Committee's composition (dominated by nationalists and communists, with Masjumi and the Socialist Party excluded) as having distorted the outcome, laments the disappearance of the Socialist Party as a major force, and warns that a coalition government led nominally by nationalists but doing the will of the communists could open the door to a Soviet-style 'people's democracy.' It welcomes Indonesian Vice-President Mohamed Hatta's visit to India and his stated intent to keep communists out of government, while cautioning that Indonesia's first democratic steps remain fragile. - Reports the near-even split among the Nationalist Party, Masjumi, Nahdatul Ulama and the Communist Party in Indonesia's first general election. - Criticizes the Central Election Committee's composition, which excluded Masjumi and the Socialist Party, as having skewed the vote. - Laments the Socialist Party's poor showing despite having what the author considers the best political programme. - Warns that a coalition led nominally by nationalists but reliant on communist support could produce a Soviet-satellite-style 'people's democracy.' - Welcomes Vice-President Mohamed Hatta's visit to India and his stated commitment to excluding communists from government. ### Review: Blowing Up India (Philip Spratt); The Soviet Impact on Society (Dr. Dagobert D. Runes) *By Aziz Madni; M.B.S.* 'History In The Making In Soviet Russia' documents Soviet historiographical revisionism by reproducing, in full, the April 1954 and February 1955 versions of the Soviet Encyclopedic Dictionary's biography of Georgy Malenkov side by side. The piece opens by recalling how the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia's publishers instructed readers to physically excise the entry and portrait of the purged Lavrenti Beria, comparing the practice to Orwell's 1984. It then shows how, after Malenkov's 1955 resignation, his encyclopedia entry was cut from 108 to 53 lines, with laudatory language ('outstanding personality... a true pupil of V. I. Lenin and comrade-in-arms of I. V. Stalin') replaced by flat, minimal biographical detail, and most of his wartime and Party record simply deleted. - Opens with The Economist's account of Soviet publishers instructing Great Soviet Encyclopaedia readers to remove pages containing Lavrenti Beria's biography and portrait after his purge. - Draws an explicit comparison to George Orwell's 1984 and the concept of the 'unperson.' - Documents that Malenkov's Encyclopedic Dictionary entry was cut from 108 to 53 lines between the April 1954 and February 1955 printings, following his resignation. - Shows the original entry calling Malenkov an 'outstanding personality... a true pupil of V. I. Lenin and comrade-in-arms of I. V. Stalin,' replaced with the flatter 'important personality.' - Reproduces both full versions of the encyclopedia text side by side as documentary evidence of the editing. ### With Many Voices The Review section carries two pieces. Aziz Madni reviews Philip Spratt's Blowing Up India (Praphi Prakashan, Calcutta), describing Spratt's journey from a secret Comintern agent implicated in the Meerut Conspiracy case to a disillusioned anti-communist writer for Mysindia, noting his account of Marxism's intellectual and missionary appeal, his disillusionment during imprisonment and after the Soviet invasion of Finland, and criticizing inconsistencies in his treatment of Korea, Indo-China, Chiang Kai-shek's China, and religion. M.B.S. reviews Dr. Dagobert D. Runes' The Soviet Impact on Society (Philosophical Library, New York), praising it as a sharp critique arguing that communism arose as a revolt against capitalism's injustices but, once implemented, reproduced capitalism's worst features while enslaving the Soviet people, and warning against underrating Soviet ideological and imperial threats amid the era's 'peaceful coexistence' rhetoric. - Reviews Philip Spratt's Blowing Up India, tracing his path from Comintern agent and Meerut Conspiracy defendant to disillusioned anti-communist writer. - Quotes Spratt on the psychological and missionary appeal Marxism held for him and other converts. - Notes Spratt's disillusionment intensifying during imprisonment and after the Soviet invasion of Finland. - Criticizes inconsistencies in Spratt's treatment of Korea, Indo-China, Chiang Kai-shek, and religion (Islam and Christianity vs. Hindu sentiment). - Reviews Dagobert Runes' The Soviet Impact on Society as arguing communism reproduces capitalism's worst features once implemented and calls for continued vigilance against Soviet ideological threats despite the 'thaw.' ### Essay 8 'With Many Voices,' the closing column, gathers short quotations from world political and cultural figures on Cold War and contemporary themes, sourced from The Times, Thought, New Age, Times of India, New Leader, and the New York Herald Tribune, among others, including remarks attributed to Molotov, Truman, Nehru, Picasso, Dulles, William Henry Chamberlin, Reinhold Niebuhr, J. C. Kumarappa, the Shah of Iran, and Acharya Kripalani. The page also carries the subscription coupon and closing masthead noting the periodical is edited, printed and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik. - Compiles brief quoted remarks from a wide range of contemporary political and cultural figures on Cold War-era themes. - Sources span international and Indian press including The Times, Thought, New Age, Times of India, and New Leader. - Includes Nehru's remarks on Marx's 'outdatedness' given American wealth, and on the nature of a political 'Boss.' - Includes Picasso's comment dismissing Soviet painting as monotonous and militaristic in theme. - Includes Acharya Kripalani's self-description as 'a paralysed socialist' unable even to join the Congress. - Closes the issue with a subscription form and the masthead crediting V. B. Karnik as editor, printer and publisher for the Democratic Research Service. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff043/ ### Summary This is the December 1955 issue (No. 43) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service edited by V. B. Karnik in Bombay. The issue is organized around the Cold War and the recent state visit of Soviet leaders Bulganin and Khrushchev to India, which several pieces use as an occasion to warn against Soviet propaganda, question the Nehru government's ceremonial deference to the visiting dictatorship, and expose the gap between Soviet rhetoric of peaceful co-existence and Soviet practice. Alongside these pieces on Cold War politics, the issue carries an editorial 'Notes' section on domestic affairs (the States Reorganisation Commission, the Samyukta Maharashtra agitation and police firing in Bombay, and comparative claims about health and education under communism), a philosophical essay on the foundations of freedom, a light essay on Bombay's new enthusiasm for nature, and news of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's activities.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the December 1955 issue (No. 43) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service edited by V. B. Karnik in Bombay. The issue is organized around the Cold War and the recent state visit of Soviet leaders Bulganin and Khrushchev to India, which several pieces use as an occasion to warn against Soviet propaganda, question the Nehru government's ceremonial deference to the visiting dictatorship, and expose the gap between Soviet rhetoric of peaceful co-existence and Soviet practice. Alongside these pieces on Cold War politics, the issue carries an editorial 'Notes' section on domestic affairs (the States Reorganisation Commission, the Samyukta Maharashtra agitation and police firing in Bombay, and comparative claims about health and education under communism), a philosophical essay on the foundations of freedom, a light essay on Bombay's new enthusiasm for nature, and news of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's activities. The volume's argumentative center is a sustained brief for democratic, anti-totalitarian liberalism: distrust of Soviet 'peaceful co-existence' as propaganda, defense of civil liberties and free elections against both communist and other authoritarian temptations, and skepticism of using state machinery (including children) to stage displays of enthusiasm for foreign dignitaries. ## Essays ### Let Us Know Who Kisses Us And Why *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead article criticizes the Indian government's lavish, state-orchestrated reception of Soviet leaders Marshal Bulganin and Nikita Khrushchev during their 1955 visit, arguing that mobilizing schoolchildren and citizens to stage a 'spontaneous' welcome was both undemocratic and undignified, unlike the treatment given to other foreign dignitaries such as Indonesia's Vice-President or Nepal's King. Karnik argues the Soviet leaders violated diplomatic norms by using their address to Parliament to attack Western democracies, and situates the visit within a broader Cold War contest for the allegiance of uncommitted Asian nations. The piece closes (in the page-8 continuation) by noting that Nehru's own stated principles of non-alignment and 'good means for good ends' sharply distinguish Indian from Soviet policy, but warns that the visit's spectacle risks making international communism seem less odious to less mature sections of Indian opinion. - Criticizes the Indian government for giving Soviet leaders Bulganin and Khrushchev a uniquely elaborate reception compared to other visiting dignitaries. - Objects to the 'cynical use... of children as instruments of diplomacy,' describing how schools were made to rehearse welcome ceremonies. - Argues the Soviet leaders' attacks on Western democracies during their Parliament address were a 'gross violation' of diplomatic courtesy owed to a host country. - Frames the visit as a Cold War propaganda exercise aimed at winning over uncommitted Asian nations, citing the Times of India's characterization of 'salesmanship.' - Quotes Nehru's own principled distinction between Indian and Soviet policy (good means for good ends) as evidence India has not truly departed from non-alignment. - Warns that the pageantry of the visit may make communism 'less odious' to immature sections of Indian public opinion, urging counter-education about Soviet 'double thinking and double talk.' ### Notes (Reorganisation Of States; Agitation Over Bombay; The Failure And Its Responsibility; Education Under Communism; Health Services in China) The unsigned 'Notes' editorial section covers five domestic and international topics: it cautions against the 'ugly controversies' surrounding the States Reorganisation Commission's report, endorsing Acharya Vinoba Bhave's view that reorganisation is chiefly an administrative matter that should not create disunity; it condemns the violence and police firing (twelve dead) during the Samyukta Maharashtra agitation over Bombay's inclusion, blaming agitation leaders for the 'goondaism' unleashed; it reports on the collapse of the Geneva Foreign Ministers' Conference, blaming Soviet negotiator Molotov's obstruction on German reunification and disarmament; it criticizes the regimented, Marxist-dogma-based character of education under communism, invoking C. P. Ramaswamy Ayyar's remarks on China; and it disputes Rajkumari Amrit Kaur's claim that China's health services are comparable to India's, arguing Communist China in fact suffers from a shortage of doctors and medicines worsened by totalitarian regimentation. - States Reorganisation Commission report has triggered disunity-inducing controversies; the editorial urges perspective, citing Acharya Vinoba Bhave that reorganisation is mainly administrative. - Twelve lives were lost in police firing during the Samyukta Maharashtra strike/agitation in Bombay; blame is placed on agitation leaders (with communists said to have taken control) rather than solely on 'anti-social elements.' - The Geneva Foreign Ministers' Conference failed; Molotov is blamed for rejecting Western proposals on East-West contacts, German unification, and disarmament. - Communist education (citing C. P. Ramaswamy Ayyar on China) is described as rigidly regimented around Marxist principles, suppressing independent thought in children. - Rajkumari Amrit Kaur's claim that India lags China in health services is disputed; the editorial argues China suffers a shortage of doctors and medicine under totalitarian regimentation. ### Peaceful Co-Existence *By Bertram D. Wolfe* Bertram D. Wolfe's essay dissects the Soviet term 'peaceful co-existence' as a piece of 'Newspeak,' arguing it masks two simultaneous, unrelenting wars waged by the Kremlin: an internal war of purges and totalitarian control against the Soviet Union's own people, and an external war to extend Communist rule worldwide. He traces the term's history to Trotsky's 1917 formulation and Lenin's tactical use of 'peace' talk only when too weak to fight, arguing the doctrine has always been a means of lulling adversaries before conquering by infiltration once they are strong enough. The piece closes with Salvador Madariaga's 'Animal Farm'-style parable, delivered at a League of Nations disarmament debate, satirizing Litvinov-era Soviet disarmament proposals as self-serving. - Argues 'peaceful co-existence' originates from Soviet 'Newspeak,' where words like democracy and liberation are inverted. - Identifies two simultaneous total wars waged by the Kremlin: an internal war on its own people (purges, slave camps, espionage) and an external war of world conquest. - Cites the fates of Trotsky, Bukharin, Zinoviev, Kamenev, Yagoda, Yezhov, and Beria as evidence that even loyal Communists are not safe from the internal war. - Attributes the first use of 'peaceful co-existence' to Leon Trotsky's November 1917 peace programme statement, and traces Lenin's opportunistic use of peace rhetoric. - Cites Salvador Madariaga's Animal Farm-style fable about a 'conference of beasts' discussing disarmament, used to satirize Litvinov's Soviet disarmament proposals at the League of Nations. ### Philosophy Of Freedom *By M. B. Shah* M. B. Shah's philosophical essay explores the historical and conceptual foundations of freedom as a human (not natural) value, tracing how the Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution created an individuated but 'atomized' modern person, and how the Declaration of the Rights of Man promised human dignity that democracy in practice often failed to realize under conditions of economic scarcity and dehumanization. Shah argues that this failure produced widespread frustration, resignation, and a willingness to surrender freedom to totalitarian ideologies (fascism, nazism, communism), and calls (in the page-11 continuation) for democracy to evolve toward a 'positive freedom' that integrates individual self-realization with social cooperation, drawing on Erich Fromm's argument that only such a reoriented democracy can secure genuine individual freedom. - Freedom is defined as a human value rather than a natural one; the essay traces its historical emergence through liberalism and laissez-faire economics. - Argues that individuation from traditional securities also atomized the individual, leaving him 'powerless to make his way single-handedly.' - Notes that democracy, despite the Declaration of the Rights of Man, often failed to treat man as an end in himself within social and economic structures. - Attributes the rise of fascism, nazism, nihilism and communism to mass frustration, resignation, and fear of freedom following this failure. - Calls for democracy to pursue 'positive freedom'-conditions enabling full realization of human potential-rather than merely negative freedom from restriction, citing Erich Fromm's Fear of Freedom and M. N. Roy's Principles of Radical Democracy. ### Our New Hobby *By Laeeq Futehally* Laeeq Futehally's light essay observes Bombay's sudden enthusiasm for 'Nature'-crowded Sunday excursions to beauty spots like Powai Lake and a boom in domestic gardening (rock-gardens, croton borders, bougainvillea trellises)-and wryly welcomes this new national hobby as an affordable and harmless enthusiasm compared to the country's other preoccupations. - Describes Bombay's new mania for Nature: crowded Sunday exoduses to spots like Powai Lake. - Notes the parallel trend of bringing 'nature into the city' via rock-gardens and flower beds in new housing construction. - Frames the phenomenon satirically, comparing it to ministers praising the 'green glory of forests' and Delhi's Bird-Watching Society. - Concludes the hobby is a fortunate one because, unlike other national enthusiasms, it costs nothing and can be enjoyed by all. ### The Double Think And Double Talk *By W. Z. Laqueur* W. Z. Laqueur's essay (reproduced from The New Leader) examines the ideological contradictions in Soviet Oriental studies and propaganda toward Asian nationalism, contrasting the flattering public praise Bulganin and Khrushchev gave Gandhi and Nehru during their India visit with harshly hostile portrayals of the same figures in Soviet academic textbooks intended for domestic/expert consumption-where Gandhi is still called a 'traitor' and Nehru's 'pseudo-leftist' Congress leadership is accused of serving bourgeois and landowning class interests. Laqueur traces how Soviet India-experts Balabushevich and Dyakov swung from harsh 1930s-era condemnations of Nehru to a laudatory 1955 review of his Discovery of India, illustrating the Kremlin's opportunistic, ideologically inconsistent approach to Asian nationalist movements, and concludes that Leninist doctrine's refusal to accept peaceful coexistence between parties (as opposed to states) makes durable Soviet-nationalist cooperation in Asia inherently unstable. - Contrasts Bulganin and Khrushchev's public praise of Gandhi in India with Soviet academic texts that still call Gandhi a 'traitor.' - Describes Soviet textbooks' hostile treatment of Nehru and the Congress 'pseudo-leftist' leadership as serving bourgeois and landowner class interests. - Traces Soviet India-experts V. Balabushevich and A. Dyakov's ideological reversal: harsh condemnation of Nehru's circle in 1930s writings versus a laudatory 1955 review of Nehru's Discovery of India in Kommunist. - Notes a Kommunist editorial urging Soviet Orientalists to recognize a 'progressive kernel' in each national movement, signaling an approaching Soviet policy shift. - Concludes that Leninist doctrine permits peaceful coexistence between states but not between parties/movements, making the Communist-nationalist detente in Asia fundamentally unstable absent a major ideological reorientation. ### I.C.C.F. News An unsigned news column reports on the activities of Nicolas Nabokov, Secretary General of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, during his November 1955 tour of India, including lectures in Delhi and Calcutta on Western music and modern intellectuals, and previews his planned visits to Madras, Trivandrum, Bangalore, and Bombay in December, alongside the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's Annual General Meeting scheduled for December 17-18 in Bombay. - Nicolas Nabokov, Secretary General of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, toured Delhi and Calcutta in November 1955, giving lectures on Western music and modern intellectuals. - In Calcutta he met literary and artistic figures including Uday Shankar, Amla Shankar, Buddhadev Bose, and Samar Sen. - His itinerary continues to Rangoon, Tokyo, then back to Madras, Trivandrum, Bangalore, and Bombay in December. - The Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's Annual General Meeting is scheduled for December 17-18 at the Jehangir Art Gallery in Bombay, with a public lecture by Nabokov on December 18. ### With Many Voices The closing 'With Many Voices' column compiles short newspaper quotations from various public figures on Cold War themes-communism, colonialism, disarmament, and free elections-drawn from sources like the Times of India, Bombay Chronicle, and New Leader in October-November 1955, including remarks by C. D. Deshmukh, Vinoba Bhave, Harold Macmillan, Anthony Eden, and others. - Compiles brief quotations on Cold War and colonialism themes from public figures published in October-November 1955. - Includes C. D. Deshmukh's remark on lending and borrowing, and Vinoba Bhave's warning against dependence on 'one single man's goodness or badness.' - Quotes Sir Anthony Eden arguing free elections cannot be held if the Communist system in Germany must be preserved. - Includes commentary comparing Soviet 'colonialism' toward satellite states with Western colonialism, and a note on Chinese versus Indian railway labor productivity. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff044/ ### Summary This is issue no. 44 of Freedom First (January 1956), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service (Bombay), reflecting the classical-liberal, anti-communist editorial line associated with the Forum of Free Enterprise milieu. The issue is dominated by anxious commentary on the just-concluded Bulganin-Khrushchev tour of India: M. A. Venkata Rao's lead essay reads the visit as a calculated Soviet manoeuvre to draw a nominally neutral India into the communist orbit; the unsigned 'Notes' column criticises the Nehru government's handling of the visit, Soviet forced-labour camps, and a stalled passport-rights case; and a page of press excerpts ('With Many Voices') collects Indian and international reactions to the visit, mostly skeptical or hostile. Alongside this, Asiaticus's 'China Enters Stalinism' argues from Chinese Communist Party sources that Peking has entered a full-scale Stalinist purge targeting intellectuals (the Hu Feng affair) and ordinary citizens via denunciation campaigns.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue no. 44 of Freedom First (January 1956), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service (Bombay), reflecting the classical-liberal, anti-communist editorial line associated with the Forum of Free Enterprise milieu. The issue is dominated by anxious commentary on the just-concluded Bulganin-Khrushchev tour of India: M. A. Venkata Rao's lead essay reads the visit as a calculated Soviet manoeuvre to draw a nominally neutral India into the communist orbit; the unsigned 'Notes' column criticises the Nehru government's handling of the visit, Soviet forced-labour camps, and a stalled passport-rights case; and a page of press excerpts ('With Many Voices') collects Indian and international reactions to the visit, mostly skeptical or hostile. Alongside this, Asiaticus's 'China Enters Stalinism' argues from Chinese Communist Party sources that Peking has entered a full-scale Stalinist purge targeting intellectuals (the Hu Feng affair) and ordinary citizens via denunciation campaigns. The issue also documents the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's Third General Meeting (with addresses by Asoka Mehta and Nicolas Nabokov and resolutions on the Second Five Year Plan and the political use of schoolchildren during the Soviet visit), a report on Nabokov's subsequent India tour, a book review of Gabriel Almond's The Appeals of Communism, and reader letters. ## Essays ### The Challenge Of The Visit *By M. A. Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Challenge Of The Visit' argues that the near-simultaneous Soviet 'Nyet' at Geneva disarmament talks, a Soviet hydrogen bomb test, and the Bulganin-Khrushchev tour of India and Burma were parts of one calculated Soviet peace offensive rather than spontaneous goodwill. He contends that the warmth of the Indian public and governmental reception--extending to comparisons of the Soviet leaders with epic heroes and avatars--risks blurring the moral distinction between Gandhian Congress values and Bolshevik practice, and that the growing intimacy between Nehru and the Soviet leadership is manoeuvring India toward alignment with Soviet foreign policy despite official professions of neutrality. - Frames the Bulganin-Khrushchev visit, the Soviet Geneva 'Nyet', and a Soviet hydrogen bomb test as a single coordinated 'peace' offensive. - Warns that lavish, uncritical Indian receptions for the Soviet leaders elevate them to the status of national heroes, comparing this to reverence once reserved for Gandhi. - Argues the close personal rapport between Nehru and the Soviet leaders blurs the distinction between Congress's Gandhian values and Bolshevik practice. - Sees India being 'netted' into a tacit alignment with Soviet policy despite its declared non-alignment. - Concludes that admiration for the Soviet regime will exert a real pull toward political alignment with it, not merely a diplomatic courtesy. ### China Enters Stalinism *By Asiaticus* This unsigned 'Notes' column runs six short editorial items. 'The Pot And The Kettle' argues that Indian outrage at the U.S. Dulles-Cunha communique on Goa is hypocritical given Nehru's own equivocal statements on Soviet-bloc captive nations. 'Moscow's Advice To C.P.I.' reports on a leaked Shepilov letter instructing the Communist Party of India not to disrupt the Soviet diplomatic courtship of India, while promising Indian communists that a reckoning with the 'bourgeois Government' will come eventually. 'Indian In Soviet Camp' presses the government to investigate credible reports of an Indian national detained in the Vorkuta concentration camp. 'The Courageous Two' praises Lok Sabha members N. C. Chatterjee and H. V. Kamath for being the only members to object to the conduct of the Soviet visit, and criticises Congress members for shouting them down. 'An Unhelpful Decision' criticises a Bombay High Court ruling (Justice Coyajee) that passport denial is non-justiciable, contrasting it with a more liberal U.S. federal ruling. 'Need For National Unity' cites Madras Governor Sri Prakasa's convocation address on the danger linguistic-provincial disputes pose to national unity following the States Reorganisation Commission report. - Criticises Nehru's silence on Soviet-bloc 'captive peoples' as inconsistent with Indian anger at U.S. diplomatic language on Goa. - Reports a leaked Shepilov letter directing the CPI not to interfere with Soviet diplomacy toward India, while promising an eventual reckoning with the Indian government. - Urges the Government of India to investigate reports of an Indian detained in the Vorkuta Soviet concentration camp. - Praises the two Lok Sabha members who protested the conduct of the Soviet visit and criticises Congress members who shouted them down. - Criticises a Bombay High Court decision holding passport issuance non-justiciable, contrasting it with U.S. case law protecting freedom of movement. - Warns that linguistic-provincial disputes following the States Reorganisation Commission report threaten national unity. ### Notes (The Pot And The Kettle; Moscow's Advice To C.P.I.; Indian In Soviet Camp; The Courageous Two; An Unhelpful Decision; Need For National Unity) Asiaticus's 'China Enters Stalinism' argues, against the favourable reports of Western visitors like Pietro Nenni, that the People's Republic of China embarked in 1955 on a major Stalinist-style purge. Tracing a sequence of ideological campaigns--the 1951 criticism of the film 'The Story of U Sun,' the 1952 anti-corruption drives, the 1954 campaign against 'formalist' literary critics influenced by Hu Shi, and finally the 1955 'Hu Fengism' campaign--the essay documents how a movement that began as an ideological critique of one dissident escalated into an accusation that Hu Feng led an anti-state conspiracy with hundreds of thousands of members. It quotes Chinese press denunciations of alleged 'counter-revolutionary' sabotage, state-encouraged denunciation of family members (including children reporting on parents), and mass arrest figures, concluding that China, being more backward than 1930s Russia, may eventually surpass Soviet Stalinism in severity. - Challenges the favourable accounts of Western visitors to China (e.g., Pietro Nenni) with evidence from official Chinese Communist press and radio of a major purge beginning in summer 1955. - Traces escalating ideological campaigns from 1951 (film criticism) through 1952 (anti-corruption drives) to 1954 (literary 'formalism' campaign against Hu Shi's influence) to the 1955 Hu Feng affair. - Describes the Hu Feng affair's escalation from an ideological deviation charge to accusations Hu Feng led an 'anti-party, anti-state' conspiracy with agents throughout China. - Quotes official Chinese accounts of denunciation culture, including children praised or punished based on whether they reported 'counter-revolutionary' parents. - Cites a reported 271,074 arrests across several Chinese provinces under Lo Jui Ching. - Concludes China has entered the 'Stalinist stage' of Communist development and, given its greater backwardness relative to 1930s Russia, may eventually exceed Soviet-era terror. ### I.C.C.F. Report Of General Meeting This unsigned report covers the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's Third General Meeting, held in Bombay on 17-18 December 1955. It summarises inaugural addresses by Asoka Mehta (on the loss of human values under technological civilisation and the intellectual's task of recovering the potency of ideas) and Nicolas Nabokov of the Congress for Cultural Freedom (on the threat totalitarianism poses to free culture, and a perceived affinity between the Russian and Indian peoples). It records the election of a new Executive (including Jayaprakash Narayan, Minoo Masani, and others) and reproduces the four resolutions adopted: solidarity with the Sarva Seva Sangh's Sampattidan movement; a call for the Second Five Year Plan to avoid centralised, totalitarian planning risks; disapproval of the political mobilisation of schoolchildren during the Soviet visit; and endorsement of the Congress for Cultural Freedom's Milan resolution on solidarity with intellectuals of underdeveloped regions. - Reports the ICCF's Third General Meeting in Bombay (17-18 December 1955), attended by delegates from multiple Indian cities. - Summarises Nicolas Nabokov's address on totalitarianism's threat to free culture and self-expression. - Summarises Asoka Mehta's presidential address on recovering human values against the backdrop of technological civilisation. - Records the newly elected Executive, including Jayaprakash Narayan, Minoo Masani, and Rukmini Devi Arundale. - Reproduces four resolutions: on the Sampattidan movement, on risks of centralised planning in the Second Five Year Plan, condemning the political exploitation of schoolchildren during the Soviet visit, and endorsing the Milan CCF resolution on underdeveloped regions. ### Indian Committee For Cultural Freedom: Resolutions adopted by the Annual General Meeting held on December 17 and 18, 1955 This unsigned piece, 'What Would The Marshal Have Said?', recounts the cancellation of a Press Guild of India reception for Bulganin and Khrushchev in Bombay, allegedly to 'lessen the strain on the Soviet guests,' and speculates the Soviets avoided facing pointed questions from the Bombay press about free expression, forced labour, and one-party rule. It also describes a genuinely combative press exchange in Rangoon in which reporters challenged the Soviet leaders on Panchashila's applicability to Soviet-bloc states, and notes the perfunctory nature of the single press conference the Soviet leaders held in Delhi, where questions had to be submitted in advance and no follow-up was permitted. - Reports the cancellation of a planned Bombay Press Guild reception for Bulganin and Khrushchev, attributed to Soviet reluctance to face the press. - Lists pointed questions the Press Guild had prepared, including on Soviet forced labour and the one-party system. - Describes a Rangoon press exchange where reporters raised Panchashila's inapplicability to Eastern European Soviet satellites, met with hostile Soviet responses. - Notes the Delhi 'press conference' required questions to be submitted beforehand and permitted no live follow-up. ### What Would The Marshal Have Said? Philip Spratt's review of Gabriel A. Almond's 'The Appeals of Communism' (Princeton University Press, 1954) praises the book's rigorous, heavily statistical analysis of Communist Party literature and its account, based on interviews with roughly 200 ex-members across four countries, of why people join and leave the party. Spratt highlights Almond's finding that communist ideal aims receive minimal emphasis in party training compared to tactical and organisational discipline, that the party grew more bureaucratic and psychologically coercive under Stalin compared to a more fraternal 1920s atmosphere, and that disillusionment is typically a gradual process driven by the gap between propaganda and reality rather than sudden ideological reversal or a turn to conservatism or religion. - Praises Almond's statistical methodology despite its dense, heavily tabulated style. - Highlights the finding that Communist propaganda emphasises tactical/organisational qualities (94%) far more than ideal 'goal qualities' (6%) in canonical texts like Stalin's History of the CPSU. - Notes the shift from a fraternal, intellectually genuine party culture in the 1920s to a bureaucratic, psychologically coercive one under Stalin. - Summarises Almond's account of why members leave: disillusionment is usually gradual, driven by the gap between propaganda and party reality, rarely resulting in a turn to conservatism or religion. - Compares the book's findings on national party cultures--Italian (large but ill-trained), French (best at grafting Stalinism onto its own culture), British (most deviant from type), American (strained internal atmosphere). ### Review: The Appeals of Communism by Gabriel A. Almond *By Philip Spratt* This unsigned report, 'Mr. Nabokov In India,' details Nicolas Nabokov's late-1955 tour of Madras, Bangalore, Mysore, and Bombay on behalf of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, including music seminars, lectures on Western music, and meetings with Indian musicologists and artists, culminating in his role inaugurating the ICCF's Bombay General Meeting. Two reader letters follow under 'To the Editor': one by S. S. Bankeshwar, titled 'Why this Silence?', accuses Nehru of inconsistency for criticising U.S. military aid to Pakistan and the American hydrogen bomb test while staying silent on Soviet-bloc military aid to Egypt and the Soviet super-hydrogen bomb. - Details Nicolas Nabokov's December 1955 tour of Madras, Bangalore, Mysore, and Bombay for the Congress for Cultural Freedom. - Describes cultural programming arranged for Nabokov, including Bharata Natyam and Kathakali performances and a lecture on the origins of Western music. - Records Nabokov's role inaugurating the ICCF's Bombay General Meeting and addressing writers, painters, and students. - Reproduces a reader letter accusing Nehru of applying a double standard: criticising U.S. military aid to Pakistan and its hydrogen bomb test while remaining silent on Soviet/Czechoslovak military aid to Egypt and the Soviet super-hydrogen bomb. ### Mr. Nabokov In India 'With Many Voices' is a compiled column of press excerpts and quotations, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson, reacting to the Bulganin-Khrushchev visit and broader Cold War themes. It gathers skeptical or hostile comments from figures such as Averell Harriman, Nehru himself, A. F. S. Talyarkhan, Lord Reading, and various publications (Times of India, The Economist, New York Times, Christian Science Monitor), largely questioning the sincerity of Soviet 'peaceful co-existence' rhetoric and India's claim to genuine neutrality. - Compiles press quotations skeptical of Soviet 'peaceful co-existence' claims following the Bulganin-Khrushchev tour. - Includes Averell Harriman's assertion that peaceful co-existence is a Russian proposal India should not accept. - Includes Nehru's own remark that 'some people talk about peace so loudly it sounds like war.' - Includes The Economist's observation on the incongruity of Asian neutral states denouncing 'colonialism' while courting the Soviet bloc. - Includes Lord Reading's comment questioning whether Soviet leaders truly believe Indians and Burmese are deceived about their own freedom. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff046/ ### Summary This is the complete March 1956 issue (No. 46) of Freedom First, the monthly organ of the Democratic Research Service, edited by V. B. Karnik. In the rendered pages the issue runs its full 12 pages: an editorial by Karnik warning that Congress's shift from "socialistic pattern" to "socialist structure" risks tipping India toward one-party, totalitarian rule, echoing a Times of India editorial; a Notes section defending the Democratic Research Service against Blitz's communist-aligned attacks, discussing a Copyright Bill before the Rajya Sabha, criticizing the political exploitation of schoolchildren, and noting the World Federation of Trade Unions' expulsion from Vienna; a substantial analytical essay by the American Sovietologist Bertram D.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the complete March 1956 issue (No. 46) of Freedom First, the monthly organ of the Democratic Research Service, edited by V. B. Karnik. In the rendered pages the issue runs its full 12 pages: an editorial by Karnik warning that Congress's shift from "socialistic pattern" to "socialist structure" risks tipping India toward one-party, totalitarian rule, echoing a Times of India editorial; a Notes section defending the Democratic Research Service against Blitz's communist-aligned attacks, discussing a Copyright Bill before the Rajya Sabha, criticizing the political exploitation of schoolchildren, and noting the World Federation of Trade Unions' expulsion from Vienna; a substantial analytical essay by the American Sovietologist Bertram D. Wolfe dissecting the post-Stalin "collective leadership" of Khrushchev, Bulganin, Malenkov, Molotov and Beria as an unstable interregnum within an unchanged totalitarian system; a satirical travel piece by Alex Atkinson (reprinted from Punch) mocking Soviet tourism propaganda; a piece on the PEN International controversy over admitting a Soviet PEN centre; short book reviews (a memoir of a persecuted Czechoslovak nun, a new foreign-affairs magazine The Ambassador, and Walter Lippmann's The Public Philosophy); notes on the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's activities; and a closing page of juxtaposed quotations, "With Many Voices," contrasting Western and communist statements on politics and tolerance. The volume's argumentative center is anti-totalitarian and anti-communist advocacy for liberal democracy, defending civil liberties and public opinion against both Soviet-style tyranny and domestic drift toward centralized, one-party governance. ## Essays ### Where Is India Heading? *By by V. B. Karnik* In this editorial, V. B. Karnik uses a Times of India editorial ("Where Is India Heading?", Feb 14) commenting on the Congress's Amritsar session to argue that Freedom First's long-standing warnings about totalitarian drift in India are now being echoed by mainstream opinion. He traces how the Congress shifted from the loosely-defined "socialistic pattern" to the more rigid "socialist structure" without public debate, simply because Nehru proposed it and the party obeyed. Karnik warns that unchecked one-party dominance, blind hero-worship, and uncritical deference to leaders could lead India down the same path as the communist states of Eastern Europe, and argues that only a vigorous, free public opinion—not the goodwill of any individual leader—can guarantee that democracy and economic advancement do not collapse into totalitarian control. - Times of India's Feb 14 editorial 'Where Is India Heading?' warned that Congress proceedings at Amritsar showed a 'monolithic party' preparing to impose a 'monolithic society' on the state. - The shift from 'socialistic pattern' to 'socialist structure' happened without any recorded internal debate; delegates simply followed the Prime Minister's cue. - Karnik argues political democracy must evolve into social democracy, but democratic means must be preserved even while pursuing socialization. - Soviet Russia and Eastern Europe are cited as examples of socialism achieved by destroying democracy and installing monolithic parties beholden to a single leader. - The remedy is a free, alert, and informed public opinion that persists in scrutinizing government and party actions rather than a 'lone voice or two.' ### New Soviet Leaders *By by Bertram D. Wolfe* An unsigned Notes section comprising four short items. 'A New Low' rebuts a Blitz magazine story alleging the Democratic Research Service instigated the Bombay-for-Samyukta-Maharashtra riots, showing the claim rests on a fabricated link to A. D. Gorwala (misidentified as a DRS member) and reasserting that DRS is a nonpartisan information group. 'Copyright Bill' analyzes a new Copyright Bill before the Rajya Sabha, criticizing its reduction of the copyright term from 50 to 25 years and its proposed Copyright Board with registration requirements as inconsistent with India's Berne-Berlin and Universal Copyright Convention obligations. 'Exploitation of Students' criticizes the use of schoolchildren for political demonstrations, citing Nehru's own call at the All India Youth Congress for students to shun agitational politics and a Bombay State Education Department circular against using students for party purposes. 'Austria And The W.F.T.U.' reports the Austrian government's success in expelling the communist-aligned World Federation of Trade Unions from Vienna after Austria regained sovereign independence. - Blitz falsely claimed the Democratic Research Service instigated the Bombay-for-Samyukta-Maharashtra disturbances, based on misidentifying A. D. Gorwala ('Vidura') as a DRS member. - DRS is described as an information and research group of members from Congress, PSP and others, not engaged in forming opposition parties. - The new Copyright Bill halves the copyright term to 25 years and creates a Copyright Board with registration and quasi-judicial powers, seen as inconsistent with international convention obligations and democratic legal norms. - Political parties' use of schoolchildren in demonstrations is criticized; Nehru himself asked students to avoid agitational politics. - The W.F.T.U., described as a communist front organisation, was compelled to leave Vienna after Austria regained full sovereignty. ### Come To Sunny Russia *By by Alex Atkinson* Bertram D. Wolfe analyzes the nature of Soviet totalitarianism and the post-Stalin succession crisis, in an essay noted (per its editorial headnote) as written before the 20th Congress of the CPSU. Wolfe argues the Soviet system's inherent dynamics—its fear of disorder, absence of any legitimate mechanism for succession, and cult of an infallible leader—make 'collective leadership' an inherently unstable, transitional phase rather than a genuine departure from dictatorship. He traces the successive falls of Malenkov (stripped of the premiership and forced to confess policy failures), Beria (executed), and Molotov (forced into a humiliating public confession), leaving Khrushchev as 'more equal than others' within a nominal duumvirate with Bulganin. Wolfe contends that all the 'new' men were in fact co-makers of Stalin's policies while he lived, and that the substance of Soviet policy—the drive to remake society, industrial primacy, agricultural collectivization, and the pursuit of world revolution—continues undiminished regardless of who holds nominal power. - The Soviet system lacks any legitimate, peaceful mechanism for succession because it has no living party in the normal sense, only a 'pretorian guard' serving the leader. - Malenkov was removed as First Party Secretary two weeks after Stalin's death and later forced to confess 'guilt and responsibility' for failures in agriculture. - Beria was executed in December 1953 and became a 'retroactive traitor... then an unperson.' - Molotov confessed in September 1955 to an 'ideological error' regarding the state of socialist society in the USSR. - Khrushchev emerges as the dominant figure, backed by the Army and secret police machinery, in an unstable 'collective leadership' with Bulganin. - Wolfe predicts continued struggle for a single successor because the dynamics of totalitarian dictatorship inherently resist genuine collective rule. - Stalin's 1952 pamphlet Economic Problems of Socialism is identified as the source of the formulae still guiding Khrushchev and Bulganin's policies. ### A P.E.N. Centre In Soviet Russia? *By M.A.V.* A satirical mock travel-brochure by Alex Atkinson, reproduced from Punch (London), lampooning the idea of Soviet tourism. Presented as an upbeat advertisement urging readers to holiday in 'sunny Russia,' the piece mocks the drabness and surveillance of Moscow life—plainclothes police, endless queues, absent bars, kitsch Intourist hotels—and satirizes the standardized, hostile questions Muscovites are trained to ask foreign visitors about Western hypocrisy and imperialism. It closes with a mock-serious note that 'architecture was recently abolished' and a wry sign-off about needing 'a good fat notebook' to survive the trip's paperwork. - Presented as a chic holiday advertisement for the USSR, contrasting sardonically with the real hardships of Soviet life. - Describes Intourist hotels, potted plants and 'old-world charm,' alongside plainclothes secret police and constant surveillance. - Lists stock hostile questions Soviet citizens are trained to lob at English tourists (e.g., about lynching, Knightsbridge slums, war preparations). - Notes the near-total absence of bars, the endless queues for basic goods, and the high price of consumer items like chocolate and apples. - Satire is framed as reprinted from Punch, signalling its intent as British satirical commentary rather than straight reportage. ### Notes (A New Low; Copyright Bill; Exploitation Of Students; Austria And The W.F.T.U.) This unsigned piece (initialed M.A.V.) reports on the controversy over a proposal to form a PEN Centre in Soviet Russia. It quotes at length PEN International President Charles Morgan's 1955 Vienna address raising four searching questions about whether a PEN centre under a totalitarian regime could be genuinely free, open to critics, and capable of honest discussion, and his declaration that PEN would never receive 'writers who are the instruments of tyranny.' The piece concludes that Soviet Russia's rigid censorship, the doctrine of 'Socialist Realism,' and cases like Lysenko's demonstrate that no genuine cultural freedom exists there, and warns that the Soviet government seeks to use a PEN centre as another front for infiltrating and controlling free-world cultural circles. - PEN International's Secretary wrote to Konstantin Simonov of the Soviet Writers' Association about forming a Russian PEN Centre, to be considered 'in the context of the Charter.' - PEN President Charles Morgan's Vienna address (June 12, 1955) posed four questions about whether a Soviet PEN centre could be free, open to dissenters, and non-propagandistic. - Morgan declared he would do nothing to endanger PEN's basic principle that writers serving as 'instruments of tyranny' should not be admitted. - The PEN Charter's clause 4 commits members to oppose suppression of free expression, a standard the article says Soviet cultural policy categorically violates. - The Lysenko affair and 'Socialist Realism' are cited as evidence that Soviet authorities control all fields of thought and punish deviation. ### Review: Sister Cecilia *By A. A.* A book review (initialed A.A.) of Sister Cecilia (Longmans, Green and Co.), the account told to William Brinkley by a Slovak nun who escaped Czechoslovakian communist police after they came to arrest her at the hospital where she nursed the sick, and who spent a year as a fugitive before reaching the West via Austria and Germany. The review frames the memoir as revealing 'the nature of the treatment that the communists mete out to religious bodies and persons.' - Sister Cecilia, a Slovak nun and teacher, evaded arrest by Czechoslovakian communist police and lived a year underground before reaching America. - The Czechoslovak communist regime ordered nuns to stop teaching; Sister Cecilia continued caring for sick children in a Bratislava hospital. - The review presents her escape and year in hiding as illustrative of communist persecution of religious orders. ### Review: The Ambassador *By M.A.V.* A short review (initialed M.A.V.) welcomes the launch of The Ambassador, a new fortnightly views magazine on international affairs edited by Sudhir Hendre in Bombay, praising it as a needed outlet for independent, outspoken discussion of foreign policy in a climate where official or fashionable views otherwise dominate the press. - The Ambassador is a new fortnightly magazine on international problems, edited by Sudhir Hendre in Bombay. - The review argues there is too little informed discussion of foreign affairs in India and that official/fashionable views crowd out independent opinion. - The venture is praised as creditable and welcome for outspoken journalism on foreign policy. ### Books To Read: The Public Philosophy (review of Walter Lippmann's book) *By M.A.V.* A review (initialed M.A.V., continued from page 10 to page 11) of Walter Lippmann's The Public Philosophy (Hamish Hamilton, 1955). The reviewer summarizes Lippmann's thesis that Western democracies have suffered a 'catastrophic eclipse' of the older tradition of public-spirited governance since 1914, as total war forced governing classes to defer to mass passions rather than act on independent judgment of the public good. The review connects this to an Indian idea of raja dharma/rajya dharma as the country's own version of a 'public philosophy,' arguing democratic statesmen should lead public opinion with disinterested courage rather than merely follow it, and calls for India to relate constitutional democracy to the ethical precepts of dharma found in the Upanishads and Vedanta. - Lippmann argues total wars have forced Western governments to appeal to mass opinion, eroding the older tradition of an independent 'public philosophy' guiding statesmen. - The review says Western civilisation since Pericles and Socrates developed a tradition placing the common good above sectional interest, now eclipsed since 1914. - Modern relativism ('There is nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so') is blamed for weakening belief in objective values underpinning public philosophy. - The reviewer proposes raja dharma / rajya dharma as an Indian equivalent of Lippmann's public philosophy, rooted in the Upanishads and Vedanta. - Democratic statesmen are urged to lead and, where necessary, correct the passions of the masses rather than simply follow them. ### I.C.C.F. News An unsigned 'I.C.C.F. News' column reporting the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's activities in February 1956: two Quest-sponsored meetings (a seminar on Martha Graham's impact on Indian audiences, and a discussion on linguistic provinces led by S. Natarajan); a Calcutta reception for Rukminidevi Arundale, M.P.; a lecture by Prof. W. S. Woytinsky on the world economy; V. B. Karnik's visits to Bangalore and Madras on Committee business; a reception for four visiting Japanese women writers; and a visit by Dr. Max Yergan and Mrs. Yergan of New York to the Committee's Bombay office. - Quest held a Seminar on Martha Graham (Feb 14) and a discussion on 'The Question of Linguistic Provinces' led by S. Natarajan (Feb 17). - Rukminidevi Arundale, M.P., was received in Calcutta on Feb 11 for presenting dance dramas; Dr. Kalidas Nag, M.P. presided. - Prof. W. S. Woytinsky lectured on 'Outlook of the World Economy' at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture on Feb 12. - V. B. Karnik, Hon. Secretary of the Committee, lectured on the Second Five Year Plan in Bangalore and met committee members in Madras. - Four Japanese women writers (Tsuyako Abe, Yoshiko Shibaki, Shigeko Yuki, Ayako Sono) were received in New Delhi and Bombay. - Dr. Max Yergan and Mrs. Yergan of New York visited the Committee's Bombay office on Feb 21 to discuss India-free world relations. ### With Many Voices 'With Many Voices' is a closing compilation of short quotations juxtaposing Western liberal and communist statements on politics, tolerance, and internationalism, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. It pairs remarks from figures like Hugh Gaitskell, Salvador de Madariaga, Ajoy Ghosh, Charles Morgan, and Walter Lippmann against quotations from Pravda, Vishinsky, and Lenin, illustrating the contrast between free and totalitarian conceptions of tolerance, legality, and the role of statesmen. - Quotations are drawn from major newspapers (New York Times, The Times, The Observer) and journals covering January-February 1956. - Hugh Gaitskell is quoted twice on the dangers of political 'terrorism of words' and stale slogans. - Soviet and communist voices (Pravda, Vishinsky, Lenin) are juxtaposed to illustrate a fundamentally different, instrumentalist view of legality and internationalism. - Charles Morgan's 'tolerance is a great virtue... moral courage is a virtue at least equal to the virtue of tolerance' recurs from the PEN piece earlier in the issue. - The page also carries the subscription form for Freedom First and the publication's colophon naming V. B. Karnik as editor, printer and publisher. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff047/ ### Summary This is issue No. 47 of *Freedom First* (April 1956), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service / Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is dominated by anti-communist commentary in the wake of the 20th Congress of the CPSU: an unsigned editorial ("Stalin: A Vindication") reads Khrushchev's de-Stalinisation as belated proof of the journal's own long-standing critique of Stalin, while V. B. Karnik's signed piece "Wait And Watch" offers a more measured analysis arguing the Congress rejected Stalinism but retained Leninism, and counsels scepticism about whether the change is substantive or tactical. Two reprinted pieces from international outlets address Cold War flashpoints: Franz Borkenau's "How Mao Bluffed Dulles" (from the New Leader) argues the Formosa crisis was a diversionary bluff masking Mao's internal collectivisation drive, and Richard Mowrer's "The Soviet Woos Franco Spain" documents Soviet efforts to draw Franco's Spain into trade relationships with the Eastern bloc.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 47 of *Freedom First* (April 1956), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service / Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is dominated by anti-communist commentary in the wake of the 20th Congress of the CPSU: an unsigned editorial ("Stalin: A Vindication") reads Khrushchev's de-Stalinisation as belated proof of the journal's own long-standing critique of Stalin, while V. B. Karnik's signed piece "Wait And Watch" offers a more measured analysis arguing the Congress rejected Stalinism but retained Leninism, and counsels scepticism about whether the change is substantive or tactical. Two reprinted pieces from international outlets address Cold War flashpoints: Franz Borkenau's "How Mao Bluffed Dulles" (from the New Leader) argues the Formosa crisis was a diversionary bluff masking Mao's internal collectivisation drive, and Richard Mowrer's "The Soviet Woos Franco Spain" documents Soviet efforts to draw Franco's Spain into trade relationships with the Eastern bloc. The "Notes" section covers Jayaprakash Narayan's induction as Honorary Chairman of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, communist involvement in Warli tribal unrest in Maharashtra, commemoration of the Masaryks by exiled Czechoslovaks, a Soviet defector's testimony on Russian military participation in the Korean War, and British free-speech controversy over a planned protest against a Bulganin-Khrushchev UK visit. A Review section covers Nicolai Hartmann's *Ethics* (reviewed by M. A. Venkata Rao), Dagobert Runes's *On the Nature of Man*, a brochure on law in communist China based on Father Andre Bonnichon's testimony, and the government publications *Kurukshetra* and *Social Welfare in India* on rural community development. A substantial Letters section reproduces a protest letter from four ICCF members over the Bombay/Maharashtra states-reorganisation controversy, with an editorial reply defending the journal's neutrality on the issue. The issue closes with "With Many Voices," a page of quoted press excerpts and public remarks on Cold War and domestic political themes. ## Essays ### Stalin: A Vindication An unsigned front-page editorial marking the third anniversary of Stalin's death, arguing that the Soviet leadership's own denunciation of Stalin (Khrushchev, Bulganin, Mikoyan, Molotov) vindicates the journal's earlier, then-unpopular criticism of Stalin as a tyrant. It accuses the same men of having been willing accomplices in Stalin's terror who are now scapegoating him to save themselves, citing Edward Crankshaw's characterisation of them as Stalin's former "local tyrants," and closes by welcoming the disintegration of the Stalinist creed while distrusting the men now disowning it. - The anniversary of Stalin's death passed without official notice in Russia, in contrast to communist-organised suppression of anti-Stalin discussion in India three years earlier. - Foreign communist leaders (Togliatti, Ulbricht, Palme Dutt) have begun echoing criticism of Stalin that non-communists made throughout his lifetime. - The editorial names Khrushchev, Bulganin, Mikoyan and Molotov as complicit tools of Stalin's terror, quoting Edward Crankshaw's description of them as his lifetime 'local tyrants'. - Mikoyan is noted to have praised Stalin as recently as the 19th Party Congress (1952) as the 'genius-like architect of communism'. - The piece frames the de-Stalinisation campaign as a bid to deflect blame and reassure the world, rather than a genuine reckoning. - It closes welcoming the 'disintegration of the Stalinist creed' while stating history will vindicate the journal's original judgment of Stalin. ### Notes The 'Notes' section is a set of short unsigned items: Jayaprakash Narayan's election as Honorary Chairman of the Congress for Cultural Freedom alongside figures like Bertrand Russell and Jacques Maritain; communist instigation behind unrest among Warli tribal people in Dahanu Taluka amid the Samyukta Maharashtra agitation; exiled Czechoslovaks' commemoration of Thomas and Jan Masaryk; a Soviet circus defector's eyewitness testimony of Russian military participation in the Korean War; the discontinuation of Gandhi's journal *The Harijan*, with commentary on the growth of the Indian state beyond what Gandhi would have sanctioned; and British controversy over denial of a public hall to protest a Bulganin-Khrushchev visit to the UK. - JP Narayan, a former Marxist now seen as the leading exponent of Gandhian thought, was elected Honorary Chairman of the Congress for Cultural Freedom alongside Bertrand Russell, Karl Jaspers, Reinhold Niebuhr, Salvador de Madariaga and Jacques Maritain. - The Communist Party is blamed for stoking unrest among Warli Adivasis in Dahanu Taluka, tied to the Samyukta Maharashtra (Bombay-into-Maharashtra) linguistic agitation. - Exiled Czechoslovaks marked the 106th birth anniversary of Thomas Masaryk and recalled his son Jan Masaryk's suicide rather than live under communist control. - A Soviet circus performer and army defector, Victor Semenovich Ilyinsky, gave the first direct eyewitness evidence of active Soviet military participation in the Korean War, describing Soviet pilots flying Chinese-marked planes. - Geoffrey Tyson's comments on the closure of Gandhi's paper The Harijan are used to argue that Nehru-era India has drifted from Gandhi's vision of minimal government toward a state 'omni-competent' in all spheres of life. - A UK controversy is reported in which organisers of a protest against a Bulganin-Khrushchev visit were denied public halls, framed as a test of British free-speech tradition. ### Wait And Watch *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's signed analysis of the 20th Congress of the CPSU argues for a cautious middle path between naive trust in Soviet reform and reflexive dismissal. He notes the Congress revised dogma on the inevitability of war and the parliamentary road to socialism, but stresses that it rejected Stalinism while fully retaining Leninism, tracing Stalin's tyranny to foundations Lenin himself laid. Karnik weighs several forces that might be driving genuine change — popular fatigue with terror, the rise of a new managerial/bureaucratic class wanting security, pressure from a strengthened and united free world, and fear of nuclear war — while cautioning that the Congress proceedings themselves were conducted in classic Stalinist style, with no real dissent voiced. He concludes it is too early to say if the shift is tactical or substantive, and that the correct posture is to 'wait and watch' rather than either drop Western defences or refuse to see change. - The 20th CPSU Congress revised dogma on the inevitability of war and the possibility of a parliamentary path to socialism. - The Congress denounced 'the cult of personality' targeting Stalin, but Karnik argues this rejected Stalinism while keeping Leninism intact, since Stalin's dictatorial methods were built on foundations Lenin left behind. - Karnik lists possible drivers of real change: exhaustion with terror among ordinary Russians, a new managerial/bureaucratic class seeking security and comfort, the strengthened unity of the free world, and fear of nuclear war. - He notes the changes were themselves announced in classic Stalinist fashion, with the Congress delegates offering no dissent. - Karnik's conclusion counsels a 'wait and watch' posture — neither naive trust nor rigid dismissal of the possibility of genuine change. ### How Mao Bluffed Dulles *By Franz Borkenau* Franz Borkenau's reprinted essay (abridged from the New Leader) argues that Mao Zedong's 1955 Formosa crisis was a deliberate bluff designed to paralyse Western attention while Mao launched a 'Second Revolution' — rapid agrarian collectivisation and nationalisation of urban business within China. Borkenau contends Dulles mistook the bluff for a genuine invasion threat and panicked into brinkmanship, unwittingly serving Mao's real goal of internal transformation. He argues the timing of the two campaigns — the Formosa crisis and the Second Revolution — tallies too precisely to be coincidence, and warns that within a decade China's vastness and fanaticism will let it deal with both Russia and the West on near-equal terms. - Borkenau argues Mao never genuinely intended to invade Formosa; the crisis was a bluff to distract world attention from a domestic 'Second Revolution.' - The Second Revolution, announced in a Mao speech to the Party Central Committee (published in the Peking People's Daily), planned total agrarian collectivisation within roughly two years and nationalisation of urban business within five. - Dulles is portrayed as having panicked by threatening use of the H-bomb, mistaking Mao's feint for a real invasion threat. - Borkenau credits the Kuomintang's own misrule, alongside Mao, for driving Chinese peasants and intellectuals toward communism. - He predicts that within ten years China will be able to deal with both Russia and the West on a level of practical equality of power, given its population and fanaticism, even lacking comparable economic development. ### The Soviet Woos Franco Spain *By Richard Mowrer* Richard Mowrer's reprinted piece (from the New Leader) documents the Soviet Union's efforts since 1954 to court Franco's Spain despite the absence of diplomatic relations, through prisoner releases, favourable trade arrangements with Eastern bloc states, and diplomatic overtures at the UN. Mowrer lists three structural reasons the USSR is well-placed to lure Spain economically: Moscow's large Spanish gold reserves from the Civil War, Spain's textile export crisis, and Spanish dissatisfaction with the level of US economic aid. He concludes the Soviet aim is to detach Spain from US economic dependence and lure it back toward neutrality, undermining the American Iberian bases project. - Since spring 1954 the USSR has released Spanish 'Blue Division' prisoners and developed favourable trade exchanges between Spain and Eastern bloc states (Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland). - Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov signalled at the UN in fall 1955 that a proposed European security pact would welcome Spanish participation. - Moscow holds roughly $400 million in gold shipped by the Spanish Republic to Odessa during the Civil War — four-fifths of Spain's 1938 gold holdings — giving it leverage via a possible partial return, as it recently did with Persia's gold. - Spain's textile industry is in crisis from rising costs and Japanese competition, creating demand for new export markets the USSR could offer. - Spain is described as dissatisfied with US economic aid, a sentiment echoed in the state-controlled press (e.g., the Falangist paper Arriba), which the Soviets can exploit to detach Spain from US dependence. ### Review The Review section carries four items. M. A. Venkata Rao reviews Nicolai Hartmann's three-volume *Ethics*, describing Hartmann's attempt to ground moral values in insight into felt experience rather than metaphysical or religious assumption, surveying Greek, Christian, and Nietzschean strands of value theory. An unsigned (signed 'A.A.') review covers Dagobert Runes's *On the Nature of Man*, an essay in 'primitive philosophy' questioning Darwinian evolution's implications for human uniqueness and dividing mankind into opportunists, men of conscience, and 'the many.' A review of a Hague-published brochure on 'Law in Communist China,' based on Father Andre Bonnichon's testimony after his 1953 arrest and expulsion, describes an omnipotent, textless communist state in which the accused must simply confess and implicate others. Finally, an item (signed M.B.S.) reviews two Government of India publications, *Kurukshetra* and *Social Welfare in India*, on the National Extension Service and Community Projects, praising their aims but arguing they fail to analyse root causes of rural stagnation, attributing it to an other-worldly philosophy that has bred fatalism over reason and self-effort. - M. A. Venkata Rao's review of Hartmann's Ethics frames it as an attempt to rehabilitate objective moral values without heavy metaphysical or religious commitments, surveying Platonic, Aristotelian, Christian and Nietzschean value-strands. - The review of Runes's On the Nature of Man highlights his scepticism toward treating human evolutionary continuity as settled fact and his tripartite division of mankind into opportunists, 'men of conscience,' and 'the many.' - The review of the ICJ brochure on communist Chinese law, based on Father Andre Bonnichon's testimony, describes a system with no fixed legal texts, where arrest itself is treated as proof of guilt and the accused must confess and implicate others. - The review of Kurukshetra and Social Welfare in India praises the Community Projects/National Extension Service programme's democratic aims but argues it fails to address the deeper philosophical causes — an other-worldly attitude that breeds fatalism — of India's rural economic stagnation. ### I.C.C.F. News A Letter to the Editor signed by four Bombay members of the Indian Congress for Cultural Freedom (R. B. Joshi, W. L. Kulkarni, G. B. Gramopadhye, A. A. Kanekar) protests the journal's editorial stance on the Bombay/Samyukta Maharashtra states-reorganisation controversy, arguing the Government and Congress party have acted undemocratically — deploying police, overriding the Bombay Corporation's verdict, and banning meetings — while denying the Maharashtrian public a genuine democratic hearing. The editor's appended reply defends Freedom First's neutrality on the merits of the reorganisation dispute, stating the journal's notes were meant only to warn against violence, not to take sides for the Government or Congress High Command. - Four ICCF members argue the Government and Congress High Command behaved undemocratically over Bombay's inclusion in Maharashtra: stationing police pre-emptively, overriding the Bombay Corporation's vote, banning meetings and processions. - The letter argues violence by protestors (acknowledged as wrong) is only 'foam on the sea' atop a deeper popular restlessness, quoting Jayaprakash Narayan's framing. - It disputes the claim that reorganisation should follow administrative convenience, arguing administration should be adjusted to suit the people, not vice versa. - The editor's reply insists Freedom First takes no sides on the substantive merits of the States Reorganisation controversy and only meant to warn against violent methods. ### Letter to the Editor *By R. B. Joshi, W. L. Kulkarni, G. B. Gramopadhye, A. A. Kanekar* The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' is a compilation of short quoted remarks from Indian and international press and public figures on Cold War and domestic political topics, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. Quotes include Nehru on capitalism and corruption, Khrushchev's warnings against expecting a 'Red conversion,' commentary on Kerala political stability, and several aphoristic lines from M. A. Sreenivasan on insurance nationalisation and the dangers of over-broad anti-communist remedies. - The page collects short quotations from named public figures and periodicals, including Nehru, Khrushchev, Anthony Eden, and M. A. Sreenivasan. - Recurring themes include distrust of claimed Soviet moderation, warnings about executive corruption, and debates over Indian states reorganisation. - M. A. Sreenivasan is quoted arguing against nationalisation of insurance and for proportionate anti-communist measures. - The section closes with subscription information for Freedom First and publication details (edited by V. B. Karnik, printed at The Kaneda Press, Bombay). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff048/ ### Summary This is issue No. 48 of Freedom First (May 1956), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service published from Bombay under the auspices of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. The issue opens with M. A. Venkata Rao's reflection on the Buddha's teaching timed to the 2500th anniversary of the Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and death, reading Buddhist thought against modern existentialism and Bertrand Russell's phenomenalism. An unsigned 'Notes' section comments on the Bulganin-Khrushchev tour of Britain, the de-Stalinisation debate and its implications for Mao's China, the Franco-Vietnamese withdrawal agreement and President Diem's position in South Vietnam, government vetting of foreign delegations, and the collapse of enthusiasm among Singapore students who had emigrated to Communist China. S. R. Tikekar contributes a detailed critique of the new Copyright Bill from an author's perspective, arguing it weakens authors' rights relative to publishers and the state.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 48 of Freedom First (May 1956), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service published from Bombay under the auspices of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. The issue opens with M. A. Venkata Rao's reflection on the Buddha's teaching timed to the 2500th anniversary of the Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and death, reading Buddhist thought against modern existentialism and Bertrand Russell's phenomenalism. An unsigned 'Notes' section comments on the Bulganin-Khrushchev tour of Britain, the de-Stalinisation debate and its implications for Mao's China, the Franco-Vietnamese withdrawal agreement and President Diem's position in South Vietnam, government vetting of foreign delegations, and the collapse of enthusiasm among Singapore students who had emigrated to Communist China. S. R. Tikekar contributes a detailed critique of the new Copyright Bill from an author's perspective, arguing it weakens authors' rights relative to publishers and the state. An unsigned piece, 'The End of Equality in U.S.S.R.,' uses Mikoyan's admissions about income disparity in the Soviet Union to argue that Freedom First's editorial position — that free societies achieve greater equality through progressive taxation and regulated capitalism than Soviet-style planning — has been vindicated. Nabakishore Das writes on the prospects for democracy in India, warning that caste hierarchy, illiteracy, and the absence of a genuine opposition party threaten Indian democracy's future. The issue closes with book reviews (of the symposium Why I Oppose Communism and Bertrand Russell's Human Society in Ethics and Politics), notices of the Democratic Research Service and Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's activities, and 'With Many Voices,' a column of topical quotations from public figures and the press. ## Essays ### Two Thousand Five Hundred Years *By M. A. Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao marks the 2500th anniversary of the Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and passing with an essay situating Buddhist thought as a response to the anguish of an age caught between the memory of two world wars and the fear of a third. He reads the Buddha as a rationalist who rejected Vedic revelation and all external authority in favour of experience and intelligence, comparing him to Socrates in turning philosophical attention from the external cosmos to the inner life of man. The piece traces the four noble truths, the doctrines of anatman and anithya, and the ethical disciplines of panchsila and meditation, and closes by connecting Bertrand Russell's phenomenalism and sympathy for Buddhist ideas of impermanence to the Buddha's own refusal to speculate on ultimate metaphysical questions. Venkata Rao contrasts the Buddha's respect for the individuality of his disciples with the way totalitarian states of the present day seek to mould minds, and hopes the anniversary celebrations will advance a universal humanistic ethos and world peace. - The 2500th anniversary of the Buddha is being marked with major state and Buddhist observances, prompting reflection on Buddhism's renewed appeal in a nuclear age. - The Buddha rejected Vedic revelation and all external authority, appealing instead to experience and intelligence, paralleling Socrates's turn to human inquiry. - The four noble truths (suffering, its cause in desire/trishna, the possibility of release, and the path) form the starting point of Buddhist ethics, alongside the doctrines of anitya (impermanence) and anatman (no-self). - Bertrand Russell's own phenomenalism and admiration for Buddhist thought is invoked as evidence of Buddhism's contemporary intellectual relevance. - The Buddha's insistence that disciples rely on themselves ('Be ye lamps unto yourselves') is held up as a contrast to totalitarian regimes that reduce the individual to a controlled mass. ### Notes (Ten Days That Shook Khrushchev; His Waterloo) An unsigned editorial 'Notes' section runs across several short pieces. 'Ten Days That Shook Khrushchev' and 'His Waterloo' recount the hostile reception given to Bulganin and Khrushchev on their 1956 visit to Britain, including protests by Eastern European exiles, a dressing-down from Hugh Gaitskell over Soviet labour camps, and Khrushchev's threat to drop a hydrogen bomb after being heckled. 'Mao And Stalin' considers the implications of Khrushchev's de-Stalinisation speech for Communist China, arguing Mao is likely to continue following Stalin's model despite nominal conformity with the new Kremlin line. 'South Vietnam Free At Last' welcomes the French withdrawal agreement and praises President Diem for demanding free elections against Viet Minh communist rule. 'Iron Curtain For India?' criticises a reported government circular requiring organisations to route foreign-delegation invitations through the Ministry of External Affairs, calling it a step toward an iron curtain. 'Illusion Shattered' reports the collapse in the numbers of Singapore students emigrating to Communist China after early arrivals discovered repression and forced 'confessions.' 'So What?' is sceptical of the announced dissolution of the Cominform, arguing it is a mere formality given the Soviet Union's many other front organisations for exerting influence abroad. - British crowds and politicians gave Bulganin and Khrushchev a hostile reception during their 1956 UK visit, including protests by Polish, Czechoslovak, and Baltic exiles. - Khrushchev's de-Stalinisation speech is read as creating strain with Maoist China, though Mao is expected to keep following Stalin's model despite public conformity with Moscow. - The French withdrawal from Vietnam by June 30 is welcomed, with President Diem credited for demanding genuinely free unification elections against Viet Minh communist rule. - A government circular reportedly requiring NGOs to route foreign-delegation invitations through the Ministry of External Affairs is criticised as an incipient 'Iron Curtain for India.' - Student emigration from Singapore to Communist China collapsed from about 10,000/month to just 20 by December 1955, attributed to disillusionment among early migrants. - The dissolution of the Cominform is dismissed as a hollow gesture given the USSR's thirteen-plus other international front organisations. ### Notes (Mao And Stalin; South Vietnam Free At Last; So What?; Iron Curtain For India?; Illusion Shattered) S. R. Tikekar assesses the new Copyright Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha, which was intended to replace the 1914 Copyright Act (itself the UK Act of 1911 extended to India). Writing from an author's viewpoint, Tikekar finds little to commend and much to condemn: the term of copyright is cut from fifty to twenty-five years after the author's death, works created during employment are declared to belong to the employer absent an agreement to the contrary, and 'optional registration' subjects authors to bureaucratic scrutiny and fees for asserting a right that should be inherent. He criticises the licensing provisions for translations as biased toward 'mechanical contrivances' and against authors, and objects that no authors' or literary bodies were consulted in drafting the Bill, unlike the British Copyright Report of 1952. Tikekar closes by arguing that India lacks the organised authors' and composers' societies found in Europe and the USA that could bargain collectively for royalties and protection, leaving individual authors exposed, especially against infringement by state broadcasting and publishing bodies. - The new Copyright Bill would replace the 1914 Act (based on the UK Act of 1911) with 82 clauses across 15 chapters, versus 36 clauses in the present Act. - The term of copyright is reduced from fifty to twenty-five years after the author's death, and copyright of works produced during employment defaults to the employer absent a contrary agreement. - The Bill's 'optional registration' process requires proving authorship and paying a fee, subjecting authors to bureaucratic scrutiny for what Tikekar considers an inherent right. - Licensing provisions for translations vest authority in an official whose competence to judge translation quality across India's many languages is doubted. - No authors' or literary bodies were consulted in drafting the Bill, unlike Britain's 1952 Copyright Report process. - India lacks organised authors'/composers' societies comparable to Europe or the USA that could bargain collectively for royalties and protection against infringement, including by state bodies like All India Radio. ### Copyright Bill: Author's Viewpoint *By S. R. Tikekar* An unsigned piece, 'The End Of Equality In U.S.S.R.,' argues that the Russian Revolution's founding promise of equality of income has been exposed as false by admissions from Soviet leaders themselves. It recounts how independent studies gradually revealed tyranny, slave labour camps, and persistent income disparities in the USSR despite decades of totalitarian rule, and cites Mikoyan's admission to the Indian Planning Commission in March 1956 that a scientist-academician could earn 25,000 rubles a month against an average worker's 400 rubles, and that Soviet incomes have no upper ceiling. The piece uses this to vindicate Freedom First's long-standing position that Marxist-Leninist central planning is not necessary for reducing inequality, contrasting it with the 'regulated capitalism' path of the US New Deal/Fair Deal and Britain's cautious democratic socialism, both of which the author argues have achieved greater equality and social security while preserving democratic liberties, free trade unions, and the rule of law. - The Russian Revolution's Marxist promise of income equality is presented as a founding myth that independent scholarship gradually exposed as false. - Mikoyan admitted to Indian officials in March 1956 that a Soviet scientist-academician could earn about 62 times an average worker's wage, with no ceiling on incomes at all. - The piece claims this vindicates Freedom First's recurring argument that Soviet-style planning does not deliver on its equality promise. - Regulated capitalism (citing the US New Deal and Fair Deal) and British democratic socialism are held up as producing greater equality and social security while preserving democratic freedoms. - The article frames the core editorial creed of the magazine: 'freedom first' — that freedom is not merely instrumental to the good life but is itself the highest good. ### The End Of Equality In U.S.S.R. Nabakishore Das examines the prospects for democracy in independent India, arguing that democracy as a form of polity is closely tied to cultural pattern and that India's rigid, caste-based Hindu social structure poses a deeper threat to democratic prospects than communism does. He traces the four-caste Hindu Law tradition and its unequal privileges, and argues that liberal education has nourished Indian democracy only among an educated elite disconnected from the illiterate 'mass' who form its real political base — a gap he documents with 1951 Census literacy figures ranging from about 10.8% in Uttar Pradesh to 46.4% in Travancore-Cochin. Das warns that universal adult franchise combined with rampant 'casteism' in elections, the absence of a well-organised opposition party, and the Congress Party's drift toward a vaguely defined 'Socialist Pattern' could allow the ruling party to become autocratic or leave a vacuum eventually filled by a Fascist or Communist dictatorship. He concludes that India needs both a genuine opposition party and a new social philosophy to reshape its static cultural values to fit democratic governance. - Democracy is presented as culturally contingent; India's caste-divided Hindu social structure is described as inherently undemocratic, citing the four-fold varna hierarchy in Hindu Law. - Liberal education has nourished Indian democracy only among an educated minority, leaving the illiterate mass — the 'real masters' of political democracy — outside its reach. - 1951 Census literacy rates are cited by state/region, ranging from 10.8% (Uttar Pradesh) to 46.4% (Travancore-Cochin), showing the state's failure to meet Article 45's ten-year free-education directive. - Universal adult franchise combined with electoral 'casteism' and special courting of Harijan and Adivasi votes are identified as structural risks to healthy democratic competition. - The absence of a well-organised opposition party threatens to make the Congress Party autocratic, risking eventual collapse of democracy into Fascist or Communist dictatorship. - The Congress Party's adoption of a 'Socialist Pattern' is criticised as a vague diplomatic move that confuses the common man about the difference between right and left. ### Prospects Of Democracy In India *By Nabakishore Das* The 'Review' section covers two books. The first review, unsigned (initialled 'A. A.'), covers Why I Oppose Communism, a symposium of short essays by distinguished contributors — including Bertrand Russell, Lieut. General Sir Brian Horrocks, scientist C. D. Darlington, trade unionist Sam Watson, author Stephen Spender, Indian writer Minoo Masani, Roman Catholic writer Douglas Woodruff, businessman Hugh Lonsdale, and educationist Sir John Sargent — each giving a distinct reason for opposing communism, from Russell's philosophical objection to Marx's doctrines and the abandonment of democracy, to Masani's account of his own disillusionment with the USSR after the 1936 Purges. The second review, by M. A. Venkata Rao, covers Bertrand Russell's Human Society In Ethics And Politics, noting Russell's proposal (later put to Nehru) that India appoint scientists to investigate the consequences of nuclear explosions, and engaging with Russell's phenomenalist account of human nature as a bundle of impulses, closing with an extended quotation of Russell's hopeful vision of a world free of hunger, illness, and fear. - Why I Oppose Communism is a symposium booklet with contributions from Bertrand Russell, Sir Brian Horrocks, C. D. Darlington, Sam Watson, Stephen Spender, Minoo Masani, Douglas Woodruff, Hugh Lonsdale, and Sir John Sargent, each giving a distinct professional or personal ground for opposing communism. - Minoo Masani's contribution traces his path from boyhood rebelliousness and socialist enthusiasm (influenced by Wells, Shaw, Upton Sinclair, and John Reed) through visits to the USSR in 1927 and 1935 to disillusionment after the 1936 Great Purges. - Russell's Human Society In Ethics And Politics is noted for proposing that India, as a neutral state, investigate the consequences of nuclear war — a proposal Russell put to Nehru personally but which came to nothing. - The review engages with Russell's phenomenalist view of human nature as a bundle of self-regarding and other-regarding impulses, and the tension between reason and impulse in his ethical theory. - The review closes admiringly on Russell's 'moving passage' envisioning a hopeful future world free of hunger, illness, fear, and excessive toil. ### Review: Why I Oppose Communism *By A. A.* Short news notices report on the activities of two affiliated bodies. The Democratic Research Service records a meeting between its members and American labour leader Walter Reuther in Bombay on 12 April to discuss India-US relations and labour's role in industrial society. The Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (I.C.C.F.) reports a public meeting held on 16 April, jointly with the P.E.N. All India Centre and the Indian Institute for Educational and Cultural Co-operation, to discuss the Indian Copyright Bill of 1955, with speeches by Sir Rustom Masani, B. V. Warerkar, M. R. Masani, Amy Rustomjee, and Prof. M. A. Venkata Rao, culminating in a resolution to convey the meeting's views to the Education Ministry and Parliament's Select Committee. The I.C.C.F. also held an April 13 luncheon honouring American soprano Leontyne Price, and its Patna Group organised a Ramayana recital, tea parties honouring K. M. Munshi and other dignitaries, and a dance/music series featuring Rukmini Devi Arundale and the Kalakshetra troupe. - The Democratic Research Service met American labour leader Walter Reuther in Bombay on 12 April 1956 to discuss India-US relations and labour's role in industrial society. - The I.C.C.F. held a public meeting on 16 April 1956, jointly with P.E.N. All India Centre and the Indian Institute for Educational and Cultural Co-operation, to discuss the Copyright Bill of 1955 and passed a resolution to convey views to the Education Ministry and Parliament's Select Committee. - Speakers at the Copyright Bill meeting included Sir Rustom Masani (presiding), B. V. Warerkar M.P., M. R. Masani, Amy Rustomjee, and Prof. M. A. Venkata Rao. - The I.C.C.F. hosted a luncheon on 13 April honouring American soprano Leontyne Price. - The I.C.C.F.'s Patna Group organised a Tulsidas Ramayana recital, tea parties for K. M. Munshi and other dignitaries, and a dance/music series with Rukmini Devi Arundale and the Kalakshetra troupe. ### Review: Human Society In Ethics And Politics (by Bertrand Russell) *By M. A. Venkata Rao* 'With Many Voices' is a recurring column of topical quotations drawn from public figures, statesmen, and the press, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. Selections cover Cold War rhetoric — including Khrushchev's remark to Harold Wilson that he cannot understand why anyone should enter a country except to pump it out, and John Foster Dulles on the future belonging to freedom rather than servitude — alongside domestic Indian political commentary, such as Acharya Vinoba Bhave's dismissal of over-patriotism as arrogance and a note on Pandit Pant questioning Asoka Mehta's shift on communist-backed governance in Travancore-Cochin. Other quotations touch on Malaya's rejection of unconditional communist peace talks, Walter Reuther's claim that America can prove Marx wrong on scarcity, and wry commentary on economic planning and political rhetoric from British and Indian sources. - The column collects short topical quotations from politicians, columnists, and public figures, framed by a Tennyson epigraph on seeking 'a newer world.' - Khrushchev is quoted telling Harold Wilson, M.P., that he cannot understand why anyone should enter a country except to pump it out. - John Foster Dulles is quoted asserting that the future belongs to freedom and diversity, not domination and conformity. - Acharya Vinoba Bhave is quoted dismissing over-patriotism as 'nothing but arrogance.' - A note references Pandit Pant questioning Asoka Mehta over his shift toward favouring a communist-backed P.S.P. government in Travancore-Cochin, despite Mehta's earlier description of communists as 'hangmen of democracy.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff050/ ### Summary This is issue No. 50 of Freedom First (July 1956), a monthly periodical published by the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, and edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is a compact anti-communist, classical-liberal miscellany centered on the aftermath of Khrushchev's 20th Party Congress speech and the Soviet Union's post-Stalin repositioning. The unsigned editorials and notes push back on Nehru's claim that critics of his non-aligned foreign policy are 'only a handful,' arguing that the government and Indian press apply a double standard -- readily condemning Western colonialism and McCarthyism while staying silent on Soviet purges, the persecution of Milovan Djilas, and the crushing of dissent behind the Iron Curtain. Named contributors include G. S.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 50 of Freedom First (July 1956), a monthly periodical published by the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, and edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is a compact anti-communist, classical-liberal miscellany centered on the aftermath of Khrushchev's 20th Party Congress speech and the Soviet Union's post-Stalin repositioning. The unsigned editorials and notes push back on Nehru's claim that critics of his non-aligned foreign policy are 'only a handful,' arguing that the government and Indian press apply a double standard -- readily condemning Western colonialism and McCarthyism while staying silent on Soviet purges, the persecution of Milovan Djilas, and the crushing of dissent behind the Iron Curtain. Named contributors include G. S. Bhargava, writing on the psychological 'double standard' of Indian intellectuals sympathetic to communism; Ida Dhami, surveying the Algerian independence crisis; and Adam Adil, arguing against any socialist-communist electoral cooperation in India by tracing the historical pattern of communist-led 'united fronts' collapsing into single-party dictatorship (citing Czechoslovakia's 1948 takeover and Jayaprakash Narayan's own account of communist infiltration of the Congress Socialist Party). The issue closes with a letter to the editor on the INTUC's stance on the right to strike, brief ICCF (Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom) news notes, and a 'With Many Voices' page of aggregated press quotations on communism, Nehru, and world affairs. ## Essays ### Only A Handful The unsigned lead editorial 'Only A Handful' responds to Prime Minister Nehru's remark at the All-India Congress Committee meeting that only a 'handful' of critics disagree with his foreign policy. The piece affirms agreement with non-alignment in principle but argues the policy is applied with a double standard: Indian foreign policy is vocal against Western colonialism but falls into 'a strange silence' on Soviet purges, slave labour camps, and judicial murders. It invokes the examples of Stalin (lauded by the Indian government and press until his crimes were posthumously admitted) and the Munich appeasement as cases where a small minority was later proven right against the majority, arguing numbers are not evidence of correctness. - Nehru claimed only a 'handful' of critics disagree with India's non-aligned foreign policy - The editorial accepts non-alignment as a principle but objects to how it is applied - Argues for a moral stance against human rights violations regardless of which bloc commits them - Cites Indian press eulogies of Stalin at his death, later proven wrong within three years - Draws a parallel to the Munich appeasement, where a small minority was vindicated by history - Notes other Indian journals (e.g. Times of India) share the same criticism of the government's neutralism ### Notes (He Who Sups With The Devil Needs A Long Spoon; Trotsky On The Vengeance Of History; Who Is Shepilov?; Algeria And The Nehru Plan; U Nu's Resignation; New Discovery Of Old Truths; The Face Of The Devil) The 'Notes' section covers several short items. 'He Who Sups With The Devil Needs A Long Spoon' reports on renewed persecution of Milovan Djilas in Yugoslavia even as Tito courted Khrushchev and Bulganin in Moscow, and notes Yugoslav trade unions' re-affiliation with the Soviet-aligned World Federation of Trade Unions, questioning whether Tito is drifting back into the communist fold. 'Trotsky On The Vengeance Of History' uses Trotsky's own prophetic remarks about Stalin's eventual fall to frame the 20th Party Congress's denunciation of Stalin, and reports Trotsky's widow's telegram demanding rehabilitation of the victims of Stalin's purge trials. - Milovan Djilas faces renewed persecution in Yugoslavia despite Tito's rapprochement with Khrushchev - Yugoslav Trade Unions have re-affiliated with the Soviet-aligned World Federation of Trade Unions - Concerns raised that Tito may be drifting back toward the Soviet orbit after the 1948 break - Leon Trotsky's earlier prediction that 'the vengeance of history' would outstrip Stalin's own vengeance is recalled in light of Stalin's posthumous denunciation - Trotsky's widow sent a telegram demanding public vindication of Trotsky and their son Sedov, victims of Stalin-era purge trials ### The Double Standard In Action *By G. S. Bhargava* Further unsigned 'Notes' items: 'Who Is Shepilov?' profiles Dmitri Shepilov, the new Soviet Foreign Minister and editor of Pravda, recalling an earlier letter he sent instructing the Communist Party of India to avoid embarrassing Indo-Soviet diplomacy while preparing to eventually settle scores with India's 'bourgeois Government.' 'Algeria And The Nehru Plan' summarizes and praises Nehru's five-point proposal for direct France-nationalist talks on Algerian independence. 'U Nu's Resignation' discusses the Burmese Prime Minister's surprise retirement, linking it to his wish to devote himself to Buddhism and to concerns about communist infiltration via diplomatic missions and 'stooges' within his own AFPFL party. - Dmitri Shepilov, new Soviet Foreign Minister and Pravda editor, previously instructed Indian communists (via a leaked letter) not to disrupt Indo-Soviet diplomatic courtship of Nehru's government - The letter told Indian communists to eventually 'settle scores' with India's 'bourgeois Government' once conditions allow - Nehru's five-point plan for Algeria calls for direct talks between France and nationalist leaders, recognition of Algerian national identity, and racial equality guarantees for French settlers - U Nu of Burma resigned unexpectedly after an election victory, reportedly due to a wish to pursue Buddhist religious life and concern about communist activity among diplomats and internal party 'stooges' ### Whither Algeria? *By Ida Dhami* Two further unsigned items close out the 'Notes': 'New Discovery Of Old Truths' reports that Vice-President Radhakrishnan found the Soviet press had censored parts of his own speeches referencing 'strict control,' 'suspicion,' and concentration camps in Russia, and comments on the irony of former Soviet apologists now admitting facts they long denied. 'The Face Of The Devil' covers the All India Congress Committee's resolution condemning political violence, Nehru's vow that 'Congress and the Government will combat and crush the spreading violence,' and the Communist Party's angry reaction to the resolution, which Nehru dismissed as 'a case of guilty men feeling that the charge was directed against them.' - The Soviet press omitted parts of Vice-President Radhakrishnan's speeches referencing 'strict control,' 'suspicion,' and the need for real democracy - The piece notes surprise that many who long denied Soviet totalitarianism are now admitting it under Khrushchev's 'New Look' - The AICC passed a resolution denouncing political violence; Nehru pledged Congress and the Government would 'combat and crush' it - The Communist Party interpreted the resolution as directed against itself and passed a counter-resolution condemning Congress and the Government - Nehru characterized the Communist reaction as 'a case of guilty men feeling that the charge was directed against them' ### Can Socialists & Communists Cooperate? *By Adam Adil* In 'The Double Standard In Action,' G. S. Bhargava (abridged from The New Leader, May 28, 1956) diagnoses a psychological split in the Indian intellectual: simultaneously nationalist and drawn to Western modernity, contemptuous of the West's flaws while excusing or ignoring communist atrocities. He illustrates the pattern with examples -- Indian outrage over the Rosenberg executions but silence on Beria's dismissal and execution; suspicion of pro-Western figures like Thought magazine but no scrutiny of pro-Soviet writers like Mulkraj Anand and Khwaja Ahmed Abbas; uncritical enthusiasm for Ilya Ehrenburg's praise of Kalidasa. Bhargava argues Nehru's own foreign policy is partly explained by a need to appease the domestic communist left while flattering Indian national pride via Soviet praise of India's global standing. - Bhargava frames Indian intellectuals as caught between admiration for the classical Hindu past and craving for Western modernity - Indian press treated the Rosenberg executions with outrage but the Beria execution with a brief announcement and no analysis - Anti-communist writers (Koestler, Kravchenko, Hyde, Haldane) are dismissed as biased, while pro-Soviet works circulate freely - M. R. Masani is mocked as a 'good American' while pro-Soviet royalty recipients Mulkraj Anand and Khwaja Ahmed Abbas face no criticism - Ehrenburg's praise of Kalidasa was received naively as sincere rather than as calculated political messaging - Bhargava argues Nehru's pro-Soviet foreign-policy tilt partly reflects a need to manage domestic communists and flatter national vanity ### To The Editor *By S. R. Mohan Das* In 'Whither Algeria?', Ida Dhami surveys the Algerian crisis, explaining why the French government's approach to Morocco and Tunisia's independence cannot simply be extended to Algeria. She traces Algeria's status as legally part of metropolitan France since a postwar statute, the failure of French assimilation policy, the demographic reality of nine million indigenous Algerians against roughly one million French colons, and the colons' entrenched resistance to reform. She surveys possible political futures -- from continued status quo to Mendes France's proposal for an Algerian Assembly with a federal link to France to full independence -- and warns that failure to reach settlement risks Soviet or Egyptian exploitation of the conflict. - Algeria, unlike Tunisia and Morocco, has been treated as part of metropolitan France since a postwar statute - About one million French colons resist reforms that would grant Algerians a greater administrative and political share - Nine million indigenous Algerians (about 90% of the population) consider themselves part of the Arab world despite cultural ties to France - Algeria lacks the royal dynasty, religious tradition, and unified nationalist leadership that aided Tunisia and Morocco's transitions - Mendes France has proposed an Algerian Assembly to negotiate a federal link with France, short of full independence - Dhami warns that failure to settle the conflict could invite exploitation by Soviet Russia or Nasser's Egypt ### I. C. C. F. News In 'Can Socialists & Communists Cooperate?', Adam Adil examines reports of talks between Jayaprakash Narayan, Asoka Mehta, and CPI general secretary Ajoy Ghosh about a possible electoral alliance against Congress, set against Khrushchev's calls at the 20th Party Congress for 'rapprochement and cooperation' with socialist parties. Adil quotes the Socialist International's Zurich and London statements flatly rejecting any united front with communists, cites Jayaprakash Narayan's own account (in his pamphlet Socialist Unity and the Congress Socialist Party) of how communist infiltration paralyzed and captured the earlier Congress Socialist Party, and details the historical pattern -- via Lazlo Rajk's testimony and the 1948 Czechoslovak coup -- by which communist-led united fronts have consistently ended in the destruction of democracy and the murder or suicide of non-communist coalition partners (Jan Masaryk, President Benes). - Reports surfaced of talks between JP Narayan, Asoka Mehta, and CPI's Ajoy Ghosh on a possible anti-Congress electoral alliance - PSP's Farid Ansari denied any electoral alliance is possible given fundamental differences with the CPI - Khrushchev's 20th Congress speech called for cooperation between communist and socialist parties as a broadened path to power - The Socialist International (Zurich, March 1956, and London, April 1956) firmly rejected any united front with communist parties - Jayaprakash Narayan's own pamphlet describes how communist infiltration paralyzed and captured the Congress Socialist Party - Lazlo Rajk's account of communist tactics ('make an alliance with all the four... until there is only a single remaining enemy') is quoted as the template for united-front strategy - The 1948 Czechoslovak coup, and the subsequent deaths of Jan Masaryk and President Benes, are cited as the definitive cautionary example ### With Many Voices A short 'To The Editor' letter from S. R. Mohan Das corrects an earlier Freedom First note that had implied the INTUC was willing to give up the right to strike, quoting the actual amendment passed at the Surat Convention affirming the strike weapon should be retained but used judiciously. The editor accepts the correction. This is followed by a brief 'I.C.C.F. News' item reporting on American novelist James T. Farrell's five-day visit to Bombay and Delhi under the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, including a public lecture on the 20th-century American novel and meetings with Marathi, Gujarati and Hindi writers and government officials. - S. R. Mohan Das writes to correct the impression that INTUC sought to give up the right to strike - The actual Surat Convention amendment affirmed the strike weapon should be retained as a last resort, used judiciously - The editor acknowledges the correction and apologizes for the earlier wrong impression - James T. Farrell, American novelist and ICCF chairman, visited Bombay and Delhi for a public lecture and meetings with writers and officials - Farrell met the Prime Minister in Bombay for a long interview before departing for Karachi ### Essay 9 'With Many Voices' is a closing page of aggregated press quotations from May-June 1956 on communism, Nehru's policies, and world affairs, drawn from sources including The Times of India, New York Times, Blitz, Thought, Encounter, and various world leaders (Konrad Adenauer, Khrushchev, Guy Mollet, Eisenhower, Bandaranaike, Morarji Desai). The quotes range from anti-communist statements to a Blitz remark that 'Nehru needs a powerful Communist Party as a pressure group' and an Ajoy Kumar Ghosh admission that the 'cult of personality is very developed in India in relation to Mr. Nehru.' - The page compiles short quotations from the press and world leaders on communism, Nehru, and current affairs - Includes Konrad Adenauer's skepticism toward the 'latest events in Moscow' - Includes a Blitz quote arguing 'Nehru needs a powerful Communist Party as a pressure group' - Includes Eisenhower calling communism 'in the deepest sense, a gigantic failure' - Includes Ajoy Kumar Ghosh (CPI) admitting the 'cult of personality' around Nehru is well developed in India - Also includes a subscription form for Freedom First and the periodical's imprint (edited by V. B. Karnik, printed at The Kanada Press, Bombay) --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff049/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 49 (June 1956), edited and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik, is a Bombay-based classical-liberal monthly focused on anti-communist reportage, critique of India's Second Five-Year Plan, and news of allied bodies such as the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (I.C.C.F.). This issue leads with V. B. Karnik's account of an international commission's findings on slave labour camps in Communist China, followed by unsigned editorial 'Notes' on domestic and international affairs (the right to strike, communist infiltration of trade unions, Syngman Rhee's South Korea, Vinoba Bhave's Bhoodan appeal, film censorship, and the Singapore constitutional talks). M. A. Venkata Rao contributes a piece on Planning Commission member K. C. Neogy's dissent from the Second Five-Year Plan's financial assumptions, drawing on similar warnings from Prof. B. R. Shenoy, Prof. D. R. Gadgil, Prof. C. N. Vakil, and Dr. John Matthai. Other content profiles visiting American novelist James T. Farrell (Chairman of the American Committee for Cultural Freedom), analyses the CPI's Fourth Congress at Palghat under the heading 'Operation Lullaby,' reports on I.C.C.F.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 49 (June 1956), edited and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik, is a Bombay-based classical-liberal monthly focused on anti-communist reportage, critique of India's Second Five-Year Plan, and news of allied bodies such as the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (I.C.C.F.). This issue leads with V. B. Karnik's account of an international commission's findings on slave labour camps in Communist China, followed by unsigned editorial 'Notes' on domestic and international affairs (the right to strike, communist infiltration of trade unions, Syngman Rhee's South Korea, Vinoba Bhave's Bhoodan appeal, film censorship, and the Singapore constitutional talks). M. A. Venkata Rao contributes a piece on Planning Commission member K. C. Neogy's dissent from the Second Five-Year Plan's financial assumptions, drawing on similar warnings from Prof. B. R. Shenoy, Prof. D. R. Gadgil, Prof. C. N. Vakil, and Dr. John Matthai. Other content profiles visiting American novelist James T. Farrell (Chairman of the American Committee for Cultural Freedom), analyses the CPI's Fourth Congress at Palghat under the heading 'Operation Lullaby,' reports on I.C.C.F. programming (a Japanese cultural delegation, a lecture by Irving Brown of the AFL-CIO) and an I.C.C.F. seminar in Poona on casteism and Maharashtra's liberal heritage, reviews Alwin H. Scaff's book on the Philippine defeat of the Huk communist rebellion, and closes with a letter to the editor on income inequality in the USSR. A four-page supplement to this issue, 'Social Democrats In Communist Jails,' reproduces a letter from international labour and socialist leaders (including Julius Braunthal of the Socialist International, Norman Thomas, and A. Philip Randolph) to Khrushchev and Bulganin, followed by extensive partial name-lists of socialist, social-democratic, and free-trade-union leaders imprisoned or 'vanished without trace' in the USSR and its Eastern European satellites. ## Essays ### Verdict On China *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik reports on the findings of a Special Investigation Commission on Political Repression in Continental China, convened in Brussels (April 20-30, 1956) by the International Commission against Concentration Camp Practices, presided over by Maitre Van Rij of the Netherlands. Drawing on testimony, documents, and an appeal by 89 released Catholic missionaries, the Commission concluded that China's penal system delivers citizens to arbitrary state action, that forced labour is a major and structurally embedded part of the economy, and that 'reform through labour' constitutes a degrading, dehumanising system rather than genuine rehabilitation. Karnik supplements the Commission's findings with figures and quotations from Richard L. Walker's book China Under Communism, including statements by Chinese officials Teng Tzu-hui and Fu Tso-yi on conscript and forced labour numbers. - An international Special Investigation Commission, formed after complaints from the Chinese Federation of Labour and Hong Kong/Kowloon Trade Unions Council, met in Brussels in April 1956 to examine evidence of slave labour in Communist China. - The Chinese government was invited to participate or send representatives but did not respond, mirroring the Soviet Union's earlier denials of camps later admitted. - 89 Catholic missionaries released from Chinese prisons (bishops, prefects, administrators, priests, nuns) signed an appeal corroborating the camps' existence. - The Commission's four formal conclusions describe the penal system as arbitrary, the forced labour as economically integral and materially substandard, 'reform through labour' as dehumanising, and the overall system as 'a true concentrationary system.' - The Commission could not fix exact prisoner numbers but judged the total to be 'several millions.' - Richard L. Walker's China Under Communism is cited for corroborating figures: 1,150,000 'native bandits' inactivated in the Central-South Region between winter 1949-50 and November 1951, with 322,000 executed; a minimum of 575,000 slave labourers in that region by November 1951; over 10 million conscript workers used in water conservancy; over two million conscript labourers on the Chunking-Chengtu railway. ### Neogy Upsets The Apple Cart *By M. A. Venkata Rao* This unsigned 'Notes' section covers several short editorial items: a defence of the workers' right to strike against calls (including from the Labour Minister) to relinquish it under the Second Five-Year Plan; praise for the INTUC's rejection of a communist-proposed united front with the AITUC, paired with a warning about communist infiltration tactics; a rebuttal of the charge that Syngman Rhee's South Korea is a fascist dictatorship, citing the opposition's vice-presidential win; an account of Vinoba Bhave's appeal to writers to support the Bhoodan movement and the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's commissioning of a book on Bhoodan by Rustom Masani; criticism of the government's ban on eight foreign films for allegedly failing to portray Africans 'in the proper perspective'; criticism of the failure of the London talks between Singapore's David Marshall and the British Colonial Office, quoting Lord Attlee; and a closing item questioning why Dr. Syed Mahmoud, a minister, lent his name to a Helsinki conference linked to a communist front. - The INTUC's Surat conference reaffirmed workers' right to strike despite pressure from Plan-era 'socialism' rhetoric to abandon it; the editorial argues collective bargaining, not surrender of the right to strike, is the correct remedy. - The INTUC rejected a united-front proposal from the communist AITUC; the editorial warns communists may now pursue 'infiltration' instead and calls for unity among democratic forces. - Dr. Syngman Rhee's South Korea is defended against the charge of fascist dictatorship, citing the opposition Democratic Party's vice-presidential victory over Rhee's nominee. - Vinoba Bhave asked writers/journalists to devote a portion of their talents to Bhoodan; the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom persuaded Rustom Masani to write a book on Bhoodan, forthcoming from Collins, London. - The government's ban on eight foreign films with African settings is criticised as vague and dangerous precedent for press/artistic freedom. - The failed Singapore-Colonial Office talks are blamed on British intransigence, with a warning that failure benefits communists in Southeast Asia. - The piece questions Dr. Syed Mahmoud's participation in a Helsinki 'International Conference of Journalists' organised via a communist-linked preparatory committee. ### James T. Farrell M. A. Venkata Rao examines the dissent of Planning Commission member K. C. Neogy, recorded in the final report on the Second Five-Year Plan, against the Plan's swollen size, taxation and deficit-finance proposals, treatment of free enterprise, and employment estimates. Neogy characterised the Plan's financial resource calculations as 'wishful thinking' and warned that deficit financing of the order proposed could generate serious inflation, hurting fixed-income groups and provoking 'forces of reaction and demoralisation.' The article situates Neogy's critique alongside similar warnings from Prof. B. R. Shenoy (dissenting from the Panel of Economists' endorsement of Rs. 1000 crores deficit finance), Prof. C. N. Vakil (predicting prices could rise three to four times), and Dr. John Matthai (warning that 'indiscriminate nationalisation' of industries would overstrain administrative capacity). The piece credits Freedom First and the Democratic Research Service with having anticipated these criticisms since 1955, citing earlier warnings from Prof. Hannan Ezekiel and Jayaprakash Narayan about the Soviet/Polish-influenced, centralising character of the Mahalanobis Plan-frame, and closes by contrasting the USSR's own admitted planning failures (per Khrushchev and Bulganin's 20th Congress reports) with India's imitation of Soviet-style centralisation. - K. C. Neogy's dissent, now part of the official Second Five-Year Plan report, criticises the Plan's size, taxation, deficit-finance scale, treatment of private/free enterprise, and employment targets as unrealistic. - Neogy warns deficit financing near Rs. 1200 crores would generate inflation harming fixed-income groups and could provoke social 'forces of reaction and demoralisation.' - Prof. B. R. Shenoy's Minute of Dissent argued the economy could absorb at most about Rs. 200 crores of deficit finance without inflationary danger, citing risks to police constables' and army jawans' real incomes. - Prof. C. N. Vakil (with a colleague) argued in a forthcoming work, excerpted in The Times of India, that the Plan's deficit financing could raise general prices three to four times by mid-Plan. - Dr. John Matthai, addressing the Bombay Rotary Club, warned that 'indiscriminate nationalisation of industries' would impose unwise administrative strain, though he conceded some deficit finance was necessary. - Freedom First is credited with flagging the Mahalanobis Plan-frame's totalitarian/Soviet-Polish influences as early as May-July 1955, quoting Jayaprakash Narayan's remark that 'the seven authors of Pandit Nehru's plan are all men from behind the Iron Curtain.' - The article contrasts Khrushchev's and Bulganin's own admissions (20th Congress) of Soviet agricultural and consumer-goods failure after five Five-Year Plans with India's continued emulation of the Soviet emphasis on heavy industry over consumer goods. ### Operation Lullaby A profile of the American novelist James T. Farrell, guest of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, situating him within the tradition of American literary naturalism (Crane, Norris, Dreiser, Sinclair Lewis) descending from Emile Zola, and noting his intellectual debts to Voltaire, Marx, and American pragmatists Mead and Dewey, as well as his friendship with Sydney Hook and his role as a founder-member of the American Committee for Cultural Freedom. The piece emphasises Farrell's independence from Freudian and existentialist literary fashions and his refusal to let Marxism, despite early sympathies and Trotskyite associations, dictate his individual judgment. A brief notice lists Farrell's Bombay itinerary: arrival June 2, a P.E.N./Indian Committee lecture on 'Some Observations on the 20th Century American Novel' on June 4 (chaired by Prof. G. C. Banerjee), and a writers' meeting on June 5. - James T. Farrell, Chairman of the American Committee for Cultural Freedom, visited Bombay as a guest of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. - Farrell is placed in the American naturalist tradition (Crane, Norris, Dreiser, Upton Sinclair, Sinclair Lewis), itself descended from Emile Zola. - His intellectual influences include Voltaire (scepticism of authority), Marx (aspiration to equality without doctrinaire attachment), and American pragmatists Mead and Dewey (value of experience, distrust of dogma), plus H. L. Mencken. - Despite intimacy with Trotskyite circles and study of Marxism, Farrell never renounced his individualism or let ideology dictate his conclusions. - His programme in Bombay included a public lecture on 'Some Observations on the 20th Century American Novel' at the Durbar Hall, Town Hall, on June 4, 1956. ### Review: The Philippine Answer to Communism (by Alwin H. Scaff) *By V.B.K.* An unsigned analysis titled 'Operation Lullaby' examines the Fourth Congress of the Communist Party of India (CPI) at Palghat (April 19-29, 1956), held shortly after the 20th Congress of the CPSU debunked Stalin's cult of personality. The article traces how the CPI adapted its programme to endorse India's foreign policy and domestic Plan while pursuing a strategy of building 'the broadest united front of all patriotic and democratic forces,' aiming to separate 'progressive' from 'reactionary' elements within the Congress Party and to woo the masses behind communal parties while denying them a united front. The piece argues this mirrors the Comintern's mid-1930s Popular Front tactics and Palme Dutt-Bradley Thesis-era manoeuvres, and warns that growing official tolerance of the CPI (e.g., government participation in the Palghat exhibition) signals dangerous complacency, especially given signs (per Khandubhai Desai's INTUC remarks) that Congress circles are warming to the idea of the CPI as a legitimate opposition party. - The CPI's Fourth Congress at Palghat had to reconcile Stalin's post-mortem denunciation (20th CPSU Congress) with continued adherence to Soviet-aligned foreign and domestic policy positions. - The CPI's Political Resolution divides India's 'democratic forces' into a bloc including the Communist Party, PSP, and Socialist Party, versus a 'reactionary bloc' of unnamed communal parties. - New CPI tactics aim to separate 'progressive' pro-communist Congress members from 'reactionary' independent liberal members, while also trying to win over the masses behind communal parties without allying with their leadership. - The Congress's seven-point foreign-policy programme includes recognition of Red China, UN entry for China, anti-colonialism, liberation of Goa, and Indo-Pak dispute settlement by mutual discussion. - The article compares the tactics to the mid-1930s Popular Front strategy following the Comintern's Seventh Congress (1935) and to the Palme Dutt-Bradley Thesis, invoking M. R. Masani's Short History of the Communist Party and Jayaprakash Narayan's first-hand experience of 1936-38 CPI 'treachery.' - The article criticises growing official/Congress tolerance of the CPI as a legitimate opposition, citing government participation in the Palghat exhibition and Khandubhai Desai's suggestion the CPI could function as an opposition party if it eschews violence. ### I.C.C.F. Seminar In Poona *By (From A Correspondent)* A short unsigned news column, 'I.C.C.F. News,' reports on recent activities of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom: a dance and music recital on April 27 honouring a Japanese cultural delegation led by Prof. Tetsuzo Tanigawa, welcomed by Nissim Ezekiel (editor of Quest); a lecture on 'Appreciation of Western Music' by Mr. G. Pavey organised by the Committee's Patna Group on April 30, with support from Philips Electrical Co.; and a lecture on 'What is Happening in Soviet Russia?' delivered on May 8 by Irving Brown, a member of the International Executive of the Congress for Cultural Freedom and representative of the AFL-CIO, presided over by V. B. Karnik. An adjoining advertisement promotes Quest, a bi-monthly of arts and ideas sponsored by the Indian Committee, edited by Nissim Ezekiel. - The I.C.C.F. hosted a dance and music recital on April 27 for a visiting Japanese cultural delegation led by Prof. Tetsuzo Tanigawa. - The Committee's Patna Group organised a lecture on Western music appreciation by Mr. G. Pavey on April 30, supported by Philips Electrical Co. - Irving Brown of the AFL-CIO and the Congress for Cultural Freedom's International Executive lectured on Soviet Russia on May 8, chaired by V. B. Karnik. - Quest, the I.C.C.F.-sponsored bi-monthly edited by Nissim Ezekiel, is advertised alongside the news items. ### To The Editor: Inequality In Soviet Russia *By A Soldier* A book review, signed 'V.B.K.' (V. B. Karnik), of Alwin H. Scaff's The Philippine Answer to Communism (Stanford University Press). The review recounts the Huk rebellion in the Philippines, its communist leadership and origins in wartime resistance and rural discontent, and the eventual defeat of the insurgency under President Magsaysay's 'all-out force and all-out friendship' policy, including the EDCOR programme that resettled surrendered Huks as farmers. Karnik quotes Major General Jesus Vargas on the danger of communists shifting tactics after military defeat (infiltration, misleading alliances, sabotage) and concludes that the Philippine experience is instructive for other Asian countries facing communist insurgency, including India's own experience with Telangana. - The Huk rebellion originated in wartime anti-Japanese resistance but was organised and directed by communists seeking to capture state power, not merely an agrarian movement. - President Magsaysay's dual policy of 'all-out force and all-out friendship' combined stern military action with efforts to win over the population and resettle surrendered Huks. - The EDCOR (Economic Development Corps) programme gave land on Mindanao and state support to help ex-Huks become independent farmers. - Major General Jesus Vargas warned that defeated communists would shift tactics: infiltrating government, universities, civic organisations, and churches under misleading alliances. - The reviewer situates the Philippine case among other Asian communist challenges (Malaya, Burma, India's Telangana) and calls the book a reliable account based on interviews with ex-Huks. ### Social Democrats In Communist Jails: The List That Enraged Khrushchev (Supplement) A correspondent's report on an I.C.C.F. seminar held at Patwardhan Hall, Poona (May 5-6, 1956), on the pattern of development in Maharashtra with special reference to casteism and linguistic integration, and on the liberal heritage in Maharashtra. About seventy intellectuals attended, including Dr. R. P. Paranjpye, Shankerrao Deo, Professors D. R. Gadgil and T. S. Shejwalkar, Tarkateerth Laxman Shastri Joshi, V. B. Karnik, and M. R. Masani. Discussions on casteism (opened by a paper from D. A. Dabholkar) covered the historical roots of caste consciousness and its persistence despite the national movement, and were followed by a Sunday session on Liberalism (opened by Sudarshan Desai's paper 'Liberalism—Definition, Experience and Expectations'), with M. R. Masani vigorously contesting claims that liberalism was 'dead and gone' and public lectures by V. B. Karnik and Masani (on Yugoslavia and Western Germany) rounding out the two days. - The seminar's two subjects were (1) Maharashtra's development pattern, casteism, and the integration of its three Marathi-speaking regions, and (2) the liberal heritage in Maharashtra. - About seventy intellectuals attended each day, including academics, politicians, and journalists from Poona, Bombay, and Wai. - Prof. D. A. Dabholkar's paper argued mere transfer of power between castes without diffusion to the masses is a poor substitute for democratic solutions to casteism. - Prof. Bedekar and Prof. Gadgil discussed the uncertain future of Maharashtra's middle class and cautioned against utopian long-range planning, while Laxman Shastri Joshi expressed hope that a rising secular non-Brahmin middle class would help erode caste-consciousness. - On the Sunday session, Sudarshan Desai's paper defined liberalism as an 'unself-consciously tolerant attitude' and argued Maharashtra's Liberals had not served as a source of political education or liberation for the masses. - M. R. Masani forcefully countered speakers who argued liberalism was 'dead and gone,' pointing to its living presence in European Social Democratic parties, trade unions, and cultural institutions. - Prof. Kogekar, summing up, urged more attention to liberalism's future than its past, and posed unresolved questions about how liberals should respond when rational persuasion fails or when confronted by illiberal force. ### Essay 9 A letter to the editor, signed 'A Soldier' and dated May 21, 1956, responds to a Freedom First article titled 'The End of Equality in the U.S.S.R.' The correspondent expands on Mikoyan's admission of a 62-to-1 income disparity between a leading scientist and an average Soviet worker, adding further data from Raymond L. Garthoff's book How Russia Makes War (Allen & Unwin): a private Soviet soldier earns roughly £2-2-0 per month against a Major-General's £570, a wage spread of 1 to 271, exceeding the pay gap of the Major-General's American counterpart. The letter notes this detail was also cited by Lieut-General Sir Brian Horrocks in Why I Oppose Communism, previously reviewed in Freedom First. - The letter responds to a prior Freedom First article, 'The End of Equality in the U.S.S.R.,' which quoted Mikoyan's admission of a 62:1 pay disparity between a leading scientist and average worker in the Soviet Union. - Citing Raymond L. Garthoff's How Russia Makes War, the writer states a Soviet private soldier earns about £2-2-0 monthly versus roughly £570 for a Major-General, a spread of 1 to 271, exceeding the equivalent US military pay gap. - The letter notes this data point was also used by Lieut-General Sir Brian Horrocks in Why I Oppose Communism, a symposium previously reviewed in Freedom First. ### Essay 10 A four-page supplement to Freedom First No. 49 (June 1956) titled 'Social Democrats In Communist Jails: The List That Enraged Khrushchev.' It reproduces a letter addressed to N. S. Khrushchev and N. A. Bulganin by an international group of socialist and trade-union leaders (Fotis Makris, E. Lloyd Evans, Julius Braunthal, Franz Neumann, Stefan Thomas, Giulio Pastore, Adolph Heald, James B. Carey, Emil Mazey, David J. McDonald, Norman Thomas, and A. Philip Randolph, among others), demanding the release of imprisoned socialists, trade unionists, and cooperative leaders in the USSR and Eastern Europe, and noting Khrushchev's furious reaction when Hugh Gaitskell had earlier presented a similar list. The letter is followed by extensive partial name-lists — running to hundreds of entries with role and party affiliation — of Socialist Revolutionaries, Social Democrats, Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, and Free Trade Union leaders arrested and 'vanished without trace' in the Soviet Union, plus country-by-country lists (Jewish Socialist Bund in Eastern Europe 1939-41, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania) of labour, peasant, and political leaders imprisoned, deported, or executed. - The supplement reproduces a letter to Khrushchev and Bulganin from international socialist/trade-union leaders demanding release of political prisoners, noting Khrushchev's angry reaction to a similar list presented earlier by Hugh Gaitskell. - Signatories include Julius Braunthal (Socialist International), Franz Neumann (Berlin Social Democratic Party), Giulio Pastore (Confederazione Italiana dei Sindicati dei Lavoratori), James B. Carey (Int'l Union of Electrical Radio & Machine Workers), David J. McDonald (United Steel Workers of America), Norman Thomas, and A. Philip Randolph (Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters). - The letter states the enclosed list covers over 350 outstanding Socialists and members of Trade Unions, Cooperatives, and Peasant Parties imprisoned or detained in the Soviet Union and other East European countries, explicitly noting the list 'is by no means complete.' - Named lists include Socialist Revolutionaries, Social Democrats, Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, and Free Trade Union leaders vanished in the USSR, plus leaders of the Jewish Socialist Bund arrested 1939-41. - Country-specific partial listings cover Bulgaria (Agrarian and Socialist Party leaders), Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Latvia (many deported to Siberia in June 1941), Lithuania (many arrested July 1940 and deported or sentenced to slave labour), Poland (Christian Labour, Peasant, and Socialist Party leaders, including Underground Home Army commanders), and Romania (National Peasant Party and trade union leaders). - A parallel list documents German Social Democrats imprisoned or vanished in the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany, naming district secretaries, chairmen, and council members. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff051/ ### Summary This is the complete 12-page issue of Freedom First, No. 51 (August 1956), published by the Democratic Research Service and edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is dominated by the shockwaves of Khrushchev's secret speech denouncing Stalin at the Twentieth Congress of the CPSU, read through a classical-liberal, anti-communist lens. V. B. Karnik's lead essay, 'The Indictment of Stalin,' surveys global reactions to the revelations (Togliatti, Howard Fast, the Indian thinker 'Adib') and argues Khrushchev has confirmed decades of anti-communist charges while still concealing the full truth. K. K. Sinha's 'The Guilty Men and Their System' goes further, arguing that Stalin's crimes were not personal aberrations but the structural product of Leninist party dictatorship, and that Stalin's associates share moral guilt for their two decades of silence. M. A.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the complete 12-page issue of Freedom First, No. 51 (August 1956), published by the Democratic Research Service and edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is dominated by the shockwaves of Khrushchev's secret speech denouncing Stalin at the Twentieth Congress of the CPSU, read through a classical-liberal, anti-communist lens. V. B. Karnik's lead essay, 'The Indictment of Stalin,' surveys global reactions to the revelations (Togliatti, Howard Fast, the Indian thinker 'Adib') and argues Khrushchev has confirmed decades of anti-communist charges while still concealing the full truth. K. K. Sinha's 'The Guilty Men and Their System' goes further, arguing that Stalin's crimes were not personal aberrations but the structural product of Leninist party dictatorship, and that Stalin's associates share moral guilt for their two decades of silence. M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Poznan Portent' covers the June 1956 Poznan workers' uprising in Poland as proof of the bankruptcy of Soviet-style planning and the suppression of Polish national feeling, followed by a page of solidarity statements from European intellectuals (Camus, Jaspers, Koestler, Silone, and others) and from prominent Indian public figures. The unsigned 'Notes' section comments on domestic Indian politics (Morarji Desai's July 4th speech, C. D. Deshmukh's resignation, U. N. Dhebar's remarks on loyalty to Nehru, C. Rajagopalachari's critique of a subservient press) and on publishing policy (a proposed National Book Trust). The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a column of topical quotations from Indian and international public figures, a subscription form, and an advertisement for the pamphlet edition of Khrushchev's speech with a foreword by Karnik. ## Essays ### The Indictment Of Stalin *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead article surveys the global reaction to Khrushchev's secret 1956 speech exposing Stalin's crimes, arguing that the speech confirmed what serious anti-communist observers had said for two decades, while communists and fellow-travellers had dismissed such reports as capitalist propaganda. Karnik catalogues Stalin's purges, fabricated confessions, liquidation of Central Committee members, persecution of ethnic groups, and military incompetence before Hitler's invasion, and surveys reactions from Togliatti, the CPI, Howard Fast, and the Indian columnist 'Adib.' The essay (continued from page 2 to pages 10-11) goes on to argue that Khrushchev's condemnation is incomplete and self-serving: it excuses the early purges of Trotsky, Zinoviev, and Bukharin, offers no pledge of civil liberties or habeas corpus, and blames only Stalin's 'cult of personality' rather than the Leninist system that produced him. Karnik concludes that Khrushchev and his colleagues were willing accomplices, not passive witnesses, and that the speech nonetheless renders a service to freedom by shattering the faith of loyal communists worldwide. - Khrushchev's speech confirmed two decades of anti-communist reporting on Stalin's terror, purges, and fabricated confessions. - Stalin killed over seventy percent of elected Central Committee members within a year of their election and liquidated whole ethnic groups. - International reactions ranged from Togliatti's admission of shock to novelist Howard Fast's public break with communism. - The Indian columnist Adib, writing in the Times of India, asked how a whole system could produce total silence for twenty years. - Khrushchev's condemnation is judged half-hearted: it excuses Stalin's earlier purges of Trotsky, Zinoviev, Bukharin and others as directed against 'enemies of the party,' objecting only to methods used later against Stalin's own faction. - No pledge of civil liberties, habeas corpus, or public trials appears anywhere in the speech or the Twentieth Congress proceedings. - Karnik indicts Khrushchev and his colleagues as willing accomplices in Stalin's crimes, not passive victims, given their continued public praise of Stalin for two years after his death. - Despite its limits, the speech is credited with destroying the faith of loyal communists worldwide, which the author frames as a service to the cause of freedom and democracy. ### Notes The unsigned 'Notes' section comments on a range of contemporary Indian and international political developments. It welcomes the reported dissolution of the Kremlin-backed World Peace Congress as vindication of long-standing suspicions that it was a communist front, and notes Khrushchev's own admission that the Peace Councils had failed to win over ordinary people. It reports on Bombay Chief Minister Morarji Desai's July 4th speech praising American ideals of equality of opportunity, and takes issue with the notion that criticising India's foreign policy of non-alignment amounts to hostility toward America, arguing India's own 'neutrality' has been one-sided in favour of the Soviet bloc. A further note criticises Congress President U. N. Dhebar's remark that people who truly loved the Prime Minister should not act against his wishes, framing this as an invitation to totalitarian conformity, and links it to reactions against C. D. Deshmukh's resignation speech attacking Nehru. Another note discusses two government proposals for a National Book Trust and a booksellers'/publishers' conference in Madras, cautioning against the state becoming a dominant publisher and recommending grants-in-aid instead. Further notes cover a list of Trade Unionists and Social Democrats imprisoned in Soviet Russia and other communist countries, and the July centenaries of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Gopal Ganesh Agarkar. A final segment praises C. Rajagopalachari's warning about the Indian press's excessive deference toward Nehru and the erosion of critical public discourse, and closes with a barbed item on Richard Nixon's remark that Soviet aid comes 'with a rope attached,' tracing the metaphor back to a 1931 Lenin quotation on tactical alliances. - Welcomes the reported dissolution of the Kremlin's World Peace Congress as confirmation that it was a communist front organisation. - Reports Morarji Desai's July 4th speech linking American ideals of equality of opportunity to Indian aspirations, while criticising India's 'one-sided neutrality' favouring the Soviet bloc. - Criticises Congress President U. N. Dhebar's statement equating loyalty to Nehru with not opposing his wishes, calling it a step toward totalitarianism. - Links this to the wider controversy over C. D. Deshmukh's resignation speech criticising Nehru. - Reviews two publishing-sector developments: a proposed government National Book Trust and a booksellers'/publishers' conference in Madras backed by Ford Foundation funding, warning against state dominance of publishing. - Notes a Freedom First supplement listing Trade Unionists and Social Democrats imprisoned in the USSR and other communist states, and a new New York committee for their release. - Marks the birth centenaries of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Gopal Ganesh Agarkar. - Endorses C. Rajagopalachari's warning that the post-independence Indian press has become uncritically adulatory of the Prime Minister, and criticises Richard Nixon's 'aid with a rope attached' remark as itself derived from a 1931 Lenin quotation on tactical alliances. ### The Guilty Men And Their System *By K. K. Sinha* K. K. Sinha's essay argues that Khrushchev's condemnation of Stalin at the Twentieth Congress does not go far enough, because it blames a single 'cult of personality' rather than the structural features of Leninist communism that produced Stalin. Sinha contends that the entire international communist movement's decades of silence about Stalin's crimes proves communists everywhere are authoritarian by temperament and psychologically dependent on Moscow as a 'father-image.' He traces the roots of Stalinism to Lenin's own theory of a centralised, disciplined party and a coercive one-party state, arguing there is little ideological difference between Lenin and Stalin. Sinha predicts that reverence is simply being transferred from Stalin to 'Comrade X,' the new 'Great Pupil of Lenin,' and that the underlying social base — a bureaucratic party-state apparatus with a monopoly on political and economic power — makes the rise of another dictator, benevolent or malevolent, inevitable unless the system itself changes. He closes by framing the true test as whether communist parties outside Russia will begin independent, self-respecting thought or continue to await the 'Voice from Moscow.' - Argues that blaming only Stalin's 'cult of personality' is an insufficient, unmarxist explanation for decades of terror across the entire world communist movement. - Communists' universal silence about Stalin's crimes across many countries shows they are authoritarian by nature and psychologically dependent on Moscow. - Traces the roots of Stalinist dictatorship to Lenin's own theories of the centralised party, one-party state rule, and suppression of criticism. - Argues there is little ideological difference between Lenin's and Stalin's forms of dictatorship, only a matter of degree. - Predicts that party loyalty is simply being transferred from Stalin to a new 'Great Pupil of Lenin' rather than genuinely reformed. - Concludes the underlying social base — bureaucratic party-and-state monopoly on power — will keep producing new dictators, benevolent or malevolent, unless fundamentally altered. - Frames the real test as whether communist parties worldwide will think independently or continue awaiting instructions from Moscow. ### The Poznan Portent *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's essay treats the June 28, 1956 workers' revolt in Poznan, Poland, as a revealing portent of conditions inside the Soviet bloc. The riots broke out after a workers' delegation seeking wage and living-condition improvements returned from Warsaw disappointed; the government dismissed the responsible minister but ruthlessly suppressed the revolting workers with troops. Venkata Rao attributes the unrest to a bread famine and broader consumer-goods scarcity caused by the Soviet planning model's overwhelming emphasis on heavy and armament industries, compounded by suppressed Polish nationalism, the retention of about two million Poles in Soviet labour camps, the Katyn Wood massacre of 10,000 Polish officers, and the betrayal of the Warsaw uprising. He frames Poland's near-total economic integration with the USSR as reducing Poles to 'hewers of wood and drawers of water,' and argues the regime faces a dilemma between liberalising and intensifying terror, since none of communism's declared goals — equality of income, a classless society — have been realized. The piece is illustrated by a four-panel cartoon, 'Slight Interruption,' satirising a fat Soviet-style official interrupted mid-boast about denouncing Stalin. - The Poznan revolt of June 28, 1956 erupted after a workers' delegation seeking wage and living-condition improvements returned from Warsaw disappointed. - The responsible minister, Julian Tokarsky, was dismissed, but the revolting workers were ruthlessly suppressed by troops and tanks. - Root cause identified as a bread famine and broader scarcity of consumer goods, driven by the Soviet planning model's emphasis on heavy and armament industries. - Suppressed Polish nationalism compounds the economic grievance, citing roughly two million Poles retained in Soviet labour camps, the Katyn Wood massacre of 10,000 Polish officers, and the betrayal of the Warsaw rising. - Poland's near-total economic integration with the USSR is described as reducing Poles to 'hewers of wood and drawers of water.' - None of communism's declared goals — equality of income, a classless society, contribution according to capacity — have been realised; trade unions can no longer champion workers' interests. - The regime is described as facing a dilemma between liberalising and intensifying terror in the aftermath of Stalin's dethronement. ### Reactions To Poznan Riots This page reproduces two solidarity statements on the Poznan riots. The first, signed by European intellectuals including Albert Camus, Karl Jaspers, Arthur Koestler, Ignazio Silone, and Stephen Spender, declares solidarity with the Poznan workers, demands an end to executions and public trials with democratic-Western observers present, and calls for an international fund-raising effort on their behalf. The second, signed by a group of prominent Indian writers, journalists, trade unionists and public figures (including Sophia Wadia, B. R. Shenoy, Nissim Ezekiel, and K. K. Sinha among others), similarly demands a halt to repression, a public judicial trial for workers' leaders, and frames the Poznan revolt as revealing the true conditions of workers under communist rule. A closing passage (continuing Venkata Rao's Poznan Portent essay) argues that the Soviet bloc since Stalin's dethronement remains a country of mutual distrust rather than a solid front, and that after forty years neither 'bread' nor 'freedom' has been secured for the common man in the Soviet system. - European intellectuals (Camus, Jaspers, Koestler, Silone, Spender, and others) issued a joint statement of solidarity with Poznan workers, demanding an end to executions and public trials before democratic-Western observers. - The European statement calls for an international fund-raising campaign to support Polish workers. - A separate statement signed by prominent Indian writers, journalists and trade union leaders demands a halt to repression and a public judicial trial for the Poznan workers' leaders. - Both statements frame the Poznan revolt as exposing the real conditions of workers in communist-ruled countries. - The closing passage argues the Soviet sphere remains riven by mutual distrust rather than presenting a united front, quoting Vice-President Radhakrishnan's characterisation of it as a 'nightmare.' ### With Many Voices The closing 'With Many Voices' column, prefaced by an epigraph from Tennyson, collects brief topical quotations from Indian and international public figures on current affairs, including K. M. Munshi on the neglect of Gandhi's and Ramakrishna's philosophy in universities, Malayan Chief Minister Tengku Abdul Rehman's amnesty offer to communist terrorists, T. T. Krishnamachari on austerity in planning, Acharya Vinoba Bhave on greed as the 'parent of theft,' Guy Mollet's remark on unpopularity, Richard Nixon on Khrushchev's continuity with Stalinist behaviour, Jagjivan Ram on the incompatibility of caste and socialism, and Frank Moraes on Soviet strategy shifting from coexistence to popular fronts. The page also carries a subscription form addressed to the Editor of Freedom First and the publication's closing masthead naming V. B. Karnik as editor, printer and publisher at The Kanada Press, Bombay. - A column of brief topical quotations from Indian and international figures, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson's 'Ulysses' ('The deep moans round with many voices...'). - K. M. Munshi laments that no university teaches the philosophy of Gandhi or Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. - T. T. Krishnamachari argues planning in a democracy must prioritise the daily needs of the mass of people, since austerity is a luxury only the prosperous can afford. - Acharya Vinoba Bhave is quoted calling greed and miserliness the 'parents of theft.' - Richard Nixon remarks that Khrushchev will have no effect on the Far East until he and his followers stop acting like Stalin. - Jagjivan Ram states that the caste system and a socialistic society go ill together. - Frank Moraes (quoting Encounter) warns that Soviet strategy aims to move from peaceful coexistence between nations to a popular front strategy within countries. - The issue closes with a subscriber form and the masthead: edited, printed and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik at The Kanada Press, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff052/ ### Summary This is the September 1956 issue (No. 52) of Freedom First, the monthly periodical of the Democratic Research Service, edited by V. B. Karnik and published from Bombay. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with Karnik's own column questioning Jayaprakash Narayan's reported openness to electoral adjustments with the Communist Party, then moves through a "Notes" section covering Chinese incursions into Burma, the communist-infiltrated coalition in Laos, a controversial Christian missionary activities report in Madhya Pradesh, C. D. Deshmukh's resignation as Finance Minister over cabinet functioning, and a warning about communist infiltration of a Calcutta University-funded students' welfare project. It carries an unsigned report on the aftermath of Indonesia's first general elections and the fraught coalition politics between the Masjumi, Nationalist Party, and Communists (P.K.I.), M. A.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the September 1956 issue (No. 52) of Freedom First, the monthly periodical of the Democratic Research Service, edited by V. B. Karnik and published from Bombay. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with Karnik's own column questioning Jayaprakash Narayan's reported openness to electoral adjustments with the Communist Party, then moves through a "Notes" section covering Chinese incursions into Burma, the communist-infiltrated coalition in Laos, a controversial Christian missionary activities report in Madhya Pradesh, C. D. Deshmukh's resignation as Finance Minister over cabinet functioning, and a warning about communist infiltration of a Calcutta University-funded students' welfare project. It carries an unsigned report on the aftermath of Indonesia's first general elections and the fraught coalition politics between the Masjumi, Nationalist Party, and Communists (P.K.I.), M. A. Venkata Rao's piece questioning the Communist-front character of an upcoming Asian Writers' Conference, an unsigned item on the Helsinki international journalists' conference as a suspected communist front, Eugene Lyons's open letter to American novelist Howard Fast confronting fellow-travellers with the implications of Khrushchev's "secret speech" on Stalin's crimes, M. A. Venkata Rao's review of Klaus Mehnert's book Stalin versus Marx, and the recurring "With Many Voices" column of quoted press and parliamentary statements. The volume's argumentative center, in the rendered pages, is a sustained anti-communist and anti-fellow-traveller polemic: distrust of Soviet and Chinese intentions in Asia, suspicion of ostensibly cultural or professional international bodies as communist fronts, and use of the Khrushchev revelations to press domestic Indian sympathizers and neutralists to reconsider their positions. ## Essays ### Strange If True *By V. B. Karnik* In "Strange If True," V. B. Karnik examines press reports that Jayaprakash Narayan has been advocating electoral adjustments between the Praja Socialist Party and the Communist Party ahead of coming elections. Karnik notes JP has not issued any authoritative clarification and treats the reports cautiously, but argues that even if only 'adjustments' are intended, such arrangements inevitably develop into common campaigns, joint activity, and eventually a de facto united front, opening the PSP to communist infiltration and subversion as happened with the Congress Socialist Party in the 1930s. He rejects the idea that communists are ideologically closer to the PSP than the Hindu Mahasabha or Jana Sangh, calling communists 'the obedient tools of a foreign Power,' and closes by citing Burma's experience with the communist-infiltrated Anti-Fascist Peoples' Freedom League as a cautionary parallel for Indian socialists. - JP Narayan reported to favor electoral adjustments between PSP and Communist Party but has not clarified his position publicly - Karnik argues adjustments inevitably escalate into united fronts and joint campaigns - Claims communists are more dangerous allies than communal parties like Hindu Mahasabha or Jana Sangh, despite ideological distance from the latter - Invokes the 1930s Congress Socialist Party precedent as a warning against repeating the experiment - Points to Burma's AFPFL and U Nu's disillusionment with communists as a warning to Indian socialists ### The Elections And After In Indonesia *By From a Political Correspondent* The unsigned "Notes" section gathers several short editorial items. It reports on a border clash between Chinese and Burmese troops and Chinese incursion into Burmese territory, tying this to concerns that communist guerrillas within Burma (whom former Prime Minister U Nu called 'stooges' and 'agents' of foreign powers) pose a graver internal threat than the external one, and cites disclosures about U Nu's disillusionment with Soviet and Chinese neutrality. It covers a new agreement in Laos giving the communist Pathet Lao legal recognition and a role in government and the army, framing this as a dangerous precedent for communist advance via subversion rather than open insurrection. It also covers deadlocked Soviet-Japanese peace talks over the disputed Kuril/southern islands, harshly criticizes the Madhya Pradesh Christian Missionary Activities Committee (Niyogi Committee) report as unjust and factually reckless in its treatment of missionaries, quoting Dr. John Matthai and the Governor of Bombay in the missionaries' defence, criticizes C. D. Deshmukh's resignation disclosures about 'cavalier and unconstitutional' cabinet decision-making on Bombay's reorganisation, praises Italian Socialist leader Pietro Nenni's admission of the systemic (not merely personal) roots of Stalinist repression while faulting him for not renouncing collaboration with communists altogether, and closes by criticizing the Calcutta University Senate's grant to a communist-front-linked All India Students' Federation project. - Chinese troops reported to have crossed into Burmese territory near the Burma Road; Burmese government voices concern - Internal communist subversion in Burma framed as more dangerous than the external Chinese threat - New Laos agreement grants the communist Pathet Lao legal party status and government/army roles, seen as a step toward eventual communist takeover - Soviet-Japanese peace talks stall over Russia's refusal to return Japanese islands seized in WWII - Madhya Pradesh's Niyogi Committee report on Christian missionaries criticized as unjust, 'wild' in its premises and 'reckless' in its conclusions - C. D. Deshmukh's resignation reveals that cabinet decisions are made unconstitutionally by a few individuals rather than collectively - Pietro Nenni's post-Khrushchev remarks on socialism requiring democratic guarantees are welcomed but seen as insufficient given his continued communist collaboration - Calcutta University's grant to an AISF-run 'Students' Health Home' criticized as unwitting aid to communist infiltration of student welfare activities ### Asian Writers' Conference *By M. A. Venkata Rao* This unsigned report, credited to 'a Political Correspondent,' analyses the formation of Indonesia's first elected cabinet following the 1955 General Elections. It describes the surprise near-equal showing of the Masjumi and Nationalist Party (57 seats each) and the unexpectedly strong performance of the Communist Party (P.K.I.), which won 38 seats and nearly six million votes, becoming the second-largest Communist Party in Asia. The piece traces how Nationalist Party leader Ali Sastroamidjojo, despite lacking a straight majority and encountering resistance from Masjumi conscientious objections to communist cooperation and army opposition, ultimately maneuvered to form a government from which the communists were excluded, following interventions by Masjumi leader Mohammad Natsir and Nationalist figures like Wilopo and Sarino. It concludes that the resulting cabinet, while not actively anti-communist as a matter of Ali's own personal disposition, now functions without open communist participation, with several members frankly anti-communist. - Indonesia's 1955 elections produced a near-tie between Masjumi and the Nationalist Party (57 seats each), with the P.K.I. (Communist Party) surging to 38 seats and becoming Asia's second-largest Communist Party - President Sukarno called on Nationalist Party leader Ali to form government despite no party holding a majority - Ali's inclination toward cooperation with, or tolerance of, communist support was constrained by Masjumi's conscientious objection and Nationalist Party figures like Wilopo opposed to any coalition with communists - Masjumi leader Mohammad Natsir's return from Sumatra and his opposition to any government indirectly backed by communists disrupted Ali's plans - The final cabinet includes Masjumi and excludes active communist participation, despite Ali's own non-antagonistic stance toward communists ### An Open Letter To A Fellow-Traveller *By Eugene Lyons* M. A. Venkata Rao's "Asian Writers' Conference" examines the planned December Delhi conference of Asian writers, convened by a preparatory committee including Mulk Raj Anand, Baharsidas Chaturvedi, and Jainendra Kumar, and addressed by V. K. Krishna Menon with reception by President Rajendra Prasad and Prime Minister Nehru. Venkata Rao questions whether there is a coherent 'Asian Mind' comparable to a European Mind, granting some scholarly basis for shared Buddhist-influenced traditions in China, Japan, Korea, and India (while excluding West Asia's Islamic and Judeo-Christian affiliations), but argues the Conference's real purpose, given its sponsors' Moscow-aligned Asianism, is to organize Asian writers as a communist 'Front' or 'communication belt' for the Communist Movement's political ends. He contrasts genuine cultural exchange under freedom with the enforced uniformity of communist 'culture,' citing Mao Zedong's doctrine of people's democracy's own culture and the suppression of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism in Communist China, and notes the inclusion of the Soviet Union in the proposed Secretariat as confirming the Conference's front character. - Asian Writers' Conference planned for December in Delhi, preparatory committee met in late July with delegates from Burma, Korea, Nepal, China, India, and Vietnam - Venkata Rao questions the concept of a unified 'Asian Mind,' granting partial validity for Buddhist-influenced East Asian traditions but excluding West Asia - Argues the Conference, given Moscow-aligned sponsorship, is intended as a communist 'Front' to win writers' sympathies and later political support - Draws on Lenin and Stalin's concept of 'communication belts' to explain the Communist strategy of using cultural fronts for political capture - Cites Mao Zedong's doctrine that a 'new democracy' or 'people's democracy' requires its own culture, resulting in suppression of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism in China - Notes the Soviet Union's inclusion in the proposed Secretariat as evidence the Conference is a front despite Russia's implausible status as an 'Asian' nation ### Review: Stalin versus Marx *By M. A. V.* "Innocents At Helsinki," an unsigned item, questions the credentials of the International Conference of Journalists held at Helsinki, noting reports that prominent independent liberal journalists such as Walter Lippmann and Alistair Cooke were initially listed as invitees, apparently without their consent, and ultimately did not attend. It views the Conference's call for unity between international journalists' organisations as paralleling earlier communist-front efforts such as the World Federation of Trade Unions' push for a united international labour body, intended to penetrate democratic information and education channels. Continuing on page 11, the piece is skeptical of the Conference's professed concern for press freedom and objectivity given the state-controlled press in Communist countries, and criticizes as naive its recommendations for abolishing press censorship and enabling free journalist movement, given the Soviet Union's own rejection of reciprocal free communication (as seen during the Khrushchev-Bulganin visit to Britain). - Credentials of the Helsinki International Conference of Journalists questioned; independent liberals like Walter Lippmann and Alistair Cooke reportedly listed as invitees without consent and did not attend - Conference's call for unity of international journalists' bodies seen as paralleling communist front tactics like the World Federation of Trade Unions' campaigns - Article argues genuine press freedom principles are undermined by Communist countries' own state control of the press - Criticizes as naive the Conference's recommendations on abolishing censorship and enabling free journalist movement, since Soviet leaders themselves rejected reciprocal free communication during their Britain visit ### Essay 6 Eugene Lyons's "An Open Letter To A Fellow-Traveller," addressed to American novelist Howard Fast and reprinted in abridged form from the New Leader of New York, responds to Fast's Daily Worker column reacting to Khrushchev's 'secret speech' on Stalin's crimes. Lyons, drawing on his own earlier disillusionment as a onetime defender of the Soviet regime while living and working there, presses Fast to recognize that his anguished self-criticism is 'a cry for help' rather than genuine reckoning, since Fast continues to equate flaws in free societies (like McCarthyism or occasional miscarriages of justice) with systemic, sustained Stalinist terror, forced collectivization, slave labor, and fake elections. Lyons argues Fast's selective outrage — focused on Stalin's persecution of Jews but silent on other atrocities — reflects an unwillingness to confront that the entire communist system, not merely Stalin's personal qualities, produced these horrors, and invokes journalist I. F. Stone's post-USSR-visit verdict that 'no society is good in which men fear to think' as testimony Fast cannot dismiss. - Addressed to Howard Fast, prominent fellow-travelling American novelist, in response to his Daily Worker column on Khrushchev's Stalin revelations - Lyons draws on his own past disillusionment as a former defender of the Soviet regime while living in the USSR - Argues Fast's confession is a 'cry for help' rather than a genuine break, since his column still contains 'childish alibis based on transparent falsehoods' - Criticizes Fast's equation of flaws in free societies (McCarthyism, occasional judicial error) with systemic Stalinist terror and total denial of habeas corpus - Notes the Khrushchev speech's selective omissions — no mention of persecution of Jews, forced collectivization, slave labor, or fake East European elections - Cites I. F. Stone's post-visit verdict that 'no society is good in which men fear to think' as independent confirmation Fast cannot dismiss - Urges Fast to break fully from communism, framing this as still available to him unlike writers trapped inside the USSR ### Essay 7 M. A. Venkata Rao's book review, signed 'M. A. V.,' covers Klaus Mehnert's Stalin versus Marx (translated from German, George Allen and Unwin). The review praises the roughly 130-page book for vividly depicting the shift in Soviet ideology from Marxist radicalism to Russian national conservatism under Stalin, illustrated through the fields of historiography (the fall of historian Mikhail Pokrovsky's Marxist interpretation of Russian history after 1930) and linguistics (Stalin's writings on language redefined as reflecting an eternal national soul rather than class culture). The review concludes that this transformation amounts to a 'new Fascism — a strange meeting of extremes,' replacing Marx's universalist dialectic with national psychology and relativism. - Reviews Klaus Mehnert's Stalin versus Marx, translated from German, published by George Allen and Unwin, priced 8/6d - Book traces Soviet ideology's shift from Marxist radicalism to Russian national conservatism under Stalin - Illustrated through historiography: the condemnation of historian Mikhail Pokrovsky's Marxist history after his 1930 death - Illustrated through linguistics: Stalin's reframing of language as expressing an eternal national soul rather than class-based culture - Review concludes the ideological shift amounts to a 'new Fascism — a strange meeting of extremes' ### Essay 8 "With Many Voices" is the issue's closing quotations column, gathering brief press and parliamentary statements under a Tennyson epigraph. It includes Nehru's remark on the impossibility of dissent in a communist country, a Times of India item on the USSR's admission of internment camps, quotes on the Suez Canal dispute, Vinoba Bhave on envy underlying egalitarian demands, comparative pay for Soviet doctors versus taxi drivers, skepticism about Soviet theatre's reputation, Pandit G. B. Pant on Parliament and unity versus division, K.P.S. Menon's remark on India following the Soviet economic 'example,' a critique of public and private monopolies as 'dinosaurs,' and D. K. Kunte on the rigidity of India's party system. The page also carries a subscription coupon for Freedom First and an advertisement for a pamphlet reprinting Khrushchev's 'The Truth About Stalin' speech with a foreword by V. B. Karnik. - Quotations column featuring brief statements from Nehru, G. B. Pant, Morarji Desai, K.P.S. Menon, Vinoba Bhave, D. K. Kunte, and others - Nehru quoted saying no one in a communist country can raise their head against Party decisions - K.P.S. Menon, Indian Ambassador in Moscow, quoted saying India has 'followed your (Soviet) example' in the economic field - Column closes with a subscription form and an advertisement for a pamphlet of Khrushchev's 'Truth About Stalin' speech with foreword by V. B. Karnik --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff053/ ### Summary This is the October 1956 issue of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service (Bombay), edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is dominated by anti-communist and anti-Soviet reportage: it opens with an exclusive interview in which Jayaprakash Narayan disavows any ideological sympathy for the Communist Party of India while defending a limited electoral seat-adjustment with the CPI on tactical grounds; an editorial ('Fresh Light on Communist Machinations') describes secret CPI documents obtained and released by the Democratic Research Service exposing internal disarray and continued subservience to Moscow; V. B. Karnik's own signed piece analyses JP's position and warns against any accommodation with communists; M. A. Venkata Rao writes on U Nu's resignation in Burma as a case study in communist infiltration tactics; a translated Soviet article by Yu. P.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the October 1956 issue of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service (Bombay), edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is dominated by anti-communist and anti-Soviet reportage: it opens with an exclusive interview in which Jayaprakash Narayan disavows any ideological sympathy for the Communist Party of India while defending a limited electoral seat-adjustment with the CPI on tactical grounds; an editorial ('Fresh Light on Communist Machinations') describes secret CPI documents obtained and released by the Democratic Research Service exposing internal disarray and continued subservience to Moscow; V. B. Karnik's own signed piece analyses JP's position and warns against any accommodation with communists; M. A. Venkata Rao writes on U Nu's resignation in Burma as a case study in communist infiltration tactics; a translated Soviet article by Yu. P. Nasenko (from a Moscow Institute of Eastern Studies publication) is reproduced to show how Soviet analysts view and seek to influence the Indian socialist movement; and 'A Misleading Report' (by 'V') criticizes an Indian government delegation's report on Chinese agricultural collectivisation for whitewashing coercion. The issue also carries unsigned 'Notes' on domestic civil-liberties controversies (a book-related communal riot, film censorship, the Punjab Special Powers Press Act) and brief I.C.C.F. (Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom) news items and subscription/advertising matter for allied publications (Encounter, Quest). ## Essays ### Jayaprakash Clears The Air *By Jayaprakash Narayan* Freedom First reprints, exclusively, Jayaprakash Narayan's answers to a set of questions about his position on Communist Party of India collaboration. JP flatly denies having sought or received assurances that the CPI would break with Moscow, denies that his reading of post-Twentieth-Congress trends aligns with CPI general secretary Ajoy Ghosh's, and says it is too early to judge whether world communism has fundamentally changed under Khrushchev. He clarifies that his advocacy of an electoral adjustment with the CPI for the PSP was purely tactical -- driven by the danger of near one-party rule in India -- and involved no ideological considerations, no united front, and no post-election coalition. Asked about the risk that such an arrangement could degenerate into a Communist-desired United Front, he admits the danger exists and says the only safeguard is the PSP's internal discipline. He closes by arguing that neither state capitalism nor private capitalism motivated purely by private gain is acceptable, and that the central problem of democratic politics is reconciling private enterprise and individual freedom with social purpose -- a reconciliation he sees intimated in Gandhi's trusteeship theory and in Vinoba Bhave's movement. - JP denies any assurance was given or sought regarding CPI's independence from Moscow. - JP denies his views on post-20th-Congress communism match Ajoy Ghosh's, and says it is too early to judge if world communism has fundamentally changed. - The proposed PSP-CPI electoral adjustment is described as tactical only, with no ideological basis, aimed at avoiding one-party rule. - JP explicitly rules out a united front, post-election coalition, or joint campaigning with communists. - He acknowledges the risk that weak PSP candidates or communist bad faith could push the arrangement toward a Popular-Front-style outcome, and says only party discipline guards against this. - He rejects both state capitalism and profit-only private capitalism, calling for enterprise reconciled with social purpose, citing Gandhi's trusteeship theory and Vinoba's Bhoodan movement as models. ### Fresh Light On Communist Machinations An unsigned editorial reports that the Democratic Research Service (D.R.S.) released, at a 13 September press conference addressed by H. R. Pardivala, secret internal CPI documents from its Fourth Congress at Palghat: the Central Committee's report, a Polit Bureau report on organisational crisis, and the text of Ajoy Ghosh's closed-session speech on the 20th CPSU Congress. The article (continued on page 8) quotes the Polit Bureau report's admissions of internal 'frustration and cynicism' and a Party 'divided from top to bottom,' and argues Ghosh's speech proves the CPI remains ideologically and organisationally tied to Moscow even after the de-Stalinisation debate, since Ghosh defended Stalin's 'gigantic achievements' and CPSU primacy. The piece (continuing on page 8) further argues the CPI's talk of 'peaceful transition to socialism' is tactical camouflage, notes that the Congress's own on-the-spot notes flagged a suppressed reference identifying the so-called 'Zhukov letter' as the previously denied Shepilov letter, records the Central Committee election results (a P. C. Joshi-line amendment defeated 244-126), and catalogues the CPI's and the crypto-communist weekly Blitz's furious but evasive reactions to the disclosures. - The D.R.S. obtained and publicised secret CPI Fourth Congress (Palghat) documents on 13 September 1956, its second such disclosure after the 1953 'Communist Conspiracy at Madurai' documents. - The Polit Bureau's internal report admits the Party is 'divided from top to bottom' and suffering 'frustration and cynicism,' with Polit Bureau members criticised for individualism. - Ajoy Ghosh's closed-session CPSU speech is presented as proof the CPI remains tied to Moscow, defending Stalin's 'gigantic achievements' even after de-Stalinisation. - The CPI's 'peaceful transition to socialism' rhetoric is characterised as a tactic that still requires Communist Party leadership and mass revolutionary struggle, not genuine gradualism. - The notes reveal the so-called 'Zhukov letter' Ghosh referenced is identified as the same Shepilov letter to the CPI whose existence the CPI had previously denied. - Central Committee election results are disclosed: a P. C. Joshi-line amendment was defeated 126 votes to 244. - The CPI (via Ajoy Ghosh) called the Shepilov letter revelation 'a crude forgery' and 'slanderous document'; the weekly Blitz is accused of anger because the disclosures damaged CPI-PSP united-front prospects. ### Notes This is the unsigned 'Notes' department, a set of short editorial comments on current civil-liberties and press-freedom controversies. 'Riots And Counter-Riots' discusses communal violence sparked by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's republication of Living Biographies of Religious Leaders, arguing communalist agitators (not the publisher) were responsible, criticising Pakistan's opportunistic use of the episode, but also defending freedom to publish historical/biographical material about religious figures. 'A Wrong Decision' condemns the Board of Film Censors' refusal to renew the licence for the pro-union American documentary 'With These Hands' as unjustified suppression. 'The Punjab Special Powers Press Act' criticises the Punjab Vidhan Sabha's unanimous enactment of press pre-censorship powers as a dangerous curtailment of Article 19(1)(a) free-expression rights, arguing punishment through due process rather than prior restraint is the proper remedy for communal incitement. 'Distinctly Unsporting!' is a satirical item mocking Soviet protests over the arrest of a Soviet athlete for shoplifting in London. 'Our British Namesake' introduces the British Freedom First, published by the Society for Individual Freedom, noting its shared anti-collectivist, anti-totalitarian aims under the chairmanship of philosopher Dr. John Murray. - Communal riots followed republication of a book of religious biographies by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan; the Notes blame communalist agitators, not the publisher, and criticise Pakistan's exploitation of the episode. - The Board of Film Censors' refusal to renew the licence for the American labour documentary 'With These Hands' is condemned as an unwarranted, unnecessary restriction that has embarrassed India internationally. - The Punjab Special Powers Press Act, granting pre-censorship powers over the press, is criticised as an unconstitutional overreach violating Article 19(1)(a) and setting a dangerous precedent for other states. - A satirical note mocks Soviet outrage over the arrest of athlete Nina Ponomareva for shoplifting in London, framing it as Soviet hypocrisy about 'justice.' - The British journal Freedom First (Society for Individual Freedom) is introduced as a like-minded namesake sharing anti-collectivist, anti-totalitarian goals. ### The Danger To Democracy *By by V. B. Karnik* Byline reads 'V. B. Karnik' -- see thinker resolution note below. This signed piece analyses Jayaprakash Narayan's clarified position (published on page 1 of the same issue) and his letter to the PSP National Executive. Karnik argues JP has now made clear that he opposes any ideological alliance or united front with the CPI, seeking only a narrow 'agreement to avoid contests' among opposition candidates, and welcomes this clarification as reassuring to democrats and socialists who had been alarmed by earlier rumours. He nonetheless criticises JP's suggestion that communists be allowed to form state governments if they can win them democratically as naive, arguing that once communists gain power they entrench themselves and end free elections, unlike other opposition parties. Karnik endorses JP's broader diagnosis of the danger to Indian democracy -- near one-party Congress rule, a too-powerful bureaucracy, drift toward state capitalism, and a growing cult of personality -- as more important than the specific remedy of electoral adjustments, and argues effective opposition can be built through varied political, economic, and cultural organisations rather than any single prescribed method. - Karnik welcomes JP's clarification that the PSP-CPI arrangement is a limited seat-adjustment only, not a coalition or united front. - He argues it is 'difficult to appreciate' JP's view that communists should be allowed to govern a state democratically if they can win it, since once in power communists make elections irreversible. - Karnik quotes JP's own warnings about near one-party rule, bureaucratic over-concentration, drift to state capitalism, and the 'cult of personality' as the more significant analytical contribution. - He argues effective democratic opposition need not follow one single method, and can be built via a variety of independent political, economic, social, and cultural organisations. ### Behind U Nu's Resignation *By by M. A. Venkata Rao* Byline reads 'M. A. Venkata Rao' (matches authority entry MA Venkata Rao). This piece analyses U Nu's surprise decision not to head the new Burmese government after the April-May 1956 elections, despite AFPFL's electoral success. Venkata Rao argues U Nu's stated reason -- devoting himself to purifying the AFPFL of unreliable elements suborned during the election -- masks deep disillusionment with foreign (Soviet and Chinese) embassy interference and covert financing of opposition and rebel elements in Burma. The article quotes extensively from U Nu's fiery 23 April election speech branding the opposition 'stooges' of a foreign power practising infiltration rather than conquest, from Prime Minister U Ba Swe on vote-buying and intimidation by rebels, and from Home Minister Bo Khin Maung Gale on assassination threats. It closes by citing Chinese media reactions and Burmese press commentary framing the episode as exposing the true, exploitative character of China's 'Panchshila' friendship rhetoric toward Burma. - U Nu declined to head Burma's new government despite AFPFL's electoral win, citing a need to purify the party of elements suborned during the campaign. - The article attributes the deeper cause to U Nu's disillusionment with Soviet and Chinese embassy interference, including inviting hostile local leaders to Russia/China for clandestine contacts. - U Nu's 23 April election speech is quoted describing the contest as one between 'stooges' serving a foreign power and 'genuine patriots.' - New PM U Ba Swe and Home Minister Bo Khin Maung Gale are cited describing opposition vote-buying, threats, and a rebel assassination slogan against the Home Minister. - The piece frames the episode as revealing the true character behind China's Panchshila (five principles of peaceful coexistence) declarations toward Burma, including Chinese maps claiming Burmese territory. ### Indian Socialist Leaders *By by Yu. P. Nasenko* Byline reads 'Yu. P. Nasenko' -- a translated article from the Moscow Institute of Eastern Studies' Brief Reports, reproduced by Freedom First as evidence of how Soviet analysts view and seek to influence the Indian socialist movement. Nasenko narrates the founding of the Congress Socialist Party in 1934 and its 1948 split from Congress to become the Indian Socialist Party (later PSP), attributing to Jayaprakash Narayan and other 'right-wing' leaders a strategy of 'democratic socialism' that Nasenko dismisses as a device to mask hostility to Marxism, the Soviet Union, and China while cynically courting rank-and-file socialists. He accuses right-wing socialist leaders (Narayan, Lohia, Kripalani, Ram Manohar Lohia's 'decentralised economy' ideas) of demagogically promising land reform without compensation for landlords, breaking the 1951 railwaymen's strike, accepting Baroda-related political payoffs (the Kapadia/Mehta scandal), and receiving substantial American dollar funding (45,000 dollars via Lohia, 30,000 via Narayan from a US Embassy agent named Timberlake) for the 1951-52 election campaign. The piece concludes that the Socialist Party is in deepening crisis and leaderless, with rank-and-file members increasingly drawn to the Communist-led united democratic front. - Traces the Congress Socialist Party's 1934 founding and its 1948 secession from Congress to form the Indian (later Praja) Socialist Party. - Frames Indian right-wing socialists' 'democratic socialism' as ideological cover masking a fundamental hostility to Marxism, the USSR, and China. - Cites Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia as the 'theoretician' of the decentralised-economy strand of this 'democratic socialism.' - Accuses right-wing socialist leaders of demagogic, uncompensated land-reform rhetoric alongside covert opposition to full agrarian redistribution. - Alleges American funding of the Socialist Party's 1951-52 election campaign: $45,000 via Lohia and $30,000 via Narayan, sourced from a U.S. Embassy agent named Timberlake. - Cites the Kapadia/Mehta financial scandal involving payments from the Maharajah of Baroda's adviser Pathak. - Concludes the Socialist Party is in deepening leadership crisis, citing Lohia's 1954 resignation as general secretary and Kripalani's resignation as chairman. ### A Misleading Report *By by "V"* Byline reads 'V' (pseudonymous). The piece criticises an interim report submitted by Mr. Thapar, Secretary to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, on behalf of an Indian delegation to China led by Deputy Minister M. V. Krishnappa. The author argues the report takes Chinese agricultural collectivisation achievements at propaganda face value, recommends imitation by India, and glosses over coercion, even while its own text -- quoted at length -- admits that enthusiasm was concentrated among landless peasants who received land and inputs 'free from the State,' while middle and upper farmers were eliminated via terror and coercion. The author calls this 'proletarianising' of the peasant a Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist strategy to control farmers totally, warns that Chinese-style industrial and agricultural gains would come at the cost of individual happiness and democratic values, and calls on India to clarify objectives and evolve its own policies suited to a society of free peasant proprietors. - Critiques the Thapar delegation report on Chinese agriculture for taking Chinese Communist claims at propaganda value and recommending imitation. - Notes the report itself admits Chinese farmer 'enthusiasm' for cooperatives was concentrated among landless peasants receiving state largesse, undercutting its own claim that enthusiasm was purely voluntary. - Argues middle and upper farmers in China were eliminated from agriculture 'through terror and coercion,' following Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist 'proletarianising' doctrine. - Warns that even if China achieves greater industrial/agricultural output and military power, there is no guarantee of individual happiness or distributed prosperity. - Calls for India to base its agricultural policy on peasant proprietorship with voluntary community/state assistance rather than Chinese-style forced collectivisation. ### I. C. C. F. News A short unsigned 'I.C.C.F. News' column reports on activities of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom: a Patna Group reception for M.P. and actor Prithviraj Kapoor at the Bankipur Club; an informal Delhi meeting of members with Dr. Sampurnanand (Chief Minister of U.P.) and M. R. Masani; and a Bombay reception for Prof. Mahamahopadhyaya D. V. Potdar ahead of his departure to an International Archives Conference in Europe as an Indian government delegate. - The Patna Group of the I.C.C.F. held a reception for M.P. and actor Prithviraj Kapoor and his troupe at the Bankipur Club, presided over by Advocate General Mahabir Prasad. - An informal Delhi meeting discussed the Committee's work with Dr. Sampurnanand, Chief Minister of U.P., and M. R. Masani in attendance. - A Bombay reception was held for Prof. Mahamahopadhyaya D. V. Potdar before his departure to Europe as a Government of India delegate to the International Archives Conference. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff054/ ### Summary This is the complete November 1956 issue (No. 54) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik and published from Bombay by the Democratic Research Service. The issue is dominated by the unfolding crises in the Communist bloc: M. A. Venkata Rao's lead essay condemns the Soviet crushing of the Hungarian uprising and situates it alongside the Polish protests as evidence that Soviet-style communism cannot satisfy popular demands for both national independence and internal democratic freedom. A long unsigned piece, "Soviet Economy And Its Problems," marshals admissions drawn from Pravda, Khrushchev, Bulganin, and Mikoyan to argue that central planning has produced chronic shortages, housing crises, and a bureaucratic, dishonest economic culture in the USSR. V. B. Karnik's own essay on the Asian Socialist Conference argues that Asian socialists must pursue industrialisation without sacrificing civil liberties, rejecting the view that totalitarian methods are necessary for rapid development.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the complete November 1956 issue (No. 54) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik and published from Bombay by the Democratic Research Service. The issue is dominated by the unfolding crises in the Communist bloc: M. A. Venkata Rao's lead essay condemns the Soviet crushing of the Hungarian uprising and situates it alongside the Polish protests as evidence that Soviet-style communism cannot satisfy popular demands for both national independence and internal democratic freedom. A long unsigned piece, "Soviet Economy And Its Problems," marshals admissions drawn from Pravda, Khrushchev, Bulganin, and Mikoyan to argue that central planning has produced chronic shortages, housing crises, and a bureaucratic, dishonest economic culture in the USSR. V. B. Karnik's own essay on the Asian Socialist Conference argues that Asian socialists must pursue industrialisation without sacrificing civil liberties, rejecting the view that totalitarian methods are necessary for rapid development. Adam Adil's report, "Situation In South Africa," documents the forced removal of Indian traders from Johannesburg and other cities under the Group Areas Act and its associated financial and legal injustices. Rounding out the issue are an editorial "Notes" section (on the Sino-Nepal Treaty, Nehru's shifting statements on communism, press freedom, and censorship), two book reviews, a reader's letter on electoral systems and the risk of communist victories in democracies, an I.C.C.F. news bulletin, and a closing miscellany of quotations, "With Many Voices." ## Essays ### Homage to Hungary *By M. A. Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's "Homage to Hungary" argues that the Hungarian uprising of October-November 1956 represents a more radical break from Soviet domination than the preceding Polish protests, because Hungarians rejected not just Russian control but the entire one-party communist system, its secret police, and its suppression of free thought and culture. The essay recounts the Soviet military's violent suppression of demonstrators in Budapest, the recall and subsequent betrayal of Imre Nagy, and appeals sent to Nehru by Ference Nagy and by Western intellectuals (Salvador de Madariaga, Denis de Rougemont, Nicolas Nabokov, Stephen Spender) urging him to use his moral authority to stop the massacre. Venkata Rao frames the Hungarian cause as part of a universal struggle for freedom comparable to anti-colonial movements in Algeria, Africa, and Asia, and calls on free-world governments to challenge Soviet intervention through the United Nations. - Hungary's revolt went further than Poland's, targeting the one-party communist system itself, not just Russian control. - Demonstrations began with university students demanding freedom from Moscow and democratic elections. - Soviet forces moved militarily against demonstrators in Budapest even after a reconstituted government promised reform. - Ference Nagy (former Hungarian PM) and a group of Western intellectuals cabled Nehru asking him to intervene diplomatically. - The essay treats the 'sovereignty' of Soviet-bloc East European states as a myth exposed by the Soviet military action. - The author calls the Hungarian cause as sacred as anti-colonial struggles in Algeria, Asia, and Africa, and urges UN pressure on the USSR. ### Notes (Sino-Nepal Treaty; Prime Minister's Second Thoughts; Freedom Of The Press; Encouraging Culture; Strange Censorship) The unsigned editorial "Notes" section covers several short topics: the newly signed but unpublished Sino-Nepal Treaty, which the author reads as extending Chinese influence into Nepal at India's strategic expense despite the Panchsheel principles; a critical examination of Prime Minister Nehru's recent speeches on the Communist Party of India, in which the author welcomes Nehru's tougher rhetoric on Stalinism and CPI tactics but faults him for supporting restrictive press legislation in Punjab; a note welcoming the Bombay Government's decision not to tax amateur theatre, framed as encouragement of free cultural expression against commercial theatre's box-office pressures; and a report on "Strange Censorship," describing a railway book-stall union's boycott of the weekly Current on the pretext that it was "anti-Indian and pro-American," which the piece condemns as an improper private infringement on press freedom. - The Sino-Nepal Treaty is read as extending Chinese trading and diplomatic presence into Nepal, testing India's strategic interests despite Panchsheel. - Nehru's recent speeches showed a harder line against CPI methods and Stalinism, contrasted with his earlier praise of Stalin. - The piece criticizes Nehru for supporting a new Punjab press-restriction bill despite his own history as a democracy advocate. - Bombay Government's exemption of amateur theatre from entertainment duty is praised as encouraging free cultural self-expression. - A railway workers' union banned the weekly Current from station bookstalls, alleging it was 'anti-Indian and pro-American'; the piece calls this an improper private censorship of the press. ### Asian Socialist Conference *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's essay marks the second session of the Asian Socialist Conference in Bombay and argues that Asian socialists face a shared challenge of achieving rapid economic development without sacrificing civil liberties. Karnik rejects the notion that totalitarian methods are necessary for industrialisation, pointing out that Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia both industrialised under totalitarian rule without producing modern democratic societies. He warns that treating state ownership of production as an absolute tenet risks turning the state into an all-controlling "Leviathan," and insists that the founding passion of socialism was liberty, equality, and social justice rather than any particular economic dogma. The essay calls on Asian socialists to pursue both democracy and socialism together, warning against any tendency to secure bread at the cost of freedom. - The Asian Socialist Conference's second session in Bombay gathers socialist leaders from across Asia and some European fraternal delegates. - Karnik argues political servitude alone did not cause Asian backwardness; a deeper social malaise is also responsible. - He disputes the claim that totalitarian rule is necessary for rapid industrialisation, citing Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia as counterexamples that never produced democratic societies. - Strict state ownership of production, if enforced dogmatically, risks creating an unaccountable state 'Leviathan' with no place for individual rights. - The essay insists socialism's original inspiration was liberty, equality, and social justice, not any fixed economic formula, and Asian socialists must combine democracy with socialism. ### Soviet Economy And Its Problems *By (Contributed)* This unsigned, 'Contributed' article surveys admissions of failure in the Soviet economy drawn from official Soviet sources including Pravda, and speeches by Malenkov, Khrushchev, Bulganin, and Mikoyan. It documents a sharp fall in Soviet livestock numbers, chronic under-fulfilment of production targets in numerous industries, a severe urban and rural housing shortage well below the legal 'sanitary norm,' and pervasive shortages of ordinary consumer goods. The piece attributes these problems to two causes: structural features inherent to central planning (notably the persistent 70:30 bias toward heavy industry over light industry and consumer goods) and remediable failures of bureaucratic administration, over-centralisation, and human dishonesty ('wangling') bred by chronic shortage. It concludes that even a perfectly planned system still depends on human beings, and that the Soviet leadership remains caught between the alternatives of coercion and incentive, especially in agriculture. - Khrushchev's 1953 report revealed the USSR had millions fewer cows than before the war, despite a nearly 50 percent rise in population since 1916. - The 1954 Pravda plan report admitted under-fulfilment of targets in cast iron, nonferrous metals, machinery, and other key products, alongside overfulfillment in less-needed goods. - Housing remains critically short: even if the current Five-Year Plan's urban housing target is met, living space per head would still fall below the legal 'sanitary norm' and below 1923 or pre-revolutionary levels. - Consumer goods shortages are chronic and were acknowledged publicly by Malenkov and Mikoyan, including basics like needles, razors, and kerosene lamps. - The article attributes Soviet economic troubles partly to inherent features of the system (heavy-industry bias, over-centralisation) and partly to remediable bureaucratic failure and dishonesty. - It concludes that the human element -- incentive versus coercion -- remains the fundamental unsolved problem of Soviet economic management, especially on farms. ### I.C.C.F. News A brief unsigned news item reports that the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom hosted a reception for the American poet and critic Allen Tate on October 20, and that M. R. Masani, Purshottam Trikumdas, and S. H. Vatsyayan gave evidence on October 19 before a Parliamentary Select Committee on the Copyright Bill, on behalf of PEN All-India Centre, the Indian Institute for Educational and Cultural Cooperation, and the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, supporting a joint representation on the Bill. - The Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom held a reception for American poet-critic Allen Tate on October 20, introduced by M. R. Masani. - M. R. Masani, Purshottam Trikumdas, and S. H. Vatsyayan testified before Parliament's Select Committee on the Copyright Bill on October 19. - Their testimony was given jointly on behalf of PEN All-India Centre, the Indian Institute for Educational and Cultural Cooperation, and the I.C.C.F. ### Situation In South Africa *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil's report describes the mass displacement of Indian traders in South Africa under the Group Areas Act of 1950 and the Group Areas Development Act of 1955. More than 100,000 non-whites, including 22,000 Indians, have been ordered to leave Johannesburg for distant, often unsuitable areas as part of the apartheid government's segregation plan. The article details the inadequate compensation process -- a Development Board sets a 'basic value' well below market value, leaving Indian traders facing losses estimated at over £22 million in Johannesburg alone -- and recounts specific cases in Lenasia, Mafeking, and Pageview, including a Mafeking relocation site described as a former sewage-disposal farm. It also records protests from white public figures (city councillors Cutton and Miller) and describes a legal hearing in which the government block a defense lawyer's demand for witnesses, prompting Dr. George Lowen to call the ruling a 'travesty of justice.' - The Group Areas Act of 1950 has forced over 100,000 non-whites, including 22,000 Indians, out of Johannesburg into distant, unsuitable areas. - A Development Board sets a 'basic value' for expropriated property well below market value, leaving Indian traders facing losses (over £22 million in Johannesburg alone). - Indians in Lenasia, Mafeking, and Pageview faced particularly harsh or degrading relocations, including to a former sewage-disposal farm at Mafeking. - White public figures including city councillors Cutton and Miller publicly condemned the ejections as shameful and dangerous to race relations. - In a legal hearing over the Mafeking ejections, the government-appointed board refused to require witnesses, which defense lawyer Dr. George Lowen called a 'travesty of justice.' ### Review: Communism and Nationalism in the Middle East *By A.P.* The Review section contains two short book notices. The first, signed A.P., reviews Walter Z. Laqueur's 'Communism and Nationalism in the Middle East' (Routledge and Kegan Paul), summarizing its account of how Arab nationalism and communism have interacted with Islam and with the region's feudal social structure, and quoting Professor Hans Kohn's skepticism toward Middle Eastern nationalism as a self-sufficient good. The second, signed M.A.V., reviews 'From Darkness to Light,' a Victor Gollancz anthology of world religious, mystical, and ethical writing, noting its inclusion of passages from the Upanishads, the Code of Manu, the Bhagavadgita, and modern Indian thinkers, and recommending it as a bedside resource for reflection. - A.P. reviews Walter Z. Laqueur's 'Communism and Nationalism in the Middle East,' which surveys communism's and nationalism's interaction with Islam across Middle Eastern countries. - The review recounts an exchange in which a Moslem imam presses a communist leader on whether he believes in God and the prophethood of Mohammed. - Professor Hans Kohn is quoted arguing that nationalism and national self-determination are not desirable goods in themselves absent 'creative action for the common good.' - M.A.V. reviews the anthology 'From Darkness to Light,' noting its inclusion of the Upanishads, the Code of Manu, the Bhagavadgita, and modern Indian thinkers Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, and Tagore. ### Review: From Darkness to Light *By M.A.V.* A reader's letter signed 'Politicus,' responding to an earlier Freedom First article ('Strange If True,' September 1956), argues that the Single Member Constituency electoral system adopted by India and Burma risks producing exactly two dominant parties -- typically the ruling party and the Communist Party -- because only they command the resources and 'invisible' funding to survive, while moderate democratic parties are squeezed out through exhaustion. Drawing on recent electoral experience in Indonesia and Burma, where communists performed strongly, the writer contends that this dynamic could eventually 'hang democracy by its own rope' and calls for electoral adjustments among all non-Congress parties, including with Leftist groups, to better reflect real public opinion in the legislature. - The letter responds to a prior Freedom First article arguing for electoral adjustments among non-Congress parties, including the Hindu Mahasabha and Jana Sangh. - The writer reports that Indonesian observers were not alarmed at communist electoral gains, believing the electoral system itself would prevent a communist takeover. - Burmese elections showed strong Communist Front performance alongside the ruling AFPFL, prompting the writer's concern about a two-party dynamic favoring the Communist Party in underdeveloped democracies. - The writer argues the Single Member Constituency system tends to squeeze out moderate parties, leaving only the ruling party and the Communist Party viable. - The letter concludes that over-stability from this system risks 'putting the Communist Party in power by democratic means and so hang democracy by its own rope,' and calls for electoral adjustments reflecting real party strength across constituencies. ### To The Editor *By Politicus* The closing feature 'With Many Voices' is a miscellany of short quotations from various publications and public figures on communism, intellectuals, propaganda, and world affairs, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. It juxtaposes remarks from Encounter magazine contributors (Stephen Spender, Irving Kristol, Peter Wiles), Indian press commentary (Times of India, Deccan Herald, Bombay Chronicle), CPI general secretary Ajoy Ghosh's dismissal of any lessons from Poland and Hungary for Indian communists, and Winston Churchill's quip about intellectuals, among others. The page also carries the Freedom First subscription form and the issue's colophon naming V. B. Karnik as editor, printer, and publisher for the Democratic Research Service. - The feature collects short, often ironic quotations from Encounter magazine, Indian newspapers, and public figures on communism and world affairs. - CPI general secretary Ajoy Ghosh is quoted denying that recent developments in Poland and Hungary hold any lessons for Indian communists. - Winston Churchill and Beachcomber are quoted with skeptical remarks about intellectuals. - The page includes the Freedom First subscription form and the publication's colophon, confirming V. B. Karnik as editor/printer/publisher for the Democratic Research Service. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff055/ ### Summary This is issue No. 55 of Freedom First (December 1956), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service (D.R.S.), edited, printed and published for the D.R.S. by V. B. Karnik in Bombay. The issue is dominated by the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and its diplomatic fallout in India. It opens with an unsigned editorial, "D.R.S. Answers The P.M.", rebutting Prime Minister Nehru's charge in Parliament that the Democratic Research Service and the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom are communist-front-style organisations; the piece lays out both bodies' funding, leadership and activities to refute the claim, and reproduces a press statement by Jayaprakash Narayan defending the D.R.S. A second editorial, "India And Hungary", criticises the Government of India's slow and equivocal reaction to the Soviet intervention in Hungary and singles out V. K. Krishna Menon's conduct at the United Nations for censure. A "Notes" section covers the Anglo-French attack on Egypt, the Copyright Bill, and an alleged communist-front character of a planned Asian Writers' Conference.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 55 of Freedom First (December 1956), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service (D.R.S.), edited, printed and published for the D.R.S. by V. B. Karnik in Bombay. The issue is dominated by the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and its diplomatic fallout in India. It opens with an unsigned editorial, "D.R.S. Answers The P.M.", rebutting Prime Minister Nehru's charge in Parliament that the Democratic Research Service and the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom are communist-front-style organisations; the piece lays out both bodies' funding, leadership and activities to refute the claim, and reproduces a press statement by Jayaprakash Narayan defending the D.R.S. A second editorial, "India And Hungary", criticises the Government of India's slow and equivocal reaction to the Soviet intervention in Hungary and singles out V. K. Krishna Menon's conduct at the United Nations for censure. A "Notes" section covers the Anglo-French attack on Egypt, the Copyright Bill, and an alleged communist-front character of a planned Asian Writers' Conference. "Revolt In Hungary: The Background" gives an unsigned historical primer on Hungary's post-war communist takeover through to the 1956 uprising. "Russian War Against Hungary" reproduces a speech by Soetan Sjarir, former Prime Minister of Indonesia, delivered at a Bombay public meeting under the auspices of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, condemning the Soviet intervention as classical imperialism. "Indian Solidarity With Hungary" reports on the formation of the Indian Committee for Solidarity with Hungary under Jayaprakash Narayan's presidency and his demand for Krishna Menon's recall from the UN. "A Call For Healthy Insight" reprints a joint statement by a group of Indian writers, journalists and academics (including Ram Singh, Sudhindranath Datta, and others) criticising India's failure to recognise Soviet/communist imperialism with the same vigilance applied to Western colonialism. The issue closes with C.C.F. News (cables sent by the Congress for Cultural Freedom to Nehru and to Hungarian writers), a letter to the editor signed "T.M." contrasting Panchshila with Satyagraha as India's proper moral response to Hungary, and brief D.R.S. News and subscription/advertising material. ## Essays ### D. R. S. Answers The P. M. An unsigned editorial rebutting Prime Minister Nehru's Parliamentary charge that the Democratic Research Service (D.R.S.) and the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom are communist-front-style political organisations "closely associated with the Praja Socialist Party." The piece details the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's affiliation with the worldwide Congress for Cultural Freedom, its patrons (Bertrand Russell, Salvador de Madariaga, Jaspers, Maritain, etc.) and Indian executive members, then turns to the D.R.S.'s own founding in November 1950 with the backing of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, its Executive Board (Purshottam Kanji, D. P. Sethna, M. R. Masani, L. Sawhny, H. R. Pardiwala) and Advisory Committee, its publications (Freedom First, pamphlets on Stalin, Hungary, Burma), and its finances (domestically raised, donors kept anonymous). It reproduces a press statement by Jayaprakash Narayan defending the D.R.S.'s record of exposing Russian communism and reminding Nehru that "there are other men in India who love their country no less than he does." - Nehru accused the D.R.S. and Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom of being communist-front-style organisations tied to the Praja Socialist Party. - The Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom is the Indian affiliate of the World Congress for Cultural Freedom, headquartered in Paris, with patrons including Bertrand Russell and Salvador de Madariaga. - The D.R.S. was founded in November 1950 with the blessing of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, then Deputy Prime Minister. - D.R.S. funds are wholly domestic; donor names are withheld to protect them from communist harassment. - Jayaprakash Narayan publicly defended the D.R.S.'s work exposing Soviet communism, noting some of its exposures were later confirmed by Khrushchev and Gomulka themselves. ### India And Hungary An unsigned editorial praising the Indian public's spontaneous sympathy for Hungary but sharply criticising the Government of India's slow, cautious response, contrasted with its firmer stance on the Anglo-French attack on Egypt. It censures India's abstention on the first UN resolution on Hungary and, especially, Krishna Menon's vote against the second resolution in cooperation with the Soviet bloc, calling it a national disgrace that damaged India's moral standing and led Jayaprakash Narayan to demand Menon's recall as Chief Adviser on international affairs. It quotes Frank Moraes, editor of the Times of India, on the reputational damage done by Menon's UN conduct, and closes with a report on public meetings organised by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. - India's Government reacted with delay and equivocation to Soviet intervention in Hungary, unlike its quicker condemnation of the Anglo-French attack on Egypt. - India abstained on the first UN resolution on Hungary and was the only non-communist country to vote against the second, aligned with the Soviet bloc. - Jayaprakash Narayan demanded the recall of V. K. Krishna Menon as the Prime Minister's international affairs adviser over his UN conduct. - Frank Moraes of the Times of India reported that Menon's UN performance had damaged India's international reputation. - The Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom held public meetings in Bombay condemning the Hungarian intervention and the Egypt aggression. ### Russian War Against Hungary *By A Ranganathan* A speech titled "Russian War Against Hungary" delivered by Soetan Sjarir, former Prime Minister of Indonesia, at a public meeting in Bombay held under the auspices of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. Sjarir narrates the chronology of the Hungarian uprising, tracing its roots to the Polish example of Gomulka's defiance of Moscow, through the students' demonstrations in Budapest, the fall of the communist government, Imre Nagy's accession and his declaration that Hungary would be a sovereign, neutral state, and the subsequent full-scale Soviet military intervention using Czechoslovak-supplied tanks and aircraft to crush the revolt. He argues the case demonstrates that communist states are as capable of brute imperialism as capitalist ones, calls on Asian nations to recognise "Red imperialism" with the same vigilance as Western colonialism, and appeals for the immediate withdrawal of Soviet troops and free self-determination for the Hungarian people. - Sjarir traces the Hungarian revolt's origins to the influence of Poland's Gomulka-led defiance of Moscow earlier in 1956. - The movement began as student demonstrations in Budapest and grew into a mass uprising against both the Communist government and Soviet troops stationed in Hungary. - Imre Nagy took power, declared Hungary a sovereign, non-aligned state, and pledged withdrawal of Soviet troops and democratisation. - The Soviet Union responded with an all-out military assault, using tanks and aircraft brought from Czechoslovakia, crushing the revolt and installing a puppet government. - Sjarir calls the Soviet action a classic act of imperialist aggression and urges Asian nations to demand withdrawal of Russian troops and free Hungarian self-determination. ### Indian Solidarity With Hungary An unsigned report describing the Indian public's spontaneous condemnation of Soviet aggression in Hungary and detailing the formation of the Indian Committee for Solidarity with Hungary, presided over by Jayaprakash Narayan with R. V. Murthy and S. A. Sabavala as secretaries. It reproduces Narayan's statement condemning both the Russian intervention and the Government of India's apathy, quotes his charge that India's foreign policy amounted to a cynical disregard of truth and its own professed principles, and reports his call, addressed to the Press Guild of India, for Krishna Menon's recall from the UN as "at least one Indian" who felt Menon had forfeited India's claim to neutrality. - The Indian Committee for Solidarity with Hungary was formed with Jayaprakash Narayan as President and R. V. Murthy and S. A. Sabavala as secretaries. - Narayan's statement condemned both Russian aggression in Hungary and the Government of India's apathy and indifference toward it. - The Committee argued the Soviet intervention violated the non-interference principle in the Warsaw Pact's own preamble. - Narayan called for Krishna Menon's recall from the UN, framing the demand as coming from him as an individual Indian rather than on behalf of any organisation. - The Committee published bulletins and a detailed chronology of events in Hungary to inform Indian public opinion. ### A Call For Healthy Insight *By Ram Singh, Rajakrishna, M. K. Haldar, Sudindranath Datta, Mohan Singh Sengar, Abu Syed Ayub, K. K. Sinha, Daya Krishna, I. C. Jain, Roop Narayan, Rajani Mukerjee (and others, unnamed)* A joint statement, "A Call For Healthy Insight", signed by a number of eminent Indian writers, journalists and academics including Ram Singh (Editor, Thought), Professors Rajakrishna and M. K. Haldar of Delhi University, Sudhindranath Datta, Mohan Singh Sengar, K. K. Sinha, Daya Krishna, I. C. Jain, Roop Narayan and Rajani Mukerjee. The statement criticises the Government of India's belated and equivocal response to the Hungarian crisis, argues that many in India's intelligentsia refuse on ideological grounds to recognise the existence of Soviet/communist imperialism even as they vigilantly oppose Western colonialism, and calls for a "healthy insight" that judges the growth or decline of freedom anywhere without being blurred by partisan ideological categories. It warns that India's international moral influence depends on maintaining objectivity in test cases like Hungary. - The signatories criticise India's belated, equivocal official response to the Hungarian revolt compared to its quicker condemnation of Anglo-French action in Egypt. - They argue Marxist-Leninist theory has led many Indians to assume communist states cannot by definition be imperialistic, despite historical evidence to the contrary. - The statement calls this a case of ideological 'intellectual blinkers' that prevent equal vigilance against all forms of imperialism. - It argues India's international moral authority rests on objectivity and even-handed moral discrimination, not economic or military power. - The statement warns that failing the 'test case' of Hungary risks India's credibility on future tests of the same kind. ### To The Editor: Satyagraha Or Panchshila? *By T. M.* A letter to the editor signed "T.M.", dated Bombay, November 22, titled "Satyagraha Or Panchshila?". The writer reflects on Nehru's reported 'conversion' and 'spiritual crisis' over Hungary, arguing that Panchshila proved an inadequate moral principle once a whole people were being crushed by an occupying power, since invoking non-interference in such a case would be Cain-like moral evasion. The letter welcomes Nehru's shift toward the language of satyagraha and non-violence as India's authentic contribution to world peace, contrasting it favourably with Panchshila, though it also notes non-violence's limits when a nation must defend itself against an armed aggressor. - The letter argues Panchshila's non-interference principle became morally untenable once applied to a case like Hungary, where a whole people was being crushed by an occupying power. - It likens invoking Panchshila in such a case to Cain's 'Am I my brother's keeper' evasion. - The writer welcomes Nehru's declared shift toward satyagraha as India's authentic, indigenous moral resource rather than Panchshila. - The letter notes non-violence has limits, for instance when a country must defend itself against an armed aggressor. - It frames the episode as revealing that experience, not abstract principle alone, clarifies political ethics. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff056/ ### Summary This is the January 1957 issue (No. 56) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service edited by V. B. Karnik, published from Bombay. The issue is dominated by the aftermath of the Soviet crushing of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, treating it as proof of communism's fundamental incompatibility with freedom and prosperity. It opens with Karnik's own editorial-essay 'The Beginning Of The End', which surveys the suppression of the revolution, criticises the free world's (especially the United States') passivity, and quotes Milovan Djilas's prediction that the Hungarian revolt marks the beginning of the end of communism generally. A 'Notes' section covers student unrest in the USSR as a ripple effect of Hungary, the fracturing of international communist front organisations over the crisis, a statement by Bombay's Education Minister Shantilal Shah opposing state control of the film industry, and a tribute to the recently deceased B. R. Ambedkar. A reprinted Times of India editorial, 'The Difference', argues that India's non-alignment policy should not obscure the moral distinction between democratic and totalitarian regimes. M. A.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the January 1957 issue (No. 56) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service edited by V. B. Karnik, published from Bombay. The issue is dominated by the aftermath of the Soviet crushing of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, treating it as proof of communism's fundamental incompatibility with freedom and prosperity. It opens with Karnik's own editorial-essay 'The Beginning Of The End', which surveys the suppression of the revolution, criticises the free world's (especially the United States') passivity, and quotes Milovan Djilas's prediction that the Hungarian revolt marks the beginning of the end of communism generally. A 'Notes' section covers student unrest in the USSR as a ripple effect of Hungary, the fracturing of international communist front organisations over the crisis, a statement by Bombay's Education Minister Shantilal Shah opposing state control of the film industry, and a tribute to the recently deceased B. R. Ambedkar. A reprinted Times of India editorial, 'The Difference', argues that India's non-alignment policy should not obscure the moral distinction between democratic and totalitarian regimes. M. A. Venkata Rao contributes a detailed legal-policy piece on the Copyright Bill as reported by the Joint Select Committee, arguing for authors' rights against government and commissioning-body claims. Further pieces cover Milovan Djilas's arrest and imprisonment in Yugoslavia and international protest against it; a column by 'Saadi' defending the Democratic Research Service and the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom against Nehru's charge that they engage in 'propaganda rather than search for truth'; a report on the fractious Asian Writers' Conference in Delhi; a compilation of international statements and declarations ('Echoes Of The Hungarian Revolution') from figures such as Denis de Rougemont, Norman Thomas, and W. C. Wentworth; and a closing first-person account, 'A Moment In Budapest' by Francois Bondy, describing conversations with Hungarian writers just before the final Soviet crackdown. ## Essays ### The Beginning Of The End *By by V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead essay surveys the crushing of the Hungarian Revolution by Soviet tanks and troops, criticising the free world's inability to translate sympathy into effective pressure on the USSR. He faults the United States for not backing Imre Nagy's appeal to protect Hungary's neutrality, and condemns the disunity among free nations that let Russia 'get away with what she did in Hungary.' Drawing heavily on Milovan Djilas's article in the American weekly New Leader, Karnik presents the Hungarian revolt as proof that communism can only be sustained by force and that the revolution represents, in Djilas's words, 'the beginning of the end of Communism generally.' He closes by arguing the uprising exposed the falsity of communist claims to have brought prosperity to Eastern Europe, noting that some Indian planners had been unduly influenced by such propaganda. - Soviet tanks and troops suppressed the Hungarian revolution; resistance and deportations continued after the crackdown - Karnik criticises the United States and other free nations for failing to back Imre Nagy's call to protect Hungarian neutrality - The UN's resolutions could not be enforced due to Soviet and Kadar-regime refusal to comply - Milovan Djilas's New Leader article is quoted extensively: the revolution 'placed on the agenda the problem of freedom in Communism' and may mark 'the beginning of the end of Communism generally' - Djilas argues national communism (as in Yugoslavia) cannot escape the same contradictions exposed in Hungary - The essay argues Hungary discredited communist claims of having brought prosperity to Russia and Eastern Europe, a claim some Indian planners had naively accepted ### Notes An unsigned 'Notes' section covering several short items: Soviet student unrest in Moscow, Leningrad, and the Baltic states as a ripple effect of Hungary ('Straws In The Wind'); Chinese Communist Party's defence of Soviet action in Hungary ('Tell-Tale Observations'); the fracturing of international communist front organisations, including the World Federation of Trade Unions and World Peace Council, over the Hungarian crisis ('Front Organisations'); Bombay Education Minister Shantilal Shah's remarks opposing state control of the film industry as a threat to freedom of expression ('State Control Of Films'); and a tribute to B. R. Ambedkar following his death, praising his role as architect of India's Constitution and champion of the Harijans while noting he was a controversial figure. - Reports of student unrest and expulsions at Moscow and Leningrad universities in solidarity with Hungary, plus unrest in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and an anti-Soviet riot in Stettin, Poland - China's People's Daily and Premier Chou En-lai are described as defending Soviet action in Hungary despite privately disagreeing with India - International communist front organisations (World Federation of Trade Unions, World Federation of Democratic Youth, World Peace Council) split internally over how to respond to the Hungarian crisis - Bombay Education Minister Shantilal Shah warns that state control of the film industry would lead to regimentation and stifle creative freedom - Obituary tribute to B. R. Ambedkar calls him 'a tower of strength to the Harijans' and a principal architect of India's Constitution, while acknowledging his controversial reputation ### The Difference A reprint of a Times of India editorial (December 18 issue) arguing that Nehru's call for all foreign troops to withdraw from countries where stationed conflates totalitarian and democratic systems under India's non-alignment policy. The editorial insists there is a real 'difference and distinction' between totalitarian and democratic values, and that India's clouded thinking on this point has led it into confused positions—forceful on Egypt but hesitant on Hungary—that risk undermining its own democratic ideals. - Reprints a Times of India editorial responding to Nehru's call for withdrawal of all foreign troops - Argues American opinion is puzzled by India's habit of equating totalitarian and democratic systems under non-alignment - Insists there is a real moral 'difference and distinction' between totalitarianism and democracy that India's foreign policy thinking obscures - Criticises India's inconsistent posture: assertive on Egypt, hesitant on Hungary - Warns that leaning towards the totalitarian bloc under cover of non-alignment risks undermining India's own democratic values ### Copyright Bill *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao reports on the Joint Select Committee's revisions to India's Copyright Bill, describing improvements won partly through evidence given by the Indian P.E.N., the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, and the Indian Institute for Educational and Cultural Co-operation. The chief change restores the copyright term to fifty years after an author's death (from a proposed twenty-five), though the Committee declined to make translation rights co-eval with this, retaining instead the old ten-year post-publication period—a point on which R. D. Sinha 'Dinkar' dissented forcefully. Venkata Rao also criticises the Committee's retrograde acceptance that commissioned literary, photographic, and artistic works should vest copyright in the commissioning party rather than the author, arguing copyright is a natural right inhering in the act of creation. He welcomes the removal of a clause allowing resumption of copyright by owners after 7–10 years, and notes improvements to the proposed Copyright Board, including judicial rather than bureaucratic chairmanship. - Joint Select Committee restored copyright term to fifty years after the author's death, up from a proposed twenty-five years - Committee retained only a ten-year post-publication period for translation rights rather than making them co-eval with original copyright, despite dissent from R. D. Sinha 'Dinkar' and others citing Bengali literature and Tagore as precedent - Venkata Rao argues copyright is a natural right inherent in creation, criticising the Bill's clause vesting copyright in commissioning parties (government or private) rather than authors for commissioned literary and artistic works - Welcomes removal of a clause permitting resumption of copyright by owners 7-10 years after assignment, which he argues would have disadvantaged writers - Notes reforms to the Copyright Board making it more judicial (chaired by High Court judges) and less bureaucratic, and making registration optional rather than a precondition for asserting copyright in court ### C.C.F. News / I.C.C.F. News A short news item reporting activities of the (Pakistan and Indian) Committees for Cultural Freedom, including a Karachi seminar on Religion and Freedom, and the reconstitution of the Delhi Group of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom under Asoka Mehta's chairmanship, with a new managing committee named. - Pakistan Committee for Cultural Freedom held a Seminar on Religion and Freedom in Karachi, December 23-26, attended by Prof. Shah of Poona as an observer for the Indian Committee - The Delhi Group of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom was reconstituted on December 10 under Asoka Mehta's chairmanship, with a ten-member managing committee named - Mrs. Leela P. Tricumdas was elected Secretary of the Delhi Group ### Mr. Djilas And Marshal Tito An unsigned report on the arrest and secret trial of Milovan Djilas in Yugoslavia for 'hostile propaganda' relating to his New Leader article on the Hungarian revolution, sentencing him to three years' hard labour. The piece traces Djilas's earlier persecutions since 1953, quotes his blunt assessments of Soviet economic weakness and the nature of Communist bureaucracy, and details international protest, including a cable from the American Committee for Cultural Freedom (signed by Norman Thomas, Sydney Hook, and Reinhold Niebuhr) and an open letter from Vladimir Dedijer, Tito's official biographer, who was himself expelled from the Communist Party for supporting Djilas. - Djilas was arrested November 19 and secretly tried and sentenced to three years' hard labour for his New Leader article on the Hungarian revolution - This was not Djilas's first persecution: he was dismissed from all posts and expelled from the Communist Party in December 1953, then prosecuted before a tribunal in 1954 - Djilas is quoted describing Soviet economic performance as weak and communist bureaucracy, not ideology, as the real source of dictatorship in the USSR - The American Committee for Cultural Freedom cabled Marshal Tito demanding Djilas's release, citing violation of freedom principles - Vladimir Dedijer, Tito's official biographer and a fellow victim of expulsion from the Communist Party, wrote an open letter to Tito protesting the arrest ### Truth And Propaganda *By by Saadi* Writing under the pen name 'Saadi', the author defends the Democratic Research Service (DRS) and the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom against Prime Minister Nehru's Rajya Sabha remark that such organisations 'appeared to be propagandist rather than a search for truth.' The piece argues that all advocacy, including truth-telling, necessarily involves propaganda, and reproduces at length a letter by H. R. Pardiwala of the DRS contrasting Nehru's own record (e.g., adjourning Parliament in tribute to Stalin, denying the 'satellite' status of Eastern Europe) with the DRS's consistent warnings—since 1950—about Soviet forced labour and repression, warnings since vindicated by Khrushchev's own admissions and the Hungarian revolution. - Nehru told the Rajya Sabha on December 4 that organisations like the DRS and Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom appeared to be 'propagandist rather than a search for truth' - Saadi argues propaganda is unavoidable for spreading any doctrine, including truth, quoting the Oxford Dictionary definition of propaganda - H. R. Pardiwala's letter contrasts Nehru's adjournment of Parliament to eulogise Stalin as 'a man of peace' with the DRS's five-year record of warning about Soviet forced labour camps - Pardiwala notes Nehru's earlier dismissal of the term 'satellite' for Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia, calling them 'sovereign independent nations' - The piece concludes that Khrushchev's admissions and the Hungarian revolution have vindicated the DRS's prior claims as truth, not propaganda ### Asian Writers' Conference *By (From Our Correspondent)* A correspondent's report on the fractious Asian Writers' Conference held in Delhi in late December, chaired by Prof. Humayun Kabir. The report describes near-wrecking of the conference by communist-versus-anti-communist tensions, the exclusion or restriction of certain delegations (South Korea unrepresented, Japan represented only by a pro-communist writer, Lin Yu Tang barred), and a notable speech by Rajaji (C. Rajagopalachari) arguing that art's purpose is to create beauty, not propaganda. The correspondent is critical of the conference's substance, describing communist-country reports as long, self-glorifying, and focused on colonialism and Suez rather than literature, and faults 'woolliness' and 'cheap propaganda' in the general discussion. - The Asian Writers' Conference in Delhi was nearly wrecked by disputes among the Indian Steering Committee before being stabilised under Prof. Humayun Kabir's chairmanship - South Korea was unrepresented; Japan was represented only by a pro-communist writer; Dr. Lin Yu Tang was not permitted to be invited; only South Vietnam sent a non-communist delegation among smaller nations - Rajaji's speech argued a work of art's purpose is to create beauty, not carry propaganda, though it may have 'a subtle moral colouring' - Dr. C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar spoke on India's cultural heritage before Rajaji's address - Reports from communist-country delegations were criticised as 'unendurably long,' self-glorifying, and focused on colonialism and the Suez issue rather than literature - The correspondent judges the discussion sessions marred by 'woolliness,' clichés, and 'cheap propaganda,' with only a few delegates like Mr. Padhye, Prof. Gadgil, and Prof. Jagirdar attempting serious engagement ### Echoes Of The Hungarian Revolution A compilation of international statements responding to the Hungarian revolution's suppression: Denis de Rougemont's declaration on behalf of the Congress for Cultural Freedom refusing to normalise relations with Communist apologists; testimony from Polish writer Jerzy Zaleski defending the Hungarian 'rebels' against charges of being counter-revolutionaries or fascists; a report on Forum magazine's refugee aid programme in Vienna; Australian MP W. C. Wentworth's call for UN General Assembly delegates to march into Hungary; a Scientists' and Scholars' Declaration signed by over a thousand academics calling for restored intellectual freedom in Hungary; Norman Thomas's letter criticising Krishna Menon's UN vote alongside the Soviet bloc; and a report on a Bombay solidarity meeting chaired by Asoka Mehta demanding Nehru visit Budapest. - Denis de Rougemont's statement for the Congress for Cultural Freedom declares that to shake hands with anyone who 'justifies' Budapest is to become an accomplice in the crime - Polish writer Jerzy Zaleski insists the Hungarian rebels are not counter-revolutionaries, fascists, or foreign agents but are fighting for democracy and national sovereignty - Forum, a Vienna-based review sponsored by the Congress for Cultural Freedom, is organising aid for over 1,000 Hungarian refugee academics, writers, students and journalists - Australian MP W. C. Wentworth proposes that UN General Assembly delegates march across the Hungarian frontier to assert the UN's right and duty to intervene - A Scientists' and Scholars' Declaration signed by over a thousand scholars in 23 countries appeals to the Soviet Government for restored intellectual freedom and exchange of visits with Hungarian universities - Norman Thomas criticises Krishna Menon's UN vote with the Soviet bloc on Hungary as a repudiation of India's claimed moral stance in international relations - The Indian Committee for Solidarity with Hungary held a packed public meeting in Bombay's Sunderbai Hall on December 13, chaired by Asoka Mehta, demanding Nehru visit Budapest en route to the US ### A Moment In Budapest *By by Francois Bondy* Francois Bondy's first-person account describes his final day in Budapest on November 2, just before the Soviet crackdown, capturing conversations with Hungarian writers including Peter Veres (Chairman of the Writers' Association), playwright Julius Hay, and Tibor Dery, a longtime Communist and inspirer of the Petofi Circle. Hay describes his and other 'old Bolsheviks'' break from Party orthodoxy, citing disgust with Stalinism, awareness of social injustice, economic failure, and pressure from Hungarian youth. Bondy closes by juxtaposing these calm, hopeful conversations with the desperate final SOS broadcast from Radio Kossuth appealing to writers and scientists worldwide for help. - Bondy recounts his final day in Budapest (November 2) amid a mood of hopeful exhilaration among Hungarian writers just before the crackdown - Peter Veres, Chairman of the Writers' Association, is described as a peasant writer resembling 'a Hungarian Gorki' - Playwright Julius Hay explains why 'old Bolsheviks' broke with Party leadership: disgust with Stalinism's aesthetic and moral bankruptcy, awareness of social injustice, economic failure, and pressure from youth - Bondy also spoke with Tibor Dery, described as an inspirer of the Petofi Circle of Hungarian intellectual dissidents - The essay ends with the final SOS broadcast from Radio Kossuth appealing to writers, scientists, and the world's intellectual elite for help as Budapest burned --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff058/ ### Summary This is issue No. 58 of Freedom First (March 1957), a monthly published by the Democratic Research Service in Bombay and edited by V. B. Karnik. In the rendered pages, the issue is dominated by the aftershocks of 1956: the Hungarian revolution and its suppression, Poland's more limited 'national communism' turn under Gomulka, and Khrushchev's partial, self-serving retreat from Stalin's cult of personality. Karnik's lead essay argues that Soviet de-Stalinisation was never a genuine liberalising reform but a defensive manoeuvre to save the communist system from a crisis of legitimacy after Hungary and Poland. A 'Notes' section comments on Indian government moves against communist-front organisations, academic freedom (citing John Matthai and Vinoba Bhave), the political rights of government servants, and the birth of the Republic of Ghana. G. F. Hudson's piece (condensed from Commentary, New York) dissects the 'double standard' in Nehru's foreign policy toward Western versus Soviet-bloc actions.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 58 of Freedom First (March 1957), a monthly published by the Democratic Research Service in Bombay and edited by V. B. Karnik. In the rendered pages, the issue is dominated by the aftershocks of 1956: the Hungarian revolution and its suppression, Poland's more limited 'national communism' turn under Gomulka, and Khrushchev's partial, self-serving retreat from Stalin's cult of personality. Karnik's lead essay argues that Soviet de-Stalinisation was never a genuine liberalising reform but a defensive manoeuvre to save the communist system from a crisis of legitimacy after Hungary and Poland. A 'Notes' section comments on Indian government moves against communist-front organisations, academic freedom (citing John Matthai and Vinoba Bhave), the political rights of government servants, and the birth of the Republic of Ghana. G. F. Hudson's piece (condensed from Commentary, New York) dissects the 'double standard' in Nehru's foreign policy toward Western versus Soviet-bloc actions. An editorial on Poland and translated extracts from Gomulka's October 1956 Central Committee report, followed by extracts from Oscar Lange's self-critical article on the failures of Poland's Six Year Plan, document the economic and political breakdown behind the Polish crisis. The issue closes with a review of Peter Fryer's Hungarian Tragedy by B. K. Desai, and a counterfactual news-format piece by Franklin A. Lindsay (reproduced from Free Spirit, Sydney) imagining a Hungary in which Western and UN intervention had actually stopped the Soviet crackdown. ## Essays ### Back To Stalinism? *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik argues that the Soviet leadership's 'de-Stalinisation' campaign was never a sincere turn toward liberalisation or democratisation, but a tactical retreat forced on Khrushchev by the near-collapse of Soviet control after the Hungarian revolution and Polish upheaval. He traces how Khrushchev's own words -- praising Stalin as 'a great fighter against imperialism' within months of denouncing him, and declaring 'I do not separate Stalinism and Stalin from Communism' -- reveal that the campaign against Stalin's personality was meant only to make him a scapegoat for systemic failures, not to reform the system itself. Karnik, quoting Ignazio Silone, situates de-Stalinisation as a process forced upon the rulers by underlying social pressures (workers' strikes, a new generation's longing for peace) rather than one they initiated. He concludes that the Kremlin's power is far more constrained by these social forces than the free world assumes, and that no return to Stalinist forms and rhetoric can undo the doom that Vorkuta, Poznan, and Budapest have already pronounced on police states. - Karnik rejects the premise that Khrushchev's anti-Stalin campaign represented genuine liberalisation. - Khrushchev's own statements ('We are all Stalinists') are read as an admission that Stalinism is inseparable from Marxism-Leninism as a system. - The de-Stalinisation campaign is framed as an attempt to make Stalin a scapegoat for systemic communist failures. - Ignazio Silone's essay on Hungary is quoted at length as external corroboration of a genuine social awakening in Russia and Eastern Europe. - Karnik predicts the Soviet rulers cannot avert historical 'doom' by re-adopting Stalinist trappings. ### The Paradox Of Jawaharlal Nehru *By G. F. Hudson* The unsigned 'Notes' section comments on four separate items of current affairs: the Indian government's directive discouraging ministers from patronising communist-front cultural organisations (welcomed as belated realism); Dr. John Matthai's and Acharya Vinoba Bhave's calls for university autonomy from gubernatorial/political control, framed as essential to democratic education; a case for narrowing the legal definition of 'government servant' so that industrial and clerical state employees are not barred from ordinary political participation; and a short item marking the birth of the Republic of Ghana as the first black African nation admitted to the Commonwealth. - Endorses the Indian government's directive against state patronage of communist front organisations such as the All India Peace Council and Indian Peoples' Theatre Association. - Cites Dr. John Matthai's view that gubernatorial chancellorship of universities channels political influence into academic life and should end. - Quotes Acharya Vinoba Bhave warning that government-controlled education fashions students 'to think in a pre-determined manner.' - Argues the definition of 'government servant' under Conduct Rules should be narrowed so that ordinary industrial/clerical state employees retain full political rights. - Notes the emergence of the Republic of Ghana (6 March 1957) as the first sub-Saharan African nation in the Commonwealth. ### The Truth About Poland G. F. Hudson, in a piece condensed from Commentary (New York), examines what he calls the 'double standard' in Jawaharlal Nehru's foreign policy: harsh criticism of Western actions (Suez) alongside muted or absent criticism of Soviet actions (Hungary), and India's advocacy for the independence of Western colonies while acquiescing in the Chinese reconquest of Tibet. Hudson traces this partly to India's lack of an independent diplomatic tradition prior to 1947, the formative influence of Gandhi's anti-colonial movement on Congress leaders, and the opportunity this created for crypto-communists and fellow-travellers to shape the intelligentsia's thinking on foreign affairs. He also situates India's Middle East diplomacy (opposition to the Baghdad Pact, non-recognition of Israel) within this framework. Despite the critique, Hudson affirms that India remains 'the great hope of democracy and liberal values in Asia' and urges the West to win over Nehru through generous, unconditional support rather than further irritation. - Hudson identifies a 'double standard' whereby Nehru condemns Western actions (Suez) far more severely than Soviet actions (Hungary). - Jayaprakash Narayan is cited as having launched a damaging public attack on Nehru over his muted response to Krishna Menon's framing of Hungary as a 'domestic affair'. - India's acquiescence in the Chinese reconquest of Tibet is contrasted with its vocal anti-colonialism regarding Algeria, Aden, and Iran. - Hudson attributes the tilt partly to India's lack of an independent diplomatic tradition and the influence of Gandhi's movement on Congress leaders' worldview. - The piece quotes Nehru's own words to Tibor Mende on non-interference in other states' internal affairs. - Despite criticism, Hudson affirms Nehru's 'basic devotion to liberal principles' and calls for Western engagement rather than estrangement. ### Confession Of A Communist Economist *By Oscar Lange* An unsigned editorial piece, 'The Truth About Poland,' contrasts Poland's milder 'national communism' path in October 1956 with Hungary's more revolutionary break, noting that the new Gomulka regime secured concessions and an understanding with Moscow rather than a Soviet military crackdown. The piece extensively quotes Gomulka's own October 1956 report to the Communist Party Central Committee, in which he admits the failure of the Six Year Plan, the country's fall into insolvency, the poor productivity of collectivised farms compared to individual holdings, and the causes of the Poznan workers' riots -- which he attributes to genuine grievances against Party leadership rather than foreign incitement. Gomulka also analyses the 'cult of the individual' as a hierarchical system extending beyond Stalin himself to all Communist Party leaderships, and acknowledges that innocent people in Poland were imprisoned and tortured under the old system. The editorial frames this as an authoritative internal confession -- from a serving communist leader -- that should warn against seeking any model in Eastern European communist regimes. - Contrasts Poland's 1956 'national communism' with Hungary's fuller revolutionary break and Soviet suppression. - Extensively quotes Gomulka's October 1956 Central Committee report admitting the Six Year Plan's failure and Poland's effective insolvency. - Cites statistics showing individual farms out-produced kolkhozes and state farms per hectare despite owning less land share. - Gomulka attributes the Poznan riots to genuine working-class grievances against Party and government failures, not foreign incitement. - Gomulka's account of the 'cult of the individual' describes a hierarchical structure of subordination extending through all Communist Parties, not confined to Stalin. - The editorial treats Gomulka's own testimony as authoritative confirmation of terror, imprisonment, and torture under the prior regime in Poland. ### Review: Hungarian Tragedy (by Peter Fryer, Dobson Books Ltd., London, 1956, pp. 96) *By B. K. Desai* Extracts from Prof. Oscar Lange's article in Zycie Gospodarcze of Warsaw -- introduced by the editors as a devastating internal critique from the economist who had advised P. C. Mahalanobis on India's Second Five Year Plan -- detail the 'disintegration of the national economy' produced by the Six Year Plan. Lange enumerates serious structural disproportions (between agriculture and industry, investment and outdated equipment, quantity versus quality of output) and lays out a nine-point emergency programme: mobilising reserves to raise living standards, redirecting armaments-industry capacity to civilian production, restoring incentives for agricultural and handicraft production, decentralising distribution, systematising foreign trade policy, adapting the investment structure toward consumer needs, extending workers' participation in enterprise administration, and 'further democratization of the political and social life' to prevent the kind of unchecked disintegration that occurred under the old command structure. - Lange identifies structural disproportions between agriculture and industry, and between investment programmes and outdated factory equipment, as root causes of Poland's economic crisis. - He calls for redirecting resources frozen in the armament industry toward civilian consumer production. - He argues collectivised agriculture requires restoring genuine cooperative self-government and incentive structures, not just administrative pressure. - He proposes reducing bureaucracy in distribution and adapting tax policy to support individual handicrafts. - His programme's ninth and final point calls for 'further democratization of the political and social life' as the remedy for the lack of democratic control that allowed the crisis to develop unchecked. - The editors' introduction notes Lange had personally advised P. C. Mahalanobis on India's Second Five Year Plan, giving the confession particular relevance for Indian readers. ### What Might Have Happened In Hungary *By Franklin A. Lindsay* B. K. Desai reviews Peter Fryer's Hungarian Tragedy (Dobson Books, 1956), noting that Fryer -- a fourteen-year British Communist Party member and Daily Worker correspondent -- was the first communist journalist to reach Hungary during the revolution and underwent a bitter disillusionment there. Desai summarises Fryer's account of the popular uprising against the Rakosi/Farkas/Gero regime's 'eleven years of terror and stupidity,' the brutal Soviet suppression characterised as 'tanks versus men,' and the brief 'three and a half days of freedom.' Desai's own critical verdict is that while Fryer's reporting indicts Stalinism as a 'monstrous perversion of Marxism,' Fryer fails to recognise that Stalinism was the logical extension of Marxist-Leninist doctrine rather than an aberration, and that his continued loyalty to the Communist Party (and stated intent to rejoin it to reform it) shows he has not achieved a genuine renunciation of his communist faith. - Fryer was a longtime British Communist Party member and Daily Worker staffer who became the first communist journalist to report from revolutionary Hungary. - Fryer's book rebuts claims the revolution was a foreign-engineered 'counter-revolutionary coup,' citing that no Western-manufactured weapons were found among the insurgents. - Fryer characterises the conflict as 'tanks versus men' and describes 'three and a half days of freedom' before the crackdown. - Desai's critique: Fryer indicts Stalinism as a perversion of Marxism but fails to see it as the logical extension of Marxist-Leninist doctrine itself. - Desai notes Fryer was suspended from the British CP for his report but has stated intent to rejoin it 'to reform it from within,' which Desai reads as continued unresolved faith in the communist system. ### Notes (Belated Wisdom; Academic Freedom; Government Servants And Politics; The Republic Of Ghana) Franklin A. Lindsay, in a piece reproduced from Free Spirit (Sydney), constructs a counterfactual day-by-day news chronicle (November 1-9) imagining that the West and the UN had acted decisively during the three-day window between Imre Nagy's request for UN intervention and the actual Soviet attack of November 4, 1956. In this alternate history, a UN Hungarian Observation Commission reaches Budapest, Soviet troops begin a real withdrawal under international observation, and Hungary secures genuine neutrality on the Austrian model with US-backed food, medical, and (if necessary) arms shipments. Lindsay's closing commentary argues this outcome was genuinely within reach had the West seized the opportunity, and criticises the UN's failure to act before the Kadar puppet regime was installed, after which Security Council action became blocked by Soviet veto threat. - Lindsay's counterfactual imagines a UN Hungarian Observation Commission (India, Yugoslavia, Poland, Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, Sweden) successfully deploying to Budapest before the Soviet attack. - In the imagined timeline, Khrushchev personally orders a Soviet pullback rather than risk confrontation with UN observers in Budapest. - Eisenhower is depicted authorising emergency food, medical aid, and (if needed) arms for Hungary while ruling out initial US troop involvement to preserve the 'neutrality' framing. - Lindsay argues real UN/Western intervention was possible via the General Assembly (bypassing Soviet Security Council veto) in the three-day window after Nagy's request. - He criticises the actual historical failure to act before the Kadar regime was recognised, after which Security Council action became blocked by Soviet veto. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff059/ ### Summary This is the April 1957 issue (No. 59) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service published in Bombay under the editorship of V. B. Karnik. In the rendered pages, the issue's dominant concern is the Communist Party of India's electoral victory in Kerala, read as a live test case of communism's advance through parliamentary means rather than force. Contributors include M. A. Venkata Rao on the Kerala result and its implications for Congress and democratic India, an unsigned Notes section covering Russo-Yugoslav tensions, alleged communist infiltration of Congress publications, and a communist propaganda attack on newly independent Ghana, Ida Dhami on Italian socialist leader Pietro Nenni's break with the communists, Saadi on student unrest behind the Iron Curtain, Raja Kulkarni on the fragile state of parliamentary democracy across Asia (Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, Burma, and India), and B. K. Desai's review of two Bertram D. Wolfe books on Soviet totalitarianism and Khrushchev's de-Stalinisation speech.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the April 1957 issue (No. 59) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service published in Bombay under the editorship of V. B. Karnik. In the rendered pages, the issue's dominant concern is the Communist Party of India's electoral victory in Kerala, read as a live test case of communism's advance through parliamentary means rather than force. Contributors include M. A. Venkata Rao on the Kerala result and its implications for Congress and democratic India, an unsigned Notes section covering Russo-Yugoslav tensions, alleged communist infiltration of Congress publications, and a communist propaganda attack on newly independent Ghana, Ida Dhami on Italian socialist leader Pietro Nenni's break with the communists, Saadi on student unrest behind the Iron Curtain, Raja Kulkarni on the fragile state of parliamentary democracy across Asia (Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, Burma, and India), and B. K. Desai's review of two Bertram D. Wolfe books on Soviet totalitarianism and Khrushchev's de-Stalinisation speech. The issue also carries routine institutional notices from the Congress for Cultural Freedom and the Democratic Research Service, and the annual statutory ownership statement for the publication itself. ## Essays ### Kerala: the Cockpit *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's lead article assesses the Communist Party of India's victory in the Kerala assembly elections, in which the CPI won 60 of 126 seats and, with independent support, secured a bare majority. He argues the result reflects less a genuine ideological embrace of communism than disgust with Congress and PSP misgovernment among an unusually educated electorate, compounded by redistricting that folded in the communist-dominated Malabar district. The essay warns that a CPI government in a state of the Union poses a primarily psychological danger: it will confer respectability on the CPI, blur the distinction between genuinely democratic parties and those that merely borrow democratic labels, and open the door to Soviet-style manipulation of law and police power. Rao predicts the new government will pursue land ceilings and land-to-the-tiller reforms that make the peasantry dependent on the state, may nationalise banks and transport, and will use 'fronts' to draw students, workers, and professionals into the communist net, while Kerala's organised Christian community offers a possible seat of resistance. - CPI won 60 of 126 Kerala assembly seats, aided by 5 of 6 independents, giving it a bare majority; PSP won only 9 seats - Author attributes the CPI win partly to redistricting (loss of Congress-held T.T.N.C. districts, gain of communist Malabar) rather than a simple swing in voter sentiment - Argues the Indian public and intelligentsia have been slow to absorb the lessons of Khrushchev's revelations on Stalinism and the suppression of the Hungarian uprising - Sees the chief danger of communist rule in Kerala as psychological: it will lend the CPI respectability and blur lines between democratic and totalitarian parties - Predicts CPI will fill administration and police with party loyalists while formally staying within the Constitution - Forecasts land ceiling and tenancy reforms that leave new landholders dependent on government aid, and possible nationalisation of banks and transport - Identifies Kerala's organised Christian church as a potential source of resistance to communist subversion of culture, education, and morality - Frames the CPI Kerala government as a test case for the rest of India and a challenge to those who would defend democracy ### Signor Nenni's Change Of Heart *By Ida Dhami* The unsigned Notes section (the magazine's editorial column) covers several short items: a renewed rift between Soviet Russia and Yugoslavia despite Khrushchev's earlier overtures to Tito, presented as proof that Moscow tolerates no genuine ideological co-existence within the socialist camp; a claim that the AICC's Economic Review bulletin has been edited under communist influence, naming H. D. Malaviya as a longstanding communist sympathiser within Congress; and a report on a Bulgarian communist youth-organ attack on Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah shortly after Ghanaian independence, read as an opening move in a broader communist campaign against newly independent Asian and African states, following a pattern the Notes trace back to India, Burma, and Indonesia after their own independence. - Reports fresh Soviet-Yugoslav tension, with Pravda accusing Yugoslav Foreign Minister Koka Popovic of 'monstrous and revealing blasphemy' - Argues Russia demands complete submission of 'socialist' states to Moscow, showing Khrushchev's 'more than one road to socialism' line to be hollow - Alleges communist infiltration of the AICC Economic Review, naming H. D. Malaviya as a known communist sympathiser inside Congress since the 1930s - Describes a Bulgarian communist youth organ's attack on Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah just before Ghana's independence day, calling it evidence of a coordinated communist assault on the new state - Draws a parallel to earlier communist tactics toward India, Burma, and Indonesia after independence, alleging these were dismissed by communists as 'fake independence' ### Student Discontent Behind Iron Curtain *By Saadi* A short unsigned obituary tribute to Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay, killed in a plane crash, praising his defeat of the communist Huk insurgency through a combination of military force and land-to-the-landless reform, and his advocacy of a 'freedom and friendship in Asia' foreign policy at the Bandung Conference. A second short obituary mourns B. G. Kher, former Bombay chief minister and Gandhian social reformer, praising his integrity and his role in laying the foundations of Bombay's educational system. - Praises Ramon Magsaysay's success in winning Filipino peasants away from communism through land reform and anti-corruption measures - Credits Magsaysay with a rare clarity among Asian statesmen about the communist threat, demonstrated at the Bandung Conference - Mourns B. G. Kher as an eminent scholar, able chief minister, and devoted follower of Gandhi who shaped Bombay's educational foundations ### Parliamentary Democracy In Asia *By Raja Kulkarni* A brief C.C.F. (Congress for Cultural Freedom) news item reports a $70,000 Rockefeller Foundation grant, administered via Forum Kulturhilfe in Vienna, to help refugee Hungarian musicians and actors re-establish their careers in the West, and notes an Italian lawyers' protest telegram over political trials of Hungarian freedom fighters, plus an announcement of a Japan-hosted International Exhibition of Asian Paintings under the Congress for Cultural Freedom's Japan Cultural Forum. - Rockefeller Foundation grants $70,000 via Forum Kulturhilfe (Vienna) to aid Hungarian refugee musicians and actors - 24 Italian lawyers send a telegram protesting political trials of Hungarian freedom fighters - Japan Cultural Forum and Yomiuri Newspaper announce an International Exhibition of Asian Paintings for young Asian artists, opening July 1957 in Tokyo ### Review: Six Keys to the Soviet System / Khrushchev and Stalin's Ghost (by Bertram D. Wolfe) *By B. K. Desai* Ida Dhami reports on Italian Socialist Party leader Pietro Nenni's decision, announced at the Venice Socialist Congress, to break his decade-long alliance with the Communist Party in the wake of Khrushchev's revelations and the Soviet suppression of the Hungarian uprising, and his proposal to reunify with Giuseppe Saragat's rightist Social Democrats to form a united, non-communist socialist bloc open to backing NATO defensively. She notes that Nenni's own party proved divided on the move, with his Central Committee nominees outnumbered roughly two-to-one, suggesting the split's full impact will take time to materialise even though it registers as a significant blow to communist influence in Italy. - Nenni announces at the Venice Congress his readiness to reunify with Saragat's Social Democrats and form a neutral, non-communist socialist bloc - The move follows Khrushchev's revelations and the Soviet suppression of the Hungarian and Poznan uprisings - Nenni's own Italian Socialist Party proved divided, with Central Committee nominees outnumbered about two-to-one - Both communists and Christian Democrats reportedly relieved once it appeared Nenni's grip on his party had weakened - Author assesses the ultimate impact of the split as still uncertain despite its dramatic initial impact ### Essay 6 Writing under the byline 'Saadi', this essay surveys reports of student discontent across the communist bloc — East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the Soviet Union, and China — arguing that increased repression in universities has deepened students' contempt for communism rather than suppressing it. It details specific incidents: arrests of well-to-do Moscow youths for 'armed robbery' understood as anti-regime defiance, a scandal involving the daughters of a general, an air force colonel, and a political police officer tried for 'theft and depravity' with male associates acquitted while the women received prison terms, and contested Komsomol elections in December 1956 marked by unprecedented criticism of entrenched functionaries. The piece concludes that Marxism and communism are 'obviously losing their appeal to the Soviet students and intelligentsia,' while regime responses have been limited to demands for stricter ideological discipline rather than any answer to students' actual doubts. - Surveys student unrest and its repression across East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, USSR, and China - Cites Ulbricht's admission of 'counter-revolutionary demonstrations' by Berlin University students and arrest of a Marxist professor - Notes 15,000 of 17,000 imprisoned Hungarians are reported to be students under Janos Kadar's crackdown - Describes arrest of sixteen well-to-do Moscow youths for 'armed robbery,' read as disguised anti-regime defiance - Details a Moscow trial in which daughters of senior officials received one-year sentences for 'theft and depravity' while their male associates, sons of ministers, were acquitted without appearing in court - Reports contested December 1956 Komsomol functionary elections marked by unprecedented criticism of established leaders - Concludes that no Marxist answer can satisfy student doubts, and that Marxism and Communism are losing their appeal to Soviet students and intelligentsia ### Essay 7 An I.C.C.F. News item reports on a visit to India by Mrs. Rita Hinden, editor of Socialist Commentary and a British socialist thinker, who lectured in Bombay on 'Recent Trends in British Labour Party Thinking' under the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, addressed Praja Socialist Party workers, and went on to Delhi and Calcutta for further lectures and discussions on socialism and cultural freedom. A further note records a reception for Professor Francisco Ayala of the University of Puerto Rico, who spoke on Puerto Rico's political and economic conditions. - Rita Hinden, editor of Socialist Commentary, lectures in Bombay, Delhi, and Calcutta under Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom auspices - Hinden addresses Praja Socialist Party workers on problems of the Indian socialist movement - Professor Francisco Ayala of the University of Puerto Rico is received and speaks on Puerto Rico's political and economic conditions ### Essay 8 Raja Kulkarni surveys the condition of parliamentary democracy across Asia. He examines President Sukarno's proposal for 'Guided Democracy' in Indonesia, which would replace parliamentary opposition with an all-party consultative cabinet, and records former Vice-President Mohamed Hatta's rejection of this scheme as a symptom of profiteering political parties rather than a cure. He surveys Pakistan's paralysed parliamentary system, Thailand's contested February 1957 elections and resulting state of emergency, and Burma's U Nu seeking to convert insurgent Karen rebels into constitutional opposition. Turning to India, Kulkarni argues the recent general elections have produced a fragmented, ideologically incoherent opposition unified only by anti-Congress sentiment, discusses regional party gains, and closes by warning that if parliamentary democracy fails Asia's needs, the Chinese model of 'Government Without Opposition' will gain adherents; the Kerala communist government is presented as the decisive test case, given that Asian communism advances more through 'subterranean passages of infiltration and subversion' than by force. - Sukarno's 'Guided Democracy' proposal would replace parliamentary opposition with an all-party National Council cabinet in Indonesia - Mohamed Hatta rejects Guided Democracy, blaming Indonesia's crisis on political parties turned into vehicles for patronage and profiteering rather than lack of national institutions - Surveys six underlying currents behind Indonesia's crisis: army politicisation, regional rivalry, weak civil service, corruption, loss of federalism, and Sukarno's push to include communists in government - Describes Thailand's contested February 1957 elections, allegations of ballot fraud, and Field Marshal Pibul Songgram's declaration of a state of emergency - Notes Burma's U Nu seeking to convert Karen insurgents into constitutional opposition and urging opposition parties to support the ruling party on issues of national interest - Analyses India's post-election opposition as fragmented and united only by being 'anti-Congress,' spanning rightists, leftists, socialists, communists, and regionalists - Cites J. B. Kripalani's metaphor comparing Congress to a 'rich neighbour' whose uncleanliness breeds problems for his own 'humble cottage' - Warns that if parliamentary democracy cannot satisfy Asian needs, the Chinese 'Government Without Opposition' model will find more adherents - Frames the Kerala communist government as the focal current test of whether the Indian constitutional framework can absorb a state-level communist government without eventual subversion of civil and military services ### Essay 9 A D.R.S. (Democratic Research Service) news note reports the establishment of a new U.P. branch of the organisation headquartered in Kanpur, listing its advisory board members, alongside the annual statutory 'Statement about Ownership and Other Particulars of Freedom First' filed by publisher and editor V. B. Karnik, naming the Democratic Research Service as owner and The Kanada Press, Bombay, as printer. - New Democratic Research Service branch established in U.P. with headquarters in Kanpur - Advisory board includes Lt. Col. K. P. Bhatnagar (Vice-Chancellor, Agra University) as chairman and several other named members - Statutory ownership statement confirms V. B. Karnik as printer, publisher, and editor, with Democratic Research Service as owning entity ### Essay 10 B. K. Desai reviews two 1956-57 books by Bertram D. Wolfe, Six Keys to the Soviet System and Khrushchev and Stalin's Ghost, both examining the nature of Soviet totalitarianism and the post-Stalin 'de-Stalinisation' process. Desai summarises Wolfe's thesis that the essential political question of the twentieth century is not 'socialism versus capitalism' but 'total state or limited state,' and that Soviet totalitarianism seeks to own not merely material production but human beings themselves, body and soul. On the second book, Desai details Wolfe's argument that Khrushchev's secret speech was strategically selective, beginning Stalin's crimes only from 1934 (after Khrushchev's own rise) and omitting the Hitler-Stalin pact, the Katyn massacre, and the earlier liquidation of Bukharin's faction — concluding that Khrushchev denounced Stalin only as a fellow Stalinist mourning the loss of 'honest communists,' never intending fundamental change to the totalitarian system itself, even as the speech's revelations nonetheless constitute a devastating indictment of the entire order. - Reviews Bertram D. Wolfe's Six Keys to the Soviet System (Beacon Press, 1956) and Khrushchev and Stalin's Ghost (Praeger, 1957) - Summarises Wolfe's central thesis that the 20th century's real political question is 'total state or limited state,' not socialism versus capitalism - Notes Wolfe's argument that Soviet totalitarianism aims to own not just material production but human beings themselves, 'body and soul' - Details Wolfe's account of Stalin's post-death 'collective leadership' period and his heirs' inability to establish legitimate succession - Explains Wolfe's charge that Khrushchev's secret speech selectively dated Stalin's crimes from 1934 onward, omitting the Hitler-Stalin pact, the Katyn forest massacre, and earlier purges of Bukharin and Trotskyists - Concludes, following Wolfe, that Khrushchev denounces Stalin only as a fellow Stalinist mourning 'honest communists,' with no intention of dismantling the totalitarian system itself - Desai judges that despite this selectivity, Khrushchev's revelations still constitute a damning indictment of the whole communist system --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff060/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 60 (May 1957) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal-anticommunist periodical published by the Democratic Research Service for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. The issue's argumentative center is anticommunism on two fronts: a domestic warning, following the 1957 general elections, that the Communist Party of India's capture of Kerala and its gains in Bengal and Parliament represent a serious and growing threat that complacent Congress and non-Congress democrats alike are failing to counter; and an international documentation of communist practice — Soviet and Chinese agricultural collectivisation, East German party dissent, and communist mis-education of children — offered as evidence for that domestic warning. Contributors include the editor V. B. Karnik, the East German dissident academic Wolfgang Harich (via a smuggled memorandum), M. A. Venkata Rao writing on Chinese cooperative farming, and a writer under the pseudonym 'Ekalavya' on communist education.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 60 (May 1957) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal-anticommunist periodical published by the Democratic Research Service for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. The issue's argumentative center is anticommunism on two fronts: a domestic warning, following the 1957 general elections, that the Communist Party of India's capture of Kerala and its gains in Bengal and Parliament represent a serious and growing threat that complacent Congress and non-Congress democrats alike are failing to counter; and an international documentation of communist practice — Soviet and Chinese agricultural collectivisation, East German party dissent, and communist mis-education of children — offered as evidence for that domestic warning. Contributors include the editor V. B. Karnik, the East German dissident academic Wolfgang Harich (via a smuggled memorandum), M. A. Venkata Rao writing on Chinese cooperative farming, and a writer under the pseudonym 'Ekalavya' on communist education. Unsigned 'Notes' and news items round out the issue with commentary on Aneurin Bevan's criticism of Soviet collectivisation, the wave of resignations in the British Communist Party, hero-worship as a threat to democracy, and reports from the Congress for Cultural Freedom's Indian and international activities. ## Essays ### The Elections And After *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik reviews the outcome of the 1957 general elections. The Congress retained power at the Centre and in nearly every state but suffered a severe setback in Kerala, where the Communist Party won a majority and formed a government, and narrowly avoided defeat in Orissa. Karnik reads the results chiefly as evidence that the Communist Party of India has emerged stronger despite the domestic and international shocks of Khrushchev's revelations about Stalin and the upheavals in Poland and Hungary, while the Praja Socialist Party's position is only middling and weakened by its entanglement in joint fronts with communists in Bengal and Maharashtra. He argues that democracy is not harmed by the rise of non-Congress parties as such, but warns that the Communist Party is an anti-democratic party using democratic procedures instrumentally, and that the country's democratic forces are 'confused, supine and divided,' allowing communists to expand through popular ignorance of what communism actually entails. The essay closes by calling for democratic groups across parties to unite in defence of democracy itself, since the survival of every democratic party and organisation depends on it. - Congress retained power nationally and in all states but one, but lost Kerala outright to the Communist Party and nearly lost Orissa. - The Communist Party of India increased its Bengal assembly representation from 28 to 46 seats and its poll from 8 lakhs to 18 lakhs. - The Praja Socialist Party's modest gains are undercut by its electoral alliances with communists in Bengal and Maharashtra, in contrast to the Socialist Party's more principled independent contesting. - Karnik attributes communist success not to communist strength but to the confusion, passivity, and division of India's democratic forces. - The essay calls for cross-party democratic groups to form a 'conscious vanguard' in defence of democracy, framing the stakes as the survival of a free society itself. ### Testament Of A Party Rebel *By Wolfgang Harich* This unsigned 'Notes' section and accompanying news items cover several short pieces. 'Bevan's Home Truths' reports British Labour leader Aneurin Bevan's candid criticism of Soviet and Chinese agricultural collectivisation, contrasting his account of countryside discontent and falling production with the Bombay Chief Minister's stated interest in adopting Chinese-style cooperative farming ideas. 'Wave Of Resignations' describes internal revolt within the British Communist Party following Khrushchev's revelations and the Hungarian and Polish upheavals, including mass resignations after the Party's national congress. 'Evil Of Hero-Worship' relays a speech by the Governor of Bombay, Sri Prakash, at the P.E.N. annual meeting, warning that India's culture of hero-worship undermines democratic functioning. 'Sharp Rebuff' notes the Hind Mazdoor Sabha's rejection of Soviet and Chinese trade-union invitations in protest at the suppression of the Hungarian revolt. 'Communist Success' argues that India's neutralist foreign policy has failed to check communist growth at home, as shown by the 1957 election results. The section closes with I.C.C.F. and C.C.F. news items (a reception for Prof. A. A. Kanekar and Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil, a report on Daniel Bell's visit) and, later in the issue, further C.C.F. news on Hungarian writers in exile and an Italian painters' exhibition, plus a notice of an international Exhibition of Asian Paintings organised by the Japan Cultural Forum and the Yomiuri newspaper. - Aneurin Bevan's account of a two-week Soviet visit described collectivisation-driven countryside discontent, falling cattle numbers, and production below pre-revolutionary and even 1941 levels. - The Bombay Chief Minister Y. B. Chavan's stated interest in Chinese-style cooperative farming is criticised as based on a misunderstanding of the coercive nature of Chinese 'cooperatives.' - British Communist Party members tore up membership cards after the Party leadership dismissed rank-and-file protests over Hungary and Poland; the Daily Worker and News Chronicle are quoted on the resulting crisis of confidence in Marxism. - Sri Prakash's P.E.N. speech frames hero-worship as one of the serious obstacles to India's democratic development. - The Hind Mazdoor Sabha rejected Soviet and Chinese trade union invitations as a protest against the suppression of the Hungarian uprising. - News items report Congress for Cultural Freedom activity: a Bombay reception for two Marathi literary figures, Daniel Bell's visit, formation of the Hungarian Writers' Association Abroad in London, and an Italian painters' exhibition supporting Hungarian refugee artists. ### Co-operative Farming In China *By M. A. Venkata Rao* This is an extract from a memorandum by Wolfgang Harich, then 36-year-old chair of Social Sciences at East Berlin University, written shortly before his arrest and eventual ten-year sentence for treason in East Germany. Harich describes a reformist faction within the Socialist Unity Party seeking to reform the party from inside on a platform developed after the Twentieth Party Congress, rejecting Stalinism while retaining Marxism-Leninism, and rejecting any exclusive Communist claim to leadership in building socialism, arguing that in Western Europe socialism could arise through the Social Democratic Party without communist involvement or revolution. The memorandum offers a historical account of Soviet development — endorsing forced industrialisation under Stalin as historically necessary while condemning the political degeneration of party and state that accompanied it — and calls for a program of internal party reform (breaking party-apparatus domination, restoring 'democratic centralism' in fact) alongside state reforms: raising living standards, profit-sharing, ending forced collectivisation, restoring freedom of thought and full rule of law, abolishing the secret police and secret trials, and holding genuinely competitive elections. On rendered pages continuing past page 6, Harich extends the argument to conditions for German reunification, insisting reunification must not mean capitalist restoration, and to the group's internal admission that their own remaining obstacle is Stalinism within their own ranks, which they must shed before honest cooperation with West German Social Democrats becomes possible. - Harich's faction developed a reform platform after the Twentieth Party Congress but was refused a hearing by Socialist Unity Party leaders, forcing them to route it through the Soviet Ambassador. - The memorandum holds that Stalin was right that rapid industrialisation was historically necessary, but wrong (against Trotsky) to deny the political degeneration of party and state that resulted. - The group rejects any single-party monopoly over the transition to socialism, arguing socialism in Western Europe can come via Social Democratic parties without communist involvement. - Proposed reforms include: breaking party-apparatus domination, ending forced collectivisation, restoring rule of law and abolishing secret police/trials, and holding elections with real electoral choice. - The reformers state their program aims to give the East political liberty and the West structural economic changes, calling this the 'true meaning of co-existence.' - The group frames their chief remaining obstacle as their own residual Stalinism, which must be shed before genuine cooperation with West German Social Democrats is possible. ### Communist Mis-education *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao praises the Dissenting Note filed by B. J. Patel and F. N. Rana against the majority report of the Indian Delegation, led by R. K. Patil, that had studied 'Agricultural Cooperatives' in Communist China. The Note argues that Chinese 'high grade cooperatives' are in truth Soviet-style kolkhoz collectives in which the peasant's status as independent proprietor is destroyed, that the appearance of voluntary accession is manufactured through terror during the preceding land-reform phase and subsequent state-engineered isolation and dependency, and that the claim of a phenomenal production increase attributable to collectivisation is unconvincing once government stability, technical inputs, and hard peasant labour are properly accounted for. Venkata Rao endorses the Note's central finding that China collectivised agriculture not because collectivisation was economically necessary but because it served the requirements of communist political philosophy, and frames the choice facing India as one between a rural democracy of free peasant proprietors aided by genuine, voluntary cooperatives and a communist path that reduces peasants to a propertyless proletariat under state dictatorship. - The Dissenting Note by Patel and Rana rebuts the majority report's uncritical acceptance of official Chinese claims about voluntary, high-production 'agricultural cooperatives.' - Chinese 'cooperatives' are argued to be true collectives (like the Russian kolkhoz) in which peasants lose independent proprietor status and become agricultural labourers under state-dictated production quotas. - 'Voluntary' accession is manufactured by prior terror during land redistribution and later economic/psychological coercion (state monopoly on inputs, credit, and markets). - The Note attributes claimed production gains to government stability, technical improvements, and peasant labour rather than to collectivisation itself, and finds collectivisation was pursued for ideological rather than economic reasons. - Venkata Rao frames India's choice as a 'Divide and Crossroads' between a democracy of free peasant proprietors aided by genuine cooperation, versus a communist path reducing peasants to a 'class of propertyless proletariat.' ### Notes (Bevan's Home Truths / Wave Of Resignations / Evil Of Hero-Worship / Sharp Rebuff / Communist Success) Writing under the pseudonym 'Ekalavya,' the author argues that communist regimes commit a distinctive crime against humanity through the deliberate mis-education of children, contrasting free-country pedagogical methods (Montessori, project method) with Soviet-bloc education built on the doctrine of irreconcilable class war and directed hatred of the 'Anglo-American imperialists.' The essay documents, through quoted textbook and teacher's-gazette excerpts from the USSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, and Bulgaria, how language lessons, grammar exercises, and adapted extracts from Western literature (Hardy, Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, Jack London) are used to indoctrinate hatred of capitalist countries while omitting the social progress those societies subsequently achieved. It further describes systematic falsification of Soviet-authored world and Second World War history (e.g., omitting Western Lend-Lease aid) as a parallel instrument of mis-education, and closes by warning that the same techniques of Marxist perversion of education could be introduced into schools by the newly elected communist government of Kerala, placing a responsibility on Indian educators and the Central Ministry of Education to guard against it. - The essay contrasts free-country pedagogy (Montessori, project method, self-directed activity) with communist education built on doctrines of class war and inculcated hatred of 'Anglo-American imperialists.' - Quoted Soviet, Czech, Polish, Hungarian, and Bulgarian textbook and teacher's-gazette material instructs students to view capitalist countries as places of poverty, exploitation, and impending war. - Western literary works (Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Bronte's Jane Eyre, Jack London) are selectively excerpted in communist-bloc textbooks to depict capitalist misery while omitting subsequent social reform. - Soviet historiography of World War II is described as systematically omitting Western Lend-Lease assistance while crediting the USSR with sole responsibility for victory. - The essay warns that the same 'mis-education' methods could be introduced into Kerala's schools under its new communist government, and calls on Indian educators and the Central Ministry of Education to guard against it. ### I.C.C.F. News The issue's back page, 'With Many Voices,' is a compiled column of short quotations from contemporary commentators and public figures on communism, Kerala, and related themes, drawn from Indian and international press (Hindustan Times, Hindu, Encounter, New Leader, Sunday Standard, Current) and including a satirical mock dinner-invitation from A. K. Gopalan's Kerala communist government to leading Indian industrialists (J. R. D. Tata, Kasturbhai Lalbhai, G. D. Birla, Ambalal Sarabhai, Chinubhai Kilachand), 'and Harakiri soon thereafter.' The page also carries the subscription form for Freedom First and the publication's colophon. - The column collects short quotations on communism and Kerala's new government from figures including Bertrand Russell, John Foster Dulles, Albert Camus, Nikita Khrushchev, and Nirad Chaudhury. - A satirical item imagines A. K. Gopalan's Kerala communist government inviting prominent industrialists (Tata, Lalbhai, Birla, Sarabhai, Kilachand) to 'DINNER and Harakiri soon thereafter.' - Albert Camus is quoted from Encounter warning that none of totalitarianism's claimed remedies is worse than totalitarianism itself, and that conformism 'has fastened on the Left.' - The page includes the Freedom First subscription form and the publication's colophon naming V. B. Karnik as editor/publisher. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff057/ ### Summary This is the February 1957 issue (No. 57) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited and published by V. B. Karnik from Bombay. The issue is dominated by the aftermath of the Hungarian uprising and its suppression by Soviet forces: a lead editorial on India's approaching general election, a C.C.F. News report on the Congress for Cultural Freedom's Paris meeting, editorial Notes covering Nehru's remarks on socialism and planning, a report on repression in South Africa and the Ahmedabad arrests, two anguished essays on the Hungarian revolution's betrayal by the West (Manes Sperber) and on Khrushchev's Stalinism (Saadi), an open letter/cable campaign for the release of Milovan Djilas signed by an international roster of intellectuals, a report on a Karachi seminar on religion and freedom, a book review of Edward Shils's study of American security policy and McCarthyism, and an essay by M. A. Venkata Rao opposing the state-driven 'officialisation' of agricultural cooperatives in India.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the February 1957 issue (No. 57) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited and published by V. B. Karnik from Bombay. The issue is dominated by the aftermath of the Hungarian uprising and its suppression by Soviet forces: a lead editorial on India's approaching general election, a C.C.F. News report on the Congress for Cultural Freedom's Paris meeting, editorial Notes covering Nehru's remarks on socialism and planning, a report on repression in South Africa and the Ahmedabad arrests, two anguished essays on the Hungarian revolution's betrayal by the West (Manes Sperber) and on Khrushchev's Stalinism (Saadi), an open letter/cable campaign for the release of Milovan Djilas signed by an international roster of intellectuals, a report on a Karachi seminar on religion and freedom, a book review of Edward Shils's study of American security policy and McCarthyism, and an essay by M. A. Venkata Rao opposing the state-driven 'officialisation' of agricultural cooperatives in India. Across these pieces the volume's argumentative center is anti-totalitarian liberalism: a sustained defense of individual and civil liberty against both Communist orthodoxy and the drift toward centralized economic planning in India, paired with solidarity for dissidents and victims of Soviet repression abroad. ## Essays ### General Election *By V. B. Karnik* In this unsigned lead editorial, 'General Election' (byline: V. B. Karnik), the author argues that India's 1957 general election is unlikely to produce any meaningful change in government policy or composition, given popular indifference, hero-worship of Congress leaders (Gandhi and Nehru), and the weakness of opposition parties. The Praja Socialist Party is described as compromised by internal splits and opportunist alliances with communists, while the Communist Party is cast as a foreign-directed agency with declining credibility after Khrushchev's revelations and the suppression of Hungary. The piece warns that Congress's unbroken fifteen-year rule risks strengthening totalitarian tendencies within a nominally democratic system, and calls for independent-minded public men to stand for election as a check on one-party dominance. - A general election in a well-established democracy allows peaceful change of government, but India's election is expected to be a mere formality reaffirming Congress rule. - Popular indifference, illiteracy, and hero-worship of Gandhi and Nehru will be exploited by Congress propaganda to secure votes. - Fifteen unbroken years of Congress rule risk creating packed legislatures, intolerance of criticism, and erosion of democratic vitality even if democratic institutions formally continue. - The Praja Socialist Party is weakened by internal splits and unprincipled alliances with communists in some areas. - The Communist Party of India is characterized as a foreign-directed agency whose standing has been damaged by Khrushchev's revelations and the suppression of the Hungarian revolution. - The author calls on disinterested, independent-minded public men to stand for election as a check against sliding into totalitarian attitudes. ### C. C. F. News The 'C.C.F. News' item and accompanying 'Notes' section report on the January 1957 Paris meeting of the International Executive Committee of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, which reasserted opposition to Soviet aggression in Hungary and Eastern Europe, praised Western restraint over Egypt (Suez) by contrast with Soviet defiance of the UN, and pledged continued support for persecuted intellectuals in Hungary, Poland, and Latin America. The Notes section separately covers Nehru's Indore speeches affirming that Indian socialism will follow democratic, non-doctrinaire methods, and welcomes his acknowledgment that the unbalanced, heavy-industry-first planning of Eastern Bloc states (and by implication India's early Second Plan drafts) neglected agriculture and the people's needs. - The Congress for Cultural Freedom's Executive Committee met in Paris on January 12-13, 1957, reviewing 1956 activities and setting 1957 priorities. - The Committee condemned continued Soviet aggression in Hungary as a violation of international morality underpinning the 1950 Berlin Manifesto. - The Committee contrasted French and British compliance with UN decisions on Egypt against Soviet defiance regarding Hungary. - M. R. Masani attended the Paris meeting and took a prominent part in its discussions. - Nehru's Indore speeches declared Indian socialism would rest on democratic principles and peaceful methods, not rigid doctrinaire socialism. - Freedom First welcomes Nehru's admission that East European planning was 'unbalanced,' overemphasizing heavy industry at agriculture's expense, as vindication of its own earlier warnings. ### Notes (Socialism And Democracy; Unbalanced Plans; Situation In South Africa; Military Regime In Hungary; Ahmedabad Arrests) This unsigned item reports on the apartheid crackdown in South Africa under the Ghetto Act and Group Areas Act, describing the forced removal of Indian and African communities from Johannesburg-area settlements, mass trials under the Suppression of Communism Act, and disenfranchisement of coloured and Indian voters by the Strijdom Government. A separate short item, 'Ahmedabad Arrests,' protests the Preventive Detention Act arrests of about twenty-five Praja Socialist workers in Ahmedabad, questioning the propriety of arresting people after inviting them to a police conference rather than prosecuting them through ordinary legal process. - The Strijdom Government's Ghetto Act (Group Areas Act) is forcing Indian and African communities from Johannesburg-area settlements such as Lenasia despite substantial property holdings. - Indians and Africans are being tried en masse under the Suppression of Communism Act, subjected to humiliating court procedures conducted in languages defendants do not understand. - The South African Government has also moved to strip Indians and Africans of voting rights, described as disenfranchisement on a 'fantastic charge of treason.' - The piece calls on the free world to pressure South Africa despite repeated but ineffective UN General Assembly discussions of the issue. - In Ahmedabad, about 25 Praja Socialist workers were arrested under the Preventive Detention Act after being lured to a police conference, which the author calls reprehensible absent due prosecution. ### The West Has Lost The Right To Weep *By Manes Sperber* In 'The West Has Lost The Right To Weep,' reprinted from The New Leader, Manes Sperber delivers a bitter indictment of Western passivity during the Hungarian revolution, arguing the West offered only words while Hungarians died, repeating the historical pattern of the Warsaw ghetto and the Polish Home Army uprising. He analyzes the revolution's spontaneous, leaderless character (with the Social Democratic party's leadership having been liquidated by the Communists years earlier), invokes Rosa Luxemburg's thesis on the spontaneity of the masses versus Bolshevik vanguardism, and predicts the Kremlin's suppression of Hungary will only hasten an eventual Russian revolution, since soldiers ordered to fire on fellow citizens will ultimately refuse. - The West's only response to Hungary's revolutionaries was 'astonished silence,' repeating the historical betrayal pattern of the Warsaw ghetto fighters and the Polish Home Army. - The revolution's spontaneity and lack of political/trade-union organization, following the earlier Communist liquidation of Social Democratic leadership, made it powerful but also vulnerable and prone to dangerous acceleration. - Rosa Luxemburg's insistence on the spontaneous role of the masses in true revolution, against Bolshevik vanguardism, is invoked as prophetic in light of the Berlin, Poznan, and Hungarian uprisings. - Sperber argues Russia's 'collective leadership' feared the demonstration effect of the Hungarian revolt on other Soviet-bloc peoples and, ultimately, the Soviet Union's own population. - The essay predicts an eventual Russian revolution, on the theory that soldiers ordered to fire on their own people will instead turn against the tyranny. ### "We Are All Stalinists" *By Saadi* In '"We Are All Stalinists",' Saadi dissects Khrushchev's post-20th-Congress claim of continued Stalinist commitment 'in our fight with imperialists' and his praise of Stalin as a 'model communist,' arguing this is no contradiction: Stalinism as an institution and method (ruthless, unscrupulous, totalitarian) survives even as communists disown Stalin the individual. The essay reports on the Jayaprakash Narayan-Ajoy Ghosh exchange, with Narayan's open letter to Indian communists posing pointed questions about whether Khrushchev's revelations were genuine reform or mere political maneuvering, and whether Indian communists have the independence to break from Moscow. Ghosh's reply is characterized as a political rejoinder that ultimately justifies Soviet suppression of the Hungarian revolution, following a secret Comintern-successor directive of 2 November 1956 instructing all Communist Parties to defend Soviet action in Hungary. - Khrushchev's denunciation of Stalin at the 20th Congress and his subsequent praise of Stalin as a 'model communist' are not contradictory: to communists, 'Stalin' names an institution and method that persists as Stalinism. - Recent crackdowns on Moscow University student dissent are cited as evidence that no genuine liberalisation has occurred in the USSR. - Jayaprakash Narayan's open letter to Indian communists asks whether they will pursue truth over ideology and whether they have the independence to break from Moscow's line. - Ajoy Ghosh's reply is characterized as justifying Soviet suppression of the Hungarian revolution and Communist Party 'mass following' as proof of independence from Moscow, which the author rejects as a fallacy. - A secret 2 November 1956 Communist Party of the Soviet Union circular directed all national Communist Parties to defend the USSR's action in Hungary, which the author presents as proof that Ghosh was simply following the Moscow directive. ### Mr. Milovan Djilas This item reproduces a cable sent to President Josip Broz Tito by a large group of internationally renowned intellectuals and public figures protesting the arrest and imprisonment of Milovan Djilas for his advocacy of democratic freedoms in Eastern Europe, urging his immediate release. It lists signatories from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, India (Sudhin Datta, Asoka Mehta, M. R. Masani, Jayaprakash Narayan, B. R. Shenoy), Israel, Italy, Japan, and Spain, and includes a companion cable from the Congress for Cultural Freedom's Executive Committee chairman, Denis de Rougemont, reiterating the demand for Djilas's release. - An international cable to Yugoslav President Tito protests the imprisonment of Milovan Djilas for advocating democratic freedoms in Eastern Europe. - The cable frames Djilas's fate as 'a test of the sincerity' of Yugoslavia's professed liberalisation and repudiation of Stalinist tyranny. - Signatories include prominent Western intellectuals and politicians (Sidney Hook, Norman Thomas, T. S. Eliot, Malcolm Muggeridge, Raymond Aron, Albert Camus, J. Robert Oppenheimer) alongside Indian signatories Sudhin Datta, Asoka Mehta, M. R. Masani, Jayaprakash Narayan, and B. R. Shenoy. - A separate cable from Congress for Cultural Freedom chairman Denis de Rougemont reaffirms the demand for Djilas's release and for Yugoslavs to be allowed to judge his views. ### Religion & Freedom - A Seminar in Karachi *By A. B. Shah* In 'Religion & Freedom - A Seminar in Karachi,' A. B. Shah reports on a late-December seminar organized by the Pakistan Committee for Cultural Freedom, attended by about thirty intellectuals from Pakistan and observers from India, Indonesia, and Lebanon, examining how far individual political and cultural freedom can be guaranteed by Islam or any religion. Papers by A. K. Brohi, Q. M. Aslam, Syed Ali Ashraf, Hasan Zaman, Dr. Mohmad Ahmad, and Dr. Mazharul Huq argued variously that religion is a necessary foundation for freedom, duty, and morality, while other participants (Jyotirmai Guha, Takdir Alisjabano, Beshara Ghorayeb) offered more secular or comparative counter-perspectives, with Ghorayeb asserting that democracy is a-religious. The seminar left key epistemological questions about reason versus religious authority unresolved for want of time. - The Pakistan Committee for Cultural Freedom's seminar on 'Religion and Freedom' drew about thirty intellectuals from Pakistan plus observers from India, Indonesia, and Lebanon. - A. K. Brohi's inaugural address posed the dilemma of how much freedom a free society should permit to those who would undermine its institutions. - Q. M. Aslam argued no major religion, least of all Islam, opposes democratic ideals of freedom, justice, and equality. - Syed Ali Ashraf and Hasan Zaman argued for a religious orientation to education and society as a safeguard against extreme individualism and totalitarian collectivism. - Jyotirmai Guha countered that man, as product of a law-governed universe, can be moral through reason alone without supernatural sanction. - Beshara Ghorayeb asserted that democracy is a-religious and warned against religion being used as a rigid secular ideology. - The seminar could not resolve, for lack of time, deeper questions about reconciling religious authority with modern science, reason, and epistemology. ### Review: The Torment Of Secrecy *By MA Venkata Rao* In the 'Review' section, M. A. Venkata Rao assesses Edward A. Shils's The Background and Consequences of American Security Policies (The Free Press, Glencoe, 1956), described as 'The Torment Of Secrecy.' Shils is portrayed as sympathetic to the view that Senator McCarthy's anti-communist crusade disgraced America's standing as an enlightened democratic leader, tracing McCarthyism's roots to imperfect assimilation of immigrant groups and fears of disloyalty. The reviewer partly pushes back, arguing Shils understates the genuine danger of communist infiltration facilitated by wartime pro-Russian sentiment (citing Alger Hiss), while endorsing Shils's constitutional argument that Congress overstepped legitimate bounds into unjust intimidation, and praising his closing pluralist theory of social life, which the reviewer likens to the Indian ethos of differential dharma across vocational groups. - Shils's book examines the background and consequences of American security policy shaped by Senator McCarthy's anti-communist activities. - Shils regards McCarthyism as having brought disgrace to America's standing as a democratic leader, with demoralising effects on administration, education, religion, journalism, and diplomacy. - Shils attributes public fears of disloyalty to imperfect assimilation of heterogeneous immigrant groups into an integral American nationalism. - The reviewer argues Shils understates the real danger of communist infiltration enabled by wartime pro-Russian sentiment, citing the Alger Hiss case. - The review endorses Shils's constitutional argument that Congress's fault was not oversight of the Executive per se but overreach into unjust intimidation and victimisation. - The review praises Shils's closing pluralist theory of social life and tolerance, comparing it to the Indian ethos of differential dharma governing different vocational groups. ### Officialising The Cooperatives? *By MA Venkata Rao* In 'Officialising The Cooperatives?', M. A. Venkata Rao critiques a Union Minister's (K. D. Malaviya's) call to officialise the cooperative movement, arguing it contradicts the voluntary spirit of cooperation and represents another step in the 'socialistic pattern of society' displacing individual freedom with state power. Drawing on a monograph by the Indian Cooperative Union of Delhi (authored by Prof. Raj Krishna, L. C. Jain, and Gopi Krishan) evaluating resettlement cooperatives for refugee peasants since 1948, the essay distinguishes genuine 'service' or 'betterment' cooperatives that preserve farmer proprietorship from Soviet/Chinese-style collective farms that convert peasant proprietors into landless labourers under bureaucratic management. As rendered through page 12, the essay surveys comparative international evidence (Russia, China, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland) showing that forced collectivisation nowhere achieved decisive production gains and everywhere required force or administrative discrimination against reluctant peasants, concluding the monograph 'marshals the evidence against Cooperative Farming' as planned in India. The issue closes with a note on the Indian Committee for Solidarity with Hungary's fundraising for Hungarian refugee students and its Bombay public meeting protesting the Government of India's invitation to Marshal Zhukov. - K. D. Malaviya's call to 'officialise the cooperative movement' is criticized as contradicting the voluntary spirit of cooperation and as part of a broader drift toward state displacement of social life. - The essay distinguishes genuine farmer 'service'/'betterment' cooperatives (preserving proprietorship, pooling credit and resources) from Soviet/Chinese-style collective farms that convert peasants into landless labourers under bureaucratic management. - The Indian Cooperative Union of Delhi's monograph, based on evaluation of resettlement cooperatives for refugee peasants since 1948, is presented as authoritative evidence against large-scale collectivisation. - Comparative international evidence shows collectivisation nowhere raised agricultural output above pre-revolution levels and proceeded furthest (51%) in Bulgaria, with Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Hungary around 20% and Poland, Romania, and East Germany at 11%. - The Federation of Rural People's Organizations, at a meeting chaired by N. G. Ranga, passed a resolution warning against hasty campaigns favouring collective cultivation. - The essay concludes that collectivisation destroys humanist and democratic values and the class of independent peasant proprietors without delivering the promised production gains. - The issue closes with a note that the Indian Committee for Solidarity with Hungary, chaired by Jayaprakash Narayan, is raising funds to bring Hungarian refugee students to India and protested the Government of India's invitation to Marshal Zhukov. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff061/ ### Summary This is the June 1957 issue (No. 61) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Democratic Research Service / Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik and published in Bombay. The rendered pages cover the opening article and the closing pages of the issue, with a gap in between (printed pages 5-8 were not rendered). The issue opens with V. B. Karnik's lead article "Party, Government And The People," a critique of Nehru's remarks on the relationship between party, government, and the people, arguing that democratic government must remain distinct from and answerable to Parliament rather than to a ruling party's extra-parliamentary machinery, with the Communist one-party state offered as the negative model.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the June 1957 issue (No. 61) of Freedom First, the monthly bulletin of the Democratic Research Service / Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik and published in Bombay. The rendered pages cover the opening article and the closing pages of the issue, with a gap in between (printed pages 5-8 were not rendered). The issue opens with V. B. Karnik's lead article "Party, Government And The People," a critique of Nehru's remarks on the relationship between party, government, and the people, arguing that democratic government must remain distinct from and answerable to Parliament rather than to a ruling party's extra-parliamentary machinery, with the Communist one-party state offered as the negative model. An unsigned "Notes" section comments on the Finance Minister's new tax burdens under the Second Five Year Plan, the Soviet Union's 1957 decree freezing repayment of state bonds (read as a de facto default and confiscation), state intrusion into literature via bodies like the Sahitya Akademi, the arrests of Indonesian writers Takdir Alisjahbana and Mochtar Lubis, and the underground Hungarian "Literary Gazette" published in exile after the 1956 Soviet crackdown. The issue also carries Leszek Kolakowski's celebrated anti-Soviet essay "What Is Socialism?" (reproduced from the banned Polish student paper Po Prostu via the New Leader of New York), a book review by M. A. Venkata Rao of Kwame Nkrumah's autobiography on the occasion of Ghana's independence, an interview with Yugoslav politician Vladimir Dedijer on Soviet exploitation and the Hungarian crisis, C.C.F. News on an East-West Music Festival and further protests over Indonesian arrests, and the tail end of an article on co-operative farming in India warning against Soviet/Chinese-style collectivisation. ## Essays ### Party, Government And The People *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead article takes up Prime Minister Nehru's remarks, reported in the A.I.C.C. Economic Review, that India occupies a position "somewhere between" the Communist system (where party and government are identical) and Western parliamentary democracies (where, per Nehru, "it is the government that is everything and not the organisation"). Karnik argues this middle position is confused and dangerous, especially given Nehru's own description of the administration as the "Executive Branch of the Congress." He lays out the classical definition of democracy as government of, by, and for the people, notes M. N. Roy's objection that the "for the people" clause can open the door to dictatorship, and argues no political party -- however large -- is coterminous with the people. He contrasts the British system, where Parliament as the sovereign body maintains a clear separation from party machinery, with Communist states where the Communist Party absorbs and directs the entire governmental apparatus, producing police-state terror as under Stalin. Karnik warns that any identification of the Government of India with the Congress Party would be "a step in the direction of totalitarianism," and argues that India's democratic prospects do not depend on the fortunes of the Congress but on awakening and strengthening the democratic consciousness of the people themselves. - Nehru described India as occupying a middle position between Communist party-state fusion and Western parliamentary systems where government, not party organisation, is paramount. - Karnik argues government and party must remain distinct; Parliament, not any party's extra-parliamentary caucus, is the sovereign authority in a democracy. - M. N. Roy is cited as objecting to the classical 'government for the people' definition of democracy on the grounds that it can license dictatorship. - In Communist states the Party controls the entire governmental and economic apparatus, tolerates no dissent, and this identification of party and government produces a police state and terror, as under Stalin. - Karnik warns that treating the Indian government as the 'Executive Branch of the Congress' would be a step toward totalitarianism, regardless of Congress's declining electoral fortunes. - The article concludes that India's democratic future depends on awakening the democratic consciousness of the people rather than on any single party's survival. ### What Is Socialism? *By Leszek Kolakowski* An unsigned editorial 'Notes' column covers several current issues: the Finance Minister's Budget proposals imposing Rs. 92.85 crores of fresh taxation alongside an overall deficit of Rs. 275 crores to be met by expanded treasury bills, which the piece argues will fuel inflation and burden the common man disproportionately despite being justified by Second Plan development goals; it quotes economist P. C. Jain's warning in the Times of India about a 'vicious circle' of higher prices, taxation and costs threatening the Plan's viability. A second note describes the Soviet Central Committee's 1957 decree freezing repayment of 260,000 million rubles in state bonds for 20 years, characterising it as a de facto default and confiscation of citizens' forced 'voluntary' savings, and situating it against the 1947 Soviet monetary reform. A third note, 'Writer And The State,' criticises Indian central and state government bodies like the Sahitya Akademi and National Book Trust for paternalistic overreach into literature that risks state control over artistic freedom. A fourth item, 'Repression In Indonesia,' protests the arrest of writer Takdir Alisjahbana (Vice-President of the University of Indonesia, Chairman of the Indonesian P.E.N. Club) following the earlier arrest of editor Mochtar Lubis, both without formal charges. The final note describes the underground 'Literary Gazette' (Irodalmi Ujsag), the banned Hungarian Writers' Association's paper, revived in exile in London after the Soviet suppression of the 1956 Hungarian revolution, including a smuggled prison poem by George Faludy. - New Budget taxes of Rs. 92.85 crores plus a Rs. 275 crore deficit financed by treasury bills are criticized as inflationary and disproportionately burdensome on the common man. - Economist P. C. Jain is quoted warning of a 'vicious circle' where higher Plan costs lead to higher taxation, higher prices, and still higher costs. - The USSR's 1957 decree freezing repayment of 260 billion rubles in state bonds for 20 years is characterized as a de facto default and confiscation of forced 'voluntary' savings. - Indian government bodies like the Sahitya Akademi and National Book Trust are criticized for paternalistic overreach that risks state control over literature. - The arrests of Indonesian writers Takdir Alisjahbana and Mochtar Lubis without formal charges are protested as threats to intellectual freedom. - The Hungarian Writers Association's banned 'Literary Gazette' was revived in London exile after the Soviet crackdown on the 1956 Hungarian revolution, publishing a smuggled prison poem by George Faludy. ### An Interview With Dedijer *By Hans Edward Teglers* Leszek Kolakowski's essay 'What Is Socialism?', written for the banned Polish student paper Po Prostu and circulated clandestinely before being published by the New Leader of New York, is reproduced in full across pages 9-10. Structured as a long litany of negative definitions, it first enumerates dozens of things socialism is 'not' -- a police state, a society with more spies than nurses, a state that jails people without trial, a caste system, a state that cannot tell social revolution from armed assault, a system whose leaders appoint themselves -- building a cumulative anti-Soviet indictment through irony and negation. The essay closes with a brief positive turn: 'socialism is a good thing,' delivered as an ironic coda after the long list of what really-existing socialist states are. - The essay is structured almost entirely as a list of negative definitions -- statements of what socialism is 'not' -- each of which describes an actual feature of Soviet-bloc life. - It catalogues police-state features: arbitrary arrest without trial, self-appointing leaders, more spies than nurses, more people in prison than in hospitals, slave labour, and state secrets covering even city street maps. - It highlights economic and social absurdities: producing excellent jet planes and bad shoes, officials multiplying faster than workers, salary gaps 40 times wider than the rest of the population. - It criticizes ideological rigidity: a state demanding uniform opinions in philosophy, economics, literature and ethics, and philosophers who always agree with the generals and ministers. - The essay was suppressed in Poland for its anti-Soviet character but circulated privately, producing 'a profound impression' on Polish students before reaching the West. - The piece ends with a deliberately anticlimactic positive definition -- 'socialism is a good thing' -- after the extensive negative catalogue. ### Review: Ghana (autobiography of Dr. Kwame Nkruma) *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao reviews Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's autobiography 'Ghana,' occasioned by the Gold Coast's attainment of independence as Ghana on 6 March 1957, calling it an event of 'world historic importance' (quoting Spengler) that will accelerate the liberation of the rest of colonial Africa. The review traces Nkrumah's biography -- his 1909 birth in the Western Gold Coast, education in the USA at Lincoln College and the University of Pennsylvania, exposure to communist and Trotskyist circles in Harlem, his organizing work in London with George Padmore and the Pan African Congress, and his eventual leadership of the Convention People's Party after a split with the United Gold Coast Convention. Venkata Rao praises Nkrumah as free of bitterness toward former colonial rulers and committed to equal partnership, describing his thought as 'an amalgam of Marxist specialism and Mazzinian nationalism,' while noting he seeks Western technical and capital assistance first but hints he will look elsewhere if it is not forthcoming. - Ghana's independence on 6 March 1957 is described as an event of 'world historic importance' that will accelerate liberation elsewhere in Africa. - Nkrumah's biography is traced from his 1909 birth through his US education (Lincoln College, University of Pennsylvania) and his exposure to communist and Trotskyist political circles in Harlem. - In London after 1945 Nkrumah organized African students and sailors, worked with George Padmore, and led the Pan African Congress in Manchester with 200 delegates. - After returning to the Gold Coast in 1947, Nkrumah split from the United Gold Coast Convention and formed the Convention People's Party. - The review characterizes Nkrumah's political thought as an amalgam of Marxist specialism and Mazzinian nationalism, free from fanatic ideological adherence. - Nkrumah is said to seek Western technical know-how and capital 'in the first instance,' with a hint that he will turn elsewhere if the West fails to help. ### Essay 5 Hans Edward Teglers reports an interview with Yugoslav politician Dr. Vladimir Dedijer, conducted in Copenhagen and originally published in Berlingske Tidende. Dedijer, a Central Committee member of the Yugoslav Communist Party who defended theoretician Milovan Djilas after Djilas's 1954 disgrace and was himself imprisoned for 'dissemination of enemy propaganda,' argues that had Karl Marx lived today he would have written Das Kapital against Soviet exploitation of its own people. Dedijer describes the Soviet state apparatus as having become 'master' rather than 'servant' of society, sustained by a highly paid apparatus of suppression, and offers a definition of socialism as a society in which the individual is not exploited and is released from the chains of the State. He credits Western welfare-state democracies with real gains for the working and middle classes, comments on Soviet pressure on Yugoslavia (including a 'postponed' aluminium works in Montenegro) reminiscent of Stalin-era methods attributed to Molotov's continuing hand, and closes by describing the Soviet experiment as having taught the world one essential lesson: 'how not to do it.' - Dedijer, a former Central Committee member of the Yugoslav Communist Party, argues Marx today would write Das Kapital against Soviet exploitation of its own population. - He was imprisoned for defending disgraced theoretician Milovan Djilas and for writing to the New York Times, later completing a Doctor of Law degree in 1956. - Dedijer defines socialism as a society where the individual is not exploited by another and is released from the chains of the State. - He argues the Soviet state apparatus became the 'master' rather than 'servant' of society, with a highly paid suppression apparatus and wage gaps exceeding those in many capitalist countries. - He credits Western welfare-state democracies with genuine improvements for the working and middle classes, narrowing the gap between rich and poor. - He describes ongoing Soviet economic pressure on Yugoslavia, attributes continuity with Stalinist methods to Molotov, and concludes the Soviet experiment's lesson for the world is 'how not to do it.' ### Essay 6 The final page combines two short items. 'C.C.F. News' reports on plans by the Congress for Cultural Freedom for an East-West Music Festival in Tokyo in 1959, listing an international planning committee including Nicolas Nabokov, Ravi Shankar, and others, and separately reiterates the Congress's protest over the continuing arrests of Indonesian writers Mochtar Lubis and Takdir Alisjahbana without formal charges under 'guided democracy.' Beneath it, the tail end of an article on co-operative farming in India (continued from an earlier, unrendered page 7) warns against the government's plans for pilot co-operative farming societies modeled on Chinese collectivisation, arguing Chinese agricultural co-operatives left peasants landless and prioritized production quantity over peasant welfare, and cites the Indian Co-operative Union's warning against 'unthinking enthusiasm for agricultural co-operativisation.' - The Congress for Cultural Freedom planned an East-West Music Festival for Tokyo in 1959, with an international committee including Nicolas Nabokov and Ravi Shankar. - The C.C.F. reiterates protest over the arrests of Indonesian writers Mochtar Lubis and Takdir Alisjahbana without formal charges. - The co-operative farming article (continued from p.7, not rendered) warns that the Government of India's planned pilot co-operative farming societies risk following the Chinese model. - Chinese agricultural co-operatives are described as having rendered peasants landless despite earlier land redistribution, prioritizing output quantity over peasant welfare. - The Indian Co-operative Union is cited warning against 'unthinking enthusiasm for agricultural co-operativisation,' distinguishing democratic farmer co-operatives from totalitarian collective farms. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff062/ ### Summary This is the complete issue No. 62 of Freedom First (July 1957), a monthly journal published by the Democratic Research Service (Bombay) for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is anti-communist in orientation throughout: it dissects Mao Tse-tung's "Hundred Flowers" speech as a tactical feint rather than genuine liberalisation, reproduces a message on the fourth anniversary of the 1953 East German workers' revolt, carries an editorial "Notes" section on the Algerian war and the UN report on the Soviet suppression of the Hungarian Revolution, examines communist-influenced educational policy in newly Communist-governed Kerala, sets out a general philosophical defence of individual and political freedom, and closes with the extended Anissimov-Silone correspondence on Soviet literature and de-Stalinization (reprinted from Tempo Presente/Les Lettres Nouvelles) plus organisational news of the Congress for Cultural Freedom network. Contributors include V. B. Karnik, Adam Adil, M. A. Venkata Rao, J. H. Oldenbroek (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions), Ignazio Silone and Ivan Anissimov. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the complete issue No. 62 of Freedom First (July 1957), a monthly journal published by the Democratic Research Service (Bombay) for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is anti-communist in orientation throughout: it dissects Mao Tse-tung's "Hundred Flowers" speech as a tactical feint rather than genuine liberalisation, reproduces a message on the fourth anniversary of the 1953 East German workers' revolt, carries an editorial "Notes" section on the Algerian war and the UN report on the Soviet suppression of the Hungarian Revolution, examines communist-influenced educational policy in newly Communist-governed Kerala, sets out a general philosophical defence of individual and political freedom, and closes with the extended Anissimov-Silone correspondence on Soviet literature and de-Stalinization (reprinted from Tempo Presente/Les Lettres Nouvelles) plus organisational news of the Congress for Cultural Freedom network. Contributors include V. B. Karnik, Adam Adil, M. A. Venkata Rao, J. H. Oldenbroek (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions), Ignazio Silone and Ivan Anissimov. ## Essays ### Mao's Flowers And Weeds *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik analyses Mao Tse-tung's February 1957 secret speech to the Chinese Supreme State Council (published four months later by the New China News Agency), which distinguishes "non-antagonistic contradictions" among the people from "antagonistic contradictions" with class enemies, and which floats the slogan "let a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend." Karnik argues the speech has weakened Moscow's monopoly on communist authority and has been welcomed in the West as a sign of liberalisation, but contends this optimism is misplaced: the Chinese Communist Party alone decides which criticism counts as a "fragrant flower" versus a "poisonous weed," and Mao himself admitted his security forces had liquidated 800,000 people between 1949 and 1954 (with other estimates far higher). Karnik concludes the speech is best read as a symptom of internal strain and possibly a shift in method rather than any real move towards freedom or democracy. - Mao Tse-tung's secret February 1957 speech to the Supreme State Council was published (in edited form, with admitted 'certain additions' and deletions) by the New China News Agency after a four-month delay. - The speech distinguishes 'non-antagonistic contradictions' among the people from 'antagonistic contradictions' with 'enemies of the people,' the latter subject to ruthless suppression. - Mao's 'hundred flowers' slogan for tolerating debate is undercut by six political criteria the Party uses to separate acceptable ('fragrant flowers') from unacceptable ('poisonous weeds') speech and writing. - Mao admitted his Security Forces liquidated 800,000 people from 1949-1954; other estimates range to ten or fifteen million. - The speech has weakened Moscow's sole authority over international communism by establishing Peking as a rival centre of doctrine. - Karnik reads Mao's talk of 'political freedom and democratic rights' as freedom only 'with leadership' and democracy only 'under centralised guidance,' i.e., not real freedom or democracy at all. - The essay situates the speech against the backdrop of the Khrushchev secret speech on Stalin and the Polish and Hungarian upheavals of 1956. ### Notes (Algerian Deadlock / Report On Hungary / Moscow Youth Festival) An unsigned three-part editorial 'Notes' section. 'Algerian Deadlock' condemns the paralysis of French policy after 34 months of military campaign in Algeria, arguing the refusal to grant independence, combined with 1.2 million French colons insisting on their superiority, has driven the country toward economic and moral crisis, and calls for outside mediation by the US and Tunisia. 'Report On Hungary' praises the UN Investigating Committee's report for establishing that the USSR conducted 'massive armed intervention' in Hungary without invitation from the Hungarian government, exposing the hollowness of the Warsaw Pact's legal pretensions, and calls on the UN to act against continued Soviet suppression of Eastern Europe. 'Moscow Youth Festival' criticizes the Government of India's decision to restrict delegate numbers to the Sixth World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow, framing the festival as Soviet propaganda designed to seduce foreign youth, citing internal Soviet press coverage coaching young Russians on how to present the USSR favourably to foreign visitors. - France's 34-month military campaign in Algeria has failed either militarily or politically, costing over a million pounds a day and radicalising both Algerian nationalists and French colons. - The editorial calls for outside intervention by powers like the US and Tunisia to break the Algerian deadlock. - The UN Investigating Committee on Hungary is praised for concluding that Soviet intervention in Hungary was unrequested by the Kadar government and constituted 'massive armed intervention' under the USSR's own definition of aggression. - The Committee's report notes no looting occurred during the Hungarian uprising despite destroyed shop windows, a point cited as testament to Hungarian discipline and character. - The Government of India limited delegates (to about eighty) attending the 1957 Moscow World Youth Festival, ostensibly for foreign-exchange reasons though the editorial suspects other motives. - Soviet youth were reportedly coached by the press (Moskovsky Komsomolets) on how to present the USSR favourably and avoid envy of Western visitors' possessions. ### Anniversary Of East German Revolt Adam Adil surveys the philosophy of freedom from antiquity to the present, arguing that political freedom is the most important dimension of freedom in general and that the freedom of the individual is the foundation of all progressive political thought. He traces the idea through Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Mill, Voltaire, Laski, and poets such as Dante, Wordsworth, Byron, Tagore and Iqbal, contrasts Locke's empirical and Rousseau's abstract approaches to the social contract, and surveys the English, American and French Revolutions as milestones in the expansion of political liberty, before noting that nineteenth-century social theorists came to see popular sovereignty and rule of law alone as insufficient to secure real individual freedom absent economic freedom too. - Adil frames freedom as man's highest aspiration and links it to Nehru's remark in Discovery of India that 'because of that much may be forgiven to man, and it is impossible to lose hope for him.' - Political freedom is presented as the most important dimension of general freedom, with the individual's freedom as its fundamental basis. - Fascism and 'totalitarian communism' are cast as historical negations of freedom that nonetheless must eventually pass. - Locke and Rousseau are contrasted as, respectively, empirical/practical and abstract/logical theorists preparing the philosophical ground for the English, American and French Revolutions. - The essay surveys the 1789 French Revolution's impact across Europe and cites Wordsworth's 'Bliss was it in that dawn to live' as an expression of contemporary optimism. - By the 19th century, thinkers recognised that popular sovereignty, representative government and rule of law alone were insufficient to secure individuals' real freedom, prompting demands (via the 1848 revolutions and Chartism) that political liberty include economic freedom. ### Philosophy Of Freedom *By Adam Adil* The continuation of Adam Adil's 'Philosophy Of Freedom' (from page 5) on page 12 argues that political freedom must be joined with economic freedom — 'freedom from want' and 'freedom from exploitation' — but insists economic freedom is not a necessary precondition of political freedom, and that communist regimes which claim to prioritise economic freedom in fact deny political freedom altogether while failing to secure real economic freedom either. Adil warns against making economic freedom the 'condition' of political freedom, since this logic has historically been used to suppress political liberty, quoting Hugh Gaitskell's rejection of that doctrine as 'nonsense — and dangerous nonsense at that.' The essay closes by warning against the 'tyranny of the majority' and endorsing Mill's view that a democratic society must always allow a political minority the right to grow into a majority. - Political freedom should be concomitant with economic freedom ('freedom from want' and 'freedom from exploitation'), but communist regimes that claim to prioritise the latter in practice secure neither. - Economic freedom is argued NOT to be a necessary condition of political freedom; treating it as such has historically enabled suppression of political liberty in the name of economic freedom. - Hugh Gaitskell, leader of the British Labour Party, is quoted rejecting the claim that economic freedom is a necessary condition of political freedom as 'nonsense — and dangerous nonsense at that.' - The essay warns against the 'tyranny of the majority' denying the 'grace of living' to political or economic minorities. - Mill (and 'Renon' — likely Renan) are cited as having stressed this 'grace of living' as essential to freedom, with the argument that a healthy democracy must let political minorities have the right to grow into majorities. ### The Impossible Dialogue This piece reproduces the full text of a message from J. H. Oldenbroek, Secretary-General of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, addressed to workers in the Soviet Zone of Germany on the fourth anniversary of the 17 June 1953 East German workers' revolt. Oldenbroek recounts how differential pay scales, arbitrary privileges and a pervasive spying system were used by East German communist authorities to divide workers, but that the strategy backfired when workers rose in unanimous revolt across 274 cities and towns, demanding free elections, abolition of the imposed government, and German reunification, a revolt eventually crushed by Soviet tanks but which Oldenbroek says could not kill the spirit of freedom. He calls on East German workers to reject any fraternisation with the state-controlled 'Free German Trade Union Federation' and pledges the solidarity of the ICFTU's 55 million members. - The message marks the fourth anniversary (17 June 1957) of the East German workers' revolt of 1953, which involved strikes and demonstrations in 274 cities and towns. - Soviet martial law imposed after the uprising resulted in 1,067 workers being sentenced to a combined 6,321 years in prison. - East German authorities used differential pay scales, arbitrary privileges and a comprehensive spying system to divide workers before the revolt. - Workers' demands escalated from modest economic grievances to explicitly political demands: abolition of the imposed government, free elections, and reunification of the Federal Republic. - Oldenbroek urges continued rejection of any fraternising with the Soviet Zone's official 'Free German Trade Union Federation' and pledges solidarity from the ICFTU's 55 million members worldwide. ### Educational Policies In Kerala *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao critiques the new educational proposals of the Communist-led Kerala state government, focusing on textbook nationalisation, control of syllabi, and withdrawal of state grants to denominational schools. He argues that nationalising textbook production violates the principle of educational autonomy—the right of teachers, writers and publishers to determine curriculum content through their expertise—and warns that state control over textbooks in a Communist-governed state risks rewriting history and social values along Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist lines, citing the danger of disparaging figures like Shivaji and Rana Pratap Singh as 'communal.' He also examines the constitutional dispute over Article 30 (minority rights to run educational institutions and receive state aid) and criticises a proposed Kerala University Bill that would nominally grant university autonomy while placing constituent colleges under government (and hence Communist Party) control, concluding this represents a serious threat to genuine education and democratic self-government. - The Kerala state government (a communist government) proposed nationalising textbook production, controlling syllabi, and withdrawing state grants to denominational schools run by religious organisations like the Catholic Church. - Venkata Rao argues textbook nationalisation violates educational autonomy: writers, teachers and publishers, by virtue of their expertise, should determine curriculum and reading materials, not state bureaucracy. - He warns of a specific danger under Communist rule: rewriting history/textbooks along Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist lines and disparaging national historical figures (e.g. Shivaji, Rana Pratap Singh) as 'communal' or violent. - The essay analyses the constitutional dispute over Article 30, contrasting the American model of strict separation (no state aid to any denominational school) with what he calls the Mauryan/Asokan tradition of impartial state aid to all recognised religious groups, which he argues is the model embodied in India's Constitution. - The proposed Kerala University Bill is criticised for granting nominal university autonomy while transferring the Travancore University's constituent colleges (and their staff) to direct government control, with the Pro-Vice-Chancellor role held by the Minister of Education, undermining genuine self-government of education. ### C.C.F. News / I.C.C.F. News / D.R.S. News This piece reprints the concluding exchange (from Les Lettres Nouvelles) of a six-month correspondence between Ivan Anissimov, Soviet literary historian and editorial board member of Inostranaia Litoratura, and Ignazio Silone, Italian writer and chairman of a 1956 Zurich meeting of Eastern and Western literary reviews. Silone had submitted a questionnaire to Anissimov probing whether Soviet literary directives had changed post-Stalin, whether the 'thaw' extended to publishing independent-left Western writers, and how Soviet writers had reacted to reform movements in Hungary, Poland and Yugoslavia; Anissimov's guarded replies defended Soviet literature and dismissed the Hungarian Revolution as a 'counter-revolution.' A second round of increasingly hostile letters follows: Anissimov accuses Silone of slandering the USSR and betraying his own past as an anti-fascist; Silone responds with a stinging, ironic letter ('I beg your pardon') pressing Anissimov on the unexplained deaths and disappearances of Soviet writers (including Maxim Gorky), the closure of Moscow's Jewish Theatre, and the banning of Yiddish publications, and declares the dialogue impossible so long as Soviet censorship persists. The section closes with brief news items: a Congress for Cultural Freedom conference at St. Antony's College, Oxford (attended by scholars including Raymond Aron, Isaiah Berlin, A. D. Gorwala, and Minoo Masani), the publication of a White Book on the Hungarian Revolution edited by Melvin J. Lasky, an ICCF lecture by Prof. D. R. Gadgil in Poona, and a Democratic Research Service discussion on 'Tactics of United Front' in Bombay attended by V. B. Karnik, Adam Adil, and M. R. Masani among others. - The correspondence originated at a Zurich meeting of Eastern and Western literary review editors chaired by Ignazio Silone, followed by a formal questionnaire exchange between Silone and Ivan Anissimov meant for simultaneous publication in Tempo Presente and Les Lettres Nouvelles. - Anissimov defended Soviet socialist realism and dismissed the Hungarian Revolution as a 'counter-revolution' aided by reactionaries, while Silone challenged him with a list of Russian and Jewish communist writers murdered under Stalin. - In their second round of letters, Anissimov accused Silone of 'violently anti-socialist and anti-Marxist' slander; Silone's reply presses Anissimov on the unresolved death of Maxim Gorky, disappeared writers, and the closure of Moscow's Jewish Theatre and Yiddish publishing. - Silone declares 'a dialogue between us is impossible and would have no meaning' as long as Soviet censorship prevents Anissimov from answering freely. - News notes cover: a CCF conference at St. Antony's College, Oxford (24-29 June 1957) on Soviet society since the Twentieth Party Congress, with participants including Raymond Aron, Isaiah Berlin, Merle Fainsod, A. D. Gorwala and Minoo Masani; publication of The Hungarian Revolution white book edited by Melvin J. Lasky with an introduction by Hugh Seton-Watson; a Poona ICCF lecture by Prof. D. R. Gadgil; and a Bombay DRS discussion on 'Tactics of United Front' chaired by V. B. Karnik. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff063/ ### Summary This is the complete August 1957 issue (No. 63) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service, edited by V. B. Karnik and published from Bombay. In the rendered pages the issue runs a lead essay by V. B. Karnik questioning whether the Bhoodan movement's shift toward Gramdan (village-level land gifts) is drifting toward Soviet-style collectivisation despite its leaders' professed anti-communist ideals; an editorial "Notes" section rebutting attacks on the Democratic Research Service and M. R. Masani published in the Paris journal Liberation and reprinted by Blitz, alongside notes on Second Five Year Plan priorities, communist-era lawlessness in Kerala under E. M. S. Namboodiripad's ministry, and a new DRS publication on Indian Communist Party documents; a full reprint of the United Nations Special Committee's report on the Soviet intervention in Hungary; a first-person account of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution by Hungarian writer Paul Ignotus; a further "Notes" item on Kerala's proposal to nationalise private schools, framed as indoctrination; an essay by M. A.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the complete August 1957 issue (No. 63) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service, edited by V. B. Karnik and published from Bombay. In the rendered pages the issue runs a lead essay by V. B. Karnik questioning whether the Bhoodan movement's shift toward Gramdan (village-level land gifts) is drifting toward Soviet-style collectivisation despite its leaders' professed anti-communist ideals; an editorial "Notes" section rebutting attacks on the Democratic Research Service and M. R. Masani published in the Paris journal Liberation and reprinted by Blitz, alongside notes on Second Five Year Plan priorities, communist-era lawlessness in Kerala under E. M. S. Namboodiripad's ministry, and a new DRS publication on Indian Communist Party documents; a full reprint of the United Nations Special Committee's report on the Soviet intervention in Hungary; a first-person account of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution by Hungarian writer Paul Ignotus; a further "Notes" item on Kerala's proposal to nationalise private schools, framed as indoctrination; an essay by M. A. Venkata Rao arguing that India's cooperative-farming push is following "the Chinese road" toward state control of agricultural surplus; a book review of Samuel Eliot Morison's Freedom in Contemporary Society by Adam Adil; a letter to the editor from Rev. T. Mascarenhas responding to Venkata Rao's earlier article and defending Catholic-run schools against the charge of indoctrination; notes on Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (ICCF) lecture events; and a closing page of aphoristic quotations ("With Many Voices") from a Congress for Cultural Freedom seminar on Soviet society held at Oxford. The issue's argumentative center is a sustained anti-communist, classical-liberal critique of collectivism — whether in Indian land reform, Chinese agricultural policy, Kerala's communist government, or Soviet rule over Eastern Europe — paired with a defence of private property, free institutions, and civil liberties against state encroachment. ## Essays ### Whither Bhoodan? *By by V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's "Whither Bhoodan?" traces the Bhoodan land-gift movement's evolution into Gramdan, the collective donation of entire villages, and asks whether this shift represents a move toward Soviet-style collectivisation. Karnik argues the original purpose of Bhoodan was to give land to the landless as individual owners, preserving private ownership and allowing voluntary cooperative organisation, whereas Gramdan-based collectivisation would abolish rights of ownership altogether, making the peasant a mere worker for the state or village collective. He acknowledges Vinobaji and the movement's leaders reject Soviet-style aims and instead seek decentralised "Gramrajya" (village republics), but warns that "the logic of events is far stronger than the intentions of men," and that recent statements — including Vinoba's remark that he might be driven to accept "the communist way" if non-violence and love fail to solve the land problem — combined with a Sevagram seminar's declared aim of "the ultimate aim of achieving the abolition of private property," are raising serious doubts among both critics and admirers of the movement. - Bhoodan (individual land gifts) has shifted toward Gramdan (whole-village gifts), which Karnik sees as a natural but concerning evolution. - The original Bhoodan purpose was individual land ownership for the landless, not collectivisation. - Karnik distinguishes the Bhoodan movement's stated aims from Soviet/Chinese collectivisation, noting its leaders explicitly reject the communist model. - He warns that abolishing ownership rights in land removes the logical basis for defending ownership of any other property. - Maganbhai Desai is cited warning that Vinobaji suggested he might accept 'the communist way' if non-violent methods failed on land reform. - A Sevagram seminar of Bhoodan workers reportedly declared the movement's ultimate aim to be abolition of private property, per a Times of India report. - Karnik frames self-reliant, individually-owned village republics (Gramrajya) as the movement's proper aim, at risk of drifting into a 'servile society.' ### Notes (For The Record; Order Of Priorities) The unsigned 'Notes' section (For The Record; Order Of Priorities) defends the Democratic Research Service (DRS) and M. R. Masani against a libel republished by Blitz and originally run in the Paris journal Liberation, which alleged foreign (American) funding tied to Masani's role with the organisation. The Notes insist DRS receives no foreign financial assistance, that its accounts are independently audited, and that it does not act against the Congress Party or socialism as such but against totalitarian communism. A second item, 'Order Of Priorities,' discusses difficulties facing India's Second Five Year Plan — rising costs, foreign exchange strain, inflation, strike threats — and cites C. D. Deshmukh's and Rajagopalachari's calls to prioritise the Plan's 'hard core,' quoting Masani's Yojana article that 'planning is essentially a field where we should proceed through a process of trial and error.' - Blitz republished a libel originally run in the Paris paper Liberation alleging Democratic Research Service and M. R. Masani receive US funding. - DRS states its funds are raised entirely in India from public-spirited citizens and independently audited. - DRS says its work targets totalitarian communism, not the Congress Party or socialism as such, and counts Congress leaders and socialists among its patrons. - The Second Five Year Plan faces rising cost estimates (from Rs. 4000 to Rs. 6000 crores), foreign exchange strain, and inflation pressure. - C. D. Deshmukh and Rajagopalachari are cited urging the government to prioritise fulfilling the Plan's 'hard core' rather than the whole Plan. - M. R. Masani is quoted from Yojana arguing planning should proceed through trial and error, with nothing 'sacrosanct' about a plan. ### U. N. Report On Hungary A further unsigned Notes item, 'Lawlessness in Kerala,' reports growing complaints of lawlessness under the communist ministry led by Chief Minister E. M. S. Namboodiripad, drawing on Congress general secretary Shriman Narayan's tour findings and a United Planters' Association of Southern India note describing a 'wave of violence and hooliganism' against plantation managers. It notes Namboodiripad's admission that 'incidents' had occurred while praising British policing methods, which the Notes call inconsistent given his party's ideology. A companion item announces the DRS's new publication, Indian Communist Party Documents, produced jointly with the Institute of Pacific Relations, containing secret CPI documents from the 1930s and 1954-55 whose authenticity was affirmed by Madras and Travancore-Cochin legislative committees. - Congress general secretary Shriman Narayan reportedly found the law-and-order situation in Kerala 'dark and disquieting,' with police 'demoralised.' - The United Planters' Association of Southern India (UPASI) documented violence and intimidation against plantation managers under the communist ministry. - Chief Minister Namboodiripad denied the complaints as unfounded but admitted incidents where 'peaceful life and property' of employers were endangered. - The Notes call it 'surprising' that Namboodiripad praised British policing as a democratic model while communist unionists in Kerala used different, more coercive methods. - DRS announces the publication Indian Communist Party Documents (with the Institute of Pacific Relations), containing CPI documents from the 1930s Madurai/Palghat congresses and 1954-55, whose authenticity was upheld by Madras and Travancore-Cochin legislative privileges committees. ### The Hungarian Revolution *By by Paul Ignotus* This unsigned piece reprints the unanimous conclusions of the United Nations Special Committee on Hungary (representatives of Australia, Ceylon, Denmark, Tunisia, and Uruguay), which investigated the Soviet armed intervention in Hungary in October-November 1956. The report concludes the uprising was a spontaneous national revolt, not fomented by reactionary or Western circles, driven by grievances over the AVH secret police, Soviet-imposed cultural and military influence, and demands for democratic socialism and independence from the USSR. It details how Imre Nagy became a symbolic (though not instigating) leader of the uprising, the ambiguity around invitations for Soviet intervention, and evidence that Soviet troop movements began before the uprising's climax, suggesting the USSR was prepared to intervene regardless of Hungarian requests. The account continues onto later pages describing the installation of the Kadar government by Soviet forces as a 'counter-revolution' against a government enjoying popular support, subsequent repression (executions, forced-labour deportations, dissolution of the Social Democratic Party, postponed elections), and the Committee's judgment that UN consideration of the matter was legally proper despite Article 2(7) objections. - The UN Committee (Australia, Ceylon, Denmark, Tunisia, Uruguay) examined over a hundred witnesses and 2,000 pages of testimony but was barred from direct observation inside Hungary. - The uprising is found to be spontaneous, driven by grievances against AVH secret police terror and USSR-imposed cultural/military dominance, not planned in advance or fomented by 'reactionary' or Western forces. - Erno Gero's truculent 23 October speech and news of Poland's push for independence from the USSR are identified as the immediate triggers. - Imre Nagy became a symbolic figure of the uprising by throwing in his lot with the revolutionary councils, though the Committee finds he neither instigated nor fully led it. - Evidence of Soviet troop movements from as early as 20 October suggests preparation for armed intervention independent of any Hungarian government invitation. - The Kadar government, installed after the 4 November second Soviet intervention, is characterised as a Soviet-imposed 'counter-revolution' lacking popular support. - Post-intervention repression included capital punishment for strike activity, distorted judicial processes, dissolution of the Social Democratic Party, and deportations to the USSR. - The Committee holds that UN consideration of Hungary was legally proper and not barred by Article 2(7) of the Charter, given the scale of foreign armed intervention. ### Education Or Indoctrination? Paul Ignotus's essay 'The Hungarian Revolution,' written as a message to the April 1957 Bulletin of the Committee on Science and Freedom, gives a first-person Hungarian perspective on the 1956 revolution. Ignotus recounts how Hungarian intellectuals had feared their Russified, indoctrinated youth would never resist Soviet rule, or would rebel only toward a 'near-Hitlerite' reaction — fears he says proved unfounded, as the youth fought the invaders with courage while remaining free of both Bolshevik and fascist sympathies. He emphasises the distinctive role Hungarian writers and scholars played in the revolution, given the deep popular reverence for literary figures, and closes by cataloguing the post-revolution fate of Hungarian writers: some arrested and released (Dery, Hay, Benjaamin, Tamasi), others still imprisoned (Gali, Obersovszky) or disappeared, likely to Romania (Lukacs, Lozonozy, Haraszti), with the Writers' Association and Union of Journalists dissolved under government control. He calls on foreign writers and scholars to show solidarity. - Ignotus recalls pre-revolution fears that Russified, indoctrinated Hungarian youth would either passively accept Soviet rule or rebel toward a 'near-Hitlerite' reaction. - These fears proved unfounded: youth fought the Soviet invaders with courage while remaining free of both pro-Bolshevik and fascist sympathies. - Ignotus highlights the unusually central role Hungarian writers and scholars played in the revolution, tied to popular reverence for literary figures, including some Communist Party members among the sympathetic writers. - Post-revolution, the Writers' Association and Union of Journalists were dissolved and placed under government tutelage. - Some writers (Dery, Hay, Benjaamin, Tamasi) were arrested and later released; others (Gali, Obersovszky) remained imprisoned; several (Lukacs, Lozonozy, Haraszti) disappeared, probably to Romania. - Ignotus calls on foreign writers and scholars to publicly show solidarity with their Hungarian colleagues. ### On The Chinese Road! *By by M. A. Venkata Rao* An unsigned Notes item, 'Education Or Indoctrination?,' reprints extracts from a statement by the Private Schools' Rights' Defense Committee (Kerala State) opposing the Communist Kerala Ministry's proposal to nationalise education and take over 'badly run' private schools. The Committee, though constituted by the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Conference's Education Committee, argues it defends the rights of all private schools regardless of religious affiliation, contending private schools are better run than government ones and that the proposal to standardise teacher appointments and curricula amounts to converting education into Marxist indoctrination. The item compares the Kerala government's approach to Hitler's Germany and Mussolini's Italy in its bid to 'regimentalise the individual.' - The Private Schools' Rights' Defense Committee (Kerala State) opposes the Communist ministry's plan to nationalise education and take over 'badly run' private schools. - The Committee argues private schools are better managed and produce better-disciplined students than government schools. - It frames the plan to impose government-selected teacher lists and standardised curricula as a step toward converting education into indoctrination in Marxist principles. - The Notes compare the Kerala government's approach to Hitler's Germany and Mussolini's Italy, alleging an intent to 'regimentalise the individual' against the Indian Constitution's democratic aims. ### Review: Freedom in Contemporary Society by Samuel Eliot Morison *By Adam Adil* M. A. Venkata Rao's essay 'On The Chinese Road!' argues that India's push toward cooperative farming is following the same trajectory as Communist China's agricultural collectivisation, which Rao traces from the 1953 crisis in Chinese agricultural production through the state's monopoly purchase of grain and the parallel development of socialist industry and agriculture under Mao Tse-tung. He argues the underlying motive of collectivisation everywhere — Soviet or Chinese — is to transfer control of the harvest from the peasant to the state so that agricultural surplus can be traded for industrial equipment, regardless of whether the state is democratic or totalitarian. The essay (continuing onto a later page) warns that India's fascination with using cooperativisation to solve its foreign-exchange problem risks the same sacrifice of the individual to production targets, contrasting this with Denmark's model of cooperative societies that preserve individual land ownership, and closes by insisting freedom is not 'a superfluous good' but the 'indespensable condition' of all values. - Rao argues China's post-1953 push for agricultural cooperativisation was driven by the need to export agricultural surplus in exchange for Soviet industrial equipment. - State monopoly purchase orders (from November 1953) stripped Chinese peasants of control over their own harvest, transferring it to state-controlled collective farms. - Rao quotes Mao Tse-tung's July 1955 declaration proposing to complete agricultural socialisation in China within seventeen years, paralleling Soviet industrialisation strategy. - He argues collectivisation's aim — concentrating control of production in the state — is the same whether the state is democratic or totalitarian, differing only in 'harshness and violence.' - Rao warns India's own Five Year Plans show a 'fatal fascination' with cooperativisation as a solution to the foreign exchange problem, similar to the Chinese approach. - He contrasts this with Denmark's cooperative model, visited by the Prime Minister, where peasants retained ownership of their land while gaining credit, technical advice, and marketing advantages. - The essay closes arguing that freedom is 'the indespensable condition and atmosphere of all values,' and that only a plan enabling 'individuals to plan their own lives' has final value. - This essay drew a critical letter to the editor from Rev. T. Mascarenhas in the same issue, defending Catholic-run private schools against an analogy Rao allegedly drew to Communist indoctrination in an earlier July issue article. ### Letter To The Editor *By (Rev.) T. Mascarenhas* Adam Adil's review of Samuel Eliot Morison's Freedom in Contemporary Society praises the book's analysis of political, economic, and academic freedom in contemporary society, noting Morison's frank support for strict measures against communists (quoting his rejection of 'sweet reasonableness' as a strategy against communist doctrine) alongside his simultaneous condemnation of 'guilt by association' practices associated with McCarthyism. The review notes the book originated as the Chancellor Dunning Trust lectures at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, and that Morison, a noted historian, won the Pulitzer Prize for Admiral of the Ocean Sea. - Morison ranks political freedom as 'most important and inclusive,' economic freedom as most subject to erosion, and academic freedom as 'youngest of the family.' - Morison discusses McCarthyism, the New Deal, trade unions, and academic freedom from a liberal, anti-communist standpoint. - He advocates strict measures against communists while opposing the doctrine of 'guilt by association' that harmed innocent Americans during the McCarthy era. - The book originated as the Chancellor Dunning Trust lectures at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario. - Morison won the Pulitzer Prize for Admiral of the Ocean Sea. ### I. C. C. F. News A letter to the editor from Rev. T. Mascarenhas (Bombay, 17 July 1957) responds to M. A. Venkata Rao's July issue article, rebutting what he characterises as a misleading suggestion equating Catholic schools' religious doctrine with communist indoctrination in Kerala. Mascarenhas argues Catholic schools teach their own doctrine without coercing others, unlike the Communist government which he says seeks to make its worldview compulsory for everyone, and defends the constitutional right of religious minorities to run aided schools. - Mascarenhas responds to an 'if' raised by M. A. Venkata Rao in the July issue that he says wrongly lumps Catholic and Communist approaches to education together. - He argues Catholic schools have an 'exact doctrine' and discipline but do not attempt to coerce others outside their own institutions. - He contrasts this with the Communist government of Kerala, which he says seeks to make its worldview 'compulsory on everybody else.' - He defends the Indian Constitution's grant of the right to religious minorities to run their own schools and claim grant-in-aid, tracing this tradition to 'the days of Asoka.' - He argues that objecting to Communist indoctrination while defending Catholic educational freedom is not 'the pot calling the kettle black.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff064/ ### Summary This is Issue No. 64 of Freedom First (September 1957), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service published in Bombay and edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue opens with Adam Adil's stock-taking essay "Ten Years Of Freedom," marking a decade of Indian independence with a critical survey of the country's political, economic, social, and cultural record, warning against the personality cult around Nehru and the drift toward "statism." An unsigned Notes section comments on a averted post-and-telegraph employees' strike, government labour policy, K. M. Munshi's warning against creeping totalitarianism via administrative tribunals, and rising prices. A substantial excerpted feature reproduces passages from Milovan Djilas's smuggled manuscript "The New Class," covering Trotsky, Stalin, Tito, unemployment under communism, waste and theft in the Soviet system, and national communism. V. N. Rudin's "The Split In The Kremlin?" analyses the 1957 purge of the Molotov-Malenkov-Kaganovich faction by Khrushchev. R. S. Panday contributes a survey of Malaya on the eve of its independence (31 August 1957).… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is Issue No. 64 of Freedom First (September 1957), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service published in Bombay and edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue opens with Adam Adil's stock-taking essay "Ten Years Of Freedom," marking a decade of Indian independence with a critical survey of the country's political, economic, social, and cultural record, warning against the personality cult around Nehru and the drift toward "statism." An unsigned Notes section comments on a averted post-and-telegraph employees' strike, government labour policy, K. M. Munshi's warning against creeping totalitarianism via administrative tribunals, and rising prices. A substantial excerpted feature reproduces passages from Milovan Djilas's smuggled manuscript "The New Class," covering Trotsky, Stalin, Tito, unemployment under communism, waste and theft in the Soviet system, and national communism. V. N. Rudin's "The Split In The Kremlin?" analyses the 1957 purge of the Molotov-Malenkov-Kaganovich faction by Khrushchev. R. S. Panday contributes a survey of Malaya on the eve of its independence (31 August 1957). The issue also reports a Democratic Research Service discussion on the Kerala Education Bill, ICCF (Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom) news items, a review by V. B. Karnik of three books on the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, and a report on an ICCF seminar in Poona on Indian cultural renaissance and Marathi letters. ## Essays ### Ten Years Of Freedom *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil's lead essay takes stock of India's first ten years of independence across political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions. Politically, he credits India with sustaining the largest democracy in Asia but laments that a healthy two-party system has failed to crystallise, that political life is vitiated by opportunism and corruption, and that the Congress leadership discourages independent-minded critics. He specifically criticises the Films Division's documentary idolising Nehru as fostering a dangerous personality cult, and endorses Jayaprakash Narayan's suggestion that Congress leaders should have deliberately created space for a democratic opposition to emerge. Economically, he assesses the First and Second Five Year Plans, warning that overambitious targets, deficit financing, and neglect of agriculture and consumer goods have produced inflation and lop-sided development, and criticises cooperative farming proposals as disguised collectivisation. Socially, he notes persistent caste and communal divisions, linguistic conflict following state reorganisation, and rising corruption and crime. Culturally, he finds little advance, criticising the unresolved status of English versus Hindi and the lack of literary exchange across Indian language communities. He closes by warning that the cumulative effect of these trends is growing "statism" — an expanding state role that, if unchecked, threatens democracy itself. - Argues India's political life remains marked by opportunism, corruption, favouritism, and intrigue despite a decade of democratic elections. - Criticises the Films Division's biographical documentary on Nehru as fostering an unhealthy personality cult, noting Nehru himself has discouraged such adoration. - Endorses Jayaprakash Narayan's view that Congress leaders should have helped create space for a genuine democratic opposition. - Warns that the Second Five Year Plan's emphasis on heavy industry over agriculture and consumer goods has caused inflation and unbalanced development. - Criticises fashionable talk of cooperative farming as concealing totalitarian, Soviet-style collective farming. - Notes persistent caste, communal, and linguistic divisions, including violent disputes following linguistic reorganisation of states. - Concludes that dependence on government for development is fostering dangerous "statism" that could erode democracy if unchecked. ### Notes (A Sigh Of Relief; Need For Re-thinking; A Counsel Of Despair; With Padded Feet; Rise In Prices) The unsigned Notes section, likely written by editor V. B. Karnik, comprises several short items. "A Sigh Of Relief" welcomes the eleventh-hour cancellation of a threatened strike by the Federation of Post and Telegraph Employees, crediting the government's agreement to appoint a Pay Commission, but criticises the government for hastily pushing through the Essential Services Maintenance Bill and an accompanying ordinance outlawing strikes in essential services without independent tribunal review. "Need For Re-thinking" argues that as the public sector grows under the "socialist pattern of society," the government must treat its employees at least as well as enlightened private employers, and criticises restrictions barring government industrial workers from political activity. "A Counsel Of Despair" rebuts Bombay Pradesh Congress Committee president K. K. Shah's call to ban trade unions for government servants, framing this as a violation of the fundamental right of association. "With Padded Feet" praises K. M. Munshi's warning against a Finance Ministry proposal to set up French-style administrative tribunals for tax disputes, which Munshi called a "step away from Democracy" that would let totalitarianism enter with "padded feet." "Rise In Prices" laments that dearness allowances for government employees have not kept pace with the cost of living and urges either price control or compensation. - Welcomes the averted postal and telegraph workers' strike but criticises the government's slow handling of employee grievances and its resort to an Essential Services Maintenance Bill. - Argues government, as an employer under the growing public sector, must model good labour practice rather than lag behind private industry. - Rejects Congress leader K. K. Shah's proposal to ban trade unions for government servants as an infringement on freedom of association. - Endorses K. M. Munshi's public warning that proposed tax administrative tribunals modelled on the French system represent a dangerous step away from the rule of law and democracy. - Criticises the government's failure to adjust dearness allowances to match rising prices, hurting fixed-income earners. ### The Meaning Of Communism (excerpts from "The New Class" by Milovan Djilas) This feature reprints excerpted passages from Milovan Djilas's book "The New Class," whose typescript was smuggled out of Yugoslavia before Djilas's second arrest in November 1956 and who was, at time of publication, serving a three-year prison sentence. The excerpts cover several themes: the contrast between earlier (bourgeois) revolutions, which secured civil rights and independent justice, and Communist revolutions, whose gains accrue only to the ruling bureaucracy — the "new class"; character sketches of Trotsky (a brilliant but unrealistic revolutionary superseded by Stalin's new class) and of Lenin, Stalin, and Tito as successive phases of communism unified in Tito's own personality; an analysis of why organised resistance to communism failed, given its totalitarian penetration into every sphere of life; a critique of the claim of full employment under communism, which Djilas says merely conceals unemployment through inefficient centralised planning; an account of pervasive theft and waste of state property, including 20,000 cases of theft of "socialist property" recorded in Yugoslavia in 1954; a reflection on how communism can survive moral "downgrading" in the world's eyes while remaining strong in its own class's estimation; and a closing note on "national communism" as itself a symptom of communism's decline. - Contrasts earlier revolutions, which yielded independent justice and greater civil rights, with Communist revolutions, whose fruits are harvested by the bureaucracy alone. - Portrays Trotsky as a brilliant but unrealistic revolutionary who never grasped the nature of the 'new class' he was inadvertently attacking. - Frames Lenin, Stalin, and Tito as embodying three successive phases of communism — revolutionary, dogmatic, and non-dogmatic/oligarchic — unified in Tito's own career. - Argues organised resistance to communism failed because Communist totalitarianism penetrated every sphere of society and personal life. - Contends that claimed full employment under communism is illusory, concealing structural unemployment created by centralized planning. - Documents pervasive theft and waste of state property, citing 20,000 cases of 'socialist property' theft in Yugoslavia in 1954. - Describes 'national communism' as communism seeking to detach itself nationally while remaining structurally identical to Soviet communism — in Djilas's view, "communism in decline." ### The Split In The Kremlin? *By V. N. Rudin* V. N. Rudin's "The Split In The Kremlin?" analyses the July 1957 purge by Khrushchev of the Molotov-Malenkov-Kaganovich faction within the Soviet Communist Party leadership. Rudin traces the internal power struggle back to Stalin's death, arguing the Soviet system, built for a single dictator, could not survive his loss without disintegrating into factional conflict. He recounts the sequential fall of Beria, Malenkov, and Molotov, and analyses the ideological dispute between Khrushchev's more flexible, concession-granting tactics (formalised at the 20th CP Congress) and Molotov's insistence on stricter, Stalinist methods, a position hardened by the Polish and Hungarian uprisings. Rudin details the roles of Shepilov (who sided with Molotov out of conviction), Kaganovich, Malenkov, Mikoyan, Suslov, and Marshal Zhukov (rewarded with Presidium membership for loyalty to Khrushchev) in the realignment, and notes Mao Zedong's supportive February 1957 speech backing Khrushchev's more flexible line. He concludes that although Khrushchev's faction won, power has shifted from the shrinking Presidium to the much larger 318-member Central Committee, diluting central authority and setting up continued disintegration within the CPSU, evidenced by a concession abolishing compulsory state delivery quotas on peasants' small private plots. - Argues the Soviet system, designed around a single dictator, was structurally destined to fracture after Stalin's death into competing factions. - Traces the sequence of purges from Beria (1953) through Malenkov and Molotov to the climactic July 1957 removal of the Molotov-Malenkov-Kaganovich group. - Frames the core dispute as tactical: Khrushchev's faction favoured limited concessions to popular demands to prevent revolution, while Molotov's faction feared any relaxation would trigger uprisings like Hungary's. - Notes Mao Zedong's February 1957 speech lending ideological support to Khrushchev's 'many roads to socialism' line, and the close coordination this implied. - Concludes that the purge was formally carried out by the 318-member Central Committee rather than the Presidium, permanently diluting central power and portending continued disintegration of Soviet Communist Party authority. - Cites the abolition of compulsory delivery quotas on peasants' private plots as a significant concession wrung from the regime by popular pressure. ### Malaya: On the Eve Of Independence *By R. S. Panday* R. S. Panday's short piece marks Malaya's independence on 31 August 1957. He surveys roughly a century of British rule, crediting the British with bringing political stability, infrastructure (roads, railways, ports, telecommunications), irrigation, and public utilities, while acknowledging Malaya was a lucrative resource base for British commerce. He details the economy's dependence on rubber and tin (85% of export earnings in 1955), covers education and social welfare developments including the 1949-founded University of Malaya and the Employees Provident Fund, and gives population figures (6,252,000, split among Malayans, Chinese, Indians/Pakistanis, and others). He notes that Malaya's independence movement was less politically developed than India's because the Sultans had generally accepted British sovereignty, but political consciousness grew after World War II amid the wave of Asian decolonisation, culminating in the 1956 London conference that set independence for the end of August 1957. The piece closes with a welcome to Malayan independence on behalf of Indians. - Credits British rule with bringing political stability, infrastructure, and modern public services to Malaya over roughly a century. - Notes rubber and tin together accounted for 85% of Malaya's export earnings and nearly 29% of federal revenue in 1955. - Cites the 1949 founding of the University of Malaya and growth of trade unions (228 registered by 1955) and cooperative societies as markers of social development. - Gives population figures: 6,252,000 total, comprising 2,967,223 Malayans, 2,286,883 Chinese, 713,810 Indians and Pakistanis, and 90,391 others. - Explains that Malaya's independence movement was comparatively muted because the Sultans had accepted British sovereignty, unlike India's more confrontational nationalist struggle. - Notes the 1956 London conference fixed Malayan independence for end of August 1957, and closes with an Indian welcome to the new nation. ### Kerala Education Bill — A Discussion An unsigned report covers an informal discussion on the Kerala Education Bill organised by the Democratic Research Service on 21 August, chaired by V. B. Karnik, with participants including Prof. P. T. Joseph, S. Abraham, Monsignor Henry Remedious, Adam Adil, and Dr. A. J. Shellat. Speakers criticised the Bill for reducing school managers to mere business agents, giving government a monopoly that could enable nationalisation of education "from the back-door" and communist indoctrination, and for proposing to make the Education Minister Pro-Chancellor of the university, which critics feared would politicise higher education. Prof. Joseph noted a similar bill had once been attempted by Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer. Karnik, summing up, warned the Bill's wide government powers would reduce all schools to government institutions and could be used for indoctrination. A short adjoining item, "I.C.C.F. News," reports receptions held by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom for artists participating in a Young Asian Painters' Exhibition in Tokyo, including for Japanese art critic Takachiyo Uemura, and notes ICCF sent 56 paintings by 40 artists to the Tokyo exhibition. - Speakers at the Democratic Research Service discussion argued the Kerala Education Bill reduces school managers to mere business agents and centralises control in government hands. - Critics warned the Bill's monopoly powers could enable 'nationalisation of education from the back-door' leading to communist indoctrination. - Objection was raised to making the Education Minister Pro-Chancellor of the university, seen as a device for political interference in academic affairs. - V. B. Karnik's closing remarks warned the Bill would ultimately reduce all Kerala schools to government institutions usable for indoctrination. - The adjoining I.C.C.F. News item reports Bombay receptions for Young Asian Painters' Exhibition participants and Japanese critic Takachiyo Uemura, and that ICCF sent 56 paintings by 40 artists to the Tokyo exhibition. ### I. C. C. F. News This unsigned review (signed "V.B.K.," i.e. editor V. B. Karnik) covers three books on the 1956 Hungarian Revolution: James A. Michener's "The Bridge At Andau," George Mikes's "The Hungarian Revolution," and Noel Barber's "A Handful Of Ashes." The review praises all three for conveying the same story — the spontaneous popular uprising against communist rule and its brutal Soviet suppression — through different methods: Michener's composite characters drawn from refugee interviews, Mikes's eyewitness correspondent account (including material on AVO secret police brutality and interwar Hungarian history), and Barber's deeply personal account as a wounded Daily Mail correspondent who was shot covering the events. The review quotes at length a passage in which Barber's friend Denes criticises Nehru's silence during the crisis as moral cowardice, arguing Nehru could have altered the Soviet satellite empire's course by condemning the invasion. Karnik agrees the harsh language is understandable given the scale of the suppression, and closes by invoking Louis Kossuth's words on the 1848 Hungarian revolution to argue the 1956 revolution likewise saw Hungary fight "by themselves, cut off from the world." - Reviews three 1956 Hungarian Revolution books: Michener's 'The Bridge At Andau,' Mikes's 'The Hungarian Revolution,' and Barber's 'A Handful Of Ashes.' - Notes Michener's book uses composite figures built from refugee interviews collected at the border crossing at Andau. - Notes Mikes, Hungarian-born and a BBC correspondent present during the revolution, also covers interwar Hungarian dictatorship history. - Notes Barber, Daily Mail correspondent, was personally shot and wounded while covering the uprising and had to leave the country before the Russians' return. - Quotes a passage in which Barber's friend Denes accuses Nehru of moral cowardice for staying silent during the Hungarian crisis. - Closes by comparing the 1956 revolution to the 1848 Hungarian uprising via a quotation from Louis Kossuth about Hungary fighting 'cut off from the world.' ### Review (The Bridge At Andau / The Hungarian Revolution / A Handful Of Ashes) *By V.B.K.* A short report describes an ICCF (Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom) seminar held by its Poona Branch on 27-28 July at Patwardhan Hall, on the theme "Indian Cultural Renaissance and Marathi Belles Letters." Attendees included V. D. Ghate, V. S. Khandekar, Y. D. Pendharkar, K. Narayan Kale, D. V. Gokhale, Arvind Gokhale, Nissim Ezekiel, Vyankatesh Madgulkar, and professors G. B. Sardar, D. K. Bedekar, S. P. Bhagwat, A. K. Bhagwat, Achyut Barve, P. G. Sahastrabuddhe, S. K. Ksheersagar, and G. P. Pradhan, with Tarkateerth Laxmanshastri Joshi presiding on the first day and Prabhakar Padhye on the second. Discussion covered the social, political, and cultural currents in Maharashtra since 1874 (the founding year of Vishnushastri Chiplunkar's magazine Nibandhamala), including the freedom struggle, social reform movements, the effect of Marxism, and the influence of modern English and post-independence Marathi literature on aesthetics. Padhye's closing speech warned against the harmful effects of growing state patronage of literature and proposed it as the topic for the next seminar. - Reports an ICCF Poona Branch seminar (27-28 July) on 'Indian Cultural Renaissance and Marathi Belles Letters,' presided by Tarkateerth Laxmanshastri Joshi and Prabhakar Padhye. - Names a substantial list of Marathi literary and academic figures in attendance, including Nissim Ezekiel and Vyankatesh Madgulkar. - Frames the discussion around currents since 1874, the founding year of Vishnushastri Chiplunkar's Nibandhamala magazine. - Covers topics including the freedom struggle's reflection in Marathi literature, social reform movements in Maharashtra, and the effect of Marxism on Marathi psychology and letters. - Notes Prabhakar Padhye's closing warning about the harmful effects of growing state patronage on literary freedom, proposed as the next seminar's topic. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff065/ ### Summary This is the complete October 1957 issue (No. 65) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service edited by V. B. Karnik, published from Maneckji Wadia Building, Bombay. The issue is dominated by anti-Communist and civil-liberties commentary written against the backdrop of the 1957 Communist government in Kerala and the aftermath of the 1956 Hungarian uprising. Contributors writing under the pseudonym 'Jupiter' and under their own names (James Critchlow, V. B. Karnik, Adam Adil) examine whether Kerala's Communists are meaningfully different from Communists elsewhere, criticize India's abstention on the UN Hungary resolution, celebrate Ilya Ehrenburg's veiled literary attack on Soviet cultural controls, and debate the Hindi-versus-English language question following the Official Language Commission's report. A 'Notes' section covers cooperative farming policy, the Bhoodan-Gramdan land movement, welfare-state ideas voiced by B. R. Shenoy and K. M. Munshi, criticism of the Information Minister's remarks on Radio Ceylon, and communal violence in Madras State.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the complete October 1957 issue (No. 65) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service edited by V. B. Karnik, published from Maneckji Wadia Building, Bombay. The issue is dominated by anti-Communist and civil-liberties commentary written against the backdrop of the 1957 Communist government in Kerala and the aftermath of the 1956 Hungarian uprising. Contributors writing under the pseudonym 'Jupiter' and under their own names (James Critchlow, V. B. Karnik, Adam Adil) examine whether Kerala's Communists are meaningfully different from Communists elsewhere, criticize India's abstention on the UN Hungary resolution, celebrate Ilya Ehrenburg's veiled literary attack on Soviet cultural controls, and debate the Hindi-versus-English language question following the Official Language Commission's report. A 'Notes' section covers cooperative farming policy, the Bhoodan-Gramdan land movement, welfare-state ideas voiced by B. R. Shenoy and K. M. Munshi, criticism of the Information Minister's remarks on Radio Ceylon, and communal violence in Madras State. The issue closes with readers' letters on the West German election and the language debate, and a 'With Many Voices' column of press quotations from Nehru, Kripalani, Munshi, Shenoy, John Foster Dulles and others. ## Essays ### 'Kerala Communists Are Different...' *By by Jupiter* Writing as 'Jupiter', the author uses an anecdote about a journalist's conversation with an airline pilot to explore the popular claim that 'Kerala Communists are different' from Communists elsewhere. The piece argues this is a deliberately cultivated Communist strategy rather than a fact, tracing how the CPI has mirrored every twist of international Communism (the de-Stalinisation purge, the Hungarian tragedy) while Nehru's rhetorical distinction between Indian and other Communists gave the party cover. The essay continues (from page 2) with interviews of Congress leader Panampally Govinda Menon and comments on Chief Minister E. M. S. Namboodiripad's own account of two competing reactions to Communist rule in Kerala, then resumes after 'Our Vote on Hungary' (page 8) with detail on Kerala ministers' salaries, Law Minister V. R. Krishna Iyer's plan for village courts, and a concluding question about where Congress democracy differs from Communist democracy in Kerala. - Frames 'Kerala Communists are different' as a slogan manufactured by Communist strategy, not an empirical observation - Notes the CPI has historically mirrored Soviet policy shifts (de-Stalinisation, Hungary) despite claiming independence from them - Congress leader Panampally Govinda Menon is quoted comparing India's two-party dynamic (Congress/Communists) to Canada's Liberal-Conservative rivalry - Distinguishes the 'power-political approach' to Communism (Govinda Menon, Hare Krishna Mahatab) from the ideological anti-Communist stance - Reports Namboodiripad's own description of two contrasting reactions to Kerala's Communist government - Details Kerala ministers' actual salaries and allowances versus publicised austerity claims - Describes Law Minister V. R. Krishna Iyer's plan for elected village courts to speed up justice ### Ilya Ehrenburg Rebels *By by James Critchlow* A set of five short unsigned editorial notes. 'Cooperative Farming' welcomes the government's apparent retreat from Chinese-style collectivisation, citing Uttar Pradesh's warning and the Planning Commission's own unfavourable evaluation, and praises Nehru's recent emphasis on voluntary, non-collectivised 'service cooperatives'. 'Bhoodan And Gramdan' reports a Yelwal conference statement backing Vinoba Bhave's land-gift movement and notes President Rajendra Prasad's distinction between the two schemes. 'Welfare State' summarises a Bombay symposium at which B. R. Shenoy argued a welfare state should be a 'minimum State' rather than a garrison state, and K. M. Munshi warned against 'equivocal slogans' hiding a Marxian agenda. 'Ill-Conceived Remarks' defends Radio Ceylon against Information Minister Dr. Keskar's criticism, arguing listeners, not ministers, should decide taste. 'Dangerous Portent' condemns communal violence between Hindu communities in Ramanathapuram district and a mob attack on the office of the magazine Sarita over an allegedly offensive poem. - Welcomes apparent government rethink on Chinese-model cooperative farming after Uttar Pradesh and Planning Commission criticism - Reports Nehru's shift toward voluntary 'service cooperatives' rather than compulsory collectivisation - Covers a Yelwal conference of Congress and other party leaders endorsing Vinoba Bhave's Bhoodan and Gramdan movements - President Rajendra Prasad distinguishes Bhoodan (voluntary land gift) from Gramdan (no private landed property at all) - B. R. Shenoy argues a welfare state must be a 'minimum State' rather than a garrison or police state - K. M. Munshi warns that 'equivocal slogans' about welfare conceal a 'semantic Trojan horse carrying the Marxian dogma' - Criticises Information Minister Dr. Keskar's complaint about Radio Ceylon's programming as paternalistic - Reports Hindu-on-Hindu communal violence in Madras State and a mob attack on the Hindi magazine Sarita's office over a poem ### Our Vote On Hungary *By by V. B. Karnik* James Critchlow describes Ilya Ehrenburg's essay 'Lessons of Stendhal' (published in the Moscow monthly Inostrannaya Literatura) as the strongest public challenge to Communist Party cultural dictatorship since Stalin's rise. Ehrenburg uses Stendhal's writing to attack the 'cult of personality' defence of Stalinism, to defend dissident Soviet writers like Vladimir Dudintsev accused of 'distorting Soviet reality', and to argue that state control inevitably corrupts art and culture. Critchlow situates the essay within the Khrushchev-era struggle over cultural control and notes its implicit comparison of the freedom enjoyed by scientists and writers in Tsarist Russia and America against the constraints of the contemporary Soviet Union. - Ehrenburg's article resurrects 19th-century French novelist Stendhal to mount a covert critique of Soviet cultural controls - Uses Stendhal's writing on tyranny to rebut the official Soviet line that Stalin-era abuses were a personal, not systemic, failing - Defends dissident writer Vladimir Dudintsev and others accused of 'distorting Soviet reality' - Argues that government control of art crushes 'the soul of the artist' regardless of the ruler's personal character - Implicitly contrasts the intellectual freedom of Tsarist Russia and America with contemporary Soviet constraints - The critic Tamantsev's published rebuttal is described as comparatively weak and evasive ### Our Language Problem *By by Adam Adil* A short unsigned news item reports on visits by three Hungarian writers to India in September 1957, on their way back from the international PEN conference in Tokyo. Paul Ignotus, a former Presidential Board member of the Hungarian Writers' Association imprisoned for seven years by the Rakosi government, lectured in Calcutta and met Prime Minister Nehru in Delhi. George Paloczi-Horvath, a former Communist arrested and sentenced to 15 years' hard labour before being released by the Imre Nagy government, and Dr. Paul Tabori, a London-based scriptwriter and chairman of the PEN Centre of Writers in Exile, also addressed meetings in Calcutta and planned further visits to Bombay and Delhi. - Three Hungarian writers - Paul Ignotus, George Paloczi-Horvath, and Paul Tabori - visited Calcutta, Delhi and other Indian cities en route from the Tokyo PEN conference - Paul Ignotus was imprisoned about 7 years by the Rakosi government and lectured at Calcutta University - Ignotus met Prime Minister Nehru in Delhi and addressed the Asian Office of the Congress for Cultural Freedom - George Paloczi-Horvath, once a Communist Party member, was sentenced to 15 years' hard labour and released in 1954 by the Imre Nagy government - Dr. Paul Tabori chairs the PEN Centre of Writers in Exile and is Secretary of the British Screen and Television Writers' Association ### The Hindi Commission Report *By extracts from a statement to the press made by Mr. Kodanda Rao* V. B. Karnik condemns India's abstention on the UN resolution condemning Soviet suppression of the Hungarian revolution, arguing the government's stated reasons (fear of foreclosing dialogue, hope of persuading Russia and Hungary) were specious given both countries had already rebuffed such hopes. He rejects the government's comparison to the Suez crisis, noting England and France obeyed UN resolutions while Soviet Russia continued defying them. Karnik revisits the charge, first made by Jayaprakash Narayan, that India applied double standards by condemning lesser wrongs while excusing Soviet aggression, and argues that a clear condemnation - even if it would not immediately free Hungary - was a moral and historical obligation India failed to meet. The essay (continuing on page 9) concludes that India's abstention undermines the credibility of the condemnation and that only the country's special relationship with the USSR could have made a real difference, while welcoming India's vote to keep the Hungarian question on the UN agenda. - India abstained on a UN resolution condemning Soviet suppression of Hungary, despite the Special Committee's unanimous report - Karnik rejects Indian representative Arthur Lall's argument that condemnation would be 'unfriendly' and counterproductive to dialogue - Distinguishes India's abstention from Burma's vote, which supported the resolution despite an unsuccessful amendment - Rejects the government's Suez-crisis comparison since England and France complied with UN resolutions while the USSR did not - Revives Jayaprakash Narayan's accusation that India's Hungary vote reflected a double standard favouring the Soviet Union - Argues moral condemnation of injustice has intrinsic value even without immediate practical effect - Welcomes India's vote to keep the Hungarian question on the UN General Assembly's agenda as a partial correction ### Letters to the Editor *By G. G. Natu; K. S. Singh* Adam Adil surveys the renewed controversy over whether Hindi should replace English as India's official language by 1965, following the Official Language Commission's report. He summarises the dissenting notes of Commission members Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterjee and Dr. P. Subbarayan, who argue the change should be deferred and English retained alongside Indian languages, and notes a joint memorandum from fifty MPs (including Congress members) seeking a 25-year postponement. Quoting C. Rajagopalachari's balanced view favouring Hindi and English functioning jointly as official languages, Adil concludes that while Hindi should eventually become India's national language, its advocates must proceed with patience and 'least resistance' toward non-Hindi speakers, while English's continued importance to science and higher education should not be dismissed. - Renewed dispute over the 1965 target date for replacing English with Hindi as India's official language - Commission dissenters Dr. S. K. Chatterjee and Dr. P. Subbarayan argue Hindi's promotion has been 'hasty' and diverts funds resented by non-Hindi states - Fifty MPs, including Congress members, submitted a memorandum seeking a 25-year postponement of the Hindi changeover - C. Rajagopalachari (quoted from Hindustan Times) proposes Hindi and English jointly serve as the Union's official language - Adil argues Hindi's advocates should show patience and 'least resistance' toward non-Hindi speaking regions - Stresses English's continuing value for science, technology, and India's international standing ### With Many Voices Extracts from a press statement by Mr. Kodanda Rao criticize the majority Report of the Official Language Commission for its underlying assumption, drawn from Mahatma Gandhi's view, that English is a 'foreign' language that alienates Indian children from their own land. Kodanda Rao argues language has no nationality and that the majority's own recommendation to keep English for official purposes contradicts their professed aim of replacing it with Hindi. He contends Indians need not all learn Hindi to follow national affairs, since regional-language readers and international audiences alike consume news in their own languages, and that bilingualism (regional language plus English) better serves the public interest than the trilingualism the majority's scheme would impose on non-Hindi areas. - Kodanda Rao's statement treats the Chatterji and Subbarayan dissenting minutes as together forming a 'Minority Report' - Criticizes the majority Commission's reliance on Gandhi's characterization of English as a 'foreign' language - Argues language has no nationality, race, or sex, making the 'foreign vs Indian language' framing a 'lamentable superstition' - Notes the majority Report itself recommended no restriction on English for official Union purposes, undercutting its own premise - Argues bilingualism (regional language plus English) avoids the evils of trilingualism (Hindi, English, and regional language) that would burden non-Hindi areas - Concludes the majority's own logic, if followed consistently, would have supported the minority position ### Essay 8 Two readers' letters. G. G. Natu praises the Christian Democratic Party's election victory in West Germany as a rebuff to Soviet pressure and a vindication of Chancellor Adenauer's stance on free elections for German reunification, contrasting this with the absence of any comparable choice for East Germans. K. S. Singh responds to an earlier column by Adam Adil, arguing India's independent status logically demands an Indian language (not English) as the national language, and pressing Adil to clarify which regional language he believes should serve that role if not Hindi. - G. G. Natu credits the Christian Democratic Party's West German election win to economic prosperity and Adenauer's foreign policy, framing it as a rebuff to Khrushchev - Natu argues free elections in both parts of Germany are the only legitimate route to reunification, unlike Social Democrat proposals for NATO-free reunification - K. S. Singh challenges Adam Adil's earlier column (Freedom First, September 1957) for criticizing 'Hindi fanatics' without offering a clear alternative - Singh argues that by the logic of India's independent status, the national language must be an Indian language with cultural affinity to the country - Singh accuses Adil of effectively wanting to retain English while not endorsing any Indian regional language as national language ### Essay 9 The issue's closing 'With Many Voices' column, a compilation of short press quotations under a Tennyson epigraph. Contributors quoted include Dr. Ramaswamy Mudaliar (repeatedly, on wealth tax, Chambers of Commerce, and co-existence), Howard Fast, Salvador de Madariaga, Melvin J. Lasky, Nehru, John Foster Dulles, B. Ramakrishna Rao on Vinoba Bhave's 'spiritual communism', J. B. Kripalani (on caste versus class and trade unionism), K. M. Munshi (repeating his 'semantic Trojan horse' warning), and B. R. Shenoy linking free enterprise to Dharma and the welfare state. - A curated column of short quotations from Indian and international newspapers and public figures on communism, peace, and welfare-state politics - Dr. Ramaswamy Mudaliar is quoted multiple times, on wealth tax, Chambers of Commerce, and rejecting co-existence with communism - B. Ramakrishna Rao, Governor of Kerala, calls Vinobaji's philosophy a kind of 'spiritual communism' - J. B. Kripalani argues India's divisions are caste-based rather than class-based, and links trade union strength to an egalitarian social order - B. R. Shenoy is quoted claiming 'Free Enterprise is the rule of Dharma and is an essential attribute of a Welfare State' - K. M. Munshi's 'semantic Trojan horse' warning against equivocal welfare-state slogans is repeated from the Notes section --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff066/ ### Summary This is the November 1957 issue (No. 66) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service / Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik and published in Bombay. The issue is dominated by anti-communist commentary occasioned by the fortieth anniversary of the Russian Revolution and the first anniversary of the Hungarian uprising: Karnik's lead essay traces four decades of disillusionment with Soviet Russia from the Kronstadt suppression through the Moscow Trials to the crushing of Hungary; Melvin J. Lasky's piece narrates the defection of East German Communist intellectual Alfred Kantorowicz; and an editorial 'Notes' section covers Milovan Djilas's imprisonment in Yugoslavia, Stevan Dedijar's critique of Soviet science, and alleged communist infiltration of the Indian National Congress's Economic Review. Adam Adil contributes a report on factional strife inside the Polish United Workers' Party a year after the October 1956 upheaval. The issue also carries a review by M. A. Venkata Rao of William Sargant's Battle for the Mind, a contributed report on the West Bengal bank employees' strike blaming Communist Party control of bank unions, R. S.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the November 1957 issue (No. 66) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service / Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, edited by V. B. Karnik and published in Bombay. The issue is dominated by anti-communist commentary occasioned by the fortieth anniversary of the Russian Revolution and the first anniversary of the Hungarian uprising: Karnik's lead essay traces four decades of disillusionment with Soviet Russia from the Kronstadt suppression through the Moscow Trials to the crushing of Hungary; Melvin J. Lasky's piece narrates the defection of East German Communist intellectual Alfred Kantorowicz; and an editorial 'Notes' section covers Milovan Djilas's imprisonment in Yugoslavia, Stevan Dedijar's critique of Soviet science, and alleged communist infiltration of the Indian National Congress's Economic Review. Adam Adil contributes a report on factional strife inside the Polish United Workers' Party a year after the October 1956 upheaval. The issue also carries a review by M. A. Venkata Rao of William Sargant's Battle for the Mind, a contributed report on the West Bengal bank employees' strike blaming Communist Party control of bank unions, R. S. Pandey's report on apartheid and the Separate University Education Bill in South Africa, an I.C.C.F. News column on protest meetings and visiting Hungarian writers, and a closing miscellany of quoted press remarks ('With Many Voices'). ## Essays ### A Dream Becomes A Nightmare *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead essay marks the fortieth anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution as a chronicle of progressive disillusionment. He traces the arc from the dispersal of the Constituent Assembly and the suppression of rival socialist parties, through forced collectivisation and the Moscow Trials of the 1930s, to the Nazi-Soviet Pact, and argues that the most recent shocks -- Khrushchev's secret-speech revelations and the crushing of the Hungarian revolution -- have completed a process of disillusionment that began decades earlier. Karnik surveys defections from Communist parties in Britain, the United States, France, and behind the Iron Curtain, invoking Louis Fischer's notion of each fellow-traveller's personal 'Kronstadt' moment of final disillusionment. He contrasts the fading of old sympathisers with a new breed of admirers drawn to Soviet Russia purely by its military and technological power (citing Sputnik), and closes by locating the root of the Soviet police state not in Stalin alone but in the theories of Marx and Lenin themselves, which subordinated the individual to impersonal historical forces and thereby made a dictatorship over the proletariat inevitable. - Frames the 40 years since 1917 as a story of a liberating dream curdling into a police-state nightmare. - Traces disillusionment through the Constituent Assembly's dispersal, suppression of rival socialists, Trotsky's persecution, forced collectivisation, and the Moscow Trials. - Argues the Nazi-Soviet Pact and invasion of Finland first exposed Soviet cynicism to fellow-travellers, but war-time heroism against Hitler delayed full reckoning. - Cites Khrushchev's secret speech and the suppression of the Hungarian revolution as the culminating shocks that ended residual naivety. - Notes a new class of Soviet admirers attracted by military/industrial power (Sputnik) rather than by claims of liberty or equality. - Locates the origin of Soviet tyranny in Marxist-Leninist doctrine itself, not merely in Stalin's personal rule. ### Notes (Milovan Djilas / Another Brave Voice / Insidious Infiltration / Literary Exchanges / Our Homage) The unsigned 'Notes' department covers several short items: the further seven-year sentence given to Yugoslav dissident Milovan Djilas for his book The New Class, and the parallel persecution of his colleague Stevan Dedijar, whose Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists article argued that Soviet scientific achievement occurred despite, not because of, totalitarian controls on communication. A further note, 'Insidious Infiltration,' reports the All India Congress Committee's dismissal of H. D. Malaviya from its Economic and Political Research Department for alleged communist bias, crediting Freedom First's own earlier warnings. Other items address a P.E.N. Congress resolution on East-West literary translation and an editorial 'Our Homage' marking the anniversary of the Hungarian revolution. - Reports Milovan Djilas's additional seven-year jail term for The New Class and the Yugoslav government's parallel restrictions on Stevan Dedijar. - Quotes Dedijar's Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists argument that Soviet scientific achievement is a puzzle only for those who forget the pre-revolutionary tradition of Lomonosov, Mendeleev, and others, and that repression exacts a hidden cost on research. - Covers the AICC's dismissal of H. D. Malaviya, editor of its Economic Review, over alleged communist-slanted articles, crediting the journal's own earlier warnings. - Notes a P.E.N. Congress resolution (Tokyo, September) calling for more East-West literary translation. - Marks the anniversary of the Hungarian revolution as having dealt communism a mortal propaganda blow despite its military suppression. ### "No, I Could Stand It No Longer" *By Melvin J. Lasky* Melvin J. Lasky uses the September 1957 flight of East German Communist intellectual Alfred Kantorowicz from East to West Berlin as the occasion for a meditation on the long, uneven process by which committed Communists lose their faith. Lasky recounts Kantorowicz's biography -- prewar Communist organiser, Spanish Civil War fighter, wartime U.S. emigre, postwar East German literary figure -- and quotes at length Kantorowicz's own radio broadcast explaining his twenty-six years of held-on hope and the final admission that he could no longer believe a better world could emerge from the 'dregs' of lawlessness and bureaucratic tyranny he had helped sustain. Lasky situates the defection within a broader gallery of intellectuals who broke with communism at different points -- Bertrand Russell in 1920, Franz Borkenau in 1928, Arthur Koestler in 1938 -- and closes wondering how many more decades will pass before others now embracing Marxism in Accra, Ceylon, or Kerala reach their own breaking point. - Narrates Alfred Kantorowicz's September 1957 flight from East to West Berlin as a case study in delayed disillusionment with communism. - Quotes Kantorowicz's own account of 26 years holding to the Communist dream before finally giving up 'the last illusion' after the Hungarian tragedy. - Recalls Arthur Koestler's earlier (1949) sketch of Kantorowicz as a warm-hearted but morally compromising comrade, from Koestler's contribution to The God That Failed. - Surveys a gallery of prior Communist/fellow-traveller defections at different historical moments -- Bertrand Russell (1920), Franz Borkenau (1928), Arthur Koestler (1938), Julius Hay, Tibor Dery, and Peter Veres (1956). - Closes by speculating that new believers are still being made in newly independent countries such as Ghana (Accra), Ceylon, and Kerala, who have yet to reach their own 'Kronstadt.' ### Polish Road To Socialism *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil reports on the year following Poland's October 1956 upheaval, arguing that the gains of that liberalisation are being surrendered under pressure from Moscow and from the reassertion of Party control. He details Gomulka's warning to the Party's 'liberal wing' that democratic freedom in Poland could only be granted 'in proportion to Party strength,' the denunciation of student and youth 'revisionism' by Politbureau member Jerzy Morawski, and the closure or purging of independent-minded newspapers such as Po Prostu and the dismissal of editors including Edda Werfel. Adil concludes that there can be no genuine liberalisation under a communist regime, since any real loosening of control threatens to exceed limits the Party can tolerate, forcing a reversion to Stalinist methods -- reprising Arthur Koestler's formulation that the only real choice is between relative freedom and total unfreedom. - Reports that Polish gains from the October 1956 revolt against Stalinism are being rolled back under pressure from Russia and the Party's own leadership. - Describes Gomulka's warning to the Communist Party's liberal wing that democratic freedom is conditional on Party strength, and that 'no party member can accept only one part of democratic centralism.' - Details Jerzy Morawski's denunciation of student/writer 'revisionism' as undermining the movement and drawing it back toward the bourgeoisie. - Notes the dismissal of editors (e.g. Edda Werfel of Swiat) and forced closure of the youth weekly Po Prostu as part of tightening press control. - Concludes there is no half-way house between communism and democracy, echoing Arthur Koestler's alternative of 'relative freedom and total unfreedom.' ### I.C.C.F. News *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao reviews William Sargant's Battle for the Mind (William Heinemann, 1957), a study subtitled 'A physiology of conversion and brain-washing.' The review summarises Sargant's argument that religious conversion, wartime neuroses, and Communist brainwashing share a common physiological mechanism, drawing on Pavlov's conditioning experiments and cases from evangelical revivalism and African Voodoo ritual. Venkata Rao highlights Sargant's account of how police interrogation techniques -- sleep deprivation and sustained anxiety -- can induce false confessions even among innocent people, and his scepticism toward Freudian psychoanalysis. The review frames the book's significance in Cold War terms: the deliberate, scientific exploitation of psychological and physiological weaknesses by Communist regimes to remould entire populations into a 'docile robot' surpasses even nuclear weapons in its peril to human freedom. - Reviews William Sargant's Battle for the Mind, subtitled 'A physiology of conversion and brain-washing.' - Summarises Sargant's use of Pavlov's conditioning experiments to explain religious conversion, war neuroses, and communist brainwashing via a shared physiological mechanism. - Describes Sargant's account of police 'third degree' methods (sleep deprivation, sustained anxiety) producing false confessions even in innocent suspects. - Notes Sargant's scepticism of Freudian psychoanalysis, citing Freud's own later doubts about his theories. - Frames Communist regimes' systematic use of psychological/physiological manipulation to remould populations as more dangerous than atomic and hydrogen weapons. ### Review: Battle For The Mind by William Sargant *By M. A. Venkata Rao* A contributed report examines the just-concluded West Bengal bank employees' strike, arguing that the Bengal Provincial Bank Employees' Association and the All India Bank Employees' Association were both dominated by Communist Party members and fellow travellers who used the strike to serve party political ends rather than employees' genuine interests. The piece names AIBEA office-bearers as communists or fellow travellers and situates the strike as a Communist Party attempt to rehabilitate itself among organised middle-class workers after the Party's loss of standing over the Post and Telegraph and Central Government employees' strike in July. It concludes that bank employees were used as 'pawns' in a political game and hopes they will now recognise 'who are their friends and who are their enemies.' - Argues the West Bengal bank strike was engineered by Communist-controlled union leadership (BPBEA and AIBEA) for party political ends. - Names AIBEA's president, general secretary, and most joint secretaries/treasurer as communists or fellow travellers. - Frames the strike as an attempt by the Communist Party to rehabilitate its standing among organised labour after setbacks in the July Post and Telegraph/Central Government employees' strike. - Notes internal friction between the United Bank of India Employees' Union leadership and the BPBEA/AIBEA leadership over an agreement signed by an ex-General Secretary. - Concludes bank employees' genuine interests were sacrificed to Communist Party political aims. ### West Bengal Bank Employees' Strike *By (Contributed)* R. S. Pandey reports on the intensification of racial segregation in the Union of South Africa, describing the 1950 Group Areas Act (the 'Ghetto Act') that forcibly displaced over a million non-whites, including 22,000 Indians, and the newly proposed Separate University Education Bill, which would bar non-white students from white universities, place non-white institutions under direct government control, and, per remarks attributed to the Minister of Native Affairs Dr. Verwoerd, deliberately limit the education given to African students. Pandey cites South African critics of the policy, including a Johannesburg city councillor and the United Party leader in Johannesburg, and contrasts South Africa's direction with the contemporaneous elimination of school segregation in the United States (referencing the Little Rock crisis), calling on the United Nations to enforce its Charter of Human Rights against South Africa. - Describes the 1950 Group Areas Act ('Ghetto Act'), which displaced over 1,000,000 non-whites including 22,000 Indians from their homes. - Reports the proposed Separate University Education Bill, which would bar non-whites from white universities and place non-white education under strict government control. - Cites the Minister of Native Affairs's remarks questioning the value of teaching mathematics to Bantu children, taken as evidence of intentionally inferior education for non-whites. - Notes South African critics of apartheid, including a Johannesburg city councillor and the United Party's Johannesburg leader, and newspapers like the Star of South Africa and Rhodesia Herald. - Contrasts South Africa's segregationist trajectory with the U.S. Federal Court's desegregation ruling and federal enforcement at Little Rock, and calls for UN action. ### Segregation In South Africa *By R. S. Pandey* The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a column of short quoted remarks culled from the contemporary press (Times of India, Hindustan Times, New York Times, and others) on Soviet satellites, Communist rhetoric, and world affairs, including several quips attributed to Prime Minister Nehru, alongside an 'I.C.C.F. News' report on Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom activities: a Bombay public meeting protesting South Africa's Separate University Education Bill, and the visit of Hungarian writers George Paloczi-Horvath and Paul Tabori to Bombay, Delhi, and Calcutta to speak on the Hungarian Revolution. - Compiles short press quotations on Sputnik, Soviet policy, and Communism from Nehru and others, October 1957. - Reports an I.C.C.F. Bombay public meeting (18 October) protesting South Africa's Separate University Education Bill, addressed by Prof. G. D. Parikh and others. - Reports the visit of Hungarian writers George Paloczi-Horvath and Paul Tabori to Bombay, Delhi, and Calcutta to speak on the Hungarian Revolution. - Notes receptions held by the Indian Merchants' Chamber, Dadar Yuvak Sabha, the Screen Writers' Association, and the Press Guild of Bombay in honour of the visiting writers. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff067/ ### Summary This is the December 1957 issue of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service (Bombay), published in association with the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with M. A. Venkata Rao's lead essay "The Challenge Of The Sputniks," which argues that the Soviet satellite launches have shattered the military logic of Western containment and calls for a reorganised, long-term global partnership (on the model of Truman's Point Four) between advanced and developing nations, alongside a stepped-up ideological and propaganda offensive for democracy. A "Notes" section covers several contemporary developments through a Cold War and anti-communist lens: the purge of Marshal Zhukov, Chinese repression of nominally independent "democratic parties," President Ngo Dinh Diem's visit to India, alleged communist infiltration in Kashmir via G. M. Sadiq's Democratic National Conference, the Dravida Kazhagam's anti-Constitution agitation in Madras, press commentary from the All India Newspaper Editors' Conference, and a critical stock-take of the new Communist government's performance in Kerala.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the December 1957 issue of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service (Bombay), published in association with the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with M. A. Venkata Rao's lead essay "The Challenge Of The Sputniks," which argues that the Soviet satellite launches have shattered the military logic of Western containment and calls for a reorganised, long-term global partnership (on the model of Truman's Point Four) between advanced and developing nations, alongside a stepped-up ideological and propaganda offensive for democracy. A "Notes" section covers several contemporary developments through a Cold War and anti-communist lens: the purge of Marshal Zhukov, Chinese repression of nominally independent "democratic parties," President Ngo Dinh Diem's visit to India, alleged communist infiltration in Kashmir via G. M. Sadiq's Democratic National Conference, the Dravida Kazhagam's anti-Constitution agitation in Madras, press commentary from the All India Newspaper Editors' Conference, and a critical stock-take of the new Communist government's performance in Kerala. Richard Lowenthal's "Another Turn Of The Wheel" (condensed from Commentary, New York) analyses Khrushchev's consolidation of power over the Soviet party presidium as a reassertion of party-machine primacy over the state apparatus. Thomas P. Whitney's "Humanist Specter In Eastern Europe" (condensed from The New Leader) surveys a nascent humanist, anti-totalitarian current of thought surfacing in Soviet and East European writing, quoting Polish poets and Vladimir Dudintsev. A Review section covers Imre Nagy's On Communism and K. K. Sinha's Towards Pluralist Society. The issue closes with ICCF and Democratic Research Service news notes and the "With Many Voices" column, a compilation of quoted commentary on Sputnik, Zhukov, Kashmir, and Kerala from world newspapers and politicians. ## Essays ### The Challenge Of The Sputniks *By by M. A. Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's lead essay asks what the free world's response should be to the Soviet Sputnik launches, given their demonstration of intercontinental missile capability. He argues the military logic of Western "containment and liberation" has collapsed, since Soviet rockets now threaten bases the U.S. relied on for deterrence, while liberation of the captive nations was never seriously pursued. He is critical of C. Rajagopalachari's proposal that banning nuclear weapons alone would answer the Sputnik challenge, calling it naive given the Soviets' refusal of inspection. Rao calls for a two-track response: continued military containment plus a positive, long-term global partnership between developed and developing nations modelled on Truman's Point Four, financed and administered through international rather than purely bilateral channels, alongside an intensified propaganda and moral campaign (a "crusade for democracy") to expose Soviet imperialism, expand on Khrushchev's own admissions about Stalin, and press claims about captive peoples' lack of liberties. - Argues that Sputnik has proven Soviet intercontinental missile capacity, undermining the ring of Western bases and the military containment strategy. - Criticizes Rajagopalachari's proposed nuclear weapons ban as naive given Soviet refusal of inspection. - Calls Soviet penetration of Syria and Egypt evidence that outside aid cannot save states whose leaders are complicit or indifferent to communist infiltration; warns India could follow, citing Kerala. - Proposes reframing foreign aid as a genuine two-way global partnership (a Point Four-style scheme) rather than one-sided charity, citing Indo-Japanese and World Bank examples. - Insists military containment alone is insufficient without pursuing liberation of captive peoples, including within the Soviet Union itself. - Calls for an intensified propaganda and moral "crusade for democracy" leveraging Khrushchev's own admissions about Stalin's crimes. ### Notes (Dancing A 'Gopak'; Sputniks And Purges; Clearing The Air; New Danger In Kashmir; Dravida Kazhagam Agitation; Socratic Midwife; Communist Performance In Kerala) This unsigned "Notes" section (running pp. 3-6) collects several short editorial commentaries. "Dancing A 'Gopak'" and "Sputniks And Purges" discuss the purge of Marshal Zhukov alongside the Sputnik launches, arguing the episode shows Soviet Russia remains politically primitive even as its science advances, and praises Nehru's call for an "ethical" fourth dimension of progress. "Clearing The Air" describes Communist China's crackdown on nominally independent "democratic parties" after some members took Mao's "hundred flowers" slogan seriously and criticized government policy, concluding the episode exposes the parties as facades for one-party rule. "President Diem's Visit" praises South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem's state visit to India, framing him alongside Nehru and U Nu as leaders of resurgent Asian nationalism and welcoming the corrective his views offered to Indian assumptions about the Soviet bloc's friendliness. "New Danger In Kashmir" warns that G. M. Sadiq's Democratic National Conference, formed after his defeat by Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed, shows clear communist sympathies and poses a threat to Kashmir's stability. "Dravida Kazhagam Agitation" condemns E. V. Ramaswami Naicker's call at a Tanjore convention to burn the Constitution and "kill the Brahmins," while also criticizing the Madras Government's legislative response as short-sighted. "Socratic Midwife" reports approvingly on Eric da Costa's address to the All India Newspaper Editors' Conference urging the press to become more analytically engaged. "Communist Performance In Kerala" catalogues the new Communist state government's failures six months into office: unrest, stalled industrial investment, alleged corruption in a rice-purchase deal, and repressive police measures including a lathi charge at Cannanore. - Frames the Zhukov purge and Sputnik launch together as showing Soviet political primitivism persisting alongside scientific advance; approvingly cites Nehru's Hong Kong speech calling for an 'ethical' dimension to match technological progress. - Describes Communist China compelling token 'democratic parties' to 'self-remould' into Socialist Parties after some members criticized government policy under Mao's 'hundred flowers' slogan. - Welcomes President Ngo Dinh Diem's visit to India as a useful corrective to Indian assumptions about the Soviet bloc, given South Vietnam's frontline position against communist subversion. - Warns that G. M. Sadiq's new Democratic National Conference in Kashmir shows clear communist leanings and direct involvement of Communist Party members from New Delhi. - Condemns Dravida Kazhagam calls to burn the Constitution and 'kill the Brahmins,' while also criticizing the Madras Government's anti-burning legislation as likely to aggravate tensions rather than resolve them. - Details the new Kerala Communist government's failures: rising lawlessness, stalled industrial investment, worsening food position, an alleged Rs. 16 lakh rice-deal fraud, and repressive police measures including lathi charges. ### Another Turn Of The Wheel *By by Richard Lowenthal* Richard Lowenthal's essay, condensed from Commentary (New York), analyses Khrushchev's defeat of his rivals in the Soviet party presidium on the eve of the fortieth anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution as marking the definitive end of the post-Stalin 'collective leadership' fiction. Lowenthal argues the change is not de-Stalinization, decentralization, or democratization, but the reassertion of direct party-machine rule over the state apparatus and economy, with the government reduced to a representative rather than executive body. He traces the process from Stalin's death, through Malenkov's premiership and the downgrading of the secret police, to Khrushchev's 20th Congress victory and his eventual restructuring of economic planning, arguing that the current crisis stems from Khrushchev's push to reorganise the top-heavy planning bureaucracy along regional/party lines. He closes by warning that the informal 'moral guarantee' among Soviet leaders not to be held accountable for Stalin-era crimes is now breaking down, citing renewed attacks on Malenkov, Molotov, and Kaganovich, and suggesting further purges are likely if Khrushchev's economic reforms fail. - Argues Khrushchev's victory over his presidium rivals ends the 'collective leadership' fiction and restores the primacy of the party machine over the state. - Frames this as neither de-Stalinization nor democratization but a reassertion of direct party rule over the economy and administration, styled as the state 'withering away' only in the sense of party absorbing its bureaucracy. - Traces the post-Stalin sequence: Malenkov's initial ascendancy, the downgrading of the secret police after Beria's execution, and Khrushchev's use of the 20th Congress to pack the Central Committee. - Attributes the current governmental crisis to Khrushchev's drive to reorganize the top-heavy central planning bureaucracy, a move that dissolved 25 industrial ministries. - Notes Khrushchev shored up support by a triple 'moral guarantee' to the party elite: the secret speech on Stalin, allowing defeated rivals to remain on the Central Committee, and elevating Marshal Zhukov. - Warns the informal amnesty for participation in Stalin's crimes is collapsing, with renewed public attacks on Malenkov (the 'Leningrad affair') and on Molotov and Kaganovich for 1930s purges, suggesting further purges to come. ### Humanist Specter In Eastern Europe *By by Thomas P. Whitney* Thomas P. Whitney's essay, condensed from The New Leader, surveys a growing current of 'humanist' or 'socialist humanist' thought emerging across Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, which he presents as a genuine ideological challenge to Soviet Marxism-Leninism. He cites Polish and Hungarian examples — Adam Ważyk's 1955 'Poem for Adults,' Zoltan Zelk's 1956 poem in Irodalmi Ujsag, and commentary by journalists Edda Werfel and Jerzy Urban — alongside the Soviet Communist Party's own alarmed response in the journal Kommunist, and Vladimir Dudintsev's novel Not by Bread Alone, which Khrushchev denounced as 'slanderous.' Whitney argues this humanism, though not a fully worked-out philosophical system, coheres around a rejection of the idea that the end justifies the means, a demand for unconditional truthfulness, and patient long-term resistance, and constitutes a serious internal threat to Leninism precisely because it draws on ideas with deep roots in Western civilization. He closes by challenging Western thinkers to develop and extend this humanist idea-system rather than merely negating communism, framing it as key to eventually 'reconciling and reuniting mankind.' - Identifies a 'humanist specter' - a concern for human dignity and freedom - spreading through Soviet and East European writing since the mid-1950s. - Cites Adam Ważyk's 'Poem for Adults' (1955) and Zoltan Zelk's 1956 poem as literary expressions of the demand to be treated as human beings rather than instruments of the state. - Notes the Soviet Communist Party's own journal Kommunist devoted an editorial and article attacking humanism, claiming a Leninist monopoly on the concept. - Discusses Vladimir Dudintsev's novel Not by Bread Alone as a landmark expression of humanist concern within Soviet literature, denounced by Khrushchev as 'slanderous.' - Argues the common thread across these disparate voices is a rejection of the idea that the end justifies the means, and a demand for unconditional truthfulness. - Calls on Western thinkers to develop this humanist idea-system further and faster, framing it as a chance to 'shame Western thinkers into action.' ### Review: Imre Nagy on Communism *By Aziz Madni* An unsigned Review section carries two book notices. Aziz Madni reviews Imre Nagy's On Communism (Frederick A. Praeger, New York), describing the smuggled-out memoir by Hungary's ousted Prime Minister as a devoted communist's insider defence of the 'New Course' and indictment of rival Matyas Rakosi, notable for its candid critique of Party unity used to cover crimes and its assertion of Hungary's sovereign right to determine its own international alignment. V.B.K. reviews K. K. Sinha's Towards Pluralist Society (Calcutta), a loosely connected essay collection on democracy, foreign policy, and a proposed 'triangular state' of three separate assemblies, noting the author's arguments echo those earlier advanced by M. N. Roy on partyless democracy, while criticizing the book's repetitiveness and lack of concentrated development of its ideas. - Reviews Imre Nagy's smuggled memoir On Communism, calling it valuable 'inside information' defending his liberal 'New Course' against rival Matyas Rakosi. - Notes the reviewer's view that Nagy remained a devoted communist even in exposing Party terror and unity-as-cover-for-crime. - Quotes Nagy's assertion of Hungary's sovereign right to choose its own international status, deemed treasonous by Soviet standards. - Reviews K. K. Sinha's Towards Pluralist Society, describing it as repetitive stray essays on democracy and foreign policy. - Highlights Sinha's proposed 'triangular state' of three separate assemblies for political, economic, and cultural functions, with the reviewer skeptical of its practicality. - Notes Sinha's arguments for partyless democracy are seen as similar to those earlier advanced by M. N. Roy. ### Review: Towards Pluralist Society *By V.B.K.* This closing section combines brief institutional news notices with a compiled quotations column. The I.C.C.F. News item announces the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's General Meeting and Conference in Patna on December 14-15, 1957, chaired by Mrs. Rukminidevi Arundale, M.P., with seminars on the 'Democratic Alternative' and tribal integration, plus a note on a flute performance at the Committee's office. The D.R.S. News item reports on a two-day Democratic Research Service seminar, 'Russian Revolution and Human Freedom,' held November 26-27, chaired by M. Harris, with papers by Adam Adil and S. R. Mohan Das and additional circulated articles by Bertram D. Wolfe and Sydney Lens, attended by over thirty people including V. B. Karnik, Sitaram Goel, and Dr. Fredi Mehta. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a compiled column of quotations from world newspapers and public figures (Clement Attlee, Dodds Parker, Aneurin Bevan, President Eisenhower, Khrushchev, G. M. Sadiq, Frank Moraes, and others) commenting on Sputnik, the Zhukov purge, Kashmir, and the Kerala communist government, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. - Announces the ICCF General Meeting and Conference in Patna, December 14-15, 1957, chaired by Mrs. Rukminidevi Arundale, M.P., with seminars on the Democratic Alternative and tribal integration. - Reports a Democratic Research Service seminar on 'Russian Revolution and Human Freedom' with papers by Adam Adil and S. R. Mohan Das, and circulated pieces by Bertram D. Wolfe and Sydney Lens. - Lists over a dozen named attendees at the DRS seminar including V. B. Karnik, Sitaram Goel, and Dr. Fredi Mehta. - 'With Many Voices' compiles international press and political commentary on the Sputnik launches, the Zhukov purge, Kashmir, and Kerala's communist government. - Includes quotations attributed to Clement Attlee, President Eisenhower, Khrushchev, Aneurin Bevan, G. M. Sadiq, and Frank Moraes among others. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff068/ ### Summary This is the January 1958 issue (No. 68) of Freedom First, the journal of the Democratic Research Service edited by V. B. Karnik, published in Bombay. The issue is anchored by extensive coverage of the fourth Conference of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, held in Patna in December 1957 under the presidency of Mrs. Rukminidevi Arundale, with two reports (an editorial piece by Karnik and a fuller correspondent's report) covering seminars on 'The Democratic Alternative' (planning versus Gandhian decentralisation) and the integration of tribal peoples, plus addresses by Jayaprakash Narayan and others.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the January 1958 issue (No. 68) of Freedom First, the journal of the Democratic Research Service edited by V. B. Karnik, published in Bombay. The issue is anchored by extensive coverage of the fourth Conference of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, held in Patna in December 1957 under the presidency of Mrs. Rukminidevi Arundale, with two reports (an editorial piece by Karnik and a fuller correspondent's report) covering seminars on 'The Democratic Alternative' (planning versus Gandhian decentralisation) and the integration of tribal peoples, plus addresses by Jayaprakash Narayan and others. Alongside the conference coverage, the issue carries Max Lerner's first-person account of visiting Milovan Djilas's wife in Belgrade while Djilas was imprisoned; an extract from Howard Fast's The Naked God recounting his break with the Communist Party over the fate of Soviet writers and poets (notably Itzik Feffer); a profile of Bertrand Russell by Adam Adil; unsigned 'Notes' on Sino-Soviet bloc tensions, the Indonesia/West Irian crisis, Morarji Desai's remarks on Kerala's communist government, and the persistence of untouchability; a review of Louis Fischer's Russia Revisited by B. K. Desai; and a closing page of quoted political soundbites ('With Many Voices') from Indian public figures. The volume's throughline is anti-communist, pro-democratic classical liberalism, combining domestic Indian politics (planning, Kerala, untouchability, tribal integration) with international coverage of communist repression (Yugoslavia, USSR, Indonesia). ## Essays ### A Significant Conference *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik reports on the fourth Conference of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom held in Patna in December 1957, describing it as a forum for quiet deliberation rather than resolution-passing. The piece summarizes the seminar on 'The Democratic Alternative,' which questioned whether centralised Second Five Year Plan-style planning is compatible with a democratic society, and floated Bhoodan/Gramdan-based decentralised production as a possible synthesis of liberalism and Gandhism. It also reports a seminar on integrating tribal peoples into Indian society, where Prof. Narmadeshwar Prasad argued for integration over isolation or assimilation, warning that isolated tribal communities face ecological and social collapse. Karnik closes by praising the conference's diversity of participants united only by a shared commitment to freedom and democracy. - The ICCF's fourth conference (Patna, Dec 1957) was designed for deliberation, not resolutions. - A seminar on 'The Democratic Alternative' questioned whether the current Second Five Year Plan's centralised planning is compatible with democracy. - Bhoodan/Gramdan and decentralised production were discussed as a possible synthesis of Liberalism and Gandhism. - A separate seminar addressed integration of tribal peoples in India, prompted partly by unrest linked to the Jharkhand Party and Naga hostilities. - Prof. Narmadeshwar Prasad argued integration (not isolation or assimilation) was the consensus solution. - Jayaprakash Narayan called for a 'human revolution' to change the individual alongside institutional change, per his public address at the conference. ### A Meeting With Djilas' Wife *By Max Lerner* Max Lerner recounts a personal visit to the wife of Milovan Djilas, the imprisoned Yugoslav dissident and author of The New Class, whom Lerner could not interview directly since Djilas was jailed in Sremska Mitrovica prison and his book was on trial. Mrs. Djilas is portrayed as stoic and guarded, living modestly with her young son Alexei and Djilas's bedridden mother, refusing foreign mail and food parcels but willing to speak to the press out of a sense of duty. The piece (continued from page 2 to page 10) details Djilas's prison conditions—solitary confinement, monthly visits, developing arthritis, restricted reading—and closes with details about the fraught publication history of The New Class and an unfinished second manuscript about Montenegrin history that Djilas wrote before imprisonment. - Lerner visits Mrs. Djilas in Belgrade because Djilas himself is imprisoned in Sremska Mitrovica and unreachable. - Mrs. Djilas is depicted as reserved, financially strained, and living with Djilas's bedridden mother and their son Alexei. - She refuses foreign mail/parcels but agrees to speak to journalists as a matter of principle. - Djilas is allowed monthly visits and one letter a month; he has developed arthritis in the cold prison and cannot get outside books. - The piece recounts controversy over how manuscripts of The New Class reached its American publisher, Frederick Praeger. - Djilas is reportedly working on a new, non-political book about a Montenegrin prince-bishop, and has another unpublished manuscript about his own life and Montenegro between the wars. ### Notes (Spectre Of National Communism / Events In Indonesia / Frank Appraisal / Curse Of Untouchability) An unsigned 'Notes' column examines the Moscow summit of communist parties and its declaration of unity, arguing that despite the formal show of solidarity, tensions among Soviet-bloc parties (illustrated by Yugoslavia's refusal to sign and Gomulka's admission of unresolved disagreements) reveal that Moscow has failed to suppress 'national communism' within the bloc. A second item discusses unrest in Indonesia over the West Irian dispute with the Netherlands, arguing communists are exploiting the crisis and that the seizure of Dutch enterprises threatens Indonesia's economic stability and foreign investment climate. - The Moscow summit of twelve communist parties issued a declaration of unity, but internal tensions were evident (Yugoslavia refused to sign). - Gomulka's post-summit remarks conceded persistent disagreements among the parties. - The piece argues 'the spectre of national communism' still haunts the Kremlin despite formal re-Stalinisation attempts. - On Indonesia, the piece argues communists are exploiting anti-Dutch sentiment over West Irian to inflame a crisis. - The seizure of Dutch enterprises is characterized as chaos rather than socialism, and a threat to foreign investment confidence in Indonesia. ### The Writer And The Commissar *By Howard Fast* This unsigned 'Notes' segment praises Union Minister Morarji Desai's candid public account of conditions in communist-ruled Kerala, including his criticism of illegal 'Cell Courts' and his remarks contrasting democracy and dictatorship. A following item, 'Curse of Untouchability,' responds to a Lok Sabha discussion revealing shocking details of discrimination against Scheduled Castes, including the murder of a Harijan boy in Uttar Pradesh, and argues that untouchability persists in practice despite constitutional abolition, calling for vigorous social and educational campaigns to eradicate it. - Morarji Desai is praised for frankly describing insecurity, poor investment climate, and illegal 'Cell Courts' in communist-run Kerala. - Desai distinguishes democracy (where rulers can be criticised or unseated) from dictatorship (where opposition has no raison d'etre). - A Lok Sabha discussion revealed a Harijan boy was murdered in Bulandshahr district, Uttar Pradesh, for scoring higher than caste Hindu boys. - The piece argues untouchability persists in practice despite constitutional abolition and legal reforms, and calls for sustained social/educational campaigns against it. ### The Passionate Sceptic: Bertrand Russell *By Adam Adil* Howard Fast, in an extract from his book The Naked God, describes the isolation and moral burden of the writer under tyranny and recounts his own painful break with the American Communist Party. The heart of the piece traces the fate of Soviet Jewish writers, especially the poet Itzik Feffer, who was arrested and killed alongside David Bergelson after refusing to abandon him despite pressure, and Fast's inability to get answers from Soviet and Communist Party contacts about what happened. Fast concludes with a meditation on the meaning of 'commissar' and a forceful renunciation of Communist Party dogma, insisting that despite disillusionment he retains faith in socialism, justice, and the eventual defeat of Soviet authoritarianism. - Fast argues writers are uniquely burdened as 'creatures of conscience' who cannot function under tyranny. - He describes his own persecution as a writer in the US (forced self-publishing) versus far worse fates for Soviet colleagues. - The core narrative concerns the arrest and death of David Bergelson and the poet Itzik Feffer, a decorated Red Army colonel who tried to help Bergelson and was killed alongside him. - Fast recounts confronting a Pravda correspondent over the murder of Soviet Jewish writers before finally breaking with the Communist Party. - Fast distinguishes his continued belief in socialism and human progress from the Communist Party's dogmatic practice, comparing the Party's structure to religious hierarchy and superstition. - The piece closes with a rejection of the label 'Trotskyite' for critics like himself and a call to keep speaking against organisations that 'bid men to deaden their minds.' ### I. C. C. F. Conference: A Report *By A Correspondent* Adam Adil profiles Bertrand Russell as 'the passionate sceptic,' tracing his intellectual development from early Hegelian influence through his central role founding the analytic movement in philosophy, and examining his ethical theory of 'compossible' desires borrowed from Leibniz. The essay discusses Russell's critique of pseudo-principles like 'uniformity of nature,' his 1920 visit to Soviet Russia as part of an Unofficial Labour Delegation which left him disillusioned with Bolshevism, and his early book The Practice and Theory of Bolshevism, which argued that Soviet 'dictatorship of the proletariat' was really dictatorship by the Communist Party. It closes by praising Russell's wit, his outstanding contributions including Principia Mathematica, and his contemporary campaigning against nuclear weapons, while criticizing him as a sceptic who can demolish old beliefs but offers no constructive replacement. - Adil frames Russell as one of the greatest philosophers because he is a 'questioner,' quoting his view that philosophers exist to ask questions rather than answer them. - Russell moved from Hegelian influence, to metaphysical realism with G.E. Moore, to founding the analytic movement in philosophy alongside Wittgenstein and Carnap. - Russell's ethical theory in Human Society in Ethics and Politics is built on Leibniz's concept of 'compossible' desires—those capable of being jointly satisfied. - Russell visited Soviet Russia in 1920 with an Unofficial Labour Delegation and quickly became disillusioned, finding Bolshevism 'fanatically' opposed to the free intellect. - His book The Practice and Theory of Bolshevism argued that Soviet 'dictatorship of the proletariat' meant, in practice, dictatorship of the Communist Party or clique. - Adil praises Principia Mathematica as one of the supreme achievements of the human mind but criticizes Russell for being able to 'demolish the old dilapidated world' without constructing a new one. - The essay notes Russell's 1955 press conference (with Nobel laureates) opposing hydrogen bomb development. ### Review: Russia Revisited (by Louis Fischer) *By B. K. Desai* A correspondent's detailed report on the fourth ICCF conference in Patna (Dec 14-15, 1957) covers an exhibition of paintings and photographs, two seminars ('The Democratic Alternative' and integration of tribal peoples), the inaugural and general meetings, and the election of a new Executive Committee. Mrs. Rukminidevi Arundale's presidential address is quoted at length on the balance between intellect and heart and the danger of politicizing art. The report details institutional business: adoption of the annual report, conversion of the journal Quest into a quarterly under new joint editors, formation of four study groups (on repressive laws, import restrictions on books/periodicals, Gramdan land relations, and state patronage of arts), and closing addresses by M. R. Masani and Jayaprakash Narayan on individualism versus collectivism. - The conference featured an exhibition of paintings (Gopal Ghosh, K. K. Hebbar, Ara, and others) and photographs by Sunil Janah. - Mrs. Rukminidevi Arundale's presidential address warned against using art for political purposes, arguing this destroys the spirit of the creative artist. - The General Meeting adopted the annual report and converted the journal Quest into a quarterly under joint editors Abu Syed Ayyub and Amlan Datta. - Four study groups were formed: on repugnant laws/procedures, import restrictions on books and periodicals, Gramdan land relations, and state patronage of arts and literature. - A new Executive Committee was elected, including Mrs. Arundale, Jayaprakash Narayan, M. R. Masani, and others; V. B. Karnik and Philip Spratt were later co-opted, with Karnik and one other elected Honorary Secretaries. - M. R. Masani and Jayaprakash Narayan addressed the closing public meeting; Narayan called individualism vs. collectivism the central dilemma facing civilisation and urged a 'human revolution.' ### D. R. S. News B. K. Desai reviews Louis Fischer's Russia Revisited, noting the book's title undersells its scope since it covers both Fischer's 20-day visit to post-Stalin Russia and a survey of East European satellite states, especially Poland and Hungary. Desai summarizes Fischer's findings: material conditions in Russia are unchanged but the political climate is freer than under Stalin, though people remain wary of testing the limits of this freedom given decades of ingrained fear. The review highlights Fischer's account of the disillusionment with the communist myth spreading through Eastern Europe, culminating in Poland's and Hungary's uprisings, and closes on Fischer's cautiously optimistic conclusion that 'freedom must win.' - The review corrects the book's title, noting its scope extends beyond Russia to Poland and Hungary. - Fischer finds post-20th Congress Russia freer in mood but with material conditions largely unchanged. - Desai stresses that decades of terror have created a docile population unwilling to test the state's tolerance for dissent. - The review credits Fischer with tracing how national independence and personal-freedom urges combined to fuel unrest and disillusionment with communism across Eastern Europe. - Fischer's book concludes on cautious optimism that Soviet communism is disintegrating, ending with the line 'freedom must win... it is only a matter of time.' ### Young Asian Artists Exhibition The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' is a column of short quoted excerpts from Indian public figures and periodicals on current political topics, epigraphed by a Tennyson verse. Quotes come from Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari, Prime Minister Nehru, Jayaprakash Narayan, Shriman Narayan, and others, touching on the Second Plan, the Bhoodan/Gramdan movement, communism's relationship to Marxism and communalism, and the state of parliamentary democracy in India. The page closes with brief ICCF news items, including a Bangalore seminar on 'Education for Democracy' inaugurated by Mysore Chief Minister S. Nijalingappa, and a Jayaprakash Narayan address in New Delhi on the prospects of parliamentary democracy in India. - The column collects contrasting quoted opinions from Indian politicians and commentators on planning, communism, and democracy. - Jayaprakash Narayan is quoted as saying the experiment with parliamentary democracy has completely failed in India (Hindustan Times, Dec 18). - Shriman Narayan is quoted calling communalism and communism 'two facets of the same sociological and political phenomenon.' - Nehru is quoted remarking that communism's easy interpretation of history explains its fascination. - A brief news item reports a three-day 'Education for Democracy' seminar in Bangalore inaugurated by Mysore Chief Minister S. Nijalingappa. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff069/ ### Summary This is issue No. 69 of Freedom First (February 1958), a monthly periodical of the Democratic Research Service edited by V. B. Karnik, aligned with the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (ICCF) and classical-liberal, anti-communist politics of the period. The issue opens with Karnik's lead essay on the fragility of national integration in India, followed by a Notes section covering Hungarian political trials, communist troubles in Kerala, the US loan to India, Sheikh Abdullah's release, and ICCF news. Feature articles cover the Cairo Afro-Asian Solidarity Conference as a vehicle for Soviet penetration of Third World nationalism (B. K. Desai), the stage-managed nature of guided tourism in Maoist China (Adam Adil), a report on an ICCF-organised seminar on education for democracy in Bangalore, an American commentator's essay on Dudintsev's Not By Bread Alone as a symptom of dissent within the USSR (Leon Dennen), and a report on the international controversy over the suppression of Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago. The issue closes with a page of quoted excerpts from contemporary public figures ("With Many Voices") and a subscription form.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 69 of Freedom First (February 1958), a monthly periodical of the Democratic Research Service edited by V. B. Karnik, aligned with the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (ICCF) and classical-liberal, anti-communist politics of the period. The issue opens with Karnik's lead essay on the fragility of national integration in India, followed by a Notes section covering Hungarian political trials, communist troubles in Kerala, the US loan to India, Sheikh Abdullah's release, and ICCF news. Feature articles cover the Cairo Afro-Asian Solidarity Conference as a vehicle for Soviet penetration of Third World nationalism (B. K. Desai), the stage-managed nature of guided tourism in Maoist China (Adam Adil), a report on an ICCF-organised seminar on education for democracy in Bangalore, an American commentator's essay on Dudintsev's Not By Bread Alone as a symptom of dissent within the USSR (Leon Dennen), and a report on the international controversy over the suppression of Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago. The issue closes with a page of quoted excerpts from contemporary public figures ("With Many Voices") and a subscription form. The volume's argumentative center is a sustained anti-communist, pro-liberal-democratic framing across domestic Indian politics, international communist movements, and Soviet-bloc literary dissent. ## Essays ### Emotional Integration *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik argues that Indian national integration remains superficial, held together during the independence struggle mainly by shared opposition to British rule rather than by durable bonds of history, culture, or nationality. He surveys recent evidence of fragmentation — the states reorganisation controversy, the Hindi-versus-English language dispute framed by southern India as northern imposition, the Ramnad riots, Naga hostilities, and the Jharkhand Party's tribal separatism — and rejects the Soviet model of enforced unity through a centralised, coercive party-state. Instead he calls for an appeal to the future rather than the past, arguing that emotional integration must be built through demonstrable, even economic development across all regions and inclusive democratic participation in policy-making, rather than appeals to religion, language, or historical memory, which reopen old wounds instead of healing them. - National integration in India is incomplete and requires generations, not a single policy stroke. - The independence-era bond (opposition to British rule) has dissolved and not been replaced by an equally strong unifying force. - Recent flashpoints cited: states reorganisation dispute, the Hindi-vs-English official language controversy, the Ramnad riots (Madras State, September prior year), Naga hostilities, and Jharkhand Party tribal separatism in Bihar and Orissa. - Totalitarian states (the essay cites Soviet Russia under Stalin) solve integration by coercive suppression of regional/national identity — a path the author says is closed to a democracy. - The essay argues appeals to a shared 'golden age' fail because no such common past exists for all Indian communities; appeals must instead be forward-looking. - Even economic development across all regions, not just concentrated growth, is framed as essential to building the sentiment of national unity. - V. K. Krishna Menon (Defence Minister) is cited for the view that nationalism itself produces sub-nationalism. - Y. B. Chavan (Chief Minister of Bombay) is quoted on emotional understanding between regions as the true basis of national survival. ### Notes An unsigned Notes section comprising five short items: 'Terror In Hungary' reports on secret trials and executions of Hungarian dissidents, including the prosecution of children, following the 1956 uprising, citing the Civil Liberties Bulletin's account of a Communist regime 'final drive' against surviving 1956 rebels including General Maleter and Colonel Kopacksy. 'Kerala Communists In Trouble' describes the Kerala communist ministry's declining popularity, its conflicts with the Centre over the Education Bill referral to the Supreme Court, and allegations of corruption and nepotism. 'American Loan To India' welcomes a $225 million US loan to help India's foreign exchange gap, contrasting it favourably with Soviet aid and criticising Krishna Menon's 'snobbish impertinence' toward the West. 'Sheikh Abdullah' comments cautiously on his release from four years' detention without trial, urging reconciliation between Abdullah, Bakshi Gulam Mahommed, and New Delhi as the path to a Kashmir settlement. 'I.C.C.F. News' briefly notes a visit by Prof. Abraham Kaplan of UC Berkeley's philosophy department to the Committee's office. - Hungary item: reports secret mass trials and executions of 1956 revolution participants, including a case of children being prosecuted, drawing on the Civil Liberties Bulletin. - Kerala item: describes the state's communist ministry as beleaguered, accused of shifting blame to the Centre and facing corruption allegations; cites Chief Minister's admission of poor Five-Year Plan fund utilisation (only Rs. 4.21 crores of Rs. 17.90 crores spent). - US loan item: welcomes the $225 million offer (partly from Export-Import Bank, partly Development Loan Fund) as narrowing India's foreign exchange gap, noting total US aid to India since independence would reach $1,275 million, five times Soviet aid. - Sheikh Abdullah item: frames his release after four years' detention as requiring reconciliation, not further recrimination, between him, Bakshi Gulam Mahommed, and the Delhi government. - ICCF News item: records a visit by Prof. Abraham Kaplan, Chairman of the Department of Philosophy at the University of California, on 3 January 1958. ### Afro-Asian Solidarity Conference *By B. K. Desai* B. K. Desai reports on the December 1957 Afro-Asian Solidarity Conference in Cairo, arguing it demonstrated the convergence of Afro-Asian nationalism with international communism. He traces its origins to the 1955 Bandung Conference, the Soviet-sponsored 'Asian Conference for the Relaxation of Tension' in New Delhi, and the Asian Solidarity Committee, describing how the Cairo conference — attended overwhelmingly by hand-picked delegates including large Soviet and Chinese delegations — produced anti-Western resolutions on imperialism, racial discrimination, and disarmament while claiming to represent 'the people' rather than governments. Desai concludes that the Soviet Union successfully used the conference to position itself as leader and champion of Afro-Asian aspirations, and calls on Western powers to develop a 'totally new approach and vision' rather than relying solely on military and economic aid to counter this propaganda success. - The Cairo conference (late December 1957) is presented as evidence of an alliance between Afro-Asian nationalism and international communism. - Traces communist strategy from the 1955 Bandung Conference through the Delhi 'Asian Conference for the Relaxation of Tension' (under the All-India Peace Council) to the Asian Solidarity Committee and finally the Afro-Asian Solidarity Movement. - The Cairo conference established a permanent Afro-Asian Solidarity Council headquartered in Cairo, with an Egyptian Secretary-General and a Russian secretary. - Describes lopsided delegation composition: ~500 hand-picked delegates from 45 countries; Soviet delegation of 40 (largest), Communist Chinese delegation of 25; the Indian delegation of 10 was entirely communists or fellow-travellers, including Dr. Anup Singh, Smt. Rameshwari Nehru, and Mr. A. K. Gopalan. - Documents specific propaganda themes pushed at the conference: American imperialism, British racial discrimination, and Soviet-style 'unconditional aid' framed via the Suez Canal and Indonesia precedents. - Notes that even Dr. Anup Singh admitted the conference's decisions tended, by implication, to follow the communist line. - Argues the Soviet delegation was the most popular and effectively dominated the proceedings, deemed a strategic success for Moscow. - Calls for the West to develop a new, non-military, non-purely-economic approach to compete for the loyalty of Afro-Asian nationalist sentiment. ### Guided Tourism In China *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil describes the elaborate system by which Maoist China stage-manages 'guided tourism' for foreign delegations, arguing that visitors are shown a nearly identical, pre-arranged itinerary of showcase sites (the Great Wall, model factories, collectives, Mao's birthplace, a model jail near Peking) via the China International Tourist Service and the Chinese Peoples' Society for Cultural Relations, with minimal freedom to see anything unscheduled. He draws on the accounts of numerous visitors — India's Brajkishore Shastry, James Cameron, Adalbert de Segonzac, Robert Guillain, Dhirendranath Das Gupta, and others — to show the remarkable uniformity of their reported experiences, including a suspiciously rehearsed 'model jail' visit and a bilingual minder who 'by chance' always accompanied Cameron. The essay (continuing past the rendered page range) notes that no foreign visitor has ever been permitted into Tibet, minority areas, border regions, or forced labour camps, and that the absence of a free press compounds the difficulty of learning the truth about conditions in China. - Guided tourism is described as a deliberate, near-universal Communist-bloc technique, with China's version singled out as especially subtle and effective. - Peking reported over 4,700 visitors from 63 countries in 1955, rising to over 5,200 from 65 countries in 1956; 1,243 Japanese visitors in 1956 per the Japanese China Friendship Association. - Visitors are handled by the China International Tourist Service, an agency of the Chinese Peoples' Society for Cultural Relations (CPSCR). - Brajkishore Shastry (1953 labour delegation visitor) is cited comparing conditions under Mao to Orwell's 1984. - Describes a standard itinerary: Canton-Honkow-Peking train route, Manchuria industrial tour, sometimes Sian, Lanchow, Yumen oil centre, and Chungking, with visits to a staged 'model jail' near Peking reported near-identically by James Cameron, Adalbert de Segonzac, Robert Guillain, and G. S. Gale. - James Cameron's account describes a suspiciously well-rehearsed peasant interviewee and an English-speaking minder present 'by chance' throughout his visit. - The essay (continued on page 8, beyond what is fully captured here) states no foreign visitor has been permitted to see Tibet, minority areas, border regions, the South China coastline, defense works, forced labour camps, or famine/flood areas, and that all news media in China are officially controlled. ### Seminar On Education For Democracy An unsigned report on a three-day ICCF-organised Seminar on Education for Democracy held in Bangalore (22-24 December) at the Kannada Literary Academy hall, inaugurated by Mysore Chief Minister S. Nijalingappa and Education Minister V. Venkatappa. The report summarises addresses by multiple speakers — Prof. B. Venkatesachar on mathematics' role in cultivating objective truth-consciousness, Prof. M. A. Venkata Rao on history's role in democratic education, Philip Spratt on how totalitarian states control thought across education, history, and the sciences, and M. V. Balakrishna Rao (a delegate of the R. L. Foundation of Bombay) on the value of social sciences for democratic policy — alongside a symposium on democratic values presided over by M. P. L. Sastry invoking Vedantic ideas of universal spiritual equality as a foundation for democracy, and sessions led by M. V. Krishna Rao, C. V. Srinivasa Murthy, and M. Yamunacharya on the components of democratic attitude. - Three-day seminar (22-24 December) organised by the Bangalore Group of the ICCF, held at the Kannada Literary Academy hall. - Inaugurated by Mysore Chief Minister S. Nijalingappa, who spoke of the world's division between Soviet Russia and the USA and the need to control politics to achieve welfare and harmony. - Education Minister V. Venkatappa opened the symposium, stressing educated people's responsibility to preserve free life and combat corruption. - M. P. L. Sastry presided over the opening symposium, using the Vedantic idea of the untouchable's dialogue with Shankaracharya on the equality of all souls as a foundation for democracy. - Prof. B. Venkatesachar spoke on mathematical training's role in developing consciousness of truth as an objective fact independent of human passions. - Prof. M. A. Venkata Rao addressed history's role in democratic education, contrasting willed human action with totalitarian determinism. - Philip Spratt sketched the ways totalitarian states control thought across education, history, science, and the arts. - M. V. Balakrishna Rao, a delegate of the R. L. Foundation of Bombay, presented a paper on the value of social sciences for sound democratic policy. ### The Revolt Is Rising *By Leon Dennen* Leon Dennen argues that the furore over Vladimir Dudintsev's novel Not By Bread Alone reflects a genuine, historically recurring current of dissent within Russian literature, comparing it to the nineteenth-century subversive impact of Dostoyevsky, Gogol, and Pushkin despite those authors' own professed loyalty to Tsar and Church. He traces a lineage of censors and critics (a Tsarist censor's alarmed report on The House of the Dead, Alexander Herzen's declaration in The Bell that 'the revolt is rising') to argue that Dudintsev, likely unconsciously, has become the spokesman of the Soviet Union's disenfranchised and disillusioned, indicting not just individual bureaucrats but the one-party system itself. Dennen situates Dudintsev among other post-Stalin dissenting voices (Pilnyak, Olesha, Babel — all later purged — and the more compromised Ilya Ehrenburg) and closes (in content continued beyond the excerpt captured here) with an assessment of the novel's aesthetic modesty but historic significance, contrasting its hero Lopatkin's idealism with the villain Drozdov's cynical bureaucratic careerism. - Frames Not By Bread Alone as evidence that Russian revolutionary/literary history is 'repeating itself,' with Dudintsev cast as heir to Dostoyevsky, Gogol, and Pushkin's subversive influence despite their personal orthodoxy. - Cites a Tsarist Ministry of Interior censor's 1860 report worrying that Dostoyevsky's The House of the Dead might be read as a call for penal-system leniency. - Quotes Alexander Herzen's 1860s-era journal The Bell declaring 'the revolt is rising' across the Russian empire. - Notes Khrushchev personally denounced Dudintsev as a 'calumniator' whose book is 'unhealthy, tendentious and obnoxious.' - Situates Dudintsev among purged Soviet writers Boris Pilnyak, Yuri Olesha, and Isaac Babel, contrasted with the more compromised Ilya Ehrenburg. - Argues Dudintsev is the first post-Stalinist novelist to indict the fundamental one-party Communist system itself, not merely individual abuses. - Describes the novel's plot conflict between the idealist inventor Lopatkin and the cynical, power-grasping factory director Drozdov as an embodiment of proletarian virtue versus 'the new class' (citing Milovan Djilas). ### The Affair Of Dr. Zhivago *By (Contributed)* An unsigned, contributed report summarises the plot of Boris Pasternak's newly published novel Doctor Zhivago and recounts the political controversy surrounding its publication. The Italian publisher Giangiacomo Feltrinelli resisted intense Soviet pressure — including a personal visit from Alexi Surkov, director of the League of Soviet Writers — to abandon publication after Moscow reversed its earlier approval, with the Union of Soviet Writers ruling that the novel's 'cumulative effect casts doubt on the validity of the Bolshevik Revolution.' The piece summarises the novel's plot (Yura Zhivago's life through World War I, the Revolution, partisan captivity, and his relationships with his wife Tonya and his lover Lara) and quotes several of its more anti-Communist-flavoured passages on Marxism, collectivization, and enforced conformity, closing with concern over what fate might befall Pasternak given the earlier arrest and execution of Boris Pilnyak after a similar episode, and reporting the Soviet Party's public humiliation of the poetess Margaret Aliger, who was pressured into a published recantation in the Literary Gazette for defending Doctor Zhivago's right to appear. - Doctor Zhivago, by Boris Pasternak, was published in Italian in Milan by Feltrinelli; an English translation is announced as forthcoming from Collins. - Describes the reversal: Moscow's publishing house Gozlitizdat had originally planned publication, poems from the book had appeared in a Soviet review, and October 15 had been set as a Russian/international publication date, before Kremlin bosses reversed course. - The Union of Soviet Writers ruled the novel's cumulative effect casts doubt on the validity of the Bolshevik Revolution 'as if it were a great crime in Russian history.' - Alexi Surkov, Director of the League of Soviet Writers, personally travelled to Milan to pressure the publisher into abandoning the book; Feltrinelli refused. - Summarises the novel's plot across roughly fifty years of Russian history, centering on Yura Zhivago, his wife Tonya, his lover Lara, and Lara's husband Pasha Antipov. - Quotes several passages voiced by novel characters critical of Marxism as pseudo-science, of forced collectivization, and of enforced ideological conformity. - Draws a parallel to the 1930 case of Boris Pilnyak's Bois des Iles, which was banned in Russia, after which Pilnyak was arrested and executed — raising fear for Pasternak's fate. - Reports the humiliation of poetess Margaret Aliger, a Communist Party member who defended young Literary Moscow contributors and was publicly attacked by Khrushchev before being pressured into a recantation published in the Literary Gazette. ### With Many Voices The issue's final page, 'With Many Voices,' is a miscellany of short quoted excerpts from contemporary public figures and newspapers, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. It includes quotations from Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko on Vatican-Soviet common ground on banning the atomic bomb, an unattributed Hindu editorial on the absence of major-power clashes, Asoka Mehta on the Kerala communist government's declining standards, Adlai Stevenson's quip about camels, Lakshmi Menon on India's socialist pattern, Prime Minister Nehru on the dangers of oil in world politics, Dr. R. Fray on the two fundamental errors of communism, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia contrasting India's and Pakistan's international alignments, Cambodia's Ex-King Norodom Sinhanouk on the danger of underestimating communism (citing Hungary), and Ilya Ehrenburg on artistic freedom despite political change. - A compilation of short quotations from public figures and newspapers dated January 1958, framed by a Tennyson epigraph. - Includes Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko's remark on Vatican-Soviet convergence over banning the atomic bomb. - Asoka Mehta is quoted criticising the Kerala communist government's record on efficiency, impartiality, and incorruptibility. - Prime Minister Nehru is quoted on oil as a dangerous, slippery cause of world trouble. - Dr. R. Fray is quoted describing communism's two fundamental errors: practical failure and intolerable arrogance in usurping 'the right of God.' - Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia is quoted contrasting India's position as a 'servant' with Pakistan's as a 'slave' between the Atlantic and Soviet camps. - Cambodia's Ex-King Norodom Sinhanouk's warning about underestimating communism, citing Hungary, is quoted twice (appears duplicated across the two columns). - The issue closes with subscription details, an advertisement for Girilal Jain's pamphlet 'Chinese Panchsheela in Burma,' and the publication's registration and printing details (V. B. Karnik, The Kanado Press, Bombay). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff070/ ### Summary This is the March 1958 issue (No. 70) of Freedom First, the monthly journal published in Bombay by the Democratic Research Service under editor V. B. Karnik, in association with the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. The issue opens with R. V. Murthy's analysis of the Chagla Commission's findings on the Life Insurance Corporation's Mundhra share-purchase scandal, drawing lessons about state-corporation autonomy and the dangers of further nationalisation. A 'Notes' section covers Mao Zedong's Hundred Flowers Campaign and subsequent purge, French bombing of the Tunisian village of Sakhat Sidi Youssef, the toned-down treatment of Stalin in the new Soviet Encyclopaedia, Henry Cabot Lodge's diplomatic visit to India, and an obituary for Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. B. K. Desai contributes a piece exposing Congress politicians' participation in the communist-organised India-China Friendship Association. Adam Adil analyses the political crisis in Indonesia arising from President Sukarno's inclusion of Communists in the Djuanda cabinet and the resulting regional rebellion.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the March 1958 issue (No. 70) of Freedom First, the monthly journal published in Bombay by the Democratic Research Service under editor V. B. Karnik, in association with the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. The issue opens with R. V. Murthy's analysis of the Chagla Commission's findings on the Life Insurance Corporation's Mundhra share-purchase scandal, drawing lessons about state-corporation autonomy and the dangers of further nationalisation. A 'Notes' section covers Mao Zedong's Hundred Flowers Campaign and subsequent purge, French bombing of the Tunisian village of Sakhat Sidi Youssef, the toned-down treatment of Stalin in the new Soviet Encyclopaedia, Henry Cabot Lodge's diplomatic visit to India, and an obituary for Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. B. K. Desai contributes a piece exposing Congress politicians' participation in the communist-organised India-China Friendship Association. Adam Adil analyses the political crisis in Indonesia arising from President Sukarno's inclusion of Communists in the Djuanda cabinet and the resulting regional rebellion. Hugh Seton-Watson (condensed from 'New Leader') writes on the 'Populist mentality' among Eastern European intellectuals under communism, using Milovan Djilas as a starting point. The issue closes with a Congress for Cultural Freedom declaration on intellectual freedom worldwide, a 'With Many Voices' page of quotations from the press, and the statutory ownership statement for the publication. The volume's argumentative centre is anti-communist and classical-liberal: skeptical of state economic control, alert to communist infiltration of ostensibly independent civic and cultural organisations in India and abroad, and sympathetic to intellectual dissent behind the Iron Curtain. ## Essays ### Lessons Of The L.I.C. Episode *By R. V. Murthy* R. V. Murthy reviews the aftermath of the Justice M. C. Chagla Commission's inquiry into the Life Insurance Corporation's investments — the 'Mundhra episode' that led to the resignation of Union Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari. Murthy argues the affair's significance lies less in its personalities than in the lessons it offers about the limits of autonomy for state-controlled corporations, at a moment when the government was talking of further nationalisation under the 'Socialistic Pattern of Society.' He quotes the Chagla Report's finding that the LIC transaction was rushed through in an 'amazing manner' without consulting the Investment Committee, and that it was arguably structured to relieve a businessman of doubtful reputation from his financial difficulties. Murthy draws out several lessons: that autonomous statutory corporations in practice become mere departments of government under state pressure; that funds of the LIC should not be used to acquire controlling interests in private industry (recalling C. D. Deshmukh's assurance to Parliament to that effect when piloting the nationalisation bill); and that monolithic state monopolies like the LIC should be broken up to encourage competition and efficiency, which would also strengthen India's still-fragile democracy. - The Chagla Commission investigated the LIC's purchase of Mundhra-controlled shares and found the transaction rushed, unbusinesslike, and made without consulting the Investment Committee. - Chagla's report suggested the deal may have been structured to relieve Mundhra of financial difficulties tied to concerns he controlled by 'dubious methods.' - The episode exploded the 'myth of the autonomy of the so-called autonomous statutory corporations,' which in practice function as wings of government under state pressure. - C. D. Deshmukh, as Finance Minister piloting LIC nationalisation, had assured Parliament the government did not intend to use LIC funds to acquire controlling interests in private industry — an assurance Murthy says must be honoured. - Murthy argues for demonopolising the LIC and other state-controlled monopolies to restore healthy competition, efficiency, and confidence in government assurances. - The article situates the LIC affair as a caution against further nationalisation given evident state incapacity to manage new economic responsibilities. ### Notes (Tragedy of Hundred Flowers; Another French Folly; Stalin's Place; Tortuous Business; Maulana Azad) The 'Notes' section is a set of short unsigned editorial comments. 'Tragedy of Hundred Flowers' recounts Mao Zedong's 1956 invitation for open criticism ('let a hundred flowers bloom') and the subsequent purge, citing an official report by Public Security Minister Lo Jui-ching that over 100,000 'rightists' and 'counter-revolutionaries' were 'uncovered' over 27 months, with 17.7 lakh persons investigated, and draws the conclusion that communism can only rule by force, not free consent. 'Another French Folly' condemns the French bombing of the Tunisian village of Sakhat Sidi Youssef during the Algerian war, calling French justifications unconvincing given the civilian-only casualties, and calls on the US and UK (who had voiced disapproval) to back Tunisia's case at the UN Security Council. 'Stalin's Place' notes that the new Soviet Encyclopaedia has drastically reduced its treatment of Stalin (from 87 pages in 1947 to 5 pages), reflecting Khrushchev's consolidation of a post-Stalin party line. 'Tortuous Business' criticises US diplomat Henry Cabot Lodge's visit to India, particularly his warmth toward Krishna Menon and leftist circles, as diplomatically counterproductive and a wrong signal both to Americans about Menon's popularity and to Indians about Menon's standing in America. 'Maulana Azad' is an obituary for Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, praising his early anti-imperialist journalism in Al-Hilal, his role bringing Muslims into the nationalist fold, his scholarly translation of the Quran ('Tarjamanul Quran'), and quotes Nehru's description of him as of 'luminous intelligence and towering personality.' - Mao's Hundred Flowers Campaign is described as a bait-and-purge: invited criticism was followed by a mass crackdown, with over 100,000 'uncovered' as rightists/counter-revolutionaries per an official report covering June 1955-October 1957. - The piece concludes communism 'has to live by the sword rather than by the free consent of free men.' - French bombing of Sakhat Sidi Youssef in Tunisia (64 killed, 87 wounded, all civilians) is condemned as premeditated aggression tied to French anti-Algerian-rebel operations; Tunisia raised it at the UN Security Council. - The new Soviet Encyclopaedia cuts Stalin's coverage from 87 pages (1947 edition) to 5 pages with one photograph, read as Khrushchev recalibrating the official line on Stalin post-20th Party Congress. - Henry Cabot Lodge's India visit and warmth toward Krishna Menon is criticised as poor diplomacy that misread and inflated Menon's domestic and international standing. - Maulana Azad's death is mourned as the loss of a scholar-statesman who used journalism (Al-Hilal) to draw Muslims into the nationalist movement and produced a major Quran translation. ### Tragedy Of India-China Friendship *By B. K. Desai* B. K. Desai criticises the growing willingness of Congress politicians, including Defence Minister Krishna Menon, to lend their names and prestige to the India-China Friendship Association, which he portrays as a communist front operating a 'popular front' strategy under cover of cultural exchange. He describes the Association's third annual Bombay conference, attended by numerous Congressmen and the Bombay Pradesh Congress Committee leadership, and quotes Association president Pandit Sunderlal's uncritical praise of China alongside his earlier acknowledgment that India and China 'were in the same boat' regardless of China's communist status. Desai details resolutions passed at the conference (supporting Red China's UN seat claim, opposing US H-bombs, distributing Chinese communist literature in Indian languages) as evidence of the communist hand behind an ostensibly cultural body. He closes with an account of a cultural show at the conference where stands collapsed, injuring 700 Bombay municipal school children who had allegedly been pressured by a pro-communist Education Officer, Miss Kapila Khandwala, to attend — presented as revealing how communist-sympathetic officials misuse schoolchildren for front-organisation purposes. - Desai frames the India-China Friendship Association as a communist front using a 'popular front' tactic, with genuine or exploited Congress participation lending it legitimacy. - Defence Minister Krishna Menon inaugurated the conference; senior Bombay Congress figures held official roles in the Reception Committee. - Association president Pandit Sunderlal is quoted praising China effusively even while conceding China's communist nature, which Desai reads as 'slavish Sinophilia.' - Conference resolutions backed Red China's UN seat, condemned US H-bombs, and proposed distributing Chinese communist literature via new libraries and regional-language publications in India. - A cultural show (a Uday Shankar shadow play) at the conference saw a stand collapse, injuring about 100 of 700 Municipal Urdu-school children who attended; Desai attributes their mass attendance to pressure from Education Officer Miss Kapila Khandwala, described as a known pro-Communist sympathiser. ### Crisis In Indonesia *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil analyses the political crisis triggered by President Sukarno's inclusion of Communists in the Djuanda cabinet under his 'Guided Democracy' concept, which prompted anti-communist military leaders (Colonels Maludin Simbolon, Ahmed Hussain, and Zulkifli Lubis) backed by the Masjumi Party to proclaim a rival government in Central Sumatra under Sjafruddin Prawiranegara. Adil lays out the case made by Vice-President Mohammad Hatta and Masjumi leaders that admitting Communists (who hold only 39 of 256 parliamentary seats but wield outsized organisational strength, including the largest communist party membership in Asia outside China) risks a 'Trojan horse' capture of the state. He surveys regional grievances driving the crisis — Sumatra's export revenues subsidising an over-populated Java — and the resulting unitary-versus-federal debate splitting Sukarno's nationalists from Hatta's and the Masjumi/Nahdatul Ulema's federalist camp. Adil proposes three steps toward resolution: abandoning 'Guided Democracy' collaboration with Communists, adopting a federal structure with regional autonomy, and equitable distribution of national revenues among the islands, especially the underdeveloped ones. - Sukarno's 'Guided Democracy' cabinet (the Djuanda cabinet) included three Communist nominees despite Communists holding only 39 of 256 parliamentary seats, prompting anti-communist military leaders to proclaim a rival government in Central Sumatra. - Vice-President Hatta and Masjumi leaders (Dr. Natsir and allies) warn against a Communist 'Trojan horse' entering administration, arguing Communists would exploit democratic rights only to destroy democracy. - The Indonesian Communist Party is described as the largest in Asia outside China, with over half a million members and dominant control of industrial/plantation trade unions. - Regional economic grievances (Sumatra earning 67% of exports 1952-56 but receiving disproportionately little back, versus Java's 17% of exports but 73% of imports) fuel the unitary-vs-federal debate. - Sukarno and nationalist supporters favour a unitary state (originally opposed by the Dutch 'divide and rule' framing); Hatta, Masjumi, and Nahdatul Ulema favour a federal structure with regional autonomy. - Adil's proposed resolution: end Guided-Democracy collaboration with Communists, adopt federalism with political/economic autonomy for constituent islands, and ensure equitable distribution of national revenue. ### Populist Spirit In East Europe *By Hugh Seton-Watson* Hugh Seton-Watson, in a piece condensed from 'New Leader,' reflects on Milovan Djilas as an example of a communist official who developed independent conclusions without external compulsion, unlike Tito or Gomulka who reformed policy but never openly criticised the essence of communist power itself. Seton-Watson traces a shared 'Populist mentality' among four otherwise disparate groups of interwar and postwar Eastern European educated youth (Russian Narodniks, Serbian Leninists, Romanian Fascists, and Hungarian 'village explorers') — a common sense of duty to serve and liberate 'the people' despite differing doctrines. He describes how postwar communist regimes tried to co-opt this populist ethic into Stalinist loyalty by expanding education for children of workers and peasants, but the new intelligentsia instead became the regimes' 'bitterest critics,' driving the Polish and Hungarian revolutions of October 1956. He argues that despite Soviet suppression of the Hungarian revolution, Eastern Europe's intellectuals retain a basic hostility to Soviet rule that neither Khrushchev's reforms nor propaganda have been able to dissolve, and closes on the view that the free half of Europe remains the crucial symbol of hope against Soviet efforts to extinguish it. - Djilas is singled out as unique among communist officials for critiquing the essence of communist power itself, not just its bureaucratic excesses, unlike Tito and Gomulka. - Seton-Watson identifies a common 'Populist mentality' across Russian Narodniks, Serbian Leninists, Romanian Iron Guard Fascists, and Hungarian 'village explorers' — a shared sense of duty to serve and liberate 'the people.' - Postwar communist regimes (1944-48) tried to harness this populist ethic to build a new, larger, loyal intelligentsia drawn from workers' and peasants' children, but the strategy backfired: the educated youth became the regimes' fiercest critics. - This dynamic drove the Polish and Hungarian revolutions of October 1956, led by the new intelligentsia the regimes themselves had created and educated. - Seton-Watson argues the Soviet Army could suppress the Hungarian revolution militarily but not the underlying hostility of Hungary's and Poland's educated youth to Soviet rule. - He concludes that a still-free half of Europe remains the crucial symbol sustaining East European intellectuals' hope, more important to them than American strength or hope of forcible Western liberation. ### Congress For Cultural Freedom — A Declaration This is the text of a declaration issued by the Executive Committee of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, meeting in Paris on 18-19 January 1958, expressing solidarity with intellectuals in totalitarian countries who have shown independence of mind despite repression. The declaration cites the 'revolt against the lie' in Budapest inspired by poets, the rebirth of cultural rights in Poland led by young critics, and stirrings of dissent from China and the USSR, while noting the high cost of repression: the imprisonment of Tibor Dery, Julius Hay, and others in Budapest, the jailing of Milovan Djilas in Belgrade, and bans on publications even in Poland. It links this intellectual struggle to other contemporary causes for civil and political rights — racial equality in Little Rock, opposition to arbitrary censorship, the South African Treason Trial defendants — framing all as expressions of a single worldwide struggle waged 'in the name of free men.' - The declaration was adopted by the CCF Executive Committee at its Paris meeting of 18-19 January 1958. - It expresses solidarity with intellectuals under totalitarianism who have asserted independence despite repression, citing Budapest, Poland, and stirrings from China and the USSR. - It records the human cost of this dissent: Tibor Dery and Julius Hay imprisoned in Budapest; Milovan Djilas jailed in Belgrade; publications banned even in Poland. - It draws an explicit parallel between East European intellectual dissent and other global struggles — racial equality in Little Rock, the South African Treason Trial, and anti-censorship campaigns — as facets of one struggle for free men everywhere. ### With Many Voices 'With Many Voices' is a compilation of short quotations drawn from contemporary newspapers and public figures, epigraphed with lines from Tennyson. It juxtaposes remarks from A. M. Rosenthal (New York Times) on India's moral climate despite corruption; rebel Indonesian Premier Sjafruddin Prawiranegara comparing admitting Communists into government to 'injecting sickness into one's body'; Sir Halford Reddish warning against dependence on the welfare state; Swarajya on the press's shifting convictions; V. K. Krishna Menon on Congress-PSP relations in Kerala; P. R. Lele (Blitz) on Congress leaders' belief there is no alternative to Congress; a satirical note about Krishna Menon's prime-ministerial ambitions; Khrushchev on drunkenness; E. M. S. Namboodiripad on Communist-Sarvodaya cooperation in villages; and M. P. Govinda Menon's hope that the Kerala Communist Party might become a 'Sarvodaya Communist Party.' The page is followed by the statutory Statement About Ownership of Freedom First, naming V. B. Karnik as printer, publisher, and editor, with the Democratic Research Service as owner, dated 1 March 1958. - The page compiles short quotations from Indian and international press and public figures on contemporary political topics (corruption, communism, welfare-state dependency, Kerala politics). - Rebel Indonesian premier Sjafruddin Prawiranegara is quoted comparing admitting Communists into government to 'injecting sickness into one's body,' echoing the magazine's Indonesia coverage elsewhere in the issue. - E. M. S. Namboodiripad and M. P. Govinda Menon comments reflect ongoing debate about Communist-Sarvodaya cooperation in Kerala. - The issue closes with the statutory ownership statement: V. B. Karnik is listed as printer, publisher, and editor of Freedom First, published monthly in Bombay for owner Democratic Research Service, dated 1 March 1958. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff071/ ### Summary This is the complete April 1958 issue (No. 71) of Freedom First, the monthly journal published by the Democratic Research Service in Bombay. The issue is anchored by an anti-Communist polemic assessing one year of Communist rule in Kerala from two angles: Dinu Randive's "One Year Of Failure" surveys the Ministry's use of ordinances, police partiality, and creeping party control of law and order, while the unsigned "Kerala Under Communism" catalogues administrative failures, corruption scandals (the Andhra rice deal, land purchases, book-supply contracts), packed committees, lathi-charge controversies, a string of local election defeats for Communist candidates, and Minister salaries and allowances. V. B. Karnik's "Communist Party Of India—A Transformation?" argues that the CPI's new draft constitution and talk of peaceful, mass-party methods are tactical rather than a genuine renunciation of Marxism-Leninism. The issue also reprints, from The Socialist Call (New York), Sutan Sjahrir's reflective essay on the causes of Indonesia's post-independence political and economic crisis.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the complete April 1958 issue (No. 71) of Freedom First, the monthly journal published by the Democratic Research Service in Bombay. The issue is anchored by an anti-Communist polemic assessing one year of Communist rule in Kerala from two angles: Dinu Randive's "One Year Of Failure" surveys the Ministry's use of ordinances, police partiality, and creeping party control of law and order, while the unsigned "Kerala Under Communism" catalogues administrative failures, corruption scandals (the Andhra rice deal, land purchases, book-supply contracts), packed committees, lathi-charge controversies, a string of local election defeats for Communist candidates, and Minister salaries and allowances. V. B. Karnik's "Communist Party Of India—A Transformation?" argues that the CPI's new draft constitution and talk of peaceful, mass-party methods are tactical rather than a genuine renunciation of Marxism-Leninism. The issue also reprints, from The Socialist Call (New York), Sutan Sjahrir's reflective essay on the causes of Indonesia's post-independence political and economic crisis. Together the pieces read as a coordinated case, from the classical-liberal Forum-of-Free-Enterprise-adjacent Democratic Research Service milieu, that the Kerala Communist government's record disproves claims of a peaceful, democratic transformation of world communism. ## Essays ### One Year Of Failure *By by Dinu Randive* Dinu Randive reviews the first year of the Communist Ministry in Kerala under E. M. S. Namboodiripad, arguing that the party was unprepared to govern within a democratic constitutional framework despite winning power through the ballot box. The essay details an eviction-staying Ordinance that Randive presents as a political manoeuvre benefiting ruling-party sympathisers who had encroached on government land just before the Ordinance's proclamation, contrasted with harsher treatment of the followers of an opposition former M.P., Shrikantan Nair. It also describes the release of Communist prisoners convicted of violent underground activity, police demoralisation and partiality, rising lawlessness including cell courts operating as parallel justice, and a hardening Ministerial rhetoric defending the use of force (lathis, tear gas, or worse). The piece closes (as continued on page 12) with an account of Communist targeting of the Catholic Christian community and the Christopher organisation, and a broader argument that corruption, land-trust manoeuvres, and industrial stagnation exposed the gap between Communist promises and Communist governance, while noting a silver lining: growing defections of sincere Communist workers disillusioned by the party's practice in office. - Kerala's 1957 Communist victory via ballot box was described as unprecedented in world communist history, and the party itself was caught unprepared to govern democratically. - An eviction-staying Ordinance is characterized as a political manoeuvre that mainly benefited recent encroachers sympathetic to the ruling party, while enforcement against opposition-aligned squatters (followers of Shrikantan Nair) was harsher. - Large-scale release of political prisoners, including some convicted of violent underground activity (murder of police officers, attacks on police stations), is linked to a subsequent rise in lawlessness. - Police were 'abused and neutralised' by Communists and their sympathisers, per the account, emboldening opponents of the ruling party while Communist cell courts assumed quasi-judicial power. - State Assembly statements by the Law Minister ('We must and will use force—lathis or even worse tear gas or firearms if necessary') are cited as evidence the government had abandoned earlier appeasement rhetoric toward opposition parties. - The Catholic Christian community and the Christopher organisation are described as being targeted, including revival of an old police report on the Sabarimala Temple-burning enquiry timed near a Hindu pilgrimage season. - The essay (continuation on page 12) closes noting rising defections of Communist workers disillusioned by the gap between party myth and the reality of governance in Kerala. ### Communist Party Of India — A Transformation? *By by V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik examines claims that the Communist Party of India is undergoing a genuine transformation into an ordinary constitutional political party, using Kerala as the supposed proof case. He traces the party's new draft constitution, which defines its objective as 'socialism through peaceful means,' and argues that General Secretary Ajoy Ghosh's own statements ('the peaceful transformation also depended on the ruling party') show the peaceful-means commitment is tactical rather than principled. Karnik cites Asoka Mehta's warning that Hitler too came to power through peaceful, constitutional means before destroying pluralist politics, and argues the crucial test is whether Communists, once in power, would ever allow themselves to be voted out. He concludes that the party's move toward becoming a 'mass party' and abolishing the cell system does not soften its character, since the new constitution still enshrines 'Democratic Centralism' with centralized command over the base, and its Preamble explicitly commits the party to Marxism-Leninism and the experience of the Soviet Union, China, and international Communist and Workers' Parties. - The Communist Party of India was preparing to adopt a new constitution (a special conference moved from January to April 1958) defining its objective as 'socialism through peaceful means.' - General Secretary Ajoy Ghosh reportedly qualified the peaceful-means commitment by warning that 'the peaceful transformation also depended on the ruling party,' which Karnik reads as making non-violence conditional rather than a matter of conviction. - Asoka Mehta is cited arguing that Hitler also rose through peaceful, constitutional means, framing the real test as whether Communists would accept being voted out of office once in power. - The party's move to abolish the 'cell' system in favour of territorial 'Branches' (which can still be subdivided into 'Groups') is presented as cosmetic, since Article XXVI still subordinates the base unit to directives from higher committees. - The constitution's principle of 'Democratic Centralism' (Article XIV) is quoted as requiring the minority to follow the majority and lower units to follow higher committees under centralized leadership. - The Preamble commits the party to drawing on the experience of the Soviet Union, China, and 'all Communist and Workers' Parties' and to the fundamental principles of Marxism-Leninism, which Karnik argues proves the party remains ideologically tied to Moscow despite the rhetoric of adapting to 'concrete Indian conditions.' ### The Background Of Indonesia's Crisis *By by Sutan Sjahrir* In this piece reproduced from The Socialist Call (New York), Indonesian statesman Sutan Sjahrir reflects on the causes of his country's political and economic chaos in the years following independence (a footnote notes the article predates the outbreak of the civil war then raging). Sjahrir argues that the unity and idealism that powered the 1945-1949 revolution against Dutch rule dissipated once independence was won, because nationalism alone proved an insufficient guide for governing: it curdled, in his account, into a scramble by a small lucky elite (including former revolutionary leaders) for riches, government posts, and power, often disguised as national interest. He contends the country lost its 'compass' and needs a new directive grounded in social justice, humanitarian feeling, and rational economic planning based on objective calculation of resources and needs, rather than nostalgia for revolutionary-era unity or emotional appeals to nationalism. - Sjahrir attributes Indonesia's post-independence 'chaos' — political tension, army unrest, and worsening economic conditions — to the loss of the unifying national purpose that existed during the 1945-1949 revolutionary struggle. - He argues that nationalism, once victorious, proved insufficient as an ongoing guide for governance and in some cases curdled into a 'passion for position, power and riches' among a small elite, including former revolutionary leaders. - Nationalist rhetoric was, in his account, sometimes used to cloak self-interested or corrupt actions ('extortion, graft and other actions... in the name of the nation'). - Sjahrir calls for a renewed national 'directive': humanitarian feeling, social justice, and rational, plan-based economic reconstruction grounded in objective calculation of resources, capital, and labour. - He rejects the older view (attributed to unnamed Western economists and philosophers decades earlier) that money and economic motive were of little relevance to understanding Indonesia's economy, arguing that daily economic life can now be measured and planned in figures. ### Kerala Under Communism This unsigned feature (continuing the issue's Kerala focus, running from March into the April 1958 issue) catalogues the Communist Ministry's record after taking office: shedding the 94 manifesto promises in favour of a more modest pledge to implement the existing Five-Year Plan, while under-spending its own Plan allotment; a running conflict with the police, including the bifurcation of the Inspector General of Police post and allegations that the administrative machinery was being reshuffled to suit the ruling party; and proliferation of Communist-stacked 'people's committees' at every administrative level, which the piece presents as an instrument for extending party control despite austerity rhetoric. It details specific corruption allegations — the Andhra rice deal (naming a firm allegedly linked to a Communist minister's relative and a large mark-up over market price), land purchases at inflated and deflated prices for Communist-linked and government parties respectively, a book-supply contract for the Education Minister's son, and Transport Department ticket fraud. It surveys chronic food shortages and rising unemployment (Live Register at 68,155 by January 1958), contradictory Government messaging on private industrial investment versus 'saboteur' rhetoric against critics, extensive lathi-charge incidents and the Government's shifting denials, a run of local election results showing Communist losses across library, teachers', municipal, and cooperative-society bodies, and a comparison of Minister salaries showing Communist Ministers' effective pay exceeded that of their Congress and PSP predecessors despite 'Spartan life' rhetoric. - The Communist Ministry, per the piece, abandoned its 94-point manifesto in favour of a narrower promise to implement the existing Five-Year Plan, yet underspent even that allotment (Rs. 4.21 crores of Rs. 17.90 crores in the first seven months). - The Communist government is accused of pulling apart administrative departments (e.g., six Directors of Public Instruction where there was one; two Directors of Industries where there was one) allegedly to install party loyalists. - Communist-dominated 'people's committees' (out of roughly 13,000 members on 1,400 committees, an alleged 10,000 Communists or fellow travellers) are presented as instruments extending party control over administration. - Detailed corruption allegations include the Andhra rice deal (a firm allegedly linked to Communist leader P. Sunderayya's brother, purchasing rice above market price), land deals benefiting a Communist M.P. and disadvantaging the government elsewhere, a book-supply contract benefiting the Education Minister's son, and Transport Department ticket fraud. - Unemployment rose (68,155 on the Live Register by January 1958) and food/rice shortages persisted despite Central Government grain allotments and subsidies to Kerala. - The piece documents numerous lathi-charge incidents and the Kerala Government's shifting or evasive characterizations of them (denying, then admitting, then disputing whether incidents technically qualify as 'lathi charges'). - A survey of local elections (library associations, teachers' associations, municipal and panchayat by-elections, cooperative society boards) is presented as showing a consistent trend of Communist electoral losses across the State during the period covered. - Comparison of Ministerial salaries and allowances shows that, despite promises of a frugal 'Rs. 350' Communist Minister's salary, the actual combined salary/allowance system left Communist Ministers earning more than their Congress or PSP predecessors (approx. Rs. 1,585/month average versus Rs. 1,145 for a Congress Minister and Rs. 935 for a PSP Minister). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff072/ ### Summary This is issue No. 72 of Freedom First (May 1958), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is anchored by two long pieces: B. K. Desai's "Double-Talk at Amritsar," a close textual analysis of the Communist Party of India's newly adopted constitution following its Fourth Congress at Amritsar, arguing that the CPI's apparent turn toward national independence, peaceful methods, and tolerance of opposition parties is cosmetic and lifted almost verbatim from the Moscow Declaration of the ruling Communist parties; and Istvan Vizinczei's "A Hungarian Writer's Story," a first-person memoir by a young Hungarian writer describing literary life, censorship, and comradeship under Communist rule before and during the 1956 Revolt, and his eventual escape to the West.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 72 of Freedom First (May 1958), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is anchored by two long pieces: B. K. Desai's "Double-Talk at Amritsar," a close textual analysis of the Communist Party of India's newly adopted constitution following its Fourth Congress at Amritsar, arguing that the CPI's apparent turn toward national independence, peaceful methods, and tolerance of opposition parties is cosmetic and lifted almost verbatim from the Moscow Declaration of the ruling Communist parties; and Istvan Vizinczei's "A Hungarian Writer's Story," a first-person memoir by a young Hungarian writer describing literary life, censorship, and comradeship under Communist rule before and during the 1956 Revolt, and his eventual escape to the West. The rest of the issue consists of shorter unsigned pieces characteristic of the journal's anti-Communist, classical liberal orientation: a report and commentary on the controversy surrounding Paul Robeson's sixtieth-birthday celebrations in India as a Communist-organised propaganda exercise; a piece on the diplomatic uproar caused by Freedom First's earlier criticism of US Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge's conduct toward V. K. Krishna Menon; an account of Bolesław Piasecki as an example of Nazi-Communist ideological kinship in Poland; a note on a Bombay exhibition on the Hungarian Revolution inaugurated by Jayaprakash Narayan; organisational news from the International Committee for Cultural Freedom (I.C.C.F.) and the Democratic Research Service (D.R.S.); and a closing page of quotations from public figures ("With Many Voices"). ## Essays ### Double-Talk at Amritsar *By B. K. Desai* B. K. Desai's "Double-Talk at Amritsar" examines the Fourth Congress of the Communist Party of India held at Amritsar, at which the party revised its constitution to project a more national, democratic, and peaceable image. Desai argues this revision is largely borrowed, sometimes verbatim, from the Moscow Declaration signed by twelve ruling Communist parties, and that the CPI's professed independence from Moscow, its avowal of peaceful methods, and its guarantee of rights to opposition parties are tactical concessions rather than substantive changes, since the party's core commitment to "proletarian internationalism" and eventual one-party rule under a socialist constitution remains intact. The essay also surveys press reaction (Times of India, Hindustan Times, Statesman), notes the party's uneven regional strength (strong in West Bengal's industrial and urban areas but weak among Hindi-speaking and rural populations, though it commands peasant support in Kerala, Andhra, and parts of U.P. and Punjab), gives a class breakdown of the 475 Amritsar delegates (only 45 workers, 101 peasants, and 13 landless labourers against 276 middle-class/bourgeois delegates and 31 landlords), and closes with an account of internal factional struggle at the Congress between Ajoy Ghosh's leadership, a "Right reformist" group led by P. C. Joshi, and a "Left sectarian" group led by Bhupesh Gupta, resolved only by a fragile balance of seats on the new Central Executive. - The CPI's new constitution, adopted at its Fourth Congress in Amritsar, emphasises national character, peaceful intentions, and tolerance of opposition parties. - Desai demonstrates through side-by-side quotation that large parts of the CPI preamble paraphrase or directly lift language from the Moscow Declaration of November 1957. - The party's guarantee of peaceful transition and opposition rights is conditioned on opponents not violating a future 'socialist constitution,' which Desai reads as a hollow guarantee. - General Secretary Ajoy Ghosh's own writings in New Age concede that 'peaceful transition' is only a possibility, not a certainty, and is adopted tactically to extend the party's influence. - The CPI's social base is analysed as unevenly distributed: strong in West Bengal's industrial/urban areas, strong among peasants only in Kerala, Andhra, and parts of U.P. and Punjab, and largely middle-class/bourgeois in composition (276 of 475 Amritsar delegates). - The Congress was marked by factional struggle between Ghosh, a 'Right reformist' group (P. C. Joshi) and a 'Left sectarian' group (Bhupesh Gupta), with the Central Executive split 13 Left, 7 Right, 5 Centre. - Ajoy Ghosh and A. K. Gopalan were reportedly departing for Moscow shortly after the Congress, ostensibly for medical treatment but, per the Hindustan Times, actually to report to Kremlin principals. ### A Hungarian Writer's Story *By Istvan Vizinczei* Istvan Vizinczei, a young Hungarian writer who escaped after the 1956 Revolution and settled in Canada, recounts his literary coming-of-age under Communist rule. He describes the Party's mixture of patronage and repression toward young writers (state stipends alongside banned manuscripts and blacklisted classmates), the founding and covert independence of the Young Writers' Workshop that fed into the Petofi Club, and the courage of fellow writers Istvan Eorsi and Jozsef Gali, the latter a Auschwitz survivor later imprisoned for protesting the Soviet invasion. Vizinczei reflects on the impossibility of separating art from politics in a dictatorship, contrasting his position with John Steinbeck's, and describes the tight-knit 'family life' of Hungarian literary culture that helped writers survive under repression. The piece closes with his own escape after the Revolt's suppression, including a debate with Gali (who chose to stay and was imprisoned) over whether leaving constituted cowardice. The piece is credited as condensed from the periodical Eastern Europe. - Vizinczei describes the Communist Party's dual strategy toward promising young writers: generous stipends and study support alongside abrupt censorship and blacklisting for perceived ideological infractions. - The Young Writers' Workshop, founded in 1951 under Party/DISZ sponsorship, became the first youth organisation to partly escape Party control and fed into the Petofi Club. - Istvan Eorsi and Jozsef Gali are profiled as the workshop's most talented and courageous members; Eorsi was sentenced to five years for a poem written the day the Soviets crushed the Revolt. - Jozsef Gali, an Auschwitz survivor, wrote a play about the Rajk trial and was later imprisoned, eventually sentenced to death and commuted to fifteen years, for protesting the Soviet invasion. - Vizinczei argues that in a dictatorship even a sad love poem becomes a political act, contrasting his situation with the freedom enjoyed by writers like John Steinbeck in the West. - The essay describes a close-knit Hungarian literary 'family' tradition that helped sustain writers' morale and mutual support under both Fascist and Communist repression. - The piece ends with the author's decision to flee after the Revolt, over Gali's objection that leaving was cowardice, an argument the author says he 'cannot judge' who was right about. ### Another Communist Affair This unsigned report examines the international celebration of Paul Robeson's sixtieth birthday as a Communist-organised propaganda event, coordinated simultaneously in twenty-six countries. In India, the piece reports, Communists recruited fellow-travellers and prominent public figures — including Bombay Chief Justice M. C. Chagla — onto preparatory committees, lending the event misleading respectability. Commentators A. D. Gorwala and H. R. Pardivala are quoted extensively challenging Robeson's status as an apolitical artist and 'humanist,' citing his defence of Soviet concentration camps, his affiliation with dozens of Communist-front organisations, his support for the Chinese/North Korean position in the Korean War, and the repudiation of his politics by the NAACP's own organ, The Crisis, along with a rebuttal of claims that Robeson had been denied a livelihood in the United States. - Robeson's sixtieth-birthday celebrations were organised simultaneously in twenty-six countries, which the piece takes as evidence of central Communist direction. - In India, Communists enlisted fellow-travellers and prominent figures, including Chief Justice M. C. Chagla, onto organising committees, giving the event an appearance of respectability. - A. D. Gorwala first publicly challenged the character of the celebrations; H. R. Pardivala, writing in the Times of India, argued Chagla and other public figures were being used by political partisans. - Mr. Mohan Das's letter in the Indian Express disputed claims that Robeson had been denied his livelihood in the US, citing his Connecticut estate and concert earnings. - The essay quotes The Crisis, organ of the NAACP, distancing the organisation from the Robeson celebrated by Moscow, contrasting the earlier admired Robeson with his later Communist propagandising. - Robeson's record of defending Soviet concentration camps and his 1948 statement about preferring 'the opposite form of dictatorship' to fascism are cited as evidence against his claimed humanism. ### Freedom First, Mr. Lodge & Mr. Menon This unsigned editorial note (signed "Editor") recounts the controversy sparked by an earlier Freedom First item criticising US Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge's conduct during his visit to India, particularly his warm public treatment of Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon, which the note argued gave a misleading impression of Menon's standing in both countries. The piece reports the item's wide pickup in the American press (New York Times, and other outlets), Lodge's on-record dismissal of the charges as 'ridiculous,' and closes by defending the original note as a legitimate minority viewpoint deserving attention, while disclaiming any desire to prolong the controversy. - A March 1958 Freedom First note criticised Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge's 'hugging handshakes' with V. K. Krishna Menon and his visits to 'Leftist rendezvous' during his India visit. - The note argued Lodge's behaviour gave Americans a false impression of Menon's popularity in India and gave Indians a false impression of Menon's standing in America. - The New York Times and other American papers gave the story wide coverage, prompting concern in US diplomatic circles given American sensitivity to accusations of softness toward Communism. - Lodge told a reporter he maintained his views and did not subscribe to Freedom First's characterisation, calling the charges ridiculous. - The editorial situates Freedom First's readership as 'a small minority of men of thinking and sensibility' whose opinions, it argues, ultimately mould public opinion despite limited numbers. ### Nazi-Stalinist Alliance, A Polish Example This unsigned piece uses the career of Bolesław Piasecki, a former pre-war Polish Falangist who became a Stalinist ally after the war, as a case study in the ideological kinship between Nazism and Communism. It traces Piasecki's political trajectory from fascist student agitator through resistance fighter, arrest and mysterious release by Soviet secret police, to his current role opposing Gomułka's liberalisation and supporting Natolin-group Stalinists within the Polish Communist Party. - The essay argues that Communism and Nazism, despite apparent hostility, share a deep ideological kinship, evidenced by episodes like the Nazi-Soviet Pact. - Bolesław Piasecki, a former leader of the fascist 'National Democratic Falanga,' is presented as the central example of this kinship in contemporary Poland. - After being arrested by Soviet secret police in 1945, Piasecki was released, reportedly after a Polish Communist argued he would be useful for influencing Polish Catholics. - Piasecki subsequently endorsed Stalinist economic and political doctrine and worked to block Gomułka's return to power after the Twentieth CPSU Congress. - The essay concludes that Stalinist Communism and a 'professed Fascist' have found common cause in resisting the liberalisation that began in Poland in October 1956. ### "Hungary Fights for Freedom" - An Exhibition A short unsigned note reports on the "Hungary Fights for Freedom" exhibition organised by the Girgaum Khetwadi branch of the Bombay Praja Socialist Party from April 10-16, with an accompanying lecture series. Jayaprakash Narayan, who inaugurated the exhibition, is quoted contrasting the end of Western capitalist imperialism in Asian countries with the more 'sinister' Communist Russian imperialism exhibited in Hungary in 1956. - The exhibition, held April 10-16, was organised by the Girgaum Khetwadi branch of the Bombay Praja Socialist Party, with support from the Democratic Research Service and the Congress for Cultural Freedom. - Jayaprakash Narayan inaugurated the exhibition and argued that Communist Russia's suppression of Hungary represented a new, more sinister form of imperialism than Western capitalist imperialism. - An accompanying lecture series featured speakers including A. D. Gorwala, V. B. Karnik, Sushil Kavalekar, Ram Joshi, M. Harris, and M. R. Dandavate. - One lecture in the series addressed French imperialism in Algeria, broadening the exhibition's scope beyond Hungary. ### I. C. C. F. News Two short news columns report organisational activity. "I.C.C.F. News" covers Melvin Lasky's (editor of Der Monat) April tour of India under the Congress for Cultural Freedom, including receptions, lectures on Communist culture and post-Stalinist ferment, and meetings with Indian intellectuals, officials, and writers including Jamini Roy, Satyajit Ray, and C. Rajagopalachari. "D.R.S. News" reports talks by Norman Thomas on Indo-American relations and by Jayaprakash Narayan on 'Parliamentary Democracy,' plus a reception for Jayaprakash Narayan ahead of his foreign tour attended by Y. B. Chavan, Rustom Masani, and other public figures. - Melvin J. Lasky, editor of Der Monat and chairman of the Congress for Cultural Freedom's editorial board, toured Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta, and Madras in April 1958. - Lasky met Indian intellectuals and officials including the Prime Minister, the Defence Minister, painter Jamini Roy, film director Satyajit Ray, and C. Rajagopalachari, and delivered lectures on Germany and cultural freedom in Eastern Europe. - Norman Thomas, editor of the Louisville Times, spoke on 'India in the American Press' under DRS auspices on March 10. - Jayaprakash Narayan delivered a public lecture on 'Parliamentary Democracy' under DRS auspices at the Indian Merchants Chamber Hall on April 9, chaired by R. P. Masani, and was given a reception on April 11 ahead of a foreign tour. ### D. R. S. News "With Many Voices," the issue's closing quotations column, collects short statements from public figures on Cold War and Indian political themes, including Khrushchev and Kadar on Hungary, Jayaprakash Narayan on Sarvodaya workers and Communist democracy, Nehru and V. K. Krishna Menon, and press commentary from Current, Blitz, Thought, and Swarajya on Indian party politics and non-aligned foreign policy. - The column juxtaposes Khrushchev's and Janos Kadar's statements on Hungary's 1956 revolt and Soviet military backing with Jayaprakash Narayan's warnings about Communist democracy being 'a fashion' that gets 'murdered' in practice. - Nehru is quoted suggesting that implementing the Amritsar resolution might cause the Communists to 'cease to exist as such.' - V. K. Krishna Menon is quoted claiming India is 'the second greatest country in the world' by population. - Press commentary (Current, Blitz) speculates about an 'unwritten understanding' or 'sneaking co-existence' between the Congress and the CPI. - The page reproduces the journal's subscription form and colophon, confirming publication by the Democratic Research Service, edited by V. B. Karnik and printed at The Kanado Press, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff074/ ### Summary This is the complete July 1958 issue (No. 74) of Freedom First, published in Bombay by the Democratic Research Service and edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is dominated by reactions to Cold War events: the execution of Hungarian leader Imre Nagy and General Paul Maleter, which draws a lead editorial by Stephen Spender, a Congress for Cultural Freedom statement, a citizens' statement of homage signed by Bombay public figures including Asoka Mehta, Minoo Masani, and N. G. Gore, and a Patna resolution of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. The unsigned 'Notes' section comments on the AFPFL split in Burma, Tito-Khrushchev relations after the Nagy executions, a new communist-organised world peace conference, a Bombay municipal strike settled through a political party caucus, and physical attacks on journalists in India. V. B. Karnik contributes a long essay arguing the Praja Socialist Party is the only credible democratic alternative to the Congress, framing the core political choice as centralisation versus decentralisation rather than socialism versus capitalism. S. Sharangpani's 'Communists on War-path' analyses E. M. S.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the complete July 1958 issue (No. 74) of Freedom First, published in Bombay by the Democratic Research Service and edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is dominated by reactions to Cold War events: the execution of Hungarian leader Imre Nagy and General Paul Maleter, which draws a lead editorial by Stephen Spender, a Congress for Cultural Freedom statement, a citizens' statement of homage signed by Bombay public figures including Asoka Mehta, Minoo Masani, and N. G. Gore, and a Patna resolution of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. The unsigned 'Notes' section comments on the AFPFL split in Burma, Tito-Khrushchev relations after the Nagy executions, a new communist-organised world peace conference, a Bombay municipal strike settled through a political party caucus, and physical attacks on journalists in India. V. B. Karnik contributes a long essay arguing the Praja Socialist Party is the only credible democratic alternative to the Congress, framing the core political choice as centralisation versus decentralisation rather than socialism versus capitalism. S. Sharangpani's 'Communists on War-path' analyses E. M. S. Namboodiripad's warnings of civil war if a united anti-communist front forms in Kerala. Adam Adil examines General de Gaulle's plan to integrate Algeria with France. A review by 'Sadi' covers Howard Fast's disillusionment memoir The Naked God. 'Atreya' reports on the Praja Socialist Party's Fourth Annual Convention, surveying state-by-state party attitudes toward alliances with the Congress and the Communist Party. ## Essays ### The Death Of Imre Nagy *By Stephen Spender* Stephen Spender's lead piece condemns the secret trial and execution of Hungarian Premier Imre Nagy and his colleagues as an outrage that exposes the continuing brutality of Soviet-bloc communism even after Stalin's death. Spender argues the killings should end illusions in the West about the nature of the Kremlin's rule, situates the episode alongside the contemporaneous H-Bomb debate, and insists that any Western debate about nuclear weapons must be conducted 'in the light of truth' rather than wishful thinking. The piece is followed on the same pages by a Congress for Cultural Freedom statement mourning Nagy as 'a brave and an honest man and a true patriot,' a statement of homage from prominent Bombay citizens condemning the executions as a breach of safe-conduct guarantees, and a report on an Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (Patna group) resolution describing the killings as heralding 'the return of Stalinism.' - Spender argues editors are right to link Nagy's execution to the broader pattern of neo-Stalinist repression in the Eastern bloc. - He frames the killings as evidence against complacency in Cold War debates, including the H-Bomb disarmament debate. - The CCF statement calls the executions 'both tragic and terrible' and stresses they followed a secret trial after guarantees of safe conduct from Yugoslavia. - A Bombay citizens' statement of homage (signed by Asoka Mehta, M. R. Masani, N. G. Gore, and others) frames the deaths as a warning about Soviet imperialism. - The Patna resolution of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom explicitly names the executions a return to Stalinism and a threat to freedom worldwide. ### Murder of Imre Nagy (Statement issued by the Congress for Cultural Freedom) The unsigned 'Notes' section (pp. 3-4) is a set of short editorial comments. It covers the split within Burma's ruling AFPFL coalition and warns that continued communist exploitation of the rift could destabilise Burmese democracy; it discusses the cooling of Tito-Khrushchev relations following the Hungarian executions and Nehru's carefully neutral public stance on the dispute; it criticizes a new communist-organized 'Congress for Disarmament and International Co-operation' in Stockholm as a rebranded front organisation, noting C. Rajagopalachari shared a platform with communist figures at a preparatory conference in Madras; it describes the settlement of a Bombay municipal workers' strike as having been dictated improperly by a party caucus rather than elected corporators; and it condemns physical attacks on journalists, including on M. S. M. Sharma, editor of Searchlight in Patna. - The AFPFL split in Burma is described as historically inevitable given the coalition's heterogeneous ideological composition, with communists positioned to benefit most from the disunity. - Tito is portrayed as caught between Soviet pressure and his own non-aligned ambitions; Nehru's declining to criticize either side in the Tito-Khrushchev rift is quoted at length. - A new communist-backed 'Congress for Disarmament and International Co-operation' in Stockholm is characterized as replacing the depleted Peace Congress, with the same personnel repackaged under a new name. - C. Rajagopalachari is noted as having shared a conference platform in Madras with communist figures such as E. M. S. Namboodiripad, a marked change from his earlier anti-communist stance as Madras Chief Minister. - A Bombay municipal strike's resolution via a political party caucus (rather than through elected corporators) is criticized as an affront to local self-government. - Attacks on journalists including the editor of Searchlight (Patna) and the editor of Tribune (Ambala) are condemned as attempts to silence political opinion through violence. ### Homage To Hungarian Patriots (statement by prominent citizens of Bombay) V. B. Karnik argues that the Praja Socialist Party (P.S.P.), following its Poona conference, is the only viable democratic alternative to the ruling Congress, since a Communist Party ascendancy would risk polarising Indian politics into two anti-democratic blocs. Karnik contends the traditional distinguishing feature of socialism -- nationalisation of production, distribution and exchange -- no longer separates the P.S.P. from either Congress or the Communists, since all parties now profess some form of socialism. He reframes the real political choice as one between a centralised, statist Leviathan and a decentralised, cooperative democracy that protects individual freedom, citing the intellectual influence of the late M. N. Roy and Jayaprakash Narayan's break with orthodox socialism in favour of Sarvodaya. - Karnik frames the P.S.P. as the most competent party to fill the political vacuum left by a disintegrating Congress, citing its 'deep roots' and rank-and-file energy. - He warns that a Congress-versus-Communist polarisation would be disastrous for Indian democracy and could push Congress itself toward dictatorial methods. - He argues nationalisation and socialist rhetoric no longer distinguish the P.S.P. from Congress or the Communists, since all now claim socialist credentials. - He cites M. N. Roy's conclusion that the true conflict of the age is between totalitarianism and democracy, not capitalism and socialism. - He quotes Jayaprakash Narayan's letter explaining his departure from party socialism toward Sarvodaya, describing socialism as unable to deliver freedom, equality and brotherhood. - Karnik urges the P.S.P. to champion decentralisation, cooperative living, and individual rights against the Congress's drift toward concentrated state power despite its Gandhian tradition. ### Notes (Rift In Burma; The "Only Road" For Yugoslavia; Another Communist Front; Rule Of Party Caucus; Attacks On Journalists) S. Sharangpani's article analyses a warning issued by Kerala Chief Minister E. M. S. Namboodiripad -- that if non-communist parties unite against the Communist Party, India risks a fratricidal civil war akin to China's. Sharangpani argues this threat reveals the Communist Party's self-image as the sole legitimate guardian of national unity and progress, and that Namboodiripad's rhetorical distinction between the Communists' own 'united front' tactics and the anti-communist coalition forming in Kerala is disingenuous, since the former aims to divide and neutralise opponents while the latter is a genuine defensive democratic alliance. He concludes that resistance to communism, as Kerala P.S.P. leader Pattom Thanu Pillai argued, is now the central and most urgent question for Indian democracy. - Namboodiripad warned that if communists fail to gain power democratically and non-communist parties unite against them, India faces a civil war similar to China's. - Sharangpani situates this alongside earlier threats from communist leaders like Sunderayya after Kerala's 1957 electoral victory. - Namboodiripad frames socialism as the nation's 'declared objective' and equates opposition to communism with being anti-national. - Sharangpani argues the Communist Party's 'united front' concept, per Hungarian leader Matyas Rakosi, aims 'to divide our enemies and neutralise them,' unlike genuine democratic coalitions. - Pattom Thanu Pillai, the Kerala P.S.P. leader, is cited as saying resistance to communism is now the clearest and most urgent programme for democratic unity in Kerala and India. ### An Alternative To The Congress *By V. B. Karnik* Adam Adil examines General de Gaulle's rise to power and his proposed plan to integrate Algeria with metropolitan France, noting mixed reactions across North Africa. He argues the plan, which would grant Algerians equal rights and parliamentary representation with metropolitan Frenchmen without granting outright independence, could be a step toward a durable settlement given the deep economic interdependence between France and Algeria, including 4,000,000 Algerian workers in France and French investments supporting over 100,000 Arab workers in Algeria. Adil suggests a broader French-Algerian-Tunisian-Moroccan federation could jointly exploit Saharan mineral and oil wealth, and hopes de Gaulle's policy leads toward such an outcome. - De Gaulle's rise and his Algeria integration plan received mixed reception: cautious hope among Tunisians, Moroccans, and some Algerian nationalists, but disappointment among extremist French settlers and rebel army leaders in Algeria. - The plan proposes equal rights, benefits and parliamentary representation for Algerians alongside metropolitan Frenchmen, without granting Algeria full independence. - Adil documents the deep economic interdependence between France and Algeria, including 4,000,000 Algerian workers in France and considerable French capital invested in Algeria. - He estimates 1,500,000 million francs would be needed to further develop Algeria's economy for its Arab majority, achievable only with continued French involvement. - Adil floats the possibility of a wider federation encompassing France, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco to jointly exploit Saharan mineral and oil resources. - He notes the disparity in nationalist military strength (Algeria's 40,000-strong army vs. Tunisia's 3,000) as a possible source of future friction between Algeria and its neighbours. ### Communists On War-path *By S. Sharangpani* A review signed 'Sadi' covers Howard Fast's memoir The Naked God, an account of his disillusionment with and break from the Communist Party of the United States following Khrushchev's secret speech denouncing Stalin. The reviewer finds Fast's confession valuable for documenting the operation of the communist apparatus in the U.S. and the party's infiltration of unions and professions, but argues the 'final' remorse of disillusioned communists comes too late given the scale of suffering communism has caused, and highlights Fast's account of being erased from Soviet public life -- including his correspondence and republished works -- immediately after his break with the Party. - The review situates Fast's memoir as a response to Khrushchev's 1956 secret speech to the Twentieth Congress denouncing Stalin's crimes. - Fast argues the U.S. Communist Party lost its integrity by delaying its 1956 convention to avoid confronting the crisis of conscience triggered by the revelations. - The reviewer credits the book with giving a clear picture of Communist Party operations and infiltration of unions, students, and professionals in the U.S. - The review criticizes disillusioned communists' 'final understanding' as insufficient atonement given the toll of Stalinism. - Fast recounts being erased from Soviet public and literary life -- correspondence, book sales, and dramatizations -- immediately after his February 1957 break with the Communist Party. ### General de Gaulle, France And Algeria *By Adam Adil* Writing under the byline 'Atreya,' this report on the Praja Socialist Party's Fourth Annual Convention (Poona, late May) surveys the party's mood following the defection of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia and the retirement of Jayaprakash Narayan from party politics. The report catalogues sharply divergent state-level attitudes toward alliances with the Congress and the Communist Party -- from Kerala's uncompromising anti-communism to Maharashtra and West Bengal's more accommodating stance toward united fronts with communists -- and highlights a strong speech by Asoka Mehta arguing the party must establish policy priorities beyond a reflexive socialism, given that the Congress's decline would not automatically translate into a victory for democratic socialism. - The convention met amid setbacks: Ram Manohar Lohia's defection to form a rival Socialist Party, and Jayaprakash Narayan's retirement from party politics for Bhoodan and Sarvodaya work. - State units showed sharply divergent lines: Kerala uncompromisingly anti-communist and pro-Congress collaboration; Maharashtra and West Bengal leadership more sympathetic to communist alliances; Andhra fully backing the Kerala line; Uttar Pradesh described as the strongest unit despite the Lohia-induced split. - Asoka Mehta's speech argued the party could no longer avoid establishing clear policy priorities and that a Congress downfall would not necessarily be a victory for democratic socialism. - The report identifies organisational weakness -- lack of know-how on organisational technique -- as the party's greatest ongoing challenge, more severe than its ideological vacillation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff073/ ### Summary This is issue No. 73 of Freedom First (June 1958), the monthly journal of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom published from Bombay. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with V. B. Karnik's editorial-style piece "Face The Facts," which attacks the National Development Council's refusal to scale back the Second Five-Year Plan's Rs. 4800 crore target despite the Planning Commission's own warnings about resource shortfalls, rising deficit financing, and stalling employment growth. An unsigned "Notes" section comments on Nehru's public criticism of the Communist Party of India and of Soviet and Chinese conduct, on the CPI's retained Kerala assembly seat at Devicolam, on a constitutional lapse by the Governor of Orissa in the Mahtab ministry affair, and on the exploitation of municipal schoolchildren for staged welcomes to visiting dignitaries.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 73 of Freedom First (June 1958), the monthly journal of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom published from Bombay. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with V. B. Karnik's editorial-style piece "Face The Facts," which attacks the National Development Council's refusal to scale back the Second Five-Year Plan's Rs. 4800 crore target despite the Planning Commission's own warnings about resource shortfalls, rising deficit financing, and stalling employment growth. An unsigned "Notes" section comments on Nehru's public criticism of the Communist Party of India and of Soviet and Chinese conduct, on the CPI's retained Kerala assembly seat at Devicolam, on a constitutional lapse by the Governor of Orissa in the Mahtab ministry affair, and on the exploitation of municipal schoolchildren for staged welcomes to visiting dignitaries. Jayaprakash Narayan's address "Towards A Fuller Democracy" (delivered in Bombay on 11 March 1958 under the Democratic Research Service) argues that parliamentary democracy, while the best form yet devised, is not full democracy, and sets out a Gandhian-Sarvodaya vision of vertically decentralised, village-based direct democracy (Gramdan) built from self-governing primary communities upward, as an alternative to the centralising tendencies of the welfare state, socialism, and communism alike. B. K. Desai's "Tito And The Red Goliath" analyses the 1958 rupture between Tito's Yugoslavia and Moscow (and Peking) over the Yugoslav Communist Party's draft programme, which questioned Soviet ideological orthodoxy on peaceful roads to socialism and state power under socialism. The issue closes with a reader's letter protesting Nehru's and Krishna Menon's public criticism of foreign powers as damaging to India's international standing, and the regular "With Many Voices" column of quoted commentary from the Indian and international press on Nehru, Congress, and Cold War politics. ## Essays ### Face The Facts *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's "Face The Facts" charges the Government and the National Development Council with refusing to confront the Planning Commission's own findings that only about Rs. 4360-4500 crores of resources, not the Rs. 4800 crores officially retained, would be available for the Second Five-Year Plan. The piece traces the reallocation of funds among Plan heads (industries and minerals raised, irrigation, power and social services cut), the mounting burden of new taxation and deficit financing on ordinary people, and the failure of the Plan to generate anywhere near the promised additional employment. It concludes that the Government's dogmatic insistence on the original target, in defiance of hard economic facts, will only deepen the strain on the population and vindicate the critics who warned against an over-ambitious Plan from the outset. - The National Development Council kept the Rs. 4800 crore Plan target despite the Planning Commission's own estimate that only Rs. 4360-4500 crores of resources were realistically available. - The Planning Commission had recommended raising an additional Rs. 240 crores through taxes, loans, and small savings, and paring the outlay to Rs. 4500 crores. - Allocations were reshuffled: Industries and Minerals raised from Rs. 690 to Rs. 880 crores; Irrigation and Power cut from Rs. 913 to Rs. 813 crores; Social Services cut from Rs. 945 to Rs. 810/863 crores. - The public has already borne a 'massive tax effort' plus Rs. 917 crores of deficit financing over the Plan's first three years, worsening living standards through inflation. - Employment generation is falling far short of the original promise of 7.9 million non-agricultural and 1.6 million agricultural jobs; only about 6.5 million new non-agricultural jobs are now expected. - Industrial strain is visible in closures among textile mills and slowdowns in engineering firms amid raw material shortages, rising unemployment, and public dissatisfaction. - The author credits early critics of the Plan's heavy-industry bias and neglect of agriculture and consumer goods, saying events have proven their warnings correct. ### Notes (Mr. Nehru's Criticism / Lesson Of Devicolam / A Bad Precedent / Exploitation Of School Children / I.C.C.F. News) The unsigned 'Notes' section (editorial commentary, likely by the editor V. B. Karnik) covers several items: it praises Jawaharlal Nehru for openly criticising the Communist Party of India's foreign-directed 'thinking apparatus' and for candid remarks on Soviet purges and pressure on Yugoslavia, while noting the CPI's evasive explanation for suddenly reversing its friendly message to the Yugoslav Communist League. It comments on the Communist candidate's narrowed but still decisive victory in the Devicolam by-election in Kerala, attributing communist gains partly to the failure of Congress and other parties to educate the electorate and to opportunistic alliances with communists in municipal elections. It criticises the Governor of Orissa for improperly declining the resignation of the Mahtab Ministry and denying the opposition its constitutional right to attempt to form a government. It commends the Bombay Municipal Corporation for ending the practice of lining up schoolchildren to welcome dignitaries, a practice the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom and Freedom First had criticised as harmful and used by 'fellow-travelling' elements. A closing note records I.C.C.F. seminar and lecture activity in Poona and Bombay. - Nehru publicly criticised CPI activities and international communist movement policies at the AICC meeting, prompting Communist retaliatory propaganda. - The CPI reversed a friendly message to the Yugoslav Communist League into a critical one, timed suspiciously close to a Moscow radio broadcast on the same subject, undercutting its claim of independent judgment. - Nehru also criticised Mao Zedong's 'let a hundred flowers blossom' reversal and Soviet 'rigidity' and purges (Molotov, Malenkov, Kaganovich), and disapproved of pressure on Yugoslavia. - The Communist candidate Mrs. Punnose retained the Devicolam seat in Kerala by a narrowed majority (about 7,098 votes, down from over 9,000), read as a sign of eroding but still real communist support. - The Governor of Orissa was criticised for accepting Chief Minister Mahtab's claim of a majority rather than following the constitutional procedure of calling on the opposition after a resignation. - The Bombay Municipal Corporation, prompted by the Samyukt Maharashtra Samiti and Praja Socialist Party members, banned the political use of schoolchildren to welcome dignitaries, following earlier ICCF and Freedom First criticism. - I.C.C.F. Poona held a seminar on 'Bureaucracy under Communist Regime'; Dr. Raghuvira lectured in Bombay on 'New Pattern of Economic Development', introduced by V. B. Karnik. ### Towards A Fuller Democracy *By Jayaprakash Narayan* In this address (delivered in Bombay on 11 March 1958), Jayaprakash Narayan explains that his criticism of parliamentary democracy does not make him an opponent of democracy or a supporter of authoritarianism; rather, he regards parliamentary democracy as the best form yet devised but as 'inadequate democracy' because it fails Lincoln's test of government 'by the people.' He argues that party systems concentrate power in organised machines with money and propaganda, squeeze out independents and poor candidates, and leave ordinary voters unable to meaningfully judge complex issues (illustrating this with a U.S. survey in which 17% of respondents did not know who the President was). He contends that the welfare state, socialist state, and communist state all share a common trend toward centralisation, technocratic planning, and diminished individual responsibility for community life, which he sees as incompatible with genuine democracy. Narayan then lays out a Gandhian-Sarvodaya alternative built on inner transformation away from self-interest and cold-war-like competitiveness among individuals, toward a vertically decentralised order of self-governing primary (village-level) communities, federating upward through district and regional levels, with Delhi retaining only minimal powers (defence, currency). He cites Gramdan (villages collectively owning land through Bhoodan) as evidence such transformation is already occurring, and calls for a 'partyless system' reaching decisions by consensus, modeled loosely on Quaker meetings and Athenian direct democracy, alongside a philosophy of a stateless, non-national Sarvodaya world order. - Narayan insists he is a critic of parliamentary democracy's inadequacies, not an opponent of democracy, and rejects authoritarianism and totalitarianism outright. - Using Lincoln's definition of democracy, he argues no parliamentary democracy has achieved 'government by the people'; party machines with money and organisation crowd out independents and poor candidates. - He questions whether ordinary voters, especially in poorer or less-educated societies, can meaningfully judge complex political and international issues, citing a U.S. survey where 17% did not know the President's name. - He argues welfare states, socialist states, and communist states share a common drift toward centralisation and that citizens have become passive, ceding responsibility for community life to the State. - He calls for an 'inner change' away from individual and group self-interest, framing daily social life as a kind of perpetual cold war that must end before democracy's frontiers can expand. - He proposes vertical decentralisation: self-governing primary (village) communities handling most needs directly, escalating powers upward only as necessary, with Delhi/the state retaining minimal functions like defence and currency. - He cites the Bhoodan-to-Gramdan movement (villages collectively owning land) as an existing example of the voluntary transformation he advocates, eliminating land-related conflict in participating villages. - He envisions a partyless, consensus-based direct democracy at the village level (comparing it to Quaker meetings and ancient Athenian assemblies) and ultimately a non-national, world-citizen Sarvodaya order. ### Tito And The Red Goliath *By B. K. Desai* B. K. Desai's 'Tito And The Red Goliath' examines the sharp 1958 rupture between Tito's Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union (joined by Communist China) over the Yugoslav Communist Party's new draft programme. The piece argues the rift was not accidental but rooted in Yugoslavia's long-standing insistence on ideological independence from Moscow, tracing the history from the original 1948 Tito-Stalin split through a brief post-Stalin thaw to the renewed crisis triggered by Yugoslavia's refusal to sign the 1957 Moscow Declaration. Desai summarises the programme's radical claims: that capitalism is evolving toward socialism through state intervention without requiring revolution everywhere, that communist parties have no monopoly on the path to socialism, and that a socialist state's bureaucracy can itself become an oppressive 'drag on progress' requiring a move toward 'direct democracy.' He details the furious Soviet (Khrushchev, Pospelov) and Chinese (People's Daily) denunciations of the programme as 'revisionism' and Tito's defiant refusal to retract, closing with Desai's own view that Titoism is 'equally reprehensible' and Tito's regime 'as much dictatorial' as the Kremlin's, given its treatment of dissidents like Djilas and Dedijer. - The article frames the 1958 Tito-Moscow rupture as history 'repeating itself' a decade after the original 1948 Tito-Stalin excommunication. - Yugoslavia's refusal to sign the November 1957 Moscow Declaration (which demanded ideological unity under Soviet leadership) precipitated the new crisis. - The Yugoslav draft programme argues capitalism is absorbing socialist elements via state intervention and that revolution is not always a precondition for the transition to socialism. - The programme denies communist parties a monopoly on leading the movement toward socialism, undermining Moscow's claimed leadership of world revolution. - It also argues a socialist state's bureaucracy can become 'a drag on progress' and calls for cutting state power back toward 'direct democracy' — a direct challenge to Soviet statism. - Khrushchev and Soviet theorist Peter N. Pospelov denounced the programme as 'nonsense' and 'wrong statements'; China's People's Daily called it 'out-and-out revisionism' serving 'U.S. imperialists.' - Desai concludes that Titoism is not morally superior to Soviet communism, citing Tito's own intolerance of dissidents Djilas and Dedijer, even while noting Tito sought rapprochement with Moscow out of practical necessity. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff075/ ### Summary This is the August 1958 issue (No. 75) of Freedom First, the monthly journal published from Bombay for members of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. The issue is dominated by two international crises of that summer: the execution of Hungarian Prime Minister Imre Nagy by the Kadar regime, and the Anglo-American military intervention in Lebanon and Jordan. B. K. Desai's lead article traces the fractures the Nagy execution opened within the Communist Party of India, contrasting the evasive, shifting line taken by CPI figures like P. C. Joshi and S. A. Dange with open dissent from some rank-and-file communists. The unsigned 'Notes' section turns to domestic concerns, attacking the Kerala communist government's use of nationalised textbooks for ideological indoctrination and warning of a possible slide toward civil war amid threats from Chief Minister E. M. S. Namboodiripad. A companion 'Matter For Investigation' item criticises the Orissa Chief Minister Harekrushna Mahtab for pressuring newspapers. Two contributors debate the Lebanon-Jordan intervention from opposing angles of emphasis: V. B.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the August 1958 issue (No. 75) of Freedom First, the monthly journal published from Bombay for members of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. The issue is dominated by two international crises of that summer: the execution of Hungarian Prime Minister Imre Nagy by the Kadar regime, and the Anglo-American military intervention in Lebanon and Jordan. B. K. Desai's lead article traces the fractures the Nagy execution opened within the Communist Party of India, contrasting the evasive, shifting line taken by CPI figures like P. C. Joshi and S. A. Dange with open dissent from some rank-and-file communists. The unsigned 'Notes' section turns to domestic concerns, attacking the Kerala communist government's use of nationalised textbooks for ideological indoctrination and warning of a possible slide toward civil war amid threats from Chief Minister E. M. S. Namboodiripad. A companion 'Matter For Investigation' item criticises the Orissa Chief Minister Harekrushna Mahtab for pressuring newspapers. Two contributors debate the Lebanon-Jordan intervention from opposing angles of emphasis: V. B. Karnik calls the Western troop landings 'a grave mistake' that entrenches undemocratic regimes and cites Lord Attlee's warnings against propping up unpopular rulers, while M. A. Venkata Rao defends the intervention as a necessary counter to Soviet-Nasserite 'indirect aggression,' drawing an extended analogy to the Sovietisation of Hungary and Czechoslovakia. A reprinted piece by General Bela Kiraly, 'A Kiss For Big Brother' (from East Europe magazine), gives a first-hand account of how the Hungarian secret police (AVH) stage-managed Khrushchev's supposedly spontaneous public gestures during a 1950 Budapest parade, exposing the theatrical fabrication behind Soviet propaganda imagery. The issue closes with a 'News From Poland' brief on the state's banning of writer Leopold Tyrmand's novel and withdrawal of his passport, illustrating tightening cultural controls under Gomulka, alongside classified-style ads for anti-communist pamphlets (Khrushchev's 'The Truth About Stalin,' Girilal Jain's 'Chinese Panchsheela in Burma') and the journal Encounter. ## Essays ### Aftermath Of Nagy Execution *By B. K. Desai* B. K. Desai surveys the internal turmoil the execution of Imre Nagy and his associates caused within the Communist Party of India. With senior leaders Ajoy Ghosh and A. K. Gopalan away in Moscow, the remaining Secretariat members struggled for twelve days to find a line, caught between revisionist condemnation and doctrinal endorsement. Dange gave tepid personal remarks regretting the executions' timing while accepting their necessity; P. C. Joshi's commentary in New Age shifted over successive issues from implicit apology toward open endorsement, using the arrest of Sheikh Abdullah in Kashmir as a comparative justification. Desai catalogues dissenting voices — CPI member Santosh Chatterjee, the Maharashtrian communist Karadkar, and others — alongside the acute embarrassment of the ruling Kerala communist party, caught between its 'peaceful parliamentary road' claims and Moscow's line. The essay closes arguing the execution had a bigger impact on Indian public opinion than the original Hungarian uprising, blunted only by the distraction of the Lebanon-Jordan crisis, and credits the Praja Socialist Party with taking a firmer, more consistent anti-communist stance as a result. - The CPI Secretariat was paralysed for about twelve days after the Nagy execution, unable either to condemn or endorse it without political cost. - Dange's personal remarks to the Times of India accepted the executions' necessity while regretting their timing. - P. C. Joshi's New Age columns moved from an implicit, apologetic tone toward full-throated endorsement across successive issues (June 29, July 6, July 13). - Joshi justified the execution by comparing it to India's arrest of Sheikh Abdullah, provoking Desai's rebuttal of the analogy. - The Kerala communist government faced acute embarrassment given its professed commitment to the 'peaceful parliamentary road.' - Dissenting communists (Santosh Chatterjee, Karadkar, Daniel Latifi, L. M. Zaveri, Ganesh Shanbag) publicly objected to the executions despite a party directive to stay silent. - Desai credits the PSP with taking a firm, principled anti-communist stand in the aftermath, strengthening its ideological independence from CPI-led united fronts. ### A Grave Mistake *By V. B. Karnik* An unsigned 'Notes' item accuses the Kerala communist government of using the nationalisation of school textbooks to indoctrinate students, citing a Malayalam standard-ten text that reproduces a laudatory letter on Soviet education by Education Minister Joseph Mundassery, and an eighth-standard Social Studies text that lionises the Russian and Chinese revolutions with portraits of Marx, Lenin, and Mao while omitting any mention of the Warsaw Pact or Soviet-bloc unemployment and repression. A companion item, 'Prelude To Civil War?', reports rising tension in Kerala after Chief Minister Namboodiripad's warning that opposition to the communist government could trigger civil war, and criticises the CPI's plan to form 'people's committees' as a device to intimidate the opposition, calling on the central government to prevent the state's political crisis from escalating. - A Malayalam standard-ten textbook includes a letter by Kerala Education Minister Joseph Mundassery praising Soviet education as the most efficient in the world. - An eighth-standard Social Studies text glorifies the Russian and Chinese revolutions with portraits of Marx, Lenin, and Mao Tse-tung. - The same textbook omits the Warsaw Pact and Soviet-bloc conditions while branding NATO, SEATO, and the Baghdad Pact as imperialistic. - Chief Minister Namboodiripad warned of civil war if opposition parties continued opposing the Communist Party, later partially clarifying the remark. - The CPI's proposal for state-wide 'people's committees' is characterised as a tool to terrorise the opposition with tacit government backing. - The piece calls on the Central Government to prevent Kerala's crisis from taking 'a fatal turn'. ### Who Are The Aggressors? *By M. A. Venkata Rao* This unsigned item accuses Orissa Chief Minister Harekrushna Mahtab of behaving irresponsibly by demanding the replacement of correspondents from three reputable newspapers on the unsubstantiated ground that one was on a foreign embassy's payroll and running propaganda against his government. After public outcry, Mahtab admitted there was no basis for the charge and the letters were withdrawn, but the piece argues this is insufficient and calls for a formal investigation into who made the charge, alongside an apology to the correspondents and punishment for those responsible, quoting opposition leader R. N. Singh Deo's charge that the episode was 'high-handed administrative blackmail' meant to stifle press coverage ahead of the Assembly session. - Orissa CM Harekrushna Mahtab demanded replacement of three newspaper correspondents over an unproven claim of foreign-embassy payroll influence. - Public outcry forced Mahtab to admit there was no basis for the charge, and the letters demanding replacement were withdrawn. - The piece calls this an insufficient resolution and demands a formal investigation, an apology, and punishment for those responsible. - Opposition leader R. N. Singh Deo charged that the real motive was to stifle press coverage ahead of a crucial Assembly session. ### A Kiss For Big Brother *By Bela Kiraly* V. B. Karnik argues that the Anglo-American military intervention in Lebanon and Jordan is a grave mistake, violating the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations even though it was undertaken at the invitation of the two countries' governments. He contends the intervention amounts to armed support for undemocratic regimes — a feudal prince in Jordan and a government seeking an unconstitutional second term in Lebanon — against their own people, invoking Lord Attlee's warning in the House of Lords against propping up rulers lacking democratic legitimacy. Karnik distinguishes the action from the 1956 Suez war (no direct combat) and from Soviet action in Hungary (no comparable totalitarian expansion aim), but insists the West must develop a genuine, cooperative relationship with rising nationalism in West Asia rather than relying on discredited monarchs, warning that the current policy will only deepen distrust and instability. He closes hopeful that democratic self-correction — criticism within Britain's Labour Party and in the US — will lead the two governments to withdraw and rectify the mistake. - Karnik holds that intervention in Lebanon and Jordan is unsupportable even on grounds of expediency, let alone principle. - He argues UN Charter Article 51 does not clearly apply since there is no internal revolt in Jordan and no proven 'aggression' in Lebanon. - He cites the UN Observer Group's finding of no evidence of 'massive infiltration' as disproving the foreign-inspired-revolt justification. - Karnik distinguishes this action from Suez (no direct warfare) and from Soviet intervention in Hungary (different underlying objective). - He argues the West must evolve new relationships with nationalist forces in West Asia rather than propping up feudal monarchs. - He expresses hope that democratic self-correction (Labour Party and US criticism) will lead to withdrawal and correction of the 'grave mistake'. ### News From Poland *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao defends the American and British intervention in Lebanon and Jordan against Indian public opinion, which he says has uncritically adopted the Soviet line. He argues Indian commentators ignore the 'indirect aggression' of Soviet-backed subversion, drawing an extended historical parallel to how Hungary and Czechoslovakia were 'sovietised' through coalition governments and 'salami tactics' before becoming full communist states, and applies the same lens to Nasser-backed rebel movements in Lebanon and Syria. He characterises the American landing as a necessary counter-intervention against pre-existing Soviet-Nasserite subversion rather than an act of aggression itself, appeals to Article 51 and pre-UN Western defence agreements with Syria and Lebanon as legal grounds, and frames the stakes in civilisational terms — preventing Soviet-Kremlin control of West Asia's oil wealth and strategic position. He closes by drawing a direct analogy to Kerala, describing the state as facing the 'initial stages of indirect aggression' analogous to what dissolved Lebanon's political order. - Venkata Rao argues Indian public opinion has adopted Soviet interpretations of the Lebanon-Jordan crisis with 'a naivete that is truly disturbing.' - He details the Soviet 'salami tactics' by which Hungary and Czechoslovakia were sovietised through coalition governments and gradual communist takeover. - He frames Nasser's Pan-Arab ambitions and Soviet backing of Lebanese rebels as an 'indirect aggression' that the American landing counters. - He argues legality rests on Article 51 and pre-existing Western defence commitments to Syria and Lebanon. - He frames the stakes as civilisational: preventing 'Kremlin-Marxism' from controlling West Asia's oil and strategic position. - He closes by directly analogising the situation in Kerala to Lebanon's fate under indirect Soviet-backed aggression. ### Essay 6 General Bela Kiraly, former Commander in Chief of the Hungarian National Guard during the 1956 Revolt, recounts (in a piece reproduced from East Europe magazine) how the Hungarian secret police (AVH) meticulously stage-managed the appearance of spontaneous popular affection during Communist Party events, prompted by recent photographs of Khrushchev mingling with and kissing Hungarian children in Budapest. Kiraly describes attending planning meetings in the early 1950s, chaired by Politburo member Istvan Kovacs, for the April 4, 1950 anniversary parade honouring Marshal Voroshilov and Party leader Matyas Rakosi, where a minute-by-minute schedule choreographed 'spontaneous' events down to five young workers 'breaking through' a security cordon at 11:35 AM and Rakosi 'kissing children' at 11:45 AM — with the children carefully selected from Politburo families and rehearsed in advance. He recalls watching the entire performance unfold exactly as scripted, contrasting the carefully vetted, unarmed honour guard drawn from the AVH itself with the sealed weapons and 30-yard exclusion zone imposed on regular troops. - Kiraly recounts planning meetings for Hungary's April 4, 1950 'liberation' anniversary parade, chaired by Politburo member Istvan Kovacs. - A precise, minute-by-minute timetable scripted supposedly spontaneous events, including workers 'breaking through' a cordon and Rakosi 'kissing children.' - The children selected for Rakosi to kiss were relatives of Politburo members (a nephew of Erno Gero and a daughter of another Communist leader), carefully rehearsed in advance. - The honour guard for Party and Soviet dignitaries was drawn from the AVH secret police rather than regular troops, who were kept unarmed and at a 30-yard distance. - Kiraly connects this episode to contemporary 1958 press photographs of Khrushchev spontaneously kissing Hungarian children during a Budapest visit, suggesting the same stage-management technique. ### Essay 7 This unsigned 'News From Poland' brief reports that Polish author Leopold Tyrmand has been publicly reprimanded through the banning of his latest novel, Seven Long Journeys, and the withdrawal of his passport, effectively ending his writing career under the official justification of 'general immorality.' The piece situates Tyrmand within Poland's Catholic literary circles and notes his earlier public criticism of the Catholic group 'Pax' for collaborating with Stalinists during the 1956 October Revolution. It links the crackdown to broader tightening of cultural policy under the Gomulka regime, citing Central Committee member B. Werblan's declaration that no further resources would go toward publishing 'demoralising' works, and reports that young avant-garde writer Marek Hlasko, attacked in the party paper Trybuna Ludu, is now in Paris where two of his banned-in-Poland books have been published by Kultura. - Leopold Tyrmand's novel Seven Long Journeys was banned and his passport withdrawn, ending his ability to publish. - The official justification cited was the 'general immorality' of Tyrmand's writings, effectively banning all his works. - Tyrmand had previously criticised the Catholic group 'Pax' for collaborating with Stalinists during the 1956 uprising. - Central Committee member B. Werblan declared that Party resources would no longer support 'demoralising' literary works. - Writer Marek Hlasko, attacked in Trybuna Ludu, is in Paris where two of his Poland-banned books were published by Kultura. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff076/ ### Summary This is issue No. 76 of Freedom First (September 1958), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service, edited and published by V. B. Karnik in Bombay. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with a lead essay by the pseudonymous "Atreya" dissecting the communist government of Kerala as a case study in propaganda mythmaking, followed by a Notes section covering parliamentary alarm over Kerala's law-and-order situation, a rebuttal of the Communist Party's cry of "autonomy," the perennial food-grain shortage, and the politicisation of the upcoming Asian-African Writers' Conference at Tashkent. M. R. Masani contributes a substantial essay, "Towards Economic Democracy," arguing against Command Economy planning and for a mixed economy resting on free trade unions, free peasant proprietors, and free enterprise. Rev. T. Mascarenhas offers a philosophical essay, "The Light of Personality," contrasting "individual" with "person" as categories for socialist thought. A Review section covers John Gunther's Inside Russia Today, Barbara Ward's The Interplay of East and West, and two Laski Institute pamphlets (D. R. Gadgil on the Planning Commission's failures, and Frederic Ogden on U.S.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 76 of Freedom First (September 1958), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service, edited and published by V. B. Karnik in Bombay. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with a lead essay by the pseudonymous "Atreya" dissecting the communist government of Kerala as a case study in propaganda mythmaking, followed by a Notes section covering parliamentary alarm over Kerala's law-and-order situation, a rebuttal of the Communist Party's cry of "autonomy," the perennial food-grain shortage, and the politicisation of the upcoming Asian-African Writers' Conference at Tashkent. M. R. Masani contributes a substantial essay, "Towards Economic Democracy," arguing against Command Economy planning and for a mixed economy resting on free trade unions, free peasant proprietors, and free enterprise. Rev. T. Mascarenhas offers a philosophical essay, "The Light of Personality," contrasting "individual" with "person" as categories for socialist thought. A Review section covers John Gunther's Inside Russia Today, Barbara Ward's The Interplay of East and West, and two Laski Institute pamphlets (D. R. Gadgil on the Planning Commission's failures, and Frederic Ogden on U.S. voting behaviour). The issue closes with a leaked internal letter from 23 Bengal members of the Communist Party of India accusing the CPI leadership of behaving as a Soviet satellite over the Yugoslavia affair, and a note on Amal Kumar Ganguli's resignation from the CPI in Bengal on similar grounds. The volume's argumentative center, in the rendered pages, is anti-communist and pro-free-enterprise: exposing what the editors present as Soviet-aligned deception and centralised-planning failure in India, while advancing classical liberal alternatives (economic democracy, free trade unions, free enterprise) as the corrective. ## Essays ### Kerala—A Lesson In Legend Building *By "Atreya"* Writing under the pseudonym "Atreya," the author argues that "legends" are the chief weapon of communist strategy in India, and that Kerala under its Communist ministry has become the prime laboratory for such legend-building. The essay catalogues seven interlocking legends — that Kerala's was the first popular ministry, that communists equal "the people," that resistance to communism is anti-people, that greater state autonomy from the Centre is desirable, that communists work loyally within the four walls of the Constitution, that communist leaders are personally more austere and honest than other politicians, and that communism is historically inevitable. The piece details how the Communist Ministry channelled state contracts to party-controlled cooperatives as a form of organised corruption, describes the murders of Congress and PSP workers by armed Communist Party jathas, and interprets the Kerala government's conduct toward the Centre as an attempt to project itself as a quasi-sovereign state in relations with New Delhi, with Nehru's visit framed almost as a state visit between nations. The essay closes by citing a Communist Party Executive resolution and the CPI weekly New Age to argue that the Party sees Kerala as a base for exporting subversion to the rest of India, quoting E. M. S. Namboodiripad's language as a deliberate warning rather than empty rhetoric. - Identifies seven communist "legends" built around Kerala, from the "first popular ministry" claim to the inevitability of communism. - Argues state contracts channelled to party-controlled cooperatives constitute a new, more organised form of corruption than any seen under Congress. - Documents killings of Congress and PSP workers by armed Communist Party jathas as the trigger for Nehru's public condemnation. - Contends the Kerala Communist government projects itself as a quasi-sovereign state negotiating with the Union government rather than a constituent state. - Cites the CPI's own Trivandrum resolution and the Party weekly New Age as evidence the Kerala ministry is being defended as a base for national-level Left unity against Congress. - Frames E. M. S. Namboodiripad's rhetoric as a serious warning of continued communist advance, not bluster. ### Notes (Alarming Picture; Hypocritical Cry; Perrenial Problem; Asian-African Writers' Conference; Fitting Tribute; Some Home Truths) The Notes section is a set of short, unsigned editorial items. "Alarming Picture" reports on two adjournment motions in Parliament highlighting lawlessness under Kerala's Communist ministry, citing charges by Pradesh Congress Committee president K. A. Damodara Menon and independent observer B. G. Verghese that party cadres intimidate opponents and that "Government of the Party, by the Party and for the Party" has replaced government of the state. "Hypocritical Cry" rebuts the CPI's opposition to a Central probe into Kerala on autonomy grounds, arguing communists are otherwise champions of centralised state power and that Article 335 gives the Union government both the right and the obligation to intervene when fundamental rights are threatened. "Perennial Problem" discusses a worsening food-grain deficit (6.7 million tons) and criticises the government's historical over-emphasis on heavy industry over agriculture, quoting the Prime Minister's admission that he had learned too late the primacy of agricultural production, and former Finance Minister C. D. Deshmukh's charge about excessive spending on fertiliser factories versus steel plants. "Asian-African Writers' Conference" warns that a planned Tashkent writers' conference is a communist-orchestrated show, contrasting it with the 1956 Delhi conference where non-communist efforts (citing Humayun Kabir, Vatsyayan, and Padhye) prevented total communist capture, and quotes the All-India PEN Centre's warning to Indian writers. "Fitting Tribute" welcomes the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation's first award to Acharya Vinoba Bhave. "Some Home Truths" reports Vinoba Bhave's Dhulia speech criticising the caste-based candidate selection practices of political parties and warning that borrowed European democratic institutions may need adaptation to Indian conditions. - Parliament debated adjournment motions on Kerala lawlessness; observers including B. G. Verghese described a climate of insecurity and Party-state fusion. - Rebuts CPI's autonomy-based objection to a Central inquiry, invoking Article 335 as grounds for Union intervention. - Highlights a 6.7 million ton food-grain deficit and criticises historical under-investment in agriculture relative to heavy industry. - Frames the planned Asian-African Writers' Conference at Tashkent as a communist-dominated successor to the 1956 Delhi conference. - Notes the Magsaysay Foundation's inaugural award to Vinoba Bhave as recognition of his humility and moral standing. - Reports Vinoba Bhave's critique of caste-based candidate selection by political parties and his call to adapt European-style democracy to Indian conditions. ### Towards Economic Democracy *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's "Towards Economic Democracy" argues that democratic socialists cannot claim a totally planned Command Economy is compatible with individual freedom, because no Parliament has ever been shown able to democratically control far-reaching economic planning decisions — such as how many cattle to rear, what crops to sow, or how many trucks to license. Masani contends that once the state becomes the sole employer, sole trader, and sole trade union, political and economic liberty is lost regardless of constitutional safeguards, citing the Soviet Constitution's "most democratic" paper guarantees against the brutal reality of Stalinist tyranny, and quoting British Labour figures Aneurin Bevan and R. H. S. Crossman on the dangers of concentrated state bureaucratic power. He defines "economic democracy" through the roles of worker (right to organise and strike), peasant (right to own and decide use of land), investor (right to invest or not), and consumer (freedom of market choice), arguing these rights are destroyed under communist central planning, as with forced Soviet and Chinese collectivisation of peasants. Masani insists this is not an argument for undiluted laissez-faire — the state has a legitimate but limited regulatory role — and closes by describing economic democracy as guaranteed by a system of checks and balances: free peasant proprietors, free trade unions, and free enterprise, competing to serve the community's needs. - Argues no Parliament, in Britain or elsewhere, has been shown capable of democratically controlling comprehensive economic planning decisions. - Contends that once the State is the sole employer, trader, and trade union, political and economic freedom collapses regardless of paper constitutional guarantees. - Cites the Soviet Constitution as 'the most democratic on paper' alongside the reality of Stalinist tyranny to argue power can only be checked by countervailing power. - Quotes Aneurin Bevan and R. H. S. Crossman, British Labour figures, on the dangers that centralised state bureaucracy poses even to socialists' own aims. - Defines economic democracy through four roles: the worker's right to strike, the peasant's right to own land, the investor's right to choose, and the consumer's freedom of market choice. - Rejects the idea that this argument favours undiluted laissez-faire, allowing the state a limited regulatory role to prevent anarchy, rapacity and injustice. - Closes with a vision of economic democracy resting on free peasant proprietors, free trade unions, and competing free enterprises as a system of checks and balances. ### The Light Of Personality *By Rev. T. Mascarenhas* Rev. T. Mascarenhas's "The Light of Personality" argues that modern discourse errs by using 'individual' where it should use 'person,' since 'individual' connotes only separateness and enclosure while 'person' connotes relationship. Drawing on Jacques Maritain's distinction between individuality and personality, Mascarenhas uses the analogy of an electric bulb (the individual unit) versus its light (the person's existential, relational being) to argue that a personalist philosophy — recognising that a person's rights and duties arise from existential relationships with family, community, and state — offers socialism a firmer foundation than the language of the 'individual.' He argues socialism's legitimate concern for sufficiency of rights, jobs, and welfare is best understood not as enforcing an abstract 'common good' but as a network of shared relationships analogous to a family, where sharing rather than individual selfishness is the good, and closes by urging that 'person,' not 'individual,' become socialism's operative term. - Argues modern usage wrongly conflates 'individual' and 'person,' following Jacques Maritain's critique of this confusion. - Uses the analogy of an electric bulb (individual) and its light (personality) to illustrate that personhood is inherently relational, not merely enclosed. - Contends a 'personalist' philosophy suits socialism better than individualist language, since duties and rights arise from existential relationships (family, community, state). - Reframes socialism's goal of 'sufficiency' as a shared familial good rather than an enforced abstract 'common good.' ### Review: Inside Russia Today (John Gunther) / The Interplay of East and West (Barbara Ward) *By Aziz Madni; Adam Adil* The Review section carries four notices. Aziz Madni reviews John Gunther's Inside Russia Today, praising its scope and Gunther's vivid reportorial style while noting it is not a scholarly work, quoting Gunther's lines on Moscow fashion and Soviet insularity about the outside world. Adam Adil reviews Barbara Ward's The Interplay of East and West (the Sir Edward Memorial Lectures), summarising her argument that Asian nationalism, unlike its more destructive European counterpart, has fostered mutual sympathy, and her plea for the West to share prosperity with the East while noting India's Five Year Plan approach as a democratic model of village-level self-help rather than forced collectivisation. V. B. K. reviews two Harold Laski Institute pamphlets: D. R. Gadgil's Indian Planning and the Planning Commission, in which Gadgil — drawing on his experience chairing the Commission's Panel of Economists — argues the Planning Commission has overstepped its advisory role into policy-making and recommends restructuring its composition and removing its executive functions; and Frederic Ogden's Voting Behaviour in the United States, described as elementary but useful. Notes on I.C.C.F. and D.R.S. activities close the section, including a Madras public meeting addressed by C. Rajagopalachari among others, and a D.R.S. seminar on 'Socialism Today.' - Aziz Madni's review praises Gunther's Inside Russia Today for scope and vivid style while conceding it is not scholarly work. - Adam Adil's review of Barbara Ward's Interplay of East and West summarises her argument that Asian nationalism has fostered international sympathy rather than conflict, and her call for the West to share prosperity with the East. - V. B. K.'s review covers D. R. Gadgil's pamphlet arguing the Planning Commission has failed by overreaching its advisory mandate into actual policy-making. - Gadgil recommends changing the Commission's composition (excluding the PM and Finance Minister) and stripping it of executive functions. - A short pamphlet on U.S. voting behaviour by Frederic Ogden is also reviewed as elementary but useful. - I.C.C.F. and D.R.S. news items report a Madras meeting featuring C. Rajagopalachari and a seminar titled 'Socialism Today.' ### Indian Planning and the Planning Commission / Voting Behaviour in the United States (pamphlet reviews) *By V.B.K.* "C.P.I.—A Soviet Satellite" reproduces a cyclostyled letter written anonymously by 23 Bengal members of the Communist Party of India to the Party's General Secretary. The letter lays out a timeline showing the CPI sent a goodwill cable to the Yugoslav League of Communists on March 19, 1958, then reversed itself and sent critical cables on April 19-20 only after the Soviet Communist Party withdrew its own acceptance of the Yugoslav invitation and Moscow Radio broadcast condemnatory material — circumstantial evidence, the writers argue, that CPI policy on Yugoslavia was dictated by Moscow rather than independently formed. The letter accuses the CPI leadership of behaving as a political satellite of the CPSU, demands to know whether the Party is genuinely independent, and challenges why the CPI never finds anything to criticise in the Soviet Union or China while claiming independent judgment. A postscript, written after news of Imre Nagy's execution reached the writers (via Moscow, not Budapest), asks whether Party leadership will have the courage to condemn the execution, having previously kept silent when it should have spoken and spoken when it should have kept silent. - A letter from 23 anonymous Bengal CPI members to the Party's General Secretary lays out a dated timeline of CPI cables on the Yugoslavia dispute. - The timeline shows CPI reversed its goodwill message to the Yugoslav League only after the Soviet party withdrew its own acceptance and Moscow Radio broadcast condemnation. - The letter concludes this proves the CPI acts as a political satellite of the CPSU rather than an independent party. - Writers challenge the CPI to explain why it never criticises the USSR or China despite claiming independent Marxist-Leninist judgment. - A postscript raises the execution of Imre Nagy (news reaching the writers via Moscow) as a test of whether CPI leadership will show independence or complicit silence. ### I.C.C.F. News / D.R.S. News "A Resignation From Bengal" reports that Amal Kumar Ganguli, M.L.A., a prominent Bengal Communist Party member, resigned his Party membership over disagreement with CPI leadership on several issues: the anti-Congress slogan and cry for an alternative government, which he argued undermines national unity and helps reactionary forces; the attempted coalition with the PSP and Forward Bloc, which he called insincere and misleading; the corrosive effect of parliamentary politics on the Party's revolutionary programme; and the Party's negative, sectarian handling of refugee rehabilitation in West Bengal. Ganguli's resignation statement further charges that the Party leadership has subjugated itself to the Communist parties of the USSR and China in the name of international working-class unity, citing the CPI's blind support for the execution of Imre Nagy as proof of the Party's political sterility, and states he can no longer reconcile himself with a Party policy he sees as failing to resolve the conflict between old social structures and socialism. - Amal Kumar Ganguli, M.L.A., resigned CPI membership in Bengal over disagreement with Party leadership. - Objects to the anti-Congress slogan as damaging to national unity and objectively helpful to reactionary forces. - Calls the Party's coalition attempts with PSP and Forward Bloc insincere and misleading to the public. - Criticises the Party's handling of refugee rehabilitation in West Bengal as a negative, sectarian policy against national interest. - Charges CPI leadership with subjugating the Party to the USSR and Chinese Communist parties, citing its support for Imre Nagy's execution as proof of its sterility. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff077/ ### Summary This is issue No. 77 (October 1958) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service / Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, published from Bombay. In the rendered pages it carries a mix of political commentary and cultural-cold-war journalism: a lead piece tracing the Indian Communist Party's ideological confusion from its Amritsar congress to its handling of the Kerala communist government; an editorial "Notes" section on parliamentary manoeuvring over a Kerala debate and on Dr. Charles Malik's election to the UN General Assembly presidency; a report on unrest in Chinese-occupied Tibet; an analysis of the July-August 1958 Khrushchev-Mao summit in Peking; an essay by Michael Polanyi on the historical failure of scientific rationalism to humanize politics; a book review of Massimo Salvador's Liberal Democracy; a documentary account, built from an open letter and a published booklet, of alleged repression and lawlessness under the Communist ministry in Kerala; and a closing page of quoted political soundbites ("With Many Voices") plus subscription and I.C.C.F. society notices.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 77 (October 1958) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service / Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, published from Bombay. In the rendered pages it carries a mix of political commentary and cultural-cold-war journalism: a lead piece tracing the Indian Communist Party's ideological confusion from its Amritsar congress to its handling of the Kerala communist government; an editorial "Notes" section on parliamentary manoeuvring over a Kerala debate and on Dr. Charles Malik's election to the UN General Assembly presidency; a report on unrest in Chinese-occupied Tibet; an analysis of the July-August 1958 Khrushchev-Mao summit in Peking; an essay by Michael Polanyi on the historical failure of scientific rationalism to humanize politics; a book review of Massimo Salvador's Liberal Democracy; a documentary account, built from an open letter and a published booklet, of alleged repression and lawlessness under the Communist ministry in Kerala; and a closing page of quoted political soundbites ("With Many Voices") plus subscription and I.C.C.F. society notices. The volume's argumentative center is anti-communist: nearly every piece — on India's CPI, on Tibet, on the Sino-Soviet summit, on Kerala governance — is marshalled to expose the gap between communist rhetoric and communist practice, framed within a broader liberal-democratic and Cold War perspective. ## Essays ### From Amritsar To Kerala *By B. K. Desai* B. K. Desai's "From Amritsar To Kerala" surveys the Communist Party of India's internal disarray between its Amritsar congress and the Kerala communist government's difficulties by mid-1958. The piece argues that police firings, political murders, and the Kerala-Birla pact eroded the party's standing even among sympathetic left parties (PSP, Samiti allies in Maharashtra and Bengal), while internal rifts — over the Hungarian executions, over Dange's "demagogic" statements, over creeping "right-wing revisionism" versus rigid Marxism-Leninism — left the leadership exposed. The author contends these factional quarrels have little real effect on the party's discipline or capacity to mobilise, since ultimate strategic control rests with Moscow, and closes by describing the party's three-pronged strategy in Kerala (denying Congress culpability for unrest, forging anti-Congress united fronts elsewhere, and merging both into a narrative that the Congress alone is the obstacle to popular government), asking whether Andhra/Telangana will see a repeat of the pattern. - Traces CPI's shift from aggressive confidence at Amritsar to a defensive, apprehensive mood by the August 1958 Trivandrum Central Executive meeting - Cites Kerala police firings, the Kerala-Birla pact, and rising lawlessness as damaging communist prestige even among leftist allies like the PSP - Documents internal party dissent over the secret trial and execution of Hungarian (Nagy-era) leaders, including a Maharashtra committee's disapproval and an anonymous letter from West Bengal members - Notes Dange's censure by the Party Executive for indiscreet public statements - Argues that despite visible factionalism, ultimate policy direction is set by Moscow, limiting the practical significance of internal party rivalries - Outlines a three-part CPI strategy: deflect blame for Kerala unrest onto Congress, build anti-Congress united fronts nationally, and fuse both into the narrative that Kerala is a 'new outpost of democratic forces' ### Khrushchev-Mao Tse-tung Meeting *By Roderick Macfarquhar* The unsigned "Notes" section covers two items in the rendered pages. "'Bullies' And Appeasement" criticises the Government of India for evasive parliamentary tactics that prevented a promised debate on the Kerala situation, recounting Acharya Kripalani's charge that the government is being intimidated by the Communist Party and the Home Minister Pandit Pant's rebuttal, and suggesting the government has been shielding the Communist ministry of Kerala. "Dr. Charles Malik" praises the election of the Lebanese Foreign Minister as President of the 13th UN General Assembly session as recognition of a committed liberal diplomat who has championed democratic values amid Middle Eastern chauvinism. - Details a procedural standoff in Parliament that scuttled a promised debate on the Kerala situation - Recounts Acharya Kripalani's charge that the government of India is being 'bullied' by the Communist Party - Quotes Home Minister Pandit Pant's denial of any communist understanding, deemed insufficient given government inaction - Frames Dr. Charles Malik's UN General Assembly presidency as a win for liberal, democratic internationalism against chauvinism and racialism ### Revolt In Occupied Tibet *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju's "Revolt In Occupied Tibet" recounts the 1950 Chinese invasion of Tibet and the Panchsheel agreement that formalised Indian acquiescence to it, then documents evidence — drawn from a Chinese Communist "Work Report" published in the Kangtung Kanze Pao and covering December 1955 to March 1958 — of sustained Tibetan rebellion against Chinese land reform and rule in the Kanze Chou region of Szechwan, including sieges, destroyed government stores, and violent Communist reprisals. The piece frames the Chinese authorities' claims of assured Tibetan autonomy (via a P.T.I. interview with a Communist Tibetan governor) as broken promises, and closes with a petition from a group of Tibetans led by the Dalai Lama's brother alleging the bombing of the village of Litang and thousands of Tibetan deaths. - Recounts the 1950 Chinese Communist invasion of Tibet and India's 'Panchsheel' agreement acquiescing to it despite a mild protest via Sardar Patel - Cites a Chinese Communist 'Work Report' from the Kangtung Kanze Pao admitting continuous rebellion in the Kanze Chou region since 1956 - Attributes the rebellion's spark to the Party's December 1955 decision to introduce land reform in Tibetan areas - Notes Chinese Buddhist Association chairman Hsi Jao Chia Tso's explanation that Tibetans are 'conservative' and resistant to 'unripe' change - Reports a petition to Nehru from a group led by the Dalai Lama's brother alleging the bombing of Litang village and over 4,000 Tibetan deaths ### The Impact Of Science *By Michael Polanyi* Roderick Macfarquhar's "Khrushchev-Mao Tse-tung Meeting" analyses the July 31-August 3, 1958 Peking summit as a major world-affairs event marking Communist China's entry as a full participant in East-West diplomacy. The author argues Khrushchev travelled to Peking chiefly to prevent China from sabotaging any agreement he might reach with the West during the Middle East crisis (following the U.S. move into Lebanon and Britain into Jordan), given growing Sino-Soviet policy divergence — China's harder line versus Khrushchev's more conciliatory posture and eagerness for a summit. The piece concludes the two leaders struck a bargain in which Khrushchev secured Chinese backing for peace overtures (disarmament, ending atomic tests) in exchange for concessions including a tougher joint communique tone and abandoning any softening toward Tito. - Frames the Khrushchev-Mao Peking summit (July 31-August 3, 1958) as ranking with the first Soviet atom bomb test and the Korean War's outbreak in significance - Argues divergent Chinese and Soviet responses to the Lebanon/Jordan crisis forced Khrushchev to secure Chinese backing before any Western negotiations - Cites the hard-line July 20 People's Daily editorial dismissing summit talks as 'unnecessary and weak-kneed' as evidence of China's more bellicose posture - Concludes Khrushchev extracted a joint commitment to disarmament and ending nuclear tests in exchange for concessions, including abandoning conciliation toward Tito's Yugoslavia - Speculates Khrushchev's ultimate leverage was assuring Mao that Russia would declare neutrality in the event of a China-triggered war ### Review: Liberal Democracy (by Massimo Salvador) *By Adam Adil* Michael Polanyi's "The Impact of Science" (reproduced from Quest) argues that the Enlightenment-era hope that science could guide and reform human affairs has produced a tragic paradox: applying the exactitude of physical science to the study of man strips away grounds for respecting one's fellow men, and in its more radical forms — from Bentham's utilitarianism through Marx to Nietzsche — this naturalistic reduction of morality helped generate the fanaticism and mechanised violence of twentieth-century totalitarianism. Polanyi contends that modern nihilism and Bolshevik and Nazi savagery are not simple selfishness but a 'venomous protest' born of moral passions that, once denied any legitimate outlet by scientific scepticism about genuine moral motives, became embodied in the machinery of party, police, and army. He closes hopeful that the post-Stalin thaw and the moral witness of dissidents (implicitly the Hungarian rebels) may open a door away from 'scientific enslavement.' - Argues that applying inanimate-science's methods of 'exactitude and conclusiveness' to human affairs strips grounds for respecting one's fellow men - Traces the naturalistic conception of man from 18th-century Bentham utilitarianism (a philanthropic, reforming force) to Marx's class-morality doctrine and Nietzsche's nihilism - Identifies 'fanaticism' — a moral passion denied legitimate outlets by scientific scepticism — as the root of 20th-century totalitarian cruelty - Argues Nazism paradoxically mirrors Bolshevism in structure: both channel genuine moral fervor into a mechanised apparatus of violence - Reads the post-Stalin 'humanization' of the Soviet regime and the Hungarian uprising as a 'leaking out' of morally serious passions suppressed under Bolshevism ### Kerala Under Communism A review, signed Adam Adil, of Massimo Salvador's Liberal Democracy (Pall Mall Press, London), which the reviewer praises as a 'refreshing and brilliant exposition' defending liberal democracy against the fashionable view that it is an outdated, 'decadent bourgeois' relic. The review summarises Salvador's argument that liberty is best understood as a method (with democracy as the institutional set that method gives rise to) rather than a fixed goal, surveys his treatment of thinkers from Bacon and Voltaire to J. S. Mill, and highlights his claim that intellectuals bear special responsibility for directing the 'doers' of history, alongside his view that liberal ideas must be a 'dynamic' concept continually reformulated for new times. - Reviews Massimo Salvador's Liberal Democracy as a defence of liberal-democratic ideas against the charge that they are outdated 'bourgeois' relics - Summarises Salvador's definition of liberty as a method (not merely a goal) with democracy as its resulting institutional set - Notes Salvador's survey of liberal thinkers including Bacon, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Jefferson, Paine, Pestalozzi, and J. S. Mill - Highlights Salvador's claim that intellectuals, not masses, provide the ideas that direct the 'doers' of history - Notes the reviewer's approval of Salvador's view that liberal ideas must evolve dynamically with changing times ### With Many Voices "Kerala Under Communism" documents escalating conflict between the state's Communist ministry and non-communist parties and workers, opening with the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee's September 9 resolution warning of a 'complete dissruption of society' absent policy change. The bulk of the piece reproduces excerpts from an open letter by N. Sreekantan Nair of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and from the booklet Interference with Justice in Kerala, detailing specific cases: violent police suppression of a cashewnut-factory strike at Chandanathope resulting in deaths, the fatal shooting of RSP members, government favoritism toward an American company over an RSP-led workers' cooperative, forcible eviction of fisherman squatters at Chavara, and a pattern of the Communist government withdrawing prosecutions and remitting sentences against communist party members and labourers accused of violence, trespass, and dacoity. - Opens with the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee's September 9, 1958 resolution warning of societal breakdown under the Communist state government - Reproduces an open letter from N. Sreekantan Nair (RSP) describing the killing of RSP members at Chandanathope and police brutality against strikers and picketers - Details a cashew-factory labour dispute in which women picketers were allegedly assaulted by Reserve Constables, with one worker fatally stabbed - Documents government favoritism toward the American company 'The National Lead Ltd.' over an RSP-led Mineral Workers' Cooperative Society bid - Describes the eviction and prosecution of fishermen squatters at Chavara after they occupied leftover government waste land - Cites the booklet Interference with Justice in Kerala for a pattern of government withdrawal of prosecutions and remission of sentences against communists accused of violence and dacoity --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff078/ ### Summary This is issue No. 78 of Freedom First (November 1958), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service edited by V. B. Karnik, covering the full 12-page issue. The issue is dominated by anxiety about the fragility of democracy in Asia's new states: the lead article by Karnik reads the collapse of parliamentary rule in Burma and Pakistan as "a lesson and a warning" for India, while a report on the Congress for Cultural Freedom's Rhodes seminar surveys parallel debates about representative government and public liberties across new African and Asian states. Other contributors extend the anti-authoritarian theme outward: Adam Adil details the coercive mechanics of China's new "people's communes," S. Sharangpani assesses the geopolitical stakes of India's Himalayan buffer states (Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan) against Chinese pressure, and Ida Dhami covers both de Gaulle's referendum triumph in France and reviews Robert Guillain's book on Maoist China.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 78 of Freedom First (November 1958), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service edited by V. B. Karnik, covering the full 12-page issue. The issue is dominated by anxiety about the fragility of democracy in Asia's new states: the lead article by Karnik reads the collapse of parliamentary rule in Burma and Pakistan as "a lesson and a warning" for India, while a report on the Congress for Cultural Freedom's Rhodes seminar surveys parallel debates about representative government and public liberties across new African and Asian states. Other contributors extend the anti-authoritarian theme outward: Adam Adil details the coercive mechanics of China's new "people's communes," S. Sharangpani assesses the geopolitical stakes of India's Himalayan buffer states (Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan) against Chinese pressure, and Ida Dhami covers both de Gaulle's referendum triumph in France and reviews Robert Guillain's book on Maoist China. A running "Notes" section covers police firings against communist-led plantation workers in Kerala, repression in post-1956 Hungary, and the defection of a Polish writer, while a closing "With Many Voices" column strings together contemporary press quotations on democracy's prospects in Asia. ## Essays ### A Lesson And A Warning *By by V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead article surveys the near-simultaneous collapse of parliamentary forms in Burma and Pakistan during 1958 and asks what lesson India should draw. In Burma, he notes, the military takeover under General Ne Win at least preserved the trappings of parliamentary process (Parliament not dissolved, parties not outlawed, an election promised), whereas in Pakistan President Iskander Mirza abolished the legislature and political parties outright before himself being displaced by General Ayub Khan, who assumed sole power under martial law. Karnik traces a regional pattern in which parliamentary democracy of the Western type, transplanted onto former colonies from Indonesia to Egypt, gives way to military or authoritarian rule once elected leaders fail to satisfy a population weary of corruption and disorder. He argues India should not be complacent: it shares the same cultural and social stock and unresolved economic problems as its neighbours, and its advantages (a more developed administrative system, a strong national party in Congress, eminent leaders) are real but insufficient guarantees, especially given the risk that reverence for an eminent individual curdles into a personality cult that itself blocks democracy's growth. The piece closes by warning that India's own democratic institutions have not yet become part of the people's lived experience, and that its survival depends on a "living faith in democracy" that is "yet to be created." - Burma's military regime under Ne Win kept Parliament and political parties intact, framing itself as a temporary guarantor of a free election, unlike Pakistan's outright abrogation of constitutional rule. - Pakistan's President Iskander Mirza abolished the legislature and parties by decree, then was himself removed, leaving General Ayub Khan as sole Chief Martial Law Administrator. - Mirza favoured a restricted, propertied franchise and a small drafting committee for a new constitution rather than full parliamentary democracy, which he called incompatible with Pakistan's low literacy. - Karnik reads events in Burma and Pakistan as part of a broader pattern across new Asian and African states in which parliamentary democracy degenerates into military dictatorship. - India's administrative maturity and the Congress party's national reach are cited as advantages over Pakistan, but Karnik warns against complacency given shared cultural and economic conditions. - The danger of a 'cult of personality' around an eminent leader is flagged as a threat to India's democratic development in its own right. - The article concludes that India's democratic experiment has not yet won a durable 'living faith' among its people. ### Notes The unsigned 'Notes' section (running pp.3-4, continued into the D.R.S. News item that spills onto p.8) covers five items. 'Firing In Kerala' criticises the Communist state government's handling of a plantation workers' strike in the Hill Ranges, alleging that the Labour Minister sided with the communist-led union, refused INTUC's request for adjudication, and thereby allowed a strike to escalate into police firings that killed four workers. 'Hungary After Two Years' reports on continued persecution of intellectuals two years after the 1956 revolution's suppression, including death sentences at secret trials, disbarment of Budapest lawyers, and revocation of licenses for actors deemed to glorify 'bourgeois and decadent ideas.' 'Writers And Communism' recounts the defection of Polish writer Marek Hlasko to the West, framing it as exposing the 'fraudulent and phoney character' of the Asian-African Writers' Conference at Tashkent. 'Good News From Algeria' reads De Gaulle's orders restraining the French army's political role, and reciprocal signals from Ferhat Abbas's provisional government, as grounds for cautious optimism about a negotiated Algerian settlement. The final item reports on a talk by Ralph Borsodi, ex-Chancellor of Melbourne University, on 'Morality of Democracy and Communism,' in which he argued democracy alone is an insufficient answer to communism and proposed seven essentials of a moral economic order: free markets, free trade, abolition of monopolies, cooperative ownership of natural monopolies, free banking, a just property system distinguishing ownership from natural-resource title, and just land tenure with publicly captured ground rent. - Kerala's Communist government is accused of partisan handling of a plantation workers' strike, culminating in police firings that killed four workers. - Hungary two years after 1956 is described as entering a phase of systematic persecution of intellectuals, lawyers, and artists. - Polish writer Marek Hlasko's flight to the West is presented as undercutting the Tashkent Asian-African Writers' Conference's narrative about Western-caused ills. - De Gaulle's restraint of the French army and reciprocal gestures from Algerian nationalist leader Ferhat Abbas are read as opening the door to a negotiated Algerian settlement. - Ralph Borsodi's talk argued neither democracy nor communism alone suffices and proposed seven principles for a moral economic order (free market, free trade, anti-monopoly, cooperative ownership of natural monopolies, free banking, just property, just land tenure). ### Rhodes Seminar, A Report *By by A Correspondent* An unsigned correspondent's report on the third Congress for Cultural Freedom seminar, held in Rhodes, Greece (5-13 October 1958) on 'Representative Government and Public Liberties in New States,' funded with Ford Foundation assistance. About thirty-five participants from over twenty countries, from both old and new states, attended, including several prominent Indians (Asoka Mehta as co-Director, M. R. Masani, V. K. N. Menon, D. R. Gadgil, V. K. Narasimhan, Raghavan Iyer, Daya Krishna) alongside Western figures such as Raymond Aron, Bertrand de Jouvenel, Ignazio Silone, Galbraith, Louis Fischer, Robert Hutchins, and Gunnar Myrdal. The report summarises key debates: Kukrit Pramoj of Thailand and Maung Maung of Burma gave contrasting accounts of democracy's failure in their countries; a dispute over the two-party versus multi-party system pitted Gaitskell's paper (via Strachey) against Jakobson of Denmark, with Raymond Aron noting that democracy can function even with one dominant party, as in India; Daya Krishna's opening paper on the meaning of democracy eventually shifted the seminar's consensus toward valuing public liberties over representative institutions per se; and a debate on democracy versus rapid economic progress, with Strachey and Masani on opposing sides, concluded that democracy requires some baseline of economic progress to survive. Gunnar Myrdal's emphasis on building autonomous 'infra-structure' institutions below the level of parliament was also noted, alongside a caution that such institutions can become strongholds of reaction in backward regions. The report closes noting considerable international curiosity about India's experiment combining democracy with rapid economic development, and about Jayaprakash Narayan's ideas of partyless democracy and decentralised economy. - The Rhodes seminar was the third in a Congress for Cultural Freedom series (after Vienna and Venice), organised with Ford Foundation assistance. - Indian participants formed the largest national contingent, including Asoka Mehta (co-Director), M. R. Masani, D. R. Gadgil, V. K. Narasimhan, Raghavan Iyer, and Daya Krishna. - Kukrit Pramoj (Thailand) and Maung Maung (Burma) gave contrasting national accounts of democratic breakdown. - A debate over two-party versus multi-party systems saw Jakobson of Denmark and Raymond Aron push back on Gaitskell's/Strachey's British-centric model, with Aron noting India as a case of democracy functioning under one dominant party. - The seminar's consensus shifted toward prioritising public liberties over representative institutions as such, following Daya Krishna's framing paper. - Gunnar Myrdal argued for building autonomous and semi-autonomous 'infra-structure' institutions below parliament, though participants warned these could become strongholds of reaction in backward areas. - International participants expressed strong interest in India's attempt to combine democracy with rapid economic progress, and curiosity about Jayaprakash Narayan's partyless democracy and decentralised economy. ### "People's Communes" Of China *By by Adam Adil* Adam Adil's article describes the Chinese Communist Party's 1958 drive to merge agricultural cooperatives into 'people's communes,' which fuse industry, agriculture, exchange, education, and militia functions under unified Party control. Drawing on official Chinese sources (New China News Agency, People's Daily, Red Flag, Red Star), the piece details how communes strip peasants of remaining private property (homes, gardens, animals, tools) in exchange for wage labour and communal mess-halls, with wages docked for members judged insufficiently 'diligent' or ideologically enthusiastic. By the end of August 1958, 38,478 cooperatives had been converted into 1,378 communes covering 99.98% of peasant households in one province, with the process being extended rapidly nationwide. Adil frames this as the deliberate destruction of family life and rural diversity in the name of eliminating rich/poor, urban/rural, and peasant/intellectual distinctions — quoting the Red Star's admission that levelling is being achieved not by raising the poor to the standard of the well-off but by dragging the well-off down to the level of the masses. - China's 'people's communes' merge agricultural cooperatives with appropriated private property (homes, gardens, livestock, tools) into a single unit combining industry, agriculture, education, and militia functions under Party control. - Commune members are paid wages but can have pay docked or be 'educationally criticised' for insufficient diligence, and must contribute unpaid labour and meet ideological conditions to qualify for bonuses. - By end of August 1958, official figures cited show 38,478 cooperatives converted into 1,378 communes covering 99.98% of peasant households in one province. - Adil argues the supply/coupon system for communal mess-halls replaces household grain allocation, eroding the family as an economic unit. - The article quotes Red Star's claim that equalisation in Chinese society is being achieved by levelling down the well-off to the standard of the masses, not by raising the poor up. ### India, Bhutan And China *By by S. Sharangpani* S. Sharangpani's article uses Prime Minister Nehru's visit to Bhutan to examine India's strategic stake in the Himalayan buffer states of Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan, given rising Chinese pressure following the loss of Tibetan autonomy. The piece traces the history of India's (and previously Britain's) treaty relationships securing these states' independence from Chinese claims — the 1890 Anglo-Chinese treaty over Sikkim, the 1910 Anglo-Bhutanese treaty, and the 1914 Simla Convention fixing the McMahon Line — while noting China never ratified the McMahon Line and continues to depict Bhutan and the Nefa region as Chinese territory on official maps. Sharangpani frames Bhutan as strategically critical (18,000 square miles, 14 Himalayan passes into Tibet) and warns that some Bhutanese are showing signs of ideological drift toward 'red Tibet' as China builds roads and military bases in southern Tibet. Nehru's visit — the first by an Indian premier — is read as overdue evidence of active Indian engagement, including advice to Bhutan to restrict outside access and a pledge of Indian aid for economic development and direct road links between India and Bhutan. - Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan form a Himalayan buffer between India and China; Sikkim and Bhutan are Indian protectorates while Nepal is sovereign. - Historical treaties (1890 Anglo-Chinese, 1910 Anglo-Bhutanese, 1914 Simla Convention/McMahon Line) established British and then Indian control over these states' foreign affairs, but China never ratified the McMahon Line. - Chinese official maps continue to show Bhutan and the Nefa region as part of Chinese territory, which the article treats as evidence of continuing Chinese intransigence. - Some sections of the Bhutanese population are reported to be growing 'indifferent' and absorbing tendencies from communist-ruled Tibet as China builds roads and military bases in southern Tibet. - Nehru's visit to Bhutan (the first by an Indian Prime Minister) is presented as a needed signal of Indian engagement, including advice against admitting too many outsiders and pledges of economic aid and new road links. ### France Bows To De Gaulle *By by Ida Dhami* Ida Dhami's article analyses the outcome of France's September 28, 1958 constitutional referendum, in which 85% of voters turned out and 80% endorsed the new Fifth Republic constitution, including 83% turnout and 93% 'yes' votes in Algeria despite FLN calls for a boycott. Dhami reads the overwhelming metropolitan French vote as an emotional 'blank cheque' given to de Gaulle by a public exhausted by a decade of political instability and economic stagnation, while attributing the surprising Algerian result to a mix of colon support for integration, war-weary Moslem voters distrustful of the FLN, and confidence in de Gaulle's long-declared liberal instincts on Algeria. She notes the new constitution grants the President near-unlimited transitional powers, and reports on de Gaulle's Constantine speech outlining a five-year economic and social programme for Algeria (land redistribution, mining and housing schemes, education, wage increases), while he deliberately avoided committing to a specific political status for Algeria. The piece concludes that the referendum's true significance lies less in solving France's problems than in demonstrating a decisive rejection of both political chaos and communist influence, noting the French Communist Party's losses including the defeat of Maurice Thorez and Jacques Duclos in their own constituencies. - France's September 28, 1958 referendum saw 85% turnout and 80% approval nationally for the new Fifth Republic constitution. - In Algeria, 83% of voters turned out and 93% voted 'yes' despite the FLN's call for a boycott, a result Dhami calls 'all the more remarkable' given de Gaulle's silence on his Algerian solution. - The new constitution grants the President near-unlimited powers during a transitional phase before a new Parliament is established. - De Gaulle's Constantine speech proposed a five-year programme for Algeria covering land redistribution, mining and housing development, education, and wage increases, while avoiding a clear statement on Algeria's ultimate political status. - The French Communist Party suffered notable losses, including the defeat of leaders Maurice Thorez and Jacques Duclos in their own constituencies. ### Review: The Blue Ants (by Robert Guillain) *By Ida Dhami* Ida Dhami reviews Robert Guillain's 'The Blue Ants' (Secker & Warburg, London, 1957), a before-and-after account of Maoist China by a French journalist who had known Kuomintang China. Dhami frames the book as essential reading if 'Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai' is to be more than a slogan, since good-neighbour policy requires accurate understanding of China. She summarises Guillain's account of China's material achievements (elimination of flies, begging, prostitution; rising industrial investment and production) set against the human cost: the destruction of individual opinion, family life, and traditional culture under 'commissar censorship,' the persecution of intellectuals via forced collectivisation ('the Law of the peasant'), and the imposition of 'socialist realism' in art and literature. She highlights Guillain's argument that Chinese communism is not a distinct, milder variant of Russian communism but explicitly modelled on and subordinate to it, contra those in India who hope for a Sino-Soviet divergence. Dhami calls the book an 'honest and unprejudiced' account valuable to Indian readers assessing China's growing regional impact, though she notes Guillain's original Le Monde articles were, in her view, more stimulating in style. - The review frames accurate understanding of Maoist China as a precondition for a genuine Sino-Indian 'Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai' relationship rather than a mere slogan. - Guillain's book documents both China's material/social achievements (no flies, begging, prostitution) and the human costs of ideological regimentation, censorship, and loss of individual opinion. - The review disputes the figure Guillain cites for China's reinvestment rate (20% of revenue vs. India's over 10%), suggesting inaccuracy in comparison. - Guillain argues Chinese communism is an extension of, not a distinct rival to, Russian communism, contrary to hopes some in India hold for a Sino-Soviet split. - Dhami praises the book as an honest, unprejudiced account valuable for Indian readers assessing China's regional impact, though she found Guillain's earlier Le Monde series more stylistically engaging. ### I.C.C.F. News A short I.C.C.F. (Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom) news item on p.11 reports three events: a Jack Teagarden Sextet jazz concert arranged by the Patna Group on October 14 at Lady Stephen's Hall; a public lecture by young Hungarian writer Tibor Meray on 'The Hungarian Prospects' in Bombay on October 10, chaired by H. R. Pardiwala; and a talk by Dr. Daya Krishna of Saugar University on October 24 about the discussions at the Rhodes seminar on 'Representative Government and Public Liberties in New States,' introduced by V. B. Karnik. - The Patna Group of the I.C.C.F. hosted a Jack Teagarden Sextet jazz concert on October 14. - Hungarian writer Tibor Meray lectured in Bombay on October 10 on 'The Hungarian Prospects,' chaired by H. R. Pardiwala. - Dr. Daya Krishna of Saugar University gave a talk on October 24 reporting back on the Rhodes seminar discussions, introduced by V. B. Karnik. ### With Many Voices The closing 'With Many Voices' column (p.12) is a compilation of contemporary press quotations, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson, on the state and prospects of democracy in Asia and beyond. It juxtaposes Indian political figures' contradictory assessments (Ananthasayanam Ayyangar declaring parliamentary democracy '100 per cent' successful in India, and separately noting neither Lenin nor Stalin ever stood for election; Jayaprakash Narayan calling the party system 'totally unsuited to India') with foreign commentary questioning democracy's viability in Asia (C. L. Sulzberger, News Chronicle London) and remarks from Asian and international leaders — President Iskander Mirza of Pakistan defending his extra-constitutional 'sanction of my conscience' and view that 'democracy without education is hypocrisy without limitation'; U Nu of Burma rejecting guided democracy; S. Bandaranaike of Ceylon downplaying military takeovers as 'teething troubles'; Nehru on industrialisation as a shared god of both communist and non-communist industrial states; and M. S. Golwalkar of the RSS comparing Kerala's Communist government to 'foreign rule.' - The column compiles contradictory Indian assessments of democracy's health: Ayyangar calling it '100 per cent' successful versus JP Narayan calling the party system 'totally unsuited to India.' - President Iskander Mirza of Pakistan is quoted defending his seizure of power as resting on 'the sanction of my conscience' and calling democracy without education 'hypocrisy without limitation.' - Burmese PM U Nu is quoted rejecting 'guided democracy' even as his own government had just fallen to military rule. - Nehru is quoted twice: on industrialisation as a shared 'god of the machine' across communist and non-communist states, and on hunger mattering more than freedom 'except in odd individuals.' - RSS chief M. S. Golwalkar is quoted comparing Communist rule in Kerala to 'foreign rule' because communists look to foreign countries for guidance. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff080/ ### Summary This is issue No. 80 of Freedom First (January 1959), a monthly published in Bombay by the Democratic Research Service for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. In the rendered pages the issue opens with S. R. Mohan Das's polemic against the government's abrupt decision to nationalise wholesale foodgrain trade, reading it as a symptom of unaccountable, Prime-Minister-driven policymaking and a step toward a 'socialistic pattern of society.' Kurt Gratz's travel report 'Weekend In Budapest' describes everyday scarcity and black-market economics in Hungary two years after the 1956 uprising. An unsigned 'Notes' section comments on the political vacuum in post-monarchy Iraq, the removal of Soviet security chief Ivan Serov, and Mao Zedong's stepping down as PRC chairman. K. K. Sinha analyses the shifting balance between the Congress party and a fractious 'Leftist' bloc (led organisationally by the CPI) in West Bengal after the 1957 elections, with statistical appendices on population, refugees, and party vote shares. Adam Adil's 'Mao's Short-cut To Communism' is a detailed and hostile account of China's people's-commune system as forced collectivisation and family destruction.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 80 of Freedom First (January 1959), a monthly published in Bombay by the Democratic Research Service for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. In the rendered pages the issue opens with S. R. Mohan Das's polemic against the government's abrupt decision to nationalise wholesale foodgrain trade, reading it as a symptom of unaccountable, Prime-Minister-driven policymaking and a step toward a 'socialistic pattern of society.' Kurt Gratz's travel report 'Weekend In Budapest' describes everyday scarcity and black-market economics in Hungary two years after the 1956 uprising. An unsigned 'Notes' section comments on the political vacuum in post-monarchy Iraq, the removal of Soviet security chief Ivan Serov, and Mao Zedong's stepping down as PRC chairman. K. K. Sinha analyses the shifting balance between the Congress party and a fractious 'Leftist' bloc (led organisationally by the CPI) in West Bengal after the 1957 elections, with statistical appendices on population, refugees, and party vote shares. Adam Adil's 'Mao's Short-cut To Communism' is a detailed and hostile account of China's people's-commune system as forced collectivisation and family destruction. An institutional report, 'Life In East Germany,' compiled by the Congress for Cultural Freedom's West Berlin refugee centre, recounts professionals' testimonies of political coercion under the East German regime. The issue closes with 'Visitors To India,' a news digest on lecture tours by Frode Jakobson, Sidney Hook, and Arthur Koestler, and 'With Many Voices,' a page of quoted press commentary on Indian and world politics. The volume's throughline, in the rendered pages, is anti-communist and anti-statist commentary spanning Indian economic policy, Chinese and Eastern European communism, and West Bengal party politics. ## Essays ### The Spectre Of State Monopoly *By S. R. Mohan Das* S. R. Mohan Das argues that the Nehru government's sudden decision to have the state take over wholesale foodgrain trade — reversing its own earlier rejection of the Asoka Mehta Committee's recommendation — exposes a deeper problem: policy in India is made unilaterally and dramatically by the Prime Minister rather than through visible, accountable deliberation. He likens the move to 'burning a house down to rid it of termites' and traces a parallel logic in Defence Ministry truck-manufacturing contracts. The essay closes by warning that Nehru's rhetoric about a 'socialistic pattern of society' and readiness to 'sweep away' obstacles reveals an ideological partisanship that threatens democratic values in India. - The Asoka Mehta Food Enquiry Committee had recommended state trading in foodgrains, but the government initially rejected this and instead adopted a milder procurement-doubling plan. - The Prime Minister then reversed this position abruptly and unilaterally at the National Development Council, without public debate on aims and scope. - The Hindu (Madras) is quoted criticizing the 'hurried and casual manner' in which the decision was taken. - The author frames this as evidence that the real locus of policymaking in India is the Prime Minister's personal initiative, not institutional process. - A parallel is drawn with Defence Ministry truck-manufacturing contracts, where a 'mere 2,000 trucks' rationale is used to justify future nationalisation claims. - Nehru's declared goal of a 'socialistic pattern of society' and threat to 'sweep out' obstacles 'with broomsticks' is read as revealing an ideological partisanship inconsistent with democratic commitments. ### Weekend In Budapest *By Kurt Gratz* Kurt Gratz's travel report, reproduced from New Leader, describes a weekend visit to Budapest roughly two years after the 1956 uprising. He contrasts the city's faded elegance with pervasive shortages, absurd black-market price differentials for imported goods across Communist-bloc countries, restricted internal travel, and a fatalistic unwillingness among Hungarians to save money given the risk of devaluation or confiscation. The piece ends with the observation that tourists leaving Hungary become suddenly eloquent in denouncing the Communist dictatorship once they cross into Austria. - Budapest in 1958 is compared to Vienna in 1949: people are not starving but consumer goods, especially imports, are scarce, expensive, or of poor quality. - Black-market currency and goods arbitrage flourishes between Communist bloc countries (e.g., coffee, wristwatches, nylon shirts) due to artificial official exchange rates. - Internal travel within Hungary, e.g. to the Austrian border region, requires special permission and is tightly guarded with watchtowers, machine guns, barbed wire and minefields. - A Hungarian worker ('Laszlo') faces an unannounced 16 percent wage cut with no possibility of striking in protest. - There is a general feeling of helplessness and disappointment that the West did not intervene to aid the 1956 uprising. - The government has rebuilt war/uprising-damaged streets to look exactly as before, papering over the physical evidence of 'the events' (the Communist-preferred term for the uprising, avoiding 'revolution'). ### Notes (Whither Iraq?; Exit Serov; Mao Steps Down) An unsigned 'Notes' section covers three international developments. 'Whither Iraq?' surveys the unstable post-monarchy political situation, noting arrests of pro-Nasser figures by Brigadier Kassem and warning that Kassem's reliance on Communists to consolidate power is allowing Iraqi Communists and fellow-travellers to entrench themselves in the Defence, Press, Propaganda and Judicial departments, alarming other Arab leaders. 'Exit Serov' discusses the removal of Soviet security chief Ivan Serov as a milestone in post-Stalin purges, contrasting his fortune in surviving his post (unlike predecessors Yagoda, Yezhov, and Beria) with his brutal record, including suppression of the Hungarian uprising. 'Mao Steps Down' speculates on the reasons behind Mao Tse-tung's decision to relinquish the PRC chairmanship, linking it to setbacks over Quemoy/Matsu and unrest surrounding the people's communes programme, and notes that even Khrushchev privately called the Chinese commune system 'actually reactionary.' - Brigadier Kassem's post-revolution Iraq is described as an uneasy equilibrium in which Colonel Aref and other pro-UAR, pro-Nasser figures have been arrested. - Kassem's reliance on Communists to hold power has let Iraqi Communists gain control of Defence, Press, Propaganda, and Judicial departments, alarming Cairo and other Arab leaders. - Ivan Serov's removal as Chairman of the Committee of State Security is read as another step away from the police state, though his eventual fate (unlike predecessors) remains uncertain. - Serov is described as having overseen mass deportations of Baltic, Ukrainian, Polish, Caucasus, Crimean and East German populations, and playing a leading role in suppressing the Hungarian uprising. - Mao's resignation of the state chairmanship (while retaining Party chairmanship) is analysed as possibly linked to setbacks over Quemoy and Matsu and internal Party criticism over the pace of the communes programme. - Khrushchev is reported to have privately described the Chinese communes system as 'actually reactionary' in conversation with U.S. Senator Humphrey. ### West Bengal—Problems And Prospects *By K. K. Sinha* K. K. Sinha examines West Bengal's political landscape after the 1957 general election, in which the Congress consolidated rural strength but was seriously weakened in Calcutta and refugee areas by a 'Leftist' bloc within which the CPI had become the dominant, organising force. He analyses the CPI's strategy of embedding itself in the leftist coalition before asserting political dominance over it, the PSP's growing wariness of Communist co-option, and major grievances (refugee rehabilitation, food prices, unemployment, sanitation) driving unrest. He closes by warning that if democratic groups fail to distinguish themselves from the Communists on democratic and libertarian grounds, conditions favour a Communist takeover in the province; statistical appendices on population, refugees, and 1952/1957 party vote shares follow. - Congress retained its rural base in the 1957 West Bengal election but was badly weakened in Calcutta, suburban towns, and refugee areas. - The Leftists' total assembly strength rose from 94 (before 1957) to 100 of 252 seats, with the CPI's own strength rising from 28 to 46, making it the dominant force within the Leftist alliance. - The CPI's strategy is described as embedding itself within the broader leftist movement first, then gradually asserting dominance, playing rival groups against each other. - Major unresolved grievances include the refugee problem, high cost of living, unemployment, and sanitation/housing pressures from migration into Calcutta. - The PSP is shown becoming wary of Communist co-option post-Hungary/Nagy execution/Yugoslavia break/Pasternak episode, taking steps to distinguish itself from the CPI. - The author's prescription: democratic groups must emphasise democratic and libertarian values in contrast to totalitarianism to isolate the Communists politically and ideologically and avert a Communist takeover. - Statistical appendices give 1951/1957 population figures, refugee counts (31.63 lakhs in West Bengal, 2.64 lakhs in camps), and comparative 1952/1957 party vote and seat shares. ### Mao's Short-cut To Communism *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil offers a hostile, detailed account of China's people's-commune system following a Chinese Communist Party Central Committee resolution to extend communes to every city and rural area. He describes communes as total collectivisation of land, factories, schools, housework and meals, comparing the scheme to a form of colonialism (citing demographer Dr. S. Chandrasekhar) and arguing it destroys family life, individual choice, and personal property. The essay details forced 'volunteering,' militarised daily routines (citing the Chao Yin commune's dawn assembly-bell regimen), the 'Saturday-night system' limiting conjugal privacy, and disposal of the elderly dead as fertiliser in some Kwantung communes. It concludes that the commune programme has produced only uniformity of poverty rather than raised living standards, and questions whether Mao will succeed given rising discontent. - A CCP Central Committee resolution declared the people's commune the permanent 'basic unit' of the future communist society, to be extended to cities as well as villages. - Communes pool not just land and implements but factories, schools, nurseries, housework and meals — described as forced collectivisation abandoned by the Russians as impractical in 1933. - Over 120 million households (99%+ of peasant households) are claimed to have joined communes; some rural communes reportedly have up to 300,000 members. - Joining a commune requires surrendering all personal property; members become 'all-purpose production units' subject to militarised daily schedules. - The 'Saturday-night system' allows married couples only occasional, scheduled privacy in factory dormitories. - In some Kwantung communes, the bodies of deceased elderly residents are reportedly processed into fertiliser. - The author argues communes have redistributed poverty downward rather than raising living standards, and questions whether rising discontent will force the CCP to abandon or slow the scheme. ### Life In East Germany This unsigned institutional report, compiled from testimonies gathered at a Congress for Cultural Freedom refugee centre in West Berlin (opened since September 1958 for intellectuals fleeing East Germany), documents patterns of political coercion in East Germany. It recounts cases of a music professor, a lawyer, a physician, a Protestant clergyman, a gynecology professor, and an art museum director, each pressured to conform to Party expectations (informing, propaganda work, ideological conformity) at the cost of their careers, and describes children compelled to join Communist youth organisations. A second portion notes that despite hardship, former East Germans retain small civilities ('please' and 'thank you') absent from 'Communist officialdom.' - The Congress for Cultural Freedom set up a West Berlin centre in September 1958 for refugee intellectuals fleeing East Germany. - None of the refugees interviewed left for material reasons — many had enjoyed high salaries and privileged status (e.g. a Dresden Conservatory music professor with three concert pianos). - Children are pressured from an early age to join the 'pioneers' or the R.D.J. ('Free German Youth'); refusal brings discrimination at school. - Specific professional cases: a lawyer refusing to let his office be used as secret police headquarters; a physician ordered to head an electoral propaganda committee; a Protestant clergyman who resigned his ministry rather than see supporters publicly vilified; a Catholic gynecology professor transferred for his faith; an art museum director accused of failing to sufficiently praise the Soviet Union in his writing. - A veterinarian fled after criticizing discriminatory treatment of peasant proprietors versus collective farms; his wife was later jailed for 'smuggling' his typewriter to him. - Refugees at the Congress house are struck that ordinary civility ('please,' 'thank you') persists in West Berlin daily life but had disappeared from East German officialdom. ### Visitors To India A news digest, 'Visitors To India,' reports on the December visits of three foreign intellectuals: Frode Jakobson (who toured Calcutta, Madras, Kerala, Bombay, Poona and Delhi, meeting Dr. B. C. Roy, E. M. S. Namboodiripad, and Prime Minister Nehru, and lecturing on democracy and socialism), Prof. Sidney Hook (who lectured widely on 'Dialectical Materialism,' 'Freedom and Responsibility,' and 'The Meaning of Democracy' across Calcutta, Banares, Lucknow, New Delhi, and elsewhere under Congress for Cultural Freedom and university auspices), and Arthur Koestler (whose Bombay itinerary of receptions and lectures for January 1959 is listed). - Frode Jakobson toured Calcutta, Madras, Kerala, Bombay, Poona and Delhi in November–December, meeting West Bengal CM Dr. B. C. Roy, Kerala CM E. M. S. Namboodiripad, and PM Jawaharlal Nehru. - Jakobson lectured on 'Communism and the Intellectual,' Scandinavian democracy, and 'Socialism and Ethics.' - Prof. Sidney Hook (NYU) arrived in Calcutta on December 1 after touring Japan, Burma and the Philippines, lecturing on 'Dialectical Materialism,' 'Science and Human Wisdom,' 'Freedom and Responsibility,' 'The Meaning of Democracy,' and 'Philosophical Basis of Modern Economics' across multiple Indian cities. - Hook attended the annual session of the Indian Philosophical Congress in Ahmedabad and was scheduled in India until January 10, with further stops in Bangalore, Madras and Poona. - Arthur Koestler arrived in Bombay on December 30 for a programme of receptions and lectures organised by Marathi, Gujarati and Hindi writers' organisations, the PEN All-India Centre, the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, and Bombay University, running through January 8. ### With Many Voices 'With Many Voices' is a compilation of quoted press commentary, prefaced by a Tennyson epigraph, gathering statements from Indian and international newspapers on democracy, communism, and world affairs — including remarks on the threat of 'a communist dictatorship installing itself through constitutional means,' demographer Dr. S. Chandrasekhar's comparisons of Chinese communes to a zoo or beehive and his description of Chinese communism as 'a new colonialism,' and commentary from figures such as D. R. Mankekar, Michael Adams, Tom Mboya, and Ghana's Prime Minister Nkrumah. - The page opens with a Tennyson epigraph ('The deep / Moans round with many voices...') framing the compilation. - D. R. Mankekar (Indian Express) warns that the threat to Indian democracy comes 'not from bullets but the ballot' — a communist dictatorship installing itself through constitutional means. - Dr. S. Chandrasekhar is quoted multiple times comparing China's communes to a 'zoo' and 'beehive' and describing the loss of individual freedom there as 'a new colonialism' and 'the greatest tragedy of modern China.' - Michael Adams (Manchester Guardian Weekly) frames Iraq as the current battleground between Arab nationalism and the Communist East. - Ghana's Prime Minister Nkrumah warns that colonialism and imperialism may return 'in different guise, not necessarily from Europe.' - Dr. K. Shridharani is quoted describing V. K. Krishna Menon as 'an orphan of Indian politics' and Nehru as 'Democracy's Tito.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff079/ ### Summary This is issue No. 79 (December 1958) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service (Bombay), edited and published by V. B. Karnik. The issue is a Cold War-inflected miscellany of signed articles, editorial "Notes," and a reader-quotes column, unified by anti-communist and pro-cultural-freedom polemic. Its center of gravity is the Boris Pasternak affair: J. B. H. Wadia's lead essay denounces the Soviet persecution of Pasternak after his Nobel Prize and forced renunciation, and the issue closes with a joint statement by prominent Indian writers (Tarasankar Banerjee, Buddhadeva Bose, and others) alongside a separate statement by M. R. Masani, Sophia Wadia, J. B. H. Wadia, and other Bombay-based liberals protesting his treatment. A companion piece, "The Tashkent Writers' Conference" by "Atreya," recounts the fractious Indian delegation to the Soviet-hosted Afro-Asian Writers' Conference at Tashkent, alleging communist manipulation of delegate selection and agenda.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 79 (December 1958) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service (Bombay), edited and published by V. B. Karnik. The issue is a Cold War-inflected miscellany of signed articles, editorial "Notes," and a reader-quotes column, unified by anti-communist and pro-cultural-freedom polemic. Its center of gravity is the Boris Pasternak affair: J. B. H. Wadia's lead essay denounces the Soviet persecution of Pasternak after his Nobel Prize and forced renunciation, and the issue closes with a joint statement by prominent Indian writers (Tarasankar Banerjee, Buddhadeva Bose, and others) alongside a separate statement by M. R. Masani, Sophia Wadia, J. B. H. Wadia, and other Bombay-based liberals protesting his treatment. A companion piece, "The Tashkent Writers' Conference" by "Atreya," recounts the fractious Indian delegation to the Soviet-hosted Afro-Asian Writers' Conference at Tashkent, alleging communist manipulation of delegate selection and agenda. Daniel Bell reports from an international seminar in Vienna on workers' participation in management, comparing co-determination in Germany/Austria, workers' councils in Yugoslavia and Poland, and British trade-union resistance to the idea. Philip Spratt reviews new documentary evidence that German government funds financed the Bolsheviks in 1917, drawing a pointed contemporary parallel to Soviet subsidy of the Indian Communist Party. Raymond Postgate surveys new books on Soviet cultural life and British Communist intellectuals, arguing that a diet of Stalinist orthodoxy has left even sympathetic critics unable to think clearly. The editorial "Notes" section criticizes Nehru-era planning ("the disease of giganticism"), the Hindustan Steel project, the Krishna Menon defence-ministry controversy, and the spread of military dictatorship in Asia and Africa (the Sudan coup). "With Many Voices" collects short, often barbed quotations from the Indian press on Nehru, planning, and Soviet-Indian relations, plus a note on forthcoming Indian visits by Frode Jacobsen, Sidney Hook, and Arthur Koestler. ## Essays ### Boris Pasternak *By By J. B. H. Wadia* J. B. H. Wadia's lead essay is an impassioned protest against the Soviet campaign to vilify Boris Pasternak after Doctor Zhivago's publication and his award of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Wadia traces the arc from the 1954 announcement of the novel's forthcoming publication and initial acclaim, through the sudden official reversal that recast Pasternak's work as unworthy of the 'Communist ideal,' and reads this as proof that the post-Stalin 'thaw' was illusory. He appeals to Indian writers' associations, including near-communist organisations, to publicly protest Pasternak's treatment, and quotes two lines from Doctor Zhivago on freedom and bondage. The essay ends by casting Pasternak as 'the skylark of Russian literature,' closing with a stanza from Shelley's 'Ode to a Skylark' and an expression of confidence that Pasternak's voice will outlast his persecutors. - Wadia denounces the Soviet campaign against Pasternak as 'this latest act of crass infamy' by the Russian communists. - He recounts the 1954 announcement in Znamya of Dr. Zhivago's forthcoming publication and ten poems, followed by acclaim, then a sudden reversal branding the work unworthy of 'the Communist ideal.' - He calls the post-Stalin 'thaw' a mirage, arguing communist tactics move predetermined 'from vilification to victimisation and from victimisation to alas! liquidation.' - He appeals to Indian writers' and poets' associations, including near-communist organisations, to hold meetings and pass resolutions of protest. - He quotes Pasternak's Dr. Zhivago on freedom ('A man who is not free will always idealise his bondage') as an epitome of the novel's philosophy. - The essay closes by naming Pasternak 'the skylark of Russian literature' and quoting Shelley's 'Ode to a Skylark.' ### Notes (Disease Of Giganticism; Story Of Bungling; Defence Controversy; Democracy In Asia; And Now Economic Bandung!) The unsigned editorial 'Notes' section covers four topics: Nehru's speech in Bhopal denouncing the 'disease of giganticism' in development planning and his call for smaller, more locally responsive projects; a Parliamentary debate exposing cost overruns, delays, and mismanagement at the three simultaneously-built Hindustan Steel plants; the controversy over Defence Ministry transactions implicating V. K. Krishna Menon, calling for a high-level inquiry and separation of supply from defence; and the Sudan military coup as an instance of a broader trend toward military dictatorship displacing fragile democracies across Asia and Africa, followed by criticism of the planned Cairo 'Economic Bandung' conference as another communist-aligned front organisation. - Nehru's Bhopal speech denounced 'the disease of giganticism' in planning, criticizing large projects for failing to secure popular cooperation and for uprooting families. - The editorial welcomes this as a possible shift ahead of the Third Five-Year Plan, favoring smaller projects with quicker returns. - The Hindustan Steel debate revealed estimate overruns of over 45%, schedule slippage, and poor supervision across the three simultaneously built steel plants. - The editorial argues gigantism itself, not just execution, caused the problem, since one giant organisation was created instead of three separate boards. - The Defence Ministry controversy around Krishna Menon-era transactions is treated seriously, with a call for a high-level inquiry into supply/defence separation and underutilised factory capacity, while cautioning that the Minister's personality should not block scrutiny. - The Sudan coup is read as confirming a regional pattern (Pakistan, Iraq) of democratic collapse driven by internal instability rather than external causes. - The Cairo Afro-Asian Economic Congress ('Economic Bandung') is criticized as another in a series of Soviet-aligned front conferences following the Afro-Asian Solidarity Conference and the Tashkent 'Writers' Bandung.' ### The Tashkent Writers' Conference *By By "Atreya"* Writing under the pseudonym 'Atreya,' this piece reconstructs the controversy surrounding India's delegation to the Soviet-hosted Tashkent Conference of Afro-Asian Writers. It alleges that the Indian Preparatory Committee, formed under Mulk Raj Anand, Tarashanker Banerjee, and Jainendra Kumar Jain, was packed with communist and pro-Soviet writers who bypassed Union Minister Humayun Kabir as delegation leader in favour of the more pliable Banerjee, provoking the resignation of Jain and two other committee members. The article compiles press accounts (Times of India, Amrit Bazar Patrika, the pro-Soviet weekly Link) describing a conference where the agenda was altered to foreground political themes over literary ones, where two Indian delegates (Gopal Haldar and Sant Singh Sekhon) cooperated with the agenda revision without the delegation's knowledge, and where a permanent Colombo-based bureau was voted into being over Indian delegation objections. It closes by noting the irony that despite Boris Pasternak's direct relevance to the conference's themes of literary freedom, neither the organisers nor the Indian delegation leader had much to say about his case. - An Indian Preparatory Committee (Mulk Raj Anand, Tarashanker Banerjee, Jainendra Kumar Jain) organised the delegation to the Tashkent Afro-Asian Writers' Conference; Jain and two others (R. S. Dinkar, V. R. Narala) resigned, alleging the committee was packed with communist and pro-communist writers. - The dissenters charged that Tarashanker Banerjee was chosen as delegation leader specifically to bypass Union Minister Humayun Kabir, who was seen as less 'pliable.' - Multiple press sources (Times of India, Amrit Bazar Patrika, the pro-Soviet Link) are quoted describing mismanagement in delegate selection and a conference agenda that shifted from literary to overtly political themes. - Two Indian delegates, Gopal Haldar and Sant Singh Sekhon, are named as having cooperated in revising the agenda 'behind the collective back of the Indian delegation.' - Mulk Raj Anand and Tara Shankar Banerjee had assured Indian writers and reportedly Prime Minister Nehru that the conference would be non-political, an assurance the article says was not honoured. - The conference voted, over Indian objections, to create a permanent Colombo bureau; the Indian delegation was described as 'bewildered and shocked.' - The piece closes by noting that Soviet officials at a Moscow reception characterised Gandhi as a 'bourgeois reactionary' and Nehru as an instrument of Western imperialism, and remarks on the delegation's near-silence on Boris Pasternak's case. ### Visitors To India Daniel Bell, American labour journalist and newly appointed Professor of Sociology at Columbia, reports on an international seminar on 'Workers' Participation in Management' organised by the Congress for Cultural Freedom in Vienna (September 19-25). Surveying experiments across Europe -- co-determination in Germany and Austria, workers' councils in Yugoslavia and Poland, joint consultation in Britain, and worker-communal arrangements in Italy and India (the Tata enterprises) -- Bell contrasts sharply differing national positions. British trade unionists (represented by Hugh Clegg) rejected worker participation in management as a confusion of roles, preferring an independent, adversarial union stance ('democracy by consent'). German/Austrian co-determination was described as anomalous, since unions bargain nationally while works councils operate independently within plants. Yugoslav and Polish delegates defended their workers'-council systems despite acknowledged imperfections, disputing claims (from Professor Adolf Sturmthal) that the councils lacked real authority. Bell's own paper, with Eric Trist and Paul Barton, argued that meaningful worker control belongs at the level of the job itself -- pace, rhythm, production standards -- rather than in macro-level bargaining, and that alienation would not be resolved merely by changing formal property relations, contra Marxist theory. He closes by praising the seminar's freedom from dogmatism and citing Raymond Aron's thesis of 'the End of the Age of Ideology.' - The Congress for Cultural Freedom convened an international seminar in Vienna on 'Workers' Participation in Management,' drawing scholars, union officials, and journalists from twenty countries. - Hugh Clegg (Nuffield College, Oxford) argued for British unions' 'democracy by consent' via independent adversarial bargaining, rejecting 'democracy through participation' as a confusion of roles. - German/Austrian co-determination law gives unions a co-equal voice on plant boards, but Bell calls this anomalous since union roots lie outside the plants themselves. - Yugoslav delegates (A. Deleon, Dr. Pasich) defended workers'-council authority against Professor Adolf Sturmthal's contention that councils lacked real power over key decisions. - Polish workers' councils, unlike Hungary's, arose as a deliberate movement by young intellectuals in 1956, but have since been absorbed into government-dominated unions under Gomulka. - Bell's own paper (with Eric Trist and Paul Barton) argued worker control should focus on the job itself -- pace, rhythm, production standards -- rather than macro-level participation schemes. - Bell cites Raymond Aron's argument that this is 'the End of the Age of Ideology,' with old political dogmas losing explanatory purchase. - Dr. Trist presented experiments on autonomous work groups in British coal mines and Indian textile mills as evidence for the viability of group-decision processes. ### Revolutions And Foreign Money *By By Philip Spratt* An unsigned notice, 'Visitors to India,' announces three notable foreign visitors arriving in December 1958: Frode Jacobsen, the Danish Social Democrat and former anti-Nazi resistance leader, who will tour India studying village life; the American philosopher and political scientist Prof. Sidney Hook, visiting under a Ford Foundation fellowship to study oriental religions and philosophy and to lecture at several universities and a Philosophical Conference in Ahmedabad; and novelist Arthur Koestler, author of Darkness at Noon, who will spend time in Kerala and Bombay before returning to Delhi and Calcutta. - Frode Jacobsen, Danish Social Democrat leader and former anti-Hitler resistance member, will visit Bombay and Delhi before continuing to Karachi. - Prof. Sidney Hook will tour Calcutta, Banaras, Lucknow, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Poona, and Madras on a Ford Foundation fellowship to study oriental religions and philosophy. - Arthur Koestler, author of Darkness at Noon, will arrive in Bombay in late December, travel to Kerala, then return via Bombay, Delhi, and Calcutta. ### Light On The Communist Scene *By By Raymond Postgate* Philip Spratt reviews newly available German archival documents (published in Germany and the Revolution in Russia, 1915-1918, ed. Z. A. B. Zeman) bearing on long-standing claims that Imperial Germany financed the Bolshevik Revolution. Drawing on the Times Literary Supplement's review and Professor L. Schapiro's rebuttal of a more skeptical reviewer, Spratt lays out evidence that Parvus arranged transfers of several million marks from the German Treasury to the Bolsheviks via various channels, that the Bolsheviks' finances were desperate before May 1917 and suddenly flush afterward, and that German Foreign Minister Kuhlmann later stated in a memo intended for the Kaiser that Bolshevik success depended on German funding. Spratt concludes it is 'almost certain' the Bolsheviks were financed mainly by German money in the crucial six months before the October Revolution, and pivots to a contemporary warning: that Soviet Russia now subsidises the Communist Party of India 'to a substantial extent,' urging the Indian public to be more alert to this danger. - New documents from captured German archives (ed. Z. A. B. Zeman) reopen the question of German financing of the Bolshevik Revolution. - Parvus arranged for the German Treasury to allocate two million marks (later raised to five million) for revolutionary work in Russia via intermediaries including Lenin. - German Foreign Minister Kuhlmann's December 1917 statement, intended for the Kaiser, asserted that steady German funding enabled the Bolsheviks to build up Pravda and expand their base. - Professor L. Schapiro's review is said to prove, via intercepted telegrams and Soviet-published letters, that Lenin received money from German agents, contra a more skeptical TLS reviewer who dismissed Kuhlmann as unreliable. - Spratt estimates at least two allocations of five million marks each (1915 and April 1917), equating 1917 marks to 'much more than a crore of 1958 rupees.' - Spratt concludes the Bolsheviks 'ran mainly on German money' in the six months before November 1917, and that without this money 'the revolution would never have taken place.' - The article closes by drawing a direct parallel to the present: that Russia subsidises the Communist Party of India, and the Indian public should be more alert to this danger. ### Indian Writers On Boris Pasternak *By Statement by Tarasankar Banerjee et al.; and by Madame Sophia Wadia, M. R. Masani et al.* Raymond Postgate reviews two books illustrating the intellectual condition of committed communists and pro-Soviet writers in 1958. The first, The Soviet Cultural Scene 1956-1957 (essays from the journal Soviet Survey, ed. W. Z. Laqueur and G. Lichtheim), Postgate reads as evidence that the post-Stalin cultural 'thaw' was minor and largely illusory -- Soviet sociology, he notes, barely exists, and official rhetoric remains crude and dogmatic even on subjects like Freudianism and Impressionist painting. The second, Professor Hymen Levy's Jews and the National Question, is presented as a case study of a British Communist intellectual whose faith has been shaken by events but who still parrots naive Stalinist positions, including a claim that Madame Furtseva has defended a numerus clausus principle in the Soviet Civil Service. Postgate finds Levy's reflections 'weak' and 'ignorant' despite his erudition, and closes (continuing onto page 12, not rendered here) with a comparison to Tibor Dery's novel Niki. - Postgate reviews The Soviet Cultural Scene 1956-1957 (ed. Laqueur and Lichtheim), a compilation of Soviet Survey essays on Soviet literature, arts, history, philosophy, and social science. - He argues the post-Stalin cultural 'thaw' produced only a small, ephemeral renaissance, with continuing ideological cliches about Freudianism, art, and the West. - He notes Soviet sociology 'does not exist' -- no social surveys, no participant observation, no serious stratification studies. - He reviews Professor Hymen Levy's Jews and the National Question as a specimen of the intellectual damage caused by prolonged exposure to Stalinist orthodoxy. - Levy is described as constructing 'an imaginary secret history' in which Stalin's persecution of Jews resulted from American 'provocation.' - Postgate notes Levy claims Madame Furtseva has defended the numerus clausus principle in the Soviet Civil Service, while acknowledging continuing persecution of Jews in the USSR. - Postgate invokes Earl Attlee's remark to the late Professor Laski that silence and contemplation, not further apologetic writing, are what is presently required. ### With Many Voices Two companion statements protesting the Soviet treatment of Boris Pasternak following his Nobel Prize. The first, signed by a group of Indian writers including Tarasankar Banerjee, Buddhadeva Bose, Nihar Ranjan Ray, and others, calls Pasternak's expulsion from the Soviet Writers' Union proof that the post-20th-Congress cultural thaw is over, insists that Dr. Zhivago's literary merit is for readers everywhere to judge, and appends a dissenting note from Dr. Nihar Ranjan Ray disputing that Pasternak is a 'great' writer while affirming the principle of freedom of the writer and artist. The second statement, signed by Sophia Wadia, M. R. Masani, A. A. Kanekar, K. P. Kulkarni, Gulabdas Broker, Ramanand Sagar, Ratanlal Joshi, and J. B. H. Wadia, protests the Soviet campaign of vilification, Pasternak's expulsion from the Writers' Union, and the pressure that forced him to decline the Nobel Prize, calling it evidence that literary judgment has been subordinated to political considerations. - A group of Indian writers (Tarasankar Banerjee, Buddhadeva Bose, Nihar Ranjan Ray, Kazi Abdul Wadud, and others) issued a joint statement condemning Pasternak's expulsion from the Soviet Writers' Union. - The statement argues the expulsion means a complete black-out from the literary scene and likely loss of his house and livelihood. - It insists no verdict on a work of art by one person can be final, and that books must be accessible first to readers in the author's own language. - Dr. Nihar Ranjan Ray appends a dissent, disagreeing that Pasternak is 'great' or a 'genius,' while affirming the principle of freedom of the writer and artist. - A second statement (Sophia Wadia, M. R. Masani, A. A. Kanekar, K. P. Kulkarni, Gulabdas Broker, Ramanand Sagar, Ratanlal Joshi, J. B. H. Wadia) protests the vilification campaign and Pasternak's forced refusal of the Nobel Prize. - This second statement notes the Nobel committee also awarded three Russian scientists the Physics prize (accepted without controversy), arguing this proves the literary award's rejection was politically motivated. ### Essay 9 'With Many Voices' is a recurring column of short, pointed quotations culled from the Indian press, epigraphed with lines from Tennyson. This installment collects remarks on the 'Stalemate State' and 'disease of giganticism' in Indian planning, Nehru's own use of that phrase, Giani Zail Singh's comment on the emotional Indo-Soviet friendship, Professor Mahalanobis on Soviet aid without strings, K. A. Abbas on Indian communists' ambivalence toward Nehru, and criticism of the slander campaign against the Kerala government (P. C. Joshi) alongside sardonic remarks from M. P. Vazifdar and John Scott. A subscription coupon and the issue's colophon (edited/printed/published by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service) follow, along with the continuation of Postgate's review discussing Tibor Dery's novel Niki and the fate of Hungarian writers under the restored Kadar regime. - The column quotes 'Parasara' in the Indian Express calling the Welfare State a 'Stalemate State.' - It quotes Prime Minister Nehru's own description of 'the disease of gigantism' as 'showing off and doing things that way.' - Giani Zail Singh, M.P., is quoted describing Indo-Soviet friendship as 'of an emotional nature.' - Professor Mahalanobis is quoted arguing Russia can give aid 'without strings' since it is not directly interested in military objectives. - K. A. Abbas is quoted on Indian communists tolerating Nehru chiefly for his foreign policy despite past denunciations of him as 'a running dog of imperialism.' - P. C. Joshi is quoted calling the slander campaign against the Kerala Government 'the greatest single danger to Indian democracy today.' - The continuation of Postgate's review (from page 10) discusses Tibor Dery's novel Niki and notes his imprisonment by the restored Kadar government despite international protest. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff081/ ### Summary This is the February 1959 issue (No. 81) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service published from Bombay and edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is a miscellany of short essays and reports united by a classical-liberal, anti-communist editorial stance: it scrutinises the Indian National Congress's Nagpur session and its embrace of a 'socialist pattern of society' and cooperative/joint farming, surveys communist manoeuvring in West Asia and Iraq, reports on internal dissent within the Polish Communist Party over 'revisionism,' mocks the credibility of Chinese production statistics and the coercive economics of Chinese communes, attacks Indian land-reform and cooperative-farming policy as a disguised copy of Chinese collectivisation, examines a Kerala government committee on the 'role of the police in a welfare state' as a possible vehicle for Communist Party control of policing, and closes with a page of press quotations under the recurring feature 'With Many Voices.' Contributors include V. B. Karnik, Adam Adil, K. A. Jelenski, M. A.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the February 1959 issue (No. 81) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service published from Bombay and edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is a miscellany of short essays and reports united by a classical-liberal, anti-communist editorial stance: it scrutinises the Indian National Congress's Nagpur session and its embrace of a 'socialist pattern of society' and cooperative/joint farming, surveys communist manoeuvring in West Asia and Iraq, reports on internal dissent within the Polish Communist Party over 'revisionism,' mocks the credibility of Chinese production statistics and the coercive economics of Chinese communes, attacks Indian land-reform and cooperative-farming policy as a disguised copy of Chinese collectivisation, examines a Kerala government committee on the 'role of the police in a welfare state' as a possible vehicle for Communist Party control of policing, and closes with a page of press quotations under the recurring feature 'With Many Voices.' Contributors include V. B. Karnik, Adam Adil, K. A. Jelenski, M. A. Venkata Rao, and Ravi Prasad, alongside unsigned notes and advertisements for allied publications (Democratic Research Service, Quest, Encounter). ## Essays ### The Spell Of Slogans *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's 'The Spell of Slogans' is a critical review of the Indian National Congress's annual session at Nagpur (1959). Karnik questions the expense and purpose of holding mass 'Melas'-like sessions in the post-independence era, argues that the controversy over the 'socialist pattern' and 'goal of socialism' is a semantic distraction since the term has 'lost all precise meaning,' and focuses his sharpest criticism on the session's agrarian resolution mandating cooperative joint farming, ceilings on land holdings, and abolition of intermediaries by the end of 1959. He reports that U.P. Revenue Minister Charan Singh mounted forceful opposition to the resolution in the Subjects Committee, and that Congress President Dhebar's warnings on the primacy of agriculture were dismissed by the Prime Minister as 'irrelevant.' Karnik concludes that Congress leaders remain wedded to doctrinaire slogans rather than realistic, evidence-based policy, and that only careful thinking rather than sloganeering will let India avoid replicating Russian, Chinese, or American models by rote. - Questions whether costly, mass-attended Congress sessions serve any purpose in post-independence India beyond spectacle. - Argues the 'socialist pattern'/'goal of socialism' debate is semantically empty and shouldn't distract from evaluating concrete measures. - Reports the Nagpur session's core resolution: cooperative joint farming, land ceilings, abolition of intermediaries by end of 1959, organised via village panchayats and cooperatives. - Notes U.P. Revenue Minister Charan Singh's forceful floor opposition to state trading in foodgrains and to ceilings/joint cultivation. - Cites the Prime Minister's own admission that the Second Plan fell short of agricultural targets, and Congress President Dhebar's warnings on agricultural primacy being dismissed as 'irrelevant.' - Criticizes lack of a realistic approach to the public/private sector debate despite acknowledging their interdependence. - Frames the whole session as evidence Congress leadership 'refuse to learn from experience' regarding failed collectivisation in Russia, Poland, and China. ### West Asia In Turmoil *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil's 'West Asia in Turmoil' surveys the collapse of Pan-Arab unity following the 1958 Syria-Egypt merger, attributing the fragmentation to civil war in Lebanon, the fall of the Iraqi monarchy, regime change in Sudan, and the Nasser-Bourguiba split. The essay's central argument is that the 'arch enemies' of Arab nationalism are not the traditional monarchs but Iraq's revolutionary regime and communists across the Arab world, who work covertly (citing Syrian Communist Party head Khalid Bakdash's writings in 'World Marxist Review') to keep the Arab world divided and vulnerable to Soviet or Chinese domination. Adil details communist infiltration of Iraqi government positions under Brigadier Kassam, mass arrests of communists in Egypt and Syria, and argues that improved relations between Arab states and the West are now more likely than a genuine, durable Pan-Arab unity, given the shared threat of communist encroachment. - Argues Pan-Arabism has weakened due to the Lebanese civil war, Iraq's monarchy collapse, Sudan's regime change, and the Nasser-Bourguiba rift. - Identifies Iraq's revolutionary leadership and Arab communists, not traditional monarchs, as the real threat to Arab nationalist unity. - Cites Khalid Bakdash (Syrian Communist Party) arguing communists must retain the 'key role of the proletariat' even while allying with bourgeois nationalists like Nasser. - Reports approximately 150 communists arrested in Egypt and 300 in Syria in three weeks, read as a positive sign for regional stability. - Details heavy communist infiltration of the Iraqi government under Brigadier Kassam, including control of press, radio, and television. - Notes a UAR-Britain financial agreement brokered by World Bank President Eugene Black as a sign of improving West-Arab relations. ### "Victory" At A Price *By K. A. Jelenski* K. A. Jelenski's '"Victory" At A Price' analyses a secret stenographic record of the Twelfth Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Polish Communist Party (published in Warsaw, November 1958, for internal party use), which had by early 1959 reached the West. The record reveals that Gomulka's post-1956 economic model survived neo-Stalinist attacks (which pointed approvingly to China's example) at the cost of a crackdown on intellectual and cultural 'revisionism.' Jelenski quotes extensively from Gomulka, Marxist philosopher Adam Schaff, and Stalinist writer Leon Kruczkowski to show the party's shared hostility toward writers and intellectuals who favoured socialism but resisted total party control over thought — 'revisionists' accused of forming a 'ghetto' of leftist café intellectuals divorced from the working class. The essay closes by noting that many of the intellectuals under attack were the same Polish writers who had courageously denounced Stalinism's crimes, quoting one 1956 statement (from an unnamed 'famous poet') that freedom of speech is 'the primary condition for all creative work.' - Reports on a leaked secret Polish Communist Party Central Committee stenographic record (Twelfth Plenary Session, published Warsaw Nov. 1958). - Gomulka's economic model (reduced investment rate, decollectivised countryside, adopted 1956) survived neo-Stalinist attacks that cited China's example favourably. - The 'victory' in economic policy was purchased by falling into line on cultural/ideological repression of 'revisionist' intellectuals. - Quotes Gomulka's own definition of revisionism as intellectuals who favour socialism but 'refuse the Party the right to have complete control over life and the human conscience.' - Quotes Marxist philosopher Adam Schaff on using Western sympathy for revisionists as a propaganda tool, and Stalinist writer Leon Kruczkowski defending administrative/censorship methods. - Frames the repressed Polish writers as the same figures who had bravely denounced Stalinist crimes, drawing an implicit parallel to the contemporaneous Pasternak affair in the USSR. ### Some Wonders Of Chinese Statistics / Chinese Communes This unsigned piece, 'Some Wonders of Chinese Statistics,' catalogues a series of implausible production figures reported in Chinese state media during the Great Leap Forward — including a claimed rice yield of 60,437 catties per mow, 10.7 million tons of steel from native methods, tobacco plants 'as tall as a man,' claims of up to 20,000,000 rice plants per mow, a single county's coal output exceeding a two-year target in 19 hours, and a soya bean yield '143 times the 1957 national' record. The author cites an internal New China News Agency report acknowledging that Chinese statistical work is explicitly designed to 'serve the political struggle' rather than record actual conditions, using this admission to argue that all such figures should be read as propaganda rather than fact. - Surveys a string of extraordinary Chinese agricultural and industrial production claims from 1958 media reports (rice, steel, coal, soya beans). - Quotes an internal Chinese directive stating statistical work must 'conform with the requirements of the Party' rather than record actual conditions. - Uses this admission as proof that Great Leap Forward statistics are propaganda instruments, not empirical data. - Highlights a Shantung soya bean yield claimed at '143 times the 1957 national' record and 1500 katties of ash fertiliser use as physically implausible. - Questions the economic rationality of the fertiliser inputs described relative to claimed yields. ### Why "Co-operative" Farming? *By M. A. Venkata Rao* The unsigned 'Chinese Communes' note summarises an article by Loh Keng-mo, Vice-Chairman of China's State Planning Commission, published in Ching Chi Yen Chin, describing the 'supply system' of payment (fixed food/clothing ration plus variable cash) used in Chinese communes and the wide variance in consumption-versus-accumulation ratios across different communes in Honan province. The piece concludes that communes function chiefly to funnel the bulk (about seventy percent) of agricultural output to the state via forced accumulation and taxation, with collective kitchens, nurseries, and abolition of private property serving to mobilize all labour, including women, for production — and judges that by this measure the Chinese government has 'succeeded in its objectives.' - Summarises Loh Keng-mo's (Vice-Chairman, State Planning Commission) article on the commune 'supply system' of remuneration. - Reports commune income variance in Honan province: e.g., 65-74 Yuan per year per member across different communes, with accumulation rates from 13.5% to 70% of output value depending on commune type. - Argues collective kitchens, nurseries, and abolition of private property exist to mobilise all women for productive labour and enable accumulation. - Concludes about 70% of agricultural/subsidiary output value goes to state accumulation or taxes, with only 30% consumed by commune members. - Frames the communes' true purpose as making produce directly available to the government, judged a success by the reporter. ### A Letter from Kerala: Subversion Of The Police? *By Ravi Prasad* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Why "Co-operative" Farming?' argues that Indian land reform's push toward cooperative/collective joint farming is not aimed at freeing the agricultural producer but at enabling the socialist state to seize control of the harvest. Drawing an extended parallel to Chinese land reform — which he describes as beginning with the violent liquidation of landlords, followed by dispossessing the newly landed peasants via mutual-aid teams and 'low and high grade' cooperatives, ending with peasants reduced to wage-slave status under supervisors and work quotas — Venkata Rao warns that India's own cooperativisation drive, motivated by Second Plan foreign-exchange pressures and the arms race with Pakistan, risks repeating this trajectory. He criticizes Indian delegations (naming Mr. R. K. Patil and Mr. Krishnappa) for whitewashing coercive Chinese methods as 'non-violent and democratic,' and proposes an alternative: strengthening independent peasant proprietorship supported by Rochdale- and Danish-style service cooperatives, citing Japan, West Germany, and Denmark as models, rather than forced collectivisation. - Argues cooperative/collective joint farming is designed to let the socialist state capture the harvest, not to free or benefit the peasant producer. - Traces a three-stage pattern from Chinese land reform: liquidation of landlords, dispossession of new peasant-holders via mutual-aid teams and graded cooperatives, and final reduction of the peasant to a supervised wage-hand. - Criticises Indian official delegations (R. K. Patil and Krishnappa named) for certifying coercive Chinese methods as non-violent and democratic. - Links India's cooperativisation push to Second Five-Year Plan foreign-exchange pressures and the arms race with Pakistan. - Proposes an alternative of strong independent peasant proprietorship aided by Rochdale/Danish-style service cooperatives, citing Japan, West Germany, and Denmark as models. - Frames total destruction of private property in industry, commerce, land, and transport as the shared totalitarian goal of Chinese communism and the article warns is being replicated in India. ### With Many Voices Ravi Prasad's 'A Letter from Kerala: Subversion of the Police?' reports on a Kerala government committee appointed to examine 'the role of the Police in a welfare state,' formed in the aftermath of a 1958 Tea Plantation strike where police firing killed a worker and drew nationwide Communist condemnation of the (Communist-led) Kerala government. Prasad scrutinises the committee's broad terms of reference — including whether police should be guided by 'public aspirations' (which he suspects is code for Communist Party aspirations), whether use of firearms should be curtailed, whether to create a 'village police' tied to panchayats the Communists are trying to capture in upcoming elections, and rumours of 'progressive literature' study classes being introduced into Special Police Establishment camps. He concludes that after 21 months of Communist rule, Kerala's education system, administrative machinery, and cooperative/trade union movements have already been corroded, and wonders whether the police department is 'the next item on the agenda.' - Reports the background to a Kerala government committee on 'the role of the Police in a welfare state,' prompted by a 1958 Tea Plantation strike and police firing that killed a striker. - Notes the committee lacks employer, landlord, or capital representation, and flags 'public aspirations' as a phrase that may function as Communist Party code. - Examines the question of whether police firearm use should be curtailed, framed as a possible Communist tactic to neutralise the police as a check on party 'fireworks.' - Raises suspicion over proposed Police Advisory Committees and a village police tied to panchayats, given Communist ambitions to capture 75% of Kerala panchayats in the 1959 elections. - Cites rumours that 'progressive literature' and study classes have been introduced into Special Police Establishment camps under guise of cultural/recreational programmes. - Concludes that after 21 months of Communist rule, education, administration, and cooperative/trade union sectors in Kerala have been corroded, questioning whether the police is next. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff082/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 82 (March 1959), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service edited by V. B. Karnik, is a Cold War-inflected liberal miscellany combining domestic agrarian polemics with international commentary on communism. The centrepiece is M. R. Masani's "The Wrong Road," a sustained attack on the Congress government's Nagpur resolution on joint cooperative farming, which he argues is collective farming in disguise and a step toward Soviet-Chinese-style regimentation of the peasantry. The issue's unsigned Notes section surveys communist manoeuvring in the Arab world, the political crisis in Burma, India's population problem, and a Congress rift in Andhra Pradesh. International contributions include Ignazio Silone on the Pasternak/Doctor Zhivago affair, an anonymous report on newly approved Soviet criminal-law statutes, Harry Goldberg (condensed from American Federationist) on the communization of China's peasantry into people's communes, and an unsigned analysis of shifting communist strategy toward Nasser and Arab nationalism. The issue closes with two book reviews (of Maulana Azad's India Wins Freedom and A. D.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 82 (March 1959), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service edited by V. B. Karnik, is a Cold War-inflected liberal miscellany combining domestic agrarian polemics with international commentary on communism. The centrepiece is M. R. Masani's "The Wrong Road," a sustained attack on the Congress government's Nagpur resolution on joint cooperative farming, which he argues is collective farming in disguise and a step toward Soviet-Chinese-style regimentation of the peasantry. The issue's unsigned Notes section surveys communist manoeuvring in the Arab world, the political crisis in Burma, India's population problem, and a Congress rift in Andhra Pradesh. International contributions include Ignazio Silone on the Pasternak/Doctor Zhivago affair, an anonymous report on newly approved Soviet criminal-law statutes, Harry Goldberg (condensed from American Federationist) on the communization of China's peasantry into people's communes, and an unsigned analysis of shifting communist strategy toward Nasser and Arab nationalism. The issue closes with two book reviews (of Maulana Azad's India Wins Freedom and A. D. Gorwala's Not in Our Stars) and a quotations column, "With Many Voices," plus the statutory ownership statement naming V. B. Karnik as printer, publisher, and editor. ## Essays ### The Wrong Road *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's "The Wrong Road" opens the issue with a polemic against the Nagpur Congress resolution's plan for joint cooperative farming. Masani distinguishes genuine cooperation (credit, marketing, or input-sharing cooperatives that leave the peasant owning and cultivating his own land) from what he calls disguised collective farming of the Soviet-Chinese type, in which pooling land into a big farm eliminates real property rights regardless of the label attached. He argues the proposed "share in proportion to land contributed" is a fiction that will collapse into a claim that landowners are unearned "functionless owners," leaving them with nothing but a worthless paper title. He marshals comparative wheat and rice yield statistics (USA, USSR, UK, Denmark, Japan) to rebut the claim that bigger farms raise production, cites the reversal of collective farming in Yugoslavia and Poland, quotes Aneurin Bevan's warning to India against the Chinese path, quotes Charan Singh on the psychological limits of voluntary joint farming, and cites Jayaprakash Narayan's own admission that the Koraput gramdan experiment failed because peasants want to farm their own land. Masani concludes that forced joint farming would require coercion and violence, would increase rural unemployment, and would divert the country from constructive tasks like irrigation and better seed; the article is continued and concluded on page 11, where Masani rebuts the Prime Minister's charge that critics of cooperative farming are misleading the peasantry, invokes the National Sample Survey's 1954-55 landholding statistics, and closes by naming Rajagopalachari, Jayaprakash Narayan and K. M. Munshi as among the patriotic critics of the scheme. - Distinguishes genuine cooperation (credit, inputs, marketing) from Soviet-Chinese-style collective farming disguised as 'joint cooperative farming' - Argues the Nagpur resolution's promised property rights for pooled land are illusory ('a scrap of paper') - Uses comparative wheat/rice yield statistics across USA, USSR, UK, Denmark, Japan to argue small farms already out-produce large ones - Cites Yugoslavia's 1957 abandonment of collective farming and Poland's liquidation of 80% of its collective farms as evidence of failure - Quotes Aneurin Bevan warning India against following the Chinese cooperative path, and Charan Singh on the limits of voluntary joint farming given human nature - Cites Jayaprakash Narayan's admission that the Koraput gramdan experiment failed because peasants wanted their own land - Warns that enforced joint farming would require coercion and violence and would increase rural unemployment rather than reduce it - Concludes (in the page-11 continuation) with 1954-55 National Sample Survey landholding data and defends Rajagopalachari, Jayaprakash Narayan, and K. M. Munshi as legitimate critics, not deceivers of the peasantry ### The Lesson Of Pasternak *By Ignazio Silone* The unsigned "Notes" section covers four short topics. "Communist Machinations" describes the deteriorating relationship between Moscow and Cairo, noting Khrushchev's attack on Nasser for arresting Iraqi and other Arab communists, and interprets Soviet rhetoric about pan-Arab unity as a divisive tactic aimed at exploiting the split between Baghdad and Cairo. "Situation in Burma" analyses General Ne Win's resignation as Prime Minister over his inability to hold elections by the promised deadline, assessing the balance of power between the 'Stable' and 'Clean' factions of the AFPFL and arguing Ne Win should remain in office to preserve stability until free elections can be held. "Population Problem" reports on the sixth International Conference on Planned Parenthood held in New Delhi, quoting Sir Julian Huxley's warning that India's population growth is 'explosive' and could mean 'political and social disaster,' and calls for government investment in cheap contraceptives and a public propaganda campaign. "Rift in Andhra" discusses defections from the Congress Legislative Party in Andhra Pradesh, warning that the resulting instability could be exploited by the Communist Party of India to make Andhra 'fall a victim to communist subversion' after Kerala. - Communist Machinations: traces the cooling of Moscow-Cairo relations after Khrushchev's Congress speech accused Nasser of being 'reactionary' for arresting Arab communists - Frames Soviet rhetoric about pan-Arab unity as a deliberate strategy to divide the Arab world and prevent unified resistance to communist penetration - Situation in Burma: analyses Ne Win's resignation over his failure to secure free elections by the promised date, and the AFPFL's 'Stable' and 'Clean' faction alignment - Argues Ne Win should stay in power roughly six months to a year to preserve stability pending elections, despite his government not being fully democratic - Population Problem: reports Julian Huxley's warning at the New Delhi Planned Parenthood conference that India's population growth rate is 'explosive' - Calls on government to fund research into cheap, safe contraceptives and mount a public propaganda campaign for birth control - Rift in Andhra: reports Congress defections in Andhra Pradesh being welcomed by CPI leader Basava Punniah as strengthening 'democratic forces' - Warns that the Andhra Congress rift could let communists consolidate power there in the way they did in Kerala ### What's Happening In China? *By Harry Goldberg* Ignazio Silone's "The Lesson of Pasternak" reflects on the international storm over Boris Pasternak's persecution in the USSR and his forced rejection of the Nobel Prize for Doctor Zhivago. Silone argues that the global outcry demonstrated the existence of a transnational community of writers and artists ('Weltliteratur' in Goethe's phrase) whose solidarity transcends national boundaries, and defends Western intellectuals' right to intervene in what might appear to be another country's internal affairs when the freedom of art itself is at stake. He excoriates the Moscow Writers' Union's campaign against Pasternak as more shameful than the Spanish Inquisition ('an assembly of 800 writers condemning a novel without having read it'), speculates that Khrushchev, alarmed by international reaction, quietly restrained the harsher Zhdanovist elements, and closes by reading Pasternak's own conciliatory letter to Khrushchev with sympathetic skepticism, noting its emphasis on native soil (recalling the Blut und Boden trope) sits oddly against the internationalism of Russian Communism's own founders. Silone concludes that Doctor Zhivago will survive all polemics as literature's revenge against dictatorship. - Frames the global outcry over Pasternak's persecution as evidence of a transnational community of writers ('Weltliteratur') larger than any single nation - Defends Western intellectuals' right and duty to intervene when the freedom of art and the dignity of writers as a class are at stake - Condemns the Moscow Writers' Union's 800-strong condemnation of a novel none of them had read as more shameful than the Spanish Inquisition - Speculates that Khrushchev, alerted to the scandal's international repercussions, quietly moderated the campaign against Pasternak - Reads Pasternak's letter to Khrushchev with sympathy but skepticism, noting the coerced-sounding repetition of 'freely, without violence' disclaimers - Notes the irony of Pasternak's native-soil rhetoric given the internationalist tradition of Russian Communism's own founders - Predicts Doctor Zhivago will outlast the political attacks made against it and its author ### Communists And The Arab World An unsigned report, "Soviet Criminal Law," summarises new statutes approved by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR reforming the framework of Soviet penal law, published in Pravda on December 26 after having circulated in draft form since the previous June. The piece describes reforms since 1953 (sentencing only by regular courts, shifting the burden of proof toward the prosecution, facilitated appeals) alongside continuities (the death penalty retained for treason, espionage, sabotage, terrorism, and banditry; maximum imprisonment reduced from 25 to 15 years but remission rules tightened; age of criminal responsibility raised from 12 to 16 except for serious crimes). It notes political offences remain harshly treated: a new law on state crimes retains the death penalty for treason including simply fleeing the USSR or refusing to return from abroad, and criminalises 'anti-Soviet propaganda' including dissemination of 'slanderous rumours' and banned literature. - New Soviet penal statutes (Principles of Criminal Legislation and Principles of Criminal Procedure) approved by the Supreme Soviet, published in Pravda on December 26 - Reforms since 1953 include sentencing only by regular courts, burden of proof shifting toward the prosecution, and facilitated appeals - Death penalty retained for treason, espionage, sabotage, terrorism and banditry; maximum imprisonment cut from 25 to 15 years but remission eligibility tightened - Age of criminal responsibility raised from 12 to 16 except for the most serious crimes; under-18s and pregnant women exempted from death penalty or deportation - Political offences remain harshly treated: fleeing the USSR or refusing to return from abroad now itself constitutes treason - 'Anti-Soviet propaganda,' including spreading 'slanderous rumours' and banned literature, remains a serious crime alongside 'mass disorders' ### Review: India Wins Freedom (by Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad) *By V. B. K.* Harry Goldberg's "What's Happening in China?", condensed from American Federationist, describes the 1958 'communization' of China's roughly half-billion peasants into fully collectivized people's communes, which by the time of writing had absorbed nearly all peasants outside the previous, less total, farm-collective system. Drawing on Tillman Durdin's New York Times reporting, Goldberg details the communes' abolition of individual and family property, wage-based (rather than share-based) remuneration used as a tool of political control, the replacement of family life with communal mess halls, housing and nurseries, and the communes' militarized, all-encompassing management of agriculture, industry, trade, banking, schools, hospitals and the militia. He argues China's regimentation exceeds anything even the Kremlin attempted, driven by the leadership's obsession with rapid industrialization (e.g., a claimed doubling of steel output), and warns that this total mobilization is oriented toward external expansion, not merely internal control, citing Mao Tse-tung's 1940 remark that 'neutrality is only a term for deceiving people' and a 1957 Chinese Youth Journal article rejecting peaceful coexistence as impossible. - Describes the 1958 communization of China's peasantry into people's communes, launched in April and claimed 90% complete by year's end - Draws on Tillman Durdin's New York Times reporting to detail communes' abolition of private plots, tools, and livestock in favour of collective ownership and fixed wages - Documents the dismantling of family life: communal mess halls, communal housing, nurseries for children, and old-age homes for the elderly - Notes communes are organized 'along military lines' and integrate agriculture, industry, trade, banking, education, health and the militia under unified Party control - Frames the wage system as a tool of political pressure, allocated 'according to labour and political attitude' - Argues the drive is fueled by an obsession with rapid industrialization, citing an announced doubling of steel production in one year - Warns the totally regimented society is oriented toward external expansion, quoting Mao Tse-tung's 1940 remark that neutrality is 'only a term for deceiving people' and a 1957 Chinese Youth Journal rejection of peaceful coexistence ### Review: Not In Our Stars (by A. D. Gorwala) *By N. M. K.* The unsigned article "Communists and the Arab World" examines whether the communist line in the Arab world is shifting from alliance with nationalist leaders like Nasser toward more direct reliance on Communist Parties. It reviews attacks on Nasser in Unita and l'Humanite following his crackdown on communists in the UAR, situates this within a broader Soviet reassessment (since a September 1953 policy of courting 'national bourgeois' leaders) of whether nationalist bourgeois leadership can be trusted to lead anti-imperialist struggles, and concludes that Soviet directives are now warning that a nationalist movement's bourgeois leadership risks compromising with imperialists. The piece argues that, in the long term, Soviet interests are better served by a weak and divided Arab world than a strong unified Arab state, and suggests the USSR may be covertly encouraging factions in Iraq and Syria that oppose a Nasser-led merger, indicating a possible shift toward more active support for Arab Communist Parties even while maintaining cordial state-to-state relations with Nasser. - Traces increasingly open attacks on Nasser in Italian (Unita) and French (l'Humanite) Communist Party organs following his arrest of Iraqi and Egyptian communists - Situates this within a Soviet policy dating to September 1953 of courting 'national bourgeois' neutralist leaders in Asia and the Middle East with aid, regardless of their anti-communism - Notes Soviet ideologists are now being told the national bourgeoisie is 'unfit to lead the national liberation struggle' because it may compromise with imperialists or turn anti-communist - Argues Soviet long-term interests favour a weak, divided Arab world open to communist penetration over a strong unified Arab state under Nasser - Suggests the USSR may be covertly encouraging Iraqi factions opposed to merger with Egypt and Syrian factions favouring closer ties with Iraq - Notes continuing surface cordiality (Khrushchev's New Year greetings to Nasser, Qasim and Nehru) even as the underlying strategic calculus shifts ### With Many Voices Under the standing "Review" heading, a reviewer signed V. B. K. assesses Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad's posthumously published India Wins Freedom, calling it a disappointing autobiography that is essentially a bald record of Azad's public activities without insight into the social forces shaping the era or Azad's own personality. The review criticizes Azad for having remained Congress president and a Working Committee member for years despite disagreeing with the organisation's positions on the war effort, the Quit India movement, and the Cabinet Mission Plan, contrasting his conduct unfavourably with M. N. Roy and Rajagopalachari who resigned rather than stay in positions they could not agree with. It faults Azad's harsh, uncorroborated accusations against Sardar Patel (including partial blame for Gandhi's assassination) and Azad's claim that Patel and Rajendra Prasad were 'entirely the creation of Gandhiji,' arguing the description better fits Azad himself. A second, shorter review signed N. M. K. covers A. D. Gorwala's Not in Our Stars (Jaico Publishing House), a collection of Gorwala's newspaper columns on population control, foreign policy, and communist infiltration, praising Gorwala as a fearless, cogent critic of the government's ostensibly non-aligned but Soviet/China-leaning foreign policy, and noting that a regular column of his was once suddenly discontinued under pressure from persons in authority. - Reviews Maulana Azad's India Wins Freedom as a disappointing, superficial autobiography lacking insight into personality or the social forces of the era - Criticizes Azad for staying in the Congress presidency and Working Committee for years while disagreeing with the organisation on the war, Quit India, and the Cabinet Mission Plan - Contrasts Azad unfavourably with M. N. Roy and Rajagopalachari, who resigned their positions rather than remain while disagreeing - Faults Azad's unfair, unrebuttable accusations against the late Sardar Patel, including partial blame for Gandhi's assassination - Argues Azad's own eminence, like Patel's and Rajendra Prasad's, derived entirely from Gandhiji's backing - Separately reviews A. D. Gorwala's Not in Our Stars as a cogent, bold collection of columns on population control, foreign policy and communist infiltration - Praises Gorwala as a courageous, disinterested critic whose column was once suppressed under pressure from persons in authority ### Essay 8 "With Many Voices," the closing quotations column (epigraph from Tennyson), assembles brief press quotations from public figures on current affairs, including Justice Sinha on the danger of citizens breaking unjust laws, Home Minister G. B. Pant on India's non-aligned aid policy, Khrushchev on uncommitted countries, Jayaprakash Narayan on the necessity of dictatorship for revolutionary change through state power, K. K. Shah crediting V. K. Krishna Menon with shaping the Avadi socialism resolution, Maulana Azad (from India Wins Freedom) on Krishna Menon's bad advice to Nehru, General Ne Win on the corrupting effect of prolonged power, Pakistan's ambassador Mohammed Ali, and A. D. Gorwala on the propitious conditions for communists with Krishna Menon at Defence and Indira Gandhi heading the Congress machine. The page also carries the statutory "Statement About Ownership and Other Particulars of Freedom First," naming V. B. Karnik as printer, publisher and editor and the Democratic Research Service as owner, dated 1 March 1959. - Compiles press quotations on Indian and world politics from figures including Justice Sinha, G. B. Pant, Khrushchev, Jayaprakash Narayan, and K. K. Shah - Quotes Maulana Azad's India Wins Freedom on Krishna Menon's frequently poor advice to Nehru - Quotes General Ne Win on the corrupting danger of prolonged power - Quotes A. D. Gorwala warning that Krishna Menon at Defence and Indira Gandhi heading the Congress machine make conditions unusually favourable for communists - Includes the statutory ownership statement identifying V. B. Karnik as printer, publisher and editor, and the Democratic Research Service as owner, dated 1 March 1959 --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff083/ ### Summary This is issue No. 83 (April 1959) of Freedom First, the monthly periodical edited, printed and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik in Bombay. In the rendered pages the issue opens with an unsigned editorial and a signed follow-up analysis on the Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule and India's muted official response, followed by a domestic critique of Nehru's cooperative-farming push after the Congress's Nagpur resolution, a report on the fracture between Arab nationalism and communism in Iraq and Egypt, a critical dispatch on rising crime and politicised policing under Kerala's Communist ministry, a notice on the formation of a Bombay-based Committee for Solidarity with Tibet, a long essay-review of the newly published Trotsky's Diary in Exile, a book review of a poetry anthology from behind the Iron Curtain, and a closing miscellany column of quoted press opinion under the recurring title 'With Many Voices.' Across these pieces the volume's argumentative centre is anti-communist and pro-liberal-democratic: skepticism of Nehru's dirigiste and conciliatory tendencies, solidarity with anti-communist national movements abroad (Tibet, Iraq), and alarm at … ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 83 (April 1959) of Freedom First, the monthly periodical edited, printed and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik in Bombay. In the rendered pages the issue opens with an unsigned editorial and a signed follow-up analysis on the Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule and India's muted official response, followed by a domestic critique of Nehru's cooperative-farming push after the Congress's Nagpur resolution, a report on the fracture between Arab nationalism and communism in Iraq and Egypt, a critical dispatch on rising crime and politicised policing under Kerala's Communist ministry, a notice on the formation of a Bombay-based Committee for Solidarity with Tibet, a long essay-review of the newly published Trotsky's Diary in Exile, a book review of a poetry anthology from behind the Iron Curtain, and a closing miscellany column of quoted press opinion under the recurring title 'With Many Voices.' Across these pieces the volume's argumentative centre is anti-communist and pro-liberal-democratic: skepticism of Nehru's dirigiste and conciliatory tendencies, solidarity with anti-communist national movements abroad (Tibet, Iraq), and alarm at what contributors saw as the Communist Party's manipulation of state power in Kerala. ## Essays ### Revolt In Tibet This unsigned lead editorial, 'Revolt In Tibet,' argues that the uprising against Chinese communist rule is a genuine, nationwide people's revolt rather than a localised Khampa disturbance, and criticizes the Indian government and press for suppressing or downplaying early reports. It faults Nehru's description of Tibet as merely 'the Tibet region of China' as diplomatically evasive, insists India has special historic and cultural ties to Tibet, and calls on the government to extend moral support and guarantee asylum to Tibetan refugees despite the risk of angering China. - The Tibetan revolt is characterized as a genuine, broad-based people's uprising, not confined to the Khampas or to outlying regions. - Indian press and officialdom are accused of having suppressed or dismissed early reports of the revolt as exaggerated. - The Chinese are described as having violated covenants guaranteeing Tibet's autonomy and the Dalai Lama's spiritual and temporal powers. - Nehru's phrase describing Tibet as 'the Tibet region of China' is criticized as diplomatically correct but discomforting to Indian sentiment. - The piece calls for India to unequivocally express sympathy for Tibet and to grant political asylum to refugees despite China's likely displeasure. ### Tibetan Crisis And Indian Policy *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju's 'Tibetan Crisis And Indian Policy' argues that India's official 'see no evil, hear no evil' stance on Tibet amounts to apologia for Chinese aggression. It surveys evidence of a genuinely national revolt (citing George N. Patterson's guerrilla-strength estimates), reports of Chinese pressure on the Dalai Lama and his bodyguards, Bhutan's anxious road-building diplomacy with India, and warnings issued to correspondents like Patterson for 'exaggerated' reporting. The essay predicts the revolt will likely be crushed given the disparity in arms, criticizes the Nehru government's suppression of parliamentary debate on the issue, and details Chinese colonisation and indoctrination efforts in Tibet, concluding that the Government of India's policy will remain one of treating the revolt as China's internal affair under the Panchsheel framework. - Indian officials reportedly discouraged Tibetan refugees at Kalimpong from spreading 'rumours' and 'exaggerated reports.' - Nehru's hurried visit to Bhutan and a road-building agreement are read as evidence of anxiety about the Tibetan crisis's regional spillover. - George N. Patterson's reporting (200,000 guerrilla fighters against a 300,000-strong Chinese army) is cited as evidence of a genuinely national revolt including Lamas alongside Khampas. - China is reported to have demanded the Dalai Lama's personal bodyguards be sent to Eastern Tibet and summoned the Dalai Lama to Peking. - The essay predicts the revolt will ultimately be crushed given Chinese superiority in arms, aided by a colonisation programme settling tens of thousands of Chinese youths in Tibetan-bordering regions. - The essay criticizes India's refusal to let Parliament debate the issue on grounds it would constitute interference in China's internal affairs. - It concludes India's policy will remain to treat the revolt as China's internal affair, respecting the 'territorial integrity' of China's 'Tibetan Region' per the Panchsheel principles. ### The Cudgels For Co-operative Farming *By S. R. Mohan Das* S. R. Mohan Das's 'The Cudgels For Co-operative Farming' analyses the controversy that followed the Congress's Nagpur resolution on cooperative joint farming and land ceilings, arguing that criticism of the policy is not opposition to cooperatives as such but to Nehru's abrupt and unprecedented personal championing of joint farming. The essay contends that Nehru single-handedly drives new Congress policy direction, notes the near-total absence of credible successors within the party besides Indira Gandhi, and interprets Nehru's newfound passion for cooperative farming as compensating for the Congress's organisational weakness relative to the Communist Party, especially after the loss of Kerala. It closes by framing the real controversy as a dispute over 'whose dreams' should shape India's future, with critics insisting a large section of the population is entitled to its own vision without being branded 'reactionary.' - The essay argues critics of the Nagpur resolution do not oppose cooperatives in principle but object to the emphasis on cooperative joint farming and its sudden, unexplained rise to a 'passion.' - It attributes the initiative for new Congress policy directions consistently and uniformly to Nehru personally, with the party merely 'accepting' his line. - It notes the paucity of credible successors to Congress president Dhebar within the ruling party, with Indira Gandhi emerging as the sole viable figure. - The essay reads Nehru's passion for cooperative farming as a response to Congress's organisational weakness compared to the Communists, intensified by the loss of Kerala. - It criticizes Nehru for labelling critics 'vested interests' and argues the real controversy is over 'an India of whose dreams' should be pursued. ### Communism In The Arab World *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil's 'Communism In The Arab World' reports on the deepening rift between Arab nationalism, led by Colonel Nasser, and Iraqi communists backed by General Kassim and Moscow, following the failed Mosul revolt led by Colonel Abdul Wahab Shawaf. The essay details Nasser's and Cairo's religious framing of the anti-communist struggle, Islamic clerical condemnations of communism, the political context and failure of Shawaf's uprising against Kassim, and speculates that Soviet backing gives Iraqi communists confidence despite limited popular support, concluding Arab nationalists are wise to combat the communist threat before it is too late. - A clear cleavage has emerged between Arab nationalism (led by Nasser) and communism, intensified by General Kassim's reliance on Iraqi communists. - Religious leaders, including the Rector of Al-Azhar University, issued fatwas condemning communism and calling for a jihad against 'atheistic communism.' - The Mosul revolt led by Colonel Abdul Wahab Shawaf against Kassim's regime is analysed in detail, including Shawaf's eight-point justification and the revolt's ultimate failure due to lack of support from fellow commanders and faulty organisation. - Communists in Iraq are said to enjoy limited genuine popular support but are emboldened by Soviet backing and are purging nationalists from the civil service and army. - The essay concludes that Arab nationalism, given proper organisation, is positioned to present a formidable front against Soviet-backed communist expansion in West Asia. ### Letter From Kerala *By Ravi Prasad* Ravi Prasad's 'Letter From Kerala' argues, using the state Police Department's own annual report, that opposition claims of rising 'lawlessness' and 'insecurity' under Kerala's Communist ministry are substantiated by data showing sharply increased murder, dacoity, robbery and theft rates alongside a falling detection rate. The essay details the Communist government's liberal remission and release of prisoners upon taking office, the withdrawal of hundreds of criminal cases (many involving Party members or fellow-travellers), and a new police policy discouraging intervention in 'working people's struggles,' concluding these policies directly enabled the crime increase the government now downplays. - The state Police Department's official report for the period confirms opposition claims of rising lawlessness under the Communist ministry, showing a fall in detection rates from 41% to about 27%. - Murder cases rose from 173 in 1956 to 254 in 1957 (the year the Communists took power) and 273 in 1958; dacoity, robbery and theft figures show similar increases. - Upon taking power the Communist ministry granted liberal remission to 1,366 prisoners, releasing 425 immediately, including 34 political prisoners, celebrated with garlands and processions. - At least 236 criminal cases, mostly involving communists or fellow-travellers, were withdrawn in 1957 alone, including some murder cases withdrawn on grounds of preserving industrial or political peace. - A new police policy directive told officers that settling industrial and agrarian disputes was 'not the job of the police,' which the essay argues encouraged the crime increase the government now attributes to other causes. ### Solidarity With Tibet This unsigned continuation of the Kerala report describes the controversy over the Communist government's Education Bill and the nationalisation of textbooks, in which an Expert Committee chaired by Mr. Kuruvilla Jacob found rushed syllabus revision, poor production quality, and passages in Malayalam and social-studies textbooks that offended religious sentiment and belittled India's post-Independence achievements relative to China and Russia. The piece contrasts the government's minimising 'brief summary' of the findings with Jacob's own public statements, and notes his subsequent resignation as the government's Honorary Educational Adviser. - The Communist government's Education Bill and nationalisation of textbooks drew warnings from opposition parties and the independent press about possible communist indoctrination. - An Expert Committee under Mr. Kuruvilla Jacob, Headmaster of Madras Christian College High School, was appointed to examine allegations against the new textbooks. - The government's press release ('brief summary') of the Committee's findings claimed no 'planned attempt' at indoctrination was found, while conceding 'a little too much haste' in syllabus preparation. - Jacob's own public statement, issued after the summary's publication, detailed serious defects: hastily revised syllabuses, no criteria given to textbook-writing committees, and passages offending social, religious and political sentiment, particularly in social studies texts that belittled India's achievements relative to China. - Jacob subsequently resigned his position as the government's Honorary Educational Adviser after seeing the education policy's implementation up close. ### Leon Trotsky as Diarist *By Bertram D. Wolfe* This unsigned notice, 'Solidarity With Tibet,' reports the formation in Bombay on March 27 of a Committee for Solidarity with Tibet, chaired by Mr. Asoka Mehta, M.P., with Mr. Frank Moraes (Editor of the Indian Express) elected Chairman and Mr. R. V. Murthy and Mr. Adam Adil as Secretaries. It reproduces the Committee's statement characterizing the Tibetan revolt as a genuine people's uprising against Chinese violation of Tibet's autonomy, expressing India's special concern given historic ties, and calling for public opinion in support of Tibet and for asylum for refugees. - A Committee for Solidarity with Tibet was formed in Bombay on March 27 under the presidentship of Asoka Mehta, M.P. - Frank Moraes, Editor of the Indian Express, was elected Chairman; R. V. Murthy and Adam Adil were elected Secretaries. - The Committee's statement frames the Tibetan revolt as a genuine people's revolt against Chinese violation of commitments to Tibet's national and regional autonomy. - The statement expresses concern that Tibetan resistance cannot withstand fully-armed Chinese troops and hopes the Government of India would grant asylum to refugees. - The Committee calls on the public to join and support its work organising opinion in solidarity with Tibet. ### Review: Back to Life (Poems from Behind the Iron Curtain, ed. Robert Conquest) *By John Wain* Bertram D. Wolfe's essay-review 'Leon Trotsky as Diarist' examines the newly published Trotsky's Diary in Exile (Harvard), covering the sporadic entries Trotsky kept in 1935 while isolated in France after Daladier granted him refuge, plus a Testament written five years later in Mexico shortly before his death. Wolfe describes the diary as melancholy yet psychologically revealing, documenting Trotsky's continued self-certainty and 'infallibility' even in defeat, his mistaken predictions about imminent fascist takeovers in France and Scandinavia, his grief over Stalin's persecution and killing of his family and former collaborators, his startling admission that he and Lenin (not Stalin) ordered the execution of the Tsar's family, and his often contemptuous private judgments of Western socialist and democratic figures like Léon Blum, Ramsay MacDonald and the Webbs. Wolfe concludes that despite personal tragedy, nothing in the diary suggests Trotsky rethought his revolutionary certitudes or the ethic of 'stopping at nothing.' - The 1935 diary was written faute de mieux during Trotsky's isolated, lonely exile in France, consisting of sporadic entries, newspaper-clipping commentary, reading lists, and reminiscences. - Trotsky's 1935 predictions were largely wrong: he expected France to go fascist 'within the year' and believed this would topple England and Scandinavia in turn. - The diary records Stalin's escalating persecution of Trotsky's family and former collaborators, including the suicide of his daughter Zinaida and the eventual killing of his son Lyova. - Trotsky reveals for the first time in the diary that it was he and Lenin, not Stalin, who ordered the execution of Tsar Nicholas and his family, justifying it as 'necessary' for morale and to signal there was no turning back. - The diary contains scornful, often contemptuous assessments of Western left figures: Léon Blum is a 'has-been,' Ramsay MacDonald 'more contemptible than Mussolini,' and Trotsky feels closer kinship with Roehm than with Blum. - Wolfe judges that a five-years-later Testament, written after Trotsky's health collapsed, shows no reconsideration whatsoever of his Marxist certitudes despite the personal and political tragedies recorded in the diary. ### With Many Voices John Wain's review 'Back to Life' assesses Poems from Behind the Iron Curtain, edited by Robert Conquest (Hutchinson), a collection of poems written and published in Russia and Eastern Europe compiled from open literary magazines rather than smuggled manuscripts. Wain praises Conquest's political expertise and the moving quality of the collection while cautioning that literary and translation quality are not, for the moment, the central issue; he singles out Adam Ważyk's 'Poem for Adults' and Gyula Illyés's 'One Sentence on Tyranny' as works that survive translation as considerable literary art, and closes by quoting Boris Pasternak's remark that 'the essential thing in our age is that a new freedom is being born.' - The reviewed anthology, edited by Robert Conquest, gathers poems from Soviet and Eastern European literary magazines rather than smuggled or covertly obtained manuscripts. - Wain frames the collection as evidence that 'humanity is not yet finished' and that the impulse toward poetic freedom persists under authoritarian conditions. - He avoids quoting individual poems, noting the collection's chief value lies in its impression of desperate sincerity rather than polished literary form. - Adam Ważyk's 'Poem for Adults' and Gyula Illyés's 'One Sentence on Tyranny' are singled out as poems that succeed as considerable literary art even in translation. - The review closes by invoking Boris Pasternak's statement that a new freedom is being born, linking the anthology to Pasternak's own persecution and the suppression of his Nobel Prize. ### Essay 10 The closing 'With Many Voices' column compiles brief quotations from contemporary Indian and international press and public figures on the political controversies of the month, spanning criticism of Nehru's neutrality between Congress and the Communist Party, his economic thinking, cooperative farming, Krishna Menon's socialism, Arab nationalism versus communism, and Cardinal Gracius's remarks on Soviet peace rhetoric. - The column collects short press quotations under the recurring title 'With Many Voices,' epigraphed with lines from Tennyson. - Quoted figures include Krishnalal Shridharani, Jaipal Singh M.P., M. R. Masani M.P., C. Rajagopalachari, President Nasser, and Cardinal Valerian Gracius, Archbishop of Bombay. - Several quotes criticize Nehru's economic thinking as outdated ('belongs to Laski and the London School of Economics of the thirties') and his stance on cooperative farming. - One quote from Nehru himself embraces the risk of collectivisation resulting from cooperative joint farming: 'if it leads to that, let it. I am not frightened.' - The column closes with commentary on Arab nationalism's independence from Western instigation in opposing communism, and warns of new 'vested interests' arising among land-holders and industrial stakeholders created by Nehru's policies. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff084/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 84 (May 1959) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is dominated by the Tibetan crisis following the Dalai Lama's flight to India in March 1959: multiple pieces attack China's conduct under Panchsheel, defend India's grant of asylum, and excoriate the Communist Party of India (CPI) for echoing Peking's line. Contributors include V. B. Karnik on Panchsheel and Tibet, S. R. Mohan Das on the CPI's history of subservience to Moscow/Peking, and unsigned correspondent reports on a Calcutta 'Afro-Asian Solidarity' front conference and on internal disarray in the Bombay Communist Party. The issue also carries comparative pieces critical of Soviet- and Nagpur-style agricultural collectivisation (M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Green Against Red' and S. Kabysh's factual survey of Soviet kolkhozes), an item on political prisoners in the USSR, an interview with Algerian nationalist leader Messali Hadj reproduced from The New Leader, and a closing miscellany of press quotations ('With Many Voices') on the Tibet question. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 84 (May 1959) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is dominated by the Tibetan crisis following the Dalai Lama's flight to India in March 1959: multiple pieces attack China's conduct under Panchsheel, defend India's grant of asylum, and excoriate the Communist Party of India (CPI) for echoing Peking's line. Contributors include V. B. Karnik on Panchsheel and Tibet, S. R. Mohan Das on the CPI's history of subservience to Moscow/Peking, and unsigned correspondent reports on a Calcutta 'Afro-Asian Solidarity' front conference and on internal disarray in the Bombay Communist Party. The issue also carries comparative pieces critical of Soviet- and Nagpur-style agricultural collectivisation (M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Green Against Red' and S. Kabysh's factual survey of Soviet kolkhozes), an item on political prisoners in the USSR, an interview with Algerian nationalist leader Messali Hadj reproduced from The New Leader, and a closing miscellany of press quotations ('With Many Voices') on the Tibet question. ## Essays ### Panchsheel And Tibet *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik argues that Panchsheel, though sound in principle, was 'born in sin' because it rested on India's 1954 acceptance of Chinese suzerainty over Tibet in exchange for a promise of Tibetan autonomy that China had already violated by 1959. He contends China's suppression of the Tibetan revolt and dissolution of the Dalai Lama's government make a mockery of non-interference, and that communist regimes are structurally incapable of honouring such agreements because local Communist Parties always answer to Moscow or Peking. He calls for continued Indian sympathy and material support for Tibetans despite the risk to Sino-Indian relations, and flags the wider threat to India's Himalayan frontier (Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, the McMohan Line). - Panchsheel was concluded in the 1954 Sino-Indian treaty in which India recognised Chinese suzerainty over Tibet in exchange for guarantees of Tibetan autonomy. - China's 1959 crackdown in Tibet is presented as a clear breach of the 1951 Sino-Tibetan agreement and the 1954 Panchsheel treaty. - The author holds that Panchsheel binds only non-communist parties in practice, since communist regimes interfere in other states through their local Communist Parties. - Acharya Kripalani's charge that Panchsheel was 'born in sin' is endorsed by the author. - India's sympathy for Tibetan refugees is framed as natural given cultural, religious and border ties, while India's own restraint (non-interference) is affirmed. - The essay warns that Chinese ambitions may extend to Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and Kashmir border areas. ### Notes (Chinese Campaign; Independence, Only Solution; Communists In Power) An unsigned statement issued by the Committee for Solidarity with Tibet, welcoming the Government of India's grant of asylum to the Dalai Lama and rebutting Chinese and Panchen Lama claims that the Dalai Lama was abducted or acting under duress. It argues the 1951 seventeen-point treaty was signed under duress and never honoured, concludes that full independence is the only solution consistent with Tibetan aspirations, and calls on India and other Asian nations to raise Tibet's cause at the United Nations. - The Committee praises the Government of India's decision to grant asylum to the Dalai Lama and hopes no undue restrictions will be placed on him. - It rejects Chinese/Panchen Lama claims that the Dalai Lama was abducted or coerced by rebels, citing his own statements at Tejpur and Mussoorie. - It calls the Panchen Lama's charge of Indian 'expansionist ambitions' a gross libel. - It concludes the 1951 Sino-Tibetan treaty was signed under duress and its autonomy pledge was never honoured by China. - It states independence, not autonomy, is the only solution and urges India to raise Tibet's cause at the United Nations. ### Crisis In The Communist Party *By (From A Correspondent)* This unsigned 'Notes' column comprises two items. 'Chinese Campaign' describes a deliberate, government-directed Chinese propaganda campaign against India over Tibet, naming Indira Gandhi and Vijayalakshmi Pandit among Indian leaders attacked by Chinese media and officials, and notes some Indian communists echoing Peking's line. 'Communists In Power' uses new restrictive Kerala Education Act rules on students and teachers as an illustration of the general thesis that communists in power become the worst reactionaries and bureaucrats, regardless of their behaviour in opposition. - Communist China's propaganda campaign against India over Tibet is described as deliberate and government-orchestrated, involving Peking Radio, the New China News Agency, and named political leaders. - Indian leaders named as targets of Chinese attacks include the Congress President, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, and Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Pandit. - The Panchen Lama is described as a 'puppet ruler' installed by China in place of the Dalai Lama. - The Kerala communist Ministry's new Education Act rules restrict student and teacher political activity, illustrating the essay's claim that communists in power become authoritarian. - The CPI General Secretary, Ajoy Ghosh, is quoted admitting the Kerala rules were a 'mistake'. ### Green Against Red *By M. A. Venkata Rao* A correspondent's report on the Bombay City Conference of the Communist Party held the previous month, describing chronic organisational decline: falling active membership (from 2112 to 1960, with only 1660 paying dues), declining sales of the party's Marathi weekly Yugantar, and growing ideological apathy among cadres. The report covers heated internal debate over the secret trial and execution of Imre Nagy, criticism of communist councillors S. S. Mirajkar and B. S. Dhume for poor performance in the Bombay Municipal Corporation, and the party's charge that 'right-wing' PSP elements led by Asoka Mehta sympathisers obstructed progressive measures within the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti. - Bombay Communist Party membership fell from 2112 to 1960 (with only 1660 paying dues), reflecting declining organisational discipline. - The party's Marathi weekly Yugantar's circulation dropped from 1300 to under 1200 copies a week. - Delegates debated the secret trial and execution of Imre Nagy following the Hungarian uprising, with some demanding the CPI leadership condemn it. - The Bombay Committee was criticised by the Central Executive for expressing views on Nagy before the Central Executive had set a party line. - Communist councillors S. S. Mirajkar and B. S. Dhume were criticised for the party's unsatisfactory record in the Bombay Municipal Corporation. - The report accuses the 'Ashok group' inside the Bombay PSP of sabotaging unity within the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti. ### A Front Conference In Calcutta *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao surveys the early-twentieth-century European 'Green' (small-holder, peasant-based) revolutionary tradition -- in Czechoslovakia under Masaryk, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and pre-revolutionary Russian populism -- contrasting it with the 'Red' Leninist-Bolshevik trend that ultimately subordinated peasant aspirations to collectivisation. He argues the Green Revolution succeeded in Western Europe, especially Denmark, through smallholding plus cooperative structures, while it was crushed in Eastern Europe by Soviet-imposed collectivisation after 1945, which briefly collapsed in Poland and Hungary in 1956. Applying this frame to India, he argues Nehru's Nagpur resolution on agricultural cooperation abandons the government's earlier promise of a Green, smallholder-based land reform in favour of a coercive, Soviet-style collectivist 'Red' path, which he says forfeits the benefits of both individual freedom and technology. - The essay frames a global 'Green' (peasant smallholder) versus 'Red' (Leninist collectivist) revolutionary contest across Central/Southeast Europe, Russia, and Denmark. - The Czechs under Masaryk, Hungarians, and Yugoslavs are cited as national movements that fused smallholder land reform with cultural and literary revival. - Lenin and Bolshevik social democrats are said to have viewed the independent peasant as an 'incorrigible capitalist' unsuited to collectivised agriculture. - Denmark is presented as the clearest success of the Green Revolution, combining smallholding, cooperative societies, and the Folk High School educational movement. - The Nagpur resolution's 'agricultural organisation pattern' is characterised as a decisive and irreversible shift of India's land economy toward Soviet-style collectivism. - The author warns India risks repeating the Eastern European tragedy, but under compulsion of a 'voluntarily accepted ideology' rather than foreign troops. ### Tibet And Indian Communists *By S. R. Mohan Das* A correspondent's account of the Indian Conference of Afro-Asian Solidarity held in Calcutta in April 1959, describing it as a communist-dominated 'front' organisation managed by Romesh Chandra and packed with fellow-travelling delegates. The report focuses on repeated procedural battles over the 'Tibetan nuisance': an amendment to include Tibet in a resolution on imperialism and colonialism was fiercely, though narrowly, carried by a small group of non-communist delegates over communist objections, and the conference's Women's session was reportedly surrounded by male delegates to prevent a Tibet resolution from being introduced. - The Indian Conference of Afro-Asian Solidarity in Calcutta was organised by Romesh Chandra and packed with communist and fellow-travelling delegates. - A dozen non-communist delegates fought to include the word 'Tibet' in the conference's resolution on imperialism and colonialism, against organiser resistance. - The CPI reportedly objected to any resolution on Tibet at all; an agreed resolution referencing the 1951 Sino-Tibetan Agreement was eventually passed. - Some Congress leaders, including Mayor Dr. Triguna Sen and President Rameshwari Nehru, were obliged to reference Tibet despite conference organisers' reluctance. - Pro-Tibet leaflets and posters circulated throughout Calcutta during the conference, leading to scuffles. - The Women's Conference session was allegedly surrounded by male delegates to stop a resolution on Tibet being introduced. ### Are There Political Prisoners In USSR? *By Mironenko* S. R. Mohan Das argues that the CPI's delayed, fully Peking-aligned response to the Tibet crisis is entirely consistent with its history as an 'international conspiratorial movement' rather than a genuine political party. He traces this pattern through the CPI's support for Pakistan's partition demand in the 1940s, its denial of India's 1947 independence under the Zhdanov line, its Telangana insurrection, and its lockstep endorsement of every Kremlin and Peking line shift (Hungary, de-Stalinisation, the fall of Malenkov/Molotov/Bulganin/Zhukov). He singles out the CPI's borrowed 'anti-imperialist' framing of Tibet as feudal liberation, and criticises Indira Gandhi for echoing this line, while citing communist Anna Louise Strong's argument that China needs Tibet's water resources as a shield against nuclear attack. - Mohan Das argues the CPI is 'not a political party' but an international conspiratorial movement serving Moscow/Peking interests. - The CPI supported the Muslim League's partition demand in the 1940s despite its anti-dismemberment stance elsewhere. - The CPI denied India had achieved real independence in 1947, following the Zhdanov line, and subsequently launched the Telangana uprising. - The essay lists the CPI's uncritical endorsement of every Soviet leadership and policy shift: Hungary, Stalin's denigration, Beria's execution, and the ousting of Malenkov, Molotov, Bulganin, and Zhukov. - Mrs. Indira Gandhi is criticised for echoing the communist framing of Tibet's 'feudal burden' needing to be lifted by China. - American communist Anna Louise Strong is quoted arguing China's control of Tibet's water sources is a strategic necessity against nuclear-armed rivals. ### The Other Algeria *By Sal Tas* Mironenko rebuts Khrushchev's 1959 claim, made at the Twenty-first Congress and reported in Pravda, that there are no political prisoners in the USSR. The essay shows Soviet law simply relabels political offences as 'counter-revolutionary' or 'especially dangerous state crimes,' and reviews the 1953, 1955, and 1957 Soviet amnesties in detail to show that each systematically excluded prisoners convicted under the harshest political-offence articles (58-1a, 58-1c, 58-1d, and others). It estimates that although Stalin's death in 1953 left roughly five million political prisoners in the USSR, more than one million remain in confinement after the three amnesties. - Khrushchev's Twenty-first Congress claim (reported in Pravda, January 28, 1959) that there are no political prisoners in the USSR is challenged as false. - Soviet law relabels political crimes as 'counter-revolutionary' or 'especially dangerous state crimes' under the December 1958 statute, which the essay treats as evasive terminology rather than a substantive change. - The 1953, 1955, and 1957 amnesties are each shown to have excluded prisoners convicted under key political articles (58-1a, 58-1c, 58-1d, and others). - 300 students were convicted in 1957 for freely speaking with foreign students at the International Youth Congress in Moscow, offered as evidence political prosecutions continue. - The essay estimates that of roughly five million political prisoners at the time of Stalin's death in 1953, more than one million remain in confinement. ### Facts About Collective Farms In USSR *By S. Kabysh* Sal Tas's interview (reproduced from The New Leader) with Messali Hadj, the veteran Algerian nationalist leader recently freed under President de Gaulle's amnesty after decades in exile and French prisons. Messali Hadj, founder of the Algerian Nationalist Movement (MNA) and longtime rival of the FLN, expresses cautious optimism about de Gaulle's course, criticises the FLN as heterogeneous, externally financed, and lacking real leadership, and proposes an independent Algeria in close, Commonwealth-style association with France (a 'France-Maghreb' community) rather than the FLN's revolutionary path. - Messali Hadj, founder of Algerian nationalism, was freed after 40 years in exile and 25 years in French prisons under de Gaulle's amnesty. - He broke with the FLN, which grew out of a split within the nationalist movement he had built, and describes years of violent rivalry between the FLN and his own MNA. - He characterises the FLN as ideologically heterogeneous, without a real chief, and dependent on external backers (Cairo, Moscow) who will 'present the bill' later. - He proposes an independent Algeria collaborating closely with France within a Commonwealth-style 'France-Maghreb' community, alongside a round-table conference including the FLN. - He calls de Gaulle's pardon of 200 condemned rebels and release of thousands of prisoners a major, trust-building step, contrasting it with the Fourth Republic's inaction. ### With Many Voices S. Kabysh presents a detailed factual account of Soviet kolkhoz (collective farm) regulation from 1935 through 1957-58, tracing successive Central Committee and Council of People's Commissars resolutions on compulsory work-day minimums, individual plot sizes, and wage systems, and citing statistics on the roughly 78,200 kolkhozes existing by late 1957, their average size, livestock, and income. The essay documents rising compulsory work-day quotas, punitive confiscation of private plots and livestock rights for rule violations, and the gradual, still-incomplete shift toward guaranteed monetary wages in place of piece-work payment. - Kolkhoz regulations were first codified in February 1935 and repeatedly revised (1939, 1942, 1956) to raise compulsory work-day minimums for kolkhozniks. - Individual plot sizes were capped at up to 0.25 hectares in recent years, with yields varying by region and climate. - By late 1957 there were about 78,200 kolkhozes in the USSR, averaging 245 households and 1,695 hectares of communal land each. - Wage rates per work-day unit varied significantly by region and crop type, with industrial-crop kolkhozes paying more. - Since 1957 several kolkhozes have shifted to guaranteed monthly wages instead of piece-work payment, a trend the Party and government are said to be encouraging. - Kolkhoz statutes permit fines and confiscation of private plots or livestock rights as punishment for rule violations. ### Essay 11 A closing miscellany of short press quotations from Indian and international newspapers (Indian Express, Amrita Bazar Patrika, Hindustan Times, Time Magazine, Free Press Journal, Swarajya, Mysindia) and public figures, including Cambodia's Prince Norodom Sihanouk, all commenting on the Sino-Indian rift over Tibet, the credibility of Panchsheel, and the political character of the CPI, framed under an epigraph from Tennyson. - Indian Express columnist D. R. Mankekar urges trust in Panchsheel while keeping 'powder dry' as the basic tenet of Indian foreign policy. - Amrita Bazar Patrika declares India's 'honeymoon' with China over and says a divorce must be prevented. - Time Magazine predicts Tibet may become 'Red China's Algeria,' a war that can be neither won nor lost. - Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia is quoted on the limits of his country's coexistence with China as a neighbour. - Free Press Journal questions whether the CPI is patriotic, concluding it is 'certainly not very intelligent.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff085/ ### Summary This is issue No. 85 (June 1959) of Freedom First, the monthly periodical published by the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, and edited by V. B. Karnik. The rendered pages cover the full 12-page issue. Its lead article, "Where Is The Enthusiasm?" by a writer using the pen name Onlooker, attacks the Congress party's Nagpur resolution on joint cooperative farming, arguing that the scheme has been met with public indifference and even hostility rather than the enthusiasm claimed by Nehru and the Congress President, and citing a listless All India Congress Committee meeting as proof. William Henry Chamberlin's "Why We Have A Cold War" rebuts the idea that the Cold War stems from American rigidity, laying blame on Soviet expansionism and quoting Tocqueville on democracies' difficulty conducting foreign affairs. An unsigned "Notes" section takes up the Dalai Lama's asylum in India, Nehru's defence of the Sino-Indian Tibet agreement, the rejected India-Pakistan joint defence proposal, the Hindi-versus-English official-language dispute, and the controversy over Nabokov's Lolita. A short editorial pays tribute to the late John Foster Dulles.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 85 (June 1959) of Freedom First, the monthly periodical published by the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, and edited by V. B. Karnik. The rendered pages cover the full 12-page issue. Its lead article, "Where Is The Enthusiasm?" by a writer using the pen name Onlooker, attacks the Congress party's Nagpur resolution on joint cooperative farming, arguing that the scheme has been met with public indifference and even hostility rather than the enthusiasm claimed by Nehru and the Congress President, and citing a listless All India Congress Committee meeting as proof. William Henry Chamberlin's "Why We Have A Cold War" rebuts the idea that the Cold War stems from American rigidity, laying blame on Soviet expansionism and quoting Tocqueville on democracies' difficulty conducting foreign affairs. An unsigned "Notes" section takes up the Dalai Lama's asylum in India, Nehru's defence of the Sino-Indian Tibet agreement, the rejected India-Pakistan joint defence proposal, the Hindi-versus-English official-language dispute, and the controversy over Nabokov's Lolita. A short editorial pays tribute to the late John Foster Dulles. "Communist Rule In Tibet" reproduces, in full, an open letter from Thubten Nyenjik, Abbot of Gyantse Monastery and Governor of Gyantse Province, addressed to Asian and world governments, cataloguing Chinese military repression, forced labour, cultural destruction, and economic exploitation in occupied Tibet since 1950. "Long Live Personality!" is a satirical compilation of sycophantic Pravda tributes to Khrushchev from Soviet officials, mocking the persistence of a leader personality cult despite Khrushchev's own 1956 denunciation of Stalin's cult of personality. The issue closes with a Science and Freedom Committee protest cable against apartheid in South African universities, a "News & Views" digest (Chinese workers' wages, East German student trials and intellectual flight, declining Communist vote shares across Western Europe, East German medical politics, a banned-film scandal in Prague), and "With Many Voices," a page of press quotations on the Tibet crisis from Indian and international commentators, plus a subscription form and back-page publisher's imprint. ## Essays ### Where Is The Enthusiasm? *By by Onlooker* Writing under the pseudonym "Onlooker," the author argues that the Congress party's Nagpur resolution promoting joint cooperative farming has failed to generate the popular enthusiasm its leaders claim. The piece surveys criticism of the scheme (that it borrows from Communist-bloc failures, requires coercion, and threatens to dispossess peasants of land), notes that even Congress's own ranks include sceptics, and singles out Communist Party of India's endorsement of the scheme as embarrassing rather than helpful since it lends credence to charges the plan is a step toward a totalitarian police state. The piece then reports on a listless All India Congress Committee meeting in New Delhi (May 9-11) called to whip up enthusiasm for implementing the Nagpur resolution, quoting an independent journal's account of members as "listless, inattentive and indifferent," with barely two dozen present at any time and constant traffic in and out of the hall. The article continues onto page 11, closing with a call for Congress leaders to accept that their programme lacks genuine grassroots support and that only coercion and administrative measures, not persuasion, are propping it up. - The Nagpur resolution's joint cooperative farming scheme is framed by Congress leaders as a cure-all for rural India's poverty, food scarcity, and unemployment - Critics -- including some within Congress -- warned the plan required coercive, dictatorial methods and risked provoking peasant revolt - The Communist Party of India's support for the scheme was embarrassing to Congress because it reinforced fears of a slide toward a totalitarian police state - An A.I.C.C. meeting in New Delhi (May 9-11, 1959) intended to build enthusiasm for the resolution was reported as listless and poorly attended - The Congress President revealed she received fewer than half a dozen names for a training camp meant to draw a hundred volunteers - The Times of India and other independent press coverage are cited as evidence contradicting Congress's own claims of widespread enthusiasm - The piece concludes that manufactured enthusiasm cannot substitute for real popular consent, and that coercion is being used to compensate for the plan's unpopularity ### Why We Have A Cold War *By by William Henry Chamberlin* William Henry Chamberlin argues against the view -- which he attributes to figures like Nikita Khrushchev, Anastas Mikoyan, and philosophy professor John Somerville -- that the Cold War is a product of American rigidity or intolerance that would dissolve if Washington were merely more accommodating. He contends the war's fundamental cause is Soviet imperial expansion beyond legitimate Russian ethnic limits, citing Soviet-incited unrest in Greece, Western-backed guerrilla resistance in Poland/Lithuania/Galicia, the Berlin blockade, and the invasion of South Korea as evidence of where aggression actually originated. He criticizes Western tendencies toward appeasement dressed as "flexibility" or "realism," invokes Alexis de Tocqueville's skepticism about democracies' capacity to conduct sustained foreign policy, and calls for firm resolve rather than concession as the German peace treaty dispute over Berlin unfolds. - Chamberlin rejects the framing (associated with Khrushchev, Mikoyan, and John Somerville) that the Cold War stems from American intolerance rather than Soviet design - He cites Soviet incitement in Greece and repression in Poland, Lithuania, and Galicia as evidence of the true source of aggression - He argues the U.S. and allies acted defensively in Korea and West Berlin, not as aggressors - He criticizes the Soviet ultimatum on Berlin and demand for a German peace treaty as bad-faith diplomacy akin to a thug's tactics - He warns against Western appeasement disguised as flexibility or realism - He quotes Alexis de Tocqueville's argument that democracies are poorly suited to conducting sustained, disciplined foreign policy - He frames responsibility on the West to prove Tocqueville's pessimism about democracies wrong ### Notes (Restrictions on Dalai Lama; Nehru And Tibet; Joint Defence; Language Problem; Lolita; John Foster Dulles) An unsigned editorial "Notes" section covering five items. It defends India's grant of asylum to the Dalai Lama while criticizing restrictions placed on his movements and press access, and questions whether the Government of India is improperly limiting a political refugee's rights. It then scrutinizes Nehru's Lok Sabha defence of the Sino-Indian Tibet agreement, arguing that China's own admitted historical claims to Tibetan "overlordship" do not establish legitimate sovereignty, and pressing Nehru to unambiguously support Tibetan independence rather than accept China's autonomy framing. A short item criticizes Nehru's rejection of Pakistani President Ayub Khan's proposal for joint sub-continental defence, arguing India's 2000-mile border with an aggressive China warrants reconsideration. A "Language Problem" item discusses Rajagopalachari's petition to Parliament opposing the imposition of Hindi as sole official language and urging retention of English, and praises the Communications Minister's support for including English and Sindhi in the Eighth Schedule. A final item on Nabokov's Lolita describes the international obscenity controversy around the novel and argues against banning it under the Sea Customs Act, noting Customs officers lack competence to judge literary obscenity. - The Dalai Lama's asylum is defended but restrictions on his movement and access to visitors like Heinrich Harrer are criticized as an improper use of government power - Nehru's Lok Sabha defence of the Sino-Indian Tibet agreement is challenged: China's own admission of historical 'overlordship' claims does not make Tibet legitimately part of China - The editorial urges Nehru to unambiguously back Tibetan independence rather than accept Chinese-framed 'autonomy' - Nehru's rejection of Ayub Khan's joint India-Pakistan defence proposal is criticized given the scale of Chinese aggression on India's northern border - Rajagopalachari's petition against imposing Hindi and for retaining English as official language is presented sympathetically, alongside support for adding English and Sindhi to the Eighth Schedule - The Lolita obscenity controversy is discussed, concluding that banning it under the Sea Customs Act would hand arbitrary censorship power to Customs officers unqualified to judge literary merit ### Communist Rule In Tibet *By open letter by Thubten Nyenjik, Abbot of Gyantse Monastery and Governor of Gyantse Province* A brief unsigned tribute marking the death of U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, praising his dedication to defending the free world against "imperialist communism" and crediting him with steadfastness against Soviet overtures even amid criticism and unpopularity. - The piece honors John Foster Dulles following his death, framing him as a steadfast Cold War statesman - It credits him with resisting the allure of superficially conciliatory Soviet gestures - It frames his work as building the moral and material strength of free nations against communism ### Long Live Personality! This piece reproduces in full an open letter dated July 20, 1956, from Thubten Nyenjik, Abbot of Gyantse Monastery and Governor of Gyantse Province, written after fleeing to India, addressed to Asian and world governments. The letter describes six years of Chinese occupation of Tibet as a colonization disguised as "liberation," detailing the bombing and razing of Litang and Dzachukha, mass killings, guerrilla resistance by Tibetans from multiple regions, forced labour used to build military roads, destruction of indigenous education and medicine in favour of Communist indoctrination, and crushing taxation reducing Tibetans to poverty. It argues China's claim to historic "overlordship" does not justify annexation, criticizes pressure placed on the Dalai Lama to praise the regime, and calls the world's silence on Tibet's occupation a blot on the international conscience. - The letter is written by Thubten Nyenjik, Abbot of Gyantse Monastery and Governor of Gyantse Province, as a refugee in India, dated July 20, 1956 - It calls the phrase 'liberation of Tibet' a 'deadly mockery' given the invasion occurred in 1950 against a self-sufficient, contented country - It documents the bombing of Litang and Dzachukha, with over four thousand killed in Litang alone and the capital razed - It describes forced Tibetan labour and requisitioned grain and silver used to build military roads and subjugate the population - It says Chinese-run schools serve only Communist indoctrination, offer no vocational training, and displace indigenous schools and Ayurvedic medicine - It states Chinese economic policy has driven up the cost of living nine to tenfold and turned a food-exporting economy into an importer - It criticizes pressure on the Dalai Lama to read Chinese-prepared speeches praising the regime under threat implied by 100,000 Chinese soldiers stationed in Tibet - It calls the world's failure to act on Tibet's occupation a 'blot on the conscience of the world' ### Science And Freedom Committee's Protest A satirical unsigned piece compiles a series of obsequious tributes to Nikita Khrushchev published in Pravda and other Soviet outlets between January and February 1959, from officials in agriculture, alcohol production, the army, atomic physics, chemistry, cotton-growing, education, electric power, guided missiles, literature, and Soviet nationalities. The piece contrasts these encomiums with Khrushchev's own 1956 'secret speech' denunciation of Stalin's cult of personality, arguing that a new cult -- around Khrushchev himself -- was visibly forming by the 21st Party Congress in 1959, and notes Khrushchev's May 16 award of the Lenin Peace Prize, at which an Indian delegate, Mr. Sunderlal, praised him as one of the world's most religious leaders despite his atheism. - The piece contrasts Khrushchev's 1956 secret-speech condemnation of Stalin's personality cult with a new cult of personality forming around Khrushchev himself by 1959 - It compiles quotations crediting Khrushchev personally for achievements in agriculture, alcohol policy, the armed forces, atomic physics, chemistry, cotton production, education, electric power, missile programmes, and literature - Soviet officials from multiple Central Asian and Baltic republics are quoted thanking Khrushchev personally for national policy outcomes - The piece notes Khrushchev received the Lenin Peace Prize on May 16, 1959, and quotes Indian peace activist Sunderlal's effusive praise of him as among the world's most religious leaders - The piece closes with the ironic line that 'the cult is dead, but long live personality' ### News & Views (Chinese Workers' Earnings; Students Sentenced For Treason; Flight of Physicians; Intellectuals Flee East Germany; Elections In Europe Show Decline In Communist Influence; Secret Film Performances In Prague) A short news item reproducing the text of a cable from the International Committee on Science and Freedom, signed by representatives of 296 universities in 52 countries, addressed to South African Prime Minister Dr. H. F. Verwoerd. The cable condemns South Africa's university apartheid policy as a denial of human brotherhood and a threat to academic standing, and calls on the government to abandon compulsory racial segregation in universities. - The International Committee on Science and Freedom, representing 296 universities across 52 countries, cabled Prime Minister Verwoerd protesting compulsory race segregation in South African universities - The cable expresses admiration for South African universities resisting the government's segregation policy - It calls the policy a denial of human brotherhood that damages the international standing of South African universities - A copy of the cable was also sent to the National Union of South African Students ### With Many Voices A "News & Views" digest of short items drawn from international sources: Radio Peking's admission that Chinese workers earn only Y60 a month (about US$12.60 at the market exchange rate), far below peasant incomes reported by Premier Chou En-lai; the sentencing of eighteen East German students and young workers for treason after organizing a reunification programme and 'anti-state' cabaret; a wave of 813 doctors and 114 pharmacists fleeing East Germany in early 1958, prompting new Communist Party assurances to physicians; mass flight of 119,300 East Germans to the West in 1958, disproportionately young professionals; a survey of declining Communist Party vote shares across fourteen Western European countries between the late 1940s and late 1950s; and a report on secret screenings of American and Western films organized in Prague, leading to the arrest of organizer Vlastimil Mynarik on charges linked to contact with the U.S. Embassy press attaché. - Radio Peking's own broadcast revealed Chinese workers earn about Y60/month, or roughly US$12.60 at the market exchange rate, far below official propaganda claims - Eighteen East German students and workers were sentenced (three to fifteen years) for treason for organizing a German-reunification programme and a cabaret seen as hostile to the state - 813 doctors and 114 pharmacists fled East Germany in early 1958, prompting new official assurances to keep physicians from emigrating further - 119,300 East Germans fled to West Germany in 1958, with a disproportionately high share of young people and professionals (teachers, doctors, engineers) - Communist Party vote shares fell across all 14 surveyed Western European countries between their post-war peaks and the late 1950s, with Italy and France showing the steepest declines - A Prague organizer, Vlastimil Mynarik, was arrested for secretly screening smuggled American and Western films, allegedly with help from the U.S. Embassy press attache ### Essay 9 A closing page, "With Many Voices," epigraphed with a Tennyson quotation, that compiles brief press quotations -- mostly on the Tibet crisis -- from Acharya Kripalani, B. G. Verghese, the Manchester Guardian, B. T. Randive, the Amrita Bazar Patrika, a satirical Thought column, and China's People's Daily, alongside a quotation from Nehru's Lok Sabha reply on Tibet acknowledging the ambiguity of the term 'autonomy.' The page also carries the issue's subscription form and closing publication details (edited by V. B. Karnik, printed at Inland Printers, published by B. K. Desai for the Democratic Research Service). - The page compiles short press quotations, mostly critical of China's actions in Tibet and of Nehru's response to them - Acharya Kripalani is quoted twice criticizing the Panchsheel framework and Chinese disregard for Asian opinion - B. T. Randive's Monthly New Age piece is quoted questioning Nehru's inconsistency on land reform given his acceptance of monastic land monopoly in Tibet - China's People's Daily is quoted defending Chinese conduct and India's non-interference, and distinguishing 'autonomy' for Tibet from full regional autonomy under China's constitution - Nehru is quoted from his May 8 Lok Sabha reply acknowledging that the word 'autonomy' may carry different meanings for India and China - The page includes the subscription form and closing masthead crediting editor V. B. Karnik and publisher B. K. Desai --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff086/ ### Summary This is issue No. 86 of Freedom First (July 1959), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue's editorial centerpiece, 'A People's Upsurge' by Karnik, defends the anti-communist agitation in Kerala against the elected EMS Namboodiripad communist ministry, arguing (citing Nehru's own on-the-spot assessment and Jayaprakash Narayan) that the movement is a genuine mass upsurge rather than a communal conspiracy, and calls for dissolution of the Kerala legislature and fresh elections. Other contributions in the rendered pages include a report on the All-India Tibet Convention (continued across pages 2 and 11-12), an essay on the merits and limits of co-operative farming in India by Hemalata Acharya (continued from page 4 to page 8), a polemical piece on the communist-organised Vienna Youth Festival, an account of Soviet press censorship ('Press In Bondage' by B. J. Fernandes), a book review section covering Nabokov's Lolita and A. D. Gorwala's Of Matters Administrative, and a closing page of quoted political statements ('With Many Voices') plus a subscription form.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 86 of Freedom First (July 1959), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue's editorial centerpiece, 'A People's Upsurge' by Karnik, defends the anti-communist agitation in Kerala against the elected EMS Namboodiripad communist ministry, arguing (citing Nehru's own on-the-spot assessment and Jayaprakash Narayan) that the movement is a genuine mass upsurge rather than a communal conspiracy, and calls for dissolution of the Kerala legislature and fresh elections. Other contributions in the rendered pages include a report on the All-India Tibet Convention (continued across pages 2 and 11-12), an essay on the merits and limits of co-operative farming in India by Hemalata Acharya (continued from page 4 to page 8), a polemical piece on the communist-organised Vienna Youth Festival, an account of Soviet press censorship ('Press In Bondage' by B. J. Fernandes), a book review section covering Nabokov's Lolita and A. D. Gorwala's Of Matters Administrative, and a closing page of quoted political statements ('With Many Voices') plus a subscription form. The volume's overall stance is classical-liberal and anti-communist, closely tied to the Forum of Free Enterprise/Swatantra milieu associated with Karnik and M. R. Masani. ## Essays ### A People's Upsurge *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead editorial argues that the popular agitation against the communist ministry in Kerala in mid-1959 is, in the Prime Minister's own words after a personal three-day visit, 'essentially a people's upsurge' rather than a communal or narrowly political movement engineered by the Catholic Church and the Nair Service Society, as communist propaganda claimed. Karnik marshals Nehru's and Jayaprakash Narayan's assessments, M. R. Masani's constitutional argument that the Governor has the power to dissolve the state legislature, and the electoral arithmetic (the communists received only 35% of votes against a united 60% opposition) to argue that the Kerala ministry should resign and face fresh elections rather than cling to a 'formal rule' of completing its five-year term. He criticizes both the communist ministry for refusing to resign and commentators who reflexively call any direct action against an elected government undemocratic, insisting Kerala is an exceptional case where formal democratic process is being used to defeat the people's actual will. - Nehru, after a three-day on-the-spot study in Kerala, described the agitation as 'essentially a people's upsurge', not communal or narrowly political. - Jayaprakash Narayan defended the Church/Nair Service Society-backed protests as legitimate: 'It is wise to be careful about the use of this word [communal]... The force of their protest leaves no doubt about the depth of their feeling.' - M. R. Masani argued in the press that the Constitution empowers the Governor to dissolve a state legislature before the end of its term when the government has lost popular confidence. - Karnik cites vote-share arithmetic: the communist ministry was elected with only 35% of the vote while parties now opposing it together won 60%. - The essay frames the communists as invoking 'formal democracy' cynically to entrench power while the opposition's direct action is framed as the truer expression of democratic will. - Karnik calls on the Ministry to resign and place itself in the Governor's hands to enable a fresh election, warning that further delay prolongs 'misery and hardship' in Kerala. ### All-India Tibet Convention *By A Special Correspondent* A special correspondent reports on the All-India Tibet Convention, opening with Nehru's dismissive parliamentary remark (May 8) that the proposed Convention, associated with a 'certain Majumdar' (historian R. C. Majumdar), represented a 'wrong approach' that would do more harm than good. The piece defends Majumdar, noting he resigned from a government-commissioned history of the 1857 uprising rather than compromise his conclusion that it did not constitute a genuine War of Independence, and criticizes Nehru's dismissive tone as well as his government's simultaneous silence on a rival, China-aligned 'West Bengal Conference' in Calcutta. It records that Indira Gandhi and Congress figures echoed the Prime Minister's line calling the Convention 'contrary' to government views on Tibet policy. The essay (continued on pages 11-12) concludes that the Convention succeeded despite official disapproval, drawing over 1,700 delegates, support from the Praja Socialists, Jan Sangh, and Hindu Mahasabha, messages of goodwill from prominent Asian anti-communist figures (U Ba Swe, Dato Abdul Razak, former Ceylon PM Dudley Senanayake, and others), a speech by Tibetan representative Sonam Gyatso rebutting Chinese claims that the Tibetan revolution was reactionary, and a widely reported, passionate speech by Jayaprakash Narayan declaring 'Tibet will not die because there is no death for the human spirit' and that Tibet will be resurrected. It ends noting the Convention resolved to form an Afro-Asian Committee on Tibet as a counter to the Soviet-aligned Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee. - Nehru dismissed the proposed All-India Tibet Convention in Parliament (May 8) as a 'wrong approach' associated with 'a certain Majumdar', before it was even held. - The correspondent defends historian R. C. Majumdar, noting he resigned a government-commissioned history project after concluding the 1857 revolt did not constitute a genuine War of Independence. - The government stayed silent on a rival pro-Beijing 'West Bengal Conference' held in Calcutta around the same time, which the piece frames as hypocrisy. - Indira Gandhi and other Congress figures publicly echoed Nehru's line calling the Convention's likely stance 'contrary' to government Tibet policy. - Despite official disapproval, the Convention drew over 1,700 delegates and support from the Praja Socialists, Jan Sangh, Hindu Mahasabha, and prominent Asian anti-communist leaders. - Tibetan representative Sonam Gyatso rebutted Chinese communist claims that the Tibetan uprising was engineered by 'upper strata reactionaries.' - Jayaprakash Narayan delivered a widely reported speech declaring Tibet would not die and would be resurrected. - The Convention resolved to form an Afro-Asian Committee on Tibet to counter the Moscow-aligned Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee. ### Co-operative Farming *By Hemalata Acharya* Hemalata Acharya's essay examines the contested meaning and practice of co-operative farming in India, framed around a review of the Democratic Research Service's publication 'Co-operative Farming - The Great Debate.' She surveys the Nagpur Resolution's push toward collectivization, distinguishes co-operative joint farming, collective farming, and tenant farming societies, and draws on a Programme Evaluation Organization study of 22 co-operative farming societies (P.E.O. Publication No. 18, December 1956) plus a Nasik District case study to argue that most such societies were organized on government waste land for displaced or landless persons, that members largely joined not out of co-operative spirit but to evade land-ceiling legislation, and that the promised gains in production and employment have not materialized. She concludes (in the continuation on page 8) that co-operative farms surveyed showed inadequate finance, poor management, low yields relative to individual farms, and member disputes, and that any co-operative farm must be paired with a cottage-industry unit or mixed farming to absorb surplus labor, since the underlying problem of un/under-employment is 'sui generis' and cannot be solved by farm organization alone. - The essay reviews the Democratic Research Service publication 'Co-operative Farming - The Great Debate' as a timely intervention amid the controversy following the Nagpur Resolution. - Acharya distinguishes co-operative Joint Farming, Collective Farming, and Tenant Farming societies, and cites Dr. Otto Schiller's characterization of the tenant model as 'individual farming on co-operative lines.' - Draws on the Programme Evaluation Organization's December 1956 study of 22 co-operative farming societies and a Nasik District case study (Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 13, No. 1) as empirical evidence. - Argues most existing co-operative societies were formed on government waste land for displaced persons or landless labourers, or by landowners seeking to evade land-ceiling legislation, rather than from genuine co-operative conviction. - Finds the two central objectives of the co-operative farming programme -- increased production and increased employment -- did not materialize in most surveyed societies. - Concludes surveyed societies suffered from inadequate finance, inexperienced management, and yields no better than individual farms in the same neighbourhood. - Argues co-operative or individual farms alike must be paired with a cottage industry or mixed-farming component to relieve unemployment pressure, since unemployment is a problem 'sui generis' not solvable through farm organization alone. ### Vienna Youth Festival *By (Contributed)* This contributed piece attacks the communist-organized 7th World Youth Festival planned for Vienna, arguing it is another stage-managed propaganda exercise by international communism following six previous festivals held in Prague, Budapest, East Berlin, Bucharest, Warsaw, and Moscow. It details how the Preparatory Committee, dominated by Iron Curtain delegations and fellow-travellers (78 of 130 delegates at a Stockholm preparatory meeting were confirmed communists, 27 more fellow-travellers), secretly selected Vienna as the venue over the objections of the Swiss and other national youth unions, and how Austrian democratic youth and student organisations unanimously refused to lend their name to the Festival despite the Soviet Union bankrolling it with four million dollars. The piece frames the episode as a case study in how ostensibly neutral international gatherings are captured by disciplined communist organizing while nominally democratic and non-communist national bodies are out-maneuvered. - The essay situates the Vienna Festival as the seventh in a series of communist-sponsored world youth festivals (Prague 1947, Budapest 1949, East Berlin 1951, Bucharest 1953, Warsaw 1955, Moscow 1957). - At the Stockholm preparatory meeting, 78 of 130 delegates were confirmed communists and 27 more were fellow-travellers; several delegations (e.g. West Germany, England) were represented by private individuals rather than national organisations. - The Swiss Union of Students withdrew from the Preparatory Committee, its president stating that 'control of policy and finance is in communist hands.' - All Austrian democratic youth and student organisations refused to associate with the Festival and formally protested its being held in Vienna without their consent. - The Soviet Union pledged four million dollars to defray Festival expenses, and 85% of the Vienna Secretariat's staff were trained in Russia. - The essay frames the Festival as 'yet another communist circus designed to attract and rope in gullibles and opportunists.' ### Press In Bondage *By B. J. Fernandes* B. J. Fernandes examines press censorship in communist states, drawing on a two-part International Press Institute (Zurich) survey, 'The Press in Authoritarian Countries.' Contrasting the free press's ethic ("news is sacred, comment free") with Khrushchev's and TASS director N. G. Pulgunov's explicit doctrine that news must be an organised, didactic instrument of party purpose, the essay traces Lenin's own admission that the 'Russian Government can only survive by living in the dark' through to the Soviet press's institutional architecture: over 7,500 newspapers all controlled by the state or party, editors vetted for political reliability, TASS as monopoly news distributor and primary censor, and GLAVLIT (the Chief Administration for Literary and Publishing Affairs) and AGITPROP as further layers of ideological screening. Fernandes lists the specific purposes served by this suppression -- concealing Communist Party mistakes, concealing Soviet public opinion, concealing bloc dissension, and shielding the public from truths about the free world -- and closes noting internal Soviet complaints about the press's drabness persist without resolution. - Contrasts the free press's ethic ('news is sacred, comment free') with the Soviet doctrine that news must be organised, agitational, and didactic. - Cites Lenin's own pre-revolutionary indictment of Czarist secrecy as ironically prophetic of later Soviet press control. - Describes the International Press Institute's two-part survey covering the USSR, China, Yugoslavia and East European satellites, and separately Spain, Portugal, Latin America, Egypt and the Far East. - Details three institutional layers of Soviet press control: TASS (monopoly news distribution and primary censorship), GLAVLIT (literary/publishing censorship and control over anti-Soviet content and book imports), and AGITPROP (the Communist Party's Agitation and Propaganda Department). - Lists the specific state purposes served by press suppression: concealing Party mistakes, concealing genuine Soviet public opinion, hiding bloc dissension, and blocking free-world truths from reaching Soviet citizens. - Notes internally voiced Soviet complaints about the drabness of the press persist without the authoritarian system being able to resolve them. ### Review: Lolita *By Raman Desai* A review by Raman Desai of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita (G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, $5, pp. 319), arguing against readers seeking titillation or pornography, and defending the novel as a serious, artistically rigorous account of Humbert Humbert's degraded obsession with 'nymphets,' particularly the 12-year-old Lolita. Desai traces the plot -- Humbert's marriage to Lolita's widowed mother, her death, the cross-country journey with Lolita, her eventual escape with another man, and Humbert's murder of the seducer -- and argues the novel's stark, unsentimental tragic ending (Humbert dying before trial, Lolita dying in childbirth) constitutes its moral seriousness, denying readers any comforting resolution. He praises Nabokov's prose craftsmanship as that of 'a writer's writer' whose stylistic control -- oscillating between lyrical and vulgar registers -- makes the novel's disturbing content bearable and artistically justified, comparing its unflinching realism to war art by Doré and Goya. - Desai warns readers seeking pornography away from the book, framing it instead as a serious novel of passion with 'a unique theme.' - Summarizes the plot: Humbert's calculated marriage to Lolita's mother, her death, the road-trip existence with Lolita, her escape with a rival, and Humbert's murder of that rival. - Argues the novel's refusal of a softened ending (Humbert dying awaiting trial, Lolita dying in childbirth soon after) is what gives it artistic and moral integrity rather than pity or sentimentality. - Compares the novel's unflinching depiction of a 'battle scene' of human depravity to war art by Doré and Goya that likewise refuses to prettify horror. - Praises Nabokov as 'a writer's writer' whose sentence-level craftsmanship -- alternating lyrical and deliberately vulgar phrasing -- carries the book despite (or through) its disturbing subject. ### Of Matters Administrative (review) *By M. R. Dalvi* M. R. Dalvi reviews A. D. Gorwala's Of Matters Administrative (Popular Book Depot, Bombay, Rs. 8), a collection of Gorwala's newspaper articles on Indian public administration written between 1951 and 1958. Dalvi frames sound, efficient, and honest administration as a precondition for the legitimacy of any state's laws and leaders, and praises Gorwala -- whose reputation as a fearless administrator is 'universally acknowledged' -- for applying his expertise to expose the 'dreadful disease of inefficiency and corruption' afflicting Indian administration, including nepotism, favouritism, communalism, and casteism. The review recommends the book to those in power as a panoramic diagnosis of the malaise afflicting India's administrative machinery and the scale of the task of reforming it. - Of Matters Administrative collects A. D. Gorwala's newspaper articles on Indian administration from 1951-1958, published in Bombay, Calcutta and Delhi dailies. - Dalvi frames efficient, honest, impartial administration as the foundation on which the legitimacy of any government's laws rests. - The review credits Gorwala's 'universally acknowledged' reputation as a fearless administrator with lending authority to his diagnosis of nepotism, favouritism, communalism, and casteism in Indian administration. - Recommends the book to those currently in power as a 'panoramic view' of the administrative malaise and the scale of reform needed. ### With Many Voices The issue's back-page 'With Many Voices' column collects short quoted statements from prominent political figures in the press during May-June 1959, most concerning the Kerala crisis, Nehru's leadership, and communism. Quotes include Nehru's insistence he fears neither man nor God, C. Rajagopalachari's rejoinder invoking Old Testament psalms on the fear of God, sharp criticism of Nehru's economic policy and leadership style from M. R. Masani and D. F. Karaka, Blitz editorials on the Kerala crisis, and V. P. Menon's aphorism that communism and constitutionalism are a contradiction in terms. - Nehru is quoted (Indian Express, June 2) saying 'I fear nobody. I am not religious and I do not fear even god.' - C. Rajagopalachari responds in the Times of India (June 6) invoking two Old Testament psalms on the fear of God and the folly of despising wisdom. - M. R. Masani is quoted twice: criticizing Nehru's economic policies as 'fifty years out of date' and characterizing Kerala's political extremes. - D. F. Karaka accuses Nehru of creating a 'One Man Democracy' in the country. - V. P. Menon states that 'Communists and constitution are contradiction in terms.' - Blitz editorials (June 20) simultaneously defend and criticize Nehru's handling of the Kerala crisis. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff087/ ### Summary This is issue No. 87 of Freedom First (August 1959), the classical-liberal monthly edited by V. B. Karnik and published for the Democratic Research Service in Bombay. The issue is dominated by the political crisis in Communist-ruled Kerala: Philip Spratt's lead essay 'Communism Without Dictatorship' offers an extended, first-hand account of the anti-Communist agitation (the 'liberation struggle' against the E. M. S. Namboodiripad ministry), tracing the government's early popularity, the Education Bill controversy, party-cell corruption, and the mounting opposition campaign, and concludes that a communist government cannot rule India without either resorting to dictatorship or collapsing under mass resistance. A companion feature, 'With Many Voices', assembles contemporary newspaper and political quotations (Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Khrushchev, K. M. Munshi, Mannath Padmanabhan and others) largely on the same Kerala crisis and on Sino-Indian relations.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 87 of Freedom First (August 1959), the classical-liberal monthly edited by V. B. Karnik and published for the Democratic Research Service in Bombay. The issue is dominated by the political crisis in Communist-ruled Kerala: Philip Spratt's lead essay 'Communism Without Dictatorship' offers an extended, first-hand account of the anti-Communist agitation (the 'liberation struggle' against the E. M. S. Namboodiripad ministry), tracing the government's early popularity, the Education Bill controversy, party-cell corruption, and the mounting opposition campaign, and concludes that a communist government cannot rule India without either resorting to dictatorship or collapsing under mass resistance. A companion feature, 'With Many Voices', assembles contemporary newspaper and political quotations (Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Khrushchev, K. M. Munshi, Mannath Padmanabhan and others) largely on the same Kerala crisis and on Sino-Indian relations. The issue also carries an early analytical piece on the newly formed Swatantra Party by the pseudonymous 'Apaksha', weighing its promise against its ideological vagueness and its uneasy synthesis of Forum of Free Enterprise economics with Gandhian Sarvodaya language; a legal-constitutional essay by A. Ranganathan on the erosion of the right to property under Article 31 amendments; a foreign-affairs report by French journalist Robert Guillain on the origins of the Chinese people's communes and Mao Tse-tung's political manoeuvring around them; and the concluding half of Hemalata Acharya's field-study essay on co-operative farming societies in Nasik district, Gujarat and elsewhere, which argues for a pragmatic, non-doctrinaire approach to co-operative farming rather than treating it as an ideological cure-all. ## Essays ### Communism Without Dictatorship *By by Philip Spratt* Philip Spratt reports from Kerala on the anti-Communist agitation against the E. M. S. Namboodiripad government, elected in April 1957. He describes processions and strikes in Trivandrum and Kottayam, situates Kerala's instability in its caste and communal politics (Nair and Catholic communities, high literacy, educated unemployment), and narrates the ministry's early moderation, its release of prisoners and pay rises for lower-grade employees, and its 1958 by-election victory at Devikolam despite Congress mobilisation. He then traces the turn: failure to win over organised labour (dominated by Congress-aligned INTUC and the Revolutionary Socialist Party unions), stagnant food production, the Education Bill (which threatened private, mostly Christian and Hindu-managed schools' control over staffing and fees), and the resulting 'liberation war' (vimochana samara) uniting Christian, Nair (via the Nair Service Society under Mannath Padmanabhan) and Congress opposition. The essay's second half (continued on pages 10-11) documents financial scandals, the Andhra rice deal, and the Communist Party's parallel administrative 'cells' which Spratt says have supplanted courts and civil administration in many areas, extracting fees and quashing prosecutions of party members; he cites comparisons to Djilas's The New Class. He closes arguing the episode proves a communist government cannot function within a parliamentary/constitutional framework without exercising terror against opponents, but that Namboodiripad's inability to exercise terror against his own followers (to curb cell corruption and violence) is what is bringing the ministry down. - Kerala's political instability (five governments in nine years, president's rule) predates the Communists and stems from caste/communal fragmentation, not ideology alone. - The Namboodiripad ministry initially built popularity via prisoner releases, pay hikes for junior staff, and police non-intervention in strikes, capped by the May 1958 Devikolam by-election win. - The ministry failed to make headway with organised labour, which remained loyal to Congress-run INTUC and Revolutionary Socialist Party unions. - The Education Bill (transferring fee collection and staffing power from private, mostly Christian-run schools to the state) triggered a cross-communal 'liberation war' joining Christian, Nair, and Congress opposition. - Party financial scandals (Rs. 25 lakhs collected in a year; the Andhra rice deal judicial inquiry) undercut the Communists' claimed ascetic integrity. - Communist Party 'cells' are alleged to run a parallel administration nationwide in Kerala, demanding fees, quashing prosecutions of communists, and being tied to instances of violence and reported killings. - Spratt concludes a communist government cannot govern constitutionally in India without either using terror on its opponents or collapsing under resistance to terror used by its own rank and file. ### Swatantra Party *By by "Apaksha"* Writing under the pseudonym 'Apaksha,' the author assesses the newly formed Swatantra Party as answering a genuine public appetite for a democratic alternative to Congress rule, appealing especially to the 'middle class and small man' against rising bureaucratisation, taxation, and the 'cult of statism.' The party's programme is anti-statist without being anarchist, aiming to guide and regulate rather than abolish or ignore the state, and its leadership (Rajaji, Ranga, Masani, Mody, and others) is praised for integrity and independence. But the essay identifies serious drawbacks: an unresolved tension between defending private property/big business and appealing to the common man; a vague, contradiction-riddled statement of principles indistinguishable from other democratic parties'; visible disagreement among its own leaders (e.g., Rajaji versus Ranga on electoral strategy, and divergent views on Kerala and foreign policy); and an awkward attempt to synthesise Forum of Free Enterprise economic liberalism with Gandhian Sarvodaya/trusteeship rhetoric, which the author doubts is coherent given big business's poor historical record of honouring trusteeship. The essay ends cautiously optimistic that if the party can tune its economic policy to ordinary people's needs and develop a genuine labour policy, it could become a credible democratic alternative to Congress. - The Swatantra Party's formation answers dissatisfaction with Congress's socialist drift, rising taxation, bureaucratisation, and nationalisation. - Its programme appeals broadly (business, middle class, small man, peasant) and opposes 'totalitarianism' while explicitly rejecting an anarchist rejection of the state. - Its leaders (Rajaji, Ranga, Masani, Mody, Cariappa and others) are praised for integrity, courage, and independence from vested interests. - The party suffers from vague and self-contradictory statements of principle, indistinguishable from other democratic parties. - Its attempted synthesis of Forum of Free Enterprise economics with Gandhian Sarvodaya/trusteeship ideas is judged incoherent, since big business (per Gandhiji's own admission) has rarely honoured trusteeship in practice. - Leaders visibly disagree among themselves, including Rajaji and Ranga on electoral tactics and the party on Kerala and foreign policy. - The author concludes the party 'holds out great promise' if it can develop a genuinely pro-common-man economic and labour policy. ### The Right To Property *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan examines the erosion of the constitutional right to property in India, opening with Ivor Jennings's characterisation of the Indian Constitution as an individualist document whose framers nonetheless thought partly in collectivist terms. He contrasts the American Constitution's Due Process Clauses, which empower courts to restrain legislative and executive encroachment on property, with India's lack of an equivalent, leaving property rights subject to parliamentary and executive discretion. He traces the original Article 31 guarantee against uncompensated deprivation of property, and the April 1955 amendment that removed judicial review of the adequacy of compensation, quoting Justice William O. Douglas's comment that 'India has broken with one tradition of the law of eminent domain.' Ranganathan argues this leaves any private enterprise vulnerable to appropriation 'at any price it desires,' with compensation effectively set by the executive. He closes (continued from page 5 onto page 9) by linking property rights to individual freedom, invoking Locke, Turgot and Jefferson, and by arguing that Indian planners' faith in socialism mistakenly equates it with a higher material standard of living, when in practice it produces a 'gigantomania' of state projects at the expense of consumer needs, citing the Nagpur resolution on co-operative farming and 'controlling' private-sector profits as instances of this drift. - India's Constitution lacks an American-style Due Process Clause, leaving property rights without the judicial protection given by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments in the US. - The original Article 31 required authority of law and (in some cases) compensation for compulsory acquisition of property. - The April 27, 1955 amendment to Article 31(2) removed courts' ability to review the adequacy of compensation for acquired property. - Justice William O. Douglas is cited as saying the 1955 Amendment casts a shadow over every private enterprise in India. - Ranganathan argues this amendment effectively lets the executive fix compensation amounts with no judicial check, unlike the judicially safeguarded American system. - He links property rights to individual freedom via Locke, Turgot, and Jefferson, arguing socialism's equation with a higher material standard of living is a mistaken, even materialist, premise. - He criticises the Nagpur resolution on co-operative farming and Congress Working Committee proposals to 'control' private-sector profits as further encroachments on individual economic freedom. ### Chinese Communes And Mao Tse-tung *By by Robert Guillain* French journalist Robert Guillain investigates the origins of China's people's communes and Mao Tse-tung's role in launching them. He argues that although the Central Committee's official August 29, 1958 decision formally endorsed the commune movement collectively (shielding Mao from personal blame should it fail), the extensive documentation, including a July Red Flag article by editor Cheng Po-ta, makes clear that Mao's 'paternity' of the communes is undeniable: he had advocated fusing kolkhozes into larger units since 1956, personally toured Hopei, Honan and Shantung to promote the movement, and pushed through the decisive Second Session of the 6th Party Congress in May 1958 despite quiet resistance from more cautious colleagues. Guillain details the subsequent crisis: disorganisation, exhausted workers, failed blast-furnace targets, and the Quemoy bombardment fiasco, culminating in forty days of Central Committee deliberation at Chengchow and Wuhan (concluding December 10, 1958) that continued the communes but moderated their pace and, notably, replaced Mao as President of the Republic (though he retained Party leadership) while officially attributing this to the 'burdens' of state office. Guillain is skeptical of the official explanation, noting the long delay in naming and confirming Mao's successor, ultimately resolved only in May 1959 with Liu Shao-chi's emergence as the regime's clear 'Number Two.' - Mao Tse-tung's personal authorship of the commune policy is affirmed by internal Party documentation, notably a July 1958 Red Flag article by Cheng Po-ta, despite the Central Committee's collectively-authored public decision of August 29, 1958. - Mao had been advocating fusion of smaller kolkhozes into larger units since 1956, previewed in his preface to 'The Rise of Socialism in the Countryside.' - The decisive push came at the May 1958 2nd Session of the 6th Party Congress, where Mao's speech (never published) set the new policy line. - Implementing the communes required purges of provincial Party hierarchies resistant to the change, notably in the pilot province of Honan. - By autumn 1958 the movement produced serious disorganisation: exhausted workers, failed blast-furnace campaigns, and disrupted exchange systems, compounded by the failed Quemoy bombardment. - A forty-day Central Committee deliberation (Chengchow/Wuhan, ending Dec 10, 1958) continued the commune policy but moderated its pace, rehabilitated some 1957 'rightists,' and stopped extending communes to towns. - Mao's decision not to stand for re-election as President of the Republic (retaining Party leadership) is treated skeptically by Guillain, who notes lingering uncertainty about his successor was resolved only in May 1959 with Liu Shao-chi's emergence as 'Number Two.' ### Co-operative Farming *By by Hemalata Acharya* Hemalata Acharya concludes her two-part field study of co-operative farming societies (the first part having appeared in the previous issue). Drawing on a controlled Agricultural Institute experiment at Anand comparing four five-acre family farms with a 100-acre commercial farm, and on her own June 1957 visits to co-operative societies in Nasik district, she finds mixed results: family farming performs reasonably well when not hindered by organisational or technical constraints, a Tenant Farming Society in Niphad succeeded because its members had independent economic means, while Collective Farming Societies at Ambegaon and elsewhere largely failed due to scattered plots, absentee members, and lack of resources, though the Savargaon Society fared comparatively better despite lacking irrigation. She concludes co-operative farming is 'good in parts' rather than a panacea, warns against both doctrinaire promotion and doctrinaire rejection of it, and calls for decentralised, region-specific, pragmatic policy shaped by empirical study rather than ideology, closing with broader reflections on freedom, democracy, and the need to balance economic planning with individual initiative. - An Agricultural Institute (Anand) controlled study found family farms are not inferior in economic potential to larger commercial farms when not hindered by organisational or technical handicaps. - Acharya's June 1957 field visits to Nasik district covered three Collective Farming Societies and one Tenant Farming Society. - The Tenant Farming Society (whose members had independent economic means) succeeded, owning equipment and infrastructure and collecting rent from members. - The Collective Farming Society at Ambegaon in Dindori largely failed due to scattered plots across two villages and disengaged membership. - The Savargaon Collective Farming Society fared comparatively better but still lacked irrigation and adequate productive finance. - Acharya concludes co-operative farming is 'good in parts,' not a cure-all, and warns that forcing collectivisation without addressing economic weakness produces low output, high wages, and distrust. - She calls for pragmatic, decentralised, region-specific policy based on empirical research rather than doctrinaire commitment for or against co-operative farming. ### Communism Without Dictatorship (continued from page 2) *By by Philip Spratt* 'With Many Voices' is a compilation feature (epigraph from Tennyson) gathering short newspaper and political quotations from the weeks around July 1959, chiefly on the Kerala Communist crisis and on Sino-Indian and Sino-Soviet relations following the Tibet uprising and the Quemoy affair. Contributors quoted include Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Nikita Khrushchev, K. M. Munshi, Mannath Padmanabhan, R. K. Karanjia, and several newspapers (Hindustan Times, Times of India, Amrita Bazar Patrika, Blitz, Malabar Herald), reflecting a range of establishment and press opinion on whether India can remain friendly with China, on Namboodiripad's government, and on the use of Section 144 in Kerala. - The feature compiles brief quotations from Indian and international newspapers and politicians dated June-July 1959. - Quotes concern the Kerala Communist government crisis, the Sino-Indian relationship after Tibet, and the Quemoy/China situation. - Nehru is quoted (Malabar Herald) arguing socialism in a poor country can only equalise poverty rather than produce real wealth. - K. M. Munshi (Hindustan Times) criticises the use of Section 144 in Kerala as evidence communists are not interested in genuine prevention of disorder. - Mannath Padmanabhan is quoted demanding the Centre bar communists from contesting elections elsewhere in India and drive the Communist Party out of the country. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff088/ ### Summary This is issue No. 88 (September 1959) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue opens with Karnik's own editorial-style piece analyzing the 1959 Kerala crisis, in which the Centre dismissed the Communist state ministry, using Prime Minister Nehru's Rajya Sabha remarks to argue that the Communist Party is not a normal national party and poses a structural danger to democratic institutions. K. S. Chetty profiles the newly formed Swatantra Party, presenting it as India's first non-socialist opposition force built on a Gandhian rather than Marxist philosophy of individual freedom, decentralisation, and trusteeship, and defends it against charges of being a capitalist front or laissez-faire dogma. A. V. Sherman surveys Britain's intellectual 'new left', tracing its post-1956 break from the Communist Party and assessing its strengths (serious research on concentrated economic power and the welfare state) and weaknesses (nostalgia, self-righteousness, doctrinal fluidity). S. R.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 88 (September 1959) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue opens with Karnik's own editorial-style piece analyzing the 1959 Kerala crisis, in which the Centre dismissed the Communist state ministry, using Prime Minister Nehru's Rajya Sabha remarks to argue that the Communist Party is not a normal national party and poses a structural danger to democratic institutions. K. S. Chetty profiles the newly formed Swatantra Party, presenting it as India's first non-socialist opposition force built on a Gandhian rather than Marxist philosophy of individual freedom, decentralisation, and trusteeship, and defends it against charges of being a capitalist front or laissez-faire dogma. A. V. Sherman surveys Britain's intellectual 'new left', tracing its post-1956 break from the Communist Party and assessing its strengths (serious research on concentrated economic power and the welfare state) and weaknesses (nostalgia, self-righteousness, doctrinal fluidity). S. R. Mohan Das gives a first-hand, critical account of working conditions at the Bhilai Steel Project, contrasting official Five-Year-Plan publicity with the alienation, poor housing, and arbitrary management he observed among workers, including a comparison of trade union roles across Soviet-aided, 'imperialist-aided,' and private-sector plants. F. R. Allemann, reprinted from the New Leader, reports from a visit to East Germany, describing modest material improvements under the Ulbricht regime alongside undiminished, if resigned and fatalistic, popular hostility to the SED and continuing anxiety over Berlin and reunification. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a compilation column of quoted remarks on Kerala, China, and Cold War diplomacy drawn from Nehru, S. A. Dange, M. C. Chagla, Khrushchev, Nixon, and others, plus subscription and advertising matter. ## Essays ### The Crisis And Its Lesson *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik reviews the 1959 Kerala crisis, in which the central government intervened against the Communist state ministry, and draws out its lesson for Indian democracy. He argues the civil-war threat that loomed in Kerala was averted only because a democratic Centre had the constitutional right and will to intervene, and warns that Communist parties, unlike other parties, are conditioned by an anti-democratic 'steel-frame' of thinking that makes them incompatible with normal democratic competition once in power. The piece leans heavily on Prime Minister Nehru's Rajya Sabha speech, quoting his description of the Communist Party as lacking the character of 'a national party like other parties' because of its ideological ties outside India, and closes by urging that the Communist Party be clearly demarcated from other parties so the public remains alert to the anti-democratic aims Karnik attributes to it. - The Kerala Communist ministry (elected 1957) was dismissed by central intervention amid a mass popular upsurge against it. - Karnik argues a civil war was averted only because of a democratic Centre willing to protect citizens' fundamental rights. - Nehru's Rajya Sabha speech is quoted as the article's central authority: the Communist Party 'does not function in the soil of India' but has 'ideological and mental contacts outside.' - The article frames the core danger as the Party's undemocratic internal technique of action, not merely its economic creed. - It considers and largely rejects outright legal prohibition of the Communist Party as impractical, favoring instead public vigilance and clear demarcation of the Party from normal democratic competitors. - The author holds that the Kerala episode will have served a useful purpose if it makes the public and political leaders permanently alert to this danger. ### Swatantra Party *By K. S. Chetty* K. S. Chetty presents the newly formed Swatantra Party as a historic break from post-Independence politics: the first party built on an original, non-Marxist philosophy rather than borrowed 19th-century European socialist dogma. He credits C. Rajagopalachari ('Rajaji') and M. R. Masani with articulating a Gandhian vision of individual freedom, decentralisation, and trusteeship of wealth against what the party portrays as Congress's drift toward centralised, coercive 'socialistic' planning, quoting Masani's critique of Congress joint-farming and food-trade monopoly policies. The essay defends Swatantra against the charge that it is merely a front for the Forum of Free Enterprise or big business, arguing its Statement of Principles protects small traders and artisans as much as capitalists, and reproduces a skeptical Hindustan Times editorial questioning whether the party can hold together without firmer positions on foreign policy and other major issues. It closes by praising the party's August convention in Bombay as informed and dignified compared to what the author calls the monotonous, self-congratulatory style of Congress speech-making, and (continuing on page 11) rebuts the laissez-faire and Forum-front criticisms directly, noting Sir Homi Mody's retort that even if Swatantra were an extension of the Forum, 'so what?' - Swatantra is presented as India's first party since Independence with an original philosophy rather than a Marxist-socialist-communist derivative. - Its programme is framed as reviving Gandhian ideals of individual freedom, decentralisation, and trusteeship against Congress's 'artha'-worshipping planning state. - Masani's convention speech is quoted attacking Congress joint-farming, State grain monopoly, and licence-driven official interference as demoralising and economically damaging. - The party's Statement of Principles guarantees members freedom of opinion on all matters outside core principles, a clause the author says is a source of strength, not weakness as critics claim. - A Hindustan Times editorial is reproduced questioning whether the party can remain an effective opposition without clearer positions on foreign policy and other major issues. - The essay rebuts claims Swatantra is merely a Forum of Free Enterprise front or committed to unworkable laissez-faire, insisting it protects small traders and artisans as well as big business. - The August 1-2 Bombay convention is praised as well-organised and substantively impressive compared to Congress gatherings. ### The New Left In Britain *By A. V. Sherman* A. V. Sherman surveys Britain's 'new left,' a post-1956 intellectual current formed largely by young academics and ex-Communist Party sympathisers disillusioned by the events of Hungary and Khrushchev's Twentieth Congress revelations. He distinguishes it from earlier left-wing 'revivals' by its 'post-Budapest' character, its working- and lower-middle-class university-educated membership, and its focus on publishing and educating rather than building formal organisation, centred on its journal Universities and Left Review and the Partisan Coffee House club. Sherman credits the group's serious research on concentrated economic power, interlocking directorates, the 'submerged fifth' of the poor, and its role in organising the Aldermaston nuclear disarmament marches, while criticising its nostalgia for 1930s-style anti-fascist clarity, its self-righteous certainty that critics of left-wing socialism cannot be honest, and its unresolved doctrinal fluidity, predicting it will remain a transitional phenomenon whose members will eventually disperse into Labour's mainstream, academia, or perpetual 'revivalism.' - The 'new left' emerged from Communist Party members and sympathisers shocked by the 1956 Khrushchev revelations and the invasion of Hungary. - Unlike earlier revivalist groups, it draws largely from working-class and lower-middle-class intellectuals at provincial universities rather than the traditional upper-class left. - It prioritises publishing (Universities and Left Review, soon merging with The New Reasoner) and lecture activity over formal party organisation. - Its research achievements include studies of interlocking directorates and concentrated economic power in Britain, and of poverty among pensioners and the chronically ill. - It co-organised the Aldermaston anti-nuclear marches with pacifist groups, gaining its first wide public prominence there. - Sherman criticises the group's nostalgia for older, starker ideological battles, its self-righteousness, and 'ill-disguised' romanticisation of working-class culture. - He predicts the new left is a transitional phenomenon that will eventually disperse into Labour's mainstream or academic life, remaining closer to British values than the Communist Party it replaced. ### Bhilai Steel Project *By S. R. Mohan Das* S. R. Mohan Das gives a critical, first-hand account of the Bhilai Steel Project, contrasting the official Five-Year-Plan publicity and the impressive aerial view of the plant with the alienating experience of ordinary workers he met through Bombay trade-union training. He describes the plant's 'frosty impersonality,' the recruitment of highly skilled technicians with false promises of good pay who were instead housed in tents through 110-degree heat, denied timely audiences with management, and paid less than semi-literate directly recruited operatives, alongside inadequate medical facilities (one hospital five miles from most workers' quarters) for a workforce of 60,000. He surveys the weak, compromised INTUC union at Bhilai, contrasts it with the AITUC's deliberate decision not to organise there so as to avoid embarrassing a Soviet-aided project (concentrating instead on 'imperialist-aided' Rourkela and Durgapur and the 'capitalist' Tata plant at Jamshedpur), and describes the reserved, correct, but distant behaviour of Soviet personnel and the privileged, air-conditioned 'New Class' of the socialist project's own managers in Sector X, concluding that technocrat bosses without real independence leave workers with no glamour, only a 'worm's-eye view' of the plant. - Mohan Das visited Bhilai as a guest of ordinary young workers he had trained with in Bombay trade unions, not as an official visitor. - Skilled technicians were recruited nationwide with false promises of a 'bright future' but were housed in tents in extreme heat with no transport or food arrangements. - Directly recruited, often barely literate, workers were paid more than diploma-holding trained technicians, causing resentment. - Medical care for 60,000 workers depended on a single hospital in Sector X, five miles from most workers' housing. - INTUC's union at Bhilai is described as weak and compromised by favours to its General Secretary; AITUC (communist-led) deliberately avoids organising at Bhilai to protect the image of a Soviet-aided plant. - Soviet personnel at Bhilai are described as reserved, correct, and largely unintegrated with Indian workers. - The plant's privileged managerial 'New Class' in Sector X enjoys air-conditioning and transport unavailable to ordinary workers. - The author frames construction priorities (plant before township) as the source of the poor living conditions for workers. ### Visit To East Germany *By F. R. Allemann* F. R. Allemann, in a piece reprinted from the New Leader, recounts a visit to East Germany after a decade of divided German life, describing a real if modest improvement in the supply and variety of consumer goods and a partial relaxation of economic pressure, alongside persistent shortages, bureaucratic distribution failures, and a purge of academics deemed 'politically unreliable' under Socialist Unity Party (SED) tightening of school and university life. He reports that popular hostility to the Ulbricht regime remains undiminished and is, if anything, intensified as rising living standards make East Germans resent the regime's continuing totalitarian claims on their private time and choices, even as most have abandoned hope of near-term reunification or of a 'military solution,' settling instead into a resigned, unsentimental pessimism about the future. Allemann finds East Germans immunised against propaganda slogans yet still consumed by anxiety over Berlin's status and the threatened 'separate peace treaty,' concluding that East Germany is no longer the visible slum it once was but remains a society under unrelieved psychological and political strain. - Consumer goods supply in East Germany has genuinely improved over the prior decade, though shortages of basics like potatoes and butter still recur. - Two East German scientist acquaintances lost university posts for 'political unreliability,' one fleeing West, illustrating an intensifying academic purge tied to SED intervention in schools and colleges. - Espionage and arrests for 'critical remarks' by the State Security Service (SSD) have reportedly increased over the past year. - Rising living standards paradoxically sharpen resentment of the regime, since citizens now want leisure and autonomy the totalitarian state resists granting. - Belief in eventual German reunification has largely given way among East Germans to resigned acceptance that the division is permanent. - Despite hostility to the regime, virtually no one Allemann spoke with responded to mentions of the 'Peace Treaty' propaganda campaign; anxiety instead centres entirely on Berlin's status. - The report concludes East Germany is no longer the stark 'slum' it once appeared, but real comfort and prosperity remain limited. ### With Many Voices 'With Many Voices' is the issue's closing compilation column of quoted remarks on current affairs, epigraphed by Tennyson, gathering statements from Prime Minister Nehru, S. A. Dange, M. C. Chagla, and Western and Soviet-bloc press and officials on the Kerala crisis, the Sino-Indian border, and Cold War diplomacy, several selected to expose perceived contradictions or ironies (e.g., Nehru's shifting characterisations of Kerala's Communists, and a satirical Khrushchev-Nixon-Gromyko exchange from Life Magazine). It also carries a subscription coupon for Freedom First and closing publication/printing details for the Democratic Research Service. - The column juxtaposes contradictory Nehru statements on the Kerala Communists to highlight perceived inconsistency. - S. A. Dange is quoted twice on the Kerala situation and on democracy as 'a toilers' democracy'. - M. C. Chagla, as Indian Ambassador in the US, is quoted downplaying Chinese aggressive intent toward India, juxtaposed against Nehru's own firm statement on the McMohan line. - A satirical exchange among Khrushchev, Nixon, and Couve de Murville from Life Magazine closes the column with Cold War humor. - East German broadcaster Karl Edward von Schnitzler is quoted comparing Western reactions to Kerala with Western criticism of East German elections. - The column ends with the journal's subscription form and printing/publishing colophon (Democratic Research Service, Bombay). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff089/ ### Summary This is the complete issue no. 89 of Freedom First (October 1959), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service, edited by V. B. Karnik and published by B. K. Desai in Bombay. The issue is dominated by the fallout from the 1959 Sino-Indian border crisis and the Tibetan uprising: a lead essay indicts Nehru's China policy as a failure of Panchsheel-based appeasement; an editorial 'Notes' section covers Laos's vulnerability to Chinese/North Vietnamese subversion and de Gaulle's new self-determination proposal for Algeria; a profile lauds Mannath Padmanabhan as the octogenarian leader who broke Kerala's Communist ministry; a polemical piece attacks Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon as a communist fellow-traveller unfit to hold his post; the Tibetan government-in-exile's 1958 manifesto to Nehru is reprinted in full excerpt describing the Chinese occupation; a reprinted Manchester Guardian Weekly piece by Victor Zorza discusses unearned income and inheritance law in the USSR; and a closing page of press quotations ('With Many Voices') showcases the range of Indian political opinion on the China crisis, from Nehru and Indira Gandhi to A. K. Gopalan and Krishna Menon himself. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the complete issue no. 89 of Freedom First (October 1959), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service, edited by V. B. Karnik and published by B. K. Desai in Bombay. The issue is dominated by the fallout from the 1959 Sino-Indian border crisis and the Tibetan uprising: a lead essay indicts Nehru's China policy as a failure of Panchsheel-based appeasement; an editorial 'Notes' section covers Laos's vulnerability to Chinese/North Vietnamese subversion and de Gaulle's new self-determination proposal for Algeria; a profile lauds Mannath Padmanabhan as the octogenarian leader who broke Kerala's Communist ministry; a polemical piece attacks Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon as a communist fellow-traveller unfit to hold his post; the Tibetan government-in-exile's 1958 manifesto to Nehru is reprinted in full excerpt describing the Chinese occupation; a reprinted Manchester Guardian Weekly piece by Victor Zorza discusses unearned income and inheritance law in the USSR; and a closing page of press quotations ('With Many Voices') showcases the range of Indian political opinion on the China crisis, from Nehru and Indira Gandhi to A. K. Gopalan and Krishna Menon himself. ## Essays ### Dilemma Of Mr. Nehru *By B. K. Desai* B. K. Desai's lead essay argues that Jawaharlal Nehru's China policy has collapsed under the weight of the 1959 Tibetan uprising and Chinese incursions across India's northern frontier. Desai traces the failure to Nehru's foundational misjudgment of the Chinese revolution: India's friendship policy amounted to one-way appeasement, ignoring that the new Chinese rulers were expansionist communists first and foremost. The essay walks through Nehru's own statements from 1950 to 1959 defending China, his sponsorship of Panchsheel in 1954, the steady escalation of border violations after 1954, and the contradiction the author sees in Nehru's 1954 legalistic defence of China's claim to Tibet now being turned against India via the same logic applied to the McMahon Line. Desai concludes that Nehru is trapped by his own past commitments, unable to admit that Communist China is an imperialist power while still refusing to back Tibetan independence. - Nehru's China policy, built on Panchsheel and non-alignment, is described as having collapsed following Chinese incursions and the Tibetan uprising - The friendship between India and China is characterised as one-way traffic, with India appeasing Chinese demands from the outset - The Indian government is accused of failing to recognise Chinese communism's expansionist character across Korea, Indo-China and Tibet - Nehru's 1950 and 1954 statements defending Chinese intentions and disputing U.S. apprehensions are quoted as evidence of misjudgement - Nehru's 1954 legalistic acceptance of Chinese sovereignty over Tibet is shown boomeranging into China's claim over the McMahon Line in 1959 - The essay depicts Nehru as caught in a self-created dilemma: recognising Chinese imperialism in practice while refusing to support Tibetan self-determination ### Mannath Padmanabhan *By A Keralite* An unsigned editorial 'Notes' section opens with 'Another Victim?', condemning the Government of India's passivity toward Chinese and North Vietnamese subversion of Laos, contrasted with India's insistence on reviving the 1954 Geneva International Commission machinery rather than supporting the UN Security Council's four-nation inquiry. A second note, 'New Move On Algeria', discusses President de Gaulle's proposal offering Algeria a choice between secession, integration, or self-government after a four-year transition, viewing it as a genuinely fresh and hopeful departure from prior French positions, opposed mainly by French reactionaries and communists as well as extremist elements within the Algerian liberation movement. - Criticises the Government of India for failing to support the small, landlocked kingdom of Laos against Chinese and North Vietnamese-backed subversion - Notes India's objection to the UN Security Council's four-nation sub-committee sent to inquire into Laos, favouring instead the 1954 Geneva-era International Commission - Cites Times of India correspondent Sudhakar Bhat's report that Laos scrupulously honoured the Geneva accords while its communist neighbours did not - Welcomes President de Gaulle's new Algeria proposal offering secession, integration, or self-government via free election after four years - Identifies the proposal's opponents as French reactionary and Communist Party elements plus extremist Algerian nationalists ### Case Of Comrade Krishna Menon *By "Democrat"* A short unsigned note on the 'Zinzaka Tragedy', in which fifty-eight people died in a stampede in a Saurashtra village during a staged 'miracle', the third such tragedy after Orissa in 1950 and Kumbh Mela in 1954. The piece blames police carelessness in crowd control but identifies the deeper cause as popular superstition and credulity toward miracle-mongers, calling for a sustained campaign to spread critical and rational outlook. - Reports fifty-eight deaths, many women and children, in a stampede at a staged miracle event in Zinzaka village, Saurashtra - Compares the tragedy to two earlier incidents: Orissa (1950) and Kumbh Mela near Allahabad (1954) - Criticises police and local authorities for failing to organise or supervise the crowd - Identifies public superstition and credulity toward miracle-mongers as the root cause requiring a long-term campaign of rational education ### Tibetan Manifesto Writing under the byline 'A Keralite', this profile celebrates Mannath Padmanabhan, the 82-year-old Nair Service Society leader credited with organising the mass movement that toppled Kerala's Communist ministry in 1959. The piece traces his rise from poverty through teaching and law into founding the N.S.S. in 1914, his role reforming Nair matriarchal inheritance customs, his support for temple-entry and anti-untouchability campaigns alongside Narayana Guru and T. K. Madhavan, and his emergence as the 'Patriarch' of Kerala's anti-communist mass agitation, which the piece calls the most spectacular mass movement in India since independence. - Introduces Mannath Padmanabhan, born 1878 in Perunna near Changanacherry, as the top leader of the Kerala anti-communist struggle - Describes his founding of the Nair Service Society (N.S.S.) in 1914 with thirteen associates and his role reforming Nair matriarchal inheritance law (1924-25) - Credits him with championing removal of caste inequality, supporting the Vaikom Satyagraha (1924) and Guruvayur Satyagraha (1931-32) - Recounts his initial tacit approval of the Communist ministry followed by disillusionment, leading him to organise the mass movement that led to its dismissal - Portrays him as a vigorous, ascetic figure (teetotaller, strict vegetarian, khadi-wearer) working twenty-hour days at age 82 and now launching a 'Save India Forum' against communism nationally ### Unearned Incomes In Russia *By Victor Zorza* Writing pseudonymously as 'Democrat', this essay attacks Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon over the 1959 Defence Ministry crisis, arguing that his mishandling of the services and his long record as a communist fellow-traveller make him unfit for the post. The piece catalogues Menon's history with the British Labour Party and the communist-linked League Against Imperialism in the 1930s, his pro-Soviet voting record at the UN (including on Hungary in 1956), his suppression of Congress criticism of Soviet and Chinese actions in Kerala, and his alleged use of political favouritism within the armed forces, concluding that his continued tenure endangers national security. - Describes deep discontent in the armed forces and Parliamentary distrust of Krishna Menon following the 1959 Defence Ministry crisis - Details Menon's communist associations in Britain since 1936, his role in the League Against Imperialism, and his refusal to disassociate from communists as a Labour candidate - Recounts his pro-Soviet voting at the UN, including justifying Chinese seizure of Tibet and defending Soviet suppression of the Hungarian uprising - Describes communist electoral support for Menon in the 1957 General Election in Bombay despite Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti's opposing candidate - Alleges Menon prevented Congressmen in Kerala from criticising Soviet, Chinese, or local Communist ministry actions, and favoured the communist-dominated Naval Dockyard Employees' Union - Concludes that Menon's fellow-traveller loyalties and 'temperamental' conduct make him a liability to the Defence Ministry at a time of external threat ### Notes (Another Victim?; New Move On Algeria; Zinzaka Tragedy) This is a reprint of excerpts from the Tibetan Manifesto presented to Prime Minister Nehru in summer 1958 by Tibetan leaders including former Prime Minister Sitzud Locangua, trade delegation head Shacab-ba, and Thondup, brother of the Dalai Lama. The manifesto describes the 1949-50 Chinese invasion of Tibet, the coerced '17-point agreement', subsequent political subjugation via the Chinese-controlled Regional Autonomous Government Preparatory Committee, economic exploitation including forced land reforms, confiscation of gold and grain, suppression of Buddhist religious practice, use of Tibetan monks and children for indoctrination and forced labour, and the 1956 uprising in eastern Tibet met with bombing, executions, and destroyed monasteries. - Recounts the 1949-50 Chinese invasion of Tibet across eight fronts and the failure of Tibetan appeals to the UN General Assembly and Security Council - Describes the coerced '17-point agreement' signed under threat, using a Chinese-forged official seal since the document was never properly sanctioned - Details the Chinese-controlled Regional Autonomous Government Preparatory Committee established after 1951, giving China effective veto over Tibetan governance - Documents economic exploitation: confiscated gold and grain reserves, forced twelve-hour labour on Tibetan farmers, land redistribution to Chinese settlers - Describes religious suppression, including use of monk-scholars like Geyshey Sherab Gyatso to propagate Marxist doctrine and forced starvation of monks refusing to abandon faith - Reports the February 1956 uprising in eastern Tibet and subsequent Chinese repression: destroyed monasteries, bombing of civilians, and over fifteen thousand injured ### Essay 7 Victor Zorza's essay, reproduced from Manchester Guardian Weekly, examines a Soviet legal debate over 'unearned income' triggered by a court case over a 500,000-rouble legacy reported in the Moscow paper Literature and Life. Zorza explains the tension between the Soviet constitutional principle that personal property and inheritance are protected and the socialist principle that 'he who does not work, neither shall he eat', noting that high-earning Soviet officials' heirs can now live off interest alone, creating a politically awkward new high-income class in a state that proclaims equality. - Reports a Soviet court case over a 500,000-rouble legacy raising the question of unearned income from inherited savings - Explains that Soviet savings banks pay 2-3% interest with no deposit limit, meaning large legacies can yield income exceeding the average wage - Traces the history of the 1926 Soviet decision to remove restrictions on inheritance, originally intended to encourage investment during Lenin's New Economic Policy - Notes only one contributor to the 'Literature and Life' debate opposed loosening inheritance restrictions, citing incentive effects, while the debate concluded calling for revised legislation - Observes that Khrushchev's regard for material incentives works against curbing this emergent high-income class, creating political tension in an officially egalitarian society ### Essay 8 The closing 'With Many Voices' column collects short press quotations from Indian politicians and officials on the 1959 China crisis, spanning early September 1959, illustrating the spectrum of Indian opinion from Nehru's reassurance that no army would be sent into Tibet, to Indira Gandhi's charge that Indian communists are fifth columnists, to A. K. Gopalan's dismissal of the border intrusion as a Western-imperialist-inspired bogey, to sharply critical remarks aimed at Krishna Menon from A. D. Gorwala and others demanding his removal. - Nehru is quoted assuring that no army will be sent into Tibet, comparing it to inaction over Hungary - H. N. Kunzru is quoted worrying that Panchsheel had been used as 'an opiate' inducing false security - Indira Gandhi calls Indian communists 'fifth columnists' amid the border crisis - A. K. Gopalan dismisses the China border intrusion reports as a bogey raised by a Western-imperialist-driven press - Multiple quotes (A. D. Gorwala, Premjibhai Asar) call for Krishna Menon's removal from the Cabinet over his perceived divided loyalties - Krishna Menon himself is quoted defending his record and denying he is undermining national defences --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff090/ ### Summary This is issue No. 90 (November 1959) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Forum of Free Enterprise, edited by V. B. Karnik and published for the Democratic Research Service by B. K. Desai. The issue opens with Karnik's lead essay urging the Praja Socialist Party, marking its silver jubilee, to abandon Marxist-tinged class politics and rigid socialist doctrine in favour of a broader, welfare-oriented national movement. An unsigned "Notes" section comments on Khrushchev's U.S. visit, hostile Chinese conduct on the Ladakh/NEFA border (approvingly citing Nehru and reprinting a Hindustan Times editorial attacking V. K. Krishna Menon's UN stance on Tibet), factional disputes among Kerala's democratic parties, and the successful conclusion of India-Pakistan border talks. B. K. Desai analyses the Conservative Party's decisive 1959 British election win as evidence that voters in an affluent, changed Britain have rejected doctrinaire socialism. S. R. Mohan Das examines how India's "feudal-paternalistic" industrialising elite is likely to distort the labour movement under the Third Five-Year Plan, restricting trade unions to welfare functions rather than collective bargaining. S. P.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 90 (November 1959) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Forum of Free Enterprise, edited by V. B. Karnik and published for the Democratic Research Service by B. K. Desai. The issue opens with Karnik's lead essay urging the Praja Socialist Party, marking its silver jubilee, to abandon Marxist-tinged class politics and rigid socialist doctrine in favour of a broader, welfare-oriented national movement. An unsigned "Notes" section comments on Khrushchev's U.S. visit, hostile Chinese conduct on the Ladakh/NEFA border (approvingly citing Nehru and reprinting a Hindustan Times editorial attacking V. K. Krishna Menon's UN stance on Tibet), factional disputes among Kerala's democratic parties, and the successful conclusion of India-Pakistan border talks. B. K. Desai analyses the Conservative Party's decisive 1959 British election win as evidence that voters in an affluent, changed Britain have rejected doctrinaire socialism. S. R. Mohan Das examines how India's "feudal-paternalistic" industrialising elite is likely to distort the labour movement under the Third Five-Year Plan, restricting trade unions to welfare functions rather than collective bargaining. S. P. Aiyar argues that democratic planning requires far more vigorous public information machinery, criticising the poor distribution of government publications and proposing concrete reforms (regional information services, a parliamentary research bureau, cabinet-rank status for the Information Minister). A Review section carries B. K. Desai's appreciative review of Tibor Meray's book on Imre Nagy and the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, and Aziz Madni's review of R. H. S. Crossman's The Charm of Politics. The issue closes with "With Many Voices," a compilation of press quotations (mostly critical of Krishna Menon and the government's China policy) attributed to various Indian politicians, editors and commentators, followed by the masthead/registration details. ## Essays ### The Choice Before Praja Socialists *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik marks the Praja Socialist Party's silver jubilee conference in Bombay by tracing its ideological drift from a Gandhian-utopian amalgam toward absorbing more Marxist elements, and argues that the party now faces a fundamental choice. He contends that doctrinaire socialism (nationalisation, class-based appeal) has lost its relevance in an era of rising worker prosperity and cites M. N. Roy's formulation that the real political choice is between communism and democracy, not between varieties of socialism. Karnik urges the PSP to abandon class politics and rigid socialist creed in favour of becoming a broad people's organisation emphasising democratic freedom, individual initiative and rational cooperative endeavour. - The PSP's socialism originated as an amalgam of Gandhism and utopian socialism (Owen, Fourier), later absorbing more Marxism. - Karnik argues democratic/social-democratic socialism and communism share the same socio-economic theory and often the same programme of socialising production, distribution and exchange. - He invokes M. N. Roy's dictum that the real choice is 'between communism (or socialism) and democracy,' not between red and pink socialism. - Capitalism in advanced countries has changed radically, giving workers a stake in society, undermining the socialist class-appeal concept. - The British Labour Party's electoral defeat is cited as a lesson for Indian socialists. - Karnik urges the PSP to abandon class-party politics and instead organise as a national people's movement centred on democratic freedom and individual initiative. ### Notes This unsigned editorial 'Notes' section covers several current-affairs topics: Khrushchev's visit to the United States (skeptical about its likely impact on Cold War tensions and Soviet satellite states); a sharply critical piece on China's 'hostile and arrogant' border conduct, endorsing Nehru's position that negotiations must start from acceptance of the McMahon Line and criticising Chinese incursions into Ladakh and NEFA, including a deadly incident involving Indian policemen; a reprint of a Hindustan Times editorial titled 'Degrading' that condemns V. K. Krishna Menon's conduct at the UN on the Tibet issue as craven appeasement; a note on democratic party disputes over seat allocation in Kerala, endorsing Mannath Padmanabhan's proposal to select the best candidate irrespective of party label, and praising the Swatantra Party's decision to stay out of the race; and a note welcoming the successful conclusion of India-Pakistan border talks and citing Pakistani President Ayub Khan's call for joint defence arrangements. - Skepticism that Khrushchev's US visit will produce progress on major Cold War issues, though it may ease tensions somewhat. - Strong criticism of Chinese 'hostile and arrogant' behaviour on the India-China border, alleging continued occupation of Ladakh and NEFA territory. - Insistence that any border negotiations must begin from acceptance of the McMahon Line, with no discussion of its 'existence or validity.' - Reprints and endorses a Hindustan Times editorial ('Degrading') attacking Krishna Menon's UN performance on Tibet as 'appeasement, craven, humiliating, wicked.' - Reports a deadly Chinese action in Ladakh resulting in the deaths of nine Indian policemen and the kidnapping of ten. - Comments favourably on Mannath Padmanabhan's proposal for cross-party seat allocation in Kerala to strengthen the anti-communist front. - Welcomes the peaceful settlement of India-Pakistan border disputes and cites Ayub Khan's call for joint defence cooperation. ### The Significance Of Labour Defeat *By B. K. Desai* B. K. Desai analyses the British Conservative Party's decisive 1959 general election victory as reflecting a broader popular rejection of doctrinaire socialism rather than merely a Conservative policy endorsement. He notes the Liberal Party's surprising vote gains partly at Labour's expense, and argues that post-war capitalism's transformation—rising worker prosperity, greater social mobility, and the erosion of rigid class categories—has made the socialist 'class concept' outdated. Desai contrasts Britain's stagnation under nationalisation with West Germany's prosperity under free enterprise, and concludes that Labour must fundamentally reappraise its doctrine if it is to remain relevant, since British voters want 'not socialism, but a progressive radical party less extreme than Labour.' - The Conservatives won a third successive term with an increased majority, exceeding forecasts. - The Liberal Party more than doubled its votes, apparently drawing support from Labour. - Desai argues the result reflects definite popular rejection of Labour's socialist programme, not just endorsement of Conservative policy. - Rising working-class prosperity and social mobility have undermined the socialist 'class concept' and its appeal. - West Germany's free-enterprise-driven prosperity is contrasted favourably with Britain's stagnation under nationalisation policies. - Desai concludes British voters want a 'progressive radical party less extreme than Labour,' not socialism. ### Labour And The Third Five-Year Plan *By S. R. Mohan Das* S. R. Mohan Das surveys how the massive proposed investment of the Third Five-Year Plan (Rs. 10,000 crores) will pressure India's labour movement. He argues India's 'industrialising elite' is 'feudal and paternalistic,' treating workers as 'wards' incapable of managing their own affairs — an attitude shared across Indian political groups (except Marxist parties) and embodied in the Trusteeship theory and 'worker-participation in management' concepts. He warns that under the new Plan, trade unions risk being confined to welfare and cooperative activities rather than genuine collective bargaining, citing Union Minister Gulzarilal Nanda's 1956 INTUC speech that collective bargaining is valid only for a 'capitalist society.' The essay (continued on page 9, seen in full) further discusses the growing role of the State and public-sector employers in shaping the labour movement, and warns that the movement risks becoming 'a distorted form... of State and party machines' unless workers themselves resist this drift, concluding that 'Labour needs its own Five-Year Plans to reject emancipation by proxies.' - India's industrialising elite is characterised as 'feudal and paternalistic,' treating workers as wards not capable of deciding what is good for them. - All political groups in India except Marxist parties have accepted the paternalistic Trusteeship theory and worker-participation-in-management ideas. - Union Minister Gulzarilal Nanda's 1956 INTUC speech declared collective bargaining valid only for a 'capitalist society,' signalling a shift away from it under socialist planning. - New 'socialistic concepts' (worker-directors, worker-management councils) aim to restrict unions to welfare, cooperative and productivity-boosting roles rather than adversarial bargaining. - The growth of State-owned Public Sector industries as the largest employer is set to further shape (and constrain) the character of Indian trade unionism. - Mohan Das warns the labour movement risks becoming a 'distorted form' serving as an instrument of State and party machines rather than workers' own organisation. - He concludes that labour must develop its own independent five-year planning to avoid 'emancipation by proxies.' ### Democratic Planning And Publicity *By S. P. Aiyar* S. P. Aiyar argues that the theoretical debate over whether planning is compatible with democracy is settled, but that nation-wide planning inevitably increases state power, making it vital to keep the public genuinely informed. He surveys positive developments (university and press engagement with the Draft Plans) but criticises severe institutional failures in publicity: government publications are poorly distributed, the O&M administrative reform unit has achieved little, Parliamentary oversight of public enterprises is weak, and official reports are misleading through 'suppressio veri' — citing the Ministry of Transport and Communications' 1955-56 report failing to mention Indian Airlines Corporation's losses, and the 'ugly episode of the Mundhra shares' as symptomatic of unaccountable administrative 'twilight regions.' He closes with five concrete proposals (regional Information Service branches, a Lok Sabha Research Bureau, cabinet rank for the Information Minister, etc.), warning that without vigorous public education 'freedom and democratic planning will be futile and public participation will be a sham' and the 'Phantom Public' will persist. - Aiyar considers the 'planning vs. democracy' debate essentially settled but stresses that planning inherently centralises state power, requiring strong constitutional safeguards. - Universities, the press and pressure groups engaged substantially with the First and Second Five-Year Plan drafts, a positive sign for the Third Plan. - Government publicity machinery is criticised as ineffective: Publications Division branches exist but are little known or used, even by teachers and university staff. - The Estimates Committee reportedly found the O&M (Organisation and Methods) unit within the Planning Commission has done 'nothing' despite being tasked with administrative streamlining. - Official reports are accused of 'suppressio veri' — e.g., the Ministry of Transport and Communications' 1955-56 report omitting Indian Airlines Corporation's substantial losses. - The 'Mundhra shares' episode is cited as an index of the 'complete absence of responsibility' in administration. - Aiyar proposes five specific reforms: city-level Information Service branches, a Lok Sabha-style parliamentary research bureau, cabinet rank for the Minister for Information and Broadcasting, and University Grants Commission coordination on research access. - He warns that without public education, 'all talk of freedom and democratic planning will be futile and public participation will be a sham.' ### Review: Thirteen Days that Shook the Kremlin (Imre Nagy and the Hungarian Revolution by Tibor Meray) *By B. R. Shenoy* This is the volume's Review section, containing two book reviews. B. K. Desai reviews Tibor Meray's 'Imre Nagy and the Hungarian Revolution' (Fredrick A. Praeger, New York), praising it as a sympathetic yet dispassionate account of Nagy's tragic role in the thirteen days of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Desai details Nagy's rise as a reform communist trusted by the people for his clean record and liberal 1953 tenure, his inability to control the Party apparatus or satisfy the pace of popular demands once installed as Premier, and his eventual failure and death for refusing to confess or recant. Separately, Aziz Madni reviews R. H. S. Crossman's 'The Charm of Politics' (Hamish Hamilton, London), a collection of some thirty essays on political personalities and techniques, praising Crossman's intellectual depth and insight while noting the book's limits as a practical 'guide to success in politics' given Crossman's own overly intellectual approach to power. - Desai's review covers Tibor Meray's 'Imre Nagy and the Hungarian Revolution' (Praeger, $5.00, 290pp), written by a journalist who was Nagy's close associate. - Nagy is portrayed as a tragic figure: reinstated by popular pressure just before the Revolution but never able to control the Communist Party apparatus. - Nagy's initial inability to purge Stalinists and his intra-party manoeuvring frustrated a populace demanding a multi-party government and Soviet troop withdrawal. - Nagy remained a confirmed Marxist-Leninist to the end, refusing to recant despite Soviet pressure during his internment, and 'preferred death for his convictions.' - Aziz Madni's review of Crossman's 'The Charm of Politics' praises its intellectual depth on around thirty political personalities but argues it is not a practical guide to political success, given Crossman's own admitted lack of ruthlessness as a politician. ### Review: The Charm of Politics (by R. H. S. Crossman) *By Aziz Madni* "With Many Voices" is a compilation of short press quotations from October 1959, mostly criticising V. K. Krishna Menon's handling of the Tibet question at the UN and the government's China policy, alongside a few quotations on other topics (Moscow's atmosphere, Christianity in Russia, the Swatantra Party's press impact). Contributors quoted include H. V. Kamath, the Indian Express, V. R. Krishna Iyer, S. A. Dange, C. Rajagopalachari, R. K. Karanjia, and Dr. K. Shridharani, among others, drawn from papers such as Current, Indian Express, Hindustan Times, Thought, Times of India, Amrita Bazar Patrika, and the Newsletter of the Congress for Cultural Freedom. The final visible column is cut off but continues criticism of Krishna Menon's UN role. The page ends with the issue's registration number and the masthead crediting V. B. Karnik as editor, printing at Inland Printers (Bombay), and publication for the Democratic Research Service by B. K. Desai. - A compilation of ~15 short press quotations from October 1959 sources, mostly critical of Krishna Menon and Chinese/Indian border diplomacy. - C. Rajagopalachari is quoted calling the UN handling of the Tibet question 'indistinguishable from abetment of oppression.' - S. A. Dange (Communist Group leader in Parliament) is quoted urging his 'Communist Party friends in China' to realise they are 'pursuing a wrong line.' - Gandhi is quoted (from 1946, via Louis Fischer) stating 'Socialism is either dictatorship or arm-chair philosophy.' - R. K. Karanjia's open letter to Nehru praises Krishna Menon effusively as reflecting 'your brilliant mind and noble heart in action.' - Dr. K. Shridharani's Amrita Bazar Patrika columns are quoted on economic 'glorified shopkeepers' and on the Swatantra Party 'stealing newspaper space' from Congress. - The issue closes with registration number B-6354 and full masthead/publication credits. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff091/ ### Summary This is the December 1959 issue of Freedom First, the Bombay-based journal of the Forum of Free Enterprise, published in the immediate aftermath of the Chinese incursions into Ladakh and NEFA that autumn. The issue is dominated by the Sino-Indian border crisis: M. R. Masani's Lok Sabha speech attacks Jawaharlal Nehru's China policy as appeasement rooted in the sentimental fiction of Sino-Indian friendship; S. Sharangpani catalogues India's military and infrastructural unpreparedness on the Himalayan frontier; and a closing page of press excerpts ('With Many Voices') shows Indian editors and politicians turning sharply against non-alignment. The issue also carries a report on Burma's tilt toward Western aid following a Soviet propaganda debacle in Rangoon (Gilbert Jonas), an ideological essay by Bertram D. Wolfe arguing that the communist bloc is vulnerable if the free world has the will to exploit its contradictions, and a review by Adam Adit of Saul Rose's book on socialism in South-East Asia.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the December 1959 issue of Freedom First, the Bombay-based journal of the Forum of Free Enterprise, published in the immediate aftermath of the Chinese incursions into Ladakh and NEFA that autumn. The issue is dominated by the Sino-Indian border crisis: M. R. Masani's Lok Sabha speech attacks Jawaharlal Nehru's China policy as appeasement rooted in the sentimental fiction of Sino-Indian friendship; S. Sharangpani catalogues India's military and infrastructural unpreparedness on the Himalayan frontier; and a closing page of press excerpts ('With Many Voices') shows Indian editors and politicians turning sharply against non-alignment. The issue also carries a report on Burma's tilt toward Western aid following a Soviet propaganda debacle in Rangoon (Gilbert Jonas), an ideological essay by Bertram D. Wolfe arguing that the communist bloc is vulnerable if the free world has the will to exploit its contradictions, and a review by Adam Adit of Saul Rose's book on socialism in South-East Asia. Together the pieces frame a single argumentative center: that non-alignment and wishful diplomacy have left India dangerously exposed to Chinese communist expansion, and that clear-eyed anti-communism, not conciliation, is the only realistic response. ## Essays ### An End To Appeasement *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's Lok Sabha speech (delivered November 25, 1959) is a sustained attack on Nehru's handling of the Chinese border incursions, arguing that the Prime Minister's speech that morning was divisive rather than unifying and that his policy of non-alignment has been implemented with a naivety amounting to appeasement. Masani reconstructs the record of warnings — his own 1950 speech on Tibet, the ten members who cautioned Nehru in the 1950 Lok Sabha debate, and Mao Tse-Tung's 1948 statement that neutrality 'is a fraud' — to argue that the government suppressed facts from Parliament and the public for years while China surveyed the border, built roads, and consolidated its position. He rejects the idea that resisting non-alignment means abandoning it, arguing instead that non-alignment is compatible with equipping the army adequately, recognising a dangerous neighbour, and defending Indian territory; he invokes Yugoslavia, Sweden, and Switzerland as non-aligned states that nonetheless arm heavily. The speech closes by listing three concrete popular demands — a trusted Defence Minister, better roads and airfields on the frontier, and matching Chinese military equipment — and warns that continued Chinese refusal to withdraw should trigger the removal of restraints on Indian forces. - Masani accuses Nehru of years-long suppression of facts about Chinese frontier activity from Parliament and the public. - He cites his own 1950 warning on Tibet and Mao's 1948 statement that neutrality is 'a fraud' as proof the danger was foreseeable. - Ten of nineteen members who spoke in the December 1950 Lok Sabha debate warned that the invasion of Tibet was a first step toward India. - He argues non-alignment does not preclude arming adequately, citing Yugoslavia, Sweden, and Switzerland as heavily armed neutral states. - He frames the crisis as part of a broader Chinese communist objective to dominate all of South and South-East Asia, not India alone. - He lists three concrete demands: a trusted Defence Minister, frontier road/airfield construction, and military parity with China. - He warns that if China does not withdraw, all restraints on Indian armed forces should be removed. ### India's Amazing Unpreparedness *By S. Sharangpani* S. Sharangpani's article catalogues the scale of India's military and infrastructural unpreparedness on its Himalayan frontier, arguing the failure was not accidental but the inevitable result of a foreign and defence policy biased toward treating the northern border as a 'frontier of peace and friendship' rather than a security risk. He notes that even after twelve years of independence India lacked detailed survey maps of border regions like NEFA, while China had secretly surveyed the NEFA-Tibet border in 1956-57, sometimes crossing illegally into Indian territory to do so. The piece details the near-total absence of roads connecting frontier areas in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, the Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh to the rest of India, contrasting this with China's vigorous road-building program connecting Tibet to its mainland and right up to the Indian border. It closes (continued from page 4, resuming on page 6) with an account of the October 20 Chinese attack on Indian guards in Ladakh, noting Indian patrol police were armed only with rifles against Chinese troops equipped with grenades, mortars, and automatic weapons, and describes acute shortages of radios, binoculars, and high-altitude helicopters. - India lacked detailed survey maps of its own NEFA border regions even after twelve years of independence, while China secretly surveyed the same border in 1956-57. - Frontier road communications were essentially absent across Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, the Punjab, and parts of Uttar Pradesh, making troop deployment and supply extremely difficult. - China, by contrast, built roads connecting Tibet to Rudokh and Ladakh, including the Sinkiang-Tibet road through the Aksaichin plateau, which India only learned had been completed in September 1957. - The October 20, 1959 Chinese attack on Indian guards in Ladakh showed Chinese troops equipped with grenades, mortars, and automatic weapons versus Indian patrol police armed only with rifles. - Indian frontier posts in Sikkim and the Nathu La frontier lacked automatic weapons, proper radio transmitters, and binoculars, leaving them unable to monitor Chinese troop movements. - India lacked helicopters capable of operating at the ~20,000-foot altitudes of Ladakh, hampering resupply of border outposts. - The author attributes the unpreparedness to a deliberate government policy bias favouring the Panchsheel framework over realistic defence planning. ### Burma Moves Toward The West *By Gilbert Jonas* Gilbert Jonas reports on Burma's decision in mid-1959 to reverse a decade of neutralist policy and accept a $37 million American economic aid package, tracing this shift to a Soviet propaganda blunder in Rangoon. The episode began when the Soviet news agency Tass fabricated a story, attributed to a nonexistent 'Delhi Times' correspondent, accusing three pro-Western Burmese newspapers of taking American bribes to abandon neutralism; the fabrication was quickly exposed, provoking a wave of Burmese public anger that included a Soviet attaché's botched defection attempt, mob protests at the Soviet embassy, and the defection of a Soviet information officer to the American embassy in June. Jonas situates this within Burma's broader position: a decade of guerrilla warfare against domestic communist insurgents, deep concern about the 1,000-mile border with Communist China, and shock at China's suppression of the Tibetan revolt, to which Burmese public opinion — being racially and religiously close to Tibetans — reacted strongly. He concludes that while the shift toward American aid does not mean Burma will formally align with the West, it reflects a marked drop in communist prestige and reduced vulnerability to communist overtures relative to other Asian neutralist states. - Burma announced in July 1959 its readiness to accept American economic grants, alongside a US offer of $37 million in aid over four years, reversing a decade of neutralist refusal of Western aid. - The reversal followed a Soviet Tass news agency fabrication accusing three pro-Western Rangoon newspapers of accepting American bribes, sourced to a nonexistent 'Delhi Times' correspondent. - The fabrication provoked Burmese public fury: mob protests at the Soviet embassy, manhandling of journalists, and the embarrassing defection attempt and forced return of a Soviet military attaché. - A second Soviet information officer defected to the American embassy in Rangoon in June 1959 with a written statement accusing the Soviet government of terror and subversion. - China's brutal suppression of the Tibetan revolt deeply affected Burmese public opinion given racial and religious closeness to Tibetans, further damaging communist prestige. - Burma continues to fight domestic communist guerrillas and faces infiltration and propaganda from Communist China across their shared 1,000-mile border. - The article frames the shift as reflecting reduced Burmese vulnerability to communist overtures rather than a full alignment with the West. ### Communist Vulnerability *By Bertram D. Wolfe* Bertram D. Wolfe argues that the free world's passivity, not communist strength, is responsible for the West's failure to exploit the many structural vulnerabilities of the communist bloc. He contends the communists wage a single, unending 'protracted war' in which every negotiation is a tactical move, while the West treats each issue as separately resolvable and thereby only cedes ground. Wolfe catalogues the gap between original Bolshevik promises — land to the peasants, perpetual peace, production for use, plenty, the withering away of the state, freedom, a workers' paradise, national self-determination — and the totalitarian reality of collectivized farming, permanent war footing, engineered scarcity, and the abolition of all freedoms, arguing each of these broken promises is itself a potential ideological weapon for the West if wielded with a coherent revolutionary counter-strategy. The essay urges that the West must first understand the unitary and unending nature of the conflict and then develop a strategy commensurate with the scale of the vulnerabilities available to it. - Wolfe argues communist vulnerability only becomes real when an opponent is alert, determined, and ready to exploit weaknesses — conditions he says the free world currently lacks. - He characterizes the communist approach as a single 'protracted war,' citing Robert Strausz-Hupe's Foreign Policy Research Institute, in which every negotiation is a move in a war to the finish. - The West, by contrast, treats persuasion and reassurance of the Soviets as ends in themselves, which Wolfe says only invites the Kremlin to bank concessions and continue the fight from a stronger position. - He lists eight original Bolshevik promises (land to the peasants, perpetual peace, production for use, plenty, the withering of the state, freedom, a workers' paradise, national self-determination) that have each inverted into their opposite after four decades of Soviet power. - Wolfe argues these broken promises constitute genuine ideological vulnerabilities that a determined, strategy-driven West could turn into weapons. - The piece frames the stakes as the shape of the world for the rest of the century, contingent on whether the free world develops the will and strategy to exploit communism's contradictions. ### Review: Socialism in South-East Asia (by Saul Rose; Oxford University Press, 1959) *By Adam Adit* Writing under the byline 'Adam Adit,' the reviewer assesses Saul Rose's 'Socialism in South-East Asia' (Oxford University Press, 1959), a documentary history of two decades of socialist movements across the region. The review traces socialism's import into Asia as an adjunct to nationalist struggle, discusses the Congress Socialist Party's rise under Jayaprakash Narayan within the Indian National Congress, and the movement's later fragmentation as Masani rejected socialism, Achyut Patwardhan retreated into an ashram, Jayaprakash drifted toward Sarvodaya, and Rambanjan Lohia pursued 'equidistance,' with the Praja Socialist Party's subsequent electoral collapse. The review extends the comparison to Burma (where the Socialists under U Ba Swe and U Kyaw Nyein achieved dominance in the AFPFL before scandal and factional failure), Indonesia, and Pakistan, and closes by describing Rose's book as painful, gloomy reading that nonetheless documents the failures dispassionately and conveys urgency about the unresolved contest between democratic socialism and totalitarianism in Asia. - The review covers Saul Rose's 'Socialism in South-East Asia' (OUP, 1959, Rs. 17.50, pp. 278), a documentary history of the region's socialist movements over two decades. - It traces Indian socialism's rise inside the Indian National Congress under the Congress Socialist Party, led by Jayaprakash Narayan with Nehru's encouragement. - It describes the movement's later fragmentation: Masani rejected socialism, Patwardhan withdrew into an ashram, Jayaprakash drifted toward Sarvodaya, and Lohia pursued 'equidistance.' - The Praja Socialist Party's electoral performance collapsed badly in successive general elections, driving it toward opportunistic alliances with communists. - In Burma, socialists under U Ba Swe and U Kyaw Nyein achieved dominance in the AFPFL but were undone by corruption scandal and factional missteps similar to India's. - Indonesia and Pakistan are described as even less hospitable to socialism, ceding ground to communist consolidation or religio-political nationalism respectively. - The reviewer characterizes the book as dispassionate, well-documented, but ultimately 'painful' and 'gloomy' reading that nonetheless conveys urgency about defeating totalitarianism in Asia. ### With Many Voices The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' is an uncredited compilation of press and political statements from mid-to-late November 1959, assembled to show the rapid collapse of elite Indian support for non-alignment in the wake of the Chinese border crisis. It quotes C. Rajagopalachari declaring non-alignment terminated 'by the East,' G. B. Pant warning that Indian communists could not be trusted against a communist aggressor, V. K. Krishna Menon and Indira Gandhi offering more equivocal remarks, and Orissa Chief Minister Harekrishna Mahtab rejecting the premise of historic Sino-Indian amity. The page also includes an advertisement for the Democratic Research Service's 'Kerala Under Communism' report and for Encounter magazine. - The page compiles roughly a dozen short quotations from Indian newspapers and political figures dated November 1959, reacting to the Chinese border incursions. - C. Rajagopalachari is quoted twice (Hindu, November 15) declaring that non-alignment has been automatically terminated by China's actions and would now only mean preferring peace at any price. - G. B. Pant, Minister for Home Affairs, is quoted warning that in an organized military operation by a communist country against India, Indian communists would likely side with the enemy. - Dr. Harekrishna Mahtab, Chief Minister of Orissa, rejects the idea of historic Sino-Indian amity, arguing China has always been aggressive toward neighbours when it held power. - R. K. Karanjia (Blitz) is quoted twice, including a claim that Nehru has adapted Marxism to the nuclear age and remarks about nationalist-socialists like Namboodiripad. - V. K. Krishna Menon and Indira Gandhi are quoted with more equivocal or rhetorical statements about the frontier and Indian communists. - The page carries advertisements for the Democratic Research Service pamphlet 'Kerala Under Communism' and for Encounter magazine's December 1959 issue. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff092/ ### Summary This is the January 1960 issue (No. 92) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service. The issue is dominated by anxiety over Chinese expansionism following the 1959 border clashes and the flight of the Dalai Lama, with the lead editorial, a Munshi essay, and a 'With Many Voices' compilation of Parliamentary and press statements all addressing the theme from different angles. Alongside the China-Tibet material, the issue carries notes on Eisenhower's presidential visit to India, a report on Chinese pressure against Indonesia's ethnic-Chinese trading minority, restrictions placed on the Dalai Lama during a Bombay visit, a dispatch on a fractious Melbourne peace congress, and two book reviews (one on Soviet consumer conditions, one on Stalin-era Smolensk archives). In the rendered pages, the issue's argumentative center is a call for India to abandon complacent non-alignment, arm itself, and resist Chinese aggression firmly rather than negotiate indefinitely. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the January 1960 issue (No. 92) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service. The issue is dominated by anxiety over Chinese expansionism following the 1959 border clashes and the flight of the Dalai Lama, with the lead editorial, a Munshi essay, and a 'With Many Voices' compilation of Parliamentary and press statements all addressing the theme from different angles. Alongside the China-Tibet material, the issue carries notes on Eisenhower's presidential visit to India, a report on Chinese pressure against Indonesia's ethnic-Chinese trading minority, restrictions placed on the Dalai Lama during a Bombay visit, a dispatch on a fractious Melbourne peace congress, and two book reviews (one on Soviet consumer conditions, one on Stalin-era Smolensk archives). In the rendered pages, the issue's argumentative center is a call for India to abandon complacent non-alignment, arm itself, and resist Chinese aggression firmly rather than negotiate indefinitely. ## Essays ### Resist Aggression *By V. B. Karnik* In the unsigned lead editorial 'Resist Aggression' (attributed to V. B. Karnik), the author argues that India can no longer treat the Chinese border incursions as a matter of minor adjustment, since Chou-En-lai's letters and continuing Chinese military build-up in Tibet reveal a design to dominate the entire Himalayan and sub-Himalayan region as a step toward Communist supremacy over South East Asia. The piece praises Nehru's declaration in the Lok Sabha that no further encroachment will be tolerated and that the country will pay any cost to defend its honour, while criticizing the government for refusing to disclose what it intends to do about territory already lost. It calls for India to accept military aid from any quarter regardless of bloc alignment, to increase agricultural and industrial output to sustain a military effort without over-committing to heavy industrialisation, and to win over the loyalty of border populations threatened by Chinese propaganda. It closes by insisting that only a firm, united national response — not fence-sitting non-alignment — will deter further aggression. - Chinese claims are not to border adjustments but to the whole Himalayan/sub-Himalayan region, per Chou-En-lai's letters to Nehru - Communism's expansionist character makes it intolerant of a free, democratic India as a rival model for South East Asia - Nehru's Lok Sabha pledge that no cost is too great to defend honour and freedom is welcomed as overdue but correct - Government criticized for secrecy about plans to recover already-occupied territory - India should accept military aid from any bloc, not just economic aid, without compromising non-alignment as a policy - Self-help via increased agricultural and industrial output is necessary to sustain the military effort, but should not mean prioritizing heavy industry over defense readiness - Winning the loyalty of border-region populations against Chinese propaganda is presented as essential to the national defense effort ### Notes (U.S. President's Visit; Chinese Threat to Indonesia; Restrictions on Dalai Lama?) The 'Notes' section opens with a piece praising President Eisenhower's visit to India as a triumphant, popularly-embraced event that reinforced ideological bonds between the two democracies and helped correct distorted mutual perceptions, framing the visit as a milestone in overcoming Nehru-era assumptions about non-alignment following the shocks of Hungary and Tibet. A second note, 'Chinese Threat to Indonesia,' reports rising tension between Peking and Jakarta after Indonesia banned rural trade by resident aliens (effective January 1), a measure aimed at the ethnic-Chinese trading minority who dominate large parts of the Indonesian economy; the note frames this as part of a wider pattern of Chinese assertiveness across South East Asia and warns Indonesia may face civil strife as a result. A third note, 'Restrictions on Dalai Lama?', criticizes the Government of India for restricting political access to the Dalai Lama during a brief stay in Bombay, seeing this as evidence of an appeasement posture toward China. - Eisenhower's visit is presented as a popular triumph that dispelled Indian misconceptions about America and vice versa - The visit is tied to a broader Indian re-appraisal of non-alignment after the 'rape of Tibet' and Chinese expansionism - Indonesia's ban on rural trade by aliens (effective Jan 1) targets the ethnic-Chinese trading minority controlling ~90% of Indonesian economic activity - Peking is depicted as defending overseas Chinese interests and stoking tension with Jakarta, risking civil strife - The Government of India is criticized for restricting access to the visiting Dalai Lama in Bombay, seen as appeasement of China ### Peace Congress In Australia *By Tibor Meray* Tibor Meray's 'Peace Congress In Australia' reports critically on the 'Australian and New Zealand Congress for International Cooperation and Disarmament' held in Melbourne, arguing that despite official denials the conference was substantially organized and steered by Australian Communists and fellow-travellers linked to the Soviet-controlled World Peace Council. Meray recounts how the Australian secret police's visit to a sponsor, Professor A. K. Stout, triggered his withdrawal and public controversy, describes party delegates blocking resolutions on free dissemination of pacifist propaganda and on Hungarian writers' imprisonment (including Tibor Dery), and details J. B. Priestley's public protest, alongside Mulk Raj Anand's supporting statement, against the conference's refusal to condemn Hungary's suppression of writers. Meray concludes that the congress's 'Declaration of Hope' emerged watered-down and evasive on issues like Eastern European independence and the Sino-Indian border, and predicts the episode will have little lasting effect beyond illustrating communist parties' efforts to build a 'popular front' of peace movements in the West. - The Melbourne peace congress is portrayed as nominally independent but effectively organized by Australian Communists tied to the Soviet World Peace Council - Professor A. K. Stout withdrew as sponsor after admitting the Australian secret police had shown him documents on the organizers - Party delegates voted down a resolution calling for free dissemination of pacifist propaganda, fearing it as an 'anti-Soviet trap' - A minority addendum noting that writers in some countries lack freedom of expression was seen by party members as a veiled reference to Hungary and was rejected - J. B. Priestley and his wife Jacquetta Hawkes issued a public protest over the conference's refusal to speak up for imprisoned Hungarian writers including Tibor Dery - Mulk Raj Anand issued a supporting statement without going as far as Priestley - The conference's final 'Declaration of Hope' is described as restrained, avoiding pointed positions on Eastern European independence or the Sino-Indian border dispute - Meray frames the episode as evidence of a broader trend of communist parties seeking respectability via peace movements in Western countries ### Chinese Expansionism *By K. M. Munshi* K. M. Munshi's 'Chinese Expansionism' argues that India's handling of the Tibet situation has been 'a crime in history,' driven by a naive belief — encouraged by Chou-En-lai's 'honeymoon' visit and the doctrine of Panchshila — that India and China could jointly lead a new peaceful Asia. Munshi contends that Han Chinese chauvinism underlies Beijing's colonisation of Tibet, Sinkiang, and Inner Mongolia alike, driven by the search for oil, lead, copper, and coal in resource-rich frontier regions inhabited by non-Han peoples, and that the same expansionist pressure now bears on Ladakh, Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal, Vietnam, Laos, Burma, and Indonesia. He rejects the choice between conquest and negotiation as a false dichotomy, insisting that India must build up armed strength ('a nation in arms') to make aggression too costly rather than relying on either passive pacifism or hope for negotiated settlement. - India's earlier belief in Sino-Indian friendship and Panchshila is characterized as self-deceiving gullibility that ignored China's real designs on Tibet - Han Chinese chauvinism is presented as the driving force behind Chinese rule over Tibet, Inner Mongolia, and Sinkiang alike, displacing non-Han peoples - Chinese expansionism is tied to resource control: 80-90% of China's oil, 55% of lead, 47% of copper, and 22% of coal lie in frontier regions inhabited by non-Han populations - Chinese pressure is described as extending to Ladakh, Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal, Vietnam, Laos, Burma, and against ethnic-Chinese-linked leverage over Indonesia - Munshi rejects the Defence Minister's framing of 'conquest or negotiation' as a false choice, calling instead for India to become a 'nation in arms' - The essay closes by urging citizens to support the Territorial Army and accept foreign military equipment without political strings ### A Notable Exhibition *By From Our Correspondent* This unsigned report describes an exhibition of photographs of the Kerala 'Liberation Struggle' (the June-July 1959 anti-Communist agitation against the E.M.S. Namboodiripad ministry), organised by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom in Bombay from December 19-22. The exhibition depicted the popular enthusiasm of the movement, its cross-community and cross-caste participation, and alleged brutal suppression by the Communist state ministry, including images of beatings, shootings, and grieving relatives of 'martyrs'. K. M. Munshi inaugurated the exhibition, arguing that Kerala had demonstrated that a communist government, once in power even via democratic means, would undermine democratic institutions and suppress individual liberty, and crediting the absence of a communist army in a neighbouring state (unlike Hungary) as key to the movement's success. - The exhibition, organized by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, ran in Bombay from December 19-22 and drew over 1500 visitors - Photographs depicted meetings, processions, picketing, police beatings of volunteers, shootings, and the funerals of movement 'martyrs' - The exhibition emphasized the Liberation Struggle as a state-wide, cross-community, cross-caste mass movement - K. M. Munshi inaugurated the exhibition and argued Kerala proved that communism in power, even via democratic means, suppresses individual liberty and democratic institutions - Munshi credited the absence of a neighbouring communist army (unlike Hungary's position relative to the USSR) as crucial to the movement succeeding against the communist ministry ### Soviet Society In Transition *By (Contributed)* This unsigned, contributed piece, 'Soviet Society In Transition,' surveys reports from the Soviet press (October 1959) on Khrushchev's tour of Siberia and the state of Soviet consumer conditions. It describes Khrushchev acknowledging acute housing shortages and shortcomings in supplies among Siberian workers, and details the introduction of a hire-purchase system for consumer goods, expanding from an Ukrainian pilot into a nationwide program, framed as evidence of a shift toward mass consumption despite continued shortages of basic goods. The piece draws on Sovetskaya Rossiya reader letters lamenting the gap between Sputnik-era propaganda and the reality of scarce, poor-quality consumer goods, and on Party Life articles criticizing Communists who exploit unearned income through property speculation, illegal trading, and high rents — closing with discussion of a controversial 1959 inheritance-law debate over taxing or capping unearned wealth passed to heirs, including outsized royalties earned by favoured Soviet authors and composers. - Khrushchev, touring Siberia in autumn 1959, admitted 'difficult conditions' and acute housing shortages among workers there - A hire-purchase (installment credit) system for consumer goods, first piloted in Ukraine, was extended across the USSR by government order despite earlier propaganda condemning such credit as a capitalist evil - Reader letters to Sovetskaya Rossiya express frustration at the gap between Sputnik/Luniks propaganda and everyday scarcity of basic consumer goods like shoes - Party Life criticized Communists in the Zhilevo settlement for profiting from private trade, speculative rents, and high-priced sales of state-assisted housing - A controversial 1959 Izvestiya debate addressed whether to tax or cap unearned income from inheritance, including on dachas built with embezzled state funds - Author, composer, and scientist royalties/salaries in the USSR are reported as very high (e.g., a novel's first edition may earn 250,000 roubles), enabling a 'New Class' to accumulate private wealth and pass it to heirs ### House That Stalin Built *By M. Devadas Kini* M. Devadas Kini's review, 'House That Stalin Built,' covers Merle Fainsod's 'Smolensk Under Soviet Rule' (Harvard University Press), which draws on a cache of over 500 captured Communist Party files from the Smolensk oblast archive (1917-1938) that fell into Nazi and then American hands. Kini uses the review to argue more broadly that Soviet communism produced a new ruling class of bureaucrats and technocrats exercising totalitarian, state-directed control over all social institutions, citing the Smolensk archive's evidence of pervasive secret-police surveillance, the destruction of the peasantry via forced collectivisation (targeting kulaks first, then middle and poor peasants), and coerced participation in kolkhozes achieved through intimidation and arrests. The review closes by casting collectivisation as increasing agricultural output only by ruthlessly extracting the maximum from a peasantry stripped of freedom. - Reviews Merle Fainsod's 'Smolensk Under Soviet Rule' (Harvard University Press, $8.50), based on captured Communist Party archive files covering Smolensk oblast, 1917-1938 - Kini argues Soviet communism substituted a new bureaucratic/technocratic ruling class for the old order rather than eliminating class domination - Describes total state control of press, education, and public opinion as enabling the regime to mould people 'into any required shape' - Details forced collectivisation as proceeding by first isolating and destroying kulaks through tax burdens and confiscation, then coercing middle and poor peasants via seed confiscation, arrest threats, and forced labour - Quotes a peasant's letter (signed 'Polzikov') describing coerced, non-voluntary kolkhoz enrollment in the village of Podbuzhye - Concludes that collectivisation raised agricultural output only by maximal, coercive extraction from a stripped-of-freedom peasantry ### With Many Voices The closing feature, 'With Many Voices,' is a compilation of quoted statements from Indian politicians, journalists, and news items (mid-to-late December 1959) on the Sino-Indian border dispute, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. It juxtaposes Nehru's pledge to 'negotiate, negotiate and negotiate to the bitter end' with sharply critical counter-voices: Acharya Kripalani warning that negotiating to the bitter end would mean losing Indian territory and endangering national security; the Indian Express calling for India to be ready to 'use pistols' against China; Communist leader P. Ramamurthy praising Nehru's approach as aligned with Communist Party positions (framed ironically); Kamal Nayan Bajaj contrasting India 'making history' with China 'making geography' at India's expense; Dahyabhai Patel alleging Chinese delegations visited India only to spy; and Army Chief Gen. Thimayya's testimony (via Time magazine) that 1957 proposals to secure the Sinkiang-Tibet road were rejected by the Defence Minister because it was assumed the only real enemy was Pakistan. - Nehru is quoted pledging to 'negotiate, negotiate and negotiate to the bitter end' with China (Times of India, Dec 22) - Acharya Kripalani warns that negotiating 'to the bitter end' risks losing Indian territory and endangering national security (Hindustan Times) - The Indian Express (Dec 21) argues China must be told firmly that India can 'flourish and use pistols' if necessary - Communist leader P. Ramamurthy is quoted approvingly comparing Nehru's approach to the Communist Party's own position (Indian Express, Dec 14) - Kamal Nayan Bajaj contrasts India 'making history' internally and externally with China 'making geography' by expanding at India's expense (Hindustan Times, Dec 23) - Gen. Thimayya is quoted (via Time magazine) revealing that 1957 proposals to secure the Sinkiang-Tibet road area were rejected by the Defence Minister, who assumed Pakistan was the only relevant enemy - Dr. Ram Subhag, M.P., criticizes the Defence Ministry for distributing copies of a Delhi weekly deemed sympathetic to China - Krishna Menon is noted as having described the Chinese occupation of Indian territory merely as an 'incursion,' with the compiler implying the word choice understates the seriousness --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff093/ ### Summary This is issue No. 93 of Freedom First (February 1960), the monthly journal of the Forum of Free Enterprise published from Bombay and edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is dominated by the Sino-Indian border crisis and the question of how India, the Swatantra Party, and international communism are responding to it. V. B. Karnik's editorial "Paramount Need" welcomes the thaw in India-Pakistan relations and argues that the real threat to India is Chinese expansionism, criticising Nehru for rejecting proposals for Indo-Pakistani joint defence and noting the Swatantra Party's more forthright call for a firm policy against Chinese Communist aggression. J. B. Kripalani's piece (styled as a foreword to the pamphlet "Thought on China") presses the same theme, faulting the government's earlier self-deception about Chinese intentions in Tibet and Nepal. S. R.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 93 of Freedom First (February 1960), the monthly journal of the Forum of Free Enterprise published from Bombay and edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is dominated by the Sino-Indian border crisis and the question of how India, the Swatantra Party, and international communism are responding to it. V. B. Karnik's editorial "Paramount Need" welcomes the thaw in India-Pakistan relations and argues that the real threat to India is Chinese expansionism, criticising Nehru for rejecting proposals for Indo-Pakistani joint defence and noting the Swatantra Party's more forthright call for a firm policy against Chinese Communist aggression. J. B. Kripalani's piece (styled as a foreword to the pamphlet "Thought on China") presses the same theme, faulting the government's earlier self-deception about Chinese intentions in Tibet and Nepal. S. R. Mohan Das's "Russian Communists Are 'Different'" and the contributed "Soviet Propaganda—A Study" both interrogate Nehru and Krishna Menon's claims about a benign, evolving Soviet Communism, arguing that Soviet propaganda's substance and ultimate aims toward world communist expansion remain unchanged despite cosmetic softening after Stalin's death. A special correspondent's report from Kerala describes the Communist Party's isolation ahead of the 1960 state elections, attributing it to popular disillusionment with the recently dismissed Communist ministry's record. Rounding out the issue are a tribute to Albert Camus by Francois Bondy (occasioned by Camus's death), a book review section covering works on public administration, meeting procedure, British Communism, Tibet/China, and Arab refugees, and the "With Many Voices" column of press quotations on Nehru, non-alignment, and the China question. ## Essays ### Paramount Need *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead editorial welcomes the recent thaw in India-Pakistan relations, noting that border disputes (apart from Kashmir) have been amicably settled and crediting the Bangalore session of the Indian National Congress and remarks by C. Rajagopalachari and Jayaprakash Narayan for articulating the public mood. Karnik argues the real danger to India now comes from China in the north, not Pakistan, and criticises Prime Minister Nehru for dismissing, without serious consideration, proposals (including one from Pakistan's President Ayub Khan) for Indo-Pakistani joint defence against Chinese expansionism. He quotes the Swatantra Party's General Council resolution calling for a firm and vigilant policy toward Chinese Communist aggression, including settlement of outstanding issues with Pakistan, regional security consultations, and vigilance against fifth-column activity, and closes by urging the government to set aside doctrinaire objections to military alliances and pursue joint defence of the subcontinent. - Welcomes growing India-Pakistan amity and near-total settlement of border disputes apart from Kashmir. - Cites the Bangalore Congress resolution on India's frontiers as reflecting the public mood of reconciliation with Pakistan. - Argues China, not Pakistan, is now the paramount threat to India's security. - Criticises Nehru for rejecting, out of hand, ideas of Indo-Pakistani or South/South-East Asian joint defence against China. - Notes Pakistani President Ayub Khan's expressed willingness to discuss joint defence of the subcontinent. - Quotes the Swatantra Party's General Council resolution calling for a firm policy against Chinese aggression and consultations with South and South-East Asian countries. - Concludes that no old prejudices or doctrinaire objections to alliances should stand in the way of the paramount need of defending the northern frontier. ### Russian Communists Are "Different" *By S. R. Mohan Das* S. R. Mohan Das examines Nehru's stated views following Chinese incursions into Indian territory: that Chinese expansionism has nothing to do with communist character, that there is no coordinated international communism, that communists behave differently in different countries, and that Indian communists are unpatriotic compared to Chinese or Russian counterparts. The author draws a parallel between Nehru's 1950 view that Chinese communism was "different" (more humane, tempered by Confucian tradition) and his current, reversed claim that Soviet communism is now the more liberalised and humane one as against an aggressive China — arguing this is the same rhetorical move repeated with a different target. The essay catalogues instances of continuing Soviet support for China against India, including the Soviet Union's failure to disapprove of Chinese action and an episode at the Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee in Cairo where the Russian delegate blocked an Indian secretary's cable calling for a peaceful Sino-Indian settlement. It concludes that the Soviet Union continues, through defector testimony (a former Soviet intelligence agent), to subvert non-communist countries in coordination with China, and mocks Nehru's claim that Indian communists are the world's worst communists as failing to recognise that Indian communists' "patriotism" would evaporate the moment their own leaders (Ranadive or Namboodiripad) came to power. - Lists five claims made by Nehru about the non-ideological, disunified, and nationally variable character of world communism. - Draws a parallel between Nehru's 1950 characterisation of Chinese communism as 'different'/humane and his 1959-60 characterisation of Soviet communism as 'different' from an aggressive China. - Argues China has selectively refrained from expansionism against countries with military alliances, while acting aggressively toward non-aligned/undefended neighbours. - Cites the Cairo Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee episode as evidence the Soviet Union blocked Indian efforts even at rhetorical solidarity with India over the border dispute. - References a defected Soviet intelligence agent's claim that the USSR continues coordinated subversion of non-communist states with China. - Concludes Indian communists' loyalty is contingent and would flip if their own leaders (Ranadive, Namboodiripad) attained power. ### Kerala On The Eve Of Elections *By A Special Correspondent* An unnamed special correspondent reports from Kerala ahead of the 1960 state elections on the political isolation of the Communist Party, which — unlike in previous elections — no longer enjoys a broad United Leftist Front and finds even splinter groups (RSP, KSP, Jan Sangh) opposing it as their main target. The correspondent attributes this to the popular experience of Communist rule: corruption and cronyism under the dismissed Communist ministry, exposed by enquiry commissions, contrasted with a basic difference the public perceives between parties that operate within democratic values and one that sought to subvert democratic institutions. The report notes the Communists have lost support among writers, intellectuals, and some Scheduled Caste and toddy-tapper constituencies that previously formed their base, describes vigorous campaigning by opposition groups (Anti-Communist Front, Voice of Kerala, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee), and closes with an anecdote of a communist MP admitting privately that the party is not hopeful about the elections, though he predicted the same historical forces that brought them to power once would eventually do so again nationally. - Unlike previous elections, the Communist Party in Kerala faces near-total isolation without a united left front, opposed even by splinter parties. - The correspondent attributes this to disillusionment with the dismissed Communist ministry's record of alleged corruption and machinery misuse, not to the Chinese border issue. - Enquiry commissions have substantiated opposition charges of fraud within cooperative societies, Harijan welfare schemes, and Toddy Tappers' Cooperatives. - Communists have lost support among writers/intellectuals and are showing cracks in their traditional base among Ezhava and Scheduled Caste communities and toddy tappers. - Opposition groups across Trichur, Ernakulam, and Trivandrum are running vigorous, well-organised pamphleteering campaigns. - A communist MP, speaking off the record, admitted the party was 'not very hopeful' about the elections but insisted the same historical forces would eventually bring communism to power nationally. ### Menace Of Chinese Imperialism *By J. B. Kripalani* In this piece — presented as the foreword to the Democratic Research Service pamphlet "Thought on China" — J. B. Kripalani argues it is necessary to know the facts about the Himalayan border troubles with China because the issues have been deliberately and unconsciously clouded by communists and fellow-travellers invoking slogans of Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai and fears of jeopardising India-China friendship. He recounts having warned Parliament as early as the end of 1950 about the implications of the Chinese occupation of Tibet, arguing that if the same 'liberation' logic were applied to Nepal, India would have to go to war regardless of preparedness. Kripalani criticises the Defence Minister for saying aggression is difficult to define, arguing that just as one need not define pain to feel it, aggression by Red China is self-evident and must be resisted in deeds rather than eloquent words, closing with a call to resist this new and more ruthless imperialism using the same spirit that guided the independence movement. - Argues the border crisis with China has been deliberately and unconsciously obscured by communists and fellow-travellers using 'war psychosis' and 'Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai' rhetoric. - Recalls warning Parliament at the end of 1950 about the danger of accepting the Chinese occupation of Tibet as none of India's concern. - Argues that the same reasoning, if the Chinese 'liberation' pattern extended to Nepal, would force India into war regardless of preparedness. - Criticises the Defence Minister's statement that aggression is difficult to define, comparing it to pain, which need not be defined to be felt. - Welcomes the Prime Minister's recognition of Red China's actions as aggression but insists that only deeds, not eloquent words, can convince China of India's resolve. - Closes by invoking the spirit, devotion, and fearlessness of the independence movement to resist the new imperialism. ### Albert Camus *By Francois Bondy* Francois Bondy's tribute to Albert Camus, written shortly after Camus's sudden death, situates him as the youngest Nobel laureate in Literature and traces his enduring influence among readers in Russia's satellite states, Spain, Japan, and India, despite his refusal to align himself with any journal or clique (unlike Sartre or Mauriac). Bondy portrays Camus as a man who dared extremes while distrusting nihilism and doctrinaire nationalism, recalling his wartime editorship of the Resistance paper "Combat" and his interventions on behalf of imprisoned Hungarian writers like Tibor Dery. He also discusses Camus's deep and conflicted relationship with Algeria, noting Camus avoided grand pronouncements on the Algerian drama despite quietly interceding with French Residents-General on behalf of prisoners condemned to death and interned Algerians, and closes by comparing the loss of Camus's influence to that of Simone Weil. - Frames Camus as the youngest winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, whose influence was especially strong behind the Iron Curtain, in Spain, Japan, and India. - Notes Camus stood apart from cliques (unlike Sartre and Mauriac) and was recognised by younger generations across political lines. - Describes Camus's wartime role editing the Resistance newspaper Combat alongside contributors like Malraux, Aron, and Sartre. - Highlights his 'Letter to a German Friend' as among the first human voices to reach individuals in defeated Germany, alongside Saint-Exupery's 'Letter to a Hostage.' - Recounts Camus's quiet interventions with French colonial officials in Algeria on behalf of condemned prisoners and internees, despite avoiding public pronouncements on Algeria. - Compares Camus's unique influence in French letters to that of Simone Weil. ### Soviet Propaganda—A Study *By (Contributed)* This contributed, unsigned study argues that while Soviet propaganda has undergone superficial changes since Stalin's death — reduced volume of overt political agitation, more coverage of science and culture, occasional frank internal discussion, and a less crudely uniform tone — its underlying nature and ultimate aims remain unchanged. The author walks through examples: increased material on science/culture on Soviet television, permitted debate on education reform and the future of sovkhozes, and occasional articles favourable to the American people offset by sustained attacks on American policy. It argues these concessions were driven by the regime's need to retain the loyalty of specialists (economists, Party members, students) rather than any real liberalisation, and that in foreign policy and international communist strategy Soviet propaganda remains uniform, aggressive, and unchanged, citing Pravda, Kommunist, and Molodoi Kommunist statements proclaiming the inevitable triumph of communism and terming the West spiritually bankrupt. It concludes these are proclamations of continuation of the Cold War in support of Soviet power and the world communist movement. - Identifies four observable changes in Soviet propaganda since Stalin's death: less political agitation, more science/culture content, more human feeling in depicting Soviet life, and tolerance of differing opinions on internal policy. - Attributes these changes to the regime's practical need to retain the loyalty of specialists and educated Soviet citizens, not to genuine liberalisation. - Notes debates have opened in the Soviet press over education reform, compulsory manual labour for youth, and the future of the sovkhoz (state farm) system. - Points out official Soviet denial of class distinctions is contradicted by an admission in the journal Kommunist that class distinctions persist in the USSR. - Argues foreign policy propaganda and messaging on the world communist movement have remained completely unchanged and uniform across all Soviet organs. - Concludes that recent claims of communism's inevitable global triumph amount to a proclamation of continued Cold War against the free world. ### Review: Of Matters Administrative *By V. B. K.* The review section of this issue covers five publications. V. B. Karnik (V.B.K.) reviews A. D. Gorwala's "Of Matters Administrative" (Popular Book Depot), praising Gorwala's courage in critiquing Indian public administration but noting Gorwala's preference for changing 'the men at the top' rather than administrative procedures inherited from British rule is hard to accept given India's shift to a welfare state. M.N.D. reviews "The Conduct of Meetings" by G. H. Steroford, adapted for Indian use by Minoo Masani (Oxford University Press), as a useful practical guide for chairmen and secretaries of organisations. V.B.K. also reviews "The British Road to Stalinism" (Industrial Research and Information Services Ltd.), a report on the Communist Party of Great Britain's decline and its complete subservience to Soviet Russia, and separately reviews "Thought on China" (Siddhartha Publications, Delhi), the republished collection of the weekly Thought's prescient writings on Tibet and Chinese cartographic aggression, with a foreword by J. B. Kripalani. R. V. Raghavan reviews Walter Pinner's "How Many Arab Refugees?" (Macgibboor and Kee), noting it makes a serious factual case on the Arab refugee problem but is largely silent on Israel's own responsibility, leaving it open to charges of one-sidedness. - Karnik praises Gorwala's collected articles on Indian public administration for their candour but disagrees with his conclusion that the remedy lies in changing personnel rather than administrative procedures. - M.N.D. recommends 'The Conduct of Meetings' (adapted for India by Minoo Masani) as a concise practical manual for chairmen and secretaries. - V.B.K.'s review of 'The British Road to Stalinism' documents the precipitous decline of the British Communist Party's membership and its complete subservience to Soviet Russia. - V.B.K.'s review of 'Thought on China' credits the weekly Thought with foresight in warning, as early as 1950-51 and 1954, about Chinese aggression toward Tibet and India, with a foreword contributed by J. B. Kripalani. - R. V. Raghavan's review of 'How Many Arab Refugees?' finds the book a serious, fact-based treatment of the refugee problem, but criticises its silence on Israel's role as leaving it one-sided. ### Review: The Conduct of Meetings *By M.N.D.* "With Many Voices" is the issue's closing column of quotations from the contemporary press and public figures, prefaced by an epigraph from Tennyson. It gathers commentary critical of Nehru's leadership and non-alignment policy (from Swarajya, Examiner, and Hindustan Times), remarks by V. K. Krishna Menon minimising the significance of the Sino-Indian dispute, a sharp Mysindia item mocking Krishna Menon by paraphrase of Cato's Delenda est Carthago, a quote from West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer dismissing communism as reactionary and belonging to the past, and an Italian commentator's wry remark on the relative ease of Soviet space achievements versus Soviet tolerance for artistic freedom. - Assembles press quotations questioning whether Nehru remains a safe leader once his 'glamour' is set aside (Swarajya). - Includes criticism of non-alignment rhetoric as isolating and weakening India's front (Examiner, Kali Mukherji). - Features two V. K. Krishna Menon quotations minimising the scale of the India-China dispute. - Includes a satirical item from Mysindia comparing calls for Krishna Menon's removal from office to Cato's refrain 'Delenda est Carthago.' - Quotes West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer characterising communist theory as reactionary and belonging to the hoary past. - Includes a quip from Giovanni Radicati contrasting Soviet ease at rocketry with its difficulty granting artistic freedom. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff094/ ### Summary This is Issue No. 94 of Freedom First (March 1960), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is a classical-liberal, anti-communist commentary on contemporary Indian and world affairs, centered on the Sino-Indian border crisis. Its lead editorial by M. R. Masani, 'A Climb Down,' attacks Prime Minister Nehru's invitation to Chinese Premier Chou En-lai as a national humiliation and a capitulation to an untrustworthy, expansionist Chinese regime. Other contributors extend this anti-communist framing across the region and the world: S. R. Mohan Das surveys the wave of Soviet delegations to India and reads Soviet overtures as an infiltration strategy; Philip Spratt reports approvingly on the Congress-led alliance's defeat of the Communist Party in Kerala's mid-term election; Adam Adil praises U Nu's electoral victory in Burma following army rule under Ne Win; and Dr. C. Chandrasekhar analyzes population pressure in Communist China and its implications for national power and potential aggression.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is Issue No. 94 of Freedom First (March 1960), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is a classical-liberal, anti-communist commentary on contemporary Indian and world affairs, centered on the Sino-Indian border crisis. Its lead editorial by M. R. Masani, 'A Climb Down,' attacks Prime Minister Nehru's invitation to Chinese Premier Chou En-lai as a national humiliation and a capitulation to an untrustworthy, expansionist Chinese regime. Other contributors extend this anti-communist framing across the region and the world: S. R. Mohan Das surveys the wave of Soviet delegations to India and reads Soviet overtures as an infiltration strategy; Philip Spratt reports approvingly on the Congress-led alliance's defeat of the Communist Party in Kerala's mid-term election; Adam Adil praises U Nu's electoral victory in Burma following army rule under Ne Win; and Dr. C. Chandrasekhar analyzes population pressure in Communist China and its implications for national power and potential aggression. Unsigned editorial 'Notes' cover Communist Party of India double-talk on the border dispute and mass executions in Hungary following the 1956 uprising. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a compilation of press quotations on the Voroshilov/Khrushchev visits and Kerala politics, and the statutory ownership statement for the periodical. ## Essays ### A Climb Down *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's lead editorial denounces the Indian government's invitation to Chinese Premier Chou En-lai as a 'climb down' and a national humiliation, delivered as a speech in Parliament on 11 February. Masani argues the meeting amounts to negotiation under duress with an aggressor that has never negotiated in good faith, citing Chinese conduct in Tibet, Korea, and Laos. He rebuts three pro-meeting arguments in turn (that it isn't really negotiation; that it can do no harm; that there is no alternative), warning that the invitation will demoralize India's armed forces and police who have already suffered Chinese aggression, and will encourage further Chinese toughness. In the continuation, he sets out what India could do instead: assert its right to eject aggressors by force if capable, deny the government's claim that any resistance would 'lead to war,' and propose a regional collective-security organisation of South and South East Asian countries rather than either passive acceptance of occupation or unilateral alliance-seeking. He closes by insisting Chou En-lai not be treated as an honoured guest of the Indian people. - Frames Nehru's invitation to Chou En-lai as a 'climb down' contradicting the PM's own 12 February statement to the Rajya Sabha that there was no basis for negotiation. - Characterizes Communist China as an aggressor that has never negotiated in good faith, citing Tibet, Korea, and Laos as evidence. - Warns the meeting will demoralize India's armed forces, police, and figures like Karam Singh who suffered under Chinese aggression. - Rejects the argument that the meeting is harmless, arguing it is psychologically damaging regardless of outcome. - Proposes a regional South and South East Asian security organisation rather than either passive resignation or unilateral foreign alliances. - Insists that 5,000 to 10,000 square miles of Indian territory are already under foreign occupation and criticizes the government for downplaying this. - Calls for Chou En-lai to be received only as a guest of the government, not as an honoured guest of the Indian people. ### Notes (Communist Double-Talk; Executions In Hungary; Kerala) Unsigned editorial 'Notes' section with two items. 'Communist Double-Talk' recounts revelations by Tushar Pawar, a former Communist Party of India functionary in Maharashtra, that CPI leaders including Basavapunnaiah privately regarded China's border aggression as justified and the Indian government as the real culprit, exposing the party's public claim of neutrality as false. 'Executions In Hungary' reports, via BBC sources, ongoing mass executions and arrests in Hungary of participants in the 1956 uprising, including 150 young people and 50 adults executed in the preceding six months despite official assurances that no one under 21 would be executed. - Tushar Pawar, a former CPI functionary, disclosed that the party's Maharashtra leadership privately blamed India, not China, for border aggression. - CPI acting General Secretary Basavapunnaiah reportedly argued that denouncing China as an aggressor would betray communism's basic tenets. - The piece frames this as proof of CPI's character as an agent of Moscow and Peking despite public claims of patriotic neutrality. - Hungary continues mass executions and arrests of 1956 uprising participants over three years after the revolt was suppressed by Soviet tanks. - 150 young persons and 50 adults were executed in the six months prior to publication despite government assurances no one under 21 would be executed. - Report notes Western complacency, framing the free world as having largely written off Hungary and Eastern Europe. ### Current Trends In Indo-Soviet Relations *By S. R. Mohan Das* A short unsigned editorial note on the political crisis that followed the United Alliance's mid-term election victory in Kerala. It criticizes the Congress High Command for nearly wrecking the alliance by seeking to form a single-party government despite having contested as part of the coalition, and calls this an ethical failure given that Congress votes in the election were cast for the Alliance, not for Congress alone. It also defends the Muslim League's role in Kerala as a legitimate representative of an economically backward community rather than a purely communal or separatist force. - Congress High Command's push to form a single-party government after the Alliance's victory is criticized as opportunistic and unethical. - Notes the crisis was resolved by the Muslim League's gesture of withdrawing its demand for inclusion and offering cooperation to a Congress-PSP ministry. - Defends the Muslim League as representing the socio-economic and political aspirations of Kerala's Muslim community rather than being purely communal. - Warns that no major party in Kerala is free from the 'incubus of communalism.' ### Democratic Victory In Kerala *By Philip Spratt* S. R. Mohan Das surveys the surge of Soviet delegations and high-level visits to India since October 1959 -- aviation workers, jurists, film, scientists, journalists, educationists, medical delegations, and finally President Voroshilov and Premier Khrushchev themselves -- arguing that Soviet rhetoric of peaceful co-existence masks an unchanged Marxist-Leninist view that co-existence is merely 'the extension of the struggle between two social systems.' He notes India's own positive disposition toward the USSR, reinforced by Soviet aid projects like the Bhilai Steel Plant and pledges for the Third Five Year Plan, and quotes Soviet officials (Gorkin, Kozlov, Furtseva) praising Soviet institutions and criticizing capitalist alternatives during their visits. The piece (continued on page 8, also rendered) argues that Khrushchev's post-visit warnings against Western aid to India, and the broader Soviet courtship, form a strategy of infiltration into Indian life aimed at isolating India from non-communist ties, with China's pressure on India serving as the 'harder' complement to Soviet 'softer' diplomacy. - Documents nine categories of Soviet delegations to India between October 1959 and early 1960, culminating in Voroshilov's and Khrushchev's official visits. - Argues Nehru does not treat Chinese aggression as a matter of international communism, complicating India's response to Soviet overtures. - Cites Soviet aid projects (Bhilai Steel Plant, Third Five Year Plan pledges) as concrete bases for India's trust in Soviet intentions. - Quotes Soviet officials Gorkin, Kozlov, and Furtseva praising Soviet 'social justice,' collective farming, and Soviet cinema during their visits. - Argues Khrushchev's warning to India to 'beware of Western aid' reflects a strategy to isolate India from non-communist friendships. - Frames Chinese pressure and Soviet friendship as complementary roles ('tamer' and 'big brother') in a coordinated communist strategy toward India. - Suggests Soviet friendship is conditional on India distancing itself from Western aid and non-alignment being reinterpreted in the Soviets' favour. ### U Nu's Victory In Burma *By Adam Adil* Philip Spratt reports on the Kerala mid-term election as a fair contest that produced a decisive defeat for the Communist Party, which had governed the state amid controversy over its handling of law and order, corruption, and abuse of power. He argues the 'liberation struggle' against the Communist ministry was a genuine moral reaction to the party placing itself above the law, not merely a class-based backlash, while acknowledging Congress's own organisational weaknesses and communal frictions in the state. Spratt presents detailed vote and seat totals showing the United Front alliance winning 94 of 126 seats with 53% of the vote against the Communist Party's 29 seats on 43% of the vote, framing the result as a vindication of the electorate's judgment against the previous ministry's conduct. - Describes the Kerala election as thoroughly prepared and supervised, making manipulation unlikely. - Argues Chinese aggression was a minor factor in the vote compared to domestic grievances against the Communist ministry. - Details Communist Ministry practices: shielding party members from law enforcement, transferring administrative power to the party apparatus, and corruption within party ranks. - Notes Congress-PSP-Muslim League electoral alliance held together effectively despite internal tensions. - Provides 1957 vs 1960 vote/seat comparison: Communist Party dropped from 65 to 29 seats despite contesting more seats, while United Front rose from 61 to 94 seats. - Frames the 'liberation struggle' as a moral reaction against lawlessness rather than simple class conflict. - Cites the jurists' committee finding that the Communist ministry's rule amounted to 'a gross and systematic violation of the rule of law.' ### Population Pressure In China *By Dr. C. Chandrasekhar* Adam Adil analyses U Nu's landslide 1960 election victory in Burma, framing it as a restoration of civilian democratic rule after General Ne Win's 'invited' military caretaker government of 1958-60. He credits the military regime with defeating a near-existential insurgent threat, restoring economic order through anti-corruption and anti-hoarding measures, and creating conditions for a free and fair election, while crediting U Nu's personal popularity, his party's association with Buddhist monks, and the 'stable' AFPFL faction's declining reputation for U Nu's win. Adil closes with cautious optimism about the return of democracy while warning that U Nu's now-unchecked parliamentary majority removes healthy opposition checks and that any drift back toward corruption or political intrigue could revive public longing for army rule. - U Nu's 'Clean' AFPFL won over 200 of 250 seats in Burma's general election. - Credits General Ne Win's 1958-60 military caretaker government with defeating insurgent armies (reduced from 60,000 to roughly 5,000), curbing corruption and hoarding, and enabling a fair election. - Attributes U Nu's popularity partly to his devout Buddhism and support from Burma's 500,000 Buddhist monks. - Notes U Nu's large majority removes effective parliamentary opposition, which the author sees as a democratic risk. - Warns that if U Nu's government fails to match the army regime's record or reverts to corruption, public sentiment could again favour military rule. - Frames the episode as validating both the military's stewardship and the resilience of Burmese democracy. ### With Many Voices Dr. C. Chandrasekhar analyses China's population trajectory and its bearing on national power, projecting China's population could reach 1,000 million by 1981 under conservative assumptions if birth rates remain stationary while death rates decline, doubling in 25 years at 2% annual growth. He argues raw population size alone does not determine national power, situating China's per-capita income (about 33 US dollars in 1952) below even India's, but contends that total population interacts with labour force size, natural resources, and military capacity, especially under a totalitarian regime with centralised planning and mass regimentation. In the rendered continuation, he broadens into a comparative historical argument about how population pressure combined with autarkic, militarist nationalism (citing Germany, Italy, and Japan) has previously led to war, and closes on the ambivalent question of whether a demographically expanding, ideologically confident China -- with its overseas Chinese diaspora and ideological appeal -- poses a similar aggressive risk, without offering a firm conclusion within the rendered pages. - Projects China's population could reach roughly 1,000 million by 1981 under conservative assumptions, doubling within 25 years at current 2% growth. - Argues population size alone doesn't equal power; per-capita income and resource base matter (China's 1952 per-capita income was below India's 1950 figure). - Identifies four factors linking population to power: total national income, labour force size, resource availability, and military manpower capacity. - Notes Soviet-assisted geological surveys are revealing substantial untapped natural resources in China. - Draws a historical analogy to Germany, Italy, and Japan, where population pressure combined with militarist nationalism led to war. - Discusses China's 11 million-strong overseas Chinese diaspora and purpose-built 'Overseas Chinese Villages' as tools of ideological and economic leverage. - Leaves open, without resolving in the rendered pages, whether a strong, unified, and ideologically confident China will become an aggressive power. ### Essay 8 A compilation of press quotations under the recurring feature 'With Many Voices,' epigraphed by Tennyson, gathering commentary from Indian newspapers and journals (Statesman, Blitz, Amrita Bazar Patrika, Swarajya, New Age, Weekly Kerala, Current) on the Voroshilov and Khrushchev visits, the Kerala election, and Congress-Communist politics. Quoted figures include Acharya Kripalani criticizing the Defence Minister, Dr. K. Shridharani calling Khrushchev 'the biggest salesman of Eisenhower,' P. R. Lele estimating the Communist vote gain in Kerala attributable to Voroshilov's visit, and V. K. Krishna Menon urging that the Communist Party be 'smashed.' The page closes with the statutory ownership statement for Freedom First, naming B. K. Desai as printer and publisher and V. B. Karnik as editor. - Compiles cross-press commentary on the Voroshilov/Khrushchev visits and their political effects in Kerala. - P. R. Lele (Blitz) estimates 30-40% of CPI's Kerala vote share and one to one-and-a-half million votes were secured via Voroshilov's visit. - V. K. Krishna Menon, quoted from Current, calls communists 'servants of China' acting as spies and calls for the Communist Party to be smashed. - Acharya Kripalani criticizes Defence Minister Krishna Menon as failing to inspire public confidence. - Dr. K. Shridharani calls Khrushchev the 'biggest booster' and 'biggest salesman' of Eisenhower in India. - Statutory ownership statement confirms Freedom First is published monthly in Bombay by B. K. Desai for the Democratic Research Service, edited by V. B. Karnik. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff095/ ### Summary This is issue No. 95 of Freedom First (April 1960), a Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical edited by V. B. Karnik and published by the Democratic Research Service. The issue is dominated by the Sino-Indian crisis on the eve of the Nehru-Zhou Enlai summit: the lead editorial by Karnik frames the meeting as a test of Indian resolve against Chinese territorial aggression, while a compiled dossier of Nehru's own statements ("Nehru On China And Tibet"), a polemical essay by Piloo Mody ("The Roof Has Fallen") indicting India's diplomatic surrender of Tibet, a review of Frank Moraes's book on Tibet by M. Devadas Kini, and a round-up of press editorials ("With Many Voices") all converge on criticizing Nehru's China policy and non-alignment stance as naive or self-defeating. Alongside this, the issue covers the Swatantra Party's first National Convention at Patna (reported by an unnamed correspondent), an essay on the history and mechanics of international law and the United Nations by Phiroze J. Shroff, a defence of the continued use of English in India by J. B. H.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 95 of Freedom First (April 1960), a Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical edited by V. B. Karnik and published by the Democratic Research Service. The issue is dominated by the Sino-Indian crisis on the eve of the Nehru-Zhou Enlai summit: the lead editorial by Karnik frames the meeting as a test of Indian resolve against Chinese territorial aggression, while a compiled dossier of Nehru's own statements ("Nehru On China And Tibet"), a polemical essay by Piloo Mody ("The Roof Has Fallen") indicting India's diplomatic surrender of Tibet, a review of Frank Moraes's book on Tibet by M. Devadas Kini, and a round-up of press editorials ("With Many Voices") all converge on criticizing Nehru's China policy and non-alignment stance as naive or self-defeating. Alongside this, the issue covers the Swatantra Party's first National Convention at Patna (reported by an unnamed correspondent), an essay on the history and mechanics of international law and the United Nations by Phiroze J. Shroff, a defence of the continued use of English in India by J. B. H. Wadia, a report on a discussion group convened by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom around Jayaprakash Narayan's thesis on political reconstruction, and a resolution condemning the Sharpeville massacre in South Africa. The overall center of gravity is a classical-liberal critique of the Nehru government's foreign policy (appeasement of Communist China, betrayal of Tibetan autonomy) paired with sympathetic coverage of the fledgling Swatantra Party as a liberal, anti-socialist opposition force. ## Essays ### Great And Grave Responsibility *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's editorial addresses the forthcoming April 1960 meeting between Nehru and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in New Delhi. He argues the Chinese premier arrives seeking to retain territorial gains extracted through aggression while offering only a hollow promise of non-aggression, whereas Nehru bears the "great and grave responsibility" of forcing a genuine Chinese climbdown. Karnik is skeptical that repeating facts and legal arguments already rejected in prior correspondence will move Beijing, since in his view communist regimes respond only to the logic of power, not reasoned appeal. He endorses Rajagopalachari's proposal for a defensive regional alliance of South and Southeast Asian nations against Chinese expansionism, stresses that India must convince China of its resolve and capacity to resist aggression, and warns that a compromise settlement over the Himalayan border would weaken the cause of freedom and democracy across Asia. - The Nehru-Zhou Enlai summit in New Delhi (mid-April 1960) is framed as a test of India's resolve, not a genuine peace negotiation. - Karnik argues the Chinese Premier seeks to keep his territorial gains while offering an easily-broken promise not to commit further aggression. - Prior Indian letters and notes making factual/legal arguments have already failed to move China, casting doubt on the value of face-to-face talks. - Karnik endorses a proposed defensive regional alliance (raised by Rajagopalachari and others) among South/Southeast Asian nations against Chinese aggression, compatible with non-alignment. - Communist rulers are said to understand only the 'logic of power'; aggression is only vacated when a superior resisting force is evident. - The piece insists there can be no surrender or compromise on the traditional India-China boundary. ### Swatantra Party Convention *By A Correspondent* This unsigned report describes a Discussion Group set up by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom to examine Jayaprakash Narayan's thesis "A Plea for Reconstruction of Indian Polity." The group's first meeting, held in Bombay on March 16-17, drew a roster of prominent liberal and academic figures; discussion centered on the prospects of parliamentary democracy in India, with participants split between those who saw it developing successfully despite incidental defects and those who doubted it could succeed under Indian conditions and favored an alternative system ensuring both political freedom and popular participation. In his closing reply, Narayan reiterated his view that parliamentary democracy had proven an inadequate and unsatisfactory form of government in India and other Asian countries and argued against blindly copying Western models, advocating instead a self-reliant, self-governing community structure. - The Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom convened a Discussion Group on Jayaprakash Narayan's thesis for reconstructing Indian polity. - First meeting held in Bombay, March 16-17, with attendees including G. L. Mehta, Prof. G. D. Parikh, P. H. Patwardhan, A. H. Somjee, R. Kothari, P. G. Mavalankar, Jayantilal Dalal, Sooryakant Parikh, Dr. Sirsikar, Dr. M. P. Mangudkar, Prof. Ram Joshi, D. K. Kunte, and A. D. Gorwala. - Debate split between defenders of parliamentary democracy's prospects in India and skeptics favoring an alternative system. - Prof. Mukherjee agreed to prepare a follow-up thesis on concrete institutional changes based on Narayan's ideas. - Narayan's closing reply argued parliamentary democracy had not succeeded in India or other Asian countries and should not be copied blindly from the West. ### International Law *By Phiroze J. Shroff* An unnamed correspondent reports on the Swatantra Party's First National Convention, held recently at Patna, describing large and enthusiastic crowds that the correspondent says silenced critics who had dismissed the party as representing "vested interests" or "big business." The Convention adopted a Constitution and a 50,000-word Statement of Policy ("To Prosperity Through Freedom"), plus resolutions on the party flag, the General Secretary's report, national defence (favoring regional cooperation against communist threats while opposing bloc alignment), and Tibet (declaring solidarity with the Tibetan people against Chinese "aggressive and imperialist communism"). Rajaji's presidential address framed the coming decade as a choice between Nehru's centralized planning and a decentralized alternative, and the Statement of Policy laid out positions on food security, trade unions, collective bargaining, and decentralized industrial development. The correspondent concludes that the party, founded only eight months earlier, has rapidly become an all-India organization (over 336,000 members, branches in nearly every state) and represents a genuine alternative to Congress. - Swatantra Party's First National Convention took place at Patna; General Council and Central Organising Committee meetings preceded it. - Convention adopted a Constitution, a 50,000-word Statement of Policy ('To Prosperity Through Freedom'), a party flag (five-pointed white star on blue), and resolutions on national defence and Tibet. - Rajaji's inaugural address argued India faced a 'courageous choice' between Nehru-Gandhi style centralized planning/totalitarian governance and decentralized governance. - The Statement of Policy pledged support for food/clothing/housing security, workers' right to organise and strike, and decentralized, competitive industry with safeguards against unreasonable profits. - Membership reported at 'well over 3,36,000' with branches in all states except Kerala and Kashmir; Patna Convention drew over 750 delegates and roughly one lakh visitors. - A Public Opinion Survey cited found 68.9% had no opinion and only 14.3% opposed ('Yes' to opposing a liberal, non-socialist opposition party), read by the party as evidence of a 'ready minority.' ### The Role Of English *By J. B. H. Wadia* Phiroze J. Shroff surveys the development of international law and organization from the late nineteenth century through 1960. He traces how colonial rivalry and Germany's grievance as a 'have-not power' produced the First World War, leads through the founding and structural weaknesses of the League of Nations (its lack of enforcement sanctions, illustrated by Japan's 1931 invasion of Manchuria and Italy's 1935 attack on Ethiopia), and Hitler's defiance of the Treaty of Versailles culminating in the Second World War. He then describes the founding of the United Nations at the San Francisco Conference (1945), its seven basic charter principles, its membership (82 as of writing), and the structure and jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, closing with a hope that faithful adherence to the UN Charter and the Court's rulings could banish war from the earth. - Traces failure of pre-WWI colonial order and Germany's 'have-not power' grievance as root causes of the First World War. - Describes the League of Nations' founding principles (maintenance of peace, dispute resolution, international cooperation) and its Assembly/Council/Secretariat structure. - Identifies the League's fatal weakness as lack of adequate sanctions, evidenced by Japan's invasion of Manchuria (1931) and Italy's aggression against Ethiopia (1935). - Frames Hitler's rearmament and territorial revisionism as a direct consequence of half-hearted League enforcement and appeasement. - Details the United Nations' founding at the San Francisco Conference (1945), its seven basic principles, and its structure including the International Court of Justice (15 judges, nine-year terms). - Closes with the hope that adherence to the UN Charter and ICJ rulings could eliminate war. ### Nehru On China And Tibet J. B. H. Wadia argues for retaining English as an important second language in India despite the passions of national independence. He contends English played a genuine, positive role in shaping modern India through a procession of British administrators, scholars and jurists, and that no amount of nationalist emotion can erase this historical fact or eliminate the practical need for English amid India's engagement with the free world. He supports Hindi as national language but insists it must remain an open, absorptive language (including borrowing from English) rather than a closed vocabulary artificially built from Sanskrit roots. He cites Panikkar's tribute to Edmund Burke, Sir William Jones, and Lord Macaulay as Englishmen whose legacy is inseparable from Indian history, and insists English literature and thought are part of the common heritage of mankind that India, like China, has adopted and built upon. He closes (continued from page 7 onto page 10, cut off there) reiterating that this is not advocacy of 'English only' but recognition of English as a valuable second language during India's ongoing renaissance. - Wadia argues English's historical contribution to modern India is a fact that nationalist sentiment cannot erase. - He supports Hindi as national language but opposes a 'closed vocabulary' built solely from Sanskrit roots, favoring free borrowing including from English. - Cites Panikkar's 'A Survey of Indian History' naming Edmund Burke, Sir William Jones, and Lord Macaulay as permanently significant in Indian history. - Frames English literature and thought as part of a universal human heritage that India has rightly adopted, alongside French, German, Italian and other literatures. - Clarifies he is not an advocate of 'English only' but of retaining English as an important second language during India's contemporary renaissance. ### The Roof Has Fallen *By Piloo Mody* This unsigned compilation assembles quotations from Jawaharlal Nehru's speeches, press conferences, and parliamentary statements from 1949 to late 1959, tracing the evolution of his public position on China and Tibet. Early quotes (1949-1953) emphasize friendly relations with Tibet, Nepal and China and doubt about any Chinese desire to expand. A 1950 parliamentary speech acknowledges the Himalayas as India's essential frontier while affirming Tibet's right to self-determination apart from China. Later 1959 statements, following border incidents at Longju and Ladakh, show Nehru downplaying the seriousness of Chinese incursions ('absurd' to fight over remote territory) while also insisting India would resist any aggression. The piece (continued on page 12, not included in this chunk's boundary) captures a chronological arc used implicitly to critique Nehru's shifting and, in the editors' view, overly conciliatory stance toward Chinese expansion. - Compiles direct Nehru quotations from 1949 through 1959 on India's relations with China, Tibet, Nepal and Afghanistan. - 1950 parliamentary speech: the Himalayas provide India's 'magnificent frontier' and Tibet's fate should follow the wishes of its own people, not legal/constitutional argument. - 1953-54 statements express confidence China does not desire territorial expansion and characterizes relations with China as friendly. - 1959 statements (post-Longju, post-Ladakh incidents) show Nehru calling talk of conflict 'absurd' over 'two miles of mountainous territory where no one lives' while also vowing India will not tolerate aggression. - Nehru states he considers the Soviet Union 'territorially satis[fied]' — quote cut off at page break. ### Red Man's Burden And Yellow Peril *By M. Devadas Kini* Piloo Mody delivers a sharp polemic against India's handling of Tibet, arguing that India's 1950 rush to recognize Communist China and its subsequent diplomatic passivity effectively 'sold the Tibetan people to their Han conquerors.' He recounts the sequence of missed opportunities—Britain's failure to recognize Tibetan independence between 1911 and 1947, India's failure to do so between 1947 and 1949, and repeated Indian deference to Chinese 'suzerainty' claims through 1954 and 1959—culminating in India's support of the 1954 Panchsheel agreement that recognized Tibet as 'the Tibet region of China.' He argues India suppressed Tibet's 1950 complaint to the United Nations, relying naively on Zhou Enlai's assurances even as Chinese forces occupied Tibet. Mody closes with a broader argument that global powers, including Britain and the US, share responsibility for tolerating aggression (citing the Manchuria and Ethiopia precedents implicitly) and that peace bought through territorial concession to aggressors is neither just nor durable. - Mody argues India's 1950 diplomatic recognition of Communist China, ahead of most Western nations, was a 'crude and savage recourse to political expediency.' - Traces a chronology of missed opportunities to secure Tibetan independence: British inaction 1911-1947, Indian inaction 1947-1949, and continued deference to Chinese 'suzerainty' through the 1954 Panchsheel agreement. - China proclaimed the 'liberation' of Tibet two days after India recognized the Communist government in 1950. - India suppressed Tibet's November 1950 complaint to the United Nations about Chinese aggression, relying on assurances from the Chinese Premier. - The 1954 Sino-Indian agreement invoking Panchsheel recognized Tibet as the 'Tibet region of China' for the first time. - Mody frames India's conduct as a betrayal of its own professed ideals of freedom fought for during its independence struggle. ### Massacre In South Africa An unsigned report describes a public meeting held under the auspices of the Africa Society on March 24, 1960, chaired by M. R. Masani, M.P., to condemn the shooting of African civilians in the Union of South Africa (the Sharpeville massacre, though not named as such). Speakers included Miss Maniben Kara, Mr. Mustafa Faki, and Mr. Kodua. The meeting unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the killing of about a hundred persons and injury to hundreds more as a direct result of South Africa's racial policies and apartheid, expressing solidarity with the African struggle for freedom and racial equality, and calling for international mobilization of opinion against the South African government's policies. - Public meeting held March 24, 1960 under the auspices of the Africa Society, chaired by M. R. Masani, M.P. - Speakers: Maniben Kara, Mustafa Faki, and Kodua. - Resolution condemns firing on African citizens resulting in about a hundred deaths and severe injuries to several hundred more. - Resolution attributes the tragedy directly to South Africa's apartheid policy and the perpetuation of minority rule. - Meeting calls for mobilizing world opinion against apartheid and assures solidarity with the Indian people's support for the African freedom struggle. ### With Many Voices M. Devadas Kini reviews Frank Moraes's book 'The Revolt in Tibet' (Macmillan, 223 pp., Rs 7.50), using it as a springboard for an argument that Chinese communism represents a 'Red man's burden' succeeding the old 'White man's burden'—a new imperialism dressed in the language of liberation. He argues Chinese Communists invoke self-determination selectively (supporting Pakistan's formation but denying Tibet the same right) because ultimately the Communist Party alone decides which nationalities may be independent. Citing Moraes's book and a report from the International Commission of Jurists, Kini details mass killings, deportations, forced labor, and attempts by China to extinguish Tibetan culture, religion, and government, describing the situation as verging on genocide. He frames the episode as evidence that 'the communist leopard cannot change its spots' and warns that non-communist Asian nations must unite in collective defense before China's territorial appetite grows further, given its 'cartographic aggression' nibbling at Indian borders. - Reviews Frank Moraes's 'The Revolt in Tibet' (MacMillan, 223 pp., Rs 7.50). - Argues Chinese Communist support for self-determination is selective and cynical: backing Pakistan's independence while denying the same to Tibet. - Cites the Chinese Communist Party's own Tibet Work Committee report (pp.75-6) admitting Han chauvinism, discrimination against Tibetans, and violation of religious freedom. - Cites an International Commission of Jurists report warning of the risk of 'the full act of genocide' in Tibet absent prompt action (p.78). - Cites Moraes's claim that Tibetans functioned as a free people for around 3,500 years with only two ~200-year interruptions (p.152), and a historical claim of Chinese tribute paid to Tibet under Ti-Song Detsan (p.35). - Concludes non-communist Asian nations must unite in collective defense against Chinese territorial 'cartographic aggression.' ### Essay 10 This unsigned compilation, titled with an epigraph from Tennyson ('With Many Voices'), gathers critical press editorials and commentary from March 1960 attacking Nehru's China policy ahead of the Nehru-Zhou Enlai summit, alongside a continuation of the 'Nehru On China And Tibet' quote dossier from page 8. Commentators from Searchlight, the Indian Express (Deen Dayal Upadhya), Swarajya (Saka, and separately Rajagopalachari), The Mail, the Eastern Economist, and Prem Bhatia (Times of India) variously accuse Nehru of secret diplomacy that sacrifices national interest for personal legacy, of treating dissent as service to vested interests, and of governing under undue influence from the Defence Minister; Rajagopalachari is quoted as saying 'The Communist Party is ruling India through Mr. Nehru.' A boxed advertisement announces the book 'Tibet Fights For Freedom,' with a foreword by the Dalai Lama, edited by Raja Hutheesing, published for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom by Orient Longmans. - Compiles critical press commentary from March 1960 on Nehru's approach to the China-India border dispute, ahead of the Nehru-Zhou summit. - C. Rajagopalachari (Hindu, March 17) is quoted: 'The Communist Party is ruling India through Mr. Nehru.' - Deen Dayal Upadhya (Indian Express) accuses Nehru of 'secret diplomacy' driven by a desire to be remembered as 'the greatest peacemaker of his age.' - Saka in Swarajya (twice quoted) accuses Nehru of hailing 'concurrence as wisdom and damning dissent as service to some vested interest.' - Eastern Economist and Prem Bhatia pieces criticize Nehru's handling of the Defence Minister and his self-conception as an economist as national dangers. - A boxed advertisement for 'Tibet Fights For Freedom' (foreword by the Dalai Lama, ed. Raja Hutheesing, pub. Orient Longmans, for the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom) appears alongside the editorial round-up. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff096/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 96 (May 1960) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical, edited by V. B. Karnik and published for the Democratic Research Service. This issue's argumentative center is anti-communism read through a series of contemporaneous international crises: the breakdown of the Nehru-Zhou Enlai border talks and the case for a harder Indian line on China; the Dalai Lama's message to the Afro-Asian Convention on Tibet and G. L. Jain's report on that convention; a report on apartheid-era repression in South Africa following the Sharpeville massacre; and pieces charting communism's setbacks in Iraq and the human costs of Communist rule in Hungary (forced abortion policy) and Tibet. Shorter editorial 'Notes' cover Indian defence procurement scandals, press repression in Turkey, Syngman Rhee's resignation in South Korea, and the peaceful creation of Maharashtra and Gujarat as linguistic states. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a digest of press commentary from Indian and international papers, and a subscription notice. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 96 (May 1960) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical, edited by V. B. Karnik and published for the Democratic Research Service. This issue's argumentative center is anti-communism read through a series of contemporaneous international crises: the breakdown of the Nehru-Zhou Enlai border talks and the case for a harder Indian line on China; the Dalai Lama's message to the Afro-Asian Convention on Tibet and G. L. Jain's report on that convention; a report on apartheid-era repression in South Africa following the Sharpeville massacre; and pieces charting communism's setbacks in Iraq and the human costs of Communist rule in Hungary (forced abortion policy) and Tibet. Shorter editorial 'Notes' cover Indian defence procurement scandals, press repression in Turkey, Syngman Rhee's resignation in South Korea, and the peaceful creation of Maharashtra and Gujarat as linguistic states. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a digest of press commentary from Indian and international papers, and a subscription notice. ## Essays ### What Next? *By by V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead editorial 'What Next?' argues that the failure of the Nehru-Zhou Enlai talks on the Sino-Indian border was inevitable, since India could only ask China to vacate its aggression while China refused to admit any aggression had occurred. Karnik contends Zhou Enlai came to New Delhi hoping to secure Indian acquiescence in China's 'present actualities' on the border, and criticizes India's past softness, including its 1950 abandonment of Tibetan independence and the buffer role Tibet once played. He calls for a blunter Indian posture toward China, including consideration of severing diplomatic relations, framed as a Gandhian form of non-cooperation with an 'evil-doer.' - The India-China Prime Ministerial talks failed because there was no common ground: India demanded vacation of aggression, China denied any aggression occurred. - Zhou Enlai argued the disputed territory was part of Chinese Sinkiang and offered compromise only on the central and eastern sectors, while rejecting the McMahon Line. - Karnik argues India should stop indulging in 'unreal talk' of age-old Sino-Indian friendship and speak to China 'in a blunt and forthright manner.' - He criticizes India's 1950 decision to give away Tibet's independence and the buffer-state protection it once afforded. - He proposes that if peaceful talks fail to yield results, India should consider severance of diplomatic relations with China as a form of Gandhian non-cooperation. - He criticizes the decision to allow separate talks between the Chinese Prime Minister and Defence Minister Krishna Menon outside the official negotiating delegation. ### Notes (Defence Scandals; Repression in Turkey) An unsigned editorial note, 'Defence Scandals,' criticizes Defence Minister Krishna Menon over the 'jeep scandal' settlement and reports of 8,500 vehicles and stores worth Rs. 57 lakhs left to deteriorate for want of cover, arguing Nehru has been unfair to the nation by repeatedly shielding Menon and should transfer the defence portfolio to more competent hands. A second note, 'Repression in Turkey,' reports on the Menderes government's crackdown on the press and the opposition Republican Party ahead of a proposed 'press police' bill. - The Defence Ministry under Krishna Menon is criticized for the 'jeep scandal' settlement and for allowing 8,500 vehicles (valued at Rs. 5 crores) and stores worth Rs. 57 lakhs to deteriorate from exposure. - The Auditor-General's and Public Accounts Committee's reports are cited as having repeatedly flagged Defence Department irregularities. - The note argues Nehru's continued defence of Krishna Menon is itself a wrong done to the nation and calls for the Defence portfolio to be transferred. - In Turkey, the ruling Democratic Party under the Menderes government has jailed journalists and editors and is reportedly drafting a bill to create a 'press police' empowered to shut down papers for up to fifteen days. - The Turkish government has also established a Parliamentary Investigation Commission, staffed entirely by the ruling party, to probe the opposition Republican Party led by Ismet Inou, and has banned party political activity for three months. ### Dr. Rhee's Resignation Two further unsigned Notes: 'Dr. Rhee's Resignation' assesses the fall of South Korean President Syngman Rhee after mass protests against electoral manipulation and dictatorial tendencies during his last decade in office, framing it as the close of a sorry chapter for the Korean Republic. 'Maharashtra and Gujarat' welcomes the peaceful bifurcation of the bilingual Bombay State into the two new linguistic states, crediting a near-unanimous inter-state agreement on border issues and praising Chief Minister Yashvantrao Chavan's administration while hoping for resolution of remaining Maharashtra-Mysore border questions. - Syngman Rhee's resignation is attributed to popular revolt against dictatorial tendencies, electoral manipulation in the March 15 elections, and withdrawal of U.S. sympathy for his regime. - The note credits Rhee's earlier leadership in Korea's 1919 independence movement against Japan while condemning his later authoritarian turn. - Maharashtra and Gujarat are welcomed as the two new States of the Indian Union, formed from the bifurcation of the bilingual Bombay State effective 1 May. - The note credits a near-unanimous agreement between the two new states on bifurcation issues and hopes for a similar resolution of the Maharashtra-Mysore border dispute. ### Maharashtra and Gujarat This item reproduces the text of the Dalai Lama's message to the Afro-Asian Convention on Tibet, held in New Delhi. The Dalai Lama describes Chinese rule in Tibet as a colonization campaign aimed at the extermination of Tibetan religion and culture, citing five million Chinese settlers already arrived in Eastern and North-Eastern Tibet with four million more planned, and appeals to Afro-Asian nations to mobilize public opinion and press support for Tibetan self-determination. He asserts Tibet's full and complete sovereignty since the Thirteenth Dalai Lama's declaration of independence, cites the 1914 negotiations and the Simla Conference as evidence Tibet negotiated as an equal power, and closes by thanking India for granting refuge. - Five million Chinese settlers have reportedly arrived in Eastern and North-Eastern Tibet, with four million more planned for the U and Tshang provinces of Central Tibet. - The Dalai Lama characterizes Chinese policy as pursuing 'extermination of religion and culture and even the absorption of the Tibetan race.' - He cites the Government of India's Note to China of 12 February 1960 as endorsing Tibet's historical claim to full sovereignty since 1914. - He references the 1914 Simla Conference, where Tibetan and Chinese plenipotentiaries met on an equal footing and Tibetan credentials were accepted by the Chinese representative. - He draws an explicit parallel between Tibet's oppression and 'social injustice as shown recently in South Africa.' - He expresses gratitude to the Government and people of India for the refuge offered to Tibetan exiles. ### Oppression And Tyranny In Tibet (message of H.H. the Dalai Lama to the Afro-Asian Convention on Tibet) S. Sharangpani's 'Crisis in South Africa' surveys the roots of the Sharpeville crisis, describing South Africa's demographic composition (9.3 million Africans, 2.9 million Europeans, 1.3 million coloured, roughly 4 lakh Asians out of 13.9 million total) and the apartheid legal architecture built since the Nationalist Party took power in 1948: the Mixed Marriages Act, Immorality Act, Group Areas Act, Separate Amenities Act, Industrial Conciliation Act, and Native Labour Act. The piece traces the Pass Laws as the immediate provocation for the Sharpeville shooting on 21 March and the subsequent crackdown, banning of the African National Congress and Pan-African Congress, and warns that the government's intransigence is radicalizing Africans toward Pan-Africanist rather than the ANC's inter-racial cooperation policy, raising the risk of an eventual racial war. - South Africa's population is given as 13.9 million: 9.3 million Africans, 2.9 million Europeans, 1.3 million coloured, and about 4 lakh Asians, with Africans holding only 13% of land despite being 68.8% of the population. - Apartheid laws enacted since 1948 include the Mixed Marriages Act, Immorality Act, Group Areas Act, Separate Amenities Act, Industrial Conciliation Act, and Native Labour Act. - The Pass Laws, requiring every African over sixteen to carry a pass, are identified as the immediate provocation for the Sharpeville shooting of 21 March 1960 and are described as the most hated instrument of control. - Following the disturbances the government assumed emergency powers, banned the African National Congress and Pan-African Congress, and arrested Africans and some liberal whites. - The opposition United Party is described as supporting the government's basic policies, leaving no effective moderate challenge to white political supremacy. - The author warns that government intransigence is strengthening Pan-Africanist militancy over the ANC's inter-racial cooperation approach, risking an eventual mutual racial extermination. ### Crisis In South Africa *By by S. Sharangpani* G. L. Jain's 'Afro-Asian Convention on Tibet' reports on the New Delhi convention of 9-11 April 1960, attended by 89 delegates from 18 Asian and African countries (41 from India), which resolved to constitute a permanent Afro-Asian Council with Jayaprakash Narayan as its first President. The piece traces the convention's origins to the March 1959 Tibetan uprising and the May 1959 All-India Tibet Convention in Calcutta, situates it within a longer history of Afro-Asian conferences (Bandung 1955 and its successors) many of which were shaped by communist-front organizing, and notes the convention's limited resources compared to Soviet- and Chinese-backed rival bodies. It closes with the Dalai Lama's and Narayan's speeches to the convention. - 89 delegates from 18 Asian and African countries, including 41 from India, met in New Delhi from 9-11 April 1960 to protest the subjugation of Tibet and colonialism generally. - The delegates constituted a permanent Afro-Asian Council, electing Jayaprakash Narayan as its first President; its Bureau will be based in New Delhi. - The convention traces its origin to the March 1959 Tibetan uprising, the Dalai Lama's flight to India, and the All-India Tibet Convention held in Calcutta on 30-31 May 1959 under Narayan's chairmanship. - Jain situates the convention within a series of prior Afro-Asian gatherings (Bandung 1955, Asian Writers Conference 1956, Afro-Asian People's Conference in Cairo 1957, etc.), many organized under communist front influence, arguing the New Delhi convention now competes with communists for 'the soul of Asia and Africa.' - The convention's organizers, unlike their communist-backed rivals, lack comparable financial and political support from major powers. - Jayaprakash Narayan is quoted summarizing that communism will prove 'a temporary aberration of the human mind, a brief nightmare to be soon forgotten.' ### Afro-Asian Convention On Tibet *By by G. L. Jain* Adam Adil's 'Decline of Communism in Iraq' (continuing beyond the rendered pages) reports that communist influence in Iraq is waning, crediting General Abdel Karim Kassem's tacit encouragement of a rival faction under Dawood Sayegh to weaken the official Communist Party, alongside army and police tolerance of anti-communist riots and a poorly attended communist-sponsored peace parade in Baghdad. The piece frames this shift as yielding practical benefits: renewed confidence among businessmen, teachers, and army officers, and minorities such as Kurds and Christians abandoning their earlier alignment with communists. - General Kassem is reported to be encouraging a dissident communist faction led by Dawood Sayegh, weakening the official Communist Party led by Zaki Khary and Abdul Kader Ismail. - Anti-communist riots and a poorly attended communist-sponsored peace parade in Baghdad (a 'couple of hundred' attendees versus 'thousands' the prior year) are cited as evidence of the shift in political climate. - The army and police are described as tacitly permissive of anti-communist violence while trying to prevent a full-scale civil clash. - The decline of communist influence is credited with restoring confidence among businessmen, teachers, and army officers, and with Kurds and Christians abandoning earlier alignment with communists. - Kassem is reported to have intervened via television broadcast to stop the riots after several communists were killed, while also staying the execution of six men convicted of attempting to assassinate him. ### Decline Of Communism In Iraq *By by Adam Adil* Dr. Miklos Tiszay's 'Planned Genocide in Hungary' reports on Hungarian government population statistics showing a dramatic slowdown in natural population growth (0.3 percent annually, versus a normal 1.2 percent) and attributes it to mass emigration after the 1956 Revolution, execution of freedom fighters, and, most centrally, a state-sanctioned abortion regime authorized by Decree No. 1047/1956, under which some 150,000 unborn children are reported to have been aborted, with 5,000 abortions monthly in Budapest alone (three times the number of live births). The piece draws on Dr. Hirschler's book 'In the Defence of Womanhood' and testimony from Hungarian obstetricians to argue the abortion policy is a deliberate mechanism of population and cost control that the medical profession has increasingly protested despite press censorship. - Hungary's population on 1 January 1960 was 9,977,870, with Budapest's metropolitan area accounting for 1,807,000; annual natural increase has dropped to 0.3 percent, one quarter of the normal rate. - The article cites licensed abortion of 150,000 unborn children as one of the causes decimating the Hungarian nation, alongside emigration, deportations, and execution of freedom fighters. - Decree No. 1047/1956 (VI.3) of the Hungarian Council of Ministers is identified as the legal basis for the abortion policy; official abortion counts rose from 35,973 (1950) to 78,000 (1955) to 121,163 (1956). - In Budapest, 5,000 abortions are reported monthly versus roughly 1,667 live births (55,804 abortions vs. 17,495 live births in 1957); the natural rate of increase fell from 5.1 per mille (1955) to 0.2 per mille (1957). - Dr. Hirschler's book 'In the Defence of Womanhood' is cited as documenting professional protest from obstetricians and gynaecologists against the abortion decree despite a national press blackout on such criticism. - The article frames the abortion decree as economically motivated, quoting Hirschler's criticism that it is justified by the state's wish to avoid the 'great burden' lower living standards would otherwise require. ### Planned Genocide In Hungary *By by Dr. Miklos Tiszay* A book review by Raman Desai covers 'Tibet Fights For Freedom, A White Book,' edited by Raja Hutheesing (Orient Longmans, 241 pages, Rs. 15). The review contrasts nominal Soviet recognition of constituent-republic autonomy with China's refusal to recognize any autonomous federating units, framing Chinese rule over Tibet, Sinkiang, and other minority regions as pursuing a policy of Han racial and cultural conquest analogous to, and in the reviewer's view worse than, apartheid. The review praises the book's comprehensive documentation of the 1959 Tibetan revolt, compiled from newspaper reports, despatches, and Indian parliamentary statements, including a foreword by the Dalai Lama. - The book under review, 'Tibet Fights For Freedom, A White Book,' is edited by Raja Hutheesing, published by Orient Longmans, 241 pages, priced at Rs. 15, with a foreword by the Dalai Lama. - The reviewer argues China recognizes no federating units with autonomous existence, treating the Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Hui, and Tibetan peoples' claimed 'equality' as a fiction, unlike the U.S.S.R.'s at least nominal recognition of constituent-republic autonomy. - The review frames Chinese policy in Tibet as 'genocide' via transplantation of a foreign race (citing wholesale import of Han cadres and settlers) to change the character of the country, calling these methods worse than South African apartheid. - The book is praised as an authentic, comprehensive account compiled from newspaper reports, despatches, and Indian Parliament statements, sufficient that a student 'will not be necessary... to go beyond it for information about the revolt.' - The reviewer credits the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom with commissioning and publishing the book. ### Review: Tibet Fights For Freedom, A White Book (ed. Raja Hutheesing) *By Raman Desai* 'With Many Voices' is the issue's recurring press-digest column, opening with an epigraph from Tennyson and collecting brief quoted commentary from Indian and international newspapers on the Sino-Indian talks and related events: 'Dim' in Current, Prem Bhatia in Times of India, D. R. Mankekar in Indian Express, Max Lerner in Indian Express, the New York Herald Tribune, the Chinese Communist Party organ Red Flag, and The Economist of London. The column is followed by a subscription notice for Freedom First. - The column opens with an epigraph from Tennyson: 'The deep / Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends, / 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.' - Prem Bhatia (Times of India, 26 April) reports Finance Minister Morarji Desai's rebuttal to Zhou Enlai's charge that India had a hand in the Tibetan revolt, and notes the irony of communists objecting to India granting asylum to the Dalai Lama. - D. R. Mankekar (Indian Express, 27 April) warns the Sino-Indian border could become 'not only alive but also inflammable,' risking Asia's entanglement in a cold war that could liquidate the bloc of uncommitted non-communist nations. - Max Lerner (Indian Express, 22 April) frames Krishna Menon as a symbol of India's 'soft line' diplomacy toward China. - The New York Herald Tribune (24 April) is quoted comparing Khrushchev to a figure trailing 'the corpse of free Tibet... like an albatross.' - Red Flag, organ of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee (22 April), is quoted asserting communists must prepare for both peaceful and non-peaceful revolution toward a superior civilisation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff097/ ### Summary This is the June 1960 issue (No. 97) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service (Bombay), edited by V. B. Karnik. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with B. K. Desai's lead essay 'End Of An Illusion,' a polemical account of the collapse of the May 1960 Paris summit conference, blaming Khrushchev's manufactured outrage over the U-2 incident for wrecking a meeting the author regards as having been built on illusory Soviet 'peaceful coexistence' rhetoric all along. An unsigned item, 'Nazis In Office In East Germany,' turns the tables on West German de-Nazification criticism by cataloguing former Nazi officials serving in the East German government and judiciary. The 'Notes' section comments on Indian domestic politics: a Communist Party by-election win in Calcutta, factional strain inside the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti as the P.S.P. considers quitting it, Khrushchev's Paris conduct, the newly signed Indo-U.S. 17-million-ton foodgrains (PL-480) agreement, and the Punjab government's detention of Akali leader Master Tara Singh.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the June 1960 issue (No. 97) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service (Bombay), edited by V. B. Karnik. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with B. K. Desai's lead essay 'End Of An Illusion,' a polemical account of the collapse of the May 1960 Paris summit conference, blaming Khrushchev's manufactured outrage over the U-2 incident for wrecking a meeting the author regards as having been built on illusory Soviet 'peaceful coexistence' rhetoric all along. An unsigned item, 'Nazis In Office In East Germany,' turns the tables on West German de-Nazification criticism by cataloguing former Nazi officials serving in the East German government and judiciary. The 'Notes' section comments on Indian domestic politics: a Communist Party by-election win in Calcutta, factional strain inside the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti as the P.S.P. considers quitting it, Khrushchev's Paris conduct, the newly signed Indo-U.S. 17-million-ton foodgrains (PL-480) agreement, and the Punjab government's detention of Akali leader Master Tara Singh. A correspondent's report, 'Maharashtra Seminar,' covers a mid-May 1960 gathering of intellectuals in Bombay (organised by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom with Sadhana) on the problems of the newly formed Maharashtra state, with addresses by Chief Minister Y. B. Chavan, Justice P. B. Gajendragadkar, and Dr. C. D. Deshmukh, and small-group discussions on economic development, integration, education/culture, and politics. Gabriel Gersh's essay 'Universities Behind The Iron Curtain' describes the Sovietisation of East German universities — class-based admission quotas favouring 'worker' and 'peasant' students, compulsory Marxist-Leninist curricula, and a network of missing/imprisoned students and professors. An unsigned piece, 'A Tribute To Stalin!' (reproduced from The Economist, London), analyses Alexander Tvardovsky's Pravda poem 'So It Was,' reading it as a veiled literary indictment of Stalin's cult of personality. 'A Message From Berlin' reprints a solidarity statement from West German public figures (Willy Brandt among them) on the plight of East Berlin and the Soviet-occupied zone. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a column of short excerpted quotations from the contemporary Indian and international press on the Paris summit collapse, Khrushchev, and communism, followed by the subscription form and imprint. ## Essays ### End Of An Illusion *By by B. K. Desai* B. K. Desai's lead essay argues that the May 1960 Paris summit conference was doomed from the start because Moscow had, in advance, written it off as futile and planned to use it as a propaganda forum. Desai contends that Khrushchev's furious response to the U-2 spy-plane incident was a pretext — a 'minor issue' seized upon to demolish the carefully cultivated image of Khrushchev as a genial peacemaker, and to justify continued Soviet bellicosity. The essay surveys the history of Soviet espionage (citing Swiss and Pakistani disclosures of Soviet spying) to argue that Khrushchev, of all people, had no standing to protest Western aerial reconnaissance, given the scale of Soviet covert activity worldwide. Desai closes by arguing that the 'summit spirit' was never more than a Soviet diplomatic expedient, and that any future East-West progress will rest on the balance of nuclear terror rather than genuine detente. - The Paris summit collapsed because Moscow had already dismissed it as futile before the Big Four assembled. - Khrushchev used the U-2 incident, called a 'minor issue' by the author, to wreck the summit and posture as an aggrieved victim. - The episode is presented as demolishing the illusion of Khrushchev as a genial, peace-seeking leader. - The essay catalogues recent Soviet espionage disclosures (Switzerland expelling two Soviet diplomats; Pakistan and West Germany reporting Soviet aerial overflights) to argue Soviet moral inconsistency in protesting U.S. spying. - The U.S. proposed an 'open skies' surveillance plan at the 1955 Geneva summit, repeatedly rejected by Russia. - The communist bloc and democratic world remain locked in irreconcilable conflict regardless of changes in Kremlin leadership or mood. - Any future East-West negotiation will succeed, if at all, because of the balance of nuclear terror, not because of a 'summit spirit.' ### Nazis In Office In East Germany An unsigned news item reporting that, contrary to the heavy Western and East German propaganda focus on ex-Nazis holding office in West Germany, the East German ('German Democratic Republic') government and judiciary themselves employ numerous former Nazi Party and SS members in senior posts, per a booklet from the Committee of Free Jurists. Named examples include two East German cabinet ministers, a court chairman, a judicial-affairs committee chairman, a general, and several university rectors, plus a defence counsel for the (banned) West German Communist Party who was himself an ex-Nazi and SS member. The piece closes (per the page 8 continuation) by noting the irony that the East German Socialist Unity Party chairman, Walter Ulbricht, though never accused of being an ex-Nazi, was a prominent apologist for the 1939 Hitler-Stalin pact. - The Committee of Free Jurists' booklet 'Former Nazis in the service of Pankow' documents former Nazi officials in senior East German government and judicial posts. - Two East German cabinet ministers (Agriculture, Supply) are named as former Nazi party members; two other ex-ministers held office until about a year before writing. - University rectors in East Berlin, Greifswald, and the Potsdam Teacher Training College are identified as ex-Nazis, one having trained with an SS brigade. - The defence counsel for the banned West German Communist Party was himself a former Nazi party and SS member, hired from East Germany. - The item ends by noting Walter Ulbricht's defence of the 1939 Hitler-Stalin pact, framed as ironic given his party's anti-Nazi posture. ### Notes The unsigned 'Notes' section comprises several short editorial items on current Indian and international affairs. 'Warning From Calcutta' reads the Communist candidate's decisive Lok Sabha by-election win over Congress and P.S.P. rivals as reflecting popular frustration with Congress's failure on food, unemployment, and corruption, despite the Communists' own compromised record on the Sino-Indian border dispute. 'United Front Politics In Maharashtra' discusses the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti's loss of purpose after the bifurcation of Bombay State, the P.S.P.'s consequent desire to exit the Samiti, and warnings that the Samiti (and allied groups) are becoming vehicles for Communist infiltration of the labour movement. 'Khrushchev's Outbursts' (continuing to the next page) criticises Khrushchev's staged indignation over the U.S. spy-plane incident at the Paris summit. Further notes cover the Indo-U.S. 17-million-ton foodgrains agreement (praised as evidence of genuine U.S. developmental support, while noting it does not solve India's underlying food problem) and the Punjab government's Preventive Detention Act arrest of Akali leader Master Tara Singh and others, which the author condemns as an ill-considered, civil-liberties-violating overreaction likely to worsen unrest. - The Communist candidate Indrajit Gupta's decisive Lok Sabha by-election win in Calcutta south-west is attributed to public frustration with Congress's record on food, unemployment, and corruption. - The Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti has lost its 'raison d'etre' after Bombay State's bifurcation into Gujarat and Maharashtra, and the P.S.P. is considering withdrawal amid concern over Communist domination of the Samiti. - Khrushchev's staged outrage over the U-2 incident at the Paris summit is criticised as reasons other than genuine indignation. - The Indo-U.S. 17-million-ton (10 million wheat, 1 million rice, plus additional annual allotments) PL-480-style foodgrains agreement is described as generous and beneficial for India's foreign-exchange position and buffer stocks, though not a solution to the underlying food-supply problem. - The Punjab Government's arrest of Master Tara Singh and other Akali leaders under the Preventive Detention Act, despite peaceful agitation, is condemned as unwarranted and damaging to civil liberties and likely to raise tension in the state. ### India, Tibet and China (advertisement for book by B. K. Desai) *By by B. K. Desai* This correspondent's report covers a seminar on the problems facing the newly formed State of Maharashtra, held in Bombay in mid-May 1960 and organised jointly by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, its Asian Office, Congress for Cultural Freedom, and the Marathi weekly Sadhana. Chief Minister Y. B. Chavan inaugurated the seminar, urging a non-partisan approach to development and integration; Justice P. B. Gajendragadkar delivered the presidential address calling for objective discussion of social problems including caste and communal tension; and Dr. C. D. Deshmukh chaired the general sessions, urging intellectuals to focus on institutional review rather than duplicating planners' work. Three discussion groups addressed economic development, regional integration (Vidharbha and Marathwada), and education/culture, with wide-ranging debate on private-sector incentives, cooperative farming versus ceilings on landholding, university medium-of-instruction policy (a phased shift from English to Marathi), and yellow journalism. The seminar recommended an Administrative Reform Committee, continuation as an annual body, and a standing sub-committee (chaired by Dr. Deshmukh) to pursue follow-up. - The seminar was inaugurated by Chief Minister Y. B. Chavan and addressed by Justice P. B. Gajendragadkar and Dr. C. D. Deshmukh, with wide participation from Maharashtra's political, academic, and journalistic elite. - Group II recommended an Administrative Reform Committee and highlighted integration difficulties between Vidharbha, Marathwada, and the rest of Maharashtra, plus caste/communal tensions and the position of untouchables. - Group I (economic development) debated Third Plan allocation to Maharashtra's regions, the private sector's role, cooperative enterprise, and sharply divided views on ceilings on landholdings and cooperative farming. - Group III (education and culture) discussed university coordination, a proposed joint board of Vice-Chancellors, and a phased shift in the medium of instruction from English to Marathi. - The seminar concluded it should become a permanent, annual body, and set up a subcommittee chaired by Dr. Deshmukh to pursue recommendations. ### Maharashtra Seminar *By (From A Correspondent)* Gabriel Gersh's essay describes how, since German reunification's failure, universities east of the Elbe (Leipzig, Dresden, Halle, and others) have been transformed into instruments of Soviet-style ideological and technical training rather than centres of independent scholarship. Admission is now organised around a 'working-class' quota (about 70% of students classed as children of peasants, miners, and factory workers, with the definition loosened to admit some from bourgeois backgrounds who worked two years in mines or factories), while genuinely proletarian, 'progressive' (Communist-youth-affiliated) applicants receive a state scholarship without needing to pass rigorous entrance tests, unlike middle-class candidates who must pass strict intelligence tests and receive smaller scholarships insufficient to live on. Every faculty is compulsorily taught 'Gesellschaftswissenschaftliche' (Marxist-Leninist dialectical materialism), Russian language study is compulsory in nearly all faculties, and lectures across all subjects begin with ten minutes of party-line commentary on current events, with even ancient history and philosophy taught through a Marxist-Leninist lens. The essay closes describing the West Berlin Committee on East German Universities' list of roughly 1,000 students and professors who have disappeared since the war, most believed arrested and sentenced to lengthy terms for 'sabotage against democratic reconstruction' under a 1959 'law for the protection of peace.' - East German universities have been reorganised on Soviet ideological lines, with the traditional titled/propertied classes displaced from the student body. - About 70% of students are classified as 'working class' (peasants, miners, factory workers), a category loosened by decree to include middle-class students who worked two years in mines or factories. - Genuinely proletarian 'progressive' students qualify automatically for a state scholarship of 180 marks/month regardless of academic merit; middle-class students must pass strict intelligence tests and receive only a smaller 130-mark scholarship. - Every faculty must teach 'gesellschaftswissenschaftliche' (Marxist-Leninist dialectical materialism), and Russian is compulsory except in theology. - Every lecture, regardless of subject, opens with ten minutes of party-line commentary on current events. - A West Berlin committee has documented roughly 1,000 missing East German students and professors, most believed arrested by Soviet or East German security police and sentenced to up to 25 years under a 1959 'law for the protection of peace.' ### Universities Behind The Iron Curtain *By by Gabriel Gersh* This unsigned item, reproduced from The Economist (London), discusses the political significance of Pravda's April 1960 publication of extracts from Alexander Tvardovsky's poem, in which the Stalin-prize-winning poet obliquely indicts the Stalin personality cult and the collective guilt of a generation that dared not speak against it. The piece quotes several passages depicting Stalin as an all-controlling, god-like figure whose purges swept away former companions, and situates the poem within Khrushchev's still-unpublished 1956 'secret speech' denunciation of Stalin, suggesting its timing may coincide with internal Kremlin debate over the USSR's relations with the outside world following the collapsed Paris summit. - Pravda's unusual dedication of a full page to Tvardovsky's poem 'So It Was' is read as a literary echo of Khrushchev's 'secret' anti-Stalin speech, still unpublished in Russia at the time of writing. - The poem depicts Stalin as ruling 'like God' and being praised even by writers who 'put into our mouths poems about his own person.' - The poem assigns collective guilt to Soviet society for the Stalin cult, while also offering a partial justification citing wartime achievements under Stalin's banner. - The Economist speculates the poem's publication timing may not be coincidental, occurring as Soviet leaders debated relations with the West after the summit's collapse. ### A Tribute To Stalin! *By Reproduced from Economist, London* A reprinted statement, described as an expression of solidarity rather than an advertisement, from a broad range of West German public figures across political and religious lines, addressed to the situation of Berlin. The statement describes West Berlin as a divided city bordering the Soviet-occupied zone and the 'German Democratic Republic,' emphasises the personal ties between West Berliners and their 16 million fellow Germans living under Communist rule in the East, and frames West Berlin as a symbolic 'haven of freedom' that the Communist authorities seek to eliminate. It characterises the Berlin Crisis as provoked arbitrarily and as a matter concerning human freedom and international peace generally, not merely a German national dispute. - The statement is signed by a wide range of West German public figures (including Governing Mayor Willy Brandt) across party and religious lines. - It frames West Berlin as a 'hearth of freedom' for East Germans and describes the dividing line within the city as the last crossing point between the two systems. - It characterises the Berlin Crisis as arbitrarily provoked by the Soviet side and warns that it threatens self-determination and international peace, not only German unity. - The publisher's note clarifies the statement is printed as an expression of solidarity, not as a paid advertisement. ### A Message From Berlin The closing column, 'With Many Voices,' collects short excerpts from the contemporary Indian and international press (Swarajya, Hindustan Times, Tide, Mysindia, Manchester Guardian Weekly, Newsweek, Radical Humanist, and others) commenting on the Paris summit's collapse, Khrushchev's conduct, Indian territorial losses to China, V. K. Krishna Menon's remarks, and Communist Party behaviour generally. It closes with a set of London Times-sourced statistics on the fate of Soviet officials under Stalin (e.g., proportions of Cabinet ministers, Central Executive Committee presidents, and Communist Party secretaries who were executed), followed by the subscription form and journal imprint. - The column compiles brief quotations from multiple Indian and international publications on the failed Paris summit and Khrushchev's motives. - Quotations include V. K. Krishna Menon's defence of criticism directed at Nehru and his claim that India cannot survive as a democracy without going socialist. - One excerpt (from a Soviet Academy of Sciences publication) accuses the Indian National Congress of being actually opposed to real socialism while claiming to defend an Indian socialist model. - The column closes with London Times statistics on the proportion of Soviet officials executed since 1917, including 9 of 11 Russian Cabinet Ministers who held office since 1936 and 43 of 53 Communist Party Central Organisation secretaries. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff098/ ### Summary This is the July 1960 issue (No. 98) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based liberal monthly. The issue centers on a debate over method in confronting political disorder and authoritarian drift: V. B. Karnik's lead piece defends Vinoba Bhave's non-violent 'human approach' to the Chambal ravine dacoits against the Madhya Pradesh police's public criticism of the Bhoodan mission, arguing the two methods are complementary rather than opposed. Adam Adil's 'The Lesson of Turkey' reads the May 1960 military overthrow of Adnan Menderes as a verdict on authoritarian, corrupt democratic rule, alongside the fall of Syngman Rhee in Korea. D. G. Nadkarni profiles Boris Pasternak on the anniversary of his death, framing Doctor Zhivago as a testament to non-conformism against Soviet regimentation. An unsigned piece recounts the 1952 kidnapping and 1953 death in Soviet custody of West Berlin jurist Dr. Walter Linse. M. A. Sreenivasan's 'The Three Techniques' is a polemic against the Congress government's Third Five Year Plan, accusing it of ruling through sedation (planning as opiate), confusion (euphemistic jargon), and distraction (spectacle).… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the July 1960 issue (No. 98) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based liberal monthly. The issue centers on a debate over method in confronting political disorder and authoritarian drift: V. B. Karnik's lead piece defends Vinoba Bhave's non-violent 'human approach' to the Chambal ravine dacoits against the Madhya Pradesh police's public criticism of the Bhoodan mission, arguing the two methods are complementary rather than opposed. Adam Adil's 'The Lesson of Turkey' reads the May 1960 military overthrow of Adnan Menderes as a verdict on authoritarian, corrupt democratic rule, alongside the fall of Syngman Rhee in Korea. D. G. Nadkarni profiles Boris Pasternak on the anniversary of his death, framing Doctor Zhivago as a testament to non-conformism against Soviet regimentation. An unsigned piece recounts the 1952 kidnapping and 1953 death in Soviet custody of West Berlin jurist Dr. Walter Linse. M. A. Sreenivasan's 'The Three Techniques' is a polemic against the Congress government's Third Five Year Plan, accusing it of ruling through sedation (planning as opiate), confusion (euphemistic jargon), and distraction (spectacle). A feature marks the tenth anniversary of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, listing its activities and reproducing anniversary messages from Jayaprakash Narayan, Hugh Gaitskell, George Kennan, C. Rajagopalachari, Lionello Venturi, and Hermann J. Muller. Unsigned 'Notes' cover Algeria (hopeful ceasefire moves), Tibet (continued Chinese consolidation and Tibetan resistance), and unrest in Punjab over the Punjabi Suba demand. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a compilation of quoted commentary from world figures and publications on Cold War and decolonisation topics. ## Essays ### The Saint And The Police *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead article defends Vinoba Bhave's peace mission among the dacoits of the Chambal valley in Madhya Pradesh against criticism from the state's Inspector-General of Police, Mr. K. F. Rustamji, who charged that the mission had demoralised the police and 'lionised' the dacoits. Karnik argues that the police's punitive approach alone has never solved the dacoit problem, since social conditions in the Chambal region continually produce new recruits, and that Vinobaji's method of moral appeal secured the voluntary surrender of twenty-two dacoits who then pleaded guilty. He concludes the two approaches — police suppression and the saint's rehabilitative appeal — can be complementary rather than in conflict. - MP Inspector-General K. F. Rustamji publicly criticised Vinoba Bhave's dacoit-peace mission, saying it insulted police morale and 'lionised' surrendered dacoits. - Vinobaji's associate Siddharaj Dhadda rebutted the charges in an article in Bhoodan, denying any assurances of preferential treatment were given to dacoits. - Karnik argues the police method (hunting and shooting dacoits) has failed for years because social conditions in the Chambal valley continually regenerate the dacoit population. - Twenty-two dacoits surrendered during Vinobaji's mission and pleaded guilty to their crimes, an outcome Karnik reads as vindicating the human approach. - Karnik concludes the two methods can be complementary, especially in an area where social rehabilitation matters as much as punishment. ### Notes (Hopeful Turn in Algeria; Pointers From Tibet; Unrest In Punjab) The unsigned 'Notes' section covers three developments. 'Hopeful Turn in Algeria' welcomes the Algerian Provisional Government's decision to send an envoy to Paris and President de Gaulle's renewed offer of self-determination, reading it as an opening toward a negotiated end to the five-and-a-half-year war. 'Pointers From Tibet' reports continued heavy fighting between Chinese forces and Tibetan resistance in the Mansarovar, Everest, and Gyantse regions, alongside Chinese military build-up along the Indo-Nepalese border, arguing this belies Chinese claims of restored normalcy and should alert India to the danger of unchecked Chinese consolidation. 'Unrest In Punjab' criticizes the Communist Party's opportunistic reversal to back the Akali Dal's Punjabi Suba demand after its own candidates were routed in Gurudwara elections, and warns that continued linguistic agitation in a border state exposes India to security risks given Chinese pressure on the frontier. - Algeria: the FLN's decision to send an envoy to Paris and de Gaulle's June 14 speech renewing self-determination guarantees are read as a hopeful step toward ending the war. - Tibet: Chinese forces are reported fighting Tibetan resistance near Mansarovar, Everest, and Gyantse, with reinforcements sent to garrisons like Parkha; the piece says this contradicts Chinese claims of normalcy. - Tibet: large Chinese troop concentrations along the Indo-Nepalese border and reports of Tibetans occupying grazing land in north-west Sikkim are flagged as warning signs for India. - Punjab: the Communist Party reversed its prior opposition to a Punjabi Suba after its Congress-aligned Desh Bhagat Board allies were defeated by the Akali Dal in Gurudwara elections. - The piece frames continued linguistic agitation in Punjab as a security risk given Chinese aggression on India's northern borders. ### The Lesson Of Turkey *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil's 'The Lesson of Turkey' reads the May 27, 1960 military coup that overthrew Adnan Menderes alongside the earlier fall of Syngman Rhee in South Korea as evidence that Asian peoples will no longer tolerate corrupt, authoritarian regimes. The article traces Menderes's dictatorial turn — press censorship, suspension of judicial independence, suppression of opposition parties, courting of religious conservatism against Ataturk's secularism, and economic mismanagement leading to inflation and bankruptcy — and credits General Cemal Gursel's National Union Council with a largely bloodless, restrained transition that released political prisoners and promised free elections. It closes by predicting Ismet Inonu's likely return to power and warning that no Asian government can survive without delivering genuine democracy and rising living standards. - Adil links Menderes's fall in Turkey to Syngman Rhee's fall in Korea as parallel instances of student-led revolt against corrupt regimes, though Turkey's outcome was army-led rather than a return to democratic rule. - Menderes is charged with dismantling press freedom, judicial independence, and parliamentary checks, and with jailing opposition politicians and journalists. - Menderes revived support for conservative religious leaders (the Maulvis) against Ataturk's secularising legacy for tactical political gain. - Economic mismanagement — lax expenditure control, an overambitious development plan, and inflation — pushed Turkey toward bankruptcy despite earlier US and West German aid. - General Cemal Gursel's junta is portrayed favourably: it freed political prisoners, restored civil liberties, and pledged free elections and continuity in foreign policy (NATO, CENTO membership). - The article predicts Ismet Inonu, 'the political heir of Ataturk,' will likely return to power, but flags his age as a concern for Turkey's future leadership. ### Boris Pasternak *By D. G. Nadkarni* D. G. Nadkarni's tribute to Boris Pasternak, written after the poet's death on May 30, situates him as the last representative of a vanished era of European liberal enlightenment, alongside Kafka, Thomas Mann, and other modernist figures. It traces his intellectual formation (music, philosophy at Marburg, poetry), his refusal to leave the Soviet Union despite opportunities, and his retreat into obscurity under Stalinist purges even as friends like Mayakovsky and patrons like Bukharin were destroyed. The essay reads Doctor Zhivago not as anti-Soviet propaganda but as a humanist protest against 'all inhuman regimentation,' and recounts how the Nobel Prize forced upon him by international attention entangled him in Cold War politics, worsening his isolation until his death, after which the Soviet press blacked out the news. - Pasternak is framed as belonging to a dying breed of European liberal-humanist artists (grouped with Kafka, Thomas Mann, Rilke, Matisse, Lorca). - His family circle included figures like Scriabin, Rilke, and Tolstoy, exposing him early to a cosmopolitan artistic culture. - He refused to leave the USSR even when he had the chance (e.g., an international conference in 1936), and receded into obscurity during Stalin's purges rather than conform. - Doctor Zhivago is interpreted as a humanist protest against regimentation in general, not primarily anti-Soviet political propaganda. - His rejection of the Nobel Prize was reportedly coerced by the Soviet government, and the prize episode entangled his reputation in Cold War politics. - His death on May 30 was met with a complete Soviet press blackout, though his funeral drew mourners who saw him as a link to Dostoevsky and Tolstoy's era. ### Case Of Dr. Linse *By (Contributed)* This unsigned, contributed piece recounts the July 8, 1952 kidnapping of West Berlin lawyer and economist Dr. Walter Linse from a street near his home by East German agents connected to Soviet intelligence, and his later confirmed death in a Soviet prison camp on December 15, 1953. Linse was a leading member of the Free Jurists' Committee, an organisation of lawyers working to expose abuses of the East German communist legal system by collecting complaints from defectors. The piece details the abduction (a gang known as 'MSS' made up of professional criminals released from prison to work for the kidnapping ring), the West German pursuit that was blocked at the sector border, the Soviet Union's repeated denials of knowledge despite West Berlin police uncovering the kidnappers' full confession, and the eventual, belated Soviet admission of Linse's death via the Red Cross. - Dr. Walter Linse, a West Berlin lawyer and leading member of the Free Jurists' Committee, was abducted in front of his home on July 8, 1952. - The kidnapping ring, 'MSS', was composed of professional criminals (murderers, burglars, embezzlers) released from prison by East German communists in exchange for carrying out such operations. - West Berlin police pursuers were blocked at the East Berlin sector border, which had been raised in advance, suggesting East German foreknowledge. - The USSR denied all knowledge of Linse despite West Berlin police uncovering the names of the kidnappers, one of whom fully confessed after later fleeing to the West. - The Soviet Red Cross eventually informed the West German Red Cross that Linse had died in a Soviet prison camp on December 15, 1953. ### The Three Techniques *By M. A. Sreenivasan* M. A. Sreenivasan's polemic 'The Three Techniques' attacks India's Third Five Year Plan and the ruling Congress party's method of governance, arguing that any plan should be judged by whether it serves the people or subordinates them to itself. He accuses the government of deploying three techniques of control historically used to keep subject populations quiet: sedation (planning as a narcotic dream of future prosperity that excuses present hardship), confusion (euphemistic jargon such as calling Chinese incursions merely 'activisation of the border' or currency printing a mere 'disequilibrium'), and distraction (elaborate spectacle, as at the Sadashivanagar AICC session's kitchens and 'wordage' record). He closes by noting that even a Congress minister's resolution at that session admitted a widening gap between government promises and performance, attributing it vaguely to 'the temper of the people' and administrative failure rather than to leadership. - Sreenivasan frames the fundamental test of any plan as whether it serves the people or subordinates them to the plan. - He criticizes the Third Plan's currency-printing-based deficit financing, calling the Nasik press a 'red monstrosity' funding an 'ill-conceived spendthrift plan'. - He identifies three techniques of political control: sedation (planning as opium, echoing Marx's 'religion is the opium of the people'), confusion (euphemistic technical jargon), and distraction (spectacle and scale, e.g. the Sadashivanagar Congress session's massive kitchen and 50,000-word daily telegraph traffic). - He criticizes official language that describes Chinese territorial incursions as mere 'incursion' or 'activisation of the border' rather than aggression. - He notes that a Congress Minister's resolution at the Sadashivanagar AICC session admitted a gap between government promises and performance, blaming 'the temper of the administration' and 'the people generally' rather than leadership. ### Congress For Cultural Freedom This unsigned feature marks the tenth anniversary of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, founded in Berlin in June 1950, and reviews its decade of activity: its founding principle of rejecting totalitarianism while uniting intellectuals of differing political views; its worldwide network of national committees and correspondents (from Argentina to Vietnam, with Asia and Latin America regional offices); its publications (Encounter, Preuves, Cuadernos, Soviet Survey, and nationally, Quest in India, Quadrant in Australia, Tempo Presente in Italy, Der Monat in Germany); its seminar programme held in cities including Milan, Tokyo, Ibadan, Rhodes, and Hamburg on topics like economic growth and public liberties; its arts festivals (a 1952 Paris festival of twentieth-century masterpieces, a 1954 Rome gathering of composers, exhibitions of young painters); and its aid programme for Hungarian intellectuals after the 1956 uprising, including support for the 'Philharmonia Hungarica' orchestra and a white book on the Hungarian revolution (paralleling Indian support for a white book on Tibet). The piece reproduces anniversary messages sent to the Berlin conference by Jayaprakash Narayan, Hugh Gaitskell, George Kennan, C. Rajagopalachari, Lionello Venturi, and Hermann J. Muller, each praising the Congress's role in defending intellectual freedom against totalitarianism. - The Congress for Cultural Freedom was founded in Berlin in June 1950 and marked its tenth anniversary with an international conference in the same city in June 1960. - Its founders were united by rejection of totalitarianism despite differing political and ideological affiliations. - It maintains national committees and correspondents worldwide (Asia and Latin America regional offices; correspondents in Athens, Cairo, Ibadan, Manila) and publishes journals including Encounter, Preuves, Cuadernos, Soviet Survey, and India's Quest. - Its activities include international seminars (Milan, Tokyo, Ibadan, Rhodes, Hamburg), arts festivals (Paris 1952, Rome 1954, young-painter exhibitions in Rome/Paris/Brussels and Tokyo), and an aid programme for Hungarian intellectuals after 1956, including a 'white book' on the Hungarian revolution. - Anniversary messages are reproduced from Jayaprakash Narayan, Hugh Gaitskell, George Kennan, C. Rajagopalachari, Lionello Venturi, and Hermann J. Muller, all endorsing the Congress's role in defending intellectual and cultural freedom. - Rajagopalachari's message frames the Congress's work as helping 'defend the rights of spiritual life and the freedom of culture against all compromise.' ### With Many Voices 'With Many Voices' is a compilation of short quoted excerpts from world political figures and publications on contemporary events, including remarks on Khrushchev by Labour MP Jack Jones, on the collapsed Paris Summit by Salvador de Madariaga, on Cold War tension by President Eisenhower, on mass movements and independent thinking by Anthony Hartley in Encounter, on decolonisation statistics by Eisenhower, on Nepal by Prime Minister B. P. Koirala, on Soviet self-determination double standards by Taya Zinkin, on Indian public apathy toward Chinese aggression by Congress President Sanjeeva Reddy, and on Soviet-Western relations by David Margnand and Nikita Khrushchev. The page ends with a subscription form for Freedom First. - Jack Jones (Labour MP) is quoted questioning Khrushchev's standing to criticize others, from the Economist, London. - Salvador de Madariaga is quoted twice (Thought, June 4) criticizing the Paris Summit's failure and Eisenhower's decision to attend it at all. - President Eisenhower is quoted (Time, June 4 and June 27) on communist intolerance of anything it cannot control, and on 33 nations achieving self-determination since 1945 versus 12 forcibly absorbed into the Sino-Soviet sphere. - Anthony Hartley (Encounter, July) is quoted comparing mass movements to a drug as destructive as cocaine to independent thinking. - Taya Zinkin (United Maharashtra, June) is quoted arguing the Indian Government does not truly believe in self-determination for Hungarians, Tibetans, or Uzbeks. - Congress President Sanjeeva Reddy (Radical Humanist, June 5) is quoted blaming Congress workers for failing to alert Indian masses to the implications of Chinese aggression. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff099/ ### Summary This is issue No. 99 (August 1960) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based monthly published by the Forum of Free Enterprise and edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is a mix of current-affairs commentary and book reviews written from a classical-liberal, anti-communist standpoint. V. B. Karnik opens with "A Leap In The Dark," a post-mortem of the July 1960 all-India central-government employees' strike, arguing the strike was ill-conceived, driven by rival trade-union leaders (P.S.P. figures S. M. Joshi, Nath Pai and Peter Alvares) competing to appear uncompromising, and blaming the Government equally for failing to negotiate in good faith. C. L. Gheevala's "Reflections On The Third Five Year Plan" critiques the draft Third Plan's bias toward capital-intensive heavy industry, its vague resource-mobilisation assumptions, and its expansion of the public sector, which he argues threatens democratic socialism's own stated goals by concentrating economic power in bureaucratic hands. T. R. Fyvel reports from the Congress for Cultural Freedom's Berlin gathering on the theme "Progress in Freedom," describing sessions with Raymond Aron, Jayaprakash Narayan, J. K.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 99 (August 1960) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based monthly published by the Forum of Free Enterprise and edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is a mix of current-affairs commentary and book reviews written from a classical-liberal, anti-communist standpoint. V. B. Karnik opens with "A Leap In The Dark," a post-mortem of the July 1960 all-India central-government employees' strike, arguing the strike was ill-conceived, driven by rival trade-union leaders (P.S.P. figures S. M. Joshi, Nath Pai and Peter Alvares) competing to appear uncompromising, and blaming the Government equally for failing to negotiate in good faith. C. L. Gheevala's "Reflections On The Third Five Year Plan" critiques the draft Third Plan's bias toward capital-intensive heavy industry, its vague resource-mobilisation assumptions, and its expansion of the public sector, which he argues threatens democratic socialism's own stated goals by concentrating economic power in bureaucratic hands. T. R. Fyvel reports from the Congress for Cultural Freedom's Berlin gathering on the theme "Progress in Freedom," describing sessions with Raymond Aron, Jayaprakash Narayan, J. K. Galbraith, Robert Oppenheimer and others on political democracy, culture, and Cold War ideological competition. An unsigned "Contributed" piece, "Sino-Soviet Differences," surveys the widening ideological rift between Moscow and Peking over Khrushchev's doctrine of peaceful coexistence versus Chinese insistence on the inevitability of war under imperialism. The Review section carries M. Devadas Kini on Issac Don Levine's "The Mind of an Assassin" (about Trotsky's assassin Ramon Mercader) and Phiroze J. Shroff on S. R. Patel's "Recognition in the Law of Nations." The issue closes with "With Many Voices," a column of quoted press excerpts on Cold War and domestic themes. ## Essays ### A Leap In The Dark *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead article assesses the countrywide strike by Central Government employees that began on the night of 11 July 1960. He describes its unprecedented scale — uniting railway, postal, defence, civil aviation and clerical workers for the first time — but argues it collapsed within days because it lacked the coordinated, simultaneous response needed to succeed, and because the Government had prepared in advance with the Essential Services Maintenance Ordinance, mass arrests, and the Preventive Detention Act. Karnik places responsibility for calling the strike squarely on the three top P.S.P.-aligned leaders of the Joint Council of Action — S. M. Joshi, Nath Pai and Peter Alvares — accusing them of converting a negotiable wage dispute into an uncompromising "fight for principles" out of fear of seeming to compromise, rather than accepting a reasonable government offer linking wages to prices. He closes (in the continuation on page 11) by holding the Government equally responsible for provoking the strike through years of eroding real incomes and delayed Pay Commission implementation, while warning that the strike's aftermath — mass disciplinary action, union de-recognition, and prosecutions — will damage the trade union movement's strength for years. - The July 1960 strike was the first time railway, postal, defence, civil aviation and clerical government employees struck together. - The strike failed because response was uneven across the country and collapsed within four to five days. - The Government used the Essential Services Maintenance Ordinance, mass arrests (over 15,000), and the Preventive Detention Act to break the strike. - Karnik blames the three P.S.P. leaders of the Joint Council of Action (Joshi, Nath Pai, Alvares) for rejecting a compromise offer and turning the dispute into a matter of principle. - Communists in the trade union movement played what Karnik calls a 'sinister role,' letting P.S.P. leaders take the risk of calling the strike while positioning to claim credit or gain recruits either way. - Karnik also faults the Government for failing to hold the price line, delaying Pay Commission recommendations, and providing no dispute-resolution machinery. - The strike's aftermath includes terminations, prosecutions, and withdrawal of union recognition, which Karnik says will set back the trade union movement broadly. ### Reflections On The Third Five Year Plan *By C. L. Gheevala* C. L. Gheevala critiques the Planning Commission's draft outline of the Third Five Year Plan, which proposed a total investment of Rs. 10,200 crores. He argues the plan is 'singularly vague and uncertain' about how it will mobilise the Rs. 1650 crores expected from additional taxation and the large sums expected from external assistance, and warns that if these targets are missed, deficit financing will have to be relaxed well beyond the stated Rs. 550 crore floor. Gheevala criticizes the plan's continued bias toward capital-intensive heavy industry at the expense of employment generation (only 13.5 million new jobs projected) and small-scale rural projects, quoting Congress leader U. N. Dhebar's own admission that 'inordinate emphasis on industrial bias' had overshadowed agricultural development in the Second Plan. His central argument is that expanding the public sector, as the draft plan proposes, is not a necessary feature of democratic socialism and risks creating a bureaucratic despotism that endangers individual freedom; he ends (continued on page 10) by insisting that efficiency alone, not ideological doctrine, should determine the boundary between public and private sectors, quoting approvingly from a text called Twentieth Century Socialism on the private sector's legitimate role. - The Third Plan draft proposes total investment of Rs. 10,200 crores (Rs. 6200 crores public sector outlay of Rs. 7250 crores, Rs. 4000 crores private sector). - Gheevala argues the plan's resource-mobilisation assumptions -- Rs. 1650 crores from additional taxation and Rs. 2200 crores from external assistance -- are not credibly supported. - Foreign exchange requirements are estimated at Rs. 2600 crores with a total balance-of-payments deficit of Rs. 3200 crores, and external resources of this order are not assured. - The plan continues the Second Plan's bias toward capital-intensive heavy industry, drawing criticism that this neglects consumer goods industries and rural work-opportunities. - Only 13.5 million additional jobs are projected despite the scale of investment, reflecting the concentration of capital in capital-intensive sectors rather than employment generation. - Gheevala argues expanding the public sector as an ideological goal (rather than for efficiency) risks bureaucratic despotism that threatens individual and democratic freedom. - He calls for a fair, non-discriminatory test of efficiency to govern the division of labour between public and private sectors. ### Cultural Freedom In Berlin *By T. R. Fyvel* T. R. Fyvel reports on the Congress for Cultural Freedom's Berlin gathering, the largest yet held, on the theme 'Progress in Freedom.' He describes arriving to a mass commemoration of the 17 June 1953 East Berlin workers' uprising addressed by West Berlin's Socialist mayor Willy Brandt, then details four study groups: one led by Raymond Aron on adapting democratic institutions to fast-changing societies (with Jayaprakash Narayan among the participants); one led by Edward Shils on culture and tradition amid technological change; one led by Nicolas Nabokov on the arts and patronage; and one led by Michael Polanyi on the 'Progress of Ideas.' Fyvel concentrates on the culture-and-tradition group, noting contributions from Robert Oppenheimer, J. K. Galbraith, Ignazio Silone, Bertrand de Jouvenel, and African/Asian delegates including Nigeria's Ayo Ogunsheye and India's B. Venkatappiah, who argued that Western industry and technology could not simply be transplanted into India without accounting for its own social realities. He summarizes six conclusions from the discussions, including Western delegates' consensus that underdeveloped countries' problems were partly the West's own responsibility, and a debate (Schlesinger vs. Busia) over the dangers of authoritarian methods even among leaders professing democratic aims. - The Berlin Congress for Cultural Freedom gathering was the largest yet held, with roughly 200 participants across four study groups on the theme 'Progress in Freedom.' - Fyvel focuses on the group on culture and tradition in modern society, led by American sociologist Edward Shils. - Indian participants included Jayaprakash Narayan (in Raymond Aron's political-democracy group) and B. Venkatappiah, who argued Western technology and outlook could not be imported into India without accounting for Indian society's own realities. - American historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. criticized the U.S. government's inability to act constructively amid checks and balances; Ghanaian delegate Busia countered by warning of the dangers when democratic leaders adopt authoritarian methods. - Fyvel's six summarized conclusions include that underdeveloped countries' problems were seen as intimately the West's own responsibility, and that intellectuals from Africa and Asia were notably more sober and practical than in earlier such gatherings. - The conference opened with a mass rally of 80,000 West Berliners commemorating the 17 June 1953 uprising, addressed by Mayor Willy Brandt. ### Sino-Soviet Differences *By (Contributed)* This unsigned 'Contributed' piece traces the widening ideological rift between Moscow and Peking through 1959-1960. It contrasts Khrushchev's doctrine of 'peaceful coexistence' -- his claim that nuclear-age conditions make war no longer inevitable and that communists can come to power by peaceful means -- with the Chinese position, articulated in Red Flag articles around Lenin's April 1960 birth anniversary, that imperialism remains inherently warlike and that war is inevitable as long as imperialism exists. The piece recounts the 1958 Formosa brinksmanship crisis, Soviet silence over Chinese communes, Soviet withholding of support during the August 1959 Sino-Indian border dispute, Khrushchev's rebuke of Chinese 'left-sectarian' attitudes via Pravda, and the culmination at the Bucharest Communist Party Congress (continued to page 12), where a compromise communique papered over but did not resolve the dispute over the inevitability of war under imperialism. - Khrushchev's doctrine of peaceful coexistence, first advanced at the 20th and 21st Party Congresses, holds that war is no longer inevitable and communists can gain power by peaceful means. - China's Red Flag articles insist that as long as the imperialist system exists, war remains possible and revolutionary vigilance must not lapse. - The 1958 Formosa brinksmanship crisis and Soviet silence over Chinese communes in 1959 were early signs of strain. - The Soviet Union withheld full support for China during the August 1959 Sino-Indian frontier dispute, straining the alliance further. - Pravda (12 June 1960) publicly denounced Chinese critics of peaceful coexistence as 'Left-wing extremists' and 'Left-wing doctrinaires.' - The dispute reached a climax at the Bucharest Communist Party Congress in mid-1960, producing a compromise communique that left the core disagreement over the inevitability of war unresolved. ### Review: The Mind of an Assassin (by Issac Don Levine) *By M. Devadas Kini* M. Devadas Kini reviews Issac Don Levine's 'The Mind of an Assassin' (Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, $4.50), an account of Ramon Mercader, the Stalin-agent who assassinated Leon Trotsky in Mexico in August 1940. The review recounts Trotsky's political trajectory after his exile by Stalin in 1929, his asylum in Mexico under Diego Rivera's protection, the elaborate plot in which Mercader was introduced to Trotsky's circle via Sylvia Ageloff under the false identity 'Jacques Mornard,' and the killing itself with an ice-axe. Kini's review frames Mercader not as an idealist or visionary but as an indifferent 'philosophical executioner,' and closes by reflecting on how communists resolve the problem of means and ends by treating nothing as immoral except what fails to help the cause. - The book reviewed is Issac Don Levine's 'The Mind of an Assassin,' on Ramon Mercader's assassination of Trotsky. - Trotsky was exiled from the USSR in 1929, stripped of citizenship in 1932, and eventually found asylum in Mexico with Diego Rivera's help. - Mercader was introduced to Trotsky's circle through Sylvia Ageloff under the alias 'Jacques Mornard,' posing as the son of a wealthy Belgian diplomat. - Trotsky was killed with an ice-axe (piolet) on 20 August 1940. - Kini characterizes Mercader as an indifferent executioner rather than an ideological zealot, and reflects on communists' disregard for conventional distinctions between moral and immoral means. ### Review: Recognition in the Law of Nations (by S. R. Patel) *By Phiroze J. Shroff* Phiroze J. Shroff reviews S. R. Patel's short study 'Recognition in the Law of Nations' (N. M. Tripathi Private Ltd., Rs. 15), praising it as a commendable attempt to cover the doctrine of Recognition in international law within roughly 125 pages. The review notes the book examines the Declaratory and Constitutive theories of Recognition alongside related topics such as recognition of belligerency and insurgency, and situates Patel's discussion within the broader context that international law lacks the effective enforcement sanctions of domestic law, while arguing that the increasing pace of decolonization makes the study of recognition doctrine increasingly relevant. - The book reviewed is S. R. Patel's 'Recognition in the Law of Nations,' roughly 125 pages, priced at Rs. 15. - The review highlights Patel's critical exposition of the Declaratory and Constitutive Theories of Recognition. - The book also covers Recognition of Belligerency, Recognition of Insurgency, and Withdrawal of Recognition. - Shroff frames international law as lacking effective enforcement sanctions compared to domestic law, though rules of conduct among nations have accumulated over roughly 150 years. - The reviewer connects the topic's relevance to the growing number of newly independent nations requiring recognition. ### With Many Voices "With Many Voices" is the issue's recurring column of quoted excerpts from the contemporary press and public figures, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. The quotes touch on Cold War themes (Nehru on Soviet devotion to peace, a Manchester Guardian Weekly item on Russia seeking Cuba as a Latin American bridgehead, a Times of London item on the China-Cuba trade agreement) as well as domestic Indian commentary (D. D. Kosambi on the failure of India's solar cooker research, Sanjiva Reddy on public distrust of Congressmen, and a Link item on India's linguistic diversity as a 'leaning Tower of Babel'). - The column collects short quoted excerpts from a range of contemporary publications and public figures, under a Tennyson epigraph. - Nehru is quoted (Times of India, 18 July) expressing belief that the Soviet Union is more devoted to peace than any other country. - Manchester Guardian Weekly and the Times (London) items comment on Soviet and Chinese strategic moves toward Cuba. - D. D. Kosambi is quoted criticizing India's solar-cooker research programme as a case of publicity outrunning useful results. - Congress President Sanjiva Reddy is quoted on public distrust of Congressmen 'until the contrary is proved.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff100/ ### Summary This is the hundredth issue of Freedom First (September 1960), the Bombay-based monthly of classical-liberal and anti-communist opinion associated with the Forum of Free Enterprise circle. The editorial, 'At The Post', marks the milestone by restating the journal's founding mission — defending freedom and democracy against totalitarianism, criticizing Soviet-style planning, and warning against the country's drift into a 'Perquisitive Society' of bureaucratic privilege. The issue assembles a wide range of contributors — J. B. H. Wadia on education and cinema censorship, Philip Spratt and Adam Adil on the international communist threat (world communism and Soviet policy toward Islam respectively), the sociologist Edward Shils on the alienation of the Indian intellectual, M. R. Masani and S. R. Mohan Das on the 1960 Central Government employees' strike and the crisis it exposed in the trade union movement, Devadas Kini and 'Aristide' on the failures and economic costs of socialist planning, Anand Mohan on the prospects for multi-party government in India, and K. K. Sinha on the linguistic unrest in Assam and the meaning of Indian national unity.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the hundredth issue of Freedom First (September 1960), the Bombay-based monthly of classical-liberal and anti-communist opinion associated with the Forum of Free Enterprise circle. The editorial, 'At The Post', marks the milestone by restating the journal's founding mission — defending freedom and democracy against totalitarianism, criticizing Soviet-style planning, and warning against the country's drift into a 'Perquisitive Society' of bureaucratic privilege. The issue assembles a wide range of contributors — J. B. H. Wadia on education and cinema censorship, Philip Spratt and Adam Adil on the international communist threat (world communism and Soviet policy toward Islam respectively), the sociologist Edward Shils on the alienation of the Indian intellectual, M. R. Masani and S. R. Mohan Das on the 1960 Central Government employees' strike and the crisis it exposed in the trade union movement, Devadas Kini and 'Aristide' on the failures and economic costs of socialist planning, Anand Mohan on the prospects for multi-party government in India, and K. K. Sinha on the linguistic unrest in Assam and the meaning of Indian national unity. A closing miscellany, 'With Many Voices', gathers press quotations on Cold War and domestic political themes. Across the issue the recurring argumentative center is a defence of economic and civil liberty against both Nehruvian planning and international communism, paired with anxiety about administrative overreach, bureaucratic perquisites, and the fragility of party democracy in India. ## Essays ### At The Post The unsigned editorial 'At The Post' marks Freedom First's hundredth issue, reviewing eight years of the journal's advocacy for freedom, democracy, and free enterprise against totalitarianism and neutralism. It warns that the pace of industrialisation under the Second and (forthcoming) Third Five-Year Plans risks pushing India, even unwittingly, toward the Soviet model, and it links this danger to the psychological temptation of totalitarian shortcuts in a poor economy. The piece also raises alarm over the loss of Tibet's independence to China as a strategic blunder that has left the Himalayan frontier vulnerable to infiltration, and it pledges the magazine's continued vigilance against dictatorship and foreign threat alike. - Marks the journal's hundredth issue and reviews eight years of advocacy for freedom and democracy - Warns that rapid industrialisation risks unwittingly following the Soviet model - Frames dictatorship's 'shortcuts' as tempting in a backward economy, requiring vigilance - Blames the 'criminal blunder' of ceding Tibet's independence to China for the new danger of frontier infiltration - Criticises illusions about peaceful communist intentions, citing Hungary as a precedent - Reaffirms Freedom First's founding role and its pledge to continue its watchdog function ### Thoughts On Education *By J. B. H. Wadia* J. B. H. Wadia's 'Thoughts On Education' opens with a broad reflection on education as a lifelong evolutionary and philosophical process rooted in the classical Indian tradition of catholicity across schools of thought, then pivots to a defence of the Indian film industry against blanket accusations that it corrupts the young. Wadia argues that critics such as Vinoba Bhave apply a double standard, blaming cinema for social ills while ignoring the many devotional, moralising, and artistic films it also produces, and he calls for informed rather than reflexive criticism of the medium. - Defines education broadly, citing Funk & Vizetelly's definition and the Latin root 'educere' - Praises ancient India's catholicity toward diverse philosophical schools (Nyaya, Vaiseshika, Sankhya, Yoga, Vedanta, Purva Mimamsa) as a model of open inquiry - Criticises modern Indian education for losing this spirit of inquiry through mass communication and misinterpreted democratisation - Defends the Indian film industry against charges that it corrupts youth, citing Vinoba Bhave's remarks as an example of the criticism - Invokes Thomas Huxley's and Francis Bacon's maxims to argue for objective, informed criticism rather than reflexive condemnation - Argues the industry also produces devotional, moralising, and artistic films that critics ignore ### World Communism Today *By Philip Spratt* Philip Spratt's 'World Communism Today' surveys the state of the global communist movement as of 1960, arguing that while communism has scored recent tactical gains, its long-run claim to have solved humanity's problems is 'fairly definitely disproved' by forty years of Soviet experience. Spratt contrasts Soviet and Chinese approaches — Russia favouring 'peaceful' expansion through diplomacy and aid, China favouring direct revolutionary action — and discusses how this split plays out in Sino-Soviet relations and in the tactics open to the Communist Party of India, which he says has cannily avoided having to choose between a respectable parliamentary line and a revolutionary one. - Argues industrialism and population growth push all societies toward regimentation, of which communism claims falsely to be the sole beneficiary - Contends non-communist societies show better, freer, more egalitarian outcomes than communist ones after forty years - Distinguishes Russian tactics (diplomacy, aid, propaganda) from Chinese tactics (revolutionary action, threats) in the world communist campaign - Analyses the diplomatic and psychological differences between Khrushchev's and Mao's postures - Describes the Communist Party of India's dual strategy of respectability and covert alignment with revolutionary tactics, aided by the China/Russia split - Notes declining returns on communist propaganda as populations become politically sophisticated ### India: Traditional Past & Western Future *By Edward Shils* In 'India: Traditional Past & Western Future,' sociologist Edward Shils examines the modern Indian intellectual class as uniquely large and accomplished among new states, yet marked by a persistent malaise rooted in the tension between deep-seated Indian traditions of charismatic authority and the imported Western culture of scientism, rationalism, and socialism. Shils argues the Indian intellectual is neither as rootless nor as Westernised as critics suggest, but suffers real disappointment with post-independence politics, viewing party government and bureaucracy as a betrayal of the charismatic, transcendent hopes invested in the independence struggle, and remains without a settled political or social programme. - Notes the exceptional scale, professional diversity, and quality of India's modern intellectual class relative to other underdeveloped countries - Argues Indian intellectuals are frequently accused of 'rootlessness' but retain a fundamentally Indian sensibility despite Western training - Traces intellectuals' political alienation to Indian traditions valuing the charismatic 'saint' figure over impersonal legal-rational authority, epitomised by Gandhi - Describes disappointment with independence, which produced ordinary party politics rather than the transcendent renewal intellectuals hoped for - Identifies most Indian intellectuals as instinctively socialist but distrustful of the administrative machinery any real socialism requires - Portrays the Indian intellectual today as 'not a happy man,' demoralised, underpaid, and nostalgic for the Civil Disobedience era ### Conflict Of Principles *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Masani's 'Conflict Of Principles' (condensed from a Parliament speech) analyses the 1960 Central Government employees' strike as a genuine clash between two valid principles: the fundamental right of association and to strike versus the principle that essential government functions must continue uninterrupted. Masani traces the wage grievance to inflationary planning policy warned against by economists like B. R. Shenoy, criticises bureaucratic overstaffing and rising establishment costs, but ultimately concludes the strike itself was ill-advised once concessions on price-linked wages and arbitration had been offered, arguing for compulsory arbitration along Australian lines rather than an outright strike ban for essential services and civil servants proper. - Frames the strike crisis as a conflict between the constitutional right to strike/associate and the principle that essential government functions must continue - Attributes the underlying wage grievance to inflation caused by deficit-financed Five-Year Plan spending - Cites Professor Shenoy's early dissenting warning about inflationary risk in the Second Plan - Criticises bureaucratic overstaffing (underpaid, underworked clerks) as a self-inflicted government cost - Argues Government must act as an ordinary employer, not a sovereign, once it enters industry and employment - Judges the strike leadership failed by not calling off action after price-linked wage and arbitration concessions were made - Recommends compulsory arbitration (citing Jayaprakash Narayan's approach and the Australian model) over a blanket strike ban for civil servants and essential services ### Crisis In Trade Union Movement *By S. R. Mohan Das* S. R. Mohan Das's 'Crisis In Trade Union Movement' dissects the 1960 all-India Central Government employees' strike as a case study in the confused identity of Indian trade unionism, arguing that both government and union leadership blurred the line between the strike as an economic (trade union) action and as a political/revolutionary challenge. He concludes that the strike leadership overestimated rank-and-file mobilisation capacity, failed to plan for sustaining a prolonged struggle, and that its rapid collapse exposed the movement's organisational weakness, urging unions to take deliberate control of their own processes instead of feeling helpless. - Frames the strike's contested character: government treated it as a political/revolutionary challenge, while union leaders (S. M. Joshi, Nath Pai, Peter Alwares) insisted it was purely a trade union action - Notes railway and Postal & Telegraph employees had recently and controversially aligned themselves with the ministerial-employee strike after prior reluctance - Argues the strike leadership wrongly assumed nationwide rank-and-file mobilisation would match Maharashtra-based prior experience - Contends leaders failed to plan for the strike's sustaining power under conditions of government suppression - Observes the strike collapsed within five days, leaving employees demoralised and facing government reprisals - Calls on employees and unions to take conscious control of trade-union processes rather than feel desperate or helpless ### End Of A Dogma *By Devadas Kini* Devadas Kini's 'End Of A Dogma' argues that socialism has foundered on the dogma that private property is the sole villain and nationalisation the sole cure, contending that trade unions, mass production, and social legislation have already 'civilised' capitalism into a welfare-oriented People's Capitalism without requiring abolition of private property. Kini marshals quotations from Douglas Jay, G. D. H. Cole, and the authors of The Twentieth Century Socialism to show even socialist thinkers now favour taxation and social legislation over root-and-branch nationalisation, and he criticises trusteeship-based nationalised property as equally prone to abuse as private property, invoking Harold Laski on the danger of state control over media and public opinion. - Diagnoses socialism's error as treating private property as sole cause and nationalisation as sole cure of inequality - Credits trade unions, mass production, and social legislation with already reducing capitalism's rough edges into a 'People's Capitalism' - Cites national minimum wages, unemployment insurance, and old-age pensions as achieved without abolishing private property - Quotes The Twentieth Century Socialism's authors conceding workers may fare worse under state monopoly employer than private capitalists - Argues modern state taxation and budgeting are as effective as nationalisation for redistribution, quoting Douglas Jay and G. D. H. Cole - Warns that state control of media and public opinion sources is itself a threat to democracy, citing Harold Laski's caveat about impartial news ### Effects Of Socialism *By Aristide* Writing under the byline 'Aristide,' 'Effects Of Socialism' argues that socialism in India has had a twofold economic effect: it has turned politics into an 'industry' by fostering a 'Perquisitive Society' of politicians and bureaucrats who accumulate free housing, travel, and other perks at public expense, and it has attacked free enterprise through restricted entry, excessive taxation, and frustrating controls. The essay cites the Comptroller and Auditor-General's report on ministerial perquisite abuse (including Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon's Calicut visit), documents the squeeze on private handloom units versus subsidised cooperatives, and closes by asking whether India can retain free enterprise within a democratic framework. - Identifies two effects of socialism on the Indian economy: growth of a 'Perquisitive Society' and a three-fold attack on free enterprise - Cites the Comptroller and Auditor-General's report on lavish ministerial travel, including a Cabinet Minister's use of three aircraft for a single Calicut visit - Notes Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon's Calicut airstrip repair costing Rs. 55,000 for a holiday visit as an example of socialist double standards - Lists specific M.P. perquisites: free first-class rail travel, priority bookings, Rs.400/month salary, Rs.21/day session allowance, 1,800 free calls, subsidised housing/furnishings, medical scheme, flying club concession - Describes discriminatory treatment of private handloom units versus state-favoured cooperatives in Kerala, disadvantaging small entrepreneurs - Criticises the Industrial Policy Resolution and expanding State Trading Corporation as displacing established private industry and trade - Closes by asking whether free enterprise can be retained within a democratic framework given these twin pressures ### Prospect For Party Government In India *By Anand Mohan* Anand Mohan's 'Prospect For Party Government In India' surveys the attitudes of India's major political parties — Congress, PSP, CPI, and the new Swatantra Party — toward the parliamentary party system, arguing that Congress's dominance is rooted in its charismatic inheritance from the independence struggle rather than genuine ideological commitment to multi-party competition. He contends the CPI's ostensible embrace of the party system is purely tactical (per its Amritsar thesis), while Swatantra is the first party genuinely devoted to unseating Congress through the party system itself. The essay diagnoses structural defects undermining party government in India: an intellectually passive electorate unable to hold the majority accountable, near-unanimity among major parties on core policy issues masking real debate, and a bureaucratic-legislative tendency to treat parliamentary majority as license to overreach. - Argues Congress identifies itself with the party system out of historic conviction of entitlement rather than principled pluralism - Notes the CPI's Amritsar thesis commits it nominally to the party system, but only as a tactic to capture power - Frames the Swatantra Party as the first serious challenger genuinely wedded to displacing Congress through party competition - Diagnoses the absence of an informed, sturdy citizenry as the chief structural weakness undermining Indian party democracy - Observes near-unanimity among Congress, PSP, and CPI on foreign policy and planned-economy socialism despite loud rhetorical disagreement - Criticises Congress's tendency to treat its parliamentary majority as a permanent fixture licensing constitutional overreach - References Jayaprakash Narayan's critique that the party system is unsuited to India and his 'communitarian theory of the State' as an alternative ### Linguistic Frenzy Or Bharatiyata? *By K. K. Sinha* K. K. Sinha's 'Linguistic Frenzy Or Bharatiyata?' responds to the 1960 Assam disturbances by warning that linguistic consciousness is corroding India's national unity from within, with all major political parties complicit through their local units even as their national leadership condemns the violence. Sinha argues that Bharatiyata (Indian-ness) must be cultivated as a deliberate, individualistic, catholic attitude of mind that absorbs regional diversity without erasing it, and he proposes concrete principles — merit-based employment and trade access, freedom of movement and residence for all citizens across India — to counter the drift toward exclusionary, casteist, and linguistic parochialism. - Frames the Assam disturbances as a warning sign of deeper linguistic-consciousness threats to Indian national unity - Criticises all major parties (Congress, PSP, CPI) for allowing local units to inflame linguistic antagonism even as national leaders condemn violence - Defines Bharatiyata as a deliberate, catholic, individualistic attitude of mind rather than a chauvinistic sentiment - Warns that linguistic reorganisation of states, while accepted as settled, has reduced the emotional value of the entity 'India' relative to sub-national identities - Proposes four principles: merit-based employment access, open trade/industry entry, merit-based private-sector recruitment, and freedom of movement/residence for all Indian citizens - Argues these principles would foster an all-India elite operating on merit across parochial state and linguistic barriers ### Soviet Union And Islam *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil's 'Soviet Union And Islam' documents the history and current state of Soviet policy toward the Muslim populations of Central Asia and the Middle East, drawing heavily on Ivar Spector's The Soviet Union and the Muslim World, 1917-1958. Adil traces Lenin's 1917 appeal promising religious and cultural freedom to Russia's Muslims, contrasts it with the subsequent suppression of Islamic institutions, declining Muslim political representation in the Duma and Supreme Soviet, and Russification of language and script in Central Asia, and closes by citing testimony from Pakistani scholar Raghib Ehsan and Soviet publications (Bakinsky Rabochy, Qizil Uzbekistan) that reveal both the persistence of anti-Islamic propaganda and Islam's continued resilience as a cultural force in the region. - Cites Ivar Spector's periodisation of Soviet policy toward the Muslim world in three drives: 1917-1921, 1941-1947, and 1955-onward - Quotes Lenin and Stalin's November 1917 appeal to Muslims of Russia promising free national and cultural institutions - Documents declining Muslim representation in the Duma (25 to 6 deputies across four Dumas) and negligible representation in the Supreme Soviet - Cites Professor Raghib Ehsan's findings on the absence of religious education, publishing, and income rights for mosques under Soviet rule - Describes Russification of Central Asian Muslim regions, including replacement of Arabic script and decline of pilgrimage numbers to Mecca (from 50,000-60,000 before 1917 to about 22 pilgrims recently) - Notes government-installed, subservient Muftis and Imams used to project a facade of religious freedom - Concludes Islam nonetheless remains a resilient cultural force in Central Asia, prompting renewed Soviet anti-religious propaganda efforts ### With Many Voices 'With Many Voices' is a closing miscellany of quoted press excerpts on Cold War and Indian political themes, ranging from the Dalai Lama's critique of empty peace rhetoric to M. R. Masani's, D. R. Mankekar's, and Acharya Vinoba Bhave's comments on Indian politics and welfare, alongside American and British commentary (Henry Cabot Lodge, Malcolm Muggeridge, Mark Bonham Carter, John Wain) on the Cold War and Sino-Soviet relations. - Opens with a Dalai Lama quotation (Manchester Guardian Weekly) warning against empty promises of peace and goodwill - Includes D. R. Mankekar's Indian Express prediction that Congress will lose in several states by the 1962 elections - Quotes Acharya Vinoba Bhave's remark that India is having an 'ill-fare State' rather than a welfare state - Includes M. R. Masani's Indian Express quote that Soviet economy cannot coexist with parliamentary democracy - Cites Henry Cabot Lodge on the asymmetry between US and Soviet responses to reconnaissance overflights - Includes Malcolm Muggeridge's characterisation of the Sino-Soviet alliance as a 'marriage of convenience' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff102/ ### Summary This is issue No. 102 (November 1960) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Forum of Free Enterprise, edited by V. B. Karnik and published for the Democratic Research Service. The issue is dominated by Cold War concerns: B. K. Desai's lead article dissects the failure of the 15th UN General Assembly session amid Khrushchev's theatrics and Nehru's perceived softness toward Soviet behaviour; an unsigned Notes section covers the Algerian war, press freedom in Ceylon, UN reform, Moscow's Friendship University, and Nehru's rebuke of the Times of India; an open letter from three African students in Moscow (Andrew Amar, Theophilius Okonkwo, Michael Ayih) catalogues racial discrimination and propaganda experienced by African students in the USSR; V. B.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 102 (November 1960) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Forum of Free Enterprise, edited by V. B. Karnik and published for the Democratic Research Service. The issue is dominated by Cold War concerns: B. K. Desai's lead article dissects the failure of the 15th UN General Assembly session amid Khrushchev's theatrics and Nehru's perceived softness toward Soviet behaviour; an unsigned Notes section covers the Algerian war, press freedom in Ceylon, UN reform, Moscow's Friendship University, and Nehru's rebuke of the Times of India; an open letter from three African students in Moscow (Andrew Amar, Theophilius Okonkwo, Michael Ayih) catalogues racial discrimination and propaganda experienced by African students in the USSR; V. B. Karnik reviews Constantine FitzGibbon's novel When The Kissing Had To Stop as a cautionary fantasy about a communist takeover of Britain, drawing an explicit warning for India; a pseudonymous column ('Aristides') continues a two-part discussion of free enterprise's social obligations in India via the Forum's 1957 Code of Conduct; a group of American intellectuals (Sidney Hook, Daniel Bell, Bertram Wolfe, and others) publish an open letter pressing Khrushchev on Chinese Communist bellicosity; and the issue closes with a 'With Many Voices' page of press quotations on Khrushchev, Nehru, and Krishna Menon. The volume's argumentative centre is anti-communist, pro-free-enterprise commentary on world and Indian affairs, characteristic of the Forum of Free Enterprise's classical-liberal orientation. ## Essays ### Failure At The U.N. *By by B. K. Desai* B. K. Desai argues that the 15th UN General Assembly session, despite convening an unprecedented number of world leaders, achieved nothing constructive and instead deepened Cold War divisions. He blames Khrushchev for turning the session into a 'world-wide propaganda circus' through bullying tactics, threats to boycott the UN, and proposals (a troika secretariat, disarmament) designed to paralyse the UN rather than reform it. Desai also criticises the West for failing to show statesmanship on Afro-Asian representation and admission of Communist China, and reserves sharp criticism for Nehru and Krishna Menon, arguing that Nehru's public statements after returning from New York unfairly blamed the West while soft-pedaling Soviet misbehaviour, and that Krishna Menon's advocacy for Chinese admission raised doubts about India's genuine non-alignment. - The 15th UN General Assembly (September 1960) is judged a failure that deepened East-West tension rather than easing it. - Khrushchev is portrayed as converting the session into a propaganda circus, proposing a three-way troika secretariat and 'universal and complete disarmament' primarily to paralyse the UN. - Khrushchev's shoe-banging incident against the Philippine delegate and his bullying rhetoric alienated Afro-Asian nations rather than winning their sympathy. - The West is faulted for failing to take the initiative on Afro-Asian representation in UN bodies and on the China question, ceding the initiative to Khrushchev. - Nehru is criticised for blaming the West for Cold War tension in a US interview while showing excessive regard for Khrushchev's 'peaceful intentions'. - Krishna Menon's speech advocating Chinese Communist admission to the UN is called 'very revealing' and inconsistent with genuine non-alignment. - The article questions whether Nehru's and Menon's professed neutrality is authentic given their asymmetric treatment of Soviet vs. Western conduct. ### Notes (Echoes Of Algerian War; Freedom Of Press In Ceylon; Reconstruction Of U.N.O.; Friendship University; Ill-Tempered Abuse) An unsigned Notes section covers four short items: French intellectuals' (including Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir) support for conscripts refusing to serve in the Algerian war, and the French government's retaliation against them; Ceylon's proposed nationalisation of newspapers under a state-controlled corporation, which the piece condemns as disguised government control of the press; the prospective post-colonial restructuring of the UN Security Council and other organs to reflect the changed balance of power, alongside criticism of Khrushchev's troika proposal as an attempt to destroy the UN via Hammarskjold's ouster; and skepticism toward Moscow's new 'Friendship University' for African, Asian and Latin American students, questioned as segregationist propaganda rather than genuine education. A final item criticises Nehru for telling the Times of India to 'stew in its own juice' over its criticism of Khrushchev, framing this as an affront to press freedom (continued on page 11). - 121 French intellectuals, including Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Andre Breton and Simone Signoret, signed a statement defending French conscripts who refuse to serve in Algeria. - The French government retaliated by banning the signatories from state-supported theatre, cinema, radio and television. - Ceylon's plan to nationalise newspapers under a government-linked corporation is criticised as a disguised means of state control over the press. - The structure of the United Nations, built 15 years earlier, is argued to require reconstruction to reflect the emergence of newly independent Asian and African states — but this is distinguished from Khrushchev's troika proposal, which the piece says aims to destroy the UN's functioning by tying each secretary to a nation-bloc. - Khrushchev's anger at Secretary-General Hammarskjold over the Congo affair is presented as retaliation for Hammarskjold following Security Council and General Assembly directives. - Moscow's newly launched 'Friendship University' for African, Asian and Latin American students is portrayed with skepticism: it segregates foreign students from Russian students and offers inferior standards, according to African students quoted. - Nehru's dismissive remark that the Times of India should 'stew in its own juice' over its criticism of Khrushchev is criticised as an affront to a free press in a democracy. ### African Students And Soviet Russia *By Open letter signed by Andrew R. Amar (Uganda), Theophilius Okonkwo (Nigeria), Michael Ayih (Togo), Executive Committee of the African Students Union in Moscow* An open letter to all African governments, signed on behalf of the Executive Committee of the African Students Union in Moscow by three students (Andrew R. Amar of Uganda, Theophilius Okonkwo of Nigeria, and Michael Ayih of Togo), catalogues discrimination and mistreatment of African students in the Soviet Union. It recounts the case of S. Omor Okullo of Uganda, expelled and then smeared by Soviet propaganda after he criticised the USSR; the police harassment of Benjamin Omburo of Kenya for socialising with a Russian woman; instances of Soviet students being punished for association with foreigners; restrictions on marriage between Soviet citizens and Africans; and threatening letters from Komsomol-affiliated students. The letter also condemns the new segregated 'Friendship University' as an instrument of propaganda and racial separation, and warns African governments that Soviet communism poses a grave danger to true Africanism, urging vigilance against ideological infiltration while rejecting subservience to any foreign power, communist or otherwise. - The letter is signed on behalf of the African Students Union's Executive Committee in Moscow by representatives from Uganda, Nigeria and Togo, following secret deliberations among students from many African and Arab countries. - It documents the case of S. Omor Okullo (Uganda), who was expelled from the USSR and then subjected to a Soviet smear campaign alleging failure in exams and 'immorality' after he criticised Soviet conduct. - Benjamin Omburo of Kenya describes police harassment over socialising with a Russian woman, including forced detention and hostile treatment by Soviet police. - Soviet citizens who marry or associate intimately with Africans face official obstruction, including denial of marriage licenses and forced departures. - Ghanaian and Cameroonian students report threatening letters from Russian students affiliated with the communist youth organisation, Komsomol. - The newly announced 'Friendship University' for African, Asian and Latin American students is criticised as a segregationist propaganda project rather than genuine higher education. - The letter urges African governments to study communism, remain vigilant against its infiltration, and resist both colonialism and any new subservience to communist strategists. ### A Frightening Fantasy *By by V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik reviews Constantine FitzGibbon's novel When The Kissing Had To Stop, describing it as a frighteningly plausible fantasy in which Britain, weakened by the 'declension of will' among its politicians and public, is gradually taken over by Soviet-backed communists in the near-future England of the late 1950s/1960s. Karnik summarises the plot in detail: an opportunistic Foreign Secretary, Rupert Page Gorman, is unwittingly used by Soviet agents as the instrument of Britain's takeover after a Labour government embraces unilateral disarmament and dismantles Anglo-American defences; the Prime Minister dies suspiciously in Moscow; Page Gorman rises to power via a manufactured war scare before being discarded by his Soviet handlers in favour of a loyal British communist, O'Mahony. Karnik reads the novel as a broader parable of social and moral disintegration enabling authoritarian takeover, and explicitly warns that India, given its weaker institutional defences than Britain's, is even more vulnerable to a similar 'fantasy' unfolding in reality. - The novel imagines a communist takeover of Britain achieved not through invasion but through the 'wrong policies and bungling self-seeking' of persons in charge of government. - Rupert Page Gorman, an opportunistic Foreign Secretary with no communist conviction, becomes the chief instrument of the Soviet takeover, later outwitted by his own Russian advisers. - A Labour government under Leonard Braithwaite adopts unilateral disarmament and dismantles American bases and rocket/bomber defences against the advice of the Chiefs of Staff. - Braithwaite dies in Moscow after his water is adulterated with vodka against medical advice, clearing the way for Page Gorman's rise to Prime Minister via a manufactured China-America war scare. - The King is forced to flee to Canada; only a small number of 'earnest and conscious' individuals resist, including an aristocratic landlord who continues the fight from the hills. - Karnik frames the novel's core theme as a general 'declension of will' across British social and political life — moral, marital, and civic — that precedes and enables the political takeover. - Karnik explicitly extends the novel's warning to India, arguing the 'soil for the rise of dictatorship' is more congenial there than in Britain, given India's comparatively weaker reservoirs of institutional strength and democratic defence. ### Free Enterprise And Democracy *By by "Aristides"* Writing under the pseudonym 'Aristides,' continuing an article from Freedom First's 100th issue, the author argues that free enterprise in India, though squeezed by the 'socialistic pattern of society' through exclusion, displacement and controls, has nonetheless delivered strong results — overfulfilling First and Second Plan investment targets and building indigenous industries like bicycle manufacturing. The author contends private enterprise must go further and accept a five-fold Code of Conduct — toward consumers, employees, investors, the State, and the community — as articulated by the Forum of Free Enterprise in January 1957, quoting its provisions at length on fair pricing, labour welfare, honest management, professional integrity, and civic responsibility. The essay closes by invoking Jayaprakash Narayan's account of Gandhian voluntary activity and Vinoba Bhave's Sarvodaya movement as models, arguing that private enterprise's community service can supply the decentralised, pluralistic leadership that a democracy needs, distinct from party or state monopoly on leadership. - Free enterprise in India has met or exceeded First and Second Five Year Plan private investment targets despite being squeezed by socialist policy. - The essay quotes at length the Forum of Free Enterprise's January 1957 Code of Conduct, covering obligations to consumers, employees, investors, the State, and the community. - Honest business practices, fair wages, and support for stable trade unions are framed as social obligations distinct from mere legal compliance. - The essay condemns hoarding, black-marketing, profiteering and tax evasion as anti-social and calls for their suppression by honest administration. - It criticises the practice of political parties extracting funds from private enterprise for votes, urging enterprise instead to fund its own social service directly. - The essay invokes Jayaprakash Narayan's interpretation of Gandhian voluntary activity and Vinoba Bhave's Sarvodaya movement as models for reducing dependence on the State. - It argues that leadership in a 'pluralistic society' cannot come from a single monolithic party or the State, and that private enterprise's community service can supply leadership at multiple social levels. ### Two Questions To Mr. Khrushchev *By Open letter signed by Bertram D. Wolfe, Prof. Sidney Hook, Prof. Daniel Bell, Dr. William E. Bohn, Arthur Goldberg, Prof. Richard Walker* An open letter to Nikita Khrushchev, originally published in the New York Times and signed by a number of eminent Americans (including Bertram D. Wolfe, Sidney Hook, Daniel Bell, William E. Bohn, Arthur Goldberg, and Richard Walker), presses him on the contradiction between his UN advocacy for admitting Communist China and Communist China's own bellicose public statements. The letter quotes Chinese Communist sources declaring war 'inevitable' under existing political systems and asserting that armed force will be used to 'save succeeding generations' beyond national borders. It asks Khrushchev two direct questions: whether he supports or disavows these official Chinese Communist statements, and if he repudiates them, how he can still justify advocating China's UN admission. - The open letter was published in the New York Times and signed by prominent American intellectuals, including Bertram D. Wolfe, Sidney Hook, Daniel Bell, William E. Bohn, Arthur Goldberg and Richard Walker. - It recalls Khrushchev's September 23, 1960 UN speech advocating Communist China's admission and a broad disarmament plan. - It quotes UN Charter provisions on refraining from the threat or use of force and reaffirming faith in human rights as the standard against which Chinese Communist statements should be judged. - It cites Chinese Communist publications (Red Flag, People's Daily) asserting that 'war is inevitable' under current political systems and that armed force beyond borders is natural for socialist self-defence. - The letter poses two direct questions to Khrushchev: does he support or disavow these Chinese statements, and if he disavows them, how can he still justify advocating China's UN admission. ### With Many Voices The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' collects short press quotations from various publications commenting on Khrushchev, Nehru, Krishna Menon and the UN session, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. Quoted sources include The Spectator, Swiss Review of World Affairs, Current, Eastern Economist, New Age, Times of India, Eastern Economist, Radical Humanist, Indian Express and the Hindustan Times, most critical of Khrushchev's bullying and of Nehru's and Krishna Menon's perceived leniency toward Soviet and Chinese communism. The page also carries a subscription notice for Freedom First and an advertisement for the magazine Encounter. - The page compiles brief press quotations on Khrushchev's UN conduct, Nehru's diplomacy, and Krishna Menon's positions from a range of Indian and international publications. - Desmond Donnelly, M.P., in The Spectator, describes Khrushchev as having 'the instincts of Palmerston, the background of the Inquisition and the training of Al Capone.' - D. F. Karaka in Current is quoted twice criticising Nehru's diplomacy, including the line 'Mr. Nehru has no guts to oppose Mr. Khrushchev.' - A Hindustan Times quote by 'R. S.' contrasts the peaceful decline of Western colonialism with the fate of Imre Nagy under Soviet-style 'proletarian internationalism.' - The Radical Humanist is quoted twice, criticising Krishna Menon's continued role in government given India's defense concerns. - The page includes a subscription coupon for Freedom First (annual subscription Rs. 3) and an advertisement for the magazine Encounter, priced at Rs. 12 annually (Rs. 10 for ICCF members). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff101/ ### Summary This is the October 1960 issue of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service (Forum of Free Enterprise circle) edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is dominated by domestic economic polemics against the Second and Third Five Year Plans alongside extensive foreign-affairs commentary on the Cold War. M. R. Masani opens with a parliamentary speech attacking the Nehru government's planning priorities as tilted toward heavy industry at the expense of agriculture and consumer welfare, framing the debate as one between a 'command economy' and market-based development. M. A. Venkata Rao draws on Imre Nagy's writings to argue that India's Third Plan repeats the errors of Stalinist Hungary. Jayaprakash Narayan, writing as President of the Afro-Asian Council, calls for India to back Tibetan self-determination at the United Nations. S. V. Raju surveys the chaotic Congo crisis of 1960, and an unsigned contributed piece marks the twentieth anniversary of the Soviet annexation of the Baltic states. M. Devadas Kini reviews a book on Soviet territorial expansion across Eastern Europe.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the October 1960 issue of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service (Forum of Free Enterprise circle) edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is dominated by domestic economic polemics against the Second and Third Five Year Plans alongside extensive foreign-affairs commentary on the Cold War. M. R. Masani opens with a parliamentary speech attacking the Nehru government's planning priorities as tilted toward heavy industry at the expense of agriculture and consumer welfare, framing the debate as one between a 'command economy' and market-based development. M. A. Venkata Rao draws on Imre Nagy's writings to argue that India's Third Plan repeats the errors of Stalinist Hungary. Jayaprakash Narayan, writing as President of the Afro-Asian Council, calls for India to back Tibetan self-determination at the United Nations. S. V. Raju surveys the chaotic Congo crisis of 1960, and an unsigned contributed piece marks the twentieth anniversary of the Soviet annexation of the Baltic states. M. Devadas Kini reviews a book on Soviet territorial expansion across Eastern Europe. The issue closes with a 'With Many Voices' column of press quotations and a note from Masani (continued) on inflation and Parliament. Taken together, the rendered pages show a publication whose editorial through-line is anti-Soviet, anti-command-economy classical liberalism applied both to Indian planning and to international affairs. ## Essays ### Ways And Ways Of Planning *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's 'Ways And Ways Of Planning' reproduces a parliamentary speech attacking Nehru's approach to the Third Five Year Plan. Masani argues the real dispute is not planning versus no planning but which kind of planning and regulation; he warns that concentrating economic and political power in the state creates a 'total concentration of power' with no appeal once policeman, judge and factory-owner are the same authority. He criticizes the Plan's bias toward heavy industry and the public sector (two-thirds of resources into the public sector, three-fourths of that into non-agricultural investment) despite 70% of the population living on the land. He proposes an alternative that would keep savings out of forced public-sector channels, let returns flow to agriculture and light industry, and argues inflation and currency depreciation under planning amount to a hidden tax that erodes ordinary people's savings. He cites Jayaprakash Narayan's critique that the Plan disempowers ordinary citizens and invokes the 'ballot of the market place' as a form of everyday economic democracy. Continued material on page 11 develops the inflation argument further, citing rupee depreciation figures and a speech possibly by Asoka Mehta referencing Graham Hutton's 'Inflation and Society'. - Frames the debate as being between kinds of planning/regulation, not planning versus no planning - Warns that combining economic and political power in the state removes all checks and appeal - Criticizes the Third Plan for directing two-thirds of resources to the public sector and three-fourths of that to non-agricultural investment despite 70% of Indians living on the land - Proposes an alternative plan of roughly Rs. 4000 crores in public spending, with about Rs. 2000 crores directed to agriculture - Invokes market purchases as an everyday 'economic ballot' that supplements political democracy - Continued section on inflation: cites a rupee-value drop and quotes a parliamentary colleague referencing Graham Hutton's 'Inflation and Society' ### Chaos In Congo *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju's 'Chaos In Congo' surveys the collapse of order in the newly independent Congo Republic in 1960, attributing the crisis to entrenched tribalism, Belgian failure to prepare Congolese for self-government, and the rapid unraveling of authority among Lumumba, Kasavubu, Mobutu and Katanga's Moshe Tshombe. Raju contrasts the Congo's disorder with Ghana's relatively more stable transition under Kwame Nkrumah, questions whether democratic ideals alone can consolidate newly won independence, and details the scale of the UN's stabilization operation, including its cost and troop strength, as competing Cold War interests exploit the vacuum left by Belgian withdrawal. - Attributes Congo's post-independence chaos primarily to entrenched tribalism (200 tribes, 38 languages) and lack of Belgian preparation for self-government - Contrasts Congo with Ghana's comparatively stable transition under a strong, ruthless Nkrumah - Describes the fractured leadership picture: Lumumba, Kasavubu, Mobutu, and Katanga's secession under Moshe Tshombe - Details UN spending (over Rs. 10,00,000 a day) and troop strength (16,800) needed to maintain order - Frames Congo as a proxy arena for Cold War rivalry between the Belgians/West and the Soviets ### A New Course For The Third Plan *By M. A. Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'A New Course For The Third Plan' uses Imre Nagy's 1955 book Imre Nagy On Communism, written in defence of Hungary's post-Stalin 'New Course', as a lens for criticizing India's Third Five Year Plan. Rao argues the similarities between the Hungarian and Indian planning patterns are close enough that Nagy's critique of Rakosi-era Stalinist over-industrialization and neglect of agriculture applies directly to India: excessive stress on heavy industry, declining living standards despite promised gains, and forced collectivization pressures on agriculture. He reviews Nagy's data showing Hungarian industrial production rising while living standards fell during the First Five-Year Plan, and Nagy's insistence that heavy-industrial tempo must be tempered by actual economic conditions rather than ideological targets. Rao calls for a New Course for India's Third Plan, urging around Rs. 4000 crores in public spending skewed toward agriculture and away from the current emphasis on heavy industry and forced cooperativisation, and cites Professor Oskar Lange's writings critiquing the Soviet pattern. - Uses Imre Nagy's 'New Course' critique of Stalinist Hungarian planning as a template for critiquing India's Third Plan - Notes both plans share undue stress on heavy industry and neglect of agriculture and consumer goods - Cites Hungarian data: industrial production index rose from 150 to 400 (1938=100) between 1950-54 while living standards fell - Nagy opposed forced collectivisation tempo and allowed peasants to secede from collectives while maintaining a nominal long-term socialist goal - Calls for an Indian 'New Course': roughly Rs. 4000 crores public spending, about Rs. 2000 crores to agriculture, and abandonment of obsession with agricultural cooperativisation - Cites Professor Oskar Lange of Poland as having anticipated and endorsed Nagy's 'New Course' arguments in a Calcutta Statistical Institute journal article ### India And Tibet *By Jayaprakash Narayan* Jayaprakash Narayan, writing as President of the Afro-Asian Council announcing its decision to raise the Tibet issue at the UN General Assembly (alongside Malaya and Thailand), makes the case that Tibet's political status is not a purely domestic Chinese matter. He cites the Legal Inquiry Committee (under the International Commission of Jurists) findings of human rights violations and genocide against Tibetans as a Buddhist people, argues Tibet was de facto independent from 1912 to 1950, that China's 1950 invasion and the 1951 Seventeen-Point Agreement (repudiated by Tibet's government in 1959) were coercive, and urges India not to treat Tibet as China's internal affair, drawing an explicit parallel to apartheid South Africa. In the continued portion (page 10), he further argues India's moral authority and independence would be worthless if foreign policy bent to great-power pressure, defends the UN's moral authority even though China is not a member, and closes by urging a federal or confederal structure for newly independent Asian and African states to accommodate diverse societies. - Announces the Afro-Asian Council's decision to send Purshottam Trikamdas and J. J. Singh to the UN to raise the Tibet question, alongside Malaya and Thailand - Cites the Legal Inquiry Committee (International Commission of Jurists) findings of genocide and human-rights violations against Tibetans - Argues Tibet was de facto independent 1912-1950, was invaded in 1950, and had the 1951 Seventeen-Point Agreement forced upon it (repudiated by Tibet's government in 1959) - Draws an explicit analogy between China's 'domestic affair' defense on Tibet and apartheid South Africa's similar defense - Continued: argues India's independent foreign policy would be worthless if bent to great-power pleasure, and that moral issues cannot be waived just because China is not a UN member - Closes by recommending federal/confederal structures of government for newly independent Asian and African states ### Twentieth Anniversary Of An Aggression *By (Contributed)* This unsigned contributed piece marks the twentieth anniversary of the Soviet Union's 1940 invasion and annexation of the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), tracing the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop secret protocols, the staged 'elections' and puppet governments used to legitimate annexation, and the subsequent mass deportations, executions and forced collectivization. It reproduces the concluding portion of a manifesto issued by the Baltic States' Freedom Council calling on the Soviet Union to withdraw its military and administrative personnel and on free-world governments to support restoration of Baltic self-determination. - Traces the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop secret protocols dividing Eastern Europe into Soviet and German spheres of influence - Describes staged 'elections' and 'People's Diets' used to manufacture consent for annexation into the USSR in August 1939 - Details mass deportations (48,471 people deported on June 13, 1941 alone) and executions under the ensuing Soviet regime - Reproduces the concluding portion of the Baltic States' Freedom Council manifesto demanding Soviet withdrawal and self-determination ### Nothing To Lose But Chains *By M. Devadas Kini* M. Devadas Kini reviews Hawthorne Daniel's book 'The Ordeal of the Captive Nations', narrating the Soviet Union's systematic use of local communist minorities, staged coalition governments, and rigged elections to absorb Eastern Europe after World War II. The review covers the Baltic states' 1939-40 annexation, the crushing of the Warsaw uprising and Poland's postwar communization, the Soviet-imposed government in Czechoslovakia (including the annexation of Ruthenia), and similar patterns in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania, arguing the common thread was Soviet military occupation enabling communist minorities to eliminate coalition partners 'like slices of salami' until one-party rule was consolidated. - Reviews Hawthorne Daniel's 'The Ordeal of the Captive Nations' (Doubleday, $4.50) - Describes a repeated Soviet pattern: military occupation, staged coalition governments, then elimination of non-communist partners - Covers Baltic annexation, Poland's postwar communization and the Warsaw uprising's betrayal, Czechoslovakia's 1948 takeover including Ruthenia's annexation - Extends the pattern to Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania - Closes with the claim that 'the people get the government they deserve' and that popular revolt (citing Poznan and the Hungarian Revolt) shows people will eventually gain freedom ### With Many Voices 'With Many Voices' is the issue's closing column of quoted excerpts from contemporary press and public figures on the 1960 UN General Assembly session, the Congo crisis, and Indian economic policy, including quotations from the Times of India, the Indian Express, the Economist (London), Jayaprakash Narayan, James Morris (Manchester Guardian Weekly), Mao Tse-tung (as quoted in the New Statesman), B. Shiva Rao (Swarajya), P. C. Joshi (Hindustan Times), and the National Herald. - Compiles press quotations critical of Khrushchev's UN diplomacy and the Congo situation - Includes a Jayaprakash Narayan quote from the Indian Express on communists viewing neutrality as impossible ('With us or against us') - Reproduces a Mao Tse-tung quotation (via New Statesman) on class-based maternal love under feudalism versus communism - Includes B. Shiva Rao's data on government-controlled newspapers (186 issued by the Central Government) and a National Herald quote contrasting socialism in capitalist countries with Indian planning --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff103/ ### Summary This is issue No. 103 of Freedom First (December 1960), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service, edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue's editorial condemns India's non-alignment policy as selectively applied — critical of Western colonialism but silent on Soviet and Chinese actions in the Baltic states, Sinkiang, and Tibet, and partisan in favour of Lumumba during the Congo crisis. The Notes section surveys Algeria's war for independence, India's Congo diplomacy, UNESCO's selective reporting on racism, repression during the Punjabi Suba agitation, and the Mauritania-Morocco dispute. M. R. Masani argues against corporate political donations as economically distortive and corrosive of shareholder rights and democratic accountability. M. A. Venkata Rao contends that Nehru's Five Year Plans and agricultural cooperativisation are Marxist in substance despite Nehru's denials of doctrinaire socialism. An interview with expelled African student S. Omor Okullo recounts racial discrimination against African students at Moscow University. M.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 103 of Freedom First (December 1960), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service, edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue's editorial condemns India's non-alignment policy as selectively applied — critical of Western colonialism but silent on Soviet and Chinese actions in the Baltic states, Sinkiang, and Tibet, and partisan in favour of Lumumba during the Congo crisis. The Notes section surveys Algeria's war for independence, India's Congo diplomacy, UNESCO's selective reporting on racism, repression during the Punjabi Suba agitation, and the Mauritania-Morocco dispute. M. R. Masani argues against corporate political donations as economically distortive and corrosive of shareholder rights and democratic accountability. M. A. Venkata Rao contends that Nehru's Five Year Plans and agricultural cooperativisation are Marxist in substance despite Nehru's denials of doctrinaire socialism. An interview with expelled African student S. Omor Okullo recounts racial discrimination against African students at Moscow University. M. Devadas Kini reviews two books on Hungarian writers under communism, tracing the arc from Stalinist orthodoy through the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. The issue closes with a press-clipping digest, 'With Many Voices,' on Nehru's China policy. ## Essays ### Our Non-Alignment *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's editorial argues that India's professed non-alignment has repeatedly collapsed into de facto alignment with the communist bloc. He faults Krishna Menon's Five Power UN resolution for equating the US and USSR as equivalent power blocs regardless of their democratic or dictatorial character, criticizes India's silence on Soviet colonialism in the Baltic states and Chinese actions in Sinkiang and Tibet even as it denounces Western colonialism, and condemns India's support for Lumumba and opposition to the Kasavubu delegation's UN seating as a partisan tilt toward the communist-backed side in the Congo crisis. - Argues India's foreign policy is aligned as between the two power blocs even while calling itself non-aligned - Criticizes the Five Power resolution sponsored at the UN and Krishna Menon's defence of it - Notes Acharya Kripalani's criticism of the double standard applied to Western versus communist imperialism - Condemns Indian silence on Soviet control of the Baltic states and Chinese actions in Sinkiang and Tibet - Criticizes India's support for Lumumba and opposition to seating Kasavubu's Congolese delegation at the UN - Cites Jayaprakash Narayan's warning against imposing unitary government on newly independent African/Asian nations ### Notes (New Moves on Algeria; India And The Congo; UNESCO Courier; Repression In The Punjab; Mauritania And Morocco) An unsigned Notes section covering five topics: the decisive phase of the Algerian war and de Gaulle's move toward a negotiated 'Algerian Republic'; India's partisan tilt toward Lumumba in the Congo crisis at the UN, contrasted with most African states' abstention or opposition; UNESCO Courier's issue on racism, criticized for omitting Soviet anti-Semitism and discrimination against African students in Moscow; the suppression of the Punjabi Suba movement in Punjab, including mass arrests and press censorship; and the dispute between newly independent Mauritania and Morocco over territorial claims. - Algeria's war is entering its decisive phase; de Gaulle plans a referendum on an 'Algerian Republic' - India's vote against seating the Kasavubu delegation is criticized as partisan alignment with the Soviet bloc in the Congo dispute - UNESCO Courier's racism issue is faulted for omitting Soviet anti-Semitism and discrimination against African students in Moscow - Punjab: over 40,000 arrests reported under the Preventive Detention Act amid the Punjabi Suba agitation, with press censorship - Mauritania's independence (Nov 28) is disputed by Morocco, which claims historical suzerainty; Tunisia backs Mauritania ### Contributions To Political Funds *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani argues against permitting corporate contributions to political funds, then governed by a clause allowing directors to vote away up to Rs. 25,000 or five percent of net profits without shareholder sanction. He contends shareholders never contracted to have their invested capital diverted to political parties, that such donations divert funds from production and get passed on to consumers as a hidden cost, and that in a heavily controlled economy corporate 'donations' are effectively coerced by the licensing power of ministries, creating a quid pro quo dynamic that corrupts both business and politics. He cites Justice Chagla's suggestion that court sanction be required before large donations and criticizes the ruling Congress party for using the funding issue to smear industrialists while itself being the main beneficiary of corporate largesse. - Existing law (clause 293) lets company directors donate up to Rs. 25,000 or 5% of net profits to political parties without full shareholder sanction - Masani argues shareholders never contracted for their capital to be used for political donations - Corporate political donations divert funds from productive investment and get passed to consumers as a hidden cost, worsening inflation - In a controlled economy dependent on licences and permits, 'voluntary' donations are effectively coerced by government pressure - Justice Chagla proposed requiring court sanction before large political donations by companies - Masani argues the Congress party, which most benefits from corporate contributions, is using the issue to attack industrialists ### Prime Minister's Marxist Dogmas *By M. A. Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that Nehru's claim to be free of Marxist dogma is unconvincing given the substance of his economic policies. He identifies four strands of doctrinaire Marxism in Indian planning: the Industrial Policy Resolutions of 1948 and 1956 reserving key industries for state ownership as a path to full socialism; the emulation of Soviet-style heavy-industry-weighted Five Year Plans despite India lacking the USSR's self-sufficiency motives; the Marxist premise (echoing Marx's dismissal of human freedom as 'bourgeois prejudice') that mechanized centralized production must subordinate individual choice; and the Nagpur Congress resolution's programme of cooperative/collective joint farming, which Venkata Rao likens to Soviet, Chinese, and East European collectivisation via 'salami tactics,' warning it entails elimination of large farmers and eventual coercion of smallholders into joint farms. The essay continues past the rendered pages (marked 'Continued on page 11'). - Argues Nehru's denial of Marxist dogma is inconsistent with the substance of his Five Year Plans and Industrial Policy Resolutions - Identifies the 1948 and 1956 Industrial Policy Resolutions as committing India to eventual full state ownership of the economy - Compares India's heavy-industry-weighted Plans to the Soviet model, arguing India lacks the USSR's self-sufficiency rationale - Cites Marx's view of individual freedom as 'bourgeois prejudice' subordinated to mechanized, centrally planned production - Describes the Nagpur Congress resolution's cooperative/collective farming programme as modeled on Soviet, Chinese, and East European collectivisation 'salami tactics', warning of the elimination of large farmers and land-ceiling policies ### Racial Discrimination In Soviet Russia (extracts from an interview with Mr. S. Omor Okullo, published in U.S. News & World Report) An interview, reprinted from U.S. News & World Report, with S. Omor Okullo, a 26-year-old African student expelled by the Soviet government after protesting the treatment of African students at the University of Moscow. Okullo describes incidents including the beating of a Somali student for dancing with a Russian girl, racial slurs against African students, and pressure from Soviet authorities to align politically (including views on the U-2 incident). He recounts his expulsion, along with two other African students, on accusations of leading an 'anti-Soviet group,' and describes plans for a segregated 'friendship university' for foreign students, which he criticizes as comparable to the ideology (if not the practice) of apartheid in South Africa. - Okullo, a Somali/African student on a UN scholarship, was expelled from Moscow University after protesting racial mistreatment of African students - Describes a Somali student beaten unconscious by Russian students for dancing with a Russian girl, and racial slurs against African students - Soviet teachers used classroom discussion to probe foreign students' political loyalty, e.g. views on the U-2 incident - Okullo and two other African students were expelled on accusations of leading an 'anti-Soviet group' - Describes plans for a segregated 'friendship university' to separate African/foreign students from Russian students, which he likens ideologically to South African apartheid ### Intellectuals Vs The State *By M. Devadas Kini* M. Devadas Kini reviews two books — The Revolt of the Mind by Tamas Aczel and Tibor Meray, and Political Prisoner by Paul Ignotus — examining the fate of Hungarian intellectuals under communist rule, comparing them favourably to Orwell's 1984 and Koestler's Darkness at Noon. He traces the three categories of Hungarian writers under the regime (loyal 'Moscovites,' silenced dissenters, and coerced true-believers), profiles figures such as Tibor Dery and the Petofi Circle, and follows the arc from Stalinist orthodoxy through the post-Stalin Thaw, the Poznan revolt, and the 1956 Hungarian Revolution triggered partly by intellectual ferment. The piece (continued from page 8's aside on the Prime Minister) closes by posing the question of whether totalitarian rule and intellectual freedom can ever coexist. - Reviews The Revolt of the Mind (Aczel & Meray) and Political Prisoner (Ignotus), comparing them to 1984 and Darkness at Noon - Describes three categories of Hungarian writers under communism: loyalist 'Moscovites', silenced dissenters, and party-line loyalists - Profiles novelist Tibor Dery, his conflict with Minister of Culture Jozsef Revai over artistic freedom, and the Petofi Circle of dissident writers - Traces the political Thaw after Stalin's death, the Poznan revolt, and Imre Nagy's rise and fall, leading to the 1956 Hungarian Revolution - Closes by posing whether a totalitarian state and intellectual freedom can coexist ### With Many Voices A press-clippings digest titled 'With Many Voices,' quoting critical commentary from Indian newspapers and commentators on Nehru's handling of the China border issue and foreign policy generally, including the Hindustan Times, Thought, Swarajya, Janata, and remarks by C. Rajagopalachari and A. D. Gorwala accusing Nehru of downplaying Chinese incursions into Ladakh and effectively favouring the communist bloc over the West despite professed non-alignment. - Digest of press criticism of Nehru's China policy from Hindustan Times, Thought, Swarajya, and Janata - Criticizes Nehru for treating Chinese incursions in Ladakh (12,000 square miles) as 'petty' incidents within a 'larger context' - C. Rajagopalachari remarks he would not be surprised if the government borrowed money for development even from China - A. D. Gorwala argues Indian foreign policy has convinced world opinion that India, in reality, favours the communist powers over freedom --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff104/ ### Summary This is the January 1961 issue (No. 104) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical. The issue opens with V. B. Karnik's "The Party or the People?", which uses the Uttar Pradesh Congress crisis (the removal of Chief Minister Dr. Sampurnanand in favour of Mr. C. B. Gupta at the dictation of the party organisational wing) to argue that the parliamentary wing, being directly elected by the people, must take precedence over the party machine, and warns that subordinating elected representatives to party officials is the road to dictatorship. A tribute to Ellen Roy, wife and collaborator of M. N. Roy, follows her murder in Dehra Dun, describing her life, her work sustaining Radical Humanism after Roy's death, and the suspicious circumstances of her killing. The "Notes" section covers the poorly attended Afro-Asian Solidarity Conference (criticised as a communist-front propaganda exercise co-opted by Congress leaders) and the Ex-Communists' Convention in Kerala, alongside a report on the Democratic National Conference's dissolution in Kashmir. M. A.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the January 1961 issue (No. 104) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical. The issue opens with V. B. Karnik's "The Party or the People?", which uses the Uttar Pradesh Congress crisis (the removal of Chief Minister Dr. Sampurnanand in favour of Mr. C. B. Gupta at the dictation of the party organisational wing) to argue that the parliamentary wing, being directly elected by the people, must take precedence over the party machine, and warns that subordinating elected representatives to party officials is the road to dictatorship. A tribute to Ellen Roy, wife and collaborator of M. N. Roy, follows her murder in Dehra Dun, describing her life, her work sustaining Radical Humanism after Roy's death, and the suspicious circumstances of her killing. The "Notes" section covers the poorly attended Afro-Asian Solidarity Conference (criticised as a communist-front propaganda exercise co-opted by Congress leaders) and the Ex-Communists' Convention in Kerala, alongside a report on the Democratic National Conference's dissolution in Kashmir. M. A. Venkata Rao's essay "Towards A New Liberalism" sets out a philosophical case for a "positive liberalism" (drawing on T. H. Green, Bosanquet, and Aristotle) that rejects both unregulated laissez faire capitalism and socialist statism, arguing the state should regulate economic activity for the common good without directly running the economy. Aziz Madni's "Whither Cuba?" traces the Cuban revolution's drift from anti-Batista liberation movement toward a Soviet-aligned dictatorship under Fidel Castro, and urges the incoming U.S. administration to seek reapproachment with Cuba rather than confrontation. A contributed piece analyses the December 1960 Moscow Conference of 81 communist parties, reading its ambiguous joint Declaration as evidence of an unresolved Sino-Soviet rivalry for leadership of the world communist movement. The issue closes with "Democracy—U.P. Style," an extended, sardonic chronicle of the internal Uttar Pradesh Congress power struggle (continuing the Karnik piece), and "With Many Voices," a page of quoted extracts from contemporary commentators on politics, neutrality, and foreign affairs. ## Essays ### The Party or the People? *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead article uses the Uttar Pradesh Congress crisis, in which the organisational wing forced out Chief Minister Dr. Sampurnanand in favour of Mr. C. B. Gupta against the wishes of the Congress Parliamentary Party, as a case study in a broader argument: that disputes between a party's organisational and parliamentary wings are becoming a national problem because the Congress so dominates Indian politics. Karnik argues that in a parliamentary democracy the elected representatives of the people must take precedence over unelected party officials, since only the former are chosen by the whole electorate. He frames the choice facing the Congress as one between asserting the primacy of the party machine or letting the people rule through their elected representatives, and warns that allowing the organisational wing to dictate to the parliamentary wing points toward dictatorship and totalitarianism. - Uses the Uttar Pradesh episode (removal of Dr. Sampurnanand, installation of C. B. Gupta) as the occasion for the essay. - Frames internal party disputes as a matter of national importance given Congress's dominant position. - Argues elected representatives should have primacy over party committees because they are chosen by the whole electorate, not a small party membership. - Describes the historical shift after independence, whereby the parliamentary wing (Parliament and state assemblies) gained precedence over the party organisation. - Concludes that subordinating the people (via their elected representatives) to the party machine is the path toward dictatorship and totalitarianism. ### Ellen Roy An unsigned editorial tribute to Ellen Roy, wife and close collaborator of M. N. Roy, following her murder at her Dehra Dun residence on the night of 13 December. It recounts her German-American origins, her early involvement in the international communist movement where she met and came to admire Roy, her sustained support of him through his imprisonment in India, and her decades of work for Radical Humanism, including editing the weekly Radical Humanist and running the Indian Renaissance Institute's study camps after Roy's death. The piece raises suspicion that the murder may have been politically motivated, possibly connected to her prior warnings to the Government of India about suspicious fires destroying Himalayan border-area maps at the Survey of India office in Dehra Dun, and calls on the government to bring the killer to justice. - Ellen Roy was murdered at her Dehra Dun home on the night of 13 December; circumstances (a gag, a wrap over her eyes, an attempted fire) raise suspicion it was not a simple robbery. - She had earlier suspected that fires at the Survey of India office in Dehra Dun, which destroyed Himalayan border-area maps, were not accidental, and had alerted the government. - Born Ellen Gottschalk in Germany/France to an American official's family; met M. N. Roy through the communist movement and married him after his release from Indian imprisonment in 1937. - After Roy's death she stayed in India rather than return to the West, editing the Radical Humanist and serving as Secretary of the Indian Renaissance Institute. - The piece frames her death as an irreparable loss to the Radical Humanist movement and calls for a full government inquiry. ### Notes (Afro-Asian Solidarity Conference; Ex-Communists' Convention In Kerala; Developments In Kashmir) An unsigned "Notes" column covering three items. First, a report on the third annual conference of the Indian Association for Afro-Asian Solidarity, held in Bombay, judged a poor showing despite being organised by communist front organisations and lent respectability by eminent Congress leaders and the Governor of Bombay; it criticises the Congress leadership and the Governor for lending credibility to what it calls a communist propaganda exercise that stayed silent on Chinese aggression against India. Second, a report on the Ex-Communists' Convention in Kerala, attended by about 300 ex-communists and inaugurated by Stephen Spender with participation from Wolfgang Leonhard, which resolved to cooperate with existing democratic parties rather than form a new one and to counter communal and communist trends in politics. Third, a short piece on the dissolution of the Democratic National Conference in Kashmir and the return of its leader Mr. Sadiq's group to the ruling National Conference, read as reflecting Sadiq's own communist sympathies and the opportunism of Kashmir politics. - The Afro-Asian Solidarity Conference in Bombay is judged an "extra-ordinarily poor" showing despite organisers' hopes of two thousand delegates. - Criticises Congress leaders (S. K. Patil, V. N. Desai) and Governor Prakasha for associating with the conference, calling it a communist front event that stayed silent on Chinese aggression against India. - The Ex-Communists' Convention in Kerala drew about 300 participants, inaugurated by Stephen Spender with Wolfgang Leonhard also attending. - The Convention resolved to cooperate with existing democratic parties rather than found a new party, and to fight communalism in politics. - The Democratic National Conference in Kashmir dissolved, with Mr. Sadiq's group rejoining the ruling National Conference under Bakshi, seen as reflecting Sadiq's own communist associations and Kashmir's political opportunism. ### Towards A New Liberalism *By M. A. Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that the present moment is propitious for a restatement of liberalism as an economic and social philosophy that can absorb the legitimate aspirations behind socialism without embracing statism or communism. He contends liberalism and socialism are converging (citing Britain's Labour Party moving away from doctrinaire nationalisation), and that the flaw in orthodox laissez-faire capitalism was not private ownership as such but the capitalist class's usurpation of political sovereignty, which the new liberalism should end by confining capital strictly to the economic sphere while letting the state regulate all economic activity for the common good. Drawing on T. H. Green, Bosanquet, and Aristotle, Venkata Rao argues the state should legislate to maintain fair competition and restrain monopoly, provide leadership in underfunded essential industries, and support social overheads like health, education, and infrastructure, while never using force to compel individual morality or belief. The new liberalism, he says, must extend the freedoms once reserved for the entrepreneurial class to all classes, encouraging property-owning democracy and social security through voluntary and trusteeship principles rather than state compulsion. - Argues liberalism and socialism are converging, citing the British Labour Party's retreat from doctrinaire nationalisation. - Insists communism and capitalism are not the only alternatives, and that a workable liberal alternative to both must be demonstrated. - Locates the flaw of orthodox laissez-faire capitalism in the capitalist class's usurpation of political sovereignty, not in private ownership itself. - Draws on T. H. Green, Bosanquet, and Aristotle to argue the state's role is to secure conditions for the good life without directly running trade, industry, or belief. - Calls for state regulation of economic activity to maintain competition and restrain monopoly, state leadership only where private capital is lacking (e.g. housing, medicine, agriculture), and support for social overheads (health, roads, education). - Proposes extending freedom and property ownership (e.g. worker share ownership, land for tillers) to all classes, not just the traditional entrepreneurial class. - Frames the state's proper role as supplementing and supporting the free market as a "pioneer," not supplanting private and voluntary effort. ### Whither Cuba? *By Aziz Madni* Aziz Madni traces the Cuban revolution's arc from a hopeful movement of liberation against the Batista dictatorship to what he sees as a new tyranny under Fidel Castro. He credits the revolution with breaking the landholding and American business monopoly, but argues it went on to imitate Batista's repression of the press and individual freedom, while its foreign policy grew increasingly anti-American and aligned with the Soviet bloc following Mikoyan's 1960 visit and subsequent trade deals. Madni assesses Castro himself as not personally a committed communist but surrounded by henchmen (his brother Raul and "Che" Guevara) who are, arguing Castro is "playing the Red game" for pragmatic reasons. The essay closes by urging the incoming U.S. administration to seek reapproachment with Cuba, recognising the revolution and lifting the sugar embargo, rather than risk pushing Cuba fully behind the Iron Curtain. - Frames the Cuban revolution as repeating the pattern (from Silone's Bread and Wine) of liberation movements ending in tyranny. - Credits the revolution with ending Batista's dictatorship, redistributing land, and breaking the American business monopoly over the Cuban economy. - Describes the revolutionary government's own repression of the press and imprisonment of former supporters as betraying its liberatory origins. - Traces growing Soviet-bloc alignment after Mikoyan's 1960 visit, the $100 million credit, and subsequent US-Cuban tit-for-tat embargoes and expropriations. - Judges that while Castro himself may not be a committed communist, his government is filled with communists and fellow-travellers, including his brother Raul and Ernesto "Che" Guevara. - Concludes by urging the U.S. to seek reapproachment with Cuba (lifting the sugar embargo, recognising the revolution) rather than risk driving it fully into the Soviet orbit. ### Moscow Conference of Communist Parties *By (Contributed)* A contributed analytical piece examines the December 1960 Moscow Conference of representatives of 81 communist parties, based on the Soviet press's belated "information report" and the subsequent "Declaration of the Representatives of the Communist and Workers' Parties." The author reads the unusual protocol of the conference (all 189 participants photographed seated together, with Khrushchev and Liu Shao-chi placed at the exact centre) as a deliberate performance of unity masking a real Sino-Soviet struggle for leadership of the world communist movement. Analysing the Declaration's language, the piece concludes that the conference produced only an unstable compromise: the Soviets retain nominal leading position while the Declaration's substance concedes to Chinese demands for more aggressive anti-Western policy, and that Sino-Soviet disagreements have already spread from theory to state interests, with communist policy likely to grow more aggressive and the future pointing toward re-creation of a Comintern-like coordinating body. - Analyses the December 1960 Moscow Conference of 81 communist parties (189 delegates), the largest such gathering since the Comintern congresses. - Reads the deliberate protocol of photographing all delegates seated together, with Khrushchev and Liu Shao-chi at the centre, as a staged display of "unity" masking real Sino-Soviet rivalry. - Analyses the subsequent Declaration's language as revival of the idea of world revolution, naming Indochina, Algeria, Cuba, Latin America, the Congo, Berlin and Germany as centres of anti-imperialist struggle. - Concludes the conference represents only an unstable, temporary compromise between Moscow and Peking, with the Soviets keeping nominal leadership but substantive theses reflecting Chinese demands. - Predicts communist policy will grow more aggressive and that the conference's format point toward the re-creation of a Comintern-like body. ### Democracy--U. P. Style An unsigned, sardonic chronicle titled "Democracy—U.P. Style" (continuing from the opening Karnik article) narrates in detail the internal Uttar Pradesh Congress power struggle: the 1958 dispute over reconstituting the PCC executive council, the 1959 revolt of 98 dissident MLAs, the bitter organisational-wing elections, and the eventual defeat of Dr. Sampurnanand's preferred successor in the PCC presidency election, which triggers his resignation and a prolonged, opportunistic contest (invoking Mahatma Gandhi's name and Harijan candidacy) over the chief ministership, ultimately resolved in favour of Mr. C. B. Gupta with Nehru's and Pandit Pant's involvement. The piece closes by describing the affair as revealing that the "traditional form of democracy" (constitution, legislature, opposition) still nominally survives but is being reshaped to fit a new pattern of Congress-managed democracy. - Recounts the 1958 dispute over reconstituting the UP PCC executive council and the 1959 revolt of 98 dissident MLAs charging maladministration, nepotism and corruption. - Details Dr. Sampurnanand's principle that his government would resign if his PCC nominee lost the presidency election, and the subsequent unfolding of that crisis. - Describes the invocation of Mahatma Gandhi's name and Harijan identity in support of a candidate, calling it a new and improper injection of sectarian appeal into parliamentary democracy. - Notes Jawaharlal Nehru's, Pandit Govind Vallabh Pant's, and Lal Bahadur Shastri's involvement in resolving the leadership question in favour of Mr. C. B. Gupta. - Frames the whole affair as "a new brand of democracy" being written by the UP Congress and Delhi High Command that other states and parties might come to emulate. ### With Many Voices "With Many Voices" is a closing column of quoted extracts from contemporary press and public figures on politics, neutrality, and foreign affairs, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. It includes Michael Polanyi on the fanaticism of unbelievers, Stephen Spender on the dangers of the politics of non-politicals, Argus in the Eastern Economist on India's drift toward the Soviet camp, V. K. Krishna Menon defending non-alignment as consistent with patriotism, Asoka Mehta on the case for India remaining unaligned given Chinese aggression, a Chinese Communist Party directive dismissing Tolstoy's works as a waste of time for communists, and an Indian Express item on India's changed feelings toward China after the border experience. - Quotes Michael Polanyi's presidential address on the fanaticism of unbelievers. - Quotes Stephen Spender warning that the politics of non-politicals are dangerous. - Quotes Argus (Eastern Economist) and V. K. Krishna Menon on India's neutrality and foreign policy amid Cold War pressures. - Quotes Asoka Mehta (Praja Socialist Party chairman) arguing India should remain unaligned despite Chinese aggressive posture. - Includes a Chinese Communist Party directive declaring study of Tolstoy's works a waste of time for communists. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff105/ ### Summary This is the 105th issue of Freedom First (February 1961), the classical-liberal monthly published in Bombay by the Democratic Research Service and edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue opens with Karnik's own lead essay, "A Lesson For Us," arguing that China's 1959-1960 famine exposes the structural failure of communist planning—its overemphasis on heavy industry at the expense of agriculture and consumer goods—and that both China and the USSR are now being forced to concede this failure. S. R. Mohan Das reports on the Indian National Congress's 66th session at Bhavnagar, dissecting Nehru's dominance over party resolutions, the national-integration debate, and the ginger group's defeat at the convention. A "Notes" section carries short items on Soviet espionage in India, the Algerian referendum, the arrest of Olga Ivinskaya, Milovan Djilas's release from prison, and rival African power blocs (Brazzaville vs. Casablanca groups). M. A. Venkata Rao's "Towards Party-less Democracy" expounds Jayaprakash Narayan's and the late M. N. Roy's proposal for a partyless parliamentary system built on polling-booth voters' associations.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the 105th issue of Freedom First (February 1961), the classical-liberal monthly published in Bombay by the Democratic Research Service and edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue opens with Karnik's own lead essay, "A Lesson For Us," arguing that China's 1959-1960 famine exposes the structural failure of communist planning—its overemphasis on heavy industry at the expense of agriculture and consumer goods—and that both China and the USSR are now being forced to concede this failure. S. R. Mohan Das reports on the Indian National Congress's 66th session at Bhavnagar, dissecting Nehru's dominance over party resolutions, the national-integration debate, and the ginger group's defeat at the convention. A "Notes" section carries short items on Soviet espionage in India, the Algerian referendum, the arrest of Olga Ivinskaya, Milovan Djilas's release from prison, and rival African power blocs (Brazzaville vs. Casablanca groups). M. A. Venkata Rao's "Towards Party-less Democracy" expounds Jayaprakash Narayan's and the late M. N. Roy's proposal for a partyless parliamentary system built on polling-booth voters' associations. An unsigned contributed piece, "Soviet Economic Growth & the West," compares Soviet and Western growth rates, housing, women's labour, personal transport, and agricultural output using 1913/1959 census data. "The Moscow Soap Opera," reproduced from the Public Relations Journal (New York, December 1960), is a media-criticism piece skewering Western press coverage of Khrushchev's theatrics at the UN. The "Review" section covers a symposium on Sino-Soviet relations published by National Review (reviewed by B. K. Desai) and S. R. Patel's book on India's foreign policy (reviewed by "Saadi"). The issue closes with "With Many Voices," a compilation of quotations from Indian and international commentators on Sino-Soviet relations, Tibet, strikes, and India's Cold War position, followed by the continuation of Karnik's opening essay and the masthead crediting V. B. Karnik as editor and B. K. Desai as publisher. ## Essays ### A Lesson For Us *By V. B. Karnik* Karnik argues that China's severe 1959-1960 famine, openly admitted by the Communist Party's own central committee communiqué, discredits the claim that natural calamities alone are responsible; the deeper cause is the regime's forced-industrialisation drive, its neglect of agriculture and light industry, and coercive institutions like the communes. He notes the Party's own January 1961 resolution conceded these failures and pivoted the 1961 plan toward agriculture and consumer goods, while purging "reactionaries" and "bad elements" for the shortfall. Karnik extends the lesson to the Soviet Union, which is also now redirecting priorities toward agriculture, and closes (in the continuation on page 12) by urging Indian planners to learn this lesson without India having to pass through the same suffering, warning that India's own Third Plan risks repeating the mistake of overweighting heavy industry (e.g. a fourth steel plant at Bokaro) over food and essential goods. - China's food-grain output fell by 100 million tons over three years, per the government's own admission. - The Communist Party's central committee resolution (mid-January 1961) blamed natural calamities but simultaneously redirected the 1961 plan toward agriculture and light industry. - Karnik attributes the crisis primarily to economic and social policy — forced industrialisation, communes, neglect of agriculture — not just weather. - The USSR is undergoing a similar course correction under Khrushchev, giving more attention to agriculture and consumer goods. - Karnik warns Indian planners against repeating the same overemphasis on heavy/basic industry (citing the proposed fourth steel plant at Bokaro) at the expense of food security. ### Bhavnagar Congress Convention *By S. R. Mohan Das* Mohan Das analyses the 66th Congress session at Bhavnagar, arguing that despite ample press coverage, little real political analysis has been offered. He examines Nehru's outsized role in shaping party resolutions — illustrated by Chief Minister Harekrishna Mahtab's admiring (and embarrassing) revelation that every Congress manifesto since 1936 was Nehru's handiwork, and Mahavir Tyagi's remark that Nehru's hand "should be kissed." The second major theme is national integration, provoked by the 1960 unrest (Assam riots, Punjabi Suba agitation, Berubari transfer dispute), with Nehru dramatically threatening to "throw away everything, even the Five Year Plans" if unity were not achieved. The essay closes by describing the ginger group's failed attempt to capture the party organisation by appealing to Nehru's personality cult, and its defeat in Election and Working Committee polls (continued on page 11, where Das notes Ram Subhag Singh's election to the Working Committee as a quiet revolt against Nehru and Krishna Menon, and Indira Gandhi's strong showing as interim Congress President). - Little independent political analysis has accompanied the heavy press coverage of the Bhavnagar Congress session. - Nehru's dominance over party resolutions is illustrated by Mahtab's claim that every Congress manifesto since 1936 was Nehru's own drafting. - National integration was the session's second major issue, driven by the Assam riots, Punjabi Suba agitation, and Berubari transfer dispute. - Nehru threatened to abandon the Five Year Plans if national unity were not secured. - The 'ginger group' misjudged that riding Nehru's personality cult would suffice, and was defeated in the Election and Working Committees; Ram Subhag Singh's win is read as a quiet revolt against Nehru and Krishna Menon. ### Notes (Spying For Friendship; Last Chance In Algeria; Reversal Of A Trend?; Djilas Freed; Power Blocs In Africa) A set of five short unsigned notes. "Spying For Friendship" argues that the uncovering of two long-running Soviet espionage rings in India (probing Indian arms, atomic energy progress, and border-area roads) exposes the hollowness of Soviet claims of friendship and neutrality on the Sino-Indian border dispute, and criticises the Indian government's muted response, quoting Krishna Menon's dismissal of the affair. "Last Chance In Algeria" reads the French referendum result as strengthening de Gaulle's position and sees cautious grounds for a negotiated Algerian settlement given signals from the FLN's provisional government in Tunis. Further notes cover the arrest and imprisonment of Olga Ivinskaya (Pasternak's collaborator) in Russia, condemned by Jayaprakash Narayan; the conditional release of Milovan Djilas from a Yugoslav prison; and the emergence of two rival African blocs (the moderate, pro-West Brazzaville group led by Ivory Coast and Senegal, versus the more militant Casablanca group led by Ghana and the UAR) competing for leadership of a not-yet-decolonised Africa. - Two Soviet espionage rings operating in India for years (one dating to 1951) sought information on Indian arms, atomic energy, and border-road construction. - The Indian government's muted reaction to the spy revelations is criticised, alongside Krishna Menon's dismissal that the secrets sought 'were of no importance'. - The French referendum is read as strengthening de Gaulle's hand on Algeria, with cautious optimism about a negotiated FLN settlement. - Olga Ivinskaya and her daughter were arrested and imprisoned in Russia; Jayaprakash Narayan is noted as the only Indian public figure to issue a public statement of concern. - Milovan Djilas was conditionally released from Yugoslav imprisonment after his 1956 arrest for criticising the Hungarian-uprising repression. - Two rival African groupings, Brazzaville (moderate, pro-West) and Casablanca (militant, anti-West-leaning), are competing for leadership of the continent even before full decolonisation. ### Towards Party-less Democracy *By M. A. Venkata Rao* Venkata Rao lays out the case for a partyless parliamentary democracy, an idea first worked out by the late M. N. Roy and now being promoted by Jayaprakash Narayan through seminars and circulated proposals. He argues the party system corrupts moral and intellectual conscience by demanding loyalty over conscience, cites the example of American farm subsidies bought by the farm vote, and lists Indian instances of policy corrupted by fear of losing popularity (unchecked police firings, unexamined provincial jealousy in Assam, campaign-fund collection from industrialists, and casteist vote-bargaining). His proposed alternative: polling-booth-level voters' associations that discuss issues year-round and, at election time, nominate three candidates each for an electoral college; roughly 200 elected legislators would then choose ministers from among themselves without party affiliation, insulating administration from party financing and pressure-group capture. He points to Switzerland as an existing (if imperfect) example of merit-based, non-exclusive party functioning, attributing its success partly to a Swiss ethic of public service. - The partyless-democracy idea originates with the late M. N. Roy and is being actively promoted by Jayaprakash Narayan via seminars and proposals. - The party whip is said to corrupt individual moral and intellectual conscience by demanding loyalty over principle. - Examples of policy corrupted by fear of losing popularity include unchecked police firings, the Assam riots, and industrialist-funded campaign finance. - Proposed mechanism: polling-booth voters' associations meet year-round, nominate three candidates each at election time to an electoral college, which elects roughly 200 legislators who then choose ministers among themselves without party structure. - Switzerland is cited as a working, if partial, example of a system where parties exist but are not exclusive or sacrosanct, aided by a strong ethic of public service. ### Soviet Economic Growth & the West *By (Contributed)* An unsigned contributed article compares Soviet and Western economic growth. It attributes the USSR's faster post-war growth rate (six to seven percent versus about three percent in the US) to central direction geared toward outstripping the US in economic and military power, at the cost of consumer welfare, versus Western economies guided by dispersed political and economic power and consumer choice. It presents comparative data on housing (Britain's 4 sq. m per capita vs. USSR's 2.5 sq. m), women's participation in heavy labour (over 30% of Soviet building workers are women, with minimal consumer-facing industry to support them), and personal transport (virtually non-existent in the USSR versus Britain's spending on private motoring). A 1913/1959 census table shows the USSR's urban population rising from 28 to 100 million against a rural decline from 131 to 108.8 million. The piece concludes that Soviet GNP remains roughly half that of the US and unlikely to overtake it by 1975, with Soviet growth achieved by deliberately suppressing the population's welfare, urban real wages remaining at about half British and a third of American levels. - Soviet GNP growth since WWII has run six to seven percent per annum versus about three percent in the US, attributed to centrally directed pursuit of world economic/military parity. - British housing investment provides about 4 sq. m of living space per capita versus roughly 2.5 sq. m in the USSR despite comparable capital outlay. - Over 30% of Soviet building-industry workers are women, reflecting heavy labour demands alongside minimal consumer-facing industry (creches, appliances) to support them. - Personal transport is virtually non-existent in the USSR (output of just over 124,000 cars in 1959) compared to Britain's roughly £500 million annual private-motoring spend. - 1913-1959 census data shows Soviet urbanisation nearly quadrupling (28m to 100m) while rural population declined (131m to 108.8m). - The article projects Soviet GNP will remain roughly half that of the US even by 1975, with growth achieved at the cost of population welfare and agriculture chronically lagging industry. ### The Moscow Soap Opera *By Reproduced from Public Relations Journal, New York, December 1960* This piece, reproduced from the Public Relations Journal (New York, December 1960), is a media-criticism essay dissecting Western press coverage of Khrushchev's theatrics during his UN visit and elsewhere. The author argues that Khrushchev's folksy, impulsive public persona (kissing babies, pinching ears) is a calculated communications technique rather than genuine character, and warns that treating his 'anger' and 'fury' as spontaneous emotion — rather than as a deliberate zig in party line, following Communist International directives on using parliamentary bodies to undermine them from within — misleads democratic publics. It contrasts breathless coverage of Khrushchev's UN outburst with a similar staged episode by a Russian ambassador in Bonn, and closes urging editors to maintain sceptical distance from communist theatrics rather than reporting them as genuine political passion. - Khrushchev's folksy public gestures (kissing an Iowa baby, pinching an ear of corn) are read as calculated public-relations technique rather than authentic character. - The article treats Khrushchev's 'fury' at the UN as a deliberate zig in party line rather than spontaneous emotion, quoting George V. Allen on Communist International directives to use parliamentary bodies to destroy them from within. - A parallel incident is cited: a Russian ambassador staged a similarly 'angry' outburst at a meeting in Bonn shortly after the UN episode. - The piece calls on editors and journalists to develop sceptical distance from communist theatrics rather than covering them as authentic statesmanship. ### Review: National Review - What is the relation between Moscow and Peking? *By B. K. Desai* B. K. Desai reviews 'What is the relation between Moscow and Peking?' (National Review, New York, November 5, 1960), a symposium of eight essays by scholars examining Sino-Soviet relations from historical, strategic, demographic, and semantic perspectives. Desai summarises the collection's central thesis: that despite surface-level differences in style and rhetorical emphasis, the Sino-Soviet relationship rests on shared origins (the Chinese Communist Party was founded with direct Soviet assistance and dependent on Moscow into the 1949 revolution) and identical long-term goals, and that talk of an imminent 'rift' or 'rupture' is wishful thinking encouraged, per Natalie Grant's contribution, by a deliberate communist campaign of 'inspiration' and 'misinformation.' He cites Stefan Possony's assessment that China's military power is 'declining relatively' and that China remains 'nothing but a Russian satellite' for the next ten to twenty years, differing from Moscow only on methods, not on the Marxist-Leninist end goal. Desai praises James Burnham's editorial work in assembling the volume. - The symposium argues Sino-Soviet differences are tactical/methodological, not a fundamental rift, given shared origins and goals. - The Chinese Communist Party was founded in 1921 with direct Soviet Party assistance and had no roots in indigenous Marxism or Western socialism. - Natalie Grant's essay attributes perceived Sino-Soviet tension to a deliberate communist campaign of 'inspiration' and 'misinformation' aimed at misleading the non-communist world. - Stefan Possony is quoted assessing China's military power as 'declining relatively' to the Soviet Union and the US, and China as remaining a 'Russian satellite' for ten to twenty years. - Desai commends James Burnham, editor of National Review, for the volume. ### Review: Foreign Policy of India by S. R. Patel *By SAADI* A reviewer using the byline 'Saadi' reviews S. R. Patel's 'Foreign Policy of India' (N. M. Tripathi Private Ltd., Bombay, Rs. 15/-), noting the scarcity of good books on Indian foreign policy and welcoming this as a valuable addition. The review credits Patel's discerning analysis and factual grounding, highlighting his central conclusion that India's foreign policy is 'a one-man show' whose limitations flow from that concentration of authority in Nehru. The reviewer notes Patel's criticism of India's 'obsession with peace,' which Patel calls a 'direct result of wrong Gandhian vein' and dangerous to human freedom given the polarisation between democratic and communist forces, and Patel's charge that Nehru's advocacy of Panchsheel amounts to India being made 'a propaganda tool of Khrushchev and Chou.' The reviewer notes the book was written in haste and could have benefited from simpler prose given its erudite subject matter. - Patel's book argues India's foreign policy is effectively a one-man show under Nehru, with the country's limitations flowing from that concentration. - Patel criticises India's 'obsession with peace' as a direct result of 'wrong Gandhian vein', calling it dangerous to human freedom given communist-democratic polarisation. - Patel charges that Indian advocacy of Panchsheel toward communist countries has made Nehru 'a propaganda tool of Khrushchev and Chou'. - The reviewer finds the analysis discerning and well-substantiated but faults the book's rushed prose style. ### With Many Voices A compilation of short quotations from Indian and international commentators and newspapers, under the Tennyson-derived title 'With Many Voices,' touching on co-existence and morality, Soviet-Indian relations, the Nehru government's reliance on Russia against China, Khrushchev's stated aims for world communism, the arrest of three spy rings in India, Krishna Menon's UN theatrics, Nehru's remarks on Tibet and on the right to strike, and India's position in the Cold War. The page closes with a subscription coupon for Freedom First and the masthead crediting V. B. Karnik as editor, printed at Inland Printers, Bombay, and published for the Democratic Research Service by B. K. Desai. - Compiles quotations from N. D. Mazumdar, the Hindustan Times, Mysindia, the Washington Post, Nehru, the Manchester Guardian Weekly, Alistair Cooke, and the Indian Express. - Quotations span co-existence and morality, reliance on Russia against China, Khrushchev's stated communist aims, uncovering of spy rings in India, and Krishna Menon's conduct at the UN. - Nehru is quoted agreeing that the Tibetan rebellion 'must be crushed' though calling repression 'another matter', and stating he does not advocate workers give up the right to strike but believes striking would presently harm the country. - The Indian Express is quoted characterising India, in its eleventh year as a Republic, as 'a heavy liability in the cold war' rather than an asset to world peace. - The masthead identifies V. B. Karnik as editor and B. K. Desai as publisher for the Democratic Research Service, printed at Inland Printers, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff106/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 106 (March 1961) is a monthly issue of the classical-liberal periodical published by the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, and edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue opens with an editorial-style analysis of the Sino-Indian border report and its diplomatic fallout, followed by an unsigned Notes section commenting on the murder of Patrice Lumumba and the Congo crisis, the Communist Party of India's equivocal resolution on Chinese aggression, communal riots in Jabalpur, and the death of Sol Levitas of The New Leader. Jayaprakash Narayan contributes a substantive essay on Panchayati Raj, arguing for real devolution of power, non-partisan village elections, and a coherent structure of participating democracy running from the gram sabha up to the Union level. M. A. Venkata Rao reviews and expounds J. K. Galbraith's The Affluent Society, focusing on the imbalance between private affluence and public squalor and Galbraith's case for a mixed economy. S. R. Mohan Das reflects on Lord Morrison's Bombay lectures to contrast Britain's non-doctrinaire, evolutionary democratic tradition with what he sees as India's idealistic, a priori approach to democracy.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 106 (March 1961) is a monthly issue of the classical-liberal periodical published by the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, and edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue opens with an editorial-style analysis of the Sino-Indian border report and its diplomatic fallout, followed by an unsigned Notes section commenting on the murder of Patrice Lumumba and the Congo crisis, the Communist Party of India's equivocal resolution on Chinese aggression, communal riots in Jabalpur, and the death of Sol Levitas of The New Leader. Jayaprakash Narayan contributes a substantive essay on Panchayati Raj, arguing for real devolution of power, non-partisan village elections, and a coherent structure of participating democracy running from the gram sabha up to the Union level. M. A. Venkata Rao reviews and expounds J. K. Galbraith's The Affluent Society, focusing on the imbalance between private affluence and public squalor and Galbraith's case for a mixed economy. S. R. Mohan Das reflects on Lord Morrison's Bombay lectures to contrast Britain's non-doctrinaire, evolutionary democratic tradition with what he sees as India's idealistic, a priori approach to democracy. A brief Review section covers two books, R. P. Masani's Britain in India and A. K. Mukerji and Ram Singh's Germany Today, and the issue closes with a page of quoted commentary ('With Many Voices') from public figures on Panchsheel, Kashmir, Tibet, and civil liberties, plus subscription and publisher information. ## Essays ### The Report & After *By B. K. Desai* B. K. Desai's lead article examines the aftermath of the joint Indian-Chinese officials' report on the Sino-Indian border dispute, commissioned after the failed 1960 Nehru-Zhou Enlai talks. Desai argues the report thoroughly vindicates India's territorial claims and exposes the 'hollowness' and shifting nature of China's case, while also faulting India's own Panchsheel-era naivete for having failed to heed warnings about Chinese expansionism since 1950. The piece calls for India to abandon its wavering, non-aligned diplomatic posture and instead mount an active diplomatic offensive: recognizing Tibetan independence prior to 1950, championing the Tibetan cause at the United Nations, and building international opinion against China's 'aggression and unlawful occupation' of Indian territory. - The India-China officials' report followed the April 1960 joint communique after failed Nehru-Zhou Enlai border talks. - The report is described as proving India's traditional boundary claims with 'a massive array of indisputable evidence.' - China is accused of concealing claims to roughly 50,000 square miles of Indian territory until September 1959, then repeatedly shifting its claimed alignment. - The article argues the report incidentally supports the Dalai Lama's claim that Tibet was independent and sovereign before 1950. - Desai criticizes India's Panchsheel-based foreign policy as naive and calls for a more assertive diplomatic and military posture. - The piece urges India to back the UN resolution on Tibet and to shed its 'one-sided' non-alignment on the Sino-Soviet dispute. ### Notes (A Grave Challenge; Tight-Rope Dancing; Jabalpur Riots; Sol Levitas) The unsigned Notes section comments on four topical matters: the murder of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba, which it calls a 'crime against humanity' requiring investigation while cautioning against outside powers (naming Belgium and Russia) exploiting the Congo crisis; the Communist Party of India's resolution on Chinese border aggression, criticized as evasive 'tight-rope dancing' that refuses to call China's actions aggression outright; communal riots in Jabalpur, attributed to rumor-mongering and a need for public education in communal harmony; and an obituary tribute to Sol Levitas, managing editor of The New Leader, praised as a stalwart of the anti-communist democratic-socialist tradition. - Calls the killing of Patrice Lumumba and his associates 'a crime against humanity' regardless of political sympathies, demanding investigation and punishment. - Criticizes Belgium's continued 'meddling' in Congolese affairs and Russia's efforts to discredit the UN Secretary-General over Congo policy. - Welcomes a new Security Council resolution on the Congo as calling for 'resolute action.' - Characterizes the CPI's resolution on the Sino-Indian border dispute as deliberately ambiguous, refusing to label Chinese conduct as aggression for fear of alienating either side. - Notes the CPI resolution does concede acceptance of the McMahon Line and disapproves of Chinese negotiations with Pakistan over Kashmir boundary delimitation. - Attributes the Jabalpur communal riots to rumor and a lack of public education among 'educated and respectable' sections of society, praising the Congress for condemning the violence. - Mourns Sol Levitas of The New Leader as a Russian-emigre social democrat who spent his career combatting totalitarian communism. ### Panchayati Raj *By Jayaprakash Narayan* Jayaprakash Narayan's essay on Panchayati Raj argues that the institution originated from an administrative need for public cooperation in development programmes rather than from a deliberate aim of deepening democracy, but that its logic is now driving it toward becoming the foundation of what he calls 'participating democracy.' He lays out conditions necessary for its success: popular education by non-partisan agencies; political parties refraining from converting local bodies into vehicles for their own power; genuine devolution of both authority and resources rather than a hollow structure; and, most controversially, the holding of panchayat elections without party political contests, since electoral contests would import factional divisions into what should be a village's collective effort. He contrasts an 'amorphous' democracy of atomized individual voters, prone to concentrating power at the top, with an 'organic' tiered democracy built from the gram sabha upward, arguing the latter better disperses power and is only half-built in India (continued from page 6 to page 10, where he further distinguishes the two systems' effects on elections, representation, and civil-service structure). - Panchayati Raj began as an administrative device for securing cooperation with development programmes, not as a conscious democratic reform. - Success requires non-partisan popular education by agencies including a proposed 'All-India Voters' Association' and a joint centre involving Union ministries and rural service organisations. - Political parties should place themselves under a 'self-denying ordinance' and avoid converting Panchayati Raj into a tool for gaining power. - Argues for real devolution of resources (starting with land revenue) to village Panchayats and Samitis rather than a 'make-belief' structure. - Advocates village panchayat elections be held without party political contests, since villages are 'a much divided house' along caste, class, and family lines. - Distinguishes an 'organic' or participating democracy, built from the gram sabha upward with in-built structures, from an 'amorphous' or 'inorganic' democracy of individual voters that concentrates power at the top. - Concludes that Panchayati Raj should not be terminated at the district level but extended upward toward New Delhi as a long-term goal. ### Prof. Galbraith's Social Economy *By M. A. Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao expounds John Kenneth Galbraith's The Affluent Society, focusing on Galbraith's central thesis of an imbalance between private affluence and public 'squalor' in America, illustrated by examples such as Los Angeles's polluted air amid consumer abundance. Rao details Galbraith's critique of the 'conventional wisdom' inherited from Ricardo, Malthus, and the Mills, his argument that private enterprise systematically neglects public services such as schools, health, and policing because no one has a direct stake in providing them, and his proposed remedies: higher and more flexible taxation, a cyclical graduated unemployment compensation scheme, expanded public spending on research pursued for its own sake, and a 'mixed economy' in which public and private provision cooperate rather than the state displacing private production for individual consumption (continued from page 8 to page 10, where Rao summarizes Galbraith's case for permanent public expenditure on poverty relief and research funding). - Galbraith's key idea is 'social balance': America suffers an imbalance between lavish private affluence and neglected public services. - Rao cites Galbraith's description of Los Angeles as a 'near classic study' of unbreathable air amid factories, refineries, and consumer abundance. - Galbraith attacks the 'conventional wisdom' of classical economics (Ricardo, Malthus, the Mills) as outmoded barriers to addressing modern imbalance. - Public neglect arises because ancillary public services are 'no man's business concern' under private enterprise, unlike marketed consumer goods. - Galbraith's proposed remedies include high taxation to fund social balance, a cyclical graduated unemployment compensation scheme, and large permanent public expenditure on research and on chronic urban and rural poverty. - Rao stresses that Galbraith's plan is explicitly not socialism: private enterprise continues to serve individual consumption, while the state expands public services in a genuinely mixed economy. ### Some Reiterations In Democracy *By S. R. Mohan Das* S. R. Mohan Das reflects on Lord Morrison's recent Bombay lectures to argue that Britain's democracy grew organically over centuries through non-doctrinaire, evolutionary trial and error, whereas Indian democratic thought (including romanticized appeals to village panchayats as a democratic heritage) is essentially synthetic, abstract, and driven by a priori idealism imported from sources like the French Revolution. Das contrasts India's emphasis on doctrine and mass mobilization with Britain's pragmatic tolerance of conflict and vested interest, quotes Nehru's remark on the Indian mind asking 'what he should be' rather than 'what he should do,' and closes (in the continuation on page 10) by praising Morrison's 'commonsense' account of British institutions -- including nationalisation of steel and civil-service reform -- as a lesson in pragmatic, evolutionary democracy that India's idealists have yet to absorb. - Frames Lord Morrison's Bombay lectures as illustrating Britain's non-doctrinaire, gradually evolved democratic tradition. - Argues Indian democratic attitudes are essentially synthetic and a priori, modeled on the passionate idealism of the French Revolution rather than pragmatic experience. - Criticizes the invocation of village panchayats as proof of an authentic Indian democratic tradition as 'the devil quoting the scripture.' - Quotes Nehru's remark that the Indian mind asks 'what he should be' rather than 'what he should do,' reading it as a symptom of doctrinaire idealism. - Describes Britain's nationalisation of steel under the Labour Party as a pragmatic move that changed ownership without doctrinaire disruption of function. - Concludes that Indian idealists project fabricated characteristics onto ordinary Indians, and that shedding this idealism would improve democracy's prospects in India. ### Review (Britain In India, by R. P. Masani; Germany Today, by A. K. Mukerji and Ram Singh) *By V.B.K.* The Review section carries two brief unsigned (V.B.K.-initialed) book notices. The first reviews R. P. Masani's Britain in India (Oxford University Press), a 350-year survey of British-Indian relations, praised for Masani's balanced, eyewitness-informed account that avoids both the imperial-apologist and the wholly-condemnatory schools of thought, though the reviewer wishes it had engaged more with the economic aspects of British rule. The second reviews Germany Today by A. K. Mukerji and Ram Singh (Siddharth Publications), a set of articles by two Thought magazine editors following their visit to West Germany, describing the country's postwar economic recovery and its anxieties over reunification and the Berlin dispute, and noting Ram Singh's conclusion that a divided Germany endangers European and world peace. - R. P. Masani's Britain in India (Oxford University Press, pp. 278, Rs. 15) surveys 350 years of British-Indian relations from trade through empire to a peaceful transfer of power. - The reviewer credits Masani's personal proximity to Indian National Congress leaders with giving the book a 'happy blend' avoiding both apologist and wholly critical schools on British rule. - The reviewer's main criticism is that Masani gives insufficient attention to the economic aspects of the colonial relationship. - Germany Today by A. K. Mukerji and Ram Singh (Siddharth Publications, pp. 104, Rs. 2.50) collects articles by two editors of the journal Thought following a visit to West Germany. - The book describes West Germany's postwar economic recovery and its resentment over national division and the Berlin dispute. - Ram Singh's stated conclusion: 'Germany divided betokens disaster to Europe, Germany unreconciled is world peace bedevilled.' ### With Many Voices The closing 'With Many Voices' page collects short quotations from public figures and newspapers on current affairs: Kashmir Premier Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed and President's Address both praise Panchsheel's role in easing Cold War tensions; the Hindustan Times criticizes the government's optimism about resolving the China border dispute and separately laments growing dependence on government at the expense of individual liberty (quoting Maharashtra Governor Shri Prakash); Eric Stenton wryly comments on Khrushchev-Kennedy relations; Purshottam Trikamdas reports on V. K. Krishna Menon's UN mission regarding Tibet; a columnist in Current criticizes Nehru's democratic credentials and Soviet deference; Adlai Stevenson condemns political assassination at the UN; and Acharya Kripalani criticizes Congress leaders for mortgaging the future. The page also carries the issue's masthead, subscription form, and an advertisement for V. B. Karnik's book Indian Trade Unions: A Survey. - Compiles brief quoted opinions from Indian and international public figures and newspapers on Panchsheel, the China border dispute, Tibet, Kashmir, and civil liberty. - Shri Prakash, Governor of Maharashtra, is quoted lamenting growing individual dependence on government and shrinking economic liberty in India. - Purshottam Trikamdas is quoted on V. K. Krishna Menon's UN mission and its stance on Tibet's status. - Adlai Stevenson is quoted condemning political assassination without due process, naming African politicians, Hungarian patriots, and Tibetan nationalists. - Acharya Kripalani is quoted criticizing Congress leaders for claiming to sacrifice the present generation for a future that 'is already mortgaged.' - The page includes the Freedom First masthead (Registered No. B-6354), a subscription form, and a publisher's advertisement for Indian Trade Unions: A Survey by V. B. Karnik. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff107/ ### Summary Issue No. 107 of Freedom First (April 1961) is a monthly periodical from the classical-liberal Bombay circle around the Forum of Free Enterprise and Swatantra Party, edited by V. B. Karnik and published by B. K. Desai for the Democratic Research Service. This issue opens with an unsigned analysis of the Czechoslovak communist takeover as a cautionary tale for Indian democrats, followed by a "Without Comment" column reprinting P. V. Thampy's critique of Congress leaders fraternising with communist-sponsored cultural troupes in Kerala. M. R. Masani contributes a parliamentary speech framing the Central Budget as a fundamental choice between State-directed and free economic democracy. Economicus reviews the Central Budget 1961-62 in technical detail, an unsigned/contributed piece surveys famine conditions in China, Saadi writes on the integration of Muslims in India after Partition, V. B. Karnik reviews Selig Harrison's book on India's linguistic and regional fissiparous tendencies, and the issue closes with "With Many Voices," a column of quoted extracts from other publications on communism, the Cold War, and Indian politics, plus the statutory ownership statement for Freedom First. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Issue No. 107 of Freedom First (April 1961) is a monthly periodical from the classical-liberal Bombay circle around the Forum of Free Enterprise and Swatantra Party, edited by V. B. Karnik and published by B. K. Desai for the Democratic Research Service. This issue opens with an unsigned analysis of the Czechoslovak communist takeover as a cautionary tale for Indian democrats, followed by a "Without Comment" column reprinting P. V. Thampy's critique of Congress leaders fraternising with communist-sponsored cultural troupes in Kerala. M. R. Masani contributes a parliamentary speech framing the Central Budget as a fundamental choice between State-directed and free economic democracy. Economicus reviews the Central Budget 1961-62 in technical detail, an unsigned/contributed piece surveys famine conditions in China, Saadi writes on the integration of Muslims in India after Partition, V. B. Karnik reviews Selig Harrison's book on India's linguistic and regional fissiparous tendencies, and the issue closes with "With Many Voices," a column of quoted extracts from other publications on communism, the Cold War, and Indian politics, plus the statutory ownership statement for Freedom First. ## Essays ### Communists and Democracy *By A. Democrat* Writing under the pseudonym 'A. Democrat,' the author warns that illusions about communist intentions recur whenever communists soften their public tone, and uses Czechoslovakia as the paradigm case of a democracy destroyed from within. The communists entered a coalition government via a forged national front with Social Democrats and National Socialists, used control of the Ministry of the Interior to discredit rivals, and then discarded democratic pretense once positions of power were secured, converting the state to one-party rule without firing a shot. The essay draws on Jan Kozak's treatise on parliamentary tactics for revolutionary transition, two chapters of which were translated into English by a group of British parliamentarians, and concludes that Indian communists' current parliamentary moderation is a tactic, not a change of ultimate aim, since their own doctrine holds insurrectionary and parliamentary methods as complementary rather than exclusive. - Communists' periodic swings between soft and hard lines create recurring illusions among democrats about their sincerity. - Czechoslovakia is presented as the classic case of communists seizing power through coalition entryism rather than open insurrection. - Control of the Ministry of the Interior was used to discredit non-communist parties and prepare their overthrow. - Jan Kozak's book, written for communist cadre training, documents these tactics from the inside and was translated into English as a warning to Western parliamentarians. - The essay argues Indian communists' current parliamentary participation is a tactic subordinate to the long-term goal of one-party rule, not a genuine embrace of democracy. ### Without Comment: Congress And Communists *By P. V. Thampy* Reprinted under the 'Without Comment' rubric, P. V. Thampy's article from the pro-Congress Weekly Kerala criticises Congress leaders, including Pandit Nehru and Dr. Keskar, for lending prestige to communist-sponsored cultural troupes such as the Kerala People's Arts Club (KPAC), whose plays were performed in Delhi. Thampy argues the Communist Party is exploiting these Congress associations to secure bookings and raise funds ahead of the general election, and notes the family connection between the KPAC's patron and a Kerala Communist Party official as evidence that the Congress leaders were misinformed about the troupe's political affiliation. - The Kerala People's Arts Club (KPAC), directly controlled by the Kerala State Committee of the Communist Party, performed plays in Delhi including 'Ningal Annae Kommunist Akki' before an audience including Nehru and Dr. Keskar. - Thampy argues the Communist Party is using such Congress patronage to raise money and bookings ahead of elections. - A family link is drawn between Sardar K. M. Panikker (who awarded the KPAC a prize via the Kerala Academy) and a secretary of the Kerala Communist Party. - The piece implies Congress leaders were misled about the political character of the troupe they honoured. ### Choice Before The Country *By M. R. Masani* In this extract from a speech delivered in Parliament on March 15, 1961, M. R. Masani frames the Budget debate as a fundamental choice between a State-directed command economy and 'real economic democracy,' in which the freedom of ordinary Indians to buy and sell in the market constitutes a daily 'economic ballot' more meaningful than a periodic vote. He invokes Jayaprakash Narayan's complaint about the limits of parliamentary democracy and Gandhiji's remark about distributing the Reserve Bank's gold to the villages as evidence that decentralised economic power, not centralised planning, is the true liberal alternative. Masani then criticises the 1961-62 Budget as mischievous in three ways: new excise duties burden the poor and threaten industrial employment, wasteful non-developmental and prestige expenditure (such as a costly secondhand aircraft carrier and the fourth steel plant) crowds out productive investment, and the government's own figures show inflationary pressure from a money supply rising faster than real income. He closes with a five-point program: cut civil expenditure, prioritise labour-intensive development, limit taxation, collect taxes honestly and efficiently, reduce capital outlay in the state sector, and replace foreign loans with foreign equity capital. - Masani frames the Budget debate as a choice between a State-directed/communist-pattern economy and 'real economic democracy' based on individual consumer choice. - He argues that everyday market transactions constitute a more meaningful 'economic ballot' than periodic elections, addressing Jayaprakash Narayan's critique of parliamentary democracy's limits. - He criticises new excise duties (on power looms, metal sheets, diesel, newsprint) as harming the poor, industry, and the press. - He attacks prestige and low-return development spending, citing the cost of a secondhand aircraft carrier and the fourth steel plant as examples of 'megalomania.' - He cites Reserve Bank and National Development Council figures to argue government policy is itself driving inflation despite official rhetoric against it. - He proposes a five-point alternative: cut civil expenditure, favour labour-intensive projects, limit and rationalise taxation, curb tax evasion, cut state-sector capital outlay, and prefer foreign equity investment over foreign loans. ### Central Budget 1961-62 *By Economicus* Writing as 'Economicus,' the author offers a technical assessment of the Central Budget 1961-62, situating tax policy within the broader strategy of Indian economic development: reducing concentration of economic power, narrowing disparities, and financing Third Plan outlays. The essay defends the government against the charge that commodity taxation is inherently inflationary, arguing that whether prices rise depends on whether the money supply expands, not on the tax structure itself, while noting that reliance on commodity/customs and excise taxation (over direct taxation) means the burden falls widely, including on some articles of common consumption. It reviews the corporate tax changes, welcomes the restriction on entertainment expenditure but criticises the blanket cut in development rebate as insufficiently selective, endorses the Finance Minister's rejection of an excess profits tax, and closes by examining the reasoning behind raising import duties on machinery, arguing higher duties are a poor tool for curbing excess capacity or aiding indigenous manufacturers. - Frames the Budget's tax proposals against the broader development goals of reducing economic concentration and narrowing disparities. - Argues commodity taxation is not inherently inflationary; the real driver of inflation is expansion in money supply relative to national income. - Notes only a small nominal sum (Rs. 3 crores) of new taxation comes from direct taxes versus Rs. 59.37 crores from commodity taxation (customs and excise). - Criticises the blanket reduction in development rebate as less desirable than a selective approach targeting producers' and capital goods industries, as originally proposed by the Taxation Enquiry Commission. - Supports the Finance Minister's rejection of a Member's proposal to reimpose excess profits tax. - Questions the logic of raising import duty on machinery from 10 to 15 percent as protection for indigenous industry, arguing it is not an effective way to discourage excess capacity. ### Famine Conditions In China *By (Contributed)* This contributed, unsigned article surveys the deepening famine conditions in mainland China as of early 1961, drawing on Chinese official announcements, refugee reports in Hong Kong, and foreign press dispatches. It documents large emergency grain and fertiliser purchases from Australia and Canada paid mostly in scarce hard currency, official admissions that roughly half of China's arable land was hit by natural calamities in 1960, and a Communist Party communique acknowledging 70 million dissatisfied citizens and instances of sabotage. The piece details the promotion of substitute foods such as chlorella pond-weed and 'artificial meat,' drastic cuts to daily rice rations, reports of hunger riots and killings of local cadres in Yunnan and Anhwei provinces, rising food-parcel traffic from Hong Kong refugees to mainland relatives, and the regime's partial retreat toward 'private enterprise' — restoring private plots and permitting small free markets — as an emergency concession to peasants. - China purchased large quantities of wheat, flour and barley from Australia and Canada, plus fertiliser, mostly for scarce cash, the first time China has had to import food on this scale. - Chinese officials admitted about half the country's 1,600 million mow of arable land was affected by natural calamities in 1960, with 300-400 million mow producing nothing. - A Communist Party communique acknowledged roughly 70 million dissatisfied people and instances of law-breaking and sabotage among officials and the population. - Daily rice rations were cut from 6.6 oz to 4.4 oz; substitute foods like chlorella pond-weed and 'artificial meat' with a 'mud taste' were promoted for human consumption. - Reports describe hunger riots, plundered food depots, and killings of communist cadres in provinces including Yunnan and Anhwei. - The regime restored private plots (about 5 percent of commune land) and permitted small free markets as a temporary concession to boost production. ### The Place of Muslims In India *By Saadi* Writing under the pseudonym 'Saadi,' the author examines the position of Muslims in India nearly fifteen years after Partition, prompted by remarks from Mrs. Indira Gandhi (as Chairman of the AICC's National Integration Committee) on the Jabalpur riots. The essay argues that the largest minority's frustration predates Partition, rooted in loss of political power under British rule and the 'divide and rule' policy, and that the Muslim League's emergence gave that frustration a political outlet culminating in the demand for Pakistan. After Partition, the essay contends, Muslims who remained in India were left leaderless and were slow to be emotionally integrated, citing Hindu distrust from the pre-Partition Muslim League agitation and Calcutta violence, alongside genuine economic, social and educational marginalisation and disputes over Urdu's status. The essay concludes optimistically that most Indian Muslims have ceased looking to Pakistan, citing net Hindu migration from Pakistan exceeding Muslim migration to it, and calls for practical measures — economic inclusion, constitutional safeguards, and ending official indifference of the kind seen in the AICC's own Fact Finding Committee report on the Jabalpur riots — to complete integration. - Mrs. Indira Gandhi's remarks on the Jabalpur riots, noting communal tension pre-dated the riots and Muslims became incidental victims, frame the essay's opening. - Muslim frustration is traced to loss of political power under British rule, compounded by British 'divide and rule' policy and the community's initial refusal to take advantage of English education and new professions. - The essay argues Partition left Muslims in India 'absolutely leaderless' and that Pakistan proved no solution to the grievances that produced the demand for a separate state. - Barriers to post-Partition integration include Hindu distrust rooted in memories of Muslim League agitation, the Calcutta holocaust, and Razakar atrocities in Hyderabad, plus real economic, social and educational discrimination and the disputed status of Urdu. - The essay concludes Indian Muslims have largely ceased looking to Pakistan for support, citing greater net Hindu migration from Pakistan than Muslim migration to it as evidence of relative security in India. - It calls for equitable economic opportunity, enforcement of constitutional minority safeguards, and an end to official indifference, criticising the AICC's own Fact Finding Committee findings on the Jabalpur riots. ### Dangerous Decades (review of India: The Most Dangerous Decades by Selig S. Harrison) *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik reviews Selig Harrison's book 'India: The Most Dangerous Decades' (Oxford University Press, Rs. 20.00), which argues that the decades following the first post-Independence decade of confidence will be the most perilous for India's survival as a nation and a democracy, as linguistic regionalism, caste lobbies, and economic competition between states intensify centrifugal pressure. Karnik summarises Harrison's thesis that this could force the abandonment of democracy in favour of authoritarian forms, and credits Harrison's research while faulting him for failing to weigh unifying factors — a shared pre-British civilizational heritage, the political unity established under British rule, all-India infrastructure (railways, posts, telegraphs), and a growing pan-Indian class of politicians, administrators and thinkers — and for offering no solution despite diagnosing the disease. Karnik uses the linguistic reorganisation of Maharashtra as a counter-example showing separatist tendencies subsiding once addressed, and argues that Harrison's feared 'nationalist in a hurry,' who would suppress regional claims by force, poses the real danger to democracy that Harrison identifies but does not adequately address. - The book under review is Selig Harrison's 'India: The Most Dangerous Decades' (Oxford University Press, Rs. 20.00). - Harrison's thesis: the decades following Independence's first 'decade of confidence' will be the most dangerous, driven by linguistic regionalism, caste lobbies, and inter-state economic competition. - Harrison predicts these centrifugal pulls could force 'the abandonment of democracy... and the adoption of a series of authoritarian forms' rather than national disintegration outright. - Karnik credits Harrison's research but argues he underweights unifying factors: shared civilizational heritage, British-era political unity, all-India infrastructure, and a growing pan-Indian elite. - Karnik cites Maharashtra's linguistic reorganisation as evidence that addressing regional grievances promptly defuses separatist tendencies rather than fueling them. - Karnik warns that the 'nationalist in a hurry' who would suppress regional claims by force is himself a real danger to democracy, a point he feels Harrison identifies but does not resolve. ### With Many Voices The closing 'With Many Voices' column, prefaced with an epigraph from Tennyson, gathers short quoted extracts from a range of contemporary sources on communism, the Cold War, and Indian politics: an exchange between a Communist and a Praja-Socialist MLA in the Maharashtra Assembly on Chinese aggression, Swatantra's argument that economic planning and parliamentary democracy cannot coexist, Chester Bowles on the clash between individual dignity and the state, Morarji Desai on India's aid dependence, Adlai Stevenson on the historical laws governing empires, P. C. Joshi accusing the Jan Sangh of exploiting Madhya Pradesh riots, T. P. Ramanathan on investigating Lumumba's and Imre Nagy's murders, Khrushchev on rockets, 'Tenax' on Peking's diplomacy, Sudhir Ghosh on Indo-Soviet aircraft agreements, and Senator James O. Eastland on Lincoln and Soviet propaganda spending. The issue closes with the statutory ownership statement for Freedom First, naming B. K. Desai as printer and publisher and V. B. Karnik as editor, published for the Democratic Research Service. - The column compiles brief quotations from Indian Express, Link, The New Leader, Thought, American Embassy News Letter, New Age, Swarajya, the New York Times Weekly Review, and Bulletin (Munich), among others. - A Maharashtra Assembly exchange has a Communist MLA (Bardhan) claim communists are patriotic, challenged by a Praja-Socialist MLA (Warty) over Chinese aggression, with a communist member (Patkar) replying 'They are not aggressors.' - Chester Bowles is quoted framing the ideological struggle as one between belief in individual dignity and belief that man exists to serve the state. - Morarji Desai is quoted stating India gets only 8% of its requirements from the USSR versus about 50% from the USA. - The statutory statement records Freedom First's ownership: published monthly from Bombay, printed and published by B. K. Desai, edited by V. B. Karnik, owned by the Democratic Research Service. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff108/ ### Summary Issue 108 of Freedom First (May 1961), the classical-liberal monthly published by the Democratic Research Service, is a miscellany of editorial commentary on Cold War-era Indian and world politics. Contributors including V. B. Karnik, Saadi, A. K. Menon, S. R. Mohan Das, and the British Fabian sociologist Rita Hinden write on the failed anti-Castro revolt in Cuba, the relative dangers of communism versus communalism in India, the Sixth Congress of the CPI at Vijayawada, the parliamentary defence debate centred on criticism of Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon, and the fragility of democracy in newly independent states. Unsigned notes cover de Gaulle's suppression of the Algiers generals' revolt, a new anti-subversion law in Parliament, and press dispatches on the World Peace Council's Delhi conference, where Chinese delegates clashed with Indian hosts over Tibet and the Sino-Indian border. The issue closes with a review of an International Commission of Jurists report on the rule of law in apartheid South Africa and a 'With Many Voices' page of contrasting quotations from public figures on Cuba and Krishna Menon. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Issue 108 of Freedom First (May 1961), the classical-liberal monthly published by the Democratic Research Service, is a miscellany of editorial commentary on Cold War-era Indian and world politics. Contributors including V. B. Karnik, Saadi, A. K. Menon, S. R. Mohan Das, and the British Fabian sociologist Rita Hinden write on the failed anti-Castro revolt in Cuba, the relative dangers of communism versus communalism in India, the Sixth Congress of the CPI at Vijayawada, the parliamentary defence debate centred on criticism of Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon, and the fragility of democracy in newly independent states. Unsigned notes cover de Gaulle's suppression of the Algiers generals' revolt, a new anti-subversion law in Parliament, and press dispatches on the World Peace Council's Delhi conference, where Chinese delegates clashed with Indian hosts over Tibet and the Sino-Indian border. The issue closes with a review of an International Commission of Jurists report on the rule of law in apartheid South Africa and a 'With Many Voices' page of contrasting quotations from public figures on Cuba and Krishna Menon. ## Essays ### Revolt In Cuba *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik argues that Indian misconceptions about the Cuban revolt against Castro stem from poor information and deliberate propaganda casting it as a US-organised invasion. He insists the revolt was led by genuine Cuban patriots, including former close allies of Castro, disillusioned by the regime's suppression of press freedom, judicial independence, and trade unions, and by mounting political imprisonment. Though the revolt failed for lack of external support, Karnik frames it as one episode in a continuing guerrilla struggle against the Castro dictatorship. - Argues Indian views of the Cuban revolt are distorted by lack of information and propaganda painting it as a US-financed invasion. - Notes the rebels included Castro's former President, Prime Minister, Chief Justice and comrades-in-arms. - Describes suppression under Castro: over 15,000 political prisoners, banned/seized newspapers, purged judges, crushed trade unions. - States there was no US military intervention despite American sympathy for the revolt. - Frames the revolt as a single episode in an ongoing struggle against the regime, continued in the hills after suppression. ### Communism Versus Communalism *By Saadi* Writing under the pen name 'Saadi', the author argues that communism, not communalism, is the greater long-term threat to India's security and culture, contending that Nehru's frequent condemnation of communalism distracts from a subtler, more corrosive communist infiltration of institutions. The essay surveys Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh communal currents, argues communalism is waning post-Gandhi's assassination, and warns that banning communal parties would not root out communism, which can operate through disguise within mainstream parties like Congress and the PSP, citing Kerala as a precedent. - Argues communalism is a declining, discredited force post-Gandhi's assassination, while communism is ascendant. - Identifies three communal currents: Hindu (Hindu Mahasabha), Muslim (Muslim League, Jamiat-e-Islami), Sikh (Akali Dal). - Warns communists can infiltrate and operate undetected within Congress and the PSP rather than through separate parties. - Discusses proposed AICC recommendation to ban communal parties and doubts its efficacy against communism. - Calls for determined, multi-front (political, economic, social, psychological) effort against communism before it becomes unmanageable. ### Notes An unsigned 'Notes' section covers two items. 'De Gaulle Triumphs' reports the collapse of the French Army generals' revolt in Algeria against President de Gaulle, crediting de Gaulle's courage in conceding Algerian self-determination and the loyalty of the French Army and public for averting civil war, and calls for renewed Algerian peace negotiations. 'Anti-Subversion Law' welcomes the Criminal Law Amendment Bill passed by Parliament (opposed only by the communists) as a necessary, moderate measure against anti-national propaganda near India's borders, criticising its exclusion of Jammu and Kashmir as a loophole given Chinese-occupied Ladakh. - Reports the failure of the French generals' revolt in Algeria and praises de Gaulle's handling of decolonisation. - Argues the Fourth Republic fell from weakness while the Fifth Republic survived due to de Gaulle's popular support. - Welcomes the new Criminal Law Amendment Bill against subversive anti-national propaganda, noting only communists opposed it. - Criticises the Bill's exclusion of Jammu and Kashmir as inadequate given Chinese activity in Ladakh. ### Without Comment An unsigned 'Without Comment' page compiles press dispatches (Hindustan Times, Statesman, Indian Express) on the World Peace Council's Delhi conference, held after India granted visas to 20 Chinese delegates. Coverage includes a walkout by the Chinese delegation after Minister Humayun Kabir referenced China's suppression of Tibet during a Tagore centenary event, demonstrations by ex-communist 'National Association of Marxists' protesters, the Council's decision to avoid discussing the Sino-Indian border dispute as not a proper 'international' matter, and reports that Nehru had privately urged the Council not to raise the border dispute, a claim contested amid a heated internal Indian-delegation row. - Chinese delegation walks out of a Tagore centenary function after remarks referencing Tibet. - Ex-communist demonstrators from the 'National Association of Marxists' protest outside the conference venue. - World Peace Council steering committee decides not to discuss the Sino-Indian border dispute as an 'international' issue. - Press reports allege a 'tacit understanding' between Nehru and Pandit Sunder Lal to keep the border dispute off the agenda, which Nehru's office partially disputes. - Chinese delegates threaten to walk out again over a Western delegate's proposed statement on the India-China border dispute. ### The Defence Debate *By A. K. Menon* A. K. Menon reviews the acrimonious parliamentary defence debate, arguing that the anger directed at Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon reflects widespread distrust of his temperament and 'pro-communist leanings.' He details Acharya Kripalani's charge that Menon built cliques and favoritism in the Army, undermining morale and independence of judgment among officers, and links this discontent to General Thimayya's earlier resignation. The essay accuses Menon of soft-pedalling the Chinese threat, downplaying army morale problems while claiming credit for improvements, and argues his continuance as Defence Minister endangers India given twin threats of Chinese aggression and internal communist subversion. - Reports Acharya Kripalani's charge that Krishna Menon pursued 'military dictatorship' via favouritism and cliques in army promotions. - Notes the Prime Minister defended Menon by ridiculing opposition members rather than addressing the substantive charges. - Cites General Thimayya's resignation two years prior and a reported Lieutenant-General's resignation as evidence of army discontent. - Criticises Menon for downplaying and being slow to name China as an aggressor despite border incursions. - Concludes Menon's pro-communist reputation and mishandling of the Army pose a national security risk alongside Chinese aggression. ### The Sixth Congress of Indian Communists *By S. R. Mohan Das* S. R. Mohan Das analyses the Sixth Congress of Indian Communists held at Vijayawada, arguing that Indian press commentary on the CPI has been dominated by wishful, superficial 'Moscow vs Peking' faction narratives that misread the party's underlying unity. He contends the CPI's factions ('Nationalist' pro-Dange and 'Internationalist' pro-Ranadive) long predate the Chinese aggression issue and reflect tactical rather than ideological splits, and that the party unanimously endorsed a Moscow-approved line despite the presence of a high-level Soviet delegation led by Comrade Suslov. He notes the CPI's growing 'respectable' image via governing Kerala and warns that the real communist strategy focuses on building a 'government of National Unity' with Congress via coalition. - Criticises Indian press analyses of the CPI Congress as clouded by wishful interpretation and reliance on faction 'leaks.' - Identifies the presence of a high-powered Soviet delegation led by Comrade Suslov as historically significant. - Argues the 'Nationalist' (pro-Dange) vs 'Internationalist' (pro-Ranadive) factional framing is a simplistic, mistaken lens tied to Chinese aggression. - Notes the CPI achieved political 'respectability' partly through governing Kerala for over two years. - Warns the CPI's real strategy is to secure a coalition 'government of National Unity' with Congress and other parties. ### The Odds Against Democracy *By Rita Hinden* British Fabian sociologist Rita Hinden reflects on the disappointment of post-colonial democracy, noting rising authoritarian arguments among ex-colonial politicians in Pakistan, Ceylon, and Ghana that democratic 'trappings' are unaffordable luxuries for poor nations needing strong government. She engages Seymour Lipset's thesis in Political Man that a threshold of economic development is a near-necessary condition for stable democracy, but rejects economic determinism, arguing India shows democracy can survive on the strength of committed leaders and an intelligentsia trained in parliamentary practice through contact with Britain, despite poverty and Chinese threats on its borders. - Notes disillusionment among Asian/African leaders with the 'Westminster model' beyond the principle of one-man-one-vote. - Summarises Seymour Lipset's Political Man thesis that a level of economic development is a near-necessary condition for stable democracy. - Argues this thesis rests on an economic determinism that discounts the human element—leadership, ideals, and political will. - Cites India as a counter-example: democracy persisting despite poverty and totalitarian pressure from the Chinese frontier, due to committed leaders and an educated administrative class. - Criticises Britain for equating democracy solely with one-man-one-vote, neglecting civil liberties, free press, and independent institutions as essential complements. - Poses the open question of whether India's apparent democratic resilience can be replicated elsewhere. ### Review: South Africa and the Rule of Law *By Anand Mohan* An unsigned review (signed 'Anand Mohan,' condensed from Socialist Commentary) covers the International Commission of Jurists' 1960 report South Africa and the Rule of Law, praising it as timely justification for South Africa's expulsion from the Commonwealth. It summarises the Commission's finding that South African law is used as an instrument of oppression rather than a safeguard of rights, cataloguing breaches of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights across racial classification, movement, labour, arrest, expression, assembly, and education. The review argues the UN Charter's binding force gives more legitimate grounds for South Africa's expulsion from the UN than from the Commonwealth, whose looser structure imposes no real legal obligations. - Reviews the International Commission of Jurists' 1960 report on South Africa's abuse of the rule of law. - Defines 'Rule of Law' per the Commission as encompassing social, economic, educational and cultural conditions, not just formal legality. - Lists South African measures found to breach specific articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (racial classification, movement, labour rights, arbitrary arrest, free expression, assembly, education). - Argues Commonwealth membership carries no binding legal obligations, unlike UN Charter membership, making expulsion from the UN the more legally coherent remedy. - Calls on the legal community to use the report to press for enforcement against South Africa or seek its expulsion from the UN. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff110/ ### Summary This is the July 1961 issue (No. 110) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based monthly of the Democratic Research Service, edited by V. B. Karnik. The lead editorial article by S. Sharangpani argues that India's fragmented opposition parties must unite into a common 'National Democratic Opposition' bloc to counter what it portrays as a creeping Congress-Communist alliance, warning that the ruling Congress's parliamentary dominance rests on a divided opposition vote rather than genuine majority support. The issue's other contributions are a mix of translated foreign commentary and domestic reporting: Austrian Socialist elder statesman Oskar Helmer's essay on the costs of Austria's compelled Cold War neutrality; American conservative James Burnham's National Review piece arguing that the Western policy of 'containment' has structurally failed in Laos and beyond; K. K. Sinha's report on a Delhi convention of 'nationalist Muslims' and its resolutions on minority grievances; and poet Nissim Ezekiel's critique of a Bombay magistrate's judgment banning Lady Chatterley's Lover. A running 'Notes' section comments on a British-launched 'Prisoners of Conscience' movement, G. D.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the July 1961 issue (No. 110) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based monthly of the Democratic Research Service, edited by V. B. Karnik. The lead editorial article by S. Sharangpani argues that India's fragmented opposition parties must unite into a common 'National Democratic Opposition' bloc to counter what it portrays as a creeping Congress-Communist alliance, warning that the ruling Congress's parliamentary dominance rests on a divided opposition vote rather than genuine majority support. The issue's other contributions are a mix of translated foreign commentary and domestic reporting: Austrian Socialist elder statesman Oskar Helmer's essay on the costs of Austria's compelled Cold War neutrality; American conservative James Burnham's National Review piece arguing that the Western policy of 'containment' has structurally failed in Laos and beyond; K. K. Sinha's report on a Delhi convention of 'nationalist Muslims' and its resolutions on minority grievances; and poet Nissim Ezekiel's critique of a Bombay magistrate's judgment banning Lady Chatterley's Lover. A running 'Notes' section comments on a British-launched 'Prisoners of Conscience' movement, G. D. Birla's advocacy of expanded Indo-Soviet trade, the Punjab government's arrests of Akali leaders, and the death of journalist Khasa Subba Rau. A 'Without Comment' press digest reprints wire reports on the Soviet-UAR rift over the treatment of Arab communists, and a closing 'With Many Voices' page collects topical quotations from Kennedy, Khrushchev, A. D. Gorwala, and others. ## Essays ### National Democratic Opposition *By S. Sharangpani* S. Sharangpani's lead article argues that with the third General Elections less than a year away, India's opposition parties are hopelessly outmatched by the Congress and the Communist Party, the only two parties with superior organisational machinery and material resources, and calls for the Praja-Socialist, Swatantra, Jan Sangh, and Socialist parties to unite on a common national democratic platform. The piece contends that Congress's parliamentary 'brute majority' rests on a divided opposition vote, not on real popular support, since the Congress share of votes was only 43% in 1952 and 47% in 1957. It devotes substantial attention to what it calls a growing Congress-Communist alliance, citing the Communist Party's Vijayawada resolutions on 'infiltrating the ruling party,' the Orissa elections where communists openly backed Congress, and the government's ambivalent posture toward China and Russia amid continuing border encroachments. The author frames the danger as twofold: external aggression and internal subversion abetted by an opposition vacuum, and closes by urging the non-Communist opposition parties to pool their strength to 'save the country from sliding into the communist camp.' - Congress and the Communist Party alone command superior organisation and resources; other opposition parties must rely on organisational strength and popular support instead - Congress's parliamentary majority (over 370 seats) conceals a minority vote share: only 43% in 1952 and 47% in 1957 - The article alleges a deepening Congress-Communist alliance, citing Communist Party tactics of 'infiltrating' Congress and forming a 'shift to the Left' faction within it - Cites the Orissa elections as an example where communists gave 'fraternal assistance' to the ruling Congress Party - Criticizes the government's continued backing of Krishna Menon as Defence Minister despite public opposition, and its reliance on friendship with Russia against Chinese encroachments - Calls for the Praja-Socialist, Swatantra, Jan Sangh, and Socialist parties to combine into a single national democratic opposition bloc - Warns the country has already lost roughly 12,000 square miles of territory (equal to the state of Kerala) due to what the author calls the government's misplaced trust in the Congress leadership's foreign policy judgment ### Neutrality And Its Consequences *By Oskar Helmer* The 'Notes' section of this issue covers four brief items. 'Prisoners Of Conscience' reports on a newly launched British-based movement (backed by three lawyer-MPs) campaigning for the release of political prisoners worldwide under an 'Appeal for Amnesty, 1961,' timed to the centenary of Lincoln's inauguration and the emancipation of Russian serfs. 'Trading With The Devil' discusses G. D. Birla's advocacy, following his visit to Russia, for expanded Indo-Soviet trade, while cautioning that a communist country treats foreign trade as a political instrument and that Indian businessmen should not be under illusions about the Soviet Union's intentions despite Birla's optimism. 'Arrests In The Punjab' criticizes the Punjab government's arrest of numerous Akali leaders in early June as panicky, arbitrary, and likely to strengthen rather than weaken the Akali movement's public support, noting Master Tara Singh's threatened fast unto death was not set to begin before August 15. A short obituary mourns the death of journalist Khasa Subba Rau, editor of the weekly Swarajya, praised for his independence, courage, and willingness to fight lone battles for his principles. - A British movement for 'Prisoners of Conscience' has launched an 'Appeal for Amnesty, 1961' campaign, timed to the centenary of Lincoln's inauguration and Russian serf emancipation - G. D. Birla, after a visit to Russia, urges expanded India-Russia trade; the piece welcomes this cautiously but warns communist states use trade as a political instrument - The Punjab government's arrest of many Akali leaders in early June is criticized as panicky, arbitrary, and a violation of civil liberties likely to strengthen the Akali movement - An obituary honours journalist Khasa Subba Rau, editor of Swarajya, for his independent and courageous journalism ### The Muslim Convention *By K. K. Sinha* Oskar Helmer, an Austrian Socialist elder statesman and former Interior Minister, analyzes the origins and consequences of Austria's 1955 declaration of permanent neutrality, arguing that what is legally presented as 'voluntary' neutrality was in substance an enforced neutralization extracted under Soviet pressure as the price of the State Treaty and the withdrawal of occupying forces. He traces the diplomatic history from the 1955 National Council resolution through Molotov's 1954 Berlin statements and the Austrian delegation's 1955 Moscow negotiations, arguing that Austria had no real choice but to pledge itself to neutrality to secure sovereignty. Helmer further contends that this externally-imposed neutrality carries a risk of sliding into 'ideological neutralism,' citing Chancellor Raab's since-abandoned 1955 attempt to extend neutrality into a muzzling of press freedom and public opinion, which Helmer says was successfully resisted. He concludes that Austria must observe its neutrality pledge strictly in military matters while guarding against any further erosion of sovereignty five years on. - Austria's 1955 declaration of neutrality is framed as legally 'voluntary' but was in practical terms an enforced neutralization imposed under Soviet pressure as a precondition of the State Treaty - Traces the diplomatic sequence: the 1953 Federal Government inquiry, Molotov's February 1954 Berlin Conference remarks, and the Austrian delegation's April 1955 Moscow negotiations - Notes the Soviet Union viewed Austrian neutrality as a template it hoped Germany would also adopt, per Molotov's 1955 Presidium address - Warns of a slide from military neutrality into 'ideological neutralism,' citing Chancellor Raab's October 1955 broadcast that risked implying restrictions on press freedom - Records that Helmer and public opinion successfully pushed back against Raab's expansive interpretation, preserving press and individual freedoms - Concludes that Austria should observe neutrality strictly in the military sphere without further voluntarily restricting its sovereign rights ### Laos And Containment *By James Burnham* K. K. Sinha reports on a two-day 'nationalist Muslim' convention recently held in Delhi, arguing that while restricted in composition (delegates were handpicked by convention organizers), it authentically surfaced the Muslim community's sense of discrimination in India despite the liberal Constitution and government under Nehru. Sinha notes the convention notably avoided discussing Pakistan while passing resolutions on Goa and Algeria, seeing this as a sign of calculated caution. Two resolutions emerged: a request for a commission to enquire into minority grievances, and a call for an all-party conference (restricted to those believing in socialism and secularism) to promote national integration. Sinha is skeptical that such conferences will produce concrete results, arguing the real remedy lies in day-to-day administrative practice free of discrimination, and criticizes the Congress for a 'basic hypocrisy' between its professed secularism and its actual governance. The piece (continued on page 11) closes by noting the participation of Dr. Z. A. Ahmed, a communist leader whose presence Sinha calls a misfit given the contradiction between his advocacy for minority rights in India and his support for the suppression of liberties in Communist states. - The Delhi Muslim Convention was sponsored by 'nationalist Muslims' with handpicked delegates, and deliberately avoided discussing Pakistan while addressing Goa and Algeria - The convention passed two resolutions: for a commission to enquire into minority grievances, and for an all-party conference restricted to socialists and secularists on national integration - Sinha argues real remedies lie in day-to-day administrative fair-play rather than conferences or commissions, accusing Congress of 'basic hypocrisy' between its secular professions and practice - Identifies a latent contradiction in the convention's stance between seeking ordinary constitutional citizenship rights and seeking special minority protections - Criticizes the participation of communist leader Dr. Z. A. Ahmed as inconsistent, given his support for suppressing liberties within Communist states while demanding rights protections in India ### How Not To Ban A Book *By Nissim Ezekiel* James Burnham, in a piece reproduced from the American magazine National Review, argues that the crisis in Laos demonstrates the structural impossibility, not merely the undesirability, of a Western policy of pure 'containment.' He contends containment demands the contradictory combination of halting Communist advance while renouncing any offensive operations inside the enemy's own sphere, a combination he says cannot be sustained in practice, and traces its repeated failures from Truman through Eisenhower to Kennedy, including the loss of Eastern Europe, mainland China, North Korea, Tibet, and now Laos. He argues that Laos cannot be defended from within Laos alone and that only a policy incorporating offensive elements against the Communist camp itself, such as exploiting Nationalist China's potential against the mainland, could provide real containment. Burnham warns that the fall of Laos threatens the rest of Southeast Asia, citing Vietnam under heavy attack and Burma's drift toward Peiping-Moscow, and lays blame for future defeats on President Kennedy if he fails to recognize that containment as a doctrine is bankrupt. - Burnham argues pure containment is structurally impossible because it requires halting Communist advance while simultaneously renouncing offensive operations inside enemy territory - Traces containment's failure across Truman (Eastern Europe, China), Eisenhower (North Korea, North Vietnam, Tibet, Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean), and Kennedy (Laos, Congo, Brazil) - Contends Laos cannot be defended purely defensively from within Laos; effective defense requires operations or credible threats against the enemy's own territory - Cites the potential of Nationalist China (Taiwan) as an unexploited offensive asset against mainland China that containment doctrine forecloses - Warns that the loss of Laos threatens the defense of the whole of Southeast Asia, including Vietnam and Burma - Concludes that containment as a US foreign policy doctrine is 'bankrupt' and places responsibility for future defeats on President Kennedy if he fails to learn this lesson ### Notes: Prisoners Of Conscience Poet and critic Nissim Ezekiel dissects the judgment of Mr. M. Nasrullah, Additional Chief Presidency Magistrate of Bombay, who fined a bookseller and partners for selling and possessing D. H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover. Ezekiel argues the magistrate's judgment reflects not just a threat to freedom of expression but a failure of commonsense and intelligence, pointing out factual errors (Lawrence was not, contrary to the judgment, a 'sick and dying man' throughout 1926-28, a period of prolific output) and a muddled 'triple division' of society into intellectuals, libertines, and the 'average man,' which Ezekiel finds analytically incoherent since these categories overlap and shift. He contends the novel has never been widely read and that only a small minority would actually seek its suppression, while defending the book's literary seriousness. Ezekiel concludes that the Bombay judgment is an 'ignominious' episode in the international history of the Lady Chatterley case, lacking serious intellectual content and likely to expose India to ridicule. - Ezekiel argues the Nasrullah judgment banning Lady Chatterley's Lover in Bombay reflects a failure of commonsense and intelligence, not just a threat to free expression - Points out factual errors in the judgment, including the claim Lawrence was a 'sick and dying man' between 1926 and 1928, a period during which he was in fact highly productive - Criticizes the magistrate's 'triple division' of society into university intellectuals, libertines, and the 'average man' as a farcical and overlapping categorization - Argues that only a small minority actually wish to see the novel eliminated from circulation, most critics preferring 'silent censure' over banning - Frames the case as an 'ignominious' episode in the international history of the Lady Chatterley ban, lacking serious intellectual content ### Notes: Trading With The Devil The 'Without Comment' column, subtitled 'Communism vs. Arab Nationalism,' reprints a sequence of wire-service and newspaper reports from late May through June 1961 on the deteriorating relationship between the Soviet Union and the United Arab Republic. Items track Pravda's attacks on Cairo journals Al Ahram and Al Mussawar Jad for criticizing Soviet policy, a Soviet Central Council of Trade Unions protest over the arrest and torture of Arab communist leaders (naming the death of Lebanese communist Faradzhalla Khel in a Syrian prison), Khrushchev's warning to a visiting UAR parliamentary delegation that anti-communism risks the 'imperialist trap,' Egyptian Vice-President Anwar el Sadate's reply defending the UAR's anti-communist stance as a matter of national sovereignty, a warning from Arab defence ministers meeting in Cairo, and a report of the communist-aligned All-India Peace Council in New Delhi joining the campaign against the UAR's suppression of communists. The compiled reports illustrate the widening ideological rift between Nasser's Arab nationalism and Soviet-aligned communism during mid-1961. - Pravda (May 31) attacked Cairo publications Al Ahram and Al Mussawar Jad for anti-Soviet commentary, comparing Arab socialism critically to the Soviet order - The Soviet Central Council of Trade Unions protested (June 3) the arrest and torture of Arab communist leaders, citing the death of Lebanese communist leader Faradzhalla Khel in a Syrian prison - Khrushchev warned a visiting UAR parliamentary delegation that anti-communism risks falling into 'the imperialist trap,' while Anwar el Sadate defended the UAR's stance as confined to national boundaries - Arab defence ministers meeting in Cairo, including Saudi Arabia's Defence Minister, affirmed support for the UAR's anti-communist campaign as directed against communists generally, not the UAR specifically - The communist-aligned All-India Peace Council in New Delhi sent a protest letter to President Nasser over the death of Jafrullah Helou, a Lebanese communist, in a UAR prison - Western observers cited in the reports believe the Soviet-UAR rift 'goes much deeper' than prior disputes and reflects tougher underlying attitudes ### Notes: Arrests In The Punjab The closing 'With Many Voices' page compiles topical quotations drawn from newspapers and magazines of May and June 1961, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. The selections span Cold War and domestic Indian politics: President Kennedy on believing in world revolution and on Canada-US relations; Khrushchev's warning to the UAR against anti-communism; commentary on Berlin, Cuba, Congo, and Kenya; A. D. Gorwala's satirical note on the elastic use of the word 'leftist' in Indian political discourse; and a Mankind magazine quip on the number of 'rajas, maharajas, capitalists, pandits, and maulvis' within the Congress party exceeding the combined communist parties plus the Swatantra Party. The page also carries a subscription coupon for Freedom First and an advertisement for the magazine Encounter. - Compiles quotations from Kennedy, Khrushchev, Lyndon Johnson, Martin Luther King, William Henry Chamberlain, J. P. Roche, and others on Cold War themes from May-June 1961 - A. D. Gorwala's quote satirizes the elastic Indian political use of 'leftist' as an umbrella term covering communists, sympathizers, and journals alike - A Mankind magazine quotation asserts the Congress contains more 'rajas, maharajas, capitalists, pandits, and maulvis' than all communist parties combined plus the Swatantra Party - Includes practical magazine material: a Freedom First subscription coupon and a full advertisement for Encounter magazine --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff109/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 109 (June 1961) is dominated by anti-communist analysis at home and abroad, framed around the Cold War contest for South and South-East Asia. Adam Adil's lead essay warns the Indian National Congress against communist infiltration tactics being pursued through a manufactured Left-Right split inside the party. P. Spratt, A Democrat, and an unsigned contributed piece extend the same argument to Vietnam and Laos, cataloguing communist subversion methods as a template applicable to India's own vulnerabilities. S. P. Aiyar's essay strikes a different register, offering a stock-taking assessment of Indian democracy's first decade since Independence, weighing British constitutional inheritance, Nehru's democratic temperament, and the fissiparous strains of federalism and administrative opacity. The issue closes with its regular "Without Comment" digest of press clippings on communist activity, two book reviews (on Chinese communism and on Rajaji), and a "With Many Voices" page of quoted opinion, including from Fidel Castro and E. M. S. Namboodiripad, that the editors let speak for itself. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 109 (June 1961) is dominated by anti-communist analysis at home and abroad, framed around the Cold War contest for South and South-East Asia. Adam Adil's lead essay warns the Indian National Congress against communist infiltration tactics being pursued through a manufactured Left-Right split inside the party. P. Spratt, A Democrat, and an unsigned contributed piece extend the same argument to Vietnam and Laos, cataloguing communist subversion methods as a template applicable to India's own vulnerabilities. S. P. Aiyar's essay strikes a different register, offering a stock-taking assessment of Indian democracy's first decade since Independence, weighing British constitutional inheritance, Nehru's democratic temperament, and the fissiparous strains of federalism and administrative opacity. The issue closes with its regular "Without Comment" digest of press clippings on communist activity, two book reviews (on Chinese communism and on Rajaji), and a "With Many Voices" page of quoted opinion, including from Fidel Castro and E. M. S. Namboodiripad, that the editors let speak for itself. ## Essays ### Choice Before the Congress *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil argues that the Indian National Congress remains the country's dominant political organisation but is being destabilised from within by a manufactured battle between self-styled "Rightists" and "Leftists." He contends this cleavage is being deliberately exploited by the Communist Party of India, which since its 1958 Amritsar Congress and the more recent Vijayawada Congress has pursued a strategy of forming a "united front" with Congress progressives in order to first split the party and later capture it from within. The essay cites Jagjivan Ram's public remarks about "anti-socialism elements" and the contested election for Deputy Leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party (where Leftists worked to block Morarji Desai) as evidence the strategy is already succeeding, and closes by describing communist efforts to exploit the recent Jabalpur communal riots to woo Congress into an anti-communalism alliance with the communists themselves — a trap the author says the Congress must refuse. - Congress is described as the only organisation capable of holding or contesting national power, making its internal health a matter of national concern. - The Left-Right split within Congress is presented as substantially manufactured by Communist Party of India tactics rather than organic ideology. - The CPI's Vijayawada Congress programme is cited as explicitly aiming at a National Democratic Front with progressive elements inside Congress. - Jagjivan Ram's warning about 'anti-socialism elements' in the Congress is read as evidence the communist strategy is already working on senior leaders. - The contest over the Deputy Leader post (Morarji Desai's candidacy) is presented as a Leftist attempt to frame succession politics against him. - Left-leaning press outlets like Link and Blitz are accused of serving as communist mouthpieces attacking senior Congress leaders. - The essay's second half (page 11) argues that using communists as allies against communalism would be a fatal strategic error, since communism is itself the greater and more organised threat. ### Communist Infiltration Tactics *By P. Spratt* P. Spratt surveys communist expansionist strategy since the Second World War, arguing that direct invasion has given way to infiltration of nationalist and democratic movements in economically backward states, with Iraq, Congo, and Cuba cited as successes and Laos and South Vietnam as active fronts. He estimates the communist bloc spends three to four billion dollars a year on this campaign, a hundred times what opponents spend countering it, and warns that a similar infiltration model — distinct from both the Czechoslovakia 1948 and Cuba 1959-60 templates — may already be in progress at India's own borders, a danger the country has no right to assume cannot happen here. - Communist expansion after 1950 shifted from direct military conquest to infiltration of nationalist/democratic movements in backward states. - Iraq, Congo, and Cuba are cited as near-complete or complete infiltration successes; Laos and South Vietnam are cited as active, ongoing fronts. - The communist bloc's campaign spending is estimated at three to four billion dollars a year, roughly a hundred times what opponents spend countering it. - The essay explicitly warns that a border-infiltration method modeled on Czechoslovakia (1948) or Cuba (1959-60) 'seems to be in progress' at India's own borders. - Economic aid alone is argued to be insufficient against communist subversion since the method does not depend primarily on economic discontent. ### Communist Strategy in South Vietnam *By (Contributed)* This unsigned contributed piece traces the six-year record of communist subversion in South Vietnam following the 1954 Geneva partition, arguing that Ho Chi Minh's Viet Minh disguised itself as an anti-colonial nationalist movement to win foreign sympathy while eliminating non-communist rivals internally. It describes the 1946 'National Assembly' becoming a communist puppet legislature, the renaming of the Viet Minh as the Lao Dong (Workers' Party), and the roughly 12,000-strong clandestine communist apparatus (a fourfold increase since 1959) built around 'sleeper' agents left behind after the 1954-55 population exchange, concluding with an account of Ngo Dinh Diem's rural resettlement programme as a countermeasure against communist infiltration corridors. - The Geneva Agreement of 1954 split Vietnam at the 17th Parallel, with Ngo Dinh Diem establishing a non-communist government in the south. - The Viet Minh is described as having disguised its communist core behind nationalist anti-colonial framing to win foreign support. - The 1946 'National Assembly' elections are described as becoming a communist puppet legislature after non-communist deputies were eliminated. - Communist infiltration in South Vietnam is estimated at about 12,000 agents by 1961, a fourfold increase over the 1959 figure. - The clandestine apparatus is described as built around 'sleeper' agents who remained behind after the 1954-55 population exchange. - Diem's administration is reported to have launched a large-scale rural resettlement programme, modeled partly on a similar Malayan counter-guerilla approach, to counter infiltration. ### The Tragedy of Laos *By A Democrat* Writing under the byline 'A Democrat,' this essay describes Laos as tottering on the brink of communist takeover six years after the 1954 Geneva Agreement, with two-thirds of its territory already under Pathet Lao control. It traces the failure of repeated Laotian government attempts at coalition and peace with the communists — including a failed 1958 disarmament and integration scheme — and argues that neither U.S. aid (at $30 crore a year) nor SEATO guarantees have been sufficient to check the Pathet Lao's steady expansion, aided by Vietminh training, Soviet air-lift support, and jungle terrain. The essay concludes that the choice before India and other Asian democracies is stark: a divided Vietnam, a divided Laos, or a Laos wholly lost to communist domination, framing all three outcomes as a common threat to the rest of South-East Asia. - Laos is described as having two-thirds of its territory under Pathet Lao control despite its 1954 recognition as neutral and independent. - A 1958 disarmament and integration scheme, in which the Pathet Lao agreed to disband forces in exchange for cabinet posts, is described as a failed attempt at peaceful accommodation. - U.S. aid to Laos is put at $30 crore per year, with SEATO obligated by protocol to guarantee Laotian independence. - The August 1960 coup by Captain Kong Le is cited as further destabilising the anti-communist regime installed after the French withdrawal. - The essay frames the contemporaneous Geneva Conference negotiations as occurring from a position of communist strength given Pathet Lao's territorial gains. - The conclusion presents India's strategic choice as between a divided Vietnam-style outcome, a divided Laos, or complete communist domination of Laos. ### Prospects of Democracy in India *By S. P. Aiyar* S. P. Aiyar assesses the prospects for Indian democracy roughly a decade after Independence, arguing that Britain's gradual constitutional training under the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms gave India's governing elite an advantage over comparable post-colonial states like Indonesia or the Belgian Congo. He credits Nehru's democratic temperament, two general elections (1951-52 and 1957), and the Constitution's durability as evidence of stability, while acknowledging persistent criticisms: weak parliamentary control over administration, inadequate public reporting on government performance, and fissiparous state-level pulls on the Planning Commission's National Development Council. Aiyar concludes that democracy's prospects depend less on opposition party weakness than on whether the Congress, as ruling party, sustains democratic norms and whether its leadership perpetuates the constitutional temper Nehru established. - The essay credits British Montagu-Chelmsford-era gradualism with giving India's governing elite constitutional training absent in comparable post-colonial states. - Two general elections (1951-52, producing a 190-million-strong electorate, and 1957) are cited as evidence of growing institutional confidence. - Weaknesses cited include poor systematic public reporting on government administration and the difficulty of accessing critical reports like the Gorwala Report on Mysore. - The Rau Committee's report on the Damodar Valley Corporation is cited, via Prof. Morris-Jones, as an example of inaccuracies traced to poor government-supplied data. - State-level pulls on the Planning Commission's National Development Council are cited as an ongoing fissiparous strain on federal governance. - The essay argues that democracy's prospects hinge less on opposition weakness than on whether the ruling Congress party sustains democratic norms and constitutional temper. ### Without Comment (news digest column: Thousands of Sheep Dying in Russia; Reds Join Congress Party; Escape from Red Paradise; Moscow Assails Nehru's View on Cuba; Reds' Defection) The regular 'Without Comment' feature reprints, without editorial gloss, a set of press clippings from May 1961 documenting communist-adjacent news: food shortages and livestock deaths in the USSR (Statesman), defections of Communist Party workers to the Congress in Punjab (Free Press Journal, Indian Express), East German efforts to stem defections to West Germany with village-level incentive rewards (Time), and a Moscow Radio broadcast attacking Nehru's stated neutrality on the Cuban situation (Hindustan Times). - A Statesman clipping (May 17) reports thousands of sheep dying of starvation in the Chita region due to inefficient Soviet collective-farm practices. - Free Press Journal and Indian Express clippings (May 12, 18) report Communist Party workers in Punjab defecting to the Congress over the Sino-Indian border dispute stance. - A Time Magazine clipping (May 5) describes East Germany offering village-level rewards for zero defections amid a continuing outflow to West Germany. - A Hindustan Times clipping (May 6) reports Moscow Radio criticizing Nehru's 'ignorance' regarding the Cuban crisis and questioning his neutrality. ### Review: Communist China Today (by S. Chandrasekhar, Asia Publishing House) *By M. Devadas Kini* M. Devadas Kini reviews S. Chandrasekhar's 'Communist China Today' (Asia Publishing House, Bombay), praising the book's detailed portrait of Mao-era China's communisation of land, labour, and family life through people's communes. The review highlights the book's account of land reform (with up to twenty million landlords executed by external estimates versus an official three million), the erosion of family loyalty in favour of loyalty to the commune, and the regime's slogan of '20 years compressed in one day,' closing with a call for economically underdeveloped countries to demonstrate that industrialisation is possible without destroying social values. - The review credits the book with vividly portraying communist China's radical departure from its Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist past. - It cites a claim that external observers estimate up to twenty million landlords were executed during land reform, versus an official figure of three million. - The review highlights the book's account of communes eroding family loyalty in favour of loyalty to the collective, down to the 'commune becomes a labour battalion' formulation. - It notes the regime's self-description of aiming for '20 years compressed in one day' of development. - The review closes by arguing economically backward countries must show industrialisation is achievable without destroying social values, implicitly contrasting India's path with China's. ### Sidelights On Rajaji (review of Khasa Subba Rau's book, Vyas Publications, Madras) *By V B. K.* V. B. K. reviews Khasa Subba Rau's 'Sidelights on Rajaji' (Vyas Publications, Madras), calling it a deserved tribute to C. Rajagopalachari that surveys his intelligence, courage of conviction, and the opposition role he has taken on in post-Independence India through founding the Swatantra Party. The review recalls Rajaji's early prescient dissent from Congress and Gandhi on the Pakistan/Partition question, and frames his later one-man opposition — now grown into the Swatantra Party — as a deliberate, Socratic mission to challenge the drift toward state-capitalism. - The review praises the book's collection of essays (written 1956-1960) as illuminating Rajaji's motives without requiring full agreement with the author's assessments. - It recalls Rajaji's early dissent from Gandhi and the Congress leadership on the question of Pakistan, expressed in the article 'Leave India to her Fate.' - Rajaji's one-man opposition is described as having grown into the Swatantra Party, aimed at reversing India's post-Independence drift toward state-capitalism. - The review frames Rajaji's public dissent using a Socratic analogy — 'aware of the risks of voicing unpalatable truths but persisting in it.' ### With Many Voices (press-quotes digest column) The 'With Many Voices' page reprints a set of quoted opinions from the contemporary press without editorial commentary, ranging from Suslov's praise of the CPI's Sixth Congress to Indian commentators (D. V. Gundappa, Dr. Harekrishna Mehtab) criticising Congress's own monopolistic and socialist drift, to E. M. S. Namboodiripad's and Brij Mohan's statements preferring communists over the Jan Sangh as political partners, and closes with Fidel Castro's professed admiration for Lenin and Kingsley Martin's prediction that Cuba will become fully communist. - Suslov is quoted from New Age praising the CPI's Sixth Congress as a landmark for Indian independence, peace and international friendship. - D. V. Gundappa (Times of India) is quoted criticising the Congress for becoming a political monopolist despite denouncing economic monopolism. - Dr. Harekrishna Mehtab, former Orissa Chief Minister, is quoted twice criticising Nehru's reputation as a finite political asset and criticising the growing role of wealth within the Congress. - E. M. S. Namboodiripad and Delhi Congress President Brij Mohan are both quoted preferring cooperation with communists over the Jan Sangh. - Fidel Castro is quoted (New Statesman) expressing deepening admiration for Lenin, and Kingsley Martin is quoted predicting Cuba will become 'completely communist.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff111/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 111 (August 1961) is a monthly periodical from the Forum of Free Enterprise circle, edited by D. F. Karaka. The issue is dominated by Cold War anxieties: a lead essay on the Berlin Crisis argues that the Western allies must hold a firm, even bellicose, line against Khrushchev's threat to sign a unilateral peace treaty with East Germany, and a second feature reproduces a Nigerian student's first-hand account of Soviet indoctrination and subversion training aimed at Africa. Domestic politics appears through a report on Communist Party infiltration of the Indian National Congress via mass 'conversions' of communist cadres, and an economic commentary assesses the toll of a decade of Indian planning on ordinary living standards, deficit financing, and the resource needs of the Third Plan. Shorter items cover the 1961 Maharashtra floods (including the Panshet dam breach that devastated Poona), the France-Tunisia Bizerta crisis, India-Pakistan tensions over Kashmir, a British trade-union court case exposing Communist ballot-rigging, and a review of Takdir Alisjahbana's book on Indonesia's cultural and economic development.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 111 (August 1961) is a monthly periodical from the Forum of Free Enterprise circle, edited by D. F. Karaka. The issue is dominated by Cold War anxieties: a lead essay on the Berlin Crisis argues that the Western allies must hold a firm, even bellicose, line against Khrushchev's threat to sign a unilateral peace treaty with East Germany, and a second feature reproduces a Nigerian student's first-hand account of Soviet indoctrination and subversion training aimed at Africa. Domestic politics appears through a report on Communist Party infiltration of the Indian National Congress via mass 'conversions' of communist cadres, and an economic commentary assesses the toll of a decade of Indian planning on ordinary living standards, deficit financing, and the resource needs of the Third Plan. Shorter items cover the 1961 Maharashtra floods (including the Panshet dam breach that devastated Poona), the France-Tunisia Bizerta crisis, India-Pakistan tensions over Kashmir, a British trade-union court case exposing Communist ballot-rigging, and a review of Takdir Alisjahbana's book on Indonesia's cultural and economic development. The issue closes with a page of unattributed quotations ('With Many Voices') from Kennedy, Khrushchev, Chinese Foreign Minister Chen Yi, and others on the Berlin and Sino-Soviet questions. ## Essays ### Berlin Crisis And Western Stand *By by Adam Adil* In 'Berlin Crisis And Western Stand,' Adam Adil argues that Khrushchev's renewed threat to sign a separate peace treaty with East Germany -- converting West Berlin into a demilitarised 'free city' -- is legally, morally, and politically indefensible, and that the Western allies must meet it with firm resolve rather than concession. The essay reviews the West's patient handling of repeated Soviet brinkmanship since 1958, cites Senator Barry Goldwater's call for the West to go on the offensive against communist expansion, and catalogues Soviet military strength (navy tonnage, submarines, ICBMs, bomber fleets) to argue that while the West retains overall nuclear superiority, it must also build up conventional forces given the Soviet edge in troop numbers in Eastern Europe. It closes by urging the West to court opinion in Asia and Africa by more actively championing decolonisation and engaging ordinary people rather than only elites. - Khrushchev has repeated, since November 1958, his threat to sign a unilateral peace treaty with East Germany, converting West Berlin into a 'free city.' - The essay holds the Western legal and moral position on Berlin as sound, given Big Four wartime agreements on Germany. - Senator Barry Goldwater is cited arguing the West must take the offensive against communism rather than merely hold territory. - A detailed tally of Soviet naval, submarine, missile, and bomber strength is presented to argue Western nuclear superiority remains intact but conventional-force parity is lacking. - The West is urged to publicise its record of decolonisation and engage workers and peasants directly in Asia and Africa to counter communist propaganda. - By the essay's account, Khrushchev's tone had already softened slightly by the time of writing, suggesting Western firmness was having an effect. ### Notes (Floods and Dams; France and Tunisia; Crude Propaganda; A Lesson to Trade Unionists) 'Moscow Plans Subversion In Africa' reproduces disclosures by Nigerian student Anthony G. Okotcha, brother-in-law of Nigeria's Governor-General Dr. Azikiwe, who was recruited by Soviet agents and sent with his wife to Moscow's Friendship University to study international law. Okotcha describes an intensive ideological indoctrination programme, paramilitary 'self-defence' training in sabotage and assassination techniques, and a bizarre course in 'occult science' teaching African students to exploit witch-doctor superstition for political ends. Sent back to London and then to Nigeria to reorganise disguised communist front movements (the Nigerian Youth Congress and a left-wing Trade Union Congress), Okotcha was shown a Soviet blueprint for seizing power in Nigeria that included assassination, terrorism, and the physical elimination of prominent non-communist nationalist leaders. Shaken by the plan's ruthlessness, he broke with Moscow and resolved to publicise what he had learned. - Anthony Okotcha, a Nigerian law student and brother-in-law of Governor-General Azikiwe, was recruited to Moscow's Friendship University, which prized his family connection for potential government infiltration. - Training included Marxist-Leninist indoctrination, paramilitary instruction in sabotage/assassination, and an 'occult science' course teaching manipulation of African superstition for political ends. - Okotcha was sent back to Nigeria to reorganise two disguised communist fronts: the Nigerian Youth Congress and a left-wing Trade Union Congress. - He was shown a Soviet blueprint for seizing power in Nigeria involving assassination, terrorism, suspension of Parliament, and Russian troop intervention. - The blueprint named specific Nigerian leaders (Chief Okotie Ebo, Mr. Macwine, T. O. S. Benson) as targets for 'physical elimination' because they were too popular to discredit politically. - Okotcha broke with the plan and returned to Nigeria vowing to expose and fight Soviet subversion. ### Moscow Plans Subversion In Africa (Disclosures of an African Student) V.B.K.'s review of Takdir Alisjahbana's 'Indonesia In The Modern World' (Congress for Cultural Freedom, New Delhi) praises the author -- an Indonesian scholar and former Constituent Assembly member now teaching in the United States -- for a searching, unusually self-critical diagnosis of Indonesian nationalism and cultural development. The review highlights Alisjahbana's central worry: whether Indonesia can convert an anti-colonial nationalism rooted in 'destructive hatred' into a constructive force for building a modern, humane society, and his insistence that changing people's attitudes toward life and work, not merely importing seeds and tractors, is the true prerequisite for economic development. The reviewer draws an explicit parallel to India's own difficulties with agricultural extension schemes that failed for want of attitudinal change in villages. - Alisjahbana is an Indonesian scholar, former professor at the National University of Djakarta and Constituent Assembly member, now based in the United States. - The book collects essays on Indonesian culture, language, and its integration into the modern world; the reviewer finds it uneven in places but penetrating overall. - Alisjahbana questions whether Indonesian nationalism, born of anti-colonial hatred, can be redirected into a constructive 20th-century humanist project. - His central thesis: economic development schemes fail without a prior change in people's attitude to life, not merely the introduction of new tools or techniques. - The reviewer (V.B.K.) draws a direct parallel to India's own failed village agricultural improvement schemes. ### Review: Indonesia In The Modern World (by Takdir Alisjahbana, Congress for Cultural Freedom, New Delhi, Rs. 4/-) *By V.B.K.* In 'Plans And The Common Man,' M. Devadas Kini reviews two research studies on Indian economic planning and argues that a decade of Five-Year Plans has, at best, left the common man no better off and at worst eroded his living standards through inflation and rising taxation. Kini criticises the Soviet-modelled emphasis on capital-goods industries at the expense of consumption goods, which he links directly to price rises, and highlights findings that India's combined incidence of income and dividend taxes (about 56 per cent) is far higher than in West Germany or Japan, discouraging both domestic and foreign investment. He surveys the scale of deficit financing (26 per cent of second-plan outlay) and the looming resource burden of the Third Plan, including debt-service obligations, and concludes that the government has failed to give individual initiative enough incentive, while diminishing returns from taxation and an inadequate agricultural tax base leave few good options for raising further resources. - A decade of Indian planning has, per the essay, made no positive difference or actively worsened the common man's cost of living through inflation and taxation. - The second Five-Year Plan followed a Soviet-style 'unbalanced growth' strategy favouring capital goods, which Kini blames for consumer price increases. - Combined income and dividend tax incidence in India (about 56%) is cited as far higher than in West Germany (45%) or Japan (39%), deterring foreign investment. - Deficit financing reached 26% of second-plan outlay; the Third Plan faces a projected net capital-account outflow of roughly Rs. 500 crores plus Rs. 2100 crores for machinery and equipment. - The essay argues taxation has reached a point of diminishing returns and that the agricultural sector's tax contribution remains disproportionately small relative to its share of national income. - Kini contends government-led industrialisation is less effective than government building infrastructure, education, and legal frameworks while private initiative drives industrialisation itself. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff112/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 112 (September 1961) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical published by the Forum of Free Enterprise / Democratic Research Service. Its dominant concern is the confrontation between Soviet-style planning and communist doctrine on one side and liberal, market-oriented critique on the other: V. B. Karnik dissects the new CPSU draft programme as propagandistic utopianism, and M. R. Masani (in a Parliament speech reprinted here) attacks India's own Third Five Year Plan as an imitation of Soviet-style forced industrialisation that will produce inflation, unemployment and misery rather than growth. The issue also carries substantial international commentary: Willy Brandt's essay on the Berlin crisis (reprinted from The New Leader), Anand Mohan's skeptical notes on the forthcoming non-aligned 'neutral summit,' and news items under 'Without Comment' on Cold War defections and East German militarisation. A lighter register appears in M. A. Venkata Rao's essay on Auguste Comte's 'Religion of Humanity' as an alternative to Marxist class-war ideology, and in the closing 'With Many Voices' page of quotations from world leaders and commentators.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 112 (September 1961) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical published by the Forum of Free Enterprise / Democratic Research Service. Its dominant concern is the confrontation between Soviet-style planning and communist doctrine on one side and liberal, market-oriented critique on the other: V. B. Karnik dissects the new CPSU draft programme as propagandistic utopianism, and M. R. Masani (in a Parliament speech reprinted here) attacks India's own Third Five Year Plan as an imitation of Soviet-style forced industrialisation that will produce inflation, unemployment and misery rather than growth. The issue also carries substantial international commentary: Willy Brandt's essay on the Berlin crisis (reprinted from The New Leader), Anand Mohan's skeptical notes on the forthcoming non-aligned 'neutral summit,' and news items under 'Without Comment' on Cold War defections and East German militarisation. A lighter register appears in M. A. Venkata Rao's essay on Auguste Comte's 'Religion of Humanity' as an alternative to Marxist class-war ideology, and in the closing 'With Many Voices' page of quotations from world leaders and commentators. Unsigned 'Notes' cover Indian domestic controversies (the Blitz tabloid's parliamentary censure, and Jomo Kenyatta's release in Kenya). ## Essays ### A Pie In The Sky *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead essay, 'A Pie In The Sky,' analyses the new Soviet Communist Party draft programme due for adoption at the October Party Congress. He argues the manifesto claims universal validity for the Russian experience and paints an 'alluring picture' of abundance to be achieved by 1980, complete with free housing, transport, medicine, and a vanishing working day. Karnik is deeply skeptical: he notes the plan's targets even if fulfilled would not impress citizens of already-prosperous industrial nations, and that the programme offers nothing new ideologically -- the same denunciations of capitalism, the same insistence on proletarian dictatorship and one-party rule, the same 'vulgar abuse' of social-democratic rivals. He concludes the only encouraging element is the reaffirmed rhetoric of peaceful coexistence, though Soviet practice belies it, and that ordinary Russians are being asked to accept present hardship for a distant, uncertain 'pie in the sky.' - The new draft programme divides the USSR's advance into two 20-year stages: surpassing US per-capita production, then achieving distribution 'according to needs' and free public goods by 1980. - Karnik argues the promised abundance would be unremarkable to citizens of already-developed Western nations. - The programme reaffirms Marxism-Leninism, the dictatorship of the proletariat, and denounces social-democratic parties as 'ideological props of the bourgeoisie.' - Only the restated commitment to 'peaceful co-existence' is seen as a positive element, though undermined by continued Soviet pressure tactics over Berlin and elsewhere. - Karnik frames the promised material benefits as deferred indefinitely -- 'jam tomorrow, jam the day after, but never jam today' -- with no relaxation of political dictatorship in the interim. ### Notes: Yellow and Red Journalism / Kenyatta's Release The unsigned 'Notes' section carries two items. 'Yellow and Red Journalism' reports that Blitz, described as a 'crypto-communist tabloid,' was found guilty by the Lok Sabha Privileges Committee of a gross breach of privilege for a vicious April 1961 attack on Acharya Kripalani over his criticism of Defence Minister Krishna Menon; the editor was summoned and reprimanded, a first in Indian parliamentary history. The piece criticises Congress leaders, including Nehru, for lending prestige to the magazine despite its record of scurrilous journalism. 'Kenyatta's Release' welcomes Jomo Kenyatta's release after eight years' imprisonment as removing a major obstacle to Kenyan constitutional progress, while urging that the remaining legal bar on his participation in formal politics (a rule excluding anyone imprisoned more than two years from the Legislative Assembly) be lifted so he can fully assume national leadership. - Blitz was censured by the Lok Sabha for its April 1961 attack on Acharya Kripalani, marking the first time an Indian journalist was called to the bar of the House. - The piece calls Blitz an 'unscrupulous mixture of yellow and red journalism' serving international communist propaganda. - Nehru is criticised for giving Blitz's editor interviews and prestige despite condemning the Kripalani attack as 'exceedingly vulgar.' - Kenyatta's release after eight years' imprisonment is welcomed as inevitable and likely to improve Kenya's prospects for orderly independence. - The note calls for removal of the colonial-era constitutional bar preventing Kenyatta, as a former prisoner, from formal participation in Kenya's Legislative Assembly. ### Auguste Comte's Religion Of Humanity *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's essay contrasts two divergent nineteenth-century responses to the scientific and social upheavals of modernity: Marx's militant class-war dialectic and Auguste Comte's humanist 'Religion of Humanity.' Rao presents Comte's vision -- built on a theory of three historical stages (theological, metaphysical, positivistic) -- as a psychological and emotional project aimed at cultivating universal sympathy rather than Marx's institutional and economic class struggle. He describes Comte's proposed rituals of weekly worship honouring humanity's 'heroes' (drawing on figures from the Buddha to Lincoln and Gandhi) and argues India today needs analogous means of widening national sympathy beyond caste, creed and region. Rao proposes founding voluntary 'humanist associations' that hold devotional meetings modelled on Comte's religion of humanity, arguing that legal punishment of communal or casteist behaviour is necessary but not sufficient, and must be supplemented by the cultivation of positive, affectionate national sentiment. - Rao frames Comte's Religion of Humanity as the humanist counterpart to Marx's dialectical-materialist class war, both being outgrowths of nineteenth-century scientific ferment. - Comte's three-stage theory of ideas (theological, metaphysical, positivistic) culminated in a religion of humanity without revelation or personal godhead. - Comte designed rituals -- weekly meetings, portraits, talks, poems -- to contemplate 'heroes' of human achievement across all traditions, not just one faith's saints. - Rao applies this to contemporary India, arguing the country needs to widen national sympathy beyond tribe and caste, and that legal anti-communal measures alone are insufficient. - He proposes founding humanist associations holding weekly devotional meetings to particular 'great personalities or heroes' as a practical implementation of Comte's idea in India. ### Planning For Poverty Or Plenty? *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's essay, condensed from a Parliament speech, is a sweeping attack on India's Third Five Year Plan. He opens by cataloguing three 'facts of life' at the end of the Second Plan: persistent rising prices, stagnant or declining incomes for landless labourers, industrial workers and the lower middle class, and a foreign-exchange crisis with mounting external debt (Rs. 1750 crores already owed, with a further Rs. 2200 crores proposed). He argues the Plan will fail its own stated objectives -- more saving and investment, efficient production, and exports -- because of five defects: excessive taxation, deficit financing of Rs. 550 crores, an obsession with heavy industrialisation regardless of cost, domination by the State sector even where private enterprise has outperformed targets, and continued pursuit of land collectivisation. He quotes a 1939 letter from Gandhi to Rajkumari Amrit Kaur dismissing Nehru's planning as 'a waste of effort.' Masani contends the Plan is not really a plan for economic development but the pursuit of Soviet-style 'State Capitalism' driven by an unwarranted ideology of national self-sufficiency ('autarchy'), imported from a Soviet context of hostile encirclement that does not apply to India. He warns the Plan will produce further inflation, unemployment, high-cost production (illustrated by the gap between world and Indian penicillin prices, fostering smuggling), over-centralisation threatening states' rights, and ultimately endangerment of Fundamental Rights, including the right to strike. - Masani cites Reserve Bank data showing wholesale prices rose 7.2% in 1960-61 after a 5.8% rise the year before, with roughly 30% cumulative inflation over the Plan period. - He cites a 1960 parliamentary statement that real wages for industrial workers, having recovered 1939-1955 losses, have since been wiped out again by renewed price rises since 1956. - India's foreign credits total about Rs. 1750 crores with a further Rs. 2200 crores of indebtedness proposed, which Masani calls mortgaging the country's future. - He identifies five defects that will subvert the Plan's own goals: excessive taxation, Rs. 550 crore deficit financing, reckless obsession with heavy industrialisation, sabotaging of the outperforming private sector in favour of the State sector, and continued land collectivisation. - Masani argues the Plan is not a socialist plan for raising living standards but a pursuit of Soviet-style 'State Capitalism' driven by an imported and inapplicable ideology of autarchy/self-sufficiency. - He predicts further inflation, additional unemployment (an extra half a million on top of 9 million already unemployed), high-cost production illustrated by the gap between world and Indian penicillin prices fueling smuggling, and threats to Fundamental Rights including the right to strike. - He quotes Gandhi's 1939 letter to Rajkumari Amrit Kaur dismissing Nehru's planning as 'a waste of effort.' ### Warning For East & West *By Willy Brandt* Willy Brandt's essay, reprinted from The New Leader, is a warning addressed to both East and West about the Berlin crisis. Writing as Mayor of West Berlin, Brandt argues that Berlin's resistance is no frivolous posture: its residents, who would be the first casualties of any European conflagration, appeal for solidarity only after weighing risks carefully. He argues the true danger is not an isolated 'solution' to Berlin, since tension will persist as long as the whole city sits inside Communist-controlled territory, but rather Khrushchev's threatened separate peace treaty with East Germany, which would entrench the inter-German border as an international frontier and criminalise as 'revisionist' any demand for reunification. Brandt insists West Germany and West Berlin cannot accept such a border as legitimate, and that Bonn's rights and obligations toward Berlin -- currency union, economic integration, Allied troop presence -- must be defended vigorously by the Western powers, or the Berlin resistance and West German confidence alike will collapse. - Brandt frames his essay explicitly as a warning, not a threat, from a city that would be struck first in any European war. - He argues no isolated 'solution' can remove the Berlin problem's tension so long as the city sits surrounded by Communist territory. - He warns that a Soviet-East German separate peace treaty would entrench the inter-German border as an international frontier, branding advocates of reunification as 'dangerous revisionists.' - Brandt insists German democrats will not repeat the failures of Weimar-era democrats and will actively resist any partition treated as final. - He stresses that West Berlin's economic and psychological survival depends on unbroken currency and economic union with West Germany, and on continued Allied resolve including troop presence. - He warns that Soviet proposals for a 'free city' status are designed to sever West Berlin's ties to its Western protectors and divide the Allied alliance. ### The Neutral Summit *By Anand Mohan* Anand Mohan's 'The Neutral Summit' offers a skeptical preview of the forthcoming neutral-nations conference (the Belgrade non-aligned summit). He questions the credentials of Egypt's President Nasser, the summit's leading advocate, arguing Nasser's earlier bids for leadership of the Middle East and then Africa both failed and that his current push to lead the 'neutrals' follows the same pattern of self-serving ambition. Mohan is troubled that Cuba is also prominently involved, suspecting Castro's neutralism is a thin disguise for aligning with the Soviet Union, and criticises the conspicuous absence of Israel from the summit despite its arguable claim to neutral-nation status, attributing this to India's and others' unwillingness to offend Arab opinion. He surveys the ideologically disparate membership of the 'neutral club' -- ranging from communist to anti-communist states -- and predicts the summit will produce only platitudes on disarmament and colonialism while remaining conspicuously silent on neo-colonialism, concluding that genuine political wisdom sometimes requires being 'uncompromisingly unneutral.' - Mohan portrays Nasser's push for leadership of the neutral bloc as the latest in a series of personal ambitions, following failed bids to lead the Middle East and then Africa. - He suspects Cuba's presence at the summit reflects a thin veneer of neutralism disguising alignment with the Soviet Union. - He criticises the absence of Israel from the summit given India's own professed criteria for neutrality, attributing the omission to appeasement of Arab opinion. - He notes President Tito of Yugoslavia as an elder statesman with influence over both Nasser and Nehru. - Mohan predicts the summit will produce only platitudes on disarmament and colonialism while staying silent on neo-colonialism. - He concludes that some things in life require being 'uncompromisingly unneutral,' even if that means the end of neutrality as a political stance. ### Without Comment (German Militarism: Facts & Fiction / Soviet Scientist Given Asylum / Another Scientist Seeks Asylum / 44 Students Face Execution In Cuba) 'Without Comment' is an unsigned compilation of short news excerpts reprinted from various publications. 'German Militarism: Facts & Fiction' (from U.S. News & World Report) rebuts the claim that the West is remilitarising Germany, laying out a timeline showing East Germany built a 'People's Police' militia into a full army years before any West German rearmament. Other items report a prominent Soviet chemist, Dr. Mikhail Klotchko, granted political asylum in Canada; a young Ukrainian scientist, Nikolai Sereda, defecting to the West in Vienna; and forty-four Cuban students and two priests facing execution in Havana for organizing resistance to the Castro regime. - The 'German Militarism' item argues East Germany built an army of over 100,000 men disguised as 'People's Police' starting in 1948, years before West Germany's first serviceman donned a uniform in November 1955. - It notes East Germany's 'People's Army' now numbers 110,000 with 200,000 in reserve, versus West Germany's roughly 225,000 built solely within NATO's framework. - Dr. Mikhail Antonovich Klotchko, a Stalin Prize-winning Soviet chemist, was granted political asylum by Canada after attending a Montreal conference. - Nikolai Ivanovitch Sereda, a young Ukrainian electronics scientist, defected to the West in Vienna, citing resentment at Muscovite pressure on Ukrainian liberty and culture. - Forty-four Cuban students and two Roman Catholic priests were reported facing a firing squad in Havana for organizing student resistance to the Castro regime. ### With Many Voices 'With Many Voices' is the issue's closing page of quotations gathered from world leaders, statesmen and commentators on the Berlin/Cold War crisis and other current affairs, presented under an epigraph from Tennyson. It juxtaposes remarks from President Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev, Nehru, Willy Brandt-adjacent commentary, Dag Hammarskjold, and others on the sources of world tension, alongside a continuation of Karnik's 'A Pie In The Sky' essay from page 2 discussing the draft Soviet programme's silence on personal liberties and the continuing 'stranglehold' of the Communist Party. - Includes President Kennedy's remark (quoted from The Economist) that the source of world trouble is Moscow, not Berlin. - Includes Nikita Khrushchev's statement (from Statesman) framing the German peace-treaty struggle as one for 'acknowledgement of our greatness.' - Includes Nehru's remark that people do not leave their hearths and homes 'for glamour and shop windows,' regarding East German emigration. - Includes Dag Hammarskjold's statement of optimism 'because in this world you have to be optimistic.' - The continuation of Karnik's essay from page 2 argues the Soviet draft programme says nothing about personal liberty, freedom of opinion, or the right to change government, while explicitly reaffirming the Communist Party's permanent 'leading and guiding' role. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff113/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 113 (October 1961) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal periodical opening with an unsigned-masthead lead essay by Adam Adil assessing the Belgrade Conference of non-aligned nations, arguing that most "neutralist" delegations were in practice anti-Western. M. A. Venkata Rao follows with a reflective piece on the cynicism and isolation he found among Bangalore City voters while himself standing for the Lok Sabha, arguing for civic education toward a democratic "public mind." A short unsigned obituary mourns UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjoeld's death in the Congo crisis. Thomas J. Dodd contributes a lengthy retrospective, "Hungary — The Missed Opportunity," faulting Western unpreparedness during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and drawing lessons for future captive-nation uprisings. A report on the Afro-Asian Council's New Delhi executive committee meeting (26-28 August, chaired by Jayaprakash Narayan) summarizes resolutions on Algeria, Berlin, and Tibet.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 113 (October 1961) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal periodical opening with an unsigned-masthead lead essay by Adam Adil assessing the Belgrade Conference of non-aligned nations, arguing that most "neutralist" delegations were in practice anti-Western. M. A. Venkata Rao follows with a reflective piece on the cynicism and isolation he found among Bangalore City voters while himself standing for the Lok Sabha, arguing for civic education toward a democratic "public mind." A short unsigned obituary mourns UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjoeld's death in the Congo crisis. Thomas J. Dodd contributes a lengthy retrospective, "Hungary — The Missed Opportunity," faulting Western unpreparedness during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and drawing lessons for future captive-nation uprisings. A report on the Afro-Asian Council's New Delhi executive committee meeting (26-28 August, chaired by Jayaprakash Narayan) summarizes resolutions on Algeria, Berlin, and Tibet. A multi-signatory open letter, "A Reply To Mayor Willy Brandt," addresses the Berlin Wall crisis in the language of universal human rights, signed by an international roster including Raymond Aron, Jorge Luis Borges, Sidney Hook, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Michael Polanyi, Stephen Spender, Jayaprakash Narayan, and Minoo Masani. A "Review" section covers Germaine Tillion's Algeria, the Realities and C. Rajagopalachari's Satyam Eva Jayate. "Without Comment" compiles quoted press clippings contrasting Walter Ulbricht's East Germany with Hitler-era practices, Khrushchev statements on nuclear tests, and reports on Soviet cosmonaut deaths and a cancelled Soviet ambassadorial cinema visit in London. The issue closes with the continuation of the Hungary essay and the Afro-Asian Council report. ## Essays ### The Belgrade Conference *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil surveys the Belgrade Conference of non-aligned nations (September 1961), arguing that despite offering a genuine forum for African and Asian nations, the "non-aligned" or "neutralist" label was largely misleading: many participants, notably Yugoslavia and Cuba, were openly sympathetic to Soviet and Chinese communism and the Conference's general tenor was anti-Western. The essay contrasts the delegates' vocal condemnation of Western colonialism with their near-total silence on Soviet and Chinese "colonialism" in Eastern Europe and Tibet, and criticizes the Conference's failure to take a firm stand on Berlin or to offer any constructive resolution to the Cold War standoff. It closes by crediting the Conference with a few negative achievements, such as blocking the Soviet-backed "troika" proposal for the UN Secretariat, thanks partly to Nehru's opposition. - The Belgrade Conference brought together non-aligned African and Asian nations but the label was misleading since many members openly sympathized with Soviet/Chinese communism. - Yugoslavia (as host) and Cuba are singled out as positively hostile to the West and aligned with world communism. - Delegates divided the world into Western, Communist, and neutral blocs, with neutralism functioning as a shifting, opportunistic position rather than a principled one. - Khrushchev's announcement resuming nuclear tests on the conference's eve drew only muted criticism from delegates despite Nehru's own opposition to all nuclear testing. - The Conference exhibited complete silence on Soviet/Chinese colonialism in Eastern Europe and Tibet while loudly condemning Western colonialism in Algeria, Angola, and South Africa. - On Berlin, most delegates were unwilling to uphold the legal and moral position of the West or the rights of West Berliners, in effect conceding ground to communist dictatorship. - The Conference's chief accomplishments were negative: defeating the Soviet-backed 'troika' reorganization of the UN Secretariat, partly due to Nehru's opposition. ### The Mind Of The Electorate *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao reflects on the absence of a coherent "public mind" among Indian voters, drawing on his own experience as a Lok Sabha candidate for Bangalore City in the recent general elections. He describes widespread cynicism among both educated and uneducated voters, who felt their individual votes could not influence outcomes dominated by party bosses and charismatic leaders like Nehru, and recounts anecdotes of voter indifference, caste-based bloc voting, and candidates buying influence through community leaders. He calls for long-term civic education so that voting becomes a "sacred obligation," for public discussion of principles over personalities, and for intellectuals to expose the shallowness of Marxism and articulate deeper social ideals. - There is no single 'Mind of the electorate' in India — no shared public mind of ideas and attitudes on major issues comparable to what democracy requires. - The author's Lok Sabha candidacy in Bangalore City revealed widespread cynicism, especially the sense that individual votes did not matter against big-party bosses and charismatic leadership. - Voter isolation and futility were reinforced by low turnout and indifference, with polling-day holidays often used for leisure rather than voting. - Some educated voters expressed cynical pride in seeing through party hypocrisy, believing all parties are equally unreliable and corrupt. - Caste-based bloc voting persisted though it could sometimes be overcome when trusted candidates crossed caste lines; money was also used to induce anti-caste voting. - The author invokes Julius Benda's Treason of the Clerks (The Great Betrayal) to condemn intellectuals' complicity, and calls for civic education to make voting a 'sacred obligation.' - He urges educated candidates and thinkers to expose the shallowness of Marxism and cultivate deeper social ideals through press, platform, and study circles. ### Dag Hammerskjoeld A brief unsigned obituary honors UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjoeld, who died amid the Congo crisis, describing him as a martyr to the cause of Congolese unity and freedom and to the principle of international intervention against civil war and exploitation by outside powers. It praises his fearlessness and impartiality under criticism from both sides of the Cold War and expresses hope that the UN will continue his line of policy in the Congo and resist Soviet efforts (the 'troika' proposal) to weaken the organization. - Dag Hammarskjoeld is eulogized as a martyr to the cause of Congolese unity and freedom and to international intervention against civil war. - His fearlessness, impartiality, and integrity in performing an unpopular task under criticism from both Cold War blocs are emphasized. - The piece expresses hope the UN will continue his policies in the Congo despite his death. - It calls for resisting Russian efforts to weaken the UN via the 'troika' proposal for the Secretariat. - Mystery surrounding the circumstances of his death (crash) is noted, with hope that investigations will clarify whether it was sabotage or accident. ### Hungary — The Missed Opportunity *By Thomas J. Dodd* Thomas J. Dodd argues that the West's failure to act decisively during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution was one of the gravest policy failures of the postwar period, representing a lost opportunity to roll back communist control in Eastern Europe. He contends the revolution, even in defeat, was a significant victory for the cause of freedom because it exposed the illegitimacy of Soviet rule and shattered the myth of popular support for communism, comparing it to Napoleon's pyrrhic 'victory' at Borodino. The essay narrates the timeline of the revolution — the Poznan revolt, Imre Nagy's government, Hungary's withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact, and the UN's slow, ultimately ineffective response — and Dodd lists specific missed opportunities: failing to recognize Nagy's government promptly, failing to prepare a UN resolution before the Soviet crackdown, and the Security Council convening at Cuban rather than American insistence. He closes (in the continuation on page 12) urging that future 'Hungaries' are inevitable given communist repression, and calls for strengthened NATO ground forces, a 'Freedom Academy' to train Free World representatives in counteraction, and sustained propaganda on Soviet imperialism. - Dodd calls the West's failure to act during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution one of the gravest post-war policy failures, arguing a favorable conjuncture of Soviet weakness made liberation achievable. - He argues the Revolution, though defeated, was a 'many-sided victory' for freedom, exposing the lie of Communist popular support, akin to Napoleon's Pyrrhic victory at Borodino as recounted by Tolstoy. - The essay narrates the timeline: the Poznan revolt, formation of Imre Nagy's government, Hungary's declared neutrality and withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact, and Nagy's urgent UN appeal on November 1, 1956. - Dodd faults the UN and US for slow response: Nagy's appeal was buried among mimeographed documents and not read by many delegates before the Soviet crackdown, and John Foster Dulles's medical collapse hampered US diplomacy at the critical juncture. - The Security Council met on Hungary only at Cuban insistence, not American, and the Yugoslav delegate argued for adjournment rather than intervention — a proposal supported by US Ambassador Lodge, which Dodd says he cannot understand. - Dodd lists six concrete steps that should have been taken: prompt recognition of the Nagy government, lining up UN support in advance, dispatching UN observers immediately, marking Nagy's communications 'urgent', warning the USSR of sanctions for reinvasion, and placing US/NATO forces on alert. - He predicts more 'Hungaries' are inevitable given communist regimes' inherent tendency toward crisis, and calls for strengthened NATO ground forces and a 'Freedom Academy' to train Free World representatives in the 'science of liberation.' ### Afro—Asian Council An unsigned report on the Executive Committee meeting of the Afro-Asian Council, held in New Delhi from 26-28 August under the chairmanship of Jayaprakash Narayan, records the constitution and objectives adopted (promoting cooperation among member nations, eradicating colonialism, and upholding human rights and self-determination) and summarizes resolutions on the Association of South-East Asia (ASA), Algeria, Berlin, and the question of Tibet at the UN, plus a resolution on the Sino-Indian border dispute expressing concern over Chinese incursions into Indian territory. - The Afro-Asian Council's Executive Committee met in New Delhi (26-28 August) under Jayaprakash Narayan's chairmanship, with delegates from Ceylon, Turkisland, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaya, Philippines, Congo (Brazzaville), South Vietnam, Thailand, and Tibet. - The Council adopted a constitution with objectives of promoting social, economic, cultural, and political cooperation, eradicating colonialism and discrimination, and upholding human rights and self-determination. - Jayaprakash Narayan was reelected President; Yoji Hirola, Nusseibeh, and Senator Tan were elected Vice-Presidents; Leela P. Trikamdas was elected Honorary Secretary General. - A resolution welcomed the formation of ASA (Malaya, Thailand, Philippines) as a step toward regional cooperation. - On Algeria, the Committee criticized French partition attempts and supported the Algerian Provisional Government's independence struggle. - On Berlin, the Committee called the sealing off of East Berlin a violation of basic human rights and urged negotiated resolution to avert a threat to world peace. - A resolution on the Sino-Indian border dispute condemned Communist Chinese incursions into Indian territory as reflecting expansionist and aggressive designs, and upheld India's position. - The Committee resolved to send Purshottam Trikamdas to the UN's 16th Session to assist on Tibet and Algeria questions, and sent a cable to Marshal Tito urging the Neutral Nations Summit to take up Tibetan self-determination. ### A Reply To Mayor Willy Brandt An open letter addressed to Mayor Willy Brandt of Berlin, signed by a large international roster of intellectuals and public figures, responds to the Berlin Wall crisis by framing the right to leave one's country (citing Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) as a fundamental human right transcending politics or ideology. The signatories argue that both rebellion and flight are understandable human responses to denial of self-determination, invoke Pushkin's Boris Godunov to condemn the 'reactionary and unnatural command' of sealing borders, and declare they will not cease to insist that all governments be measured against the right of all human beings to freedom and dignity. - The letter frames the Berlin Wall and the shooting of escapees as a violation not of politics but of an elementary human right to leave one's own country, citing Article 12(2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. - It argues self-determination is a human right transcending narrow political or economic considerations, applicable equally to rebels and refugees. - It invokes Pushkin's Boris Godunov, quoting the Czar's order to fence the frontiers, as an analogy for the 'reactionary and unnatural command' being re-enacted at the Berlin Wall. - The letter closes with a pledge that barbed wire and bayonets will not be accepted as the 'decor' of any new freedom, and that all governments' claims must be measured against the right to life and dignity. - Signatories include Raymond Aron, Jorge Luis Borges, A. K. Brohi, Victor Raul Haya de la Torre, Sidney Hook, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Michael Polanyi, Stephen Spender, Minoo Masani, and Jayaprakash Narayan, among many others from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. ### Review: Algeria, the Realities (Germaine Tillion) The Review section carries two short book notices. The first, on Germaine Tillion's Algeria, the Realities, praises her sociological analysis of the impoverishment and cultural decay caused by the French-Algerian contact, though the reviewer disputes her view that colonialism is a mere scapegoat, arguing instead that colonialism itself blocks the natural adaptation of an 'archaic' society to industrial civilization. The second, on C. Rajagopalachari's Satyam Eva Jayate (a compilation of his 1956-61 articles from Swarajya), commends Rajagopalachari's courage of conviction and wide-ranging commentary, framing the volume as part of the intellectual case for the Swatantra Party's opposition politics, signed 'V.B.K.' - Germaine Tillion's Algeria, the Realities is reviewed as a germinal sociological study of Algeria's impoverishment and cultural decay from contact with industrial France. - The reviewer disputes Tillion's view that colonialism is a mere scapegoat, arguing colonialism itself prevents natural adaptation between archaic and industrial societies. - C. Rajagopalachari's Satyam Eva Jayate collects his 1956-61 articles (mostly from Swarajya) and is praised for solid common sense and the author's courage of conviction. - The review frames Rajagopalachari's articles as building the intellectual case for the Swatantra Party's opposition to Congress policies. - The review is signed with the initials V.B.K. ### Review: Satyam Eva Jayate (C. Rajagopalachari) *By V.B.K.* The 'Without Comment' feature compiles quoted press clippings without editorial commentary. The first item, from an Austrian Socialist daily, likens Walter Ulbricht's East Germany to Hitler's regime, citing the reintroduction of forced labour and detention camps for those attempting to flee. A second item strings together Khrushchev's public statements calling for disarmament and an end to nuclear testing, ironic given the Soviet resumption of tests. A third item, 'Not All Russians Are Heroes,' recounts an anti-communist Glasgow group's leaflet naming Soviet cosmonauts who allegedly died in earlier space attempts, and a farcical episode in which the Soviet ambassador's public screening of a Gagarin film in London was cancelled after the leaflet campaign, forcing a small private cinema screening instead. - An Austrian Socialist daily (Arbeiter Zeitung) compares Walter Ulbricht's East Germany to Hitler's regime, citing reintroduced forced labour and detention camps for would-be escapees. - A compilation of Khrushchev's own quoted statements calling for disarmament and cessation of nuclear tests is juxtaposed, ironically, against the Soviet Union's actual resumption of testing. - The 'Not All Russians Are Heroes' item describes a Glasgow-based anti-communist group, 'Friends of Free Russia,' distributing a leaflet naming Soviet cosmonauts allegedly killed in earlier space missions before Gagarin. - The same item recounts how a planned public screening of the Soviet film 'With Gagarin to the Stars' for the Soviet London Embassy was abruptly cancelled and replaced with a small private cinema screening after the leaflet campaign became known. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff114/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 114 (November 1961) is dominated by the North Bombay parliamentary contest between Acharya J. B. Kripalani and Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon, framed by the magazine as a proxy battle between democracy and communist influence within the Congress. An unsigned lead editorial, "Kripalani Vs. Menon," makes the case against Menon's record and communist sympathies, followed by Kripalani's own address to voters, "Why I Contest From North Bombay?", explaining his Gandhian rationale for standing and his objections to Menon's conduct as Defence Minister and his handling of foreign policy. Beyond the election, the issue carries international commentary: Tibor Meray's "The Forgotten People" mourns the fifth anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and the world's waning attention to it; S. Sharangpani's "Nasser And Nkrumah" compares the two leaders' pan-nationalist ambitions and domestic authoritarianism; and M. A. Venkata Rao's "Rethinking U.N. Policy In The Congo" argues that the UN's Congo strategy has neglected the economic realities of Katanga's mining wealth and proposes a negotiated settlement with Tshombe.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 114 (November 1961) is dominated by the North Bombay parliamentary contest between Acharya J. B. Kripalani and Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon, framed by the magazine as a proxy battle between democracy and communist influence within the Congress. An unsigned lead editorial, "Kripalani Vs. Menon," makes the case against Menon's record and communist sympathies, followed by Kripalani's own address to voters, "Why I Contest From North Bombay?", explaining his Gandhian rationale for standing and his objections to Menon's conduct as Defence Minister and his handling of foreign policy. Beyond the election, the issue carries international commentary: Tibor Meray's "The Forgotten People" mourns the fifth anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and the world's waning attention to it; S. Sharangpani's "Nasser And Nkrumah" compares the two leaders' pan-nationalist ambitions and domestic authoritarianism; and M. A. Venkata Rao's "Rethinking U.N. Policy In The Congo" argues that the UN's Congo strategy has neglected the economic realities of Katanga's mining wealth and proposes a negotiated settlement with Tshombe. Recurring departments — "Notes," "Without Comment," and "With Many Voices" — compile short editorial items and press clippings on communist infiltration of the Congress, Sino-Indian and Sino-Nepalese border developments, Soviet nuclear testing, and reactions (domestic and international) to the Kripalani-Menon contest. ## Essays ### Kripalani Vs. Menon *By A. G. Nair* The unsigned lead editorial (byline "by A. G. Nair" appears under the title) frames the North Bombay contest between Acharya Kripalani and Krishna Menon as the most significant contest of the 1962 general election, arguing there is no comparison between the two men: Kripalani a lifelong Gandhian nationalist of unimpeachable integrity, Menon a poor administrator with a record of scandal, communist sympathy, and alignment with Russia against Western democracies. The piece argues Menon's candidacy is being pushed by the Congress leadership over the objections of many Congressmen and is being actively supported by the Communist Party, which sees him as a vehicle for infiltrating Congress. It closes by casting the election as a referendum on whether India will remain a democracy or drift toward communism, non-alignment or Soviet-Chinese alignment, and clean administration or corrupt bureaucratic centralism. - Frames the North Bombay contest as the most significant of the 1962 general election, both for personalities and for policy. - Contrasts Kripalani's record of national service and Gandhian discipline with Menon's record as an absentee during the freedom struggle and a controversial Defence Minister. - Alleges Menon's long stay in England produced close ties to the Communist Party of Great Britain and a pro-Soviet, anti-Western orientation reflected in his UN positions. - Cites Menon's muted response to the Chinese occupation of 12,500 square miles of Indian territory as evidence of misplaced threat perception (blaming Pakistan instead). - Describes the Communist Party's strategy of backing Menon to infiltrate the Congress from within, since direct communist gains have stalled. - Presents Kripalani as the unifying candidate of the Praja Socialist Party, Jan Sangh, Swatantra Party and non-party citizens. - Casts the election choice as one between democracy and communism, neutral versus aligned foreign policy, and clean versus corrupt administration. ### The Forgotten People *By Tibor Meray* Tibor Meray's "The Forgotten People" reflects on the fifth anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, contrasting the worldwide burst of sympathy and outrage in 1956 with the silence and indifference that greeted its anniversary in 1961. Meray argues that superficial improvements reported by Western tourists (better-stocked shops, cafes, relaxed appearances) mask a regime that is gradually eroding the concessions wrested from it by the suppressed revolution, while political prisoners including Professor István Bibó remain jailed. He invokes the myth of Sisyphus (via Camus) to describe Hungary's plight: having failed to win independence and now facing indifference even from potential allies, the only dignity left to Hungarians is that they have not, through silence, become complicit in their own enslavement. - Marks the fifth anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and notes the contrast between the global outpouring of sympathy in 1956 and the silence in 1961. - Cites Acharya Kripalani's 1958 condemnation of Imre Nagy's execution as 'a calculated affront to the liberty and dignity of mankind.' - Argues that Western tourists' impressions of Hungarian well-being are superficial and conceal ongoing repression, confiscated peasant lands, and consumer shortages. - Notes that intellectuals and journalists including Professor Istvan Bibo remain imprisoned five years after the revolution. - Compares Hungary's post-revolution condition to the myth of Sisyphus, per Albert Camus, as both tragedy and significance. - Concludes that Hungarians' only remaining hope is that free peoples abroad do not become 'accomplices of the crime of enslaving the Hungarian people' through silence. ### Why I Contest From North Bombay? *By Acharya J. B. Kripalani* The "Notes" department covers three items: the German-Marxist philosopher Ernst Bloch's decision not to return to East Germany after the Berlin Wall went up, explaining in a letter to the East Berlin Academy of Sciences that he could no longer accept the repression of independent thought under the Ulbricht regime; a condemnation of Soviet nuclear testing, including the threatened 50-megaton bomb, as a 'terrorising tactic' defying a UN resolution passed 75-10; and a brief item flagging 'The Council of National Studies' as a new communist front organisation associated with Dr. A. V. Baliga and inaugurated by the Prime Minister. - Reports philosopher Ernst Bloch's refusal to return to East Germany from a Tubingen visit, citing repression after August 13 (the Berlin Wall). - Notes Bloch's prior discharge from Karl Marx University, Leipzig, and forbiddance from publishing or travel after his pupil Wolfgang Harich was imprisoned. - Condemns Soviet resumption of atomic testing, including a threatened 50-megaton bomb, as violating a prior test-ban agreement. - Cites a UN Political Committee resolution (75-10) appealing to Khrushchev to halt the tests, opposed only by the Soviet bloc and Cuba. - Flags 'The Council of National Studies' as a new communist front organisation, associating Dr. A. V. Baliga with it and noting the Prime Minister inaugurated it. ### Nasser And Nkrumah *By S. Sharangpani* In this address to North Bombay voters, Acharya J. B. Kripalani explains his decision to contest against Krishna Menon as an act of conscience rooted in Gandhian principles rather than personal or party ambition, describing his lifelong commitment to Gandhiji's philosophy of self-purification, non-exploitation, and constructive work through the Gandhi Ashram in Uttar Pradesh. He argues that unemployment and rural poverty have worsened rather than improved under the Congress government's planning, quoting former Congress President Dhebar's admission that 'the rich have grown richer and the poor poorer.' Kripalani defends his acceptance of support from otherwise-opposed parties (Praja Socialist, Jan Sangh, Swatantra) as analogous to Gandhiji's own practice of accepting help from disparate groups for causes of common concern, and states his central objection to Menon is not personal but concerns his perceived softness toward Communist China, his mismanagement of Defence Ministry affairs (including army morale and the jeep scandal), and his friendliness toward the Communist Party of India, which he argues threatens to subvert the Congress from within. - Grounds his candidacy in Gandhian philosophy of self-purification, non-exploitation, and constructive work rather than personal ambition. - Cites his production of Rs. 2 crores of khadi annually through the Gandhi Ashram, Uttar Pradesh, employing 4,000 organisers and 25,000 craftsmen. - Quotes former Congress President Dhebar's admission that under Swaraj 'the rich have grown richer and the poor poorer.' - Defends accepting help from ideologically disparate parties (Praja Socialist, Jan Sangh, Swatantra) as consistent with Gandhiji's practice of accepting cooperation from all for causes of common concern. - Criticises Krishna Menon's handling of Communist China's occupation of 12,500 square miles of Indian territory versus his greater vigilance on Pakistan. - References the jeep negotiations scandal and army morale problems as evidence of Menon's poor administration of Defence. - Argues Menon is friendly to the Communist Party of India, which never criticises him, and that this friendliness helps communists penetrate the Congress from within. - States his opposition is one of principles, not personal animus, and that he considers himself still helping the Prime Minister and the Congress. ### Rethinking U.N. Policy In The Congo *By M. A. Venkata Rao* S. Sharangpani compares Gamal Abdel Nasser and Kwame Nkrumah as leaders whose ambitions transcend their own countries: Nasser as self-styled leader of Arab unity, Nkrumah as would-be liberator of a united Africa. The essay argues both leaders' anti-Western, anti-imperialist rhetoric led them into alignment with communist sympathies, and traces the collapse of Nasser's Pan-Arab project after Syria's 1961 secession from the United Arab Republic, alongside Nkrumah's increasingly authoritarian rule in Ghana — including preventive detention laws, a personality cult (Osagyefo), a collapsing cocoa-dependent economy, and mass arrests of opposition leaders. The piece concludes that both men's claims to continental leadership are undermined by their failure to secure durable loyalty even within their own countries, with Nkrumah now living in fear of his own people and Nasser's Pan-Arabism dealt 'a deadly blow' by the Syrian breakaway. - Compares Nasser's Pan-Arabism and Nkrumah's Pan-Africanism as parallel projects of aggressive, personality-driven leadership beyond their national borders. - Notes both leaders' anti-Western orientation drove them toward alignment with, or exploitation by, communist powers. - Traces the 1958 formation and 1961 collapse of the United Arab Republic (Egypt-Syria union) as the central failure of Nasser's Pan-Arab ambitions. - Describes Nkrumah's 1959 'democratic centralist' state model, Preventive Detention Act, and cult of personality (Osagyefo, the Messiah). - Documents Ghana's economic crisis from falling cocoa prices, resulting austerity measures, and a wave of strikes met with further repression. - Concludes Nkrumah now fears his own people, heavily guarded and absent from public view, while Nasser's authority, though still popular in Egypt, has been damaged regionally by Syria's secession. ### Without Comment *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that the United Nations' Congo policy has reached a deadlock because it has neglected the economic dimension of the crisis, particularly the vast mining wealth of Tshombe's breakaway Katanga province developed over 25 years by Belgian, British and other foreign interests. While endorsing the UN's goal of a unitary Congo and Nehru's contribution in backing the use of force, the essay contends that destroying Tshombe and the economic order he protects would be a 'communist' method of destruction-first, and instead proposes negotiating a treaty guaranteeing the continuity of existing economic enterprises under the political supremacy of a new Congo government, with mine royalties, guaranteed places for Tshombe's provincial government, and a gradual transfer of shares to Africans over ten to twenty years. - Argues the UN's Congo strategy has neglected the economic reality of Katanga's mineral wealth, which produces about twenty million pounds sterling annual profit. - Criticises Lumumba's shifting alliances (American businessmen, UN, Ghana, other African states, then Russia and its satellites) as having driven the West to back Kasavubu. - Endorses the principle of a unitary Congo state and credits Nehru's support for the use of UN force, including six Canberras. - Proposes negotiations with Tshombe and his foreign backers for a treaty guaranteeing continuity of economic enterprises under the new Congo government's political authority. - Recommends mine royalties to the new government, guaranteed provincial government roles for Tshombe's allies (or a five-year federal transition), and gradual transfer of mining shares to Africans over ten to twenty years. ### With Many Voices The "Without Comment" department reprints press items without editorial commentary: warnings from former RBI Governor Benegal Rama Rao about communist infiltration of the Congress; reports of Communist Party defections to the Congress in Warangal district and of Red sympathisers Dr. A. V. Baliga and Mulk Raj Anand joining Congress ahead of Krishna Menon's election campaign; a three-part 'Price of Panchsheel' series on Chinese pressure on India via Tibet and the Sino-Nepalese highway agreement, including an account of the Nehru government suppressing a 1953 Tibet Committee and later Himalayan Border Conference; consumer shortages in communist Eastern Europe; and Nehru's criticism of moneyed Congress donors alongside a report on the party's new decentralized election-fund structure. - Reprints Benegal Rama Rao's warning that Communist Party infiltration of Congress threatens to produce a totalitarian slide if unopposed. - Reports Communist Party defections to Congress in Warangal district, once a Telangana insurgency stronghold. - Flags Dr. A. V. Baliga and author Mulk Raj Anand, both described as Red sympathisers, joining Congress ahead of Krishna Menon's North Bombay campaign. - Recounts a three-part 'Price of Panchsheel' history: the 1950 invasion of Tibet, the Nehru government's 1953 suppression of a Tibet Committee (led by Munshi Ahmed Din, Shri Gurupadaswami, and Prof. Tilak Raj Chadda), and the 1961 Sino-Nepalese highway and boundary agreements extending Chinese influence toward the Indian border. - Documents consumer shortages (food, refrigerators) in Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria as evidence of hardship in communist countries. - Reports Nehru's criticism of Congress accepting donations from donors without faith in party principles, and describes a new decentralised, state-level election fund-raising structure. ### Notes (Choice of Freedom; Terrorising Tactics; Another Front Organisation) "With Many Voices" collects short quotations from the international and Indian press, most concerning the North Bombay election and Cold War themes. Domestic quotes range from K. M. Munshi and S. Natarajan denouncing Krishna Menon as a 'Trojan Horse' more dangerous than an avowed communist, to Sanjiva Reddy noting the irony of the Congress declining to call China an aggressor. International quotes include Senator Barry Goldwater calling Nehru a 'wishy-washy neutral,' A. M. Rosenthal criticising Nehru's reluctance to speak plainly on Hungary, and President Kennedy's line 'If we can be purposeful, we shall be neither Red nor dead, but alive and free.' The page is torn/obscured at the right margin, cutting off the final continued item on Congress election-fund financing. - Collects press quotations largely concerning the Kripalani-Menon contest and broader Cold War themes. - K. M. Munshi: 'Every vote cast for Mr. Menon is a vote for Chinese occupation in this country.' - S. Natarajan contrasts Kripalani as 'pre-eminently a Congressman' with Menon as 'a communist' whatever label he goes by. - Sanjiva Reddy notes the irony that communists, despite China's occupation of 12,000 square miles of Indian territory, still refuse to call China an aggressor while urging force to recover Goa. - Senator Barry Goldwater is quoted from the US Senate calling Nehru a 'wishy-washy neutral' unsuited even to the Hammarskjold post. - President Kennedy is quoted: 'If we can be purposeful, we shall be neither Red nor dead, but alive and free.' - The final column continues an item (from page 11) on Congress fund-raising and jeep/loudspeaker procurement for the coming election, cut off by page damage. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff115/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 115 (December 1961) is dominated by Cold War anxiety on two fronts: the credibility of India's non-alignment and the immediate menace of Chinese incursions in Ladakh. S. Sharangpani's lead essay defends Nehru's U.S. visit as having repaired the damage done by Krishna Menon's pro-Soviet posturing at the U.N., while a boxed item on Nehru and Menon (reprinted from the Times of India) details Menon's reversed instructions on the anti-nuclear-test resolution. Adam Adil and G. F. Hudson contribute companion pieces arguing that de-Stalinisation is cosmetic — Stalinism survives Stalin because its Marxist-Leninist foundations remain intact — and that Khrushchev's peace rhetoric echoes Hitler's pre-war appeasement-baiting tactics. M. A.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 115 (December 1961) is dominated by Cold War anxiety on two fronts: the credibility of India's non-alignment and the immediate menace of Chinese incursions in Ladakh. S. Sharangpani's lead essay defends Nehru's U.S. visit as having repaired the damage done by Krishna Menon's pro-Soviet posturing at the U.N., while a boxed item on Nehru and Menon (reprinted from the Times of India) details Menon's reversed instructions on the anti-nuclear-test resolution. Adam Adil and G. F. Hudson contribute companion pieces arguing that de-Stalinisation is cosmetic — Stalinism survives Stalin because its Marxist-Leninist foundations remain intact — and that Khrushchev's peace rhetoric echoes Hitler's pre-war appeasement-baiting tactics. M. A. Venkata Rao traces how communist regimes (Soviet, Chinese, and by extension Indian) have tactically tolerated and then liquidated the 'national bourgeoisie.' A substantial editorial digest, 'Nation Against Aggression,' compiles newspaper reactions (Times of India, Hindustan Times, Free Press Journal, Indian Express) excoriating the Nehru government's secretive, ineffectual response to Chinese occupation of Ladakh and singling out Krishna Menon's soft line on China versus his hard line on Goa. The issue closes with a 'Without Comment' miscellany on Soviet consumer shortages, jokes about de-Stalinisation, and a CND(USSR) appeal letter, and a 'With Many Voices' quotations page assembling remarks from Nehru, Kennedy, Nixon, Indira Gandhi, and others on non-alignment and the Sino-Soviet-Indian situation. ## Essays ### Non-Alignment Reconsidered *By S. Sharangpani* S. Sharangpani argues that Nehru's recent U.S. visit, widely called a success, repaired ground lost to Krishna Menon's inflammatory, pro-Soviet performance at the U.N., which had needlessly strained Indo-U.S. relations. The essay credits Nehru with restoring India's image as genuinely non-aligned, and singles out as especially significant Nehru's admission, in a televised interview with Adlai Stevenson, that Soviet domination of Eastern Europe amounts to a form of colonialism — a concession the author reads as an overdue correction to the one-sided anti-colonialism of non-aligned rhetoric. It closes by praising the U.S.-India agreement on Berlin as a concrete gain from the visit, while faulting Krishna Menon as unsuited, ideologically and temperamentally, to represent India abroad. - Nehru's U.S. visit is judged a success despite prior friction caused by Krishna Menon's conduct at the U.N. - Menon's defense of the Soviet Union on the unilateral nuclear test issue is described as having distorted India's non-aligned image - Nehru's Stevenson-interview admission that Soviet Eastern Europe involves a form of colonialism is treated as a major, overdue concession - The essay frames non-alignment as inherently difficult, prone to accusations of double standards from both blocs - Nehru and Kennedy are said to share a 'philosophic bent' that aided a productive summit - The U.S. and India reach basic agreement on 'legitimate and necessary access to Berlin' ### De-Stalinisation Versus Communism *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil contends that Khrushchev's de-Stalinisation drive, launched at the 20th Party Congress in 1956, is a cosmetic exercise that leaves the substance of Stalinism untouched. He argues that removing Stalin's body from Lenin's Mausoleum and renaming Stalin-named cities are symbolic acts that mask the survival of the Stalinist apparatus of one-party dictatorship, terror, and personality cult in new guise. Tracing the ideological lineage from Marx through Lenin to Stalin, the essay argues Stalinism was the logical extension of Leninism's forcible seizure and dictatorship of the proletariat, not an aberration, and concludes that Stalinism can only be eradicated by repudiating Marxism-Leninism itself — something Khrushchev is not prepared to do, making current Soviet leaders no different in kind from Stalinists. - De-Stalinisation is presented as removing Stalin's name while retaining Stalinism's apparatus and ideology - The 22nd Party Congress is framed as exposing splits in the 'monolithic' communist world (Soviet vs. Chinese camps) - The essay traces a direct ideological line from Marx's concept of class struggle through Lenin's 'professional revolutionaries' to Stalin's totalitarianism - Lenin, not just Stalin, is blamed for building the coercive apparatus of one-party rule - The Pasternak affair and continued eulogies to Stalin are cited as evidence de-Stalinisation is superficial - The essay reprints a 1949 Khrushchev tribute to Stalin as evidence of his complicity - Conclusion: Stalinism can only end if Marxism-Leninism's basic principles are repudiated ### Hitler And Khrushchev *By G. F. Hudson* G. F. Hudson, in a piece condensed from The New Leader (New York), draws an extended parallel between Adolf Hitler's pre-war peace rhetoric and Nikita Khrushchev's contemporary disarmament diplomacy over Berlin. Hudson recounts how Hitler repeatedly offered 'fresh guarantees' after each broken agreement — withdrawing from the Geneva Disarmament Conference and the League of Nations while professing peaceful intent, reintroducing conscription while promising no further territorial demands, and ultimately using the promise of a 'golden future' to extract concessions on Czechoslovakia. He argues Khrushchev is using an identical method over Berlin: creating a crisis, then offering the West a vision of relaxed tensions and disarmament if only this 'one difficulty' (Berlin) is resolved on Soviet terms. Hudson warns that yielding to this pattern, as the West did at Munich, would only invite further nuclear blackmail. - Hitler's 1933-1938 peace and disarmament rhetoric is presented as a tactical device to buy time for German rearmament - Hitler's withdrawal from the Disarmament Conference and League of Nations is compared to Soviet unilateral positioning on arms control - Hudson argues Khrushchev's Berlin diplomacy mirrors Hitler's Czechoslovakia playbook: manufacture a crisis, then promise a 'golden future' if the West yields - The essay explicitly invokes Munich and Neville Chamberlain as the cautionary historical analogy - Warns that capitulation in Berlin would embolden further Soviet nuclear blackmail against Western 'hostage' nations ### The National Bourgeoisie Under Attack *By M. A. Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao surveys how communist regimes have tactically tolerated, and then liquidated, the 'national bourgeoisie' as a stage on the road to full proletarian dictatorship. He traces the pattern from Soviet Russia's War Communism and NEP, through the 1945-48 East European 'People's Democracies,' to Mao's New Democracy in China, arguing that coalition governments with communist minorities were always transitional devices pending forced collectivisation and full nationalisation. The essay (continued on page 11, which reports the Indian application: the CPI's shifting stance from hostility to 'responsive cooperation' with the Nehru government, and a 1960 Moscow-directed shift back toward criticism and attack on the national bourgeoisie in India) situates India within this global pattern. - Classical communist doctrine treats toleration of the national bourgeoisie as strictly transitional, pending readiness for full proletarian takeover - Cites the Soviet 1917 nationalisation of banks, factories, and land redistribution followed by Lenin's NEP retreat as historical precedent - East European 'People's Democracies' (1945-48) are described as coalition-government facades before full communist takeover - Mao Zedong's 'New Democracy' since 1949 is presented as following the same pattern, distinguishing the 'comprador' international bourgeoisie from the tolerated 'national bourgeoisie' - The essay (continuing on p.11) applies the pattern to India: the CPI's post-1956 'responsive cooperation' with the Nehru government followed by a 1960 Moscow directive to resume attacks on the Indian national bourgeoisie ### Nation Against Aggression (editorial excerpts on Chinese aggression in Ladakh) This feature compiles editorial excerpts from leading Indian dailies (Times of India, Hindustan Times, Free Press Journal, Indian Express, Statesman) responding to revelations of Chinese military encroachment in Ladakh. The excerpts uniformly condemn the government's secretive, complacent handling of the border question, note the government's admission that an additional 2,000 square miles of Ladakh have been occupied, and challenge the double standard by which Krishna Menon takes a hard line against Portuguese Goa (under 2,000 square miles) while being conspicuously soft toward Chinese incursions covering some 14,000 square miles of Indian territory. Several pieces argue Menon's temperament and ideological sympathies make him unfit to serve as Defence Minister given the scale of the Chinese threat. - Times of India ('Not an Inch') criticizes the government's evasive description of Chinese incursions as mere 'mis-behaviour' - Hindustan Times ('A Shocking State of Affairs') recounts years of official denial before Parliament forced acknowledgment of Chinese incursions - Free Press Journal ('Chinese Menace') argues the government has failed its primary duty of border defence and should resign over the failure - Indian Express ('Two Voices') contrasts Menon's tough language on Goa with his soft description of Chinese incursions as mere lack of 'active hostility' - Indian Express further argues Chinese proximity and communist expansionism make China a far greater strategic threat than Portugal in Goa - Statesman ('Protests to Peking', continued p.11) notes India's response has been limited to paper protests while China backs claims with military moves and check-posts - Cumulative figures cited: roughly 14,000 square miles under Chinese occupation versus under 2,000 square miles of Portuguese possessions (Goa, Diu, Damaun) ### Without Comment A miscellany column, 'Without Comment,' reprints unattributed or lightly-sourced items without editorial gloss. It includes a New York Times report on chronic Soviet consumer shortages (using the 'typical' Bochkov family's budget to illustrate years-long waiting lists for cars, televisions, and apartments, and endemic corruption in housing allocation); a Hindustan Times item collecting Warsaw-circulating jokes mocking Soviet-bloc de-Stalinisation, including anecdotes about Gomulka, Cyrankiewicz, and Stalin's statue in Prague; and an open letter from Desmond Donnelly, President-Elect of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (USSR), reprinted from The Spectator (London), proposing a demonstration in Red Square timed to the November 1961 anniversary march-past, paired with a matching demonstration in Trafalgar Square. - Soviet consumer waiting lists reach up to seven years for a car and six months for a private tailor appointment - Only 529,000 refrigerators were produced in the USSR in the prior year against 218,000,000 consumers - Housing allocation is a government monopoly influenced partly by an applicant's 'contribution to society' and partly by corruption - Warsaw jokes mock Gomulka dreaming of the 23rd Party Congress and propose 'expulsion from the grave' as a new punishment for erring Party members - Desmond Donnelly's CND(USSR) letter invites Lord Bertrand Russell and the Committee of 100 to stage a matching Red Square demonstration, describing Khrushchev as 'personally a murderer' ### With Many Voices The closing 'With Many Voices' page, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson, assembles short unconnected quotations from public figures on non-alignment, the Sino-Soviet-Indian situation, and nuclear testing, each credited to its original press source. Contributors quoted include Nehru (on Eastern European colonialism), a Kerala Communist leader offering Stalin's body to the Kerala Communist Party, Acharya Kripalani and Richard Nixon criticizing Krishna Menon and Indian neutralism, Indira Gandhi's ambivalent defense of Menon's intellect, President Kennedy comparing nuclear test megatonnage and calling Albania 'Khrushchev's Cuba,' and President Leopold Senghor of Senegal criticizing non-aligned nations' own 'miniature imperialism.' - Nehru reiterates in a Times of India interview that Soviet-style colonialism in Eastern Europe may be worse 'from the human point of view' than the old colonialism - A Kerala Communist leader offers to accord Stalin's body 'the respect and reverence it deserves' if the Soviet Union does not want it - Acharya Kripalani and Richard Nixon both criticize India's Defence Minister and neutralism as a 'luxury' that requires others' strength to defend - President Kennedy states Soviet nuclear tests totalled about 170 megatons versus 125 for the US/Britain combined and under one for France - Indira Gandhi offers a qualified defense of Krishna Menon's intellect while conceding she doesn't think he could explain himself - President Senghor of Senegal accuses non-aligned nations of practicing a 'miniature imperialism' toward their own neighbours - The issue's masthead records it was edited by V. B. Karnik, printed at Inland Printers (Bombay), and published for the Democratic Research Service by B. K. Desai --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff116/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 116 (January 1962) is dominated by Cold War anxieties refracted through Indian foreign policy. The lead pieces defend India's December 1961 military liberation of Goa against Western criticism while using the episode to indict Nehru's own "non-violence" rhetoric as exposed hypocrisy, and print in full Jayaprakash Narayan's anguished statement reconciling his pacifism with support for the Goa action. Surrounding essays survey Communist advances and threats across the world stage -- guerrilla war in South Vietnam, Soviet subversion in Guinea, the U.N.'s military intervention against Katanga in the Congo, and a sharp critique of Nehru's credulity toward Soviet intentions -- while shorter items (a press-digest column, a letter on a transport strike in Ahmedabad, and a page of quoted opinion) round out the issue with domestic and editorial commentary. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 116 (January 1962) is dominated by Cold War anxieties refracted through Indian foreign policy. The lead pieces defend India's December 1961 military liberation of Goa against Western criticism while using the episode to indict Nehru's own "non-violence" rhetoric as exposed hypocrisy, and print in full Jayaprakash Narayan's anguished statement reconciling his pacifism with support for the Goa action. Surrounding essays survey Communist advances and threats across the world stage -- guerrilla war in South Vietnam, Soviet subversion in Guinea, the U.N.'s military intervention against Katanga in the Congo, and a sharp critique of Nehru's credulity toward Soviet intentions -- while shorter items (a press-digest column, a letter on a transport strike in Ahmedabad, and a page of quoted opinion) round out the issue with domestic and editorial commentary. ## Essays ### Myth Exposed *By by B. K. Desai* B. K. Desai's "Myth Exposed" defends India's December 1961 military liberation of Goa, Daman and Diu from Portuguese rule as the justified end to a fourteen-year policy of patient, peaceful appeals that Portugal's dictator Salazar refused to answer. The essay accuses Western critics -- Britain and the United States chief among them -- of hypocrisy for condemning India's use of force while ignoring the intolerable and anachronistic nature of Portuguese colonialism itself, and argues the episode exposed Krishna Menon's political opportunism in timing the operation for electoral advantage. Its central charge is that the Goa operation shattered the Western-built myth of Nehru as a pure apostle of non-violence, revealing his policy of "negotiating to the bitter end" as empty moralizing with no relevance to real politics -- a lesson the author says should also govern India's approach to the Sino-Indian border dispute, where similar peaceful appeals have equally failed. - India waited fourteen years for Portugal to negotiate Goa's status peacefully before resorting to force in December 1961. - Western nations (Britain, the U.S.) that criticized India's use of force are charged with hypocrisy for tolerating Portuguese colonialism. - The author accuses Krishna Menon of timing the Goa operation to boost his own electoral prospects amid criticism over the Chinese border issue. - Nehru's reputation as an apostle of non-violence is described as a myth, since the Goa action shows he was willing to use force when peaceful methods failed. - The Soviet Union used the episode to present itself as a friend of Afro-Asian anti-colonial sentiment, embarrassing the West further. - The essay argues the same lesson -- that peaceful negotiation alone is futile against an intransigent adversary -- applies to the Sino-Indian dispute. ### A Plea For Positive Non-Violent Action *By Jayaprakash Narayan* This item reproduces in full a statement by Jayaprakash Narayan on the liberation of Goa. Narayan, a committed pacifist who regards violence as immoral even in a good cause, expresses sorrow that India resorted to force but places the blame for that outcome on the West's fourteen years of failure to press Portugal toward a peaceful resolution, and even more on India's own non-violent movement (himself included) for having turned away from the international disputes it might have helped resolve through active non-violent means such as Shanti Sena, Bhoodan and Gramdan. He argues that non-violent leadership requires action, not passive waiting on governments, and that India's people, more than any other, are equipped for that task. - Narayan welcomes the end of the last vestige of colonialism from Indian soil but mourns that his country had to use force to achieve it. - He argues Britain and the U.S., as NATO powers, betrayed their professed anti-colonial ideals by failing to compel Portugal to negotiate over fourteen years. - He refuses to blame Nehru or the Government of India alone, instead faulting non-violent leaders like himself and the Shanti Sena for turning their backs on international disputes. - He calls for renewed heart-searching among India's non-violent movement and for positive, active non-violent leadership rather than passive waiting for governments to act. - He states that India's people are uniquely fitted in the world for the task of positive non-violent action. ### Guerrilla War In South Vietnam *By by P. G. Honey* P. G. Honey's "Guerrilla War In South Vietnam" explains the origins and escalation of the Viet Cong insurgency against President Ngo Dinh Diem's government, tracing it to the 1954 Geneva Conference's division of Vietnam and the failure to hold the promised 1956 reunification elections. It describes how North Vietnamese Communists infiltrated agents and supplies southward through Laos and Cambodia from 1957 onward, using classic guerrilla tactics -- terrorizing villages, assassinating headmen, and expanding outward like "an oil stain" -- to destabilize the countryside, and details Diem's countermeasures, including the regular army, the Civil Guard, village militia (Tu-Ve), Agrovilles, land reform, and rural cooperatives, while noting that the guerrillas' momentum continued to threaten the survival of South Vietnam as a non-Communist state. - The division of Vietnam at the 1954 Geneva Conference and the failure to hold 1956 reunification elections set the stage for the insurgency. - North Vietnamese Communists infiltrated agents and supplies into South Vietnam via Laos and Cambodia from 1957 onward using the route later known as the Ho Chi Minh trail. - Viet Cong tactics involve terrorizing isolated villages and expanding their controlled territory outward like an oil stain. - President Diem's government relies on three forces -- the regular army, the Bao-An (Civil Guard), and the Tu-Ve village militia -- with the Viet Cong holding a persistent tactical advantage. - Diem's government has paired military resistance with civil measures: Agrovilles, land reform, and rural cooperative societies to weaken the Viet Cong's appeal. - The author frames the outcome of the conflict as consequential for whether Communism expands through South and Southeast Asia. ### Illusion About Russian Foreign Policy *By by M. A. Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's "Illusion About Russian Foreign Policy" attacks Nehru's interpretation of Soviet and Chinese Communism as more nationalist than internationalist, arguing this naive appraisal ignores the doctrinal commitment of Marxism-Leninism to world revolution, as evidenced by Stalin's post-war betrayal of wartime promises, the Sovietization of Eastern Europe, and China's actions in Tibet and Ladakh. The essay quotes at length from Michael Brecher's biography of Nehru to show the Prime Minister's overly sympathetic reading of Soviet intentions, and contends that the Cold War is the inevitable outcome of Kremlin policies aimed at world conquest for communism, not a state of mutual blame as Nehru suggests. - The Prime Minister's view that Chinese and Russian communism are essentially nationalist rather than internationalist is characterized as a dangerous illusion. - Stalin's broken promises after World War II and the Sovietization of Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia (1945-48) are cited as evidence of Soviet expansionist intent. - The essay quotes Stalin's own writings on world revolution as a "lever for the further disintegration of imperialism" to rebut Nehru's benign interpretation. - Nehru's 1958 remarks to biographer Michael Brecher expressing trust in eventual Soviet withdrawal from Eastern Europe are presented as naive given China's subsequent invasion of Tibet. - The author argues the Cold War is the inevitable result of aggressive Kremlin policy, not a matter for which both sides are equally to blame as Nehru suggests. - The essay links this critique to fears about a shift toward toughness at the 22nd Communist Party Congress under Khrushchev. ### United Nations & Congo *By by Adam Adil* Adam Adil's "United Nations & Congo" examines the U.N.'s use of military force against Katanga's secession from the Congo, questioning whether the U.N. has the right to impose a political solution by arms while denying Katanga's own claim to self-determination. The essay surveys the divided motives of Western powers -- Britain, France and Belgium's financial stakes in Katanga's mineral wealth (via Union Miniere) versus the United States' backing of the central Adoula government -- and argues that Katanga's continued resistance shows genuine popular support for Tshombe, concluding that Congo's unity should be pursued through persuasion and shared prosperity rather than force. - The essay questions the legitimacy of U.N. military action against Katanga on grounds of self-determination. - Britain, France and Belgium are said to oppose ending Katanga's secession for financial reasons tied to the Union Miniere mining concern's dividends and Katangese copper, cobalt and other mineral wealth. - The United States is described as backing the U.N.'s campaign to force Katanga into union with the Adoula government, viewing Tshombe as a threat to Congo's stability. - The revolt of Katangese people (except the Baluba tribe) against U.N. action is cited as evidence that Tshombe enjoys genuine popular support, not merely mercenary backing. - The essay attributes much of the blame for Congo's post-independence chaos to Patrice Lumumba's handling of the transition from Belgian rule. - The author advocates persuasion and shared economic benefit, not military coercion, as the path to a unified and stable Congo. ### Communist Conspiracy In Guinea *By (Contributed)* This contributed piece, "Communist Conspiracy In Guinea", recounts the November-December 1961 crisis in which Guinea's President Sekou Toure expelled the Soviet ambassador after uncovering what the government described as a Communist-backed subversive plot involving the Guinean Teachers' Union, following student riots and harsh prison sentences for union leaders. It profiles the expelled ambassador Daniel Solod's long career cultivating Communist influence across the Middle East and Africa, framing Guinea's turn against Soviet interference as a notable reversal given the country's previously close ties to Communist doctrine since independence. - Guinea's High Court sentenced five Teachers' Union leaders to prison terms in November 1961 for allegedly distributing subversive material. - Student protests against the sentences led to school closures and further unrest, which President Sekou Toure's government characterized as part of a Communist counter-revolutionary plot. - Toure's government expelled Soviet Ambassador Daniel Solod in December 1961, alleging a subversive network reaching from an Eastern bloc embassy in Conakry. - The essay profiles Solod's career history in the Middle East (Beirut, Cairo) as evidence of a broader Soviet strategy to use Guinea as a bridgehead for Communist penetration of West Africa. - The episode is presented as a watershed in Soviet-Guinean relations given Guinea's prior status as a close Communist partner among newly independent African states. ### Without Comment The "Without Comment" column reprints without editorial elaboration a series of press clippings from December 1961: Fidel Castro's public declaration of himself as a lifelong Marxist-Leninist (Christian Science Monitor), commentary questioning whether Indonesia might move against Western New Guinea as India did in Goa and reviewing the Dutch record on self-government there (Statesman), and a report that Indian Communist Party general secretary Ajoy Ghosh denied Chinese aggression on the northern border while a party colleague offered a contradictory line (undated wire item). - Castro is quoted declaring "I am a Marxist-Leninist and will be one until the day I die" and praising Lenin and the Bolshevik revolution. - A Statesman piece from December 22 weighs whether Indonesia's claims to Western New Guinea parallel India's action in Goa, concluding the parallel is weaker given the distinct ethnic character of the Papuan population. - The column notes Dutch moves toward self-government in Western New Guinea via an elected New Guinea Council inaugurated in April 1961. - A wire report records CPI general secretary Ajoy Ghosh stating China had not committed aggression on India's northern border, contradicted by colleague Dr. Z.A. Ahmed's more critical remarks on the same day. ### Indian Communists & Menon / Two Red Voices / India's Double Standard (news-clipping digest) A cluster of short press-reprint items on page 10 -- "Indian Communists & Menon," "Two Red Voices," and "India's Double Standard" -- report that CPI general secretary Ajoy Ghosh pledged party support to V. K. Krishna Menon's Lok Sabha candidacy, note the embarrassment of Ghosh contradicting himself and a party colleague on the same day over whether China had committed aggression against India, and describe India's abstention from a U.N. General Assembly debate criticizing Chinese repression in Tibet as evidence of a double standard given India's own criticism of Portugal over Goa. - CPI general secretary Ajoy Ghosh pledged the Communist Party's electoral support for V. K. Krishna Menon in the North Bombay Lok Sabha constituency. - Ghosh publicly reversed himself within the same press conference on whether China had committed aggression on India's northern border. - The Soviet delegate at the U.N. reportedly equated Indian criticism of Chinese repression in Tibet with U.S. criticism of Indian action in Goa. - India abstained from a U.N. General Assembly debate on a Malayan resolution condemning human rights violations in Tibet despite a strong case built by the International Commission of Jurists. ### Letter to the Editor: Consequences of Nationalisation *By An Observer* A "Letter to the Editor" signed "An Observer" (Ahmedabad, November 30) recounts a four-hour strike by drivers of the Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service in November 1961, arguing the strike -- triggered by a dispute between transport administration and police over bus parking -- exposed collusion between the nationalised undertaking's management and its Congress-affiliated trade union (INTUC), used to pressure police into permitting unauthorized parking. The letter treats the episode as a cautionary instance of the dangers of nationalisation, where citizens lose the protections a government-run industry is meant to secure. - Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service drivers struck for four hours on November 16, 1961 after police complaints about illegal bus parking. - The letter argues the strike resulted from collusion between the nationalised transport administration and its INTUC-affiliated union to pressure the police. - It notes the same political party (Congress) controls both the Municipal Corporation and the drivers' union, creating a conflict of interest. - The author concludes the episode is a cautionary tale about nationalisation stripping citizens of the freedoms and protections it was meant to provide. ### With Many Voices The closing "With Many Voices" column collects short quoted excerpts from Indian and international commentators on the Goa episode, Krishna Menon, and Cold War hypocrisy, drawn from sources including the Indian Express, Swarajya, Time magazine, and Khrushchev's remarks to Hindu. Recurring themes are criticism of Nehru's perceived double standard on non-violence and force, skepticism of Krishna Menon's political durability, and mockery of Western and Indian claims to consistent moral positions on colonialism and communism. - Prof. Sidney Hook is quoted arguing anti-communism is a necessary but not sufficient condition for liberalism. - Frank Moraes is quoted multiple times criticizing both Krishna Menon's political durability and Nehru's self-contradictory stance on violence and non-violence. - Khrushchev is quoted joking that a communist Kennedy would give the two leaders "a common language". - Time magazine likens Nehru to a man trampled by an elephant (China) who instead goes after a mosquito (a smaller irritant), implicitly referencing Goa versus the China threat. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff117/ ### Summary This is the February 1962 issue (No. 117) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based fortnightly/monthly of the Democratic Research Service, edited by V. B. Kesava. The issue is dominated by anti-communist analysis of Cold War flashpoints: the collapse of Soviet influence in Guinea after the expulsion of Ambassador Solod, the hardening Sino-Indian border dispute, a scathing retrospective on Khrushchev's own complicity in Stalin's purges, and James Burnham's essay on the West's strategic dilemma between the danger of nuclear war and the danger of communist conquest. Domestically, the issue carries Acharya J. B. Kripalani's personal statement on why he is contesting the Bombay-North Lok Sabha seat against the Congress candidate associated with Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon, and M. A. Venkata Rao's suspicious, pro-communist-influence reading of Nehru's decision to order military action in Goa. A profile of the British magazine Encounter by John Rosselli and a miscellany column, 'Without Comment', rounds out the issue with short unsigned items on Eastern Bloc agriculture, Chinese and Soviet influence-buying in East Africa, and West Bengal communists cancelling Stalin Day celebrations. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the February 1962 issue (No. 117) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based fortnightly/monthly of the Democratic Research Service, edited by V. B. Kesava. The issue is dominated by anti-communist analysis of Cold War flashpoints: the collapse of Soviet influence in Guinea after the expulsion of Ambassador Solod, the hardening Sino-Indian border dispute, a scathing retrospective on Khrushchev's own complicity in Stalin's purges, and James Burnham's essay on the West's strategic dilemma between the danger of nuclear war and the danger of communist conquest. Domestically, the issue carries Acharya J. B. Kripalani's personal statement on why he is contesting the Bombay-North Lok Sabha seat against the Congress candidate associated with Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon, and M. A. Venkata Rao's suspicious, pro-communist-influence reading of Nehru's decision to order military action in Goa. A profile of the British magazine Encounter by John Rosselli and a miscellany column, 'Without Comment', rounds out the issue with short unsigned items on Eastern Bloc agriculture, Chinese and Soviet influence-buying in East Africa, and West Bengal communists cancelling Stalin Day celebrations. ## Essays ### A Lesson From Guinea *By by Fritz Schatten* Fritz Schatten narrates the recall of Soviet ambassador Daniil Semyonovitch Solod from Guinea in late 1961 as a spectacular diplomatic failure, contrasting it with his celebrated 1950 departure from Damascus. The essay traces how Guinea's 1958 rejection of de Gaulle's referendum, followed by French economic retaliation, drove Sekou Touré's government into dependence on Eastern-bloc aid, credits, technicians and propaganda. It then catalogues a string of Soviet and satellite failures on the ground -- abandoned economic projects, a shuttered East German printing works, failed water and power repairs, spoiled grain shipments, unsuitable airport equipment, and open grumbling among Guineans about the quality of Eastern goods and expertise -- culminating in the December 1961 trial and imprisonment of Guinean Teachers Union members for an alleged 'Communist-inspired conspiracy,' student and worker protests, and Solod's expulsion on Touré's orders despite Khrushchev's efforts to smooth things over via a special mission to Moscow. - Solod's 1961 expulsion from Conakry is framed as the mirror opposite of his triumphant 1950 exit from Damascus. - Guinea's 1958 break with France (rejecting the referendum on the Communaute Francaise) triggered French economic retaliation and pushed Conakry toward the Eastern bloc. - Communist aid took the form of credits, Agit-Prop material, Czech/East German equipment, and thousands of Guinean students and technicians trained in Moscow, Peking, Prague and East Berlin. - A litany of failures is listed: bungled credit projects, a closed East German printing works, unsuitable airport installations, rotten grain shipments, and water/power shortages Eastern bloc technicians could not fix. - A November 1961 trial sentencing five Guinean Teachers Union members for a 'Communist-inspired conspiracy' triggered school closures and youth protests, forcing Sekou Toure to send a minister to Moscow. - Solod's recall is presented officially as a promotion, but the article reads it as an expulsion signalling Guinea's disillusionment with Soviet patronage. ### Issues In North Bombay Contest *By by Acharya J. B. Kripalani* Acharya J. B. Kripalani explains his decision to contest the Bombay-North Lok Sabha seat against the sitting Congress member, in order to force public scrutiny of what he calls dangerous trends in government policy associated with Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon. He argues that India's non-alignment has, in practice, tilted toward tolerance of Chinese aggression and Soviet-aligned positions, citing the government's prolonged concealment of Chinese border incursions from Parliament and the public, India's silence on Tibet and Hungary, and its embrace of the 'panchsheel' preamble to the India-China treaty on Tibet as complicit in legitimising China's absorption of Tibet. He contends that Krishna Menon consistently pairs any admission of Chinese aggression with a reference to Pakistani-held Kashmir, and that the government has no real intention of recovering Chinese-held Indian territory, exposing the incoherence of India's declared non-alignment as war with China looms as a live possibility. - Kripalani frames his Bombay-North candidacy as a stand against 'dangerous trends' of government policy identified with Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon rather than as a purely partisan act. - He argues non-alignment has been distorted into de facto sympathy for the Chinese and Soviet positions, citing India's conduct at the UN and on Hungary and Tibet. - He criticises the government for concealing Chinese border aggression from Parliament and the public for years, disclosed only after press pressure. - He accuses Krishna Menon of deflecting Chinese-aggression questions by pairing them with references to Pakistani-occupied Kashmir, implying no serious intent to recover Chinese-held territory. - He situates his campaign within a lifelong commitment going back to the national movement and Gandhi's constructive programme. ### On The Horns Of Our Dilemma *By by James Burnham* James Burnham lays out what he calls the West's central strategic dilemma: 'Type W' arguments, which treat nuclear war as the paramount danger and prioritize disarmament, versus 'Type C' arguments, which treat communist world conquest as paramount and prioritize resisting communist expansion. He argues the two dangers are both real and inescapable -- the West cannot avoid one horn of the dilemma by grasping the other -- and that a policy-maker must nonetheless choose which danger is the 'main enemy' to organize action around, since treating both as equally primary produces an incoherent, self-cancelling policy. He singles out President Kennedy's rhetoric, especially his UN speech and statements on Cuba, Laos, and Berlin, as an example of a leader who has refused to choose his main enemy and has therefore failed to produce a credible policy, a failing Khrushchev may exploit. - Burnham distinguishes 'Type W' arguments (nuclear war as the primary danger, favouring disarmament) from 'Type C' arguments (communist conquest as the primary danger, favouring resistance). - He argues both dangers are simultaneously real and that policy cannot escape one horn of the dilemma by seizing the other. - He contends that in practice a nation must choose one main enemy to organize its programme and attitude around, even if theoretically it should oppose both equally. - He cites SANE vs. National Review, and Bertrand Russell vs. Barry Goldwater, as examples of the opposed 'main enemy' choices. - He criticises President Kennedy for not deciding which of war or communism he is 'more against', citing his UN speech and his handling of Cuba, Laos and Berlin as evidence of an incoherent posture. ### China's Frontiers In Dispute *By (Contributed)* This unsigned 'Contributed' piece surveys China's frontier disputes as of late 1961/early 1962, arguing that China has hardened its position with India even while settling boundary agreements with Nepal and Burma on terms favourable to itself. It reviews the 1950 Chinese military entry into Tibet, the growth of Sino-Indian border incidents culminating in the 1959 Tibetan rebellion, and the Indian government's 1959-61 exchanges of notes with Peking, alongside a sustained Chinese propaganda campaign accusing India of being an 'imperialist' and pro-American client state. It contrasts China's comparatively generous treatment of Nepalese and Burmese boundary claims with its intransigence toward India, and closes by noting unresolved or undemarcated Chinese frontiers with Mongolia, the USSR (including latent claims to the Ussuri Provinces and Vladivostok in Eastern Siberia), and Korea. - China signed a boundary agreement with Nepal and a protocol with Burma in late 1961, even as its position toward India hardened. - The 1959 Tibetan rebellion made border tensions with India acute, with Chinese forces operating up to and beyond the Himalayan frontier and a military road driven across Ladakh. - Indian officials, including Nehru and Deputy Minister Lakshmi Menon, are quoted rejecting Chinese charges that India's foreign policy is influenced by 'imperialists and reactionary elements'. - China is accused of a propaganda campaign portraying India as aligned with the 'imperialist camp' of the USA, citing India's Belgrade conference conduct and Nehru's US visit. - China's frontiers with the USSR, Mongolia, and Korea remain undemarcated or disputed on Chinese maps, including latent claims to Russia's Ussuri Provinces and the port of Vladivostok. ### What Khrushchev Did Under Stalin? This unsigned piece, condensed from Le Figaro, uses back issues of Izvestia and Pravda to indict Khrushchev's own role during Stalin's 1934-38 purges, contrasting his 1956 and 1961 denunciations of the 'anti-Party' group with his documented record of fulsome, sycophantic praise of Stalin at the time of the terror. It quotes Khrushchev's 1937 Pravda speech demanding the destruction of the Radek-Piatakov defendants, his 1934 and 1938 hymns of praise to Stalin at Party congresses, and his complicity in the extermination of the Ukrainian Communist Party leadership (Kossior, Postyshev, Lyubchenko and others) while he served as Ukraine's Party leader. It closes with the anecdote of General Yakir's son asking Khrushchev about his father's fate, pointing out the irony that Khrushchev had both ordered Yakir's death and slandered him as a 'traitor' before rehabilitating his memory decades later. - The piece contrasts Khrushchev's 1956 and 1961 congress speeches denouncing the 'anti-Party' group's role in the Stalinist terror with his own simultaneous silence about his personal role in it. - It quotes Khrushchev's 1937 Pravda speech calling for the Radek-Piatakov defendants to be 'unmasked' and 'reduced to dust'. - It documents Khrushchev's fulsome public praise of Stalin at the 1934 and 1939 Party Congresses and on Stalin's 70th birthday. - As Ukraine's Party leader, Khrushchev is described as having overseen the extermination of the old Ukrainian Communist leadership -- Kossior, Postyshev, Lyubchenko, Zatonsky -- calling them 'riff-raff' preparing to open the door to Fascists. - The piece notes only Khrushchev and Mikoyan remained, of the 1934 Congress speakers who praised Stalin as 'genial', still on the Party Presidium by 1961. - It closes on the story of General Yakir's son asking Khrushchev, decades later, about his father's death, an irony given Khrushchev's own role in denouncing and executing Yakir. ### The Mystery Of Nehru's Action On Goa *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that Nehru's decision to order military action in Goa contradicts his lifelong image as a man of peace, and probes for a hidden explanation. He suggests pressure came from a communist-organized 'ginger group' within Parliament and the Congress, keen to rehabilitate Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon's prestige after his handling of the Chinese border crisis, and cites Mrs. Aruna Asaf Ali's border agitation and reported Soviet backing (including talks with Soviet President Brezhnev in Delhi) as evidence that pro-communist elements around Nehru pushed him toward force in Goa while simultaneously counselling restraint against China. He contrasts this with Nehru's refusal to resist Chinese aggression militarily, framing the Goa decision as troubling evidence that a supreme ruler can be moved to act against his own declared principles under communist or pro-communist pressure. - Venkata Rao frames Nehru's Goa action as inexplicable given his established reputation and past record as a man of peace. - He argues a communist-aligned 'ginger group' in Parliament sought to rehabilitate V. K. Krishna Menon's damaged prestige after Chinese border setbacks, and used the Goa question to do so. - He cites Mrs. Aruna Asaf Ali's agitation at the Goa border and claims of Soviet encouragement, including a reported Brezhnev meeting with Nehru in Delhi shortly before the Goa action. - He contrasts Nehru's decisiveness on Goa with his reluctance to resist Chinese aggression militarily, reading this asymmetry as evidence of pro-communist influence around the Prime Minister. - He warns of the danger of a supreme ruler acting on impulse under pressure, contrary to his declared principles, citing Nehru's earlier acquiescence to Lord Wavell's invitation to the Muslim League as a precedent. ### An Encounter With Narcissus *By by John Rosselli* John Rosselli profiles the British intellectual monthly Encounter on the occasion of its hundredth issue, tracing its growth from 1953 launch to a circulation of nearly thirty thousand. He situates the magazine as an offshoot of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, funded chiefly by the Ford Foundation, with editors Stephen Spender and Melvin J. Lasky and honorary presidents including Reinhold Niebuhr, Salvador de Madariaga, and Jayaprakash Narayan. Rosselli assesses Encounter's strengths (vigorous discussion of ideas and current affairs, an international readership spanning India, Japan and the US) against its weaknesses (a bias toward dissection over creative literature, and a strong tinge of narcissistic self-absorption about its own society, which gives the essay its title). - Encounter, launched October 1953, has trebled its circulation in eight years and reaches nearly thirty thousand copies at its hundredth issue. - It is an offshoot of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, funded chiefly by the Ford Foundation, with editors Stephen Spender and Melvin J. Lasky. - Its honorary presidents include Reinhold Niebuhr, Salvador de Madariaga, and Jayaprakash Narayan. - Rosselli judges the magazine as only 'stutteringly international' but 'fully and usefully Anglo-American', strong on ideas and current affairs but weak on literature and the arts. - He diagnoses a 'strong tinge of narcissism' in the magazine's preoccupation with British intellectual society, giving the piece its title. ### Without Comment The 'Without Comment' column reprints short unsigned news items, mostly sourced from other publications, without editorial commentary. Items cover the growth of private farming in Poland versus stalled collectivization in Hungary and disappointing harvests in Czechoslovakia and Rumania; allegations of Chinese and Soviet money funding Kenyan politician Oginga Odinga and broader communist infiltration efforts in East Africa competing with growing Chinese influence; West Bengal communists cancelling Stalin Day celebrations following central Communist Party disapproval and Nehru's Bolpur speech condemning the state party; and the resignation of Cuba's ambassador to Pakistan in protest against the ideological direction of the Cuban regime. - Poland shows increasing private farm registration and declining collective-farm numbers, contrasted with near-complete Hungarian collectivization and disappointing Czechoslovak and Rumanian harvests. - A London Daily Express allegation claims Kenyan politician Oginga Odinga received GBP 10,000 monthly instalments and a further GBP 150,000 from China, which Odinga denies. - Chinese influence-building in East Africa (Kenya, Tanganyika, Somaliland, Zanzibar) is described as smaller-scale than the Soviet effort in Guinea but growing via scholarships, visits and diplomatic overtures. - West Bengal's communist party cancelled planned Stalin Day celebrations after central CPI disapproval and Nehru's Bolpur speech criticising the state party's 'anti-national role'. - Cuba's ambassador to Pakistan resigned in protest against the new ideological direction of the Cuban regime, stating he did not regard himself committed to the communist line proclaimed by the Cuban government. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff118/ ### Summary This is issue 118 of Freedom First (March 1962), the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical associated with the Forum of Free Enterprise circle. The issue opens with domestic Indian politics — a defence of press freedom against what the editors see as Nehru's growing intolerance of criticism, occasioned by the North Bombay election contest involving V. K. Krishna Menon and Acharya J. B. Kripalani — and a first-hand account of the February 1962 general election campaign from a Jana Sangh candidate reflecting on the state of Indian democracy. The rest of the issue turns outward to Cold War themes: the philosophy and practical history of political neutrality (with Switzerland as case study), OAS plastic-bomb terrorism against journalists and publishers in France and Algeria, an account of Somali students fleeing Czechoslovakia after disillusioning treatment under communist rule, and a report on open Sino-Soviet discord within the international communist peace movement. The issue closes with two regular clipping/quotation features, "Without Comment" and "With Many Voices," which reprint contemporary Indian press items and quotations from Nehru, Krishna Menon, Frank Moraes, M. R.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue 118 of Freedom First (March 1962), the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical associated with the Forum of Free Enterprise circle. The issue opens with domestic Indian politics — a defence of press freedom against what the editors see as Nehru's growing intolerance of criticism, occasioned by the North Bombay election contest involving V. K. Krishna Menon and Acharya J. B. Kripalani — and a first-hand account of the February 1962 general election campaign from a Jana Sangh candidate reflecting on the state of Indian democracy. The rest of the issue turns outward to Cold War themes: the philosophy and practical history of political neutrality (with Switzerland as case study), OAS plastic-bomb terrorism against journalists and publishers in France and Algeria, an account of Somali students fleeing Czechoslovakia after disillusioning treatment under communist rule, and a report on open Sino-Soviet discord within the international communist peace movement. The issue closes with two regular clipping/quotation features, "Without Comment" and "With Many Voices," which reprint contemporary Indian press items and quotations from Nehru, Krishna Menon, Frank Moraes, M. R. Masani and others on the 1962 election and Congress politics. ## Essays ### Press And The Prime Minister *By S. N. Aiyer* S. N. Aiyer argues that the North Bombay election contest between the Nehru-Menon camp and Acharya Kripalani has exposed the Prime Minister's growing hostility to press criticism. Nehru is accused of branding newspapers favourable to Kripalani as "reactionary" and "capitalist," and of failing to unambiguously condemn a Congress-instigated bonfire of the Indian Express and Loksatta, allegedly inspired by Deputy Home Minister Violet Alva's remarks equating the burning of an English daily to the freedom movement's boycott of foreign cloth. The essay contends that most major papers being owned by big business is unfortunate but does not make them dishonest, and warns that Nehru's own enormous personal popularity has blurred, in his mind, the line between popularity and sound policy, making him increasingly intolerant of legitimate criticism on issues like China, Tibet, and state trading. - The North Bombay contest (Krishna Menon vs. Kripalani) brought the issue of press freedom into sharp relief. - Nehru is said to have called pro-Kripalani papers 'reactionary' and 'capitalist' and to have targeted Jayaprakash Narayan indirectly for similar criticism. - Congress workers and fellow-travellers staged a bonfire of the Indian Express and Loksatta; Deputy Home Minister Violet Alva is implicated as having encouraged the idea. - The author says big-business ownership of major papers is regrettable but does not by itself disqualify their editorial judgement. - Nehru's unmatched personal stature has, in the author's view, made him unable to distinguish popularity from correct policy, fostering an intolerant attitude to criticism from the press and public men. - The piece calls for consistent, fearless assertion of public criticism against Congress leadership's intolerance. ### The Art And Science Of Being Neutral *By Melvin J. Lasky* Melvin J. Lasky's essay uses Lewis Carroll's Humpty Dumpty exchange to frame a meditation on the slipperiness of the word "neutrality" in Cold War discourse, contrasting American historical hostility to the idea (from Roosevelt-era isolationism to Cold War alignment) with the practical, tested neutrality of Switzerland during the Second World War. Drawing on Jon Kimche's study of Swiss neutrality, Lasky credits General Henri Guisan with maintaining Swiss independence between 1939 and 1945 through firm military preparedness and psychological deterrence rather than passive non-alignment, contrasting Guisan's resolve with Federal President Pilet-Golaz's more accommodating stance toward Germany. - Lasky opens with the Humpty Dumpty/Alice dialogue from Through the Looking-Glass to dramatize how 'neutrality,' 'peace,' and 'freedom' mean different things to different speakers at the U.N. and in Cold War rhetoric. - American attitudes to neutrality have swung from Roosevelt- and Cordell Hull-era entangling-alliance avoidance (1936-1941) to post-war hostility toward non-alignment, as with John Foster Dulles. - Switzerland is presented as the paradigm case: for six years (1939-1945) it survived encirclement by Axis powers. - General Henri Guisan organised Swiss military defences, trained soldiers, prepared demolition plans for Alpine tunnels/passes, and maintained morale, in tension with civilian political leadership. - Federal President Pilet-Golaz favoured accommodation with German demands, while Guisan favoured resistance; the two approaches nonetheless shared the same underlying goal of Swiss independence. - Kimche's conclusion (quoted at length) is that Swiss neutrality survived not because belligerents respected an abstract principle, but because Switzerland had prepared to fight and made the cost of invasion too high. - Lasky extends the lesson to contemporary 'neutralism' and 'non-alignment' claimed by newly independent nations at the U.N., arguing that rhetorical neutrality substitutes for the genuine, costly preparedness that made Swiss neutrality real. ### Gresham's Law In Politics *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao, writing as a Jana Sangh candidate for the Lok Sabha (Bangalore) and the Mysore State Legislative Assembly (Basavangudi) during the February 1962 general elections, reflects on the state of Indian democracy as observed during his campaign. He reports a widespread cynicism among voters of all classes about politicians' honesty, alongside a countervailing shrewdness in judging individual candidates' character, and argues that the Swatantra Party and Jana Sangh together represent the strongest ideological counterweight to Congress and communist influence, with the Chinese invasion having alienated much of the educated electorate from the Congress government. - Venkata Rao frames Gresham's Law as a social tendency, not a strict law, applicable to how bad political actors can drive out good ones in democratic and aristocratic politics alike. - He was a Jana Sangh candidate for Lok Sabha (Bangalore) and the Mysore Assembly (Basavangudi), writing before the February 1962 election results were declared. - He found no real difference in political sophistication between educated and uneducated voters regarding assessments of democracy and corruption. - Widespread cynicism exists that all politicians are alike and self-interested, yet voters show shrewdness in judging individual candidates as persons. - The Chinese invasion and rising prices have alienated large sections of the educated electorate from Congress. - Swatantra and Jana Sangh are presented as the chief organized opposition to Communist influence, though the essay (continued on page 12) argues Swatantra's flirtation with separatist elements weakens its own strategy while Jana Sangh is gaining ground via cultural and national appeal. ### The Plastic Bombers *By Jean Bloch-Michel* Jean Bloch-Michel reports on the escalating campaign of plastic-bomb terrorism carried out in early 1962 by the OAS (Secret Army Organisation) and other French Fascist groups claiming to act for 'Algerie Francaise.' Initially haphazard (a bomb at Orly airport, one at Gare de Lyon, the killing of the Mayor of Evian), the bombers increasingly targeted journalists, publishers and intellectuals known to favour a negotiated peace in Algeria, including an attack on the Congress for Cultural Freedom's Paris offices, the homes of Le Monde journalists, and André Malraux's home, where a bomb blinded a four-year-old girl. The essay argues the OAS's true aim is to spread generalized fear to silence dissent, and situates the violence within a broader crisis of the French Fourth-turned-Fifth Republic's authority following the Algerian ceasefire negotiations. - OAS and allied French Fascist groups have carried out an escalating campaign of plastic-bomb attacks since the previous year, beginning with an Orly airport bombing and the killing of the Mayor of Evian. - Targets increasingly include journalists, publishers, and organisations favouring a negotiated Algerian settlement: Le Monde journalists Philippe Herreman, Jean Planchais and Jacques Fauvet had their homes bombed; André Malraux's home was bombed, blinding a four-year-old girl. - The Congress for Cultural Freedom's Paris offices were attacked for its publications' calls for a liberal Algerian settlement. - Bloch-Michel argues the OAS's underlying strategy is to generate generalized fear among the public to silence dissent, not to achieve a coherent anti-communist goal. - The essay situates the terrorism within France's political vacuum since 13 May 1958 and de Gaulle's assumption of power to resolve the Algerian question, suggesting French civil society's public response to the bombings has been to reaffirm its own liberties. ### Young Somalis' Adventures In Prague *By Fritz Schatten* Fritz Schatten recounts how six young Somali students fled Czechoslovakia in late 1961/early 1962 after a disillusioning experience at the Dobrushka language institute near Prague, where they had been sent on government scholarships. The students describe pervasive surveillance, censorship of foreign news and mail, pressure to join a Communist-front 'Union of Somali Students in the Socialist Camp,' compulsory Marxism-Leninism courses, religious discrimination against them as Muslims, and harassment when they sought exit permits, eventually escaping via appeals to the Italian Embassy after their leader Mahdi Ismail's own scholarship (originally granted after four years as a committed Communist) was revoked and he was briefly abducted by police. - Six Somali students at the Dobrushka Institute near Prague broke publicly with Czechoslovakia's communist authorities in December 1961, following an earlier pattern of young Africans denouncing treatment in the Soviet Union. - Students describe severe restrictions: opened and delayed mail, no access to independent news, a common-room radio rigged to receive only approved Czechoslovak broadcasts. - They faced pressure to join the Communist 'Union of Somali Students in the Socialist Camp' and to take Marxism-Leninism courses; refusal was treated as a hostile political act. - As Muslims they were mocked for religious observance and deliberately served pork despite alternatives being available. - Their group leader, Mahdi Ismail, a former convinced Communist and interpreter to Somalia's President, had his scholarship cancelled and was briefly arrested by police in front of the Italian Embassy before being released after Italian diplomatic protest. - The group eventually obtained exit permits after appealing to the Italian Embassy (representing Somalia's interests) and spent nights in the cold and in the Embassy library before departure. - One student, 23-year-old Adam Abdi Ahmed, is quoted saying the experience taught them 'the difference between freedom and constraint,' and the group intends to publicize their experience in Africa. ### Cat Among The Peace Pigeons *By Ernest Kux* Ernest Kux reports on open discord between Moscow and Peking within the international Communist peace movement, surfacing at the Moscow WFTU Congress, the Albanian Youth Congress, and especially the World Peace Council meeting in Stockholm ahead of the planned 1962 World Peace Congress. Chinese delegate Liao Cheng-chih and others argued the peace movement should prioritize anti-colonial national liberation struggles over disarmament and reject subordination to Soviet diplomatic line, a position challenged by Soviet delegates and their allies (Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, France, India, Portugal) who insisted disarmament remain the movement's central theme; the Stockholm session ultimately sided with the Soviet position, rejecting the Chinese proposal, though Kux concludes the internal Sino-Soviet rift has damaged the peace movement's usefulness as an instrument of Soviet policy. - Sino-Soviet discord has spread into communist front organisations: tension surfaced at the Moscow WFTU Congress and the Albanian Youth Congress (where Russian officials were heckled by Albanian hosts). - At the Stockholm World Peace Council meeting, Chinese delegate Liao Cheng-chih argued the peace movement must prioritize supporting anti-colonial national liberation struggles over exclusive focus on disarmament, criticizing reliance on 'personalities from the highest social strata.' - Chinese delegate Liu Ning-yi argued that general disarmament should not be treated as subordinating national independence movements, citing Laos, Algeria, Angola and the Cameroons as priority struggles, and criticized Khrushchev's pursuit of Russo-American bilateral summit diplomacy. - The Albanian delegate Misha went further, demanding the 1962 World Peace Congress confine itself entirely to national independence rather than disarmament. - Soviet delegates and allies (Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, France, India, Portugal) insisted disarmament remain the movement's central theme and pointed to progress in Russo-American disarmament talks. - The Stockholm session ultimately decided to hold a world congress on universal disarmament and peace, rejecting the Chinese faction's proposal to prioritize national independence, though a resolution was passed expressing support for national liberation movements as a concession. - Kux concludes that this internal Sino-Soviet rift, alongside negative world reaction to Soviet atomic tests, has limited the usefulness of the communist world peace movement as an instrument of Soviet foreign policy. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff119/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 119 (April 1962) is dominated by analysis of the Third General Election, held earlier that year, and its implications for Indian democracy. B. K. Desai's lead editorial-style essay reads the results as a Congress victory that masks organisational decline and a widening space for opposition parties, especially the Swatantra Party and Jan Sangh. Two companion pieces examine flashpoints within that election: V. B. Karnik dissects the North Bombay parliamentary contest in which Krishna Menon defeated Acharya Kripalani, and M. A. Venkata Rao warns that Menon's win strengthens covert Communist Party influence inside the Congress government (the 'elephant, mahout and raja' allegory). S. R. Mohan Das traces the ideological and organisational history of the DMK's rise in Madras. The issue also carries international reporting -- a contributed piece on the deepening Sino-Soviet ideological rift, and E. P.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 119 (April 1962) is dominated by analysis of the Third General Election, held earlier that year, and its implications for Indian democracy. B. K. Desai's lead editorial-style essay reads the results as a Congress victory that masks organisational decline and a widening space for opposition parties, especially the Swatantra Party and Jan Sangh. Two companion pieces examine flashpoints within that election: V. B. Karnik dissects the North Bombay parliamentary contest in which Krishna Menon defeated Acharya Kripalani, and M. A. Venkata Rao warns that Menon's win strengthens covert Communist Party influence inside the Congress government (the 'elephant, mahout and raja' allegory). S. R. Mohan Das traces the ideological and organisational history of the DMK's rise in Madras. The issue also carries international reporting -- a contributed piece on the deepening Sino-Soviet ideological rift, and E. P. Whittemore's account of how Castro's Cuba absorbed and purged its labour movement -- plus the magazine's regular 'Without Comment' page of press clippings on Eastern Bloc dissidents and 'With Many Voices' page of Indian political quotations, alongside the mandated ownership-and-circulation statement. ## Essays ### The Third General Election *By B. K. Desai* B. K. Desai surveys the Third General Election of 1962, arguing that the Congress Party's continued dominance is less a popular endorsement of its ideology than a product of its entrenched organisational advantages and resources. He notes Congress's declining vote share and legislative strength in several states, widespread complaints of electoral malpractice, and the emergence of the Swatantra Party and Jan Sangh as serious opposition forces, while cautioning that Congress instability looms in states like Bihar, Punjab, Rajasthan and U.P. where its majorities are thin. - Congress retained power nationally but its vote share and assembly strength declined in most states except Maharashtra, Assam and West Bengal. - Widespread complaints of malpractice, vote-buying, and misuse of government machinery marked the election. - The Swatantra Party and Jan Sangh made significant gains and are read as the vanguard of an emerging non-Communist opposition. - Congress's continuous tenure has entrenched it in power and stunted the growth of a genuine democratic alternative. - In several states (Bihar, Punjab, Rajasthan, U.P.) Congress majorities are narrow enough that internal indiscipline could destabilise ministries. ### North Bombay Election *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik gives a detailed account of the North Bombay parliamentary contest between Acharya Kripalani and Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon, framing it as a struggle over India's democratic versus communist future. He argues Menon's decisive win owed less to popular endorsement of communism than to the alliance of Congress organisational muscle, Nehru's personal intervention, and Communist Party support mobilised on Menon's behalf, while slum-dweller vote blocs controlled by local 'dadas' further tilted the result against Kripalani's narrower, more educated base of support. - Kripalani's campaign drew enthusiastic backing from intellectuals, film personalities, and figures like Jayaprakash Narayan, but lacked a mass organisational base. - Menon's victory margin exceeded the combined vote total of Congress's own Assembly candidates in the constituency, indicating Communist mobilisation on his behalf. - Slum-dwelling voters, dependent on local 'dadas' for direction, were a decisive and manipulable bloc that broke for Menon. - Karnik warns against reading the result as a mandate for communism, but also against complacency, since it strengthens Menon's and the Communist-influenced wing's position within government. - The propaganda battle over 'crypto-communism' left a lasting impression on public opinion regardless of the vote's outcome. ### The Resurgence Of The D.M.K. *By S. R. Mohan Das* S. R. Mohan Das traces the DMK's growth into Tamilnad's dominant opposition force, tracing its lineage from the anti-Brahmin Justice Party of the 1930s through Periyar Ramaswamy Naicker's Dravida Kazhagam to Annadurai's more disciplined, culturally-organised DMK. He argues that the DMK's separatist rhetoric is a tactical device rather than its ideological core, that its real strength lies in cultural, cinematic and organisational infrastructure, and that the party's relationship to its parent DK and to caste politics in Tamilnad is more complex than alarmist national commentary suggests. - The DMK won 50 Assembly seats and 7 Lok Sabha seats in 1962, polling 27.1% of the vote in Madras State. - Its lineage runs from the anti-Brahmin Justice Party through Ramaswamy Naicker's DK to Annadurai's breakaway DMK. - The party built a strong base through the Tamil film industry, newspapers, and cultural organising rather than relying solely on ideology. - Its demand for an independent Dravidian state is characterised as more a rhetorical device than a realistic goal. - The DK, the DMK's parent body, has ironically become associated with Brahmin and high-caste interests via its alliance with Congress, while the DMK represents a more liberal, less extremist offshoot. ### The Elephant, The Mahout And Raja *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao warns that Krishna Menon's electoral triumph, read alongside the Communist Party of India's own stated hope that 'the elephant needs a mahout,' signals a deliberate CPI strategy of infiltrating the Congress from within rather than contesting it directly. He surveys CPI tactics since the failure of its Kerala government experiment, predicts a coming push for a 'National Unity' coalition government as a vehicle for expanding Communist influence, and cautions that engineered crises -- labour unrest, communal tension, border pressure from China -- could be used to justify such a coalition, concluding with an appeal for public vigilance against this creeping infiltration. - The CPI's own journal, The New Age, described the Congress as an 'elephant' needing a communist 'mahout' -- i.e., Krishna Menon -- to steer it toward Moscow-aligned policy. - Venkata Rao sees Menon's rising stature, buoyed by Nehru's patronage, as enabling him to succeed Nehru and further embed Communist influence in government. - He predicts the CPI will manufacture crises -- labour agitation, communal clashes, price unrest -- to force a 'National Unity' coalition that would give it a share of power. - He warns of possible admission of Communist Party members into the cabinet, facilitated by China-Soviet diplomatic overtures. - The piece closes with a call for public opinion (cast as the 'Raja' in the elephant-mahout allegory) to stay alert and prevent the mahout from usurping the elephant's sovereignty. ### Sino-Soviet Rift Deepens *By (Contributed)* This contributed piece reports on the widening ideological rift between the Chinese and Soviet Communist parties, documenting how Peking's rhetorical support for Albania functions as an indirect attack on Khrushchev's 'revisionism,' and situating the split within a longer history of Comintern factionalism dating to Lenin. It surveys likely alignments (Albania, North Vietnam, North Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Algeria, Malaya with China; the mainstream CPSU bloc with Moscow) and closes with Peking's defiant public statements against anti-Chinese pressure. - Peking's economic planners are revising China's 1962 plans in anticipation of a full halt of Soviet aid. - Chinese support for Albania is read as an indirect rebuke of Soviet 'Stalinist' criticism and cult-of-personality charges. - A Hong Kong Communist-front paper called Khrushchev 'much more stupid than' Chiang Kai-shek, an unusually sharp public jab. - The article predicts a coalescing 'Stalinist Menshevik group' among China, Albania, and several Asian Communist parties. - Peking's People's Daily New Year message warned of an 'anti-Chinese, anti-Communist and anti-people surge' and vowed to resist further Soviet sanctions. ### Cuba's Unions Come Full Circle *By E. P. Whittemore* E. P. Whittemore chronicles how the Confederation of Cuban Workers (CTC), founded under a Batista-Communist coalition in the 1930s, has come 'full circle' back under complete Communist control following the Cuban Revolution. He contrasts the career of Lázaro Peña, the CTC's original Communist-aligned founder, with that of David Salvador, a genuine anti-Batista labour organiser who was later purged, imprisoned, and silenced under Castro, and details the 11th CTC Congress of November 1961 at which independent unionism was effectively liquidated in favour of state-directed 'sections.' - The CTC was originally established in 1939 under a Batista-Communist Party coalition, with Lázaro Peña as Secretary General. - David Salvador, a working-class anti-Batista labour leader, rose through the 26th of July Movement's labour section but was purged after the Revolution and imprisoned for 15 months. - In August 1961 Cuban trade unions were legally abolished and replaced by Ministry-controlled union 'sections' under a new Union Organization Law. - At the CTC's 11th Congress (November 1961), Castro personally intervened to force a 'unity' slate favoring Communist-aligned 'melons' over independent 26th of July labour leaders. - Workers were made to surrender accumulated benefits (profit-sharing, bonuses, sick leave) and accept increased salary withholding for state industrialization. ### Without Comment This is the magazine's recurring 'Without Comment' feature, reprinting without editorial gloss two press items on repression in the Communist bloc: the arrest of Soviet writer Mikhail Naritza for smuggling his novel 'Unfinished Song' abroad for Western publication, and the suicide of Polish journalist Henryk Holland after arrest and police searches amid a crackdown on liberal-leaning journalists in Warsaw. - Soviet novelist Mikhail Naritza was arrested after his manuscript 'Unfinished Song' was smuggled to the West and published pseudonymously in the Frankfurt Russian-language review Grany. - Naritza had unsuccessfully tried several channels (a French tourist, a West German tourist, Dr. Klaus Mehnert) before his manuscript reached the West. - Polish journalist Henryk Holland, a former party member and liberal-line figure since 1956, jumped to his death during a police search of his apartment following his arrest. - Holland's ex-wife Irena Rybczynska and her husband Stanislaw Brodzki, editor of the illustrated magazine Swiat, were also arrested and later released. ### Right, Left & Communism The 'With Many Voices' page compiles short quotations from Indian public figures and international commentators on the political mood following the election, ranging from Krishna Menon's denial of needing to prove his patriotism to Nehru's endorsement of private enterprise, alongside sharply differing readings of Congress's shift toward the political Right from Link and New Age (pro-Communist publications) versus mainstream papers. The same page carries Freedom First's statutory ownership-and-circulation declaration, naming B. K. Desai as printer/publisher and V. B. Karnik as editor. - Krishna Menon denies needing to 'carry a card of patriotism' in his sleeve, quoted from the Indian Express. - Nehru is quoted affirming that private enterprise is good for India and that its suppression would be very bad. - Communist-aligned publications (Link, New Age) frame the Congress as drifting dangerously toward the 'Right' and warn against alliance with Swatantra. - B. C. Patnaik, Chief Minister of Orissa, is quoted calling mixed economy 'unmixed evil.' - The statutory notice confirms Freedom First is published monthly from Bombay by B. K. Desai for the Democratic Research Service, with V. B. Karnik as editor and an annual subscription of Rs. 3. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff120/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 120 (May 1962) is dominated by the Sino-Indian border standoff and the broader Cold War contest inside the Communist bloc. The unsigned lead editorial, "China & Aggression" by K. Sheshadri, welcomes the Government of India's refusal to renew the 1954 Panchsheel trade agreement with China until the border aggression is vacated, reviews the history of Chinese treaty violations since 1954, and criticises Defence Minister Krishna Menon's equivocal public statements on the Ladakh incursions. Several pieces examine fractures and manoeuvring within world communism: Ernest Halperin's "The New Djilas Affair" covers Milovan Djilas's renewed persecution in Yugoslavia over his manuscript "Conversations with Stalin"; an unsigned "Notes" section discusses the Chinese National People's Congress and a British Radcliffe Report on Civil Service security infiltration by communists; a contributed piece, "Asian Reds Between Moscow & Peking," surveys how Asian Communist parties (Indonesia's PKI, Japan's JCP, North Vietnam, North Korea, Outer Mongolia) are positioning themselves in the Sino-Soviet split; and John B.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 120 (May 1962) is dominated by the Sino-Indian border standoff and the broader Cold War contest inside the Communist bloc. The unsigned lead editorial, "China & Aggression" by K. Sheshadri, welcomes the Government of India's refusal to renew the 1954 Panchsheel trade agreement with China until the border aggression is vacated, reviews the history of Chinese treaty violations since 1954, and criticises Defence Minister Krishna Menon's equivocal public statements on the Ladakh incursions. Several pieces examine fractures and manoeuvring within world communism: Ernest Halperin's "The New Djilas Affair" covers Milovan Djilas's renewed persecution in Yugoslavia over his manuscript "Conversations with Stalin"; an unsigned "Notes" section discusses the Chinese National People's Congress and a British Radcliffe Report on Civil Service security infiltration by communists; a contributed piece, "Asian Reds Between Moscow & Peking," surveys how Asian Communist parties (Indonesia's PKI, Japan's JCP, North Vietnam, North Korea, Outer Mongolia) are positioning themselves in the Sino-Soviet split; and John B. Wood's "Albania's Moves Under Scrutiny" examines Albania's economic dependence on China amid its quarrel with Moscow. Adam Adil's "Ghana - A One-Party State" turns to Africa, indicting Kwame Nkrumah's use of preventive detention and one-party consolidation as a betrayal of Ghana's democratic promise. The issue closes with the recurring "Without Comment" press-digest column (on Czechoslovak and Polish agriculture, Sino-Soviet aid and trade, Pasternak's rehabilitation, and a study branding the USSR a "master colonial power") and the "With Many Voices" quotations page, plus a subscription form and masthead identifying the editor as V. B. Karnik, published by the Democratic Research Service, Bombay. ## Essays ### China & Aggression *By by K. Sheshadri* This lead editorial praises the Indian Government's note of April 11, 1962 refusing to renew the 1954 Sino-Indian trade agreement until China vacates its border aggression and restores the pre-1954 status quo. It argues the 1954 agreement (embodying the Panchsheel principles) was "born in sin," concluded immediately after China's annexation of Tibet, and was systematically violated by China from the outset. The piece welcomes the government's firm stance but criticises Defence Minister Krishna Menon for equivocal statements that downplay the seriousness of continuing Chinese incursions, including a new military post established six miles west of Sumdo in Ladakh, and calls for firmer, more energetic government action. - Government of India refused on April 11, 1962 to renew the 1954 trade agreement with China until aggression is vacated and status quo restored. - The note was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on April 23 and details China's border violations since 1954. - The 1954 agreement, embodying the Panchsheel (Five Principles), is described as having been 'born in sin' per Acharya Kripalani, concluded right after the 'rape of Tibet.' - China is accused of systematically breaking the trade agreement and imposing oppressive restrictions on Indian traders. - Defence Minister Krishna Menon is criticised for inconsistent and complacent statements, including denying that a new Chinese incursion near Sumdo in Ladakh 'created any new situation.' - The piece calls the aggression a continuing seven-year phenomenon likely to intensify in coming months and urges firmer government action. ### The New Djilas Affair *By by Ernest Halperin* Ernest Halperin's piece examines the renewed persecution of former Yugoslav Politburo member Milovan Djilas, arrested again despite his forthcoming book, "Conversations with Stalin," containing no attack on the Yugoslav regime or communism itself. Halperin argues the Yugoslav leadership's hostility toward Djilas is driven by emotion rather than reason, treating his dissent as a communist "betrayal of conspirator's secrets," and notes that Djilas has already served over four years in prison, been denied a promised amnesty and pension, and struggled to publish his non-political writing, including a biography of the Montenegrin poet Prince-Bishop Peter Petrovitch Njegosh. - Djilas was sentenced in 1957 for publishing 'The New Class' and has now been arrested again over his forthcoming, non-political book 'Conversations with Stalin.' - Halperin argues there are no rational grounds for the new arrest; Yugoslav leaders react to Djilas with emotion, viewing him as a traitor to a communist 'conspiracy.' - Djilas has served over four years, partly in solitary confinement, and the promised amnesty, pension, and ability to publish have not materialised. - His biography of national poet Njegosh cannot be published in Yugoslavia, and Ignazio Silone's magazine carrying a Djilas story was also banned there. - Halperin argues the persecution damages Yugoslavia's international standing more than Djilas's dissent ever could. ### Notes (New Chinese Line; Radcliffe Report — Its Lesson) The unsigned 'Notes' section covers two items. 'New Chinese Line' analyses the secretive Chinese National People's Congress of March 27, arguing China's severe economic hardship is forcing a temporary retreat from militant policies and closer alignment with Soviet pressure, with implications for Sino-Indian relations given a Tass report that China's trade-agreement renewal proposal was rejected by India. 'Radcliffe Report — Its Lesson' discusses a British government committee's findings on communist infiltration of Civil Service unions and recommended 'purge procedures,' arguing India faces a comparable, arguably more urgent problem given communist penetration of unions and the active Chinese threat on its northern border. - China's National People's Congress met in strict secrecy on March 27 amid severe internal economic hardship from failed planning and natural calamities. - The Chinese Communists appear to be retreating temporarily from militant policies, partly under Soviet economic pressure. - Soviet press coverage of India's rejection of a Chinese trade proposal, reported one-sidedly via Tass, may signal a shift in Soviet 'neutrality' on the Sino-Indian dispute. - Britain's Radcliffe Report found communists had achieved significant penetration of Civil Service trade unions and recommended purge procedures for named officials. - The piece argues India faces a comparable or greater risk from communist infiltration of unions, compounded by direct Chinese aggression on India's borders. ### Asian Reds Between Moscow & Peking *By (Contributed)* This contributed piece surveys the Sino-Soviet dispute's effect on Asian communist parties, describing how China's doctrine of 'principled coexistence' differs from the Soviet version and tracing party-by-party alignment: Outer Mongolia fully endorses the Soviet position; North Vietnam and North Korea straddle both sides; Indonesia's PKI has adopted a generally pro-Chinese line while claiming to stress unity; and Japan's JCP has moved leftward, expelling dissident member Kasuga amid Chinese approval. The piece situates these divisions within the broader Albania-centred rift and notes the Indian Communist Party is similarly split between pro-Soviet and pro-Chinese factions following the death of General Secretary Ajoy Ghosh. - China promotes 'principled coexistence' based on the Five Principles, applied selectively and excluding relations with the US; the USSR pushes 'unconditional' coexistence. - Outer Mongolia's First Party Secretary Tsedenbal is the only Asian bloc party leader to fully endorse the Soviet position, attacking Albania directly. - Indonesia's PKI leader D. N. Aidit has taken a generally pro-Chinese line while stressing world communist unity and avoiding open commitment. - Japan's JCP has moved leftward since 1960, prioritising anti-'US imperialism' over transition to socialism, and expelled veteran member Kasuga and others as 'revisionist.' - The Indian Communist Party is divided geographically and factionally between pro-Soviet and pro-Chinese leaders following Ajoy Ghosh's death. ### Ghana - A One-Party State *By by Adam Adil* Adam Adil's piece indicts Ghana's slide toward a one-party dictatorship under President Kwame Nkrumah, arguing that unlike other post-colonial states destabilised by militarist coups, Ghana's democracy is being dismantled by its own elected leadership. It details the imprisonment of opposition leaders under the Preventive Detention Act (with the prospect of extending detention to twenty years without trial), the proposal to merge Convention People's Party structures with local government councils, and the suppression of independent trade unions, concluding that Western nations providing aid to Ghana should attach moral conditions rather than allow it to strengthen Nkrumah's anti-democratic consolidation of power. - Unlike other post-colonial states destabilised by military coups, Ghana's democracy is being destroyed by its own civilian political leadership under Nkrumah. - President Nkrumah has called the opposition United Party 'defunct' after imprisoning its leaders under the Preventive Detention Act. - Nkrumah has proposed extending preventive detention from five years up to twenty years without trial. - The article acknowledges Nkrumah initially faced genuine separatist and tribal threats to unity but argues the Preventive Detention Act has since been repurposed to destroy all opposition. - The piece calls on Western countries to impose moral conditions on economic aid to Ghana rather than let it entrench Nkrumah's anti-democratic rule. ### Albania's Moves Under Scrutiny *By by John B. Wood* John B. Wood's article assesses whether Albania might eventually turn West given its quarrel with Moscow, concluding this is unlikely in the near term because Albania remains economically dependent on China (which is supplying large amounts of machinery and goods under a 1961 credit agreement) even as some Eastern Bloc satellites quietly increase trade with Tirana. The piece surveys Albania's limited and cautious openings to non-communist countries (mainly Italy, plus France and Turkey), the diplomatic friction with Rome, and tentative signs of reconciliation with Greece, concluding that Albania is 'by no means ripe for a pro-Western course' but may gain more confidence to look outward now that it has freed itself from direct Soviet control. - Albania's split from Moscow parallels but differs from Tito's 1948 break with Stalin; only Albania's economic plight could push it toward the West. - China is supplying Albania roughly $125 million in machinery and goods under a February 1961 credit agreement, making Tirana dependent on Peking. - Some Soviet satellites (Czechoslovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany) have quietly increased trade with Albania despite the Soviet-Albanian rift. - Italy is the only Western country with significant dealings with Albania; recent diplomatic friction followed the expulsion of an Albanian diplomat from Rome accused of spying. - There are tentative, so-far unsuccessful signs of reconciliation between Albania and Greece, including the return of Greek hostages. ### Without Comment (Agriculture in Czechoslovakia; And in Poland; Pasternak to be Rehabilitated?; Cash Prizes for Workers; Russian Aid to China; Russia: A Master Colonial Power) The 'Without Comment' section reprints without editorial commentary a set of short press items: on Czechoslovakia's extension of social security benefits to collective farmers amid poor agricultural results; on Poland's contrasting success with private farming and Warsaw's concern that peasants may be 'enriching himself' relative to other sectors; on the reported halt in Russian aid to China and the history and scale of Sino-Soviet trade and credit; on a U.S. News & World Report study branding the USSR a 'master colonial power' for underpaying and overcharging its European satellites in trade; on Chinese moves toward capitalist-style private plots and country fairs to address grain shortages; and on preparations reportedly underway to rehabilitate Boris Pasternak and his works in the USSR. - Czechoslovakia is extending social security benefits to collective farmers on a sliding scale tied to plan fulfilment, amid an acknowledged poor agricultural year. - Poland's Politburo is reportedly concerned that private farmers are benefiting disproportionately even as the country posts the bloc's best crop yields. - Russian aid to China has reportedly been stopped; Soviet technicians have been withdrawn, reflecting deep ideological differences. - A study by economist Aleksander Kutt for the Assembly of Captive European Nations concludes Russia is a 'master colonial power' that systematically over-charges and under-pays its satellites in trade. - China is reportedly reviving 'capitalist-style' practices such as private plots and country fairs to address grain shortages. - Reports suggest preparations for the rehabilitation of Boris Pasternak's reputation and works in the USSR, with 'Dr. Zhivago' already circulating with minor changes. ### With Many Voices The closing 'With Many Voices' page reprints a selection of pointed quotations from the contemporary press and public figures on politics, communism, and manners, drawn from sources such as The Economist, National Review, the Spectator, U.S. News & World Report, and the Indian Libertarian, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. The page is followed by a subscription form for Freedom First, the masthead giving its publication details (Rs. 3 annual subscription, 25 nP per copy, published monthly from Maneckji Wadia Building, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay), and the printer's imprint naming V. B. Karnik as editor and B. K. Desai as publisher for the Democratic Research Service. - The page compiles short quotations under the Tennyson epigraph 'The deep / Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends, / 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.' - Quotations include General de Gaulle on a 'totalitarian empire' that 'muzzles fourteen nations,' Russell Kirk on healthy versus morbid political reaction, and Katharine Whitehorn on manners. - An item from Opinion criticises Krishna Menon's rhetoric about 'traitors' in Congress, calling for his own resignation and that of pro-Communist fellow-travellers. - An item from the Indian Libertarian remarks that 'Mr. Nehru is emerging as the world's greatest self-contradictor.' - The issue's masthead identifies V. B. Karnik as editor and the Democratic Research Service, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay, as publisher, with an annual subscription of Rs. 3. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff121/ ### Summary This June 1962 issue of Freedom First (No. 121), edited by V. B. Karnik and published in Bombay for the Democratic Research Service, is anchored by Karnik's own lead essay on the newly-introduced Panchayati Raj system, weighing its democratic promise against the risk of capture by monied and factional interests at the village level. The issue's other pieces track the classical-liberal magazine's recurring preoccupations: anxiety over Communist strategy and Sino-Soviet conduct (an unsigned report on the Communist-organised World Youth Festival planned for Helsinki, and M. A. Venkata Rao's essay unpacking Lenin's doctrine of 'revolutionary defeatism' as a lens on the Indian Communist Party's equivocation over the China border dispute), domestic trade-union politics (S. R. Mohan Das on the Hind Mazdoor Sabha's convention and its rivalry with INTUC and AITUC), and a mix of shorter editorial 'Notes,' a book review of a study on ex-Nazis in post-war Germany, a 'Without Comment' page of press clippings on Soviet arms deals and Chinese border provocations, and a closing page of quotations ('With Many Voices'). ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This June 1962 issue of Freedom First (No. 121), edited by V. B. Karnik and published in Bombay for the Democratic Research Service, is anchored by Karnik's own lead essay on the newly-introduced Panchayati Raj system, weighing its democratic promise against the risk of capture by monied and factional interests at the village level. The issue's other pieces track the classical-liberal magazine's recurring preoccupations: anxiety over Communist strategy and Sino-Soviet conduct (an unsigned report on the Communist-organised World Youth Festival planned for Helsinki, and M. A. Venkata Rao's essay unpacking Lenin's doctrine of 'revolutionary defeatism' as a lens on the Indian Communist Party's equivocation over the China border dispute), domestic trade-union politics (S. R. Mohan Das on the Hind Mazdoor Sabha's convention and its rivalry with INTUC and AITUC), and a mix of shorter editorial 'Notes,' a book review of a study on ex-Nazis in post-war Germany, a 'Without Comment' page of press clippings on Soviet arms deals and Chinese border provocations, and a closing page of quotations ('With Many Voices'). ## Essays ### Panchayati Raj *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead article surveys the rollout of Panchayati Raj across India following the Balwantrai Mehta Committee's recommendations, describing the three-tier structure of Village Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis, and Zilla Parishads and its roots in the Second and Third Five Year Plans. Karnik argues the reform could genuinely decentralise power away from Delhi and state capitals and let villagers manage their own development, but warns at length that panchayats can just as easily be captured by entrenched, monied, or casteist local interests, becoming instruments of factional oppression rather than democratic self-rule. He closes (in the continuation on page 11) by urging that village panchayat elections be avoided altogether in favour of consensus-based selection, citing Jayaprakash Narayan's advocacy of this method, and cautions political parties against injecting factional contests into local bodies. - Panchayati Raj had already been introduced in Rajasthan and Andhra, with Maharashtra just joining and Gujarat expected to follow. - The three-tier framework (Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti, Zilla Parishad) originates in the Balwantrai Mehta Committee's report. - Karnik frames Panchayati Raj as a potential 'veritable revolution in the countryside' that could make democracy real and stable rather than formal. - He warns that panchayats can be captured by monied people, caste loyalties, and small coteries, becoming tools of self-aggrandisement or oppression of minorities. - He calls popular education the most effective guarantee against this degeneration, since good laws and institutions are not sufficient by themselves. - Political parties are warned against splitting rural areas into rival factions through contested local-body elections. - The continuation urges avoiding village-level elections in favour of selection by common consent or consensus, crediting Jayaprakash Narayan with recommending this method. ### Notes (Welcome; Man of Courage and Convictions; MIG Deal; Boneless Wonder; "Complete Distortion") The 'Notes' section is a set of short unsigned editorial comments. It welcomes the election of Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan as President and Dr. Zakir Hussain as Vice-President of India, praising both as eminent philosopher-educationists. It condemns the secret trial and eight-year sentence given to Milovan Djilas in Yugoslavia for writing and attempting to publish 'Conversations with Stalin,' framing it as an affront to free expression. A note on the 'MIG Deal' questions the mystery and secrecy surrounding India's reported move to buy Soviet MIG fighter jets, suspicious of dependence on a communist supplier. 'Boneless Wonder' discusses H. V. Kamath's attack on the Government's inaction against Chinese border aggression, partly endorsing his anger while noting the government's greater worry about Pakistan versus China. 'Complete Distortion' criticises former Ambassador K. P. S. Menon's remarks suggesting Soviet Republics were not held together 'simply by force,' arguing Communist Party control is itself a major coercive factor. - Welcomes Dr. Radhakrishnan as President and Dr. Zakir Hussain as Vice-President as outstanding philosopher-educationists. - Condemns Milovan Djilas's secret trial and over eight-year sentence for writing 'Conversations with Stalin.' - Raises suspicion about the secrecy of a reported Indian deal to buy Soviet MIG jet fighters and India's growing dependence on a communist arms supplier. - Discusses H. V. Kamath's 'boneless wonder' charge against the Indian government's handling of Chinese border aggression. - Criticises the Defence Minister for treating the China threat as less serious than the Pakistan threat. - Pushes back on K. P. S. Menon's claim that Soviet Republics were not held together 'simply by force,' pointing to Communist Party control as coercive. ### Communist World Youth Festival *By (Contributed)* An unsigned, contributed report traces the troubled preparations for the Eighth World Festival of Youth and Students, planned for Helsinki in summer 1962, drawing a parallel to the contentious Seventh Festival held in Vienna in 1959. The piece argues the Festivals are not genuine friendship gatherings but instruments of Communist international policy, organised by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) and the International Union of Students (IUS), both based in the Soviet bloc. It documents the Finnish government's and Finnish youth organisations' (SYL and the Council of Finnish Youth Organisations) strong opposition to hosting the Festival, the International Preparatory Committee's disregard for that opposition, and statements by Soviet delegation chairman Peter Reshetov on why Helsinki's proximity to the USSR made it a convenient site. The article concludes that the Festival will be 'just another mass manifestation' of Communist and pro-Communist youth, held in Finland against the will of Finnish youth and the public. - The Eighth World Festival of Youth and Students is planned for Helsinki in summer 1962, following the contentious Seventh Festival in Vienna (1959). - The Festivals are organised by two communist-dominated international bodies: the World Federation of Democratic Youth (Budapest) and the International Union of Students (Prague). - Finnish youth organisations (SYL, the Council of Finnish Youth Organisations) and the Finnish government expressed strong, documented opposition to hosting the event. - The International Preparatory Committee is described as disregarding Finnish national youth organisations and dealing directly with the Finnish government instead. - Soviet delegation chairman Peter Reshetov argued Helsinki's proximity to the USSR made travel easier for Soviet-bloc delegations. - The article frames the Festival as Communist international propaganda rather than a genuine gathering of world youth. ### The Hind Mazdoor Sabha Convention *By S. R. Mohan Das* S. R. Mohan Das reports on the Hind Mazdoor Sabha's (HMS) annual convention held in Coimbatore in early May, using it as an occasion to trace the union federation's history and decline. Formed by Socialists after Communists captured the AITUC and Congress spun off INTUC, HMS once claimed nearly 900,000 members but has fallen to roughly 250,000, weakened by the 1950 Bombay textile strike defeat, the Lohia group's split from the Praja Socialist Party, and the fallout from the 1960 Central Government employees' general strike. The essay diagnoses HMS's core problems as failure to consolidate earlier strength, weak organisational apparatus with excessive local autonomy for individual union leaders, and a persistent 'doctrinaire' idealism that produces impulsive, adventurist actions rather than steady institution-building. The piece (continued from page 7 onto page 8) proposes concrete remedies: consolidating unions with stronger organisational bases, greater cooperation with non-HMS unions, and strengthening the national headquarters. - HMS's convention was held in Coimbatore, Tamilnad, in the first week of May 1962. - HMS was founded by Socialists after the Communist capture of AITUC and the Congress Party's creation of INTUC, with M. N. Roy's followers' unions also joining. - Membership peaked near 900,000 but has fallen to about 250,000 today, starting with the disastrous 1950 Bombay textile strike. - The Lohia group's split from the Praja Socialist Party and the failed 1960 Central Government employees' strike further weakened HMS. - The essay attributes HMS weakness to failure to consolidate strength, weak central organisational control over affiliated unions, and dominance of abstract doctrinaire idealism over practical union-building. - Proposed remedies include consolidating unions with better administration and finances, cooperating with non-HMS unions, and strengthening the national headquarters. ### Review: The New Germany and the Old Nazis (T. H. Tetens, Secker & Warburg, London, 21s.) *By V. B. K.* A review, signed 'V. B. K.' (V. B. Karnik), of T. H. Tetens's book 'The New Germany and the Old Nazis' (Secker & Warburg). The reviewer describes the book's thesis that former Nazis have returned to positions of power and prestige in West Germany and that the idea of a new Germany committed to democracy and racial equality is a myth, noting Tetens's documentation of antisemitic incidents and quotations from Professor Friedrich von der Hoydte suggesting Germans are not genuine democrats at heart. The review is measured rather than fully endorsing: it grants the incidents described likely occurred but questions whether they represent isolated eruptions or a genuine trend toward a revived Nazi-style dictatorship, concluding the picture is 'very likely one-sided and highly exaggerated' but still useful as a counterweight. - The book argues ex-Nazis have returned to positions of power in West Germany and that post-war German democracy is a myth. - Tetens documents antisemitic incidents and cites Professor Friedrich von der Hoydte describing Germans as good democrats 'as a matter of course' but not genuinely committed to democracy. - The reviewer grants such incidents likely occurred but questions whether they indicate a broad trend rather than isolated eruptions. - The review concludes the book's picture is probably one-sided and exaggerated but useful for balance. ### Revolutionary Defeatism *By M. A. Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao examines Lenin's doctrine of 'revolutionary defeatism' — the strategy of welcoming one's own government's military defeat to hasten domestic revolution — tracing it from the Bolshevik Revolution and the Brest-Litovsk Treaty through Stalin's writings, and applies it as a lens for understanding the Indian Communist Party's equivocal, pro-Chinese stance in the Sino-Indian border dispute. He argues Communist ideology has no room for nationalism or patriotism, only 'proletarian internationalism,' and warns that in any future India-China clash, Indian Communists' ideological commitments would lead them to hope for India's military defeat, using resulting confusion to advance revolution. - Venkata Rao argues Communist theory, per Marx/Engels/Lenin, functions less as a consistent scientific body of thought and more as an 'arsenal of war weapons' adapted for tactical use. - He explains Lenin's doctrine of 'revolutionary defeatism': converting a state's war into civil war by hoping for one's own government's defeat. - The Brest-Litovsk Treaty and Lenin's actions during the Russian Revolution are cited as the doctrine's historical precedent, with a quoted passage from Stalin endorsing it. - Venkata Rao applies this doctrine to warn that the Indian Communist Party's ambiguous position on the China border dispute stems from ideological commitment to the international communist bloc over Indian nationalism. - He argues Indian Communists would, in a future clash with China, ideologically favour Indian military defeat to hasten revolution, and calls on the public to counteract such attitudes. ### Without Comment (press clippings: Delay in Delivery of Soviet Generators; Foreign Stooges?; Indian Hurt in Chinese Firing; Chinese Nationals in India; Mischievous Work by Chinese Embassy; Bonuses in Russia Order of the Day; In Russia Today More and More Executions) The 'Without Comment' page reproduces short press clippings without editorial commentary, on topics including delays in Soviet delivery of power generators to India, a Democratic Journalist article accusing the Indian press of being 'foreign stooges,' an Indian policeman injured by firing from inside the Chinese trade agency at Kalimpong, the presence of Chinese nationals in Delhi and government moves to deport some for anti-Indian activity, Chinese Embassy propaganda in the periodical 'China Today' being confiscated by the Indian government, Soviet wage/bonus incentive policy contradicting Communist theory of need-based reward, and a documented rise in Soviet executions and expansion of capital-punishment categories from 1947 to 1962. - Soviet delivery delays on power generators threaten a shortfall of nearly 500,000 kW under India's Third Plan. - The Prague-published 'Democratic Journalist' accused the Indian press of representing foreign rather than national interests; the piece rebuts this ironically by noting no such press freedom exists behind the Iron Curtain. - An Indian police officer was injured by firing from inside the Chinese trade agency at Kalimpong. - 278 Chinese nationals were reported residing in Delhi, with several asked to leave or deported for anti-Indian activities in 1961-62. - The Indian government protested and moved to confiscate the Chinese Embassy periodical 'China Today' for publishing material challenging India's territorial integrity. - A U.S. News & World Report item traces the expansion of Soviet capital punishment categories from abolition in 1947 to covering bribery, assault on a policeman, and rape by 1962. ### With Many Voices (quotations column) The closing 'With Many Voices' page (page 12) collects short quotations from public figures and press sources, prefaced by lines from Tennyson. Quotations include Milovan Djilas on Stalin's continuing hold on Soviet society, V. K. Krishna Menon warning against 'Mir Kassims and Mir Jaffars amidst us,' Khrushchev on the absurdity of egalitarian poverty ('pants-less Communism'), Morarji Desai on Communist 'fellow-travellers,' Dr. B. C. Roy on private versus public sector distinctions having little meaning to the Indian public, and Frank Moraes criticising Nehru's economic thinking as decades out of date. The page also carries a subscription form for Freedom First and an advertisement for the book 'M. N. Roy and Radical Humanism' by G. P. Bhattacharya. - Djilas is quoted from 'Conversations with Stalin' on Stalin's continued influence on Soviet society despite denunciation. - Krishna Menon warns of 'Mir Kassims and Mir Jaffars amidst us' (a reference to historical Indian collaborators with colonial powers). - Khrushchev is quoted mocking egalitarian poverty as 'pants-less Communism.' - Morarji Desai discusses Communist 'fellow-travellers' who are unaware they are being used, including within his own party. - Frank Moraes criticises Nehru and his followers as being 'at least three decades behind the times' economically and politically. - The page includes a Freedom First subscription coupon and an advertisement for 'M. N. Roy and Radical Humanism' by G. P. Bhattacharya (Rs. 3, Popular Book Depot, Bombay). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff122/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 122 (July 1962) is a Bombay-based classical-liberal monthly whose editorial core is anti-communist and anti-planning. The lead piece, by Adam Adil, attacks the Anti-Nuclear Arms Convention held in Delhi in June 1962 as naively non-partisan in effect if not in intent, arguing that unilateral disarmament proposals unmatched by inspection regimes would only benefit the Soviet Union's opaque, undemocratic war machine. The unsigned 'Notes' section covers domestic and foreign-policy controversies of the moment: the Kashmir Security Council resolution, the Congress-P.S.P. coalition crisis in Kerala, India's foreign-exchange travel ban as an infringement of individual liberty, and a strong objection (via extracts from A. D. Gorwala's Opinion) to India acquiring Soviet MIG aircraft. V. B. Karnik's essay on Chinese refugees flooding into Hong Kong indicts Communist agricultural failure and the credulity of Western fellow-travellers like Lord Boyd Orr and Lord Attlee who praised Mao's Great Leap Forward. M. A.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 122 (July 1962) is a Bombay-based classical-liberal monthly whose editorial core is anti-communist and anti-planning. The lead piece, by Adam Adil, attacks the Anti-Nuclear Arms Convention held in Delhi in June 1962 as naively non-partisan in effect if not in intent, arguing that unilateral disarmament proposals unmatched by inspection regimes would only benefit the Soviet Union's opaque, undemocratic war machine. The unsigned 'Notes' section covers domestic and foreign-policy controversies of the moment: the Kashmir Security Council resolution, the Congress-P.S.P. coalition crisis in Kerala, India's foreign-exchange travel ban as an infringement of individual liberty, and a strong objection (via extracts from A. D. Gorwala's Opinion) to India acquiring Soviet MIG aircraft. V. B. Karnik's essay on Chinese refugees flooding into Hong Kong indicts Communist agricultural failure and the credulity of Western fellow-travellers like Lord Boyd Orr and Lord Attlee who praised Mao's Great Leap Forward. M. A. Venkata Rao contributes a theoretical essay on national integration, criticizing caste- and community-based preferential treatment as corrosive of a unified Indian national consciousness. A reader's letter recounts the mistreatment of the Indian business community in China after 1949 and criticizes Ambassador K. M. Panikkar's passivity. N. C. Zamindar offers a philosophical critique of Marxist materialism as a 'basic fallacy' that reduces the plurality of human motive to economics alone. The issue closes with a compilation of world press items ('Without Comment'), a book review of a collection of communist statements on Gandhi, and 'With Many Voices,' a page of topical quotations. ## Essays ### Constructive Path To Disarmament *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil's editorial-style lead article criticizes the Anti-Nuclear Arms Convention that met in New Delhi in June 1962 under the Gandhi Peace Foundation's auspices. While acknowledging the Convention's stated humanitarian aims, the piece argues it was one-sided in practice: convened while the U.S. was testing weapons in response to a prior Soviet violation of the nuclear moratorium, it gave a propaganda boost to the Soviet side, especially among uncommitted Asian and African nations. The author, quoting Zurich commentator Lorenz Stucki, argues the Soviet dictatorship has more to fear from genuine disarmament than the democracies, since its power rests on demonstrations of force, and that its call for disarmament without effective inspection is doctrinally consistent with Leninist strategy of 'unmasking' bourgeois pacifists rather than genuine intent, citing Lenin's own writings and the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. The piece concludes (in the continuation on page 11) that history shows arms are laid down only when a stronger guaranteeing authority emerges, and that the true problem today is arms control, not disarmament, invoking Gaitskell's insistence on verifiable agreement and closing with Gandhi's and Aristotle's reflections on what makes life worth living. - The Anti-Nuclear Arms Convention (Delhi, June 1962), though nominally non-partisan, functioned in practice as a propaganda boost to the Soviet side. - Soviet dictatorship depends on the demonstration of force at home and abroad; genuine disarmament would threaten its foundations more than it would threaten Western democracies. - Soviet secrecy (no public accounting of expenditure) makes verification essential; without inspection, disarmament plans would let the USSR rearm covertly while democracies remain constrained by public accountability. - The USSR is reported to be sharply increasing military spending (a 44.9% year-on-year rise, totalling 13,409 million roubles) even as it publicly professes support for disarmament. - Leninist doctrine (per the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia and Lenin's own writings) treats disarmament advocacy as useful 'unmasking' propaganda rather than a genuine goal while capitalism exists. - The real problem is arms control, not full disarmament, since historically actors disarm only once a stronger guaranteeing authority exists (villages, city-states, nation-states, and now potentially a world authority). ### Notes (Needless Hysteria / Kerala Coalition Crisis / Thou Shalt not Travel / M.I.G. Folly) The unsigned 'Notes' section runs several short editorial items. 'Needless Hysteria' argues that public and political outrage in India over a UN Security Council resolution urging India-Pakistan negotiations on Kashmir is disproportionate, since the resolution is non-binding and merely reiterates what India has always claimed to want; it warns against alienating the U.S. and U.K. over the vote and inadvertently pushing India toward alignment with the Soviet bloc, the only powers besides India that opposed the resolution. 'Kerala Coalition Crisis' analyzes tensions within the Congress-P.S.P. coalition government of Kerala, precipitated by a dispute over private versus government primary schools, and the fragile position of Chief Minister Pattom Thanu Pillai. 'Thou Shalt not Travel' condemns the Reserve Bank of India's restrictions on foreign travel by Indian nationals as a symptom of excessive economic controls truncating individual liberty, contrasting the trivial foreign-exchange savings against India's overall reserve gap. 'M.I.G. Folly' (continued from page 4 onto page 6) reprints extracts from A. D. Gorwala's journal Opinion opposing Indian acquisition of Soviet MIG aircraft, arguing that closer defence ties with a totalitarian communist power constitute the height of folly regardless of Pakistan's acquisition of superior jets from the United States. - India's outrage over the UN Security Council's Kashmir resolution is called disproportionate since the resolution is harmless and non-binding. - Only the Soviet Union and Romania supported India's position on the resolution among all voting nations, a fact the piece frames as cause for concern rather than pride. - Kerala's Congress-P.S.P. coalition faces a crisis over a Congress-backed demand to allow private primary schools, which Chief Minister Pattom Thanu Pillai rejected without cabinet consultation. - The ban on foreign travel via Reserve Bank of India permission is criticized as authoritarian and its foreign-exchange savings called a 'mere bagatelle' compared to India's overall reserve deficit. - Extracts from A. D. Gorwala's Opinion oppose India acquiring Soviet MIG aircraft or jointly manufacturing them, arguing this would tie India's defence establishment to Soviet interests and serve the Communist goal of 'liberating' India. ### Refugees From China *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's essay describes a flood of roughly eighty thousand refugees who fled from Kwangtung province in mainland China into Hong Kong over a fortnight in May 1962, only for most to be rounded up and forced back across the border once Hong Kong reached capacity. Karnik uses the episode to indict the failure of Communist agricultural policy under the Great Leap Forward and the Communes, contrasting the regime's inflated production claims (accepted uncritically by visiting Western dignitaries such as Lord Boyd Orr and Lord Attlee) with the famine that surfaced by late 1960, when the Chinese government itself admitted its earlier figures were exaggerated. He argues hunger, not political motive, drove the refugees, and situates the exodus within a broader pattern of flight from communist rule worldwide -- citing figures for refugees from Eastern Europe, North to South Korea, North to South Vietnam, East to West Germany (until the Berlin Wall), Cuba, and Tibet -- concluding that only communist regimes produce such mass flight and that the episode has discredited China-enthusiast illusions in the free world. - About 80,000 refugees fled Kwangtung province into Hong Kong over a fortnight in May 1962 before being repatriated once the colony reached capacity. - The Chinese government's own admission in late 1960 that its earlier production figures (from the Great Leap Forward and Communes) were 'wrong and highly exaggerated' undercut Western commentators who had praised Chinese agricultural progress. - Prominent Western visitors including Lord Boyd Orr and Lord Attlee lent their authority to now-discredited claims of Chinese agricultural success. - The article situates the Hong Kong refugee flood within a global pattern: roughly 2.5 million fled Eastern Europe, 1 million North to South Korea, 1 million North Korea to Vietnam, 4 million East to West Germany before the Berlin Wall, 200,000 from Cuba, and 75,000 Tibetans into India. - Karnik argues that only communist countries produce this scale of flight from their own populations, framing it as a moral indictment of communist rule as a human institution. ### Principles Of National Integration *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's essay frames national integration as the next stage in a natural evolutionary progression of social consciousness, from clan and tribe toward an all-India 'we-consciousness' spanning from Kashmir to the Cape and Gujarat to Assam. He argues the independence struggle under Gandhi's leadership produced a largely negative form of national unity -- forged against British rule -- that did not develop into a deep positive social cohesion. Since 1947, he contends, competitive energies among political leaders have exploited caste, communal, and linguistic groupings for factional advantage, with Congress leadership and government singled out for failing to overcome this heritage and instead intensifying caste exclusiveness and communal rivalry through preferential treatment schemes. His proposed remedies include ending preferential treatment for students on communal grounds in favour of poverty- and merit-based criteria, enforcing merit strictly in administrative service recruitment, refusing to weigh community in the administration of justice, and generally discouraging patronage based on caste, religion, or regional loyalty so that a larger national consciousness can emerge as the dominant disposition. - National consciousness is presented as a natural stage in social evolution, from clan/tribe to nation, with India needing to complete its transition to an all-India national 'we-consciousness'. - The anti-colonial struggle under Gandhi produced a mostly negative form of unity (against British rule) rather than a deep, positive social cohesion. - Post-1947 politics has seen caste, communal, and linguistic groupings exploited by leaders for factional advantage, worsening rather than healing social divisions. - Congress leadership is specifically blamed for intensifying caste exclusiveness and communal rivalry 'to the ninth degree' through the granting of preferential treatment. - Proposed remedies: end community-based preferences in education, enforce merit in administrative recruitment, apply the law without regard to community, and discourage smaller-group patronage generally, including reconsidering Kashmir's law barring non-Kashmiri Indians from owning property there. ### Letter to Editor: Who Betrayed Indians In China *By PILOC* A reader's letter signed 'PILOC,' titled 'Who Betrayed Indians in China,' recounts the decline of a once-prosperous Indian business community in China after the Communist takeover in 1949. The writer describes escalating pressure on Indian-owned businesses and individuals -- taxation, confiscation, surveillance, and denial of exit permits to wealthier residents -- and criticizes the Indian Consulate and Ambassador Sardar K. M. Panikkar in Peking for failing to intervene, alleging he was preoccupied with social engagements rather than the welfare of the Indian community. The letter singles out the forced exhumation and relocation of an Indian cemetery in Shanghai as emblematic of the disregard shown, and concludes that India's official silence, sustained by faith in the 'Hindi Chini Bhai-Bhai' slogan, left Indians in China ruined while China gained a strategic foothold on India's northern frontier via Tibet. - Indian businesses and individuals in China faced escalating taxation, confiscation, and surveillance following the 1949 Communist takeover. - Wealthier Indians ('the Gakonis,' or 'black devils' as the Chinese called them) were denied exit permits and had their assets bled before being allowed to leave. - An Indian cemetery at Foochow Road in Shanghai was exhumed and its land handed to the Chinese authorities, over community objection. - The letter blames Ambassador Sardar Panikkar for prioritizing social engagements over the welfare of the Indian community in China. - The writer connects the episode to India's later strategic vulnerability, arguing the 'Hindi Chini Bhai-Bhai' policy left China positioned to threaten India via the Himalayan region. ### A Basic Fallacy Of Socialism *By N. C. Zamindar* N. C. Zamindar's essay argues that Marxian socialism's basic fallacy is treating life as a set of rigid compartments -- above all the economic compartment -- rather than as a plurality of irreducible 'modes of life.' He contends the theory of dictatorship of the proletariat inevitably produces a totalitarian hierarchy resembling a monarchy, with the party apex functioning like a raja whose swadharma is tyranny, regardless of Harold Laski's attempted distinctions between dictatorship 'of' and 'for' the proletariat. Zamindar challenges the materialist interpretation of history by pointing to the existence of altruism and charity in human affairs, and by asking whether even committed communists like Lenin and Khrushchev were purely motivated by personal economic considerations -- arguing they were not, and that this shows history is driven by diverse, individual 'modes of life' rather than a single economic determinant. He extends this to compare Lenin with figures 'from Chanakya to Rajaji and Jawaharlal Nehru,' and closes by rejecting the Hegelian dialectical triad (thesis-antithesis-synthesis) as an oversimplified and 'entirely fantastic' account of history, while clarifying that rejecting Marxist materialism does not mean rejecting social welfare or social justice as such. - Marxian socialism's core fallacy, per Zamindar, is treating human life as economic 'compartments' rather than as diverse, irreducible 'modes of life'. - The dictatorship of the proletariat is argued to inevitably produce a totalitarian 'pyramid' resembling monarchy, with Harold Laski's distinctions between dictatorship 'of' and 'for' the proletariat dismissed as merely notional. - The existence of altruism and charity in human history is cited as evidence against a strictly materialist interpretation of history. - Lenin, Khrushchev, and other historical figures (including Chanakya, Rajaji, and Nehru) are argued to have been driven by individual modes of life rather than solely personal economic motives. - The Hegelian dialectical triad of thesis-antithesis-synthesis is rejected as an 'entirely fantastic' oversimplification of history that cannot account for the diversity of human reactions and motives. - The essay clarifies that rejecting Marxist materialist philosophy does not mean rejecting social service, welfare, or justice as goals. ### Without Comment The unsigned 'Without Comment' column reprints, without editorial commentary, a set of press items documenting communist and colonial abuses: a Newsletter item on Cuban labour leader David Salvador's 30-year sentence under Castro after resigning in protest of the Communist takeover of the Cuban Workers' Confederation; a Newsletter item on Portuguese forced-labour ('contrato') practices in Angola, including dire health statistics; and an extract from K. P. S. Menon's piece in The Illustrated Weekly of India describing the regimented, propagandistic content of Moscow Radio's daily broadcasts. A boxed advertisement for the pamphlet 'How Communists Destroy Democracy: A Lesson from Czechoslovakia' appears alongside. - David Salvador, first elected leader of Cuba's revolutionary labour confederation (CTC-R), was sentenced to 30 years by Castro after resigning in 1960 in protest at Communist control of the union. - Portugal's 'contrato' system in Angola is described as a form of legalized slave labour, contracting out 100,000-120,000 Angolans annually to South Africa and the Rhodesia/Nyasaland Federation. - Angola's colonial health infrastructure is described as extremely deficient: one doctor per 500,000 natives and 45-50% infant mortality. - K. P. S. Menon's extract describes Moscow Radio's tightly scheduled programming of exercise, news, music, and etiquette lessons as instruments of ideological conditioning. ### Review: Mahatma in the Marxist Mirror (by Satindra Singh, Siddharth Publications) An unsigned book review covers 'Mahatma in the Marxist Mirror' by Satindra Singh (Siddharth Publications, Rs. 1.50), a collection of communist declarations about Mahatma Gandhi and his role in the national movement, spanning sources from 1921 to 1961. The reviewer notes the collection's consistent verdict across decades -- that Gandhi was a friend of capitalists and imperialists and essentially a reactionary -- while observing that more recent, softer-toned assessments reflect a tactical desire to draw India into the Communist fold rather than any genuine change of view, and commends Satindra Singh's compilation and the publisher's production quality. - The reviewed book collects communist statements on Mahatma Gandhi from 1921 to 1961 across a range of sources. - Despite variation in tone, the reviewer notes the collection's consistent conclusion: Gandhi is characterized as a friend of capitalists and imperialists and, ultimately, a reactionary. - Recent softer assessments are read by the reviewer as tactical, aimed at luring India into the communist orbit, not a genuine reassessment. - The reviewer praises Satindra Singh's editorial work and Siddharth Publications' production quality. ### With Many Voices 'With Many Voices,' an unsigned compilation opening with a Tennyson epigraph, gathers brief quotations on Cold War and domestic political themes from a range of contemporary figures and publications, including P. Y. Tang on Hong Kong as the 'West Berlin of the Far East,' Sebastian Haffner on American foreign policy's paradoxical friendliness to neutrals, Milovan Djilas on Stalin's enduring influence, Time magazine on the Hong Kong border fence, Frank Moraes criticizing Nehru's political rhetoric as outdated, President Macapagal on neutralism as 'the gateway to Communism,' Andre Malraux and Hugh Gaitskell on the moral posture of free nations, and K. P. S. Menon's wry observation on Soviet consumer-goods shortcomings. A subscription coupon and an advertisement for G. P. Bhattacharya's book 'M. N. Roy and Radical Humanism' close the issue. - The page compiles short, mostly Cold War-themed quotations from global commentators and leaders, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. - P. Y. Tang is quoted comparing Hong Kong to 'the West Berlin of the Far East' amid the refugee crisis covered elsewhere in the issue. - Frank Moraes is quoted in The Indian Express criticizing Nehru and his followers as behind the times politically. - Philippine President Macapagal is quoted calling neutralism 'the gateway to Communism.' - The issue closes with a Freedom First subscription form and an advertisement for G. P. Bhattacharya's 'M. N. Roy and Radical Humanism' (Rs. 3, Strand Book Shop). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff123/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 123 (August 1962) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal magazine published for the Democratic Research Service. The issue opens with an analysis of the leadership transition in West Bengal following the death of Dr. B. C. Roy, and moves through a run of commentary pieces on international and domestic politics: the economics and politics of Britain's possible entry into the European Common Market, a survey of the communist dictatorship under Kim Il Sung in North Korea, a report on the loosening of the taboo against teaching about communism in American schools, correspondence on the office of the Lok Sabha Speaker, an open letter of solidarity with the imprisoned Yugoslav dissident Milovan Djilas, a polemical rebuttal of an economist's defence of prohibition policy, an essay on Dravidian separatism in Madras state, and a closing page of quoted excerpts from other commentators ('With Many Voices').… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 123 (August 1962) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal magazine published for the Democratic Research Service. The issue opens with an analysis of the leadership transition in West Bengal following the death of Dr. B. C. Roy, and moves through a run of commentary pieces on international and domestic politics: the economics and politics of Britain's possible entry into the European Common Market, a survey of the communist dictatorship under Kim Il Sung in North Korea, a report on the loosening of the taboo against teaching about communism in American schools, correspondence on the office of the Lok Sabha Speaker, an open letter of solidarity with the imprisoned Yugoslav dissident Milovan Djilas, a polemical rebuttal of an economist's defence of prohibition policy, an essay on Dravidian separatism in Madras state, and a closing page of quoted excerpts from other commentators ('With Many Voices'). Across these pieces the magazine's recurring stance is classical-liberal and anti-communist: sympathetic to free enterprise and free trade, sceptical of central planning and prohibition-style state control, and hostile to communist regimes and totalitarian methods wherever found, from Pyongyang to East Berlin. ## Essays ### West Bengal Opens A New Chapter *By K. K. Sinha* K. K. Sinha's opening piece examines the succession in West Bengal after the death of the long-dominant Chief Minister Dr. B. C. Roy, contrasting Roy's autocratic, self-assured style with the mild, consensus-seeking manner of his successor Prafulla Chandra Sen. The essay reads the news that Nehru's congratulatory letter went first to P.C.C. president Atulya Ghosh, and only later to Sen, as a sign that the Congress high command was not confident the succession would be smooth, and it maps out the personal and factional rivalry between Sen and Ghosh (both from Hooghly district) as the central fault line to watch. It closes by predicting continued instability -- rising prices, unemployment, and opportunistic manoeuvring by Bengal's Communists -- now that Roy's personal authority with the Centre and with Communist leader Jyoti Basu is gone. - Nehru addressed his congratulatory letter first to Atulya Ghosh (P.C.C. President) and only afterward to new Chief Minister Prafulla Chandra Sen, read as a sign of high-command unease about the succession. - Dr. B. C. Roy is described as a dominating, self-assured, planner-administrator type; Sen is described as mild, team-oriented, and reliant on colleagues. - The central coming conflict identified is between Sen and Atulya Ghosh, both Hooghly-district Congress figures, over control of party machinery. - The essay notes a prior public clash between Sen and Ghosh at a P.C.C. conference in Kalna, Burdwan district, in June 1962. - It claims Roy had maintained a 'secret understanding' with CPI leader Jyoti Basu that kept Communist-led agitations from escalating, and predicts this restraint will end under Sen. - The piece forecasts rising prices, unemployment, and unsettled conditions spilling over from East Pakistan as destabilising pressures on the new government. - It notes Roy's personal pull with the Centre (especially Nehru) as an asset Sen will lack, closing with a cautious, qualified hope that Sen might yet prove a 'stabilising pillar' of Bengal politics. ### The European Common Market *By Raman K. Desai* Raman K. Desai surveys the European Economic Community (Common Market) from its origins in the 1952 European Coal and Steel Community through the 1957 Treaty establishing the EEC, framing it as a deliberate political integration project driven by France and Germany's postwar reconciliation over the Ruhr and Lorraine. The essay describes Britain's reluctant move toward EEC membership given its Commonwealth trade commitments, and then pivots to assess the costs and benefits for India: it works through rough figures on India's tea, cotton-yarn, textile and jute exports to Britain and estimates a net annual loss to India of roughly Rs. 17 crores if Britain joins on the terms then being discussed. Desai closes with a broader argument that India's rulers have failed to appreciate the scale of Europe's integration project, and that India's only real path to competing internationally is to lower domestic prices through higher agricultural productivity rather than continued reliance on foreign aid. - Traces EEC's institutional lineage from the 1952 European Coal and Steel Community (France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) to the 1957 Treaty founding the European Common Market. - Frames Franco-German economic integration over the Ruhr/Lorraine coal-and-iron dispute as the political core of the project, crediting General de Gaulle with accelerating integration despite France's domestic economic troubles. - Notes Britain initially refused to join and formed a rival seven-power grouping (EFTA), but is now compelled to seek EEC membership given the risk of a common external tariff wall against its exports. - Estimates that a 15% EEC tariff on India's roughly Rs. 200 crore of exports to Britain (dominated by tea, cotton-yarn and textiles, jute goods) would cost India about Rs. 18 crores annually, partly offset by an EEC rebate, for a net loss of about Rs. 17 crores a year. - Argues India should lobby for tea to be admitted duty-free and should diversify into new export lines such as oilseeds and animal/vegetable oils. - Criticises Indian ministers (naming Asoka Mehta and Morarji Desai) for seeking tariff relief rather than confronting the underlying need for reform, and criticises reliance on foreign aid (citing over Rs. 2,000 crores received from the U.S. in 15 years) as unsustainable. - Concludes that India's route to genuine economic independence is lowering internal prices via higher agricultural output, not continued aid-seeking. ### Communist Dictatorship In North Korea *By Rama Swarup Sabherwal* Rama Swarup Sabherwal offers a survey of North Korea under Kim Il Sung, framing the regime as a personalist communist dictatorship consolidated through violent internal purges of rival factions rather than through any democratic process. The essay describes the ruling Korean Labour (Communist) Party's total control of cabinet posts, an electoral system with only one permitted candidate per constituency and open ballot boxes that intimidate voters, and a legislature (the People's Supreme Council) that meets only days a year and merely rubber-stamps decisions already made by the party. It goes on to describe the regime's command economy -- prioritising heavy and armament industry, running a stalled seven-year economic plan, imposing collectivized farm labour under militarised discipline, and requiring compulsory manual and factory labour of students -- concluding that the entire system exists to serve Kim's personal grip on power and produces widespread poverty. - Frames the North Korean regime as built on bloody internal power struggles rather than elections, citing a purge in which only 25 of 85 Central Committee members from the third Party Congress survived to the next Congress. - Describes the cabinet and Supreme People's Council as effectively powerless rubber-stamp bodies dominated entirely by the Korean Labour Party. - Details the sham electoral system: one candidate per 50,000-person constituency, and open white/black ballot boxes at polling stations that make votes effectively public. - Reports economic monopoly under Kim: heavy/armament industry prioritized, a seven-year economic plan whose grain and textile targets have repeatedly slipped, and per-capita wages of 17 to 79 won per day. - Describes agricultural collectivization run through committees under militarized daily routines (roll calls, marches, indoctrination sessions) for farmers treated 'as militiamen.' - Details compulsory manual/factory labour requirements for students (up to 80+ days a year at technical institutes) as part of communist indoctrination in schools. - Concludes the economic hardship and poverty in the North stems directly from the regime's heavy military spending and the consolidation of Kim's personal dictatorship. ### Latest Trend In American Education *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil reports on a shift in American education: after decades in which teaching about communism in U.S. schools was legally restricted (citing a Georgia law barring instruction inconsistent with 'the fundamental principles of patriotism and high ideals of Americanism'), a number of states -- Virginia, Florida, Louisiana, and later California -- have introduced courses on the theory, history, and practice of communism, spurred by a 1957 American Legion resolution and joined by the National Education Association. The essay surveys varying pedagogical approaches across school districts (Atlanta, San Francisco, Boston, Dallas, Louisiana) ranging from strictly factual, non-indoctrinating instruction to explicitly framing communism's 'fallacies' in contrast with American democratic ideals, and closes by praising the trend as evidence that McCarthy-era taboos have been shed from American public life. - Contrasts totalitarian societies, where students only learn distorted facts about other systems, with democracies, where objective study of rival ideologies is held to produce a well-informed, tolerant citizenry. - Notes a Georgia law once barred teachers from instruction 'inconsistent with the fundamental principles of patriotism and high ideals of Americanism,' effectively banning any teaching of communism. - Credits a 1957 American Legion resolution, later joined by the National Education Association, with beginning the shift toward teaching about communism in U.S. schools. - Cites Virginia (1961), and more recently Florida and Louisiana, as having authorised courses on communism, with California appointing a committee to design curriculum. - Surveys differing local approaches: Atlanta's Board of Education frames the classroom as a forum rather than a venue for indoctrination; Dallas and Florida schools explicitly frame courses to contrast American freedom with communist 'tyranny.' - Quotes a Boston high school history department head questioning whether students have enough historical grounding to actually refute Marxist arguments. - Concludes the trend shows that 'Maccarthyism is completely rooted out from American public life,' contrasting it favourably with regimented communist-country education. ### Letter to Editor: The Speaker's Office This page carries two short items. A 'Letter to Editor' under the heading 'The Speaker's Office' praises Sardar Hukum Singh's conduct as Lok Sabha Speaker for even-handedness toward the opposition, but criticises a lapse in protocol during ceremonies at Punjabi University where he was denied a seat befitting his office, quoting the late Speaker Mavalankar's dictum that the Speaker 'must continue to be a politician, though with very extensive limitations on his activities.' The second item, 'A Tribute to Djilas' by Jasha M. Levi (a former editor of the Yugoslav paper Borba), reproduces an open letter of solidarity to imprisoned Yugoslav dissident Milovan Djilas, framing his willingness to stand trial under a regime he once helped build as the era's highest form of moral courage. - The letter to the editor commends Sardar Hukum Singh's even-handed conduct as Speaker, contrasting it with his predecessor-era norms, while criticising a protocol slight against him at Punjabi University ceremonies. - It quotes the late Speaker Mavalankar's view that the Indian Speaker, unlike the British Speaker, must remain a party member 'though with very extensive limitations on his activities.' - The Djilas tribute is written by Jasha M. Levi, described as a close friend of Milovan Djilas and former editor of the official Yugoslav newspaper Borba, reprinted from The New Leader (New York). - The letter frames Djilas's standing trial again under 'another Yugoslav court of oppression' as an act of courage and a betrayal of the idealism of his generation. - It situates Djilas's persecution within a broader Balkan history of struggle for liberty, calling his stance 'the noblest decoration, the greatest honour' available under current conditions. ### A Tribute to Djilas *By Jasha M. Levi* John S. Connor's 'Despirited Economics' is a polemical rebuttal of a YOJANA article by Dr. V. V. Borkar of Marathwada University defending the economics of prohibition. Connor accuses Borkar of smuggling in 'neo-classical' assumptions he claims to reject, faults him for dismissing the importance of financial resources relative to real resources for development, and -- continuing on page 11 -- for ignoring the 'worker disincentive' effects of prohibition on productivity while conceding that prohibition would raise consumption of basic wage goods (thereby squeezing the investable surplus). Connor's central charge, repeated in punning form throughout, is that Borkar's economics is 'despirited' -- both lacking argumentative rigor ('spirit' in the sense of vigor) and blind to the loss of workers' spirits (morale/alcohol) under prohibition -- and that Borkar's proposed compensations (redirecting displaced liquor-industry labour, fiscal controls on consumption) are vague, bureaucratic, and evasive of the real costs of enforcement. - Connor charges Dr. V. V. Borkar with attributing 'neo-classical' assumptions to anti-prohibitionist economists while himself relying on similar assumptions to justify prohibition's fiscal costs. - Faults Borkar for treating financial resources as a mere 'camp follower' to real resources in development, calling this a demonstration of 'lack of awareness of the importance of spirit.' - Continuing on page 11: argues Borkar concedes prohibition will raise consumption of basic wage goods (since displaced drinking money goes elsewhere), which by Borkar's own logic reduces the investable surplus -- a contradiction Connor says undercuts Borkar's own case. - Criticises Borkar's proposal to redirect liquor-industry labour and capital into 'socially more desirable' production as vague and unaccompanied by any specific enterprise plan. - Notes Borkar pays only 'limited respect' to the financial costs of prohibition enforcement and ignores the administrative/enforcement drain entirely. - Concludes with a punning verdict that Borkar has 'made out an excellent case for the proponents of the loss of the free and the prohibitors of its spirit' -- i.e. inadvertently strengthened the anti-prohibition argument. ### Despirited Economics *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao examines the rise of Dravidian separatist politics in Madras -- the Dravida Kazagam and Dravida Munnetra Kazagam under E. V. Ramaswami Naicker and C. N. Annadurai -- tracing the movement's roots to the non-Brahmin self-respect movement's resentment of Brahmin dominance of colonial-era professions and administration. He argues the movement evolved, after Independence removed its original grievance (constitutional equality), into a broader ideology asserting a separate 'Dravidian race,' language, and mythology modeled loosely on European racial nationalism, and invokes Jung's theory of collective neurosis to frame the phenomenon as a psychological response to status anxiety rather than a movement to be met with force. Venkata Rao criticises the Government's long neglect of the issue -- 15 years without ideological or practical countermeasures -- and closes with a set of proposed remedies: impartial scholarly study of Dravidian claims, student and teacher exchange programmes between Tamilnad and other regions, public opinion polling, university extension lecture camps, and cultural/documentary programming to promote national integration. - Traces DK/DMK separatism to the earlier non-Brahmin self-respect and Justice Party movements' resentment of Brahmin professional and administrative dominance under British rule. - Argues that post-Independence constitutional equality removed the movement's original grievance, but that a broader theory of Dravidian racial/cultural distinctness (echoing European racial nationalism) has since developed to sustain it. - Invokes Carl Jung's idea of a whole people suffering collective neurosis under national frustration and humiliation as an interpretive lens, and urges the Kazagams be 'treated with sympathy and insight' rather than threats of force. - Criticises the Government and Congress Party for 15 years of neglect of the separatist movement on both ideological and practical planes. - Reports the 19 July 1962 DMK picketing and unrest in Madras, with tear gas, lathi charges, and roughly 5,000 arrests, as evidence of inadequate government response. - Notes recent central government moves -- appointing Subramanyam of Madras to the Cabinet as Steel and Heavy Industries Minister, and posting Dr. Subbarayan as Governor of Bombay -- as attempts to placate Dravidian/Madrasi sentiment. - Proposes remedies: impartial scholarly study of Dravidian claims, student/teacher exchange with other Indian regions, opinion polling, extension lecture camps, and cultural programming to build national integration. ### Separatist Activities In Madras *By M. A. Venkata Rao* The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' is a compilation of short quoted excerpts from other writers and public figures on Cold War politics, communism, and related themes, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. Sources quoted include Frank J. Johnson's 'No Substitute for Victory,' Professor Clinton Rossiter on Nehru in the New York Times, Wm. F. Buckley on J. K. Galbraith, a refugee from East Germany quoted in Time, Dr. Wilhelm Roepke's Mont Pelerin Society presidential address on Berlin and communism, Lord Hailsham in the Times (London), C. Rajagopalachari writing in Swarajya about India's Delhi Anti-Nuclear Convention, and the U.S. News & World Report. The page closes with the continuation of the West Bengal succession essay from page 2. - A curated set of short quotations on Cold War politics and communism from varied sources, prefaced with an epigraph from Tennyson. - Includes Wm. F. Buckley's quip contrasting his horror at Americans with tail-finned cars to his horror at those taking J. K. Galbraith's proposals seriously. - Includes Professor Clinton Rossiter's New York Times characterization of Nehru as 'cranky, preachy and imperious' and 'an arrested socialist of the twenties.' - Includes a Mont Pelerin Society presidential address excerpt from Dr. Wilhelm Roepke on the Berlin Wall as proof of communism's true character. - Includes C. Rajagopalachari writing in Swarajya criticizing the hypocrisy of India's Delhi Anti-Nuclear Convention. - The page also carries the continuation of the lead West Bengal essay (toc_index 1). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff124/ ### Summary This is Issue No. 124 (September 1962) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based monthly published by the Democratic Research Service on behalf of the Forum of Free Enterprise. In the rendered pages, the issue leads with V. B. Karnik's editorial "The First Step," a sharp critique of Nehru government policy toward Chinese aggression in Ladakh, arguing that the government's shifting negotiating position and reluctance to break diplomatic ties with China reflect weakness rather than realism. Other contributions in the rendered pages include N. C. Zamindar's report on factional Congress politics in Madhya Pradesh; Margaret Roberts's report on malnutrition and starvation conditions among non-white populations in South Africa; two economic-policy essays -- M. R. Pai on the political distortions undermining the efficiency of Indian state enterprises, and M. A.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is Issue No. 124 (September 1962) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based monthly published by the Democratic Research Service on behalf of the Forum of Free Enterprise. In the rendered pages, the issue leads with V. B. Karnik's editorial "The First Step," a sharp critique of Nehru government policy toward Chinese aggression in Ladakh, arguing that the government's shifting negotiating position and reluctance to break diplomatic ties with China reflect weakness rather than realism. Other contributions in the rendered pages include N. C. Zamindar's report on factional Congress politics in Madhya Pradesh; Margaret Roberts's report on malnutrition and starvation conditions among non-white populations in South Africa; two economic-policy essays -- M. R. Pai on the political distortions undermining the efficiency of Indian state enterprises, and M. A. Venkata Rao on the ideological "dogma" of the Third Five Year Plan's expanded public sector at the expense of private enterprise; an unsigned/contributed piece on communist opposition to the proposed Malaysian Federation; Wolfgang Leonhard's report judging the 1962 World Youth Festival in Helsinki a failure due to one-sided Communist stage-management; two book reviews (Patrick van Rensberg's "Guilty Land" and Thomas Hodgkin's "African Political Parties"); a "Without Comment" digest of press clippings on Cold War and Sino-Indian topics; and the "With Many Voices" page of quoted political commentary, along with subscription information and a house advertisement for a book on M. N. Roy and Radical Humanism. ## Essays ### The First Step *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead editorial excoriates the Government of India's China policy following the Ladakh border crisis, arguing that Nehru's repeated softening of preconditions for talks with China -- from insisting on Chinese vacation of aggression to merely discussing 'appropriate climate' for further discussion -- amounts to a serious retreat that will neither satisfy the Chinese nor rally the Indian public. Karnik links this retreat to the controversial Geneva meeting between Defence Minister Krishna Menon and Chinese Foreign Minister Chen Yi, framing public resentment of that meeting as a legitimate response to diplomatic contact with an aggressor rather than casteist prejudice, as the Prime Minister had suggested. The piece calls on the government to break off diplomatic relations with China as a first step toward mobilising the country and demonstrating seriousness about repelling aggression. - Nehru's stated 'dual' policy of strengthening India while exploring peaceful settlement is criticised as obscure and equivocal. - The government has retreated from its earlier precondition that China vacate its aggression before talks could begin. - The article attributes the shift in position to the Krishna Menon-Chen Yi meeting in Geneva. - Public unease about that meeting is defended as principled objection to fraternising with an aggressor nation, not casteism. - The editorial calls for breaking off diplomatic relations with China as a necessary 'first step' to mobilise public and military resolve. ### Madhya Pradesh Scene *By N. C. Zamindar* N. C. Zamindar's 'Madhya Pradesh Scene' surveys factional infighting within the state Congress party, describing allegations of corruption and discrimination in the administration alongside a Byzantine internal power struggle involving Congress leader Shri Deshlehra, former strongman D. P. Mishra, and Dr. Katju, whose bye-election contest in Narsinggarh drew support from a young Maharaja backed by communists and the Jan Sangh against the official Congress candidate. Zamindar warns that the ruling party is 'a house divided against itself,' creating openings that the Communist Party is actively exploiting in both the state assembly and Indore's municipal politics, and closes by warning that Madhya Pradesh risks becoming 'another Kerala.' - Administrative corruption and discrimination are described as endemic in Madhya Pradesh's Revenue Department and City Improvement Boards. - A factional struggle inside the state Congress pits Shri Deshlehra's group against a revived faction around Dr. Katju and D. P. Mishra. - A Narsinggarh bye-election saw a young Maharaja, backed by communists and Jan Sanghis, campaign for Dr. Katju against the official Congress candidate. - The Communist Party is described as exploiting Congress disunity in both state and Indore municipal politics. - The piece warns Madhya Pradesh could become 'another Kerala' if Congress disorganisation continues. ### Hunger In South Africa *By Margaret Roberts* Margaret Roberts documents severe malnutrition and starvation among non-white South Africans, citing infant mortality data from Port Elizabeth (48 per cent of babies born in 1961 died before age one), kwashiorkor and malnutrition rates among Cape Town hospital patients, and Red Cross reports of near-starvation conditions in the Potgietersrust Reserve. She contrasts this with South Africa's vast agricultural surpluses -- including destroyed skim milk and rotting fruit -- and situates the crisis within the broader argument that apartheid economic policy, not national poverty, produces these conditions, concluding that African prosperity claims must be 'drastically revised' given the impoverishment of the reserves and exclusion of Africans from remunerative work. - Citing Dr. J. A. Richter, infant mortality in Port Elizabeth's non-white population rose from 244.4 to 481.9 per thousand between 1960 and 1961. - Cape Town hospitals report large daily volumes of infants suffering severe malnutrition and kwashiorkor. - Red Cross reports found 'near-starvation' conditions affecting 200,000 people in the Potgietersrust Reserve. - South Africa simultaneously destroys huge agricultural surpluses (e.g., 370,000 gallons of skim milk in the Transvaal) while non-white populations starve. - The article argues the crisis stems from apartheid economic structuring rather than genuine national scarcity, given South Africa's wealth relative to the rest of Africa. ### Predominance Of The Economic Factor *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai examines how political considerations have overridden economic rationality in Indian planning, focusing on the poor performance of state enterprises. He cites a 0.3 per cent return on Rs. 709 crores invested across 73 state enterprises in 1961-62, and the notorious example of a Mysore Government bicycle factory that produced only 18 bicycles in two and a half years against an installed capacity of 72,000 a year. Pai also criticises the monopoly status of enterprises like LIC and Indian Airlines Corporation, the absence of accountability for mismanagement, and the practice of appointing political loyalists to chairmanships of state enterprises regardless of competence. - State enterprises returned only 0.3 per cent on an investment of Rs. 709 crores in 1961-62. - A Mysore Government bicycle factory produced 18 bicycles in about two and a half years versus an installed capacity of 72,000 per year. - Monopoly enterprises such as LIC and Indian Airlines Corporation are criticised for lacking competitive accountability, illustrated by the 1961 air-ticket shortage. - The 42nd Report of the Public Accounts Committee is cited as evidence that disciplinary action for mismanagement in state enterprises is rarely taken. - Political appointments to enterprise chairmanships are criticised as prioritising patronage over competence. ### Dogma Versus Development In Our Plans *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao attacks what he calls the 'dogma' underlying India's Five Year Plans -- the socialist commitment to state monopoly over 'commanding heights' industries -- arguing that this ideological commitment, rather than sound economics, drives the Third Plan's decision to raise the state sector's share of investment to two-thirds of the total, despite the private sector's comparatively better track record in the first two plans. He surveys instances across insurance nationalisation, road and automobile transport, and coal and power where private enterprise has been excluded on doctrinal rather than performance grounds, and closes by warning that dogma is 'sacrificing the present generation to a problematic future.' - The Third Five Year Plan raises the state sector's share of investment to two-thirds, up from one-third in the Second Plan, without economic justification according to the author. - Life insurance nationalisation is presented as a case of 'needless dogma' unsupported by any economic case, per a claimed admission by Finance Minister C. D. Deshmukh. - Road/automobile transport and coal/power expansion are cited as sectors where private enterprise could deliver faster growth but is blocked by reservation policy. - The article credits economist Imre Nagy's reforms (a correlation between heavy and consumer industry) as vindicating attention to consumer-industry balance. - The piece calls for private enterprise, including foreign equity investment, to be given a larger role for a transitional period of about twenty years. ### Malaysian Federation And Communists *By (Contributed)* This unsigned/contributed piece analyses communist opposition -- from the USSR, China, and local Southeast Asian communist parties -- to the proposed Federation of Malaysia, which would unite the Malayan Federation, Singapore, Sarawak, Brunei, and North Borneo. It describes negotiations culminating in a July 31, 1962 London agreement, and details how the illegal Malayan Communist Party, the Sarawak-based Clandestine Communist Organisation, and the Indonesian PKI have campaigned against the federation as a form of 'neo-colonialism,' with Peking's and Moscow's propaganda organs (including Tass and Moscow Radio) amplifying these objections while pursuing rival influence in Southeast Asia. - A London agreement of July 31, 1962 finalised plans for a Federation of Malaysia joining Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, Brunei, and North Borneo. - The illegal Malayan Communist Party (MCP) opposes the federation via the front Malayan People's Socialist Front. - In Sarawak, the Clandestine Communist Organisation (CCO) cooperates with the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) to resist the federation. - The Indonesian PKI, under chairman D. N. Aidit, publicly condemned the federation as 'colonialist intrigue' and neo-colonialism. - Soviet and Chinese propaganda organs (Moscow Radio, Tass) both criticised the federation, with China notably extending its influence via Burma. ### World Youth Festival—A Failure *By Wolfgang Leonhard* Wolfgang Leonhard reports from the 1962 World Youth Festival in Helsinki, judging it a failure because of its one-sided communist stage-management: attendance fell far short of the expected 18,000 (only 13,000 arrived), several national delegations (Ghana, Turkey, Ceylon) withdrew or shrank, and the Festival Committee papered over the shortfall by drafting in students from Moscow's Lumumba University as substitute 'delegates.' Leonhard describes widespread frustration among non-aligned participants at the impossibility of free discussion in the official seminars, protests by delegations including Ceylon, Indonesia, Dahomey, Nigeria, and Uganda, and debate among participants over whether Western and non-aligned youth organisations should seek greater representation in future festivals. - Only 13,000 of an expected 18,000 attendees arrived; Ghana's delegation cancelled, and Turkey's and Ceylon's delegations were much smaller than expected. - The Festival Committee substituted Lumumba University (Moscow) students as 'delegates' to mask attendance shortfalls, provoking indignation. - Political seminars offered no genuine free discussion, prompting protests from Ceylon, Indonesia, Dahomey, Nigeria, and Uganda delegations. - Some non-aligned delegates, such as the U.A.R. delegation, publicly asserted independence from prescribed communist slogans. - Participants debated a 'constructive alternative': a genuinely all-embracing festival under UN/UNESCO or non-aligned patronage. ### Review: Guilty Land (Patrick van Rensberg) and African Political Parties (T. Hodgkin) *By R.S.* Two unsigned book reviews (initialled 'R.S.') appear under the 'Review' heading. The first covers Patrick van Rensberg's 'Guilty Land' (Penguin Special), an Afrikaner author's account of his disillusionment with apartheid, its historical genesis, and the fractured resistance of the Liberal Party and others against it; the review recommends the book to 'all friends of the non-whites in South Africa.' The second reviews Thomas Hodgkin's 'African Political Parties' (Penguin Books, 1961), praising its analysis of post-war African party systems -- their mix of tribal and modern educated-class leadership, Marxist and Gandhian influences, and general preference for constitutionalism over violence -- as a valuable and much-needed reference work on Afro-Asian politics. - 'Guilty Land' by Patrick van Rensberg is a memoir-and-history hybrid describing an Afrikaner's disillusionment with apartheid and his subsequent activism. - The reviewer notes the internal divisions within South Africa's Liberal Party opposition to apartheid. - 'African Political Parties' by Thomas Hodgkin is praised for adapting Western political-science frameworks to fit Afro-Asian party systems. - Hodgkin's book is said to find Gandhian and Marxist influence coexisting within African political parties, most of which favour constitutionalism over violence. - Both reviews recommend the books as valuable references for readers interested in South African and African politics respectively. ### Without Comment (news miscellany: Czech Police Poisoned Food, Russia the Bigger Loser, Moscow Turns "Yes" to "No", Cuba Rations Shoes and Clothing, India-Tibet Road, Chinese Breakthrough, Moscow's Rising Price Index) The 'Without Comment' page collects short unsigned press items and clippings, largely reprinted from other sources: an allegation by a Nigerian medical student that Czech police attempted to poison him; a U.S. News & World Report analysis arguing 'Russia, the Bigger Loser' in any nuclear exchange and detailing the U.S. missile/bomber buildup; a wry note on Khrushchev's press conference answer being altered from 'Yes' to 'No' in the official transcript; a report on rationing in Cuba; an item on progress and fatalities in constructing the Hindustan-Tibet road; and a 'Chinese Breakthrough' item from Thought magazine condemning the Chinese advance in the Galwan Valley as a failure of Indian defence. - A Nigerian medical student in Prague alleged Czech security police attempted to poison him after he refused to act as an informer. - A U.S. News & World Report piece argues that in a nuclear war 'Russia is the bigger loser' given the scale of the U.S. missile, bomber, and Polaris submarine buildup. - An anecdote reports that Khrushchev's spoken 'Yes' to a question about press restrictions in the USSR was altered to 'No' in the official Soviet transcript. - Cuba is reported to be rationing shoes and clothing in addition to food under Castro's government. - A 'Thought' magazine excerpt criticises the Chinese army's unopposed advance in the Galwan Valley as exposing weaknesses in India's defence and the government's position. ### With Many Voices (quotations column) The 'With Many Voices' page assembles brief quoted excerpts from newspapers and public figures on Cold War, China, and Indian politics, including remarks from Roscoe Drummond, Phil Newsom, S. N. Dwivedy, Kingsley Martin, Sudhakar Dixit, Tunku Abdul Rahman, T. T. Krishnamachari, and Melvin Jones. The page also contains a reader subscription coupon for Freedom First and a house advertisement for a book on M. N. Roy and Radical Humanism by G. P. Bhattacharya, available at Strand Book Shop, Bombay. - Excerpted commentary from multiple sources addresses neutrality, China's incursions into Indian territory, and the Sino-Soviet relationship. - Malayan Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman is quoted rejecting neutrality on the grounds that his government will not ally with communist countries. - Union Minister T. T. Krishnamachari is quoted suggesting a different form of communism could be an alternative to Congress rule, though not the Swatantra Party or DMK. - Melvin Jones's Forum Service commentary criticises the World Youth Festival as a platform for vilifying 'imperialism, colonialism and capitalism.' - The page includes a subscription coupon (annual subscription Rs. 3) and an advertisement for a book on M. N. Roy and Radical Humanism. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff125/ ### Summary Issue No. 125 of Freedom First (October 1962) opens with B. K. Desai's first-hand account of a West German government-sponsored tour of Berlin, using the recent shooting of Peter Fechter at the Wall to argue that the West has been too passive in the face of Soviet 'salami tactics' in the divided city. The unsigned 'Notes' section takes Prime Minister Nehru to task for treating Soviet expansionism as benign while condemning Chinese aggression, calls for a firmer China policy after the border incursions, and comments on the Sondhi/Djakarta Asian Games incident as exposing thin diplomatic friendships secured through appeasement. A report on the Liberal International's Hague Council meeting reproduces resolutions on the EEC, South Africa, and a general liberal 'Freedom For All' declaration. Adam Adil surveys the disarray of pan-Arab politics after the Algeria settlement and amid Arab League disunity. M. A. Venkata Rao contrasts the pluralist, vocation-based social ethics of Indian tradition (dharma, varna) with the monolithic classlessness sought by Marxist socialism.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Issue No. 125 of Freedom First (October 1962) opens with B. K. Desai's first-hand account of a West German government-sponsored tour of Berlin, using the recent shooting of Peter Fechter at the Wall to argue that the West has been too passive in the face of Soviet 'salami tactics' in the divided city. The unsigned 'Notes' section takes Prime Minister Nehru to task for treating Soviet expansionism as benign while condemning Chinese aggression, calls for a firmer China policy after the border incursions, and comments on the Sondhi/Djakarta Asian Games incident as exposing thin diplomatic friendships secured through appeasement. A report on the Liberal International's Hague Council meeting reproduces resolutions on the EEC, South Africa, and a general liberal 'Freedom For All' declaration. Adam Adil surveys the disarray of pan-Arab politics after the Algeria settlement and amid Arab League disunity. M. A. Venkata Rao contrasts the pluralist, vocation-based social ethics of Indian tradition (dharma, varna) with the monolithic classlessness sought by Marxist socialism. Raman Desai reviews Milovan Djilas's Conversations with Stalin, and Aziz Madni reviews Ram Gopal's The Trials of Nehru. Humphrey Evans's 'Trade Unions In China' argues that Chinese Communist trade unions serve the Party and international propaganda rather than workers. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a page of press quotations on Cold War and India-China themes, and a subscription form. ## Essays ### Significance Of Berlin *By by B. K. Desai* B. K. Desai, just returned from a three-week government-organised tour of West Germany with three other Bombay journalists, opens with the killing of eighteen-year-old Peter Fechter, shot while trying to cross the Berlin Wall and left to bleed to death as Western troops stood by for fear of provoking Soviet retaliation. Desai uses the episode to indict Western passivity: the Wall's construction in August 1961 went unchallenged, and the West has since 'failed to show sufficient daring and imagination' even as it holds Berlin non-negotiable in principle. The essay narrates crossing into East Berlin, contrasting its 'dead and dilapidated' streets and expressionless populace with the prosperous, defiant mood of West Berlin, and profiles an escaped East German refugee interviewed at a rehabilitation camp. It closes by framing Berlin as a moral rather than merely political problem, and the ultimate test of whether the free world's will to resist can hold the whole totalitarian project at bay. - Peter Fechter, the fiftieth East German killed trying to escape, was allowed to bleed to death within view of both sides because Western troops feared provoking Soviet retaliation. - The Wall's 1961 construction met no Western counter-action, which the author argues emboldened further Soviet unilateral moves ('salami tactics'). - Soviet strategy is described as incremental annexation of East Berlin and severance of East-West communication rather than an immediate bid to expel the West. - More than 10,000 East Germans escaped to West Berlin in the year to date despite the Wall, per the author's visit to a refugee rehabilitation camp. - West Berlin is described as militarily indefensible (15,000 Western troops vs. half a million Soviet-bloc troops in East Germany) yet sustained by the population's will to resist. - The essay closes by casting Berlin's fate as consequential for the entire free world, not just Germany. ### Arab Politics At Crossroads *By by Adam Adil* This unsigned Notes section (the magazine's recurring editorial column) covers three topics. 'Russia and China' criticises Nehru for calling Russia peaceful and non-expansionist while condemning Chinese expansionism, arguing that both are communist states bound by the same totalitarian logic and that Nehru only recognises aggression when it touches India directly. 'Firm Policy' laments the absence of a clear government policy on the India-China border crisis, quoting the Indian Express on the government's shifting public narrative about the extent of Chinese incursions. 'Djakarta Affair' discusses the controversy around a Mr. Sondhi (apparently an Indian sports official at the Asian Games in Djakarta) whose principled, apolitical stance drew hostile crowds incited by Chinese propaganda, and argues the Indian government bears no responsibility for his personal treatment. - Nehru is accused of a double standard: treating Soviet expansionism as benign while decrying Chinese expansionism, despite both being communist regimes with the same underlying totalitarian logic. - The column argues that all communist states are bound by an 'absolutist doctrine' that cannot tolerate coexistence, so a peaceful, non-expansionist communist regime is a naive fiction. - India is criticised for lacking a 'firm China policy,' with contradictory official statements about the scale of Chinese incursions on the northern border. - The Djakarta Affair section defends Mr. Sondhi's apolitical conduct at the Asian Games and blames the surrounding atmosphere of suspicion, partly stoked by Chinese agitation, for the backlash against him and, by extension, against the Government of India. ### Tradition And Socialism *By by M. A. Venkata Rao* A report on the Council of the Liberal International, meeting at the Hague from September 11-15, attended by liberal party leaders from Italy, Spain, India (M. R. Masani), France, Poland, Germany, the UK, Holland, Denmark, Israel, Belgium, Canada, Norway and Switzerland. The piece reproduces the text of three adopted resolutions: on the EEC as a step toward a wider democratic community and the need for continued political development alongside economic integration; a condemnation of apartheid South Africa and support for those fighting it; and a 'Freedom For All' declaration proclaiming liberal principles as the prerequisite for a free society, rejecting appeasement of communism, and endorsing continued military defence against totalitarian challenge pending genuine disarmament. - The Liberal International Council met at the Hague, September 11-15, with M. R. Masani representing India among an international roster of liberal party leaders. - Resolution I on the EEC frames European economic integration as a step toward a wider democratic world community and urges parallel political development. - Resolution II condemns South African apartheid policy and pledges support to those working to secure the rule of law and freedoms there. - Resolution III, 'Freedom For All,' asserts liberalism as prerequisite for a free, prosperous, classless society; rejects appeasement of communism as 'an invitation to aggression'; and endorses military defence as necessary pending genuine, controlled disarmament. - A companion memorandum on 'Winning the Cold War' by Liberal International Secretary-General Richard Moore is announced for publication in a future issue. ### Djilas, A Unique Personality *By by Raman Desai* Adam Adil surveys the disarray of Arab politics: Algeria, newly independent, has yet to consolidate its factions under Ben Bella, while the seventeen-year-old Arab League faces disintegration after a rancorous Shtura meeting marked by mutual invective between Syria and the UAR/Egypt over accusations of subversion. Amid this, King Saud of Saudi Arabia and King Hussein of Jordan have moved toward a semi-union integrating armed forces, economic policy, and trade, offering a possible model for wider Arab unity. Adil argues genuine Arab brotherhood requires a mutually agreed code of conduct barring interference in other states' internal affairs, alongside cultural and diplomatic exchange, and flags Iraq's claim over Kuwait as a particularly intractable sticking point unless Iraq adopts a more realistic posture. - Algeria under Ben Bella has achieved only a partial, fragile peace among its warring internal factions after independence. - The Arab League's Shtura meeting exposed deep disunity, with Syria and the UAR trading accusations and insults; the League session was postponed indefinitely. - Saudi Arabia and Jordan moved toward a semi-union integrating military and economic policy, seen as a hopeful counter-model to Arab disunity. - The author proposes a formal code of conduct among Arab states (non-interference, arbitration of disputes) as the path to genuine unity. - Iraq's claim over Kuwait is singled out as a problem requiring a more realistic Iraqi attitude to resolve. ### Review: The Trials of Nehru (by Ram Gopal, The Book Centre Private Ltd., Bombay 28) *By AZIZ MADNI (reviewer)* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that India's official ideology of 'democratic socialism' rests on a vague ethical veneer that obscures a harder Marxist programme of class war, one-party dictatorship, and total state control over economic and mental life. He contends that Indian tradition's own idea of dharma, while superficially resembling socialist appeals to common good, is actually pluralist: it recognises a society of distinct vocational groups (varna) each self-regulating through evolved custom, in contrast to Marxism's drive toward an imagined single, undifferentiated classless society. Venkata Rao credits this pluralist tradition with underwriting India's practical tolerance of religious and social difference, and warns that Marxist-style socialism, if pursued to its logical end, would require India to discard its democratic facade and its inherited ethos of toleration in favour of centralized, one-party control. - The essay distinguishes democratic socialism's vague ethical claims from the specific, harder Marxist doctrine of class war and one-party dictatorship that critics increasingly sense underlies government policy. - It cites recent land legislation and Five-Year Plan state expansion into industry as evidence the public is beginning to sense the doctrine is 'more than a set of ethical exhortations.' - Indian tradition (dharma, svadharma, varna) is characterised as inherently pluralist -- a 'society of sub-societies' -- unlike Marxism's monolithic vision of classlessness. - Even Marx's own writings, the author notes, treat self-employment as conducive to happiness and employment under others as conducive to misery, a point he uses against contemporary Marxist policy. - The essay invokes Hegel as the philosophical source of Marx's idea of classlessness, arguing Marx reduced it to a 'mechanical,' sociologically impossible one-class society. - The author distinguishes a desirable caste-less society from an undesirable and impossible classless society. ### Trade Unions In China *By by Humphrey Evans* Raman Desai reviews Milovan Djilas's Conversations with Stalin (Rupert Hart-Davis), drawing on Djilas's memoir of three wartime and postwar missions to Moscow as a senior Yugoslav Partisan and Communist Party official. The review recounts Djilas's disillusioning first-hand observations of Stalin's court -- its coarse late-night drinking sessions, its indifference to Red Army atrocities against Yugoslav civilians, and its readiness to browbeat smaller communist states like Albania and Yugoslavia into economically exploitative arrangements. Desai frames the book as exposing how even a devoted, philosophically serious communist like Djilas, once Tito's number two, came to see Stalinist Russia's behaviour as more comparable to Mughal court intrigue than to any promised 'brotherhood of man,' and treats this disillusionment as an implicit vindication of liberal, humanist values over communist ideology. - Djilas travelled to Moscow three times between 1944-48 as a top Yugoslav Communist and recorded detailed encounters with Stalin and other Soviet leaders. - The review highlights Djilas's account of Red Army soldiers' violence and rape in Yugoslavia being dismissed by Stalin as understandable given wartime hardship. - Stalin's court atmosphere is compared by the reviewer to the Mughal courts of Shah Jehan and Aurangzeb. - The book documents Soviet economic bullying of Albania and Yugoslavia, including Stalin's remark urging Yugoslavia to simply 'swallow' Albania. - Unlike other Eastern European resistance movements that ceded control to Moscow-directed regimes, Tito and Djilas sought to adapt rather than adopt Soviet-style communism, eventually breaking with Moscow. - The review treats the book as a document of a committed communist's disillusionment, framing it as validating liberal and humanist critiques of Soviet communism. ### Notes (Russia and China; Firm Policy; Djakarta Affair) Aziz Madni reviews Ram Gopal's The Trials of Nehru (The Book Centre Private Ltd., Bombay), which documents nine trials of Jawaharlal Nehru under British rule, showing him as a defiant young rebel who refused to recognise the legitimacy of British courts. Madni highlights the book's preface by Rafiq Zakaria, which argues the trying magistrates went through proceedings mechanically toward foregone convictions, and notes the book's account of Nehru declaring the courts a 'farce.' The review calls the book worthwhile as a document of the freedom struggle and the injustices of colonial judicial process, even while acknowledging the magistrates were far from British justice's best traditions. - Ram Gopal's book documents nine trials in which Nehru was prosecuted under British colonial rule, drawing on court proceedings and background material. - Nehru is shown declaring at his first trial that he did not recognise the British Government in India and treated the court proceedings as 'a farce or show.' - The book's foreword by Rafiq Zakaria observes that none of the trying magistrates were judges of stature and that none decided any real point of law. - The review notes touches of unconscious humour in the proceedings, including a magistrate's exasperated question about whether Nehru was entitled to make 'another seditious speech.' - The reviewer concludes the trying magistrates' judicial pronouncements were far removed from the best traditions of British justice, making the book a useful record of the era's colonial judicial shortcomings. ### The Voice Of World Liberalism (Council of the Liberal International, The Hague, Sept 11-15) Humphrey Evans argues that Chinese Communist trade unions, organised under the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), function primarily as instruments of foreign propaganda and Communist Party control rather than as advocates for workers. He traces the ACFTU's origins to 1920s infiltration of nascent Chinese labour organisations by Communist agents trained and directed from Moscow, the 1949 forced dissolution of independent unions after the Communist takeover, and subsequent reorganisation under Party-approved leadership. Evans notes that industrial workers form a small minority of China's overwhelmingly agricultural labour force and that ACFTU membership, at roughly five percent of the total workforce, actually lags unionisation rates in Japan, Yugoslavia, Italy, West Germany, Britain, the USSR, and Austria, undercutting the ACFTU's international claims to represent Chinese labour. - Chinese Communist officials devote disproportionate attention and travel to cultivating foreign trade union contacts rather than domestic labour concerns. - Modern Chinese labour organisations emerged in the early 1920s and were infiltrated by Communist agents trained and directed from Moscow, who gained majority leadership within unions by 1925. - The 1949 Communist government dissolved existing independent unions and replaced them with the Party-controlled ACFTU under Soviet guidance. - Roughly five percent of China's total labour force belongs to ACFTU-recognised unions, a lower unionisation rate than Japan, Yugoslavia, Italy, West Germany, Britain, the USSR, or Austria. - The 'Common Programme' of 1949 promised worker participation in management, minimum wages, insurance, and an eight-to-ten-hour day, but the author frames these as propaganda benefits rather than substantive gains, since independent unions were simultaneously abolished. ### With Many Voices (press-quotation column) The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' is a compilation of short press and public-figure quotations on Cold War topics -- Soviet secrecy about space failures, U.S. reticence on the same, the Cuban missile buildup after the Bay of Pigs, the Sino-Soviet doctrinal rift, Chinese strategy on India's northern border, and a Soviet military manual's definition of world war -- drawn from The New York Times, Time, Indian Express, The Statesman, The Hindu, Winnipeg Free Press, and a televised Kennedy interview, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. The page also carries the magazine's subscription form and the printer/publisher's registration details (Registered No. B-6354; edited by M. R. Masani; published for the Democratic Research Service). - Quotes span Soviet and U.S. secrecy about space-programme failures, the post-Bay-of-Pigs buildup of Soviet support to Castro's Cuba, and the Sino-Soviet doctrinal rift. - Krishna Bhatia (The Statesman) and Indian Express commentary describe China's India border strategy as a long-planned, deviously incremental 'grand strategy.' - Acharya Vinoba Bhave is quoted arguing communism is 'an antithesis and not a synthesis' relative to a properly humane, non-dogmatic approach. - President Kennedy is quoted, from a television programme, on the difficulty of dislodging a communist regime once it consolidates police power. - A. Sitaramiah (The Hindu) is quoted flagging India's persistently low national and per capita income growth over the preceding decade. - The page includes the magazine's subscription form and closing masthead/registration details. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff126/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 126 (November 1962) appeared amid the outbreak of full-scale war with China in Ladakh and NEFA, and the issue is dominated by that crisis and by the wider Cold War. V. B. Karnik's lead article, 'Preconditions To Victory,' argues that China's border war is part of a larger communist bid for world domination and calls for a broadened, more resolute Indian government, foreign military aid despite non-alignment, and the removal of the Defence Minister. The issue's centrepiece is a long essay, 'Winning The Cold War,' by Richard Moore, Secretary-General of Liberal International, which lays out in fourteen numbered sections a liberal strategy for the Cold War — rejecting both neutralism and indiscriminate anti-communism, arguing that ideological attack rather than passive containment is the best defence, and surveying topics from the myth of neo-colonialism to Vietnam, Saigon, and NATO. A book review by S. Natarajan assesses Gyula Paloczi-Horvath's biography of Khrushchev.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 126 (November 1962) appeared amid the outbreak of full-scale war with China in Ladakh and NEFA, and the issue is dominated by that crisis and by the wider Cold War. V. B. Karnik's lead article, 'Preconditions To Victory,' argues that China's border war is part of a larger communist bid for world domination and calls for a broadened, more resolute Indian government, foreign military aid despite non-alignment, and the removal of the Defence Minister. The issue's centrepiece is a long essay, 'Winning The Cold War,' by Richard Moore, Secretary-General of Liberal International, which lays out in fourteen numbered sections a liberal strategy for the Cold War — rejecting both neutralism and indiscriminate anti-communism, arguing that ideological attack rather than passive containment is the best defence, and surveying topics from the myth of neo-colonialism to Vietnam, Saigon, and NATO. A book review by S. Natarajan assesses Gyula Paloczi-Horvath's biography of Khrushchev. The issue closes with two recurring miscellany features: 'Without Comment,' reprinting a declaration on Eastern European rights and news items on anti-Castro and anti-communist manoeuvring in Latin America and Southeast Asia, and 'With Many Voices,' a page of pointed quotations from contemporary politicians and press on communism, non-alignment, and Krishna Menon's political fall. ## Essays ### Preconditions To Victory *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik argues that the Chinese offensive in Ladakh and NEFA is not a mere border skirmish but a deliberate, pre-planned war aimed at conquering the whole Himalayan belt and reducing India and Southeast Asia to vassal states of Peking, part of a larger communist bid for world domination that also encompasses Vietnam, Berlin, and Cuba. He contends that India has fought with 'hands tied,' hampered by continued diplomatic relations with China, unbroken non-alignment, and a government slow to grasp the war's real significance despite fifteen years of naively trusting Chinese friendship (Panchsheel). Karnik calls for accepting foreign military aid from Britain and the US regardless of non-alignment doctrine, encouraging revolt in Tibet and Sinkiang, ending all talk of negotiations until China vacates all aggression, broadening the government to include other democratic parties (noting the Congress won only 45 percent of the vote), and replacing the Defence Minister, whom he accuses of pro-communist sympathies, incompetence, and negligence. - Frames the China war as a deliberate, pre-planned attempt to conquer the Himalayan belt and reduce India and Southeast Asia to communist vassal states. - Situates the Ladakh/NEFA fighting as part of a single global communist offensive alongside Vietnam, Berlin, and Cuba. - Criticizes the government for having been 'hypnotised' by the idea of Sino-Indian friendship and Panchsheel, ignoring warnings for years. - Calls for accepting military aid from Britain and the USA even though this cuts against non-alignment. - Demands a broadened government including other democratic parties, since Congress won only 45 percent of the vote. - Calls for the Defence Minister's replacement, alleging communist sympathies, incompetence, and negligence. - Urges no negotiations with China until all post-September 8 aggression is vacated. ### Winning The Cold War *By Richard Moore* Richard Moore, Secretary-General of Liberal International, presents a fourteen-section strategic essay arguing that liberals cannot be neutral in the Cold War because the conflict is inherent in liberalism's commitment to liberty against totalitarian claims of total authority. He rejects both neutralist retreat and a purely negative anti-communism as self-defeating, arguing instead that ideological attack is 'not only the best means of ideological defence' but also the best way to prevent the Cold War turning hot, since communist confidence in ultimate victory makes communists reluctant to risk decisive war. Moore surveys the nature of communism's fear of nuclear extinction and Sino-Soviet strains, the value of self-criticism as a Western weapon, the exploitation of the 'element of time' by communist propaganda, the debunking of the 'neo-colonialism' myth given nationalism's success in the newly independent world, the empirical disproof of Marx's predictions in the West's mixed economies versus communism's own retreat into private enterprise, aid and trade policy toward developing countries, the 'inglorious reality' of life under communism as opposed to Western cultural decline, a proposed liberal strategy exploiting the political cost the Iron Curtain imposes on the Kremlin, a call for open intellectual debate (a 'Great Debate') especially through science, missed communist propaganda opportunities such as China's famine, the case for treating Vietnam ('Saigon — outpost of freedom') and other anti-communist dictatorships pragmatically while still pressing for liberal reform, and a final call for liberals to take the initiative regionally and for the Liberal International to coordinate strategy among liberal parties worldwide. - Argues liberals cannot be neutral in the Cold War because Liberalism's core value of liberty is itself in conflict with any movement asserting total authority. - Rejects both neutralism/pacifism and indiscriminate, allies-of-convenience anti-communism as self-defeating for liberal values. - Claims ideological attack is the best form of ideological defence and the best safeguard against the Cold War turning into a hot, nuclear war. - Explains communist reluctance toward all-out nuclear war via fear of destroying the Soviet state and Sino-Soviet demographic/strategic tensions. - Debunks the communist-promoted 'myth of neo-colonialism,' arguing nationalism in newly independent states is working against, not for, communism. - Argues the survival of mixed economies in the West and forced tolerance of private enterprise inside communist states disprove Marx's predictions. - Proposes a pragmatic, differentiated liberal stance toward anti-communist but illiberal regimes (Diem's Vietnam, Franco's Spain, apartheid South Africa). - Calls for a 'Great Debate' using science and open intellectual exchange as the most promising line of ideological attack. - Closes by urging liberals worldwide, coordinated through Liberal International, to take the initiative rather than remain reactive. ### Without Comment S. Natarajan reviews Gyula Paloczi-Horvath's biography-study of Khrushchev's rise to power, praising its detailed account of how Khrushchev, an uneducated man educated through the party machine, rose from fifth-ranked Soviet leader at Stalin's death to undisputed dictator by mastering the party apparatus, eliminating rivals, and delivering the influential (though collectively authored) de-Stalinization speech to the Twentieth Party Congress. Natarajan credits Paloczi-Horvath's account of Khrushchev's political skill but faults his premises: the author's claim that ordinary Soviet people were fundamentally disgusted with party rule is, in Natarajan's view, insufficiently supported and derived mainly from writings during the post-Stalin 'thaw,' understating four decades of successful Soviet indoctrination and expansion of communist sympathy among neutral countries. The review closes by summarizing the book's discussion of Sino-Soviet relations, noting Paloczi-Horvath's view that Russia and China preserve only the 'appearance of monolithic unity' while genuine tension persists, and drawing a parallel to India's own dilemma in balancing Soviet support against the Chinese threat. - Summarizes Paloczi-Horvath's central thesis that Khrushchev rose to power through mastery of the party machine rather than intellectual or ideological conviction. - Highlights the book's account of the de-Stalinization speech as a 'cooperative effort' among warring party factions rather than Khrushchev's sole authorship. - Criticizes the author for overstating popular Soviet disgust with party bureaucracy, based mainly on 'thaw'-era writings. - Notes the book's discussion of Sino-Soviet tension beneath a maintained 'appearance of monolithic unity.' - Draws an explicit parallel between the Sino-Soviet dilemma and India's own need to balance Soviet backing against the Chinese threat. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff127/ ### Summary This December 1962 issue of Freedom First appeared weeks after the Sino-Indian border war and is dominated by that shock. In the rendered pages, M. R. Masani opens with 'A Democracy At War,' contrasting Britain's wartime unity-in-freedom with totalitarian unity, then turns the same lens on Nehru's government, accusing it of having suppressed from Parliament the truth about Chinese incursions since the mid-1950s and of pursuing a policy of appeasement (Panchsheel, the 1954 pact, and the refusal to heed warnings) that culminated in the October 1962 invasion; he surveys the fractured opposition's response and Nehru's own admissions of having been 'out of touch with reality.' M. A. Venkata Rao contributes an essay on the Iron Curtain as an instrument of psychological 'mind-control' in the USSR, arguing that a global federation and mobilised world opinion, not unilateral disarmament gestures, are the real route to peace. Two wire/agency pieces address the wider Cold War contest with communism: a report on whether Chiang Kai-shek will use the India-China war as an opening to invade the mainland, and a note on the scale of capital punishment for economic crimes in Khrushchev's USSR.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This December 1962 issue of Freedom First appeared weeks after the Sino-Indian border war and is dominated by that shock. In the rendered pages, M. R. Masani opens with 'A Democracy At War,' contrasting Britain's wartime unity-in-freedom with totalitarian unity, then turns the same lens on Nehru's government, accusing it of having suppressed from Parliament the truth about Chinese incursions since the mid-1950s and of pursuing a policy of appeasement (Panchsheel, the 1954 pact, and the refusal to heed warnings) that culminated in the October 1962 invasion; he surveys the fractured opposition's response and Nehru's own admissions of having been 'out of touch with reality.' M. A. Venkata Rao contributes an essay on the Iron Curtain as an instrument of psychological 'mind-control' in the USSR, arguing that a global federation and mobilised world opinion, not unilateral disarmament gestures, are the real route to peace. Two wire/agency pieces address the wider Cold War contest with communism: a report on whether Chiang Kai-shek will use the India-China war as an opening to invade the mainland, and a note on the scale of capital punishment for economic crimes in Khrushchev's USSR. Malayan Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman's radio address frames the India-China conflict as a clash of ideologies rather than a Sino-Indian quarrel, drawing on his own experience negotiating with the Malayan communist leader Chin Peng. N. C. Zamindar's 'Some Thoughts on Defence' criticises Nehru's claimed modernising and historical credentials given India's ill-equipped army, and calls for an ideological defence of India grounded in Dharma and Gandhian courage rather than appeasement. A signed review (A.R.) assesses Donald S. Zagoria's 'The Sino-Soviet Conflict 1956-1961.' The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a compilation of press quotations on the war, Krishna Menon's resignation as Defence Minister, and India's loss of strategic credulity, alongside the magazine's subscription form and masthead. ## Essays ### A Democracy At War *By M. R. Masani* Masani contrasts democratic and totalitarian concepts of wartime national unity, using Britain's conduct in World War II (including Churchill's defence of due process for the detained fascist Oswald Mosley, and the 1940 parliamentary revolt that toppled Chamberlain) as a model of loyal-but-critical opposition. He then argues India's Nehru government inverted this model: it suppressed evidence of Chinese incursions in Ladakh from 1954 onward, dismissed repeated parliamentary warnings in 1950 about the strategic consequences of losing Tibet, and signed the 1954 Panchsheel pact despite prior knowledge of Chinese intentions, culminating in the 1962 debacle. The essay closes by surveying the 'wide gulf' between Nehru and Parliament, the Chief Ministers, and the opposition parties in the war's aftermath, and setting out the varying positions of the Praja Socialist Party, the Socialist Party, the Jan Sangh, the Communist Party, and the Swatantra Party on prosecution of the war. - Distinguishes the democratic concept of wartime unity (loyal, critical opposition) from the totalitarian concept (enforced silence), citing Britain 1939-40 as exemplar. - Cites the 1940 Norway Debate and Chamberlain's resignation as proof that a mature democracy can change leadership mid-crisis. - Accuses the Government of concealing Chinese military incursions into Ladakh (from 1954) and Aksai Chin (1958) from Parliament for years. - Argues repeated 1950 parliamentary warnings about Tibet's fall foreshadowing an attack on India were dismissed as alarmist. - Reports Nehru's own admission in Parliament (25 October 1962) of being 'out of touch with reality,' followed by a partial retraction on 11 December. - Surveys opposition parties' divergent responses: Swatantra Party demands arming with best available weapons and ending non-alignment; Praja Socialist Party's 'No Negotiations Week'; Socialist Party (Lohia) moves a no-confidence motion; Jan Sangh position roughly aligned with PSP. - Notes Congress holds only 45% electoral support, meaning opposition parties collectively represent a similar share but remain fragmented and under-represented in Parliament. ### The Iron Curtain And World Peace *By MA Venkata Rao* Venkata Rao argues that the Iron Curtain functions as a system of psychological 'mind-control' over Soviet subjects, sealing them off from world opinion and manufacturing an 'ersatz' consciousness sustained by total state control of economic life. He contrasts the warm Western reception given to Rajagopalachari's disarmament delegation with the flat, stage-managed reception given to a Gandhi Peace Foundation delegation in Moscow, and argues that genuine progress toward disarmament and world peace requires piercing this informational blockade -- through world federation schemes, banned-bombing agreements, and mobilised global public opinion -- rather than unilateral Western gestures that ignore the Curtain's existence. The essay closes with a short unrelated item, 'Sri Aurobindo on Chinese Design' (dated 11 November 1950), reproducing Aurobindo's warning that Mao's absorption of Tibet was a strategic step toward threatening India. - Frames the Iron Curtain as a 'mind-control' apparatus sustained by total centralisation of economic power over livelihoods. - Contrasts the international reception of Rajagopalachari's disarmament delegation (Washington, London) with the muted reception of a delegation to Moscow. - Cites the fates of Lysenko and Pasternak as evidence the Khrushchev 'thaw' has not bridged the gulf between free and communist worlds. - Proposes that world federation, a world court, and mobilised global opinion -- not unilateral test-ban gestures -- are the true route to breaking the Curtain. - Includes a reprinted 1950 Sri Aurobindo item warning that China's absorption of Tibet was a strategic prelude to threatening India. ### Sri Aurobindo On Chinese Design An unsigned agency-style report (drawn from U.S. News & World Report, per the closing credit) assesses whether Chiang Kai-shek will exploit the Sino-Indian war to invade the Chinese mainland. It concludes Chiang is militarily and psychologically 'ready' and has stepped up infiltration, sabotage, and commando activity, but remains constrained by lack of U.S. backing, treaty obligations requiring joint agreement on the use of force, and insufficient amphibious capability to hold a beachhead against Red Army resistance; most Western experts view an actual restoration as a myth or an irresponsible dream, though Chiang is counting on Cold War crises in South-East Asia to loosen U.S. restraints on him. - Nationalist infiltration and commando activity into the mainland has increased markedly since 1957. - Chiang's Army numbers 430,000 with 25,000 marines trained for assault landings; the Air Force has 400 jets and 1,000 pilots. - U.S. treaty obligations require joint agreement before any use of force against the mainland, and Washington shows no sign of consenting. - Nationalist forces could land 6,000-15,000 men initially but lack the shipping to resupply or reinforce a sustained invasion. - Chiang hopes escalating conflicts in South Vietnam, and the India-China war, will loosen the U.S. 'leash' on Formosa. ### Will Chiang Attack Chinese Mainland? *By U. S. News & World Report* A short item, credited to Intelligence Digest, reports that 194 people were sentenced to death and shot in the Soviet Union over the preceding twelve months, 187 of them for economic crimes such as currency hoarding, black marketeering, and falsifying state planning reports. It argues Khrushchev has abandoned even the pretence of liberalising capital punishment established after Stalin's 1947 reform, and reads the surge in executions as a symptom of Soviet anxiety that private economic activity exposes the relative inefficiency of the command economy. - 194 executions in twelve months, 187 for economic crimes including currency hoarding and black marketeering. - A show trial in the Kirghiz SSR sentenced nine people to death, including the Republic's Minister for Planning. - Frames severe economic-crime sentencing as proof capitalism's relative efficiency threatens Soviet ideological legitimacy. - Notes roughly twenty death sentences a month are being handed down as 'plan discipline' enforcement intensifies under Khrushchev. ### Ideological Warfare In Russia *By Intelligence Digest* The printed English text of a radio address by Tunku Abdul Rahman, Prime Minister of Malaya, delivered 10 November 1962. He recounts his own pre-independence negotiations with Malayan communist guerrilla leader Chin Peng, arguing from experience that communism 'will tolerate no other ideology,' and applies this lesson to India's shock at Chinese aggression despite years of Indian diplomatic sympathy toward Beijing (recognition of Mao's government, silence over the occupation of Tibet). He frames the India-China border war not as a Sino-Indian quarrel but as a contest between the ideologies of communism and democracy, warns other Asian leaders against assuming they can appease communist neighbours, and calls on Malayans to send financial and material aid to India through a 'Save Democracy Fund' committee he has set up. - Recounts personal negotiations with communist leader Chin Peng before Malayan independence and the eventual guerrilla war on the Thai-Malayan border. - Argues India was blindsided because it had championed Communist China's cause at the UN and tolerated the occupation of Tibet without protest. - Frames the border war as an ideological contest between communism and democracy rather than a Sino-Indian dispute. - Warns that a successful humiliation of India would be a psychological/propaganda victory for China across Asia, not merely a territorial one. - Announces a Malayan 'Save Democracy Fund' committee, chaired by himself, to raise money and material aid for India. ### War Between Opposing Ideologies *By Tunku Abdul Rehman* N. C. Zamindar's essay challenges Nehru's self-presentation as a 'prophet of modernization,' arguing that under his stewardship Indian jawans on the eastern front lacked even automatic rifles while Russian-supplied helicopters proved useless, and that Nehru's much-touted 'historical perspective' failed to draw the obvious lessons -- documented by historians like Jadunath Sarkar -- about why India was historically conquered by better-armed invaders. Zamindar calls for India's defence to be grounded not merely in modern weaponry but in an 'ideological defence' rooted in Dharma and the fighting example of Gandhi (invoking a wartime pamphlet, 'Gandhi in Arms'), arguing the sacrifices of soldiers must serve the preservation of India's civilisational heritage rather than the comforts of air-conditioned bureaucratic offices. - Criticises Nehru's claimed 'historical perspective' given the poor state of India's defence forces on the eastern front (automatic rifles lacking, Russian helicopters ineffective). - Cites historian Jadunath Sarkar's 'Military History of India' on the technical/military superiority that let foreign invaders conquer India. - Quotes Nehru's own 'Discovery of India' acknowledging the superiority of foreign-trained armies and Britain's 'fifth column' inside Indian administration and princely armies. - Argues India lacks a clearly articulated ideological defence to match communism, proposing the 'message of the Gita and Gandhiji' and the supremacy of Dharma. - Invokes a wartime pamphlet titled 'Gandhi in Arms' to argue Gandhi himself would not have counselled appeasement in this crisis. ### Some Thoughts On Defence *By N. C. Zamindar* A signed book review (A.R.) of Donald S. Zagoria's 'The Sino-Soviet Conflict 1956-1961' (Princeton University Press / Oxford University Press, 1962, 50s.), praising its careful, evidence-driven chronicle of the widening ideological rift between Moscow and Beijing since de-Stalinisation, its analysis of the 1956-57 shift in China's posture from 'liberal' to militant, and its evenhandedness in showing Khrushchev emerging with more credit than Mao. The reviewer notes minor gaps -- a fuller treatment of the U-2 incident's effect on Sino-Soviet thinking -- and endorses Zagoria's cautious conclusion that the West should remain strong and confident rather than try to exploit the split, since smaller communist and non-aligned states are likeliest to benefit from having two rival patrons to court. - Reviews Donald S. Zagoria's 'The Sino-Soviet Conflict 1956-1961' (Princeton/Oxford University Press, 1962, 50 shillings). - Praises the book's careful documentation of doctrinal, historical, and national roots of the Sino-Soviet split, though notes some repetitiveness. - Highlights the book's account of China's shift from a 'liberal'/rightist posture in 1956 to a more militant, Trotskyist-inflected stance after 1957. - Notes the book judges Khrushchev's caution favourably against Mao's 'revolutionary hubris.' - Flags a minor factual quibble: the review suggests fuller treatment was needed of the 1960 U-2 incident's effect on Sino-Soviet relations, and corrects that this event preceded, not followed, the failed Summit conference. - Endorses Zagoria's conclusion that the West should stay strong and confident, letting the Sino-Soviet split work itself out, with smaller powers likely to benefit most. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff128/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 128 (January 1963) appears in the immediate aftermath of the 1962 Sino-Indian War and the Chinese cease-fire, and its contributors are almost uniformly preoccupied with two linked crises: the war's exposure of India's non-alignment policy as bankrupt, and a domestic crackdown on critics of Nehru that the magazine reads as a dangerous slide toward one-party, one-leader authoritarianism. S. N. Aiyer's opening piece protests the arrest of three anti-communist public workers under the Defence of India Rules even as it endorses banning the Communist Party itself, and links this to V. K. Krishna Menon's public call for a Hitlerite 'one nation, one policy, one leader' cult. An open letter from Dharampal, Roop Narain, and N. N. Datta (the arrested men) presses the case for the right to criticise the Prime Minister even in wartime. Several essays — by S. R. Mohan Das, M. A. Venkata Rao, and Devadas Kini — dissect non-alignment as a failed premise, arguing India in fact leans on the Soviet bloc's goodwill while pretending neutrality, and that the war has proven the Western democracies to be India's natural allies.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 128 (January 1963) appears in the immediate aftermath of the 1962 Sino-Indian War and the Chinese cease-fire, and its contributors are almost uniformly preoccupied with two linked crises: the war's exposure of India's non-alignment policy as bankrupt, and a domestic crackdown on critics of Nehru that the magazine reads as a dangerous slide toward one-party, one-leader authoritarianism. S. N. Aiyer's opening piece protests the arrest of three anti-communist public workers under the Defence of India Rules even as it endorses banning the Communist Party itself, and links this to V. K. Krishna Menon's public call for a Hitlerite 'one nation, one policy, one leader' cult. An open letter from Dharampal, Roop Narain, and N. N. Datta (the arrested men) presses the case for the right to criticise the Prime Minister even in wartime. Several essays — by S. R. Mohan Das, M. A. Venkata Rao, and Devadas Kini — dissect non-alignment as a failed premise, arguing India in fact leans on the Soviet bloc's goodwill while pretending neutrality, and that the war has proven the Western democracies to be India's natural allies. Raman Desai's economic piece considers how to finance the war through savings, taxation, and borrowing. The issue closes with a reprinted Uruguayan commentary on Indian neutrality, a joint statement by Calcutta intellectuals on Indo-Pakistan talks and joint defence, and the regular 'With Many Voices' quotations column. ## Essays ### Disturbing Trends *By S. N. Aiyer* S. N. Aiyer's 'Disturbing Trends' condemns the arrest under the Defence of India Rules of three anti-communist political workers in Delhi, whom Jayaprakash Narayan vouched for as patriots, while simultaneously endorsing the arrest of actual Communists and calling for the Communist Party to be banned outright. The essay's central alarm is a 'calculated move' to equate criticism of Nehru with treason: it cites V. K. Krishna Menon's call for India to accept a Hitlerite cult of 'One Nation, One Policy and One Leader,' the AICC circular branding criticism of Nehru as treason, and Home Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri's threat of 'firm and strong action' against critical writings. The piece credits Maharashtra's Education Minister Shantilal Shah for publicly denouncing Menon's slogan as 'fascist' and calls on democratic-minded Indians, inside and outside Congress, to resist the trend toward totalitarianism. - Three anti-communist workers were arrested in Delhi under the Defence of India Rules despite Jayaprakash Narayan's testimony to their patriotism. - The author supports banning the Communist Party and arresting actual Communists, but objects to good democrats being treated the same way. - Home Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri warned of 'firm and strong action' against press criticism during the Defence of India Bill debate. - V. K. Krishna Menon publicly advocated a 'one nation, one policy, one leader' cult, which the author calls Hitlerite/totalitarian. - The AICC circularised Pradesh Congress Committees that criticism of Nehru should be treated as treason. - Maharashtra Education Minister Shantilal Shah is praised for calling Menon's slogan 'fascist.' ### Financing The War *By Raman Desai* Raman Desai's 'Financing The War' addresses how India should fund a projected annual defence budget of roughly Rs. 1000 crores through borrowing, savings, and taxation. He argues mass savings can only come from the roughly six crore families of ordinary peasants and workers, since income-tax data show 90% of assessees fall below the super-tax limit and yield only 9% of the total tax. He presents grim poverty statistics — over 56% of urban households below the poverty line, four crore agricultural labourers earning Rs. 104 a year against a national per-capita figure of Rs. 265 — and argues that only a more equalitarian economy, on the U.S. model, can generate the mass savings the war requires. The piece closes by calling for reconstitution of the Planning Commission as an independent advisory body and redirection of the Plans' social aims toward defence-linked industrial priorities. - India needs roughly Rs. 1000 crores a year in defence spending for the next several years. - 90% of income-tax assessees are below the super-tax limit and yield only 9% of total tax collected, showing the narrow base of direct taxation. - Over 56% of urban households have monthly income below the national average and the poverty line (Rs. 100/month). - Four crore agricultural labourer families have a per-capita income of Rs. 104/year versus a national figure of Rs. 265/year, and rural indebtedness has doubled in an inflationary era. - The U.S. is cited as a comparatively equalitarian economy (71% of families in the middle-income bracket) capable of generating mass savings. - Calls for reconstituting the Planning Commission as an independent advisory body of public men and technicians rather than a Cabinet committee. ### Open Letter To Members Of Parliament *By Dharampal, Roop Narain and N. N. Datta (introduced/edited by Freedom First)* This piece reprints extracts from an open letter to Members of Parliament by Dharampal, Roop Narain, and N. N. Datta — three young public workers arrested under the Defence of India Rules for criticising Nehru. The editor's preface stresses that even in an emergency citizens must be free to criticise without hampering the war effort. The letter itself excoriates the AICC's circular branding criticism of Nehru as treason, catalogues fifteen years of unfulfilled rhetoric about resolve against invaders, and questions whether Nehru can rise above personal glory to lead the country through the crisis, while insisting the government's critics are no less patriotic than its defenders. A sidebar, 'Mr. Menon's Future?', reports that Nehru told William Randolph Hearst Jr. that former Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon was absolved of blame for the army's reverses in NEFA and Ladakh, with a hint of a possible return to the Cabinet. - The letter's authors — Dharampal, Roop Narain, and N. N. Datta — were arrested under the Defence of India Rules for criticising Nehru. - An AICC circular to Congress committees stated that criticism of the Prime Minister 'must be regarded as treason.' - The letter argues the public has heard fifteen years of similar exhortation and resolve from Nehru with no substantive change. - The letter urges that criticism of the Prime Minister is a democratic right and does not indicate lesser patriotism. - The sidebar reports Nehru told Hearst Jr. that Krishna Menon was absolved of blame for the NEFA and Ladakh reverses, with a hint of return to the Cabinet. ### Cease Fire Or War By "Other Means"? *By S. R. Mohan Das* S. R. Mohan Das's 'Cease Fire Or War By "Other Means"?' opens with a lengthy Reuter-sourced quotation of Khrushchev addressing the Supreme Soviet on the Sino-Indian conflict, then argues that Indian policymakers for years mistook Chinese Communism for a benign 'Asian variety,' citing M. N. Roy's 1951 Radical Humanist warning that China's 'liberation' of Tibet would rebuff Nehru's Asian diplomacy. The essay recounts how China converted Tibet into a military arsenal within three years of occupation and quotes Lenin's writings on treating the West as 'deaf-mutes' to be placated with fictional separations between party and government while communist subversion proceeds. It concludes that the Chinese cease-fire is not the end of hostilities but 'war by other means,' waged now through diplomacy and psychological pressure on India's non-aligned posture, and notes Nehru's continuing illusions about the 'peculiar' and less dangerous nature of Chinese Communism. - Opens with Khrushchev's Reuter-quoted Supreme Soviet speech professing sympathy for China while urging cease-fire. - M. N. Roy's 1951 Radical Humanist article predicted China's Tibet 'liberation' would rebuff Nehru's Asian diplomacy. - China built up Tibet as a military arsenal within three years of occupation despite claims of peaceful reconstruction. - Lenin's notes on treating capitalist countries as 'deaf-mutes' are quoted as a template for current Sino-Soviet diplomatic tactics toward India. - The cease-fire is framed as 'war by other means' — a shift to diplomatic and psychological pressure rather than a genuine end to hostilities. - Nehru is criticised for continuing to describe Chinese Communism in Parliament as 'peculiar,' 'dangerous and harmful' but distinct from Soviet Communism. ### Non-Alignment Plus *By M. A. Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Non-Alignment Plus' argues that Indian non-alignment was not wrong in principle but was undermined by the accessory illusion that it required trusting Communist China and relying on Soviet neutrality, leaving India militarily unprepared for the Chinese invasion. Distinguishing the passive 'Swiss way' of neutrality from an active non-alignment that still builds armed strength, the essay argues India failed to heed ample warning signs from Tibet, Ladakh's 1954 territorial claims, and China's 1956 border settlement with Burma. It criticises India's inconsistent moral judgments — condemning the Anglo-French-Israeli Suez action while staying silent on Hungary and Tibet — and argues true non-alignment should mean confining intervention to UN action while building sufficient armed deterrence, rather than romantic reliance on Russia's goodwill. - Non-alignment as a foreign-policy principle is distinguished from the flawed practice of trusting Communist China and relying on Russian neutrality. - China's 1954 territorial claims in Ladakh, its 1956 border settlement with Burma, and its actions in Tibet, Vietnam, and Laos were ample warning of expansionist intent that India ignored. - The 'Swiss way' of armed but disengaged neutrality is contrasted with India's more active, UN-engaged non-alignment. - India is accused of a double standard: strident condemnation of the Anglo-French-Israeli Suez attack alongside silence on Soviet suppression of Hungary (1956) and the occupation of Tibet. - The essay recommends confining Indian intervention in world affairs strictly to UN action while maintaining sufficient armed deterrence at home. ### God That Failed *By Devadas Kini* Devadas Kini's 'God That Failed' declares non-alignment a failed 'religion' that must be abandoned in favour of enlightened self-interest, arguing the premise of two roughly equal warring blocs is false since only the Soviet bloc (with China as a tactically divergent partner) actively seeks to dominate through force, while the West's colonial empires have already been liquidated. Kini contends non-aligned nations remain neutral toward the Soviet bloc chiefly out of residual anti-colonial memory rather than clear-eyed assessment, and that the Colombo powers' refusal to condemn Chinese aggression as aggression betrays the non-aligned policy itself. He concludes India shares democratic, open-society bonds with the West and should recognise this alignment plainly rather than continue a policy 'out of touch with reality.' - Non-alignment is described as having become 'a creed, a dogma, nay — a religion' rather than a flexible policy responsive to national interest. - The essay argues there is only one expansionist bloc (Soviet, with China in a tactical rather than real rift) since Western empires have already been liquidated. - Non-aligned nations' neutrality toward the Soviet bloc is attributed to lingering colonial-era resentment rather than present clear-sightedness. - The Colombo Conference of non-aligned powers is criticised for treating Chinese aggression as a mere 'dispute' rather than condemning it outright. - Kini calls for recognising India's 'invisible but strong bonds' with the democratic West given shared open-society values. ### An Instructive Reality *By [translated from El Plata, Montevideo, Uruguay; unsigned]* This translated reprint from the Uruguayan journal El Plata of Montevideo argues that neutralist movements sympathetic to Communism are inherently one-sided and self-defeating, using India's post-invasion predicament as the clearest proof. It portrays India as the world's principal champion of neutrality now paying dearly for a doctrinaire middle course that left it defenceless against Chinese aggression, and warns Uruguayan politicians against exploiting young voters' inexperience by romanticising neutrality as the stance of the weaker, more virtuous side. - The article is a translated reprint from El Plata of Montevideo, one of Uruguay's most prominent journals. - It argues neutralism that only criticises one side (the West) while excusing the other (the Communist bloc) is a 'suicidal neutrality.' - India is cited as the principal example: its long-championed non-alignment left it 'almost completely defenceless' against Chinese invasion. - The essay warns Uruguayan politicians against exploiting young, inexperienced voters with a romantic, one-sided notion of neutrality. - It calls India's experience a concrete lesson for other nations considering doctrinaire neutrality. ### A Statement On Indo-Pakistan Talks *By Issued by a number of prominent intellectuals of Calcutta: Srikumar Banerjee, Kazi Abdul Wadud, Ajit Kumar Dutta, Prof. Amlan Dutta, K. K. Sinha, Dr. Bhupal Bose, Prof. Dilip Chakravarty, Gobinda Lal Banerjee, Captain Bhag Singh, K. M. Yusuf, H. Ghoshal, D. Basu Roy Chowdhury, Charles Newton, Kshitindra Nath Chowdhury* A joint statement issued by a number of prominent Calcutta intellectuals welcomes the decision of India and Pakistan to hold direct talks, framing the Chinese aggression as a threat to the stability of both countries and urging joint defence arrangements. The signatories argue the Kashmir dispute has become secondary to the larger threat of Chinese domination of the subcontinent and call on both governments to compromise on Kashmir honourably in order to present a united front against China, warning that failure to do so risks both nations being 'devoured by the Communist dragon.' - Signed by a group of prominent Calcutta intellectuals including Srikumar Banerjee, Kazi Abdul Wadud, Prof. Amlan Dutta, and others. - The statement frames Chinese aggression as an existential threat to both India and Pakistan, not India alone. - It urges both governments to organise joint defence and to compromise on the Kashmir dispute rather than let prestige block progress. - It expresses hope that President Ayub Khan will maintain balance against domestic anti-India political pressures in Pakistan. - It closes with a warning that failure to unite risks both nations being 'devoured by the Communist dragon.' ### Mr. Menon's Future? (continued from page 3) The regular 'With Many Voices' column compiles topical quotations from newspapers and magazines of the period, ranging from George E. Floris on Nehru's 'peremptory idealism' and V. K. Krishna Menon's 'Back Nehru to survive' remark, to Indira Gandhi's assertion that unity in India can only exist 'behind the Congress Party, and in the Congress Party only behind my father,' and Robert Frost's quip that Khrushchev feared modern liberals were 'too liberal to fight.' The page closes with the magazine's standard subscription notice and masthead details. - Compiles short quotations on the India-China war and non-alignment from sources including Time, the Manchester Guardian Weekly, Encounter, and Indian newspapers. - Indira Gandhi is quoted asserting Congress Party unity exists only 'behind my father' (Nehru). - Robert Frost is quoted recounting Khrushchev's remark that modern liberals are 'too liberal to fight.' - N. G. Ranga is quoted in Parliament saying Nehru 'should have been dismissed long ago.' - The page carries the magazine's standard subscription form and publication details (Rs. 3 annual, 25 nP single copy, published by Democratic Research Service, Bombay). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff129/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 129 (February 1963) is dominated by the aftermath of the 1962 India-China border war, appearing barely two months after the ceasefire. M. R. Masani's lead editorial column argues against negotiating with China on the Colombo Proposals while Chinese troops still hold captured territory, framing acceptance as a betrayal of Parliament's unanimous 14th November resolution. A second unsigned editorial, "Cabinet and Parliament", criticises Nehru for treating Parliamentary debate on foreign policy as a courtesy rather than a binding check on Cabinet power. Zbigniew Brzezinski contributes a specially written piece analysing the shift in the global balance of power after the Cuban missile crisis and its implications for Sino-Soviet relations and Asia. Robert S. Elegant's "As Others See Us" reprint is a sharply critical outside view of Nehru's foreign policy and India's claim to non-aligned leadership. A. G. Noorani examines a Government of India study defending the proposal to fold the Attorney-General's office into the Law Ministry, arguing the study's own evidence undercuts its conclusions. M. A.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 129 (February 1963) is dominated by the aftermath of the 1962 India-China border war, appearing barely two months after the ceasefire. M. R. Masani's lead editorial column argues against negotiating with China on the Colombo Proposals while Chinese troops still hold captured territory, framing acceptance as a betrayal of Parliament's unanimous 14th November resolution. A second unsigned editorial, "Cabinet and Parliament", criticises Nehru for treating Parliamentary debate on foreign policy as a courtesy rather than a binding check on Cabinet power. Zbigniew Brzezinski contributes a specially written piece analysing the shift in the global balance of power after the Cuban missile crisis and its implications for Sino-Soviet relations and Asia. Robert S. Elegant's "As Others See Us" reprint is a sharply critical outside view of Nehru's foreign policy and India's claim to non-aligned leadership. A. G. Noorani examines a Government of India study defending the proposal to fold the Attorney-General's office into the Law Ministry, arguing the study's own evidence undercuts its conclusions. M. A. Venkata Rao surveys Communist unconventional-warfare tactics (from Telangana and Kerala to NEFA) and proposes a national volunteer frontier guard. M. Devadas Kini surveys rival theories of Chinese intentions and argues for a Western military alliance rather than mere aid. The issue also reprints Patrick Henry's 1775 "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech as implicitly prophetic of India's situation, and closes with the recurring "With Many Voices" column of press quotations on the China crisis and non-alignment. ## Essays ### When Not To Negotiate *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani argues that India must not resile from Parliament's unanimous 14 November 1962 resolution to expel Chinese forces from all territory held since 1947/1950, calling acceptance of the Colombo Proposals an "abject abandonment" by the Cabinet and Prime Minister of their own prior position. He contends the struggle with China is about national self-respect as much as territory, and that negotiating from a position of recent military defeat would mean accepting the consequences of defeat. He invokes Rajaji's warning (in Swarajya) that accepting Colombo's terms would make India a permanent satellite of China, akin to Poland or Hungary vis-a-vis Russia, and closes by quoting Khrushchev's own dictum that conference outcomes merely ratify the balance of power established by force. - Masani opposes any negotiation with China before evacuation of all territory held as of 1947/1950, per Parliament's unanimous 14 November resolution. - He accuses the Prime Minister of reversing his own 20 January position that refusing to negotiate would be 'uncivilized', calling this a climbdown. - He frames the conflict as being about national self-respect and India's democratic way of life, not merely territory. - He cites Rajaji's Swarajya article warning that accepting the Colombo terms would make India a permanent satellite of China. - He quotes Khrushchev (via Kissinger's The Necessity of Choice) that conference outcomes reflect the balance of power from victory or capitulation in war. - He warns that repeating a mistake, unlike making it once, would be unforgivable by history. ### Balance Of Power After Cuba *By Zbigniew Brzezinski* This unsigned editorial criticises Nehru's statement in Parliament (24 January) that government 'does not function by constant references to Parliament' but acts on broad directions given by it. The piece argues this is dangerous precisely because it concerns live negotiations with an enemy still occupying Indian soil, and insists that a Cabinet drawn entirely from a regimented majority party must remain answerable to a genuine, functioning Opposition, not merely tolerate Parliament as a formality. It warns that a Parliament which abdicates its right to decide even on foreign-policy details risks becoming a disguised dictatorship. - Nehru told Parliament on 24 January that government acts on broad directions from Parliament rather than constant reference to it. - The editorial argues this view is especially dangerous applied to ongoing negotiations with China while Chinese troops remain on Indian soil. - It stresses that the Cabinet, drawn from a regimented majority party, needs a functioning Opposition to keep foreign policy honest. - It warns that majority rule does not sanctify a decision as right or good. - It cautions that a Parliament that abdicates real decision-making power risks a 'dictatorship in a democracy with only its outward forms preserved'. ### The Myth Of India *By Robert S. Elegant* Zbigniew Brzezinski, writing specially for Freedom First as Director of the Russian Institute at Columbia University, analyses how the Cuban missile crisis marks a new phase in American-Soviet relations. He argues Khrushchev's climbdown decisively refuted the Soviet claim of a shifted balance of power, and traces how Khrushchev's strategy of 'peaceful coexistence' combined subtle revolutionary stimulation abroad with periodic threats of war, applied both to Berlin and Cuba. He lays out three alternatives now facing Soviet leadership -- an immediate revolutionary programme aligned with Chinese demands, opting out of the revolutionary project altogether, or (the likeliest) continued domestic development paired with heavier investment in strategic weapons, especially ICBMs and Polaris-equivalents, possibly punctuated by a dramatic space-technology demonstration to restore prestige. He predicts a more complex, pluralistic pattern of world politics emerging, with a politically unifying Europe and a rising Japan reducing America's singular Cold War role, and China contesting India for regional primacy in Asia -- with the Chinese attack on India serving the larger purpose of establishing China as Asia's dominant power, isolating India from its neighbours and pressuring South-East Asian states into China's orbit. - Brzezinski argues the Cuban crisis decisively refuted the Soviet claim that the balance of power had shifted in its favour. - He describes Khrushchev's pre-Cuba strategy of 'peaceful coexistence' as combining subtle revolutionary stimulation with periodic war threats over Berlin and Cuba. - He outlines three post-Cuba Soviet alternatives: adopting an immediate Chinese-style revolutionary programme, abandoning the revolutionary project (as European socialists once did), or -- the likeliest -- continued domestic development plus heavier strategic-weapons investment (ICBMs, Polaris-equivalents), potentially with a dramatic space-technology demonstration. - He predicts a quiescent phase in Soviet international politics following the setback. - He forecasts a more pluralistic world order: a politically united Europe reducing dependence on America, and Japan's rising political as well as economic importance in Asia. - He frames the Chinese attack on India as part of a struggle for regional political primacy in Asia, aimed at isolating India from its neighbours and pressuring South-East Asian states into China's orbit ('China's Finland'). - He argues neither the Soviet Union nor China actually wants a pluralistic world, but that the underlying community of interest between the West and India will likely be expressed more through shared policy than formal alliance. ### The Attorney-General *By A. G. Noorani* Robert S. Elegant, in an "As Others See Us" reprint from the New Leader (a US Social Democratic journal), dismantles what he calls the 'myth of India' as a major force in international affairs under Nehru, arguing the Chinese invasion exposed Nehru's foreign policy as reactive expediency rather than principled non-alignment -- citing his snubbing of Israel, silence on Tibet, opposition to action on Indochina, and selective condemnation of Suez versus Hungary. He argues India's influence has in fact abetted rather than hindered Chinese advances elsewhere in Asia, that Nehru is 'almost incapable of abstract thinking on foreign affairs', and that despite $4 billion in foreign aid, India's stagnant agricultural yields mean aid is consumed by subsistence needs rather than long-term development. He characterises China's actual motive for invading and then offering a cease-fire as consistent with classical Chinese strategy -- puncturing Nehru's pretensions to Afro-Asian leadership and restoring China's 'rightful' frontiers -- while cautioning that the US should proceed from a realistic appraisal of India's capacities rather than expecting miracles. - Elegant argues the Chinese invasion has punctured the 'myth' that Nehru's India is a major independent force in international affairs. - He cites Nehru's foreign-policy inconsistencies (snubbing Israel, permitting Chinese control of Tibet, blocking action on Indochina, condemning Suez while excusing Hungary) as evidence of pure expediency rather than principle. - He claims Indian diplomatic conduct (in International Control Commissions and embassies) has actually assisted Communist gains in Indochina. - He states India has received at least $4 billion in foreign aid with continuing assistance of $1 billion/year, but stagnant per-acre agricultural yield since 1946 means aid funds subsistence, not development. - He frames the Chinese cease-fire as classical Chinese strategy -- 'fight a while, then talk a while' -- intended to humiliate India's Afro-Asian leadership pretensions without over-extending Chinese resources. - He argues Nehru remains an autocrat domestically despite his socialist convictions, noting Indian press only began criticizing his foreign policy in 1959 after the Dalai Lama's flight. ### Volunteer Guards For Frontier Areas *By M. A. Venkata Rao* A. G. Noorani critiques a Government of India publication, "Study of the History, Nature and Working of the Office of the Attorney-General", which was produced to defend a proposed constitutional amendment allowing the Law Minister to double as Attorney-General, effectively abolishing the office's independence. Noorani argues the study's own historical account -- tracing the office to its English model and to the Government of India Act, 1935 precedent of the Advocate-General -- actually undercuts its recommendation, since the Constituent Assembly deliberately rejected amendments (by Naziruddin Ahmed and Prof. Shibbanlal Saxena) that would have folded the Attorney-General into the Cabinet. He catalogues the study's stated grounds for change (no reserved departments remain, private practice by the Attorney-General is undesirable) as either factually distorted or an insult to the Constituent Assembly's Drafting Committee, and cites Viscount Simon and Sir Hartley Shawcross on why the Attorney-General's independence from Cabinet deliberations is valuable precisely because it preserves an impartial perspective when advising on contested legal questions. - The government's 'Study' was produced to justify a proposed Presidential Order allowing the Law Minister to also serve as Attorney-General. - Noorani notes the study bases the office on the English model but then, inconsistently, argues India should not follow the English practice of the Attorney-General sitting in Cabinet. - He highlights that the Constituent Assembly explicitly rejected amendments by Naziruddin Ahmed and Prof. Shibbanlal Saxena that would have merged the Attorney-General into the Cabinet. - He quotes Sir Arthur B. Keith that Law Officers of the Crown are 'normally not included in the Cabinet'. - He cites Viscount Simon and Sir Hartley Shawcross's view that Cabinet inclusion would compromise the Attorney-General's independence and impartiality when giving legal advice. - He concludes the 'Study' is not an impartial study but 'an eloquent locus classicus' of partisanship favoring the Law Ministry. ### Why Not A Military Alliance? *By M. Devadas Kini* M. A. Venkata Rao surveys the pattern of Communist unconventional warfare -- as seen in Korea, Malaya, the Philippines, Indochina, and India's own experience in Hyderabad-Telangana (1948-50) and Kerala -- to explain the Chinese offensive in NEFA as following a recognizable staged pattern: first establishing a 'continuous land frontier' or Yenan-style base of operations, then softening the target area through propaganda and goodwill-building among rural populations, followed by introduction of guerrilla bands, and finally full-scale invasion by regular or irregular forces. He warns that NEFA, North UP, Nepal and Sikkim have effectively become China's new 'Yenan' in India, and that pro-Chinese Communist sympathisers among Indian and Nepalese cadres could still hamper Indian military operations. He proposes a national volunteer frontier guard of some 50,000 people, stationed along the borders, engaged in adult education, propaganda counter-work, and community vigilance, as an informal complement to Home Guards, CID, police, military and commando units to prevent rural populations from falling under Communist control. - Venkata Rao frames the Chinese NEFA offensive as following the established pattern of Communist unconventional warfare seen in Korea, Malaya, the Philippines, Indochina, Telangana and Kerala. - Stalin reportedly pointed Indian communists toward Yenan's model of a land-locked base bordering a communist country, for their Telangana campaign. - The staged pattern: (1) seek geographic contiguity with a communist country/'Yenan'; (2) soften the area via propaganda and goodwill; (3) introduce armed guerrilla bands; (4) bring in regular armies or locally-built forces. - China's Yenan in India is now NEFA, North UP, and to some extent Nepal and Sikkim, with pro-Chinese sympathies among some Indian, Nepalese and Chinese cadres. - He recounts the Telangana revolt (1948-50) and Kerala Communist party's parallel rural administration as concrete precedents he personally studied. - He proposes a 50,000-strong national volunteer frontier guard for adult education, counter-propaganda, vigilance and reporting of strangers, paid only expenses, to supplement Home Guards, CID, police, military and commando units. ### Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death *By Patrick Henry (speech, reprinted)* M. Devadas Kini surveys seven competing theories of what Communist China 'is upto' in its aggression against India -- ranging from securing the Aksai Chin road, to coveting Assam's oil, Burma's rice bowl, forcing India into the Western camp, straining Indian democracy's economic development, humiliating and isolating India, or simply diverting attention from domestic economic troubles. He concludes China's real aim is broader: to dominate Asia, and that recognising this aggressive, expansionist reality is the necessary first step. Given that India cannot afford the cost of matching China militarily on its own (already ~30% of the budget, projected to double), he argues the only viable path is a military alliance with Western powers -- distinct from mere aid, since alliance provides sustained commitment insulated from changes in the aiding country's administration -- covering all countries threatened by Communist China, with political and economic content promoting democratic government without interference in internal affairs. - Kini catalogues seven rival 'Sinologist' theories for Chinese motives, from limited territorial aims (Aksai Chin) to broader ambitions (Assam's oil, Burma's rice bowl, humiliating India, diverting domestic discontent). - He concludes China's aim is simply to dominate Asia, following Mao's dictum that power comes from the barrel of a gun. - He notes India already spends ~30% of its budget (2.5% of national income) on defence, with the Finance Minister indicating this may need to double. - He argues military alliance (unlike temporary aid) provides sustained defence commitment insulated from changes of administration in the aiding country. - He rejects the objection that alliance would make India a Western 'satellite', citing UK, France and other NATO members as counter-examples, and Pakistan's SEATO/CENTO membership not preventing its overtures to China. - He calls for an alliance encompassing all states threatened by China, with democratic and economic-development content, not just military terms. ### With Many Voices This is a reprint of Patrick Henry's March 1775 speech against British rule, presented with an editorial framing note describing the parallels between the American colonies' predicament and India's situation facing China as 'strangely prophetic'. The full text of the classic 'Give me liberty or give me death' address is reproduced, arguing against further supplication and for immediate armed resistance, since delay would not bring greater strength and 'the next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms'. - The piece is a full reprint of Patrick Henry's 1775 speech against the British Government, framed by the editors as prophetic of India's 1963 situation vis-a-vis China. - Henry argues that further petition and hope for reconciliation are illusions and that armed resistance is the only remaining option. - He rejects the argument that the colonies are too weak, asserting that delay would not bring greater relative strength. - The speech closes with the famous declaration ending in 'give me liberty or give me death'. ### Essay 9 The recurring 'With Many Voices' column compiles short press quotations from January 1963 on the China crisis, non-alignment and world affairs, from figures including Senator Thomas Dodd, President Kennedy, V. K. Krishna Menon, Harold Macmillan, Khrushchev, Mao Tse-tung, Frank Moraes, Nehru, Balraj Sahni and others, drawn from Time, Hindustan Times, Blitz, Statesman, Hindu, Indian Express, Opinion and other outlets. The page closes with the magazine's subscription form addressed to readers, published by the Democratic Research Service, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay. - The column gathers dated press quotations (all January 1963) on the China border crisis, non-alignment, and Cold War politics. - Quoted figures include Senator Thomas Dodd, President Kennedy, V. K. Krishna Menon, Harold Macmillan, Khrushchev, Mao Tse-tung, Frank Moraes, Nehru, Dewan Chamanlal, Asoka Mehta and Balraj Sahni. - Frank Moraes is quoted criticising the Colombo Formula as favouring the aggressor over its victim. - The page carries the Freedom First subscription form, listing an annual subscription of Rs. 3.00. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff130/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 130 (March 1963) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical, published in the immediate aftermath of the 1962 Sino-Indian border war. The issue is dominated by defence and foreign-policy anxiety: contributors press for a formal air-defence pact with Western powers, criticize the government's handling of the Sino-Indian conflict and the Colombo proposals, argue for the 'de-militarisation' of Tibet, and dissect India's diplomatic humiliation at the Third Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Conference in Moshi. Domestic politics also features, with a piece on Indonesia's Sukarno and the proposed Malaysia federation, a defence of the Defence of India Act and the state of emergency by MP Dr. L. M. Singhvi, and a sharply critical history of the Communist Party of India's shifting, Moscow-aligned positions on Indian nationalism. The issue closes with a book review of a Nigerian ex-communist's memoir of six years under East German communist tutelage, a cartoon page ('You Said It' by Laxman), and the recurring 'With Many Voices' page of press quotations on the Sino-Indian dispute, alongside the masthead and subscription details. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 130 (March 1963) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical, published in the immediate aftermath of the 1962 Sino-Indian border war. The issue is dominated by defence and foreign-policy anxiety: contributors press for a formal air-defence pact with Western powers, criticize the government's handling of the Sino-Indian conflict and the Colombo proposals, argue for the 'de-militarisation' of Tibet, and dissect India's diplomatic humiliation at the Third Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Conference in Moshi. Domestic politics also features, with a piece on Indonesia's Sukarno and the proposed Malaysia federation, a defence of the Defence of India Act and the state of emergency by MP Dr. L. M. Singhvi, and a sharply critical history of the Communist Party of India's shifting, Moscow-aligned positions on Indian nationalism. The issue closes with a book review of a Nigerian ex-communist's memoir of six years under East German communist tutelage, a cartoon page ('You Said It' by Laxman), and the recurring 'With Many Voices' page of press quotations on the Sino-Indian dispute, alongside the masthead and subscription details. ## Essays ### Defence In The Air *By Raman Desai* Raman Desai's opening piece argues that India's air defence has been dangerously neglected. Drawing on the Normandy landings and the Korean War, he contends that wars are won by aggressive, offensively-postured air forces rather than passive civilian air-cover, and criticizes Nehru's Lok Sabha statement on air strips and communications as woolly and reactive. He dismisses Communist Party anxieties about Western-supplied air cover as a delaying tactic that suits Soviet interests, and calls for India to secure firm alliances with 'tried friends' rather than negotiate boundary concessions with China. - Uses Normandy and the Korean War as historical analogies for the necessity of air power over passive defence - Criticizes Nehru's Lok Sabha statement on air strips as an inadequate, ad hoc response - Accuses the Communist Party of India of stalling on Western air cover to buy time for Soviet MIG deliveries - Argues India must seek 'the aid and alliance of tried friends' rather than negotiate away territory - Frames the debate as one between fighting for a boundary versus surrendering 'a thousand miles' through horse-trading ### The Peacock *By R. K. D.* A short unsigned piece on 'The Peacock' reflects on India's choice of the peacock as its national emblem for wildlife conservation, contrasting it with the peacock's historic association with Mughal and British imperial pageantry, and closing with a wry note about swearing 'on the peacock' never to swallow one's pride. It is followed by James McAuley's poem 'Innocent by Definition' (reprinted from Quadrant, Sydney, Summer 1963), a satire on morally evasive, consensus-seeking political rhetoric. - Reflects on the peacock as India's wildlife emblem and its older association with imperial pageantry - Notes the male peacock's greater 'glamour' compared to the female, taken as apt for the emblem - McAuley's poem satirizes 'quagmire' political language that avoids moral judgment - The poem is reprinted courtesy of Quadrant (Sydney), Summer 1963 issue ### Innocent By Definition *By James McAuley* S. Sharangpani's 'Double-cross At Moshi' recounts how the Indian delegation to the Third Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Conference in Moshi, Tanganyika, was diplomatically outmanoeuvred. Despite triumphalist Indian press coverage during the conference, the final resolution on the Sino-Indian conflict dropped the phrase 'without reservation,' effectively endorsing China's position and upholding the Colombo proposals without condemning Chinese aggression. The Indian delegation's own leader, Chaman Lal, admitted 'we were double-crossed,' while the piece criticizes both the delegation's poor judgment (it was led by 'fellow-travellers' and 'crypto-communists') and the government's complicity in sending it. - The Indian delegation to the Moshi Afro-Asian Solidarity Conference claimed victory prematurely, only to discover the final resolution favoured China - The word 'without reservation' was dropped from the resolution with the Indian delegation's own consent - Delegation leader Chaman Lal publicly admitted the Indian side had been 'double-crossed' - The delegation is characterized as ideologically unsuited (fellow-travellers and crypto-communists) to represent India's case against China - The Soviet delegate at the conference praised the Colombo proposals while avoiding criticism of China - The piece implicates the Nehru government and the Indian High Commission in Tanganyika in the failed diplomatic effort ### Double-cross At Moshi *By S. Sharangpani* An unsigned 'As Others See Us' reprint titled 'Indian Dilemma' (from National Review, New York, presumably late 1962) argues that China's consolidation of Tibet lets it squeeze Bhutan, Sikkim, and Nepal while threatening the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It criticizes Krishna Menon as a pro-Communist, neutralist influence on Nehru, questions the competence of India's armed forces, and urges continued Western military aid to India despite the risks and 'subtle traps' of unrestricted support to Nehru's government. - Frames China's Tibet consolidation as part of a strategic vise on Bhutan, Sikkim, and Nepal - Portrays Krishna Menon as pro-Communist and largely responsible, with Nehru, for India's military unpreparedness - Questions whether India's government is competent enough to usefully deploy Western military aid - Still recommends the West extend aid to India despite doubts, citing the shared interest in resisting Chinese expansion - Notes India's continued deployment of best troops against Pakistan in Kashmir rather than solely against China ### As Others See Us: Indian Dilemma Adam Adil's 'Dr. Sukarno And Malayasia' [sic] welcomes the proposed merger of Malaya, Singapore, Brunei, Sarawak, and North Borneo into a Malaysian Federation, and condemns Indonesian President Sukarno's opposition to it as a form of 'neo Afro-Asian imperialism' sustained by Soviet and Chinese Communist backing. The essay argues Sukarno is using the Malaysia issue to distract from Indonesia's economic collapse and dependence on Russian loans, and concludes that India, as a victim of Chinese aggression, has every interest in supporting Malaysia as a check on Communist influence in Southeast Asia. - Frames Indonesian opposition to the Malaysian Federation as 'neo Afro-Asian imperialism' - Portrays Sukarno as diverting attention from Indonesia's economic and political instability via the Malaysia issue - Notes Indonesia's large unpaid debt (over $1,000 million) to the Soviet Union as a source of political leverage over Sukarno - Argues Tunku Abdul Rehman is a consistent friend of India who has condemned Chinese aggression and started a fund to help India - Concludes Malaysia's formation would be a check on Chinese Communist influence in Southeast Asia, benefiting India ### Dr. Sukarno And Malayasia *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'De-Militarisation Of Tibet' criticizes Nehru's acceptance of the Colombo proposals as a reversal of Parliament's solemn resolution against negotiating with China until it withdrew from Indian soil. The essay reviews the nineteenth- and early twentieth-century treaty history establishing Tibet's autonomous status (including the 1914 McMahon Line agreement) and argues that India's 1950-51 acquiescence in China's absorption of Tibet was a moral and strategic error. It calls for the de-militarisation of Tibet as the minimum security requirement for India, backed by adequate Indian military preparation and a defence pact with Western powers (and possibly Russia). - Criticizes Nehru for accepting the Colombo proposals in apparent contradiction of Parliament's resolution - Traces treaty history (including the 1914 McMahon Line) establishing Tibet's historic autonomous status vis-a-vis China, Russia, and India - Argues India's tacit acceptance of the Chinese absorption of Tibet in 1950-51 was 'a crime against nationalism, democracy and humanity' - Describes Tibet's transformation into 'a vast military base' with airfields, railways, and depots threatening India, West Asia, and Southeast Asia - Proposes de-militarisation of Tibet as the minimum security demand, backed by a Western defence pact akin to the Eisenhower doctrine - Suggests Russia could also be invited to join a joint security scheme given her own border disputes with China ### De-Militarisation Of Tibet *By M. A. Venkata Rao* Dr. L. M. Singhvi, M.P., defends the constitutional propriety of the Defence of India Act and the state of emergency in 'Emergency And Government,' arguing that emergency powers function within, not outside, the framework of the Constitution. He cites debates from the Constituent Assembly (H. V. Kamath, Mahavir Tyagi, T. T. Krishnamachari) on balancing civil liberties against security needs, references the Soviet Constitution's own martial-law provisions for comparison, and calls on Parliament to remain vigilant that emergency powers are not abused, quoting Shakespeare's Measure for Measure on the need for the executive to be 'as holy as severe.' - Argues the Defence of India dispensation operates within, and does not abrogate, the Constitution - Cites Constituent Assembly debate (H. V. Kamath's warning about Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution enabling authoritarianism) - Cites Mahavir Tyagi and T. T. Krishnamachari on democracy's need to adjust to security demands while remaining answerable to the people - Rebuts Communist MP Hiren Mukerjee's citation of Lord Atkins on wartime law, arguing Mukerjee misapplied a dissenting opinion - Calls for parliamentary oversight (e.g., a committee) to ensure Defence of India Act powers are not abused - Closes with a warning, quoting Measure for Measure, that the executive wielding 'almost Draconian powers' must be 'as holy as severe' ### Emergency And Government *By Dr. L. M. Singhvi, M. P.* M. Devadas Kini's 'Reluctant Nationalists?' traces the Communist Party of India's shifting and evasive positions on the Sino-Indian border dispute and argues that genuine communism is fundamentally incompatible with genuine nationalism. Citing CPI resolutions and statutes from 1930 to 1962, the essay shows the party moved from denying Chinese 'aggression' (calling it mere 'incursion') to belatedly recognizing it only after ten days, and traces a longer history of the CPI treating Comintern/Moscow directives as binding, opposing Gandhi and Subhas Bose, and supporting Pakistan's creation on 'self-determination' grounds despite claiming Indian nationalism. - Shows CPI initially refused to call the Chinese crossing of the McMahon Line 'aggression,' preferring 'incursion' - CPI recognized the 20 October 1962 attack as aggression only after roughly ten days, following the declared national emergency - Cites the 1930 Draft Platform of Action and 1934 CPI statutes describing the party as bound to the 'Communist international' and Comintern decisions - Notes the CPI's wartime record: opposing the 'imperialist war' before the Nazi invasion of the USSR, then supporting the 'people's war' after, and informing on Congress activity to the British - The CPI's 1958 Amritsar constitution names 'the great October Revolution' and 'Marxism-Leninism' as its guiding inspiration, not Indian nationalism - Concludes that a 'genuine communist cannot be a genuine nationalist' and calls for vigilance against CPI infiltration of Congress and creation of a 'Yenan' in NEFA ### Reluctant Nationalists? *By M. Devadas Kini* An unsigned book review (signed 'V.B.K.') covers 'Six Years Under Communism' by Aderogba Ajao (George Allen & Unwin, 21 sh.), the memoir of a Nigerian student lured to East Germany under the guise of technical training and forcibly held there for six years by Communist Party handlers. The review situates the book within a broader pattern of Communist recruitment of young Africans and Asians for ideological training, and quotes Ajao's warnings about Communist exploitation of anti-colonial and pan-African sentiment. It is followed by an advertisement for the book 'Tibet Fights for Freedom' (Orient Longmans, Rs. 15). - Reviews Aderogba Ajao's memoir of six years' forced detention and communist indoctrination in East Germany - Frames the book as part of a broader pattern of Communist recruitment of young Africans and Asians, with training shifting emphasis from Asia to Africa - Quotes Ajao's warning that Communists exploit anti-colonial and anti-imperialist sentiment while practising their own imperialism (citing the Baltic States, Hungary, Tibet) - Notes Ajao's warning that 'if Stalin is dead, Lenin, in a sense, is not' — communism's drive for power persists - Accompanied by an advertisement for 'Tibet Fights for Freedom' (Orient Longmans, Rs. 15) ### You Said It (cartoon) *By By Laxman* The back-cover feature 'With Many Voices' compiles quotations from the international and Indian press (February 4-22, 1963) on the Sino-Indian dispute, Sino-Soviet relations, and Nehru's diplomacy, drawn from sources including Swarajya, the Hindu, Time, Opinion, Indian Express, and Hindustan Times. Quoted figures include C. Rajagopalachari, Khrushchev, Nehru, De Gaulle, Nyerere, and Diem, on themes ranging from the unreliability of the Indian state as an 'ally' to Soviet-Chinese rivalry for influence over India. The page also carries the subscription coupon and the masthead crediting Raman Desai as editor and B. K. Desai as publisher for the Democratic Research Service. - Compiles press quotations from February 1963 on the Sino-Indian dispute and Sino-Soviet dynamics - Quotes C. Rajagopalachari comparing debate over Western alignment to 'discussing vegetarianism in a Chinese restaurant' - Quotes Khrushchev's remarks on Sino-Soviet solidarity ('when the last spadeful of earth is thrown on the grave of capitalism, we will do it together with China') - Includes a Soviet Communist Party letter regretting the loss of Nehru's trust over the Chinese aggression - Carries the masthead: edited by Raman Desai, printed at Inland Printers (Bombay), published for the Democratic Research Service by B. K. Desai --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff131/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 131 (April 1963), the Bombay-based monthly of the Democratic Research Service edited by Raman K. Desai, opens with S. Natarajan's account of press-government relations under the post-1962 "national emergency," arguing that the revived Defence of India Rules governing the press are an unnecessary and potentially harmful imitation of wartime regulations, and that the deeper problem is a press too accommodating of government rather than one under real legal threat. M. R. Masani attacks the Union Budget's Super Profits Tax as a mortal blow to joint-stock enterprise that plays into a Marxist agenda under cover of the China emergency. Raman K. Desai surveys corruption and tax evasion in Indian business and the government's selective, hypocritical response to the Santhanam/Vivian Bose Commission findings. V. B. Karnik's "The Myth Of Non-Alignment" argues that the Chinese invasion exposed non-alignment as a policy without moral foundation, now overtaken by India's practical alignment with the West. Harvard's Samuel P.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 131 (April 1963), the Bombay-based monthly of the Democratic Research Service edited by Raman K. Desai, opens with S. Natarajan's account of press-government relations under the post-1962 "national emergency," arguing that the revived Defence of India Rules governing the press are an unnecessary and potentially harmful imitation of wartime regulations, and that the deeper problem is a press too accommodating of government rather than one under real legal threat. M. R. Masani attacks the Union Budget's Super Profits Tax as a mortal blow to joint-stock enterprise that plays into a Marxist agenda under cover of the China emergency. Raman K. Desai surveys corruption and tax evasion in Indian business and the government's selective, hypocritical response to the Santhanam/Vivian Bose Commission findings. V. B. Karnik's "The Myth Of Non-Alignment" argues that the Chinese invasion exposed non-alignment as a policy without moral foundation, now overtaken by India's practical alignment with the West. Harvard's Samuel P. Huntington, in a reprinted or syndicated piece, analyses the diffusion of power in world politics and the fraying of both the Sino-Soviet and Atlantic blocs. M. R. Pai's "The Perquisitive Society" documents the scale of government perquisites — water, electricity, housing, travel privileges — enjoyed by ministers and legislators even as ordinary citizens are asked to bear new wartime taxes. Adam Adil (the issue's printer and publisher) reports on the repression of China's Muslim minority under Communist rule. The issue closes with the regular "With Many Voices" digest of press quotations on the emergency, non-alignment, and the budget, followed by the annual statutory Statement About Ownership and Other Particulars of Freedom First. All twelve rendered pages appear to constitute the complete issue. ## Essays ### Emergency And The Press *By S. Natarajan* S. Natarajan examines whether a genuine emergency exists in government-press relations following the 1962 China war, concluding that the Defence of India Rules provisions touching the press are a largely unnecessary and possibly harmful copy of wartime-era regulations. He traces the history of press self-regulation from the World War II press advisory system through the postwar "gentlemen's agreement" and the All India Newspaper Editors Conference, arguing that Indian editors and government developed informal, workable understandings that made heavy-handed legal powers superfluous. He is sharply critical of Nehru's public remarks equating press freedom with the "power of money," arguing Nehru evades the real charge — that the Indian press's actual performance, not its ownership, is the problem — and suggests the press has become "emasculated" partly because Nehru himself prefers editors without firm convictions. The essay closes by noting the government's 1953 constitutional amendment restricting free expression in the interest of "friendly relations with other powers," calling this an unproven, merely lucky policy rather than a principled one. - Argues no genuine press emergency exists requiring special wartime-style powers after the 1962 China conflict. - Traces history of press self-regulation: WWII press advisory system, the 'gentlemen's agreement', and the All India Newspaper Editors' Conference. - Criticizes Nehru's claim that a free press is compromised by ownership concentration ('the power of money'), calling it confused thinking. - Contends the deeper problem is a weak, self-suppressing press rather than government interference. - Criticizes the 1953 constitutional amendment permitting restriction of free expression for 'friendly relations with other powers'. ### A Lethal Budget *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani denounces the 1963 Union Budget, and particularly its Super Profits Tax, as a deliberate attack on joint-stock enterprise dressed up as a measure to fund defence against Chinese aggression, which he argues in effect serves a 'Marxist mind' and advances a state-capitalist monopoly. He defends joint stock enterprise as a cooperative institution connecting savers and entrepreneurs to meet community needs efficiently and profitably, invoking Gandhi's trusteeship concept as compatible with enlightened free enterprise and citing Ludwig Erhard's notion of 'Social Enterprise' as a model reconciling profit with social purpose. Masani calls for business to reform itself (helping small entrepreneurs, opposing crony excess), to place its case before the public more assertively, and cites American 'Business In Politics' initiatives (GEC, Ford, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce) as models of organized civic engagement business should emulate in India. - Calls the Super Profits Tax a 'lethal attack' on joint stock enterprise exploiting the China emergency. - Frames the budget as advancing a state-capitalist, quasi-Marxist agenda. - Defends joint stock enterprise as a cooperative mechanism serving both investors and the community. - Invokes Gandhi's trusteeship concept and Ludwig Erhard's 'Social Enterprise' as reconciling profit and social purpose. - Urges Indian business to organize politically along the lines of American 'Business In Politics' programmes. ### This World Of Murky Business *By Raman K. Desai* Raman K. Desai surveys pervasive tax evasion, black-marketeering, and financial malpractice in Indian business, contrasting an 'expert legal advice' school that evades restraint through technicalities with a minority that abides by law in letter and spirit. He discusses the Vivian Bose Commission's findings against major business houses (Tatas, Mafatlal, Ambica Mills), noting some firms resigned from FICCI in response while others resisted accountability, and criticizes government ministers for railing against business misdeeds while doing nothing structural (e.g., a social boycott of known offenders) and while implicated themselves, citing revelations of gold hoarding by a tycoon and remarks by Finance Ministers T. T. Krishnamachari and G. L. Mehta. Desai warns that continued government complicity and business malpractice risk pushing India toward either communism or military dictatorship if honest leadership does not reassert itself. - Describes two competing business ethics: technical evasion of law versus abiding by its spirit. - Discusses Vivian Bose Commission findings against Tatas, Mafatlal, and Ambica Mills business houses. - Criticizes government ministers for hypocrisy in condemning business malpractice while remaining complicit. - Cites a gold-hoarding scandal involving a business tycoon and remarks by Finance Ministers T. T. Krishnamachari and G. L. Mehta. - Warns that eroding public confidence in business and government could open the door to communism or army dictatorship. ### The Myth Of Non-Alignment *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik argues that non-alignment, the cornerstone of India's foreign policy, was the first casualty of the Chinese invasion, since India abandoned its stated aversion to military blocs and rushed to accept Western arms and aid to preserve its freedom. He contends non-alignment was always a pragmatic policy rather than a moral principle, and that having judged China to be the aggressor, India has no right to parade continued non-alignment as a moral virtue while in practice deepening its alignment with the West. Karnik surveys how the diffusion of military power makes individual-nation neutrality increasingly untenable, and cites Chinese Communist rhetoric (Mao Tse-tung, Peking Review) branding Nehru a 'representative' of imperialism precisely because India has tilted toward Western military assistance. - Argues the Chinese invasion exposed non-alignment as an unrealistic guarantee against aggression. - Frames non-alignment as a pragmatic policy adopted for results, not a moral principle demanding equal treatment of good and evil. - Notes India accepted substantial Western military aid despite Nehru's earlier warnings against 'begging' for outside help. - Cites Mao Tse-tung's doctrine that neutrality is a camouflage and a 'third road does not exist'. - Cites Peking Review's denunciation of Nehru as having 'joined the enemy' after India accepted Western aid. ### Alliances And Tensions *By Samuel P. Huntington, Professor of Government, Harvard University* Harvard professor Samuel P. Huntington analyses the shift from a bipolar to a diffuse, multipolar world, arguing this diffusion of power differentiates national interests, multiplies (but also moderates) conflicts through cross-cutting cleavages, and is driven partly by uneven nuclear development among allies. He traces how the Sino-Soviet split moved from empirical policy disagreement to ideological rupture, while the Atlantic alliance remains bound by shared values and pragmatic ad hoc conflict resolution (e.g., 1956 Suez) rather than shared ideology, allowing it to withstand internal disputes over nuclear deterrents (British/French desire for independent forces versus the American preference for a collective NATO deterrent). Huntington closes by noting the common but qualified sympathy of both superpowers for India against China, and argues the era of simple foreign-policy slogans — Stalinism, containment, non-alignment — has ended. - Frames world politics as shifting from bipolarity to a diffuse, multipolar distribution of power. - Argues diffusion of power differentiates national interests and multiplies conflicts but also moderates them via cross-cutting alliances. - Contrasts the ideologically fractured Sino-Soviet split with the pragmatic, ad hoc conflict management within the Atlantic alliance. - Discusses divergent nuclear postures: British/French preference for independent deterrents versus the American preference for a collective NATO deterrent. - Concludes that simple foreign policy dogmas — Stalinism, containment, non-alignment — are all now outdated. ### The Perquisitive Society *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai documents public outrage at disclosures of large water and electricity bills paid from public funds for Union Ministers, and broadens the critique into a wider indictment of perquisites enjoyed at nearly every level of Indian public life — MPs' free rail travel, proposed hostels, state legislators' honoraria and free transport, and a bloated and increasingly costly central bureaucracy. He argues that perquisites are dangerous in a democracy because they conceal from the public the real cost of maintaining public servants, undermining honest accounting for the sacrifices demanded of ordinary citizens amid new wartime taxation, and calls for the elimination of unwarranted perquisites in favour of transparent, adequately paid public service with full accountability. - Reports Union Ministers' average monthly water and electricity expenditure of Rs. 13,489, funded publicly. - Notes reactions from Lal Bahadur Shastri (offered to pay his own bills) and A. K. Sen's criticism of the Works and Housing Ministry. - Extends the critique to MPs' free rail travel, proposed new hostels, and state legislators' perquisites (e.g. Maharashtra MLAs' free transport). - Cites rising central administration costs, from Rs. 7.73 crores to Rs. 18.47 crores over ten years. - Argues perquisites conceal the true cost of public servants from citizens and calls for their elimination alongside honest, adequate salaries. ### Fate Of Muslims In Communist China *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil (the issue's publisher and printer) reports on the deteriorating condition of China's roughly sixty million Muslims under Communist rule, describing historic Muslim concentration in strategic border regions such as Sinkiang and Manchuria and the erosion of their traditional religious, educational, and commercial autonomy. He details Communist efforts to disperse Muslim populations, close Muslim schools, suppress Arabic-language religious instruction, and indoctrinate Muslim youth in Party offices, alongside propaganda distorting Islamic history (citing Soviet claims that the Prophet was 'an agent of exploiting landlords'). Despite severe repression, the piece reports continuing Muslim resistance and revolt, particularly in Sinkiang, and calls for greater world awareness of and support for Chinese Muslims' struggle against Communist oppression. - Estimates nearly sixty million Muslims live in China, concentrated in strategic border regions including Sinkiang and Manchuria. - Describes Communist policies dispersing Muslim populations, seizing land, and closing Muslim schools and educational institutions. - Reports Communist efforts to replace Arabic religious instruction with the official Chinese language and indoctrinate Muslim youth. - Cites Soviet propaganda claiming the Prophet of Islam was 'an agent of exploiting landlords and merchants.' - Documents continued Muslim revolt, especially in Sinkiang, since the 1949 Communist takeover, met with severe reprisals. ### With Many Voices The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a regular digest of quotations from the Indian and international press on the emergency, non-alignment, and the Union Budget, featuring remarks from Rajaji, Khrushchev, Morarji Desai, Nehru, Ayub Khan, Rammanohar Lohia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, and others. Following this is the annual statutory 'Statement About Ownership and Other Particulars of Freedom First,' identifying Adam Adil as printer and publisher, Raman K. Desai as editor, and the Democratic Research Service (127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1) as the owning entity, with the magazine printed at The Inland Printers, Bombay. - Compiles press quotations on the emergency, the Union Budget, and non-alignment from Indian and foreign sources. - Includes remarks attributed to Rajaji, Khrushchev, Morarji Desai, Nehru, President Ayub Khan, Dr. Rammanohar Lohia, and Tunku Abdul Rahman. - Publishes the statutory Statement About Ownership, naming Adam Adil as printer/publisher and Raman K. Desai as editor. - Confirms the Democratic Research Service, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1, as the periodical's owning organisation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff132/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 132 (May 1963) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal magazine, opening with V. B. Karnik's defence of excluding Communists from sensitive government posts in the wake of a controversial Bihar security circular, and following with S. Natarajan on the mishandling of civil-liberties questions (the Fernandes-Upadhye taxi-union detentions) by the Congress government under the Defence of India Rules. Roman O. Zybenko surveys Soviet press reports on black-market gold trading to argue that Soviet gold control has failed in practice. A. B. Shah's essay marking Lincoln's 154th birth anniversary reads Lincoln's opposition to slavery as a model of principled 'containment' of evil applicable to India's confrontation with Communist China. M. D. Kini reviews the 1961 CPSU programme to expose the gap between Communist rhetoric of peaceful coexistence and its retained commitment to non-parliamentary and violent methods of revolution. Rama Swarup Sabherwal warns that Ceylon, despite the poor showing of Communists at the ballot box, faces a serious risk of communist infiltration into trade unions, the civil service, and front organisations.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 132 (May 1963) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal magazine, opening with V. B. Karnik's defence of excluding Communists from sensitive government posts in the wake of a controversial Bihar security circular, and following with S. Natarajan on the mishandling of civil-liberties questions (the Fernandes-Upadhye taxi-union detentions) by the Congress government under the Defence of India Rules. Roman O. Zybenko surveys Soviet press reports on black-market gold trading to argue that Soviet gold control has failed in practice. A. B. Shah's essay marking Lincoln's 154th birth anniversary reads Lincoln's opposition to slavery as a model of principled 'containment' of evil applicable to India's confrontation with Communist China. M. D. Kini reviews the 1961 CPSU programme to expose the gap between Communist rhetoric of peaceful coexistence and its retained commitment to non-parliamentary and violent methods of revolution. Rama Swarup Sabherwal warns that Ceylon, despite the poor showing of Communists at the ballot box, faces a serious risk of communist infiltration into trade unions, the civil service, and front organisations. Kamalashanker Pandya reports approvingly on a Swatantra Party by-election win at Dohad in Gujarat as a rebuke to Congress's authoritarian drift. The issue closes with a review of A. Doak Barnett's 'Communist China and Asia' (by S. P. Aiyar) and the recurring 'With Many Voices' column of press quotations. ## Essays ### Security And Public Services *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik defends a Bihar government circular barring Communists from rifle training in the Village Volunteer Force, arguing that Communist Party membership itself constitutes a security risk because Communist loyalty runs to the international movement and, currently, to a hostile communist China rather than to India. He cites the 1962 Radcliffe Commission report on Britain's civil service security, which found 'disproportionately high' Communist penetration of civil service unions, to argue India should adopt comparably strict screening of Communists from all security-sensitive posts now that India is 'at war with a communist Power.' - A Bihar government circular excluding Communist-influenced Panchayat members from rifle training for the Village Volunteer Force drew protest from the Communist Party and the CPI weekly New Age. - Karnik argues Communist loyalty is to the international communist movement and to whichever communist state it currently favours, not to the individual's own country. - He invokes the 1962 Radcliffe Commission report on Britain, which found alarming Communist penetration of civil service trade unions. - Karnik argues India, being 'at war with a communist Power' (China), has more reason than Britain to restrict Communists from security-sensitive posts. - He anticipates the charge of 'McCarthyism' and rejects it, saying the policy applies only to posts sensitive to national security during an actual war footing. ### Individual Liberty And The Law *By S. Natarajan* S. Natarajan criticizes the Home Ministry's handling of two civil-liberties controversies: the mysterious detention and release of three persons early in the Emergency, and the more recent arrest under the Defence of India Rules of taxi-union leaders George Fernandes and Janardhan Upadhye in Bombay. He argues that Home Minister Lal Bahadur Sastri's practice of settling disputes in private 'huddles' with opposition leaders, rather than being accountable to Parliament, sets a dangerous precedent, and that Maharashtra Home Minister P. K. Savant's vague justification of the Fernandes arrest as being 'in the public interest' left the matter more confused rather than clarified. - Three persons detained early in the Emergency were released quietly, with the fact only surfacing after questions in the Lok Sabha. - Home Minister Lal Bahadur Sastri privately resolved, rather than publicly clarified, a controversy over an alleged threat against the Prime Minister attributed to an unnamed P.S.P. politician. - Natarajan criticizes the pattern of ministers settling public issues in private with opposition leaders rather than being answerable to Parliament as a whole. - George Fernandes and Janardhan Upadhye, leaders of the Bombay Taximen's Union, were detained under the Defence of India Rules on April 5, prompting a one-day taxi strike. - Maharashtra Home Minister P. K. Savant's public defense of the arrests, citing 'public interest,' is judged unpersuasive and likely to have made Fernandes a 'martyr'. ### Failure Of Gold Control In Russia *By Roman O. Zybenko* Roman O. Zybenko argues, drawing on articles in the Soviet press (Izvestia, Pravda Ukrainy, Radyanska Ukraina, Ekonomicheskaya gazeta), that the Soviet state's gold monopoly is riddled with theft, smuggling, and black-market dealing despite severe laws, including the recently introduced death penalty for gold and currency speculation. He details specific cases -- gold theft rings around the Ynykchan and Magadan mines, a Moscow currency-speculation network reselling stolen gold across Central Asia, and a Leningrad dealer found with a private hoard including tsarist coins and an Alexander II gold medallion -- to conclude that ordinary Soviet citizens and officials alike turn to gold as a hedge given the absence of normal outlets like private property or investment. - The USSR was the world's second-largest gold producer (average 15 million ounces/year, 1946-1958) after South Africa. - Soviet law requires artel (cooperative) gold miners to deliver all gold to the state, but Zybenko cites Soviet press admissions that this law is frequently violated. - Multiple criminal cases are cited: gold theft at the Ynykchan mine near Magadan, a Moscow-based network moving stolen gold through Tashkent, Andizhan, Bukhara and Tiflis, and a Leningrad dealer, Zuikov, found with a hoard of tsarist coins, diamonds, and a gold medallion of Alexander II. - A criminal network in Leningrad ran an electroplating workshop manufacturing fake gold ten-rouble tsarist coins. - Zybenko attributes the black market to excess money among Soviet officials, military officers, and speculators who have no legitimate outlet (housing, cars, investment) for their earnings. - The USSR's introduction of the death penalty for gold/currency speculation is cited as evidence of the scale of the underlying problem. ### The Spirit Of Lincoln *By A. B. Shah* A. B. Shah, in an essay based on a February 12, 1963 speech marking the 154th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, argues that Lincoln's greatness lay in a clear-eyed policy of 'containment' rather than either isolationism or appeasement: Lincoln accepted slavery's continued existence where it already existed under the 'argument of necessity,' but refused absolutely to permit its extension, trusting that 'liberty, if not forced to contract, will, by its own nature, go on expanding' while 'slavery, if not allowed to expand, will... begin to contract.' Shah extends this to contemporary India's confrontation with Communist China, and closes by praising Lincoln's refusal to suspend civil liberties or elections even during the Civil War, contrasting it with regimes -- ancient and modern -- less committed to the rule of law. - Shah frames Lincoln's historical significance around India's own 20th-century choice between democracy and totalitarianism, noting India is among the few post-colonial states that chose and sustained democracy. - Lincoln's core insight, per Shah, was that 'containment' of evil (rather than 'liberation' or appeasement) works because liberty expands and evil contracts if evil is denied room to grow. - Shah stresses that for Lincoln containment required willingness to make sacrifices, distinguishing it from isolationism, appeasement, or self-deception. - Lincoln held that the 'unalienable rights of man' in the Declaration of Independence belonged to all people, 'the white and the black, the yellow and the brown,' not only white men. - Even during the Civil War, Lincoln refused to suspend elections or civil liberties, which Shah presents as a model of principled governance under existential threat. - Shah closes by universalizing Lincoln's legacy beyond America, calling on 'anyone who stands for freedom and democracy, anywhere in the world' to claim kinship with his spirit. ### A Brave New World *By M. D. Kini* A short satirical poem, 'Tatar Triolet,' mocking the Soviet leadership's cult of Stalin-era loyalty and the theme of a beloved ruler undone by shadowy manipulation, using the triolet's repeating refrain structure ('Justly beloved lives our Tsar, / Our trust -- alas, Rasputinized'). - A triolet poem playing on the historical Rasputin/Tsar motif, likely as political satire of Soviet or Russian authoritarian leadership. - Uses the traditional triolet form's repeated refrain lines to build ironic emphasis. ### Ceylon Faces Communist Challenge *By Rama Swarup Sabherwal* M. D. Kini reviews the 1961 Communist Party of the Soviet Union programme (published with commentary by Herbert Ritvo as 'The New Soviet Society'), arguing that despite its rhetoric of peaceful coexistence and 'peaceful means' of achieving socialist revolution, the programme still commits Communist parties to using 'all forms of struggle -- peaceful and non-peaceful, parliamentary and extra-parliamentary' whenever expedient. He contends the real difference between Khrushchev and Mao is tactical rather than fundamental -- over the use of nuclear weapons, not over the ultimate goal of world revolution -- and dismisses the programme's promise of material abundance by 1980 as likely to prove as unreliable as 'pie crusts.' - Kini defines dogmatism as 'total commitment to a set of half-truths' and argues Communism, despite its claims to scientific grounding, exhibits this trait through repeated 'time-worn shibboleths.' - The 1961 CPSU programme labels Yugoslavia 'revisionist,' which Kini calls hypocritical given Khrushchev's later rapprochement with Tito. - Despite proclaiming peaceful coexistence, the programme commits Communist parties to readiness for 'any swift and sudden replacement of one form of struggle by another.' - Kini argues the Khrushchev-Mao split is about tactics and the use of atomic weapons, not about the shared aim of world revolution -- a 'warning for all democrats.' - He is skeptical of the programme's promise that the Soviet Union will achieve material and cultural abundance for its population by 1980. - Kini contrasts Marxism's continued appeal in economically underdeveloped, non-democratic countries with its declining relevance in industrialized democracies where trade unionism has already delivered a fairer distribution of wealth. ### Dohad Parliamentary Bye-Election *By Kamalashanker Pandya* Rama Swarup Sabherwal surveys the state of communism in Ceylon, arguing that although the three rival Communist and Trotskyite factions there have repeatedly fared badly at the ballot box -- unable to unseat the ruling Freedom Party even under a non-contest pact -- the real danger lies in infiltration of trade unions, the civil service, front organisations (such as the Ceylon Democratic Lawyers' Association and Ceylon Journalists' Association), and a press landscape he describes as uniformly sympathetic to a 'sameness' of Soviet-friendly coverage. He concludes that a communist-backed military takeover is unlikely in the near term given electoral results, but warns the risk of a Czechoslovakia-style creeping takeover cannot be ruled out unless Ceylon's right wing remains vigilant. - Ceylon has three rival brands of Communists (Trotskyite LSSP under N. M. Perera, Trotskyite MEP under Philip Gunawardene, and the Ceylon Communist Party under S. A. Wickremesinghe) who compete on personality rather than doctrine. - Sabherwal argues the rural Ceylonese peasantry has shown little real interest in communism, remaining tied to Buddhist and nationalist sentiment rather than Marxist ideology. - Sabherwal suggests the left wing seized on the failed January 27 coup attempt to accuse rightists in government of plotting it, a charge he calls a 'magic formula' to exploit Buddhist resentment of educated elites in government posts. - He describes Ceylon's press as divided into only two groups that are effectively the same in orientation, with left-leaning sub-editors slipping in pro-Soviet or anti-Western material. - The Communist Party won only four seats despite a non-contest agreement with the ruling Freedom Party under Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike. - Sabherwal identifies infiltration into trade unions, the public service, the armed forces, and international front organisations (Peace Council, International Union of Students, International Association of Democratic Lawyers) as the real communist strategy in Ceylon. ### Review: Communist China and Asia (by A. Doak Barnett) *By S. P. Aiyar* Kamalashanker Pandya reports on the Swatantra Party's victory in the Dohad parliamentary by-election in Gujarat's Panchmahals district -- India's first parliamentary by-election after the Chinese aggression and the declaration of national emergency -- with the winning margin more than tripling despite a much lower turnout. He attributes the result to a broad anti-Congress alliance of PSP, Jana Sangh, and independents; the popularity of Swatantra's local Assembly MLA, Maharaja Jaideepsinhjee of Devgarh Baria; lingering resentment from a 1960 police firing on striking government employees; and rising local awareness of the true nature of Chinese communist aggression. - The Dohad by-election was the first parliamentary by-election in India held after the Chinese aggression and declaration of national emergency. - The Swatantra candidate's winning margin grew from 4,000 votes in the prior general election to over 14,000, despite turnout falling to only 37%. - Pandya credits a grand opposition alliance (PSP, Swatantra, Jana Sangh, independents) against Congress's perceived authoritarian drift. - Maharaja Jaideepsinhjee of Devgarh Baria, the sitting Swatantra MLA who had won his Assembly seat with 90% of votes cast, is cited as a key local factor. - A 1960 General Strike by Central Government employees, during which police shot five workers, is cited as having built lasting anti-Congress civil-liberties sentiment in the region. - Pandya frames the result as a verdict against the ruling party's foreign and domestic policies and evidence that Swatantra's 'Freedom First' ideology has reached ordinary people. ### With Many Voices S. P. Aiyar reviews A. Doak Barnett's 'Communist China and Asia: A Challenge to American Foreign Policy' (Vintage Books, third printing, May 1962), praising it as one of the most outstanding studies of Chinese communism's impact on American foreign policy and on south and south-east Asia. Aiyar highlights Barnett's account of Chinese Communist strategic thinking -- indifferent to permanently 'solving' problems but focused on incrementally shifting the balance of power -- and Barnett's argument that Peking's massive 1962 attack on India was intended partly to demonstrate to South-East Asia that India's declared non-alignment was, in practice, aligned with the West. - Barnett's book, first published in 1960, is the product of a Council on Foreign Relations study group and remains, per Aiyar, largely valid despite subsequent developments in Sino-Indian relations. - Aiyar quotes Barnett's chapter on 'The Roots of Mao's Strategy' describing Chinese Communist leaders as concerned with incrementally 'enhancing their power' rather than permanently resolving disputes. - The review cites Mao Tse-tung's 1949 declaration that 'neutrality is merely a camouflage and a third road does not exist' and the Peking Review's December 1962 argument that India's declared neutrality was in practice aligned with Western imperialism. - Barnett outlines four broad U.S. policy alternatives toward China: full accommodation, a 'liberation' policy of all-out pressure, a policy of isolating and limiting pressure on Peking, and a 'two-Chinas' policy recognizing a divided China. - Aiyar notes Barnett's advocacy of a long-term, realistic policy aimed at building the economic and political defences of peace in underdeveloped South-East Asian countries, arguing an effective Asia policy matters more than a narrowly China-focused one. ### Tatar Triolet (poem) The recurring 'With Many Voices' column collects short quotations from contemporary press and public figures on themes of leadership, communism, civil liberties, and international affairs, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. Quoted figures include Welles Hangen on Nehru's indispensability, C. B. Gupta on communist attitudes toward peace, Lord Home on the true targets of communist aggression, President Kennedy on Cuba, President Sukarno on Indonesia and China, and Rajaji on the danger of leaders 'with fixations,' among others. - The column is framed by an epigraph from Tennyson: 'The deep / Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends, / 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.' - Welles Hangen (Opinion) is quoted arguing Nehru's indispensability reflects a 'vacuum of recognition' rather than a real vacuum of leadership. - Lord Home, British Foreign Secretary, is quoted arguing communist aggression's targets have mainly been unaligned nations, not SEATO members. - President Kennedy is quoted on building 'a wall of dedicated men' around Cuba rather than a physical wall. - Rajaji is quoted from Swarajya warning it is 'dangerous for a nation to be governed by men with fixations.' - President Sukarno is quoted equating the freedom of Indonesia with the freedom, and life, of China. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff133/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 133 (June 1963), the classical-liberal monthly published by the Democratic Research Service in Bombay and edited by Raman Desai, is dominated by the Congress Party's stinging defeats in the Amroha and Farrukhabad by-elections, read here as a rebuke of Nehru's domestic and foreign policies. V. B. Karnik frames the victories of Acharya Kripalani and Dr. Lohia as a direct challenge to Nehru, and a press-reactions roundup collects reactions from the Hindustan Times, Indian Express, The Statesman, The Hindu, The Times of India, and Patriot. The issue's other pieces extend the magazine's running critique of Congress governance and Nehruvian non-alignment: M. R. Pai surveys corruption in public life via the Dalmia-Jain and Malaviya-Sirajuddin affairs; an unsigned foreign-affairs piece (signed R.K.D.) and Adam Adil's essay on the Sino-Soviet conflict both argue that Nehru's foreign policy is confused and too indulgent of Communist powers; M. A.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 133 (June 1963), the classical-liberal monthly published by the Democratic Research Service in Bombay and edited by Raman Desai, is dominated by the Congress Party's stinging defeats in the Amroha and Farrukhabad by-elections, read here as a rebuke of Nehru's domestic and foreign policies. V. B. Karnik frames the victories of Acharya Kripalani and Dr. Lohia as a direct challenge to Nehru, and a press-reactions roundup collects reactions from the Hindustan Times, Indian Express, The Statesman, The Hindu, The Times of India, and Patriot. The issue's other pieces extend the magazine's running critique of Congress governance and Nehruvian non-alignment: M. R. Pai surveys corruption in public life via the Dalmia-Jain and Malaviya-Sirajuddin affairs; an unsigned foreign-affairs piece (signed R.K.D.) and Adam Adil's essay on the Sino-Soviet conflict both argue that Nehru's foreign policy is confused and too indulgent of Communist powers; M. A. Venkata Rao critiques the philosophical basis claimed for India's 'panchsheel' foreign policy; Rama Swarup Sabherwal reports on South Vietnam's Strategic Hamlet programme; Raman Desai writes on press suppression of news around the Vivian Bose Commission report; and Aamir Ali reviews Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a compilation of contemporary quotations on politics, non-alignment, and communism. ## Essays ### A Challenge To Mr. Nehru *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead article argues that the Opposition's wins in the Amroha and Farrukhabad by-elections -- Acharya Kripalani's defeat of a sitting Union Minister, and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia's defeat of a former Central Minister -- amount to a direct popular rebuke of Prime Minister Nehru's policies, since both contests were fought explicitly on opposition to those policies. Karnik details how the Congress resorted to communal tactics in Amroha, fielding a Muslim minister at the last minute to try to capture the Muslim vote, and notes active Communist support for the Congress campaign against Kripalani. He frames the results as proof the Congress is not invincible and as a warning that the electorate is growing critical of Congress policy, closing by asking whether Nehru will now change course or let discontent accumulate. A postscript notes M. R. Masani's added by-election win in Rajkot, and a 'Famous Last Words' sidebar mocks a Gujarat Congress leader's shock at his defeat. - Kripalani won Amroha by over fifty thousand votes and Lohia won Farrukhabad, both against sitting/former Central Ministers - Both by-elections were treated by Congress as prestige contests and fought with heavy ministerial campaigning - The Congress ran a covertly communal campaign in Amroha, fielding Hafiz Mohammed Ibrahim, a Muslim minister, at the eleventh hour to draw the Muslim vote - Communists actively campaigned for the Congress against Kripalani in Amroha - Karnik reads the results as the electorate's endorsement of the opposition's criticisms of Nehru's China, defence, and other policies - A postscript reports M. R. Masani's third successive Congress defeat, this time at Rajkot ### Suppression Of News *By Raman Desai* A press-reactions digest, 'Amroha And Farrukhabad,' collects and quotes editorial reaction from major Indian newspapers to the Congress's by-election defeats, continued from page 2 to page 11 of the issue. The Hindustan Times blames Congress party leadership for turning the contests into a referendum on Nehru's national policies; the Indian Express calls the Amroha result a rebuke to the Prime Minister for lending his prestige to a degrading, communally-tinged contest; The Statesman and The Hindu read the results as evidence that voters are moving past communal and parochial lines, welcoming Kripalani and Lohia as a livelier opposition in Parliament; The Times of India cautions against over-reading the results as a national mandate; and Patriot strikes a dissenting note, framing the wins as a victory for reactionary, communal, and capitalist forces (the Jana Sangh and Swatantra) rather than a democratic gain. - Hindustan Times: blame for the Congress defeats lies with party leadership, which made the contests a referendum on Nehru's national policies - Indian Express: calls the Amroha result a 'resounding slap' rebuking Nehru for allowing his prestige to be used in a degrading, communally-charged contest - The Statesman: notes the excessive, externally-stoked excitement in both contests but sees hope that voters are moving beyond communal/parochial politics - The Hindu and Times of India: welcome Kripalani and Lohia's return to the Lok Sabha as strengthening the Opposition, while Times of India warns against reading too much national significance into the results - Patriot dissents, framing the results as a dangerous win for the communalism of the Jana Sangh and the capitalist/feudal influence of Swatantra, not a democratic advance ### Strategic Hamlets Of South Viet Nam *By Rama Swarup Sabherwal* Raman Desai's 'Suppression Of News' argues that the primary duty of a free press is to state facts objectively, and examines two recent cases of alleged news suppression in the Indian press: the muting of a defamation case involving a Church dignitary, and, more significantly, the thin coverage most newspapers gave to the Vivian Bose Commission's damning report on the Dalmia-Jain group of companies compared to the extensive space given to a rebuttal from one of the accused. Desai contrasts this with Nehru's own recent criticism of newspaper owners and the loss of the individualist, mission-driven editor (naming Annie Besant, Natarajan, Chintamani, Motilal Ghosh, Horniman, and Pandit M.S.M. Sharma of Patna's Searchlight as exemplars), and closes by warning that a press captured by the commercial interests of its owners risks losing the moral prestige it inherited from the freedom movement. - Argues the core duty of a newspaper is to state facts and present news objectively, with suppression of news as the 'primary crime' - Cites suppression of a Church dignitary's name in a defamation case as a minor instance - Argues major Indian newspapers gave the damning Vivian Bose Commission report on the Dalmia-Jain business group only cursory coverage while giving a rebuttal by one of the accused disproportionate space - Frames this asymmetry as evidence that newspaper owners' own commercial interests can compromise press objectivity - Contrasts today's 'polished paper, perfect proof-reading' editors with the eccentric, mission-driven editors of the freedom-movement generation - Warns that the Indian press's historically high public standing, inherited from the freedom struggle, could be lost if commercial capture continues ### Corruption In Public Life *By M. R. Pai* Rama Swarup Sabherwal describes South Vietnam's Strategic Hamlet Scheme, launched in March 1962, as a counter-insurgency and nation-building programme centred on the hamlet as the country's basic social unit. The article explains how hamlets are fortified with watch-towers, moats, and self-defence corps to deny the Viet Cong a base for recruitment and sabotage, while also serving a political function -- decentralised local administration and an end to arbitrary arrests -- meant to build democracy under wartime conditions. Sabherwal presents the scheme optimistically as a model that could allow South Vietnam to modernize and democratize simultaneously, with implications reaching beyond its own borders. - The Strategic Hamlet Scheme, begun March 1962, treats the hamlet as the basic unit of South Vietnamese society and of counter-insurgency strategy - Hamlets are fortified with watch-towers, earthworks, and bamboo-spear-lined moats and progress from 'secure hamlet' (defended by regular forces) to genuinely 'strategic' (self-defended) - The scheme aims to deny the Viet Cong its traditional base for subversion, recruitment, and hit-and-run tactics among the rural population - Politically, the scheme promises local self-administration and an end to arbitrary arrests, along with clemency for former Viet Cong sympathisers - Sabherwal frames the wartime conditions as paradoxically favourable for building democracy in an underdeveloped country - The article closes on an expansive claim that the hamlet-building effort will have consequences reaching beyond Vietnam's own frontier ### Tortuous Foreign Policy *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai's 'Corruption In Public Life' surveys what he sees as a post-Independence decay in public morality, anchored in two contemporary scandals: the Vivian Bose Commission's findings on malpractice in the Dalmia-Jain business group, and the Malaviya-Sirajuddin affair involving a Union Minister arranging election funds from a firm with which his ministry had dealings. Pai argues that excessive government control and licensing have created a new profession of 'contact men' and influence-peddlers, and criticizes instances such as Nehru's acceptance of a commemorative volume from a businessman under investigation by the Bose Commission. He calls for simplifying company law and reducing the discretionary power of the state as the real check on corruption, warning that the emerging alignment between vocal Congress-Left politicians and big business is a dangerous new pattern. - Frames rising corruption as a symptom of confused values in the post-Independence, post-freedom-movement era - The Vivian Bose Commission's report on the Dalmia-Jain firms is cited as a damning revelation of business malpractice - Criticizes the Malaviya-Sirajuddin affair: Minister K. D. Malaviya arranged Rs. 10,000 in election funds from a firm his ministry dealt with - Notes Nehru accepted an 'Abhinandan Granth' from Shanti Prasad Jain, then under Bose Commission investigation, as improper - Argues that complex licensing and controls create a profession of 'contact men' and influence-peddlers rather than reducing corruption - Calls for simpler company law for private firms and reduced discretionary state power as the real remedy - Warns of a dangerous new alignment between the Congress 'Left' (Malaviya, Harvani) and big business interests ### Sino-Soviet Conflict *By Adam Adil* An unsigned editorial, 'Tortuous Foreign Policy' (signed R.K.D. at its close), continues the corruption piece's theme on page 6 before turning to criticize Nehru's foreign policy as incoherent: it praises the Arab Unity declaration and President Nasser despite Egypt's arming of rebels and hostility to Israel and Jordan, while India is described as cold toward Israel and lukewarm toward Malaysia's Tunku Abdul Rahman, one of the few Asian leaders to have backed India during the China war. The piece argues that fifteen years of non-alignment have alienated India's natural democratic allies in South and South East Asia, and calls for a fresh opposition foreign policy grounded in an alliance of democracies against Communist imperialism. - Criticizes Nehru for praising President Nasser's Arab Unity declaration despite Egypt's open hostility toward Israel and Jordan - Argues Israel, built up through international goodwill after the two World Wars, is treated coldly by Indian foreign policy compared with the Arab states - Notes India's lukewarm response to Malaysia's Tunku Abdul Rahman, described as one of the few Asian leaders who backed India during the China war - Contends India's pro-Chinese, pro-Communist tilt has cost it moral standing among South and South East Asian democracies over fifteen years - Calls on Opposition parties to articulate a fresh foreign policy based on alliance among democracies against Communist imperialism ### Without Comment Adam Adil's 'Sino-Soviet Conflict' argues that the much-discussed rift between China and the USSR is real but overstated as a 'family quarrel' within a still-united Communist bloc, and warns against any Western hope that it will help India's case against Chinese aggression. Adil surveys the material and doctrinal limits of Chinese independence from Moscow -- China lacks the economic and nuclear resources to act independently and the two states remain aligned against India and the free world, with Russia endorsing Chinese characterizations of India during the border dispute. He identifies the conflict's real source as personal rivalry between Mao and Khrushchev over leadership of the communist bloc rather than doctrinal difference, and concludes that Western policies of 'soft-line' compromise with Moscow to isolate Peking are illusory and dangerous. - Argues the Sino-Soviet conflict is real but is a 'family quarrel,' not a split that divides the communist world into two camps - China lacks the economic resources, nuclear weapons, and material means to pursue an independent world strategy separate from Russia - Russia gave India only nominal, reluctant military aid (MIG planes) during the China war while endorsing China's characterization of India as merely 'friendly' rather than allied - Identifies the conflict's real driver as personal rivalry between Mao and Khrushchev over primacy in the world communist movement, per Boris Souvarine and James Burnham - Lists four doctrinal flashpoints per Zbigniew Brzezinski (war in the transition to communism, peaceful coexistence, anti-colonial strategy, nuclear-weapon sharing, and stages of domestic communism) - Concludes that any Western 'soft-line' policy hoping to isolate Peking from Moscow is illusory and would only strengthen communism against the free world ### India's Tradition In Foreign Policy *By M. A. Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'India's Tradition In Foreign Policy' rejects the claim that Nehru's panchsheel is a natural outgrowth of Indian spiritual tradition, arguing panchsheel borrows only a superficial resemblance from the Buddhist ethical code of the same name and shares its fatal flaw with the Locarno and Kellogg Pacts and the League of Nations: an absence of any sanction to enforce good behaviour among nations. He counters that the actual classical Indian tradition of statecraft, running back to Chanakya (misleadingly called Kautilya) and the Mauryan empire, is built instead on the realist concept of mandala -- balance of power through calculated alliances, permanent vigilance toward neighbours, and deep distrust as policy -- and that Chinese aggression against India has proved the disaster of ignoring this realist tradition in favour of panchsheel's naive trust. - Argues panchsheel resembles Buddhist monastic ethics (ahimsa, asteya, aparigraha, kshanti, kshama) only superficially, not a real basis for foreign policy - The fatal flaw of panchsheel, like the Locarno Pact, Kellogg Pact, and League of Nations Covenant, is the absence of any enforceable sanction - Locates the true classical Indian foreign-policy tradition in Chanakya's era (misnamed 'Kautilya'), roughly 2300 years old, going back to the time of Alexander and the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta - Chanakya's central concept is mandala -- a realist balance-of-power system built on vigilance, calculated alliances, and treating neighbours as potential enemies - Cites Dr. Zimmer's 'The Great Philosophies of India' as emphasizing the realist, non-mystical dimension of Indian political tradition - Concludes Chinese aggression against India proved conclusively the diplomatic and psychological error of panchsheel's naive trust-based approach ### Review: One Day In the Life of Ivan Denisovich (by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, translated by Ralph Parker, Victor Gollancz Ltd.) *By Aamir Ali* Aamir Ali reviews Alexander Solzhenitsyn's 'One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich' (translated by Ralph Parker, Victor Gollancz), describing it as a largely autobiographical account, drawing on Solzhenitsyn's own eight years in Soviet labour camps, of a single day in the life of prisoner Ivan Denisovich Shukhov in a special camp in Kazakhstan. Ali praises the novel's unmelodramatic realism -- its impression not of cruelty but of appalling futility and human waste -- and its avoidance of didactic tirades, noting the inevitable but not unjustified comparisons to Dostoevsky, and situates the book's publication as a significant, if perhaps unsustainable, moment of Khrushchev-era liberalization following the 20th Party Congress. - The novel is judged largely autobiographical, given Solzhenitsyn's own eight years in Arctic and 'special' political labour camps - Ivan Denisovich Shukhov is serving a ten-year sentence on a flimsy, unjustified wartime collaboration charge - Ali highlights the book's realistic, non-melodramatic tone and its central impression of futility and waste rather than overt cruelty - Notes the comparison to Dostoevsky as largely justified rather than an unwarranted marketing device - Frames the novel's publication as a landmark of the post-20th-Congress liberalization under Khrushchev, though one Ali suspects may not continue ### Amroha And Farrukhabad: Reactions of the Press 'With Many Voices' is a closing compilation of contemporary quotations from politicians, editors, and commentators on non-alignment, communism, and Indian and world politics, drawn from newspapers and journals dated in May 1963. Quoted figures include G. L. Mehta on the primacy of national balance of power, Khrushchev on party discipline over art, Walter Lippmann on Khrushchev's dilemma, Nehru calling communists '100 per cent patriots,' Dr. Lohia's definition of communism, and Bhupesh Gupta vowing to fight any dilution of non-alignment 'not only by talk but otherwise.' The page also carries a subscription coupon for Freedom First. - Collects short quotations from May 1963 on Indian and world politics, non-alignment, and communism - Includes G. L. Mehta on balance of power, Lord Home on Western nuclear deterrence, and Walter Lippmann on Khrushchev's dilemma over liberalizing without risking regime collapse - Nehru is quoted calling the communists '100 per cent patriots' - Dr. Rammanohar Lohia is quoted defining communism as 'Socialism, minus democracy, plus centralization, plus civil war, plus Russia' - D. Sanjivayya (Congress President) argues the CPI is no longer a threat, with the real challenge from 'right reaction' - Bhupesh Gupta pledges to resist any subversion of non-alignment 'not in Parliament, but outside, and not only by talk but otherwise' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff134/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 134 (July 1963) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal magazine published by the Democratic Research Service. The issue's political spine is the aftermath of three opposition by-election victories (Amroha, Farrukhabad, and Rajkot, the last won by Swatantra's Minoo Masani), which frame the lead essay's argument that a fractured non-Congress opposition must find at least tactical unity against Congress maladministration and Chinese aggression. Around this core sit pieces on domestic fiscal policy (the new Compulsory Deposit Scheme), international affairs (U.N. finances, the U.S. Clay Report on foreign aid, Soviet space-programme secrecy, arms sales to South Africa), a polemic against CPI leader S. A. Dange's justification of Congress's China policy, a report on reforms to the British Press Council, and two recurring miscellany columns of aggregated press quotations ("Without Comment" and "With Many Voices"). ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 134 (July 1963) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal magazine published by the Democratic Research Service. The issue's political spine is the aftermath of three opposition by-election victories (Amroha, Farrukhabad, and Rajkot, the last won by Swatantra's Minoo Masani), which frame the lead essay's argument that a fractured non-Congress opposition must find at least tactical unity against Congress maladministration and Chinese aggression. Around this core sit pieces on domestic fiscal policy (the new Compulsory Deposit Scheme), international affairs (U.N. finances, the U.S. Clay Report on foreign aid, Soviet space-programme secrecy, arms sales to South Africa), a polemic against CPI leader S. A. Dange's justification of Congress's China policy, a report on reforms to the British Press Council, and two recurring miscellany columns of aggregated press quotations ("Without Comment" and "With Many Voices"). ## Essays ### The Opposition And Its Task *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik argues that although opposition parties across India have won a string of striking by-election victories, hopes for a genuine united opposition front are unrealistic given how jealously each party guards its own identity, singling out the Praja Socialist Party's refusal to cooperate with the Jan Sangh or Swatantra. He contends that the old Left-Right categories have lost meaning in the face of Chinese aggression and Congress's corrupt, weak administration, and that democrats of all stripes should unite on that basis. Short of full unity, Karnik urges opposition parties to at least avoid internecine quarrels and pursue electoral adjustments ahead of the next general election, arguing that a credible opposition would educate the public, restore faith in peaceful change, and check Congress's complacency. - By-election wins in Amroha, Farrukhabad, and Rajkot have fuelled public demand for a united opposition front against Congress. - Karnik judges full opposition unity unrealistic because parties are too attached to their own programmes and rivalries, citing the Praja Socialist Party's refusal to work with the Jan Sangh or Swatantra. - He argues Left/Right labels are obsolete in the face of the shared threats of Chinese Communism and Congress misrule. - Congress's corrupt and weak administration, not ideology, is identified as the real spur behind opposition sentiment. - Failing outright unity, Karnik calls for opposition parties to avoid vote-splitting quarrels and coordinate electorally before the next general election. - He frames electoral competition as valuable in itself: it educates voters, builds their confidence, and proves a non-Congress candidate can win. ### U.N. Finances *By Raman Desai* Raman Desai surveys the United Nations' financial crisis eighteen years after its founding, explaining the 1962 World Court ruling that peacekeeping costs in the Congo and Middle East are valid Assembly-authorised expenditure, non-payment of which can cost a member its Assembly vote. He details the Soviet Bloc's, France's, and Belgium's refusal to pay their share of Congo and Gaza peacekeeping costs, producing a $104 million deficit in 1962 and a further $140 million expected by the end of 1963, and reports the Soviet Union's 22 May notice that it would not pay for several UN items, including the Korea commission and the Congo Cemetery. Desai closes by urging Nehru's India, given its clean record on dues, to press for enforcement of Assembly rules against defaulters rather than deferring to the Soviet Bloc. - The UN's membership stood at 110 in 1963, eighteen years after its founding. - The World Court ruled in 1962 that Congo and Middle East peacekeeping costs are valid Assembly expenditure, non-payment of which for two years can cost a member its Assembly vote. - The Soviet Bloc, France, and Belgium refused to pay their share of Congo/Gaza costs, producing a $104 million deficit in 1962 and a further ~$140 million expected by end-1963. - On 22 May the Soviet Union gave notice it would not pay for several specific budget items, including the Korea commission and war-dead cemetery costs. - Desai calls on India, given Nehru's clean record on dues, to press for enforcement of Assembly payment rules rather than accommodate the Soviet Bloc's 'tortuous ways'. ### Compulsory Deposit Scheme *By Yogindra Trivedi* Yogindra Trivedi examines the newly passed Compulsory Deposit Scheme Act, noting that the Finance Minister justified it as an emergency saving measure and that the Bombay High Court had already upheld its constitutional validity in Radheshyam Makharlal vs. Union of India. Trivedi walks through the six categories of persons liable (from Rs. 1500+ salaried employees to large sales-tax and property holders), the mechanics of deposit, interest, and five-year repayment, and flags several drafting flaws: no appellate authority to check arbitrary exercise of power by the administering authorities, a repayment procedure left to unspecified departmental discretion, and a timing lacuna that could force assessees to deposit for a year before their own income is even known. He concludes the Act's administrative burden is disproportionate to its dubious social benefit, and that widening tax net at the cost of harassing honest earners is inferior to more vigorous enforcement against tax evasion. - The Compulsory Deposit Scheme Act was defended by the Finance Minister as an emergency saving measure, in the lineage of other 'temporary' tax provisions that became permanent. - The Bombay High Court, in Radheshyam Makharlal vs. Union of India, held the scheme does not violate the Article 19(1)(f) right to property. - Six categories of persons are liable: land revenue payers, income-tax payers, urban immovable-property holders, salaried employees earning Rs. 1500+/year, sales-tax assessees with turnover over Rs. 15,000, and others specified later. - Deposits earn 4% annual interest and are repaid five years after the deposit year, with limited provision for early repayment only at the authority's discretion. - Trivedi flags the absence of any appellate authority over the administering authority's decisions, forcing aggrieved citizens to the High Court under Article 226. - He identifies a timing lacuna: the deposit for surcharge deduction must be made before financial-year end, before an assessee's actual annual income is even ascertainable. - He judges the Act's administrative cost and evasion risk disproportionate to its social benefit, preferring stronger enforcement against tax evasion over widening the compulsory net. ### The Battle Of Clay's Cliches *By Peter Ritner* Peter Ritner reviews the U.S. State Department's 'Clay Report' on foreign aid, arguing that despite its literary crudeness it rightly identifies the promotion of pluralist, middle-class, entrepreneurial societies as the correct aim of American aid policy, since dispersed economic power is safer and more resilient than centralised, politically directed economies. He proposes redirecting aid away from vast 'infra-structure' mega-projects and toward thousands of small-scale, closely supervised private ventures, akin to development banks embedded in local business life. Citing Galbraith's point that good development plans require good government to execute them, Ritner argues aid should be concentrated on a handful of pivotal states — naming India, Brazil, and Nigeria as candidates — rather than dispersed across ninety-five countries and territories, and rebuts the idea that reduced aid enthusiasm reflects xenophobia rather than legitimate doubts about programme design. - The Clay Report drew criticism from 'forward-looking' American commentators despite being, in Ritner's view, a useful acknowledgment of longstanding troubling questions about aid policy. - Ritner defends the Report's premise that fostering pluralist, entrepreneurial, middle-class societies is a sound and evidence-based aim of aid, safer than centralized, politically controlled economies. - He proposes shifting aid from huge 'infra-structure' projects toward thousands of small, closely supervised private ventures via development-bank-like institutions embedded locally. - Quoting Galbraith, he stresses aid cannot substitute for good government execution, and criticizes indiscriminate spending across ninety-five countries. - He proposes concentrating the bulk of U.S. aid on a few pivotal states with self-modernizing potential: India in Asia, Brazil in Latin America, and Nigeria in Africa. - He argues concern about the nature of aid programmes is not equivalent to isolationism, and that the U.S. should stop treating aid mainly as a Cold War weapon against Russia and China. ### Mr. Dange And China *By M. D. Kini* M. D. Kini dissects CPI leader S. A. Dange's pamphlet 'Neither Revisionism Nor Dogmatism Is Our Guide,' written in reply to a Chinese attack on the CPI's stance following the October 1962 border war. Kini argues Dange's support for Nehru's government was born of necessity rather than principle — the CPI would have been politically destroyed had it not backed India after the Chinese invasion — and shows Dange justifying this support in explicitly Marxist-Leninist rather than nationalist terms, arguing India's 'non-alignment' and 'peace' orientation, not patriotism, obliges CPI support. Kini highlights Dange's startling disclosure that the Indian government reportedly considered surrendering Aksai Chin to China before relations soured, and concludes the episode again demonstrates that the CPI remains, at bottom, a conspiratorial arm of world Communism rather than a heretical but independent party. - Dange's pamphlet responds to a 'People's Daily' editorial attacking CPI policy on the border war. - Kini argues CPI support for Nehru's government after October 1962 was survival tactics, not patriotism, since opposing India post-invasion would have been suicidal for the Party. - Dange justifies CPI's China stance using Marxism-Leninism (India's non-alignment and 'peace and socialism' commitments), not nationalist loyalty to India. - Dange discloses that the Indian government reportedly considered surrendering the Aksai Chin road to China shortly before the invasion. - Kini concludes Dange's reply confirms the CPI is fundamentally a tool of world Communist strategy rather than an independent, patriotic party. ### British Press Council An unsigned report, reprinting and analysing a Times of London account (19 June 1963), covers the British Press Council's adoption of a revised constitution implementing the 1961-62 Royal Commission on the Press's recommendations: a lay chairman, a lay membership capped at 20 per cent, and a trimmed, more specific list of five objectives (down from seven), including sharper wording on monopoly reporting. An accompanying editorial, 'Correctors Of The Press,' is skeptical, calling the reform a partial 'sop' to regulation advocates and questioning whether a hybrid body with a paid independent chairman and reduced journalist representation can function without drifting toward becoming a censorship mechanism, concluding that public opinion, not a regulatory council, remains the real safeguard against press excess. - The British Press Council adopted a new constitution following the 1961-62 Royal Commission on the Press: lay chairman, up to 20% lay membership, and five (down from seven) core objectives. - New objectives include reporting publicly on developments toward press concentration/monopoly and continuing to consider public complaints against press conduct. - Journalistic/managerial representation is cut from 25 to 20 members to make room for lay representatives, with several press bodies nominating members. - An accompanying editorial argues the reforms are a partial concession to regulation advocates and voices skepticism that a hybrid lay/press body with a paid chairman can avoid becoming an instrument of censorship. - The piece notes the reform connects to an earlier Freedom First article, 'Emergency and the Press' by Mr. S. Natarajan (April 1963). ### Without Comment (compilation: 'Communists Supply Arms To South Africa', 'One-Way Trips To Space', 'Marxist Doctrine -- As Medicament') The recurring 'Without Comment' column reprints, without editorializing beyond framing, two press items: a Swiss Press Review report (14 June 1963) on Communist bloc states (notably Czechoslovakia and East Germany) supplying arms to apartheid South Africa even as Western nations tighten export bans, and a piece on Soviet secrecy around 'one-way trips to space,' alleging that several cosmonauts, including Pyotr Ivanovich Dolgov and one named Andreyev, died in botched space missions that were concealed or only partially admitted years later via Izvestia. A short unsigned item, 'Marxist Doctrine — As Medicament,' reports Chinese Communist Party propaganda urging tubercular and other patients to rely on 'revolutionary optimism' rather than scarce medicine and doctors. - A Swiss Press Review excerpt reports Communist bloc states, especially Czechoslovakia and East Germany, filling the gap left by declining Western arms sales to apartheid South Africa. - The item argues this Communist arms trade, motivated by profit rather than ideology, undercuts the international anti-apartheid arms boycott campaign the Soviet bloc otherwise professes to support. - A second item, 'One-Way Trips to Space,' alleges Soviet secrecy has concealed multiple cosmonaut deaths, naming Pyotr Ivanovich Dolgov (died 11 October 1960) and one Andreyev, with Izvestia only partially confirming losses in January 1963. - A short filler item reports Chinese Communist Party propaganda urging patients, amid medicine shortages, to treat illness (including tuberculosis) through 'revolutionary optimism' rather than drugs. ### With Many Voices The 'With Many Voices' column compiles short press quotations from June and July 1963 commenting on Indian politics and Anglo-American affairs, centered on reactions to Swatantra leader Minoo Masani's and other opposition figures' recent by-election wins. Quoted commentators include John Strachey on India's forced Western alignment, Peter Wiles and Michael Oakeshott on ideology and conservatism, Jayaprakash Narayan and Nandan Kagal on the significance of the Rajkot result, Ram Manohar Lohia on party dynamism, and Arthur Koestler (three separate quotations from Encounter) on Bertrand Russell, British decline, and the English character. - The column aggregates short, unglossed quotations from named commentators across Indian and British publications, dated May-July 1963. - Several quotations (Link, Times of India, New Age) interpret Minoo Masani's Rajkot by-election win as evidence of Congress's declining integrity and growing public perceptiveness. - Nandan Kagal (Times of India) characterizes the Kripalani-Masani-Lohia opposition trio as an 'odd-looking trimurti' with divergent aims. - Arthur Koestler is quoted three times from Encounter (July 1963) on Bertrand Russell, British national decline, and English character. - Ram Manohar Lohia is quoted arguing the Jan Sangh, Communist Party, and Socialists are the only parties not fixated on stability. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff135/ ### Summary This is the August 1963 issue (No. 135) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical published by the Democratic Research Service. The issue opens with M. R. Masani surveying the fractured state of India's opposition parties and arguing for tactical unity among them against Congress, followed by Pheroze J. Shroff's diagnosis of corruption as a product of licence-permit-raj regimentation and inflationary finance, and A. G. Mulgaonkar's constitutional analysis of the largely ceremonial powers of the Indian President. M. A. Venkata Rao contributes a philosophical essay reinterpreting the Bhagavad Gita as scriptural grounding for a modern, equality-affirming "reformation" in Indian social thought. The second half of the issue turns to foreign affairs and the Cold War: an unsigned editorial ("S. M.") criticizes the government's defensive posturing over the Indo-US-UK joint air exercises; defector Aleksandr Kaznacheev's essay (excerpted from his book, also reviewed in this issue) argues that Sino-Soviet rivalry stems from each regime's structural dependence on external threat as a tool of internal control; and V. B.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the August 1963 issue (No. 135) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical published by the Democratic Research Service. The issue opens with M. R. Masani surveying the fractured state of India's opposition parties and arguing for tactical unity among them against Congress, followed by Pheroze J. Shroff's diagnosis of corruption as a product of licence-permit-raj regimentation and inflationary finance, and A. G. Mulgaonkar's constitutional analysis of the largely ceremonial powers of the Indian President. M. A. Venkata Rao contributes a philosophical essay reinterpreting the Bhagavad Gita as scriptural grounding for a modern, equality-affirming "reformation" in Indian social thought. The second half of the issue turns to foreign affairs and the Cold War: an unsigned editorial ("S. M.") criticizes the government's defensive posturing over the Indo-US-UK joint air exercises; defector Aleksandr Kaznacheev's essay (excerpted from his book, also reviewed in this issue) argues that Sino-Soviet rivalry stems from each regime's structural dependence on external threat as a tool of internal control; and V. B. Karnik reviews Kaznacheev's memoir Inside a Soviet Embassy in detail. A short unsigned review of the multi-author volume China Invades India (edited by Karnik) follows, and the issue closes with the regular "With Many Voices" page of topical quotations and a subscription coupon. ## Essays ### The Evolution Of An Opposition *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani traces the absence of a credible opposition to Congress in Indian democracy back to the Congress's failure to heed Gandhi's advice to withdraw from active politics after independence. He rejects a single merged opposition party as unrealistic and is lukewarm about Acharya Kripalani's proposal for common-programme cooperation, instead endorsing the emerging practice of ad hoc electoral cooperation among opposition parties -- "unity in action" without formal merger -- citing the opposition's wins over Congress-backed, Communist-supported candidates at Dohad, Amroha, Farrukabad, and Rajkot as evidence the approach is working and should be extended to the next general election. - Opposition is presented as the sine qua non of democracy, citing E. F. M. Durbin's thesis that a genuine opposition, not just formal constitutional trappings, is the real test of a democracy. - Blames the lack of a two-party or coherent multi-party system partly on Congress absorbing what should have been independent political currents after independence. - Rules out Soviet-style single-party dominance disguised as opposition (citing the Soviet Fifth Column framing) and a full merger of opposition parties as unrealistic near-term options. - Endorses ad hoc, issue-by-issue electoral cooperation among opposition parties ("live and let live") over formal alliance, citing recent by-election wins. - Quotes the Communist journal Mainstream conceding that this pragmatic unity-in-action approach has been more effective for the Right than ideological summit negotiations. ### Corruption: Causes And Cure *By Pheroze J. Shroff* Pheroze J. Shroff argues that corruption has become endemic in India because the licence-permit regime -- the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, Essential Commodities Act, Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, and similar legislation -- has invested officials with enormous discretionary power that a class of contact-men and intermediaries routinely exploit for bribes. He links this directly to inflationary government finance, arguing a debased currency corrodes public morals and pushes both officials and citizens toward corrupt practice, and calls for dismantling ideologically driven controls rather than layering on more anti-corruption machinery, alongside specific reforms: asset declarations for ministers and officials, vigilance committees, a stronger Commissions of Inquiry Act, and loss of political rights for those convicted of corruption. - Corruption is described as endemic and normalized rather than shameful in contemporary Indian public life. - Root cause is identified as the 'totalitarian-type economy' -- licensing and permit legislation that gives officials broad discretionary power exploited by a 'parasitical and corrupt tribe' of contact-men. - Inflationary government finance is blamed for debasing both the currency and public morals, pushing officials to demand illegal gratification to protect real incomes. - Recommends eliminating discretionary economic controls at the root, rather than adding more enforcement machinery which itself risks becoming corrupt. - Proposes concrete institutional reforms: mandatory asset disclosure by ministers/officials, citizen vigilance committees, strengthened use of the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1952, and disqualification of politicians convicted of corruption. ### Powers Of The President *By A. G. Mulgaonkar* A. G. Mulgaonkar examines the constitutional scope of the Indian President's powers, responding to K. M. Munshi's contention that the President can, on certain occasions, override the advice of the Council of Ministers. Working through Articles 52, 53, 74, 76, and 78, Mulgaonkar concludes the President is a formal, constitutional head who must act on ministerial advice, comparable to Dr. Rajendra Prasad's own description of the office as modeled on the British constitutional monarchy. He draws on Walter Bagehot's classic formulation of the British Crown's residual rights -- to be informed, to be consulted, and to warn -- and historical instances of monarchical influence (Queen Victoria, Edward VII, George V vis-a-vis Asquith and the 1910 peers crisis, and the Baldwin-versus-Curzon succession) to argue that an Indian President could similarly wield real, if narrow, influence without any license to overrule the Council of Ministers on substantive decisions. - Challenges K. M. Munshi's newspaper argument that the Constitution empowers the President to override the Council of Ministers in certain circumstances. - Walks through Articles 53(1), 74(1), 76 and 78 to show the President's executive power must be exercised on the advice of, and in the name of, the Council of Ministers. - Cites Dr. Rajendra Prasad's own characterization of the Indian presidency as modeled on the British constitutional monarch. - Invokes Walter Bagehot's formula for the powers of the British Crown -- the right to be informed, consulted, and to warn -- as the realistic ceiling on presidential influence. - Uses historical British precedents (Victoria and Gladstone, George V and Asquith over the 1910 peers crisis, Baldwin's selection over Curzon) to illustrate how much real influence a constitutional head can exert without formal power to overrule ministers. - Argues the Attorney-General's advisory role does not create an independent channel for the President to countermand his ministers, and that constitutional disputes between the two should go to the Supreme Court under Article 143. ### Today's Reformation In India *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that what some call a Renaissance in modern India -- from Raja Ram Mohan Roy through Gandhi -- is better understood as a 'reformation': a many-sided rethinking of Hindu culture's core ideas and institutions in light of democratic values, running parallel to the Reformation in Europe. He illustrates this by reinterpreting verses of the Bhagavad Gita to argue that the scripture itself, properly read, already affirms the equal divinity present in all beings regardless of caste or fortune, that its ethic of karma (action) is public-spirited and world-affirming rather than merely ritualistic, and that the new reformation channels this scriptural humanism into support for democracy, equality of opportunity, and a modern social conscience. - Frames the modern Indian reform tradition (Ram Mohan Roy, Dayananda Saraswati, Tilak, Aurobindo, Gandhi and others) as a 'reformation' rather than a 'renaissance', paralleling Luther and Calvin in Europe. - Cites Gita verses (e.g., XIII-28, VI-30) to argue the scripture teaches the equal presence of the divine across brahman, cow, elephant, dog, and outcaste alike, undercutting untouchability. - Reinterprets the Gita's doctrine of karma/action as public-spirited service (lokasangraha) rather than ritual observance, aligning it with a modern democratic ethic of duty. - Frames this reworked scriptural humanism as underwriting equality of opportunity, democracy as 'a way of life', and the rule of law over privilege. - Positions the essay's 'new reformation' as a leaven running through art, literature, music, painting, social work, and politics -- what the author collectively calls democracy. ### Guilt Complex At Work *By S. M.* An unsigned editorial ('S. M.') criticizes the Indian government's public statement on the forthcoming joint Indo-US-UK air exercises as evasive and defensive, arguing it dwells more on reassuring domestic critics of India's non-alignment than on explaining the substantively straightforward training arrangement. The piece contends the government is bending over backwards to appease vocal non-alignment purists even as India's sovereignty is being actively violated by China, and closes by arguing that appeasing 'ignorant or dishonest' critics on defence cooperation weakens India's ability to build the military capacity and national resolve needed to meet the continuing Chinese threat. - Criticizes the government's official statement on the Indo-US-UK joint air exercises for evasively over-emphasizing non-alignment and sovereignty rather than plainly stating the training's purpose. - Frames the exercises as a straightforward technical necessity: training the Indian Air Force, which lacks supersonic aircraft experience, in radar equipment operation under India's own command. - Argues the government's anxious rhetoric about sovereignty is misplaced given the real, ongoing violation of Indian sovereignty by China. - Warns that appeasing vocal non-alignment critics produces hesitations that undercut India's ability to build up its actual defence resources and national morale against the Chinese threat. - Calls Chinese border propaganda (relayed via powerful Tibet-based radio stations in local Indian languages) a serious and under-countered element of the broader security challenge. ### Why Sino-Soviet Conflict? *By Aleksandr Kaznacheev* In this extract from his book Inside a Soviet Embassy (reviewed elsewhere in this issue), Soviet defector Aleksandr Kaznacheev argues that the growing Sino-Soviet split is not primarily ideological or tactical but structural: both the Soviet and Chinese Communist regimes depend on an external enemy to justify continued dictatorship at home, and as each grows more aggressive to sustain that justification, their interests become irreconcilably opposed. He compares Maoist China's combination of a large, ambitious, resource-constrained population with nationalist grievance to Hitler's Germany in the 1930s, and predicts the Sino-Soviet alliance will hold only as an uneasy facade until one side concludes the other, rather than the West, is now the primary threat. - Rejects the common Western framing of the Sino-Soviet split as a matter of ideological or developmental 'backwardness' on China's part. - Argues both Communist regimes' internal stability depends on manufacturing or exploiting an external threat, making their mutual rivalry for that role a deeper structural driver of conflict. - Draws an extended comparison between Mao's China and Hitler's Germany: a large, industrious, nationalistic population in a resource-constrained territory surrounded by weaker neighbours. - Contrasts Soviet stability (no comparable population-pressure or expansionist necessity) with China's genuine need for both political and territorial expansion. - Predicts continued surface unity between the two Communist powers while they privately prepare for eventual open conflict, given irreconcilable ambitions for supremacy over the Communist bloc and the wider world. ### A Look Into A Russian Embassy *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik reviews Aleksandr Kaznacheev's memoir Inside a Soviet Embassy, describing how Kaznacheev, trained by the Soviet regime for diplomatic work and posted to Rangoon as a Political Intelligence officer, grew disillusioned and defected to the United States. Karnik details Kaznacheev's account of Soviet embassies functioning not as normal diplomatic missions but as subversive intelligence operations aimed at penetrating and manipulating a host country's political parties, trade unions, and youth groups, including a documented case of a fabricated bribery story planted against Morarji Desai in a Burmese newspaper, and the shift after Stalin's death toward a 'friendly neutrality' policy that still covertly undermined host governments while officially professing non-interference. - Introduces Kaznacheev's biography: Russian-trained diplomat posted to the Soviet embassy in Rangoon, recruited into Political Intelligence work, later defected and sought asylum in the United States. - Details the embassy's core function as 'penetration and subversion of local regimes' targeting political parties, trade unions, and youth groups rather than conventional diplomacy. - Recounts a specific fabricated story planted in the Burmese journal Botataung Daily accusing Morarji Desai of taking a bribe to subvert Indian neutrality, later picked up internationally by Tass. - Describes the post-Stalin shift to a declared policy of 'friendly neutrality' that nonetheless retained covert subversion and intelligence penetration of host countries. - Notes Kaznacheev described embassy staff life as being like captives 'in camera', living under mutual surveillance even among colleagues. ### Review: China Invades India (edited by V. B. Karnik) *By Raman Desai* A short unsigned review of China Invades India, a multi-author volume edited by V. B. Karnik (Allied Publishers, 309 pages), describes it as a unified continuous narrative across four essayists' contributions rather than a loose miscellany, tracing Chinese history through to the recent invasion of India. The review singles out contributor B. K. Desai's treatment of India's handling of Tibet as especially critical, arguing Nehru was prepared to concede Tibet to China even before his 1949 Peking visit, and closes by praising the volume's argument for future vigilance against ideological illusions and stronger military alliances and preparedness. - Describes China Invades India (ed. V. B. Karnik) as a single continuous historical-analytical narrative spanning four essayists rather than a disconnected anthology. - Credits contributors by name and tone: Karnik (polished), Kini (jerky but authoritative), B. K. Desai (scathing and entertaining), Mrs. Indu Patel (starts rhetorical, ends with prognosis for economic streamlining and defence preparedness). - Highlights B. K. Desai's account of India's Tibet policy as the volume's sharpest critique, alleging Nehru had effectively resolved to hand over Tibet to China even before his 1949 Peking trip. - Faults Britain, France ('Dunkirk'), and Germany ('Buchenwald') collectively alongside India for complacency toward totalitarian threats, framing the fault as shared across democracies. - Concludes the volume argues for continued vigilance against ideological illusions and stronger military alliances and preparedness in the years ahead. ### With Many Voices The regular back-page feature 'With Many Voices' compiles topical quotations from public figures published in the preceding weeks, on themes of Cold War rhetoric, Sino-Soviet dynamics, British and Indian political scandal, and non-alignment, drawn from sources including Khrushchev, Kennedy, Macmillan, Nehru, Sukarno, and Indian and British commentators such as A. D. Gorwala, Taya Zinkin, and Max Lerner. The page closes with the magazine's masthead, printing and subscription details. - Compiles short dated quotations (late June-July 1963) from a range of Indian, British, American, and Soviet public figures on Cold War and domestic political themes. - Includes Khrushchev on non-interference and on Marxism, Kennedy on Berlin and Western alliance solidarity, Macmillan on the Profumo scandal ('two tarts'), and Nehru dismissing mere talkativeness as a mark of a thinker. - Features Indian commentator A. D. Gorwala questioning Soviet 'peaceful coexistence' rhetoric and probing what genuine non-interference would require. - Records Sukarno's remark on not wanting to be told he is wrong, positioned alongside other quotations on political vanity and evasion. - Closes with the Freedom First subscription form and imprint: edited by Raman Desai, printed at Inland Printers, Bombay, published for the Democratic Research Service by Adam Adil, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff136/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 136 (September 1963) is dominated by the political crisis inside the Congress Party following Nehru's acceptance of resignations from senior ministers and chief ministers under the Kamaraj Plan. The lead editorial, "An Invitation To Autocracy" by Raman Desai, warns that stripping Nehru's cabinet of figures like Morarji Desai concentrates dictatorial power in the Prime Minister's hands at a dangerous moment. S. R. Mohan Das's companion piece, "The Kamaraj Plan," traces the scheme's origins to the Amroha-Farukhabad-Rajkot by-election defeats and dissects the factional manoeuvring it triggered, concluding that N. V. Gadgil was right to call it an inadvertent mechanism for making the Prime Minister a dictator. M. R. Masani contributes extracts from his No-Confidence Motion speech in the Lok Sabha, indicting fifteen years of Nehruvian socialism as disguised state capitalism that has enriched a new class of politicians, officials and cronies while failing labour, peasants and industry alike. V. B. Karnik reviews the recent Bombay municipal workers' strike as a failed, politically-tinged confrontation with the state.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 136 (September 1963) is dominated by the political crisis inside the Congress Party following Nehru's acceptance of resignations from senior ministers and chief ministers under the Kamaraj Plan. The lead editorial, "An Invitation To Autocracy" by Raman Desai, warns that stripping Nehru's cabinet of figures like Morarji Desai concentrates dictatorial power in the Prime Minister's hands at a dangerous moment. S. R. Mohan Das's companion piece, "The Kamaraj Plan," traces the scheme's origins to the Amroha-Farukhabad-Rajkot by-election defeats and dissects the factional manoeuvring it triggered, concluding that N. V. Gadgil was right to call it an inadvertent mechanism for making the Prime Minister a dictator. M. R. Masani contributes extracts from his No-Confidence Motion speech in the Lok Sabha, indicting fifteen years of Nehruvian socialism as disguised state capitalism that has enriched a new class of politicians, officials and cronies while failing labour, peasants and industry alike. V. B. Karnik reviews the recent Bombay municipal workers' strike as a failed, politically-tinged confrontation with the state. Raman Desai also contributes a second piece marking the second anniversary of the Berlin Wall, cataloguing its human costs, and M. D. Kini surveys the widening Sino-Soviet ideological rupture. The issue closes with the recurring "With Many Voices" column of press quotations and a subscription notice. ## Essays ### An Invitation To Autocracy *By Raman Desai* Raman Desai's lead editorial condemns Nehru's move to have six Central Ministers and six Chief Ministers resign under the Kamaraj Plan, arguing it does nothing to address the real causes of Congress administrative failure and instead concentrates unchecked power in Nehru's hands. The piece singles out the removal of Finance Minister Morarji Desai as reckless given the country's financial stringency, and worries that the vacated Cabinet seats may be filled by fellow-travellers and "second rate yesmen," while Nehru's foreign and defence policy is faulted as a policy of appeasement resembling Chamberlain's toward Germany. - Nehru asked six Central Ministers and six Chief Ministers to resign under the Kamaraj Plan, ostensibly to revitalise Congress party organisation. - The author doubts non-official Congressmen can remedy administrative failures once out of office, citing Sri Prakash and Lal Bahadur Shastri as examples of impotence against corruption. - Morarji Desai's removal as Finance Minister is called financially reckless despite his unpopular Compulsory Deposit Scheme and Gold Control Order. - The Kamaraj Plan is read as having handed Nehru an unconstitutional, dictatorial power to handpick his colleagues. - The author fears the vacated cabinet posts may go to fellow-travellers, given prior support for such moves from communist circles. - Nehru's foreign policy of appeasement and continual note-writing is compared to Chamberlain and Halifax's policy toward Nazi Germany. ### The Berlin Wall *By Raman Desai* Raman Desai's second contribution marks the second anniversary of the Berlin Wall's construction on 13 August 1961. He surveys the postwar division of Germany and Berlin, faults Roosevelt's wartime decisions for enabling Soviet encroachment, and documents the Wall's scale and toll: 27 miles across Berlin, seven feet high, six feet wide, 129 watch towers, 231 fortified bunkers, 11,000 armed guards, 65 people killed and 589 wounded attempting to cross, and roughly 1,500 arrested at the border in two years. He contrasts East and West German population trends, notes the mass exodus of 3.7 to 4 million people from East to West Germany before 1961, and closes by citing an International Commission of Jurists report, "The Berlin Wall, a defence of Human Rights." - The essay marks the second anniversary (13 August 1961) of the Berlin Wall's construction. - Roosevelt's wartime decisions are blamed for allowing Soviet forces to occupy eastern Germany and Berlin. - The Wall stretches 27 miles across Berlin (border between the two Germanys is 859 miles total), with 129 watch towers, 231 bunkers, and 11,000 armed guards. - In two years, 65 people were killed, 589 wounded, and roughly 1,500 arrested attempting to cross. - Between 1950-59 East Germany's population fell from 18.4 to 17.3 million as 3.7-4 million people fled west before the Wall's construction. - The essay closes citing an International Commission of Jurists report defending human rights against the Wall. ### Socialism Or State Capitalism? *By M. R. Masani* This piece reproduces extracts from M. R. Masani's speech in the Lok Sabha on 19 August 1963, delivered during debate on a No-Confidence Motion in the Union Government. Masani argues that fifteen years of professed socialism have not made Indians freer or more equal but have instead created a "New Class" of politicians, officials and favoured businessmen who alone have benefited, while landless labourers, small peasants and industrial workers have seen little real improvement. He contends the government's actual practice has been "State Capitalism" masquerading as socialism, marked by inflationary finance, crippling taxation, proliferating controls, and bureaucratic paralysis (citing a land-allotment process requiring 370 steps), and he uses the Gold Control Order as an example of a well-intentioned but perverse and economically illiterate measure that has thrown lakhs of people out of work. - Masani argues Indian government policy amounts to State Capitalism, not genuine socialism, benefiting a 'New Class' of politicians, officials and cronies. - He cites stagnant real wages for industrial labour and no improvement for landless labourers or small peasants despite fifteen years of planning. - Agricultural productivity growth is put at a mere 1.5 per cent a year due to misallocated investment favouring heavy, top-heavy industrial projects over irrigation, seed and fertiliser. - State-sector investment share has risen from 46% in the First Plan to a planned 65-68% by 1975-76, which Masani opposes as removing consumer choice from the people. - Bureaucratic controls are illustrated by a land-allotment case in the Land and Development Office requiring 370 procedural steps. - The Gold Control Order is criticised as a meaningless, perverse measure that has caused mass unemployment without addressing currency debasement, the real cause of gold hoarding. ### Bombay Civic Strike - An Evaluation *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik reviews the recently concluded Bombay municipal workers' strike over dearness allowance, calling it unusual in its organisation, the way it was combated, and the publicity it drew. He questions whether the Municipal Mazdoor Union was wise to place the burden of a citywide grievance about the cost-of-living index onto a strike by municipal workers alone, and criticises both the union's tactics (escalating to a sympathetic strike by bus, tram, taxi and dock workers, and a one-day general token strike on 20 August) and its failure to exhaust conciliation or arbitration machinery before striking. Karnik also criticises the Government and Corporation for treating the dispute as a political confrontation, using the Defence of India Rules, Home Guards and mass arrests to break it, calling the strike's collapse a 'collossal failure' but urging the state not to use the defeat to victimise the union or its members, since the underlying grievance over prices remains legitimate. - The Bombay Municipal Mazdoor Union struck for a 25% dearness allowance increase, launched on the night of 11 August after the demand had been pending since June. - Karnik questions whether municipal workers should have borne the burden of a demand relevant to the whole working class, and whether union leaders sought a political rather than genuinely industrial settlement. - The union escalated with sympathetic strikes by bus, tram, taxi and dock workers and a one-day general token strike on 20 August, but the action collapsed in the early hours of 21 August. - The Government and Corporation used the Defence of India Rules, Home Guards, strikebreakers, mass arrests, and bans on meetings to defeat the strike, treating it as a political rather than industrial dispute. - Karnik faults the union for never using conciliation machinery or accepting arbitration, and concludes the strike failed as a 'collossal failure' but the underlying demand for compensation against price rises remains just and will recur. ### The Kamaraj Plan *By S. R. Mohan Das* S. R. Mohan Das examines the Kamaraj Plan, under which K. Kamaraj Nadar, Chief Minister of Madras, proposed that senior Congress ministers resign their government posts to revitalise party organisation. Mohan Das traces the plan's antecedents to earlier, unsuccessful 'ten-year rule' proposals by Dhebar and Morarji Desai, and argues its real cause was the Congress's by-election debacles at Amroha, Farukhabad and Rajkot, which set off internal factional warfare, especially targeting 'Progressive' figures like Krishna Menon, K. D. Malaviya and Hafiz Ibrahim. He analyses how the Congress, lacking its own organisational apparatus, has come to rely on the civil service and government machinery, breeding corruption, and states plainly that N. V. Gadgil was right that the plan has resulted, however unintentionally, in making a dictator of the Prime Minister. The piece closes by listing the ministers and chief ministers actually relieved of their posts, including Lal Bahadur Shastri, Morarji Desai, S. K. Patil, Jagjivan Ram, Gopala Reddy and Dr. Shrimali at the Centre. - K. Kamaraj Nadar proposed senior Congress ministers at the States and Centre resign and devote themselves to party organisational work. - The plan's real trigger was the Congress's Amroha-Farukhabad-Rajkot by-election defeats, which unleashed internal factional battles against 'Progressives' such as Krishna Menon, K. D. Malaviya and Hafiz Ibrahim. - Similar 'ten-year rule' proposals had earlier been floated unsuccessfully by Dhebar and Morarji Desai/Sanjiva Reddy. - The Congress Party, lacking its own organisational apparatus, has relied on the civil service and Defence Service, breeding corruption as a byproduct. - Mohan Das endorses N. V. Gadgil's view that the Kamaraj Plan has resulted in making the Prime Minister a dictator, however unintentionally. - Ministers relieved of their posts included Lal Bahadur Shastri, Morarji Desai, S. K. Patil, Jagjivan Ram, Gopala Reddy and Dr. Shrimali at the Centre, and several state chief ministers. ### Split In The Communist Church *By M. D. Kini* M. D. Kini surveys the deepening rift between the Soviet Union and China within the international communist movement, tracing it from Khrushchev's 1956 denunciation of Stalin at the 20th Congress, which Mao and the Chinese Communist Party rejected, through the Cuban missile crisis (which China called Soviet 'adventurism' followed by 'capitulation'), the Sino-Indian border war, and a series of international conferences where the two parties publicly clashed. Kini quotes extensively from both sides' polemics on peaceful coexistence, war and atomic weapons, and closes by asking whether the coming split will be as momentous as the Christian schism 500 years earlier, invoking predictions from Charles de Gaulle and Arnold Toynbee about the possible realignments and eventual convergence of communist and democratic states. - The Sino-Soviet split is traced to Khrushchev's 1956 denunciation of Stalin's 'cult of personality' at the 20th Congress, rejected by Mao and the Chinese Communist Party. - The Cuban missile crisis deepened the rift, with China accusing the USSR of 'adventurism' in placing missiles and then 'capitulation' in withdrawing them. - The two parties clashed publicly at the Moshi Conference in Africa, the Djakarta Journalists' Meet, and a 1962 European communist congress, and China voted against a Soviet resolution on peaceful coexistence at a Moscow Women's Conference. - Ideologically, Moscow argues nuclear war would destroy both camps and favours peaceful coexistence and transition to communism; China argues capitalist states are 'paper tigers,' rejects any precedent for peaceful change, and is willing to countenance the loss of hundreds of millions of lives in a Third World War. - Sino-Soviet trade has fallen roughly 50% since 1959 amid withdrawal of Soviet experts and disputed claims about who initiated the rupture in economic cooperation. - Kini closes by asking whether the schism heralds a Franco-Soviet alignment against China (per de Gaulle) or an eventual convergence of communist and democratic states (per Toynbee). ### With Many Voices The issue's recurring back-page feature "With Many Voices" compiles short, pointed press quotations from the preceding month (August 1963) on themes of socialism, planning, non-alignment, freedom, and the Kamaraj Plan/cabinet crisis, drawn from figures including Khrushchev, Krishna Menon, Rajaji, Averell Harriman, Ben Bella, Kripalani, Charles de Gaulle, M. R. Masani, A. P. Jain, Cardinal Wyszynski of Poland, Karl Popper, and N. V. Gadgil. The page also carries a subscriber enrolment form for Freedom First and the masthead crediting Raman Desai as editor and Adam Adil as publisher for the Democratic Research Service, Bombay. - A compilation of brief August 1963 press quotations from Indian and international figures on socialism, planning, non-alignment and the Kamaraj Plan crisis. - Rajaji is quoted arguing freedom should be the rule and control the exception, with the position now reversed in India. - Karl Popper is quoted warning that all centralised planning and administration inevitably lead to a closed society. - N. V. Gadgil is quoted predicting that with the top Finance Minister gone, Nehru would be automatically vested with dictatorial powers. - The page includes the Freedom First subscription form (annual subscription Rs. 3.00) and masthead: edited by Raman Desai, published for the Democratic Research Service by Adam Adil, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff137/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 137 (October 1963) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical published by the Democratic Research Service. The issue leads with A. G. Mulgaonkar's extended constitutional critique of the proposed Seventeenth Amendment, which sought to make compensation for compulsorily acquired ryotwari land non-justiciable; he frames it as a Congress-engineered evasion of judicial review following the Kerala Agrarian Relations Act being struck down by the Supreme Court, and warns of a drift toward Soviet- or Chinese-style collectivization of agriculture. G. L. Mehta contributes an edited transcript of a FICCI seminar address on the respective competencies and shortcomings of private and public enterprise. Adam Adil surveys the newly formed Federation of Malaysia's demographics, economy, and the regional politics of Indonesian 'confrontation.' N. S. Ranganath Rao examines a Bombay book-importation obscenity conviction to argue that Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code wrongly dispenses with mens rea for importers. R. Srinivasan reviews Donald E.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 137 (October 1963) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical published by the Democratic Research Service. The issue leads with A. G. Mulgaonkar's extended constitutional critique of the proposed Seventeenth Amendment, which sought to make compensation for compulsorily acquired ryotwari land non-justiciable; he frames it as a Congress-engineered evasion of judicial review following the Kerala Agrarian Relations Act being struck down by the Supreme Court, and warns of a drift toward Soviet- or Chinese-style collectivization of agriculture. G. L. Mehta contributes an edited transcript of a FICCI seminar address on the respective competencies and shortcomings of private and public enterprise. Adam Adil surveys the newly formed Federation of Malaysia's demographics, economy, and the regional politics of Indonesian 'confrontation.' N. S. Ranganath Rao examines a Bombay book-importation obscenity conviction to argue that Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code wrongly dispenses with mens rea for importers. R. Srinivasan reviews Donald E. Smith's book India as a Secular State, arguing that Indian secularism was imposed on a society that never developed secular values and that caste-based reservation policy undermines the secular ideal. The 'Without Comment' department reprints two press items without editorial commentary: an Organiser count debunking Communist Party claims about the size of a Delhi demonstration, and a Mainstream piece sharply critical of General B. M. Kaul's conduct during the 1962 NEFA debacle. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a column of quoted remarks from public figures (Nehru, Khrushchev, Mao Tse-tung, and others) presented without comment, alongside a subscription form and an editorial postscript on the Seventeenth Amendment invoking John Locke's theory of government by consent. ## Essays ### 17th Amendment To The Constitution *By A. G. Mulgaonkar* A. G. Mulgaonkar lays out a detailed constitutional and political case against the proposed Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution, gazetted on 6 May 1963. He traces the history of Articles 31 and 31A, the First Amendment (1951) and Fourth Amendment (1955), and the Supreme Court's December 1961 ruling striking down the Kerala Agrarian Relations Act as violating Articles 14, 19, and 31 because it improperly extended the non-justiciable definition of 'estate' to ryotwari land. He argues the Seventeenth Amendment is a hasty Congress response designed to retroactively validate 124 similar state laws and to strip courts of the power to review compensation for the compulsory acquisition of ryotwari land. Mulgaonkar links this to the Congress Party's 1959 Nagpur Resolution favoring collective/joint cooperative farming, comparing it unfavourably to agricultural collectivization failures in the Soviet Union and China, and warns of mass suffering among India's landholding peasantry if such a policy is pursued. In the continuation on pages 11-12, he extends the argument to the constitutional propriety of frequent amendment under Article 368, contrasts India's process with the British constitutional convention (citing the 1910 Asquith-George V peerages episode), and invokes John Locke's theory that government rests on the consent of the governed to argue the Seventeenth Amendment should not be passed without a clear electoral mandate. - The Seventeenth Amendment Bill (gazetted 6 May 1963) sought to redefine 'estate' in Article 31(2)(a) to include ryotwari-system land, removing judicial review of compensation adequacy. - This followed the Supreme Court's December 1961 decision striking down the Kerala Agrarian Relations Act (1961) as unconstitutional under Articles 14, 19, and 31. - The First Amendment (1951) had already exempted 'zamindari' land and the Fourth Amendment (1955) exempted 'estates' from judicial review of compensation; the Seventeenth would extend this to ryotwari holdings. - The author connects the amendment to the Congress Party's 1959 Nagpur Resolution favoring state monopoly of foodgrains trade, land ceilings, and collective/cooperative farming. - He cites Edward Crankshaw on the failures of Soviet and Chinese agricultural collectivization as a warning against India repeating the experiment. - The article argues the amendment threatens to reduce millions of ryotwari landholders to penury, comparing them to Russian moujiks or Egyptian fellaheen. - The continuation piece argues frequent constitutional amendment (sixteen amendments in twelve years) undermines the sanctity the Constituent Assembly intended for fundamental rights, and invokes Locke's consent theory of government. ### Private And Public Enterprise *By G. L. Mehta* G. L. Mehta's piece is an edited extract of a speech delivered at a FICCI-organised seminar on 'Problems of Private and Public Industrial Undertakings' in New Delhi on 6 August 1963. He argues against dogmatic positions on planning, public versus private sectors, and nationalisation, insisting both sectors have complementary strengths and weaknesses shaped by shared national character rather than inherent virtue or vice. He contends the private sector can teach the public sector the discipline of cost accounting and specific objectives, while the public sector can teach the private sector a sense of social responsibility, and cites European state enterprise managers (naming Pierre Dreyfus of Renault) and a Soviet aircraft designer, O. K. Antonov, on the incentive value of profit even in state-run economies. - Mehta criticizes treating 'planning,' 'public sector,' and 'private sector' as ideological dogmas rather than practical instruments. - He argues both public and private enterprises share common organisational problems of hierarchy, initiative, and accountability rooted in national character, not sector. - He cites Pierre Dreyfus (Renault) as an example of a state enterprise manager who insists nationalised industry must justify itself by not losing money. - He references Khrushchev's and Soviet aircraft designer O. K. Antonov's remarks on the growing role of the profit motive as an efficiency indicator even in the USSR. - He calls for institutionalising professionalism and efficiency incentives in the private sector while inculcating social responsibility in both sectors. ### Malaysia *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil surveys the formation of the Federation of Malaysia (established 16 September 1963), covering the roles of Tunku Abdul Rahman, the demographic composition of the new federation (Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, and Sabah), its economic profile (rubber and tin exports, industrialisation), and the geopolitical friction with Indonesia's policy of 'confrontation,' which he attributes to Chinese Communist influence on the Indonesian Communist Party and President Sukarno's domestic political calculations. - The Federation of Malaysia came into existence on 16 September 1963, uniting Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, and Sabah (formerly British North Borneo). - Tunku Abdul Rahman is credited as the driving statesman behind Malaysia's formation, praised by the British Prime Minister. - The article details the ethnic balance (Malays, Chinese, Indians/Pakistanis, and tribal peoples) and Britain's retained military bases in Singapore. - Indonesia's policy of 'confrontation' against Malaysia is attributed to Chinese Communist pressure on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) under Mr. Aidit and to Sukarno's need to distract from domestic economic problems. - Malaya is described as the world's largest rubber producer and a major tin exporter, with Singapore as a free port and the Malaysian Constitution's broad outlines summarised. ### The Law Of Obscenity *By N. S. Ranganath Rao* N. S. Ranganath Rao analyses a Bombay case in which a book-stall proprietor was convicted under Section 292(b) of the Indian Penal Code for importing books later judged obscene, despite having no knowledge the books were obscene. He argues the court's reasoning — that mens rea is unnecessary for the importer offence — is doubtful in light of Privy Council precedent and a contrary Calcutta High Court ruling, and that imposing strict liability on booksellers who import on customer request from reputable sources is an unreasonable restriction on trade. He recommends a specialist board of literary, legal, medical, and psychological experts to assess obscenity before customs authorities act, and calls for amendment of Section 292. - A Bombay book-stall proprietor was convicted under IPC Section 292(b) for importing obscene books ordered by customers from a reputable foreign firm, despite no criminal knowledge. - The author contrasts this with a Calcutta High Court ruling (C. T. Prim v. State, A.I.R. 1961 Cal. 177) holding that mens rea is required under Section 292. - He argues absolute liability on importers, who cannot be presumed to know an unread book's contents are obscene, unreasonably restricts trade and is of doubtful constitutional validity. - He notes India is bound by the 1923 Geneva International Convention for the Suppression of the Circulation of and Traffic in Obscene Publications, which does not mandate absolute liability. - He recommends a specialist multi-disciplinary board to evaluate a book's literary and obscene character before customs authorities act, rather than leaving it to a single expert or executive officers. ### Reflections On Indian Secularism *By R. Srinivasan* R. Srinivasan reviews Donald E. Smith's India as a Secular State (Oxford University Press), reflecting on the difficulties of Indian secularism given that Indian society, unlike the state, never developed secular values and remains feudal, caste-ridden, and communal. He criticizes Congress for pandering to non-secular passions (citing its alliance with the Muslim League in Kerala and communal campaigning in Rajkot and Amroha), examines the contradiction of caste-based reservation policy within a professedly secular and egalitarian constitutional order, and questions whether personal-law reform (e.g., differing rules on Hindu versus Muslim polygamy) can be pursued evenhandedly. He praises Smith's scholarship as the definitive work on Indian secularism and calls for empirical social-science research into how ordinary Indians actually understand secularism, so that public policy can be grounded in something more concrete than elite assumption. - The review covers Donald E. Smith's book India as a Secular State (OUP, 501pp + index, Rs. 30). - Srinivasan argues Indian government became secular before Indian society developed secular values, creating a persistent gap. - He criticizes the Congress Party's own compromises with communal politics (Kerala alliance with the Muslim League, elections in Rajkot and Amroha). - He discusses caste-based reservation in legislatures, colleges, and the civil service as an unintended consequence that entrenched caste consciousness rather than dissolving it, including the case of neo-Buddhist conversion by some Dalits to escape caste disability while retaining reservation benefits. - He raises the unresolved question of uniform personal law, citing Acharya Kripalani's demand that polygamy restrictions apply equally across religious communities. - He calls for empirical, discipline-crossing social science research into public attitudes on secularism to guide future policy. ### Without Comment ("The Great March" reprinted from Organiser; "The General Who Ran" reprinted from Mainstream, Delhi) The 'Without Comment' department reprints, without editorial commentary, two press items. The first, from Organiser, recounts a special correspondent's head-count of a Communist Party-organised demonstration ('The Great March') in Delhi in September 1963, showing that despite a three-month, Rs. 10 lakh campaign, the actual turnout (about 20,000, per detailed province-by-province and area-measurement calculations) fell well short of the Deputy Commissioner's estimate and the Party's claims, and notes unusual official facilitation of the demonstration (Talkotra Gardens tenting, government quarters for CPI leaders, loudspeakers). The second, from Mainstream, is a scathing account of Lt. Gen. B. M. Kaul's conduct as Corps Commander during the 1962 NEFA debacle against China — his rapid, patronage-driven rise, his convenient illness during the initial Chinese onslaught, his retreat to Delhi instead of nearer field hospitals, and his subsequent quiet retirement into a well-paid private-sector posting in Japan despite the disgrace of the Se La and Bomdi La retreats. - An Organiser correspondent's precise count found a Communist Party 'Great March' demonstration in Delhi drew about 20,000 people, far below Party claims, despite an intensive three-month, Rs. 10 lakh campaign. - Province-wise breakdown shows Punjab and U.P. supplied the bulk of demonstrators (4,215 and 5,785 respectively), with many bused in for what the piece calls a 'free joy-ride.' - The piece notes unusual official accommodations extended to the Communist demonstration, including government quarters for CPI leaders and use of Parliament Street loudspeakers. - The second item is a harsh profile of General B. M. Kaul ('Bijji'), tracing his rapid promotion under a 'dynamic Defence Minister' to Chief of the General Staff and then Corps Commander at the McMahon Line without prior combat command experience. - It criticizes Kaul for reportedly falling ill with bronchitis at the start of the Chinese offensive, retreating to Delhi rather than nearer hospitals, and for the disorderly retreat at Se La and Bomdi La, followed by his quiet transition to a lucrative private-sector post in Japan. ### With Many Voices The closing 'With Many Voices' column collects brief quoted remarks, without editorial comment, from a range of contemporary figures including Nehru, Khrushchev, Mao Tse-tung, Averell Harriman, and others on subjects from Sino-Soviet relations to Communist tactics, alongside the magazine's subscription form and a concluding editorial note that continues the Seventeenth Amendment argument, invoking John Locke's theories of government by consent and warning Congress that future parties could similarly exploit an easy amendment process. - The column juxtaposes quotations from Nehru, Khrushchev, Mao Tse-tung, Liu Shao-chi, Averell Harriman, and Indian commentators (Richard S. Childs, K. Rangaswami, H. V. Kamath, Nath Pai) on democracy, communism, and international relations. - Mao Tse-tung and Khrushchev quotes emphasize Communism as an instrument of struggle rather than sentiment or love. - Nehru is quoted acknowledging difficulty keeping pace with a changing world, and separately on Sino-Soviet ideological rivalry giving way to national interest. - The page includes a Freedom First subscription form (annual subscription Rs. 3.00) addressed to Democratic Research Service, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1. - The editorial postscript to the Seventeenth Amendment piece invokes John Locke's constitutional theory of government by consent to argue that major constitutional changes require electoral sanction, and warns Congress that a future party could exploit the same easy amendment process against it. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff138/ ### Summary Issue 138 of Freedom First (November 1963) is a multi-contributor political and economic commentary magazine published from Bombay by the Democratic Research Service. In the rendered pages it carries six pieces: S. Natarajan's lead essay questioning the Press Consultative Committee's wartime-style press-restriction machinery amid an undeclared 'emergency'; A. G. Mulgaonkar's analysis of Lord Denning's Profumo-affair inquiry report and its lessons for handling administrative-probity complaints in India; M. R. Pai's critique of India's 'steel first' industrial planning strategy as a costly diversion from agriculture and consumer goods; V. B.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Issue 138 of Freedom First (November 1963) is a multi-contributor political and economic commentary magazine published from Bombay by the Democratic Research Service. In the rendered pages it carries six pieces: S. Natarajan's lead essay questioning the Press Consultative Committee's wartime-style press-restriction machinery amid an undeclared 'emergency'; A. G. Mulgaonkar's analysis of Lord Denning's Profumo-affair inquiry report and its lessons for handling administrative-probity complaints in India; M. R. Pai's critique of India's 'steel first' industrial planning strategy as a costly diversion from agriculture and consumer goods; V. B. Karnik's defence of the proposed Seventeenth Constitutional Amendment against an earlier critique by Mulgaonkar, arguing it validates existing state agrarian-reform laws rather than introducing collectivisation; Madhu Limaye's rebuttal to Karnik's account of the Bombay civic (municipal) workers' strike, defending the strike's conduct and blaming the state government's partisanship; and an unsigned 'From a Correspondent' report on Formosa (Taiwan), assessing Nationalist Chinese guerrilla operations against the mainland and the Cold War calculus of a possible Nationalist-Communist civil war. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a compiled column of press and public-figure quotations on contemporary affairs, plus a subscription coupon. The volume's argumentative centre is classical-liberal scepticism of state power — whether exercised over the press, industrial planning, land, or labour disputes — paired with running commentary on international communism (Soviet and Chinese). ## Essays ### The Press and The Emergency *By S. Natarajan* S. Natarajan argues that what is being called a government-press 'emergency' in late 1963 is in fact a one-sided imposition on the press by the Government of India, exercised through the Press Consultative Committee's 'code of conduct' devised in 1940 under the wartime British administration for very different purposes. He contends the code obliges editors to suppress information the Government deems prejudicial to 'national interests,' effectively conscripting the press into the Information Department, and warns that continuing this wartime machinery in peacetime democratic conditions threatens editorial independence. He calls for relaxing rather than tightening information and press laws, including dropping the constitutional amendment to Article 19 concerning 'friendly relations with foreign States.' - The 'emergency' invoked to justify press restrictions is not a government-press emergency but treated by government as a general national one. - The Press Consultative Committee's code, devised in 1940 during WWII, has been revived to restrict rather than enlarge press freedom. - The code compels suppression of information branded 'prejudicial to national interests' or 'confidential.' - Very few editors are aware of the 135-page Defence of India Rules document underlying the restrictions. - Natarajan calls the emergency one of 'governmental inability to know its own mind' and urges relaxation, not tightening, of press laws. - He recommends dropping the constitutional amendment to Article 19 concerning 'friendly relations with foreign States.' ### The Denning Report And India *By A. G. Mulgaonkar* A. G. Mulgaonkar examines Lord Denning's report on the Profumo affair, praising the candour of witnesses before the inquiry and using it as a springboard to consider how India should handle rising complaints of administrative and ministerial impropriety. He weighs the Denning-style single-judge private inquiry against India's Commission of Inquiry Act (1952), noting Indian tribunals (such as the one probing the Mundhra-LIC deal, chaired by M. C. Chagla) have been hampered by uncooperative witnesses. He rejects both a Swedish-style Ombudsman (unworkable given India's scale) and a Russian-style Procurator-General (unsuited to a democracy), instead proposing that the President and State Governors be empowered to receive affidavit-based, legally accountable complaints referred to sitting judges for a prima facie determination before any public inquiry is held. - Denning inquiry into the Profumo affair is praised for extracting unusually candid testimony without subpoenas. - Truth-telling before Indian inquiry tribunals (e.g., the Mundhra-LIC inquiry before Chagla) has been comparatively poor. - Mulgaonkar surveys British inquiry forms: Royal Commissions, Parliamentary Committees, Judicial Commissions, Tribunals of Inquiry (since 1921). - India's Commission of Inquiry Act (1952) mirrors the English Tribunals of Inquiry Act 1921 but its rules were not gazetted until 1960. - He rejects a Swedish Ombudsman model (India too vast) and a Russian Procurator-General model (unsuited to democracy). - He proposes empowering the President and Governors to receive affidavit-based complaints referred to a judge for a prima facie ruling before a public inquiry. ### "Sacred" Steel? *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai argues that steel and heavy industry have become an unquestioned fetish in Indian planning circles, displacing the sacred cow as the object of uncritical reverence, when the historical pattern of industrialisation shows agriculture must be developed first to create the consumer demand that justifies heavy industry. He points to the Soviet Union's neglect of agriculture and consumer goods -- and its resulting need to import grain from capitalist countries -- as a cautionary model that India has copied via the Second and Third Plans (drawn up on Soviet lines under P. C. Mahalanobis's influence). Citing cost overruns and losses at Hindustan Steel's three plants, comparative output/employment figures favouring agriculture and consumer goods, and shortages of ordinary consumer items despite the steel programme, Pai concludes India's 'steel first' priority is economically wasteful, technologically premature, and socially unjust to the unorganised masses who go without basic amenities like drinking water. - Steel/heavy industry has replaced the sacred cow as India's untouchable article of faith, per Pai. - Historical industrialisation pattern requires agriculture to be developed first to generate consumer demand. - Soviet Russia's neglect of agriculture for heavy industry forced it to import grain from the US, Canada and Australia despite Khrushchev's earlier boasts. - Hindustan Steel's three plants cost Rs. 698 crores (against an original estimate of Rs. 353 crores) and incurred Rs. 61.5 crores in losses by March 1963. - A crore of rupees invested in agriculture yields far more jobs (4,000) than the same investment in heavy industry (500), per the cited output/jobs table. - China's backyard-furnace steel drive is cited as an even more extreme failure of the same 'steel first' logic. - Pai calls for consolidating existing steel capacity and redirecting investment to agriculture, consumer goods and basic rural amenities like drinking water. ### The Seventeenth Amendment *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik responds to A. G. Mulgaonkar's earlier attack (in the previous issue) on the proposed Seventeenth Constitutional Amendment, arguing that Mulgaonkar's fear of collectivisation is misplaced. Karnik reviews the 124 state Acts the Amendment seeks to validate, showing them to be tenancy-reform and land-ceiling measures -- passed by elected state legislatures since 1948 and endorsed through three subsequent general elections -- rather than instruments of Soviet- or Chinese-style collective farming. He rebuts Mulgaonkar's invocation of Locke's defence of private property and sovereign self-government, arguing that fair compensation, not an absolute veto via 'sanctity of property' or justiciability, is the legitimate concern, and that the Amendment merely closes a legal loophole (the restrictive judicial definition of 'estate') threatening to void these popularly-mandated reforms. - Karnik shares Mulgaonkar's opposition to actual collective farming but denies the Seventeenth Amendment enables it. - The 124 Acts under the Amendment's schedule are agrarian-reform laws: abolishing feudal tenures, protecting tenant rights, imposing land ceilings, and redistributing surplus land. - These Acts were passed by elected legislatures since 1948 and survived three general elections without any party campaigning for their repeal. - Karnik argues private property is a useful institution but not sacrosanct, even in the United States, and that fair compensation -- not a justiciable absolute right -- is the correct standard. - He turns Mulgaonkar's own Locke quotation back on him, arguing the Amendment enables the people to govern themselves for the common good as Locke prescribed. - The Amendment's necessity stems from a restrictive judicial definition of "estate" threatening to strike down existing reform laws on a technicality. ### The Civic Strike: Another View *By Madhu Limaye* Madhu Limaye rebuts V. B. Karnik's September Freedom First article on the Bombay civic (municipal) workers' strike, defending the strike's origins and conduct. Limaye, who says he helped conceive the wider 20 August token general strike over the cost-of-living index dispute, dearness allowance and CDS, argues the state government -- not the union -- escalated the dispute into a political confrontation by refusing to negotiate, banning meetings and processions under the Defence of India Rules, and arresting over 1,700 workers. He disputes Karnik's claim that the strike was a 'colossal failure,' crediting the workers' discipline and the supporting actions of BEST, taxi and dock workers with forcing the Central government to rein in the Maharashtra state administration, and accuses Karnik of hypocrisy for having helped found the anti-Communist Bambai Mazdoor Sangharsha Samiti while now condemning others for political motives. - Limaye says the 20 August token general strike, including the civic workers' 25% D.A. demand, was conceived by his colleagues and himself as a mass protest against the index fraud, CDS and cost of living. - He blames the Maharashtra state government and Chief Minister Y. B. Chavan for surrendering to local reactionary and INTUC interests and escalating the dispute politically. - Union claimed 1,700-plus workers were arrested and the government banned processions and meetings under the Defence of India Rules. - Limaye disputes attendance figures, claiming Municipal Commissioner reports of only 15% strike participation were fabricated and unverified. - He argues the strike's outcome was a hollow victory for the government, which had to retrace its steps after Central Ministers intervened. - He accuses Karnik of inconsistency, noting Karnik's own role in founding the Bambai Mazdoor Sangharsha Samiti to isolate Communists. ### Formosa Today *By From a Correspondent* An unsigned dispatch 'From a Correspondent' assesses the Nationalist Chinese (Taiwanese) goal of reconquering mainland China, arguing it is more credible than outside observers assume. Drawing on reports of factory dismantlement, official Communist warnings about Nationalist 'restoration' activity, widespread rural and military discontent following the Great Leap Forward's agricultural collapse (1958-62), and the strategic use of the Quemoy and Matsu island groups as guerrilla and psychological-warfare bases, the piece describes an active but uncoordinated Nationalist guerrilla network on the mainland and weighs the geopolitical risk that a Nationalist-Communist civil war could draw in both Washington and Moscow, potentially strengthening the Soviet Union's hand against Mao's regime rather than restoring Chiang Kai-shek. - Communist China's own warnings against Nationalist 'restoration' activity and factory dismantlement in coastal provinces are cited as evidence Peking takes the Nationalist threat seriously. - Rural and military discontent is traced to the Great Leap Forward's agricultural collapse of 1958-59 and 1960-62, though 1962 food output reportedly rose 8-10% over 1961. - Quemoy (Kinmen, over 50 sq. miles, 51,000 people) and Matsu (10 sq. miles, 13,000 people) are described as key guerrilla and propaganda bases blockading the deep-water ports of Amoy and Foochow. - Nationalist forces are estimated at six lakh troops versus a Communist standing army of about 2.6 million. - The Nationalists claim thousands of active mainland commandos and effective control of some mainland areas, including contact with Khampa guerrillas in Tibet. - The piece assesses that a Nationalist-Communist civil war risks Soviet intervention to install a pliant replacement for Mao rather than benefiting Chiang, complicating US support for the Nationalists. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff139/ ### Summary This is issue No. 139 of Freedom First (December 1963), the Bombay-based classical-liberal monthly. The issue is dominated by a critique of the Congress Party's Jaipur Thesis on "Democracy and Socialism" by K. K. Sinha, who argues that the plan's push toward centralized planning, public-sector dominance, and forced cooperativization is incompatible with democratic freedoms and will produce economic dislocation without meeting its own development goals. A. G. Mulgaonkar examines the Denning Report on British ministerial corruption in parallel with the ongoing Kairon Enquiry into corruption charges against the Punjab Chief Minister, criticizing Nehru's reluctance to act against Pratap Singh Kairon. A. B. Shah offers an admiring account of the Radhakrishnan (University Education) Commission's 1949 report, lamenting how little of its vision for university reform has been implemented.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 139 of Freedom First (December 1963), the Bombay-based classical-liberal monthly. The issue is dominated by a critique of the Congress Party's Jaipur Thesis on "Democracy and Socialism" by K. K. Sinha, who argues that the plan's push toward centralized planning, public-sector dominance, and forced cooperativization is incompatible with democratic freedoms and will produce economic dislocation without meeting its own development goals. A. G. Mulgaonkar examines the Denning Report on British ministerial corruption in parallel with the ongoing Kairon Enquiry into corruption charges against the Punjab Chief Minister, criticizing Nehru's reluctance to act against Pratap Singh Kairon. A. B. Shah offers an admiring account of the Radhakrishnan (University Education) Commission's 1949 report, lamenting how little of its vision for university reform has been implemented. Shorter pieces cover government suppression of books critical of Nehru's China policy (Raman Desai), an editorial rebuttal to Krishna Menon equating Chinese and Pakistani "aggression," book/journal reviews of a seminar volume on communism and of a special Formosa survey by The China Quarterly, and a closing page of quoted opinions ("With Many Voices") from public figures of the day. ## Essays ### The Jaipur Thesis *By K. K. Sinha* K. K. Sinha critiques the Congress Party's "Democracy and Socialism" thesis adopted at its Jaipur session, to be placed before the Bhubaneswar plenary in January 1964. He traces its logical chain from socialism through central planning to state ownership, price control, and forced land/cooperative reorganization, arguing this will create a state "octopus," crush the entrepreneurial and middle classes, and curtail political liberty and free elections, since a ruling party wedded to an economic dogma will need to suppress dissent to sustain it. He contrasts India's stagnant development goals with the West's demonstrably faster and more humane postwar growth without doctrinaire socialism, and warns the thesis risks setting India on a path toward one-party authoritarianism, comparing Nehru's position to that of Stalin's Soviet Union despite differing intentions. - The Jaipur Thesis proposes a chain running from democratic socialism to planning, discipline/regulation of the economy, public-sector predominance, land reform and cooperativization, and workers' participation in management. - Sinha argues the practical effect will be a state 'octopus' controlling the economy, mobilization of 'masses' against entrepreneurs, and the throttling of the independent middle class. - He contends political liberty, free criticism, and free elections will be curtailed as the ruling party brands critics 'anti-people' and 'reactionary'. - He compares the thesis's professed commitment to 'democratic methods and values' unfavorably with the Soviet Constitution under Stalin, warning ideological momentum can outrun the intentions of well-meaning leaders like Nehru. - Sinha notes that non-communist countries (USA, Britain, Japan, France, West Germany) achieved comparable postwar development and higher living standards without adopting the socialist/planned model. - He predicts the thesis, if adopted at Bhubaneswar, will generate economic and political instability rather than the promised 'sense of urgency' toward development. ### The Kairon Enquiry *By A. G. Mulgaonkar* A. G. Mulgaonkar discusses Lord Denning's forthcoming visit to India and his report on the Profumo affair, drawing a parallel to the ongoing enquiry into corruption charges against Punjab Chief Minister Pratap Singh Kairon. He criticizes Nehru's note to the President for evasively defending his decision not to remove Kairon during the inquiry, contrasting Denning's candid acknowledgment of his inquiry's procedural limits with Nehru's dismissal of the Supreme Court's adverse findings of fact in the Dr. S. P. Singh case as binding only on the parties. Mulgaonkar closes by noting that ministerial corruption has historically been dealt with even in exalted political careers (Marlborough, Walpole) and even under Akbar's rule in India, implying Nehru's reluctance to act is a departure from this precedent. - Denning's visit and report on the Profumo affair are used as a lens for examining Nehru's handling of corruption charges against Punjab CM Pratap Singh Kairon. - Nehru's note to the President recommends an inquiry under the Commissions of Inquiries Act, 1952, distinct from Denning's tribunal model, but Mulgaonkar sees this as evasive of the substantive corruption charges. - The Supreme Court's findings in Dr. S. P. Singh's case (that his suspension and disciplinary proceedings were ordered mala fide by the Chief Minister) are cited as prior evidence bearing on Kairon's fitness for office, which Nehru's inquiry terms of reference exclude from consideration. - Denning's own report acknowledges the procedural weaknesses of a one-man inquiry (no cross-examination, in secret, not a suitable body to determine guilt). - Mulgaonkar surveys historical precedent — Marlborough, Walpole, and Akbar's execution of corrupt ministers — to argue ministerial corruption has always demanded a reckoning. ### The Radhakrishnan Report *By A. B. Shah* A. B. Shah offers an appreciative retrospective on the Radhakrishnan Commission's 1949 Report of the University Education Commission, praising it as a synthesis of Eastern and Western thought and a foundational document for democratic higher education in India. He outlines the Commission's formation under Maulana Abul Kalam Azad in 1948, its membership including Zakir Hussain and other scholars, and its key findings on India's low spending on education, poor library provisioning, high teacher-student ratios, and high failure rates. He summarizes major recommendations: a three-year degree course preceded by twelve years of schooling, caps on university size (3,000 students unitary, no more than 40-50 affiliated colleges), a shift from rote-based essay examinations to objective tests, opposition to caste-based reservation of seats, and support for the regional language as medium of instruction while retaining English. Shah closes by lamenting that, more than a decade on, implementation has been partial and distorted, calling this a form of vulgarization of a document he ranks second only to the Constitution in post-Independence significance. - The Radhakrishnan (University Education) Commission was appointed in November 1948 and completed its two-volume report by August 1949. - The report found India spent only 5% of its budget on education versus 11-12% in postwar Britain and France, and detailed poor library funding and high teacher-student ratios (1:40 vs 1:10 in good universities). - The Commission frames its central question as what a university is for in a free, democratic society, versus a totalitarian one — training individuals, not merely citizens. - Key recommendations: a 3-year degree course after 12 years of schooling, caps on university/college size, replacing essay exams with objective tests, opposing caste-based reservation, and separate arrangements for working students. - Shah recommends the regional language eventually replace English as medium of instruction, while the Commission insisted on maintaining a 'living contact' with English. - Shah judges implementation of the Commission's recommendations as only partial, haphazard, and distorted more than a decade after publication. ### Suppression of Opinion *By Raman Desai* Raman Desai reports on the Government of India's ban on the sale of George N. Patterson's book Peking Vs. Delhi under the Defence of India Rules, suspecting it was banned for criticizing Nehru's pre-war China policy rather than for genuine security concerns. He contrasts this with the non-banning of Bertrand Russell's similarly critical 'Unarmed Victory,' though its import has reportedly been informally discouraged, and accuses Nehru and Nanda of suppressing informed criticism that might embarrass the government's self-image. This is followed by the unsigned 'Without Comment' column, which rebuts Krishna Menon's equating of Chinese and Pakistani 'aggression' in Kashmir and Ladakh, arguing the two cases are historically and morally distinct — Pakistan had an arguable claim via the plebiscite question, whereas China's occupation of Tibet and incursion were unprovoked seizures with no comparable claim. - The Government of India banned George N. Patterson's Peking Vs. Delhi (Faber & Faber) under the Defence of India Rules; Desai suspects political rather than security motives. - Bertrand Russell's 'Unarmed Victory,' also critical of government policy, was not formally banned but its import was reportedly discouraged informally. - Desai accuses Nehru and Nanda of suppressing informed criticism under the guise of national security. - The 'Without Comment' column rejects Krishna Menon's AICC Jaipur remarks treating Chinese and Pakistani actions as equally 'aggression,' arguing Pakistan had some arguable claim to Kashmir via the promised plebiscite while China's seizure of Tibet and incursions had no such basis. - The column argues China represents a larger, more dangerous threat than Pakistan and criticizes bracketing the two as equal evils. ### Without Comment (Aggressions and Aggressions) This is the 'Review' section, containing two book/journal notices. Raman Desai reviews 'A New Look at Communism' (ed. A. B. Shah & Nissim Ezekiel, Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom), a collection of seminar papers on the myths of communism, the communist movement in India and South-East Asia, the Sino-Soviet schism, and consumer economics under communism, praising its clear analysis and its argument that resistance to communist expansion must include contesting the ideas, not just the territory, behind it. A second, unsigned notice (initialed B.K.D. at the essay's end) reviews The China Quarterly's special survey of the Formosan situation, criticizing it for failing to give a balanced assessment of the Nationalist case, noting an anti-Nationalist bias in contributions such as John Israel's 'Politics of Formosa,' while acknowledging useful articles on Formosa's economic growth, its armed forces, and its intellectuals' alienation and attraction to liberal-democratic ideals. - Raman Desai reviews 'A New Look at Communism,' a seminar volume from the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (August 30-Sept 1, 1963), covering myths of communism, its appeal to intellectuals, the Sino-Soviet schism, and consumer economics under communism. - The volume argues resistance to communist expansion must engage the underlying ideas, not merely counter territorial expansion militarily. - Desai cites Laxmanshastri Joshi's inaugural address call for education fostering 'habits of empirical analysis and libertarian values.' - A second review of The China Quarterly's special Formosa survey criticizes its lack of balance and its anti-Nationalist bias, particularly in John Israel's contribution, which dubs the Nationalist regime a 'Police State'. - The reviewer credits useful articles on Formosa's economic growth (Sheppard Glass), armed forces (Joyce Kallgren), and the alienation of Formosan intellectuals drawn to liberal-democratic ideals (Mei Wen-li). ### Review: A New Look at Communism (ed. A. B. Shah & Nissim Ezekiel) *By Raman Desai* The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' is a compilation of short quotations from public figures and publications of November 1963, headed by a Tennyson epigraph. It juxtaposes remarks from John F. Kennedy on American leadership, an editorial on the deaths of Lincoln and Kennedy, V. K. Krishna Menon on bank nationalization, Arjun Arora on socialism within the ruling party, Mahavir Tyagi and K. D. Malaviya on Congress and socialism, C. Rajagopalachari on the impossibility of proving political corruption, and Nehru's own comment on Marx and Lenin, among others, without editorial commentary. - The page collects short, sourced quotations from November 1963 without commentary, framed by a Tennyson epigraph on seeking 'a newer world'. - Quotes include J. F. Kennedy on American leadership and missiles, Krishna Menon on bank nationalization, Arjun Arora and Mahavir Tyagi on socialism within Congress, and Nehru's remark on having an 'emotional rapport' with Marx and Lenin without having read them. - C. Rajagopalachari is quoted arguing that proving the 'defects and crimes of political leaders' is effectively impossible when the accused holds absolute power over witnesses. - The page also completes the Formosan Situation review (continued from page 11), arguing it is misleading to judge the Nationalist regime by pure liberal-democratic standards given the ongoing state of emergency. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff140/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 140 (January 1964) is a monthly issue of the Bombay classical-liberal periodical published by the Democratic Research Service. Its centerpiece is M. R. Masani's Lok Sabha speech excoriating the mid-term appraisal of the Third Five Year Plan as a record of "abject failure" across food output, industrial production, and employment, and calling for the Plan to be scrapped in favour of a consumer-driven mixed economy. The issue is rounded out by shorter pieces on rural poverty and debt (Raman Desai), a critique of Indian obscenity law derived from the Hicklin test (N. S. Ranganatha Rao), a survey of Nehru's faltering political and economic authority in the wake of the Chinese invasion and the Kamaraj Plan ("Atreya"), a warning about the 17th Constitutional Amendment's effect on peasant proprietors (Arvind A. Deshpande), a reprinted newspaper column against the drift toward nationalization (K. Santhanam), a review of A. G. Noorani's book on Indian complacency toward China, and the regular "With Many Voices" column of quoted public statements. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 140 (January 1964) is a monthly issue of the Bombay classical-liberal periodical published by the Democratic Research Service. Its centerpiece is M. R. Masani's Lok Sabha speech excoriating the mid-term appraisal of the Third Five Year Plan as a record of "abject failure" across food output, industrial production, and employment, and calling for the Plan to be scrapped in favour of a consumer-driven mixed economy. The issue is rounded out by shorter pieces on rural poverty and debt (Raman Desai), a critique of Indian obscenity law derived from the Hicklin test (N. S. Ranganatha Rao), a survey of Nehru's faltering political and economic authority in the wake of the Chinese invasion and the Kamaraj Plan ("Atreya"), a warning about the 17th Constitutional Amendment's effect on peasant proprietors (Arvind A. Deshpande), a reprinted newspaper column against the drift toward nationalization (K. Santhanam), a review of A. G. Noorani's book on Indian complacency toward China, and the regular "With Many Voices" column of quoted public statements. ## Essays ### Mid-term Appraisal of the Third Plan *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's reprinted Lok Sabha speech (delivered 5 December 1963) dissects the government's own mid-term appraisal document on the Third Five Year Plan, quoting its admissions of shortfalls in national income growth, foodgrains, steel, aluminium, machine tools, power, and employment. He argues the only things that have genuinely risen are prices and taxes, and concludes the Plan is fundamentally wrong-headed and should be scrapped rather than merely better implemented. He proposes an alternative built on Gandhiji's talisman of testing policy against its benefit to "the poorest and weakest man," invoking stark consumption-inequality statistics (the poorest 10% living on 27.5 paise a day) and urging a shift from state-capitalist, bureaucratic planning toward a mixed economy driven by consumer sovereignty. He cites John Kenneth Galbraith's recent remarks in Bombay warning that overemphasis on savings and growth rates can reduce well-being in the short run, and points to the West German Social Democratic Party's 1963 abandonment of economic planning as a precedent for what he wants Indian socialists to emulate. - The government's own mid-term appraisal admits national income grew only ~2% per year against a 6% target, with foodgrains, steel, aluminium, and machine tool output all falling short of Plan targets. - Masani argues prices and taxes are the only things that rose as promised during the Third Plan. - He calls for scrapping the Plan entirely, not merely revising its implementation, describing it as a picture of 'abject failure' comparable to the NEFA defeat. - He invokes Gandhiji's talisman -- testing every policy against its effect on 'the poorest and weakest man' -- as the standard by which the government should be judged. - Cites stark consumption data: the poorest 10% of India's population consume 27.5 paise a day, the richest 5% consume Rs. 2.37 a day. - Proposes an alternative of ending 'State Capitalist' monopoly, restoring consumer sovereignty, and confining the state to infrastructure while private enterprise handles production. - Quotes Galbraith's warning (delivered in Bombay) that undue emphasis on savings and growth rate 'can be dangerous policy' if it reduces the well-being of the average person in the short run. - Points to the West German Social Democratic Party's 1963 Essen conference, where it renounced 'economic planning' and its Marxist manifesto, as a model of the socialist evolution Masani wants India's socialists to follow. ### Planning And The Poorest *By Raman Desai* Raman Desai argues that the Planning Commission is not an independent body but an advisory committee wholly controlled by the Prime Minister and Cabinet, making Nehru's occasional expressions of surprise at its failures disingenuous. He introduces and endorses Masani's mid-term appraisal speech, then presents his own statistics on rural poverty drawn from the government publication India 1963: as of 1956-57, 64% of agricultural labour households were in debt (up from 45% in 1950-51), with average debt nearly doubling from Rs. 47 to Rs. 88, and only 1% of loans coming from cooperatives versus 44% from relatives and 34% from moneylenders. He closes by invoking Tagore's poem 'Here Rest Thy Feet, among the Poorest and the Lowliest and the Lost' as fitting these landless labourers. - Argues the Planning Commission is not independent but an advisory body effectively controlled by the Prime Minister and Cabinet, making its 'objective' pronouncements a form of theatre. - Cites India 1963 government data: 64% of agricultural labour households were indebted in 1956-57 versus 45% in 1950-51, with average debt rising from Rs. 47 to Rs. 88. - Reports that of total agricultural debt, only 1% came from cooperatives, 44% from relatives, and 34% from moneylenders. - Estimates 3.3 crore agricultural labourers (1.8 crore men, 1.2 crore women, 30 lakh children) as of 1956-57. - Frames the piece as an introduction endorsing Masani's mid-term appraisal speech printed elsewhere in the same issue. ### The Law Of Obscenity *By N. S. Ranganatha Rao* N. S. Ranganatha Rao surveys the law of obscenity in India, arguing it inherited the flawed Hicklin test from English law (whether matter tends 'to deprave and corrupt those whose minds are open to such immoral influences') without adaptation to a more liberal era. He identifies several defects: the test ignores the author's intent or purpose, judges works by isolated passages rather than as a whole, imposes an unrealistically low standard (a hypothetical 'well brought up school girl of fourteen'), and creates near-strict liability for publishers and sellers regardless of knowledge or intent. He argues the object of obscenity law should be to suppress pornography, not censor literature, and that Indian courts should be allowed to weigh expert and literary opinion evidence on a work's merit, as English law began doing under its 1959 Obscene Publications Act. - Traces India's obscenity law (IPC Sections 292-293) to the Hicklin test from English case law, adopted without adaptation to changed social standards. - Faults the Hicklin test for ignoring the author's or creator's intent (mens rea), unlike most punishable criminal offences. - Criticizes Indian courts for judging obscenity by isolated words or passages rather than a work's entirety. - Notes the test's implied standard -- safety for a 'well brought up school girl of fourteen' -- is unrealistically restrictive and judge-dependent. - Describes near-strict liability imposed on publishers, sellers, and importers regardless of their knowledge of a work's alleged obscenity. - Points to England's Obscene Publications Act, 1959 as a model that made authorial purpose a relevant legal factor. - Calls for Indian courts to admit expert and literary-merit evidence more freely, and promises a follow-up piece proposing specific reforms. ### The Travails Of Mr. Nehru *By "Atreya"* Writing under the pen name 'Atreya,' the author surveys Prime Minister Nehru's weakened political and economic standing after the 1962 Chinese invasion, arguing the war exposed problems in party management, the Kamaraj Plan, and economic policy that had long been masked by Nehru's personal authority. The Kamaraj Plan is depicted as a 'tail-dropping' tactic that failed to end factionalism within Congress state units. On economic policy, the author accuses Nehru of belatedly and opportunistically criticizing the very 'bigness' obsession and bureaucratic Planning Commission that he himself built, in order to steal 'rightist' rhetorical ground. The piece closes on Nehru's handling of the Goa merger question and a controversial party resolution on religious conversion pushed through at an unusual 1 p.m. sitting, which the author reads as a sign of Nehru bowing to leftist pressure within Congress and losing his customary self-assurance. - Argues the Chinese invasion of 1962 opened up a 'Pandora's box' of pre-existing problems in India that Nehru's personal authority had previously kept concealed. - Frames the Kamaraj Plan as a 'tail-dropping' survival tactic (like a lizard shedding its tail) that failed to resolve intra-Congress factionalism in Gujarat, U.P., Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab. - Accuses Nehru of opportunistically adopting 'rightist' criticisms of bureaucracy and bigness in planning that he himself was responsible for institutionalizing via the Planning Commission. - Describes Nehru's handling of the Goa-Maharashtra merger question as inconsistent and reminiscent of his earlier reversal on linguistic state reorganization. - Reports that Nehru forced through a Congress Parliamentary Party resolution on the conversion issue at an unusual 1 p.m. sitting to appease 'Progressive Socialist' elements, calling it a dangerous precedent of overriding majority views by brute force of his position. ### The Constitution (17th Amendment) Bill *By Arvind A. Deshpande* Arvind A. Deshpande warns that the Constitution (17th Amendment) Bill, by redefining 'estate' to cover ryotwari agricultural land and validating state land-ceiling legislation, will make the peasant proprietor class 'almost legally extinct' and bring India close to Article 6 of the Soviet constitution treating land as state property. He objects that the amendment permits deprivation of property without compensation or judicial examination, and predicts a further 18th Amendment extending 'estate' to cover industrial and residential land. He argues land ceilings will not solve landlessness (since the real problem is distribution, not the existence of large holdings) and that the amendment reflects a wrong-headed pursuit of 'social justice' that will neither help the landless nor increase agricultural production, while damaging farmers' individuality, security, and incentive to invest. - Argues the 17th Amendment's redefinition of 'estate' to include ryotwari land will render the peasant proprietor class 'almost legally extinct' and parallels Article 6 of the USSR constitution. - Warns of an anticipated 18th Amendment further extending 'estate' to industrial and residential land, effectively nationalizing all land. - Objects that the amendment permits deprivation of property without compensation or judicial review, eroding constitutional sanctity and the rule of law. - Contends that a former Chief Minister admitted the landless problem is not solved merely by imposing land ceilings, since it is a matter of land distribution and ownership concentration among the electorate's landowning majority, not aggregate land availability. - Argues that increasing production requires larger holdings, technical education, and free flow of capital and know-how -- conditions ceilings actively undermine -- and criticizes the 'compartmentalisation' of agriculture from industry. - Predicts land ceiling laws applied to sugar-factory-held farmland will create ill-conceived 'State Farms' without addressing the true drivers of low productivity. - Concludes that the amendment reflects a false sense of values, waging war on the wealth of a few prosperous farmers rather than on the poverty of the many. ### Without Comment: The Dangerous Craze of Nationalization *By K. Santhanam* In this 'Without Comment' reprint from the Hindustan Times (24 December), K. Santhanam warns against the 'dangerous craze' of nationalization spreading across food and price policy, banking, and transport, driven partly by Communists seeking to eliminate the middle class and capture political power through landless labourers and nationalized-industry workers. He distinguishes nationalization from legitimate public participation via state agencies or cooperatives, and warns that unchecked nationalization concentrates monopoly power in an unaccountable bureaucracy, ultimately threatening to end in either Communist or Fascist totalitarianism. - Identifies a growing demand for nationalization of food and grain trade, banking and credit, and road/rail transport as a 'dangerous craze.' - Attributes much of the push to Communist strategy aimed at eliminating the independent middle class and building political power via landless labourers and nationalized-sector workers. - Notes with concern that many Congressmen, including MPs, support these demands without grasping their implications. - Distinguishes nationalization from legitimate public participation in the economy via state agencies or cooperative societies, arguing the latter is often necessary and justified. - Warns that nationalization concentrates monopoly power in an unaccountable bureaucracy and, if extended too far, risks ending in either Communist or Fascist totalitarianism. ### Review: Our Credulity and Ignorance (on A. G. Noorani's book) *By V.B.K.* This review, signed 'V.B.K.,' covers A. G. Noorani's book Our Credulity and Ignorance (Ramdas G. Bhatkal, Bombay, Rs. 3), sponsored by Indians for Victory. The reviewer summarizes Noorani's argument that Nehru and his government were credulous toward China between 1950 and 1959 -- first hoping to avert Chinese claims through appeasement over Tibet, then relying on Nehru's personal rapport with Chou En-lai -- leaving India without an adequate policy when the 1962 conflict erupted. The reviewer credits the book with useful documentation via speeches and writings but notes it does not cover post-conflict developments such as the Colombo Proposals or the return of Indian forces to the McMahon Line. - Reviews A. G. Noorani's book Our Credulity and Ignorance, published by Ramdas G. Bhatkal, priced Rs. 3, sponsored by Indians for Victory. - Cites Dr. Radhakrishnan's post-front-visit remark that 'our credulity and our negligence' were responsible for China's success, which gives the book its title theme. - Summarizes Noorani's periodization: 1950-54 spent trying to avert Chinese claims by appeasement over Tibet; 1954-59 Nehru relying on his personal relationship with Chou En-lai; both approaches leaving India without an adequate policy by the time of the 1962 conflict. - Notes the book is essentially a threaded collection of Prime Ministerial and other official statements illustrating the ill-advised and harmful China policy. - Points out the book's limits: it does not address the Colombo Proposals or the return of Indian forces to the McMahon Line, matters left 'beyond the purview' of Noorani's account. ### With Many Voices 'With Many Voices' is the issue's recurring column of quoted public statements from politicians, judges, and commentators, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. Quoted figures include Home Minister Nanda on corruption, Dr. Lohia on wage disparities at the Rourkela Steel Factory, Prime Minister Nehru on self-reliant society and on China not quitting 'of her own,' Justice Brandeis on liberty's greatest danger being encroachment by well-meaning zealots, Dr. K. M. Munshi, Albert Schweitzer, and an exchange in the House on the propriety of remarking on 'a lady's looks.' The final column runs into an adjacent, partially cut-off feature titled '...Bl... Its...' whose content is not recoverable from the rendered page. - Column collects short quotations from named public figures published in various newspapers during November-December 1963. - Home Minister Nanda is quoted twice on the extent and perception of corruption in India. - Dr. Lohia is quoted contrasting the roughly Rs. 20 lakh monthly pay of about a thousand officers at Rourkela Steel Factory against the roughly Rs. 30 lakh received by over thirty thousand labourers. - Justice Brandeis is quoted warning that liberty's greatest danger lies in 'insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding.' - Prime Minister Nehru is quoted on wanting a society where 'each person looked after himself' and, separately, asserting China 'will not quit of her own.' - The final page is a two-column layout whose right-hand column bleeds into a differently-titled item (visible fragment: 'With Many Voices' / 'Bl...Its...') that is cut off in the rendered scan and cannot be summarized. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff141/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 141 (February 1964) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical, opening with an unsigned editorial-style piece (bylined "Saadi") assessing the 68th Plenary Session of the Congress at Bhubaneshwar and its ambivalent socialist resolution, followed by essays on the Israel-Arab dispute over Jordan river waters, ministerial corruption in India and the case for an Ombudsman, Maharashtra's revised prohibition policy, and a lengthy critique of columnist N. J. Nanporia's shifting positions on Sino-Indian border policy. The issue closes with two recurring quotation features, "Without Comment" (a reprinted item on the US 7th Fleet in Asian waters) and "With Many Voices" (miscellany of quotations from public figures). The throughline across the contributions is a sceptical, classical-liberal scrutiny of the Congress government's economic and foreign policy drift, paired with calls for institutional remedies (an Ombudsman law, firmer China policy) rather than moral exhortation alone. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 141 (February 1964) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical, opening with an unsigned editorial-style piece (bylined "Saadi") assessing the 68th Plenary Session of the Congress at Bhubaneshwar and its ambivalent socialist resolution, followed by essays on the Israel-Arab dispute over Jordan river waters, ministerial corruption in India and the case for an Ombudsman, Maharashtra's revised prohibition policy, and a lengthy critique of columnist N. J. Nanporia's shifting positions on Sino-Indian border policy. The issue closes with two recurring quotation features, "Without Comment" (a reprinted item on the US 7th Fleet in Asian waters) and "With Many Voices" (miscellany of quotations from public figures). The throughline across the contributions is a sceptical, classical-liberal scrutiny of the Congress government's economic and foreign policy drift, paired with calls for institutional remedies (an Ombudsman law, firmer China policy) rather than moral exhortation alone. ## Essays ### Bhubaneshwar—Its Achievements And Failures *By Saadi* This unsigned lead piece, bylined "Saadi," reviews the socialism resolution passed at the Congress's 68th Plenary Session at Bhubaneshwar in December 1963. It argues that the resolution's vague, pious language on "democratic socialism" reflects the party's persistent ideological confusion rather than any real advance, but credits it with affirming the dignity of labour and the individual against tyrannies committed in socialism's name elsewhere. The piece contends that Congress cannot fairly be blamed for failing to define socialism precisely, since even Karl Marx never did so clearly, but faults Bhubaneshwar for evading India's real economic problems: mass poverty, low national production, bureaucratic stranglehold, and unchecked corruption. It closes by calling Bhubaneshwar an important but insufficient milestone that leaves the deeper structural failures of Congress governance untouched. - The Bhubaneshwar resolution on socialism is judged vaguer and more pious than earlier Congress statements dating to the 1931 Karachi session. - Lal Bahadur Shastri and S. K. Patil are credited with bringing 'sobriety and mature thinking' to the session, partly due to Nehru's absence and illness. - The article defends Congress from the charge of failing to define socialism, noting even Marx could not define it precisely. - The real failure of Bhubaneshwar, per the piece, is its inability to address rising poverty, industrial and agricultural stagnation, and export growth. - Corruption and the 'stranglehold of bureaucracy' are named as serious unaddressed problems. - The resolution's rhetoric on the dignity of labour and against caste privilege is treated as a genuine, if limited, achievement. ### Israel And Arab States *By Raman Desai* Raman Desai's essay traces the Arab-Israeli dispute back to the 1922 Palestine Mandate and the 1948 British withdrawal, describing the demographic and territorial background of Israel and the Arab states before turning to the immediate controversy: an Arab summit's January 1964 objection to Israel's plan to draw water from the Jordan river and Lake Kinneret to irrigate the Negev desert. Desai portrays Egypt's Nasser as using anti-Israel sentiment to distract from domestic economic failure under Arab socialism, and argues that Jordan and Syria's own unilateral diversions of the Yarmak river undercut Arab complaints against Israel. The essay closes with a direct argument that India's nonaligned foreign policy should not prevent it from morally recognizing Israel's right to exist, invoking Jewish historical suffering and India's own tradition of offering refuge to persecuted minorities. - Frames the Arab states as residuary legatees of the Ottoman Empire and traces the Israel-Jordan partition to the 1922 Palestine Mandate. - Describes Nasser's use of anti-Israel agitation to compensate for the Yemen war and domestic economic stagnation under Arab socialism. - Details the 1964 Arab summit decision to unite militarily against Israel's Jordan River diversion project for the Negev. - Points out that Jordan and Syria have themselves unilaterally diverted the Yarmak river, undercutting their objection to Israel's plans. - Criticises India's foreign policy for being reticent on the issue and argues India's history of sheltering persecuted peoples (Christians, Jews, Parsis) should inform a more sympathetic stance toward Israel. - References the Holocaust and West Germany's small remaining Jewish population as part of the moral case for support. ### Ministerial Corruption *By A. G. Mulgaonkar* A. G. Mulgaonkar's essay confronts ministerial corruption directly, opening with a critique of how Nehru's government selectively quoted Lord Denning's report to excuse rather than confront corrupt ministers (referencing the Kairon affair). Mulgaonkar distinguishes political corruption among ministers from official corruption among bureaucrats, arguing both must be tackled but that ministers, as more visible and more powerful, deserve at least as much scrutiny as civil servants. He surveys British precedent (J. H. Thomas, Belcher) where ministers were forced from office for lesser offences, and calls for Indian ministers to be legally required to disclose personal and family assets. The piece ends with a demand for a specific enforcement mechanism: an inquiry to be automatically triggered whenever a minister is shown to have received a payment in exchange for a favour. - Opens by criticising Nehru's selective quotation of Lord Denning's report to shield ministers accused of corruption, citing the Kairon affair. - Distinguishes 'political' corruption (ministers) from 'official' corruption (bureaucrats) as requiring different remedies but equal seriousness. - Cites British precedents (J. H. Thomas, Belcher) of ministers forced from office over corruption or conflicts of interest. - Calls for legislation requiring ministers to declare their own and their dependents' assets. - Argues that the mere fact of a payment made to procure a favour should be sufficient grounds to trigger an inquiry. - Criticises Congress dominance since 1947 for eroding institutional accountability and constitutional norms, citing Goa and retrospective legislation as examples. ### New Prohibition Policy *By S. R. Mohan Das* S. R. Mohan Das examines Maharashtra Chief Minister V. P. Naik's relaxation of the state's prohibition policy, noting opposition from Morarji Desai, Gulzarilal Nanda, and the Maharashtra INTUC. The essay argues both the acclaim for and condemnation of the relaxation rest on shallow, emotional grounds rather than serious analysis, since morality cannot be legislated and alcoholism is a psychological and sociological problem prohibition alone cannot solve. Drawing on the experience of the US, UK, France and Finland, the piece recommends a more graduated approach modeled on the UK's promotion of tea shops and food-paired drinking over blanket bans, while cautioning the state government against treating liquor licensing as a revenue-raising opportunity. - Reports on Maharashtra CM V. P. Naik's revision of prohibition policy and the backlash from Morarji Desai, Gulzarilal Nanda, and Maharashtra INTUC. - Argues prohibition has become a 'sacred cow' symbol of Gandhian legacy in Congress rather than an effective policy. - Draws on US, UK, French and Finnish experience to argue blanket prohibition fails against alcoholism as a psychological/sociological problem. - Cites Lloyd George's UK approach of promoting tea shops and food-paired drinking over rigid bans as a preferable model. - Warns the state government against exploiting new liquor licensing as a revenue source, urging strict alcohol-content controls (3.5%) instead. - Notes a countervailing finding: women in Bombay reportedly support continuing prohibition despite its acknowledged ineffectiveness against chronic drinkers. ### New Delhi And China *By A. G. Noorani* A. G. Noorani's essay is a sustained critique of columnist N. J. Nanporia's commentary on Sino-Indian relations, collected in his book 'The Sino-Indian Dispute.' Noorani traces how Nanporia, writing through the 1962 war and its aftermath, correctly predicted a Chinese ceasefire and consistently urged toughness and rejection of negotiations in his earlier articles, only to reverse himself by 1963-64, first advocating acceptance of the Colombo Proposals he had earlier warned served Chinese interests, and finally by January 1964 downplaying the border dispute altogether in favour of courting French recognition of China. Noorani methodically documents Nanporia's self-contradictions using the columnist's own words across different dates, concluding that the reversal reflects either a lack of candour or a genuine confusion of mind, and faulting Nanporia for never explaining or acknowledging his shifting positions to his readers. - Reviews N. J. Nanporia's book collecting his Times of India columns on the Sino-Indian dispute (Sept 1962-June 1963). - Notes Nanporia correctly predicted the Chinese ceasefire and, at the time, argued for uncompromising toughness and against any negotiation with China. - Documents Nanporia's later, contradictory advocacy for accepting the Colombo Proposals, which he had earlier warned favoured Chinese interests. - Traces a further reversal by January 1964, where Nanporia treats the border dispute as a mere 'incident' next to France's diplomatic recognition of China. - Argues Nanporia's shift is unexplained and undefended to his own readers despite his confident, unapologetic tone. - Concludes that Nanporia's contradictions reflect either lack of candour or genuine confusion, not a reasoned change of view. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff142/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 142 (March 1964) is a monthly opinion periodical published from Bombay by the Democratic Research Service, edited by Raman K. Desai. In the rendered pages it carries six signed pieces plus an unsigned closing column of quotations. V. B. Karnik opens with a piece on the Asoka Mehta-PSP controversy, arguing that Indian democrats should prioritise building a political consensus over cultivating conflict. Saadi contributes a polemical piece warning against restoring G. M. Sadiq to the Kashmir cabinet, framing him as a communist infiltrator of the National Conference. A. G. Mulgaonkar reflects on Nehru's succession following his illness, urging a freely chosen new prime minister and a high-powered interim council. M. R. Pai reports on the Swatantra Party's Third (Bangalore) Convention, noting its growing institutionalisation, the influence of Masani's candid organisational report, and Rajaji's inaugural address. N. S. Ranganath Rao proposes statutory reforms to India's obscenity law under the Indian Penal Code. M. A. Venkata Rao surveys how Vedic, Buddhist, and Jain traditions might answer Marxist materialism on questions of self, ethics, and the state.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 142 (March 1964) is a monthly opinion periodical published from Bombay by the Democratic Research Service, edited by Raman K. Desai. In the rendered pages it carries six signed pieces plus an unsigned closing column of quotations. V. B. Karnik opens with a piece on the Asoka Mehta-PSP controversy, arguing that Indian democrats should prioritise building a political consensus over cultivating conflict. Saadi contributes a polemical piece warning against restoring G. M. Sadiq to the Kashmir cabinet, framing him as a communist infiltrator of the National Conference. A. G. Mulgaonkar reflects on Nehru's succession following his illness, urging a freely chosen new prime minister and a high-powered interim council. M. R. Pai reports on the Swatantra Party's Third (Bangalore) Convention, noting its growing institutionalisation, the influence of Masani's candid organisational report, and Rajaji's inaugural address. N. S. Ranganath Rao proposes statutory reforms to India's obscenity law under the Indian Penal Code. M. A. Venkata Rao surveys how Vedic, Buddhist, and Jain traditions might answer Marxist materialism on questions of self, ethics, and the state. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a page of aphoristic quotations culled from world and Indian press. Together the pieces reflect the magazine's classical-liberal, anti-communist, Swatantra-aligned editorial stance in early 1964. ## Essays ### Consensus Or Conflict? *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik addresses the controversy over disciplinary action taken against Asoka Mehta by the Praja Socialist Party, arguing the deeper issue is not procedural but a basic contradiction between Mehta's line and the PSP's Bhopal resolutions. Karnik contends that Indian democrats face a more fundamental choice between fostering national consensus or conflict, and that conflict-driven politics -- however tempting -- risks weakening democracy in an emerging nation still without an entrenched consensus. He compares India's situation to established democracies like Britain and America, where a background consensus lets party conflict occur safely, and to Communist states, where dictatorship suppresses dissent instead of building consensus. He closes by urging democrats of all stripes to prioritise the patient work of building a shared civic consensus. - Frames the Asoka Mehta/PSP dispute as reflecting a real policy contradiction, not just a disciplinary spat - Argues India lacks an established political consensus of the kind that sustains Anglo-American democracy - Warns that pursuing conflict as a strategy, absent consensus, risks disintegration of Indian democracy - Distinguishes acceptable democratic conflict (bounded by shared institutions) from Marxist/Communist conflict aimed at total victory - Calls on democrats -- socialist and non-socialist alike -- to work toward consensus rather than confrontation ### Danger In Kashmir *By Saadi* Writing under the byline 'Saadi,' the author argues that the theft of the sacred relic from Hazratbal shrine and the ensuing violence exposed the incompetence of the Kashmir government, and warns against the possible return of Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq to the Kashmir cabinet or premiership. The essay traces Sadiq's political biography -- his entry into the Muslim Conference, his alignment with communist figures, his role in converting the Muslim Conference into the National Conference, and his formation of the rival Democratic National Conference after falling out with Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed -- to argue that Sadiq is a 'confirmed communist' who has used government and party positions to embed communist sympathisers in Kashmir's labour unions, student bodies, and press. It calls for Sadiq and his associates to be publicly exposed and kept out of power, arguing a communist-led Kashmir government would be a far graver danger than an incompetent one. - Blames the Kashmir government's incompetence for failing to control post-Hazratbal-relic-theft disturbances - Alleges collusion by 'high placed persons in New Delhi' to restore G. M. Sadiq to office - Recounts Sadiq's biography: Muslim Conference to National Conference to founding the Democratic National Conference - Documents alleged communist infiltration of Kashmir labour unions, student groups, and the press under Sadiq's influence - Argues Sadiq favoured a Soviet/Pakistan-inclusive plebiscite formula and criticises Anglo-American 'imperialists' - Concludes a communist prime minister would be a greater disaster for Kashmir than mere government incompetence ### Question Of Succession *By A. G. Mulgaonkar* A. G. Mulgaonkar uses Nehru's recent illness as the occasion for reflecting on the question of succession to his leadership, distinguishing his role as Congress party leader from his role as Prime Minister. Mulgaonkar argues that Nehru, despite unmatched vote-getting power built over three elections, is 'irreplaceable' in an electoral sense but has left the Congress organisation directionless and reliant on his personal authority rather than settled policy. Surveying India's foreign policy of non-alignment, he traces the history of similar postures (Splendid Isolation, isolationism, neutralism) to argue that non-alignment has repeatedly failed to secure India's interests, citing contradictions over Suez, Hungary, and the recent China conflict. He proposes that Nehru step down from day-to-day charge in favour of a small Supreme Emergency Council of seven or eight members, including opposition stalwarts like Rajaji and Acharya Kripalani, to manage foreign and defence policy and ensure a smooth, orderly transition of power, warning that unstable government is the greatest danger facing Indian parliamentary democracy. - Separates Nehru's role as Congress party leader from his role as Prime Minister in discussing succession - Argues Nehru's electoral 'vote-getting' power makes him irreplaceable in the short term despite policy failures - Surveys the history of isolationism/neutralism/non-alignment as strategies that repeatedly proved unworkable - Criticises India's foreign policy contradictions, citing differing standards applied to Suez and Hungary - Proposes a small Supreme Emergency Council under Nehru, including opposition figures, to manage foreign and defence policy - Calls for the Congress Parliamentary Party to freely elect its own leader rather than anoint a 'compromise candidate' - Warns that unstable governments, not conflict itself, pose the greatest threat to Indian parliamentary democracy ### Bangalore Convention Of Swatantra Party *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai reports on the Swatantra Party's Third Convention, held in Bangalore on 1-2 February, comparing it to the party's 1959 Bombay and 1960 Patna gatherings. He highlights General Secretary M. R. Masani's candid organisational report acknowledging the party's lack of a devoted cadre and its financial dependence on a 'supine and cowardly' section of Big Business. Pai reviews the convention's thirteen resolutions -- on economic policy, non-alignment and Communist China, the 17th Constitution Amendment Bill, and states' rights -- and notes two internally important resolutions on converting the party into a cadre-based organisation and pursuing electoral understandings with non-Communist opposition parties. He offers three impressions: that the party has become institutionalised, that its philosophy has crystallised (aided paradoxically by government measures like Compulsory Deposit and Gold Control), and that its social composition is shifting from ex-Congress dissidents and pre-Independence politicians toward small businessmen and professionals in the 25-40 age range. He closes noting the convention's failure to address Indo-Pak relations or link its philosophy to everyday concerns like civic administration and education. - Reports on the Swatantra Party's Third Convention in Bangalore, 1-2 February, comparing it with 1959 and 1960 gatherings - Highlights Masani's unusually candid organisational report on the party's cadre and financing weaknesses - Summarises the convention's thirteen resolutions, especially on economic policy, non-alignment, and the 17th Amendment Bill - Notes internal resolutions to build a cadre-based party and seek electoral understandings with non-Communist opposition - Observes the party's changing social base: shift from ex-Congress dissidents to small businessmen and young professionals - Criticises the convention for not addressing Indo-Pak relations or linking free-enterprise philosophy to everyday civic concerns ### The Law Of Obscenity *By N. S. Ranganath Rao* N. S. Ranganath Rao, continuing a discussion begun in earlier issues, sets out defects in India's law of obscenity as it stands under the Indian Penal Code -- notably its reliance on the English Hicklin test, its disregard of authorial intent, its focus on isolated passages rather than a work as a whole, and its imposition of absolute liability even on booksellers. He proposes recasting Section 292 with an explanatory clause modelled partly on Britain's Obscene Publications Act, 1959, requiring 'knowingly and without lawful justification' as an element of the offence, judging a work by its effect taken as a whole, allowing expert evidence on literary, artistic, or scientific merit, and exempting objects intended for the public good. - Lists six defects in the existing obscenity law: Hicklin-derived test, disregard of intent, ignoring literary/artistic/scientific merit, isolated-passage focus, weakest-reader standard, and absolute liability - Proposes recasting IPC Section 292 with knowledge/intent as a required element of the offence - Recommends judging obscenity by the work's effect 'taken as a whole' rather than isolated passages - Proposes admitting expert evidence on literary, artistic, or scientific merit - Draws on Britain's Obscene Publications Act, 1959 as a partial model - Notes the proposal could mitigate the absence of jury trial in India for such cases ### Tradition Looks At Marx *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao examines how India's Vedic, Buddhist, and Jain traditions might respond to Marxism, arguing that while traditionalists share Marxism's humanitarian concern for the poorest and most disinherited, they reject its materialist account of human nature and history. He surveys Vedic conceptions of the universal self (sarvatma bhava, brahman), the Buddhist goal of nirvana as the death of egoistic desire, and Jain teachings on ahimsa and the potential infinite self (jiva), arguing all three traditions see the first egoistic impulses of human nature as controllable rather than final, unlike Marxism's view of man as determined by economic conditions. He describes a traditional social order of dharma-bound occupational groups (sreni, nagar sabhas) that resolved conflicting interests through law rather than class struggle, in which the class of rulers and administrators, not capital-holders, held the second rank of social honour after truth-seekers, with the bourgeoisie relegated to third place. He concludes that Marxism, while not to be accepted as materialist doctrine, has served as a useful catalytic agent, sharpening the social conscience of tradition-rooted Indians and making them more receptive to radical social reform and the dignity of the common man. - Argues Vedic, Buddhist, and Jain traditions share Marxism's concern for the poor but reject its materialism - Explains sarvatma bhava/brahman (Vedic), nirvana (Buddhist), and ahimsa/jiva (Jain) as alternative bases for universal ethics - Holds that all three traditions treat man's egoistic first impulses as controllable, not as the final word on human nature - Describes a traditional social order of dharma-based guilds (sreni) and rulers bound by raja dharma, contrasted with Marxist class analysis - Notes tradition ranked truth-seekers first and rulers/administrators second in social honour, with the bourgeoisie only third -- unlike Western plutocracy - Credits Dayanand Saraswati, Ramakrishna, Aurobindo, and Vivekananda as figures reconciling tradition with reform without accepting Marxist materialism - Concludes Marxism has acted as a catalytic agent quickening India's social conscience toward reform, without traditionalists accepting class war or materialism ### With Many Voices 'With Many Voices' is the magazine's regular unsigned closing column, a page of pointed quotations drawn from world and Indian press coverage, opening with a Tennyson epigraph. Quoted figures include a Zanzibari rebel leader threatening mass executions, Mao Tse-tung predicting Khrushchev's collapse, U.S. commentary on Nehru and on Kwame Nkrumah, West German Chancellor Ludwig Erhard on American protection, UN Secretary-General U Thant on diversity, and Indian political figures including K. K. Shah, N. V. Gadgil, D. R. Mankekar, and Punjab Chief Minister Pratap Singh Kairon. The page also reproduces the issue's statutory 'Statement About Ownership and Other Particulars of Freedom First,' naming Adam Adil as printer and publisher and Raman K. Desai as editor, with the Democratic Research Service as owner. - Unsigned column collecting quotations from world and Indian press, opening with a Tennyson epigraph - Includes a quote from 'Field Marshal' John Okello threatening mass executions, reported via Time magazine - Quotes Mao Tse-tung predicting the collapse of Khrushchev, 'that paper tiger' - Includes West German Chancellor Ludwig Erhard on needing but not being an American protectorate - Quotes Indian political figures K. K. Shah, N. V. Gadgil, D. R. Mankekar, and Punjab CM Kairon on domestic politics - Reproduces the statutory ownership statement for Freedom First, naming Adam Adil (printer/publisher) and Raman K. Desai (editor) --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff143/ ### Summary Issue 143 of Freedom First (April 1964) is the Bombay-based classical-liberal monthly's take on a mix of domestic economic policy, foreign affairs, and Cold War geopolitics, closing with the magazine's regular "With Many Voices" column of quoted press clippings. M. P. Chitale opens with a sharp critique of the 1964-65 Union Budget's tax burden on productive and entrepreneurial activity, arguing that rising income-tax, corporation-tax and super-tax rates on private and public limited companies discourage saving, investment, and self-employment. G. L. Mehta reflects on the aftermath of the 1962 border war with China, urging Indians to build national strength through self-reliance rather than foreign aid or fatalism. A. G. Mulgaonkar argues for opening pre-1947 government records to historians, contending India's 50-year secrecy convention (borrowed uncritically from Britain's Public Record Act) serves no purpose given that free India's history only begins in 1947. Adam Adil documents the suppression of Islam and Muslim institutions under Chinese Communist rule (banned waqfs, forced script changes, banned religious instruction), citing Rafiq Khan and a Djakarta interview with Dr.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Issue 143 of Freedom First (April 1964) is the Bombay-based classical-liberal monthly's take on a mix of domestic economic policy, foreign affairs, and Cold War geopolitics, closing with the magazine's regular "With Many Voices" column of quoted press clippings. M. P. Chitale opens with a sharp critique of the 1964-65 Union Budget's tax burden on productive and entrepreneurial activity, arguing that rising income-tax, corporation-tax and super-tax rates on private and public limited companies discourage saving, investment, and self-employment. G. L. Mehta reflects on the aftermath of the 1962 border war with China, urging Indians to build national strength through self-reliance rather than foreign aid or fatalism. A. G. Mulgaonkar argues for opening pre-1947 government records to historians, contending India's 50-year secrecy convention (borrowed uncritically from Britain's Public Record Act) serves no purpose given that free India's history only begins in 1947. Adam Adil documents the suppression of Islam and Muslim institutions under Chinese Communist rule (banned waqfs, forced script changes, banned religious instruction), citing Rafiq Khan and a Djakarta interview with Dr. Shaikh Jalaluddin. J. Mieroszewski's essay, reprinted from the Polish monthly Kultura, analyzes the Sino-Soviet territorial and ideological rift from a Polish nationalist vantage point, arguing a strong, anti-Russian China serves Polish interests against Soviet domination. An unsigned (byline "Junius") book review covers C. L. Sareen's U.S.S.R. vs. Tarasov, recounting the 1963-64 Calcutta/Delhi legal battle over a defecting Soviet sailor and the Soviet Union's failed attempt to use fabricated evidence to reclaim custody of him through Indian courts, with commentary from Justice G. D. Khosla's preface. The issue closes with "With Many Voices," a page of quoted aphorisms and remarks on politics, communism, and democracy drawn from contemporary Indian and international press. ## Essays ### Productive Activity and Taxation *By M. P. Chitale* M. P. Chitale's "Productive Activity and Taxation" argues that the Union Budget for 1964-65 penalizes productive economic activity and entrepreneurship. Salaried employees enjoy tax-free provident fund benefits and job security, while self-employed manufacturers face rising land, construction and machinery costs alongside steep income-tax, corporation-tax and super-tax increases. The piece includes tables comparing tax burden on earned income and on registered firms between assessment years 1961-62 and 1964-65, and argues that new taxes on bonus shares and dividends will choke the flow of savings into equity investment, disadvantaging young entrepreneurs and small/medium enterprises. - The 1964-65 Union Budget increases income-tax, corporation-tax, and super-tax burdens sharply compared to 1961-62. - Self-employed and entrepreneurial taxpayers are structurally disadvantaged relative to salaried employees, who get tax-free provident fund and gratuity benefits. - Corporation tax on private and closely-held public companies rises to 54-60 percent depending on the nature of manufacturing activity. - A new super-tax of 7.5 percent applies to distributed dividends, and bonus shares are now taxed as short-term capital gains even before sale. - More than 80 percent of corporations are closely held, and many represent small and medium enterprises drawing capital from less affluent investors. - The article concludes that taxation policy favors salaried people and discourages independent enterprise, converting entrepreneurs into salary-seekers. ### Defence And Development *By G. L. Mehta* G. L. Mehta's "Defence And Development" reflects on the shock of the October 1962 Chinese invasion and argues it should have galvanized lasting national resolve, discipline, and self-reliance rather than a fading sense of emergency. He criticizes India's growing dependence on foreign aid (up from 10 percent of outlay in the First Plan to nearly 30 percent in the Third), invokes Shakespeare and Robert Frost to argue that India's fate lies in its own hands, and closes with a paraphrase of President Kennedy urging citizens to ask what they can do for their country. - The October 1962 Chinese invasion shattered assumptions about the Himalayas as a natural defensive barrier and exposed the need for sustained national vigilance. - The initial surge of patriotic unity after the invasion was not sustained into durable policy or a national sense of urgency. - India's reliance on foreign aid has grown from about 10 percent of Plan outlay in the First Plan to nearly 30 percent in the Third Plan. - Mehta argues national strength depends on collective self-discipline, honesty, and effort rather than external circumstances or fate. - The essay closes by quoting Robert Frost's lines on self-withholding and paraphrasing President Kennedy's inaugural call to civic duty. ### Access To Government Documents *By A. G. Mulgaonkar* A. G. Mulgaonkar's "Access To Government Documents" argues that India has needlessly borrowed Britain's 50-year secrecy rule for Cabinet papers under the Public Record Act 1958, even though no such Act exists in India and free India's history only begins in 1947. He contends historians and students should have full access to pre-1947 records held by Central and State Governments, and that even 1947 is an arbitrary cutoff, since withholding transfer-of-power-era material risks losing valuable historical evidence and personal reminiscences before they disappear. - India has adopted the UK's 50-year secrecy convention for government records despite having no equivalent domestic Act mandating it. - The transfer-of-power period (1945 onward) is the most historically significant and least accessible era of modern Indian history. - Access to Government of India records on this period is currently possible only through White Papers or by special permission. - Mulgaonkar argues that opening these records now would let historians capture personal reminiscences and material that will otherwise be lost with time. - He frames history-writing as a science requiring precision, contrasting reliable scholarship with history 'as the propaganda of the victors.' ### Condition Of Muslims In China *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil's "Condition Of Muslims In China" documents systematic Chinese Communist suppression of Islam, describing the abolition of waqf trust properties, the replacement of Arabic script with Cyrillic in Muslim regions like Sinkiang and Kansu, bans on Quranic instruction, forced abandonment of Islamic customs including circumcision, and communist indoctrination of Muslim children. Drawing on Rafiq Khan's book Islam in China and a 1956 interview with Indonesian delegate Dr. Shaikh Jalaluddin, the piece estimates China's Muslim population at nearly fifty million, notes armed Muslim resistance in Sinkiang led by figures such as Usman Khan Batur, Ma Ying, and Ma Hu-Shan, and criticizes Pakistan for tolerating Chinese persecution of Muslims despite its own claim to be a leading Muslim nation. - Chinese Communist authorities have abolished Muslim waqf trust properties and banned the Zakat, cutting off the economic base of Muslim religious and educational institutions. - Cyrillic script has been imposed in place of Arabic script in Muslim-majority regions such as Sinkiang and Kansu. - Quranic instruction is banned even in Muslim schools, and children are subjected to communist indoctrination instead. - China's Muslim population is estimated at nearly fifty million, concentrated in Sinkiang, Szechwan, Kansu, and Tsinghai among other regions. - Armed Muslim resistance to Communist rule has continued in regions like Sinkiang, led by figures including Usman Khan Batur, Ma Ying, and Ma Hu-Shan. - The article criticizes Pakistan for its diplomatic alignment with Communist China despite the persecution of Chinese Muslims. ### Russia And China—A Polish View *By J. Mieroszewski* J. Mieroszewski's "Russia And China—A Polish View," reprinted from the Polish monthly Kultura (March 1964), analyzes the Sino-Soviet split from the standpoint of Polish national interest. He argues China's rise as a united, nationalist power would inevitably make it Russia's rival regardless of ideology, and that Poland's interest lies in a strong, anti-Russian China that could destabilize Soviet imperial control over Eastern Europe. Drawing heavily on J. Fryling's documentation of Chinese claims to territories lost to Tsarist Russia (Tashkent, the Central Asian territories, Outer Mongolia, Sinkiang, Siberian coastal areas, Sakhalin, and more under 19th-century "un-even treaties"), the essay contends that the China-Russia conflict is a historical-national-territorial dispute, not merely an ideological one, and that Chinese nationalism could eventually split the Soviet bloc from within. - Mieroszewski argues Poland's national interest favors a strong, anti-Russian China as a counterweight to Soviet imperial dominance. - He cites J. Fryling's book 'A Conflict in the Himalayas' documenting historical Chinese territorial claims against Russia dating to 19th-century treaties (Aigun 1858, Peking 1860, Illi 1881). - China's split from Moscow is framed as fundamentally a historical-national-territorial conflict, not solely an ideological one. - The essay argues the Chinese communist leadership's advanced age (around 70) suggests a coming generational shift and possible change in China's foreign policy tactics. - China is described as the only country positioned to split the Soviet empire from within, but Mieroszewski argues this 'trump card' should be played in Moscow, not Peking. ### Review: U.S.S.R. vs. Tarasov *By Junius* An unsigned review (signed "Junius") of C. L. Sareen's book U.S.S.R. vs. Tarasov recounts the 1963-64 legal saga of a Soviet sailor, Tarasov, who defected in Calcutta harbour and was pursued through Indian courts by Soviet authorities on fabricated theft charges, actually intending to try him for treason. The review praises the Calcutta Magistrate's acquittal of Tarasov and Delhi Sub-Divisional Magistrate N. L. Kakkar's later judgment rejecting Soviet evidence as false and fabricated, framing the case as a vindication of Indian judicial independence against Soviet pressure, and quotes Justice G. D. Khosla's preface describing the trial as showing 'ruthless discrimination and complete disregard for truth and forensic ethics.' - Tarasov, a Soviet sailor, defected from his ship in Calcutta harbour and sought asylum aboard an American vessel; Soviet authorities accused him of theft of Rs. 700. - A Calcutta Magistrate acquitted Tarasov, but he was immediately re-arrested for extradition proceedings sought by the Soviet Union. - Delhi Sub-Divisional Magistrate N. L. Kakkar ultimately rejected the Soviet evidence as fabricated and false, and Tarasov was freed. - The review argues the case set a precedent as the first time the Soviet Union sought to regain custody of a defector through a foreign court of law. - Justice G. D. Khosla's preface to the book is quoted describing the trial as demonstrating Soviet 'ruthless discrimination and complete disregard for truth and forensic ethics.' - The review frames the episode as a vindication of the independence of India's judiciary despite pressure from a great power. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff144/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 144 (May 1964) is a 12-page issue of the Bombay classical-liberal periodical, edited by Raman Desai and published for the Democratic Research Service. In the rendered pages it carries four signed pieces and one unsigned quotations column. Two of the pieces are transcribed Lok Sabha speeches, Gayatri Devi's on the Santhanam Committee's corruption report and M. R. Masani's on the disputed Dange letters, both making the case that the Nehru government is shielding ministers and a Communist Party leader from scrutiny. K. K. Sinha reports on the deteriorating communal and refugee situation in eastern India following the Khulna and Calcutta riots, and Raman Desai gives a long historical brief on the Kashmir dispute, its accession, wars and plebiscite question, arguing against any concession on Kashmir's status. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a page of topical quotations drawn from Indian and international press in March-April 1964. The recurring thread across the issue is the classical-liberal critique of the ruling Congress establishment on grounds of corruption, appeasement of the Communist Party, and weakness on national-security and border questions. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 144 (May 1964) is a 12-page issue of the Bombay classical-liberal periodical, edited by Raman Desai and published for the Democratic Research Service. In the rendered pages it carries four signed pieces and one unsigned quotations column. Two of the pieces are transcribed Lok Sabha speeches, Gayatri Devi's on the Santhanam Committee's corruption report and M. R. Masani's on the disputed Dange letters, both making the case that the Nehru government is shielding ministers and a Communist Party leader from scrutiny. K. K. Sinha reports on the deteriorating communal and refugee situation in eastern India following the Khulna and Calcutta riots, and Raman Desai gives a long historical brief on the Kashmir dispute, its accession, wars and plebiscite question, arguing against any concession on Kashmir's status. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a page of topical quotations drawn from Indian and international press in March-April 1964. The recurring thread across the issue is the classical-liberal critique of the ruling Congress establishment on grounds of corruption, appeasement of the Communist Party, and weakness on national-security and border questions. ## Essays ### Santhanam Committee Report on Corruption *By Smt. Gayatri Devi* Gayatri Devi's Lok Sabha speech (delivered April 13, during the Demands for Grants of the Home Ministry) welcomes the Santhanam Committee's report on ministerial corruption but argues its recommendations do not go far enough. She calls for a wide statutory definition of corruption that covers influence-peddling and 'goodwill-buying' even when no money changes hands, for the disclosure of ministers' income-tax returns and property to an independent tribunal, for confiscation of unaccounted wealth as the penalty for proven corruption, and for the tribunal to include a sitting judge. She criticises the Congress for using government resources for party purposes, for letting bodies like the Bharat Sewak Samaj do public works meant for government departments, and for local Congress officials threatening voters in constituencies that fail to support the party. She closes by arguing the failure of integrity among ministers reflects on the image of every Indian, not just the Congress. - Argues the Home Ministry is the most vital government department because a clean administration underpins all others. - Credits the Home Minister with sincerity for appointing the Santhanam Committee but says its recommendations do not go far enough. - Calls for corruption to be defined broadly enough to include influence-peddling and goodwill-buying, not just direct bribery. - Proposes that ministers' income-tax returns and property be disclosed to an independent tribunal on the same terms as civil servants. - Wants confiscation of unaccounted-for wealth as the penalty for proven ministerial corruption, not merely loss of office. - Criticises the Bharat Sewak Samaj being given government works as political patronage by the ruling party. - Alleges Congress officials in some constituencies tell poorer voters they will lose government benefits if they don't vote Congress. ### Dange Letters *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's Lok Sabha speech (delivered April 14, during Demands for Grants of the Home Ministry) presses the government to establish, through handwriting and other expert evidence, whether the controversial 'Dange letters' held in the National Archives are genuine. He recounts the sequence of correspondence from 1923-24 between S. A. Dange (imprisoned after the Kanpur conspiracy case), fellow prisoner Nalini Bhushan Das Gupta, and colonial officials, culminating in a disputed 1924 letter in which Dange purportedly offers to serve as an intelligence agent for the Governor-General in exchange for release. Masani argues the Home Minister's refusal to authenticate the letters amounts to an evasion of duty, given that the government has since tolerated the Communist Party's full political participation. He suggests political motives, including a wish not to embarrass Mr. Nanda or to appease Khrushchev, may be behind the government's reluctance to settle the question, and calls on the Home Ministry to resolve the matter through proper evidence rather than leaving the public to guess. - Argues the government evades its duty by refusing to formally authenticate or debunk the disputed Dange letters held in the National Archives. - Lays out four chapters of 1924 correspondence: Dange's request for transfer from Sitapur jail; a joint plea with Nalini Bhushan Das Gupta for release; the controversial petition offering intelligence services to the Governor-General; and a final clemency plea, all rejected. - Notes Dange disputes the authenticity of the two most damaging letters on the grounds of a signature spelling discrepancy ('T' versus 'D'). - Cites colonial-era officials' notes (Col. Kaye, Mr. Montgomery) characterising Dange as personally fearful and a valuable informant on Bolshevist activities. - Calls for handwriting and expert evidence to settle whether the letters are genuine, since circumstantial evidence (jail stamps, notes) suggests authenticity. - Suggests the Home Minister's silence may reflect a wish to protect Mr. Nanda's association with Dange or to avoid antagonising the Soviet Union. ### When Thieves Fall Out.... An unsigned compilation, 'When Thieves Fall Out....,' assembles press clippings from March-April 1964 (Current, Thought, Indian Express, Times of India, Statesman) detailing internal accusations of corruption within the Communist Party of India, chiefly directed at CPI chairman S. A. Dange. The clippings allege Dange held undisclosed shares and property through a nominee ('S. Amrit'), received substantial funds from the Soviet-aligned World Federation of Trade Unions and AITUC for personal and party use, profited from paper imports from the USSR resold to the CPI, and that other party figures similarly diverted funds; a cartoon captioned by 'Ranga' about a no-confidence motion accompanies the piece. - Compiles press reports alleging S. A. Dange used the name 'S. Amrit' to hold shares and property while publicly disclaiming wealth. - Reports a rumoured Rs. 60,000 that disappeared under former CPI general secretary Ajoy Ghosh, allegedly encashed after Dange became chairman. - Reports Dange's reported admission at an April 12 meeting to receiving £5,000 annually from the WFTU plus £12,000 in expenses via AITUC. - Alleges Dange admitted receiving money from the Soviet Union along with two Andhra Communist leaders, and profited from reselling USSR paper imports to the CPI. ### Crisis In Eastern India *By K. K. Sinha* K. K. Sinha's report, 'Crisis in Eastern India,' surveys the aftermath of the January 1964 communal riots in Calcutta and West Bengal, which he traces to provocations following the Khulna riots in East Pakistan. He describes a large and accelerating refugee exodus of non-Muslims from East Pakistan (averaging 4,000-5,000 a day by mid-April 1964, out of roughly 9 million non-Muslims remaining there), the inadequacy of rehabilitation efforts such as the Dandakaranya project, and retaliatory attacks on Muslims by tribal populations in Bihar and Orissa. He notes rising communal tension, Pakistani espionage networks, and increasing public support in India for population exchange or an economic boycott of Pakistan, and warns that the eastern crisis is fundamentally a political problem in Indo-Pakistani relations, not merely an administrative one of refugee transit. - Traces the January 1964 Calcutta-area riots to provocations from the Khulna riots in East Pakistan and describes Bengali reaction as swift but short-lived. - Reports a refugee exodus from East Pakistan accelerating to 4,000-5,000 people a day by mid-April 1964, with over 260,000 having crossed by that point. - Estimates 9 million non-Muslims remain in East Pakistan and predicts 5-6 million may eventually leave over the next two years. - Criticises the slow pace of the Dandakaranya rehabilitation scheme, noting only about 8,000 of 35,000 proposed refugee families settled and reports of at least 15 deaths a day in camps. - Describes retaliatory attacks on Muslims by tribal populations in Jamshedpur, Rourkela, and other parts of Bihar and Orissa. - Notes rising public support for two slogans: a full population exchange between India and Pakistan, and an economic boycott/satyagraha against goods trains to Pakistan. - Argues Pakistan's strategy of raising the 'eviction' issue in the east, in collusion with China, is meant to pressure India diplomatically over Kashmir-style disputes. ### Kashmir—Past And Future *By Raman Desai* Raman Desai's 'Kashmir - Past and Future' gives a lengthy historical account of the Kashmir dispute from Pakistan's 1947 invasion through the 1964 political situation. He reviews the state's demography and geography, the 1947 accession under Maharaja Hari Singh following Pakistani tribal raids and the Baramula atrocities, the 1947-48 war, the UN Commission's ceasefire and resolutions, and subsequent constitutional developments including the 1951 Constituent Assembly and later elections. He discusses Sheikh Abdullah's later advocacy of an independent Kashmir (guaranteed by India, Pakistan, Britain and the USSR) and his 1953 dismissal, and closes by rejecting any plebiscite formula or territorial concession, arguing India must resist further Pakistani pressure over Kashmir with courage even at the risk of war with Pakistan or China. - Reviews 1951 and 1961 census figures for Jammu and Kashmir's religious composition on the Indian side of the ceasefire line. - Describes the geographic and strategic importance of Ladakh (a Buddhist-majority district) and the Kashmir Valley to India's northern defence. - Recounts the 1947 Pakistani-backed tribal invasion, the Maharaja's accession to India, and Mountbatten's letter promising an eventual reference to the people once order was restored. - Summarises the 1947-49 fighting, the UN Commission's findings that Pakistani army units participated in the invasion, and the January 1949 ceasefire. - Explains the three-part 1948 UN resolution (ceasefire, Pakistani withdrawal, plebiscite) and argues the plebiscite condition never became binding because Pakistan never withdrew its forces. - Notes Sheikh Abdullah's 1953 dismissal and later advocacy for an independent Kashmir guaranteed by multiple powers, contrasted with his earlier imprisonment of Jammu leaders without trial. - Argues against any plebiscite or partition formula on grounds that non-Muslim minorities in Jammu and Ladakh would be forced into Pakistan against their will. - Concludes India must not withdraw its forces from Kashmir and should be prepared to face war with Pakistan or China rather than make further concessions. ### With Many Voices 'With Many Voices' is the issue's closing page, an unsigned column of topical quotations culled from Indian and international press and public figures in March-April 1964, epigraphed with lines from Tennyson's 'Ulysses.' The quotations range across Congress socialism, the Dange/Communist controversy, Nehru's succession, Algerian emigration under Ben Bella, and remarks from figures including Senator McCarthy, Khrushchev, Rajagopalachari, Morarji Desai, and Jayaprakash Narayan, generally selected to needle Congress and the political left. - Epigraph from Tennyson's 'Ulysses' ('Tis not too late to seek a newer world') frames the column. - Quotes C. Rajagopalachari calling 'Congress socialism... a South Sea Bubble' (Swarajya, April 11). - Quotes Jayaprakash Narayan observing that 'the freedom fighters of yesterday began so early to imitate the language of the imperialists' (Hindustan Times, April 20). - Quotes Morarji Desai arguing only a party believing in 'freedom and democracy' should replace the Congress (Link, April 5). - Includes a quotation from Khrushchev defending rising Soviet living standards against charges of bourgeois conception of life (Statesman, April 7). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff145/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 145 (June 1964) opens under the shadow of Jawaharlal Nehru's recent death, with a boxed tribute to him printed inside the lead article. The issue mixes domestic policy critique with a foreign-affairs set piece: S. R. Mohan Das assesses Maharashtra's new liberalised prohibition policy and argues for a 'temperance' approach over rigid prohibition; a reprinted Guardian piece by New Zealand's Ombudsman Sir Guy Powels describes the workings of that new office; M. R. Pai indicts government foodgrain policy, cooperatives, and bureaucratic growth as the real causes of the food crisis; and V. B. Karnik, in the issue's longest piece, argues for 'fresh thinking' on Kashmir in light of Sheikh Abdullah's release, urging that the people of Kashmir be given a real say rather than reliance on legal formalism about accession. Shorter features include a page of quoted press excerpts under the heading 'Forecast: Cloudy, Windy' (mostly Asoka Mehta on the burdens of planning) and a closing miscellany column, 'With Many Voices', of quotations from public figures and the press. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 145 (June 1964) opens under the shadow of Jawaharlal Nehru's recent death, with a boxed tribute to him printed inside the lead article. The issue mixes domestic policy critique with a foreign-affairs set piece: S. R. Mohan Das assesses Maharashtra's new liberalised prohibition policy and argues for a 'temperance' approach over rigid prohibition; a reprinted Guardian piece by New Zealand's Ombudsman Sir Guy Powels describes the workings of that new office; M. R. Pai indicts government foodgrain policy, cooperatives, and bureaucratic growth as the real causes of the food crisis; and V. B. Karnik, in the issue's longest piece, argues for 'fresh thinking' on Kashmir in light of Sheikh Abdullah's release, urging that the people of Kashmir be given a real say rather than reliance on legal formalism about accession. Shorter features include a page of quoted press excerpts under the heading 'Forecast: Cloudy, Windy' (mostly Asoka Mehta on the burdens of planning) and a closing miscellany column, 'With Many Voices', of quotations from public figures and the press. ## Essays ### Prohibition and Temperance *By S. R. Mohan Das* S. R. Mohan Das examines the state government's liberalised prohibition policy announced by Maharashtra's Chief Minister (Mr. Naik), effective 1 April 1964, and argues that Indian policy continues to conflate prohibition with temperance. He contends prohibition is built on a false dichotomy — total abstinence versus total repeal — that ignores the possibility of regulated, moderate consumption. Drawing on Andrew Sinclair's account of American Prohibition, he likens Indian prohibitionists to their US counterparts: puritanical, xenophobic toward urban life, and prone to romanticizing rural purity while ignoring rural poverty. He proposes a detailed positive programme: government-run beverage-and-food stalls serving 3.5%-alcohol drinks, a state monopoly on toddy production and quality control (with Haffkines Institute research support), and a strict license/enforcement regime rather than repeal, arguing that both prohibition's 'drys' and repeal's 'wets' generate their own excesses and hypocrisies. - Maharashtra's liberalised prohibition policy took effect 1 April 1964 under Chief Minister Naik - Author argues prohibition and total repeal are both 'excesses'; the real need is a temperance policy - Compares Indian prohibition movement to American Prohibition era via Andrew Sinclair's analysis, citing shared puritanism and rural nostalgia - Recommends government monopoly on toddy manufacture with alcoholic content capped/verified at 3.5% - Proposes state-run food-and-beverage stalls to reduce drunkenness by pairing alcohol with food - Notes working classes and women in working households have benefited materially from prohibition despite its abuses - Warns that high excise duties, intended for revenue, actually incentivize bootlegging regardless of prohibition's legal status ### Common Justice *By Sir Guy Powels* A reprint from The Guardian (London, 14 May 1964) of extracts from an address by Sir Guy Powels, the New Zealand Ombudsman, reviewing his first 18 months in office. He describes his office's staffing and caseload (1,100 complaints between October 1962 and March 1964), the kinds of grievances handled — wrongful loss of liberty, property disputes, licensing delays, unjust discretionary decisions — and his investigative process, which relies on departmental cooperation rather than his formal coercive powers. He illustrates the office's work with case studies (a farmer denied land for his disabled sons, a stalled import licence, a disputed drainage tribunal) and closes by arguing that liberty today is threatened less by external militant ideologies than by the internal 'suffocation' of an ever-expanding welfare state, making an independent, persuasive check on government essential. - Sir Guy Powels, New Zealand's Ombudsman, reviews his first 18 months in office (Oct 1962-March 1964) - Handled 1,100 complaints; about half fully investigated, just over 20% (107 cases) upheld as justified - Describes reliance on informal cooperation with government departments rather than formal coercive powers - Presents case studies: a farmer with disabled sons denied land by a child welfare department; a drainage-scheme tribunal challenged for bias; a stalled car-import licence - Argues liberty is threatened today more by internal 'suffocation' from welfare-state expansion than by external militant political philosophy - Concludes the Ombudsman's role is to check the wrongful use of government's widening authority while maintaining independence from both executive and judiciary ### The Food Crisis-Who Is Responsible? *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai examines the food crisis provoked by the Union Government's Foodgrains Licensing Order, which the trade has resented as impracticable and which triggered strikes and protests (including in Jaipur). He argues that rising foodgrain prices stem from inadequate production relative to rising population and demand, compounded by inflationary deficit financing under the Soviet-style planning model — citing that money supply rose from Rs. 1,848 crores to Rs. 3,690 crores between 1950-52 and February 1964, while public-sector bureaucracy grew from roughly 69 lakhs to 82 lakhs of employees over 1960-63. He presents data on state trading losses (Rs. 12.38 crores lost in 1962-63 alone) and cites the 1964 Audit Report's findings of gross inefficiency in government wheat-handling at Vishakhapatnam and Madras ports, plus failures among 'bogus' cooperative societies. Pai concludes that neither nationalisation of the foodgrains trade nor cooperativisation solves the underlying production problem, and calls instead for treating agriculture as an industry, ending land-ceiling and tenancy disruptions, and improving storage and pest control. - Foodgrains Licensing Order provoked trade protests and a strike in Jaipur; trade blames government, not itself, for price rises - Rising prices attributed to population growth plus inflationary deficit financing under Soviet-style planning - Money supply grew from Rs. 1,848 crores (1950-52) to Rs. 3,690 crores (Feb 1964) while public-sector employment nearly doubled 1960-63 - State trading in foodgrains posted losses of Rs. 12.38 crores (1962-63) and Rs. 10.60 crores (1961-62) per Comptroller and Auditor-General data - Cumulative state-trading losses since 1943-44 estimated at about Rs. 131 crores; cites gross wastage from underfilled wheat bags at Vishakhapatnam and Madras ports - Cooperative societies described as often 'bogus,' formed for profiteering, with poor audit compliance - Concludes solution lies in production reform (land ceilings reconsidered, agriculture run as an industry), not nationalisation or forced cooperativisation of trade ### Forecast: Cloudy, Windy A short compilation, 'Forecast: Cloudy, Windy,' of quotations attributed to Asoka Mehta (dated February-March 1964) alongside two brief unsigned excerpts from the Times of India (10 April [sic, likely misdated/should read differently in source]) on the difficulties of Indian planning, rising taxation burdens, and the gap between socialist 'shared vision' rhetoric and actual consultation with social forces. - Compiles quotations from Asoka Mehta on the need to accept rising burdens for development and warnings of an annual Rs. 100 crore tax increase - Includes Mehta's observation that industrial growth has failed to trigger corresponding agricultural growth - Times of India excerpts note India's planning has reached a difficult stage requiring 'shared vision' but lacking real consultation with social forces ### Kashmir-A Plea For Fresh Thinking *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik argues for fresh thinking on Kashmir following Sheikh Abdullah's release from detention and his talks with Nehru and other Indian leaders. Karnik contends the official Indian position — that Kashmir's accession is final and irrevocable, ratified by the Constituent Assembly and two general elections — does not withstand scrutiny: the Constituent Assembly's ratification came after Abdullah's arrest, the elections were largely uncontested one-party affairs, and repression has been a constant feature of Kashmiri political life even under Abdullah's own rule and more so under Bakshi Ghulam Mohamed. He reviews the historical assurances of a plebiscite given by Gopalswami Ayyangar to the UN Security Council in 1948 and reaffirmed repeatedly, arguing India's later refusal to hold one undermines its international credibility. He acknowledges the strategic argument that Pakistan's continued occupation of part of Kashmir complicates any resolution, but insists on separating that from the question of self-determination for Kashmiris. He surveys options: full integration via abrogation of Article 370 (which he argues is opposed by 'curious' allies — communists and socialists alongside the Hindu Mahasabha and Jan Sangh) versus a negotiated, region-by-region ascertainment of popular will with international guarantees if the Valley opts for separate status. Karnik closes praising Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri for keeping an open mind, warning that communal forces are gaining strength by wrapping themselves in the language of nationalism and secularism, and framing the issue — following Jayaprakash Narayan — as a moral and political question rather than a legal technicality. - Written after Sheikh Abdullah's release from detention and his talks with Nehru; argues India must rethink its official Kashmir position - Disputes that Constituent Assembly ratification or the 1957/1962 state elections constitute genuine popular endorsement of accession, citing a one-party state and uncontested seats - Recounts Gopalswami Ayyangar's 1948 Security Council assurance of an eventual plebiscite and India's later refusal to honour it - Distinguishes the legitimate grievance against Pakistan's occupation from the separate question of Kashmiri self-determination - Surveys two courses: full integration by abrogating Article 370, versus consultative, region-based ascertainment of popular will with international guarantees for a possibly separate Kashmir Valley - Notes an unusual alliance of Communists/Socialists with the Hindu Mahasabha and Jan Sangh in demanding Article 370's abrogation - Frames Kashmir, following Jayaprakash Narayan, as fundamentally a moral and political issue rather than a legal or technical one - Warns that communal forces are gaining ground by draping themselves in nationalist and secularist rhetoric while genuine liberal voices (Rajaji, JP) remain few ### With Many Voices The issue's closing miscellany column, 'With Many Voices,' compiles brief quotations from politicians, journalists, and public figures culled from May 1964 press sources, ranging from C. Rajagopalachari's remarks in Swarajya on Nehru and Indo-Pak amity, to comments by R. D. Birla, Piloo Mody, and others on Indian politics, alongside lighter items (Nancy Astor, H. L. Mencken, King Mahendra) and a note on the omission of an 1830s remark by Maharajah Ranjit Singh from the Tek Chand Report. The masthead notes the issue was edited by Raman Desai and printed at Inland Printers, Bombay, published for the Democratic Research Service by Adam Adil. - Miscellany of quotations drawn from May 1964 Indian and international press - C. Rajagopalachari (in Swarajya) calls India's 'adventure with democracy' an 'expensive disappointment' and credits only Nehru with being able to secure Indo-Pak sacrifices - Includes political commentary from R. D. Birla, Piloo Mody, and an anonymous 'Opinion' item on Krishna Menon - Closing item recovers an omitted historical remark attributed to Maharajah Ranjit Singh on censorship of anti-drinking literature - Masthead: edited by Raman Desai, printed at Inland Printers (55 Gamdevi Road, Bombay 7), published for the Democratic Research Service by Adam Adil --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff146/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 146 (July 1964) is dominated by the death of Jawaharlal Nehru on 27 May 1964, opening with two personal tributes -- Purshottam Trikamdas's memoir of his encounters with Nehru from 1917 to the mid-1950s, and Y. N. Sukthankar's portrait of Nehru as an administrator -- before moving to the magazine's regular mix of Cold War commentary, domestic economic critique, and civil-liberties reporting. Robert Conquest's 'The Fog Of Peace' (adapted from a BBC broadcast) argues against relaxing vigilance toward the Soviet Union even amid talk of détente, disputing sentimental or one-sided readings of Soviet demography and politics. Surendra Mohan responds to an earlier Freedom First piece by V. B. Karnik on whether Indian democratic parties should seek 'consensus,' Rohit Dave critiques the Finance Minister's budget concessions and the black market's distortion of credit policy, and Victor Frank reports on the Soviet trial and internal exile of poet Joseph Brodsky as a test case for dissent under Khrushchev. The issue closes with the 'With Many Voices' quotations column, several entries of which react to Nehru's death. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 146 (July 1964) is dominated by the death of Jawaharlal Nehru on 27 May 1964, opening with two personal tributes -- Purshottam Trikamdas's memoir of his encounters with Nehru from 1917 to the mid-1950s, and Y. N. Sukthankar's portrait of Nehru as an administrator -- before moving to the magazine's regular mix of Cold War commentary, domestic economic critique, and civil-liberties reporting. Robert Conquest's 'The Fog Of Peace' (adapted from a BBC broadcast) argues against relaxing vigilance toward the Soviet Union even amid talk of détente, disputing sentimental or one-sided readings of Soviet demography and politics. Surendra Mohan responds to an earlier Freedom First piece by V. B. Karnik on whether Indian democratic parties should seek 'consensus,' Rohit Dave critiques the Finance Minister's budget concessions and the black market's distortion of credit policy, and Victor Frank reports on the Soviet trial and internal exile of poet Joseph Brodsky as a test case for dissent under Khrushchev. The issue closes with the 'With Many Voices' quotations column, several entries of which react to Nehru's death. ## Essays ### Jawaharlal Nehru As I Knew Him *By Purshottam Trikamdas* Purshottam Trikamdas offers a personal, deliberately unsentimental memoir of Jawaharlal Nehru, tracing encounters from a 1917 Home Rule League meeting in Bombay (where the young Nehru struck him as an unimpressive, stammering 'playboy son' of a brilliant lawyer) through the 1924 and 1925 Congress sessions, the independence-faction launch of 1927-28, and later official dealings -- including Nehru's request that Trikamdas represent India at the U.N. in 1954, disputes over SEATO and non-alignment in 1957, and Nehru's assistance with the Tibet Enquiry Committee. Trikamdas is candid about Nehru's flaws (aloofness, temper, an idolisation of V. K. Krishna Menon that Trikamdas found troubling) alongside genuine respect for his intellect, concluding that 'in his demise, we have lost a great intellectual leader' and that 'with the end of his life, an era has ended.' - First saw Nehru in 1917 at a Home Rule League meeting in Bombay and found him an unimpressive, stuttering speaker - Describes Nehru's transformation by 1924-25 into a Congress leader under Gandhi's influence - Recounts being asked by Nehru in 1954 to serve as a UN delegate, with Nehru explaining a theory of India as a 'double broker' between the US and USSR - Details a 1957 exchange in which Nehru admitted responsibility for SEATO's formation due to non-alignment leaving South-East Asian states insecure - Describes Nehru's help facilitating the Tibet Enquiry Committee's access to Tibetan refugee camps, and his anger at Foreign Secretary Dutt's caution - Notes Nehru's deep loyalty to and admiration for Krishna Menon, which Trikamdas found excessive and dangerous ### Nehru The Administrator *By Y. N. Sukthankar* Y. N. Sukthankar, who served under Nehru, offers a tribute focused specifically on Nehru's qualities as an administrator rather than as a politician. He describes Nehru's prodigious capacity for work, his punctual and substantive replies to official correspondence, his insistence that officers not delay matters by digging up old files, and his open, non-dictatorial style at meetings and conferences despite a public image to the contrary. Sukthankar credits Nehru as the intellectual force behind key features of the Five-Year Plans and describes his warmth toward the poor and marginalized, citing an anecdote of Nehru's tenderness toward two Adivasi girls at Rourkela. The piece closes by invoking Churchill's remark that Nehru had 'conquered the three great enemies of mankind -- fear, hatred and jealousy.' - Focuses on Nehru's rarely-discussed role and habits as an administrator, based on Sukthankar's years serving under him and hosting him at Raj Bhavans in Orissa - Describes Nehru as prompt and thorough in disposing of official correspondence, disliking unnecessary delay or excessive secrecy in government papers - Argues Nehru's image as domineering was inaccurate: he listened patiently, argued his views but never imposed them at conferences - Credits Nehru as chief inspiration behind Five-Year Plan features such as social justice provisions and machine-building industry - Recounts an anecdote of Nehru's warmth toward two Adivasi girls at Rourkela, cheering them as they ate - Advocates future publication of Nehru's official communications and letters to Chief Ministers as valuable historical material - Closes with Churchill's description of Nehru as having conquered 'fear, hatred and jealousy' ### The Fog Of Peace *By Robert Conquest* Robert Conquest, adapting a BBC Third Programme talk from January 1964, argues against the fashionable relaxation of vigilance toward the Soviet Union even as prospects for detente appear to improve. He contends that goodwill cannot precede clear-eyed realism, and that accusations of 'cold war,' 'anti-Communism,' or 'right-wing' bias are often used to suppress legitimate factual criticism of Soviet affairs. Using Soviet census data, he disputes the popular claim that the USSR's post-war gender demographic gap is simply 'the result of the war,' arguing the fuller explanation implicates Stalin's purges. He distinguishes political liberty as the central axis of judgment (rather than left/right or capitalist/socialist divisions), criticizes selective Western outrage over injustice (citing the Ili-Kazakh massacre and suppressed nationalities in Central Asia and the Baltics as underreported relative to Western colonialism), and closes by arguing that détente is compatible with -- indeed depends on -- clear, undoped realism about Soviet conduct, closing with a rejection of the Nazi-Soviet pact's historical rehabilitation in Soviet Party history. - Argues that maintaining vigilance and clarity about Soviet realities is not opposed to peace but a precondition for a durable one - Distinguishes two senses of 'cold war': the literal armed truce since 1945, versus its use as a slur against factual reporting on the USSR unwelcome to Soviet authorities - Uses 1959 Soviet census age-group data to argue the USSR's gender imbalance among men aged 40-45 in 1945 reflects Stalin's purges as much as wartime deaths, not simply 'the war' - Frames the essential political division as democrat versus authoritarian, not left versus right, and states political liberty is his primary criterion - Criticizes selective moral outrage that focuses on Western colonial or client-state abuses (e.g., Greece) while ignoring Soviet and Chinese suppression of minorities, citing the Ili-Kazakh massacre as a 'Chinese Sharpeville' - Notes Khrushchev's own inconsistency: supporting China's claim to Formosa while denying East Germans self-determination - Criticizes the 1962 revised Soviet Party History's justification of the 1939 Nazi-Soviet pact as a 'truly monstrous proposal' involving Britain, calling this an official lie - Concludes that welcoming detente does not require suppressing accurate reporting or avoiding controversy with Russia over facts ### Consensus Or Conformity? *By Surendra Mohan* Surendra Mohan responds to V. B. Karnik's March 1964 Freedom First article 'Consensus or Conflict?', arguing that Karnik misconceives Indian democratic politics by treating consensus and conflict as opposed rather than intertwined. Mohan contends that broad national consensus already exists on aims like secularism, democracy, and economic prosperity, and on major issues such as the China war, Goa's accession, and Kashmir, but that democracy inherently requires the expression and mediation of social conflicts through party competition, not their suppression through manufactured unity. He also disputes Karnik's reading of Asoka Mehta's argument within the Praja Socialist Party (PSP) about opposition politics. - Argues consensus and conflict are 'delicately intertwined,' and democracy is neither pure division nor pure conformity - Notes existing broad consensus in India on secularism, democracy, economic prosperity, and social welfare, and on issues like the China invasion, Goa's accession, and Kashmir - Warns that manufacturing artificial political consensus risks leaving rising social conflicts unchannelled, creating a vacuum exploitable by disruptive forces - Disputes Karnik's account of Asoka Mehta's argument regarding the PSP's opposition role and consolidation of socialist forces within and outside Congress ### The Budget Concessions *By Rohit Dave* Rohit Dave critiques the Finance Minister's recent budget concessions as ineffective given the deeper structural problems of the economy. He argues that stock markets remain weak because internal corporate resources cannot substitute for broader investor participation, and that the real distortions lie in the prevalence of black-market lending (with interest rates of 18-24%), the Reserve Bank's restrictive credit policy that starves legitimate commercial activity of funds, and a fundamental clash of values between the Government's redistributive aims and industrialists' demand for high risk-adjusted returns. Dave concludes that piecemeal budget concessions cannot resolve the stalemate without a comprehensive, enforceable economic strategy. - Argues budget concessions failed to move stock markets because they do not address the black market's distorting effect on capital - Identifies black-market interest rates of 18-24% as a major source of economic distortion, fueled by tax evasion, hoarding, and misused export incentives - Criticizes the Reserve Bank's credit policy for starving legitimate commercial activity of funds while failing to fully curb hoarding via black money - Frames the core problem as a clash between the Government's policy of curbing concentrated wealth and industrialists' demand for returns that price in high risk - Calls for a comprehensive, enforceable economic strategy rather than marginal budget tinkering ### The Case Of Joseph Brodsky *By Victor Frank* Victor Frank recounts the case of Joseph Brodsky, the 24-year-old Russian poet sentenced by a Leningrad court on 13 March 1964 to five years' internal deportation with hard labour for 'parasitism' (earning too little money). Frank narrates the campaign against Brodsky orchestrated by a former KGB officer named Lerner, describes the smear campaign, arrest, and trial, and highlights the courage of prominent Soviet writers and intellectuals who publicized a petition on Brodsky's behalf -- itself an unprecedented act of dissent under Khrushchev, eight years after the denunciation of Stalin's crimes. - Brodsky, 24, was sentenced on 13 March 1964 by a Leningrad court to five years' deportation with hard labour for 'parasitism' - A former KGB officer named Lerner led a smear and harassment campaign against Brodsky beginning with a scurrilous 1963 newspaper attack - Brodsky's earlier 1962 association with Shakhmatov (charged with 'anarcho-individualism' and mysticism) was used against him despite the case having been dropped - Prominent Soviet writers and intellectuals took the unprecedented step of publicizing a petition defending Brodsky, criticizing abuse of defence counsel in the press - Frank frames the case as revealing both continued repression under Khrushchev and a new willingness among some Soviet intellectuals to publicly defend victims of the state ### With Many Voices 'With Many Voices' is the issue's closing quotations column, gathering short excerpts from Indian and international press and public statements from early-to-mid June 1964, many of them reacting to Nehru's death. It includes C. Rajagopalachari's tribute in Swarajya, remarks by Sri Prakasa, Nanda, Asoka Mehta, M. R. Masani, Lal Bahadur Shastri, and others, alongside wry or satirical items on inflation, LIC policies, Cold War diplomacy, and a UK divorce case ruling. - Opens with C. Rajagopalachari's personal tribute to Nehru in Swarajya (6 June 1964): 'Shri Nehru has suddenly departed from our midst and I remain alive to hear the sad news from Delhi' - Includes Lal Bahadur Shastri's remark on collective wisdom (Times of India, 24 June) amid speculation about Nehru's successor - Includes M. R. Masani's call (11 June) for sounder economic priorities favouring agriculture over heavy industry - Includes Asoka Mehta's chariot metaphor for heavy industry and agriculture as the 'two wheels' of economic development - Includes commentary on Nehru as 'an unsolved enigma' (Times of India) and observations on non-alignment's influence on Cuban revolutionaries --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff147/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 147 (August 1964) is a slim 12-page issue of the Bombay-based liberal fortnightly, opening with Raman Desai's alarmed survey of the Indo-China war spilling into Laos and South Vietnam and his call for India to abandon panchsheel neutrality and align openly with the U.S.-backed side. A. G. Mulgaonkar follows with a piece on the Das Commission's findings against Punjab Chief Minister Pratap Singh Kairon, using it to argue for a constitutional mechanism -- compulsory asset declaration and inquiry commissions answerable to the President or Governors -- to root out ministerial corruption. The issue then reprints an interview with newly nominated U.S. Republican presidential candidate Senator Barry Goldwater from Der Spiegel, covering his views on Communism, NATO, nuclear weapons, civil rights, and foreign aid. Raman Desai returns with a shorter, sharply sarcastic column on Indian officials' foreign travel amid tight foreign-exchange controls, and Dahyabhai V. Patel reports on a June 1964 delegation visit to South Vietnam and Taiwan, praising Taiwan's land-reform-driven agricultural progress and appealing for India to recognise the Taiwan government.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 147 (August 1964) is a slim 12-page issue of the Bombay-based liberal fortnightly, opening with Raman Desai's alarmed survey of the Indo-China war spilling into Laos and South Vietnam and his call for India to abandon panchsheel neutrality and align openly with the U.S.-backed side. A. G. Mulgaonkar follows with a piece on the Das Commission's findings against Punjab Chief Minister Pratap Singh Kairon, using it to argue for a constitutional mechanism -- compulsory asset declaration and inquiry commissions answerable to the President or Governors -- to root out ministerial corruption. The issue then reprints an interview with newly nominated U.S. Republican presidential candidate Senator Barry Goldwater from Der Spiegel, covering his views on Communism, NATO, nuclear weapons, civil rights, and foreign aid. Raman Desai returns with a shorter, sharply sarcastic column on Indian officials' foreign travel amid tight foreign-exchange controls, and Dahyabhai V. Patel reports on a June 1964 delegation visit to South Vietnam and Taiwan, praising Taiwan's land-reform-driven agricultural progress and appealing for India to recognise the Taiwan government. The issue closes with a book review of A. J. Fonseca's 'Wage Determination and Organised Labour in India,' a short reprinted item on the deposed Brazilian president Joao Goulart's corruption, and the regular 'With Many Voices' page of quotations from the period's press. ## Essays ### South Vietnam and Ourselves *By Raman Desai* Raman Desai lays out the historical background of the partition of Vietnam at the 1954 Geneva accords and argues that Communist China has spent the years since systematically fomenting civil wars around the South East Asian seaboard, with Laos and South Vietnam its current targets. He contends that any U.S. withdrawal from South Vietnam would hand China the region's rice, coal, tin, and rubber, and argues that a further, Korea-scale U.S. military commitment is preferable to a negotiated settlement, which he dismisses as merely a breathing space for Communist regrouping. He closes by urging that Indian foreign policy abandon its "hypnotic trance" of panchsheel and side openly with the U.S., Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Malaysia against China, invoking the analogy of Munich-style appeasement. - Traces Vietnam's partition to the 1954 Geneva ceasefire, which divided the country along the Ben Hai river pending elections that were never held. - Frames Chinese support for Communist insurgencies in Laos and South Vietnam as a seven-year campaign to dominate South East Asia. - Warns that a U.S. withdrawal would surrender the region's rice, coal, tin, rubber, and cotton/oil-seed supplies to China. - Argues a UN army for South East Asia is impractical because communist members of the Security Council would veto it. - Criticises India's 'panchsheel' policy toward China as naive goodwill that has yielded nothing in return. - Calls for Indian foreign policy to actively support the U.S., Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Malaysia against Chinese-backed communism, likening the moment to pre-war appeasement of Hitler. ### After The Das Report *By A. G. Mulgaonkar* A. G. Mulgaonkar treats the Das Commission's report on Punjab Chief Minister Pratap Singh Kairon as a turning point against ministerial corruption in India, opening with Robert Clive's brazen defence against corruption charges in Parliament and England's own historical reckoning with ministerial graft (the South Sea Bubble, John Aislabie's expulsion). He argues that colleagues should never be trusted to investigate a fellow minister -- contrasting the Kairon case, in which repeated complaints to Nehru were waved off, with the British Profumo affair, where senior ministers were merely 'willing to be hoodwinked.' He proposes a six-point legislative scheme: mandatory asset declarations by anyone holding political office, elimination of informal complaint-vetting, prima facie findings entrusted to the President or Governors with a small secretariat, referral of prima facie cases to statutory commissions of inquiry, automatic penalties (including property confiscation, extendable posthumously) for non-declaration, and expansion of the Indian Penal Code's offences against the state to cover ministerial and official corruption. - Treats the Das Commission report on Kairon as marking a historic 'turn of the tide' against seventeen years of ministerial corruption in India. - Argues a minister's own party colleagues should never be entrusted with investigating charges against him, citing Kairon's case where Nehru repeatedly accepted his private explanations. - Contrasts this with Britain's Profumo affair, where senior ministers and law officers examined Profumo yet were still misled. - Details how Master Tara Singh and others petitioned the President directly in 1963, which led to the Das Commission being convened. - Proposes compulsory asset declaration for all who have held political office, verifiable via income-tax returns and including foreign investments. - Recommends prima facie corruption findings be entrusted to the President (nationally) and Governors (state-level), backed by a small secretariat, with cases referred to statutory Commissions of Inquiry and automatic property-forfeiture penalties for non-declaration. ### Goldwater On Goldwater This piece reprints, per an editor's note, excerpts of Senator Barry Goldwater's interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel shortly after his nomination as the Republican presidential candidate, presented so Indian readers can learn about the man and his positions. Goldwater discusses Eastern financial interests' historic control over Republican candidate selection, rejects the 'far right' label while calling himself a constitutional radical, and frames the Cold War as an irreconcilable struggle between 'godless people and the people of God' rather than a matter for peaceful coexistence. He describes 51 of 52 postwar agreements with Communists as having been broken by the Communists, discusses tactical nuclear weapons and NATO reform, defends his vote against the civil-rights bill on constitutional grounds, opposes foreign aid outright, and states the U.S. is already engaged in 'World War III... in Southeast Asia,' begun when it failed to help France in Indo-China in the late 1950s. - Reprinted via U.S. News & World Report from an unpublished Der Spiegel interview text, framed by Freedom First's editor as background on the newly nominated Republican candidate. - Goldwater denies being 'far right,' defining that label as fascism and insisting he is merely a constitutional radical with a small following. - Frames the Cold War as a struggle between 'godless people' and 'the people of God,' between slavery and freedom, rather than a matter suited to negotiated coexistence. - Claims the Communists have broken 50 or 51 of 52 formal postwar agreements with Western powers. - Supports NATO's supreme commander having latitude to use small tactical nuclear weapons without recourse to Washington. - Opposes foreign aid 'period,' arguing Europe now stands on its own feet and the U.S. gets nothing in return. - States he voted against the civil-rights bill purely on constitutional grounds, and claims the U.S. is already fighting 'World War III... in Southeast Asia.' ### Is Your Travel Necessary? *By Raman Desai* In a sharply sarcastic column, Raman Desai contrasts the foreign-exchange privations imposed on ordinary Indian citizens with the ease with which well-connected officials -- Mr. K. P. S. Menon, Mr. Naik (Chief Minister of Bombay) and his family -- have obtained hospitality-funded trips abroad even as ordinary applicants are denied exchange to visit family. He argues Indian public administration should be studied through the lens of indigenous tradition (citing the idea of the son's ritual duty to the father) rather than merely imported models, and separately argues that Indian citizens should be allowed to retain foreign-currency balances held abroad since before independence, drawing a parallel to how the U.S. and U.K. treated each other's citizens' balances during the World Wars. - Criticises Mr. Naik, Chief Minister of Bombay, for accepting a hospitality-funded European tour from businessman Mr. Chowgule while ordinary citizens face onerous foreign-exchange restrictions. - Notes that under current rules a father was denied exchange to visit his own daughter in the UK despite her providing the exchange herself. - Argues Indian public administration should be studied through indigenous tradition, citing the idea that a son secures a father's salvation after death. - Calls for Indian nationals to be allowed to retain pre-independence foreign-currency balances abroad rather than being forced to convert them to rupees. - Draws a comparison to the U.S. and U.K.'s wartime treatment of each other's citizens' overseas assets during the World Wars. - Closes with pointed mockery of retired I.C.S. officers like Mr. K. P. S. Menon publishing travel diaries. ### A Visit To Free China (June 1964) *By Dahyabhai V. Patel* Dahyabhai V. Patel recounts a June 1964 tour through South Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Taiwan as part of a non-official Indian opposition-party delegation. In Saigon he finds daily life calm despite ongoing conflict, and reports on Sindhi refugees who moved on from Bombay to Hong Kong. The bulk of the report praises Taiwan's rapid postwar development: land-ceiling reform that converted cultivators into land-owners while compensating former landlords in bonds, a claimed 369% rise in agricultural production since 1946, universal compulsory education and a large expansion of colleges and schools, and profitable state-run railways, bus routes, fertiliser and sugar factories. The delegation met senior Taiwanese officials and was received by Chiang Kai-shek and Madam Chiang, and the piece closes urging that the Indian government recognise Taiwan given its 15 years of stable governance, while noting that South East Asian countries increasingly sympathise with Taiwan yet are troubled by India's own conciliatory stance toward Communist China. - Describes Saigon as outwardly calm and functioning despite an ongoing guerrilla war, with women active in daily commerce and travel. - Notes Sindhi refugees from the Partition, having first settled in Bombay, are now emigrating onward to Hong Kong for its faster industrial growth. - Credits Taiwan's land-ceiling law -- compensating both cultivators-turned-owners and displaced landlords via bonds -- with driving a claimed 369% rise in 1963 agricultural production over a 1946 baseline of 100. - Reports Taiwan's education expansion: from 5 colleges/universities in 1944 to 35, and from 73 middle-schools to 481, with 98% literacy claimed. - Describes state-run railways, fertiliser and sugar factories as profitable, having been purchased from private owners via bonds. - Recounts a reception with Chiang Kai-shek and Madam Chiang, and closes by urging Indian recognition of Taiwan's government. ### Review: Wage Determination and Organised Labour in India (A. J. Fonseca, Oxford University Press) *By V. B. Karnik* The Review section carries V. B. Karnik's assessment of A. J. Fonseca's 'Wage Determination and Organised Labour in India' (Oxford University Press), which credits the book with showing that trade unions have become an established influence on wage levels but have failed to keep real wages rising in line with earnings, and have no control over prices or employment; Karnik also flags Fonseca's inattention to the shift of wage-setting from collective bargaining toward courts, tribunals and wage boards. This is followed by an uncredited, Time-sourced item on the ousted Brazilian president Joao 'Jango' Goulart, detailing his redistribution of roughly 19 lac acres of land to himself while in office and his successor's pointed public declaration of assets, alongside notes on Communist-aligned unions and state-oil-company funds bankrolling leftist student groups under Goulart. - Karnik's review credits Fonseca's book with concluding that Indian trade unions can lever wages upward in prosperity and restrain declines in depression, but exert no control over prices or employment. - Notes Fonseca's finding that real wages have lagged behind money wages and earnings, only reaching pre-war levels in recent years. - Flags as a gap that Fonseca does not address the shift of wage determination away from collective bargaining toward courts, tribunals, and wage boards. - The Brazil item reports that ousted president Joao Goulart redistributed about 19 lac acres of land to himself and was about to acquire more when he fled. - Notes Goulart's successor Humberto Castello Branco publicly declared his modest personal assets to the Senate on assuming office, the first time a Brazilian president had done so. - Describes Communist-aligned labour unions and the state oil monopoly Petrobras as having funded leftist student and other extremist groups under Goulart. ### To Be Or Not To Be — Corrupt The closing 'With Many Voices' page is a compilation of short quotations drawn from the contemporary press (Time, Swarajya, Organiser, New Age, Hindustan Times, Times of India) on Cold War politics, Indian federalism, and civil rights, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. Quoted figures include Khrushchev, Mao Tse-tung, C. Rajagopalachari, Kamaraj, Salvador de Madariaga, William F. Buckley Jr., George Meany, and Barry Goldwater, touching on themes from world government and Kashmir to Cold War brinkmanship and race and states' rights in America. The page closes with a subscription coupon for Freedom First and the issue's imprint line naming Raman Desai as editor and publisher for the Democratic Research Service, Bombay. - Compiles short press quotations under the Tennyson epigraph 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.' - Includes C. Rajagopalachari on world government, Kashmir self-determination, and the limits of dissent as treason. - Includes Barry Goldwater's acceptance-speech line that 'moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue' alongside another quote on the necessity of confronting Communism. - Includes William F. Buckley Jr. on states' rights ('federal harem... States today are merely eunuchs') and on mob-deployment as a dangerous resort. - Includes George Meany's comparison of doing business with Stalin versus his 'de-Stalinized successors.' - Closes the issue with a subscription form and the standard imprint naming Raman Desai as editor/publisher, printed at Inland Printers, Bombay, for the Democratic Research Service. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff148/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 148 (September 1964) opens with M. R. Masani's polemic 'The Food Crisis,' which blames stagnant foodgrain output and rising prices on the Second Plan's priority given to heavy industry over agriculture, attacks state trading and zonal restrictions as scapegoating of peasants and traders, and calls for releasing buffer stocks, ending zonal controls, and halting food exports. A. G. Mulgaonkar's 'Choosing The Leader' uses a historical survey of how British prime ministers have been chosen (Walpole through Douglas-Home) to frame the puzzle of Lal Bahadur Shastri's unexpected rise to India's premiership after Nehru's death, and to ask what precedent this offers for how the Congress party will select future leaders. N. S. Ranganath Rao begins a two-part historical essay, 'Obscenity: Literature And Law,' tracing the shifting, culturally relative concept of obscenity in English law and letters from ancient Greece through the 1868 Hicklin test, and laying out the opposing arguments of literary-freedom advocates and moral-restraint advocates that the second instalment will continue.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 148 (September 1964) opens with M. R. Masani's polemic 'The Food Crisis,' which blames stagnant foodgrain output and rising prices on the Second Plan's priority given to heavy industry over agriculture, attacks state trading and zonal restrictions as scapegoating of peasants and traders, and calls for releasing buffer stocks, ending zonal controls, and halting food exports. A. G. Mulgaonkar's 'Choosing The Leader' uses a historical survey of how British prime ministers have been chosen (Walpole through Douglas-Home) to frame the puzzle of Lal Bahadur Shastri's unexpected rise to India's premiership after Nehru's death, and to ask what precedent this offers for how the Congress party will select future leaders. N. S. Ranganath Rao begins a two-part historical essay, 'Obscenity: Literature And Law,' tracing the shifting, culturally relative concept of obscenity in English law and letters from ancient Greece through the 1868 Hicklin test, and laying out the opposing arguments of literary-freedom advocates and moral-restraint advocates that the second instalment will continue. The issue closes with two lighter features: Alexander Frater's satirical dialogue 'Goulash And Ballet,' imagining a backstage conversation between Khrushchev and Mao that lampoons Cold War posturing and Sino-Soviet rivalry, and 'With Many Voices,' a page of topical newspaper quotations on world and Indian affairs from figures including President Johnson, Dean Rusk, G. L. Nanda, and Asoka Mehta. ## Essays ### The Food Crisis *By M. R. Masani, M.P.* M. R. Masani's 'The Food Crisis' argues that India's food shortage and price inflation stem from a deliberate, Soviet-derived planning priority that starved agriculture of capital in favour of heavy industry, and that this same misallocation is the structural cause of inflation. He criticizes the government's response of blaming peasants and grain traders as 'scapegoats' and recounts a botched Delhi anti-hoarding police drive that found almost no wrongdoing. Masani closes with concrete short-term demands: release government buffer stocks onto the market, abolish zonal foodgrain restrictions, decontrol trade as Rafi Ahmed Kidwai once did, and stop food exports, warning that continued 'Marxist' planning will lead to economic collapse. - Foodgrain output stagnated (80.97 to 79.35 million tons, 1960-64) while population grew ~2.4% a year and wholesale prices rose about 15% over the same period. - Masani attributes the crisis to a planning order that prioritized heavy capital-intensive industry, then consumer/light industry, with agriculture last, a pattern he says was copied from Soviet Russia under Nehru's influence. - He argues investment in steel and heavy machinery (slow-return, capital-intensive, low-employment) rather than agriculture (fast-return) is the direct cause of inflation, compounded by excise duties and deficit finance exceeding Third Plan limits by Rs. 600 crores. - He criticizes the government's scapegoating of peasants and traders for hoarding, citing a Delhi police raid drive that collapsed after finding almost no violations among grain dealers. - Proposed remedies: bring government buffer stocks (over 5 million tons) onto the open market, abolish zonal restrictions on grain movement, decontrol trade, and halt exports of edible commodities. - He invokes Chou En-lai's 1963 admission that China wrongly prioritized steel over agriculture as evidence that even Communist China had reversed the very policy India was still following. ### Choosing The Leader *By A. G. Mulgaonkar* A. G. Mulgaonkar's 'Choosing The Leader' opens by noting that Lal Bahadur Shastri's rise to the premiership after Nehru's death puzzled observers given his lack of family background or powerful backing, and argues this reflects how parliamentary democracy channels public opinion even through seemingly unremarkable figures. The bulk of the essay is a historical survey of how British prime ministers have been selected across three centuries and three parties (Conservative, Liberal, Labour), from Walpole's consolidation of the office through Baldwin, Attlee, and the recent, sharply criticized selection of Sir Alec Douglas-Home under Macmillan. Mulgaonkar closes by asking what precedent this offers India, concluding that the Congress party's own organisational structure will likely keep leadership selection tightly controlled by its central executive rather than by a genuine backbench vote. - Shastri's ascent to PM despite modest stature and no powerful backing is presented as evidence that parliamentary democracy can elevate a common man whose 'hopes and limitations' resemble the public's own. - Walpole is credited with three achievements: making the PM office substantial, maturing the cabinet system, and centering political business in the Commons. - The essay surveys the differing selection customs of Conservatives (family/school ties), Liberals (democratic vote), and Labour (parliamentary party vote), noting exceptions like Attlee's 1945 confirmation despite an 'alternative leadership' challenge. - The 1963 selection of Sir Alec Douglas-Home under Macmillan is cited as a sharply criticized instance of the 'soundings' method. - Mulgaonkar argues the Congress party's organisational structure (Working Committee, Parliamentary Board) more closely resembles the Conservative pattern, implying leadership choice will stay tightly controlled by the central executive rather than open to backbenchers. ### Obscenity: Literature And Law (1) *By N. S. Ranganath Rao* N. S. Ranganath Rao opens a two-part essay, 'Obscenity: Literature And Law,' arguing that obscenity is not a fixed but a relative and culturally contingent concept, illustrated by works once condemned (Zola's La Terre, Fanny Hill, Lady Chatterley's Lover) that were later celebrated or vice versa. He traces the legal history of obscenity regulation in England from classical antiquity, through medieval ecclesiastical courts concerned chiefly with heresy rather than obscenity, the licencing regime opposed by Milton, the Restoration's freer mores, Victorian puritanism spurred by evangelicalism and mass literacy, and the 1857 Obscene Publications Act, culminating in the 1868 Hicklin test formulated by Sir Alexander Cockburn, which India's own courts have followed. The instalment then sets out, without resolving, the central legal-philosophical debate between champions of free expression (who favour education and cure over censorship) and champions of moral restraint (who argue the law must protect the susceptible), promising continuation in the next issue. - Obscenity is described as inherently relative and subjective, varying by individual, community, and era, illustrated by the reversal of reputation of works like Zola's La Terre and Lady Chatterley's Lover. - Ancient Greek and Roman societies, and even Anglo-Saxon literature, tolerated erotic content because literature was largely an elite, male preserve. - Medieval ecclesiastical courts policed heresy, not obscenity; the shift to Common Law jurisdiction over 'obscene libel' only occurred at the end of the eighteenth century. - The 1857 Obscene Publications Act (Lord Campbell's Act) empowered magistrates to order destruction of obscene books and authorized police search warrants. - The 1868 'Hicklin case' (regarding the pamphlet 'The Confessional Unmasked') produced Sir Alexander Cockburn's test of obscenity, which Indian courts have also adopted. - The essay lays out, without adjudicating, the opposing camps: those favouring freedom of expression with education/cure of susceptible readers versus those favouring legal restraint to protect the vulnerable, especially the young. - Explicitly promises a second instalment ('To be continued') that will discuss the defects of the Hicklin test. ### Goulash And Ballet *By Alexander Frater* Alexander Frater's 'Goulash And Ballet,' reprinted by permission of Punch, is a satirical fictional dialogue imagining a secret backstage meeting between Nikita Khrushchev and Mao Zedong (in disguise as a Chinese minstrel) in which the two leaders trade cynical confidences about their public rivalry, racist asides about Africans and Jews, and plans to feign a Sino-Soviet split for propaganda purposes while secretly coordinating strategy against the West, including a staged nuclear provocation and a plan to woo the West with cultural diplomacy ('goulash and ballet') before eventually resuming pressure. - The piece is a work of political satire lampooning Cold War diplomacy and the publicized Sino-Soviet ideological rift. - Khrushchev and Mao are portrayed privately coordinating a strategy of feigned rivalry ('You push Stalinism and steel, you push goulash and ballet') to strengthen both regimes' positions. - The satire mocks both leaders' courting of newly independent African and Asian nations for Cold War advantage. - Mao plans a staged nuclear detonation near Washington timed to his birthday as a propaganda stunt, which Khrushchev refuses to assist with directly. - The dialogue closes with the two leaders departing arm-in-arm for vodka, undercutting their public antagonism. - Piece explicitly credited as reprinted by permission of Punch magazine. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff149/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 149 (October 1964) opens with Philip Spratt's "The Hindu Personality," a Freudian analysis originally delivered at the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's Poona seminar on "Indian Tradition and its Significance for Freedom," which argues that the traditional Hindu psyche is narcissistic rather than punitive and traces the political consequences of that structure for caste, authority, and the prospects of liberty. The rest of the issue is dominated by the Sino-Soviet and Sino-Indian confrontation: Rohit Dave's "South East Asia And Ourselves" surveys the regional crisis (Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Tonkin Gulf incident) and calls for a firmer Indian defence and foreign policy; "Russian Aid" and "Without Comment" reprint, without editorial commentary, excerpts from the Chinese Communist Party's February 1964 letter to the CPSU and a Pravda critique of internal Communist Party of China practices; and "China's Territorial Claims" documents Chinese expansionist doctrine and reproduces a 1954 Chinese textbook map showing claims on Indian and neighbouring territory. B. K.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 149 (October 1964) opens with Philip Spratt's "The Hindu Personality," a Freudian analysis originally delivered at the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's Poona seminar on "Indian Tradition and its Significance for Freedom," which argues that the traditional Hindu psyche is narcissistic rather than punitive and traces the political consequences of that structure for caste, authority, and the prospects of liberty. The rest of the issue is dominated by the Sino-Soviet and Sino-Indian confrontation: Rohit Dave's "South East Asia And Ourselves" surveys the regional crisis (Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Tonkin Gulf incident) and calls for a firmer Indian defence and foreign policy; "Russian Aid" and "Without Comment" reprint, without editorial commentary, excerpts from the Chinese Communist Party's February 1964 letter to the CPSU and a Pravda critique of internal Communist Party of China practices; and "China's Territorial Claims" documents Chinese expansionist doctrine and reproduces a 1954 Chinese textbook map showing claims on Indian and neighbouring territory. B. K. Desai reviews Peter Lyons's book Neutralism, and the issue closes with the regular press-quotes column "With Many Voices." The magazine was edited by Raman Desai and published by the Democratic Research Service, Bombay. ## Essays ### The Hindu Personality *By Philip Spratt* Philip Spratt argues, from a Freudian perspective, that the Hindu personality is fundamentally narcissistic rather than punitive like its Western counterpart, with libido heavily cathected on the ego rather than directed outward in guilt-driven discipline. He traces this to Advaita Vedanta's philosophy of the illusory world and the ego identified with the universe, and to indulgent early child-rearing that leaves the positive Oedipus conflict undeveloped while a submissive, propitiating attitude to father-figures persists into adulthood. He extends the analysis to caste (an extended narcissistic family that promotes mutual indifference between groups but is "favourable to liberty"), to Hindu mythology (where father-figures typically triumph over sons, unlike Western punitive myths), and to the psychology of Hindu rulers, whom he describes as paternalistic and conformist but afflicted with a "high ego-ideal" that could, in principle, be redirected from socialism toward liberalism. He closes by questioning whether intellectual liberty can be made a genuinely operative part of the ruling elite's ego-ideal, expressing skepticism about both a revived Charvaka rationalism and M. N. Roy's call for a Hindu Renaissance. - Contrasts the narcissistic Hindu personality structure with the punitive Western/occidental type - Traces narcissism to Advaita Vedanta and other orthodox philosophies that identify the ego with the universe - Argues indulgent Hindu child-rearing prevents the punitive personality from forming and leaves the negative Oedipus phase (submission to the father) dominant - Links narcissism to caste segregation, arguing indifference between castes is paradoxically favourable to liberty while oppression within groups is not - Analyzes Hindu myths (Rama, Krishna, Shukra-Kacha-Yayati, Prajapati-Rudra) as father-figure-victorious narratives, contrasting with Western punitive myth patterns - Describes the Hindu ruler/bureaucrat as paternalistic, egalitarian, and stifling, but constrained by a high, potentially liberalizing ego-ideal - Questions whether liberty can be made a more effective part of the elite's ego-ideal than equality/socialism currently is - Expresses doubt that reviving Charvaka rationalism or M. N. Roy's 'Indian Renaissance' can succeed, since Hindus are narcissistic rather than repressed ### South East Asia And Ourselves *By Rohit Dave* Rohit Dave surveys the deteriorating situation in South East Asia — Laos, South Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Sino-Indonesian-Malaysian confrontation — arguing that Communist China's strategic goal is a 'powerful greater China' that reduces India and Indonesia to obedient neutralist satellites, and that the Tonkin Gulf incident functioned as a loud American ultimatum to Hanoi. He rejects both extremes in India's domestic debate (all-out military buildup regardless of cost versus abandoning non-alignment for Western military alliances), calling instead for a reformulated, more outward-looking defence strategy and greater Indian leadership in helping the region resist Chinese expansionism, while warning that China's likely acquisition of nuclear weapons could make the regional balance resemble the pre-WWI Balkans. - Frames Chinese strategic goals in South East Asia (via Juergen Domes) as establishing a totalitarian greater China with India and Indonesia as obedient neutralist buffers - Cites the Tonkin Gulf incident as a decisive US ultimatum to North Vietnam - Criticizes both the 'defence at any economic cost' school and the 'abandon non-alignment for Western alliances' school in India as extremes out of touch with the region's realities - Warns that Chinese acquisition of atomic weapons would make the South East Asian balance resemble the pre-World War I Balkans - Calls for India to take the lead in an Asian solution to Chinese expansionism and to build up regional defence potential with friendly-nation help - Notes the U.S. has not taken a clear position on the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation despite deep UK involvement ### Russian Aid Presented under the heading 'Russian Aid' without attribution to a Freedom First author, this piece reprints excerpts from a Chinese Communist Party letter of February 29, 1964 to the CPSU, rebutting Soviet claims of one-sided 'disinterested assistance' to China. The excerpts detail the scale of Chinese exports of raw materials, grain, and metals to the USSR (including tonnages of soya beans, rice, edible oils, meat, lithium, beryllium, borax, wolfram, mercury, and other strategic minerals), accuse Moscow of unilaterally withdrawing 1,390 Soviet experts and voiding hundreds of technical contracts in 1960, and charge the Soviet Union with using aid and trade as instruments of political pressure, bullying less-developed fraternal countries, and effectively replicating the 'jungle law' of the capitalist Common Market. - Reprints excerpts from the CPC's February 29, 1964 letter to the CPSU as a documentary source, without editorial comment - Rebuts Soviet claims of one-way 'disinterested assistance,' detailing Chinese exports of grain, edible oils, meat, and strategic minerals to the USSR - States China repaid Soviet loans mainly used for war material during the Korean War, which is called China's 'bounden internationalist duty' - Accuses the USSR of abruptly withdrawing 1,390 experts and voiding 343 contracts and 257 projects within a month in 1960 - Charges the Soviet Union with using aid/trade as political leverage and likens its conduct to the capitalist Common Market's 'jungle law' - Includes a British Political cartoon (courtesy B.P.A.) depicting Mao alongside Viet Cong and Catholic/Buddhist figures ### Without Comment 'Without Comment' reprints, verbatim and without editorializing, a Pravda article titled 'Certain aspects of Party Life in the Communist Party of China,' which criticizes the CPC for failing to convene Party Congresses on schedule (only two in 35 years, with the Eighth Congress's mandated five-year delegate term expiring in 1961 with no new Congress convened by the time of writing), for the Central Committee's expired term of office, and for the Party leadership deciding such matters not by its own Rules but by 'the directives of Mao Tse-tung,' which Pravda likens to the Stalin-era Soviet practice. - Reprints Pravda's critique of the Communist Party of China's failure to hold regular Congresses per its own Party Rules - Notes the CPC held only two Congresses (1945, 1956) in the 35 years to 1963, far short of the five-year cycle mandated by its Rules - Highlights that delegates elected to the 1956 Congress (10.7 million members) still hold power though CPC membership has grown to 18 million, disenfranchising over 7 million newer members - States the Central Committee's term of office has also expired without a new Congress being convened - Concludes such matters are decided in China 'not by the Rules, but by the directives of Mao Tse-tung,' comparing this to Soviet practice under Stalin ### Review: Neutralism by Peter Lyons *By B. K. Desai* B. K. Desai reviews Peter Lyons's book Neutralism (Oxford University Press, Rs. 15), summarizing Lyons's identification of five assumptions underlying the neutralist stand and then largely rejecting the neutralist claim to moral superiority. Desai argues non-alignment began as a sound policy of avoiding military pacts but degenerated into a dogma that blinded countries like India to the communist threat, cites the 1962 Sino-Indian war and the Colombo powers' refusal to condemn Chinese aggression as proof of its failure, and concludes neutralism is now a manifestation of an anti-Western, authoritarian-leaning Afro-Asian nationalism that communists exploit for their own ends, leaving regimes like Sukarno's a 'prisoner' of local communists while Nasser and Tito retained more genuine independence. - Summarizes Lyons's five assumptions of neutralism: refusal to take Cold War sides, claimed moral superiority, independent foreign policy, opposition to colonialism, and demand for aid without strings - Desai argues the claim to moral superiority is 'not only arrogant, but also blatantly absurd' - Argues the Cold War is ideological as well as geopolitical, making strict neutrality on the ideological plane untenable given communist 'fifth column' activity - Cites India's failure to recognize Chinese expansionism as imperialism until 1958, and the Colombo powers' refusal to condemn Chinese aggression in 1962, as evidence of non-alignment's practical failure - Argues only Sukarno's Indonesia and Nasser's Egypt genuinely benefited from non-alignment, and that Sukarno has since become a prisoner of Indonesian communists while Nasser and Tito preserved independence - Concludes neutralism is now a vehicle for anti-Western, authoritarian Afro-Asian nationalism that communists exploit for their own purposes ### China's Territorial Claims This unsigned piece documents Communist China's territorial claims and expansionist doctrine, opening with Mao Tse-tung's 1931 Kiangsi Soviet constitutional promise of self-determination for national minorities (which did not prevent the 'liberation' of Tibet), and citing Mao's 1939 writings and a 1963 People's Daily editorial cataloguing 'unequal treaties' China wishes to revise, including Nanking (1842), Aigun (1858), Tientsin (1858), Peking (1860), Ili (1881), and others. It reproduces a map from a 1954 Chinese history textbook published in Peking showing nineteen numbered territories claimed or eyed by China, including Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, NEFA/Assam, Burma, Malaya/Singapore, Indochina, the Andamans, and parts of the Soviet Far East, framing this as evidence of a long-standing, methodically pursued expansionist ambition. - Cites Mao's 1931 Kiangsi Soviet constitution promising self-determination to minorities, contrasted with the subsequent 'liberation' of Tibet - Quotes Mao's 1939 'Chinese Revolution and the Chinese Communist Party' listing territories taken from China by Japan, Britain, France, and Portugal - Cites a 1963 People's Daily statement listing 'unequal treaties' (Nanking 1842, Aigun 1858, Tientsin 1858, Peking 1860, Ili 1881, Lisbon protocol 1887, 1898 Hong Kong extension, 1901) China considers open to revision - Reproduces a map from a 1954 Peking-published Chinese history textbook showing 19 numbered territories including Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, NEFA/Assam Plain, Burma, the Andamans, Malaya/Singapore, Indochina, Formosa, and parts of Soviet Central Asia and the Amur region - Frames the 'five fingers of Tibet' doctrine (Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, NEFA, Bhutan) as explaining Chinese pressure on these regions - Continues onto page 12 discussing outstanding Sino-Soviet border issues and repeats the 1954 map reference ### With Many Voices 'With Many Voices' is the issue's regular closing column of press quotations (dated September 6-23, 1964) from figures including T. T. Krishnamachari, Pothan Joseph, C. Rajagopalachari, J. B. Kripalani, S. A. Dange, Frank Moraes, and Sukarno, on topics ranging from Indian foreign policy and the Fourth Plan to Sino-Soviet polemics and party politics; it closes with the continuation of the China's Territorial Claims piece and the masthead crediting editor Raman Desai and the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, as publisher. - Regular press-quotes column drawing from Times of India, Swarajya, Janata, Indian Express, New Age, The Sunday Standard, and The Hindustan Times, September 6-23, 1964 - Includes C. Rajagopalachari's quotes criticizing the Fourth Plan's Rs. 22,000 crore outlay as 'the nation's biggest enemy' and denouncing Chinese chauvinism - Includes Sukarno's self-description as 'a Communist, religious and nationalist as well' - Includes domestic political sparring among Kripalani, Dange, and others over Congress/Opposition roles - Masthead identifies Raman Desai as editor and the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, as printer/publisher, with Registered No. B-6354 --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff150/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 150 (November 1964) is a Bombay-published classical-liberal periodical issue opening with A. G. Mulgaonkar's constitutional-history essay on parliamentary privilege, tracing the doctrine from Speaker Lenthall's 1642 defiance of Charles I through the contemporary Keshav Singh case, in which the U.P. Vidhan Sabha's contempt powers clashed with the Allahabad High Court and prompted a Presidential Reference to the Supreme Court under Article 143(1) of the Constitution. V. B. Karnik analyses Khrushchev's October 1964 removal as a 'palace revolution' within the Soviet leadership, arguing it changes little in substance but may open a rapprochement with China. N. S. Ranganath Rao continues a two-part critique of India's obscenity law, arguing the inherited Hicklin test is vague, ignores authorial intent, and needs reform. A Reviews section covers three books: A. G. Noorani's study of the Kashmir question, Charles Heimsath's history of Indian nationalism and Hindu social reform, and an anthology of contemporary Soviet writing, Half-Way to the Moon.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 150 (November 1964) is a Bombay-published classical-liberal periodical issue opening with A. G. Mulgaonkar's constitutional-history essay on parliamentary privilege, tracing the doctrine from Speaker Lenthall's 1642 defiance of Charles I through the contemporary Keshav Singh case, in which the U.P. Vidhan Sabha's contempt powers clashed with the Allahabad High Court and prompted a Presidential Reference to the Supreme Court under Article 143(1) of the Constitution. V. B. Karnik analyses Khrushchev's October 1964 removal as a 'palace revolution' within the Soviet leadership, arguing it changes little in substance but may open a rapprochement with China. N. S. Ranganath Rao continues a two-part critique of India's obscenity law, arguing the inherited Hicklin test is vague, ignores authorial intent, and needs reform. A Reviews section covers three books: A. G. Noorani's study of the Kashmir question, Charles Heimsath's history of Indian nationalism and Hindu social reform, and an anthology of contemporary Soviet writing, Half-Way to the Moon. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a page of topical quotations from public figures (Ayub Khan, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Chou En-lai, and others) on Cold War and subcontinental politics, and the standard imprint naming Raman Desai as editor. ## Essays ### "I Have Neither Eyes To See, Nor Tongue To Speak..." *By A. G. Mulgaonkar* A. G. Mulgaonkar traces the doctrine of parliamentary privilege from its English origins -- Speaker Lenthall's refusal to betray the Five Members to Charles I in 1642, the Commons' Protestation of that era, and a line of English case law (Brass Crosby's case, Stockdale v. Hansard-adjacent precedents, Bradlaugh's case) -- through to its transplantation into Indian constitutional practice under Articles 105, 194, and 143(1). The essay recounts in detail the Keshav Singh affair: his arrest by the U.P. Vidhan Sabha's Marshal for contempt, the Allahabad High Court's grant of bail and a full-bench order restraining the Speaker from executing warrants against two judges, and the resulting five-question Presidential Reference to the Supreme Court on whether the legislature's privileges under Article 194(3) trump fundamental rights and the High Court's Article 226 jurisdiction. The essay is signalled as continuing beyond this rendered chunk ('to be continued'). - Opens with the 1642 confrontation between Charles I and Speaker Lenthall as the foundational precedent for parliamentary privilege against royal (and by extension executive) intrusion. - Recounts the Commons' 1642 Protestation asserting privilege as an ancient and undoubted birthright, torn from the journal by the King himself. - Describes the modern ceremonial confirmation of Commons privileges by the Lord Chancellor on behalf of the monarch as evidence that privilege, though a royal grant in form, functions as an entrenched constitutional practice. - Narrates the Keshav Singh case in procedural detail: arrest by the U.P. Vidhan Sabha, a habeas corpus petition, an Allahabad High Court bench of 28 judges restraining the Speaker, and warrants issued against two High Court judges and an advocate. - Surveys English case law (Brass Crosby, Bradlaugh's case, Stephen J.'s judgment) on whether courts can review internal parliamentary proceedings. - Frames the central constitutional question as whether Article 194(3) privileges are subordinate to fundamental rights and to High Court review under Article 226. - Notes the Supreme Court's Presidential Reference framed five specific questions about competence, contempt, and jurisdiction arising from the standoff. - The essay is marked as continuing past the rendered pages ('to be continued'). ### Plus Ca Change-- V. B. Karnik describes Khrushchev's removal from the posts of Prime Minister and First Secretary as a 'palace revolution' engineered by a small circle of top Communist Party leaders, with Kosygin and Brezhnev dividing the vacated posts between them. Karnik argues the change was conducted relatively civilly by Soviet standards (Khrushchev was allowed to defend himself and was not purged outright), but that it signals no fundamental shift in Soviet domestic policy, since power remains concentrated among a handful of leaders. He reads Brezhnev's early statements as hinting at a coming attempt to repair the Sino-Soviet rift, since Khrushchev's handling of the China dispute -- which had brought relations to the point of near-excommunication -- is identified as the underlying reason for his ouster. The essay closes by warning that a Sino-Soviet rapprochement could threaten Indian security interests, since Russia may become less willing to support India against the Chinese threat. - Characterises Khrushchev's fall as a 'palace revolution' decided by a handful of top Communist Party leaders without public consultation. - Notes Kosygin took the premiership and Brezhnev the party first secretaryship. - Observes the transition was unusually civil by Soviet historical standards -- Khrushchev was allowed to attend and defend himself, and was not liquidated as Stalin-era rivals had been. - Argues no major change in internal Soviet policy is likely, since the new leadership publicly affirmed continuity of the line adopted since 1956. - Identifies Khrushchev's mishandling of the Sino-Soviet split, which risked China's total break from the world communist movement, as his real offense. - Warns that a Sino-Soviet rapprochement following the change could reduce Russian willingness to aid India against Chinese threats and could embolden Chinese expansionism in Asia. ### A Palace Revolution *By V. B. Karnik* In the second installment of a two-part essay, N. S. Ranganath Rao argues that India's obscenity law, inherited from English jurisprudence via the Hicklin test (R. v. Hicklin), is defective because it emphasizes the tendency of material to deprave and corrupt rather than the intention of its creator, and because Indian courts have repeatedly judged books obscene based on isolated passages rather than the work as a whole. He contrasts this with England's 1959 Obscene Publications Act, which considers the author's purpose, and calls for Indian law to admit expert literary evidence and adopt a purpose-relevant standard so that genuine literary and scientific work is not penalized alongside commercial pornography. The essay's stated aim is a law that suppresses 'dirt for dirt's sake' while minimally interfering with genuine creative and scientific expression; concrete reform proposals are promised in a further installment. - Rejects the comparison of obscenity law to narcotics law, arguing obscenity is not an addictive compulsion and easy accessibility, not suppression, drives its 'trade'. - Traces the Hicklin test's origin to English ecclesiastical notions of sin and argues it was never suited to a more liberal, less censorious modern society. - Criticises Indian courts for judging obscenity by isolated words or passages rather than a work's overall character and purpose, citing the Lady Chatterley's Lover judgment's own tension on this point. - Notes Sections 292-293 IPC impose near-strict liability on publishers/sellers regardless of intent, which the author considers unduly harsh. - Contrasts the Hicklin approach with England's Obscene Publications Act of 1959, which makes the author's purpose a relevant consideration. - Calls for wider admission of expert evidence on literary and artistic merit, noting Indian courts have already begun departing from the old English refusal to admit such evidence. - States the law must serve a 'two-fold purpose': minimal interference with genuine expression alongside efficient suppression of commercial pornography, and promises further reform suggestions in the next installment. ### Obscenity: Literature And Law (II) *By N. S. Ranganath Rao* Raman Desai reviews A. G. Noorani's 'The Kashmir Question' (Manaktalas, Rs. 8.50), finding it a useful but hurriedly assembled review of the documentary and legal case for Kashmir's accession to India. The review credits the book's treatment of the U.N. Commission resolutions and the ceasefire agreement but criticizes its organisation, citing a confused passage between pages 53 and 56 and an editorial slip regarding the 1951 Kashmir Constituent Assembly elections. Desai closes with his own assessment of the Kashmir dispute, arguing India should keep seeking agreement with Pakistan on frontier defence against China even at some sacrifice, while treating Kashmir as part of a larger package that includes the treatment of minorities in an Islamic Pakistan. - The book presents documents on Kashmir's accession 'objectively, without apportioning blame,' according to its stated aim, though the review finds it reads more like unfinished notes than a polished White Paper. - Highlights the book's treatment of U.N. Commission resolutions of August 1948 and January 1949 as claiming binding force on India and Pakistan. - Criticises confused chronological ordering, especially between pages 53-56, and disputes a passage characterising 1951 Kashmir Constituent Assembly election results as 'farcical.' - Argues that despite Pakistan's rigidity, India should keep pursuing agreement with Pakistan on frontier defence against China, even at some cost. - Recommends treating the Kashmir question as part of a broader package deal including protections for minorities under Pakistan's Islamic Republic. ### Reviews: The Kashmir Question (by A. G. Noorani, P. C. Manaktala & Sons, Rs. 8.50) *By RAMAN DESAI* S. Natarajan reviews Charles H. Heimsath's 'Indian Nationalism and Hindu Social Reform' (Oxford University Press, Rs. 27.50), calling it a significant addition to the scarce literature on the Indian social reform movement. The review praises Heimsath's account of how the reform movement contributed to Indian nationalism -- including the argument that Governor-General Lord Bentinck's early social legislation and A. O. Hume's founding of Congress both drew on the same reformist current -- while noting the author's own acknowledged neglect of Muslim Indian social reform. Natarajan critiques Heimsath's acceptance of the 'two streams' (Hindu and Western) framework for understanding Indian culture, arguing that R. C. Majumdar's water-tight-compartments thesis about 19th century Hindu-Muslim relations is a political interpretation not borne out by the facts, since common ground existed at the lower social level and reformist attitudes (such as Raja Ram Mohun Roy's critique of idolatry) had roots partly in Islamic influence. - Calls the scarcity of material on the Indian Social Reform Movement itself notable, making Heimsath's book a valuable addition despite its flaws. - Notes Heimsath's own acknowledgment that his book neglects the Muslim Indian community's parallel reform developments. - Highlights Heimsath's argument that early social legislation under Lord Bentinck and Hume's founding of Congress both descend from a shared liberal reformist tradition in British administration. - Disputes R. C. Majumdar's thesis (accepted by Heimsath) that 19th-century Hindus and Muslims lived in two water-tight cultural compartments, calling it a political rather than factual interpretation. - Notes Heimsath identifies commonsense, justice and humanity -- more than any inherent quality of Indian society -- as underlying British-influenced reformist expectations, and separately flags Edmund Burke's overlooked influence on Indian reformers. - Observes that reformers' rejection of untouchability and communalism was often a personally costly, isolating stance within their own communities. ### Reviews: Indian Nationalism and Hindu Social Reform (by Charles H. Heimsath, Oxford University Press, Rs. 27.50) *By S. NATARAJAN* Leonard Schapiro reviews 'Half-way to the Moon: New Writing from Russia' (edited by Patricia Blake and Max Hayward, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1964), an anthology of 18 poems and five long stories originally drawn largely from Encounter magazine. He praises the collection, and especially W. H. Auden's two poem translations, for restoring language purified from the 'destructive force' of official Soviet cant and propaganda, and singles out Alexander Solzhenitsyn's 'Matryona's Home' as the collection's masterpiece, urging readers to seek it out even if they read nothing else in the book. He also discusses Viktor Nekrasov's Italy/U.S. travelogue, which reportedly so alarmed Khrushchev that he suggested Nekrasov be expelled from the Party for describing the West honestly rather than as wholly decadent. - The anthology (18 poems, five long stories/'Novellen') was mostly first published in Encounter magazine. - Praises the collection as restoring the Russian literary tradition, purifying language from party cant, propaganda usage, and the 'destructive force of the official lie.' - Highlights W. H. Auden's two poem translations as superlative, accurate refashionings that read as poems in their own right. - Calls Alexander Solzhenitsyn's 'Matryona's Home' the masterpiece of the collection, worth the book's price alone. - Describes Viktor Nekrasov's travelogue of Italy and the United States, whose honest, non-propagandistic descriptions of the West reportedly led Khrushchev to suggest Nekrasov's expulsion from the Communist Party. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff151/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 151 (December 1964) is a 12-page issue of the Bombay-based liberal monthly, published for the Democratic Research Service and edited by Raman Desai. The issue opens with M. R. Masani's editorial "The Bomb," written weeks after China's first nuclear test, weighing India's strategic options and arguing that India should seek a mutual-security understanding with the United States rather than pursue an independent deterrent or rely on Soviet protection. It is followed by an unsigned constitutional commentary (bylined earlier in the piece to A. G. Mulgaonkar) analysing the Supreme Court's advisory opinion in the U.P. Vidhan Sabha privileges case (the Keshav Singh affair), which had pitted the U.P. legislature against the Allahabad High Court judges at Lucknow. N. S. Ranganath Rao contributes the third installment of a series, "Obscenity: Literature & Law," proposing specific amendments to Sections 292-293 of the Indian Penal Code and to Customs and postal enforcement practice.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 151 (December 1964) is a 12-page issue of the Bombay-based liberal monthly, published for the Democratic Research Service and edited by Raman Desai. The issue opens with M. R. Masani's editorial "The Bomb," written weeks after China's first nuclear test, weighing India's strategic options and arguing that India should seek a mutual-security understanding with the United States rather than pursue an independent deterrent or rely on Soviet protection. It is followed by an unsigned constitutional commentary (bylined earlier in the piece to A. G. Mulgaonkar) analysing the Supreme Court's advisory opinion in the U.P. Vidhan Sabha privileges case (the Keshav Singh affair), which had pitted the U.P. legislature against the Allahabad High Court judges at Lucknow. N. S. Ranganath Rao contributes the third installment of a series, "Obscenity: Literature & Law," proposing specific amendments to Sections 292-293 of the Indian Penal Code and to Customs and postal enforcement practice. A report titled "Press Council" summarises a seminar held by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom on the proposed Press Council Bill, chaired by Professor Ranganath Rao, including a set of clause-by-clause amendments and a dissenting letter from S. Natarajan questioning whether any Press Council can safeguard press freedom. The issue closes with a reader's letter defending A. G. Noorani's book on the Kashmir question and criticising the journal's earlier review of it, and the recurring "With Many Voices" column of press quotations, closing with a short note from Masani. ## Essays ### The Bomb *By M. R. Masani, M.P.* M. R. Masani's editorial argues that China's atomic bomb is chiefly a political and psychological weapon rather than an immediate military one, intended to warn the US, India, and the USSR of Chinese power. He surveys India's three options — doing nothing, building its own bomb, or seeking mutual security with the United States — and rejects an independent Indian deterrent as prohibitively expensive and strategically inadequate against China's geographic and numerical advantages. Masani concludes that only the American nuclear umbrella offers India a credible and affordable deterrent, and urges India to formalise an understanding with the U.S. for mutual security. - China's bomb is framed as primarily political and psychological rather than a game-changing military weapon. - China's test is read as a three-fold warning: to the US against Taiwan's liberation, to India against reclaiming lost territory, and to the USSR about China's independent power. - India is said to have three alternatives: do nothing, build its own bomb, or seek mutual security with the US. - An independent Indian nuclear programme is judged unaffordable and strategically insufficient, requiring roughly ten-to-one superiority to deter China. - Reliance on Soviet protection is dismissed as folly given Russo-Chinese common cause against the West. - The US nuclear umbrella is presented as the only credible and already-proven deterrent protecting weak nations, and India is urged to seek a formal mutual-security understanding with Washington. ### "If Power Without Law May Make Laws What Subject Can Be Sure Of His Life..." Charles I At His Trial *By A. G. Mulgaonkar* This piece analyses the Supreme Court of India's advisory opinion (with Justice Sarkar dissenting), read out by Chief Justice Gajendragadkar, on the privilege dispute between the U.P. Vidhan Sabha and the Allahabad High Court judges at Lucknow (the Keshav Singh case). The Court held that legislative sovereignty in India, unlike in Britain, is subordinate to the written Constitution, that fundamental rights under Part III bind the legislature, and that the High Courts' jurisdiction under Articles 226 and 32 cannot be ousted by a claim of parliamentary privilege. The author, invoking Charles I's remark at his trial, argues that superior courts must retain jurisdiction over legislative privilege disputes to prevent constitutional deadlock, criticises the U.P. Vidhan Sabha's failure to follow proper habeas corpus procedure against the Lucknow Bench judges, and calls for Article 194(3) to be amended so that legislative powers and privileges are clearly and precisely defined rather than left to analogy with the House of Commons. - The Supreme Court's advisory opinion held Indian legislatures' sovereignty is subject to the Constitution, unlike the British Parliament's. - Fundamental rights under Part III of the Constitution bind legislative action, and courts can strike down legislative acts that violate them. - The High Courts' power under Article 226 and citizens' guaranteed right under Article 32 cannot be excluded even against action by a legislature. - The U.P. Vidhan Sabha's issuing of warrants against Lucknow Bench judges is criticised for not following the established procedure the House of Commons itself observes before acting in matters of privilege. - Historical English precedents (Shaftsbury's case, 1676-80; Sherley v. Fagg) are cited to show that even the British Parliament's claims to unchecked privilege have been contested and reversed. - The author calls for legislative powers and privileges under Article 194(3) to be defined precisely by law rather than left vague by reference to House of Commons practice, to prevent future constitutional deadlock. ### Obscenity: Literature & Law (III) *By N. S. Ranganath Rao* In the third installment of his series on obscenity law, N. S. Ranganath Rao proposes a detailed rewrite of Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code, including a new definition of obscenity based on whether an object's effect, taken as a whole, tends to deprave and corrupt, exceptions for religious and bona fide literary/scientific/artistic material, and admission of expert evidence on literary merit. He then turns to enforcement, criticising the current ad hoc, non-binding advisory panel system used by Customs and arguing that quite a lot of genuinely obscene material circulates commercially while serious literature is wrongly targeted. He recommends replacing the informal panel with statutory Regional Boards of experts in law, literature, medicine, and psychology, whose opinion would be binding, covering both Customs import controls and the Indian Post Offices Act's provisions on obscene mail, and suggests introducing an in rem civil proceeding against a suspect book/work (modelled on a proposal by University of Minnesota Law School professors, adopted in parts of the U.S.) as an alternative to criminal prosecution. - Proposes a new statutory definition of obscenity in Section 292 IPC based on whether the material, taken as a whole, tends to deprave and corrupt likely readers/viewers. - Recommends exceptions for religious use and for bona fide scientific, literary, or artistic material, with admissible expert evidence on literary merit. - Criticises the existing informal, non-binding advisory panel used by Customs to vet suspect imported books as inconsistent and lacking real consultation. - Proposes replacing the panel with statutory Regional Boards (in centres like Bombay, Madras, Calcutta) with binding authority over both Customs and postal (Indian Post Offices Act) enforcement. - Recommends introducing civil in rem proceedings against a suspect book or work, citing a proposal by University of Minnesota Law School professors adopted in some U.S. states, as an alternative to criminal prosecution of authors/publishers. - Notes the paradox that serious literature is often prosecuted for notoriety while indigenous and imported pornographic material circulates with little enforcement. ### Press Council This report summarises a seminar on the proposed Press Council Bill held by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom on October 19-20, 1964, chaired by Professor N. S. Ranganath Rao. Participants compared the statutory Indian bill unfavourably with Britain's voluntary Press Council, debated whether non-journalists should sit on the Council, and worried the bill could be used to curb press freedom rather than protect it against government encroachment; a detailed set of clause-by-clause amendments to the 1963 Press Council Bill is reproduced. The report also carries a dissenting letter from S. Natarajan, who argues that no Press Council or external machinery can safeguard press freedom because that responsibility is internal to the profession and rests with individual editors, and who criticises the proposed Council's emphasis on 'propriety, decency and decorum' as an unworkable and paternalistic standard. - Seminar organised by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, chaired by Professor N. S. Ranganath Rao, on the Press Council Bill. - Comparisons drawn with the voluntary British Press Council versus the statutory character of the Indian bill. - Detailed clause-by-clause amendments proposed to the Press Council Bill, 1963, covering composition, term of office, objects, functions, and powers of the Council. - Some participants favoured a Press Advisory Council with limited, non-judicial powers rather than a body with quasi-judicial or penal authority. - S. Natarajan's dissenting letter argues press freedom is an internal professional responsibility of editors, not something external machinery like a Press Council can secure. - Natarajan criticises reliance on vague standards like 'propriety, decency and decorum' as unworkable and warns that non-journalist members risk being co-opted as 'safe men' who strengthen political and commercial pressure on the press. ### Letter to the Editor *By M. R. Masani* A reader's letter to the editor defends A. G. Noorani's book "The Kashmir Question" against what the writer considers an ungenerous review in Freedom First's November issue, citing a favourable Observer (London) editorial on the book's argument that Kashmir's accession to India, while legally valid, was not necessarily final and irrevocable, and that a settlement might involve making the Kashmir Valley and Azad Kashmir a neutral, autonomous zone. The writer also objects to the earlier review's description of Jayaprakash Narayan as 'eccentric' for holding similar views on Kashmir, comparing such labelling unfavourably to how anti-imperialists and independence advocates elsewhere have historically been dismissed, and notes that V. B. Karnik's introduction to the book went unmentioned in the review despite Karnik's long editorial association with the journal. - Reader disputes Freedom First's November review of A. G. Noorani's "The Kashmir Question" as insufficiently appreciative. - Cites a favourable Observer (London) editorial (27 September) summarising Noorani's argument that Kashmir's accession, though legally valid, was not final, and proposing a neutral autonomous status for the Valley and Azad Kashmir. - Objects to the prior review's characterisation of Jayaprakash Narayan as 'eccentric' for favouring a negotiated Kashmir settlement. - Draws a comparison to how anti-imperialists (opponents of British rule in India, Algerian independence advocates, opponents of Portuguese rule in Goa) have historically been dismissed as eccentrics. - Notes that V. B. Karnik's 12-page introduction to the book was not mentioned in the journal's review, despite Karnik's long association as an editor of the journal. ### With Many Voices "With Many Voices" is the issue's recurring column of press quotations, epigraphed with Tennyson's Ulysses, gathering short quoted remarks from world leaders and commentators (Marshal Chen Yi, Kosygin/Brezhnev coverage, a US State Department official, Fidel Castro, Lal Bahadur Shastri, D. N. Aidit, Elspeth Huxley, and others) on topics including China's bomb, Soviet politics, socialism, Kashmir, and development planning. The column includes two quotations from M. R. Masani himself (on the Fourth Plan and, in a closing signed note, defending Freedom First's willingness to risk 'temporary unpopularity' in advocating Kashmiri self-determination and expressing regret that V. B. Karnik's introduction to the Noorani book went unremarked in the journal he long edited). - Recurring quotations column epigraphed with lines from Tennyson's 'Ulysses.' - Includes remarks from Marshal Chen Yi on China's bomb, a US State Department official, Fidel Castro on capitalism versus socialism, and Lal Bahadur Shastri on socialism and uniformity. - Quotes M. R. Masani (from Free Press Journal, 3 November) warning the Fourth Plan risks being as great a danger to India as the Chinese atomic explosion. - Closing signed note from Masani defends the journal's stance on Kashmiri self-determination even at the cost of 'temporary unpopularity' and regrets that V. B. Karnik's introduction to the Noorani book was not mentioned in the review. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff188/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 188 (January 1968) is a special issue given over almost entirely to a retrospective reckoning of the Bolshevik Revolution on its fiftieth anniversary. V. B. Karnik's opening editorial "A Reminder" uses the defections of Svetlana Stalin and the Tadjik writer Aziz Oulougzade to argue that fifty years of Soviet rule have failed to deliver the liberty the Revolution promised, alongside a short obituary tribute to Col. Leslie Sawhny. The rest of the issue assembles multiple perspectives on Soviet life and the Revolution's record: a digest of foreign press commentary ("Russia From Many Angles"), Dilip Chitre's essay on the persecution and psychological bind of Soviet writers ("Creativity In Crisis: Russian Story"), S. H. Deshpande's data-driven survey of income inequality and class privilege in Soviet society ("Equality In Soviet Life"), and a reprinted U.S. News & World Report balance sheet tallying the Revolution's fifty-year economic, military and social record. A separate domestic-affairs piece, M. R. Hazaray's "Death Of Fourth Plan," indicts India's Planning Commission for the abandonment of the Fourth Five Year Plan.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 188 (January 1968) is a special issue given over almost entirely to a retrospective reckoning of the Bolshevik Revolution on its fiftieth anniversary. V. B. Karnik's opening editorial "A Reminder" uses the defections of Svetlana Stalin and the Tadjik writer Aziz Oulougzade to argue that fifty years of Soviet rule have failed to deliver the liberty the Revolution promised, alongside a short obituary tribute to Col. Leslie Sawhny. The rest of the issue assembles multiple perspectives on Soviet life and the Revolution's record: a digest of foreign press commentary ("Russia From Many Angles"), Dilip Chitre's essay on the persecution and psychological bind of Soviet writers ("Creativity In Crisis: Russian Story"), S. H. Deshpande's data-driven survey of income inequality and class privilege in Soviet society ("Equality In Soviet Life"), and a reprinted U.S. News & World Report balance sheet tallying the Revolution's fifty-year economic, military and social record. A separate domestic-affairs piece, M. R. Hazaray's "Death Of Fourth Plan," indicts India's Planning Commission for the abandonment of the Fourth Five Year Plan. The issue closes with "With Many Voices," a compilation of press quotations on Indian politics and economics from late 1967. ## Essays ### A Reminder *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's editorial "A Reminder" opens by noting the defection of young Tadjik writer Aziz Oulougzade, who sought political asylum rather than return to Moscow after a youth delegation's visit to New Delhi, and draws a parallel with Svetlana Stalin's earlier defection to the United States. Karnik argues both cases expose the gap between the Soviet regime's fiftieth-anniversary self-congratulation and the reality of restricted liberty for its citizens, contrasting Oulougzade's humble situation with Svetlana Stalin's privileged one to show that the yearning for freedom cuts across Soviet class lines. The same page carries a short unsigned tribute to the late Col. Leslie Sawhny, an industrialist and 'dedicated and ardent democrat' associated with the Democratic Research Service, whom the journal mourns as a steadfast friend. - Aziz Oulougzade, a young Tadjik writer visiting India with a youth delegation, refused to return to Moscow and sought political asylum. - Svetlana Stalin's earlier defection and choice to live in the United States is presented as a parallel case. - Karnik argues that both defectors, despite belonging to very different social strata, were driven by the same 'irrepressible urge to freedom.' - The Soviet state's practice of vetting delegation members and holding back relatives as hostages is cited as evidence of restricted liberty. - Karnik contends the Revolution's fiftieth-anniversary celebrations ring hollow given its failure to expand liberty and equality as promised. - A companion notice mourns Col. Leslie Sawhny, an industrialist and democrat associated with the Democratic Research Service. ### Death Of Fourth Plan *By M. R. Hazaray* M. R. Hazaray's "Death Of Fourth Plan" is a polemical post-mortem on the abandonment of India's Fourth Five Year Plan, laying blame on 'doctrinaire dogmatists' among the Planning Commission's economists. Hazaray traces the escalating scale of successive Five Year Plans from the modest First Plan through the massively enlarged Fourth Plan outlay, arguing that the plans' ever-growing size, rising deficit financing, heavier taxation, unchecked population growth, and the devaluation crisis combined to make the Fourth Plan unsustainable. He presents a table of public-sector, private-sector and total outlays across the four plans and concludes that Indian planning has failed precisely where it should have succeeded and 'succeeded' only in producing unemployment, inflation and economic distortion. - Argues the Fourth Plan was killed by planners' own doctrinaire excess in scale rather than by external shocks alone. - Traces plan outlays rising from Rs. 3,360 crores (First Plan, 1951-56) to a targeted Rs. 21,350 crores (Fourth Plan, 1966-71). - Cites growing deficit financing, from Rs. 532 crores in the First Plan to a targeted Rs. 1,150 crores in the Third Plan. - Blames the devaluation crisis and two drought years for wrecking the Fourth Plan's prospects. - Reports unemployment backlogs rising from 5.3 million to 25 million by the start of the Fourth Plan. - Notes food production rose from 50 million to 100 million tons and the industrial index from 74 to 190 (1956=100), but calls the gains disproportionate to the economy's distortions. ### Russia From Many Angles "Russia From Many Angles" is an unsigned compilation of extracts from the international press marking the Revolution's fiftieth anniversary, gathered under subheadings including 'Another Imperialism,' 'Stalin's Purges,' 'Second Revolution,' 'Stick To Simple Things,' and 'Quality Of Life.' Excerpted writers include Louis Fischer (Los Angeles Times) on Russia's nationalist turn and the arrests of Red Army officers under Stalin's purges; a Time magazine retrospective calling the Soviet system's cost 'huge' in human terms while noting the current leadership's cautious pragmatism; an Economist letter urging observers to judge the USSR by its lack of basic human dignities like objective law and freedom of discussion; and an Economist correspondent's account of persistent shortages, queues, and improved but still constrained living standards under the post-Stalin leadership. - Louis Fischer (Los Angeles Times) argues Russia has become a nationalist, imperialist power rather than an internationalist one, citing the Sino-Soviet and Cuban rifts. - A New York Times excerpt catalogues the scale of Stalin's purges of the 1930s, including the arrest or execution of one-third to one-half of 75,000 Red Army officers. - Time magazine's retrospective credits the USSR with becoming the world's second industrial power but stresses the immense human cost of terror, forced labour, and collectivization. - An Economist letter urges readers to judge Soviet Russia by its lack of 'objective law, logic, freedom of discussion' rather than by propaganda symbolism. - The Economist's 'Quality Of Life' piece describes improved but still austere living conditions, marked by persistent queues and shortages fifty years on. ### Creativity In Crisis: Russian Story *By Dilip Chitre* Dilip Chitre's "Creativity In Crisis: Russian Story" argues that Soviet writers' endurance of persecution has produced a moral and creative intensity unmatched by Western 'alienated' avant-gardes, contrasting the fates of Boris Pasternak, Andrei Sinyavsky, and younger poets like Yevgeny Yevtushenko and Andrei Voznesensky with the comparatively cheap alienation available to writers in affluent democracies. Chitre analyses a generation of Soviet poets born after the Revolution — Voznesensky, Yevtushenko, Bella Akhmadulina, Yevgeny Vinokurov — dividing them into declamatory, Mayakovsky-descended types versus a quieter, more introspective type, and treats Voznesensky as a symbol of the Soviet creative mind trapped between the roles of Communist prophet-poet and traitor-martyr. The essay closes (continued on page 10, not included in this excerpt's page range but referenced) by turning to the implications for Indian writers who romanticize revolutionary mythology. - Argues Soviet writers under persecution achieve a moral dignity in their alienation that Western avant-gardes, whose alienation is more a matter of cultivation, cannot match. - Cites Pasternak's persecution and the cases of Sinyavsky and Daniel as emblematic of the 'monstrous machinery' constraining Soviet creative vision. - Surveys the post-Revolutionary generation of Soviet poets — Voznesensky, Yevtushenko, Akhmadulina, Vinokurov — dividing them into declamatory/Mayakovsky-type versus introspective/condensed-depth type. - Treats Voznesensky as symbolic of the Soviet creative mind: forced to play either the Communist prophet-poet or the rebel-martyr, with no free middle ground. - Turns toward the close to a warning about Indian writers who romanticize the Russian Revolution's mythology of bloodshed and rebirth. ### Equality In Soviet Life *By S. H. Deshpande* S. H. Deshpande's "Equality In Soviet Life" attempts a qualitative reconstruction of income distribution in the Soviet Union, cautioning that the USSR's refusal to publish income data forces reliance on Western scholarship and impressionistic accounts. Drawing on John Gunther's Inside Russia, Milovan Djilas, and Abram Bergson's wage studies, Deshpande sketches a hierarchy running from a small class of extremely wealthy artists, intellectuals and top Party/Government officials, through 'salaried employees' and 'wage earners,' down to the forced-labour camp inmates whose numbers Deshpande estimates (via Swianiewicz, Jasny and others) at several million during the Stalin era. He tracks shifting policy on wage equality across Soviet history (from the 1919 push for equality through the 1931 condemnation of 'equalitarianism' by Stalin to a renewed narrowing of inequality after 1957), and the persistent rural-urban income gap, concluding that inequality was sharpest under Stalin and has since been gradually reduced, though a privileged 'class' of top officials, managers and celebrated intellectuals persists into the present. - The Soviet Union does not publish income distribution data, forcing analysts to rely on qualitative Western scholarship. - The wealthiest Soviet citizens have consistently been successful artists, writers, and top-ranking Party/Government/secret-police officials, per John Gunther's Inside Russia. - Abram Bergson's study finds wage inequality among Soviet wage earners was 'distinctly less' in 1928 than in 1914, but rose again after 1931 following Stalin's condemnation of 'equalitarianism.' - Forced labour camp populations are estimated by Swianiewicz at roughly 7 million in 1941, with Jasny giving 3.5 million at Stalin's death. - Rural per capita income lagged urban income substantially throughout the Soviet period (37% of urban levels in 1928, 31.5% in 1956, per Jasny). - Post-1957 reforms — minimum wage increases, tax abolitions on low incomes — mark a move toward greater equality among lower-paid workers. - State farm (sovkhoz) workers earn guaranteed wages as government employees, unlike collective farm (kolkhoz) workers who share farm output after compulsory deliveries and deductions. ### Russian Revolution-A Balance Sheet *By U. S. News & World Report, November 6, 1967 (reprint)* "Russian Revolution-A Balance Sheet," reprinted from U.S. News & World Report (November 6, 1967), tallies the Bolshevik Revolution's fifty-year record across economic, demographic, military and social dimensions. It credits the USSR with rising to second rank globally in economic output, near-universal literacy, and industrial growth, while noting Soviet per-capita output trails around twentieth in the world, agriculture remains chronically inefficient, and population losses from war, terror, and famine may total 80 million relative to trend. The piece surveys internal pressures — a younger generation indifferent to ideology, rising crime and alcoholism, a cultural revolt among intellectuals demanding freedom of expression, and a religious revival — alongside external pressures, including expansionist Soviet military policy in Latin America, the Middle East, and Vietnam, and the widening Sino-Soviet rift, concluding that Communist bloc fragmentation changes rather than removes the global threat it poses. - Soviet economic output has risen from fifth in the world in 1917 to second (after the U.S.), though per-capita output ranks only around twentieth globally. - Western demographers estimate the USSR would have 80 million more people today but for deaths and lowered birth rates from war, terror, famine and pestilence. - Literacy rose from about 40% at the time of the Revolution to 95% today, credited as a genuine achievement despite Marxist censorship of academic freedom. - Half the Soviet population is 26 or younger and largely indifferent to Communist ideology; alcoholism, vandalism and 'hooliganism' have risen sharply. - A cultural revolt among writers, artists, scientists and educators demands greater freedom of expression; banned works circulate clandestinely. - Soviet military spending is rising sharply (a 15% increase announced for 1968) with expansionist policy aimed at Latin America, the Middle East, and countering Chinese influence in Asia. - The Communist bloc is fragmenting, with Red China now considered the Kremlin's principal rival rather than its closest ally. ### With Many Voices "With Many Voices" is the issue's closing feature, a compilation of quotations from the Indian and international press through December 1967 on Indian politics, economics and language policy, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. Quoted sources include C. Rajagopalachari on majority rule versus democracy and on English language and Indian unity, Frank Moraes on Communism's loss of monolithic unity, Indira Gandhi on democratic conventions, Y. B. Chavan on the politics of the street versus democracy, and commentary on the collapse of the Ajoy Mukherjee ministry in West Bengal, alongside a subscription notice for Freedom First. - Assembles short press quotations from Manchester Guardian Weekly, Hindustan Standard, Weekend Review, Indian Express, Swarajya, The Hindu, Economic and Political Weekly, Times of India, Thought, and The Economic Times, dated November-December 1967. - C. Rajagopalachari is quoted twice: on majority rule not being equivalent to democracy, and on the English language's link to Indian unity. - Frank Moraes is quoted observing that 'Communism is no longer a monolith.' - Indira Gandhi and Y. B. Chavan are both quoted on the nature of Indian democratic practice and street politics. - Commentary addresses the removal of the Ajoy Mukherjee ministry in West Bengal and Communist exploitation of democratic processes. - The page carries the journal's subscription coupon (Rs. 3.00 annual) addressed to Freedom First, c/o Democratic Research Service, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff189/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 189 (February 1968) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal periodical, opening with a survey of the recent national conventions of the PSP, SSP, Bharatiya Jan Sangh, and Indian National Congress, and continuing with reports on a Poona seminar on liberalism, an essay on the Russian Revolution's descent into totalitarianism, a review-essay on the American trade union movement, a report on the persecution of Soviet and Czechoslovak writers, a books-review section, and a closing column of quoted press excerpts under the title 'With Many Voices.' Contributors in this issue include Adam Adil, M. D. Kini, R. Srinivasan, and V. B. Karnik (who also reviews for the Reviews section), with the unsigned report on writers under communism and short reviews signed only with initials (V.B.K., N.S.). Its argumentative center is a defence of political and economic liberty against both communist totalitarianism and the drift toward statist planning in India, paired with running coverage of party politics and civil-liberties abuses abroad. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 189 (February 1968) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal periodical, opening with a survey of the recent national conventions of the PSP, SSP, Bharatiya Jan Sangh, and Indian National Congress, and continuing with reports on a Poona seminar on liberalism, an essay on the Russian Revolution's descent into totalitarianism, a review-essay on the American trade union movement, a report on the persecution of Soviet and Czechoslovak writers, a books-review section, and a closing column of quoted press excerpts under the title 'With Many Voices.' Contributors in this issue include Adam Adil, M. D. Kini, R. Srinivasan, and V. B. Karnik (who also reviews for the Reviews section), with the unsigned report on writers under communism and short reviews signed only with initials (V.B.K., N.S.). Its argumentative center is a defence of political and economic liberty against both communist totalitarianism and the drift toward statist planning in India, paired with running coverage of party politics and civil-liberties abuses abroad. ## Essays ### Recent National Conventions *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil surveys the annual conventions of the PSP, SSP, Bharatiya Jan Sangh, and Indian National Congress held in recent weeks, arguing each party faces a new experience of either holding or losing power for the first time in years. He criticizes the SSP's withdrawal from the UP coalition cabinet over language policy as reckless disregard for the rule of law, notes the PSP and SSP's shared but unresolved desire for socialist unity, credits the Jan Sangh's Kozhikode session with a clear-cut (if debatable) foreign and economic policy platform, and portrays the Congress plenary at Hyderabad as a victory for the party's right wing that nonetheless avoided serious self-criticism over corruption, inefficiency, and confused 'democratic socialism' rhetoric, while failing to address the nuclear threat posed by Communist China. - Four major parties (PSP, SSP, Jan Sangh, Congress) held conventions in early 1968, each grappling with a new experience of power or opposition. - The SSP's withdrawal from the UP Samyukta Vidhayak Dal cabinet over Centre language policy is criticized as ministers 'consciously and deliberately breaking law.' - PSP and SSP both want socialist unity but past merger attempts (e.g., under S. M. Joshi) collapsed, and neither convention set concrete merger terms. - The Bharatiya Jan Sangh's Kozhikode session produced clear foreign policy (recognition of Taiwan, support for Tibet/Sinkiang/Mongolia/Pakhtoonistan independence) and economic policy (private-sector encouragement, rejection of bank nationalisation) resolutions. - The Jan Sangh's alliance with communists in UP and MP to keep Congress out of power is called self-contradictory given its anti-communist stance in Kerala. - The Congress Hyderabad plenary was a win for the party's right wing over the 'Young Turks' and leftists, with PM Indira Gandhi isolated from the majority of delegates. - Congress devoted little time to eradicating corruption and inefficiency in non-Congress-turned-Congress governments, focusing instead on criticizing rival state governments. - The Congress session is faulted for ignoring China's growing nuclear and missile capability despite the Defence Minister's own warnings. ### A Seminar On Liberalism *By M. D. Kini* M. D. Kini reports on a seminar on 'The role of competitive free enterprise in economic development' held in Poona, jointly sponsored by the Indian Group of Liberal International and the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung Foundation. He opens with his own definition of liberalism as centring on the individual and favouring maximum freedom and free enterprise, then summarizes talks by a roster of speakers including R. Bhaskaran, B. R. Shenoy, V. K. Narasimhan, S. H. Deshpande, F. A. Mehta, Y. D. Phadke, V. B. Karnik, and Raj Krishna, on themes from planning's failures to trade unions, food policy, and comparative Asian development. The report closes with M. R. Masani's summation that development and democracy, or food and freedom, are not in conflict, and his tracing of Indian liberalism's roots from Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, and Ranade through Gandhiji to the 1950 Constitution, urging liberals to root their appeal in Indian tradition. - The seminar was jointly sponsored by the Indian Group of Liberal International and the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung Foundation of Germany, organized by R. Bhaskaran and S. P. Aiyar. - Prof. Bhaskaran defined liberalism as a philosophy of freedom that believes in neither total individuality nor total collectivity. - B. R. Shenoy argued India's planning apparatus (exchange control, import restrictions, foreign aid) crowded out public enterprise and deficit financing, and that basic industry priorities must differ by country (India's being agriculture). - F. A. Mehta criticized the mis-direction of India's limited planning resources, noting only 30 of 178 Third Plan projects had proper project reports, and that 1960-65 productivity rose 26% against 55% wage growth. - Y. D. Phadke's comparative lecture on Thailand, Taiwan, and Malaysia's development was criticized by the author as understating their real progress. - V. B. Karnik traced trade unionism's development alongside democracy, arguing free trade unions cannot exist without a free society, citing USSR and Nazi Germany as counterexamples. - Raj Krishna presented data on India's food production growth (54 to 89 million tons, 1951-65) and criticized use of US PL-480 grain imports for buffer stocks rather than direct consumption. - M. R. Masani summed up that rapid economic development in Taiwan, Israel, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, and Pakistan versus slow growth in India, Ceylon, Egypt, Indonesia, Burma, and Communist China proves free economies grow faster, and called for liberalism to root itself in Indian tradition. ### Liberty And Russian Revolution *By R. Srinivasan* R. Srinivasan, in extracts from a paper prepared for Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom seminars on the Russian Revolution, traces how the revolution's founding promise of extending freedom to the peasantry and urban masses gave way, under Lenin, to terror, forced grain requisition, and the creation of a disciplined one-party dictatorship (the Cheka), and then under Stalin to forced collectivization, deportations, and the Great Purge of 1937 that consumed 70% of the Party Congress's Central Committee and half the army's elite. The piece (continued from page 6 onto page 11) closes by arguing that even post-Stalin 'welfare totalitarianism' under Khrushchev retains pervasive curbs on individual liberty, situates the USSR's totalitarian trajectory against Huxley's Brave New World and Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, and notes the enduring appeal of the Russian model to intellectuals in underdeveloped, newly independent nations including India. - The Russian Revolution's distinguishing feature from earlier revolutions (Roman, English 1688, French, American) was its elaborate philosophy holding that liberty is meaningless without economic opportunity. - Lenin's dictatorship of the proletariat depended on a disciplined, ruthless party core; the Cheka's police apparatus (established 1917, abolished 1922, succeeded by the GPU) enforced terror against 'enemies of the people.' - War communism and forced grain confiscation caused a near-famine by 1920, forcing Lenin to retreat via the New Economic Policy. - Stalin's forced collectivization deported thousands of peasants to Siberia and built a compulsory labour force from the bourgeoisie, intellectuals, and uncooperative peasants. - The 1937 purge killed or exiled 70% of the Central Committee members elected at the Party Congress, half the army elite, and many economist-administrators and intellectuals; industrial production growth crashed from 20% (1935) to 2% (1939). - Khrushchev's post-Stalin Russia is characterized as 'welfare totalitarianism': reduced work hours and increased consumer goods and social security, but without addressing the underlying lack of freedom. - The author situates Soviet totalitarianism against Huxley's Brave New World Revisited (which the USSR's current form resembles more than Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four) as still 'not a free society.' - Underdeveloped and newly independent nations' intellectuals (including in India) were drawn to the Russian model as a blueprint for rapid development. ### American Trade Union Movement *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik reviews Gus Tyler's book 'The Labour Revolution' (subtitled 'Trade Unions in a New America', The Viking Press, New York, $6.50), which traces the American trade union movement's origins and then focuses on the challenges it faces amid automation, the entry of Black workers into the labour force, industry's shift to the South, and the growing politicization of American society. Karnik highlights Tyler's argument that American unions are not apolitical but engage in political struggle to secure legal status, employment, and protections, and praises the book as a distinct contribution given Tyler's dual academic and practical grounding as an official of the International Ladies Garment Workers' Union. - Gus Tyler's book outlines the American trade union movement's history before devoting its larger part to the challenges of the 'new America.' - Key present-day problems identified: automation, entry of Negroes into the labour force, industry's shift to the South, and growing politicization of American society. - Tyler argues unions are a distinct expression of the broader 'labour movement' that turns to politics for legal status, employment, protection against workplace hazards, and political voice. - Tyler projects the 1975 American labour force will be bigger, younger, more feminine, better schooled, white-collar, and service-oriented. - Tyler predicts an era of 'political unionism' emerging piecemeal and silently as a genuine revolution in workers' political attitudes. - Karnik credits Tyler's dual qualification: academic knowledge combined with practical experience as Director of Politics and Education for the International Ladies Garment Workers' Union. ### Persecution Of Writers Under Communism An unsigned report (continued from page 8 to page 11) details the trial and sentencing of Soviet writers Yury Galanskov, Alexander Ginsburg, Alexei Dobrovolsky, and Vera Lashkova in Moscow's 'literary underground' trial, alongside continuing international concern over the earlier imprisonment of Andrei Sinyavsky and Yuli Daniel, and a parallel account of Czechoslovak novelist Ladislav Mnacko's protest resignation of Communist Party membership and citizenship after a trip to Israel. The piece surveys the international campaign for the writers' release led by PEN and prominent signatories including A. J. Ayer, Doris Lessing, and Graham Greene, and situates the persecution within a broader account of Soviet totalitarianism's persistence. - A Soviet court sentenced Yury Galanskov to seven years' hard labour and Alexander Ginsburg to five years in the 'literary underground' trial; Alexei Dobrovolsky and Vera Lashkova received two years and one year respectively. - A separate case saw four writers of the 'Berdyayev Circle,' arrested with 17 Leningrad students, sentenced to up to fifteen years for an alleged illegal political grouping working for foreign intelligence. - International concern continues over Andrei Sinyavsky and Yuli Daniel, sentenced in February 1966 to seven and five years respectively; PEN and the Belgian League for the Defence of Human Rights organised a campaign for their release. - Signatories demanding Sinyavsky and Daniel's release include A. J. Ayer, C. V. Wedgwood, Iris Murdoch, Doris Lessing, J. B. Priestley, Rebecca West, Margharita Laski, Graham Greene, Arthur Miller, Ignazio Silone, Francois Mauriac, and Gunther Grass. - Pavel Litvinov, grandson of former Soviet Foreign Minister Maxim Litvinov, publicised the trial of writer Vadimir Bukovsky, embarrassing the Soviet government. - Czechoslovak novelist Ladislav Mnacko, author of the acclaimed novel 'The Taste of Power,' protested Czechoslovak policy on Israel and the Arab-Israel war by travelling to Israel, and was stripped of his honours, Party membership, and citizenship in punishment. ### Reviews: President Zakir Husain (A. G. Noorani, Popular Prakashan) *By V. B. Karnik* The Reviews section (pages 9-10) carries four short book/pamphlet reviews. V. B. Karnik reviews A. G. Noorani's biography 'President Zakir Husain' (Popular Prakashan), praising its portrait of Zakir Husain's life and integrity while faulting its silence on the Muslim League's rise and on Jamia Milia's educational work, and noting a foreword by Jayaprakash Narayan. An unsigned review of K. P. S. Menon's 'The Lamp and the Lampstand' (Oxford University Press) criticizes Menon's uncritically pro-Soviet ambassadorial diary from Moscow (1952-1961) as offering nothing new, though praising its travel descriptions of Soviet Asian republics. V.B.K. reviews a U.S. Information Service booklet on the Peace Corps' work in India since 1961, noting Communist criticism of the programme as an expansion of American influence. N.S. reviews H. R. Pardiwala's pamphlet 'The Shiv Sena, Why? and Why not?' (Popular Prakashan) as a balanced, commendable statement of the pros and cons of the Shiv Sena controversy. - V. B. Karnik's review of A. G. Noorani's 'President Zakir Husain' praises its lucid portrait of Zakir Husain but notes it omits discussion of the Muslim League's rise and Zakirsaheb's educational work at Jamia Milia; foreword by Jayaprakash Narayan. - The review of K. P. S. Menon's 'The Lamp and the Lampstand' (a combination of two earlier books, 'The Flying Troika' and 'Russian Panorama') criticizes Menon's diary from his 1952-1961 Moscow ambassadorship as uncritically pro-Soviet and revealing nothing new, though his travel descriptions of Soviet Asian republics are praised. - The Peace Corps review notes over 16,000 American volunteers working in 53 countries by end-1966, doing agricultural, social-service, and small-industry work in India including Bihar famine relief, and reports Communist criticism of the programme. - N.S.'s review of H. R. Pardiwala's pamphlet on the Shiv Sena calls it a needed, balanced statement of the controversy's pros and cons. ### The Lamp and the Lampstand (K. P. S. Menon, Oxford University Press) *By V.B.K.* The closing column 'With Many Voices' (page 12) reprints a series of short quotations from the Indian press in January 1968 on topics including Communist Party doctrine, the Naxalbari uprising, ministerial inefficiency, the SSP/Congress conflict in West Bengal, and the Soviet writers' trials, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. The page also carries the periodical's subscription coupon and printing/publishing imprint identifying it as printed and edited for the Democratic Research Service, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1, registered as MH 272. - The column collects short excerpts from Indian newspapers and public figures dated January 8-27, 1968, including March of the Nation, Indian Express, Economic Times, Manchester Guardian Weekly, Opinion, Thought, Current, and Swarajya. - Quoted figures include Frank Moraes, Acharya Kripalani, Jo Grimond M.P., Dr. P. B. Gajendragadkar, Congress General Secretary Sadiq Ali, and MP Tarkeshwari Sinha. - One excerpt (Observer, January 14) frames the Soviet writers' protest (Yury Galanskov, Pavel Litvinoff) as reinforcing rather than weakening the case for East-West coexistence. - The page carries Freedom First's subscription form (annual subscription Rs. 3.00) addressed to the Democratic Research Service, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1. - The imprint states the periodical is printed at Bombay and edited/published for the Democratic Research Service, Registered No. MH 272. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff190/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 190 (March 1968) is a monthly opinion periodical edited and published by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service in Bombay. The issue is organised around the collapse of non-Congress coalition governments across North India, India's foreign-policy balancing act after the 'little summit' with Soviet Premier Kosygin and Yugoslav President Tito in New Delhi, and a running critique of economists and politicians who trade professional independence for proximity to power. Contributors include M. D. Kini, the pseudonymous 'Emdeeke' and 'Atreya', M. R. Pai, Adam Adil, R. Srinivasan, and book reviewers V. B. Patankar and Achyut Gandhi, alongside the unsigned editorial 'Notes' and a closing page of topical quotations ('With Many Voices'). ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 190 (March 1968) is a monthly opinion periodical edited and published by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service in Bombay. The issue is organised around the collapse of non-Congress coalition governments across North India, India's foreign-policy balancing act after the 'little summit' with Soviet Premier Kosygin and Yugoslav President Tito in New Delhi, and a running critique of economists and politicians who trade professional independence for proximity to power. Contributors include M. D. Kini, the pseudonymous 'Emdeeke' and 'Atreya', M. R. Pai, Adam Adil, R. Srinivasan, and book reviewers V. B. Patankar and Achyut Gandhi, alongside the unsigned editorial 'Notes' and a closing page of topical quotations ('With Many Voices'). ## Essays ### One Year of Non-Congress Governments *By M. D. Kini* M. D. Kini surveys the first year of non-Congress United Front and coalition governments in Haryana, Punjab, Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Madras and Orissa, arguing that most have failed to improve on Congress rule and have instead accelerated public disenchantment with parliamentary democracy itself. He singles out West Bengal's gheraos and the Naxalbari violence, the Communist-led Kerala coalition's contempt-of-court conviction of Chief Minister E. M. S. Namboodiripad, the DMK's unmet rice-price pledges in Madras, and rampant legislative defections in Haryana, while praising Orissa's United Front government (which abolished land revenue) as the sole exception delivering real gains for ordinary people. - Non-Congress governments in Haryana, Punjab, Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh have fallen or are close to falling after roughly one year in office. - West Bengal's United Front presided over gheraos, factory closures, and the Naxalbari uprising, with Communists using 'revolutionary situations' rhetoric rather than governance. - Kerala's Communist-led coalition organised a Kerala Bandh and a Gopal Sena while its Chief Minister E. M. S. Namboodiripad was convicted for contempt of court. - The DMK government in Madras failed to deliver its promised subsidized rice and compensated with a large-scale Second World Tamil Conference instead. - Orissa's non-Congress government is credited as the only one to have delivered concrete benefits, including abolition of land revenue and a Hindu newspaper report of improved police and administrative conduct. - Haryana is depicted as especially dysfunctional, with about 37% of MLAs having defected at least once. ### Of Cabbages And Kings *By Emdeeke* Writing under the pseudonym 'Emdeeke', this satirical column mocks the proliferation of Indian political parties compared to the American and British two-party systems, invoking a 'Perkins Law of Anglo-Saxon Politics' from a Harold Perkin piece in the Guardian. It moves into anecdotes about Bombay street life during a George Fernandes-led agitation, aggressive labour-union tactics against bank officers, Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray's promises to clean up Bombay by force, and the columnist's own disenchanted, half-serious survey of which party (Shiv Sena, Swatantra, Jan Sangh, Congress) deserves a municipal vote — concluding wryly that disenfranchisement has solved the dilemma for him. - The column jokes that India's many political parties reflect a form of 'more democratic' voting but risk driving the country toward polarisation and an eventual two-party system. - Anecdotes describe a B.E.S.T. strike and bank employee unions using intimidation, which the columnist reads as labour leaders 'masquerading' for political ends. - Bal Thackeray and the Shiv Sena are described as promising to keep Bombay clean by having sainiks slap litterers, which the author finds 'disconcerting'. - The columnist surveys Shiv Sena, Swatantra, and Jan Sangh as municipal-election options and finds fault with each, ultimately noting he has no vote and so no problem. ### Notes (Need of the Hour; Kutch Award) The unsigned editorial 'Notes' opens with 'Need of the Hour', arguing that the various non-Congress United Front governments were held together only by anti-Congress sentiment and were bound to collapse from internal disunity rather than Congress subversion; it criticises both the non-Congress parties for allying opportunistically with Communists of all stripes and the Congress for failing to purge corrupt elements or build coalitions with likeminded groups. A second item, 'Kutch Award', defends India's acceptance of the International Court of Justice's Rann of Kutch arbitration award as the only honourable course consistent with India's prior commitment to arbitration, criticising M. C. Chagla for urging rejection of the award on political rather than judicial grounds. - The editorial holds that anti-Congress hatred alone could not sustain diverse United Front coalitions, and that internal disunity, not external subversion, caused their collapse. - It warns that repeated cycles of United Front collapse followed by President's Rule risk discrediting democracy itself. - It urges the Congress to purge corrupt members and build alliances with likeminded parties rather than claim a monopoly on power. - On the Rann of Kutch award, the editorial argues India is bound by its prior agreement to arbitration and must accept the ICJ's decision even though it went partly against India. - M. C. Chagla is criticised by name for advising rejection of the award on political grounds despite his stature as a former Chief Justice and Union minister. ### 'Little Summit' In New Delhi *By "Atreya"* Writing as 'Atreya', this piece analyses the January 1968 Republic Day 'little summit' in New Delhi among Soviet Premier Kosygin, Yugoslav President Tito, and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The author argues the meeting was substantive rather than ceremonial, driven by Mrs. Gandhi's own initiative, and surveys its main themes: India's weak bargaining position on the Suez closure and West Asian crisis given its close alignment with Soviet and Arab positions; the Tashkent Agreement's effect of shifting Kashmir diplomacy from the West to the USSR; the stagnation of Indian economic policy under Soviet-patterned planning; and Peking's denunciation of the summit as an anti-China, pro-US-imperialism conspiracy. The piece closes by noting strains in the Soviet-Indian relationship, including Soviet anger over defections and the West Bengal ministry's dismissal. - The New Delhi meeting between Kosygin, Tito and Indira Gandhi is read as a substantive diplomatic event rather than mere Republic Day ceremony, initiated at Mrs. Gandhi's urging. - India's alignment with Soviet, Yugoslav and Arab positions on West Asia left it unable to contribute anything beyond a 'chorus of claque' on the Suez Canal closure. - The Tashkent Agreement is described as having permanently transferred diplomatic initiative on Kashmir from the West to the Soviet Union. - Soviet-patterned economic planning in India is criticised as a source of continued economic stagnation, expected to be a major topic of the talks. - Peking characterised the summit as 'international scheming by a number of accomplices and running dogs of U.S. imperialism' aimed at China. - The joint communique commits India and the USSR to continued exchange of views and reaffirms support for Cambodia's sovereignty and neutrality per the 1954 Geneva Agreements. ### The Image Of The Indian Economist *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai argues that the public image of the Indian economist has fallen alongside that of the Indian politician, citing Prof. C. N. Vakil's own plea at the Golden Jubilee Conference of the Indian Economic Association for economists to police their professional standards. Pai traces the fall to careerism, political malleability, and eagerness for government patronage, using the Second Five Year Plan's Panel of Economists (where only B. R. Shenoy dissented, prophetically) as an example of economists who fail to hold firm views independent of political pressure. He also criticises a recent industrial-licensing report for improperly invoking 'Marwari', 'Gujarati' and 'Parsi Capital' in official policy analysis, and a pamphlet-style 'report of four economists' on bank nationalisation for masquerading ideological advocacy as neutral research. - Pai contends the Indian economist's public standing has fallen as much as the Indian politician's, quoting Prof. C. N. Vakil's call for the profession to police its own standards. - Economists who endorsed the Second Plan and later criticised it once public opinion turned are cited as evidence of professional capitulation to political pressure. - B. R. Shenoy is credited as the sole dissenting voice on the Second Plan Panel of Economists, a dissent that proved prophetic. - A recent industrial-licensing report is criticised for using communal categories like 'Marwari Capital' and 'Gujarati Capital', which Pai calls a 'deplorable lapse'. - A report by four economists on bank nationalisation is described as an ideological pamphlet dressed up as neutral research. - Pai closes by urging economists to adopt a code of conduct and assert independence or face public 'wrath... for dereliction of their duty'. ### Withdrawal Of British Forces *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil examines Britain's 1968 decision to withdraw its military forces from bases east of Suez (Singapore, the Persian Gulf, retaining only Hong Kong at reduced strength), framing it as a sequel to the 1947 decolonisation of India, Burma and Ceylon and driven by unsustainable defence costs (roughly $2.4 billion) amid Britain's declining status as, in Chancellor Roy Jenkins's words, no longer 'a superpower'. The article assesses the resulting power vacuum in Malaysia/Singapore and the Persian Gulf oil states, noting Singapore and Malaysia's moves toward a NATO-style defence pact with Australia and New Zealand and Singapore's tilt toward Japan, while judging the Gulf states less vulnerable given their independent economic base, and closes by urging continued US and allied vigilance against communist infiltration in the vacated regions. - Britain will withdraw 35,000 troops from Singapore and 6,000 from Persian Gulf areas by 1971, retaining only 10,000 in Hong Kong. - The withdrawal is attributed to unsustainable financial cost, cited at nearly $2.4 billion, and Britain's declining superpower status. - Malaysia and Singapore are reported to be organising a NATO-style defence agreement with Australia and New Zealand to offset the British pull-back. - Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew is quoted on moving closer to Japan 'to develop my own muscles'. - Persian Gulf oil states (Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain) are judged less at risk than Southeast Asia because they did not depend on British troops for economic stability. - Britain's broader defence burden is detailed: 429,000 men in uniform, 52,000 troops on the Rhine, and cancellation of a $1 billion F-111 aircraft order to cut costs. - The article calls for US and allied safeguards against communist infiltration in the regions vacated by British forces. ### Higher Education In India (review of 'Education, Scientific Policy and Underdeveloped Countries' and 'Climbing a Wall of Glass', ed. A. B. Shah) *By R. Srinivasan* R. Srinivasan reviews an edited volume on higher education in India (edited by A. B. Shah, Lalvani, Bombay 1967), originally a special issue of Quest supplemented with additional essays. Srinivasan praises pieces by Edward Shils (rescued from an old Encounter file) while offering mixed verdicts on contributions by Professor Kamat (worried about 'casteism' entering university classification), Principal Dhabolkar (on channelling student unrest), Professor Hulbe (seen as repetitive of earlier work), Professor Taylor (on examination reform), and V. V. John (judged 'inconsequential'). He closes by arguing higher education is too important to be left solely to academics and regretting the book's lack of an index. - The reviewed volume, edited by A. B. Shah, began as a special issue of Quest and was expanded with about half a dozen additional essays. - Edward Shils's contribution, rescued from an old Encounter file, is singled out as a highlight. - Srinivasan disagrees with Professor Kamat's worry that 'casteism' could enter university classification schemes (major/minor institutions), though he finds the analysis worthwhile. - V. V. John's essay is judged 'inconsequential' and one the volume would have lost nothing by excluding. - Srinivasan argues education is too important to be left solely to educationists, criticising the volume for including no non-academic contributors despite claiming a broad stake for businessmen, bankers and political leaders. - The absence of an index is flagged as a serious practical shortcoming. ### Reviews: The South East Asian World (review of Prof. Keith Buchanan's book) *By V. B. Patankar* V. B. Patankar reviews Prof. Keith Buchanan's 'The South East Asian World' (G. Bell & Sons, London, 1967), praising its depth of scholarship, original viewpoint and panoramic coverage of the region's life, politics and problems. The review highlights Buchanan's concept of Southeast Asia as a 'predeveloped region' whose progress was retarded by colonialism, his identification of three converging geopolitical forces (emergent-nation struggles for identity, the influence of Asian communism, and Western/US attempts to counter it), and the book's attractive illustrative plates on regional life, art, architecture and agriculture. - Buchanan's book is praised for depth of scholarship and a panoramic, original view of Southeast Asia's politics and society. - The term 'predeveloped region' is used to describe Southeast Asia's developed societies whose progress was stifled by Western colonialism. - Three converging geopolitical forces are identified: emergent-nation struggles for identity, Asian communist influence, and Western/US counter-efforts. - The review notes the book's attractive illustrative plates depicting regional life, art, architecture and agriculture as enhancing its value. ### Reviews: Can Indira Accept This Challenge? (review of S. Vijayanand Bharathi's book) *By Achyut Gandhi* Writing as 'Achyut Gandhi', this review of S. Vijayanand Bharathi's 500-page 'Can Indira Accept This Challenge?' (Vora & Co., Bombay, Rs. 20) credits the book as a bold, largely objective and non-partisan attempt to survey Indian politics since Independence, covering the Congress party's inner workings, the role of religion, Nehru's legacy and decisions, Shastri's brief tenure, and a detailed chapter on India's defence posture following the 1962 China war. The reviewer singles out the chapter on Nehru as appropriately critical of his 'unscientific' dreams, praises the defence chapter as essential reading, but notes the book poses its title question about Indira Gandhi's leadership without presuming to answer it. - The book is described as a bold, over-500-page attempt to survey Indian political problems since Independence. - It is praised as objective and scrupulously non-partisan, giving an 'unbiased picture' of Indian political life. - The chapter on Jawaharlal Nehru is described as critical of his 'unscientific' policy dreams while upholding his bold and sound decisions. - The chapter on 'Defence of India' addresses the 1962 Chinese invasion and the question 'Defence against whom?', which the reviewer calls essential reading, including abroad. - The book poses but does not answer its titular question about whether Indira Gandhi can meet the challenges of leadership. ### With Many Voices (quotations column) The closing page 'With Many Voices' compiles topical quotations from newspapers, magazines, and public figures on international and domestic politics, including remarks by J. K. Galbraith on planning and technology, Gulzarilal Nanda on planning's effect on peasants, S. A. Dange threatening millowners, Frank Moraes on India's political-economic climate, Lee Kuan Yew on Asia's fate resting with major powers, and a Marxist-party-in-Kerala barb from M. Sivaram. - The page assembles dated quotations from The Economist, Time, US News & World Report, The Hindu, The Indian Express and other outlets between December 1967 and February 1968. - J. K. Galbraith is quoted comparing democratic socialism and 'vintage capitalism' as both victims of modern technology and organisation. - Gulzarilal Nanda is quoted asserting that planning 'never helps the peasants but creates difficulties'. - S. A. Dange is quoted threatening millowners who close mills with imprisonment and hard labour. - M. Sivaram is quoted describing Kerala's Marxist party as 'the most prosperous capitalist enterprise in the State'. - The page also carries a subscription coupon for Freedom First addressed to the Democratic Research Service, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff191/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 191 (April 1968) is a full twelve-page number of the Bombay classical-liberal monthly, rendered here in its entirety. The lead piece is M. R. Masani's parliamentary speech "The Budget – A Gamble," which attacks the Union Budget's reliance on deficit financing and additional taxation, arguing that curbing wasteful non-developmental expenditure (bloated Planning Commission staff, loss-making public-sector giants like Bokaro and Hindustan Steel, and defence overruns) could have avoided both. A. G. Mulgaokar's "The Speaker's Role" reflects on the erosion of parliamentary conventions protecting the Speaker's impartiality, citing recent controversies in Punjab and Bengal. The issue's largest block is a three-way exchange on "Towards Understanding Madras Politics," in which readers K. Vedamurthy and P. S. Sridhara Murthy rebut an earlier article by M. D. Kini on the DMK government's first year, and Kini replies at length, with the debate ranging over the Hindi agitation, the rice subsidy scheme, and the Second World Tamil Conference.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 191 (April 1968) is a full twelve-page number of the Bombay classical-liberal monthly, rendered here in its entirety. The lead piece is M. R. Masani's parliamentary speech "The Budget – A Gamble," which attacks the Union Budget's reliance on deficit financing and additional taxation, arguing that curbing wasteful non-developmental expenditure (bloated Planning Commission staff, loss-making public-sector giants like Bokaro and Hindustan Steel, and defence overruns) could have avoided both. A. G. Mulgaokar's "The Speaker's Role" reflects on the erosion of parliamentary conventions protecting the Speaker's impartiality, citing recent controversies in Punjab and Bengal. The issue's largest block is a three-way exchange on "Towards Understanding Madras Politics," in which readers K. Vedamurthy and P. S. Sridhara Murthy rebut an earlier article by M. D. Kini on the DMK government's first year, and Kini replies at length, with the debate ranging over the Hindi agitation, the rice subsidy scheme, and the Second World Tamil Conference. A contributed report, "Unrest in Poland," covers the March 1968 Warsaw student demonstrations and the wider crackdown on writers and intellectuals following the banning of "Dziady." The issue closes with "With Many Voices," a page of press quotations on Indian and world politics. ## Essays ### The Budget - A Gamble *By M. R. Masani, M.P.* M. R. Masani's "The Budget – A Gamble," based on a speech in Parliament, rejects the framing that the Finance Minister had to choose between deficit financing and additional taxation, insisting a third path — cutting wasteful non-developmental expenditure — was available and ignored. He details ballooning Planning Commission staff, criticises Bokaro and Hindustan Steel as "White Elephants" compared to Tata Steel's efficiency, invokes Kenneth Galbraith's disillusionment with Indian planning, and calls the year's deficit finance of Rs. 590 crores (Rs. 1,200 crores over two years) a reckless gamble with the country's security and welfare. He closes with proposals to reform agricultural pricing and rationing, including abolishing zonal trade barriers and introducing dual pricing so subsidised rations reach only the genuinely poor. - Argues the real choice was not deficit finance vs. taxation but curbing wasteful non-developmental expenditure - Cites Planning Commission peon and clerical staff increases (224 to 290; 557 to 1,041) as proof of bureaucratic bloat - Calls Bokaro a 'White Elephant' that could have been dropped from the budget without harm - Compares Hindustan Steel's poor capital efficiency (Rs. 14 crores sales per Rs. 100 crores invested) against Tata Steel's (Rs. 63-66 crores) - Cites Lee Kuan Yew and John Kenneth Galbraith as witnesses against Indian-style socialist planning - Calls the budget's deficit financing 'legalised counterfeiting', quoting Acharya Kripalani's 'pick-pocketing' line - Proposes abolishing zonal trade barriers to create an internal Indian common market - Proposes replacing universal rationing with dual pricing so only the poor and landless receive subsidised grain ### The Speaker's Role *By A. G. Mulgaokar* A. G. Mulgaokar's "The Speaker's Role" argues that the erosion of conventions protecting the Speaker's impartiality — beginning, in his account, with Jawaharlal Nehru's failure to have the first Speaker (G. V. Mavalankar) resign his Congress membership on election — has fed a broader constitutional crisis in India's legislatures. Using contemporary controversies over the Punjab and Bengal Speakers' rulings on gubernatorial powers, he contends that Speakers cannot decide questions of constitutional legality (that is for the courts) but retain authority over points of order, and warns that without restoring healthy conventions, Indian parliamentary democracy risks descending into chaos. - Frames the crisis in state legislatures as legislators and Speakers themselves undermining parliamentary process - Traces the erosion of the convention that the Speaker becomes non-partisan upon election, faulting Nehru for not insisting Mavalankar resign Congress membership - Discusses the Punjab Speaker's ruling that the Governor's proroguing and summoning of the Assembly was 'illegal, unconstitutional and void' - Discusses a parallel Bengal Speaker controversy over whether the Chief Minister was legally appointed by the Governor - Holds that questions of constitutionality are reserved to the courts (ultimately the Supreme Court), not to a Speaker's ruling - Cites Article 166(2) of the Constitution as negating the Punjab Speaker's reasoning - Calls for educated public opinion to unite around clear constitutional lines to prevent democratic collapse ### Towards Understanding Madras Politics *By K. Vedamurthy / P. S. Sridhara Murthy (writing in response to M. D. Kini's earlier article), with reply by M. D. Kini* A boxed "Without Comment" item reproduces, from Swarajya (March 9, 1968), John Chamberlain's Freeman review of James Burnham's book The War We Are In, summarising Burnham's view that communist policy is not an inscrutable riddle but a clear commitment among communists of every persuasion, whatever their mutual rivalries, to hasten the collapse of the West, while communist states themselves have so far avoided the internecine wars that historically weakened capitalist Europe. - Reproduces a press excerpt with no original editorial commentary, framed by the recurring 'Without Comment' feature - Summarises James Burnham's thesis that communists internationally cooperate in practice to undermine Western capitalism despite internal 'polycentric' disputes - Notes Burnham's observation that communist states have avoided the kind of self-destructive wars that battered capitalist Europe in 1914-18 and 1939-45 - Flags the US as the common target of both Moscow and Beijing, cited via Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Vietnam ### Unrest In Poland *By (Contributed)* "Towards Understanding Madras Politics" collects two rebuttal letters and a lengthy reply to an earlier Freedom First article by M. D. Kini on the DMK government's first year in office. K. Vedamurthy accuses Northern and Hindi-belt commentators of bias against Madras and the DMK, defends the party's one-measure-of-rice scheme and its handling of the Second World Tamil Conference and Kumbakonam Mahamagham festival, and frames C. Rajagopalachari (not the DMK) as the real leader of the anti-Hindi movement. P. S. Sridhara Murthy separately credits the DMK with pragmatic, non-ideological governance, ministerial austerity, industrial licensing gains, and fulfilling its two-language poll pledge. In his reply, M. D. Kini concedes some factual corrections (on the Tamil Conference's sponsorship and the promised rice ratio) but maintains his sceptical view of the DMK's substantive record, disputing claims about subsidy figures and defending his original 'circus'/'carnival' characterisation of the Tamil Conference. - K. Vedamurthy charges that Hindi- and English-language commentary on Madras habitually mislabels Tamil Nadu politics through an anti-DMK lens - Defends the DMK's one-rupee-per-measure rice scheme as constrained by the Centre's refusal to subsidise rice while subsidising wheat - Credits the DMK government's handling of the Second World Tamil Conference and the Kumbakonam Mahamagham festival despite the ministers' personal rationalism - Identifies C. Rajagopalachari, not the DMK, as spearheading the anti-Hindi agitation in the South - P. S. Sridhara Murthy lists DMK achievements: double-crop cultivation, reopened textile mills, ministerial austerity, and industrial licences - M. D. Kini's reply corrects his account of the Tamil Conference's sponsors but defends his 'circus' characterisation and cites Weekend Review and Hindu data on rice/wheat subsidy figures - Kini reiterates that his sole criterion for judging any government is its handling of India's economic problems ### Without Comment "Unrest in Poland," a contributed report, describes the March 1968 student demonstrations in Warsaw as a broader protest against secret-police rule and censorship, sparked by the banning of Adam Mickiewicz's play "Dziady" and the expulsion of philosopher Leszek Kolakowski from the Communist Party. It details clashes between students and riot police, mass arrests (300 people on March 11, only 30 of them students), a Polish Writers' Union petition and meeting demanding reinstatement of the play, competing party-line and progressive resolutions among the writers, and the regime's subsequent purge of twelve prominent intellectuals, including Stefan Zolkiewski and former UN delegate Julius Katz-Suchy, branded as 'reactionary elements, Zionists and demagogues.' - Frames the unrest as directed against the whole system of secret police rule and censorship, modeled aspirationally on the Czechoslovak liberalisation - Traces the trigger to the withdrawal of Adam Mickiewicz's 19th-century play 'Dziady' (Forefathers' Eve) from the Warsaw National Theatre - Reports clashes on March 8-11 including baton charges, tear gas, about 50 arrests on March 9, and 300 arrests (30 students) by March 11 - Covers the Polish Writers' Union petition and February 29 meeting demanding discussion of Leszek Kolakowski's expulsion and censorship of 'Dziady' and other plays - Notes competing resolutions at the writers' meeting: a party-aligned motion versus a progressive motion that ultimately passed, backing the students - Reports Gomulka's regime removing twelve prominent intellectuals from posts, branding them 'reactionary elements, Zionists and demagogues' - Names Stefan Zolkiewski and Julius Katz-Suchy (former Polish ambassador to India and UN delegate) among those purged ### With Many Voices The back page, "With Many Voices" (headed by a Tennyson epigraph), is the magazine's recurring column of unglossed press quotations on current politics, drawn from Hindu, Weekend Review, Swarajya, Janata, The Indian Express, Current, Thought, and The Observer Review, touching on Indian democracy's fragility, the Congress-opposition standoff, communism, English versus Hindi, Kashmir, and Raj Kapoor's tax arrears. A subscription coupon for Freedom First (annual Rs. 3.00, payable to the Democratic Research Service) appears alongside the quotes, and the issue's printer/publisher colophon (Inland Printers, Bombay, edited and published for the Democratic Research Service) closes the page. - Compiles unglossed quotations from Hindu, Weekend Review, Swarajya, Janata, Indian Express, Current, Thought, and The Observer Review - Includes R. K. Narayan on 'Stone Age and Glass Age' coexisting paradoxically in India - Includes Weekend Review warning India is 'not many mid-term elections' from public weariness with democracy - Includes C. Rajagopalachari quotes on Congress living on opposition's stupidity, and on retaining English for national unity - Includes Salvador de Madariaga on Western market features being reintroduced piecemeal in Communist states - Includes Kenneth Tynan's line that censorship is unnecessary because free speech is impotent - Carries the Freedom First subscription coupon and the issue's Inland Printers/Democratic Research Service colophon --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff192/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 192 (May 1968) is a monthly issue of the classical-liberal periodical published by the Democratic Research Service, Bombay. The issue opens with V. B. Karnik protesting the Maharashtra government's order externing the Christian missionary Fr. Vincent Ferrer from the Nasik district, arguing the action violates natural justice since no charges were disclosed or tested. A Special Correspondent surveys the disappointing results of the first and second UNCTAD conferences and India's weak export performance. M. R. Masani, M.P., lays out the arguments for and against India signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, concluding that non-signature would isolate India politically without real compensating benefit. G. L. Mehta pays tribute to the assassinated Martin Luther King, tracing his debt to Gandhian satyagraha. A short notice announces the newly established Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy. An unsigned contributed piece reviews 1967 as 'Another Year of Cultural Revolution' in China, describing Mao's failed efforts to restore order after the Red Guard violence. A review by V.B.K. covers A. R.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 192 (May 1968) is a monthly issue of the classical-liberal periodical published by the Democratic Research Service, Bombay. The issue opens with V. B. Karnik protesting the Maharashtra government's order externing the Christian missionary Fr. Vincent Ferrer from the Nasik district, arguing the action violates natural justice since no charges were disclosed or tested. A Special Correspondent surveys the disappointing results of the first and second UNCTAD conferences and India's weak export performance. M. R. Masani, M.P., lays out the arguments for and against India signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, concluding that non-signature would isolate India politically without real compensating benefit. G. L. Mehta pays tribute to the assassinated Martin Luther King, tracing his debt to Gandhian satyagraha. A short notice announces the newly established Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy. An unsigned contributed piece reviews 1967 as 'Another Year of Cultural Revolution' in China, describing Mao's failed efforts to restore order after the Red Guard violence. A review by V.B.K. covers A. R. Antulay's book critiquing the Mahajan Commission's report on the Maharashtra-Mysore-Kerala boundary dispute. The issue closes with an exchange of reader letters on D.M.K.-era Madras politics ('Towards Understanding Madras Politics'), a 'Without Comment' item on Communist parties reprinted from Swarajya, and the regular 'With Many Voices' page of quoted excerpts from the press. ## Essays ### Unjust and Unfair *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik argues that the Maharashtra government's order to extern the Christian missionary Fr. Vincent Ferrer from the Nasik district is unjust and unfair. Fr. Ferrer had spent seventeen years running agricultural extension work, wells, schools, boarding houses and a small hospital benefiting thousands of farmers around Manmad. Karnik contends that even though a country has the sovereign right to expel a foreigner, doing so without a fair inquiry or disclosed charges violates natural justice; he notes the vague, undisclosed charges of 'conversions' and 'anti-national activities' which Ferrer denies. The piece (continued from page 1 to page 11) ends noting that the government has since extended Ferrer's stay by two months to allow an inquiry, which Karnik welcomes, while maintaining that as things stand the action against Ferrer remains unjust and unfair. - Fr. Vincent Ferrer ran welfare and agricultural work in Nasik district for 17 years, helping over 10,000 farmers with wells, fertilizer, and irrigation. - The Government of Maharashtra ordered Ferrer's externment after opposition parties agitated against him. - Charges against Ferrer (conversions, anti-national activities) were vaguely hinted but never disclosed or proven in a hearing. - Karnik frames the case as a matter of natural justice and human rights, not religion or nationality. - After the article was written, the government extended Ferrer's permission to stay by two months pending inquiry. ### Exports After UNCTAD *By A Special Correspondent* A Special Correspondent reviews the outcomes of the first (1964) and second (1968) UNCTAD conferences, drawing on Richard N. Gardner's book In Pursuit of World Order. The piece argues the second UNCTAD, like the first, failed to reach consensus on major issues such as tariff preferences for developing-country exports, primary-product price stabilisation, and increased private capital flows. It criticises India's own poor grasp of its export data and non-tariff barriers, and concludes (in a passage continued on page 4) that developing countries should focus on promoting their own exports rather than relying on appeals to rich nations, citing comparative export-to-national-income shares across Netherlands, Canada, UK, Italy, France, Japan and India (4.5% in 1966-67). - UNCTAD I (1964) and UNCTAD II (1968) both failed to resolve major trade issues facing developing countries. - Quotes Richard N. Gardner's book In Pursuit of World Order on the political significance of the trade gap for developing nations. - India's own government lacks detailed data on non-tariff barriers and invisible export earnings. - Comparative data: exports as share of national income were 40% in Netherlands, 24% Canada, 23% UK, 16% Italy, 15% France, 13% Japan, but only 4.5% in India (1966-67). - Concludes developing countries should prioritise promoting their own exports rather than depend on concessions from rich nations. ### Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty *By M. R. Masani, M.P.* M. R. Masani, M.P., lays out the case for and against India signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. He supports the government's position of not developing nuclear weapons on economic and political grounds, citing Morarji Desai's warning about the fantastic cost of a nuclear programme. He then works through arguments against signing the Treaty (that it would hinder peaceful atomic development, that it is discriminatory toward non-nuclear powers, that the Soviet Union has regressively resisted international inspection) and argues each is unconvincing given escape clauses in the Treaty's articles. Masani concludes that not signing would isolate India in the company of Albania, Cuba, Romania, North Vietnam, North Korea and Communist China, cost India goodwill and economic assistance from the US and Canada, and forfeit any nuclear guarantee against China, while noting the government has a few months to decide and should form a parliamentary committee to study the issue. - Masani supports India's position of not making nuclear weapons on both economic and political grounds. - Quotes Morarji Desai's March 1968 warning that a nuclear weapons race would break India economically. - Reviews and rebuts arguments against signing the NPT: interference with peaceful atomic development, unfairness to non-nuclear states, and the 90-day exit clause under Article X. - Warns that refusal to sign would place India alongside Albania, Cuba, Romania, North Vietnam, North Korea and China as NPT holdouts. - Notes India risks losing US nuclear fuel supply and Canadian goodwill, and forfeiting the draft Security Council nuclear-guarantee resolution. - Argues Indian public opinion on the issue is largely limited to intellectuals and elites rather than the masses. - Recommends a small parliamentary committee study the Treaty in the months remaining before the final decision. ### Fearless Warrior Of Peace *By G. L. Mehta* G. L. Mehta's tribute to Martin Luther King, written after his assassination, describes King as a rare figure who restored faith in human nature through his commitment to non-violence and the 'power of love.' Mehta traces King's Montgomery bus boycott, his explicit acknowledgment of debt to Gandhi's philosophy of satyagraha (which Mehta traces further back through Thoreau's Civil Disobedience to the Bhagavad Gita), and his subsequent role as a 'true Satyagrahi' battling for civil rights amid rising black power militancy and white resistance. The piece closes by comparing King's assassination to those of Lincoln, Gandhi and Kennedy as tragic shames on a supposedly civilised world, and cites King's Nobel Peace Prize description as 'a fearless warrior of peace.' - King organised the 381-day Montgomery bus boycott after a Black woman was arrested for violating segregation rules. - King explicitly credited Gandhi's philosophy of love and non-violent resistance as central to his own method of social reform. - Mehta traces a lineage from the Gita to Thoreau to Gandhi to King. - King was the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner at 35. - Despite King's efforts, white resistance and Black militancy ('black power') continued to produce violence in the US through the late 1960s. - Mehta likens King's assassination to those of Lincoln, Gandhi, and Kennedy as tragedies for civilisation. ### Another Year Of 'Cultural Revolution' *By (Contributed)* A brief institutional notice announces the establishment of the Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy, a five-year initiative beginning April 1968 to train political workers and party cadres in citizenship, political organisation and democratic principles. The programme, named after the late Col. Leslie Sawhny (a Liberal International member who inspired and helped finance the project), will be run by a Board of Management chaired by N. A. Palkhivala, with M. R. Masani as Honorary Secretary and Treasurer, and other members including Shantilal Shah, V. B. Karnik, S. Mulgaokar, M. A. Sreenivasan and M. R. Pai; Arvind A. Deshpande is named Executive Secretary, headquartered at Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay. - The Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy launches in April 1968 for a five-year run. - Aims to train political workers and party cadres from local units, trade unions, and youth/student groups across states and languages. - Named in memory of Col. Leslie Sawhny, a Liberal International member who inspired and financed the project. - Board of Management chaired by N. A. Palkhivala; M. R. Masani serves as Honorary Secretary and Treasurer. - Other board members include Mrs. L. Sawhny, Shantilal Shah, V. B. Karnik, S. Mulgaokar, M. A. Sreenivasan, and M. R. Pai. ### Towards Understanding Madras Politics *By Mr. Vedamurthy / Mr. Sridhara Murthy / Mr. M. D. Kini* This contributed piece reviews 1967 as 'another year of cultural revolution' in China, describing a year of Maoist campaigns to purge and discipline the party, army and populace. It details the PLA's growing role as the only institution able to maintain order amid factional student and worker unrest, the emergence of Lin Piao as second only to Mao, and the sustained vilification of President Liu Shao-ch'i as 'China's Khrushchev.' The piece also covers China's deteriorating foreign relations in 1967, including the burning of the British Mission's chancery in Peking by Red Guards and worsening ties with the USSR, Burma, Indonesia and Thailand, concluding that the Cultural Revolution's chaos damaged China's credibility as a model for other developing nations. - 1967 saw an intensive but only partly successful campaign by Mao to end the disorder unleashed by the Cultural Revolution. - The PLA (People's Liberation Army) emerged as the only institution capable of restoring order among bureaucracy, party, and army. - Lin Piao was described as 'the closest comrade in arms' and presumed successor to Mao. - President Liu Shao-ch'i was repeatedly attacked as 'China's Khrushchev' and 'the leading person in authority following the capitalist path.' - China's foreign relations deteriorated sharply, including the burning of the British Mission's chancery in Peking on August 22, 1967, and worsening relations with the USSR, Burma, Indonesia and Thailand. ### Review: Mahajan Report Uncovered (review of A. R. Antulay, Allied Publishers) *By V. B. K.* A review, signed V.B.K., of A. R. Antulay's book critiquing the Mahajan Commission's report on the Maharashtra-Mysore-Kerala boundary dispute. The reviewer finds Antulay's analysis painstaking and persuasive, arguing that the former Chief Justice Mahajan applied inconsistent standards to different disputed areas (favouring Mysore's claim to Kasargod on linguistic-majority grounds while denying similar Marathi-majority claims in Belgaum, Akkalkot and Bidar), and suggests Mahajan's general aversion to linguistic reorganisation of states coloured his judgment. The review concludes that the government, currently examining the report, would benefit from Antulay's critique before deciding whether to accept the Commission's contradictory recommendations. - The book under review is by A. R. Antulay (Allied Publishers, Rs. 14), critiquing Justice Mahajan's boundary commission report. - Antulay shows Mahajan applied inconsistent tests: accepting Mysore's claim to Kasargod on a lower linguistic threshold while rejecting comparable Marathi-majority claims to Belgaum, Akkalkot and Bidar. - The reviewer suggests Mahajan's known aversion to linguistic reorganisation of states may explain the report's bias against Maharashtra. - The review criticises the Government of India for appointing a commissioner with strong views against linguistic reorganisation without clear terms of reference. - Belgaum's 1951 census showed 51.4% Marathi speakers, reduced to 46-47% by 1961, yet the Commission held Kasargod's 12.3% Kannada speakers as sufficient claim. ### Leslie Sawhny Programme Of Training For Democracy A continuation of an ongoing exchange of letters titled 'Towards Understanding Madras Politics,' printing further replies from readers Vedamurthy and Sridhara Murthy responding to M. D. Kini's earlier defence of the D.M.K. government, followed by Kini's own rejoinder. Vedamurthy defends his earlier criticism of the World Tamil Conference and rejects Kini's charge that opposing Hindi while preferring English is a pernicious double standard. Sridhara Murthy accuses Kini of DMK-phobia and cites M. R. Masani's praise of the Madras government's efficiency. Kini replies that only facts and figures, not opinions, can settle the debate, and that opposition to Hindi is not itself objectionable but the manner in which it was expressed was. - The exchange continues a debate begun in earlier issues (April and March 1968) between M. D. Kini and reader critics over the D.M.K. government's record. - Vedamurthy defends his earlier comparison of the World Tamil Conference to a 'circus' or 'carnival,' citing agreement with Swarajya's views. - Sridhara Murthy cites M. R. Masani's praise for the Madras government's efficiency as a rebuttal to Kini's skepticism. - Kini's rejoinder insists debate should rest on facts and figures rather than opinion, and clarifies his objection was to how anti-Hindi sentiment was expressed, not the position itself. - The editor's note states this closes the controversy in the magazine's pages for reasons of space. ### Without Comment A short unsigned 'Without Comment' item, reprinted from Swarajya (March 30), argues that Communist parties cannot be treated as ordinary democratic political parties because subversion is their fundamental commitment; it likens Marx to the Communists' 'Rig Veda rishi' and calls on the Chief Minister of Madras and the Central Congress government in Delhi to free themselves from Communist influence. - Argues Communist parties' 'first love' is subversion, making them fundamentally different from democratic parties. - Cites Karl Jaspers on Marxist ideology's destruction-then-creation logic. - Calls on the Madras Chief Minister and the Central Congress government to remove Communist influence over their politics. ### With Many Voices The regular 'With Many Voices' feature collects short quoted excerpts from the Indian and international press during April 1968, on topics ranging from President Johnson's personal philosophy, Philip Toynbee on Soviet untruthfulness, Malaysia's transport minister warning of Communist expansion into Thailand, Morarji Desai's comments on understanding Communists and on India's poor practice of its philosophy, Martin Luther King's remarks on race relations shortly before his death, P. Spratt in Swarajya on dictatorship and emotion, and a Weekend Review item on extremist calls for 'armed revolution' in Calcutta. - Quotes President Johnson (Indian Express, April 2) on his personal philosophy as a free man and public servant. - Quotes Philip Toynbee (Opinion, April 2) calling the lie the worst feature of Soviet society, worse than under Stalin. - Quotes Malaysia's Transport Minister Tan Sri Sardon Jubir warning of a Communist victory in Vietnam threatening Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. - Quotes Morarji Desai twice: on understanding Communists' grievance, and on Indian philosophy being high while practice is low. - Quotes Martin Luther King (New York Times, April 7) days before his assassination on mutual need between Black and white Americans. - Quotes P. Spratt (Swarajya, April 20) that dictatorship flourishes on emotion and group aggressiveness. - Notes posters appearing in Calcutta calling for 'armed revolution, here and now' (Weekend Review, April 20). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff193/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 193 (June 1968) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical published by the Democratic Research Service and edited by M. R. Masani's circle. The issue opens with M. R. Pai's critique of the perquisites and patronage enjoyed by India's professional politicians and his ten-point program of "social control" over them, followed by an editorial-style piece on the Paris Viet Nam peace talks signed "Atreya" that defends U.S. policy and attacks Western liberal critics of the Vietnam War such as J. K. Galbraith. Unsigned "Notes" comment on the stalled Assam reorganisation, the decline of Anti-Congressism as a political strategy, and the Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy, alongside a "Without Comment" item on Indian communist leaders' travel to the Soviet bloc. The remainder of the issue carries Chris Cook's reprinted survey (via Socialist Commentary) of Portugal's colonial wars in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea; Adam Adil's report on liberalising ferment in Czechoslovakia, Poland and Romania under the heading "Winds Of Change In Eastern Europe"; R.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 193 (June 1968) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical published by the Democratic Research Service and edited by M. R. Masani's circle. The issue opens with M. R. Pai's critique of the perquisites and patronage enjoyed by India's professional politicians and his ten-point program of "social control" over them, followed by an editorial-style piece on the Paris Viet Nam peace talks signed "Atreya" that defends U.S. policy and attacks Western liberal critics of the Vietnam War such as J. K. Galbraith. Unsigned "Notes" comment on the stalled Assam reorganisation, the decline of Anti-Congressism as a political strategy, and the Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy, alongside a "Without Comment" item on Indian communist leaders' travel to the Soviet bloc. The remainder of the issue carries Chris Cook's reprinted survey (via Socialist Commentary) of Portugal's colonial wars in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea; Adam Adil's report on liberalising ferment in Czechoslovakia, Poland and Romania under the heading "Winds Of Change In Eastern Europe"; R. Muthuswamy's analysis of municipal and by-election trends in Kerala, U.P., Haryana, Rajasthan and West Bengal in "Trends In Recent Elections"; and the closing "With Many Voices" column of press quotations, including remarks from C. Rajagopalachari, Alexander Dubcek, and others, plus a subscription coupon and imprint. ## Essays ### Social Control Over Politicians *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai argues that Indian democracy is threatened by the rise of the "professional politician" who treats politics as a livelihood rather than public service. He itemises the lavish perquisites enjoyed by ministers, M.P.s and M.L.A.s (free housing, cars, travel, health benefits) against the modest official salaries, contrasts this with Norway's leaner ministerial allowances, and describes how politicians further enrich themselves through control of the public sector, cooperative societies, and trade unions. He closes with a ten-point programme of "social controls," including abolishing perquisites, mandatory disclosure of wealth, barring elected representatives from contact with administration, and reducing the size of ministries. - Describes politics as India's most flourishing "industry," with roughly 10 percent of legislators defecting parties within a year of the fourth general elections. - Details extravagant perquisites for Union Cabinet Ministers (estimated at Rs. 17,000/month by the Comptroller and Auditor-General) versus a Rs. 2,250 salary. - Contrasts India's minister perquisites with Norway's leaner system (Rs. 6,500/month, official travel only, no house). - Describes cooperative societies as a vehicle for transferring public funds to politicians' pockets, citing RBI figures on rising cooperative credit society "overdues." - Cites George Fernandes' High Court testimony that trade unions diverted worker funds to politicians' elections. - Criticizes the Heavy Engineering Corporation at Ranchi and the appointment of a politician found guilty of impropriety (Mr. K. D. Malaviya) as an example of the public sector being used to rehabilitate defeated politicians. - Proposes a ten-point programme of social control, including abolishing perquisites, public disclosure of wealth, and restricting ministry sizes to about 10-12. ### The Viet Nam Peace Talks *By "Atreya"* Writing under the pseudonym "Atreya," the author reviews the opening of the Paris peace talks following President Johnson's March 31 announcement halting bombing of North Vietnam and withdrawing from the presidential race. The piece frames North Vietnam's stalling over the venue and its continued Tet-style offensives as evidence that Hanoi's negotiating posture is not sincere, and attacks the American "liberal" opposition to the war—naming Robert Kennedy, John Kenneth Galbraith, Arthur Schlesinger and Walter Lippmann—as unwittingly serving Communist psychological warfare. It cites economist Leon Keyserling's rebuttal of Galbraith's Vietnam analysis and argues the U.S. must remain firm in Paris to prevent a wider Communist conquest of South-East Asia. - Frames Johnson's March 31 bombing halt and withdrawal from the presidential race as driven by domestic political pressure as much as by the war itself. - Argues Hanoi stalled on the talks' venue (insisting on Phnom Penh or Warsaw) before finally accepting Paris. - Describes continued Viet Cong attacks after talks began (a renewed attempt on Saigon) as evidence the Tet offensive was not a genuine capitulation. - Cites a Hanoi decree against "Counterrevolution" as evidence of domestic repression undermining North Vietnam's claim to popular support. - Attacks the American liberal fringe (Robert Kennedy, Galbraith, Schlesinger, Lippmann) as amplifying Communist psychological warfare against the Johnson administration. - Cites economist Leon H. Keyserling's rebuttal of Galbraith's central thesis that the Vietnam conflict is an isolated nationalist struggle. - Notes the Sino-Soviet rift is used by liberals like Galbraith as a hopeful sign, but argues it offers little consolation once South Vietnam and South-East Asia fall. - Concludes that peace talks will only yield results if the U.S. stays firm and does not seek an "easy retrieval" driven by election-year pressure. ### Notes (Assam Reorganization; Anti-Congressism) This unsigned 'Notes' section addresses three domestic topics: the stalled reorganisation of Assam and the competing demands of hill and plains populations for autonomy; the exhaustion of 'Anti-Congressism' as a viable political strategy, illustrated by Congress's recovery in Kerala and Haryana by-elections; and the completion of the second training camp of the Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy at Lonavla, intended to cultivate non-partisan democratic leadership skills. A closing 'Without Comment' item, citing the Statesman's special representative, catalogues the frequency of Indian Communist Party leaders' trips to Moscow and other Communist capitals, often ostensibly for 'rest and treatment.' - Argues the Government of India's delay in deciding on Assam's reorganisation is dangerous, hardening positions on both sides. - Describes the divide between the hill areas (seeking autonomy or separation) and the plains population (opposing dismemberment of the state). - References the Pataskar formula and the Asoka Mehta Committee recommendations as proposed solutions to Assam's reorganisation. - Argues Anti-Congressism has 'exhausted itself,' citing Congress's recovery in Kerala municipal elections and Haryana by-elections. - Reports on the second study camp of the Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy held at Lonavla for about thirty Bombay students. - Cites a Statesman correspondent's data that on average 75 Communist leaders from India travel annually to the USSR and other Communist capitals, often for 'rest and treatment' at their hosts' expense. - Names several CPI leaders (S. A. Dange, S. G. Sardesai, Rajeshwar Rao, Achuta Menon, Bhupesh Gupta, N. K. Krishnan, Bhowani Sen, Datta Deshmukh, Yogendra Sharma) as frequent visitors to Moscow and Prague. ### Training for Democracy Chris Cook, in a piece reprinted courtesy of Socialist Commentary, surveys Portugal's three-front colonial war against African nationalist movements in Angola, Mozambique and Portuguese Guinea. He details the scale of Portuguese military commitment (165,000 troops, 42 percent of the 1966 budget), the roots of the guerrilla revolts (from Angola's 1961 uprising led in part by Holden Roberto's UPLA and Neto's MPLA, to Mozambique's FRELIMO under Eduardo Mondlane, to Amilcar Cabral's nationalists in Guinea), and the human and economic toll, including refugee flight and repression. He concludes Portugal cannot win the war in the long term and that Salazar's colonial mission is 'both wrong and harmful.' - Portugal deployed an estimated 165,000 troops and spent 42 percent of its 1966 budget defending Angola, Mozambique and Guinea. - Angola's revolt began in March 1961; by the following year some 350 coffee plantations lay destroyed, and an estimated 325,000 refugees fled to the Congo. - Notes rival African nationalist factions—Holden Roberto's UPLA and Agostinho Neto's MPLA—divided the resistance in Angola. - In Mozambique, some 40,000 Portuguese troops face an uprising directed by Dr. Eduardo Mondlane's Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) from Dar-es-Salaam. - In Portuguese Guinea, nationalists under Amilcar Cabral control areas south of the Corubal River despite only 30,000 Portuguese troops defending the small territory. - Cites a decade-old UNESCO survey finding 95 percent of Angolan children aged five to fourteen received no schooling. - Concludes that Portugal's war is unwinnable in the long run and that continuing it is 'both wrong and harmful—for Portugal and for Africa.' ### Without Comment (visits of Indian communists to Russia and other communist countries) *By The Special Representative of the Statesman* Adam Adil surveys signs of political and economic liberalisation across the Communist bloc a decade after Stalin's 'impregnable' empire was consolidated over Eastern Europe. The essay recounts the historical 'salami tactics' by which communists seized power and liquidated opponents (naming Imre Nagy in Hungary, Slansky in Czechoslovakia, and Gomulka's imprisonment under Stalin in Poland), then turns to the current thaw under Alexander Dubcek in Czechoslovakia—including new press freedom, the first workers' strike under communism, and economic reform championed by Ota Sik and paralleling Evsei Libermann's ideas in the USSR. It also touches on Romania's growing independence from Moscow and, in a portion continued on page 11, on Poland's crackdown on student and academic unrest under Gomulka and Soviet unease (including Pravda's warning against Czechoslovak liberalisation), closing with cautious optimism that these changes may mark the beginning of communism's end in the region. - Describes Stalin's post-war 'salami tactics' of gradually undermining democratic coalition partners in Eastern Europe to consolidate one-party rule. - Names Imre Nagy (Hungary), Slansky (Czechoslovakia), and Gomulka's imprisonment (Poland) as examples of Stalinist repression of both dissidents and rival communists. - Reports Alexander Dubcek's loosening of party control in Czechoslovakia, including new press freedom for intellectuals and the country's first workers' strike under communism in early April. - Notes Czech economist Ota Sik's push for economic reform, paralleling Evsei Libermann's reforms in the Soviet Union, potentially permitting limited private enterprise. - Describes Romania charting an independent course from Moscow on both domestic and international communist-movement policy. - Contrasts this with Poland, where Gomulka is stiffening resistance to reform even as students and academics grow more assertive; the government closed eight academic departments at Warsaw University and fired six professors in response to unrest. - Notes Poland's Roman Catholic Episcopate has allied with student/professor agitation, protesting the government's 'brutal use of force.' - Reports that Pravda warned against liberalising trends in Czechoslovakia and that the Soviet Ambassador in Prague openly sympathised with ousted leader Novotny, while Kosygin traveled to Czechoslovakia ostensibly for health reasons to manage the situation. - Concludes cautiously that the changes might mark 'the beginning of the ultimate end of communism' in those countries. ### Portugal At War *By Chris Cook* R. Muthuswamy analyses trends from recent Indian municipal and by-elections held after United Front ministries had formed in several states, arguing they represent the first genuine popular verdict on these governments. He describes Congress inroads into Communist Party strongholds in Kerala municipal polls, the collapse of the United Front ministry in Uttar Pradesh after SSP defections, a Congress upset in Rajasthan's Pousa constituency against the Swatantra Party, and steadier Congress consolidation in Haryana after the mid-term elections. He concludes that voters are increasingly evaluating parties on performance rather than ideology or anti-Congress sentiment, penalising both defections and unstable coalitions. - Argues Kerala and U.P. municipal elections were the first popular verdict on United Front ministries formed after the general elections. - In Kerala, Congress and its ally captured 17 of 24 municipalities, though the Communist-aligned Civic Front held Calicut's Municipal Corporation. - In Uttar Pradesh, the United Front ministry collapsed after SSP threats over agrarian reforms, leading to President's Rule; Congress and Jana Sangh made gains in the ensuing municipal elections. - In Rajasthan, a local Congress leader defeated the Maharajkumar of Jaipur in Pousa constituency, previously a Swatantra Party stronghold, showing voter aversion to opportunistic alliances. - In Haryana, Congress recovered an absolute majority after the mid-term elections, largely by refusing to re-admit defectors into its organisation. - In Madhya Pradesh, defectors who formed a United Front ministry remain uncertain of their footing, with persistent reports the Chief Minister wished to rejoin Congress. - In Krishnagar, West Bengal, a Congress candidate defeated the same opponents who had beaten him in 1967, reflecting disenchantment with the United Front government under Ajoy Mukherjee. - Concludes that voters increasingly favour parties with an all-India character and stable administration over ideologically fragmented United Fronts, and that defections are proving costly to parties in this new political climate. ### Winds Of Change In Eastern Europe *By Adam Adil* The closing 'With Many Voices' column collects short quotations from contemporary press and public figures on Cold War, Indian, and world politics, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. Quoted figures include M. R. Masani, C. Rajagopalachari, Alexander Dubcek, George Papandreou, Anthony Wedgwood Benn, and Indian ministers R. N. Singh Deo and S. R. Vasavada, touching on themes from state financial control and dictatorship to Britain's post-Suez role and Soviet base-building in the Middle East. The page also carries a subscription coupon for Freedom First and the publication's imprint (Registered No. MH 272; printed at Inland Printers, Bombay; published for the Democratic Research Service by V. R. Karnik). - Epigraph from Tennyson: 'The deep / Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends, / 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.' - Quotes M. R. Masani (Himmat) comparing Indian attitudes to other nations with Brahmin treatment of Harijans. - Quotes C. Rajagopalachari (Swarajya) on state financial control turning institutions into party tools. - Quotes Alexander Dubcek (The Economist) on wanting 'Marks and Spencer, not Marx and Engels.' - Quotes Anthony Wedgwood Benn, UK Minister for Technology, on the inadequacy of a political role limited to marking a ballot every five years. - Includes the issue's imprint: Registered No. MH 272; printed at Inland Printers, 55 Gamdevi Road, Bombay 7; published for the Democratic Research Service by V. R. Karnik at 127, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1. - Includes a subscription coupon for Freedom First at an annual subscription of Rs. 3.00. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff194/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 194 (July 1968) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal journal edited and published by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service. The issue is dominated by foreign and security affairs: Kashmir's unresolved political status following Sheikh Abdullah's release, the risks of "dovetailing" India's Five-Year Plans with Soviet planning, an extended report on the May 1968 French student and worker uprising against President de Gaulle, a review of President Ayub Khan's autobiography and Pakistan's political system, and a report on Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tour of Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia. The issue closes with "With Many Voices," a column of short quoted opinions culled from the Indian and international press on democracy, communism, and current affairs. Contributors include V. B. Karnik (writing on both Kashmir and Pakistan), M. R. Pai on Indo-Soviet economic ties, S. Narasimhan on the French crisis, and a writer using the pen name "Atreya" on Indira Gandhi's South-East Asia tour.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 194 (July 1968) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal journal edited and published by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service. The issue is dominated by foreign and security affairs: Kashmir's unresolved political status following Sheikh Abdullah's release, the risks of "dovetailing" India's Five-Year Plans with Soviet planning, an extended report on the May 1968 French student and worker uprising against President de Gaulle, a review of President Ayub Khan's autobiography and Pakistan's political system, and a report on Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tour of Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia. The issue closes with "With Many Voices," a column of short quoted opinions culled from the Indian and international press on democracy, communism, and current affairs. Contributors include V. B. Karnik (writing on both Kashmir and Pakistan), M. R. Pai on Indo-Soviet economic ties, S. Narasimhan on the French crisis, and a writer using the pen name "Atreya" on Indira Gandhi's South-East Asia tour. The volume's throughline is a classical-liberal, anti-communist skepticism of centralized planning and of political drift toward authoritarianism, whether Soviet, Gaullist-technocratic, or homegrown. ## Essays ### Sheikh Abdulla and Kashmir Problem *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik argues that Sheikh Abdullah, since his release from detention, has repeatedly refused to offer any concrete solution to the Kashmir problem, hiding behind vague appeals to Indian pledges while making avoidable inflammatory statements. Karnik holds that Abdullah, as a leader trusted by Kashmiris, bears a share of responsibility for breaking the deadlock and should place specific proposals before his followers and then the Government of India, rather than leaving the entire burden on New Delhi. The essay rejects a plebiscite or independence as unrealistic (achievable only through war or revolution), and instead urges free and fair elections, held under the Election Commission, as a practical substitute — while noting Abdullah's own qualification that such elections must be seen as fair by all parties, a demand Karnik expects India and Indian public opinion to resist. - Sheikh Abdullah has not proposed any concrete solution to Kashmir despite months of speeches since his release. - Karnik attributes this partly to Abdullah needing time to reacquaint himself with post-arrest political realities, but says that excuse has run its course. - A plebiscite or independence is dismissed as achievable only via war or violent revolution, and thus impractical. - Karnik proposes Abdullah formulate concrete proposals, test them with followers, then place them before the Government of India. - Free and fair elections (under Election Commission supervision) are floated as a possible substitute for a plebiscite, though Abdullah's own qualifying language is expected to make the proposal unacceptable to nationalist opinion. ### Indo-Soviet Plan Tie-Up *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai warns against the proposed "dovetailing" of India's Five-Year Plans with Soviet economic planning, calling the move a threat to India's national interests announced, tellingly, while Parliament was in recess. Pai contrasts the USSR's centralized command economy with India's professed democratic, decentralized model, and argues that tying Indian planning to Soviet planning would import distortions — citing the Bhilai over-stocking problem, the loss-making Ranchi Heavy Engineering Corporation, the Bokaro Steel Plant's mounting costs, and Soviet pressure to buy uneconomical Tu-134 aircraft for Indian Airlines as cautionary examples. He also invokes Czechoslovakia's economic troubles, quoting a London Times report on Czechoslovak industry being distorted for two decades by Soviet demand, as a warning of what over-reliance on Soviet economic ties can do to a national economy. Pai closes by urging that any India-Russia trade be conducted strictly on commercial terms, without ideological sentiment, and appeals to Indira Gandhi not to let India drift into economic dependency on Communist Russia as her father allegedly tried and failed to introduce communism to India "on instalment plan." - The Indo-Soviet plan "dovetailing" proposal was announced while Parliament was in recess, which Pai frames as evasive. - Soviet and Indian economies are structurally incompatible: Soviet planning is centralized command, India's is (nominally) decentralized and democratic. - Cites Bhilai over-stocking, the loss-making Ranchi Heavy Engineering Corporation (chaired by K. D. Malaviya at Soviet insistence), and escalating Bokaro Steel Plant costs as evidence of Soviet-linked distortions. - Reports Soviet pressure to force India's Indian Airlines Corporation to buy the Tu-134 aircraft despite a technical committee ruling it uneconomical. - Quotes Dana Adams Schmidt's London Times report on Czechoslovakia to argue Soviet economic entanglement stunts and distorts partner economies over decades. - Concludes India should trade with Russia on strict commercial terms only, without ideological sentiment, and warns against India becoming an economic satellite of Communist Russia. ### France In Turmoil *By S. Narasimhan* S. Narasimhan recounts the May 1968 upheaval in France — the student revolt centered on the Sorbonne against antiquated teaching methods and administration, which escalated into a nationwide general strike by over ninety lakh workers demanding higher wages, shorter hours, and a voice in management. The essay describes President de Gaulle's initial disorientation, his decision (after securing army backing) to dissolve the National Assembly and call fresh elections rather than hold a referendum, and his framing of the crisis as a choice between himself and "totalitarian Communism." Narasimhan credits de Gaulle's decisive turn for the Gaullist landslide in the first round of the June 23 elections (148 of 160 seats decided outright), while quoting Time and U.S. News and World Report analyses that portray France as economically fragile beneath de Gaulle's decade of stability — high unemployment, an unfavourable trade balance, low wages, and bureaucratic inefficiency. The piece stresses that neither the student revolt (anarchist in temperament, inspired by Che Guevara, Mao and Reginald Debray rather than Marx or Lenin) nor the workers' strikes were instigated or controlled by the Communist Party, which arrived late and sought only a negotiated settlement. - The May 1968 crisis began as a Sorbonne student protest over teaching methods and administration, escalating into pitched battles with police. - The revolt spread into a general strike of over 90 lakh workers demanding higher wages, a 40-hour week without loss of pay, and greater voice in management. - De Gaulle, initially shaken and reportedly considering resignation, secured army support, dissolved the National Assembly, and called elections for June 23 and 30 rather than holding the referendum he had floated. - Gaullists won 148 of 160 seats decided in the first round (June 23), which Narasimhan attributes to French voters choosing stability over 'totalitarian Communism' as framed by the Gaullist campaign. - The Communist Party (CGT) is described as arriving after the strikes began and pushing for settlement, not revolution; workers rejected a negotiated agreement and continued striking regardless of union leadership. - Student leaders and ideology are described as anarchist in dominant trend, inspired by Che Guevara, Mao Zedong and Reginald Debray rather than Marx or Lenin. - Quoted U.S. News and World Report analysis describes France as economically fragile under the surface: high unemployment, wage stagnation, inflation, and bureaucratic inefficiency in industry, education and agriculture. ### India's New Look At South-East Asia *By "Atreya"* V. B. Karnik reviews Mohammad Ayub Khan's autobiography, Friends Not Masters, to correct what he calls Indian misconceptions about the Pakistani President — namely, that Ayub Khan is a military dictator and that Pakistan is a theocratic state. Karnik notes Ayub Khan was elected President in 1960 and re-elected in 1965 against Fatima Jinnah in a contest widely agreed to have been free and fair, and describes Pakistan's system of "basic democracy" (80,000 local councils electing upward to the National Assembly and Presidency) as Ayub Khan's alternative to parliamentary democracy, which he argues is unsuited to a country with powerful landlords, religious pirs and faqirs, fragmented parties, and low literacy. Karnik also highlights Ayub Khan's clash with Ulema religious leaders who regarded Pakistan as insufficiently Islamic, and his self-presentation as a moderate reformer who avoided force and terror during the 1958 revolution. The essay then turns sharply critical of Ayub Khan's views on India, quoting his charge that Indian leaders harbor a "deep hatred for the Muslims" and seek to dominate or absorb Pakistan — a portrayal Karnik calls false and distorted, while acknowledging that equally distorted Indian views of Pakistan present a comparable psychological barrier to improved relations. - Corrects the common Indian belief that Ayub Khan is Pakistan's military dictator, noting his 1960 election and 1965 re-election (63.31% vs Fatima Jinnah's 36.36%) were free and fair. - Describes Pakistan's 'basic democracy' system of 80,000 local councils electing upward to the National Assembly and Presidency, as Ayub Khan's substitute for parliamentary democracy. - Ayub Khan's stated reasons for abandoning parliamentary democracy: powerful landlords, religious pirs/faqirs who influence votes, fragmented parties without programmes, and low literacy. - Corrects the misconception that Pakistan is a theocratic state; Ulema religious leaders in fact opposed Ayub Khan as insufficiently Islamic. - Quotes Ayub Khan's autobiography describing his approach to the 1958 revolution as deliberately avoiding force and political vendetta. - Sharply criticizes Ayub Khan's views on India as false and distorted — his claim that Indian leaders have 'a deep hatred for the Muslims' and seek to dominate Pakistan — while noting Indian views of Pakistan are equally distorted, creating a psychological barrier to better relations. ### President Ayub And Pakistan *By V. B. Karnik* Writing under the pen name "Atreya," the author reports on Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's May 1968 tour of Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia, undertaken after the Budget session as Britain's defence withdrawal from South-East Asia loomed. In Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew sought Indian support while carefully avoiding open alignment against Communist China given Singapore's demographics and improving US ties. Gandhi was consistently cautious in public statements, avoiding any impression that India sought to fill the vacuum left by British withdrawal, and argued that South-East Asian security rested on internal strength, economic development and 'true' nationalism rather than collective security arrangements — though she conceded India might help a country like Malaysia if asked. Indian diplomats in the region separately pressed for a more dynamic Indian policy, citing roughly 2 million Indians resident in Burma, Malaysia and Singapore. The essay characterizes the tour as India's first serious, pragmatic engagement with South-East Asia and a step toward a genuinely independent foreign policy beyond 'big power chauvinism,' while noting Peking Radio's hostile reaction accusing Gandhi of assembling an anti-China bloc under US and Soviet direction. - Indira Gandhi's May 1968 tour covered Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia following the Budget session, amid British withdrawal from South-East Asian defence commitments. - Lee Kuan Yew sought Indian support but avoided direct opposition to Communist China given Singapore's Chinese population and his own ethnicity; Singapore had also improved ties with the US and allowed Bank of China operations. - Gandhi was notably cautious in all four countries, avoiding any suggestion India sought to expand influence into the vacuum from British withdrawal, and stressed internal strength and economic development over collective security. - India's diplomats posted in the region pressed Gandhi for a more dynamic policy toward South-East Asia, citing roughly 2 million resident Indians in Burma, Malaysia and Singapore. - Gandhi's post-tour statement in New Delhi emphasized countries in the region 'standing together' economically rather than forming military blocs. - Peking Radio denounced the tour as an attempt to build an anti-China clique at the bidding of 'US Imperialists and Soviet revisionists,' calling Gandhi's ambition 'just a day dream.' - The essay frames the tour as India's first pragmatic, semi-independent foreign-policy initiative in the region, marking greater maturity beyond non-alignment shibboleths. ### With Many Voices "With Many Voices" is the issue's closing miscellany column, gathering brief quoted opinions from Indian and international newspapers and public figures in June 1968 on topics ranging from Kerala's Communist ministry and caste pressure groups to US political violence and Naxalite defections from the Communist Party in West Bengal. The column includes M. R. Masani's remark (Times of India) that there is 'too much politics in India and too little citizenship,' Nirlep Kaur's six-step prescription for transforming India from food importer to exporter, and C. Rajagopalachari's ironic comment on privy purses. It is framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. - A compilation of short quotations from named commentators (Kingsley Martin, C. Achuta Menon, M. R. Masani, Sham Lal, C. Rajagopalachari, P. Spratt, Karan Singh, Nirlep Kaur, and others) drawn from June 1968 press sources. - Topics include the record of Kerala's EMS Communist ministry, caste pressure groups, US gun culture after Dallas/Memphis/Los Angeles, privy purses for former ruling princes, and Naxalite defections from the CPI in West Bengal. - M. R. Masani is quoted from the Times of India (June 22) stating there is 'too much politics in India and too little citizenship.' - Nirlep Kaur, M.P., outlines six steps (water, electricity, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, incentive prices) to transform India into a foodgrain exporter. - The column is prefaced with an epigraph from Tennyson ('The deep / Moans round with many voices...'). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff195/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 195 (August 1968) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal magazine, opening with M. R. Pai's alarmed response to the Soviet Union's decision to supply military aid to Pakistan, which he reads as exposing the bankruptcy of Nehruvian non-alignment and Indira Gandhi's tilt toward Moscow. A. G. Mulgaokar contributes a two-part constitutional essay on legislative defections, tracing British precedent on offices of profit and weighing proposals from a Committee on Defection to curb party-switching by elected members. A short unsigned item warns that the Soviet Union may crush Czechoslovakia's liberalising reforms as it did Hungary in 1956, citing dissident physicist Andrei Sakharov. "Atreya" surveys the run-up to the Communist-sponsored World Youth Festival in Sofia, detailing the factional infighting among Indian youth organisations over attending. Adam Adil discusses the debate, sparked by Professor A. B. Shah's foreword to S. E. Hassnain's book, over whether Indian Muslims are "backwardlooking" and calls for mutual outreach between Hindus and Muslims. The issue closes with a book review (J. P.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 195 (August 1968) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal magazine, opening with M. R. Pai's alarmed response to the Soviet Union's decision to supply military aid to Pakistan, which he reads as exposing the bankruptcy of Nehruvian non-alignment and Indira Gandhi's tilt toward Moscow. A. G. Mulgaokar contributes a two-part constitutional essay on legislative defections, tracing British precedent on offices of profit and weighing proposals from a Committee on Defection to curb party-switching by elected members. A short unsigned item warns that the Soviet Union may crush Czechoslovakia's liberalising reforms as it did Hungary in 1956, citing dissident physicist Andrei Sakharov. "Atreya" surveys the run-up to the Communist-sponsored World Youth Festival in Sofia, detailing the factional infighting among Indian youth organisations over attending. Adam Adil discusses the debate, sparked by Professor A. B. Shah's foreword to S. E. Hassnain's book, over whether Indian Muslims are "backwardlooking" and calls for mutual outreach between Hindus and Muslims. The issue closes with a book review (J. P. Naik's Education in the Fourth Plan), a report on a Leslie Sawhny Programme training camp for trade union workers with an internal straw poll of trainees' political views, two Letters to the Editor (one urging a new citizens' party, one from M. R. Masani recounting a Colombian Liberal Party contact), and the regular "With Many Voices" column of press quotations, alongside a subscription coupon. ## Essays ### Soviet Aid to Pakistan *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai argues that the Soviet Union's decision to arm Pakistan is a humiliating blow to Indira Gandhi's foreign policy and exposes the folly of India's dependence on Moscow since Nehru's time. He contends the USSR has never been a true friend of India, given its ideological hostility to Indian democracy, and lists instances -- the Novosti press deal, courting of Kosygin, silence on Tibet -- where India has surrendered its interests to appease Soviet sensitivities. He calls for India to develop an independent missile deterrent, end U.S. PL-480 dependence and Soviet arms reliance, and pursue a foreign policy based on national self-interest rather than moral posturing. - Soviet arms aid to Pakistan is described as a moment of humiliation for Indira Gandhi comparable to the 1962 Chinese aggression's effect on Nehru. - Pai argues the USSR has never truly been a friend to India given the ideological gulf between Communist rule and Indian democratic, pluralist society. - He criticises the Government's Novosti press deal and the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman's Moscow trip to 'dovetail' India's plans into Soviet plans. - He proposes India develop its own missile delivery capability rather than a hydrogen bomb, to change how other powers treat it. - He calls for ending PL-480 dependence on the U.S. and Soviet arms dependence, paired with agriculture-first economic policy, to secure genuine non-alignment. - The essay closes with an appeal to Indian civilisational greatness ('from Kautilya to Swami Vivekananda') and a call for a change of leadership. ### Defections And Their Control *By A. G. Mulgaokar* A. G. Mulgaokar surveys the growing problem of political defections by elected legislators in India, arguing that constant party-switching for personal gain is corroding public faith in democracy and the Constitution. He contrasts the stable two-party systems of Britain, the U.S. and British Commonwealth countries with the more volatile multi-party systems of continental Europe, and reviews British constitutional history on 'offices of profit' -- the Act of Settlement of 1705 and subsequent amending legislation -- as a comparative frame for the temptations that ministerial office presents to Indian legislators under one-party dominance. The essay continues on page 11 with detailed discussion of recommendations from a Committee on Defection, including proposals to bar defectors from ministerships, cap the size of ministries at roughly ten percent of a legislature's membership, and arm the President and Governors with power to refuse a dissolution. - Frames defections as a major threat to constitutional democracy in India, driven by personal gain rather than conscience. - Contrasts stable two-party systems (Britain, U.S., British colonies) with less stable multi-party continental European systems. - Reviews British legal history on 'offices of profit' (Act of Settlement 1705, amending Act of 1707, Re-election of Ministers Act 1919, 1926 amendment) as comparative background. - Argues continuous one-party rule in India has degraded the seriousness of ministerial office, which is now sought purely for personal and family benefit. - Reports a Committee on Defection's recommendation that political parties adopt a code of ethics and that defecting legislators forfeit their seats. - Continuation (p.11) covers further proposals: barring defectors from ministerships by statute, capping ministry size to about ten percent of legislature membership, and giving the President/Governor power to refuse dissolution and a mid-term poll. ### Russia and Czechoslovakia A short unsigned item reports that Russia appears poised to crush by threats or force the liberal reform trends emerging in Czechoslovakia, calling this a potentially worse repetition of its 1956 suppression of the Hungarian uprising. It notes protest from democrats worldwide and cites Soviet physicist Andrei Sakharov's unpublished manuscript arguing that the Czechoslovaks' pursuit of intellectual freedom should be supported, not suppressed, and warning that stifling free thought risks turning treacherous hypocrites and demagogues into bloody dictators. - Warns Russia may use threats or force to destroy Czechoslovakia's liberalising reforms, drawing a direct parallel to the 1956 Hungary invasion. - Notes worldwide democratic protest against Soviet, East German, Polish and Hungarian pressure on Czechoslovakia. - Cites Soviet physicist and hydrogen-bomb co-developer Andrei Sakharov's privately circulated manuscript endorsing the Czechoslovak reformers. - Expresses hope Russia will refrain from using force against a sovereign, independent country. ### Communist Youth Festival *By "Atreya"* Writing under the pseudonym "Atreya", the author surveys the troubled history and current politics of the Soviet-sponsored World Youth Festival, now scheduled for Sofia in 1968 after the Algiers venue collapsed with Ben Bella's overthrow. The piece recounts a bitter tussle among Indian youth bodies -- the Communist-aligned All India Students Federation, the All India Youth Federation, the All India Youth Congress, and the government-linked Bharat Yuvak Samaj -- over who would represent Indian youth at Sofia, with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi drawn in as an ineffective mediator through Dinesh Singh. It closes by noting declining attendance figures for successive festivals (34,000 at Moscow in 1957 down to an expected small turnout at Sofia) against a backdrop of Soviet threats toward Czechoslovakia, arguing that global Communist youth fronts are losing their old capacity to stage-manage such gatherings. - Recaps the history of Soviet-sponsored 'front' youth organisations (WFDY, Women's Front, Peace Front) dating to Stalin's era. - Notes the 9th World Youth Festival was repeatedly relocated -- from Algiers (cancelled after Ben Bella's fall) to Sofia -- due to fears of embarrassment in non-Communist host cities. - Describes rival Indian youth bodies (Communist-aligned AISF/AIYF vs. Youth Congress and Bharat Yuvak Samaj) fighting over representation at Sofia. - Reports Indira Gandhi's ineffective mediation via Dinesh Singh and Morarji Desai's decision to cut the Indian delegation to 16-20. - Cites declining Festival attendance (Moscow 1957: ~34,000; Vienna: 18,000; Helsinki 1962: 10,800) as evidence Soviet youth fronts are losing influence. - Frames Soviet threats against Czechoslovak liberalisation as part of the same context undermining the festival's credibility. ### Indian Muslims *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil engages the debate sparked by Professor A. B. Shah's foreword to S. E. Hassnain's book Indian Muslims, which argued that educated Indian Muslims suffer alienation and that Muslim society needs a renaissance akin to the 19th-century Hindu one. Adil argues Muslims are not inherently backward-looking, but that mutual Hindu-Muslim suspicion -- Hindus regarding Muslims as a separate, sometimes disloyal community, and Muslims retreating into a defensive shell -- has entrenched a sense of grievance on both sides. He calls for closer social contact between educated members of both communities and for political parties to avoid stoking communal fear, while noting encouraging signs of scientific and intellectual reappraisal of Islamic beliefs already underway in the Muslim world (Turkey, Iran, U.A.R., Pakistan). - Responds to A. B. Shah's foreword to S. E. Hassnain's book Indian Muslims, which called for a renaissance among educated Muslims. - Argues Muslim grievances about discrimination are 'mostly imaginary' in the sense of deliberate policy, but real as a felt sense of injustice. - Blames both communities: Hindus have never made a serious effort to 'own' Muslims as part of Indian society, while Muslims have retreated into a separate shell. - Notes even Muslim nationalists once at the forefront of the freedom struggle are now denounced by Hindu extremists as communalists. - Calls for closer social contact between educated Hindus and Muslims and restraint by political parties from exploiting communal fear. - Points to a wider Islamic intellectual re-examination (Abbasid-era precedent, and contemporary Turkey, Iran, U.A.R., Pakistan) as grounds for optimism about Muslim modernisation. ### Review: Education in the Fourth Plan (Review and Perspective) — J. P. Naik, Nachiketa Publications *By R.M.* This page combines two short items. An unsigned (initialled 'R.M.') review of J. P. Naik's Education in the Fourth Plan: Review and Perspective, a compilation of three lectures by the former Member-Secretary of the Education Commission, praises Naik's analysis of 18 years of educational planning and his proposals for incentive grants and district-level involvement of educationists, while questioning the practicality of his call for a 'Swadeshi' education system given past failed experiments at Gujarat Vidyapeeth and Shanti Niketan. A report by 'A Participant' describes a training camp under the Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy for 25 trade union workers in Bombay, detailing lecture topics and a straw poll of trainees' political preferences (favouring Swatantra, Congress and Jan Sangh; strong support for Morarji Desai as Prime Minister in a hypothetical coalition; views on the atom bomb, Kashmir and Israel). - Reviews J. P. Naik's Education in the Fourth Plan, welcoming his incentive-grant and district-planning proposals but doubting the feasibility of his Swadeshi education plea given prior failures at Gujarat Vidyapeeth and Shanti Niketan. - Reports a 12-day Leslie Sawhny Programme training camp for 25 Bombay trade union workers covering democracy, secularism, the language issue and industrial relations. - Straw poll: trainees favoured Swatantra, Congress and Jan Sangh over PSP, SSP or Communist parties; Morarji Desai was the top choice for Prime Minister in a coalition, ahead of Y. B. Chavan, N. G. Ranga, M. R. Masani and A. B. Bajpai, with no support for Indira Gandhi. - Trainees split on other issues: majority favoured English as link language, favoured atom bomb development, opposed total American withdrawal from Asia, and most thought the Kashmir problem unsettled and favoured recognising Israel. - Notes a similar voting pattern was found among students at a parallel Maharashtra camp. ### Leslie Sawhny Programme's Class for Trade Union Workers *By A Participant* Two Letters to the Editor. S. G. Padalkar of Poona writes at length under the heading 'Rally The Common Citizen,' sketching the anxieties of the 'well-meaning citizen' over food shortages, foreign exchange, taxation and the Fourth Plan, and setting out policy prescriptions on defence, agriculture, exports and business confidence; he closes by calling for a new citizens' party representing the interests of the well-meaning citizen and the better sort of business community, warning against both the ruling party and the dogmatic Jan Sangh and Left. M. R. Masani's shorter letter recounts meeting the leader of Colombia's Liberal Party in Bonn, who told him he had long valued receiving Freedom First but had stopped getting it, prompting Masani to arrange for his subscription to be restored. - Padalkar diagnoses public disillusionment with the Fourth Plan and rising prices, taxes and shortages. - He rejects strikes, demonstrations and dictatorship alike, endorsing liberal democracy, individual freedom and constitutional guarantees. - Policy prescriptions include a stronger, modernised defence posture, closer alliance with America against China, agricultural modernisation, and export-oriented industrial reform. - He calls for a new citizens' party representing the 'well-meaning citizen' and the better sort of businessman, criticising the ruling party as well as the Jan Sangh and the Left as dogma-bound. - Masani's letter recounts an anecdote from Bonn about a Colombian Liberal Party leader who had lost his subscription to Freedom First and was pleased to have it restored. ### Letters to the Editor: Rally the Common Citizen *By S. G. Padalkar* The closing 'With Many Voices' column collects short quotations from the contemporary press on politics of the day -- Indian and international -- ranging from criticism of the Praja Socialist Party's weakness and Rajagopalachari's remark on illiterate government, to commentary on the Soviet Union's authoritarian character, the Vietnam War, and the Prague Spring, alongside a subscription coupon for Freedom First and the issue's printer/publisher imprint (V. B. Karnik, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1). - Quotes C. Rajagopalachari in Swarajya: government in India is 'of the illiterate by the illiterate but... not for the illiterate.' - Quotes Morarji Desai in Times of India: it was up to the people to see the Government behaved or disappeared. - Includes quotations on the Soviet Union's authoritarian character (Opinion) and on freedom being feared by Communist orthodoxy (Hindustan Times). - Cites a Czechoslovak banner ('Democratization must become democracy') and Soviet writer Arkadiy V. Belinkov denouncing a government of 'liars, tyrants, criminals and stranglers of freedom.' - Ends the issue with a subscription coupon (Rs. 5.00 annual) and the printer/publisher imprint naming V. B. Karnik as publisher for Democratic Research Service. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff196/ ### Summary This September 1968 issue of Freedom First, published in the immediate aftermath of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, is dominated by anti-Soviet commentary. The lead article condemns the Soviet-led occupation as an act of imperial aggression against a small state, tracing the Prague Spring reforms under Dubcek and criticizing India's official ambivalence at the United Nations. A companion piece analyses the internal fractures of Indian and international Communism -- the CPI/CPI(M) split, the Naxalbari uprising, and Sino-Soviet polycentrism -- reading the Czechoslovak invasion as a symptom of Communism's broader disintegration. A first-person account by the wife of imprisoned Soviet dissident writer Yuri Daniel describes the punitive conditions of a Soviet labour camp, reinforcing the issue's broader indictment of Communist authoritarianism. A review essay by A. G. Noorani surveys recent scholarship on the politics and law of the Vietnam War. The issue closes with reader letters, a book review of a study on Communist strategy in India, and a compilation of quoted commentary ('With Many Voices') on the Czechoslovak crisis from world press and public figures. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This September 1968 issue of Freedom First, published in the immediate aftermath of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, is dominated by anti-Soviet commentary. The lead article condemns the Soviet-led occupation as an act of imperial aggression against a small state, tracing the Prague Spring reforms under Dubcek and criticizing India's official ambivalence at the United Nations. A companion piece analyses the internal fractures of Indian and international Communism -- the CPI/CPI(M) split, the Naxalbari uprising, and Sino-Soviet polycentrism -- reading the Czechoslovak invasion as a symptom of Communism's broader disintegration. A first-person account by the wife of imprisoned Soviet dissident writer Yuri Daniel describes the punitive conditions of a Soviet labour camp, reinforcing the issue's broader indictment of Communist authoritarianism. A review essay by A. G. Noorani surveys recent scholarship on the politics and law of the Vietnam War. The issue closes with reader letters, a book review of a study on Communist strategy in India, and a compilation of quoted commentary ('With Many Voices') on the Czechoslovak crisis from world press and public figures. ## Essays ### Rape of Czechoslovakia *By M. D. Kini* M. D. Kini's lead article denounces the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia on 20-21 August 1968 as an act of naked aggression comparable to the crushing of the Hungarian uprising in 1956. He narrates the run-up to the invasion -- Dubcek's rise to First Secretary, the lifting of censorship, the 'Two Thousand Words' manifesto, the Warsaw Pact ultimatum, and the Bratislava declaration -- arguing that Czechoslovakia's only 'crime' was allowing a modicum of freedom to its people. The piece is sharply critical of India's official response, faulting the government for abstaining at the UN Security Council and for the treasury benches' defeat of a parliamentary motion (moved by Sucheta Kripalani) condemning the Soviet violation of the UN Charter. Kini calls on India and the world to mobilise opinion and consider a boycott of the invading nations until they withdraw. - Frames the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia as unprovoked aggression against a small, defenceless state, echoing Hungary 1956 - Credits Dubcek's reforms -- lifting censorship, permitting secret ballots in party elections, tolerating minority views -- as the true trigger for Soviet intervention, not fear of capitalist restoration - Details the Warsaw Pact ultimatum of 15 July and the Bratislava Declaration's short-lived compromise before the 20-21 August invasion - Criticizes Pravda's justification (alleged NATO subversion plot, hidden American arms) as fabricated pretext - Condemns the Government of India's abstention at the UN and defeat of Sucheta Kripalani's parliamentary motion as a national shame - Calls for India and the world to mobilise opinion and consider boycotting the invading Warsaw Pact states ### Schism In Communist Movement *By "Atreya"* Writing under the pseudonym 'Atreya', this essay analyses the recurring schisms within the Communist Party of India, framing the 1964 split into CPI and CPI(Marxist), and the 1968 breakaway of the Naxalbari group and Andhra's Revolutionary Communist Party under T. Nagi Reddy, as products of a 'polycentric' international Communist movement no longer disciplined by a single Moscow-centred authority. The author argues that Indian Communists derived power parasitically from the nationalist movement and later from Soviet state patronage rather than genuine working-class revolution, and traces how China's emergence as a rival pole of Communist authority after Sino-Soviet de-Stalinization fractured party loyalties in India (CPI as pro-Moscow 'revisionist', CPI-M as pro-Peking, and further splinters denouncing CPI-M itself as neo-revisionist). The piece closes by reading the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia as a 'panic' response to this same disintegration of monocentric Communism, predicting a bleak future for Communist organization generally. - Argues Indian Communists have always derived power parasitically -- first from the nationalist movement, later from Soviet state and diplomatic patronage -- rather than organic working-class revolution - Traces the 1964 split into CPI and CPI(Marxist), driven by rival Moscow and Peking loyalties following Sino-Soviet de-Stalinization schisms - Describes the June 1968 breakaway of T. Nagi Reddy's Andhra Revolutionary Communist Party and the earlier Naxalbari group in West Bengal as further splinters denouncing CPI(M) as 'neo-revisionist' - Notes competition among splinter groups for Chinese patronage and the possibility of a 'Third Communist Party' emerging from further integration - Interprets the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia as a symptom of panic at the broader disintegration of monocentric international Communism - Predicts a bleak future for Communist organization as polycentrism accelerates fragmentation ### Vietnam's Politics And Law *By A. G. Noorani* A. G. Noorani reviews four recent works on the Vietnam War: Dennis J. Duncanson's 'Government and Revolution in Vietnam', Richard A. Falk's edited collection 'The Vietnam War and International Law', and Roger H. Hull and John C. Novogrod's 'Law and Vietnam'. Noorani praises Duncanson's history of Vietnam under French, Diem, and Communist rule as an outstandingly lucid and authoritative account, particularly its portrait of Diem as 'the embodiment of his country's soul, for good no less than for bad' and its analysis of how the National Liberation Front's dual character -- civil-strife rhetoric for Western audiences, Marxist-Leninist orthodoxy for Communist ones -- served Hanoi's war aims. He then surveys Falk's collection of legal essays on the international-law dimensions of U.S. involvement, and contrasts it with Hull and Novogrod's more balanced law-school thesis, which concludes that South Vietnam and the U.S. were legally entitled to use force in self-defence given the North's direction of the NLF's creation. - Praises Duncanson's 'Government and Revolution in Vietnam' as a major, lucidly written contribution based on his direct experience advising in Saigon - Highlights Duncanson's portrait of Ngo Dinh Diem as a self-appointed patriarch and dictator whose personal failings compounded Vietnam's post-independence crisis - Describes the National Liberation Front as, in Duncanson's account, a creation of Hanoi presenting two faces -- civil-strife nationalism to the West, Marxist-Leninist orthodoxy internally - Reviews Falk's edited volume of legal essays on U.S. involvement as authoritative but focused on disagreements over facts and international legal consequences - Notes Hull and Novogrod's 'Law and Vietnam' concludes South Vietnam and the U.S. were legally entitled to use force in collective self-defence given the North's role in creating the NLF ### Yuri Daniel In Camp 17 *By Bogaras Bruchman* Bogaras Bruchman, wife of imprisoned Soviet writer Yuri Daniel, recounts a personal visit to the Potma labour camp (Camp 17) in an excerpt reprinted from the Australian quarterly Quadrant (originally published in the German weekly Die Zeit). She describes the bureaucratic cruelty of the visit -- promised a full day but granted only one hour under guard, forbidden even to pass her husband a packet of cigarettes -- and the bleak, heavily fenced landscape of the men's camp zone. The piece continues with her subsequent efforts to obtain a private visit and permission to give gifts, met with evasive non-answers from camp authorities, and closes with a written refusal signed by the camp commandant citing a 'violation of visiting rules', alongside her exchange with KGB Colonel Mikhail Bardin, who insists the camp's punitive practices are lawful. - Describes a one-hour supervised visit to her husband Yuri Daniel at the Potma forced labour camp, despite having hoped for and prepared for a full day's visit - Details the petty bureaucratic restrictions -- forbidden to pass cigarettes, oranges, or cheese to her husband despite bringing provisions - Contrasts the men's camp zone as more heavily fortified and sinister than the women's, with barbed wire, watchtowers, and a no-man's land - Recounts a written refusal from the camp commandant denying a private visit, citing 'violation of visiting rules' and lack of provision for receiving parcels - Describes her exchange with KGB Colonel Mikhail Bardin, who insists the camp administration is following the rules and denies any mistreatment - Frames the camp's regime as employing hunger, mental and physical humiliation as tools of 're-education' despite legal guarantees against such treatment --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff197/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 197 (October 1968) is devoted almost entirely to the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia of August 1968 and its aftermath. The issue assembles editorial commentary, a satirical piece, a reprinted Gandhi essay from 1938, foreign-press excerpts, and book reviews, all converging on the same argument: that the Warsaw Pact occupation was naked aggression dressed up in the language of fraternal assistance, that the Czechoslovak people's passive resistance recalled Gandhian and pre-war Czech precedents, and that the affair exposed both the moral bankruptcy of Soviet communism and the timidity of the Indian government's response. A separate, unrelated strand of domestic commentary addresses the contemporary Indian newspaper employees' strike, arguing that trade-union tactics compromised journalistic independence and, incidentally, kept the Czechoslovak story from Indian readers during the crucial early days. The issue closes with book reviews (on secularism in India and on three Czechoslovakia-crisis pamphlets) and a page of quoted foreign and Indian press reactions to the invasion. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 197 (October 1968) is devoted almost entirely to the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia of August 1968 and its aftermath. The issue assembles editorial commentary, a satirical piece, a reprinted Gandhi essay from 1938, foreign-press excerpts, and book reviews, all converging on the same argument: that the Warsaw Pact occupation was naked aggression dressed up in the language of fraternal assistance, that the Czechoslovak people's passive resistance recalled Gandhian and pre-war Czech precedents, and that the affair exposed both the moral bankruptcy of Soviet communism and the timidity of the Indian government's response. A separate, unrelated strand of domestic commentary addresses the contemporary Indian newspaper employees' strike, arguing that trade-union tactics compromised journalistic independence and, incidentally, kept the Czechoslovak story from Indian readers during the crucial early days. The issue closes with book reviews (on secularism in India and on three Czechoslovakia-crisis pamphlets) and a page of quoted foreign and Indian press reactions to the invasion. ## Essays ### Hollow Triumph *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead editorial 'Hollow Triumph' (pp.1, 6) condemns the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia as pure aggression that the world, including the superpowers, failed to prevent, proving that militarily weak nations cannot expect help unless a great power's own interests are at stake. He describes the Czechoslovak people's Gandhi-style passive resistance, the enforced compromise that let Svoboda, Cernik and Dubcek keep their posts while liberal colleagues were purged, and argues the occupation is an unsustainable 'hollow triumph': it will alienate the Czechoslovak leadership from Moscow, cost the USSR international standing (even the French and Italian Communist parties condemned it), and push back detente for years while forcing European nations to rearm. - Calls the five-nation Warsaw Pact invasion 'pure and simple aggression', meeting Russia's own UN-proposed definition of the term - Notes world powers, including the US, England and France, gave only verbal protest and did nothing concrete to help Czechoslovakia - Describes Czechoslovak passive resistance modeled on Gandhian methods, which forced Russia to release imprisoned leaders and negotiate - Details the post-invasion arrangement: Svoboda, Cernik and Dubcek retained their posts but liberal colleagues (Pavel, Sik, Hajek) were forced out and censorship reimposed - Argues the Soviet position is untenable long-term: liberal communist leaders cannot both please Moscow and continue liberalisation - Concludes Russia has won only a 'hollow triumph', losing international confidence and pushing detente further away ### Let The World Know An unsigned piece, 'Let The World Know' (p.2), reproduced from the Times Literary Supplement, chronicles the first days of the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia: the seizure of publishing houses, universities and the Academy of Sciences; the underground flight of writers such as Ivan Klima, Pavel Kohout and Milos Forman; and the clandestine radio network that smuggled nearly 1,000 delegates to a secret Fourteenth Party Congress. It describes the tonal arc of the clandestine broadcasts (from shock to relaxed defiance) and reproduces a protest song broadcast under the muzzles of Russian guns, ending with the refrain 'Go away, go away!' - Documents Russian occupation of Czech publishing houses, printing houses, schools, universities, and the Prague University Library - Notes many writers and journalists went underground or were arrested; others (Klima, Kohout, Liehm, Svitak, Mucha, Skvorecky) were abroad at the time - Describes the clandestine smuggling of ~1,000 delegates to the secret 14th Congress of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia on 22 August - Credits the clandestine radio network as essential to the effectiveness of Czechoslovak passive resistance - Reproduces a protest song broadcast during the occupation, ending 'Go away, go away!' ### To Sing With The Angels *By G. L. Mehta* G. L. Mehta's essay 'To Sing With The Angels' (p.3) opens from Maurice Hindus's 1941 tale of Nazi-era Czechoslovak resistance to draw a parallel with 1968: both times a small nation, taught by figures like Masaryk and the memory of Jan Huss to love freedom more than life, was crushed by an overwhelming outside power. Mehta narrates President Masaryk's founding faith in democracy through understanding and tolerance, contrasts Nazi occupation with the 1948 Stalinist-engineered coup (in which Jan Masaryk was, he says, 'brutally murdered' despite the official verdict of suicide), and quotes Lenin's dictum that 'communist morality is the morality which serves the [communist] struggle' to explain how democratic institutions were subverted from within. He closes that 1968 again finds Czechoslovakia forced to howl with the wolves, but that the spirit of Huss is immortal and the Czechs will rise again. - Frames 1968 as history repeating 1938: a small nation crushed by an overwhelming external power - Recounts Maurice Hindus's 1941 book 'To Sing With the Angels' about Nazi-era Czechoslovak resistance as an emotional touchstone - Describes President Masaryk's founding philosophy: faith, mutual understanding and tolerance as the basis of democracy - Argues the 1948 Communist takeover was accomplished by Stalinist coup and infiltration, not popular will, citing Joseph Korbel's account of 'conquest by co-existence' - States that Jan Masaryk was 'brutally murdered' by Stalin's agents rather than having committed suicide, as officially reported - Quotes Lenin on communist morality serving the party struggle by any means, including 'ruse, dodges, tricks, cunning, unlawful methods' - Ends on the theme that thought and faith cannot be permanently suppressed: 'Huss is immortal. The Czechs will rise again.' ### Press Strike—Its Implications *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai's 'Press Strike—Its Implications' (pp.5-6) analyses the recently concluded two-month Indian newspaper strike as an ill-advised, ill-prepared trade-union action that let communist-aligned journalists distort or suppress news to serve party ends. Pai argues the strike was called precipitately, without a strike fund, and let non-journalist demands dominate; along the way it suppressed public discussion of two urgent issues -- Russian military aid to Pakistan and the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia -- while the government of India's equivocal response went largely unscrutinised. He contends journalists wrongly organised as a trade union rather than as members of a 'noble profession', urges banning outside union leadership, and calls for citizens and responsible journalists to reassert control against a politically-motivated vocal minority. - Characterises the just-ended two-month press strike as ill-advised, ill-prepared and driven by an 'agitational approach' rather than negotiation - Alleges communist-aligned journalists ('card-carrying members of communist parties') used the strike and their newsroom positions to slant or suppress news - Cites a Calcutta daily finding that 10 of 16 reporters were card-carrying Communist Party members - Argues the strike created a news vacuum that muted public debate on Russian military aid to Pakistan and the Czechoslovak invasion, and on the Indian government's own hesitant response - Calls for outside trade-union leadership to be banned and for journalists to see themselves as members of a noble profession rather than artisans ### To Our Friends In Our Midst *By Josef Schweik (translated by Tibor Szamuely)* 'To Our Friends In Our Midst' (pp.7, 11) is a savagely ironic satire attributed to 'Josef Schweik' (the Good Soldier Schweik persona), presented as the first editorial of the Rude Pravo party newspaper under new management after the invasion, translated by Tibor Szamuely and reprinted from the Sunday Telegraph. Writing in mock-servile Soviet-loyalist language, the piece 'welcomes' the occupying Warsaw Pact troops as fraternal friends, absurdly justifies the invasion using Leninist double-talk (minorities must accept majority will; Dubcek merely leads a 'minority grouping'), dismisses comparisons to the Nazi occupation and to Munich as offensive nonsense, and thanks the Soviet Union for its 'helping hand' while conceding it must eventually be repaid by 'giving them the boot as soon as possible' -- the satire's real point being to expose the absurdity and cynicism of official Soviet-bloc propaganda. - Presented as a mock editorial by 'Josef Schweik' taking over Rude Pravo after the invasion, translated by Tibor Szamuely - Satirises Soviet propaganda by having the narrator welcome the occupying troops as fraternal allies rather than invaders - Uses Leninist logic absurdly to argue Dubcek is merely a 'minority grouping' that must accept majority (Soviet) will - Mocks comparisons between the Soviet occupation and the 1938 Nazi Munich betrayal as 'misconceptions' to be corrected - Ends with a double-edged pledge of gratitude to the Soviet Union that is undercut by a threat to eventually 'give them the boot' ### If I Were A Czech *By Mahatma Gandhi* 'If I Were A Czech' (p.8) reprints extracts from an article Mahatma Gandhi wrote in the latter half of 1938 when Nazi Germany invaded and occupied Czechoslovakia. Gandhi tells the Czechs he offers Benes 'a weapon not of the weak but of the brave': resolute non-violent refusal to bend to an earthly power, without bitterness, in the fullness of faith that spirit alone endures. He argues the science of war leads only to dictatorship while the science of non-violence leads to pure democracy, that small nations must either submit to the protection of dictators or become a constant menace to peace, and that unarmed non-violent resistance by men, women and children would be a novel experience for aggressors who have only ever known men yielding to force. - Reprints extracts from Gandhi's 1938 article addressed to the Czechs after Nazi occupation, framed here as history repeating in 1968 - Gandhi offers Benes 'a weapon not of the weak but of the brave': non-violent refusal to submit to force - Argues 'science of war leads one to dictatorship' while 'science of non-violence can alone lead one to pure democracy' - States that small nations must either accept protection under dictators or remain 'a constant menace to the peace of Europe' - Insists his own honour, not victory, is what must be preserved even in inglorious peace or defeat ### History Repeats Itself *By Tad Szulc, New York Times* Three short unsigned news items round out page 8. 'History Repeats Itself' cites George F. Kennan's memoirs on the 1939 Nazi entry into Prague and draws a parallel to the 1968 Soviet occupation after '229 days of the democratic spring.' 'Protest in Moscow' reports a small group of Russians, including Pavel Litvinov and the poet Natalya Gorbanevskaya, staging a Red Square protest against the invasion and being arrested. 'What is Communism?' relays an East European joke -- that communism is a system for turning socialism into capitalism -- now retold as bitterly apt given Soviet actions in Czechoslovakia. - 'History Repeats Itself' quotes George F. Kennan's 1939 Prague dispatch and Tad Szulc on parallels with the 1968 invasion - 'Protest in Moscow' reports Red Square demonstrators including Pavel Litvinov, Mrs Yuri Daniel and poet Natalya Gorbanevskaya arrested for banners reading 'Hands off the C.S.S.R.' - 'What is Communism?' retells a joke calling communism 'a system for turning socialism into capitalism,' now called 'hideous' because it fits Soviet actions ### Protest in Moscow *By A news item in New York Times* 'Dilemma For The Kremlin' (p.9), an unsigned piece courtesy of The Guardian Weekly, analyses the divided counsels within the Kremlin over how far to press its control of occupied Czechoslovakia. It reviews the failure of Soviet expectations that a puppet government or a compliant Svoboda would quickly emerge, notes the surprising resilience of reformist leaders like Dubcek despite arrest and vilification, and observes that Moscow and Prague read 'normalisation' very differently -- the Kremlin wanting a return to pre-January obedience, the Czechoslovaks wanting only the departure of occupying troops. It concludes that the Soviet politburo's next moves will determine whether Russia cuts its losses or further damages its international reputation. - Argues the Russians retain full military mastery over Czechoslovakia but hesitate, reflecting deep division within the Kremlin - Details failed Soviet expectations: no puppet government emerged, Svoboda could not be cajoled, Dubcek's team retained public support after returning from Moscow - Notes the party's own organ 'Rude Pravo' turned self-critical and chose a liberal praesidium after the invasion - Observes that 'normalisation' means different things to the Kremlin (full pre-January obedience) and to Dubcek (troop withdrawal only) - States the decision on further limits to Czechoslovak freedom rests with the 11 members of the Soviet politburo, including Kosygin and Suslov ### What is Communism? *By The New York Times* The Reviews section (pp.10-11) opens with Arvind A. Deshpande's review of A. B. Shah's 'Challenges to Secularism' (Nachiketa Publications), praising Shah's essays on cow-slaughter and Hindu-Muslim relations as placing him in the reformist tradition of Ranade and Raja Ram Mohan Roy, while noting Shah could have engaged more with Hindu thinkers who see communal identity itself as bound up with religious practice. This is followed by three shorter reviews (initialled A.A.D.) of Czechoslovakia-crisis pamphlets -- D. B. Karnik's 'The Czechoslovak Crisis,' and Pradip Bose's 'Nazism and Communism' and 'East European Turmoil and C.P.I.' -- the reviewer praising Karnik's even-handed chronicle while criticising Bose for equating Nazism and Communism too loosely and for having too much residual faith in the CPI's capacity for democratic reform. - Deshpande reviews A. B. Shah's 'Challenges to Secularism,' focusing on its essays on cow-slaughter and the position of India's Muslim minority - Notes Shah situates himself in the reformist tradition of Justice M. G. Ranade and Raja Ram Mohan Roy by challenging religious orthodoxy - Cites Shah's use of Nirad Chaudhury's essay in 'The Continent of Circe' on the status of Indian Muslims as a minority - A.A.D. praises D. B. Karnik's 'The Czechoslovak Crisis' (with a foreword by Jethmalani) as a useful, fair chronicle of events and statements - A.A.D. criticises Pradip Bose's two booklets for equating Nazism and Communism as similarly 'dated philosophies' and for retaining faith that CPI members could become democratic socialists ### Dilemma For The Kremlin *By Courtesy: The Guardian Weekly* 'With Many Voices' (p.12), the closing feature, gathers short quoted reactions to the Czechoslovak crisis from a wide range of international and Indian commentators -- including Jo Grimond, Alexander Dubcek, V. P. Dutt, C. Rajagopalachari, Asoka Mehta, Jean-Paul Sartre, John Grigg and Frank Moraes -- spanning late August to late September 1968, uniformly framing the invasion as aggression, a war crime, or an ominous precedent, punctuated with a subscription form for the magazine. - Compiles dated quotations (29 August-21 September 1968) from Indian and international press and public figures on the Czechoslovak invasion - Includes C. Rajagopalachari's Swarajya remark that Soviet violence has 'succeeded in suppressing the Czechoslovakian liberalization movement' - Includes Jean-Paul Sartre's Time statement calling the invasion 'pure aggression...a war crime' under international law - Includes Asoka Mehta's Janata figure citing over 18,000 tanks, 1,000 planes and 6.5 lakh soldiers used in the occupation - Includes a subscription coupon for Freedom First addressed to the Democratic Research Service, Bombay --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff198/ ### Summary This issue of Freedom First (No. 198, November 1968) is dominated by two Cold War flashpoints — the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia and its aftermath, and the domestic confrontation between the Central Government and striking government employees, entangled with the Kerala government's defiance of the Centre. Adam Adil's lead editorial-style piece condemns Kerala Chief Minister E. M. S. Namboodiripad for defying the Essential Services Maintenance Ordinance during the September 19 strike, framing it as a test of Centre-State authority and Communist extra-territorial loyalty, and calls for firm Central action against the state government. A companion analysis, "Central Government Employees' Strike" by An Observer, argues the strike was a Communist-engineered political manoeuvre rather than a genuine industrial dispute, criticises the Government's handling of pay and service conditions, and urges restraint in disciplinary reprisals. A. G. Noorani reviews Stanley Kochanek's study of the Congress Party's internal machinery and the Prime Minister-Congress President relationship.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This issue of Freedom First (No. 198, November 1968) is dominated by two Cold War flashpoints — the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia and its aftermath, and the domestic confrontation between the Central Government and striking government employees, entangled with the Kerala government's defiance of the Centre. Adam Adil's lead editorial-style piece condemns Kerala Chief Minister E. M. S. Namboodiripad for defying the Essential Services Maintenance Ordinance during the September 19 strike, framing it as a test of Centre-State authority and Communist extra-territorial loyalty, and calls for firm Central action against the state government. A companion analysis, "Central Government Employees' Strike" by An Observer, argues the strike was a Communist-engineered political manoeuvre rather than a genuine industrial dispute, criticises the Government's handling of pay and service conditions, and urges restraint in disciplinary reprisals. A. G. Noorani reviews Stanley Kochanek's study of the Congress Party's internal machinery and the Prime Minister-Congress President relationship. Saadi's "Dubcek's Role — A New Angle" reassesses Alexander Dubcek's conduct during the Soviet invasion, arguing popular pressure rather than Dubcek's own initiative drove the Prague Spring reforms, and that his eventual capitulation left Czechoslovak resistance without leadership; this is paired with short news items on a Moscow dissidents' trial and Soviet pressure on the French Communist Party. V. B. Karnik contributes a long piece, "India and Israel," dissecting the Government of India's pro-Arab pamphlet on the 1967 war, Dahyabhai Patel's rebuttal pamphlet, and the arguments of socialist writers Isaac Deutscher and Simha Flapan, concluding that Indian policy remains captive to outdated pro-Arab prejudice. Shorter items include a reprinted letter from a US soldier killed in Vietnam, a note on crime in the Soviet Union, book advertisements (V. B. Karnik's "Strikes in India" and M. R. Masani's "The Communist Party of India"), and the regular "With Many Voices" column of press quotations. ## Essays ### Namboodiripad's Defiance *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil's editorial attacks Kerala Chief Minister E. M. S. Namboodiripad for defying the Essential Services Maintenance Ordinance during the September 19, 1968 Central Government employees' strike, arguing that no state government can lawfully act against the authority of the President or the Centre. The piece situates Namboodiripad's stand within broader Marxist-Communist political attitudes in Kerala, citing A. K. Gopalan's threat to penalise loyal employees, and argues that tolerating Kerala's defiance would embolden other state governments and imperil national unity. It reports that opposition leaders in Kerala have demanded the government's dismissal and President's Rule, and closes (in the page 8 continuation) urging the Centre to deal firmly with Kerala without necessarily dismissing the ministry outright, provided the state "mends its ways." - Kerala CM E. M. S. Namboodiripad defied the Essential Services Maintenance Ordinance during the September 19 Central Government employees' strike. - The author frames this as a constitutional violation: no state government may counter specific orders of the President or Centre. - Union Law Minister Panampilli Govinda Menon is cited as having rightly stressed the Kerala government's constitutional violation. - A. K. Gopalan (Kerala CPM secretary) reportedly said loyal government employees who ignored the strike call would be penalised. - Opposition leaders in Kerala demanded dismissal of the Namboodiripad government and imposition of President's Rule. - The author warns that tolerating this defiance would encourage other state governments to challenge Central authority. - The piece calls for the Centre to act firmly, though not necessarily via immediate dismissal, and anticipates President's Rule and fresh elections if defiance continues. ### How Will The Congress Fare? *By A. G. Noorani* A. G. Noorani reviews Stanley Kochanek's "The Congress Party of India," using it to trace the shifting balance of power between the Prime Minister and the Congress President from the Kripalani episode of 1947 through Nehru, Shastri, and Indira Gandhi. Noorani highlights Kochanek's argument that the Congress President's office has been reduced to a position with negligible independent power despite periodic resurgence, and that the Prime Minister's dominance over the party organisation has only deepened over time. He closes by doubting that the party has developed the cohesiveness Kochanek's book calls for, suggesting the Congress will prosper more from its rivals' failures than from its own institutional merit. - Review centres on Stanley Kochanek's book on the Congress Party's internal working: PM–Congress President relations, the Working Committee's role, and leadership recruitment. - Traces the Kripalani resignation episode of 1947 as the founding crisis establishing the 'Nehru doctrine' of PM supremacy over the party president. - Describes a succession of Congress Presidents (Tandon, Sanjiva Reddy among others) whose authority remained subordinate to the Prime Minister. - Quotes Kochanek describing the Congress President's office as reduced to negligible power and prestige compared to the Prime Minister's. - Notes the Working Committee often resolved inter-state disputes (bilingual Bombay, Maharashtra-Mysore border, Assam reorganisation) ahead of formal government process. - Kochanek's book credits Congress's electoral durability to its capacity to absorb newly politicised social and communal groups. - Noorani is skeptical the party has achieved the cohesion Kochanek's conclusion calls for, predicting Congress's future success will depend more on rivals' weakness than its own strength. ### Dubcek's Role — A New Angle *By Saadi* This item reprints a letter written by Sgt. Jeffrey A. Davis of Brownsburg, addressed to his wife and meant to be opened only after his death in the Vietnam War, as originally published in the Indianapolis Star. The soldier explains, in his own words, why he died — for his country, his family, and even for the anti-war protesters and 'younger generation' he did not identify with, insisting his death was purposeful despite his ambivalence about the war itself. - A posthumous letter from Sgt. Jeffrey A. Davis, killed in Vietnam, addressed to his wife and reprinted from the Indianapolis Star. - Davis says he may not understand or like the war but felt obligated to fight it. - He frames his death as being for the American people, his family, and even for draft-card burners and protesters he disagreed with. - He expresses hope that the 'younger generation' will find direction despite his criticism of them. - The piece is presented without further editorial commentary, reproduced as a human-interest artifact of the Vietnam War era. ### Central Government Employees' Strike *By An Observer* Writing under the byline "Saadi," this piece argues that Alexander Dubcek did not personally initiate Czechoslovakia's liberalisation but was driven to reform by a pre-existing popular thirst for freedom among intellectuals, students, and economists such as Ota Sik. It contends that Dubcek's ultimate surrender to Soviet military pressure — rather than following Imre Nagy's path of defiance or leading underground resistance — has left Czechoslovak liberalisation dismantled, with press censorship, single-party dictatorship, and political bans re-imposed, even as popular resistance persists quietly. Accompanying short items describe a Moscow trial of Soviet dissidents protesting the invasion and a Soviet campaign to discipline the French Communist Party for its criticism of the invasion. - Argues Dubcek, a loyal Moscow-trained Communist, did not originate the liberalisation movement but was compelled to follow a popular current already stirring among Czechoslovak intellectuals and students. - Cites Czechoslovak ambassador Richard Dvorak's pre-invasion claims about multi-party representation in parliament as evidence democratic moves were already underway. - Contrasts Dubcek's capitulation with the option of defying Russia as Imre Nagy did in Hungary in 1956, or leading underground resistance. - Describes the post-invasion re-imposition of press censorship, banned political opposition, and single-party dictatorship as undoing everything the reform period built. - Reports Soviet officials, including Vasily Kuznetsov, courting Dubcek's rival Gustav Husak as a possible replacement. - A companion item on the Moscow trial describes dissidents including Pyotr Grigorenko and poet Vadim Delone protesting the trial of Soviet demonstrators against the invasion. - Another companion item reports Soviet efforts to discipline the French Communist Party and its leader Waldeck Rochet for criticising the invasion of Czechoslovakia. ### India And Israel *By V. B. Karnik* Writing as "An Observer," this analysis argues the September 19, 1968 one-day protest strike by Central Government employees was a Communist-organised political manoeuvre disguised as an industrial dispute, aimed at discrediting the Government rather than genuinely securing a need-based minimum wage. It contends Communist-controlled unions (the National Federation of Posts and Telegraphs Employees and the Confederation of Central Government Employees) dragged rank-and-file, largely apathetic workers into an illegal action that cost lives and jobs, while the Government's compromise offer of arbitration was rejected for political reasons. The piece also criticises the Government's own failures — delay in convening a Pay Commission, lumping together dissimilar categories of employees — and calls for measured, non-vindictive disciplinary action alongside restoration of union recognition. - The September 19 strike is characterised as a suicidal, Communist-directed political manoeuvre rather than a genuine industrial dispute. - Communist parties are said to have controlled the National Federation of Posts and Telegraphs Employees and the Confederation of Central Government Employees, plus some railway and defence unions. - Figures named as aligned with the Communist-led action include S. M. Joshi and Peter Alvares, with S.S.P., P.S.P. and sections of the Jan Sangh also drawn in. - About a dozen lives were lost and many injured in firings and lathi charges during the strike. - The Government is criticised for delaying the Pay Commission and for administratively lumping together very different categories of employees (railway workers, postal staff, Secretariat clerks). - The author urges the Government to withdraw the ordinances now that the emergency has passed and to treat one-day absence leniently, while still disciplining those who organised or engaged in illegal activity. - The piece concludes that a strike is a poor tool for redress and that unions must recognise how a small Communist minority can manoeuvre them into damaging adventurist action. ### Without Comment (Russia "Biggest Colonial Ruler"; Dissident Intellectuals Exiled; Polish Writer's Protest) V. B. Karnik examines the Government of India's pro-Arab, anti-Israel foreign policy stance through the lens of two competing pamphlets: the Government's own "India and Palestine — The Evolution of a Policy" and Dahyabhai Patel M.P.'s rebuttal, "India and Palestine — A Reply." Karnik argues the Government's pamphlet selectively omits facts, particularly the 1919 Faisal-Weizmann agreement and Britain's actual historical opposition to Zionism, and credits Patel's reply as a convincing, well-documented refutation. He extends the analysis to socialist critics of Israel — Isaac Deutscher and Simha Flapan — addressing and largely rejecting Deutscher's claim that Israel is a mere tool of Western imperialism, citing Flapan's data on Arab oil dependency on the West versus the comparatively minor American stake in Israel, and on the 1967 war's origins in Arab mobilisation against Israel. - Contrasts the Government of India's official pamphlet on its pro-Arab, anti-Israel policy with Dahyabhai Patel M.P.'s rebuttal pamphlet. - Argues the Government's pamphlet omits the 1919 Paris Peace Conference agreement between the Arab delegation (led by the Sharif of Mecca's son) and Chaim Weizmann. - Notes the Government's own pamphlet grudgingly admits Israel's existence as a fact, which Karnik reads as some hope against Indian support for Arab efforts to destroy Israel. - Engages socialist critic Isaac Deutscher's 1967 New Left Review interview calling the June War 'reactionary' and Israel a Western outpost. - Cites Simha Flapan's booklet rebutting Deutscher, with statistics on Arab oil's centrality (27% of world production, 60% of known reserves) to US Middle East interests versus comparatively minor US investment in Israel. - Presents Flapan's account of the 1967 war's origins: Arab troop mobilisations under Nasser and Hussein, and Israel's argument that its strike was defensive against encirclement. - Details Flapan's portrait of Israeli society: 91% nationalised land and resources, high trade union density, kibbutz movement's outsized political role. - Concludes the Government of India's Arab-tilted policy remains 'frozen around initial prejudices' that public opinion in India has already moved past. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff199/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 199 (December 1968) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal magazine, opening with a lead analysis of Richard Nixon's narrow victory in the 1968 U.S. presidential election and closing with the magazine's regular "With Many Voices" column of press quotations. Between these, the issue ranges across a reorganisation-of-Assam explainer, a review-essay on Robert Conquest's history of the Stalinist purges, a detailed defence of the judiciary against Blitz editor R. K. Karanjia in a contempt-of-court dispute, a report on an international seminar on democracy and development held at Coonoor, and short book reviews touching on Tagore, Sakharov, and the Brezhnev doctrine. The issue's throughline is a Cold War-inflected liberal anti-communism combined with domestic concerns about press responsibility, judicial independence, and regional political accommodation within India. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 199 (December 1968) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal magazine, opening with a lead analysis of Richard Nixon's narrow victory in the 1968 U.S. presidential election and closing with the magazine's regular "With Many Voices" column of press quotations. Between these, the issue ranges across a reorganisation-of-Assam explainer, a review-essay on Robert Conquest's history of the Stalinist purges, a detailed defence of the judiciary against Blitz editor R. K. Karanjia in a contempt-of-court dispute, a report on an international seminar on democracy and development held at Coonoor, and short book reviews touching on Tagore, Sakharov, and the Brezhnev doctrine. The issue's throughline is a Cold War-inflected liberal anti-communism combined with domestic concerns about press responsibility, judicial independence, and regional political accommodation within India. ## Essays ### Nixon Wins *By Atreya* Writing under the byline "Atreya," this piece surveys the 1968 U.S. presidential election, from Lyndon Johnson's withdrawal from the race through the turbulent Democratic and Republican conventions to Nixon's narrow popular-vote win over Hubert Humphrey. The author credits Nixon's win to the Republican Party's relative unity and organisation against a Democratic Party riven by the assassination of Robert Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy's insurgency, and disorder at the Chicago convention, while George Wallace's third-party run further split the field. The essay closes by assessing the challenges awaiting President-elect Nixon: pacifying an unhappy university-based intelligentsia agitated by the Vietnam War, and finding a face-saving way to end American involvement in Vietnam, alongside a swipe at commentators (naming John Freeman) who had disparaged Nixon before his election. - President Johnson's mid-March announcement not to seek re-election reshaped the race and exposed deep Democratic Party divisions. - Robert Kennedy's assassination and the disorderly Chicago convention (Mayor Daley, anti-war protests) badly damaged the Democrats. - George Wallace ran a segregationist third-party campaign with General Curtis LeMay as running mate, drawing support characterized as aligned with the John Birch Society and Ku Klux Klan. - Nixon won by a very narrow popular-vote margin (about 325,000 votes out of 72 million cast) against Humphrey, a closer margin than his 1960 loss to Kennedy. - The author predicts Nixon will govern cautiously given a Democratic-controlled Congress and will not be a foreign-policy "hawk." - Domestically, Nixon is expected to face pressure from university campuses over Vietnam-related funding cuts and campus unrest. - The piece criticizes commentators like John Freeman (former New Statesman editor, then British Ambassador-designate) for reversing earlier hostile assessments of Nixon. ### Reorganisation Of Assam *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik traces the decades-long problem of integrating Assam's hill tribes, inherited from British-era "excluded" and "partially excluded" area administration, through post-Independence constitutional accommodations (the Sixth Schedule, autonomous District Councils) that failed to satisfy hill peoples' aspirations for self-government. The article narrates the Naga separatist movement culminating in Nagaland's creation in December 1963, and then the continuing agitation of the remaining hill districts (Khasi and Jaintia Hills, Garo Hills, Mikir and North Cachar Hills, Mizo Hills) under the All Party Hill Leaders Conference, which pushed the government toward a 1967 policy declaration and a proposed formula for a sub-State federation within Assam. Karnik explains the mechanics of the proposed reorganisation — a two-tier structure with a regional federation retaining subjects like public order and police, and a sub-State with its own legislature and Council of Ministers — while noting unresolved practical hurdles. - Assam's hill areas (over 22,000 of 47,000+ sq. miles) were governed under British-era "excluded"/"partially excluded" status with no integration into the rest of Assam. - Post-Independence, the Sixth Schedule created autonomous District Councils for hill areas, but discontent persisted, led first by the Nagas. - Naga separatism led to prolonged conflict with the Government of India and the eventual creation of the State of Nagaland in December 1963. - The 1960 Assam Official Language Act (making Assamese the state language) intensified hill-area alienation and separatist agitation. - The All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) won most hill-area seats in 1962 and 1967 elections, establishing itself as the hill peoples' representative body. - A January 1967 Government of India policy declaration proposed a 'regional federation' formula: a sub-State comprising Khasi-Jaintia and Garo Hills (Mikir/North Cachar optional; Mizo Hills undecided) with its own legislature and ministers, while the regional federation (State of Assam) retains subjects like public order and police. - Unresolved issues remain, including division of assets/powers and the status of Shillong. ### Terror Under Stalin *By John Gross* John Gross reviews Robert Conquest's The Great Terror, a comprehensive history of the Stalinist purges. Gross summarizes Conquest's account of the terror's escalation from forced collectivisation and the 1932-33 Ukrainian famine (est. 5 million dead) through the NKVD's mass arrests, the 1934 Kirov assassination that Stalin secretly engineered as pretext, and the 'Yezhovshchina' of 1936-38, with Conquest estimating at least 20 million killed or died in camps from 1930 onward (3 million during the Yezhov period alone). Gross praises the book's scholarly restraint and meticulous sourcing, noting Conquest avoids polemical excess despite ample material, and reflects on why the Purges remain comparatively obscure in Western consciousness relative to Nazi atrocities. He closes on Conquest's point that the machinery of the Stalinist state was never dismantled and that former purge-era officials (Kosygin, Brezhnev) remain in power. - Forced collectivisation from the late 1920s caused a man-made famine (1932-33) killing an estimated 5 million, mostly in Ukraine. - Stalin secretly arranged the 1934 assassination of Leningrad party boss Sergei Kirov as a pretext for mass purges. - Of 1,900-odd delegates who gave Stalin a standing ovation at the 1934 Party Congress, some 1,100 were later liquidated. - Conquest estimates at least 20 million people were shot or died in camps under Stalin from 1930 onward, with about 3 million killed during the Yezhov period (1936-38). - Gross argues Western public memory has downplayed Stalinist terror compared to Nazi atrocities, partly due to leftist reluctance and Soviet secrecy. - The review recounts the case of theatre director Meyerhold, killed after refusing to endorse socialist realism, and grotesque episodes like the prosecution of chess players. - The review notes that purge-era figures like Kosygin and Brezhnev remained in positions of Soviet leadership decades later, and draws a pointed parallel to the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia. ### Freedom Of Press, Uses And Abuses *By G. A. Abba* G. A. Abba defends the Bombay High Court's contempt-of-court conviction of Blitz editor R. K. Karanjia, arguing against the popular narrative that Karanjia was a martyr for press freedom. The article recounts the underlying facts: a reader's obscenity complaint against a Blitz pin-up photograph, Karanjia's subsequent article "Whom Will You Fine For Konarak And Khajuharo?" ridiculing the lower judiciary's handling of that case, and the High Court's detailed judgment (quoted at length) finding the article a calculated attack on judicial confidence, alongside its rejection of Karanjia's belated apologies as insincere. Abba concludes that Karanjia's real strategy — and that of unnamed 'communist' interests he associates with such attacks — is to discredit Indian democratic institutions, especially the judiciary and the press, under cover of championing the poor. - The case originated from a Blitz pin-up photograph (of dancer Pamela Tiffin) that a reader, Abdul Jabbar Taj of Nagpur, successfully had judged obscene by a magistrate; the Sessions Judge later quashed that conviction. - Editor R. K. Karanjia then published an article attacking the lower judiciary over the case, leading the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court to convict him of contempt of court (15 days' imprisonment plus a Rs. 2,000 fine, or 15 more days in default). - The High Court's judgment (quoted extensively) found the article calculated to shatter public confidence in the impartiality and efficiency of the lower judiciary. - The Court rejected Karanjia's three separate apologies as insincere, belated, and motivated by fear of consequences rather than genuine contrition. - Abba characterizes Karanjia's pattern as: abuse press freedom, disclaim responsibility, invoke the poor and downtrodden, and play the martyr when consequences arrive. - The piece links these attacks to a broader alleged communist strategy of discrediting India's judiciary, press, and democratic institutions, citing the Kerala Chief Minister E.M.S. Namboodiripad's own contempt conviction as a parallel. ### Democracy And Development *By A. A. Deshpande* A short unsigned tribute marks the sudden death in Bombay on 5 November of Murarji Vaidya, described as a prominent industrialist with wide-ranging interests in social and political developments, particularly the growth of freedom and democracy, which the tribute frames as his bond with Freedom First. - Murarji Vaidya, a prominent industrialist, died suddenly in Bombay on 5 November 1968. - He is remembered for interests spanning social and political developments and particularly the growth of freedom and democracy. - The tribute frames his death as a loss to the journal and to the democratic movement in the country. ### Reviews: Tagore and Communism; Peaceful Coexistence and Intellectual Freedom; Brezhnev Doctrine *By V. K.* A boxed notice advertises V. B. Karnik's book Strikes in India (Rs. 12), published by P. C. Manaktala & Sons Pvt. Ltd., Bombay. - Announces publication of Strikes in India by V. B. Karnik, priced at Rs. 12. - Published by P. C. Manaktala & Sons Pvt. Ltd., Fairfield, Churchgate, Bombay. ### With Many Voices A. A. Deshpande reports on a six-day international seminar on "Problems of Democracy and Development" held at Coonoor in October 1968, organised jointly by the Indian Liberal Group, the Friedrich-Naumann Foundation of West Germany, and the Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy. With 35 participants from 14 countries, including Jo Grimond, Dr. S. Chandrashekhar, and M. R. Masani, the seminar examined the relationship between democratic stability and economic development, concluding that neither is a guarantee of the other but that political instability undermines economic progress, and that developing countries should pursue their own indigenous forms of democracy rather than imported models. - The seminar was held at Coonoor in October 1968 with 35 participants from 14 countries including India, Ceylon, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Siam, South Vietnam, Belgium, France, Germany, Britain, and Sweden. - It was jointly organised by the Indian Liberal Group, the Friedrich-Naumann Foundation, and the Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy, co-directed by M. R. Masani and Gettfried Wust. - Notable participants included Jo Grimond (leader of Britain's Liberal Party), Dr. S. Chandrashekhar (Union Minister of State for Health & Family Planning), and M. R. Masani, M.P. - The seminar found no short cuts to development and agreed the state's primary economic function is twofold: a regulatory role and providing infrastructure. - It concluded that exploitation of ethnic/linguistic/religious divisions and charismatic-leader appeal work against democracy in developing countries. - Prosperity was found to support political stability, but was not judged a strict precondition (sine qua non) for either democracy or stability, and vice versa. - The seminar recommended developing countries pursue their own indigenous forms of democracy rather than transplanted models, and cautioned against costly nuclear weapons programmes as a strain on economic stability. ### Essay 8 The "Reviews" section (initialled V.K.) covers two pamphlets and a news item. It first reviews A. Dasgupta's Tagore and Communism, which argues communists have selectively misused Rabindranath Tagore's writings for propaganda while ignoring his criticisms of Soviet censorship and dictatorship, and notes the Soviet government's non-payment of royalties on Tagore's books. It then reviews physicist Andrei Sakharov's pamphlet Peaceful Coexistence and Intellectual Freedom (published in English by Siddharth Publications after underground circulation and a New York Times translation), which pleads for US-Soviet cooperation against the risk of nuclear destruction. A closing unsigned item explains Brezhnev's newly proclaimed intervention doctrine (used to justify the invasion of Czechoslovakia) as a serious extension of Soviet claims over the internal affairs of socialist states. - A. Dasgupta's booklet Tagore and Communism argues communists selectively quote Tagore while ignoring his criticism of Bolshevism, comparing 'Tsarism and Bolshevism' as 'the two sides of the same giant.' - The review notes the Soviet government has not paid Tagore royalties owed to Vishwabharati. - Andrei Sakharov's essay Peaceful Coexistence and Intellectual Freedom, written June 1968 and smuggled out via typed copies before The New York Times published a translation, is reviewed as an appeal for US-Soviet cooperation to avert mutual destruction. - Sakharov's essay describes the risk of full-scale nuclear war as involving destruction of cities, poisoning of fields and water, radiation-induced genetic degeneracy, and civilizational collapse. - The Brezhnev Doctrine item explains the Soviet claim that intervention in a socialist country is justified whenever internal forces threaten to restore capitalism there, framing this as the doctrinal basis for the Czechoslovakia invasion. - The item speculates the doctrine could eventually be extended to threaten Western interests, citing Germany as an example. ### Essay 9 "With Many Voices" is the issue's regular closing column of press and public quotations on current events, spanning remarks from Richard Nixon, Andre Malraux, Marshal Tito, and various Indian and international newspapers on themes including communist coalition politics, the Soviet role in Czechoslovakia, and the KGB, alongside a subscription notice for the magazine. - The column compiles quotations from figures including Richard Nixon, Andre Malraux, and Marshal Josip Broz Tito on politics and civilisation. - Several quotations from Indian and international press (The Indian Express, Swarajya, The Observer, Amrita Bazar Patrika) comment on Czechoslovakia's occupation and Congress Party politics in India. - A quotation from Swiss Press Review and News Report addresses Soviet claims to judge which countries qualify as 'socialist.' - A closing item from The Current reports a British airman's confession of spying for a Russian diplomat, illustrating KGB activity abroad. - The page includes a subscription coupon addressed to Freedom First, c/o Democratic Research Service, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff200/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 200 (January 1969), the Bombay-based classical-liberal journal edited by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service, marks its own bicentennial issue with a brief editorial thanking readers, subscribers, and contributors for sixteen years of publication. The issue's center of gravity is anti-Communist and anti-authoritarian commentary: pieces dissect the splintering of Indian Marxism in Kerala and West Bengal, dismantle the Brezhnev Doctrine of limited sovereignty advanced to justify the invasion of Czechoslovakia, and needle Krishna Menon's non-alignment record via a review of Michael Brecher's oral-history volume. Lighter or more miscellaneous items round out the number: a student's essay on global student unrest, an editorial glossary satirising Communist jargon, readers' letters on Acharya Rajneesh and the R. K. Karanjia contempt-of-court case, a report on Michael Stewart's India visit, and the recurring 'With Many Voices' page of quoted press opinion. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 200 (January 1969), the Bombay-based classical-liberal journal edited by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service, marks its own bicentennial issue with a brief editorial thanking readers, subscribers, and contributors for sixteen years of publication. The issue's center of gravity is anti-Communist and anti-authoritarian commentary: pieces dissect the splintering of Indian Marxism in Kerala and West Bengal, dismantle the Brezhnev Doctrine of limited sovereignty advanced to justify the invasion of Czechoslovakia, and needle Krishna Menon's non-alignment record via a review of Michael Brecher's oral-history volume. Lighter or more miscellaneous items round out the number: a student's essay on global student unrest, an editorial glossary satirising Communist jargon, readers' letters on Acharya Rajneesh and the R. K. Karanjia contempt-of-court case, a report on Michael Stewart's India visit, and the recurring 'With Many Voices' page of quoted press opinion. ## Essays ### Marxist Contortions in Kerala *By "Atreya"* Writing under the pseudonym "Atreya," the author traces the fracturing of Communist politics in Kerala, arguing that A. K. Gopalan and E. M. S. Namboodiripad built their careers on factional one-upmanship inherited from the original CPI split, and that this same logic has now turned against them. A breakaway "Ultra" faction led by Kunnikal Narayanan, Imbichi Bava, and Kosala Ramdas has rejected parliamentary participation, staged strikes at the Idikki power project, and mounted armed attacks on police stations at Tellicherry and Pulpally, forcing the ruling Marxist Communists into a difficult position between Right Communist pressure to develop the state and Ultra pressure to stay revolutionary. - Kerala's Marxist Communists (E.M.S. Namboodiripad and A.K. Gopalan) are accused of having built their power through opportunistic 'united front' tactics that are now being turned against them by their own dissidents. - A breakaway 'Ultra' faction (Kunnikal Narayanan, Imbichi Bava, Kosala Ramdas) rejects parliamentary democracy as compatible with revolution and has resigned Assembly seats. - The Ultras are linked to strikes at the Idikki Power Project and armed attacks/terrorism at Tellicherry and Pulpally. - Industries Minister T.V. Thomas's move to bring in G.D. Birla for a sick textile mill is cited as evidence of Right Communist pressure on the Marxist leadership. - The article frames Kerala's Marxist Communists as squeezed between Ultra-revolutionary terror on one side and Right Communist developmentalism on the other, with the ruling party's survival in doubt. ### Russian Doctrine Of Intervention *By (Contributed)* This contributed, unsigned piece analyses the doctrine of 'limited sovereignty' articulated by Brezhnev at the November 1968 Polish Communists' Congress to retroactively justify the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. It traces the thesis to S. Kovalev's Pravda article of September 1968 and argues that Moscow has abandoned even the pretense that Czechoslovak leaders 'invited' intervention, instead asserting a class-based right to police any socialist state's internal politics. The piece also reproduces, in full, a protest letter signed by roughly seventy Eastern and Western Marxist and left-wing philosophers (including Ernst Bloch, Herbert Marcuse, and Lucian Goldman) at the August 1968 Korcula Summer School symposium in Yugoslavia, condemning the occupation as an unjustifiable blow to world socialism and peaceful coexistence. - Brezhnev's speech at the Polish Communists' Fifth Congress (November 1968) confirmed Russia's claimed right to intervene in any socialist state facing an internal or external 'threat to socialism.' - The doctrine originated in S. Kovalev's Pravda article of 26 September 1968, written primarily as retrospective justification for the Czechoslovak invasion. - The piece argues Brezhnev's formulation subordinates legal norms and national sovereignty to 'the laws of class struggle,' a marked departure from prior Soviet rhetoric of strict non-interference. - It notes the contradiction between Brezhnev's claims and Gromyko's own statement in New York that the 'Socialist commonwealth' has no geographical limits. - A separate protest letter signed by about 70 Eastern and Western Marxist philosophers at the Korcula Summer School (14-24 August 1968) calls the occupation of Czechoslovakia an illegal act with no justification, warning it will aid anti-socialist forces and complicate opposition to 'American aggression in Vietnam.' ### Michael Stewart's Mission *By R. Muthuswamy* R. Muthuswamy reports on British Foreign Secretary Michael Stewart's visit to India for bilateral talks, framing it as a fence-mending mission twenty-one years after independence. The piece argues that Indo-British relations remain distorted by leftover ruler-subject resentment, cites lingering Indian grievances over Britain's stance in the 1965 Indo-Pakistani war and its sanctions-only approach to Rhodesia, and criticises India's own moral inconsistency in condemning Britain over Rhodesia while abstaining on a UN resolution condemning the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. - Michael Stewart's visit is presented as part of a broader series of bilateral talks India has held with other countries, including Russia and the USA. - The article argues Indo-British relations are still inhibited by 'ruler-subject' era resentments 21 years after independence. - It recalls unresolved Indian grievances against Britain from the 1965 Indo-Pakistani war and contrasts this with Britain's economic-sanctions-only approach to Rhodesia. - The author criticises India's moral inconsistency: vocal condemnation of Britain over Rhodesia, but a soft-pedalled, abstaining response to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. - The visit produced little substantive progress beyond an agreement to refer the 'India Library' question to arbitration. ### Marxist Terms Re-Explained *By G. L. M.* A satirical glossary by 'G.L.M.' redefines standard Communist political vocabulary — 'Co-Existence,' 'Democracy,' 'Dictatorship of the Proletariat,' 'Election,' 'Non-Alignment,' 'Parliament,' and similar terms — as euphemisms for one-party control, propaganda, and Soviet or Chinese domination, in the tradition of an Ambrose Bierce-style Devil's Dictionary. - The piece defines 'Election' as 'Nomination by Party bosses for automatic approval by 99 percent members.' - 'Dictatorship of the Proletariat' is glossed as 'Benevolent rule by a coterie or a dictator not responsible to nor removable by the people.' - 'Non-Alignment' is defined as 'Turning a blind eye to Communist aggressions while castigating Western ones.' - 'Imperialist' is defined relativistically as whichever power stands in the way of Soviet or Chinese domination ambitions. ### Mao Society as Russians see it *By -Indian Express (reprint)* A short reprint from the Indian Express summarises a profile, published in the Soviet Communist Party's theoretical organ Kommunist, of what a Maoist-modeled society would look like: an economy of enforced, army-organised labour battalions geared entirely to state military potential, an enforced levelling of social classes, and a total subordination of individual personality and national or world culture to state ideology and enforced self-denial. - The source is Kommunist, the theoretical organ of the Soviet Communist Party, profiling a Maoist social model. - The imagined society organises labour into army-style battalions and regiments, limiting consumption to 'basic needs.' - All resources are concentrated on building the state's military potential. - Individual personality is reduced to 'a cog in the State machine,' with national and world culture rejected in favour of enforced ideological self-denial. ### Student Unrest—A Point Of View *By Jai Chinai* In a student-contributed op-ed (with an editorial note inviting reader responses), Jai Chinai argues that stereotyped explanations for global student unrest — generation gap, frustration, loss of religious authority — miss the real story: that for the first time in history youth constitutes a globally unified, better-informed, communicatively connected bloc with its own agenda. The author contrasts constructive Western student movements (aligned with socialist or liberalisation causes) with what he characterises as directionless Indian student vandalism, and argues responsibility for the unrest is diffuse across all of Indian society, not just students, with self-discipline as the only real remedy. - The author rejects generation-gap and frustration explanations for student unrest as stereotypes that obscure a genuine new phenomenon. - For the first time, 'the Student' has become synonymous with 'the young generation' as a globally unified, better-communicating bloc. - Western student unrest (France's socialist movement, US/UK counterculture, Czechoslovak liberalisation) is portrayed as having discernible, even noble, goals. - Indian student unrest, by contrast, is characterised as vandalism, arson, and violence directed at teachers with no constructive goal. - Responsibility for the broader unrest across Indian society (labourers, politicians, businessmen, etc.) is diffuse, and self-discipline plus better parenting/teaching are proposed as the only remedies. ### Letters to the Editor: A New Preacher *By N. B. Desai* In the 'Letters to the Editor' column, N. B. Desai writes from Bombay to warn readers about Acharya Rajneesh, a charismatic new preacher drawing large Bombay crowds with a philosophy Desai summarises as 'Marxism plus God' — a call for revolution and, if necessary, a fifty-year dictatorship, delivered by a man who denounces India's fatalism, its obsession with a lost past, and its acceptance of poverty, while quoting the Gita, the Bible, the Koran, Confucius, and Nietzsche. Desai suggests Rajneesh may be using religious rhetoric as a convenient front for a Marxist agenda and urges that he be watched. - Acharya Rajneesh addressed large crowds at Bombay's Cross Maidan on the theme 'India and My Anxiety.' - Desai summarises Rajneesh's four core arguments: belief in destiny/rebirth has crippled Indian society; excessive reverence for the past prevents progress; fear of death produces a complacent 'philosophy of poverty'; and India has surrendered joy and a sense of future. - Rajneesh reportedly argues revolution is necessary, that democratic means cannot achieve it, and that a fifty-year dictatorship may be required. - Desai frames Rajneesh's blend of Marxism and God-talk as an ideological paradox and questions whether the religious framing is a convenient pretext for Marxist propagandising. ### Letters to the Editor: A Brave Journalist! *By S. D. J.* A second letter, signed 'S.D.J.,' congratulates Freedom First for exposing facts in the R. K. Karanjia contempt-of-court case, focusing on the editor's refusal (defended in the Supreme Court by counsel M. C. Chagla) to name a supposed 'judicial friend' who allegedly questioned a Magistrate's judgment reproduced in Blitz. The writer notes the Court's own scepticism about whether such a source existed at all, and draws a parallel to the separate Thackersey case, where the same editor is said to have attributed damaging remarks to named public figures who were either dead or unavailable to confirm them, accusing the editor of a pattern of unverifiable sourcing dressed up as principled journalism. - The letter concerns R. K. Karanjia's (unnamed but clearly identified via 'Shri Karanjia' and 'Blitz') refusal to disclose the identity of a 'judicial friend' cited in a contested article about a Magistrate's judgment. - Counsel M. C. Chagla argued in the Supreme Court that the editor's non-disclosure upheld 'the best traditions of journalism.' - The Court itself expressed doubt whether such a letter-writer or 'judicial friend' existed at all. - The writer alleges a similar pattern in the Thackersey case, where the editor attributed damaging quotes to public figures who were dead or unavailable for confirmation. ### Menon And Menonism *By A. G. Noorani* A. G. Noorani reviews Michael Brecher's India and World Politics (Oxford University Press), a transcript-based study built on seventeen hours of taped interviews with V. K. Krishna Menon. Noorani argues the book's chief value lies not in Brecher's 'jargon-ridden' analytical chapter but in the raw record of Menon's own words, which reveal a man who reflexively distinguishes 'American Imperialism' as the world's pre-eminent evil while treating Soviet actions with near-total leniency, defends his own dominance over Nehru-era foreign policy (including the 1962 Goa operation and the UN handling of Korea and Hungary), and admits, near the end of his account, one moment of self-reproach toward Nehru. - The book is based on seventeen taped hours of interviews with Krishna Menon, edited down by Menon himself, plus a roughly forty-page analytical chapter by Brecher. - Noorani highlights Menon's admission that he insisted India water down its stance on Hungary at the UN and that he personally set India's approach to the Korean resolution. - Brecher's own conclusion is quoted at length: Menon treats the US and USSR as equally powerful but morally unequal, reserving 'unquestionable' evil status for 'American Imperialism' while criticism of the Soviets is 'rare and invariably mild.' - Menon reveals he was never told about Nehru's mediation feelers involving B. Shiva Rao regarding Chinese suzerainty over Tibet in exchange for border recognition, though Shiva Rao had disclosed this as early as 1963. - Menon at one point recalls confessing to Nehru that he regretted not standing up to him more, and Nehru's atypically warm reply. - Noorani concludes that Menon's 'Image' of world politics shaped Indian foreign policy significantly across the 1952-1962 decade. ### With Many Voices The issue's recurring 'With Many Voices' page collects short quotations from the contemporary press and public figures on the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, Indian politics, and Cold War alignment, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. Quoted voices include Zbigniew Brzezinski, Morarji Desai, C. Rajagopalachari, K. Subba Rao, Dayanand Bandodkar, M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, and the Russian poet Evgeny Evtushenko (as reported by novelist Frank Hardy), alongside a subscription coupon and the issue's printer/publisher colophon naming V. B. Karnik as editor. - The page collects short press and public-figure quotations dated December 1968, mostly concerning the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and its geopolitical fallout. - C. Rajagopalachari is quoted from Swarajya calling all factions of Indian Communism 'subversionists' regardless of their internal splits. - Evgeny Evtushenko is quoted (via Frank Hardy in Time) protesting that he wrote to his government opposing the Czechoslovakia action and was branded an enemy of the state. - The page ends with a subscriber coupon (annual subscription Rs. 5.00) and the printer's colophon: printed at Inland Printers, Bombay, and edited/published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff201/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 201 (February 1969) is a full 12-page number of the Bombay-based liberal monthly edited by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service. Its lead pieces track the political churn following the collapse of United Front coalition governments in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, and the resulting mid-term elections, alongside foreign-affairs commentary on Sino-Soviet rivalry, India's prospects for dialogue with China and Pakistan, and Communist insurgency along the Thailand-Malaysia frontier. Domestic themes include student unrest and national integration (reported from a Gandhi Centenary student camp in Trivandrum, with reader responses continued from the previous issue), a review of J. K. Galbraith's The New Industrial State, and the regular back-of-book features: a first-person account of an Indian's ordeal in Soviet labour camps and prisons, a review of the pamphlet Indo-Soviet Relations, and the 'With Many Voices' column of press quotations and subscription notice. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 201 (February 1969) is a full 12-page number of the Bombay-based liberal monthly edited by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service. Its lead pieces track the political churn following the collapse of United Front coalition governments in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, and the resulting mid-term elections, alongside foreign-affairs commentary on Sino-Soviet rivalry, India's prospects for dialogue with China and Pakistan, and Communist insurgency along the Thailand-Malaysia frontier. Domestic themes include student unrest and national integration (reported from a Gandhi Centenary student camp in Trivandrum, with reader responses continued from the previous issue), a review of J. K. Galbraith's The New Industrial State, and the regular back-of-book features: a first-person account of an Indian's ordeal in Soviet labour camps and prisons, a review of the pamphlet Indo-Soviet Relations, and the 'With Many Voices' column of press quotations and subscription notice. ## Essays ### Mid-Term Elections *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil surveys the mid-term elections forced on Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal after United Front coalition governments collapsed amid defections and factional infighting. He argues that the initial hope non-Congress rule had inspired gave way to disillusion as coalition partners fought over patronage, law and order broke down (especially in West Bengal, where Naxalbari became a byword for Maoist-inspired violent revolt), and Congress failed to offer a compelling alternative. Writing as a self-described Congressman but 'dispassionate observer,' he urges the electorate to vote for political stability and warns against both Communist extremes, right and left, as anti-democratic threats to civil order. - Nearly 7,000 candidates contested 1,167 seats across the four states, affecting roughly 170 million people. - United Front coalitions fractured due to lack of coordination among ministers from different parties and struggles over patronage. - West Bengal's law and order collapse is highlighted, including gheraos endorsed by a semi-Communist labour minister and the Naxalbari uprising inspired by Maoist doctrine. - Congress Chief Minister Ajoy Mukherjee is described as a helpless, weak figure unable to resist Communist maneuvering within the United Front. - In Haryana, an early swing back toward Congress is noted even as Congress itself faces internal defections. - The author frames the piece as nonpartisan, appealing to 'mature judgment' rather than campaigning for any party, while warning against Communist parties of the right or left. ### Russian Attack on Mao An unsigned news item reports Pravda's attack on Mao Tse-tung, accusing him of reducing the Chinese Communist Party to 'Communist in name only' and of introducing a monarchical principle of hereditary succession into a draft Party charter, with Lin Piao named as 'the heir of comrade Mao Tse-tung.' The piece summarizes Pravda's charges that Mao's policies caused economic failure and unrest, and its confidence that 'true Chinese Communists' would eventually restore China to 'the correct path.' - Pravda, the official Soviet Communist Party journal, published the attack on January 11. - The attack targeted a draft charter for the Chinese Communist Party to be submitted at its ninth congress later that year. - Pravda accused Mao of installing a 'military-bureaucratic dictatorship' and replacing party functionaries with personally loyal 'fanatics.' - The article predicted Chinese Communists would eventually rise to restore 'the correct path' and undo Mao's departure from Marxism. ### Dialogue With China And Pakistan *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik argues for sustained dialogue between India and both China and Pakistan, drawing an analogy to the ongoing US-China talks in Warsaw. He addresses fears that Indira Gandhi's stated willingness to open dialogue with China might amount to appeasement, arguing that a dialogue need not compromise 'national honour and interest' and that India should not let past humiliation (the Hindi-Chini-Bhai-Bhai era) foreclose diplomatic engagement. He is more optimistic about prospects with Pakistan, noting Pakistan's openness to a 'no war' pact and mechanisms for dispute settlement, and urges both countries to reduce military expenditure in favour of economic development. - A US-China dialogue has continued in Warsaw for over four years despite mutual hostility, used as a model for why India-China talks are worth pursuing. - Karnik distinguishes between dialogue/settlement of disputes and the ongoing ideological 'battle of ideals and values,' arguing the latter must continue regardless of diplomatic relations. - Indira Gandhi is quoted describing India and China's attitudes toward the world and their own development as 'entirely different.' - Pakistan is described as more receptive than China to a 'no war' pact and to setting up machinery for resolving bilateral disputes. - The article calls for reduced military expenditure by both India and Pakistan to allow more resources for economic development and popular welfare. ### Letters to the Editor The issue's Letters to the Editor section carries celebratory notes marking Freedom First's 200th issue, from P. G. Mavalankar (Director, Harold Laski Institute of Political Science, Ahmedabad) and from N. G. Ranga, M.P., who recalls the Democratic Research Service publishing a 1951 book of his and others' parliamentary speeches criticizing Nehru's Tibet policy, and jokes that he explains to foreigners abroad that his party's name (Swatantra) means 'Freedom First.' A short unsigned item, 'United States and Vietnam,' reproduces outgoing US Secretary of State Dean Rusk's answer on what went wrong in Vietnam, blaming Hanoi's determined effort to take over South Vietnam by force. - Both letters congratulate the magazine on reaching its 200th issue and 16 years of continuous publication. - N. G. Ranga recalls a 1951 Democratic Research Service book collecting his, Masani's, Kunzru's, Shyamaprasad Mukherjee's and P. Y. Deshpande's parliamentary speeches criticizing Nehru's Tibet policy. - Ranga notes that he tells foreigners abroad that his political party's name means 'Freedom First.' - Dean Rusk, quoted from U.S. News and World Report, attributes what went wrong in Vietnam to Hanoi's persistent effort to take over South Vietnam by force, met by South Vietnamese and Allied forces. ### United States and Vietnam Ian Tickle examines the persistent Communist insurgency straddling the Thailand-Malaysia frontier, arguing that despite formal military and police cooperation agreements between the two countries, little real progress has been made. He describes Chin Peng, veteran of the failed 1950s Malayan Emergency, as reportedly leading renewed insurgent training on Thai soil, exploiting resentment between Malaysia's Chinese and Malay communities, and building clandestine 'people's communes' modeled on similar cells in Sumatra. Tickle warns that the winding down of the Vietnam War could free Communist forces to intensify pressure on Thailand and Malaysia, urging defensive alliances among the threatened Southeast Asian states themselves rather than reliance on the United States alone. - Communist insurgency has been endemic in the jungle frontier area between Thailand and Malaysia since the 1950s Malayan Emergency. - Chin Peng is reported to be training Malaysian Communist cadres from Thai territory, exploiting easy border crossings. - The Communist strategy in Malaysia works chiefly through the Chinese racial minority, exploiting Chinese-Malay communal tension. - Quasi-secret 'people's communes' — self-supporting Communist jungle enclaves — have been discovered in Malaysia and in Indonesian Sumatra. - The article warns that Communists are awaiting a coordinated signal from Peking rather than acting piecemeal. - Continued on page 10: Thailand faces an even more dangerous frontier with Laos, porous to North Vietnamese infiltration; the author urges regional defensive alliances as both prophylactic and cure. ### Communist Insurgency In Malaysia And Thailand *By Ian Tickle* B. A. Deshpande reports on the Inter-University Students Leadership Camp for National Integration, held in Trivandrum from 22 to 31 December as part of the Gandhi Centenary Committee's programme, with delegates from about twenty-five universities. He summarizes talks on the role of students in national development, comparative religion, Gandhi's ideas of Satyagraha and Ahimsa, the Constitution's protection of fundamental rights, and the challenges of university education, while criticizing the camp's discussions as often lacking sincerity of purpose among participants and leaving him uncertain of the camp's overall value, though he found value in meeting students from other regions, including firsthand accounts of tensions in Nagaland and Assam. - The camp was organized by the Gandhi Centenary Committee and inaugurated by Kerala's Education Minister, M. Koya. - Prof. A. G. Warrier's talk on comparative religion argued that religion, in its true sense as distinct from 'institutional religion,' is inseparable from truth and reached through devotion. - Prof. Balkrishna Pillai discussed Gandhi's ideas of Satyagraha and Ahimsa, and controversially claimed Gandhi never opposed industrialisation nor advocated linguistic states. - Discussion concluded that national integration could not be achieved by intensifying linguistic states and that English and regional languages play complementary roles. - Continued on page 10: Principal Sankar Dasan Thampi discussed the Constitution's fundamental rights chapter, and Vice-Chancellor Samuel Mathai spoke on the challenges of university education. - Deshpande found many camp discussions insincere and was left uncertain about the camp's overall purpose, though he valued exposure to conditions in Nagaland and Assam via fellow delegates. ### Students And National Integration *By B. A. Deshpande* This feature collects reader responses to a 'Student Unrest' article from the previous issue. Principal J. W. Airan writes that while single-issue grievances (Vietnam, academic freedom, Israel) provide occasions for unrest in various countries, the deeper cause is the breakdown of traditional teacher-student relations as education has widened beyond traditional elites, combined with the state's own curbing of academic freedom in exchange for funding. S. C. Khattri and D. Shiva Kumar largely endorse the original article's diagnosis, with Shiva Kumar proposing student representation on university administrative boards. N. B. Desai's response (continuing onto page 8, unsigned continuation) argues that only a small percentage of students actually engage in destructive unrest, attributing the deeper malady to social, economic, cultural and political causes including an overburdened, underqualified teaching corps, parental neglect due to economic pressure, and graduate unemployment that political parties exploit by recruiting disaffected youth. - The feature responds to a 'Student Unrest' article by Jai Chinai published in a previous issue. - Principal J. W. Airan links unrest partly to government policies resurrecting colonial-style controls over education in exchange for grants. - D. Shiva Kumar of Mysore proposes a student representative on university administrative boards and a Dean for student welfare, citing Mysore University's example. - N. B. Desai's continuation estimates 35-40% of student strikes concern non-academic matters, with only 20-25% connected to academic issues. - Desai attributes underlying causes to compulsory universal education outpacing teacher quality, parental inattention amid urban economic pressure, and graduate unemployment exploited by political parties for recruitment. - The piece closes urging political parties to 'keep their hands off the student world' and calling for a policy team of educationists, sociologists, psychiatrists and historians to redesign educational policy. ### Student Unrest — A Point of View *By Principal J. W. Airan; S. C. Khattri, Kanpur; D. Shiva Kumar, Mysore; N. B. Desai, Bombay* S. S. M. Desai reviews J. K. Galbraith's The New Industrial State (Oxford & IBH, Rs. 28), praising its analysis of how modern capitalism has been transformed by the technological imperatives of large-scale industry. Desai summarizes Galbraith's argument that specialized technology and its accompanying demands for capital, time and coordinated planning have shifted real power in the corporation from owners and the profit motive to a salaried 'technostructure' motivated by pecuniary compensation, compulsion, identification and adaptation rather than personal profit. He notes Galbraith's claim that capitalist and socialist industrial systems are converging toward similar planning imperatives, reducing the ideological stakes of their historic conflict, and closes by praising Galbraith's style and coinages. - Desai frames the review around the claim that the classical model of capitalism — profit motive plus impersonal market pricing — has been superseded by planning imperatives of modern technology. - Galbraith's concept of the 'technostructure' — the specialized technical, planning and managerial staff who actually run the modern corporation — is central to the review's summary. - The review notes Galbraith's claim that business corporations, now dependent on state support for education and scientific advancement, become politically passive rather than assertive. - Desai highlights Galbraith's convergence thesis: both capitalist and socialist systems face the same technological compulsion toward detailed economic planning, reducing the basis for their historic ideological conflict. - The review closes admiringly, calling reading the book 'like enjoying a fresh wind blowing' and praising Galbraith's coinages such as 'technostructure' and 'the Educational and Scientific Estate.' ### New Industrial Society *By S. S. M. Desai* The 'Without Comment' feature reprints, from a Hindustan Times letter, Madan Mohan Hardat's first-person account of leaving British India for the Soviet Union in 1940-41 as a young revolutionary, only to be arrested on arrival and spend over a decade in Soviet labour camps and prisons (Lubianka, Nizhniy Tagil, Kazakhstan, Vorkuta) on charges of spying for the British and anti-Soviet agitation, before his eventual release in 1956, marriage to a Russian woman, and long struggle to obtain Indian citizenship, finally granted in 1962 with the help of Nehru's intervention. The piece closes with his rhetorical question about his shifting identity as alleged 'American,' 'British,' or 'Russian' spy. A short unsigned review follows of the pamphlet Indo-Soviet Relations (Popular Prakashan, Re. 1), with contributions from Harish Kapur, M. R. Masani, A. D. Gorwala, A. G. Noorani, M. R. Pai and Jayaprakash Narayan, noting Masani's essay on Soviet actions in Czechoslovakia and Pai's warning against 'dovetailing' the Indian economy into the Russian economy. - Madan Mohan Hardat travelled from Lahore to the Soviet Union in 1940-41 with Abdulla Safdar, a member of M. N. Roy's League of Radical Congressmen, and was arrested immediately upon crossing into Soviet territory. - He was held without trial across multiple labour camps and prisons over roughly 15 years, on charges including spying for the British and anti-Soviet agitation, with a second sentence of 25 years. - Conditions eased somewhat under Khrushchev after 1955, allowing him to petition directly and eventually gain release in May 1956. - He married a Russian woman he had corresponded with during his imprisonment and struggled for years to secure Indian citizenship, finally obtained in 1962 partly through Nehru's intervention. - The review of Indo-Soviet Relations notes essays by Harish Kapur (on shifts in Soviet policy toward India), M. R. Masani (on Soviet actions in Czechoslovakia), and M. R. Pai (warning against integrating the Indian economy with the Russian economy). ### Without Comment: An Indian in Russian Prisons The closing 'With Many Voices' column, headed by a Tennyson epigraph, collects short press quotations from January 1969 on themes ranging from Middle East diplomacy and Asian economic freedom versus socialism to the Indian election campaign, factory licensing delays, and Indo-Soviet trade negotiations. Contributors quoted include Lee Kuan Yew, Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Congress President Nijalingappa, C. Rajagopalachari, Dean Rusk and D. R. Gadgil, among others, followed by the magazine's subscription form and imprint details (Registered No. MH 272; printed at Inland Printers, Bombay; edited and published by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service). - Lee Kuan Yew is quoted distinguishing expanding-economy Asian countries that allow free enterprise from stagnant ones practising socialism. - C. Rajagopalachari is quoted arguing that treating Pakistan's hostility as axiomatic risks perpetuating India's own bankrupt economic policy. - A Japanese conference delegate contrasts Malaysia's two-year timeline to start a factory with India's two-year timeline merely to get permission to start one. - The Economic Times is quoted reporting that Indo-Soviet wagon-deal trade negotiations reached a dead end over price disagreement. - The issue's imprint records Registered No. MH 272, printing by Inland Printers (55 Gamdevi Road, Bombay 7), and publication by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff202/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 202 (March 1969) is a complete 12-page issue of the Bombay-based liberal monthly edited and published by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service. The issue opens with Arvind A. Deshpande's post-mortem of the 1969 mid-term elections in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, arguing the results confirm rather than reverse the Congress party's 1967 decline and that coalition politics is now the norm. An unsigned 'Observer' piece analyses the February 1969 Shiv Sena-led riots in Bombay, holding the Sena responsible while also criticising police preparedness and the passivity of other parties. Editor V. B. Karnik contributes a long essay on the Hindu-Muslim problem tracing the historical roots of communal estrangement, the failure of the national movement to retain Muslim confidence, and a critical notice of Hamid Dalwai's book Muslim Politics in India. M. D. Kini's 'A Communist Tragedy' surveys Indian Communist reactions to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, contrasting international Communist condemnation with continued Indian Communist support for Moscow, and quotes a new book by CPI intellectuals critical of the Soviet action.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 202 (March 1969) is a complete 12-page issue of the Bombay-based liberal monthly edited and published by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service. The issue opens with Arvind A. Deshpande's post-mortem of the 1969 mid-term elections in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, arguing the results confirm rather than reverse the Congress party's 1967 decline and that coalition politics is now the norm. An unsigned 'Observer' piece analyses the February 1969 Shiv Sena-led riots in Bombay, holding the Sena responsible while also criticising police preparedness and the passivity of other parties. Editor V. B. Karnik contributes a long essay on the Hindu-Muslim problem tracing the historical roots of communal estrangement, the failure of the national movement to retain Muslim confidence, and a critical notice of Hamid Dalwai's book Muslim Politics in India. M. D. Kini's 'A Communist Tragedy' surveys Indian Communist reactions to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, contrasting international Communist condemnation with continued Indian Communist support for Moscow, and quotes a new book by CPI intellectuals critical of the Soviet action. Ramu Pandit reviews T. G. McGee's book The Southeast Asian City. G. A. Abba critiques Nath Pai's constitutional amendment bill, defending the Golaknath judgment and warning against parliamentary encroachment on fundamental rights. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a digest of press quotations on contemporary politics (Czechoslovakia, Ayub Khan, Bengal, Israel) and a subscription form for the magazine. ## Essays ### After the Mid-Term Elections *By Arvind A. Deshpande* Arvind A. Deshpande reviews the outcomes of the 1969 mid-term elections in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal, arguing that the electorate reaffirmed rather than reversed its 1967 verdict against Congress dominance. He surveys state-by-state results, contending the era of Congress absolute majorities has ended for good and that future elections will turn on regionalism rather than national issues. The essay closes with a comparative results table and four numbered 'lessons' for political parties, urging acceptance of coalition government, discouragement of political defection, and resistance to authoritarian drift. - The mid-term poll was forced by political crisis rather than genuine demand from an electorate largely indifferent to further elections. - The 1967 verdict is characterised as the beginning of the end of Congress as a dominant national party, not a temporary aberration. - State-by-state analysis: Punjab politics driven by religious/Sikh identity concerns; UP sees Congress gains aided by the Prime Minister's appeal and Muslim votes; Bihar remains fragmented under President's rule; West Bengal's United Front repeats its 1967 upset. - A results table compares 1969 seat counts against 1967 (in brackets) across Congress, Jan Sangh, SSP, Swatantra, PSP, CPI, CPI(M), Akali Dal, BKD, and Bangla Congress. - Four 'lessons' urge Congress to accept coalition politics, discourage political defection, allow parties committed to national interest to govern, and check the rise of regionalism. ### Riots In Bombay *By Observer* Writing under the byline 'Observer,' this piece assigns primary responsibility for the February 1969 Bombay riots to the Shiv Sena and its leader, whose inflammatory rhetoric around blocking Deputy Prime Minister Morarji Desai's entry into the city triggered days of violence. The author criticises the Sena for disclaiming responsibility while claiming credit for ending the unrest, faults other opposition parties (PSP, SSP, Communist Party) for opportunistically aligning with popular anger rather than condemning the violence, and details the riots' toll — burnt police chowkis, milk booths and buses, looted shops, over fifty deaths from police firing, and thousands arrested. It closes with reflections on urban unemployment as combustible material for demagogic riot politics and a call for better civic mechanisms to mobilise public-spirited citizens against future unrest. - The Shiv Sena and its leader are held primarily responsible for igniting the February 8-11 Bombay riots via inflammatory statements tied to blocking Morarji Desai's entry into the city. - Other opposition parties (PSP, SSP, CPI) are criticised for opportunistically joining anti-government criticism rather than condemning the violence, for fear of losing popularity. - Riot toll: 19 police chowkis, 103 milk booths, 20 BEST buses burnt; 63 hotels and 123 shops looted; 52 deaths from police firing and 2 from rioters' stone-throwing; about 5000 arrests. - The police are praised for eventually curbing the riots but criticised as under-equipped and slow, with the Home Guards and military not called out in time. - The riots achieved nothing on the underlying Maharashtra-Mysore border dispute that ostensibly motivated the Shiv Sena's agitation. - The author frames unemployed urban youth as combustible political material that any 'clever demagogue' can ignite. ### Hindu–Muslim Problem *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik examines the historical roots of Hindu-Muslim estrangement in India, arguing that both communities bear responsibility though it is 'historically wrong' to place the blame chiefly on Muslims. He traces the failure of the national movement to retain the loyalty of the Muslim community, Gandhi's efforts at unity through the Khilafat agitation and their unintended long-term costs, and the responsibility Congress bears alongside the Muslim League for Partition. A substantial closing section reviews Hamid Dalwai's book Muslim Politics in India (with a foreword by Prof. A. B. Shah), criticising Dalwai's sweeping characterisations of Muslims as inherently expansionist while endorsing his underlying plea for a modern, humanist trend within the Muslim community. - Frames the Hindu-Muslim problem as a conflict between two communities each suspicious of the other, not a purely religious dispute. - Argues Muslims, being numerically smaller, historically had to plead for special rights and privileges, which unfairly earned their leaders a reputation for communalism. - Credits Gandhi's Khilafat-era alliance-building with temporary Hindu-Muslim unity but questions whether it ultimately served national integration given the religious character it lent to politics. - Holds Congress and Congress leaders jointly responsible with Jinnah and the Muslim League for Partition, citing Congress's 'monopolistic attitude' from 1937 onward. - Critically reviews Hamid Dalwai's Muslim Politics in India, rejecting its claim that Muslims are 'basically expansionist' as a wild overgeneralisation not based on facts, while endorsing its plea for growth of a humanist trend among Muslims. - Concludes that national integration requires guaranteeing Muslims a fair share in services, employment and development, not treating their demands as inherently communal. ### A Communist Tragedy *By M. D. Kini* M. D. Kini's 'A Communist Tragedy' describes the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia as a tragedy for the Communist movement itself, arguing that Indian Communists who approved the Soviet action are accomplices while most Communist parties elsewhere (including Italy and France) condemned it as a violation of the 1960 and 1957 Moscow declarations. He traces a history of Communist crimes overlooked by the faithful — the Stalinist purges, Khrushchev's revelations, the Hungarian Revolution — and welcomes signs of internal dissent within Indian Communism, citing a new book by CPI intellectuals (including Rajya Sabha member K. Damodaran and Pauly V. Parakal) that quotes Marx and Lenin against the Soviet intervention, and which has been banned for sale by the CPI itself. - Frames the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia as equally a 'Soviet tragedy' and an 'Indian Communist tragedy,' with Indian Communists as accomplices for approving the action. - Notes that major Communist parties outside the Soviet bloc, including Italy and France, condemned the intervention as violating the 1960 Moscow Statement of 81 Communist Parties and the 1957 Moscow Declaration. - Surveys prior Communist atrocities that failed to shake Indian Communist faith: the Stalinist purges of the 1930s, Khrushchev's 1956 revelations, and the Hungarian Revolution. - Reports that the CPI banned from its own bookshops a book by party intellectuals (including Rajya Sabha MP K. Damodaran) that used Marx and Lenin's own words to criticise the Czechoslovakia intervention. - Quotes extensively from the banned book's arguments for democracy, open discussion, and national sovereignty within socialism, contrasting them with CPI's actual practice. ### Anatomy Of A Southeast Asian City *By Ramu Pandit* Ramu Pandit reviews T. G. McGee's book The Southeast Asian City (G. Bell & Sons, 1967), praising its synthesis of demographic, economic and ecological patterns across primate cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Djakarta, Bangkok, Manila, Singapore and Rangoon. The review summarises McGee's argument that Southeast Asian urbanisation is a 'pseudo-urbanization' driven by population pressure rather than industrial transformation, and that political elites governing these cities remain disconnected from the conditions of ordinary residents. Pandit highlights McGee's warnings about slum dwellers as a potential source of political instability and his call for comprehensive planning over piecemeal resettlement schemes, closing with the reviewer's hope that an Indian scholar will undertake a comparable study of Bombay and Calcutta. - McGee's book studies six Southeast Asian 'primate cities' — Kuala Lumpur, Djakarta, Bangkok, Manila, Singapore, Rangoon — using 56 plates, 12 tables and 35 maps/drawings. - Central thesis: Southeast Asian urbanization is 'pseudo-urbanization,' driven by population pressure rather than industrialization as in the West. - Political elites governing these cities have adopted Westernised lifestyles and remain distant from the conditions of the urban poor. - McGee warns that slum dwellers constitute a potentially dangerous mass of political dynamite and fertile ground for revolutionary propaganda. - The book argues for overall planning rather than piecemeal engineering of resettlement schemes as the solution to urban housing problems. - The reviewer notes the book's final chapter, on the future of Southeast Asian cities, is its most illuminating despite being only five pages long. ### Mr. Nath Pai's Bill *By G. A. Abba* G. A. Abba argues against Nath Pai's proposed constitutional amendment bill, which claims to 'restore' parliamentary supremacy following the Supreme Court's Golaknath judgment. Abba contends the Golaknath decision did not curtail Parliament's power to impose reasonable restrictions on fundamental rights but only denied Parliament the power to abridge those rights outright, and that it is the people and the Constitution — not Parliament or the Supreme Court — that are truly sovereign. He characterises the bill as a vehicle for both the Government and Communists to expand state power at the expense of individual liberties, predicts the Supreme Court would strike down any resulting constitutional amendment, and closes by invoking the collapse of the Weimar Constitution as a cautionary parallel against enabling incremental authoritarianism. - The Golaknath judgment denied Parliament the right to abridge Fundamental Rights but left intact its power to impose reasonable restrictions on them. - Abba argues sovereignty resides in the people and the Constitution, not in Parliament or the Supreme Court, rebutting the bill's framing around 'parliamentary supremacy.' - Notes the bill's sponsors already agreed to subject constitutional amendments to approval by at least 50% of the states, undercutting their own claim to champion parliamentary supremacy. - Frames the bill as serving the shared interests of the Government and the Communist Party in acquiring unlimited power, at the expense of the poor and of property rights alike. - Predicts that if passed, the amendment would be challenged and struck down by the Supreme Court, making the bill 'an exercise in futility.' - Closes with a warning drawn from the subversion of the Weimar Republic's constitution in 1933 against opening the door to totalitarianism. ### With Many Voices 'With Many Voices' is the issue's regular unsigned digest of press and public quotations, epigraphed with lines from Tennyson. This instalment collects short excerpts on Czechoslovakia, President Ayub Khan's rule in Pakistan, the hanging of Jews in Baghdad, Communist China's regional ambitions, Stalin's rehabilitation in Soviet historiography, RSS leader M. S. Golwalkar's remarks on India's diplomatic isolation, Home Minister Y. B. Chavan's comments on parties allied with the CPI-Marxists, and British and American commentary on the Middle East and Suez. The page also carries the magazine's ownership/registration notice (Registered No. MH 272) and a subscriber enrolment form for Freedom First. - Epigraphed with a Tennyson quotation ('The deep / Moans round with many voices...'). - Quotes commentators including The Observer, Frank Moraes, The Economic Times, RSS leader M. S. Golwalkar, Home Minister Y. B. Chavan, The Guardian Weekly, and the New York Times on topics from Ayub Khan's Pakistan to Bengal's Communist government. - Includes commentary on the Soviet Union's political weakness exposed by the Czechoslovakia intervention and on Stalin's partial historiographical rehabilitation in the USSR. - Carries the statutory 'Statement about Ownership' (Form IV) naming V. B. Karnik as printer, publisher and editor, published for the Democratic Research Service at 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay. - Includes a subscription enrolment coupon offering annual subscription at Rs. 5.00. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff204/ ### Summary This issue of Freedom First (No. 204, May 1969) opens with an analysis of West Bengal's second United Front government, arguing that the CPI(M) has moved from being one of three leading UF partners in 1967 to the dominant force in 1969, systematically subordinating coalition allies, the administration, and the police to its own project of building a 'Peoples Democracy' on the Eastern European model. A second piece, by Arvind A. Deshpande, uses the Shankaracharya of Puri's defence of untouchability as an occasion to argue that caste prejudice cannot be legislated away and must instead be overcome through the self-respect and effort of Harijans themselves. A. G. Noorani reviews Karl Kaiser's book on West German foreign policy, tracing the shift from Adenauer-era 'positions of strength' diplomacy to the Ostpolitik of the Grand Coalition under Kiesinger and Brandt. Milovan Djilas contributes a speculative essay, 'Russia in 1984', arguing against Orwell's totalitarian vision and predicting the crumbling of Marxist-Leninist ideology and the rise of a military-bureaucratic regime in the USSR. The issue closes with a review section, a 'Without Comment' column excerpting P.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This issue of Freedom First (No. 204, May 1969) opens with an analysis of West Bengal's second United Front government, arguing that the CPI(M) has moved from being one of three leading UF partners in 1967 to the dominant force in 1969, systematically subordinating coalition allies, the administration, and the police to its own project of building a 'Peoples Democracy' on the Eastern European model. A second piece, by Arvind A. Deshpande, uses the Shankaracharya of Puri's defence of untouchability as an occasion to argue that caste prejudice cannot be legislated away and must instead be overcome through the self-respect and effort of Harijans themselves. A. G. Noorani reviews Karl Kaiser's book on West German foreign policy, tracing the shift from Adenauer-era 'positions of strength' diplomacy to the Ostpolitik of the Grand Coalition under Kiesinger and Brandt. Milovan Djilas contributes a speculative essay, 'Russia in 1984', arguing against Orwell's totalitarian vision and predicting the crumbling of Marxist-Leninist ideology and the rise of a military-bureaucratic regime in the USSR. The issue closes with a review section, a 'Without Comment' column excerpting P. Kodanda Rao on parliamentary democracy and B. R. Shenoy on rising unemployment and social inequality in India, a Forum of Free Enterprise advertisement, and the regular 'With Many Voices' page of quotations from the world press. ## Essays ### Bengal Preparing for "Peoples Democracy" *By An Analyst* Writing as 'An Analyst', the author argues that the 1969 West Bengal United Front government differs qualitatively from its 1967 predecessor: the UF now holds a comfortable legislative majority (214 seats, up from 140) against a badly weakened Congress, and public sentiment has shifted from anti-Congress to pro-UF. Within the coalition, the CPI(M) has moved from being merely one of three leading partners to the unquestioned dominant force, sidelining the Bangla Congress and CPI and treating smaller Marxist parties as 'satellite wires' around its 'thick central wire'. The essay details how the CPI(M) is reshaping the civil service and police through transfers, promotions, and recruitment favoring party loyalists, while land redistribution policy (targeting holdings above 25 acres, an estimated 400,000 acres) is being used to build a mass base through forcible occupation the police are barred from stopping. The author also surveys the fraught relationship between CPI(M) and CPI, the ideological daylight between the CPI(M) and Naxalites over the timing of revolution, and the strategy of building a 'state within the state' aimed at eventually confronting the Centre. - The UF's 1969 majority (214 of 280 seats) is far larger than its 1967 tally (140), giving it more confidence and a longer time horizon than the earlier government. - The CPI(M) has shifted from being 'one of the three leading groups' in the 1967 UF to being 'the leading member' whose dominance other partners must accept. - The party is embedding itself in the administration and police through transfers, selective promotions, and new recruitment, described as building 'a state within the State'. - A land policy targeting holdings above 25 acres (about 400,000 acres) is being distorted into a vehicle for forcible occupation of land and fisheries, which the police are barred from stopping. - The CPI(M) and CPI are described as competing for 'monopoly leadership' of the communist movement despite superficial UF unity, with the CPI(M) treating the ministries as an 'instrument of struggle' rather than a normal government. - The essay contrasts the Naxalites' open call for immediate violent struggle with the CPI(M)'s more gradualist, electorally-participating strategy, while noting neither believes in achieving change through 'the normal parliamentary process'. ### Untouchability - The Indian Apartheid *By Arvind A. Deshpande* Arvind A. Deshpande responds to the Shankaracharya of Puri's controversial defence of untouchability at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad address in Patna. The Shankaracharya had argued that Hindu scripture sanctioned untouchability, that as a religious head he was bound to defend it even while personally law-abiding, and that no government could stop him from ritually bathing after touching a Harijan. Deshpande treats these statements as self-refuting rather than dangerous, noting that even the Adi Shankaracharya reportedly admitted he could not justify the practice. He argues that untouchability is only the sharpest expression of the broader phenomenon of caste, which remains 'the biggest political party in India' (quoting Jayaprakash Narayan), and that reservations and other legal remedies have generated their own resentments without dissolving caste consciousness — even among 'untouchables' themselves, who maintain internal hierarchies. His conclusion, carried onto the essay's continuation, is that untouchability cannot be abolished by legislation or by shaming religious leaders, but only by Harijans building self-respect, pride, and achievement on their own terms, comparing this to the American civil rights movement's 'We shall overcome'. - The Shankaracharya of Puri publicly defended untouchability as scripturally sanctioned while claiming to personally obey secular anti-untouchability law, a position Deshpande calls 'logical but amusing'. - Deshpande argues prejudices this deep-rooted cannot be legislated away; they must be worn down by the 'forebearance, tolerance, pride and self-respect' of Harijans themselves. - Citing A. C. Mayer's 'Caste and Kinship in Central India', the essay frames untouchability as a more severe expression of the broader concept of ritual pollution running through caste as a whole. - Reservations and other special privileges for Harijans are described as having created a 'vested interest in backwardness' and provoked resentment among caste Hindus, complicating rather than resolving the problem. - The essay's conclusion (continued from page 3 onto page 6) rejects reliance on legislation, arguing instead for Harijans to earn recognition through merit, echoing the U.S. civil rights movement's 'We shall overcome'. ### Germany And Europe *By A. G. Noorani* A. G. Noorani reviews Prof. Karl Kaiser's book 'German Foreign Policy in Transition' (Oxford University Press, 12s 6d), praising it as a work of rare candour and scholarly merit on West German foreign policy. Noorani summarises Kaiser's account of how Bonn's Cold War-era policy of reunification 'through strength' under Adenauer, premised on NATO membership and the eventual collapse of the East German regime, gave way under Chancellor Kiesinger's Grand Coalition (from December 1966) to a more flexible Ostpolitik. He lists Kaiser's six 'major tenets' of the new approach: preserving common national heritage rather than seeking regime collapse in the East; modifying exclusive claims to represent the German people (shown by ties with Romania); softening the Hallstein doctrine; a 'live and let live' posture toward East Germany; formal renunciation of the Munich agreement; and treating reunification as a consequence of eased European tensions rather than a precondition for them. Noorani notes two lingering constraints — continued NATO membership and West Germany's non-recognition of the Oder-Neisse line — and closes by endorsing de Gaulle's framing of the German question as fundamentally the European question, and Kaiser's own suggestion that conditional recognition of the Oder-Neisse frontier could unlock further progress. - The review covers Karl Kaiser's 'German Foreign Policy in Transition', which examines how West Germany's policy on reunification and international politics evolved after World War II. - Noorani summarises Kaiser's six-point account of the shift from Adenauer's 'positions of strength' policy to the Grand Coalition's Ostpolitik under Chancellor Kiesinger and Foreign Minister Schröder. - Two constraints on the new policy are identified: continued NATO membership and West Germany's refusal, under domestic pressure, to formally accept the Oder-Neisse line as Germany's eastern border. - Diplomatic overtures to Romania and Yugoslavia are cited as concrete results of the modified Hallstein doctrine. - The review closes by endorsing de Gaulle's view that 'the German problem is indeed the European problem' and Kaiser's suggestion of conditional Oder-Neisse recognition as a way forward. ### Russia In 1984 *By Milovan Djilas* Milovan Djilas offers a speculative counter to George Orwell's '1984', arguing that while Orwell's satire brilliantly exposed the absurdity of totalitarianism, the future of Communism will not resemble Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia. Djilas contends that world Communism has already fractured into national movements (citing Yugoslavia's 1948 break and China's 1963 schism), that Sino-Soviet relations are deeply strained, that Marxist-Leninist dogma faces an incurable ideological crisis, and that doubt has gripped even the ruling party bureaucracy — a crisis he argues will unfold differently in the Soviet Union than in Eastern Europe because the USSR's small creative intelligentsia is being alienated while the masses remain passive. He predicts that by 1984 Marxist-Leninist ideology will be effectively dead in the USSR, the party will be in ruins, and a militaristic bureaucracy backed by the army and secret police will govern in its place — a weaker, more brittle regime than the current one, arising from internal rather than external causes, alongside a corresponding rise of national assertiveness among Communist states in Eastern Europe. - Djilas argues world Communism no longer exists as a unitary movement but as a collection of increasingly divergent national movements. - He cites the Yugoslav break of 1948 and the Sino-Soviet schism as evidence Marxist-Leninist ideological unity has already collapsed. - He predicts that by 1984 the Communist Party in the USSR will be in ruins, replaced by a militaristic bureaucracy under army and secret police control, with 'revisionism' and new democratic ideas spreading despite this. - The essay contrasts crisis dynamics in the USSR (creative intelligentsia alienated, masses passive, crisis ripening at the top among rival leaders) with crises elsewhere in Eastern Europe (currents of reform and national resistance with broader support). - Soviet Communism is described as historically the first Communism to become 'national' under Stalin, merging imperialism and totalitarianism, a character Djilas expects to persist even as ideology fades. ### An Odd Meeting An unsigned note, credited to the Swiss Press Review and News Report, describes a brief and inconclusive conference of European Communist states in Budapest, chaired oddly by Czechoslovakia's Alexander Dubcek. The note reports that the Soviet Union sought Warsaw Pact backing for more military manoeuvres in Eastern Europe and for the right to move Russian troops through Romania, but that Romania refused to cooperate on this or on condemning China over the Ussuri River border incidents, instead positioning itself as an honest broker between Moscow and Beijing. The only concrete outcome was a renewed, largely symbolic proposal for an all-European security conference, which the piece frames as an attempt by the Russians to save face after the international contempt provoked by the invasion of Czechoslovakia the previous August. - The Budapest conference of European Communist states lasted only two hours and was chaired, oddly, by Czechoslovakia's Alexander Dubcek. - The USSR sought Warsaw Pact endorsement for more military manoeuvres in Eastern Europe and for transporting Russian troops through Romania. - Romania refused to cooperate, positioning itself as a broker between the USSR and China rather than joining condemnation over the Ussuri border incidents. - The only tangible result was a proposal for an all-European security conference, previously made and rejected in the West as hypocritical. - The piece frames the conference as a face-saving exercise following international condemnation of the August 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia. ### Review: Fire Bell in the Night / Czechoslovakia 1968 / Books Received *By N. D.* The 'Review' section carries two book notices signed 'N.D.' The first covers 'Fire Bell in the Night', a Novosti Press Agency pamphlet on the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King and other atrocities against American Negro leaders; the reviewer dismisses it as one-sided Soviet propaganda that ignores the genuine progress the U.S. has made on civil rights and integration, and speculates whether such material is even meant to reach ordinary Russian readers or is intended solely for foreign consumption. The second reviews 'Czechoslovakia 1968', an Indian reprint of Economist articles on the Prague Spring and its suppression, recommending it alongside D. B. Karnik's book 'The Czechoslovak Crisis' as complementary accounts — one narrating the day-by-day invasion, the other analysing its political implications. A 'Books Received' list follows, naming six forthcoming review titles including works published by the Forum of Free Enterprise and Lalvani Publishing House. - The Novosti Press Agency pamphlet 'Fire Bell in the Night' on Martin Luther King's murder is reviewed as one-sided anti-American propaganda that omits progress on U.S. civil rights. - The reviewer speculates about whether Soviet propaganda pamphlets are permitted to reach ordinary Russian readers or are produced only for foreign audiences. - 'Czechoslovakia 1968' (National Academy, Delhi), reprinting Economist articles, is recommended as a useful complement to D. B. Karnik's 'The Czechoslovak Crisis'. - A 'Books Received' list previews six titles awaiting review, including works from the Forum of Free Enterprise and Lalvani Publishing House. ### Without Comment: Parliamentary Democracy *By P. Kodanda Rao (quoted)* The 'Without Comment' column presents two excerpted arguments without editorial commentary. The first, drawn from an article by P. Kodanda Rao, argues that the party system corrupts parliamentary democracy by subordinating MPs' conscience and constituency obligations to party discipline, quoting Maurice Duverger and Winston Churchill, and contending that party government is 'both undemocratic and anti-democratic' compared to a presidential system with greater freedom of conscience for legislators. The second excerpt, from an article by Prof. B. R. Shenoy, documents a sharp rise in Indian unemployment across the Five Year Plans (from 5.3 million in 1955-56 to roughly 10 million by 1966-67) and argues that income shifts toward a thin top layer of society, combined with stagnant or declining per-capita income since 1960-61, have driven growing numbers of families toward or below the poverty line, evidenced by falling per-capita consumption of cloth, foodgrains, edible oils and sugar alongside a boom in luxury consumption such as air-conditioned coaches, motorcars, and refrigerators. - P. Kodanda Rao's excerpt argues the party system, especially two-party systems, subordinates MPs' individual conscience to party discipline, making parliamentary democracy 'both undemocratic and anti-democratic'. - The excerpt invokes Maurice Duverger's 'Political Parties' and a 1955 Winston Churchill statement on the primacy of an MP's conscience over party loyalty. - B. R. Shenoy's excerpt shows unemployment rising from 5.3 million (1955-56) to about 10 million (1966-67) across India's first three Five Year Plans. - Shenoy attributes growing 'social injustice' to income shifts concentrating gains among a thin top layer, amid overall income stagnation and decline since 1960-61. - Falling consumption of cotton cloth, foodgrains, edible oils and sugar between 1961-62 and 1966-67 is cited as evidence of declining living standards for the Indian masses, contrasted with rising ownership of cars, refrigerators and air-conditioners among the well-off. ### Without Comment: Growing Social Injustice *By Extracts from an article by Prof. B. R. Shenoy* The issue closes with 'With Many Voices', a regular column of unattributed and lightly-annotated quotations gathered from the world press on current political events — including remarks on Chinese foreign minister Chen Yi's characterization of Americans and Russians, the risk of a Communist takeover in East Pakistan, J. B. Kripalani on the fragmentation of Indian states, C. Rajagopalachari on statism versus freedom, and commentary on the West Bengal political crisis and the year's spate of authoritarian leaders. The page also carries the magazine's subscription form (annual subscription Rs. 5.00, addressed to Democratic Research Service, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay) and the printer's colophon. - The 'With Many Voices' column compiles brief quotations from global newspapers and public figures on current events, without editorial elaboration. - Quoted figures include Chen Yi, Acharya J. B. Kripalani, C. Rajagopalachari, M. C. Setalvad, and Maulana Bhashani, among others. - Several quotations concern the West Bengal political situation, echoing the lead article's concerns about UF/CPI(M) governance. - The page includes the magazine's annual subscription form (Rs. 5.00) addressed via Democratic Research Service, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff203/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 203 (April 1969) is a slim, twelve-page number of the Bombay-based classical-liberal monthly, opening with an extract from M. R. Masani's Lok Sabha budget speech attacking the Finance Minister's fertiliser and petrol taxes for punishing peasants and the urban lower middle class, and closing with a page of quoted press opinion ("With Many Voices") plus the magazine's subscription form. Between these, the issue's editorial centre of gravity is the collapse of Ayub Khan's regime in Pakistan and martial law under Yahya Khan (Adam Adil's "Pakistan In Turmoil"), read alongside M. R. Pai's essay on the internal threats facing Indian democracy (communist subversion, majoritarian constitutional amendment, inflation, civic apathy) and R. Muthuswamy's roundup of Cold War flashpoints in Berlin, the Sino-Soviet border, and the Middle East. An unsigned "Notes" page criticises the Government of India's appointment of S. S. Dhawan as Governor of West Bengal given his pro-Communist sympathies, and separately warns that Congress's factionalism could cost it its position as the country's dominant party.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 203 (April 1969) is a slim, twelve-page number of the Bombay-based classical-liberal monthly, opening with an extract from M. R. Masani's Lok Sabha budget speech attacking the Finance Minister's fertiliser and petrol taxes for punishing peasants and the urban lower middle class, and closing with a page of quoted press opinion ("With Many Voices") plus the magazine's subscription form. Between these, the issue's editorial centre of gravity is the collapse of Ayub Khan's regime in Pakistan and martial law under Yahya Khan (Adam Adil's "Pakistan In Turmoil"), read alongside M. R. Pai's essay on the internal threats facing Indian democracy (communist subversion, majoritarian constitutional amendment, inflation, civic apathy) and R. Muthuswamy's roundup of Cold War flashpoints in Berlin, the Sino-Soviet border, and the Middle East. An unsigned "Notes" page criticises the Government of India's appointment of S. S. Dhawan as Governor of West Bengal given his pro-Communist sympathies, and separately warns that Congress's factionalism could cost it its position as the country's dominant party. The issue also reprints, via the AFL-CIO Free Trade Union News and the Czechoslovak Writers' Union weekly Literarni Listy, a harrowing extract from Josefa Slansky's memoir of her husband Rudolf Slansky's 1952 Prague purge trial and her family's subsequent persecution — presented as a document of communist terror rather than an Indian-politics piece. ## Essays ### Plea for Courage and Sanity *By M. R. Masani, M.P.* An extract from a Parliament speech by M. R. Masani, M.P., invoking Gandhi's "talisman" test to judge the Finance Minister's budget by its effect on the poorest. Masani argues that peasants and the urban lower middle class have borne the brunt of inflation and taxation, citing National Sample Survey data on rural poverty, comparative fertiliser prices in India versus Pakistan, Japan and the USA, and new excise duties on fertiliser and pumping sets. He criticises the Planning Commission's continuing sway over the Finance Minister, disputes government claims that the Fourth Plan shifts emphasis to agriculture (citing Plan-outlay percentages), and identifies a continuous fall in the domestic savings ratio as the budget's central failure, closing with an attack on defence and non-plan expenditure (Bokaro is named a "white elephant") and a call for courage in cutting wasteful spending. - Invokes Gandhi's 'talisman' test (recall the poorest and weakest man) as the yardstick for judging the budget - Cites a National Sample Survey finding that only one in three Indians has one rupee a day to spend, worse in villages - Argues fertiliser and pumping-set excise duties are 'wicked' and hit peasants just recovering from two bad monsoons - Compares Indian fertiliser costs (3.8 kg rice per kg fertiliser) unfavourably to USA (1.47), Japan (1.8) and Pakistan (0.85) - Disputes the claimed Plan-era shift of outlay toward agriculture using Third and Fourth Plan percentage figures - Identifies falling domestic savings ratio (10% in 1965-66 to 8% in 1967-68) as the budget's core unaddressed problem - Calls Bokaro a 'white elephant' costing Rs. 170 crores and argues Rs. 100 crores could be cut from defence without weakening it ### Notes (Unwise and Irresponsible / Will Congress Survive?) Two unsigned editorial notes. 'Unwise and Irresponsible' condemns the Government of India's appointment of S. S. Dhawan as Governor of West Bengal, detailing his history as a fellow-traveller of the Communists (pseudonymous pro-Soviet, pro-Chinese writings as 'Sanjay' in National Herald, including a 1950 defense of the Chinese invasion of Tibet) and arguing he cannot be trusted to check the Communist-led United Front government of Bengal impartially; it frames the appointment as either poor judgement or a dangerous appeasement of the United Front. 'Will Congress Survive?' warns that Congress's internal faction-fighting, at a moment when opposition parties are uniting against it, threatens its survival as a national force unless it abandons its claim to a political monopoly and seeks alliances with parties and groups closest to it. - Criticises the appointment of S. S. Dhawan as Governor of Bengal given his documented pro-Communist sympathies - Quotes Dhawan's 1950 'Sanjay' column in National Herald defending China's invasion of Tibet as baseless propaganda - Frames the appointment as appeasement of the Communist-led United Front government in Bengal - Warns that Congress's factionalism and mudslinging could cost it its position as premier national party - Urges Congress to abandon claims to political monopoly and seek open alliances with sympathetic parties ### Pakistan In Turmoil *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil surveys the political collapse that led to Ayub Khan's resignation and the imposition of martial law under General Yahya Khan. The piece traces regional resentments across West Pakistan (Sindhis, Punjabis, Baluchis, Peshawaris), the deepening estrangement of East Bengal from a West Pakistan that took a disproportionate share of investment and administrative power despite East Bengal's larger population and export earnings, and the rise of secessionist and autonomist sentiment there. It credits Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Maulana Bhashani with fomenting anti-Ayub agitation from opposite ends (pro-Western versus pro-Chinese), notes Bhutto's belligerent statements toward India over Kashmir, and concludes that while Ayub's concessions (releasing Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, dropping the Agartala case) came too late, the opposition that has displaced him is more conservative, less liberal and more anti-Indian than Ayub's own regime, leaving Pakistan's turmoil deepened rather than resolved. - Traces the fall of Ayub Khan's ten-year rule to combined regional (Sindhi/Punjabi/Baluchi/Pashtun), student, and opposition-party agitation - Describes East Bengal's resentment at receiving a smaller share of investment and administrative/military posts despite its larger population (56:44 ratio) and export earnings - Credits the Democratic Action Committee opposition front and figures like Bhutto and Bhashani (pro-Chinese) for driving anti-Ayub agitation - Notes Bhutto's threat to wage war against India 'for a thousand years' and his line to Swaran Singh, 'Let Sardarji know that I am coming again' - Concludes the successor opposition forces are more conservative, less liberal and more anti-Indian than Ayub's government - Ends by warning martial law under Yahya Khan will control law and order but not resolve political or economic grievances ### Crisis In Indian Democracy *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai lays out the defining features of democracy (rule of law, guaranteed freedoms, limits on governmental power, mechanisms for peaceful transfer of power) and credits India's constitutional founders and public good sense for the Republic's survival since 1950. He then identifies four threats to Indian democracy: subversion by communist parties, which he argues are weak in ideology, dependent on foreign communist powers, hostile to freedoms, and organised to monopolise state power; well-meaning but misguided moves to let Parliament amend fundamental rights, which he says would open the door to totalitarianism (citing Hitler's Enabling Act as precedent); inflation, blamed on communist-style planning and the misuse of the government's money-supply monopoly; and civic apathy among the educated who abdicate public responsibilities to professional politicians. He closes with three reasons democracy must be made to succeed in India and calls for faith and determination among believers in liberal democracy. - Defines four essential features of real democracy: rule of law, guaranteed freedoms, limits on state power, and peaceful transfer of power - Credits India's constitution and public good sense for the Republic's survival since 1950 despite many new democracies collapsing - Identifies communist parties as a major threat, arguing all such parties are weak in ideology, dependent on foreign communist backers, and organised as minority conspiracies to monopolise state power - Warns that amending fundamental rights via ordinary parliamentary majority (not a people's constituent assembly or referendum) risks a Hitler-style path to totalitarianism - Blames the previous 13 years of inflation on communist-inspired planning and the government's monopoly over money supply - Criticises 'death-wish for dictatorship' sentiment among the intelligentsia favouring an 'enlightened' or 'benevolent' dictatorship, arguing no such thing exists - Cites Sir Pherozshah Mehta's line 'we cannot import people' against the view that Indians are unfit for democracy ### Books Received R. Muthuswamy surveys simultaneous Cold War flashpoints as a single 'tension belt' spanning Europe and Asia: the Soviet/East German blockade tactics around the West Berlin electoral college convened to elect West Germany's president, timed opposite Viet Cong escalation in Vietnam as parallel tests of President Nixon's resolve; the Sino-Soviet border clashes at Damansky/Chen Pao island on the Ussuri River and the diplomatic confrontation that followed; and Israel's raid on Beirut airport and the Suez Zone artillery exchanges following Israeli reprisals and settlement construction in occupied territories, alongside continued mid-East crisis efforts by the 'Big Four.' The piece treats Pakistan's internal turmoil as a distinct, purely domestic crisis, setting up the article that follows. - Frames Berlin, Suez, Pakistan and China tensions as forming a single 'tension belt' driven by Big Power politics - Describes Soviet/East German blockade tactics around the West Berlin presidential electoral college, resolved without incident - Notes the coincidental timing of Viet Cong escalation in Vietnam with the Berlin crisis, both seen as tests of Nixon's resolve - Covers the Sino-Soviet clashes on Damansky/Chen Pao island on the Ussuri river and resulting diplomatic protests - Details Israel's Beirut airport raid, the Zurich airport commando attack on an Israeli plane, and Suez Zone artillery exchanges - Distinguishes Pakistan's crisis as an internal turmoil rather than part of the Big Power tension belt ### Tensions In Europe And Asia *By R. Muthuswamy* A reprinted memoir extract by Josefa Slansky, widow of Rudolf Slansky, the former Czechoslovak Communist Party general secretary executed with ten co-defendants after the antisemitic 1952 Prague purge trial. Sourced via the Czechoslovak Writers' Union weekly Literarni Listy and syndicated by the AFL-CIO Free Trade Union News, the excerpt recounts a farewell dinner at Premier Zapotocky's the night before Klement Gottwald's birthday in November 1951, followed by Rudolf's arrest at their home that same night, and then a second extract describing Josefa's internment, forced factory labour, and a 1953 audience with Deputy Premier Vaclav Kopecky in which she was patronised, promised restitution that never materialised, and left without a Prague apartment or work permit from December 1953 until 1958. - Introductory framing establishes the Prague trial (Nov 20-27, 1952) in which 11 of 14 defendants, all high Communist dignitaries, were sentenced to death and hanged on Dec 3, 1952 - Notes the trial's distinctive antisemitic character: 11 of 14 defendants' indictments specified they were 'of Jewish origin,' intended as a stepping stone to a similar purge of Soviet Jews - Describes a farewell dinner at Premier Zapotocky's for departing Soviet economic advisors on the eve of Gottwald's 55th birthday, shortly before Rudolf Slansky's arrest - Recounts the arrest itself: armed men lined the walls of their home as Rudolf was pressed against a partition, immediately after the dinner - Describes Josefa's subsequent internment, interrogation in Ruzyne jail, and years of forced factory labour near Ostrava - Details a 1953 meeting with Deputy Premier Vaclav Kopecky, who called her 'Little Starling,' promised money and an apartment, then reneged, leaving her without housing or a work permit for over four years ### Report On My Husband *By Josefa Slansky* The closing page, titled 'With Many Voices' after a Tennyson epigraph, is a compilation of short quoted opinions from the Indian and international press on the Pakistan crisis, the Berlin blockade, Sino-Soviet tensions, and Indian party politics, drawn from sources including Time, the Economist, Hindustan Times, Swarajya, Janata, Current, and remarks by Andre Malraux, Vinoba Bhave, and P. Govinda Menon. The page also carries the magazine's registration notice, a subscription coupon (annual subscription Rs. 5.00) addressed to the Democratic Research Service, and the printer's imprint naming V. B. Karnik as editor and publisher. - Compiles short press quotations on Pakistan's crisis, Berlin, Sino-Soviet border tensions, and Indian party politics - Includes Andre Malraux's remark that both Nehru and Mao told him they had no successor - Includes Vinoba Bhave's view that parliamentary democracy has not failed in India - Carries the Freedom First subscription coupon (Rs. 5.00 annual) addressed to the Democratic Research Service, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay - Names V. B. Karnik as editor/publisher and Inland Printers, Gamdevi Road, Bombay, as the printer --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff206/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 206 (July 1969), the monthly published by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, is dominated by Cold War communist affairs and the deteriorating political order in eastern India. Adam Adil surveys the fractious 1969 Moscow World Communist Congress as proof that international communism has lost its Soviet-centred monolithic unity; a companion note describes Brezhnev's Asian 'collective security' scheme, and further wire items cover a purge of pro-Moscow officials in international communist front organisations and Yevgeny Yevtushenko's veiled protest poem against renewed Stalinism. Domestic pieces turn to the breakdown of order under West Bengal's United Front government: 'An Analyst' catalogues gheraos, police paralysis and inter-party (chiefly CPM-linked) violence, and a correspondent's report, continued from page 4 to page 11, documents a season of bombings, stabbings and political murders around Calcutta's Ballygunge constituency. M. R. Pai contrasts the integrity of past Indian leaders (Ram Mohun Roy, Tilak, Visvesvaraiya) with the self-interested, perquisite-seeking leadership he expects to define the 1970s.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 206 (July 1969), the monthly published by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, is dominated by Cold War communist affairs and the deteriorating political order in eastern India. Adam Adil surveys the fractious 1969 Moscow World Communist Congress as proof that international communism has lost its Soviet-centred monolithic unity; a companion note describes Brezhnev's Asian 'collective security' scheme, and further wire items cover a purge of pro-Moscow officials in international communist front organisations and Yevgeny Yevtushenko's veiled protest poem against renewed Stalinism. Domestic pieces turn to the breakdown of order under West Bengal's United Front government: 'An Analyst' catalogues gheraos, police paralysis and inter-party (chiefly CPM-linked) violence, and a correspondent's report, continued from page 4 to page 11, documents a season of bombings, stabbings and political murders around Calcutta's Ballygunge constituency. M. R. Pai contrasts the integrity of past Indian leaders (Ram Mohun Roy, Tilak, Visvesvaraiya) with the self-interested, perquisite-seeking leadership he expects to define the 1970s. Feroza Seervai's satirical dialogue has the ghosts of Socrates and Lenin debate whether Soviet communism delivers genuine equality or merely a new autocracy. R. S. Morkhandikar reviews S. P. Aiyar's book on the Commonwealth in South Asia, and the Reviews section covers a report on communist infiltration in Himalayan border districts and an edited volume on secularism in India. The issue closes with an appeal by Soviet dissidents to the UN on civil rights, and the regular 'With Many Voices' page of press quotations. ## Essays ### World Communist Congress *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil recounts how the Soviet Union finally convened the World Communist Congress in 1969 after nearly seven years of effort, only in truncated form: of 88 national communist parties, just 75 sent delegates, and major figures (Mao Tse-tung, Ho Chi Minh, Tito, Castro) boycotted it. The piece traces the Sino-Soviet split from Khrushchev's 'co-existence' doctrine through the Cultural Revolution, and argues that the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia further alienated foreign communist parties, with even sympathetic parties (British, French, Italian) critical of Brezhnev's 'limited sovereignty' doctrine. Adil concludes that the Congress achieved little beyond denouncing 'imperialism' and that its difficulty in convening, and the walkouts and splits during it (Rumania, Poland's anti-China stance despite pressure to avoid the topic), demonstrate that the international communist movement's Moscow-centred unity has broken down for good. - Only 75 of 88 national communist parties sent delegates; key leaders (Mao, Ho Chi Minh, Tito, Castro) boycotted the Congress - Khrushchev conceived the idea of a World Communist Congress in 1962 to isolate China, but could never convene it before his 1964 ouster - The 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia badly damaged Soviet standing even among sympathetic foreign communist parties - Brezhnev's doctrine of 'limited sovereignty' of socialist states alarmed Rumania and Yugoslavia in particular - The Congress failed to formally censure China and failed to substantively address the Czechoslovakia invasion - Adil reads the whole episode as evidence that the communist movement has ceased to be monolithic and that Moscow no longer commands it ### Violence In Calcutta *By (A Correspondent)* Writing pseudonymously as 'An Analyst,' the piece surveys two and a half months of political turmoil in West Bengal under the United Front government: rising lawlessness (gheraos of police thanas and factories, forcible seizure of land, inter-party murders) alongside factional splits within the fourteen-party United Front coalition, particularly friction with the CPM over control of local committees. The author lists specific abuses -- police inaction, teachers and doctors gheraoed, at least 13 political murders, party-run 'senas' filling the vacuum of state authority -- and closes by predicting that the situation more resembles Vietnam-style prolonged conflict than a quick resolution, with Chief Minister Jyoti Basu managing a 'sober image' for the rest of India while unable to contain the disorder. - Anti-Centre tension eased after Ajoy Mukherjee and Jyoti Basu met with Chavan and Swaran Singh, but internal United Front tensions rose instead - At least 13 political murders were reported in the press during the period covered - Police increasingly ignore CPM-linked actions and are pressured to settle disputes via local MLAs rather than enforcement - Inter-party conflict, especially around the CPM's dominance of Home and other portfolios, produced violent clashes among United Front constituent parties - The author predicts a Vietnam-like protracted conflict rather than an Indonesia-style resolution for Bengal ### The Leadership Of 1970s *By M. R. Pai* A correspondent's report documents escalating political violence in Calcutta's Ballygunge assembly constituency, where Information Minister Jyoti Bhattacharjee resides. It alleges the United Front's armed 'goondas' have terrorised the area with daily bombing, stabbing and shooting since Bhattacharjee's 1969 election, citing the assault of a rival Congress worker (Sankar Ghatak) and Bhattacharjee's open declaration that United Front youths would be armed with guns and ammunition. The report (continuing from page 4 onto page 11) gives a chronological log of specific incidents from February through April 1969 -- bombings, gheraos, assaults on Congress workers -- and concludes that the same goondas the police once opposed are now the United Front's 'best friends and workers.' - The report centres on Ballygunge, the Calcutta constituency of Information Minister Jyoti Bhattacharjee - Congress worker Sankar Ghatak was assaulted and hospitalised by United Front goondas after a rival mid-term election contest - Bhattacharjee is quoted as having declared United Front youths would be armed with guns and ammunition to 'maintain peace' - A dated log of incidents from February to April 1969 records bombings, a killing (Ranjit Ray), and gheraos across the constituency - The piece concludes that violent goondas once opposed by the state are now embedded as United Front party workers ### Rebel Poet writes his 'Obituary' *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai argues that India's crisis of leadership stems from a decline in the qualities that once defined figures like Ram Mohun Roy, Tilak, Gokhale, Ranade and Visvesvaraiya: integrity, the ability to win genuine loyalty rather than buy it, transparency with the public, and being well-informed. He illustrates each quality with historical anecdotes -- Ram Mohun Roy submitting to inquiry over a false theft allegation, Tilak's care for a convict-attendant in a Burmese jail, Visvesvaraiya's public vindication of his irrigation reforms in Poona -- and contrasts these with contemporary leaders who accumulate perquisites, defect between parties (14% of legislators after the 1967 elections), and read little. Pai closes cautiously optimistic, citing business and industry's efforts to train a new generation of leadership for the 1970s and 1980s. - Pai identifies four qualities of good leadership missing today: integrity, winning genuine loyalty, transparency, and being well-informed - Uses historical exemplars -- Ram Mohun Roy, Tilak, Visvesvaraiya, Gokhale, Ranade, Dadabhoy Naoroji -- to illustrate each quality - Cites the statistic that about 14% of legislators defected after the 1967 elections, one as many as 7 times - Criticises contemporary ministers for drawing modest salaries while enjoying an estimated Rs. 17,000/month in perquisites - Quotes Robert McNamara on management's fundamental task being to manage change - Ends on cautious optimism about new leadership training emerging from business and industry for the 1970s ### Appeal for Civil Rights Feroza Seervai's satirical dialogue imagines the souls of Socrates and Lenin meeting after death to debate justice and equality. Lenin claims to have realised Socrates's ideal republic through the classless communist state, but Socrates's Socratic questioning progressively exposes contradictions in Lenin's position: that equal 'satisfaction of material needs' would put humans on par with animals, that rewarding men 'according to his labour' implies unequal excellence, and that a state which forces men to labour and controls them via leaders is really autocracy, not equality. The dialogue ends with Lenin, unable to answer, declaring he believes 'in action, not words' and that intellectuals like Socrates would be sent to concentration camps in his state. - Lenin claims to have realised Socrates's ideal republic through Marxist class abolition and the rule of the proletariat - Socrates uses a Socratic method to expose contradictions between Lenin's claimed equality and the hierarchy of 'leaders and led' within his system - Lenin ultimately concedes there are 'degrees of excellence among men' and that rewards must differ, undermining his equality claim - Socrates concludes that Lenin's classless society is in fact 'State-Capitalism' with different classes of men under a new autocracy - Lenin ends the dialogue by declaring bourgeois intellectuals would be sent to concentration camps in his state ### Reviews: Indian Communist, December 1968 Issue *By V. B. Karnik* R. S. Morkhandikar reviews Dr. S. P. Aiyar's book 'The Commonwealth in South Asia,' which traces the Commonwealth's evolution and its significance for India, Pakistan and Ceylon. The review credits the British empire with contributing parliamentary institutions, the English language, and modernisation to South Asia, while noting the irony that British officials themselves often doubted the wisdom of transplanting these institutions. Morkhandikar highlights Aiyar's pessimism about whether the subcontinent's democratic institutions and use of English will survive amid mass violence, parochialism and communalism, and (in the portion continued on page 11) notes that Britain's own commitment to the Commonwealth has waned as it seeks entry into the EEC and retrenches its global commitments. - The review covers Dr. S. P. Aiyar's book 'The Commonwealth in South Asia' (Lalvani Publishing House, Bombay, Rs. 30) - Credits British rule with three legacies to South Asia: parliamentary institutions, English language, and modernisation - Notes the irony that British officials (e.g., the Simon Commission's A. B. Keith) themselves doubted the propriety of transplanting these institutions to India - Aiyar is described as pessimistic about whether democratic institutions will survive rising mass violence and communalism in the subcontinent - The review (continued on page 11) notes Britain's Commonwealth commitment is waning as it seeks EEC entry and retrenches its global role ### Reviews: Secularism in India *By V. B. K.* The Reviews section covers two books. V. B. Karnik reviews a Society for Research in Indian Communist Affairs report (the December 1968 issue of 'Indian Communist') detailing communist infiltration of two northern U.P. border districts, Tehri Garhwal and Uttarkashi, describing how Maoist-aligned 'Right Communists' have penetrated cooperative banks and labour unions there, and urging the government to take both defensive and ameliorative measures. A second (initialled 'V.B.K.') reviews 'Secularism in India,' an edited essay collection including two pieces by the late M. N. Roy, which argues India is not fully secular in the strict Western sense but has adopted a distinctive non-discriminatory model, distinct from Pakistan's explicitly Islamic state. - First review covers the Society for Research in Indian Communist Affairs' December 1968 'Indian Communist' report on the Tehri Garhwal and Uttarkashi border districts - The investigation, led by J. G. Tiwari, found communists (self-described 'Right Communists') controlling cooperative banks and labour unions in the two districts - The reviewer urges both defensive measures and positive amelioration of the poor and backward populations targeted by communist propaganda - Second review covers 'Secularism in India' (ed. V. K. Sinha), a collection from a 1966 Bombay seminar of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom - The review notes M. N. Roy's contribution arguing India is not a secular state in the strict sense, since state and religion are not fully separated - Concludes India's use of 'secular' has effectively become synonymous with non-communal rather than strict church-state separation --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff205/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 205 (June 1969) opens with A. G. Noorani's tribute to Dr. Zakir Husain, the President of India who died in office, and moves through a run of political commentary characteristic of the magazine's classical-liberal, anti-Congress-planning stance. M. R. Pai surveys India's uneasy relationship with Nepal amid Chinese pressure, alongside a boxed obituary for the jurist Purshottam Trikamdas. S. R. Mohan Das profiles Harold Wilson's fight to discipline Britain's trade unions through an Industrial Relations Bill. M. R. Masani, in extracts from a Parliament speech, delivers a scathing critique of India's draft Fourth Five Year Plan as unrealistic, unambitious, and a vindication of Swatantra Party warnings against state enterprise. Gafoor reviews Shriman Narayan's edited volume of letters between Gandhi, Nehru, and Vinoba, using the correspondence to expose Nehru's private irritation with pro-American and pro-Communist currents alike. R. Muthuswamy examines the fractured Indian left following V. K. Krishna Menon's Midnapore win, and A. E. Smith surveys left-wing subversion within British university politics.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 205 (June 1969) opens with A. G. Noorani's tribute to Dr. Zakir Husain, the President of India who died in office, and moves through a run of political commentary characteristic of the magazine's classical-liberal, anti-Congress-planning stance. M. R. Pai surveys India's uneasy relationship with Nepal amid Chinese pressure, alongside a boxed obituary for the jurist Purshottam Trikamdas. S. R. Mohan Das profiles Harold Wilson's fight to discipline Britain's trade unions through an Industrial Relations Bill. M. R. Masani, in extracts from a Parliament speech, delivers a scathing critique of India's draft Fourth Five Year Plan as unrealistic, unambitious, and a vindication of Swatantra Party warnings against state enterprise. Gafoor reviews Shriman Narayan's edited volume of letters between Gandhi, Nehru, and Vinoba, using the correspondence to expose Nehru's private irritation with pro-American and pro-Communist currents alike. R. Muthuswamy examines the fractured Indian left following V. K. Krishna Menon's Midnapore win, and A. E. Smith surveys left-wing subversion within British university politics. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a compiled column of quotations from the Indian and international press on Mrs. Gandhi, the Congress Party, and contemporary politics. ## Essays ### Dr. Zakir Husain *By A. G. Noorani* A. G. Noorani's tribute to the recently deceased President Dr. Zakir Husain describes him as a man of quiet resolve who chose an academic vocation and self-effacing public service over the comforts of a wealthy upbringing, leaving Aligarh to help found the Jamia Millia Islamia. Noorani, who interviewed Husain four times for a planned biography, recalls his careful, restrained manner in conversation and his insistence that only material fit for print be quoted, alongside praise from Jayaprakash Narayan comparing Husain's humble origins to an oak grown from an acorn. - Dr. Zakir Husain, President of India, died shortly before this issue; the piece is a personal tribute by A. G. Noorani. - Husain came from a wealthy family but chose poverty and academic service, leaving Aligarh to help found Jamia Millia Islamia. - Noorani interviewed Husain four times in preparation for a planned biography Husain had initially discouraged. - Husain is described as reticent yet an accomplished conversationalist, dignified and restrained even under public controversy. - Jayaprakash Narayan is quoted comparing Husain's rise from humble beginnings to an oak growing from an acorn. ### India And Nepal *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai argues that India neglected its relationship with Nepal during the Nehru years, when foreign policy attention was consumed by great-power concerns, and that Lal Bahadur Shastri was the first to recognize Nepal's importance as a buffer against China. The piece surveys King Mahendra's consolidation of a non-partisan panchayat system after abolishing party politics, competing Soviet, American, and Chinese interest in Nepal, and simmering trade disputes, including allegations that Nepal is used as a smuggling conduit into India. Pai concludes that India must handle ties with Nepal carefully given shared religious and educational links and the risk of Chinese influence spreading via a planned international highway and the Chinese-built Kodari road. The section also carries a boxed tribute to the late jurist Purshottam Trikamdas, an 'eminent lawyer and jurist' and close friend of Freedom First, who took a prominent part in exposing Chinese conduct in Tibet. - Nehru-era foreign policy neglected Nepal and other South Asian neighbours in favour of great-power concerns. - Lal Bahadur Shastri is credited with first recognizing the strategic importance of good relations with Nepal. - King Mahendra abolished party politics in Nepal in favour of indirect elections through village panchayats. - The USSR, USA, and Communist China are all described as vying for influence in Nepal. - A trade dispute (smuggling of stainless steel and synthetic fabrics) and a border dispute (the Susta affair) strain Indo-Nepalese relations. - Pai warns that a planned international highway and the Chinese-built Kodari road could open Nepal to bypass India or to Chinese influence. - A boxed obituary honours Purshottam Trikamdas, jurist and 'dear and steadfast friend of Freedom First,' for his work exposing Chinese actions in Tibet. ### Harold Wilson's Heartbreaks *By S. R. Mohan Das* S. R. Mohan Das praises Harold Wilson for risking his own popularity to push Britain's Industrial Relations Bill, which would create a permanent Commission on Industrial Relations under George Woodcock to regulate collective bargaining and curb unofficial strikes, with conciliation periods modelled on the US Taft-Hartley Act. The piece details opposition to the Bill from within Wilson's own party and the TUC, including Ray Gunther's resignation and criticism from Michael Foot and other Labour militants, while noting the Conservatives are likely to abstain to watch Labour's internal divisions play out. Mohan Das frames Wilson's willingness to alienate his own base as evidence of statesmanship, comparing him to Stafford Cripps's earlier imposition of painful but necessary austerity on Britain's post-war economy. - Harold Wilson's Industrial Relations Bill would create a statutory Commission on Industrial Relations, headed by George Woodcock, to regulate bargaining and union recognition. - The Bill allows penalties for unions that pressure employers, and can order strikers back to work for a 28-day conciliation period modelled on the US Taft-Hartley Act's cooling-off provisions. - Ray Gunther resigned as Minister for Labour rather than support the reform; Michael Foot and other Labour militants oppose Wilson. - Barbara Castle proposes ploughing back strike-breach levies into a workers' welfare and safety research fund. - The Conservatives are expected to abstain on the Bill to watch Labour's internal rifts play out rather than oppose it outright. - Mohan Das compares Wilson's political risk-taking to Stafford Cripps's earlier imposition of austerity, arguing Wilson could still be vindicated even if his party loses power. ### A Miserable Plan *By M. R. Masani, M.P.* In extracts from a Parliament speech, M. R. Masani, M.P., delivers a point-by-point demolition of India's draft Fourth Five Year Plan, calling it a 'contemptible petty Plan' built on unrealistic targets for national income growth, birth-rate decline, agricultural output, and exports, and arguing the promised 'shift to agriculture' does not appear in the Plan's own allocation tables. He attacks continued reliance on state enterprise and licence-permit controls, quoting Nirad Chaudhuri's charge that much of the Indian intelligentsia are unproductive 'parasites,' and names the economists and planners he holds responsible — P. C. Mahalanobis, Pitambar Pant, V. K. R. V. Rao, and D. R. Gadgil — as men who will be remembered for having 'destroyed the economic future' of the country. - Masani rejects the Plan's excuses of 'two wars and two droughts' as inadequate explanation for planning failures. - He disputes optimistic targets for national income growth (5.5%), birth-rate decline, agricultural growth (5% per annum), and export growth (7%) as unfounded. - He argues the Plan's own figures show no real shift in allocation from industry to agriculture despite claims of a new priority. - State enterprises are criticized as 'notorious laggards' expected to generate Rs. 1,730 crores despite yielding only Rs. 435 crores in the Third Plan. - Masani singles out P. C. Mahalanobis, Pitambar Pant, V. K. R. V. Rao, and D. R. Gadgil as planners who will be remembered for having harmed India's economic prospects. ### From The Great To A Great *By Gafoor* Gafoor reviews Shriman Narayan's edited volume 'Letters from Gandhi Nehru Vinoba,' questioning the editorial fairness of the selection but praising the correspondence for revealing candid private exchanges. The review highlights a 1955 letter in which Nehru warns Narayan about the American-organised Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom and its ties to Freedom First and to P.S.P. figures including M. R. Masani, followed later by a shift in which Nehru instead worries about Ford and Rockefeller Foundation influence over Indian economic research, and about Jayaprakash Narayan's own criticism of the Second Five Year Plan's authors as men 'from behind the Iron Curtain.' Gafoor concludes that Narayan's book does not deliver the promised 'flood of light' on its subjects' character but does offer revealing glimpses of political manoeuvring worth remembering. - The reviewed book collects letters between Shriman Narayan and Gandhi, Nehru, and Vinoba, described by its author as illuminating the 'life and thought' of these three leaders. - Gafoor criticizes the book's selective and sometimes one-sided editorial choices, noting some replies are omitted while others' letters are excerpted without matching context. - A 1955 Nehru letter attacks Freedom First as an American-organised publication linked to the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, naming M. R. Masani as a prominent member. - Nehru later grew equally suspicious of Ford and Rockefeller Foundation funding of Indian economic research as ideologically biased toward private enterprise. - Jayaprakash Narayan is quoted as having said the authors of Nehru's Second Five Year Plan were 'all men from behind the Iron Curtain.' - Gandhiji is quoted praising Shriman Narayan's character in two personal letters reproduced in the volume. ### The Mirage Of Leftist Unity *By R. Muthuswamy* R. Muthuswamy examines whether V. K. Krishna Menon's Midnapore win, backed by a coalition of leftist parties, signals genuine prospects for leftist unity in India, and concludes it does not. He surveys a leftist camp deeply fragmented between Communist and Socialist traditions, further split by Naxalite, Marxist-Leninist, and Right Communist factions, and describes internal crises within the United Front ministries of Kerala and West Bengal, where Marxist, Right Communist, and Revolutionary Socialist constituents openly clash. Muthuswamy concludes that leftist unity talk is 'merely wishful thinking' given personal rivalries between leaders and the absence of ideological discipline across the fragmented parties. - V. K. Krishna Menon's Midnapore win as an ultra-left candidate revived hopes of a unified socialist party, but Muthuswamy argues conditions do not support it. - The leftist camp remains split between Communist and Socialist traditions with 'no possibility of reconciliation.' - Kanu Sanyal formed a new Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) after a break with the Marxists; T. Nagi Reddi formed a rival Co-ordinating Committee. - United Front ministries in Kerala and West Bengal show internal splits, including a near-collapse of the Kerala ministry and open clashes between Revolutionary Socialists and Marxists at Alipurduar. - Muthuswamy concludes leftist unity is 'a mirage,' with parties organized around individual leader loyalty rather than ideology. ### Subversion In British Universities *By A. E. Smith* A. E. Smith argues that British universities, while not facing outright anarcho-communist takeover, are nonetheless targets of well-organised and well-financed subversive campaigns rooted in New Left, Marcusean, and Trotskyist currents. He describes Communist Party efforts to cultivate cadres within universities, the disproportionate influence of Trotskyist groups within the National Association of Labour Student Organisations, and militant tactics of shouting down or physically confronting opposing speakers, including incidents involving Denis Healey and Enoch Powell. Smith closes by arguing that the actual aim of these self-styled revolutionaries is not personal freedom but the seizure of power to suppress the freedom of others, calling them 'thorough-going reactionaries.' - British universities face organised, well-financed subversive campaigns rather than open anarcho-communist takeover. - Marcuse's Hegelian-Marxist-Freudian ideas, Ernest Mandel's revolutionary theory, and the cult of Che Guevara are cited as ideological influences on the 'New Left.' - Ten per cent of British university tutors are estimated to hold extreme-Left views, especially in the social sciences. - Trotskyist-controlled NALSO (National Association of Labour Student Organisations) is described as influencing Labour clubs beyond openly Marxist or Communist groups. - Militants have disrupted meetings addressed by Denis Healey, Enoch Powell, and an American Embassy speaker, including a paint-throwing incident at Sussex. - Smith argues these self-described revolutionaries seek power to destroy others' freedom rather than freedom for themselves, calling them ultimately reactionary. - A follow-on passage (page 11) describes tactics such as rigged debates and manipulated Chairman rulings used to favour Communist speakers over opponents in staged university debates. ### With Many Voices The closing 'With Many Voices' column compiles short quotations from Indian and international press and public figures on contemporary politics, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. Quoted commentators include Malcolm Muggeridge on Indira Gandhi, S. K. Patil and Morarji Desai criticizing Congress Party conduct, Shamlal on the risks of a Congress split, and press excerpts from The Economist, Hindustan Times, and The Indian Express on subjects ranging from the Samyukta Socialist Party's confusion to Communist rhetoric in Kerala. The page also carries the magazine's subscription form and imprint, naming V. B. Karnik as editor and publisher for the Democratic Research Service. - The column compiles brief quotations from Indian and international commentators and publications on current political events. - Malcolm Muggeridge is quoted comparing Indira Gandhi to Louis Napoleon on the fortune carried by her name. - S. K. Patil and Morarji Desai are quoted criticizing the state of the Congress Party and campaigns against dissenting figures. - The imprint identifies V. B. Karnik as editor and publisher for the Democratic Research Service, with an annual subscription of Rs. 5.00. - The issue is registered under No. MH 272 and printed at Inland Printers, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff207/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 207 (August 1969) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal periodical edited and published by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service. The issue is dominated by the political fallout of Indira Gandhi's bank nationalisation move and the wider anxiety, from several contributors, about growing Soviet and Communist influence over Indian politics, the press, and the economy. Karnik's lead essay questions whether the Prime Minister's actions (the AICC 'stray thoughts' note, the dismissal of the Finance Minister, and the nationalisation ordinance) reflect calculated design or directionless drift. Companion pieces by 'Atreya' on the Communist Party of India (Marxist), by 'Analyst' on police and United Front politics in West Bengal, and by M. R. Pai on alleged Soviet penetration of Indian institutions extend this anti-authoritarian, anti-Communist thread. The issue also carries a eulogy for Kenyan minister Tom Mboya, a reprinted extract from imprisoned Soviet writer Yuri Daniel, a reprinted editorial on press freedom by South African editor Lawrence Gander, a piece on the state's poor handling of Dr.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 207 (August 1969) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal periodical edited and published by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service. The issue is dominated by the political fallout of Indira Gandhi's bank nationalisation move and the wider anxiety, from several contributors, about growing Soviet and Communist influence over Indian politics, the press, and the economy. Karnik's lead essay questions whether the Prime Minister's actions (the AICC 'stray thoughts' note, the dismissal of the Finance Minister, and the nationalisation ordinance) reflect calculated design or directionless drift. Companion pieces by 'Atreya' on the Communist Party of India (Marxist), by 'Analyst' on police and United Front politics in West Bengal, and by M. R. Pai on alleged Soviet penetration of Indian institutions extend this anti-authoritarian, anti-Communist thread. The issue also carries a eulogy for Kenyan minister Tom Mboya, a reprinted extract from imprisoned Soviet writer Yuri Daniel, a reprinted editorial on press freedom by South African editor Lawrence Gander, a piece on the state's poor handling of Dr. Zakir Husain's funeral, a book review of a study of revolutionary/guerrilla warfare, a letter-to-the-editor exchange on the Hindu-Muslim problem between A. B. Shah and Karnik, and a closing page of press quotations ('With Many Voices'). ## Essays ### Drift Or Design? *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead editorial essay asks whether the sensational political events of the preceding weeks -- Indira Gandhi's 'stray thoughts' economic policy note sprung on Congress leaders at the Bangalore AICC meeting, her defeat over the choice of Congress presidential candidate, the virtual dismissal of the Finance Minister (Morarji Desai), and the nationalisation of fourteen private banks by ordinance -- were the product of a deliberate design or mere drift. Karnik argues the Congress old guard acted true to its 'usual slipshod way,' while the Prime Minister's motives remain ambiguous: was nationalisation a well-thought-out policy to extend state control for economic progress and social welfare, or a political stunt to outwit rivals and concentrate personal power? He warns against wholesale nationalisation of production, distribution and exchange as a road to 'anarchy and chaos,' and closes by urging the government to formulate real economic and social 'design' rather than continue drifting, since 'socialism has been more a mirage and a deceptive slogan than a realistic socio-economic programme.' - Questions whether Indira Gandhi's political moves (AICC note, bank nationalisation ordinance, sidelining of the Finance Minister) reflect design or drift - Criticises the Congress High Command's acquiescence to the Prime Minister's increasingly personalised authority - Frames bank nationalisation as a possible move to concentrate power rather than a genuine welfare measure - Warns that further nationalisation of production, distribution, and exchange would lead to 'anarchy and chaos' - Calls for orderly, vigorous economic 'design' in place of continued policy drift ### Marxist Communists Mean Business *By "Atreya"* A short unsigned note congratulating Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins on the Apollo 11 Moon landing, expressing hope that the widened human horizon in space will also help humanity 'rise above all pettiness on our good earth.' - Congratulates the Apollo 11 astronauts and the American people on the Moon landing - Frames the achievement as a triumph for the whole human race - Expresses hope that space exploration will inspire humanity to rise above earthly pettiness ### Nationalisation of Banks A brief tribute marking the assassination of Kenyan Minister for Economic Planning and Labour Tom Mboya, describing him as a young, vigorous, cosmopolitan modernising figure whose violent death is a loss to the world democratic movement. - Mourns the assassination of Tom Mboya, Kenya's Minister for Economic Planning and Labour - Praises his cosmopolitan outlook and many friendships in India - Frames his death as a loss to the 'world democratic movement' ### U.F. Police And Courts *By Analyst* A reprinted extract from a letter written from his prison cell by the Russian writer Yuri Daniel, describing the euphemistic 'special language' used by Soviet camp authorities -- where starvation rations are called 'education' and solitary confinement is called 're-education' -- and reflecting bitterly on the hunger strike as a last resort against injustice. - Extracts a prison letter by Soviet dissident writer Yuri Daniel - Describes the euphemistic 'special language' of the Soviet camp system - Notes that starvation rations are termed 'education' and punitive isolation is called 're-education' - Reflects on hunger strikes as the last resort when 'all the thinkable and unthinkable means' have failed ### India - An Asian Czechoslovakia? *By M. R. Pai* Writing under the pseudonym 'Atreya,' this essay argues that the CPI (Marxist) has openly declared its objective in Kerala and West Bengal is not to relieve the people but to sharpen class struggle and create conditions for revolutionary subversion of the Indian Constitution, as confirmed by B. T. Ranadive's London statement and echoed by E. M. S. Namboodiripad and A. K. Gopalan. The author contrasts this candour with the 'bovinely sloppy' complacency of Congress and other democratic parties, criticises S. A. Dange and the CPI (Right) for their opportunistic conformism, and notes the Marxist Communists' withdrawal of prosecutions against Naxalites in Kerala and West Bengal as evidence of their operational seriousness. The essay pivots to a report on M. R. Masani's Lok Sabha speech opposing the Banking Companies Nationalisation Bill, in which Masani warned against following the authoritarian path of Nkrumah and Sukarno, argued the bill was a political move to concentrate power in Delhi, and called the debate improper while the matter was sub judice before the Supreme Court. - CPI (Marxist) leader B. T. Ranadive's London statement reveals the party's real aim: to sharpen contradictions, not relieve the people, in Kerala and West Bengal - E. M. S. Namboodiripad and A. K. Gopalan confirm and reiterate Ranadive's position - The Marxist Communists have withdrawn prosecutions against Naxalite-accused persons in both states as a show of revolutionary solidarity - S. A. Dange and the CPI (Right) are accused of being 'bailed out' by Indira Gandhi's Congress in a mutual arrangement of convenience - M. R. Masani opposed the Banking Companies Nationalisation Bill in the Lok Sabha, comparing Indira Gandhi's path to Nkrumah's Ghana and Sukarno's Indonesia - Masani argued nationalisation would damage foreign confidence, scare depositors, and concentrate political and economic power in Delhi ### Democracy And Free Press Writing under the pseudonym 'Analyst,' this piece surveys a month (mid-June to mid-July 1969) of political and administrative breakdown in West Bengal under the United Front government: a cold war between the Home Minister and the Police Association following the Durgapur Engineering College incidents; the CPM's attempt to form a parallel, more pliant police association; gheraos of officials; a High Court judgment rebuking the executive for defying judicial orders; an attack on the offices of Ananda Bazar Patrika and The Statesman by CPM-linked 'student' storm-troopers; the CPM's capture of school and college managing committees; and the withdrawal of prosecutions against Naxalite-accused persons. It closes by describing Chief Minister Ajoy Mukherjee's political impotence, worsening industrial unrest, and rising talk of 'conspiracies' and a possible role for the Industrial Security Force. - Chronicles administrative paralysis and a police-vs-Home-Ministry standoff in West Bengal following the Durgapur Engineering College incidents - Describes CPM attempts to build a rival, more compliant police association and to capture schools and colleges by installing party nominees - Reports a High Court judgment rebuking the West Bengal executive for failing to respect judicial authority - Details an attack on the Ananda Bazar Patrika and Statesman offices by CPM-aligned 'student' groups likened to Nazi storm-troopers - Portrays Chief Minister Ajoy Mukherjee as increasingly powerless within the United Front government - Notes rising industrial unrest, gheraos, and fears of prolonged strikes in jute, engineering, and tea industries ### Dr. Zakir Husain's Funeral *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai argues that India risks becoming 'an Asian Czechoslovakia' -- a country subverted from within through Soviet-backed 'Pressure from Below' and 'Pressure from Above,' as theorised by Czech communist Jan Kozak and previously attempted in India via the Ranadive thesis before being replaced by the more successful gradualist Czech model under Indira Gandhi's premiership. Pai catalogues Soviet infiltration across multiple domains: mass Soviet publications outnumbering British and American publications combined; Soviet delegations and cultural exchanges; press subsidies and Novosti syndication deals; alleged Soviet influence over education, the Planning Commission's economic model (via P. C. Mahalanobis, Pitamber Pant, and D. R. Gadgil), and the 'Rupee Payment' trade arrangement that Pai says leaves India dependent on overpriced Soviet goods and machinery (citing Romesh Thapar's critique of Bokaro Steel and the 'Central Engineering and Design Bureau'). He names a roster of ministers and officials he considers pro-Soviet -- Dinesh Singh, Nandini Satpathy, Bhagwat Jha Azad, I. K. Gujral, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Raghunath Reddy, V. K. R. V. Rao, T. N. Kaul, P. N. Haksar -- and singles out Indira Gandhi and Dinesh Singh as 'No. 1' pro-communist figures in the Congress, closing with a warning that India risks becoming 'a Soviet economic colony as drawers of water and hewers of wood' unless believers in freedom and liberal democracy act in concert. - Compares India's trajectory under Indira Gandhi to the Soviet subversion of Czechoslovakia, citing Jan Kozak's thesis of 'Pressure from Below' and 'Pressure from Above' - Cites Home Ministry data (given Sept 9, 1968) showing USSR publishing 41 Indian-language periodicals versus 3 by UK and 6 by USA - Describes Soviet cultural, media, and educational penetration, including the Novosti syndication deal and joint Gandhi/Lenin centenary celebrations - Criticises the 'Rupee Payment' trade arrangement and Soviet-model Five Year Plans as economically damaging, citing Romesh Thapar on Bokaro Steel - Names a list of ministers and officials (Dinesh Singh, Nandini Satpathy, I. K. Gujral, T. N. Kaul, P. N. Haksar and others) as pro-Soviet actors within government - Concludes with a warning that India risks becoming 'a Soviet economic colony' without concerted resistance from liberal democrats ### Review: Strategies of Revolutionary Warfare *By (Lt-Col.) M. R. Chandvadkar* A reprinted editorial written by Lawrence Gander, Editor-in-Chief of the Rand Daily Mail, after his conviction and fine in the Rand Supreme Court for publishing 'false information' about brutality and bad hygiene in South African prisons. Freedom First's own editor's note frames the case as a defence of press courage, noting Gander continued Edgar Wallace's liberal editorial tradition and presented the plight of black South Africans as a human situation. Gander's editorial itself defends the free press's right and duty to publish unwelcome truths, invoking the historical precedent of Crimean War reporting and closing with Thomas Jefferson's preference for 'newspapers without a government' over 'a government without newspapers.' - Reprints Lawrence Gander's editorial defending press freedom after his conviction in the Rand Supreme Court over prison-conditions reporting - Freedom First's introductory note frames Gander as continuing the Rand Daily Mail's liberal tradition under Edgar Wallace - Gander argues a free press must report unwelcome truths even at cost to 'national interest' - Cites the Crimean War Times correspondent as a historical instance where critical reporting ultimately served reform - Closes with Thomas Jefferson's dictum preferring newspapers without government to government without newspapers ### Letter to the Editor: Hindu-Muslim Problem *By A. B. Shah / V. B. Karnik (reply)* R. Srinivasan criticises the Indian government's poor handling of public mourning and media coverage following the death of President Dr. Zakir Husain, arguing that the Films Division and All India Radio failed to rise to the occasion. He contrasts India's threadbare radio dirges and thin documentary coverage unfavourably with the dignified public funerals of Kennedy and Churchill, laments the absence of a prepared national elegy (unlike the independence-era songs by Bankim Chandra, Dwijendranath, and Tagore), and calls for the government to commission proper documentaries and dirges in advance of future national occasions rather than scrambling reactively. - Criticises All India Radio and the Films Division for their inadequate coverage of Dr. Zakir Husain's death and funeral - Contrasts India's handling unfavourably with the dignified public funerals of Kennedy and Churchill - Notes the absence of a prepared national musical tradition of mourning, unlike patriotic songs composed around 1947 - Recommends commissioning documentaries and dirges for prominent leaders in advance, not only after death - Criticises poor photography and coverage of the public's reaction during the funeral procession ### With Many Voices A book review, unsigned in its opening portion but concluded and signed by (Lt-Col.) M. R. Chandvadkar, of 'Strategies of Revolutionary Warfare' edited by Jerry M. Tinker (published by S. Chand & Co., New Delhi). The reviewer praises it as the first comprehensive Indian-published study analysing the strategies and tactics of revolutionary/guerrilla warfare since 1945, covering the theories of Lenin, Mao Tse-tung, General Giap, General Alberto Bayo, Che Guevara and General Nasution, and organised into sections on the growth, technique, and government counter-measures against revolutionary warfare. The reviewer connects the book's relevance to India's own vulnerability, citing reports of Chinese training of Naga insurgents in Yunnan province and East Pakistan, and recommends the book as a potential textbook for training army, police, and civilians in counter-insurgency. - Reviews 'Strategies of Revolutionary Warfare,' edited by Jerry M. Tinker, calling it the first comprehensive Indian-published study of revolutionary warfare strategy since 1945 - Summarises the book's coverage of Lenin, Mao Tse-tung, General Giap, General Alberto Bayo, Che Guevara, and General Nasution as theorists of guerrilla warfare - Notes the book's three-part structure: growth of revolutionary warfare, insurgent technique, and government counter-measures - Connects the book's relevance to India via reports that China has trained over 1,000 Naga insurgents in Yunnan and set up camps in East Pakistan - Recommends the book as a potential textbook for Army Schools, Police Training Schools, and civilian counter-insurgency training ### Essay 11 A letter-to-the-editor exchange on the 'Hindu-Muslim Problem.' A. B. Shah, President of the Indian Secular Society, challenges V. B. Karnik's earlier article on Hamid Dalwai's book Muslim Politics in India (Freedom First, March 1969), arguing Karnik misrepresents Dalwai's nuanced views as blanket condemnation of Muslims, and that Karnik's justification of the Pakistan demand ignores the earlier history of Muslim separatism going back to Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Sir Syed Ameer Ali. Shah also disputes Karnik's claim that Hindu and Muslim societies are equally obscurantist, citing examples of Hindu self-criticism (of the Shankaracharya of Puri) versus what he calls the near-total silence of eminent Muslims over the demonstration against a Toynbee article at the Statesman's Calcutta office. Karnik replies, accepting Shah's assurance about Dalwai's actual views, but maintaining that a historian should seek to understand rather than to assign blame, and that his own analysis of the roots of Partition differs in emphasis from Shah's, without conceding fault. - A. B. Shah, writing as President of the Indian Secular Society, disputes Karnik's March 1969 characterisation of Hamid Dalwai's book Muslim Politics in India - Shah traces Muslim separatism to Sir Syed Ahmad Khan's 1880s call for a separate Muslim nation, predating the causes Karnik cites - Shah contrasts Hindu self-criticism of the Shankaracharya of Puri with the near-total silence of prominent Muslims over anti-Toynbee demonstrations at the Statesman's Calcutta office - Karnik's reply accepts that Dalwai does not condemn the whole Muslim community but maintains his own differing assessment of historical responsibility for communal division ### Essay 12 The closing 'With Many Voices' page reprints a selection of press quotations from July 1969 on the themes of Soviet influence, bank nationalisation, the Naxalites, and the Moon landing, drawn from The Indian Express, The Statesman, Swarajya, Janata, Thought, Times of India, Current, and Economic Times, with commentators including G. L. Mehta, S. Nihal Singh, Girilal Jain, D. F. Karaka, Jyoti Basu, Jayaprakash Narayan, C. D. Deshmukh, Arthur C. Clarke, and President Nixon. The page closes the issue with the masthead statement that it is printed at Inland Printers, Bombay, and edited and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik. - Compiles press quotations from July 1969 on Soviet influence, bank nationalisation, and the Moon landing - Includes Jayaprakash Narayan's view that nationalisation of banks would only enhance the power of rulers and bureaucrats, not solve economic ills - Includes C. D. Deshmukh's assessment that India's political choice now lies only between the Extreme Left and an almost-as-extreme Left - Includes Jyoti Basu's characterisation of Naxalites as 'part politicians and part anti-socials' - Closes with the issue's colophon: printed at Inland Printers, Bombay; edited and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff208/ ### Summary This is issue 208 of Freedom First (September 1969), the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical edited by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service. The issue is dominated by the political crisis inside the Indian National Congress following the contested Presidential election of V. V. Giri and Indira Gandhi's nationalisation of fourteen banks, alongside sustained alarm over threats to press freedom from the Prime Minister's government and its supporters. Contributors include Adam Adil on the Congress split, A. B. Shah on pressure applied to newspaper editors, V. B. Karnik reviewing Brigadier J. P. Dalvi's account of the 1962 war with China, and unsigned or pseudonymous pieces on Soviet writer Anatoly Kuznetsov's defection, the first anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, a student seminar on unrest, and left-front violence in West Bengal. The issue closes with a review of a book on Bengal politics and a page of quoted press commentary titled 'With Many Voices'. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue 208 of Freedom First (September 1969), the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical edited by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service. The issue is dominated by the political crisis inside the Indian National Congress following the contested Presidential election of V. V. Giri and Indira Gandhi's nationalisation of fourteen banks, alongside sustained alarm over threats to press freedom from the Prime Minister's government and its supporters. Contributors include Adam Adil on the Congress split, A. B. Shah on pressure applied to newspaper editors, V. B. Karnik reviewing Brigadier J. P. Dalvi's account of the 1962 war with China, and unsigned or pseudonymous pieces on Soviet writer Anatoly Kuznetsov's defection, the first anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, a student seminar on unrest, and left-front violence in West Bengal. The issue closes with a review of a book on Bengal politics and a page of quoted press commentary titled 'With Many Voices'. ## Essays ### Congress in Crisis *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil's lead article surveys the unprecedented crisis in the Indian National Congress, precipitated when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi backed independent candidate V. V. Giri for President against the party's official nominee, Sanjiva Reddy, leading to mass defections and Giri's narrow victory by roughly 14,000 votes. The author holds both the Prime Minister and the conservative 'Syndicate' faction responsible for mistakes, and argues that the Working Committee's conciliatory response has averted an immediate party split, though the underlying tensions over socialist policy versus party discipline remain unresolved. The essay urges both factions to cooperate for the sake of Congress's role in India's democratic stability. - Congress faces its worst crisis in 84 years of history, driven by Mrs Gandhi's open support for independent presidential candidate V. V. Giri over the party's official nominee Sanjiva Reddy. - Giri won the presidency by a margin of just over 14,000 votes with Leftist and defecting Congress support. - The old guard 'Syndicate' demanded the Prime Minister's expulsion for breach of party discipline. - Mrs Gandhi's dismissal of Finance Minister Morarji Desai and the nationalisation of fourteen major banks are presented as her attempt to justify her actions. - The Congress Working Committee's considerate handling of the crisis is credited with averting a party split. ### Czechoslovakia — Sullen Resistance This unsigned editorial marks the first anniversary of the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia, describing a year of 'silent and sullen resistance' by the Czechoslovak people, including the self-immolation of Jan Palach, and the removal of reformist leader Alexander Dubcek in favour of the more compliant Gustav Husak. The piece draws a lesson for other countries drifting toward Soviet influence: that Russia does not tolerate dissent and will use aggression across borders to suppress it. - A year after the Soviet invasion, Czechoslovaks continue sullen, non-violent resistance including non-cooperation and slowdowns in production. - Jan Palach's self-immolation is cited as the most notable act of protest against the occupation. - Alexander Dubcek was replaced by Gustav Husak, seen by Czechoslovaks as a Russian agent. - The piece frames the episode as a warning to nations 'gravitating towards Russia' about intolerance of dissent. ### The Press and the Present Crisis *By A. B. Shah* A. B. Shah's essay opens with Tocqueville's observation that there is no half-way house between a free press and a regimented one, and argues that this applies acutely to India in 1969. Shah documents specific instances of the Gandhi government and its supporters pressuring newspaper editors and managements — phone calls threatening editors, mob attacks on The Statesman and other papers by CPI(M)-led crowds, and proposals to convert newspapers into public trusts. He also discusses religious mob pressure on the press, such as protests over a painting of the Prophet published in the Marathi weekly Sadhana and over a Toynbee article in The Statesman. Shah rejects the government's rhetoric about a dangerous 'press monopoly,' arguing that true concentration of power over mass communication lies with the government itself, and concludes that the real weakness of the Indian press is the complacency and opportunism of its own proprietors rather than external threats. - Shah invokes Tocqueville's Democracy in America on the absence of a middle ground between a free and a regimented press. - Documents direct pressure by Mrs Gandhi's government and supporters on newspaper editors, including threatening phone calls and mob attacks on The Statesman and other papers. - Notes proposals to convert newspaper combines into public trusts and to reintroduce the price-page schedule struck down by the Supreme Court. - Describes religious-mob threats to press freedom, citing the Sadhana cover depicting the Prophet Muhammad and a Statesman apology over a Toynbee article. - Argues that fears of private 'press monopoly' are overstated compared to the government's actual concentration of coercive power over media. - Blames the 'complacency and opportunism' of Indian press proprietors, not external monopoly, for any erosion of press freedom. ### Kuznetsov Chose Freedom This unsigned piece recounts the defection of Soviet writer Anatoly Kuznetsov, author of Babi Yar and The Fire, who requested political asylum in London while ostensibly researching a book on Lenin, smuggling microfilm copies of his manuscripts in his coat lining. The article quotes at length from Kuznetsov's own statement explaining his decision, describing Soviet literary censorship and the psychological toll of writing under constant political control, and notes the wider crackdown on independent-minded Soviet writers following the Czechoslovak invasion, including Sinyavsky, Daniel, Evtushenko, and Voznessensky, and pressure on Tvardovsky's journal Novy Mir. - Anatoly Kuznetsov, author of Babi Yar and The Fire, defected to Britain seeking political asylum while researching a book on Lenin. - He smuggled microfilm copies of his manuscripts sewn into his coat lining. - His own statement describes Soviet censorship as distorting his works 'to the point of making them completely unrecognizable'. - The piece links his defection to the broader crackdown on independent writers after the Czechoslovak invasion, including the trial of Sinyavsky and Daniel. - Novy Mir editor Tvardovsky is described as under heavy pressure for maintaining literary and ideological independence. ### Reflection on a Student Seminar *By (A Student)* Written by an anonymous student, this piece reports on a student seminar on 'Student Unrest' held at S.N.D.T. Women's University in July 1969 under the joint auspices of the Democratic Research Service and the Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy. About thirty students discussed the nature and causes of unrest, responsibility for it, and students' role in politics and reform. The author notes that participants showed little interest in theoretical or international dimensions of unrest, unanimously criticised tough examination practices, blamed frustration from economic instability and unemployment, and were unable to agree on limits for student participation in party politics, though they favoured student activism against casteism and untouchability. - A student seminar on 'Student Unrest' was held at S.N.D.T. Women's University on 26 July 1969 under the Democratic Research Service and Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy. - About thirty students debated five themes: the nature of unrest, its causes, responsibility for it, student involvement in party politics, and students' constructive role in reform. - Participants unanimously assailed strikes over tough examination papers and felt students cared more about degrees than knowledge. - Economic instability and unemployment were seen as major drivers of frustration. - No consensus formula emerged on limits for student participation in national and party politics. - Participants agreed students should work against casteism, parochialism, and untouchability. ### New Tactic With Police *By Analyst* Writing under the byline 'Analyst,' this piece continues Freedom First's ongoing coverage of conflict between West Bengal's United Front government and the police. It describes violent clashes between police and CPM/SUC peasant organisations at villages Haroa and Bharatgarh, the killing of a police constable, and the resulting anger among rank-and-file policemen. The CPM is described as shifting tactics to try to win over policemen and officers directly rather than confront them, a move the author sees as a potentially significant new strategy. The piece closes by noting a successful jute mill strike backed by the United Front government across rival trade union federations. - Clashes at Haroa (Basirhat) and Bharatgarh (Basanti) left several policemen and peasants dead, escalating tension between the West Bengal police and CPM/SUC-aligned peasant groups. - Rank-and-file policemen grew agitated after a constable's killing, leading to attacks on a police station and the Legislative Assembly. - Senior police officers report being under pressure amid dismissals and disaffection within the force. - The CPM under Jyoti Basu shifted tactics, appealing to policemen directly to align with the United Front rather than treating them as adversaries. - A jute mill strike backed by the United Front government and multiple union federations succeeded, raising wages by Rs. 30. ### Two Incidents *By A Correspondent* This report by 'A Correspondent' documents two violent incidents in West Bengal in July 1969: a clash between jotedars (landholders) and peasant cultivators at Madhusudanpur in 24 Parganas that left five jotedars and one peasant dead, followed by a mass peasant assembly and reprisal killings; and a clash at Bharatpur between S.U.C. and R.S.P. supporters that escalated into an attack on police, killing a constable and leading to the temporary forcible detention of a police sub-inspector and constable. - At Madhusudanpur, disputes over wages between jotedars and peasants escalated into violence; five jotedars and one peasant were killed, and jotedars were later beaten to death by a mob of ten thousand peasants. - At Bharatpur, a clash between S.U.C. and R.S.P. supporters led to the death of an R.S.P. worker and, days later, an armed peasant crowd killed a police constable and forcibly detained a sub-inspector and constable after stripping and assaulting them. - Police reinforcements eventually rescued the detained officers and recovered stolen weapons. ### Himalayan Blunder (review of Brigadier J. P. Dalvi's book) *By M. R. Pai* V. B. Karnik reviews Brigadier J. P. Dalvi's book Himalayan Blunder, an account by the commander of the 7th Brigade of the 1962 border war with China. Karnik praises it as the most significant and authentic account among the many books on the 1962 humiliation, detailing the brigade's outnumbered stand at the Thagla Ridge, the chaotic 'Forward Policy,' and Dalvi's frank apportioning of blame to Nehru and Defence Minister Krishna Menon for political opportunism, poor supply, and disorganised command, while also holding senior army officers, including himself, partly responsible. The review notes the book reproduces Sardar Patel's 1950 letter to Nehru warning of the China threat, and closes by endorsing Frank Moraes's foreword urging every Indian to read it. - Brigadier Dalvi commanded the 7th Brigade, which bore the brunt of the Chinese assault at Thagla Ridge, outnumbered at least 20 to 1. - Dalvi attributes the disaster chiefly to the government's ill-prepared 'Forward Policy' of establishing unsupplied border posts, including the Dhola Post in NEFA. - The book assigns greatest blame to Defence Minister Krishna Menon for starving the army and disorganising its chain of command, and to Nehru for his 'credulity and negligence'. - Dalvi also holds senior army officers, including himself, responsible for their part in the debacle. - The book reproduces Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's 1950 letter to Nehru warning of the danger China posed to India's security. - Frank Moraes's foreword, quoted approvingly, urges every Indian to read the book and form an independent judgment. ### Review: Elite Conflict in a Plural Society: Twentieth-Century Bengal (J. H. Broomfield) *By K. V. B.* Reviewer 'K.V.B.' assesses J. H. Broomfield's Elite Conflict in a Plural Society: Twentieth-Century Bengal (Oxford University Press), which examines the Bengali 'Bhadralok' elite's nationalist struggle against British rule from 1912 to 1927. The review credits Broomfield with showing how the Bhadralok-led movement, narrowly based and disconnected from Muslims and lower-caste Hindus, generated communal discord that British administrators exploited, ultimately leading the same elite that opposed the 1905 Partition to welcome the 1947 Partition rather than face incorporation into a Muslim-majority state. The reviewer recommends the book to students of the national movement and the communal problem, while noting its high price limits its reach. - Broomfield's book covers the Bhadralok-led nationalist struggle in Bengal from 1912 to 1927, following the 1905 Partition and its 1912 annulment. - The Bhadralok elite's narrow social base, disconnected from Muslims (about 55% of the population) and lower-caste/untouchable Hindus, is presented as central to its eventual frustration and defeat. - The book documents how communal politicians exploited resentment against Hindu landholders, moneylenders, and officials to mobilise Muslim opinion against Congress rule. - The same Bhadralok group that opposed the 1905 Partition welcomed the 1947 Partition as preferable to incorporation into a Muslim state. - The reviewer calls the book essential reading on Hindu-Muslim relations but notes its Rs. 50 price will limit readership. ### With Many Voices The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' is a compilation of press quotations from mid-August 1969 commenting on the Congress crisis, bank nationalisation, and Indira Gandhi's leadership, drawn from sources including The Indian Express, The Statesman, Times of India, and figures such as C. Rajagopalachari, M. R. Masani, Jayaprakash Narayan, and Asoka Mehta. It reflects the range of contemporary opinion, largely critical of the Prime Minister's methods, alongside a subscription form and the issue's publication colophon naming V. B. Karnik as editor and publisher for the Democratic Research Service. - The page collects critical press commentary on Mrs Gandhi's handling of the Congress crisis and bank nationalisation from August 1969. - Quoted figures include C. Rajagopalachari, M. R. Masani, Jayaprakash Narayan, N. G. Goray, and Asoka Mehta, among newspaper correspondents. - Rajagopalachari is quoted calling Mrs Gandhi 'an agent and instrument of the communists and fellow-travellers'. - The colophon confirms the issue was edited and published by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service at 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff209/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 209 (October 1969) opens with the Gandhi centenary still dominating the magazine's attention: Arvind A. Deshpande contributes a personal appreciation and tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, followed by a note on the British Parliament's resolution honouring Gandhiji, and V. B. Karnik reviews J. Bandyopadhyaya's 'Social and Political Thought of Gandhi', summarising its critical, social-scientific assessment of satyagraha's limits against dictatorial regimes. Alongside the Gandhi material, this issue is heavily preoccupied with contemporary politics: A. G. Mulgaonkar's constitutional essay 'P.M.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 209 (October 1969) opens with the Gandhi centenary still dominating the magazine's attention: Arvind A. Deshpande contributes a personal appreciation and tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, followed by a note on the British Parliament's resolution honouring Gandhiji, and V. B. Karnik reviews J. Bandyopadhyaya's 'Social and Political Thought of Gandhi', summarising its critical, social-scientific assessment of satyagraha's limits against dictatorial regimes. Alongside the Gandhi material, this issue is heavily preoccupied with contemporary politics: A. G. Mulgaonkar's constitutional essay 'P.M. And Party President' argues against the Congress organisation's claim to control the parliamentary wing and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, drawing on British parliamentary precedents (Asquith, Baldwin, Churchill); a 'Bengal Report' column by 'Analyst' covers Indira Gandhi's Calcutta visit, CPI-CPM factional conflict, and the Ranjit Gupta report on police vandalism in the West Bengal Assembly; a reprinted memorandum from women political workers and a separate Congressmen's memorandum ('Trends In Bengal') catalogue the breakdown of law and order under the United Front government; an editorial condemns the Ahmedabad communal riots during the Gandhi centenary year; and a reprinted 'Moscow's Design For Asia' (from U.S. News & World Report) analyses Soviet strategic ambitions in Asia following the US drawdown from its 'world policeman' role. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices', a compilation of press quotations on current affairs, and a reader's letter praising the magazine's coverage of press freedom. ## Essays ### Mahatma Gandhi: Appreciation and Tribute *By Arvind A. Deshpande* Arvind A. Deshpande's tribute argues that Gandhi's greatness lay not in genius but in moral earnestness available to any ordinary person, making him, in the author's words, the most notable instance of a 'self-made man' of saintliness. The essay defends Gandhi against charges that he was a shrewd, manipulative politician masking political calculation as religious idealism, calling that view 'far-fetched', and cites Raja Rao's description of Gandhi's death as a 'Hindu martyr for an Indian cause' to characterise the Hindu-Muslim question as Gandhi's 'magnificent failure'. It closes by crediting Gandhi's central teaching as the demonstration, through personal example, that even the weakest individual can resist injustice without inflicting counter-injury, comparing Lal Bahadur Shastri as one of the few who grasped this distinction between strength and violence. A short accompanying note records a British Parliament resolution acknowledging Gandhi's work for India and the world during his centenary year. - Frames Gandhi's greatness as accessible moral earnestness rather than exceptional genius, unlike 'a Tilak' who must be born - Rejects the view that Gandhi was primarily a shrewd, manipulative politician using religion to obscure political calculation - Calls Gandhi's handling of Hindu-Muslim unity a 'magnificent failure', citing Raja Rao's The Serpent and the Rope - Credits Gandhi's core teaching as showing that any individual can resist injustice and evil without causing injury - Names Lal Bahadur Shastri as one of few who understood Gandhi's distinction between strength and violence - Notes the British Parliament passed a resolution honouring Gandhi during the centenary year ### P. M. And Party President *By A. G. Mulgaonkar* A short unsigned item, reprinted from the weekly 'Thought' under the heading 'Pink Knights-Errant', criticises Indira Gandhi's socialist ministers for consorting with declared and undeclared Communists: it recounts Dinesh Singh's eulogy of Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi, Soviet officials' praise of Mrs Gandhi's government, Jagjivan Ram sharing a platform with Communists Bhupesh Gupta and Krishna Menon, and a Communist-fellow-traveller conference inaugurated by V. K. R. V. Rao. A companion editorial on the Ahmedabad communal riots calls them a national shame occurring in the Gandhi centenary year, in the city where Gandhi spent over two decades of his life, and argues that education and guarantees of communities' lawful rights are the only durable remedy. A reader's letter to the editor thanks Freedom First and its September 1969 article 'The Press and the Present Crisis' (by A. B. Shah) for warning about threats to press freedom. - Criticises Congress ministers under Indira Gandhi for aligning with Communists and fellow-travellers, citing named incidents from August-September 1969 - Notes Soviet officials' gratification at India's political direction under Mrs Gandhi - Editorial condemns the Ahmedabad communal riots as a national disgrace during the Gandhi centenary year, calling for investigation of a possible 'hidden hand' - Argues communal distrust persists despite two decades of secular democracy and requires education plus guaranteed community rights to eradicate - A reader's letter praises Freedom First's September 1969 article on press freedom by A. B. Shah, warning against press nationalisation ### Bengal Report: Indira Gandhi's Visit And After *By Analyst* A. G. Mulgaonkar's constitutional essay examines whether the Congress organisation (the President and Working Committee) can legitimately claim supervisory or directive control over the Congress Prime Minister and cabinet, a question sharpened by the clashes between Indira Gandhi and the Syndicate. Mulgaonkar concedes the organisation's general claim to guide broad policy but argues the wider claim, extending to cabinet appointments and day-to-day administration, is unworkable and unconstitutional: under Articles 74 and 75 the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers are constitutionally answerable to Parliament, cabinet discussions are secret by oath, and the Congress President and Working Committee hold no more constitutional standing than private citizens. He rejects the three grounds advanced for organisational control (that the organisation raised funds and won the election; that Indian conditions require party supervision of government; that Congress rules provide for it), and invokes British precedents where Prime Ministers Asquith, Baldwin and Churchill resisted extra-constitutional attempts by party or press figures to control government action, quoting Baldwin's rebuke to press lords Rothermere and Beaverbrook about 'power without responsibility'. - Poses the constitutional question of whether the Congress organisation can direct or control the Congress Prime Minister and government - Concedes a limited role for the organisation in guiding broad policy but rejects claims to supervisory or directive authority over cabinet appointments and administration - Cites Articles 74 and 75 of the Indian Constitution and the secrecy of cabinet discussions as barriers to organisational control - Rejects the three grounds for the claim: financing/winning elections, special Indian conditions, and Congress constitution/rules - Uses British parliamentary history (Asquith and the Lloyd George war-committee ultimatum, Baldwin versus press lords Rothermere and Beaverbrook) as precedent for resisting extra-constitutional control of a Prime Minister - Argues a Prime Minister subject to a rival power centre would lack dignity, self-respect, and clear responsibility ### Moscow's Design For Asia *By U.S. News & World Report* Writing under the byline 'Analyst' in the 'Bengal Report' column, this piece surveys West Bengal politics from mid-August to mid-September 1969: Indira Gandhi's Calcutta visit following her Presidential-election victory, an attempted Congress manoeuvre to sideline Atulya Ghosh and his protege P. C. Chunder, her overture to Bangla Congress leader Ajoy Mukherjee that went nowhere, and sharpening conflict between the CPI and CPM within the United Front over trade-union turf and the Baranagar beating of CPI workers. It also covers the Ranjit Gupta report on the July 31 police vandalism in the Assembly, finding administrative failure and low-level police discontent, and reproduces a memorandum from women political workers describing West Bengal as being in 'chaos and semi-anarchy' under the United Front government, with the CPM accused of exploiting the police portfolio to entrench its own power. - Covers Indira Gandhi's Calcutta visit and mixed reception from Bangla Congress and other United Front partners - Documents a Congress attempt to sideline West Bengal leader Atulya Ghosh and his protege P. C. Chunder, reversed under rank-and-file pressure - Details sharpening CPI-CPM conflict within the United Front, triggered by the Baranagar beating of CPI trade unionists - Summarises the Ranjit Gupta report on July 31 police vandalism, citing administrative failure and rank-and-file police discontent - Reproduces a memorandum from women political workers describing West Bengal under United Front rule as in 'chaos and semi-anarchy' ### Gandhiji's Thoughts *By V. B. Karnik* A reprint from U.S. News & World Report, 'Moscow's Design For Asia' argues that as the United States retreats from its role as Asia's security guarantor after Vietnam, the Soviet Union is expanding rapidly into the vacuum with an unmatched thrust since Czarist expansion, aiming to isolate Red China from its Asian neighbours and to fill the space left by British and American withdrawal 'east of Suez'. It surveys Soviet inroads via trade, aid, and military hardware into Mongolia, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Japan, cites Brezhnev's June 1969 call for an Asian 'collective security' system, and closes by quoting French Soviet-affairs expert Michel Tatu that the perceived China threat is pushing Soviet leaders toward stabilising relations with the West to secure their European flank. - Frames Soviet expansion into Asia as filling the vacuum left by US withdrawal from its 'world policeman' role after Vietnam - Identifies two Soviet objectives: isolating China from Asian neighbours, and moving into areas the US/Britain are vacating (Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean) - Cites Brezhnev's June 7, 1969 speech proposing a 'system of collective security' in Asia - Details Soviet economic and military aid flows to Mongolia, India (600 million dollars pledged), Pakistan, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Japan - Notes reports (unconfirmed) of a proposed Pakistan-Afghanistan land route and a possible Soviet naval base at Gwadar - Closes by quoting Michel Tatu that the China threat is driving Soviet leaders to tighten relations with the West ### Trends In Bengal (extracts from a memorandum presented to the Prime Minister) V. B. Karnik reviews J. Bandyopadhyaya's 'Social and Political Thought of Gandhi' (Allied Publishers, Rs. 32), praising it as a rare critical, social-scientific analysis of Gandhi's thought rather than a merely descriptive or laudatory centenary tribute. Karnik summarises Bandyopadhyaya's dispassionate assessment of satyagraha's practical record, both individual (fasting) and group (Rajkot, the 1930-32 Civil Disobedience Movement, and the 1940-41 Individual Civil Disobedience Movement), concluding through the author that fasting requires a liberal socio-political setting and a sympathetic adversary, that group satyagraha is at best a 'palliative rather than a cure' for deep social conflict, and that the 1930-32 movement was 'practically a complete failure' despite meeting Gandhi's non-violence condition, undone by government repression rather than internal weakness. Bandyopadhyaya, quoting Karl Jaspers, doubts satyagraha's viability against totalitarian government, though he still allows non-violent resistance a subsidiary role in national defence. Karnik notes Bandyopadhyaya's finding that Gandhi's approach ignores social evolution's deep-rooted causes of conflict, and though Karnik queries the author's attempt to link Gandhi with Marx and Mao given Gandhi's insistence that 'means and ends are convertible terms', he calls the book essential reading for any student of Gandhism. - Reviews J. Bandyopadhyaya's 'Social and Political Thought of Gandhi' as a rare critical, social-scientific study rather than hagiography - Summarises the book's finding that individual satyagraha (fasting) requires a liberal political setting and a sympathetic adversary to succeed - Notes the book's conclusion that the 1930-32 Civil Disobedience Movement was 'practically a complete failure', undone by government repression, not internal weakness - Cites the book's use of Karl Jaspers to argue satyagraha cannot work against totalitarian regimes, though non-violence may have a subsidiary defence role - Karnik questions the book's attempt to draw similarity between Gandhi and Marx/Mao, given Gandhi's view that means and ends are convertible - Recommends the book as essential for any serious student of Gandhism ### With Many Voices (press digest column) 'Trends In Bengal' reproduces extracts from a memorandum presented to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during her August 1969 Calcutta visit by prominent Calcutta Congressmen, cataloguing sixteen numbered 'trends' under United Front rule: political workers assaulted and murdered across party lines, trade union and political freedoms severely restricted by fear of attack, properties destroyed, 'Peoples Courts' extorting fines from citizens, lands and fisheries forcibly occupied by armed party gangs, over 1,000 criminal cases withdrawn by the government, intimidation of judges, gheraos disrupting business and industry, a partisan and paralysed police and administration, High Court injunctions ignored, the rise of aggressive party senas (private armies), increasing use of firearms, and a pro-Chinese party openly propagating Mao's doctrine of armed insurrection. The memorandum calls on the Prime Minister to act under Section 356 of the Indian Constitution. - Lists sixteen documented trends of political violence and breakdown of law and order in West Bengal under the United Front government - Describes assaults, murders, and terrorisation of political workers across all parties, and forcible occupation of lands and fisheries by armed gangs - Notes withdrawal of over 1,000 criminal cases including violence, rioting, robbery, and murder charges, in some instances against courts' protest - Describes a partisan, paralysed police force and the rise of aggressive party 'senas' (private armies) as public authority erodes - Flags a pro-Chinese party openly attacking the Indian Constitution and propagating Mao's doctrine of armed insurrection - Calls on the Prime Minister to take action under Section 356 of the Indian Constitution ### Essay 8 'With Many Voices' is the magazine's recurring back-page compilation of press quotations on current events, epigraphed with Tennyson. Selections from Indian and international press in August-September 1969 comment on the Al-Aqsa mosque fire, Indira Gandhi's foreign policy tilt toward Moscow, the erosion of liberal economic competition, government softness toward Muslim sentiment versus secular commitment, and general anxieties about socialism, democracy, and Cold War alignment, including quotes from Herbert Read, Malcolm Muggeridge, Frank Moraes, Svetlana Allilyeva (Stalin's daughter), and Vinoba Bhave. The page also carries a Freedom First subscription form and the magazine's standard imprint, naming V. B. Karnik as editor and publisher for the Democratic Research Service, Bombay. - Compiles press quotations from Times of India, Indian Express, Opinion, Swarajya, Thought, Janata and other outlets on current events of August-September 1969 - Includes commentary on the Al-Aqsa mosque fire, Indira Gandhi's foreign policy and domestic socialism, and communal/secular tensions - Features quotes from Herbert Read, Malcolm Muggeridge, Frank Moraes, Svetlana Allilyeva (Stalin's daughter), and Vinoba Bhave - Carries the magazine's subscription form and imprint naming V. B. Karnik as editor/publisher for the Democratic Research Service --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff210/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 210 (November 1969) is a monthly opinion periodical from Bombay's Democratic Research Service, edited by V. B. Karnik, built around commentary on the unraveling of United Front (U.F.) coalition governments in Kerala and West Bengal, the CPI-CPM split, and India's foreign-policy standing. In the rendered pages, contributors examine the fall of the Namboodiripad ministry in Kerala and the parallel crisis in West Bengal as products of deliberate Communist (especially CPM) 'united front' tactics aimed at eliminating rival left and centrist allies; India's diplomatically awkward attempt to gain observer status at the Rabat Islamic Summit; a twenty-year retrospective on the failures of Maoist China; a review of the Gajendragadkar National Commission on Labour report; and a satirical first-person imagining of Ho Chi Minh reflecting on Vietnam War diplomacy. The issue closes with a 'With Many Voices' press-quotes digest, a books-received list, and a subscription coupon, all consistent with the magazine's classical-liberal, anti-Communist editorial line. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 210 (November 1969) is a monthly opinion periodical from Bombay's Democratic Research Service, edited by V. B. Karnik, built around commentary on the unraveling of United Front (U.F.) coalition governments in Kerala and West Bengal, the CPI-CPM split, and India's foreign-policy standing. In the rendered pages, contributors examine the fall of the Namboodiripad ministry in Kerala and the parallel crisis in West Bengal as products of deliberate Communist (especially CPM) 'united front' tactics aimed at eliminating rival left and centrist allies; India's diplomatically awkward attempt to gain observer status at the Rabat Islamic Summit; a twenty-year retrospective on the failures of Maoist China; a review of the Gajendragadkar National Commission on Labour report; and a satirical first-person imagining of Ho Chi Minh reflecting on Vietnam War diplomacy. The issue closes with a 'With Many Voices' press-quotes digest, a books-received list, and a subscription coupon, all consistent with the magazine's classical-liberal, anti-Communist editorial line. ## Essays ### U. F. Collapse in Kerala *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead article analyzes the collapse of the Namboodiripad United Front ministry in Kerala, arguing the proximate cause was mutual corruption charges among ministers but the deeper cause was the CPM's domineering effort to grow its own strength at its allies' expense, a tactic he says is also playing out in West Bengal against the Bangla Congress and other partners. He contends that non-Communist democrats have failed to seize the political opportunity created by the U.F.'s failure, and closes by arguing that democracy itself is what allows Communists to build opposition and force ministries out via vote rather than violence -- a fact he says the CPM leadership resents. - The Namboodiripad U.F. ministry in Kerala fell over inter-party corruption charges, but the underlying cause was the CPM's drive to weaken its coalition partners using government machinery. - The CPM is accused of running the identical strategy in West Bengal against its allies, including the Bangla Congress. - Non-Communist democratic parties are criticized for being too weak and divided to capitalize on the U.F.'s failures. - The author frames the U.F. collapse as a missed opportunity for democrats to reintegrate around democratic plans and policies. - Democracy is presented as the very mechanism that let non-CPM allies outvote and check the CPM, which Communists resent because it thwarts their bid for one-party rule. ### Behind The Rabat Fiasco *By Aziz Madni* Aziz Madni's piece dissects the 'Rabat Fiasco,' in which the Indian delegation to the Islamic Summit Conference at Rabat was seated only as observers and effectively humiliated after President Yahya Khan of Pakistan reversed course on admitting them. Madni argues India's government had craved the invitation for dubious diplomatic reasons -- to outflank Pakistan and appease President Nasser -- and had chosen a Muslim minister, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, to lead the delegation for domestic political reasons connected to Mrs. Gandhi's presidential-election maneuvering, only to be rebuffed once news of communal violence in Gujarat reached the conference. He closes by citing Jayaprakash Narayan's view that India, being neither a Hindu nor Muslim country, had no business seeking a place at a purely Muslim summit. - India sought and received a belated invitation to the Rabat Islamic Summit, reportedly to counter Pakistani diplomatic gains and respond to a Nasser appeal. - President Yahya Khan's 'volte face' on the second day, driven by news of communal violence in Gujarat, left the Indian delegation with only observer status. - Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed's selection to lead the delegation is tied to his usefulness in mobilizing Muslim MPs' votes for President Giri's election, benefiting Mrs. Gandhi. - Madni concludes India's West Asia policy should be based on a more realistic assessment of India's acceptability there as a non-Muslim outsider. - Jayaprakash Narayan is quoted calling India's participation bid 'a stupid thing to do' since India is a country of Indians, not a Hindu or Muslim state. ### China-Twenty Years Of Communist Rule *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil surveys twenty years of Communist rule in China, arguing that early hopes of a benign transformation gave way to recognition of an atrocious totalitarianism. He traces the Sino-Soviet friendship of the first decade (Soviet-modeled planning, constitution, and military), its collapse after 1956 as Mao denounced 'Khrushchevist revisionists,' and the disasters of the Great Leap Forward's commune system and the Cultural Revolution's Red Guard upheavals, which China has yet to recover from economically. The essay assesses China's declining international standing (in Africa, Asia, and among Communist states, with Albania its only remaining ally), its comparatively weak military and stagnating economy despite its 1969 nuclear test, and closes with a warning that India must remain vigilant of pro-China sympathizers at home given Peking's friendship with Pakistan and demonstrated capacity to foment subversion abroad. - The first decade of Chinese Communist rule (1949-1959) was marked by close Sino-Soviet alliance and Soviet-modeled institutions; this broke down after 1956 amid Mao's denunciation of 'Khrushchevist revisionists.' - The Great Leap Forward's commune system (from 1958) and the subsequent Cultural Revolution's Red Guard turmoil are presented as the source of China's economic and social devastation. - China's international standing has declined across Asia and Africa; Albania is described as China's only remaining ally of consequence. - China's military is assessed as defensively capable but lacking large-scale offensive capability, with an aging air force and light naval strength despite its 2.5-million-man army. - The author warns that India must stay vigilant against domestic sympathizers of Mao Tse-tung given China's friendship with Pakistan and its record of subversion in other countries. ### Crisis In U. F. Ministries *By "Atreya"* Writing under the byline 'Atreya,' this essay argues that the crises engulfing the United Front ministries in Kerala and West Bengal reflect a deliberate, textbook Communist strategy of forming united fronts only to isolate and 'liquidate' allies one by one, with the CPM using 'United Front from Below' tactics against Right Communists in Kerala and against the Bangla Congress and Ajoy Mukherjee in West Bengal. The author details how control of the Home portfolio and police lets the CPM neutralize rivals, predicts a probable compromise (such as a Cabinet Sub-Committee curbing CPM control of Home) rather than ministry dissolution since none of the U.F. parties want the Presidential Rule that dissolution would trigger, and concludes that the crises in both states do not represent any strengthening of democracy. - The essay frames Communist united-front strategy as a calculated tactic to isolate and eliminate the strongest rival ally before turning on the rest, quoting a 'famous last words' epitaph about parties that trusted they could contain the Communists. - In Kerala, the Marxist Communist Party (CPM) pursued 'United Front from Below' against the Right Communists; in West Bengal, the same tactic targets the Bangla Congress and Chief Minister Ajoy Mukherjee. - Control of the Home portfolio and police apparatus is identified as key to the CPM's ability to neutralise its United Front partners. - The author predicts neither resignation nor dismissal will resolve the crisis, since all U.F. parties fear the Presidential Rule that ministry dissolution would bring; a Cabinet Sub-Committee curbing CPM control of Home is floated as a likely compromise. - The piece closes by warning that Chinese sympathy for Pakistan and pro-Mao sentiment among some Indian parties pose a subversion risk that India must guard against. ### National Commission On Labour *By R. Muthuswamy* R. Muthuswamy reviews the report of the National Commission on Labour, headed by Justice Gajendragadkar, which made 299 recommendations on labour affairs and industrial relations -- the first such commission in independent India. The essay discusses the Commission's 'threefold test' derived from Constitutional Directive Principles, its comparison with Britain's Donovan Commission, its stance against craft unions in favour of industrial unions and amalgamated bargaining agents, its proposed minimum-membership thresholds for union registration, and its two headline recommendations: compulsory recognition of a representative union under central law, and statutory definition of unfair labour practices by both employers and unions, alongside new National and State Industrial Relations Commissions to arbitrate disputes only as a last resort after voluntary bargaining fails. - The Gajendragadkar Commission made 299 recommendations, the first labour commission appointed in independent India, judged against a constitutional 'threefold test.' - The Commission favours industrial unions over craft unions but recommends special committees within industrial unions to protect craft/trade interests in sectors like Railways, Posts & Telegraphs, and Aircraft. - Minimum union membership for registration is recommended at 10% (minimum 7) of the workforce or 100, whichever is lower, with a monthly membership fee of at least one rupee. - Key recommendations include compulsory union recognition under central law, statutory definition of unfair labour practices by both employers and unions, and creation of National and State Industrial Relations Commissions. - Adjudication is envisioned as a last resort only, preserving voluntary bargaining and arbitration as the primary mechanisms, with a mandatory notice period and strike ballot requirement before industrial action. ### Next Phase Of 'Class Struggle' (Bengal Report) *By Analyst* Under the 'Bengal Report' rubric and byline 'Analyst,' this essay covers the month (16 September-15 October 1969) in West Bengal politics, centering on the Bangla Congress's resolution -- adopted under Chief Minister Ajoy Mukherjee -- condemning the deteriorating law-and-order situation and threatening a Gandhian satyagraha, widely read as targeting the CPM's control of the Home portfolio held by Deputy Chief Minister Jyoti Basu. The author links the resolution's timing to Mukherjee's Delhi meeting with Indira Gandhi and traces the immediate objective (stripping Home from the CPM) against Basu's public dismissal of the law-and-order concerns, predicting an eventual compromise via a Cabinet Sub-Committee rather than ministry collapse, and warns that the approaching harvest season threatens serious clashes between cultivators occupying land and its owners, with CPM ministers directing police and administration to favour those who tilled the land. - The Bangla Congress, led by Chief Minister Ajoy Mukherjee, adopted a resolution on deteriorating law and order, implicitly targeting CPM control of the Home Ministry under Jyoti Basu. - The resolution threatens a Gandhian satyagraha if the lawlessness situation is not resolved, though its exact target (police versus civic administration) is not specified. - Jyoti Basu publicly rejected the premise, stating law and order in West Bengal was 'quite satisfactory' compared to elsewhere in India. - The author predicts the likely outcome is a compromise curbing the CPM's monopolistic hold on the Home Ministry (e.g., via a Cabinet Sub-Committee) rather than dissolution, since no U.F. party wants Presidential Rule. - Looming harvest-season clashes between cultivators occupying forcibly-held land and original owners are forecast to bring large-scale violence, with CPM ministers Jyoti Basu and H. Konar directing police to favour those who tilled the land. ### Reflections Of A Dying Dictator *By Elbridge Durbrow* Elbridge Durbrow, a retired U.S. career foreign service officer and former Ambassador to Vietnam, contributes a condensed, satirical article (reprinted from 'Washington Report') written as an imagined first-person monologue by Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi, reflecting on the state of the Vietnam War from 1966 to late 1969. The imagined Ho credits North Vietnamese tactics -- refusing real concessions while extracting a U.S. bombing halt, exploiting American media's defeatist coverage, and betting on American 'impatience, frustration, and naivete' -- for having forced President Johnson to halt bombing and decline re-election, and for extracting tacit U.S./Thieu recognition of the Viet Cong and NLF as negotiating parties. The imagined reflections close by cataloguing three reasons the diplomatic and military picture turned in Hanoi's favor since 1967: successful negotiating tactics, the shock effect of the 1968 Tet and May offensives on American opinion, and American impatience with the pace of talks. - The piece is a condensed reprint of a Durbrow article for 'Washington Report,' framed as speculation on Ho Chi Minh's private reflections rather than a direct quotation of him. - The imagined Ho claims no real concessions were made in Paris despite securing a full U.S. bombing halt and tacit recognition of the Viet Cong/NLF as the Provisional Revolutionary Government. - American mass media, particularly television's coverage of anti-war demonstrations and 'dire straits' narratives (e.g., Khe Sanh), are portrayed as having been highly favorable to Hanoi's strategic position. - The Tet and Spring 1968 offensives are credited with badly shaking American public opinion and pressuring President Johnson into a partial bombing halt on March 31, 1968 and his subsequent decision not to seek re-election. - The essay (as printed) closes mid-argument enumerating reasons for the shift in Hanoi's favor: successful negotiating tactics, the shock of the 1968 offensives, and American impatience with the diplomatic process. ### Books Received The closing 'With Many Voices' page is a curated digest of press quotations from mid-October 1969 -- spanning Indian and international commentators such as C. Rajagopalachari, Jyoti Basu, Svetlana Alliluyeva, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, and Chinese news agency Hsinhua -- on themes of Gandhism's decline, Indira Gandhi's political conduct, Communist ideology, and bank nationalisation. The page also includes a 'Books Received' list of six titles (on Netaji Subhas and Communism, peaceful transition to Communism in India, Indo-US relations, modern Chinese economic history, and Indian cultural unification) and a subscriber coupon for Freedom First addressed to the Democratic Research Service in Bombay. - A digest of press quotations dated October 3-26, 1969, drawn from sources including New Statesman, The Times, Statesman, Swarajya, The Current, and Hsinhua. - Recurring themes include the perceived death of Gandhism in India, criticism of Indira Gandhi's political associations, and warnings about a 'deep conspiracy' against democracy. - C. Rajagopalachari is quoted asserting that 'Smt. Indira Gandhi's mind has a dictator's bent.' - Svetlana Alliluyeva is quoted on Stalin as the embodiment of totalitarian Communist power built on suppression. - A Books Received section lists six recently published titles relevant to Communism, Indo-US relations, and Chinese and Indian cultural history, alongside a Freedom First subscription coupon (annual subscription Rs. 5.00). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff211/ ### Summary Issue 211 of Freedom First (December 1969) is dominated by the crisis that split the Indian National Congress that year. Four separate commentaries — by Adam Adil, M. R. Pai, the pseudonymous "Atreya", and the unsigned house line in "With Many Voices" — dissect the Congress split between the "Syndicate" (Nijalingappa, Morarji Desai, Kamaraj, S. K. Patil) and Indira Gandhi's "Indicate" faction, triggered by the contested presidential nomination of V. V. Giri over Sanjiva Reddy and by Mrs. Gandhi's dismissal of Morarji Desai and subsequent bank nationalisation. Alongside the domestic political crisis, the issue carries pieces on West German politics after Willy Brandt's election (Arvind A. Deshpande), a parallel drawn between Indira Gandhi and Ceylon's Sirima Bandaranaike, a first-person account of an Indian scholar's imprisonment in Poland, V. B. Karnik's review-essay of Victor Fic's book on Indian communist tactics, three further book reviews, a reader's letter on literacy and franchise, and a closing page of press-quote excerpts ("With Many Voices"). ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Issue 211 of Freedom First (December 1969) is dominated by the crisis that split the Indian National Congress that year. Four separate commentaries — by Adam Adil, M. R. Pai, the pseudonymous "Atreya", and the unsigned house line in "With Many Voices" — dissect the Congress split between the "Syndicate" (Nijalingappa, Morarji Desai, Kamaraj, S. K. Patil) and Indira Gandhi's "Indicate" faction, triggered by the contested presidential nomination of V. V. Giri over Sanjiva Reddy and by Mrs. Gandhi's dismissal of Morarji Desai and subsequent bank nationalisation. Alongside the domestic political crisis, the issue carries pieces on West German politics after Willy Brandt's election (Arvind A. Deshpande), a parallel drawn between Indira Gandhi and Ceylon's Sirima Bandaranaike, a first-person account of an Indian scholar's imprisonment in Poland, V. B. Karnik's review-essay of Victor Fic's book on Indian communist tactics, three further book reviews, a reader's letter on literacy and franchise, and a closing page of press-quote excerpts ("With Many Voices"). ## Essays ### Congress in Crisis *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil's lead editorial-style article surveys the unprecedented crisis facing the 85-year-old Congress party, tracing it from the Bangalore AICC session where the "Syndicate" tried to overrule Indira Gandhi on the presidential candidate, through her ten-point economic programme, the expulsion of Mrs. Gandhi from primary membership by Working Committee members, and the retaliatory dismissal of Nijalingappa by her own followers. The author argues both camps share blame for breaking the unity resolution of 25 August, warns that a Congress split would jeopardise governmental stability since no other party (Swatantra, Jana Sangh, DMK, communists) has uniform all-India strength, and concludes that Congressmen of both factions must cooperate with the Prime Minister to keep the party — and, implicitly, democratic stability — intact. - Frames the 1969 split as the worst crisis in Congress's 85-year history, worse than the 1907 Surat session or 1938 Haripura conflict. - Traces the immediate trigger to the Bangalore AICC session and the Syndicate's attempt to override Indira Gandhi on the presidential nomination. - Notes 62 Congress MPs opposed to Mrs Gandhi formed an 'Organisation Opposition' bloc in Parliament. - Argues no single opposition party (Swatantra, Jana Sangh, DMK, communists) has the all-India reach to replace a collapsed Congress. - Assigns blame to both factions for abandoning the 25 August unity resolution. - Calls for Syndicate Congressmen to cooperate with Mrs Gandhi's economic reforms in the national interest, given the alternative is anarchy. ### Reconstruction Of Indian Politics *By M. R. Pai* An unsigned short news feature recounts the ordeal of Sukumar Bose, a Bengali student who studied in Poland from 1955, married a Polish woman, and was arrested by the Polish Security Service in November 1968 after the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. Bose was tried and convicted for writing a satire critical of the Polish government's subservience to Moscow and its anti-Semitic policies, sentenced to three years, but was later pardoned after Indian Embassy intervention and deported alone, separated from his wife and son. - Sukumar Bose went to Poland in 1955 on a Polish government scholarship to study Polish philology at the University of Lodz. - He married Irena Bronska, a fellow student, in 1958 and took a job as a technical translator. - Arrested by the Polish Security Service (Sluzba Bezpieczenstwa) in November 1968 following the Czechoslovakia invasion. - Charged with writing a satire for a foreign radio station accusing the Polish government of being a Soviet puppet and of anti-Semitic policy. - Convicted and sentenced to three years, but pardoned after Indian Embassy intervention and deported alone, without his wife and son. ### Prime Minister And The Party *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai argues that Indian politics is undergoing a healthy "reconstruction" as the Congress party's near-monopoly on power breaks down. He casts the Syndicate versus "Indicate" struggle as a contest between two obsolescent political forces — the Syndicate outdated politically, and the Indicate (an amalgam of communist-leaning figures around Indira Gandhi) hostile to national interests and drifting toward Soviet alignment in foreign policy. Pai rejects fears that a Congress collapse would produce instability or communist takeover, arguing India's constitutional framework, not Congress's dominance, is the real guarantor of democratic stability, and that a period of coalition politics — as in many Continental democracies — is a natural and ultimately healthy outcome for India's pluralistic, continental-scale society. - Frames the Syndicate/Indicate conflict via the analogy of the internecine destruction of the Yadavas after Krishna's departure. - Argues Congress had, since Independence, wrongly monopolised credit for the entire freedom movement, erasing figures like Subhas Chandra Bose from public memory. - Identifies two harmful monopolies: government control of money supply (leading to inflation and corruption) and Congress's political monopoly, now broken. - Criticises Mrs Gandhi's government and advisers (naming Dinesh Singh, All-India Radio under Inder Gujral) for pro-Soviet foreign policy tilt, including on the Indian Ocean, Andamans naval facilities, and an embassy at Hanoi. - Rejects the two main fears about Congress's disintegration — central instability and communist takeover — arguing the Constitution, not Congress, is the bastion of stability. - Concludes India is moving toward coalition governance similar to Continental European democracies, which will teach Indian politicians humility. ### The German Miracle *By Arvind A. Deshpande* Writing under the pseudonym "Atreya", the author delivers a sharply polemical attack on Indira Gandhi, accusing her of deliberately using her power as Prime Minister to wreck and fragment the Indian National Congress while coining terms like "Bossism" and "Syndicate" to smear her opponents. The piece narrates the dismissal of Morarji Desai as Deputy Prime Minister, the sidelining of Sanjiva Reddy in the presidential contest in favour of V. V. Giri, the expulsion of Mrs Gandhi from primary Congress membership and the countering dismissal of Nijalingappa, and accuses her of borrowing Leninist/Stalinist tactics (invoking a fabricated "Zinoviev letter"-style scandal against C. Subramaniam, Chavan and Sukhadia). It ends by arguing that Mrs Gandhi's own group of conformists and sycophants constitutes the "real syndicate," ironically vindicating the very charge she levelled at her opponents. - Accuses Mrs Gandhi of using power and patronage to smash the Congress party while deploying propaganda terms like 'Bossism' and 'Syndicate'. - Recounts the dismissal of Morarji Desai as Deputy PM and the installation of V. V. Giri over Sanjiva Reddy as the party's presidential nominee. - Describes the expulsion of Mrs Gandhi from primary Congress membership by the Working Committee and the retaliatory dismissal of Nijalingappa by her followers. - Alleges the Prime Minister's camp fabricated a 'Zinoviev Letters'-style phantom scandal to trap C. Subramaniam, Chavan, and Sukhadia into her syndicate. - Cites Mrs Gandhi's interview to the Italian Communist Party journal L'Unita describing the struggle as between 'socialism and conservative forces'. - Concludes that Mrs Gandhi's own following of 'total conformists and sycophants' is the real syndicate and real bossism. ### Parallel From Ceylon Arvind A. Deshpande writes on the political significance of Willy Brandt's Social Democrats and the Free Democrats winning power in West Germany, ending the era of Konrad Adenauer-style Christian Democratic rule. He frames Brandt's coalition as a hopeful, youthful shift comparable to the enthusiasm generated by John F. Kennedy's 'New Frontier', discusses Brandt's Ostpolitik outreach to Eastern Europe and the Soviet bloc as a genuine expression of German self-confidence rather than anti-Americanism, and expresses hope that eventual German reunification and detente will strengthen democracy and freedom across Europe. - Describes the Social Democrat–Free Democrat coalition victory as a 'political miracle' ending the long Christian Democrat/Adenauer era. - Compares the popular enthusiasm for Brandt's 'New Germany' to that generated by John Kennedy's 'New Frontiersmen'. - Frames Brandt's detente overtures to Eastern Europe as rooted in new German self-confidence, not anti-Americanism or pro-Communism. - Notes Poland's cautiously positive response to Brandt's overtures despite having suffered most under Nazi occupation. - Predicts eventual German reunification, though the timeline and mechanism (e.g. West Berlin's status) remain uncertain. ### Peaceful Transition To Communism? (book review) *By V. B. Karnik* A short unsigned piece, reprinted from the Swiss Press Review and News Report, discusses Sirima Bandaranaike's article drawing a parallel between her own fall from power in Ceylon and Indira Gandhi's current political troubles in India. It recounts how Bandaranaike's 1964 coalition with the Trotskyist Lanka Samajist Party (LSSP) and the appointment of N. M. Perera as Finance Minister initially generated euphoria, but Perera's doctrinaire anti-private-enterprise budget alienated business and the public, contributing to her defeat in the 1965 general election. - Bandaranaike wrote 'Indira has to keep vigil on the Frontiers of Freedom' in the Ceylon Daily News, timed ahead of Ceylon's next general election. - Draws a parallel between her own 1964 coalition experiment and Indira Gandhi's alliance with the left in India. - Recounts how N. M. Perera's 1965 budget's anti-private-enterprise provisions disillusioned business and public opinion. - Cites the Ceylon Daily News's 1965 verdict that the 'greatest single factor' in her defeat was fear that Marxist colleagues would swallow the SFLP and the country. ### Reviews: Fundamental Rights and Amendment of the Indian Constitution (S. P. Sathe) *By M. B. Shah* V. B. Karnik reviews Victor M. Fic's book Peaceful Transition to Communism in India (Nachiketa Publications), which documents the Communist Party of India's published tactical declarations from 1951 to the 1958 Amritsar congress, where the party formally adopted the doctrine of 'peaceful transition' to communism after abandoning the 1948 Ranadive line of armed revolt. Karnik praises the book's value as a documentary reference but criticises its reliance solely on published declarations, arguing that secret directives — such as the 'tactical line' document behind the 1953 Madurai Congress resolution — reveal a different, more revolutionary intent than the public statements suggest. He highlights the book's demonstration of the CPI's continued subservience to Moscow and warns Indian ministers who receive lavish Soviet hospitality to heed Fic's observation that Soviet and Chinese theorists view India's rulers merely as temporary allies to be discarded once useful. - Reviews Victor M. Fic's 'Peaceful Transition to Communism in India' (Nachiketa Publications, Rs. 50). - Traces CPI tactics from the 1948 Ranadive line of armed revolt, abandoned in 1951 on Rajani Palme Dutt's advice, to the 1958 Amritsar congress's adoption of 'peaceful transition'. - Criticises the book for relying only on published declarations, missing the 'submerged part of the iceberg' of secret directives, citing the 1953 Madurai Congress resolution as an example of publicly innocuous language masking a secret 'tactical line' from Moscow. - Quotes the 1957 Declaration and 1960 Statement's language urging Communists to transform Parliament into 'an instrument serving the working people' and to prepare for non-parliamentary mass struggle. - Warns that what is happening in Bengal and Kerala faithfully implements this 'peaceful transition' doctrine's real meaning. - Cites Fic's warning that Soviet and Chinese theorists view Indian rulers as temporary allies whose usefulness to Kremlin strategy will eventually be exhausted. ### Reviews: The Strategy of Food and Agriculture in India (ed. V. R. Mutalik Desai) *By K.V.B.* The 'Reviews' section carries three book notices: M. B. Shah reviews S. P. Sathe's monograph 'Fundamental Rights and Amendment of the Indian Constitution', which examines the Golak Nath v. State of Punjab ruling and the debate over Parliament's power to abridge Fundamental Rights, concluding the Supreme Court's assertive role is needed given Congress's declining hold. K.V.B. reviews 'The Strategy of Food and Agriculture in India' (ed. V. R. Mutalik Desai), a multi-author essay collection on India's food and agricultural problems that the reviewer finds informative but lacking in prescriptive strategy. N.D. reviews Kuldip Nayar's 'Between the Lines', an insider account of Indian political decision-making from Nehru's death through the language controversy, devaluation, and the Chinese invasion. - M. B. Shah reviews S. P. Sathe's constitutional law monograph, discussing Golak Nath v. State of Punjab (1967) and the Fundamental Rights amendment debate, noting Congress, PSP, and CPI support Nath Pai's amending bill while Swatantra and Jana Sangh oppose it. - Shah notes Sathe argues constitutional amendment limits on Fundamental Rights are a matter of political morality resting on public vigilance, not judicial sanction alone. - K.V.B. reviews 'The Strategy of Food and Agriculture in India', edited by V. R. Mutalik Desai, an essay collection covering food problems, land reform, irrigation, marketing, and agricultural research. - K.V.B. criticises the food/agriculture volume for not proposing a strategy or assessing 'green revolution' prospects, despite Dr Mutalik Desai's conclusion on India's lack of a national food policy. - N.D. reviews Kuldip Nayar's 'Between the Lines', praising its inside view of decisions from Nehru's death to the Chinese invasion, including the language controversy and devaluation. ### Reviews: Between the Lines (Kuldip Nayar) *By N.D.* A reader's letter to the editor from E. P. Vargese, an advocate in Ernakulam, argues that India's adoption of universal adult franchise in 1950 (when literacy stood at only 14 percent) was a hazardous experiment whose risks have since been proven. Noting literacy has since risen to only 35 percent, with roughly 350 million illiterate people vulnerable to propaganda, the writer proposes basing the franchise on a literacy qualification to stabilise political thought and safeguard parliamentary democracy. - Argues that introducing adult franchise in India at 14 percent literacy was a hazardous experiment whose risks are now evident. - States literacy has risen to only 35 percent since Independence, meaning nearly 350 million people remain illiterate and vulnerable to propaganda. - Notes the annual literacy growth rate has been only about 1 percent, which the writer calls unsatisfactory. - Proposes basing the franchise on a literacy qualification instead of age alone, to incentivise literacy and stabilise democracy. ### Letter to the Editor: Literacy and Franchise *By E. P. Vargese* The closing page, 'With Many Voices' (its title drawn from a Tennyson epigraph), compiles short excerpts from contemporary Indian and international press commentary on the political turmoil of November 1969 — covering unrest in West Bengal, the Congress split, Willy Brandt's remarks, Solzhenitsyn's expulsion from the Soviet Writers' Union, and assessments of Indira Gandhi's political standing — from sources including the Indian Express, Economic Times, Statesman, Times of India, and the Observer (London). The page also carries the magazine's subscription form and its colophon, confirming the issue was edited and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik at 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1, and printed at Inland Printers, Bombay. - Compiles dated press quotations from mid-to-late November 1969 on the Congress crisis, West Bengal unrest, and international affairs. - Includes commentary from Ajoy Mukherjee (West Bengal Chief Minister), Willy Brandt, Svetlana Allilueva, and multiple Indian newspapers (Indian Express, Economic Times, Statesman, Times of India). - Notes the expulsion of Alexander Solzhenitsyn from the Soviet Union of Writers, described by the London Observer as 'sinister and farcical'. - Carries the magazine's annual subscription form (Rs. 5.00) addressed to Freedom First, c/o Democratic Research Service, Bombay. - Confirms the colophon: edited and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik at 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1, printed at Inland Printers, 55 Gamdevi Road, Bombay 7. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff212/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 212 (January 1970), the Bombay-based liberal monthly edited by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service, opens with A. G. Mulgaokar's lead editorial-essay warning against the move — backed by fifty A.I.C.C. members of the Indira Gandhi group — to delete the constitutional right to property, which he frames as a dangerous erosion of fundamental rights disguised as a step toward socialism. The issue's other pieces range across contemporary politics and history: H. R. Pardivala calls for a new Gandhian political party to rescue the country from corrupt professional politicians; M. R. Masani, M.P., attacks the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Bill as a fraud that exempts state monopolies while doing nothing to curb them; A. G. Noorani reviews two new histories of partition; Moin Shakir profiles Badshah Khan (Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan) and the Khudai Khidmatgar movement; and a Bengal Report column by 'Analyst' tracks the West Bengal United Front government's hunger-strike politics.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 212 (January 1970), the Bombay-based liberal monthly edited by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service, opens with A. G. Mulgaokar's lead editorial-essay warning against the move — backed by fifty A.I.C.C. members of the Indira Gandhi group — to delete the constitutional right to property, which he frames as a dangerous erosion of fundamental rights disguised as a step toward socialism. The issue's other pieces range across contemporary politics and history: H. R. Pardivala calls for a new Gandhian political party to rescue the country from corrupt professional politicians; M. R. Masani, M.P., attacks the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Bill as a fraud that exempts state monopolies while doing nothing to curb them; A. G. Noorani reviews two new histories of partition; Moin Shakir profiles Badshah Khan (Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan) and the Khudai Khidmatgar movement; and a Bengal Report column by 'Analyst' tracks the West Bengal United Front government's hunger-strike politics. The issue closes with letters to the editor, a review of a Leslie Sawhny/Indian Liberal Group colloquium report on democracy and development, and the regular 'With Many Voices' column of press quotations. ## Essays ### The Right to Property *By A. G. Mulgaokar* A. G. Mulgaokar's lead article argues against the campaign, backed by fifty members of the Indira Gandhi faction of the A.I.C.C., to delete the fundamental right to property from the Indian Constitution. He calls the move a step toward 'socialism in our time' that appeals to the Prime Minister's political needs rather than sound policy, and warns that once one fundamental right can be stripped away by ordinary legislative majority, no right can be considered truly fundamental — property today, other freedoms tomorrow. He reviews the constitutional and legal background (the Supreme Court ruling that Parliament cannot abridge fundamental rights under Article 13(2), and the alternative of convening a new Constituent Assembly), invokes the British precedent of Asquith's 1910 constitutional confrontation with the House of Lords as a lesson in respecting the electorate's mandate before major constitutional change, and closes by arguing that the individual's right to hold and dispose of property is rooted in a natural human instinct for self-preservation whose suppression — as with prohibition — will only produce widespread evasion and economic dislocation. - Fifty A.I.C.C. members aligned with Indira Gandhi are pushing to delete the constitutional right to property. - Mulgaokar argues the move is presented as a path to socialism but is really a political tool to outflank rivals within Congress. - If one fundamental right can be abridged by ordinary legislative majority, none can be considered truly fundamental. - A Supreme Court ruling held that Parliament cannot use Art. 368 to abridge fundamental rights protected under Art. 13(2); the only clean alternative is a new Constituent Assembly. - Mulgaokar cites Asquith's 1910 general election over the House of Lords' powers as a precedent for requiring a specific electoral mandate before major constitutional change. - He frames property rights as flowing from a natural instinct of self-preservation, whose suppression (as with prohibition) breeds evasion and economic harm. ### The Need Of The Hour *By H. R. Pardivala* H. R. Pardivala surveys the political crisis of the day, blaming professional politicians across the spectrum for corruption, communal and casteist exploitation, and betrayal of the poverty-stricken masses two decades after independence. He argues the country risks losing faith in non-violent, democratic methods and drifting toward extremism, and endorses a suggestion attributed to Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan ('Badshah Khan') and Acharya Vinoba Bhave — since taken up for consideration by Jayaprakash Narayan — that a new political party embodying Gandhian ideals and values, backed by a Gandhian 'Lok Sevak Sangh', should be formed to rescue the country. He appeals directly to Narayan to abandon his aloofness from active politics and lead such an effort, framing Gandhi's birth centenary as an apt moment for this political 'resurrection'. - Pardivala blames the 'utter failure' of India's professional politicians for the country's poverty, corruption, and communal exploitation in the two decades since independence. - He warns that democratic and non-violent methods are losing credibility with the masses, who may turn to anti-democratic or violent alternatives. - He endorses the proposal by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Vinoba Bhave for a new Gandhian political party backed by a 'Lok Sevak Sangh'. - He notes Jayaprakash Narayan has begun to consider this suggestion 'worthy of further examination' after years of resisting a return to active politics. - The essay closes with a direct appeal to Narayan to lead the new party, timed to Gandhi's birth centenary. ### Monopolies: State Or Private? *By M. R. Masani, M.P.* M. R. Masani, M.P., delivers a sharp critique (evidently based on a Parliament speech) of the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Bill, arguing it is not a genuine anti-monopoly measure at all. He contends that by any strict definition of monopoly, the only real monopolies in India are Government enterprises — LIC, Indian Airlines, Air India, Indian Railways, Posts and Telegraphs, All India Radio, and others — all of which the Bill specifically excludes from its purview, while it targets private enterprises that hold no real monopoly. He calls this a 'fraud on the people of India' and likens the regime it creates to 'industrial feudalism', arguing government monopolies are worse than private ones because they combine economic and police power with no external check or appeal. He further criticizes the Bill for downgrading the proposed Monopolies Commission to a toothless advisory body while concentrating real power in the Minister, and for conflating firm size with monopoly power, thereby restricting rather than fostering competition. - Masani argues the Bill exempts the only real monopolies in India — Government enterprises like LIC, Indian Airlines, Railways, and All India Radio — while targeting private firms that are not monopolies. - He calls government monopolies worse than private ones because they combine market power with police/state power and face no external appeal. - He labels the regime created by the Bill 'industrial feudalism of the most reactionary kind'. - The Bill downgrades the proposed Monopolies Commission to a mere advisory body, concentrating real power in the Minister. - He argues the Bill confuses firm size with monopoly, restricting competition between private and state enterprises and among private enterprises via permit-licence powers. - He references Milovan Djilas's concept of a 'New Class' as an analogy for a politically connected exploiting class (continued on page 8). ### Freedom And Partition *By A. G. Noorani* A. G. Noorani reviews two newly published histories of the partition of India — R. C. Majumdar (assisted by A. K. Majumdar)'s 'Struggle for Freedom', the eleventh volume in the Bhavan's 'History and Culture of the Indian People' series, and B. N. Pandey's 'The Break-up of British India' in Macmillan's 'Making of the Twentieth Century' series. Noorani finds Pandey's work more lucid and objective than Majumdar's, though both illuminate the same underlying failure: the unwillingness of the Congress and the Muslim League to share power or compromise, especially around the 1937 provincial elections and the 1946 Cabinet Mission Plan. He argues that neither the 'one-nation' theory nor the 'two-nation' theory was sound, that India was 'a nation in the making', and holds both Congress and the League responsible — the League for pushing partition, and the Congress for arrogance in the 1937 ministry-making and for undermining a realistic 1946 compromise — with Congress bearing the greater share of culpability in Noorani's reading of both historians' verdicts. - Noorani reviews R. C. Majumdar's 'Struggle for Freedom' (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan) and B. N. Pandey's 'The Break-up of British India' (Macmillan), covering the partition era from the 1905 Bengal partition agitation onward. - He judges Pandey's account more lucid and objective, while Majumdar's is a more encyclopedic 'mighty tome' covering economy, art, press, and social reform alongside politics. - Noorani argues partition was not inevitable by mid-1946, faulting the Congress's handling of the Cabinet Mission Plan. - He rejects both the 'one-nation' and 'two-nation' theories as unsound, describing India as 'a nation in the making'. - He concludes both historians' own verdicts point toward greater Congress culpability, despite their reluctance to state this plainly. ### Badshah Khan And His Movement *By Moin Shakir* Moin Shakir profiles Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan ('Badshah Khan') and the Pakhtoon nationalist movement he led among the North-West Frontier Province's Pathans. The essay traces Badshah Khan's campaign against illiteracy and for education, his engagement with Khilafat- and Hijrat-movement leaders, and his 1929 founding of the Khudai Khidmatgar ('Servants of God') movement, which combined non-violence, social service, and Pakhtoon self-respect with alliance to the Indian National Congress. Shakir details the tension between the Khudai Khidmatgar and the Muslim League, which branded Badshah Khan a Congress agent and 'Hindu' for rejecting the two-nation theory, and recounts the shattering of his post-1947 hopes as Pakistan, in his view, was 'founded on hatred' rather than the pluralist, democratic federation he had sought for the Pathans. - Badshah Khan built a 'Pakhtoon nationalism' rooted in cultural pride, non-revivalist reform, and opposition to illiteracy, working against Mullah opposition to modern education. - In 1929 he founded the Khudai Khidmatgar movement, emphasizing non-violence, humility, social service, and rejection of anti-social Pathan customs. - The Khudai Khidmatgar allied with the Indian National Congress, shaping N.W.F.P. politics, while the Muslim League withheld support for anti-British movements. - Badshah Khan rejected the two-nation theory and was branded 'Hindu' and a Congress agent by League leaders as a result. - After 1947 his hopes for a pluralist federation for the Pathans were shattered; Shakir quotes him lamenting that Pakistan was 'founded on hatred'. - The essay closes by comparing Badshah Khan's defiance under British and Pakistani authority to Prometheus's refusal to submit to Zeus. ### Bengal Report: Hunger-Strike And After *By Analyst* Writing under the byline 'Analyst' in the 'Bengal Report' column, this piece surveys West Bengal's United Front politics through November-December 1969, centered on Chief Minister Ajoy Mukherjee's hunger-strike satyagraha over the deteriorating law-and-order situation and his standoff with Home Minister Jyoti Basu of the CPM. The article details rising inter-party clashes and forcible harvesting in colliery areas, the political effect of the hunger-strike in cooling CPM-Congress tensions, rumours that Indira Gandhi's Centre discouraged the UF government's collapse, and Ajoy Mukherjee's wavering rhetoric toward Basu. It closes by pressing the constitutional question of whether Mukherjee, as Chief Minister, has the personal responsibility to force Basu to relinquish the Home portfolio if he believes law and order has broken down, rather than hiding behind a private inter-party agreement. - Ajoy Mukherjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, led a hunger-strike satyagraha beginning December 1 over the breakdown of law and order, with volunteer numbers reportedly doubling to 100,000 within a week. - The CPM's Jyoti Basu, Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister, denies any breakdown of law and order and rejects the premise of the hunger-strike. - Rumour holds that Indira Gandhi's Centre discouraged the UF government's collapse in early December because she needed CPM support at the Centre. - 'Analyst' argues Mukherjee has not taken any concrete step as Chief Minister, citing a private inter-party agreement on portfolio allocation as the obstacle. - The column concludes Mukherjee has the constitutional right and duty to ask Basu to relinquish the Home portfolio if he judges law and order to have broken down, and that his hunger-strike is meaningless without this step. - Ajoy Mukherjee planned a second, simultaneous hunger-strike at 1,000 centres on December 28. ### Letter to the Editor: P.M. and Party President *By R. Vanchinathan; reply by A. G. Mulgaokar* A short 'Letter to the Editor' exchange: reader R. Vanchinathan of Tamil Nadu challenges A. G. Mulgaokar's October 1969 article for appearing to grant 'totalitarian' powers to a Prime Minister, arguing collective Cabinet responsibility and party discipline constrain a P.M.'s power. Mulgaokar replies that he only discussed the P.M.'s constitutional position and used British constitutional history as illustration, and that as cabinet government takes greater root in India the pattern (citing Macmillan's dismissal of senior colleagues) will likely tilt toward Prime-Ministerial dominance, though he had not meant to suggest anything imminent. - Reader R. Vanchinathan argues collective Cabinet responsibility and party control over the P.M. rule out 'totalitarian' Prime-Ministerial power. - Mulgaokar responds that he addressed only the P.M.'s constitutional position, using British precedent for illustration, not a claim about imminent events. - He cites Macmillan's dismissal of eight senior colleagues ('Night of the Long Knives') as evidence that cabinet government tends toward Prime-Ministerial government over time. ### Review: Democracy and Development (report on International Colloquium, Indian Liberal Group) *By M. R. Chandvadkar* M. R. Chandvadkar reviews 'Democracy and Development', a report on an international colloquium held at Coonoor and published by the Indian Liberal Group, in which thirty-five liberals from fourteen Asian and European countries (gathered under the Leslie Sawhny Programme and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation) discussed the relationship between democracy and economic development. The review summarizes the colloquium's core conviction that democracy is not only morally superior but more progressive and efficient than dictatorship, while cautioning that democratic development requires internal stability and security from external aggression — including a warning against the temptation of pursuing nuclear weapons as a 'prestige symbol' at the cost of basic economic stability. - The reviewed report covers an International Colloquium on 'Democracy and Development' held at Coonoor, sponsored by the Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy, the Indian Liberal Group, and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation of West Germany. - Thirty-five liberal participants from fourteen countries across Asia and Europe took part. - The report's core argument: dictatorship guarantees neither bread nor freedom, while liberal democracy pairs individual liberty with a competitive free market economy. - The colloquium warned against pursuing nuclear weapons as a prestige symbol at the expense of basic economic stability. - Chandvadkar praises the editor's compilation and calls the report valuable reading for 'thinking people in the country'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff214/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 214 (March 1970) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal periodical edited by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service. The issue is dominated by commentary on the collapse of stable party politics in northern and eastern India: an editorial on the opportunistic realignments following the Congress split in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal, and a detailed "Bengal Report" assessing one year of United Front rule in West Bengal and the growing organisational strength of the CPM. Legal and economic commentary is represented by a long analysis of the Supreme Court's bank nationalisation judgment, and international affairs by a piece on the widening Sino-Soviet border conflict. Two book reviews cover, respectively, an American academic study of Gandhi's reception in the United States and Svetlana Alliluyeva's memoir Only One Year. The issue closes with a reader's letter debating trade-union politics in the Jamshedpur strike (with an editorial reply), a column of quoted press opinion ("With Many Voices"), and the annual statutory ownership declaration for the magazine. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 214 (March 1970) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal periodical edited by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service. The issue is dominated by commentary on the collapse of stable party politics in northern and eastern India: an editorial on the opportunistic realignments following the Congress split in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal, and a detailed "Bengal Report" assessing one year of United Front rule in West Bengal and the growing organisational strength of the CPM. Legal and economic commentary is represented by a long analysis of the Supreme Court's bank nationalisation judgment, and international affairs by a piece on the widening Sino-Soviet border conflict. Two book reviews cover, respectively, an American academic study of Gandhi's reception in the United States and Svetlana Alliluyeva's memoir Only One Year. The issue closes with a reader's letter debating trade-union politics in the Jamshedpur strike (with an editorial reply), a column of quoted press opinion ("With Many Voices"), and the annual statutory ownership declaration for the magazine. ## Essays ### Political Opportunism *By Arvind A. Deshpande* Arvind A. Deshpande's editorial-style essay surveys the chaotic state politics of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal following the split in the Congress party. He argues that the divorce of principles from power, the end of clear majorities, and the rise of opportunistic coalitions have become the defining features of Indian politics, singling out Charan Singh's rise to power in U.P., the demoralised state of Bihar's SSP and PSP, and the CPM-led United Front's dominance in West Bengal. The piece ends by warning that unless parties show restraint, continued instability at the state level will spread disorder to the national centre. - Congress split has destabilised UP, Bihar, and West Bengal simultaneously - Charan Singh became a 'king' rather than a king-maker in UP with 98 MLAs - Bihar's SSP has 'the will to power' but lacks 'the capacity to govern' per the late Dr. Lohia - West Bengal's United Front government is described as heading toward instability - Author frames the era as one of a coming free-enterprise minimal-government dispensation - Warns of a crisis of ambition and political opportunism threatening democracy ### Bank Nationalisation And Fundamental Rights *By A. G. Mulgaokar* An untitled 'Without Comment' section reprints three short items: a Feb 15 Observer (London) piece on the resignation of Novy Mir editor Alexander Tvardovsky amid a Soviet crackdown on liberal literary tendencies; a tribute to Bertrand Russell on his death at 97, praising his philosophy and lifelong advocacy of peace and freedom while noting his sometimes harsh attitude to Western democracies; and a short obituary of American writer Louis Fischer, 'a great friend of India.' - Alexander Tvardovsky resigned as editor of Novy Mir amid a Soviet campaign against liberal literary tendencies - Novy Mir published Solzhenitsyn's 'One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich' during Tvardovsky's editorship - Bertrand Russell is eulogised as philosopher, mathematician, and champion of freedom who died aged 97 - Louis Fischer, American writer and political scientist with universal sympathies and deep ties to India, is remembered ### Sino-Soviet Conflict *By Adam Adil* A. G. Mulgaokar analyses the Supreme Court's judgment in the Bank Nationalisation case, defending the Court's constitutional role against critics (including reported adverse comment from the Prime Minister and a former Supreme Court judge) who accused it of obstructing reform. He argues the Court acted well within its rights in striking down the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act and Ordinance for violating fundamental rights and the guarantee of compensation, while faulting the Court only for declining to rule on the Ordinance's legality outright. The essay quotes the judgment extensively on Articles 19(1)(f) and 31, and closes by crediting Dr. R. C. Cooper and Mr. Palkhivala's advocacy for bringing the constitutional issues before the Court with such skill. - Supreme Court struck down the Bank Nationalisation Act/Ordinance as violating fundamental rights and the guarantee of compensation - Author defends the Court's constitutional role as complementary to, not a substitute for, the legislature - Rejects criticism of the judgment as mostly 'ill-informed', including from the Prime Minister and an ex-Supreme Court judge - The Court held that determining compensation for only some components of a banking undertaking's value fails to give a true recompense - Author credits Dr. R. C. Cooper and Mr. Palkhivala's advocacy for the outcome - The judgment is described as laying down broad and healthy constitutional principles on property rights and compensation ### One Year's Balance Sheet (Bengal Report) *By Analyst* Adam Adil traces the deterioration of Sino-Soviet relations from the 1956 denigration of Stalin through ideological estrangement to the 1969 Ussuri River border clash over Damansky/Chenpao island. He reports Moscow's efforts, via negotiator Vassily Kuznetsov and a Pravda article by Sergei Tikhvinsky, to reach a non-aggression settlement with China, and contrasts this with China's simultaneous talks with the United States in Warsaw. The author argues the Sino-U.S. talks are partly intended to pressure the Soviet Union into a border settlement, that the U.S. would side with Russia rather than China in any violent clash, and (continuing on page 8) that India should consider its own dialogue with China rather than adopting a rigid stance, given Pakistan's diplomatic gains from courting Beijing. - Sino-Soviet rift traced from Khrushchev's 1956 denigration of Stalin to the 1969 Ussuri River (Damansky/Chenpao) border clash - Moscow, via negotiator Vassily Kuznetsov, is reportedly seeking a non-aggression pact with China - China has simultaneously opened talks with the U.S. in Warsaw, partly to pressure Moscow - Author predicts the U.S. would side with Russia, not China, in a violent Sino-Soviet clash - China's 1962 border war with India is cited as evidence of its aggressive posture toward neighbours - Author urges India to consider its own dialogue with China given Pakistan's diplomatic gains from Sino-Pakistani friendship ### Gandhi And The American Scene *By Sadhu Singh Dhami* Writing as 'Analyst' in the 'Bengal Report' column, this essay assesses the first year of West Bengal's CPM-led United Front ministry (writing as of 15 February 1970). It describes the government's early anti-Centre posturing giving way to internal factional battles, forcible land occupation and industrial gheraos undermining police morale, capital flight and industrial closures, and escalating inter-party clashes between the CPM, Bangla Congress, and other partners. The piece concludes that the CPM has used the year to massively expand its membership, para-military volunteer corps, and Kisan Sabha base, entrenching its organisational power even as the state's administration and economy have weakened. - United Front ministry, with 218 of 280 seats, nears one year in office despite expectations of collapse - Over 300,000 acres of land forcibly occupied and harvested in rural Bengal, undermining rural credit and order - Flight of new industrial capital (500+ units reportedly relocating outside Bengal) and rising closures/lockouts - CPM prioritised satellising smaller partner parties (Forward Bloc, Bangla Congress, CPI) - CPM membership grew to ~30,000 with 65,000 associate members and a 110,000-strong para-military volunteer corps - Bangla Congress, holding the Chief Ministership, is described as strategically positioned but politically ineffective ### Strike In Jamshedpur (Letter to the Editor, with editor's reply) *By N. K. Sane / R. Muthuswamy (reply)* Sadhu Singh Dhami reviews C. Seshachari's book 'Gandhi and the American Scene' (Nachiketa Publications, Bombay, Rs. 20), which surveys nearly fifty years of American reactions to Gandhi. The review praises the book's historical breadth—linking Gandhi to Thoreau, Emerson, Whitman, and American figures like John Haynes Holmes, Roger Baldwin, and Martin Luther King—while criticising the book for failing to explore whether Gandhian Satyagraha could resolve the racial conflicts convulsing 1960s America, particularly given Black Power leaders' rejection of nonviolence as unsuited to Black Americans' circumstances. - Reviewed book: 'Gandhi and the American Scene' by C. Seshachari, Nachiketa Publications, Rs. 20 - Book traces American reactions to Gandhi over roughly fifty years, via figures such as John Haynes Holmes, Roger Baldwin, Norman Thomas, and Martin Luther King - Corrects the common claim that Thoreau's 'Civil Disobedience' was Gandhi's original inspiration for Satyagraha rather than a later confirming influence - Discusses Satyagraha's dependence on both parties valuing love and truth, limiting its applicability where 'business is all-important' - Faults the book for not examining whether a Gandhian solution could address American racial conflict - Cites Stokely Carmichael's view that nonviolence is a 'luxury white people do not deserve' and black people 'cannot afford' ### Search For Truth *By Padma Bhavnani* A 'Letter to the Editor' from N. K. Sane of Jamshedpur responds to R. Muthuswamy's earlier article 'Jamshedpur Strike-Lessons' (Freedom First No. 213, February 1970), disputing claims about industrial relations, Communist involvement, and union recognition practices in Jamshedpur over four decades of labour history. Sane argues the strike was driven by local Congressite factionalism and 'Mastans' (strongmen) rather than a genuine Communist takeover attempt, and calls for statutory secret-ballot recognition of representative unions. Muthuswamy's brief reply follows, noting areas of agreement on the need for legislated union recognition via secret ballot. - Responds to R. Muthuswamy's 'Jamshedpur Strike-Lessons' article in Freedom First No. 213 (February 1970) - Sane, a former Jamshedpur trade unionist, disputes characterisations of Communist attempts to take over unions - Argues the strike was controlled by local 'Mastans' (strongmen/Dadas) among the workers rather than by ideological factions - Calls for statutory secret-ballot recognition of majority unions to resolve recognition disputes - Muthuswamy's reply agrees on the need for legislation ensuring representative union recognition by secret ballot ### With Many Voices Padma Bhavnani reviews Svetlana Alliluyeva's memoir 'Only One Year' (translated by Paul Chavchavadze, Hutchinson & Co., 35sh), describing it as a painful, searching act of self-analysis rather than an apology for her defection from the Soviet Union. The review traces Alliluyeva's disillusionment with Communism through her mother's suicide, the arrests of relatives and friends, her father Stalin's legacy compared with Lenin's, and the persistence of repression under Brezhnev-Kosygin rule after a brief thaw under Khrushchev, including the Kremlin's refusal to register her marriage to Brajesh Singh. - Reviewed book: 'Only One Year' by Svetlana Alliluyeva, translated by Paul Chavchavadze, Hutchinson & Co. - Described as a book of self-analysis and search for truth, not a defence of her defection - Traces her disillusionment to her mother's suicide and the realities of Soviet 'secret police' repression - Contrasts her father Stalin's 'collective farming' policy with Lenin's 'co-operative plan' - Notes continuation of Stalinist patterns under the Kosygin-Brezhnev-Mikoyan 'Triumvirate' after Khrushchev's fall - The Kremlin's refusal to register her marriage to Indian Communist Brajesh Singh is cited as a final breaking point ### Essay 9 The closing 'With Many Voices' column collects short quoted opinions from the Indian press during February 1970 on Indian politics, socialism, bank nationalisation, and West Bengal's instability, from figures including N. A. Palkhivala, A. K. Gopalan, Asoka Mehta, Justice Hegde, Durga Das, Frank Moraes, and Jayaprakash Narayan. The page also carries the statutory 'Statement about Ownership and Other Particulars of Freedom First' (Form IV), naming V. B. Karnik as printer, publisher, and editor, published from 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay, for the Democratic Research Service. - Quotes N. A. Palkhivala on socialism as 'the opiate of the people' turning opportunity into opportunism - Quotes Justice Hegde of the Supreme Court on constitutional social goals being used as 'a mere alibi' - Quotes Jayaprakash Narayan: 'I don't know who is not a socialist in this country today' - Quotes Durga Das on national leadership depending on alliance with 'regional barons' rather than popular will - Statutory Form IV filing lists V. B. Karnik as printer, publisher and editor of Freedom First, published monthly from Bombay for the Democratic Research Service --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff213/ ### Summary Issue 213 of Freedom First (February 1970) opens with V. B. Karnik's editorial-style essay "Rational Politics", which indicts both the ruling Congress and the opposition extremes (Jana Sangh and CPM) for irrational, power-seeking politics and calls for a climate of rational, goal-directed policy-making. The rest of the issue is dominated by the fallout of 1969: M. R. Pai's four-point case against socialism, an unsigned report on the Home Ministry's dramatised warning about organised rural violence ("The Anatomy Of Rural Violence"), R. Muthuswamy's post-mortem of the 48-day Jamshedpur strike and its lessons for trade-union recognition law, an unsigned "Bengal Report" on Chief Minister Ajoy Mukherjee's open confrontation with the CPM within West Bengal's United Front government, and Brian Crozier's survey essay on the intellectual roots of the Western "New Left" (Guevara, Debray, Fanon, Marcuse). Shorter items cover the Leslie Sawhny Programme's 1969 training-and-seminar activities ("Training For Democracy"), a wry "Without Comment" note on the Sino-Soviet propaganda war, two book notices, and the recurring "With Many Voices" page of press-quote excerpts. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Issue 213 of Freedom First (February 1970) opens with V. B. Karnik's editorial-style essay "Rational Politics", which indicts both the ruling Congress and the opposition extremes (Jana Sangh and CPM) for irrational, power-seeking politics and calls for a climate of rational, goal-directed policy-making. The rest of the issue is dominated by the fallout of 1969: M. R. Pai's four-point case against socialism, an unsigned report on the Home Ministry's dramatised warning about organised rural violence ("The Anatomy Of Rural Violence"), R. Muthuswamy's post-mortem of the 48-day Jamshedpur strike and its lessons for trade-union recognition law, an unsigned "Bengal Report" on Chief Minister Ajoy Mukherjee's open confrontation with the CPM within West Bengal's United Front government, and Brian Crozier's survey essay on the intellectual roots of the Western "New Left" (Guevara, Debray, Fanon, Marcuse). Shorter items cover the Leslie Sawhny Programme's 1969 training-and-seminar activities ("Training For Democracy"), a wry "Without Comment" note on the Sino-Soviet propaganda war, two book notices, and the recurring "With Many Voices" page of press-quote excerpts. ## Essays ### Rational Politics *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's lead essay argues that India's political crisis stems from irrational politics practised by the ruling Congress and by opposition parties alike. He blames the Central Government and Congress leadership for drift and indecision since the party's mid-1969 split, notes the sole concrete action taken was the nationalisation of fourteen major banks, and singles out the Jana Sangh and the Communist Party Marxist as the two 'irrational' and destructive poles of the spectrum -- one pursuing a Hindu Raj hostile to Muslims, the other fomenting disorder in West Bengal and Kerala in pursuit of dictatorship. He contrasts this with a 'rational politics' that sets well-defined, attainable social and economic goals with a clear means-ends relationship, and argues this shift does not require a new party but a changed climate of opinion among existing democratic parties. - Blames the Central Government and Congress leadership for indecision and drift since the July 1969 party split. - Notes bank nationalisation (fourteen major banks) as the sole definite government action taken, and says it had already lost its 'glamour and effectiveness'. - Identifies the Jana Sangh (Hindu Raj, anti-Muslim) and the Communist Party Marxist (insurrectionary disorder in West Bengal and Kerala) as the two destructive extremes of Indian politics. - Warns that public disillusion with irrational politics creates fertile ground for dictatorship. - Defines 'rational politics' as policy built on well-defined, attainable goals with a clear, honest relationship between means and ends. - Argues achieving this does not require a new party, only a changed climate that persuades existing parties and politicians to act rationally. ### Training For Democracy (from a Correspondent) An unsigned correspondent's report on the Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy's activities during 1969: twenty-two training courses and high-level seminars involving over six hundred participants across several states, plus three high-level seminars organised jointly with the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung of West Germany on competitive enterprise, modernisation of the Indian social structure, and foreign investment and aid. The piece lists discussion leaders and participants at each seminar and notes broad agreement on the positive role of competitive enterprise, the limits of legislation as a tool of social change, and the value (used cautiously) of foreign aid and investment. It closes by describing a follow-up Bombay meeting on corporate 'Social Responsibilities of Business', including a model Statement of Objectives and proposals for a periodic 'social audit' of companies. - The Leslie Sawhny Programme ran twenty-two training courses and seminars in 1969 for over 600 public men, industrialists, executives, political and social workers. - Three high-level seminars were held jointly with the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung (West Germany): on competitive enterprise (Calcutta), modernisation of Indian social structure (Delhi), and foreign investment and aid (Madras). - Discussion leaders/participants named include Mr. M. R. Masani, Dr. R. C. Cooper, Prof. B. R. Shenoy, Mr. M. R. Pai, Mr. Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Justice G. D. Khosla, and the Maharaja of Dhrangadhra, among others. - The Delhi seminar noted excessive legislation over the prior twenty years, welcomed a minimum marriage age law and proposed abortion liberalisation, but flagged the impossibility of modernising social structure without population control. - A follow-up meeting convened by J. R. D. Tata in Bombay in January 1970 discussed a model Statement of Objectives and a proposed 'social audit' mechanism for assessing companies' social responsibilities. ### Why I Oppose Socialism *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai lays out a four-part case against socialism in India: it cannot solve poverty and would instead slide the country from poverty into pauperism; it would destroy individual liberties as the constitution disintegrates under socialist policy pressure; it would produce glaring inequality between rulers and ruled; and it would undermine India's 'greatness' and traditions. He distinguishes central planning and state ownership (socialism's specific methodology) from the ordinary planning functions any modern state must perform, and argues nationalisation (illustrated by the collapse of small banks after 1960s consolidation and the 1969 bank nationalisation) enriches a ruling bureaucracy at the expense of ordinary citizens while destroying trade union rights and equality before law. He warns that socialism has introduced class warfare into Indian society and that the resulting popular disillusion, when it comes, will turn violently against the political class responsible for it. - Opposes socialism on four grounds: it cannot cure poverty (and will produce pauperism instead), it destroys individual liberties, it produces inequality between rulers and ruled, and it erodes India's traditions of greatness. - Distinguishes the state's legitimate planning obligations (defence, law and order, infrastructure, currency) from socialism's specific methodology of central planning and state ownership of production, distribution and exchange. - Cites the collapse of small banks (from ~740 at independence to ~70 by the time of 1969 nationalisation) as evidence that state-directed consolidation harms ordinary citizens. - Argues that public-sector losses (Rs. 35 crores on Rs. 3,200 crores invested in central 'running undertakings') and misdirected capital-intensive investment worsen poverty and unemployment. - Warns socialism introduces class warfare -- business against public, urban workers against farmers, landless labour against peasants -- which could turn violently against the political class when disillusion sets in. ### The Anatomy Of Rural Violence *By "Atreya"* Writing under the pseudonym 'Atreya', the author examines the Union Home Ministry's dramatic report warning that rural violence poses a critical situation, arguing the report exaggerates what is in fact remarkable rural stability given continued hardship. The piece traces the ideological engineering of rural violence to Naxalite, CPM, and earlier Marxist strategy dating to a 1949 Cominform directive, and describes the specific dynamics in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu (Tanjavur), Punjab, and Kerala. It concludes that the real rural crisis is organisational fragmentation -- caused by policy-makers dismantling traditional structures without building replacements -- rather than violence itself, and suggests the Home Ministry's statement may be politically motivated, possibly linked to manoeuvring against the CPM within the West Bengal United Front and to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's own political positioning after bank nationalisation. - Argues the Home Ministry's report on rural violence is 'artificially inspired' possibly to justify further 'spectacular and radical' measures by the Prime Minister after bank nationalisation. - Traces engineered rural violence to Naxalite and CPM strategy, and to a 1949 Cominform directive urging Communist parties toward united-front tactics in cities and insurrectionary tactics in the countryside. - Notes the CPM accuses Indira Gandhi of colluding with West Bengal Chief Minister Ajoy Mukherji to justify removing the CPM from the United Front Ministry, following the pattern used in Kerala. - Describes region-specific dynamics: CPM/Naxalite unrest in West Bengal, left-communist peasant unions timing agitation to harvest cycles in Tanjavur (Tamil Nadu), and a Kulak-versus-landless-labourer split among Communists in Punjab. - Concludes the real rural crisis is organisational fragmentation from breaking up traditional structures without building replacements, and that organised sectors (e.g., plantations) show stability is achievable through integration, not suppression of violence per se. ### Books Received A short unsigned 'Books Received' notice lists two titles: 'Industrial Workers in the U.S.S.R.', edited by Robert Conquest (Frederick A. Praeger, New York), and 'Jammu & Kashmir Guide 1969' by Mulk Raj Saraf (Universal Publications, Jammu & Srinagar). - Lists 'Industrial Workers in the U.S.S.R.', edited by Robert Conquest, published by Frederick A. Praeger, New York, priced at $6.25. - Lists 'Jammu & Kashmir Guide 1969' by Mulk Raj Saraf, published by Universal Publications, Jammu & Srinagar, priced at Rs. 25. ### Jamshedpur Strike-Lessons *By R. Muthuswamy* R. Muthuswamy analyses the lessons of the 48-day strike across seven Jamshedpur industrial units (including Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company, Indian Tube Company, and Tinplate Company of India), triggered by a faction-ridden INTUC union and led by a united front of Left and Right Communists, the Samyukta Socialist Party, and Praja Socialist Party under Kedar Das. Drawing on J. R. D. Tata's public remarks urging government to 'change the labour legislation or enforce the existing legislation', the essay argues the strike exposed the failure of India's voluntarist trade union recognition policy -- multiple minority unions with as little as 15% membership can claim recognition, none commanding enough support to deliver on agreements, leaving both employers and government in an unworkable vacuum. It calls for statutory reform requiring recognition of only the majority union in a unit, determined by ascertaining the wishes of all workers. - The 48-day Jamshedpur strike spanned seven units including Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company, Indian Tube Company, and Tinplate Company of India. - The strike was led by the Jamshedpur Engineering Workers' Coordinating Committee (JEWCC), a united front of Left and Right Communists, Samyukta Socialist Party and Praja Socialist Party factions, headed by Right Communist leader Kedar Das. - J. R. D. Tata publicly urged government to 'change the labour legislation or enforce the existing legislation', criticising government inaction against the illegal strike. - Identifies a structural problem: recognition requires only 15% membership, so multiple minority unions compete for recognition without any commanding majority support, undermining industrial relations. - Recommends statutory recognition of only the majority union in a unit, determined by ascertaining the wishes of all workers, to resolve chronic multiplicity of unions. ### Without Comment: Sino-Soviet Relations *By Swiss Press Review and News Report* A short unsigned 'Without Comment' item, sourced from the Swiss Press Review and News Report, notes that both the Soviet Union and Communist China appear to prefer publicly slanging each other over negotiating in private, citing a Chinese New Year editorial that insulted Brezhnev and 'the clown' Khrushchev without naming them, and Soviet papers Pravda and Izvestia responding in kind while focusing blame chiefly on Mao rather than Chou En-lai -- read as a hint that Chou may be seen as heading a pro-Russian splinter faction. - Both the USSR and China appear to prefer public mutual denunciation over private negotiation, per a Chinese New Year editorial and Soviet responses in Pravda and Izvestia. - The Chinese editorial insults Khrushchev ('the clown') and Brezhnev without naming them directly, in keeping with a Communist habit of not naming targets. - Soviet press responses single out Mao as villain while largely sparing Chou En-lai, suggesting Chou may be seen as leading a pro-Russian faction within the Chinese leadership. - The item is explicitly sourced from the Swiss Press Review and News Report, and poses an open question of whether this reflects mere rhetoric or genuine deterioration in Sino-Soviet relations. ### Bengal Report: Ajoy Mukherjee Challenges CPM *By Analyst* Writing under the byline 'Analyst', an unsigned 'Bengal Report' describes West Bengal Chief Minister Ajoy Mukherjee's escalating public and administrative confrontation with the CPM within the state's United Front government, including a mass hunger-strike campaign in December 1969 and a subsequent assertion of administrative authority over transfers and police matters despite a paralysed and CPM-sympathising bureaucracy. The piece details a widening rift in the trade union movement (AITUC split, industrial lockouts, over 500 units relocating out of West Bengal), a CPM claim of 100,000 volunteers and 21,000 members with 40,000 auxiliaries, and attempts by rival factions (including Bhupesh Gupta and E. M. S. Namboodiripad) to build alternative party fronts, concluding that the CPM appears to be extracting maximum benefit from the United Front before a possible withdrawal. - Ajoy Mukherjee led a 24-hour hunger-strike on 28 December 1969 with PSP and SSP leaders, drawing nearly 2 lakh participants across 1,400+ centres, weakening CPM momentum temporarily. - Mukherjee began asserting administrative authority -- withholding a police transfer order and cancelling case withdrawals -- despite a District Magistrate/police bureaucracy described as 'severely tampered with' and partly CPM-sympathising. - The AITUC trade union federation is reported to be facing an open split, with over 500 industrial units relocating out of West Bengal amid depression and inter-union rivalry. - CPM claims roughly 100,000 volunteers at its 'beck and call', 21,000 formal members, and a further 40,000 auxiliary membership. - Rival factions attempt to build alternative political fronts: Bhupesh Gupta MP accuses Promode Dasgupta of wanting a 'bogus United Front' with CPM satellites, while E. M. S. Namboodiripad proposes a 'front of all militant forces' against the Chief Minister. - Concludes the CPM may be extracting maximum value from the United Front Ministry before choosing the 'ripe moment' to withdraw. ### The New Left *By Brian Crozier* Brian Crozier surveys the intellectual figures behind the Western 'New Left', arguing it is a fragmented, incoherent phenomenon united mainly by its appeal to a generation disillusioned with 'old Left' orthodoxies. He profiles Che Guevara (romanticised guerrilla martyrdom), Regis Debray (rejection of party discipline in favour of instant, unmediated revolution), Frantz Fanon (a racialised, nihilistic call to violence against the 'white oppressor' with no stated program for what follows), and Herbert Marcuse (an obscure, prolix critic of industrial society's capacity to pacify dissent through rising living standards, whose teaching stops short of directly advocating violence but grants revolutionary elites a vanguard role). Crozier concludes, drawing on and citing an article in 'The New Left' published by the International Documentation and Information Centre, that despite its lack of unity the New Left has become a major threat to civilised life in advanced industrial societies. - Argues the 'New Left' arose because the 'old Left' (Marx, Lenin, Mao orthodoxy) had lost relevance to Western society, leaving a gap filled by newer prophets of violence. - Profiles Che Guevara as the most powerful current influence, citing his 'revolutionary sex appeal', early death, and role in the Cuban guerrilla war. - Discusses Regis Debray's 'Revolution in the Revolution?' as advocating a rejection of party discipline in favour of spontaneous action by any individual willing to 'pick up a stone and throw it at a policeman'. - Describes Frantz Fanon's message as reducible to: colonised, oppressed men should kill the white oppressor, with no specification of what follows -- called 'the starkest' and 'most nihilistic' of the New Left prophets. - Characterises Herbert Marcuse as obscure and 'turgid' but analytically acute regarding industrial society's capacity to pacify dissent by raising living standards, though his teaching stops short of directly advocating violence. - Concludes, based on and citing an article in the pamphlet 'The New Left' (International Documentation and Information Centre), that the New Left -- despite its lack of coherence or unity -- has become 'a major threat to civilised life in advanced industrial societies'. ### With Many Voices (press quotations column) The recurring 'With Many Voices' page collects short unsigned press-quote excerpts from January 1970 sources on themes including the risk of Sino-Soviet nuclear war, bureaucratic commission-appointing habits, wage-price spirals, socialism as 'all power to politicians' (P. Spratt), Indian poverty as 'the poverty of politics and the politics of poverty' (B. G. Verghese), Arnold Toynbee on humanity's poor learning from history, and closing quotes from Morarji Desai, B. R. Bhagat, and V. B. Pandit on Gandhian socialism, foreign aid, and bureaucratic growth respectively. The page also carries the subscription form and colophon: edited and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik at 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1, printed at Inland Printers, Gamdevi Road, Bombay 7. - Compiles short press quotations dated January 1970 from sources including the Guardian Weekly, Observer (Arnold Toynbee), Time, Swarajya (P. Spratt), Hindustan Times (B. G. Verghese), Free Press Journal (Morarji Desai), and Financial Express (B. R. Bhagat). - P. Spratt is quoted defining socialism as, in effect, 'all power to politicians'. - B. G. Verghese is quoted describing the Indian situation as 'the poverty of politics and the politics of poverty'. - Morarji Desai is quoted arguing democratic socialism can be achieved through Gandhian means without hurting or hitting anyone. - The colophon confirms the issue is edited and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik at 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1, printed at Inland Printers, 55 Gamdevi Road, Bombay 7, and lists the annual subscription as Rs. 5.00. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff215/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 215 (April 1970) opens with M. R. Masani's parliamentary critique of the Union Budget, arguing that two decades of planning have left India economically stagnant and that the new budget's excise levies, railway freight hikes, and deficit financing will fall hardest on the poor while doing nothing to genuinely diffuse economic ownership. Adam Adil's piece on Laos and Cambodia surveys Communist North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao advances on the Plain of Jars and the fall of Prince Norodom Sihanouk in Cambodia, arguing that Asian democracies bear a duty to resist Communist infiltration in South-East Asia. Jayaprakash Narayan contributes a reflective essay on the limits of state power in engineering social change, calling for revived people's initiative (jana shakti) along Gandhian lines and proposing constitutional and administrative reforms. B. N. Datar reviews Christopher Mayhew's book Party Games on the British Labour Party. An unsigned contributed piece details cost overruns, delays, and design disputes plaguing Soviet-aided industrial projects in India (Bokaro, Ranchi, Durgapur, and the IDPL pharmaceuticals plant).… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 215 (April 1970) opens with M. R. Masani's parliamentary critique of the Union Budget, arguing that two decades of planning have left India economically stagnant and that the new budget's excise levies, railway freight hikes, and deficit financing will fall hardest on the poor while doing nothing to genuinely diffuse economic ownership. Adam Adil's piece on Laos and Cambodia surveys Communist North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao advances on the Plain of Jars and the fall of Prince Norodom Sihanouk in Cambodia, arguing that Asian democracies bear a duty to resist Communist infiltration in South-East Asia. Jayaprakash Narayan contributes a reflective essay on the limits of state power in engineering social change, calling for revived people's initiative (jana shakti) along Gandhian lines and proposing constitutional and administrative reforms. B. N. Datar reviews Christopher Mayhew's book Party Games on the British Labour Party. An unsigned contributed piece details cost overruns, delays, and design disputes plaguing Soviet-aided industrial projects in India (Bokaro, Ranchi, Durgapur, and the IDPL pharmaceuticals plant). The Review section covers three books: Chanchal Sarkar's collection of essays on the Indian press and mass media, a booklet surveying world Communist parties, and Mulk Raj Saraf's Jammu and Kashmir Guide 1969. The issue closes with the recurring 'With Many Voices' column of press quotations from Indian public figures on contemporary politics. ## Essays ### Let Us Modernise Our Thinking *By M. R. Masani, M.P.* M. R. Masani, M.P., delivers a parliamentary speech attacking the Union Budget as a continuation of twenty years of stagnation-inducing planning. He argues per capita income has barely risen since 1960-61 while inflation has surged (73 per cent over eight years, 15 per cent annualised in the most recent months), and that the budget's excise duties and railway freight increases will burden the poor and lower middle class, that deficit financing is approaching the Planning Commission's own five-year ceiling within two years, and that the budget will further depress India's already low savings rate by diverting Rs. 170 crores from private investment (earning 7 paise per rupee) into unproductive state-sector use (2 paise per rupee). He mocks Indira Gandhi's self-description as 'forward looking,' accusing her and her circle of a dated 1930s Cambridge Marxism out of step with modern European social democracy, quoting the West German SPD's programme favouring free markets and competition. He closes by quoting I. K. Gujral's (rendered as 'B. K. Nehru' in the text) view on the changed nature of modern wealth. - Argues twenty years of Indian economic policy produced the slowest growth in Asia outside Burma - Cites per capita income stagnation (Rs. 307 in 1960-61 to Rs. 319 in 1968-69) and rising inflation (73% over eight years) - Criticises the budget's excise duties and rail freight hikes as regressive, hitting the poor hardest - Argues deficit financing is nearing the Planning Commission's five-year Rs. 850 crore ceiling far too early in the Fourth Plan - Contends state-sector investment returns only 2 paise per rupee versus 7 paise in the private sector, calling this 'demobilisation' not 'mobilisation' of resources - Accuses Indira Gandhi of outdated 1930s-vintage Marxist thinking, contrasting with modern West German and Swedish social democracy - Calls on the Prime Minister to 'modernise her own thinking' before she can modernise the country ### Laos & Cambodia-Communist Infiltration *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil surveys the deteriorating military and political situation in Laos and Cambodia in early 1970. He describes North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao forces overrunning the Plain of Jars and threatening Vientiane and Luangprabang, with particular danger to Sam Thong (US aid headquarters) and Long Cheng (a secret CIA-run guerrilla base). He notes Hanoi's strategic interest in securing a buffer zone and protecting the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Turning to Cambodia, he describes the overthrow of Prince Norodom Sihanouk while abroad in Moscow, replaced by a government under General Lon Nol that adopted an anti-Vietnamese, anti-Chinese stance and sought the return of the International Control Commission to oversee withdrawal of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces. The author argues America's declared troop withdrawal from Vietnam and the East-of-Suez pullback raise the question of whether South-East Asian democracies will be left exposed, and calls on Asian democracies (Japan, India, Ceylon, Malaysia) to take up the primary responsibility of resisting Communist aggression in the region. - Details Communist advances on the Plain of Jars and threats to Vientiane and Luangprabang - Identifies Sam Thong and Long Cheng as strategically critical US/CIA-linked sites in Laos - Describes the coup against Prince Norodom Sihanouk and the new Lon Nol government's anti-Vietnamese stance - Notes Cambodia's appeal to reconvene the International Control Commission, with Russia and Poland as complicating factors - Frames the primary duty of resisting Communist aggression in South-East Asia as belonging to Asian democracies, not just the US and Britain ### Some Suggestions *By Jayaprakash Narayan* Jayaprakash Narayan reflects on India's twin problems of change and development, arguing that a mistaken notion that these can be achieved through state power alone has persisted since independence. He credits Gandhiji with recognising the limits of state power and championing jana shakti (people's power), noting that pre-British India possessed self-reliant village institutions, panchayats, guilds, and religious-educational institutions that British rule undermined. Narayan argues that genuine change requires persuasion and awakened popular initiative rather than commands, laws, or top-down planning, citing the failure of community development schemes as evidence that imposed cooperation cannot substitute for aroused local initiative. He warns that without accelerated growth, India's population (540 million) will reach 665 million by 1980 and unemployment will double to 27 million by the end of the Fourth Plan. He then proposes concrete political and constitutional reforms: an amendment to the People's Representation Act via a high-power committee, addressing political instability through a Constitutional Council empowered to bind disputes between states and Centre (amending Article 263), reviving proposals for an advisory President's Council, administrative reform to end the cycle of shelved committee reports, and state-level autonomous industrial and agricultural development corporations insulated from political patronage. - Identifies a persistent mistaken notion that state power alone can effect social change and development - Credits Gandhiji with the concept of jana shakti (people's power) as a needed complement to state power - Describes pre-British India's self-governing village institutions, guilds, and religious-educational bodies as later weakened under British rule - Argues genuine change requires persuasion and grassroots initiative, not commands, citing failed community development schemes - Warns of population growth to 665 million by 1980 and unemployment doubling to 27 million by the end of the Fourth Plan - Proposes a high-power committee to amend the People's Representation Act ahead of the next general elections - Calls for a binding Constitutional Council (amending Article 263) to settle Centre-state disputes, distinct from an advisory President's Council - Proposes autonomous, patronage-free state industrial and agricultural development corporations ### Task Of Radicalism (review of 'Party Games' by Christopher Mayhew, M.P.) *By B. N. Datar* B. N. Datar reviews Christopher Mayhew's book Party Games, a semi-autobiographical account by a British Labour politician examining what the Labour Party sought to achieve before the war versus what it achieved in power, and the differences between Labour and the Tories. Datar traces Mayhew's intellectual formation (including the influence of G. D. H. Cole), his rejection of the Russian model, his critique of race relations in the USA, and his account of Labour's shift from 1930s utopianism to 1960s pragmatism as living standards rose and old appeals to socialism lost their force. The review highlights Mayhew's conclusion that MPs cannot effectively influence the executive or represent constituents' views, his examination of alternatives including a third party or an American-style presidential executive, and his diagnosis of five defects in Britain's development (neglect of the human factor in technological change, stress from artificial consumer demand, exacerbated grievance, delinquency, and neglected mental health). Datar concludes that Mayhew's central theme—the recasting of conventional attitudes—constitutes 'the task of radicalism today.' - Mayhew's book is a semi-autobiographical account of the British Labour Party's aims versus its record in power - Traces Mayhew's formation under G.D.H. Cole and his rejection of the Russian model and race relations in the USA - Describes the generational shift in the Labour Party from 1930s utopian socialism to 1960s pragmatism amid rising living standards - Cites Mayhew's finding that MPs cannot effectively influence the executive nor adequately represent constituents - Notes Mayhew's five diagnosed defects in Britain's post-war development, including neglect of the human factor in technology and rising mental illhealth - Datar frames 'recasting of conventional attitudes' as the shared task facing Britain and, implicitly, other democracies ### Soviet-Aid Projects *By (Contributed)* This contributed, unsigned piece catalogues cost overruns, delays, and design controversies at Soviet-aided industrial projects in India. The Bokaro steel plant has suffered its fourth major delay since 1964, with the first-stage completion date now pushed to early 1973 from an original 1968 target, and costs rising from an estimated Rs. 590 crores to around Rs. 800 crores. The piece details disputes over Soviet insistence on full managerial control, rejection of Indian-produced refractories, and criticism from Professor K. V. Subrahmanyam that Soviet policy is 'derogatory to the self-respect of the country.' It further reports under-utilisation and demand miscalculation at the Ranchi Heavy Engineering Corporation and Durgapur Mining and Allied Machinery Corporation, and a parliamentary inquiry finding 'huge loss' at the Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (IDPL) plant due to unsuitable design, second-hand equipment, and vastly overestimated demand for tetracycline-group drugs, with the Soviets also accused of 'tremendous' under-estimation of production costs (citing Vitamin B1 estimated at Rs. 100/kg versus an actual Rs. 1,200/kg). - Bokaro steel plant delayed a fourth time; completion pushed from 1968 to early 1973, costs risen from Rs. 590 crores to about Rs. 800 crores - Dispute over Soviet Union's insistence on full managerial control and rejection of Indian-made refractories for coke ovens - Professor K. V. Subrahmanyam criticises Soviet aid policy as reducing Indian industry to 'a satellite of its Russian counterpart' - Ranchi (Heavy Engineering Corporation) and Durgapur (Mining and Allied Machinery Corporation) projects show serious under-utilisation from overestimated demand - Parliamentary inquiry into IDPL found a 'huge loss' from faulty equipment, unsuitable designs, delays, and possibly second-hand plant built for China - Soviet cost estimates for Vitamin B1 (Rs. 100/kg estimated vs Rs. 1,200/kg actual) cited as evidence of gross under-estimation ### Review: Challenge and Stagnation (review of Chanchal Sarkar, Vikas Publications) *By ARVIND A. DESHPANDE* Arvind A. Deshpande reviews Chanchal Sarkar's Challenge and Stagnation (Vikas Publications), a collection of lectures and essays on the Indian mass media. The review endorses Sarkar's harsh diagnosis that the Indian press suffers from 'heavy blindness, creeping paralysis, gutless, imbecile apathy and obsessive neurosis,' noting the stark gap between India's 158 million literates and its mere 6.5 million newspaper circulation. It highlights Sarkar's critique of All India Radio's news presentation and his profile of the decline of editor K. Rama Rao, along with Sarkar's proposal to treat newspapers as a public utility akin to roads and electricity, including subsidising newspaper access for schoolteachers. Deshpande praises the book as rewarding despite some structural padding, and hopes for a cheaper edition. - Reviews Chanchal Sarkar's Challenge and Stagnation, a collection on the Indian mass media - Cites the gap between 158 million Indian literates and a newspaper circulation of only 6.5 million - Highlights Sarkar's harsh diagnosis of the Indian press as suffering multiple 'diseases' - Notes the book's critique of All India Radio's news presentation and profile of editor K. Rama Rao's decline - Highlights Sarkar's proposal to treat newspapers as a public utility, including subsidised access for schoolteachers - Recommends the book to all thinking citizens and hopes for a cheaper edition ### A Survey of the World Communist Parties (review of booklet, Free News and Feature Service) *By K. V. B.* A short unsigned notice (initialled K. V. B.) describes a booklet, A Survey of the World Communist Parties, published by the Free News and Feature Service, itself an Indian edition of a booklet from the International Documentation and Information Centre in The Hague. The booklet covers ninety-nine Communist parties worldwide, fourteen of them ruling and the rest in opposition (some illegal), giving membership figures, leader names, and party journal titles for each. - Reviews A Survey of the World Communist Parties, an Indian edition of a Hague-based International Documentation and Information Centre booklet - Covers 99 Communist parties worldwide, 14 ruling and the remainder in opposition or illegal - Provides membership figures, leadership, and party journal names for each listed party - Recommended as useful to students of communist affairs in India ### Jammu and Kashmir Guide 1969 (review, edited by Mulk Raj Saraf, Universal Publication) *By V. K. KARKARIA* V. K. Karkaria reviews Jammu and Kashmir Guide 1969, edited by Mulk Raj Saraf, a 500-page reference volume covering the state's economic, historical, and political development through short articles, tables, indices, and a 'Who's Who' chapter. The review finds the book valuable as a mine of information but criticises its bulk (recommending thinner paper) and faults it for lacking a dedicated chapter on tourism, arguably Kashmir's most important trade. Karkaria attributes the state's underdevelopment to a lack of large industries, raw materials, coal, electricity, and private investment, arguing investment will only flow once political instability recedes. The review calls the book a commendable effort better suited as a trade directory than a tourist guide. - Reviews Mulk Raj Saraf's edited Jammu and Kashmir Guide 1969, a 500-page reference volume - Praises its coverage of economic, historical, and political development via short articles, tables, and a Who's Who chapter - Criticises the absence of a dedicated tourism chapter despite tourism's importance to the state's economy - Attributes Kashmir's underdevelopment to lack of industry, raw materials, and investment tied to political instability - Concludes the book functions better as a trade directory than a tourist guide ### With Many Voices (miscellany of quoted press excerpts) The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a recurring column of press quotations from Indian political and public figures dated between February and March 1970, prefaced by a Tennyson epigraph. The quotations touch on West Bengal political violence (Harekrishna Konar, Ajoy Mukherjee), campus politics at BHU, Congress splits, secularism and Hindu identity (Guru Golwalkar), Prince Norodom Sihanouk's balancing diplomacy shortly before his overthrow, and criticisms of India's constitution and caste in politics. - Recurring press-quotations column titled 'With Many Voices', prefaced with a Tennyson epigraph - Includes inflammatory quotes from West Bengal politicians Harekrishna Konar and Ajoy Mukherjee on land seizure and violence - Includes Guru Golwalkar's remark equating secularism with being a 'staunch Hindu' - Includes Prince Norodom Sihanouk's own description of his political manoeuvring, shortly before his overthrow (covered in the Adam Adil article) - Includes C. Rajagopalachari's and others' comments on Indian political instability and constitutional design --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff217/ ### Summary This issue of Freedom First (No. 217, June 1970), edited by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service in Bombay, opens with Adam Adil's essay on the persistence of communal rioting in independent India, arguing that responsibility lies less with anti-social elements than with an educated elite that has failed to modernise its communities, and citing the recent Ahmedabad, Bhiwandi, and Jalgaon riots. R. N. Karnik contributes a detailed legal analysis of the Golak Nath judgment and the pending Nath Pai Constitution (Amendment) Bill, opposing Parliament's bid to reclaim power to abridge fundamental rights. A Bengal Report column by 'Analyst' surveys Governor's Rule in West Bengal and manoeuvring among the CPM, CPI, Congress, and Naxalites ahead of expected 1972 elections, followed by a short item quoting C. D. Deshmukh on waste in public-sector project execution. A contributed report summarises a Srinagar seminar on freedom of the press organised with the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung. The issue closes with reader letters on coalition politics, three book reviews (on M. N.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This issue of Freedom First (No. 217, June 1970), edited by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service in Bombay, opens with Adam Adil's essay on the persistence of communal rioting in independent India, arguing that responsibility lies less with anti-social elements than with an educated elite that has failed to modernise its communities, and citing the recent Ahmedabad, Bhiwandi, and Jalgaon riots. R. N. Karnik contributes a detailed legal analysis of the Golak Nath judgment and the pending Nath Pai Constitution (Amendment) Bill, opposing Parliament's bid to reclaim power to abridge fundamental rights. A Bengal Report column by 'Analyst' surveys Governor's Rule in West Bengal and manoeuvring among the CPM, CPI, Congress, and Naxalites ahead of expected 1972 elections, followed by a short item quoting C. D. Deshmukh on waste in public-sector project execution. A contributed report summarises a Srinagar seminar on freedom of the press organised with the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung. The issue closes with reader letters on coalition politics, three book reviews (on M. N. Roy, Jamnadas Dwarkadas's political memoirs, and an anthology of Khushwant Singh's writing), and the regular 'With Many Voices' page of press quotations. ## Essays ### Communal Riots *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil surveys communal rioting in India since Independence, noting 321 riots since 1947 including recent severe outbreaks in Ahmedabad, Bhiwandi, and Jalgaon. He rejects the common explanation that anti-social elements alone instigate riots, arguing instead that such elements only exploit a climate already created by failures of the educated elite to modernise their communities and by communalists who hide inside secular parties. He is sceptical that banning organisations like the RSS or Muslim League would help, and dismisses the National Integration Council as ineffective because its own membership includes covertly communal party representatives. His proposed remedy is a slow, generational project of cultural and social modernisation led by an educated elite that abandons opportunistic lip-service to secularism, backed by supportive government administrative policy. - Notes 321 communal riots in India since Independence, with recent severe outbreaks in Ahmedabad, Bhiwandi, and Jalgaon in 1970 - Argues anti-social elements exploit, but do not originate, communal tension - Blames the educated elite for failing to genuinely modernise Hindu and Muslim communities despite professed allegiance to socialism and secularism - Argues banning communal parties (RSS, Muslim League) would not work since communal elements also operate within secular parties - Criticises the National Integration Council as structurally unable to solve the problem given its composition - Calls for a determined, possibly generational effort by both elite and government to defeat Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh obscurantism ### Nath Pai's Bill *By R. N. Karnik* R. N. Karnik lays out the legal background to Shri Nath Pai's Constitution (Amendment) Bill, introduced after the Supreme Court's Golak Nath decision held that Parliament cannot amend Part III fundamental rights. He traces the doctrinal history from Sankari Prasad through Sajjan Singh to Golak Nath, quoting the majority and dissenting opinions, and reports that Indira Gandhi and Y. B. Chavan strongly favour the Bill while the Swatantra Party, Jana Sangh, Samyukta Socialist Party, and the Minute of Dissent by S. M. Joshi and Kameshwar Singh oppose it. Karnik concludes with an eight-point argument that the Prime Minister should not press the Bill, citing her government's lack of a parliamentary majority, political instability, absence of any electoral mandate to amend fundamental rights, and the risk of perpetual conflict between Parliament and the Supreme Court. - Explains the Golak Nath ruling: Parliament cannot amend Part III fundamental rights from 27-2-1967 onward - Traces prior case law: Sankari Prasad (1952) and Sajjan Singh (1965), and the split judgments in Golak Nath itself - Reports the Joint Committee's 15 sittings (7-9-1967 to 13-7-1968) on Nath Pai's Bill and its eventual report - Notes Indira Gandhi and Y. B. Chavan's strong support for the Bill versus opposition from Swatantra, Jana Sangh, and the Samyukta Socialist Party - Quotes the Joshi-Kameshwar Singh Minute of Dissent warning the Bill risks abridging civil liberties under cover of economic reform - Gives eight reasons the Bill should not be pushed through, including lack of electoral mandate and political instability ### Bengal Report: Waiting For 1972 Elections *By Analyst* Writing under the byline 'Analyst,' this Bengal Report column surveys Governor's Rule in West Bengal, describing the Governor's Advisors settling into administrative work, transfers of officers, an anticipated land reform policy, and efforts to woo back industrial investors. It assesses the weakening of Naxalite violence in rural areas like Debra and Gopiballabhpur following police action, contrasted with the CPM's cautious shift back toward front organisations and economic agitation. The piece anticipates that agitation on land, teacher pay, and education funding will converge by October-November into a push for mid-term elections, and reports that a pro-Soviet CPI proposal to revive the 14-party United Front with conditions on CPM leadership has failed, leaving Bengal's political realignment still unsettled ahead of expected 1972 elections. - Governor's Advisors are consolidating administrative control, with officer transfers and a land reform policy in the offing - Central Reserve Police deployment continues; Presidential Rule appears likely to continue until 1972 - Naxalite terror campaign has weakened after police action in Debra and Gopiballabhpur, with villagers in one case beating Naxalites to death for trying to kill a jotedar - CPM is cautiously re-engaging front organisations and economic agitation rather than confrontation - A pro-Soviet CPI proposal (linked to Dange) to revive the 14-party United Front on condition of CPM accepting Ajoy Mukherjee's leadership and giving up the Home portfolio has failed - Congress (R) faces a difficult balancing act supporting the Advisors' policies while remaining ideologically committed to leftism ### Freedom Of The Press *By C. D. Deshmukh* A short item titled 'Incompetence or Venality?' quotes C. D. Deshmukh's speech on 'Social Change in India' at the Gokhale Institute of Public Affairs, Bangalore, in which he estimates that a quarter to a third of state development funds are wasted through incompetence or venality. He illustrates this with an anecdote from a public-sector steel plant construction contract, where a Rs. 12 lakh lowest tender was passed over in favour of a Rs. 30 lakh bid from the National Construction Corporation (per standing government preference rules), which then sub-contracted the same work to a private contractor for Rs. 28 lakhs, pocketing Rs. 2 lakhs without doing any work. - Deshmukh estimates 25-33% of state development funds are wasted through incompetence or venality - Cites a public-sector steel plant tender: a Rs. 12 lakh lowest bid was passed over for a Rs. 30 lakh bid from a state-preferred corporation - That corporation then sub-contracted the same work for Rs. 28 lakhs, retaining Rs. 2 lakhs profit for no work - Predicts the case would eventually be flagged by Parliament's Public Accounts Committee ### Review: The Restless Brahmin / Political Memoirs / Kushwant Singh's India *By K.V.B. / V. K. Karkaria* A contributed report on a Freedom of the Press seminar held in Srinagar (May 8-11) under the Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy in collaboration with the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung. Participants included M. R. Masani, Piloo Mody, Frank Moraes, Kuldip Nayar, Khushwant Singh, and others, with I. K. Gujral also addressing the seminar. The group affirmed unanimous support for press freedom as essential to democracy, debated whether press monopoly existed given a readership of only seven million against All India Radio's much larger reach, discussed the risks of both government and private-ownership interference with editorial independence, and called for better journalist training at pre-entry, in-service, and specialisation levels. - Seminar organised by the Leslie Sawhny Programme with the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung, held in Srinagar May 8-11 - Unanimous agreement that freedom of the press is essential to democracy, though concern was raised about erosion of that freedom - Debate over whether newspaper monopoly exists, given a readership of about seven million versus All India Radio's 70% population reach - Divergent views on private ownership: seen by some as a threat via owner interference, by others as necessary for economic viability and independence from government pressure - Seminar opposed any measure increasing direct or indirect government influence over the press - Called for improved journalist training at pre-entry, in-service, and specialisation levels ### Letters to the Editor (Coalition of Likeminded Parties; People and Politicians) *By R. J. Desai / N. J. Tavaria* Two reader letters. R. J. Desai of Gulbarga argues no party seriously pursues political stability and calls for like-minded parties, especially the Swatantra Party, Jana Sangh, and Congress (O), to unite ahead of the general election, invoking C. Rajagopalachari's counsel. N. J. Tavaria of Bombay criticises the drift of Indian politics toward vote-driven 'Socialism a la Indira,' class-war rhetoric against 'monopolists' and princes, and a state radio monopoly that only presents one side of issues, arguing Parliament has become subordinate to unaccountable political expediency. - R. J. Desai calls for coalition among like-minded parties (Swatantra, Jana Sangh, Congress (O)) ahead of the general election - Desai invokes C. Rajagopalachari's warning against totalitarianism and subversion - N. J. Tavaria criticises 'Socialism a la Indira' as vote-seeking rather than principled - Tavaria blames a state radio monopoly for presenting only one side of political issues to 'the ignorant masses' - Tavaria argues Parliament has become subordinate to unaccountable political expediency ### Essay 7 Three book reviews. K.V.B. reviews Samaren Roy's 'The Restless Brahmin' (Allied Publishers), a study of M. N. Roy's early revolutionary life in Bengal from roughly 1905-1915, covering the Indo-German conspiracy to arm a revolt against British rule and Roy's ideological debts to Vivekananda, Bankim Chatterjee, and Aurobindo Ghosh; the same reviewer covers Jamnadas Dwarkadas's 'Political Memoirs' (United Asia Publications), which recounts Dwarkadas's rise as a Bombay public idol, his break with Gandhi's mass civil disobedience campaign in favour of Annie Besant's more cautious position, and the personal cost to his popularity, ending with his 1919 departure for England. V. K. Karkaria reviews 'Khushwant Singh's India,' edited by Rahul Singh (India Book House), praising its balanced, humorous treatment of India's achievements and shortcomings and singling out its chapter on the historical roots of Hindu-Muslim mistrust and its critical portrait of Krishna Menon. - 'The Restless Brahmin' by Samaren Roy covers M. N. Roy's (Naren Bhattacharya's) early life and the Indo-German conspiracy to arm anti-British revolt, c.1905-1915 - Reviewer notes the book traces Roy's ideological roots to Vivekananda, Bankim Chatterjee, and Aurobindo Ghosh, and hopes for a fuller biography to follow - 'Political Memoirs' by Jamnadas Dwarkadas recounts his rise as a Bombay public idol allied with Besant, Tilak, and Gandhi, and his fall in popularity after siding with Annie Besant against Gandhi's mass civil disobedience - Dwarkadas's memoir ends at his 1919 departure for England, with a promised second volume - 'Kushwant Singh's India,' edited by Rahul Singh, is praised for objective treatment of the Hindu-Muslim divide and a critical chapter on Krishna Menon --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff219/ ### Summary Issue 219 of Freedom First (August 1970) is a monthly opinion periodical of the Bombay-based classical-liberal Democratic Research Service, edited and published by V. B. Karnik. This issue opens with an unsigned lead essay by "Atreya" welcoming the Congress (O)-Swatantra-Jana Sangh "Grand Alliance" consolidation move as a defensive response to Indira Gandhi's tilt toward the CPI and Soviet influence. An unsigned "Notes" section comments on Madame Binh's official visit to India, the CPI's "land grab" movement, coloured immigration policy in Britain, and Marxist tactical inconsistency on election timing. M. R. Pai contributes an essay praising West Germany's Social Market Economy as a model of state-supported (but non-interventionist) free enterprise applicable to India. An "Analyst" column titled "President's Rule" assesses four months of central rule in West Bengal, describing a fragile order propped up by police and CRP force amid Naxalite violence and CPM manoeuvring. G. L.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Issue 219 of Freedom First (August 1970) is a monthly opinion periodical of the Bombay-based classical-liberal Democratic Research Service, edited and published by V. B. Karnik. This issue opens with an unsigned lead essay by "Atreya" welcoming the Congress (O)-Swatantra-Jana Sangh "Grand Alliance" consolidation move as a defensive response to Indira Gandhi's tilt toward the CPI and Soviet influence. An unsigned "Notes" section comments on Madame Binh's official visit to India, the CPI's "land grab" movement, coloured immigration policy in Britain, and Marxist tactical inconsistency on election timing. M. R. Pai contributes an essay praising West Germany's Social Market Economy as a model of state-supported (but non-interventionist) free enterprise applicable to India. An "Analyst" column titled "President's Rule" assesses four months of central rule in West Bengal, describing a fragile order propped up by police and CRP force amid Naxalite violence and CPM manoeuvring. G. L. Mathur's "National Integration" argues that India's fragmentation into caste, communal, and regional loyalties (contrasted with a more cohesive American civic spirit) blocks genuine national integration, and calls for encouraging inter-caste and inter-communal marriage. B. N. Datar reviews Murarji J. Vaidya's posthumous essay collection Objectives of Planning in India, characterising it as a free-enterprise critique of Indian planning that is candid but one-sided. The issue closes with "With Many Voices," a compilation of quotations from the press on Indira Gandhi's rule, Naxalism, and Cold War alignment, followed by the subscription form and imprint. ## Essays ### Prospects for Political Consolidation *By "Atreya"* Writing under the pseudonym "Atreya," the author welcomes the AICC (O)'s early-July resolution calling for consolidation of "like-minded" democratic, national, and secular parties as a historic break from Congress (O)'s past habit of ideological free-riding. The essay credits Indira Gandhi's ruthless intra-party purges with teaching all Indian politicians that governance requires a clear will to lead, and frames the emerging Grand Alliance of Congress (O), Swatantra, Jana Sangh, and B.K.D. as the first serious counterweight to what it calls a conspiratorial alignment between the Prime Minister, Moscow-aligned Communists, the Muslim League, and the DMK. It surveys the Swatantra convention's endorsement (via Rajaji) and the Jana Sangh convention's parallel resolution as evidence the alliance is more than an academic proposal, while noting the likely lukewarm response from the PSP and SSP. - AICC (O)'s July 1970 resolution proposes consolidating democratic, national, and secular parties against a perceived Congress-CPI-Moscow axis. - The essay frames past Congress (O) leaders as historically parasitic on other groups' ideas ("Me-Tooism") and credits the crisis with forcing a change. - Indira Gandhi is credited, if backhandedly, with teaching Indian politicians that politics requires hardline resolve rather than parlour-game civility. - Swatantra (via Rajaji at its Madras convention) and the Jana Sangh have both passed resolutions endorsing the Grand Alliance idea. - The essay expects the PSP and SSP to respond coolly, since PSP reportedly prefers the Prime Minister to the 'reactionaries.' ### Notes (Welcome, Madame Binh! / "Land Grab" Movement / Coloured Immigration in U.K. / Marxist Logic / Books Received) This unsigned "Notes" section covers four short topics. It criticises the Government of India for hosting Madame Binh (representative of South Vietnam's National Liberation Front) as an official state guest, arguing this improperly involves India in another country's internal affair and lends unwarranted legitimacy to a rebel movement. It condemns the CPI's newly launched "land grab" movement as a lawless, unconstructive stunt that ignores the practical machinery needed for real land redistribution, and criticises the SSP-PSP's parallel civil disobedience campaign in similarly harsh terms. A third item welcomes new British Prime Minister Edward Heath's assurance of equal treatment for existing Commonwealth immigrants while endorsing continued restriction of new immigration as a legitimate exercise of national sovereignty. A closing item, "Marxist Logic," mocks Bengal's Marxist Communists for demanding an early election in West Bengal while opposing one in Kerala, attributing the inconsistency to naked tactical opportunism. A "Books Received" list closes the section. - Criticises the Government of India for extending official-guest status to Madame Binh of the NLF/North Vietnam government, calling it improper interference in Vietnam's internal affairs. - Condemns the CPI's 'land grab' movement as lacking any real plan for land allocation, inputs, or credit, and calls it a naked exploitation of rural unrest. - Also criticises the SSP-PSP joint civil disobedience movement as an ill-considered, attention-seeking parallel campaign. - Welcomes UK PM Edward Heath's pledge of equal treatment for settled immigrants alongside continued restriction on new immigration. - Accuses Marxist Communists of applying contradictory logic: demanding early elections in West Bengal while blocking them in Kerala. ### Social Market Economy *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai argues that India's economic troubles could be addressed by adapting West Germany's postwar "Social Market Economy" philosophy, associated with Walter Eucken and Ludwig Erhard. He distinguishes it sharply from 19th-century laissez faire, describing it as a system combining individual and collective market activity with state responsibility for anti-cyclical policy, competition enforcement, infrastructure provision, and social justice, while explicitly avoiding central planning or state ownership of enterprises. Drawing on data on Germany's postwar recovery (falling work-hours-to-purchase ratios for staples, rising per capita income, near-full employment), Pai attributes German success not to Marshall Aid alone but to this policy framework, and closes by arguing the model is flexible enough to be adapted successfully to India. - Frames West Germany's post-WWII recovery as attributable to the Social Market Economy philosophy of Walter Eucken and Ludwig Erhard, not primarily to Marshall Aid. - Defines the Social Market Economy as combining individual, collective and state market participation with a strong emphasis on preserving competition and social justice. - The state's role includes anti-cyclical monetary/fiscal policy, anti-monopoly enforcement, and infrastructure provision — but not central planning or nationalisation. - Cites concrete statistics: work-hours needed to buy bread, sugar, potatoes, and a car fell sharply in West Germany between 1949 and 1968. - Concludes that with suitable adaptation, the Social Market Economy model can be applied successfully to India. ### President's Rule (Bengal Report) *By Analyst* Writing as "Analyst" in the recurring "Bengal Report" column, the author assesses over four months of President's Rule in West Bengal following the collapse of the United Front government. The piece credits the administration with modest, concrete gains — improved police assertiveness, CRP reinforcement, and enacted land reform legislation — but argues these are dwarfed by continuing Naxalite violence, arrests running into the thousands, and deepening economic paralysis from strikes in tea, jute, and engineering, including a crippling stoppage at Durgapur. It describes leftist parties as "biding their time" ahead of a wave of coordinated agitation, doubts the viability of a proposed non-CPM ministry, and closes arguing that only a decisive political intervention — not more amorphous leftist compromise — can pull Bengal back from a drift toward disorder. - West Bengal has been under President's Rule for over four months after the United Front government's internal collapse. - Concrete gains cited: greater police assertiveness, CRP reinforcement, and enactment of new land reform legislation by presidential signature in mid-July. - The CPI's aggressive 'land grab' movement has involved several murders and is going largely unchecked by the administration. - Naxalite arrests have reached roughly six thousand in four months, alongside discoveries of arms-manufacturing sites and alleged China/Pakistan/Mizo links. - Durgapur production is under trade-union (mainly CPM) stranglehold, running at 10% capacity with a loss of Rs. 1 crore per month. - The column closes questioning whether Indira Gandhi has the resolve to confront the drift toward disorder rather than pursue an 'amorphous leftist cocktail.' ### National Integration *By G. L. Mathur* G. L. Mathur's essay argues that genuine national integration in India requires a change in the mind and character of the people, not merely conferences and pamphleteering. He contrasts India's fragmentation into castes, communities, and rival political and economic factions with the civic solidarity he attributes to Americans (illustrated by a child's rescue from a well captivating the whole nation), and blames a wrongheaded notion that flag, constitution, and territory are more sacred than the people themselves. In the continuation on page 11, Mathur extends the critique to what he calls India's static 'religious philosophy of acceptance,' whereby caste and communal codes go unchallenged, and proposes encouraging inter-caste, inter-communal, and international marriage — citing the Prime Minister's son's marriage to an Italian as a model — supported by state incentives in employment, promotions, and family planning outreach. - Argues true national integration requires changed character and mindset, not just conferences and speeches. - Contrasts Indian societal fragmentation (caste, creed, language, political faction) with American civic solidarity, illustrated by the rescue of a child from a well. - Blames a wrongheaded reverence for flag, constitution, and territory over the actual wellbeing of citizens. - Describes Indian society as static due to a 'religious philosophy of acceptance' that leaves caste/communal codes unchallenged. - Recommends state-incentivised inter-caste, inter-communal, and international marriage, citing the Prime Minister's son's marriage to an Italian woman as an example, with Family Planning Ministry support. ### Review: Objectives of Planning in India (Murarji J. Vaidya, Popular Prakashan, Bombay, Rs. 15) *By B. N. Datar* B. N. Datar reviews Objectives of Planning in India (Popular Prakashan), a posthumous collection of writings and lectures by Murarji J. Vaidya, longtime President of the All India Manufacturers' Organisation. The review characterises Vaidya as an avowed free-enterprise advocate whose recurring argument is that Indian planning has under-delivered relative to what freer private enterprise could have achieved, while acknowledging fair industrial progress since Independence. Datar finds the book's cross-country comparisons sometimes strained given differing political and social contexts, and notes that Vaidya's criticisms of taxation policy and small-industry protection, while representative of business opinion, are not always backed by empirical evidence. The review concludes that the book usefully documents the business community's perspective but presents only one side of the picture of India's development. - Reviews Objectives of Planning in India, a posthumous essay/lecture collection by Murarji J. Vaidya, former President of the All India Manufacturers' Organisation, published by Popular Prakashan. - Vaidya is described as essentially a free-enterprise advocate whose quarrel with planners was over emphasis and priorities, not planning as such. - The review notes the book's cross-country comparisons sometimes introduce incongruities given differing contexts. - Vaidya's criticism of taxation policy is described as representative of business interests but lacking firm empirical backing. - Datar's overall verdict: the book documents the business community's view and shows only one side of the development picture. ### With Many Voices "With Many Voices" is Freedom First's recurring quotations column, compiling short excerpts from Indian and international press and public figures during July-August 1970. The selections cluster around criticism of Indira Gandhi's governing style and perceived tilt toward Moscow and the CPI, alarm over Naxalite violence (compared to Vietcong tactics), scepticism toward socialism given the Czechoslovakia precedent, and commentary on unemployment, party fragmentation, and Cold War alignment. The page closes with a subscription coupon addressed to the Democratic Research Service and the issue's registration/imprint details (edited and published by V. B. Karnik, printed at Inland Printers, Bombay). - Compiles press quotations from July-August 1970 on Indira Gandhi's governance, Naxalism, and party politics. - Includes C. Rajagopalachari's Swarajya remarks on the Communist menace trebling and Naxalite operations mirroring Vietcong tactics. - Includes D. F. Karaka's warning that India is 'virtually becoming a colony controlled from Moscow.' - Quotes Lenin's 1917 divide-and-conquer tactical formula as reproduced in Swarajya. - Closes with the Freedom First subscription form and the masthead: edited/published by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service, printed at Inland Printers, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff218/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 218 (July 1970) is a twelve-page issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical, running from its masthead through the closing 'With Many Voices' press digest and colophon — the full issue as rendered. Editorially it takes aim at Congress-era statism and Left politics from several angles: a sharp editorial rebuke of the Governor of West Bengal for using a judicial swearing-in ceremony to praise Soviet-style justice; house 'Notes' welcoming the peaceful transfers of power in the 1970 Ceylon and British elections while condemning the rise of Naxalite political murders in India; a foreign-affairs survey of the winding-down of the Cambodia intervention and the fragile stabilization of South Vietnam and Laos; a admiring account of the creation of Meghalaya as a non-violent constitutional solution to hill-tribe demands in the North-East; a review-essay on the fragmentation of India's opposition parties after the 1969 Congress split; a reader's letter defending U.S. Cold War interventionism against Soviet subversion; and a closing digest of press quotations on Indian and world politics.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 218 (July 1970) is a twelve-page issue of the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical, running from its masthead through the closing 'With Many Voices' press digest and colophon — the full issue as rendered. Editorially it takes aim at Congress-era statism and Left politics from several angles: a sharp editorial rebuke of the Governor of West Bengal for using a judicial swearing-in ceremony to praise Soviet-style justice; house 'Notes' welcoming the peaceful transfers of power in the 1970 Ceylon and British elections while condemning the rise of Naxalite political murders in India; a foreign-affairs survey of the winding-down of the Cambodia intervention and the fragile stabilization of South Vietnam and Laos; a admiring account of the creation of Meghalaya as a non-violent constitutional solution to hill-tribe demands in the North-East; a review-essay on the fragmentation of India's opposition parties after the 1969 Congress split; a reader's letter defending U.S. Cold War interventionism against Soviet subversion; and a closing digest of press quotations on Indian and world politics. The throughline across the issue is a defence of parliamentary democracy, constitutional process, and anti-communism against both authoritarian drift and revolutionary violence. ## Essays ### Mr. Dhavan's Imperfect World *By A. G. Mulgaokar* A. G. Mulgaokar's editorial attacks the Governor of West Bengal, Mr. Dhavan, for using the swearing-in of the Calcutta High Court's Chief Justice to publicly criticize India's judicial and legal conditions, comparing them unfavourably to a supposed Soviet ideal. Mulgaokar argues this breaches the constitutional convention that a Governor's role at such functions is purely formal, and that if Dhavan holds strong personal views he should resign rather than use his office for propaganda. He turns Dhavan's own comparison against him, quoting the Soviet Commissar for Justice Krylenko to show that in the USSR the judiciary is explicitly an instrument of the ruling party, and contrasts this with India's constitutionally independent judiciary. The piece closes by citing a string of distinguished former Bengal Governors and arguing that Dhavan's conduct is itself the best argument for abolishing the largely decorative office of Governor. - Governor Dhavan used the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice's swearing-in to criticize the state of India's judiciary. - Mulgaokar argues a Governor's constitutional role at such functions is purely formal and titular. - He quotes Soviet Commissar for Justice Krylenko (via Malcolm Muggeridge) to show Soviet courts are explicitly instruments of the ruling class, undercutting Dhavan's praise of Soviet practice. - The Times of India is cited approvingly for saying a Governor's only duty at such events is to pronounce the induction formula. - Mulgaokar contrasts Dhavan with a list of distinguished past Bengal Governors (Warren Hastings, Lord Casey, Mr. Burroughs). - The article concludes that episodes like this are the strongest argument for abolishing the office of Governor altogether. ### Notes (Two Elections; Political Murders) The unsigned house 'Notes' section carries two items. 'Two Elections' welcomes the recent Ceylon and Great Britain elections as proof of democracy's capacity for peaceful, orderly change of government, and draws a lesson for India: that the country's appetite for social change should be pursued through democratic procedures rather than violent shortcuts that risk dictatorship. 'Political Murders' condemns the rise of politically motivated killings in India, linking it to the growth of the communist movement and singling out the Naxalites as a particularly vicious offshoot that shares communism's end-justifies-the-means ethic with other communist factions. It cites the recent murder of Krishna Desai, a communist Maharashtra legislator and trade unionist in Bombay, as a shock to the city's public life, and calls on police and the public to combine against such violence. - The Ceylon and British elections of 1970 are praised as proof of democracy's capacity for peaceful change of government. - India is urged to pursue social change through democratic procedure rather than violent shortcuts. - Rising political murders in India are linked to the growth of the communist movement generally and the Naxalite movement specifically. - The murder of Krishna Desai, a communist Maharashtra Legislature member and trade unionist, in Bombay is cited as a shock to the city, with Shiv Sena involvement alleged but unconfirmed. - The Notes call for public and police cooperation to suppress political violence and to build public opinion against organisations condoning it. ### Situation In Indo-China *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil surveys the state of the Indo-China conflict in mid-1970: the winding down of the U.S. intervention in Cambodia, which is judged to have crippled but not eliminated North Vietnamese sanctuaries there; the resumption of a phased U.S. troop withdrawal from South Vietnam (150,000 troops over ten months); continuing gains in pacification and refugee resettlement in South Vietnam alongside a sharp rise in communist terrorism and growing (but so far non-threatening) unpopularity for President Thieu; and a more hopeful, if still uncertain, movement toward negotiation in Laos between Prince Souvanna Phouma and the Pathet Lao's Prince Souphanouvong. The essay closes (continued on page 9) arguing that Asian nations themselves, not just the U.S. or USSR, must become guardians of peace and freedom in South East Asia, criticizing India and other Asian states for boycotting an Indonesia-led conference on Cambodia out of fear of communist displeasure, and noting uncertainty over whether Britain's Conservative government will follow through on withdrawing troops east of Suez. - U.S. intervention in Cambodia is judged to have crippled North Vietnamese communist sanctuaries without fully defeating them; American withdrawal from Cambodia was expected by June's end. - A phased U.S. troop withdrawal from South Vietnam was set to resume: 50,000 by October 15 and 100,000 more within six months after, totalling 150,000 within ten months. - Pacification gains (refugee returns, reopened roads and schools) in South Vietnam are offset by a sharp rise in communist (Naxalite-style) terrorism, with about 1,000 South Vietnamese officials killed in May alone. - President Nguyen Van Thieu faces growing unpopularity and protest but no imminent threat of a coup. - In Laos, Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma proposed talks with Pathet Lao leader Souphanouvong, suggesting the Communists may be shifting from military takeover to negotiation. - The author argues Asian nations, not Western or communist powers, must take responsibility for regional peace, criticizing India for boycotting an Indonesia-convened conference on Cambodia. ### Meghalaya: Blueprint Of Hope *By Brigadier J. P. Dalvi* Brigadier J. P. Dalvi celebrates the 2 April 1970 inauguration of Meghalaya as an autonomous hill state within Assam, framing it as a triumph of reasoned, non-violent constitutional negotiation over a 15-year hill-people's movement, and a possible template for resolving other regional disputes (Telangana, Vidharbha, Jharkhand, UP hill tracts). The essay traces the movement's history from the 1950s District Councils through the 1960 Assam Language Bill controversy, the formation of the APHLC, Nehru's personal sympathy and study of the 'Scottish Pattern' of devolution, the Mizo armed rebellion of 1966 (which Dalvi witnessed as a army commander), Indira Gandhi's 1966 intervention and the 1967 'federal plan,' and the eventual 1969 Assam Reorganisation Act. It closes with an assessment of the young Meghalaya government's prospects, praising its ministers' youth and modesty while warning of intra-APHLC factionalism and the risk that the new state's shortcomings will fuel demands for full statehood. - Meghalaya's inauguration on 2 April 1970 followed a 15-year non-violent constitutional struggle by Assam's hill peoples (Khasis, Jaintias, Garos, Nagas, Mizos, and others). - Jawaharlal Nehru's personal sympathy for the hill peoples and his study of Scotland's devolved governance model shaped early proposals, though the APHLC rejected a 'Scottish Pattern' offer. - The 1966 Mizo armed rebellion, which Dalvi witnessed as the army commander sent to quell it, is presented as a warning of what procrastination could produce elsewhere. - Indira Gandhi's December 1966 visit to Shillong and subsequent 'federal plan' broke a long political deadlock, leading to the Assam Reorganisation (Meghalaya) Act of 1969. - Meghalaya and Assam share a Governor, capital (Shillong), High Court, Public Service Commission and Electricity Board, with Meghalaya holding 61 of 66 State List subjects but no jurisdiction over public law and order. - Dalvi praises the young, modern, non-professional-politician character of Meghalaya's ministers but warns of intra-APHLC fighting and the risk that government shortcomings will be blamed on the APHLC, strengthening demands for full statehood. ### Parties In India *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik reviews Angela S. Burger's Opposition in a Dominant-Party System, a scholarly study (based on 1963-64 fieldwork in six U.P. constituencies) of how the Jana Sangh, Praja Socialist Party, and Socialist Party built and maintained local organisations while the Congress was the dominant party. Karnik argues the book's framing has been overtaken by events since the 1969 Congress split, which ended Congress's dominant-party status, and critiques Burger's two central hypotheses — that Congress leadership stays frozen among groups mobilized at Independence, and that newly mobilized leaders seek entry via opposition parties — as too general to be cleanly proved or disproved, and as failing to fit the Congress's actual, continually changing leadership base. He closes by arguing Indian political parties largely lack a stable social base (with the possible exceptions of the ideologically organized Communist Party and Jana Sangh), and speculates about a coming era of regional parties, political instability, or even a future 'politics without parties' that the book does not anticipate. - The essay reviews Angela S. Burger's Opposition in a Dominant-Party System (Oxford University Press, Bombay, Rs. 52), a study of the Jana Sangh, PSP, and Socialist Party in six U.P. constituencies. - Karnik argues the book's 'dominant party' framing was overtaken by the 1969 Congress split and the fluidity of Indian party politics since 1967. - He challenges Burger's hypothesis that Congress leadership remains frozen among groups mobilized at Independence, arguing Congress leadership has changed continually, especially at state and district levels. - He also challenges her hypothesis that newly mobilized leaders necessarily seek recognition via opposition parties, noting many eventually join Congress. - Karnik argues most Indian parties lack the stable social base of a genuine political party, with the Communist Party and Jana Sangh as partial exceptions. - He raises the possibility of a future dominated by regional parties, political/social disintegration, or a 'politics without parties' — questions the book does not address. ### Letter to the Editor: America's Responsibility *By N. J. Tavaria* A letter to the editor from N. J. Tavaria, dated 18 May 1970, defends American Cold War interventionism in Asia against the charge of aggression, arguing that Soviet totalitarian methods of subversion are more dangerous than overt American military action because they are hidden and insidious. The letter credits John F. Kennedy's prompt support during the 1962 Sino-Indian war with preventing India from becoming a Soviet satellite, criticizes India's government for criticizing U.S. actions in Vietnam and Cambodia while staying silent on Soviet actions in Hungary and Czechoslovakia, and argues that Indo-China is the springboard for communism's spread into Asia and Africa, with only Japan economically equipped to contain China. - The letter argues Soviet subversion is more dangerous than American overt intervention because it is hidden and insidious. - It credits Kennedy's 1962 support for India during the Sino-Indian war with preventing India becoming a communist satellite. - It criticizes the Indian government for condemning U.S. actions in Vietnam/Cambodia while ignoring Soviet actions in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and the Middle East. - It frames Indo-China as the springboard for communism's spread into Afro-Asia, with Japan as the only Asian country economically equipped to contain China. ### With Many Voices The closing 'With Many Voices' feature is a digest of press and public quotations from mid-June 1970, epigraphed with Tennyson, covering Indian and world affairs: China policy, the New Congress's 'middle class Socialism,' property rights, fears that Mrs. Gandhi's government is tilting toward the Soviet camp and Communists in Bengal, warnings about anarchy and inter-party violence in West Bengal, skepticism about ideological debate's relevance to ordinary people, and quotations from Abraham Lincoln (via Swarajya) on the moral case for revolution against denial of constitutional rights, and from a British Democratic Party manifesto and a Hanoi slogan. The page closes with a subscription coupon and the issue's colophon crediting V. B. Karnik as editor and publisher for the Democratic Research Service, printed at Inland Printers, Bombay. - Digest of quotations from Statesman, March of the Nation, The White Star, Opinion, The Indian Monitor, Bhavan's Journal, Thought, The Observer, Indian Express, Times of India, Janata, Economic Times, and The Economist, dated June 1970. - Recurring themes: fear of India drifting into the Soviet camp, concern over West Bengal's political violence, skepticism about the New Congress's socialism, and debate over property rights. - Abraham Lincoln is quoted (via Swarajya) on the moral justification for revolution when a majority denies a minority a clearly written constitutional right. - The issue closes with a subscriber coupon and colophon: edited and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1, printed at Inland Printers, Bombay 7. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff220/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 220 (September 1970) opens with V. B. Karnik's lead essay 'Land Hunger?', which argues that the leftist demand for land redistribution is a political fiction: India's landless population (over 103 million by a 1969 estimate) could not be materially helped by parcelling out the country's limited surplus land, and the real solution lies in rural industry, tenancy security, and disciplined enforcement of existing ceiling and tenancy legislation rather than further fragmentation. The unsigned 'Notes' column comments on the second anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, the collapse of a CPM-led strike at Durgapur Steel Works, and pre-election alliance manoeuvring in Kerala. Arvind A. Deshpande's 'West Asia-Combat Of Illusions' welcomes the 1970 Nasser-Israel ceasefire brokered through Gunnar Jarring and calls on both sides to abandon illusions about force and security. A. G. Mulgaokar reviews Briton Martin Jr.'s posthumous study 'New India 1885' on the founding of the Indian National Congress, tracing the Lytton-Ripon-Dufferin viceregal sequence and Allan Octavian Hume's organising role. A Bengal Report by 'Analyst' credits Chief Minister B. B.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 220 (September 1970) opens with V. B. Karnik's lead essay 'Land Hunger?', which argues that the leftist demand for land redistribution is a political fiction: India's landless population (over 103 million by a 1969 estimate) could not be materially helped by parcelling out the country's limited surplus land, and the real solution lies in rural industry, tenancy security, and disciplined enforcement of existing ceiling and tenancy legislation rather than further fragmentation. The unsigned 'Notes' column comments on the second anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, the collapse of a CPM-led strike at Durgapur Steel Works, and pre-election alliance manoeuvring in Kerala. Arvind A. Deshpande's 'West Asia-Combat Of Illusions' welcomes the 1970 Nasser-Israel ceasefire brokered through Gunnar Jarring and calls on both sides to abandon illusions about force and security. A. G. Mulgaokar reviews Briton Martin Jr.'s posthumous study 'New India 1885' on the founding of the Indian National Congress, tracing the Lytton-Ripon-Dufferin viceregal sequence and Allan Octavian Hume's organising role. A Bengal Report by 'Analyst' credits Chief Minister B. B. Ghosh's firm administration, backed by Indira Gandhi, for breaking a CPM-led strike at Durgapur. A reader's letter from E. P. Varghese debates whether Kerala's land reform is economically sound or merely a vote-catching Communist device. The Review section covers N. B. Bonarjee's memoir 'Under Two Masters' on serving the ICS under British and independent Indian rule, and Robert Conquest's edited volume 'Industrial Workers in the U.S.S.R.'. A short note, 'A Bad Precedent', criticises Japan's refusal to let Czechoslovak Expo-70 hostesses seek asylum, and the closing 'With Many Voices' column collects press quotations from Indian and international commentators on politics, ideology, and world affairs in August 1970. ## Essays ### Land Hunger? *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's 'Land Hunger?' argues that the leftist clamour for land redistribution to the landless is unrealistic and largely propagandistic. He cites 1969 estimates of over 103 million landless people in India and falling per-capita land availability (0.47 hectares in 1955-56, down to 0.42 hectares in 1961-62), and draws on National Sample Survey data and economist Michael Lipton's conclusion that there is little scope in India for 'distributist land reform' given how small most existing holdings already are. Karnik contends that further fragmentation would leave each landless recipient with less than an acre, below the threshold of economical cultivation, and that historically villagers were never uniformly land-owning but held independent trades (carpentry, weaving, pottery) that industrial and agricultural decline destroyed. He argues real land hunger is actually hunger for gainful employment, not land itself, and that the answer lies in developing rural industries and handicrafts, strict enforcement of the Zamindari Abolition Acts, Tenancy Acts and land ceiling legislation (rather than lowering the ceiling further), and support for family farms as the most efficient production unit. He closes by criticizing 'leftist agitation of land-grab' as likely to frustrate agriculture's still-fragile rejuvenation. - Cites 1969 estimate of over 103 million landless people in India and shrinking per-capita land availability (0.47 to 0.42 hectares, 1955-56 to 1961-62) - Invokes National Sample Survey (16th Round, 1960-61) data showing roughly 75% of Indian farms are small to very small - Draws on economist Michael Lipton's finding that 'distributist land reform' has little scope in India given already-small holdings - Argues further land redistribution would fragment holdings below the economical cultivation threshold - Frames rural land hunger as really a hunger for gainful non-agricultural employment, not land - Calls for strict enforcement of Zamindari Abolition, Tenancy, and Ceiling Acts rather than lowering ceilings further - Advocates family farms and rural industry/handicrafts development as the real solution to rural poverty - Criticizes 'leftist agitation of land-grab' as harmful to agriculture's fragile recovery ### West Asia-Combat Of Illusions *By Arvind A. Deshpande* The unsigned 'Notes' column covers three items: the second anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, noting the removal of Alexander Dubcek's authority and continuing silent resistance among intellectuals and workers; the collapse after eleven days of a CPM-led strike at Durgapur Steel Works, which the column frames as a deliberate political struggle for control that the CPM lost after firm Centre and State intervention, including the arrest of Naxalite leader Kanu Sanyal; and a preview of shifting party alliances ahead of Kerala's mid-term election, split between CPM-led and CPI-led fronts with the Congress itself divided into three factions. - Marks the second anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and Alexander Dubcek's removal from power within the ruling Communist Party - Notes continuing quiet resistance in Czechoslovakia including a no-work protest on August 21 - Reports the CPM-led strike at Durgapur Steel Works collapsed unconditionally after eleven days due to firm Centre/State handling - Notes the arrest of Naxalite leader Kanu Sanyal without resistance during the same period - Previews Kerala's mid-term election as a contest between a CPM-led alliance and a CPI-led alliance, with Congress split into three factions ### Birth Of The Indian National Congress *By A. G. Mulgaokar* Arvind A. Deshpande's 'West Asia-Combat Of Illusions' welcomes the acceptance by President Nasser and Israel of a US-brokered 90-day ceasefire and negotiations through UN envoy Dr. Gunnar Jarring, while cautioning that lasting peace requires both sides to abandon cherished illusions. He argues Israel must give up the belief that force alone secures its position and must eventually grant full citizenship rights to non-Jewish residents, while the Arab states must abandon the fantasy of destroying Israel outright. He identifies the fate of roughly twelve lakh Palestinian refugees and the future of Jerusalem as the two most important unresolved issues, and closes by quoting Gibbon on the 'triumph of barbarism and religion', hoping history will not record the same verdict on the Jewish-Arab conflict. - Welcomes the 1970 US-brokered 90-day ceasefire and Jarring-mediated negotiations between Nasser's Egypt and Israel - Argues Israel must abandon the illusion that military force alone can guarantee security - Argues Arab states must abandon the illusion that Israel can be destroyed as a nation - Identifies the roughly twelve lakh Palestinian refugees as the central unresolved humanitarian and political issue - Flags the future status of Jerusalem as a second major sticking point - Criticizes Indian political commentators for partisan pro-Arab framing of the conflict given India's official non-aligned-but-pro-Arab policy ### Notes (Anniversary of Invasion; Strike in Durgapur; Alliances and Counter-Alliances) A. G. Mulgaokar reviews Briton Martin Jr.'s posthumously published 'New India 1885' (Oxford University Press), calling it an authoritative and objective account of the circumstances that produced the Indian National Congress. The review traces the impact of Western education and the repressive Press Act under Viceroy Lytton, the reformist tenure of Ripon (local self-government, the Ilbert Bill, attempted reform of the Covenanted Civil Service), and the more cautious, initially disappointing Dufferin viceroyalty. It credits Allan Octavian Hume as the organising figure who brought together regional bodies like the Bombay Presidency Association, the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, and the Indian Association of Calcutta into the first Congress session in 1885, with support from Ripon and Dufferin's private encouragement despite the myth that Dufferin actively sponsored the Congress as a safety valve. The reviewer closes by contrasting the integrity of the founding generation (Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, Telang) with the diminished standing of Congress leadership in 1970. - Reviews Briton Martin Jr.'s 'New India 1885' (Oxford University Press, Rs. 55/-), published posthumously by his wife - Praises the book's objectivity, detailed case-study method, and narrative balance - Traces Lytton's repressive administration (Vernacular Press Act, Arms Act) and Ripon's reformist response (local self-government, Ilbert Bill, Civil Service reform attempts) - Describes Dufferin's initially ambivalent, later more repressive stance toward Indian political aspirations - Credits Allan Octavian Hume as the key organiser uniting regional associations into the first Indian National Congress session of 1885 - Notes the founding session's front-piece photograph featuring Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, and Telang - Closes with a critical contrast between the founders' integrity and the diminished stature of Congress leadership in 1970 ### Determined Will Of Ghosh Regime Pays Dividend (Bengal Report) *By Analyst* Writing under the byline 'Analyst' in the Bengal Report column, this piece credits West Bengal Chief Minister B. B. Ghosh's administration, with the full backing of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, for breaking a CPM-engineered eleven-day strike at Durgapur Steel Works without conceding to the union's demand to withdraw Industrial Security and CRP forces. It also notes the successful handling of an Electricity Board employees' strike and looming threats from state government employees and a planned peasant gherao of the Secretariat, alongside the arrest of Naxalite leader Kanu Sanyal. The piece cautions that these are only administrative successes and that the underlying 'political vacuum' in Bengal remains unfilled. - Credits the B. B. Ghosh state government, backed by Indira Gandhi, with breaking the CPM-led Durgapur Steel Works strike after eleven days - Frames the strike as a political power struggle for control of the plant, not a genuine industrial dispute - Notes CPI, INTUC and SUC opposition to the CPM's strike call, undermining its claimed trade-union character - Reports the arrest of Naxalite leader Kanu Sanyal and stepped-up police action against Naxalite bomb-making centres - Flags upcoming threats: a state government employees' strike and a planned peasant gherao of the Secretariat on August 31 - Warns that administrative success against unrest does not resolve the state's underlying political vacuum ### Land Reforms-Political Or Economic? (Letter to the Editor) *By E. P. Varghese M.A. B.L.* A letter to the editor from E. P. Varghese of Ernakulam argues that Kerala's Land Reforms Act (in force since January 1, 1970) has produced lawlessness rather than genuine reform, describing rampant crop-grabbing tolerated by police and Communist-led governments and criticizing the 'kudikidappukaran' (hutment-dweller) provision as enabling squatters to acquire land for a nominal 10 cents' compensation. Varghese contends Kerala's average holding (3.23 acres) is already too small and consolidated rather than fragmented, citing Dr. G. D. Patel's book on Indian land law, and argues that Kerala's land reform is a purely political vote-gathering exercise by Marxist and Socialist parties rather than an economically grounded policy. - Argues Kerala's Land Reforms Act (effective January 1, 1970) has produced disorder rather than reform, with unchecked crop-grabbing - Criticizes the 'kudikidappukaran' hutment-dweller provision as allowing squatters to acquire land for a nominal 10-cent compensation - Cites Dr. G. D. Patel's 'The Indian Land Problem and Legislation' on Kerala's already-low man-land ratio and small average holding (3.23 acres) - Argues 94% of Kerala landholders already till their own soil, undercutting the 'land to the tiller' rationale - Frames the reform as a purely political vote-capturing device by Communist and Socialist parties, disregarding economic viability ### Review: Under Two Masters (N. B. Bonarjee) *By V. B. K.* The Review section (initialled V. B. K.) covers two books. The first, N. B. Bonarjee's memoir 'Under Two Masters' (Oxford University Press), recounts the author's twenty-two years serving in the ICS under the British and nine years under independent India; the reviewer summarises Bonarjee's broadly favourable, though qualified, verdict on British rule as leaving India an industrial base, sound finance, and constitutional foundations, alongside his critique of the 'cumbersome and rigid' administrative apparatus retained after Independence. The second review covers Robert Conquest's edited volume 'Industrial Workers in the U.S.S.R.' (Praeger), which the reviewer describes as an objective, well-documented account of Soviet industrial labour conditions that nonetheless omits political repression, forced labour camps, and Stalin-era terror from its scope. - Reviews N. B. Bonarjee's 'Under Two Masters' (Oxford University Press, Rs. 25/-), a memoir of ICS service under British and independent Indian rule - Notes Bonarjee's favourable verdict on British administration as leaving India sound finance, an industrial base, and constitutional foundations - Highlights Bonarjee's critique of the post-Independence system as retaining a 'cumbersome and rigid' administrative structure - Reviews Robert Conquest's edited 'Industrial Workers in the U.S.S.R.' (Praeger, $6.25) as objective and well-documented on labour conditions - Notes the Conquest volume's omission of political repression, forced labour camps, and Stalinist terror from its scope - Cites Conquest's observation that the Soviet proletariat is more 'alienated' in the Marxian sense than workers in most other countries ### Review: Industrial Workers in the U.S.S.R. (ed. Robert Conquest) *By V. B. K.* A short unsigned note, 'A Bad Precedent', condemns the Japanese authorities at Expo '70 in Osaka for refusing to help six Czechoslovak girl-hostesses obtain political asylum in Canada, citing a Japan-Communist-bloc agreement not to let the World Fair facilitate defections, reportedly with US cooperation. The note argues this flouts the democratic and rule-of-law principles Japan claims to uphold, citing a Selig Harrison dispatch in The Guardian. - Reports Japanese authorities at Expo '70 refused aid to six Czechoslovak hostesses seeking asylum in Canada - Attributes the refusal to a Japan-Communist-bloc agreement barring the Fair from facilitating defections - Notes reported US cooperation with Japanese authorities on this policy, per a Selig Harrison dispatch in The Guardian - Criticizes the episode as inconsistent with Japan's democratic and rule-of-law principles ### Books Received 'With Many Voices' is the issue's closing column of press quotations drawn from Indian and international commentary in August 1970, touching on the Indira Gandhi personality cult, socialism and democracy, Parliament censure-motion politics, Kerala alliance politics, the Nasser-Israel ceasefire and West Germany-Russia border agreement, Naxalite terror, and reflections from C. Rajagopalachari, M. R. Masani, J. B. Kripalani and others on the state of Indian politics. - Collects short quotations from Commerce, Indian Express, The Economic Times, The Hindu, The Economist, Time, and other outlets, August 1970 - Includes M. R. Masani's remark that 'socialism and democracy cannot survive together for a very long time' - Includes C. Rajagopalachari's self-deprecating comment in Swarajya on being 'an insignificant person in what is at present an insignificant country' - Includes J. B. Kripalani's observation in The White Star that 'the Indian socialists have rarely shown any grasp of reality' - Notes the Russia-West Germany border agreement and the Middle East ceasefire as hopeful developments per The Observer - Includes a Time magazine warning that the bomb could replace Gandhi's spinning wheel as a symbol if reforms fail the poor --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff221/ ### Summary This issue of Freedom First (No. 221, October 1970) opens with G. S. Rao's "Skating on Thin Ice," a leader on the Jordan hijacking crisis and the risk of it escalating into an Indira Gandhi-era Cold War flashpoint, drawing an explicit parallel to India's own Naxalite violence. A Bengal Report column by "Analyst" reads the Kerala mid-term election results as a portent for West Bengal's fractured Left politics (CPI, CPM, Congress factions, Naxalites). Adam Adil covers the Lusaka non-aligned conference, criticizing the movement's inconsistent record (citing Czechoslovakia 1968 and the 1962 Sino-Indian war) while cautiously welcoming its renewed emphasis on non-interference. M. R. Masani, M.P., contributes an edited Lok Sabha speech attacking the Government's proposed Cotton Corporation of India as a politically motivated monopoly grab that will hurt farmers, traders and consumers alike. Ludmilla Thorne reviews Anatoli Marchenko's smuggled camp memoir My Testimony, situating it against Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich as unvarnished testimony that Soviet labour camps persist post-Stalin.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This issue of Freedom First (No. 221, October 1970) opens with G. S. Rao's "Skating on Thin Ice," a leader on the Jordan hijacking crisis and the risk of it escalating into an Indira Gandhi-era Cold War flashpoint, drawing an explicit parallel to India's own Naxalite violence. A Bengal Report column by "Analyst" reads the Kerala mid-term election results as a portent for West Bengal's fractured Left politics (CPI, CPM, Congress factions, Naxalites). Adam Adil covers the Lusaka non-aligned conference, criticizing the movement's inconsistent record (citing Czechoslovakia 1968 and the 1962 Sino-Indian war) while cautiously welcoming its renewed emphasis on non-interference. M. R. Masani, M.P., contributes an edited Lok Sabha speech attacking the Government's proposed Cotton Corporation of India as a politically motivated monopoly grab that will hurt farmers, traders and consumers alike. Ludmilla Thorne reviews Anatoli Marchenko's smuggled camp memoir My Testimony, situating it against Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich as unvarnished testimony that Soviet labour camps persist post-Stalin. A Reviews section covers two books on Indian industrial relations, and the issue closes with reader letters (on Israel/West Asia policy and land reform), a note on a citizens' letter protesting the government's expulsion of the BBC from Delhi, and the regular "With Many Voices" digest of press quotations from Rajagopalachari, Palkhivala, J.R.D. Tata, Vajpayee and others. ## Essays ### Skating on Thin Ice *By G. S. Rao* G. S. Rao's leader uses the September 1970 Palestinian hijackings and the resulting Jordanian civil war as a case study in how a handful of committed "lawless elements" can hold entire nations, and potentially world peace, hostage. He argues the hijackers are not ordinary criminals but selfless idealists pursuing a grievance through indefensible means, and warns that unless such acts meet swift, universal condemnation, they will proliferate. The piece pointedly compares the Palestinian guerrillas to India's own Naxalites as a domestic instance of the same phenomenon, and closes on the danger that a local, uncontrollable escalation could drag the two superpowers into a wider war. - Frames the Jordan hostage crisis (September 1970) as an example of small groups of dedicated individuals holding whole nations to ransom via new technology (hijacking). - Argues the Palestinian hijackers are 'selfless idealists' pursuing a grievance against Israel, not ordinary criminals, which makes them more dangerous, not less. - Explicitly compares the Palestinian guerrillas to the Naxalites as an Indian manifestation of the same lawless-idealist pattern. - Warns that the Jordan civil war could draw in Syria and escalate into a general Arab-Israeli war, risking superpower involvement and nuclear catastrophe. - Calls for universal, immediate condemnation of hijacking-style tactics regardless of the cause behind them, arguing that public revulsion is the only real deterrent. - Concludes that world peace is 'skating on thin ice' because such incidents could trigger war without either superpower intending it. ### Bengal Report: Kerala Elections And West Bengal *By Analyst* Writing under the byline "Analyst" in the regular Bengal Report column, the author argues that the Kerala mid-term election results will reshape Left politics in West Bengal, emboldening the CPI to seek an open alliance with Congress(R) even as it navigates internal factions represented by Somnath Lahiri and Biswanath Mukherjee. The piece assesses the CPM as chastened after over-estimating revolutionary conditions and pulling back from confrontation (withdrawing the Durgapur strike call), noting a convergence between CPM and Naxalite tactics of low-level, patient "revolutionary" activity. It closes by describing floods and police handling of Naxalite attacks as giving the state administration a public-relations opening, and flags the unresolved question of preventive-detention powers for the state police. - Kerala's mid-term election results are read as encouraging the CPI toward an open alliance with Congress(R) in West Bengal. - Identifies an internal CPI split, with Somnath Lahiri and Biswanath Mukherjee representing its two factions. - Argues the CPM over-estimated 'revolutionary potentialities' in the past six months and is now recalibrating, having withdrawn the Durgapur strike and moderated Martyrs' Day observance. - Notes a practical convergence between CPM strategy and Naxalite activity, though the CPM views Naxalites as juvenile and prone to getting caught. - Describes extensive floods giving the state administration, police, CRP and Army a chance to build a better public image through relief work. - Flags that granting preventive-detention (PD) powers to West Bengal police depends on CPI agreement, per remarks from Sri K. C. Pant. ### Lusaka Conference *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil reports on the September 1970 conference of over 60 non-aligned nations at Lusaka, arguing that non-alignment retains real substance despite many members leaning toward one superpower or the other. He traces the movement's history from Belgrade (1961, with Nehru, Tito and Nasser) through Cairo (1964, with Lal Bahadur Shastri) to Lusaka, and criticizes the bloc's inconsistent record: its weak response to Chinese aggression against India in 1962 and its 'abject silence' over the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. He nonetheless credits the conference's call for more active solidarity against threats to independence and its warning (echoing Indonesia's General Suharto) about outside powers exploiting internal ethnic and cultural grievances, framing the conference's chief achievement as encouraging genuine, internally-driven non-alignment. - Over 60 non-aligned nations met at Lusaka in September 1970; the conference reaffirmed that non-alignment retains substance despite many members' de facto superpower alignments. - Traces the movement's history: Belgrade 1961 (Nehru, Tito, Nasser), Cairo 1964 (Lal Bahadur Shastri after Nehru's death), and now Lusaka. - Criticizes non-aligned nations, including India, for failing to unequivocally condemn the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. - Notes that most non-aligned nations gave India only lukewarm support during the 1962 Chinese aggression, with Malaysia a notable exception. - Cites Indonesian General Suharto's warning that external powers can exploit ethnic/cultural minority grievances to foment civil war, calling it a colonial legacy. - Credits Lusaka's final declaration for stressing 'full solidarity' against threats to independence and for urging non-aligned nations to rely on internal strength rather than outside help. ### Cotton Trade-Government Monopoly *By M. R. Masani, M.P.* Excerpted from a Lok Sabha speech of 27 August 1970, M. R. Masani, M.P., attacks the government's plan to establish a Cotton Corporation of India as an unjustified move toward monopolising both import and domestic cotton trade. He argues the existing trade, run by roughly 300,000 small traders, is efficient, highly specialised, and already delivers about 90 per cent of the ultimate price to the farmer (per a Bombay University study), leaving razor-thin margins (0.5-1 per cent net) for merchants. Masani predicts the monopoly will victimise farmers, raise consumer prices, increase unemployment, and hand the trade to incompetent and corrupt bureaucratic machinery, citing the appointment of 'discredited Gujarat politician' Rasiklal Parikh as chairman as proof the move is a political and financial 'grab' rather than genuine economic policy. - Speech excerpted from Masani's remarks in the Lok Sabha on 27 August 1970 opposing the Cotton Corporation of India. - Cites a Bombay University Department of Economics study finding traders' net return on cotton sales is only 0.5-1 per cent, while farmers globally get 35-80 per cent of ultimate price but in India get about 90 per cent. - Argues bulk government purchasing is unsuited to a trade that requires expertise in blending different cotton varieties and staples for different mills. - Predicts three consequences: victimisation of farmers under monopoly procurement, higher consumer prices due to bureaucratic inefficiency, and increased unemployment among the roughly 300,000 small traders in the business. - Attacks the appointment of Rasiklal Parikh, a 'discredited Gujarat politician,' as Corporation chairman as proof of political motive over competence. - Frames the measure as 'grab of trade' analogous to 'Land grab', accusing the government of political lobbying and intrigue rather than economic justification. ### Labour Camps In Russia *By Ludmilla Thorne* Ludmilla Thorne reviews Anatoli Marchenko's My Testimony, a smuggled memoir of Soviet labour camps published in Paris in 1969 and then in English translation, arguing it proves that forced-labour camps persisted well past Stalin's death. She recounts Marchenko's biography (born 1938 to illiterate parents, arrested after a dormitory brawl, sentenced to six years for attempting to cross into Iran in 1960) and details the camp conditions he describes: engineered hunger, humiliation, and the deaths or persecution of fellow prisoners including Yuri Daniel. Thorne situates the book against Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, quoting Max Hayward's introduction on its value as unvarnished testimony, and closes by noting Marchenko was rearrested in 1968 and remained imprisoned at time of writing, his health in doubt. - My Testimony by Anatoli Marchenko, an eighth-grade-educated labourer, was first published in Paris in Russian (1969) before English editions in England, Canada and the U.S. - Marchenko was sentenced to six years at hard labour in 1960 after a failed attempt to cross the Soviet border into Iran near Ashkhabad. - The book describes camp conditions at Potma (about 3,500 political prisoners) including engineered starvation, humiliation, and abuse by camp administration. - Recounts Marchenko's friendship in the camps with writer Yuli Daniel, who was persecuted alongside Andrei Sinyavsky for the 'crime' of publishing abroad. - Max Hayward's introduction to the English edition calls it the first detailed, unvarnished report on Soviet camp conditions by a firsthand witness. - Marchenko was rearrested on 29 July 1968 on a passport-violation charge and sentenced to two more years for 'defamation of the Soviet political system'; friends feared for his survival in prison. - The review notes the piece is condensed from an article in Problems of Communism. ### Reviews: Dimensions of Industrial Relations in India / Absenteeism in Industries in Bombay - A Survey *By N.D. / V.B.K.* The Reviews section covers two books. N.D. reviews Dimensions of Industrial Relations in India, edited by Dr. B. S. Bhir, published to mark the ILO's fiftieth anniversary, praising its contributions from figures such as V. V. Giri and N. H. Tata and its foreword by Dr. P. B. Gajendragadkar. V.B.K. reviews Absenteeism in Industries in Bombay -- A Survey by the Employers' Federation of India, summarizing its finding that absenteeism ran 13-15 per cent across thirty Bombay industrial units (1962-64), mostly 'authorised,' and noting that roughly 25 per cent of the workforce was non-permanent, which the review calls 'unfair and unconscionable.' - Dimensions of Industrial Relations in India (ed. Dr. B. S. Bhir, United Asia, Rs. 20) was published to mark the ILO's fiftieth anniversary and includes contributions from V. V. Giri, N. M. Tidke, J. L. Hathi, N. H. Tata, V. B. Karnik and the editor. - That book carries a foreword by Dr. P. B. Gajendragadkar, Vice-Chancellor of Bombay University and Chairman of the National Commission of Labour. - Absenteeism in Industries in Bombay -- A Survey (Employers' Federation of India, Rs. 3) covered 30 industrial units and about 15 per cent of Bombay manufacturing workers over 1962-64. - The survey found absenteeism of 13-15 per cent, with 70 per cent 'authorised' and only 30 per cent 'unauthorised.' - About 73-74 per cent of workers were employed on a permanent basis, leaving roughly 25 per cent temporary or casual -- called a 'grave evil' requiring correction. ### Britain 1970 - An Official Handbook (review) *By N.D.* The back section opens with N.D.'s brief review of Britain 1970 -- An Official Handbook, followed by a Books Received list (including The Administrative History of India 1834-1947 by B. B. Misra, and Rethinking on Public Sector from the Forum of Free Enterprise). A note describes a letter signed by over 300 citizens sent to the Prime Minister protesting the government's move to close the BBC's New Delhi office, warning against censorship and intolerance. Two Letters to the Editor follow: David Zohar, Vice-Consul of the Consulate of Israel in Bombay, disputes claims in an earlier Freedom First article (No. 220) about Israeli treatment of minorities and about 'secured and guaranteed frontiers' being illusory; and R. Srinivasan of Madras responds to V. B. Karnik's article 'Land Hunger,' arguing the 'Land Grab' movement is a political gesture that ignores the limited, immobile nature of land and the law of diminishing returns. - Books Received list includes The Administrative History of India 1834-1947 by B. B. Misra (Oxford University Press) and Rethinking on Public Sector (Forum of Free Enterprise). - Over 300 citizens signed a letter to the Prime Minister protesting the government's decision to expel the BBC from its New Delhi office, warning it risks fostering an 'intolerant insular and chauvinistic society.' - David Zohar, Vice-Consul at the Consulate of Israel, Bombay, writes to correct claims in a prior issue's article by A. A. Deshpande ('West Asia -- Combat of Illusions', Freedom First No. 220) regarding Israel's treatment of Moslems, Christians, Druses, Bahais and Jews, and regarding 'secured and guaranteed frontiers.' - R. Srinivasan of Madras responds to V. B. Karnik's 'Land Hunger' article, arguing land redistribution cannot solve agricultural production problems given land's fixed, immobile supply and the law of diminishing returns. ### Letter to the Prime Minister (petition re: BBC office closure) The closing 'With Many Voices' column, a regular digest of press quotations under a Tennyson epigraph, gathers commentary on the political events of September 1970: C. Rajagopalachari and N. A. Palkhivala on Indira Gandhi's government's autocratic drift and property/liberty rhetoric; J.R.D. Tata and A. B. Vajpayee on the abolition of privy purses; reactions to the BBC's expulsion from India (Hindustan Times Weekly, Nirad C. Chaudhuri); international commentary from David Lawrence on hijacking as international crime and Pablo Casals; and press reaction to the Kerala election results. The masthead confirms the issue's registration number (MH 272), its editing and publication by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service at 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1, and printing by Inland Printers, Gamdevi Road, Bombay 7. - Quotations column includes C. Rajagopalachari (Indian Express) on the ease of autocracy in India under Indira Gandhi's government. - N. A. Palkhivala (March of the Nation) warns 'Property has become a dirty word today; liberty may become a dirty word tomorrow.' - J.R.D. Tata (Swarajya) comments that 'Only the power not to make decisions is left to the private sector' following abolition of privy purses. - A. B. Vajpayee, M.P. (Times of India), argues 'Not the rulers but the supremacy of Parliament has been de-recognised.' - Includes international commentary: David Lawrence on hijacking as an international crime requiring trials, and Pablo Casals on living in the moment. - Masthead confirms Registered No. MH 272; edited and published by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1; printed at Inland Printers, 35 Gamdevi Road, Bombay 7. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff222/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 222 (November 1970) is a 12-page number of the Bombay-based liberal monthly, edited and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik. The issue opens with A. G. Mulgaokar's constitutional analysis of the U.P. political crisis and President's Rule, followed by C. L. Gheevala's critique of nationalisation-centred democratic socialism, a reprint of Prabhat Das Gupta's New Age article cataloguing CPM violence in West Bengal, M. R. Chandvadkar's review of P. V. R. Rao's book on Indian defence policy, a contributed report on the Liberal International's 1970 Rome Congress (in which the Indian Liberal Group participated), a book review of a study of industrial strikes and morale, a short New Age-sourced item on CRP security for West Bengal political leaders, and the recurring 'With Many Voices' quotations column. The issue's argumentative centre is a defence of constitutional propriety, anti-Communist and anti-nationalisation liberalism, and concern over political violence and inadequate national defence preparedness in the India of late 1970. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 222 (November 1970) is a 12-page number of the Bombay-based liberal monthly, edited and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik. The issue opens with A. G. Mulgaokar's constitutional analysis of the U.P. political crisis and President's Rule, followed by C. L. Gheevala's critique of nationalisation-centred democratic socialism, a reprint of Prabhat Das Gupta's New Age article cataloguing CPM violence in West Bengal, M. R. Chandvadkar's review of P. V. R. Rao's book on Indian defence policy, a contributed report on the Liberal International's 1970 Rome Congress (in which the Indian Liberal Group participated), a book review of a study of industrial strikes and morale, a short New Age-sourced item on CRP security for West Bengal political leaders, and the recurring 'With Many Voices' quotations column. The issue's argumentative centre is a defence of constitutional propriety, anti-Communist and anti-nationalisation liberalism, and concern over political violence and inadequate national defence preparedness in the India of late 1970. ## Essays ### Heads I Win, Tails You Lose *By A. G. Mulgaokar* A. G. Mulgaokar dissects the 1970 U.P. constitutional crisis in which Chief Minister Charan Singh's Congress (R) allies withdrew support, Governor Gopala Reddy declined to dismiss the ministers Charan Singh wanted removed, and President's Rule was imposed under Article 356 -- only to be withdrawn four days later. Mulgaokar argues the Governor acted improperly by stripping ministers of portfolios without accepting their resignations, that Attorney-General Niren De's advice to dismiss the Chief Minister was constitutionally unsound and self-contradictory given his own government's conduct, and that the U.P. Advocate-General K. L. Misra's more cautious opinion was the better legal reading. He concludes that no genuine breakdown of constitutional government had occurred, that the President could not honestly have satisfied himself otherwise, and that the whole episode reflects Indira Gandhi's calculation that control of U.P. politics is decisive for her own survival as Prime Minister. - Charan Singh's Congress (R) allies withdrew support and asked Governor Gopala Reddy to remove certain ministers from the U.P. cabinet. - The Governor withdrew the ministers' portfolios without accepting their resignations, which Mulgaokar calls a serious constitutional impropriety and a violation of Article 164. - Attorney-General Niren De advised dismissing the Chief Minister and his colleagues; U.P. Advocate-General K. L. Misra's opinion is presented as the more defensible constitutional reading. - A proclamation of President's Rule under Article 356 was issued and then withdrawn four days later, which Mulgaokar treats as proof the proclamation was never justified. - The essay argues that whoever controls U.P. politics effectively controls the choice of India's Prime Minister, explaining Indira Gandhi's stake in the outcome. - The piece questions whether the President genuinely satisfied himself, as Article 356 requires, that constitutional government had broken down in U.P. ### Democratic Socialism - Need For Rethinking *By C. L. Gheevala* C. L. Gheevala argues that democratic socialists face a genuine dilemma over means, and that the doctrinaire equation of socialism with nationalisation, central planning, and bureaucratisation has been discredited by experience -- Karl Marx's prediction of capitalism's collapse having proved false and welfare-state democracies having tempered the pattern he foresaw. Quoting the Socialist Union's 'Twentieth Century Socialism,' the essay contends that a mixed economy requires a private sector that is not merely tolerated but recognised as performing a legitimate and necessary function, since competition between private and public enterprise is itself a check on state activity. Gheevala warns that unchecked nationalisation and bureaucratisation threaten individual freedom and initiative, eroding the independence of trade unions, cooperatives, and voluntary associations, and calls for eternal vigilance to keep those basic democratic values from being placed in jeopardy. - Socialists face a dilemma between equality-of-opportunity goals and doctrinaire means such as nationalisation and central planning. - Marx's prophecy of capitalism's collapse is described as having proved untrue given the rise of the welfare state and representative institutions. - The essay endorses the Socialist Union's 'Twentieth Century Socialism' view that a socialist economy should be mixed, with a legitimate, non-hamstrung private sector. - An independent private sector is presented as a check on state activity, disciplining public-sector inefficiency through comparison and competition. - The essay coins/borrows the phrase 'Nationalisation is not Socialisation' to describe the failure of ownership change alone to transform social relations. - Excessive centralisation and bureaucratisation are warned to threaten individual freedom, voluntary associations, and the ability to criticise government without economic risk. ### C.P.M. Activities in West Bengal *By Prabhat Das Gupta (extracts from an article in New Age, reprinted, contributed)* This piece reprints extracts from an article by Prabhat Das Gupta that originally appeared in the CPI journal New Age, cataloguing what it presents as a campaign of murder and terrorisation carried out by the CPM against naxalite supporters, CPI members, and other rivals in West Bengal during 1969-70. It cites Hare Krishna Konar's own admission of dozens of inter-party clashes and deaths, gives figures attributing the large majority of a further hundred political murders to the CPM, and narrates a series of specific killings and mass raids in Jadavpur, Belghoria, Durgapur, and other localities, describing the CPM's technique of armed 'persuasion' marches, bombings, and terror raids on non-compliant localities. It closes by estimating the CPM's daily bomb budget in Calcutta and naming a list of 21 criminals said to spearhead CPM assault squads in the Baranagore-Panihalti-Belghoria area, several of them switched allegiance from Congress and now holding CPM office. - The article is presented as extracts from a longer piece by Prabhat Das Gupta published in the CPI journal New Age. - Hare Krishna Konar's own admission is cited: 109 inter-party clashes and 23 deaths in the three months to December 31, 1969. - In the three months to September 15, 1970, about 100 political murders occurred, 73 attributed to the CPM alone, mostly of naxalite and CPI supporters. - Specific killings are narrated in Jadavpur, Belghoria, Durgapur, and Haltu, including kidnappings, beheadings, and torture. - The CPM is described as running mass 'terrorisation' raids on entire localities to force undertakings of support. - The daily Calcutta bomb budget is estimated at roughly Rs. 400 to Rs. 1000, and a list of 21 named criminals allegedly leads CPM assault squads in one area. ### Defence Without Drift *By M. R. Chandvadkar* M. R. Chandvadkar reviews 'Defence Without Drift' by P. V. R. Rao, ICS (Retd.), a former Defence Secretary, praising it as a fine study of Indian defence and security policy since Independence. The review recounts the book's argument that India showed apathy toward defence until the shock of the 1962 Chinese invasion, that 'Himalayan Blunders' of complacency about the Himalayan frontier, foreign policy, and army invincibility were exposed by that war, and that India's conventional arms and equipment remain badly outdated (still using the .303 rifle) even as China and the USSR have raced ahead in missile and nuclear capability. Rao is said to call for self-sufficiency in indigenous defence production, a leaner 'tail' relative to fighting 'teeth,' and better use of retired service officers, whom Chandvadkar contrasts favourably with civil servants who can serve far longer. The review, continued on page 11, also stresses that India's defence spending as a share of GNP is far below Pakistan's and China's and links defence policy inseparably to foreign policy. - The review covers P. V. R. Rao's 'Defence Without Drift' (Popular Prakashan, Bombay, Rs. 30), calling it a MUST for patriotic, democratic-minded readers. - The book argues India neglected defence from Independence until the 1962 Chinese invasion exposed 'Himalayan Blunders' of complacency. - India's soldier and training are praised as first-class, but training on outdated arms is called wasteful; the book calls for indigenous, cent-per-cent self-sufficient defence production. - India's conventional arms, including the .303 rifle and outdated submarines, are described as far behind NATO, Soviet, and Chinese capability. - India's defence spending is cited as only 3.3% of GNP, the second-lowest in the world, versus double that for Pakistan and triple for China. - The review calls for retired service officers to be better utilised given India's early retirement age (48-50) for defence personnel versus civil servants (58-65). ### Liberal International Congress *By (Contributed)* A contributed report on the Liberal International's (World Liberal Union) 1970 Congress, held in Rome from 25-28 September, whose theme was 'Mass Media' and which was attended by representatives of liberal parties from 23 countries, including the Indian Liberal Group, represented by M. R. Masani, T. Tripathi, and A. A. Deshpande. It summarises resolutions passed on European security and disarmament, Middle East peace, aid to developing countries, use of violence in politics (hijacking, kidnapping, bombing), pollution, and the role of mass media in society, plus a note that Masani addressed the Congress on the eve of the meeting on 'The Political Situation in India,' chaired by Italian Liberal leader G. Malagodi. - The Liberal International's Congress met in Rome, 25-28 September 1970, on the theme 'Mass Media,' with delegates from 23 countries. - The Indian Liberal Group was represented by M. R. Masani, T. Tripathi, and A. A. Deshpande; Masani addressed the Congress on 'The Political Situation in India.' - Resolutions covered European security, opposition to spheres-of-influence doctrine, Middle East peace terms, aid to developing countries per Pearson Commission recommendations, and condemnation of the Greek dictatorship. - The Congress urged legal and administrative measures against hijacking, kidnapping, and bombing as instruments of political action. - The Congress also addressed pollution and international cooperation on environmental protection, and expressed concern about concentration of mass media. ### Review: Strikes and Morale in Industry (by Mrs. P. Chakraborty) *By V.B.K.* A book review, signed V.B.K., of 'Strikes and Morale in Industry' by Mrs. P. Chakraborty (Eastern Law House, Calcutta, Rs. 20), a study by a Bengal labour administration officer drawing on questionnaires and interviews to examine why workers unionise, the pattern of industrial conflict in India since Independence, and the causes of strikes and low morale. The reviewer highlights the author's finding that trade unionism in India has grown more conciliatory rather than more militant, that strikes have markedly insignificant impact on the economy compared to unemployment and industrial accidents, and that a worker's factory attitudes are inseparable from home and social life. The review closes with a 'Books Received' list of five other titles. - The book by Mrs. P. Chakraborty examines strike behaviour and 'job morale' in West Bengal industries using statistical and interview-based methods. - The author concludes trade unionism in India, a developing country, is not growing more militant and that union leaders tend to be conciliatory. - The book finds the impact of strikes on the economy 'markedly insignificant' relative to unemployment, industrial accidents, and absenteeism. - Workers are said to unionise mainly to secure economic gains, job security, and protection against unfairness and coercion. - The book stresses that industrial peace requires improving the worker's whole life environment, not just factory relations. - A 'Books Received' list follows, naming five other titles including works on Russia, Solzhenitsyn, and the Green Revolution. ### Books Received A short item, sourced to New Age (September 27, 1970), reporting that under President's Rule, armed CRP guards have been provided round the clock for four West Bengal political leaders -- Jyoti Basu (CPM), Harekrishna Konar (CPM), Ajoy Mukherjee (Bangla Congress), and Pratap Chandra (Syndicate) -- with the daily guarding cost for Jyoti Basu given as Rs. 127 and for Harekrishna Konar as Rs. 130, rising further when they travel outside Calcutta. - Armed CRP guards have been assigned round the clock to four West Bengal political leaders under President's Rule. - The leaders named are Jyoti Basu (CPM), Harekrishna Konar (CPM), Ajoy Mukherjee (Bangla Congress), and Pratap Chandra (Syndicate). - The daily security cost is given as Rs. 127 for Jyoti Basu and Rs. 130 for Harekrishna Konar, rising when they leave Calcutta. - The item is credited to New Age, September 27, 1970. ### CRP Guards for CPM Leaders *By (from New Age, September 27, 1970)* The recurring 'With Many Voices' column, prefaced by a Tennyson epigraph, gathers short quoted extracts from the press and public figures of September-October 1970 on subjects including naxalism, U.S. foreign policy, apartheid and South Africa, non-alignment, President Giri's relationship to Indira Gandhi, communalism among religious parties, and the choice between Gandhi and Marx. The page also carries the issue's registration number, a subscription coupon addressed to the Democratic Research Service, and the masthead crediting V. B. Karnik as editor and publisher, printed at Inland Printers, Bombay. - The column compiles brief quotations from named commentators and publications dated September-October 1970. - Quoted sources include Satindra Singh on naxalites as legitimate offspring of the Communist movement, Nirad C. Chaudhuri on India's international image, and The Economist on President Giri's independence from Indira Gandhi. - C. Rajagopalachari is quoted from Swarajya on pessimism in America being a matter of world concern. - M. R. Masani is quoted from March of the Nation framing India's choice as between Gandhi and Marx. - The page includes a subscription coupon for Freedom First addressed to the Democratic Research Service, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1. - The masthead states the issue is edited and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik and printed at Inland Printers, Gamdevi Road, Bombay 7. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff223/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 223 (December 1970), published by the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, opens with S. V. Raju's analysis of the fractured opposition politics of late 1970, arguing that a genuine democratic alliance against the Congress(R) and Mrs. Gandhi's drift toward Communist-backed rule is both necessary and, given rival factions among the Congress(O), Swatantra, Jana Sangh, and socialist parties, difficult to realise. C. S. Venkatachar contributes a constitutional-law analysis of Article 356's history and abuse as a tool of central political control over the states. The issue also carries a eulogy-obituary of Gamal Abdul Nasser by Adam Adil and V. B. Karnik's review-essay on Robert Payne's biography of Stalin, alongside a Bengal political report on rising political violence, a letter to the editor on industrial absenteeism, two book reviews, a reprinted article on Lenin's Comintern tactics, and a closing page of quoted press excerpts ("With Many Voices"). ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 223 (December 1970), published by the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, opens with S. V. Raju's analysis of the fractured opposition politics of late 1970, arguing that a genuine democratic alliance against the Congress(R) and Mrs. Gandhi's drift toward Communist-backed rule is both necessary and, given rival factions among the Congress(O), Swatantra, Jana Sangh, and socialist parties, difficult to realise. C. S. Venkatachar contributes a constitutional-law analysis of Article 356's history and abuse as a tool of central political control over the states. The issue also carries a eulogy-obituary of Gamal Abdul Nasser by Adam Adil and V. B. Karnik's review-essay on Robert Payne's biography of Stalin, alongside a Bengal political report on rising political violence, a letter to the editor on industrial absenteeism, two book reviews, a reprinted article on Lenin's Comintern tactics, and a closing page of quoted press excerpts ("With Many Voices"). ## Essays ### The Need for an Alliance *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju surveys the confused state of opposition politics in India in late 1970, arguing that the Congress(O) is paralysed by three competing visions of realignment: a full 'grand alliance' with Swatantra and the Jana Sangh, a vague new grouping, or reunification with the ruling Congress(R). He traces the Congress(O) Working Committee's November 12 resolution back to the AICC's earlier call for 'consolidation of national democratic forces' and argues the split within the Congress(O) was never ideological but factional. Raju contends that the real danger to India's democratic institutions comes from the policies of Congress(R) under Mrs. Gandhi, whose government tolerates and even benefits from Communist Party of India support, undermines law and order, attacks the judiciary, and rides roughshod over Parliament (citing the Privy Purses Bill). He surveys which parties would or would not join a broad alliance (SSP, Praja Socialist Party, PSP, BKD) and closes by citing Rajaji's warning in Swarajya against DMK cooperation with the 'topsy turvy Indira Gandhi Congress and the CPI', and K. Kamaraj's defence of Swatantra's patriotism, concluding that a Grand Alliance is necessary to prevent a Communist-backed coalition from taking power at the Centre. - The Congress(O) is split three ways over whether to pursue a 'grand alliance', a looser grouping, or reunification with Congress(R). - The Congress(O) Working Committee resolution of 12 November 1970 authorised its President to seek 'united action by all democratic parties' but was deliberately vague. - Swatantra and the Jana Sangh welcomed the proposed alliance resolution; the BKD saw merit in it but declined to respond, believing it aimed at Congress(R) and Mrs. Gandhi. - Raju argues the 1969 Congress split was factional rather than ideological, evidenced by the Congress(O)'s own radicalism at its Ahmedabad session. - Mrs. Gandhi's government is charged with tolerating and benefiting from CPI support, undermining law and order, and threatening judicial and constitutional norms. - Kamaraj and Rajaji's public statements are cited as evidence that Swatantra and allied leaders share patriotic motives despite ideological differences with the DMK and Congress(R). - Raju warns that failure to form the alliance risks a Congress(R)-Communist coalition at the Centre after the next general election, drawing a parallel to postwar Communist takeovers in Eastern Europe. ### Article 356 - Use And Abuse *By C. S. Venkatachar* C. S. Venkatachar traces Article 356 of the Constitution to its colonial-era ancestor, Section 93 of the Government of India Act 1935, arguing that Congress inherited and then exploited this emergency power once it had 'flattened out the opposition parties' after 1937. He explains that while the Constitution provides for four types of national emergency, Article 356 was developed as a fifth, distinct tool aimed specifically at securing the dominant Congress party's hold on the states, exploited through devices like Governor's reports, floor-crossing, and factional manipulation rather than through the legislature itself. Venkatachar catalogues nearly a dozen invocations of Article 356 since the Constitution's commencement, from Punjab (1951) and Pepsu (1952) through Kerala, Andhra, Orissa, Rajasthan, and Haryana, describing them as instances where central authority was used to manipulate state party factions rather than resolve genuine constitutional deadlock. He concludes that only eternal public vigilance, and ultimately appeal to the electorate, can check such misuse, and that resort to Article 356 should be a last resort under exceptionally compelling circumstances only. - Article 356 descends directly from Section 93 of the Government of India Act, 1935, which the British used only once in six years but which Congress has invoked repeatedly. - The Constitution provides four national emergency powers (war, insurrection, subversion, financial collapse); the failure of state constitutional machinery is a distinct fifth category exploited by the ruling party. - Congress developed the practice of confusing unwritten British constitutional conventions with the rigid provisions of India's written constitution, exporting a two-party assumption to a multi-party reality. - The state legislature — the body that should confirm claims to a majority — has been bypassed in practice through devices like 'counting of heads at Raj Bhavan' and parading of legislators. - Article 356 has been invoked nearly a dozen times since the Constitution's commencement, starting in Punjab in 1951, and repeatedly in Kerala, Andhra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Pepsu. - Venkatachar argues eternal vigilance by informed public opinion, and ultimately electoral appeal, are the only real safeguards against misuse of Article 356. - He recommends Article 356 be treated strictly as a last resort under exceptionally compelling circumstances. ### Gamal Abdul Al-Nasser *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil's eulogy assesses Gamal Abdul Nasser roughly a month after his death, describing him as a dynamic but polarising leader who gave the Arab world 'a sense of dignity, unity and a sense of purpose' after centuries of stagnation traced back to Ottoman rule. Adil recounts Nasser's rise from a resentful army colonel under the corrupt monarchy of King Farook to leader of the bloodless 1952 revolution, and his subsequent land reforms breaking up the Pasha landholding class. The piece weighs mixed economic achievements — the Suez Canal nationalisation and the Aswan High Dam — against costly failures, including the war in Yemen against the Imam and the broader division of the Arab world into 'progressive' and 'reactionary' camps that Adil argues only strengthened Israel. Nasser is credited with resisting Soviet political domination despite military dependence on Russia, and with brokering a settlement between Palestinian fedayeen and King Hussein of Jordan shortly before his death. Adil closes by quoting Professor Elie Salem's assessment that Nasser's significance lay 'not so much what he did, but what he meant to the Arab people.' - Nasser is credited with giving the Arab world a renewed sense of dignity, unity, and purpose after centuries of post-Ottoman stagnation. - He rose to power via the bloodless 1952 overthrow of the corrupt monarchy of King Farook, alongside trusted fellow army officers. - His land reforms abolished the Pasha landholding class and capped land ownership at 200 acres, redistributing land to landless peasants. - Major achievements credited to Nasser: nationalisation of the Suez Canal and construction of the Aswan High Dam with Soviet help. - His division of the Arab world into 'progressive' and 'reactionary' camps (including a costly, failed war in Yemen against the Imam) is presented as a major strategic failure that weakened Arab unity and strengthened Israel. - Despite heavy military dependence on Soviet arms and personnel, Nasser resisted Soviet political ideology and banned the Communist Party in Egypt. - His last major achievement was brokering peace between Palestinian commandos and King Hussein's Jordanian army. ### Portrait Of A Tyrant *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik reviews Robert Payne's biography 'The Rise and Fall of Stalin,' calling it a meticulously documented, full-scale portrait corroborating the by-then widely accepted verdict — voiced first in Khrushchev's 1956 secret speech — that Stalin was history's most malignant tyrant. Karnik traces Stalin's path from a cobbler's son and minor Georgian communist functionary through the 1921 invasion of Georgia, his manoeuvring for bureaucratic control after the 1917 Revolution despite an insignificant role in it, and his accumulation of power through control of the party machinery, ultimately outlasting Lenin's late-life effort (via his suppressed Testament) to remove him. The review details the terror of forced collectivisation (ten million peasant deaths), the purges of Old Bolsheviks including Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev, and Bukharin, the show-trial confessions extracted under torture, the execution of Red Army generals on the eve of World War II, and the invented 'Doctors' Plot' targeting Jewish physicians near the end of Stalin's life. Karnik notes Payne's argument that this terror system was rooted in, not invented by, Leninist ideology, but that Stalin's mechanical, murderous habit exceeded any political necessity, concluding the review (continued from page 8 onto page 11) with an assessment of Stalin's mixed legacy: real industrial and wartime achievements set against the annihilation of rights, liberties, and millions of lives. - The review covers Robert Payne's 'The Rise and Fall of Stalin' (Simon and Schuster, New York, $10), a seven-hundred-page biography spanning Stalin's full 73-year life. - Payne's verdict, quoted at length, is that Stalin was a unique species of mass-murderer who 'killed without compunction and without enjoyment,' often out of habit or laziness rather than political need. - Stalin's 1921 revenge invasion of Georgia and the destruction of its 'moderate socialist' government are presented as an early template for his later terror. - Stalin rose to dominance not through revolutionary prominence (his role in 1917 was 'insignificant') but through control of the party's bureaucratic apparatus, becoming Commissar of Nationalities and later General Secretary. - Lenin's suppressed Testament reveals he lost confidence in Stalin late in life and wished to remove him from power, a wish frustrated by Lenin's death. - Collectivisation killed roughly ten million peasants; subsequent purges destroyed the Old Bolshevik leadership and Red Army generals through forced, torture-extracted confessions. - Payne argues the terror system's ideological roots lie in Leninism itself, with Stalin as its most extreme executor. - The review continues onto page 11 with a discussion of Stalin's 1953 death, the temporary post-Stalin de-Stalinisation movement, and its failure or suppression in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. ### Vicious Circle? (Bengal Report) *By Analyst* Writing under the byline 'Analyst' in the 'Bengal Report' column, this piece (dated 21 November 1970) warns of a self-reinforcing cycle of political violence in West Bengal: daily murders, police reprisal round-ups, and the resulting alienation of youth and their families, which in turn feeds recruitment into 'revolutionary' Naxalite and Marxist movements. The author argues that neither strong administrative measures nor police powers alone can break this vicious circle, and that the fragmentation of the state's opposition parties (Congress(R), Bangla Congress, Forward Bloc, RSP, CPI, CPM) will further isolate the government from popular sentiment. The piece calls instead for a 'positive psychological, healing approach' to disaffected youth, criticizing establishment figures (including Chief Minister Ajoy Mukherjee) for offering only 'paper talk' and rhetoric of matching violence with violence, and argues that only committed personal leadership capable of emotionally engaging youth can address what the author calls a widespread 'mental illness,' rather than physical beating or repression alone. - Daily political murders in West Bengal go unwitnessed due to public terror and a 'see no evil' silence. - Police crackdowns are predicted to sweep up many innocents alongside the guilty, embittering families and communities. - The cycle described: police repression breeds youth alienation, which breeds recruitment into Naxalite/Marxist movements, which breeds further repression. - Opposition fragmentation (Congress(R), Bangla Congress, Forward Bloc, RSP, CPI moving closer to CPM) will further isolate the administration from the people. - The author is not opposed to strong measures per se, but rejects relying on them 'practically entirely' to solve the crisis. - Calls for personal, emotionally engaging leadership (contrasted with 'paper Gandhism') to break through what is described as a form of collective 'mental illness' among radicalized youth. ### Letter to the Editor (re: Monograph on Absenteeism) *By N. M. Vakil* A letter to the editor from N. M. Vakil, Secretary of the Employers' Federation of India, responds to the magazine's October 1970 review of a monograph on industrial absenteeism. Vakil clarifies the monograph's statistics on Badli (substitute), temporary, and casual employment, arguing that the ~26% non-permanent workforce reflects high absenteeism among permanent staff rather than deliberate avoidance of permanent hiring, and that if absenteeism fell, permanent employment share would rise correspondingly. An editorial rejoinder signed V.B.K. follows, questioning whether the 70% absenteeism figure cited is fully 'authorised' absenteeism. - Vakil defends the Employers' Federation of India monograph's finding that ~74% of surveyed industrial employees are permanent, with the remainder Badli, temporary, or casual workers. - He argues non-permanent employment exists to cover absenteeism among permanent staff, not to avoid permanent hiring obligations. - Vakil calculates that if absenteeism were eliminated, permanent worker share would rise to about 89%. - An editorial reply (V.B.K.) questions the premise, noting that if leave reserves already cover 70% of absenteeism 'authorised', the required Badli workforce should be smaller than currently maintained. ### Reviews: D.M.K. in Power (P. Spratt) *By N.D.* Two short book reviews appear under the 'Reviews' heading. N.D. reviews P. Spratt's 'D.M.K. in Power' (Nachiketa Publications, Rs. 25), praising its account of the DMK's first year in office in Tamil Nadu after the fourth General Election and its historical tracing of the party's roots to the Justice Party and Periyar Ramaswami Naicker's Self-Respect movement, while noting the book covers only the DMK's first year and does not address the period after the death of C. N. Annadurai. S.D. reviews 'Studies in Green Revolution,' edited by G. S. Pohekar (United Asia Publications, Rs. 5), a slim volume of six scholarly essays describing the Green Revolution's real but geographically and crop-limited impact, confined largely to the 20 per cent of irrigated wheat- and gram-growing areas. - N.D. reviews P. Spratt's 'D.M.K. in Power,' noting the DMK provided stable, efficient government in Tamil Nadu despite losing leader C. N. Annadurai before completing its second year in office. - Spratt's book traces DMK's roots to the Justice Party of the 1920s-30s and the Self-Respect movement led by Periyar Ramaswami Naicker. - N.D. suggests the book's model could be useful for studying other regional parties given the growing significance of regionalism in Indian politics. - S.D. reviews 'Studies in Green Revolution' (ed. G. S. Pohekar), noting the Green Revolution's benefits are largely confined to about 20% of irrigated wheat and gram-growing area. - S.D. concludes the volume is useful for stimulating thought and action toward spreading agricultural gains to wider areas and other crops. ### Reviews: Studies in Green Revolution (ed. G. S. Pohekar) *By S.D.* A reprinted article by Marcel Body, originally published in the weekly journal Thought and introduced as coming from someone 'intimately connected with the Comintern in its early years,' recounts how Lenin's Russian Communist Party used specially trained agents and ample funds to intervene in the workers' movements of Western Europe in the early 1920s, deliberately engineering splits in parties like the Italian Socialist Party ('Turati's party'). Body recounts Lenin's blunt 1919 reply to Angelica Balabanova's objections about sending adventurers to split Italian socialism, and describes how the Comintern, in judging Mussolini's fascism 'preferable' to Turati's socialism in the early 1920s, helped clear the way first for Mussolini and later — through the same ruthless anti-Social-Democrat strategy pursued in Germany — for the rise of an outsider named Adolf Hitler. - The Russian Communist Party sent specially trained agents with ample funds abroad to intervene in the workers' movements of the Second International, defeating Western Social Democracy 'at any price'. - Lenin held the 'whip hand' in the split between Second and Third International-affiliated parties. - In 1919, Lenin dismissed Angelica Balabanova's concerns about sending unreliable men to Italy to split the Italian Socialist Party ('Turati's party'), saying 'they will always be good enough to split Turati's party.' - The Italian Socialist Party split, but Body notes it was Mussolini, not Togliatti, who benefited from putting the pieces back together. - In Moscow in 1921 and after, the Comintern judged Mussolini's fascism preferable to Turati's socialism, believing fascism would 'prepare the way for Communism.' - The same ruthless anti-Social-Democrat strategy in Germany is presented as having cleared the political arena for the rise of Adolf Hitler. ### Lenin's Whip Hand *By Marcel Body* The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' is a compilation of short quoted excerpts from contemporary press and public figures on themes of Cold War politics, Communism, land reform, and Indian governance, drawn from sources including Time, The Economist, The Statesman, and statements by figures such as British PM Edward Heath, J. R. Jayawardena, and Norman Borlaug. The page closes with a subscription form for Freedom First and the issue's colophon, naming V. B. Karnik as editor and publisher for the Democratic Research Service. - Compiles brief quotations on Cold War and domestic political themes from sources like Time, The Economist, The Statesman, and March of the Nation. - Includes Edward Heath's warning that civil war, not war between nations, will be the main danger of the coming decade. - Includes a Jan Sangh Central Working Committee resolution accusing the Indian government of aligning with 'every other blackmailing country' between Mao and Kosygin. - Includes Norman Borlaug's (1970 Nobel Peace laureate) comment that the Green Revolution buys time against the larger problem of overpopulation but cannot solve world nutrition alone. - Closes with a subscription form addressed to Freedom First, C/o Democratic Research Service, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1, and the issue's publication colophon naming V. B. Karnik as editor/publisher. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff224/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 224 (January 1971), edited and published by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, opens with commentary on the December 1970 Pakistani general elections and their implications for the country's unity, then turns to the Indian Supreme Court's privy purses judgement as a landmark statement of the rule of law against executive claims of paramountcy. A tribute marks C. Rajagopalachari's ninety-second birthday, followed by pieces on the December 1970 Baltic-coast workers' revolt in Poland and on Andrei Amalrik's dissident essay on the Soviet Union's prospects. K. K. Sinha's essay argues for a coherent policy platform to unite India's non-Left opposition parties (Congress(O), Swatantra, Jana Sangh) against the ruling Congress and the Left. The issue closes with book reviews (Archibald Cox's study of the Warren Court; a study of Ceylon's parliamentary democracy) and the recurring 'With Many Voices' column of press quotations, alongside a subscription form. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 224 (January 1971), edited and published by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, opens with commentary on the December 1970 Pakistani general elections and their implications for the country's unity, then turns to the Indian Supreme Court's privy purses judgement as a landmark statement of the rule of law against executive claims of paramountcy. A tribute marks C. Rajagopalachari's ninety-second birthday, followed by pieces on the December 1970 Baltic-coast workers' revolt in Poland and on Andrei Amalrik's dissident essay on the Soviet Union's prospects. K. K. Sinha's essay argues for a coherent policy platform to unite India's non-Left opposition parties (Congress(O), Swatantra, Jana Sangh) against the ruling Congress and the Left. The issue closes with book reviews (Archibald Cox's study of the Warren Court; a study of Ceylon's parliamentary democracy) and the recurring 'With Many Voices' column of press quotations, alongside a subscription form. ## Essays ### Elections in Pakistan *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil surveys Pakistan's first general elections held on adult franchise, arguing that while the polls were largely free, they do not mean Pakistan has become a stable democracy like India. He traces Pakistan's troubles to two decades of corrupt and unscrupulous political leadership after Jinnah's death and Liaquat Ali Khan's assassination, the anti-India campaigns that culminated in the 1965 war, and Ayub Khan's mixed legacy of administrative efficiency undone by his failure to improve relations with India. The election results show two triumphant but irreconcilable nationalisms - Bengali autonomy under Sheikh Mujibur Rehman in the East, and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's anti-West, anti-India, semi-socialist politics in the West - leading the author to conclude that the real question is no longer whether Pakistan will survive as a democracy but whether it will survive as one entity at all. - Pakistan's December 1970 elections were the first held on adult franchise and were largely free, but this does not signal a durable democratic transition. - Two decades of corrupt, quarrelling politicians after Jinnah's death and Liaquat Ali Khan's assassination discredited civilian rule. - Ayub Khan's regime curbed corruption and stabilised the economy but worsened relations with India, culminating in the 1965 war. - Post-1965, Bhutto resigned as Foreign Minister and built a campaign against Ayub combining anti-West and anti-India postures with socialist overtones. - The elections entrenched two irreconcilable nationalisms: Bengali autonomy in the East under Mujibur Rehman, and Bhutto's centralising West Pakistan politics. - The author predicts bitter conflict between the two wings and doubts a constitution can be agreed within the mandated 120 days. ### Ultra Vires *By A. G. Mulgaokar* A. G. Mulgaokar analyses the Supreme Court's judgement striking down the government's derecognition of the former princes and abolition of their privy purses. He reads the ruling as reaffirming that no person or authority in India, including the Government, is above the Rule of Law, and as rejecting the Attorney-General's claim that the President could exercise unreviewable 'paramountcy' or act-of-State powers against citizens. The article walks through the Court's reasoning on Articles 291, 362, 363 and 366(22): that Britain's paramountcy lapsed at independence and was never inherited by the Indian government, that the right to a privy purse is a fundamental property right rather than a matter arising from covenant (and so not barred from judicial review by Article 363), and that presidential 'recognition' of a ruler cannot be withdrawn as an executive fiat without basis in law. It closes by noting Mr. Justice Hegde's concurring view that the Constituent Assembly's guarantees to the princes were meant as genuine, binding commitments rather than an illusion. - The Supreme Court's privy purses judgement re-emphasised established principles rather than announcing wholly new law. - The Court held that no person or authority, including the Government, stands above the Rule of Law. - The Attorney-General's claim of unreviewable presidential 'paramountcy' or act-of-State power against citizens was rejected as fantastic given that British paramountcy lapsed at independence. - The right to a privy purse was held to be a fundamental property right under Articles 19(1)(f) and 31, not a claim arising out of covenant, so Article 363 did not bar judicial review. - The majority held presidential recognition of a ruler cannot be withdrawn without legal basis, and that the President's actions are always subject to judicial testing unless expressly excluded. - Justice Hegde's judgement is described as particularly forthright, holding that the constitutional guarantees to princes were meant as real, binding assurances, not illusions. ### Rajaji - Ninety Two Years Young *By S. R. Mohan Das* S. R. Mohan Das pays tribute to C. Rajagopalachari on his ninety-second birthday, marvelling at his continuing intellectual vitality, discipline, and engagement with contemporary politics, religion, and philosophy despite serious physical handicaps including very poor eyesight. The author, recalling his own experience as a journalist granted an 8 a.m. appointment with Rajaji when he was Chief Minister of Madras during a severe drought, describes how Rajaji imposed self-discipline on a lax Secretariat simply by his own early arrival and personal example rather than by formal orders, transforming administrative performance through leadership without oppression. - Rajaji is praised for extraordinary intellectual and physical vitality at 92 despite poor eyesight and other handicaps. - Critics have called him opportunistic or 'foxy', but the author sees a constant thread of value norms across his long public life. - As Chief Minister of Madras during a severe seven-year drought, Rajaji reformed a lax Secretariat by personal example rather than formal edicts, starting work at 8 a.m. himself. - This produced a chain reaction of improved discipline and productivity throughout the administration within about a week. - The author holds this up as a rare example in Indian politics of leadership achieved without oppression. ### Revolt In Poland *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik analyses the December 1970 workers' revolt in the Polish port cities of Gdansk, Gdynia and Szczecin, sparked by a steep rise in foodstuff prices and wage freezes intended to curb an underlying economic crisis. He recounts how the revolt, though suppressed with brutal police and army violence, forced the resignation of Party leader Wladyslaw Gomulka (himself a beneficiary of the 1956 Poznan uprising) along with the Head of State and Prime Minister, with power passing to the reputedly efficient but hard administrator Gierek. Karnik situates the revolt within a recurring pattern of communist-bloc unrest - Poznan 1956, Hungary 1956, Czechoslovakia 1968 - arising from an inherent contradiction between the people's aspirations and the demands of one-party dictatorship, arguing that such revolts, even when suppressed, cannot permanently extinguish popular discontent under communist rule. - The revolt began among workers in Gdansk, Gdynia and Szczecin over a steep rise in food prices, spreading to Wroclaw, Poznan and Cracow with student and youth support. - It was suppressed with brutal violence by police and army but nonetheless forced the resignation of Gomulka and the Head of State and Prime Minister. - Poland's economic crisis stemmed from a shortfall in foodstuff exports (its main source of foreign exchange) compounded by falling agricultural production and rising internal consumption. - Karnik frames the unrest as part of a recurring pattern across the communist bloc: Poznan 1956, the Hungarian revolt of 1956, and the Czechoslovak reforms crushed in 1968. - He argues communist political-power priorities structurally conflict with economic modernisation, since regimes fear losing control if they grant industrial managers and skilled workers real autonomy. - The piece closes arguing that popular discontent under communist dictatorships can be suppressed but never permanently removed. ### Andrei Amalrik And Future Of Russia *By Anatole Shub* Anatole Shub, a journalist and personal friend of Andrei Amalrik, offers a personal appraisal of Amalrik's banned essay 'Will the Soviet Union Survive Until 1984?'. Shub praises the essay for its freedom from both official pro-regime illusions and Western populist sentimentality about Soviet workers and peasants, and reflects on Amalrik's unusual position as a Moscow intellectual with deep, independently-developed knowledge of Western thought despite the KGB's isolation of Soviet citizens (Amalrik's apartment was searched in May 1969 amid a broader crackdown on Russian dissidents). Shub is somewhat less pessimistic than Amalrik about the evolution of the tolerated Soviet intelligentsia, expects discontent to spread from literary circles to the scientific and technical intelligentsia and eventually the Party itself, and discusses Amalrik's forecasts of anti-Russian nationalist unrest and possible disintegration of the Soviet empire in the event of a Sino-Soviet war, which Shub finds more plausible regarding Eastern Europe than regarding the internal Soviet nationalities. - Amalrik's essay is praised for being free of both official Soviet illusions and Western sentimentality about Soviet workers and peasants. - Amalrik's apartment was searched by the KGB on 7 May 1969 amid a broader crackdown on Russian democrats, interrupting his plan to write a full-length book. - Shub is less pessimistic than Amalrik about the pace of change but expects Soviet discontent to spread from literary circles to the scientific/technical intelligentsia and eventually into the Party. - Amalrik forecasts anti-Russian nationalist movements growing among Soviet peoples, driven by resentment of Tsarist and Soviet-era Russian dominance. - Shub finds Amalrik's prediction of the loss of Eastern European protectorates more credible than his prediction of the internal Soviet Union being torn apart by its nationalities. - Both writers consider a Sino-Soviet war a plausible trigger for imperial disintegration, though Shub questions whether China will remain as internally dogmatic and internationally isolated as under Mao within a decade. ### Strategy For Democracy *By K. K. Sinha* K. K. Sinha argues that with Indira Gandhi's Congress split and the opposition Congress(O), Swatantra and Jana Sangh trying to build an anti-Congress(N) alliance, the Indian Right urgently needs a clear, positive ideological platform rather than merely opposing the ruling party or courting confusion by calling itself 'progressive'. He contrasts the Left's programme - expanding state ownership and control over industry, trade, transport, credit and agriculture, detailed planning, populist and anti-religious politics, and growing dependence on the Soviet Union - with a proposed Right platform: a growth-oriented economy favouring savings, investment and enterprise while preventing monopoly; support for infrastructure and employment-generating projects; honest land reform that promotes rather than hampers agricultural production; firm commitment to the Rule of Law, judicial independence, and the Constitution; state impartiality between religions; a creative federal system balancing a strong Centre with capable states; and a foreign policy of non-alignment rather than dependence on either superpower. He urges the three rightist parties to agree on this substantive programme rather than focus solely on organisational and electoral tactics. - The article argues the Indian Right needs a clear, agreed ideological platform, not just anti-Congress(N) electoral tactics. - The Left's programme is characterised as expanding state ownership and control across industry, trade, transport, credit and agriculture, detailed planning, and growing dependence on the Soviet Union. - The proposed Right platform calls for a growth-oriented economy favouring savings, investment, and enterprise, while preventing monopoly and minimising unnecessary controls. - It calls for honest land reforms that promote rather than hamper agricultural production, and credit/finance availability for agriculture and small industry. - Politically, it calls for firm commitment to Rule of Law, judicial independence, constitutional government, and state impartiality between religions. - In foreign policy it calls for a non-satellite, non-aligned, independent Indian role rather than dependence on either superpower. - The author argues a clear, popularised manifesto could draw non-aligned Congress(N) supporters uncomfortable with reliance on communists toward the Right. ### Reviews: The Warren Court - Constitutional Decision as an Instrument of Reform (Archibald Cox) *By A. G. Noorani* A. G. Noorani reviews Archibald Cox's 'The Warren Court: Constitutional Decision as an Instrument of Reform' (Harvard University Press), a set of lectures by the former U.S. Solicitor-General surveying the Warren Court's transformative rulings from 1953-1968 on race relations (extending Brown v. Board of Education's logic against private discriminatory action, later mooted by the Civil Rights Act 1964), criminal justice (right to counsel and transcripts at state expense, exclusion of unlawfully obtained evidence and wiretap evidence), and freedom of association (protecting membership lists of dissenting organisations from compelled disclosure). Noorani highlights the review's relevance to India given contemporary talk of banning organisations, quoting the Court's warning against suppressing 'heretics' whose value is rarely apparent except in rare cases, and Cox's own reflections on the insoluble tension in constitutional adjudication between what the law requires and what result is best for the country. He also notes Justice Frankfurter's dissent that the Warren Court risked overreaching into politics via the reapportionment cases, and closes hoping U.S. constitutional experience, where court appointments are still made on political considerations without impugning judicial integrity, might serve India as a lesson rather than precedent for degradation. - Cox's book, based on lectures, surveys the Warren Court's constitutional-reform rulings 1953-1968 on race, criminal justice, and political democracy. - The Court extended Brown v. Board of Education to cover private discriminatory action with a public aspect, a move later made less necessary by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. - In criminal law, the Court established a right to state-funded counsel for the poor, restricted unlawfully obtained and wiretap evidence, and rewrote the law of confessions in favour of the accused. - The Court protected the right of dissenting associations to withhold membership lists from official scrutiny absent a demonstrated state need, which Noorani flags as relevant to Indian debates about banning organisations. - The Re-Apportionment cases, ruling that equality before law requires equal representation in state legislatures, were among the Court's most controversial decisions and drew a dissent from Justice Frankfurter. - Noorani closes hoping India can learn from, without simply importing, the U.S. experience of political considerations in judicial appointments alongside preserved judicial integrity. ### Reviews: The Working of Parliamentary Democracy in Ceylon (A. R. Tyagi and K. K. Bhardwaj) *By V. B. Patankar* V. B. Patankar reviews 'The Working of Parliamentary Democracy in Ceylon' by A. R. Tyagi and K. K. Bhardwaj (Sultan Chand and Sons, Delhi), which describes Ceylon's British-legacy parliamentary system: a Governor-General representing the Crown with largely symbolic ceremonial powers, a Prime Minister who is the real locus of executive power, a bicameral legislature with a partly-elected Senate, loose and undisciplined Ceylonese political parties prone to defections, and a tradition (except for Mrs Bhandaranaike's 1960 government) of coalition rule. Patankar notes the book credits the late S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike as architect of Ceylon's modern local government system and praises Ceylon's record of half a dozen free and orderly elections and its strong, independent judiciary and civil service, while criticising the book itself for repetitiveness and some contradictory statements. - The reviewed book covers Ceylon's British-legacy parliamentary system, including the largely ceremonial Governor-General and the Prime Minister as the true locus of executive power. - Ceylonese parties are described as loose, undisciplined organisations prone to defections, with personalities counting for more than principles. - Except for Mrs Bhandaranaike's 1960 government, all Ceylonese governments have been coalitions. - The book credits the late S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike as the architect of Ceylon's modern local government system. - Patankar praises Ceylon's record of half a dozen free, orderly elections under adult suffrage and its independent judiciary and civil service. - The review criticises the book for repetition and apparently contradictory statements in places. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff225/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 225 (February 1971) appears amid the run-up to India's 1971 snap general election, and the issue's editorial voice frames that election as effectively a referendum on Indira Gandhi's leadership rather than a genuine contest of programmes. Arvind A. Deshpande's lead article argues the fragmented opposition (Old Congress, Jana Sangh, Swatantra) must unite around a common minimum programme if it hopes to check the ruling Congress, and lays out an eight-point liberal-opposition platform. The Notes section comments on the Commonwealth's survival past the Singapore crisis, on the prospects for a democratic constitution emerging in Pakistan after its first post-Independence elections, and sharply criticises the government's mass arrests and externment of Plebiscite Front workers ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir Lok Sabha election as an assault on free and fair polling. M. D. Kini surveys threats to press freedom in India (government control of newsprint and advertising, the Tribune case) as building blocks of a functioning democracy, while N. A.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 225 (February 1971) appears amid the run-up to India's 1971 snap general election, and the issue's editorial voice frames that election as effectively a referendum on Indira Gandhi's leadership rather than a genuine contest of programmes. Arvind A. Deshpande's lead article argues the fragmented opposition (Old Congress, Jana Sangh, Swatantra) must unite around a common minimum programme if it hopes to check the ruling Congress, and lays out an eight-point liberal-opposition platform. The Notes section comments on the Commonwealth's survival past the Singapore crisis, on the prospects for a democratic constitution emerging in Pakistan after its first post-Independence elections, and sharply criticises the government's mass arrests and externment of Plebiscite Front workers ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir Lok Sabha election as an assault on free and fair polling. M. D. Kini surveys threats to press freedom in India (government control of newsprint and advertising, the Tribune case) as building blocks of a functioning democracy, while N. A. Palkhivala, in excerpts from a Bombay lecture, defends the fundamental right to property against moves to empower Parliament to abridge it, drawing on the Supreme Court's Privy Purses judgment. The issue also runs an extended extract from Khrushchev Remembers on Stalin's court and the terror of collectivisation, a short review of a book on the ILO, a Without Comment item on the Patrice Lumumba University's role in Soviet propaganda training, a reader's letter calling for a positive political alternative for disaffected youth, and the regular 'With Many Voices' page of quotations from the press on the coming election. ## Essays ### General Election or Referendum? *By Arvind A. Deshpande* Arvind A. Deshpande's 'General Election or Referendum?' argues that the 1971 snap poll has become a referendum on whether Indira Gandhi remains Prime Minister rather than a real choice between rival programmes, because the opposition parties have failed to unite on a common platform. He traces the logic of coalition politics since 1967, criticises Mrs. Gandhi's 'radical' posture (bank nationalisation, de-recognition of rulers) as image-management rather than substantive relief for the poor, and contrasts her lack of personal loyalty from colleagues with Nehru's. He sets out an eight-point minimum programme (fundamental rights and judicial/press independence; a welfare state for the poorest 200 million; employment schemes; industrial peace and consumer protection; running public-sector units at a profit; foreign aid discrimination; a foreign policy tilted away from the superpowers) that he believes a united liberal opposition, potentially in alliance with the SSP, should adopt. He closes by urging a 'rational' anti-communism fused with liberalism, Gandhism and humanism. - Frames the 1971 election as a referendum on Mrs. Gandhi's leadership rather than a genuine policy contest - Blames opposition disunity and the failure to grasp coalition-era electoral arithmetic since 1967 - Criticises Mrs. Gandhi's radicalism as image-preservation with little real effect on the poor - Sets out an eight-point common minimum programme for a united liberal opposition - Calls for a liberal opposition that fuses liberalism, Gandhism, and rational (not obsessive) anti-communism ### Freedom Of The Press In India *By M. D. Kini* The unsigned 'Notes' section opens with 'The Commonwealth,' welcoming the body's survival of the Singapore crisis over Britain's proposed arms sales to South Africa, quoting at length the Commonwealth Conference's declaration of principles on racial equality and human dignity, while warning that the danger of a split could resurface if Britain proceeds with the arms sale. 'Developments in Pakistan' discusses the country's first post-Independence elections and the prospect of a democratic constitution, noting the divergence between the two major parties (one in East Pakistan, one in West) as the chief obstacle, and argues a strong, stable, democratic Pakistan is in India's own interest. 'Stupid and Inexcusable' condemns the Jammu and Kashmir government's mass arrests, externments, and rejection of nomination papers targeting the Plebiscite Front ahead of the Lok Sabha election, calling the resulting election certain to be unfree and unfair. 'Without Comment' reproduces a New Age report on 21 political killings in West Bengal in 48 hours, attributed by police to the CPM's campaign of 'reconquest' of lost territories. - The Commonwealth survived the Singapore crisis over Britain's proposed arms sales to South Africa; the danger of a split could still recur - Quotes the Commonwealth Conference's declaration on racial equality and human dignity at length - Sees Pakistan's post-Independence elections as an opportunity for democratic government, with East-West party divergence as the main hurdle - Condemns the Jammu & Kashmir government's arrests and externment of Plebiscite Front workers as making free elections there impossible - Reports 21 political killings in West Bengal in 48 hours attributed to CPM violence, per a New Age report ### Constitution And The Common Man *By N. A. Palkhivala* M. D. Kini's 'Freedom Of The Press In India' argues that a free press is indispensable to democracy and surveys the many pressures that threaten it in India: mob violence, proprietorial interference, and above all government controls exercised through newsprint quotas and advertising allocation. He recounts the Tribune case, in which the Press Council found the Haryana government had improperly withdrawn advertisements and pressured the paper's editorial policy, and quotes the Council's and the Tribune's own conclusions on the absence of any government right to use ad revenue as leverage. He notes the small number of large-circulation dailies in a country of nearly 60 crore people, catalogues import-licence and rotary-machine bottlenecks tied to Cold War trade politics, and closes arguing that a free press must serve facts, not any party's interest, and that government should recognise this as being in its own long-term benefit. - Argues a free press is sine qua non for functioning democracy and is guaranteed, if imperfectly protected, by India's Constitution - Identifies newsprint quotas and advertising allocation as the government's chief levers of control over the press - Recounts the Press Council's finding against the Haryana government in the Tribune advertising-withdrawal case - Notes only 16 of India's roughly 600 dailies exceed a lakh in circulation, against a population of nearly 60 crore - Criticises import-licence politics (rotary machines importable only from the USSR and East Europe) as another chokepoint on the press ### Khrushchev Remembers N. A. Palkhivala's 'Constitution And The Common Man' (excerpted from a Bombay lecture) argues that India's 23 years of freedom are historically anomalous and fragile, and that the Constitution's fundamental rights, especially the right to property, are essential safeguards against dictatorship rather than obstacles to progress. He rejects the claim that the Constitution blocks social and economic uplift, attributing the persistence of poverty instead to 'wooden-headed' government economic policy. Drawing on the Supreme Court's Privy Purses judgment, he quotes at length from the opinions of Chief Justice Hidayatullah, and Justices Shah and Hegde on the rule of law binding even the President and the Union, arguing the case's stakes were the Constitution's sanctity and the nation's financial integrity, not merely the interests of former rulers. He closes urging citizens out of a complacent 'silent majority' stance to actively defend fundamental rights before it is too late. - Argues India's 23 years of democratic freedom are a historical exception and vulnerable to dictatorship if not zealously guarded - Defends the fundamental right to property as integral to a sound body politic, not an obstacle to social progress - Blames poverty and unemployment on 'wooden-headed' government economic policy, not constitutional constraints - Extensively quotes the Supreme Court's Privy Purses judgment (Hidayatullah C.J., Shah J., Hegde J.) on the rule of law binding the executive - Calls on citizens to move beyond passive belief in truth's eventual triumph and take active steps to defend fundamental rights ### India and the ILO (book review) *By N.D. (reviewer initials); book by N. K. Kakkar* 'Khrushchev Remembers' presents extracts from the first couple of chapters of the book of that name, with an editorial framing note (citing translator Crankshaw's preface and noting a scholarly dispute over the memoirs' authenticity between Victor Zorza of the Guardian and thirty American Soviet-affairs experts convened by the U.S. State Department). The extracts themselves are Khrushchev's own account: living as a virtual recluse near Moscow; his comparison of Stalin's and Mao's personality cults; the terror and starvation he witnessed during collectivisation on a visit to a collective farm near the Urals in 1930; Stalin's practice of keeping shifting inner circles to prevent any single ally becoming too secure; and long, dread-filled evenings at Stalin's dacha where guests could not leave until dismissed, where Stalin tested his own food and drink for poison, and where he once forced Khrushchev to dance the Gopak before other officials. - Frames the memoirs' contested authenticity: Victor Zorza called them a 'publishing hoax,' but thirty U.S. State Department-convened experts judged them authentic - Khrushchev compares Stalin's personality cult to Mao Zedong's, calling both 'sick' - Recounts eyewitness horror at starvation and repression during forced collectivisation near the Urals in 1930 - Describes Stalin's practice of rotating his inner circle to keep allies insecure and prevent any challenge to his position - Details Stalin's paranoid dacha routine: testing food and drink for poison, and forcing subordinates like Khrushchev to entertain him, including a forced Gopak dance --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff226/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 226 (March 1971) is the monthly periodical of the Democratic Research Service, edited and published by V. B. Karnik, appearing in the immediate aftermath of the 1971 Lok Sabha general election. The issue's centre of gravity is that election: Karnik's lead editorial reflects on the personality-driven, propaganda-heavy campaign fought around Indira Gandhi and calls for parties to set aside factional struggle and cooperate for the country's sake, while Arvind A. Deshpande's essay works through the manifestos of the Congress(R), PSP, Congress(O)-led Democratic Front, Swatantra, Jana Sangh, SSP, CPI and CPM, sorting them into statist, anti-statist, and extreme-left tendencies and finding most of them evasive or unworkable. Beyond the election, the issue carries a contributed geopolitical survey of Chinese foreign policy and subversive activity across Asia, Africa and Latin America; a report on two Bombay/Poona seminars run by the Leslie Sawhny Programme and the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung on the 'widening gap' between rich and poor nations and on nationalism and the nation-state; three book reviews (on B. B. Misra's administrative history of India, A. G.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 226 (March 1971) is the monthly periodical of the Democratic Research Service, edited and published by V. B. Karnik, appearing in the immediate aftermath of the 1971 Lok Sabha general election. The issue's centre of gravity is that election: Karnik's lead editorial reflects on the personality-driven, propaganda-heavy campaign fought around Indira Gandhi and calls for parties to set aside factional struggle and cooperate for the country's sake, while Arvind A. Deshpande's essay works through the manifestos of the Congress(R), PSP, Congress(O)-led Democratic Front, Swatantra, Jana Sangh, SSP, CPI and CPM, sorting them into statist, anti-statist, and extreme-left tendencies and finding most of them evasive or unworkable. Beyond the election, the issue carries a contributed geopolitical survey of Chinese foreign policy and subversive activity across Asia, Africa and Latin America; a report on two Bombay/Poona seminars run by the Leslie Sawhny Programme and the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung on the 'widening gap' between rich and poor nations and on nationalism and the nation-state; three book reviews (on B. B. Misra's administrative history of India, A. G. Noorani's collection on foreign policy, and R. A. Gopalaswami's plea for political reform); a 'Without Comment' item reporting the arrest of an Anglican dean in South Africa under the Terrorism Act; and the 'With Many Voices' column of press quotations, followed by the statutory ownership statement for the periodical. ## Essays ### Where do we go from here? *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's editorial, written as the 1971 general election results are awaited, argues that a stable government is the country's supreme need regardless of which social and economic changes follow. He criticizes both the ruling party and the opposition for turning the election into a referendum on Indira Gandhi personally, warning that this cult-of-personality style of campaigning is corrosive to democracy. He condemns the lurid mutual propaganda between Congress(R) and the opposition alliance (quoting Rajagopalachari's Swarajya column comparing a Gandhi 'mandate' to sending the Constitution and the Supreme Court 'to the slaughter house'), and singles out election violence, especially in Bengal, as an alarming feature. He closes by urging that whatever the result, all democratic parties must find common ground and work together rather than continue factional struggle. - A stable government is described as the supreme necessity, prerequisite to any social or economic change taking hold. - The election became a referendum for-or-against Indira Gandhi personally, which the author sees as fostering an unhealthy personality cult. - Opposition parties are criticized for painting Congress(R) as pro-Communist and a satellite of Russia; Congress(R) retaliated by branding opposition parties reactionary and anti-poor. - Rajagopalachari's Swarajya column is quoted attacking the idea of a Gandhi 'mandate' as a threat to the Constitution and Supreme Court. - Election violence, especially in Bengal (including murders of political workers), is flagged as a serious democratic danger. - The opposition's 'national democratic alliance' is described as a fragile conglomeration of parties with divergent programmes, united only by the aim of toppling Mrs. Gandhi. - The piece closes with a call for all democratic parties to cooperate for national progress regardless of election outcome. ### A Farewell To Real Politics? *By Arvind A. Deshpande* Arvind A. Deshpande surveys the manifestos of the major parties contesting the 1971 election, calling them collectively 'unimpressive', 'disappointing' and 'innocuous', and argues that most parties avoided real political debate on substantive issues. He groups the manifestos into three strategic trends: statist/socialist moderate-left (Congress(R), PSP), anti-statist/anti-communist partly-liberal partly-Gandhian (Congress(O), Swatantra, Jana Sangh, and to some extent SSP), and extreme-left/Communist (CPI, CPM). He walks through each party's specific commitments -- Congress(R)'s land ceilings and privy-purse abolition, the PSP's radical structural reforms, the Congress(O)-Swatantra-Jana Sangh alliance's commitment to property rights and constitutional defence, the Jana Sangh's stance on China/Pakistan and a uniform civil code, and the CPI/CPM's calls for a new Constituent Assembly, nationalization, and a 'People's Democratic State' -- concluding that the far-left programme is unworkable in India and quotes Engels on the folly of trying 'to make people happy by force'. - All major-party manifestos are judged unimpressive, disappointing and innocuous, seemingly avoiding real political issues in what was treated as a referendum-style poll. - Manifestos are grouped into three strategic trends: statist/socialist (Congress(R), PSP); anti-statist/anti-communist (Congress(O), Swatantra, Jana Sangh, partly SSP); and extreme-left (CPI, CPM). - Congress(R)'s manifesto reaffirms urban property ceilings, land reform, abolition of privy purses, and enlargement of the public sector, while remaining vague on constitutional amendments. - The PSP manifesto calls for radical structural change, socialization of the 'commanding heights' of the economy, and restoring Parliament's sovereign right to amend the Constitution. - The Congress(O)-Swatantra-Jana Sangh 'Democratic Front' alliance emphasizes property rights, judicial independence, rule of law, and a pragmatic approach to planning; the Jana Sangh separately calls for recovery of Chinese/Pakistani-occupied territory and a uniform civil code. - The CPI and CPM manifestos call for a new Constituent Assembly, nationalisation of foreign trade and big industry, a wealth ceiling, and a 'People's Democratic State' led by the working class. - The author dismisses the extreme-left programme as unworkable in India, quoting Engels's warning against trying to make people happy by force. ### China And The World *By (Contributed)* This contributed, unsigned piece surveys Chinese foreign policy and covert activity worldwide as reported by the New China News Agency (NCNA) heading into 1971. It documents Chinese-linked subversive and diplomatic incidents across Africa (Burundi, Congo-Kinshasa, Central African Republic, Tunisia) and Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Cuba, Chile), arguing that even as China expands formal diplomatic and trade ties, it continues to support 'people's wars' and pro-Chinese splinter movements, though with reduced ambition after Guevara's death and general guerrilla setbacks. It then turns to Asia, describing China's continuing rivalry with the Soviet Union for influence in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nepal, its cultivation of Maoist student sympathizers in Nepal, and its cautious but improving relations with Chile under Allende and with Cuba. - NCNA's 1971 New Year messaging emphasized 'anti-imperialist struggle' across Africa, Latin America, and Oceania, though much of Asia coverage focused narrowly on Philippine Communist guerrillas. - Multiple African states (Burundi in 1965, the Central African Republic in 1966, Tunisia) expelled Chinese diplomats or NCNA staff over alleged subversion and arms smuggling. - Chinese-linked subversive activity in Latin America included arrests of pro-Chinese 'Marxist-Leninist' movement members in Brazil and Mexico and NCNA office closures in Ecuador and Venezuela. - By 1970 only two of five Peking-staffed NCNA bureaus in Latin America (Cuba and Chile) remained functioning, with China's support for 'people's wars' reduced but not abandoned after Guevara's death. - China's relations with Chile improved after Allende's election, with Chou En-lai congratulating Chile on its 'just struggle against imperialist aggression' and both countries agreeing to exchange ambassadors. - In Nepal, China is reported exploiting strains in Indo-Nepali relations, cultivating Maoist sympathies among students, and providing roughly one-sixth of Nepal's foreign aid, including road-building projects. - Pakistan and Afghanistan continue to receive significant Chinese aid and diplomatic attention as China and the Soviet Union compete for influence in the region. ### Two Seminars - A Report *By (A Participant)* An unnamed participant reports on two seminars organized in late 1970 and early 1971 by the Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy together with the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung. The first, held in Bombay in December on 'The Widening Gap', brought together economists, journalists and public figures including Prof. P. T. Bauer, M. R. Masani, G. L. Mehta, B. R. Shenoy and G. G. Gadgil to debate development planning, foreign aid, and foreign equity investment, concluding that neither comprehensive planning nor massive international aid is either necessary or sufficient for rapid economic progress, and that properly utilised foreign capital has a positive role that has been undervalued. The second, held in Poona from January 31 to February 2 on 'The Role of the Nation-State in the emerging one world', discussed nationalism's complex, double-edged character and debated whether communism remains compatible with peaceful coexistence, concluding pessimistically that no decisive peaceful settlement is likely between the communist and non-communist worlds short of a stalemate. - The Bombay seminar on 'The Widening Gap' (December 1970) included Prof. P. T. Bauer, M. R. Masani, G. L. Mehta, F. A. Mehta, A. D. Moddie, B. R. Shenoy, and other economists and public figures. - Participants agreed that poverty alone does not represent a fundamental barrier to economic progress, and that the 'vicious circle of poverty' thesis does not by itself justify massive planning or aid. - There was broad agreement that neither comprehensive planning nor international aid is strictly necessary or sufficient for rapid economic progress; specific national performance (India, Indonesia, Burma, Brazil) matters more than aggregate 'widening gap' framing. - Discussion of foreign equity capital balanced concerns about foreign control against the benefits of technology transfer and managerial skills, urging a 'more mature view' by developing countries. - The Poona seminar (Jan 31-Feb 2, 1971) on nation-states discussed nationalism as complex and double-edged -- a unifying, constructive force that could also curdle into aggression, suppression, and isolationism. - The Poona seminar concluded that communism's stated aim of international brotherhood has, in some countries, taken on 'imperialist adventure' characteristics, and that no decisive peaceful settlement between communist and non-communist worlds is likely, only an uneasy stalemate. ### Reviews: The Administrative History of India 1834-1947 (Dr. B. B. Misra) *By V. B. Patankar* The Reviews section covers three books. V. B. Patankar reviews Dr. B. B. Misra's 'The Administrative History of India 1834-1947' (Oxford University Press), praising its erudition and readability while noting the author's own admission that, given the vastness of the subject, 'no study in depth was possible'; the review summarizes the book's account of centralising administrative power after 1834, the dominance of the executive, and the uneven effects of imperial educational policy on Indian society. N.D. reviews A. G. Noorani's 'Aspects of India's Foreign Policy' (Jaico), an eleven-chapter collection of the author's articles on India-Pakistan relations, Sino-Indian and Indo-Pak wars, and non-alignment, describing Noorani as a fearless, US-aligned commentator whose views often cut against official Indian opinion. V.B.K. reviews R. A. Gopalaswami's 'Indian Polity -- A Plea for Reform' (Nachiketa Publications), which proposes a two-party system and constitutional/electoral reforms to end political instability and also addresses graduate unemployment, but the reviewer finds the proposals under-thought given how entrenched party fragmentation already is. - Misra's 'Administrative History of India 1834-1947' is praised for erudite scholarship and readability but criticized (by the author's own admission) for lacking depth given its vast scope across 650-plus pages. - The Misra review highlights the book's treatment of the 1834 abolition of East India Company trading rights, the centralisation of administrative power, and the role of imperial educational policy in producing a loyal middle class. - Noorani's 'Aspects of India's Foreign Policy' is an eleven-chapter, roughly 400-page collection of articles from the prior nine years priced at Rs. 10, covering India-Pakistan and Sino-Indian relations, Nehru and non-alignment, and territorial disputes. - The reviewer (N.D.) describes Noorani as firmly aligned with the democratic U.S. and opposed to communist Russia, and notes his views often diverge from official Indian opinion. - Gopalaswami's 'Indian Polity' proposes constitutional and electoral changes to establish a stable two-party system and separately proposes manpower planning to address graduate unemployment. - The reviewer (V.B.K.) judges Gopalaswami's proposals as under-developed given how far party fragmentation has already progressed and how weak the political incentive is to adopt them. ### Reviews: Aspects of India's Foreign Policy (A. G. Noorani) This 'Without Comment' item reprints a report from the Swiss Press Review and News Report on the arrest of the Very Reverend Gonville ffrench-Beytagh, Anglican Dean of Johannesburg, under South Africa's Terrorism Act, which allows indefinite detention without judicial guarantee. The piece frames the Dean's arrest as retaliation for his outspoken sermons against apartheid, notes his likely deportation as a British citizen, and connects the timing to the recent visit to South Africa by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Michael Ramsey, who had also spoken out against apartheid and reported being spied upon during his stay. - The Very Reverend Gonville ffrench-Beytagh, Anglican Dean of Johannesburg, was arrested under South Africa's Terrorism Act, permitting indefinite detention without judicial procedure. - The report argues his arrest, framed by police as related to his private life, actually followed sustained security-police surveillance of his anti-apartheid sermons. - As a British citizen, the Dean is expected to receive consular access and likely eventual deportation rather than prosecution. - The arrest's timing is linked to the recent visit of Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Michael Ramsey, who also criticized apartheid and reported being spied upon in South Africa. ### Indian Polity - A Plea for Reform (R. A. Gopalaswami) *By N.D.* 'With Many Voices' is Freedom First's regular column of short press quotations on current affairs, opening with a Tennyson epigraph and drawing on sources including M. R. Masani, David Lawrence, British PM Edward Heath, Inder Jit, and P. K. Tripathi, touching on the CPI's political character, the Vietnam war, faulty Indian economic planning, unrest in West Bengal's education system, India-Pakistan relations, and the constitutional stakes of the Golaknath case. The page also carries the statutory 'Statement about Ownership and Other Particulars of Freedom First', naming V. B. Karnik as printer, publisher and editor, and the Democratic Research Service as owner, dated 1 March 1971. - The column collects short press quotations from figures including M. R. Masani, U.S. commentator David Lawrence, British PM Edward Heath, journalist Inder Jit, and Dean P. K. Tripathi of Delhi University's Faculty of Law. - Quoted items touch on the CPI's political alignment, the Vietnam war's domestic political toll on the US Congress, faulty economic planning in India, the breakdown of West Bengal's educational system, and India-Pakistan tensions. - P. K. Tripathi's quote on the Golaknath case frames the constitutional dispute as one of supremacy between the Supreme Court and Parliament rather than over the Constitution's supremacy itself. - The issue's statutory ownership statement names V. B. Karnik as printer, publisher and editor, based at 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1, with the Democratic Research Service as owner, signed 1 March 1971. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff227/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 227 (April 1971) is a special election-focused issue of the Bombay classical-liberal monthly, published in the immediate aftermath of the 1971 Lok Sabha and West Bengal/Tamil Nadu assembly elections. M. R. Pai opens with an analysis of Indira Gandhi's landslide and the collapse of the anti-Congress Democratic Front, warning that her statist economic instincts risk further concentrating power. K. K. Sinha assesses the CPM's rise to dominance of the Bengal left and the fracturing of the non-Left opposition, while a writer under the pseudonym "Atreya" charts the DMK's sweep of Tamil Nadu. A data page tabulates seats and vote shares for both the Parliament and the two state assemblies. The issue also carries A. B. Shah's tribute to the British-born Marxist-turned-liberal India scholar Philip Spratt, an extract from a US Presidential report to Congress on American policy toward South Asia, V. K. Sinha's review of Abraham Brumberg's documentary collection on Soviet dissent ("In Quest of Justice"), a review of A. G. Noorani's "India's Constitution and Politics," a page of short press-quote excerpts ("With Many Voices"), and a brief Books Received notice. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 227 (April 1971) is a special election-focused issue of the Bombay classical-liberal monthly, published in the immediate aftermath of the 1971 Lok Sabha and West Bengal/Tamil Nadu assembly elections. M. R. Pai opens with an analysis of Indira Gandhi's landslide and the collapse of the anti-Congress Democratic Front, warning that her statist economic instincts risk further concentrating power. K. K. Sinha assesses the CPM's rise to dominance of the Bengal left and the fracturing of the non-Left opposition, while a writer under the pseudonym "Atreya" charts the DMK's sweep of Tamil Nadu. A data page tabulates seats and vote shares for both the Parliament and the two state assemblies. The issue also carries A. B. Shah's tribute to the British-born Marxist-turned-liberal India scholar Philip Spratt, an extract from a US Presidential report to Congress on American policy toward South Asia, V. K. Sinha's review of Abraham Brumberg's documentary collection on Soviet dissent ("In Quest of Justice"), a review of A. G. Noorani's "India's Constitution and Politics," a page of short press-quote excerpts ("With Many Voices"), and a brief Books Received notice. ## Essays ### 1971 Elections and India's Future *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai reads the 1971 Lok Sabha result as the collapse of the old Congress establishment and the arrival of Indira Gandhi's personal mandate, achieved despite an opposition Democratic Front that never cohered into more than a seat-adjustment pact. In the continuation on page 11, Pai turns from the electoral post-mortem to a sharply critical economic argument, warning that Mrs. Gandhi's promised expansion of the public sector, nationalisation, and price controls is a "carbon copy of the Stalinist programme" that will worsen shortages, burden the middle class and the poor alike, and risks trading British colonialism for a form of Soviet economic dependency, given Russia's growing military and commercial encirclement of India. - The 1971 election produced a massive personal mandate for Indira Gandhi and routed the old Congress establishment. - The Democratic Front's defeat is attributed to its lack of a positive minimum programme, offering only the negative slogan against Mrs. Gandhi. - Pai lists structural lessons: big names alone no longer win votes, caste-based parties face decline, and national opposition parties must consolidate or risk irrelevance. - Pai warns that political stability depends on constitutional restraint, which he doubts Mrs. Gandhi will honour given her record and her huge majority. - In the continuation, Pai attacks the promised statist economic programme as certain to fail the poor and the middle class through price controls, nationalisation, and expanded public-sector inefficiency. - He warns of a 'modern colonialism' risk from USSR economic and military dealings, including a cited deal to sell outdated surgical instrument manufacturing equipment to Madras at inflated prices. - He frames 1971 as marking the end of the Gandhian era of politics based on purity of means, replaced by a pragmatic, ends-justify-means politics under Mrs. Gandhi. ### Election In West Bengal *By K. K. Sinha* K. K. Sinha surveys the West Bengal assembly election results, describing the CPM's emergence as the dominant force of the organised left and the Congress(J)'s consolidation as the rallying point of anti-CPM sentiment, aided by the nationwide 'Indira Wave.' He details the failed negotiations to unite the three Congress factions, the CPI's dilemma between allying with the CPM or the Congress, and speculates on Moscow's likely preference for cultivating both Mrs. Gandhi and the CPM given the CPM's strategic position facing East Bengal and China. He closes by predicting continued 'class' warfare in Bengal, with the Army's deployment to police thanas as a key new factor, and a blurring line between Naxalite guerrillas and CPM activists. - The CPM emerged as the dominant leftist force in West Bengal, while Congress(J) became the rallying point against it, boosted by the nationwide pro-Indira wave. - Negotiations to merge the three rival Congress factions (Congress(O), Congress(J)/Bangla Congress) broke down before the election. - The CPI faces a strategic dilemma: allying with Congress risks isolation from the left; allying with the CPM risks losing its distinct organisational identity. - Sinha speculates that Moscow will pursue a double-edged policy, cultivating both Mrs. Gandhi at the Centre and the CPM regionally given the CPM's position on the China and East Bengal borders. - The Army's deployment into roughly 300 police thanas during the Presidential Rule period is described as a significant new development shaping post-election law and order. - Sinha forecasts continued and possibly intensifying 'class barricade' warfare in Bengal, with Naxalite and CPM activist identities becoming interchangeable. ### Election Trends In Tamil Nadu *By "Atreya"* Writing under the byline "Atreya," the author analyses the DMK's landslide in the Tamil Nadu assembly and Lok Sabha elections, questioning why Chief Minister Karunanidhi called mid-term polls despite the DMK's comfortable majority, and reviewing several explanations (personal popularity, fear of eroding support, cost) before concluding the real driver was calculated political opportunism. The continuation on page 10 catalogues specific irregularities in electoral rolls and voter registration favouring the DMK, and closes with a caution to the DMK against triumphalism, urging it to use its overwhelming mandate for clean, efficient administration rather than vindictive retaliation against opponents. - The DMK won 183 of 201 assembly seats it contested and swept 23 of 24 parliamentary seats in Tamil Nadu, a scale described as 'flood-tide' victory. - The author rejects popularity, anticipated decline, and cost as sufficient explanations for Karunanidhi calling early elections, pointing instead to calculated political advantage. - Large-scale irregularities are cited: removal of nearly 50,000 names from the Chief Minister's constituency rolls and inclusion of thousands of names of people in temporary huts. - The Old Congress (Kamaraj's faction) won only a single seat despite polling substantial vote share; the DMK and allies took 38 of 39 parliamentary seats contested. - The author closes with a warning against DMK triumphalism, urging restraint from retaliating against opposition-linked cooperatives, unions and businesses. ### America And South Asia *By [An extract from the Report to the Congress by the President of the United States of America]* This piece reproduces an extract from a report to the US Congress by the President of the United States, laying out American policy toward South Asia. It frames US goals as fostering regional stability, encouraging India-Pakistan normalisation, continuing bilateral economic and family-planning assistance to India, and maintaining a balance among the interests of the USSR, China, and the US in the subcontinent, while noting a controversial one-time exception permitting arms sales to Pakistan. - US policy toward South Asia is framed as parallel to its East Asia and Pacific policy, aiming at regional peace and stability. - Two fundamental problems are identified: the challenge of economic/political development, and turning India-Pakistan relations from hostility to cooperation. - The US describes itself as the largest provider of economic aid to South Asia, including support for India's family planning efforts. - The report discloses a 'one-time sale of a limited amount of military equipment' to Pakistan as an exception to the general arms embargo. - The US states it will not try to dictate normalisation between India and Pakistan but will encourage it, while balancing its regional activities against Soviet and Chinese interests. ### Philip Spratt - A Tribute *By A. B. Shah* A. B. Shah's tribute to Philip Spratt, the British-born former Communist International agent (tried in the Meerut Conspiracy Case) who became a India-based scholar of Hindu psychology and a committed liberal humanist under the influence of M. N. Roy. Shah recounts the difficulty Spratt faced getting his major work, "Hindu Culture and Personality," published in India, credits P. C. Manaktala for taking it on despite unfavourable early advice, and portrays Spratt as an austere, unworldly figure whose scholarship he regards as indispensable, if incomplete, for understanding the Hindu mind. - Spratt came to India in 1926 for the Communist Party of Great Britain and was tried in the Meerut Communist Conspiracy case; prison led him to rethink Marxism. - He moved from Marxism through M. N. Roy's non-conformist Marxism and 'scientific humanism' to non-doctrinaire liberal humanism. - His magnum opus, Hindu Culture and Personality (Manaktalas, Bombay, 1966/1968), combined Christian and Freudian frameworks to analyse the Hindu psyche. - An Indian publisher initially rejected the manuscript on fears it would hurt Hindu religious sensibilities; P. C. Manaktala ultimately published it, and it sold out despite largely unfavourable reviews. - Shah describes Spratt as personally austere -- riding a bicycle in his sixties, mending his own spectacles -- and recommends the book as essential, if not exhaustive, reading for understanding India. ### Election Results at a Glance V. K. Sinha reviews Abraham Brumberg's edited collection "In Quest of Justice" (Praeger, 1970), which documents the growth of protest and dissent in the Soviet Union from Stalin's death through the 1966 Siniavsky-Daniel trial and beyond. Sinha traces the post-Stalin literary thaw, the persistence of underground ('non-official') literature under continued censorship, and situates the Siniavsky-Daniel trial as a turning point that shifted dissent from literary to explicitly political demands for civil liberties and legal protections already nominally guaranteed by the Soviet constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. - Sinha frames Stalin's 1953 death and Khrushchev's 1956 secret speech as the start of a slow, incomplete thaw in Soviet cultural and political repression. - Writers such as Ilya Ehrenburg and Dudintsev signalled a literary 'thaw' that never fully arrived at 'spring'; repression continued with occasional laxity. - The February 1966 Siniavsky-Daniel trial is presented as the pivotal event that shifted dissent from literary freedom to demands for constitutional and human-rights protections. - Brumberg's volume is described as comprising three parts: analytical commentaries, an extensive documents section (letters, petitions, trial transcripts), and samples of underground ('samizdat'-type) literature. - The review closes by naming several prominent dissidents -- Bukovsky, Litvinov, Grigorenko, Ginzburg, Galanskov, Larisa Daniel -- as exemplars of the ongoing struggle for civil liberties in the USSR. ### In Quest Of Justice *By V. K. Sinha* A brief review, signed 'V.B.K.,' of A. G. Noorani's "India's Constitution and Politics" (Jaico Publishing House), a companion volume to an earlier Noorani book collecting articles on constitutional and political topics over roughly nine years. The reviewer highlights chapters on the President and Governor, the Cabinet system, parliamentary privileges, and Attorney General relations as authoritative constitutional analysis, and singles out Noorani's dispassionate treatment of the Muslim question and communal riots -- including pieces titled 'How a Riot Begins and Spreads' and 'The Famous 23 Riots' -- as especially valuable for debunking myths propagated by Hindu communalists. - The book is a roughly 600-page, Rs. 10 companion volume collecting Noorani's articles on constitutional and political affairs over about nine years. - Early chapters cover the President and Governor's roles, the Cabinet system, parliamentary privileges, and Attorney General relations, praised as authoritative. - The reviewer highlights Noorani's treatment of the Muslim question, Urdu, and communal riots as dispassionate and rational. - Specific articles 'How a Riot Begins and Spreads' and 'The Famous 23 Riots' are noted for debunking a communal-riot myth propagated by Hindu communalists. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff229/ ### Summary This is the June 1971 issue (No. 229) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is dominated by the unfolding crisis in East Pakistan: the lead article argues for international intervention in Bangla Desh on human-rights grounds, and a later 'Without Comment' item reproduces a US State Department official's statement on the refugee crisis. Other contributors address Indian economic planning's failures, press freedom and the government's ambivalence toward a free press, a review-essay on the 1969 Congress split, and Cold War-inflected pieces on Soviet strategy in Sudan and the Rogers peace mission in the Middle East. The issue closes with the regular 'With Many Voices' page of press quotations. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the June 1971 issue (No. 229) of Freedom First, the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service edited by V. B. Karnik. The issue is dominated by the unfolding crisis in East Pakistan: the lead article argues for international intervention in Bangla Desh on human-rights grounds, and a later 'Without Comment' item reproduces a US State Department official's statement on the refugee crisis. Other contributors address Indian economic planning's failures, press freedom and the government's ambivalence toward a free press, a review-essay on the 1969 Congress split, and Cold War-inflected pieces on Soviet strategy in Sudan and the Rogers peace mission in the Middle East. The issue closes with the regular 'With Many Voices' page of press quotations. ## Essays ### Non-Interference and Bangla Desh *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik argues that the international principle of non-interference in a state's internal affairs, elevated by Nehru into the Panchsheel, has historically enabled great crimes—citing Nazi Germany and Stalin's USSR—and is now shielding Pakistan's military junta as it wages war on the people of Bangla Desh. He contends that mass killings, forced displacement of refugees into India, and suppression of an electoral verdict are matters the world community cannot treat as purely internal, and calls for economic sanctions (withdrawal of all aid to Pakistan) rather than military intervention to compel a negotiated political settlement with the Awami League and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The piece, continued from page 1 to page 4, closes by warning that a prolonged war of attrition will only deepen instability and that the comity of nations should not ignore the danger this poses to peace and freedom generally. - The rule of non-interference in internal affairs, embodied in Nehru's Panchsheel, has both protected small nations and shielded major atrocities (Nazi Germany, Stalin's USSR). - Pakistan's military junta's war against Bangla Desh is presented as the latest crime sheltered by this rule. - Karnik calls for economic sanctions—withdrawal of all international aid to Pakistan—as a more effective and less violent form of intervention than military action. - He notes UN Secretary-General U Thant's appeal for international relief and the mobilisation of Red Cross societies and intellectuals worldwide. - Without a political settlement, the presence of millions of refugees in India will become a permanent burden, and prolonged conflict risks turning into disruption and anarchy that threatens the wider region. ### The Quest For Peace In Mid-east *By R. Muthuswamy* R. Muthuswamy surveys the diplomatic history of Middle East peace efforts since 1969, from the American 'Rogers plan' calling for Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories, through the U.N.-mediated Jarring mission, to the change of leadership in Egypt following Nasser's death. He argues that Sadat's foreign policy marks a genuine, if incomplete, shift away from Soviet dependence, citing Sadat's overtures on recognising Israel and reopening the Suez Canal, and his removal of pro-Moscow figures such as Vice-President Ali Sabri. The essay concludes that reopening the Suez Canal is the best available route to a just Mid-East peace, though Israel's objections centre on preventing renewed Egyptian military use of the vacated east bank. - Since February 1969 the four big powers have sought a solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict; the 1969 American 'Rogers plan' called for Israeli withdrawal from six-day-war territories in exchange for Arab peace guarantees. - The plan was rejected by the Soviets as 'pro-Israeli' and stalled further amid Soviet military buildup in Egypt and Palestinian hijackings. - Sadat's succession after Nasser's death brought a notable shift: willingness to recognise Israel's right to exist and reopen the Suez Canal as an international waterway in return for territorial withdrawal. - Sadat dismissed pro-Moscow Vice-President Al Sabri and other ministers, suggesting an effort to reduce Soviet influence over Egypt. - The author frames Suez's reopening as economically vital for Egypt and strategically significant for Soviet naval ambitions in the Indian Ocean, while Israel's core objection is to potential renewed military use of the canal's east bank. ### Planning Plans *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai attacks the confusion and waste in India's centralised economic planning, opening with the bureaucratic muddle over whether the Planning Commission has been abolished, downgraded, or upgraded following an ordinance transferring its functions to a new Planning Ministry. He argues that centralised, comprehensive planning fails both because it violates market laws that reflect human nature and because, in a democratic setup, it cannot be enforced without the coercive apparatus (rationing, restriction on criticism, suppression of press and property rights) that authoritarian systems use. Pai catalogues large losses at public-sector undertakings (Hindustan Steel, Bhopal Heavy Electricals, Machinery and Allied Mining Corporation) and state-government waste, and closes by warning that continued mismanagement is producing a crisis that will eventually force a reckoning against the political and bureaucratic class responsible. - A political dispute over control of the Planning Commission—variously described by President Giri, PM Indira Gandhi, and the new Planning Minister as demoted, undiminished, or upgraded—exemplifies the incoherence of Indian planning. - Pai distinguishes legitimate planning (assessing both financial and administrative capacity) from the Indian government's overreach into comprehensive, centralised control of the economy. - Centralised planning fails for two reasons: it defies market forces rooted in human nature, and in a democracy it cannot be enforced without curbing civil liberties, the press, the judiciary, and property rights the way communist states do. - Cites specific losses: Hindustan Steel's accumulated losses sufficient to fund half of another steel plant, Machinery and Allied Mining Corporation's wiped-out Rs. 20 crore capital, and Bhopal Heavy Electricals' Rs. 57 crore losses, plus wasteful state schemes (a Gujarat textbook costing Rs. 65,500, a Maharashtra poultry plant losing Rs. 11 lakhs). - Warns that inflation and licensing-driven corruption benefit a small class of politicians, bureaucrats, and 'corrupt business men' at the expense of the landless and fixed-income middle classes. - Predicts that unless this managerial incompetence is checked, Indian planning will end in a crisis and an 'epitaph...written with the tears of politicians whom no one will be able to save from the fury of the masses.' ### The Sudan In Soviet Strategy *By Ian Tickle* Ian Tickle analyses growing Soviet influence in the Sudan, arguing that Moscow's large-scale aid to General Numeiry's regime in crushing the southern rebellion is driven not by sentiment but by strategic calculation, as the Soviets seek naval and base access on the Red Sea and Indian Ocean to complement their established position in Egypt. He situates this within a broader Soviet-Chinese rivalry for influence over African liberation movements, notes that President Sadat's moves toward peace with Israel and away from Soviet dependency have made Egypt a less reliable client, and observes that the Sudan itself supports secessionist movements in Chad and Ethiopia even as it suppresses its own southern rebellion—a contradiction the author frames as driven by pan-Arab strategic interest rather than principle. - Soviet aid to Sudan's military ruler General Numeiry to suppress the southern rebellion reflects a calculated strategic move to establish Red Sea/Indian Ocean bases rather than genuine friendship. - Soviet influence in Egypt has grown since the 1967 war through military and technical aid, but President Sadat's peace overtures toward Israel represent a deliberate effort to reduce Soviet dependency. - The Soviet Union has been outflanked in Africa by China's support for guerrilla movements, prompting a renewed, selective Soviet courtship of 'revolutionary-democratic' parties, evidenced by a Moscow-published book on 'Political Parties of Africa.' - The Sudan offers the USSR valuable strategic value on the Red Sea, complementing existing Soviet access at Aden and Socotra, making it comparably important to Egypt in oceanic strategy. - Despite suppressing its own southern black African rebellion, the Sudanese regime supports secessionist movements (FROLINA in Chad, Eritrean liberation forces) elsewhere, a contradiction the article attributes to pan-Arabist strategic calculation rather than to disapproval of secession as such. - The Numeiry regime has survived ten coup attempts and, per the author, owes its survival and the trajectory of Sudanese politics to Soviet aid and infiltration. ### Freedom Of The Press *By Arvind A. Deshpande* Arvind A. Deshpande, invoking Nehru's stated preference for a completely free press over a suppressed one, warns that recent statements by the Prime Minister and the Union Minister of State for Information about a 'committed' press signal a drift away from the ideal of an unqualified free press. He surveys competing definitions of press 'commitment,' criticises the Prime Minister's complaints that the press is out of touch with rural India and gave insufficient coverage to development news, and argues such failings reflect low literacy and circulation rather than press bias—citing comparative circulation figures showing India's newspapers reach only 15 per 1000 population versus much higher figures in Japan, the UK, USA, USSR and Sweden. He reports on the Indian Federation of Working Journalists' conference in Gandhinagar, which called for transferring PTI and UNI management to statutory corporations free of government control, and concludes that experimentation and voluntary reform of ownership patterns, not government interference, should guide any changes to safeguard editorial freedom. - Deshpande opens with Nehru's stated preference for a 'completely free Press, with all the dangers involved in the wrong use of that freedom' over a suppressed or regulated one. - He argues that talk of a 'committed' press by the Prime Minister and the Union Minister of State for Information signals a troubling departure from this ideal, given ambiguity over what 'commitment' means. - The Prime Minister's criticisms—that the press gave only 5% of news space to development news and was urban-oriented—are contrasted with the press's poor prediction of the 1971 parliamentary election result. - India's newspaper circulation, at roughly 15 copies per 1000 population, lags far behind Japan (469), UK (479), USA (310), USSR (264) and Sweden (505), which the author attributes to low literacy and reading habits rather than press failure. - The Indian Federation of Working Journalists' conference in Gandhinagar urged transferring management of PTI and UNI, and major newspaper groups, to statutory corporations independent of both industrial owners and government control. - Deshpande concludes that new patterns of ownership should evolve through voluntary experimentation, not government interference, to protect editorial freedom and democracy itself. ### Seven Months That Shook India *By M. D. Kini* M. D. Kini reviews two recent books on the 1969 Congress split — Kuldip Nayar's 'India: The Critical Years' and Rajinder Puri's 'A Crisis of Conscience' — praising Nayar's decade-spanning diary-based account and Puri's sharp character sketches of the era's leading political figures (Nijalingappa, Morarji Desai, Kamaraj, Chavan, and Indira Gandhi). The essay narrates the crisis chronologically from the contested Presidential nomination following Zakir Husain's death through Mrs. Gandhi's bank nationalisation, the expulsion of dissenters, and the final Congress split, drawing extensively on Nayar's reporting of Congress Working Committee and Parliamentary Board proceedings. Kini closes with a critical assessment finding fault with both Mrs. Gandhi's conduct (threats against colleagues, capture of the party organisation) and her opponents', concluding that the episode reflects poorly on Indian democratic norms and evokes the legacy of Tilak, Gandhi, Nehru and Patel. - Reviews two books on the 1969 Congress crisis: Kuldip Nayar's diary-based 'India: The Critical Years' and Rajinder Puri's 'A Crisis of Conscience,' the latter praised for its sharp personality assessments. - Recounts the presidential succession dispute after Zakir Husain's death, Mrs. Gandhi's push for her own nominee (Mr. Reddy vs. Sanjiva Reddy per the Congress Parliamentary Board) against the 'Syndicate.' - Details Mrs. Gandhi's sudden nationalisation of fourteen major banks by ordinance and her removal of Morarji Desai from the Finance Ministership within days. - Chronicles the organisational battle: expulsion/suspension moves against Arjun Arora, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, and C. Subramaniam, Mrs. Gandhi's suspension from primary Congress membership, and the final Congress Parliamentary Party vote of confidence in her. - Kini's concluding assessment is critical of both sides, faulting Mrs. Gandhi's tactics (threats, capturing the organisation, filing nomination papers while opposing colleagues) and asserting that the episode did not enhance democratic norms. - The essay ends by contrasting the party's rapid unraveling in under seven months with its founding and consolidation over seven decades by leaders such as Tilak, Gandhi, Nehru and Patel. ### Without Comment (American View) This 'Without Comment' item reproduces, without editorial gloss, a statement by Mr. Joseph J. Sisco, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, delivered before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives on the situation in India, Pakistan, and Ceylon. Sisco praises India's fifth national election as a democratic achievement, notes India's expanded regional role including aid to Ceylon against insurgents, and expresses American concern over the internal conflict in Pakistan and its impact on India-Pakistan relations, describing US support for UN High Commissioner-organised relief efforts for East Pakistani refugees in India. - Joseph J. Sisco, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, praised India's successful conduct of its fifth national election as a democratic achievement. - He noted India's more active regional role, including assistance to Ceylon in dealing with insurgents. - Sisco described the internal conflict in Pakistan (East Bengal) as having impaired institutional capacity and worsened India-Pakistan relations. - The US stated it had taken the lead in supporting the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' international relief effort for refugees fleeing East Pakistan to India. - The statement is presented 'without comment' by Freedom First, as sourced from UNI (United News of India). ### With Many Voices The closing 'With Many Voices' page compiles brief press quotations from Indian and international commentators on the Bangla Desh crisis, Cold War diplomacy, the Congress party, and press freedom, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. Quoted sources include Time, The Economist, C. Rajagopalachari writing in Swarajya, K. Santhanam, Rajinder Puri, and Durga Das, alongside a subscription coupon for Freedom First and the issue's colophon naming V. B. Karnik as editor and publisher for the Democratic Research Service. - A compilation of short press quotations under the recurring 'With Many Voices' feature, opened with an epigraph from Tennyson. - Quotations touch on the Bangla Desh crisis ('the issue is mankind versus Islamabad' — Thought; 'If Bangla Desh is alive at all, it is living in West Bengal' — The Economist), superpower diplomacy, and Indian politics. - C. Rajagopalachari is quoted from Swarajya questioning whether the Great Powers have left South Asia to 'the tender mercies of Mao Tse-tung.' - The page includes a subscriber coupon (annual subscription Rs. 5.00) addressed to Freedom First, c/o Democratic Research Service, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1. - The colophon records that the issue was edited and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik at 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1, and printed at Inland Printers, 55 Gamdevi Road, Bombay 7; Registered No. MH 272. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff228/ ### Summary This May 1971 issue of Freedom First is dominated by the unfolding crisis in East Pakistan. Adam Adil's opening piece narrates the declaration of independence of Bangla Desh and the Pakistani army's crackdown, while K. K. Sinha's follow-up essay, written as the conflict entered a guerrilla phase, analyses the roots of Bengali alienation from Islamabad and urges India and other governments to recognise the new state without delay. Alongside the Bangla Desh coverage, S. V. Raju offers a post-mortem of the failed opposition Grand Alliance (Congress-O, Swatantra, Jan Sangh, and the Samyukta Socialist Party) against Mrs Gandhi's Congress in the 1971 general election, and Horst Hartmann contributes an explainer on West Germany's mixed-member electoral system, implicitly informing the magazine's recurring interest in electoral reform for India. Shorter unsigned items cover the JVP-led insurrection in Ceylon, the Soviet propaganda agency Novosti's tenth anniversary, book reviews of Solzhenitsyn's For the Good of the Cause and a monograph on the Prague Spring, a reader's letter, and a closing digest of press quotations on the Bangla Desh crisis and Indian politics. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This May 1971 issue of Freedom First is dominated by the unfolding crisis in East Pakistan. Adam Adil's opening piece narrates the declaration of independence of Bangla Desh and the Pakistani army's crackdown, while K. K. Sinha's follow-up essay, written as the conflict entered a guerrilla phase, analyses the roots of Bengali alienation from Islamabad and urges India and other governments to recognise the new state without delay. Alongside the Bangla Desh coverage, S. V. Raju offers a post-mortem of the failed opposition Grand Alliance (Congress-O, Swatantra, Jan Sangh, and the Samyukta Socialist Party) against Mrs Gandhi's Congress in the 1971 general election, and Horst Hartmann contributes an explainer on West Germany's mixed-member electoral system, implicitly informing the magazine's recurring interest in electoral reform for India. Shorter unsigned items cover the JVP-led insurrection in Ceylon, the Soviet propaganda agency Novosti's tenth anniversary, book reviews of Solzhenitsyn's For the Good of the Cause and a monograph on the Prague Spring, a reader's letter, and a closing digest of press quotations on the Bangla Desh crisis and Indian politics. ## Essays ### Bangla Desh *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil surveys the outbreak of civil war in Pakistan following the declaration of independence of Bangla Desh, with Nazrul Islam as acting President and Tajuddin Ahmed as Prime Minister in the reported absence of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman. The essay traces the structural grievances behind the split — the economic and administrative domination of the Eastern wing by West Pakistan, the failed talks between Mujibur Rehman and Bhutto, and President Yahya Khan's decision to postpone the National Assembly and then unleash military force on East Bengal. It describes the destruction of Dacca and Chittagong, the targeting of intellectuals, and the formation of the Mukti Fouj resistance force, and closes on the refugee crisis spilling into West Bengal and India's cautious diplomatic position. - Bangla Desh declared independence under acting President Nazrul Islam and PM Tajuddin Ahmed, with Mujibur Rehman reported in Pakistani custody - Root causes include economic disparity between the wings and West Pakistani dominance of the army and civil service - Talks between Mujibur Rehman's six-point autonomy demand and Bhutto/Yahya Khan broke down, leading to postponement of the National Assembly - The Pakistani army launched a campaign of destruction against Dacca, Chittagong, and Dacca University, targeting intellectuals - Nearly three and a half lakh refugees, both Hindu and Muslim, had crossed into West Bengal by the time of writing - No government had yet recognised Bangla Desh, but the author argues India will eventually have no alternative ### Novosti After Ten Years An unsigned piece marking Novosti's tenth anniversary (February 1971) surveys the Soviet news agency's growth into a major propaganda channel, describing its network of roughly 600 staff journalists, its 49 foreign magazines and five newspapers distributed to 110 countries, and its flagship Indian publication Soviet Land, which circulates 550,000 copies fortnightly in twelve Indian languages plus English. The piece is sharply critical, quoting Novosti's own head Boris Burkov on the agency's ideological mission and cataloguing its activities in Africa, the Middle East, and its 1969 syndication agreement with India's Press Information Bureau, alongside reports of Novosti correspondents engaging in intelligence and subversive activity leading to expulsions from several countries. - Novosti marked its tenth anniversary in February 1971 amid a leadership shake-up reflecting Moscow's dissatisfaction with its performance - The agency runs about 600 staff journalists and publishes 49 magazines and five newspapers in 110 countries - Its principal Indian output, Soviet Land, has a circulation of 550,000 across 12 Indian languages plus English - Novosti reached a 1969 syndication agreement with India's Press Information Bureau - The piece alleges Novosti correspondents have engaged in intelligence and subversive activities, leading to expulsions from several African countries and friction with Cuba ### Notes: Revolt in Ceylon / Electoral System The unsigned "Notes" column carries two short editorials. "Revolt in Ceylon" reflects on the three-week insurgency of young, educated but unemployed Ceylonese youths (dubbed "Che Gueverites") that required tanks, armoured cars, and foreign help to suppress, and warns that India's own large pool of unemployed educated youth poses a similar risk unless curative and preventive measures are taken. "Electoral System" argues that India has given too little thought to alternatives to its inherited British first-past-the-post system, pointing to the 1971 election results where the Congress won a large majority of seats on a modest vote share while opposition parties were badly under-represented, and calls for study of proportional and other systems such as the French and German models. - The Ceylon insurgency, though initially appearing minor, required a three-week military operation with tanks, armour, and foreign help to suppress - The rebels were largely young, educated, unemployed persons who fell prey to professional revolutionaries; the piece downplays foreign (North Korean) involvement as a major factor - The column warns India has a similarly large and growing mass of educated unemployed youth and needs both curative and preventive measures - On electoral reform, the column cites the Congress winning 350 Lok Sabha seats on 63 million votes versus the Organisation Congress's 16 seats on 15 million votes as an illustration of distortion under first-past-the-post - It calls for study of proportional representation and other systems like the French and German models ### Bangla Desh - Second Phase *By K. K. Sinha* K. K. Sinha's essay picks up the Bangla Desh story as the Pakistani army captures most major towns, marking the end of the first chapter of the independence struggle and the start of a longer guerrilla phase. Sinha reviews the economic and political exploitation of East Bengal, the failure of talks between the Awami League and Islamabad, and argues Yahya Khan and Bhutto deliberately strung out negotiations to buy time to bring in military reinforcements before launching a "lesson-teaching" campaign of terror. He lays out five urgent tasks for the Bangla Desh government going forward — consolidating the Mukti Fouz's guerrilla command, managing refugees, administering controlled villages, building diplomatic contacts abroad, and establishing study cells for economic and political recovery planning — and urges India and other governments to recognise Bangla Desh promptly to help end the crisis. - Sinha frames the fall of major towns to the Pakistani army as ending the first phase and opening a longer, harder guerrilla phase of the independence struggle - He attributes the conflict to structural exploitation of East Bengal (jute exports benefiting West Pakistan, non-Bengali control of industry, skewed army recruitment) and the failed parity/one-man-one-vote disputes - He argues Yahya Khan and Bhutto used talks with Mujibur Rehman as cover to bring in military reinforcements before launching a repression campaign - Sinha sets out five priority tasks for the Bangla Desh government: guerrilla reorganisation, refugee management, village administration, international diplomacy, and study cells for economic/political recovery - He urges prompt recognition of Bangla Desh by India and other governments to avoid prolonging "human agony" ### Alliance That Never Was *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju dissects the collapse of the anti-Congress "Grand Alliance" of Swatantra, Congress(O), Jan Sangh, and the Samyukta Socialist Party in the 1971 general election, arguing the coalition was an "alliance that never was." He shows Mrs Gandhi's Congress won only 43.64% of votes cast (23.91% of the total electorate) yet dominated the result, crediting this to the disunity of her opponents rather than her own claimed mandate. Raju details the Alliance's disputes over seat allocation (citing South Bombay and Rajkot as flashpoints), its failure to agree on a common programme, its inability to counter the "Garibi Hatao" slogan, and local politicians' unwillingness to risk their own standing for the coalition's sake, concluding that the electorate rejected "the politics of opportunism." - Mrs Gandhi's Congress secured only 43.64% of votes cast (23.91% of the total electorate), far short of her claimed 95% support, but the fractured opposition let her dominate seats - The Grand Alliance (Swatantra, Congress-O, Jan Sangh, SSP) suffered severe internal disputes over seat-sharing, notably in South Bombay and Rajkot - The Swatantra Party briefly walked out of the Alliance on January 3 over the SSP's entry before rejoining on January 8 - The Alliance failed to counter Congress's "Garibi Hatao" (eliminate poverty) messaging against its own "Indira Hatao" slogan - In Tamil Nadu the Alliance secured 59 lakh votes against the DMK-Congress(R) combine's 76 lakh, but electoral vagaries limited seat gains - Raju concludes voters rejected "opportunistic pacts" and that the electorate desires stability over such alliances ### Electoral System In Germany *By Horst Hartmann* Horst Hartmann, in a piece based on a talk given at the Democratic Research Service, explains West Germany's mixed-member electoral system, in which voters cast two votes — one for a directly elected constituency candidate among 248 constituencies, and one for a party's Federal State list — with the second vote determining each party's overall proportional strength in the 496-seat Bundestag via the D'Hondt counting method. He traces the system's origins to the Weimar Republic's fragmented multi-party collapse into Nazism, describes the five-per-cent threshold designed to prevent splinter parties, and recounts how the party system consolidated from ten parties in 1949 to four by the third Bundestag, while noting ongoing debate — with the CDU favouring a shift toward British/Indian-style plurality voting and the SPD divided and the FDP opposed. - German voters cast two votes: one for a directly elected constituency MP (248 constituencies) and one for a party's Federal State list, which determines proportional seat totals via the D'Hondt method - The Bundestag totals 496 elected deputies (248 direct plus 248 from state lists), with Berlin's 22 deputies holding only advisory status - A five per cent threshold (or three constituency wins) is designed to prevent splinter parties, a lesson drawn directly from the Weimar Republic's collapse into Nazism - The party system consolidated from about ten parties in the first Bundestag (1949) to four (CDU/CSU, SPD, FDP) by the third Bundestag - The CDU has pushed for a shift toward British/Indian-style plurality voting, partly in response to far-right NPD gains during a 1960s economic downturn, while the SPD is divided and the FDP opposes any change ### Reviews: For the Good of the Cause *By V. B. K.* The Reviews section carries two book notices. V. B. K. reviews Alexander Solzhenitsyn's For the Good of the Cause (National Academy, Delhi), describing it as a minor but effective satire of Soviet bureaucratic soullessness centred on a technical school whose new building is arbitrarily reassigned to a research institute, praising the book's spare, unexaggerated style. V. B. Patankar reviews Victor M. Fic's The Prague Spring: 1968 (Nachiketa Publications), a case study of the reforms attempted under Alexander Dubcek and their crushing by Soviet intervention, framing it as an indictment of Marxist theory's "cruel fallibilities" and the Soviet bloc's use of force against Czechoslovakia. - For the Good of the Cause is described as a satire on Soviet bureaucratic apparatus, centred on a technical school whose promised new building is reassigned to a research institute by ministry decree - The reviewer calls it 'one of the minor works of Solzhenitsyn' but praises its economical, unexaggerated prose - The Prague Spring: 1968 is presented as a case study of the reforms planned under communist leader Alexander Dubcek and their suppression - Patankar's review frames the Soviet intervention as exposing the 'cruel fallibilities' of Marxist theory and undermining the prospects of the communist bloc ### Reviews: The Prague Spring: 1968 *By V. B. Patankar* A published letter to the editor from R. Srinivasan of Madras responds to M. R. Pai's article "1971 Elections and India's Future," praising its boldness and reflecting on Mrs Gandhi's electoral success as owed to weaker and poorer sections of the electorate (per Jagjivan Ram's own admission). The writer argues India's government now faces a choice between a welfare state achieved through private enterprise or one achieved through public enterprise, criticises nationalised banks for lending to the poor without regard to repayment capacity, and suggests New Deal-style measures could have addressed unemployment more effectively. - The letter responds to M. R. Pai's article "1971 Elections and India's Future," praising its bold statements on the reasons for Indira Gandhi's success - Cites Jagjivan Ram's admission that the elections were won on the strength of weaker and poorer sections of society - Frames the post-election choice as between a welfare state built on private enterprise versus one built on public enterprise - Criticises nationalised banks for extending credit to the poor without assessing repayment capacity - Suggests New Deal-style measures, as used in 1930s America, could have better addressed India's unemployment problem ### Letter to the Editor *By R. Srinivasan* "With Many Voices" is the issue's closing feature, a curated digest of press quotations from Indian and international outlets (Swiss Press Review, Times of India, Sunday Standard, Indian Express, The Observer, The Economist, Time, and others) on the Bangla Desh crisis, Cold War dynamics, and Indian politics following the 1971 election, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. The quotes range from warnings about the difficulty of secession gaining outside support, to commentary on the Pakistani army's violence in East Bengal, to wry observations about Mrs Gandhi's political positioning and the international community's muted response to the crisis. - The feature compiles short press quotations from a wide range of Indian and international publications dated between March 27 and April 26, 1971 - Multiple quotes address the Bangla Desh crisis, including warnings about weak international mediation efforts and allegations of Pakistani army violence against civilians - Other quotes reflect on Mrs Gandhi's post-election political position and comparisons to Mao - The section closes with a subscription notice for Freedom First --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff230/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 230 (July 1971) is a monthly periodical issue from the Democratic Research Service, edited by V. B. Karnik, opening with M. S. Dabke's critique of Finance Minister Y. B. Chavan's 1971 budget as regressive and economically incoherent, followed by an unsigned Notes section on the Bangladesh refugee influx, the PSP-SSP socialist merger, and election-law reform. The issue continues with S. R. Mohan Das on factional disarray in India's trade union movement (INTUC, HMS, AITUC), S. S. Voronitsyn on growing educational and class stratification in the Soviet Union, a Reviews section covering a comparative-politics volume edited by Gabriel Almond and James Coleman and B. K. Dutt's account of the 1946 Royal Indian Navy mutiny, and A. Yodfat's survey (via New Middle East) of Soviet relationships with Arab Communist parties across Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Sudan. It closes with a reprinted Economist note on Chinese refugees swimming to Hong Kong and the recurring 'With Many Voices' column of press quotations. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 230 (July 1971) is a monthly periodical issue from the Democratic Research Service, edited by V. B. Karnik, opening with M. S. Dabke's critique of Finance Minister Y. B. Chavan's 1971 budget as regressive and economically incoherent, followed by an unsigned Notes section on the Bangladesh refugee influx, the PSP-SSP socialist merger, and election-law reform. The issue continues with S. R. Mohan Das on factional disarray in India's trade union movement (INTUC, HMS, AITUC), S. S. Voronitsyn on growing educational and class stratification in the Soviet Union, a Reviews section covering a comparative-politics volume edited by Gabriel Almond and James Coleman and B. K. Dutt's account of the 1946 Royal Indian Navy mutiny, and A. Yodfat's survey (via New Middle East) of Soviet relationships with Arab Communist parties across Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Sudan. It closes with a reprinted Economist note on Chinese refugees swimming to Hong Kong and the recurring 'With Many Voices' column of press quotations. ## Essays ### The Budget and the Common Man *By M. S. Dabke* M. S. Dabke argues that the 1971 budget piles fresh, regressive burdens on the common man while doing little to reduce poverty or spur real development. He contends the government's own figures understate the tax burden, criticizes heavy reliance on indirect taxes on necessities (pressure cookers, thermos flasks, petrol, cigarettes) that hit the middle and poor classes hardest, and faults the Finance Minister for never studying the 'marginal utility' of a rupee to different income groups before taxing them. Dabke traces India's falling savings rate and declining capital-formation ratios (from about 20% in 1962-63 to roughly 12% by 1971) to the cumulative effect of successive budgets' 'collections-oriented approach', and closes by noting how little of the Rs. 2,722 crore revenue (about Rs. 85 crore, or 3.5%) is actually directed to welfare and employment schemes. - The full-year burden of new taxation is about Rs. 285 crores, or 35% more if annualized beyond the nine-month collection period. - Budgets are supposed to raise resources, reduce inequality, spur capital formation, and encourage savings and investment, but Dabke argues the 1971 budget fails on most counts. - Heavy new excise on pressure cookers and thermos flasks (up to 30-50% combined) is criticized as mislabeling necessities as luxuries. - India's capital formation rate has fallen sharply from about 20% (1962-63) to around 12% by 1971, driven by non-Plan expenditure and public-sector losses. - Of Rs. 2,722 crores in revenue, only about Rs. 85 crores (3.5%) goes to employment generation, child welfare, and education combined. ### Notes (Refugee Problem; PSP-SSP Merger; Election Law) The unsigned Notes section addresses three current issues: the influx of refugees from Bangla Desh into India, which the editors argue is an international responsibility that the United Nations must help shoulder (as it did for Palestinian refugees via UNRWA); the merger of the Praja Socialist Party and Samyukta Socialist Party into a new unified socialist party, which the piece treats skeptically given the PSP's weakness and history of factional splits; and Parliament's decision to set up a committee to reform election law, addressing malapportioned constituencies, new subtler forms of electoral corruption, and uncontrolled campaign expenses. - Refugees from Bangla Desh are pouring into India at a rate that could reach ten million; the piece argues this is an international, not purely Indian, responsibility. - The UN's precedent of UNRWA for Palestinian refugees is cited as a model for handling the Bangla Desh refugee crisis. - The PSP and SSP have agreed to merge into a new 'Socialist Party' offering a radical alternative to Congress(R), but the piece doubts the merger will hold or matter much given both parties' current weakness. - A new parliamentary committee will examine election-law reform, including proportional representation, constituency size, and new forms of election-related corruption such as promised temple or road construction. ### Labour Movement - The Future *By S. R. Mohan Das* S. R. Mohan Das analyzes the fragmentation of India's labour movement following the mid-term Lok Sabha elections, describing how INTUC, HMS, and AITUC have lost political direction and are being pulled into confused, shifting alliances (including INTUC's rapprochement with the AITUC despite historic anti-Communist positioning). He argues regional labour federations sponsored by parties like the DMK and Shiv Sena add further confusion, and that the deeper problem is structural: India's labour movement has always been an intelligentsia-led response to industrialization rather than an organic, worker-controlled institution, leaving unions vulnerable to being reduced to symbolic or 'commissar'-style functions as the state increasingly sets wages and conditions by notification. - Mid-term Lok Sabha results dealt a blow to the intelligentsia controlling the labour movement, leaving INTUC, HMS, and AITUC without clear political direction. - INTUC, historically anti-Communist, has had to soften its stance toward the AITUC to retain government patronage under Minister of State for Labour R. K. Khadilkar. - Regional labour federations sponsored by the DMK and Shiv Sena add further fragmentation to the union landscape. - The author argues India's labour movement was never built on a genuine worker-driven business function, leaving it vulnerable to becoming a mere 'veto-using instrument' rather than a protective institution. - The piece foresees continued splits and fragmentation unless unions restructure to allow real worker decision-making and control. ### Russia: Towards Hereditary Elite *By S. S. Voronitsyn* S. S. Voronitsyn describes a widening gap in the Soviet Union between the number of secondary-school graduates and the limited places available at higher educational institutions, arguing this is producing a disillusioned surplus of young people shut out of higher education and skilled employment. He shows that access to higher education is increasingly determined by parental wealth, official position, and connections rather than merit, despite formally competitive entrance exams, and that this is entrenching a hereditary elite. The piece closes by comparing this emerging Soviet 'establishment' problem to the intelligentsia's self-isolation and the political dangers of 'overproduction' of educated but unemployed youth in both capitalist and Communist systems. - About three million Soviet students finish secondary education yearly, but only 500,000 full-time places exist at higher institutions. - Since 1951, day-study places have doubled while secondary graduates have risen by 650%, sharply widening the gap. - Admission is increasingly influenced by parental wealth, social standing, and personal connections rather than pure merit, despite competitive entrance exams. - A Russian journal is quoted describing parents' 'siege' of examination and enrolment commissions through influential contacts. - The author sees this producing a self-perpetuating hereditary elite and drawing an implicit parallel to capitalist countries' 'establishment' problem. ### Reviews: The Politics of the Developing Areas (ed. Gabriel A. Almond and James S. Coleman) The Reviews section (signed V.B.K.) covers two books: 'The Politics of the Developing Areas', edited by Gabriel A. Almond and James S. Coleman (Princeton), praised as an intellectually ambitious attempt to build a functionalist comparative-politics framework for analyzing developing-area political systems, though criticized for lacking attention to geo-cultural factors of the kind Karl Wittfogel examined in his studies of oriental despotism and irrigation societies; and 'Mutiny of the Innocents' by B. K. Dutt (Sindhu Publications), a first-hand account of the February 1946 Royal Indian Navy mutiny in Bombay, which the reviewer credits with hastening the transfer of power and playing a real, if understated, role in Indian independence. - Almond and Coleman's volume proposes input functions (political socialisation, interest articulation, political communication) and output functions (rule making, rule application, rule adjudication) as a universal analytic model. - The reviewer credits the model's 'mutuality vs dominance' distinction as key to comparing developed and developing political systems, but faults it for omitting geo-cultural factors like those Wittfogel studied. - B. K. Dutt's 'Mutiny of the Innocents' gives the first full account of the 1946 RIN mutiny, arguing it convinced the British they could no longer rely on their armed forces to hold India. - The mutineers wanted to hand power to national leaders, but the mutiny failed because those leaders were not ready to accept it. - The book's foreword was contributed by 'Mr. Natarajan', editor of the Free Press Journal at the time of the mutiny. ### Reviews: Mutiny of the Innocents (B. K. Dutt, Sindhu Publications) *By V. B. K.* A. Yodfat (reprinted from New Middle East) surveys the fraught relationship between the Soviet Union and Arab Communist parties across Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Sudan. He shows that Soviet geopolitical interests in the region — securing oil deals, military bases, and anti-Western alignment with ruling regimes — have repeatedly overridden solidarity with local Communist parties, who are often imprisoned or persecuted even by the same 'progressive' Arab regimes Moscow courts. The piece concludes that Arab Communist parties, lacking Soviet backing when it conflicts with state-to-state interests, have increasingly converged with nationalist positions rather than pursued independent revolutionary lines. - Since 1960, Soviet policy has treated Arab Communist parties as an embarrassment when they conflict with relations with ruling Arab regimes. - In Egypt, small Communist groups were repeatedly repressed even as Soviet-Egyptian relations warmed; some were disbanded in 1965 and merged into the ruling Arab Socialist Union under Soviet advice. - In Iraq, the Ba'ath regime received substantial Soviet economic and military assistance and oil deals, while Iraqi Communists continued to be imprisoned and tortured, a fact the Iraqi Communist Party protested in a May 1970 statement. - In Jordan and Lebanon, Communists have found relatively more freedom to operate, with Lebanon home to the only legal Communist newspaper (an-Nida) in the Arab world. - The Sudanese Communist Party, once among the strongest in the Arab world with deep trade union support, was suppressed even as Sudan moved closer to Moscow. - Yodfat concludes Soviet leaders prioritize military bases and oil/strategic interests with Arab regimes over consistent support for local Communist parties. ### Books Received A short 'Without Comment' item reprinted from The Economist reports on the 1971 wave of Chinese 'freedom swimmers' fleeing across the five-mile stretch to Hong Kong, describing rising disillusionment among city youths forcibly sent to rural communes since the Cultural Revolution, harsher measures against escapers and their families, and a growing parallel phenomenon of overseas Chinese being smuggled into Hong Kong via Macao for a fee. - More than 150 swimmers were detected crossing to Hong Kong in the month before publication, part of an estimated 10,000-11,000 annual escapers. - Escapers are disproportionately former Red Guards and urban youths sent to rural communes since the Cultural Revolution who now face bitter disillusionment. - Chinese authorities have begun threatening a ten-year labour-camp term for families that fail to report intended escapes. - A parallel smuggling route brings expatriate Chinese into Hong Kong via Macao for fees ranging from £50 to £100 per person. ### USSR And Arab Communist Parties *By A. Yodfat* The closing 'With Many Voices' column collects short press quotations on the period's major controversies: Soviet interests in general instability, the PSP-SSP socialist merger, socialism as a search for followers in India, the East Pakistan/Bangladesh refugee crisis and the exodus of Hindus, Solzhenitsyn's remarks on Samizdat publishing, and Yahya Khan's military position, among others, drawn from outlets including the Swiss Press Review, Indian Express, Time, The Observer, and The Sunday Times. - Includes a quote from Lee Kuan Yew comparing India and Ceylon as examples of chaos following declarations of 'complete freedom.' - Includes Minoo Masani describing himself as 'always a radical, never a conservative of either the Left or the Right.' - Quotes Alexander Solzhenitsyn on being forced to publish only via Samizdat due to Soviet censorship. - Quotes The Observer and The Sunday Times on the scale of the Bengal refugee crisis and army-Bengali tensions in East Pakistan. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff231/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 231 (August 1971) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal periodical, edited and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik. The issue leads with S. V. Raju's analysis of the Tamil Nadu government's Rajamannar Committee report on Centre-State relations, arguing that its loaded terms of reference undercut an otherwise substantive set of recommendations for greater state autonomy. V.B.K.'s regular 'From Here and There' column covers President Nixon's planned visit to Peking and the resulting realignment of Cold War diplomacy, condemns U.S. policy toward the Bangladesh crisis as 'cruel and senseless,' and dismisses the Bombay taxi-strike Bandh as a pointless show of union force. M. R. Pai contributes an essay diagnosing the causes of black money in India and proposing tax and regulatory reforms as remedies. Mohan Joshi reports on the JVP insurgency in Ceylon and India's assistance to the Bandaranaike government in suppressing it. A feature titled 'These Things Were Happening' reproduces a television interview with former U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk reflecting on the Pentagon Papers and the conduct of the Vietnam War.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 231 (August 1971) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal periodical, edited and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik. The issue leads with S. V. Raju's analysis of the Tamil Nadu government's Rajamannar Committee report on Centre-State relations, arguing that its loaded terms of reference undercut an otherwise substantive set of recommendations for greater state autonomy. V.B.K.'s regular 'From Here and There' column covers President Nixon's planned visit to Peking and the resulting realignment of Cold War diplomacy, condemns U.S. policy toward the Bangladesh crisis as 'cruel and senseless,' and dismisses the Bombay taxi-strike Bandh as a pointless show of union force. M. R. Pai contributes an essay diagnosing the causes of black money in India and proposing tax and regulatory reforms as remedies. Mohan Joshi reports on the JVP insurgency in Ceylon and India's assistance to the Bandaranaike government in suppressing it. A feature titled 'These Things Were Happening' reproduces a television interview with former U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk reflecting on the Pentagon Papers and the conduct of the Vietnam War. The issue closes with three book reviews and the 'With Many Voices' page of press excerpts on Nixon's China opening, Bangladesh, and related world events. ## Essays ### Autonomy for States? *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju examines the Report of the Centre-State Relations Inquiry Committee (the Rajamannar Committee), set up by the Tamil Nadu government in September 1969 and chaired by three eminent jurists/educationists. Raju argues the committee's terms of reference were 'loaded' toward finding that autonomy needed expanding, which undercuts the report's credibility even though its recommendations merit serious consideration. He summarizes sixteen of the Committee's specific recommendations, covering an Inter-State Council of Chief Ministers, redistribution of legislative lists, devolution of tax revenue, industrial licensing reform, Supreme Court appellate jurisdiction, gubernatorial appointments, and constitutional amendment procedures. The piece (continued from page 2 to page 8) concludes that while the political/administrative recommendations are largely unacceptable as would-be changes to India's federal structure, the financial and economic recommendations deserve serious study rather than blanket dismissal as DMK ideology. - The Rajamannar Committee was appointed by the Tamil Nadu government (Sept. 22, 1969) with Dr. Rajamannar, Mr. Chandra Reddy, and Dr. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar as members. - Raju argues the committee's terms of reference presupposed that Centre-State relations were unsatisfactory, making the description of it as an impartial 'inquiry' a misnomer. - The report makes 16 recommendations, including an Inter-State Council of Chief Ministers chaired by the PM, redistribution of the Concurrent List, wider revenue devolution, and repeal/replacement of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951. - Raju divides the recommendations into a political/administrative part he finds largely unacceptable (would create a 'loosely-linked federal set-up with an extremely weak centre') and a financial/economic part with considerable merit. - He specifically endorses reconsidering the Planning Commission's role, discretionary grants under Article 282, and the licence/permit raj as areas ripe for decentralisation. - Raju criticises the press for dismissing the report outright, urging that Centre and States critically examine it rather than reject it as DMK propaganda. ### From Here and There: Nixon's Visit To Peking (incl. Cruel and Senseless; Bombay Bandh) *By V.B.K.* V.B.K.'s regular column this issue runs three items. 'Nixon's Visit To Peking' analyses the diplomatic shock of Nixon's planned China trip, preceded by Kissinger's secret visit, situating it as a bid for detente that alarms Taiwan and the Soviet Union while promising a reduction in Cold War tensions; the column welcomes the opening but voices concern that closer U.S.-China ties, brokered via Pakistan, may come at India's expense. 'Cruel and Senseless' condemns continued American military and economic aid to Pakistan during its crackdown in Bangladesh as fueling a Vietnam-style guerrilla war. 'Bombay Bandh' recounts the failure of a taxi-strike-linked bandh called by the Hind Mazdoor Panchayat and Samyukta Socialist Party, arguing that trade union leaders have devalued the bandh as a weapon through overuse. - Nixon's planned Peking visit followed a secret 49-hour visit by Henry Kissinger; the column calls the secrecy hard to understand. - Taiwan stands to lose its UN Security Council seat as a result of the U.S.-China opening; the column argues it should still get a UN seat of its own. - The Soviet Union and its allies, including the Indian Communist Party, are described as hostile to the Nixon-China detente, calling it a move to provoke war between the USSR and China. - The column criticises U.S. arms and economic aid to Pakistan as prolonging a guerrilla war in Bangladesh and effectively 'Vietnamising' it, benefiting only Chinese Communists. - It praises India's logistic and humanitarian support to Ceylon's Bandaranaike government during the JVP insurrection as a foreign-policy success. - The Bombay Bandh over taxi fares is described as a 'much worse flop' than the preceding taxi strike, ignored by most trade unions and left leaning parties. ### Black Money *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai surveys the origins and scale of black money in the Indian economy, tracing it to tax evasion, licence and permit corruption, and political funding, and disputing the popular notion that it is confined to businessmen. He argues black money damages both the economy (fuelling speculative consumption and asset inflation) and the moral fabric of society by widening the gap between the honest and the dishonest. Pai rejects demonetisation as an effective remedy in current conditions, arguing that so much public discussion of the idea has already tipped off hoarders, who have converted currency into other assets. Instead he proposes raising the tax-exemption ceiling, lowering top marginal tax rates, and removing industrial licensing controls to shrink the underlying incentives for generating unaccounted income. - Pai defines black money in economic terms as 'unrecorded gains' — income that has escaped taxation, whether hoarded or converted into property, jewellery, or consumer durables. - He identifies three main sources: tax evasion under unrealistically high rates, bribery tied to controls and licences, and political funding including election overspending. - He cites B. R. Shenoy's estimate that Rs. 500-700 crores worth of import licences are traded due to gaps between the official and free-market value of the rupee. - Pai argues demonetisation, though theoretically sound, would fail now because excessive public discussion has already let hoarders convert cash into other assets. - His proposed remedies: raise the taxable-income ceiling to about Rs. 15,000/year, lower the maximum tax rate to about 50%, enforce severe penalties for evasion, and abolish industrial licensing to remove the incentive structure for corruption. ### Insurrection In Ceylon *By Mohan Joshi* Mohan Joshi reports on the April 1971 JVP (Janata Vimukty Peramuna) insurrection in Ceylon, describing well-organised attacks on police stations and government buildings by over 15,000 insurgents drawing on some 30,000 sympathisers. He traces the uprising's roots to disillusioned, Mao- and Che Guevara-influenced middle-class youths who had lost faith in Ceylon's traditional left leadership, including Mrs. Bandaranaike's United Left Front government which the insurgents had themselves supported at the polls. Joshi details the diplomatic fallout, including the expulsion of the North Korean ambassador over evidence of North Korean/Chinese financing, and describes India's rapid and substantial military and logistic assistance -- helicopters, army guard duties, naval patrols -- calling it a foreign-policy success that nonetheless carries some risk of straining Ceylon's relations with its Moscow-aligned Communist coalition partner. - The uprising, beginning April 5, 1971, involved over 15,000 well-disciplined, educated JVP insurgents plus roughly 30,000 sympathisers, out of a population of 13 million. - Joshi attributes the insurgency's origin to youths radicalised by Mao and Che Guevara who saw traditional left leaders, including Bandaranaike's own supporters-turned-insurgents, as insufficiently revolutionary. - Evidence of North Korean and Chinese financing led Ceylon to expel the North Korean ambassador Hwang Yong Wu; captured materials included copies of Mao's 'Thoughts' and Mao badges. - India was first to respond to Ceylon's request for help, providing helicopters, army guard duties, naval patrols, and humanitarian/medical assistance; the U.S., USSR, and Britain also provided military supplies. - Joshi warns that continuing insurgent activity or a shift in Bandaranaike's foreign policy could strain her ruling coalition's relationship with the pro-Moscow Communist Party. ### These Things Were Happening (TV interview excerpts of Dean Rusk) This feature reproduces excerpts from a television interview with former U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, conducted shortly after publication of the Pentagon Papers. Rusk defends the Johnson/Kennedy-era conduct of the Vietnam War, arguing the U.S. made greater efforts to protect civilians than in prior wars, that bombing targets were vetted for civilian-casualty risk, and that proposals like bombing dikes were rejected on humanitarian grounds. He reflects on the broader strategic rationale for U.S. involvement, framing it around credibility of American security commitments and the risks of allowing aggression to succeed unchecked, while conceding that scholars and policymakers alike must reckon with the lessons of Vietnam, chiefly that prevention -- strengthening vulnerable countries before they are targeted -- is the primary lesson for future policy. - Rusk downplays his personal attachment to the 'domino theory,' noting it was President Kennedy, not himself, who publicly endorsed it. - He states that bombing targets were vetted at high-level meetings for the possibility of civilian casualties, and that dike-bombing was rejected specifically because of its impact on the civilian population. - Rusk cites Pentagon Papers estimates that bombing-raid casualties were sometimes 80% noncombatant, and references an estimate of roughly 1,000 civilian deaths a day. - He frames U.S. involvement in terms of the reliability of American security commitments and their effect on the judgments of 'other capitals.' - Rusk says the primary lesson of Vietnam is that '95 per cent of the problem ought to be prevention' -- helping exposed countries strengthen themselves internally before they become targets -- and cautions against deep foreign-aid cuts. ### Reviews (Under the Indian Sky; Indo-Iran Relations: Cultural Aspects; The Phases of Indian Nationalism) *By Vilas B. Patankar; Villoo K. Karkaria; S. D.* The Reviews section carries three short book notices. Vilas B. Patankar reviews Asok Chanda's 'Under the Indian Sky' (Nachiketa Publications), praising the former Comptroller and Auditor-General's forthright analysis of India's constitutional and political malaise, including his proposal to redraw states into culturally and linguistically homogeneous administrative units. Villoo K. Karkaria reviews Dr. N. S. Gorekar's 'Indo-Iran Relations: Cultural Aspects' (Sindhu Publications), a scholarly study of Persian influence on Indian languages, art, and the development of Urdu, wishing the author had extended the analysis beyond language to art and architecture. 'S.D.' reviews Dietmar Rothermund's 'The Phases of Indian Nationalism' (Nachiketa Publications), a collection of the German scholar's essays on the national movement and the agrarian problem, highlighting its discussion of the rival Gokhale/Risley views behind the Morley-Minto reforms. - Asok Chanda's 'Under the Indian Sky' is praised for proposing that India's linguistic-reorganisation 'mess' be resolved by breaking the country into culturally/linguistically homogeneous administrative units with powers akin to local government in the West. - Chanda's book covers fundamental rights, Centre-State relations, the Congress party crisis, and bank nationalisation across 228 pages. - Dr. Gorekar's 'Indo-Iran Relations' traces Perso-Arabic vocabulary's spread into Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Kashmiri, Sindhi and Bengali, and the emergence of Urdu from Indo-Persian contact. - The Gorekar review notes the book is confined mainly to language, and the reviewer wished it had also covered Persian influence on Indian art and architecture in more depth. - Dietmar Rothermund's 'The Phases of Indian Nationalism' is a collection of essays including a discussion contrasting Gokhale's 'emancipation' view of the national movement with Sir Herbert Risley's 're-integration' view behind the 1909 Morley-Minto reforms. ### With Many Voices The closing 'With Many Voices' page compiles short press excerpts from Indian and international outlets (The Observer, The Economist, Time, U.S. News & World Report, Indian Express, Hindustan Standard, Deccan Chronicle, Himmat, and others) commenting on the Bangladesh refugee crisis, the Nixon-China opening, Soviet reactions, and related world affairs, alongside a subscription coupon for Freedom First and the issue's imprint: edited and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik at 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1, printed at Inland Printers, Bombay 7. - Frank Moraes (Indian Express) is quoted comparing Nixon to 'the monkey China employed to pull its chestnuts out of the fire.' - Pran Chopra (Hindustan Standard) criticises India's Bangladesh policy as marked by 'double-think' rather than 'double-talk.' - Durga Das (Deccan Chronicle) argues 'Garibi Hatao' has become impractical and predicts a shift toward an 'Amiri Hatao' crusade for political credibility. - The Economist (June 12) states that 'whatever happens to East Pakistan now, India is a certain loser.' - The page includes a Freedom First subscription form (annual subscription Rs. 5.00) addressed to the Democratic Research Service, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1. - The issue's registration number is given as MH 272, and it is edited/published by V. B. Karnik and printed at Inland Printers, 55 Gamdevi Road, Bombay 7. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff232/ ### Summary This is the September 1971 issue (No. 232) of Freedom First, the classical-liberal Bombay periodical edited by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service. The issue is dominated by the geopolitics of the Bangladesh crisis: Arvind A. Deshpande's lead essay 'India's International Relations' reassesses India's non-alignment policy in light of the newly signed Indo-Soviet treaty of August 1971, weighing the divergent motivations of the U.S., U.S.S.R., and China and urging India to explore bilateral ties with Japan and Western Europe rather than binding itself to one bloc. M. D. Kini's 'Amendments And Welfare' opposes the 24th and 25th Constitution Amendment Bills, defending property as a fundamental right against the abridgement of Fundamental Rights in favour of the Directive Principles. 'Hippopotamus' explains the 1971 Bretton Woods/dollar crisis following Nixon's suspension of gold convertibility. Charles Foley's 'Conspiracy In Mexico' reports on a Soviet- and North Korean-linked guerrilla plot uncovered in Mexico. A 'Without Comment' section reprints P. Kodanda Rao's Swarajya commentary on the Golaknath judgment and a U.S. News & World Report survey of conflict across Asia.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the September 1971 issue (No. 232) of Freedom First, the classical-liberal Bombay periodical edited by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service. The issue is dominated by the geopolitics of the Bangladesh crisis: Arvind A. Deshpande's lead essay 'India's International Relations' reassesses India's non-alignment policy in light of the newly signed Indo-Soviet treaty of August 1971, weighing the divergent motivations of the U.S., U.S.S.R., and China and urging India to explore bilateral ties with Japan and Western Europe rather than binding itself to one bloc. M. D. Kini's 'Amendments And Welfare' opposes the 24th and 25th Constitution Amendment Bills, defending property as a fundamental right against the abridgement of Fundamental Rights in favour of the Directive Principles. 'Hippopotamus' explains the 1971 Bretton Woods/dollar crisis following Nixon's suspension of gold convertibility. Charles Foley's 'Conspiracy In Mexico' reports on a Soviet- and North Korean-linked guerrilla plot uncovered in Mexico. A 'Without Comment' section reprints P. Kodanda Rao's Swarajya commentary on the Golaknath judgment and a U.S. News & World Report survey of conflict across Asia. G. L. Mehta's open letter criticizes U.S. support for Pakistan during the East Pakistan crisis. The issue closes with book reviews (Silesian Inferno, The Marxian Mirage, Britain 1971) and the 'With Many Voices' page of press extracts on the Indo-Soviet treaty and world affairs. ## Essays ### India's International Relations *By Arvind A. Deshpande* Arvind A. Deshpande's essay examines India's foreign policy in the wake of the twenty-year Indo-Soviet treaty signed on 9 August 1971, the anniversary of the Quit India movement. He argues the world has moved from Cold War bipolarity toward a Balance-of-Power system with informal spheres of influence, and that India, too large to be a client state yet not strong enough to be an independent power, has taken 'the line of least resistance' by tilting toward Moscow rather than building independent strength. The essay analyses the distinct motivations of the U.S. (moralistic liberalism pulling against commercial/trader interests, producing a preference for 'stable' over merely democratic governments), the U.S.S.R. (geopolitical realism treating India as a counterweight to China), and China (suspicion of Soviet 'revisionism' and of Japan's rising strength). Deshpande concludes that India should not over-invest in the Indo-Soviet alignment but should explore bilateral relations with Japan and Western European countries, arguing a triangular India-Japan-E.C.M. relationship could be a significant counterweight that 'can neither be pressurised nor ignored.' - The 20-year Indo-Soviet treaty was signed on 9 August 1971, deliberately chosen to echo the Quit India anniversary. - The world has shifted from Cold War bipolarity to a Balance-of-Power system with de facto spheres of influence. - India is 'too big... to assume a secondary position' but 'not too strong enough economically and militarily' to be an independent power. - U.S. foreign policy oscillates between moralistic anti-communism and a commercial/trader preference for stable (even undemocratic) governments. - The U.S.S.R. treats India pragmatically as a geopolitical counterweight to China rather than out of ideological solidarity. - China fears Soviet 'revisionism' as much as American 'imperialism' and distrusts Japan's growing strength. - Deshpande recommends India pursue bilateral relations with Japan and West European (E.C.M.) countries rather than relying solely on the Soviet alignment. ### Amendments And Welfare *By M. D. Kini* M. D. Kini's essay opposes the 24th Constitution Amendment Bill (passed 384-23), which asserts Parliament's power to abridge Fundamental Rights to give effect to the Directive Principles of State Policy, and previews the proposed 25th Amendment, which would replace 'compensation' with 'amount' for compulsorily acquired property and bar judicial review of the adequacy of compensation. Kini argues property is as fundamental a right as life and liberty, invokes former Bombay High Court judge V. M. Tarkunde's view that the last seventeen years of abridgements (through Golaknath) sufficed, and contends that subordinating Fundamental Rights to Directive Principles revives 'the false dichotomy of formal freedoms... and the real freedoms like the right to work.' He also defends the privy purses of former rulers as a small, morally-owed cost against the backdrop of the Indo-Soviet treaty and looming press-ownership legislation, warning that 'freedom and democracy... have always been whittled away bit by bit.' - The 24th Amendment passed 384-23 and asserts Parliament's right to abridge Fundamental Rights to serve the Directive Principles. - The (then-forthcoming) 25th Amendment would substitute 'amount' for 'compensation' and bar courts from reviewing compensation adequacy for acquired property. - Kini argues the right to property is as fundamental as the rights to life and liberty and should not be left to political whim. - He cites V. M. Tarkunde's view that abridgements up to the Golaknath case were adequate and that most further curbs on property are unnecessary. - He frames the debate as 'freedom versus bread,' arguing both are necessary and that state capitalism/collectivism increases state control rather than genuine welfare. - He also discusses the (separate) 26th Amendment abolishing princely privy purses, defending the privy purse as a small moral obligation from Sardar Patel's integration settlement. - Kini connects all three bills to the Indo-Soviet Treaty and proposed press-ownership legislation as signs of 'an era of greater state control.' ### Dollar-Crisis *By Hippopotamus* Writing under the pseudonym 'Hippopotamus,' this piece explains the 1971 international monetary crisis triggered by President Nixon's suspension of dollar-gold convertibility. It traces the 1944 Bretton Woods assumptions (fixed gold price, dollar-as-good-as-gold, fixed exchange rates) and how post-war dollar outflows through aid, investment, and the Vietnam War created a persistent overhang of dollars abroad that the fixed-exchange-rate system could not absorb, forcing other countries to 'co-finance' U.S. spending. The author lays out two possible solutions -- new protectionist barriers, which The Economist warned would be damaging, or floating/flexible exchange rates, which the author favours as ending the 'senseless sovereign right of every country... to fix its own exchange rate' -- and closes by dismissing Marxist predictions of capitalism's collapse as 'wishful thinking.' - Nixon's suspension of dollar-gold convertibility marked, at least in theory, the end of the 1944 Bretton Woods system. - Bretton Woods rested on four assumptions: fixed gold price, dollar-as-good-as-gold, U.S. gold redemption at $35/ounce, and fixed exchange rates. - Post-war aid, capital transfers, and above all Vietnam War spending flooded the world with dollars, which fixed exchange rates could not adjust for. - This forced other countries to effectively co-finance U.S. balance-of-payments deficits by absorbing surplus dollars. - Two remedies are weighed: protectionist barriers (criticized via The Economist as damaging to the world economy) versus flexible/floating exchange rates (the author's preferred solution). - The essay closes by rejecting Soviet/Marxist claims (reported via Literaturnaya Gazeta and covered in the same issue) that the dollar crisis signals capitalism's collapse. ### Without Comment: The Soviet Citizen A short unsigned item, 'Marxist Explanation,' reports (via Time, 26 July 1971) a Soviet magazine's (Literaturnaya Gazeta) theory that the Pentagon Papers were leaked because rival factions of American 'monopolists' -- consumer-goods makers, non-Vietnam military suppliers, and war-profiting military-industrial firms -- were fighting each other, with the civilian and non-war factions arranging the leak to embarrass the war-profiteers. The item closes by expressing alarm at how 'fantastic' this Soviet reading of U.S. affairs is, despite years of efforts to improve Soviet-American relations. - Literaturnaya Gazeta's account claims the Pentagon Papers leak resulted from infighting among three factions of U.S. 'monopolists.' - The Soviet magazine frames all U.S. newspapers that printed the Pentagon Papers as tools of the 'dissident monopolies.' - The item (via Time) treats this as evidence of a persistently distorted Soviet view of American institutions. ### Conspiracy In Mexico *By Charles Foley* Charles Foley's 'Conspiracy In Mexico' (continued on page 8) reports on a Soviet-backed guerrilla plot uncovered in Mexico City, in which young Mexican leftists were taken to the Patrice Lumumba Friendship University in Moscow on a 'cultural exchange,' then some were routed via East Berlin to North Korea for six months of guerrilla training, before returning to organize bank robberies to fund an insurgency. Leader Fabricio Souza's plan, modeled on Castro's, aimed to start in the countryside and spread to workers and students; the plot collapsed after a botched hold-up (netting $84,000, in a deliberate echo of Stalin's 1907 Tiflis raid) led to the arrest of 21 of the fifty 'Muscovite excursionists.' The piece situates the episode against the expulsion of Soviet diplomats from Mexico and Mexico's historically wary but formally correct relationship with Moscow since granting Trotsky asylum in 1936. - A Soviet embassy in Mexico City ran an intelligence operation described as the busiest in the hemisphere. - Young Mexican leftists were recruited via a 'cultural exchange' to Patrice Lumumba Friendship University in Moscow. - A subset were routed through East Berlin to North Korea for six months of guerrilla, sabotage, and unarmed-combat training. - Leader Fabricio Souza modeled his plan on Castro's rural-to-urban insurgency strategy. - The group financed itself via bank robbery, explicitly imitating young Stalin's 1907 Tiflis raid; one robbery netted $84,000. - The plot unraveled when a captured member led police to arms caches; 21 of fifty participants were rounded up. - Five Soviet diplomats were expelled from Mexico as a result; the piece situates this against Mexico's wary history with Moscow since sheltering Trotsky in 1936. ### Without Comment: Fundamental Right *By P. Kodanda Rao (quoted from Swarajya)* A 'Without Comment' item reprints P. Kodanda Rao's Swarajya commentary on the Golaknath case (1967), which held by a 6-5 majority that Parliament could not abridge Fundamental Rights, framing them as pre-existing 'natural rights.' Kodanda Rao criticizes the judgment's internal contradiction -- declaring past abridgements 'invalid ab initio' yet letting them stand -- and notes it left open the possibility of a future 'constituent' body superseding both Parliament and the Supreme Court to abridge rights, a possibility not fully explored in the ruling. - Until Golaknath (1967), the Supreme Court had for nearly two decades accepted Parliament's power to abridge Fundamental Rights. - The Golaknath majority (6-5) held Fundamental Rights were 'natural,' 'immutable,' and not created by but only 'expressed in' the Constitution. - Kodanda Rao highlights the contradiction that the judgment called prior abridgements invalid ab initio but let them stand as valid. - The judgment implied a hypothetical 'constituent' body could be convoked to override both Parliament and the Supreme Court's own Golaknath ruling. - Kodanda Rao notes the ruling was a bare one-judge majority and could be reversed in a future case. ### Reviews (Silesian Inferno; The Marxian Mirage; Britain 1971) *By S.D. / V.K.* An unsigned 'Without Comment' digest, credited to U.S. News & World Report, surveys conflict across Asia beyond Vietnam: of 23 Asian nations, 16 are described as embroiled in war, rebellion, or civil strife, much of it instigated by Red China, while only seven (Mongolia, Japan, Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan, and the Maldives) are free of conflict. It runs through flashpoints country by country -- Ceylon, India's north-east and West Bengal, Thailand, Burma, Indonesia, the two Koreas, the two Chinas, North and South Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, and Pakistan -- framing Peking, not Moscow, as the leading sponsor of Asian insurgencies under the new slogan 'Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought.' - 16 of 23 Asian nations are described as embroiled in war, rebellion, or civil strife, home to over 1.8 billion people. - Only seven nations (Mongolia, Japan, Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Maldives) are judged free of conflict. - Most Asian Red leaders reportedly now look to Peking rather than Moscow as the capital of world Communism, viewing the Soviets as too 'conservative.' - Country-by-country flashpoints are listed: Ceylon, India's north-east and West Bengal (Naxalites), Thailand, Burma, Indonesia, the two Koreas, the two Chinas, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Laos, and Cambodia. - The new ideological slogan cited is 'Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought.' ### Without Comment: Asia Beyond Vietnam Extracts from a letter by G. L. Mehta, former Indian Ambassador to the U.S., published in several American newspapers, criticize U.S. support for Pakistan during the East Pakistan crisis. Mehta, describing decades of goodwill toward the U.S. and gratitude for its past aid to India, argues he cannot understand the 'rationale of American policy in supporting directly and indirectly what is tantamount to genocide in East Pakistan,' noting that U.S. arms meant for defense against India or China had instead been 'turned with a vicious ferocity upon their own people.' He reports that American public and Senate opinion condemned Pakistani atrocities more strongly than the administration, which he calls 'unresponsive as well as callous,' and warns that this policy risks pushing India toward the Soviets while strengthening anti-American and anti-Muslim sentiment in India. - G. L. Mehta, former Indian Ambassador to the U.S., wrote an open letter published in several American newspapers. - He expresses long-standing personal goodwill toward the U.S. and gratitude for its aid to India during food crises and the 1962 Chinese invasion. - He argues U.S. military aid to Pakistan, originally justified against India or China, has instead been used with 'vicious ferocity' against Pakistan's own people. - He reports American public opinion and several U.S. senators condemned Pakistani atrocities more strongly than the Nixon administration did. - He warns that continued U.S. support for Pakistan strengthens anti-American, anti-West, and anti-Muslim sentiment within India and risks pushing India further toward the Soviet Union. - He explicitly compares the East Pakistan atrocities to those of Hitler, Stalin, and Vietnam. ### U.S. Policy On Pakistan *By G. L. Mehta* The 'Reviews' page carries three short unsigned (initialed) notices. 'Silesian Inferno,' reviewed by S.D., covers Karl Friedrich Grau's documentary account (published by the Centre of Information and Documentary Evidence, West, Seewald Verlag) of atrocities committed by Soviet troops against German civilians in Silesia in early 1945, describing indiscriminate looting, killing, torture, and rape, and noting Silesia was treated worse than other conquered German regions because it was slated for transfer to Poland. 'The Marxian Mirage' by Satyavrata Patel is reviewed (initials cut off at the page break) as a polemical but 'remarkable' examination of Marxism as philosophy, economic theory, and political practice, though the reviewer finds it argued from a fixed point of view rather than searching or comprehensive. 'Britain 1971,' an official Central Office of Information handbook, is reviewed briefly by V.K. as a useful, well-illustrated informational volume. - Silesian Inferno (Karl Friedrich Grau) documents Soviet army atrocities against German civilians in Silesia in the first half of 1945, based on eyewitness statements. - The reviewer (S.D.) notes Soviet troops behaved markedly worse in Silesia than in other conquered German territory, attributing this to Silesia's planned post-war transfer to Poland. - The Marxian Mirage by Satyavrata Patel argues Marxism is an 'ignorant and barbarous superstition' and Marx a 'spurious economist'; the reviewer finds the author's Marxism scholarship 'remarkable' but the treatment one-sided rather than objective. - Britain 1971, a Central Office of Information handbook, is reviewed favorably by V.K. as informative and well-illustrated. ### With Many Voices 'With Many Voices' is the issue's closing page of curated press extracts (headed by a Tennyson epigraph) reacting to the Indo-Soviet treaty and contemporary world events, drawn from sources including Swarajya, the Times of India, Swiss Press Review, Time, The Economist, Free China Weekly, and others, alongside the subscription coupon and imprint line naming V. B. Karnik as editor/publisher for the Democratic Research Service. - The page compiles brief quoted reactions from multiple newspapers and commentators to the Indo-Soviet treaty and current world affairs. - M. R. Masani is quoted (Times of India, 15 August) describing a 'spilling over of Statism from the economic to the cultural sphere.' - C. R. (writing in Swarajya) is quoted as saying 'America has proved to be a broken reed.' - Multiple sources (Opinion, Thought, Swiss Press Review) warn the Indo-Soviet treaty could become 'a millstone round the neck of the Indian nation.' - International items include commentary on Nixon's China visit, the Yugoslav bureaucracy debate (quoting Milovan Djilas), and William Buckley on Greek-colonel diplomacy. - The page carries the Freedom First subscription coupon (Rs. 5.00 annual) and the publication's imprint: edited and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik, printed at Inland Printers, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff233/ ### Summary This October 1971 issue of Freedom First (No. 233), published by the Democratic Research Service under editor V. B. Karnik, gathers commentary on press freedom, constitutional rights, Cold War geopolitics, and Soviet economic reform, alongside book reviews, a letter to the editor, and a page of quoted opinion. In the rendered pages, contributors include a columnist writing as "Atreya" on the threatened nationalization of the Indian press; "Hippopotamus" on the 1971 Berlin agreement among the Four Powers; an unsigned correspondent's report on a Bombay seminar convened by the Fundamental Rights Front against the 24th and 25th Constitutional Amendments; F. Hajenko on the halting progress of Soviet economic reform; an unsigned "Without Comment" digest of military and Communist-front-organisation data; two book reviewers (initialed V.B.K. and S.D.); a reader's letter from S. R.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This October 1971 issue of Freedom First (No. 233), published by the Democratic Research Service under editor V. B. Karnik, gathers commentary on press freedom, constitutional rights, Cold War geopolitics, and Soviet economic reform, alongside book reviews, a letter to the editor, and a page of quoted opinion. In the rendered pages, contributors include a columnist writing as "Atreya" on the threatened nationalization of the Indian press; "Hippopotamus" on the 1971 Berlin agreement among the Four Powers; an unsigned correspondent's report on a Bombay seminar convened by the Fundamental Rights Front against the 24th and 25th Constitutional Amendments; F. Hajenko on the halting progress of Soviet economic reform; an unsigned "Without Comment" digest of military and Communist-front-organisation data; two book reviewers (initialed V.B.K. and S.D.); a reader's letter from S. R. Narayana Ayyar on Centre-State relations; and a closing page of aphoristic press quotations titled "With Many Voices." The issue's argumentative center, in the rendered pages, is a defence of constitutional and press liberties against what several contributors frame as creeping authoritarian and Soviet-aligned encroachment under Indira Gandhi's government, paired with a skeptical, comparative eye on Soviet-bloc economic and foreign policy. ## Essays ### Take-over of Press *By "Atreya"* Writing under the pseudonym "Atreya," the author argues that a proposed press take-over law being drafted in New Delhi is being smuggled in behind a manufactured furore over a "monopoly press," a charge first raised by Communist Party figures resentful of press criticism of V. K. Krishna Menon. The piece traces how decades of state pampering of journalists (privileges, junkets, priority telephones) hollowed out the profession's independence, illustrates Soviet Embassy manipulation of Delhi journalists via a staged cocktail-party cancellation, and warns that the pending legislation would hand control of newspapers with circulation over 15,000 to trustees drawn from Communist-controlled unions and journalist federations, achieving a "parasitical take-over of control points of newspapers by the Soviet-lining Communists" rather than genuine diffusion of ownership. - Compares the press take-over campaign to a pickpocket's sleight-of-hand diversion tactic aimed at distracting from the real target. - Attributes the original 'Jute Press'/'Monopoly Press' agitation to the Communist Party's press caucus, dating it to criticism of V. K. Krishna Menon. - Argues India's so-called press barons were largely apolitical and did not dictate editorial lines to veteran editors like Frank Moraes, Nanporia, and B. G. Verghese. - Describes decades of state-conferred privileges (telephones, housing plots, foreign trips) that left journalists professionally dependent and vulnerable to manipulation. - Recounts an anecdote of the Soviet Embassy in Delhi identifying and 'capturing' gate-crashing journalists at a staged cocktail party. - Names a PTI employee, recently returned from a Moscow assignment, as a key operative advancing the take-over inside the Indian Federation of Working Journalists. - Concludes the proposed legislation would let trustee control of dailies (circulation over 15,000) fall to Communist-controlled unions and pensioned politicians, not genuine diffusion of ownership. ### A Victory Of Reason *By Hippopotamus* A brief unsigned editorial notice records the death of Raman Desai, who edited Freedom First for three years. Though a banker by profession, Desai is remembered for his deep engagement with the arts (painting, music, dance), his association with the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, and his tenure as Honorary Secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bombay. - Announces the death of Raman Desai, former editor of Freedom First for three years. - Notes his profession as a banker alongside a deep interest in cultural affairs. - Cites his association with the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom and his role as Honorary Secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bombay. ### Raman Desai Writing as "Hippopotamus," the author narrates the twenty-seven-year history of divided Berlin from the 1944 Allied agreement through the 1948 blockade, the 1953 East Berlin rising, the 1958 Khrushchev ultimatum, and the 1961 Wall, before detailing the September 1971 Four-Power agreement reached after seventeen months and thirty-three sessions of negotiation. The piece credits Willy Brandt's and Walter Scheel's Ostpolitik, and Brandt's firmness with Brezhnev, for securing Soviet guarantees of unimpeded transit to West Berlin and recognition of ties between West Berlin and the Federal Republic, concluding that the agreement marks the effective end of a quarter-century of confrontation even though Germany's division itself remains unresolved. - Recaps Berlin's post-war history: the 1944 Allied occupation agreement, 1948-49 blockade, 1953 East Berlin rising, 1958 Khrushchev ultimatum, and the 1961 Wall. - Credits the 1969 Social Democrat-Free Democrat coalition and its Ostpolitik under Willy Brandt and Walter Scheel with opening talks with Moscow, Warsaw, and East Berlin. - Details seventeen months of Four-Power negotiations culminating in the September 1971 Berlin agreement. - Notes the Soviet Union's guarantee of unimpeded transit traffic to West Berlin and recognition of ties between West Berlin and the Federal Republic as major concessions. - Rejects the West German right-wing paper Bild's framing that the agreement confirms Germany's division, arguing division was already a fact. - Concludes the agreement represents a 'giant and welcome step' toward East-West accord, quoting the Times of India. ### Fundamental Rights In Danger *By (From a Correspondent)* An unsigned correspondent's report covers a one-day seminar held in Bombay on August 28, 1971, convened by the Fundamental Rights Front and presided over by former Chief Justice K. Subba Rao, to oppose the 24th and 25th Constitutional Amendments. The seminar's adopted statement argues the amendments hand Parliament unlimited power to abridge fundamental rights and let the state confiscate property without real compensation, warning this opens the door to "an authoritarian regime" and the end of India's democratic way of life. The report excerpts papers by S. P. Aiyar, J. M. Lobo Prabhu, K. Santhanam, R. C. Cooper, M. R. Masani, Zafar Futehally, and A. D. Gorwala, and continues onto page 10 with V. Shankar's legal analysis of the Golak Nath case, arguing Article 13(2) overrides Parliament's amending power under Article 368. - Reports a Fundamental Rights Front seminar in Bombay on August 28, 1971, presided over by K. Subba Rao, opposing the 24th and 25th Constitutional Amendments. - The adopted statement calls the amendments a threat that could reduce 'constitutional democracy' into 'constitutional despotism.' - Summarizes the 25th Amendment's replacement of 'compensation' with 'amount' for property acquisition as removing meaningful judicial review of takings. - Cites M. R. Masani's warning that free speech, association, movement, and religious and educational rights of minorities would all become vulnerable to a bare parliamentary majority. - Quotes A. D. Gorwala calling the bill 'a monument to the inherent arbitrary, autocratic tendencies of our elected Prime Minister.' - Continues on page 10 with V. Shankar's legal argument, following Justice Hidayatullah, that Article 13(2) overrides Article 368 and that Parliament's amending power cannot abridge Part III rights. ### Economic Reform In Russia *By F. Hajenko* F. Hajenko surveys the Soviet Union's economic reform program, tracing its origins to declining growth rates and returns on capital in the late 1950s (particularly in agriculture, where annual production growth slumped from 5.9 to 2.1 percent between 1956-60 and 1961-65). The reform, beginning in the USSR in late 1965 following East Germany's 1963 start, sought to replace purely administrative planning with profitability as the criterion of enterprise success, market relations, material incentives, and profit-linked bonuses, aiming to make individual workers' earnings depend on enterprise success. The piece, continuing on page 11, reports the reform's implementation has lagged behind schedule, hampered by insufficient market relations between enterprises, bureaucratic conservatism, and the difficulty of reconciling greater worker participation in management with the Soviet factory director's still near-dictatorial legal powers. - Traces the reform's origin to declining Soviet growth rates and returns on capital (fondootdacha) beginning in the late 1950s, especially in agriculture. - Notes East Germany began Soviet-bloc economic reform first, in January 1963, with the USSR following in late 1965 after Party Central Committee plenary resolutions. - Describes the reform's mechanics: profitability replacing gross production as the success criterion, expanded market relations, and profit-linked bonuses including a 'thirteenth salary.' - Quotes Soviet economist L. Leontev's Kommunist article framing 'economic initiative' as a coming powerful force in production. - Reports official Soviet claims of success, including a 1969 Central Committee speech calling the policy 'completely justifying itself in practice.' - Continuing on page 11, attributes the reform's incomplete implementation to insufficient market relations, bureaucratic conservatism, and unresolved conflict between promised worker participation in management and the Soviet factory director's still near-dictatorial powers. ### Without Comment (Russian and Chinese Forces; Front Organisations) An unsigned digest titled "Without Comment" presents two items without editorial framing. The first summarizes an International Institute for Strategic Studies survey comparing Chinese and Soviet military strength, noting China's reliance on Mao Tse-tung's 'people's war' doctrine, expanding Chinese arms production, and the Soviet Union's continuing missile and submarine build-up amid the Sino-Soviet border standoff. The second describes the network of Soviet-controlled Communist front organisations (the World Peace Council, World Federation of Trade Unions, World Federation of Democratic Youth, International Union of Students, and others) and their role in disseminating propaganda, noting these fronts were shaken and partly stalled by member disagreement over the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. - Cites an International Institute for Strategic Studies survey: China has 2.9 million men under arms and relies on Mao Tse-tung's 'people's war' doctrine for mobility-limited defence. - Notes 33 of China's 140 divisions and virtually all its nuclear force are deployed against Russia along the northern border. - Reports the USSR now leads the US in ICBM strength (1,510 to 1,054) while the US-Soviet submarine-missile gap is narrowing. - Lists major Soviet-controlled front organisations: World Peace Council, World Federation of Trade Unions, World Federation of Democratic Youth, International Union of Students, and others (WIDF, FISE, IADL, WFSW, IOJ, OIRT, FIR). - Notes these fronts produce 19 publications and innumerable bulletins and organise world youth festivals as major propaganda events. - States the fronts were shaken by the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, with officials who criticised the invasion losing their posts between 1969 and 1970. ### Reviews: Hindus and Family Planning *By V. B. K.* Two brief unsigned book reviews (initialed V.B.K. and S.D.) appear under the "Reviews" heading. The first, of Sudhir Hendre's Hindus and Family Planning, faults the book's central thesis (that family planning will reduce Hindus to a minority within a century, purportedly due to Muslim polygamy) as unsupported by its own tables, and criticizes the author's broader anti-Muslim, anti-secularist, anti-Marxist polemic as an intemperate advocacy of Hindu interests rather than a serious case for its stated demographic argument. The second, of K. R. Bhandarkar and Raja Kulkarni's Computer and Labour Problems in India, summarizes the book's account of slow computerisation in India (only 116 electronic computers in 1970), its discussion of automation's employment effects, and faults it for not addressing the deeper question of labour-intensive versus capital-intensive technology choice for a developing economy. - Review of Hindus and Family Planning: notes the book's core thesis is that family planning will reduce Hindus to a minority within roughly a century. - The reviewer finds the argument's basis (permission for Muslim men to marry up to four wives) empirically unsupported and unproven by the book's own tables. - Describes the book's larger project as a 'strident plea' for Hindu interests against secular government, Muslims, minorities, and foreign powers like Russia and China. - Review of Computer and Labour Problems in India: reports only 116 electronic computers were in use in India as of 1970, mostly for accounting and inventory control rather than production. - Notes the book acknowledges automation's employment risks but concludes automation 'cannot be avoided' and should only have its pace regulated. - Faults the book for not addressing the central policy question for a developing economy: whether to pursue capital-intensive or labour-intensive industrialization. ### Reviews: Computer and Labour Problems in India *By S.D.* In a letter to the editor responding to an earlier article on the Rajamannar Report, S. R. Narayana Ayyar argues that disputes between States and the Centre in India are manufactured by self-centred politicians rather than reflecting genuine popular division, pointing to the harmony ordinary Indians display across regional and linguistic lines at religious gatherings and in daily life. He contends that Gandhiji's methods of winning freedom are being cynically misapplied by politicians to create disruption, and concludes the fault lies not with the constitutional structure of Centre versus States but with the roughly five thousand elected representatives themselves. - Responds to an August article summarizing the Rajamannar Report on Centre-State autonomy. - Argues ordinary Indians across regions and languages show cooperative unity at religious gatherings, undercutting claims of deep popular Centre-State division. - Contends politicians misuse and 'cynically' misapply Gandhiji's methods of winning freedom to create disruption rather than unity. - Argues the Centre is elected by the same voters as the States, so blaming 'the Centre' as an external force is misleading. - Concludes the root problem is the roughly five thousand elected representatives themselves, not the States-versus-Centre structure. ### Books Received The closing page, "With Many Voices," collects short quotations on Indian and international politics excerpted from other publications between August and September 1971, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. Quoted voices include N. A. Palkhiwala on economic wisdom and dogma, Nayantara Sahgal on the fate of dissenters, C. Rajagopalachari praising the Indo-Soviet Treaty's international standing, and others on shortages under socialism, comparisons of India and Czechoslovakia, and Communist front organisations, alongside the journal's subscription form and imprint naming V. B. Karnik as editor and publisher. - Opens with a Tennyson epigraph ('The deep / Moans round with many voices...') framing the page's miscellany of quotations. - Quotes N. A. Palkhiwala (Indian Express) that 'the greatest enemies of economic wisdom are dogma and ideology.' - Quotes C. Rajagopalachari (Swarajya) stating the Indo-Soviet Treaty 'has evoked respect for India in the international world.' - Quotes Nayantara Sahgal on the vulnerability of dissenters and independent thinkers who do not fall in line. - Quotes Janata (September 5) asserting 'India is not Czechoslovakia and Indira is no Dubcek.' - Includes the journal's subscription form and imprint: edited and published by V. B. Karnik for the Democratic Research Service, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff235/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 235 (December 1971) appeared on the eve of the India-Pakistan war, and its lead pieces are dominated by that crisis. V. B. Karnik's opening editorial-essay 'Clouds of War' surveys the massing of troops on the border, the refugee crisis from East Pakistan, and argues that war will not solve the underlying political problem of Bangla Desh, urging a negotiated settlement backed by international pressure. The issue also carries an editorial tribute to the late correspondent K. K. Sinha, a set of unsigned 'Notes' on Ruling Congress violence in Delhi, the banning/delay of books by Customs authorities, and prospects for Sino-Indian normalisation, plus a report on a Delhi seminar (sponsored by the Indian Liberal Group) opposing proposed press-ownership legislation. R. Muthuswamy analyses factional strain inside the CPM ahead of its Madurai party congress. M. R. Masani's 'The End of The U.N.?' attacks the UN's expulsion of Taiwan and admission of Communist China as a moral and strategic catastrophe. An extract from an Observer interview with World Bank president Robert McNamara covers global population growth. A. B.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 235 (December 1971) appeared on the eve of the India-Pakistan war, and its lead pieces are dominated by that crisis. V. B. Karnik's opening editorial-essay 'Clouds of War' surveys the massing of troops on the border, the refugee crisis from East Pakistan, and argues that war will not solve the underlying political problem of Bangla Desh, urging a negotiated settlement backed by international pressure. The issue also carries an editorial tribute to the late correspondent K. K. Sinha, a set of unsigned 'Notes' on Ruling Congress violence in Delhi, the banning/delay of books by Customs authorities, and prospects for Sino-Indian normalisation, plus a report on a Delhi seminar (sponsored by the Indian Liberal Group) opposing proposed press-ownership legislation. R. Muthuswamy analyses factional strain inside the CPM ahead of its Madurai party congress. M. R. Masani's 'The End of The U.N.?' attacks the UN's expulsion of Taiwan and admission of Communist China as a moral and strategic catastrophe. An extract from an Observer interview with World Bank president Robert McNamara covers global population growth. A. B. Shah's 'The Meaning of Jodhpur' uses an attack on Vice-Chancellor V. V. John by engineering students to argue for the independence of Indian universities from government and populist pressure. Abraham Brumberg reviews Andrei Amalrik's Involuntary Journey to Siberia, and V. B. Patankar reviews a small biographical volume on Gandhi. The issue closes with a reader's letter on Indo-US relations and the 'With Many Voices' page of quoted commentary from the world press. ## Essays ### Clouds of War *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's 'Clouds of War' surveys the deteriorating India-Pakistan standoff of late 1971: troop mobilisation on the border, skirmishes, and the domestic pressure on the Indian government to go to war as a way of resolving the refugee crisis and 'teaching Pakistan a lesson.' Karnik argues that war would be catastrophic for both sides, especially Pakistan, and that it would not solve but rather delay the return of refugees, since resettlement requires a restored civil administration that war destroys. He calls for a political solution to the Bangla Desh question, urges the United Nations and major powers to intervene with relief and pressure rather than wait for war to break out, and credits the Indian government's restraint and the Prime Minister's diplomacy for holding the line against war fever so far. - Describes troop build-ups, border skirmishes, and air-space violations between India and Pakistan as war clouds gathering by December 1971. - Notes domestic Indian pressure to go to war framed as the only way to solve the refugee problem and to punish/dismember Pakistan. - Argues war will not solve the refugee crisis: refugees will not return during wartime destruction, and war delays rather than hastens restoration of civil administration. - Predicts war would be disastrous for Pakistan, destroying any chance of retaining its Eastern part and endangering the West as well. - Calls on the UN, US, USSR, China and Britain to intervene with relief and diplomatic pressure to avert war and secure a political settlement acceptable to elected Bangla Desh representatives. - Credits the Indian Prime Minister's 'farsighted and resolute attitude' for the government's restraint against public pressure toward war so far. ### C.P.M. In Wilderness *By R. Muthuswamy* An unsigned editorial tribute, signed 'Editor', mourning the death of K. K. Sinha, a Freedom First correspondent from Calcutta killed in a car accident near Kharagpur. It recalls Sinha's long career writing on Bengal politics for the magazine, his early association with the Radical Humanist movement and with M. N. Roy, and his work for democratic forces in Bengal. - Reports the death of correspondent K. K. Sinha in a car accident near Kharagpur. - Notes his extensive writing for Freedom First on Bengal's political problems. - States he was an early adherent of and close collaborator with 'Mr. M. N. Roy' in developing the Radical Humanist movement. - Describes him as an ardent democrat who worked for the growth of democratic forces in Bengal. ### The End Of The U.N.? *By M. R. Masani* A short unsigned report on a one-day seminar held at the India International Centre, New Delhi, on November 14, 1971, sponsored by the Indian Liberal Group (affiliated to Liberal International). Journalists and intellectuals agreed that proposed legislation to diffuse ownership of the press would harm rather than help press freedom, would damage well-organised newspapers, and bypassed the Press Council, which should instead investigate the matter before any legislation is considered. - Reports unanimous agreement at the seminar that proposed press-ownership-diffusion legislation would be both unnecessary and undesirable. - Argues the legislation would destroy better-organised newspapers and damage press freedom as a whole. - Notes the Press Council was bypassed and should be asked to investigate before any legislation proceeds. - Calls for owners, editors, and journalists to cooperate to maintain press independence and resist outside (including legislative) interference. - Lists prominent participants including Frank Moraes, M. R. Masani, A. G. Noorani, Asok Chanda, Inder Jit, D. R. Mankekar, Asoka Mehta, A. D. Mani, R. Talib, V. M. Tarkunde, and B. R. Shenoy. ### Population Problem (extracts from an interview with Mr Robert McNamara, President of the World Bank, published in the Observer of London; interviewer Mr Frances Cairncross) A set of three unsigned editorial 'Notes.' The first condemns violent seizure of Old Congress property at Jantar Mantar Road by Ruling Congress activists in Delhi as roundly condemned across public opinion, and warns that the Ruling Congress's tolerance of unlawful methods damages its own reputation and democratic legitimacy. The second, 'Banning of Books,' criticizes Customs authorities for holding up Ved Mehta's Portrait of India over objectionable content (quotations from Nehru, Radhakrishnan and Lal Bahadur Shastri, and a map) for nearly a year before release, and argues that book banning by Customs officers is an unjustifiable, colonial-era practice that should end; it also notes a similar case involving Daniel Loshak's Pakistan Crisis. The third, 'Sino-Indian Relations,' welcomes signs of a thaw in China's foreign policy and urges India to normalise relations with China cautiously, without abandoning vigilance over its own defences. - Condemns Ruling Congress activists' violent takeover of Old Congress property at Jantar Mantar Road as damaging to rule of law and party legitimacy. - Criticizes the nearly year-long Customs delay in releasing Ved Mehta's Portrait of India over 'objectionable' quoted statements and a map. - Argues banning books via Customs officer discretion is a wrong, colonial-era practice that should end as early as possible. - Cites a parallel case: pressure reportedly exerted on an Indian publisher to drop Daniel Loshak's Pakistan Crisis. - Welcomes signs of improving Sino-Indian relations following recent shifts in Chinese foreign policy, while cautioning against swinging to naive over-trust ('Bhai-Bhaism') and neglecting India's defences. ### The Meaning Of Jodhpur *By A. B. Shah* R. Muthuswamy's 'C.P.M. In Wilderness' analyses the Communist Party of India (Marxist) ahead of its December 1971 Madurai party congress. He traces internal disagreement over draft political resolution tactics, the party's growing national and international isolation (having lost its trade-union allies to a CITU breakaway and lacking support from either the Soviet-aligned CPI or the Chinese-aligned Naxalites), and describes the party's use of general strikes and agitation as a strategy to rebuild mass influence. He argues the party's twin strategy is to appear moderate/progressive in public while retaining capacity to create trouble through cadre infiltration of other parties' agitations. - The CPM prepares for its Madurai party congress amid internal disagreement over tactics in the draft political resolution. - The party has lost ground both nationally (isolation from Congress and rival communist factions) and internationally (no external patron among USSR-aligned CPI or China-aligned Naxalites). - Describes formation of the breakaway Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU) under Mr. Ranadive after a split from AITUC. - Recounts CITU's role in recent Bombay textile and municipal transport strikes and a coordinated all-India one-day strike on 23 November. - Argues the CPM pursues a double-faced strategy: creating trouble at various fronts while cultivating a public image of supporting progressive measures brought in by the 'New Congress'. - Notes that Mr. Namboodiripad (Kerala) and Mr. Jyoti Basu (West Bengal) both sought to build revolutionary potential and wreck parliamentary government while in office, alienating coalition partners. ### Rural Servitude (review of Involuntary Journey to Siberia by Andrei Amalrik) *By Abraham Brumberg* M. R. Masani's 'The End of The U.N.?' rebuts the three arguments advanced for admitting Communist China to the UN and expelling Taiwan: universality (which he says the UN Charter does not actually mandate, since membership requires being 'peace-loving'), the claim that the Mao regime 'represents' 700 million Chinese (which he calls a monstrous perversion given the regime's record of genocide in Tibet, extermination of millions, and a rising tide of people risking their lives to flee to Hong Kong), and the hope that UN admission will make the regime peaceable (contradicted, he argues, by the belligerent tone of Chinese statements at the UN itself). He blames President Nixon's diplomatic reversal for the narrow 59-55 vote and describes the outcome as catastrophic on three counts: the expulsion of a founding, law-abiding member (Taiwan); the demoralising blow to mainland Chinese opposed to the regime; and the effective end of the UN as a meaningful peacekeeping body now that a hostile veto power sits on the Security Council, comparing the moment to the League of Nations' collapse after failing to confront aggression in Abyssinia and elsewhere. - Rebuts the 'universality' argument by citing the UN Charter's requirement that members be 'peace-loving States'. - Cites Radio Moscow's allegation that Chinese leaders exterminated 25 million of their own people, and reports of a sharp rise (16,500 in ten months) in Mainland Chinese fleeing to Hong Kong, as evidence against the claim the regime 'represents' its people. - Argues post-admission statements by the Chinese UN representative show increased arrogance rather than any softening. - Holds President Nixon and the US administration responsible for the narrow 59-55 vote after starting and failing to control the diplomatic 'landslide'. - Frames the vote as catastrophic in three ways: expelling founding member Taiwan, demoralising anti-regime Chinese on the mainland, and ending the UN's credibility as a peacekeeping body now that China's veto joins the Soviet veto. - Draws an extended parallel to the League of Nations' failure over the Italian invasion of Abyssinia and the Soviet attack on Finland, arguing appeasement of aggressors destroyed that body and could do the same to the UN. ### Review: Mahatma Gandhi: The Man and his Mission (by U. R. Rao, ed. G. S. Pohekar, United Asia Publications) *By V. B. Patankar* Extracts from a long Observer (London) interview conducted by Frances Cairncross with World Bank President Robert McNamara on the global population problem. McNamara warns that developing-world population, at roughly 2,000 million and growing 2.6% annually, could rise to 14,500 million before stabilising even under an optimistic scenario reaching replacement-rate fertility by 2040. He says population-planning programmes in most developing countries remain very weak (with Korea and Taiwan the main exceptions), that political acceptance of population control is spreading but far more action is needed, and that the World Bank advises but does not condition loans on a country's adoption of population policy. - McNamara states developing-world population (about 2,000 million, or 2,600 million counting mainland China) is growing about 2.6% annually, doubling in 25 years. - Even reaching replacement-rate fertility (two children per couple) by 2040 would still let population rise to about 14,500 million before stabilising. - Says only Korea and Taiwan among developing nations have shown significant results from population planning programmes; most others remain very weak. - States about 25 developing nations now have official population planning programmes, which he calls immense progress but still far short of what's needed. - Confirms the World Bank does not make loans conditional on a country adopting an effective population policy, even where a government's policy is clearly inadequate. ### Letter to the Editor: We And America *By N. J. Tavaria* A. B. Shah's 'The Meaning of Jodhpur' responds to Professor V. V. John's Times of India article on the attack on him by engineering students at Jodhpur University, where he was Vice-Chancellor. Shah argues the attack reflects a broader decline in the rule of law and institutional authority in India, driven by a political culture in which populist agitation and violence increasingly substitute for reasoned decision-making. He praises John as a rare vice-chancellor who tried to raise standards and resist populist pressure, contrasts the earlier Chief Minister Sukhadia's hands-off support with the later Chief Minister Barakatullah Khan's unwillingness to confront student agitation for fear of losing his narrow electoral base in Jodhpur, and calls for the creation of independently-financed 'national' universities free from dependence on government funding or student-body-driven political pressure. - Situates the attack on V. V. John within a broader pattern of declining rule of law and rising populist violence in Indian public life. - Praises John as an unusually capable, reform-minded vice-chancellor who improved instruction, recruited talented young faculty, and built up campus institutions during Sukhadia's tenure as Chief Minister. - Argues the political calculation of Chief Minister Barakatullah Khan, dependent on a narrow electoral margin in Jodhpur, explains the local administration's refusal to back the university against student violence. - Calls for financially independent 'national' universities, funded by public-spirited citizens and business rather than government, to protect academic standards from political and populist pressure. - Frames the broader question as whether Indian higher education, and by extension Indian democracy, can survive if universities remain hostage to political winds. ### With Many Voices (compiled quotations column) Abraham Brumberg reviews Andrei Amalrik's Involuntary Journey to Siberia, describing Amalrik as one of the most impressive figures of the Soviet 'Democratic Movement,' twice arrested and sentenced (for 'parasitism'/nonconformist views) despite his constitutional-rights-based legal defense. Brumberg summarises the book's two parts — the circumstances of Amalrik's 1965 arrest, trial and exile to a Siberian kolkhoz, and his observations of harsh, degraded rural Soviet life among peasants he describes as 'nasty, brutish and short,' still effectively serfs of the state. Brumberg situates the book alongside Amalrik's earlier Will the Soviet Union Survive Until 1984? and argues its portrait of rural servitude and its warnings about buried social tension carry weight because of Amalrik's demonstrated personal integrity in refusing to 'give way to fear.' - Introduces Andrei Amalrik as a 33-year-old Russian playwright/historian, twice arrested for 'anti-Soviet' writings, and a leading figure of the Soviet 'Democratic Movement.' - Notes the book's two-part structure: Amalrik's 1965 arrest/trial/exile, and his account of peasant life on a Siberian kolkhoz near Tomsk. - Describes the peasants as still effectively serfs of the state, uninformed, addicted to vodka, and subject to arbitrary treatment by local officials. - Cites Amalrik's view that 'these are people with whom you can do anything,' judged by Brumberg to carry the 'ring of truth' despite possibly overstated conclusions. - Warns that unresolved rural grievances constitute a store of potential unrest that could erupt more violently than anything in Russia's past if reforms are not made. ### Essay 10 V. B. Patankar reviews U. R. Rao's Mahatma Gandhi: The Man and his Mission (edited by G. S. Pohekar), a short 110-page book of reminiscences drawn from Rao's editorship of United Asia magazine. The review highlights anecdotes illustrating Gandhi's humility and character — his lack of a lamp for reading at night in prison, his concern for poor children in London's East End, and his premonition of being shot — and quotes Rao's summary judgment that Gandhi was 'essentially and profoundly a human being' beneath whatever public role he occupied. - Introduces U. R. Rao's book as drawing on his editorship of United Asia magazine for glimpses of Gandhi's personality. - Highlights an anecdote about Gandhi lacking even a lamp to read by at night in prison despite public birthday celebrations for him. - Recounts Gandhi's concern for poor children in London's East End during the Round Table Conference, giving away birthday gifts he received. - Notes the book's suggestion that Gandhi had a premonition of being shot, linked to his teaching on Ahimsa. - Quotes Rao's assessment of Gandhi as 'essentially and profoundly a human being claiming kinship with the meek, the gentle and the simple in heart.' ### Essay 11 A letter to the editor from N. J. Tavaria titled 'We and America,' reflecting bitterly on the deterioration of Indo-US relations. Tavaria recalls that three US presidents made 'honest, wholehearted' efforts to help India economically, credits Kennedy specifically for backing India during a moment of need, but argues India repaid this with ingratitude — criticizing US actions in Vietnam, sabotaging an Indo-US education foundation plan, and equating token Soviet aid with much larger American assistance. He argues India now faces a President Nixon driven purely by self-interest and political gain, with whom India's earlier posture of moral entitlement no longer works. - Argues three successive American presidents made genuine efforts to help India economically without demanding conditions. - Credits Kennedy for 'spontaneous and unconditional response' to India's needs at a time of crisis. - Criticizes India's later conduct: criticizing the US over Vietnam while accepting its wheat aid, and sabotaging an Indo-US education foundation plan under communist pressure. - Argues India publicly overstated the significance of Soviet aid relative to much larger American assistance. - Frames President Nixon as a self-interested 'political trickster' with whom India's earlier assumptions about American generosity no longer apply. ### Essay 12 The 'With Many Voices' page collects short quoted commentary from the Indian and international press on the unfolding India-Pakistan crisis, the UN vote on Chinese representation, and related world affairs, drawing on sources such as the Indian Express, U.S. News & World Report, the Economist, Encounter, and Le Monde. Contributors quoted include Badr-Ud-Din Tyabji on Yahya Khan, David Lawrence on the Taiwan expulsion, J. R. D. Tata on industrial licensing, V. V. John on Indian complacency, President Chiang Kai-shek's denunciation of Mao Tse-tung, and Alexander Solzhenitsyn on the secrecy of the Nobel Prize award process, among others. The page also carries the subscription form for Freedom First, published by the Democratic Research Service and edited by V. B. Karnik. - Compiles press quotations on Yahya Khan's likely provocation of India, the UN vote expelling Taiwan, and prospects following China's UN admission. - Quotes J. R. D. Tata criticizing excessive government procedural complexity as a hindrance to industrial growth. - Quotes V. V. John questioning whether India reflects on its values beyond defending 'square miles of territory.' - Quotes President Chiang Kai-shek denouncing Mao Tse-tung as a 'traitorous, deceitful, aggressive, terroristic bandit.' - Quotes Alexander Solzhenitsyn questioning the secrecy surrounding the Nobel Prize. - Includes the Freedom First subscription form, noting the magazine is edited and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik and printed at Inland Printers, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff234/ ### Summary This is the 234th issue of Freedom First (Bombay), dated November 1971, edited and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik. The issue is dominated by the Bangladesh crisis and its ripple effects: the refugee burden on India, President Yahya Khan's war rhetoric, American arms sales to Pakistan despite the crackdown, and a Liberal International resolution on East Bengal and press freedom. Domestic politics features prominently too, with pieces on the Communist Party (Right)'s declared shift toward combining electoral and revolutionary tactics, the Congress government's growing reliance on Ordinances in place of parliamentary process, and the post-split transformation of the Congress(R) organisation in West Bengal under Indira Gandhi's new youth-led leadership. Rounding out the issue are a review of a biography of Finance Minister Y. B. Chavan, a satirical eyewitness account of a bungled civil-defence mock air raid in Bombay, a short piece on Soviet treatment of the Crimean Tatar and Volga German minorities, a historical essay on the movement toward European union, and the regular "With Many Voices" digest of quotations from the Indian and world press. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the 234th issue of Freedom First (Bombay), dated November 1971, edited and published for the Democratic Research Service by V. B. Karnik. The issue is dominated by the Bangladesh crisis and its ripple effects: the refugee burden on India, President Yahya Khan's war rhetoric, American arms sales to Pakistan despite the crackdown, and a Liberal International resolution on East Bengal and press freedom. Domestic politics features prominently too, with pieces on the Communist Party (Right)'s declared shift toward combining electoral and revolutionary tactics, the Congress government's growing reliance on Ordinances in place of parliamentary process, and the post-split transformation of the Congress(R) organisation in West Bengal under Indira Gandhi's new youth-led leadership. Rounding out the issue are a review of a biography of Finance Minister Y. B. Chavan, a satirical eyewitness account of a bungled civil-defence mock air raid in Bombay, a short piece on Soviet treatment of the Crimean Tatar and Volga German minorities, a historical essay on the movement toward European union, and the regular "With Many Voices" digest of quotations from the Indian and world press. ## Essays ### Ballots and Bullets *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik argues that the Communist Party (Right)'s General Secretary, Mr. Rajeswara Rao, has declared at the party's ninth Congress in Cochin that it will combine ballots with bullets — a position Karnik calls self-contradictory, since democratic methods and violent overthrow of the existing order cannot be pursued simultaneously without one being a smokescreen for the other. He reads the declaration as a response to the party's shrinking membership (concentrated now in West Bengal and Kerala) and warns Congressmen against cultivating friendly relations with the Communist Party (Right), noting an undeclared alliance already operating in the Kerala coalition ministry. He concludes that the party's proposed "mass revolutionary actions of toiling peasants" and push for a "democratic revolution" are unlikely to succeed but will create serious law-and-order problems for the Congress and the government. - Communist Party (Right) General Secretary Rajeswara Rao declared at the ninth Congress in Cochin that the party would combine ballots with bullets. - Karnik argues ballots (faith in democracy) and bullets (violent overthrow) are contradictory means that no party can honestly pursue together. - The party's membership has eroded under a Moscow-directed 'rightist course', especially in West Bengal and Kerala. - An undeclared alliance already exists between Congress and the Communist Party (Right), notably in the Kerala coalition ministry. - Karnik warns that friendly relations with the party are a liability, even if useful as a tactic against Left Communists. - He predicts the party's push for 'mass revolutionary actions of toiling peasants' and a 'democratic revolution' will likely fail but still cause disorder. ### Nixon - Denying His Country's History *By A. G. Mulgaokar* A. G. Mulgaokar accuses President Nixon of betraying America's own revolutionary and anti-slavery heritage by continuing to arm and support General Yahya Khan's regime during the Bangladesh crisis, drawing parallels to the American colonies' revolt against taxation without representation and the Union's fight against the slaveholding South. He surveys American press and political reaction (Chester Bowles, Galbraith, Ambassador Keating) as increasingly sympathetic to India, discusses the Indo-Soviet Treaty in light of the 1939 Anglo-Polish Treaty of Mutual Assistance, and argues that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's trial under martial law is a legal nullity since martial law cannot function where ordinary courts are operating. - Mulgaokar argues Nixon's support for Yahya Khan contradicts America's own history of revolt against tyranny and slavery. - American public and press opinion (Bowles, Galbraith) is described as increasingly sympathetic to India's difficulties. - The Indo-Soviet Treaty is compared to the 1939 Anglo-Polish Treaty of Mutual Assistance as a deterrent pact. - Mujib's trial is called a legal nullity because martial law cannot coexist with functioning ordinary courts. - The essay questions why India has not formally granted Bangla Desh belligerency rights, as was done for Franco's side in the Spanish Civil War. ### Is Parliament Redundant for Socialism? *By "Atreya"* Writing under the pseudonym "Atreya", the author criticizes the Congress government's growing habit of governing by Ordinance rather than through Parliament, citing examples such as the Family Pension Scheme, amendments to the Payment of Bonus Act, and new levies to fund Bangla Desh refugee relief. The piece argues that trade unions across the ideological spectrum have compounded the problem by themselves demanding Ordinances on wages and bonus rather than defending parliamentary and collective-bargaining processes, which the author says undermines unionism itself. It concludes that quick development does not require short-circuiting democratic accountability, contrasting the current trend unfavourably with Nehru's era. - The essay criticizes the government's increasing recourse to Ordinances instead of parliamentary legislation. - Cited examples include the Family Pension Scheme, the Payment of Bonus Act amendment, and new levies for Bangla Desh refugee relief. - Trade unions of all ideological stripes are blamed for themselves demanding Ordinances rather than defending union bargaining processes. - The author argues this makes trade unions functionally redundant if the State can simply prescribe wages by decree. - The piece contrasts Nehru's restraint in avoiding Ordinances even under tougher political opposition with the current trend. ### Bangla Desh *By Adam Adil* Adam Adil surveys the deepening India-Pakistan tension in late 1971, describing the escalating refugee burden on India (nearly nine million refugees, growing by 30,000 a day) and its fiscal cost, criticizing continued US arms sales to Pakistan despite the crackdown in East Bengal, and situating the Indo-Soviet Treaty as a deterrent against Pakistani aggression. The piece argues Pakistan cannot win a war against India given India's preparedness, Pakistan's economic collapse, and China's evident disinterest in backing Yahya Khan, and concludes that Bangla Desh's people now demand nothing less than full independence. - India faces nearly nine million refugees, growing by 30,000 daily, at enormous fiscal cost (Rs. 200 crores budgeted, potentially Rs. 600 crores total). - The US continues military aid and arms sales to Pakistan despite the crackdown, according to Senator Edward Kennedy's disclosures. - The Indo-Soviet Friendship Treaty is presented as a deterrent that has already restrained Pakistani war rhetoric. - The author argues Pakistan cannot win a war against India given India's preparedness, Pakistan's economic dependence on East Bengal, and China's lack of support. - East Bengal's demand has hardened from autonomy to full independence and sovereignty for Bangla Desh. ### World Liberals on Bangla Desh and Threats to Press Freedom This unsigned report covers two resolutions adopted at the Congress of the Liberal International in Zurich, chaired by Mr. Gaston Thorn, Foreign Minister of Luxemburg. The first resolution expresses concern over the tragic events in East Bengal and the refugee crisis, calls for international assistance, condemns states supplying weapons to Pakistan, and appeals for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's release or fair civilian trial. The second resolution addresses threats to press freedom in India and Asia, criticizing proposed amendments to the Indian Companies Act that could force newspaper owners to divest control, with the Swiss journalist W. Bretscher calling the scheme the 'most vicious and underhand' he has encountered in fifty years of journalism. - The Liberal International Congress in Zurich adopted resolutions on East Bengal and on threats to press freedom in India and Asia. - Attendees included Walter Scheel, Geertsema, Jeremy Thorpe, G. Malagodi, and M. R. Masani, who successfully amended the East Bengal resolution to add clauses on refugee relief and Mujib's trial. - The resolution appeals to Pakistan to convene the National Assembly as elected in December 1970. - The press freedom resolution criticizes proposed Indian Companies Act amendments that could force divestment of newspaper ownership. - Swiss journalist W. Bretscher is quoted condemning the scheme as the worst attack on press freedom he has seen in fifty years. ### United Europe *By Hippopotamus* Writing under the pseudonym "Hippopotamus," the author traces the history of the movement toward European unity from Count Coudenhove-Kalergi's 1923 proposal through Churchill's 1946 Zurich Appeal, the OEEC, the Council of Europe, the Coal and Steel Community, and the 1957 Treaty of Rome establishing the EEC. The piece (continuing past the rendered pages) discusses the EEC's generalized tariff preference scheme for developing countries and the implications of Britain's prospective entry into the Common Market for Commonwealth trade preferences. - Traces the idea of European union from Coudenhove-Kalergi's 1923 plan through Churchill's 1946 Zurich Appeal to the 1957 Treaty of Rome. - Describes the OEEC (1948), the Council of Europe (1949), and the European Coal and Steel Community (1951) as successive steps toward integration. - Notes Europe was historically divided into three blocs: the Common Market countries, EFTA, and the Comecon countries. - Discusses the EEC's Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP) for developing countries as non-reciprocal, non-discriminatory tariff treatment. - Raises concerns about the loss of Commonwealth tariff preferences once Britain joins the Common Market. ### Transformation Of Congress In W. Bengal *By K. K. Sinha* K. K. Sinha describes the post-split transformation of the Congress(R) in West Bengal, crediting Indira Gandhi's new leadership style and the rise of youth organisations — the Chhatra Parishad and Yuva Congress — for the party's jump from 55 to 105 seats in the March 1971 election. The piece (continuing past the rendered pages) discusses the marginalisation of the older generation of Congressmen, the growth of the Chhatra Parishad from 17,000 to over a lakh members, and new pressures on the youth leadership from unemployed and urban-poor supporters demanding patronage. - Congress(R) grew from 55 to 105 seats in West Bengal's March 1971 election, a shift attributed to Indira Gandhi's new leadership and party image. - The Chhatra Parishad and Yuva Congress are described as the main driving force of the new Congress, displacing the older generation. - The Chhatra Parishad grew from about 17,000 members in 1969 to over 100,000. - Some veteran trade unionists and Congress workers are described as gradually aligning with the new leadership. - The new leadership faces pressure from unemployed and urban-poor supporters seeking jobs and demanding donations be collected on their behalf. ### Review: Chavan and the Troubled Decade (T. V. Kunhi Krishnan, Somaiya Publications, Bombay 14, Rs. 32) *By S.D.* A review, signed "S.D.", of T. V. Kunhi Krishnan's biography-cum-political-history "Chavan and the Troubled Decade" (Somaiya Publications, Bombay, Rs. 32). The reviewer praises Y. B. Chavan's rise from a poor peasant family to Finance Minister and his statesmanlike refusal of the Prime Ministership offer during the Congress split, while criticizing the book's structure for failing to convincingly bind Chavan's personal story to the broader account of the 'troubled decade,' concluding the book is well-written but tells more about the decade than about Chavan himself. - The book under review is T. V. Kunhi Krishnan's 'Chavan and the Troubled Decade' (Somaiya Publications, Bombay, Rs. 32). - Chavan is praised for rejecting the Prime Ministership offer during the Congress split rather than go along with policies he disagreed with. - C. Subramaniam is quoted praising Chavan for subordinating personal interest and prestige to national interest. - The book argues Indira Gandhi's failure to consult colleagues, including Chavan, before nominating a presidential candidate contributed to the Congress split. - The reviewer criticizes the book's organizing conceit — using Chavan's life as a 'binding thread' for the decade's story — as unconvincing. ### Mock Air Raid *By "Saadi"* Writing under the pseudonym "Saadi", the author gives a satirical first-person account of a widely-publicised mock air-raid civil defence exercise held on 3rd October near Apollo Bunder in Bombay, describing how the elaborately announced drill — sirens, blackout, mock bombings, and rescue operations — collapsed into farce when fire brigades and ambulances failed to respond for over half an hour, leaving the crowd disillusioned about the state of India's civil defence preparedness amid real fears of Pakistani aggression. - The Directorate of Civil Defence and Home Guards heavily publicised a mock air raid exercise for 3rd October at Apollo Bunder and other Bombay locations. - The public turned out in large numbers, taking the exercise seriously given real fears of Pakistani aggression. - The mock bombs, sirens, and blackout proceeded as announced, but the promised rescue response was farcically delayed. - Fire brigades and ambulances failed to arrive for over 30 minutes, and when they did, showed no urgency in retrieving mock casualties. - The author concludes it is unclear whether what was witnessed was a serious exercise or 'just a farce', and notes similar reports came from other locations. ### Minorities in Russia This unsigned item summarizes a Minority Rights Group report on Soviet treatment of the Crimean Tatar and Volga German minorities, describing their World War II deportation en masse to Central Asia under Stalin (part of seven nationalities totalling 1.5 million people), Khrushchev's 1956 denunciation of the deportations as among Stalin's crimes, the partial 1957 restoration of autonomous territories for five of the seven nationalities, and the continued denial of repatriation and autonomy to the Crimean Tatars and Volga Germans specifically, despite their ongoing campaign for equal rights. - A Minority Rights Group report documents Soviet treatment of Crimean Tatar and Volga German minorities. - Both groups were part of seven nationalities (1.5 million people) deported en masse to Central Asia during WWII as alleged German collaborators. - Khrushchev's 1956 20th Party Congress speech included these deportations among Stalin's catalogued crimes. - 1957 Soviet decrees restored autonomous territories for five of the seven deported nationalities, but not for the Crimean Tatars or Volga Germans. - Crimean Tatars (numbering about 300,000) continue to campaign for equality of rights and repatriation, which has been denied. ### With Many Voices The regular "With Many Voices" column, a digest of quotations from the Indian and international press on current affairs — including remarks on the Soviet Union's changed international status, debates over the meaning of 'socialist economy' (quoting Jayaprakash Narayan), commentary on the Congress(R)'s political discipline, the Bangla Desh refugee crisis as a world responsibility, and criticism of the Communist Party's role in engineering further Congress splits — followed by the issue's subscription form and publication colophon. - The column collects short press quotations from sources including Indian Express, The Statesman, Hindusthan Standard, Janata, The Hindu, and Swiss Press Review. - Jayaprakash Narayan is quoted distinguishing a genuine 'socialist economy' from a merely state-owned 'bureaucratic economy'. - A quotation from E.M.S. Namboodiripad on the Soviet Union's wish to stay friendly with both India and Pakistan is included. - Multiple quotations address the Bangla Desh refugee crisis as an international, not merely Indian, responsibility. - The page includes the subscription form for Freedom First and the publication's colophon, naming V. B. Karnik as editor/publisher for the Democratic Research Service. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff236/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 236 (January 1972), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with an editorial titled "Rededication" marking the journal's approaching twentieth year and announcing that Masani is resuming the editorship from V. B. Karnik, with a modest increase in page count. The editorial frames the issue against a backdrop of what Masani calls a "Marxist counter-revolution" eroding civil liberties, citing Jayaprakash Narayan's criticism of the 25th Constitutional Amendment and warning of press freedom coming under threat. The unsigned notes column, "Between You & Me and The Lamp Post," covers land-ceiling politics (via a statement by Maharashtra law minister A. R. Antulay), a satirical juxtaposition of Life magazine's shifting portrayals of Chou En-lai, and a jab at J. K. Galbraith's admitted errors, plus a brief obituary for D. P. Sethna of the Democratic Research Service. The remaining contributions are a mix of political-cultural commentary and reviews: A. G. Noorani laments the decline of Indian pamphleteering; J. R. Patel profiles the veteran editor and former ICS officer A. D. Gorwala; N. L.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 236 (January 1972), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with an editorial titled "Rededication" marking the journal's approaching twentieth year and announcing that Masani is resuming the editorship from V. B. Karnik, with a modest increase in page count. The editorial frames the issue against a backdrop of what Masani calls a "Marxist counter-revolution" eroding civil liberties, citing Jayaprakash Narayan's criticism of the 25th Constitutional Amendment and warning of press freedom coming under threat. The unsigned notes column, "Between You & Me and The Lamp Post," covers land-ceiling politics (via a statement by Maharashtra law minister A. R. Antulay), a satirical juxtaposition of Life magazine's shifting portrayals of Chou En-lai, and a jab at J. K. Galbraith's admitted errors, plus a brief obituary for D. P. Sethna of the Democratic Research Service. The remaining contributions are a mix of political-cultural commentary and reviews: A. G. Noorani laments the decline of Indian pamphleteering; J. R. Patel profiles the veteran editor and former ICS officer A. D. Gorwala; N. L. Panjwani argues that Indian politics, not education, is responsible for the crisis in student unrest; Brigadier J. P. Dalvi describes the Leslie Sawhny Programme's Outward Bound-style leadership training; Geeta Doctor reviews a student production of Vijay Tendulkar's "Silence! The Court Is in Session!"; and book reviews cover Nari Rustomji's memoir of the Northeast frontier and a scholarly study of the Sarvodaya movement's Bhoodan-Gramdan leadership. The issue closes with a page of quoted aphorisms and press clippings, "With Many Voices." ## Essays ### Notes M. R. Masani's editorial "Rededication" recounts the founding of Freedom First in June 1952 to "work for an open society" and reaffirms that pledge two decades on, arguing that the totalitarian threat identified in the first issue is "far more acute today." He cites Jayaprakash Narayan's December 1971 description of the 25th Constitutional Amendment as a "reactionary and totalitarian step" and warns that press freedom is imperilled, with larger newspapers being pressured into conformity while only "small rags" like Freedom First may keep dissent alive. Masani closes by announcing he is resuming the editorship from his associate V. B. Karnik after six years, with a small increase in the journal's page count to meet the challenges ahead. - Frames the issue as marking nearly twenty years since Freedom First's 1952 founding. - Argues a 'veritable Marxist counter-revolution' is eroding freedoms won in 1947. - Quotes Jayaprakash Narayan's condemnation of the 25th Amendment as 'reactionary and totalitarian'. - Warns of press freedom being throttled through legislative threat and pressure on larger newspapers. - Announces Masani is resuming editorship from V. B. Karnik, with a modest increase in page count. ### On Pamphleteering *By A. G. Noorani* The unsigned notes column covers several short items. "Cat out of the Bag" argues that land-ceiling reform proposed by the new Congress Party is a disguised step toward full land nationalisation and collective farming, citing a statement by Maharashtra law minister A. R. Antulay that ceilings are merely a 'stopgap' pending eventual nationalisation of all land; it invokes Stalin's liquidation of the kulaks as a warning of the violence such policies can entail. "Chou En-lai—Then and Now" contrasts Life magazine's flattering 1971 profile of the Chinese premier with its damning 1954 portrayal of him as a gangster responsible for a 1931 mass murder, to illustrate the malleability of journalistic reputation-making. "Political Defections" critiques a Committee of Governors report that found constitutional obstacles to anti-defection legislation, arguing the Committee's reasoning is legally strained given existing provisions for reasonable restrictions on association. "Broadminded Galbraith" mocks J. K. Galbraith for admitting error in his earlier enthusiasm for planning and 'post office socialism' in India and Ceylon while noting he has yet to acknowledge a failed prediction that the South Vietnamese government would collapse within a week. A boxed notice mourns the death of D. P. Sethna, a solicitor long associated with the Democratic Research Service. - 'Cat out of the Bag' reads Maharashtra minister A. R. Antulay's remarks on land ceilings as an admission that full land nationalisation is the real Congress goal. - Invokes Stalin's liquidation of kulaks as a historical warning against collectivisation drives. - 'Chou En-lai—Then and Now' contrasts Life magazine's 1971 flattering profile of Chou with its 1954 depiction of him as a murderous 'gangster'. - 'Political Defections' disputes the Committee of Governors' finding that anti-defection legislation would be unconstitutional. - 'Broadminded Galbraith' criticises Galbraith for admitting some errors on planning while ignoring his failed prediction on South Vietnam. - A tribute notes the death of D. P. Sethna, solicitor and long-time supporter of the Democratic Research Service. ### A. D. Gorwala *By J. R. Patel* A. G. Noorani's "On Pamphleteering" laments the decline of quality in Indian public discourse, arguing that the poor state of pamphleteering both reflects and reinforces this decline. He traces a lost lineage of committed political writing from Dadabhai Naoroji, Gokhale, Tilak, and Aurobindo Ghose's Bande Mataram through the British tradition of Junius, Burke, and Bentham, and the founding of the Edinburgh Review in 1802, which he credits with beginning the 'organised intellectuals as a force in British politics.' Gandhi is praised for having brought politics to the masses through Young India and Harijan without neglecting the intelligentsia, and Nehru, Rajaji, and Subhas Bose are named as prolific pamphleteers of that era, alongside the Congress Socialist Party's J. P., M. R. Masani, Asoka Mehta, Lohia, and Achyut Patwardhan. Noorani contrasts this with the present, quoting Nirad C. Chaudhuri's harsh verdict that Indian writers are self-interested and disengaged from public affairs, incapable of the 'primary requisite for writing effectively.' - Argues the decline of Indian public life and the decline of pamphleteering are intimately related. - Traces a tradition of committed political writing from Naoroji, Gokhale, Tilak, and Aurobindo Ghose to the Congress Socialist Party generation. - Credits the Edinburgh Review (1802) with beginning the organised intellectual as a political force in Britain. - Praises Gandhi's Young India and Harijan for bringing politics to the masses without abandoning the intelligentsia. - Quotes Nirad C. Chaudhuri's severe indictment of contemporary Indian writers as self-interested and uninvolved in public life. ### Education & Politics *By N. L. Panjwani* J. R. Patel's profile "That Irrepressible Gadfly—A. D. Gorwala" begins by reviewing Gorwala's short-story collection 'The Queen of Beauty and Other Tales,' whose fictional assistant collector in Sind closely mirrors Gorwala's own career as an ICS officer posted there in 1924. Patel then narrates Gorwala's biography: born in Quetta to a family of modest means, educated in Bombay and at St. Xavier's, selected for the ICS in the first exam held in India in 1922, and trained at Cambridge before serving in Sind, Delhi, and Bombay, resigning in 1948 in protest over food price decontrol. After a stint as a Bombay Dyeing director, he turned to journalism, founding the weekly Opinion in May 1960, which continues at a loss-making price of Rs. 2 out of principle. Patel portrays him, at 71, as an uncompromising 'Socrates of our troubled times,' living a spartan bachelor existence, still writing caustic editorials that have at times gotten him refused publication. - Reviews Gorwala's short-story collection 'The Queen of Beauty and Other Tales,' inspired by his ICS service in Sind. - Traces his biography from Quetta birth through Cambridge training after passing the first India-held ICS exam in 1922. - Notes his 1948 resignation from government service in protest over food price decontrol. - Describes founding of his weekly Opinion in 1960, still priced at an uneconomical Rs. 2 out of principle. - Portrays his current spartan, solitary lifestyle and his reputation for fearless, sometimes refused, editorials on politicians. ### Outward Bound *By Brig. Dalvi* N. L. Panjwani's "Education Should Invade Politics" opens with a fictional dialogue from K. Bhaskara Rao's novel 'Candle Against the Wind' illustrating the devaluation of humanities education relative to science. Panjwani rejects V. B. Kulkarni's claim (in the Indian Express) that politics has 'invaded' education and caused student unrest, arguing instead that the education system has always been shaped by the political and economic structure of society, from feudal apprenticeship to the colonial clerk-producing system. He cites salary disparities (a university lecturer earning Rs. 700 versus a hotel head waiter's Rs. 1,500) and the 1951 Sargent Committee's complaint of poor planning in university education—used to show that politics has 'invaded' education for decades, not just recently. Presenting a chart from the Economic and Political Weekly on rising student violence from 1958–1966, Panjwani concludes that education should indeed invade politics, so that the underlying causes of student unrest can be properly understood. - Opens with a fictional dialogue from K. Bhaskara Rao's 'Candle Against the Wind' on the devaluation of humanities study. - Rejects V. B. Kulkarni's Indian Express thesis that politics 'invaded' education, arguing education has always been politically and economically determined. - Cites salary disparities—lecturers earning Rs. 700 vs. hotel head waiters earning Rs. 1,500—as evidence of misplaced political priorities. - Notes the 1951 Sargent Committee report already found poor planning in university education, undercutting claims of a recent politicisation. - Presents an Economic and Political Weekly chart showing rising rates and severity of student unrest, 1958-1966, correlated with Naxalite influence after 1967. ### Theatre Review *By Geeta Doctor* Brigadier J. P. Dalvi's "Outward Bound: The Challenge of Adventure" describes the Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy, launched April 1968 in memory of Col. Leslie Sawhny to train political and social workers, youth leaders, and trade unionists in liberal-democratic citizenship and organisation. Dalvi details how, from 1970, the programme incorporated UK-style 'Outward Bound' physical training—obstacle courses, mountaineering, rock-climbing, and community service placements—to build character, teamwork, and leadership through adversity, citing camps at Nagarjunasagar, Ranchi (with Adivasi participants), and Nasik. He reports that by March 1973 the programme will have run over 100 courses and 15 seminars reaching over 2,500 alumni, and closes by arguing that continued growth depends on industry patronage and funding, drawing a parallel to UK industry's roughly £55-per-participant contribution, and proposing that Outward Bound-style evaluation reports could serve industrial staff selection and development. - Describes the Leslie Sawhny Programme, launched 1968, training political/social workers and youth leaders in liberal democracy and organisation. - Details incorporation of UK 'Outward Bound' physical and character-building exercises from 1970 onward. - Recounts camps at Nagarjunasagar, Ranchi (with young Adivasi participants), and Nasik, each emphasising community service alongside physical challenge. - Reports program scale: over 100 courses and 15 seminars by March 1973, reaching 2,500+ alumni across 11 states. - Calls for industry patronage and a permanent site/staff, citing UK industry's roughly £55-per-participant funding model as precedent. ### Book Reviews Geeta Doctor's theatre review "Treading a New Path" covers the Elphinstone College English Dramatic Society's production of Vijay Tendulkar's Marathi play 'Shantata! Court Chalu Ahe!', staged in English translation as 'Silence! The Court Is in Session!' Doctor situates Tendulkar as an 'avant-garde' Marathi playwright, winner of the 1970 Sangeet Natak Akademi prize, and describes the play's plot: a group of amateur actors rehearsing a mock trial in a village schoolroom turn their game against one of their own, schoolteacher Miss Leela Benare, gradually exposing and publicly shaming her for an unmarried pregnancy, in a psychological unraveling Doctor compares to Edward Albee's 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' She praises Priya Adarkar's translation and the cast's performances (Sukhatme as the Lawyer, Priti as Mrs. Kashikar, Manjula as Miss Benare) while noting the play's slow first act and the amateurish quality introduced by staging it in the Elphinstone College Hall itself. - Reviews Elphinstone College's English-language production of Tendulkar's 'Shantata! Court Chalu Ahe!' ('Silence! The Court Is in Session!'). - Describes the play's central device: a mock trial game that turns into a real, cruel exposure of schoolteacher Miss Benare's pregnancy. - Draws a comparison to Edward Albee's 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' for its unity of time, place, and psychological intensity. - Praises Priya Adarkar's English translation for preserving the Marathi idiom naturally. - Notes the production's defects: a dreary first act and an amateurish quality from staging in the college hall itself. ### Essay 8 Lt. Col. M. R. Chandvadkar reviews Nari Rustomji's memoir 'Enchanted Frontiers' (Oxford University Press, 1971), covering the author's decades as a senior ICS officer and administrator of Sikkim, Bhutan, and the North-Eastern tribal frontier (NEFA), from his youth as a Cambridge-trained classicist through the Chinese invasion of 1962. The review recounts Rustomji's close contact with figures such as the Naga politician Phizo, Rani Gaidinliu, the Dalai and Panchen Lamas, Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Father Verrier Elwin, and the royal families of Sikkim and Bhutan, and quotes an anecdote of Nehru and Indira Gandhi's yak trek to Bhutan. Chandvadkar praises Rustomji's prose and his deep identification with tribal welfare, situating the 1962 Chinese invasion of NEFA as the emotional and narrative turning point of the book, and closes noting the author's stated aim was to develop a 'practical philosophy of work' rather than a mere factual record. - Reviews Nari Rustomji's 'Enchanted Frontiers,' a memoir of his ICS career administering Sikkim, Bhutan, and NEFA. - Recounts Rustomji's contact with Naga politician Phizo, Rani Gaidinliu, the Dalai and Panchen Lamas, and the royal families of Sikkim and Bhutan. - Quotes an anecdote of Nehru's yak trek to Bhutan with Indira Gandhi, including a comic moment of impromptu acrobatics. - Frames the 1962 Chinese invasion of NEFA and the 1964 assassination of Bhutan's PM Jigme Dorji as the book's emotional turning points. - Notes Rustomji's stated purpose was less to marshal facts than to develop a personal and practical philosophy of administrative work. ### Essay 9 V. B. Karnik reviews 'The Gentle Anarchist' by G. Ostergaard and Melville Currell (Oxford University Press, London), a scholarly study of the Sarvodaya movement's leadership based on questionnaire responses from 192 of 400 leaders surveyed. Karnik summarises the book's profile of a 'Sarvodaya leader' as it emerges from the data, focusing on the movement's central Bhoodan and Gramdan land-gift campaigns, which the authors present as an effective, non-violent path to social revolution earning the leaders the label 'gentle anarchists' for their vision of a stateless society achieved peacefully. Karnik is critical of the book's approach, arguing that after all the scholarship invested in analysing leaders' motives, the movement's practical results in Bhoodan and Gramdan have borne little fruit and that a study of the movement's actual impact on villages would have been more valuable than an analysis of leaders' thoughts and motives alone. - Reviews 'The Gentle Anarchist' by G. Ostergaard and Melville Currell, a data-driven study of 192 Sarvodaya movement leaders. - Summarises the book's focus on Bhoodan and Gramdan as the movement's central non-violent, anarchist-inflected campaigns. - Notes the authors' framing of Sarvodaya leaders as 'gentle anarchists' aiming at a peacefully-attained stateless society. - Critiques the book for not examining whether Bhoodan and Gramdan actually changed village conditions. - Concludes sympathetic observers would have preferred an analysis of the movement's real-world results over its leaders' motives. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff237/ ### Summary This is issue No. 237 (February 1972) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based classical-liberal monthly edited by M. R. Masani. The issue opens with B. K. Nehru's B. F. Madon Memorial Lecture, 'The First Priority', arguing that mass unemployment makes job creation India's overriding economic priority and criticizing government policies (subsidised industry, over-staffing, populist nationalization talk) that create the appearance of employment without productive output. The unsigned 'Between You and Me and the Lamp Post' notes column covers the Bangladesh war's aftermath, the government's handling of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, the detention of Current editor D. F. Karaka, the 25th/28th Constitution Amendment Bills, and press freedom. Mehra Masani contributes a piece on All India Radio's lack of autonomy from government control, contrasting it with the BBC and other democratic broadcasters and reviewing the unimplemented Chanda Committee recommendations. S. V. Raju analyses India's near-total diplomatic isolation at the U.N. General Assembly vote on the December 1971 ceasefire resolution, arguing this reveals the costs of India's alignment with the Soviet Union.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 237 (February 1972) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based classical-liberal monthly edited by M. R. Masani. The issue opens with B. K. Nehru's B. F. Madon Memorial Lecture, 'The First Priority', arguing that mass unemployment makes job creation India's overriding economic priority and criticizing government policies (subsidised industry, over-staffing, populist nationalization talk) that create the appearance of employment without productive output. The unsigned 'Between You and Me and the Lamp Post' notes column covers the Bangladesh war's aftermath, the government's handling of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, the detention of Current editor D. F. Karaka, the 25th/28th Constitution Amendment Bills, and press freedom. Mehra Masani contributes a piece on All India Radio's lack of autonomy from government control, contrasting it with the BBC and other democratic broadcasters and reviewing the unimplemented Chanda Committee recommendations. S. V. Raju analyses India's near-total diplomatic isolation at the U.N. General Assembly vote on the December 1971 ceasefire resolution, arguing this reveals the costs of India's alignment with the Soviet Union. Richard Brookhiser, a young American writer, offers a psychological read of President Nixon as a political 'Romantic' ahead of his planned trip to China. The issue also carries a translated Soviet 'samizdat' protest ballad by Mikhail Nozhkin, a review by Aziz Madni of the book 'Shadow of the Bear' (on the Indo-Soviet Treaty), and a back-page compilation of quotations titled 'With Many Voices'. ## Essays ### First Priority *By B. K. NEHRU* B. K. Nehru's lecture argues that unemployment is the central threat to India's social and political stability and must override every other policy objective. He lays out projections showing the labour force growing by roughly 63 million over the 1970s against a realistic capacity to create only about 40 million jobs, leaving around 37 million unemployed by 1980 (some 14% of the labour force). He proposes a single test for any government policy: does it create employment? In the continuation (pages 14-15), Nehru argues that 'gainful employment' must mean productive employment, not simply drawing a wage regardless of output, and criticizes Government practices (overstaffing offices, unviable industrial projects, subsidies, and loans to uneconomic enterprises) that manufacture the appearance of employment without adding real production. He invokes Lenin's 1921 New Economic Policy as a precedent for subordinating ideological preferences to the sheer necessity of increasing production, and closes by questioning whether India's mix of political liberty and regulated economy is sustainable, warning against a national 'macrophobia' that favours large scale and government control over smaller, more efficient private enterprise. - Unemployment rose from roughly 3 million in 1950 to about 14 million in 1970, with 63 million more entrants expected in the 1970s against a maximum of about 40 million new jobs. - Nehru proposes a single-test policy standard: whether an action creates employment. - He distinguishes 'gainful' employment (drawing a wage) from genuinely productive employment that adds to national output. - Government practices that create false appearances of employment include overstaffing, unviable subsidised projects, and irrecoverable loans to uneconomic industries. - He cites Lenin's 1921 New Economic Policy as a historical parallel for prioritizing production over ideology when facing economic collapse. - He criticizes an Indian bias toward large-scale ('macrophobic') production and against small-scale, labour-intensive industry. - He closes with a philosophical question about whether India's political liberty is compatible with its regulated economy. ### Notes The unsigned 'Between You and Me and The Lamp Post' notes column addresses several current events. It welcomes the liberation of Bangladesh and the return of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, contrasting Freedom First's consistent anti-imperialist stance (on Tibet, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Biafra) with what it calls the hypocrisy of those who stayed silent on Soviet and Chinese actions. It criticizes Indira Gandhi for reversing her position on Constitution Amendment Bill concessions within 24 hours, accuses ruling Congress Party members of 'fascist' hooliganism against opposition figures, criticizes the detention of Current editor D. F. Karaka under the Defence of India Rules as a misuse of power, and criticizes press book-burning of Karaka's journal. It also discusses the government's diplomatic tilt toward North Vietnam, the death of J&K Chief Minister G. M. Sadiq and press silence about his Communist sympathies, and the choice of Leonard Boudin (a lawyer with a record of defending Soviet spies and communists) as Daniel Ellsberg's counsel in the Pentagon Papers case. - Celebrates the liberation of Bangladesh and Sheikh Mujibur Rehman's return, contrasting it with silence over Tibet, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Biafra by some commentators. - Criticizes Indira Gandhi for withdrawing two of three Constitution Amendment Bill provisions after claiming she would not be 'pressurised'. - Condemns ruling Congress Party members' violent conduct against opposition figures as 'fascist', including the manhandling of Orissa's Chief Minister. - Argues the detention of Current editor D. F. Karaka under the Defence of India Rules was a misuse of emergency powers. - Notes press silence about the Communist sympathies of the late J&K Chief Minister G. M. Sadiq. - Criticizes New Delhi's diplomatic tilt in favour of North Vietnam over South Vietnam. - Highlights Ellsberg's choice of Leonard Boudin, a lawyer known for defending Soviet spies and communists, as noteworthy. ### AIR *By MEHRA MASANI* Mehra Masani argues that All India Radio remains an unusual holdout among democracies in being run directly as a department of the government rather than as an autonomous public corporation like the BBC. She surveys global broadcasting models (private/commercial in the US, autonomous corporations across Western Europe and much of Asia, and state control mainly in totalitarian countries) and situates India's system as an anomaly. She traces the history of proposals for AIR's autonomy, including Nehru's 1948 Constituent Assembly remarks favouring a BBC-like semi-autonomous model, and the 1964 Chanda Committee (chaired by A. K. Chanda) commissioned by Indira Gandhi as Minister for Information and Broadcasting, which recommended converting AIR into an autonomous corporation by Act of Parliament. She rebuts the government's standard arguments against autonomy (financial self-sufficiency, risk of commercialization, loss of parliamentary control, and national security) one by one, and concludes that the government's real motive is fear that an independent AIR would refuse to serve the ruling party's narrow political ends. - India is characterized as nearly alone among democracies in keeping broadcasting as a direct government department rather than an autonomous corporation. - Contrasts three global broadcasting models: private/commercial (US), autonomous public corporations (BBC, NHK, ABC, CBC, West Germany), and state-run (mostly totalitarian states, USSR, China). - Recounts Nehru's 1948 Constituent Assembly statement favouring a semi-autonomous, BBC-like structure for Indian broadcasting. - Describes the 1964 Chanda Committee, appointed by Indira Gandhi, which recommended AIR's conversion into an autonomous statutory corporation. - Rebuts arguments that AIR cannot afford autonomy, that autonomy risks commercialization, that Parliament would lose control, and that state security requires direct government supervision. - Concludes that the government's true motive for resisting autonomy is fear that an independent AIR would not serve the ruling party's political interests. ### The U.N. Vote *By S. V. RAJU* S. V. Raju analyses the near-unanimous 104-nation U.N. General Assembly vote in December 1971 for a ceasefire resolution that India opposed, framing it as evidence of India's diplomatic isolation over Bangladesh. He rejects Foreign Minister Swaran Singh's claim that most voting nations simply failed to understand the 'basic problem', noting that nearly every regional bloc (Arab states, African states, South and Southeast Asian states, Latin American states, and most of Europe) voted for the resolution or abstained, leaving India dependent on Soviet-bloc support. He argues that India's reliance on the Indo-Soviet Treaty destroyed the credibility of its long-cultivated non-aligned image, particularly given India's own past silence on Tibet, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. He calls for a fundamental 'agonising reappraisal' of foreign policy, including reconsidering India's West Asia policy, prioritizing relations with South and Southeast Asian neighbours, and grounding foreign policy in reciprocity and self-interest rather than moralizing. - 104 nations voted for the December 1971 U.N. ceasefire resolution that India opposed, leaving India isolated with mainly Soviet-bloc support. - Raju rejects the government's explanation that other nations failed to understand the 'basic problem' of genocide and refugees. - Notes that virtually every regional bloc—Arab, African, South/Southeast Asian, Latin American, most of Europe—voted against India's position or abstained. - Argues India's own past inaction on Tibet, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia undermined the credibility of its moral appeals over Bangladesh. - Contends the Indo-Soviet Treaty destroyed India's non-aligned image and international credibility. - Calls for an 'agonising reappraisal' of foreign policy covering West Asia policy, South/Southeast Asian relations, and a shift toward reciprocity and self-interest. ### A Young American Looks at Nixon *By RICHARD BROOKHISER* Richard Brookhiser, describing himself as a young American, offers a psychological portrait of President Nixon as a political 'Romantic' whose planned trip to Communist China reflects a deep-seated vision of himself as a peacemaker rather than mere pragmatism. He compares Nixon to Neville Chamberlain (quoting Churchill's appraisal of Chamberlain in The Gathering Storm) and to Czar Alexander I meeting Napoleon at Tilsit, arguing that Romantics like Nixon believe in the essential goodness and persuadability of even hostile powers. Brookhiser suggests Nixon's China initiative is driven by a hope to be remembered as a 'Great Peacemaker', paralleling his moves toward Rumania, the Middle East, and Kissinger's Peking diplomacy, while acknowledging skepticism that the vision may be 'all a fantasy'. - Brookhiser argues Nixon's planned China trip reflects a Romantic self-image as a historic peacemaker, not pure pragmatism. - He compares Nixon's psychology to Neville Chamberlain's, quoting Churchill's description of Chamberlain from The Gathering Storm. - He compares Nixon's anticipated meeting with Chinese leaders to Czar Alexander I's meeting with Napoleon at Tilsit. - Romantics, per Brookhiser, believe deeply in the essential goodness of people and the possibility of reconciliation even with adversarial powers. - He notes the initiative carries political benefits (winning elections, commending Nixon to history) alongside its idealistic motivations. - The essay ends on a note of self-aware uncertainty about whether this reading of Nixon is accurate. ### Book Review A translated Soviet 'samizdat'/'magnitizdat' protest ballad by Mikhail Nozhkin, introduced with an explanatory note on the underground tape-recorded ballad tradition in the USSR. The ballad satirizes the hypocrisy of a privileged Soviet 'New Class' who preach austerity and revolutionary sacrifice while living in comfort, contrasted with the two bullet-holed overcoats and worn possessions preserved in the Lenin Museum. The introductory note draws an explicit parallel to India, suggesting a visit to Birla House, where Gandhi's few possessions are kept, might inspire a similar refrain about India's own emerging privileged class. - The piece is a translated underground Soviet protest ballad ('magnitizdat', tape-recorded samizdat) by Mikhail Nozhkin. - It satirizes a Soviet 'New Class' that enjoys imported clothes, luxury, and consumer goods while publicly preaching austerity. - It contrasts this hypocrisy with the modest bullet-holed overcoats and few possessions preserved in the Lenin Museum. - The introductory editorial note draws a direct parallel to India's own emerging privileged class, referencing Gandhi's few possessions at Birla House. ### Essay 7 Aziz Madni reviews 'Shadow of the Bear', edited by A. P. Jain (176 pages, Rs. 15), a book collecting the proceedings of a September 1971 New Delhi seminar on the economic and political implications of the Indo-Soviet Treaty signed on 9 August 1971. The review finds the book, despite a title that might seem to slant against the treaty, a fair and well-documented account, citing seminar participants including M. R. Masani, T. N. Kaul, D. R. Mankekar, Prithvis Chakravarti, and General Cariappa, most of whom saw the treaty as constraining India's freedom of action and tying it more closely to Soviet strategic interests in Asia and the Indian Ocean. - The book under review, 'Shadow of the Bear' (ed. A. P. Jain, 176 pp., Rs. 15), collects proceedings of a September 1971 New Delhi seminar on the Indo-Soviet Treaty. - The reviewer finds the book, despite its seemingly slanted title, a fair and dispassionate account of the treaty's implications. - Seminar participants broadly agreed the treaty constrained India's freedom of action and had been under negotiation for two years before the Bangladesh crisis. - The review cites warnings that Soviet and Chinese vetoes could each become tools to block future Security Council action favouring India. - It concludes that the treaty has drawn Southern Asia into great-power competition, citing The Economist's characterization of a 'new Great Game'. ### Essay 8 The back-page feature 'With Many Voices' compiles brief quotations from Indian and international figures and publications on the Bangladesh war, the Indo-Pakistan conflict, and related diplomatic fallout, drawn from sources including Indira Gandhi, C. Rajagopalachari, President Bhutto, and The Economist, alongside a subscription form for Freedom First. - The feature compiles short quotations from public figures and publications on the Bangladesh war and its diplomatic aftermath. - Sources quoted include Indira Gandhi, C. Rajagopalachari, President Bhutto, President Nixon, and repeated citations from The Economist and Encounter. - It includes a subscription form for Freedom First with annual rates of Rs. 5 (Rs. 3 for students). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff238/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 238 (March 1972), edited by M. R. Masani, is a monthly issue of this Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas covering roughly sixteen printed pages. Its editorial notes column, 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post,' takes up student unrest and Vice-Chancellor security, the Prime Minister's push to make State governments 'fall in line' with the Centre (framed as an attack on federalism), Sophia Wadia's seventieth birthday and the PEN, the newly formed National Union of Journalists, and revelations that Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram let slip disagreements within government over Kashmir strategy after the Bangladesh war. A. G. Noorani contributes a long piece on electoral malpractice, preventive detention, and the banning of the Plebiscite Front in Jammu & Kashmir. R. Hawkins argues against centralising school-textbook production, Nissim Ezekiel reviews the Medvedev brothers' account of Soviet psychiatric persecution, an unsigned review (by Cynthia Young) assesses Robert Conquest's critique of Marxism, Geeta Doctor surveys Bombay art exhibitions, and an American graduate-school drop-out, Joan Contractor, recounts her disillusioning month at Bombay University.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 238 (March 1972), edited by M. R. Masani, is a monthly issue of this Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas covering roughly sixteen printed pages. Its editorial notes column, 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post,' takes up student unrest and Vice-Chancellor security, the Prime Minister's push to make State governments 'fall in line' with the Centre (framed as an attack on federalism), Sophia Wadia's seventieth birthday and the PEN, the newly formed National Union of Journalists, and revelations that Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram let slip disagreements within government over Kashmir strategy after the Bangladesh war. A. G. Noorani contributes a long piece on electoral malpractice, preventive detention, and the banning of the Plebiscite Front in Jammu & Kashmir. R. Hawkins argues against centralising school-textbook production, Nissim Ezekiel reviews the Medvedev brothers' account of Soviet psychiatric persecution, an unsigned review (by Cynthia Young) assesses Robert Conquest's critique of Marxism, Geeta Doctor surveys Bombay art exhibitions, and an American graduate-school drop-out, Joan Contractor, recounts her disillusioning month at Bombay University. The issue also carries an open letter from a Southern Sudanese Anya Nya commander on the Bantu massacres, a letter to the editor on M. N. Roy's pamphleteering legacy, and a closing page of quotations ('With Many Voices'). ## Essays ### Misfortunes of a Bombay University Drop-Out *By Joan Contractor* Joan Contractor, an American graduate student who enrolled for a Master's in English Literature at the University of Bombay and quit after a month, describes the university's confusing, poorly documented registration process and criticises its lecture organisation, which spread eight literary areas across nineteen periods a week with no continuity, taught by twenty to thirty different professors. She contrasts this with the American system's more focused four-subjects-per-year structure and argues it would provide continuity, cut down lecture overload, and allow a yearly rather than biennial examination. The essay continues on page 15, where she elaborates that the syllabus itself felt too general even though it led her to a valuable rereading of Melville's Moby Dick and Joseph Addison. Her central complaint, however, is attitudinal: she found Bombay University students hostile toward lecturers and administration indifferent to students, and contrasts this with the mutual respect and individual responsibility she associates with American universities, closing with a call for administrative reorganisation and a change in attitude on both sides. - An American graduate student recounts quitting a Bombay University Master's programme in English Literature after one month. - She found registration bureaucratic and poorly documented, with no single complete set of instructions available. - Classes spanned eight literary areas taught by 20-30 different lecturers across 19 weekly periods with little continuity. - She proposes an American-style system: 3-6 dedicated professors, four subjects per year, and annual rather than biennial exams. - Despite her complaints, she credits the syllabus with introducing her to Moby Dick, George Eliot, and Joseph Addison. - Her deepest criticism is cultural: she perceives student hostility toward faculty and a lack of mutual respect, contrasted with American norms of student responsibility and cooperation. ### Notes The editorial notes column, 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post,' opens by praising the Warden of Wadham College, Oxford for his sharp reply to student demands for 'direct action,' contrasting it with murderous attacks on Indian academics such as Professor V. V. John. It then commends outgoing Mysore Governor Dharma Vira for publicly protesting a breach of the Prime Minister's assurance to the State, framing this as a defence of gubernatorial independence under the Constitution against the 'rapacious politicos' of the ruling party, and names other retired ICS officers (A. D. Shroff, N. Dandekar, H. M. Patel) it hopes will similarly serve the public. Further items cover an 'In This Issue' preview, a tribute to Sophia Wadia on the occasion of her 70th birthday and the PEN's literary fund, the founding of the National Union of Journalists under Frank Moraes as a step away from Communist-aligned journalist bodies, and a report that Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram had inadvertently confirmed President Nixon's claim of internal government division over pressing the military advantage in Kashmir after the Bangladesh war. It closes with States Rights Under Fire, condemning the Prime Minister's demand that State governments 'fall in line' with the Centre as contrary to the federal Constitution, and citing the toppling of opposition-run State governments as evidence of a broader assault on federalism, plus a correction notice about a misattributed name in the February issue. - Praises a Wadham College, Oxford letter refusing student 'direct action' demands, contrasted with violence against Indian academics like Professor V. V. John. - Commends Governor Dharma Vira of Mysore for resisting Central pressure and defending gubernatorial independence under the Constitution. - Names A. D. Shroff, N. Dandekar, and H. M. Patel as other retired civil servants it hopes will continue public service. - Reports the founding of the National Union of Journalists under Frank Moraes as a break from Communist-dominated journalist bodies. - Notes President Nixon's claim, apparently corroborated by Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram, of internal Indian government disagreement over pressing military advantage in Kashmir. - Criticises the Prime Minister's demand that State governments 'be in tune with the Central Government' as contrary to the Constitution's federal design. ### The Alternatives in Kashmir *By A. G. Noorani* A. G. Noorani surveys the state of democracy in Jammu & Kashmir on the eve of Assembly elections, arguing that the arrests of Maulana Masoodi and Ghulam Mohiuddin Karra represent an admission of the ruling Congress Party's fear of a fair contest. He details a history of rigged elections stretching back to 1957 and 1962, when dozens of National Conference candidates won uncontested, and the 1967 election's mass rejection of nomination papers, alongside the 1954 Constitutional order that stripped Kashmiris of the full protection of fundamental rights guaranteed elsewhere in India, particularly around preventive detention. He then describes the externment of Plebiscite Front leaders Sheikh Abdullah, Mirza Afzal Beg, and G. M. Shah and the Front's 1967 ban under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, contrasted with a Srinagar by-election won against the Congress candidate by editor Shameem Ahmed Shameem with Sheikh Abdullah's backing. Noorani situates Kashmir's plight within international abandonment following Pakistan's 1965 aggression, and closes by criticising the Plebiscite Front for having failed, despite repression, to develop a sensible democratic alternative to its now-moot demand for a plebiscite, noting Front president M. A. Beg's February 1972 proposal for bilateral talks on the State's autonomy under Article 370. - The arrest of Maulana Masoodi and Ghulam Mohiuddin Karra before Assembly elections is read as evidence the ruling Congress fears a fair contest in Kashmir. - Traces rigged elections back to 1957 and 1962 (mass uncontested seats) and 1967 (118 nomination papers rejected in 39 of 75 constituencies). - The 1954 Constitution (Application to Jammu & Kashmir) Order weakened fundamental-rights protections, especially against preventive detention, compared to the rest of India. - Plebiscite Front leaders Sheikh Abdullah, Mirza Afzal Beg, and G. M. Shah were externed and the Front banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. - Editor Shameem Ahmed Shameem won a Srinagar parliamentary seat against the Congress candidate with Sheikh Abdullah's support, having broken with the Front over the plebiscite issue. - Notes international abandonment of Kashmir's cause after Pakistan's 1965 aggression closed off the plebiscite option via the U.N. - Criticises the Plebiscite Front for failing to offer a democratic alternative once the plebiscite demand became impractical. - Records Front president M. A. Beg's February 1972 proposal for bilateral talks on the State's autonomy under Article 370. ### 'Nationalised' Textbooks *By R. Hawkins* R. Hawkins argues that 'nationalised' textbooks, meaning centrally produced and mandated texts for the whole country, are both impractical and undesirable given India's linguistic and cultural diversity, and that education policy is in any case moving toward decentralisation rather than centralisation. He contends that the real problem is not too little central control but too much monopoly power already held by individual States, universities, and examining bodies over textbook provision. Hawkins lays out what a good textbook should do (provide a framework rather than lesson notes) and argues good textbook-writing requires experienced teacher-authors working alone or in small teams, not committees assembling composite manuscripts from submissions, since single-author coherence produces a better book than 'scissors and paste' compilation. He proposes a market-like alternative: multiple competing textbook series per subject, standard-setting committees that recommend five to ten best series without regard to public or private origin, five-year syllabus stability, and modest, structured royalty payments (capped between 1 and 5 percent depending on print run) to keep authors incentivised. - Rejects the idea of a single centrally produced 'nationalised' textbook system as impractical given India's linguistic and cultural diversity. - Notes that education policy in 1969-70 was already moving power from the Centre to the States, the opposite of centralisation. - Identifies existing State, university, and examining-body monopolies over textbook provision as the real problem, not insufficient central control. - Argues a good textbook provides a framework for teaching, not a substitute for the teacher or a set of lesson notes. - Insists good textbooks require single authors or small complementary teams, not committees compiling 'best bits' from many manuscripts. - Proposes multiple competing textbook series per subject, periodic (five-yearly) syllabus review, and capped royalty rates (1-5%) to keep authors motivated. ### A Question of Sanity *By Nissim Ezekiel* Nissim Ezekiel reviews A Question of Madness by brothers Zhores and Roy Medvedev, which recounts Zhores Medvedev's 1970 arrest and confinement at the Kaluga Psychiatric Hospital after Soviet authorities used the pretext of 'voluntary' psychiatric examination to suppress a dissenting scientist. Ezekiel narrates how Zhores, a biologist known for a critical study of Lysenko, was targeted after losing his job and refusing to recant his findings, then detained under vague emergency-hospitalisation rules and diagnosed with 'heightened nervousness' by KGB-linked psychiatric officials despite showing no clear symptoms of mental illness. He recounts Roy Medvedev's parallel campaign to free his brother, the international protest this provoked, Zhores's release after nineteen days, and the subsequent surveillance and warning of those who had written in his defence. Ezekiel frames the episode as revealing an 'ideological madness' in the Soviet system, in which dissent itself is pathologised as a symptom of mental illness, and closes by noting the book memorialises other, less famous victims of similar persecution who remain confined. - Reviews A Question of Madness by Zhores and Roy Medvedev (trans. Ellen de Kadt, Macmillan, 1971). - Zhores Medvedev, a biologist and Lysenko critic, was arrested in May 1970 and confined to Kaluga Psychiatric Hospital. - Soviet psychiatric officials diagnosed 'heightened nervousness' despite finding no clear symptoms of mental illness. - His brother Roy Medvedev led an international letter-writing campaign that secured his release after 19 days. - People who protested Zhores's detention were later questioned and warned by Party organisations. - The review frames Soviet psychiatric detention of dissidents as a bureaucratic substitute for Stalin-era terror. - The book also documents other, lesser-known victims of similar psychiatric persecution still confined at the time of writing. ### Four Plus Four Times Five *By Geeta Doctor* In an unsigned review credited at the close to Cynthia Young, Robert Conquest's book Where Marx Went Wrong is assessed as a subtle, thought-provoking, if slim critique of communist theory and practice. The review characterises Conquest's core thesis as holding that Marx's original system was sound but corrupted by his successors, a position the reviewer finds questionable given how central concepts like the 'dictatorship of the proletariat' and the 'law of increasing misery' were to Marx himself and how readily historical experience falsified them (rising wages under rising capital investment, and the fact that Western liberties which curbed the state trace to Britain's pioneering capitalist role, not to workers' revolts, which historically have not come chiefly from workers). The review credits the book with tracing the logical descent from dictatorship of the proletariat to dictatorship of the party to dictatorship of one man, and with showing that communism substitutes an anxiety to change distribution for genuine understanding of production, but faults its later chapters as loosely strung together and its proofreading as poor. - Reviews Robert Conquest's Where Marx Went Wrong (Pee Kay Publications, New Delhi), reprinted in India. - Faults Conquest's premise that Marx's original system was sound but corrupted by successors as questionable, since flawed concepts (dictatorship of the proletariat, law of increasing misery) originate with Marx himself. - Notes historical experience falsified Marx's 'law of increasing misery' as wages rose alongside capital investment. - Observes that the 'great rebellions against communism' in recent years have been revolts of workers, not of the bourgeoisie or military, undercutting Marxist class assumptions. - Credits the book's account of the descent from 'dictatorship of the proletariat' to dictatorship of the party to dictatorship of one man. - Summarises the book's core claim: communism tries to fix distribution by seizing production, a category error since Marxist political economy was a critique of capitalism, not a plan for running an economy. - Criticises the book's later chapters as loosely organised and its proofreading as substandard. ### Essay 7 Geeta Doctor surveys Bombay's art gallery scene for the month, opening with an observation that each gallery's ambience conditions how viewers respond to the art it shows, from the reverent isolation of the Taj Art Gallery to the maze-like Pundole. She reviews N. S. Bendre's show at the Taj as visually delightful but emotionally frigid, finds Jeram Patel's works at the Chemould overpriced and inaccessible, and describes Vinod Parul's obsessively repeated snake-and-colour imagery at the Jehangir as claustrophobic rather than revelatory. The most interesting show, she writes, was an exhibition of nearly a hundred Australian prints at the Coomaraswamy Hall, showcasing a wide range of printmaking techniques (linocuts to precision screen prints) and highlighting the negative-positive image effects artists like Bea Maddock and George Baldessin achieved; the piece (continuing to page 13) closes by suggesting India lacks sufficient facilities for printmaking to become a more popular medium despite having craftsmen with relevant skills in textiles and metalwork. - Surveys several Bombay galleries (Taj, Chemould, Jehangir, Coomaraswamy Hall) and argues each gallery's atmosphere conditions viewer response to the art shown. - Reviews N. S. Bendre's show at the Taj as visually accomplished but emotionally frigid. - Finds Jeram Patel's Chemould show overpriced relative to its content. - Describes Vinod Parul's repeated snake imagery at the Jehangir as claustrophobic rather than revelatory of its intended religious symbolism. - Highlights an Australian graphics exhibition at Coomaraswamy Hall as the month's most interesting show, praising its range of printmaking techniques. - Notes India lacks sufficient facilities for printmaking to flourish as a popular artistic medium despite relevant craft skills existing in textiles and metalwork. ### Essay 8 This is an Open Letter to President Kaunda of Zambia, in his capacity as chairman of the Organization of African Unity, from Colonel Joseph Lagu, a commander of the Anya Nya (the Southern Sudanese Bantu military organisation), reprinted from the Zambia Daily Mail. Lagu appeals for international attention to what he describes as the extermination of Bantus in Southern Sudan, alleging half a million deaths from murder, repression, and disease at the hands of Sudanese forces aided by Soviet tanks, helicopters, and personnel. He recounts the killing of William Deng, a southern leader who had chosen political co-operation, as emblematic of the fate of southerners who sought accommodation rather than resistance, and closes with a direct plea for the OAU and the world to recognise Southern Sudanese as human beings and to intervene before, in his words, every African man, woman and child in Southern Sudan is dead. - An Open Letter from Anya Nya commander Colonel Joseph Lagu to OAU chairman President Kaunda, reprinted from the Zambia Daily Mail. - Alleges roughly half a million Bantu deaths in Southern Sudan from Sudanese government repression, aided by Soviet tanks, helicopters, and personnel. - Describes the killing of southern leader William Deng after he pursued a path of political co-operation with the Sudanese government. - Cites a cited example from the book 'Sudan, An African Tragedy' by a Norwegian journalist describing a massacre of 50 civilians, including children, in a church. - Frames the letter as a direct plea to the Organization of African Unity for recognition and intervention. - Presents the conflict as a story of racial and cultural persecution largely ignored by the world press. ### Essay 9 A Letter to the Editor from J. B. H. Wadia responds to A. G. Noorani's January article 'On Pamphleteering,' agreeing with its observations on the decline of pamphleteering but arguing that Noorani, in naming Congress Socialist Party leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan, Minoo Masani, Ashok Mehta, and Dr. Lohia as having 'moulded a certain intellectual climate,' overlooked M. N. Roy's pioneering contribution to the same climate from a Marxist standpoint. Wadia traces Roy's influence from the 1922 publication of India In Transition through decades of writings in Vanguard, Independent India, and later Radical Humanist, and cites a University of California, Berkeley bibliography crediting Roy with 133 publications, 70 of them pamphlets under 100 pages, urging renewed attention to Roy's status as, in Wadia's words, 'the humanist par excellence.' - J. B. H. Wadia's letter responds to A. G. Noorani's January 1972 article 'On Pamphleteering.' - Argues Noorani, while praising Congress Socialist Party figures for shaping India's intellectual climate, omitted M. N. Roy's Marxist-derived pioneering contribution to the same climate. - Traces Roy's influence from India In Transition (1922) through Vanguard, Independent India, and Radical Humanist until his death in 1954. - Cites a University of California, Berkeley bibliography crediting Roy with 133 publications, including 70 pamphlets under 100 pages. - Calls M. N. Roy 'the humanist par excellence' and laments political writers' reluctance to acknowledge his legacy. ### Essay 10 A closing page of quotations titled 'With Many Voices,' epigraphed with a line from Tennyson, gathers short quoted remarks from contemporary newspapers and magazines on politics, poetry, and current affairs, including comments attributed to Chou En-lai, President Nixon, Yevtushenko, Danny Kaye, Al Capone, Raymond Aron, Elia Kazan, and N. A. Palkhivala, alongside a subscription form for Freedom First and the journal's statutory publication statement. - A page of short quotations from contemporary press sources on politics, culture, and current affairs, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. - Includes remarks attributed to Chou En-lai, President Nixon, Soviet poet Yevtushenko, Danny Kaye, Al Capone, Raymond Aron, Elia Kazan, and N. A. Palkhivala. - Accompanied by a Freedom First subscription form and the journal's printing/publication details. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff239/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 239 (April 1972), edited by M. R. Masani, is a monthly journal of liberal ideas published from Bombay for the Democratic Research Service. The issue mixes foreign-affairs commentary with domestic Indian politics and cultural criticism. Its lead piece, Suzanne Labin's "Goa: The End of the Hashish Trail," is a reported essay on the hippie colony at Kalengute beach, describing physical deterioration among young Western drug users and the informal economy of exploitation and dependency that has grown up around them. The editor's own "Retreat from Peking" excoriates President Nixon's China visit as a betrayal of Taiwan and a propaganda coup for Mao Tse-tung's regime, while A. G. Noorani's "The Brezhnev Plan Revisited" tracks Soviet moves toward an Asian collective-security pact aimed at containing China, and "Hippopotamus" defends Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik against conservative critics. S. K. Rau chronicles the formation of the National Union of Journalists (India) as a revolt against the older, allegedly politically infiltrated Indian Federation of Working Journalists.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 239 (April 1972), edited by M. R. Masani, is a monthly journal of liberal ideas published from Bombay for the Democratic Research Service. The issue mixes foreign-affairs commentary with domestic Indian politics and cultural criticism. Its lead piece, Suzanne Labin's "Goa: The End of the Hashish Trail," is a reported essay on the hippie colony at Kalengute beach, describing physical deterioration among young Western drug users and the informal economy of exploitation and dependency that has grown up around them. The editor's own "Retreat from Peking" excoriates President Nixon's China visit as a betrayal of Taiwan and a propaganda coup for Mao Tse-tung's regime, while A. G. Noorani's "The Brezhnev Plan Revisited" tracks Soviet moves toward an Asian collective-security pact aimed at containing China, and "Hippopotamus" defends Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik against conservative critics. S. K. Rau chronicles the formation of the National Union of Journalists (India) as a revolt against the older, allegedly politically infiltrated Indian Federation of Working Journalists. The unsigned "Between You & Me and the Lamp Post" column comments on the 1972 state elections and a controversy over an Encyclopaedia Britannica commission. The issue closes with two reviews (of William Buckley's diary-memoir Cruising Speed and of Alyque Padamsee's stage production of Gurcharan Das's play Mira) and a page of quoted press miscellany, "With Many Voices." ## Essays ### Goa: The End of the Hashish Trail *By Suzanne Labin* Suzanne Labin's reported essay follows the hippie colony that has settled on Goa's Kalengute beach, drawn by a beautiful, undeveloped beach and cheap living. She describes young Westerners, many only twenty, whose bodies are already breaking down from hashish, malnutrition, and disease: sunken eyes, ashen skin, dysentery, sores that go untreated because the nearest hospital is overwhelmed. The essay details the huts they rent from local fishing families, the improvised economy of cooked food sold by Indian villagers, and a visit to a hut shared by an American-Israeli man, a French woman, their nine-year-old daughter (kept out of school), and a newly arrived Swedish teenager who is being inducted into the group's customs. It closes (in the continuation on pages 14-15) with a visit to a beachside bistro, a meditation on the class condescension of poorer hippies toward penniless Indians, and Labin's closing observation that the trickle of hippie money has lifted local fishing families out of destitution even as the hippies themselves waste away — a reversal, she suggests, of the usual relationship between rich Westerners and the poor of the East. - The hippie colony at Kalengute beach in Goa numbers several thousand and lives in huts without electricity, furniture, or modern comforts. - Prolonged hashish use, dysentery, and malnutrition are producing visible physical deterioration in residents who are typically only twenty years old. - A local cottage economy has grown up selling cooked food and hut rentals to the hippies, since no markets exist in Kalengute. - New arrivals with money are absorbed into the group and taught its customs by longer-term residents, in a self-perpetuating cycle. - Labin argues the modest income hippies bring has measurably raised the local fishing population out of a prior state of semi-starvation. ### The Retreat From Peking *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's editorial argues that President Nixon's visit to Peking was a moment of infamy comparable to the U.N.'s expulsion of the Republic of China, even though he grants that seeking to divide the Soviet Union from Communist China is in principle a legitimate strategic aim. He contends that the visit humiliated pro-American academics and Chiang Kai-shek's Taiwan, betrayed Tibet's and Taiwan's claims to self-determination, and secured no reciprocal concessions from Peking, with even sympathetic observers like James Michener and William Buckley coming away disillusioned. Masani cites a purportedly leaked secret Chinese Communist Party document, "The International Situation and Publicity Directive," which frames the Nixon visit as a propaganda and infiltration opportunity for Peking rather than a genuine diplomatic opening, and closes by quoting the Chinese philosopher Lin Yutang's line comparing Nixon to Neville Chamberlain. - Masani calls Nixon's Peking visit a 'moment of infamy' analogous to the U.N.'s seating of Communist China. - He argues the visit betrayed Taiwan's President Chiang Kai-shek and the self-determination claims of Taiwan and Tibet. - William Buckley reportedly declared himself 'no longer interested in Richard Nixon' after witnessing the visit. - A cited leaked Chinese Communist document frames the visit as useful chiefly for stepping up subversive propaganda activities in the U.S. - Masani closes with Lin Yutang's epigram likening Nixon to Neville Chamberlain. ### The Brezhnev Plan Revisited *By A. G. Noorani* A. G. Noorani revisits the 1969 Brezhnev Plan for Asian collective security, arguing that nearly three years on, Moscow still has not disclosed its details, forcing India and other Asian states to guess at Soviet intentions from scattered remarks. He traces the diplomatic record from Brezhnev's original 1969 statement, through U.S. Secretary of State Rogers's complaint that the Soviets gave no clarification when asked, to India's own shifting position, from External Affairs Minister Dinesh Singh's 1969 admission that no formal proposal had even been shown to India, to Swaran Singh's 1972 statement endorsing the idea in principle. Noorani notes that India, having secured a bilateral Indo-Soviet Treaty, now seems to prefer bilateral arrangements to the multilateral scheme Moscow favours, while Japan has moved from indifference to cautious openness. He concludes that despite persistent Soviet denials, the plan is clearly aimed at containing China and envisages military dimensions, and that Moscow's evident aim is to extend its influence across Asia. - The Brezhnev Plan for Asian collective security was first publicly floated in June 1969 but its details have never been officially disclosed. - The U.S. State Department said in 1969 that Soviet officials, when asked directly, could give no clarification of what the plan actually entailed. - India's official position has shifted: from Dinesh Singh's 1969 statement that no printed proposal had been shown to India, to Swaran Singh's 1972 endorsement of the plan's aims. - Indira Gandhi has preferred a bilateral security arrangement with Russia over the multilateral Asian scheme Moscow envisages. - Noorani concludes the plan is directed against China and does envisage military aid, despite Soviet denials, citing analysis by Soviet publicist Spartak Beglov. ### The New Journalists' Movement *By S. K. Rau* S. K. Rau recounts the formation of the National Union of Journalists (India) at a Delhi convention in January 1972, presenting it as a revolt against the older Indian Federation of Working Journalists (IFWJ), founded in 1948 under K. Rama Rao and later led by M. Chalapati Rau of the National Herald. Rau credits the IFWJ with winning wage-board protections for journalists but argues it had since been captured by political factions who used union machinery to reward loyalists and purge independent or non-aligned journalists, creating an adversarial relationship between editors and staff that outside political interests exploited. He describes an earlier regional revolt via the UP Journalists' Association and situates the new NUJ, formed by delegates from across India, as a non-political professional trade union meant to restore an accountable, self-regulating profession. - The IFWJ was founded in 1948 by journalists including K. Rama Rao and grew wage-board protections for the profession. - Rau argues the IFWJ leadership became politically infiltrated, using accreditation and other levers to punish non-aligned journalists. - A precursor revolt, the UP Journalists' Association, fought and won recognition from the government some five years earlier. - The National Union of Journalists (India) was formed at a Delhi convention on January 23-24, 1972, with existing units in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Madhya Pradesh affiliating immediately. - Rau frames the NUJ as a non-political professional trade union meant to keep 'extraneous elements' out of journalism. ### Why Not Peace? *By Hippopotamus* Writing under the pseudonym "Hippopotamus," the author defends West German Chancellor Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik against critics who narrowly defeated ratification of non-aggression treaties with the USSR and Poland in the Bundesrat. The piece rebuts Anthony Hartley's Foreign Affairs critique that Ostpolitik should have waited for greater European unity and that Brandt overestimates Germany's negotiating leverage, arguing instead that the treaties simply acknowledge losses already sustained and that German reunification is neither possible nor, for most Germans, still desirable. The author lists the opposition's formal objections (Soviet influence over German policy, unilateral acceptance of division, insufficient improvement for East Germans, and weakened NATO cohesion) and dismisses them as overstated, concluding that Brandt's peace policy will ultimately prevail domestically and deserves support. - The Bundesrat narrowly rejected (21-20) a motion to fast-track ratification of the non-aggression treaties with the USSR and Poland. - Anthony Hartley's Foreign Affairs article criticised Ostpolitik as premature and overestimating Germany's bargaining power relative to the Soviet Union. - The author counters that the treaties merely accept territorial and political realities already lost, not new concessions. - The formal opposition case (four objections) is summarized and rejected as failing to identify any real new Soviet leverage over West Germany. - The author predicts reunification is now neither possible nor widely desired, framing eventual German Democratic Republic change as evolutionary rather than driven by outside power politics. ### A Week with Bill Buckley *By Review by Anil C. Dharker* Anil C. Dharker reviews William F. Buckley Jr.'s diary-memoir Cruising Speed, describing it as a week's record in diary form written after Buckley's brother won a Senate seat in 1970. Dharker portrays the Buckleys as an American equivalent of the Kennedys — wealthy, large, politically prominent — and finds the book entertaining but self-indulgent, noting Buckley's evident lack of modesty and the parade of eccentric acquaintances (including trustees of a fund with links to the John Birch Society and figures who see communists everywhere). Dharker credits Buckley's wit and intellectual honesty, but pushes back hard on the substance of one of Buckley's stock speeches, which argues that safeguarding majority freedom sometimes requires suppressing a minority (implicitly including groups like the Yippies and Black Panthers) — a position Dharker calls self-refuting on liberal grounds, since it is precisely by liberal tolerance that Buckley himself is permitted to hold and voice such views. - Cruising Speed is a diary-format memoir written shortly after Buckley's brother won a U.S. Senate seat in 1970. - Dharker compares the Buckley family's wealth, prominence and size to the Kennedys. - The review highlights eccentric figures around Buckley, including trustees of a fund linked to the John Birch Society. - Buckley's speech on the 'usefulness of repression' argues majority freedom sometimes requires suppressing minorities like the Yippies and Black Panthers. - Dharker calls this position ironic, since it is liberal tolerance that permits Buckley's own minority views to be expressed. ### Mira *By Geeta Doctor* Geeta Doctor reviews Alyque Padamsee's stage production of Gurcharan Das's play Mira, describing it as a 'visual enactment' in which four actors narrate and project rather than conventionally act out the story of the Rajput princess-saint Mirabai, set against three large screens showing Rajput miniature-style imagery. The review praises the production's integration of sight, sound, and stylised, heightened language, and highlights Das's own framing of the play as a '20th century look at the phenomenon of sainthood,' with Mira's arc from shy bride to figure who vanishes in blinding light also embodying a conflict between the bloodthirsty goddess Kali and the joyful, child-like Krishna to whom Mira ultimately turns. Doctor judges some plot elements (such as a cup of poison becoming nectar) more dramatic than convincing, but calls the overall production a triumph of Padamsee's directorial vision that leaves the audience feeling they have briefly shared 'the ecstasy of Mirabai.' - The production, directed by Alyque Padamsee from Gurcharan Das's play, uses four actors who narrate/project rather than act out Mira's story in the conventional sense. - Three large screens display Rajput-miniature-style imagery and shadow projections as part of the staging. - Das describes the play as a '20th century look at the phenomenon of sainthood.' - The narrative stages a symbolic conflict between the goddess Kali (whom Mira's husband compels her to propitiate) and the child-like Krishna to whom Mira is devoted. - Doctor finds some plot turns (e.g., poison turning to nectar) dramatically effective but not fully convincing, while praising the production overall as a directorial triumph. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff240/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 240 (May 1972), edited by M. R. Masani for the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, is a monthly journal of liberal ideas published in the immediate aftermath of the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war and the March 1972 Indian state assembly elections. The issue's editorial center is a defence of economic and political liberalism against both the socialist tilt of Indira Gandhi's Congress government and Soviet-style central planning: Masani's lead essay argues that the suspension of U.S. aid to India is a disguised blessing because government-to-government aid distorts markets and entrenches statism, while S. V. Raju's analysis of the state elections indicts Congress's use of state machinery, money power, and a fragmented opposition to secure a manufactured landslide. Other contributors and features include Manjula Padmanabhan on the pseudo-science of body language, a Soviet Analyst-sourced satire on Soviet consumer shortages (the search for a pair of gloves), a translated Indira Gandhi-Gaddafi diplomatic exchange over the Bangladesh war, Farok J.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 240 (May 1972), edited by M. R. Masani for the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, is a monthly journal of liberal ideas published in the immediate aftermath of the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war and the March 1972 Indian state assembly elections. The issue's editorial center is a defence of economic and political liberalism against both the socialist tilt of Indira Gandhi's Congress government and Soviet-style central planning: Masani's lead essay argues that the suspension of U.S. aid to India is a disguised blessing because government-to-government aid distorts markets and entrenches statism, while S. V. Raju's analysis of the state elections indicts Congress's use of state machinery, money power, and a fragmented opposition to secure a manufactured landslide. Other contributors and features include Manjula Padmanabhan on the pseudo-science of body language, a Soviet Analyst-sourced satire on Soviet consumer shortages (the search for a pair of gloves), a translated Indira Gandhi-Gaddafi diplomatic exchange over the Bangladesh war, Farok J. Contractor's review of Germaine Greer's The Female Eunuch, readers' letters on university education and constitutional federalism, and a closing page of aphoristic quotations from the world press under the standing feature 'With Many Voices'. ## Essays ### Foreign Aid Must Go *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's lead editorial essay welcomes the suspension of U.S. economic aid to India following the Indo-Pakistani war, arguing that government-to-government aid, however well-intentioned, distorts the international division of labour and the natural workings of the market. He surveys the motives of donor nations (human obligation, imperial guilt, and anti-communist strategy) and argues, continuing on page 14, that aid strengthens statism, socialism, and bureaucratic power in recipient countries, discourages private equity investment, and breeds a corrosive combination of dependency and ingratitude. He concludes that private foreign equity capital serves India's interests where government loans do not, and expresses hope India will be spared further government-to-government aid. - Welcomes Nixon's suspension of U.S. aid and Indira Gandhi's rhetoric of self-reliance as a possible blessing in disguise. - Argues liberals favour international cooperation and division of labour but oppose aid because it distorts market-driven allocation of production. - Surveys donor motives: genuine humanitarian obligation, post-imperial guilt, and anti-communist Cold War strategy. - Presents a data table showing the U.S. supplied 57.8% of foreign aid utilised by India, followed by the World Bank/IDA and West Germany. - Argues aid strengthens the pro-communist trend by fueling neo-colonialism propaganda and helping regimes like Sukarno's Indonesia and Nkrumah's Ghana drift toward communism. - Contends government-to-government aid transfers economic power from people, industrialists and businessmen to bureaucrats and politicians, citing Djilas's The New Class ('Everybody's property is nobody's property') and a Gujarati proverb 'Konna baapni divali?' - Concludes foreign private equity capital benefits India (profits only on success) whereas government loans burden India with repayment regardless of how the funds were used. ### Notes The editor's standing column 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' covers three items in this issue. Under 'Fascism in Calcutta', it details alleged large-scale rigging of the March 1972 Kashmir and Bengal state elections, quoting Congress leader P. C. Sen, Hind Mazdoor Sabha's Bimal Banerjee, and the Economic Times' description of 'Politics of Terror in Bengal', and criticizes CPM and other communist leaders for newly discovering the value of constitutional safeguards after having earlier backed the 24th and 25th Constitutional Amendments curbing Fundamental Rights. Under 'What is Moderate?' it questions the Indian government's description of Arab states' post-war stance as 'moderate' given the hostile tone of Libya's Gaddafi (referencing the correspondence reprinted later in the issue). A further item, 'A Brave Man's Ordeal', reports on Alexander Solzhenitsyn's abandonment of hope of receiving his Nobel Prize in person after the Kremlin refused a visa to the Swedish Academy's representative, describing his persecution in the USSR. 'Perpetuating Our Backwardness' criticizes India's decision to seek Soviet collaboration on computers rather than more advanced American technology. 'A Myth Exploded' argues the North Vietnamese invasion of South Vietnam disproves the claim that the conflict was a purely indigenous civil war, and 'Moscow's Hand' argues the invasion was master-minded and provisioned by the Kremlin. - Reports detailed allegations of vote-rigging, ballot-box tampering, and violence in the March 1972 Kashmir and Bengal state elections, citing P. C. Sen and Bimal Banerjee. - Notes with irony that CPM leader E. M. S. Namboodiripad and V. K. Krishna Menon now invoke constitutional safeguards for civil liberties after backing amendments that curbed Fundamental Rights. - Questions the Indian government's characterization of post-war Arab states, including Libya, as adopting a 'moderate' stance toward India. - Covers Solzhenitsyn's decision to give up hope of collecting his 1970 Nobel Prize after the Kremlin denied a visa to the Swedish Academy secretary. - Criticizes India's decision to seek Soviet collaboration on computer technology instead of more advanced American (IBM) technology. - Argues the North Vietnamese invasion of South Vietnam, involving twelve of Hanoi's fourteen regular divisions, disproves the 'civil war' framing of the conflict and implicates Soviet backing. ### Who is Afraid of Body Language? *By Manjula Padmanabhan* Manjula Padmanabhan's article introduces readers to kinesics, or body language, as a popular pseudo-science that claims to reveal unconscious thoughts and feelings through gestures, posture, and use of personal space. She surveys examples: crossed arms signalling defensiveness, rhythmic 'ticking' movements signalling anxiety, hand movements toward the head as a suppressed defensive gesture, and territorial behaviour around 'air space' on shared seating. The piece closes with a cross-cultural comparison of touch norms between Americans, Arabs, and Indians, concluding that kinesics, while sometimes far-fetched, has genuine potential as both an amusing pastime and a developing branch of psychology. - Introduces kinesics (body language) as a popular grab-bag American science claiming to reveal unconscious thought through gesture. - Crossed arms over the chest signal defensiveness and stubbornness; loosely crossed arms in women signal a desire to draw attention to femininity. - Rhythmic or 'ticking' movements, and hands raised toward the head, are described as suppressed defensive/aggressive gestures rooted in nervous strain. - People are highly sensitive to unconsciously guarded 'air space' and touch norms, which vary by culture and closeness of relationship. - Contrasts American, Arab, and Indian norms around touching among friends versus strangers, concluding Western friendliness can mask more guarded true selves. - Concludes kinesics, like any pseudo-science, has real potential as both entertainment and an emerging branch of psychology. ### Democracy Without Brakes *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju analyses the March 1972 Indian state assembly elections, arguing that Congress secured a landslide in seats but not in genuine voter preference, thanks to superior financing, control of state machinery, use of the Bangladesh victory as a national referendum, a divided and discredited opposition, and India's first-past-the-post electoral system. He documents alleged coercion of business 'quotas' for campaign funds, misuse of official machinery including Air Force planes, and Congress electoral pacts with the CPI even while officially opposing communism. Raju shows the Congress won 44.64% of votes but 71% of seats, and that proportional representation would have denied it a majority in at least six states; he closes by warning that the 'car of Indian democracy is running without brakes' given the collapse of internal checks within the Congress party and urging the opposition to undertake political re-education rather than mere electioneering. - Congress used the post-Bangladesh war 'referendum' effect and lavish, forced financing (industry quotas, 'dossiers' on non-compliant business houses) to dominate the state elections. - Documents violence, intimidation, ballot-box tampering, and vanished electoral rolls, particularly affecting the urban middle class. - Congress secured only 44.64% of the vote but 71% of seats; proportional representation would have denied it a majority in at least six states and the Delhi Metropolitan Council. - The CPI won 112 seats on just 3.57% of votes due to electoral pacts with Congress, while Congress(O) with 4.56% got only 88 seats and Jana Sangh with 8.23% got 105. - The opposition's disarray, lack of alliance, and history of engineered defections in earlier state governments undercut its credibility. - Concludes internal checks within the Congress Party have vanished, and the opposition must undertake serious political re-education rather than continue conventional electioneering. ### The Tale of a Glove An unsigned piece, credited to Soviet Analyst, recounts a Pravda story about A. D. Nikontov of Voronezh, a war-wounded man who spent months in a bureaucratic odyssey trying to obtain a pair of gloves, being shuttled between the Ministry of Trade, regional trade departments, and a Woolworths-style shop that had no gloves in stock despite official instructions. The piece uses the episode, alongside Pravda's own admission of chronic shortages of goods like fish, footwear, and kitchenware, as a satire of Soviet economic planning and bureaucratic indifference, noting only that officials responsible were eventually reprimanded, with no indication that Nikontov ever got his gloves. - Soviet planning reports routinely admit shortfalls in commodities such as fish, herring, vegetables, woollen fabrics, clothes, footwear and kitchen utensils despite claimed production growth. - War-wounded pensioner A. D. Nikontov of Voronezh searched every shop in a city of 660,000 for months without finding a pair of gloves. - His letter to the Ministry of Trade was forwarded through several bureaucratic layers (Pronichkin, Sotnikov, Yevteev) with instructions to assist him, yet the shop had no gloves to sell. - Pravda itself expressed indignation, and reported five weeks later that officials responsible received reprimands. - The Ministry of Trade admitted the demand for gloves nationally could not be satisfied and that measures were being taken to increase production. - The piece notes wryly that readers are never told whether Nikontov managed to buy a pair of gloves. ### Indira-Gaddafi Correspondence This item reprints, in translation from the Lebanese Arabic daily Al-Hayat, a diplomatic exchange between Indira Gandhi and General Gaddafi of Libya concerning the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war and the creation of Bangladesh. Gandhi's letter asks Libya to use its influence to convince Pakistan to abandon its 'policy of aggression'. Gaddafi's reply rejects Indian and Libyan consultations as fruitless, accuses India of colluding with the Soviet Union to obstruct UN resolutions, denies any right existed to intervene by force in what he calls an internal Pakistani matter, and states that India's negotiated reliance on Soviet MiGs and napalm was 'more persuasive' with India than Libya's arguments for peace. - Indira Gandhi's letter to Gaddafi requests Libyan diplomatic pressure on Pakistan to end its 'policy of aggression' in East Bengal. - Gaddafi's reply calls prior consultations with India, including with other Third World leaders, 'useless and of no value'. - Gaddafi accuses India of collusion with Russia to obstruct UN resolutions while dealing 'blows of death' in East Pakistan. - Gaddafi argues no law permits forcible intervention to change what he calls an essentially internal Pakistani problem, regardless of the tragedy involved. - Gaddafi states India's negotiations with Russia over MiG jets and napalm proved 'far more persuasive' than his side's arguments for peace, implying India had already decided on war. - The correspondence is noted elsewhere in the issue as forming part of a booklet released by the Libyan Embassy in Beirut, 'The Dangerous Indian Attempt Against East Pakistan'. ### "The Female Eunuch" Review *By Farok Contractor* Farok J. Contractor reviews Germaine Greer's The Female Eunuch (Paladin, 1970), calling it a brilliant expose of women's historical subservience to masculine conceptions of femininity. He summarizes Greer's central hypothesis that biological sex differences are minor and that most differences between men and women are products of sociological conditioning, and praises her critique of institutions like marriage and motherhood, including her comparison of girls' upbringing to the psychological bind depicted in Portnoy's Complaint. The reviewer finds some of Greer's arguments (such as her claim about chromosome variance) dubious but judges the book intellectually taut and calls it a healthy, engaging read that exceeded his expectations given how over-exposed the topic of women's liberation had become. - Greer's fundamental hypothesis: biological sex differences are minimal, and apparent differences between the sexes are largely the product of sociological conditioning. - The reviewer finds the chromosome-based argument for this hypothesis dubious but calls the book's overall thesis sound. - Praises Greer's critique of motherhood and marriage, including her comparison of female upbringing to the psychological bind in Portnoy's Complaint. - Notes Greer positions herself as an intellectual analyst of feminism rather than an activist, leaving activism to figures like Friedan, Millett, and Stiennes (sic). - Cites Greer's contention that women, like men, remain in bondage to constructed 'stereotypes' of femininity even while claiming liberation. - Concludes the book is intellectually tight, occasionally irascibly extreme, but overall a healthy and engaging read. ### Essay 8 This letters page prints two reader responses. C. S. Nair, an M.A. English Literature student at Bombay University, corroborates an earlier article by 'Joan Contractor' on the disillusioning experience of postgraduate study, criticizing the university's outdated syllabus, its bias toward students with money and leisure, and an examination system he says rewards writing speed and memory over intelligence. P. Kodanda Rao writes to dispute an earlier editorial note describing the Indian Constitution as a loose federation, quoting K. M. Munshi's view that India is a national union with no constituent sovereignty, to which the editor replies that the real issue is not looseness but the Prime Minister's attempt to shift States List subjects into the Concurrent List by demanding conformity with central socialist policy. - C. S. Nair corroborates an earlier account of disillusionment with Bombay University's M.A. English Literature program, criticizing its outdated syllabus and rote-memory examination system. - P. Kodanda Rao disputes an earlier note describing India's Constitution as a 'Federation', citing K. M. Munshi's characterization of India as a national Union without constituent sovereignty. - Rao notes 'Union Of India' was chosen over 'Federation Of India' in constitutional drafting to reflect this design. - The editor's reply concedes the federation is 'too tight' but argues the real controversy is the Prime Minister's de facto transfer of States List subjects to the Concurrent List by demanding conformity with central socialist policy. ### Essay 9 The closing feature 'With Many Voices' is an unsigned compilation of aphoristic quotations drawn from the world press (Quest, the Economist, U.S. News & World Report, National Review, and others), commenting wryly on Indian politics (Congress's alliance of the new rich and old communists, the cult of personality around Indira Gandhi) and international affairs (Nixon's invasion of Cambodia, Soviet consumer shortages, Rhodesia, British Labour politics). The page closes with the journal's subscription form and imprint, noting it is published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel at 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay. - Quotes from Quest describe Mrs. Gandhi's socialism as a combination of the new rich and old communists, and note Bombay's wealthy Marxists have become 'New Congressmen'. - Cites William A. Rusher in National Review attributing Nixon's Cambodia decision partly to his repeated viewings of the film Patton. - Notes a Bombay advertisement's slogan 'One Leader, One Nation, One Indira' as evidence of a personality cult. - Includes press commentary comparing treaties to roses and young girls (General de Gaulle) and on the Economist's view that West Bengal's definition of peace is 'two or three political murders a day instead of six or seven'. - The page closes with Freedom First's subscription form and its publication imprint via the Democratic Research Service, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff241/ ### Summary This is the June 1972 issue (No. 241) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based classical-liberal journal edited by M. R. Masani. The issue opens with an unsigned editorial (under the byline 'Martial') attacking Indira Gandhi's adoption of ideas from Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq on 'employment-oriented' development planning, arguing that dropping GNP as the criterion for development is a smokescreen for collectivist planning. The regular 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' notes column comments on press freedom, the death of Kwame Nkrumah, Senator Fulbright's opposition to funding Radio Free Europe, and USIA Director Frank Shakespeare's admission that the US is losing the Cold War propaganda battle. A. G. Noorani contributes a long piece on great-power naval rivalry in the Indian Ocean and the incoherence of India's non-aligned Indian Ocean policy. James Burnham analyses the motives behind Jack Anderson's leak-driven journalism during the Nixon administration. Two education pieces follow: V. V.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the June 1972 issue (No. 241) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based classical-liberal journal edited by M. R. Masani. The issue opens with an unsigned editorial (under the byline 'Martial') attacking Indira Gandhi's adoption of ideas from Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq on 'employment-oriented' development planning, arguing that dropping GNP as the criterion for development is a smokescreen for collectivist planning. The regular 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' notes column comments on press freedom, the death of Kwame Nkrumah, Senator Fulbright's opposition to funding Radio Free Europe, and USIA Director Frank Shakespeare's admission that the US is losing the Cold War propaganda battle. A. G. Noorani contributes a long piece on great-power naval rivalry in the Indian Ocean and the incoherence of India's non-aligned Indian Ocean policy. James Burnham analyses the motives behind Jack Anderson's leak-driven journalism during the Nixon administration. Two education pieces follow: V. V. John (Vice-Chancellor of Jodhpur University) diagnoses a crisis in Indian higher education rooted in swelling, intellectually unprepared enrolment and declining standards; Sidney Hook, in an abridged paper originally given at a Leslie Sawhny Programme seminar, argues that faculty authority over curriculum and academic standards is distinct from, and should not be diluted by, calls for student 'democratic' participation in university governance. A book-reviews section covers Vinod Mehta's Bombay: A Private View (reviewed unfavourably by J. R. Patel) and two books on Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict (reviewed by Nitin G. Raut). The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a column of pointed quotations from the world press, and a subscription form. ## Essays ### The P.M. and the Pak Professor *By 'Martial'* Writing under the byline 'Martial,' the author dismisses the controversy over Indira Gandhi borrowing ideas from Pakistani economist Dr. Mahbub ul Haq as unremarkable in itself, but faults the Prime Minister for uncritically adopting what the author considers a shallow and unoriginal set of development ideas. The essay's core target is Haq's proposal to replace GNP growth as the criterion of development planning with an 'employment-oriented' and minimum-needs-based approach. The author argues this idea is neither new (citing Colin Clark, P. T. Bauer, Simon Kuznets, Gunnar Myrdal, Mishan and Dudley Seers as earlier critics of GNP-centred planning) nor coherent as Haq presents it, and walks through three of Haq's stated principles—selective attack on 'worst forms of poverty', minimum consumption standards independent of ability to pay, and reconciling production with distribution—showing each to be vague or question-begging. The piece, continued on page 14, goes on to argue that the demand for guaranteed full employment regardless of productivity is really an old collectivist idea (comparing it to Maoist policy) dressed up as novel development economics, and that pursuing it seriously would require freezing the population's occupational structure into permanent backwardness or resorting to a State-dictated minimum-consumption standard. The author concludes that genuinely 'sophisticated' post-GNP development planning is compatible with liberal economics only if it pairs demographic/manpower planning and social-welfare provision for the poor with continued reliance on a free-market private sector for economic growth — and that Dr. Haque's version represents regression, not progress. - Mrs. Gandhi's borrowing of Dr. Mahbub ul Haq's development ideas is criticized not because borrowing is wrong, but because the ideas themselves are neither original nor well-formed. - GNP-centred development planning has long been criticized by economists like Colin Clark, P. T. Bauer, Simon Kuznets, and Gunnar Myrdal, but alternative measures have proven hard to construct. - Haq's three planning principles (selective attack on poverty, minimum consumption standards, reconciling production and distribution) are each shown to be vague or to dodge hard questions (e.g., how to define 'worst' poverty, what to do about newly prosperous green-revolution farmers). - The demand that the state guarantee employment for everyone regardless of productivity is an old idea already practiced by 'Comrade Mao Tse-Tung', not a new economic insight. - Taking employment planning seriously, on the terms Haq and Gandhi propose, risks freezing the labour force's skill structure into permanent backwardness or requiring a state-dictated minimum consumption standard — i.e., 'economic totalitarianism'. - The author's own alternative: pair demographic/manpower/educational planning and a social welfare programme for the poor with continued reliance on a free-market private sector to drive growth — the 'neo-liberal' position as distinct both from GNP-only planning and from Haq's collectivism. ### Notes The unsigned 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' notes column opens by wryly rebutting Khushwant Singh's characterization of Freedom First as a 'tabloid' in the Illustrated Weekly, arguing the journal is thin in pages but not lowbrow in content. It then reflects on the death in exile of Kwame Nkrumah, treating his career as a cautionary tale about charismatic 'socialist' dictators who destroy democratic institutions and economic welfare while claiming to build national pride, drawing parallels to Sukarno of Indonesia and warning contemporary leaders like Suharto and Sadat about repeating the pattern. A substantial section covers USIA Director Frank Shakespeare's admission, in an interview with U.S. News & World Report, that the United States is losing the Cold War propaganda struggle to the Soviet Union, and his argument for broadcasting truthful information to discontented populations inside the USSR (citing Solzhenitsyn's fiction, the Sakharov letter, and Lithuanian Catholic protests as material). The column then criticizes Senator Fulbright's push to defund Radio Free Europe as 'vandalism,' quoting the London Economist's mockery of Fulbright, and closes by praising West German Chancellor Willy Brandt for rejecting Soviet pressure to shut down RFE's Munich transmitters despite his Ostpolitik. - Rebuts Khushwant Singh's description of Freedom First as a 'tabloid' in the Illustrated Weekly, arguing thinness of pages does not mean lowbrow content. - Treats Kwame Nkrumah's fall and exile as an object lesson in the failures of charismatic socialist dictatorship, paralleling him with Sukarno and warning about Suharto and Sadat. - USIA Director Frank Shakespeare admits in a U.S. News & World Report interview that the US is losing the Cold War propaganda struggle to the Soviets. - Advocates using Solzhenitsyn's novels, the Sakharov letter, and reports of Lithuanian Catholic protests to inform Soviet citizens of internal dissent and Western realities. - Criticizes Senator Fulbright's effort to cut funding for Radio Free Europe, and praises Willy Brandt for resisting Soviet pressure to close the Munich RFE transmitters. ### How Indian the Ocean? *By A. G. Noorani* A. G. Noorani surveys the strategic contest for influence in the Indian Ocean, opening with Sukarno's irate objection to the Ocean's name and arguing that India, like the great powers, treats the region more seriously in rhetoric than in coherent policy. He documents the expanding U.S. and Soviet naval presence (the U.S. 'chop line' extension, Diego Garcia base-building, Soviet anchorages near Socotra Island), reviews the contradictory statements of Indian ministers Jagjivan Ram and Surinder Pal Singh on Soviet naval build-up, and surveys regional diplomatic efforts — Indonesia's Adam Malik proposing regional co-operation, the Lusaka Non-Aligned summit's 'zone of peace' declaration, and the UN General Assembly's December 1971 resolution declaring the Indian Ocean a zone of peace (which the US and USSR both abstained from). Noorani notes Brezhnev's dismissal of the idea that great-power navies should withdraw, the ambiguous language of the Indo-Soviet joint statement, and warns via the Mediterranean analogy that Great Power rivalry entrenches when littoral states are themselves divided. He concludes that India's Indian Ocean policy is incoherent because it is divorced from a broader, realistic Asian security policy and criticizes India for asking great powers to remember the poor littoral states while failing to build genuine regional consensus with them. - Sukarno's objection that the Indian Ocean should be called the 'Indonesian Ocean' frames the essay's opening point that regional naming disputes reflect larger unseriousness about the region's security. - The U.S. and USSR are both expanding their naval and base presence (U.S. Diego Garcia buildup and 'chop line' extension; Soviet anchorages near Socotra Island) even as both publicly endorsed the UN's 'zone of peace' resolution. - Indian government statements on Soviet naval buildup are internally contradictory: the Defence Minister cites 'an increase in movement' of Soviet ships while the Deputy Minister of External Affairs denies 'positive evidence' of a build-up. - Indonesia's Foreign Minister Adam Malik proposed regional co-operation among Indian Ocean littoral states as an alternative to Great Power involvement, which India was cool toward. - The Lusaka Non-Aligned summit (1970) and the UN General Assembly (Dec 1971) both endorsed declaring the Indian Ocean a 'zone of peace,' with the US and USSR among the abstainers. - Noorani draws a Mediterranean analogy: Great Power rivalry there grew precisely because littoral states were divided and courted rival patrons, a caution for the Indian Ocean. - India's Indian Ocean policy is criticized as incoherent because it is not integrated with a broader realistic Asian security strategy, and because India criticizes Diego Garcia more than growing Soviet presence. ### What Makes Jack Anderson Tick? *By James Burnham* James Burnham examines why Jack Anderson's steady stream of leaked government secrets has flourished under the Nixon administration, arguing the leaks are potentially more damaging to national security than Daniel Ellsberg's Pentagon Papers because they concern unfinished, live operations. He catalogs the mixed motives behind such leaks — opposition to specific policies, inter-agency rivalries (State vs. Kissinger's NSC, Pentagon vs. State or CIA), general anti-Nixon sentiment, and outright hostility to government — and dismisses media claims about 'the people's right to know' as cover for commercial and political motives. Burnham argues confidential internal deliberation is essential to any organization's functioning, tracing the principle to George Washington's refusal to let the Senate compel testimony about treaty negotiations, and faults Nixon himself for failing to manage the bureaucracy and prevent leaks — noting Nixon is a particular target for State Department and HEW staff who resent his role in the Alger Hiss case. He closes by arguing that the sheer scale of over-classification, not merely bureaucratic leakiness, is the deeper structural problem, and proposes automatic declassification after three years except for specifically excepted material as a solution that would also save billions of dollars. - Jack Anderson's leaks concern live, unfinished government operations and may be more damaging to national security than Daniel Ellsberg's Pentagon Papers, which were historical documents. - Burnham identifies four motives behind leaking to journalists: opposition to specific policy, inter-agency rivalry, general opposition to the incumbent president, and opposition to government as such. - Confidential internal deliberation among officials is necessary for any organization to function, a principle Burnham traces to President Washington's refusal to let the Senate compel testimony on treaty negotiations. - Nixon himself bears some responsibility for the scale of leaks because he has not managed the bureaucracy effectively, and is especially disliked within the State Department and by HEW staff over his role in the Alger Hiss case. - Burnham proposes reforming classification practice — automatic declassification after three years unless specifically excepted — as a way to reduce both leaks and the enormous cost of over-classification. ### The Crisis in Higher Education *By V. V. John* V. V. John, Vice-Chancellor of Jodhpur University, argues that the recurring diagnoses of crisis in Indian higher education have failed to identify the real problem: colleges are not equipped to challenge students who arrive intellectually unprepared, and too many faculty members themselves offer little scholarly substance. He rejects the idea that expanding enrolment by itself explains falling standards, noting that pre-independence 'selective' admission mainly reflected ability to pay rather than intellectual merit, so wider access could in principle uncover talent rather than dilute it. John criticizes the Gajendragadkar Committee Report for focusing on the size and composition of university bodies and endorsing student participation in decision-making as a response to unrest, arguing this misdiagnoses the problem: students are restive because colleges fail to intellectually engage them, not because they lack a voice in governance. He closes by arguing decision-making is a means to educational ends, not an end in itself, and that the real fix is making classroom work more demanding and significant. - The 'crisis' in Indian higher education is repeatedly studied but misdiagnosed; the real problem is that colleges are not intellectually challenging enough for students, and many faculty lack scholarly substance. - Rising enrolment alone does not explain falling standards, since pre-independence 'selective' admission mostly reflected ability to pay rather than intellectual merit. - The Gajendragadkar Committee Report is criticized for focusing on university body size/composition and endorsing student participation in decision-making as a response to unrest. - Student unrest is attributed to the lack of intellectual challenge in the classroom, not to a lack of formal power in governance. - Decision-making should be understood as a means to the end of promoting knowledge and quality of life, not as an end in itself. ### Authority and Democracy in the University *By Sydney Hook* Sidney Hook, in a paper given at a Leslie Sawhny Programme seminar, distinguishes three domains where authority and democracy intersect in the university: student social/campus life, the academic content of teaching, and all-university governance questions. He argues that a politically democratic society does not require every institution within it — army, family, orchestra, or university — to be run by majority vote; some institutions have specialized functions best served by expert or hierarchical authority. On academic matters, Hook insists faculty authority over curriculum, teaching content, and standards is properly close to absolute, since truth is not established by majority vote and the state may authorize what is taught but not how or by whom. He acknowledges that in the area of student social/campus life, students should be largely self-governing given the reduced voting age, though faculty must intervene where student conduct threatens others' rights to learn or teach. On faculty governance and student 'power-sharing' demands, Hook argues that authority in academic matters should rest on rational assessment of evidence, not on the political leverage of numbers, and that submitting to sloganized demands for student co-determination in curricular decisions undermines academic standards, though this must be balanced against a genuine, non-humiliating culture of consultation between teachers and students. - Hook distinguishes three domains of university authority: student social/campus life, academic content (teaching and curriculum), and all-university governance. - A democratic society does not require that every institution within it (army, family, orchestra, university) be internally run by majority vote; institutions have specialized functions. - Faculty authority over curriculum, teaching content and standards should be near-absolute because truth is not established by majoritarian procedure. - In student social/campus life, students should largely self-govern, but faculty must intervene when student conduct threatens the rights of others to learn or teach. - Decisions about the university's relationship to its public/private funding sources ultimately rest with the bodies representing the public, even though faculties propose new schools or departments. - Hook criticizes the 'student power' movement as importing a class-struggle political slogan into a domain (education) where teacher and student interests are not fundamentally opposed. - Ultimately, authority for educational decisions should derive from rational assessment of evidence, not from the political weight of numbers or position, though genuine consultation with students has value. ### Reviews This reviews section contains two pieces. J. R. Patel reviews Vinod Mehta's Bombay: A Private View harshly, describing it as a poorly-written, self-indulgent 'rag bag' of opinions with little literary or factual content, riddled with errors about American journalism and misjudged cultural references, and questioning why the Lucknow-raised, England-returned author chose to write about Bombay at all. Nitin G. Raut reviews two books about Israel — Facts About Israel, 1971 by Misha Louvish (a retrospective survey of Israeli history, culture, and progress) and Israel and the Arabs by Julian J. Landau (a concise reference brief on the Arab-Israeli conflict, including the Six-Day War) — describing both favourably as useful surveys. - J. R. Patel reviews Vinod Mehta's Bombay: A Private View unfavourably, calling it devoid of literary content and full of factual errors about the American press. - Patel notes the book was self-published (Mehta claims to have invested his own savings) and criticizes its treatment of women's liberation and Indian advertising culture as superficial. - Nitin G. Raut reviews Facts About Israel, 1971 by Misha Louvish as a detailed retrospective study of Israel's people, history, culture and scientific progress. - Raut also reviews Israel and the Arabs by Julian J. Landau as a concise, chronologically organized handbook on the Arab-Israeli conflict including the Six-Day War. ### Essay 8 The closing 'With Many Voices' column, epigraphed with a Tennyson quotation, is a compilation of pointed short quotations culled from the world press and public figures — including C. Rajagopalachari on treason and dictatorship (quoted from Swarajya), James Burnham (quoted from National Review) on the inevitability of human conflict, and quips about foreign perceptions of India, the Nixon-era press, communism in Hungary, and Western political figures such as Edward Heath and Harold Wilson. The issue closes with the subscription form for Freedom First and imprint details naming J. R. Patel as Associate Editor and Bombay's Inland Printers as printer. - A curated column of short quotations from the world press (Economist, Time, Encounter, National Review, Statesman, Hindustan Times, Swarajya, and others) on political and social topics. - C. Rajagopalachari is quoted from Swarajya arguing that assisting the replacement of democracy by dictatorship is treasonous. - James Burnham is quoted from National Review on the persistence of human conflict throughout history. - The issue's final page includes the Freedom First subscription form and imprint: published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel, printed at Inland Printers, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff242/ ### Summary This is the complete July 1972 issue (No. 242) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas edited by M. R. Masani and published for the Democratic Research Service. The issue mixes reportage, satire, editorial commentary, and a book review. Its editorial spine, the unsigned column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post,' surveys the Vietnam war's turning tide, the Nixon-Moscow summit, Soviet double-dealing (with a companion box, 'Broken Pledges,' tabulating 24 of 25 US-Soviet summit agreements the Soviets are said to have violated), Communist inroads in Orissa's state government, the death of the Duke of Windsor, and the erosion of minority-institution protections under the Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Bill. Vrunda Moghe opens the issue with a first-person account of the chaos and cheating she witnessed as an exam supervisor at Bombay University. Sharu S. Rangnekar criticizes the slow, committee-bound Electronics Commission for holding back India's computer industry. R. K. Narayan contributes a satirical sketch imagining Indian classical and light music nationalized under a 'Fifty-five Year Plan.' A. G.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the complete July 1972 issue (No. 242) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas edited by M. R. Masani and published for the Democratic Research Service. The issue mixes reportage, satire, editorial commentary, and a book review. Its editorial spine, the unsigned column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post,' surveys the Vietnam war's turning tide, the Nixon-Moscow summit, Soviet double-dealing (with a companion box, 'Broken Pledges,' tabulating 24 of 25 US-Soviet summit agreements the Soviets are said to have violated), Communist inroads in Orissa's state government, the death of the Duke of Windsor, and the erosion of minority-institution protections under the Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Bill. Vrunda Moghe opens the issue with a first-person account of the chaos and cheating she witnessed as an exam supervisor at Bombay University. Sharu S. Rangnekar criticizes the slow, committee-bound Electronics Commission for holding back India's computer industry. R. K. Narayan contributes a satirical sketch imagining Indian classical and light music nationalized under a 'Fifty-five Year Plan.' A. G. Noorani reviews Henry Cecil's Hamlyn Lectures on the English judiciary and argues India lacks any comparable public scrutiny of its judges. Anil Dharkar reviews a Popular Prakashan reprint of a Daedalus special issue on political leadership, dwelling on Erik Erikson's psychoanalytic essay on Gandhi. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a page of aphoristic press quotations on Cold War and development themes from Churchill, Nixon, Rajagopalachari, and others. ## Essays ### The Helpless Supervisor *By Vrunda Moghe* Vrunda Moghe, newly on the Freedom First staff, recounts her experience as an examination supervisor during the Bombay University exams. Assigned to an unruly hall, she found students copying openly, passing notes and papers through windows, and organizing elaborate cheating rings involving 'Helpers Clubs' in nearby vacant houses that smuggled in pre-written answers. Her attempts to enforce discipline made her deeply unpopular with students and drew no support from colleagues or the administration; she was threatened, subjected to staff-room gossip, and had to be escorted to and from college by her worried mother and two servants after rumors that students planned to 'handle' her. The essay closes on a bitterly ironic note: a student who cheated flagrantly and scored a first division later told her to her face that 'dishonesty pays.' - The author took up work as an exam supervisor at Bombay University after a period of unemployment. - Cheating was rampant and organized, including note-passing, coordinated watch-synchronized paper exchanges through windows, and an off-site 'Helpers Club' supplying pre-written answers. - Her attempts to enforce exam discipline made her the target of hostility from students and indifference or blame from colleagues and senior supervisors. - She faced a veiled threat from a student who invoked his father's position as a Police Inspector, and had to be escorted to and from the exam hall for safety. - The essay closes with a cheating student who scored 61% in the First Year Arts Examination cheerfully informing her afterward that 'dishonesty pays.' ### Slow Scientists and Fast Machines *By Sharu S. Rangnekar* The unsigned editorial column surveys several current events. On Vietnam, it argues the 'Cassandras' predicting South Vietnamese collapse were wrong, credits the American blockade and bombing with halting the North Vietnamese offensive, and cautions against equating military superiority with justice. It assesses the Nixon-Moscow summit as producing little of substance beyond a superpower 'alliance of convenience,' quoting the French Communist paper Humanite and citing a US Senate Judiciary Committee staff study claiming the Soviets violated 24 of 25 past agreements with the US (elaborated in the accompanying 'Broken Pledges' box). Domestically, it welcomes the collapse of the 'opportunist' Swatantra-Utkal Congress coalition in Orissa but condemns the installation of a Communist as the state's General Secretary as a step in India's 'Communist take-over.' It criticizes Indira Gandhi's and President V.V. Giri's soft rhetoric toward Eastern Bloc agrarian collectivization, expresses guarded British public sympathy for the Duke of Windsor after his death, and closes by warning that the Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Bill and attacks on Christian and Muslim institutions in Kerala threaten India's minority communities despite their electoral support for the Congress Party. - The column argues that the tide has turned in Vietnam, with North Vietnam having lost over 50,000 men and the US blockade and bombing campaign proving decisive. - It characterizes the Nixon-Moscow summit as producing little concrete beyond a tactical superpower truce, doubting the durability of any new agreements given the Soviets' record of violating prior ones. - It criticizes the nomination of a Communist as General Secretary in Orissa as evidence of a step-by-step 'Communist take-over' of India, and criticizes Indira Gandhi and President V. V. Giri for downplaying Soviet-style collectivization rhetoric among 'agrarian reformers.' - It reflects on British public and even Labour Party sympathy for the Duke of Windsor following his death, framed as a 'bad conscience' over his earlier forced abdication. - It warns that the Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Bill and moves against Christian and Muslim institutions in Kerala will alienate minority communities that had supported the Congress Party at the polls. ### Music and the Fifty-five Year Plan *By R. K. Narayan* Sharu S. Rangnekar surveys India's decade-old computer industry (dating from ESSO's introduction of the first commercial computer in 1961) and criticizes the government's Electronics Commission, formed in February 1971, for its glacial pace and disconnect from industry needs. He describes a controversy between commercial data-processing applications (criticized for displacing clerical labour) and scientific/computational uses, and a parallel dispute over hardware providers (IBM, ICL, and the public-sector ECIL). He accuses scientists on the Commission of having inherited the 'Brahamic Arrogance' of the civil servants they replaced, dismisses the idea of an indigenous 'Ambassador'-brand computer as impractical, and criticizes a reported proposal to collaborate with the USSR on a MIR-2 computer given Russia's weak computing reputation. He closes by warning that unrealistic, slow-moving deliberation by overcommitted scientist-committee-members threatens to 'ruin the electronics industry in India.' - India's computer industry began in 1961 with ESSO's first commercial machine; by 1972 there were about 150 units in operation and 50 more planned, roughly 60% for commercial use. - The government's Electronics Commission, formed in February 1971 to formulate computer policy, is criticized for extreme slowness, having drafted a policy only for 'electronic desk calculators' after a full year. - Rangnekar accuses scientist-commissioners of adopting the same 'Brahamic Arrogance' that afflicted the civil service, while excluding commercial computer users from representation on the Commission. - He criticizes the idea of a fully indigenous 'Ambassador'-brand computer as unrealistic given the software support burden, and casts doubt on a reported proposal to collaborate with the USSR on the MIR-2 computer. - He warns that overcommitted scientists serving on multiple committees are delaying decisions on individual computer projects, with serious consequences for corporate planning and the industry as a whole. ### His Lordship The Judge *By A. G. Noorani* A short unsigned item on the American student radical Kathy Boudin, who was in hiding and sought by police over an explosion that destroyed a house in Greenwich Village. The piece notes that Boudin had spent 15 months in the Soviet Union and had published an article in Leviathan on the disillusionment of young Soviet intellectuals with socialism, who saw central economic planning as inherently tied to restrictions on personal freedom, including the requirement to secure police approval to live in cities like Moscow, Kiev, or Leningrad. - Kathy Boudin, an American student radical wanted by police over a Greenwich Village explosion, had earlier spent 15 months in the Soviet Union. - Her article in Leviathan described young Soviet intellectuals as viewing 'planning' as tied to a 'disappointed dream' and resenting restrictions on where they could live. - The item frames Soviet citizens' pessimism as evidence that centralized economic planning is inherently linked to the erosion of personal freedoms. ### Philosophers and Kings *By Anil Dharkar* R. K. Narayan's satirical sketch (reprinted with courtesy from a T. Chowdiah Smaraka Ramaseva Samithi souvenir) imagines Indian music nationalized under a 'Fifty-five Year Plan.' A Director-General of Music would file bureaucratic administration reports; a Minister would mandate cross-regional listening quotas between North and South Indian audiences, with fines for yawning; Government-appointed 'Watch-and-Ward Inspectors' would police audience attentiveness at every Music Sabha; and a Music Tribunal would adjudicate disputes and could halt performances. Musicians would be recognized as 'torchbearers of culture,' with a triennial 'Grand Musician of the Indian Republic' title and official precedence at banquets, plus a bureaucratic mechanism for artistes to preemptively report bad moods to the Director of Meteorology. The piece closes by insisting the Government has no doubt this is 'moving on the right lines' and urging composers to write songs promoting rural civic improvement. - The satire imagines a 'Fifty-five Year Plan' for musical revival, with a Director-General of Music filing bureaucratic reports on hours of vocal and instrumental music delivered. - A Minister would mandate that North and South Indian audiences sit through twelve-hour cross-regional listening sessions each quarter, with yawning or restlessness punishable by fine and reprimand. - Every Music Sabha would have a Government-appointed 'Watch-and-Ward Inspector' empowered to switch off a performer's microphone if audience members appear inattentive. - A Music Tribunal, meeting quarterly across major cities, would have jurisdiction to stop any performance without giving reasons. - Musicians would receive formal state recognition, including a triennial 'Grand Musician of the Indian Republic' title, official banquet precedence, and a bureaucratic system for pre-registering bad moods with the Director of Meteorology. ### Essay 6 A. G. Noorani reviews Henry Cecil's 1970 Hamlyn Lectures, The English Judge, and uses it to reflect on the relative absence of serious, informed public scrutiny of the judiciary in India compared to Britain. He surveys Cecil's account of British public and legal opinion on judges -- their reputation for fairness balanced against real disabilities such as being barred from publicly replying to press criticism -- and Cecil's proposal (which Noorani finds impractical) that barristers under consideration for judgeship undergo a probationary period as deputy-judges. Noorani closes by drawing a contrast between the well-compensated, publicly esteemed English judge and the Indian judge, whose salary has stagnated for decades and who faces increasing governmental disregard, with the 1958 Law Commission Report on judicial service still awaiting implementation. - Noorani frames the essay around jurist Ehrlich's dictum that there is no guarantee of justice except the personality of the judge, and argues India lacks the kind of serious, informed public criticism of its judiciary that Britain has, per Henry Cecil's Hamlyn Lectures. - Cecil's survey of British opinion, including quoted schoolboy and lay impressions, finds judges esteemed as embodying fairness despite occasional criticism that they have become tools of the Establishment -- a claim Cecil finds unsubstantiated. - Cecil identifies real disabilities judges face, such as being barred from replying publicly to press criticism, while noting a judge's words carry unique, unanswerable authority in court. - Noorani criticizes Cecil's proposal that prospective judges undergo a probationary period as deputy-judges as impractical, arguing judgeship should go to those who must be persuaded rather than those who seek it. - The essay closes by contrasting the English judge's rising real income and public respect with the Indian judge's stagnant salary and declining governmental respect, noting the unimplemented 1958 Law Commission Report. ### Essay 7 Anil Dharkar reviews Philosophers and Kings: Studies in Leadership, a Popular Prakashan reprint of a 1968 Daedalus special issue on political leadership. He traces the historical shift in how leadership has been studied, from mythologized founder-figures through Enlightenment social-contract theory and Marx's structural account of history, to the 20th century's renewed interest in individual leaders (Lenin, Hitler, Stalin, Gandhi) as psychoanalytic and multi-disciplinary methods became available. He focuses at length on Erik Erikson's essay 'In Search of Gandhi,' a preview of Erikson's larger psychoanalytic study of Gandhi's early life and the origins of non-violence, weighing the promise and danger of psycho-historical analysis, including Victor Wolfenstein's controversial Freudian reading of Gandhi's Salt March via Ernest Jones' theory linking salt to human semen, which Dharkar treats with skepticism. He notes the volume also covers Nkrumah, de Gaulle, and Newton, and commends Popular Prakashan for making the collection available cheaply. - The reviewed volume, Philosophers and Kings, is a Popular Prakashan reprint (407 pp., Rs. 10) of a 1968 special issue of Daedalus, the journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, on political leadership. - Dharkar traces a historical shift from mythologized founder-narratives, through Enlightenment social-contract theorists (Hobbes, Locke, Adam Smith) and Marx's structural view of history, to renewed 20th-century interest in individual leaders following the rise of figures like Lenin, Hitler, Stalin, and Gandhi. - He gives extended attention to Erik Erikson's essay 'In Search of Gandhi,' describing it as a preview of Erikson's larger study of the origins of Gandhi's non-violence, informed by Gandhi's own autobiography Experiments with Truth. - Dharkar discusses the risks of psycho-historical analysis via Victor Wolfenstein's Freudian reading (drawing on Ernest Jones) of Gandhi's Salt March as symbolically tied to sexual abstinence, an interpretation Dharkar treats skeptically, especially given the material conditions of Indian poverty. - The review notes the volume also treats Nkrumah, de Gaulle, and Newton, and praises Popular Prakashan's low-priced edition, suggesting a sequel applying multiple analytic approaches to a single leader. ### Essay 8 An unsigned tabulation, 'Broken Pledges,' presents a US Senate Judiciary Committee staff study's claim that of 25 agreements reached at seven US-Soviet summit meetings since 1943, the Soviets violated 24. It lists specific instances at Teheran (1943), Yalta and Potsdam (1945), and Geneva (1955), plus broken Soviet promises on free elections in Eastern Europe, POW repatriation, Korea, German reunification, free travel between Berlin and the West (citing the 1948-49 Berlin blockade and 1961 Berlin Wall), the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, and the 1970 Middle East cease-fire, which Russia allegedly helped Egypt violate by moving SA-2 and SA-3 missiles to the Suez Canal. - A US Senate Judiciary Committee staff study found that of 25 agreements reached across seven US-Soviet summits, the Soviets violated 24. - At Teheran (1943) all four major Stalin agreements were broken; at Yalta (1945) five of six; at Potsdam (1945) all 14. - Russia is said to have broken promises of free elections in Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Rumania, all of which became Communist dictatorships. - Cited violations include the Berlin blockade (1948-49), the Berlin Wall (1961), the secret placement of offensive missiles in Cuba (1962) despite assurances they were defensive, and the movement of SA-2/SA-3 missiles to the Suez Canal in violation of a 1970 Middle East cease-fire. ### Essay 9 The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' is a compilation of press quotations on current affairs, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. Quotes touch on courage (Churchill), the unreliability of defectors (The Economist), the abuse of nationalized property under socialism (Milovan Djilas), the incompatibility of rapid economic equality and development (W. Arthur Lewis), Nixon's justification for continuing the Vietnam War (quoted from The Economist), UNCTAD's demands on the US (Time), Sham Lal's warning that India risked becoming 'a larger edition of Burma,' Rajagopalachari's remark that India and Pakistan's joint Silver Jubilee of independence is 'without jubilation,' and commentary on the Soviet response to the Haiphong harbour mining. - The page compiles brief press quotations on Cold War, development, and domestic Indian political themes, framed with an epigraph from Tennyson. - Milovan Djilas (in The New Class) is quoted on socialist leaders treating nationalized property as their own while wasting it as if it belonged to someone else. - W. Arthur Lewis is quoted arguing that developing countries cannot simultaneously pursue rapid economic equality and economic development, and that the USSR has abandoned the former. - Sham Lal, writing in The Times of India, warns that elements of India's ruling party want the country to become 'a larger edition of Burma.' - C. Rajagopalachari, quoted from Swarajya, observes that the Silver Jubilee of independence in India and Pakistan is 'a jubilee without jubilation.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff243/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 243 (August 1972), edited by M. R. Masani, is a single 16-page issue of the Bombay classical-liberal monthly published for the Democratic Research Service. The issue opens with A. G. Noorani's defence of the Simla Agreement between Indira Gandhi and Z. A. Bhutto, arguing that the accord is a realistic, bilateral settlement rather than either a Versailles-style diktat or a toothless preamble. The 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' notes column ranges across domestic and international affairs: J.P. Narayan's clash with a Madhya Pradesh minister over dacoit surrenders, scepticism about a possible McGovern presidency in the United States, cautious optimism about the Vietnam War, communist infiltration of India's Socialist Forum, and the disappearance of Zhores Medvedev from a Kiev conference. Dharma Vira, a former civil servant and governor, laments the decline of principled administrative leadership since independence and the empty rhetoric of political 'commitment'. Geeta Doctor mourns the vanished character of old Madras under the pressure of urban growth and careless city planning. Steven J.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 243 (August 1972), edited by M. R. Masani, is a single 16-page issue of the Bombay classical-liberal monthly published for the Democratic Research Service. The issue opens with A. G. Noorani's defence of the Simla Agreement between Indira Gandhi and Z. A. Bhutto, arguing that the accord is a realistic, bilateral settlement rather than either a Versailles-style diktat or a toothless preamble. The 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' notes column ranges across domestic and international affairs: J.P. Narayan's clash with a Madhya Pradesh minister over dacoit surrenders, scepticism about a possible McGovern presidency in the United States, cautious optimism about the Vietnam War, communist infiltration of India's Socialist Forum, and the disappearance of Zhores Medvedev from a Kiev conference. Dharma Vira, a former civil servant and governor, laments the decline of principled administrative leadership since independence and the empty rhetoric of political 'commitment'. Geeta Doctor mourns the vanished character of old Madras under the pressure of urban growth and careless city planning. Steven J. Staats, in a piece abridged from Problems of Communism, analyses corruption as a structurally integral, not incidental, feature of the Soviet bureaucratic economy. Dinesh Kale reviews William J. Barnds's India, Pakistan and the Great Powers, and the issue closes with two brief film reviews (of Dirty Harry and V. Shantaram's Pinjra) and the regular 'With Many Voices' page of quotations. ## Essays ### Breakthrough at Simla? *By A. G. Noorani* A. G. Noorani defends the Simla Agreement signed by Indira Gandhi and President Bhutto against domestic critics who he says misjudge both India's gains and the historical context. He argues the accord is the first major bilateral India-Pakistan political settlement since the failed 1953 Nehru-Mohammed Ali accord, distinguishes it from the Tashkent Declaration and earlier ceasefire arrangements, and contends that a durable rather than imposed peace serves India's interests better than a punitive settlement, quoting Bhutto's own remark that 'a durable peace and an imposed peace are contradictions.' Noorani rebuts the charge that India gave away gains by noting Pakistan itself waived advantages under the UN Security Council's December 1971 resolution. He closes by arguing the Simla Agreement's bilateralism is durable only if Pakistan is not driven too hard, and that a Kashmir settlement and a tripartite India-Pakistan-Bangladesh accord remain achievable if both sides show the same spirit of give-and-take. - Domestic critics of the Simla Agreement are accused of faulty historical accounting and a narrow view of India's regional role. - The Simla Agreement is framed as the first major direct India-Pakistan political accord since the 1953 Nehru-Mohammed Ali agreement on Kashmir. - Noorani invokes Bismarck via Kissinger to argue for a non-punitive, non-Versailles peace despite India's decisive military victory. - The UN Security Council's December 1971 ceasefire resolution is cited to show Pakistan, not just India, made concessions under the Simla accord. - The agreement commits both countries to bilateral resolution of disputes and non-alteration of the Kashmir ceasefire line pending final settlement. - Noorani concludes the accord opens a prospect of durable peace, contingent on both sides continuing the 'give and take' shown at Simla. ### Notes The 'Notes' column, headed 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post', covers six short items. It criticises Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister P. C. Sethi for publicly attacking Jayaprakash Narayan and the Sarvodaya movement over the surrender of dacoits, and reports Vinoba Bhave's tongue-in-cheek apportionment of credit for the surrender. It considers the possibility of a McGovern presidency in the US, arguing most American voters would still back Nixon, and recalls McGovern's 1948 support for the Communist-backed Henry Wallace candidacy as evidence of persistent naivety. A third item finds cautious optimism in Vietnam war news despite the resumption of Paris talks, and criticises John Kenneth Galbraith's 1968 forecast of an imminent South Vietnamese government collapse as having been proven wrong. A fourth item, on communist infiltration of the Socialist Forum, names several Indian politicians identified by the London Economist as ex-communists in government. The column closes with two items: the mysterious disappearance of scientist Zhores Medvedev from a Kiev gerontology conference, apparently due to secret police action, and a squib about Communist China ranking the US as only its fourth-greatest security threat. - P. C. Sethi, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, publicly accused J.P. Narayan and Sarvodaya workers of undermining the state government over dacoit surrenders. - Vinoba Bhave apportioned credit for the dacoit surrenders between the dacoits, police, Bhoodan workers, and 'God'. - The column argues most American voters, Republican or Democrat, would back Nixon over McGovern despite volatility in the electorate. - McGovern's 1948 support for Henry Wallace, described as a Communist Party-backed candidate, is cited as evidence of ongoing political naivety. - John Kenneth Galbraith's February 1968 prediction of an imminent collapse of the South Vietnamese government and army is quoted and mocked as having failed to materialise. - The London Economist is cited identifying a Cabinet minister, several junior ministers, party general secretaries and a new state chief minister as former communists inside the Indian government. - Zhores Medvedev's non-appearance at a Kiev gerontology conference is attributed to interception by the secret police, linked rhetorically to other post-Moscow-summit repression of Soviet dissidents. ### Leadership in Administration *By Dharma Vira* Dharma Vira, a former senior civil servant and state governor, contrasts the decisive, contact-rich leadership style of pre-independence imperial administration with the drift he perceives in post-independence India. He credits early national leaders such as Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel with leading by example and sustaining a service ethic through personal example rather than coercion, but argues that later politicians became 'power-hungry' and eroded both political leadership and service integrity through sycophancy and interference in day-to-day administration. He describes the roles of politicians (policy-making) and permanent services (advice, implementation, and continuity) as constitutionally intended to be complementary, and closes by attacking the vogue for demanding civil servants be 'committed' to an unspecified ideology, warning that any move toward ideological loyalty tests would destroy the constitutionally guaranteed permanence and neutrality of the civil service and open the door to a spoils system. - Pre-independence administration is described as decisive, hands-on, and maintained a 'satisfactory government' through direct contact with the people despite being an imperial regime. - Independence brought a shift from a law-and-order government to a welfare state, creating a new partnership of politicians, permanent services, and the public. - Nehru, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Abul Kalam Azad, Gobind Vallabh Pant, and Vallabhbhai Patel are credited with leadership by example that carried the civil services through the difficult post-independence years. - Vira argues newer politicians became power-hungry and eroded the constitutional division of labour between policy-making politicians and implementing, continuity-providing civil servants. - He criticises loose talk of civil servant 'commitment', arguing that if it means loyalty to a particular political ideology it would violate the Constitution and force mass resignations whenever governments change. - He warns such a shift would replace administrative continuity with a spoils system of political appointments. ### A Lament for Madras *By Geeta Doctor* Geeta Doctor writes an elegiac essay on the transformation of Madras over roughly a decade, contrasting the vanished East India Company-era Mess House and the leisurely, distinctive character of the old city with the flats, traffic, and anonymity that have replaced it. She questions nostalgia for its own sake but argues Madras has genuinely lost a 'standard' and 'essential quality', citing declining cleanliness, proliferating slums, livestock roaming the streets, and visible destitution including leprosy sufferers reduced to what she reads as threatening rather than merely begging behaviour. She extends the lament to public institutions, describing poor visitor behaviour at the Madras Museum and the crowding, over-population and haphazard planning of the Marina Beach, including the controversial rehabilitation of fishermen on the beachfront near the University of Madras. She closes by arguing city planners should attend to the felt 'spirit' of a city and its inhabitants rather than imposing arbitrary top-down schemes. - The essay opens by recalling the demolished East India Company-era Mess House as a symbol of old Madras's vanished character. - Doctor contrasts eccentric, individuated old neighbours and houses with new, homogeneous 'flats' and identical households following an 'all-India standard' set by Femina magazine. - She argues Madras's decline is visible in reduced cleanliness, proliferating slums, and livestock roaming amid garbage. - Lepers reduced to begging in the streets are described as having taken on a 'menacing' rather than merely pitiable character. - Public institutions such as the Madras Museum are cited as sites of visitor misbehaviour and administrative indifference. - Migration statistics (600,000 migrants into Madras 1951-61) are cited to explain, though not excuse, the city's strained infrastructure. - The essay closes by urging planners to attend to a city's cumulative 'spirit', drawing an analogy to the old custom of propitiating a place's tutelary deity before entering it. ### Corruption in the Soviet Union *By Steven J. Staats* Steven J. Staats, in a piece abridged from the journal Problems of Communism, argues that corruption in the Soviet Union is not an aberration but a structurally integral feature of the command economy and bureaucratic state. Defining corruption via Samuel P. Huntington as behaviour that deviates from accepted norms to serve private ends, Staats catalogues mechanisms such as blat (personal influence used to obtain otherwise-unavailable favors) and the tolkach (an expediter who operates informally to secure scarce industrial supplies), arguing these practices arise because the planned economy chronically fails to match supply with demand. He discusses 'black-market bureaucracy' as corruption that effectively introduces market features into the command system, cites Communist Party members' frequent involvement despite the Party's ostensible role of oversight, and explains how the nomenklatura appointment system can shield corrupt officials from prosecution. He concludes that corruption performs a real social function, 'humanizing' the harshness of centrally imposed modernization, and is unlikely to be eradicated because of the important role it continues to play in Soviet life. - Corruption is defined, following Samuel P. Huntington, as 'behavior of public officials which deviates from accepted norms in order to serve private ends.' - Staats argues Soviet press corruption-reporting is itself distorted, sometimes deployed selectively to discredit minority groups such as Jews. - Blat (personal influence) and the tolkach (expediter) are identified as informal mechanisms compensating for the planned economy's chronic supply-demand mismatches. - The concept of 'black-market bureaucracy' frames corruption as introducing functional market features into an otherwise rigid command economy. - Corruption is shown to persist within the Communist Party itself, the very institution meant to monitor and control it, implying a shared interest among officials in concealment. - The nomenklatura system, which requires a higher party or governmental body's consent before an official can be prosecuted, is described as a structural shield for corrupt officials. - Staats concludes corruption 'humanizes' the harsh effects of top-down Soviet modernization and is likely to remain integral to Soviet life, comparing its permanence to 'Vodka and Kasha'. ### India, Pakistan and the Great Powers, A book review *By Dinesh Kale* Dinesh Kale reviews William J. Barnds's India, Pakistan and the Great Powers (Pall Mall, London, 1972), calling it a well-timed and competently executed account of thirty years of subcontinental history that survives the upheaval of the 1971 war and its aftermath without losing validity. Kale summarises the book's account of US, Soviet, and Chinese involvement in the subcontinent from the early 1950s through the 1971 war, including the Panch Sheel and Bhai-Bhai period with China, the 1958 Aksai Chin road dispute, Ayub Khan's 1959 joint-defence proposal rejected by Nehru, and Chou En-lai's 1959 territorial settlement proposal, also rejected. He notes the book's final chapters assess US policy options, concluding that arms aid and alliances have failed and more economic aid, delivered without expectation of major foreign-policy returns, would serve US interests better. Kale praises the book as easy to read despite its length and 'a perceptive and important' contribution, useful to both American and Indian readers, while noting pointedly that no one in India's own Foreign Service could likely produce a work of comparable competence. - The reviewed book, India, Pakistan and the Great Powers by William J. Barnds (Pall Mall, London, 1972, 388pp, £4.25), reviews thirty years of subcontinental history and US policy options toward it. - Kale credits the book with retaining validity despite being finished before the 1971 war and its aftermath. - The book traces Sino-Indian relations from the Panch Sheel/Bhai-Bhai period through the 1958 Aksai Chin dispute to the post-1962 hardening of border positions. - Ayub Khan's 1959 joint-defence proposal and Chou En-lai's 1959 territorial-settlement offer are both noted as having been rejected by Nehru. - The book concludes US arms aid and alliance strategy in the subcontinent has failed, and greater economic aid without guaranteed long-term returns is advised instead. - Kale rates the book 'exceptionally easy-reading' and praises Barnds while remarking that no one in India's Foreign Service could likely match its competence. ### Movie Reviews Two brief film reviews close the issue's culture pages. J. R. Patel reviews Dirty Harry (mistakenly listed in the table of contents as 'The Lone Ranger'), describing Clint Eastwood's Inspector Harry Callahan as a brutish but effective San Francisco cop whose confrontation with the psychopathic killer Scorpio dramatises the tension between due-process protections and public safety; Patel argues the film's ending is 'deceptive' in suggesting no real institution would have let such a killer go free. Vrunda Moghe reviews V. Shantaram's Marathi film Pinjra (Cage), praising it as an 'unforgettable classic' about a clash between a village schoolteacher modelled on Sane Guruji and a travelling dancing girl, in which the teacher's moral idealism collapses into disgrace once he is drawn into her world. - J. R. Patel reviews Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry, focusing on the killer Scorpio's release on a legal technicality after Miranda-style rights violations. - Patel argues the film misleadingly implies institutional actors (DA, courts, mayor) rather than Harry himself are responsible for letting a psychopath go free. - Vrunda Moghe reviews V. Shantaram's Marathi film Pinjra (Cage), describing it as his return to form after 'bouncing failures' in Hindi cinema. - Pinjra is summarised as a clash between an idealistic village schoolteacher (modelled on Sane Guruji) and a gypsy dancing girl, ending in the teacher's moral collapse. ### Essay 8 'With Many Voices' is the issue's closing page of curated quotations from contemporary press and public figures, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. The quotes touch on a wide range of 1972 political events: commentary on Indira Gandhi's premiership, criticism of Indian planning rhetoric, Z. A. Bhutto, Leonid Brezhnev on the incomprehensibility of the Chinese, Shimon Peres on freedom versus equality, and a wry item about Soviet citizens needing to register their names when buying a typewriter in Czechoslovakia. The page also carries the magazine's subscription form for Freedom First, published by the Democratic Research Service in Bombay. - The page collects short quotations from figures including Z. A. Bhutto, Leonid Brezhnev, Shimon Peres, Kakuei Tanaka, and various Indian and international commentators. - One quote from C. B. Irani warns that 'tyranny does not cease to be tyranny simply because it is perpetrated by the elected representatives of the people.' - A quote from Shimon Peres argues societies that prioritise freedom over equality fare better by equality than those prioritising equality over freedom. - The page includes Freedom First's subscription form, listing its address as c/o Democratic Research Service, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff244/ ### Summary This is Freedom First No. 244 (September 1972), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service edited by M. R. Masani, published in Bombay. The issue opens with Masani's own "Happy Anniversary," a wry, first-person account of his dealings with All India Radio over the Silver Jubilee of Independence, which he uses to indict twenty-five years of governmental centralisation and the survival of press and broadcast controls inherited from the colonial state. The unsigned "Between You & Me and the Lamp Post" column follows with short notes on exchange controls, threatened withdrawal from international copyright conventions, and corruption in the Soviet Union. Geeta Doctor's "The Hard Pressed Students" reviews new Bombay college magazines (Movement, Sophiascope, Elph) against the fate of the banned magazine Experiment, arguing that suppressing frank student writing does more harm than the writing itself. A. G. Noorani's "The P.M., Dr. Faridi & Aligarh" is a detailed, document-heavy account of the Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Act, 1972, built around Prof. J. G. Tiwari's analysis of Communist inroads at Aligarh and Dr. A. J.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is Freedom First No. 244 (September 1972), the monthly journal of the Democratic Research Service edited by M. R. Masani, published in Bombay. The issue opens with Masani's own "Happy Anniversary," a wry, first-person account of his dealings with All India Radio over the Silver Jubilee of Independence, which he uses to indict twenty-five years of governmental centralisation and the survival of press and broadcast controls inherited from the colonial state. The unsigned "Between You & Me and the Lamp Post" column follows with short notes on exchange controls, threatened withdrawal from international copyright conventions, and corruption in the Soviet Union. Geeta Doctor's "The Hard Pressed Students" reviews new Bombay college magazines (Movement, Sophiascope, Elph) against the fate of the banned magazine Experiment, arguing that suppressing frank student writing does more harm than the writing itself. A. G. Noorani's "The P.M., Dr. Faridi & Aligarh" is a detailed, document-heavy account of the Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Act, 1972, built around Prof. J. G. Tiwari's analysis of Communist inroads at Aligarh and Dr. A. J. Faridi's dated diary of pre-election assurances allegedly given by Indira Gandhi and Congress leaders on Aligarh's autonomy, which the piece argues were never honoured. Prof. F. A. Mechery's "Kerala: Politics vs. Education" analyses the standoff between private college managements and the Kerala state government over fee unification, situating it within a longer history of political parties (Congress, Kerala Congress, Muslim League, Marxists) exploiting the state's private-dominated higher-education sector. Zarin Minocher-Homji's "English and the Indian Theatre" argues that Indian plays written or translated into English routinely ring false because the language does not match the characters' real social idiom, and calls on Indian playwrights to find the right idiom rather than abandon English theatre. The issue closes with "With Many Voices," a page of unattributed political quotations culled from the world press (Indira Gandhi, The Economist, Time, J. R. D. Tata, and others), alongside the subscription coupon. ## Essays ### Happy Anniversary *By M. R. Masani* In "Happy Anniversary," M. R. Masani reflects on the official Silver Jubilee celebrations of India's independence and uses his own dealings with All India Radio as a case study in the country's continuing lack of free expression. He recounts how H. V. Kamath's earlier radio interview was subject to a threatened `"prior approval"` restriction, and then narrates in detail his own exchange with A.I.R.: he was asked for a ten-minute recording, told the terms would not be altered, but later informed that Delhi -- not Bombay -- would decide which of his answers, cut to 150 words, would actually be broadcast. Masani refused those terms and instead publishes in Freedom First the full text of the questions and his answers, marking in italics the portions A.I.R. actually relayed. His answers argue that the dreams of 1947 have been frustrated, that poverty and inequality have worsened under "socialist" policies of the last decade, that Gandhi was conspicuously absent from the actual transfer-of-power ceremony because he opposed Partition, and that the two great achievements of twenty-five years of independence are the survival of democratic dialogue/Rule of Law (credited chiefly to Nehru's restraint) and a non-denominational public life -- both of which he sees now threatened by the 24th and 25th Constitutional Amendments. - Masani frames the 25th Independence anniversary as an occasion for sober stock-taking rather than celebration. - H. V. Kamath's own account illustrates the same A.I.R. censorship pattern Masani later experienced. - A.I.R. Bombay agreed to a full, unedited ten-minute recording, but A.I.R. Delhi later said it would select the broadcastable portion; Masani refused and published everything, in italics marking what was actually aired. - Masani rejects both the official euphoria and E. M. S. Namboodiripad's total dismissal of the anniversary as illegitimate. - His radio answers argue that poverty, unemployment and inflation are as bad or worse than in 1947, contra the promises of Nehru's 'tryst with destiny'. - He credits Nehru specifically with resisting the temptation to smash constitutional opposition, crediting this restraint for surviving democratic dialogue and Rule of Law. - He states Gandhi was deliberately absent from the transfer-of-power ceremony because he opposed Partition, a fact Masani treats as historically significant. - He flags the recently enacted 24th and 25th Constitutional Amendments as a threat to Fundamental Rights and judicial supremacy. ### The Hard Pressed Students *By Geeta Doctor* Geeta Doctor's "The Hard Pressed Students" surveys the state of Bombay college journalism through several new and older student magazines. She praises Movement, a new independent Bombay University student paper produced outside any single college's control, for tackling real problems of the student community with a constructive tone, though she notes its Xavierite bias and an over-fondness for dating events from the 1970-71 agitation. She contrasts two college magazines -- the wholesome, sheltered Sophiascope from Sophia College and the earnest but overwrought, jargon-laden Elph from Elphinstone College -- and then recounts the cautionary tale of Experiment, an independent Elphinstone student magazine that was suppressed by the college authorities after its first issue (which included a story on abortion, references to homosexuality, and mild jokes at the Establishment's expense) was denounced as containing 'the seeds of depravity.' Doctor argues in retrospect that the suppression was unjust and hypocritical, since such topics are commonplace in ordinary reading matter, and that authorities would do better to provide students realistic outlets for expression than to suppress them and risk 'producing a future generation of morons.' - Movement is praised as the first Bombay-wide, non-college-affiliated student magazine to tackle real educational and social problems with a constructive (not adversarial) tone. - Doctor notes Movement's Xavierite bias and its editor Aspi Chinoy's tendency to date events from the 1970-71 agitation as if nothing mattered before it. - Sophiascope (Sophia College) is characterised as innocuous, wholesome convent-school-style fare. - Elph (Elphinstone College) is criticised for pompous, circumlocutory prose and over-reliance on borrowed quotations and foreign-lifted material. - Experiment, Elphinstone's earlier independent student magazine, was suppressed by college authorities after its first issue touched on abortion and homosexuality and was accused of 'the seeds of depravity.' - Doctor argues the suppression of Experiment was unjust: such topics are common in ordinary books and periodicals and are not properly a crime for a student magazine to discuss. - She concludes that denying students realistic outlets for expression, rather than moderating rather than banning them, risks producing a 'future generation of morons.' ### The P.M., Dr. Faridi & Aligarh *By A. G. Noorani* The unsigned editorial column 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' (continuing from page 3 onto page 4) covers three items: a warning that India is progressively cutting off contact with the non-communist world through exchange restrictions, denial of visas to American students and scholars, and a reported government move to withdraw from the Berne and Universal Copyright Conventions, which the column argues would licence Indian piracy of foreign authors' work; a report that the Union Government's own conduct -- expropriating General Insurance and India Iron & Steel shareholders and small farmers' 'surplus' land -- undercuts its claims to defend property rights; and a note welcoming a rare Indian-press item on corruption inside the Soviet Union (the 'Soviet Spiv'), comparing Soviet black-marketeer 'tolkachis' to the Indian 'fixer' without whom the planned economy cannot function, and speculating (via the deaths of Naxalite leader Charu Mazumdar and Mr. Nagarwala) about whether India is evolving its own 'swadeshi' pattern of convenient prisoner deaths in custody. - The column warns that exchange controls, denial of visas to US students, and a threatened Indian withdrawal from the Berne/Universal Copyright Conventions amount to a new 'curtain' on India's intellectual contact with the non-communist world. - It contrasts this with the free flow of funds and cooperation permitted to communist-aligned groups from Russia and Eastern Europe. - It criticizes the Union Government's own 'highway robbery' against General Insurance and India Iron & Steel shareholders and small farmers as undermining any government claim to a moral high ground on property. - It praises rare Indian press coverage of corruption in the Soviet Union, likening the Soviet 'tolkachi' fixer to the Indian black-marketeer/permit-and-quota fixer. - It raises the question, via the mysterious deaths of Naxalite leader Charu Mazumdar and Mr. Nagarwala in custody, of whether India is evolving its own pattern of convenient 'natural' deaths of political prisoners. - It notes Bihar Socialist leader Karpoori Thakur's claim that Mazumdar 'was murdered' and calls, alongside E. M. S. Namboodiripad and A. B. Vajpayee, for an independent inquiry. ### Kerala: Politics vs. Education *By Prof. F. A. Mechery* A. G. Noorani's 'The P.M., Dr. Faridi & Aligarh' examines the Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Act, 1972 from constitutional, administrative, and political angles. The first half leans heavily on Prof. J. G. Tiwari's analysis in Indian Communist, titled 'Communists Take Over Aligarh Muslim University,' which traces a decades-long struggle at Aligarh between Communist-aligned faculty and anti-Communist Islamic and liberal-democratic elements, culminating (Tiwari argues) in a Communist-friendly administration under Vice-Chancellor Dr. Alim and Education Minister Dr. Nurul Husain, and in a new Act that concentrates virtually all effective power in the Vice-Chancellor's discretion at the expense of elected staff and student representation. The second half turns to Dr. A. J. Faridi's own dated, diary-style catalogue of assurances given to him before the 1971 Lok Sabha elections by Congress leaders including Prime Minister Indira Gandhi -- regarding Urdu, minority educational autonomy, and Aligarh Muslim University specifically -- assurances Noorani says were solicited for Muslim electoral support and then not honoured in the actual amendment. Noorani closes by contrasting the personal integrity he attributes to Faridi with what he calls Faridi's political misjudgment, and by generalising the episode into a broader indictment of broken promises in Indian politics, quoting Chief Justice Hidayatullah's remark in the Privy Purse case that 'princes were not the only people in whose words trust should not be placed.' - The essay uses Prof. J. G. Tiwari's journal article to argue that Communist-aligned faculty progressively took over key appointments at Aligarh from the early 1950s onward, aided by a 'new wave' of collaboration with Congress and the appointment of Dr. Nurul Husain as Education Minister. - Tiwari's analysis (as quoted) states the new Act leaves effective power almost entirely with the Vice-Chancellor's unbridled discretion, with only a handful of the 230 university body members being elected representatives of staff or students. - Noorani presents Dr. A. J. Faridi's detailed, dated diary of meetings (December 1970 - June 1972) with Congress leaders including Chandra Jit Yadav, Kedar Nath, D. P. Misra, and finally Indira Gandhi herself, in which an eight-point programme covering Urdu, Aligarh Muslim University, and minority councils was allegedly agreed to. - Faridi's record states that the Prime Minister personally received a copy of the eight-point programme and discussed it, and that paragraphs 54 and 55 later inserted into the Congress Election Manifesto were understood by all parties to refer specifically to Aligarh Muslim University. - The essay argues these assurances were solicited for Muslim electoral support in 1971 but were not honoured when the actual Amendment Act was drafted, with drafting entrusted instead to ministers who gave no hint the Bill would take the shape it did. - Noorani distinguishes between Faridi's personal integrity, which he calls undivided, and his political judgment, which he calls misguided. - The essay closes by quoting Chief Justice Hidayatullah's Privy Purse case remark that trust should not be placed even in the word of the powerful, generalising Aligarh into a broader critique of broken political promises. ### English and the Indian Theatre *By Zarin Minocher-Homji* Prof. F. A. Mechery's 'Kerala: Politics vs. Education' analyses the 1972 higher-education crisis in Kerala, where private managements run 119 of the state's colleges against only 14 run by government, and 85% of students depend on private institutions. Mechery traces how a quarter-century of unplanned educational growth, capitation fees, and unequal fee structures between private and government colleges produced chronic friction, which erupted into the current agitation over 'fee unification.' He shows how every major political formation -- the Nair Service Society, Christian minority bodies, the Kerala Congress, the ruling Congress, the Congress (O)-led opposition coalition, the Muslim League, and the Marxist party under E. M. S. Namboodiripad -- moved to exploit the standoff for factional advantage, at the cost of the students, who lost working days, delayed examinations, and quota-linked admissions elsewhere in the country. Mechery argues the actual fee differences involved are modest and that the deeper problem is the absence of any coherent national policy for higher education; he calls for preserving the autonomy of private institutions (a hallmark, he says, of liberal education) while introducing firm anti-corruption controls on appointments and admissions, restricting expensive post-graduate teaching to universities and selected centres, and resisting the drift toward treating university education as indistinguishable from mass schooling. - Private managements run 119 of Kerala's colleges versus only 14 run by government, and 85% of students depend on private institutions up to the highest levels. - A quarter-century of unplanned, uncoordinated educational growth left private colleges dependent on capitation fees and other 'illegal practices' to bridge revenue shortfalls, which were then politically condoned. - The actual fee gap between private and government institutions is modest (roughly Rs.12-80/year depending on level), undercutting the scale of public outrage over 'fee unification.' - Every major political actor -- Nair Service Society, Christian bodies, Kerala Congress, ruling Congress, Congress (O), Muslim League, and the Marxists under Namboodiripad -- used the agitation to advance its own coalition politics. - The 1971-72 academic year's strikes forced postponement of examinations to June-July 1972 and delayed students' admissions elsewhere in India under the quota system, at real cost to the students themselves. - Mechery defends the autonomy of private educational institutions as a hallmark of liberal education, while calling for firm anti-corruption controls on appointments and admissions. - He argues post-graduate teaching, being expensive and requiring genuine intellectual exchange, should be concentrated in universities or selected centres rather than diffused across ordinary colleges. - He warns against 'mass production' in higher education and against treating a college education as indistinguishable from basic schooling. ### Essay 6 Zarin N. Minocher-Homji's 'English and the Indian Theatre' argues that Indian plays performed in English -- whether written originally in English or translated from Indian languages -- frequently ring false because English is not the natural idiom of the uneducated villager, manual labourer, domestic servant, or traditional grandmother who so often populate Indian drama. She rejects the counter-argument that translated European plays face no such problem, noting that the shared cultural context of European languages makes such translations feel natural in a way that is not available across the gulf between vernacular Indian social worlds and English. She also rejects the alternative of writing in the artificial 'Indian English' some Indians actually speak, arguing this idiom is suited only to caricature and comic effect, not serious drama. She concludes that Indian playwrights writing in English face the near-impossible task of finding a persuasive idiom for characters who would never naturally speak English, and urges more Indian playwrights to work at solving this problem, since the spoken word is of prime importance to the theatre. - Minocher-Homji argues language, not spectacle or design, is the foundational element of serious theatre. - She identifies a recurring 'false note' in Indian plays performed in English, whether originally written in English or translated from Indian languages. - The falsity arises because socially marginal or uneducated Indian characters (villagers, labourers, servants, grandmothers) are never plausible speaking natural English. - She distinguishes this from European-to-English stage translations, which work because of shared cultural context between European languages. - She dismisses 'Indian English' as a viable dramatic idiom, arguing it is suited only to caricature, not serious themes. - She calls on Indian playwrights to solve the idiom problem as a precondition for truly great English-language Indian theatre. ### Essay 7 'With Many Voices' is the issue's unsigned closing feature, a page of short, unconnected quotations drawn from the world press (Indian Express, The Economist, Time, US News & World Report, Encounter, Sunday Standard) covering topics from Indira Gandhi's remarks on domestic trust and the wage-price trade-off, to US election-year commentary on McGovern, Nixon and Wallace, to J. R. D. Tata on the concentration of economic power in government hands, to wry asides on Chile's economic crisis and Egyptian radio patriotism. It is followed by the journal's subscription coupon and colophon, naming the Democratic Research Service (127, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay) as publisher and J. R. Patel as Associate Editor and printer. - The column collects short quotations without editorial commentary, opening with an epigraph from Tennyson. - Quoted figures include Indira Gandhi (twice), George Meany, George Wallace, Leon Trotsky, and J. R. D. Tata, among unnamed editorial voices from The Economist and Time. - J. R. D. Tata is quoted from a shareholders' statement observing that no government has taken greater precautions to concentrate real economic power in its own hands. - The page closes the issue with the Freedom First subscription coupon and the publication's colophon (Democratic Research Service, Bombay; J. R. Patel, Associate Editor and printer). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff246/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 246 (November 1972), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with J. R. Patel's travelogue-essay "When Did Elizabeth Die?", a wry first-person account of a road trip to Goa that turns into an anthropological sketch of the hippie trail at Calangute and Anjuna in the early 1970s, ending on a mordant note about a hippie's death by overdose going unremarked. The editorial section "Between You & Me and The Lamp Post" comments on farmers organising against land-reform legislation, an Oxford honorary degree for Lord Hailsham, a Congress Working Committee row over the "weaker sections," the naming of a new Union Territory capital "Indira Giri," and Delhi's diplomatic overtures to Uganda's President Amin. Chitra Sen contributes a popular-mathematics piece on topology (the Möbius strip, Klein bottle) and on very large numbers. A reader's letter objects to proposed amendments empowering government to cancel private mining leases, and a satirical poem, "My Babujee Days," lampoons the cost and disruption of a prime-ministerial visit to IIT Powai. The book-review section covers Richard H. Solomon's study of Mao and Chinese political culture (reviewed by Anil Dharker), S. P. Aiyar and S.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 246 (November 1972), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with J. R. Patel's travelogue-essay "When Did Elizabeth Die?", a wry first-person account of a road trip to Goa that turns into an anthropological sketch of the hippie trail at Calangute and Anjuna in the early 1970s, ending on a mordant note about a hippie's death by overdose going unremarked. The editorial section "Between You & Me and The Lamp Post" comments on farmers organising against land-reform legislation, an Oxford honorary degree for Lord Hailsham, a Congress Working Committee row over the "weaker sections," the naming of a new Union Territory capital "Indira Giri," and Delhi's diplomatic overtures to Uganda's President Amin. Chitra Sen contributes a popular-mathematics piece on topology (the Möbius strip, Klein bottle) and on very large numbers. A reader's letter objects to proposed amendments empowering government to cancel private mining leases, and a satirical poem, "My Babujee Days," lampoons the cost and disruption of a prime-ministerial visit to IIT Powai. The book-review section covers Richard H. Solomon's study of Mao and Chinese political culture (reviewed by Anil Dharker), S. P. Aiyar and S. V. Raju's edited volume on the 24th and 25th Constitution Amendment Bills and fundamental rights (reviewed by Sujata Manohar), and Suraj Bhan Agrawal's study of Indian price trends (reviewed by M. P. Appachu). Two poems appear: Alan Ross's "Yogis at Chowpatty Beach" and the unsigned parody "My Babujee Days." The issue closes with "With Many Voices," a compilation of quotations from the contemporary press on politics, inflation, and world affairs. ## Essays ### When Did Elizabeth Die? *By J. R. Patel* J. R. Patel recounts a hitch-and-drive trip from Bombay to Goa, opening with an encounter with an eccentric American hitchhiker named John and proceeding to an ironic, self-aware "anthropological" survey of the hippie colonies at Calangute and Anjuna beaches. The piece profiles local characters such as "James Bond Butterfly," a Goan hippie-cum-local celebrity, and recounts mishaps including a near-miss with an armed squatter at a hilltop monastery. The essay closes on the story of a hippie named Elizabeth whose overdose death passes unremarked among her peers, which the author uses to reflect wryly on detachment, mortality, and the counter-culture's dependence on the very society it claims to reject, before a final ironic aside about being nearly robbed of a car part on the drive home. - The narrator undertakes a self-consciously mock-anthropological road trip to Goa, disclaiming any real journalistic method. - Hitchhikers and expatriate drifters (John, then 'James Bond Butterfly') supply comic colour and folklore about the hippie trail from Kathmandu and Afghanistan into Goa. - Anjuna and Calangute are depicted as the 'winter hippie capital of Asia,' with repeated, mostly good-natured friction between Goan locals, Indian day-trippers, and Western hippies. - An encounter with an armed German squatter at a monastery turns menacing, ending in shots fired and a stolen knife. - The essay's emotional turn comes from casual news of a hippie named Elizabeth's death by overdose, met with total indifference by her peers, prompting the narrator's reflection on nihilism, rootlessness and the hollow freedom of the counter-culture. - The piece ends on a bathetic note: the travellers, robbed of a windshield wiper on their return, muse that dying happy on a Goan beach may be preferable to dying in "some idiot traffic accident." ### Notes The unsigned editorial notes column takes up several current events: the formation of a new Farmers' Federation of India under Bhanu Pratap Singh to resist "land reforms" legislation, contrasted with a government-backed farmers' working group headed by a communist; an ironic commendation of Lord Hailsham's 1971 remarks on law, liberty and property as the foundation of freedom; a report on a bitter Congress Working Committee exchange between Jagjivan Ram and K. D. Malaviya over neglect of the "weaker sections"; mockery of the choice of "Indira Giri" as the name for the new Arunachal Pradesh capital; an anecdote about Indira Gandhi being locked out of a VIP guest house in Gandhinagar; and criticism of New Delhi's diplomatic warmth toward Uganda's President Idi Amin despite his anti-Indian rhetoric, plus a note on cartoonist Rajinder Puri's new weekly Stir. - Welcomes the new, non-party Farmers' Federation of India (led by Bhanu Pratap Singh) as a hopeful development against land-reform legislation, while noting a rival, government-aligned farmers' working group is headed by a communist, Dr. Z. A. Ahmed, and includes N. G. Ranga. - Approvingly quotes Lord Hailsham's 1971 Commonwealth Law Conference remarks that freedom depends on constitutional conditions of law, property, and security, and uses them to criticise governments that discard constitutional safeguards in the name of economic advance. - Reports the AICC session in Gandhinagar where Jagjivan Ram publicly accused the Congress Party of empty rhetoric about the 'weaker sections' amid a lavish official dinner. - Mocks the naming of Arunachal Pradesh's new capital 'Indira Giri' as symptomatic of sycophancy and administrative sterility. - Notes a report that Indira Gandhi was locked out of her room at a Gandhinagar guest house and jokes about blaming the CIA. - Criticises the Government of India's friendly overtures to Uganda's President Amin despite his hostile rhetoric toward India, framing it as diplomatic self-abasement. - Flags cartoonist Rajinder Puri's newly launched Delhi weekly Stir and reproduces one of his cartoons. ### Numerically Speaking *By Chitra Sen* Chitra Sen's popular-science essay introduces the Möbius strip and its properties (one side, one edge, and the counter-intuitive result of cutting it along its length), traces its invention to the German mathematician August Ferdinand Möbius, and extends into related topological curiosities such as the Klein bottle and the four-colour map problem. The second half of the essay shifts to a meditation on very large numbers — doubled paper thickness, the wheat-and-chessboard legend, Eddington's estimate of the number of electrons in the universe, and the largest known prime-adjacent number of the day — before closing with a discussion of mathematics' influence on art, citing the golden section, the Parthenon, and Professor Birkhoff's formula for aesthetic measure. - Explains how to construct a Möbius strip and demonstrates that it has only one side and one edge. - Notes that cutting a Möbius strip along its centre line produces a single, longer, two-sided strip rather than two separate strips, and quotes two mathematical limericks on the subject. - Attributes the strip's invention to August Ferdinand Möbius and describes Felix Klein's related one-surfaced 'Klein bottle.' - Surveys other topological puzzles: the genus of surfaces, and the unresolved question of how many colours are needed to map a flat surface versus a Möbius strip or torus. - Uses the wheat-and-chessboard legend and Eddington's estimate of the number of electrons in the universe to illustrate the human difficulty of grasping very large numbers. - Closes by linking mathematics to aesthetics via the golden section, the Parthenon's proportions, and Professor Birkhoff's formula for 'aesthetic measure' (M = O/C). ### Book Reviews A reader's letter signed Dinesh C. Kale criticises proposed amendments to the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957, which would empower the Central Government to cancel any mining lease at will and transfer it to a government enterprise. The letter argues this discretionary power, unconstrained by parliamentary or judicial oversight, would deter private investment in mining and threaten the wider industries (cement, steel, paints, chemicals) that depend on stable access to mineral deposits, while conceding that some private mine-owners do engage in malpractice that existing law is already adequate to punish. - The proposed amendment would let the Central Government cancel any mining lease 'whenever it feels it expedient' and transfer it to a state enterprise, without need to justify the action in Parliament or Court. - Warns that uncertainty over lease security will discourage investment in mine development, which typically requires several years before an owner recoups costs. - Points out that whole downstream industries (cement, steel, paints, pigments, chemicals) depend on continued access to specific mineral deposits and would be vulnerable to Government pressure. - Acknowledges some private mine-owners cheat on royalty and mine unsafely, but argues existing legislation is sufficient to punish this if enforced strictly. - Predicts the amendment, if enacted, will likely be challenged in court. ### Verse A short satirical piece reprints a poem, "My Babujee Days" (sung to the tune of "My Favourite Things"), originally published in the IIT magazine Technik, mocking the cost, disruption, and stage-managed pomp surrounding a visit by the Prime Minister to the IIT Powai campus for its tenth annual convocation — helipads built over sports grounds, repainted buildings, and restricted access for parents. - Reports that a Prime Ministerial visit to IIT Powai's convocation cost as much as a lakh of rupees for ninety minutes of helicopter time. - Describes physical alterations made for the visit: helipads built over a volleyball field and running track, repainting, and renovation. - Notes that only one parent per student was permitted to attend the function due to space taken up by visiting MPs. - Reproduces the full satirical poem from the student magazine Technik, parodying the pageantry of the visit. ### Essay 6 Anil Dharker reviews Richard H. Solomon's Mao's Revolution and the Chinese Political Culture (University of California Press), a ten-year study using social-science interview methods with Chinese emigres in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The review summarises the book's four-part structure covering Chinese upbringing and education, adult social/political attitudes, Mao's own political style forged against Confucian tradition, and the post-1949 period through 1969, highlighting the book's central argument that Mao's revolution was as much a struggle against ingrained Confucian filial piety and authority as a political one, evidenced by his promotion of 'speak bitterness' (su-k'u) meetings. - The book took nearly ten years to prepare and is divided into four self-contained parts covering education, adult social/political attitudes, Mao's political style, and the post-1949 period to 1969. - Notes the author's reliance on interviews with Chinese emigres in Taiwan and Hong Kong (using controlled sampling and 'psychological projective tests') since the author could not visit China, and that Solomon is aware of and tries to correct for emigre bias. - Frames Confucian filial piety, transferable as loyalty to ruler and state, as the traditional political-cultural order that Mao's revolution had to overturn. - Highlights Mao's promotion of su-k'u ('speak bitterness') meetings as a technique to break peasants' habituated submission to authority and mobilise political consciousness. - Concludes that the book shows Mao's leadership to be as much cultural-psychological as political, and that his Cultural Revolution's turn to the student generation reflects the partial, incomplete nature of that cultural transformation. ### Essay 7 Sujata Manohar reviews Fundamental Rights and the Citizen, edited by S. P. Aiyar and S. V. Raju (Academic Books Ltd.), a compilation on the controversy surrounding the 24th and 25th Constitution Amendment Bills of 1971, which followed the Golak Nath v. State of Punjab judgment and the Indira Congress's landslide 1971 election victory. The review describes the book's structure (legal-background articles, 'The Debate' section of press pieces and speeches, 'Views that Matter' from named commentators, editorial excerpts, and readers' letters) and highlights Indira Gandhi's parliamentary speech as the volume's rare balanced defence of the amending bills, while summarising the underlying constitutional dispute over Parliament's power to abridge fundamental rights via Article 31(c). - The reviewed volume compiles material on the 24th and 25th Constitution Amendment Bills of 1971, known respectively as Nath Pai's Bill and the post-election formulation, addressing the supremacy of Parliament versus the judiciary. - Notes the legal background is supplied by articles from S. P. Sathe, V. Shankar, and a note by T. R. Andhyarujina, but regrets the absence of a dedicated note on the bills' legislative history and rationale. - Highlights Indira Gandhi's parliamentary speech, quoted at length, as the one balanced argument in support of the bills, arguing there need be no confrontation between Parliament and judiciary. - Explains that the bills followed the Supreme Court's 1967 Golak Nath v. State of Punjab decision, which held that Parliament could not amend the Constitution to abridge fundamental rights, and that the new Article 31(c) was inserted to shield certain directive-principle legislation from judicial review. - Describes the 'Views that Matter' and editorial-excerpt sections featuring contributions/comments involving J. C. Shah, B. P. Sinha, C. Rajagopalachari, R. S. Gae, A. B. Shah, N. A. Palkhivala, M. R. Masani, Nayantara Sehgal, M. V. Paranjape, Rajni Patel, and Indrajit Gupta. - Concludes the book is a valuable record of one of the most publicly debated pieces of legislation after the Hindu Code Bill, worth possessing despite its price. ### Essay 8 M. P. Appachu reviews Suraj Bhan Agrawal's Price Trends in India (Sultan Chand & Sons), a UGC-funded, twelve-chapter statistical study of inflationary trends in the Indian economy across three consumer price indices, covering causes of price rises, taxation, tax evasion, and black money up to the mid-Fourth Plan period. The reviewer praises the book's data and critical stance on government anti-inflationary measures but notes its high price undercuts its usefulness to students. - The book is a UGC-financed, Indian Council of Social Science Research-supported statistical study of price trends across twelve chapters, forty-five tables, and five graphs. - Covers causes of inflationary trends, the three consumer price indices, and current issues including high taxation, tax evasion, and black money. - Credits the author for critically assessing government anti-inflationary measures and proposing a positive price policy for future planning. - Notes the wholesale price trends in food and other commodity groups are presented up to the mid-Fourth Plan period. - Criticises the Rs. 25 price as undercutting the book's value as a resource for the student community. ### Essay 9 A short poem by Alan Ross, reprinted courtesy of Encounter, depicting the surreal, detached scene of yogis and sadhus half-submerged at Chowpatty Beach, Bombay, juxtaposed against a Tilak statue, umbrella-wielding clerks, and the general theatre of Indian public life, evoking a mood of silence and withdrawal from politics. - Describes bathers and sadhus at Chowpatty Beach as visually decapitated, detached figures amid bronze-coloured ocean and black cattle. - Contrasts the silence and stillness of the yogis with the surrounding political noise, evoked through the statue of Tilak ('stone orator') and imagery of protest ('no cries of corruption'). - Closes with an image of saddhus honoured with marigold wreaths and clerks opening umbrellas as insurance against the sea, framing the scene as a kind of surveillance of the Arabian Sea. ### Essay 10 The back-cover feature 'With Many Voices' compiles brief quotations from contemporary newspapers and magazines (The Economist, U.S. News & World Report, Times of India, Himmat, Sunday Standard, Hindu, Indian Express, Statesman, Time) on topics ranging from the 1972 U.S. presidential election and Indira Gandhi's views on Asian nationalism versus communism, to Indian inflation, government bonuses, and George Fernandes's remark equating the Prime Minister with the Central Intelligence Agency. - Includes quotations on the U.S. presidential election, satirising both American exceptionalism and foreign interest in U.S. politics. - Quotes Indira Gandhi's view that 'the great danger in Asia is not communism but nationalism.' - Reports on the Union Cabinet's decision to grant government employees interim relief and a bonus amid rising inflation. - Includes George Fernandes's quip that 'the only real Central Intelligence Agency is the Prime Minister, who has all the Indian intelligence agencies under her control.' - Compiles further wry press quotations on Soviet-East European relations, the British Empire, Bernard Shaw, and Senator McGovern's candidacy. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff247/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 247 (December 1972), edited by M. R. Masani, is a short 16-page number of the journal dominated by foreign-policy commentary in the wake of Richard Nixon's re-election and the Vietnam peace negotiations. Masani's lead editorial welcomes Nixon's victory as a repudiation of American isolationism and warns against a Vietnam settlement that leaves North Vietnamese troops in the South. The unsigned 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' notes column covers the Supreme Court's newsprint-policy judgment, Indian domestic politics, Taiwan, and Soviet propaganda in India. A. G. Noorani's 'Ourselves and China' argues that India's dependence on Russia is leaving it isolated from China, the U.S., and Pakistan, and urges a deliberate rapprochement. A short unsigned piece, 'Moscow's Hand in India,' reports the Indian government's ban on export of a book exposing Soviet propaganda operations in India.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 247 (December 1972), edited by M. R. Masani, is a short 16-page number of the journal dominated by foreign-policy commentary in the wake of Richard Nixon's re-election and the Vietnam peace negotiations. Masani's lead editorial welcomes Nixon's victory as a repudiation of American isolationism and warns against a Vietnam settlement that leaves North Vietnamese troops in the South. The unsigned 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' notes column covers the Supreme Court's newsprint-policy judgment, Indian domestic politics, Taiwan, and Soviet propaganda in India. A. G. Noorani's 'Ourselves and China' argues that India's dependence on Russia is leaving it isolated from China, the U.S., and Pakistan, and urges a deliberate rapprochement. A short unsigned piece, 'Moscow's Hand in India,' reports the Indian government's ban on export of a book exposing Soviet propaganda operations in India. Geeta Doctor contributes a satirical essay on the anxieties of school admissions in Bombay, and the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's biennial resolutions (reprinted in full) condemn government restrictions on foreign travel for academics, press freedom violations in West Bengal and Manipur, and a Soviet UNESCO satellite-broadcast proposal. Deepa Awal offers a satirical 'general theory' of student unrest modelled on Keynesian economics. The issue closes with a review of Prakash Tandon's memoir 'Beyond Punjab' by Hardayal Singh, and a page of quoted excerpts ('With Many Voices') from other publications. ## Essays ### Escape from Isolationism *By M. R. MASANI* M. R. Masani's editorial welcomes President Nixon's re-election with 62 per cent of the popular vote as a relief to lovers of freedom in Asia, arguing Nixon is not a 'Europe Firster' who would abandon Asia. He criticises the draft Vietnam peace agreement reportedly negotiated by Henry Kissinger, which would allow 150,000 North Vietnamese troops to remain in South Vietnam after a cease-fire, calling this a betrayal comparable to that of President Diem. He quotes the London Economist's view that international law does not permit those troops to remain, and criticises Kissinger's naivety about handling Communists. - Nixon's 62% popular-vote victory is welcomed as a rejection of Senator McGovern's isolationist tendencies. - Masani credits Nixon with doing more for the freedom of Indo-China's peoples than any president could have. - He criticises the secretly-negotiated draft Vietnam agreement for allowing North Vietnamese troops to remain in South Vietnam. - The Economist is quoted arguing this is impermissible under international law since North Vietnam has never admitted its troops are there. - Masani warns Nixon and Kissinger to be 'generous with everything except principle' in finalising any settlement. ### Notes The unsigned 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' notes column opens by praising the Supreme Court's October 30 judgment striking down the Union Government's newsprint policy and the ten-page ceiling on newspapers as unconstitutional, crediting N. A. Palkhivala's advocacy. It comments on the Congress Party's defeat in an Ahmedabad by-election (won by Acharya Kripalani, Dr. Lohia and Minoo Masani figures' legacy), praises President Thieu of South Vietnam as having emerged from recent events with credibility, notes the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's resolutions on threats to cultural freedom, criticises the banning of Peter Sagar's book 'Moscow's Hand in India,' and continues onto page 3 with items on a reversed hotel-tariff policy targeting Indian tourists, Chiang Kai-shek's 86th birthday, Taiwan's economic performance versus mainland China, and J. B. Kripalani's rebuttal of the CIA-bogey raised by Indira Gandhi's government, plus a report on North Vietnam by Prof. P. J. Honey. - The Supreme Court's October 30 ruling struck down the government's newsprint policy and ten-page ceiling as unconstitutional; N. A. Palkhivala is praised for his advocacy. - Congress's defeat in an Ahmedabad parliamentary by-election is read as a possible turning of the tide, echoing 1967. - President Thieu of South Vietnam is praised for resisting pressure from his American allies during the peace-agreement negotiations. - A government move to charge Indian tourists 33% more than foreigners for hotels (while exempting Soviet visitors) was dropped after criticism. - Chiang Kai-shek's 86th birthday is marked with a comparison of Taiwan's economic performance favourably against mainland China. - J. B. Kripalani, writing in Swarajya, rebuts the government's use of a 'CIA bogey' to deflect from its own failures, using the 'Adam's Grave' fallacy analogy. - Prof. P. J. Honey of London University, interviewed by U.S. News & World Report, describes tight Communist control and lack of public dissent in North Vietnam. ### Ourselves and China *By A. G. NOORANI* A. G. Noorani argues that India's exclusive reliance on Russia is the most conspicuous feature of its foreign policy, and that while the U.S., China, and Pakistan each bear blame for estrangement from India, India itself has contributed to the impasse with China particularly. He surveys reports (Kuldip Nayar's account of Austrian journalists' interview with Chou En-lai, an Izvestia analyst's reading of the Indo-Soviet Treaty as an instrument of the 'Brezhnev Plan' to contain China, and a study by Prof. Leo Yueh-yun Liu on Chinese nuclear ambitions) to argue that China's ideological zeal for world revolution shapes its foreign policy, that China is likely to become a major nuclear power, and that a China possessing nuclear weapons while feeling wronged is a dangerous prospect for regional stability. He urges India to pursue a calculated disengagement from Russian influence and rapprochement with China, the U.S., and Pakistan before it becomes too isolated to act. - India's exclusive reliance on Russia is described as the most conspicuous feature of its foreign policy. - Both the Soviet Union and China interpret the Indo-Soviet Treaty (conceived February-March 1969) as part of a Soviet 'Brezhnev Plan' to contain China. - China's ideological commitment to world revolution, not just national interest, shapes its foreign policy, per Prof. Leo Yueh-yun Liu's study. - China is likely to become a major nuclear power in the foreseeable future, creating a dangerous three-way nuclear dynamic among the US, USSR, and China. - Noorani urges India to disengage from Russian dependence and pursue rapprochement with China, the US, and Pakistan or risk pitiable isolation. ### Moscow's Hand in India This unsigned item reports New Delhi's ban on the export of Peter Sagar's book 'Moscow's Hand in India,' previously reviewed favourably in Freedom First and reprinted in India in 1967, on the grounds it might affect relations with the USSR. It recounts the book's documentation of how the Soviet Information Service secretly channels propaganda through the CPI-run New Age Press Service to circumvent India's 'Third Country Rule,' which forbids foreign missions from conducting hostile propaganda against other friendly nations, and criticises the External Affairs Ministry's negligence in policing this violation. - The Indian government banned export of Peter Sagar's 'Moscow's Hand in India' on grounds it might affect USSR relations, five years after the book's Indian reprint. - The book documents Soviet propaganda operations through TASS and Novosti, and details how material is secretly funneled through the CPI's New Age Press Service. - This practice is alleged to violate the 'Third Country Rule' forbidding foreign missions from hostile propaganda against other friendly nations. - Sager's forensic analysis (verified by the Zurich City Police Scientific Division) found stencils prepared at the USSR Information Service office and merely relabelled by New Age. - The piece concludes that Communists in India act as agents of the Soviet government, and criticises the External Affairs Ministry's negligence. ### For Admissions, Come September *By GEETA DOCTOR* Geeta Doctor writes a satirical first-person account of the anxieties of school admissions for middle-class Bombay parents, following a child from birth-registration onward as parents scramble to secure a place through pull and influence years in advance, culminate in a tense interview process, and finally learn that the child's admission was secured despite (or without) the family's frantic string-pulling. - Registering a child's name at birth is described as merely the first step in a years-long, anxiety-ridden admissions process. - Parents are shown resorting to influence and 'pull' through architects, obstetricians, or any connection who can 'put in a word.' - The interview process is depicted as a masterpiece of intimidation, with children and parents kept waiting for hours amid absurd bureaucratic ritual. - The essay satirises the obsession with early literacy and numeracy even as one school announces no need for children to know their alphabets. - The cycle repeats itself identically for the family's second child at the story's close. ### Threats to Cultural Freedom This item reprints in full the resolutions unanimously adopted at the Biennial General Meeting of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom held in Bombay on 27 October 1972. The resolutions condemn a new government rule requiring scientists and academics to seek clearance through an all-India nominating body before attending seminars abroad; condemn threats to press freedom, including West Bengal Chief Minister Siddhartha Shankar Ray's pressure on the Hindustan Times and the arrest of Bipin Basu and forfeiture of the journal Point of View under the Punjab Security Act and Sections 153A/124A of the Penal Code; and oppose a Soviet proposal at UNESCO's 17th General Conference session that broadcasting nations obtain prior permission before beaming television via satellite, calling instead for free access to information. - The ICCF condemns a new rule requiring scientists, university teachers, and experts to seek clearance via an all-India body before attending seminars abroad, calling it totalitarian. - The Committee condemns West Bengal CM Siddhartha Shankar Ray's threats against the Hindustan Times over its Manipur/Bengal reportage. - It condemns the arrest of Bipin Basu and the government's forfeiture of the journal Point of View under the Punjab Security Act and Penal Code Sections 153A and 124A. - It deplores the Government of India's support for a Soviet UNESCO proposal requiring prior permission for satellite television broadcasts into a country. - The Committee calls on writers, academicians and intellectuals to protest these actions and on the government to withdraw the travel rule and abolish the 'P' Form mechanism. ### Awal's Principle: 'A General Theory' of Student Unrest *By DEEPA AWAL* Deepa Awal offers a satirical 'General Theory' of student unrest modelled explicitly on Keynes's General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, positing four determinants of an equilibrium level of student unrest: the multiplier effect (as the ratio of students to teachers rises, opportunities for indiscipline multiply); the declining marginal efficiency of university staff (as staff numbers grow, rivalries and discontent increase while real wages fall); the marginal propensity to consume learning (which decreases as a student advances to higher degrees, for reasons including deteriorating student-teacher relations, permissiveness even toward cheating, and rigid unchanging syllabi); and the quantity of university funds (whose misuse breeds student questioning and unrest). Awal concludes, with tongue firmly in cheek, that a high level of student unrest is 'highly desirable' as evidence students retain hope and sanity to protest against what is wrong with the education system. - The essay is styled as a parody of Keynesian economic theory applied to explain 'equilibrium' levels of student unrest. - Four factors are proposed: the multiplier effect, marginal efficiency of university staff, marginal propensity to consume learning, and quantity of university funds. - As students advance from S.S.C./H.S.L.C. to B.A./B.Sc. to M.A./M.Sc. to Ph.D., their 'propensity to consume learning' is said to decrease due to deteriorating student-teacher relations and rigid syllabi. - Increased university funding is said to increase instability because it gives students cause to question its (mis)appropriation. - The essay concludes that student unrest is 'highly desirable' as a sign that students retain the hope and sanity to protest against what is grossly wrong, and that the country's salvation lies in studying student rebellion. ### Reviews Hardayal Singh reviews Prakash Tandon's memoir 'Beyond Punjab' (Thomson Press India, pp. 222, Rs. 32.50), focusing on Tandon's difficult early career as a qualified Chartered Accountant navigating job discrimination in 1930s India, where European firms had no place for Indian managers and Indian family firms had no use for outsiders. The review recounts Tandon's eventual success at Levers, the discomfort of being the first Indian manager among European colleagues, his exclusion from European clubs even years after Independence, and lighter anecdotes including a Hyderabadi nobleman's daily 'exercise' ritual and the elaborate segregation of Indian train compartments by class, community, and sex during the 1930s. - Tandon, a Chartered Accountant trained in England, found neither European firms (which imported their own managers) nor Indian family firms had use for him. - He eventually succeeded at Levers/Unilever, rising to Chairman, but felt uneasy as the first Indian manager among European colleagues who addressed superiors by first name while he called them 'sir.' - The review compares Tandon's experience to Paul Scott's fictional character Hari Kumar (Harry Coomer), an English-raised Indian who could not get a job with an English company in India. - Tandon was barred from European clubs and hospital benefit schemes even years after Independence, and refused invitations from Europeans who had once excluded him. - The review includes lighter anecdotes: a Hyderabad nobleman's daily exercise ritual, and the elaborate segregation of Indian trains into eleven categories by class, community (Anglo-Indian), and sex during the 1930s. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff248/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 248 (January 1973), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with an editorial note mourning the death of C. Rajagopalachari on Christmas Day 1972 and moves through the magazine's usual mix of editorial commentary, reportage, and review. The 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column takes up Vietnam peace terms, the Allende government's difficulties in Chile, Jagjivan Ram's disavowal of Marxism, the Tamil Nadu Assembly chappal-throwing incident, Soviet bond issues aimed at Western private investors, and the renaming of Indian roads after 'contemporary nincompoops.' A. G. Noorani re-examines whether India offered Pakistan a Kashmir-for-Hyderabad-and-Junagadh barter in 1947, concluding President Bhutto's account is factually wrong though Pakistan's own conduct on plebiscites was equally inconsistent. Farok Contractor gives a skeptical account of the Asia '72 trade fair in Delhi, and James Burnham criticizes President Nixon's billion-dollar grain deal and technology transfers to the Soviet Union as strengthening an adversarial regime for dubious returns. Geeta Doctor profiles playwright Girish Karnad through a comparison of two stagings of Tughlaq. J. R.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 248 (January 1973), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with an editorial note mourning the death of C. Rajagopalachari on Christmas Day 1972 and moves through the magazine's usual mix of editorial commentary, reportage, and review. The 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column takes up Vietnam peace terms, the Allende government's difficulties in Chile, Jagjivan Ram's disavowal of Marxism, the Tamil Nadu Assembly chappal-throwing incident, Soviet bond issues aimed at Western private investors, and the renaming of Indian roads after 'contemporary nincompoops.' A. G. Noorani re-examines whether India offered Pakistan a Kashmir-for-Hyderabad-and-Junagadh barter in 1947, concluding President Bhutto's account is factually wrong though Pakistan's own conduct on plebiscites was equally inconsistent. Farok Contractor gives a skeptical account of the Asia '72 trade fair in Delhi, and James Burnham criticizes President Nixon's billion-dollar grain deal and technology transfers to the Soviet Union as strengthening an adversarial regime for dubious returns. Geeta Doctor profiles playwright Girish Karnad through a comparison of two stagings of Tughlaq. J. R. Patel's 'High Tide at Bandra Beach' satirizes a middle-class protest against a proposed bank training institute on Bandra Beach. The issue closes with two book reviews (a symposium on the crisis in higher education, and A. K. Warder's survey of Indian historiography), a reprinted Swiss report on Soviet propaganda infiltration of the Indian press, a page of contemporary quotations ('With Many Voices'), a Peanuts strip, and the subscription form for Freedom First. ## Essays ### High Tide at Bandra Beach *By J. R. Patel* J. R. Patel's 'High Tide at Bandra Beach' is a satirical first-person account of a Sunday demonstration against a proposed one-crore bank management training institute at Bandra Beach, Bombay. The piece mocks the protestors' performative radicalism and costuming, then the demonstration itself: Sheriff Mrs. Mehaboob Nasrullah's remarks on democracy, a call for a 'Demolition Squad,' accusations of corruption, and an MLA's promise to press the issue with the Chief Minister. Patel is skeptical that the protest changed anything, closing with an image of the crowd dispersing to buy street food from the same vendors they had just been protesting alongside. - The protest opposed a Rs. 1-crore bank management training institute (backed by the National Institute of Bank Management) planned for Bandra Beach. - Patel frames the demonstration as a performance of radical chic among the mostly middle-class attendees. - The Otter's Club, already built nearby, is cited as an example of exclusive, already-existing encroachment that protestors implicitly tolerate. - Sheriff Mrs. Mehaboob Nasrullah addressed the crowd on democracy and government responsiveness. - Darryl D'Monte, editor of the Times Weekly and organizer of the Save Bandra Beach Committee, welcomed and briefed attendees (article continues on page 15, covering further speeches by Municipal Councillor Boman-Behram and MLA George D'Souza). - Turnout of roughly 500 people is described as poor given the stakes. - Patel closes by criticizing the protestors' own indifference/hypocrisy toward the beach vendors whose livelihood depends on public use of the shore. ### A Kashmir-Hyderabad Barter? *By A. G. Noorani* The unsigned 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column (the editor's regular department) runs through several short items: praise for the journal's earlier skepticism of a Vietnam 'peace' deal and warnings against a 'peace of the graveyard'; a comparison of Chile's Allende government (38% of the vote) to Indira Gandhi's Congress (43%) as evidence that India's own government rests on a similarly thin democratic mandate, drawing on a Swiss commentator's critique of Allende; a mocking item on Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram belatedly denying he is a Marxist at a rally for Mrs. Gandhi's birthday; disapproval of MPs and MLAs throwing chappals in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly; a wry item on the Soviet Union raising capital from private Western investors via government bonds; and a closing item mocking the renaming of Indian roads (previously honoring Canning, Wellesley, Curzon, Clive, and Hastings) after obscure contemporary figures, including a Rae Bareilly road renamed for a personal staffer of the Prime Minister. - Approves the earlier December 1972 issue's rejection of a hasty Vietnam settlement and praises Thieu's refusal to accept a premature truce. - Cites Swiss commentator Charles Exbrayat's analysis that Allende's failure in Chile stemmed from pursuing radical change without majority support (38%), and draws a pointed parallel to Mrs. Gandhi's Congress winning only 43% of votes cast. - Reports Jagjivan Ram's belated denial, at an AICC gathering marking Mrs. Gandhi's birthday, that he is a Marxist, calling it 'queer birthday greetings.' - Criticizes the chappal-throwing incident in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and the resulting footwear ban for visitors. - Notes the Soviet Union's plan to raise capital from private investors in the West through government bonds, calling out the irony given Communist domestic policy. - Mocks the renaming of Indian roads named after colonial-era figures (Canning, Wellesley, Curzon, Clive, Hastings) in favour of obscure contemporary namesakes, citing a Rae Bareilly road renamed after a member of the Prime Minister's personal staff. ### Asia '72: Super Mela *By Farok Contractor* A. G. Noorani examines President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's November 1972 claim that India's Sardar Patel had once offered Pakistan Kashmir in exchange for Junagadh and Hyderabad. Noorani argues Bhutto is factually wrong: the actual November 1947 offer, recorded in Lord Mountbatten's note and Sardar Patel's published correspondence, proposed an overall settlement of all three princely states' accession based on the democratic principle that accession should follow the will of the people where ruler and majority community differed — not a barter of Kashmir specifically for the other two states. Drawing on the memoirs of Pakistani Secretary-General Chaudhri Mohammad Ali and correspondence between Nehru, Jinnah, and Liaquat Ali Khan, Noorani traces the collapse of plebiscite negotiations over 'modalities,' and closes by arguing that Jinnah's short-sighted insistence on rulers' rights (until reversed by India's own use of that argument in Kashmir) and Bhutto's own later intrigues both did lasting damage, while urging that 1973 is not too late to give Kashmir's people the democratic rights promised since 1947. - Bhutto told a tribal jirga at Landikotal on November 27, 1972 that Sardar Patel had once offered India would give Kashmir to Pakistan in exchange for Junagadh and Hyderabad, and that Pakistan 'unfortunately' declined. - Noorani finds the actual documented November 1947 offer (Mountbatten's note, Patel's published correspondence) proposed a general democratic principle for all three states' accession, not a specific Kashmir-for-Junagadh-and-Hyderabad swap. - Quotes at length from the Mountbatten-Jinnah discussion of November 1, 1947, in which Jinnah rejected a plebiscite formula that would have included Hyderabad. - Chaudhri Mohammad Ali's memoirs describe deadlocked November-December 1947 talks in Delhi and Lahore over the 'modalities' of a Kashmir plebiscite, including troop withdrawal and administration during the vote. - Notes Sardar Patel's own remark to Liaquat Ali Khan: 'Why do you compare Junagadh with Kashmir? Talk of Hyderabad and Kashmir, and we could reach an agreement.' - Concludes both India and Pakistan behaved with cynicism and inconsistency on communal grounds and the use of force, and that Jinnah's rigid legalism and Bhutto's later confrontational policy over Kashmir both damaged Pakistan, culminating in the 1971 breakup. - Argues it is 'not too late' in 1973 to give Kashmir's people the democratic rights promised in 1947. ### Feeding Those That Bite *By James Burnham* Farok Contractor recounts a visit to the Asia '72 (rebranded India '72) trade fair in Delhi shortly before its official close on December 17, 1972. He describes the foreign pavilions as neglected and understaffed by the fair's final days, with little sign of genuine international trade, even as domestic visitors flocked to it as cheap entertainment — a 'Super Mela.' He praises the architectural quality of many Indian pavilions but singles out Bihar's and especially Goa's exhibits as shoddy and poorly maintained, describing Goa's near-empty display cases. He closes wondering whether the entire fair had any real relevance to Asian trade, given crowds were more interested in eating snacks and buying consumer goods than negotiating deals. - Asia '72 (later India '72) trade fair in Delhi officially ended December 17, 1972; Contractor visited in its final days. - Foreign pavilions were largely unmanned, neglected, and showed little real international trade activity by fair's end. - Newspapers called the fair a triumph for India's exports, but Contractor is skeptical, noting other countries seemed to sell little beyond items within import limits. - Domestic visitors treated the fair as an inexhaustible source of cheap entertainment ('Super Mela'), regardless of the trade purpose. - Praises the architectural design of many Indian pavilions (sloping planes, parabolic curves) as a departure from typical urban Indian construction. - Singles out Bihar and especially Goa's pavilions as shoddy, sparsely stocked, and poorly staffed, in contrast to well-kept private-sector and State Trading Corporation exhibits. - Describes attendees eating ragda and buying local consumer goods rather than engaging in trade negotiations, questioning the fair's relevance to actual Asian trade. ### Tughlaq and Its Creator *By Geeta Doctor* James Burnham criticizes President Nixon's plan to ship a billion dollars' worth of U.S. grain, factories, computers, and technology to the Soviet Union to address its worst grain deficit in history, arguing that Communist regimes are structurally unable to feed their populations because farmers under such systems lack incentive. He warns that strengthening Soviet infrastructure (especially trucking, on which he says Hitler's defeat partly hinged) primarily benefits and legitimizes the Communist regime rather than its people, since regime stability is closely tied to the population's food situation. Burnham is skeptical of the economic and strategic rationale for the deals — noting the U.S. gets little of value in return besides Jewish emigration priced at $10,000-$35,000 a head — and proposes that any negotiations should demand reciprocal Soviet concessions opening up Soviet society (free entry/exit, books, periodicals, radio and TV) rather than simply strengthening the regime for uncertain returns. - Nixon authorized U.S. firms to build a huge factory complex and supply trucks, computers, chemical/synthetic fabric plants, and Siberian oil/gas development technology to the USSR. - Burnham argues Communist regimes chronically cannot produce enough food because farmers lack interest or incentive under collectivized systems, contrasting pre-Communist grain-surplus status of Russia and Eastern Europe. - Warns that U.S.-supplied trucking capacity in particular would strengthen the Soviet regime; invokes the historical claim that Hitler would have won the Nazi-Soviet war without U.S. trucks. - Sees little clear benefit to America from the deal: minimal raw materials or manufactured goods needed from the USSR, mostly deferred/speculative oil and gas prospects. - The one clear 'payment' identified is emigration of Soviet Jews, priced by the Kremlin at $10,000 to $35,000 per head. - Criticizes the 'belly-Communism theory' that a well-fed Communist state becomes friendlier, calling it historically unsupported (citing Persia, Athens, Rome, Germany, Japan, USSR). - Proposes the U.S. should demand reciprocal openness measures from Moscow -- free movement of people, books, periodicals, radio and TV -- as a condition of the deals. ### The Crisis in Higher Education (Review) *By Kamla Chowdhry* Geeta Doctor profiles playwright Girish Karnad on the occasion of his acclaimed play Tughlaq being published in book form by Oxford University Press, comparing the Theater Group's flashier 1970 Bombay stage production (led by Kabir Bedi) with Karnad's own more carefully constructed text. She argues Karnad synthesizes Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq's historical cruelty and visionary idealism into a coherent tragic figure, tracing the play's turning point (Scene Six) and the role of the opportunist Aziz as an ironic mirror to Tughlaq's failed idealism. Doctor judges the play episodic and somewhat manipulative in its secondary characters but ultimately establishes Karnad among India's leading contemporary playwrights, showing that a play addressing an Indian historical theme can succeed both in the original Kannada and in English translation. - Karnad's Tughlaq was newly published in book form by Oxford University Press, the first in a new drama series. - Contrasts the visually spectacular 1970 Theater Group Bombay production starring Kabir Bedi with Karnad's more measured written text. - Argues Karnad's play synthesizes the historical Tughlaq's cruelty and visionary idealism into a coherent tragic character rather than resolving the contradiction. - Identifies Scene Six as the play's turning point, where Tughlaq loses control of events he once dominated. - Describes the character Aziz, an opportunistic dhobi, as an ironic mirror of Tughlaq whose success contrasts with Tughlaq's failure. - Notes the play's structural weakness: episodic construction and somewhat thinly drawn secondary characters. - Concludes Tughlaq's success in both Kannada and English translation establishes Karnad among India's foremost contemporary playwrights. ### A Survey of Indian Historiography (Review) *By A. Chatterjee* Kamla Chowdhry reviews The Crisis in Higher Education (edited by G. D. Parikh, Leslie Sawhny Programme, Bombay), a collection of papers from a seminar co-sponsored by the Leslie Sawhny Programme for Training for Democracy and the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung in January 1971. She summarizes contributions by Prof. V. V. John (locating the crisis in declining academic standards and teacher failure), Prof. A. B. Shah (on the politics of university reform and the need for concerned intellectuals and outside institutional support), and J. P. Naik (offering concrete policy suggestions endorsed by the seminar). Chowdhry raises pointed questions about whether the volume's recommendations were ever addressed to an identifiable decision-maker, but recommends the inexpensive volume as worth acquiring for its range of establishment academic views on the crisis. - The volume collects seminar papers from a January 1971 Bombay seminar sponsored by the Leslie Sawhny Programme and Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung. - Prof. V. V. John's paper argues the crisis is a decline in academic standards constituting 'a major crisis in higher education,' locating failure among both teachers and the student clientele. - Prof. A. B. Shah's paper addresses politics-in-universities and recommends educating policy-making groups and creating institutions insulated from government and popular pressure. - J. P. Naik made concrete policy suggestions for higher education reform, endorsed by the seminar. - Chowdhry questions whether any of the recommendations were ever directed at an identified decision-maker or implemented. - Recommends the volume (Rs. 10) as worth acquiring for its range of establishment academic perspectives on the causes of the crisis. ### Moscow's Hand in India: A Swiss View A. Chatterjee reviews A. K. Warder's A Survey of Indian Historiography (Popular Prakashan, Bombay), praising it as a comprehensive chronological and geographical survey (including chapters on Ceylon and Nepal) that defends the indigenous pauranika tradition of Indian historical writing against dismissal by foreign and Indian historians trained in the Graeco-Roman mold. The review discusses Warder's argument that ancient Indian historians embellished factual accounts with legend and folklore as an integral part of their belief-structure rather than mere unreliability, and that this should not disqualify Indian historiography from serious study, especially given modern Western historiographical schools (citing Collingwood and Toynbee) that also question a purely 'string of facts' model of history. Chatterjee notes Warder singles out S. A. Dange as an 'honourable exception' among modern historians, and closes by recommending the book strongly to readers interested in probing assumptions about Indian historiography, though not as casual or introductory reading. - Warder's book surveys Indian historiography chronologically and geographically, including chapters on Ceylon and Nepal. - Warder criticizes 'imperial' historians for disregarding ancient Indian historical writing and instead proposes the 'pauranika Indian view' as the true tradition of Indian civilisation's historiography. - Warder singles out Comrade S. A. Dange (author of India from Primitive Communism to Slavery) as an 'honourable exception' among modern historians. - Chatterjee notes ancient Indian historians embedded folklore and legend in their accounts as integral to contemporary belief-structures, not simply as unreliable reporting, citing Kalhana's Rajatarangini as an example despite its reputation for realism. - Cites R. G. Collingwood's idealistic school of historiography and Arnold Toynbee's remark that historical study is governed by the dominant tendencies of its time and place, to contextualize why Indian historiography should not be judged solely by 19th-century positivist standards. - Chatterjee recommends the book for readers who wish to probe the basic assumptions of history as commonly taught, but warns it is not casual reading. ### With Many Voices An unsigned piece, credited to the Swiss Press Review, discusses Dr. Peter Sager's 1966 book Moscow's Hand in India, which documented extensive Soviet infiltration of the Indian press and bribery/corruption on a 'grand scale,' including evidence that the Communist Party of India (which claimed independence from Moscow) was effectively directed from the Soviet Embassy's Information Department. The piece notes India's dependence on the Soviet Union has increased since 1966 rather than decreased, and reports that India has banned export of the book, which the piece interprets as evidence the Indian government does not want the extent of Soviet influence known. It states the book remains available through a Swiss bookseller and recommends it as still relevant today, given that Soviet propaganda activity in developing countries has only intensified since 1966. - Discusses Dr. Peter Sager's 1966 book Moscow's Hand in India, based on Zurich police department analysis of evidence including material allegedly typed in the Soviet Embassy's Information Department in New Delhi. - Describes the Communist Party of India's claimed independence from Moscow as compromised by direct Soviet Embassy involvement in Indian media influence. - States India's reliance on and infiltration by the Soviet Union has increased, not decreased, since 1966. - Reports the Indian government banned export of the book on grounds it could affect 'friendly relations with the USSR.' - The book remains available outside India through SOI Booksellers in Berne, Switzerland, at 25.50 Swiss francs plus postage. - Frames the book's relevance as extending beyond India, given increased Soviet propaganda activity across the developing world since 1966. ### Essay 10 The back-page 'With Many Voices' column, headed by a Tennyson epigraph, gathers short quotations from contemporary public figures and publications on politics and world affairs, including remarks by C. Rajagopalachari, Mao Tse-tung, Piloo Mody, Billy Graham, Nirad Chaudhuri, A. G. Noorani, William F. Buckley, a Chinese Vice Foreign Minister, Ayn Rand on George McGovern, and The Economist. The page also carries the Freedom First subscription form and the masthead identifying J. R. Patel as Associate Editor and the printer/publisher details. - Column epigraph is from Tennyson: 'The deep moans round with many voices... 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.' - Quotes C. Rajagopalachari (Illustrated Weekly) on the depressing political situation compelling recourse to God. - Quotes Mao Tse-tung twice via Time magazine, including a remark about revolution being made 'with men who eat bark' rather than well-paid taxi-drivers. - Quotes Nirad Chaudhuri twice via Illustrated Weekly, including that 'Socialism in India is only middle-class capitalism... the expression of hatred of the poor against the rich.' - Quotes Ayn Rand (National Review) calling McGovern's candidacy 'a declaration of war on the American people by America's intellectuals.' - Includes the Freedom First subscription form (Rs. 5 annual, Rs. 3 for students) addressed to Democratic Research Service, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1. - Masthead states the issue was published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel, Associate Editor, and printed at Inland Printers, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff250/ ### Summary Freedom First issue no. 250 (March 1973), edited by M. R. Masani, is a 16-page issue of the classical-liberal monthly published by the Democratic Research Service in Bombay. Its lead article, B. Ratnasabhapati's 'Andhra in Ferment,' reports on the Telangana-Andhra bifurcation agitation following the Supreme Court's Mulki Rules judgment, describing a strike by non-gazetted officers, CRP firings on protesters, and a breakdown of central authority in the state. The editorial column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' comments on Pakistani POWs still held in India, Indira Gandhi's remarks on racism, and factional maneuvering inside the Jana Sangh, Swatantra Party, and the Biju Patnaik-led Orissa 'Pragati' alliance (rebuffed by Jayaprakash Narayan). A short news item covers the Liberal International's Executive Council meeting in Jerusalem. The rest of the issue carries a first-person account by a blind M.A. student on the neglect of disabled people in India, Geeta Doctor's comic account of attending a Test match at the Brabourne Stadium, Nissim Ezekiel's critical review of Suzanne Labin's anti-hippie polemic, book reviews by R. K. Laxman and A. H. Desai, J. R.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue no. 250 (March 1973), edited by M. R. Masani, is a 16-page issue of the classical-liberal monthly published by the Democratic Research Service in Bombay. Its lead article, B. Ratnasabhapati's 'Andhra in Ferment,' reports on the Telangana-Andhra bifurcation agitation following the Supreme Court's Mulki Rules judgment, describing a strike by non-gazetted officers, CRP firings on protesters, and a breakdown of central authority in the state. The editorial column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' comments on Pakistani POWs still held in India, Indira Gandhi's remarks on racism, and factional maneuvering inside the Jana Sangh, Swatantra Party, and the Biju Patnaik-led Orissa 'Pragati' alliance (rebuffed by Jayaprakash Narayan). A short news item covers the Liberal International's Executive Council meeting in Jerusalem. The rest of the issue carries a first-person account by a blind M.A. student on the neglect of disabled people in India, Geeta Doctor's comic account of attending a Test match at the Brabourne Stadium, Nissim Ezekiel's critical review of Suzanne Labin's anti-hippie polemic, book reviews by R. K. Laxman and A. H. Desai, J. R. Patel's review of Vijay Tendulkar's play Sakharam Binder, and a closing page of quoted aphorisms ('With Many Voices'). All 16 pages of the issue were rendered, so this record covers the complete issue. ## Essays ### Andhra in Ferment *By B. Ratnasabhapati* B. Ratnasabhapati, a member of the Andhra Legislative Assembly and Vice President of the Swatantra Party in Andhra, reports on the movement to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh into Telangana and Andhra following the Supreme Court's October 1972 ruling upholding the Mulki Rules (job-reservation provisions dating to 1918 favoring residents of the former Hyderabad State). He traces the formation of the Andhra Praja Parishad at a Swatantra-initiated conference in Guntur, the escalation from a limited demand (scrapping the Mulki Rules) to a full statehood agitation, and the strike by non-gazetted officers that paralyzed the state administration. The essay emphasizes the agitation's Gandhian civil-disobedience character and heavy participation of women, and, in its continuation, catalogues CRP firings that killed over three hundred people, denies that Naxalites are behind the movement, names Swatantra Party leaders (Latchanna, Satyanarayana, Tenneti Viswanathan) as directing it, describes a parallel local administration collecting land taxes to pay salaries, and concludes that the Indira Gandhi government's authority in Andhra has effectively collapsed. - The Mulki Rules (1918) gave job preference to residents of the former Hyderabad State; the Supreme Court upheld them in October 1972, reversing its own 1969 ruling. - A Swatantra-initiated conference at Guntur (Nov 18-19, 1972) formed the Andhra Praja Parishad, initially demanding only scrapping of the Mulki Rules. - When that limited objective failed, the Parishad declared a state-wide separation struggle; non-gazetted government officers subsequently joined the strike. - The agitation is marked by mass participation of women, Gandhian civil disobedience, and orderly, disciplined public meetings. - CRP (Central Reserve Police) forces, described as not understanding Telugu, have fired on crowds, killing over 300 people according to the author. - The author denies government claims that Naxalites control the agitation, asserting Naxalite strength in the state had already been suppressed. - Swatantra Party leaders are named as the effective leadership of the agitation, and a parallel local administration (e.g., in Cuddapah district) is collecting taxes to fund the strike. - The author concludes the Delhi government's writ has effectively ceased to run in Andhra and predicts eventual bifurcation. ### Day Labour, Light Denied *By Raghunath Rakibe* The unsigned 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column takes up several current topics: the continued detention of Pakistani prisoners of war in India despite International Commission of Jurists protests and a Times of London editorial urging their release; Indira Gandhi's comments on 'black racialism' regarding Idi Amin and a British Labour MP's rejoinder about the universality of cruelty; and internal maneuvering within the Jana Sangh (Balraj Madhok's criticism of a 'personality cult' and call for alliance with the Swatantra Party), the Swatantra Party's uneasy alliance with Biju Patnaik's discredited Pragati grouping in Orissa, and Patnaik's failed attempt to recruit Jayaprakash Narayan into a national opposition front, which Narayan publicly declined while issuing a set of principles for opposition unity. - Criticizes New Delhi for the continued detention of 90,000 Pakistani POWs despite ICJ protests and calls from Senator Edward Kennedy and the Times of London for their release. - Notes Indira Gandhi's growing awareness of 'black racialism' regarding Idi Amin, and a British Labour MP's counter that cruelty is universal, not race-specific, citing Northern Ireland and Nigeria-Biafra. - Reports Balraj Madhok's public denunciation of a 'personality cult' in the Jana Sangh and his call for the party to ally with the Swatantra Party against Congress. - Criticizes the Orissa Swatantra Party's opportunistic alliance with discredited politicians Biju Patnaik and Harikrishna Mahtab, contrasting it with a similar failed maneuver in Gujarat. - Describes Biju Patnaik's attempt to build a national 'alternative leadership' opposition front and his approach to Jayaprakash Narayan, which Narayan declined while laying out principles for legitimate opposition unity. ### World Liberals Meet Raghunath Rakibe, a second-year M.A. student in Political Science at Bombay University who is himself blind, writes a first-person account of the social neglect facing India's blind population. He describes pervasive pity and condescension from society, the near-total absence of technical education, braille literature, and vocational training, and the fact that only about one percent of India's blind population has access to educational institutions. He contrasts India's lack of any constitutional or parliamentary channel for redressing the blind community's grievances with the provisions that exist for Scheduled Castes/Tribes and Anglo-Indians, and calls for enforceable rights to employment (citing radio announcing jobs in the U.S.A. as a model) rather than continued reliance on charity or self-employment such as lottery-ticket selling. - The author describes societal pity and condescension toward the blind as more disabling than blindness itself, and notes differing treatment between family, friends, and professors. - Educational institutions for the blind can accommodate only five to six thousand people, about one percent of the estimated blind population. - Braille literature, technical education, and music training for the blind are extremely scarce in India, unlike in Western countries. - Self-employment options like selling State Lottery tickets are described as degrading, and workshop wages for the blind are called very poor. - The author cites the U.S. practice of employing blind people as radio announcers as a model reform, and criticizes India's lack of legal enforcement mechanisms for employing the blind. - Unlike Scheduled Castes/Tribes or the Anglo-Indian community (with dedicated parliamentary representation), the blind have no constitutional channel to voice grievances. ### Come All Ye Faithful *By Geeta Doctor* A brief unsigned news report on the Executive Council of the Liberal International (World Liberal Union), which met in Jerusalem on 27-28 January 1973, attended by M. R. Masani representing the Indian Liberal Group. The report summarizes the Council's statement on European Community expansion, its call for international measures against terrorism (citing the Hague and Montreal treaties), its condemnation of civil-rights denials to Jews in the USSR and their persecution in Syria and Iraq, its position on the Vietnam cease-fire, and its condemnation of the expulsion of Asians from Uganda and criticism of British immigration law splitting affected families. - The Liberal International's Executive Council met in Jerusalem, marking only the second time in its 26-year history it met outside Europe. - M. R. Masani attended representing the Indian Liberal Group, described as a Patron of the Liberal International. - The Council called for ratification and implementation of the Hague and Montreal treaties against acts of terrorism and piracy. - The statement condemned denial of civil rights to Jews in the USSR and their persecution in Syria and Iraq, calling for release of prisoners of conscience. - The Council reiterated condemnation of the expulsion of Asians from Uganda and criticized British immigration law for splitting affected families. ### A Case Against the Hippies *By Nissim Ezekiel* Theatre critic Geeta Doctor writes a comic first-person account of attending a Test match at the Brabourne Stadium in Bombay as a cricket novice. She satirizes the ritualized, quasi-religious devotion of Indian cricket fans -- their binoculars, transistor radios, and emotional outbursts -- describing the crowd's behavior in terms of religious congregation and true believers versus non-believers. The piece closes wryly on the mesmerizing, inconclusive nature of Test cricket and the crowd's reluctance to leave even after play ends. - The author, a self-described cricket novice, frames Test cricket as a slow-paced ritual suited to what she calls 'the Oriental ethos.' - She satirizes fans' devotional behavior at the Brabourne Stadium -- binoculars, transistor radios, chanted cricket commentary -- as religious ceremony. - She distinguishes 'true believers' who lead crowd emotion from casual spectators using binoculars for people-watching instead of cricket. - The essay closes on the crowd's reluctance to leave the stadium even after the match's conclusion. ### Confessions of a Workaholic (review of Dr. Wayne Oates) *By R. K. Laxman* Nissim Ezekiel reviews Suzanne Labin's book Hippies, Drugs and Promiscuity, describing Labin as a seasoned anti-communist political-warfare researcher whose case against the hippie movement, while well-researched, imposes a single narrow viewpoint that treats every hippie trait as sin. Ezekiel argues the sexual revolution, bohemianism, and drug culture have independent causes beyond the hippie movement, defends hippie dress and lifestyle as harmless, and challenges Labin's claims about hippie anti-intellectualism, commercialism, and moral character, concluding her case is 'fundamentally unsound' even while acknowledging a genuine case exists against hippie drug dependence. - Labin is described as President of the International Conference on Political Warfare, having advised the U.S., Brazil, South Vietnam, and other governments; her book is framed as an exercise in political warfare rather than balanced analysis. - Ezekiel argues the sexual revolution and bohemian/avant-garde culture have independent origins and would persist even if the hippie movement vanished entirely. - He rejects Labin's claim that hippies 'mistrust all intellectual creation,' citing hippies' civil-service exam scores as evidence to the contrary (a fact Labin herself concedes). - He challenges the claim that hippies are uniquely driven by mass consumption, noting Labin's own data that hippies live on one-fourth the income of average American workers. - The essay questions Labin's citation of the Linda Fitzpatrick and Sharon Tate murders as representative of hippie culture, noting murders occur in 'straight' society too. - Ezekiel concludes that while there is a legitimate case against hippies (particularly drug dependence), Labin's formulation of that case is fundamentally unsound. ### Aretino's Dialogues (review) *By A. H. Desai* R. K. Laxman, India's foremost cartoonist, reviews Dr. Wayne Oates's book Confessions of a Workaholic, explaining Oates's coinage of 'workaholic' for people whose obsessive relationship to work mirrors alcohol addiction. Laxman summarizes Oates's typology of workaholics (Dyed-in-the-wool, Situational, Pseudo-Workaholic, among others) and his recommended remedies -- shedding excess workload, prioritizing family time, meditation, and rekindling old friendships. - Oates coined 'workaholic' to describe a person whose work involvement resembles drug addiction, with harmful effects on family, health, and colleagues. - Laxman highlights several of Oates's workaholic types: the Dyed-in-the-wool Workaholic (a perfectionist, permanently unhappy), the Situational Workaholic (driven by job insecurity), and the Pseudo-Workaholic (the most common, driven by ambition for promotion). - Oates's prescribed remedies include recognizing the addiction, shedding excess work, and rebuilding family and social relationships through meditation, walks, and renewed friendships. ### Sakharam Not a Binder *By J. R. Patel* A. H. Desai reviews Raymond Rosenthal's translation of Pietro Aretino's The Dialogues, describing Aretino as a Renaissance satirist and blackmailer of Italian princes whose Dialogues -- structured as conversations among women describing life as wife, whore, or nun -- offer a frank but, in Desai's view, non-pornographic depiction of Renaissance sexual and social mores. The review focuses on the character Nanna's instruction of her daughter Pippa in the courtesan's trade, quoting extensively from Nanna's cynical advice about managing clients' emotions and flattery. - Aretino, a figure of the late Italian Renaissance, made his name as a satirist and 'blackmailer of princes'; The Dialogues is his major surviving work, newly available in complete English translation. - The book depicts the only three occupations open to Renaissance women -- wife, whore, or nun -- through frank first-person accounts. - The review centers on Nanna's instruction of her daughter Pippa in the courtesan's trade, including advice on handling clients across nationalities and ages. - Desai, following the translator, argues the work's eroticism has 'the vigour and health of a public spectacle' rather than the 'sickly' character of modern pornography, and concludes it is not pornography despite its frankness. ### With Many Voices Associate Editor J. R. Patel reviews Vijay Tendulkar's controversial play Sakharam Binder, arguing the play's box-office success owes more to its obscenity prosecution (a police complaint that turned a mediocre commercial play into a 'cause celebre') than to its artistic merit. Patel summarizes the plot -- a violent, misogynistic bookbinder, Sakharam, and the women he takes in, Laxmi and later Champa, whose escalating cruelty and betrayal drive the play to its tragic end -- and criticizes Tendulkar for handling shocking scenes (domestic violence, alcoholic rage) without subtlety, concluding the play would not have succeeded without the obscenity controversy. - Patel argues Sakharam Binder became a commercial success largely because of an obscenity complaint to police, not its artistic quality, which he considers crude and unoriginal. - The plot centers on Sakharam (Girish Desai), a violent, misogynistic bookbinder, and the women he takes as live-in companions: the devoted Laxmi (Dina Pathak) and the tougher, dissolute Champa (Tarla Mehta). - A subplot involves Sakharam's Muslim friend Dawood, used by Tendulkar to also provoke controversy around religion. - Patel criticizes Tendulkar for depicting violence, alcoholism, and cruelty without subtlety, arguing the play could have retained its impact with more restraint. - The review closes with two humorous quoted epigrams about cricket, from Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw, appended as filler under 'Glorious Cricket.' ### Essay 10 The closing page 'With Many Voices' is an unsigned compilation of quotations drawn from Indian and international press (Times of India, Illustrated Weekly, Hindustan Times, Statesman, Foreign Affairs, and others), touching on Nehru, Marxism-Leninism versus rival nationalist ideologies, race and skin color rhetoric around Krishna and Draupadi, government surveillance of Rajaji, Gandhiji and Minoo Masani, and commentary on foreign policy and ceasefires by Prof. C. Northcote Parkinson, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. - The page compiles brief quotations from Indian and international newspapers and magazines on political topics of the day. - Balraj Madhok is quoted (from the Statesman) describing a 'crucial battle' between Marxism-Leninism-Nehruism and the ideology associated with Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Rajendra Prasad, Malaviya, Hedgewar, and Shyama Prasad Mookerjee. - M. S. Golwalkar is quoted asserting that Krishna and Draupadi were 'black' and that 'we are all blacks.' - H. V. R. Iyengar is quoted stating the government kept 'fat dossiers' on figures including Rajaji, Gandhiji, and Minoo Masani. - The page closes with Prof. C. Northcote Parkinson's quoted view (from Foreign Affairs) on the dangers of premature calls for ceasefires in armed conflicts. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff249/ ### Summary Freedom First issue no. 249 (February 1973), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with S. V. Raju's tribute to C. Rajagopalachari ("Rajaji"), who had recently died, recounting his role in founding the Swatantra Party with Masani and his enduring moral authority over its members. The editor reports on his own six-day visit to South Vietnam, including a helicopter flight to the besieged town of An Loc, and relays President Thieu's and the Vietnamese government's optimism about the war effort. The issue also carries Mani Meherhomji's as-told-to profile of an aging Bombay prostitute, A. Chatterjee's survey of Soviet repression of dissidents (built around Natalia Gorbanevskaya's book Red Square at Noon), Leslie Daniel's retrospective assessment of the Malavli youth festival (Sneha Yatra), Geeta Doctor's review of Girish Karnad's play Hayavadana, and A. G. Noorani's skeptical review of J. Bernard Hutton's book The Subverters of Liberty.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue no. 249 (February 1973), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with S. V. Raju's tribute to C. Rajagopalachari ("Rajaji"), who had recently died, recounting his role in founding the Swatantra Party with Masani and his enduring moral authority over its members. The editor reports on his own six-day visit to South Vietnam, including a helicopter flight to the besieged town of An Loc, and relays President Thieu's and the Vietnamese government's optimism about the war effort. The issue also carries Mani Meherhomji's as-told-to profile of an aging Bombay prostitute, A. Chatterjee's survey of Soviet repression of dissidents (built around Natalia Gorbanevskaya's book Red Square at Noon), Leslie Daniel's retrospective assessment of the Malavli youth festival (Sneha Yatra), Geeta Doctor's review of Girish Karnad's play Hayavadana, and A. G. Noorani's skeptical review of J. Bernard Hutton's book The Subverters of Liberty. The volume's argumentative center, across pieces on Rajaji, Vietnam, and Soviet dissent, is a defence of individual liberty against both communist and domestic statist overreach, paired with lighter cultural and human-interest reporting characteristic of the magazine's format. ## Essays ### "Carry On," said Rajaji *By S. V. RAJU* S. V. Raju's tribute describes the outpouring of grief at C. Rajagopalachari's (Rajaji's) death and argues that Rajaji spent his last fifteen years as a one-man opposition to Nehru, distressed at India's drift toward statism. Raju recounts Rajaji founding the Swatantra Party with Masani in 1959 after concluding that Congress had taken a dangerous turn toward a controlling state, quotes Rajaji's own words on the founding of the party and his critique of "socialism" as a euphemism for statism, and closes with a personal anecdote of Raju's last meeting with Rajaji in Madras in June 1972, where Rajaji urged him to "carry on" and keep the party's old guard together. - Rajaji's death drew tributes across all political and social lines, which the author reads as testimony to his versatility and reach beyond his own class. - N. A. Palkhivala's tribute is quoted at length: Rajaji's most memorable work was what he attempted without success late in life, to rekindle the spirit of liberty. - Rajaji considered Nehru's Congress to concentrate all real political thought around anticipating Nehru's own mind, leaving no room for dissent. - Rajaji founded the Swatantra Party with Masani as a deliberate alternative to Congress, the Jana Sangh (seen as communally driven), and a monolithic Communist Party. - Rajaji attacked 'socialism' as a euphemism for Statism, illustrated by his aphorism about paint boxes and pictures. - By 1973 the Swatantra Party is described as in difficulties, blamed partly on the Congress split but chiefly on the Party's own failure to live up to Rajaji's and Masani's founding standards. - The author's personal recollections of Rajaji emphasize his sharp memory, his 'mischievous twinkle,' and his terse, businesslike manner even in his eighties. - The essay ends with Rajaji's final instruction to the author in June 1972: to 'carry on' and keep the Swatantra Party's 'old guard' together. ### Editor's Impression of Vietnam This unsigned editorial report (attributed to editor M. R. Masani, referred to in the third person) describes Masani's six-day visit to the Republic of Vietnam at the invitation of the Vietnam Council on Foreign Relations. Masani met Foreign Minister Tran Van Lam and other officials, was briefed by generals Nguyen Van Minh and Hung, flew by helicopter to the besieged town of An Loc to pay tribute to the defending ARVN forces, and visited a rural development programme village. He came away with an impression of 'stability, strength and high morale,' congratulated President Thieu on his firm negotiating stance, and reflected that many Indians sympathized with South Vietnam's fight against Communist expansion. - Masani visited Vietnam for six days at the invitation of the Vietnam Council on Foreign Relations, departing with an impression of 'stability, strength and high morale.' - He met Foreign Minister Tran Van Lam and was briefed by Lt. General Nguyen Van Minh and General Hung, 'the hero of An Loc.' - He flew by helicopter to An Loc to honor the ARVN defenders and visited the rural development programme village of An Thanh in Kien Hoa province. - Masani congratulated President Thieu for resisting a 'patched up peace' and invoked Gandhi's preference for genuine peace over 'the peace of the grave-yard.' - The piece frames Indian sympathy for South Vietnam as part of solidarity against Communist expansion in South East Asia. ### Stranger In The Night *By MANI MEHERHOMJI* Mani Meherhomji's feature is an as-told-to account of an aging Bombay prostitute, given the pseudonym 'Janet,' who describes her decades in the trade around Colaba and Warden Road: her introduction to sex at sixteen at a Colaba dance school, her methods and those of other prostitutes for extracting extra money from clients (including a detailed account of a woman who drugs and robs clients), her relationships with a 'Welshman' and an earlier partner named Casey, the children she bore and in one case gave up for adoption, a period in London where she was arrested for begging, and her eventual retreat from prostitution because her teenage daughter's disapproval mattered more to her than income. The piece closes on Janet's reflection that prostitution 'begins with starvation, poverty and no education' but 'once it gets into your blood you can't give it up.' - Janet (a pseudonym) recounts her introduction to prostitution at sixteen at a Colaba dance school and her subsequent decades working Colaba and Warden Road. - She describes tricks used by prostitutes to extract extra money from clients, including one who drugs clients with alcohol, robs their wallets, and sews the cash into her hemline. - She recounts relationships with two men, 'Casey' and a 'Welshman,' the children she had by them, and giving up one son for adoption to New Zealand. - She was briefly arrested by London police for begging with a baby while abroad with the Welshman. - She stopped active prostitution because her teenage daughter, unaware at first, threatened to disown her if she continued, and that affection mattered more than money. - Janet frames prostitution as originating in 'starvation, poverty and no education' but says the trade, once entered, is nearly impossible to leave. ### Crackdown on Dissent in Russia *By A. CHATTERJEE* A. Chatterjee surveys Soviet repression of political dissent, opening with the ideological roots of intolerance of opposition in Lenin- and Stalin-era Marxism and the show trials that consumed early revolutionaries. The article examines the gap between the 1936 Soviet Constitution's guarantees of speech, press, and assembly and the restrictive criminal-code articles (70, 190/1, 190/3) used to prosecute dissidents, using Natalia Gorbanevskaya's book Red Square at Noon as its central case study of the August 1968 Red Square demonstration against the invasion of Czechoslovakia and the subsequent trial and psychiatric incarceration of protesters. It surveys the wider dissident movement (the Chronicle of Current Events, the Human Rights Committee, figures such as Sakharov and Solzhenitsyn), and closes with an account of intensified crackdowns (Pyotr Yakir's arrest, Yuri Galanskov's death, Buddhist monks arrested) attributed to Soviet anxiety that détente-era openness could destabilize the system. - The article traces Marxist intolerance of dissent from Lenin and Trotsky through Stalin's purges of the Revolution's own founders. - The 1936 Soviet Constitution's Article 125 nominally guarantees speech, press, assembly, and demonstration, but is undercut by qualifying phrases and criminal code Articles 70, 190/1, and 190/3. - Natalia Gorbanevskaya's book Red Square at Noon documents the August 1968 Red Square protest against the invasion of Czechoslovakia and the arrest, trial, and psychiatric detention of the protesters. - Psychiatric hospitals under KGB supervision are described as a mechanism for declaring dissent itself a symptom of mental illness. - A clandestine Human Rights Committee and the underground Chronicle of Current Events sustain a dissident network despite constant risk of arrest. - Internationally known figures like Sakharov, Solzhenitsyn and Rostropovich are described as relatively protected by their eminence. - The piece closes on renewed repression -- the arrest of Pyotr Yakir, the death of Yuri Galanskov, and the arrest of Buddhist monks -- attributed to Soviet fears that détente-era contact with the West could erode the regime's control. ### Encore for Malavli *By LESLIE DANIEL* Leslie Daniel gives a retrospective assessment of the Malavli Youth Festival ('Sneha Yatra'), conceding it was an organisational achievement but arguing that its planners misjudged the mood of youth by pairing intellectual discussion with entertainment: the young attendees embraced the music, dancing, and camp-style independence from parental supervision, but showed little interest in the planned lectures and debates. Daniel defends the festival against critics who called it a failure, noting some five thousand attendees at peak, well-run and inexpensive catering, and largely creditable behaviour apart from isolated incidents and some off-colour language from the compere that Daniel calls 'uncalled for and unnecessary.' He closes advocating for further such youth festivals as a chance for young people to mix across class, creed, and caste lines. - The Malavli Youth Festival ('Sneha Yatra') is judged an organisational success but a misjudgement of youth mood, since planned intellectual discussions failed to engage attendees who wanted holiday-style fun. - Attendance peaked around five thousand with a resident crowd of about three thousand; catering and accommodation are praised as capable and inexpensive. - Indian music, initially met with slow appreciation from western-oriented youth, ultimately built rapport with the audience. - Off-colour language by the compere is criticised as unnecessary and as having given critics of the festival ammunition. - Daniel argues the festival gave youth a rare chance to be independent of parental supervision and to mix across class, creed and caste lines, and calls for further such festivals. ### Hayavadana: Poem to Incompleteness *By GEETA DOCTOR* Geeta Doctor reviews Girish Karnad's play Hayavadana as staged in English by the Madras Players, calling the production a brilliant success while raising reservations about the play's structure. She summarises the central plot -- the friendship of Devadatta and Kapila, both in love with Padmini, whose heads are accidentally swapped by Padmini after a double suicide and resurrection, leading to a second conflict resolved by the men's mutual killing and Padmini's Sati -- and the frame story of Hayavadana, the horse-headed man seeking completeness. Doctor praises the folk-play atmosphere, the acting (especially of the two lead men), and the stage's simple, effective set design, but criticises the play's tonal shift from tragedy to 'serio-comic' business in the Hayavadana frame, argues Karnad is more interested in theme than character, and calls him 'the typical male chauvinist' in his treatment of Padmini, whose only means of redemption is self-sacrifice. - Hayavadana (published 1971, award-winning) is reviewed in its first English production by the Madras Players, directed by Yamuna Prabhu and Lakshmi Krishnamurthy. - The plot centers on Devadatta and Kapila, both in love with Padmini; a head-swap after their deaths results in a second rivalry that ends with both men killing each other and Padmini's Sati. - The frame story follows Hayavadana, a horse-headed man seeking bodily completeness, who eventually becomes a full horse. - Doctor praises the play's folk-theatre atmosphere, invocation to Ganesha, chorus staging, and especially the acting of the two male leads after the head exchange. - She criticizes the abrupt tonal shift from the tragic Sati scene to the 'serio-comic' Hayavadana ending as an unsatisfying structural weakness. - She argues Karnad is more interested in exploring theme than character, faulting his treatment of Padmini as reducing her to 'a juicy attractive morsel' redeemed only by self-sacrifice. ### Book Review: Subverters of Liberty *By A. G. NOORANI* A. G. Noorani reviews J. Bernard Hutton's book The Subverters of Liberty, a self-described exposé of a Communist plot to undermine the Western way of life through a covert 'army' of subverters directed from Moscow and Peking. Noorani is sharply skeptical of Hutton's uncheckable sourcing (secret files he cannot name, informers he cannot identify) and mocks the book's sweeping claims that Soviet and Chinese subversion lies behind everything from student violence to Arab hijackings. He gives qualified credit to the book's chapter on the Bangladesh genocide and its account of Pakistan's crackdown, but concludes that the book's larger claims about a coordinated Sino-Soviet subversion network in South Asia -- including named 'master-subverters' Jeje Khan and Abdul Hind -- amount to unverifiable fantasy, calling it 'a parody of Communist plots a Communist might write.' - Hutton's book claims to expose a coordinated Soviet/Chinese-run 'army' of undercover subverters manipulating unrest across the West and South Asia. - Noorani criticizes the book's reliance on unverifiable secret sources and unnamed informers. - The book credits itself with access to coded Peking directives allegedly proving Chinese orchestration of the East Pakistan/West Pakistan/India conflict. - Noorani gives qualified praise to the book's chapter on the Bangladesh genocide as offering a useful, if partisan, summary of the 1971 crackdown. - Noorani concludes the book's broader conspiracy claims are unproven and self-serving, calling it a fantasy version of Communist subversion that a Communist might have written as parody. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff251/ ### Summary This is the complete April 1973 issue (No. 251) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas edited by M. R. Masani. The issue opens with Masani's own editorial, 'The True Liberal,' defending classical liberalism against what he sees as its corruption by Western 'progressive' usage, and closes the argument in the 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column with notes on book-import censorship fears and Soviet repression under the guise of 'humanism.' The bulk of the issue's substantive content is Bhanu Pratap Singh's essay 'For Farm and Freedom,' a sustained attack on Indira Gandhi's land-ceiling policy as economically incoherent and covertly aimed at collectivized agriculture, and an unsigned editorial, 'The Budget of an Ignoramus,' attacking Finance Minister Y. B. Chavan's 1973-74 budget as fiscally reckless. A. G. Noorani reviews Piloo Mody's biography of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, finding it warm but uncritical; Manjula Padmanabhan reviews Sasti Brata's novel Confessions of an Indian Woman Eater.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the complete April 1973 issue (No. 251) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas edited by M. R. Masani. The issue opens with Masani's own editorial, 'The True Liberal,' defending classical liberalism against what he sees as its corruption by Western 'progressive' usage, and closes the argument in the 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column with notes on book-import censorship fears and Soviet repression under the guise of 'humanism.' The bulk of the issue's substantive content is Bhanu Pratap Singh's essay 'For Farm and Freedom,' a sustained attack on Indira Gandhi's land-ceiling policy as economically incoherent and covertly aimed at collectivized agriculture, and an unsigned editorial, 'The Budget of an Ignoramus,' attacking Finance Minister Y. B. Chavan's 1973-74 budget as fiscally reckless. A. G. Noorani reviews Piloo Mody's biography of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, finding it warm but uncritical; Manjula Padmanabhan reviews Sasti Brata's novel Confessions of an Indian Woman Eater. The issue rounds out with a wire-service filler on Soviet bureaucratic bungling ('Coffee or Fertiliser?'), a reader's letter on Vietnam bombing statistics, and the recurring 'With Many Voices' page of quotations. ## Essays ### The True Liberal *By M. R. Masani* In this lead editorial, M. R. Masani takes up the semantic confusion surrounding the word 'liberal,' prompted by a February 1973 letter from Prof. P. T. Bauer to the Daily Telegraph. Masani argues that the Swatantra Party, though widely dismissed by Indian commentators as 'conservative,' actually represents 'the milk of pure Liberalism' as recognized by European Liberal International delegates. He traces the corruption of the term to the United States, where socialists and communist sympathizers such as the New York Times, J. K. Galbraith, and Senator McGovern have appropriated 'liberal' to mean its opposite, causing genuine liberals like Milton Friedman and Sidney Hook to be mislabelled 'conservative.' He quotes at length from Bauer's letter and from a Daily Telegraph editorial ('Who Are Liberals?') that sides with Bauer's view that liberalism is historically about liberty and limited government, distinct from both conservatism (concerned with social order) and socialism (concerned with social equality). Masani closes by affirming that groups like the Indian Liberal Group, affiliated with Liberal International, represent the authentic liberal tradition in India. - Masani argues the word 'liberal' has been semantically inverted in American usage to mean support for extensive state control. - European Liberal International delegates in 1959 called the Swatantra Party 'the milk of pure Liberalism,' contradicting the Indian press's habit of calling it conservative. - Prof. P. T. Bauer's February 1973 letter to the Daily Telegraph is quoted extensively as the trigger for the piece. - The Daily Telegraph's own editorial response, 'Who Are Liberals?', is quoted to reinforce the distinction between liberalism, conservatism, and socialism. - Genuine liberals (Milton Friedman, Sidney Hook) are mislabelled 'conservative' because of this confusion, while socialists are called 'liberal.' - The essay ends by crediting the Indian Liberal Group and Liberal International with upholding authentic liberalism in India. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post This unsigned editorial column, a recurring Freedom First feature, runs two items in this issue. 'And Now Books' warns that a proposed government move to give the State Trading Corporation a monopoly on book imports (reported from New Delhi in early March) threatens to extend film-style censorship to literature, and criticizes Indian intellectuals and institutions for their muted response compared to the outcry over the American-films ban. 'Back to Stalin' reports on a study by British sociologist Prof. Peter Reddaway for the International Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, describing roughly a million people held in Soviet forced-labour camps and 200,000 more in psychiatric detention, with sophisticated modern methods of prisoner degradation replacing Stalin-era 'primitive' torture. - A New Delhi news item reports a proposal to give the State Trading Corporation monopoly control over book imports, restricting foreign exchange to 'essential' books and barring 'politically offensive' ones. - The column criticizes the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom and Quest for insufficient protest, and calls on PEN, universities, publishers, and librarians to raise their voices. - 'Back to Stalin' cites a Prof. Peter Reddaway study finding roughly one million people in Soviet forced-labour camps and 200,000 in psychiatric clinics. - The piece frames Soviet 'refinement' of repression (starvation-level treatment, psychiatric detention) as continuity with, not progress from, the Stalin era. - A sardonic comment from an unnamed 'European expert on Communism' closes the item: dissenters are now institutionalized rather than shot, framed ironically as 'progress in Soviet Humanism.' ### For Farm and Freedom *By Bhanu Pratap Singh* Bhanu Pratap Singh, identified in the issue's front-page teaser as President of the Farmers' Federation of India, argues that India's land-ceiling policy is both economically incoherent and a Trojan horse for eventual collectivization of agriculture. He contests Indira Gandhi's claim (made in a July 1972 Hyderabad speech) that small holdings, as in Japan, produce higher yields, arguing instead that yield is a function of capital, technical skill, and government support rather than farm size, and that Japan's small-farm productivity rests on subsidies India's government is unwilling to match. He cites falling procurement prices for wheat, rice, and sugarcane against rising input costs (fertilizer, tractors, electricity) between 1967-68 and 1971-72 as evidence government policy is squeezing farmers. He then presents a roster of statements by Indian political figures (President Giri, Indira Gandhi, chief ministers of Haryana, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, U.P.) that he reads as circumstantial evidence of a covert drive toward Soviet- or Chinese-style collectivization, and closes with statistics on rural malnutrition, mortality, and healthcare access, arguing the ceiling policy will neither help the landless (a mere 6 million hectares would become available against a need for 60 million) nor the existing farming community, and will instead deepen the country's food crisis. - Argues yield is determined by capital, skill, and government support, not by farm size, contra Indira Gandhi's citation of Japan. - Cites falling real procurement prices for wheat/rice/sugarcane against sharply rising input costs (fertilizer +38.7%, tractors +74.1%, electricity +90%) 1967-68 to 1971-72. - Compiles ten statements/actions by Indian leaders (President Giri, Mrs. Gandhi, state chief ministers, Planning Commission officials) as evidence of a covert push toward Soviet/Chinese-style collectivization. - Notes that the maximum land expected to be declared surplus (6 million hectares) falls far short of the 60 million hectares needed to give all 30 million landless families two hectares each. - Cites Institute of Public Opinion data: two-thirds of India's rural population suffers chronic malnutrition; 86 million children aged 1-6 affected; 40% child mortality under age 5. - Warns that the government's decision to impose low land ceilings will idle thousands of tractors and tens of thousands of tubewells built for larger farms. - Concludes that pursuing agricultural socialization risks both economic collapse (as in the USSR, which still imports grain) and loss of democratic rights. ### The Budget of an Ignoramus An unsigned editorial excoriates Finance Minister Y. B. Chavan's 1973-74 budget as fiscally reckless, framing him as an 'ignoramus' in matters of high finance. It documents a pattern of escalating deficits (from an estimated Rs. 232 crores in 1971-72 to an actual Rs. 971 crores once state overdrafts are included) despite three successive years of heavy fresh taxation totalling roughly Rs. 1,000 crores. The piece argues the new Rs. 292.6 crore tax package, concentrated in indirect taxes (excise and customs) that will raise industrial costs, undermines the government's own stated growth targets (5% GDP growth, 7-8% industrial growth, 7% export growth) and calls the promised 'accelerated economic growth' a 'midsummer dream.' It credits tax expert Nani Palkhivala with having first drawn attention to India's uniquely high tax burden, ironically now corroborated by the Finance Minister's own proposal to widen provident-fund and life-insurance tax exemptions to encourage savings. - Traces deficit growth: Rs. 232 crores estimated for 1971-72 ballooned to Rs. 519 crores actual, and the 1972-73 deficit reached Rs. 550 crores (Rs. 971 crores including state overdraft provisions). - New 1973-74 taxes total Rs. 292.6 crores, exceeding even the post-1962-war 1963-64 budget's Rs. 265 crores in additional taxes. - Indirect tax increases (Rs. 118 crores excise, Rs. 156 crores customs) are said to fall 'entirely' on industry, raising both manufacturing and capital costs. - Argues Chavan had the option to defer part of his tax proposals pending the monsoon outlook but chose not to. - Credits Nani Palkhivala with having first publicized India as the world's most heavily taxed nation. - Closes by calling Chavan 'an ignoramus' in financial matters, referencing his own admission of inexperience when moved from the Home Ministry to Finance. ### One Man's Bhutto *By A. G. Noorani* A. G. Noorani reviews Piloo Mody's Zulfi — My Friend (Thomson Press, Rs. 24), a memoir-biography of Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto by his boyhood friend, Swatantra Party chairman and MP Piloo Mody. Noorani argues Mody, despite unique access, has failed in his duty as an informed Indian journalist to give readers a critical account of Bhutto, instead reproducing Bhutto's own version of events uncritically. He finds the book's account of the 1962-1965 period (China tilt, 1965 war, Tashkent, break with Ayub Khan) thin, and is especially critical of its treatment of the Pakistan break-up (1970-71): Noorani marshals the historical record — including Bhutto's own statements, Rehman Sobhan's Guardian account, and Tajuddin Ahmed's version — to show Mody's narrative that Bhutto sought compromise with Mujibur Rehman is contradicted by the facts, including Bhutto's explicit threat of a 'popular movement' if the Assembly convened without PPP participation. Noorani does credit Mody for a forceful, well-documented appeal for repatriation of Pakistani POWs, and recommends the book to Indian students of public affairs despite its analytical failures, praising its warmth and sincerity as a personal portrait. - Mody's book is criticized for lacking 'intensive research,' with Noorani noting Mody admits he does not claim objectivity or scholarly rigor. - Noorani finds the account of 1962-65 (China, the 1965 war, Tashkent, Ayub break) 'sketchy' and lacking new information. - The central critique concerns the Pakistan break-up: Noorani uses the historical record (Bhutto's own words, Rehman Sobhan, Tajuddin Ahmed) to show Mody's pro-Bhutto narrative on the Mujib negotiations is factually wrong. - Bhutto's February 28, 1971 speech is shown to have contained a threat (of a 'popular movement' and general strike) rather than the mere 'appeal' Mody describes. - Noorani nonetheless praises the book's 'powerful and ably documented appeal' for the repatriation of the 400,000 Bengalis and Pakistani POWs. - Despite its flaws, Noorani recommends the book to Indian students of public affairs as a portrait of friendship. ### Review: Any Indian Can!! (Confessions of an Indian Woman Eater by Sasti Brata) *By Manjula Padmanabhan* Manjula Padmanabhan reviews Sasti Brata's novel Confessions of an Indian Woman Eater (Arrow paperback, 255 pp., Rs. London), a first-person account narrated by a young Brahmin protagonist, Amit Ray, chronicling his sexual and career exploits from Calcutta to Delhi to Europe and back. Padmanabhan finds the novel derivative — 'a redux of the Great American Rags-to-Riches Saga' recast with an Indian hero — and its supposedly frank treatment of sex neither shocking nor genuinely honest, comparing the prose to a 'True Confessions' article. She is particularly harsh on the protagonist's character, describing him as possessing 'not the slightest vestige of personal integrity,' torn between self-pitying inferiority and an overcompensating 'Super Indian' pose. She concludes that as pure fiction the book is unoriginal to the point of embarrassment, and as ostensibly unvarnished truth, offers little worth knowing. - The novel is framed as a thinly fictionalized memoir of Sasti Brata's own alter-ego, Amit Ray, a Brahmin who leaves Calcutta for Delhi, then Europe. - Padmanabhan compares its treatment of sex unfavorably to 'True Confessions' magazine, finding it neither shocking nor genuinely candid. - She judges the protagonist to lack any 'personal integrity,' oscillating between self-pity about his Indian identity and an overcompensating Westernized 'pukka sahib' persona. - The novel is read as a critique-by-example of a certain expatriate Indian type: 'mama's boys who come back from abroad with lisping drawls.' - Padmanabhan's final verdict is double-edged: as fiction it is unoriginal to the point of embarrassment; as truth, better left unknown. ### Coffee or Fertiliser? A short wire-service filler (credited to the N.Y. Times News Service) recounts, via Izvestia's own reporting, a bureaucratic mix-up in which a shipment of 728 jute bags of top-grade coffee beans destined for Yelets and a shipment of bagged fertilizer destined for Terbuny had their shipping documents swapped at a Moscow-area railroad station. Despite obvious physical evidence that the 'fertilizer' delivered to Terbuny was actually coffee, station masters and agricultural officials repeatedly deferred to the paperwork rather than trust their own observations, dumping and distributing valuable coffee as fertilizer across state and collective farms. Three months later, Izvestia reported nine bags of the coffee still unaccounted for. The piece is presented as an illustration of Soviet bureaucratic rigidity and blind deference to documentation over evidence. - 728 jute bags of coffee beans bound for Yelets and a fertilizer shipment bound for Terbuny had their paperwork swapped at a Moscow rail station. - Station master Mr. N. Birkin insisted the shipment be processed as 'fertilizer' according to the documents despite workers' doubts. - An agronomist and a chemist each failed to formally verify the material, deferring instead to the paperwork. - Coffee beans were distributed to state and collective farms and used or stored as fertilizer before the error was caught. - Izvestia reported that nine bags of the coffee remained missing three months later, worth 'a sizable sum.' ### Letter: Ballyhoo About Bombing *By A. K. Jayaram* A. K. Jayaram writes a letter praising Freedom First's March issue commentary on the proportions of damage from American bombing of North Vietnam, and reinforces it by quoting a passage from The Economist that disputes the 'widespread belief' that the B-52 raids constituted indiscriminate terror bombing. The quoted Economist passage compares Hanoi's reported casualty figures (roughly 1,300-2,000, per varying sources) unfavorably in scale to Allied bombing of Germany in World War II and to North Vietnamese artillery bombardment of An Loc and refugee attacks near Quang Tri, arguing Hanoi's death toll was in fact relatively modest by comparison. - Jayaram's letter responds approvingly to Freedom First's March issue treatment of North Vietnam bombing statistics. - The quoted Economist passage estimates 1,300 to 2,000 Hanoi deaths across the bombing campaign's fortnight, based on statements from a Hanoi doctor and other reports. - The Economist comparison notes German bombing of Britain and Allied firestorm raids on Hamburg/Dresden killed far larger numbers in single nights. - The letter notes Hanoi's death toll was smaller than civilians killed by North Vietnamese artillery at An Loc or against refugees near Quang Tri. ### With Many Voices The recurring 'With Many Voices' page collects short quotations from public figures and periodicals on current affairs, under a Tennyson epigraph. Items include Ambassador Daniel Moynihan on civility, William F. Buckley on the disjunction between lovable and loveable nations, F. C. Nano and The Economist on Vietnam and superpower politics, Justice Beg on whether God is subject to parliamentary amendment, Home Minister Umashankar Dikshit's remark on the CIA, Bhupesh Gupta on the 'floating' and 'auctionable' MLAs of Orissa, Romesh Thapar on the Planning Commission's paper consumption, and two quotations from President Nixon on self-reliance versus government dependency. The page closes with a subscription form for Freedom First. - Includes a Daniel Moynihan quotation on civility as fundamental to national character. - Quotes Bhupesh Gupta comparing Orissa MLAs to floating, auctionable currency amid political horse-trading. - Quotes Romesh Thapar noting the Planning Commission consumes a ton of paper daily. - Two Nixon quotations from The Economist emphasize self-reliance over government dependency. - The page also carries the journal's subscription form (Rs. 5 annual, Rs. 3 for students), addressed to Democratic Research Service, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff252/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 252 (May 1973), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with Masani's lead editorial "The Dangerous Years," a gloomy but not fatalistic survey of India's economic and political outlook for the 1970s, warning of drift toward a "monopolist and Marxist" society under Indira Gandhi's government and setting out a seven-point liberal reform programme as an alternative. Vrunda Moghe contributes a short investigative piece breaking down the costs of maintaining Pakistani prisoners of war in Indian custody after the 1971 war. A reprinted press report from The Weekly Mail (Madras) covers Masani's inaugural address to the Sixth National Convention of the Swatantra Party, in which he criticised the Orissa unit of his own party for aligning with Biju Patnaik. Geeta Doctor reviews a Theatre Group production of Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party, and separately reviews Arthur Koestler's novel The Call-Girls. David Rees reports on a Brussels-based international committee's findings on Soviet forced-labour camps. Bertram D.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 252 (May 1973), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with Masani's lead editorial "The Dangerous Years," a gloomy but not fatalistic survey of India's economic and political outlook for the 1970s, warning of drift toward a "monopolist and Marxist" society under Indira Gandhi's government and setting out a seven-point liberal reform programme as an alternative. Vrunda Moghe contributes a short investigative piece breaking down the costs of maintaining Pakistani prisoners of war in Indian custody after the 1971 war. A reprinted press report from The Weekly Mail (Madras) covers Masani's inaugural address to the Sixth National Convention of the Swatantra Party, in which he criticised the Orissa unit of his own party for aligning with Biju Patnaik. Geeta Doctor reviews a Theatre Group production of Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party, and separately reviews Arthur Koestler's novel The Call-Girls. David Rees reports on a Brussels-based international committee's findings on Soviet forced-labour camps. Bertram D. Wolfe contributes an extract from his conference address on the theoretical nature of totalitarianism, arguing that the totalitarian party-state claims total, undivided sovereignty over every social institution and the individual conscience. K. Vasudeva Rao reviews Jean-François Revel's Without Marx or Jesus. The issue closes with "With Many Voices," a back-page compilation of press quotations from Indira Gandhi, Willy Brandt, Henry Kissinger, Germaine Greer, Barry Goldwater, Romesh Thapar and others, alongside the subscription form and colophon. ## Essays ### The Dangerous Years *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's lead editorial asks what the outlook is for India during "the Seventies," rejecting the fatalism of those who believe the country is doomed to "communism" or "chaos." He argues India is not fated to fail merely because it is a developing country, pointing to Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore as contrasting examples of well-managed development, and lays blame on the present Indian government's ideological rigidity and drift toward a "monopolist and Marxist" society. He disputes Indira Gandhi's claim that "the only alternative to the Congress is chaos," arguing the Congress regime's own continuance is producing chaos, evidenced by the government's reliance on the Armed Forces to maintain internal order. The editorial (continued on page 14) sets out a detailed seven-point liberal reform programme covering taxation, currency stabilisation, labour-intensive development priorities, an end to further nationalisation, industrial productivity, deregulation along Ludwig Erhard's prescription, and population control, closing with a call to "rally the reasonable" across party lines against the socialist establishment. - Rejects fatalism about India's prospects, arguing that the country's troubles stem from bad governance rather than an inevitable fate of developing nations. - Contrasts India's stagnation with the pragmatic, successful economic policies of Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore. - Accuses the current government of pursuing a headlong, ideologically driven transformation of India's 'pluralistic and democratic society into a monopolist and Marxist one.' - Disputes Indira Gandhi's claim at Patiala that 'the only alternative to the Congress is chaos,' arguing instead that continuance of the Congress regime is itself producing chaos, visible in the Armed Forces being used to suppress internal disorder. - Predicts that, per historical precedent, popular figures who fail to deliver eventually turn into objects of 'contempt and disgust' once their failures become evident. - Sketches an alternative seven-point reform programme: tax cuts, currency stabilisation without deficit financing, priority for labour-intensive development (agriculture, irrigation, roads), an end to further nationalisation, doubling industrial output via better utilisation of capacity, deregulation following Ludwig Erhard's dictum to 'let men and the money loose,' and population control. - Calls on Liberals and the 'sensible elements' across party lines to 'rally the reasonable' against the Socialist Establishment, while accepting that Liberals must be prepared to remain a minority. ### POWs -- The Economics of Detention *By Vrunda Moghe* Vrunda Moghe examines the cost of detaining Pakistani prisoners of war in India after the 1971 war, disputing the government's official expenditure figures and arriving at a higher estimate of roughly Rs. 19.5 crores over thirteen months. The piece details how India, going beyond the strict requirements of the Geneva Convention, extends 'civilians under protective custody' the same privileges as regular POWs, describes the security, welfare, and escape-prevention regime across an estimated fifty camps, and itemises hidden costs including floodlighting, documentation, and medical treatment for wounded prisoners. The essay closes by questioning whether the diplomatic and financial cost of prolonged detention is worth it given Bangladesh's non-recognition by Pakistan and the stalled war-crimes trials. - Challenges the government's official estimate (Rs. 13 crores through January 1973, per Minister V. C. Shukla) as understated, calculating a higher figure of about Rs. 19.5 crores over thirteen months based on a Rs. 5-a-day per-prisoner feeding cost. - Explains that India treats 'civilians under protective custody' (CPUC) — around 23,000 of the roughly lakh-plus prisoners — more generously than the Geneva Convention's category of 'followers'/menial staff requires. - Describes the security regime: barbed-wire perimeters, roll-calls, emergency generators, and heavy floodlighting estimated at about Rs. 1,000 per camp per day, totalling around Rs. 1.8 crore to date. - Notes about 1,400 severely wounded prisoners have already been repatriated, with ongoing medical costs for the remainder, and estimates documentation/mail costs at a minimum of Rs. 25 lakhs. - Questions whether continued detention — beyond the Geneva Convention's three-to-four month limit for POWs — is justified given stalled war-crimes trials and Bangladesh's non-recognition by Pakistan, and weighs the cost against the risk of alienating world opinion and India's diplomatic missions. ### Coffee, Freud and Me *By Geeta Doctor* A reprinted news report from The Weekly Mail (Madras, April 14, 1973) covers M. R. Masani's inaugural address to the Sixth National Convention of the Swatantra Party at Rajaji Nagar, in which the former party president publicly rebuked the Orissa unit of the Swatantra Party for aligning with Biju Patnaik in a manoeuvre to topple the state government, calling it a case of the 'SVD disease' infecting the party's own camp. Party President Piloo Mody separately accused the ruling Congress of 'violating the laws of the land' and 'destroying the Constitution.' Masani urged the party to 'think afresh and boldly,' rejected joining opportunistic groupings merely to gain office, and warned against India's overcommitment to the Soviet Union in foreign policy. - Masani, inaugurating the Sixth National Convention of the Swatantra Party, castigated the Orissa party leadership for aligning with Biju Patnaik in a 'toppling operation' against the state government, calling it the 'SVD disease' infecting his own camp. - Piloo Mody, party president, accused the ruling Congress party of 'violating the laws of the land' and 'destroying the Constitution.' - Masani asked party members to 'think afresh and boldly' and jettison 'dogmas and other intellectual baggage' weighing the party down. - Masani rejected the idea of the party joining opportunistic groupings 'by hook or by crook' merely to win the next elections, calling recent efforts led by Biju Patnaik 'counter-productive.' - Masani warned against India's overcommitment to the Soviet Union and called for a more balanced foreign-policy stance among the three Super Powers. ### Soviet Forced Labour Camps *By David Rees* Geeta Doctor recounts attending a Theatre Group performance of Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party, opening with a comic description of the audience's nervous over-punctuality and the play's unsettling, Pinteresque atmosphere. She describes varied audience reactions during the post-play discussion — from earnest Freudian readings of Stanley's 'Oedipus complex' to a Jungian dissent and a Mafia-thriller misreading — using these to illustrate Pinter's characteristic refusal to supply a single, fixed interpretation. The review concludes that this interpretive openness is precisely what makes the discussion valuable, and praises the Theatre Group's staging as inventive and versatile despite some overacting. - Describes the strict 7 p.m. deadline and audience's schoolchild-like obedience before a performance billed as a 'Comedy of Menace.' - Portrays the claustrophobic staging — a seedy drawing room, clinical lighting, doors shut noiselessly — and two contrasting audience neighbours' reactions during the performance itself. - Recounts the post-show discussion in which audience members offered competing readings: a Freudian 'Oedipus complex' interpretation of Stanley and Meg, a dissenting Jungian view, and a misreading of the play as a Mafia thriller about a drug addict. - Uses the range of interpretations to argue Pinter deliberately withholds a single fixed meaning, making the audience complicit in constructing the play's sense. - Credits the Theatre Group's production for its 'ingenuity and versatility,' while noting some criticism of Meg's performance as stagey and calling Goldberg's portrayal 'Mephistophelian.' ### The Nature of Totalitarianism *By Bertram D. Wolfe* David Rees reports on an interim study by the Brussels-based International Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, concluding that over one million prisoners are held in roughly a thousand Soviet forced-labour camps, with an accompanying map showing camps spread across most Soviet provinces, especially European Russia. The article surveys the committee's methodology (samizdat literature, defector testimony, official Soviet publications), cites the case of imprisoned samizdat editor Yury Galanskov, who died in a labour camp in 1972 after being denied adequate medical treatment, and details conditions of chronic hunger, malnutrition, and post-release stigmatisation. It closes by noting the report's finding that 0.5 percent of the Soviet population is in captivity — far higher than Western democracies — and its charge that Western human-rights appeals to Soviet institutions go systematically unanswered. - Cites the International Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (founded 1971, patronised by Nobel laureate Rene Cassin, presided over by Dr Albert Guerisse) as the source of the interim report finding over a million prisoners across roughly 1,000 Soviet labour camps. - Describes the report's methodology drawing on samizdat literature, official Soviet publications, and cross-checked testimony of escapees and defectors. - Recounts the case of Yury Galanskov, editor of the samizdat journal Phoenix, who died in a Morovian labour camp in late 1972 after being denied treatment for a stomach ulcer while forced to perform manual labour. - Notes malnutrition is systemic: camp rations of about 2,400 calories fall well short of the British Medical Association's recommended 4,000+ calories for heavy physical labour. - Describes further coercive measures (banned food parcels, restricted visitors, inadequate medical care) and the difficulty released prisoners face reintegrating, including a 100-kilometre exclusion zone from major Soviet cities. - Concludes the report estimates 0.5 percent of the Soviet population is held captive — two-and-a-half to seven times the rate in Britain, France, and the United States — and criticises Western governments and institutions for failing to answer desperate appeals from camp prisoners. ### Reviews: Cassandra Turns Call-Girl (The Call-Girls by Arthur Koestler) *By G. D.* Bertram D. Wolfe argues that the essence of totalitarianism lies not primarily in tyranny or terror but in the literal meaning of the word 'total': the claim that party and State are coextensive with society itself, leaving no autonomous space for individuals, unions, churches, or any other institution. He contrasts this with five defining features of Anglo-American democracy — a society wider than the State, definite limits on State power, recourse against arbitrary official acts, opposition as a constructive right, and the people's right to turn out a government — and illustrates totalitarian practice with examples from Soviet history, including Vyshinsky's dictum on Russian women's reproductive duty, the fate of constitution-drafter Bukharin, and prosecutor Krylenko's own later purge. He closes by describing totalitarianism as a doctrine claiming infallible authority over past, present and future, locked in permanent struggle against 'the wayward human spirit.' - Defines totalitarianism's essence as the claim that party and State are identical with and coextensive with society, denying autonomy to individuals and to all non-State organisations (unions, churches, clubs, lodges, chambers of commerce). - Contrasts totalitarianism with five defining features of Anglo-American democracy: a society wider than the State's sphere of action, defined limits on State power, recourse against arbitrary official acts, opposition as a constructive democratic right, and the people's right to turn out the government. - Cites Vyshinsky's statement that 'the duty of Russian women... is to produce Soviet children, not children for the Canadian government' as an example of the totalitarian State's claim over private life. - Recounts that Bukharin, author of the Soviet constitution's Bill of Rights, was later put on trial and killed within a year of its adoption, and that prosecutor Krylenko was himself later purged after praising that same constitution. - Describes totalitarianism's use of mass propaganda, terror, isolation, indoctrination, and total organisation as historically unprecedented tools enabled by modern technology (loudspeaker, tank, plane, police wagon). - Closes by framing totalitarian rulers as claiming exclusive, infallible interpretive authority over history, and describes the ongoing conflict between this claim to total control and 'the wayward human spirit' as an unresolved drama of the century. ### Reviews: "Revolution" (Without Marx or Jesus by M. Jean-Francois Revel) *By K. Vasudeva Rao* Geeta Doctor (signed 'G. D.') reviews Arthur Koestler's novel The Call-Girls (Hutchinson), describing it as a tragicomedy about a group of international call-girls — distinguished scientists and academics who travel the world's seminar circuit — gathered in the Alps to debate 'Approaches to Human Survival.' The review praises Koestler's ability to render abstruse scientific ideas vividly and traces the novel's framing device (prologue on the Cross, epilogue on a psychiatrist's couch), its central figure Nikolai Solovief, and its escalating scenarios of neuro-engineering experimentation gone wrong, while judging the book ultimately more cynical than grief-stricken, with Koestler undercutting his protagonist Cassandra-figure by making her personally unsympathetic. - Describes the novel's structure as divided into a prologue, main story, and epilogue, framing a 'tragicomedy' with the central theme of humanity's predicament and possible remedies. - The main narrative gathers distinguished 'international call-girls' — scientists and academicians who travel the seminar circuit — at an Alpine conference on 'Approaches to Human Survival.' - Praises Koestler's ability to render abstruse scientific propositions (hypnosis, neuro-engineering, Cartesian duality, embryology) into vivid, cogent prose. - Summarises the character Nikolai Solovief as a charming but world-weary figure who frames the survival question, and the epilogue figure Mr. Anderson, who cannot convince his psychiatrist that people around him are turning into chimeras. - Judges the novel not so much grief-stricken as cynical, finding that Koestler undercuts the Cassandra-like tragic figure of the protagonist by making her personally unsympathetic in the guise of a 'call-girl.' ### Masani Indicts Orissa Swatantra Party (reprint from The Mail, Madras, Apr 14 1973) *By By A Staff Reporter* K. Vasudeva Rao reviews Jean-François Revel's Without Marx or Jesus (Allied Publishers), describing Revel as a provocateur who, having previously debunked French myths, now sets out to write a book praising the United States as the sole possible site of a coming world revolution. The review summarises Revel's rebuttal of three common European 'myths' about American conformity, materialism, and reaction, while criticising his sweeping, utopian prescriptions (world government, abolition of national sovereignty, birth control) and his selective blindness to genuine flaws in American society, concluding that Revel, in mythologising the U.S. as the seedbed of a new 'Homo novus,' ends up creating his own myth even as he sets out to slay others. - Frames Jean-François Revel as a French provocateur and L'Express columnist previously known for debunking French myths (including about Charles de Gaulle and Italian virility). - Summarises Revel's twin premises: mankind must have a revolution to survive, and such a revolution can start only in the United States. - Details Revel's rebuttal of three European 'myths' about America: that conformity and uniformity define American society, that Americans are slaves to gadgets, and that America is 'the citadel of reaction.' - Criticises Revel's utopian prescriptions — the end of national sovereignty, worldwide economic and educational equality, abolition of war, worldwide birth control — as vague and totalising. - Notes Revel's selective praise for American phenomena (Andy Warhol films, Playboy, American TV) while overlooking significant flaws, and his prediction that revolution will spread by 'political osmosis' to produce 'world government' and a new 'Homo novus.' - Concludes that Revel's own act of myth-slaying itself creates a new myth, though the reviewer credits the book's shrewd polemical high points and predicts it will be a talked-about 'pundit' book of the season. ### With Many Voices The back-page feature 'With Many Voices' compiles brief quotations from contemporary Indian and international press on politics and current affairs, including Indira Gandhi's remarks on poverty and on Marx, Willy Brandt's line that 'Berlin is a lie-detector,' Henry Kissinger on foreign-policy priorities, Germaine Greer's quip about venereal disease, Barry Goldwater on women and guns, a UN Security Council veto scoreboard, a satirical description of how a Communist agenda 'prejudges all issues,' and Romesh Thapar's aphorism that 'subservience usually accompanies incompetence.' - Opens with a Tennyson epigraph ('The deep / Moans round with many voices...') framing the compiled-quotations format. - Quotes Indira Gandhi twice: on poverty's 'very deep roots' persisting through her tenure, and on not being 'afraid of Marx.' - Includes Willy Brandt's remark that 'Berlin is a lie-detector' and Henry Kissinger's comment on knowing 'what the man thinks about in the morning when he is shaving.' - Reports a UN veto scoreboard (US 3, France 4, Britain 10, Russia 109) and a satirical account of how a 'Communist agenda' would structure a meeting to prejudge its own outcome. - Closes with Romesh Thapar's aphorism 'Subservience usually accompanies incompetence' and The Economist's observation that Russian power is expanding while American power contracts. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff253/ ### Summary This is issue No. 253 (June 1973) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based monthly journal of liberal ideas edited by M. R. Masani. The issue opens with Masani's own editorial, 'Freedom is Indivisible,' which reads the supersession of three senior Supreme Court judges in the appointment of the new Chief Justice as part of a wider pattern of Congress-Communist encroachment on Indian institutions, alongside bank nationalisation, the Indo-Soviet Treaty, and the takeover of general insurance, mines, and the foodgrains trade. A reprinted extract, 'How Beria Died' (Khrushchev's own account of Beria's execution), is placed beside the editorial as an ironic counterpoint. The unsigned column 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' draws lessons for India from the Watergate scandal (the value of a free press and independent judiciary, and the dangers of concentrated executive power), reviews a slump in Indira Gandhi's popularity per opinion polling, and comments on AIR's autonomy debate and a Communist-leaning Congress Parliamentary Party faction. V. B.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 253 (June 1973) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based monthly journal of liberal ideas edited by M. R. Masani. The issue opens with Masani's own editorial, 'Freedom is Indivisible,' which reads the supersession of three senior Supreme Court judges in the appointment of the new Chief Justice as part of a wider pattern of Congress-Communist encroachment on Indian institutions, alongside bank nationalisation, the Indo-Soviet Treaty, and the takeover of general insurance, mines, and the foodgrains trade. A reprinted extract, 'How Beria Died' (Khrushchev's own account of Beria's execution), is placed beside the editorial as an ironic counterpoint. The unsigned column 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' draws lessons for India from the Watergate scandal (the value of a free press and independent judiciary, and the dangers of concentrated executive power), reviews a slump in Indira Gandhi's popularity per opinion polling, and comments on AIR's autonomy debate and a Communist-leaning Congress Parliamentary Party faction. V. B. Karnik's 'What Price Afro-Asian Solidarity?' reports disclosures by a former secretary of the All India Peace Council and the Indian Association for Afro-Asian Solidarity on Soviet financing and misuse of funds by these organisations' leadership. A. G. Noorani's 'Nehru and Patel' reviews Volume IV of Durga Das's edited Sardar Patel's Correspondence, arguing that both Nehru and Patel had serious blind spots (Patel on Muslim minority rights, Nehru on Communism) and that the correspondence reveals the real tensions behind the two men's later hagiography. Geeta Doctor contributes a light travel essay, 'The Road to Matheran,' on the hill station's toy-train journey and the local controversy over a proposed motor road. The issue closes with two book reviews (of India and the World, an edited seminar volume on Indian foreign policy, reviewed unsigned/by A. Chatterjee; and of Alvin Toffler's Future Shock, reviewed by K. Vasudeva Rao) and the recurring 'With Many Voices' page of quotations on Watergate, Communism, and Indian politics, followed by the subscription form and colophon. ## Essays ### Freedom Is Indivisible *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's lead editorial argues that the supersession of three senior Supreme Court judges in appointing a new Chief Justice is not an isolated event but one step in a sustained Congress-Communist assault on independent institutions, comparable in method to the surprise bank-nationalisation ordinance of 1969. He traces what he calls a Communist takeover project beginning with the 1969 Congress-CPI alliance around the presidential election, extending through the Indo-Soviet Treaty and nationalisation of banks, insurance, mines, and the foodgrains trade, and culminating in the attack on judicial independence. He singles out Mohan Kumaramangalam's parliamentary defence of the supersession as an admission of the government's intent to subordinate the judiciary to a 'Soviet concept of justice,' and closes by insisting that freedom is indivisible: the judiciary, press, universities, farmers, workers, traders and businessmen are all threatened by the same encroachment, and only a change of government can restore an independent judiciary. - Frames the supersession of three Supreme Court judges as political skullduggery, not a routine appointment decision. - Notes the unprecedented reaction of the Bar, including a strike by lawyers, as a hopeful sign of civic assertion. - Argues the supersession is one step in a wider pattern: the 1969 Congress-CPI presidential alliance, bank nationalisation, the Indo-Soviet Treaty, and nationalisation of insurance, mines and the foodgrains trade. - Cites Mohan Kumaramangalam's parliamentary speech defending the government as an inadvertent admission that Communists in India seek to subvert the Constitution and judicial independence. - Closes on the aphorism that freedom, like peace, is indivisible, tying the fate of the judiciary to that of the press, universities, farmers, workers and businessmen. - Calls for lawyers to act as citizens and for a change of government as the only route to restoring judicial independence. ### How Beria Died A short reprinted extract, credited to Nikita Khrushchev's own narration to French Socialist Senator Pierre Commin in 1956, describing the Soviet Presidium's decision to try and then summarily execute Lavrenty Beria after Stalin's death. The editors place it immediately after Masani's editorial on the Supreme Court supersession, apparently as an ironic illustration of Soviet-style justice without due process. - Reprinted from Khrushchev and Stalin's Ghost by Bertram D. Wolfe, translated from Sotsiolisticheskii Vestnik (1956). - Khrushchev recounts the Presidium's surveillance of Beria after Stalin's death, a four-hour cross-examination, and a unanimous decision to execute him without a prior court hearing because 'juridical evidence' was lacking. - Positioned by the editors as an ironic counterpoint to the Editor's article on the erosion of judicial process in India. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post The unsigned 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' column (the magazine's recurring editorial-notes feature, historically written by the Editor) draws several lessons from the Watergate scandal for Indian readers: the vital role of a free press (contrasted with what could never be exposed in Moscow, Peking, Cairo, Islamabad or Rangoon), the dangers of concentrated executive power, and the importance of a judiciary that can act without fear of the executive. It then surveys domestic developments: a fall in Indira Gandhi's popularity per an Indian Institute of Public Opinion poll, her hardening public rhetoric, the dissolution of the Congress Forum for Socialist Action without loosening Communist influence within the Congress Party, a Punjab examination 'howler' involving 'Sarkari kheti' versus 'Sahkari kheti,' and I. K. Gujral's rejection of AIR autonomy per the Chanda Committee report. - Uses the Watergate disclosures to argue for the value of a free press, warns against concentration of executive power, and stresses judicial independence from presidential/executive pressure. - Quotes Walter Lippmann on politicians' low estimate of human nature and the risks of a 'Waterloo' for any politician who relies on cynicism. - Cites an Indian Institute of Public Opinion poll showing Indira Gandhi's popularity score falling from a 1972 peak of 260 to 161, back to mid-1969 levels. - Notes Indira Gandhi's shift to harsher public rhetoric, including a Gorakhpur speech accepting being 'branded a dictator' to secure rights for 'the teeming millions.' - Reports that dissolving the Congress Forum for Socialist Action did not dislodge Communist fellow-travellers from the Congress Parliamentary Party executive. - Recounts a Punjab Higher Secondary Economics exam 'howler' in which a printer's substitution of 'Sarkari kheti' (government farming) for 'Sahkari kheti' (co-operative farming) is treated as more politically astute than the examiners intended. - Notes I. K. Gujral's rejection of the Chanda Committee's recommendation that AIR become an autonomous corporation. ### What Price Afro-Asian Solidarity? *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik, a former editor of Freedom First, analyses disclosures made by I. S. Dewan, a sixteen-year secretary of the All India Peace Council and the Indian Association for Afro-Asian Solidarity (recently merged into the All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation), after his services were terminated in 1971. Dewan alleged the organisations were run by a PHQ Group of the Communist Party of India led by Chitta Biswas as a racket, financed by the Soviet Union through free air tickets and donations that were misappropriated by group leaders rather than passed on to delegates or accounted for publicly. Karnik details specific incidents cited by Dewan (the 1969 Berlin Peace Congress, the 1971 Budapest Peace Assembly, and payments to a travel agency) and notes that the matter was raised in the Rajya Sabha in March 1973 by Loknath Mishra, prompting a denial from the organisations' secretariat but no government inquiry. - I. S. Dewan, sixteen-year secretary of the All India Peace Council and Indian Association for Afro-Asian Solidarity, was terminated in 1971 and began disclosing the organisations' financial workings. - Dewan alleges the organisations are run by the 'PHQ Group' of the CPI led by Chitta Biswas as a racket, receiving Soviet funding via free air tickets and untaxed donations. - Details three specific incidents: the 1969 Berlin Peace Congress (unrefunded Rs. 42,048 in air-ticket costs), the 1971 Budapest Peace Assembly, and payments of over Rs. 1,08,521 to Saha & Rai Travels for office-bearers' tickets. - The organisations' secretariat denied the charges in a note calling them 'utterly and completely false' without detailed rebuttal, while admitting to receiving pre-paid tickets and donations from international organisations. - Loknath Mishra raised the charges in the Rajya Sabha on March 20, 1973, and Bhupesh Gupta M.P. tried to stop the reading of Dewan's letter; the government made no statement and instituted no inquiry. - Karnik concludes that whether or not every detail is accurate, the admitted acceptance of free passage and donations from a foreign government agency amounts to the organisations acting as agents procuring political goodwill for the Soviet Union. ### Nehru and Patel *By A. G. Noorani* A. G. Noorani reviews Volume IV of Durga Das's edited Sardar Patel's Correspondence (Navajivan Publishing House), prompted by Indira Gandhi's participation in Patel's death-anniversary commemoration. Noorani argues that both Nehru and Patel were 'truly great men' with serious blind spots: Patel was blind to Hindu communalism and showed minimal concern for the Muslim minority's welfare in India even as he pressed hard for Hindu and Sikh minorities' safety in Pakistan, while Nehru was comparatively blind to the Communist danger. Drawing on 1947 correspondence between Nehru and Patel over Delhi's administration, refugee resettlement, and the conduct of Chief Commissioner M. S. Randhawa, Noorani shows the Sardar resisting proportional representation for Muslims in services and opposing Nehru's request to let Muslims resettle in predominantly Muslim localities, while also noting the volume's material on the Krishna Menon-Sudhir Ghosh correspondence. - Reviews Volume IV of Sardar Patel's Correspondence, edited by Durga Das (Navajivan Publishing House, Ahmedabad, Rs. 25). - Argues Patel was 'blind to Hindu communalism' while Nehru was 'blind to the Communist danger,' and that followers of each have distorted the historical record by favouring one over the other. - Cites Patel's 1947 letter to B. M. Birla rejecting the idea of Hindustan as a Hindu State, alongside evidence that his policies showed 'a marked bias against the Muslims' in practice. - Details a 1947 dispute between Nehru and Patel over Delhi Chief Commissioner M. S. Randhawa's handling of communal disturbances, and over resettling Muslims in Muslim-majority localities, which Patel opposed. - Notes the volume also reproduces Nehru-Patel correspondence on Krishna Menon and Sudhir Ghosh, showing Nehru's defence of Krishna Menon had, in Noorani's view, 'tragic consequences for the country.' - Concludes that liberals must reject both communalism and communism, and that the volume provides valuable primary material dispelling propaganda from both men's admirers and detractors. ### The Road to Matheran *By Geeta Doctor* Geeta Doctor's light travel essay recounts a family holiday journey up the narrow-gauge toy-train line to Matheran, the Western Ghats hill station discovered in the 1850s by a Mr. Hugh Pointz Mallet. She describes the comic logistics of the trip (excess luggage, a tipsy fellow-passenger, a wayside puja for a railway employee killed on the tracks, monkeys and birds along the route, and an encounter with a shooting for a Hindi film starring Dharmendra), and closes with local controversy over a proposed motor road into Matheran, which residents and a ghoda-wallah (horse-handler) she interviews fear will destroy the hill station's isolation and character. - Opens with a whimsical, unverifiable account of Hugh Pointz Mallet's 1850s 'discovery' of Matheran and its transformation into a holiday resort. - Describes the comic ordeal of preparing for and undertaking the toy-train journey from Neral up to Matheran, including excess luggage and colourful fellow travellers. - Recounts an encounter en route with a Hindi film shoot featuring actor Dharmendra and an impression-managing, seemingly deaf director. - Notes local protest signs ('No tar road in Matheran wanted') and interviews a ghoda-wallah who opposes the planned motor road despite the potential for more business, out of an inarticulate sense that it would destroy the hill station's character. - Closes reflecting that romance and old-fashioned isolation are already receding from small hill towns like Matheran as modernization advances. ### Reviews: Poverty of Political Comment (India and the World, ed. A. P. Jain) *By A. Chatterjee* An unsigned book review titled 'Poverty of Political Comment,' assessing India and the World, edited by A. P. Jain (D. K. Publishing House, Delhi), a volume compiling papers and discussions from a Society for Parliamentary Studies seminar on 'India and the World Today.' The reviewer finds the seminar's broad, unfocused topic produced discussion that reported world events rather than analysing India's actual interaction with them, criticizes the inclusion of seemingly unrelated Part II papers (on Czechoslovakia and Laos) with no clear link to India, but credits a middle group of five papers with more technical sophistication. The review quotes Dr. Charles Heimsath's own summary of the South-east Asia discussion as an indictment of the seminar's lack of analytical framework, and concludes that the book exposes a broader poverty of genuine political analysis in India, where officials' foreign-policy pronouncements remain vague and secretive. - Reviews India and the World, edited by A. P. Jain (D. K. Publishing House, Delhi, pp. 392, Rs. 40), a compilation of papers from a Society for Parliamentary Studies seminar held at Vigyan Bhavan. - Criticizes the seminar's broad, vague topic for producing discussions that reported on world events rather than analysing India's actual policy interaction with them. - Finds no clear connection between Part I of the book and the seemingly unrelated Part II papers on Czechoslovakia and Laos. - Praises a middle set of five papers for more sophisticated technical analysis, though questions whether they were part of the original seminar or added later. - Quotes Dr. Charles Heimsath's own summary of the seminar's South-east Asia session, in which he notes there was 'no agreement, or even a definition' on India's role in world affairs. - Concludes the book exposes a broader 'poverty of genuine political comment' in India, where officials' foreign-policy statements remain deliberately vague and much real policy is made in secret. ### The Disease of Change (Future Shock by Alvin Toffler) *By K. Vasudeva Rao* A short unsigned closing note appended to the India and the World review, commenting acidly on Watergate-era political euphemisms ('extenuating circumstances,' 'pragmatic assessment,' 'inoperative statements') and on the vacuity of much foreign-policy analysis, illustrated by the example of analysts counting how many times Chou En-lai smiled at Nixon. It is signed 'A. Chatterjee,' matching the reviewer credited in the issue's table of contents for book reviews alongside Vasudeva Rao. - Comments on new Watergate-era political euphemisms such as 'extenuating circumstances' and 'inoperative statements' (a term for an earlier statement revealed as false). - Notes that political analysts resort to counting superficial signals, such as the number of times Chou En-lai smiled at Nixon at an official banquet, calling this 'the stuff of foreign policy.' - Signed by A. Chatterjee, one of the two named book reviewers previewed in the issue's front-page contents note. ### With Many Voices K. Vasudeva Rao reviews Alvin Toffler's Future Shock (Bantam Books, 561 pages, $1.25), describing it as Toffler's account of 'what happens to people when they are overwhelmed by change' and the adaptive challenges of accelerating social and technological transformation. The review summarizes Toffler's biography, the book's six-part, twenty-chapter structure, its core concept (drawing on William Ogburn's theory of cultural lag) that human adaptive capacity is falling behind the pace of change, and Toffler's call for a new theory of adaptation to help society 'come to terms with the future.' Rao notes the book's own thesis about the rapid obsolescence of data as something the review itself must reckon with. - Reviews Alvin Toffler's Future Shock (Bantam Books, 561 pp., $1.25, New York). - Describes Toffler's background as an editor of Fortune and contributor to Life, Horizon, Playboy and academic journals, and author of The Culture Consumers. - Summarizes the book's six parts and twenty chapters, including chapters like 'The Death of Permanence' and 'the throw-away society.' - Explains the core concept of 'future shock,' coined by Toffler in a 1965 Horizon article, building on William Ogburn's theory of cultural lag about uneven rates of change across social sectors. - Quotes Toffler's argument that society has not learned to 'conceive, research, write and publish in real time,' so readers must focus on general themes over rapidly-obsolescing details. - Notes the review's own closing point that the rapidity of change gives the book's data a 'special significance' precisely because it will quickly go out of date, self-verifying its own thesis. ### Essay 10 The recurring 'With Many Voices' page, a compilation of quotations from the contemporary press and public figures on Watergate, Communism, Indian politics, and international affairs, drawn from sources including The Economist, Time, President Nixon, Raymond Aron, Girilal Jain, Madhu Limaye, Balraj Madhok, Colonel Gaddafi, and Maharashtra Chief Minister V. P. Naik, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. - Compiles brief quotations from international and Indian press and public figures dated April-May 1973. - Includes comparisons between Watergate-style scandal in the US and routine practices in Communist states, e.g. a Jana Sangh comment likening the domestic 'Maruti affair' to Watergate in scale. - Features quotes from Raymond Aron on Marx's continuing relevance through his questions rather than his answers, and from Girilal Jain on doubts about centralised planning versus the market mechanism. - Includes Madhu Limaye's prediction that the word 'socialism' is losing its meaning and will eventually be hated. - Includes Balraj Madhok's claim that the slow death of democracy in India began the day Nehru came to power. - Closes the issue's editorial content before the subscription form and publication colophon (Freedom First, published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel at 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff254/ ### Summary This is the complete July 1973 issue (No. 254) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based liberal monthly edited by M. R. Masani. The lead story, translated from a Marathi Loksatta report, accuses Union Labour Minister Raghunath Reddy, a former Communist, of improperly interfering in state-level industrial disputes (Voltas, Indian Explosives Kanpur, Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Rishikesh) in favour of striking unions. The regular 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' column takes up Indian Airlines' monopoly, Swatantra Party factional troubles in Orissa, Ronald Reagan's proposed California tax ceiling versus Soviet income tax rates, the bicentenary of Adam Smith's birth, and diplomatic slights to Ambassador T. N. Kaul in Washington. S. V. Raju contributes a satirical account of Bombay's May 1973 bandhs called by trade unions and George Fernandes against the backdrop of drought and price rises. The issue reprints, as a documentary exclusive, the Postscript that Soviet physicist Andrei Sakharov appended in June 1972 to his 1971 Memorandum to Brezhnev, indicting Soviet apathy, psychiatric persecution of dissidents, and militarisation.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the complete July 1973 issue (No. 254) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based liberal monthly edited by M. R. Masani. The lead story, translated from a Marathi Loksatta report, accuses Union Labour Minister Raghunath Reddy, a former Communist, of improperly interfering in state-level industrial disputes (Voltas, Indian Explosives Kanpur, Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Rishikesh) in favour of striking unions. The regular 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' column takes up Indian Airlines' monopoly, Swatantra Party factional troubles in Orissa, Ronald Reagan's proposed California tax ceiling versus Soviet income tax rates, the bicentenary of Adam Smith's birth, and diplomatic slights to Ambassador T. N. Kaul in Washington. S. V. Raju contributes a satirical account of Bombay's May 1973 bandhs called by trade unions and George Fernandes against the backdrop of drought and price rises. The issue reprints, as a documentary exclusive, the Postscript that Soviet physicist Andrei Sakharov appended in June 1972 to his 1971 Memorandum to Brezhnev, indicting Soviet apathy, psychiatric persecution of dissidents, and militarisation. Two book reviews follow: Joan Contractor on Arthur Miller's Collected Plays, and M. R. Pai on Benedict Costa's India's Socialist Princes and Garibi Hatao, a polemic against India's 'socialist' political class. The letters section carries an exchange on judicial independence prompted by an earlier editorial, and a rebuttal concerning a review of a seminar volume on India's Vietnam policy. The issue closes with 'Who Invited Whom?', juxtaposing Gustav Husak's 1968 denial of inviting Warsaw Pact troops into Czechoslovakia with his 1971 thanks to the CPSU, and the 'With Many Voices' page of aphoristic quotations. ## Essays ### Broken Nose "A Minor Affair": Communist Minister Raghunath Reddy in Action An unsigned lead article, translated from a Marathi report in the Bombay daily Loksatta (20 June 1973), accuses Union Labour Minister Raghunath Reddy, a former Communist, of interfering in Maharashtra's industrial relations to favour striking unions, beginning with a tripartite meeting he convened on the Voltas dispute without consulting the State Labour Minister Narendra Tidke. The piece reports that Reddy dismissed a 1969 case in which a worker broke a supervisor's nose as 'a minor affair', and that he considers existing industrial laws outdated and employer-oriented. The article (continued from page 1 to page 15) adds two further cases of alleged Centre interference: at Indian Explosives Ltd's fertilizer division in Kanpur, where Marxist-led unions repeatedly broke agreements amid a power-cut-driven lay-off, and at Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, Rishikesh, where Reddy demanded reinstatement of all workers and took over responsibility for adjudicating a strike's legality despite continuing indiscipline. - Alleges Union Labour Minister Raghunath Reddy, a former Communist, is enabling Centre interference in state industrial disputes - Central to the case is a 4 June tripartite meeting on the Voltas dispute called without consulting Maharashtra's Labour Minister Narendra Tidke - Reddy dismissed a 1969 assault in which a supervisor's nasal bone was broken as 'a minor affair' - Maharashtra Labour Minister Tidke is presented favourably as pushing for a national computers policy and securing guidelines from Voltas management - Extends the interference charge to Indian Explosives Ltd (Kanpur) and Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd (Rishikesh), citing repeated breach of agreements and Reddy's intervention on reinstatement and strike legality ### A Tale of Two Bandhs and a Half *By S. V. Raju* The unsigned 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column runs six short editorial items. It ridicules a Delhi announcement bringing Indian Airlines under closer Civil Aviation Ministry control as proof the real problem is government monopoly, not insufficient oversight. It reports on Swatantra Party discord in Orissa between Piloo Mody and Biju Patnaik over the Pragati Party alliance. It welcomes California Governor Ronald Reagan's proposed constitutional tax ceiling, noting Milton Friedman's endorsement, and contrasts it with high Indian taxation and, ironically, with the Soviet Union's own comparatively low income-tax ceiling. A short item marks the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith's birth, crediting Wealth of Nations and Ludwig Erhard's 'German Miracle' as living rebuttals to Marx. Another item mocks the ceremonial delay given to Indian ambassador T. N. Kaul in presenting credentials to President Nixon, contrasted with the access given to a Chinese envoy. The column closes with two boxed reprints: 'Precept & Practice', on Finance Minister Y. B. Chavan's motorcade despite urging petrol economy, and 'Expropriation', an excerpt from O. A. Altayev in Survey (Winter 1973) on the moral costs of Soviet housing expropriation. - Argues Indian Airlines' problems stem from state monopoly, not insufficient ministerial control - Covers a Swatantra Party rift in Orissa between Piloo Mody and Biju Patnaik over the Pragati Party alliance - Praises Reagan's proposed California tax ceiling and notes Milton Friedman's support, contrasting it with Indian and even Soviet tax rates - Marks Adam Smith's 250th birth anniversary, linking Wealth of Nations to Ludwig Erhard's postwar German recovery - Contrasts the diplomatic reception given to India's ambassador T. N. Kaul with that given a Chinese envoy in Washington - Reprints anecdotes critiquing official hypocrisy (Y. B. Chavan's motorcade) and Soviet housing expropriation (via Survey magazine) ### Sakharov Writes to Brezhnev: Postscript to a Memorandum S. V. Raju's satirical account of Bombay's back-to-back bandhs in May 1973. The Communist-aligned United Council of Trade Unions planned a bandh for 15 May, but George Fernandes postponed his rival bandh to 25 May, prompting CITU's Comrade S. Y. Kolhatkar's fury at the suggestion that the movement depended on Fernandes. The 15 May 'collective action' fizzled — only 12 of 62 mills and 58 of 259 factories closed — degenerating into vandalism (one car burnt, over 500 windscreens smashed) rather than an effective strike, while police were notably passive. On 25 May, George Fernandes ran a more successful bandh with a 'positive programme' including opposition to the 'Twin City project', joined by the Jan Sangh's Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh and grain retailers but not the Communists; Bal Thackeray's Shiv Sena opposed it and kept its bus depots running, while Shiv Sainiks were later accused of intimidating shopkeepers to close on 26 May. The essay concludes that neither bandh achieved anything of substance for the drought-hit population, and closes by noting Fernandes' announcement, from Delhi, that he would contest a Lok Sabha by-election from a Bombay constituency, with several parties denying having invited him to do so. - Recounts two rival Bombay bandhs in May 1973: 15 May (Communist-led, United Council of Trade Unions) and 25 May (George Fernandes-led) - The 15 May bandh largely failed as an organised strike (only a fraction of mills/factories closed) and degenerated into car and property vandalism, with police notably passive - The 25 May bandh, backed also by the Jan Sangh's Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, was comparatively more effective, while Bal Thackeray's Shiv Sena opposed it and kept buses running - Concludes neither bandh delivered any real relief for the drought-affected population; food prices and power failures continued regardless - Notes Fernandes' subsequent announcement of a Lok Sabha by-election bid from Bombay, with parties denying they invited his candidacy ### Reviews: Arthur Miller's Collected Plays *By Joan Contractor* Freedom First publishes, as a translated documentary exclusive, the Postscript that Soviet physicist Andrei Sakharov appended in June 1972 to his May 1971 Memorandum to Communist Party General Secretary Brezhnev, having received no reply. Sakharov writes that while he does not deny genuine social and economic progress in the USSR over 50 years, Soviet society is marked by apathy, hypocrisy, and 'petit bourgeois egoism', with a privileged party-state apparatus indifferent to human rights violations and a population sunk in alcoholism. He calls for democratization, rule of law, and full intellectual freedom, and argues capitalism and the socialist regime must converge, with reduced militarism on both sides. The Postscript details 'hidden' failures in health care and education, condemns continuing psychiatric persecution of dissidents (naming Grigorenko, Gershuni, Fainberg, Borisov, and the poet Lupynis) and religious persecution particularly in the Baltic states, and singles out arms-race militarization — noting Soviet military expenditure exceeds 40 percent of national income — as a threat to peace. He closes by urging the establishment of an 'International Council of Experts' with standing to make recommendations to national governments. - Sakharov's June 1972 Postscript follows an unanswered May 1971 Memorandum to Brezhnev - Diagnoses Soviet society as suffering apathy, hypocrisy, privilege-hoarding by the party-state apparatus, and endemic alcoholism - Calls for democratization, rule of law, and full intellectual freedom as the basis for 'spiritual regeneration' - Argues resolution of Cold War tensions requires convergence of capitalism and socialism, with reduced militarism on both sides - Documents continued psychiatric persecution of dissidents (naming Grigorenko, Gershuni, Fainberg, Borisov, Lupynis) and religious persecution in the Baltic states - States Soviet military spending exceeds 40% of national income and calls for an International Council of Experts to advise governments ### Reviews: India's Socialist Princes and Garibi Hatao by Benedict Costa (Hypocricy + Parasitism = Radicalism) *By M. R. Pai* Joan Contractor reviews Arthur Miller's Collected Plays (Allied Publishers, India, Rs. 15), covering All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, A Memory of Two Mondays, and A View from the Bridge. She praises the volume's readability and Miller's introduction, and traces a recurring pattern across the plays: heroes of ordinary station who attain tragic stature not through high status but through free will exercised within an iron-bound set of circumstances, culminating in each protagonist's self-destructive reckoning with truth, guilt, or love (Joe Keller's suicide, Willy Loman's suicide-as-insurance-policy, John Proctor's refusal to falsely confess, Eddie Carbone's fatal stabbing). The review closes by noting Miller's own claim that he is committed to the 'un-mod pre-twentieth century notion' that man is more than the sum of his stimuli. - Reviews Arthur Miller's Collected Plays (Allied Publishers India), covering five plays including Death of a Salesman and The Crucible - Identifies a recurring Miller pattern: ordinary-station heroes who attain tragic stature via free will within circumstance, not high social rank - Summarises the moral arcs of Joe Keller (All My Sons), Willy Loman (Death of a Salesman), John Proctor (The Crucible), and Eddie Carbone (A View from the Bridge) - Frames Miller, despite his contemporary image, as an old-fashioned moralist committed to human agency against determinism ### Letters: "Freedom is Indivisible" *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai reviews Benedict Costa's India's Socialist Princes and Garibi Hatao (Kalyani Publishers, Ludhiana, Rs. 18), a collection of eight essays, some previously published in Illustrated Weekly of India, exposing the hypocrisy of India's 'radical' socialist political class — ministers with tax-free perquisite income, governors living in feudal splendour, black-money holders, and smugglers — under the formula 'Hypocrisy + Parasitism = Indian Radicalism'. Pai commends the book's integration of material and its unusually careful sourcing, but flags factual inconsistencies (contradictory kisan-holding figures on pages 40 and 77; a demonetisation figure on page 82 that doesn't match a Reserve Bank Governor C. D. Deshmukh figure) and the absence of an index. Pai partly dissents from Costa's framing, arguing it is unfair to liken today's parasitic politicians to India's former princely class, many of whom had genuine nobility and love for their subjects, and situates the phenomenon instead within a feudal society straining under industrialisation, where 'equality' rhetoric masks vote-catching necessity. He closes endorsing Costa's central question of whether Indira Gandhi can succeed 'where others have failed', concluding the book itself answers 'No', and calls for a revised, up-to-date pocket-book edition. - Reviews Benedict Costa's India's Socialist Princes and Garibi Hatao (Kalyani Publishers), eight essays on hypocrisy among India's socialist political class - Summarises the book's central formula: Hypocrisy + Parasitism = Indian Radicalism - Notes factual inconsistencies in the book (contradictory kisan-holding and demonetisation figures) and the lack of an index - Pai partly disagrees with equating current 'socialist princes' with the historic princely class, arguing many princes had genuine nobility - Frames the phenomenon as a feudal society straining under technological and industrial change, using egalitarian rhetoric as political cover - Concludes the book itself answers 'No' to whether Indira Gandhi's government can succeed where predecessors failed, and calls for a revised paperback edition ### Letters: "India and the World" *By A. P. Jain* The Letters page carries two exchanges. In the first, 'Freedom is Indivisible', Leela P. Trikamdas responds to the June 1973 editorial of the same name, defending the late Purshottam Trikamdas's long record of warning against erosion of judicial independence (including his 1968 clash with Nehru over the 25th Amendment) and disputing the editorial's charge of a 'conspiracy of silence' among the press and intelligentsia, citing extensive coverage in the Hindustan Times, Times of India, and the Hindu. The Editor's reply (unsigned, presumably Masani) responds that Mrs. Trikamdas has missed the editorial's point, which was that none of the protests explicitly called the supersession of the three judges a step toward Communist takeover, unlike Kumaramangalam's parliamentary defence, which the editorial had likened to Vyshinsky's justification of Stalin's show trials. In the second letter, 'India and the World', A. P. Jain challenges Mr. Chatterjee's review of a seminar volume on India's Vietnam policy, defending the book's Part I as a careful analysis by Prof. L. P. Singh, Dr. J. M. Mukhi, Mr. Mankekar, Dr. Parimal Das, and Mr. Chakravarti of India's ambivalent position between the US, USSR, and China, and accusing Chatterjee of pro-American bias evident in his uncritical citation of Nixon's rhetoric. - Leela P. Trikamdas defends her late husband Purshottam Trikamdas's record on judicial independence, referencing his 1968 warnings to Nehru about the 25th Amendment - The Editor's reply clarifies the June 1973 editorial's point: that no protester explicitly framed the judges' supersession as a step toward Communist takeover, unlike Kumaramangalam's Vyshinsky-like parliamentary defence - A. P. Jain rebuts Mr. Chatterjee's review of a seminar volume ('India and the World'), defending its Part I essays by L. P. Singh, J. M. Mukhi, Mankekar, Parimal Das, and Chakravarti on India's Vietnam policy - Jain accuses Chatterjee of pro-American sympathies, citing his approving quotation of Nixon statements like 'one time exception' and 'extenuating circumstances' ### Who Invited Whom? A short unsigned documentary item juxtaposes two statements by Gustav Husak, First Secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party: his August 1968 denial, reported in Pravda, that any Czechoslovak leader had invited Warsaw Pact troops into the country, against his April 1971 address to the 24th CPSU Congress thanking the Soviet people for having 'understood the anxieties of the Czechoslovak Communists regarding socialism and their appeals for help' — presented as evidence of the earlier denial's falsity. - Juxtaposes Gustav Husak's August 1968 denial (Pravda) that Czechoslovak leaders invited Warsaw Pact intervention - Contrasts this with Husak's April 1971 CPSU Congress address thanking the USSR for responding to Czechoslovak Communists' 'appeals for help' - The juxtaposition is presented without further comment, implying the 1971 statement contradicts the 1968 denial ### With Many Voices The closing 'With Many Voices' page is a compilation of short quotations from world and Indian press and public figures on politics, corruption, and power, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. Quoted sources include Romesh Thapar, Christopher Hollis, Ronald Reagan, P. M. Kamath, Indira Gandhi, George Fernandes, Edwina Mountbatten (on Nehru), Hugh Scott, President Nixon, and The Economist on Brezhnev's foreign travels and on Pakistan's break-up. The page also carries the issue's subscription form and the publication's colophon naming J. R. Patel as Associate Editor and the Democratic Research Service as publisher, based at 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay. - A compilation of press and public-figure quotations on power, corruption, and Cold War politics, framed by a Tennyson epigraph - Includes Indira Gandhi on US-China-Asia diplomacy and George Fernandes calling her 'the biggest fraud in Indian politics' - Includes Edwina Mountbatten's remark that Nehru is 'God's dream of an Indian model for an ideal world' - Carries the subscription form and colophon: published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel, Associate Editor, at 127 M. Gandhi Road, Bombay --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff255/ ### Summary This is issue No. 255 of Freedom First (August 1973), edited by M. R. Masani, a monthly journal of liberal ideas published in Bombay for the Democratic Research Service. The issue opens with a front-page statement by Jayaprakash Narayan and M. R. Masani protesting the arrest of Acharya Kripalani in Haryana and warning of growing intolerance of dissent under Mrs Gandhi's government, before turning to A. G. Noorani's comparative essay on the judiciary in the U.K. and U.S. constitutional systems. The editorial column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' comments on the launch of J.P. Narayan's new journal Everyman's, Andrei Sakharov's statements on Vietnam, the elevation of a communist-affiliated judge to the Supreme Court, and a rising 'cult of personality' around Indira Gandhi among Congress leaders. Brian Crozier contributes a sharp piece arguing that Brezhnev-era detente is a dangerous illusion given continued Soviet subversion abroad. Manjula Padmanabhan writes a personal, humorous account of holding a poster exhibition on a Bombay pavement.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 255 of Freedom First (August 1973), edited by M. R. Masani, a monthly journal of liberal ideas published in Bombay for the Democratic Research Service. The issue opens with a front-page statement by Jayaprakash Narayan and M. R. Masani protesting the arrest of Acharya Kripalani in Haryana and warning of growing intolerance of dissent under Mrs Gandhi's government, before turning to A. G. Noorani's comparative essay on the judiciary in the U.K. and U.S. constitutional systems. The editorial column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' comments on the launch of J.P. Narayan's new journal Everyman's, Andrei Sakharov's statements on Vietnam, the elevation of a communist-affiliated judge to the Supreme Court, and a rising 'cult of personality' around Indira Gandhi among Congress leaders. Brian Crozier contributes a sharp piece arguing that Brezhnev-era detente is a dangerous illusion given continued Soviet subversion abroad. Manjula Padmanabhan writes a personal, humorous account of holding a poster exhibition on a Bombay pavement. The issue also carries book reviews (on the position of women in India, and on British defence policy east of Suez), a heated exchange of letters between U. H. Easwarasarma and A. G. Noorani over Noorani's earlier review of Sardar Patel's correspondence and its treatment of communal politics in 1947, and closes with the regular 'With Many Voices' page of press quotations. ## Essays ### The Judiciary - U.K. and U.S. Models *By A. G. Noorani* An unsigned front-page news item reporting a joint statement by Jayaprakash Narayan and M. R. Masani on the arrest and release of Acharya Kripalani in Karnal, Haryana, where he had gone to inaugurate a kisan conference protesting a violation of civil liberties. The statement frames the Haryana government's use of prohibitory orders as part of a growing intolerance of dissent even when constitutional, invokes the memory of civil disobedience under British rule, and calls for citizens to build strong non-party organisations to defend intellectual freedom and civil liberties. - Acharya Kripalani was arrested and later released in Karnal, Haryana while attempting to inaugurate a kisan conference. - Jayaprakash Narayan and M. R. Masani issued a joint statement calling the episode symptomatic of growing intolerance of dissent. - The statement compares present conditions to 'the good old days' of deliberately violating 'lawless laws' under British rule, alongside Gandhi. - The two leaders urge citizens to build non-party organisations to defend intellectual freedom and civil liberties. ### Such Men Are Dangerous *By Brian Crozier* A. G. Noorani compares the role of the judiciary in the British and American constitutional systems, prompted by a 1969 exchange visit between American judges/lawyers and their British counterparts that produced the volume Legal Control of Government (edited by Bernard Schwartz and H. W. R. Wade). Noorani frames the 'Rule of Law' and an independent judiciary as central to the difference between constitutional democracy and despotism, noting the U.S. has a written Constitution with a judicially enforceable Bill of Rights while Britain operates under parliamentary supremacy. Continuing on pages 14-15, he discusses how American judges have taken on a more overtly policy-making, activist role than British judges would countenance, citing landmark Warren Court decisions (reapportionment, right to counsel, school prayer, libel and obscenity law) and noting the backlash this provoked from Congress. He also covers British administrative-law developments (the Parliamentary Commissioner, Lok Ayukta/Lok Pal proposals in India, the Anisminic case) and closes by observing that India's judiciary bears a heavier burden than its British or American counterparts because democratic tradition and public vigilance are less deeply rooted here. - The essay compares the British and American judicial systems following a 1969 exchange visit between American and British judges/lawyers. - The U.S. has a written, judicially enforceable Bill of Rights; in Britain Parliament is supreme, so American administrative and constitutional law is more developed. - American courts, especially the Warren Court, took on an overtly policy-making, activist role (reapportionment, right to counsel, school prayer, libel/obscenity) that provoked a legislative backlash defeating two Nixon Supreme Court nominations. - The Burger Court under Warren Burger has broadly maintained the Warren Court's trend on racial desegregation while showing caution ('judicial restraint') elsewhere. - India's administrative-law and ombudsman-style institutions (Lok Ayukta, proposed Lok Pal) are modelled on British precedents such as the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration. - Noorani concludes that India's judiciary carries a heavier burden than the U.S. or U.K. judiciary because democratic tradition and public vigilance are less deeply rooted in India. ### On Being a Goldfish in a Glass Bowl *By Manjula Padmanabhan* The regular editorial notes column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' covers several items: it welcomes Jayaprakash Narayan's new weekly journal Everyman's while warning it will need to offer something distinctive to survive in a crowded market; it discusses Andrei Sakharov's statements on Vietnam and detente, noting a British publication's observation that Newsweek omitted parts of his views from its published interview; it criticises the elevation of Mr. V. R. Krishna Iyer, a former Communist minister in Kerala, to the Supreme Court, calling it a case of 'packing the court'; and it attacks a rising 'cult of personality' around Mrs Gandhi, quoting Union Minister D. K. Barooah's remarks in Bombay that she was the only leader, and reports Congress M.P. Shashi Bhushan's call in Jaipur for a 'limited dictatorship'. - Freedom First welcomes Jayaprakash Narayan's new weekly Everyman's but warns it faces a crowded market of English-language weeklies. - The column discusses Andrei Sakharov's views on Vietnam and notes a discrepancy in how Newsweek reported his comments compared to other outlets. - It criticises the appointment of V. R. Krishna Iyer, described as a former Communist minister in Kerala, to the Supreme Court as 'packing the court'. - It reports Union Minister D. K. Barooah's Bombay speech asserting Mrs Gandhi as the sole leader and attacks this as a 'cult of personality'. - It also reports Congress M.P. Shashi Bhushan calling for 'limited dictatorship' in Jaipur, framing both episodes as possible groundwork for authoritarian drift. ### Against Becoming a Self Satisfied Pig (review of 'The Position of Women in India', ed. Kamla Bhasin) *By Geeta Doctor* Brian Crozier, Director of the Institute for the Study of Conflict in London, argues in this extract (written before Brezhnev's U.S. visit) that the Nixon-Brezhnev detente is dangerously misunderstood in the West. He contends the world did not become safer after the 1972 agreements, and that the absence of any acute crisis-sense is itself the danger, masking a shift of the Cold War onto more diffuse, internal battlegrounds (Ulster, Paris 1968, Turkey). He shows that Western usage of 'cold war' has drifted to match the Soviet definition, so that any criticism of the USSR is now branded 'cold war' revivalism, while the actual volume of Soviet propaganda, subversion, espionage and support for revolutionary movements abroad continues undiminished. He cites Soviet ideologist V. N. Egorov's writings on 'peaceful coexistence' to show that official Soviet doctrine still calls for intensifying the 'struggle of the working classes' even as it renounces war between states. - Crozier argues that the 1972 Nixon-Brezhnev agreements merely consecrated changes already underway rather than making the world safer. - He contends the chief present danger is the total absence of a sense of crisis, in contrast to earlier Cold War flashpoints like the 1948 Berlin airlift. - Western usage of 'cold war' has drifted toward the Soviet definition, so that criticizing Soviet policy is now stigmatized as 'cold war' revivalism. - He documents continuing Soviet propaganda, subversion, espionage, and support for 'revolutionary processes' abroad as evidence detente has not ended these activities. - He quotes Soviet ideologist V. N. Egorov's book Peaceful Coexistence and the Revolutionary Process to show official doctrine still calls peaceful coexistence a vehicle for intensifying international class struggle. ### British Defence Policy (review of 'British Defence Policy East of Suez 1947-1968' by Phillip Darby) *By Geoffrey Noronha* Manjula Padmanabhan writes a light, first-person account of holding her first exhibition of decorative posters on the pavement outside the Jehangir Art Gallery in Bombay, after a tip from a bearded artist who annually exhibited there. She describes the bureaucratic complications of getting the informal 'gallery' set up, a police interruption two weeks before her debut, and the diverse crowds who came over seven days: idlers, hippies looking for a 'soul mate', gypsies, Hijras, foreign travellers, and the 'Educated Elite' she sorts into cynical disbelievers, well-meaning critics, and unabashed admirers. She reflects that despite the exposure she had once dreaded, the experience was memorable and worth recommending, even though it was not a financial success. - Padmanabhan held her first exhibition of decorative posters on the pavement outside the Jehangir Art Gallery in Bombay rather than in a formal gallery. - The exhibition followed a tip from a bearded artist who annually exhibited on the same pavement, and required navigating an informal, seasonal 'gallery' arrangement. - Police briefly shut down the gallery about a week before her debut, resolved only after intervention with 'Someone Who Mattered'. - The crowds included idlers, hippies, gypsies, Hijras, and foreign travellers, alongside the 'Educated Elite' she divides into cynics, well-meaning critics, and unabashed admirers. - She reflects the exhibition was not a financial success but remains one of her most memorable experiences and one she recommends to others. ### Injustice to Sardar (Letter) *By U. H. Easwarasarma* Geeta Doctor reviews The Position of Women in India, edited by Kamla Bhasin (Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy / Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung), a book condensed from a seminar on the status of Indian women. The review describes how the seminar, unlike Western Women's Lib movements, avoided a 'persecution complex' and instead sought reform through the participation of both men and women. It summarizes contributions by Dr. Promilla Kapur, Mehra Masani, Dr. C. A. Hate, and Kamladevi Chattopadhyaya, noting statistics on unemployment among educated women and the double standards that grant women equality in principle but withhold it in practice. The review praises the volume as a brisk, thought-provoking step toward addressing the challenges facing Indian women, despite acknowledging its brief and panoramic rather than exhaustive treatment. - The book reviewed, The Position of Women in India, edited by Kamla Bhasin, condenses the proceedings of a seminar organised by the Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy and the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung. - The seminar avoided the 'persecution complex' associated with Western Women's Lib and instead argued liberation must be a movement of both men and women. - Four main papers were presented, by Dr. Promilla Kapur, Mehra Masani, Dr. C. A. Hate, and Kamladevi Chattopadhyaya. - Cited statistics show that, per 1971 figures, a majority of unemployed women degree-holders were not even seeking work, versus a much lower rate among men. - The review frames the book's central theme as the double standard of granting women formal equality while withholding it in practice. ### A Rejoinder *By A. G. Noorani* Geoffrey Noronha reviews British Defence Policy East of Suez 1947-1968 by Phillip Darby (Oxford University Press), a study published under the auspices of the Royal Institute of International Affairs on Britain's evolving post-colonial defence relationship with India and other former dependencies. The review traces the two decades after independence, including Field Marshal Auchinleck's sense that Britain remained 'morally bound' to aid India and Pakistan, the Dum Dum/Karachi air staging arrangements, British arms aid to India after the 1962 war with China, the 1963 Nassau-linked Kennedy-Macmillan defence aid agreement, the 1965 Indo-Pak war which ended talk of defence collaboration, and Britain's 1968 decision to withdraw its forces from east of Suez due to resource constraints. Noronha calls the book an excellent survey, faulting only its comparative lack of detail versus a comparable study by Prof. Lorne J. Kuic covering 1947-1965. - The reviewed book, British Defence Policy East of Suez 1947-1968 by Phillip Darby, covers two decades of Britain's post-independence defence relationship with India. - Field Marshal Auchinleck, Britain's last Commander-in-Chief in India, expressed the view that Britain remained 'morally bound' to aid India and Pakistan against an aggressor. - The review traces British military aid to India after the 1962 Sino-Indian war, including the Kennedy-Macmillan Nassau agreement extending £42 million in military aid. - The 1965 Indo-Pak war ended talk of continued UK-India defence collaboration, after which India turned toward the USSR, formalized in the 1971 Indo-Soviet Treaty. - Britain's January 1968 decision to withdraw defence forces from east of Suez and the Persian Gulf is attributed to 'lack of resources rather than intellectual rejection'. ### With Many Voices (miscellany of quoted press extracts) A letter to the editor from U. H. Easwarasarma disputes A. G. Noorani's earlier review (in the June issue) of Sardar Patel's Correspondence (Vol. IV), arguing that Noorani unfairly portrayed Patel as communally biased against Muslims. Easwarasarma defends Patel's stance on Muslim over-representation in the Delhi police as motivated by a merit principle rather than communal bias, disputes Noorani's reading of the Nehru-Patel correspondence on Chief Commissioner M. S. Randhawa's conduct during the 1947 partition riots, and argues it is unfair to compare Patel unfavourably to Gandhi or Nehru given the absence of any Muslim League leader who approached their stature. - Easwarasarma challenges Noorani's review of Sardar Patel's Correspondence (Vol. IV), which argued Patel held anti-Muslim communal views. - He argues Patel's stance on Muslim over-representation in the Delhi Police was about restoring merit-based proportion, not communal bias. - He disputes Noorani's reading of the Nehru-Patel exchange over Chief Commissioner M. S. Randhawa's conduct during the 1947 Delhi riots. - He cites Patel's own words to Neogy on the dangers of predominantly Muslim or Hindu areas as evidence of even-handedness. - He argues it is unfair to compare Patel unfavourably to Gandhi or Nehru, since no Muslim League leader approached their moral stature either. ### Essay 9 A. G. Noorani's rejoinder to Easwarasarma's letter reaffirms his original critique of Sardar Patel's handling of communal issues in 1947. Noorani argues Nehru's letter to Patel on Chief Commissioner Randhawa reflects unease rather than satisfaction, and that Patel's account of the 'mass psychology' building against Muslims in Delhi reflected sympathy with that psychology rather than objectivity. He contends Patel applied a double standard by defending merit-based recruitment in principle while tolerating discriminatory treatment of Muslims in the Delhi police and services, and closes by suggesting Easwarasarma compare the warmth of Patel's correspondence with M. S. Golwalkar to the coldness of Nehru's letters to Muslim League-linked figures. - Noorani argues Nehru's letter to Patel about Chief Commissioner Randhawa reflects unease and lack of conviction rather than satisfaction. - He argues Patel's account of rising 'mass psychology' against Muslims in Delhi reflected sympathy with, rather than objective distance from, that sentiment. - Noorani contends Patel applied a double standard: insisting on merit in recruitment while tolerating discriminatory treatment of Muslims in the Delhi police and other services. - He points to the Nehru-Patel exchange over resettling Muslims in predominantly Muslim localities as evidence of differing responses to communal questions. - He suggests comparing the warmth of Patel's correspondence with M. S. Golwalkar to the iciness of Nehru's letters to Muslim League-linked figures. ### Essay 10 'With Many Voices', the issue's closing page of press quotations, gathers short excerpts from a wide range of public figures and commentators on politics and current affairs in mid-1973, including remarks by Mark Twain, President Georges Pompidou, Edward Heath, Piloo Mody, Nayantra Sahgal, Sheikh Abdullah, Lenin (quoted in Himmat), Regis Debray, N. G. Goray, and Graham Turner. Several quotations comment critically on Mrs Gandhi's government, Congress politics, and the state of the Indian economy. The page also carries the subscription form for Freedom First, published by the Democratic Research Service. - The page compiles short quotations from public figures published in various newspapers and magazines during May-July 1973. - Several quotations are critical of Mrs Gandhi and Congress politics, including remarks by Piloo Mody, Nayantra Sahgal, and N. G. Goray. - A Lenin quotation on exploiting capitalist countries for raw materials is reprinted from Himmat magazine. - The page includes the subscription form for Freedom First, published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff256/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 256 (September 1973), edited by M. R. Masani, is a mixed issue of the classical-liberal Bombay journal combining foreign-policy commentary, an economic critique of Comecon, a lengthy essay on neo-colonialism theory, book and theatre reviews, and the magazine's regular editorial miscellany column. Geeta Doctor opens the issue arguing that India's anxieties about a rising, rearming Iran are overblown and largely self-inflicted, given India's own military preponderance in the region and the incoherence of Iranian and Indian mutual signalling. An unsigned staff analysis examines whether India should join Comecon, concluding from trade and growth statistics that the bloc is a Soviet-dominated, economically inefficient arrangement offering little genuine multilateral benefit. The issue's centrepiece is L. H. Gann's essay 'Neo-Colonialism and the New Class,' an abridged piece (drawn from Survey) that challenges Leninist and dependency-theory accounts of imperialism with investment and trade statistics from Africa, and argues that neo-colonialism theory chiefly serves the material and psychological interests of a new post-colonial administrative and intellectual elite.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 256 (September 1973), edited by M. R. Masani, is a mixed issue of the classical-liberal Bombay journal combining foreign-policy commentary, an economic critique of Comecon, a lengthy essay on neo-colonialism theory, book and theatre reviews, and the magazine's regular editorial miscellany column. Geeta Doctor opens the issue arguing that India's anxieties about a rising, rearming Iran are overblown and largely self-inflicted, given India's own military preponderance in the region and the incoherence of Iranian and Indian mutual signalling. An unsigned staff analysis examines whether India should join Comecon, concluding from trade and growth statistics that the bloc is a Soviet-dominated, economically inefficient arrangement offering little genuine multilateral benefit. The issue's centrepiece is L. H. Gann's essay 'Neo-Colonialism and the New Class,' an abridged piece (drawn from Survey) that challenges Leninist and dependency-theory accounts of imperialism with investment and trade statistics from Africa, and argues that neo-colonialism theory chiefly serves the material and psychological interests of a new post-colonial administrative and intellectual elite. The regular 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column takes aim at price controls, socialism, a Chinese news agency's approving citation of Masani, and a controversy involving Advocate-General H. M. Seervai's lecture being co-opted by Communist sympathisers. Review pages cover M. Chalapathi Rau's official biography of Nehru (harshly assessed by M. G. Bailur as vain and poorly written), Sharu Rangnekar's management humour book, and Manjula Padmanabhan's admiring theatre review of the Bombay production of Godspell. The back page carries the 'With Many Voices' quotations column and the subscription form. ## Essays ### Much Ado About Nothing: Indo-Iranian Relations *By Geeta Doctor* Geeta Doctor argues that the Indian press's sudden fixation on Iran's rise as a regional power — fuelled by oil wealth and the Shah's economic reforms since the 1963 White Revolution — is disproportionate and reflects a 'mental block' that reads every Iranian move only through the lens of Iran's relations with Pakistan. She notes that international military data show India's forces outnumber the combined forces of Iran and Pakistan, undercutting alarmist framing. The essay recounts a history of unrealized economic cooperation (steel rail purchases, petrochemical and ammonia deals, the Manali Refinery crude-oil pricing dispute) alongside genuine points of friction, including Iran's tacit support for Pakistan during the Bangladesh crisis, its opposition to Bangladesh's creation, and its wariness of India's tilt toward the Soviet Union and toward Iraq amid Iran-Iraq tension over the Shatt-al-Arab. Doctor concludes that India's foreign policy on Iran seems driven more by deference to Soviet interests than by India's own, and questions whether India retains real latitude to set its own course. - India's military strength exceeds the combined forces of Iran and Pakistan, per the International Institute for Strategic Studies, undercutting alarm about Iran's rise. - Iran's economic transformation since the 1963 White Revolution, backed by oil revenues ($2,800 million in 1972), is framed as remarkable but not implausible or unexpected. - Planned Indo-Iranian economic cooperation (steel rails, petrochemicals, ammonia supply) stalled due to bureaucratic disorganisation on the Indian side. - A pricing dispute over crude oil supplied to the Manali Refinery soured relations, with the Indian press seen as unfairly blaming Iran. - Iran's cooling relationship with Iraq over the Shatt-al-Arab and Persian Gulf islands contrasts with India's own warming ties to Iraq, which Iran reads as hostile. - The essay concludes that India's Iran policy is shaped more by alignment with Soviet interests (via the 1971 Indo-Soviet treaty) than by India's own strategic needs. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post An unsigned staff analysis responds to reports that India was considering Comecon membership, examining whether the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance is a sound multilateral grouping worth joining. Using trade and growth statistics — declining shares of world exports and imports, falling ratios of national-income growth to investment across Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the GDR, Hungary, Poland and the USSR, and a shrinking share of intra-bloc trade in members' total trade between 1965 and 1970 — the piece argues that Comecon is economically incoherent and functions chiefly to route trade toward Soviet requirements rather than genuine multinational cooperation. It draws on Soviet-Egyptian and Indo-Soviet agreement texts to show how Comecon-linked technical assistance is structured to preserve Soviet primacy, and cites the Economist's description of Comecon as 'little more than a glorified intra-governmental organisation.' It concludes that Comecon is 'just another off-shoot of Soviet Russia's proletarian imperialism.' - The Slovak Communist paper Pravda reported India was considering Comecon membership, a claim officially denied by Indian sources the next day. - Comecon's share of world exports and industrial production declined between 1950 and 1970, and its share of world exports and imports also fell between 1965 and 1970. - Growth-to-investment ratios declined across every major Comecon member state between 1950-55 and 1961-65, indicating inefficient industrial planning. - Intra-bloc trade as a share of members' total trade volume fell from 63.09% (1965) to 60.69% (1970), undercutting the goal of economic integration. - Agreements such as the 1958 USSR-Egypt pact and the 1959 Indo-Soviet Barauni Refinery agreement show Comecon-style technical cooperation is structured around Soviet primacy, not mutual benefit. - The Economist is quoted describing Comecon as having 'hardly any supranational features.' ### Should India Join Comecon? L. H. Gann's essay, abridged from Survey, dissects the doctrine of neo-colonialism as it has developed within Leninist and post-Leninist thought, arguing the theory serves ideological rather than empirical purposes. Gann marshals US investment and trade data — total US foreign investment of about $78 billion against a GNP of $974 billion, with only a small fraction placed in Africa or Asia and profits repatriated from Africa amounting to under 1% of US GNP — to argue that the claim of Western capitalism deriving its prosperity from exploiting the developing world is empirically baseless. Drawing on Zambia and Ghana as case studies (citing the economist Peter T. Bauer on Ghana), he shows substantial economic, infrastructural and educational growth under and after colonial rule, challenging the 'robbery of resources' narrative. He then traces how Lenin's and Marx's failed revolutionary predictions were rescued ideologically by successive theories (the 'New Imperialism,' then neo-colonialism), and argues the concept now chiefly serves a new administrative and educated elite in post-colonial states — created by colonial powers to administer, then inheriting the machinery of government — whose material and psychological interests are served by blaming external exploitation for domestic economic and political failures, including justifying nationalization and further concentration of state power. - US total foreign investment (~$78 billion) was under one-twelfth of US GNP in 1970; African investment was around $3.5 billion, undercutting claims that Western prosperity derives from exploiting the developing world. - Profits repatriated from Africa to the US (~$680 million in 1970) were a small fraction of the Ford Foundation's asset holdings, illustrating the scale mismatch in dependency-theory claims. - Zambia's economic, technological, and social transformation under British colonial rule (1890s-1964) is presented as evidence against the 'robbery of resources' narrative, alongside Peter T. Bauer's data on Ghana's cocoa exports and infrastructure growth. - Neo-colonialism theory functions as an ideological patch that explained away Marx's and Lenin's failed predictions of imminent Western capitalist collapse. - The theory now serves the interests of a new administrative 'New Class' elite in post-colonial states, created and trained by former colonial powers, who use anti-colonial and anti-capitalist rhetoric to justify nationalization and expanded state employment. - Gann warns the 'young and righteous nations vs ageing capitalist powers' framing obscures serious intra-Third-World ethnic conflicts (Kurds/Arabs, Ibo/Hausa, Galla/Amhara) and is likely to persist as entrenched post-colonial orthodoxy. ### Neo-Colonialism and the 'New Class' *By L. H. Gann* M. G. Bailur reviews M. Chalapathi Rau's official, government-commissioned biography Jawaharlal Nehru, judging it a disappointing 'tourist's-guide' rather than a serious biographical study. Bailur is sharply critical of the author's prose (calling it 'jejune,' 'ungrammatical,' and full of 'purple patches'), his reliance on paraphrasing Nehru's own autobiography rather than original research, and his self-promoting preface, which the reviewer sees as revealing more about Rau's own vanity and cultivated proximity to Nehru than about its subject. - Bailur questions Rau's credibility as biographer given his 27-year editorship of Nehru's own paper, the National Herald, calling this closeness a liability rather than an asset. - The book's first two chapters are described as 'a mere paraphrasis in bad English' of Nehru's own autobiography. - Bailur cites ungrammatical and gnomic sentences from the preface as evidence of poor craftsmanship. - The review recounts Rau's own reputation for self-publicity, including conflicting reports about whether he accepted or rejected the Padma Bhushan award. - Bailur concludes the preface itself, rather than the biography, is the book's most revealing feature, exposing Rau's 'technique of company-promoting.' ### Reviews — Tourist's-Guide to Nehru (review of 'Jawaharlal Nehru' by M. Chalapathi Rau, Publications Division, Government of India, New Delhi, Price Rs. 15) *By M. G. Bailur* A short, admiring review (initialled M.H.M.) of Sharu Rangnekar's In the Wonderland of Indian Managers, a book on Indian management culture illustrated with cartoons by Laxman. The reviewer praises its lively, satirical treatment of feudalism and nepotism in Indian industrial management and recommends it to both aspiring and established managers. - The book is praised for perceptive analysis of management problems in Indian industry, delivered through racy style and anecdotes. - Laxman's cartoons are credited with ably complementing the author's satirical observations. - The reviewer highlights the book's exposure of feudalism and nepotism in industrial management as its strongest material. - The review recommends the book both as a text for aspiring managers and reading for those already at the top. ### Reviews — In the Wonderland of Management (review of 'In the Wonderland of Indian Managers' by Sharu Rangnekar, Associated Personnel Services, Rs. 30) *By M. H. M.* Manjula Padmanabhan reviews the Bombay production of Godspell, directed by Pearl Padamsee, praising its irreverent, comedic staging of Gospel parables through mime, song and dance performed by a young, exuberant cast. She finds the first half completely successful but judges the second half weaker, arguing the shift to solemnity in the closing scenes never fully coheres with the earlier gaiety, unlike the more consistently modest tone of Jesus Christ Superstar. - The production restages Gospel parables as comic collage rather than a linear account of Christ's life, using mime and boisterous group song. - The young, largely amateur cast is praised for spontaneity and evident enjoyment on stage. - The reviewer singles out standout moments including the Lazarus scene and the prodigal son sequence. - The second half is judged weaker, with disconnected added scenes undermining the shift from comedy to tragic solemnity. - Godspell is favourably contrasted with Jesus Christ Superstar as a quieter, more appropriate handling of the same story. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff257/ ### Summary This is the complete October 1973 issue (No. 257) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based liberal journal edited by M. R. Masani, rendered in full across all 16 pages. The issue is organized around solidarity with Soviet dissidents: the cover and its continuation give extended extracts from a September 1973 interview with Alexander Solzhenitsyn on the impossibility of reversing Soviet totalitarianism, the persecution of Andrei Amalrik, General Grigorenko, and other dissidents, and the psychology of state jamming and censorship. The unsigned editorial column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' surveys the Soviet crackdown, South Vietnam's Senate elections, the declining non-aligned movement, a slump in Indira Gandhi's popularity, and the Indian government's restriction of American scholars. A samizdat programme document from the underground Soviet journal The Sower calls for a liberal opposition party built on scientific-democratic management of society. International PEN's protest (signed by Heinrich Böll and David Carver) against Amalrik's second sentence is reproduced along with the roster of the PEN All-India Centre's office-bearers.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the complete October 1973 issue (No. 257) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based liberal journal edited by M. R. Masani, rendered in full across all 16 pages. The issue is organized around solidarity with Soviet dissidents: the cover and its continuation give extended extracts from a September 1973 interview with Alexander Solzhenitsyn on the impossibility of reversing Soviet totalitarianism, the persecution of Andrei Amalrik, General Grigorenko, and other dissidents, and the psychology of state jamming and censorship. The unsigned editorial column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' surveys the Soviet crackdown, South Vietnam's Senate elections, the declining non-aligned movement, a slump in Indira Gandhi's popularity, and the Indian government's restriction of American scholars. A samizdat programme document from the underground Soviet journal The Sower calls for a liberal opposition party built on scientific-democratic management of society. International PEN's protest (signed by Heinrich Böll and David Carver) against Amalrik's second sentence is reproduced along with the roster of the PEN All-India Centre's office-bearers. An Economist reprint defends the Vietnam War as a defence of pluralism against a one-party communist alternative. The issue closes with a profile of the collage/envelope artist Raobail, three book/magazine reviews (on judicial-independence protests following the Chief Justice supersession, on E. N. Mangat Rai's memoir Commitment My Style, and on the relaunched Parsiana magazine), and the 'With Many Voices' page of press quotations, alongside period advertisements (Raymond's Woollens, Amar Dye-Chem, Milton's Shirts, Bombay Dyeing, Glycodin, ACC White Cement) and the subscription form. ## Essays ### Solzhenitsyn: A Voice from Across the Curtain The front-page feature reproduces extracts from a seven-thousand-word interview Alexander Solzhenitsyn gave to two Western journalists in early September 1973, continued on page 15. Solzhenitsyn insists that a single human soul with an inflexible conscience can alter the course of history, and attacks the Soviet state's treatment of citizenship as a revocable privilege rather than an inalienable right. He cites the cases of Andrei Amalrik (sentenced a second time to three years for 'Will the Soviet Union Survive Until 1984?') and General Pyotr Grigorenko (confined to a psychiatric hospital for dissent). The continuation on page 15 develops his critique of Western moral relativism ('the same thing happens in Greece, Spain, Turkey'), his account of radio jamming as an instrument of infantilizing the population, and his reflection on why mankind survives despite reservoirs of and capacity for self-sacrifice, ending with his warning that Brezhnev-era dissidents like Grigorenko and Vladimir Bukovski refused to buy freedom at the price of their convictions. - Solzhenitsyn argues one determined individual conscience can resist and eventually reverse an oppressive state. - He frames Soviet citizenship as a revocable 'coupon' controlled by a ruling clique rather than a natural right. - He cites Andrei Amalrik's second three-year sentence and General Grigorenko's psychiatric confinement as emblematic of dissident persecution. - He criticizes Western commentators' reflexive 'whataboutism' (citing Greece, Spain, Turkey) as diminishing the distinct horror of Soviet psychiatric imprisonment. - He describes radio jamming as reducing Soviet citizens to a 'robot's level' by controlling information uniformly. - He closes by praising dissidents such as Grigorenko and Bukovski for refusing to trade their convictions for personal freedom. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post The unsigned 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' editorial column runs across several sub-sections. 'Back to Stalin' surveys renewed Stalinist repression: the scientist Roy Medvedev stripped of his passport, Andrei Sinyavsky's smuggled diary, General Grigorenko's confinement, Solzhenitsyn's public defiance including his claim that any harm to him would carry the KGB's approval, and the show 'confessions' of Pyotr Yakir and Victor Krasin. 'Senate Elections in Viet Nam' celebrates South Vietnamese President Thieu's electoral victory as vindication of the war effort. 'Non-Aligned?' mocks the Algiers non-aligned conference for including dictators like Castro while Indira Gandhi's domestic popularity was reportedly slumping to an all-time low per an Indian Institute of Public Opinion poll. 'Harassing Scholars' criticizes the Indian government's cap on American scholars entering the country, quoting U.S. Ambassador Daniel Moynihan on the resulting atrophy of South Asian studies in American universities. - Chronicles renewed 'Stalinist' repression: Roy Medvedev's passport confiscation, Sinyavsky's smuggled camp diary, Grigorenko's continued psychiatric confinement, and Solzhenitsyn's public defiance via Le Monde. - Notes the coerced 'confessions' of dissidents Pyotr Yakir and Victor Krasin as a Brezhnev-regime counterattack. - Celebrates South Vietnam's August Senate elections (92% turnout) under President Thieu as vindicating the war effort against North Vietnamese pressure. - Derides the Algiers non-aligned conference as dominated by dictators (Castro, Sihanouk) despite some 'sensible' member governments. - Reports a steep decline in Indira Gandhi's popularity per an Indian Institute of Public Opinion poll, contrasted with resilient Congress party support. - Criticizes New Delhi's cap on American scholars, citing Ambassador Moynihan's warning that it will atrophy South Asian studies in the U.S. ### For a Liberal Opposition Party in U.S.S.R. This is a translated samizdat programme document from the first issue of the underground Soviet journal The Sower, calling for the creation of a social-democratic opposition party in Russia. The document analyzes Soviet 'state capitalism' through three historical phases (Bolshevik, Stalinist, and the current post-Stalin phase of stagnation and moral demoralization), argues that the scientific intelligentsia's need for intellectual freedom puts it in structural conflict with the ossified administrative class, criticizes open protest and petition-signing as tactically self-defeating, engages critically with Andrei Sakharov's reform proposals as insufficiently concrete, and lays out an eight-point reform programme calling for scientific-democratic management, market-oriented economic reforms (including elements of the NEP), workplace democracy, narrowed income differentials, relaxation of ideological censorship, and an end to Soviet support for 'semifascist' Arab regimes and interventions in Eastern Europe. - States the goal of creating a social-democratic opposition party in Russia despite the group's small size and inexperience. - Analyzes Soviet 'state capitalism' in three phases: the progressive Bolshevik phase, the brutal Stalinist phase, and the current phase of stagnation since Stalin's death. - Argues the scientific intelligentsia is structurally in conflict with the administrative class because intellectual freedom is a precondition of its productive work. - Criticizes open protests and petition-signing as having weakened the movement by inviting repression of its most active members. - Engages critically with Andrei Sakharov's reform letter, judging it insufficiently concrete to serve as a programme. - Proposes an eight-point programme: scientific-democratic management, NEP-style economic reforms, workplace democracy, capped income inequality, relaxed censorship, humanized politics, an end to Soviet support for 'semifascist' Arab regimes and Eastern European interventions, and urgent environmental/social measures. ### Sentence on Amalrik: International PEN Protest *By Heinrich Boll (President); David Carver (Secretary)* International PEN's formal protest against Andrei Amalrik's renewed sentence, signed by Heinrich Böll (President) and David Carver (Secretary), argues that Amalrik's punishment contradicts the spirit of detente and that any writer who is 'guilty' of Amalrik's crime shares it with honest authors everywhere; it compares the Soviet Union's actions to Khrushchev's 1956 treatment of dissenters and pledges International PEN's efforts on Amalrik's behalf. The page also lists the signed roster of the PEN All-India Centre's office-bearers (led by President Dr. S. Radhakrishnan and Vice President Masti Venkatesa Iyengar) and a long list of PEN members and distinguished writers who co-signed, including M. R. Masani, M. C. Chagla, Nissim Ezekiel, and Khushwant Singh. - International PEN, led by Heinrich Böll and David Carver, formally protests Amalrik's renewed sentence as a contradiction of detente. - The protest compares the Soviet action to Khrushchev's 1956 treatment of dissident writers. - PEN pledges to use all means to alleviate Amalrik's and his wife's personal situation. - Lists the PEN All-India Centre's office-bearers, headed by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan as President and Masti Venkatesa Iyengar as Vice President. - Records a long roster of co-signing Indian writers and public figures, including M. R. Masani, M. C. Chagla, and Khushwant Singh. ### A War Worth Fighting *By The Economist* A reprint from The Economist defends continued American involvement in the Vietnam War as a defence of a pluralist alternative to communism. It argues South Vietnam under President Thieu remains a more open society than the North, with a parliament capable of defying the president, a freer press, and the prospect (however limited) of political choice, and contends this pluralist structure of power offers a foundation for eventual democratization that a centralized communist regime forecloses. - Argues South Vietnam's relative openness (parliament, press, Amnesty International access) justified the American intervention. - Contends Thieu's government, unlike a communist one, cannot command total authority and must deal with semi-independent political actors. - Concludes South Vietnam's pluralist structure of power is a 'decisive advantage' for post-war economic and political development. ### A Man of Letters (and Envelopes) *By Manjula Padmanabhan* An Art-section profile by Manjula Padmanabhan of the Bombay-based artist Raobail, who transforms plain postal envelopes into collage artworks using ink, magazine fragments, and postage stamps. The piece traces his path from agricultural science graduate to L.I.C. clerk to J.J. School of Art dropout, describes his three exhibitions (two at Jehangir Art Gallery), and recounts how Swiss graphic artist Hans Erni became fascinated with his work after visiting his 1972 exhibition, becoming a recipient of his decorated envelopes and an advocate seeking foreign recognition for him. - Raobail transforms plain envelopes into collage art using ink, magazine fragments, and postage stamps. - He trained in agricultural science before working as an L.I.C. clerk and later attending (and leaving) the J.J. School of Art. - His third exhibition (late 1972) attracted Swiss artist Hans Erni, who now receives Raobail's decorated envelopes and promotes his work abroad. - Raobail reports his mail reaches recipients everywhere except the United States and Canada, where he says letters are 'pilfered'. - He describes his working method as improvisational: 'I don't have any plan when I paint. I just paint.' ### Protests from the Bar (review of A Judiciary Made to Measure, ed. N. A. Palkhivala) *By Sujata Manohar* A book review by Sujata Manohar of A Judiciary Made to Measure, edited by N. A. Palkhivala, covering the nationwide protests over the government's supersession of three Supreme Court judges in appointing A. N. Ray as Chief Justice. The review recounts Mohan Kumaramangalam's stated rationale that judicial appointments should reflect a 'suitable' philosophy from the government's point of view, argues this abandonment of the seniority convention threatens judicial independence given the government's role as the country's largest litigant, and notes subsequent erosion of judicial independence at lower levels, including a controversial state Chief Justice appointment and the appointment of a judge with a 'pronounced political record as a communist.' - The review covers protests over Justice A. N. Ray's appointment as Chief Justice in supersession of three senior judges. - Cites Mohan Kumaramangalam's parliamentary rationale that the appointment reflected a philosophy 'most suitable' to the government. - Argues abandoning the seniority convention is dangerous because government is the country's largest litigant, creating a conflict of interest. - Cites Articles 124 and 217 on required judicial consultation for Supreme Court and High Court appointments. - Notes the book contains Jayaprakash Narayan's appeal to the Prime Minister and a joint lawyers' statement of 26 April 1973. - Warns of further erosion of judicial independence, including politically motivated appointments at lower court levels. ### An Outline of Administration (review of Commitment My Style by E. N. Mangat Rai) *By Mehra Masani* A review by Mehra Masani of Commitment My Style by E. N. Mangat Rai, a memoir spanning 1938 to 1972 covering the author's Punjabi Christian upbringing, ICS training and administrative career (including famine duty, price control, and terms as Finance and Chief Secretary of Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir), and his 1972 resignation over policy differences. The review focuses particularly on Mangat Rai's chapter on Sardar Pratap Singh Kairon, Chief Minister of Punjab from 1956, portraying Kairon as a dynamic but flawed leader whose over-centralization, cronyism (including toward his own sons), and use of police for personal intelligence-gathering produced a climate of fear that ultimately undermined the administration he sought to energize, foreshadowing broader administrative deterioration in Indian governance. - The reviewed memoir spans 1938-1972, covering the author's Punjabi Christian upbringing, ICS career, and 1972 resignation. - Mangat Rai's career included famine duty in Hissar, price control work, and service as Finance and Chief Secretary of Punjab and J&K. - The review centers on Kairon's chapter, describing him as centralizing administration while decentralizing policy under an 'action first, philosophy later' approach. - Kairon is portrayed as secular, energetic, and personally accessible, but prone to suspicion and cronyism, including toward his own sons. - Kairon's use of police to gather intelligence on politicians and officials produced administrative 'terror' that stifled fearless action. - The review connects Kairon's blind spots to a broader multiplication of similarly flawed political leadership in later Indian governance. ### Parsiana (magazine review) *By Feroza Paymaster* A short review by Feroza Paymaster of the relaunched Parsiana magazine, edited by Jehangir R. Patel, praising its attractive, dynamic new format introduced with the Parsi New Year. The first issue is noted for covering the disposal of the dead and Parsi divorce customs, alongside art and drama reviews and an interview with D. F. Karaka. - Parsiana relaunched with the Parsi New Year under editor Jehangir R. Patel, priced at Rs. 2. - The reviewer calls the new format 'attractive, dynamic and in keeping with the times' compared to the older version. - The first issue covers topics including disposing of the dead, Parsi divorce, art and drama reviews, and an interview with D. F. Karaka. ### With Many Voices The closing 'With Many Voices' page is a compilation of short quotations from the contemporary press (Indian Express, The Hindu, Time, The Economist, Hindustan Times, Times of India) commenting on Indian politics, the Vietnam War, and world affairs in mid-1973, including remarks by Kamaraj on political cheating, Ambassador Moynihan on American reliability, Piloo Mody on 'Maruti Socialism,' and Time magazine's assessment of India's 'worst crisis in 26 years.' The page also carries the Freedom First subscription form and publication masthead (Democratic Research Service, Bombay; printed at Inland Printers). - Compiles press quotations on Indian and world politics from Indian Express, The Hindu, Time, The Economist, Hindustan Times, and Times of India. - Kamaraj is quoted repeatedly criticizing political rhetoric ('puratchi' and 'munnetram') as a cover for cheating the people. - Piloo Mody is quoted describing the prior eight years as the era of 'Maruti Socialism.' - Time magazine is quoted describing India as in the 'midst of its worst crisis in 26 years' with the Prime Minister allegedly unaware of it. - The page carries the Freedom First subscription form and masthead identifying publication by the Democratic Research Service, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff259/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 259 (December 1973), edited by M. R. Masani, is a sixteen-page issue of the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas. Its lead article, Manohar Malgonkar's "Eleven Years to Go?", reviews the four-contributor book Justice—Communist Style on the April 1973 supersession of three Supreme Court judges, using contributions from Masani, A. G. Noorani, Ram Jethmalani and Dr. Bertram D. Wolfe to argue that the episode signals a drift toward committed, party-loyal courts and a broader erosion of institutional freedoms in India. The issue otherwise ranges widely: Geeta Doctor reports on the student-led 1973 upheaval in Thailand; a pained open letter from Israeli minister Moshe Kol to the President of the Liberal International rebukes European liberals for their silence during the Yom Kippur War, paired with a legal analysis of U.N.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 259 (December 1973), edited by M. R. Masani, is a sixteen-page issue of the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas. Its lead article, Manohar Malgonkar's "Eleven Years to Go?", reviews the four-contributor book Justice—Communist Style on the April 1973 supersession of three Supreme Court judges, using contributions from Masani, A. G. Noorani, Ram Jethmalani and Dr. Bertram D. Wolfe to argue that the episode signals a drift toward committed, party-loyal courts and a broader erosion of institutional freedoms in India. The issue otherwise ranges widely: Geeta Doctor reports on the student-led 1973 upheaval in Thailand; a pained open letter from Israeli minister Moshe Kol to the President of the Liberal International rebukes European liberals for their silence during the Yom Kippur War, paired with a legal analysis of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242 by Sheila Sumant; short notices cover Soviet-style corruption and an Amnesty International anti-torture campaign; and the back pages carry three book reviews (on Rajaji, on the Indian judiciary crisis, and on Karl Kaiser's Europe and United States) plus a page of quoted commentary on the West Asian conflict under the heading "With Many Voices." ## Essays ### Eleven Years to Go? *By Manohar Malgonkar* Manohar Malgonkar reviews Justice—Communist Style, a book by M. R. Masani, A. G. Noorani, Ram Jethmalani and Dr. Bertram D. Wolfe on the April 1973 supersession of three Supreme Court judges. He recounts how Justice Niren Ray was named Chief Justice over three seniors after the Court had ruled on Parliament's amending powers, and how Mohan Kumaramangalam later admitted openly that a judge's "political philosophy" should match the ruling party's. The piece (continued on page 15) surveys each contributor's argument: Noorani traces communist infiltration of the Congress through Kumaramangalam; Masani's "Freedom Is Indivisible" links the judiciary takeover to a wider pattern of state control (banks, insurance, mines, foodgrain trade); Jethmalani's "Soviet Justice" compares the episode to the hollow constitutional guarantees of the USSR, where rights are undercut by the qualifier "subject only to the law"; and Wolfe closes with a scholarly reflection on the origins of totalitarianism, arguing true democracy requires a tradition of self-limitation beyond mere constitutional text. - The book under review has four contributors: M. R. Masani, A. G. Noorani, Ram Jethmalani, and Dr. Bertram D. Wolfe, an American scholar of communism. - On 25 April 1973 Justice Niren Ray was appointed Chief Justice of India, superseding three senior judges who had ruled against unlimited parliamentary amending power. - Mohan Kumaramangalam told Parliament that judges must share the ruling party's 'basic outlook' and 'political philosophy'. - Kumaramangalam is described as a former CPI leader who had joined Congress and allegedly worked to build a 'Communist Command Post' within it. - Jethmalani's essay argues Soviet constitutional rights are meaningless because they are 'subject only to the law', which the Party can reshape at will. - Masani's essay frames the judicial supersession as one part of a broader state takeover encompassing banks, insurance, mines and the foodgrain trade. - Wolfe's closing essay locates the roots of totalitarianism in the absence of a political culture of self-limitation, not merely in weak constitutional guarantees. ### Thailand's Revolution *By Geeta Doctor* Geeta Doctor's report on Thailand's 1973 student-led revolution traces the country's political history since the 1932 end of absolute monarchy, arguing that constitutional government there has repeatedly given way to strongman rule under figures such as Pridi Phanomyong, Pibul Songram, Sarit Thanarat and Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn. She describes the October crisis that toppled Thanom's regime—sparked by a student movement independent of any single charismatic leader—and the ambiguous roles played by the King and the army in the transition to a civilian government under Dr. Sanya Thamasak. The essay closes by framing the unrest as a 'revolution of rising expectations' driven by economic strain from the American withdrawal from the region and population growth outpacing rice production, and expresses cautious optimism that a durable new constitution may finally emerge. - Thailand's October 1973 crisis erupted in Bangkok, killing about three hundred people and ending Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn's military regime. - The article traces the flawed 1932 Constitution drafted by Pridi Phanomyong, which entrenched his People's Party and was widely misunderstood by ordinary Thais. - Successive strongmen (Pibul Songram, Sarit Thanarat, Thanom Kittikachorn) ruled despotically despite nominal constitutional government. - The 1973 uprising was distinctively led by students rather than a single 'demagogic' leader, marking a new pattern in Thai political change. - The King and army's ambiguous, behind-the-scenes roles helped ease the transition to a civilian premier, Dr. Sanya Thamasak. - Economic pressures—American withdrawal from the region and rice production failing to keep pace with population growth—are cited as underlying causes of unrest. - The author frames the moment as Thailand's 'revolution of rising expectations,' expressing hope that a durable constitution will finally result. ### Europe's Guilty Silence: Israel Liberals' Reproach *By MOSHE KOL* This item reproduces, in full, a letter dated 14 October 1973 from Moshe Kol, a minister in the Israeli Cabinet, to the President of the Liberal International (also the Foreign Minister of Luxembourg). Kol recounts the Yom Kippur War's outbreak, the Soviet Union's massive arms supply to Egypt and Syria, and the political isolation Israel felt from European governments and the Liberal International itself. He singles out British and French policy as effectively favoring the Arab side, expresses disappointment at the silence of Liberal International leaders (with the exception of Willy Brandt), and asks pointedly what liberalism and the struggle for peace mean if fellow liberals stay silent while Israel fights for survival. - The letter is from Moshe Kol, a minister in the Israeli Cabinet, addressed to the President of the Liberal International (also Luxembourg's Foreign Minister), dated 14 October 1973. - Kol describes the 6 October surprise attack by Egypt and Syria on the Day of Atonement, backed by large-scale Soviet arms shipments. - He criticizes the British arms embargo (seen as effectively hurting only Israel) and the French Government's statement of sympathy with the attackers. - He expresses disappointment that, apart from West German Chancellor Willy Brandt, no European Liberal leader spoke up in support of Israel. - Kol frames the silence as a betrayal of liberal principles and repeatedly asks what 'Liberalism and struggle for peace and negotiations' actually mean under these circumstances. ### The Controversial U.N. Resolution 242 *By Sheila Sumant* Sheila Sumant analyzes the legal ambiguity of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242 (22 November 1967), noting that discrepancies between its English and French versions have fueled a longstanding dispute over whether Israel is required to withdraw from 'all' occupied territories or merely 'territories occupied in the recent conflict.' She argues, based on international-law convention that multilingual texts should be interpreted per their working-draft language (English, in this case), that the Resolution is a non-binding 'recommendation' under Chapter VI of the U.N. Charter rather than a binding Chapter VII order, and that its withdrawal and non-belligerency clauses are interdependent, requiring a negotiated peace rather than unilateral Israeli withdrawal. She concludes it is high time Arab states recognize Israel and negotiate directly, following the 'Simla spirit' of the India-Pakistan settlement. - Resolution 242, dated 22 November 1967, is analyzed as deliberately vague to secure Security Council consensus. - A key controversy concerns discrepancies between the French version (implying withdrawal from 'all' occupied territories) and the English version ('territories occupied in the recent conflict'). - International law convention holds that interpretation should follow the resolution's working-language draft, which was English (the British draft). - The Resolution is characterized as a Chapter VI 'recommendation', not a binding Chapter VII Security Council order. - Withdrawal and Arab recognition/non-belligerency are presented as interdependent conditions of a single, indivisible resolution. - The author invokes the 'Simla spirit' of the India-Pakistan agreement as a model, arguing Arab states should recognize Israel and negotiate directly. ### Corruption—Soviet Style A short unsigned filler item, credited to Insight (Hong Kong), wryly describes the culture of low-level corruption facing foreign businesspeople in the Soviet Union, where officials expect gifts, lavish entertainment and 'educational' foreign trips in lieu of outright bribes, since open solicitation of money is avoided. - The piece argues Russians are not above being bribed, despite officially disdaining the practice as a 'capitalist custom.' - Business in Russia reportedly requires extending gifts, generous expense-account entertaining, and foreign trips to local contacts. - The item is credited to the publication Insight, Hong Kong. ### Campaign Against Torture This short news item describes Amnesty International's global campaign for the abolition of torture, including a signature appeal to the U.N. General Assembly and an international conference planned in Paris on 10-11 December. It cites Amnesty's survey finding that of 139 countries examined, 63 reportedly use torture (34 of these as regular administrative practice) and only 26 were free of it, and references a 1972 Amnesty report on torture in Brazil describing how it grows from sporadic use into invariable interrogation practice. - Amnesty International is running a global signature campaign urging the U.N. to outlaw torture of prisoners. - Indian Amnesty groups are chaired by Mr. G. L. Mehta (Bombay) and Mr. M. C. Setalvad (New Delhi). - An international conference on abolishing torture was scheduled for 10-11 December in Paris. - Amnesty's survey of 139 countries found 63 reportedly use torture, 34 of these as regular practice, with only 26 countries found free of it. - A 1972 Amnesty report on Brazil is cited describing how torture escalates from sporadic use to routine interrogation practice. - Countries named as having prevalent torture of prisoners include Brazil, Greece, Turkey, South Africa, Uruguay, and North/South Vietnam, alongside historical reference to Stalin-era Russia. ### Reviews — Rajaji the Man (Thousand Days with Rajaji by Bimanesh Chatterjee) *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju reviews Thousand Days with Rajaji by Bimanesh Chatterjee, an anecdotal memoir by C. Rajagopalachari's former Military Secretary rather than a formal biography. The review praises the book's faithful capture of Rajaji's dry wit, pragmatism, and disdain for hypocrisy through numerous anecdotes—covering his tenure as Governor of Bengal and Governor-General, his views on corruption and English education, his relinquishing of high office, and his eventual disillusionment with Congress that led to founding the Swatantra Party. Raju concludes that the volume, while modest, refutes uncharitable criticisms of Rajaji as cold or elitist and is valuable reading for admirers and critics alike. - The book under review, by Bimanesh Chatterjee (Rajaji's former Military Secretary), is anecdotal rather than a formal biography, covering a thousand days of Rajaji's service. - Rajaji is shown as pragmatic and averse to 'isms', writing with equal facility on subjects from Family Planning to Fundamental Rights in his Swarajya 'Dear Reader' column. - Anecdotes depict Rajaji's sharp wit, his insistence on straightforwardness, and his refusal to write an autobiography or encourage biographers. - The review recounts his disillusionment with Congress, framing his eventual founding of the Swatantra Party as the product of gradual disenchantment rather than sudden decision. - Rajaji reportedly declined efforts to erect a statue of himself, insisting Gandhiji's name and legacy should not lapse from public memory. - The reviewer, S. V. Raju, judges the book essential reading both for admirers of Rajaji and for his critics. ### Reviews — Crisis in Indian Judiciary (Supersession of Judges, ed. Kuldip Nayar; Crisis in Indian Judiciary by K. S. Hegde) *By S. P. Aiyar* S. P. Aiyar reviews two books on the 1973 judicial supersession crisis: Supersession of Judges, edited by Kuldip Nayar, and Crisis in Indian Judiciary by K. S. Hegde, one of the three superseded judges. Aiyar describes the appointment of Justice A. N. Ray as Chief Justice as the most unfortunate episode in the evolution of India's constitutional government, contrasting it with the restraint shown by the British Raj in analogous appointment disputes. He details how Mohan Kumaramangalam allegedly masterminded the supersession, and summarizes contributions from Kuldip Nayar's edited volume (M. C. Chagla, N. A. Palkhivala, Jayaprakash Narayan, and a disappointing piece by H. P. Ranina on the Kesavananda Bharati judgment), before turning to Hegde's own book, which Aiyar judges a 'hurried' but valuable and frank rejoinder that situates the judicial crisis within a larger crisis of Indian democracy. - The review covers Supersession of Judges (ed. Kuldip Nayar) and Crisis in Indian Judiciary by K. S. Hegde, one of the three superseded judges. - Aiyar frames Justice A. N. Ray's appointment as Chief Justice on 25 April 1973 as violating a well-established convention of seniority in judicial appointments. - The review contrasts this with the British-era Sir Maurice Gwyer precedent, where seniority disputes were handled with more constitutional propriety despite the absence of formal restraints. - Mohan Kumaramangalam is depicted as the mastermind of the supersession, with Aiyar noting Kumaramangalam's contradictory invocation of American New Deal-era court-packing precedents despite otherwise denouncing the U.S. - N. A. Palkhivala and M. C. Chagla's contributions to the Nayar volume are highlighted, including criticism of an 'ultra-socialistic' or 'committed' judiciary trend. - Jayaprakash Narayan's essay in the volume is quoted arguing that unrestrained appeals to 'the people's will' can mask infiltration by anti-democratic forces. - H. P. Ranina's summary of the Kesavananda Bharati judgment is singled out as the volume's weak point, criticized as ungrammatical and clumsy. - Aiyar judges Hegde's book a 'hurried rejoinder' but a valuable, frank contribution situating the judicial crisis within a broader crisis of Indian democracy. ### Reviews — Europe & the US: A German View (Europe and United States by Karl Kaiser) *By S. P. Aiyar* An unsigned review (immediately following S. P. Aiyar's byline in the same review section) of Karl Kaiser's Europe and United States summarizes the book's account of strained U.S.-European relations following the Vietnam War, the declining dollar, and 1971 Nixon-era trade measures. It surveys the mutual grievances—American complaints about European and Japanese trade surpluses and inadequate contributions to defense costs, versus European (especially French) resistance to paying for the upkeep of U.S. troops framed as serving American strategic interests—and reports Kaiser's proposed solution: Europe conceding ground on monetary and trade issues in exchange for the U.S. maintaining its troop presence, alongside Kaiser's argument for a West European defense structure that could also advance political union. The review praises the essay's clarity and brevity. - Karl Kaiser's essay examines strained U.S.-European relations following the Vietnam War, the declining dollar, and the Nixon administration's August 1971 trade measures. - It attributes American trade deficits to weak U.S. export performance and the cost of maintaining roughly 300,000 U.S. troops stationed in Western Europe. - Some Europeans, notably the French, argue U.S. troops serve American strategic interests and troops would become 'mercenaries' if Europe conceded to U.S. trade demands. - Kaiser proposes a mutually acceptable trade-off: Europe conceding ground on monetary and trade policy in exchange for continued U.S. troop commitments. - Kaiser argues for creation of a West European defense structure, which could also advance European political union and neutralize Soviet hostility to the Community. - The reviewer praises the essay for its clear thinking and brevity. ### With Many Voices "With Many Voices" is a compiled column of short quotations from world leaders and commentators on the October 1973 West Asian conflict and the broader Cold War, drawn from sources including Time, Economic and Political Weekly, The Times of India, and U.S. News & World Report. The selections range from Romesh Thapar's criticism of both Arab disunity and India's uncritical pro-Arab statements, to remarks by the Shah of Iran, Golda Meir, Chou En-Lai, and Anthony Lewis's comparison of Nixon's Watergate predicament to Neville Chamberlain's 1940 fall from power. - The column compiles brief quotations on the 1973 West Asian war and international affairs from sources such as Time, Economic and Political Weekly, The Times of India and U.S. News & World Report. - Romesh Thapar is quoted twice criticizing both Arab political disunity and India's uncritical statements of support for Arab actions. - The Shah of Iran is quoted asserting Iran's ability to 'exploit' its petroleum without 'blackmailing the rest of the world.' - Golda Meir and Chou En-Lai offer contrasting remarks on prospects for peace and the Cold War rivalry. - Anthony Lewis draws a parallel between the pressure mounting on Richard Nixon and Neville Chamberlain's 1940 fall from power in Britain. - The page also carries the journal's subscription form and its printer/publisher colophon: published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel, printed at Inland Printers, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff260/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 260 (January 1974) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal journal edited by M. R. Masani, combining editorial commentary, an open letter on Soviet human rights, a two-part historical essay on Gokhale, book and film reviews, a reader letter, and a closing column of quoted opinion. In the rendered pages, editor Masani's lead editorial excoriates the Union government and the Planning Commission over Dr. B. S. Minhas's resignation and the 'doctored' Fifth Plan figures, while the unsigned 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column takes up Indian Airlines Corporation's labour troubles, petrol-price protests, extra-judicial public shaming of traders in Calcutta, and the treatment of Swatantra Party posters ahead of Brezhnev's Delhi visit. Bertram D. Wolfe's open letter to President Nixon presses the case that detente with the Soviet Union cannot be divorced from Soviet treatment of dissidents. P. N. Driver contributes the first half of a two-part essay on Gopal Krishna Gokhale's advocacy of English-medium western education as a liberating and nation-building force.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 260 (January 1974) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal journal edited by M. R. Masani, combining editorial commentary, an open letter on Soviet human rights, a two-part historical essay on Gokhale, book and film reviews, a reader letter, and a closing column of quoted opinion. In the rendered pages, editor Masani's lead editorial excoriates the Union government and the Planning Commission over Dr. B. S. Minhas's resignation and the 'doctored' Fifth Plan figures, while the unsigned 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column takes up Indian Airlines Corporation's labour troubles, petrol-price protests, extra-judicial public shaming of traders in Calcutta, and the treatment of Swatantra Party posters ahead of Brezhnev's Delhi visit. Bertram D. Wolfe's open letter to President Nixon presses the case that detente with the Soviet Union cannot be divorced from Soviet treatment of dissidents. P. N. Driver contributes the first half of a two-part essay on Gopal Krishna Gokhale's advocacy of English-medium western education as a liberating and nation-building force. The issue closes with three book reviews (on Peter Bauer's development economics, Soviet dissent, and Czechoslovakia's planned economy), a film review of Last Tango in Paris, a letter protesting the ceremonial welcome given to Brezhnev, and a column of pointed quotations under the heading 'With Many Voices.' ## Essays ### Moment of Truth *By M. R. Masani* In this editorial, M. R. Masani hails Dr. B. S. Minhas's resignation letter from the Planning Commission as a damning indictment of the Union government's economic dishonesty. Minhas charged that the Fifth Plan's figures on state-plant capacity utilisation and foreign trade were 'cooked up' and 'doctored' to justify politically convenient but unrealistic targets, vindicating criticisms Masani says he and others have long made of the Second through Fifth Plans. Masani is equally scornful of the political response: the Prime Minister, Cabinet, and National Development Council rubber-stamped the plan despite the exposure, Finance Minister Y. B. Chavan dismissed the unreality of targets with a flippant remark, and columnist Sham Lal's critical piece in the Times of India went unanswered. Masani closes by likening the government's demagogic evasions to the pattern that preceded the overthrow of Sukarno, Nkrumah, and Allende. - Dr. B. S. Minhas resigned from the Planning Commission, criticising the government for a lack of integrity and honesty rather than mere error. - Minhas alleged the Fifth Plan's economic resource and foreign-trade figures were fabricated ('cooked up', 'doctored') to support optimistic political targets. - Masani credits Minhas's resignation as vindicating decades of criticism of the Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Plans made by Masani and others in Parliament. - The Prime Minister, Cabinet, and National Development Council are accused of ignoring the disclosures and approving the plan regardless. - Finance Minister Y. B. Chavan's remark that unrealistic targets do not matter is cited as emblematic of official irresponsibility. - Sham Lal's Times of India column (11 December) is invoked as an independent, non-partisan voice criticising the same planning failures. - Masani warns that demagogic dismissal of harsh economic facts historically precedes the fall of leaders like Sukarno, Nkrumah, and Allende. ### An Open Letter to President Nixon *By Bertram D. Wolfe* This unsigned editorial notes column opens by defending Air Chief Marshall P. C. Lal's efforts, as new IAC Chairman, to confront trade-union militancy and government appeasement that has left Indian Airlines Corporation's productivity far below international carriers'; it criticises Communist MP Raghunatha Reddy for encouraging labour unrest and the Labour Minister for capitulating to union pressure. A second item, 'Back to the Bullock-Cart?', attacks commentators — chiefly Times of India Assistant Editor Ajit Bhattacharjea — who responded to a petrol excise hike by calling for restrictions on private car use, arguing that public transport is already in crisis and such proposals are unworkable class-baiting reminiscent of the 19th-century Luddites and of Stalinist hostility to private cars in the USSR. A third item condemns the West Bengal government for publicly parading unconvicted traders in shackles and the Haryana government for detaining alleged black-marketeers without trial, calling this a slide toward 'People's Justice' of the Maoist variety. The final item reports Swatantra MP K. C. Panda's complaint that party volunteers putting up anodyne pro-sovereignty posters ahead of Brezhnev's visit were beaten by hooligans, drawing a parallel to Soviet treatment of Red Square dissidents in 1968. - Air Chief Marshall P. C. Lal, new IAC Chairman, is praised for confronting union militancy and government appeasement that has depressed IAC's productivity relative to international carriers. - Communist MP Raghunatha Reddy is criticised for encouraging labour unrest at the IAC; the Labour Minister is faulted for capitulating to union pressure. - A petrol excise-duty hike triggered protests, but commentators including Ajit Bhattacharjea of the Times of India called instead for restricting private car use, which the column calls incoherent given public transport's own crisis. - The column compares anti-car campaigning to 19th-century Luddism and to Stalinist-era hostility toward private car ownership in the USSR. - West Bengal's public shackling of unconvicted traders and Haryana's trial-free detention of alleged black-marketeers are condemned as violations of the presumption of innocence, likened to Maoist 'People's Justice'. - Swatantra MP K. C. Panda reported that volunteers postering anodyne messages ahead of Brezhnev's Delhi visit were assaulted by hooligans without police protection, which the column likens to Soviet suppression of 1968 Red Square dissidents. ### Gokhale and Western Education in India *By P. N. Driver* Bertram D. Wolfe, writing as a former State Department official and historian of Russia, addresses an open letter to President Nixon questioning whether U.S.-Soviet detente can be trusted absent guarantees on Soviet human rights. He recounts three historical instances of American generosity toward Soviet Russia -- Herbert Hoover's 1921 famine relief (repaid by Lenin's dissolution of the independent relief committee and death sentences for its members, commuted only by Western pressure), U.S. technical and industrial assistance during Stalin's forced industrialisation (repaid by the show-trial framing of the engineers who helped build it), and Lend-Lease aid during World War II (concurrent with the Katyn Forest murders and the suppression of Soviet Jewish cultural life) -- to argue that unconditional aid and closer ties have never previously moderated Soviet internal repression. He then presses Nixon on why the United States does not link detente to the release and humane treatment of over 600 Americans and their relatives long refused exit permits, and to the plight of dissidents such as Sakharov, Solzhenitsyn, and Amalrik, contrasting American public silence with vocal protests from PEN, publishers' associations, and European leaders like Willy Brandt. - Wolfe questions Assistant Secretary John Richardson's assurance that closer U.S.-Soviet ties will make the USSR more responsive to public concern, asking what evidence supports this given Soviet treatment of its own citizens. - He recounts Herbert Hoover's 1921 famine relief effort, which Lenin used as pretext to dissolve Maxim Gorky's independent relief committee and sentence its members to death (later commuted after Western protest). - During Stalin's industrialisation drive, American engineers and technicians (Hugh Cooper, Henry Ford) helped build Soviet industry, which Stalin repaid with show trials framing German and Russian engineers (the Shakhty trial) and fictitious 'Industrial' and 'Peasant' parties. - Wartime Lend-Lease aid to Stalin coincided with the Katyn Forest massacre, the framing of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, and mass deportations of ethnic groups. - Wolfe raises the case of over 600 American citizens and family members who have been refused exit permits from the USSR for as long as 20-25 years despite 'quiet diplomacy'. - He invokes Sakharov, Solzhenitsyn, and Amalrik by name as persecuted dissidents whose treatment should factor into detente policy, alongside European leaders' public warnings (Willy Brandt, Gromyko's refusal, and protests from the Netherlands, Denmark, and Britain). - He closes by asking why the U.S. voice on this issue has not matched that of American PEN, publishers, psychiatrists, and the Academy of Sciences. ### Dissent on Development (review of P. T. Bauer's book) *By Sudha R. Shenoy* In the first half of a two-part essay (continued in the February 1974 issue), Prof. P. N. Driver examines Gopal Krishna Gokhale's advocacy of English-medium western education as a nation-building force in early 20th-century India. Driver situates Gokhale, alongside his mentor M. G. Ranade, as having accepted British rule as a 'Providential arrangement' born of a clear-eyed assessment of India's social weaknesses -- absence of national feeling, entrenched caste divisions, and lack of scientific outlook -- set against the disciplined strength of English character and institutions. Gokhale is shown pressing the Indian National Congress toward practical training in self-government and the elevation of the depressed classes and women, while arguing in the 1903 Legislative Council debate on the Indian Universities' Bill that western education's chief value lay not in the transmission of knowledge but in liberating the Indian mind from 'old-world ideas.' The piece closes by crediting the English-medium education system, contrary to the charge that it produced only 'clerks,' with having produced a long line of genuine national leaders from Aurobindo and Gokhale to Gandhi and Tilak. - Gokhale and his teacher M. G. Ranade regarded the British connection as 'a Providential arrangement,' a view Gandhiji is said to have accepted when he tried to join Gokhale's Servants of India Society. - Gokhale believed India's historical weakness lay in the absence of a national feeling and of a love for free institutions comparable to the West, requiring discipline, purification, and training before self-government could work. - Speaking on the 1903 Indian Universities' Bill, Gokhale argued that the chief value of western education was 'the liberation of the Indian mind from the thraldom of old-world ideas,' not merely the encouragement of learning. - Gokhale drew a distinction between the systematic, English-medium higher education needed to produce national leadership and the primary education needed for the masses, while wanting both. - He held up England's national greatness as a product of the character of its 'average man and woman,' and wanted India's masses similarly elevated, alongside women and the depressed classes. - Driver credits English-medium education, contrary to the claim it produced only 'clerks', with producing a long roll of genuine national leaders across generations, from Aurobindo and Gokhale to Gandhi, Tilak, and Malaviya. - The essay explicitly notes it is part one of two, with the second half to appear in the February 1974 issue. ### Dissent in the Soviet Union (review of A. P. Jain's compilation) *By V. B. Karnik* Sudha R. Shenoy reviews P. T. Bauer's Dissent on Development, praising it as a courageous, single-handed challenge to the prevailing development-economics orthodoxy. The review credits Bauer with demolishing, through close analysis of UNCTAD and World Bank reports and case studies of West African trade, the vicious-circle-of-poverty thesis, the presumed necessity of foreign aid, the axiomatic case for central planning, and claims about deteriorating terms of trade for poorer countries. Shenoy summarises Bauer's argument that developed nations grew without foreign subsidies, that aid effects depend on recipient-government policy, that central planning centralises power without adding resources, and that population-control policies affect income growth only after decades, if at all. The review closes by endorsing Bauer's view that Western-derived development ideology has been not merely inadequate but positively harmful to the underdeveloped world. - Bauer's book is framed as chronicling his persistent, courageous opposition to entrenched development-economics dogmas. - Shenoy lists the orthodoxy's key tenets that Bauer disputes: the vicious circle of poverty, the necessity of foreign aid, the case for central planning, and the alleged secular deterioration in terms of trade for poor countries. - Bauer's evidence includes UNCTAD and World Bank reports, an empirical study of West African trade and traders, and critical review of Gunnar Myrdal, Lord Balogh, W. A. Lewis, and Benjamin Higgins. - Developed nations grew historically without foreign aid; aid effectiveness depends on the policies of recipient governments, which are often unwilling to reform. - Central planning is said to centralise political and economic power without adding to the stock of resources, and tends to attract power-seeking rather than resource-maximising actors. - Population-control policies are argued to affect income growth, if at all, only after several decades, given that rising population under subsistence agriculture reflects reduced labour shortages rather than pure burden. ### Czechoslovakia's Ailing Economy (review of Ota Sik's book) *By Deepa Awal* V. B. Karnik reviews Dissent in the Soviet Union, a booklet compiled by A. P. Jain surveying the suppression of Soviet dissenters and collecting statements from dissenters themselves, Indian writers, and the foreign press. Karnik praises the compilation for documenting the persecution of world-famous figures such as Andrei Sakharov, Andrei Amalrik, Joseph Brodsky, and Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who Karnik says have done nothing beyond expressing their views yet have suffered imprisonment, internal exile, and confinement in lunatic asylums. He concludes that Russia's status as a superpower does not entitle it to recognition as a civilized state while it continues to persecute its own outstanding citizens. - A. P. Jain's booklet surveys the recent suppression of dissent in the Soviet Union, including statements from dissenters, Indian writers, and foreign press reactions. - Karnik names Sakharov, Amalrik, Brodsky, and Solzhenitsyn as world-famous dissenters who suffered imprisonment, exile, and confinement to asylums for merely expressing their views. - Foreign press reactions cited in the booklet range from The Guardian in England to Time in the United States. - Karnik concludes that superpower status does not equal recognition as a civilized state given continued persecution of dissenters. ### Last Tango in Paris (film review) *By Nusrat Tayabali* Deepa Awal reviews Ota Sik's Czechoslovakia: The Bureaucratic Economy, describing Sik as a socialist economist who argues that no economic system, including a socialist one, can function without a price mechanism responsive to supply and demand. The review summarises Sik's analysis of Czechoslovakia's post-1948 economic decline, attributing it to over-centralised planning that sets unrealistic targets, destroys the informational and price signals needed for rational allocation, and produces low productivity and inefficiency. Awal notes that Sik does not reject socialism itself but argues that its survival in Czechoslovakia depends on restoring a natural market mechanism for determining demand, supply, and prices, alongside drastic political change. - Ota Sik, a socialist economist, argues that even socialist economies require a value system responsive to supply and demand to function. - The book, based on television lectures delivered before the Prague Spring, compares Czechoslovakia's economy after 1948 to that of the U.S., West Germany, France, Sweden, and Austria. - Sik attributes Czechoslovakia's economic ills to over-centralisation of planning, which destroys objective information about needs and potentialities. - Central planning's negation of the price/value system is identified as the principal structural drawback, leading to meaningless production and transaction decisions. - Sik does not attack socialism itself, but believes its survival in Czechoslovakia requires restoring the natural market mechanism and undertaking drastic political and economic changes. ### Law and Protocol Violated (letter) *By P. B. Meckoni* Nusrat Tayabali reviews Bernardo Bertolucci's film Last Tango in Paris, describing the doomed, anonymous sexual relationship between a bereaved middle-aged American, Paul, and a young Parisian woman, Jeanne, as a study of despair, futility, and a 'minimal relationship' stripped of ordinary intimacy. The review praises the intensity of Marlon Brando's and Maria Schneider's performances and Bertolucci's camerawork for lending the film an artistic authenticity that lifts it above pornography, ending with Paul's fatal misstep of falling in love with his amoral partner and being shot by her as their affair collapses. - The film follows Paul, a recently bereaved middle-aged American, and Jeanne, a young engaged Parisian, who begin an anonymous, purely sexual relationship in an empty apartment. - Both characters lead separate external lives of quiet futility -- Paul with his dead wife's sordid pension and stifling mother-in-law, Jeanne with a fiance absorbed in shooting a television film about her. - Bertolucci's camera work is praised for suffusing the love-making scenes in a luminous, womb-like glow that lends the film artistic authenticity. - Paul's fatal error is falling in love with Jeanne, breaking the relationship's anonymous terms, which leads Jeanne to shoot him when he pursues her outside the apartment. - Tayabali argues Brando's and Schneider's performances and Bertolucci's mastery are what elevate the film from pornography to art. ### Essay 9 In a letter to the editor titled 'Law and Protocol Violated,' P. B. Meckoni objects to the ceremonial welcome given to Soviet Communist Party General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev at Delhi Airport -- a 21-gun salute and inter-service guard of honour normally reserved for a head of state -- questioning whether India's 'progressive' establishment would extend the same courtesy to leaders of parties it considers 'reactionary', such as the Jan Sangh, Muslim League, or Swatantra Party, and whether agreements signed by Brezhnev in his party capacity carry any standing under international law given he holds no position in the Soviet government. - Meckoni objects that Brezhnev, as Communist Party General Secretary rather than a head of state, was given a 21-gun salute and inter-service guard of honour at Delhi Airport, a breach of protocol. - He asks whether India's 'progressive' commentators would tolerate the same honours being extended to leaders of parties they view as 'reactionary' -- the Jan Sangh, Muslim League, or Swatantra Party -- visiting other countries. - He questions whether agreements Brezhnev enters as Party General Secretary, holding no formal Soviet government position, are legally valid under international law. ### Essay 10 'With Many Voices' is a closing column of pointed quotations drawn from the international and Indian press (The Economist, Economic & Political Weekly, Time, and others), touching on the imperfections of capitalism versus socialism, Arab oil wealth and Western dependence on Middle Eastern goodwill, scepticism about India's economic outlook, distrust of Congress party insiders, and wry commentary on Cold War diplomacy, detente, and the durability of power. The page also carries the subscription form for Freedom First and the publication's colophon, naming J. R. Patel as Associate Editor and printer at Inland Printers, Bombay. - The Economist is quoted contrasting the imperfections of capitalism with those of socialism. - Colonel Gaddafy is quoted from the Swiss Press Review arguing no Arab country calling on Russian forces merits freedom, and that Israeli colonialism is preferable to Soviet troops in the region. - Lord Boyd-Carpenter is quoted in the Times of India warning Arab oil states that their newfound wealth depends on continued exploitation of Western skills. - Economic & Political Weekly contributors (unnamed 'A M' and Romesh Thapar) are quoted criticising Indira Gandhi's distant charm and India's stalled economic progress ('like a constipated elephant'). - I. F. Stone is quoted in The Illustrated Weekly of India making a wry remark about God's death amid the unresolved Arab-Israeli conflict. - A Korean proverb quoted in Time and the Shah of Iran's remark in Time on oil as 'like bread' round out the column's commentary on geopolitics and power. - The page carries the Freedom First subscription form and colophon: published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel, Associate Editor, and printed at Inland Printers, Gamdevi Road, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff261/ ### Summary This is the full 16-page issue of Freedom First No. 261 (February 1974), edited by M. R. Masani, published in Bombay by the Democratic Research Service. The issue leads with James Burnham's essay 'Sakharov vs Kissinger,' contrasting Andrei Sakharov's warnings about Soviet insularity and repression with Henry Kissinger's detente diplomacy. The editorial column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' comments on the economic cost of Bombay bandhs, praises Air Chief Marshal P. C. Lal's handling of an Indian Airlines Corporation labour dispute, reports European Liberal International responses to a letter on the Arab-Israeli war, and previews Solzhenitsyn's forthcoming Gulag Archipelago. Geeta Gopalakrishnan's 'Prof. Dandekar's Utopia' critiques V. M. Dandekar's Presidential Address to the All India Economic Conference and its Democratic Socialist Path proposals. B. P. Adarkar's 'The Arab-Israeli Conflict: India's Policy in Retrospect and Prospect' argues that India's pro-Arab non-aligned foreign policy is historically and juridically unfounded and contrary to India's own interests. P. N.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the full 16-page issue of Freedom First No. 261 (February 1974), edited by M. R. Masani, published in Bombay by the Democratic Research Service. The issue leads with James Burnham's essay 'Sakharov vs Kissinger,' contrasting Andrei Sakharov's warnings about Soviet insularity and repression with Henry Kissinger's detente diplomacy. The editorial column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' comments on the economic cost of Bombay bandhs, praises Air Chief Marshal P. C. Lal's handling of an Indian Airlines Corporation labour dispute, reports European Liberal International responses to a letter on the Arab-Israeli war, and previews Solzhenitsyn's forthcoming Gulag Archipelago. Geeta Gopalakrishnan's 'Prof. Dandekar's Utopia' critiques V. M. Dandekar's Presidential Address to the All India Economic Conference and its Democratic Socialist Path proposals. B. P. Adarkar's 'The Arab-Israeli Conflict: India's Policy in Retrospect and Prospect' argues that India's pro-Arab non-aligned foreign policy is historically and juridically unfounded and contrary to India's own interests. P. N. Driver's two-part essay 'Gokhale and Western Education' (concluding installment) defends Gopal Krishna Gokhale's advocacy of English-medium, Western-style education against regional-language nationalism, and situates Gokhale's stance against Tilak's, Curzon's, and Lord Ellenborough's views. The issue also carries three book reviews (of a published version of Mohan Kumaramangalam's CPI thesis, Glazer and Moynihan's 'Beyond the Melting Pot,' and A. K. Gopalan's memoir 'In the Cause of the People') by Manohar Malgonkar, Joan Contractor, and V. B. Karnik respectively, a satirical cartoon on newsprint shortages, and the closing 'With Many Voices' page of quotations on Cold War and Middle East politics, plus subscription and imprint information. ## Essays ### Sakharov vs Kissinger *By James Burnham* James Burnham's front-page essay contrasts the moral seriousness of Soviet physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov with the evasiveness of U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Burnham recounts Sakharov's 1974 interview with Agence France Presse journalist Edouard Dillon, in which Sakharov clarifies his 1968 memorandum on detente: convergence between the Soviet and Western systems is desirable only if it means the socialist countries become freer and the capitalist countries more humane, not merely closer economic ties without political change. Sakharov catalogues continuing KGB repression, incommunicado psychiatric internment of dissidents, and jamming of foreign broadcasts, and insists that freedom to emigrate and travel is a precondition for genuine detente, not a threat to Soviet sovereignty. The essay (continued on page 15) concludes with Kissinger's Senate testimony, in which he is described as 'deeply moved' by Sakharov's arguments but unwilling to let them alter U.S. policy; Burnham argues Kissinger's position ignores Sakharov's specific claim that Soviet foreign policy cannot be trusted without domestic liberalization, and that Sakharov 'deserves a reply more serious than a routine debater's evasion.' - Sakharov is introduced as a Soviet counterpart to Edward Teller, one of the architects of the Soviet H-bomb, who became a dissident after urging Khrushchev to accept a nuclear test ban. - Sakharov's 1968 convergence thesis is clarified in a 1974 AFP interview: detente is desirable only as part of a two-way liberalization, not a one-sided accommodation. - Sakharov details KGB repression, incommunicado confinement in psychiatric 'prison hospitals,' and continued jamming of foreign radio broadcasts as evidence the Soviet system has not liberalized. - Sakharov calls for freedom to emigrate and return as a basic, non-negotiable condition for meaningful detente with the West. - Kissinger, questioned by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says he was 'deeply moved' by Sakharov's statements but frames U.S. policy as pursuing foreign-policy accommodation without seeking to transform Soviet domestic structure. - Burnham argues this response evades Sakharov's central claim: that Soviet foreign policy cannot become trustworthy without a change in the regime's internal character. ### Prof. Dandekar's Utopia *By Geeta Gopalakrishnan* The unsigned editorial column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' opens by disputing the economic logic of the two Bombay bandhs, arguing that reduced production, not increased production, is what actually drives prices up, and criticizing Rajni Patel for supporting a bandh on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border issue while opposing one aimed at the Congress government. It then praises Air Chief Marshal P. C. Lal, Chairman of Indian Airlines Corporation, for holding firm against a unionised lockout despite criticism from union leader N. C. Mukherjee, contrasting Lal's stand with the government's pattern of what the column calls capitulation to trade unions. A section titled 'Guilty Silence Broken' reports on European Liberal politicians' responses (Giovanni Malagodi, John MacCullum-Scott, Hans de Koster, Jeremy Thorpe) to Moshe Kol's earlier letter to the Liberal International on the Arab-Israeli war, alongside commentary from Italian and Swedish newspapers on the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Kissinger and Le Duc Tho, which the column calls a 'fraudulent peace' given continued North Vietnamese troop movements into the South. The column closes with a report on Solzhenitsyn's forthcoming book Gulag Archipelago, previewing its comparison of Tsarist and Communist terror and praising Solzhenitsyn's courage in publishing it. - The column argues that reduced production during bandhs, not the bandhs' political aims, is what actually drives up prices, faulting bandh organisers on both sides of the political spectrum for economic illiteracy. - Air Chief Marshal P. C. Lal is praised for confronting a communist-backed Air Corporation Employees' Union rather than capitulating, described as a rare example of firm industrial-relations leadership. - European Liberal International figures' letters expressing solidarity with Israel over the 1973 war are quoted approvingly, contrasted with those who maintained what the column calls 'guilty silence.' - The column condemns the Kissinger-Le Duc Tho Nobel Peace Prize as premature, citing continued North Vietnamese troop buildup in South Vietnam after the ceasefire. - A preview of Solzhenitsyn's forthcoming Gulag Archipelago describes its documentation of Stalin-era repression and its argument that Lenin's dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, not Stalin alone, laid the foundations for Soviet terror. ### The Arab-Israeli Conflict: India's Policy in Retrospect and Prospect *By B. P. Adarkar* Geeta Gopalakrishnan, introduced by the editors as a new contributor, critiques Prof. V. M. Dandekar's Presidential Address to the 56th All India Economic Conference at Tiruchinapalli (December 27, 1973), which proposed a 'Democratic Socialist Path' for the Fifth Five Year Plan. She argues Dandekar's guaranteed-employment scheme for the rural poor, funded without deficit financing, glosses over the practical costs and administrative burden of procurement, distribution, and coordination across hundreds of districts, especially given existing state failures to meet food-grain procurement targets. She is particularly critical of Dandekar's proposal to guarantee workers a right to strike without a corresponding right of management to stop production ('simulated strike'), which she calls 'a typical example of a hotch potch ideology,' and closes by noting the irony that Dandekar, while criticizing over-centralized planning, effectively proposes acting as a 'one-man Planning Commission' himself. - The essay reviews Prof. V. M. Dandekar's Presidential Address proposing a 'Democratic Socialist Path' for the Fifth Five Year Plan, delivered at the 56th All India Economic Conference in Tiruchinapalli in December 1973. - Dandekar's guaranteed rural wage-employment scheme (aimed at ensuring all able-bodied adults can support a 'reasonable number of dependents') is criticized for excluding those with 'too large a burden of dependents' from its target population. - The article questions Dandekar's claim that an additional Rs. 1,500 crore wage bill can be financed without deficit financing or destabilising prices. - Nationalisation of wholesale trade and controlled food-grain marketing are flagged as underspecified means to Dandekar's ends, with no costing of procurement or distribution machinery. - Dandekar's proposal to give workers the right to strike without giving management the right to stop production is singled out as internally incoherent ('a typical example of a hotch potch ideology'). ### Gokhale and Western Education—II *By P. N. Driver* B. P. Adarkar argues that India's foreign policy on the Arab-Israeli conflict is based on insufficient historical and juridical study and has been driven by partisanship rather than India's own principles of peace, justice, and non-alignment. He contends that Nehru's backing of Nasser was strategically and morally mistaken, that the question 'who committed aggression' is meaningless absent a peace treaty, and that Israel's retention of certain territories is justified by continued Arab refusal to recognize its existence. Adarkar proposes a seven-point framework for resolution centered on mutual recognition, demarcated and defensible borders, disbanding of the PLO and other guerrilla organisations, UN-led refugee rehabilitation, and international guarantees of territorial inviolability. He concludes that India's pro-Arab tilt has cost the country dearly, citing the closure of the Suez Canal and the 1970s oil crisis as direct consequences of a foreign policy he calls 'meaningless and irrational.' The essay's text runs from page 5 through the bottom of page 6, and its concluding seven-point list of proposed solutions is printed on page 7 beneath the masthead of the following essay (P. N. Driver's 'Gokhale and Western Education—II'), a layout quirk in which the continuation column sits under, rather than beside, the next article's headline. - Adarkar argues India's foreign policy on the Arab-Israeli conflict lacks historical and juridical grounding and does not serve India's own interests. - He characterizes the question of 'who committed aggression' in the conflict as meaningless in the absence of a signed peace treaty, given four wars since 1948. - He argues the Arab refusal to recognize Israel's existence, and the enabling of Arab guerrilla attacks from Syria and Lebanon, justify Israel's retention of certain territories for self-defence. - He proposes a seven-point plan: mutual recognition, demarcated defensible borders, Israeli surrender of surplus territories, disbanding of the PLO and other guerrilla groups, UN-led refugee rehabilitation, reopening of the Suez Canal, and international guarantees of territorial inviolability. - He argues India's pro-Arab non-alignment has directly harmed India through the closure of the Suez Canal (raising food-import costs) and the oil crisis. ### Reviews — Kumaramangalam's Thesis *By Manohar Malgonkar* P. N. Driver's essay is the concluding installment ('II') of a two-part piece on Gopal Krishna Gokhale's views on Western education. Driver argues that Gokhale, along with contemporaries like Ranade and other Congress stalwarts, valued the best English and Western-educated teachers, and warned that regional-medium education was fragmenting India's capacity to produce leaders of national stature comparable to Ranade, Gokhale, Agarkar, Tilak, and Telang. Driver recounts Gokhale's criticism of British colonial administration for underfunding education relative to railways, for failing to honour the 1858 Queen's Proclamation's promise of equal treatment, and for excluding educated Indians from senior posts despite training them in liberal Western thought -- while nonetheless crediting British rule, through English-language higher education, with fostering the national unity that made Indian independence possible. The essay closes with Driver noting that Tilak, by the end of his life, had come to acknowledge the value of English institutions and liberty, and quotes Gokhale's 1896 address to Bombay graduates on the centrality of public education to national regeneration. - Gokhale wanted the best available teachers, including from England, and pushed to have such recruits placed on a par with Civil Service members in pay and promotion (a recommendation Driver dates to 1903). - Gokhale is credited, alongside Ranade, Agarkar, and Tilak, as part of a generation of Maharashtrian leaders whose stature Driver says has not been matched since regional-medium education replaced English-medium instruction. - Gokhale criticized British administrators (Lord Dufferin, Lord Harris, Mr. Chatfield) for failures of judgment, jingoism, and resistance to reforming school textbooks, while praising Lord Ripon as 'the best-beloved of India's Viceroys.' - Driver argues Gokhale's ultimate faith in gradual, constitutional progress toward self-rule under British tutelage was vindicated by India receiving independence through an Act of the British Parliament in 1947, rather than through revolution. - The essay closes by noting that Tilak, despite earlier opposing Gokhale, came in his 1920 Manifesto to praise English institutions and liberty, and quotes Gokhale's 1896 address urging Indians to embrace public education as the path to national regeneration. ### Reviews — The Melting Pot *By Joan Contractor* Manohar Malgonkar reviews a published edition of the late Mohan Kumaramangalam's confidential thesis written for the Communist Party of India, laying out guidelines for a seizure of power, now issued in book form by D. K. Publishing House with a critical introduction by journalist Satindra Singh, a former active communist. Malgonkar finds the thesis itself 'dry,' 'laboured,' and 'clumsily put together,' but credits Singh's fifteen-page introduction with providing real insight into CPI strategy, including its willingness to switch from frontal assault to 'Trojan Horse' tactics when direct confrontation looks hopeless. He criticizes Singh, however, for treating the volume as though it were his own work, noting the dedication 'To Mrs Indira Gandhi who might benefit' as presumptuous, while allowing that Kumaramangalam himself might plausibly have dedicated it to Mrs Gandhi in similar terms. - The review covers a book edition of Mohan Kumaramangalam's confidential CPI strategy thesis, published by D. K. Publishing House, Delhi. - Malgonkar finds the thesis itself dry, laboured, and barely readable, its arguments 'flagrantly twisted to conform to a line of thought.' - He credits the introduction by journalist Satindra Singh, a former ten-year CPI activist, with real insight into communist strategy, including the shift from frontal assault to 'Trojan Horse' tactics. - He criticizes Singh for treating the entire volume as his own effort and for dedicating it to Mrs Indira Gandhi 'who might benefit.' ### Reviews — Dedicated Service (review of In The Cause of The People: Reminiscences by A. K. Gopalan) *By V. B. Karnik* Joan Contractor reviews Nathan Glazer and Daniel P. Moynihan's Beyond the Melting Pot, examining its account of five ethnic groups in 1960s New York City (Negroes, Puerto Ricans, Jews, Italians, and Irish) and its argument that cultural, economic, and political factors have kept the 'melting pot' theory of American assimilation from becoming reality. She notes the book's controversial 1960s-era acknowledgment that different ethnic groups display different attitudinal and cultural characteristics, and its willingness to assign some responsibility for lack of advancement to the groups themselves rather than solely to discrimination, while still recognizing continuing racial discrimination against Black Americans. The review highlights the book's critique of both Black Americans and the white radical elite (Jews and non-ethnic Protestants) who, in the authors' account, allied with the underprivileged against a lower middle class disproportionately Italian and Irish -- with the update's sharpened focus on the Irish and Italians as of 1970. Contractor concludes that the book 'blows a breath of fresh air' by rejecting the notion that acknowledging ethnic differences is inherently prejudiced. - The review covers Beyond the Melting Pot by Nathan Glazer and Daniel P. Moynihan (M.I.T. Press), examining five New York City ethnic groups: Negroes, Puerto Ricans, Jews, Italians, and Irish. - The book argues cultural, economic, and political factors, not just discrimination, have kept the 'melting pot' from occurring, a view Contractor calls controversial among 1960s radicals. - It acknowledges continuing housing discrimination against Black Americans in New York while also attributing some internal, historically-rooted burdens (a legacy of slavery) to the group's difficulties. - The 1970 introduction sharpens criticism of the white radical elite (Jews and non-ethnic Protestants) for allying with the underprivileged against a lower middle class disproportionately Italian and Irish. - Contractor endorses the book's central claim that distinct ethnic groups are a permanent, legitimate feature of New York City rather than a problem to be dissolved. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post V. B. Karnik reviews A. K. Gopalan's memoir In The Cause of The People: Reminiscences, describing Gopalan's fifty years of activism for the peasantry and agricultural labourers of Kerala, including over sixteen years of imprisonment. Karnik traces Gopalan's political trajectory from Congress worker to Congress Socialist Party member to a founding, prominent figure of the Marxist Communist Party (CPM), noting he was elected to Parliament multiple times and visited China and Russia. Karnik observes that although committed to Marxist philosophy, Gopalan made ample use of Gandhian fasting techniques in his activism, and describes the book as a plain, matter-of-fact diary of meetings, marches, and struggles without much analytical framing, closing with Gopalan's 1971 mid-term election victory over a combined opposition 'ranging from the Muslim League to the Jan Sangh.' - The review covers A. K. Gopalan's memoir In The Cause of The People: Reminiscences (Orient Longman), covering over fifty years of activism among Kerala's peasants and agricultural labourers. - Gopalan's political path ran from Congress worker, to Congress Socialist Party, to a founding and prominent member of the Marxist Communist Party. - Karnik notes the irony that although a committed Marxist, Gopalan made extensive use of the Gandhian technique of fasting in his political struggles. - The book is described as a plain record of meetings, marches, and imprisonments rather than an analytical or reflective memoir. - The narrative closes with Gopalan's victory in the 1971 mid-term election over a combined opposition spanning the Muslim League to the Jan Sangh. ### With Many Voices The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' is a compilation of short quotations on Cold War, Middle East, and international politics drawn from contemporary newspapers and journals -- including Golda Meir, Col. Gaddafi, Irving Kristol, Pierre Hassner, Alexander Dallin, Raymond Aron, and William F. Buckley -- framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. It is followed by the Freedom First subscription form and imprint, naming the Democratic Research Service, editor address at 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay, and printer details. - The page compiles short quotations on Cold War and Middle East politics from figures including Golda Meir, Col. Gaddafi, Irving Kristol, Pierre Hassner, Alexander Dallin, Raymond Aron, and William F. Buckley. - A Czechoslovak writer is quoted via Pierre Hassner on living in 'a world where madmen put straitjackets on normal people.' - The page carries a subscription form for Freedom First (Rs. 5 annual, Rs. 3 for students) addressed to the Democratic Research Service, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay. - The issue's imprint records J. R. Patel as Associate Editor and Inland Printers, 55 Gamdevi Road, Bombay, as printer. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff262/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 262 (March 1974), edited by M. R. Masani, is a full issue of this Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas, running the full 16 pages of the print run. The issue opens with Arvind A. Deshpande's cautious welcome to the newly emerged Dalit Panther movement, weighing its ethical promise against the risk of violence and Marxist capture, and closes with the regular "With Many Voices" page of aggregated press quotations. In between, the unsigned "Between You & Me and The Lamp Post" column surveys current affairs -- the Ahmedabad army call-in, the Bombay Central by-election, intemperate language among British and Indian politicians, a mercy-killing bill in the Lok Sabha, and corruption allegations against a former Union Minister drawn from A. G. Noorani's book Ministers' Misconduct. Geeta Doctor's "Under Siege" is a wry first-person account of a student agitation at a Bombay university library. A. H. Doctor reviews Leonard Schapiro's Totalitarianisms, using it to lay out the defining features of totalitarian rule. H. R.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 262 (March 1974), edited by M. R. Masani, is a full issue of this Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas, running the full 16 pages of the print run. The issue opens with Arvind A. Deshpande's cautious welcome to the newly emerged Dalit Panther movement, weighing its ethical promise against the risk of violence and Marxist capture, and closes with the regular "With Many Voices" page of aggregated press quotations. In between, the unsigned "Between You & Me and The Lamp Post" column surveys current affairs -- the Ahmedabad army call-in, the Bombay Central by-election, intemperate language among British and Indian politicians, a mercy-killing bill in the Lok Sabha, and corruption allegations against a former Union Minister drawn from A. G. Noorani's book Ministers' Misconduct. Geeta Doctor's "Under Siege" is a wry first-person account of a student agitation at a Bombay university library. A. H. Doctor reviews Leonard Schapiro's Totalitarianisms, using it to lay out the defining features of totalitarian rule. H. R. Pasricha's "Blessings of Indian Socialism" is a satirical polemic against the practice of Indian socialism as a quasi-religious faith used to justify nationalisation, controls, and trade-union extortion. The issue also carries a P.E.N. All-India Centre resolution protesting the exile of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, book and journal reviews, and a review of the film The French Connection. ## Essays ### The Panthers We Deserve *By Arvind A. Deshpande* Arvind A. Deshpande argues that Indian liberals should welcome the Dalit Panther movement as a hopeful countervailing force in India's "anarchic democracy," citing its ethical and cultural (rather than narrowly parochial or economic) foundation, its capture of youth and intellectual energy last seen in the 1930s Congress Socialists, and its lack of a single binding ideology or leader. He praises its poll-boycott tactic as Gandhian in spirit. He then pivots to a caveat: the Panthers must not mistake violence for strength, lest Bombay repeat the factional street-fighting seen in Calcutta. The essay (continued on page 14) turns to the deeper diagnosis of untouchability as one expression of the broader phenomenon of caste and "pollution," citing A. C. Mayer and Jayaprakash Narayan on caste's persistence as India's most powerful de facto political force. Deshpande traces the movement's origin to a 1972 Marathi article by Dalit writer Raja Dhale marking a 'Black Independence Day,' and to a pamphlet by General Secretary J. N. Pawar. He notes the Panthers' most significant political act to date, the boycott of a Bombay parliamentary by-election, as a Gandhian gesture, and worries about a Marxist faction under the poet Dhasal that looks to Marx rather than Buddha or Ambedkar, and about the movement's weak economic thinking and confused sense of political allies. He ends cautiously optimistic, saying the Panthers' future depends on the support they get from liberal and modernist elements in society. - Deshpande welcomes the Dalit Panther movement as India's first major movement founded on ethical/cultural rather than parochial or narrow economic grounds. - He warns the Panthers must not mistake violence for strength, or Bombay risks repeating Calcutta-style factional street fighting. - Untouchability is presented as one especially severe expression of the wider phenomenon of caste and ritual pollution, per A. C. Mayer. - The movement's origin is traced to Raja Dhale's 1972 Marathi article calling Independence Day a 'Black Independence Day' for the oppressed. - A Marxist faction of the Panthers led by the poet Dhasal worries the author, since it looks to Marx rather than Buddha or Ambedkar. - The Panthers' parliamentary election boycott in Bombay is praised as a genuinely Gandhian tactic. - The author identifies confused economic thinking and uncertainty about political allies as the movement's two weakest links. - The essay closes on cautious optimism, contingent on support from liberal and modernist sections of society. ### Under Siege *By Geeta Doctor* An unsigned box item on page 1 reacts to the Soviet arrest and forced deportation of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, describing it as an 'insult to the whole world' (quoting Andrei Sakharov) and announcing that Freedom First will publish extracts from Solzhenitsyn's writing in its April issue as a gesture of solidarity. - The Kremlin's arrest and deportation of Solzhenitsyn, stripping him of citizenship, is condemned as an outrage. - Academician Sakharov's description of the act as 'an insult to the whole world' is quoted approvingly. - Freedom First announces it will publish Solzhenitsyn extracts in its April 1974 issue in solidarity. - The item closes with the epigram that Solzhenitsyn will not become a man without a country, but Russia will become a country without a man. ### On Understanding Totalitarianism *By A. H. Doctor* The regular unsigned column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' runs across pages 2-5, covering a run of short current-affairs items: the Army's belated but well-received deployment during Ahmedabad's civic unrest (with a cartoon lampooning Indira Gandhi as a tank commander addressing '95% of the people of India'); the Bombay Central by-election, in which defectors from the ruling party are said to have secretly thrown their weight behind the Communist candidate Roza Deshpande to defeat their own official nominee; a roundup of intemperate language used against political leaders in Britain (Edward Heath called 'pig-headed' and a 'latter-day Nero') and America (Nixon's own supporters questioning his 'mental and emotional stability'), contrasted with Mrs Gandhi's complaint about harsh political language in India; a note on the introduction of a Mercy Killing bill in the Lok Sabha by Congress MP M. C. Daga; commentary on Mrs Gandhi's ('the Empress in Decline,' per The Economist) turn toward Communist allies and the appointment of K. D. Malaviya, a figure the column brands 'Moscow's man'; and a long excerpt from A. G. Noorani's book Ministers' Misconduct detailing the 1963 Malaviya-Serajuddin financial-impropriety affair and Nehru's resistance to a full public inquiry. - The Army's presence in Ahmedabad was welcomed by crowds even as ministers and ruling-party members feared to move about in public. - The column alleges Trojan-horse defectors within the ruling party secretly helped the Communist candidate Roza Deshpande win the Bombay Central by-election. - A survey of vitriolic language against Heath, Nixon, Churchill, and other Western leaders is used to rebut Mrs Gandhi's complaint that Indian political discourse is uniquely intemperate. - A Mercy Killing bill introduced by Congress MP M. C. Daga passed a Lok Sabha leave-to-introduce vote 71 to 15. - K. D. Malaviya's appointment as Cabinet Minister for Steel and Mines is read as a further step toward Soviet 'satellitism.' - A lengthy quotation from A. G. Noorani's Ministers' Misconduct recounts the 1963 Malaviya-Serajuddin affair, in which Nehru resisted a full judicial inquiry and refused to publish Justice S. K. Das's report. ### Blessings of Indian Socialism *By H. R. Pasricha* Geeta Doctor's 'Under Siege' is a first-person, wryly comic account of a student siege of a university library in Bombay, structured as a mock-heroic narrative of a 'fort' under attack by chanting undergraduate protestors ('Hail Hail Tope!'). The librarian and library staff are portrayed as unequal to the moment, while the narrator and colleagues improvise a defence using stacked encyclopaedias as ammunition. The piece closes by noting that, after the initial excitement, the confrontation dissolved anticlimactically as the student leadership 'ran out of ideas' and the crowd dispersed into random vandalism before going home. - The essay narrates a student protest against the Vice-Chancellor's office that spilled over into an attempted siege of the university library. - The library's physical solidity (stone walls, narrow windows, heavy doors) is comically likened to a mediaeval fort under siege. - Library staff and campus police are depicted as ineffectual, more focused on maintaining decorum than repelling the crowd. - The confrontation ultimately fizzles out without resolution, ending in window-breaking and tire-deflating rather than any political outcome. ### The French Connection (Film review) *By Joan Contractor* A. H. Doctor reviews Leonard Schapiro's book Totalitarianisms (Pall Mall, London), presenting it as a timely rebuttal to scholars such as Herbert Spiro, Herbert Marcuse, and Benjamin Barber, who argue that 'totalitarianism' is a loaded, outdated Cold War term applicable equally to Western democracies. Doctor summarises Schapiro's defence of the concept through detailed comparison of three prototypes -- Hitler's Nazism, Mussolini's Fascism, and Stalin's Communism -- identifying five defining contours: the cult of 'the leader,' subjugation of the legal order, an official monopoly ideology, mass mobilisation and manufactured legitimacy, and subordination of party, army, and society to the leader's personal control. The review closes by recommending the book to students of political science and to citizens of both democracies and 'people's democracies' as a diagnostic tool for detecting totalitarian drift. - Doctor frames the review as a defence of the analytical validity of 'totalitarianism' against critics like Herbert Spiro and Herbert Marcuse who call it a loaded Cold War term. - Schapiro's book studies three prototypes: Nazism under Hitler, Fascism under Mussolini, and Communism under Stalin. - Schapiro identifies five contours of totalitarian systems, including the leader cult, subjugation of law, monopoly ideology, mass mobilisation, and subordination of the party/army/police. - The 1971 forcible confinement of Soviet scientist Zhores Medvedev in a mental asylum is used as a concrete illustration of the difference between totalitarian and democratic systems. - The review argues Western democracies retain independent courts and legal recourse that Soviet citizens structurally lack, rebutting claims of moral equivalence. ### Reviews: Life in the Wilderness (Veran Jivan by Kamalashankar Pandya) *By Ramesh M. Bhatt* H. R. Pasricha's 'Blessings of Indian Socialism' is a satirical polemic likening Indian socialism, as actually practised, to an esoteric faith whose priesthood ('the apostles') keeps its doctrine deliberately vague in order to extract black-money contributions from businessmen at election time while offering the common man the illusion of an approaching millennium through nationalisation. Pasricha argues that the residue of socialism once genuine social welfare is subtracted is simply nationalisation and state capitalism, and mocks compulsory grain procurement, land-ceiling legislation that fragments holdings to 'postage stamp' size, and the trade-union leadership that has grown up under the apostles' patronage, extracting hush money from industrialists through strike threats. The piece ends by mocking the pretension that Indians possess a unique 'genius' for muddling any undertaking, closing with an Economist quotation about Britain and Argentina and a claim that the government is busy fulfilling the Marxian prophecy that the state will 'wither away' -- in the wrong sense. - Indian socialism is likened to an 'esoteric faith' whose priesthood deliberately keeps doctrine vague to serve its own interests. - Socialism minus genuine social welfare, in Pasricha's formulation, reduces simply to nationalisation and state capitalism. - Trade union leaders are described as a new class that has matured under the encouragement of the socialist establishment, extracting hush money from industrialists via strike threats. - Compulsory grain procurement and land-ceiling laws that fragment holdings to 'postage stamp' size are cited as examples of counterproductive socialist remedies. - The essay closes by satirically suggesting the government is inadvertently fulfilling the Marxian prophecy of the state 'withering away.' ### Reviews: A Welcome Journal (Asian Affairs review) *By V. M. D.* An unsigned notice reports that the P.E.N. All-India Centre, at its 40th Annual General Meeting on 18 February 1974, unanimously adopted a resolution deploring the Soviet expulsion and denaturalisation of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, expressing sympathy for him as a fellow writer and resolving to forward the resolution to Solzhenitsyn, to Soviet Chairman Podgorny, and to the press. The same page carries the mandatory 'Statement About Ownership' filing (Form IV) for Freedom First, naming J. R. Patel as printer and publisher, M. R. Masani as editor, and the Democratic Research Service as the owning entity. - The P.E.N. All-India Centre's 40th AGM (18 February 1974) unanimously condemned Solzhenitsyn's expulsion and denaturalisation. - The resolution was to be forwarded to Solzhenitsyn himself, to Soviet Chairman Podgorny, and to the press. - The issue's statutory ownership filing lists J. R. Patel as printer/publisher and M. R. Masani as editor, with the Democratic Research Service as owning entity. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post The Reviews page carries two items. Ramesh M. Bhatt reviews Veran Jivan, the Gujarati-language autobiography of Kamalashankar Pandya, a Gandhian freedom-fighter and lifelong public worker educated at Gandhi's Gujarat Vidyapeeth, who devoted his life to Panchmahals district but ended up, in Bhatt's reading, a disillusioned misfit as former socialist colleagues like Nehru, J. P., Ashoka Mehta, Lohia, and Masani went on to found parties and occupy high office while he himself withdrew from public life. V. M. D. separately welcomes the launch of a new bi-monthly journal, Asian Affairs -- An American Review, edited by William Henderson and published by Crane, Russak & Co. for the American-Asian Education Exchange, describing its first issue as containing serious, if densely academic, articles on Asian and American-Asian policy. - Ramesh M. Bhatt reviews Kamalashankar Pandya's Gujarati autobiography Veran Jivan, describing Pandya as a Gandhian freedom fighter turned disillusioned public worker in Panchmahals district. - The review contrasts Pandya's principled withdrawal from politics with contemporaries like Nehru, J. P., Ashoka Mehta, Lohia, and Masani who built parties and careers. - V. M. D. reviews the debut issue of the bi-monthly Asian Affairs -- An American Review, noting its focus on Asian and American-Asian policy questions and its high, semi-academic register. ### Solidarity with Solzhenitsyn: Indian Writers' Protest Joan Contractor reviews the film The French Connection, describing it as a tightly paced, morally 'detached' thriller about two New York narcotics agents chasing a heroin shipment. The review argues the film deliberately withholds any sociological or moral commentary on drug dealing, instead letting the audience become complicit 'players in the game of catch-the-criminal' alongside the protagonist Popeye Doyle, whose motivation is presented as a nearly amoral obsession with the chase itself rather than any stated ethical or professional purpose. - The film is read as deliberately 'sideless,' refusing moral or sociological commentary on drug dealing despite ample opportunity. - Audience sympathy for the police over the drug dealers is called 'ironic' given the police's own carelessness with bystanders' safety. - Popeye Doyle's motivation is presented as an almost monomaniacal desire to catch criminals, unconnected to stated moral revulsion or career ambition. - The review credits screenwriter Ernest Sudyeman and director William Shielkin with the skill of presenting a genuinely 'sideless' story. ### With Many Voices The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' is the magazine's regular feature collecting short quotations from the world and Indian press on current events, spanning commentary on Nixon and Watergate, Kissinger's negotiating philosophy, British political instability, the Bombay Prime Ministerial visit, food shortages and hoarding, and the state of Sri Lankan politics, closing with subscription information for Freedom First. - The page compiles quotations from figures including George Meany, Henry Kissinger, Lord Atlee, Romesh Thapar, Indira Gandhi, Leonid Brezhnev, and Maurice Zinkin. - Quotations touch on Nixon's credibility, British political crisis, Indian foodgrain shortages, and Sri Lanka's politics-economics mix. - The page doubles as the issue's subscription order form for Freedom First. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff263/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 263 (April 1974), edited by M. R. Masani, is a complete 16-page number of the classical-liberal Bombay monthly. Its front page and closing pages carry a translated extract from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's 1973 open letter to the Soviet leadership, presented as a template for Indian readers to reject Marxist ideology and "planning." The editorial column, "Between You & Me and The Lamp Post," ranges across the Solzhenitsyn affair, a caution against the army being used to quell civil disturbances, an expose of Nehru's private disparagement of Indian MPs and newspaper owners (via Mohamed Heikal's account), a critique of Y. B. Chavan's inflationary 1974-75 budget, commentary on the hung British general election of February 1974, and a post-mortem on Swatantra Party losses in the U.P. and Orissa assembly elections. The issue's featured essays are B. P.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 263 (April 1974), edited by M. R. Masani, is a complete 16-page number of the classical-liberal Bombay monthly. Its front page and closing pages carry a translated extract from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's 1973 open letter to the Soviet leadership, presented as a template for Indian readers to reject Marxist ideology and "planning." The editorial column, "Between You & Me and The Lamp Post," ranges across the Solzhenitsyn affair, a caution against the army being used to quell civil disturbances, an expose of Nehru's private disparagement of Indian MPs and newspaper owners (via Mohamed Heikal's account), a critique of Y. B. Chavan's inflationary 1974-75 budget, commentary on the hung British general election of February 1974, and a post-mortem on Swatantra Party losses in the U.P. and Orissa assembly elections. The issue's featured essays are B. P. Adarkar's comparison of Indian planning failure against the "economic miracles" of Brazil, West Germany and Japan; Sharu Rangnekar's analysis of Gunnar Myrdal's "soft state" concept and how to harden it through discipline and reduced controls; Manohar Malgonkar's critical review of Chester Bowles' memoir Promises to Keep; and S. G. Bailur's human-interest piece on a struggling Poona classical musician. Shorter items include a satirical letter imagining gender role-reversal in the year 2074, a book review of an edited volume on the New Left, and a closing page of quoted aphorisms from the world press ("With Many Voices"). ## Essays ### 'This Filthy, Sweaty Shirt...' *By Solzhenitsyn* The front-page item, headlined "'This Filthy, Sweaty Shirt...'", is an extract from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's letter to the Soviet leadership (first published six months earlier and reprinted here in translation), continued on page 15. It argues that Marxism is neither empirically accurate nor scientific, having failed to predict events, and that the doctrine survives in the West and in countries like India, Ceylon and Chile chiefly through the greed of some, the blindness of others and a residual craving for faith. Solzhenitsyn contends that patriotism and Marxist internationalism are irreconcilable, that Lenin himself admitted Marxism's anti-patriotic character, and that the Soviet state now sustains the ideology purely as inertia and self-justifying propaganda rather than genuine belief, sapping the nation with institutionalised lies. He closes by urging the leadership simply to withdraw state backing and funding from Marxist ideology and let it survive, if it can, on its own merits outside working hours and off the public purse. - Solzhenitsyn argues Marxism has failed to predict a single event despite claiming scientific status. - He says only cupidity, blindness, or a craving for faith explain Marxism's survival among the discredited. - He links collectivisation, nationalisation of small trades and services, and militarisation to the everyday suffering of ordinary Soviet citizens. - He predicts a shift toward patriotism as the state's real organising principle once war with China looms, exposing Marxist internationalism as expendable. - The letter (continued on page 15) closes by urging that Marxist ideology be stripped of state salary and state coercion and left to survive, if at all, purely as private, unfunded advocacy. ### Bowles' Rose-Tinted Glasses *By Manohar Malgonkar* The signed editorial column "Between You & Me and The Lamp Post" (pp. 2-5) opens by praising Solzhenitsyn's moral courage and drawing a parallel between Russians unable to see their own unfreedom and Indians similarly numbed to "socialistic" ideology. It commends Field Marshal Manekshaw's caution against overusing the army to quell civil disturbances, contrasting this with British colonial-era restraint. A section titled "Heikal Exposes Nehru" cites Mohamed Heikal's book on Nasser to reveal Nehru privately dismissing Indian press criticism of Nasser as bought by big business, wishing he "could close them all," and disparaging Indian MPs as being on the payroll of "millionaires like Tata." The column then turns domestic, attacking Y. B. Chavan's 1974-75 budget as understating deficit financing eightfold against the previous year and ignoring looming public-sector wage demands, citing economist B. P. Minhas and Nani Palkhivala's call for a policy "U-turn." A section on the deadlocked February 1974 British general election argues the first-past-the-post system produced an unrepresentative, unstable Parliament and that proportional representation would have given the Liberal Party a fair share of seats, drawing the lesson that India too should abandon the "archaic British electoral system." The column closes with a post-election review of Swatantra Party losses in Orissa (blamed on an alliance with Biju Patnaik and Harekrushna Mehtab) and the fractured opposition landscape in U.P. - Endorses Solzhenitsyn's letter as more relevant to India's own problems than to Russia's alone. - Praises Field Marshal Manekshaw's and Col. C. L. Proudfoot's warnings against habitual military deployment to suppress civil unrest. - Cites Heikal's Nasser: The Cairo Documents to show Nehru privately scorning the Indian press and Parliament as beholden to big business. - Criticises Chavan's 1974-75 budget for understated deficit financing and ignoring inflationary wage pressures, citing B. P. Minhas and N. A. Palkhivala. - Analyses the hung British general election of February 1974 as proof that first-past-the-post fails to produce stable, representative government, and argues India should adopt a list/PR system. - Reviews Swatantra Party's rout in the Orissa assembly elections, attributed to its alliance with Biju Patnaik and Harekrushna Mehtab. ### Hardening the "Soft State" *By Sharu S. Rangnekar* Manohar Malgonkar reviews Chester Bowles' memoir Promises to Keep, tracing Bowles' career from advertising executive to Connecticut governor, U.S. Congressman, twice U.S. Ambassador to India, Assistant Secretary of State, and Kennedy's roving ambassador. Malgonkar credits Bowles' industriousness and candour about U.S. politics -- his criticisms of arms sales, Vietnam policy, and colleagues -- but argues that on India specifically Bowles displays a wholly uncritical, 'rose-tinted' devotion, never once asking what went wrong with Nehru's promises despite a decade of squandered reserves, failed Five-Year Plans, worsening food shortages, and the debacle of the 1962 war with China. The review highlights Bowles' role in securing a hundred-million-dollar annual U.S. military aid commitment to India after the NEFA defeat, a deal nearly finalised days before Kennedy's assassination and only concluded six months later under President Johnson. - Malgonkar frames Bowles as a relentlessly successful, hyper-industrious figure across advertising, politics and diplomacy. - Bowles served two terms as U.S. Ambassador to India (1951-53 and again under Kennedy/Johnson) and briefly as Assistant Secretary of State. - The review contrasts Bowles' willingness to criticise U.S. policy (arms sales, Vietnam, the UN bureaucracy) with his total silence on Indian policy failures. - Malgonkar cites Bowles' role in winning Kennedy's approval for a hundred-million-dollar annual U.S. military aid package to India after the 1962 NEFA defeat. - The review concludes that Bowles' enduring, uncritical affection for India amounts to a serious blind spot as an observer of Indian affairs. ### The Three Economic Miracles *By B. P. Adarkar* A satirical letter by G. Gopalakrishnan, addressed to 'Mr. Greer' (evoking Germaine Greer), imagines a reversed gender order in the year 2074, in which men have become the oppressed sex following a 'world woman's bloodless revolution' in 2010. The letter-writer complains, in exaggerated mock-aggrieved tone, of test-tube babies, wives absorbed in careers and seminars, a Parliament dominated by shrill women hurling undergarments instead of shoes, and an all-female police and judiciary, before calling on 'fellowmen all over the world' to rise up and reclaim what women have 'usurped.' It is a comic piece playing on 1970s feminist debates (name-checking Toffler) rather than a substantive argument. - The piece is a satirical mock-letter imagining a future in which traditional gender roles are inverted. - It references a fictional 'world woman's bloodless revolution' of 2010 as the turning point. - It satirises contemporary feminist rhetoric and 1970s gender-politics debates (invoking Germaine Greer and Alvin Toffler) through exaggerated role reversal. - The tone is comic and light, ending with a mock call to arms for men to 'unite'. ### The Trials of a Professional Musician *By S. G. Bailur* B. P. Adarkar's essay compares India's post-independence economic performance against the celebrated 'economic miracles' of Brazil, West Germany, and Japan. Citing Paul Samuelson's remark on 'miracles of non-growth' in centrally planned or newly independent economies, Adarkar catalogues India's weak results across four Five-Year Plans -- a per-capita income ranking of 103rd in the world and an average growth rate of only 3.5% over 1951-73, well below contemporaries such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Iran. He quotes at length from a Milton Friedman Newsweek article identifying three shared conditions behind the Brazilian, German and Japanese miracles: each followed a period of economic disorganisation caused by price and wage controls; each miracle was made possible by monetary reforms that ended government controls and let market prices operate; and each relied primarily on private enterprise, with government intervention serving as marginal 'trimming' rather than the main engine. Adarkar then applies this framework to India, arguing that India's disorganisation (controls, deficit financing, the failed Wheat Takeover) parallels Brazil's pre-reform chaos, but that India has not yet undertaken the market-price liberalisation or full reliance on private enterprise that produced the other three miracles. He closes by asserting that India, like Brazil, may be approaching a 'take-off' stage, citing economist Colin Clark's agreement and describing new small-and-medium industry growth visible along the Bombay-Poona rail corridor, currently held back by excessive controls and taxation. - Cites Paul Samuelson (Economic Times Annual, 1972) on 'miracles of non-growth' in planned economies such as Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Czechoslovakia, Egypt, India, Ghana and Indonesia. - India's four Five-Year Plans cost Rs. 42,000 crores yet produced only 3.5% average annual growth (1951-73) and a global per-capita income rank of 103. - Quotes Milton Friedman's Newsweek analysis identifying three shared preconditions of the Brazilian, German, and Japanese 'economic miracles': prior disorganisation from price/wage controls, monetary reform ending controls, and reliance on private enterprise. - Argues India shares the first condition (disorganisation from controls, deficit financing, and the failed Wheat Takeover) but has not undertaken the liberalising reforms of the other three countries. - Cites economist Colin Clark's view, and Adarkar's own observation of new small-industry growth on the Bombay-Poona corridor, as evidence India may be reaching a 'take-off' stage if government eases controls. - Quotes D. P. Dhar's promised 5.5% growth target for the Fifth Plan and Y. B. Chavan's dismissive remark about unrealistic targets. ### Rationality and Humanity? (review of The New Left: Six Critical Essays, ed. Maurice Cranston) *By Rusi J. Daruwala* Sharu S. Rangnekar's essay applies Gunnar Myrdal's concept of the 'soft state' to explain low productivity in developing countries, including India. He argues that soft states are characterised by lax enforcement of rules, official collusion with powerful interests, and exploitation of laxity for personal gain, all of which discourage efficient resource use regardless of technology levels -- industrial units in underdeveloped countries using the same technology as developed ones show markedly lower productivity because of this social indiscipline. Rangnekar criticises education systems in developing countries for emphasising quantity over the qualitative habits (attitude to work) that actually build productive labour, arguing mis-education has produced a large mass of unemployed graduates unwilling to do manual work. He also notes that 'social justice' rhetoric is often used to justify controls on the private sector rather than genuine redistribution, and that administrative discretion over licenses, foreign exchange and loans has become an engine of corruption that further degrades productivity. In his conclusion (continued from page 11 onto page 12), Rangnekar argues it may not be possible to 'harden' the soft state through discipline given weak enforcement capacity in the developing world, and instead recommends a pragmatic embrace of land reform's practical limits, favouring incentives for progressive farmers and industrialists, on the view that current pseudo-socialism combines the worst features of capitalism and feudalism. - Applies Gunnar Myrdal's 'soft state' concept to explain why developing countries achieve low productivity despite modern technology. - Argues industrial units using identical technology to developed countries still show lower productivity due to social indiscipline and weak enforcement. - Criticises the emphasis on quantitative rather than qualitative education, blaming it for producing unemployed, work-averse graduates. - Notes that 'social justice' rhetoric is frequently used to justify private-sector controls rather than genuine redistribution. - Argues administrative discretion over licenses, exchange controls and loans breeds corruption, further reducing productivity. - Concludes that hardening the soft state may be impractical, recommending instead incentives for progressive farmers and industrialists over land reform and public-sector expansion. ### Men or Wo(e)men -- Year 2074 (letter to the editor) *By G. Gopalakrishnan* S. G. Bailur profiles Nagesh Khalikar, a talented but financially unsuccessful classical musician from Poona, based on an interview at a musical programme marking the third death anniversary of Shivanand Bhavanishankar Bankeshwar, a patron of classical music. Khalikar argues that music is a luxury rather than necessity, so musicians suffer first when the general economy worsens, and that success depends on melodious voice, originality, talent, opportunity, influence and above all luck -- criticising Sangeet Sabhas for favouring established stars over promising newcomers purely to protect gate money. The piece recounts an anecdote where Khalikar graciously improvised with amateur accompanists when the scheduled chief guest (singer Ghulam Mustafa) arrived late, out of gratitude to the late Bankeshwar's patronage. It traces Khalikar's biography: orphaned young, raised by his mother and grandfather, a disciple of Pandit Vinayakrao Patwardhan and Prof. Deodhar, and a schoolteacher of music for 22 years at New English School, Poona, after his musical career failed to provide financial security despite two devastating setbacks -- the Panshet flood disaster and a later midnight dacoity that wiped out his savings. - Profiles Poona classical musician Nagesh Khalikar, interviewed at a memorial concert for patron Shivanand Bhavanishankar Bankeshwar. - Khalikar argues music is a 'luxury' whose fortunes rise and fall with the general economy, since it depends on mass rather than elite patronage. - He criticises Sangeet Sabhas for favouring established musicians over promising newcomers, purely to protect gate-money revenue. - An anecdote describes Khalikar improvising with amateur accompanists when the scheduled celebrity chief guest, Ghulam Mustafa, arrived late. - His biography includes being orphaned young, training under Pandit Vinayakrao Patwardhan and Prof. Deodhar, 22 years as a school music teacher, and two ruinous financial setbacks (the Panshet flood and a dacoity). ### Essay 8 A short book review by Rusi J. Daruwala covers The New Left: Six Critical Essays, edited by Maurice Cranston (National Academy, Delhi). The review summarises the volume's argument that the New Left, unlike orthodox Marxism, has lost confidence in the deterministic 'movement of history' and instead champions a 'politics of experience', drawing its revolutionary subjects from Third World peasants, U.S. ghetto residents and dropouts rather than Western industrial workers. It surveys the book's individual essays: Kenneth Minogue on Che Guevara, Francois Bondy on Sartre, Maurice Cranston on contradictions in Herbert Marcuse's thought, Aristide Zolberg on Frantz Fanon's advocacy of revolutionary violence, George Feaver on the rise of Black Power out of frustration with Martin Luther King's moderation, and David Martin's concluding essay on R. D. Laing. Daruwala recommends the low-priced Indian edition to readers interested in the ideological forces shaping contemporary politics. - Reviews The New Left: Six Critical Essays, edited by Maurice Cranston, published by National Academy, Delhi at Rs. 5. - Summarises the book's thesis that the New Left replaces orthodox Marxist economic determinism with a Marx read as sociologist, and substitutes Third World peasants and U.S. ghetto dwellers for the Western industrial proletariat as its revolutionary subject. - Surveys individual essays: Minogue on Che Guevara, Bondy on Sartre, Cranston on Marcuse's inconsistencies, Zolberg on Fanon's cult of violence, Feaver on Black Power's emergence from King's moderate politics, and Martin on R. D. Laing. - Recommends the volume as a useful, affordable introduction to the ideological currents shaping contemporary radical politics. ### Essay 9 The back-page feature "With Many Voices" is a compilation of quoted aphorisms and press comments from around the world, on themes including Indian public life, non-alignment, U.S. politics and détente, and British coalition politics. Quoted sources include Sir Keith Joseph in The Economist on the impossibility of equality, Edward Luttwak in National Review on Indian pseudosecularism, Senator Barry Goldwater and Howard Flieger in U.S. News & World Report, Ambassador Daniel Moynihan quipping about renaming the Indian Ocean, C. M. H. N. Bahuguna praising Lenin in The Illustrated Weekly of India, and Jeremy Thorpe and Enoch Powell in The Economist and Time on British politics. The page also carries the subscription form for Freedom First (published by the Democratic Research Service) and the masthead identifying J. R. Patel as Associate Editor. - A curated column of quoted aphorisms from the international press on Indian and world politics, titled 'With Many Voices'. - Includes Sir Keith Joseph on equality, Edward Luttwak on Indian pseudosecularism, and Ambassador Daniel Moynihan's quip about renaming the Indian Ocean. - Includes Barry Goldwater and Howard Flieger commentary from U.S. News & World Report on Nixon, détente, and Cuba. - Notably quotes Congress politician C. M. H. N. Bahuguna praising Lenin as an exciting political hero. - The page doubles as the issue's masthead and subscription form, naming J. R. Patel as Associate Editor and the Democratic Research Service as publisher. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff266/ ### Summary Freedom First no. 266 (July 1974), edited by M. R. Masani for the Democratic Research Service, opens with Masani's editorial 'The Big Bang,' a survey of worldwide and Indian press reaction condemning the Pokhran nuclear test as a misallocation of resources amid poverty. The 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' notes column comments on Giscard d'Estaing's French election win, Willy Brandt's fall and Helmut Schmidt's succession in West Germany, and a corruption scandal involving Soviet Culture Minister Ekaterina Furtseva. A travel letter by American journalist Don Mac-Gillis, 'India: The Tender Trap,' recounts the bureaucratic and social frustrations of budget tourism in Kashmir, Delhi and Agra. Joseph Pereira's 'Danger of Coup in Sri Lanka' analyses the radicalisation of Sirimavo Bandaranaike's United Front government and the resulting risk of military intervention. Jai Nimbkar's 'A Nation of Children' argues that Indian social organisation (family, caste, the paternalist 'maybap sarkar' idea of government) breeds a dependent, anti-individualist mindset that threatens to tip the country toward totalitarianism. A substantial Reviews section covers M. Chalapathi Rau's The Press, M.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First no. 266 (July 1974), edited by M. R. Masani for the Democratic Research Service, opens with Masani's editorial 'The Big Bang,' a survey of worldwide and Indian press reaction condemning the Pokhran nuclear test as a misallocation of resources amid poverty. The 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' notes column comments on Giscard d'Estaing's French election win, Willy Brandt's fall and Helmut Schmidt's succession in West Germany, and a corruption scandal involving Soviet Culture Minister Ekaterina Furtseva. A travel letter by American journalist Don Mac-Gillis, 'India: The Tender Trap,' recounts the bureaucratic and social frustrations of budget tourism in Kashmir, Delhi and Agra. Joseph Pereira's 'Danger of Coup in Sri Lanka' analyses the radicalisation of Sirimavo Bandaranaike's United Front government and the resulting risk of military intervention. Jai Nimbkar's 'A Nation of Children' argues that Indian social organisation (family, caste, the paternalist 'maybap sarkar' idea of government) breeds a dependent, anti-individualist mindset that threatens to tip the country toward totalitarianism. A substantial Reviews section covers M. Chalapathi Rau's The Press, M. Ruthnaswamy's Legislation, Principles and Practices, and S. E. Ayling's Portraits of Power, followed by a theatre review of Alyque Padamsee's Jesus Christ Superstar production, a poem by Bejan Daruwalla, and a closing page of quotations ('With Many Voices'). ## Essays ### The Big Bang *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's editorial catalogues the overwhelmingly critical domestic and international press reaction to India's May 1974 nuclear test at Pokhran, Rajasthan. He assembles quotations from the Statesman, Economic and Political Weekly, Chicago Tribune, Richmond Times Dispatch, and Indian officials to argue that the test was an act of 'plain conceit' that diverted enormous resources from basic needs like drinking water, food and irrigation while the government professed poverty. Masani rejects Indira Gandhi's defence of the programme (comparing it to steel-mill investment) and closes by pressing the government for an accounting of what the money could otherwise have achieved, and noting the damage to India-Pakistan detente and foreign aid confidence. - American press claims that Indians universally took pride in the blast are dismissed as false; many Indians, including the editor, felt embarrassed. - The Statesman called the test 'Total Irresponsibility' and traced it to 'plain conceit'. - Left-leaning Economic and Political Weekly was equally critical, mocking the test as a distraction from inflation and the railway strike. - Official figures show enormous cumulative and planned spending on atomic energy (Rs. 880 crores over 25 years already spent; Rs. 733 crores more planned for 1974-79) despite widespread lack of clean drinking water. - Indira Gandhi's comparison of the bomb project to earlier steel-mill investments is presented as a misguided justification. - The test is framed as damaging India's credibility with foreign aid donors and setting back India-Pakistan detente. ### India: The Tender Trap *By Don Mac-Gillis* This unsigned notes column opens by welcoming Valéry Giscard d'Estaing's election as French President over the Socialist-Communist candidate Mitterrand, and Helmut Schmidt's succession to Willy Brandt as West German Chancellor, framing both as favourable to NATO and Western cohesion. It then turns to a Soviet corruption scandal in which Culture Minister Ekaterina Furtseva was reprimanded by the Party for misusing her position to obtain cut-price building materials for a private dacha, contrasting the lack of a free press in the USSR with the West's ability to expose such misdeeds. The column closes noting the reappearance of the underground Russian samizdat journal 'Chronicle of Current Events' after a 19-month gap. - Giscard d'Estaing's win over Mitterrand is welcomed as a 'change without adventure' that keeps France from Communist-backed government. - Helmut Schmidt's accession as West German Chancellor is called a good omen for NATO, correcting the Gaullist/Ostpolitik drift of prior years. - Soviet Culture Minister Ekaterina Furtseva is reported reprimanded for misusing her office to obtain building materials for a private dacha. - The column argues the absence of a free press means such Soviet misdeeds are rarely surfaced to the public. - The underground samizdat 'Chronicle of Current Events' resumed publication after a 19-month suppression gap despite a contributor already serving a five-year sentence. ### Danger of Coup in Sri Lanka *By Joseph Pereira* Excerpted from a letter by freelance American journalist Don Mac-Gillis to the magazine's Associate Editor, this piece recounts a budget tourist's difficult passage through Kashmir, Delhi and Agra. It describes disappointing weather and unpleasant, insistent Kashmiri merchants and houseboat touts in Srinagar and Gulmarg, a bureaucratic ordeal booking an early charter flight home and reserving a third-class rail ticket to Agra, an act of spontaneous hospitality from a fellow train passenger, and an unsettling incident of harassment experienced by his female companion Ingrid in a Delhi bazaar. The letter closes on a positive note about a well-guided day trip to Fatehpur Sikri, Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal. - Kashmir's houseboat and pony-trek tourism is described as pestered by insistent touts and sled-pullers despite scenic mountain travel. - Booking a changed Air India charter flight in Delhi required four visits and considerable patience with bureaucracy, but no bribe was needed. - Reserving a third-class rail ticket to Agra took 45 minutes in a queue dominated by professional 'runners' for travel agencies. - A fellow rail passenger's unprompted gift of a blanket is cited as a notable act of hospitality experienced during the third-class overnight journey. - An episode in a Delhi bazaar saw the author's companion Ingrid harassed and groped by local boys and young men, which the writer says permanently coloured their view of Delhi. - The guided visit to Fatehpur Sikri, Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal is praised as one of the most enjoyable parts of the trip. ### A Nation of Children *By Jai Nimbkar* Joseph Pereira examines Sri Lanka's political trajectory nine months after the Chilean coup, arguing that a military takeover is increasingly plausible despite the armed forces' restraint so far. He traces Sri Lanka's history from Solomon Bandaranaike's 1956 nationalist government through his assassination, his widow Sirimavo Bandaranaike's return to power, the 1962 attempted coup, and the 1971 United Front's radical turn: land ceilings, nationalisation of foreign petroleum, insurance, tea and rubber-related industries, and near-total state control over the press (Lake House, Sun and Times groups). Pereira argues these reforms have alarmed both Western economic interests, who control 60% of Sri Lanka's tea export earnings, and local propertied classes, whose sons dominate the officer corps and who now represent the only meaningful check on the increasingly powerful, radicalised United Front government. - Sri Lanka's United Front government, led by Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike, commands 115 of 150 parliamentary seats and includes Trotskyite, Moscow-line and pro-Peking factions. - British firms own 250,000 acres of Sri Lanka's best tea and rubber land, and control of the tea industry (60% of export earnings) has become a crucial national issue. - Land reform imposes ceilings of 50 acres (non-paddy) and 25 acres (paddy), plus ceilings on house ownership and income, alongside a capital levy and compulsory savings scheme. - The Business Acquisition Act empowers the government to nationalise any firm; graphite mines and the British Ceylon Company's cocoanut oil monopoly have already been taken over. - All three major newspaper groups (Lake House, Sun, Times) have been brought under state ownership or control, giving the Front near-total command of the media alongside state radio and cinema news. - Sri Lanka's military, drawn from the disgruntled propertied classes and lacking the nationalist consciousness that (per the author) India's armed forces developed through frequent wars, is described as the only real countervailing force against the Front. ### Reviews (Editors and Editors; A Commendable Effort; Powerful Portraits) *By A Journalist; S. P. Aiyar; P. N. Driver* Jai Nimbkar draws on fieldwork among villagers displaced by the Koyna dam to argue that Indians widely exhibit a 'child-response' to authority: a habit of demanding the government solve problems (a blocked well, uncultivated resettlement land, broken irrigation pumps) rather than acting collectively themselves, even when self-help would be straightforward. He traces this to the country's family, clan and caste structures, in which one authority figure makes all decisions in exchange for guaranteed security, a pattern he says has simply been transferred onto the state as 'maybap sarkar' (parent-government). Nimbkar contends that even mass protest movements reproduce this dependency, since protestors act as conformist followers of a few leaders rather than as autonomous individuals, and that the education system's guru-based, examination-oriented pedagogy reinforces the same non-questioning mindset. He warns that if this collective refusal of individual initiative and freedom persists, India risks drifting into totalitarianism, arguing that Indian freedom and democracy have survived so far more by accident (population diversity, weak communications, absence of a single group capable of total power) than by conscious cultivation. - Displaced Koyna dam villagers refused to dig a second well themselves, insisting the government owed it to them despite having already received compensation. - Villagers given fallow resettlement land let it lie uncultivated for six years waiting for promised government bulldozers rather than clearing it manually. - Nimbkar traces the attitude to family/caste structures where one authority figure decides everything in exchange for guaranteed food, clothing and shelter. - Government is now cast in the same paternal role, described in Marathi as 'maybap sarkar' expected to protect and provide for citizens. - Even protests, gheraos and strikes are framed as group phenomena led by a few leaders and followed sheeplike by disciples, not expressions of individual dissent. - The 'guru' system of education, with rote absorption and no encouragement to question, is blamed for perpetuating the same non-individualist mindset. - Nimbkar warns India's freedom has persisted due to accidental safety factors (diversity, weak media, no single group with total power) rather than deliberate cultivation, risking a slide toward totalitarianism. ### For a Fallen Student (poem) *By Bejan Daruwalla* A book review, signed 'A Journalist', of M. Chalapathi Rau's The Press (National Book Trust). The reviewer faults the 200-page book for omitting the Hindustan Times and Indian Express entirely, relying heavily and uncritically on Margarita Barnes' The Indian Press for its earlier chapters, and containing factual errors of names, places and journal histories -- including a detailed correction of Rau's claim that Bharata Devi was an organ of the non-Brahmin movement, and of his account of the founding of the Searchlight newspaper in Bihar. The review also criticises Rau's treatment of the Press Commission report as an unchanging 'Bible' despite twenty years of change in the industry, and challenges Rau's failure to address the practical constraints editorial freedom faces from proprietors, committed editors and government pressure alike. - The reviewer says The Press omits the Hindustan Times and Indian Express, calling this a significant and non-accidental gap. - Rau is said to rely entirely on Margarita Barnes' 'monumental' Indian Press for the book's earlier sections, confusing some names and places in the process. - A detailed factual correction is offered regarding Bharata Devi (a Tamil weekly/daily linked to Sadanand and S.V. Swami), which the reviewer says was never an organ of the non-Brahmin movement as Rau claims. - Rau's account of the Searchlight's founding is corrected: Sachchidananda Sinha was one of several founders, not the sole founder as the book implies. - The review argues Rau treats the Press Commission report as timelessly authoritative despite twenty years of industry change, and offers no real solution to the problem of editorial freedom under proprietors, committed editors, or government pressure. ### Jesus Christ Understudy (Theatre: review of Jesus Christ Superstar) *By Manjula Padmanabhan* S. P. Aiyar reviews M. Ruthnaswamy's Legislation, Principles and Practices (D. K. Publishing House, 1974), calling it a commendable historical survey of the nature and absurdities of legislation despite the author's near-ninety years of age. The review praises Ruthnaswamy's anecdotal, historically grounded style and his freedom from partisan bias, while noting serious flaws: repetitive and unchronological early chapters, numerous errors in names, book titles and dates (e.g., Helvetius's, Edmund Burke's and David Ricardo's birth years, Leibnitz's death year, and the date of the Corn Laws' repeal), and inadequate citation practice. The book is praised particularly for its discussion of income-tax legislation as bred of distrust, and its argument that ceiling legislation covers only 22% of India's irrigated area, making it largely 'token' in effect. - Ruthnaswamy's book is praised as free from partisan bias despite his association with an opposition political party. - The review highlights the book's argument that income-tax laws are 'based on distrust and therefore breed deceit' rather than aiming to help the poor become rich. - Ruthnaswamy's claim that ceiling legislation affects no more than 22% of India's total irrigated area is cited as evidence the reform is largely 'token legislation'. - The reviewer lists multiple factual errors: Helvetius's birth year, Edmund Burke's birth year, David Ricardo's birth year, Leibnitz's death year, and the date of the Corn Laws' repeal. - Citation practice is criticised as inconsistent, with footnotes often lacking page numbers and overuse of 'op. cit.' ### With Many Voices (quotes column) P. N. Driver reviews S. E. Ayling's Portraits of Power (George G. Harrap & Co, 5th edition, 1971), a study of seventeen twentieth-century political figures including ten dictators alongside democrats like Nehru, Gandhi, Churchill, De Gaulle, Nasser and Roosevelt. Driver praises Ayling's engaging style, his impartiality (neither flattering nor condemning his subjects), and his central argument that unchecked power corrupts democrats and dictators alike, illustrated through the instability of post-war French governments under De Gaulle. The review highlights Ayling's dry humour on Egyptian, Italian and other national character, and closes by endorsing the book's broader thesis that liberty must be checked by law, quoting Pope's dictum that 'whatever is best administered is best.' - The book profiles seventeen twentieth-century political figures, ten of them dictators, including Marshal Tito, Mussolini, Nasser and others alongside democrats. - Ayling's central thesis is that power corrupts democratic politicians no less than a normal dictator, illustrated by post-war France's twelve ministries in five years and twenty in a decade. - The review cites Ayling's argument that American aid was crucial to saving France and Egypt from crisis despite public anti-American sentiment in both countries. - Ayling's treatment of Marshal Tito is singled out as showing him standing 'head and shoulders above all others' among the dictators profiled. - The review closes by endorsing the view that liberty requires a legal safeguard against its own excesses, quoting Pope that 'whatever is best administered is best.' ### Essay 9 An unsigned theatre review of Alyque Padamsee's Bombay production of Jesus Christ Superstar, likening it to 'watching a foreign film which has been badly dubbed.' The reviewer finds the musical elements faithful to the Broadway original and effective, particularly the Judas and Herod performances by Conal Almeida and Keith Stevenson, but judges the theatrical direction a failure, faulting Padamsee for opening with a mismatched hymn-singing prologue, casting a weak lead and Mary Magdalene, filling the stage with amateur 'Pradeep People,' and fundamentally misunderstanding the show's irreverent tone by treating it with 'reverence and Christian piety' more suited to the smaller, gentler Godspell (staged in Bombay the previous year). - The production is described as splitting into two planes: a faithful, well-executed musical side and a failed theatrical/directorial side. - Conal Almeida (Caiaphas) and Keith Stevenson (Herod) are singled out as the standout performers, appreciably older and more professional than the rest of the cast. - The Christ figure and Mary Magdalene are criticised as unconvincing, with the lead giving a 'juvenile pop-singer' impersonation and Mary Magdalene looking 'unbearably like an overdressed schoolgirl.' - The review contrasts this production unfavourably with Godspell, staged in Bombay the prior year, arguing Superstar required strength and inspiration rather than the casual spontaneity suited to Godspell. - Padamsee is faulted for adding a community hymn-singing prologue and slides of Christ (including one of Gandhi), seen as revealing a misunderstanding of the show's intended irreverence. ### Essay 10 A short poem by Bejan Daruwalla, 'For a Fallen Student,' mourning a young man killed in political violence ('breast to bullet'), depicting his death amid slogans and crowds as senseless and irrecoverable ('no rose, no grass, no ripening corn grows there'), while ordinary urban life -- mothers, scampering children, the guilty -- continues around the site of his death. - The poem elegises an unnamed student killed by a bullet during a political demonstration. - Imagery emphasises the futility and sterility of the death: no rose, grass, or corn grows at the spot. - The poem contrasts the fallen student's fate with the indifferent continuation of everyday urban life around him. ### Essay 11 The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' is a compilation of quotations drawn from the international press (chiefly The Economist) and other sources, touching on Indira Gandhi's nuclear hypocrisy, Chancellor Schmidt's remarks on hair and character, Soviet military-bureaucratic self-interest, inflation and trade unions in Britain, Mitterrand's concision, Northern Ireland's status within the United Kingdom, and a closing Karl Marx quotation on history repeating as tragedy and farce. - Opens with a quotation accusing Indira Gandhi of hypocrisy for preaching against violence while developing India's own 'little A Bomb.' - Includes The Economist's characterisation of the contemporary British Parliament as 'chiefly a House of Humbug.' - Cites Louis Fischer on how the Soviet military and bureaucracy derive political and social nourishment from empire, guaranteeing the dictatorship's tenure. - Includes an Economist quotation arguing that inflation's injustice lies in transferring wealth to those who control trade unions. - Closes with a Karl Marx quotation, cited via The Economist, that great historical facts and personages occur twice: first as tragedy, second as farce. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff265/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 265 (June 1974), edited by M. R. Masani, is a miscellany typical of the magazine's format: a lead item excerpting Field Marshal S. H. F. J. Manekshaw's address on the scarcity of leadership in India, a report of Masani's own Rotary Club speech warning that only 'reform or revolution' can resolve India's political and economic crisis, the regular 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' column of wry political commentary (on press freedom in Sri Lanka, Senator Edward Kennedy's misadventure in Moscow, Willy Brandt's resignation over the Guillaume spy affair, Watergate, and the Portuguese coup), two book reviews (of D. R. Mankekar's book on the abolition of the princely order, and of S. P. Aiyar's essays on modernization), a translated piece by Govind Talwalkar on chronic delay in India's law courts, and two personal essays, Geeta Doctor's comic account of train travel in India and Manjula Padmanabhan's memoir of a childhood tonsillectomy in a Soviet-run hospital in Tehran.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 265 (June 1974), edited by M. R. Masani, is a miscellany typical of the magazine's format: a lead item excerpting Field Marshal S. H. F. J. Manekshaw's address on the scarcity of leadership in India, a report of Masani's own Rotary Club speech warning that only 'reform or revolution' can resolve India's political and economic crisis, the regular 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' column of wry political commentary (on press freedom in Sri Lanka, Senator Edward Kennedy's misadventure in Moscow, Willy Brandt's resignation over the Guillaume spy affair, Watergate, and the Portuguese coup), two book reviews (of D. R. Mankekar's book on the abolition of the princely order, and of S. P. Aiyar's essays on modernization), a translated piece by Govind Talwalkar on chronic delay in India's law courts, and two personal essays, Geeta Doctor's comic account of train travel in India and Manjula Padmanabhan's memoir of a childhood tonsillectomy in a Soviet-run hospital in Tehran. The issue closes with a review of a seminar volume on centre-state relations, satirical and earnest letters to the editor, and the magazine's regular page of quotations, 'With Many Voices.' Across these disparate items the throughline is a classical-liberal skepticism of state power, whether expressed as criticism of Indira Gandhi's government, of judicial and bureaucratic inefficiency, or of authoritarian tendencies abroad. ## Essays ### Our Greatest Scarcity *By Field Marshal S.H.F.J. Manekshaw* An excerpt from Field Marshal S. H. F. J. Manekshaw's talk delivered in Bombay on 16 May at a function marking the 59th birth anniversary of the late Col. Leslie Sawhny. Manekshaw opens by professing surprise at being invited to address a training-for-democracy programme rather than a political guardian of democracy, then pivots to his real subject: among all the scarcities afflicting India (foodgrains, fuel, oil, coal, cement, steel, butter, milk), the most acute is a scarcity of leadership. He extends the charge beyond politicians to industry, trade unions, the bureaucracy, and the armed forces, insisting all Indians share responsibility for the current state of affairs, and argues that a properly led India can 'deliver the goods,' citing the recent military victory (the 1971 war) as proof that Indians perform well under good leadership. - Manekshaw calls the scarcity of leadership India's single greatest scarcity, worse than any material shortage. - He locates failures of leadership across politics, industry, trade unions, bureaucracy, and the armed forces, not just among politicians. - He rejects the fashionable move of blaming industrialists and capitalists alone for the country's ills. - He cites the 'signal military victory' of two and a half years earlier, achieved under the Prime Minister's leadership, as evidence that Indians perform well when properly led. - The piece is framed as an excerpt from a talk honouring the memory of Col. Leslie Sawhny, connected to the Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy. ### Reform or Revolution? (Editor Addresses Rotary) A report of M. R. Masani's address to the Rotary Club of Bombay on 21 [May], summarizing his view that twenty years of statist, Marxist-inspired policy have brought India to a political, economic, and moral crisis resolvable only by 'reform or revolution' — a complete reversal of current policy. Masani notes small hopeful signs (income tax cuts, withdrawal of the foodgrain trade monopoly, resistance to labour indiscipline) but doubts the government will manage more than a 'zigzag.' He is equally skeptical that constitutional, electoral change is possible given the discredited state of the old political parties, and warns that if constitutional outlets fail, a revolution becomes inevitable, pointing to Gujarat and Bihar as portents. He identifies the Armed Forces and Jayaprakash Narayan as the only two stable, hopeful factors in the country, and states his preference for a Gandhian satyagraha led by JP over military intervention, while insisting every citizen bears responsibility for preserving democracy. - Masani argues twenty years of Marxist-inspired statist policy have produced a political, economic, and moral crisis in India. - He calls for a 'U-turn' or complete reversal of current government policy, doubting more than a 'zigzag' will occur. - He is skeptical that change can come through ordinary electoral means because the old political parties have lost credibility. - He warns that failure of constitutional outlets could make revolution inevitable, citing unrest in Gujarat and Bihar and historical parallels in Indonesia, Ghana, Chile, and Portugal where armed forces stepped into a vacuum. - He names the Armed Forces and Jayaprakash Narayan as the only two stable, hopeful factors in the country, and favours a Gandhian satyagraha led by JP as the best way out. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post The unsigned 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' column runs through several items of political commentary. It contrasts India's press freedoms unfavourably with Sri Lanka only to conclude Sri Lanka is worse, mocking the Bandaranaike government's press restrictions via a government newspaper's own accidental parody obituary for 'Democracy.' It recounts Senator Edward Kennedy's ill-fated attempt to discuss Soviet military spending with a Moscow University audience, cut short by his hosts. It praises Willy Brandt's resignation over the Guenther Guillaume espionage affair as a model of ministerial responsibility, contrasting it with Nixon's clinging to office amid Watergate and with Harold Wilson's 'fish-n-chips' version of the Marcia Williams scandal. It credits the American press with exposing Watergate and criticizes British Fleet Street's timidity by comparison. Finally it needles Indian left-wing and communist press for celebrating the Portuguese coup while having condemned the similar 1973 Chilean coup, concluding sardonically that a military coup is apparently 'bad' when it suppresses communists and 'good' when it legalises them. - The column contrasts Indian press conditions with Sri Lanka's, where opposition papers have been seized and press freedom curtailed under the Bandaranaike government. - It recounts Senator Edward Kennedy's failed attempt to discuss Soviet military spending openly with a Moscow University audience. - It praises Willy Brandt's resignation over the Guenther Guillaume spying affair as a model of political accountability, unfavourably contrasting Nixon and Wilson. - It credits the American press's Watergate coverage with influencing British press behaviour in the Marcia Williams/Wilson affair. - It criticizes Indian left-wing press for cheering the Portuguese military coup after condemning the 1973 Chilean coup, calling out the double standard. ### Extinction Through Accession *By Manohar Malgonkar* Manohar Malgonkar reviews D. R. Mankekar's newly published book 'Accession to Extinction: The Story of Indian Princes' (Vikas). Malgonkar, a fellow journalist, faults Mankekar for dwelling too long on the 'Accession' half of the story and giving only ninety pages to the 'Extinction' half, and for failing to bring the account up to date (it stops with the 26th Constitutional Amendment and omits the subsequent Supreme Court ruling on Parliament's amending powers and the supersession of judges). He credits Mankekar with strong research, including personal interviews with several princes and ministers Y. B. Chavan and K. C. Pant, but says readers hoping for real 'inside dope' will be disappointed. Malgonkar's chief point is that the book convincingly shows the princes were sacrificed less for principle than to burnish the ruling Congress party's image, and he closes by comparing the government's rhetoric about doing 'a good turn' to the princes by stripping their privileges 'for their own good' to the language historically used by colonial rulers and, more recently, by the Soviet Union. - Malgonkar reviews D. R. Mankekar's 'Accession to Extinction: The Story of Indian Princes' (Vikas, Rs. 35). - He criticizes the book's imbalance (most pages on 'Accession,' only ~90 on 'Extinction') and its failure to update the account past the 26th Amendment. - He credits Mankekar's research, including interviews with princes and ministers Y. B. Chavan and K. C. Pant, but says the book lacks real insider revelations. - The review argues the princes were sacrificed more for the ruling party's image than for any hallowed principle. - Malgonkar closes by likening the government's paternalistic justification for stripping princely privileges to colonial and Soviet rhetoric of ruling 'for their own good.' ### Sermon on a Train *By Geeta Doctor* Geeta Doctor's comic personal essay recounts an Indian train journey in which she, travelling alone, is repeatedly drawn into conversation and minor social dramas with fellow passengers. A South Indian gentleman insists his son give up his berth for her; an Iyer family interrogates her about her background; a conductor forces her out of the ladies' compartment; a Poona family with three children take over her berth; and finally a new conductor delivers a long, colourful monologue justifying petty bribery ('baksheesh') as simply a normal expression of gratitude rather than corruption, comparing it to America's tolerance of Nixon's Watergate scandal despite the moon landing. The essay is a wry slice-of-life sketch of Indian train travel and popular attitudes toward corruption. - The narrator recounts a train journey marked by intrusive but well-meaning fellow-passenger interactions, including an Iyer family and a family that fills her compartment at Poona. - A conductor evicts her from the ladies' compartment despite her holding a First Class ticket, and she declines to assert her rights when challenged by fellow passengers. - A different conductor delivers an extended argument that giving conductors five or ten rupees is not corruption but simply a way of expressing gratitude, since 'no country is free of corruption.' - The conductor cites the American moon landing and Watergate as evidence that even 'the greatest country in the world' has corruption, and argues corruption 'is the most natural thing.' - The essay closes with wry commentary that the conductor's rationalization could serve as a novel defence for President Nixon. ### Justice Delayed *By Govind Talwalkar (abridged from the original in Marathi by courtesy of Maharashtra Times)* Govind Talwalkar's essay, abridged from the Marathi original in Maharashtra Times (translated by Sujata Manohar), attacks Maharashtra Law Minister Antulay's claim that judicial delay can be solved merely by appointing another committee. Talwalkar notes that a Central Government committee under former Chief Justice J. C. Shah already investigated the causes of court delay and issued a 1972 report with fourteen reasons and recommendations, which Antulay ignores. He argues the real causes are the state government's failure to raise judges' pay and perquisites to match ministers', chronic non-appointment or delayed appointment of judges (citing the Sholapur district judge vacancy left unfilled for six months after a sudden death), and the state's own multiplication of new legislation (such as Rent Act amendments) that swells caseloads without corresponding increases in judicial strength. He marshals detailed caseload statistics for Bombay's magistrates, the City Civil and Sessions Court, and the Small Causes Court to argue that judges already handle far more work than the Ayyar Committee's benchmark of 450 suits per judge per year, and that blaming judges as 'shirkers' is unjust. He closes by urging Chief Minister Vasantrao Naik to rein in Antulay's misleading, contempt-adjacent rhetoric about the judiciary. - Talwalkar argues Law Minister Antulay's proposal for a new committee on judicial delay ignores an existing 1972 report by a Justice J. C. Shah-led committee that already studied the problem. - He attributes delay chiefly to inadequate judicial pay/perquisites, slow and understaffed judicial appointments (e.g., a Sholapur district judgeship left vacant six months after the judge's sudden death), and ever-increasing legislation like Rent Act amendments that swell caseloads. - He cites detailed statistics: Bombay magistrates dispose of ~6 lakh cases yearly, a Bombay High Court judge disposes of an average of 1,200 suits per year versus the Ayyar Committee's suggested norm of 450, and Small Causes Court filings/disposals for 1971-73. - He rejects Antulay's characterization of judges as men of 'limited intelligence' and 'shirkers,' arguing the numbers show judges are overworked, not underworked. - He calls on Chief Minister Vasantrao Naik to check ministers' unfounded, potentially contemptuous rhetoric about the judiciary and to focus instead on implementing the Shah Committee's recommendations. ### The Doctor Said 'Nyet' *By Manjula Padmanabhan* Manjula Padmanabhan's personal essay recounts, in a wry, self-deprecating voice, her tonsillectomy at age fifteen and a half at the Russian Hospital in Tehran, where her parents were stationed. She describes the disorienting experience of being treated in Russian (with the help of an Embassy interpreter and a nurse), an encounter with a young 'Sikh boy' patient who turns out to be an Arabian girl in disguise-like circumstances, the surgery itself (rendered in comic, faintly gothic detail — the vinyl bib, the gauze mask, the anesthetic and the operation happening while she sat upright), her disappointment at being denied the traditional post-tonsillectomy ice-cream, and a final Russian folk remedy of hot cupping ('bottles') applied to her back for a cold. The piece is a light memoir rather than a polemical essay, though it touches lightly on East-West cultural contrasts via the setting of a Soviet-run hospital abroad. - Padmanabhan recounts her tonsillectomy at fifteen and a half at the Russian Hospital in Tehran, where her parents were stationed, communicated through an Embassy interpreter and nurses who spoke limited English. - She describes an odd episode involving a young patient believed to be a Sikh boy who turns out to be an Arabian girl, part of a wing reserved for patients with an unspecified 'nervous disorder.' - The operation itself is recounted in vivid, semi-comic detail: floor-length vinyl bib, full gauze head covering, and remaining conscious/upright rather than being 'put under.' - Her greatest disappointment was being denied the ice-cream she associated with tonsil removal, receiving instead sago-porridge, broth, and raw eggs. - The essay ends with an old Russian cupping ('bottles') remedy applied to her back for a cold, and a description of visitors and the loss of contact with the Arabian girl patient when her mother intervened. ### Reviews: A Changing Society (Modernization of Traditional Society by S. P. Aiyar) *By Thomas Gay* Thomas Gay reviews S. P. Aiyar's 'Modernization of Traditional Society' (Macmillan India), a collection of essays written between 1965 and 1973 and organized into three parts: modernization and liberalism, administration and development, and education and national development. The review praises the book as thoughtful and quotable despite its high price and lack of dating for individual essays, and summarizes Aiyar's critical stance toward Indian planning, over-development of politics, and both socialism and Indian socialists, whom Aiyar warns risk producing a 'dictatorship over the proletariat' with the added defect of bureaucratic inefficiency. It covers Aiyar's treatment of Gandhi and Gokhale, of Sivaswamy Aiyer, Nehru, and Rajaji as three types of 'liberal,' his critique of the ICS-to-IAS continuity and civil-service/political tensions, and his views on university education, plagiarism, textbook writing, and language policy. The reviewer notes a printing error on p.221 and counts some sixty printing errors across 300 pages, closing with a mild jab at Indian proofreaders. - Thomas Gay reviews S. P. Aiyar's essay collection 'Modernization of Traditional Society' (Macmillan India, Rs. 60, pp. 320), assembled from pieces written 1965-1973. - Aiyar criticizes Indian planning and 'over-development of politics,' and warns that Indian-style socialism risks becoming a 'dictatorship over the proletariat' with added bureaucratic inefficiency. - The book contrasts three 'liberal' figures — the 'rational traditionalist' Sivaswamy Aiyer, the 'charismatic' Nehru, and the 'conservative-rebel-progressive' Rajaji. - Aiyar praises the ICS-to-IAS continuity (comparing it favourably to Sardar Patel's view) while criticizing generalist-specialist tensions and civil servant-politician relations. - The review flags roughly sixty printing errors across 300 pages, including a data error on p.221 regarding the proportion of IAS candidates. ### Reviews: Significant Counsel (Centre State Relations in India, ed. A. G. Noorani) *By [illegible signature]* A short review (byline appears to read 'Amita Doctor' at the foot of the review, partially obscured) of 'Centre-State Relations in India,' a compilation edited by A. G. Noorani for the Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy (1972), collecting papers from a seminar on Centre-State relations. The review summarizes the range of contributors and topics — constitutional and political perspectives on federalism, problem areas like Kashmir, the Eastern states, and Sikh separatism — and highlights the seminar's conclusions: that Indian federalism is inextricably linked with democracy, that special regions like Kashmir and Nagaland test the health of that federalism, that states need an assured, formula-based flow of resources free of Union discretion, that the President should act as impartial umpire and the Governor should not be reduced to a mere agent of the Union, that AIR should be freed from government control and made an autonomous corporation, and that English should be retained as the language of higher education until an Indian language is ready to replace it. - The review covers 'Centre-State Relations in India,' edited by A. G. Noorani (Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy, 1972), a seminar-paper compilation. - Contributors examined centre-state relations from constitutional (Noorani), political (S. P. Aiyar), and state-versus-centre perspectives (Phul Chand; G. R. S. Rao), plus problem areas: Kashmir, the Eastern states, and Sikh separatism. - The seminar concluded Indian federalism is inextricably tied to democracy and that special regions like Kashmir and Nagaland are tests of emotional integration. - It urged an assured, criterion-based flow of resources to states free of Union discretion, and called for the President to act as an impartial umpire and the Governor not to act merely as an agent of the Union. - It recommended All India Radio be freed from government control as an autonomous corporation, and that English be retained as the medium of higher education until an Indian language can replace it. ### Letters: Prime Minister Shines at Midnight *By No Admirer* Two letters to the editor. The first, signed 'No Admirer,' unexpectedly praises Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's midnight Lok Sabha speech of 9 May on the railway strike as courageous and reasonable, while also praising her rebuke of the Swatantra Party spokesman for appealing to her to end the strike rather than opposing it on principle. The second, 'Bizarre Situations Require Weird Remedies' by H. R. Pasricha, is a satirical proposal responding to India's population growth: it 'recommends,' with heavy irony, multiplying the number of peons and chaprasis assigned to officials, doubling clerks and ministers' entitlements, and expanding courts and police to absorb surplus labour, plus linking permitted polygamy to wealth-tax brackets as a way of dealing with surplus unmarried women — a mock-serious send-up of India's expanding bureaucracy and state employment as an unofficial safety valve. - A letter signed 'No Admirer' praises Indira Gandhi's midnight Lok Sabha speech on the railway strike as courageous, and praises her criticism of the Swatantra Party for appealing to her rather than opposing the strike outright. - The same letter suggests the Prime Minister could usefully hold future policy announcements at midnight, when she is apparently 'at her best.' - A second letter by H. R. Pasricha satirizes India's expanding bureaucracy as an implicit response to population growth, proposing (satirically) to multiply peons, chaprasis, clerks and ministerial entitlements to absorb surplus labour. - The satire extends to proposing a High Court in every district and a Supreme Court in every state, and linking permitted polygamy to wealth-tax brackets to address a surplus of unmarried women. - The letters page also includes a short un-attributed epigram, 'A Fool Satisfied,' quoting John Stuart Mill on the superiority of a dissatisfied Socrates to a satisfied fool. ### Letters: Bizarre Situations Require Weird Remedies *By H. R. Pasricha* The regular 'With Many Voices' quotations page, prefaced with an epigraph from Tennyson, gathers short quoted excerpts from world figures and periodicals on contemporary political themes: Golda Meir on wanting to skip her diary; A. P. Sharma on the railwaymen and Communist party respectability; an Indian Express editorial on Congress Party introspection; Konrad Adenauer on man's stupidity outpacing his intelligence; James Burnham on detente as a 'longer, larger war'; Prince Sihanouk on being used and discarded by the Khmer communists; Lawrence Fertig on free-market economists; Romesh Thapar on Parliament's wasted time; A. B. Shah on Stalinism's survival; D. R. Mankekar on press freedom without independence; commentary on Enoch Powell and immigration; observations on President Marcos, de Gaulle, and Indira Gandhi; and a closing note from a retired army colonel on patriotism. The page closes with the issue's subscription form and imprint details (Registered No. MH By South/264; published by I. R. Patel for Democratic Research Service). - The 'With Many Voices' page compiles brief quotations from Golda Meir, Konrad Adenauer, James Burnham, Prince Sihanouk, Lawrence Fertig, Romesh Thapar, A. B. Shah, D. R. Mankekar, and others on contemporary politics. - Several quotations concern detente and the Cold War (Burnham), Stalinism's afterlife in the USSR (A. B. Shah), and press freedom without independence (Mankekar). - Prince Sihanouk is quoted comparing his treatment by the Khmer communists to being 'spit out like a cherry-pip' once no longer useful. - The Economist is quoted twice, on Enoch Powell and immigration and on Charles de Gaulle's essential Frenchness. - The page carries the issue's subscription form for Freedom First, published by the Democratic Research Service, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff268/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 268 (September 1974), edited by M. R. Masani, is a miscellany of liberal commentary anchored by S. V. Raju's lead essay 'The Notional Alternative,' which chronicles the Swatantra Party's slow dissolution into a proposed six-party 'National Alternative' coalition (soon to be the Bharatiya Lok Dal), arguing the merger is a misnomer for what is really only a 'notional' rather than a genuine alternative to Congress. The unsigned 'Between You and Me and The Lamp Post' column takes up press freedom in Britain and India, Indira Gandhi's 'monopoly capitalism/fascism' rhetoric, Soviet forced-labour camps, and a satirical dig at the ruling party's economic record. Manohar Malgonkar contributes a short travel piece on multiplying police checkposts between Goa and Karnataka. Pervin Mahoney's 'A Time for Sharing' is a first-person memoir of volunteering on an Israeli kibbutz through the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War. Ian Tickle's 'Explosive Uncertainty' analyses the diplomatic fallout in Pakistan and Bangladesh from India's 1974 nuclear test.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 268 (September 1974), edited by M. R. Masani, is a miscellany of liberal commentary anchored by S. V. Raju's lead essay 'The Notional Alternative,' which chronicles the Swatantra Party's slow dissolution into a proposed six-party 'National Alternative' coalition (soon to be the Bharatiya Lok Dal), arguing the merger is a misnomer for what is really only a 'notional' rather than a genuine alternative to Congress. The unsigned 'Between You and Me and The Lamp Post' column takes up press freedom in Britain and India, Indira Gandhi's 'monopoly capitalism/fascism' rhetoric, Soviet forced-labour camps, and a satirical dig at the ruling party's economic record. Manohar Malgonkar contributes a short travel piece on multiplying police checkposts between Goa and Karnataka. Pervin Mahoney's 'A Time for Sharing' is a first-person memoir of volunteering on an Israeli kibbutz through the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War. Ian Tickle's 'Explosive Uncertainty' analyses the diplomatic fallout in Pakistan and Bangladesh from India's 1974 nuclear test. Three signed book reviews cover a study of fascism, Balraj Madhok's Jana Sangh-inflected account of Indian politics, and two journalistic histories of the D.M.K.'s rise in Tamil Nadu. The issue closes with a reader's letter on foreign correspondents' coverage of the nuclear test, a short item on a Soviet contingency plan for invading Yugoslavia after Tito's death, and the regular 'With Many Voices' page of quotations. ## Essays ### The Notional Alternative *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju, for over a decade the Swatantra Party's Executive Secretary, narrates the party's protracted self-dissolution into a proposed 'National Alternative' — a six-component merger with the BKD, SSP and others meant to challenge Congress. He describes the acrimonious seventh National Convention (August 1-4, 1974) at which a compromise resolution by M. R. Masani — converting Swatantra into a non-political 'Swatantra Sewa Sangh' rather than dissolving it outright — was rejected by the party establishment as unworkable. The piece, continued from page 1 to pages 13-15, details the gerrymandering of convention delegates, the barracking of dissenting speakers, the rejection of a secret ballot, and the substantive objections of the 53 dissenting delegates: that the 'national alternative' label was a misnomer since major opposition parties like the Akali Dal and D.M.K. had declined to join, that the new party would secure no more votes than its components already held individually, and that key sponsors' inconsistent public statements undercut confidence in the venture. Raju closes by arguing the party was broken up by the very methods — money power, manufactured conformity, meaningless slogans — that it had always stood against, and notes that Congress and the Communists, tellingly, ignored the new formation and concentrated their attacks on Jayaprakash Narayan instead. - The Swatantra Party's seventh National Convention (August 1-4, 1974) voted to dissolve itself into a new 'National Alternative' coalition, with the effective date left to Charan Singh's discretion. - M. R. Masani proposed a compromise resolution converting Swatantra into a non-electoral service organisation, the 'Swatantra Sewa Sangh,' which the party establishment rejected. - The Convention was marked by gerrymandered delegate quotas (209 of 483 delegates from U.P. alone), barracking of dissenters, denial of a secret ballot, and reports of intimidation and vote-buying. - Fifty-three delegates recorded formal dissent, and five states (Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Haryana, Kerala, Delhi) announced they would continue as Swatantra locally if the central party dissolved. - The dissenters argued the 'national alternative' was better described as a 'notional alternative,' since major parties like the Akali Dal and D.M.K. stayed out and the new party's founding leaders were already contradicting one another publicly. - Raju frames the episode as ideologically significant: Swatantra's clarity of principle, even in decline, contrasted with the power-driven, slogan-based methods that dissolved it. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post This unsigned editorial column of short items opens by contrasting a British Labour committee's proposal to abolish the BBC's independence and centralise broadcasting under government nominees with an Italian constitutional court ruling striking down state broadcasting monopoly, and asks whether a similar challenge could succeed in India. It reports Ljubo Sirc's letter to the Daily Telegraph recounting his own show trial and imprisonment in Yugoslavia, used to needle PEN International for entertaining his former interrogator. A further item accuses Indira Gandhi of 'typical Communist jargon' for blaming 'monopoly capitalism' for supporting 'fascist' forces in India, arguing the only monopoly capitalism in the country is the government sector's. Other items cover a train of Congress youth rally-goers dubbed a 'Vandal Special' by the press after looting stalls and molesting women passengers; a Lebanese Progressive Socialist Party leader's admiring remarks about Hitler; the ILO's censure of the USSR for forced labour in violation of a 1956 anti-forced-labour convention it had signed; and the debunking, by exiled Soviet gerontologist Dr. Zhores Medvedev, of Soviet propaganda claims about extreme-longevity 'centenarians' in the Caucasus. - A British Labour Party committee proposed abolishing the BBC's independence and centralising broadcasting under government nominees, which the column calls a setback for press freedom, contrasted with an Italian court ruling against state broadcast monopoly. - Ljubo Sirc, a Glasgow University lecturer, is reported recalling his own death sentence and imprisonment in a Yugoslav show trial, used to criticise PEN International for entertaining his former captor Mr. Ribicic. - The column accuses Indira Gandhi of using 'typical Communist jargon' in blaming 'monopoly capitalism' for backing fascist forces in India. - A Congress youth rally special train from Delhi was found, on search, to be carrying looted liquor, rice and contraceptives, and was dubbed a 'Vandal Special' rather than 'Youth Special' by the press. - The ILO voted 3:1 to list the USSR among nations non-compliant with anti-forced-labour conventions, the first time a 'great power' had been so listed. - Soviet gerontologist Dr. Zhores Medvedev, in exile in London, is cited debunking the Soviet 'Methuselah cult' claiming implausible centenarian ages in the Caucasus as unsupported by valid birth records. ### A Mood of Barriers *By Manohar Malgonkar* Manohar Malgonkar's short travel piece contrasts the ease of long-distance bus travel in America and Britain, where he was never once stopped at a barrier, with the multiplying police checkposts on the sixteen-mile stretch between Goa and Karnataka — now five checkposts where there were only two under Portuguese rule. He describes the thorough, often degrading searches conducted at each barrier (ostensibly for liquor, given Karnataka's absence of prohibition combined with strict local liquor law enforcement, and separately for rice), names the zone 'Gulag Archipelago,' and argues that the true villain is not the corruption that lets a one-rupee note smooth a traveller's passage, but the repressive law itself that manufactures the conditions for such petty corruption. - Malgonkar contrasts his barrier-free bus travel across America and Britain with the five police checkposts now standing on the sixteen-mile Goa-Karnataka route, up from two under Portuguese rule. - He describes the checkposts' searches as thorough and sometimes 'agonizing,' covering liquor (Karnataka bans possession even for personal use despite having no prohibition) and separately, rice. - He dubs the zone between the two Goan and Karnataka checkposts 'Gulag Archipelago' and describes the roadside barrier crews' undisguised relish in searching luggage. - Malgonkar argues that petty bribery to avoid a search is not the real problem; the real villain is the repressive law itself, which drives even law-abiding travellers to bribe. - The piece closes with a warning to future travellers to Goa to prefer flying and to carry patience if driving through the Majali or Anmode routes. ### A Time For Sharing (Life in a Kibbutz) *By Pervin Mahoney* Pervin Mahoney recounts volunteering with her husband on an Israeli kibbutz, drawn by curiosity about collective living within a democracy. She describes the arrival at Lod Airport amid tension from a recent Japanese Red Army raid, the communal work in banana fields and fruit orchards under a strict 4 a.m. wake-up routine, the camaraderie and occasional friction among an international mix of volunteers and drifters, a raucous watermelon fight, and the observance of Passover despite the kibbutz's otherwise informal, secular character. The piece pivots sharply when the Yom Kippur War breaks out: men are mobilised and driven away within 24 hours, the kibbutz — close to the Jordanian border and already scarred by years of nightly shelter use during the Six Day War era — reorganises its labour, and the couple eventually flee via a circuitous flight out of Israel, undergoing an intensive security search at Lod Airport before departure. - The author and her husband volunteered on an Israeli kibbutz out of curiosity about collective living within a democracy, arriving via an uneventful El Al flight to a heavily guarded Lod Airport. - Daily life involved a punishing 4 a.m. start for fieldwork (fruit, banana plantations), communal meals, and off-hours for swimming, films and socialising; a watermelon fight among volunteers is recounted at length as an emblem of the community's rough camaraderie. - Passover was observed with unusual formality compared to the kibbutz's otherwise casual, secular daily life, though younger volunteers' antics undercut the ceremony. - The Yom Kippur War's outbreak is announced by a quiet knock and the words 'A war has started'; men are mobilised and taken away within 24 hours, and the kibbutz — near the Jordanian border — reorganises around women, children and volunteers. - The couple eventually decide to leave, competing with crowds of tourists for any outbound flight and enduring an intensive Lod Airport security search suspicious of their having stayed in an Israeli-occupied West Bank town. ### Explosive Uncertainty *By Ian Tickle* Ian Tickle examines the diplomatic fallout of India's 1974 Rajasthan nuclear test on relations with Pakistan and Bangladesh. He argues the Indian government was disingenuous in professing surprise at Pakistan's indignant reaction, given deep-seated Pakistani fear that India has never fully accepted 1947 partition as permanent, a fear reinforced by India's role in Bangladesh's secession and by suspicion of Indian involvement in unrest in Baluchistan and the North West Frontier. He notes growing suspicion in Bangladesh too, despite recent efforts to heal relations after the 1971 killings, citing the enthusiastic popular reception of President Bhutto's visit to Dacca as evidence of renewed Bengali fear of India. Tickle concludes there is little evidence of actual Indian aggressive intent toward Pakistan, but equally little genuine effort to heal the breach, and cites a British government minister's remark at a Geneva disarmament meeting questioning India's peaceful assurances. - Tickle argues India's professed surprise at Pakistan's angry reaction to its nuclear test is hard to credit given deep, longstanding Pakistani fears that India never accepted partition as final. - He cites Pakistani suspicion of Indian involvement in unrest in Baluchistan and the North West Frontier, on top of the 1971 Bangladesh secession, as compounding factors. - Despite recent Indian efforts to build friendly relations with Bangladesh after the 1971 massacres, Tickle notes growing suspicion there too, evidenced by the warm popular reception given President Bhutto during his Dacca visit. - A British government minister at a Geneva disarmament meeting on July 8 is quoted doubting India's assurances of peaceful nuclear intent. - Tickle concludes there is little evidence of genuine Indian aggressive intent toward Pakistan, but also little real determination on India's part to heal the post-partition breach. ### Reviews: Fascism Explained *By P. N. Driver* P. N. Driver reviews Dr. Paul Hayes's 'Fascism' (George Allen & Unwin), calling it a badly needed, accurate introduction to fascist theory notwithstanding the absence of any single canonical fascist text comparable to Das Kapital. He summarises Hayes's rejection of the orthodox Marxist view that fascism was merely a last gasp of the propertied classes, noting Hayes's argument that fascism, rooted in a form of economic nationalism, can arise in underdeveloped as well as developed societies. The review highlights Hayes's account of why fascism failed to take root in Britain (the absence of felt need for new solutions to old economic grievances) and his chapter on why other political parties in Weimar Germany were too enfeebled and habituated to compromise to resist the Nazis effectively — with an extended quotation about the bourgeoisie surrendering to the Nazis because they promised security. - Driver praises Hayes's 'Fascism' as an accurate, badly needed introduction given the absence of any canonical fascist theoretical text. - Hayes rejects the Marxist view of fascism as merely a desperate throw of the propertied classes, arguing it can recur in developed or underdeveloped societies alike. - Hayes analyses fascism as most likely to flourish where there is a process of attempted economic change, and cites Nkrumah's Ghana and Toure's Guinea as examples outside the classic European cases. - The review notes Hayes's explanation of why fascism did not spread in Britain: the absence of any felt need for new solutions, given confidence that traditional remedies would cure unemployment. - Driver highlights Hayes's chapter 14 analysis of why German, Italian and other parties were enfeebled in opposing fascism, quoting Hayes's comment that the German bourgeoisie 'surrendered to the Nazis because they offered security.' ### Reviews: The Sangh Version *By V. B. Karnik* R. Srinivasan reviews Balraj Madhok's 'Murder of Democracy' (S. Chand, New Delhi, 1973), describing it not as scholarly history but as a Jana Sangh-inflected ideological account of recent Indian politics, sympathetic to Sardar Patel and suspicious of Nehru's capacity to govern. The review traces Madhok's arguments that the Jana Sangh, founded by S. P. Mookerjee, was meant to fill the vacuum left by Patel's death; that a missed opportunity for cooperation among opposition parties came after the 1967 elections; that Dr. Lohia's 'nihilistic' anti-Congressism contributed to opposition disarray; and that the Jana Sangh itself bears responsibility for poor performance in several states. Srinivasan notes the book's ambivalent treatment of Lal Bahadur Shastri and Charan Singh's disillusioned remarks to Madhok about the RSS's caste exclusivity, and closes that the book is clearly written with no ambiguity about the author's own political stance, though it offers little on inner-party factional struggles. - Madhok's book is characterised as an ideological Jana Sangh account of recent Indian politics rather than scholarly history, sympathetic to Patel and suspicious of Nehru's governing capacity. - Madhok argues the Jana Sangh, founded by S. P. Mookerjee, was meant to fill the vacuum after Patel's death, and quotes Mookerjee's harsh assessment that no single man did India greater harm than Nehru. - The book identifies the 1967 elections as a missed opportunity for opposition unity, and blames Dr. Lohia's 'nihilistic' anti-Congressism for opposition disarray thereafter. - Srinivasan recounts Charan Singh's remark to Madhok that he had grown disillusioned with the Jana Sangh because it was narrow-minded and that no one who is not a Brahmin can have any place in the Sangh. - The review notes the book offers proposals for election-machinery reform but concedes these are 'of more academic interest' since there is no possibility of their being enforced, and it says very little about inner-party factional struggles. ### Reviews: Politics of D.M.K. *By R. Srinivasan* V. B. Karnik reviews two books by K. S. Ramanujam on the D.M.K.'s rise and rule in Tamil Nadu: 'The Big Change,' written after the 1967 election that brought D.M.K. to power, and 'Challenge and Response,' subtitled 'an intimate report on Tamil Nadu politics (1967-71).' Karnik praises the author's journalistic access to figures including Rajaji and Annadurai and calls the account objective and interesting despite its journalistic rather than scholarly style. He summarises the argument that D.M.K.'s 1967 victory was significant less because Congress lost — it lost elsewhere too — than because D.M.K. provided a strong, stable alternative government, and traces the party's 1971 mid-term poll victory (aided by Indira Gandhi's support) despite the deaths of Annadurai and the loss of Rajaji's backing. Karnik notes the books candidly record D.M.K.'s retreat from its earlier secessionist slogan and rationalist positions, and its failure to remain free of corruption, including an internal split whose long-term effects on the party cannot yet be foretold. - The two books under review trace D.M.K.'s rise to power after the 1967 Tamil Nadu election and its consolidation through the 1971 mid-term poll. - Karnik credits the author's close personal relations with leading figures, including the late Rajaji and the late Annadurai, D.M.K.'s founder and first Chief Minister. - The books argue D.M.K.'s 1967 victory mattered chiefly because it delivered a strong, stable government, unlike other states where Congress also lost but no comparable alternative emerged. - D.M.K.'s 1971 mid-term poll victory increased its vote share from 38.18% (1967) to 41.92%, aided by the counterveiling support of Indira Gandhi and Congress despite the deaths of Annadurai and the loss of Rajaji's backing. - Karnik notes the books record D.M.K.'s retreat from its secessionist slogan and rationalist, anti-superstition emphasis once in power, and its failure to remain free of the 'all-pervading disease of corruption,' including a party split whose effects remain unclear. ### Letter: "Real Indians" and Others *By A "Real Indian"* A reader signing as 'A Real Indian' writes in response to an earlier Freedom First article ('The Big Bang') that had complained American correspondents in India could not find an Indian unmoved by the Rajasthan nuclear test. The letter cites a New Yorker piece (July 22, 1974) quoting an Indian writer from New York who likewise found no jubilant Indians, only cynical, shrugging people more worried about cooking oil, water and mosquitoes than the bomb, and notes that cartoonist Laxman had been scathing about the disconnect between the test and the country's poverty. - The letter responds to a prior Freedom First article complaining that foreign correspondents assumed all Indians were thrilled by the nuclear test. - It cites a New Yorker (July 22, 1974) piece quoting an Indian writer in New York who similarly reported meeting no jubilant Indians after the test, only cynical, shrugging ones. - The correspondent notes ordinary Indians' priorities were cooking oil, water, and mosquito-borne disease rather than the bomb. - Cartoonist Laxman is cited as having been scathing, depicting starving villagers juxtaposed with politicians celebrating the bomb. ### When Tito Dies A short unsigned news item reports disclosures by defected Czechoslovak Major General Jan Sejna, in interviews with the Austrian magazine Profil, of a Soviet contingency plan codenamed 'Polarka' from the late 1960s for a Warsaw Pact invasion of Yugoslavia to begin immediately upon Marshal Tito's death, led by Czechoslovak troops with KGB and local collaborator involvement, and asks whether such a plan still exists. - Defected Czechoslovak Major General Jan Sejna disclosed to Austrian magazine Profil a Soviet-devised plan, 'Polarka,' for invading Yugoslavia upon Tito's death. - The plan envisaged a Warsaw Pact invasion of East Austria led by Czechoslovak troops, followed by occupation of South Austria and then invasion of Yugoslavia to reintegrate it into the Soviet bloc. - The plan reportedly included lists of public figures marked for immediate arrest and relied on roughly 4,000 collaborators within the Austrian police and security forces. - The Austrian Defence Minister confirmed awareness of such a plan and said Profil's publication had been cleared by the Foreign Minister. - The item suggests the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia was necessary groundwork for 'Polarka' and asks whether an equivalent plan persists today. ### With Many Voices The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' is the magazine's regular column of unattributed and attributed quotations from world press and public figures, taking its title from Tennyson's 'Ulysses.' The quotations range across cease-fire politics in Nagaland, Soviet mentality, Kissinger on caviar, Harold Wilson's political prospects, India's nuclear test being 'for civil engineering purposes,' and closes with Walter Laqueur's remark that Mrs. Gandhi inherited her father Jawaharlal Nehru's arrogance and self-righteousness without his redeeming qualities. - The page is a curated set of quotations from sources including The Economist, Time, National Review, Newsweek and Commentary, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson's 'Ulysses.' - One quotation from the Daily Telegraph mocks the claim that India's nuclear test was 'for civil engineering purposes.' - M. N. Roy is quoted (from 'Problems of Communism,' March-April 1974) recalling a joke that he was considered a true Communist by Polish Communists of the Luxemburg school, while Lenin was seen as a nationalist. - The page closes with Walter Laqueur's remark in Commentary (August 1974) that Mrs. Gandhi inherited her father's arrogance and self-righteousness but few of his redeeming features. - The subscription coupon for Freedom First, addressed to the Democratic Research Service in Bombay, appears on the same page alongside the publication's imprint. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff267/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 267 (August 1974), edited by M. R. Masani, is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas published for the Democratic Research Service. The issue opens with Masani's editorial on India's deepening economic and political crisis and the rise of Jayaprakash Narayan's movement, continues with the regular 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column commenting on Sikkim, Soviet detente, Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago, student hooliganism against Bombay's Oberoi Sheraton, and the Indian cricket team's conduct in England, and includes an open letter from British academics to Yugoslav President Tito protesting the suppression of Yugoslav scholars. Eugene Lyons contributes a long essay on the political theatre surrounding Lenin's embalmed body fifty years after his death, and Geeta Doctor writes on the 'brain drain' of Indian doctors and the structural failures of the medical training and hospital system. A lighter Feroza Paymaster piece satirises the state of Indian telephone trunk-dialling. Three book reviews follow (letters of Dr.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 267 (August 1974), edited by M. R. Masani, is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas published for the Democratic Research Service. The issue opens with Masani's editorial on India's deepening economic and political crisis and the rise of Jayaprakash Narayan's movement, continues with the regular 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column commenting on Sikkim, Soviet detente, Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago, student hooliganism against Bombay's Oberoi Sheraton, and the Indian cricket team's conduct in England, and includes an open letter from British academics to Yugoslav President Tito protesting the suppression of Yugoslav scholars. Eugene Lyons contributes a long essay on the political theatre surrounding Lenin's embalmed body fifty years after his death, and Geeta Doctor writes on the 'brain drain' of Indian doctors and the structural failures of the medical training and hospital system. A lighter Feroza Paymaster piece satirises the state of Indian telephone trunk-dialling. Three book reviews follow (letters of Dr. Rajendra Prasad; a Samizdat/Chronicle of Current Events volume; and a textbook on fiscal economics), then a reader's letter on the illusion of Indian democracy, a news note on the 'Citizens for Democracy' committee formed under Jayaprakash Narayan's chairmanship, the conclusion of Masani's editorial, and a closing page of quotations ('With Many Voices') on communism, detente, and world affairs. ## Essays ### The Choice Before Us *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's editorial argues that India's 'grave economic situation' is being deliberately turned into a political crisis by vested interests entrenched in the Congress Party, pointing to runaway inflation, commodity shortages (including an underground market in soap), and the government's ordinance-based response as mere 'quackery' that will worsen the economic collapse. Masani cites N. A. Palkhivala's call for a 'U-turn' away from Marxist economic policy and argues the current rulers cannot be the ones to execute it. The bulk of the piece turns to Jayaprakash Narayan's emerging movement, born from the Gujarat student agitation and now spreading to Bihar, which Masani frames as a historic chance to replace 'cynical despair' with hope. The piece concludes (on p.15) with sharp criticism of the Swatantra Party's proposed dissolution to merge with a new opposition front including politicians like Biju Patnaik, Raj Narain, and Charan Singh, which Masani dismisses as strategically hollow and likely to repel rather than attract genuine liberal and democratic support. - Frames the 1974 economic crisis as manufactured into a political crisis by vested interests within the ruling Congress Party - Criticizes New Delhi's anti-inflation ordinances as violating the spirit of the Constitution and worsening the underlying malady - Forecasts price rises of 100 percent within a year if current policies persist - Endorses N. A. Palkhivala's call for a complete 'U-turn' from Marxist economic policy - Presents Jayaprakash Narayan's Bihar movement as the successor to the Gujarat student agitation and a vehicle of hope for the country - Criticizes the proposal for the Swatantra Party to dissolve itself into a broader opposition front alongside politicians like Biju Patnaik and Charan Singh, calling it strategically self-defeating ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post This unsigned recurring column covers several short topics: it accuses the Indian government of hypocrisy for criticizing 'imperialism' abroad while absorbing Sikkim and reducing its Chogyal to a figurehead, contrasting this with Peking's own annexation of Tibet. It mocks the 'detente' achieved during President Nixon's Moscow visit as hollow given Andrei Sakharov's open letter demanding rights for Soviet prisoners of conscience. It reports on Indian customs seizing 7,000 copies of Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago, attributing this to fear of offending Russia. It describes a mob (linked to the National Student Union of India and Congress politician R. Kumaramangalam) vandalising the Oberoi Sheraton Hotel in Bombay in the name of an 'anti-luxury drive' while chanting 'Indira Gandhi Zindabad', and calls this campaign a form of domestic 'apartheid' dressed up as socialism. Finally, it derides an Air India hoarding boasting of cricket 'world champions' given the Indian team's recent thrashing and its players' poor sportsmanship and petty theft (of socks from Marks & Spencer) while touring England, contrasting this with the good conduct of the Amritraj brothers at Wimbledon. - Criticizes India's absorption of Sikkim as a form of the same imperialism India condemns elsewhere, comparing it to China's annexation of Tibet - Calls the Nixon-Brezhnev 'detente' hollow, citing Andrei Sakharov's open letter and hunger strike demanding basic rights for Soviet prisoners of conscience - Reports Indian Customs seizing 7,000 copies of Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago in Calcutta, attributed to fear of offending Moscow - Describes student/youth mob violence at Bombay's Oberoi Sheraton Hotel under an 'anti-luxury' banner, while shouting pro-Indira slogans - Labels the campaign against 'black moneywallahs' patronizing luxury hotels as a form of apartheid rebranded as socialism - Mocks the Indian cricket team's poor discipline and a shoplifting incident in England, contrasting it with the sportsmanship of the Amritraj tennis brothers ### Open Letter to Tito This item reproduces extracts from an open letter sent by Nenad Petrovic, signed by fourteen eminent British professors, to Yugoslav President Tito. The letter expresses ongoing concern about repressive measures taken against Yugoslav academics since 1972, notes that the pressure against these scholars has been renewed with greater intensity, and asserts the international intellectual community's right and duty to protest violations of academic freedom and the UN Charter on Human Rights, warning that continued repression will compel wider protest in academic institutions worldwide. - Fourteen British professors, via Nenad Petrovic, address an open letter to President Tito of Yugoslavia - The letter follows up on a 1972-73 protest about repressive measures against Yugoslav scholars - It reports renewed and intensified pressure against Yugoslav academics - It asserts the international intellectual community's right to protest violations of academic freedom and the UN Charter on Human Rights - It frames culture and science as universal human achievements that belong to all mankind and can develop only in freedom ### The Body in Lenin's Tomb *By Eugene Lyons* Eugene Lyons examines the strange fate of Lenin's embalmed corpse, on permanent display in Moscow's Red Square mausoleum for fifty years despite Lenin's own writings against the 'canonisation' of revolutionaries and despite the horrified objections of his wife Nadezhda Krupskaya and other Bolshevik leaders. Lyons recounts his own 1930 visit to the crypt as part of a press corps shown the embalmers' handiwork, describes recurring rumors that the display is a wax effigy, and details the physical and psychological toll of Lenin's final years — strokes, isolation, and Stalin's calculated cruelty as Lenin lay dying and increasingly powerless to block Stalin's rise. Lyons argues that Stalin engineered Lenin's posthumous deification as a deliberate act of political theatre and personal revenge, exploiting Russian religious mysticism to build his own cult of infallibility while having contemptuously undermined and mocked Lenin in his final months. - Lenin's body has been on display in a Red Square mausoleum for fifty years despite ongoing rumors it may be a wax effigy - Lyons recounts his 1930 visit as part of a foreign press delegation shown the corpse and the embalming process by the original embalmers - Lenin's own writings (State and Revolution) warned against the posthumous canonisation of revolutionaries, a prophecy Lyons says was fulfilled ironically in his own case - Lenin's wife Nadezhda Krupskaya, his sisters, and other Bolshevik leaders including Trotsky and Bukharin opposed the embalmment as a violation of his materialist beliefs and aversion to personal glorification - Lyons details Lenin's final two years of strokes, isolation, and psychological suffering, and Stalin's calculated undermining of the dying leader - Argues Stalin orchestrated the deification of Lenin's body as a deliberate act of political theatre and personal revenge, exploiting Russian religious mysticism ### Doctors in Distress *By Geeta Doctor* Geeta Doctor writes acidly on the 'brain drain' of Indian doctors, opening with heavy irony that if the state has decided not to invest further in encouraging doctors to stay, India might as well close its medical colleges and revert to herbalists and faith healers. She then presents first-person testimony from several unnamed doctors: an eye surgeon in Madras who now advises people never to return to India, citing bureaucratic obstruction of equipment imports; a young surgeon frustrated by having to operate 'by torchlight' amid power failures and red tape and by his own chief in a private hospital taking credit and refusing fair payment; another doctor transferred out of Madras after exposing adulterated dhal (with toxic Kesari dhal) supplied to a government hospital by a politically protected contractor; and a young woman doctor explaining why newly qualified doctors avoid rural postings, citing lack of urban amenities, safety concerns for women, and the government's failure to supply villages with adequate medicines and facilities. The essay closes with Doctor's own proposal: train two tiers of doctors, with a mass tier given short, intensive rural-focused training (citing China's barefoot doctor model), and require doctors trained at public expense who emigrate to reimburse part of the state's investment in their training. - Opens with biting irony that India might as well shut its medical colleges given official indifference to the doctor exodus - Cites a UNCTAD estimate that India loses Rs. 3,50,000 for every doctor who emigrates - Presents testimony from a Madras eye surgeon who now discourages colleagues from returning to India due to import restrictions on equipment - Recounts a doctor's transfer after exposing a hospital contractor supplying dhal adulterated with toxic Kesari dhal - A young woman doctor explains structural and safety-related reasons newly qualified doctors avoid rural postings - Proposes training two grades of doctors: a mass tier with short, intensive rural training modeled on China's barefoot doctors - Proposes that doctors trained at public expense who settle abroad should reimburse part of the state's training investment ### Tooh...Tooh...Tooh... *By Feroza Paymaster* Feroza Paymaster contributes a comic first-person account of attempting to place a long-distance Subscriber Trunk Dialling call from Bombay to Delhi, satirizing the dysfunction of the Indian telephone system. Repeated dialling attempts yield only busy tones, wrong connections, and unhelpful or confused operators, and after nearly an hour of effort she is told the direct-dial line has been out of order since the afternoon and a booked trunk call could take up to four hours. She concludes wryly that next time she wants to communicate with Delhi, she will simply write a letter. - A humorous first-person account of trying to place an STD trunk call from Bombay to Delhi - Documents repeated failures: busy tones, wrong numbers, and confused telephone operators - After nearly an hour, is told the line has been out of order since the afternoon - Booking a trunk call is quoted as taking two to four hours - Closes with the wry conclusion that a letter would have been faster than the phone ### Reviews: Presidential Missives (Portrait of a President: Letters of Dr Rajendra Prasad written to Mrs. Gyanvati Darbar) *By Mrinalini V. Sarabhai* A book review by Mrinalini V. Sarabhai of 'Portrait of a President: Letters of Dr. Rajendra Prasad written to Mrs. Gyanvati Darbar' (Vikas Publishing House). The review praises the letters for revealing India's first President as immersed in Hindu philosophy, simple in habits, yet deeply engaged with the political and economic problems of the young republic, quoting his 1956 observations on student indiscipline, educational decline, and the risks of inflation under an ambitious Five Year Plan. The reviewer highlights his humor about the Speaker Ananthasayanam Ayyengar, his frustration at the constraints of the presidency ('am I a President or a prisoner'), and his quotation of Urdu poet Iqbal in a personal letter, concluding that Gyanvati Darbar has done a service in sharing the president's reflections. - Reviews a published collection of Dr. Rajendra Prasad's letters to Mrs. Gyanvati Darbar - Highlights Prasad's 1956 comments on student indiscipline and declining educational standards as still relevant - Notes his growing concern with parliamentary democracy and the practical application of political conventions - Cites his humor about the long-winded Lok Sabha Speaker Ananthasayanam Ayyengar - Notes a letter in which Prasad questions whether he is 'a President or a prisoner' given the restrictions on his movements - Quotes Prasad's citation of the Urdu poet Iqbal in a personal letter ### Reviews: Chronicle Reappears (Uncensored Russia: The Human Rights Movement in the Soviet Union) *By Rusi J. Daruwala* A book review by Rusi J. Daruwala of 'Uncensored Russia: The Human Rights Movement in the Soviet Union', edited, introduced and translated by Peter Reddaway (National Academy), covering the underground Samizdat bulletin 'Chronicle of Current Events'. The review situates the Chronicle within a long Russian tradition of underground publishing going back to Alexander Herzen, explains the origin of the term 'Samizdat' and its offshoots 'tamizdat' and 'gosizdat', and describes the volume's reproduction of Chronicle issues 1 to 11, covering the cases of Sinyavsky and Daniel, Galanskov, Solzhenitsyn, and the persecution of Soviet Jews, Ukrainians, and Crimean Tartars. The reviewer notes the Chronicle's plain, unliterary style but calls it one of the most important documents of human freedom, illustrating the gap between actual conditions in Soviet Russia and how the Soviet government projects itself to Western eyes. - Reviews 'Uncensored Russia', Peter Reddaway's edited and translated volume on the Soviet Chronicle of Current Events - Traces the tradition of underground Russian publishing to Alexander Herzen's 1865 writings - Explains the coinage and meaning of 'Samizdat', 'tamizdat', and 'Gosizdat' - Notes the volume reproduces Chronicle issues 1-11, covering Sinyavsky, Daniel, Galanskov, Solzhenitsyn, and persecution of Jews, Ukrainians, and Crimean Tartars - Calls the Chronicle's plain style unliterary but the document itself one of the most important records of human freedom ### Reviews: Public Finance in India (Fiscal Economics by K. P. M. Sundharam) *By Indu Kale* A book review by Indu Kale of the second edition of 'Fiscal Economics' by K. P. M. Sundharam (Sultan Chand & Sons). The review describes the textbook as a welcome, low-priced addition to the literature on Indian public finance suitable for undergraduate students, praising its clear explanation of theory alongside practical Indian examples, its coverage of the Raj Committee's recommendations on agricultural taxation and the Wanchoo Committee Report, and its three-part structure covering general public expenditure and revenue theory, practical budgetary and debt matters, and specific types of finance (local, railway, war, and corporate). The reviewer's main criticism is the absence of footnotes and references, limiting its use for students who wish to pursue the subject beyond the undergraduate level. - Reviews the second (1973) edition of K. P. M. Sundharam's 'Fiscal Economics' textbook - Praises its clear, accessible explanation of public finance theory using Indian examples - Notes inclusion of the Raj Committee's recommendations on agricultural taxation and the Wanchoo Committee Report - Describes the book's three-part structure: general theory, practical/budgetary aspects, and specific finance types - Criticizes the lack of footnotes and references, limiting its use beyond undergraduate level ### Letter: Then and Now *By V. T. Sreenivasan* A reader's letter titled 'Then and Now' by V. T. Sreenivasan of Bangalore argues that genuine democracy has never existed in India, that Western-style democracy is foreign to Indian soil, and that adult franchise with an 'illiterate and immature electorate' has made democracy 'a farce'. The letter recalls a discussion at the time of Mountbatten's viceroyalty in which playwright T. P. Kailasam predicted India would get 'Demonocracy' rather than democracy, criticizes the alliance between the ruling Congress and the Communist Party of India despite the CPI's professed disbelief in democracy, and concludes that character, integrity, and discipline — not mere institutional form — are what any country needs for real democracy to flourish, framing the JP-led Bihar agitation as a possible 'desperate remedy' for a 'desperate situation'. - Argues genuine democracy has never existed in India and that Western-style democracy is foreign to the country - Recalls playwright T. P. Kailasam's prediction at the time of Mountbatten's viceroyalty that India would get 'Demonocracy' rather than democracy - Criticizes the close alliance between the ruling Congress Party and the Communist Party of India (CPI) despite the CPI's professed disbelief in democracy - Argues adult franchise with an illiterate electorate has made Indian democracy 'a farce' - Frames Jayaprakash Narayan's Bihar agitation as a possible 'desperate remedy' for a 'desperate situation' ### Citizens for Democracy A short news item reports that the 'Citizens for Democracy' organisation, at a National Executive Council meeting in Bombay on 13 July 1974 chaired by Jayaprakash Narayan, decided to appoint a Citizens' Ombudsman to investigate corruption complaints against high public officials, and to set up civil rights sub-committees in Bombay, Delhi and Ahmedabad comprising advocates and journalists to protect civil liberties and fundamental rights. Jayaprakash Narayan is quoted saying the time had come for public-spirited citizens to act on their own to restore integrity in national life; office-bearers elected include Vice-Presidents S. M. Joshi and N. A. Palkhivala, Honorary Secretary V. M. Tarkunde, and Honorary Treasurer Sevakram, with M. R. Masani among the participants in the discussion. - Citizens for Democracy's National Executive Council met in Bombay on 13 July 1974 under Jayaprakash Narayan's chairmanship - Decided to appoint a Citizens' Ombudsman to investigate corruption complaints against high public officials - Set up civil rights sub-committees in Bombay, Delhi, and Ahmedabad staffed by advocates and journalists - Elected S. M. Joshi and N. A. Palkhivala as Vice-Presidents, V. M. Tarkunde as Honorary Secretary, and Sevakram as Honorary Treasurer - M. R. Masani is listed among participants in the discussion ### With Many Voices The closing page, 'With Many Voices', is a compilation of quotations from international press and public figures on communism, detente, and world politics, epigraphed with a Tennyson line about seeking 'a newer world'. It juxtaposes remarks from The Economist, Time, National Review, and other outlets — including comments from Herbert Spencer, Barry Goldwater, Senator Henry Jackson, Idi Amin Dada, Jayaprakash Narayan, and James Burnham — on themes ranging from the absence of Soviet-style dissent in China, the illusory nature of detente, and inflation-driven political instability, to satirical jabs about Communist regimes and brainwashing. - A curated compilation of quotations from international press (The Economist, Time, National Review) and public figures - Epigraphed with a Tennyson quotation about seeking 'a newer world' - Includes Herbert Spencer's comparison of the divine right of kings to the modern 'divine right of parliaments' - Includes Jayaprakash Narayan's quoted remark on being nearer the CPI(M) than the CPI - Closes with satirical items on Communist regimes, including a joke about brainwashing --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff269/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 269 (October 1974), edited by M. R. Masani, is a full 16-page issue of the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas, and the rendered pages cover the entire issue cover to cover. The lead piece is Dilip Chitre's review-essay 'Chile and India,' which uses Robert Moss's book Chile's Marxist Experiment to draw an extended, anxious parallel between Salvador Allende's fall and Indira Gandhi's post-1971 concentration of power, arguing that India's 'socialism' is a crony arrangement between the ruling elite and big capitalists rather than a genuine Marxist project, and that unlike Chile, Indian capitalists have profited from statism rather than being attacked by it. Geeta Doctor contributes a whimsical, gothic essay on the statuary and dust of the Asiatic Society library in Bombay. Arvind A. Deshpande reviews Ayn Rand's The New Left and surveys India's own New Left currents (Naxalites, the Dalit Panthers, the Yuvak Kranti Dal, the 'Magova' Marxist group), finding most of them derivative, alienated from ordinary Indians, and short on constructive method. G. K.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 269 (October 1974), edited by M. R. Masani, is a full 16-page issue of the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas, and the rendered pages cover the entire issue cover to cover. The lead piece is Dilip Chitre's review-essay 'Chile and India,' which uses Robert Moss's book Chile's Marxist Experiment to draw an extended, anxious parallel between Salvador Allende's fall and Indira Gandhi's post-1971 concentration of power, arguing that India's 'socialism' is a crony arrangement between the ruling elite and big capitalists rather than a genuine Marxist project, and that unlike Chile, Indian capitalists have profited from statism rather than being attacked by it. Geeta Doctor contributes a whimsical, gothic essay on the statuary and dust of the Asiatic Society library in Bombay. Arvind A. Deshpande reviews Ayn Rand's The New Left and surveys India's own New Left currents (Naxalites, the Dalit Panthers, the Yuvak Kranti Dal, the 'Magova' Marxist group), finding most of them derivative, alienated from ordinary Indians, and short on constructive method. G. K. Kolanjiyil's 'Freedom: To Publish or to Print' is a sustained polemic against the self-censorship, timidity and government-friendliness of the mainstream Indian press, contrasted with the small papers and with the American press's willingness to challenge its own government. The issue also carries two book reviews (an anthology of new Indian writing edited by Adil Jussawalla, reviewed by Pervin Mahoney; and a British industrial-relations text on productivity bargaining, reviewed by Rusi J. Daruwalla), two letters on the Bharatiya Lok Dal merger and defections from the Swatantra Party, a reprinted exchange of letters between AFL-CIO president George Meany and Alexander Solzhenitsyn, and the regular 'With Many Voices' page of quotations closing the issue with a subscription coupon. ## Essays ### Chile and India *By Dilip Chitre* Dilip Chitre reviews Robert Moss's Chile's Marxist Experiment and uses it to draw a sustained, uneasy analogy between Allende's Chile and Indira Gandhi's India. He summarises Moss's account of why the Chilean generals overthrew Allende (economic collapse, a Marxist bid for total power, a judicial mandate for intervention, and leftist efforts to subvert the armed forces), and rejects the CIA/ITT conspiracy explanation. Chitre then argues Chile's crisis is 'relevant' to India: both saw an omnibus ruling party captured by crypto-Marxist ideologues, both saw the judiciary, press and dissent squeezed, and both dressed statist economics in socialist language. But he identifies one crucial difference — Chilean capitalists were frontally attacked, while Indian capitalists have colluded with and profited from state socialism, making the Indian arrangement 'a parody of free enterprise' rather than a copybook Marxist experiment. He closes by rejecting both a military and a further leftist takeover as solutions, and calls instead for decontrol and decentralisation. - Moss's book explains Allende's overthrow as driven by economic collapse, a Marxist bid for total power, a Supreme Court-endorsed popular mandate, and leftist subversion of the army, not a CIA/ITT plot. - Chitre draws close parallels between Congress's capture by crypto-Marxist ideologues after 1971 and the Marxist takeover of Allende's coalition. - The judiciary, press and opposition were squeezed in both Chile and Congress-era India (supersession of judges, newsprint controls, MISA). - Key difference: in Chile big business was attacked by the state; in India leading capitalists have profited from and colluded with 'socialist' policy, making Indian socialism feudal in form and function. - Chitre rejects both a military takeover and a further leftward lurch as solutions to India's problems, and instead calls for decontrol and decentralisation of the economy. - He frames Allende's Marxism as a genuine (if failed) doctrinaire experiment, while India's 'Marxist experiment is not even meant to be Marxist.' ### Ghosts at the Asiatic *By Geeta Doctor* Geeta Doctor's 'Ghosts at the Asiatic' is a discursive, gothic-toned essay on the Asiatic Society library in Bombay, formerly the Town Hall. She describes the building's neglected grandeur — pigeon-fouled reading rooms, dispirited newspapers on display boards, and a hall of nineteenth-century marble statuary of colonial worthies (Jagannath Shankarshett, Sir Jamsetji Jijibhoy, the Marquis of Cornwallis, Mountstuart Elphinstone, Charles Forbes, Jonathan Duncan) rendered by sculptors more interested in drapery and gesture than character. She recounts anecdotes about the statues' checkered provenance (a bust left in a packing case for three years) and closes with a personal, half-joking account of sitting alone in the eerie stillness of the Oriental Research Room, imagining the statues coming to life. - The essay profiles the physical decay and 'aura of malevolence' of the Asiatic Society building, once Bombay's Town Hall. - It catalogues the hall's marble statues of British-era worthies — Jagannath Shankarshett, Jamsetji Jijibhoy, Cornwallis, Elphinstone, Charles Forbes, Jonathan Duncan — and their sculptors. - Anecdotes highlight the arbitrariness of the statuary's commissioning and neglect, including a bust left in storage for three years. - Charles Forbes, credited with helping suppress female infanticide, is ironically consigned to an isolated room. - The piece ends with the author's own experience of eerie stillness while studying in the library's Oriental Research Room. ### The New Left: A Journey from Ignorance to Cocksure Ignorance *By Arvind A. Deshpande* Arvind A. Deshpande reviews Ayn Rand's The New Left: Anti-Industrial Revolution, praising Rand's forceful anti-collectivism while noting her tendency to exaggerate and her likely limited appeal beyond the American middle class. He worries that the U.S. may become 'an island surrounded by a vast leftist sea' as radical currents deepen in Europe. Turning to India, Deshpande surveys the domestic New Left — the Naxalites (dismissed as Calcutta-centred armchair romantics out of touch with Bengal's own civic failures), the Dalit Panthers (caught between ideology and welfare work), the Yuvak Kranti Dal (non-Marxist, under-theorised on economics but promising on social reform), and the 'Magova' group of self-styled Marxists (accused of upper-caste condescension and parroting borrowed rhetoric, including sneering references to Jayaprakash Narayan as a 'cultural-freedomwalla'). He recommends Philip Spratt's Hindu Culture and Personality over rote quotation of Marx and Lenin, and closes hoping for young Indians who will act on poverty rather than merely theorise about it. - Deshpande credits Ayn Rand's The New Left with intellectual force against collectivist and totalitarian thought, while flagging her exaggeration and narrow appeal. - He anticipates that European social democrats will keep drifting further left under pressure from inflation, pollution, youth alienation and poverty. - India's Naxalites are portrayed as Calcutta-bound romantics whose 'consciousness' ignores the city's own civic failures and needs Mao to remind them of rural poverty. - The Dalit Panthers are described as caught in an 'agonising choice' between ideology and welfare work. - The Yuvak Kranti Dal is praised for rejecting totalitarian methods but criticised for weak economic thinking. - The 'Magova' Marxist group is accused of upper-caste condescension, alienation from Indian realities, and mocking J.P. Narayan as a 'cultural-freedomwalla.' - Deshpande recommends Philip Spratt's Hindu Culture and Personality as a better guide than repeated quotation of Marx and Lenin. ### Freedom: To Publish or To Print *By G. K. Kolanjiyil* G. K. Kolanjiyil's 'Freedom: To Publish or to Print' argues that the Indian press's vaunted freedom is largely illusory, quoting Jean Francois Revel's critique of French media self-censorship as equally applicable to India. He accuses national dailies of pillorying Nixon and Agnew while shielding the Indian President and Prime Minister from equivalent scrutiny, of underplaying stories embarrassing to the government (the Kidwai-Nehru role in Nepal, Indian military activity in Chittagong), and of colluding with the government over newsprint quotas at the cost of covering the opposition. He contrasts this with smaller papers, which broke stories the nationals suppressed, and closes by asking whether the Indian press has genuinely lived up to its self-proclaimed role as watchdog of democratic freedom, given its coverage of the 1974 railway strike and its complicity in 'furthering the national interest' around the 1962 China war. - Kolanjiyil applies Jean Francois Revel's critique of French television's fear of news and truth directly to the contemporary Indian press. - National dailies are accused of double standards: fierce criticism of foreign leaders (Nixon, Agnew) alongside deference to India's own President and Prime Minister. - Examples of suppressed or downplayed stories include the Kidwai-Nehru role in Nepal's 'revolution' and Indian troop movements in the Chittagong hill tracts. - Smaller, less 'responsible' papers are credited with breaking stories (the Kittur episode, harassed writers' viewpoints) that national dailies avoided. - The press's self-censorship around the 1962 India-China war and the 1974 railway strike is presented as evidence it prioritises 'national interest' framing over informing citizens. - Kolanjiyil concludes that a free press is only meaningful if it actually functions as a watchdog of other liberties, which he doubts the Indian press has done. ### Reviews: A Mixed Bag (New Writing in India, ed. Adil Jussawalla) *By Pervin Mahoney* Pervin Mahoney reviews New Writing in India, an anthology edited by Adil Jussawalla, calling the collection uneven but valuable for making otherwise inaccessible contemporary Indian writing available in English. She praises standout selections such as Bhalchandra Nemade's The Cocoon and criticises weaker ones, including an overly brief extract from Qurratulain Hyder's River of Fire and derivative pieces by Balraj Manra and P. Lankesh built on borrowed 'alienation.' She dwells at length on the difficulty of translation, arguing that the anthology's directly-English poems (Kamala Das, Gieve Patel) land far more vividly than translated ones, though she credits editor Jussawalla for choosing selections on literary rather than political grounds. - Mahoney calls Jussawalla's anthologising task an impossible 'Hercules' labour' and finds the collection deliberately partial rather than exhaustive. - Bhalchandra Nemade's The Cocoon is singled out as an outstanding, self-contained extract. - The Qurratulain Hyder extract from River of Fire is judged too brief to let its Partition-era protagonist's plight register. - Balraj Manra's The Box of Matches and P. Lankesh's Bread are criticised as derivative treatments of 'alienation' unassimilated into art. - Translation is identified as the anthology's central weakness: English-language poems by Kamala Das and Gieve Patel are far more vivid than translated poets like Vinda Karandikar and Dhoomil. - Mahoney credits Jussawalla for choosing extracts on literary rather than political criteria, despite an introduction with 'ominous rumblings' of fashionable Marxism. ### Reviews: Productivity & Wage (Productivity Agreements and Wage Systems, by D.T.B. North and G.L. Buckingham) *By Rusi J. Daruwalla* Rusi J. Daruwalla reviews Productivity Agreements and Wage Systems by D.T.B. North and G. L. Buckingham, a 1969 British text reprinted as a handbook for Indian labour-wage negotiators. The review summarises the book's account of productivity bargaining as a wage-work exchange between labour and management resting on comprehensive analysis of production, economics, sociology and earnings, and notes its grounding in the motivation research of Maslow and Herzberg and the management philosophies of McGregor and Likert, before describing its practical treatment of wage-structure design and negotiation. - The book under review is a reprint of a 1969 British standard work on productivity bargaining, aimed at Indian wage-agreement formulators despite its English-conditions focus. - Productivity bargaining is defined as a wage-work exchange requiring detailed studies of the full industrial relations situation, not just a short-term 'buy-out' of restrictive practices. - The authors draw on Maslow's and Herzberg's employee-motivation research and the management philosophies of Douglas McGregor and Rensis Likert. - The book's later sections cover wage-structure design, negotiation, and implementation of productivity agreements. ### Letter: Birds of a Feather *By S. Gopalakrishnan* Two letters to the editor appear under the heading 'Letter.' S. Gopalakrishnan's 'Birds of a Feather' mocks R. N. Singh Deo's defence of Biju Patnaik as mere 'improprieties' rather than corruption, noting that Singh Deo was himself subsequently found guilty by a commission, and warns that both ruling and opposition parties risk sliding toward fascism. S. V. Raju's 'Not Merger But Surrender' recounts the formation of the Bharatiya Lok Dal (BLD) from the merger or dissolution of several parties including the Swatantra Party, describes Charan Singh's reassurances to BKD loyalists, and reports on related splits (the United Goans, Chimanbhai Patel's Gujarat party) and R. N. Singh Deo's being found guilty of 'illegal, improper, arbitrary and malafide acts' by the Mitter Commission. - Gopalakrishnan criticises R. N. Singh Deo's defence of Biju Patnaik as downplaying corruption to mere 'improprieties,' noting Singh Deo was himself later found guilty. - The letter warns that both ruling and opposition parties in India risk becoming 'birds of the same feather' tending toward fascism. - Raju details the formation of the Bharatiya Lok Dal (BLD) on 29 August from a 'trail of split parties,' including the dissolution of the Swatantra Party. - Charan Singh reassures BKD loyalists that the party has only expanded, not dissolved, keeping its symbol and flag. - Related party splits are reported: the United Goans splitting over Erasmo De Sequeira, and Chimanbhai Patel's Gujarat party's failed merger talks with the BLD. - R. N. Singh Deo is reported to have been found guilty of 'illegal, improper, arbitrary and malafide acts' by the Mitter Commission. ### Not Merger But Surrender *By S. V. Raju* This item reprints an exchange of letters between AFL-CIO president George Meany and Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Meany, invoking Solzhenitsyn's Nobel lecture that 'there are no internal affairs left on this crowded earth,' recalls the American labour movement's documentation of Soviet forced-labour camps and the GULAG network, and extends a formal invitation for Solzhenitsyn to tour the United States as a guest of the American trade union movement, with opportunities to travel and speak freely. Solzhenitsyn's reply politely declines, citing the need to conserve his limited physical and spiritual energy for his main literary project — recovering his country's unwritten history — while thanking Meany for the gesture. - Meany's letter invokes Solzhenitsyn's Nobel Prize lecture line that 'there are no internal affairs left on this crowded earth' to justify the American labour movement's concern with Soviet repression. - Meany recalls the AFL's historic documentation of Soviet forced-labour camps and its role in prompting the UN Economic and Social Council's Ad Hoc Committee on Forced Labour. - Meany extends a formal invitation for Solzhenitsyn to tour the United States as a guest of the American trade union movement, with free opportunity to travel and speak. - Solzhenitsyn's reply agrees in principle with the 'no internal affairs' idea but declines the invitation, citing limited physical and spiritual capacity after being 'forcibly torn' from his homeland. - Solzhenitsyn says he can only spare energy for his main literary project of recovering his country's unwritten history. ### Solzhenitsyn-Meany Correspondence *By George Meany / A. Solzhenitsyn* 'With Many Voices' is the issue's closing page of curated quotations under a Tennyson epigraph, drawing from Time, The Economist, Quest and the Economic & Political Weekly on subjects ranging from Nixon's resignation and Watergate-era morality to Mrs. Gandhi's governance, Solzhenitsyn's remarks on Soviet insularity, student power, and Naga insurgency. The page closes with the journal's subscription coupon. - The page compiles brief quotations from Time, The Economist, Quest and other publications, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. - Several quotations concern Nixon's resignation and the moral standing of the U.S. after Watergate. - Quotations from 'D. in Quest' comment critically on Mrs. Gandhi's governance and India's 'poverty of policies.' - A quotation from Solzhenitsyn (via Quest) observes that Moscow and Leningrad have become the most uninformed cities in the world. - The page ends with a subscription form for Freedom First, published by the Democratic Research Service. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff270/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 270 (November 1974), edited by M. R. Masani for the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, is a miscellany issue combining a travel essay, editorial commentary, book reviews, and a poem-review. Manjula Padmanabhan's cover feature 'A Tale of Two Cities' recounts a visit to divided Berlin, contrasting the bright commercialism of the West with the surveilled austerity of the East. The editorial column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' comments on the Portuguese revolution's leftward slide, the British general election, the annexation of Sikkim into the Indian Union, Soviet suppression of an unofficial Moscow art show, an 'unmitigated disaster' verdict on the World Population Conference in Bucharest, and the Dadabhoy Naoroji Award going to A. D. Gorwala. A long unsigned review-essay by 'Junius' assesses Ronald Hingley's biography Joseph Stalin: Man and Legend. A reprinted A. D. Gorwala piece indicts the posthumous whitewashing of V. K. Krishna Menon by public figures including Jayaprakash Narayan and Acharya Kripalani. Vrunda Moghe-Dev writes on the collapse of integrity in Bombay University's examination system.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 270 (November 1974), edited by M. R. Masani for the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, is a miscellany issue combining a travel essay, editorial commentary, book reviews, and a poem-review. Manjula Padmanabhan's cover feature 'A Tale of Two Cities' recounts a visit to divided Berlin, contrasting the bright commercialism of the West with the surveilled austerity of the East. The editorial column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' comments on the Portuguese revolution's leftward slide, the British general election, the annexation of Sikkim into the Indian Union, Soviet suppression of an unofficial Moscow art show, an 'unmitigated disaster' verdict on the World Population Conference in Bucharest, and the Dadabhoy Naoroji Award going to A. D. Gorwala. A long unsigned review-essay by 'Junius' assesses Ronald Hingley's biography Joseph Stalin: Man and Legend. A reprinted A. D. Gorwala piece indicts the posthumous whitewashing of V. K. Krishna Menon by public figures including Jayaprakash Narayan and Acharya Kripalani. Vrunda Moghe-Dev writes on the collapse of integrity in Bombay University's examination system. A reviews section covers books on Indian trade unions (by M. R. Masani, reviewed by V. B. Karnik), Indian labour history (by V. B. Karnik, reviewed by S.R.M.D.), and human rights theory (Maurice Cranston, reviewed by P. N. Driver). Greta Doctor contributes a light verse-review of Nissim Ezekiel's children's book The Actor. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a column of quoted aphorisms from the international press. ## Essays ### 'A Tale of Two Cities' *By Manjula Padmanabhan* Manjula Padmanabhan's travel essay contrasts West and East Berlin during a group visit in 1974. West Berlin is depicted as bright, commercial, and only lightly marked by the Wall, which 'unobtrusively snakes in and out' of the city. The crossing into East Berlin through Checkpoint Charlie is rendered as bureaucratic and tense, with passport checks, dandruff-flecked border guards, and empty boulevards that feel frozen twenty-five years in the past. The piece (continued on pages 14-15) describes East Berlin's threadbare shop displays, a rose garden, an elderly woman's wartime memories of fleeing to the West, and a visit to 'The House at Checkpoint Charlie' museum, whose photographs and artefacts of escape attempts -- tunnels, car-seat hideouts, underwater swimming gear -- leave the author reflecting on the Wall as a symptom of 'old bitterness and irreconciled differences' rather than mere Cold War theatre. - West Berlin is described as bright, colourful, and commercially unremarkable despite the Wall running through it. - The border crossing into East Berlin at Checkpoint Charlie involved multiple passport checks and a visibly tense atmosphere. - East Berlin's streets are described as clean but empty, with shop displays that are 'threadbare and dull' despite fine craftsmanship, since goods are exported rather than sold locally. - An elderly East German woman recounts being expelled from her home near the end of the war and fleeing to West Germany with only what she could carry. - The essay describes a Western-run exhibition, 'It Happened at the Wall,' documenting escape attempts and deaths at the border. - The author concludes that the Wall represents deep, unresolved historical bitterness rather than a simple Cold War symbol. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post (incl. 'Kerensky with a Monocle', 'Britain in "Lollipop Land"', 'Sikkim Annexed', 'A Russian Woodstock', 'An Unmitigated Disaster', 'Dadabhoy Naoroji Award') The unsigned editorial column, in the editor's voice, comments on several current events of late 1974: the collapse of Portugal's post-revolution government into what the London Economist called 'Kerensky with a Monocle,' President Spinola's fall and the communist consolidation of power; the British general election, which gave Harold Wilson's Labour Party a wafer-thin majority and prompted Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe to call the electoral system 'obscene'; India's completion of Sikkim's absorption via the 36th Constitutional Amendment, criticized as a betrayal of the Chogyal and the people of Sikkim; a Soviet crackdown on an unofficial Moscow art exhibition that was later permitted after public pressure, drawing more than 10,000 visitors and being dubbed a 'Russian Woodstock'; the World Population Conference in Bucharest, at which the Indian government's rejection of birth control in favour of economic development is criticized, alongside Indira Gandhi's remark that she was 'not worried about the population problem in India'; and the awarding of the Dadabhoy Naoroji Award to A. D. Gorwala. - Criticizes President Spinola's naivety in allowing communist infiltration of Portugal's army and government after the 1974 revolution. - Argues a majority Labour government under Harold Wilson is economically the 'worst of all possible solutions' for Britain, citing Lord Robens. - Calls for electoral reform with proportional representation, noting the British-derived system produces 'bogus' majorities. - Condemns the 36th Amendment absorbing Sikkim into India as a breach of faith with the Chogyal and a betrayal of Sikkimese freedom. - Reports that Soviet authorities initially suppressed then permitted an open-air modern art show in Moscow after international attention. - Criticizes Indira Gandhi's dismissive stance on India's population problem, contrasted with Khushwant Singh's report calling the Bucharest population conference 'an unmitigated disaster.' - Notes the Dadabhoy Naoroji Memorial Trust's award to A. D. Gorwala. ### Joseph Stalin: Man and Legend *By "Junius"* Writing under the pseudonym 'Junius,' the author reviews Ronald Hingley's biography Joseph Stalin: Man and Legend, praising it as among the best recent studies of Stalin. The review traces Stalin's rise from an obscure, thuggish revolutionary organizer -- a 'grey blur' who deliberately cultivated mediocrity to avoid appearing a threat -- to absolute dictator, arguing that his lack of towering intellect was itself an asset that lulled rivals like Trotsky into fatal underestimation. It credits Hingley with correcting earlier biographers who treated Stalin as a passive creature of events, and with showing that Stalin's atrocities (collectivization, the Gulag, the Great Terror) were not an aberration but the natural extension of the same ruthless, patient method he used to climb to power. The review closes by praising Hingley's fairness even toward Stalin's economic record, while still condemning the human cost of his policies and warning contemporary Indian socialists not to overlook 'the price the Russian people had to pay.' - Frames Stalin's obscurity and 'mediocrity' as a deliberate strategy that let him outmanoeuvre more talented rivals such as Trotsky. - Argues Hingley's biography corrects earlier accounts that saw Stalin as a mere creature of circumstance rather than an active moulder of history. - Credits Hingley for showing Stalin's later atrocities were consistent with, not a departure from, his early character and methods. - Notes Hingley's even-handed treatment, acknowledging Stalin's political shrewdness and even conceding some of his economic 'successes' while condemning the brutality of achieving them. - Warns that Indian admirers of socialism should reckon with the human cost documented in the book, including the deaths of forced labourers in the Kolyma permafrost mines. - Concludes that some good (e.g., concessions to workers under capitalism) inadvertently flowed from fear of the 'Stalin bogey,' the sole positive effect the reviewer attributes to his era. ### To Say Good of the Evil Dead Is to Do Evil to the Living Good (reprinted from A.D. Gorwala's Opinion, October 15, 1974) *By A.D. Gorwala* This reprint of an A. D. Gorwala piece from Opinion (October 15, 1974) argues that Indians' cultural reluctance to speak ill of the dead has produced a dishonest rehabilitation of V. K. Krishna Menon's reputation after his death. It contrasts Voltaire's maxim -- that only the living deserve consideration, judgement only the dead -- with the Indian practice of forgetting a prominent person's sins once he dies. The piece singles out Jayaprakash Narayan's tribute calling Menon 'a most distinguished servant and patriot' and Acharya Kripalani's similarly generous eulogy, arguing both men know better given Menon's record as, in the author's words, 'A Crypto-Communist, a Misuser of Public Funds, a Destroyer of Service Morale.' The essay closes with an extended meditation on whether love of one's own country is compatible with serving a foreign ideological cause, concluding that of the dead 'one should say nothing but the good... and yet it is not thought desirable to make public the bad too... The whole truth would be best, but if not that, then nothing.' - Opens with Voltaire's maxim that the living, not the dead, deserve consideration and judgement. - Criticizes the Indian tendency to forget a public figure's faults and invent virtues once he has died. - Cites Jayaprakash Narayan's and Acharya Kripalani's tributes to Krishna Menon as examples of this distorting effect of death on judgement. - Recalls the author's own earlier warning, made while Menon was still Defence Minister, that Indians could have no confidence in India's defence under him. - Extends the analysis to ask whether Stalin, Ulbricht, and Gomulka could be called patriots despite serving the Soviet system, concluding love of country can take a 'sadistical' or misguided form. - Ends on the maxim that of the dead one should say nothing, since saying only good while suppressing the bad misleads the living. ### University Examinations: A Point of No Return? *By Vrunda Moghe-Dev* Vrunda Moghe-Dev examines the deterioration of examination integrity at the University of Bombay, arguing the institution is approaching 'a point of no return.' The piece situates the crisis within a broader critique of Indian higher education's expansion for its own sake, at the expense of primary education, and recalls the author's own 1972 Freedom First article on mass copying and smuggled answer papers during exams. It details systemic failures: predictable, leaked question papers; under-resourced, careless grading exposing 'black sheep' examiners accused of taking bribes to pass weak candidates; the absence of any means for students to seek redress against unjust grading; and the University's continuing refusal to make internal assessment (as opposed to a single final exam) compulsory despite evidence it improves outcomes. - Argues that Indian education policy has over-emphasized university-level access at the cost of primary education, producing many unemployed graduates. - Recalls the author's 1972 Freedom First article on smuggled answer papers and mass copying during exams as an examination supervisor. - Describes how question papers become predictable 'important questions' well before exams due to overlapping paper-setters and moderation practices that preserve 85-90% of original content. - Reports allegations that some examiners ('black sheep') accept bribes to pass students, while diligent students suffer from careless, high-volume grading. - Notes Bombay University's internal-assessment reform (60% coursework / 40% final exam) was made optional and thus little used, unlike Poona University's stronger reassessment mechanisms. - Concludes that without reform, Bombay University risks reaching 'a point of no return.' ### Reviews: Vision & Reality (Indian Trade Unions and Society, M.R. Masani) *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik reviews M. R. Masani's booklet Indian Trade Unions and Society, based on a B. P. Wadia Memorial Lecture, which assesses the present state of the Indian trade union movement against the vision of pioneer B. P. Wadia. Karnik summarizes Masani's argument that Indian unions have failed to build sound organisation or protect workers' real interests over sixty years, while crediting Masani's explicit support for free trade unionism as a necessary complement to free enterprise. Karnik pushes back, arguing Masani overlooks two major structural obstacles beyond unions' control -- slow, unsteady industrial growth and a vast labour surplus -- and that real if incomplete progress has occurred (shorter hours, paid leave, retrenchment compensation) for which unions deserve some credit. He also disputes Masani's criticism of union opposition to automation, framing it as a legitimate response to unemployment rather than mere obstruction, and closes by cautioning against Masani's conclusion that 'sixty years have been wasted.' - Masani's booklet assesses Indian trade unionism against B. P. Wadia's founding vision, though Wadia's direct involvement with unions was brief. - Masani states he is 'a believer' in free trade unionism as a necessary counterpart to free enterprise. - Karnik argues Masani ignores two objective causes of union weakness: slow industrial growth and surplus manpower. - Karnik credits unions with real gains since Wadia's time: an eight-hour day, a one-hour midday recess, paid annual leave, and retrenchment/gratuity benefits. - Karnik notes India still lacks a law compelling employers to recognise majority unions, unlike the US Wagner Act model that Indian unions have long sought. - Karnik disputes Masani's criticism of union resistance to automation, calling it a legitimate response to unemployment rather than blind obstruction. ### Reviews: Indian Labour (Indian Labour - Problems and Prospects, V.B. Karnik) *By S.R.M.D.* S.R.M.D. reviews V. B. Karnik's Indian Labour: Problems and Prospects, a collection of essays drawing on Karnik's 37 years in the Indian labour movement. The review praises the book's relative lack of partisanship and its systematic account of the labour movement's structural weaknesses -- among them poor union membership discipline, lack of recognition arrangements, rivalries, and reliance on outside agencies -- while arguing that Karnik treats these as causes when they are better understood as consequences of deeper problems, including a persistent feudal-paternalistic approach among Indian decision-makers and the continuation of a colonial-era posture toward labour as a constituency. The review credits Karnik's handling of contemporary conflicts, such as the Godrej strike, but faults the book for not departing from traditional remedies on wage fixation and bonus disputes, and closes by judging the Rs. 39 price a likely deterrent to readers who would benefit from the book. - Karnik's book surveys the Indian labour movement over roughly four decades and is judged to show relatively little partisan bias. - The book lists eight causes of labour-movement weakness (membership apathy, lack of recognition arrangements, rivalries, reliance on outside agencies, etc.). - The reviewer argues these are consequences rather than root causes, pointing instead to a feudal-paternalistic managerial culture and a continuation of colonial attitudes toward labour. - Credits Karnik's treatment of contemporary disputes such as the Godrej strike accompanied by violence. - Faults the book for not proposing remedies beyond traditional approaches on wage fixation and bonus, and for not crediting the International Labour Organization's role in securing benefits for Indian labour. - Notes the Rs. 39 price is likely to deter potential readers who would benefit most from the book. ### Reviews: The Actor (review-poem of The Actor by Nissim Ezekiel, illustrated by Kavita Sahni) *By Greta Doctor* Greta Doctor contributes a short verse-review of The Actor, a children's book with words by Nissim Ezekiel and illustrations by Kavita Sahni. Written playfully in free verse, the review notes the gentle irony of a poet, playwright, editor, and teacher -- 'but Not an actor' -- writing a simple story about an actor, and praises Sahni's illustrations as 'alarming in their ferocity.' It closes by posing the review's central question as a joke: whether the book is meant 'for a child with an adult's brain or an adult with a child's brain.' - Reviews The Actor, words by Nissim Ezekiel with illustrations by Kavita Sahni, published by India Book House. - Written as a playful free-verse review rather than prose criticism. - Notes the irony that Ezekiel -- 'a poet, playwright, editor, teacher but Not an actor' -- wrote a story about acting. - Praises Kavita Sahni's illustrations as 'alarming in their ferocity.' - Closes with a joking question about the book's intended audience: a child with an adult's brain, or an adult with a child's brain. ### Reviews: Human Rights (What are Human Rights? by Maurice Cranston) *By P. N. Driver* P. N. Driver reviews Maurice Cranston's What Are Human Rights?, praising it as an accessible, high-quality book that clarifies the confusion between universal moral/political rights and economic or social rights. The review summarizes Cranston's argument that totalitarian states exploit this confusion to suppress basic civil and political freedoms while claiming to grant 'economic rights,' citing Soviet censorship and the imprisonment of writers such as Sinyavsky, Daniel, Pasternak, and Solzhenitsyn as examples. It notes Cranston's qualified agreement with Mill that preventing harm to others can justify some censorship, his discussion of Judge Lauterpacht's proposal for an international court to protect individual rights against states, and closes by quoting Cranston's view that a person's just claims to economic and social rights vary by circumstance, whereas political and civil rights remain universal regardless of station. - Cranston's book distinguishes universal moral/political rights from economic and social rights, a distinction the reviewer says is widely confused, especially in India. - Argues totalitarian states destroy basic human rights by making people 'live for and by bread alone,' citing the suppression of Sinyavsky, Daniel, Pasternak, and Solzhenitsyn as examples. - Notes Cranston's qualified agreement with Mill that preventing harm to others can justify some censorship, while denying justification for political censorship of the Soviet type. - Discusses Cranston's treatment of Judge Lauterpacht's idea for an international court to protect individual rights against states. - Quotes Cranston's conclusion (p.70) that economic and social rights vary by a person's circumstances while political and civil rights are held equally by all. - Commends the National Academy, Delhi for publishing the book at an accessible price. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff271/ ### Summary This is issue No. 271 (December 1974) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based monthly journal of liberal ideas edited by M. R. Masani. The issue opens with Manohar Malgonkar's extended review essay on Alexander Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago, using the book as an occasion to indict the Soviet penal and surveillance system and to praise Solzhenitsyn as a singular figure of moral resistance. A short news item records Masani's meeting with Jayaprakash Narayan in Patna during the Bihar movement. A. G. Noorani reviews a compilation of major international treaties, using it to reflect on how treaties reflect and are outlived by political realities. A. K. Das contributes a polemical essay on the failures of Indian planning, population policy, and governance since Independence. George Meany, president of the AFL-CIO, delivers a sharply critical address on the substance of US-Soviet detente, arguing it has been a one-sided arrangement benefiting Moscow. A letter from Sheila Sumant criticizes Danial Latifi's uncritical account of China.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 271 (December 1974) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based monthly journal of liberal ideas edited by M. R. Masani. The issue opens with Manohar Malgonkar's extended review essay on Alexander Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago, using the book as an occasion to indict the Soviet penal and surveillance system and to praise Solzhenitsyn as a singular figure of moral resistance. A short news item records Masani's meeting with Jayaprakash Narayan in Patna during the Bihar movement. A. G. Noorani reviews a compilation of major international treaties, using it to reflect on how treaties reflect and are outlived by political realities. A. K. Das contributes a polemical essay on the failures of Indian planning, population policy, and governance since Independence. George Meany, president of the AFL-CIO, delivers a sharply critical address on the substance of US-Soviet detente, arguing it has been a one-sided arrangement benefiting Moscow. A letter from Sheila Sumant criticizes Danial Latifi's uncritical account of China. Ya'acob Caroz contributes a detailed essay distinguishing the Palestinian population from the PLO, disputing the latter's claim to sole representation and outlining the PLO's rejectionist charter. The issue closes with three book reviews (on a Parkinson/Rustomji management book, Peter Brent's Godmen of India, and Harry Goldberg's essays on communism and culture) and a page of miscellaneous quotations, 'With Many Voices.' ## Essays ### A Ticket to Nightmareland *By Manohar Malgonkar* Manohar Malgonkar's review essay on Alexander Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago opens the issue. Malgonkar summarizes the book's account of the Soviet arrest, interrogation, and camp system, describing the sweeping Article 58 of the Russian Criminal Code, the culture of the secret police ('the Organs' and its SMERSH cadres), and the routine use of torture. He frames Solzhenitsyn as a singular, Gandhi-like figure of moral resistance whom the Kremlin cannot silence by 'unpersoning.' The essay (continued on page 15) closes by praising Solzhenitsyn's stamina and integrity as a researcher and stylist, and by noting his anger at the Western allies for repatriating Soviet POWs to Stalin after the war, contrasted with his sympathetic, if bewildered, portrait of ordinary Russians and even of Stalin's targets. - The Gulag Archipelago is described as an exposition of a 'sick system' and of the crime of Stalinism and, ultimately, Leninism, rather than just individual abuses. - Article 58 of the Soviet Criminal Code is presented as so broad that almost any act or omission could be prosecuted, with standard sentences of ten or twenty-five years. - The 'Organs' (secret police) and SMERSH are depicted as a privileged, corrupt caste modeled on loyalty and terror rather than law. - Malgonkar likens Solzhenitsyn to Mahatma Gandhi as an 'irrepressible one-man force' that authoritarian power cannot suppress. - The essay recounts Solzhenitsyn's own 1945 arrest as a decorated artillery captain, arrested for criticizing Stalin in a private letter. - Solzhenitsyn is portrayed as condemning the Western Allies, including Churchill, for forcibly repatriating Russian POWs and Cossacks to Soviet hands after World War II. - The review treats the book as unmatched in scale and moral seriousness, calling it a product of 'a dozen writers of extraordinary literary brilliance.' ### History is with JP *By Masani* A brief unsigned news item, bylined 'Masani,' reports that Freedom First editor M. R. Masani, a member of the National Council of the Citizens for Democracy, met with Jayaprakash Narayan in Patna on November 2 and 3, 1974. Masani told the press he was impressed by the atmosphere in JP's camp, comparing it to the spirit of the Civil Defence and Quit India campaigns, and expressed confidence that JP would succeed in his mission given the momentum of history and public sympathy for the Bihar movement. - M. R. Masani visited Jayaprakash Narayan's camp in Patna on November 2-3, 1974. - Masani compared the atmosphere in JP's camp to the spirit of the Quit India and Civil Defence campaigns. - Masani expressed confidence that 'time is running in his favour and the forces of history are on his side' regarding JP's movement. - The item notes people across India were watching the Bihar struggle with sympathy as a peaceful channel for discontent. - Masani found JP physically fit but appealed for more consideration of his health. ### The Politics of Treaties *By A. G. Noorani* A. G. Noorani reviews Prof. J. A. S. Grenville's The Major International Treaties 1914-1973: A History and Guide with Texts, praising it as a labour of love and a uniquely usable one-volume collection with the texts of major treaties together with narrative surveys of each historical phase. Noorani uses the review to argue that treaties are transient instruments whose survival depends on whether the underlying political conditions that produced them persist -- NATO endures because the perceived threat remains, while SEATO died once the Sino-Soviet split fractured its rationale. He illustrates the gap between treaty language and political reality with the case of the 1971 Soviet-Egyptian Treaty, whose socialist language did not prevent Sadat from later expelling Soviet advisers. - Grenville's compilation spans treaties from 1914 to Brandt's 1973 Prague visit normalising West German-Czechoslovak relations, including the 1973 Indo-Pak POW repatriation agreement. - Noorani argues treaties 'reflect a political situation and cannot survive a change which goes far beyond their structure.' - NATO is cited as surviving because both sides still perceive the same threat, while SEATO is described as effectively dead after the Sino-Soviet split. - Khrushchev's 1959 Leipzig speech is quoted: treaties reflect 'an established balance of forces resulting from victory or capitulation in war.' - The 1971 Soviet-Egyptian Treaty's reference to Egypt 'reconstructing society along socialist lines' is discussed as a clause later effectively abandoned when Sadat expelled Soviet advisers. - Noorani stresses that treaty language matters because it can shape future policy, but 'only reality matters more.' ### For Whom the Bull Toils *By A. K. Das* A. K. Das's essay indicts the Indian state's record of governance 27 years after Independence, arguing that despite a nuclear explosion and grand rhetoric, ordinary Indians -- especially the children of cobblers, sweepers, porters, and pedlars -- remain trapped in poverty. Das criticizes the electoral system for diffusing accountability, laments the gap between the promise of 'Garibi Hatao' and its failure to touch endemic poverty, and surveys a cascade of policy failures: population growth outpacing family planning, hyper-inflation, hoarding, black money, and a general collapse of 'good sense' in public life. He closes by arguing that India has specialised in 'decontrolling control' in vital areas of national life even as it demands ever more control and sacrifice from ordinary citizens. - Das argues nine of ten children born to cobblers, sweepers, porters, and pedlars are nearly destined for a life of poverty despite 27 years of independence. - He criticizes India's electoral laws for giving 'too wide a berth' to relegate responsibility and accountability to the back bench. - The 'Garibi Hatao' ('Remove Poverty') slogan is described as a fashionable phrase that could not survive contact with entrenched poverty. - The essay cites hyper-inflation, hoarding, and the failure of the Green Revolution alongside urban migration as symptoms of policy failure. - Das laments a pervasive breakdown of 'good sense,' citing the mockery of the Constitution, injury to the judiciary, and reliance on ordinances. - The essay closes with the image of the nation as having specialised in 'decontrolling control' even while professing to need more of it. ### Let the Debate Begin *By George Meany* George Meany, president of the AFL-CIO, delivers a sharply critical address on US-Soviet detente, arguing that American labour will not leave foreign policy to the experts because Soviet-American arrangements affect workers directly. He recounts a $300 million wheat deal, Soviet oil-linked pressure, and the export of American jobs and technology as costs borne by ordinary Americans. He criticizes the Nixon administration's silence over the arrest of Soviet Jews and the Soviet jamming of American broadcasts about Andrei Sakharov, contrasts democracy and totalitarianism, and questions whether detente has produced any real reciprocity, citing Soviet conduct in the Yom Kippur War and the flow of American technology and credit to a struggling Soviet economy. - Meany argues detente has so far been a one-way arrangement in which American taxpayers, consumers, and workers bear the costs. - He criticizes the Nixon administration's silence when Soviet Jews were arrested and jailed around the time of Nixon's Moscow visit. - Meany insists there 'is a difference between democracy and totalitarianism' and rejects the idea that the two systems are morally equivalent. - He argues the Soviet Union incited and armed the Egyptian-Syrian attack on Israel and then used the crisis to extract US concessions. - The essay claims the Soviet consumer economy has been 'strangled' for nearly fifty years by military spending, driving Soviet requests for Western credit and technology. - Meany details a proposed $500 million wide-bodied jet deal with Boeing, Lockheed, and McDonnell-Douglas that would require co-production in the USSR and transfer of US aerospace technology. - He raises the transfer of 'voice print recorder' police technology to the USSR as a threat to dissidents like Sakharov and Soviet Jews maintaining contact with the West. ### Letter: Latifi Robbed of Brains by China *By Sheila Sumant* A letter to the editor from Sheila Sumant of Bombay criticizes Danial Latifi, a Supreme Court advocate, for an uncritical talk to the Indian Council of World Affairs praising conditions in China -- including claims of no thieves, no unemployment, no flies, and universal happiness among 800 million people. Sumant, herself a recent victim of a pickpocket, argues Latifi's rosy portrayal amounts to Chinese propaganda having 'robbed him of his brains,' and cites a report from an overseas Chinese visitor warning tourists to guard their belongings as evidence against Latifi's claims. - Danial Latifi told the Indian Council of World Affairs there are no thieves, pickpockets, or unemployment in China and that all 800 million people are happy. - Sumant, having recently been a pickpocket victim herself, mocks Latifi's claims as either naive or condescending to his audience. - She notes Latifi does not know Chinese and drew his conclusions via Hindi or English interpretation. - The letter cites overseas Chinese visitor Frank Ching's warning that hotel staff in China advise visitors to guard money and documents, contradicting Latifi's claims. - Sumant argues Latifi's uncritical enthusiasm does a 'disservice to Sino-Indian friendship.' ### Palestinians, Yes; P.L.O., No *By Ya'acob Caroz* Ya'acob Caroz's essay argues that 'Palestinians' and the PLO are not synonymous, disputing the widespread impression that Palestinians are simply the residents of Lebanese refugee camps represented by the PLO. Tracing the demography of Palestinian Arabs since the 1948 Mandate partition, Caroz argues UNRWA's own reporting casts doubt on inflated refugee counts, and that Jordan -- not the PLO -- has the stronger historical claim to represent Palestinians given decades of shared nationality and governance. He then details the PLO's 1968 Palestinian National Treaty, arguing it denies Israel's right to exist, treats 'armed struggle' (i.e., terrorism) as the only path to Palestinian liberation, and was never chosen by Palestinians themselves but imposed by the Arab League. Caroz concludes the PLO seeks a 'final solution' for the Jewish state comparable to what Hitler sought for the Jewish people. - Caroz distinguishes the Palestinian population (about 2.36 million by his count) from the PLO, which he says was never elected by Palestinians. - He cites a 1972-73 UNRWA report questioning the number of 'registered refugees' versus actual camp residents, arguing the true refugee count is much smaller than commonly claimed. - Jordan's claim to represent West Bank and Gaza Palestinians is presented as stronger than the PLO's, given Jordanian citizenship and governance ties predating 1967. - The Palestinian National Treaty (as amended 1968) is described as denying Israel's right to exist and framing 'Fedayeen activity' (terrorism) as the only path to liberation. - The PLO's founding is attributed to the Arab League's 1964 initiative and the 1973 Algiers summit recognition, not to any Palestinian election. - Caroz argues the PLO's ultimate objective, alongside destroying Israel, is the 'annihilation of Jordan.' - The essay closes by comparing the PLO's aim for Israel to Hitler's 'final solution' for the Jewish people. ### Reviews: How to Get to the Top (Management Oversimplified) *By S. V. Raju* Three brief book reviews appear under the 'Reviews' heading. S. V. Raju reviews How to Get to the Top by C. Northcote Parkinson and M. K. Rustomji, dismissing it as an oversimplified management 'quickie' composed mostly of illustrations, useful perhaps for supervisors but not serious literature on management. Aruna Thosar reviews Peter Brent's Godmen of India, describing its survey of Guru-shishya relationships across Indian sects and its author's candid, if sometimes over-generalizing, attempt to explain the phenomenon to spiritually bewildered Western youth. V. B. Karnik reviews Harry Goldberg's Communism and Culture, a short essay collection on how Communist states subordinate science and the arts to Party control, noting Solzhenitsyn as a recent example of intellectual dissent against this suppression. - S. V. Raju criticizes How to Get to the Top as a lightweight, illustration-heavy management book that oversimplifies its subject and never states its intended audience. - Raju suggests the book has some practical use for supervisors dealing with workplace tension but is not serious management literature. - Aruna Thosar's review of Godmen of India credits author Peter Brent with covering the background, forms, and meaning of the Guru-shishya relationship across Vedic, Jnana, and Bhakti traditions. - Thosar notes Brent's self-aware admission of feeling 'so unqualified to stand critically aloof' when documenting his encounters with Indian gurus. - Thosar reports Brent's explanation of the Guru-shishya bond as rooted in emotional and sexual repression in Hindu society, paralleling it to relationships between lovers. - V. B. Karnik's review of Communism and Culture frames the book as a collection of essays on how Communist states control science, music, and drama, citing Solzhenitsyn as a recent dissenting spirit. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff273/ ### Summary This February 1975 issue of Freedom First (No. 273), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with J. G. Tiwari's lead essay "Congress Declares War on Farmers," which reads the Congress party's Narora conclave as a Stalin/Mao-style strategy of turning rural caste tensions into class war to expropriate farm surpluses for industrial investment, and singles out D. P. Dhar's economic paper as the blueprint. The regular "Between You & Me and The Lamp Post" notes column comments on Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan's criticism of India's planned economy, Indira Gandhi's falling popularity, the Vajpayee resignation episode, UNESCO's exclusion of Israel, and Soviet-bloc "radioizdat" and refugee stories. S. N. Misra, a Congress MP, contributes an angry open letter to Mrs Gandhi naming Congress and Communist Party figures he accuses of financial impropriety and demanding public disclosure of their assets. A reprinted Daily Telegraph editorial defends the US decision to attach conditions to grain aid after India rejected a shipment. Manjula Padmanabhan supplies a light personal account of judging St Xavier's Boys' Academy inter-house dramatics competition.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This February 1975 issue of Freedom First (No. 273), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with J. G. Tiwari's lead essay "Congress Declares War on Farmers," which reads the Congress party's Narora conclave as a Stalin/Mao-style strategy of turning rural caste tensions into class war to expropriate farm surpluses for industrial investment, and singles out D. P. Dhar's economic paper as the blueprint. The regular "Between You & Me and The Lamp Post" notes column comments on Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan's criticism of India's planned economy, Indira Gandhi's falling popularity, the Vajpayee resignation episode, UNESCO's exclusion of Israel, and Soviet-bloc "radioizdat" and refugee stories. S. N. Misra, a Congress MP, contributes an angry open letter to Mrs Gandhi naming Congress and Communist Party figures he accuses of financial impropriety and demanding public disclosure of their assets. A reprinted Daily Telegraph editorial defends the US decision to attach conditions to grain aid after India rejected a shipment. Manjula Padmanabhan supplies a light personal account of judging St Xavier's Boys' Academy inter-house dramatics competition. The issue reproduces the Liberal International's Florence policy statement "Man At Work" on economic democracy at the workplace. Two book reviews follow: B. P. Singh on B. R. Shenoy's P.L. 480 Aid & India's Food Problems, which argues government price and procurement policy, not weather or farmer inertia, has caused agricultural stagnation; and R. Srinivasan on What Price a Free Press? The Statesman Case, on the newspaper's failed legal challenge to a government committee probing press economics. The issue closes with reader letters on Israel and the Palestinian conflict, and a compilation of quotations, "With Many Voices," mostly drawn from The Economist. ## Essays ### Congress Declares War on Farmers *By J. G. Tiwari* J. G. Tiwari argues that the Congress party's secret Narora conclave marks an escalation of a two-year-old campaign against India's farming community, guided by Communist ministers D. P. Dhar and K. D. Malaviya, aiming to replicate in India the kind of rural class war Stalin waged against Soviet farmers in the 1930s and Mao waged in China in the 1960s. He describes a 13-point Narora programme that would deploy 500,000 Congress and youth cadres through 500 training camps to convert caste tensions into class conflict, and reports D. P. Dhar's working paper as advocating heavier taxation of agricultural income and wealth to fund industrial investment, alongside continued reliance on the public sector. The essay (continued from page 1 to page 14, captured in full in these rendered pages) goes on to argue that heavy fiscal burdens on farmers and nationalisation of the grain trade are the "inevitable" consequence of India's socialist growth path, that viable landholders are being targeted for political liquidation because independent farmers threaten centralised power, and that the Narora strategy risks turning manufactured caste antagonism into a pretext for government-backed intimidation of the farming community. - Frames the Narora conclave as consolidating a Congress strategy against farmers modeled on Stalinist and Maoist precedents. - Identifies D. P. Dhar and K. D. Malaviya as the Communist-aligned architects of the strategy within the Cabinet. - Cites D. P. Dhar's working paper proposing wider taxation of agricultural income/wealth and other revenue devices as an anti-inflation, anti-hoarding measure. - Argues heavy farm taxation and grain-trade nationalisation are structurally inevitable outcomes of the current growth model, prioritising public-sector industrial investment. - Contends that viable, independent landholders are targeted for political liquidation because they generate leadership and resist centralised control. - Warns that the 13-point Narora programme, mobilising 500,000 cadres via 500 training camps, risks converting rural caste tension into an artificially manufactured class war. ### Open Letter to Mrs. Gandhi *By S. N. Misra* The unsigned editorial notes column "Between You & Me and The Lamp Post" covers a run of short items: outgoing US Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan's parting criticism that India's stagnant economy reflects a deliberate political choice favouring stability over growth, contrasted with Japan's private steel sector versus India's state-owned one; a report that Indira Gandhi's popularity has fallen to its lowest point since 1967 per an Indian Institute of Public Opinion poll, alongside news that the Illustrated Weekly of India named Jayaprakash Narayan its 'Indian of the Year'; a wry item on African nations' aspirations to national airlines illustrated via a Tanzania cartoon; commentary on A. B. Vajpayee's aborted Lok Sabha resignation and the Jan Sangh's continued commitment to parliamentary politics; a note on Soviet 'radioizdat' (illegal radio broadcasting) as a successor to samizdat and magnitizdat; and criticism of UNESCO's General Conference for voting to exclude Israel, with reactions from Solzhenitsyn, European governments, and various intellectuals. It closes with items on Christmas price inflation in Moscow, and on Hong Kong's closing of the escape route for Chinese refugees fleeing to Hong Kong, criticized as 'despicable' by columnist Derek Davies. - Reports Ambassador Moynihan's view that India's stagnation reflects a deliberate political trade-off of growth for stability, using the Bokaro steel mill decision as an example. - Notes Indira Gandhi's popularity has hit its lowest point since 1967 per an opinion poll, while Jayaprakash Narayan was named 'Indian of the Year' by the Illustrated Weekly. - Covers the Vajpayee resignation-and-retraction episode and the Jan Sangh's continued attachment to electoral politics. - Describes Soviet 'radioizdat' as a new form of dissident activity following samizdat and magnitizdat, with over 1,000 arrests. - Criticizes UNESCO for excluding Israel from its regional bodies under Arab pressure, citing Solzhenitsyn's condemnation of the UN's moral decline. - Reports on rising Soviet consumer prices during the Christmas season and Hong Kong's closure of its refugee route from Communist China. ### Here Comes the Judge *By Manjula Padmanabhan* Congress MP S. N. Misra's open letter to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, written after an earlier unanswered letter, demands that she compel a list of named Congress and government figures -- including D. P. Dhar, H. R. Gokhale, K. D. Malaviya, D. P. Chattopadhyaya, R. K. Khadilkar and others -- to publicly declare their current assets and holdings against their status ten to fifteen years ago, alleging they have amassed disproportionate wealth through Communist-aligned patronage. He separately lists a second group of ministry members, including H. D. Malviya, Shashi Bhushan, and Amrit Nahata, whom he accuses of financing anti-Congress and Communist activity to undermine the party. Misra frames the choice starkly as between continued Communist entanglement, which he says will destroy the Congress party and the Gandhi family's name, or a restoration of democracy, and threatens to make the letter public if no reply is received by 4 December 1974. - Demands public asset disclosure from named Congress and Communist Party-linked ministers and officials, comparing their current holdings to their status 10-15 years earlier. - Names a first list of officials (D. P. Dhar, H. R. Gokhale, K. D. Malaviya, and others) alleged to hold 'red-base' Communist affiliations and disproportionate wealth. - Names a second list of ministry figures alleged to be financing anti-Congress and Communist activity. - Frames Mrs Gandhi's choice as being between continuance of Communist alliance (leading to Congress's destruction) or restoration of democracy and the party's survival. - Threatens to publicize the letter nationally if no reply is received by 4 December 1974. ### Man at Work (policy statement of the Liberal International, Florence conference, 3-6 October) A reprinted Daily Telegraph (London) editorial from 7 January 1975 examines India's rejection of the first 300,000 tons of a resumed US cheap-grain shipment, on the grounds that American conditions -- barring re-export (e.g., to the Soviet Union) and requiring the grain reach the poorest -- were 'humiliating.' The piece argues America is justified in wanting assurance the aid will not simply discharge India's debt to Russia, given large-scale corruption and inefficiency in Indian aid distribution, and notes President Ford's refusal at the November World Food Conference to be pressured into pledging more food aid while oil-producing and Communist states offered nothing. - India rejected 300,000 tons of resumed US grain aid over conditions barring re-export and requiring distribution to the poorest. - The US sought assurance the grain would not indirectly repay India's debt to the Soviet Union, which had lent India two million tons. - The editorial cites entrenched corruption and inefficiency as reasons large amounts of Indian aid go astray. - President Ford is described as resisting pressure at the World Food Conference to pledge additional food aid while oil-producing states and the USSR offered nothing. ### Reviews: Consequence of Misconceived Policies (review of B. R. Shenoy, P.L. 480 Aid & India's Food Problems) *By B. P. Singh* Manjula Padmanabhan recounts, in a light personal essay, her experience as one of three judges (with Sean Mahoney and Pheroza Shroff) at St Xavier's Boys' Academy's annual inter-house dramatics competition, 'D Day.' She describes the elaborate scoring system devised by teacher-in-charge Amy Billimoria, the comic chaos of judging four amateur plays -- including a medieval-set 'Cobbler's Wife,' a moralistic 'The Seekers' with grave-diggers confronting Death, and a farce called 'A Mate in Two' -- and the backstage camaraderie of judging, ending with 'The Seekers' declared the winning house to a burst of applause. - Padmanabhan was one of three judges (with Sean Mahoney and Pheroza Shroff) at St Xavier's Boys' Academy's inter-house dramatics competition. - Describes the elaborate, philosophically fraught scoring system set up by teacher Amy Billimoria, covering production, acting, diction and interaction. - Recounts the plots of several student plays performed, including 'The Cobbler's Wife,' 'A Husband for Breakfast,' 'A Mate in Two,' and 'The Seekers.' - 'The Seekers' was announced as the winning house amid cheers and garlands. ### Reviews: Bad Old Days Again (review of What Price a Free Press? The Statesman Case, ed. V. V. John and A. B. Shah) *By R. Srinivasan* This is the reprinted text of the Liberal International's policy statement 'Man At Work,' adopted at its October 1974 Florence conference by a committee that included the Freedom First editor. It declares economic democracy the corollary of political democracy, recognises negative effects of technological and bureaucratic development on workers (monotony, psychological strain, alienation), and calls for enlarging and enriching jobs, reducing fragmented production-line work, and democratising companies so that employees participate not only in the work but in decision-making, responsibility, and the fruits of expansion, rather than remaining subordinate to capital. - States that economic democracy is the necessary corollary of political democracy. - Recognises that most of the world's population lacks influence at work, and that technological/bureaucratic development brings negative side effects such as monotony and psychological strain. - Recommends enlarging and enriching jobs and reducing excessively fragmented, production-line tasks. - Calls for democratised companies where employees participate in the work, in decision-making, and in the results/profits, replacing a purely dependent labour-capital relationship with partnership. ### Letters (Churlish; Why This Insult?; On Murdering Children) *By Mihir Sen; R. Sinha Rao; Jamyang Norbu* B. P. Singh, President of the Farmers' Federation, reviews B. R. Shenoy's book P.L. 480 Aid & India's Food Problems. Singh summarises Shenoy's argument that floods, droughts, and farmer inertia are not the main causes of India's food scarcity; rather, official price and procurement policy has suppressed agricultural investment and productivity. Shenoy is reported to show, via Ludhiana and Tanjavur high-yield variety programme data, that Indian farmers respond vigorously to incentives, and to fault three government misconceptions: that compulsory procurement can buffer scarcity, that anti-hoarding drives correct price rises, and that 'reasonable' industrial-style profit margins are adequate for agriculture. The review also covers Shenoy's data on the public sector's disproportionate share of investment resources relative to its contribution to national income, and his finding that rural bank branches act as 'suction pumps' withdrawing rural savings to urban/industrial use rather than expanding farm credit. Singh calls the book essential, if imperfect, reading for legislators and anyone concerned with Indian agriculture. - Shenoy argues that price and procurement policy, not weather or farmer irrationality, is the primary cause of India's food-production stagnation. - Cites Ludhiana and Tanjavur HYVP data showing dramatic yield gains once farmers had incentive and access to inputs. - Identifies three government misconceptions: reliance on compulsory procurement/hoarding controls, and the imposition of 'reasonable'-profit industrial norms onto agriculture. - Shows the public sector absorbed a rising, disproportionate share of investment resources (46% to 66% across successive Five Year Plans) versus its contribution to national income. - Describes rural bank branches as functioning like 'suction pumps' draining rural savings toward urban and industrial investment rather than expanding farm credit. - Singh recommends the book as essential, if not flawless, reading for legislators and anyone concerned with Indian agricultural policy. ### With Many Voices (quotations column) R. Srinivasan reviews What Price a Free Press? The Statesman Case (ed. V. V. John and A. B. Shah), which examines the Statesman newspaper's unsuccessful legal challenge to a 1972 government committee, chaired by Professor B. Datta, set up to investigate newspaper economics. The review situates the case within a broader argument that Indian press freedom has eroded since independence through advertisement withdrawals, organised harassment of journalists, and pressure tactics, notwithstanding that the Statesman lost its suit for a writ of mandamus. Srinivasan notes the book references earlier press-freedom battles including the Sakal and Bennett Coleman cases, and calls it a valuable addition to the limited literature on press problems in a 'developing' country, noting it was originally published as an entire issue of the journal Quest. - Reviews What Price a Free Press? The Statesman Case, on the Statesman's failed suit challenging a 1972 government committee investigating newspaper economics. - Argues Indian press freedom has eroded since independence through advertisement withdrawal, editor removals, and organised crowd action against newspapers. - Notes the government committee's inquiries into the Statesman's Managing Director's expenses were seen as an attempt to pressure the paper. - References the earlier Sakal and Bennett Coleman cases as part of the continuing fight for press freedom. - Calls the book a valuable, if narrow, addition to literature on press freedom in developing countries; notes it was originally an issue of the journal Quest. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post (editorial notes column: Satyameva Jayate; Mrs Gandhi a Bad Second; African Neighbourliness; A Pity; Radioizdat; X'mas in USSR; And now UNESCO; Shame!) The Letters section carries three reader contributions. R. Shiva Rao ('Churlish') recounts personally witnessed instances of India rejecting Israeli offers of agricultural and technical cooperation -- fertiliser and soil-conservation experts in 1947, agricultural university exchange visits during his UGC tenure, and a Jewish farmer's offer to cultivate dates and citrus in Rajasthan -- arguing India has repeatedly spurned Israeli goodwill. A second unsigned letter ('Why This Insult?') protests the government's move to bar Israel from a World Table Tennis Championship on political grounds. Jamyang Norbu, a Tibetan refugee writing from Dharamsala (reproduced from Time), condemns Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians while drawing a parallel to the Tibetans' own struggle against Chinese rule, insisting that no nation can be built without a firm moral foundation. - R. Shiva Rao details repeated Indian government rejections of Israeli offers of agricultural cooperation, including a 1947 fertiliser/soil-conservation offer and a Rajasthan farming proposal. - A second letter protests India barring Israel from participating in the World Table Tennis Championship for political reasons. - Jamyang Norbu, writing as a Tibetan refugee (reproduced from Time), condemns Palestinian violence against Israeli civilians while comparing the Tibetan cause to the Palestinian one. - Norbu argues no nation can be built without a firm moral foundation, criticizing the killing of innocents regardless of the justice of the underlying cause. ### India Rejects Food Aid (reprinted Daily Telegraph editorial, 7th January issue) *By Daily Telegraph* 'With Many Voices' is a compilation of short quotations, mostly from The Economist (November-December 1974), on global political and economic themes: Greek Prime Minister Karamanlis on demagogy versus tanks as the greater threat to democracy; Rajmohan Gandhi in Himmat on U Thant's death sparking a popular uprising; Indian Express slogans linking Indira Gandhi to the Mastan smuggling scandal; West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt on market forces versus regulation; Romesh Thapar in Economic and Political Weekly on Indian egalitarianism; commentary on apartheid-era southern Africa, OPEC oil surpluses, British Leyland's productivity versus Japan's Nissan, and a closing Hermann Goering quote on guns versus butter. - Compiles topical quotations mainly from The Economist covering democracy, inflation, and global economic policy in late 1974. - Includes Chancellor Helmut Schmidt's remarks favouring market forces over regulation. - Includes Romesh Thapar's comment in Economic and Political Weekly on Indian egalitarianism. - Notes a comparative statistic on car-manufacturing productivity: British Leyland versus Continental and Japanese (Nissan) producers. - Closes with a historical Hermann Goering quote contrasting guns and butter. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff272/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 272 (January 1975), edited by M. R. Masani, is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas. Its lead article is Milovan Djilas's tribute to the arrested Yugoslav dissident Mihajlo Mihajlov, framing his prosecution as an indictment of Communist repression of conscience. The unsigned editorial column, "Between You & Me and The Lamp Post," surveys the Indian famine crisis of 1975, UN theatrics, threats to British press freedom, and inflation propaganda in the Eastern Bloc. Geeta Doctor examines the erosion of university autonomy in India through the Elphinstone College and Osmania University disputes. Peter Sager analyses the build-up of Soviet naval power in the Indian Ocean as a facet of Cold War rivalry. James Burnham's "Guilty Silence" criticises the Nixon-Kissinger administration's refusal to publicly criticise Soviet repression under the banner of detente. The issue also carries a book review of Nirad C.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 272 (January 1975), edited by M. R. Masani, is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas. Its lead article is Milovan Djilas's tribute to the arrested Yugoslav dissident Mihajlo Mihajlov, framing his prosecution as an indictment of Communist repression of conscience. The unsigned editorial column, "Between You & Me and The Lamp Post," surveys the Indian famine crisis of 1975, UN theatrics, threats to British press freedom, and inflation propaganda in the Eastern Bloc. Geeta Doctor examines the erosion of university autonomy in India through the Elphinstone College and Osmania University disputes. Peter Sager analyses the build-up of Soviet naval power in the Indian Ocean as a facet of Cold War rivalry. James Burnham's "Guilty Silence" criticises the Nixon-Kissinger administration's refusal to publicly criticise Soviet repression under the banner of detente. The issue also carries a book review of Nirad C. Chaudhuri's biography of Max Müller, a film review of The Great Gatsby by Manjula Padmanabhan, a theatre review of the Marathi play "The Deal" (signed G.D.), a report on a seminar on multinational corporations in India, and a closing page of quotations titled "With Many Voices." Taken together, the issue's argumentative center is a defence of individual liberty and free institutions against both Communist repression abroad and creeping statism and interference at home. ## Essays ### Mihajlo Mihajlov's Fate *By Milovan Djilas* Milovan Djilas, the Yugoslav dissident writer, reflects on the arrest (7 October) of Mihajlo Mihajlov, a Yugoslav writer of Russian parentage who has been repeatedly imprisoned for publishing criticism of the Soviet and Yugoslav systems in the foreign press. Djilas portrays Mihajlov as a man who combines Russian intellectual openness with Yugoslav rationalism, and who is deeply, if unconventionally, religious -- treating Christianity not as an institutional creed but as a source of freedom from death and a rationalized relation between the individual and society. Djilas stresses that despite Mihajlov's admiration for Solzhenitsyn, the two differ sharply: Mihajlov rejects any nostalgic return to pre-industrial, authoritarian Russia and refuses to treat all evils as products of authoritarianism alone. The continuation (p.15) describes Mihajlov as a democratic socialist who is not a worshipper of capitalism or the 'consumer society' but of human rights and spiritual fulfilment, and closes with Djilas's own anguished questioning of what obligation the free world owes to imprisoned believers in freedom like Mihajlov. - Mihajlo Mihajlov was arrested on 7 October 1974 and, per Djilas, faces certain conviction because in Yugoslavia everyone arrested for political reasons is convicted. - His 'offense' is continued public criticism, in the Russian émigré and American press, of the Soviet and Yugoslav systems -- a course of action legal in earlier years that new ideological currents in Yugoslavia have criminalized. - Djilas describes Mihajlov as simultaneously Russian and Yugoslav in temperament, deeply religious but outside Orthodox institutional practice, treating Christianity as a source of freedom and a bridge to early pre-church Christianity. - Mihajlov is characterized as a democratic socialist who opposes both restoration/subversion politics in Eastern Europe and worship of capitalism or consumer society, valuing instead human rights and spiritual fulfilment. - Despite deep admiration for Solzhenitsyn, Mihajlov disagrees with him: he considers a return to pre-industrial Russia utopian and rejects blaming all of Russia's evils on authoritarianism alone. - Mihajlov's family situation compounds his isolation: his mother, having left Yugoslavia illegally to visit her daughter and grandchild in the United States, cannot return. - Djilas closes by questioning whether professed believers in democracy and human rights, and the wider world, bear responsibility for their indifference toward imprisoned dissenters like Mihajlov. ### University Autonomy—Indian Style *By Geeta Doctor* The unsigned 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column opens with B. R. Shenoy's Ahmedabad talk titled 'Famine -- 1975,' using it to indict New Delhi's belated admission of a foodgrain shortfall and its continued reliance on American imports despite years of downplaying the crisis. The column cites William F. Buckley on the ingratitude of blaming America for the world's food problems, then turns to the UN General Assembly's welcome of PLO leader Yasser Arafat contrasted with its earlier refusal of a seat to South Africa, using a Laxman cartoon to skewer the episode. It closes with items on the British press's fight against Michael Foot's closed-shop bill (with Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe cited in the press's defence), an item on the Deputy Minister's parliamentary answer about India's poor cricket performance being read out as if a state matter, praise for the Amritraj brothers' being barred from the Davis Cup over apartheid policy against South Africa, and a joke about the fictitiousness of inflation under Communist rule in Poland. - B. R. Shenoy's Ahmedabad talk 'Famine -- 1975' is used to frame the column's opening critique of India's foodgrain crisis and government complacency. - The column reports New Delhi's 10 December announcement of contracts to import 4.76 million tonnes of foodgrains, mostly from the United States, against an estimated shortfall of 7-10 million tonnes. - William F. Buckley is quoted criticising the tendency to blame America for the world's food and resource troubles while ignoring the benefits of free agriculture. - The column mocks the UN General Assembly's welcome of PLO leader Yasser Arafat's 'olive branch and freedom fighter's gun' speech, contrasting it with the Assembly's earlier denial of a seat to South Africa. - It covers the British Labour government's proposed closed-shop bill as a threat to press freedom, noting Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe's public criticism of it. - It notes with approval India's policy of barring the Amritraj brothers from Davis Cup ties against apartheid-era South Africa. - A closing item satirizes Communist-bloc denial of inflation, citing a joke reproduced in Newsweek about the absence of price increases in Poland. ### Indian Ocean--Soviet Machinations *By Peter Sager* Geeta Doctor surveys the erosion of university autonomy in India, arguing that autonomy -- like the housework it is likened to -- is noticed only when neglected. She traces the ideal to British-founded universities and figures such as Pherozeshah Mehta and Chimanlal Setalvad, who fiercely guarded institutional independence, and notes that the University of Bombay's later vice-chancellors have not always been able to resist state encroachment, citing the state's assumption of the power to affiliate colleges. She then details two live controversies: the Elphinstone College principal D. K. Banker's disputed transfer, framed by him as a demotion driven by Shiv Sena agitation against non-Marathi speakers in government service, and Professor V. V. John's warnings about resistance to a University Grants Commission proposal for greater collegiate freedom, illustrated by the earlier removal of Rector G. D. Parikh over the 'morning colleges' dispute. The essay closes by citing the successful defence of Osmania University's autonomy against the state government as a rare case where the teaching profession united to protect its freedom, concluding that public opinion is the ultimate custodian of university autonomy. - The essay frames university autonomy as a fragile, often-neglected ideal inherited from British-founded Indian universities. - Pherozeshah Mehta and Chimanlal Setalvad are cited as historical guardians of University of Bombay autonomy against government interference. - The State Government's assumption of the power to affiliate colleges to the University -- a right formerly held by the University itself -- is cited as a precedent-setting erosion, later followed by Gujarat. - The Elphinstone College principal D. K. Banker's transfer to Vidarbha College is examined as a case alleged to be a 'demotion' driven by Shiv Sena political pressure against non-Marathi speakers, prompting a student strike and a High Court appeal. - Professor V. V. John's article on a University Grants Commission proposal to give colleges more freedom to innovate is discussed, alongside the earlier removal of Rector G. D. Parikh over the 'morning colleges' controversy led by A. N. Namjoshi. - The successful defence of Osmania University's autonomy against the State Chief Minister, upheld by the Supreme Court and Vice-Chancellor D. S. Reddi, is cited as a rare victory for institutional independence. - The essay concludes that public opinion, resting on the conviction that autonomous universities are indispensable to democracy, is the ultimate custodian of university autonomy. ### Guilty Silence *By James Burnham* Peter Sager analyses the Soviet Union's build-up of naval power in the Indian Ocean as a strategic consequence of the Suez Canal's closure and Britain's withdrawal from 'East of Suez.' He traces the growth of Soviet 'ship's days' in the region from 2,000 in 1968 to 8,000 by 1972-73 -- far outstripping the American presence -- and situates this expansion within Cold War rivalry with both the United States and China, noting that Peking views the build-up (alongside American interest in Diego Garcia) with anxiety despite its official rhetoric of superpower rivalry. Sager details the Soviet navy's technical modernization (the Kiev-class carrier, Kara-class cruisers, Delta-class missile submarines) and its network of bunkering and repair facilities in Somalia, South Yemen, the Maldives, Mauritius, the Seychelles, and increasingly at Chittagong in Bangladesh, aided by over 100 Soviet technicians. He closes by arguing that the Indian Ocean's centrality to global oil and trade shipping makes Sri Lankan Prime Minister Bandaranaike's proposal for a 'zone of peace' unrealistic given the absence of any restraint on Soviet ambitions following the West's disengagement from the region. - The essay argues that the reopening of the Suez Canal in spring 1975 will let the Soviet Black Sea Fleet reach the Indian Ocean far faster, likely quadrupling the number of Soviet warships there. - Soviet 'ship's days' in the Indian Ocean rose from 2,000 in 1968 to 4,000 (1969-71) and 8,000 (1972-73), compared to only about a quarter that figure for the US Navy. - Since 1968 Soviet naval units have made roughly 250 official port visits across 15 Indian Ocean-bordering states, and the USSR has built bunkering and repair access in Somalia, South Yemen, the Maldives, Mauritius, and the Seychelles. - Chittagong in Bangladesh, cleared by over 100 Soviet technicians who have remained after completing the work, is identified as likely to become the first full Soviet naval base in the Indian Ocean. - The Soviet fleet's modernization is illustrated by the Kiev-class carrier, Kara-class cruisers with advanced rocket/radar/electronic warfare capability, and Delta-class submarines with 4,000-mile-range missiles. - China is portrayed as anxious about the Soviet build-up despite its official framing of US-Soviet 'superpower rivalry,' and as sympathetic to US interest in a Diego Garcia base as a counterweight. - The essay concludes that Sri Lankan PM Bandaranaike's proposal for the Indian Ocean as a demilitarized 'zone of peace' has little chance of success given the Soviet Union's strategic momentum. ### This Side of Paradise: The Great Gatsby (film review) *By Manjula Padmanabhan* James Burnham argues that the Nixon-Kissinger conduct of detente with the Soviet Union, though presented as a break from America's moralizing foreign-policy tradition, in fact enforces its own form of moralistic self-censorship: an official silence on Soviet repression. He observes that no US spokesman has publicly criticized the intensified Soviet persecution of dissidents, the practice of confining dissenters in psychiatric hospitals, or the Solzhenitsyn and Sakharov affairs, and that the administration opposed Senator Jackson's effort to tie detente benefits to Soviet emigration freedoms. In six numbered observations continued from page 8 onto page 9, Burnham contends that a detente so fragile it cannot survive candid discussion of Soviet practice is not worth having, that official silence functions as de facto censorship that misleads American public opinion, that repression and denial of freedom of movement are not merely 'domestic questions' but expressions of the Soviet system's totalitarian essence, that many non-Communist governments do not share Washington's timidity (citing reactions to the Solzhenitsyn affair), that the Soviet government exhibits no comparable restraint in its own propaganda (quoting an Izvestia attack naming 'poor liberals... anachronistic imperialist reaction, Zionist circles, professional anti-Communists, and antisemites of all breeds'), and that this asymmetry parallels similar asymmetries in strategic arms and trade negotiations, in which the US invariably appears as the supplicant. - Burnham argues the Nixon-Kissinger 'realist' detente policy in fact enacts its own silent moralism by renouncing public criticism of Soviet domestic repression. - He cites the absence of US official comment on Solzhenitsyn, Sakharov, psychiatric imprisonment of dissidents, and the administration's opposition to Senator Jackson's linkage of detente to Soviet emigration rights. - His first observation: detente so fragile it could be shattered by sober discussion of Soviet practices 'can't be worth much.' - His second and third observations: official silence functions as systematic censorship misinforming American opinion, and Soviet repression is not a mere 'domestic question' but expresses the regime's totalitarian essence, making normal relations with it impossible on Nixon's own terms. - His fourth and fifth observations: many non-Communist governments (unlike the US administration) spoke out on the Solzhenitsyn affair, while the Soviet government itself shows no reciprocal restraint, continuing harsh attacks on the US in its official press (Izvestia). - His sixth observation draws a parallel between this rhetorical asymmetry and similar asymmetries in strategic arms negotiations and trade deals, with the US cast as the approaching supplicant. ### The Tragedy of Being Impotent (theatre review) *By G.D.* An unsigned review of Nirad C. Chaudhuri's biography 'Scholar Extraordinary: The Life of Professor Max Müller' assesses the book as a richly documented account of Müller's rise from an obscure German ducal town to worldwide fame as a Sanskritist and popularizer of comparative philology, despite disappointment that Chaudhuri offers little explanation for Müller's near-total posthumous obscurity by the time of the review. The reviewer highlights Chaudhuri's account of Müller's poverty-to-prominence arc at Oxford, his prolonged courtship of a wealthy Englishwoman related to Charles Kingsley, and the mixture of religious devotion and hard-headed financial calculation the courtship reveals in Victorian upper-class life. The review closes by crediting the book with tracing Müller's influence on Indian thought and movements, while noting that his work on comparative philology inadvertently contributed to the pseudo-scientific myth of the Aryan race, and that the book illuminates nineteenth-century Oxford's transformation from a lax institution into an empire-building finishing school. - The review assesses Nirad C. Chaudhuri's 393-page biography of Max Müller, priced at £4.75, as strong on biographical detail from letters and contemporary documents but weak on explaining Müller's fall from world fame into near-total obscurity by 1975. - Müller is described as a world figure for 30 years whose comparative-philology work popularized the idea of a common Aryan-language ancestry and drew condolences from Queen Victoria and the Kaiser on his death in 1900. - The review recounts Müller's rise from an impoverished background in a small German ducal state to a scholarly life at Oxford from age 24 until his death 52 years later. - It highlights the prolonged courtship of a wealthy Englishwoman, niece by marriage of Charles Kingsley, as revealing a mixture of high principle, religious devotion, and financial calculation among the Victorian upper class. - The review credits the book with tracing Müller's influence on Indian thought and movements, while noting his philological work contributed to the Aryan-race myth. - It notes the book's incidental portrait of nineteenth-century Oxford's transformation from a lax, monastery-like institution into a rigorous training ground for empire administrators. ### Scholar Extraordinary: The Life of Professor Max Müller (book review) Manjula Padmanabhan reviews the film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, directed by Jack Clayton and produced by David Merrick, praising its meticulous, faithful reproduction of Fitzgerald's Jazz Age settings and social textures while arguing that this very fidelity to surface detail is what ultimately makes the film unconvincing as drama. She assesses Robert Redford's Gatsby as handsome but too fashion-conscious, whereas Mia Farrow's Daisy and Scott Wilson's pathetic portrayal of Wilson the garage mechanic are singled out as the strongest performances, with Karen Black's Myrtle also praised for capturing Fitzgerald's intended mixture of sensuous beauty and coarseness. Padmanabhan concludes that despite the six-hundred real-life socialites cast as extras and the eight-million-dollar advance publicity that turned the film into a fashion phenomenon, the production is 'a beautiful bottle imitation' of the novel that lacks the emotional core -- the 'prima ballerina' -- that would let it transcend mere reproduction. - Padmanabhan situates the film within the hype of its release: an eight-million-dollar advance-booking campaign and a 'Twenties Look' fashion trend built around it. - She praises the film's meticulous physical reconstruction of Fitzgerald's Jazz Age, including six hundred real-life socialites cast as party guests and period-accurate props and costumes. - Robert Redford's Gatsby is judged handsome but overly fashion-conscious, more a 'contemporary young buck' than a man denied the high-society look his background intrinsically denied him. - Mia Farrow's Daisy, Karen Black's Myrtle, and especially Scott Wilson's performance as the pathetic Wilson are singled out as the strongest elements of the supporting cast. - Padmanabhan's central critique: strict fidelity to the book's material details ('every car, every piece of furniture') paradoxically undermines the film's emotional core, leaving it 'a beautiful bottle imitation' of the novel. ### Multi-Nationals Are Not Anti-National Signed 'G.D.' (Geeta Doctor), this theatre review assesses Sam Kerawalla's production of 'The Deal,' Buji Chinoy's English adaptation of Suresh Khare's Marathi play, which centers on the impotence of a young executive, Pratap, and the wife, Vilas, he trades to his Boss on their wedding night as part of a career 'deal.' The reviewer questions whether the play's premise, plausible as tragedy in its original Marathi psychological context, survives translation into English without becoming comedy, and criticizes Vilas as a poorly drawn 'Indian Nora' figure who never fully earns the audience's sympathy despite the play's attempt to cast her in the familiar mould of suffering Indian womanhood. The review credits director Sam Kerawalla's slick scene transitions but faults the crude caricature of supporting characters (the Boss's cartoonish Punjabi accent, the jeans-and-sneakers 'College Student,' the mini-skirted Secretary) and several unconvincing symbolic touches (Vilas knitting upon learning she is pregnant, Pratap reading 'The New Class' on his wedding night). It singles out Mamta Sahu's sensitive performance as Vilas and Jayant Vyas's natural, at-ease portrayal of the Joker as the production's strongest elements. - The review, citing Arthur Koestler, frames impotence as a common fear of the Indian male and the organizing anxiety of the play 'The Deal.' - It questions whether the play's central situation reads as tragedy (as presumably in the Marathi original) or comedy once translated into English. - Vilas, the wronged wife, is criticized as an underdeveloped 'Indian Nora' figure who rarely earns audience sympathy except at the very end. - The review faults heavy-handed symbolism (Vilas knitting on learning of her pregnancy, Pratap's symbolic wedding-night cigarette, his reading of 'The New Class') as 'too banal for words.' - Direction is praised for pacing and slick scene transitions between Pratap's house and the Boss's office, but criticized for crude caricature in supporting roles, including an inconsistent Punjabi accent for the Boss. - Mamta Sahu (Vilas) and Jayant Vyas (the Joker) are singled out as the cast's strongest performers, with Vyas's role noted as the only one that could be cut without affecting the plot. ### With Many Voices An unsigned report on a seminar on the role of multi-national corporations (MNCs) in underdeveloped countries, organized by the Leslie Sawhny Programme at the India International Centre, New Delhi, from 21-23 December 1974. The report notes broad agreement among participants -- including B. R. Shenoy and M. R. Masani -- on the useful and positive role MNCs can play in developing economies like India, provided India reforms its own treatment of domestic industrial enterprise. It summarizes the seminar's discussion of emerging trends in world trade favouring primary producers, the case for restoring greater freedom to enterprise and trade rather than pursuing autarkic import substitution, and a call for chambers of commerce and Indian industry leaders to educate public opinion and undertake a collective social audit of MNC operations to counter prevailing prejudice against them. - The seminar was organized by the Leslie Sawhny Programme at the India International Centre, New Delhi, 21-23 December 1974. - Participants included S. Bhoothalingam, H. P. Nanda, F. A. Mehta, A. D. Moddie, Ramu Pandit, N. K. Somani, Surinder P. S. Pruthi, B. R. Shenoy, M. R. Masani, Dilip Chitre, Hem Rai, and D. N. Patodia. - A large measure of agreement emerged on the useful and positive role of MNCs in developing countries like India, contingent on how India treats its own industrial enterprises. - The seminar identified prejudices against MNCs -- a desire for scapegoats, equating MNCs with elitist consumption, and preoccupation with capital returns -- and argued these prejudices could be substantially refuted by facts. - It considered the disadvantages of autarkic policy and indiscriminate import substitution, recommending greater freedom to enterprise and trade instead. - It concluded that Indian industry and chambers of commerce bear responsibility for educating public opinion about MNC contributions and for undertaking a collective social audit of MNC operations. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' epigraphed by Tennyson, is an unsigned compilation of quotations drawn from October-November 1974 press sources, including The Economist, U.S. News & World Report, National Review, and the Times of India. The quotations cover William F. Buckley Jr. on Soviet untrustworthiness, Deng Xiaoping (transliterated as Teng Hsiao-ping) attacking Soviet hypocrisy on socialism, several Economist quips on Britain's October 1974 general election and its minority-government arithmetic, Henry Kissinger on history as failed efforts, and further Economist commentary comparing global inflation to Genghis Khan's depredations and describing Soviet negotiating toughness in the tradition of Vyacheslav Molotov. The page closes with the journal's subscription details. - The page is epigraphed by a Tennyson quotation and compiles short press quotations from October-November 1974. - William F. Buckley Jr. is quoted from National Review on the reliability of assuming the Soviet Union will not keep its word. - Deng Xiaoping (rendered 'Teng Hsiao-ping') is quoted from U.S. News & World Report criticizing the superpower that 'flaunts the signboard of socialism' while acting otherwise. - Multiple Economist quotations address the October 1974 British general election, describing it as producing a minority government 'at the mercy of a system of automatic minority government.' - Henry Kissinger is quoted describing history as 'a tale of efforts that failed.' - The Economist compares global inflation's economic damage to Genghis Khan's conquests and describes Soviet negotiating toughness as being in the tradition established by Vyacheslav Molotov. - The page ends with Freedom First's subscription form and annual subscription rates (Rs. 5.00, or Rs. 3.00 for students). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff274/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 274 (March 1975), edited by M. R. Masani, is a miscellany issue of the Bombay-based liberal monthly opening with S. P. Aiyar's review-essay on N. A. Palkhivala's book Our Constitution Defaced and Defiled, marking the Indian Constitution's twenty-fifth anniversary with a warning that one-party dominance and constitutional amendments (notably the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth) have eroded fundamental rights. The issue reprints a Times of London piece on middle-class anger over inflation and taxation in Britain, and carries Ruzbeh Antia's first contribution on student unrest at St. Xavier's College, Bombay. B. P. Singh, president of the Farmers' Federation of India, argues in polemical terms that government procurement pricing and creeping 'socialisation of agriculture' -- not drought or hoarding -- are starving Indian farmers and the country at large. American conservative Russell Kirk contributes a Cold War-inflected essay contrasting Confucian ethics with Maoist Communism in Taiwan and China.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 274 (March 1975), edited by M. R. Masani, is a miscellany issue of the Bombay-based liberal monthly opening with S. P. Aiyar's review-essay on N. A. Palkhivala's book Our Constitution Defaced and Defiled, marking the Indian Constitution's twenty-fifth anniversary with a warning that one-party dominance and constitutional amendments (notably the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth) have eroded fundamental rights. The issue reprints a Times of London piece on middle-class anger over inflation and taxation in Britain, and carries Ruzbeh Antia's first contribution on student unrest at St. Xavier's College, Bombay. B. P. Singh, president of the Farmers' Federation of India, argues in polemical terms that government procurement pricing and creeping 'socialisation of agriculture' -- not drought or hoarding -- are starving Indian farmers and the country at large. American conservative Russell Kirk contributes a Cold War-inflected essay contrasting Confucian ethics with Maoist Communism in Taiwan and China. The back pages carry two book reviews (on a history of India's paratroopers, and on a study of anti-inflationary ordinances), a theatre review of a Bombay production of Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Manjula Padmanabhan, and a closing page of aphoristic press quotations under the title 'With Many Voices.' ## Essays ### Salvaging Fundamental Rights *By S. P. Aiyar* S. P. Aiyar marks the Indian Constitution's twenty-fifth anniversary by reviewing N. A. Palkhivala's Our Constitution Defaced and Defiled, using the book as a vehicle to argue that continuous one-party Congress rule, especially after 1971, produced statist and populist policies that eroded fundamental rights through constitutional amendments (the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth, and the 'outrage' of Article 31C) and attempts to make the judiciary 'made to measure.' Aiyar endorses Palkhivala's rejection of the claim that fundamental rights conflict with the Directive Principles, and highlights the book's central argument that Parliament's amending power cannot extend to altering the Constitution's basic structure, vindicated in the Fundamental Rights Case. He closes by calling the book an important contribution to liberal constitutionalism and a passionate plea for freedom. - Twenty-five years after the Constitution's inauguration, Aiyar judges it 'defaced and defiled,' echoing Palkhivala's phrase. - Continued one-party Congress dominance, intensified after the 1971 election, is identified as the chief cause of erosion of rights via constitutional amendments. - The permit-licence-control regime and restrictions on business, trade and property rights are cited as economic backdrop to the crisis. - Palkhivala's book is praised for rejecting any inherent conflict between fundamental rights and Directive Principles. - The book's core contribution, per Aiyar, is its defence of a limited amending power: Parliament cannot alter the Constitution's 'essential features, basic elements or fundamental principles.' - The Twenty-fourth Amendment is described as attempting to transfer sovereignty from the people to Parliament. - Aiyar frames the Supreme Court's decision in the Fundamental Rights Case as having repudiated Parliament's claimed competence to alter the Constitution's basic features. ### The Anger of the Middle Class This reprinted Times of London piece, credited at the end to 'The Times,' argues that Britain's middle class -- broadly defined to include professionals, salaried employees, and anyone with career ambitions for themselves or their children -- is becoming dangerously angry over inflation, high taxation, and government policies (the Capital Transfer Tax, comprehensive-education reforms) that it sees as eroding its traditional aspirations of self-improvement and intergenerational advancement. It contrasts middle-class economic vulnerability with trade unions' greater capacity to defend real incomes, and warns the Labour government, and ministers such as Michael Foot and Tony Benn in particular, that ignoring this 'middle class revolt' -- as Edward Heath ignored the miners -- risks a serious political backlash. - The middle class is defined broadly (roughly half of society) via indicators like education, property, and career mobility rather than as a narrow professional elite. - Middle-class identity is tied to a doctrine of self-improvement and providing a better start for one's children through education and inherited security. - Inflation is singled out as the chief threat, squeezing real incomes, pricing families out of private education, and undermining savings and long-term family planning. - The piece argues the middle class -- especially doctors -- has been made to feel like 'the miners' of this era: unified, aggrieved, and increasingly organised in its indignation. - The Capital Transfer Tax and comprehensive education reforms are cited as government policies seen as hostile to middle-class family and educational aspirations. - The essay closes with a direct warning to the Labour government that a middle-class revolt, if unrecognised, could sweep away good along with bad; governing in a national rather than class sense is called a 'condition of existence' for a British party. ### Diwali in December *By Ruzbeh Antia* In her first contribution to Freedom First, Ruzbeh Antia describes a December 1974 student agitation at St. Xavier's College, Bombay, sparked by three grievances: demands for unrestricted freedom of expression in student publications after the college cracked down on an 'underground' newsletter called Xavierchute; demands that University examination forms be issued unconditionally regardless of attendance or preliminary exam performance; and demands to make student control of the college canteen committee permanent. Antia situates the unrest within a broader critique of India's colonial-legacy education system, originally designed by Macaulay to produce clerks, which she argues has failed to adapt to producing graduates equipped for a modern, independent India. She concludes that the agitation ended in a stop-gap compromise (unconditional exam forms) that resolved nothing structurally, leaving the deeper problems of an outmoded examination and educational system unaddressed, and suggests that society's inflated, purely status-driven valuation of a college education, rather than the students or the administration alone, is ultimately at fault. - The unrest centred on three demands: freedom of expression for student publications, unconditional issuance of University exam forms, and permanent student control of the canteen committee. - The crackdown followed the underground newsletter Xavierchute, whose contributors were expelled even after submitting written confessions, hardening the administration's stance on student publications generally. - Antia traces the roots of student disaffection to India's Macaulay-designed colonial education system, built to produce clerks rather than graduates suited to an independent nation's needs. - She is skeptical that the exam-form protest reflected genuine grievance rather than 'laziness and lethargy,' noting most students simply want the forms without fulfilling attendance conditions. - The agitation ended once the Principal agreed to grant forms unconditionally, but Antia judges this a hollow victory that leaves the outmoded examination and educational system unreformed. - She argues society's inflated, prestige-driven valuation of college education, rather than any one party's fault, is the underlying cause of recurring campus unrest across India. ### No Famine in India? *By B. P. Singh* B. P. Singh, identified elsewhere in the issue as President of the Farmers' Federation of India, rejects the government's semantic distinction between 'famine' and 'acute scarcity conditions with malnutrition deaths,' publicly demanding an open enquiry into starvation deaths, and argues that India's food crisis is man-made rather than caused by drought or floods, pointing to Dr. Borlaug's agreement that famine deaths are avoidable. He blames the Congress government's procurement pricing policy and its drift toward 'socialisation of agriculture' -- rather than rich farmers, traders, or incapable cultivators -- for the crisis, presenting detailed price-parity calculations (citing Prof. B. R. Shenoy) to argue that UP wheat procurement prices should have been far higher than those actually fixed, costing farmers an estimated Rs. 400 crores in a single year. Singh frames government agricultural policy as pursuing two goals: extracting maximum savings from agriculture for use elsewhere, and liquidating politically inconvenient rural classes by squeezing farmers through taxation, terms-of-trade manipulation, and shrinking land ceilings, accusing Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of pursuing a 'subtler' form of Stalinist agricultural collectivisation. - Singh rejects government claims that there is 'no famine,' calling the distinction between famine and scarcity-driven malnutrition deaths 'semantic hairsplitting,' and demands a public enquiry. - He cites Dr. Borlaug's view that starvation deaths in India are avoidable, framing the crisis as man-made rather than driven by nature. - Singh presents India as agriculturally capable of feeding three times its population if properly irrigated, faulting two decades of planning for raising irrigated cultivated area only from 17 to 22 percent. - Detailed price-parity calculations (citing Prof. B. R. Shenoy and UP government price indices) argue procurement prices for wheat were fixed far below fair parity, costing farmers roughly Rs. 400 crores in one year on foodgrain transactions alone. - He argues Indian wheat production more than doubled between 1966-67 and 1970-71, rebutting claims that Indian farmers are agriculturally incapable. - Singh frames government policy as pursuing twin goals: diverting agricultural savings to other sectors, and liquidating potential rural opponents of the regime through taxation, adverse terms of trade, and shrinking land ceilings. - He accuses Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of pursuing a subtler, non-Stalinist form of agricultural collectivisation aimed at the same ends as Soviet-style socialisation. - The Farmers' Federation of India, per Singh, has not opposed taxing farmers above the general income-tax exemption limit but insists agriculturists' direct tax burden should not exceed that of non-agriculturists on comparable incomes. ### Marx Vs Confucius *By Russel Kirk* American conservative writer Russell Kirk, reporting from a visit to Quemoy and Taiwan, argues that Chinese Communist hostility to Confucius is not merely a proxy attack on Lin Piao (as some observers hypothesized) but a logical necessity of Marxism's claim to be a total, exclusive ethical system that cannot tolerate a rival moral order. He contrasts the Cultural Revolution's public burning of Confucian classics at Confucius's birthplace, Chufu, with Taiwan's renewed embrace of Confucian philosophy, including a large new temple at Sun Moon Lake, framing this as evidence of a longer ethical and social continuity in Chinese civilization that communism has ruptured on the mainland but that survives in Taiwan and the overseas Chinese diaspora. Kirk closes by describing Confucianism as a philosophy of legitimate government resting on the moral character of rulers, incompatible with Marxist dogma, while cautioning that Confucian ethics prevailing over Marxism in the long run is not guaranteed. - Kirk frames Quemoy as 'the farthest-flung defense of civilization' against Communist China's Cultural Revolution. - He recounts the theory that Mao and Chiang Ching's anti-Confucius campaign was aimed obliquely at discrediting Lin Piao, but argues Communist hostility to Confucius predates and runs deeper than that political maneuver. - Marxism is described as 'an inverted religion' whose totalizing ethical claims require the extirpation of rival systems like Confucianism. - Confucian classics were reportedly burned publicly at Chufu, Confucius's birthplace, as part of the Cultural Revolution's campaign. - Taiwan is portrayed as reviving Confucian philosophy in response to the mainland campaign, including construction of a major temple at Sun Moon Lake. - Kirk quotes Confucius on the link between good government, good character in rulers, and popular confidence in the governed. - He concludes that Confucian ethics and Marxist dogma are irreconcilable, but stops short of predicting the outcome of their long-run contest. ### Reviews: Airborne History (India's Paratroopers by K. C. Praval) *By Col. C. L. Proudfoot (Retd.)* The Reviews section carries two notices. Col. C. L. Proudfoot (Retd.) reviews Major K. C. Praval's India's Paratroopers, praising it as a gripping regimental history covering the origin of Indian airborne forces through the Burma campaign, the 1947-48 Jammu and Kashmir war, Korea, Egypt, the liberation of Goa, and the 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan, noting its readable style despite a minor binding error. Rusi J. Daruwala reviews Guruprasad Murthy's Management by Ordinances: An Anti-inflationary Offensive, describing it as a bold application of management and statistical technique (drawing on Reserve Bank of India data on over 1,600 companies) to analyze the government's post-July-1974 anti-inflation measures, concluding that Murthy warns India's economy resembles 'a drunk down a flight of stairs' at risk of tipping into 'anarchy and revolution' without more effective policy. - Col. C. L. Proudfoot praises India's Paratroopers by K. C. Praval as gripping regimental history spanning Burma, Jammu and Kashmir (1947-48), Korea, Egypt, Goa, and the 1965/1971 wars. - The review notes a minor production flaw (interchanged Maps 2 and 6) but calls the book excellent overall, quoting its account of the 1946 disbandment ceremony of the Indian Parachute Regiment. - Rusi J. Daruwala reviews Guruprasad Murthy's Management by Ordinances, which studies the government's anti-inflationary measures since July 1974 using RBI aggregate data on 1,650-plus large and medium companies. - Murthy's book concludes that fixed-income, salaried, industrial, and farming classes are all worst hit by inflation and that incomes-policy coverage is inadequate to change price trends. - Daruwala summarizes Murthy's warning that India's economy is 'tottering on the edge of the embankment,' at risk of 'a bloody revolution and political chaos' absent changed economic management. ### Reviews: Our Tottering Economy (Management by Ordinances by Guruprasad Murthy) *By Rusi J. Daruwala* Manjula Padmanabhan reviews a Bombay production by The New Shakespeare Company of Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, describing it as clever, well-performed, and visually striking (with a spare set of black platforms and inventive costuming) but ultimately dependent for its effect on the audience's intimate knowledge of Hamlet and Shakespeare criticism. She singles out Philip Bowen and Brian Deacon in the title roles for their fast, witty delivery, and the pantomime sequence performed by the players-within-the-play (led by David Dodimead) as a highlight, but questions whether the production's comic set-pieces overshadowed its intellectual substance, concluding that unlike Hamlet, which endures on its own merit, Stoppard's play only reflects light from the greater work it depends on. - The play strips Hamlet of its plot and protagonist, retelling events from the marginal perspective of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. - Padmanabhan praises Philip Bowen and Brian Deacon's rapid, witty delivery in the title roles, and David Dodimead's troupe for an exceptionally well-performed pantomime sequence. - She criticizes the production for leaning on broad comedy and mimicry of television talk-show humor rather than sustaining the play's existential and symbolic ambitions. - The set design (bare black platforms) and costuming (contrasting Shakespearean satin gowns with the leads' sober modern-ish dress) are noted as clever and effective choices. - Padmanabhan questions whether a play so dependent on audience familiarity with Hamlet and its criticism can be considered fully self-sufficient. - She concludes that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, unlike Hamlet, has no independent depth and would be 'entirely non-existent' without the play it reflects. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff275/ ### Summary This is issue No. 275 of Freedom First (April 1975), a journal of liberal ideas edited by M. R. Masani and published from Bombay. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with Jose De Almeida Araujo's first-person account of why he fled Portugal after the April 1974 coup, describing the Communist Party's infiltration of the Armed Forces Movement and the political persecution that followed President Spinola's resignation, framed by an editorial note, 'Portugal Goes Under', drawing a parallel to Lenin's dissolution of Russia's Constituent Assembly. The regular editorial column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' surveys current affairs -- Marshal Grechko's visit to Delhi and Soviet pressure tactics in Asia, the TUC's invitation to former KGB chief Alexander Shelepin, the Indian government's politicisation of international table tennis, and the erosion of parliamentary democracy in Bangladesh (Sheikh Mujibur Rehman's one-party constitutional coup) and Ceylon. Kirtidev D.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 275 of Freedom First (April 1975), a journal of liberal ideas edited by M. R. Masani and published from Bombay. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with Jose De Almeida Araujo's first-person account of why he fled Portugal after the April 1974 coup, describing the Communist Party's infiltration of the Armed Forces Movement and the political persecution that followed President Spinola's resignation, framed by an editorial note, 'Portugal Goes Under', drawing a parallel to Lenin's dissolution of Russia's Constituent Assembly. The regular editorial column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' surveys current affairs -- Marshal Grechko's visit to Delhi and Soviet pressure tactics in Asia, the TUC's invitation to former KGB chief Alexander Shelepin, the Indian government's politicisation of international table tennis, and the erosion of parliamentary democracy in Bangladesh (Sheikh Mujibur Rehman's one-party constitutional coup) and Ceylon. Kirtidev D. Desai contributes a signed essay on electoral reform, diagnosing vote-seat distortion, money power, and misuse of official machinery as the three central defects of India's electoral system and proposing proportional representation; this is followed by a verbatim excerpt, 'Distortion of Popular Will', from the Report of the Electoral Reform Committee appointed by Jayaprakash Narayan, quantifying seat-vote distortion since 1952 and weighing mixed electoral systems including the West German model. Zulie Nakhooda writes on the state of child welfare in India, arguing that decades of planning neglected human resources in favour of economic development narrowly conceived, and surveys institutional versus non-institutional (adoption, foster care, sponsorship) approaches to destitute children. The issue's Reviews section carries two pieces: Arvind A. Deshpande on a Diebold Institute study of multinational corporations and developing countries, and Rusi J. Daruwala on David Bonavia's 'Fat Sasha and the Urban Guerilla', a study of Soviet dissidents and the psychological toll of life under a closed political system. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices', a page of press quotations on world affairs from Mrs. Thatcher, The Economist, and others. ## Essays ### Why I Had to Leave Portugal *By Jose De Almeida Araujo* Jose De Almeida Araujo, identified as Secretary-General of the Portuguese Liberal Party, gives a first-person account of the Portuguese revolution's descent from a promise of democracy into Communist Party domination. He describes how the Armed Forces Movement's junior officers initially backed General Spinola as a transitional guarantor of free elections, but were outmanoeuvred by Communist infiltration of the military following a pattern set at a 1965 Prague meeting of exiled Portuguese Communist leaders. He recounts mass arrests using blank warrants signed by Brig.-Gen. Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho at the instruction of party secretary-general Alvaro Cunhal, Spinola's resignation on September 28 after being politically isolated, and his own accusation of plotting a countercoup that never existed. The piece continues (in pages beyond this excerpt's first page) to describe economic collapse -- 80 percent of Portuguese companies unable to meet liabilities, 35 percent inflation, 20 percent unemployment -- and argues Portugal's future lies in integration with the Common Market and Western Europe, closing with an appeal for Britain, France, and West Germany to play a decisive part in that outcome. An unsigned framing note, 'Portugal Goes Under', accompanies the piece on its first page, comparing the Communist-infiltrated army's role to Lenin's use of troops to dissolve Russia's Constituent Assembly, and introduces the author as Secretary-General of the Portuguese Liberal Party who addresses how the revolution went wrong. - The Armed Forces Movement's junior officers initially believed in a transitional path to democratic elections under General Spinola. - A minority within the Armed Forces, incited by the Portuguese Communist Party, executed a slow-motion grab for power following a plan laid down at a 1965 Prague meeting. - 300 blank arrest warrants were issued to the military strongman in Lisbon by the Communist party secretary-general, used to jail not just Caetano-regime figures but anyone opposing a leftward drift. - President Spinola resigned on September 28, 1974 after being politically isolated; the author was accused of plotting a nonexistent countercoup. - By April 1975 all key positions in Portugal were under Communist Party control, directly or through the Council of Twenty (Superior Council of the Armed Forces). - The author estimates the Socialist Party at roughly 25% of the electorate, the Centre-Left Popular Democrats at 30%, Centre-Right Democratic Socialists at 25-30%, and the Communist Party and satellites at 12-15%. - The author argues Portugal's only reasonable future is integration into the Common Market, both to solve its economic crisis and to forestall domination by either the USSR or the US. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post The unsigned 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column surveys several current-affairs items. It reads Marshal Grechko's February 1975 Delhi visit and Soviet stonewalling on arms-spares supply as signs of tightening Soviet leverage over India, recommends A. G. Noorani's book on 'The Brezhnev Plan for Asian Security' as essential background, and criticises Indian opinion-makers (including Jayaprakash Narayan) for objecting to the US lifting its arms embargo on India and Pakistan while India itself buys roughly a billion dollars of arms annually from the USSR. It condemns the British TUC's invitation to former KGB chief Alexander Shelepin, quoting comparisons to Heinrich Himmler from Conservative MP John Biggs-Davison and Aims of Industry director Michael Ivens. A further item, 'Politics in Sport Again', criticises the Indian government for denying visas to South African and Israeli table-tennis players while feting a Chinese team, and for India's defeat in a vote for Deputy Chairman of the international table tennis body. 'The Lights Go Out' describes Sheikh Mujibur Rehman's constitutional coup establishing a one-party state in Bangladesh (the Bangladesh Krisak Sramik Awami League) modelled on Tanzania, contrasts this with Pakistan Prime Minister Bhutto's mocking response to Indian opposition leaders who had praised Mujib, and notes Indira Gandhi's congratulatory telegram to Mujib. A final item, 'And Now Lanka', begun on this page, opens discussion of the end of Ceylon's Parliament and Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike's constitutional manoeuvres to avoid by-elections. - Marshal Grechko's Delhi visit and Soviet handling of arms-spares disputes are read as signs of deepening, and troubling, Soviet leverage over Indian defence policy. - The column criticises the outcry (including from Jayaprakash Narayan) against the US lifting its arms embargo on India and Pakistan as inconsistent, given India's own large-scale arms purchases from the USSR. - The British TUC's invitation to former KGB chief Alexander Shelepin is likened by British commentators to inviting Heinrich Himmler. - The Indian government is criticised for barring South African and Israeli table-tennis players from a Calcutta tournament while welcoming a Chinese team, seen as politicised double standards in sport. - Sheikh Mujibur Rehman's constitutional coup in Bangladesh establishes a one-party state (the Bangladesh Krisak Sramik Awami League), modelled on Tanzania's one-party system. - Pakistan's Bhutto mocks Indian opposition leaders who had praised Mujib as a champion of democracy, noting the hypocrisy of their silence on his coup. ### Electoral Reform *By Kirtidev D. Desai* Kirtidev D. Desai's signed essay argues that electoral reform became a central national issue in 1974-75, driven by growing public disbelief in the fairness of elections after the 1969 presidential election controversy, 1971 rigging allegations, and 'vulgar and shameless use of money and power' in the 1974 U.P. elections. He identifies three structural causes of the malady: misuse of governmental machinery for electoral advantage, large-scale use of unaccounted money, and vote-seat distortion inherent in the first-past-the-post system. He proposes a stronger, more independent Election Commission, a caretaker-government convention before elections, converting Radio and Television into autonomous corporations, continuing the ban on company donations to parties, and adopting some form of proportional representation, noting the Committee on Electoral Reform (appointed by Jayaprakash Narayan) had made significant progress in defining these reforms. - Electoral reform became a central national issue after the 1969 presidential election controversy, 1971 rigging allegations, and the 1974 U.P. election money-power scandal. - Three structural causes are identified: misuse of official machinery, large-scale money power (citing the Nagarwala episode and Pondicherry licence scandal), and first-past-the-post vote-seat distortion. - Proposed remedies include a more independent Election Commission, State-level Election Commissions, a caretaker-government convention before elections, and autonomous status for Radio and Television. - The essay recommends continuing the ban on company political donations and stricter enforcement of election expense ceilings, including party expenses. - The Committee on Electoral Reform, appointed by Jayaprakash Narayan in August 1974, is credited with articulating alternative proportional-representation methods for national debate. ### Distortion of Popular Will (Chapter from the Report of the Electoral Reform Committee) This is a verbatim chapter, 'Distortion of Popular Will', reprinted from the Report of the Electoral Reform Committee appointed by Jayaprakash Narayan. It presents a table showing Congress's vote-share versus seat-share in Lok Sabha elections from 1952 to 1971, with vote-seat distortion ranging from +13.5 to +29.4 percentage points, and argues this distortion is unparalleled among comparable democracies (citing English elections 1885-1951 and Canadian elections 1925-1940 as points of comparison). It surveys alternative electoral systems -- the List System, Single Transferable Vote, Cumulative Vote, and Second Ballot -- and recommends further study of 'mixed' systems, particularly West Germany's Bundestag model combining single-member constituencies with party-list seats, while also sketching an original alternative formula devised by the Committee itself. A short unsigned item, 'Mujib's Last Card', follows on the same page, quoting The Economist's view (February 1) that Sheikh Mujib has played his last card in Bangladesh and has no more convincing alibis left. - A table of Lok Sabha election data (1952-1971) shows Congress winning disproportionate seat shares relative to its vote share, with distortion figures between +13.5 and +29.4 percentage points. - The Committee argues India's vote-seat distortion (24-30 percent) is unparalleled compared to historical English and Canadian elections, where such distortion rarely exceeded 21 percent. - The report cites consequences: a de facto one-party-dominant system, reduced opposition to a permanent periphery, and the enabling of constitutional amendments on the strength of legislative majorities won on minority votes. - The Committee recommends studying 'mixed' systems, especially the West German Bundestag model, alongside an alternative formula of its own combining single-member constituencies with a list-based top-up of seats. - An adjoining item, 'Mujib's Last Card', quotes The Economist stating Sheikh Mujib has 'played his last card' and will have 'no more convincing alibis' after his one-party constitutional coup in Bangladesh. ### Whither Child Welfare in India? *By Zulie Nakhooda* Zulie Nakhooda's essay opens by invoking Urie Bronfenbrenner's 'Two Worlds of Childhood' to frame the question of how a society should be judged by its treatment of children, arguing that Indian planning has neglected human resources -- especially children -- in favour of narrowly economic development over the preceding twenty years. She cites the 1973-74 child-to-adult population ratio of 3:3 and a birthrate of 1,200 babies per second as symptomatic of an imbalance obstructing economic growth, notes that over 60 percent of the roughly 55,000 children in residential institutions have living parents and families (poverty being the main driver of institutionalisation), and describes the material and educational deprivation of children in substandard homes. She surveys the evolution of non-institutional child welfare services -- adoption (limited by the absence of an Adoption Law for non-Hindu communities), foster care (limited by urban housing shortages), and sponsorship (administered through roughly 40 welfare agencies via the India Sponsorship Committee) -- concluding that investment in children is investment in a nation's future and that continued deprivation today will deprive the world of the capable people needed for future peace and progress. - The essay opens by invoking Urie Bronfenbrenner's 'Two Worlds of Childhood' to argue that a society's treatment of children is the true test of its capacity to survive and prosper. - Indian economic planning over the prior 20 years neglected human resources, particularly children, in favour of natural-resource-based economic development. - The 1973-74 child-to-adult population ratio of 3:3 and birthrate of 1,200 babies per second are cited as unsustainable for balanced economic growth. - Over 60 percent of the roughly 55,000 children in residential institutions have living parents and families; poverty, not orphanhood, is the main driver of institutionalisation. - Adoption is constrained by the lack of an Adoption Law applicable to non-Hindu communities in India; foster care is constrained by urban housing shortages; sponsorship (via ~40 welfare agencies coordinated by the India Sponsorship Committee) is presented as the most workable current solution. ### Reviews: Importance of MNCs (review of Business and Developing Countries, UBS Publishers and Distributors) *By Arvind A. Deshpande* Arvind A. Deshpande reviews 'Business and Developing Countries' (UBS Publishers and Distributors), a Diebold Institute-sponsored study on the role of private enterprise and multinational corporations in economic development. The review describes the study as objective and optimistic, arguing that private enterprise and MNCs will survive the current attack on them and that economic nationalism is unlikely to check the forward march of economic development, citing Singapore, Mexico, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Brazil as examples of countries that have doubled real GNP within 15 years under differing strategies toward MNCs. The study identifies education, nutrition, and computerisation as urgent fields for new multinational service corporations, and predicts a coming irrelevance of nationality as people increasingly live where they choose. Deshpande extensively quotes the study's account of the many bureaucratic hurdles facing an Indian businessman seeking to start an enterprise, and closes by warning that the choice for developing countries is between autarky and mass well-being, and that Gandhiji's 'test of thinking of the poorest man's interests' can guide the right choice. - The review covers a Diebold Institute-sponsored study on private enterprise's role in economic development, priced at Rs. 15 through UBS Publishers. - The study argues MNCs and private enterprise will survive current criticism, citing Singapore, Mexico, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Brazil as examples of rapid GNP growth under varied strategies toward multinational capital. - Education, nutrition, and computerisation are flagged as urgent fields for new multinational service corporations. - A lengthy quoted passage catalogues the bureaucratic hurdles (foreign exchange permissions, credit rationing, DGTD surveys, licensing) facing an Indian entrepreneur. - The review closes by invoking Gandhiji's test of judging policy by 'the poorest man's interests' as a guide for choosing between autarky and mass well-being. ### About Soviet Dissidents (review of Fat Sasha and the Urban Guerilla by David Bonavia) *By Rusi J. Daruwala* Rusi J. Daruwala reviews David Bonavia's 'Fat Sasha and the Urban Guerilla: Protest and Conformism in the Soviet Union' (National Academy, Delhi), based on Bonavia's conversations with Soviet dissidents between 1969 and 1972 during his tenure as the Times of London's Moscow correspondent. The review describes the book's account of Khrushchev's funeral, the KGB's use of agents posing as sympathetic 'dissenters' to foreigners, the eight-point playbook of Soviet propaganda tactics against opponents (from exhausting critics with volume of words to depriving the accused of any chance to defend himself), and the fate of Samizdat, the underground publishing network. Daruwala highlights Bonavia's argument that Soviet citizens are denied not just the right to hold dissenting views but even the right to imagine that alternative, equally valid answers to political and social questions might exist, and closes by quoting Bonavia's reflection that Russia's sadness is 'built into its literature and its history' as 'an element of the nation's psychology.' - The book is based on David Bonavia's conversations and interviews with Soviet dissidents and others from 1969 to 1972, while he was the Times (London) Moscow correspondent. - Bonavia outlines an eight-point playbook of Soviet tactics against dissenting opponents, from exhausting them with volume of words to depriving the accused of any chance to defend himself. - The review discusses the KGB's practice of having agents pose as sympathetic 'dissenters' to foreigners in order to extract information about insurgent activities. - Samizdat, the underground publishing network, is described as thriving because official Soviet publishing -- despite claiming to be the world's largest -- consists overwhelmingly of unwanted propaganda. - The review closes on Bonavia's reflection that Soviet citizens live at a different, more emotionally suppressed level than people in freer societies, and that Russia's sadness is embedded in its literature, history, and national psychology. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff276/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 276 (May 1975), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with C. R. Irani's sustained attack on the government-appointed Fact Finding Committee on newspapers, arguing that its report on newsprint allocation and pricing exceeds its terms of reference and is driven by ministerial hostility toward the national English-language press. James Burnham contributes a theoretical piece distinguishing 'authoritarian' from 'totalist' dictatorships, drawing on Brian Crozier's typology to argue this distinction matters more than the conventional democracy-versus-dictatorship binary. Lighter contributions include Ruzbeh Antia's satirical essay on India's disproportionate hockey-victory euphoria and customs-duty controversy, and Manjula Padmanabhan's humorous sketch of a school sports day. George H. Nash offers a critical appraisal of Amnesty International, arguing that despite its claims to impartiality the organisation's personnel and practical focus skew it toward the political Left. British MP Nicholas Ridley makes the case for denationalisation and against public-sector wage settlements. The issue closes with two book reviews — A. G.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 276 (May 1975), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with C. R. Irani's sustained attack on the government-appointed Fact Finding Committee on newspapers, arguing that its report on newsprint allocation and pricing exceeds its terms of reference and is driven by ministerial hostility toward the national English-language press. James Burnham contributes a theoretical piece distinguishing 'authoritarian' from 'totalist' dictatorships, drawing on Brian Crozier's typology to argue this distinction matters more than the conventional democracy-versus-dictatorship binary. Lighter contributions include Ruzbeh Antia's satirical essay on India's disproportionate hockey-victory euphoria and customs-duty controversy, and Manjula Padmanabhan's humorous sketch of a school sports day. George H. Nash offers a critical appraisal of Amnesty International, arguing that despite its claims to impartiality the organisation's personnel and practical focus skew it toward the political Left. British MP Nicholas Ridley makes the case for denationalisation and against public-sector wage settlements. The issue closes with two book reviews — A. G. Noorani on a Sakharov anthology and a Solzhenitsyn documentary collection assembled by Leopold Labedz, and Aziz Madni on Alastair Buchan's Reith Lectures collection Change Without War — and a page of quoted aphorisms, 'With Many Voices'. ## Essays ### Press Freedom in Peril *By C. R. Irani* C. R. Irani, identified in the issue's front-page notice as Chairman of the Press Trust of India and Managing Director of The Statesman, attacks the Report of the Fact Finding Committee on newspapers (presented to the Minister on 14 January 1975). He argues the Committee, chaired by economist Dr Bhabatosh Datta but stacked with government officials, was set up in April 1972 ostensibly to assess damage from discriminatory newsprint distribution, but was steered by I. K. Gujral (then Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting) toward recommending controls on monopoly, delinking, diffusion, selling prices, and advertising space. Irani goes point by point through the Report's findings on monopolies, advertisement-to-news ratios, delinking and diffusion, and 'bogus newspapers,' arguing each recommendation lacks evidentiary support and is biased against large English-language dailies (especially the Indian Express group) while being unduly protective of small and 'bogus' newspapers. He closes by noting The Statesman's court challenge in the Calcutta High Court, and warns that the government and the National Herald are working to erode Article 19(1)(a) and (2) of the Constitution, the free-press guarantee. - The Fact Finding Committee, meant only to study newsprint-related damage, was expanded by Minister I. K. Gujral into a vehicle for controls on monopoly, delinking, diffusion, and advertising. - Irani argues the Committee explicitly admits it went outside its terms of reference, on the excuse that other matters have 'serious indirect impact' on newspaper finances. - The Committee's monopoly findings are inconsistent: it concedes provincial/local papers compete successfully with metropolitan dailies, yet still recommends new bureaucratic and MRTP Commission powers to probe 'monopolies' that are 'not monopolies within the meaning of the Act.' - The Committee recommends government control of selling prices for 'the leaders' (large English dailies) while showing excessive solicitude for small and admittedly 'bogus' newspapers. - Irani accuses the Committee of ignoring inter-locking of newspaper finance with other industries (e.g., rubber plantations) while dwelling at length on the Indian Express group's investments. - The Statesman took the underlying legal question — whether orders can be passed fixing selling prices or expenditure norms — to the Calcutta High Court, which held the case premature pending actual orders. - Irani frames the episode as part of a broader government effort to undermine the constitutional guarantee of press freedom under Article 19(1)(a) and (2). ### Two Alternatives to Democracy *By James Burnham* James Burnham argues that the conventional 'democracy versus dictatorship' dichotomy, while logically permissible, is less useful now than a tripartite classification borrowed from British journalist and historian Brian Crozier: democratic-pluralist, authoritarian, and 'totalist' (Crozier's preferred term over 'totalitarian,' a word Mussolini adapted from philosopher Giovanni Gentile). The key distinction is that authoritarian regimes seek to abolish politics while totalist regimes seek to involve the entire population in politics, integrating economic, cultural, social and personal life into a single power system; authoritarian regimes typically leave some non-political freedoms (economic, intellectual, religious, travel) intact, whereas totalism swallows them all. Burnham contends this distinction is now decisive not just for peripheral states but for the Western 'Heartland' itself, citing Italy, Britain, and France as places where citizens debate the real possibility of democratic collapse, and Chile and Portugal as cases where the operative political question was never democracy-versus-dictatorship but rather which kind of dictatorship (Allende's Chile: right-wing authoritarian versus a totalist Left victory; post-coup Portugal: totalism from a Communist-dominated Left versus an alternative authoritarian government). - Burnham proposes replacing the 'democracy vs dictatorship' binary with Brian Crozier's tripartite scheme: democratic-pluralist, authoritarian, and totalist. - Totalist regimes integrate all aspects of life (economic, cultural, social, personal) into a single power system; authoritarian regimes leave some non-political freedoms exempt. - The word 'totalist' is used as a less cumbersome substitute for 'totalitarian,' a term Mussolini adopted from philosopher Giovanni Gentile. - Burnham argues democratic government may be a parochial feature of advanced Western civilization, already lost across most of the world, with the live question being whether authoritarian regimes will be swallowed by totalism. - He cites Chile under Allende and post-coup Portugal as cases where the real alternatives were two forms of dictatorship, not democracy versus dictatorship. - He extends the argument to advanced Western nations themselves — Italy, Britain, and France — where citizens now debate the real possibility of democratic collapse. ### Fools' Paradise *By Ruzbeh Antia* Ruzbeh Antia satirizes the Indian public's disproportionate emotional response to India's World Cup Hockey victory over Pakistan at Kuala Lumpur, arguing that Indians magnify sporting triumphs into 'sacred memories' and use them to paper over real problems of rising prices, unemployment, and corruption. He describes the hero's-welcome given the hockey team and then pivots to a controversy: customs duties of Rs 43,975 were levied on the team's imported goods at Madras, and the Prime Minister (Indira Gandhi, unnamed by name in the rendered text but identified as 'our Prime Minister, the head of the Indian Government') asked the Madras Government to refund the duties on the grounds that 'national heroes should not be treated as smugglers or thieves.' Antia argues this undermines equality before the law and sets a troubling precedent for government opportunism. - Antia argues Indians turn routine sporting wins into 'sacred memories' through excessive celebration and hero-worship, contrasted with public breast-beating after defeats. - He uses India's 1975 World Cup Hockey victory over Pakistan at Kuala Lumpur as his case study, describing the team's triumphant homecoming and state governments competing to announce cash rewards. - The Madras Customs levied Rs 43,975 in duties on the team's goods; the Prime Minister asked for a refund on the grounds that 'national heroes' should not be treated as smugglers. - Antia argues this move undermines the constitutional principle that all citizens are equal before the law and raises the question of where such opportunism will end. - He quotes Jean Anouilh's Antigone on the special obligation of lawmakers to obey the law themselves. ### The Ordeal of Amnesty International *By George H. Nash* George H. Nash examines Amnesty International, founded in 1961, describing its 'adoption group' model for advocating on behalf of 'prisoners of conscience' and noting its rapid growth to nearly 40,000 members in about sixty countries by the mid-1970s. While Amnesty insists it is nonpolitical and 'independent of any government, political party, or religious creed,' Nash argues its membership and personnel are overwhelmingly of the Left (with West German members skewing New Left and the rest largely liberal; only William F. Buckley stands out as a prominent conservative on its National Advisory Council). He probes Amnesty's definition of 'prisoner of conscience,' noting a growing internal faction that wants to extend the label to violent revolutionaries, and criticizes the organisation's 'dangerously elastic' theoretical position that no one should be punished for actions taken in the name of conscience, regardless of consequence. He quotes Professor Ivan Morris (chairman of Amnesty's American section) and columnist William Rusher on the limits of conscience as a legal defense. Nash concludes, however, that after surveying the evidence he does not believe Amnesty practices a systematic double standard — it adopts prisoners in Communist countries too — but that practical asymmetries (authoritarian right-wing regimes being more exposed to Western liberal pressure than totalitarian left-wing ones) produce a distorted, disproportionate picture of where repression is worst. - Amnesty International, founded 1961, works through local 'adoption groups' of 5-25 members advocating for named 'prisoners of conscience,' and had over 3,500 prisoners under adoption and had freed roughly half of more than 13,000 adopted since founding. - Nash argues that despite claims of nonpolitical impartiality, Amnesty's membership and leadership are unmistakably left of center, with West German members skewing New Left. - William F. Buckley is noted as the only prominent conservative on Amnesty's National Advisory Council. - A vocal minority within Amnesty pushes annually to classify violent revolutionaries as 'prisoners of conscience,' testing the organisation's traditional exclusion of those who use or advocate violence. - Nash criticizes Amnesty's position, voiced by Professor Ivan Morris, that any law imprisoning someone for their opinion is unjust and that violators of such laws should face no consequences at all. - Nash concludes Amnesty does not practice a deliberate double standard, since it also adopts prisoners in Communist countries, but structural factors make it easier to document repression in authoritarian right-wing states than in totalitarian left-wing ones, distorting the public perception of where repression is worst. ### Sportsday Revisited *By Manjula Padmanabhan* Manjula Padmanabhan offers a light, satirical sketch of a Junior School Sports Day attended by her nephew, observing the anthropological variety of 'Proud Parents' present (Indians, Americans, Europeans), their competitive commentary on their children's performance, and the fussy, over-styled outfits worn by the children. The piece dwells on a xenophobic remark by one father about foreign children dressing themselves, and closes with an account of the raucous 'Parents' Race,' in which paired-off mothers and fathers stumble through a three-legged-style event holding books on their heads, ending the day with a Teachers' Novelty Race and ice-cream for the children. - Padmanabhan describes the 'vast conference of Proud Parents' at her nephew's Junior School Sports Day, characterizing distinct national behaviors among Indian, American, and European parents. - One father remarks with 'a superior sneer' that 'these foreign children are all made to dress themselves-that's why they can do it better than our boys.' - The children themselves are described as better-behaved than the parents, sitting quietly in class clusters while parents fuss over their outfits. - The comic centerpiece is the Parents' Race, in which about a hundred mothers and fathers, paired off, race across the field carrying books on their heads. - The event closes with a Teachers' Novelty Race and ice-cream for the children. ### How to Denationalise *By Nicholas Ridley, M.P.* British Conservative MP Nicholas Ridley argues that despite Britain's political climate of nationalisation threats (National Enterprise Boards and similar 'Wedgwood-Bennery'), the public sector's chief defect — open-ended commitment to excessive wage settlements in nationalised industries — is becoming clear to all. He argues that curbing inflation and labour-market demand will not by itself relieve pressure on public-sector wages, citing Edward Heath's failed attempt at statutory wage control in the coal mines. Ridley proposes breaking the monopolies held by the National Coal Board (N.C.B.), British Steel Corporation (B.S.C.), and the British Airways Board (B.A.B.) by allowing private competition in coal-mining, steel-making, and aviation, subject only to safety regulation, arguing this is a politically attractive, non-dogmatic policy that would be very difficult to resist. He concludes that 'reprivatisation' can only succeed once workers in these industries themselves want to move to the private sector, and cites the British Steel Corporation's own views as now pointing that way. - Ridley identifies open-ended public-sector wage settlements, not nationalisation itself, as the chief current defect of Britain's mixed economy. - He cites Edward Heath's failed attempt to impose statutory wage control on coal miners as proof that direct government dictat cannot succeed without Communist-style coercive apparatus. - Ridley's proposed remedy is to break the monopolies of the National Coal Board, British Steel Corporation, and British Airways Board by allowing private-sector competition subject only to safety regulation. - He frames this as a non-dogmatic, politically attractive policy combining economic freedom, increased competition, and greater customer choice. - Reprivatisation, in his view, can only succeed once industry workers themselves want to move to the private sector, and he cites the British Steel Corporation's own views as now pointing in that direction. ### Reviews: Detente and Liberty (Sakharov Speaks; Solzhenitsyn: A Documentary Record) *By A. G. Noorani* A. G. Noorani reviews two books on Soviet dissent: Sakharov Speaks, edited with a Foreword by Harrison Salisbury (Collins and Harvill Press), and Solzhenitsyn: A Documentary Record, edited with an Introduction by Leopold Labedz (Penguin Books). Noorani opens by situating both within the October 1973 statement by West European intellectuals (including Raymond Aron, Denis de Rougemont, Günter Grass, and Leopold Labedz) warning that East-West détente was being pursued without regard to intellectual freedom in Eastern Europe. He quotes at length from Andrei Sakharov's own 1973 interview and later writings — collected by Salisbury and covering 1968-1974 — on the incompatibility of genuine détente with continued Soviet suppression of dissent, psychiatric persecution of prisoners, and the forced-labour camp system. Noorani then turns to Labedz's Solzhenitsyn volume, which documents the writer's persecution from his 1956 legal rehabilitation to his February 1974 banishment, including reactions to The Gulag Archipelago and testimony likening Solzhenitsyn's stature to Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, and Chekhov. Noorani closes by praising both Solzhenitsyn's and Sakharov's courage in speaking out despite personal risk. - Noorani frames both books around the question of whether détente is reconcilable with support for individual liberty inside Russia, invoking the October 1973 statement by West European intellectuals including Raymond Aron, Denis de Rougemont, Günter Grass, and Leopold Labedz. - He quotes extensively from Sakharov's August 1973 interview warning that 'detente without democratization' would be dangerous capitulation to Soviet strength. - Salisbury's collection in Sakharov Speaks covers the physicist-dissident's writings from 1968 to 1974, including his essay Progress, Coexistence and Intellectual Freedom, and documents his emergence as a human-rights campaigner. - Sakharov's own words, quoted at length, describe Soviet psychiatric repression, the forced-labour 'conditional release' system, and an appeal to international organisations (especially the Red Cross) to abandon non-intervention regarding Soviet human-rights abuses. - Labedz's Solzhenitsyn documentary volume spans the writer's 1956 rehabilitation by the USSR Supreme Court to his February 1974 banishment, and includes Sakharov's own tribute comparing Solzhenitsyn to Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, and Chekhov. - Noorani concludes by praising both men as 'examples lovers of liberty the world over would forget only at their peril.' ### Reviews: Outstanding Work (Change Without War by Alastair Buchan) *By Aziz Madni* Aziz Madni reviews Change Without War by Alastair Buchan (Chatto & Windus), a collection of six half-hour Reith Lectures broadcast by Buchan, then Professor of International Relations at Oxford, on the BBC in 1973 and updated to reflect the fourth Arab-Israeli war and the subsequent oil embargo crisis. Madni summarises Buchan's argument that the emergence of the US and USSR as superpowers, alongside China's re-emergence, Japan's economic rise, and slow European coherence, has transformed world politics such that another world war would risk extinguishing not just the superpowers but the world. Madni highlights the chapter 'Maintaining Peace in Asia' as of special interest to Indian readers, quoting Buchan's pessimistic answers to whether Asian regions can develop their own order and whether great powers can agree tacit rules of conflict — both 'no.' The review closes with Buchan's forecast of five great powers (US, USSR, China, Japan, Europe) but only three (US, USSR, China) with true strategic capability, and his warning about the enduring vulnerability created by nuclear weapons even amid detente. - Change Without War collects six Reith Lectures broadcast by Alastair Buchan on BBC in 1973, updated for the fourth Arab-Israeli war and the Arab oil embargo. - Buchan's central claim is that superpower emergence, China's re-emergence, Japan's economic rise, and evolving European coherence have structurally transformed world politics, making major war existentially catastrophic. - Madni singles out the chapter 'Maintaining Peace in Asia' as of special interest to Indian readers. - Buchan answers 'no' to both whether Asian regions can develop their own order and whether great powers can agree tacit rules governing their conflicts in Asia. - Buchan forecasts five great powers in the world (US, USSR, China, Japan, Europe) but only the first three retaining true strategic capability, determining the world's fate through the century's end. - The review closes on Buchan's warning that nuclear weapons' continued existence leaves the world with an 'inescapable fact: the mutual vulnerability of our societies.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff277/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 277 (June 1975), edited by M. R. Masani, is dominated by the Indochina collapse and its regional aftershocks. The unsigned front-page pieces and editorial column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' assemble eyewitness dispatches (Jon Swain in Pnom-Penh, a Daily Telegraph report on a massacre of mixed-blood women and children in Nha Trang) alongside polemical commentary on the Sikkim annexation, the Portuguese election, the death of Chiang Kai-shek, Dubcek's and Havel's letters from Czechoslovakia, the US Congress's 'betrayal' of South Vietnam, domino-theory warnings for South-East Asia, Delhi's celebratory reaction to the fall of Saigon, and the arrest of Amnesty International's Moscow representative. A. G. Noorani contributes a data-driven piece on the India-Pakistan military balance drawing on IISS and SIPRI reports, with a comparative order-of-battle table. Farok Contractor supplies a lighter personal narrative about joining Karwari shark fishermen off Goa. The issue closes with three signed book reviews (M. R. Masani on William Buckley Jr.'s UN memoir, A. H. Doctor on Rounaq Jahan's study of Pakistan's break-up, Rusi J.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 277 (June 1975), edited by M. R. Masani, is dominated by the Indochina collapse and its regional aftershocks. The unsigned front-page pieces and editorial column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' assemble eyewitness dispatches (Jon Swain in Pnom-Penh, a Daily Telegraph report on a massacre of mixed-blood women and children in Nha Trang) alongside polemical commentary on the Sikkim annexation, the Portuguese election, the death of Chiang Kai-shek, Dubcek's and Havel's letters from Czechoslovakia, the US Congress's 'betrayal' of South Vietnam, domino-theory warnings for South-East Asia, Delhi's celebratory reaction to the fall of Saigon, and the arrest of Amnesty International's Moscow representative. A. G. Noorani contributes a data-driven piece on the India-Pakistan military balance drawing on IISS and SIPRI reports, with a comparative order-of-battle table. Farok Contractor supplies a lighter personal narrative about joining Karwari shark fishermen off Goa. The issue closes with three signed book reviews (M. R. Masani on William Buckley Jr.'s UN memoir, A. H. Doctor on Rounaq Jahan's study of Pakistan's break-up, Rusi J. Daruwala on a critical study of an illustrated Aranyaka Parvan manuscript) and a back-page column of pointed quotations, 'With Many Voices'. ## Essays ### Pnom Penh Depopulated This unsigned front-page piece reprints extracts from Jon Swain's Sunday Times eyewitness account of the Khmer Rouge's forced evacuation of Pnom-Penh, framed by the editors as a corrective to a 'conspiracy of silence in the Indian press' about the horrors of the communist takeover in Indochina. Swain describes hospitals emptied of patients, wounded soldiers pushed through the streets on beds, and mass forced marches into a war-devastated countryside, quoting aid workers who call the policy 'pure and simple genocide.' The piece continues on page 2 under 'Continued from page 1' with further diary extracts describing the abandonment of wounded soldiers and family separations. - Reprints Jon Swain's (Sunday Times, London) eyewitness dispatches from Pnom-Penh after the Khmer Rouge takeover. - Describes the emptying of hospitals and forced march of the population into the countryside. - Frames the piece as correcting Indian press silence on communist-perpetrated atrocities in Indochina. - Cites UN Development Project chief Fernand Scheller calling the policy 'pure and simple genocide.' ### Massacre of Women & Children An unsigned front-page item reprints a Daily Telegraph account, abridged, of the reported execution of 185 Vietnamese women and their mixed-blood children by North Vietnamese cadres in Nha Trang, framed by the editors as evidence that 'racism and communism go arm in arm together.' The piece situates this alongside a broader wave of reprisals against Vietnamese women who had relationships with American, Korean, and other allied servicemen, citing defector estimates that up to a million people could be liquidated or face reprisals under the new regime. - Reports the alleged execution of 185 women and mixed-blood children in Nha Trang by North Vietnamese forces. - Sourced from a Daily Telegraph correspondent's account of April 21, 1975. - Frames the massacre explicitly as racial reprisal, comparing it to Nazi-era persecution. - Cites Viet Cong and North Vietnamese defectors estimating up to 1,000,000 people (about 3% of the population) at risk of liquidation or reprisal. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post (David vs Goliath; Hope Still for Portugal?; "Firm Rock" Till the End; Dubcek Speaks Again; US Congress Betrays Viet Nam; Dominos; Lessons of Viet Nam; Delhi Disgusts; No Amnesty for Them!) The unsigned editorial column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' runs across pages 2, 3, 5, and 6, opening with a section titled 'David vs Goliath' that condemns India's annexation of Sikkim, quoting a New York Times editorial and Sunanda Datta-Ray's Statesman reportage on the mistreatment of the Kazini of Sikkim and the harassment of Sikkimese opposition leaders. It goes on to praise the free election in Portugal ('Hope Still for Portugal?') as a defeat for Communist manipulation, mourns the death of Chiang Kai-shek as a friend of a free India ('Firm Rock Till the End'), reports Alexander Dubcek's and Vaclav Havel's smuggled protest letters against Soviet-imposed repression in Czechoslovakia ('Dubcek Speaks Again'), condemns the US Congress for failing to honour the 1973 Paris Accord commitments to South Vietnam ('US Congress Betrays Viet Nam'), warns of a domino effect across South-East Asia ('Dominos'), draws three lessons from the Vietnam debacle including a comparison to Lal Bahadur Shastri's 1965 decision to cross the border into Pakistan ('Lessons of Viet Nam'), excoriates the Indian Parliament and Indira Gandhi's government for celebrating the fall of Saigon ('Delhi Disgusts'), and reports the arrest of Amnesty International's Moscow representative Andrei Tverdokhlebov ('No Amnesty for Them!'). - Condemns India's annexation of Sikkim as a betrayal of the values of Gokhale-Gandhi-era India, citing the New York Times and Sunanda Datta-Ray's Statesman reports on repression of Sikkimese opposition and the Kazini. - Welcomes the Portuguese Constituent Assembly election results as a reversal of predicted Communist takeover ('Hope Still for Portugal?'). - Eulogises Chiang Kai-shek as one of India's 'biggest and best friends' and credits Taiwan's land reform and liberal economic policy for its prosperity relative to the Chinese mainland. - Reports Dubcek's and Havel's smuggled open letters protesting continued Soviet-era repression in Czechoslovakia, drawing a parallel to Jayaprakash Narayan's style of address to Indira Gandhi. - Blames the US Congress and Kissinger for failing to honour the 1973 Paris Accord's commitments to South Vietnam, quoting President Ford and General William Westmoreland. - Warns of a 'domino theory' cascade across South-East Asia following the fall of Laos and hedging by Thailand. - Draws three lessons from the Vietnam debacle, citing Lal Bahadur Shastri's 1965 decision to invade Pakistan as a contrasting example of resolve. - Attacks the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha's celebratory reaction to the fall of Saigon and Indira Gandhi's outreach to the new regime at the Commonwealth Conference in Kingston. - Reports the arrest of Amnesty International's Moscow representative Andrei Tverdokhlebov on charges of 'spreading deliberate falsehoods.' ### The Military Balance *By A. G. Noorani* A. G. Noorani's 'The Military Balance' reviews two recently published reference works, The Military Balance 1974-75 (IISS) and The Arms Trade With the Third World (SIPRI), contrasting their rigour with the Indian Ministry of Defence's vague 1974-75 Report. Noorani summarises the IISS's assessment of Chinese nuclear and conventional force posture, notes India's emergence as a modest arms exporter, and extensively quotes the SIPRI study's argument that diversification of arms suppliers strengthens recipient-country independence while polarising local conflicts along great-power lines. The piece is accompanied by a comparative India-vs-Pakistan military data table (population, GNP, defence budgets, and force compositions by service). - Contrasts the analytical rigour of IISS's The Military Balance and SIPRI's The Arms Trade With the Third World with the vagueness of India's official Ministry of Defence report. - Summarises IISS's assessment that China's defence policy operates between nuclear deterrence and 'People's War' mass mobilisation, citing a June 1974 nuclear test. - Reports that India has become a modest arms exporter (about £5 million/Rs. 10 crores over 12 months) despite officially citing 'self-imposed restraint.' - Extensively quotes SIPRI's argument that diversifying arms suppliers increases recipient countries' independence but that competing supplier support can polarise local conflicts. - Cites SIPRI figures that developing countries' military expenditure (7%/year) and arms imports (8%/year) have grown faster than their GNP (5%/year) since 1950. - The accompanying India-Pakistan table shows India's total armed forces (956,000) versus Pakistan's (392,000), and detailed order-of-battle for army, navy, and air force of each. ### India Vs Pakistan Farok Contractor's 'The Young Men and the Sea' is a first-person narrative recounting how a Bombay holiday in Goa turned into an impromptu shark-fishing expedition with Karwari Muslim fishermen at Baga beach. Contractor describes the fishermen's skepticism about two 'city youths,' the arduous overnight trip in a frail canoe with four hundred baited hooks, seasickness, and the anticlimactic catch of a single shark, ending with a mock-heroic return to shore under the gaze of onlooking women. The piece is a personal travel essay rather than a political one, offering local colour on the Konkan coast fishing economy. - First-person account of joining Karwari Muslim shark fishermen from Baga beach, Goa, on an overnight deep-sea fishing trip. - Contrasts the narrator's and his friend's romanticised expectations (invoking 'Old Man and the Sea') with the mundane reality of the catch. - Describes practical details of the trip: canoe construction, baited steel hooks spaced at forty-foot intervals, and rough conditions. - Ends with the narrator's seasickness, the anticlimactic single shark catch, and a wry return to shore. ### The Young Men and the Sea *By Farok Contractor* M. R. Masani reviews William Buckley Jr.'s United Nations Journal: Delegate's Odyssey, describing it as an entertaining and often unfair but frequently accurate account of Buckley's frustrating stint on the US delegation to the UN in 1973. Masani highlights Buckley's caustic descriptions of the UN as 'the densest collection of oratorical bores in the history of the world' and his barbed characterisation of Indian delegates as compromise-obsessed. The review closes by teasing a leaked Daniel Patrick Moynihan cable that Freedom First plans to publish the following month. - Reviews William Buckley Jr.'s United Nations Journal: Delegate's Odyssey (G. P. Putnam's Sons, $7.95). - Frames the book as Buckley's 'sweet revenge' for the frustrations of his 1973 UN delegate term. - Quotes Buckley's description of Indian delegates as compromise-obsessed 'great compromisers.' - Notes a confidential Daniel Patrick Moynihan cable revealed in the book, which Freedom First will publish next month. ### Reviews: Highwire Artist (United Nations Journal, Delegate's Odyssey by William Buckley Jr.); The Birth of Bangladesh (Pakistan: Failure in National Integration by Rounaq Jahan) *By M. R. Masani; A. H. Doctor* A. H. Doctor reviews Rounaq Jahan's Pakistan: Failure in National Integration (Columbia University Press), which argues that Pakistan pursued state-building (centralised political institutions under Ayub Khan) without adequate nation-building or Bengali political participation, dooming the state to break-up. Doctor summarises Jahan's account of the 1947-58, Ayub, and Yahya periods, the failure of 'basic democracies' to bridge East and West Pakistan, and economic disparities favouring the western wing. The review closes by quoting Jahan's concluding hope that both successor states will prioritise nation-building in the 1970s. - Reviews Rounaq Jahan's Pakistan: Failure in National Integration (Columbia University Press, Rs. 60/-). - Summarises Jahan's central distinction between state-building and nation-building, applied to Pakistan's history under Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan. - Notes the failure of Ayub's 'basic democracies' to create horizontal links between East and West Pakistan's elites. - Highlights Jahan's account of economic disparities and lack of state-sponsored development planning that alienated East Pakistan. - Quotes Jahan's concluding call for both Pakistan and Bangladesh to prioritise nation-building in the 1970s. ### A Critical Study of a Treasured Manuscript (An Illustrated Aranyaka Parvan in the Asiatic Society of Bombay; Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bombay) *By Rusi J. Dahowala* Rusi J. Daruwala reviews two Asiatic Society of Bombay publications on an illustrated Aranyaka Parvan manuscript of the Mahabharata: An Illustrated Aranyaka Parvan in the Asiatic Society of Bombay by Karl Khandalawala and Moti Chandra, and the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bombay (Vols. 45-46, 1970-71, edited by Dr. S. N. Gajendragadkar). The review traces the manuscript's provenance from Dr. Bhau Daji's collection, its dating to 1516 CE under Sultan Sikandar Lodi via its colophon, and Khandalawala and Chandra's argument that it represents a pre-Mughal Lodi school of painting and forerunner of the Chaurapanchasika style. Daruwala also notes other articles in the same Journal issue and Dr. Gajendragadkar's editorial call to broaden the Journal's disciplinary scope. - Reviews An Illustrated Aranyaka Parvan in the Asiatic Society of Bombay by Karl Khandalawala and Moti Chandra, and the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bombay Vols. 45-46 (1970-71), edited by Dr. S. N. Gajendragadkar. - Traces the manuscript's provenance to Dr. Bhau Daji's collection, purchased by the Society from his heirs in 1882. - Notes the manuscript's colophon dates it to 1516 CE, during the reign of Sultan Sikandar Lodi, with 362 original folios (a third now missing). - Summarises the authors' argument that the manuscript documents a pre-Mughal Lodi school of painting and is a forerunner of the Chaurapanchasika style. - Describes stylistic features noted by Khandalawala and Chandra: red-dominant backgrounds, contemporary costume depiction, and Western Indian/Gujarati stylistic parallels. - Notes other contents of the Journal issue, including articles by G. K. Bhat, R. V. Herwadkar, and V. D. Rao. ### With Many Voices The back-page column 'With Many Voices' collects pointed quotations from The Economist, Time, Parsiana, and other sources on Trotsky and Lenin, Archbishop Donald Coggan on moral relativism, the Sarvodaya movement's leadership split between Vinoba Bhave and Jayaprakash Narayan, 'Friedman's Law' on the cost of state provision versus the free market, Chinese foreign-policy categorisation of world blocs, the Soviet Politburo's gerontocracy, and US conduct in South-East Asia. The subscription coupon for Freedom First appears on the same page. - A curated column of quotations under the epigraph from Tennyson, 'The deep / Moans round with many voices.' - Includes a quotation describing the Sarvodaya movement as led by 'a saint and a politician': Vinoba Bhave and Jayaprakash Narayan. - States 'Friedman's Law—Anything the State does costs twice as much as the free market', attributed to Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, January 1975. - Includes commentary from The Economist and Time on Cold War politics, the Soviet Politburo, and US conduct in the Vietnam war's endgame. - The Freedom First subscription form (Rs. 5.00 annual, Rs. 3.00 for students) appears alongside the column. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff278/ ### Summary This issue of Freedom First (No. 278, January 1976, edited by M. R. Masani) is devoted almost entirely to reporting a legal victory for the journal against Emergency-era press censorship. The lead piece, "Bombay High Court Overrules Censor," recounts how the Editor petitioned the Bombay High Court in mid-1975 for a Writ of Mandamus after the government's censor disallowed eleven items — articles, editorial notes, letters, and "Many Voices" entries — submitted for pre-publication scrutiny under the Central Government's Rule 48 Order of 26th June 1975. On 25-26 November 1975, Mr. Justice R. P. Bhatt ruled in the Editor's favour, quashing the censor's decision on every disallowed item. Because the censor, Mr. Binod Rao, had appealed the ruling (hearing fixed for 5 January 1976), the magazine states it is suspending editorial comment on the substance and instead publishing extracts from the judgment itself, without disclosing the censored material. The bulk of the rendered pages (pp. 2-6) reproduce these judgment extracts verbatim.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This issue of Freedom First (No. 278, January 1976, edited by M. R. Masani) is devoted almost entirely to reporting a legal victory for the journal against Emergency-era press censorship. The lead piece, "Bombay High Court Overrules Censor," recounts how the Editor petitioned the Bombay High Court in mid-1975 for a Writ of Mandamus after the government's censor disallowed eleven items — articles, editorial notes, letters, and "Many Voices" entries — submitted for pre-publication scrutiny under the Central Government's Rule 48 Order of 26th June 1975. On 25-26 November 1975, Mr. Justice R. P. Bhatt ruled in the Editor's favour, quashing the censor's decision on every disallowed item. Because the censor, Mr. Binod Rao, had appealed the ruling (hearing fixed for 5 January 1976), the magazine states it is suspending editorial comment on the substance and instead publishing extracts from the judgment itself, without disclosing the censored material. The bulk of the rendered pages (pp. 2-6) reproduce these judgment extracts verbatim. They lay out the procedural history — the Editor's petition, the government's 26 June 1975 emergency order under Rule 48 of the Defence of India Rules 1971, the censor Mathur's scrutiny and deletions, the Editor's blank-space protest and subsequent withdrawal of an earlier petition, and the list of censored items (including a piece by former Justice V. N. Tarkunde on the "Scope of the pre-censorship Order," extracts from the Financial Express, and material on the Bar Council of Maharashtra's resolution against the emergency proclamation). Justice Bhatt then works through the legal reasoning: that pre-censorship power must be read narrowly, confined to the statutory objects of defence, civil defence, public safety, and public order; that a stray sentence cannot be read out of context; and that criticism of an elected government, however unpopular, is constitutionally permitted so long as it does not seek to subvert the rule of law — quoting the Prime Minister's own Lok Sabha assurance that there was "no doubt about the need for a regulated expression of public discontent." The judgment finds that the censor and the government's own supplementary guidelines (dated 5 and 6 August 1975) exceeded the scope of the original Rule 48 order, that the censor took into account "extraneous matters and irrelevant factors," and that he therefore acted without jurisdiction. The Court allows the petition, quashes the censor's order of 15th July 1975, and awards costs to the Editor against the Respondent. The rendered pages end with the judgment's conclusion and a subscription coupon for Freedom First, alongside period advertisements (Macmillan's promotion of Masani's own book "Is J.P. the Answer?", Andhra Pradesh Paper Mills, Alembic's Glycodin cough syrup, Lakshmi Mills sarees, Raymond's Woollens, and ACC Cement) that are not part of the editorial content. ## Key points - The Editor of Freedom First won a Bombay High Court writ petition (Article 226) against the Emergency-era censor, who had disallowed eleven items from the journal under the Central Government's 26 June 1975 Rule 48 order. - Mr. Justice R. P. Bhatt delivered judgment on 25-26 November 1975, quashing the censor's decision on every item and awarding costs to the Editor. - The censor (Mr. Binod Rao) filed an appeal, with hearing fixed for 5 January 1976; pending that appeal, Freedom First withholds editorial comment and instead prints extracts from the judgment itself without revealing the censored content. - The judgment holds that pre-censorship power under Rule 48 of the Defence of India Rules, 1971 must be confined to its stated objects — defence of India, civil defence, public safety, and maintenance of public order — and cannot be used against merely unpopular or distasteful but constructive criticism. - The Court quotes the Prime Minister's own Lok Sabha speech of 22 July 1975 conceding a right to "regulated expression of public discontent" against government policy. - The judgment finds that the censor considered extraneous and irrelevant factors and improperly relied on later guidelines (5-6 August 1975) that postdated and exceeded the scope of his 15 July 1975 decision, rendering that decision jurisdictionally invalid. - Censored items named in the judgment include a piece by former Justice V. N. Tarkunde on the pre-censorship order's scope, a Financial Express extract on a Madras High Court writ petition, and coverage of the Bar Council of Maharashtra's resolution against the Emergency proclamation. - The petition was brought by the Editor personally, a Bombay-based Barrister-at-Law of Lincoln's Inn who took over the editorship of Freedom First in January 1972; the journal itself is described as the organ of the Democratic Research Service since September 1955. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff280/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 280 (March 1976), edited by M. R. Masani, is dominated by the aftermath of the Emergency-era censorship battle between the journal and the government censor. The lead item reproduces, in extended summary, the Bombay High Court Division Bench judgement (Justices D. P. Madon and M. H. Kania) upholding Justice R. P. Bhatt's earlier ruling against the censor in nine of eleven disputed items, with a writ of mandamus issued in the Editor's favour -- a judgement the issue frames as a major vindication of press freedom and the rule of law during the Emergency. The regular 'Between You and Me and the Lamp Post' column comments on Christiaan Barnard's visit to India, Margaret Thatcher's anti-Soviet 'Iron Lady' speech and its reception, British debates over corporal punishment and sex-discrimination in schools, and Communist media attacks on Agatha Christie and Jean-Paul Sartre. The issue reprints a Bernard Levin column from The Times eulogising outgoing US Ambassador to the UN Daniel Moynihan as a lone truth-telling voice against Third World and Soviet hypocrisy. Two book reviews follow -- Mehra Masani on Collins and Lapierre's Freedom at Midnight, and R.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 280 (March 1976), edited by M. R. Masani, is dominated by the aftermath of the Emergency-era censorship battle between the journal and the government censor. The lead item reproduces, in extended summary, the Bombay High Court Division Bench judgement (Justices D. P. Madon and M. H. Kania) upholding Justice R. P. Bhatt's earlier ruling against the censor in nine of eleven disputed items, with a writ of mandamus issued in the Editor's favour -- a judgement the issue frames as a major vindication of press freedom and the rule of law during the Emergency. The regular 'Between You and Me and the Lamp Post' column comments on Christiaan Barnard's visit to India, Margaret Thatcher's anti-Soviet 'Iron Lady' speech and its reception, British debates over corporal punishment and sex-discrimination in schools, and Communist media attacks on Agatha Christie and Jean-Paul Sartre. The issue reprints a Bernard Levin column from The Times eulogising outgoing US Ambassador to the UN Daniel Moynihan as a lone truth-telling voice against Third World and Soviet hypocrisy. Two book reviews follow -- Mehra Masani on Collins and Lapierre's Freedom at Midnight, and R. Srinivasan on Dharma Vira's Memoirs of a Civil Servant -- along with a reader's letter on the origins of fascism and a compilation of news items and court proceedings ('At Last You Can Read This') that had earlier been suppressed by the censor, including material on Nasser's Egypt, Amnesty International, and the Madras High Court's admission of a writ from Swarajya's publisher against a censorship order. The back page carries the recurring 'With Many Voices' anthology of quotations and the journal's ownership statement and subscription form. ## Essays ### Court Upholds Press Freedom / Rule of Law Prevails (Bombay High Court judgement summary re: censorship of Freedom First, continued on page 14 as 'Nine out of Eleven') This unsigned lead item reports that the Bombay High Court's Division Bench (Justices D. P. Madon and M. H. Kania), ruling on 10 February 1976, dismissed the censor's appeal against Justice R. P. Bhatt's earlier judgement quashing censorship of Freedom First. The court upheld Bhatt J. on all major points of law and issued a writ of mandamus in the Editor's favour on nine of eleven disputed items, while reversing him on the remaining two. The accompanying 'Rule of Law Prevails' summary of the judgement's reasoning covers: the maintainability of Masani's petition despite Articles 358 and 359 of the Constitution; the court's holding that Emergency provisions suspend only restrictions on state power, not citizens' pre-existing common-law rights to speak and act freely so long as they do not break the law; the grounds on which a censor's discretionary order can be judicially reviewed (non-application of mind, mala fide exercise, irrelevant considerations, etc.); and the court's emphasis that press freedom underpins a 'free clearing-house' of competing ideologies essential to democracy, that the censor is 'the nurse-maid of democracy and not its grave-digger', and that courts should strongly deprecate suppression of court-case reporting merely because it embarrasses officialdom. The piece explicitly thanks the paper's counsel Soli Sorabjee and A. G. Noorani (for the appeal) and G. A. Mehta, Subhash Parikh and Arshad Hidayatullah (instructed by D. H. Nanavati) for the original matter. - Division Bench of Justices D. P. Madon and M. H. Kania delivered judgement on 10 February 1976 dismissing the censor's appeal. - The court upheld Justice R. P. Bhatt's judgement on all major points of law and issued a writ of mandamus for the Editor on 9 of 11 disputed items. - The court held that Emergency proclamations under Article 358/359 suspend restrictions on state power, not citizens' underlying common-law rights to free speech. - A censor's order can be struck down for non-application of mind, mala fide exercise of power, reliance on irrelevant grounds, or if no reasonable person could reach that conclusion. - The judges described the censor as bound by section 38 and the censorship order's stated purposes, unable to issue guidelines beyond the scope of the statutory order. - The court strongly deprecated the practice of banning republication of court judgements merely because they are unpalatable to an officer or the Government. - The judges characterised the censor's role as preserving 'a fine balance' -- not stifling all dissent, but preventing incitement to subversive activity. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post (editorial column: Barnard's Big Heart; Britain's New Amazon; Daniel Leaves the Den; Equality Ad Absurdum; Debunking - Communist Style; Buns or Loaves?) The regular 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' column runs through several short, satirical items. 'Barnard's Big Heart' mocks South African surgeon Christiaan Barnard's self-regarding remarks during an Indian visit and his views on apartheid and Angola. 'Britain's New Amazon' and the following item praise Margaret Thatcher's hawkish anti-Soviet 'Iron Lady' speech, note Harold Wilson's surprising partial endorsement of it, and recount Tass's aggrieved commentary on British 'misconceptions' about the USSR, including a Sheffield factory worker's quip about Pravda. 'Buns or Loaves?' cites a Chinese news agency broadcast blaming Brezhnev personally for a poor Soviet grain harvest. An editorial box, 'In This Issue', explains the issue's heavy focus on the censorship judgement and notes the paper is still barred from publishing a Maharashtra Bar Council resolution pending a Supreme Court appeal by the censor. 'Daniel Leaves the Den' pays tribute to departing US Ambassador to the UN Daniel Moynihan, quoting President Ford's praise of him and introducing the reprinted Bernard Levin piece. 'Equality Ad Absurdum' recounts British schools' debates over caning parity between sexes following the Sex Discrimination Act. 'Debunking -- Communist Style' reports Chinese and Soviet media denunciations of Agatha Christie and Jean-Paul Sartre, the latter downgraded in the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia for criticising the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia and calling for greater Soviet human rights. - Satirises Christiaan Barnard's self-important comments on his meeting with Indira Gandhi and his views on apartheid and Angola. - Praises Margaret Thatcher's anti-Soviet 'Iron Lady' speech and notes Harold Wilson's grudging partial agreement with it. - Reports Tass's complaints about British 'misconceptions' of the USSR, including a factory worker's joke about Pravda being the only newspaper. - Cites Chinese state media blaming Brezhnev's leadership for a poor 1975 Soviet grain harvest. - Pays tribute to outgoing UN Ambassador Daniel Moynihan as a fighter for free nations against hypocrisy. - Covers a British debate on caning parity for schoolgirls under the new Sex Discrimination Act. - Notes Chinese and Soviet media attacks on Agatha Christie and Jean-Paul Sartre for insufficient ideological conformity. ### In This Issue (editorial note) A reprint, courtesy of The Times of London, of Bernard Levin's column eulogising Daniel Moynihan, the outgoing US Ambassador to the United Nations, as one of the few statesmen willing to name hypocrisy plainly. Levin argues that liberalism's central weakness is a shortage of adherents willing to be as hard and single-minded as its enemies, and praises Moynihan for refusing the 'abject posture' of apologetic Western diplomacy -- for calling out regimes such as Idi Amin's Uganda as racist and murderous even while, as titular head of the Organization of African Unity, Amin postures as an anti-colonial leader, and for pointing out the double standards by which the Soviet Union and Third World dictatorships denounce Western nations for far lesser offences than their own record of political imprisonment. Levin closes by asking whether the West's long habit of appeasing hostile rhetoric has made freedom stronger or weaker over the preceding decade, and credits Moynihan with sounding a 'trumpet to end the long retreat'. - Levin praises Daniel Moynihan as uniquely willing to state hard truths bluntly as US Ambassador to the UN. - Argues liberalism's greatest weakness is a shortage of adherents as hard and single-minded as its illiberal enemies. - Contrasts Moynihan's approach with the 'abject posture' of contemporary British government policy under Ivor Richard. - Cites Moynihan calling Idi Amin a racist murderer despite Amin's position as head of the Organization of African Unity. - Highlights the hypocrisy of Third World and Soviet-bloc denunciations of Western nations for offences dwarfed by their own record of political imprisonment. - Frames the piece around whether appeasing hostile rhetoric has left the West's democratic hold stronger or weaker. ### A Lone Voice That Should Stop Us All In Our Tracks *By Bernard Levin* Under the 'Reviews' heading, Mehra Masani reviews Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre's Freedom at Midnight (Vikas, 474 pp., Rs. 45), praising its vivid, dramatized retelling of the transfer of power and partition -- especially its account of the conspiracy to assassinate Gandhi -- while criticising its 'gimmicky' inclusions on the Indian Princes and Gandhiji's attitude to sex as unnecessary concessions to popular taste. The review discusses the book's sympathetic portrayal of Mountbatten as hero and Jinnah as villain, its debunking picture of Nehru and Patel as 'chastened school-boys' unable to control post-Partition violence, and praise for Rajaji's statesmanship, closing by quoting the book's tribute to Gandhi's global legacy. - Praises the book's vivid, well-researched dramatization of the transfer of power and partition, especially the Gandhi-assassination conspiracy narrative. - Criticises 'gimmicky' digressions on the Indian Princes and Gandhiji's sex life as concessions to popular taste that undercut authorial sincerity. - Notes the book casts Mountbatten as hero and Jinnah as rigid villain, raising the unresolved question of whether Jinnah's intransigence made partition inevitable. - Highlights the book's debunking portrayal of Nehru and Patel as unable to control post-Partition violence without Mountbatten. - Praises the book's treatment of Rajaji's statesmanship as a rare positive exception among Gandhi's lieutenants. ### Reviews: Freedom at Midnight (by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre) *By Mehra Masani* R. Srinivasan reviews Dharma Vira's Memoirs of a Civil Servant (Vikas, 1975, 154 pp., Rs. 35), situating it among a growing genre of Indian civil-service memoirs but ranking it below classics such as K. P. S. Menon's My Several Worlds, Mangat Rai's Commitment My Style, and Bonnerjea's Under Two Masters. The review highlights Dharma Vira's account of pre-independence administration and handling political agitators, his achievements as a civil servant (building airstrips, refugee rehabilitation), his experiences as Ambassador to Czechoslovakia, and especially his tenure as Governor of Punjab, West Bengal and Karnataka during periods of political instability, including the jeep scandal, tractor scandal, and Krishna Menon's controversial tenure at the Indian High Commission. - Ranks the memoir below classics of the genre such as My Several Worlds, Commitment My Style, and Under Two Masters, though still readable. - Praises insight into pre-independence civil service handling of political agitators and post-independence achievements like airstrip building and refugee rehabilitation. - Highlights Dharma Vira's account of his ambassadorship to Czechoslovakia as unusually candid about East European democratic pretence. - Details his governorship of Punjab, West Bengal and Karnataka, covering the jeep scandal, tractor scandal, and Krishna Menon's tenure at the Indian High Commission. - Frames the book as illustrating the demoralization of Indian democratic politics and the burdens placed on Governors during coalition instability. ### Reviews: Memoirs of a Civil Servant (by Dharma Vira) *By R. Srinivasan* A reader's letter, 'The Original Fascist' by Gopal Mittal, responds to a February 1976 Freedom First quotation from a Times of London editorial defining corporatism as inherently fascist because it transfers rights from the individual to corporate bodies and the state. Mittal argues that if this description is correct, fascism originated not in Italy but in Russia, with Lenin rather than Mussolini as its true father. The editor appends a one-word retort: 'Touche'. - Responds to a February 1976 Times of London quotation defining corporatism as inherently fascist. - Argues fascism's true origin lies in Leninist Russia rather than Mussolini's Italy. - The editor's terse reply, 'Touche', endorses the letter's point. ### Statement About Ownership and Other Particulars of Freedom First (Form IV, See Rule 8) 'At Last You Can Read This' compiles news items previously blocked from publication by the censor. It reports on the June 1975 Cairo trial testimony of former Nasser aides Abdel Latif Bahdady and Kamal Hussein branding Nasser a dictator and communist who ruled unilaterally; former President Mohamed Naguib's remarks on the 1952 coup; a June 1975 Amnesty International meeting in The Hague affirming police officers' duty to disobey orders to torture; a July 1975 Indian Express report on a Madras High Court writ from Swarajya publisher T. S. Sadashivam challenging the Deputy Secretary's order deleting a passage from a 20th-anniversary review article, with Justice Ramanujam finding the censorship order lacked authority for such deletions; and quotations from Daniel Moynihan and the Swiss Press Review criticising excessive American self-recrimination ('It is time we ceased to apologise for an imperfect democracy... Find its equal'). - Reports June 1975 Cairo trial testimony branding Nasser a unilateral dictator turning Egypt communist, from former aides Bahdady and Hussein. - Notes former President Naguib's comment that Nasser's revolution 'offended the Egyptian people more than it benefitted them'. - Covers a June 1975 Amnesty International meeting affirming police officers' duty to disobey torture orders. - Details the Madras High Court's admission of a writ petition from Swarajya's publisher against a Deputy Secretary's censorship deletion order. - Quotes Daniel Moynihan urging Americans to stop apologising for an imperfect democracy and to 'find its equal'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff279/ ### Summary This is the February 1976 issue (No. 279) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas edited by M. R. Masani, published for the Democratic Research Service. Billed on its own contents page as 'essentially an international issue — a sort of global tour d'horizon,' it opens with an unsigned editorial defining the essential features of fascism (prompted by a leftist press attack on an anti-fascist conference in Patna) and moves through a run of short unsigned notes in the 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column covering Eldridge Cleaver's disillusionment with Communist states, a Pravda/L'Humanité spat over a Soviet slave-labour-camp film, NUS internal politics, American self-flagellation over Vietnam and Watergate, Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda's remarks on Angola, the Angola crisis at the OAU, Indian broadcasting reform, and a satirical note on Soviet grain shortfalls. Masani reproduces, in full, his own July 1975 letter to Indira Gandhi rebutting her Lok Sabha claim that he and Jayaprakash Narayan had solicited army intervention against her government, supplying the 'missing passages' from his original interview.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the February 1976 issue (No. 279) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas edited by M. R. Masani, published for the Democratic Research Service. Billed on its own contents page as 'essentially an international issue — a sort of global tour d'horizon,' it opens with an unsigned editorial defining the essential features of fascism (prompted by a leftist press attack on an anti-fascist conference in Patna) and moves through a run of short unsigned notes in the 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column covering Eldridge Cleaver's disillusionment with Communist states, a Pravda/L'Humanité spat over a Soviet slave-labour-camp film, NUS internal politics, American self-flagellation over Vietnam and Watergate, Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda's remarks on Angola, the Angola crisis at the OAU, Indian broadcasting reform, and a satirical note on Soviet grain shortfalls. Masani reproduces, in full, his own July 1975 letter to Indira Gandhi rebutting her Lok Sabha claim that he and Jayaprakash Narayan had solicited army intervention against her government, supplying the 'missing passages' from his original interview. Bernard Levin contributes a polemic against The Guardian's belated discovery that Mozambique's Frelimo government has turned totalitarian; James Burnham supplies a sequel to his earlier 'Two Alternatives to Democracy' essay, refining a totalist/authoritarian/democratic tripartite classification of regimes. J. B. H. Wadia writes on the cultural merits and failings of the Hindi commercial film industry, and Nitin G. Raut critiques the PLO's 'secular democratic Palestine State' slogan as a facade for anti-Semitism and the destruction of Israel. A Reviews section covers Philip Mason's biography of Rudyard Kipling (by Mehra Masani), Merle Miller's oral biography of Harry Truman (by Rusi J. Daruwala), and Lord George-Brown's memoir In My Way (by T. G. Joshi). The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a compilation of quotations from world press and public figures, and a subscription form. ## Essays ### 'Cry Long and Hard Your Tears of Repentance' *By Bernard Levin* An unsigned editorial, occasioned by a leftist Economic and Political Weekly report mocking attendees of an anti-fascist conference in Patna, sets out nine essential features by which fascism can be identified, from one-nation-one-party dictatorship and subservient judiciaries to press censorship, suppression of opposition, corporate-state economic control, the cult of the leader-state, claimed monopoly on truth, and hostility to intellectual culture. It quotes the London Times' view that all corporatism is a transfer of rights from individual to state and is therefore inherently oppressive, and closes by invoking Jawaharlal Nehru's line about fascism making 'the State a God' and Goering's remark about reaching for his gun at the word 'culture.' - Written in response to a leftist press mocking attendees of an anti-fascist conference in Patna as ignorant of what fascism means. - Lists nine defining features of fascism: nationalist dictatorship, judicial subservience, sham parliaments, press censorship, suppression of opposition, corporate-state economic control, deification of the state, claimed monopoly on truth, and hostility to culture. - Cites the London Times (2 Dec 1975) arguing that corporatism transfers rights from individual to state and is therefore inherently fascist even without formal illegality. - Quotes Jawaharlal Nehru describing fascism as making 'the State a God on whose altar individual freedom and rights must be sacrificed.' - Closes with Goering's line about reaching for his gun at the word 'culture' as an illustration of fascism's hostility to intellectual life. ### Greek Philosophers Confirmed *By James Burnham* This unsigned column collects several short items. 'Repentant Panther' recounts Eldridge Cleaver's seven years of exile in Communist and 'progressive' states after fleeing US gun-battle charges, and his eventual disillusioned admission that American Black life had improved and that living under dictatorships gave him 'a more balanced picture' of the world. 'Pravda vs. L'Humanite' describes a public falling-out between the Soviet and French Communist parties over a French TV documentary on a Latvian slave labour camp, with the French Communist leader Georges Marchais defending the broadcast. 'Birds of a Feather' recounts how NUS national secretary Susan Slipman, a British Communist Party member, was stripped of her international-affairs role after favoring Communist causes (refusing a protest telegram over India's Emergency while sending one over Argentina) while running the National Union of Students. - Eldridge Cleaver, after seven years of exile in Cuba, Algeria, Guinea, North Korea and the USSR, admits American Black life had improved and that living under dictatorship gave him 'a more balanced picture' of the world. - The piece hopes Cleaver's public recantation will help open the eyes of others 'as blind as he once was.' - Pravda and L'Humanité publicly quarrel over a French TV documentary alleging a Soviet slave labour camp in Riga, Latvia, with French Communist Party leader Georges Marchais defending the broadcast's genuineness. - British NUS national secretary Susan Slipman, a Communist Party member, was removed from her international-affairs role after favoring Communist-aligned causes, including declining to send a protest telegram over India's Emergency. ### A Face-Lift Operation *By J. B. H. Wadia* An unsigned piece republishes a Daily Telegraph editorial castigating the American east-coast liberal establishment for corrosive self-criticism over Vietnam and Watergate that it argues is undermining the CIA, the presidency, and America's standing among allies. It is followed by 'Kaunda Speaks Out,' reporting Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda's remarks to journalist C. L. Sulzberger that the Soviet Union, not the US, bears primary responsibility for the Angola conflict, since Soviet arms to the MPLA preceded US assistance to the FNLA-UNITA coalition; the piece also cites The Observer and the Swiss Press Review on the moral confusion facing African leaders choosing between apartheid and Soviet-client totalitarianism, and MPLA Minister of Justice Diogenes Boawila's stated plans for people's tribunals and labour camps. - Republishes a Daily Telegraph editorial (3 Jan 1976) accusing the American 'liberal' east-coast establishment of corrosive self-criticism that is gutting the CIA and undermining US global standing. - President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, in an interview with C. L. Sulzberger, argues the Soviet Union bears primary responsibility for the Angola conflict and that a non-aligned Africa must condemn Soviet influence there. - Cites Jeremy Thorpe's claim that the Soviet Union paid a $50 million bribe to at least one African head of state to secure early recognition of the MPLA regime. - MPLA Minister of Justice Diogenes Boawila is quoted describing planned people's tribunals, labour camps, and politically-influenced court verdicts in Angola. - The Swiss Press Review and The Observer are cited framing the African dilemma as a choice between apartheid and Soviet-client totalitarianism. ### "Secular Democratic Palestine" *By Nitin G. Raut* Continuing the same column, an unsigned item reports the OAU's Addis Ababa conference (12 Jan 1976) splitting over recognition of the Luanda MPLA 'government', with only 22 of 46 members recognizing it, and Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe's allegation of a Soviet gold bribe to secure recognition. A separate item, '"Independent"?', discusses the Indian government's decision to separate Television from All India Radio as an independent department, arguing this misses the real need for independence from government control rather than from AIR. 'Look Who's Talking!' satirizes Soviet Deputy Agriculture Minister Boris Runov's advice to India on farm size, given the USSR's own grain shortfall of 78 million tons against its Five Year Plan target, illustrated by a cartoon of a Soviet Bread loaf being sliced up by Kissinger, Ford, and Butz. - The OAU conference in Addis Ababa (12 Jan 1976) splits, with only 22 of 46 members recognizing the Luanda MPLA government. - Jeremy Thorpe alleges a $50 million Soviet gold bribe secured early recognition of the MPLA regime by an African head of state. - The Indian government separates Television from All India Radio as an independent department, which the piece argues misses the real need for independence from government control. - Soviet Deputy Agriculture Minister Boris Runov's advice on farm size is mocked given the USSR's own 78-million-ton shortfall against its Five Year Plan grain target. ### Review: Kipling: The Glass, The Shadow and the Fire by Philip Mason *By Mehra Masani* Editor M. R. Masani reproduces his letter to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, prompted by discovering a government pamphlet ('Preserving Our Democratic Structure') that repeated a misquotation she had used in the Lok Sabha on 22 July 1975, alleging Masani and Jayaprakash Narayan had solicited army intervention 'to save democracy.' Masani explains the quotation was drawn from a distorted New Age (14 April 1974) rendering of his actual March 1974 'Z' magazine interview, with sentences deleted and threaded together out of order. He reproduces his own July 1975 letter to the Prime Minister supplying the 'missing passages' that made clear he was not advocating military intervention but merely noting it as a historical possibility, and that he considered it 'a lesser evil' only relative to a Communist takeover. - Masani discovered a Government of India DAVP pamphlet repeating Indira Gandhi's Lok Sabha misquotation of him from 22 July 1975. - He had already written to the Prime Minister on 25 July 1975, three days after her speech, correcting the record, but the correction was not incorporated. - The actual source was a distorted New Age (14 April 1974) rendering of his March 1974 'Z' magazine interview, with sentences deleted and re-threaded. - He reproduces three 'missing passages' clarifying he was not advocating military intervention, merely describing it as a historical possibility. - He states any such intervention would only be 'a lesser evil' relative to 'a treacherous Communist take-over which hands the country over to China or Russia.' ### Review: Plain Speaking. An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman by Merle Miller *By Rusi J. Daruwala* Bernard Levin's polemic mocks The Guardian's belated 'discovery,' via its correspondent Antonio de Figueiredo, that Mozambique's Frelimo government has become totalitarian, with religious persecution, rehabilitation camps, and Chinese/Albanian-style people's courts. Levin argues the paper's surprise is itself telling, since it and others had called Frelimo 'freedom fighters' without scrutiny, and contrasts 'hard-headed liberals' who do good with 'soft-headed progressives' who cause harm through uncritical enthusiasm for revolutionary movements that, once in power, reliably become oppressive. - The Guardian's correspondent Antonio de Figueiredo reports that Mozambique's Frelimo government has become totalitarian, with religious persecution and 'rehabilitation camps.' - Levin argues The Guardian's expressed surprise is itself absurd, since ruthless totalitarians behaving like totalitarians should not be shocking. - He distinguishes 'hard-headed liberals' (who do good) from 'soft-headed progressives' (who do harm through starry-eyed advocacy for revolutionary regimes). - He notes that Frelimo produced a document describing the Catholic Church as a 'reactionary organization' inciting counter-revolutionary activity. - He credits The Guardian, despite its faults, with at least admitting to being surprised and alarmed, unlike most who ignore such contradictions entirely. ### Review: In My Way by Lord George Brown (Bread and Peace) *By T. G. Joshi* James Burnham's essay, a sequel to his May 1975 Freedom First piece 'Two Alternatives to Democracy,' proposes classifying governments along a triple distinction — totalist, authoritarian, democratic — rather than the simple dictatorial/democratic binary. He defines totalist (totalitarian) regimes as those integrating all aspects of life into a single power system, while authoritarian regimes exempt some spheres. He works through the fuzziness of the boundary between categories using examples (Libya, Yugoslavia, South Africa, Ceylon, Mexico), notes the distinction is independent of Left-Right positioning, surveys the varying social composition of ruling groups in authoritarian regimes, and argues that today's authoritarianism, though it can come from either side, arrives more often and more dangerously from the Left because leftist economic measures lay a foundation for generalized statism, whereas Right authoritarianism tends to preserve more economic and religious freedom. He concludes that 'the Greek philosophers are again confirmed' in their view that democracy's defects lead toward its replacement by despotism. - Proposes classifying regimes on a triple distinction — totalist/authoritarian/democratic — rather than dictatorial/democratic. - Totalist regimes integrate all spheres of life (economic, cultural, social, personal) into a single power system; authoritarian regimes exempt some spheres. - Gives examples: China and USSR as totalist; Switzerland and Canada as democratic; Brazil and Peru as authoritarian; notes South Africa is democratic for whites but authoritarian toward non-whites. - Argues the totalist/authoritarian distinction is independent of Left-Right politics, with both totalist and authoritarian regimes found on either side. - Concludes that modern authoritarianism, though possible from either side, comes more frequently and dangerously from the Left, since leftist economic measures build toward totalism, while Right authoritarianism preserves more economic and religious freedom. - Closes by declaring the ancient Greek philosophers' view — that democracy's defects lead to its replacement by despotism — 'again confirmed.' ### Essay 8 J. B. H. Wadia, a veteran Hindi film maker, weighs whether Hindi commercial films are 'cultural flops.' He argues film is a generic term encompassing many distinct genres (commercial, documentary, newsreel, art film, politically committed film) each with its own role, and that condemning the medium wholesale is an authoritarian impulse akin to denying it freedom. He criticizes both the bureaucratic constraints on India's documentary Films Division and some 'New Wave' Hindi films for merely swapping one imitative glamour (Western/Japanese/communist technical gimmickry) for another rather than achieving genuine cultural value. His qualified answer to whether Hindi films are cultural flops is 'yes—and no': true of the overall recent crop, but with a real, if numerically minor, tradition of culturally valuable films (citing New Theatres of Calcutta and Prabhat of Poona) that has run alongside the commercial mainstream throughout the industry's 55-year history. He closes urging Hindi filmmakers to justify their work on a higher sociological plane. - Argues 'film' is a generic term covering distinct genres — commercial, documentary, newsreel, art film, politically committed film — each with its own legitimate role. - Cites John Grierson's definition of documentary as 'drama of the doorstep' and criticizes Indian documentary shortfalls as due more to bureaucratic controls than to filmmakers. - Criticizes some 'New Wave' Hindi films for merely imitating American, West European, Japanese, or communist technical gimmickry rather than achieving real cultural value. - Concludes Hindi films are cultural flops 'yes—and no': true of the recent overall crop but not of the whole industry, citing New Theatres of Calcutta and Prabhat of Poona as pioneering exceptions. - Calls on Hindi filmmakers to justify their existence on 'a higher sociological plane' and voluntarily undergo a 'face-lift operation.' ### Essay 9 Nitin G. Raut critiques the PLO's slogan of a 'secular democratic Palestine State,' arguing that Arab states never recognized Palestine as a separate entity before 1967 and that the slogan is a strategic shift from earlier calls to eliminate Israel outright, now masking the same underlying goal. He explains Article 6 of the 1968 Palestine National Covenant would render more than half of Israel's Jewish population stateless by only recognizing pre-1917 Jewish residents as 'Palestinians,' and quotes PLO Beirut chief Shafiq Al Hut on the limits of Arab willingness to grant Jews democratic rights. Raut also implicates Soviet strategic interest in a prolonged Arab-Israel conflict as a means of securing access to the Indian Ocean via the Suez, and concludes that equating Zionism with imperialism is 'a monstrous perversion of truth,' with the PLO's anti-Zionism serving as 'facade for anti-Semitism.' - Argues the Palestine question became a major international issue only after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, since Arabs had never recognized Palestine as an independent state before, regarding it as 'Southern Syria.' - Explains Article 6 of the 1968 Palestine National Covenant would recognize only pre-1917 Jewish residents as Palestinians, rendering more than half of Israel's Jewish population stateless. - Quotes PLO Beirut office head Shafiq Al Hut as accepting the 'secular democratic' slogan only to blunt criticism, not as genuine willingness to grant Jews full democratic rights. - Argues the Soviet Union has a strategic interest in prolonging Arab-Israeli conflict to secure access via Suez to the Indian Ocean. - Concludes that calling Zionism synonymous with imperialism is 'a monstrous perversion of truth' and that the PLO's anti-Zionism is a facade for anti-Semitism. - Notes only 600,000 of 2.8 million Palestinians (per UNRWA figures) are in refugee camps, arguing the refugee problem is exploited for propaganda purposes. ### Essay 10 Mehra Masani reviews Philip Mason's biography Kipling: The Glass, The Shadow and the Fire, focusing on Mason's account of Kipling's complicated relationship with India and Indians rather than his general literary analysis. The review recounts Mason's thesis that Kipling's own de-sensitized, divided childhood shaped a body of work full of violence and vindictiveness yet also deep compassion, and traces how Indian readers came to regard Kipling as anti-Indian and jingoistic (partly on the strength of the misquoted 'East is East' line) despite his affection for India shown in early works like Just So Stories and mature ones like Kim, which Nirad Chaudhuri called one of the finest novels in English. The review closes by noting Mason's hope that a more nuanced understanding will lead more Indians to read Kipling without prejudice. - Reviews Philip Mason's Kipling: The Glass, The Shadow and the Fire (Harper & Row, 1975). - Recounts Mason's thesis that Kipling's writing reflects an unresolved inner division between violence/vindictiveness and deep compassion, rooted in a de-sensitizing childhood. - Notes Indians came to view Kipling as anti-Indian and jingoistic, partly due to the misquoted 'East is East and West is West' line, ignoring its reconciliatory later verses. - Cites Nirad Chaudhuri's view of Kim as one of the finest English novels, written 'from deep in the personality and with love.' - Concludes Mason's nuanced portrait should encourage more Indians to read Kipling without prejudice. ### Essay 11 Rusi J. Daruwala reviews Merle Miller's Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman, quoting historian Clinton Rossiter's tribute to Truman's endearing 'lapses from dignity' that opened his door to immortality. The review recounts anecdotes from the taped interviews — Truman's youth in Independence, Missouri, his career from farmer to haberdasher to politician, his voracious and retentive reading (illustrated by an anecdote about an obscure Alexander the Great reference that stumped Truman's interviewer and the Library of Congress), and his decisions on Hiroshima, the Marshall Plan, and General MacArthur's dismissal. The review closes by quoting Truman's view that 'power, money and women' are what most often ruin a man, with a dry aside that Richard Nixon evidently never read his history. - Reviews Merle Miller's Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman (Victor Gollancz). - Quotes historian Clinton Rossiter's tribute to Truman as a man history will delight to remember despite (or because of) his lapses from dignity. - Recounts an anecdote in which Truman's obscure reference to Alexander the Great and 'thirty-three quarts of wine' stumped interviewer Hillman and the Library of Congress, until traced to a rare volume on Greek history. - Notes the book traces Truman's career from farming and haberdashery through his Senate campaigns, the 1944 campaign, the Hiroshima decision, the Marshall Plan, and the MacArthur dismissal. - Closes on Truman's dictum that 'power, money and women' most often ruin a man, with the reviewer's pointed aside that Nixon apparently never learned this lesson from history. ### Essay 12 T. G. Joshi reviews Lord George-Brown's memoir In My Way, noting India rates only a single mention despite the book's interest for Indian readers on other grounds. The review traces George-Brown's working-class, trade-unionist upbringing and the formative poverty (bread-and-treacle unemployment relief) that pushed him toward socialism, then follows his political career — Minister of Agriculture, Public Works, Deputy Labour leader, Deputy Prime Minister under Harold Wilson, and Foreign Secretary — through his resignation over what he saw as violations of cabinet collective responsibility. The review closes approvingly on George-Brown's dictum about ministers bearing responsibility even when misled by officials, framing it as a lesson for India's tendency to blame bureaucracy for governmental failures. - Reviews Lord George-Brown's memoir In My Way (Penguin, Rs. 8), noting India receives only one mention in the book. - Traces George-Brown's working-class origins, including his father's unemployment and reliance on bread-and-treacle relief, as the root of his socialist convictions. - Follows his career as Minister of Agriculture and Public Works, Deputy Labour leader, Deputy Prime Minister under Harold Wilson, and Foreign Secretary. - Notes his resignation stemmed from his view that Harold Wilson violated the principle of joint cabinet responsibility. - Closes with George-Brown's view that a minister must be so competent as not to be misled by officials, but ultimately 'carries the can' regardless — applied as a lesson for India's tendency to blame bureaucracy. ### Essay 13 The closing 'With Many Voices' column compiles brief quotations from world press and public figures on a Tennyson epigraph, covering topics from Soviet daily life and James Schlesinger's dismissal to Franco's dissident policy, Indira Gandhi's Emergency, US industrial policy, and Cold War Politburo dynamics. It ends with the subscription form for Freedom First and the issue's imprint details. - Compiles short quotations under a Tennyson epigraph on seeking 'a newer world' with 'many voices.' - Includes Information & Broadcasting Minister V. C. Shukla calling Indira Gandhi 'one of the greatest leaders of all times.' - Includes Mr. S. A. Dange (Times of India) claiming 'The Emergency has saved the country.' - Includes Time magazine's December 1975 forecast that Brezhnev is moving toward hardliner Suslov, and Ford toward Reagan. - Closes with the subscription form (Rs. 5 annual, Rs. 3 for students) and imprint: published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel, Associate Editor, Freedom First, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 1. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff281/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 281 (April 1976), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with an editorial invoking Alexander Solzhenitsyn's BBC Panorama interview of 1 March 1976 as vindication of the magazine's long-standing warnings about Western appeasement of Soviet totalitarianism, and links it to domestic developments under the Emergency, including the Maharashtra Bar Council's resolution urging revocation of the proclamation. The unsigned 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column comments on the dismissal of state governments in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, the Union Budget, Lord George-Brown's resignation from the British Labour Party, the Rhodesian crisis, and the Labour leadership contest. World News items cover the Solzhenitsyn interview in full, a Soviet Glavlit book-smuggling scandal, and North Korean dynastic politics, plus a review of a controversial Cairo film about Nasser-era secret police torture.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 281 (April 1976), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with an editorial invoking Alexander Solzhenitsyn's BBC Panorama interview of 1 March 1976 as vindication of the magazine's long-standing warnings about Western appeasement of Soviet totalitarianism, and links it to domestic developments under the Emergency, including the Maharashtra Bar Council's resolution urging revocation of the proclamation. The unsigned 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column comments on the dismissal of state governments in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, the Union Budget, Lord George-Brown's resignation from the British Labour Party, the Rhodesian crisis, and the Labour leadership contest. World News items cover the Solzhenitsyn interview in full, a Soviet Glavlit book-smuggling scandal, and North Korean dynastic politics, plus a review of a controversial Cairo film about Nasser-era secret police torture. The bulk of the issue (pages 8-14) reproduces the Bombay High Court Division Bench's judgement on a censorship case brought under Emergency press-censorship guidelines, examining item by item whether nine specific Freedom First articles were rightly banned, and finding for the magazine on all but one item plus one earlier-decided item. The issue closes with a critical book review of Donald Rogowski's Rational Legitimacy by S. P. Aiyer and the recurring 'With Many Voices' quotations column. ## Essays ### Is Solzhenitsyn Right? *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's editorial 'Is Solzhenitsyn Right?' takes up the international debate provoked by Alexander Solzhenitsyn's 1 March 1976 BBC Panorama interview, in which the exiled writer warned of the 'sudden and imminent fall' of the West. Masani surveys reactions -- Schlesinger and General Haig supportive of Solzhenitsyn's grim assessment, Ted Heath dissenting, The Times of London praising his 'campaign to awaken the West from its suicidal lethargy,' and Lord George-Brown resigning from the Labour whip in apparent solidarity. Masani notes that Freedom First has voiced similar warnings for years 'without the passion of the Prophet-in-exile,' and finds encouragement in signs that detente is losing political favour: Ford's disavowal of the word 'detente,' and challenges to Kissinger's policy from Reagan and Senator Jackson. The editorial's second half, 'Old Hat,' dismisses Western media excitement over Italian and French Communist 'Eurocommunism' as naive, comparing it to being fooled by Gomulka, Gottwald, and Rakosi's earlier promises of national-communist independence from Moscow, each of which the editorial quotes to demonstrate their emptiness. - Masani frames Solzhenitsyn's March 1976 BBC interview as external validation of Freedom First's long-running warnings about the West's complacency toward Soviet power. - Surveys the range of Western reactions: Schlesinger and Haig sympathetic, Ted Heath dissenting, The Times editorializing in Solzhenitsyn's favour. - Notes Lord George-Brown's resignation from the Labour whip as a sign of the debate's political reach in Britain. - Reports signs of a shifting US political mood: Ford dropping the word 'detente,' challenges from Reagan and Senator 'Scoop' Jackson to Kissinger's policy. - Argues that professed 'national communism' in Italy and France is 'old hat,' a rehash of discredited 1940s promises made by Gomulka, Gottwald, and Rakosi, quoting each to expose the pattern. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post The unsigned column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' comments on current events in short sections. 'Union of India?' criticises the dismissal of elected state governments in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat under President's Rule, arguing this violates the federal structure the Constituent Assembly deliberately built to accommodate India's diversity, and warns that unchecked centralisation could eventually threaten national unity. 'Two Cheers for the Budget' gives a qualified assessment of the Union Budget presented by C. Subramaniam on 15 March, welcoming excise and income-tax relief but criticising continued deficit financing and inadequate structural reform toward agriculture, competition, and foreign capital. - The column argues that removing elected governments in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat via Presidential Orders violated constitutional requirements and eroded India's federal structure. - Notes the Editor's own past position, shared with the Constituent Assembly majority, that federalism was essential to accommodating India's ethnic, religious, and linguistic diversity. - Criticises both the Centre for avoiding elections and Tamil Nadu's DMK government for accepting the postponement rather than seeking a state election. - Gives the March 1976 Union Budget 'two cheers': welcomes excise/tax relief but faults continued deficit financing and the lack of structural shift toward agriculture, competition, and foreign equity capital. - Warns that a unitary drift, if it continues, risks the kind of separatist pressures the federal structure was designed to prevent. ### World News: Solzhenitsyn Fears Fall of West Continuing 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post,' this section covers President Sadat's denunciation of the Soviet Union and Egypt's abrogation of its 1971 Treaty of Friendship with Moscow; the contested election for the leadership of the British Labour Party (won by James Callaghan-era context implied) compared with the Conservative Party's earlier election of Margaret Thatcher over Ted Heath; and British Foreign Secretary James Callaghan's appeal to Ian Smith for majority rule in Rhodesia, which the column calls simplistic. It argues that in multi-racial societies majority rule alone is not necessarily democratic, and commends the Swiss system of proportional representation and composite cabinet government -- previously advocated for India by the late P. Kodanda Rao -- as a fairer model than winner-take-all majoritarianism, citing Switzerland, Lebanon, and by implication India's own Partition as illustrations. - Describes President Sadat's abrogation of Egypt's 1971 Treaty of Friendship with the Soviet Union following Brezhnev's opposition to Cairo's liberalization policy. - Contrasts the British Labour and Conservative parties' internal leadership elections, noting neither party uses first-past-the-post for choosing its own leader despite defending it for general elections. - Criticises British Foreign Secretary Callaghan's call for simple majority rule in Rhodesia as 'too simple by half,' arguing multi-racial societies need minority protections and government by consent. - Praises the Swiss model of proportional representation and composite cabinet government as more stable than majoritarianism, citing Switzerland's prosperity as an example. - Credits the late P. Kodanda Rao, described as 'a great Liberal,' as an advocate of the Swiss system for India, and speculates that adopting it might have prevented Partition. ### Lord George-Brown Quits Labour This World News item summarises Alexander Solzhenitsyn's dramatic BBC Panorama interview of 1 March 1976, conducted with Michael Charlton in Northamptonshire. Solzhenitsyn warns of the West's possible 'sudden and imminent fall,' hints at KGB assassination attempts against himself, and argues the Soviet Union's war-footing economy has extracted concessions from a West so willing to accommodate that 'nuclear war was not even necessary.' He criticises the 'spirit of Helsinki' as strengthening Soviet totalitarianism rather than human rights, cites examples of KGB persecution suppressed in exchange for Western journalists' freer access, and expresses abhorrence for Bertrand Russell's phrase 'better red than dead.' He argues that a people that no longer remembers its history has lost its soul, and suggests that if the Gulag Archipelago's three volumes were freely available in the USSR, communist ideology would collapse quickly. - Solzhenitsyn predicts the West may face a 'sudden and imminent fall' caused by its own capitulations, and hints obliquely at KGB attempts on his own life. - Argues the Soviet Union's economy is so war-oriented that the West's concessions made nuclear war unnecessary to extract Soviet gains. - Criticises the 'spirit of Helsinki' as, for Soviet citizens, meaning only a strengthening of totalitarianism, not human rights. - Describes Western journalists trading freer movement in the USSR for silence about new instances of persecution. - Expresses abhorrence for Bertrand Russell's 'better red than dead' as morally hollow, contrasting it with the absolute good-versus-evil clarity learned by those who lived through the concentration camps. - Argues that if the Gulag Archipelago were freely available and read within the Soviet Union, communist ideology would quickly collapse. ### Moscow Censor Sold Books to Black Market *By Robert C. Toth* A short item reports Lord George-Brown's resignation of the Labour whip in the House of Lords on 2 March 1976 in protest at the Government's handling of Lord Goodman's press-freedom amendment to the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Amendment) Bill, quoting his statement that the Labour Party 'has become the establishment' and refuses individual freedom, and his declaration that he now joins 'Bernard Levin and the army of Solzhenitsyn and Sakharov who stand for freedom.' - Lord George-Brown resigned the Labour whip on 2 March 1976 over the defeat of Lord Goodman's press-freedom amendment. - He frames his 45-year party membership as broken by the party's abandonment of individual freedom. - He explicitly links his resignation to the Solzhenitsyn debate, aligning himself with 'the army of Solzhenitsyn and Sakharov.' ### Nepotism in Pyongyang Robert C. Toth's report describes a Soviet black-market scandal in which a senior Glavlit (censorship agency) official, Andrei Sokolov, was found to have diverted confiscated foreign books and other seized goods to the Moscow black market for fifteen years before his arrest and seven-year sentence at hard labour. The piece is followed by an unsigned New York Times editorial, 'Nepotism in Pyongyang,' surveying dynastic tendencies among Communist rulers -- Stalin's grooming of his son Vasily, Khrushchev's son-in-law Alexei Adzhubei, Mao's wife Chiang Ching -- and concluding that North Korea's Kim Il Sung is likely the leading practitioner, having made his son Kim Jong Il 'crown prince and No. 2 man' while sidelining his brother Kim Yong Ju. - Glavlit official Andrei Sokolov ran a 15-year black-market operation selling confiscated foreign literature and other seized goods, concealed in sealed safes registered as destroyed. - Sokolov received seven years at hard labour after a raid found 170 sacks of confiscated literature; his superior was quietly retired by Premier Alexei Kosygin. - The Nepotism in Pyongyang editorial surveys dynastic succession attempts under Stalin, Khrushchev, and Mao before concluding Kim Il Sung is the 'champion practitioner' among Communist dictators. - Kim Il Sung is reported to have promoted his son Kim Jong Il to 'crown prince and No. 2 man' in the North Korean party, while his brother Kim Yong Ju was demoted. ### Popular Cairo Film *By Thomas W. Lippman* Thomas W. Lippman reports on a popular Cairo film, based on a novel by Neguib Mahfouz, that dramatizes torture and brutality by the secret police under the late President Nasser, depicting the ordeal of two young lovers, Zeinab and Ismail, who are imprisoned and abused before being freed by President Sadat's 'corrective revaluation' of Nasser's legacy. The piece notes Sadat's own public balancing of Nasser's legacy -- crediting Nasser's achievements while acknowledging 'deviations' and 'prisons and detention camps' that lasted longer than they should have. - The film, adapted from a Neguib Mahfouz novel, is Cairo's most popular current attraction and graphically depicts torture, rape, and political imprisonment under Nasser's secret police. - Nasser himself is not directly criticised in the film, but his photograph looms over scenes of abuse of innocent victims. - The story follows medical students Zeinab and her fiance Ismail, who are tortured, and Ismail is coerced into a false confession after a threat to repeat Zeinab's rape. - President Sadat reportedly viewed the film privately before release and has publicly offered a balanced assessment of Nasser, acknowledging 'deviations' and prison camps that 'remained longer than they should have.' ### Court's Comments on Censored Articles (extracts from Bombay High Court Division Bench judgement) This long section (pages 8-14) reproduces the Bombay High Court Division Bench's judgement in a censorship case brought against the Appellant (the government censoring authority) over the banning of several Freedom First items under Emergency-era press guidelines dated August 5, 1975, and related rules. The Court reviews each disputed item -- a Swarajya writ-petition report, a report on Nasser being called a 'Dictator and Communist,' an Amnesty International item on police duty to disobey torture orders, the Maharashtra Bar Council's resolution urging revocation of the Emergency, a Swiss Press Review item quoting Ambassador Moynihan on developing countries' self-inflicted problems, a Senator Church quotation about 'wicked government,' a P. Kodanda Rao letter proposing a Swiss-style constitution for India (including a quoted passage on Lord Linlithgow and Lord Wavell's views on Indian democracy), an open letter to the US Ambassador on Saxbe's frankness, and a J. L. Nain quotation on public-sector unfair trade practices -- and finds, item by item, that the government's objections were 'fanciful and far-fetched,' upholding publication of all items except the article by Mr Tarkunde and one headed 'Jai Jayawardene' (already decided in an earlier judgement referenced but not printed here). - The Bombay High Court Division Bench reviews nine specific censored items from Freedom First, finding the government's censorship objections 'fanciful and far-fetched' in almost every case. - The Court holds that reporting on a court's own injunction against a censor is not itself 'colourable' or objectionable, rejecting an argument based on 'esprit de corps' protection of censors. - In the 'Nasser Dictator & Communist' item, the Court finds no basis for the claim that quoting Egyptian trial testimony against Nasser could harm India's relations with the United Arab Republic. - The Court rejects the argument that an Amnesty International item on police officers' duty to disobey torture orders could 'confuse' police or military officers into disobeying lawful orders. - It upholds the Maharashtra Bar Council's right to publish its resolution urging revocation of the Emergency, calling the resolution a legitimate exercise of the constitutionally recognised right of dissent within permissible limits, citing precedents including Niharendu Dutt Majumdar v. The King Emperor and Kedar Nath Singh v. State of Bihar. - The Court dismisses the claim that a Senator Church quotation about 'wicked government' -- reproduced without identifying context -- would mislead readers into thinking it referred to India. - On the P. Kodanda Rao letter quoting Lord Linlithgow's and Lord Wavell's views on Indian and Muslim attitudes to ballot secrecy, the Court finds no likelihood that reproducing historical opinions could inflame communal tension, and warns that banning such historical material would make it impossible to publish any account of the freedom movement. - The Court concludes that except for the article by Mr Tarkunde and the item headed 'Jai Jayawardene,' the presiding judge Bhatt J. was right to set aside the censor's orders and issue a writ of mandamus permitting publication. ### Review: Cold and Uninspiring (Rational Legitimacy by Donald Rogowski) *By S. P. Aiyer* S. P. Aiyer reviews Donald Rogowski's Rational Legitimacy (Princeton University Press, 1974), which rejects prevailing sociological and 'political culture' explanations for why societies accept particular forms of government, and instead advances a theory that people choose governments 'rationally' based on ethnic and occupational information available to them. Aiyer finds Rogowski's critique of cultural-determinist theories (citing counterexamples like the West German Federal Republic's post-Weimar stability) persuasive but judges the positive theory of rational legitimacy overly abstract, particularly Rogowski's application of it to a supposedly 'pillarized' traditional Indian society, concluding the book 'leaves me cold and uninspired.' - Rogowski rejects cultural-determinist and 'political culture' theories of why people accept given forms of government, citing the West German Federal Republic's stability as a counterexample to Weimar-era pessimism. - Rogowski instead proposes that people choose forms of government 'rationally,' basing decisions on the ethnic and occupational information available to them. - Applied to India, Rogowski suggests its historically 'pillarized' caste-structured society limited state power, but that increased mobility and communication may now require authoritarian leadership, arguing democracy 'has little immediate future' outside a plebiscitary or 'guided' form. - Aiyer judges the book's scholarship dressed up formidably as a Ph.D. thesis but ultimately 'too abstract for ordinary mortals,' leaving him 'cold and uninspired.' ### With Many Voices The recurring 'With Many Voices' quotations column collects short excerpts from world press and public figures on topics of politics, freedom, and government, drawn from sources including The Economist, International Herald Tribune, Encounter, National Review, and the Guardian, spanning December 1975 to March 1976. - Includes Rajmohan Gandhi's warning that only a true saint can receive continual adulation without damage to character. - Quotes Chou-en-lai's remark 'I shall soon be seeing Karl Marx,' and Jonas Savimbi's rejection of a minority regime imposed by 'Cuban troops and Russian tanks.' - Includes commentary from Peregrine Worsthorne on trade unions and the 'modern equivalent of God's work,' and Michael Oakeshott's aphorism that 'the conjunction of dreaming and ruling generates tyranny.' - Closes with Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn's provocative comparisons of 'liberated' post-colonial atrocities to European colonization and a rhetorical question about Idi Amin versus Queen Victoria. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff282/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 282 (May 1976), edited by M. R. Masani, is a full issue of the Bombay-based liberal monthly, rendered here in its entirety (16 of 16 pages). The lead piece reprints, in abridged form, an article by Polish commentator Wieslaw Gornicki from the Communist Party journal Kultura, presented by the editors as an unexpected echo of Daniel Moynihan's critique of Third World solidarity rhetoric at the UN; it interrogates the economic incoherence and moral posturing of the Group of 77's claim to unified Third World interests. The regular editorial column, "Between You & Me and the Lamp Post," covers a run of short items: Indian governors' and the CBI's push to curb High Court writ jurisdiction under Article 226, a contrasting British push for a Bill of Rights, the fall of Thai PM Kukrit Pramoj to his brother Seni Pramoj, factional strife inside the British Labour Party over Roy Jenkins's foreign-secretary bid, the Communist campaign to discredit Alexander Dubcek, and Malcolm Muggeridge's doubts about the coherence of "majority rule." Dr. Fredoon P.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 282 (May 1976), edited by M. R. Masani, is a full issue of the Bombay-based liberal monthly, rendered here in its entirety (16 of 16 pages). The lead piece reprints, in abridged form, an article by Polish commentator Wieslaw Gornicki from the Communist Party journal Kultura, presented by the editors as an unexpected echo of Daniel Moynihan's critique of Third World solidarity rhetoric at the UN; it interrogates the economic incoherence and moral posturing of the Group of 77's claim to unified Third World interests. The regular editorial column, "Between You & Me and the Lamp Post," covers a run of short items: Indian governors' and the CBI's push to curb High Court writ jurisdiction under Article 226, a contrasting British push for a Bill of Rights, the fall of Thai PM Kukrit Pramoj to his brother Seni Pramoj, factional strife inside the British Labour Party over Roy Jenkins's foreign-secretary bid, the Communist campaign to discredit Alexander Dubcek, and Malcolm Muggeridge's doubts about the coherence of "majority rule." Dr. Fredoon P. Antia contributes a feature essay, "Dying with Dignity," arguing for a legal and moral right to die, built around the Karen Ann Quinlan case and a Florida transfusion-refusal case, and proposing that the right to end one's own life be treated as a fundamental right on par with Article 19. British MP Bryan Magee's syndicated piece "Why Marxism Is Left Behind" reports two prominent ex-Marxists' verdicts that Marxism as a body of thought is exhausted, illustrated with Djilas, Soviet dissident alienation, and the argument that Marxist revolutions succeed only when concealed under nationalism. The "World News" section compiles wire-service items: a NATO study warning that a conventional Warsaw Pact surprise attack could overrun Western Europe before nuclear response is authorized; Egypt's stalled debt-rescheduling talks with the USSR contrasted with debt forgiveness for Somalia and South Yemen; a Victor Zorza piece on the ageing Soviet Politburo gerontocracy; Taiwanese commentary on Egypt's break with Moscow; British trade-union opposition to state ownership of newspapers; a revisiting of the Hiss-Chambers case following historian Allen Weinstein's turnabout; a report on the cult of personality around Kim Il Sung in North Korea; and news of Diosdado Macapagal breaking three years of silence against Ferdinand Marcos's martial law. A book review by Nitin G. Raut covers Golda Meir's autobiography My Life, tracing her path from Kiev to Milwaukee to Palestine and her tenure as Israeli foreign minister and prime minister. The issue closes with "With Many Voices," a page of topical quotations from public figures (Idi Amin, Brezhnev, JFK, Kukrit Pramoj, and others) and a subscription form. ## Essays ### Dying with Dignity *By Fredoon P. Antia* An abridged reprint of an article by Polish journalist Wieslaw Gornicki, originally published in the Polish Communist Party journal Kultura, presented by Freedom First's editors as a striking echo -- from behind the Iron Curtain -- of Daniel Moynihan's earlier critiques of Third World rhetoric in the magazine. Gornicki recalls Poland's postwar identification with anti-colonial causes (Indonesia over Western Irian, India's annexation of Goa, Iraq, Nasser's camps for Egyptian Communists) under an unspoken rule of never criticizing the Third World, and argues this reflexive solidarity is now breaking down. He interrogates the economic incoherence of the Group of 77: enormous income disparities between members (Kuwait at $11,000 per head versus Haiti and Ethiopia near $100), the arbitrary and moralized use of the term "industrialised countries," and proposals like a universal tax on national income that would in practice make the world's poor subsidize its oil-rich elites while its actual poor (Java, Brazilian shantytowns) go unhelped. - Poland's postwar left-wing writers had an unspoken rule: write favourably of the Third World or not at all, with the massacre of Sudanese Communists and events in Indonesia in 1965 as rare deviations. - The Group of 77 is economically incoherent, with member incomes ranging from Kuwait's $11,000 to Haiti's and Ethiopia's under $100 per head. - The article questions why redistribution proposals aimed at 'industrialised countries' should not begin within the Group of 77 itself, given internal disparities. - Treating all industrialised countries as an undifferentiated bloc, e.g. via a flat tax on national income, produces morally perverse outcomes that would burden ordinary citizens of Warsaw-Pact and Western states alike while doing nothing for the truly poor. - The piece frames its critique as reflecting genuine Polish self-doubt about decades of uncritical Third World solidarity, made more credible by having passed Communist censorship. ### Why Marxism Is Left Behind *By Bryan Magee, M.P.* The regular unsigned editorial column surveys several current-affairs items. It criticizes moves by Indian state governors and the Central Bureau of Intelligence to curb or abrogate Article 226 writ jurisdiction of the High Courts, reading this as evidence the governors serve as mouthpieces of the Union government, and contrasts this with a contemporaneous British debate over adopting a Bill of Rights (with Lord Hailsham, the Liberal Party, and Lord Feather's Commission on Human Rights all engaged). It reports Thai PM Kukrit Pramoj's electoral defeat by his own brother Seni Pramoj, praising both as long-standing liberal intellectuals, and comments on turmoil inside the British Labour Party over the vetoing of Roy Jenkins's prospective appointment as Foreign Secretary. It notes the intensifying Communist campaign to discredit Alexander Dubcek by alleging CIA links, framing this as a reductio ad absurdum of Communist paranoia, and closes by relaying Malcolm Muggeridge's public letter to the Times airing his doubts about what 'majority rule' coherently means across different political contexts (Northern Ireland, Uganda, Haiti, South Vietnam). - Indian state governors and the CBI are reported to favour curbing Article 226, which lets High Courts hear writ petitions against executive and legislative action. - Britain is simultaneously debating adoption of a Bill of Rights, with proposals floated across the Conservative, Labour and Liberal parties. - Thailand's PM Kukrit Pramoj lost a general election to his own brother Seni Pramoj; both are described as committed liberals who upheld free-society values under authoritarian pressure. - The column reports internal Labour Party strife after the 'Tribunite' left successfully vetoed Roy Jenkins's move to Foreign Secretary. - Communist propaganda against Alexander Dubcek now alleges he maintained CIA links, which the column treats as absurd given his standing as a genuine, if heterodox, communist. - Malcolm Muggeridge's letter to the Times is cited questioning what 'majority rule' means in Northern Ireland, Uganda, Libya, Malawi, Haiti, South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. ### World News Dr. Fredoon P. Antia's feature essay 'Dying with Dignity' argues for legal recognition of a right to die. It opens with the burden of prolonging life in incurable, chronic cases, citing a Florida court case in which a judge ruled a 72-year-old patient could refuse further blood-transfusion treatment causing her pain, on the ground that 'a person has a right to live or die in dignity.' The essay then turns to the recent Karen Ann Quinlan case in New Jersey, in which the parents of a 21-year-old in an irreversible coma sought a court order to switch off her respirator; the essay was written before, and a 'Stop Press' box appended to the piece notes, the New Jersey Supreme Court's subsequent reversal in the parents' favour. Antia surveys nurses' opinions (a 'Nursing 75' survey found 96% in favour of withdrawing life support on patient request), the Euthanasia Educational Fund's 'Living Will' concept, the 250 intellectuals (including Andrei Sakharov and Julian Huxley) who signed a statement asserting individuals' rights over their own bodily destiny including euthanasia and suicide, and closes by arguing India in particular should legally recognize a right to die as a Fundamental Right akin to Article 19, and that failed-suicide prosecution should be abolished. - A Florida court ruling upheld a 72-year-old patient's right to refuse painful blood transfusions, establishing 'a person has a right to live or die in dignity.' - The Karen Ann Quinlan case is presented in detail: her parents sought to have her respirator switched off after five months in an irreversible coma; the original judge refused, but a Stop Press addendum reports the New Jersey Supreme Court later reversed this and granted the parents the right to decide on her behalf. - A 'Nursing 75' survey of 15,000 US nurses found 96% in favour of withdrawing life-sustaining treatment from patients who requested it. - Organisations such as the Euthanasia Educational Fund and the Euthanasia Society of America promote the 'Living Will,' by which a person pre-specifies a wish not to be kept alive by artificial or heroic means. - 250 intellectuals including Andrei Sakharov and Julian Huxley signed a statement asserting the individual's absolute right to control their own bodily destiny, including euthanasia and suicide. - Antia argues that in India, given widespread poverty and suffering, the right to end one's own life should be recognized as a Fundamental Right on par with Article 19, and that attempted suicide should not be a penal offence. ### Review: The "Only Man" (My Life by Golda Meir) *By Nitin G. Bafna* A short syndicated piece by British MP Bryan Magee, courtesy of the Times, reporting that two prominent men who came to world fame as Marxists or communists separately told him 'Marxism is dead,' meaning its intellectual contribution is exhausted and it no longer produces significant thinkers, artists, or scientific progress. Magee largely credits the claim, drawing on Djilas's 'The New Class' and the near-total alienation of the Soviet intelligentsia from Marxist ideology, and notes both informants argued that Marxist-led revolutions (Mao, Tito, Ho Chi Minh, Castro) succeeded only when the cause was nationalism rather than communism itself, since rank-and-file support for communism as such was consistently weak. - Two men who achieved world fame as Marxists or communists independently told Magee 'Marxism is dead,' meaning it is intellectually exhausted even if it retains institutional power. - Magee cites Djilas's 'The New Class,' published nearly twenty years earlier, as having already acknowledged Marxism's limitations from within the communist world. - Soviet intelligentsia alienation from the regime's ideology is described as 'virtually complete.' - Both informants argued that communist-led national liberation movements (Mao, Tito, Ho Chi Minh, Castro) succeeded by concealing themselves under nationalism, since mass enthusiasm for communism itself was consistently weak. ### With Many Voices The 'World News' section compiles several wire-service and syndicated items. 'NATO Study on Surprise Attack' reports Washington concern over a NATO report concluding the Warsaw Pact could successfully attack Western Europe using conventional forces alone, exploiting speed to preempt NATO's tactical nuclear response, and citing 16,000 active Soviet agents in West Germany. 'How Soviets Use Foreign Debts' details stalled Egypt-USSR debt rescheduling talks alongside the USSR's cancellation of Somalia's and South Yemen's debts. Victor Zorza's 'Kremlin's Ageing Wheeler-Dealers' (from the Guardian) analyzes the rising average age of the Soviet Politburo (now 70, versus 49 in 1952) as a sign of institutional sclerosis. 'Taiwan on Cairo' and a Chung Yang Jih Pao item cover Taipei and Chinese press reactions to Egypt's break with Moscow. A TUC item reports British trade unions oppose state ownership of newspapers. ''Hiss Has Been Lying'' (Time) reports historian Allen Weinstein's reversal on the Alger Hiss-Whittaker Chambers case after reviewing 15,376 pages of FBI files, concluding Hiss lied for nearly thirty years. 'Kim Thoughts Increase Fish Catch' (Peter Hazelhurst, Tokyo) describes the personality cult of Kim Il Sung and the doctrine of 'Kimilsungism' in North Korea. 'Macapagal Breaks 3-Year Silence' reports former Philippine president Diosdado Macapagal's clandestine paperback book demanding Ferdinand Marcos convene the Interim National Assembly and end martial law, plus a boxed 'Socialist Record in U.K.' table contrasting Conservative and Labour economic performance 1951-1976 from the Economist. - A NATO study warns that chronic Western conventional-force weakness combined with Soviet military build-up could tempt a Warsaw Pact surprise attack succeeding before nuclear response could be authorized. - 16,000 Soviet agents are reported active in West Germany, some trained to seize radio, television, and early-warning infrastructure in a surprise attack scenario. - Egypt's debt-rescheduling talks with the USSR stalled over grace periods and interest terms, while Soviet debts owed by Somalia and South Yemen were separately cancelled. - Victor Zorza's analysis shows the average age of Politburo members has risen from 49 (1952) to 70, which he interprets as either forcing rejuvenation or risking a sudden Kremlin collapse. - Historian Allen Weinstein, after reviewing over 15,000 pages of FBI files, reversed his prior belief in Alger Hiss's innocence and concluded Hiss had been lying for nearly 30 years about his relationship with Whittaker Chambers. - North Korea's state press promotes 'Kimilsungism' as a doctrine superseding Communism, crediting Kim Il Sung's 'thoughts' even for increased fish catches and industrial output. - Diosdado Macapagal broke three years of silence with a clandestinely distributed book demanding Ferdinand Marcos convene the National Assembly and end martial law in the Philippines. - A boxed Economist table contrasts UK economic performance under 13 Tory years (1951-1964) and 13 years including Wilson's government (1963-76), showing much higher retail-price inflation and unemployment growth under the latter period. ### Essay 6 A book review, signed Nitin G. Raut, of Golda Meir's autobiography 'My Life' (Cox & Wyman, 388 pages). The review traces Meir's life from a childhood in Kiev marked by pogroms, through emigration to Milwaukee, her political awakening and marriage, her 1920s migration to Palestine and life on Kibbutz Merhavia, her rise through Israeli politics (Foreign Minister, then Prime Minister after Levi Eshkol's death in 1969), and her navigation between the hawkish and dovish factions of her own party. The review highlights episodes including her clandestine wartime visit to Amman disguised as an Arab woman, her relations with African states and the rupture that followed the Yom Kippur War, anecdotes about Nasser and the PLO, and closes praising the book's simple prose and its resonance with the historic Jewish struggle, while noting its commercial success and Golda's own modest living circumstances despite royalties to come. - Golda Meir's autobiography traces her path from a Kiev childhood marked by pogroms, to Milwaukee, to emigration to Palestine in 1920 and life on Kibbutz Merhavia. - Ben Gurion called her the 'only man' in his cabinet during the 1973 crisis, a description the reviewer treats as high praise of her leadership under pressure. - The book recounts a clandestine wartime visit to Amman, disguised as an Arab woman, intended to dissuade King Abdullah of Transjordan from joining a combined Arab attack on Israel. - Golda was elected Prime Minister in 1969 after Levi Eshkol's death, serving as a 'balancing wheel' between the dovish Allon and hawkish Dayan factions within her party. - The review notes Israel's rupture in diplomatic relations with African states after the Yom Kippur War, which the book treats as a bitter setback given Israel's earlier aid relationships in Africa. - The reviewer praises the book's simple, unadorned English prose, comparing its core message to the Jewish plea 'Let my people live.' ### Essay 7 The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' is a compilation of topical quotations from public figures, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson, followed by the subscription form and publication imprint (Registered No. MH By South/264, published for the Democratic Research Society by J. R. Patel). - The page compiles short quotations on current affairs from figures including Abraham Lincoln, Idi Amin, Sharaf R. Rashidov, John F. Kennedy, James Callaghan, Kukrit Pramoj, Senator Jackson, President Park, Yun Po Sun, and others, sourced from The Economist, Time, The Times, and other publications. - One quotation from The Economist calls Portugal's swing to democracy proof there is nothing like a bungled revolution to give a country a taste for liberty. - President John F. Kennedy is quoted arguing Communism has succeeded only as a scavenger of disruption caused by war or internal repression, never as a leader in its own right. - The page closes with the subscription form for Freedom First, priced at Rs. 5.00 annually (Rs. 3.00 for students). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff283/ ### Summary This is the June 1976 issue (No. 283) of Freedom First, edited by M. R. Masani, published during the Indian Emergency. The issue opens with Masani's own "State of the Nation," a reprint of his October 1975 letter to Encounter magazine (with a December postscript) describing censorship, detention without trial under MISA, and the suspension of Freedom First's own publication pending a High Court writ against censorship -- a suit the magazine won in November 1975. The rest of the issue ranges well beyond domestic politics: a World News item on the British Royal Commission on the press; Dimitri K. Simes's essay on the Soviet Union's illegal "parallel market" in goods, services, medical care, and expertise; A. G.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the June 1976 issue (No. 283) of Freedom First, edited by M. R. Masani, published during the Indian Emergency. The issue opens with Masani's own "State of the Nation," a reprint of his October 1975 letter to Encounter magazine (with a December postscript) describing censorship, detention without trial under MISA, and the suspension of Freedom First's own publication pending a High Court writ against censorship -- a suit the magazine won in November 1975. The rest of the issue ranges well beyond domestic politics: a World News item on the British Royal Commission on the press; Dimitri K. Simes's essay on the Soviet Union's illegal "parallel market" in goods, services, medical care, and expertise; A. G. Noorani's review of two books on the break-up of Pakistan and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's rise to power; Ernest van den Haag's philosophical defence of market distribution against socialist claims to distributive justice; Geeta Doctor's review of a Performance Group production of Brecht's Mother Courage; a short item on Andrei Amalrik's forced exile from the Soviet Union; and a closing page of aphoristic quotations, "With Many Voices." The throughline across the disparate pieces is a classical-liberal suspicion of concentrated state power, whether exercised through Emergency-era censorship in India, central planning in the Soviet Union, or authoritarian rule in Pakistan. ## Essays ### State of the Nation *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's "State of the Nation" reprints, at readers' request, the letter he wrote to Encounter magazine (published January 1976) describing the state of India under the Emergency as of 31 October 1975, with a postscript bringing the story to 5 December 1975. Masani, writing as a former politician now viewing events "as a student of history," catalogues the machinery of the Emergency: detention without trial under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act, incommunicado holding of Jayaprakash Narayan and other detenus, press censorship that bars comment on the Emergency, Parliament, and the Prime Minister's own court case, and the suppression of even routine news such as a civil liberties conference in Gujarat. He argues India is not a full-blown fascist or communist dictatorship but a reversible "limited form of authoritarianism," and sets out the liberal's proper posture: neither romantic defiance nor craven fear, but a disciplined effort to assert citizens' rights within the bounds of legality. He surveys the economic backdrop -- stagnant per-capita consumption, a demand recession, and the need for a reversal of Five Year Plan priorities toward agriculture and consumer goods -- and closes by noting Sanjay Gandhi's surprising public argument against nationalisation in a censored press otherwise silent on the subject. The postscript reports Jayaprakash Narayan's release from detention in poor health and Freedom First's own court victory over press censorship on 25 November 1975, with further appeal expected. - Reprints Masani's letter to Encounter (Jan. 1976) on the state of the Emergency as of 31 October 1975, plus a postscript to 5 December 1975. - Details press censorship, detention without trial under MISA, and incommunicado treatment of Jayaprakash Narayan and other detenus. - Argues India's Emergency is a reversible 'limited form of authoritarianism,' not fascism or communism. - Sets out the liberal democrat's proper stance: assert citizen rights within legality, avoid both romanticism and fear. - Surveys economic stagnation -- declining per-capita consumption, demand recession -- and calls for redirecting Plan priorities to agriculture and consumer goods. - Notes Sanjay Gandhi's public remarks against nationalisation, permitted to appear despite the general press blackout on Emergency commentary. - Postscript: Narayan released on parole in bad health; Freedom First won its High Court suit against censorship on 25 November 1975, pending appeal. ### World News: British Press: Royal Commission's Recommendations An unsigned World News item summarising the interim report of the British Royal Commission on the Press, formed in 1975 amid anxiety over Fleet Street's financial prospects. The Commission finds the industry's financial position poor and cash flow critical at many houses, recommends cost-savings through productivity improvements rather than manpower cuts alone, and concludes that medium-term financial assistance is needed. It favours drawing that assistance from the private sector rather than government, on the view that public-sector aid risks partisan government influence over newspapers and that independent, non-governmental monitoring would be required if public funds were used. The piece closes by affirming the Commission's view that a healthy, independent, and diverse press is indispensable to a democratic society. - Reports the Royal Commission's 1975 interim report on the financial crisis facing British national newspapers. - Commission recommends cost-savings via productivity gains and acceptable working-method changes rather than manpower cuts alone. - Assistance should be drawn from the private sector, since public funding risks partisan government influence over the press. - If public funds are used, independent (non-governmental) monitoring is required to avoid accusations of partisan interference. - Concludes that a healthy, independent, diverse press is indispensable to democracy. ### The Soviet Parallel Market *By Dimitri K. Simes* Dimitri K. Simes describes the vast, illegal "parallel market" that operates alongside the official Soviet economy, arguing it is not a temporary product of shortage but a permanent feature born of the inefficiency of state distribution. Ordinary citizens rely on it daily for apartment repairs, redecoration, spare parts, taxis, medical care, legal services, and private tutoring, typically by offering tips, bribes, or personal connections to get reliable service that the official system cannot supply. Even government firms, collective farms, and industrial enterprises use the parallel market to obtain equipment, manpower, and expertise unavailable through official channels, and by the late 1960s informal research and consulting firms had sprung up, run by moonlighting scientists and engineers, that built reputations for reliability precisely because they operated outside guaranteed state employment. The piece (continued on page 14, included in this rendered set) argues the Soviet leadership tolerates a degree of parallel-market activity despite its evident contradiction with a totalitarian system's need for total control, because the alternative -- eliminating it -- would collapse a system that has become functionally dependent on it; a small minority of speculators and thieves are still treated as criminals, but others working 'for a good cause' enjoy new leniency. - The Soviet parallel (black) market is permanent and structural, not a temporary shortage-driven phenomenon. - Covers goods (clothing, spare parts) and services (repairs, taxis, medical care, legal services, private tutoring), obtained via tips, bribes, or personal connections. - Government firms, farms, and enterprises also use it to secure equipment, manpower, and expertise unavailable officially. - Informal research/consulting firms staffed by moonlighting scientists and engineers emerged in the late 1960s, prized for reliability official institutions lacked. - Nearly everyone in Soviet retail management is said to break the law routinely to keep operations running. - The regime has grown more tolerant of parallel-market activity 'for a good cause,' even as it still prosecutes speculators and thieves as criminals. - Simes argues the entire Soviet economic system may be unable to survive without the parallel market. ### Bhutto's Pakistan *By A. G. Noorani* A. G. Noorani reviews two books on Pakistan's collapse and the rise of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto: Herbert Feldman's The End and the Beginning: Pakistan 1969-1971 and Meenakshi Gopinath's Pakistan in Transition. Noorani finds Feldman informative but analytically confused, faulting his thesis that Ayub Khan alone bears responsibility for Pakistan's dismemberment and noting Feldman's own acknowledgment of the isolation Pakistani writers suffer from outside news and ideas. He rates Gopinath's book more scholarly, tracing Bhutto's climb through the failed Forward Bloc manoeuvre within Ayub's Convention Muslim League, his break with the establishment, and the 1967 launch of the Pakistan People's Party built on rejection of Ayub's authoritarianism, socialism, and an 'independent' foreign policy wrapped in appeals to Islam. Noorani details Gopinath's account of the PPP's 1970 election manifesto (anti-SEATO, anti-'imperialist-neo-colonialist,' pro-Vietnam), Bhutto's demagogic and personalist party organisation, and the authoritarian methods -- press controls, arrests of editors and publishers -- Bhutto turned to once in power, met in turn by peasant and worker unrest in NWFP and Lahore. The review closes by relaying Gopinath's own ambivalent verdict on Bhutto's rule and Pakistan's democratic prospects, and a wry aside that no one is likely to write a book called 'After Bhutto, Who?' - Reviews Herbert Feldman's The End and the Beginning: Pakistan 1969-1971 and Meenakshi Gopinath's Pakistan in Transition. - Feldman's book judged informative but 'hopelessly confused' analytically; his thesis blames Ayub Khan for Pakistan's break-up. - Gopinath's book judged the more scholarly account of Bhutto's rise via the PPP, founded 1967 after his split from Ayub's Convention Muslim League. - PPP's 1970 manifesto: anti-SEATO, anti-imperialist, pro-Vietnamese, opposing 'imperialist-neo-colonialist' powers. - Once in power, Bhutto ruled by authoritarian methods -- press curbs, arrests of editors and publishers -- provoking peasant and worker unrest in NWFP and Lahore. - Gopinath's verdict is ambivalent: credits Bhutto's talent and the PPP's mobilising role, but questions whether legitimacy can be confused with mere numerical strength. ### Interaction of Politics and Economics *By Ernest Van Den Haag* Ernest van den Haag argues that the market's distribution of income, though independent of moral criteria such as justice, cannot be legitimately displaced by socialist systems that claim to distribute according to moral merit instead. He distinguishes economic desert (the market value of one's services) from moral desert (virtues such as courage or generosity), arguing that the felt discrepancy between the two -- and the political attempts to bridge it -- is the true source of dissatisfaction with income distribution. Any political system of distribution, he contends, would rely on political merit (skill in gaining power) as arbitrarily as the market relies on economic merit, and socialist systems have not in practice achieved more real distributive justice while sacrificing efficiency and individual freedom. Van den Haag traces the psychological and social history of attitudes toward poverty -- from fatalistic acceptance, through resentment fuelled by shrinking distance between rich and poor and by mass media, to the modern view of poverty as social pathology and injustice -- and shows that poverty (by the US government's own relative measure) has in fact declined sharply over fifty years even as resentment of remaining inequality has intensified. He closes (continued to page 13, included in this rendered set) by warning that inflation and welfare policies erode the market system by the same populist political logic, though he draws qualified hope from Karl Popper's rejection of historicism -- while conceding his own prognosis offers no confident remedy. - Distinguishes 'economic desert' (market value of services) from 'moral desert,' arguing their non-identity is the root of dissatisfaction with market income distribution. - Argues political systems of distribution rely on political merit (skill in acquiring power) which is no more just or equal than economic merit. - Claims socialist systems achieve less individual freedom and no demonstrably greater distributive justice than market systems. - Traces changing social perceptions of poverty: from natural/fatalistic acceptance to being seen as an injustice and 'social pathology.' - Notes that in the USA, the proportion of families below the (relative) poverty line fell from 50% in 1920 to under 11% in 1966, even as resentment of inequality intensified. - Warns inflation and welfare policies are, alongside outright socialism, erosive threats to the market economy. - Closes on a qualified, uncertain note, invoking Karl Popper's rejection of historicism as the only source of optimism. ### Enduring with Mother Courage *By Geeta Doctor* Geeta Doctor reviews the Performance Group of New York's production of Brecht's Mother Courage, staged at the quadrangle of the Cathedral School under Richard Schechner's direction, with Joan McIntyre in the title role. She describes the deliberately uncomfortable, immersive staging -- no fixed seats, scaffolding, gunny bags on the floor -- as achieving the 'Verfremdung' (alienation) effect Brecht demanded, forcing the four-hour audience into continuous physical and emotional re-engagement rather than passive spectatorship. Doctor recounts the play's plot and Brecht's own theory of theatre (strong lighting, actors not identifying with roles, scenes designed to make political points inescapable), situating it in the context of Brecht's flight from Nazi Germany and his Communist commitments. She judges the production a success on Brecht's own terms: rough, gentle, humorous, and disorienting by turns, though she notes some spectators found the sensory and structural fragmentation simply a 'cacophony of discordant noises and actions' rather than meaningful theatre -- a reaction she suggests the Performance Group would itself accept as within the scope of their intentions, comparing it to their similarly fragmented, booth-structured Vietnam play in the United States. - Reviews the Performance Group of New York's staging of Brecht's Mother Courage, directed by Richard Schechner, with Joan McIntyre as Mother Courage. - Staging was deliberately uncomfortable and immersive: no fixed seats, scaffolding, gunny bags, four-hour running time. - Doctor situates the production against Brecht's own theory of 'Verfremdung' (alienation) and his Communist political commitments formed while fleeing Nazi Germany. - Describes the plot: Mother Courage's wagon-trade through war, and the deaths of her children Eilif, Swiss Cheese, and Kattrin. - Judges the production a faithful and powerful realization of Brecht's intentions, praising the ensemble cast's control of role-distance. - Notes some audience members experienced the fragmented, multi-focus staging as mere noise rather than meaningful theatre, and compares it to the Performance Group's booth-structured Vietnam play in the US. ### After KGB Harassment, Amalrik Accepts Exile A short unsigned news item reports that dissident writer Andrei Amalrik, after years of imprisonment and Siberian exile followed by a campaign of KGB police harassment, has reluctantly agreed to emigrate abroad. He and his wife Gyusel, a painter, are not Jewish but have accepted suggestions from Soviet authorities that they apply to emigrate to Israel, and plan to travel first to the Netherlands and then the United States. Amalrik is quoted saying the decision was not taken freely and that, as a writer born in his country, he never wanted to leave. - Reports that dissident writer Andrei Amalrik has agreed, under sustained KGB harassment, to accept exile abroad. - Amalrik and his wife Gyusel (a painter) are not Jewish but were pressured to apply to emigrate via Israel. - Their planned route is first to the Netherlands, then to the United States. - Amalrik states the decision was not taken freely, given his identity as a writer born in his own country. ### With Many Voices "With Many Voices" is the issue's closing page of compiled quotations from the international press (Guardian, Encounter, The Economist, Time, International Herald Tribune, and others), gathered under an epigraph from Tennyson. The quotes range across wit on Cold War politics, the Soviet gerontocracy, Mrs Gandhi's shifting political positioning, egalitarianism and inflation, and literary asides on Agatha Christie -- functioning as a miscellany of aphoristic commentary rather than a single argument. The page also carries a subscription form for Freedom First. - A compiled miscellany of quotations from international press sources (Guardian, Encounter, The Economist, Time, International Herald Tribune, etc.), March-April 1976. - Covers Cold War politics, Soviet leadership succession, Mrs Gandhi's political manoeuvring, and the definition of a 'statesman.' - Includes a quotation warning that 'egalitarianism + materialism = inflation.' - Carries the Freedom First subscription form on the same page. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff285/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 285 (August 1976), edited by M. R. Masani, appears in the thirteenth month of the Emergency. The issue opens with Masani's editorial attacking the Swaran Singh Committee's proposed "Duties of the Citizen" as a device to subordinate Fundamental Rights to unenforceable Directive Principles and to place government conduct beyond judicial scrutiny. The "Between You & Me and the Lamp Post" column surveys the Entebbe rescue, a French prosecutorial-transfer controversy, and the Polish government's climbdown on food prices, drawing a common lesson about price controls and the rule of law. A paired excerpt, "Tass vs. The Times", sets a Soviet commentator's defence of the Indian Emergency against a Times editorial skeptical of Mrs Gandhi's justifications, continued by Bernard Levin's bicentennial tribute to the United States as the "last best hope of all mankind". Resolutions from the Citizens for Democracy annual meeting call for constitutional safeguards against arbitrary Emergency proclamations and for early, free elections.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 285 (August 1976), edited by M. R. Masani, appears in the thirteenth month of the Emergency. The issue opens with Masani's editorial attacking the Swaran Singh Committee's proposed "Duties of the Citizen" as a device to subordinate Fundamental Rights to unenforceable Directive Principles and to place government conduct beyond judicial scrutiny. The "Between You & Me and the Lamp Post" column surveys the Entebbe rescue, a French prosecutorial-transfer controversy, and the Polish government's climbdown on food prices, drawing a common lesson about price controls and the rule of law. A paired excerpt, "Tass vs. The Times", sets a Soviet commentator's defence of the Indian Emergency against a Times editorial skeptical of Mrs Gandhi's justifications, continued by Bernard Levin's bicentennial tribute to the United States as the "last best hope of all mankind". Resolutions from the Citizens for Democracy annual meeting call for constitutional safeguards against arbitrary Emergency proclamations and for early, free elections. A lengthy "World News" digest, reprinted from British and American papers, covers Swiss aid politics, Soviet meat shortages, a smuggled dissident film, the trial and imprisonment of Soviet critics, the war in Angola, and a libel suit brought by a Newsweek correspondent against a Soviet weekly. The issue closes with a theatre review of a Gujarati play by Geeta Doctor, A. G. Noorani's review of an edited volume on the mechanics of Communist takeovers worldwide (with attention to the Indian case), and a page of aphoristic quotations, "With Many Voices". ## Essays ### Oh, The Frivolity Of It! *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's editorial "Oh, The Frivolity of It!" attacks the Swaran Singh Committee for treating the proposed constitutional Duties of the Citizen frivolously, giving the public only twelve days to respond to a report published July 3 before a final meeting on July 15. Masani objects most sharply to the Committee's recommendation that these Duties should override the Citizen's Fundamental Rights and that courts should not be permitted to examine the validity of laws enacted to enforce them. He argues this compounds the damage already done by the 25th Amendment, which subordinated Fundamental Rights to the (originally non-justiciable) Directive Principles, and closes by noting the irony of a government that cannot itself claim to respect the spirit of the Constitution now lecturing citizens on constitutional duty. - The Swaran Singh Committee published its report on July 3 and demanded public comment within twelve days, which Masani calls an absurdly short deadline for serious constitutional change. - Of the three core questions the Committee considered, it answered that Duties should be added to the Constitution and made punishable by law, but that courts should NOT be permitted to test the validity of laws passed to enforce them. - Masani argues many of the eight proposed Duties would be unobjectionable as voluntary exhortations, but rejects making them legally binding at a time when the Constitution itself is under strain. - He connects this proposal to the earlier 25th Amendment, which he says already subordinated Fundamental Rights to the (historically non-enforceable) Directive Principles. - He closes by pointing out the contradiction of the ruling party recommending citizens' Duty to respect the Constitution while itself accused of violating its spirit. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post The unsigned "Between You & Me and The Lamp Post" column covers four items: praise for the Israeli Entebbe hostage rescue as a model of resisting terrorism through deterrent action rather than appeasement; a French controversy ("Judges' Siberia") over the transfer of a Deputy Public Prosecutor investigating oil-price-rigging, contrasted approvingly with the routine transfer of judges "by the dozen" within India without similar public outcry; the Polish government's rapid reversal of steep food-price increases after price riots, used to argue that price controls are no substitute for market-set prices even under a totalitarian government; and a closing item on "Anti-Climax in Italy", observing that the Italian general election produced a continuance of the status quo, with the Christian Democrats retaining power despite public dissatisfaction and the Communists failing to break through, and lamenting that the small centrist Liberal, Republican, and Social Democratic parties lost ground rather than gaining from disaffected voters. A closing item, "A Happy Combination", welcomes the election of General Eanes as President of Portugal and his invitation to Mario Soares to form a government as a reassuring sign for Portuguese democracy. - The Entebbe rescue is praised as proof that resolute deterrent action against terrorism, not appeasement, is the right response, with praise for President Ford, President Giscard d'Estaing, and Prime Minister Callaghan for welcoming the Israeli action. - The column draws an implicit contrast between France's public uproar over a single prosecutor's transfer and the routine, unremarked transfer of High Court judges "by the dozen" in India (or its region), calling the French reaction "a breath of fresh air." - Poland's swift reversal of proposed 30-70 per cent food price increases, after riots and deaths, is presented as proof that price control and arbitrary price-fixing are no substitute for the laws of supply and demand, even under a totalitarian government. - The column notes that black markets are the inevitable consequence of suppressing market prices, whether in Poland or the Soviet Union. - On Italy, the column argues that Christian Democratic misgovernment failed to translate into Communist gains, and regrets that centrist parties committed to free enterprise and pluralism did not capture disaffected votes. - The election of General Eanes as President of Portugal, and his call on Mario Soares to form a government, is welcomed as reassurance that Portugal will remain within the free world. ### TASS vs. The Times "Tass vs. The Times" juxtaposes two contemporaneous statements on the first anniversary of the Indian Emergency. A Tass dispatch quotes Soviet commentator Sergei Bulantsev defending the Indira Gandhi government's emergency measures as a response to a Western press campaign rooted in colonial-era hostility, and citing the intimidation of ministers and industrial unrest as justifying "resolute measures." The accompanying Times of London editorial, by contrast, argues that Western disappointment with India stems from the high hopes invested in Indian democracy as heir to a Westminster-style, British-transmitted system, and suggests that this assumption of Indian democratic capacity was itself poorly founded, since parliamentary practice took root chiefly among an English-educated urban elite rather than the broader peasant population. - The Soviet commentator Sergei Bulantsev is quoted via Tass arguing that Western press criticism of India's Emergency reflects a deep-rooted colonial-era dislike of Third World development rather than genuine concern for democracy. - The Tass item cites the attempted assassination of railways minister L. N. Mishra as an example of violence the Western press allegedly ignored before the Emergency. - The Times editorial argues that Western, and especially British, disappointment with India stems from the unusually high expectations placed on Indian democracy as the best-transmitted example of British parliamentary institutions among former colonies. - The Times piece contends that this assumption was flawed because parliamentary practice in India was confined mainly to an English-educated ruling class, "divorced from India's peasant masses." - The Times also revisits the Cold War-era assumption that India would stand as Asia's democratic counterweight to Communist China, arguing this framing was never well founded. ### 'Last Best Hope of All Mankind' *By Bernard Levin* Bernard Levin's bicentennial essay, reprinted (per its closing credit) courtesy of The Times, argues that despite Britain's fashionable pessimism about the United States, America genuinely remains "the last, best hope of all mankind" 200 years after the Declaration of Independence. Levin catalogues the failures of other polities and regimes—France's flirtation with a Stalinist-leaning Communist leader, Italy's uneasy relationship with its own Communists, Africa's disappointing record on "liberation" and "independence," India under its "seedy dictator"—to argue that no other nation offers a comparably self-healing constitutional order or comparable material generosity to the rest of the world. He closes by affirming that America's constitutional fabric remains sound as it enters its third century, holding out to the world "unlimited promise" and "unlimited hope." - Levin rejects what he calls the "idle fashion" of decrying America in Britain, insisting the United States remains, 200 years on, the "last, best hope of all mankind." - He compares the condition and prospects of the U.S. favourably against France (menaced by "the Stalinist thug Marchais"), Italy ("everybody's favourite communist" Berlinguer), Africa post-independence, and India, which he describes dismissively as ruled by a "seedy dictator." - He credits the United States with the greatest act of material generosity in world history through its post-war foreign aid, despite receiving little gratitude and much hostility in return. - He argues the U.S. deserves credit for setting up and disproportionately funding NATO, offering the world protection of freedom rather than merely cash or machine-tools. - Levin acknowledges America's continuing struggles — on race, and on reconciling capitalism's benefits with its "selfishness" — but insists its constitutional fabric remains intact as it enters its third century. ### Citizens for Democracy This item reproduces two resolutions adopted at the Annual General Meeting of Citizens for Democracy, held in Bombay on June 19-20, 1976. The first resolution opposes any amendment of the Constitution while freedom of expression is curtailed, public meetings banned, thousands held without trial, and the Lok Sabha's mandate expired, and calls for specific constitutional amendments to make Emergency proclamations justiciable, to confine suspension of fundamental rights strictly to genuine war or insurrection, and to secure judicial and Election Commission independence from executive patronage. The second resolution urges early general elections, no later than March 1977, preceded by release of political prisoners, restoration of press freedom, and removal of the ban on public meetings, and separately urges the government to scrap the 1974 and 1975 amendments to election law, which the resolution says gutted expenditure ceilings and let ruling-party candidates use public funds and officials in campaigns. - Citizens for Democracy's AGM resolution opposes constitutional amendment during the Emergency, citing curtailed free expression, banned public meetings, detention without trial, and the Lok Sabha's expired five-year mandate. - The resolution calls for amendments making Emergency proclamations under Articles 352 and 356 justiciable, and confining suspension of fundamental rights to actual war or insurrection. - It calls for judicial independence (removing Chief Justice and High Court appointments from executive patronage) and an independent Election Commission appointed by a Prime Minister-Opposition Leader-Chief Justice committee. - A second resolution demands general elections no later than March 1977, preceded by release of political prisoners, restored press freedom, and lifting the ban on public meetings, calling any election held otherwise "a fraud." - The resolution also calls for scrapping the 1974 and 1975 election-law amendments, which it says removed real limits on candidate election expenditure and let government officials assist ruling-party campaigns. ### World News The "World News" digest reprints a run of items from British and American papers covering the wider world in mid-1976. It reports Swiss voters rejecting a government-backed interest-free loan to the International Development Association; a Washington Post piece on declining meat content and quality in Soviet sausage amid poor harvests; a Pravda item lamenting the decline of modest Soviet weddings in favour of lavish status-driven banquets; a Times report on the setback to South Korean democratic dissent following the fall of Saigon; an Observer account of a smuggled Granada Television documentary showing Soviet ethnic-minority dissent, featuring dissidents Anatole Scharansky and Boris Levitas; a Times report on UNITA's guerrilla war against the Angolan government and its Cuban-backed MPLA forces; a report on Newsweek correspondent Alfred Friendly's libel suit against a Soviet weekly that accused him of working for the CIA; and a Guardian piece on the imprisoned dissident Vladimir Bukovsky, condemning the political misuse of Soviet psychiatry against critics such as Valentyn Moroz, and naming Jean-Paul Sartre, Daniel Ellsberg, Mary McCarthy, and Noam Chomsky as having petitioned on the issue. - Swiss voters rejected, by a 56.5 per cent majority, a government-backed £45 million interest-free loan to the International Development Association, reflecting scepticism about the value of international aid transfers. - A Washington Post report describes Soviet authorities quietly ordering reduced meat content in sausages amid a poor grain harvest, while maintaining prices, leaving consumers dissatisfied with quality. - A Times report on South Korea states that the fall of Saigon strengthened President Park Chung Hee's authoritarian rule by allowing the regime to invoke external threat to justify suppressing dissent. - A smuggled Granada Television film reportedly documents Soviet ethnic-minority (Jewish, German, Ukrainian, Tatar) resistance activity, including footage of dissidents Anatole Scharansky and Boris Levitas, and was seized in part by the KGB. - A Times report describes UNITA's guerrilla campaign against Angola's MPLA government and Cuban forces, claiming around 4,000 active fighters and control of an area "more than three times the size of Switzerland." - A Guardian piece condemns Soviet psychiatric abuse used against dissidents, centred on the imprisonment of Vladimir Bukovsky, and references a petition against the practice signed by Jean-Paul Sartre, Daniel Ellsberg, Mary McCarthy, and Noam Chomsky. ### The Cry of the Koel *By Geeta Doctor* Geeta Doctor's theatre review, "The Cry of the Koel", covers the Gujarati play Vaishakhi Koyal by the poet-playwright Sitansh Yashashchandra, praising it as a rare instance of lyricism and sensitivity on the contemporary Gujarati stage. The review summarizes the plot—the industrialist's wife Alka's chaste but emotionally consuming epistolary romance with a young man, Abhaysingh Parmar, conducted through letters ostensibly written on behalf of her illiterate young ward Ratan, which nearly collapses Ratan's own engagement to Abhay when Alka discovers Ratan is pregnant by someone else—and praises the play for giving its heroine complexity rather than the usual stereotypes of victimhood or seductiveness on the Gujarati stage. Doctor credits director/actor Pravin Joshi and lead actress Sarita for a largely mature production, while criticizing some melodrama and finding Ratan's actress less able to carry the play's darker later turns. - The review covers Vaishakhi Koyal, a Gujarati play by poet-playwright Sitansh Yashashchandra, praising its unusual lyricism relative to typical melodramatic Gujarati stage fare. - The plot centres on Alka, wife of industrialist Vikram, whose repressed emotional life is drawn out through letters she writes on behalf of her illiterate ward Ratan to a young man, Abhaysingh Parmar, with whom Alka herself falls in love without ever meeting him properly. - Doctor singles out the play for giving its central woman, Alka, complexity and dignity rather than the stereotypes of "long-suffering womanhood" or seductress common on the Gujarati stage. - The review credits director Pravin Joshi (who also played the husband, Vikram) and lead actress Sarita for a mature, restrained production, with praise also for the actress playing Ratan in the play's lighter early scenes. - Doctor criticizes some melodrama in a scene involving the illegitimate pregnancy revelation and finds the actress playing Ratan less able to carry the play's darker later turns. ### Communist Takeovers *By A. G. Noorani* A. G. Noorani reviews The Anatomy of Communist Takeovers (Yale University Press, 1975), edited by Thomas T. Hammond with Robert Farrell as associate editor, a multi-contributor study of how Communist parties gained power in twenty-two countries since 1917, alongside abortive attempts elsewhere. Noorani summarizes Hammond's thesis that only four takeovers (Yugoslavia, Albania, China, North Vietnam) were genuinely indigenous, guerrilla-driven outgrowths of World War II resistance movements with little dependence on Soviet military support, while most others were installed directly by the Red Army. He highlights the volume's case studies of successful and failed takeovers, notes two omissions/oddities in Hammond's list of failures (the 1948 Communist revolt in India under B. T. Ranadive, and the ambiguous classification of Chile under Allende), and quotes at length Malcolm Mackintosh's analysis of Stalin's foreign policy as an inextricable fusion of Russian nationalism and Communist ideological mission. The review closes by endorsing Hammond's conclusion that Soviet policy today is driven primarily by considerations of Russian national interest rather than commitment to world revolution. - The reviewed volume, edited by Thomas T. Hammond, studies Communist takeovers (and failed attempts) in over twenty countries since 1917, with contributors chosen for authority on each case. - Hammond's introductory and concluding essays argue that only Yugoslavia, Albania, China, and North Vietnam saw genuinely indigenous Communist takeovers via guerrilla armies tied to WWII resistance, with the Soviet army playing little or no role in these four. - Noorani flags two omissions/anomalies in Hammond's list of failed Communist takeovers: the 1948 Communist revolt in India led by B. T. Ranadive (which Noorani supports by quoting Nehru's 1949 Constituent Assembly remarks), and the ambiguous treatment of Chile under Salvador Allende as a takeover attempt. - The review quotes at length Malcolm Mackintosh's analysis that Stalin's foreign policy fused Russian nationalism with genuine Communist ideological commitment, and that Stalin's limitations became apparent when facing situations (like Yugoslavia or China) outside direct Soviet control. - Gerald Hesger's case-study essay on Kerala is highlighted as showing Communist power there resting on a unique convergence of caste, class, and organisation not replicated elsewhere in India. - Noorani endorses the volume's concluding argument that Soviet policy toward Communist movements abroad is now driven chiefly by Russian national interest rather than doctrinal commitment to world revolution. ### With Many Voices The closing page, "With Many Voices" (its title drawn from Tennyson), collects short quotations clipped from the international press during June-July 1976 without editorial commentary, ranging from wry political one-liners (President Mobutu of Zaire on African democracy, David Steel and Cyril Smith on British politics, John Pardoe on the moribund two-party system) to weightier statements on freedom and government (James Madison on gradual versus violent encroachments on liberty, Jimmy Carter on foreign aid, William V. Shannon on presuming the worst absent a free press). A Blitz editorial notes Indira Gandhi's eighth visit to the Soviet Union, the fourth since becoming Prime Minister. - The page compiles unannotated quotations from British and American press and public figures during June-July 1976, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson's 'Ulysses'. - Quotations include Cyril Smith, M.P., calling Margaret Thatcher "a cheeky, arrogant bitch," and John Pardoe describing the British two-party system as "dead but won't lie down." - A quoted Blitz editorial observes that Indira Gandhi's June 1976 trip was her eighth visit to the Soviet Union and the fourth since becoming Prime Minister. - James Madison is quoted (via a Times report on his Virginia Convention speech) warning that liberty is more often eroded by gradual encroachment than by sudden usurpation. - William V. Shannon is quoted proposing a rule of thumb for judging authoritarian governments: absent a free press, assume the worst and place the burden of doubt on the government. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff284/ ### Summary This is the complete 16-page issue of Freedom First No. 284 (July 1976), edited by M. R. Masani and published by the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, during the Emergency. The lead feature is S. V. Raju's sympathetic-but-critical analysis of the draft policy and programme of the new opposition party being formed from elements of Congress (O), the Socialist Party, the Jan Sangh, and the Bharatiya Lok Dal, which he judges a well-intentioned but 'hastily assembled' and internally contradictory document. The issue also carries Eldridge Cleaver's column attacking Third World and Arab-bloc racism and defending Israel/Zionism at the UN; an extract of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's BBC broadcast denouncing socialism as an emotional myth that ends in coercion; the regular 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' and 'World News' columns compiling press clippings on press freedom, Soviet and Rhodesian censorship, British politics, and Spain's transition from dictatorship; a news report on Acharya Kripalani's successful High Court petition against Emergency censorship; two book reviews (of Soli Sorabjee's Law of Press Censorship in India and of a Third World hunger study); a reader's letter oppos… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the complete 16-page issue of Freedom First No. 284 (July 1976), edited by M. R. Masani and published by the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, during the Emergency. The lead feature is S. V. Raju's sympathetic-but-critical analysis of the draft policy and programme of the new opposition party being formed from elements of Congress (O), the Socialist Party, the Jan Sangh, and the Bharatiya Lok Dal, which he judges a well-intentioned but 'hastily assembled' and internally contradictory document. The issue also carries Eldridge Cleaver's column attacking Third World and Arab-bloc racism and defending Israel/Zionism at the UN; an extract of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's BBC broadcast denouncing socialism as an emotional myth that ends in coercion; the regular 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' and 'World News' columns compiling press clippings on press freedom, Soviet and Rhodesian censorship, British politics, and Spain's transition from dictatorship; a news report on Acharya Kripalani's successful High Court petition against Emergency censorship; two book reviews (of Soli Sorabjee's Law of Press Censorship in India and of a Third World hunger study); a reader's letter opposing the 'Socialist Republic' clause proposed for the Constitution; and a closing page of press quotations, 'With Many Voices.' The volume's throughline is a defence of civil liberties and free markets against Emergency-era censorship, socialist planning, and one-party centralisation. ## Essays ### 'A Tired Document from Tired Men' *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju offers a sympathetic but pointed critique of the draft resolution and 'Ten Point' policy programme adopted by the Steering Committee (chaired by N. G. Goray) for a new opposition party intended to unite elements of Congress (O), the Socialist Party, the Jan Sangh, and the Bharatiya Lok Dal. Raju argues the slide toward the Emergency began not in June 1975 but with the 1967 general election and the failure of opposition parties to read the electorate's verdict, and faults the Steering Committee for treating the Emergency as the origin of India's problems rather than their result. He praises the first six of the ten policy points (restoring civil liberties, setting up Constitutional and electoral-reform commissions) as sound and 'totally acceptable to any liberty loving democrat,' but criticises the document's later 'patchwork' language — an ill-defined commitment to 'egalitarian' society, an arbitrary 1:10 minimum-to-maximum income ratio, and a vague 'total plan covering all... departments of national life' that he likens to an improved Gosplan. He also warns against gheraos and bundhs as illegitimate tactics, citing Rajaji's teaching that only peaceful satyagraha is constitutionally acceptable. Raju concludes the strategy of contesting a free election under present conditions may not be realistic, though the underlying critique is his primary focus. - Analyses the Steering Committee's resolution (Bombay, 22-23 May 1976) for a new unified opposition party, as reported by the Socialist weekly Janata. - Argues the crisis in Indian democracy predates the Emergency, tracing it to the 1967 general election and subsequent opposition disarray. - Endorses the first six of the ten policy points (restoring civil liberties, Constitutional review commission, electoral reform commission) as pragmatic and broadly acceptable. - Criticises later sections as a 'patchwork' of vague egalitarian commitments, including an arbitrary 1:10 income ratio and an undefined 'total plan' for national life. - Invokes C. Rajagopalachari's teaching that peaceful satyagraha, not gheraos or bundhs, is the legitimate constitutional method of protest. - Concludes by questioning whether contesting a 'free election under present conditions' is a realistic strategy for the proposed party. ### Third World Racism at U.N. *By Eldridge Cleaver* The regular 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column compiles short editorial comments on current affairs: a Kultura (Polish Communist journal) article revealing the Soviet bloc's hard line toward developing countries at the Nairobi UNCTAD conference; a UK survey showing that most British workers, contrary to trade-union leaders' claims, approve of profit and free enterprise; an anecdote of an LSE-educated Englishman repaying his scholarship money out of guilt over a wasted economics education; wry commentary on Brezhnev's flattering remarks to Indira Gandhi about Congress's industrialisation policy, which the columnist blames for India's agricultural neglect; and criticism of Spain's decision to keep the Communist Party banned while legalising other parties, framed as prudent given the Portugal precedent. - Reports a Kultura (Polish Communist Party journal) piece, cited via Freedom First's May issue, showing East Bloc resistance to Third World demands for aid parity at UNCTAD Nairobi. - Cites a British CBI-commissioned survey finding only 8% of UK workers call profit 'a dirty word' and 89% think it fair for companies to pay dividends. - Recounts Victor Robertson's repayment of his LSE scholarship money to Lady Ellerman as an act of conscience over 'wasted' public funds on an economics degree. - Mocks Brezhnev's praise of Congress's 'policy of industrialization... and a strong public sector' as responsible for India's current economic plight. - Approves Spain's lifting of the 37-year ban on political parties while keeping the Communist Party banned, contrasting it with Portugal's near-disaster after an unconditional lifting. ### Solzhenitsyn on Socialism *By Alexander Solzhenitsyn* Eldridge Cleaver, the Black Panther leader and author of Soul on Ice, writes from a California prison cell (having returned from exile in Algiers) to attack the UN General Assembly's resolution branding Zionism as racism. He argues that having lived among Arabs for years, he found them to be deeply racist toward black Africans, including practicing literal slavery, and that the Communist and Arab dictatorships condemning Israel are themselves undemocratic. He questions why small, undemocratic states should have a UN vote equal to that of the United States, and criticises the West's guilt-driven credulity toward Third World rhetoric. - Cleaver argues the UN resolution equating Zionism with racism is a 'travesty upon the truth' given Jewish scholars' historic contributions to studying and refuting racism. - Recounts personal experience in Mali and Algeria of Arab racism toward black Africans, including ongoing domestic slavery. - Contends Communist dictatorships and Arab regimes are united by shared authoritarianism rather than by any principled solidarity. - Proposes reexamining whether small, undemocratic member states should hold a UN vote equal in weight to the United States. - Frames the piece from his own prison cell as evidence that the fight for democracy and freedom must be waged everywhere, including from within US prisons. ### Reviews: The 'Freedom First' Case (Law of Press Censorship in India by Soli J. Sorabjee) / World of Hunger: A Strategy for Survival *By Sujata Manohar / Fredoon Antia* An extract from Alexander Solzhenitsyn's celebrated BBC broadcast argues that the 'misty phantom of socialism' has hastened the decline of contemporary thought by offering an emotionally satisfying but logically empty vision of equality that in practice requires coercion. He contends socialism is never studied seriously, is defended 'with a passionate lack of reason,' and that its historical antecedents (from Thomas More to Marx) reveal a totalitarian core once one actually reads them. He identifies forced labour as intrinsic to all socialist programmes, not an aberration, and warns that the West's guilt-ridden self-doubt leaves it unable to recognise the danger closing in on it, drawing on the suffering of Russia and Eastern Europe as a warning the West has refused to heed. - Argues socialism functions as a 'worldly religion' accepted on faith rather than examined through its founding texts. - Cites Academician Igor Shafarevich's study showing socialist doctrines recur across history as reactions against individualism, not as modern innovations. - Asserts that 'ideal' equality under socialism necessarily requires compulsion and the levelling of individual personality. - States that forced labour is 'part of the programme of all prophets of socialism, including the Communist manifesto' and that the Gulag Archipelago is not a distortion of the ideal but its logical expression. - Warns the West has lost the capacity to recognise mortal danger and refused to heed the warnings of those who suffered under socialism in the East. ### Letter: 'Socialist' Republic? *By P. L. Mayekar* The 'World News' column reprints press items on press freedom and censorship worldwide: the International Press Institute's 25th assembly lamenting global press restrictions, naming India, the Philippines, Peru, and Nigeria; the BBC's cancelled Moscow visit after airing a Solzhenitsyn interview, read as evidence of Soviet fear of free speech; Rhodesia's new press censorship regulations, denounced by local papers as an 'admission of defeat'; the Soviet Union's emergency measures after a poor grain harvest; an Observer editorial mocking Brezhnev's KGB chief Andropov as an odd choice to speak on Lenin's birthday given his role suppressing the Hungarian uprising; and a Daily Telegraph editorial criticising UK Chancellor Denis Healey's proposed 'snooping powers' for the Inland Revenue as an assault on legal privilege and civil liberties. - The International Press Institute's 25th general assembly (245 editors/publishers from 33 countries) condemns press restrictions in India, the Philippines, Peru, and Nigeria. - BBC Director-General Sir Charles Curran's Moscow/Leningrad visit is abruptly cancelled after the BBC aired a Solzhenitsyn interview about his new book on Lenin. - Rhodesian newspapers, including The Chronicle of Bulawayo, call new government censorship regulations an implicit 'admission of defeat' in the propaganda war. - The Kremlin launches a wide-ranging campaign, including drafting students and schoolchildren into harvest work, to avert a repeat of the previous year's grain disaster. - The Observer mocks the appointment of KGB chief Andropov, architect of the Hungarian suppression, as the main speaker at Lenin's birthday celebration. - The Daily Telegraph condemns Denis Healey's proposed Inland Revenue 'snooping powers' as an invasion of legal privilege that could be used to terrorise honest taxpayers. ### Acharya Kripalani's Petition Admitted *By From a Legal Correspondent* A legal correspondent reports that on 22 June 1976, Justice Kania of the Bombay High Court admitted a writ petition filed by Acharya J. B. Kripalani, N. G. Goray, S. M. Joshi, and Mrs. Kumud Karkera, challenging the Emergency censor's decision to prohibit publication of a news item about a March 1976 resolution by political and Sarvodaya workers (guided by Jayaprakash Narayan) calling for a Steering Committee to draft a unified opposition party programme. The censor's order to Janwani Weekly editor Kumud Karkera had directed suppression of the entire story. Petitioners argued that publicising opposition statements is a basic democratic function that survives even under Emergency; the censor's side argued the Supreme Court's Habeas Corpus ruling made the petition non-maintainable. The judge admitted the petition and referred the maintainability question to a Division Bench. - Justice Kania of the Bombay High Court admitted the writ petition on 22 June 1976. - Petitioners were Acharya J. B. Kripalani, N. G. Goray, S. M. Joshi, and Mrs. Kumud Karkera (editor of Janwani Weekly). - The censor, Binod N. Rao, had ordered the entire story of the March 1976 resolution suppressed, including the fact that a statement existed at all. - Petitioners argued publicising opposition party statements is a legitimate democratic function, permissible even during Emergency, invoking the 'right to dissent.' - The respondent argued the Supreme Court's Habeas Corpus decision rendered the petition non-maintainable; the judge admitted it anyway and referred the maintainability question to a Division Bench. - Soli Sorabji (with S. N. Parikh and A. Hidayatullah) appeared for the petitioners; M. R. Paranjpe (with J. G. Sawant) appeared for the respondent. ### World News (Reuter, Times, Telegraph, Guardian excerpts) Sujata Manohar reviews Soli J. Sorabjee's Law of Press Censorship in India (N. M. Tripathi, Rs. 35), which analyses the Emergency-era censorship order under Rule 48 of the Defence of India Rules through three key judgments: M. R. Masani vs. Binod Rao, Y. D. Lokurkar vs. Binod Rao (both Bombay High Court), and a Gujarat High Court case. She highlights that the Bombay High Court, in Masani's petition challenging censorship of eleven items from Freedom First's August 1975 issue, held nine of the eleven banned items to have been wrongly banned, with Justice Madon's judgment emphasizing that the press is a vehicle for moulding public opinion and that true democracy requires a free clearinghouse of competing ideologies. She finds the book valuable as a reference but faults it for being largely a compilation of reprinted judgments and statutes with only a brief original introduction and commentary, lacking deeper critical analysis of press censorship law. - Reviews Soli J. Sorabjee's Law of Press Censorship in India, covering the Emergency censorship order under Rule 48 of the Defence of India Rules, 1971. - Highlights the Bombay High Court judgment in M. R. Masani vs. Binod Rao, which found nine of eleven banned Freedom First items (August 1975 issue) to have been wrongly banned. - Quotes Justice Madon's holding that the press is 'a powerful medium of moulding public opinion' and that democracy requires 'a free clearing-house of competing ideologies and philosophies.' - Notes the book also covers Y. D. Lokurkar vs. Binod Rao and a Gujarat High Court 'Bhoomiputra' case. - Criticises the book for consisting mainly of reprinted judgments and statutory texts, with the author's original contribution limited to an introduction and commentary. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post Fredoon Antia reviews Jonathan Power and Anne-Marie Holenstein's World of Hunger: A Strategy for Survival (Maurice Temple Smith, London), which argues world hunger stems from mal-distribution of food (rich countries consuming 2,000 lbs of cereals per capita versus 400 lbs for the Third World) rather than absolute production shortfalls. Antia is skeptical of the authors' faith in worldwide redistribution given evidence of selfishness even within families, and notes their own admission that structural change threatens 'the privileged of their own influential upper class' in the Third World. He summarizes their advocacy of a Gandhian, village-centred development strategy focused on small independent farmers and criticises the Green Revolution's bias toward large landowners at the expense of small farmers, while praising the book's grounding in UN, FAO, and World Bank data despite awkward referencing and organisation. - Reviews Jonathan Power and Anne-Marie Holenstein's World of Hunger: A Strategy for Survival, focused on Third World hunger including India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. - Summarises the authors' thesis that hunger stems from global mal-distribution of food rather than shortfalls in total production. - Questions the authors' faith in global altruism, given their own admission that 'working adults keep the largest share of available food for themselves' even within families. - Notes the authors' advocacy of a Gandhian return to village-centred, small-farmer-based development as the solution to hunger and population pressure. - Critiques the Green Revolution as favouring large landowners while pushing small farmers toward landlessness, and calls for technology suited to peasant proprietorship. - Praises the book's grounding in authoritative UN/FAO/World Bank data but faults its poor organisation, lack of an index, and endnote-heavy referencing. ### With Many Voices In a letter to the editor, P. L. Mayekar objects to the Swaran Singh Committee's proposal to formally designate India a 'Socialist Republic' in the Constitution, arguing that the imprecise, contested term would confer unearned respectability on self-styled socialists and pave the way for enforced ideological conformity. He illustrates the danger with a parable about a 'capitalist society' that, having voted itself capitalist, forces all citizens to publicly identify with the ruling party's doctrine and forbids any experimentation with alternatives — arguing the same danger applies if 'socialist' is substituted for 'capitalist.' - Mayekar argues the goal of reducing poverty could be achieved via a constitutional 'directive principle' without formally branding India a 'Socialist Republic.' - Contends 'socialism' is an imprecise word meaning different things to different people, from total state control to a vague ethical sentiment. - Warns the label would let self-identified socialists acquire unearned social 'respectability' without ever having to define their terms. - Uses a parable from 'Character — A Talk to Young People' about enforced ideological conformity under a hypothetical 'capitalist society' to warn against the same danger under enforced socialism. - Concludes the Swaran Singh proposal would make 'conformity by force... a little easier to come about,' though he stops short of predicting disaster. ### Essay 10 The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' is a compilation of short, wry quotations gathered from the international press on themes of liberty, hypocrisy, and current events — including a jab at Marxist sectarian splintering, M. R. Masani's ideological eclecticism, British industrialists' timidity, the nature of liberty versus power, and a closing quote from India's Education Minister Nurul Hasan that 'students should be socialist, secular.' - Includes a quip that 'the original name of the firm was Marx and Engels: Socialism, Wholesale, Retail and for Export,' satirising Marxist sectarian fragmentation (A. J. P. Taylor, Observer). - Quotes Jonathan Power describing M. R. Masani's philosophy as 'a melange of Senator Henry Jackson, Alexander Solzhenitsyn and Willy Brandt on international affairs and Mahatma Gandhi on village development.' - Includes an old saying: 'The love of liberty is the love of others, the love of power is the love of ourselves.' - Closes with Education Minister Nurul Hasan's remark, 'Students should be socialist, secular,' reported in the Times of India. - Also includes the subscription form for Freedom First and the issue's imprint/registration details (Registered No. MH By South/264). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff286/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 286 (September 1976), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with Masani's own editorial "On Discipline," tying the slogan of "discipline" then current in Indian public life to Walter Lippmann's warning about the choice between incompetent representative government and authoritarian rule without representation, and to Masani's own long-standing complaints about civic indiscipline in India. The "Between You and Me and the Lamp Post" column that follows continues Masani's editorial voice on Bombay municipal failings and the first anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, leading into two reprinted foreign pieces: Andrei Amalrik's account (from The Observer) of his own forced emigration and a bleak assessment of Soviet compliance with the Helsinki human-rights provisions, and, from British Conservative politician Sir Keith Joseph, a defence of the free market as resting on a view of human beings as rational, choice-making agents rather than "machines." A reprinted Daily Telegraph piece by Collin Welch praises the Entebbe raid and criticises Western governments' timidity toward terrorism, followed by a "World News" digest of short wire items (Chinese Communist Party privilege, … ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 286 (September 1976), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with Masani's own editorial "On Discipline," tying the slogan of "discipline" then current in Indian public life to Walter Lippmann's warning about the choice between incompetent representative government and authoritarian rule without representation, and to Masani's own long-standing complaints about civic indiscipline in India. The "Between You and Me and the Lamp Post" column that follows continues Masani's editorial voice on Bombay municipal failings and the first anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, leading into two reprinted foreign pieces: Andrei Amalrik's account (from The Observer) of his own forced emigration and a bleak assessment of Soviet compliance with the Helsinki human-rights provisions, and, from British Conservative politician Sir Keith Joseph, a defence of the free market as resting on a view of human beings as rational, choice-making agents rather than "machines." A reprinted Daily Telegraph piece by Collin Welch praises the Entebbe raid and criticises Western governments' timidity toward terrorism, followed by a "World News" digest of short wire items (Chinese Communist Party privilege, Soviet dissidents, Pakistani lawyers against the Defence of Pakistan Act, South African press censorship, and Egyptian torture revelations from the Nasser era). The issue closes with A. G. Noorani's review of Rajeshwar Dayal's Congo memoir Mission for Hammarskjold, and a closing page of miscellaneous quotations ("With Many Voices") plus the subscription form and imprint. ## Essays ### On Discipline *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's editorial argues that Indian public life suffers from a chronic lack of discipline — visible in ticketless rail travel, reckless driving, unruly queues, and the gherao — and traces this back to failures of character-building in homes and schools. He recalls his 1969 Rajaji Memorial Lecture on the same theme and an anecdote from the Lok Sabha where the Speaker proved powerless to control unruly opposition members while the Prime Minister looked on with a "mysterious smile." He then invokes Walter Lippmann's The Public Philosophy to frame the deeper danger: a public that concludes it must choose between an incompetent representative assembly and government without representation will, Lippmann warned, choose authority over freedom. Masani recalls making this same argument at Ahmedabad's Harold Laski Institute in 1962, forecasting that politicians' continued misbehaviour would drive people to abandon faith in representative government — a forecast he says history has since confirmed. - Masani opens by cataloguing everyday examples of Indian civic indiscipline: ticketless rail travel, traffic violations, unruly queues, and the gherao. - He cites his own 1969 Fourth Rajaji Birthday Lecture bemoaning the lack of discipline as part of India's national character. - He recounts a Lok Sabha episode in which opposition MPs shouted down proceedings while the Speaker pleaded helplessness and the Prime Minister smiled. - He quotes Walter Lippmann's The Public Philosophy on the risk that a people faced with an incompetent assembly will choose authoritarian government instead. - He recalls forecasting in a 1962 Ahmedabad speech that continued political misbehaviour would drive the public toward disbelief and cynicism, and asserts this forecast has already been borne out. - The essay continues on page 2 under 'Between You and Me and the Lamp Post,' concluding the Lippmann argument and Masani's own 1962 warning about deep-rooted defects requiring deeper remedies than new laws. ### Between You and Me and The Lamp Post The editorial column "Between You and Me and the Lamp Post" (unsigned, in Masani's editorial voice) covers three items in the rendered pages: a complaint, drawing on Times of India correspondence, about the squalid condition of Bombay's electric crematorium and the Municipal Commissioner's promise to build new crematoria in Bandra, Khar and Santacruz; a note marking the first anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act and naming Soviet dissidents (General Pyotr Grigorenko, Dr Malva Landa, Dr Vitaly Rubin, Dr Yuri Orlov) monitoring Soviet compliance; and a piece welcoming Andrei Amalrik's arrival in Holland after years of persecution in the USSR, alongside a sharp commentary on the politicisation of the 1976 Montreal Olympics, criticising the boycotts of the Taiwanese and South African-linked teams and quoting a satirical Times of London letter on the absurdity of boycott chains. - Bombay's electric crematorium is criticised for its squalid, dirty conditions; the Municipal Commissioner has promised new crematoria for Bandra, Khar and Santacruz, and fees have been cut from Rs. 100 to Rs. 50. - The column marks the first anniversary (1 August 1976) of the Helsinki Final Act and names Soviet dissidents monitoring the USSR's compliance with its human-rights commitments. - Andrei Amalrik's arrival in Holland on 15 July after years of KGB harassment and Siberian exile is described as a victory comparable to Solzhenitsyn's. - The column condemns the politicisation of the 1976 Montreal Olympics — the Canadian government's exclusion of Taiwan, boycotts linked to South Africa, and the case of Guyanese sprinter James Gilks — quoting a Times of London letter satirising the boycott chain. ### A Dissident's Challenge to the West *By Andrei Amalrik* Andrei Amalrik, writing shortly after his forced emigration from the USSR, challenges Western complacency about the Helsinki Agreement's effects. He argues that neither the promise on West Berlin nor the supposed easing of East-West contact has produced real improvement inside the Soviet Union: dissidents are still persecuted (though increasingly through subtler means such as forced emigration, murder disguised as accident, and continued though decreasing use of psychiatric incarceration), Western radio broadcasts remain jammed, samizdat dissemination is still criminalised, and ordinary citizens' access to non-Soviet information has, if anything, worsened. He also describes the difficulty Western journalists face working in Moscow. He closes with recommendations: Western governments should press for an end to jamming, defend citizens' rights to bring in foreign books, ensure diplomats maintain contact with independent as well as official Soviet figures, and support foreign correspondents in resisting Soviet pressure. - Amalrik rejects Western officials' claims that the Helsinki Agreement has meaningfully improved Soviet human-rights practice, citing his own forced emigration as evidence of continuing repression. - He notes a shift in KGB tactics: rather than long prison terms, dissidents like himself are pressured into emigration, while others (Sergei Kovalev, Vladimir Bukovsky) remain imprisoned or in psychiatric detention. - He describes escalating deniable tactics — murder, assault, poisoning, arson, staged accidents — used against dissidents to avoid the appearance of mass 'legal' arrests. - Jamming of Radio Liberty, the BBC, Voice of America and Deutsche Welle continues unabated, and dissemination of samizdat remains a criminal offence. - He proposes practical steps: Western pressure to end jamming, defence of citizens' rights to import foreign books, sustained diplomatic contact with independent Soviet figures such as Andrei Sakharov and Yuri Orlov, and stronger solidarity among Western correspondents in Moscow. ### The Right to Choose *By Sir Keith Joseph, M. P.* Sir Keith Joseph, the British Conservative MP, argues that defenders of the free market have obscured its true moral basis by talking in technocratic language of 'the market mechanism' rather than affirming its foundation: the view of human beings as rational, choice-making agents rather than mere instruments of social engineering. He contends that socialism's essential inhumanity lies in reducing people to 'productive factors' and erasing individuality in the name of equality, whereas defenders of the market value human dignity and the capacity to choose — including the capacity to choose against material self-interest. Joseph insists this is not a case for anarchic laissez-faire but for a specific, limited conception of government as a maker of rules for free individuals rather than a director of their lives, contrasting the efficiency of a free economy (serving individual choices) with the coercive 'permanent war economy' logic of socialism. - Joseph argues defenders of the market have wrongly relied on technical language ('market mechanism', 'price mechanism') rather than stating its core moral premise. - The core premise: humans are rational, choice-making ends in themselves, not machines or instruments of social engineering. - He accuses socialism of denying human individuality by treating people as interchangeable productive factors and pursuing 'equality' as sameness. - He distinguishes his position from laissez-faire anarchism: government should make rules for free individuals, not direct their lives. - He contrasts market efficiency (satisfying individual choice) with socialist efficiency modelled on wartime command economies, calling a socialist economy 'a permanent war economy.' ### Israel Reverses the Tide *By Collin Welch* Collin Welch, writing in the Daily Telegraph, praises Israel's Entebbe rescue operation as a triumph over terror achieved at minimal cost, and rebukes Western governments — particularly Britain's — for lacking the will to respond similarly to terrorism despite having comparable military means (Hercules and Belfast transports, the S.A.S.). He argues Western nations, unlike Israel, are paralysed by an excess of competing considerations (oil, Nigeria, the balance of payments, Ulster) rather than by any true difficulty of the threat, and warns that the West's dangers, while less immediate than Israel's, are comparably serious and interconnected — a lesson he says the Israelis understand better than Western governments do. - Welch celebrates the Entebbe raid as a rare, complete victory against terrorism, rescuing hostages at minimal cost and destroying much of the hijackers' air support. - He criticises Britain's tepid response to terrorism despite possessing comparable military capability (Hercules and Belfast transports, the S.A.S.). - He argues Western governments are paralysed not by lack of means but by an excess of competing considerations — oil, Nigeria, balance of payments, Ulster — that prevent decisive action. - He contends Israel's example shows that acute, clearly perceived danger concentrates resolve, while Western dangers, though comparably serious, are less obvious and immediate and therefore less well managed. ### World News (news digest: Some Chinese More Equal Than Others; Russian Dissidents Salute U.S.; Pakistani Lawyers on Defence of Pak Act; S. Africa Censor Changes His Mind; Life in Egypt Under Nasser) The "World News" digest reprints short wire items from international papers. A Times item (30 June) reports that unnamed senior Chinese Communist Party officials have been accused, in the Peking newspaper Kuang Ming Daily, of enjoying high salaries, cars, servants and superior housing as 'capitalist roaders,' with Teng Hsiao-ping named as a target of the accusation. Reprinted stories from the International Herald Tribune and other papers cover: fourteen Soviet political prisoners sending Bicentennial greetings to the American people; Pakistani lawyers demanding an end to the Defence of Pakistan Act's emergency provisions, particularly restrictions on High Court bail powers, in the context of the Wali Khan tribunal; South Africa's lifting, after a seven-year ban, of its prohibition on importing The Sunday People, amid a broader account of the arbitrary and extensive South African censorship regime (Jacobsen's Index fo Objectionable Literature); and an extended piece on life under Nasser-era Egypt, centred on the conviction of former secret-police chief Saleh Naser for torture and on journalist Moustapha Amin's account of his own imprisonment and torture, along with Amin's reflections on Nasser's mixed legacy. - Chinese officials, including Teng Hsiao-ping, are accused in Kuang Ming Daily of enjoying high salaries, cars, servants and superior housing as 'capitalist roaders' despite official socialist principles. - Fourteen Soviet political prisoners in labour camps sent a statement congratulating the American people on the Bicentennial. - Pakistani lawyers passed a resolution demanding repeal of the Defence of Pakistan Act's emergency provisions, citing curtailment of High Court and Supreme Court bail powers in the Wali Khan tribunal case. - South Africa lifted a seven-year ban on The Sunday People while maintaining an extensive censorship regime documented in Jacobsen's Index fo Objectionable Literature, banning works ranging from Private Eye to novels by Vladimir Nabokov. - Saleh Naser, former head of Egypt's 'Al Mokhabarat' secret service under Nasser, was sentenced to 10 years with hard labour for torturing journalist Moustapha Amin, who described being whipped and mutilated in detention and later published a memoir, My First Year in Prison. ### UNESCO's Assault on News A. G. Noorani reviews Rajeshwar Dayal's Congo memoir Mission for Hammarskjold (Oxford University Press), praising it as a diligently researched, restrained account that will rank among essential sources on the Congo crisis. Dayal served as the U.N. Secretary-General's Special Representative and Head of UNOC from September 1960 to May 1961, a period of chaos following Belgium's abrupt, unprepared withdrawal, mutiny within days of independence, and Katanga's secession under Tshombe. Noorani highlights Dayal's balanced profiles of Patrice Lumumba and Dag Hammarskjold, quoting Dayal's judgment that Lumumba's suspicious nature and hostility to the U.N. contributed to his own downward spiral, while crediting Hammarskjold's death as a personal catastrophe whose 'gifts were eroded by fatal defects of character and temperament.' The review closes by endorsing Dayal's own summation, borrowing Hammarskjold's aphorism about a single speck of dirt on a clean tablecloth, that the U.N.'s Congo achievements were real but were overshadowed by mistakes for which the Secretary-General bore ultimate responsibility. - Noorani praises Dayal's memoir for its diligence, restraint, and reliance on hitherto-unpublished correspondence with the U.N. Secretary-General, contrasting it favourably with the more flamboyant memoirs of K. P. S. Menon and Conor Cruise O'Brien. - The review summarises the Congo's chaotic post-independence collapse: Belgium's abrupt withdrawal, army mutiny within four days, Belgian military intervention, and Katanga's secession under Tshombe. - Dayal's account attributes much post-independence corruption to unprepared Congolese politicians who took over colonial privileges (mansions, chauffeured limousines, inflated salaries) with little capacity to govern. - The review highlights Dayal's paired profiles of Lumumba and Hammarskjold, quoting Dayal on the fatal, mutually destructive rift between Lumumba's suspicion of the U.N. and Hammarskjold's insistence on procedural limits. - Noorani endorses Dayal's balanced verdict that U.N. failures in the Congo were real but should not obscure its achievements, closing with Hammarskjold's own aphorism about a speck of dirt on a clean tablecloth. ### Congo Revisited (Review of 'Mission for Hammarskjold' by Rajeshwar Dayal) *By A. G. Noorani* The closing page, "With Many Voices," is a compilation of short quotations drawn from various publications (Economic & Political Weekly, Time, The Statesman, The Guardian, National Review, and others), touching on Soviet-Indian relations, Chinese politics, censorship, Western politicians, and Third World rhetoric toward the West, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. The page also carries the Freedom First subscription form and the issue's imprint, noting publication by the Democratic Research Service and printing by H. R. Mohan & Co. - The page collects wry, aphoristic quotations from contemporary publications on topics including Soviet-Indian relations, Chinese politics, censorship, and Western leaders. - Includes a quotation from Henry Kissinger ('A government that tramples on the rights of its citizens denies the purpose of its existence') and one attributed to Daniel Patrick Moynihan on Third World rhetoric toward the West. - Carries the Freedom First subscription form addressed to the Democratic Research Service, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay. - The imprint records publication for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel, Associate Editor, and printing by H. R. Mohan & Co., Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff287/ ### Summary This is issue No. 287 of Freedom First (October 1976), a monthly journal of liberal ideas edited by M. R. Masani and published in Bombay by the Democratic Research Service. The issue is dominated by the constitutional crisis of the Emergency: Masani's lead editorial revisits his own 1975 lectures on federalism, presidential discretion, and fundamental rights, and then attacks the pending 44th Constitutional Amendment Bill as a device that strips the courts, the President, and the states of their power to check the Union executive. The editor's column, 'Between You and Me and the Lamp Post,' extends this with sharp notes on Mao's death, an Advocates Bill seen as an attack on the legal profession, and a Supreme Court judge's remarks on judicial activism. A long reprinted piece by the British commentator Bernard Levin expounds Alexander Solzhenitsyn's 'Live Not by Lies' credo of personal non-participation in falsehood, addressed to Soviet citizens but clearly offered to Indian readers as commentary-by-analogy on authoritarian rule.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 287 of Freedom First (October 1976), a monthly journal of liberal ideas edited by M. R. Masani and published in Bombay by the Democratic Research Service. The issue is dominated by the constitutional crisis of the Emergency: Masani's lead editorial revisits his own 1975 lectures on federalism, presidential discretion, and fundamental rights, and then attacks the pending 44th Constitutional Amendment Bill as a device that strips the courts, the President, and the states of their power to check the Union executive. The editor's column, 'Between You and Me and the Lamp Post,' extends this with sharp notes on Mao's death, an Advocates Bill seen as an attack on the legal profession, and a Supreme Court judge's remarks on judicial activism. A long reprinted piece by the British commentator Bernard Levin expounds Alexander Solzhenitsyn's 'Live Not by Lies' credo of personal non-participation in falsehood, addressed to Soviet citizens but clearly offered to Indian readers as commentary-by-analogy on authoritarian rule. A 'World News' digest covers Pakistan's fifth constitutional amendment, Kosygin's uncertain health, press liberalisation in Brazil, and the economics of scarcity and queueing in the Soviet bloc, framed throughout by a preference for liberal-democratic over authoritarian arrangements. Geeta Doctor's film column reflects on the death and mythology of Bruce Lee. Two book reviews close the issue: S. P. Aiyar on a sympathetic biography of Jayaprakash Narayan by Allen and Wendy Scrafe, and V. B. Karnik on the first volume of Sarvepalli Gopal's official biography of Jawaharlal Nehru, which Karnik reads critically on the question of Nehru's handling of the Partition-era communal crisis. The back cover assembles a page of aphoristic quotations ('With Many Voices') from world leaders and commentators of 1976. ## Essays ### The 44th—And the Last? *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's lead editorial, 'The 44th — And the Last?', opens by recalling two lectures he gave at Bangalore University in April 1975 on 'The Constitution: Twenty-five Years Later,' in which he discussed the federal structure, the discretionary powers of the President and Governors to dismiss ministries and dissolve legislatures, and the Fundamental Rights chapter. He recounts having warned then that concentration of power in Delhi was eroding Indian democracy and could produce one-party authoritarian rule of the Bangladesh kind, and having argued (citing Dr. Rajendra Prasad and Jawaharlal Nehru's own past positions) that a President or Governor is not bound to accept ministerial advice in all circumstances and that Fundamental Rights should not be subordinated to the Directive Principles. Masani then pivots to the news of the day: the 44th Constitutional Amendment Bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha on 1 September 1976, which he says would deny the President a veto, strip the Supreme Court of the power to strike the amendment down as an act ultra vires the Constitution (given the Kesavananda Bharati precedent), and effectively make the current, emergency-era concentration of power permanent by letting the Cabinet freely 'remove difficulties' in applying the amended Constitution for two years. He argues that Law Minister Gokhale's claim that Parliament is sovereign and represents 'the will of the people' is undercut by the arithmetic of the 1971 election, in which the ruling party won its majority with under a quarter of the total electorate's support. The essay closes by quoting Lord Hailsham and A. V. Dicey on the internal and external limits of parliamentary sovereignty, and Leslie Stephen's dictum that even a legislature that could legally order the murder of blue-eyed babies would be resisted by disobedient subjects, to argue that removing constitutional checks and balances opens 'the floodgates to the dangers of instability which accompany absolute sovereignty.' - Recalls Masani's 1975 Bangalore University lectures on federalism, presidential/gubernatorial discretion, and fundamental rights. - Cites Dr. Rajendra Prasad's 1949 view that the President is not bound in all cases to accept Cabinet advice. - Notes that Nehru and Mrs. Gandhi both once acted on the premise that a Governor could dismiss a ministry and order fresh elections, citing the 1959 Kerala (Namboodiripad) precedent. - Attacks the 44th Amendment Bill for removing the President's veto, insulating the amendment from Supreme Court review, and permitting Cabinet-directed modification of the Constitution for two years. - Disputes Law Minister Gokhale's claim of unqualified parliamentary sovereignty by pointing out only about 43 percent of the 54 percent who voted in 1971 backed the ruling party. - Invokes Dicey, Hailsham, and Leslie Stephen to argue that sovereignty is never truly absolute and that removing institutional checks threatens political stability, not just individual liberty. ### And Now the 44th / Between You and Me and The Lamp Post The unsigned editorial column 'Between You and Me and The Lamp Post' (customarily written by the editor) opens with a sardonic item on the Indian press's reverential coverage of Mao Zedong's death, contrasting it with the same papers' earlier condemnation of Stalin, and citing rival estimates that Mao's regime killed between 25 and 80 million people. A second item, 'Under Attack Again,' criticises the Advocates (Amendment) Bill for abolishing the solicitor/barrister division of legal labour in the Bombay and Calcutta High Courts, arguing this will lower the quality of litigation services, and juxtaposes this with a Supreme Court dictum by Justice P. N. Bhagwati that the law must serve 'the weaker sections of the community.' A third item, 'Cockroaches in Park Lane,' begins by describing a London hotel's costly kitchen refit after a single cockroach was found, framing this fastidiousness as a model India, with its endemic cockroach and disease problem, might learn from. - Contrasts Indian press adulation of Mao at his death with earlier condemnation of Stalin, citing estimates of 25-80 million killed under Mao's rule. - Criticises the Advocates (Amendment) Bill for abolishing the solicitor-barrister division in the Bombay and Calcutta High Courts. - Quotes Justice P. N. Bhagwati's Supreme Court remarks on law needing to serve the weaker and poorer sections of society. - Uses a London cockroach-infestation story at the Park Lane Hotel as a springboard for a call for hygiene discipline in India. ### To the Soviet Citizen: Solzhenitsyn's Commandment *By Bernard Levin* Continuing the editor's column on page 5, an item titled 'Substitutes For a Free Press' reports on the Soviet press campaign (via Pravda and Izvestia) against Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, estimating 35-40 million listeners in Russia and Eastern Europe, and notes that Jimmy Carter, then the Democratic presidential candidate, had praised these broadcasters as indispensable substitutes for a free press in Russia and Eastern Europe; it also notes West Germany's refusal to accede to Soviet protests. A following item, 'National Association for Freedom,' profiles the newly formed British pressure group (led by Robert Moss, editor of The Economist's Foreign Report) as a middle-class body defending individual liberty, supporting workers victimised by the closed shop, and opposing both Trade Union monopoly power and the racist National Front, which it labels 'gutter fascism.' - Reports Soviet propaganda attacks on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Jimmy Carter's description of them as substitutes for a free press. - Notes West Germany's refusal to curb the broadcasters despite Soviet protest, citing Helsinki accord compliance. - Profiles Britain's National Association for Freedom (NAF), founded December 1975 under Robert Moss, as a civil-liberties body fighting closed-shop trade unionism and opposing the National Front. ### World News Bernard Levin's essay 'To the Soviet Citizen: Solzhenitsyn's Commandment,' reprinted from The Times, discusses the continuing impact in Britain of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's two 1976 addresses to the British people, and takes as its main text Solzhenitsyn's February 1974 farewell statement 'Live Not by Lies,' issued the day the KGB forced him onto a plane to West Germany. Levin summarises Solzhenitsyn's diagnosis that Soviet life rests on a 'lock' of universal, daily participation in official lies, and his proposed 'key': personal non-participation in falsehood — refusing to sign, write, print, utter, or applaud any lie, even while stopping short of demanding active resistance or a Gandhian civil disobedience campaign. Levin quotes at length Solzhenitsyn's catalogue of specific refusals (not attending demonstrations whose slogans one doesn't believe, not buying newspapers that distort facts, walking out of meetings that feature ideological cant) as a 'roll-call of honour' defining what it means to live in truth under totalitarianism. - Frames Solzhenitsyn's February 1974 'Live Not by Lies' statement as his last public utterance before forced exile. - Summarises Solzhenitsyn's argument that the Soviet system depends on a 'lock' of universally internalised lies, sustained by fear and by the belief that 'we cannot do anything about it.' - Presents personal non-participation in lies as Solzhenitsyn's proposed 'key' to liberation, distinct from active resistance or civil disobedience. - Quotes the specific catalogue of everyday refusals Solzhenitsyn commends: not signing false statements, not attending mandatory demonstrations, walking out of propagandistic events, and not buying newspapers that distort the truth. ### The Poetry of Violence (Films) *By Geeta Doctor* The unsigned 'World News' digest, compiled from Western wire and newspaper sources, covers a run of stories from mid-to-late 1976: Pakistan's National Assembly passing a fifth constitutional amendment curtailing High Court bail powers over Bhutto's opposition; the Colombo non-aligned summit ('First Tango in Colombo'), attended by figures such as Tito, Bhutan's young King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, and Sri Lanka's Mrs. Bandaranaike, including Bangladesh's General Zia-ur Rahman's resolutions and rivalries over the conference's coordinating committee; reports that Kosygin's retirement may be imminent after a swimming accident; Brazil's O Estado newspaper exposing lavish official spending amid loosening press censorship; Pham Van Dong's speech blaming the capitalist West for global economic crisis; and a piece on the pervasive, politically corrosive experience of queueing for goods and services (bread, apartments, medical care) across the Soviet bloc, including anecdotes from Poland, Romania, and other Eastern European states, closing with a wry note that only bribery in hard currency shortcuts the wait. - Reports the Pakistani National Assembly's fifth constitutional amendment curbing High Court bail powers, opposed by Bhutto's government critics. - Covers the Colombo non-aligned summit, noting friction between founder members (India, Yugoslavia) and newer radical members (Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam) over the coordinating committee. - Notes unconfirmed reports of Premier Kosygin's declining health and possible imminent retirement. - Covers Brazilian press exposés of official extravagance amid an easing of censorship under President Geisel. - Quotes Pham Van Dong's speech blaming capitalist countries for the world economic crisis. - Describes the everyday burden of queueing for bread, apartments, and medical care across the Communist bloc as a source of serious political unrest, especially in Poland. ### J. P.: His Biography (review of Allen and Wendy Scrafe, Orient Longman, 1975) *By S. P. Aiyar* Geeta Doctor's film column 'The Poetry of Violence' reflects on the death of Bruce Lee and the instant, largely uncritical biographies that followed. She argues that Lee, though by most accounts an unremarkable actor off screen, transformed Karate and Kung-Fu combat into what she calls 'a strangely compelling dance of death,' turning violence in Enter the Dragon into something as emotionally pure as love, and made audiences leave the theatre wanting to find the nearest karate dojo. She discusses the esoteric, quasi-mystical roots of Kung-Fu (its claimed four-thousand-year lineage, its kinship with acupuncture's map of the body's weak points, and its demand for total mental concentration), tells illustrative parables of a Judo master's reflexive strike and a Zen sword-master's servant training a technique through unconscious readiness, and describes Lee's own fanatical physical discipline. She closes by suggesting that Lee's insistence that martial arts must genuinely disable an opponent rather than merely display virtuosity alienated the guardians of established schools, and that his fame ultimately betrayed his own Zen-inflected maxim that 'the usefulness of a cup is in its emptiness,' with his crack-up read by some as a retribution for ends that no longer respected proper means. - Frames Bruce Lee's on-screen violence in Enter the Dragon as an aestheticized, almost mystical spectacle rather than mere combat. - Describes Kung-Fu's claimed four-thousand-year lineage and its kinship with acupuncture's mapping of the body's weak points. - Recounts parables illustrating reflexive, unconscious mastery in Judo and Zen swordsmanship. - Details Lee's personal discipline (practising with a wooden stool, nightly Kata practice) and his rejection of ritualistic, display-oriented martial arts schools. - Suggests Lee's death and legend were read by some as retribution for ends overtaking proper means, in tension with his own Zen-inflected maxim about emptiness. ### Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography, Vol. I (review of Sarvepalli Gopal, Oxford University Press, Bombay) *By V. B. Karnik* S. P. Aiyar reviews J.P.: His Biography by Allen and Wendy Scrafe (Orient Longman, 1975), a sympathetic account of Jayaprakash Narayan by an Australian couple who first met him in 1958 and later became Sarvodaya volunteers at his Sokhodeora ashram. Aiyar praises the biography's intimate, humanising detail (including domestic anecdotes of JP's married life with Prabhavati) while flagging factual errors (misdating the Permanent Settlement, mislabelling Rajaji a Soviet-oriented Marxist, wrongly crediting Gokhale as founder of Fergusson College). He engages substantively with JP's political thought, expressing disagreement with the impracticality of JP's 'Plea for the Reconstruction of Indian Polity' and its notion of partyless democracy, which Aiyar sees as ignoring the unlovely realities of village politics, but affirms the enduring value of JP's warnings against the growing power of the state reducing citizens to 'a cog in a vast human machine.' He also discusses JP's ideological journey from Marxism to Sarvodaya, his complicated but ultimately devoted relationship to Gandhi, and Masani's own observation (quoted here) that JP's slow conversion to Gandhism was a historical tragedy because it came too late for a fuller rapport with Gandhi to shape India's destiny. - Reviews Allen and Wendy Scrafe's sympathetic 1975 biography of Jayaprakash Narayan, praising its intimacy and readability but noting several factual errors. - Criticises JP's notion of partyless, small-community democracy as romantic and inattentive to the realities of village politics. - Affirms the lasting relevance of JP's warnings against state power reducing the citizen to 'a cog in a vast human machine.' - Discusses JP's evolution from Marxism to Sarvodaya and his complex, ultimately devoted relationship with Gandhi. - Quotes Masani's view that JP's slow conversion to Gandhism was a tragedy that cost India a fuller Gandhi-JP rapport. ### With Many Voices (quotations column) V. B. Karnik reviews the first volume of Sarvepalli Gopal's official biography Jawaharlal Nehru (Oxford University Press, Bombay, Rs. 100/-), covering 1889 to 1947, written with Indira Gandhi's grant of 'unlimited access' to her father's papers. Karnik credits Gopal with an interesting and authoritative, if hero-worshipping, account, but argues the biography is not flattering on Nehru's handling of the central crisis of the transfer of power: he contends Nehru and other Congress leaders arrogantly denied the representative character of Jinnah's Muslim League, making Partition's communal catastrophe more likely, and that Nehru was slow to recognise the League's growing strength as far back as 1937. He faults Nehru's naive expectation that Indians would not resort to communal violence, and criticises Nehru's ambivalence during the Second World War—wanting to end a century of hostility with Britain by joining the war effort even as the Congress opposed British imperialism. Karnik closes by dismissing as 'ludicrous' the biography's jacket comparison of Nehru to Mao, arguing the two led fundamentally different kinds of transitions (a decades-long violent revolution versus a comparatively peaceful transfer of power), and looks forward to Gopal's remaining two volumes. - Reviews Vol. I of Sarvepalli Gopal's official Nehru biography (1889-1947), written with Indira Gandhi's unrestricted access to Nehru's papers. - Credits the biography as authoritative and interesting but marked by hero worship. - Argues Nehru and Congress leaders' denial of the Muslim League's representative character made Partition's communal violence more likely. - Criticises Nehru's ambivalence in World War II, torn between opposing British imperialism and wanting to join the war to end a century of Anglo-Indian hostility. - Rejects the biography jacket's comparison of Nehru to Mao Zedong as ludicrous, given their very different paths to power. ### Essay 9 The back cover, 'With Many Voices' (its title taken from Tennyson's 'Ulysses'), collects short aphoristic quotations from 1976 world affairs commentary, including Jimmy Carter on prayer and peace, B. K. Nehru on the limits of India's affordable social welfare, The Economist on prime ministerial impatience and on politicians and sport, a Lebanese Christian soldier's blunt statement of a preference for the Israelis over the Palestinians, Ronald Reagan on inflation as caused by government overspending, and closing notes on Third World rhetoric, Indo-Pakistani relations, and Burma as a cautionary tale that independence, socialism, and non-alignment alone do not guarantee peace and prosperity. The page also carries the journal's subscription form and imprint details (published by J. R. Patel for Democratic Research Service, printed at Mohan Mudranalaya, Bombay). - Compiles brief quotations from 1976 commentary by figures including Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, B. K. Nehru, and The Economist. - Includes a Lebanese Christian soldier's quoted preference for the Israelis over the Palestinians. - Closes with an editorial-style aphorism on Burma as proof that independence, socialism, and non-alignment do not by themselves bring peace and prosperity. - Carries the subscription form and publication imprint for Freedom First. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff288/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 288 (November 1976) is a complete 16-page issue of the Bombay-based liberal monthly edited by M. R. Masani. The issue opens with Masani's editorial 'Prices Are Like Water,' which uses the metaphor of water finding its own level to argue that price controls cannot defeat the underlying laws of supply, demand, and money supply, and warns that deficit-financed budgets were reigniting Indian inflation in 1976. Masani's regular column 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' comments wryly on the Koh-i-noor diamond dispute, Ian Smith's Rhodesia settlement and the duplicity surrounding it, bank nationalisation debates in Britain, and the 1976 Swedish and West German elections as evidence of a swing away from socialism. M. Murlidhar contributes 'Trade Unions as Press Censors,' arguing that British trade unions, especially the NUJ and SOGAT, had begun exercising an insidious form of press censorship from within, citing cases involving the Financial Times and the Observer.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 288 (November 1976) is a complete 16-page issue of the Bombay-based liberal monthly edited by M. R. Masani. The issue opens with Masani's editorial 'Prices Are Like Water,' which uses the metaphor of water finding its own level to argue that price controls cannot defeat the underlying laws of supply, demand, and money supply, and warns that deficit-financed budgets were reigniting Indian inflation in 1976. Masani's regular column 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' comments wryly on the Koh-i-noor diamond dispute, Ian Smith's Rhodesia settlement and the duplicity surrounding it, bank nationalisation debates in Britain, and the 1976 Swedish and West German elections as evidence of a swing away from socialism. M. Murlidhar contributes 'Trade Unions as Press Censors,' arguing that British trade unions, especially the NUJ and SOGAT, had begun exercising an insidious form of press censorship from within, citing cases involving the Financial Times and the Observer. Peter Sager's 'Models of Majority Rule?' is a reported piece on the deteriorating, Cuban- and Soviet-backed regimes in Angola and Mozambique, presented as a cautionary counter-example to Western pressure for 'majority rule' in Rhodesia. A 'World News' digest reprints excerpts and editorials from the international press on Rhodesia, Katyn, Sri Lankan press freedom, Soviet dissidents, and Mao's death. The Letters section carries an exchange between Masani and Dr. Murlidhar on labour indiscipline versus business malpractice, and a separate letter alleging suppression of Gandhian literature in Indore. The Reviews section carries S. V. Raju on Irving Wallace's novel The R Document and A. G. Noorani's lengthy review-essay on Hugo Young's The Crossman Affair, examining the legal battle over publication of Richard Crossman's Cabinet diaries and the doctrine of collective Cabinet responsibility. The issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a page of quoted press excerpts, and a subscription form. ## Essays ### Prices Are Like Water *By M. R. Masani* In 'Prices Are Like Water,' M. R. Masani revisits warnings he issued in an October 1975 letter to Encounter magazine that inflation would resume once deficit financing was built into the Union Budget. He cites Finance Minister Subramaniam's admission of a 4.7 per cent rise in the wholesale price index between April and June 1976, the Reserve Bank Governor's figures showing the index 10 per cent higher over five months, and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's own warning in Trivandrum that 'subdued inflation' was poised to return. Masani then develops an extended analogy: prices, like water, are fluid and will find their own level regardless of administrative pressure, just as water finds a common level between connected vessels or as land reclamation causes compensating erosion elsewhere. He explains inflation and deflation as a function of the ratio between money in circulation and the volume of goods and services, and argues that price controls and 'stopping prices from rising' by administrative fiat only drive goods into the black market, never addressing the root causes of deficit finance, misdirected investment priorities, and insufficient production incentives. The essay continues onto page 2, where Masani recounts an anecdote from around 1960-61 rebutting Nehru's claim that 'a little inflation' aids a developing economy, and cites the British economist Graham Hutton's comparison of price administration to plastic surgery that merely displaces a problem rather than solving it, plus a reference to Poland's 1976 food-price riots under Gierek as a further illustration. - Masani had warned in an October 1975 Encounter letter that inflation would resume if deficit financing continued. - Official data cited: 4.7% wholesale price rise (April-June 1976); index up 10% over five months per the RBI Governor; monetary expansion running at 6.7% versus 3.5% the prior year. - PM Indira Gandhi herself warned in a September 12 Trivandrum speech that 'subdued inflation' could return. - Central analogy: prices behave like water, finding their own level regardless of artificial pressure, illustrated by the Back Bay Reclamation causing erosion at Versova and Juhu. - Inflation/deflation defined as a function of the ratio between currency in circulation and the volume of goods/services. - Price controls only push goods into the black market ('free market' in Soviet parlance) rather than curbing inflation. - Real remedies proposed: avoid deficit finance, fix investment priorities, and provide production incentives. - Poland's 1976 attempt by Gierek to raise food prices, which triggered strikes and had to be abandoned, is cited as a real-world parallel. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post Masani's regular column 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' covers four brief topics. 'Diamonds Are Forever' recounts the controversy over Pakistan's demand for the return of the Koh-i-noor diamond, quoting Nehru's remark that 'diamonds are for emperors and India does not need emperors,' and notes Prime Minister Callaghan's rejection of the Pakistani request. 'Black Racism Runs Amuck' criticises Ian Smith's agreement (brokered by Kissinger and pressure from the US, Britain and South Africa) to majority rule in Rhodesia within two years, arguing the deal is already being undermined by Angola's and Mozambique's communist leaders. '44 Year Pendulum' welcomes the electoral defeat of Olof Palme's Social Democrats in Sweden after 44 years and the strong Christian Democrat showing in West Germany as evidence that 'socialism has been rejected by the more advanced nations.' 'On Nationalising Banks' contrasts Britain's rejection of a Labour proposal to nationalise banks and insurance companies with the manner in which India's own bank nationalisation was imposed by Ordinance in 1969, arguing depositors and the country gained nothing from it. 'No Duel But....' notes Margaret Thatcher's recent visit to Delhi as a guest of the Indian government and her forthright anti-Soviet remarks in contrast to her earlier sharp exchange with Indira Gandhi. - Recounts the Koh-i-noor diamond dispute triggered by Bhutto's claim, with Nehru quoted opposing its return and Callaghan formally rejecting Pakistan's request. - Criticises the Kissinger-brokered Rhodesia settlement as based on 'deceit', foreshadowing the 'Black Racism Runs Amuck' item and the later World News excerpt on the same topic. - Welcomes the 1976 Swedish and West German election results as a rejection of socialism, quoting the incoming Swedish coalition leader's pledge to 'break up power concentrations.' - Contrasts Britain's near-unanimous rejection of bank nationalisation with the way India's 1969 bank nationalisation was pushed through by presidential Ordinance under Mr. Giri. - Notes Margaret Thatcher's 1976 Delhi visit and her stated 'throughly realistic' stance toward the USSR. ### Trade Unions as Press Censors *By M. Murlidhar* M. Murlidhar's 'Trade Unions as Press Censors' argues that trade unions in Britain, though legitimate as bargaining instruments, have begun functioning as a new and insidious threat to press freedom. He recounts how the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) demanded the Financial Times stop publishing a freelance rugby correspondent's reports because the writer, lacking sufficient income from journalism, was denied union membership yet also barred from writing 'regularly' without it -- a bind he calls (quoting Lord Goodman) a denial of 'the talented man's' right to exploit his talent. Murlidhar then details several 1970s disputes at the Observer involving SOGAT (Society of Graphical and Allied Trades): a critical letter about the printing industry that print-workers tried to suppress, and a later dispute where the union threatened a strike to stop publication of a rival union's write-up unless a reply was simultaneously published. He closes by endorsing self-censorship exercised by editors as preferable to any outside censorship, whether from government or from organised labour, arguing external censorship 'infringes creativity, dwarfs originality and defeats the very idea of press freedom.' - Frames trade unions, alongside other organised pressure groups, as a 'new type of threat to press freedom' operating from within democratic countries. - Recounts the NUJ's refusal to let a freelance rugby correspondent join the union (for insufficient income from journalism) while also blocking the Financial Times from publishing his non-member reports. - Cites Lord Goodman's account in the Political Quarterly (April-June 1976) describing the episode as denying 'the talented man' the right to exploit his talent. - Details a May 1970 Observer dispute in which SOGAT's leader objected to a critical article and later letters about the printing industry, leading the editor to suppress a follow-up letter. - Describes a November 1970 dispute between two printing unions in which the Observer's editor had to negotiate simultaneous publication of a union reply to avoid a strike. - Concludes that editorial self-censorship is preferable to any external censorship, including from unions, government or other pressure groups. ### Models of Majority Rule? *By Peter Sager* Peter Sager's 'Models of Majority Rule?' surveys the deteriorating conditions in newly independent Angola and Mozambique, presented implicitly as a warning about what 'majority rule' can produce elsewhere in southern Africa. In Angola, the Soviet-backed MPLA government depends on 20,000 Cuban troops to defend itself against continuing FNLA and UNITA guerrilla resistance, with Fidel Castro affirming Cuban forces will stay to 'defend that country from foreign aggression.' In Mozambique, the FRELIMO government under Samora Machel faces hunger revolts, an anti-Machel movement in Montepez, and a clandestine opposition radio station ('The Voice of Free Africa'), while relying on 1,500 Tanzanian troops. Sager documents severe economic collapse in both countries -- chronic food shortages, a 70% fall in industrial production and 90% fall in agricultural production in Mozambique amid a white population exodus from 260,000 to 2,000 -- alongside deepening Soviet and East German military and administrative involvement (training troops and police, running the harbours of Luanda and Lobito, providing teachers and doctors, and prospecting for minerals in exchange). He concludes that the Soviet Union, despite lacking the economic resources to actually develop the region, is using the crisis to expand its strategic position ahead of an anticipated 'coming battle for South Africa,' a battle he says 'can and should be avoided.' - Angola's MPLA government is defended by roughly 20,000 Cuban troops against FNLA and UNITA guerrilla resistance rooted in the Bakongo and Ovimbundu ethnic groups. - Mozambique's FRELIMO government under Samora Machel faces internal hunger revolts, an anti-Machel movement, and an underground opposition radio station, and depends on 1,500 Tanzanian troops. - Economic collapse is severe: white population fell from 260,000 to 2,000, industrial production down 70%, agricultural production down 90%, chronic food shortages in Luanda and Maputo. - Soviet and East German involvement is deep and growing: military training, control of Angolan harbours, provision of teachers/doctors, and mineral prospecting rights as compensation. - Sager frames Soviet involvement as strategically opportunistic rather than developmental, anticipating a future 'battle for South Africa.' ### World News The 'World News' section reprints excerpts and editorials from the international press on several topics. A Guardian editorial ('Not Persuasion But Deceit', September 28) accuses Henry Kissinger and the British government of misrepresenting the terms under which Ian Smith agreed to Rhodesian majority rule, particularly around the composition of a proposed Council of State, and argues the presidents of the frontline states never accepted the two-year timetable as final. A Guardian news item ('Emergency Law Invalid', September 11) reports that three Sri Lankan High Court judges discharged Tamil Liberation Front leader A. Amirthalingham after ruling the emergency regulations under which he was tried invalid. A Times editorial ('The Stigma of Katyn', September 17) recounts the 1940 Katyn massacre of Polish officers by Soviet forces and criticises the British government for being intimidated by Soviet protest into withholding full recognition from a commemorative monument. A short item notes Sri Lanka's banning of Shakespeare from government-school English curricula as linguistically inaccessible to students. A New York Times editorial ('A Lieutenant's Credo', September 11-12) discusses the defection of Soviet pilot Lt. Viktor Belenko with a MIG-25 and his statement that Soviet life 'has not changed... from that existing in the days of Czarist Russia when there had been no freedom.' An item from Free China Weekly ('Mao Dies; Mainland Turmoil') predicts intensified power struggle in China after Mao Tse-tung's death. Finally, an Observer report ('Christians Are Mad -- KGB', August 29) describes the forcible psychiatric internment of a young Russian Orthodox Christian, Alexander Argentov, after the KGB broke up an informal seminar of young religious intellectuals, quoting his smuggled appeal to Patriarch Pimen. - Guardian editorial accuses Kissinger and the British government of deceit over the terms of Ian Smith's agreement to Rhodesian majority rule, especially regarding a proposed Council of State. - Guardian news report: Sri Lankan High Court judges ruled emergency regulations invalid and discharged Tamil leader A. Amirthalingham. - Times editorial 'The Stigma of Katyn' criticises British government reticence in commemorating the 1940 Soviet massacre of Polish officers at Katyn. - Sri Lanka's Education Department banned Shakespeare from government-school curricula as linguistically inaccessible. - New York Times editorial on Soviet pilot Lt. Viktor Belenko's defection with a MIG-25, and his statement about the absence of freedom in the Soviet Union. - Free China Weekly predicts intensified internal Chinese Communist power struggle following Mao Tse-tung's death. - Observer report on the KGB's forcible psychiatric internment of Russian Orthodox Christian Alexander Argentov after a seminar of young religious intellectuals was broken up. ### Letters (On Discipline; Are Gandhiji's Writings Objectionable?) *By M. Murlidhar; N. C. Zamindar* The Letters section carries two items. In the first, M. Murlidhar (writing from Bombay, dated September 10) accuses Masani of omitting the 'rich' business class from a prior list of the indisciplined, citing tax evasion, hoarding, and black-marketing as economic sins comparable to labour indiscipline; Masani's editorial reply defends the original article, cites his own Lok Sabha budget speeches (quoting a 1966 speech on tax arrears) calling for effective tax collection, and reasserts that gherao of a corrupt businessman is itself indiscipline and a crime that must be handled by courts, not mobs. The second letter, from N. C. Zamindar, alleges that communist workers in Indore forced a Sarvodaya Sahitya Bhandar pushcart selling Gandhian and Vivekananda-Vinoba literature off a public site associated with the Jawaharlal Nehru Camp, and that the foundation stone of a Jai Hind Bhavan was pulled down by municipal corporation workers, asking Freedom First to investigate. - M. Murlidhar's letter accuses Masani of omitting the rich business class from criticism of indiscipline, citing tax evasion, hoarding and black-marketing. - Masani's editorial reply cites his own 1966 Lok Sabha budget speech pressing for effective tax collection, and reasserts that gherao of a businessman is itself indiscipline and a crime for courts, not mobs, to address. - N. C. Zamindar's letter alleges communist workers forced out a pushcart selling Gandhian and Vivekananda-Vinoba literature in Indore and pulled down the foundation stone of a Jai Hind Bhavan. - Zamindar requests Freedom First investigate the Indore episode as suppression of Gandhian writings. ### Reviews: The R Document (Irving Wallace) / Crossman Affair (Hugo Young) *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju reviews Irving Wallace's political thriller The R Document (India Book House / Corgi edition), which imagines a near-future America so overwhelmed by crime that the President and 37 of 50 states have approved a 35th Constitutional Amendment suspending the Bill of Rights during declared national emergencies. Raju summarises the plot's key figures -- a compromised FBI Director, an Attorney General torn between loyalty to the President and civil-libertarian instincts, and opposition led by a group called the Defenders of the Bill of Rights -- and the mechanics by which the Amendment would grant a President-appointed Committee on National Safety plenipotentiary power. He praises the novel as skilfully plausible political fiction in the tradition of Ayn Rand and Allen Drury, crediting it as 'a thriller and an educator' that renders a valuable public service by dramatising the fragility of constitutional rights, and recommends it highly for both pleasure and education. - The R Document imagines a near-future US where crime has overwhelmed law enforcement, prompting a 35th Amendment to suspend the Bill of Rights during declared emergencies. - 37 of 50 states and the U.S. Congress have already approved the Amendment in the novel; only California's ratification remains outstanding. - Key characters include a compromised FBI Director devoted to the Amendment's passage, a conflicted Attorney General, and an opposition group called the Defenders of the Bill of Rights. - Raju situates Wallace within a genre of fact-based political thriller writers including Ayn Rand and Allen Drury, calling them 'modern day Dumas.' - Raju highly recommends the book as both entertainment and civic education about the value of constitutional rights. ### With Many Voices A. G. Noorani reviews Hugo Young's Crossman Affair (Hamish Hamilton / Jonathan Cape, in association with the Sunday Times), a detailed account of the legal battle over publication of the late Richard Crossman's Cabinet diaries. Noorani narrates the dispute's course: Crossman's death in April 1974; the Cabinet Secretary Sir John Hunt's insistence, per convention, that the manuscript be submitted for clearance; the executors' and Sunday Times's decision to proceed with serialisation regardless when clearance was refused; the Attorney-General's ultimately unsuccessful attempt to obtain a permanent injunction; and Lord Chief Justice Widgery's landmark judgment balancing Cabinet confidentiality against freedom of the press and public interest. Noorani gives close attention to Widgery's reasoning -- extending the Argyll v. Argyll doctrine of confidence to Cabinet secrets while rejecting a 'Draconian' perpetual injunction given the ten-year-old status of the material -- and to the broader constitutional stakes: the competing public interests of preserving free Cabinet discussion and ensuring 'people should know how they are governed.' He closes by praising judicial review as an indispensable, if demanding, feature of democratic government, and by noting an important omission in Young's book: the Court of Appeal proceedings and Lord Denning's remarks from The Times of June 28, 1975. - The book recounts the decade-long dispute over publishing Richard Crossman's Cabinet diaries after his 1974 death, against the convention requiring Cabinet Secretary clearance of ministers' memoirs. - The Sunday Times and Crossman's executors proceeded with serialisation from January 1975 despite the Cabinet Office's refusal to clear the text, prompting an Attorney-General injunction bid. - Lord Chief Justice Widgery refused a permanent injunction, extending the Argyll v. Argyll doctrine of confidence to Cabinet material but finding the ten-year lapse of time decisive against restraint. - Noorani highlights Widgery's balancing test: confidentiality of Cabinet discussion versus freedom of the press and the public's right to know how they are governed. - Noorani notes editor Harold Evans's affidavit arguing that both the public and government itself benefit from frankness rather than secrecy about governmental actions. - Noorani flags an omission in Young's account: it lacks the Court of Appeal proceedings and Lord Denning's June 1975 remarks on the case. ### Essay 9 The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' is a compilation of quotations drawn from the international press during 1976, prefaced by a Tennyson epigraph. It includes Rabindranath Tagore on the dangers of a 'gagged world,' Margaret Thatcher on the demands placed on women in politics, Milton Friedman on the market-determined value of currency, and a series of aphoristic Economist observations on North Korea, Peru and Ecuador, Iran, Mao's death, and Arab criticism, alongside remarks from Flora Lewis, James Callaghan, and a Krokodil joke about socialism and the Sahara Desert. The page closes with the issue's subscription form and imprint details identifying J. R. Patel as Associate Editor and the printer as Mohan Mudranalaya, Bombay. - Compilation of press quotations under the title 'With Many Voices,' prefaced by an epigraph from Tennyson. - Includes Rabindranath Tagore on the danger of a 'gagged world' and Milton Friedman on currency value being market-determined. - Margaret Thatcher quoted on the higher bar faced by women in politics; James Callaghan quoted on Britain living on 'borrowed time, borrowed money and even borrowed ideas.' - Several Economist one-liners on North Korea, Peru/Ecuador, Iran, and the death of Mao Tse-tung. - Page closes with the Freedom First subscription form and the issue's registration/printing imprint. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff289/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 289 (December 1976), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with Piloo Mody's tribute to the recently deceased civil servant and editor A. D. Gorwala, occasioned by the Oxford University Press essay collection Say Not the Struggle, and continues with the magazine's regular front-of-book column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post,' which comments acidly on the postponement of Indian elections under the 44th Constitution Amendment Bill, the death of Mao Zedong and the succession struggle in China, the twentieth anniversary of the Soviet crushing of the 1956 Hungarian uprising, Michael Foot's remarks about Britain, the Gujarat High Court's ruling against a judicial transfer, and admiring notice of Milton Friedman. The issue's centerpiece is Leo Labedz's essay 'China, Russia and the U.S.A.,' an analysis of Sino-Soviet-American relations based on his conversations with Chinese Foreign Ministry officials in Peking, arguing that Chinese foreign policy is trapped between anti-Soviet and anti-American frustrations and that a Sino-Soviet reconciliation is unlikely.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 289 (December 1976), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with Piloo Mody's tribute to the recently deceased civil servant and editor A. D. Gorwala, occasioned by the Oxford University Press essay collection Say Not the Struggle, and continues with the magazine's regular front-of-book column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post,' which comments acidly on the postponement of Indian elections under the 44th Constitution Amendment Bill, the death of Mao Zedong and the succession struggle in China, the twentieth anniversary of the Soviet crushing of the 1956 Hungarian uprising, Michael Foot's remarks about Britain, the Gujarat High Court's ruling against a judicial transfer, and admiring notice of Milton Friedman. The issue's centerpiece is Leo Labedz's essay 'China, Russia and the U.S.A.,' an analysis of Sino-Soviet-American relations based on his conversations with Chinese Foreign Ministry officials in Peking, arguing that Chinese foreign policy is trapped between anti-Soviet and anti-American frustrations and that a Sino-Soviet reconciliation is unlikely. Rounding out the issue in the rendered pages are a 'World News' digest of press clippings on Irish emergency law, Jo Grimond's warnings about bureaucracy in Britain, and Cold War-era items (North Korean black-marketeering, Sakharov's appeal for a Soviet defector, the Mafia succession after Carlo Gambino's death); a review by Mehra Masani of Julian Hale's book Radio Power on international broadcasting and propaganda; a letter from F. P. Antia renewing his earlier call for euthanasia legislation; and the closing quotations page 'With Many Voices.' The full 16-page issue was rendered and this summary covers it in its entirety. ## Essays ### Dum Spiro Spero (Where There is Life, There is Hope) *By Piloo Mody, M.P.* Piloo Mody's front-page tribute 'Dum Spiro Spero' (Where There Is Life, There Is Hope) memorializes A. D. Gorwala, the retired Indian Civil Service officer, editor of the weekly Opinion, and moral critic of Indian public life, on the occasion of the essay collection Say Not the Struggle (Essays in Honour of A. D. Gorwala, Oxford University Press, 340 pages, Rs. 40). Mody recounts Gorwala's resignation from the Imperial Civil Service and later the Commodities Prices Board out of conviction that government was insincere in its professed policies, his sixteen years running Opinion until the Emergency forced its closure, and a personal anecdote in which Gorwala declined Mody's 1963 offer to run Opinion as a feature in his own weekly, citing his need to preserve editorial independence. The piece (continued on page 14) surveys the volume's distinguished contributors -- including H. M. Patel, Maurice Zinkin, Ram Deshmukh, N. V. Sovani, Edward Shils, D. D. Karve, John W. Chapman, S. H. Deshpande, B. Venkatappiah, Shankar Ranganathan, Zafar Futehally, A. J. Dastur, S. P. Aiyar, Gauri Deshpande, A. G. Noorani and R. E. Hawkins -- and their essays on administration, education, rural development, civil disobedience and the standards of public service, concluding that the volume is 'an excellent compilation in honour of an exemplary life.' - Tribute to A. D. Gorwala on the publication of Say Not the Struggle, a festschrift of essays in his honour published by Oxford University Press. - Gorwala resigned from the Commodities Prices Board and, earlier, the ICS out of conviction that government professed policies it did not sincerely pursue. - Gorwala ran the weekly Opinion for sixteen years as a vehicle for exposing corruption and hypocrisy in public life until the Emergency government closed it down. - Mody recounts a personal 1963 anecdote in which Gorwala refused to let Opinion run as a feature in Mody's own weekly, prizing editorial independence over convenience. - The festschrift's contributors span retired civil servants, academics, journalists and administrators, covering topics from anatomy of corruption to language policy to the future of liberalism. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post The unsigned editorial column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' opens by dissecting the Indian government's postponement of general elections via the 44th Constitution Amendment Bill, arguing the maneuver reveals a government unsure it could win at the polls, and quoting Supreme Court-adjacent warnings from MPs Indrajit Gupta and P. G. Mavlankar about eroding public confidence in the system; the editor (identified as having had a hand in drafting the Constitution) argues the 44th Amendment is ultra vires and should be struck down by the Supreme Court following the precedent of the Kesavananda Bharati case. It moves on to an extended, mocking commentary on the succession crisis following Mao Zedong's death, comparing the treatment of Madame Mao to Stalin's treatment of Lenin's widow Krupskaya, and to a report of Victor Zorza on a purported deathbed message from Mao to his wife; a note observing the twentieth anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Hungary and recalling Jayaprakash Narayan's 1956 leadership of the Indian Committee for Solidarity with Hungary against Nehru's reported ten-day hesitation; an item mocking Michael Foot's remarks on Britain and double standards about socialist tyranny; commentary on Boris Ponomarev's hostile reception in Britain, including Margaret Thatcher's rebuke of Prime Minister Callaghan over inviting him; a report on the Gujarat High Court's Full Bench unanimously striking down the transfer of Mr. Justice Sheth to the Andhra High Court; and, finally, warm praise for Milton Friedman on his Nobel Prize in Economics, his advocacy of floating exchange rates, and his views on Britain's economic troubles and punitive taxation. - The 44th Constitution Amendment postponing general elections is characterized as a cynical maneuver by a government uncertain of winning, likely to be challenged as ultra vires before the Supreme Court under the Kesavananda Bharati precedent. - A lengthy item on the succession struggle after Mao Zedong's death draws parallels between the treatment of Madame Mao and Stalin's treatment of Lenin's widow Krupskaya, and doubts official Chinese claims about Mao's relationship with his wife. - The column marks the twentieth anniversary of the 1956 Soviet invasion of Hungary, crediting Jayaprakash Narayan's leadership of solidarity meetings in Bombay while criticizing Nehru's slow response. - A note recounts an admission by a Gujarati newspaper writer of Mao's mass killings of political opponents, framed as the exception proving the rule of Indian media silence on Chinese Communist atrocities. - The Gujarat High Court's Full Bench (Mehta, Desai, Desai JJ) unanimously struck down the transfer of Mr. Justice Sheth to the Andhra Pradesh High Court, ruling the constitutionally required consultation with the Chief Justice of India had not occurred in substance. - The column praises Milton Friedman's Nobel Prize, his advocacy for floating currencies, and his skepticism of Britain's high taxation and government spending. ### China, Russia and the U.S.A. *By Leo Labedz* Leo Labedz's essay 'China, Russia and the U.S.A.' reports on his conversations with Chinese Foreign Ministry officials in Tokyo and Peking, conducted shortly before Mao Tse-tung's death, about the 'Pacific Doctrine' and the broader triangular relationship among the three powers. Labedz recounts a debate with Deputy Foreign Minister Yu Chen over whether Henry Kissinger's detente policy with Moscow parallels Neville Chamberlain's appeasement of Hitler, and over China's fear of Soviet conventional military superiority. He analyzes China's 'ping-pong diplomacy' opening to the United States as a countervailing strategy against Soviet expansionism that has nonetheless left China frustrated by both superpowers -- unable to secure American abandonment of Taiwan and increasingly alienated by Kissinger's use of Peking as a stepping-stone to Moscow. Labedz argues, using the case of Angola, that Chinese, Soviet and American miscalculations there illustrate the dangers of an American foreign policy adrift, and closes by arguing that a Sino-Soviet reconciliation is neither likely nor would it benefit Peking, though continuing Sino-Soviet hostility itself sustains an uneasy dependence on the American connection. - Based on conversations with Chinese Foreign Ministry officials in Tokyo and Peking, Labedz explores the ambiguous, unresolved content of China's 'Pacific Doctrine' against Soviet hegemony in Asia. - Deputy Foreign Minister Yu Chen rejected Labedz's comparison of Kissinger's detente with the Soviet Union to Chamberlain's appeasement of Hitler, but Labedz argues the parallel nonetheless illuminates Chinese anxieties about Soviet conventional military superiority under the nuclear umbrella. - China's 'ping-pong diplomacy' opening to the US via Nixon's visit succeeded in achieving rapprochement but failed to secure American abandonment of Taiwan, producing two kinds of Chinese frustration. - The essay uses the Angola crisis -- Soviet-backed Cuban intervention exploiting Chinese and Western miscalculation -- as an illustration of the costs of an adrift, insufficiently resolute American foreign policy. - Labedz concludes that a Sino-Soviet 'reconciliation' is neither realistic nor in Peking's interest, and that China's realistic options are a reluctant continuation of the selective American connection rather than a pro-Soviet pivot. - The article was written before Mao Tse-tung's death, based on a visit to Peking, and is explicitly framed by the editors as analysis of the pre-succession balance of power. ### World News Mehra Masani, formerly Deputy Director-General of All India Radio and Vice-Chairman of the International Broadcast Institute, reviews Julian Hale's Radio Power (Paul Elek, London, 172 pages), a survey of international broadcasting and propaganda from the Nazi-era Saarland plebiscite campaign through the BBC's wartime reputation for truthful reporting, Communist Russian and Chinese external broadcasting, Voice of America and the more flexible Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and a chapter on clandestine radio stations such as the Voice of Free Angola and the last Hungarian broadcast appeal before the 1956 uprising was crushed. Masani closes by endorsing Hale's view that radio propaganda, however imperfect a tool, helps keep politics on the move and is a prerequisite for progress even as it risks spreading anarchy or provoking repression. - Reviews Julian Hale's Radio Power, a survey of the history and mechanics of international broadcasting and propaganda from the 1935 Saarland plebiscite through contemporary Cold War radio warfare. - Contrasts the durable credibility the BBC built through wartime truth-telling with the short-lived effectiveness of Nazi propaganda once battlefield defeats exposed its falsity. - Notes Communist broadcasting -- Soviet and Chinese -- is heavily ideological, defensive and poorly received even among domestic and Third World audiences, while Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty succeed by airing dissident voices like Solzhenitsyn, Sakharov and Medvedev. - Highlights the book's chapter on clandestine radio propaganda (Voice of Free Angola, Voice of Free Zanzibar, Voice of Free Africa) and quotes the final, unheeded 1956 Hungarian radio appeal for help before the uprising was crushed. - Masani endorses Hale's conclusion that radio propaganda is a double-edged but necessary instrument for keeping politics in motion and enabling progress. ### Review: Radio Power by Julian Hale *By Mehra Masani* A letter from F. P. Antia follows up his May 1976 article 'Dying with Dignity' by proposing specific legislative provisions for euthanasia in India: a physician's right to certify an incurable illness in a patient over 65-70 and, with consent, to administer a life-ending drug without culpability; a next-of-kin's right to do so if the patient is no longer conscious; and, modeled on the Euthanasia Educational Fund and the Euthanasia Society of USA, a person's right to sign an advance directive refusing heroic measures, or to declare in writing before a magistrate an intent to end unbearable suffering without prosecution if the attempt fails. Freedom First's editors note they endorse the plea, citing California's newly signed right-to-die legislation (effective 1 January 1977) and a British Criminal Law Reforms Committee recommendation to make mercy killing a distinct, lightly punished offence. - F. P. Antia proposes concrete legislative provisions permitting physician-administered or self-administered euthanasia for incurable patients over 65-70, with consent, without criminal culpability. - Proposes a next-of-kin right to administer the life-ending drug if the patient is no longer conscious. - Proposes advance directives against heroic life-sustaining measures and a right to a magistrate-witnessed declaration permitting assisted suicide for unbearable suffering. - The editors' earlier item notes California became the first US state to legislate a right to withdraw life-sustaining procedures (effective 1 January 1977) and that Britain's Criminal Law Reforms Committee had recommended treating mercy killing as a distinct, lightly punished offence. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff290/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 290 (January 1977) is edited by M. R. Masani for the Democratic Research Service, Bombay. The issue's stated theme, per its own "In This Issue" note, is the compatibility of democracy and economic progress on one hand and communism with extreme inequality on the other. Masani's opening editorial, "Bread or Freedom?", argues that the supposed choice between elections and economic prosperity is a false antithesis invented by dictatorships (Stalin, Hitler, Mao) to justify suppressing freedom, and that in practice democracies deliver more prosperity than authoritarian states. This is paired with an extended extract from Hedrick Smith's book The Russians (reprinted via New Age), cataloguing the hidden system of privilege enjoyed by the Soviet nomenklatura elite despite official claims of socialist equality. The issue's World News digest surveys global affairs (Soviet global strategy, a Soviet nuclear disaster cover-up, Yugoslav defence planning, Aeroflot's failures, a U.S. "Committee on the Present Danger," British press freedom, and North Korean propaganda financing).… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 290 (January 1977) is edited by M. R. Masani for the Democratic Research Service, Bombay. The issue's stated theme, per its own "In This Issue" note, is the compatibility of democracy and economic progress on one hand and communism with extreme inequality on the other. Masani's opening editorial, "Bread or Freedom?", argues that the supposed choice between elections and economic prosperity is a false antithesis invented by dictatorships (Stalin, Hitler, Mao) to justify suppressing freedom, and that in practice democracies deliver more prosperity than authoritarian states. This is paired with an extended extract from Hedrick Smith's book The Russians (reprinted via New Age), cataloguing the hidden system of privilege enjoyed by the Soviet nomenklatura elite despite official claims of socialist equality. The issue's World News digest surveys global affairs (Soviet global strategy, a Soviet nuclear disaster cover-up, Yugoslav defence planning, Aeroflot's failures, a U.S. "Committee on the Present Danger," British press freedom, and North Korean propaganda financing). A report covers a Bombay High Court judgment holding that Emergency-era press censorship orders exceeded their legal authority. The issue closes with reader letters on judicial review and press restrictions, two book reviews (a study of the Indian National Congress 1929-42, and a study of the origins of modern French leftism), a satirical filler item, and a page of quotations ("With Many Voices"). ## Essays ### Bread or Freedom? *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's editorial "Bread or Freedom?" rejects the framing, current in Indian political debate of the day, that a nation must choose between holding elections and achieving economic stability. He recalls that the Indian Constitution, which he helped frame alongside Nehru, Patel and Ambedkar, was meant to secure both freedoms and economic stability together, and that India enjoyed both from 1950 until recently. He traces the bread-or-freedom framing to dictators (Stalin, Hitler, Mao) and to Lenin and Trotsky's promise that hardship under dictatorship would eventually wither the state and bring abundance -- a promise Masani says the Soviet Union has conspicuously failed to deliver on. He argues ordinary people never actually face a choice between bread and freedom (citing analogies of wanting both a bed and a table, both a home and a workplace) and that empirically, countries with elections, free press and rule of law (the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Sweden, West Germany, Japan, Israel) enjoy more prosperity than authoritarian states like the Soviet Union and Communist China, which suffer the greatest poverty and shortages. He closes with a personal reflection on having warned as early as 1968 that parliamentary democracy in India was more fragile than Indira Gandhi's government claimed, saying those fears have now become "grim facts," and restates his answer to the opening question: India should have both bread and freedom, and bread through freedom. - Argues the 'bread or freedom' choice is a false antithesis invented by dictatorships to justify suppressing liberty. - Cites Lenin and Trotsky's promise of eventual abundance after enduring dictatorship, contrasted with the reality of continued shortages in the USSR fifty-five years later. - Claims democracies with free elections, free press and rule of law consistently outperform authoritarian states on prosperity and consumer welfare. - Recalls his own role in drafting India's Constitution alongside Nehru, Patel and Ambedkar to secure both elections and economic stability. - References a 1968 warning (at a seminar in Coonoor) that Indira Gandhi's assurances about the permanence of parliamentary democracy in India could not be trusted, which he says has since been borne out. ### Those More Equal Than Others *By Hedrick Smith* This is a reprint of extracts from Hedrick Smith's Pulitzer-winning book The Russians (Smith was the New York Times' Moscow correspondent for three years), framed by an editorial note explaining that New Age had disputed Sanjay Gandhi's claim (quoted in the Hindustan Times) that wage inequality is worse in socialist countries, and that Freedom First reproduces Smith's account to show Sanjay Gandhi was right. The extract is an ethnographic tour of the hidden privileges of the Soviet nomenklatura: closed stores on Granovsky Street where the politically connected buy caviar, smoked salmon and imported goods unavailable to ordinary citizens; a tiered system of 'Kremlin ration' parcels distributed by rank; hard-currency Beryozka shops and 'certificate roubles' available to well-connected officials; the secretive nomenklatura roster controlling access to privilege; Brezhnev's official salary of 900 roubles against much higher real income; fleets of chauffeured Volgas, Chaikas and black Zil limousines (Politburo members' Zils reportedly worth about £40,000 apiece); access to banned Western films and literature; the informal patronage network known as blat; the closed 'Kremlin Clinic'; and lavish country dachas at Zhukovka, the Crimea and elsewhere, allotted and revoked strictly by Party rank, including examples involving Brezhnev, Khrushchev, Stalin, Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko and former Ukrainian party boss Pyotr Shelest. The extract as rendered breaks off mid-anecdote about Brezhnev's mother visiting his Moscow apartment. - Introduced via an editorial framing note responding to a New Age dispute over Sanjay Gandhi's claim about inequality in socialist countries. - Describes closed, unmarked stores (e.g. on Granovsky Street) serving the Soviet elite with goods unavailable to ordinary citizens. - Details a formal ranked system, the 'Kremlin ration' (Kremlevsky payok), distributing perquisites by seniority. - Explains 'certificate roubles' and hard-currency Beryozka shops as a further layer of privilege resented by ordinary Russians. - Describes the nomenklatura as a self-perpetuating roster of positions controlled by the Party, operating like a 'self-perpetuating fraternity.' - Catalogues chauffeured limousines (Volga, Chaika, Zil) as visible status markers, with Brezhnev's official salary contrasted against his much higher real income. - Covers exclusive access to banned Western films/literature and a closed 'Kremlin Clinic' for the elite. - Extensive detail on the dacha system (Zhukovka-1 and -2, Crimea, Pitsunda, Zavidovo) as the most prized and most rank-contingent perquisite, illustrated via Gromyko and the demoted Ukrainian leader Pyotr Shelest. ### World News The World News section is a digest of short, unbylined items reprinted from Western wire and press sources, forming a 'tour d'horizon' of global affairs as the issue's own preface describes it. Items include: a summary of British analyst Brian Crozier's thesis that a slow-motion 'Third World War' has been underway since 1945 through Soviet expansionism, now shifting focus to Africa (from Swiss Press Review); a report citing Soviet dissident scientist Dr. Zhores Medvedev on two previously unpublicised Soviet disasters -- a 1960 moon-rocket explosion that killed dozens of leading space scientists including Marshal Nedelin, and a 1958 nuclear waste explosion near Blagoveshensk in the Urals that caused mass radiation sickness and deaths that were covered up (from The Observer); a piece on Yugoslav military exercises rehearsing defence against a hypothetical Soviet invasion (from The Economist); an account of chronic delays, overbooking and shortages afflicting Aeroflot and Soviet civil aviation, including a federal indictment of Aeroflot's New York office for illegal ticket pricing (from The Guardian and Washington Post); a report on the formation of the U.S. 'Committee on the Present Danger,' including Paul Nitze, to warn the incoming Carter administration about Soviet military expansion (from International Herald Tribune); a note on Harold Evans (editor of The Sunday Times) calling for lawyers to become more engaged in fighting for press freedom in Britain (from The Times); a report on British bank unions, the CBI and National Westminster opposing Labour Party plans to nationalise major banks and insurers (from The Guardian); and an item on North Korea's practice of buying advertising space in Western newspapers to publish verbatim extracts from Kim Il-sung's writings, funded in part through diplomatic drug trafficking in Scandinavia (from Swiss Press Review). - Reprints Brian Crozier's thesis (from his book Security and the Myth of Peace) that a Third World War, conducted through Soviet expansionism rather than direct conflict, has been underway since 1945 and is now pivoting toward Africa. - Cites Soviet dissident Dr. Zhores Medvedev's revelations of two covered-up Soviet disasters: a 1960 rocket-launch explosion that killed many leading space scientists, and a 1958 nuclear waste explosion near Blagoveshensk causing mass radiation casualties. - Describes Yugoslav military exercises ('Golija 76') rehearsing defence against a presumed Soviet invasion route through Hungary. - Details chronic dysfunction in Soviet civil aviation (Aeroflot), including overbooking, stranded passengers, and a U.S. federal indictment for illegal fare practices. - Reports the founding of the U.S. Committee on the Present Danger to warn President-elect Carter about Soviet military expansion. - Notes British Sunday Times editor Harold Evans urging lawyers to take up the cause of press freedom. - Covers British bank unions and business bodies opposing Labour's bank-nationalisation plans. - Reports North Korea paying Western newspapers to print Kim Il-sung's writings verbatim, financed partly through diplomatic drug trafficking. ### Censor Not Protected by Emergency An unbylined report describes a Bombay High Court Division Bench decision (Justices V. D. Tulzapurkar and Gadgil), delivered 7 December 1976, allowing a petition by the magazine Sadhana challenging government orders that forfeited certain issues of the magazine and the press where it was printed, under Rule 47 of the Defence and Internal Security of India Rules, 1971. The government had argued the petition was not maintainable given the Presidential Order of 8 January 1976 suspending Article 19 rights and the Supreme Court's recent Habeas Corpus decision on detention orders. The Bench held the petition maintainable because Sadhana was not invoking Article 19 but challenging the orders on other grounds, and distinguished the Habeas Corpus precedent as governed by different considerations (Articles 21 and 19). On the merits, the judges held the forfeiture orders illegal because the forfeited issues contained no 'prejudicial reports' as Rule 47 required, and ruled that even during the Emergency, criticism of government policies and even strong criticism of ministers and officials is permissible so long as it does not attempt to create disaffection toward 'Government established by law' -- a formulation the judges said must be distinguished from criticism of the individuals holding office. The orders of forfeiture were accordingly set aside. - Bombay High Court (Justices Tulzapurkar and Gadgil) allowed magazine Sadhana's petition against government forfeiture orders issued under Rule 47 of the Defence and Internal Security of India Rules, 1971. - Held the petition maintainable despite the Emergency-era Presidential Order suspending Article 19, because Sadhana's challenge did not rest on invoking Article 19. - Distinguished the Supreme Court's Habeas Corpus case as governed by different considerations (Articles 19 and 21). - Ruled the forfeited issues contained no 'prejudicial reports' as required by Rule 47, making the forfeiture orders illegal. - Established the principle that even during Emergency, strong criticism of government policies, measures, and named ministers/officials remains permissible unless it seeks to create disaffection toward 'Government established by law' as such. ### Letters *By Hirji Jehangir; V. S. Varkhedkar; R. Srinivasan; N. C. Zamindar* A Letters page carries four items. Hirji Jehangir writes on judicial review, arguing India's lack of British-style constitutional maturity makes judicial review more, not less, necessary here, to which the Editor replies citing British precedents (the Tameside case) as evidence judicial review of the executive is possible even without a Bill of Rights. V. S. Varkhedkar's letter calls on all political parties to give up their claims to represent 'six hundred million' citizens and urges the President to restore genuine self-determination to the people by dissolving Parliament and holding general elections in February 1977. R. Srinivasan's letter on prices endorses an earlier editorial ('Prices are Like Water'), attributing price rises substantially to deficit financing by the central government. N. C. Zamindar's letter reports that at an 'Anand Bal Mela' event in Indore organised by Antar Bharati (a wing of the Rashtra Seva Dal) with Congress help, the communists had a book stall but the Sarvodaya Sahitya Bhandar was again refused space, calling this ironic given Antar Bharati's Gandhian associations. - Hirji Jehangir argues India's constitutional immaturity relative to Britain makes judicial review of legislation more necessary, not less. - The Editor's reply cites the British Tameside education case as an example of judicial review of executive decisions even without a Bill of Rights. - V. S. Varkhedkar calls for dissolution of Parliament and General Elections in February 1977, urging the President to restore self-determination to the people. - R. Srinivasan attributes rising prices largely to deficit financing by the central government. - N. C. Zamindar reports that a Sarvodaya book stall was denied space at a Congress-backed Indore event while a communist book stall was permitted, calling it ironic given the organiser's Gandhian ties. ### The Penultimate Phase (review of The Indian National Congress and the Raj 1929-1942 by B. R. Tomlinson) *By A. G. Noorani* A. G. Noorani reviews B. R. Tomlinson's The Indian National Congress and the Raj, 1929-1942 (Macmillan, Rs. 55). Noorani praises the book for examining the comparatively neglected penultimate phase of British rule, when the Congress first assumed provincial administrative power under the 1935 Government of India Act and negotiated with the British over the prospect of full independence, arguing the period's institutional legacies (a semi-independent Reserve Bank, retained central control of defence and foreign affairs) shaped norms still relevant to independent India's constitutional structure. Noorani highlights Tomlinson's account of Gandhi's dominant, non-partisan role amid Congress factionalism (over the khaddar and franchise qualifications for membership), the book's contrast between Subhas Chandra Bose's independent, unideological following in Bengal and the wealthier, big-business-funded 'Gandhian' establishment leaders (Patel, Birla, Bajaj), and its detailed, unflattering account of N. B. Khare's misuse of the police during factional battles. Noorani regrets the book omits Bombay from its six-province study but calls it, overall, a good, well-researched study, while advising readers to discount Tomlinson's judgments on matters (like the merits of the Cripps offer) outside his stated scope. - Reviews B. R. Tomlinson's The Indian National Congress and the Raj, 1929-1942, praising its focus on the neglected period between Gandhian mass politics and 1947 independence. - Highlights the book's account of Congress factionalism and Gandhi's unifying but non-partisan role, including his proposed khaddar and subscription qualifications for Congress membership. - Contrasts Subhas Chandra Bose's independent political base in Bengal with the Gandhian establishment's dependence on funding from big Indian business (Birla, Bajaj, Patel, Desai). - Notes the book's critical account of Dr. N. B. Khare's misuse of police power in factional disputes. - Criticises the book's omission of Bombay from its six-province study, while endorsing its overall scholarly value and cautioning against Tomlinson's judgments on matters beyond his research scope (e.g. the Cripps offer). ### Turn Left for Utopia (review of The Origins of Modern Leftism by Pierre Gombin) *By Geeta Doctor* Geeta Doctor reviews Pierre Gombin's The Origins of Modern Leftism (Pelican Books), a study of post-1968 French leftist thought by a scholar attached to the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. The review explains that Gombin traces the 'contestation' politics that erupted in the May-June 1968 French student revolts and general strike, tracing its intellectual descent from figures like H. Lefebre, P. Chaulieu, Claude Lefort, and the Situationiste Internationale group, and contrasts this new leftism (organised around concepts of 'alienation' and 'contestation' rather than orthodox Marxist 'exploitation' and 'revolution') with Jean-Paul Sartre's more Marxist-adjacent but never party-affiliated political stance. Doctor summarises Gombin's account of the movement's core claims: that any imposed system, whether called 'State Capitalism' or 'State Socialism,' is equally illegitimate; that consciousness must evolve through struggle (citing Hungarian theorist Anton Pannekoek); and that the new left's ultimate aim, per the Situationiste Internationale, is not the mere seizure of power but the abolition of power itself in favour of full self-realization and poetry. Doctor is critical of this vision as vague, mystical, and blind to the fact that its 'touching faith in the proletariat' echoes exactly the ambivalences and impracticalities of the old Marxist left it claims to supersede, and questions its relevance to Asian societies which, she argues, have not undergone the same alienation from over-mechanised affluence as the West. - Reviews Pierre Gombin's The Origins of Modern Leftism, tracing the intellectual roots of French 'contestation' politics from May 1968 through thinkers like Lefebvre, Chaulieu, Lefort and the Situationiste Internationale. - Contrasts this new leftism's vocabulary ('alienation,' 'contestation,' 'council communism') with orthodox Marxism's 'exploitation' and 'revolution.' - Notes Sartre's ambivalent position: sympathetic to Marxism in emotional terms but never a Communist Party member, and increasingly marginal to the movement's practical impact. - Summarises the Situationiste view that the ultimate leftist aim is not seizing power but abolishing power altogether to achieve self-realization ('poetry'). - Doctor criticises the ideology as vague and mystical, arguing its faith in the proletariat mirrors the very Marxist certainties it claims to reject, and questions its relevance to Asian societies not shaped by the same industrial alienation. ### Sterling No More *By Philip Norman (Sunday Times)* A short satirical filler item, 'Sterling No More' by Philip Norman (reprinted from the Sunday Times), recounts a joke-like anecdote of a British businessman in a Hong Kong hotel whose request for a girl results in her fleeing in terror because 'he wants to pay me in sterling' -- a gag on the pound's weak international standing in the period. - A brief satirical anecdote plays on sterling's depreciated international reputation in 1976-77. - Reprinted from the Sunday Times, byline Philip Norman. ### With Many Voices The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' is a compiled column of short quotations from the international press (Times, Economist, Survey, International Herald Tribune) on topics including Jimmy Carter's unpredictability ahead of taking office, Soviet euphemisms for the 'archipelago' of labour camps, British trade union politics, price controls, detente, and Cold War geopolitics, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. It closes with the magazine's subscription form and imprint details (Democratic Research Service; printed by J. R. Patel at Mohan Mudranalaya, Bombay). - A compiled quotations column drawing on Times, Economist, Survey and International Herald Tribune sources from October-November 1976. - Includes commentary on Jimmy Carter's opacity as President-elect, Soviet censorship of the word 'archipelago,' and detente risks. - Framed by an epigraph from Tennyson ('The deep Moans round with many voices...'). - Closes with the subscription form and publication imprint for Freedom First, Democratic Research Service, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff292/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 292 (March 1977), edited by M. R. Masani, appeared in the charged weeks between Indira Gandhi's January 1977 announcement of fresh General Elections and the vote itself, following the eighteen-month Emergency. The issue is dominated by Masani's own commentary: a front-page editorial, "The Lady and the Tiger," that welcomes the end of press censorship and preventive detention while questioning Mrs. Gandhi's motives and handicapping the likely election outcome, and a second piece, "Wanted—A Pinch of Snuff," that mocks the sudden falling-out between the Congress Party and the Communist Party of India as opportunistic theatre. Unsigned editorial notes ("Between You & Me and The Lamp Post") cover the supersession of Justice H. R. Khanna as Chief Justice of India and criticise Britain's Bullock Report on industrial democracy; a further note reports the printers' censorship dispute at the Observer and The Times of London. The issue also carries extracts from a speech by Chief Justice V. D.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 292 (March 1977), edited by M. R. Masani, appeared in the charged weeks between Indira Gandhi's January 1977 announcement of fresh General Elections and the vote itself, following the eighteen-month Emergency. The issue is dominated by Masani's own commentary: a front-page editorial, "The Lady and the Tiger," that welcomes the end of press censorship and preventive detention while questioning Mrs. Gandhi's motives and handicapping the likely election outcome, and a second piece, "Wanted—A Pinch of Snuff," that mocks the sudden falling-out between the Congress Party and the Communist Party of India as opportunistic theatre. Unsigned editorial notes ("Between You & Me and The Lamp Post") cover the supersession of Justice H. R. Khanna as Chief Justice of India and criticise Britain's Bullock Report on industrial democracy; a further note reports the printers' censorship dispute at the Observer and The Times of London. The issue also carries extracts from a speech by Chief Justice V. D. Tulzapurkar of the Bombay High Court defending the judiciary against political attacks and press censorship of court proceedings, and reproduces the citation for the 1977 Freedom House Award given to C. R. Irani of The Statesman for his newspaper's resistance to Emergency censorship. Rounding out the number are a "World News" digest of international items (Soviet dissidents, Rhodesia, the Trotsky assassin's Soviet honour, and more), two letters (on euthanasia, and on the fairness of the coming election), a book review by A. G. Noorani of Abraham Tertz's prison-letters volume A Voice from the Chorus, and a closing page of pointed press quotations, "With Many Voices." ## Essays ### The Lady and the Tiger *By M. R. Masani* In this front-page editorial M. R. Masani surveys the sudden political thaw of January-February 1977: the dissolving of Parliament, Jagjivan Ram's break from Congress to form the Congress for Democracy, and the death of President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed. He credits Mrs. Gandhi for calling elections despite widespread scepticism about her motives, invoking the limerick of the lady who rode a tiger and a Churchill line about dictators unable to dismount. Masani recalls that he and other signatories (including S. P. Aiyar, Nissim Ezekiel, M. C. Chagla, and Achyut Patwardhan) had urged exactly this course in an August 1975 letter, and reprints its substance. He then handicaps the coming General Election, dismisses the parties' manifestos as no longer ideologically distinguishable, criticises the archaic electoral system that lets minority vote-shares produce landslide seat majorities, and closes by wondering whether a new President chosen after Ahmed's death might help restore constitutional normalcy, comparing India's fragile democracy to Humpty Dumpty. - Welcomes the calling of General Elections after eighteen months of Emergency, crediting Mrs. Gandhi for the decision despite scepticism about her motives. - Recounts a 1975 letter (signed by Masani and other non-party figures) that had urged the Prime Minister to hold free elections once conditions permitted. - Notes Jagjivan Ram's resignation from Congress and formation of the Congress for Democracy as pivotal to the new situation. - Argues that party ideology has ceased to be a meaningful dividing line given the era's shifting coalitions. - Criticises India's electoral system for producing large parliamentary majorities from minority vote shares (e.g., Mrs. Gandhi's 1971 'massive mandate' from only 43% of votes cast). - Frames the death of President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and the prospect of a new President as a possible route back to constitutional normalcy. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post This unsigned editorial column runs two items. The first, "Supersession of Justice Khanna," condemns the government's decision to pass over Justice H. R. Khanna for Chief Justice of India despite his seniority and his dissenting habeas corpus judgment during the Emergency, comparing it to the 1973 supersession and quoting tributes from N. A. Palkhivala and Soli Sorabjee; it also reports the Supreme Court Bar's protest strike and a controversy over a banned lawyers' conference in the Bar Library. The second item, "Bullock in the China Shop," criticises the British Bullock Committee's report on industrial democracy for favouring trade-union nominees over employee-elected representatives on company boards, citing hostile reactions from The Guardian, The Times, and publisher Alexander Macmillan. - Criticises the supersession of Justice H. R. Khanna for the Chief Justiceship despite his seniority and his Emergency-era dissent upholding habeas corpus. - Reports that Khanna resigned within ten minutes of learning of the supersession. - Notes the Supreme Court and several High Courts stopped functioning for a day in protest. - Quotes N. A. Palkhivala's tribute predicting Khanna's judgment will be read and quoted 'when the fierce controversies of our day have sunk into oblivion.' - Argues the UK's Bullock Report on industrial democracy would hand power to trade-union nominees rather than genuine employee-elected representatives, calling it a mockery of the concept it claims to serve. ### In Defense of the Judiciary *By V. D. Tulzapurkar* A short unsigned item reports a press-freedom dispute in London: printers' union members refused in January 1977 to print an article by David Astor, longtime editor of the Observer, that criticised trade-union sabotage and strike action for censoring news; the Times was itself struck for carrying the piece, prompting a Press Council statement condemning the stoppage and affirming that trade unionists 'enjoy no privileged position' over the general public's right to a free press. - Printers' union members in London refused on 13 January 1977 to print a Devid (David) Astor article critical of press censorship by print unions. - The Times was struck when it tried to carry the article; the Press Council condemned the stoppage in an emergency statement. - The episode is presented as vindicating Astor's original warning about union sabotage of the press. ### Irani Honoured: Freedom House Award A brief unsigned note recounts Henry Ford II's resignation from the Board of Trustees of the Ford Foundation, expressing long-held disquiet at the Foundation's practice of funding Communist-aligned academic and other institutions in India while offering a cold shoulder to anti-Communist efforts, allegedly to avoid displeasing the Indian government. It quotes Ford's resignation letter criticising Foundation staff for failing to appreciate the capitalist system that funded its $4,000 million in grants, and closes by noting the irony that Ford, not the Foundation's 'anti-anti-communist bureaucrats,' was the one to quit. - Reports Henry Ford II's resignation from the Ford Foundation board, announced in a letter published 13 January. - Accuses the Foundation of favouring Communist-fellow-traveller institutions in India over anti-Communist efforts to avoid displeasing the Government of India. - Quotes Ford's complaint that Foundation staff failed to appreciate the capitalist system that generated the $4,000 million ($2,400 million) it had distributed since 1950. - Frames the episode as ironic: the capitalist benefactor quit while the Foundation's 'anti-anti-communist' staff remained. ### Wanted—A Pinch of Snuff *By M. R. Masani* Extracts from a speech delivered by Chief Justice V. D. Tulzapurkar of the Bombay High Court on 16 January 1977 while opening a new court building in Nagpur. In the rendered pages he expresses concern about internal and external causes lowering the judiciary's public image, lists the personal and professional discipline expected of judicial officers (courtesy, integrity, avoiding favours or hobnobbing with ministers), and then defends the Supreme Court's 'basic structure' doctrine from Keshavanand Bharati's case against being ridiculed as a mere 'Judges' invention,' citing Seervai's Constitutional Law of India. He goes on to catalogue disparaging remarks made in Parliament by the Union Law Minister H. R. Gokhale about the judiciary during the debate on the 44th Amendment Bill, and defends the Bombay High Court against a Rajya Sabha member's charge of bureaucratic delay in a judicial confirmation, laying out the administrative chronology in detail. He closes (in the visible portion) by objecting to a remark by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra that judges 'come drunk to Courts,' and by criticising the censorship of judicial pronouncements and Court proceedings under the Emergency's press restrictions. - Cites Socrates ('Four things belong to a Judge...') and lists standards of judicial conduct (no free rides/favours, no hobnobbing with ministers, no abusive language). - Defends the Supreme Court's 'basic structure' doctrine (from Keshavanand Bharati's case) as not a mere judicial invention, citing H. M. Seervai's treatise. - Catalogues three categories of disparaging remarks made by Law Minister H. R. Gokhale in Parliament about the judiciary during debate on the 44th Constitutional Amendment Bill. - Rebuts, with a detailed administrative timeline, a Rajya Sabha member's public claim that the Bombay High Court caused red-tape delay in his judicial confirmation. - Criticises the Maharashtra Chief Minister's remark that 'judges come drunk to Courts' as a sweeping generalisation from a single actual instance. - Objects to press-censorship rules that block publication of factual, uncommented news about Court proceedings and judgments, citing a Gujarat High Court case as an example. ### World News This item reproduces the citation given at the 35th Annual Meeting of Freedom House in New York (31 January 1977) honouring C. R. Irani, Managing Director of The Statesman, with the Freedom House Award for the newspaper's resistance to Emergency-era press restrictions in India; Irani could not attend because his passport had been impounded. The citation situates Irani among past recipients including Winston Churchill, Eisenhower, and Willy Brandt, and quotes his own 1975 remarks on the press's duty to report and criticise fearlessly regardless of governmental sensitivities. - C. R. Irani of The Statesman received the 1977 Freedom House Award but could not attend as his passport had been impounded by Indian authorities. - The citation places Irani alongside past Freedom House Award recipients Winston Churchill, Eisenhower, and Willy Brandt. - Irani's cabled response thanks Freedom House and extends the honour to 'the many publications, big and small' that resisted press restrictions with The Statesman. - The citation quotes Irani's own 1975 statement that the press is bound only by its own code of journalism, not by governmental sensitivities. ### Letters: Euthanasia Again *By F. P. Antia* M. R. Masani mocks the abrupt public rupture between the Congress Party and the Communist Party of India (CPI) after nearly eight years of close cooperation (1969-1976), triggered by Mrs. Gandhi's calling of elections. He catalogues a string of Congress and opposition figures suddenly denouncing the CPI (a defecting Punjab CPI council member, an MP, the Haryana Chief Minister, Bihar legislators) and contrasts this with the CPI's own indignant defence in New Age and Blitz. Masani cites his own 1954 book, History of the Communist Party of India, as having long documented CPI 'treachery,' and closes by noting the awkward persistence of the Indo-Soviet security pact and a Brezhnev letter of continued fraternal support for the CPI, arguing that Indian citizens are being asked to believe contradictory things from Congress leaders and the Kremlin simultaneously. - Describes the sudden turn of Congress and allied politicians against the CPI in late 1976/early 1977 as opportunistic and hypocritical, given nearly eight years of close cooperation since 1969. - Cites a CPI defector, an opposition MP, the Haryana Chief Minister, and Bihar Congress legislators all denouncing the CPI within days of each other in late December 1976 and January 1977. - References Masani's own 1954 book documenting CPI conduct during the Quit India movement as prior, ignored documentation of the same 'treachery' now being 'discovered.' - Notes the CPI's own defensive reaction in New Age and a dissenting protest from fellow-traveller K. A. Abbas in Blitz comparing the atmosphere to pre-Hitler Germany. - Points to the continuing Indo-Soviet Security Pact and a Brezhnev letter pledging fraternal support to the CPI as evidence of the contradiction Indian citizens are asked to accept. - Closes with an anecdote likening the anti-CPI campaign to taking 'their cock and bull... with a pinch of snuff'. ### Letters: The Coming General Elections *By C. Cardoza* An unsigned digest of short international news items covering: British Indian organisations seeking to meet Enoch Powell over his 'civil war' remarks; Argentina's military government banning Hare Krishna and other 'oriental' sects as anti-national; Ian Smith's rejection of British proposals for Rhodesia; Anwar Sadat's denunciation of Israelis and the Soviet Union amid Egyptian unrest; the deteriorating condition of jailed hunger-striking dissident writer Mihajlo Mihajlov in Yugoslavia; the Soviet Union honouring Trotsky's assassin Ramon Mercader as a Hero of the Soviet Union; and Andrei Sakharov's fear that a Moscow subway bombing was staged by the KGB to discredit Soviet dissidents. - Confederation of Indian Organisations in Britain (40,000 members) sought to meet Enoch Powell after his prediction of 'civil war' over race relations. - Argentina's military government banned Hare Krishna and other 'oriental' religious sects as anti-national, detaining five Hare Krishna members in Buenos Aires. - Ian Smith rejected new British proposals for Rhodesia, warning they would hand rule to a 'Marxist indoctrinated minority.' - President Sadat of Egypt called Israelis 'fools' and accused the Soviet Union of fomenting 'bloody conflict' amid Egyptian labour unrest. - Jailed Yugoslav dissident writer Mihajlo Mihajlov was reported in 'dangerous condition' after a month-long hunger strike; he had lost 39.6 lbs. - The USSR made Trotsky's assassin Ramon Mercader a Hero of the Soviet Union, taken as proof Stalin ordered Trotsky's 1940 murder. - Andrei Sakharov said he feared a Moscow subway bombing might have been staged by the KGB to discredit the dissident movement, which he said practices strict non-violence. ### Review: A Voice from the Chorus by Abraham Tertz *By A. G. Noorani* Two reader letters. F. P. Antia responds at length to R. R. Patil's earlier criticism of his pro-euthanasia article, arguing that a mentally competent, incurably suffering patient's wish to die should be honoured as an act of compassion, and citing new support for this view from a California 'living will' law and from a reported statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Coggan, that prolonging life 'just for the sake of doing so' is a fallacy; Antia also invokes the prolonged coma of Karen Quinlan as a hard case. A second letter from C. Cardoza, a self-described lifelong Congress voter and campaigner, argues that the charge of an unfairly loaded electoral dice against opposition parties is unfounded, while conceding that eighteen months of Emergency press censorship and one-sided propaganda have made it difficult to convince ordinary voters, and that he can no longer ask friends to vote Congress without inviting criticism; he also rebuts the claim that lifting the ban on company political donations was designed solely to fund the Congress Party. - F. P. Antia argues euthanasia for a mentally competent, incurably suffering patient who wishes to die is an act of compassion, not a violation of the sanctity of life. - Cites a new California law recognising 'living wills' permitting withdrawal of life-prolonging treatment for the terminally ill. - Notes the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Coggan, reportedly told the Royal Society of Medicine it is a fallacy to think the Christian view favours prolonging life 'at any cost.' - Invokes the prolonged comatose state of Karen Quinlan as a test case for the euthanasia debate. - C. Cardoza, a lifelong Congress campaigner, argues the electoral system is not as unfairly loaded against the opposition as claimed, while admitting Emergency censorship has made Congress's case a hard sell to voters. - Cardoza rebuts the claim that lifting the corporate political-donations ban was designed to fund only the Congress Party, noting the relevant bill has not yet passed the Lok Sabha. ### With Many Voices A. G. Noorani reviews A Voice from the Chorus by Abraham Tertz (the pen name of Andrei Sinyavsky), a volume of prison letters written to his wife Maria during his 1965-71 imprisonment for smuggling literary works abroad under a pseudonym. Noorani recounts Sinyavsky's biography, arrest alongside Yuli Daniel (pen name Arzhak), and trial, and then surveys the book's wide-ranging content, from essays on Western literary figures to reflections on Russian folklore, the Chechen people's oral songs, and a retelling of an Indian tale of Brahma and the maiden Tilottama from the Mahabharata and Puranas. Noorani closes by endorsing Max Hayward's assessment that art in all its forms is the book's predominant, unifying theme. - Reviews A Voice from the Chorus by Abraham Tertz (pen name of Andrei Sinyavsky), published by Collins & Harvill Press. - Recounts Sinyavsky's 1965 arrest by the KGB alongside Yuli Daniel (pen name Arzhak) for smuggling literary works abroad, and his sentence of seven years' forced labour. - Describes the book as based on Sinyavsky's bi-monthly prison letters to his wife Maria, with an introduction by Max Hayward. - Surveys the book's eclectic range: essays on Swift, Defoe, Rembrandt, Hamlet, Matisse, Kipling, Japanese art, and a retelling of the Indian tale of Brahma and Tilottama from the Mahabharata. - Highlights Sinyavsky's account of collecting Chechen oral songs, noting their blend of Arabic tradition and local legend. - Endorses Max Hayward's view that 'art in all its forms' is the predominant theme running through the book. ### Essay 11 A closing compilation of quotations from world press and public figures under the recurring feature title 'With Many Voices,' epigraphed with a line from Tennyson. Items include Jagjivan Ram on persecution complexes of those in power, Nirad C. Chaudhuri on Indian political fickleness and on Mrs. Gandhi's tyranny needing a firm social basis, quotes on Egypt, Rhodesia, Trotskyist politics, Bukovsky's dissident wit, and Lord Denning on the limits of the Attorney General's prosecutorial prerogative. The page also carries the issue's subscription form and the closing publication imprint naming J. R. Patel as publisher and printer. - Compiles short press quotations under the recurring 'With Many Voices' feature, epigraphed by Tennyson. - Includes two separate Nirad C. Chaudhuri quotations from Encounter (November 1976) on Indian political behaviour and on the social basis of Mrs. Gandhi's rule. - Includes Vladimir Bukovsky's quip about still considering himself a political prisoner 'but on holiday.' - Includes Lord Denning's judgment denying the Attorney General any prerogative to suspend or dispense with the laws of England. - Carries the issue's subscription form (annual subscription Rs. 5.00) and imprint: published for Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff293/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 293 (April 1977) is the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical's issue immediately following the defeat of the Congress Party and Indira Gandhi in the 1977 general election that ended the Emergency. Editor M. R. Masani opens with a fable of a princess who abuses an elephant until it rebels, allegorising the Indian people's endurance of the Emergency and their decisive verdict against dictatorship; he lays out an agenda of electoral reform, rule of law, federalism, limited government, and depoliticised civic life for the new Janata government. The issue also carries the editor's 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' column of short political commentary on world affairs (Carter and Sakharov, Idi Amin, campus unrest at LSE and Essex, Hitler-Marxism parallels); an essay by M. Murlidhar on the Soviet Union's decades-long campaign against religion and its incomplete success; a sharply critical profile of British Labour politician Michael Foot reprinted from Free Nation; N. K. Seetharaman's tribute to C.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 293 (April 1977) is the Bombay-based classical-liberal periodical's issue immediately following the defeat of the Congress Party and Indira Gandhi in the 1977 general election that ended the Emergency. Editor M. R. Masani opens with a fable of a princess who abuses an elephant until it rebels, allegorising the Indian people's endurance of the Emergency and their decisive verdict against dictatorship; he lays out an agenda of electoral reform, rule of law, federalism, limited government, and depoliticised civic life for the new Janata government. The issue also carries the editor's 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' column of short political commentary on world affairs (Carter and Sakharov, Idi Amin, campus unrest at LSE and Essex, Hitler-Marxism parallels); an essay by M. Murlidhar on the Soviet Union's decades-long campaign against religion and its incomplete success; a sharply critical profile of British Labour politician Michael Foot reprinted from Free Nation; N. K. Seetharaman's tribute to C. Rajagopalachari's (Rajaji) lifelong advocacy of individual liberty against statism; a World News digest of wire-service items (Carter's letter to Sakharov, Djilas, Carrillo, Uganda, Enoch Powell, Soviet chewing gum); a Bernard Levin review (reprinted from The Times) marking the 100th issue of Survey magazine; an obituary of Bertram D. Wolfe; and a closing page of quoted opinion, 'With Many Voices', plus a subscription form. ## Essays ### The Lady and the Elephant *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's editorial opens with an allegory: a princess rides an elephant that obeys her every cruel command until, one day, the beast turns and throws her off, then runs free into the woods. The Indian people, Masani writes, were like that patient elephant, suffering silently under the Emergency for eighteen months before finally speaking at the ballot box. He traces the crisis to Indira Gandhi's refusal to resign as Prime Minister after the Allahabad High Court found her guilty of corrupt election practice in June 1975, opting instead for a 'constitutional coup d'etat'. He quotes his own 1975 warning in the Statesman that she had missed a chance to resign with dignity, and recalls having predicted the breakdown as early as 1962 and 1969. Masani welcomes the Janata victory as a rejection of dictatorship and a restoration of the rule of law and judicial independence, but insists the underlying problems -- food shortage, population growth, economic stagnation, illiteracy -- remain unsolved and require 'a new design for living' rather than a return to the pre-Emergency status quo. He lists five imperative needs for the new government: electoral reform (proportional representation), maintenance of the rule of law and an independent judiciary, federalism, identifying which foreign governments supported the Emergency, and limited government along Gandhian lines. He closes by arguing that citizenship and 'voluntaryism' -- not politicians or parties -- will ultimately save India, invoking Jayaprakash Narayan's view that political parties are a 'necessary evil' resting on inadequate grassroots citizenship. - Opens with an allegorical fable of a princess and an elephant to frame the Emergency and the 1977 election defeat of the Congress Party. - Blames the crisis on Indira Gandhi's refusal to resign after the Allahabad High Court's 1975 corrupt-practices verdict, calling her subsequent actions a 'constitutional coup d'etat'. - Quotes his own June 1975 Statesman warning that she had forfeited dignity and credibility by not resigning. - Welcomes the Janata victory as a warning to potential dictators and a restoration of rule of law and judicial independence. - Lists five 'imperative needs': electoral reform via proportional representation, rule of law/judicial independence, federalism, identifying foreign friends versus supporters of the Emergency, and limited (Gandhian) government. - Criticizes forcible vasectomy under the Emergency's population-control drive as a 'brutal obscenity'. - Cites Walter Lippmann's The Public Philosophy on the danger that failure to govern well breeds counter-revolutionary authoritarianism. - Argues that citizens, not politicians, will save India, invoking Jayaprakash Narayan's view of political parties as a 'necessary evil'. ### Has USSR Achieved Atheism? *By M. Murlidhar* M. R. Masani's 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' column offers a set of short, opinionated notes on current events. He praises President Carter's early handling of Soviet dissent, contrasting Carter's letter to Andrei Sakharov and reception of Vladimir Bukovsky with President Ford's earlier missed opportunity to meet Solzhenitsyn, and argues Communist regimes respond to courage, not to diplomatic caution. He discusses the Rhodesian succession crisis, praising Ian Smith's proposal for a referendum among the black population. He criticises the British Foreign Office's equivocation over Idi Amin's threat to attend the June 1977 Commonwealth Conference, arguing Amin should simply be barred entry. He welcomes British courts striking down a Post Office workers' boycott of mail to South Africa while noting the 'double standards' of a labour union that would never boycott mail to the USSR or Eastern Bloc. He also reports on student violence against Sir Keith Joseph at Essex University and the illegal occupation of LSE by students opposing fee increases, framing both as the work of a 'small Marxist minority' that authorities should confront rather than indulge. The column closes with a note on a controversy over whether Hitler said National Socialism and Marxism are 'basically the same', which Masani endorses as true regardless of whether Hitler actually said it, citing the Stalin-Hitler pact of 1939. - Praises Carter's outreach to Soviet dissidents Sakharov and Bukovsky as a sign of principled leadership, contrasted with Ford's earlier avoidance of Solzhenitsyn. - Argues Communist regimes are provoked to aggression by cowardice, not by displays of Western sympathy for dissidents. - Comments on the Rhodesian succession crisis, endorsing Ian Smith's proposed referendum among the black population. - Criticises British equivocation over whether to bar Idi Amin from the June 1977 Commonwealth Conference given his record as 'that racist murderer'. - Welcomes a British court ruling against a Post Office workers' boycott of mail to South Africa, but flags the 'double standard' that no such boycott is proposed against the USSR, East Germany, or Angola. - Reports on student violence against Sir Keith Joseph at Essex University and an illegal LSE occupation over fee increases, blaming a 'small Marxist minority'. - Notes that fascism, properly understood, is opposed to capitalism and close to communism, not its ally. - Discusses the controversy over an alleged Hitler quotation equating Nazism and Marxism, endorsing its substance via the 1939 Stalin-Hitler pact. ### Rise and Fall of Michael Foot *By E.P. (abridged from an article in Free Nation, London)* M. Murlidhar's essay examines whether the Soviet Union has succeeded in eradicating religion. He traces the official Soviet ideology's hostility to religion from Marx's characterisation of it as 'an opium of the masses' through Lenin's elaboration, describing the Bolshevik state's campaign: disfranchisement of clergy under the 1918 constitution, abolition of the synod, confiscation of church property, the 1929 formation of the League of Militant Godless, anti-Christmas and anti-Easter campaigns, and bans on religious instruction for minors. He describes a shift after the German invasion of the USSR, when Stalin granted the Orthodox Church a 'honeymoon' period of restored status in exchange for patriotic support against Hitler, followed by renewed but more calibrated suppression in the de-Stalinization era, including Komsomol warnings about religion's influence on youth and educational schemes explicitly designed to teach children that religion and science are irreconcilable. The essay concludes that despite decades of official effort, religion has not been erased from Russian life: statistics on baptisms, church weddings and religious funerals, plus survey data showing high rates of belief among older Russians and women, indicate that religion survives as a private and family-transmitted practice and continues to influence Russian literary culture, even though it has been crippled as a formal institution. - Frames the question as whether the USSR has actually achieved atheism despite decades of anti-religious policy. - Traces Marx's and Lenin's ideological hostility to religion as 'an opium of the masses' and 'spiritual moonshine'. - Details concrete Soviet measures: disfranchisement of clergy, the 1918 constitution's separation of church and state, confiscation of church property, and the 1929 League of Militant Godless. - Describes a wartime 'honeymoon' under Stalin in which the Orthodox Church regained status in exchange for patriotic support against Germany. - Notes renewed but more calibrated anti-religious campaigns after Stalin's death, including Komsomol statements and school curricula designed to teach religion and science are irreconcilable. - Cites 1960s statistical surveys: 60% of children baptised in church, 15% of marriages and 30% of funerals performed in Orthodox rite. - Notes over 70% of believers are above 40 and over 70% of women believe in God, suggesting religion persists via family transmission. - Concludes religion survives in Russian literary and private life even though crippled as a formal institution. ### Rajaji and Freedom *By N. K. Seetharaman* This piece, presented as an abridged reprint of an article from the London Free Nation (originally titled 'The High-Speed Virgin'), is a highly critical profile of British Labour politician Michael Foot, prefaced by editorial framing noting Foot's reputation had been 'so rapidly deflated' by his conduct in office. The article argues Foot's long-standing image as a principled libertarian left-winger has been exposed as hollow now that he holds real power as Leader of the House of Commons; it accuses him and other 'Gentlemen Socialists' of using 'socialism' as a cloak for a feudal instinct to organise and govern people 'for their own good', citing new laws that entrench the Closed Shop and curtail press freedom. A boxed sidebar, 'Lie of the Week', reproduces a Times exchange in which Foot denounced Bernard Levin for calling Mrs Gandhi a would-be dictator, alongside The Economist's satirical invitation to nominate the most absurd Indian-politics quotation of the week, including a Foot remark suggesting Mrs Gandhi could have had herself assassinated like Allende to escape criticism. - Reprinted (abridged) from the London Free Nation under its original title 'The High-Speed Virgin'. - Argues Michael Foot's reputation as a principled libertarian left-winger has collapsed now that he wields real government power. - Accuses 'Gentlemen Socialists' like Foot and Tony Benn of using the language of socialism to disguise an authoritarian, quasi-feudal instinct to govern others 'for their own good'. - Cites laws entrenching the Closed Shop and narrowing press freedom as evidence of this shift from rhetoric to authoritarian practice. - Includes a 'Lie of the Week' sidebar quoting Foot's denunciation of Bernard Levin over remarks about Mrs Gandhi, and The Economist's satirical contest around it. ### World News N. K. Seetharaman's tribute essay on C. Rajagopalachari ('Rajaji') frames his entire public life as one sustained struggle for individual freedom from state and social bondage. It opens by praising Rajaji's early social reforms as Chairman of the Salem Municipality, opening civic amenities to Harijans and Scheduled Castes against orthodox opposition, and his practical commitment to inter-caste marriage by marrying his daughter to Gandhi's son. The essay then turns to Rajaji's political philosophy of the individual versus the state, situating him against the background of pluralist versus monistic theories of sovereignty, and cites his 1959 address inaugurating the Swatantra Party warning against the Congress's drift toward a 'true Leviathan' state that mistrusts citizens and multiplies controls. Rajaji is shown citing Harold Laski's definition of liberty and warning, in a 1965 Swarajya article, that controlled production and prices amount to controlling persons, not things. The essay reviews Article 19 of the Indian Constitution's fundamental rights and Rajaji's concern that these rights were being eroded, citing the abolition of privy purses and the creation of linguistic states (which Rajaji called a 'tribal idea') as instances of this erosion. It clarifies that Rajaji's opposition to nationalisation was not a brief for exploitative capitalism but a concern that state monopoly is as harmful as private monopoly, and that incentives are essential to a developing economy. - Frames Rajaji's entire life as one continuous struggle for individual freedom from state and social restriction. - Credits Rajaji's tenure as Chairman of Salem Municipality with opening civic access to Harijans and Scheduled Castes against orthodox opposition. - Notes Rajaji's practical support for inter-caste marriage, citing his own daughter's marriage to Gandhi's son. - Discusses pluralist versus monistic conceptions of the state as the philosophical backdrop to Rajaji's thought. - Quotes Rajaji's 1959 Swatantra Party inaugural address warning against the Congress's drift toward a 'true Leviathan' state. - Cites Rajaji's 1965 Swarajya article arguing controlled production and prices amount to control of persons, robbing them of 'the will-to-be-free'. - Reviews Article 19 fundamental rights and Rajaji's concern over their erosion, including abolition of privy purses and linguistic states policy. - Clarifies Rajaji's opposition to nationalisation rested on the danger of state monopoly, not a defence of exploitative private capitalism. ### Review: What an Innings! (on Survey magazine's 100th issue) *By Bernard Levin, courtesy: The Times* The 'World News' digest reprints short wire-service items from international papers covering: the full text of President Carter's February 5, 1977 letter to Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov affirming human rights as a central concern of his administration; Milovan Djilas's appeal to West European Communist parties to press Belgrade on human rights, including his claim of roughly 600 political prisoners in Yugoslavia versus an estimated 10,000 in the USSR; an expose of Spanish Communist leader Santiago Carrillo's role in the 1936 Paracuellos mass executions near Madrid, contrasted with his current 'democratic halo'; a report on Uganda's costly new UN mission building despite requesting UN financial aid; Enoch Powell's claim that Britain held 'the whip hand' within the EEC due to comparatively better living standards; and a note on the Soviet Union's first domestically produced chewing gum, greeted by Pravda-style praise despite the product's long association with 'Western decadence'. - Reprints Carter's February 5, 1977 letter to Sakharov affirming human rights as central to U.S. foreign policy. - Reports Milovan Djilas's appeal to West European Communists on Yugoslav human rights, citing about 600 political prisoners there versus roughly 10,000 in the USSR per Sakharov's estimate. - Details historian Hugh Thomas's account implicating Santiago Carrillo in the 1936 Paracuellos massacres near Madrid, undercutting his current reformist image. - Notes Uganda's construction of an oversized 15-story UN mission building despite appealing to the UN for $15 million in financial aid. - Reports Enoch Powell's claim that Britain held 'the whip hand' in the EEC due to higher living standards than continental Europe. - Notes with irony the Soviet Union's launch of domestically produced chewing gum, previously scorned as a symbol of Western decadence. ### Bertram D. Wolfe (obituary note) This is a review by Bernard Levin, reprinted from The Times, celebrating the 100th issue of Survey: A Journal of East and West Studies, edited by Leopold Labedz. Levin situates Survey within the declining tradition of the British intellectual quarterly, praising Labedz for keeping the journal alive, respected, and accessible to general readers for a quarter century while covering East-West and Soviet-bloc affairs with contributors including Andrei Amalrik, Raymond Aron, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Milovan Djilas, Leszek Kolakowski and Andrei Sinyavsky. He highlights the 100th issue's scoop on the fate of Soviet ambassador Ivan Maisky, drawing on new revelations by Alexander Nekrich about a planned fresh Stalinist purge cut short by Stalin's death, and quotes at length from Raymond Aron's essay on Solzhenitsyn and Sartre, which contrasts Sartre's moral relativism with Solzhenitsyn's clear rejection of ideological crimes. - Reviews the 100th issue of Survey: A Journal of East and West Studies, edited by Leopold Labedz for a quarter century. - Praises Survey for balancing rigorous scholarship on East-West/Soviet affairs with accessibility to the general reader. - Lists distinguished past contributors including Amalrik, Aron, Brzezinski, Djilas, Kolakowski, Pipes, Schapiro, Seton-Watson, Sinyavsky and Sperber. - Highlights the issue's scoop on Soviet ambassador Ivan Maisky's postwar fate, based on Alexander Nekrich's account of a planned Stalinist purge halted by Stalin's death. - Quotes extensively from Raymond Aron's essay contrasting Solzhenitsyn's moral clarity with Sartre's relativist defence of Marxism as 'the unsurpassable philosophy of our epoch'. - Closes praising Labedz and contributors for 'unremitting fidelity, courage, consistency and truth' in serving the cause of freedom. ### With Many Voices A brief obituary notice for Bertram D. Wolfe, described as one of the founders of the Communist International and perhaps its last surviving member, who died on February 21, 1977 from burns sustained in an accident. The notice recalls Wolfe as one of the fiercest polemicists yet gentlest of men, who became a resolute foe of international Communism and Soviet dictatorship after Stalin's rise but never let his opposition distort his scholarship, citing his 1948 book Three Who Made a Revolution (on Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin, translated into 28 languages) as a classic study. It recalls a painting by Diego Rivera depicting the founders of the Communist International that hung in Wolfe's New York home, in which Wolfe featured more prominently than Stalin. The editor recalls Wolfe as a close personal friend and quotes his final postcard to the magazine, sent the previous August, expressing pleasure that Freedom First was 'holding on, however precariously'. - Bertram D. Wolfe, a founder of the Communist International, died February 21, 1977 from accidental burns. - Described as one of the fiercest polemicists and gentlest of men, who became a resolute foe of Soviet dictatorship without letting his opposition distort his scholarship. - His 1948 book Three Who Made a Revolution, on Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin, is called a classic, translated into 28 languages. - Recalls a Diego Rivera painting of the Communist International's founders in which Wolfe featured more prominently than Stalin. - He was Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford from 1966 until his death. - The editor recalls Wolfe as a personal friend and quotes his final postcard expressing pleasure that Freedom First was 'holding on, however precariously'. ### Essay 9 'With Many Voices' is the issue's closing page of curated quotations from the world press, epigraphed by Tennyson, on themes echoing the issue's concerns with democracy, dictatorship, and double standards. Quoted sources include the Daily Telegraph on Indian politicians' 'unintelligible manoeuvring'; Lionel Edwards linking democracy and free economy as logically as dictatorship and the state; Mussolini's dictum equating liberalism with the individual and fascism with the state; President Carter on human rights and reciprocity with Moscow; Winston Churchill defending the moral logic of arming against Soviet buildup; Professor Kolakawski's quip likening non-totalitarian Communism to 'the idea of fried snowballs'; Sanjay Gandhi's claim about CIA versus KGB agents in India; and remarks on Enoch Powell's oratory and a wry item about Royal Air Force regional commanders named Lock and Ness ('Monstrous'). The page closes with the Freedom First subscription form (annual subscription Rs. 5.00, published by Democratic Research Service) and the imprint naming J. R. Patel as Associate Editor and printer. - A curated page of short press quotations under the Tennyson-derived title 'With Many Voices'. - Includes Lionel Edwards's claim that democracy and free economy are as logically linked as dictatorship and the state. - Includes Mussolini's dictum: 'When one says liberalism, one says the individual and when one says fascism, one says the state.' - Includes a Wall Street Journal line, 'A democracy suspended once can be suspended again,' echoing the issue's central theme. - Includes Professor Kolakawski's quip comparing non-totalitarian Communism to 'the idea of fried snowballs'. - Includes Sanjay Gandhi's claim about a ratio of KGB to CIA agents in India. - Closes with the Freedom First subscription form and publication imprint naming J. R. Patel as Associate Editor, published by Democratic Research Service, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff294/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 294 (May 1977) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas, edited by M. R. Masani, appearing weeks after the Janata Party's electoral victory ended the Emergency. The issue opens with a report on Masani's public address proposing concrete safeguards against a repeat of the 1975 'constitutional coup d'etat' -- a commission of inquiry and a non-partisan watchdog Committee of a Hundred -- and worries that public impatience could again tempt India toward a 'strong man.' Other contributors range across a translated Russian dissident's account of samizdat publishing, a critique of the government's retreat on family planning, an appreciative essay on C. Rajagopalachari, a defence of Milton Friedman's Chile visit reprinted from a Wall Street Journal letter, a compilation of world news items (on Soviet living standards, dissidents, and Idi Amin's Uganda), a film review of Satyajit Ray's 'Jana Aranya', two book reviews, and a closing page of quoted aphorisms plus the subscription form and imprint.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 294 (May 1977) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas, edited by M. R. Masani, appearing weeks after the Janata Party's electoral victory ended the Emergency. The issue opens with a report on Masani's public address proposing concrete safeguards against a repeat of the 1975 'constitutional coup d'etat' -- a commission of inquiry and a non-partisan watchdog Committee of a Hundred -- and worries that public impatience could again tempt India toward a 'strong man.' Other contributors range across a translated Russian dissident's account of samizdat publishing, a critique of the government's retreat on family planning, an appreciative essay on C. Rajagopalachari, a defence of Milton Friedman's Chile visit reprinted from a Wall Street Journal letter, a compilation of world news items (on Soviet living standards, dissidents, and Idi Amin's Uganda), a film review of Satyajit Ray's 'Jana Aranya', two book reviews, and a closing page of quoted aphorisms plus the subscription form and imprint. The issue's argumentative centre, in the rendered pages, is anti-authoritarianism: distrust of concentrated state power, whether exercised through India's suspended constitution, Soviet censorship, or the abuses of Amin's regime, paired with a liberal insistence on individual liberty, free institutions, and free enterprise. ## Essays ### What Is "Samizdat"? *By Julius Telesin* This unsigned front-page report ('No Second Derailment: Editor Suggests Concrete Steps') summarises a talk by M. R. Masani at a public meeting of the Indian Liberal Group on 1 April, with Soli Sorabjee also speaking and S. P. Aiyar in the chair. Masani proposed that the Union Government set up a commission to investigate how the 26 June 1975 'constitutional coup d'etat' was engineered, so as to recommend safeguards against a repeat, explicitly disclaiming any 'witchhunt' against individuals. His second proposal was an Indian Liberal Group-organised Committee of a Hundred, non-partisan watchdogs drawn from law, journalism, trade unions and education, to sound the alarm on threats to civil liberty -- a response to Prime Minister Morarji Desai's invitation to citizens to stay vigilant (a proposal JP Narayan had publicly welcomed). The piece closes on a cautionary note: despite the electorate's maturity in voting out Mrs Gandhi, the underlying conditions that produced authoritarian temptation -- too much politics, too little citizenship, weak voluntary associations -- remain, and public memory is short. - Masani proposed a government commission of inquiry into the 'modus operandi' behind the 26 June 1975 constitutional coup, framed explicitly as not a witchhunt against individuals. - Masani's second proposal was an Indian Liberal Group 'Committee of a Hundred' to act as a non-partisan watchdog for civil liberties. - Jayaprakash Narayan publicly welcomed the Committee of a Hundred proposal at a 2 April press conference. - Masani warned that the ease with which absolute power was seized in 1975 showed weakened public faith in parliamentary institutions, and that public memory of authoritarian abuse is short. - The report frames the election result as showing the poor 'want freedom as much as they want bread', endorsing JP's reading that a vote against Mrs Gandhi was more anti-Emergency than pro-Janata. - Masani highlighted Jayaprakash Narayan's stress on 'Jana Shakti' (people's power) over 'Raj Shakti' (state power) as vital, citing India's weak infrastructure of voluntary grassroots associations since 1950. ### Dichotomy of Family Planning *By M. Murlidhar* Julius Telesin, a Russian writer recently resettled in the West, explains samizdat -- the Soviet practice of unofficial, uncensored self-publishing -- in this abridged reprint from Encounter. He traces the word's origin to a 1950s Moscow poet's ironic coinage on the model of official Soviet publishing-house names, and distinguishes samizdat (works produced and circulated wholly outside censorship) from tamizdat (foreign editions of the same works). He catalogues thirteen genres of samizdat, from novels and poetry to trial transcripts, prisoner biographies, and lists of official censorship cuts. The essay's second half, printed on later pages, walks through the practical mechanics of samizdat production and distribution in granular, first-person detail: negotiating typed copies with friends and paid typists, the economics of tissue paper versus ordinary paper, the risks of denunciation and KGB searches, and why despite the risk none of this literature is technically 'illegal' under Soviet law, since the USSR maintains no published blacklist and pays lip service to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Telesin closes by noting samizdat's real but bounded readership -- confined largely to 'the thinking part of society' willing to accept the risk of reading uncensored material. - Samizdat originated as an ironic coinage in 1950s Moscow, punning on official Soviet publishing-house names like Politizdat and Voyenizdat. - Telesin distinguishes samizdat (self-published, uncensored work) from tamizdat (foreign-published reprints of similar material) and lists 13 genres, including novels, memoirs, court transcripts, and lists of official censorship cuts. - The practical logistics of samizdat -- typewriters, carbon paper, tissue paper for bulk copying, negotiating with typists -- are described in first-person, granular detail as a semi-underground cottage industry. - Telesin argues samizdat is not technically illegal in the USSR: there is no published blacklist of banned works, and the state officially endorses the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights including Article 19 on freedom of expression. - Despite the absence of formal illegality, samizdat readers and typists face real risks of KGB searches, shadowing, and prosecution under vague 'anti-Soviet' statutes. - Samizdat's readership is self-selecting: confined to those willing to accept risk in pursuit of information the official press withholds, not a mass phenomenon. ### The Relevance of Rajaji *By K. Vedamurthy* M. Murlidhar criticises the government's retreat on family planning as a capitulation to 'mass hysteria' whipped up by opposition parties and religious leaders, arguing that population control was an issue requiring 'a war-like zeal to carry out' at independence but instead faced cowardly leadership and reactionary opinion from every religious denomination. Invoking A. V. Dicey's account of the tension between 'legislative opinion' and 'public opinion' in 19th-century Britain, Murlidhar argues that on some issues of national importance -- as with defence, or the Hindu Code Bill in India -- legislative opinion must override a hostile public, and that family planning should likewise be pursued according to legislative judgment rather than deferring to majority sentiment. - Murlidhar attributes the government's retreat on family planning to 'mass hysteria' generated by opposition parties and blessed by religious leaders across denominations, including the Puri Shankracharya and the Pope. - He invokes A. V. Dicey's framework distinguishing 'legislative opinion' from 'public opinion', arguing some issues (defence, wartime secrets) require legislative opinion to override hostile public opinion. - The Hindu Code Bill is cited as a precedent where legislative opinion successfully overrode majority Hindu opposition, changing personal law. - Murlidhar argues the coercive excesses of the Emergency-era family planning drive were real but were not the true 'excess' -- rather, insufficient earlier action against 'a dangerous disease' was the deeper failure. - He calls for legislative opinion to reassert itself on family planning going forward, framing the issue as a dichotomy between speedy social progress and deference to popular opinion. ### Prof. Milton Friedman and Chile *By Arnold C. Harberger (letter to Stig Ramel, reprinted from the Wall Street Journal)* K. Vedamurthy's essay argues for the renewed relevance of C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) to India's post-Emergency moment, portraying him as a strenuous advocate of independent thinking, individual liberty, and civil criticism of authority, likened to Ralph Waldo Emerson. Drawing on Rajaji's own writings in Swarajya across the 1950s-60s, Vedamurthy assembles his warnings against 'parrot culture' and unquestioning political obedience, his insistence that criticism and counterreply are essential to democratic health, and his critique of both left- and right-authoritarianism. The essay closes with Rajaji's own 1963 reflection on whether India has 'forgotten the Mahatma,' concluding that Gandhi's teaching of nonviolence remains imperfectly absorbed but not forgotten. - Vedamurthy likens Rajaji to Ralph Waldo Emerson as a 'strenuous advocate of liberty and independence' opposed to 'parrot culture' -- unreflective political conformity. - Rajaji is credited with founding the Swatantra Party out of concern that citizens' fundamental rights were being whittled away, following decades of moral and political decay he traced through the preceding decade. - The essay presents Rajaji as a rationalist in religion and a 'true Vedantin', seeing no conflict between science's pursuit of material truth and religion's pursuit of non-material truth. - Rajaji's famous retort to critics who called him merely oppositional -- defining his affirmative commitments (soap over filth, working over loafing, peasant proprietorship over collectivism) -- is presented as capturing his political philosophy. - The essay closes on Rajaji's 1963 answer to whether India has forgotten Gandhi: not fully absorbed, but 'convinced that brute force and compulsion cannot accomplish anything.' ### "Jana Aranya": Directed by Satyajit Ray (Film review) *By Geeta Doctor* This reprinted Wall Street Journal letter by Arnold C. Harberger, chairman of the University of Chicago economics department, rebuts criticism of Milton Friedman's 1976 Nobel Prize in Economics arising from Friedman's brief 1975 visit to Chile. Harberger, who accompanied Friedman throughout the six-day visit, states both economists went at Harberger's urging under the auspices of a private Chilean foundation to give academic lectures, had no consulting relationship with the Pinochet government, and publicly and repeatedly condemned the regime's repression. He notes Friedman turned down two honorary degrees from Chilean universities to avoid any appearance of political endorsement, and stresses that the University of Chicago's institutional connection to Chile predates and is independent of the current government, running through an AID-financed exchange program with the Catholic University of Chile from 1956 to 1964. - Harberger states he and Friedman visited Chile under a private foundation's auspices, not as government consultants, and had no official connection to the Pinochet government. - Friedman refused two honorary degrees from Chilean universities specifically to avoid the appearance of political approval of the regime. - Friedman delivered a lecture titled 'The Fragility of Freedom' at two Chilean universities characterizing the government as denying and curtailing freedom. - The University of Chicago's institutional Chile connection dates to a 1956-64 AID-financed exchange with the Catholic University of Chile, predating the current government and unconnected to Friedman. - Harberger affirms both economists 'profoundly oppose authoritarian regimes, whether from the right or the left' while maintaining sympathy for former Chilean students who took positions in the current government. ### The Indian Political Parties: An Historical Analysis of Political Behaviour upto 1947 (Review of B. B. Misra) *By A. G. Noorani* This 'World News' section compiles reprinted news items from Western papers (The Daily Telegraph, International Herald Tribune, The Guardian, The Times) on Soviet and authoritarian-regime affairs: Alexander Solzhenitsyn's clandestine fund aiding Soviet political prisoners and their families; a statistical comparison showing Soviet workers must labour far longer than British or American workers to afford basic goods; declining Soviet economic growth rates; a Ugandan pilot's defection and asylum bid after falling out of favour with Idi Amin; the collapse of British and Canadian human-rights initiatives on Uganda at the UN due to Communist and Third World bloc resistance; defected Soviet MIG pilot Viktor Belenko's astonished reactions to the informality and abundance of U.S. military life; and a South Korean opposition leader's surprising defence of President Park's rule against charges of dictatorship while lobbying against U.S. troop withdrawal. - Alexander Solzhenitsyn financed a $360,000 fund (administered by Alexander Ginzburg) that assisted over a thousand Soviet political prisoners and their families between 1974 and 1976. - A comparative study by British economist Keith Bush found Soviet workers labour two to twelve times longer than British or American workers to afford equivalent staple goods. - The Soviet Union's 1976 economic growth rate was among its lowest in at least 25 years. - Ugandan pilot Charles Balidawa, once publicly honoured by Idi Amin, sought asylum in Britain after his life was threatened by Amin's State Research Bureau. - British and Canadian resolutions for an independent international inquiry into human rights abuses under Idi Amin's regime collapsed at the UN Commission on Human Rights, opposed by Communist states and most Third World delegations. - Defected Soviet MIG-25 pilot Viktor Belenko expressed astonishment at the informality, food abundance, and lack of harsh discipline in the U.S. military compared to his experience in the Soviet Air Force, including reports of frequent suicides among Soviet enlisted men. - South Korean opposition leader Lee Chul Seung defended President Park against charges of dictatorship and lobbied Washington to delay U.S. troop withdrawal, citing the North Korean threat. ### Are You Killing Yourself, Mr. Executive? (Review of Dr. R. H. Dastur) *By S. V. Raju* Geeta Doctor reviews Satyajit Ray's film 'Jana Aranya', judging it a weaker retread of Ray's earlier films 'Pratidwandi' and 'Mahanagar', recycling similar themes of youthful idealism crushed by urban corruption and the job-hunting 'system'. She traces the plot -- a bright graduate forced into shady middleman business who is eventually asked to procure a woman for a client to clinch a deal, and who discovers the woman is his best friend's sister -- while criticizing the film's deliberate slow pacing and heavy-handed use of visual motifs (cigarette lighting, silent stares) to signal the protagonist's moral crises. She contrasts commercial and art-film conventions ironically, arguing that despite Ray's continued technical mastery, the film has degenerated into 'a fussy mass of details and mannerisms' rather than genuinely probing beneath the surface of Indian urban life. - Doctor argues 'Jana Aranya' recycles the themes of Ray's earlier 'Pratidwandi' (with more poetry) and 'Mahanagar' (with more narrative strength), without matching either. - The plot follows a graduate who fails to find conventional work, becomes a business 'middleman', and is ultimately asked to procure a woman for a client -- discovering she is his best friend's sister. - Doctor criticizes Ray's deliberate, slow pacing and repeated use of visual tics (matchlight, cigarette-lighting, extended stares) as substitutes for narrative economy. - She satirizes the conventions dividing commercial films (moustached villains, entertainment-first aims) from art films (social relevance as an unquestionable virtue). - Despite her criticism, Doctor concedes 'a Satyajit Ray film can never be entirely bad' and that many viewers found the film excellent, but concludes Ray is reproducing his own trademarks rather than taking creative risks. ### Essay 8 A. G. Noorani reviews B. B. Misra's 'The Indian Political Parties: An Historical Analysis of Political Behaviour upto 1947' (Oxford University Press, Rs. 100), calling it an outstanding, well-sourced work drawing on archival Directorate of Intelligence Bureau records. Noorani highlights Misra's account of the British Raj as impersonal but imperialist rule, quotes Misra's analysis of the bureaucratic despotism of the post-1857 period, and details fine archival nuggets: N. M. Joshi's forwarding of the Communist Party's 1942 Memorandum of Policy to the Home Member, and Nehru's private admission to Asaf Ali that the 1939 Congress ministries' resignation had been an 'error.' Noorani praises Misra's analysis of why India has so many political parties -- rooted in the interaction between traditional caste-based groupings and newly emerging ideological social groups -- and his critique of Congress's 1937 failure to form coalitions, though he regrets Misra's thinner treatment of 1946-47. - Misra's book draws on archival Directorate of Intelligence Bureau records, including intercepted correspondence between Indian leaders. - Misra frames British Raj rule as impersonal, contrasting the Viceroy's constrained council-based authority with 'Grand Mughal' assumptions. - Noorani highlights Nehru's private admission to Asaf Ali that the 1939 Congress ministries' resignation had been 'an error.' - The Communist Party's 1942 Memorandum of Policy, drafted by P. C. Joshi and Adhikari and forwarded by N. M. Joshi to the Home Member, pledged 'burning and ardent' cooperation in the war effort in exchange for the release of Communist detenus. - Misra explains India's proliferation of political parties as resulting from an interaction between traditional caste-bound status groups and newly emerging ideologically united social groups. - Noorani regrets that Misra gives thinner treatment to the events of 1946-47 than to earlier decades. ### Essay 9 S. V. Raju reviews Dr. R. H. Dastur's 'Are You Killing Yourself, Mr. Executive?' (All India Management Association, New Delhi, 1976; Rs. 35), a health guide aimed at busy Indian executives covering occupational stress, ulcers, blood pressure, and other 'executive' ailments. Raju finds the book genuinely useful for its introduction, appendices, and first five chapters, praises its 'Food for Health' chart, but faults Dastur for straying into unrelated commentary on industrialisation and the state sector, given that most heavy industry employees are salaried government workers rather than overworked private executives. - The book targets Indian executives suffering stress-related ailments: ulcers, blood pressure, heart trouble, slipped discs. - A cited 1998 Executives survey found 50% of Indian executives suffer emotional stress and anxiety versus 40% overweight, contrasted with the American pattern of higher heart attack/stroke rates. - Raju recommends the introduction, two appendices, and first five chapters for general readership, while suggesting the rest be consulted only for one's specific ailment, 'like books on astrology.' - Raju's chief criticism is that Dastur's discussion of industrialisation and heavy industry (mostly state-sector, salaried employment) sits oddly within a book about executive stress. ### Essay 10 The closing page, 'With Many Voices', compiles brief quoted aphorisms and remarks from world newspapers and magazines (International Herald Tribune, The Economist, The Observer, Time, Democratic World) on figures including Jimmy Carter, Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai, Leonid Brezhnev, and Jawaharlal Nehru, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. The page also carries the Freedom First subscription form (annual subscription Rs. 5.00, C/o Democratic Research Service, Bombay) and the publication's colophon, naming J. R. Patel as Associate Editor and publisher. - The page collects short quoted remarks from international papers on contemporary political figures, framed by a Tennyson epigraph on the world's inevitable movement toward change. - Prime Minister Morarji Desai is quoted three times from Time (April 4), including on his ideals (Gandhi and Lincoln, versus Nehru's Machiavelli) and on government being something people fear more than any other agency. - The subscription form lists Freedom First's address as C/o Democratic Research Service, Maneckji Wadia Bldg., Bombay 400023, with an annual subscription of Rs. 5.00. - The colophon records the periodical as 'Published for Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel, Associate Editor, Freedom First' and printed at Mohan Mudranalaya, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff296/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 296 (July 1977), edited by M. R. Masani, appears in the immediate aftermath of the March 1977 General Elections that ended the Emergency and brought the Janata government to power. The issue's centrepiece is S. V. Raju's biographical profile of the new Prime Minister, Morarji Desai, tracing his upbringing, his decades in the Bombay Provincial Civil Service and State politics, his repeated near-misses at the premiership under Nehru and Shastri, and a review of his two-volume autobiography. Vladimir Bukovsky's translated Berlin address argues that the true frontier of freedom lies within the individual conscience rather than at political borders, drawing on his own experience of the Gulag and Soviet labour camps. Brian Crozier defends principled anti-Communism against the 'McCarthyite' label, and 'Mitradev' contributes an anonymous memorandum urging the new government to expose Emergency-era abuses, clear politicised intelligence services, and restrain public expectations.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 296 (July 1977), edited by M. R. Masani, appears in the immediate aftermath of the March 1977 General Elections that ended the Emergency and brought the Janata government to power. The issue's centrepiece is S. V. Raju's biographical profile of the new Prime Minister, Morarji Desai, tracing his upbringing, his decades in the Bombay Provincial Civil Service and State politics, his repeated near-misses at the premiership under Nehru and Shastri, and a review of his two-volume autobiography. Vladimir Bukovsky's translated Berlin address argues that the true frontier of freedom lies within the individual conscience rather than at political borders, drawing on his own experience of the Gulag and Soviet labour camps. Brian Crozier defends principled anti-Communism against the 'McCarthyite' label, and 'Mitradev' contributes an anonymous memorandum urging the new government to expose Emergency-era abuses, clear politicised intelligence services, and restrain public expectations. The regular 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' editorial column comments on the Planning Commission, Bombay's telephone system, politics in sport, Michael Foot, nepotism in Britain and India, and animal-rights correspondence; 'World News' compiles short wire-service items on Cuban troops in Ethiopia, Nyerere's admission that Tanzanian socialism has stalled, Rhodesian civil-war fears, and other foreign affairs; two book reviews cover Woodward and Bernstein's 'The Final Days' and a study of lavatory habits titled 'Sitting Comfortably'; a reader's letter on C. Rajagopalachari's continuing relevance and the 'With Many Voices' quotations column round out the number. ## Essays ### A Homespun Prime Minister *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju profiles Morarji Desai on his accession to the office of Prime Minister, framing him as a 'homespun' figure shaped by rural, impoverished origins rather than the urban elite background of Nehru or Indira Gandhi. The piece surveys his family history, his education at Wilson College, his entry into the Bombay Provincial Civil Service in 1918, his resignation to join the freedom movement in 1930, and his subsequent decades as Home Minister and Chief Minister of Bombay State, where he earned a reputation for ruthless efficiency (including a willingness to order police firing) alongside a Gandhian claim to non-violence. The essay narrates his repeated frustration at the hands of Nehru and later the Congress 'Syndicate' during the Bombay bifurcation crisis, the Kamaraj Plan, and the succession battles after Nehru's and Shastri's deaths, culminating in his eventual accession to the premiership through the Janata alliance in 1977. It closes with an assessment of his two-volume autobiography, praising its firsthand value while criticising its length and lack of narrative continuity, and voicing hope that the Prime Minister's newly 'mellowed' public image will not come at the cost of the firmness the moment demands. - Frames Morarji Desai's rise to the premiership as a story of fate and stubborn integrity rather than political calculation. - Describes his rural, financially straitened upbringing in Bhadeli village and his father's suicide, which left him responsible for his family at a young age. - Recounts his resignation from the Provincial Civil Service in 1930 in response to Gandhi's call to join the freedom struggle. - Details his tenure as Home Minister and Chief Minister of Bombay State, including the use of police force during the Samyukta Maharashtra agitation. - Traces his repeated exclusion from higher office by Nehru, the Congress Syndicate, and factional manoeuvring, including the 1963 Kamaraj Plan episode. - Reviews his two-volume autobiography 'The Story of My Life', noting its value as a firsthand record despite repetitiveness and length. - Closes with cautious optimism about his changed, more tolerant demeanour as Prime Minister, tempered by a call for firmness. ### Frontiers of Freedom Within Us *By Vladimir Bukovsky* The regular 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column offers a set of short editorial items: it welcomes reports (later denied) that the Union Government might abolish the Planning Commission, arguing the Commission was modelled on the Soviet Gostplan and should be repurposed toward market-friendly indicative planning; it praises Union Minister Sikander Bakht's call to keep politics out of sport while chiding his own threat of state interference; it laments the poor state of Bombay's telephone system and its 'Crossbar' system faults; it recounts British Labour MP Michael Foot's controversial remarks about judicial bias and quotes Lord Shawcross's rebuke; it discusses a British Post Office magazine controversy over dog attacks on postmen; it comments wryly on 'nepotism' surrounding UK Prime Minister Callaghan's son-in-law Peter Jay's ambassadorial appointment, drawing a parallel with Indira Gandhi's defence of Sanjay Gandhi and Maruti, and recalls a personal anecdote about the editor's father, then Vice-Chancellor of Bombay University, vetoing his examinership; it recaps Kremlinology around Podgorny's removal and Brezhnev's denunciation of Stalinist excesses; and it criticises Anglo-American and Indian press labelling of Israel's Likud coalition as simply 'rightist'. - Welcomes the prospect of abolishing India's Planning Commission, calling it a Soviet-style organ that fostered fanatical statism and neglected agriculture and consumer goods. - Applauds a minister's call to separate politics from sport while noting the irony of his own threatened interference. - Criticises the decline of Bombay's telephone service and the Crossbar system's role in wrong-number complaints. - Reports Michael Foot's remarks questioning the fairness of British courts to trade unionists and Lord Shawcross's sharp rebuttal. - Draws a parallel between British 'nepotism' over Peter Jay's ambassadorial appointment and Indira Gandhi's defence of Sanjay Gandhi's business dealings, with a personal anecdote from the editor's own family. - Surveys Brezhnev's consolidation of power after Podgorny's removal and his denunciations of Stalinist excesses. - Argues that Israeli party politics resist simple left-right labelling, noting the Liberal Party of Israel's role within the Likud bloc. ### Am I A McCarthyite? *By Brian Crozier* In a translated Berlin address delivered on 9 May 1977 to the Free German Association, Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky argues that the 'frontier of freedom' is not the Berlin Wall but an internal, moral boundary that runs through every individual. Drawing on his own experience of Soviet labour camps and solitary confinement in Vladimir prison, he contends that even the imprisoned retain a freedom of choice — to resist, collaborate, or fight — and that Western governments, in prioritising détente and trade with the Soviet bloc over human-rights demands, risk becoming complicit in the same self-justifying logic that sustains totalitarian rule. He cites contemporary Helsinki-monitoring group members imprisoned in the USSR (Orlov, Ginzburg, Rudenko, Gamsakhurdia, Tikhi, Kostava, Shcharansky) as evidence that the 1975 Helsinki Accords have gone unenforced, and criticises Western willingness to appease Soviet 'false information' and to avoid 'demanding too much' at the Belgrade follow-up conference. - Argues that true frontiers of freedom and captivity run within each individual, not merely at political borders like the Berlin Wall. - Draws on personal experience of Vladimir prison and Soviet labour camps to describe how self-justifying arguments ('someone else will do worse') sustain complicity in oppression. - Criticises West German trade unions and industrialists for prioritising commercial and diplomatic relations with the Soviet bloc over solidarity with persecuted workers, citing the Polish strikes. - Names specific Helsinki human-rights monitors imprisoned in the Soviet Union: Yuri Orlov, Alexander Ginzburg, Mikola Rudenko, Eviad Gamsakhurdia, Oleksa Tikhi, Merab Kostava, and Anatoli Shcharansky. - Criticises Western governments and the Socialist International for planning to avoid 'demanding too much' on human rights at the Belgrade conference so as not to jeopardise détente. ### Concerns of Government & Democracy *By 'Mitradev'* Brian Crozier rebuts the charge of being a 'McCarthyite' leveled at those who identify Communists as Marxist-Leninists committed to totalitarian rule. He distinguishes anti-Communism from right-wing politics, noting a long tradition of left-wing anti-Communism (citing Orwell, Ernie Bevin, and Harold Wilson's 1966 remarks on the seamen's strike) and traces his own anti-Communism to reading Victor Kravchenko's 'I Chose Freedom' in 1964, for the same reasons he had opposed Nazism in the 1930s and 1940s: opposition to systems that impose brutal uniformity and mass killing. - Argues that anti-Communism is philosophically distinct from right-wing politics and has a long left-wing tradition. - Cites George Orwell, Ernie Bevin, and Harold Wilson's 1966 remarks about a 'tightly-knit group of politically motivated men' as examples of left-wing anti-Communism. - Traces his own anti-Communism to reading Victor Kravchenko's 'I Chose Freedom' in 1964, paralleling his earlier opposition to Nazism. - Concludes that genuine understanding of Leninism makes neutrality about it impossible. ### World News Writing under the pseudonym 'Mitradev', the author presents an abridged memorandum prepared soon after the March 1977 elections by, the introduction notes, a person of 'great maturity and experience' who had been an MP and held high public office. The memo argues that the new Janata government must, above all, expose the truth about Emergency-era abuses to the public in order to inoculate the political system against any recurrence of authoritarianism; it calls for a thorough, fair inquiry into the intelligence and security services, with guilt for excesses falling on those who gave orders rather than those who merely executed them; it insists judicial and administrative appointments must return to being grounded in law and justice rather than a 'committed' ideology; and it warns against both false electoral promises and over-zealous, doctrinaire 'social engineering', invoking Edmund Burke's caution against treating tradition and institutions as infinitely malleable. The piece closes by quoting a list of aphorisms on self-reliance and thrift attributed to Abraham Lincoln. - Calls for a full, public exposure of Emergency-era abuses to prevent any resurgence of authoritarianism. - Urges a thorough purge and accountability review of the intelligence and security services, but with guilt falling on those who gave orders rather than on lower-level executors. - Insists that judicial and administrative commitment must be to law and justice alone, rejecting the doctrine of an ideologically 'committed' judiciary or civil service. - Warns the new government against raising false hopes through unattainable electoral promises. - Invokes Edmund Burke's caution against radical, doctrinaire social reform that disregards inherited institutions. - Closes with a set of aphorisms on self-reliance and fiscal prudence attributed to Abraham Lincoln. ### The Relevance of Rajaji (Letter) *By P. S. Sridhara Murthy* The 'World News' column compiles brief wire-service items from May 1977: China lifts a ten-year ban on Shakespeare; Cuban military advisers arrive in Ethiopia to support the Marxist government against Eritrean and Somali rebellions; a report finds Arabs living under Israeli law live longer and healthier than under Egyptian administration; Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere admits in the 'Arusha Declaration Ten Years After' document that his country is 'neither socialist nor self-reliant'; a Japanese conglomerate's employee matchmaking scheme is profiled; a former Czechoslovak Communist official, Karel Kaplan, reveals a large smuggled archive of secret Soviet-bloc documents to Time magazine; and Bishop Muzorewa warns of impending civil war in Rhodesia amid rival black nationalist factions. - China lifts its decade-long ban on Shakespeare and other Western and Russian authors, according to The Times. - Cuban military advisers begin arriving in Ethiopia to support the Marxist government against Eritrean and Somali rebellions. - An Israeli Ministry of Health report finds Arabs under Israeli law live longer and healthier lives than before, citing improved sanitation, immunisation and maternal care. - Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere's 'Arusha Declaration Ten Years After' document candidly concludes his country remains 'neither socialist nor self-reliant'. - A profile of Japanese conglomerate matchmaking schemes (the Fuyo group) run for employees. - Former Czechoslovak Communist Party official Karel Kaplan reveals a smuggled archive of secret Soviet-bloc documents, including material on the 1968 Prague Spring and Alexander Dubcek. - Bishop Muzorewa warns of a bloody civil war in Rhodesia if divisions among black nationalist leaders persist. ### Review: The Final Days (Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein) *By Nitin Raut* A letter from P. S. Sridhara Murthy responds to an earlier Freedom First article by K. Veda Murthy on the continuing relevance of C. Rajagopalachari ('Rajaji'), agreeing that Rajaji's warnings proved prescient, especially regarding the Emergency, and recounting an anecdote (via B. K. Karanjia's biography) about Rajaji's unheeded advice to Indira Gandhi in the late 1960s. - Endorses an earlier article's argument that Rajaji's warnings remain relevant, citing the Emergency as proof of his foresight. - Recounts an anecdote from B. K. Karanjia's biography about Rajaji advising Indira Gandhi in the late 1960s, advice she did not heed. - Argues that had Rajaji been heeded in 1971 or during Partition, subsequent suffering could have been avoided. ### Review: Sitting Comfortably *By Harold Jackson* Nitin Raut reviews 'The Final Days' by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the follow-up to 'All the President's Men', describing it as a devastating, detailed account of Nixon's psychological disintegration during the last stages of the Watergate scandal, including his attempts to obstruct justice, his estrangement from his family and aides, and his emotional breakdown in his final days in office. - Describes 'The Final Days' as a follow-up to 'All the President's Men' documenting Nixon's mental and physical decline during Watergate's endgame. - Highlights revelations of Nixon's attempts to obstruct justice, including hiding evidence and considering destruction of subpoenaed material. - Notes the book's depiction of Nixon's estrangement from his family and aides during his final weeks. - Praises the book's investigative thoroughness and narrative style despite the paperback edition's small print. ### With Many Voices Harold Jackson (reprinted from The Guardian) reviews Professor Alexander Kira's Cornell University study of human evacuation habits, 'Sitting Comfortably', treating the topic with dry humour while praising the book's exhaustive research into bathroom fixtures, posture, and reading habits. - Reviews Professor Alexander Kira's decade-long study of human elimination habits, newly published by Penguin. - Cites F. A. Hornibrook's 1933 observation that the squatting posture, not the Western water closet, is more natural and could remedy constipation. - Discusses the book's examination of reading as a habitual adjunct to lavatory use. - Treats the subject with wry humour while acknowledging the seriousness of Kira's research programme at Cornell's Center for Housing and Environmental Studies. ### Essay 10 The closing 'With Many Voices' column compiles short, often wry quotations from the contemporary Indian and international press on politics, culture, and current affairs, ranging from Princess Anne's remarks on public expectation to commentary on the Janata Party's uncertain future, Soviet humour, and the Berlin Wall as a symbol of the hunger for freedom. - Compiles quotations from a range of contemporary commentators including Romesh Thapar, Acharya Kripalani, Kuldip Nayar, Rajmohan Gandhi, and President Jimmy Carter. - Includes commentary critical of the Janata Party's uncertain direction and its inclusion of controversial figures. - Closes the issue with a Bombay subscription form for Freedom First and the publication's colophon. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff291/ ### Summary Issue 291 of Freedom First (February 1977) is a compact 16-page number of the Bombay-based liberal monthly, edited by M. R. Masani. The issue is dominated by the fallout of the Emergency-era dismissal of the Congress state government in Orissa, which the editor's front-page piece "Good-bye to Federalism" treats as the final blow to India's federal structure, alongside a boxed Stop Press note that the Lok Sabha had been dissolved and General Elections called just as the issue went to press. The regular "Between You & Me and The Lamp Post" column runs a set of short items on the Bukovsky-Corvalan prisoner exchange, Brezhnev's cult of personality, the 'rupee countries' trade racket, and Ho Chi Minh's Vietnam. Nitin G. Raut contributes a historical essay on the Lebanese civil war, and Masani reports as a delegate on the 41st International P.E.N. Congress in London. A reprinted Times of London editorial welcomes the announcement of Indian elections, and a two-page "World News" digest of wire and press clippings covers Cold War dissidents, Idi Amin and Bokassa, Trotskyist infiltration of the British Labour Party, and the Rhodesian conflict.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Issue 291 of Freedom First (February 1977) is a compact 16-page number of the Bombay-based liberal monthly, edited by M. R. Masani. The issue is dominated by the fallout of the Emergency-era dismissal of the Congress state government in Orissa, which the editor's front-page piece "Good-bye to Federalism" treats as the final blow to India's federal structure, alongside a boxed Stop Press note that the Lok Sabha had been dissolved and General Elections called just as the issue went to press. The regular "Between You & Me and The Lamp Post" column runs a set of short items on the Bukovsky-Corvalan prisoner exchange, Brezhnev's cult of personality, the 'rupee countries' trade racket, and Ho Chi Minh's Vietnam. Nitin G. Raut contributes a historical essay on the Lebanese civil war, and Masani reports as a delegate on the 41st International P.E.N. Congress in London. A reprinted Times of London editorial welcomes the announcement of Indian elections, and a two-page "World News" digest of wire and press clippings covers Cold War dissidents, Idi Amin and Bokassa, Trotskyist infiltration of the British Labour Party, and the Rhodesian conflict. The issue closes with readers' letters, book reviews (of Mehra Masani's broadcasting study and Ram Swarup's Foundations of Maoism), a short piece questioning whether anti-communism is a mistake, and the recurring quotations page "With Many Voices." ## Essays ### Good-Bye to Federalism *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's front-page editorial argues that with the removal of the Orissa state government by the Centre in December 1976, India has effectively ceased to be a federal republic. He traces a pattern from the April 1976 dismissals of the DMK government in Tamil Nadu and the Congress opposition government in Gujarat through to the Orissa case, arguing that even a Congress-affiliated Chief Minister with a legislative majority (Nandini Satpathy) could be removed at Delhi's will. He quotes Ambedkar's Constituent Assembly warning against over-centralising strength at the Centre, cites contemporary press commentary on the dangers of unitary rule in a large heterogeneous country, and closes by invoking the Constituent Assembly's original consensus (naming Rajendra Prasad, Nehru, and Patel) that federalism was essential to Indian unity, warning that current developments may disrupt that unity over time. A Stop Press box notes that the Lok Sabha's dissolution and the calling of General Elections were announced after the issue went to press. - Argues India has become a unitary state in practice by early 1977, ending 'a quarter century of federal government' - Cites the precedent-setting removal of DMK (Tamil Nadu) and Congress-opposition (Gujarat) governments in April 1976 - Treats the December 1976 ouster of Nandini Satpathy's Orissa government as proof that even Congress state governments answer to Delhi, not their legislatures - Quotes B. R. Ambedkar's Constituent Assembly caution against over-strengthening the Centre - Cites a J. A. Naik Indian Express article arguing dictatorships last longer in smaller, homogeneous countries - Frames the developments as a threat to the stability and unity of India, invoking the Constituent Assembly's original design - Notes via Stop Press that the Lok Sabha was dissolved and elections called after the issue went to press ### The Lebanese Crisis *By Nitin G. Raut* The recurring 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column (unsigned, editorial voice) opens with a piece welcoming the release of Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky in exchange for Chilean Communist leader Luis Corvalan, framing it as a moral defeat for Soviet propaganda that had long denied holding political prisoners; it continues the federalism editorial (page 2), then moves to short items: a wry account of the international committee protesting Bukovsky's earlier mistreatment; a satirical piece, 'Mr. Brezhnev, Beware,' comparing Brezhnev's birthday tributes to those once paid to Khrushchev before his fall, and to Stalinist-era title inflation ('Vozhd'); an item welcoming the winding-down of the 'rupee countries' barter-trade racket with Eastern Europe; a piece, 'Uncle Ho's Tricks,' arguing that Western sympathisers (including Jawaharlal Nehru and Jayaprakash Narayan, named as having been fooled) wrongly saw Ho Chi Minh as a nationalist rather than a communist, and denouncing Western anti-Vietnam-war protesters (naming Allen Ginsberg and Joan Baez) as naive about postwar Vietnamese repression; and a closing note on Amnesty International's designation of 1977 as International Prisoners of Conscience Year, plus a lighter item, 'A Strange Bureaucrat,' about a West German civil servant who sued for being paid to do nothing. - Celebrates Vladimir Bukovsky's release from Soviet custody in exchange for Chilean communist Luis Corvalan as a propaganda defeat for the USSR - Mocks the Soviet leadership's own admission, via the exchange, that it holds political prisoners - Satirises the personality cult around Brezhnev's 70th birthday, drawing a parallel to the similar tributes paid to Khrushchev before his fall and to Stalin-era honorifics - Welcomes the apparent decline of the 'rupee sources'/barter trade racket with Hungary and other East European states, referencing the editor's own past parliamentary criticism of it - Accuses Ho Chi Minh's Western sympathisers, including named Indian and American figures, of having been naive about his Communist allegiance - Reports Amnesty International's declaration of 1977 as International Prisoners of Conscience Year and a London Times petition signed by prominent figures - Includes a light human-interest item about a West German bureaucrat suing over having no work to do ### International P.E.N. Congress — A Report *By M. R. Masani* Nitin G. Raut's essay traces the historical roots of the Lebanese civil war, situating the Christian-Muslim conflict within the broader framework of intra-Arab rivalries. He surveys the sectarian demographic balance since the 1920 French mandate, the 1943 National Charter's confessional power-sharing formula, the erosion of that formula from the late 1950s as Nasserism and Ba'athism gained ground among Muslims, and the destabilising role of the PLO after its 1970 expulsion from Jordan. The essay analyses Syria's intervention as driven by pan-Arab strategy against Israel rather than sectarian sympathy, and concludes that the country faces an effective partition with no resolution in sight short of further bloodshed, since neither side will accept the other's core demands. - Frames the Lebanese civil war as one flare-up within recurrent Christian-Moslem rivalry dating back to the Crusades and the 1860 Druze massacres of Christian Maronites - Explains the 1943 National Charter's confessional power-sharing (six Christians to five Moslems in the Chamber of Deputies) and its erosion by the late 1950s - Details how the PLO, expelled from Jordan in 1970 by King Hussein, entrenched itself in southern Lebanon and exacerbated the sectarian balance - Argues Syria's intervention under President Assad serves pan-Arab strategic goals against Israel rather than protecting Lebanese Christians - Concludes the country is already de facto partitioned and predicts continued bloodshed absent a genuine settlement ### Review: Broadcasting and the People (Mehra Masani) *By A Media Man* M. R. Masani's report as official delegate of the P.E.N. All-India Centre covers the 41st International P.E.N. Congress held in London, August 23-28, 1976. He describes Executive Committee proceedings, the unanimous election of Mario Vargas Llosa as President, discussion of the Writers in Prison Committee's report, and a controversy in which the South African Centre successfully defended itself against apartheid-collaboration charges. The report covers a contentious resolution (opposed only by East German delegates) condemning the imprisonment of writers across many named countries including India, a defection by East German Vice-President Stephen Hermlin from his own delegation's position, a dispute over holding a Writers-in-Exile conference in Hamburg due to East German objections to keynote speaker George Mikes, and closes with a summary of Arthur Koestler's non-political keynote address, which East German delegates nonetheless protested. - Reports the unanimous election of Mario Vargas Llosa as PEN International President in absentia - Describes the Writers in Prison Committee's discussion and a resolution condemning imprisonment of writers in numerous countries, including India, carried against only East German opposition - Highlights East German PEN Vice-President Stephen Hermlin's public break from his delegation to support the resolution, met with applause - Recounts the South African PEN Centre's successful rebuttal, via Gerald Gordon Q.C., of apartheid-collaboration charges - Covers the dispute over East German objections to a planned Hamburg Writers-in-Exile conference over keynote speaker George Mikes - Notes Arthur Koestler delivered the non-political keynote address, which East German delegates protested anyway, terming him a 'notorious cold warrior' ### Review: Foundations of Maoism (Ram Swarup) *By S. S. Bankeshwar* A reprinted Times of London editorial (January 19, 1977), also flagged in the Stop Press box on page one as representative of informed comment abroad, welcomes the announcement of Indian elections in March as a step to restore Mrs. Gandhi's government's legitimacy after the Emergency, while expressing skepticism about how genuinely the Emergency's censorship and repression will be relaxed. It cites internal Congress tension over Sanjay Gandhi's anti-communist positioning, the banning of political debate in the Indian press, and questions whether the government's claims of Emergency-era achievement (curbing inflation, stabilising prices) reflect reality. - Welcomes Mrs. Gandhi's announcement of March elections as a step, though a limited one, back toward parliamentary democracy - Expresses doubt about the promised relaxation of Emergency censorship given the Indian press's continued inability to report on internal Congress political conflict - Notes friction between Sanjay Gandhi's anti-communist, right-leaning rhetoric and the government's pro-Soviet posture - Questions whether Emergency claims of economic improvement for the masses are borne out - Frames the opposition parties' unity, including the Jan Sangh, as significant given its larger northern Indian mass base ### Essay 6 The 'World News' section reprints short wire-service and press items on international affairs: President-elect Carter's pledge of full NATO support relayed via Kissinger; imprisoned Yugoslav dissident Mihajlo Mihajlov's hunger strike; Jean-Bedel Bokassa's self-proclamation as Emperor of the Central African Empire; dissident writer Andrei Amalrik's first U.S. visit and meeting invitation to Carter; a Social Democratic Alliance dossier alleging 33 Trotskyist-sympathising Labour MPs and criticising the Labour Party's National Executive Committee for tolerating totalitarian entryism; British envoy Ivor Richard's tense negotiating session with Ian Smith over Rhodesia; a Rhodesian guerrilla massacre of 26 black tea-estate workers; and Henry Miller's report on black Rhodesians' fears of factional violence under a future 'Zimbabwe.' - Carter pledges full US support for NATO in a message delivered by Kissinger to alliance foreign ministers - Mihajlo Mihajlov, imprisoned Yugoslav dissident, goes on total hunger strike over lack of political-prisoner rights - Jean-Bedel Bokassa crowns himself Emperor of the Central African Empire, having converted to Islam - Andrei Amalrik makes his first US public appearance and offers Carter a chance to meet him to 'rehabilitate the presidency' - SDA dossier names 33 Labour MPs it says have shown sympathy to Trotskyist entryism, criticising NEC figures including Ron Hayward for associating with totalitarian regimes - British negotiator Ivor Richard has a tense session with Ian Smith over a Rhodesian interim settlement; guerrillas massacre 26 black tea-estate workers - Henry Miller reports fear among Rhodesian blacks of future factional violence under black rule ### Essay 7 The Letters page carries four reader/correspondent contributions: a warm note from J. H. Davidson, editor of the Australian journal Meanjin, saluting Freedom First's decision to cease publication rather than accept censorship, and announcing Meanjin's intention to reprint the 'offending' editorial that triggered the closure; a letter from R. R. Patil disputing Dr. F. P. Antia's earlier pro-euthanasia letter on religious and medical grounds; and a letter from K. S. Venkateswaran praising a recent Freedom First editorial ('Bread or Freedom?') and arguing that the 'bread versus freedom' framing used to justify constitutional amendments is a false dichotomy, since both are indispensable to human survival and progress. - J. H. Davidson of Meanjin (Australia) salutes Freedom First's closure decision as a matter of principle and announces plans to reprint its final controversial editorial - R. R. Patil argues against euthanasia on religious ('a human being comes into the world alone and goes alone') and medical-research grounds - K. S. Venkateswaran praises the editorial 'Bread or Freedom?' and argues the bread-versus-freedom framing used to justify constitutional amendments is a false choice - The letters reflect on themes of press freedom (Meanjin/Quest) and constitutional rights debates connected to the Emergency era ### Essay 8 A review, bylined 'A Media Man,' of Mehra Masani's Broadcasting and the People (National Book Trust, 1976). The reviewer praises the book as the most knowledgeable and stimulating study of Indian broadcasting to date, noting Mehra Masani's personal irony as a former Deputy Director General of All India Radio who might have led AIR had merit governed appointments. The review summarises her arguments for decentralising radio to serve local and rural needs via low-power transmitters rather than centralised programming, her critique of the government's failure to separate didactic and entertainment broadcasting goals, her account of policy confusion over television's role, and her argument that AIR's credibility is eroded by its function as a government department rather than an independent public broadcaster. - Praises Mehra Masani's Broadcasting and the People as the most knowledgeable book yet on Indian broadcasting - Notes the irony that Masani, a former Deputy Director General of AIR, was never made Director General despite deserving it on merit - Summarises her call for a decentralised, local rural radio service using roughly 250 low-power medium-wave transmitters - Reports her critique of AIR's confused, under-examined role for television versus radio in education - Details her argument that centralisation weakens specialised news coverage and that professionalism is stifled by AIR's status as a government department - Notes the book was completed before the Emergency but the reviewer finds its arguments unaffected by 'transient developments' ### Essay 9 A review by S. S. Bankeshwar of Ram Swarup's Foundations of Maoism (Jyotina Prakashan, foreword by Gen. K. M. Cariappa). The reviewer praises the book as a rare in-depth study of Maoist ideology, tactics, and organisation, contrasting it favourably with shallow accounts by India's 'China experts.' The review quotes Ram Swarup extensively on Maoism's Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist character, its reliance on organised confession and psychological terror against intellectuals, its doctrine of aggression as indispensable to Chinese military culture, and its combination of external military threat with internal subversion. The reviewer endorses Ram Swarup's call for India to develop political-warfare strategy and counter-ideology rather than relying solely on territorial defence against China. - Praises Ram Swarup's Foundations of Maoism as a uniquely deep study compared to superficial 'China expert' commentary - Summarises Ram Swarup's argument that Maoism is Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist in essence with only a Chinese 'garb' - Details the book's account of organised confession, humiliation, and psychological subjugation of intellectuals under Maoism - Describes Maoism's doctrine linking military aggression abroad with subversion at home, per Mao's own 'ten against one' formulation - Endorses Ram Swarup's call for India to develop political-warfare and ideological counter-strategy against China, not just territorial defence - The review is followed by a short unsigned Economist reprint, 'Is Anti-Communism a Mistake?', questioning the case for abolishing the CIA ### Essay 10 A short unsigned item reprinted from The Economist (December 18, 1976), 'Is Anti-Communism a Mistake?', challenges critics who denounce the CIA as a 'new Gestapo,' arguing that anti-communism cannot be dismissed as a crime given the realities of communist-dominated life, and citing an estimate by Mr. Cline that the communist bloc's intelligence forces number as high as half a million people. - Pushes back on critics who liken the CIA to a 'new Gestapo' and call for its abolition - Argues anti-communism cannot reasonably be treated as morally equivalent to communism given communist-dominated life's realities - Cites an estimate (attributed to 'Mr. Cline') that the communist bloc's intelligence forces number as many as half a million people - Questions whether it serves anyone's advantage but the communists for the US to operate internationally without adequate intelligence capacity ### Essay 11 The back-page 'With Many Voices' feature, a recurring collage of short quotations drawn from world press and public figures, opens with an epigraph from Tennyson and gathers items from Sri Lankan opposition leader J. R. Jayewardene, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat on Gaddafi, journalists and commentators (Times, Guardian, National Review, International Herald Tribune) on subjects ranging from Yugoslav dissent to Rhodesia to the Labour Party, and closes with a subscription form for Freedom First and the publication's colophon naming J. R. Patel as Associate Editor and Democratic Research Service as publisher, with the printer's imprint. - Recurring quotations page collects short press excerpts from global sources under the Tennyson epigraph 'Come, my friends, 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world' - Includes Anwar Sadat's remark doubting Muammar Gaddafi's sincerity, and J. R. Jayewardene's reflection on the pleasures of political opposition - Includes commentary from David T. Llewellyn (Times) on Marxist regimes' record of concentration camps, censorship, and privileged new elites - Carries the Freedom First subscription form (Rs. 5.00 annual) and the publication's colophon: published for Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel, Associate Editor, at 127 M. Gandhi Road, Bombay --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff295/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 295 (June 1977) is the first post-Emergency, post-election issue of the Bombay classical-liberal monthly edited by M. R. Masani. Its center of gravity is the March 1977 general election that ended Indira Gandhi's rule and the Emergency: the editor's lead essay disputes the 'Janata swept the North, lost the South' narrative with vote-share arithmetic, S. P. Aiyar's essay frames the result as an epic 'ballot-box revolution' vindicating democracy over dictatorship, and a reprinted Bernard Levin column from The Times mocks Western apologists for the Emergency and salutes JP Narayan's final appeal to voters. The editor's 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' column comments on Idi Amin, the death of Ludwig Erhard, the new Janata government's early moves on press and broadcast autonomy, and the treatment of Vietnamese refugees. A World News digest reprints wire-service items on Soviet politics, Mozambique refugee camps, and Kissinger's warning on Zaire; two reader letters press the new government to entrench civil liberties; and Geeta Doctor contributes a travel essay on a drive across the Deccan.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 295 (June 1977) is the first post-Emergency, post-election issue of the Bombay classical-liberal monthly edited by M. R. Masani. Its center of gravity is the March 1977 general election that ended Indira Gandhi's rule and the Emergency: the editor's lead essay disputes the 'Janata swept the North, lost the South' narrative with vote-share arithmetic, S. P. Aiyar's essay frames the result as an epic 'ballot-box revolution' vindicating democracy over dictatorship, and a reprinted Bernard Levin column from The Times mocks Western apologists for the Emergency and salutes JP Narayan's final appeal to voters. The editor's 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' column comments on Idi Amin, the death of Ludwig Erhard, the new Janata government's early moves on press and broadcast autonomy, and the treatment of Vietnamese refugees. A World News digest reprints wire-service items on Soviet politics, Mozambique refugee camps, and Kissinger's warning on Zaire; two reader letters press the new government to entrench civil liberties; and Geeta Doctor contributes a travel essay on a drive across the Deccan. The issue closes with a page of aphoristic press quotations ('With Many Voices') and the subscription/colophon block. ## Essays ### How the People Really Voted *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's lead editorial disputes the widely-repeated claim that the Janata Party 'lost disastrously' in South India while sweeping the North. Using Election Commission figures, he shows the Congress vote share in the southern states (42–43%) was not a landslide, and contrasts this with the more dramatic collapses of the Congress vote in Haryana, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. He argues India's first-past-the-post electoral system (inherited from Britain) has chronically distorted the relationship between vote share and seats won, citing a Citizens for Democracy committee report (on which he served alongside Eric da Costa, V. M. Tarkunde, P. G. Mavalankar, A. G. Noorani, and K. D. Desai) that recommended a mixed, West-German-style proportional system. He closes by urging the new government not to cling to first-past-the-post now that it has benefited from the same distortions that previously entrenched Congress rule, and references the electoral reform committee appointed by Jayaprakash Narayan. - Disputes the press narrative of a 'smashing' Janata victory in the North and a 'disastrous' loss in the South using Election Commission vote-share data. - Shows Congress vote share fell radically only in Haryana, Bihar, and U.P.; elsewhere the decline was more modest. - Attributes the seat-vote distortion to India's first-past-the-post system inherited from Britain. - Cites the Citizens for Democracy Committee on Electoral Reform (chaired under JP Narayan's initiative) and its 1975 report recommending a mixed West German-style electoral system. - Warns the new Janata government against clinging to a system that once favoured Congress now that it favours them. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post (Levin on Amin; Dr. Miracle; Educational Autonomy; Autonomy for AIR and TV; Gherao Debunked; How to Help the Vietnamese) The editor's regular miscellany column runs six short items: a wry defence of Bernard Levin's satirical suggestion that Britain should welcome Idi Amin (so as to depose him more easily); an obituary appreciation of Ludwig Erhard, architect of West Germany's post-war 'economic miracle', recounting his defiance of Allied controls and his 1958 warning that India's statist policies would delay its own escape from poverty; approving notice of the new Janata government ministers (Pratap Chandra Chunder on education, L. K. Advani on broadcasting autonomy, Ravindra Verma on gheraos, George Fernandes on gheraos) moving to roll back state control; and a piece on Vietnamese refugee testimony about concentration camps under the new communist regime, framed as a test of the Carter administration's willingness to choose sides against dictatorship. - Defends Bernard Levin's Times column urging Britain to admit Idi Amin, on the grounds that it would let Uganda depose him. - Profiles Ludwig Erhard's economic liberalism and courage in abolishing wartime controls against Allied orders. - Notes Erhard's 1958 warning to India that state controls would delay its escape from poverty. - Welcomes early Janata government moves toward educational and broadcast autonomy from state control. - Reports Vietnamese refugee accounts of concentration camps and forced 're-education' under the postwar communist government. ### India's Ballot Box Revolution *By S. P. Aiyar* S. P. Aiyar's essay reads the 1977 election as an epic, world-historical event: the end of a thirty-year Congress monopoly and a demonstration that democracy is not, as some Western commentators claimed, a luxury unsuited to poor developing countries. He argues that fear of the Emergency's 'divine right' style of one-party rule, more than economic self-interest, drove ordinary illiterate and literate voters alike to reject Mrs. Gandhi despite pre-election inducements. He is cautious about durability, however, warning that political loyalties in India are 'extremely volatile' and that the Janata government's success will be judged on economic performance, family planning policy, and its ability to manage centre-state relations with the South. - Frames the 1977 election as a 'ballot-box revolution' ending thirty years of Congress dominance. - Rejects the theory that a dominant single party was a rational necessity for a plural society, calling it 'a subtle variation of a Divine Right Theory'. - Argues voters rebelled against injustice and threats to their way of life rather than being bought off by pre-election handouts. - Cites The Economist's view that India disproved the 'condescending dogma' that the poor do not value their political rights. - Warns that political loyalties are volatile and the new government must deliver on civil liberties, economic performance, and centre-state relations, especially with the South. ### One in the Eye & A Salute to the Brave *By Bernard Levin* Reprinted from The Times, Bernard Levin's column skewers Western fellow-travellers who excuse authoritarianism in China while dismissing Indian elections as a 'pointless farce' conducted by illiterate masses who don't understand what they're voting for. He recounts Indira Gandhi's Emergency-era consolidation of power (rewritten constitution, tamed judiciary, controlled press, mass detentions) and her gamble in calling an election she expected to win unopposed, only for the electorate to vote decisively for democracy over 'false stability'. The piece closes by quoting at length Jayaprakash Narayan's final appeal to voters before the election, urging them to 'defeat the dictators' and warning that 19 months of tyranny would become 19 years of terror if they faltered. - Satirises Western intellectuals who tolerate Chinese communism's lack of freedoms while dismissing Indian democracy as meaningless. - Recounts how Mrs. Gandhi rewrote the constitution, controlled the judiciary and press, and jailed opponents during the Emergency. - Argues she called the election confident of an overwhelming win, having eliminated serious opposition. - Credits ordinary Indian voters, including the poor and illiterate, with choosing democracy over stability and propaganda. - Quotes at length Jayaprakash Narayan's final pre-election appeal calling on voters to 'free India, defeat the dictators'. ### Driving Across the Deccan *By Geeta Doctor* Geeta Doctor's travel essay contrasts her grandfather's ceremonious travels as a colonial-era District Forest Officer with the impersonal, hurried travel of the present day, then narrates a drive from Bombay to Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mysore and the Kerala coast. The bulk of the essay (through the rendered pages) covers a stop at a Bahmani-era fort at Naldrug, the legend of a 'lascivious king' turned to stone at Srisailam, and the massive Srisailam dam construction on the Krishna river, which Nehru had called 'one of the new temples of modern India'. The piece is a travelogue rather than a political or economic argument, offered explicitly 'by way of contrast' to the issue's election coverage. - Contrasts the leisurely, staged travel of the author's grandfather's colonial era with the rushed, package-tour travel of the present. - Describes a road trip from Bombay through Sholapur, Hyderabad, and toward Bangalore, Mysore, and Kerala. - Recounts local legend and history of a Bahmani-era fort at Naldrug founded by Hasan Ganju/Bahman Shah. - Describes the Srisailam dam project on the Krishna river, quoting Nehru's description of dams as 'new temples of modern India'. - Includes the folk legend of a king turned into a boulder by Shiva for lusting after his own daughter. ### World News (Russian Aid Refused by India; Soviet Experts Help Amin's Killers; The Battle Against Hunglish; Djilas' Cousin Arrested; Japan United Against 'Soviet Bully'; Mozambique Terror Camps; Soviets Denounce 'Dr. Zhivago'; Kissinger Warning on Zaire Invasion) An unsigned digest of wire-service and press clippings under the standing 'World News' feature, covering: India's Janata government declining a Soviet credit offer for the Bokaro steel plant in favour of domestic capacity; reports that Soviet-bloc advisers were training Idi Amin's Ugandan security forces implicated in killings; the spread of English loanwords ('Hunglish') into Hungarian despite official resistance; the arrest of Milovan Djilas's cousin in Yugoslavia for 'hostile propaganda'; Japan's cross-party anger at Soviet fishing-zone demands; mass detention and forced-labour camps for up to 100,000 people in post-independence Mozambique; a Soviet diplomatic protest against U.S. Embassy screenings of Doctor Zhivago; and Henry Kissinger's first public speech since leaving office, warning that the international community's passive acceptance of the Katangan invasion of Zaire (aided by Cuban troops and Soviet-supplied arms) risked setting a dangerous precedent. - India's new Janata government refused a $450 million Soviet credit offer for the Bokaro steel plant's rolling mill, opting for self-reliance. - Ugandan army defectors reported Soviet-bloc and possibly East German advisers training security forces implicated in killings under Idi Amin. - Reports on the spread of English loanwords ('Hunglish') in Hungary despite official linguistic-purity efforts. - Reports of mass detention and forced labour in Mozambique's post-independence 're-education' camps, with beatings, rape and murder alleged. - Kissinger's post-office speech at Georgetown warning that international passivity toward the Soviet- and Cuban-linked invasion of Zaire could trigger a wider race war in southern Africa. ### Letters (Essential First Steps; Elections 1977) *By Dinshah K. Malegamvala; N. C. Zamindar* Two reader letters respond to the election result. Dinshah K. Malegamvala calls for entrenching press freedom and civil liberties, urging the new government to renounce the renamed 'Samachar' news monopoly, protect small and regional-language newspapers, make broadcasting autonomous from government control, and restore judicial independence, arguing that no institution, not even the Prime Minister, should stand above the rule of law. N. C. Zamindar reflects on the surprise of the Janata victory, calling it a protest vote against Emergency-era abuses, and worries that the use of religious figures as campaigners by the Janata side risks repeating the 'Khilafat mistake' in Indian politics. - Malegamvala urges dismantling the Samachar news monopoly and restoring press pluralism. - Calls for AIR, Doordarshan and the Films Division to become autonomous statutory bodies free of government control. - Insists the rule of law applies to all, quoting 'no Prime Minister; not even God!' - Zamindar frames the Janata win as a protest vote against Emergency excesses rather than a positive mandate. - Zamindar criticises the Janata campaign's use of religious heads as campaigners, comparing it to the historical 'Khilafat mistake'. ### With Many Voices The issue's closing page, 'With Many Voices', is a compilation of short aphoristic quotations clipped from the international and Indian press in April-May 1977, on subjects ranging from Cold War rhetoric and gender and politics to Marxism's fortunes in India and the debasement of the word 'democracy'. It is followed by the Freedom First subscription form and the publication's colophon (published for Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel). - Compiles brief quoted aphorisms from The Economist, the Observer, the Statesman and other papers on politics, Marxism, and democracy. - Includes Subramaniam Swamy's quoted remark that 'Marxism has failed in India' and Communists should look elsewhere. - Includes J. K. Galbraith's quip that pessimism is seen as a mark of superior intellect. - Includes Lord Shawcross's line that no word has been as debased and abused as 'democracy'. - Closes the issue with the subscription form and the Democratic Research Service colophon. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff297/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 297 (August 1977), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with H. P. Ranina's critique of Finance Minister H. M. Patel's first Budget, arguing that its rural-development and small-industry incentives are too weak and its tax provisions self-defeating. The editorial column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' takes up post-Emergency Janata Party politics, the International P.E.N.'s dealings with Moscow, and praise for Milton Friedman's advice to Britain. The issue reprints an abridged address by U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young urging South African businessmen to expand the market economy to Black South Africans as the route to peaceful change, followed by a symposium of clipped international press comment mocking the newly published Brezhnev Constitution as a cosmetic non-event. A news brief covers Jayaprakash Narayan presiding over the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 297 (August 1977), edited by M. R. Masani, opens with H. P. Ranina's critique of Finance Minister H. M. Patel's first Budget, arguing that its rural-development and small-industry incentives are too weak and its tax provisions self-defeating. The editorial column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' takes up post-Emergency Janata Party politics, the International P.E.N.'s dealings with Moscow, and praise for Milton Friedman's advice to Britain. The issue reprints an abridged address by U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young urging South African businessmen to expand the market economy to Black South Africans as the route to peaceful change, followed by a symposium of clipped international press comment mocking the newly published Brezhnev Constitution as a cosmetic non-event. A news brief covers Jayaprakash Narayan presiding over the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. The 'World News' section anthologises wire and press-clipping items on the Commonwealth summit's Rhodesia debate, the London hearing on Soviet physicist Yuri Orlov, consumer shortages for Soviet car owners, an Agatha Christie-assisted medical diagnosis, Chinese cultural liberalisation, Soviet irritation with President Carter over human rights, and revelations from the Kaplan papers about Stalin's early-1950s war plans. The issue closes with Letters on India's electoral system and Janata's conduct, and a page of quoted one-liners ('With Many Voices') on contemporary politics. ## Essays ### Has Mr. Patel Missed The Bus? *By HP Ranina* H. P. Ranina reviews Finance Minister H. M. Patel's Budget, crediting it for raising rural development allocations (drinking water, approach roads, khadi and village industries) but arguing the incentives are structurally too weak to work. He shows that the section 80-HHA tax deduction for small-scale rural undertakings will not, in practice, run for the full ten years the statute promises, because new units typically post no taxable profit for their first several years. He also attacks section 72A, governing loss set-offs when a healthy company amalgamates with a 'sick' one, as so vaguely conditioned (vague revival criteria, annual re-certification, a bar on the healthy company reorganising the sick one's business) that no rational businessman would use it, and recommends it be scrapped. He welcomes the investment allowance extension and the capital-gains reforms (shortened holding period for short-term assets, updated valuation date, exemption for reinvested proceeds) as steps against under-the-table property transactions, but faults the 50% surcharge increase on income-tax as reversing the pro-compliance logic of the Wanchoo Committee's rate cuts. He closes by saying Patel could have secured 'a place in history as the Erhard of India' had he been bolder. - Section 80-HHA's ten-year tax holiday for small-scale rural undertakings will in practice run far shorter, since new units rarely show taxable profit in their first years - Section 72A on sick-company amalgamation is criticised as too vaguely conditioned to be usable and recommended for deletion - Rs. 40 crores for rural drinking water and Rs. 20 crores for approach roads in backward areas are welcomed as sound allocations - Capital-gains reforms (shorter short-term holding period, updated valuation date, reinvestment exemption) are praised as a blow against tax evasion via under-the-table property sales - The 50% surcharge hike on income-tax is called avoidable and a reversal of the pro-compliance logic behind the Wanchoo Committee's earlier rate cuts - Ranina argues money 'fructifies better in the pockets of individuals than in the coffers of the Government' ### American Black Speaks To Third World *By Andrew Young* This unsigned editorial column ('Between You & Me and The Lamp Post') runs seven short items: praise for West Bengal Janata leader P. C. Sen for resigning rather than accept a Delhi-imposed alliance with the CPI(M); alarm at the International P.E.N.'s dealings with a Soviet-aligned P.E.N. centre bid, given the persecution of writers like Solzhenitsyn and Sakharov; a rebuke of the government's 'commanding heights' mixed-economy rhetoric under the heading 'Swatantra Budget My Foot,' invoking Milton Friedman's advice to Britain on auctioning nationalised industries; praise for Durga Bhagwat's refusal to invite ministers to the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan; commendation of Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin's rescue of Vietnamese refugees; approval of Jean-Paul Sartre and other French intellectuals publicly honouring Soviet dissidents while Brezhnev was being feted in Paris; and a note on Chile trading dissident Vladimir Bukovsky for a Communist prisoner while thousands remain held in East Germany. - Commends West Bengal Janata leader P. C. Sen for resigning over a Delhi-imposed alliance with the CPI(Marxist) - Warns that the International P.E.N.'s outreach to Moscow risks legitimising Soviet persecution of writers - Criticises the 'commanding heights' mixed-economy doctrine and cites Milton Friedman's advice that Britain should auction its nationalised industries - Praises Durga Bhagwat for refusing to invite ministers to a literary conference - Praises Israeli PM Menachem Begin for rescuing Vietnamese boat refugees - Notes the irony of Brezhnev being feted in Paris the same day French intellectuals honoured Soviet dissidents ### Brezhnev Constitution A Non-Event (A symposium of clipped comments providing a world view) An abridged, editorially framed reproduction of a speech by U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young, delivered to 200 businessmen in Johannesburg, South Africa. Young argues from his own experience in the American civil rights movement that the free market, not revolutionary doctrine or armed force, is the strongest available force for constructive social change, and that the entry of Black Americans into the U.S. economic system 'transformed the South from a depressed area to the most dynamic and rapidly growing region.' He tells his South African audience that time, not external military threat, is their country's biggest enemy, since new nations and economies elsewhere are absorbing the markets and investment South Africa could otherwise draw, and urges businessmen to expand economic opportunity to the country's Black majority as a nonviolent alternative to revolutionary upheaval. Freedom First's editorial framing notes that most of what Young has said elsewhere did not merit quotation, but that this particular address is 'so constructive' it could 'easily have been made with advantage at a meeting of Indian businessmen.' - Young argues the free market, not ideology or force, is the greatest available force for constructive social change - Cites the economic integration of Black Americans as transforming the U.S. South into 'the most dynamic and rapidly growing region' - Tells South African businessmen that time is their country's biggest enemy, as global markets and capital move elsewhere while they delay change - Frames economic inclusion of South Africa's Black majority as a nonviolent, market-based alternative to revolutionary change - Freedom First's editors present the speech as a model that Indian businessmen could also benefit from hearing ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post A symposium of clipped press commentary on the Soviet Union's newly published 1977 ('Brezhnev') constitution, assembled from The Guardian, International Herald Tribune, The Statesman, The Economist, and The New York Times. The consensus across contributors is that the document is a cosmetic 'refurbishing of party doctrine' rather than a substantive change: it entrenches the Communist Party's leading role, permits rights only 'as privileges' extended by the state, and changes little in practice from Stalin's 1936 constitution beyond restating theoretical guarantees in greater rhetorical detail. Contributors note the irony of formally guaranteeing a right to secession that no republic could exercise, and compare the document's promises to the Soviet anthem of Animal Farm ('Never through me shalt thou come to harm'). - Multiple international commentators agree the new Soviet constitution changes little of substance from Stalin's 1936 constitution - The Economist notes citizens 'enjoy freedoms only as privileges' granted and revocable by the party leadership - The New York Times piece is 'more puzzled than when we began' about the purpose of a decade-long drafting effort - Victor Zorza (International Herald Tribune) reports a stage-managed 'nationwide debate' in which not a single dissenting voice was raised in Pravda's coverage - The formal right of republics to secede from the U.S.S.R. (Article 71) is highlighted as constitutional theatre with no practical force - George F. Will situates the 1977 constitution as the fourth Soviet constitution since the 'Glorious Transition to Socialism', calling its authors latter-day 'Benjamin Franklins and James Madisons of Mother Russia' ironically ### J.P. Presides at I.C.C.F. Meeting A brief news item reporting that Jayaprakash Narayan chaired a meeting of the Executive Council of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom at the Express Towers, which observed a minute's silence for Emergency victims and passed a resolution honouring the many who contributed to the 'restoration of political freedom' with Narayan named as the 'central figure in this story of liberation.' The Council resolved to hold discussions on civil rights, the role of the press and voluntary agencies, and to campaign for converting All India Radio and television into autonomous corporations and repealing the 42nd Constitutional Amendment, extending such discussions beyond Bombay to mofussil towns. Attendees named include M. R. Masani, Fredie Mehta, Ramu Pandit, S. P. Aiyar, Arvind Deshpande, Sheela Singh, J. B. H. Wadia, and S. V. Raju. - Jayaprakash Narayan chaired the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's Executive Council meeting - The Council passed a resolution honouring contributors to the 'restoration of political freedom' after the Emergency, naming Narayan its central figure since 1951 - Planned campaigns include converting AIR and TV into autonomous corporations and repealing the 42nd Amendment, as pledged in the Janata Party manifesto - The Council resolved to extend civil-rights discussions and seminars beyond Bombay city to mofussil towns ### World News The 'World News' section anthologises clipped press items from June 1977: Lee Kuan Yew's contentious address at the Commonwealth summit warning of a Marxist takeover in a post-guerrilla-war Rhodesia, and a rebuttal accusing Commonwealth leaders of racial double standards on Rhodesia versus black-ruled states; a Times report on the London evidentiary hearing (with Ramsey Clark and other witnesses) defending imprisoned Soviet physicist and Helsinki-monitor Yuri Orlov; a Guardian 'Letter from Moscow' on the chronic shortages, theft, and bureaucratic absurdities of Soviet car ownership; a Times item describing how a nurse's reading of an Agatha Christie novel led to the correct diagnosis of thallium poisoning in a critically ill toddler; an Observer piece on the post-Gang-of-Four cultural rehabilitation of Shakespeare in China; a Swiss Press Review item on Soviet media pique over President Carter's human-rights stance; and a Times report on newly surfacing 'Kaplan papers' describing Stalin's 1951 decision to prepare for a third world war against the West before American military strength could consolidate, a plan later foreclosed by the Soviet economy's inability to sustain it. - Lee Kuan Yew warns the 33-nation Commonwealth summit that Marxist guerrillas may seize power in Rhodesia even after majority rule, provoking heated debate - A Guardian rebuttal accuses Commonwealth leaders (naming Kenneth Kaunda and James Callaghan) of applying a racial double standard, condemning white-ruled Rhodesia's lack of one-man-one-vote while excusing black-ruled states with the same defect - The Times reports a London hearing, held because defence counsel John Macdonald was refused a Soviet visa, in defence of imprisoned physicist Yuri Orlov, a founder of the Soviet Helsinki-monitoring group, with testimony from Ramsey Clark, Vladimir Bukovsky, Andrei Amalrik, and Lyudmila Alekseyeva - A Guardian dispatch details Soviet consumer-goods shortages, car theft, and the compulsory removal of windscreen wipers to prevent theft in Moscow - China rehabilitates Shakespeare and other 'bourgeois' classics as part of post-Gang-of-Four cultural liberalisation under Deng-era reforms - The Times reports Karel Kaplan's newly surfacing papers describing a January 1951 Kremlin meeting at which Stalin ordered preparation for a third world war against Western Europe before American rearmament could consolidate; the plan foundered because the Soviet economy could not sustain the demands - A Swiss Press Review item notes Soviet irony in calling President Carter's human-rights stance a threat to detente, given many Third World allies of the U.S.S.R. themselves lack basic freedoms ### Letters Two letters to the editor. D. D. Karve argues that India's first-past-the-post electoral system, inherited from Britain, fails to produce genuinely democratic outcomes once more than two candidates or parties compete, since winners routinely secure less than a majority of votes cast; he surveys German proportional representation and the French two-round run-off system as alternatives and suggests India adopt a French-style system requiring a majority in a second round. D. Ghosh writes to praise an earlier Freedom First piece on 'volatile loyalties,' lamenting that the Janata Party, despite its victory, is already showing the same factional infighting and moral compromise as the Congress it replaced, and warns that a party which fails to understand its own shortcomings risks being discarded by the electorate even faster than Congress was. - D. D. Karve argues first-past-the-post voting has never produced a genuinely majoritarian outcome in India, since more than two parties or many independents routinely split the vote - Karve surveys Germany's proportional representation and France's two-round majority run-off as alternative models - Karve endorses a Jayaprakash Narayan-appointed Electoral Reform committee's suggestion of a 'via media' partial proportional representation system, but personally prefers the French two-round model - D. Ghosh warns that Janata Party leaders are repeating Congress-style infighting and moral compromise, and could be discarded by voters even sooner than Congress was ### With Many Voices The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' collects short quoted one-liners from contemporary press sources on world affairs: King Hassan of Morocco on American complacency; President Carter on the link between freedom and prosperity; Menachem Begin on Arab oil dependency; a Youth Times item contrasting the post-Independence Muslim community's lack of a leader of M. R. Masani's calibre; observations on Janata's factional ticket-distribution and its stance on Rhodesia versus Uganda; press commentary on the swearing-in of Uttar Pradesh's new chief minister; and notes on Nikolai Podgorny's dismissal shortly after touring Africa to advise on 'state construction.' - A Youth Times item states no Muslim community leader of Minoo Masani's calibre has emerged in national politics since Independence - Multiple clipped quotes address Rhodesia, Commonwealth double standards, and Janata Party's internal ticket-distribution disputes - A closing item notes the irony of Nikolai Podgorny's dismissal from the Soviet presidency shortly after touring Africa to advise on 'state construction' - The page is framed by an epigraph from Tennyson: 'The deep / Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends, 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff298/ ### Summary This is the September 1977 issue (No. 298) of Freedom First, edited by M. R. Masani, published a few months after the end of the Emergency and the Janata Party's assumption of power. The issue's centre of gravity is a critical stock-taking of the new Janata government: Masani's lead editorial questions why Jayaprakash Narayan has not spoken up about the government's drift back toward statist economics and factional infighting, and an unsigned piece urges immediate repeal of MISA and the 42nd Amendment. Alongside this runs a substantial two-part treatment of custodial torture and preventive detention by S. A. A. Pinto, a comparative review of three rushed Emergency-retrospective books by S. P. Aiyar, a lighter personal essay on Parsi-Irani community history by Jal Irani, a 'World News' digest of Cold War and human-rights items (Ethiopia, the USSR, Africa, Soviet dissidents), a report on the 'Committee of a Hundred' watchdog group's intervention in Maharashtra medical-college admissions, two book reviews, and the regular 'With Many Voices' page of quotations.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the September 1977 issue (No. 298) of Freedom First, edited by M. R. Masani, published a few months after the end of the Emergency and the Janata Party's assumption of power. The issue's centre of gravity is a critical stock-taking of the new Janata government: Masani's lead editorial questions why Jayaprakash Narayan has not spoken up about the government's drift back toward statist economics and factional infighting, and an unsigned piece urges immediate repeal of MISA and the 42nd Amendment. Alongside this runs a substantial two-part treatment of custodial torture and preventive detention by S. A. A. Pinto, a comparative review of three rushed Emergency-retrospective books by S. P. Aiyar, a lighter personal essay on Parsi-Irani community history by Jal Irani, a 'World News' digest of Cold War and human-rights items (Ethiopia, the USSR, Africa, Soviet dissidents), a report on the 'Committee of a Hundred' watchdog group's intervention in Maharashtra medical-college admissions, two book reviews, and the regular 'With Many Voices' page of quotations. The issue's argumentative center is classical-liberal impatience with the Janata government for not moving fast enough to dismantle Emergency-era machinery and statist economic policy. ## Essays ### Isn't It Time For JP To Speak Up? *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's lead editorial argues that friends of the Janata Government should now speak candidly about its shortcomings rather than remain yes-men. He catalogues economic drift (inflationary budget, compulsory deposits, a 'Jawaharlal Nehru budget' with no U-turn from statism), chronic infighting within the coalition, and a 'moral let-down' over broken promises on defections and state government interference. Continued on pages 12-13, the piece surveys eroding Janata vote shares in recent state assembly elections, lists six categorical policy imperatives (repeal of the 42nd Amendment and MISA, autonomous broadcasting, electoral reform, population control, decentralisation of power), invokes Lincoln's line on the cowardice of silence to urge the middle classes to organise and speak out, and closes with a direct public appeal to Jayaprakash Narayan to break his silence and offer the country moral guidance. - Masani argues the Janata government's honeymoon is over and its economic and moral performance is disappointing. - He criticizes the Budget (endorsed as inflationary by Professors C. N. Vakil and Brahmananda) as a continuation of the 'Jawaharlal Nehru' statist style. - He notes chronic infighting among Janata constituent groups, quoting Jagjivan Ram's 'deep anguish'. - He cites falling Janata vote shares across multiple states (e.g., Uttar Pradesh 68.02% to 48.36%) between the March and June 1977 elections as evidence of eroding support. - He calls for repeal of MISA and the 42nd Amendment, autonomous broadcasting corporations, and electoral reform without delay. - He lists six categorical imperatives for the Janata Party to act on, including devolution of power from Delhi to the states and population control without coercion. - He invokes Abraham Lincoln's line that 'to sin by silence makes cowards of men' to argue the middle classes must organise and speak out rather than stay silent as they did during the Emergency. - The piece ends with a personal appeal to Jayaprakash Narayan to speak up and guide public opinion on whether the Janata Party is honouring its election promises. ### 1975 And All That *By S. P. Aiyar* The unsigned 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' column covers a run of topical items: the Indian Express strike and Ramnath Goenka's court battle against the government over compulsory deposit obligations (paralleled with the Grunwick dispute in Britain); the Sheikh Abdullah's electoral victory in Kashmir and its bearing on Kashmir's and Nagaland's special status, including a Gandhi quotation on Naga self-determination; a note on the fall of Sirimavo Bandaranaike in Sri Lanka and J. R. Jayawardene's return to power; B. K. Nehru's warnings on the true meaning of unemployment and doles; and the Janata government's decision to scrap post-Independence honours and titles as contrary to Article 18 of the Constitution. - Contrasts Ramnath Goenka's Indian Express strike dispute with the Grunwick dispute in Britain, arguing both governments capitulated to organized labour over the rule of law. - Frames Sheikh Abdullah's Kashmir election win as proof that Kashmir and Nagaland occupy a genuinely special constitutional position, quoting Gandhi's 1947 assurance to Naga delegates. - Welcomes J. R. Jayawardene's return to power in Sri Lanka as part of a regional shift away from pro-Soviet non-alignment. - Cites B. K. Nehru's argument that a dole is not real employment and that genuine employment requires production exceeding consumption. - Praises the Janata government's move to scrap post-Independence honours as consistent with Article 18 of the Constitution, recalling a 1947-48 Constituent Assembly debate in which Nehru insisted awards of merit (as opposed to titles) should continue. ### Torture And Preventive Detention-I: Origins And Consequences *By S. A. A. Pinto* S. P. Aiyar reviews three hastily-written retrospectives on the Emergency published in its immediate aftermath: Kuldip Nayar's The Judgement, D. R. Mankekar and Kamla Mankekar's The Decline and Fall of Indira Gandhi, and (in less detail) Promilla Kalhan's Black Wednesday, alongside praise for V. K. Narasimhan's Democracy Redeemed. Aiyar finds Nayar's book journalistically vivid on Sanjay Gandhi's circle and the machinery of censorship but shallow, poorly cited, and marred by careless proofreading and undue reliance on secondary material (including uncredited borrowing from U. R. Anantha Murthy's introduction to Snehalata Reddy's Prison Diary). The Mankekars' book is judged stronger on press harassment and student resistance but weak on the RSS's role and the Citizens for Democracy's contribution, and Kalhan's book is dismissed as a 'curious non-book.' Aiyar singles out Narasimhan's Democracy Redeemed as the most substantively reflective of the crop, praising its faith in Indian democratic values and its author's personally courageous editorial record during the Emergency. - Aiyar frames the glut of rushed Emergency books (following Matthew Arnold's line that 'journalism is literature in a hurry') as commercially successful but intellectually thin. - He criticizes Kuldip Nayar's The Judgement for lack of citations, undistinguished style, factual carelessness (e.g., an arrest warrant issued for a dead man), and uncredited reproduction of others' material. - He credits Nayar's first chapter, on Siddhartha Shankar Ray's role in proposing the internal Emergency and Sanjay Gandhi's circle supplying censorship models from the Philippines, as the book's most useful part. - He compares the Mankekars' Decline and Fall favourably on press harassment and student resistance but faults both major books for ignoring the RSS's and Citizens for Democracy's roles. - He singles out V. K. Narasimhan's Democracy Redeemed for its reflective, non-sensationalist quality and Narasimhan's own courageous editorship of the Indian Express during the Emergency. - He concludes both flagship books lack a framework or interpretation of when the 'Decline' actually began, unlike Narasimhan's more analytical treatment. ### Historical Hysteria *By Jal Irani* S. A. A. Pinto opens a two-part essay on torture and preventive detention by arguing that public outrage should not be confined to political and Naxalite victims of Emergency-era abuse, since the practice of torture is ancient, universal, and routinely used by police, officers, administrators, and politicians alike. He argues torture is unreliable as an investigative tool because victims, tortured beyond their pain tolerance, will confess to anything or falsely implicate others regardless of guilt, and contends the same national tendency toward coercive shortcuts shows up elsewhere in Indian policy (cow-slaughter legislation, prohibition, forced imposition of Hindi). He closes the installment by noting that, since Independence, there has been no recorded instance of a magistrate, judge, or minister of any ruling party conducting surprise inspections to check on complaints of torture in police custody. - Pinto argues focusing outrage only on political/Naxalite torture victims deflects attention from the systemic, ancient, and universal practice of torture. - He contends torture is inherently unreliable for extracting truth since confessions reflect the victim's pain tolerance rather than facts. - He argues acceptance of torture as 'routine and necessary' extends beyond police to officers, administrators, politicians and the general public. - He draws a parallel between the resort to torture and other coercive Indian policy shortcuts: cow-slaughter bans, prohibition, and compulsory imposition of Hindi. - He states that since Independence no magistrate, judge, minister, or politician in power has ever conducted a surprise inspection to investigate torture complaints against persons in police custody. ### Committee Of A Hundred Acts Jal Irani contributes a light, comic personal essay on the history and culture of the Parsi and Irani communities in India, tracing their shared Persian origins, their divergent economic paths (Parsis into trade and knighthoods, Iranis into tea shops), and the eventual intermarriage and blending of the two communities. Written in a self-deprecating, humorous register, the piece plays with etymology and family history (including the author's own name) to poke fun at both communities' foibles and shared identity markers. - Irani traces the shared Persian origin of Parsis and Iranis, noting Parsis arrived earlier via the 'boat race' from the Persian Gulf to Sanjan. - He describes economic differentiation: Parsis dominated the liquor business and received British knighthoods; Iranis ran tea shops and later pursued education and their own knighthoods. - He plays on the anglicization of traditional Iranian names within Parsi families (e.g., Sohrab to Soli, Zal to Jal) as part of the essay's comic personal narrative. - He closes by noting that Parsis and Iranis increasingly intermarried, eroding the earlier cultural divide, with a joking reference to the 'famous Bawaji nose' as their common trait. ### Reviews: Equality Through Trusteeship (review of Vadilal Lallubhai Mehta's book) *By D. M. Kalapesi* The unsigned 'World News' section compiles short reprinted items from international wire services and newspapers covering: a report of 30,000 killed or imprisoned by Ethiopia's Marxist Dergue junta; an editorial on the OAU's Libreville summit and hypocrisy around human rights in Africa; Hebrew University's award of an honorary degree to Milton Friedman amid speculation he might advise Israel's new Likud government; a British sex-discrimination tribunal case decided by Lord Denning; UNITA's routing of Angolan government forces; Soviet dissident physicist Benjamin Fain's account of KGB pressure tactics tied to Jimmy Carter's human-rights stance; and a Kremlin decree ordering Soviet bureaucracy to improve consumer goods and services. - Reports that roughly 30,000 Ethiopians have been killed or imprisoned under the Dergue military junta, per a Sunday Telegraph source. - An editorial from The Times argues African governments' outrage at Western human-rights standards is hypocritical given practices like Idi Amin's regime and RSS-style abuses within Africa. - Notes Hebrew University in Jerusalem is awarding Milton Friedman an honorary degree amid reports he could become an adviser to Menahem Begin's new Likud government, which Friedman denies intending to do permanently. - Describes Lord Denning's ruling in the first appellate case under Britain's Sex Discrimination Act, upholding a factory's five-minute early release for women. - Recounts Soviet physicist Benjamin Fain's account of KGB harassment tied to his emigration application, and his view that President Carter's firm stance has forced decisions on dissident treatment to the highest political level. - Reports a Kremlin decree ordering improvements to consumer goods and services, quoting Pravda's criticism of rude service and shoddy products. ### Reviews: An Enterpreneur Par Excellance (review of 'The Life of a Textile Pioneer' by Nilkan Perumal) *By S. V. Raju* An unsigned report describes the formation and first activity of the 'Committee of a Hundred,' an informal, non-partisan watchdog group of prominent public figures organized to comment on issues of public importance. Its inaugural intervention concerns the admissions crisis in Maharashtra's medical colleges caused by the merger of two parallel student streams; the piece lists the Committee's diverse membership and details a memorandum sent to state and central health authorities proposing steps to mitigate harm to medical education standards from the sudden addition of 700 extra seats. - The Committee of a Hundred was formed as an informal, non-partisan watchdog for civil liberties and free society values, welcomed publicly by Jayaprakash Narayan at an April 1977 press conference. - Its membership spans social workers, educationists, writers, editors, trade unionists, business executives, lawyers, retired defence and civil servants; Cyrus Guzder serves as Organizing Secretary. - Its first action addressed a crisis in Maharashtra medical college admissions caused by merging two parallel streams of Inter-Science and Std. XII students. - The Committee's medical-group memorandum, sent to state and central health ministries and the Medical Council of India, calls for publicly defined admission plans, full compliance with Medical Council conditions, expanded teaching and hospital capacity, and filling of existing staff vacancies. - The memorandum was signed by Dr. Shantilal J. Mehta, Dr. N. H. Wadia, Dr. B. Colabawalla, Dr. Mrs. Piroja Irani, Dr. K. G. Nair and Dr. S. K. Pandya. ### World News (compilation of wire/press excerpts: Ethiopia, OAU summit, Friedman in Israel, Sex Discrimination Act ruling, Angola/UNITA, Soviet dissidents, Soviet consumer goods decree) This is the volume's regular Reviews section, containing two separate notices. D. M. Kalapesi reviews Vadilal Lallubhai Mehta's Equality through Trusteeship, judging the book's ambition to justify Gandhian trusteeship as an economic model for full employment overreached and under-argued, with weak treatment of social costs and equity that the reviewer discusses at length. S. V. Raju reviews the late Nilkan Perumal's short biography The Life of a Textile Pioneer, an admiring account of Coimbatore textile magnate G. Kuppuswamy Naidu (1884-1942), republished by the Kuppuswamy Naidu Charity Trust on its silver jubilee, praising Naidu's rise from agriculturist to textile magnate and philanthropist. - Kalapesi finds Mehta's Trusteeship model economically simplistic, faulting its arbitrary 'ceiling' of four lakhs for a family of four as the threshold of superfluous wealth. - Kalapesi extensively discusses the concept of 'social costs' as internalized, unpaid debts owed by entrepreneurs to society, and argues Mehta's book under-develops this idea. - Kalapesi credits the book for stimulating serious thought on Trusteeship/Stewardship as alternatives to statist planning, despite calling it a 'rushed job.' - Raju's review praises The Life of a Textile Pioneer as an elegant account of G. Kuppuswamy Naidu's rise from a small ginning operation using bullock power in 1905 to building the Laxmi group of textile mills in Coimbatore. - Raju notes Naidu's philanthropy (a school and hospital in Coimbatore) and that his son G. K. Sandaram has carried on the family business tradition. ### With Many Voices (quotations column) The closing 'With Many Voices' page is an unsigned compilation of quotations drawn from international press sources (Time, The Economist, International Herald Tribune, and others) commenting wryly on Cold War, Middle East, and Indian political affairs of mid-1977, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. The page is followed by the Freedom First subscription form and the issue's printer's colophon, confirming this as the final page of the complete 16-page issue. - The page opens with a Tennyson epigraph on 'the deep... moans round with many voices' before the quotation compilation. - Quotations touch on Jayaprakash Narayan being called India's most disappointed leader, Brezhnev's human rights record, Begin's and Yadin's remarks on Israeli security, and satirical Cold War jokes about Soviet and Chinese propaganda. - The page closes the issue with the Freedom First subscription form (Rs. 5.00 annual subscription, C/o Democratic Research Service, Bombay) and the printer's colophon, confirming completeness of the rendered pages as the full issue. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff300/ ### Summary Freedom First issue No. 300 (November 1977), edited by M. R. Masani, appears in full across these 16 rendered pages, running from the cover through the closing subscription notice and imprint. The issue is dominated by post-Emergency constitutional politics: Masani's lead editorial demands the Janata Government repeal the 42nd Amendment 'lock, stock and barrel' rather than retain any of its provisions, a position echoed by a Lawyers' Group memorandum from the 'Committee of a Hundred' reproduced in full and by a report on a Supreme Court Bar Association statement. Alongside this constitutional theme, the issue carries Jayaprakash Narayan's tribute message on Masani's memoir 'Bliss Was It In That Dawn', an editorial page ('Between You & Me and The Lamp Post') on miscellaneous topical items (Soviet psychiatric abuse, euthanasia, sex-discrimination law, Hindi-language politics, Air India liquor policy), a condensed profile of Paul Johnson's break from the British Labour Party, a report on a seminar critical of the Samachar news-agency monopoly report, a World News digest of wire-service items, a feature on West African bureaucratic dysfunction ('wawa'), two book reviews (of 'Prophets… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue No. 300 (November 1977), edited by M. R. Masani, appears in full across these 16 rendered pages, running from the cover through the closing subscription notice and imprint. The issue is dominated by post-Emergency constitutional politics: Masani's lead editorial demands the Janata Government repeal the 42nd Amendment 'lock, stock and barrel' rather than retain any of its provisions, a position echoed by a Lawyers' Group memorandum from the 'Committee of a Hundred' reproduced in full and by a report on a Supreme Court Bar Association statement. Alongside this constitutional theme, the issue carries Jayaprakash Narayan's tribute message on Masani's memoir 'Bliss Was It In That Dawn', an editorial page ('Between You & Me and The Lamp Post') on miscellaneous topical items (Soviet psychiatric abuse, euthanasia, sex-discrimination law, Hindi-language politics, Air India liquor policy), a condensed profile of Paul Johnson's break from the British Labour Party, a report on a seminar critical of the Samachar news-agency monopoly report, a World News digest of wire-service items, a feature on West African bureaucratic dysfunction ('wawa'), two book reviews (of 'Prophets of Freedom and Enterprise' and of a study of Central Asian art), a note on the founding of the Rajaji Foundation, three letters to the editor on the Emergency's aftermath and cultural commentary, and a closing page of quoted aphorisms ('With Many Voices') plus the subscription coupon and imprint. ## Essays ### The Forty-Second Must Go — Lock, Stock and Barrel *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's lead editorial argues that the Janata Government must repeal the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution entirely, rather than accept a compromise brokered with the Congress opposition that would retain some of its provisions. He contends the core objection to the Amendment is not merely its individual clauses but the anti-democratic manner of its passage during the Emergency, when opposition leaders were jailed and the press censored. The essay continues on page 13, rejecting the 'strange alibi' that a repeal bill would fail in the Rajya Sabha, criticizing the proposed retention of 'secular' and 'socialist' in the Preamble as unnecessary and pointing out the Constitution already guarantees religious freedom and property rights, and objecting to the Amendment's diminishment of the President to a 'puppet' bound by Cabinet advice. Masani quotes Jayaprakash Narayan's Prison Diary describing 'the supremacy of Parliament' as code for dictatorship of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and closes urging the Janata Government not to make a mistake the country would regret. - Argues for total repeal of the 42nd Amendment, not a partial compromise with the Congress opposition - Objects primarily to the anti-democratic manner in which the Amendment was passed during the Emergency - Rejects the alibi that the Rajya Sabha's Congress majority would block a full repeal bill - Criticizes retaining 'secular' and 'socialist' in the Preamble as redundant given existing constitutional guarantees - Warns that reducing the President to a rubber stamp of the Prime Minister's advice risks repeating 26 June 1975 - Cites Jayaprakash Narayan's Prison Diary on the 'supremacy of Parliament' concealing dictatorship by the Cabinet/Prime Minister ### 'A Nostalgic Experience' *By Jayaprakash Narayan* The editorial miscellany column 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' covers several unrelated topical items: praise for psychiatrists at a Honolulu conference for belatedly condemning Soviet political abuse of psychiatry (naming Sidney Bloch and Peter Reddaway's book 'Russia's Political Hospitals'); a note on Dr. Christian Barnard's death-pact remarks tied to his book 'The Night Season'; a British sex-discrimination tribunal and House of Lords case (Mr. Peake) about women workers leaving factories early, decided by Lord Denning; commentary mocking Atal Behari Vajpayee's Hindi-language speech at the UN and the cost of promoting Hindi as an international language; a note on Air India being asked to stop serving liquor and the risk to its reputation; and, on a separate page, praise for the West German commandos' Mogadishu hostage-rescue operation (another 'Entebbe'). - Welcomes psychiatrists' belated condemnation of Soviet abuse of psychiatry for political ends, citing the book 'Russia's Political Hospitals' - Notes Dr. Christian Barnard's public death-pact remarks around his book 'The Night Season' - Covers a UK sex-discrimination tribunal/House of Lords case on differential treatment of factory workers by sex - Mocks the cost and rationale of promoting Hindi as an international language after Vajpayee's UN speech - Criticizes a proposed liquor ban on Air India flights as a threat to the airline's reputation and tourism - Praises the West German commando raid at Mogadishu airport as another 'Entebbe'-style triumph of firmness over terrorist blackmail ### Paul Johnson Discards Socialism *By Jayaprakash Narayan* A short tribute message from Jayaprakash Narayan, sent to the publishers of M. R. Masani's memoir after reading an advance copy, recalling their decades of friendship despite political and religious differences (Narayan a socialist critical of Gandhi at the time, Masani a Congress-turned-liberal), and praising Masani's autobiographical writing from 'My India' through 'Bliss Was It In That Dawn' as fair, perceptive, and readable. Narayan credits Masani with unusual forensic ability in his brief parliamentary career and calls the book an objective, truthful account of the struggle and upheaval of their generation of young nationalists and socialists. - Narayan calls reading Masani's memoir a 'nostalgic experience' recalling their friendship since the Nasik Road Central Prison days - Notes both men became 'Gandhians' intellectually and spiritually despite early disagreements with Gandhi - Praises Masani's forensic ability during his short parliamentary career - Describes the book's period as one of 'struggle and upheaval' for young nationalists and socialists - Recommends the book to Indian youth as an objective and truthful account for inspiration toward national service ### Not By Politics Alone A condensation of a Michael Davis article from the Sunday Observer Review profiling Paul Johnson, the former Editor of the New Statesman and Labour Party member, following his public resignation from Labour and his 4,000-word 'Farewell to the Labour Party' piece. The article situates Johnson within a wider trend of prominent Labour figures (Lord Shawcross, George Brown, Woodrow Wyatt, Dick Taverne, Hugh Thomas, Roy Jenkins, David Marquand, Brian Walden) drifting from the party, and profiles Johnson's personality and intellectual formation, including his recollection of a 1952-53 Tribune lunch where Nye Bevan told him trade unionism was a defensive reaction to capitalism and that Bevan combined socialist concern for the public good with intense individualism. Johnson's own conversion, he says, required both 'intellectual conviction' and 'a moment of emotional shock' — the latter triggered by British Rail's treatment of long-serving workers during a closed-shop dispute. - Paul Johnson resigned from the Labour Party in September 1977 and published 'Farewell to the Labour Party' in the New Statesman - Article situates Johnson among a list of prominent Labour defectors including Lord Shawcross, George Brown, Woodrow Wyatt, Roy Jenkins - Johnson recalls Nye Bevan telling him trade unionism was 'a defensive reaction to capitalism' and that Bevan combined socialism with individualism - Johnson holds that political freedom is impossible without economic freedom, and collectivism threatens liberty - His break required both intellectual conviction and an emotional shock tied to a British Rail closed-shop dismissal case - Portrays Johnson as a combative, order-loving, black-and-white thinker (e.g., Benn v. Thatcher) increasingly influential on former Labour voters ### No Samachar Monopoly — Majority Report Criticised A report ('Not By Politics Alone') on M. R. Masani's address to the Ellisbridge Jaycees in Ahmedabad on Gandhi's Birth Anniversary, arguing that socialism and secularism both demand for the state what belongs to God or individual conscience, and that India suffers from too much politics and too little citizenship. Masani warns against blaming the Emergency solely on 'the wickedness of one person' and the cult of personality, tracing the deeper failure to weak social and non-political roots — illiteracy, superstition, caste, untouchability, subordination of women — and a quarter-century of an imposed materialist and Statist philosophy that neglected individual character-building. He calls for dismantling the 'permit-license-quota-raj' (a phrase he attributes to Rajaji) and restoring freedom of choice to consumer, producer, and investor, invoking Rajaji's values of 'Farm, Family and Freedom'. - Masani argues socialism and secularism both wrongly claim for the State what belongs to God or individual conscience - Warns against blaming the Emergency purely on personal wickedness or cult of personality - Attributes democratic fragility to weak social roots: illiteracy, superstition, caste, untouchability, women's subordination - Criticizes a quarter-century of imposed materialist/Statist philosophy neglecting individual character - Calls for dismantling the 'permit-license-quota-raj' and restoring freedom of choice to consumer, producer and investor - Invokes Rajaji's values of 'Farm, Family and Freedom' as what India's God-fearing masses believe in ### Wawa — Unseen Ruler of W. Africa *By David Lamb* A report on a Bombay seminar organised by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom and the Indian Liberal Group, chaired by Anant Kanekar, criticizing the Janata Government's Committee Report recommending replacement of the Samachar news agency with three new agencies (Sandesh, Varta, News India), arguing this merely replaces one government monopoly with three, misconceives the function of a news agency by loading it with responsibilities like 'moulding of public opinion,' and would run heavy financial deficits (Sandesh Rs. 35 lakhs, News India Rs. 60 lakhs, aggregate deficit estimated to reach Rs. 1.7 crores). Participants included M. R. Masani, Ratansinh Rajda, C. R. Irani, and several editors and journalists; the seminar called instead for restoring PTI and UNI with full freedom to develop international news coverage and start regional-language services. - Seminar organised by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom and Indian Liberal Group criticizes the Report recommending Samachar's replacement by Sandesh, Varta and News India - Participants argue this replaces one government monopoly with three, not genuine competition - Report's financial projections show deficits of Rs. 35 lakhs (Sandesh) and Rs. 60 lakhs (News India), estimated to reach Rs. 1.7 crores aggregate - Report criticized for loading news agencies with vague duties like 'moulding of public opinion' and 'social responsibility' - Seminar calls instead for restoring PTI and UNI with full freedom for international coverage and regional-language services - Notes Prime Minister and Information Minister had invited public discussion but report copies were hard to obtain, limiting debate ### World News (Russia's Luxury Car; How Not To Create Jobs; Carter Wants To Scrap Welfare; Jay Intervenes For Mrs. Thatcher) *By Kevin Klose (Russia's Luxury Car item); others uncredited/agency-sourced* A feature by David Lamb (courtesy Los Angeles Times) describing 'wawa' — an acronym for 'West Africa Wins Again' — as shorthand among expatriates in West Africa for the chronic unreliability, inefficiency, and bureaucratic dysfunction encountered there: missed flights, broken infrastructure, and shoddy craftsmanship. The piece illustrates the phenomenon with anecdotes (an American housewife in Liberia, an Air Nigeria flight that forgot its baggage, an Air Zaire flight sent to the wrong destination, an Accra airport running out of fuel) and contrasts Western frustration with African patience, suggesting the tropical climate and traditional subsistence economy explain the lack of urgency, and notes that French/British-run Dakar and Abidjan are less affected because they remain 'run basically by the French'. - 'Wawa' ('West Africa Wins Again') is expatriate shorthand for chronic unreliability and inefficiency across West Africa - Anecdotes include missed and misdirected flights (Air Nigeria, Air Zaire), broken infrastructure, and an airport running out of fuel - Contrasts Western frustration over punctuality with Africans' patience, framed as culturally distinct concepts - Suggests warm climate and a traditionally sufficient subsistence economy explain the lack of urgency to fix problems - Notes Dakar and Abidjan are comparatively unaffected because they remain 'run basically by the French' ### Drink Creates Havoc in Soviet Shops; Powell's Race Figures 'Coming True' *By Mary Ellen Synon (Powell's Race Figures item)* A 'World News' digest of short wire-service items reprinted from foreign papers: Kevin Klose (Washington Post) on the Soviet Union's new luxury Chaika car reserved exclusively for officials while ordinary citizens wait for smaller Zhigulis and Moskvitches; a satirical five-point 'Permanent Strategy to Fight Unemployment' attributed to Murray Weidenbaum mocking standard interventionist policy prescriptions (Time, October 3); a report that President Carter urged Congress to scrap the US welfare system in favour of a work-based scheme (Sunday Observer, August 7); and an item on Peter Jay's diplomatic intervention that salvaged a near-failed meeting between Margaret Thatcher and President Carter, involving Cyrus Vance, Zbigniew Brzezinski and Kingman Brewster (Daily Telegraph, September 15). - Soviet Union unveils the 'Seagull'/Chaika model 14 luxury car reserved exclusively for officials, while citizens queue for smaller cars - Satirical 'briefing for liberals' by Murray Weidenbaum lists tongue-in-cheek policies guaranteed to worsen unemployment - President Carter urges Congress to scrap the US welfare system for a new work-conditioned scheme - Peter Jay's diplomatic intervention helped salvage a near-failed Thatcher-Carter meeting, with the White House calling it a one-off exception ### Committee of a Hundred Demands Total Repeal — Lawyers' Memorandum on 42nd Amendment Further World News items continuing onto page 9 and 10: a Times of India report (Moscow, July 28) on a survey by the weekly Literary Gazette using British breath-test equipment finding widespread drunkenness among Soviet shop staff, prompting calls for trade inspectors to curb it; and a Daily Telegraph (September 15) item in which Dipak Nandy, former director of the Runnymede Trust, admits Enoch Powell's 1960s predictions about racial demographic concentration in British inner cities are 'coming true', despite having previously dismissed Powell's statistics as 'simply mad'. - Soviet survey using British breath-test equipment finds widespread drunkenness among shop staff in an unnamed Soviet town - Cashiers had the best sobriety record; warehousemen, butchers and vegetable sellers were the worst offenders - Dipak Nandy, former Runnymede Trust director, admits Enoch Powell's demographic predictions on immigration are 'coming true' - Nandy had previously dismissed Powell's race statistics as 'simply mad' ### Reviews: Freeedom First and Last (Prophets of Freedom and Enterprise, ed. Michael Evens) *By M. R. Pai* A report on the Committee of a Hundred's Lawyers Group (Porus Mehta, Anil Diwan, D. H. Nanavaty, and Mr. & Mrs. Radhakrishnan) preparing a memorandum to the Prime Minister and Union Law Minister demanding total repeal of the 42nd Amendment, reproducing the memorandum's arguments in full: that all Emergency-era amendments were made without public debate, a muzzled press, and imprisoned opposition leaders, and should be repealed altogether with any genuinely useful provisions reintroduced later through fresh, openly-debated constitutional amendments. It also cites a Supreme Court Bar Association statement of August 5, 1977 expressing 'alarm and dismay' at governments relying in courts on the 42nd Amendment to deprive citizens of legal rights, and notes the Bombay Bar Association passed a similar resolution. - Lawyers Group of the Committee of a Hundred (Porus Mehta, Anil Diwan, D. H. Nanavaty, Mr. & Mrs. Radhakrishnan) prepares memorandum demanding total 42nd Amendment repeal - Memorandum argues Emergency-era amendments lacked public debate, muzzled press, and imprisoned opposition leaders, making them illegitimate - Recommends repealing the Amendment wholly, then reintroducing any useful provisions via fresh, openly debated amendments - Cites Supreme Court Bar Association's August 5, 1977 statement of alarm at governments relying on the 42nd Amendment to deprive citizens of rights - Notes the Bombay Bar Association passed a similar resolution ### Reviews: Art of Central Asia (by Chhaya Bhattacharya) *By M. R. Pai* A book review by M. R. Pai of 'Prophets of Freedom and Enterprise', edited by Michael Evens (Kogan Page), a collection of essays on Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, Alfred Marshall, John Maynard Keynes, Milton Friedman, Ludwig von Mises, Karl Popper and F. A. Hayek. Pai argues the book usefully dispels Marxist misrepresentations of these thinkers, contrasts Keynes and Friedman as both fundamentally liberal despite their opposing prescriptions, highlights Friedman's warnings about inflation from government monopoly over money supply, and singles out Mises and Popper as neglected in India for their warnings against a State transformed into an all-powerful Moloch. He closes urging Indian intellectuals who lived through the Emergency's 'enlightened dictatorship' to honestly weigh these liberal thinkers' arguments. - Reviews 'Prophets of Freedom and Enterprise', ed. Michael Evens, covering eight liberal economic/political thinkers - Argues the book corrects Marxist misrepresentations of Adam Smith, Mill and others - Presents Keynes and Friedman as both liberal in orientation despite differing economic prescriptions - Highlights Friedman's warning that inflation stems from government's monopoly abuse over money supply - Flags Mises and Popper as neglected in Indian intellectual discourse for warning against the State becoming a Moloch - Frames the review against the backdrop of India's Emergency as an 'enlightened dictatorship' experience ### The Rajaji Foundation A book review by Geeta Doctor of 'Art of Central Asia' by Chhaya Bhattacharya (Agam Prakasan, Rs. 200), a study based on the author's doctoral thesis at the Freie University, West Berlin, examining ancient Silk Road artifacts including Aurel Stein's finds, with particular focus on wooden objects and Buddha figures from the Berlin Museum's collection of 552 illustrated items. The review notes the book traces regional and oasis-wise distinctive styles, including Gandharan influences, and praises its detailed cataloguing though noting it targets specialist rather than general readers. - Reviews Chhaya Bhattacharya's 'Art of Central Asia', based on her doctoral thesis at the Freie University, West Berlin - Covers Silk Road artifacts recovered by Aurel Stein and other expeditions, focusing on wooden objects and Buddha figures - Catalogues 552 illustrated objects from the Berlin Museum's collection with serial and registration numbers - Discusses regional/oasis-wise stylistic distinctions and Gandharan influences in Central Asian art - Judged useful primarily as a specialist reference guide rather than general reading ### Letters: The Tip of the Iceberg *By Manohar Malgonkar* A short news item reporting that Mr. Masani, addressing a Bombay press conference on 23 September, announced the formation of the Rajaji Foundation as a registered trust to spread Rajaji's message of Dharma and the norms for a free, liberal society, proposing public meetings, study circles, seminars, discussions and publications. The Foundation's trustees are listed as M. R. Masani, Parmanand Kejriwal, Girish K. Munshi, K. H. Subramanian, Sosan L. Panday and S. V. Raju, based at 143 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay. - Rajaji Foundation announced as a registered trust at a Bombay press conference on 23 September - Purpose is to spread Rajaji's message of Dharma and norms for a free, liberal society through public meetings, study circles, seminars and publications - Trustees named: M. R. Masani, Parmanand Kejriwal, Girish K. Munshi, K. H. Subramanian, Sosan L. Panday, S. V. Raju - Located at 143 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 400 023 ### Letters: Land of Superstitions and Fads Three letters to the editor. Manohar Malgonkar's 'The Tip of the Iceberg' argues the Emergency-era censorship concealed deeper scandals than have yet emerged, comparing US Watergate malpractices favourably (as merely disloyal but not self-enriching) to alleged Indian abuses, and asking rhetorically what became of files destroyed at No. 1 Safdarjung Road. An anonymous or pseudonymous humorous letter, 'Land of Superstitions and Fads,' satirizes Indian political and social attitudes toward drink, cow protection, English-language politics, and gender double standards. M. Murlidhar's letter criticizes Prime Minister Morarji Desai for bowing to pressure from RSS and 'socialist' colleagues on issues like naxalite releases and government charity-home closures, expressing hope that fears of Desai following an 'Ajoy Mukherjee'-style trajectory prove wrong. A further letter on J.P. and Janata differs with Masani's September 1977 article, defending the 42nd Amendment's fundamental-duties chapter as worth retaining even amid otherwise abrogating the amendment, signed Jal Irani. - Manohar Malgonkar's letter argues Emergency-era abuses were far worse and better concealed than Watergate-style American malpractices - Malgonkar questions what happened to destroyed files at No. 1 Safdarjung Road and cites cases like Jakotia, Nagarwala, Maruti and Tulmohan - A satirical letter, 'Land of Superstitions and Fads', mocks contemporary debates over prohibition, cow protection and the English language - M. Murlidhar criticizes PM Morarji Desai for wavering under pressure from RSS and 'socialist' elements within his own coalition - Jal Irani's letter defends retaining the 42nd Amendment's fundamental-duties chapter even while supporting repeal of the rest - Letters collectively reflect ongoing post-Emergency debate over accountability, governance, and constitutional reform ### Letters: J. P. and Janata *By Jal Irani* The closing page, 'With Many Voices,' collects brief quoted aphorisms and remarks from world newspapers and public figures (Joseph Gormley, P. G. Mavalankar, David Steel, Fred Emery, C. G. K. Reddy, A. D. Gorwala, The Economist, Bernard Shaw, Indira Gandhi, Boris Pasternak, Wole Soyinka, among others) under a Tennyson epigraph, followed by the Freedom First subscription coupon and the publication's imprint naming J. R. Patel as Associate Editor and States' People Press, Fort, Bombay as printer. - Compiles short quoted aphorisms from world press and public figures under a Tennyson epigraph - Includes remarks from Joseph Gormley, David Steel, A. D. Gorwala, Bernard Shaw, Boris Pasternak, Wole Soyinka and others - Quotes Indira Gandhi on the contrast between Agra's Taj Mahal/Fort and Delhi's Qutab Minar/Indira Gandhi herself as attractions - Includes the Freedom First annual subscription coupon (Rs. 5.00) addressed to Democratic Research Service, Bombay - Imprint identifies J. R. Patel as Associate Editor and States' People Press as printer --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff299/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 299 (October 1977), edited by M. R. Masani, appears roughly three months after the Emergency-era Janata Party electoral victory and is preoccupied with adjudicating that transition: how much has genuinely changed, and what remains broken. The issue opens with Union Minister Bhanu Pratap Singh's essay on the persistence of rural destitution despite the political restoration of civil liberties, and carries a two-part continuation on agricultural policy reform. A pseudonymous piece, 'Dancing with the Soviet Bear,' accuses the Soviet Union and the CPI of having fully backed Indira Gandhi's Emergency and then pivoting seamlessly to court the Janata government. S. A. A. Pinto's second installment on torture and preventive detention argues that legal remedies against police brutality exist on paper but are barely enforced, and that the change of government in Delhi has not reformed practice on the ground. A report on a Leslie Sawhney Programme seminar records a wide range of liberal and Sarvodaya-aligned participants debating how to strengthen the non-political roots of a free society.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 299 (October 1977), edited by M. R. Masani, appears roughly three months after the Emergency-era Janata Party electoral victory and is preoccupied with adjudicating that transition: how much has genuinely changed, and what remains broken. The issue opens with Union Minister Bhanu Pratap Singh's essay on the persistence of rural destitution despite the political restoration of civil liberties, and carries a two-part continuation on agricultural policy reform. A pseudonymous piece, 'Dancing with the Soviet Bear,' accuses the Soviet Union and the CPI of having fully backed Indira Gandhi's Emergency and then pivoting seamlessly to court the Janata government. S. A. A. Pinto's second installment on torture and preventive detention argues that legal remedies against police brutality exist on paper but are barely enforced, and that the change of government in Delhi has not reformed practice on the ground. A report on a Leslie Sawhney Programme seminar records a wide range of liberal and Sarvodaya-aligned participants debating how to strengthen the non-political roots of a free society. The World View digest surveys foreign press commentary on Coca-Cola's exit from India, a Sikkimese leader's memorandum against Indian 'annexation,' and astrology in Indian politics. The issue closes with a review of S. R. Maheshwari's book on President's Rule, a Groucho Marx obituary tribute, a reader's letter defending Israel's negotiating position, and the regular 'With Many Voices' page of quotations from world figures. ## Essays ### Democracy and Destitution *By Bhanu Pratap Singh* Bhanu Pratap Singh, writing just before assuming office as Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Irrigation, argues that the restoration of civil liberties and democracy under the Janata government, while a real achievement, does not by itself solve India's underlying problem of poverty and injustice, which he holds responsible for driving Indira Gandhi to impose the Emergency in the first place. He marshals statistics on declining per-capita consumption of foodgrains, pulses, vegetable oils, sugar and cloth, and on rising food-grain imports, to argue that official growth figures mask a deepening crisis of rural destitution. In the essay's continuation, he contends that ending destitution requires refocusing state investment on agriculture rather than industry, citing the stagnation of agricultural growth after 1960-61 relative to population growth, and calling for the Janata Party to make abolishing destitution within ten years its central economic goal. He closes by cataloguing India's shortfalls in irrigation, fertiliser use, mechanised power and agricultural credit, arguing these are correctable with land-based resources rather than requiring new capital, provided savings are not siphoned off through price manipulation favouring industry. - The end of the Emergency is only 'a new lease of life for democracy,' not a solution to the poverty and corruption that produced it. - Per-capita consumption of foodgrains and pulses has fallen even as foodgrain imports have nearly doubled between the early 1950s and the mid-1970s. - Per-capita agricultural production in 1976-77 was below 1960-61 levels in real terms, while rural incomes lag urban incomes by a widening ratio. - Industrial growth rates have also declined, which the author attributes to weak agricultural demand. - India's irrigated area is only about 30% against a potential of 80%, fertiliser use per hectare is a small fraction of requirement, and agricultural credit from nationalised banks is a small share of total lending. - The author calls on the Janata Party to make eliminating destitution within ten years its central economic mission, funded by redirecting agricultural savings rather than new industrial investment. ### Dancing With the Soviet Bear *By "Cato"* Writing under the pseudonym 'Cato,' the author argues that Soviet praise for the Janata government's foreign policy continuity is opportunistic hypocrisy, given the Soviet Union's unabashed support for Indira Gandhi's Emergency and its condemnation of Jayaprakash Narayan and other opposition leaders as 'fascists' and 'anti-national' while the Emergency lasted. The essay traces the CPI's parallel reversal — from celebrating the Emergency's 'invaluable' role in 1976 to a 1977 party resolution admitting the public's 'sense of suffocation and fear' — and situates this within a broader pattern of Soviet-aligned communist parties courting nationalist governments (citing the Indonesian PKI's strategy under Aidit during Sukarno's rule) while positioning themselves to seize power once such governments falter. It closes by noting the CPI's collapsed Lok Sabha tally after the 1977 election and warns the Janata government against the same credulity Indira Gandhi's regime showed toward Soviet friendship. - The Soviet Union 'unabashedly supported' the Emergency and denounced JP Narayan, Morarji Desai and other Janata leaders as fascists and anti-national while it lasted. - The CPI's own National Council admitted, only two months after praising the Emergency's 'mistakes and excesses' had ended, that it had underestimated public fear and suffocation under Emergency rule. - The essay compares Soviet strategy in India to the Indonesian PKI's strategy of inflating a nationalist president's power under Sukarno, which ended in the PKI's destruction. - The CPI's Lok Sabha seat count fell from 23 to 7, and its vote share from 4.73% to 2.82%, in the post-Emergency election. - The essay criticises Indian politicians (naming Rajni Patel and citing V. I. Sizov) for extending an overly warm welcome to Soviet officials after the change of government. ### Rajaji Centenary *By K. Vedamurthy* K. Vedamurthy marks the approaching centenary of C. Rajagopalachari's birth, revealing that Rajaji's true birth date (established while assisting the Rajaji Biography Committee) was December 10, 1878, rather than the December 8 long celebrated by admirers — a date that happens to coincide with Human Rights Day. The essay reviews Rajaji's early advocacy against caste and untouchability predating Gandhi's involvement, his late-life turn to opposing nuclear weapons testing (including a 1962 meeting with President Kennedy that Kennedy credited as a major civilising influence), and closes with an appeal that India and the world mark Rajaji's centenary year, from December 10 1977, as an International Year of Human Rights. - Rajaji's correct birth date was established as December 10, 1878, not the December 8 traditionally celebrated — a date coinciding with Human Rights Day, adopted by the UN in 1948 on Rajaji's seventieth birthday. - Rajaji campaigned against caste and untouchability from early in the century, before Gandhi made it a central plank of the freedom movement. - At age 84, Rajaji made his only trip abroad to campaign for a treaty suspending nuclear tests, meeting President Kennedy in 1962. - President Kennedy is quoted telling an aide that Rajaji's impact on him was one of the most civilising influences since he became President. - The essay calls for December 10, 1977 to be marked as the start of an 'International Year of Human Rights' in Rajaji's honour. ### Torture & Preventive Detention - II *By S. A. A. Pinto* S. A. A. Pinto continues his critique of torture and preventive detention (part II), arguing that Emergency-era police brutality was merely an intensification of long-standing 'normal' practice rather than a new phenomenon, with Naxalite detainees treated as especially fair game. He explains that Indian law already criminalises torture (IPC sections 330-331) but that enforcement against police is almost nonexistent, and that preventive-detention regimes leave detainees especially vulnerable since they are held without trial. He recounts personally witnessing an unprovoked police beating of a young man near Grant Road Station in April 1977, and describes degrading conditions at Bombay's remand court as unchanged despite thirty years of independence. Citing constitutional scholar H. M. Seervai's defence of preventive detention as consistent with a responsible Executive, Pinto argues the Congress-era record of unconstrained one-party rule shows this trust was misplaced, and closes by quoting V. G. Ramachandran's warning that unchecked executive power over personal liberty invites 'abject slavery.' - Torture is already criminalised under IPC sections 330-331 (up to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment for 'grievous hurt'), but prosecutions of police are rare. - Naxalite detainees are described as treated as 'sub-human' and an especially common target of custodial abuse, both before and during the Emergency. - Pinto recounts eyewitnessing a policeman beating a young man near Grant Road Station, Bombay, in April 1977, with no bystander intervention. - Bombay's remand court (formerly the Chief Police Court) is described as physically decrepit and largely populated by the poorest of the poor, many undernourished or ill. - Constitutional scholar H. M. Seervai's defence of preventive detention (relying on U.S. Justice Jackson's dictum that a bill of rights must not be a 'suicide pact') is challenged as 'doctrinaire' given the Congress's actual record of unchecked one-party rule for 30 years. - The essay calls for publicising victims' rights, exemplary punishment of officers who torture, forensic-lab funding, and sustained press/judicial vigilance. ### Free Society the End, Democracy the Means (Conclusions of the seminar organised by the Leslie Sawhney Programme on 'Strengthening the Non-political Roots of a Free Society') This unsigned report summarises the conclusions of a seminar organised by the Leslie Sawhney Programme on 'Strengthening the Non-Political Roots of a Free Society,' drawing participants from public life, management, law, academia, journalism and the Sarvodaya movement. The seminar agreed that democratic process is only a means to a free, pluralistic, non-exploitative society, and that the Emergency exposed how fragile non-political civic roots are when the state concentrates power. Discussion ranged across education reform, caste and gender inequality, media concentration and press freedom (criticising both the Emergency-era Prevention of Objectionable Matter Act and continuing 'subtle threats' after its repeal), the shortcomings of the Chanda Committee's recommendations on broadcasting, and the need to decentralise power and cultivate 'grass-roots vigilance' rather than relying on periodic elections alone to safeguard a free society. - Participants included Achyut Patwardhan, Prof. V. V. John, M. R. Masani, P. G. Mavalankar, Soli Sorabji, C. R. Irani, Piloo Mody, Balraj Madhok, Prof. Ram Joshi, Khushwant Singh, Shamim Ahmed Shamim, Col. Manohar Malgonkar, Prof. B. R. Shenoy, K. D. Desai, Narayan Desai, Dr. (Mrs.) Promila Kapur, Dr. C. Kulshrestha, Kanshi Ram, and Jehangir Patel. - The seminar held that democracy is a means to a free, pluralistic, non-exploitative society, not an end in itself, and that non-political civic roots need active strengthening. - Education reform, decentralised small-scale projects, and reduced political interference in curricula were urged, citing a Prime Minister's office directive to withdraw a textbook as an example of political interference. - The seminar criticised continuing government control of newsprint and advertising (DAVP) as tools for disciplining the press, and found the Chanda Committee's recommendations on broadcasting undermined by a new, delay-inducing committee. - Caste, gender inequality and rural poverty were identified as key non-political fault lines requiring 'radical change' in resource allocation toward agriculture. - The seminar concluded that periodic elections alone cannot safeguard a free society; continuous accountability and grass-roots vigilance, alongside a decentralised, participative society, are needed. ### World View (news digest: Coke Success Abhorrent; Transfer Secrets or Leave; Sikkim Plea to India; Political Magic) The 'World View' digest reprints excerpts from the foreign press on three stories: the Wall Street Journal and New York Times coverage of the Indian government's demand that Coca-Cola transfer majority ownership and technical know-how to Indian shareholders or leave the country, forcing Industries Minister George Fernandes's policy into an international dispute; a Calcutta-datelined report on Sikkimese politician Nar Bahadur Khatiwada's secret petition to Prime Minister Morarji Desai denouncing India's 1975 annexation of Sikkim as 'imperialist and expansionist,' with signatures from elected Sikkim Assembly members and an appeal for Jayaprakash Narayan's support; and a Bombay-datelined piece on the persistence of astrology and occult practice in contemporary Indian politics, including the release of a man arrested for ticketless travel after invoking a connection to Raj Narain. - The Wall Street Journal editorially backed Coca-Cola against the Indian government's demand to dilute foreign equity to 40% and share its formula, calling Industry Minister George Fernandes's policy self-defeating. - The New York Times reported the Indian government gave Coca-Cola a year (from April) to transfer 60% of equity to Indian shareholders or cease operations. - Sikkimese politician Nar Bahadur Khatiwada, once a supporter of merger with India, presented Prime Minister Morarji Desai a petition signed by ten, including four elected Sikkim Assembly members, alleging India's role in a 'phoney revolution' during the 1973 unrest and the 1975 abolition of the monarchy. - Khatiwada's delegation sought support from Jayaprakash Narayan in Patna en route to New Delhi. - A Bombay item recounts a man in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh arrested for a fake railway pass being released after invoking his connections to controversial minister Raj Narain, allegedly due to his reputation as a Tantra expert. ### In Memory of Groucho Marx A short unsigned tribute reprints several of Groucho Marx's best-known witticisms following his death on August 19 at age 86, paired with a cartoon commenting on U.S.-China-Taiwan relations reprinted from The Guardian. - The tribute marks Groucho Marx's death in hospital at age 86 with a selection of his famous one-liners. - It notes his brothers Harpo and Chico, who both died in the 1960s, had promised to contact him from the afterlife if possible. ### Letter: No Suicide for Israel *By M. Savidor, Member of Knesset* A letter to the editor from M. Savidor, a Member of the Knesset, rejects characterisations of Israel's negotiating stance as intransigent, arguing that Israel is willing to negotiate a full peace treaty with freedom of movement across borders, but rejects the Arab position that Israel must first surrender all 'occupied' territories and recognise a Palestinian state before any negotiation. Savidor states that 95% of Israelis would rather remain 'intransigent' than accept such preconditions, and that Israel will not commit suicide under external pressure. - Savidor rejects the charge of Israeli intransigence as 'malicious propaganda.' - He states Israel is willing to negotiate a full peace treaty with freedom of movement across borders. - He rejects preconditions requiring Israel to cede all occupied territories and recognise Palestinian statehood before negotiations. - He states that 95% of Israelis would rather be called 'intransigent' than accept those preconditions. - The letter closes: 'We are not going to commit suicide and nobody will force us to do so.' ### Review: President's Rule by S. R. Maheshwari (MacMillan) *By Girish Munshi* Girish Munshi reviews S. R. Maheshwari's book 'President's Rule' (MacMillan, Rs. 50, 216 pp.), which surveys the 36 impositions of President's Rule across Indian states, the constitutional genesis of Article 356, and the roles of the President, Central Government, Parliament and Governors in its use. The review notes Maheshwari's finding that President's Rule was imposed 7, 9 and 16 times respectively in 1950-66, 1967-70 and 1971-76, a rising frequency the reviewer finds under-explained given the Congress's growing electoral dominance in the same period. Munshi credits the book with raising, though not fully answering, pointed questions about whether Article 356 has been used to serve the ruling party's factional interests, bypass rival parties, or reverse unwelcome policy decisions, and about the conduct of Governors and central ministers deputed to handle President's Rule. - Maheshwari's book documents 36 impositions of President's Rule and identifies six recurring causal patterns: party instructions, defections, withdrawal of coalition support, agitation, corruption, and necessity. - President's Rule was imposed 7 times in 1950-66, 9 times in 1967-70, and 16 times in 1971-76, despite the Congress's sweeping 1971 Lok Sabha majority (352 of 518 seats). - The review notes the Supreme Court's ruling in U.N.R. Rao v. Smt. Indira Gandhi (AIR 1971 SC 1002) established the President has no independent powers beyond the advice of the Council of Ministers. - Munshi faults the book for not adequately explaining why the frequency of imposition rose so sharply from 1971-76 despite Congress's electoral dominance. - The review lists further unanswered questions the book raises: whether Article 356 was used to rescue state-level factions, deny rival parties governance, or reverse unwelcome policy, and whether appointing central ministers to oversee President's Rule undermines Governors' constitutional standing. ### With Many Voices (quotations column) The regular 'With Many Voices' page compiles short quotations from contemporary public figures on power, liberty, and government, drawn from the world press of July-September 1977, alongside the issue's subscription form and publication colophon. - Quotations range across Margaret Thatcher on communism and fascism as 'two feet' of socialism, Jimmy Carter on American foreign policy, N. A. Palkhiwala on the 42nd Amendment, and the Prince of Wales on Britain's Commonwealth. - The page also includes A. D. Gorwala on individual civic responsibility and quotations on the corrupting effect of political power. - The colophon confirms the issue was published for Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel, Associate Editor, at 127 M. Gandhi Rd, Bombay, and printed at States' People Press, Fort, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff301/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 301 (December 1977) appears five months into the Janata Party government that replaced Indira Gandhi's Congress regime after the Emergency. The issue's center of gravity is the editor M. R. Masani's essay 'We've Been Through This Before,' which argues that the Emergency was not an aberration but the culmination of a quarter-century of statist economic planning and institutional indiscipline, and which closes by questioning whether Janata's leaders — and Jayaprakash Narayan personally — can live up to their own austerity pledge. Around this centerpiece the issue assembles a 'Wisdom from New Delhi' feature reprinting extracts from two sitting Union Cabinet ministers, Charan Singh (Home Minister) and George Fernandes (Industries Minister), each making a market-friendly, anti-planning case in his own idiom; a report by S. V. Raju on the Indian Liberal Group's absorption into Janata; a compilation of world news items (Rhodesia, Soviet aid, British trade unions, Tito's Yugoslavia); a review by S. P.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 301 (December 1977) appears five months into the Janata Party government that replaced Indira Gandhi's Congress regime after the Emergency. The issue's center of gravity is the editor M. R. Masani's essay 'We've Been Through This Before,' which argues that the Emergency was not an aberration but the culmination of a quarter-century of statist economic planning and institutional indiscipline, and which closes by questioning whether Janata's leaders — and Jayaprakash Narayan personally — can live up to their own austerity pledge. Around this centerpiece the issue assembles a 'Wisdom from New Delhi' feature reprinting extracts from two sitting Union Cabinet ministers, Charan Singh (Home Minister) and George Fernandes (Industries Minister), each making a market-friendly, anti-planning case in his own idiom; a report by S. V. Raju on the Indian Liberal Group's absorption into Janata; a compilation of world news items (Rhodesia, Soviet aid, British trade unions, Tito's Yugoslavia); a review by S. P. Aiyar of 'The Press She Could Not Whip,' an anthology of foreign press commentary on the Emergency; and the recurring 'With Many Voices' page of aphoristic press quotations. The volume's evident stance is classical-liberal and anti-Congress/anti-Emergency, skeptical of both socialist planning and unchecked executive power, while withholding unconditional trust from the new Janata government as well. ## Essays ### We've Been Through This Before *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's lead essay, reproduced from an article he wrote for the American journal Asian Affairs, argues against reading the 1975 Emergency as a sudden aberration in Indian democracy. He traces its roots to the character of India's public life — 'too much politics, too little citizenship' — and to the economic pattern set by the Second Five-Year Plan, which he says built up Statism incompatible with democracy. He invokes Benedetto Croce's warning that free societies need autonomous social forces (the landed farmer, the shopkeeper, the independent professional) to survive, and argues India let those forces atrophy. He quotes at length from Nirad Chaudhuri's Encounter essay depicting Indira Gandhi's rule as an inherited, pathological extension of her father Jawaharlal Nehru's authority, and from A. D. Gorwalla's Opinion column, which withheld unconditional support from the new Janata government even while welcoming it. Masani closes by asking pointedly whether Jayaprakash Narayan can hold politicians to their pledge of austerity and honesty, or whether he will instead be tarred by their compromises, drawing a parallel to Gandhiji being sidelined by Nehru and Patel after 1947. - Frames the Emergency as the culmination of 25 years of statist planning and weak citizenship, not a one-off aberration. - Blames excessive emphasis on heavy industry since the Second Five-Year Plan for building an incompatible-with-democracy 'Statism'. - Invokes Croce's thesis that democracy requires autonomous social forces (farmers, shopkeepers, professionals) as a bulwark against centralized power. - Quotes Nirad Chaudhuri's argument that Indira Gandhi's autocracy was a natural, hereditary extension of Nehru's own authority, not a rupture from it. - Cites A. D. Gorwalla's conditional, skeptical support for the new Janata government despite welcoming the end of 'unbridled tyranny'. - Questions whether Jayaprakash Narayan can hold Janata politicians to their pledge of 'austerity and honesty in personal and public life' underwritten at the March 24, 1977 New Delhi ceremony. - Draws a historical parallel between JP's position and Gandhiji being sidelined by Nehru and Patel after the 1947 transfer of power. ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post The unsigned 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' editorial column offers short, sharp commentary on current affairs: it praises Sri Lanka's United National Party government for liberalising foreign exchange controls and dismantling state import monopolies as a model the Janata government in Delhi has not matched despite Prime Minister Morarji Desai's free-market rhetoric; it welcomes the Carter administration's withdrawal from the ILO over the organisation's tolerance of Soviet-bloc labour repression and its politicisation around Israel; it criticizes the Indian government for caving to an 'Arab lobby' by blocking a Bombay concert by conductor Zubin Mehta's Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra; and it questions India's decision to gift 28,000 tonnes of wheat to the Soviet Union as loan repayment while domestic poverty persists. - Praises Sri Lanka's UNP government for liberalising foreign exchange, ending state import monopolies, and abolishing its Ministry of Economic Planning, contrasting this with New Delhi's slower reforms. - Welcomes President Carter's withdrawal of the US from the ILO over its tolerance of forced labour in Soviet-bloc states and politicisation against Israel. - Criticizes the Indian government for blocking a planned Zubin Mehta/Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra concert in Bombay due to pressure from an 'Arab lobby' in the Ministry of External Affairs. - Questions India's gift of 28,000 tonnes of wheat to the Soviet Union as loan repayment, citing criticism from Janata MP Dr. Subramaniam Swamy that domestic poor lack sufficient food. - Notes Prime Minister Morarji Desai's public statements favouring foreign capital, decentralisation, and press freedom, while asking whether these liberal concepts will be implemented in practice. ### New Role for Indian Liberals: Indian Liberal Group Report to Liberal International *By Mr. S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju, writing as a member of the Indian Liberal Group for the Liberal International's newsletter, reports that former Swatantra Party liberals merged into the new Janata Party (People's Party) coalition alongside left-wing socialists and former Congressmen. He argues the 1977 election results vindicated the liberal view that 'bread and freedom are indivisible,' notes that many former Swatantra rank-and-file campaigned for Janata candidates and some were elected to the Lok Sabha and state legislatures, and highlights that the new Finance Minister, H. M. Patel, is a former Swatantra Party president. Raju concludes that liberals' 'real role' is only now beginning, as they must build on public awareness of individual liberty and the idea of bread accompanied by freedom. - Reports the merger of the erstwhile Swatantra Party (described as 'the Liberal party in India') into the new Janata Party coalition. - Credits the liberal position that 'bread and freedom are indivisible' with being vindicated by the 1977 election results. - Notes former Swatantra members were elected to the Lok Sabha and state legislatures, and some became ministers. - Identifies Finance Minister H. M. Patel as a former Swatantra Party president. - Frames the Janata Party manifesto as combining liberal individual-liberty concerns with some retained 'socialist nostrums'. ### Wisdom From New Delhi (Mr. Charan Singh interview; Mr. George Fernandes speech) This feature reprints extracts from statements by two Union Cabinet ministers. Home Minister Charan Singh, interviewed by a weekly journal, argues that India's economic troubles stem from decades of neglecting agriculture in favour of heavy industry, a pattern he traces to the Second Five-Year Plan framed under Nehru's government on the advice of P. C. Mahalanobis. He cites Nehru's own later admissions of the mistake and criticizes concentrated economic power, corruption in the public sector (citing B. R. Shenoy's study), and excessive trade union power, while favouring cottage- and small-scale industry over big-scale production. Industries Minister George Fernandes, addressing the Bombay Chamber of Commerce, argues that genuine full employment requires more than makeshift work, calls for building rural purchasing power rather than concentrating it in cities, and stresses that neither public nor private sector should be treated as inherently virtuous or vicious — each has its role. - Charan Singh blames three interlinked problems — scarcity, unemployment, and income disparity — on decades of neglect of agriculture in favour of heavy industry. - He traces the shift to the Second Five-Year Plan, framed under Nehru's government on planner P. C. Mahalanobis's advice, which cut agriculture's budget share from 37% to 17.5% and raised industry's to 23.8%. - He cites Nehru's own 1963 Lok Sabha admissions that the Planning Commission's approach caused unemployment and concentrated economic power. - He invokes B. R. Shenoy's study estimating that 20-40% of public sector investment gets diverted into private incomes through corruption. - He advocates cottage- and small-scale production wherever feasible, arguing large-scale industry both worsens trade-union 'headaches' and manufactures goods better suited to smaller producers. - George Fernandes argues true employment must 'satisfy' workers rather than simply keep them occupied, and that India needs roughly 10 million new jobs a year for a decade. - Fernandes calls for diffusing purchasing power to rural areas rather than concentrating it in cities, framing this as necessary for industrial growth itself. - Fernandes insists neither the public nor private sector is inherently virtuous, and that government policy should eliminate the vices and cultivate the virtues of both. ### World News The 'World News' compilation reprints extracts from international press coverage: Patrick Keatley in the Guardian on the EEC's criticism of the Soviet bloc's minimal development aid to the Third World; Ian Mills in the Guardian reporting that returning Rhodesian guerrilla leader James Chikerema now supports two of Ian Smith's settlement demands; a Neue Zuercher Zeitung piece on the difficulty of finding representative black leadership for a Rhodesian settlement; Times and Sunday Times survey data showing British public opposition to bank nationalisation and ambivalence about trade unions; a Commercial Appeal report on the ten drugs found in Elvis Presley's system at his death; and Michael Dobbs in the Guardian on Yugoslav President Tito's wife Jovanka being investigated for exceeding her political influence. - EEC Development Commissioner Claude Cheysson criticized the Soviet bloc for giving barely 7% of what OECD nations give in Third World development aid. - Returning Rhodesian guerrilla leader James Chikerema surprised observers by backing Ian Smith's demands for a parliamentary blocking mechanism and retention of Rhodesia's armed forces. - British survey data shows most trade union members themselves oppose the closed shop and mass picketing, and majorities across parties oppose bank nationalisation. - Elvis Presley's autopsy found ten drugs in his bloodstream at death, including an antihistamine, codeine, and demerol. - Yugoslav sources confirm President Tito's wife Jovanka is being investigated by a commission over her influence on political and military appointments. ### Review: The Press She Could Not Whip (ed. Amiya Rao and B. G. Rao) *By S. P. Aiyar* S. P. Aiyar reviews 'The Press She Could Not Whip,' edited by Amiya Rao and B. G. Rao (Popular Prakashan, 1977), an anthology of foreign press writing about the 1975-77 Indian Emergency drawn from 52 newspapers and periodicals across the US, UK, France, Germany, Australia, Pakistan and Hong Kong. Aiyar credits foreign correspondents with maintaining a courage the domestic press generally lacked under censorship, citing examples such as David Selbourne's Guardian dispatches exposing sycophancy toward Indira Gandhi and R. K. Karanjia's fawning Blitz commentary, alongside Oriana Fallacci's account of Mrs. Gandhi's candid, embittered remarks after an interview. Aiyar judges the book valuable for understanding the Emergency and Mrs. Gandhi's character, though he notes minor production flaws (poor-quality paper degrading cartoon reproductions) and wishes the editors' introduction said more about censors' interference with foreign journalists. - The anthology draws from 52 foreign newspapers and periodicals covering the Emergency, including the Economist, Times, and Guardian. - Aiyar argues foreign correspondents' scrutiny helped restore Indian and world opinion in favour of democracy where the domestic press had largely capitulated. - Cites David Selbourne's Guardian articles exposing sycophancy and Bonapartism around Mrs. Gandhi's regime, and R. K. Karanjia's uncritical Blitz praise of her as a figure of 'highly evolved Renaissance mind'. - Recounts Oriana Fallacci's interview anecdote in which Mrs. Gandhi, believing herself unheard, called herself 'surrounded by a bunch of idiots. And Democracy!' - Notes minor criticisms: some cartoons are poorly reproduced due to paper quality, and the editors' introduction underexplains their own encounters with censorship. ### With Many Voices The closing 'With Many Voices' page compiles short aphoristic quotations on current affairs from the international and Indian press, spanning topics from non-alignment and monarchical government to trade unions and Cold War posturing, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. The page also carries the subscription form for Freedom First, published by the Democratic Research Service, and the issue's printing/registration colophon naming J. R. Patel as Associate Editor and publisher. - Compiles brief quotations from figures including Ram Jethmalani, B. P. Koirala, Margaret Thatcher, Peter Jay, Piloo Mody, and various newspapers on contemporary political topics. - Piloo Mody is quoted repeatedly on Mrs. Gandhi's political dilemma regarding her son Sanjay and the difficulty of assessing her role independent of him. - Carries the Freedom First subscription form (annual subscription Rs. 5.00) addressed to the Democratic Research Service, Bombay. - The colophon records the issue was published by J. R. Patel, Associate Editor, and printed at States' People Press, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff302/ ### Summary This January 1978 issue of Freedom First opens with editor M. R. Masani's editorial 'Terrorism on the Home Front,' which argues that India's professed fight against international terrorism (invoked in response to the Mogadishu hijacking) rings hollow while labour militancy at home takes the form of gheraos, armed intimidation of managers, and factory lockouts, citing detailed press accounts from Brakes India (Madras), Mukund Iron & Steel, and Amar Dye Chem. The issue carries M. Murlidhar's analysis of the erosion of Marxist ideology among Soviet youth under the pull of consumerism; the 'Delhi Declaration on Press Freedom,' a seven-point charter drafted by Indian journalists in consultation with the International Press Institute and the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung; a compilation of press reactions to Anwar Sadat's Jerusalem visit; Ernest van den Haag's philosophical essay 'Justice and the Market,' which argues that market outcomes are not meant to track moral desert and defends market-based inequality against Marxist and redistributive critiques; an anonymous letter from a white Rhodesian objecting to British-brokered majority-rule proposals; a 'World News' digest of wire-service c… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This January 1978 issue of Freedom First opens with editor M. R. Masani's editorial 'Terrorism on the Home Front,' which argues that India's professed fight against international terrorism (invoked in response to the Mogadishu hijacking) rings hollow while labour militancy at home takes the form of gheraos, armed intimidation of managers, and factory lockouts, citing detailed press accounts from Brakes India (Madras), Mukund Iron & Steel, and Amar Dye Chem. The issue carries M. Murlidhar's analysis of the erosion of Marxist ideology among Soviet youth under the pull of consumerism; the 'Delhi Declaration on Press Freedom,' a seven-point charter drafted by Indian journalists in consultation with the International Press Institute and the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung; a compilation of press reactions to Anwar Sadat's Jerusalem visit; Ernest van den Haag's philosophical essay 'Justice and the Market,' which argues that market outcomes are not meant to track moral desert and defends market-based inequality against Marxist and redistributive critiques; an anonymous letter from a white Rhodesian objecting to British-brokered majority-rule proposals; a 'World News' digest of wire-service clippings on Soviet dissidents, Sino-Soviet polemics, apartheid pass-law reform, and the Pepsi-Vodka barter deal; a theatre review of 'Man of La Mancha' by Geeta Doctor; a TV review of a debate between Rafiq Zakaria and Minoo Masani; a book review by Nitin Raut of the Robin Blackburn-edited 'Explosion in a Subcontinent'; and a closing page of quotations, 'With Many Voices,' plus the subscription form. ## Essays ### Terrorism On The Home Front *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's editorial contrasts India's vocal support for the international fight against terrorism (following the German commando raid on the hijacked Lufthansa jet at Mogadishu) with its tolerance of what he calls domestic terrorism: gheraos, armed intimidation, and violence against factory managers and supervisory staff, carried out under cover of trade-union agitation. He opens with a Times of India report of workers at a Kanpur cotton mill stripping and beating the manager, Mr. Agarwal, and threatening to throw him into a boiler, with police and the District Magistrate unable to intervene because of the workers' weapons. Masani argues this is 'no aberration but a deliberate pattern of intimidation and of violence,' continued in the article's second part on pages 12-13 with further documented cases (Brakes India, Mukund Iron & Steel, Amar Dye Chem, and the Bombay Khadi Gramodyog Sangh) and a call for the government to show the resolve of the Mogadishu and Entebbe raids against domestic 'Mafia rule.' - Contrasts India's rhetorical commitment to fighting international terrorism with its inaction against domestic industrial violence. - Opens with a Times of India account of workers at a Kanpur cotton mill gheraoing and beating the manager, Mr. Agarwal, and threatening to burn him. - Argues that hooliganism and goondaism, not legitimate collective bargaining, are becoming the dominant mode of industrial relations in 1977. - Documents lockouts at Brakes India (Madras), Mukund Iron & Steel Works, and Amar Dye Chem (Kalyan) using management's own detailed accounts of worker violence, gheraos, and manufactured weapons. - Notes that the contagion spread to Khadi Bhandars and the Bombay cloth and drug markets via 'gumasta' union goondaism. - Calls this 'Mafia Rule' rather than trade unionism, and blames all parties in office (Janata in U.P., Congress in Bombay, ADMK in Madras) equally for tolerating it. - Closes by invoking the 'spirit of Mogadishu and Entebbe' as the resolve needed to confront domestic terrorism on the industrial front. ### Changing Values Of Soviet Youth *By M. Murlidhar* M. Murlidhar surveys Soviet-era research and press accounts (Pravda, Izvestia) suggesting that Soviet youth, shaped by the industrial culture imported alongside Western trade and technical know-how, increasingly prize material well-being, lucrative careers, and consumer goods over Marxist ideals of collective sacrifice. He cites surveys showing declining rural Komsomol membership, complaints from Soviet educators about students avoiding compulsory Marxism coursework, and an anecdote of an American scholar's conversation with a Moscow student who said 'we spend our time avoiding' ideology classes. Murlidhar concludes that Soviet authorities face a structural dilemma: they need Western trade and aid to modernize, but that same exposure to Western consumer culture is eroding the Marxist commitment of their own youth. - Argues that Soviet engagement with Western trade and technology has imported a 'purely western' industrial culture alongside material goods. - Cites a study finding 55 per cent of young respondents ranked material well-being as a major life aspiration. - Describes Izvestia's report of a talented young metal worker unhappy at being denied an engineering post, and Pravda's disappointment at youth volunteering for construction/agricultural projects for pay rather than socialist conviction. - Notes declining rural Komsomol membership (halved over five years in the Smolensk region) as youth prefer urban life. - Reports that compulsory Marxism study is resented and avoided even by science and maths students, with rising absenteeism from ideology courses. - Concludes the Soviet leadership faces a dilemma: it needs Western aid and trade, but this same exposure erodes the Marxist commitment of Soviet youth. ### Delhi Declaration On Press Freedom This unsigned item reproduces a seven-point 'Delhi Declaration on Press Freedom,' drafted by a group of Indian journalists in discussions held around the country under the auspices of the International Press Institute and the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung, with input from British, American, Italian, and French participants. Presented at a final meeting in Delhi on 26 November 1977 in the presence of the Minister for Information and Broadcasting, L. C. Advani, the declaration asserts that press freedom is the foundation of all liberty, that the press must have an adversarial watchdog role, that citizens must be free to choose their reading, that editors must have autonomy from management, that a self-regulating Press Council is needed, that multiple competitive news agencies free of government control are essential, and that broadcast media should be run by genuinely autonomous agencies. - Reproduces a seven-point declaration on press freedom drafted by Indian journalists with international input via the IPI and Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung. - States that freedom of the press is 'at the heart of all liberty' and that a free press must play an adversarial watchdog role over government. - Calls for editorial independence from newspaper management/ownership within an agreed policy framework. - Recommends a Press Council for self-regulation, and multiple competitive news agencies free of government control. - Calls for free and competitive radio and television regulated by genuinely autonomous agencies, not state monopoly. - Notes the declaration was presented on 26 November 1977 in Delhi in the presence of Minister L. C. Advani. ### Sadat: Contrasting Attitudes A compilation of press excerpts under the heading 'Sadat: Contrasting Attitudes,' juxtaposing Jayaprakash Narayan's and Kashmir Chief Minister Sheikh Abdullah's warm praise of President Sadat's 'courageous' and 'bold' decision to visit Jerusalem against the Indian Foreign Ministry's hedging response, which the editors frame as 'opportunist equivocation masquerading as genuine non-alignment.' The excerpts are drawn from the Indian Express, Statesman, and Blitz of November 1977. - Juxtaposes JP Narayan's and Sheikh Abdullah's praise for Sadat's Jerusalem visit against India's Foreign Ministry's evasive, non-committal reaction. - Frames the contrast as one of 'sincerity and courage' versus 'opportunist equivocation masquerading as genuine non-alignment.' - Reports that the Indian government's initial welcome of the visit was followed by a retreat into official silence to avoid offending Arab states. - Notes that the US ambassador and Indian diplomat Palkhivala had prematurely congratulated the Foreign Ministry on its stance before it reversed course. ### Justice And The Market *By Ernest Van Den Haag* Ernest van den Haag, professor of social philosophy at New York University, argues that the economic system that produces the greatest output is also the one that most visibly raises the problem of distributive justice, but insists that market value and moral desert are conceptually distinct: the market rewards scarcity and demand, not virtue. Quoting Hayek's dictum that it is 'meaningless' to call market distribution just or unjust, van den Haag partly disagrees — the market is not meaningless but simply irrelevant to moral desert, since it distributes according to incentives rather than justice. He then subjects Marx's implicit ideal of distribution 'according to need' to a three-part critique: the ability to buy and sell is unevenly distributed under both capitalism and socialism (with socialist workers demonstrably no freer or richer); Marx conflated innate differences in ability with unequal opportunity, when evidence (citing Christopher Jencks) shows ability differences are substantially inborn; and pure needs-based redistribution divorced from market incentives would require an increasingly coercive state, eroding both prosperity and political freedom. He concludes that a system must supplement market distribution with fiscal redistribution for the poor without destroying market incentives altogether — a task he judges achievable, and necessary to preserve both efficiency and the popular sense of justice. - Distinguishes market value (incentive-based) from moral/economic desert, rejecting the idea that market rewards indicate virtue. - Engages Hayek's claim that it is 'meaningless' to judge market distribution as just or unjust, arguing instead that it is simply irrelevant to justice, not meaningless. - Critiques Marx's implicit reliance, in the Critique of the Gotha Program, on the ideal 'from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.' - Cites Christopher Jencks's research to argue that inequality of earnings owes more to inborn talent and unmeasured 'luck' than to unequal social opportunity. - Argues that existing socialist societies have not equalized power or freedom for workers relative to capitalist societies. - Warns that any attempt to abolish market-based distribution entirely would require government control over production and consumption, threatening civil liberties. - Concludes that fiscal redistribution can supplement, without replacing, market-based incentives to address poverty while preserving both efficiency and freedom. ### A Voice From Rhodesia An anonymous letter from a self-described white Rhodesian moderate, reprinted from the Swiss Press Review and News Report, objects to the Anglo-American negotiating position on Rhodesia's transition to majority rule, arguing that Britain favours the Patriotic Front despite its lack of popular support (compared to Bishop Muzorewa) and that the proposed settlement would strip whites of property and security without guaranteeing protection from Patriotic Front violence. The writer, facing personal ruin at age 48, argues for a settlement between Ian Smith and Bishop Muzorewa that has the support of the country's black and white population, rather than one imposed by outside powers appeasing the more violent faction. - Objects to Britain's and America's favouring of the Patriotic Front over Bishop Muzorewa despite the Front's lack of popular support. - Cites British MP Stephen Hastings's warning that the British proposals risk 'total and immediate collapse of law and order' and civil war. - Describes personal fears of ruin, job loss, and violence facing white Rhodesians under the proposed settlement. - References precedents in Angola and Zambia where whites lost businesses and security after majority transitions. - Argues government legitimacy should not go 'to those who act violently and wage a terrorist war,' comparing the Patriotic Front to West Germany's Baader-Meinhof gang. - Calls instead for a settlement between Ian Smith and Bishop Muzorewa with broad-based black and white support. ### World News A 'World News' compilation of wire-service and newspaper clippings covering: the 60th anniversary of the Russian Revolution and the widening rift between Moscow and 'Eurocommunist' parties (illustrated by Spanish Communist leader Santiago Carrillo's clash with the Kremlin, from the Guardian and William Chislett's Madrid dispatch); French Communist leader Georges Marchais's loss of a libel case over his wartime record (Paul Webster, Paris); Pepsico's vodka-for-Pepsi barter deal with the Soviet Union (Nancy Yoshihara, Los Angeles Times); China's public defence of its anti-Soviet 'Three Worlds' foreign policy (John Gittings); South African Prime Minister Vorster's promise to scrap black pass-books (Ray Kennedy, Johannesburg); dissident Pyotr Grigorenko's plan to keep his U.S. trip apolitical to preserve his chance of returning to the USSR; and further commentary on the diplomatic complexities surrounding Sadat's Jerusalem visit. - Covers the Kremlin's clash with Spanish Communist leader Santiago Carrillo around the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution, reflecting the Soviet-Eurocommunist split. - Reports French Communist leader Georges Marchais losing a libel suit over allegations of his voluntary wartime work in a Nazi aircraft factory. - Describes Pepsico's vodka-for-Pepsi barter arrangement with the USSR and plans for new Soviet bottling plants. - Summarizes China's published defence of its 'Three Worlds' foreign policy doctrine against Brezhnev's criticism. - Reports South African PM Vorster's agreement with black homeland leaders to replace pass-books with travel/identity documents, and Chief Gatsha Buthelezi's refusal to attend the talks. - Notes Soviet dissident Pyotr Grigorenko's statement that he will keep his US trip apolitical to preserve his chance of re-entering the Soviet Union. - Includes further analysis of the diplomatic stakes of Sadat's Jerusalem visit for Israeli-Arab relations. ### Theatre: A Musical Man-Cha *By Geeta Doctor* Geeta Doctor reviews the Theatre Group's Bombay production of 'Man from La Mancha,' directed by Alyque Padamsee, praising Noel Godin's performance as Cervantes/Don Quixote and the minimalist staging built around a dungeon-pit set. She reads the play as a nested series of illusions — Don Quixote's illusion, Cervantes's authorial illusion, and the theatre company's illusion for the audience — culminating in the question 'What is Reality?', and closes by comparing the play's ending, in which Sancho Panza persuades the dying Quijana that his quest was not in vain, to the palm tree silhouetted against the Bombay skyline moon outside the theatre after the show. - Reviews the Theatre Group's Bombay staging of 'Man from La Mancha,' directed by Alyque Padamsee. - Praises the minimalist dungeon-pit set design and its use of a play-within-a-play structure with Cervantes as narrator/protagonist. - Frames the play as revolving around 'a triple series of illusions' - Don Quixote's, Cervantes's, and the Theatre Group's own performance for the audience. - Highlights Noel Godin's performance as Cervantes/Quixote as the production's central strength. - Notes Leon D'Souza's musical direction as key to sustaining the play's illusion. ### TV: Zakaria Comes Off Second Best An unsigned TV review recounts a Vibrations programme in which Rafiq Zakaria interviewed Minoo Masani about his autobiography, moderated by Khushwant Singh. The reviewer describes Zakaria as heavily prepared with hostile, quotation-laden questions but so absorbed in cross-examining Masani that he ran over time and had to be interrupted by Khushwant Singh, while Masani handled every question with composure, ultimately 'coming out on top.' - Reviews a TV 'Vibrations' book special in which Rafiq Zakaria interviewed Minoo Masani about his autobiography, moderated by Khushwant Singh. - Describes Zakaria's questions as heavily researched and adversarial, quoting extensively to challenge Masani. - Notes that Zakaria's questioning ran over time, forcing Khushwant Singh to intervene, and left little room for other participants. - Concludes that Masani handled the interrogation with composure and 'came out on top' despite Zakaria's preparation. ### Books: 'Explosion In A Subcontinent' edited by Robin Blackburn *By Nitin Raut* Nitin Raut reviews 'Explosion in a Subcontinent,' a Penguin collection of essays from New Left Review edited by Robin Blackburn on the 1971 Bangladesh crisis and its regional aftermath. Raut finds the volume analytically capable but ideologically slanted, faulting its contributors (including Meghnad Desai, Premen Addy, Tariq Ali, and Fred Halliday) for a consistent New Left bias that blames the subcontinent's crises on the failures of communism and Communist parties rather than offering balanced analysis, singling out Tariq Ali's claim that Indian intervention in Bangladesh aimed to defeat the Left in West Bengal, and Halliday's attribution of Sri Lanka's youth insurrection to an alleged Chinese-Soviet imperial conspiracy. - Reviews 'Explosion in a Subcontinent,' edited by Robin Blackburn (Penguin, 95 pp.), a collection of New Left Review essays on the 1971 Bangladesh crisis and the subcontinent's politics. - Notes the book's introduction argues the region's only consolation is 'the evident disarray of the leftwing parties.' - Summarizes essays by Meghnad Desai on agrarian contradictions, Premen Addy on Bengal politics, Tariq Ali on Pakistan/Bangladesh, and Fred Halliday on Sri Lanka. - Criticizes Tariq Ali's claim that Indian intervention aimed to 'solve the question of who held state power in Bangladesh' and defeat the Left in West Bengal. - Faults the volume overall as 'highly biased' and bordering on propaganda, reflecting Penguin's perceived growing affinity with the New Left and Communists. ### With Many Voices The issue's final page, 'With Many Voices' (its epigraph taken from Tennyson's 'Ulysses'), reprints a set of short quotations attributed to public figures — including Mrs. Thatcher, Moshe Dayan, President Carter, Adlai Stevenson, Jayaprakash Narayan, Pastor Niemoeller, and Nayantara Sahgal — drawn from October-November 1977 press sources, followed by the Freedom First subscription form (Rs. 5.00 annual) and the publication's colophon naming J. R. Patel as Associate Editor, published for the Democratic Research Service. - Compiles short quotations attributed to public figures (Thatcher, Dayan, Carter, Stevenson, JP Narayan, Niemoeller, Sahgal, and others) from October-November 1977 press sources, under the epigraph from Tennyson's 'Ulysses.' - Includes the Freedom First subscription form listing the annual subscription as Rs. 5.00, addressed care of the Democratic Research Service, Maneckji Wadia Bldg., Bombay. - Colophon states the issue was published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel, Associate Editor, and printed at States' People Press, Fort, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff303/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 303 (February 1978), edited by M. R. Masani, is a compact 16-page issue that opens with Masani's own editorial on press freedom in India, defending the Delhi Declaration's affirmation of the press's 'adversary role' against strictures voiced by Information Minister L. K. Advani. The regular 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' column ranges across the 44th Amendment Bill's incomplete repeal of the Emergency-era 42nd Amendment, the toppling of the Karnataka government under Article 356, the Janata government's stance on education and prohibition, and lighter items on the Australian elections and Christmas iconography. The bulk of the issue is a set of syndicated or contributed pieces on international themes selected to illustrate what the magazine sees as double standards in world opinion: James Burnham dissects the international campaign against Rhodesia's Smith government, Leo Labedz exposes internal Polish censorship directives, Bernard Levin satirises Mongolia's one-candidate-per-seat elections, David K.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 303 (February 1978), edited by M. R. Masani, is a compact 16-page issue that opens with Masani's own editorial on press freedom in India, defending the Delhi Declaration's affirmation of the press's 'adversary role' against strictures voiced by Information Minister L. K. Advani. The regular 'Between You & Me and the Lamp Post' column ranges across the 44th Amendment Bill's incomplete repeal of the Emergency-era 42nd Amendment, the toppling of the Karnataka government under Article 356, the Janata government's stance on education and prohibition, and lighter items on the Australian elections and Christmas iconography. The bulk of the issue is a set of syndicated or contributed pieces on international themes selected to illustrate what the magazine sees as double standards in world opinion: James Burnham dissects the international campaign against Rhodesia's Smith government, Leo Labedz exposes internal Polish censorship directives, Bernard Levin satirises Mongolia's one-candidate-per-seat elections, David K. Shipler reports on Soviet workers persecuted for lodging grievances, and Harry Oppenheimer's address on South Africa argues against simple one-man-one-vote solutions. K. S. Venkateswaran contributes a domestic piece on court backlogs and judicial reform. An unsigned tribute marks the death of Michael Josselson of the Congress for Cultural Freedom. The issue closes with a 'World News' digest of wire clippings, Arnold Beichman's tabulated abstract from Jean-François Revel's The Totalitarian Temptation contrasting what democracies and communist states are respectively permitted to do, readers' letters, and a page of quoted aphorisms ('With Many Voices'). All 16 pages of this issue were rendered, so this summary and the accompanying essay entries cover the complete issue. ## Essays ### The Role of the Press in India *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's lead editorial defends the seven-point Delhi Declaration on 'Press Freedom in India and Democracy', issued jointly by the International Press Institute and the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung in November 1977. Masani takes Information Minister L. K. Advani to task for objecting to the Declaration's claim that the press has 'the inalienable right to an adversary role', arguing that Advani wrongly tries to distinguish India's needs from those of developed democracies. Masani notes that Prime Minister Morarji Desai, by contrast, had endorsed the principle that press freedom should be absolute subject only to laws of libel, obscenity and treason, and warns Advani against falling into the 'vulgar Marxist thesis' that Third World democracies can tolerate diluted press freedom -- the same excuse Masani says Indira Gandhi used to justify her authoritarian Emergency regime. - Defends the Delhi Declaration's affirmation of the press's adversary role against government objections - Criticizes L. K. Advani for taking exception to this clause while addressing the Indian Agricultural Research Institute - Credits PM Morarji Desai with endorsing near-absolute press freedom subject only to libel, obscenity and treason laws - Warns against double standards that would excuse weaker press freedom in developing countries - Frames Indira Gandhi's Emergency-era press curbs as the same logic Advani risks endorsing ### Between You & Me and The Lamp Post The unsigned 'Between You & Me and The Lamp Post' editorial column covers several short items: it criticizes the Janata government's piecemeal repeal of the Emergency-era 42nd Amendment via the 44th Amendment Bill, which leaves 'a great many vicious provisions' intact; it condemns the toppling of the Karnataka Congress government under Article 356 as being of a piece with earlier misuse of the same Article against Mrs. Gandhi's opponents; it welcomes rising press and public criticism of labour-movement 'terrorism' and hooliganism; it mocks the mutual recriminations between communist Vietnam and Cambodia as 'dog eats dog'; it praises Subramaniam Swamy's critique of Foreign Minister Vajpayee's foreign-policy inconsistency; it opposes reviving book censorship despite distaste for 'instant history' books about the Emergency; it commends Education Minister P. C. Chunder for resisting suggestions to abolish public schools or remove education from the Concurrent List; it dismisses a new Railway Accidents Inquiry Committee as likely futile, recalling the Editor's own experience on a similar 1968 committee; it welcomes the Liberal Party's return to power in Australia and Sir Zelman Cowen's appointment as Governor-General; and it closes with a wry item on 'Mother Christmas' and gender equality. - Attacks the 44th Amendment Bill for repealing only a fraction of the 42nd Amendment's 'vicious provisions' - Condemns the dismissal of the Karnataka government under Article 356 as continuing a pattern of federal overreach - Welcomes growing press criticism of trade-union violence and 'Mafia trends in unionism' - Treats the Vietnam-Cambodia conflict as an illustration that Hanoi's regime was itself an aggressor - Praises Subramaniam Swamy's criticism of Vajpayee's foreign policy inconsistency on non-alignment - Opposes reviving censorship of books on the Emergency despite disliking some of their content - Praises Education Minister P. C. Chunder for retaining public schools and resisting centralisation of education - Welcomes the Liberal Party's Australian election win and the appointment of Sir Zelman Cowen as Governor-General ### Tackling the Law's Delays *By K. S. Venkateswaran* K. S. Venkateswaran argues that the Union Law Ministry's proposed legislation to reduce High Court case backlogs is misconceived because it ignores the real cause of delay: long-unfilled judicial vacancies. He argues that simply filling vacancies is not enough either -- India's superior courts need a fundamentally larger sanctioned strength of judges, and quality (choosing judges 'quick in perception, broad in vision, fresh in approach') matters as much as quantity. He criticizes a proposed cap on hearing time (15 minutes at the admission stage, 10 minutes for related matters) as 'manifestly ridiculous' and an affront to advocates' duty to fully marshal facts before the court. Drawing on M. C. Chagla's autobiography Roses in December, Venkateswaran argues that judicial despatch should come from judges' quick grasp of arguments and firm but courteous management of proceedings, not from arbitrary time limits, and closes by praising the exemplary brevity of advocates like Motilal Setalvad. - Blames High Court backlogs primarily on long-unfilled judicial vacancies, citing F. S. Nariman's radio remarks - Argues the sanctioned number of judges itself needs re-assessment, not merely filling of existing vacancies - Calls for better pay and conditions to attract competent senior advocates to judgeships - Criticizes a proposed 15/10-minute time cap on hearings as self-defeating and ridiculous - Cites M. C. Chagla's view that despatch should come from judges' quick understanding, not from hustle - Praises Motilal Setalvad as a model of concise, effective advocacy ### Why Rhodesia? *By James Burnham* James Burnham asks why Rhodesia's Ian Smith government has been singled out by virtually every nation for destruction, and works through a series of candidate explanations -- that it is undemocratic, that it threatens peace, that it violates human rights -- rejecting each as insufficient because many other, more repressive regimes escape comparable censure. He concludes that the 'unforgivable' sin is specifically white racism: ordinary racism, he argues, is pervasive worldwide (citing Japanese treatment of the Ainu, southern Indian Dravidians' treatment by lighter-skinned northerners, Soviet treatment of Jews, Idi Amin's treatment of Ugandan Indians, and Kenyatta's anti-Indian policies) but only when the racism is white is it treated as absolutely unforgivable, a sin proclaimed 'ex cathedra... by the synod of the United Nations.' He ends with the ominous suggestion that Rhodesia is merely 'an appetizer' rather than the last target of such a crusade. - Works through and rejects several proposed explanations for the global campaign against Rhodesia (non-democracy, threat to peace, human rights violations) - Argues that non-democratic and repressive governments are common worldwide and thus cannot explain Rhodesia's unique treatment - Surveys racism in Japan, southern India, Soviet Russia, Uganda, Kenya, and Zanzibar to argue racism itself is not unique to Rhodesia - Concludes that only 'white racism' specifically is treated as the unforgivable sin, driving the anti-Rhodesia campaign - Frames the anti-Rhodesia crusade as proclaimed 'ex cathedra' by the United Nations - Warns that Rhodesia is only 'an appetizer' for a larger campaign, not the 'Last Crusade' ### What the Poles May Read *By Leo Labedz* Leo Labedz, editor of Survey, describes a cache of secret internal documents from Poland's Central Office of Press, Publications and Spectacles Control (COPPSC), covering 1974-1976 and recently smuggled to the West, which reveal in granular bureaucratic detail how Polish censorship actually functions. He characterizes the system as essentially totalitarian, unlimited in scope rather than merely preventive, suppressing entire authors and subjects and operating 'beyond the reality principle.' The documents include quarterly Bulletins analyzing censored material, periodic Information Notes, and continuously updated Directives and Recommendations, and show that censorship functions positively (dictating what should be published) as well as negatively (banning material), with editors and writers internalizing the censors' preferences into pervasive self-censorship. - Introduces a cache of secret 1974-1976 Polish censorship directives smuggled to the West as an unprecedented direct view into totalitarian control mechanisms - Names the Central Office of Press, Publications and Spectacles Control (COPPSC) and its various bulletins, notes and directives - Argues Polish censorship, while more 'fine-fingered' than Soviet censorship, remains essentially totalitarian and unlimited in scope - Describes censorship's positive function: recommending and dictating content, not just suppressing it - Details mechanisms of delay and print-run limitation as supplementary tools of control - Highlights self-censorship by editors and writers as the system's most efficient mechanism ### Elections in Mongolia *By Bernard Levin* In a satirical short piece reproduced from The Times, Bernard Levin mocks the lack of Western press attention to Mongolia's parliamentary elections to the People's Great Hural, in which the Central Electoral Commission reported exactly 354 candidates for exactly 354 constituencies -- one candidate per seat -- and declared the elections to have been held 'in complete accordance with the requirements of the Mongolian People's Republic Constitution.' Levin's dry, deadpan tone underscores the absurdity of describing a one-candidate election as a genuine electoral contest. - Satirizes Western media's neglect of Mongolia's parliamentary elections - Notes that the Central Electoral Commission reported exactly 354 candidates for 354 constituencies - Highlights the Commission's declaration that the election met all constitutional requirements - Uses deadpan irony to expose the absurdity of single-candidate 'elections' ### Workers' Grievances in U.S.S.R. *By David K. Shipler* David K. Shipler, reporting for The New York Times from Moscow, relays testimony from a half-dozen Soviet workers -- a coal miner, a waitress, a locksmith, a housing-maintenance supervisor -- who describe being insulted, dismissed, or confined to psychiatric institutions after complaining about safety violations, embezzlement, or unfair treatment by their bosses. Vladimir Kelbanov, a Donbass coal miner, was dismissed and committed to a psychiatric hospital for four and a half years after protesting dangerous 12-hour shifts. Nadezha Kurakina, a Volgograd waitress who served Fidel Castro, Brezhnev and Kosygin, lost her job and pension rights after reporting theft by restaurant administrators. Anatoli Poznyakov, a Moscow locksmith, was fired after asking for a raise and told he had 'forgotten his destiny... was to eat from a pig's trough'; on a semi-disability pension he was told 'If you can live. If you can't, die.' Because the Soviet state is the only employer, and dismissal is recorded in a worker's 'work booklet', those punished for complaining find themselves permanently unemployable. - Presents first-hand testimony from Soviet workers persecuted for filing formal complaints against employers - Describes coal miner Vladimir Kelbanov's dismissal and four-and-a-half-year psychiatric confinement after protesting unsafe 12-hour shifts - Describes waitress Nadezha Kurakina's dismissal and loss of pension after reporting theft at a restaurant that served Brezhnev and Kosygin - Describes locksmith Anatoli Poznyakov's dismissal after requesting a raise and his subsequent inadequate disability pension - Explains how the Soviet state's monopoly on employment and the 'work booklet' system make dismissal for complaint effectively permanent unemployability - Frames these accounts as evidence of class friction and bureaucratic contempt for workers within a self-described socialist system ### Michael Josselson (The Happy Warrior) An unsigned tribute (evidently by the Editor) marks the death of Michael Josselson in Geneva on 7 January. It recalls Josselson's tenure as chief executive of the Congress for Cultural Freedom in Paris from its founding in 1950 until his retirement in 1967, during which he supported exiles from communist and other dictatorships and built friendships with figures including Jayaprakash Narayan, Kofi Busia, Sidney Hook, Michael Polanyi, Raymond Aron, Ignazio Silone, Arthur Koestler, Manes Sperber, Leo Labedz and Melvin Lasky. It notes the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's warm relationship with him, and that at his death he had just completed a book on the Russian Field Marshal Barclay de Tolly. - Marks the death of Michael Josselson in Geneva on 7 January 1978 - Recalls his role as chief executive of the Congress for Cultural Freedom in Paris (1950-1967) - Lists prominent intellectual friends and allies including Jayaprakash Narayan, Kofi Busia, Sidney Hook, Raymond Aron, Ignazio Silone, Arthur Koestler and Leo Labedz - Notes the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom's appreciation of Josselson - Mentions his completed but unpublished manuscript on Russian Field Marshal Barclay de Tolly ### World News The 'World News' section reproduces a set of short wire-service and press clippings on international affairs: Time magazine's naming of Anwar Sadat as its 1977 Man of the Year (International Herald Tribune); Ulster Protestant objections to a school staging of The Sound of Music (The Times); Oxford's Professor Max Beloff joining the Conservative Party after concluding the Liberals had lost their way (The Times); an appraisal of AFL-CIO leader George Meany's twelfth term and the labour movement's drift (The Economist); a report on the Soviet Union lowering its 1978 production targets amid harvest setbacks (International Herald Tribune); and a note on Soviet consumers being asked to pay more for better-quality clothes and shoes (Guardian). The section resumes after the Oppenheimer piece with further extracts from Harry Oppenheimer's South Africa address, including his warnings against comparisons with newly independent African states and his call for study and sympathetic understanding rather than 'ready-made solutions'. - Reports Time magazine naming Anwar Sadat its 1977 Man of the Year, with an anecdote about rival photographers - Reports Ulster Protestant objections to a school production of The Sound of Music as promoting 'Romanish influences' - Reports Professor Max Beloff's move from the Liberals to the Conservative Party over policy disagreements - Profiles AFL-CIO president George Meany's twelfth term amid declining union membership and buying power - Reports lowered Soviet 1978 production targets due to harvest and industrial setbacks - Reports rising Soviet consumer prices for clothes and shoes despite official claims of no inflation ### Double Standard *By Arnold Beichman (abstracted from Jean Francois Revel's The Totalitarian Temptation)* Harry Oppenheimer, the South African industrialist and mining magnate known for his liberal views and opposition to apartheid-era 'multi-national development' policy, argues in extracts from a Foreign Policy Association address in New York that the United States' condemnation of the South African political system, though justified, should not extend to endorsing a simple one-man-one-vote constitution as the answer. He contends that peaceful change requires convincing white Afrikaners that their identity will not be threatened, and warns that external pressure must be applied with patience, impartial knowledge, and genuine goodwill toward both Blacks and Whites rather than through outside-imposed, previously failed solutions. He criticizes what he sees as an inconsistent American policy toward Angola, Rhodesia and South West Africa that neglects human-rights concerns in favour of backing Black-ruled and armed factions against unarmed Whites and Blacks alike. - Argues US condemnation of apartheid is justified but a simple one-man-one-vote solution is not the answer - Contends peaceful change requires reassuring white Afrikaners that their identity will not be threatened - Calls for external pressure to be applied with patience, impartiality, and goodwill toward both Blacks and Whites - Warns against imposing 'ready-made solutions' that have failed elsewhere in Africa - Criticizes American policy in Angola, Rhodesia and South West Africa as favouring armed Black factions over human rights - Notes most Whites are frightened by American policy while most Blacks are doubtful and confused about it ### Letters: An Unwanted Code *By K. S. Venkateswaran* Arnold Beichman, an American Liberal associated with the AFL-CIO, abstracts passages from Jean-François Revel's The Totalitarian Temptation into a two-column table contrasting what democracies are forbidden to do with what the Soviet Union and Communist parties are permitted to do -- for example, democracies may not condemn Comecon or interfere in others' 'sphere of influence,' while the USSR may condemn the EEC as imperialist and enforce the Brezhnev Doctrine; democracies may not expose genocide in Cambodia or Laos without being accused of interference, while communist states may explain away atrocities as exceptions. The piece is presented as illustrating a systemic double standard applied by international opinion to democracies versus communist states. - Abstracts Jean-François Revel's The Totalitarian Temptation into a tabulated double-standard comparison - Contrasts prohibitions on democracies (e.g., cannot condemn Comecon, cannot expose Soviet nationality suppression) with license granted to communist states - Notes Communist parties may denounce the EEC as imperialist while democracies may not reciprocate - Cites the Brezhnev Doctrine as an example of licensed Soviet interference contrasted with barred Western interference - Frames Western reluctance to challenge communist claims to victimhood as a systemic bias in international opinion ### Letters: Motherless Motherland! *By Jal Irani* Two letters appear in this issue. K. S. Venkateswaran (who also authored the issue's article on court delays) writes 'An Unwanted Code' criticizing the proposed code of ethics for High Court judges as unconstitutional and an affront to judicial independence, arguing it would violate Article 217's procedure for removing High Court judges and praising the judiciary's record during the Emergency despite the ADM Jabalpur habeas corpus judgment. Jal Irani writes 'Motherless Motherland!' criticizing Prime Minister Morarji Desai's stance on Prohibition as stubborn and comparing India's post-independence stagnation unfavourably to West Germany's rapid postwar recovery through free enterprise, blaming Indian politicians' self-aggrandizement and cultural nostalgia for the country's economic failures. - K. S. Venkateswaran's letter criticizes the proposed code of judicial ethics as unconstitutional and inimical to judicial independence - Venkateswaran argues the code's removal procedure would violate Article 217 of the Constitution - Venkateswaran praises the High Courts' record during the Emergency despite criticizing the Supreme Court's Habeas Corpus judgment - Jal Irani's letter criticizes Morarji Desai's rigid stance on Prohibition as prideful stubbornness - Irani contrasts West Germany's rapid free-enterprise-driven postwar recovery with India's perceived stagnation - Irani blames Indian politicians for prioritizing personal glorification and cultural nostalgia over practical development ### With Many Voices The closing 'With Many Voices' page, prefaced by a Tennyson epigraph, presents a miscellany of quoted aphorisms drawn from the international press, including remarks by Morarji Desai on VIPs, Dr. Johnson on examining assumptions, an Observer item on tax collectors, the Prince of Wales on being kissed versus slapped, President Banda on African identity, Colin Welch on prime ministers' sleep, Yehiel Kadishai (Prime Minister Begin's aide) on the welfare state, Dr. John Marsh on multinationals and the approaching end of the century, Alan Paton on missionary activity, Edward Teller on public image, cricketer Bishen Bedi on sportsmanship, George Bernard Shaw on foresight, Henry Kissinger on isolation, and a closing Economist line on Delhi and Katmandu. The page also carries the issue's masthead colophon identifying Freedom First as published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel, Associate Editor, at 127 M. Gandhi Road, Bombay, with a subscriber enrolment coupon addressed to the Democratic Research Service at Maneckji Wadia Bldg. - Presents a curated set of press quotations under the Tennyson-epigraphed title 'With Many Voices' - Includes remarks attributed to Morarji Desai, Dr. Johnson, the Prince of Wales, President Banda, Colin Welch, Yehiel Kadishai, Dr. John Marsh, Alan Paton, Edward Teller, Bishen Bedi, George Bernard Shaw and Henry Kissinger - Closes the issue with the subscription coupon and publication colophon naming J. R. Patel as Associate Editor and the Democratic Research Service as publisher --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff304/ ### Summary This is issue 304 (March 1978) of Freedom First, the Bombay monthly journal of liberal ideas edited by M. R. Masani. The front page carries H. M. Patel's pre-dinner tribute to C. Rajagopalachari ("Rajaji"), delivered at a Rajaji Foundation subscription dinner in Bombay on 22 January 1978, eulogising Rajaji as the "Bhishma of Indian Politics" for his decades-long crusade against monopoly of political and economic power and the "permit-licence-quota Raj". The issue's editorial centrepiece is Masani's own open letter to Finance Minister H. M. Patel ahead of the 1978-79 Union Budget, arguing for drastic cuts in direct and indirect taxation, decontrol, and a German-style (Ludwig Erhard) economic liberalisation. Other contributions include a reprinted British Labour MP's essay on the "totalitarian temptation" in democracies (Raymond Fletcher), a reprinted address by former British Liberal leader Jo Grimond against bureaucratic strangulation of small business, and a foreign-affairs piece on Egypt's Africa anxieties by Victor Perry.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue 304 (March 1978) of Freedom First, the Bombay monthly journal of liberal ideas edited by M. R. Masani. The front page carries H. M. Patel's pre-dinner tribute to C. Rajagopalachari ("Rajaji"), delivered at a Rajaji Foundation subscription dinner in Bombay on 22 January 1978, eulogising Rajaji as the "Bhishma of Indian Politics" for his decades-long crusade against monopoly of political and economic power and the "permit-licence-quota Raj". The issue's editorial centrepiece is Masani's own open letter to Finance Minister H. M. Patel ahead of the 1978-79 Union Budget, arguing for drastic cuts in direct and indirect taxation, decontrol, and a German-style (Ludwig Erhard) economic liberalisation. Other contributions include a reprinted British Labour MP's essay on the "totalitarian temptation" in democracies (Raymond Fletcher), a reprinted address by former British Liberal leader Jo Grimond against bureaucratic strangulation of small business, and a foreign-affairs piece on Egypt's Africa anxieties by Victor Perry. A substantial wire-service "World News" digest covers Ivory Coast development policy, a Greek virginity-damages court case, Bukovsky's criticism of Western human-rights policy, exposure of Spanish Communist leader Santiago Carrillo's Stalinist past, Coca-Cola's Egypt archaeology sponsorship, Soviet repression of a dissident coal miner, and India's tacit alignment with the USSR on Diego Garcia. The issue closes with reader letters (on judicial impartiality, industrial terrorism, and a satirical guide for opportunist election candidates), two book reviews (on the Khmer Rouge atrocities and on Cold War intelligence history), and a compilation of quotations ("With Many Voices"). ## Essays ### C. R.: "Bhishma of Indian Politics" *By H. M. Patel* H. M. Patel's tribute to C. Rajagopalachari, delivered as a pre-dinner speech at a Rajaji Foundation function in Bombay on 22 January 1978, casts Rajaji as the "Bhishma of Indian Politics" — a colossus without a mass political base who nonetheless dominated Indian public life for over six decades through sheer intellect and moral authority. Patel surveys Rajaji's roles as politician, administrator, statesman, philosopher, social reformer and man of letters, noting his closeness to Gandhi, his Gandhian-era social work (temple entry for Harijans, khadi promotion, anti-untouchability), his willingness to accept political unpopularity (including over his 1942 partition formula), his tenure as Chief Minister of Madras (1937-39) where he balanced firm policy-making with respect for civil servants, and his post-independence crusade against the "permit-licence-quota Raj" and the "omniscient and omnipotent State." The speech credits Rajaji's weekly Swarajya columns with popularising the case against economic controls and licensing, while acknowledging not everyone agreed with the full thrust of his argument. It closes by praising Rajaji as a writer (his Tamil prose and his Tamil renderings of the Ramayana and Mahabharata) and by describing the aims of the Rajaji Foundation in keeping his ideas alive. - Rajaji is eulogised as the 'Bhishma of Indian Politics', a towering figure who held no mass political base but exercised outsized influence through intellect and moral standing until his death at 94. - He was among the pre-independence Gandhians who brought an ethical approach to politics, working on temple entry, anti-untouchability, khadi, and village industries in Madras through the 1930s despite social ostracism. - As Chief Minister of Madras (1937-39) he distinguished sharply between policy-making (the politician's role) and administration (the civil servant's role), earning the trust of civil servants while retaining full political responsibility. - In his last two decades he fought 'with messianic zeal' against monopoly and concentration of power, terming the regime of economic controls the 'permit-licence-quota Raj', and mounted this campaign chiefly through weekly articles in Swarajya. - He believed controls and licences, even when not intended to build socialism, in practice bred corruption and entrenched a political-economic oligarchy, favouring instead decentralisation of power and a genuine federal system. - The speech frames Rajaji as blending Upanishadic wisdom with British liberalism, prioritising the individual's dignity, freedom and self-realisation against the encroaching State. - Rajaji is also credited as a major Tamil writer, including Tamil versions of the Ramayana and Mahabharata rendered into English, alongside numerous essays and short stories. - The speech closes urging the Rajaji Foundation to promote systematic study of his ideas so as to help build an India in which people are 'free, fearless and self-reliant'. ### The Totalitarian Temptation *By Raymond Fletcher* An abridged reprint from the London Times of a piece by Raymond Fletcher, a Labour Member of the British House of Commons, warning that the 'totalitarian temptation' persists in every democracy regardless of the party in power. Writing in the run-up to an expected British general election, Fletcher argues Callaghan's Labour government survives less on conviction than on tactical positioning, that Mrs Thatcher's Conservatives have not yet succeeded in converting a conservative mood into active anger, and that fears of Britain's trade unions as a revolutionary threat are overblown — union leaders are conventional bargainers, not usurpers. He concludes that the totalitarian threat is not a matter of 'a list of notorious names' but a standing temptation available to any government of any political colour, citing both Nixon and Indira Gandhi as leaders who succumbed to it. - Fletcher reprises his own seven-year-old Encounter analysis that a general election is a 'rejection' rather than a genuine choice between programmes. - He argues Callaghan's political survival owes to occupying the 'central position' Napoleon described as tactically crucial, not to public enthusiasm. - He is skeptical that Mrs Thatcher's Conservatives can convert a generally conservative public mood into an active desire to vote out Labour before the likely autumn election. - He dismisses the idea that British trade union leaders are a revolutionary threat, describing them instead as conventional collective bargainers. - The totalitarian temptation, Fletcher concludes, 'is always there, whatever the colour of the government in power' and 'exists in all democracies' — citing Nixon and Mrs [Indira] Gandhi as examples of leaders who yielded to it. ### Set the People Free: An Open Letter to the Finance Minister *By Minoo Masani* Minoo Masani's open letter to Finance Minister H. M. Patel ahead of the 1978-79 Union Budget urges a drastic 'U Turn' in fiscal policy: sharp cuts in both direct and indirect tax rates, echoing the plea Nani Palkhivala had repeatedly made in his own annual Budget commentaries. Masani contends that India has stagnated relative to Asian peers (Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan) and that punitive taxation has driven both evasion (citing the Wanchoo Committee's 1972 findings and an estimated Rs 2,800 crore of unreported 1968-69 income) and a collapse in investment and entrepreneurship. He argues for a Laffer-type logic — that lower rates can raise actual revenue, as shown under President Kennedy — paired with drastic cuts in unproductive civil expenditure and an end to the 'permit-quota-licence-raj' (a phrase he attributes to Rajaji). He invokes Ludwig Erhard's postwar German decontrol as the model, argues political democracy needs to be supplemented by 'economic democracy' via free markets, and closes by urging Patel to use his position within the Janata coalition government to force through the change. - Masani calls on Finance Minister H. M. Patel to enact a 'U Turn' in tax policy, picking up an appeal Nani Palkhivala had made repeatedly to Patel's predecessors. - He argues India has stagnated economically relative to other Asian economies (Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan) despite similar starting points, with per capita income actually falling in the last two years. - High direct tax rates are said to be both oppressive and 'counter-productive' — inducing evasion; he cites the Wanchoo Committee's 1972 report and an estimate that Rs 2,800 crores of 1968-69 income went untaxed. - He notes excise duties expanded from 15 items in 1951 to 133, now over half of total tax revenue, and argues indirect tax reduction (not increase) is the way to redress the balance, since much of any resulting profit increase returns to government via corporate tax. - He calls for a corresponding drastic cut in unproductive civil expenditure, criticising a 'bloated class of under-paid and under-employed clerks and functionaries.' - He cites Ludwig Erhard's overnight decontrol of the West German economy ('the German miracle') as the model for what India's Janata Government should do. - He frames the needed change as extending economic democracy — 'the ballot of the market place' exercised daily — to complement political democracy exercised only every five years. ### Among Sadat's Worries *By Victor Perry* Victor Perry's piece examines an underreported motive behind Sadat's 1977 peace initiative with Israel: mounting Egyptian anxiety over Soviet-backed radical expansion in Africa. The article traces two years of Egyptian concern as Angola, then Somalia/Ethiopia and Libya-backed threats to Sudan, drew Soviet and Cuban influence closer to the Nile's headwaters and to the Bab el Mandeb strait, prompting Egypt to court Somalia away from Moscow, mount a border campaign against Libya, and dispatch an air force team to help Zaire's Mobutu regime repel the Shaba invasion. - Sadat's peace initiative with Israel is presented as partly motivated by a desire to free Egyptian military and strategic resources to counter growing Soviet-backed radicalism in Africa. - Egypt spent arms and aid to woo Somalia away from Moscow and mounted a border campaign against Libya to warn Qadhafi off African adventurism. - Egypt sent an air force team to help Mobutu's Zaire fend off the Shaba invasion, seen by Cairo as a threat to the Nile's sources on Zaire's border. - Egypt's parliament stated in December that infiltration of pro-Soviet forces into Africa threatens security and places a heavy commitment on Egypt. - Egyptian support for African moderates (Kenya, Zaire) is conditioned, per the article, on those countries' acceptance of Islamization programs proposed by Qadhafi and the Saudis. ### Why Small Business? *By Jo Grimond* A report on a speech by former British Liberal Party leader Jo Grimond to the Association of Independent Business, warning that unchecked growth of bureaucracy in Britain will kill independent business. Grimond attacks a 'bureaucratic attitude' that favours monopoly, dislikes competition, and demands centralisation, arguing it has driven postwar Britain's inflation and unemployment. He sets out three propositions: that competition, not central direction, keeps business efficient; that big business should not be allowed to create monopolies or block new entrants (as nationalised industries do); and that curbing inflation and building a lively economy requires encouraging new and small business. He criticises over-manning as a direct cause of inefficiency and government subsidies as often directing resources to the wrong recipients. - Grimond argues the postwar 'bureaucratic attitude' — demanding subordination to organisations/unions and centralisation — has beggared Britain, driving inflation and unemployment. - He puts forward three propositions: competition keeps business efficient; big business/monopoly and blocked market entry (as under nationalised industries) should not be allowed; small business should be encouraged to curb inflation and build a lively economy. - He likens using over-manning to cure unemployment to the Poor Law practice of paying men to dig holes and fill them again. - Government subsidies, he argues, tend to go to the wrong recipients and redirect resources from more useful investment while requiring bureaucrats to administer them. ### World News (Ivory Coast Model; Virginity Valued at £4,660; Bukovsky Critical of West; Carrillo Exposed; Coca-Cola Helps Egypt; Protesting Miner Declared Insane; India Stands With Russia?) A multi-item 'World News' digest of wire and syndicated reports (pages 7-9) covering: Ivory Coast President Houphouet-Boigny's Yamoussoukro development model and his vision of an 'urbanized, not urban' peasantry (Times, Jan 17); a Greek court's controversial 350,000-drachma damages award for loss of virginity under the Civil Code, criticised by feminists as anachronistic (Times, Jan 21); Vladimir Bukovsky's criticism of Western nations, including the US, for softening on human rights after an initial Carter push (International Herald Tribune, Dec 21); an exposé of Spanish Communist leader Santiago Carrillo's Stalinist past based on Jorge Semprun's memoir, alleging Carrillo was complicit in the 1963 execution of Julian Grimau (International Herald Tribune, Jan 19); Coca-Cola's agreement to underwrite a Brooklyn Museum archaeological expedition to Theban tombs in Egypt despite an Arab boycott of the company (International Herald Tribune, Nov 21); the arrest and psychiatric committal of Soviet coal-miner-turned-labour-activist Vladimir Klebanov and 37 other worker-signatories protesting corruption and hazardous conditions (International Herald Tribune, Dec 22); and a report that India has quietly signalled support for the Soviet position against US base construction on Diego Garcia ahead of President Carter's New Delhi visit (Guardian, Dec 29). - Houphouet-Boigny's Yamoussoukro project is presented as a model combining private property with village-level collectivism ('the principle of solidarity and private property'), explicitly distinguished from Marxism. - A Greek court awarded £4,660 in 'virginity damages' to the family of a seduced 16-year-old under a Civil Code provision, prompting protest from Greek jurists and women's groups as a 'humiliating anachronism'. - Vladimir Bukovsky criticised the US and other Western nations for letting human-rights pressure on the USSR lapse after an initial post-Carter push, reportedly due to pressure from France and other groups. - A best-selling memoir by novelist Jorge Semprun accuses Spanish Communist Party leader Santiago Carrillo of Stalinist ruthlessness, including complicity in the 1963 execution of party rival Julian Grimau. - Vladimir Klebanov, a Soviet miner who organised a workers' protest group over corruption and hazardous conditions, was seized and committed to a psychiatric hospital; the piece notes such worker-led dissent is unusual compared to intellectual/scientist-led rights activism. - Diplomatic sources in New Delhi indicated India's 'basic view' is now aligned with the USSR against continued US construction on Diego Garcia, complicating the 'genuine non-alignment' India sought to project ahead of Carter's visit. ### Letters (Political Comments by Judges; Terror at Home; Tips for Aspiring Candidates) *By K. S. Venkateswaran; Col. C. L. Proudfoot (Retd.); [unsigned]* The 'Letters' section (pages 12-13) prints three reader contributions. Col. C. L. Proudfoot (Retd.) responds to a prior item on judicial impartiality, warning that industrial terrorism and the state's failure to protect citizens mock human dignity and erode the economy, and cautions those in power that the electorate is watching and will vote them out. K. S. Venkateswaran writes on 'Political Comments by Judges,' criticising Chief Justice M. H. Beg for a public statement seen as breaching judicial restraint, and invokes past observations by former Chief Justice A. N. Ray and the 1958 Law Commission on why judges must not descend into public political controversy. Sheila Sumant contributes a satirical letter, 'Tips for Aspiring Candidates,' mock-advising failed ticket-seekers to found their own party, court press attention through lofty statements and slum visits, and negotiate for tickets from whichever party will pay — naming S. K. Patil and Hanumanthaiah as having 'failed miserably' at this game. - K. S. Venkateswaran criticises Chief Justice M. H. Beg's public remarks on the habeas corpus case as violating the convention of judicial aloofness from political controversy, citing precedent from former Chief Justice A. N. Ray and the 1958 Law Commission. - Col. C. L. Proudfoot (Retd.) condemns ongoing industrial terrorism and warns that the state's failure to safeguard citizens erodes both the economy and public trust, cautioning politicians that voters are watching. - Sheila Sumant's satirical letter mocks opportunist Indian politicians, offering a mock 'guide' to securing a party ticket through manufactured populism and media manipulation, naming S. K. Patil and Hanumanthaiah as having failed at exactly this game. ### Reviews: The Horror in Cambodia (Peace With Horror by John Barron and Anthony Paul) *By V. B. Karnik* The 'Reviews' section (pages 13-15) carries two book notices. V. B. Karnik reviews 'Peace With Horror' by John Barron and Anthony Paul (Hodder and Stoughton), a detailed, refugee-testimony-based account of the Khmer Rouge's mass evacuations, executions, and disease/starvation deaths following the April 1975 Cambodian communist takeover, estimating roughly a million Cambodian deaths and describing the Angka Loeu's goal of engineering a 'disoriented, malleable mass' from which to build a new society. Geeta Doctor reviews Constantine Fitzgibbon's 'Secret Intelligence in the 20th Century' (Hart Davies MacGibbon), praising its account of Cold War-era espionage, code-breaking (including the Bletchley Park breaking of Enigma, concealed for 35 years until F. W. Winterbotham's 'The Ultra Secret'), and the psychological dimension of intelligence work, while pushing back gently on the book's tendency to divide the world neatly into 'good guys' (the West) and 'bad guys' (the Russians), which she calls part of a 'global political paranoia.' - Karnik's review of 'Peace With Horror' describes the Khmer Rouge's post-1975 forced evacuation of Cambodian cities, causing mass death by execution, disease, and starvation of an estimated one million people. - The book is based on refugee testimony collected in Thailand, Paris and Washington and cross-checked by the authors, described by Karnik as skilled, experienced newsgatherers. - The Communist goal, per an American diplomat quoted in the book, was 'total social evolution', destroying the past to construct a 'disoriented, malleable mass' from which to build a new Cambodian society under the Angka Loeu ('Organisation on High'). - Doctor's review of Fitzgibbon's 'Secret Intelligence in the 20th Century' highlights its account of the Bletchley Park Enigma code-breaking effort, concealed for 35 years, and the book's argument that peacetime intelligence work is in some ways more secretive than wartime. - The review praises Fitzgibbon's account of the psychological dimension of intelligence and propaganda (e.g. reframing of the Vietnam War, Korea, Hungary, Czechoslovakia as parts of one ongoing 'intelligence war'), but criticises his rigid division of the world into 'good guys' and 'bad guys' as a form of 'global political paranoia'. ### Reviews: Very Secret Intelligence (Secret Intelligence in the 20th Century by Constantine Fitzgibbon) *By Geeta Doctor* The closing page ('With Many Voices') is a compilation of short quotations drawn from the international and Indian press of December 1977-January 1978, on themes of liberty, hypocrisy, and political posturing, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson. Quoted figures and sources include Harold R. Isaacs on liberated peoples creating new tyrannies, Gavin Young on Mrs Gandhi splitting the Congress, Eric Hoffer on self-forgetting as what man craves most, Lord Hailsham on the 'hysteria of the race relations industry', Anwar Sadat comparing himself to a rocket in orbit above dwarf critics, a Liberal MP on turkeys not voting for Christmas, a Rhodesian on Africans being 'capitalists without capital', David Steel on seeking new relevance rather than new principles, and William F. Buckley Jr. on Moscow's marking of Human Rights Day with fresh repression. The page also carries the Freedom First subscription form and the issue's printer/publisher colophon. - The page compiles short quotations from world and Indian newspapers (December 1977-January 1978) under the recurring Freedom First feature title 'With Many Voices'. - Quotes touch on political hypocrisy and repression: Harold R. Isaacs on 'liberated' people creating new tyrannies; Anwar Sadat likening himself to 'a rocket in orbit' above his critics; William F. Buckley Jr. on Moscow's suppression of Human Rights Day dissidents. - British politics features prominently: Gavin Young on Mrs Gandhi's example for Congress splits feeding a Janata split; Lord Hailsham on the 'hysteria of the race relations industry'; David Steel on seeking 'new relevance' rather than 'new principles' for the Liberal Party. - The page closes with the Freedom First subscription form (annual subscription Rs. 5.00, care of Democratic Research Service, Bombay) and the issue's registration/printer colophon. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff305/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 305 (April 1978) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal journal, marking a leadership transition: outgoing editor M. R. Masani hands over day-to-day editing to S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor as he takes up the chairmanship of the newly-formed Minorities Commission, while reaffirming the journal's record of resisting Emergency-era censorship. The issue's centerpiece is a three-part analysis of the February 1978 State Assembly elections in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra, written respectively by Louella Lobo Prabhu, Y. Sivaji, and S. A. A. Pinto, each dissecting why the Janata Party underperformed against a resurgent Indira Congress in the states' first major polls since the Emergency. Other contents include an unsigned 'Frankly Speaking' editorial column touching on Maharashtra ministry-making, the Sikkim merger controversy, and the Union Budget; a syndicated Bernard Levin column (via The Times, London) on human-rights abuses under Vietnam's post-1975 communist government; a 'World News' digest of foreign press clippings; two book reviews (K. V. Padmanabhan on R. K.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 305 (April 1978) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal journal, marking a leadership transition: outgoing editor M. R. Masani hands over day-to-day editing to S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor as he takes up the chairmanship of the newly-formed Minorities Commission, while reaffirming the journal's record of resisting Emergency-era censorship. The issue's centerpiece is a three-part analysis of the February 1978 State Assembly elections in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra, written respectively by Louella Lobo Prabhu, Y. Sivaji, and S. A. A. Pinto, each dissecting why the Janata Party underperformed against a resurgent Indira Congress in the states' first major polls since the Emergency. Other contents include an unsigned 'Frankly Speaking' editorial column touching on Maharashtra ministry-making, the Sikkim merger controversy, and the Union Budget; a syndicated Bernard Levin column (via The Times, London) on human-rights abuses under Vietnam's post-1975 communist government; a 'World News' digest of foreign press clippings; two book reviews (K. V. Padmanabhan on R. K. Karanjia's biography of the Shah of Iran, and Achyut Patwardhan on Madhu Dandavate's comparative study of Marx and Gandhi); a reader's letter on A. B. Vajpayee's foreign-policy reversals; and the recurring 'With Many Voices' quotations column. ## Essays ### Freedom—First and Always *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's valedictory editorial marks his departure from the Freedom First editorship as he takes up the chairmanship of India's newly established three-man Minorities Commission. He recounts his tenure since January 1972, quotes his own 1972 warning about press freedom being in peril, and revisits the journal's decision to suspend publication during the Emergency rather than submit to pre-censorship. He credits the Bombay High Court's Division Bench judgement, and the legal efforts of Soli Sorabjee and D. H. Nanavati, with vindicating the journal's stand and allowing publication to resume from January 1976. Masani closes by noting the continuing threat to press freedom under the post-Emergency Janata regime and thanking his successors and predecessor. - Masani steps down as editor to chair the new Minorities Commission on an honorary basis to preserve his freedom of expression. - He recalls his January 1972 editorial warning that press freedom was in peril and that only small 'rags' like Freedom First and Opinion kept dissenting voices alive. - Freedom First suspended publication in mid-1975 rather than submit to Emergency pre-censorship, with the backing of the Democratic Research Service's Executive Board. - The Bombay High Court's Division Bench ruled in the journal's favour, permitting publication without hindrance from January 1976 to the end of the Emergency. - Masani credits Soli Sorabjee and attorney D. H. Nanavati for seeing the journal through the legal battle at their own financial cost. - He warns that the post-Emergency press climate, though freer, remains only a reprieve, citing disillusionment with the Janata government and a possible authoritarian backlash. ### Karnataka—An Indira-Us Victory *By Louella Lobo Prabhu* The unsigned 'Frankly Speaking' column surveys several current-affairs topics. It criticises the protracted and undignified process of ministry formation in Maharashtra following the 1978 state elections, comparing horse-trading over Independent MLAs to 'counting heads of cattle,' and endorses press commentary that a minority Janata government dependent on the CPI(M) and PWP would have been unworkable. It examines the Union Budget's estimated deficit of Rs. 1,050 crores and rising excise duties, crediting the Finance Minister for prioritising rural infrastructure while cautioning against inflationary risk. A section on Sikkim discusses Morarji Desai's controversial remarks to a New York Times correspondent questioning the manner of Sikkim's merger with India, and a Janata MLA's rebuttal alleging India suppressed the 1975 referendum result. The column closes with lighter items: satirical notes on gimmick-heavy Bombay election campaigning, and a nostalgic sketch of Charlie Chaplin's life and his retirement home in Corsier-sur-Vevey. - Criticises the drawn-out and manipulative process of ministry-making in Maharashtra, likening the recruitment of Independent MLAs to 'rabbits out of white caps.' - Endorses the view that a Janata minority government dependent on the CPI(M) and PWP would not have been durable, backing Governor Sadiq Ali's decision not to call Janata to test its strength on the floor. - Flags the Union Budget's estimated uncovered deficit of Rs. 1,050 crores as alarmingly large, noting past budget deficit estimates have proved unreliable. - Credits the Finance Minister for emphasising rural infrastructure development despite implementation risks resting with state governments. - Recounts Morarji Desai's remarks doubting the 'desirability' of Sikkim's merger with India and a Janata MLA's counter-allegation that the merger referendum result was suppressed by force. - Offers a satirical account of gimmicky, poster-heavy Bombay election campaigning and profiles Charlie Chaplin's biography and retirement in Corsier-sur-Vevey. ### Andhra—Why Janata Failed *By Y. Sivaji* Louella Lobo Prabhu analyses the February 1978 Karnataka Assembly election results, in which the Indira Congress won 149 of 224 seats on 43% of the vote against Janata's 59 seats from 37.9% of the vote, a disparity she attributes to vote-splitting among the Reddy Congress, CPI, Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti, RPI, and independents. She argues the outcome reflects an enduring 'Indira-Urs charisma' among rural voters largely indifferent to the Shah and Grover Commissions' revelations, alongside Chief Minister Devaraj Urs's patronage politics via the Havanur Backward Classes report, land-reform legislation, and hostel/education grants. She faults Janata for internal jockeying, an over-reliance on visiting central leaders who often proved counterproductive, insensitivity to prohibition and cow-slaughter concerns among toddy-tappers and Muslims, and divisive rhetoric from Central Congress leaders like Jagjivan Ram and Raj Narain. She closes by urging electoral reforms including proportional representation, mandatory voting, and curbs on defection. - The Indira Congress won 149 of 224 Karnataka Assembly seats (43% of the vote) versus Janata's 59 seats (37.9% of the vote), a gap attributed to vote-splitting among third parties. - Turnout was 71.8% of the electorate (1,28,40,696 voters), one of the highest ever recorded in the state. - Chief Minister Devaraj Urs's Havanur Report classifying Backward Classes by caste, along with land-reform legislation and free hostel/education grants, cemented patronage-based rural support. - Author argues the electorate showed cynical indifference to corruption allegations from the Shah and Grover Commissions. - Janata's campaign was hurt by internal delay in candidate selection, insensitivity on prohibition (toddy-tapping livelihoods) and cow-slaughter fears among Muslims, and divisive speeches by central leaders like Jagjivan Ram and Raj Narain. - Calls for proportional representation (endorsing Masani's repeated plea), mandatory voting, and curbs on defection as needed electoral reforms. ### Maharashtra—A Non-Election *By S. A. A. Pinto* Y. Sivaji examines the Andhra Pradesh Assembly results, in which the Congress(I) won 175 of 290 contested seats (39% of votes) versus Janata's 60 of 269 (29%), a sharp fall from the Janata-CPI(M) combine's 38% Lok Sabha share in March 1977 to 31.5% in this poll. He attributes Janata's collapse to organisational disarray (its state committee was not reorganised until September, its 9-member election committee ballooned to 27), poor candidate selection by out-of-touch central leaders, weak manifesto publicity, and the co-option of discredited defectors who tarnished the party's image with voters, of whom only 12 of 50 sitting Janata MLAs who had crossed over from Congress were re-elected. He also argues Mrs. Gandhi successfully claimed credit for Chief Minister Vengalarao's land and housing allotments to Scheduled Castes, and that Andhra's middle class, unlike its northern counterpart, remained socially and economically closer to the poor and thus less receptive to Janata's appeal. - Congress(I) won 175 of 290 contested seats (39% of votes polled); Janata won 60 of 269 contested seats (29%); CPI(M) and CPI, allied respectively with Janata and Congress, won 2.74% and 2.32% of votes. - The Janata-CPI(M) combine's vote share fell from 38% in the March 1977 Lok Sabha poll to 31.5% in this Assembly election. - Janata's state committee was not reorganised until September 1977 and its 9-member election committee grew unmanageably to 27 members, contributing to poor candidate selection. - Of 50 sitting Janata MLAs (mostly recent defectors from Congress) who recontested, only 12 were successful, reflecting voter rejection of turncoats. - Mrs. Gandhi successfully claimed political credit for Chief Minister Vengalarao's allotment of 5 lakh acres of agricultural land and thousands of house sites to Scheduled Caste families. - Sivaji argues Andhra's middle class, unlike the north Indian middle class, remains economically and socially close to the lower classes, blunting Janata's appeal to it. ### Inside Vietnam Today *By Bernard Levin* S. A. A. Pinto reviews the inconclusive February 1978 Maharashtra Assembly election, in which Janata emerged as the largest single party but far short of a majority, while the two Congress factions together also fell short. He shows the vote pattern was regionally split (Vidarbha for Congress(I), western Maharashtra for Congress, Bombay/Pune/urban areas for Janata) and argues that ideological distinctions between the parties had become blurred by opportunism, with 74 Congress defectors contesting on Janata tickets, most of whom lost. He highlights the notable Malabar Hill contest, where B. A. Desai (an Emergency loyalist) defeated independent Narayan Tawde, a Janata insider who had fought corruption within his own party. Pinto concludes that Maharashtra's non-decisive result leaves the country's fortunes hinging on whether Janata, as the largest party, can resist the temptation to enter unstable coalitions and instead accept opposition, since gaining office via Congress(I) support could destroy its central leadership's credibility. - Janata became the largest single party (98 seats, 27.22% of votes) but neither it nor the two Congress factions combined (69 + 62 seats) secured a majority. - Voting was sharply regional: Vidarbha favoured Congress(I), western Maharashtra favoured Congress, and Bombay/Pune/urban areas favoured Janata. - 74 Congress defectors contested on Janata tickets; most of them lost, undermining the strategy of ticket-shopping by turncoats. - In the closely watched Malabar Hill contest, B. A. Desai — a self-described admirer of the Emergency and critic of JP — won with a large majority over independent Narayan Tawde, a Janata insider who had opposed the party's induction of defectors. - Pinto warns that if Janata, as the largest party, cannot benefit from being in opposition and instead seeks office via Congress(I) support, the distinction between it and either Congress faction will disappear. ### Reviews: The Mind of a Monarch (by R. K. Karanjia); Marx & Gandhi (by Sri Madhu Dandavate) *By K. V. Padmanabhan; Achyut Patwardhan* Bernard Levin, writing in a column syndicated from The Times (London), opens a planned series on human-rights abuses under Vietnam's unified communist government since 1975. He contrasts the silence of many prominent Western anti-war intellectuals with the honesty of war correspondent Jean Lacouture, and highlights a rare human-rights appeal signed by figures including Joan Baez, Roger Baldwin, Daniel Ellsberg, and Allen Ginsberg, noting the hostile 'covert anti-communist' response it drew from Vietnam's defenders. Central to the piece is the testimony of Nguyen Cong Hoan, a former Thieu-regime opponent who was appointed to Vietnam's National Assembly after reunification but became disillusioned after visiting re-education camps, where he found detainees — including former journalists, writers, scholars, and anti-communist officials — held without trial in starvation conditions since June 1975 for their political opinions alone. - Levin announces the first in a series of columns on human-rights violations in unified communist Vietnam, criticising the silence of Western anti-war figures who had once denounced only American and South Vietnamese abuses. - He praises war correspondent Jean Lacouture's honesty in acknowledging both the Vietnam War's victims and its victors' subsequent crimes. - He lists signatories of a human-rights appeal to Vietnam's rulers — Joan Baez, Roger Baldwin, Daniel Ellsberg, Howard Fast, James Forest, Allen Ginsberg, Richard Neuhaus — and notes the appeal's hostile reception, being smeared as CIA-linked and 'covert anti-communist.' - Central testimony comes from Nguyen Cong Hoan, a 34-year-old former Thieu-regime opponent turned National Assembly member under the new regime, who grew disillusioned after visiting re-education camps. - Hoan reports detainees held since June 1975 — including former military and civilian officials, then later journalists, writers, and scholars — were kept in starvation conditions and hard labour without trial, purely for their political views. ### Letter: Mr. Vajpayee's Volte Face *By Sheila Sumant* The unsigned 'World News' page compiles short items reprinted from the foreign press: a Guardian/Observer piece on the burdens of unpaid domestic labour on women; a review-derived item on the sociology of queuing in Britain versus other countries; a note on an early computer-based reading aid for the blind, the Optacon; a report from Vienna on Czechoslovak police intercepting mail sent to Alexander Dubcek on the anniversary of his 1968 appointment as Party secretary; and a profile of Simone de Beauvoir's disillusionment, at 70, with the prospects for 'real socialism' delivering feminist goals, based on her remarks to Le Monde. - An Observer Review item argues that assumptions about women's unpaid domestic labour need to change, alongside working patterns like flexitime and part-time work. - A Guardian item on a study of queuing culture argues queuing customs reflect a society's class consciousness and egalitarian values, contrasting Britain, the U.S., Australia, and the Soviet Union. - A brief report describes the Optacon, an early camera-based reading device that could vibrate printed letters onto a blind user's finger at roughly 45-50 words per minute. - A dispatch from Vienna reports that Czechoslovak police have intercepted messages sent to Alexander Dubcek marking the 10th anniversary of his appointment as Communist Party secretary, amid tightened surveillance during the 'Prague Spring' anniversary. - Simone de Beauvoir, interviewed near her 70th birthday, tells Le Monde's Pierre Viansson-Ponte that 'socialism... exists nowhere' and that no self-styled socialist country has delivered real gender equality. ### World News K. V. Padmanabhan reviews R. K. Karanjia's book The Mind of a Monarch (Vikas Publishing), an admiring account of the Shah of Iran built around a question-and-answer format. The review summarises the Shah's early consolidation of power after his father Reza Shah's forced abdication in 1941, his gradual mastery over the Majlis, army, and clergy by the 1960s, and his 'White Revolution' program of reform. Padmanabhan notes the book's uncritical tone toward the Shah but credits Karanjia for posing pointed questions on domestic and foreign policy, and closes by welcoming the Shah's warmth toward India and his role in advancing Indo-Iranian development projects such as the Madras refinery, the Kudremukh project, and the Rajasthan Canal. - The review covers R. K. Karanjia's The Mind of a Monarch, an admiring biographical study of the Shah of Iran presented largely as a Q&A. - It recounts Reza Shah's 1925-1941 modernisation drive, his forced abdication after the Allied invasion, and Mohammed Reza Shah's youth (22) when he inherited a weakened throne. - It traces the Shah's gradual consolidation of the Majlis, army, and clergy by 1963, culminating in the 'White Revolution,' expanded from a Six-Point to a Fifteen-Point national development programme. - Padmanabhan concedes the book offers little critical analysis, being written by 'an ardent admirer of the Shah,' but credits Karanjia for at least posing some pointed questions. - The review closes on warm remarks about the Shah's friendliness toward India and ongoing Indo-Iranian projects, including the Madras refinery, the Kudremukh project in Karnataka, and the Rajasthan Canal. ### Frankly Speaking (Ministry-Making in Maharashtra; The Budget Hurts; Sikkim; Campaign Sidelights) *By Achyut Patwardhan* Achyut Patwardhan reviews Madhu Dandavate's Marx & Gandhi (Popular Prakashan), a comparative study written largely during Dandavate's imprisonment in Bangalore Prison during the Emergency. Patwardhan credits Dandavate for a rigorous and even-handed reassessment of both thinkers' enduring but declining influence on Indian thought, noting the book's strongest achievement is its analysis of Gandhi's views on the State and the town-village contradiction, and its warning against uncoordinated industrial growth and nationalisation as routes to a 'servile society' under a leviathan state. He faults Dandavate for underselling non-Marxist socially conscious critics of capitalism, and notes the book's oversight of nonviolence's new pragmatic relevance amid the nuclear arms race. Patwardhan closes by expressing hope that the book will spur renewed university research on Gandhi and Marx in a modern policy context. - Dandavate wrote the comparative study during his imprisonment in Bangalore Prison throughout the Emergency, after being isolated from his career as a Member of Parliament and Socialist leader. - Patwardhan credits Dandavate with conceding Marx's due for objectively X-raying capitalism's development from free enterprise to monopoly to imperialist domination, but faults him for neglecting non-Marxist critics of capitalism's social costs. - The book's strongest contribution, per Patwardhan, is its analysis of Gandhi's views on the State and the town-village contradiction, and Gandhi's warning that uncoordinated industrial growth and nationalisation both lead to a 'servile society' under a leviathan state. - Patwardhan notes Gandhian Sarvodaya theory as a refinement of Ruskin's doctrine in Unto This Last, and praises Dandavate's critical scrutiny of both classwar and Trusteeship as applied to a largely agrarian society. - Patwardhan flags an omission: the book does not address nonviolence's renewed pragmatic importance given the nuclear arms race between the superpowers. - He hopes the book stimulates fresh university research on Gandhi and Marx in the context of concrete national policy planning. ### With Many Voices A short pull-quote box titled 'On Safeguarding Freedom' reproduces a statement by Jayaprakash Narayan issued on Martyrs' Day (January 30), warning that freedom must be actively defended every day rather than taken for granted, and criticising public and governmental complacency in the face of encroachments on democratic rights. - Jayaprakash Narayan's statement, issued on Martyrs' Day (January 30), argues freedom is 'not a once over thing' and must be won every day. - He warns against waiting until a crisis (a house nearly collapsed) to act in defence of democratic rights. - He criticises both the middle class and governments for apathy, urging citizens to take an active daily part in safeguarding freedom rather than leaving it to the state. ### Essay 11 In a letter to the editor titled 'Mr. Vajpayee's Volte Face,' Sheila Sumant of Gadag accuses External Affairs Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee of abandoning his own long-held foreign-policy positions (on Kashmir, Pakistan, the Simla Pact, the Tashkent Agreement, Tibet, the Indo-Soviet Treaty, and nuclear policy) purely because he now serves in government rather than opposition. She illustrates the point with an anecdote about a medical representative who switched products and sales pitches overnight after changing employers, concluding that she has lost respect for politicians in general and will only vote for candidates of demonstrated integrity in future. - Sumant argues that Vajpayee's stock explanation for reversing his opposition-era foreign policy views — that he is no longer in the opposition — reveals he has no independent convictions of his own. - She lists specific reversed positions: Kashmir, Pakistan, the Simla Pact, the Tashkent Agreement, Tibet (now called part of China), the Indo-Soviet Treaty, and nuclear policy. - She draws an analogy to a medical representative who reversed his sales pitch entirely upon switching employers from one pharmaceutical company to a rival. - She concludes she has developed 'total contempt for all politicians' and will only vote in future for a candidate of demonstrated integrity. ### Essay 12 The recurring 'With Many Voices' back page compiles short quotations from the world press under a Tennyson epigraph, including remarks by Peter Walker MP on the lack of vision in British politics, the Indian Express on J. R. D. Tata's removal from Air India's chairmanship, George Meany on protectionism, Margaret Thatcher, Aubrey Menen on the Nehru family, Bertrand Russell on democracy, George Fernandes, Shalil Ghosh criticising the cost of a Janata minister's Hindi speech at the UN, Vasantrao Patil, and Sasthi Brata's critical remarks on the New Statesman under its post-Kingsley Martin editors. The page closes with the journal's subscription form and imprint details, listing Freedom First as published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel. - Compiles pungent quotations from the international and Indian press on politics, economics, and public affairs, framed by a Tennyson epigraph. - Includes the Indian Express's line on 'ingratitude' regarding J. R. D. Tata's removal as Air India chairman. - Quotes Aubrey Menen in India Today declaring 'The Nehrus have been found out,' and Bertrand Russell on democracy and stupidity. - Includes Shalil Ghosh's Indian Express item criticising the Rs. 12 crore cost of a Janata minister's Hindi speech at the UN as damaging to Janata's standing in South India. - Closes with the journal's subscription form (annual subscription Rs. 5.00) and imprint: published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel, Associate Editor, and printed at States' People Press, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff306/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 306 (May 1978) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal journal edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor. The lead essay by S. P. Aiyar re-examines Centre-State relations in light of the CPI(M)-led West Bengal government's Memorandum on Centre-State Relations authored by Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, tracing the historical over-centralization of Indian federalism under Congress rule and the Planning Commission, and concluding that the Memorandum's radical decentralist proposals overstate the case even though some devolution is warranted. Beyond this centrepiece the issue carries the regular unsigned 'Frankly Speaking' notes on the repeal of MISA and student indiscipline on campuses; short editorial notes on VIP privilege, Acharya Kripalani's retirement, jaundice in Bombay, and Bhutto's fate in a Pakistani condemned cell; an unsigned report on the newly constituted Minorities Commission under M. R. Masani; Geeta Doctor's satirical column on an alarmist government health-advisory for tourists; V. B. Karnik's argument for abolishing the death penalty citing the Amnesty International Stockholm declaration; S. A. A.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 306 (May 1978) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal journal edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor. The lead essay by S. P. Aiyar re-examines Centre-State relations in light of the CPI(M)-led West Bengal government's Memorandum on Centre-State Relations authored by Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, tracing the historical over-centralization of Indian federalism under Congress rule and the Planning Commission, and concluding that the Memorandum's radical decentralist proposals overstate the case even though some devolution is warranted. Beyond this centrepiece the issue carries the regular unsigned 'Frankly Speaking' notes on the repeal of MISA and student indiscipline on campuses; short editorial notes on VIP privilege, Acharya Kripalani's retirement, jaundice in Bombay, and Bhutto's fate in a Pakistani condemned cell; an unsigned report on the newly constituted Minorities Commission under M. R. Masani; Geeta Doctor's satirical column on an alarmist government health-advisory for tourists; V. B. Karnik's argument for abolishing the death penalty citing the Amnesty International Stockholm declaration; S. A. A. Pinto's critique of the new Drug Policy and the Hathi Committee's nationalisation proposals; a tribute to the late economist B. R. Shenoy by M. R. Pai; two book reviews (Manohar Malgonkar on Aiyar and Raju's own book on the Emergency, and B. P. Adarkar on Michael Harrington's The Twilight of Capitalism); a reprinted Bernard Levin satire on Western protestors outside the Soviet Embassy in London; a 'World News' digest of foreign-press excerpts; and the 'With Many Voices' page of press quotations closing the issue. ## Essays ### Re-Examining the Federal System *By S. P. Aiyar* S. P. Aiyar's lead essay examines the renewed debate over Centre-State relations triggered by Jyoti Basu's Memorandum on Centre-State Relations, adopted by the West Bengal Cabinet on 1 December 1977. Aiyar argues that federalism suits India's size and diversity but that every federal system generates both centralizers and decentralizers whose positions track their proximity to power; he illustrates this with an anecdote about communists at a Simla seminar who admitted preferring a strong centre when in power. He surveys the political reactions to the Basu Memorandum, including Morarji Desai's cautious response and Indira Gandhi's shifting position now that she is in opposition, and situates the debate against decades of federal centralization driven by the Planning Commission (which Karl Loewenstein described as the 'D.D.T. of federalism') and Congress's statist policies. The continuation traces how central funding through bodies like the University Grants Commission eroded State initiative in higher education, and how central control over industry and internal security further weakened State autonomy. Aiyar walks through the Memorandum's specific radical proposals -- including abolition of the All-India Services, allocation of 75% of central revenue to the States, deletion of Articles 356, 357 and 249, and replacing 'Union' with 'Federation' in constitutional language -- before concluding that while the Memorandum correctly diagnoses over-centralization, it overshoots into a proposal that risks administrative paralysis and that a middle path of integrating opposing views, not swinging to either extreme, is the wiser course. - Federalism in India creates structurally opposed camps of centralizers and decentralizers whose views track their proximity to power, not fixed principle. - Jyoti Basu's Memorandum on Centre-State Relations, adopted by the West Bengal Cabinet in December 1977, is the immediate occasion for the essay. - Morarji Desai and Indira Gandhi both responded cautiously, with Desai warning against creating 'bitterness and mounting tension' between Centre and States. - Aiyar traces decades of federal centralization via the Planning Commission and central funding schemes (e.g. University Grants Commission) that eroded State initiative even in areas nominally within State jurisdiction. - The Memorandum proposes sweeping changes: replacing 'Union' with 'Federation', abolishing All-India Services like the IAS and IPS, allocating 75% of central revenue to States, and deleting Articles 249, 356 and 357. - Aiyar judges the Memorandum's core diagnosis sound but its remedy overstated, risking administrative paralysis if adopted wholesale. - He calls for integration of opposing views on Centre-State relations rather than adherence to either centralizing or decentralizing extremes. ### Frankly Speaking... (Shabash Charan Singh / Unrest in the Campus) *By SVR* The unsigned 'Frankly Speaking' column opens by praising Home Minister Charan Singh's announcement that the Janata Government would repeal MISA (the Maintenance of Internal Security Act) rather than replace it with an equivalent preventive-detention amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code, noting the irony that the announcement was welcomed even by Congress members who had backed preventive detention while in power. A second section, 'Unrest in the Campus', catalogues a spate of student violence in March 1978 -- attacks on university officials in Kanpur, Bangalore, and Delhi -- and criticizes the weak response of district authorities and police, contrasting this with West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu's firm public warning that police would be used to curb student hooliganism. - Home Minister Charan Singh announced on 23 March that the Janata Government would repeal MISA rather than replace it with equivalent preventive-detention powers, a move welcomed across party lines. - The column frames this as evidence that 'the true test of the health of a democracy is the government's responsiveness to public opinion' (Charan Singh's own words). - A wave of student violence in March 1978 in Kanpur, Bangalore, and Delhi is catalogued, including assaults on a Vice-Chancellor and a Director of Collegiate Education. - Police and district authorities are criticized for inaction in the face of student hooliganism. - Jyoti Basu's warning that his government would use police to maintain order on West Bengal campuses is cited approvingly as an example of government firmness. ### On Our Junior VIPs / Never Say Die / Jaundiced Cure *By SVR* A set of short unsigned notes columns. 'On Our Junior VIPs' (signed SVR) satirizes nepotism and the special privileges enjoyed by the children of India's political and business elite, contrasting an Edinburgh Council's refusal to grant Prince Charles a civic honour with India's more indulgent treatment of 'junior VIPs.' 'Never Say Die' is a warm tribute to Acharya J. B. Kripalani on his retirement from public life at 90, recounting anecdotes about his relationship with his wife Sucheta Kripalani and his long political career from the Champaran satyagraha onward. 'Jaundiced Cure' mocks Bombay municipal authorities' ineffectual response to a jaundice outbreak, comparing their inaction unfavourably to (mockingly cited) 'ancient Hindoo' folk remedies. - 'On Our Junior VIPs' criticizes nepotism enjoyed by children of India's powerful, contrasting it with Edinburgh's refusal to grant Prince Charles a civic Freeman honour. - The note references warnings by 'the great Sardar' (Sardar Patel, implied) to officials against favouring his own son. - 'Never Say Die' profiles Acharya J. B. Kripalani's retirement at 90, describing him as combining features of 'Cassius,' 'Moses' and 'Scrooge.' - Kripalani's relationship with his wife Sucheta Kripalani, a Congress stalwart, is illustrated through an anecdote about his complaints of exhaustion during 1952 campaigning against the Congress. - 'Jaundiced Cure' criticizes Bombay municipal authorities for failing to curb a spreading jaundice outbreak or publish statistics on it. ### Bhutto's Fate / Prof. B. R. Shenoy (obituary) *By GD* Two short unsigned/initialled pieces. 'Bhutto's fate' (signed GD) reflects on Zulfikar Ali Bhutto awaiting trial in a Pakistani condemned cell, arguing that despite his contribution to freeing Mujibur Rahman and his overall statesmanship, Bhutto's anti-India rhetoric and his complicity in the Bangladesh tragedy leave India little reason to mourn his fate, while noting that his trial under a Martial Law administration casts doubt on its impartiality. A tribute to the late economist Prof. B. R. Shenoy (signed M. R. Pai) praises him as 'an economist's economist' who was ostracized by the profession and the Indian Government for his free-market views but remained an uncompromising believer in market economy and a beloved teacher. - The Bhutto piece argues India has little reason to weep for Bhutto's fate given his role in the Bangladesh tragedy and his anti-India rhetoric at the UN Security Council. - It nonetheless casts doubt on the impartiality of Bhutto's trial, held under the auspices of a Martial Law administration. - The Shenoy tribute (by M. R. Pai) describes B. R. Shenoy, who died 20 February 1978, as intellectually isolated for his free-market views yet technically respected. - Shenoy is described as believing the poor would never see improvement 'unless statism was given up.' - Shenoy is remembered as a devoted, meticulous teacher who updated his lecture notes throughout his career. ### Minorities Commission: Not an Arm of the Government An unsigned report summarizing a statement by M. R. Masani, Chairman of the newly formed Minorities Commission, at a press conference in New Delhi on 23 March. Masani asserted that the Commission, though established by executive order and reporting to the President and Parliament, should function as an independent, quasi-judicial body akin to an ombudsman rather than as an arm of the executive, and stated that the Union Government had assured early steps to guarantee its independence through a constitutional amendment. - M. R. Masani, Chairman of the Minorities Commission, held a press conference in New Delhi on 23 March 1978. - Masani stressed the Commission should not be seen as an arm of the executive despite being established by executive order. - He described its function as quasi-judicial, akin to an ombudsman, reviewing safeguards against discrimination and recommending legal and administrative measures. - He said the Union Government had assured early steps to guarantee the Commission's independence via a constitutional amendment. - The Commission framed its mission as dealing with minority rights within the larger context of civil rights for all. ### Virus India *By Geeta Doctor* Geeta Doctor's satirical column 'Virus India' mocks an official 'Health and Medical Report' distributed to foreign visitors that catalogues India's diseases -- malaria, dysentery, jaundice -- in lurid, alarmist detail, comparing its rhetorical effect to a horror-movie tourist guide. She skewers its claims about India's high road-fatality rate, its warnings against 54 differently-named formulations of a dangerous anti-dysentery drug, and its graphic descriptions of contamination from 'night soil' and unsanitary swimming pools. The continuation adds an anecdote about two businessmen attacked by a bear while riding an elephant in a Mysore game sanctuary, wryly suggesting the report should add a warning to 'jump off if attacked by a bear.' - The column satirizes an official Health and Medical Report given to foreign visitors, which frames India's disease burden in alarmist, horror-guide language. - It notes India has 1.5 million registered vehicles yet the highest per-vehicle fatality rate in the world -- 'fifteen times better than the USA or Britain,' ironically phrased. - The report warns against a banned/dangerous anti-dysentery drug sold under 54 different trade names, offering no safe alternative. - Vivid warnings about 'night soil' contamination of produce and swimming-pool hygiene are mocked as needlessly lurid. - A closing anecdote recounts two businessmen thrown from an elephant after a bear attack during a Mysore sanctuary ride, used to mock the report's failure to warn about wildlife. ### Abolish Death Penalty *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik argues for the abolition of the death penalty in India, citing the December 1977 Stockholm conference of Amnesty International, which declared capital punishment 'the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment' and called for its worldwide abolition. Karnik reviews the abolitionist-retentionist debate, rejects deterrence as an empirically supported justification, and argues that the irrevocability and prolonged mental torture of the death sentence make it uniquely cruel, citing Arthur Koestler's writing on death-row waiting periods. He suggests that while the Stockholm declaration's scope (covering all killing, not just state-imposed death penalty) is too broad to be practical, India should at least move toward abolishing the death penalty imposed by law. - Amnesty International's December 1977 Stockholm conference, attended by delegates from over 200 countries, declared the death penalty 'the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.' - In India the declaration was endorsed by leaders including Jayaprakash Narayan and Acharya J. B. Kripalani. - Karnik argues no evidence shows the death penalty deters murder, since executions are carried out in secret with no public exemplary effect. - He cites Arthur Koestler's account of the prolonged mental torture endured by prisoners awaiting execution as an argument against the penalty's supposed 'quickness.' - He argues the Stockholm declaration's call to abolish all killing (including war and guerrilla violence) is too broad to be practicable, and recommends India focus on abolishing the state's own death penalty first. ### Opiate for the Masses *By S. A. A. Pinto* S. A. A. Pinto critiques India's new Drug Policy, which forces foreign pharmaceutical companies engaged solely in formulations to reduce foreign equity to 40% and sell the remainder to government and Indian investors. He argues this punitive approach to foreign investment is economically self-defeating, since companies confined to formulations manufacturing will simply be sold off at depressed value, discouraging further foreign investment rather than encouraging transfer of bulk-drug technology. He then narrates the political history of the Hathi Committee's report, criticizing Minister C. Subramaniam's Petroleum & Chemicals ministry colleague Mr. Bahuguna for proposing back-door nationalisation of nine drug-formulation companies, and concludes that the policy amounts to an 'opiate for the masses' -- a slogan that sounds pro-poor but will not actually make medicines more affordable while it will chase away foreign investment. - The new Drug Policy compels foreign companies solely in 'formulations' to reduce foreign equity to 40%, distributing the balance to government (40%) and Indian investors (20%). - Pinto argues bulk-drug prices, frozen for one year under a sliding-scale price-control regime, are set at a 14% or 12% post-tax return on capital depending on category. - He argues punitive equity-dilution rules are self-defeating: firms confined to formulations will be sold at scrap value, discouraging the very foreign capital needed to develop bulk-drug manufacturing. - The Hathi Committee-derived cabinet sub-committee, with Mr. Bahuguna relying on a majority recommendation, initially proposed nationalising nine formulation-only drug companies. - Pinto concludes the policy is 'the opiate for the masses' -- a phrase evoking Bahuguna's own Marxist rhetoric -- likely to fail the poor while damaging India's investment climate. ### Freedom - Lost and Regained (review of 'When the Wind Blows, India's Ballot-Box Revolution') *By Manohar Malgonkar* Novelist Manohar Malgonkar reviews When the Wind Blows, India's Ballot-Box Revolution by S. P. Aiyar and S. V. Raju (Himalaya Publishing House, pp. 482, Rs. 55), a 470-page account of the Emergency. Malgonkar praises the book as better-written, better-edited and more even-tempered than other Emergency books, noting its extensive 75-page treatment of the resistance movement led by figures such as Durga Bhagwat, Mrinal Gore, M. C. Chagla, V. M. Tarkunde, and A. D. Gorwala, and its documentation of protests by Indians abroad, including U.S. Senator Eugene McCarthy's denunciation of Indira Gandhi's suppression of civil rights. He singles out the book's account of the April 1976 Supreme Court ruling that citizens' Habeas Corpus rights stood abrogated during the Emergency as the darkest hour recalled in the book. - The review covers When the Wind Blows, India's Ballot-Box Revolution by S. P. Aiyar and S. V. Raju, published by Himalaya Publishing House (pp. 482, Rs. 55). - Malgonkar praises the book as more carefully edited, proof-read, and even-tempered than other Emergency-era books, which he likens to 'dishes prepared by short-order cooks.' - The book devotes 75 pages to the resistance movement, naming Durga Bhagwat, Mrinal Gore, M. C. Chagla, V. M. Tarkunde, and A. D. Gorwala among others. - It documents protests by Indians living abroad and quotes U.S. Senator Eugene McCarthy's condemnation of Indira Gandhi's action as 'an act of desperation.' - Malgonkar recalls the April 1976 Supreme Court ruling abrogating citizens' Habeas Corpus rights during the Emergency as its darkest hour. ### An Oracle in the Ruins? (review of 'The Twilight of Capitalism' by Michael Harrington) *By B. P. Adarkar* B. P. Adarkar reviews The Twilight of Capitalism by Michael Harrington (MacMillan Press, pp. 446, £8.95), delivering a sharply critical assessment of the book's neo-Marxist analysis of contemporary America. Adarkar accuses Harrington of self-praising obscurity, mocking his claim to have rescued 'the new Marx' while dismissing Harrington's critiques of Keynesian GNP and the welfare state as failing to refute the concept even as they gesture at its limitations. In the continuation, Adarkar delivers his own counter-thesis: that Marx's 19th-century capitalism is 'dead long as the Dodo,' that modern welfare states, extensive social insurance, and progressive taxation have made Marx's prescriptions obsolete, and that in some respects 'it is Labour that exploits Capital' today rather than the reverse -- concluding that Communist powers would better serve mankind by abandoning interference in the Third and Fourth Worlds than by clinging to outdated doctrine. - The review covers The Twilight of Capitalism by Michael Harrington (MacMillan Press Ltd., London, pp. 446, £8.95). - Adarkar criticizes Harrington's prose as 'obscure language bordering on pure abracadabra' despite jacket-copy praise from J. K. Galbraith calling him a 'lucid writer.' - Harrington is described as dismissing Keynes as merely a 'principled anti-revolutionary' and criticizing GNP as failing to capture social costs like pollution and distributional effects, citing Pigou and Gunnar Myrdal approvingly. - Adarkar's own rebuttal argues 19th-century Marxist capitalism is obsolete: joint-stock companies let 'everyone be a capitalist,' social insurance covers the population 'from the cradle to the grave,' and progressive taxation redistributes wealth -- none of which existed when Marx and Engels wrote. - Adarkar claims that in modern economies 'it is Labour that exploits Capital,' inverting the classical Marxist relationship. - He concludes Communist powers would better serve humanity by ceasing to impose their system on the Third/Fourth World rather than by claiming Marxist relevance. ### And the Kindly KGB Handed Out Soup *By Bernard Levin* Bernard Levin's satirical column (reprinted from The Times, London) mocks a march by prominent British left-wing figures -- including Tariq Ali, Vanessa Redgrave, Michael Foot, and Judith Hart -- protesting Soviet military involvement in the Ethiopian-Somali conflict, highlighting the marchers' hypocrisy given their past silence or support regarding Soviet actions elsewhere and their history of anti-Vietnam War organizing. Levin catalogues the proliferation of nearly identical protest committees all operating from the same address, then closes with an anecdote about the Soviet Committee for an End to Soviet Involvement in Africa's all-night vigil outside the Kremlin, where 'kindly KGB men' joked, laughed, and handed out soup, and where Brezhnev himself allegedly mingled with protestors -- the piece ending with an editorial note revealing a technical error inverted the entire article's meaning by omitting the word 'not.' - The column describes a march on the Soviet Embassy in London organized by Tariq Ali, Vanessa Redgrave, and Paul Foot, protesting Soviet military involvement in the Ethiopian-Somali war. - A delegation including Peer Hain, John Arden, Judith Hart MP, and Richard Gott met the Soviet Ambassador, who received them 'with grave courtesy.' - Levin satirizes the proliferation of nearly identical protest groups (e.g. 'Doctors Against Soviet Imperialism,' 'Teachers Against Soviet Imperialism') that appear to share the same address, implying they are not as independent as they claim. - The piece closes with an anecdote about a vigil outside the Kremlin walls, where KGB men allegedly distributed hot soup and Brezhnev himself supposedly mingled with protestors, defending their right to free speech. - An appended editorial note reveals that owing to 'technical errors,' the word 'not' was omitted throughout the article, inverting its intended (satirical/critical) meaning -- a device signalling the entire final anecdote is fabricated irony. ### World News The unsigned 'World News' digest reprints excerpts from the international press. The lead item, from the International Herald Tribune, profiles Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Carter's national security adviser, describing him as combining hawkish views on nuclear war casualties with an intellectually engaged, non-dogmatic openness to Marxism's analytical value. Further short items, drawn from The Observer and The Guardian, cover the changing position of women in Saudi Arabia amid gradual social reform, a Saudi princess's tragic execution, and Syria's tilt toward a freer economy and closer economic ties with the West despite formal ties with Moscow. - The lead item profiles Zbigniew Brzezinski, quoting him on the acceptable scale of nuclear war casualties ('only about 10 per cent of humanity would be killed') and on Marxism's analytical value. - Brzezinski describes Marxism as offering 'a series of categories' for analyzing historical transformation while criticizing its 'institutionalization' and 'dogmatization.' - A report on Saudi Arabia describes gradual social change for women even as strict traditional restrictions (e.g. barred from driving, separate amusement park days) persist. - A short item notes the 'tragic double execution of a Saudi princess and her husband' embarrassed the Saudi leadership. - A Guardian dispatch from Damascus describes Syria's 'slow but unmistakable evolution away from dependence on the Soviet Union' toward closer economic ties with the West, quoted via Planning Minister Georges Horaine. ### With Many Voices The closing 'With Many Voices' page, prefaced by a Tennyson epigraph, compiles brief press quotations from world leaders and commentators on contemporary affairs -- including remarks by Margaret Thatcher, Anwar el-Sadat on Nasser, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on Pakistan's provinces, George Fernandes on multinationals, Ram Manohar Lohia on socialism, and B. R. Ambedkar on Indian democracy -- sourced from The Economist, the Guardian, the International Herald Tribune, and Indian newspapers between February and March 1978. The page closes with the journal's subscription coupon and imprint details identifying Freedom First as published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel and printed at States' People Press, Bombay. - The page opens with an epigraph from Tennyson: 'The deep / Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends, / 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.' - Quotations are drawn chiefly from The Economist (five separate February-March 1978 issues) alongside The Guardian, International Herald Tribune, Statesman, Times of India, and Sunday Standard. - Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is quoted describing Sindh as 'my body,' Punjab as 'my soul,' Baluchistan as 'my pride' and NWFP as 'my courage.' - B. R. Ambedkar is quoted (from a March 1978 reprint) stating 'Democracy is only top-dressing in Indian soil, which is essentially undemocratic.' - Ram Manohar Lohia is quoted on always having dreaded socialism 'because it meant the takeover by the government of all big industries.' - The masthead confirms the issue is published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel, Associate Editor, at 127 M. Gandhi Road, Bombay 400 023, printed at States' People Press, Ghoga Street, Fort, Bombay-400 001. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff307/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 307 (June 1978) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas, edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor. The issue opens with M. R. (Mehra) Masani's critique of the Verghese Working Group's proposal for a monolithic National Broadcast Trust (NBT), arguing that a single autonomous corporation would simply replace government monopoly with a different kind of monopoly and that competition, not mere autonomy, is what safeguards broadcasting freedom. K. S. Venkateswaran defends the constitutional right to property against calls for its deletion from the Fundamental Rights chapter, tracing the amendments (31A, 31B, 31C) that have eroded it since 1951. Geeta Doctor contributes a first-person account of being caught in a Dawoodi Bohra community protest march in Bombay. Bernard Levin's syndicated piece on the Taj Mahal is reprinted. M. R. Masani (writing separately as Minoo Masani in the table of contents) argues in "Back to 1967?" that India's post-Emergency political drift echoes the instability after 1967.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 307 (June 1978) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas, edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor. The issue opens with M. R. (Mehra) Masani's critique of the Verghese Working Group's proposal for a monolithic National Broadcast Trust (NBT), arguing that a single autonomous corporation would simply replace government monopoly with a different kind of monopoly and that competition, not mere autonomy, is what safeguards broadcasting freedom. K. S. Venkateswaran defends the constitutional right to property against calls for its deletion from the Fundamental Rights chapter, tracing the amendments (31A, 31B, 31C) that have eroded it since 1951. Geeta Doctor contributes a first-person account of being caught in a Dawoodi Bohra community protest march in Bombay. Bernard Levin's syndicated piece on the Taj Mahal is reprinted. M. R. Masani (writing separately as Minoo Masani in the table of contents) argues in "Back to 1967?" that India's post-Emergency political drift echoes the instability after 1967. The issue's regular "Frankly Speaking" editorial column (signed SVR and GD) comments on the Azamgarh by-election, prohibition policy, press freedom, advertising, and the Afghan coup. Book reviews cover Jiri Pelikan's account of socialist dissent in Czechoslovakia and Paul Erdman's financial thriller The Crash of '79. A World News page covers Sino-Soviet relations, the World Food Programme, and Mexican land reform, plus a UK item on political education grants for youth clubs. A page of facts about the Verghese Working Group on broadcasting autonomy supplements the Masani piece. The issue closes with "With Many Voices," a page of quotations from the world press, a subscription form, and the printer's colophon. ## Essays ### The Broadcasting Monolith *By Mehra Masani* Mehra Masani, former Deputy Director General of All India Radio, welcomes the general consensus that broadcasting should be freed from direct government control, and praises the Working Group on Autonomy for Akashvani and Doordarshan (the Verghese Group) for its recommendation to create an independent National Broadcast Trust (NBT). But he argues a second, harder battle remains: opposing the concentration of all broadcasting — AIR's 780 transmitters and 500-plus radio stations, plus future TV stations — into a single monolithic Trust. He contends monopoly breeds inefficiency and unaccountability regardless of who controls it, defends the case against monopoly on grounds of administrative convenience, and (in the continuation on pages 13-14) elaborates that competition between autonomous public bodies, or between public and private/commercial stations as in Australia, Japan, Canada, Britain, and New Zealand, is essential; that local community stations under the NBT would have no independent editorial personality; and that concentrating power over information in one body's hands is inherently dangerous to a free society, more so than press monopoly because broadcasting reaches the largely uneducated majority. He proposes splitting funding and structure by audience: commercially-financed services for educated urban listeners versus licence-fee and government-financed services for the rural, less-educated majority, with multiple competing units and more than one Board of Trustees. - Argues the Verghese Working Group's autonomy proposal (an independent National Broadcast Trust, NBT) is sound but that a second battle -- against broadcasting monopoly -- remains largely unfought. - Warns that a single monolithic NBT controlling all transmitters, radio stations, and future TV stations would be as unaccountable and inefficient as the current government-controlled system. - Cites international precedent (Australia, Japan, Canada, Britain, New Zealand) for competition between autonomous public and private/commercial broadcasters. - Criticizes the plan to subordinate ~350 local community stations to Akashvani, denying them independent editorial identity and barring them from broadcasting their own news. - Argues concentrated control of broadcasting is more dangerous to liberty than press monopoly because radio/TV reach a much wider, less-educated audience and shape public thinking more subtly. - Proposes segmenting broadcasting funding: commercial/advertising-financed services for urban educated audiences, licence-fee and government-financed services for the rural majority needing education and instruction. - Calls for more than one Board of Trustees/Directors to guard against any single body dictating 'what is good broadcasting.' ### The Right to Property — Why This Clamour? *By K. S. Venkateswaran* K. S. Venkateswaran, addressing the ongoing debate over deleting the right to property from the Fundamental Rights chapter of the Indian Constitution, argues the clamour for deletion is misguided. He traces the constitutional history: Article 19(1)(f) guaranteed citizens the right to acquire, hold, and dispose of property, while Article 31 governed compulsory state acquisition with compensation; these were meant to work alongside the Directive Principles in Article 39 to prevent concentration of wealth while still protecting individual property rights. He then narrates the successive amendments that eroded this protection -- Article 31A (1951, agrarian reform), Article 31B and the Ninth Schedule (First Amendment, 1951, immunising scheduled laws from fundamental-rights challenge), and Article 31C (Twenty-fifth Amendment, 1971), which one constitutional expert called 'a monstrous outrage on the Constitution' for depriving 'so many hundreds of millions' of fundamental rights at one stroke, though the Supreme Court upheld its validity in the Kesavananda Bharati case. Venkateswaran concludes that what remains of the right to property is merely 'the skeleton, after the body has been... mutilated,' and that its complete abolition -- as Nani Palkhivala has warned -- would only worsen, not correct, this distortion of fundamental freedoms. - Frames the debate over deleting the constitutional right to property (Article 19(1)(f)) as a 'ridiculous clamour' growing more intense despite other pressing national problems. - Explains Article 19(1)(f) and Article 31's original design: guaranteeing property rights while allowing compensated state acquisition for public purposes. - Traces the progressive erosion of property rights via Article 31A (1951), Article 31B/Ninth Schedule (First Amendment, 1951), and Article 31C (Twenty-fifth Amendment, 1971). - Cites a constitutional expert's characterization of Article 31C as depriving 'so many hundreds of millions' of fundamental rights 'at one fell swoop.' - Notes the Supreme Court upheld Article 31C's validity in the Kesavananda Bharati case (AIR 1973 SC 1461). - Quotes Nani Palkhivala's view that full removal of the property right from the Fundamental Rights chapter might be a lesser evil than a 'perpetual and deliberate distortion' of the chapter. - Concludes with Joseph Story's warning that government is not free where property rights depend solely on the will of an unrestrained legislature. ### The Charge of the Dawoodi Bohras *By Geeta Doctor* Geeta Doctor recounts, in a wry first-person narrative, how she was caught up in a protest march by the Dawoodi Bohra community in Bombay while driving through Bhendi Bazaar. Encountering streets filled with Dawoodi Bohras protesting the Nathwani Commission and demanding freedom to pursue their religious practices without interference, she found herself, almost by accident, leading a contingent up Malabar Hill toward a police cordon at Chowpatty, before fleeing the scene when a lathi charge broke out and being rescued by a chivalrous stranger in an Ambassador car. - Describes stumbling into a Dawoodi Bohra community protest march in Bombay demanding freedom to pursue religious duties without interference and denouncing the Nathwani Commission. - Recounts inadvertently leading a 'Malabar Hill detachment' of protesters toward a police cordon at Chowpatty. - Describes fleeing when police staged what seemed to be a lathi charge amid a crowd of fleeing Bohras. - Closes with a comic anecdote of being rescued by a courteous stranger in a car who never discussed the protest with her. ### Fear Not, This Is a Wonder That Really Does Stir the Spirit *By Bernard Levin* Bernard Levin, in a syndicated Times Newspapers piece reprinted from the London press, describes his visit to the Taj Mahal, confessing to initial fear that the monument's reputation could not survive the reality, and concluding that the experience surpassed all expectation. He praises its perfect symmetry, its illusion of weightlessness ('it floats'), and its subtle optical devices (including inscribed Koranic verses whose lettering grows larger toward the top to appear uniform in size from the ground, akin to the 'bulge' in the Parthenon's platform). In the continuation, he compares the emotional effect of the Taj Mahal to the Wieskirche near Munich, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, and late Rembrandt self-portraits, describing a mounting 'cosmic sadness' during his three-day stay and a final departure so overwhelming he could not bear to look back through the arch. - Levin confesses to fearing the Taj Mahal could not live up to its reputation, but finds the reality surpasses all expectation. - Highlights the monument's perfect four-way symmetry and its illusion of floating weightlessness. - Describes an optical illusion in the inscribed Koranic lettering around the central arch, which grows larger toward the top to appear uniform from the ground -- comparable to the 'bulge' in the Parthenon's platform. - Credits Shah Jahan as the probable architect, remarking that this would make him a real-life embodiment of Plato's philosopher-king. - In the continuation, compares his emotional reaction to hearing the adagio of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, viewing Rembrandt self-portraits, and visiting the Wieskirche near Munich, describing a mounting 'cosmic sadness.' - Ends with a vow to return, having found it impossible to arrange one last glimpse before leaving India. ### Back to 1967? *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani (rendered in the byline as 'M. R. Masani,' distinct from Mehra Masani's broadcasting piece; the table of contents identifies the author as Minoo Masani) argues, in a talk summarized from the Spring Lecture Series, Vasant (Vyakyanmala), delivered in Poona on 2 May 1978, that India in mid-1978 resembles the situation after the 1967 general elections: the Congress monolith broken, coalition governments in various states, and the same pattern of jubilation followed by disillusionment and defections. He traces the 'Indira Wave' of 1971 to disappointment with the fractious SVD coalitions, and worries the pendulum could swing back toward authoritarianism as it did in the Emergency of June 1975, citing the Janata Party's declining vote share from the March 1977 general election through the February 1978 state assembly elections. He blames excessive concentration of political and economic power in politicians' and bureaucrats' hands, calls for public education toward less statism and more citizenship, laments that Jayaprakash Narayan's ill health prevents him from leading people 'away from Rajniti to Lokniti,' and closes urging courage and truth-telling to prevent discontent from flowing to Congress (I) and CPI channels. - Argues India in 1978 mirrors the post-1967 political landscape: Congress's monolithic hold broken, multi-party coalition governments, followed by disillusionment. - Traces the 'Indira Wave' of 1971 to popular disappointment with the fractious S.V.D. coalition governments. - Warns the political pendulum could swing from today's permissive, disorderly climate back toward authoritarian rule as occurred in the June 1975 Emergency. - Cites the declining Janata vote share (from the March 1977 general election through February 1978 state assembly polls, including a collapse in Karnal's majority) as evidence of a developing backlash. - Attributes the crisis to excessive concentration of political and economic power in the hands of politicians and bureaucrats ('the New Class'). - Calls for public education toward reduced statism and increased grassroots citizenship and vigilance. - Laments that Jayaprakash Narayan's health prevents him from leading people from 'Rajniti to Lokniti' (from power-politics to people's polity). - Frames the piece as a summarized talk from the Spring Lecture Series, Vasant (Vyakyanmala), Poona, 2 May 1978. ### Reviews (Socialist Opposition in Eastern Europe; The Crash of '79) *By S. P. Aiyar; K. V. Padmanabhan* S. P. Aiyar reviews Jiri Pelikan's Socialist Opposition in Eastern Europe (Allison and Busby, London, 1976), which documents the samizdat literature of dissent that emerged in Czechoslovakia after the 1968 Soviet-led invasion crushed 'socialism with a human face.' Aiyar recounts the book's account of purges, show trials on trumped-up 'economic offences,' and state propaganda branding dissidents as reactionaries and foreign agents, drawing an explicit parallel to India's own Emergency-era repression and underground press. He notes the socialist opposition described in the book rejects Western-style liberalism in favour of decentralizing ownership of the means of production while still rejecting private property, and closes by citing Edward Taborsky's account of how Czechoslovak 'normalization' drained the country's cultural and professional talent -- a dynamic Aiyar compares to the failed 'Don't let the Light go out on Indian Democracy' counter-signature campaign during the Emergency, when Indira Gandhi's government could secure only 130 signatories to a pro-regime manifesto. - Reviews Jiri Pelikan's Socialist Opposition in Eastern Europe, an account of dissident literature and organizing in Czechoslovakia following the 1968 Soviet invasion. - Describes state tactics of denouncing dissidents via show trials for 'economic offences' and propaganda branding them as reactionaries or foreign agents. - Draws an explicit parallel between Czechoslovak 'normalization' and India's own Emergency-era censorship, detentions, and underground samizdat press. - Notes the socialist opposition rejects Western liberalism, instead favouring decentralized/cooperative rather than state or private ownership of production. - Cites Edward Taborsky's account of the 'drain of talent' from Czechoslovak media and professions under normalization. - Compares this to the failed Indian counter-signature campaign against 'Don't let the Light go out on Indian Democracy' during the Emergency, which secured only 130 signatures. ### World News K. V. Padmanabhan reviews Paul E. Erdman's financial thriller The Crash of '79, praising it as a first-class thriller grounded in meticulous factual research on oil geopolitics and high finance. The review summarizes the plot: an American banker, Bill Hitchcock, engineers a grand US-Saudi financial and military scheme that collapses amid a coup rumor in Riyadh, a Shah-of-Iran nuclear conspiracy, and a resulting global financial crisis. Padmanabhan notes approvingly that Erdman uses real living public figures as fictional characters, remarking on how far publishing norms have shifted from the era when authors avoided giving offence to real persons. - Reviews Paul E. Erdman's The Crash of '79 (Simon & Schuster, Pocket Books edn., 1977), a financial thriller about a US-Saudi oil and finance scheme that collapses into global crisis. - Summarizes the plot involving banker Bill Hitchcock, a US-Saudi alliance scheme, an anti-Khalid coup in Riyadh, and the Shah of Iran's secret nuclear ambitions. - Praises the book's meticulous factual grounding in real oil-market and geopolitical history since the 1973 embargo. - Remarks on Erdman's unusual use of real living public figures (including the Shah of Iran) as characters, noting this marks a shift from past publishing caution about offending real persons. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff308/ ### Summary This is the complete July 1978 issue (No. 308) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based classical-liberal monthly, edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor. The issue centres on the resignation of Minoo Masani from the chairmanship of the newly created Minorities Commission, covered both in Raju's lead editorial 'Strangled by Red Tape' and in Masani's own press statement reproduced verbatim; both describe how the government bypassed the Commission on the Aligarh Muslim University Bill and failed to honour assurances of independence, staff, and premises. Other contributors take on a wide range of subjects: Geeta Doctor and S. V. Raju's 'Frankly Speaking' column mocks Morarji Desai's foreign trips and Atal Behari Vajpayee's UN speech, and separately muses on Bombay's telephone exchange renaming; an unsigned SVR piece needles a windfall reward paid to Chandra Shekhar and mulls the 'Seven Year Itch' and the Breach Candy pool controversy; V. B. Karnik critiques the Bhoothalingam Study Group's wage, income and price policy report; Bernard Levin's syndicated Times column indicts Western apologists for the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia; Maj. Gen. E.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the complete July 1978 issue (No. 308) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based classical-liberal monthly, edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor. The issue centres on the resignation of Minoo Masani from the chairmanship of the newly created Minorities Commission, covered both in Raju's lead editorial 'Strangled by Red Tape' and in Masani's own press statement reproduced verbatim; both describe how the government bypassed the Commission on the Aligarh Muslim University Bill and failed to honour assurances of independence, staff, and premises. Other contributors take on a wide range of subjects: Geeta Doctor and S. V. Raju's 'Frankly Speaking' column mocks Morarji Desai's foreign trips and Atal Behari Vajpayee's UN speech, and separately muses on Bombay's telephone exchange renaming; an unsigned SVR piece needles a windfall reward paid to Chandra Shekhar and mulls the 'Seven Year Itch' and the Breach Candy pool controversy; V. B. Karnik critiques the Bhoothalingam Study Group's wage, income and price policy report; Bernard Levin's syndicated Times column indicts Western apologists for the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia; Maj. Gen. E. D'Souza writes on the emerging field of sports medicine in India, timed to the opening of a Bombay sports-medicine centre; a World News page covers Solzhenitsyn's Harvard commencement address and a study on spinal discs; two book reviews assess V. V. John's essay collection on Indian education (Muriel Wasi) and Rajeev Dhavan's book on the 42nd Constitutional Amendment (Nawaz Mody); a reader's letter from Homeyar Jal Tavaria laments the quality of democratic leadership; and the back page compiles miscellaneous quotations under 'With Many Voices' alongside a subscription form. ## Essays ### 'Strangled by Red Tape' *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju's lead article recounts the brief, troubled three-month tenure of Minoo Masani as Chairman of the Minorities Commission. It details Masani's letters of April 27 and May 9 to the Prime Minister (joined by Prof. V. V. John) warning that the Commission lacked staff and office premises and had been bypassed on the Aligarh Muslim University Bill, and the further anger caused by a unilateral Cabinet decision on replacing the Commission's Muslim Secretary. The piece frames Masani's May 29 resignation as the product of government neglect and bureaucratic obstruction. - Masani accepted the Minorities Commission chairmanship on an honorary basis on March 23, 1978, expecting a three-year term, but resigned after only two months. - He and the Commission wrote to the Prime Minister on April 27 warning about lack of staff, absence of office premises, and over 600 unacknowledged representations. - The government introduced the Aligarh Muslim University Bill in the Lok Sabha without consulting the Commission, precipitating the resignation threat. - On May 9, Masani and Prof. V. V. John wrote again, turning the threat to resign into a firm decision to quit by May 31. - Prof. John separately objected to a Cabinet decision to replace the Commission's Muslim Secretary, Mr. Sankaran Nair, without consultation. ### Frankly Speaking ... (Mr. Desai Goes Abroad / For name's sake) *By SVR / G.D.* The 'Frankly Speaking' column (unsigned initials SVR and G.D.) offers two short satirical items. The first mocks Morarji Desai's foreign travels, his moralising tone despite his own extravagances (a vegetarian banquet for non-vegetarian British guests, a costly all-vegetarian state visit), and contrasts his U.N. speech unfavourably with the concurrent World Cup football matches; it also notes Atal Behari Vajpayee's Hindi-language U.N. address caused controversy. The second item, 'For name's sake,' recounts the comic confusion caused by Bombay's telephone exchange renumbering and the naming of the new Malabar Hill exchange building's lane as 'Alexander Graham Bell Marg.' - Criticises Morarji Desai for preaching austerity while incurring costs such as an all-vegetarian banquet for non-vegetarian British guests in London. - Notes the irony of Desai's live U.N. telecast playing to a half-empty hall while the World Cup football was underway in Buenos Aires. - Recalls Vajpayee's Hindi speech at the U.N. sparking a protest melee reported by the Times of India. - Describes Bombay's phone number change and the renaming of a lane to Alexander Graham Bell Marg, drawing a comparison to Madras's 'Barber's Bridge.' ### A Windfall For Chandra Shekhar / The Seven Year Itch / A Touch of Class *By SVR / G.D.* A further set of short unsigned (SVR/G.D.) opinion pieces: one on a reward payment to Chandra Shekhar for tipping off authorities about the Birla group a decade earlier, contrasting government generosity in this instance with its slowness elsewhere and mocking the general practice of rewarding informants for smuggling detection; another, 'The Seven Year Itch,' riffs on Gail Sheehy's book Passages and speculates about a biological basis for divorce cycles, segueing into commentary on the recurring controversy over the Breach Candy Swimming pool's discriminatory membership practices in Bombay, including a letter-writer's charge of similar discrimination at the Pransukhlal Mafatlal Hindu Swimming Bath. A third short piece, 'A Touch of Class,' begins a review of Raj Kapoor's film Satyam Shivam Sundaram, continued later in the issue. - Chandra Shekhar received a Rs. 43,000 reward (raising his total to that sum) for information given a decade earlier about the Birla group, prompting satire about socialist politicians profiting personally. - Suggests government also consider raising and making tax-free the standard reward rate for informants on smuggled gold. - Discusses the Breach Candy Swimming pool controversy over exclusion of Indians, contrasted with alleged discrimination against non-Hindus at the Pransukhlal Mafatlal Hindu Swimming Bath. - Opens a review of Raj Kapoor's Satyam Shivam Sundaram, praising it as a film 'with a touch of class' amid what the writer calls an industry of 'costly rubbish.' ### Wage, Income and Price Policy: Bhoothalingam Study Group Report *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik critiques the Bhoothalingam Study Group's report on wage, income and price policy. He argues the Group, chaired by S. Bhoothalingam and dominated by defenders of the economic status quo, was incapable of framing a genuinely just wage and income policy, though it deserves credit for not recommending an outright wage freeze. He walks through its recommendations: a national minimum wage of Rs. 100 rising to Rs. 150 over seven years, a rural minimum household income of Rs. 1800, gradual wage increases tied to GNP and productivity growth, proposed pay commissions to address inter-sectoral wage disparities, and support for collective bargaining bounded by a Bureau of Incomes and Prices, which Karnik warns could undermine bargaining if paired with a binding adjudication body. The piece (continued on pages 13 and 15) also covers workers' anger over the Group's rejection of extending bonus entitlements to groups like railway and postal employees, the ceiling proposals on income (Rs. 2000/month suggested by labour member A. N. Buch versus the Group's own Rs. 6000/month wage ceiling), and Karnik's conclusion that the report fails to address the core problem of redistributing national income from a wealthy minority to the impoverished majority. - Only one Study Group member, A. N. Buch of the Textile Labour Association, was committed to structural change; the rest defended the status quo. - Recommends a national minimum wage of Rs. 100/month rising to Rs. 150 over seven years, and a rural household minimum income of Rs. 1800/year. - Proposes wages increase in line with GNP and productivity growth and suggests new bodies (National Pay Commission, Pay Committee) to address wage disparities. - Rejects extending bonus to workers not covered by the Bonus Act (e.g., Railway and P&T employees), despite Janata Party's election manifesto describing bonus as deferred wage. - Suggests a wage ceiling of Rs. 6000/month, while labour member Buch proposed a Rs. 2000/month ceiling on all incomes, earned and unearned. - Karnik concludes the report fails to tackle redistribution of national income, the root of poverty. ### The Evil That Men Do and the Men Who Call It Good *By Bernard Levin* Bernard Levin's syndicated column from The Times of London (reprinted here) documents the Khmer Rouge's genocide in Cambodia since 1975, describing forced labour, executions, starvation and mass killing of the population, and cites recent atrocities against Thai and Vietnamese villagers. He then turns to indict Western apologists for the regime — chiefly Dr. Malcolm Caldwell, a lecturer at SOAS, and journalist James Fenton of the New Statesman — for downplaying or excusing the killings, comparing their denial to Holocaust deniers such as an American scientist named Butz and the Very Reverend Lord Macleod of Fuinary's praise of East Germany as a democracy. Levin concludes that people who deny available truths to defend indefensible ideologies reveal something dark and universal about human self-deception. - Estimates Khmer Rouge killings may amount to ten per cent of Cambodia's population through direct extermination or inhuman treatment since 1975. - Describes forced labour, banned Buddhism, executed monks, and eyewitness accounts of atrocities including massacres of Thai and Vietnamese villagers. - Names Dr. Malcolm Caldwell (SOAS lecturer) as a leading Western defender who insists Cambodia is a 'peaceful democracy.' - Cites James Fenton of the New Statesman as blaming America for driving Cambodian brutality. - Draws a parallel to an American named Butz who denied the Holocaust, and Lord Macleod of Fuinary's claim that East Germany is a democracy. - Concludes that ideological need, stronger than facts, drives such denial of atrocity. ### Sports Medicine *By Maj. Gen. E. D'Souza, PVSM (Retd)* Maj. Gen. E. D'Souza (PVSM, Retd.) writes on the emerging discipline of sports medicine in India, occasioned by the opening of a Bombay sports medicine centre at Balabhai Nanavati Hospital on June 5, 1978. He surveys cases where Indian athletes' careers were damaged by the absence of sports-medicine expertise (triple jumper Henry Rebello in the 1948 Olympics, footballers Charles Cornelius and Michael Kindo, hockey player Govinda at the Montreal Olympics, and players at the 1978 World Cup Hockey tournament in Buenos Aires), and argues for mandatory sports-medicine screening, dedicated centres in other Indian cities, and university chairs in the subject. - India has only one sports medicine facility, at the National Institute of Sport, Patiala, prior to the new Bombay centre. - The new Bombay Sports Medicine Centre opened June 5, 1978 at Balabhai Nanavati Hospital, inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Vasantdada Patil. - Cites historical cases of Indian athletes whose careers suffered due to lack of sports-medicine screening or care. - Advocates mandatory sports-medicine specialists attached to national teams and a chair in sports medicine at Indian universities. - Describes the centre's planned services: weekly OPD, emergency care, and an initial fitness check-up system. ### Why Masani Resigned (Statement to the press by Mr. Masani, May 29) Minoo Masani's own press statement of May 29, 1978, explaining his resignation as Chairman of the Minorities Commission. He describes three assurances made to him and colleagues that were not honoured: that government would consult the Commission on all relevant matters, that the anomaly of the Commission being an executive rather than statutory body would be corrected by constitutional amendment, and that the Commission would function independently of the Home Ministry executive. He details the Aligarh Muslim University Bill episode, unanswered letters to the Prime Minister, and the Commission's lack of office premises and staff, concluding that continuing as Chairman under these conditions would damage the Commission's credibility. - Masani resigned after three months rather than the three-year term he had accepted honorarily. - Three assurances were broken: consultation on minority matters, statutory independence via constitutional amendment, and independence from Home Ministry control. - The Aligarh Muslim University Bill was introduced without Commission consultation despite prior requests. - The Commission lacked office premises and adequate staff throughout its three-month existence. - Despite handicaps, the Commission produced a definitive report on the Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Bill before Masani's resignation. ### World News ('A World Split Apart' / 'Discs' Make People Taller At Night) An unsigned World News page reprints two wire/press items: an account of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's June 1978 Harvard commencement address, 'A World Split Apart,' in which he denounced both Western and Soviet societies for spiritual exhaustion and criticised Western media, materialism and lack of resolve; and a short item from The Times, London on scientific research suggesting spinal discs cause people to be measurably taller at night. - Solzhenitsyn's Harvard speech criticised Western society as similar to the communist world in its 'suffocation of spiritual life.' - He said he could not recommend the West as a model for Russia's transformation. - He criticised the Western press, weak politicians, and the U.S. anti-war movement's role regarding Vietnam and Cambodia. - A separate item reports research by Dr. Alice Maroudas and Professor Malcolm Jayson on spinal discs and diurnal height changes. ### Reviews: The Great Classroom Hoax And Other Reflections on India's Education (V. V. John) *By Muriel Wasi* Muriel Wasi reviews The Great Classroom Hoax and Other Reflections on India's Education by V. V. John (Vikas Publishing House, 1978). She praises John's refusal to be taken in by shams in Indian education and his readable, journalistic style, but notes his experience is almost entirely at the college and university level, limiting the value of his criticism for schooling more broadly. She finds him obsessed with excellence and concerned with social justice and freedom, but predicts the book will have limited public impact because his proposed solutions (e.g., on the three-language formula) are less admirable than his diagnoses, and because his tone belongs to an earlier generation. - The book collects V. V. John's journalistic essays on Indian education, some written during the Emergency. - Wasi praises John's unwillingness to be taken in by shams and his topical criticism of Indian post-secondary education. - She critiques that his experience is limited to college/university level, reducing relevance to schooling. - She finds his proposed solution on the three-language formula formally imperfect and impractical. - She predicts the book will have limited public impact due to John's outdated tone. ### Reviews: 'The Amendment - Conspiracy or Revolution' by Rajeev Dhavan *By Nawaz Mody* Nawaz Mody reviews Rajeev Dhavan's book The Amendment — Conspiracy or Revolution (Wheeler Publishing, 1978). She finds Dhavan in a 'dilemma,' condemning the 'moral ineptitude' of the 42nd Amendment while remaining oddly neutral about its constitutional validity, and criticises the book's careless errors and lack of in-depth analysis, though she credits its appendices as useful. She summarises Dhavan's account of the Amendment's history, the curtailment of judicial review, the Emergency-era 'underground document' advocating a Presidential system, and concludes that the Janata Party's promise to fully repeal the 42nd Amendment has been only partially fulfilled through the 43rd and (mislabeled by Dhavan) 44th Amendment Bills, with the pending 45th Amendment Bill addressing remaining issues like referendum provisions. - Dhavan condemns the 42nd Amendment's 'moral ineptitude' but is neutral on its constitutional validity, a stance Mody calls a dilemma. - The review criticises the book for careless errors, being hastily written, and lacking in-depth analysis, though it commends the appendices. - Discusses the Amendment's curtailment of High Court powers, creation of tribunals outside the courts, and government attempts to declare 'partial' Emergency. - Notes Dhavan's factual error: it was the 44th, not the 43rd, Amendment Bill that sought deletion of Art. 31-D. - Concludes that no Janata-led compromise fully addressing the Amendment's damage is achievable given political arithmetic in the Rajya Sabha. ### Letter *By Homeyar Jal Tavaria* A reader's letter from Homeyar Jal Tavaria argues that democracies worldwide suffer a crisis of leadership, citing Jimmy Carter's ineffectual first year, the UK's economic decline, and France's near turn to communism. He argues India's Janata government has failed on the socio-economic front and calls for 'managerial/technocrat' politicians rather than career politicians drawn mainly from law, who he argues are ill-suited to managing modern economic and social problems. - Argues most democracies face a crisis of leadership on the economic front, citing Carter, the UK, and France as examples. - Criticises the Janata government for failing on the socio-economic front. - Calls for 'managerial/technocrat' politicians capable of diagnosing and solving problems, rather than lawyer-politicians focused on rules and regulations. ### With Many Voices The 'With Many Voices' back-page feature compiles short quotations from world and Indian public figures published between March and June 1978, on subjects ranging from bureaucracy and sycophancy to Emergency-era politics and religion, drawn from sources such as The Times, The Statesman, Time, India Today and the Indian Express. The page also carries the subscription form for Freedom First, published by the Democratic Research Service, Bombay. - Includes quotations from Margaret Thatcher, Menahem Begin, Jimmy Carter, Morarji Desai, Rajmohan Gandhi, Subramaniam Swamy, and B. R. Ambedkar (via H. R. Khanna), among others. - One quotation from Rajmohan Gandhi in Himmat contrasts alleged 'oppression' during the Emergency with 'depression' afterward. - Includes the Freedom First subscription form, listing the Democratic Research Service address at Maneckji Wadia Bldg., Bombay. - The issue's imprint states it is published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel and printed at States' People Press, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff309/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 309 (August 1978) opens with S. V. Raju's lead editorial "Swept Under the Carpet," which reads the Morarji Desai-Charan Singh standoff inside the Janata Party as a symptom of an unresolved ideological split between Nehruvian economic instincts and Gandhian minimum-government instincts within the ruling coalition. The 'Frankly Speaking' column comments on a violent Maharashtra Assembly brawl, the Hare Krishna temple crisis at Juhu, and Roy Guzzard's proposal for plastic urban trees, alongside a piece on the Indian government's handling of a foreign-funded village welfare project. Geeta Doctor contributes a long historical essay situating the April 1978 Afghan coup within two centuries of Russian, British, and now Chinese great-power manoeuvring around Afghanistan. Prafulla Mohanti's reprinted Times of London piece, "A Great Hope Dashed," narrates the disillusionment of an Orissa village that voted out the Congress government in 1977 only to find its poverty and unemployment unaddressed a year into Janata rule. The issue also carries the full unanswered correspondence between M. R.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 309 (August 1978) opens with S. V. Raju's lead editorial "Swept Under the Carpet," which reads the Morarji Desai-Charan Singh standoff inside the Janata Party as a symptom of an unresolved ideological split between Nehruvian economic instincts and Gandhian minimum-government instincts within the ruling coalition. The 'Frankly Speaking' column comments on a violent Maharashtra Assembly brawl, the Hare Krishna temple crisis at Juhu, and Roy Guzzard's proposal for plastic urban trees, alongside a piece on the Indian government's handling of a foreign-funded village welfare project. Geeta Doctor contributes a long historical essay situating the April 1978 Afghan coup within two centuries of Russian, British, and now Chinese great-power manoeuvring around Afghanistan. Prafulla Mohanti's reprinted Times of London piece, "A Great Hope Dashed," narrates the disillusionment of an Orissa village that voted out the Congress government in 1977 only to find its poverty and unemployment unaddressed a year into Janata rule. The issue also carries the full unanswered correspondence between M. R. Masani (as Chairman of the Minorities Commission) and the Prime Minister documenting the Commission's functional paralysis, plus reprinted world-affairs items (Soviet political humour, Thai birth-control politics, Cuban troops in Angola, and US arms exports) and two book reviews -- of Chandra Shekhar's Dynamics of Social Change and Charles Allen's Plain Tales from the Raj -- alongside the regular 'With Many Voices' quotations column. ## Essays ### Swept Under the Carpet *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju's lead editorial argues that the ceasefire within the Janata Party after a month of infighting over Charan Singh's resignation and reinstatement is only a temporary truce, not a resolution. He traces the party's fragility to its origin as an electoral 'Front' of convenience rather than a party built on shared ideology, formed to oust Indira Gandhi and restore civil liberties rather than to agree on economic policy. With that founding purpose achieved, Raju argues, the coalition's internal contradictions -- chiefly the unresolved choice between Nehruvian planning and a more Gandhian minimum-government approach -- are now surfacing as personality clashes among Morarji Desai, Chandra Shekhar and Charan Singh. - The Janata Party's National Executive meeting of July 12 produced only a surface calm after Charan Singh's withdrawal of his resignation letter. - Raju argues Janata was formed as an electoral 'Front', not an ideologically unified party, uniting only around restoring liberties after the Emergency. - The electorate voted Janata into power to escape the dictatorship of the Emergency, not because it endorsed any specific economic or social programme. - With civil liberties restored, the party now must resolve internal disagreement over economic direction, framed as a personality dispute among top leaders. - The piece continues on page 14, arguing the deeper contest is between 'Nehruism' and 'Gandhism' within Janata's economic thinking. ### Frankly Speaking... (Operation Topple / Hare Krishna Hots Up / The Plastic Revolution / How to Ruin a Good Thing) *By SVR / GD* The regular 'Frankly Speaking' column runs four short signed items. S.V.R. writes on 'Operation Topple,' condemning a violent brawl in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and the resignation and re-entry into government of Sharad Pawar, seeing it as further evidence that Maharashtra's politicians have 'learnt nothing and forgotten nothing.' G.D. reports on the sudden turn against the Hare Krishna movement at its Juhu temple in Bombay following a fatal incident, describing how quickly popular goodwill toward the devotees evaporated. G.D. also writes on 'The Plastic Revolution,' mocking London architect Roy Guzzard's proposal to landscape cities with artificial trees. S.V.R. closes with 'How to Ruin a Good Thing,' describing how a successful foreign-backed village welfare project in Maliwada, Maharashtra was thrown into bureaucratic jeopardy after the Indian President criticised the presence of foreign volunteers there. - S.V.R. criticises the Maharashtra Assembly brawl of July 13, 1978 and Sharad Pawar's resignation and the subsequent coalition manoeuvring in the state legislature. - G.D. describes the rapid collapse of public sympathy for Hare Krishna devotees at the Juhu temple after a fatal altercation over stolen sandals. - G.D. satirises architect Roy Guzzard's call, quoted from the London Times, to landscape cities with plastic trees instead of real ones. - S.V.R. recounts how the village of Maliwada near Daulatabad prospered under a foreign-linked welfare project until the President of India's visit triggered bureaucratic suspicion of the foreign volunteers involved. - The column overall highlights the authors' recurring theme of official overreach and bureaucratic reflexes undermining otherwise successful private or voluntary initiatives. ### A Kick from the Horse *By Geeta Doctor* Geeta Doctor's 'A Kick from the Horse' places the April 1978 Marxist coup in Afghanistan within a two-century history of great-power rivalry over the country. She recounts Peter the Great's Persian ambitions in 1722, the Great Game contest between the British and Russian empires through the 19th-century Afghan wars, Soviet absorption of Muslim Central Asia after the Basmachi Revolt, and the current regime's professed loyalty to Islam under Nur Mohammad Taraki. She then surveys the coup's likely consequences for India, Pakistan, Iran and China, arguing that China's anxiety about Soviet encirclement, Pakistan's fear of a renewed Baluchi/Pakhtoon insurgency, and the Shah of Iran's domestic troubles are all entangled with the new instability in Kabul. - The essay opens by comparing the unpredictability of the Chinese zodiac's Year of the Horse to the surprise April 1978 Afghan coup. - It reviews Peter the Great's 18th-century Persian ambitions and Russia's long-standing quest for warm-water access via the Persian Gulf. - It surveys the 19th-century Great Game: two Anglo-Afghan wars, the Basmachi Revolt against Soviet rule, and Soviet absorption of Muslim Central Asian territories. - The new Afghan regime under Nur Mohammad Taraki, though Marxist and Soviet-backed, publicly invokes Islam and denounces 'traitors' who plot against the April revolution. - China's fear of Soviet encirclement, Pakistan's concern over renewed Baluchi and Pakhtoon agitation, and the Shah of Iran's domestic unrest are all shown as entangled with instability following the coup. ### A Great Hope Dashed *By Prafulla Mohanti* Prafulla Mohanti's reprinted Times of London article recounts his return visits to an Orissa village before and after the March 1977 general election. In February-March 1977 he found villagers -- Hindu, Muslim and Harijan -- weighing their vote between Congress, Janata and Communist candidates, moved above all by anger at the Emergency's curtailment of liberties and by economic hardship. The Janata candidate won by a large majority, but when Mohanti returned in March 1978 nothing had improved: prices were still rising, unemployment persisted, and the Harijan settlement's tenant farmers had lost work as landlords retaliated after the vote. A state minister who had impressed villagers with his campaign rhetoric proved inaccessible once in office. The piece closes with villagers' resigned verdict that Janata, while disappointing, is still preferable to 'the mighty Congress.' - Mohanti visited an Orissa village of 2,500 people, including Harijan and Muslim minorities, in the weeks before the March 1977 election. - Villagers' central concern was the restoration of individual liberties curtailed under the Emergency, alongside anger over prices and unemployment. - The Janata candidate, a former Youth Congress member who opposed Mrs. Gandhi and went underground during the Emergency, won with a majority of 100,000 votes. - On a return visit in March 1978, villagers reported no improvement: mustard oil scarcity, continued unemployment, and Harijan tenant farmers losing work to landlord retaliation. - The Janata state minister who had won villagers' admiration during the campaign proved unreachable for hours when Mohanti sought him out afterward. - Villagers concluded they would give Janata two years before 'throwing them out' as they had Congress, having realised through the vote the power they held. ### The Unanswered Indictment (letters to the Prime Minister re: Minorities Commission) *By M. R. Masani / V. V. John* This piece reproduces in full two letters M. R. Masani wrote to the Prime Minister as Chairman of the Minorities Commission (dated April 27 and May 9, 1978), together with the answers given in Parliament on July 19-20 that provoked their release. The letters document the Commission's inability to function: it had no premises, no staff beyond a Secretary and an Under Secretary, over 600 unacknowledged representations, and was ignored when the Education Ministry proceeded to draft Aligarh Muslim University legislation without waiting for the Commission's promised input. The correspondence, continued on page 10, ends with Masani and V. V. John tendering their resignations effective May 31, 1978, citing the government's failure to provide the working conditions it had promised when inviting them to serve. - Masani's April 27 letter protests that two months after its creation, the Minorities Commission has no office, no staff, and cannot function. - The Commission was treated as an 'attached office' of the Home Ministry despite the Prime Minister's own earlier assurance it should not be so treated. - Over 600 representations addressed to the Commission had gone unacknowledged for lack of staff. - The May 9 letter adds that the Education Ministry proceeded to draft Aligarh Muslim University legislation and announced its introduction in Parliament without waiting for the Commission's promised recommendations, despite an explicit request to do so. - The full text (continued on page 10) ends with Masani and V. V. John resigning from the Commission effective May 31, 1978, citing government's failure to honour its assurances. ### 'An Evening of Soviet Humour' *By Israel Shenker* Israel Shenker's reprinted New York Times piece describes 'An Evening of Soviet Humour,' a Kennan Institute event in Washington where American Sovietologists shared and analysed Soviet political jokes. Scholars including Abraham Brumberg and Stephen Cohen discuss anecdotes about Soviet leaders, dissidents, and the absurdities of building socialism in one country, with Cohen arguing that the jokes reveal genuine popular attitudes -- toward the permanence of the revolution, toward emigration, and toward the gap between propaganda and lived reality -- more honestly than official channels do. - The Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies hosted 'An Evening of Soviet Humour' to explore Kremlinology through jokes rather than dry analysis. - Frederick Starr organised the event and categorised jokes into three types: Russians joking about themselves, about the human condition, and (rarely) about Americans. - Scholars recounted jokes about the fictional recurring figure 'Rabinovich,' about Brezhnev, and about whether socialism can be built in one country. - Stephen Cohen argued that Soviet joke-telling functions as a form of political discussion under conditions where open dissent is prohibited. - The piece closes on the observation that the common response to a good Soviet joke is not 'how funny' but 'how true.' ### World News (Bangkok's Pill Crisis / Aggression Against Angola? / Arsenal of Democracy) The 'World News' section reprints several short foreign-press items. George McArthur's Guardian piece describes Thai birth-control campaigner Mechai Viravaidya's public battle with the Boonma Moving and Storage Company over missing shipments of contraceptive pills. An unsigned item from the Swiss Press Review examines Cuban military involvement in Angola, disputing Fidel Castro's claims of troop withdrawals and pointing to the Shaba invasion of Zaire as evidence of continued Cuban-backed aggression, while noting the double standard by which Cuban action is called 'liberation' but comparable action by others is condemned. Peter Pringle's piece, condensed from the Sunday Times, uses Tom Gervasi's study 'Arsenal of Democracy' to detail the vast scale of US arms exports to developing nations, including Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Chile and Taiwan. - Mechai Viravaidya's birth-control campaign in Thailand distributes subsidised pills to 240,000 women across 8,000 villages via a nationwide network. - A dispute between Mechai and the Boonma Moving and Storage Company over missing pill shipments threatened to leave 240,000 women without contraceptives. - The Swiss Press Review piece argues Cuban forces remain at full strength in Angola despite Castro's claims of reduction, citing the Shaba Province invasion of Zaire as evidence. - The piece highlights a double standard: Cuban intervention is termed 'liberation' while comparable French and Moroccan assistance to Zaire is called 'raids.' - Tom Gervasi's 'Arsenal of Democracy' study documents US arms sales -- 3,560 tanks, 5,240 armoured cars, 593 supersonic aircraft and more than 10,000 missiles between 1971-75 -- concentrated in oil-producing states and Cold War client nations. ### Reviews: Dynamics of Social Change by Chandra Shekhar *By K. S. Venkateswaran* K. S. Venkateswaran reviews Chandra Shekhar's 'Dynamics of Social Change,' sharply criticising the book's attack on private enterprise and 'monopoly houses' as relying on distorted language and Marxist jargon rather than serious economic analysis. The review argues that Chandra Shekhar's advocacy of a fully state-controlled economy ignores that even Jawaharlal Nehru favoured a mixed economy with nationalisation only where genuinely necessary, and that economist Fredie Mehta's critique of anti-growth 'poverty economics' better explains India's continuing poverty than Chandra Shekhar's redistributive framework. - Venkateswaran accuses Chandra Shekhar of using distorted, Marxist-inflected language to tar private enterprise and 'monopoly houses' as the root of India's economic ills. - The review argues Chandra Shekhar sees a false dichotomy between private enterprise and a mixed economy, one the framers of India's Constitution did not share. - Jawaharlal Nehru is invoked as having explicitly favoured a competitive private sector alongside the public sector, contradicting Chandra Shekhar's more absolutist redistributive stance. - Economist Fredie Mehta is quoted arguing that 'poverty economics' wrongly treats growth and poverty reduction as opposed, holding back priority projects on the mistaken belief that pro-poverty policy must be anti-growth. - Venkateswaran concludes that low growth, not private enterprise, is the real threat to India's economic prospects. ### Reviews: Plain Tales from the Raj, edited by Charles Allen *By K. V. Padmanabhan* K. V. Padmanabhan reviews Charles Allen's 'Plain Tales from the Raj,' an oral-history anthology of over sixty British survivors of colonial India assembled from BBC radio interviews. The review describes the book's portrait of the British administrative, military and mercantile classes in India -- their self-contained social world, hierarchy (the Indian Civil Service, the Indian Political Service, the Army, and 'box-wallah' merchants), and their reliance on Indian domestic servants -- and closes by noting the book's value in illustrating candidly, with humour, how that world dissolved at independence and gave way to continuing Indo-British cooperation. - Charles Allen's anthology draws on BBC radio interviews with more than sixty survivors of British India, including Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck and other senior figures. - The review describes the insulated, hierarchical social world of British administrators, contrasted with the more mundane earlier generation of pioneers and settlers. - A strict social order placed the Indian Civil Service ('the Heaven-born') above the Indian Political Service and Police, the Army, and merchant 'box-wallahs' at the bottom. - The book documents British reliance on Indian domestic servants ('wallahs') for daily needs, down to named roles like the nappy-wallah and dudh-wallah. - Padmanabhan concludes that despite the abrupt end of British rule, Indo-British relations have since flourished, and the book may help promote further understanding between the two countries. ### With Many Voices (quotations compilation) The closing 'With Many Voices' column collects short quotations from Indian and international newspapers and public figures on contemporary political topics, ranging from Devi Lal's self-description as a kisan before a chief minister, to Acharya Kripalani's comment that the Prime Minister must be living in a paradise of his own creation, to quotations from Sir Keith Joseph, Mario Puzo and Sidney Hook on democracy, reading and Solzhenitsyn. - The column reprints a wide range of quotations from Indian newspapers (Times of India, Indian Express, Opinion) and international sources on current political controversies. - Acharya J. B. Kripalani is quoted suggesting the Prime Minister (Morarji Desai) must be living in a paradise of his own creation if he believes India's troubles are merely governmental. - Sir Keith Joseph is quoted arguing that only a combination of democracy, rule of law and limited government can preserve a free society. - The column closes with Prof. Sidney Hook's remark on Solzhenitsyn's fixed vision of Heaven despite having lived through 'something very much like Hell.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff310/ ### Summary This is the September 1978 issue (No. 310, 27th year of publication) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor. The issue opens with V. B. Karnik's account of renewed Soviet repression of dissidents (Shcharansky, Ginzburg, Orlov, Podrabinek) following the Belgrade review of the Helsinki accords, situating the persecution within the broader human-rights politics of the Cold War. The editorial column 'Frankly Speaking' comments on student unrest at Bombay University, the Korchnoi-Karpov chess championship as Cold War theatre, an Arunachal Pradesh anti-conversion bill criticised as illiberal, censorship of Irving Wallace's The R Document during the Emergency, and lighter miscellany on animals and language policy. The centrepiece is Bernard Levin's three-part extract on the Shah Commission's findings on the Emergency, methodically documenting the fabricated grounds for its declaration, press censorship, propaganda use of state media, and illegal arrests and detentions under Indira Gandhi's government. Other contributions include K. S. Venkateswaran's anthology of legal wit and courtroom anecdotes; S. V.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the September 1978 issue (No. 310, 27th year of publication) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor. The issue opens with V. B. Karnik's account of renewed Soviet repression of dissidents (Shcharansky, Ginzburg, Orlov, Podrabinek) following the Belgrade review of the Helsinki accords, situating the persecution within the broader human-rights politics of the Cold War. The editorial column 'Frankly Speaking' comments on student unrest at Bombay University, the Korchnoi-Karpov chess championship as Cold War theatre, an Arunachal Pradesh anti-conversion bill criticised as illiberal, censorship of Irving Wallace's The R Document during the Emergency, and lighter miscellany on animals and language policy. The centrepiece is Bernard Levin's three-part extract on the Shah Commission's findings on the Emergency, methodically documenting the fabricated grounds for its declaration, press censorship, propaganda use of state media, and illegal arrests and detentions under Indira Gandhi's government. Other contributions include K. S. Venkateswaran's anthology of legal wit and courtroom anecdotes; S. V. Raju's exposé of the pay and perquisites enjoyed by Indian MPs ('India's New Princes'); Col. H. R. Pasricha's polemic against prohibition, built around Samuel Butler and Aldous Huxley epigraphs; a film review of Des Pardes by Meenakshi Rao; four book reviews covering management, Arab-Israeli strategy, a critical study of Nehru's China policy, and a novel about post-Independence India; M. R. Pai's practical advice to telephone subscribers on fighting billing disputes; and the 'With Many Voices' page of press quotations on Indian and world politics of the day. ## Essays ### War Against Dissidents *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik surveys a renewed Soviet campaign against dissidents in 1978, arguing that repression eased only briefly around the Belgrade talks reviewing the Helsinki accords before resuming with full force. He details the arrest and secret trial of Anatoli Shcharansky, a mathematician and computer expert who sought to emigrate to Israel and was linked to Sakharov, Orlov, and Ginzburg; his conviction for 'spying' rested on a document he could not read. The essay covers parallel trials of Alexander Ginzburg and Viktoras Pektus, the harassment of cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and singer Galina Vishnevskaya, the stripping of General Grigorenko's citizenship, and the show trial of Dr. Yuri Orlov, founder of the Helsinki-monitoring groups, whom international observers including the Herald Tribune described as being prosecuted to 'annihilate dissidence in the Soviet Union.' The piece closes (in its continuation on page 12) by invoking Solzhenitsyn's description of psychiatric incarceration as 'a variation of the gas chamber' and predicting that international human-rights pressure will sustain the dissident movement despite Soviet efforts to crush it. - Documents the March 1977 arrest and 1978 secret trial of Anatoli Shcharansky on fabricated espionage charges tied to his advocacy for Jewish emigration and Helsinki-accord monitoring. - Describes parallel trials of Alexander Ginzburg (linked to a Solzhenitsyn-administered fund for political prisoners) and Lithuanian Catholic/nationalist activist Viktoras Pektus. - Notes harassment of prominent artists (Rostropovich, Vishnevskaya) and General Pyotr Grigorenko for supporting dissidents. - Covers the prosecution of Dr. Yuri Orlov, founder of the Helsinki-monitoring groups, and international condemnation of his trial by Western governments and the press. - Reports on Alexander Podrabinek's campaign against Soviet psychiatric abuse of political prisoners and a London tribunal investigating the practice. - Frames Soviet dissidents as spanning many social classes and predicts the movement's survival despite state repression. ### "Frightening, Yet Invaluable" *By Bernard Levin* The 'Frankly Speaking' editorial column runs several short unsigned/initialed pieces. 'Romantic and Revolutionary'? criticises 150 students who seized Bombay University's administration building over fee increases, arguing the fee protest was a cover for broader disruptive demands including scrapping exams and switching the medium of instruction to Marathi, and faults the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Minister for tolerating the occupation. 'Media Wars' satirises global media coverage of the Korchnoi-Karpov world chess championship at Baguio as Cold War theatre, complete with claims of KGB-rigged chairs and hypnosis, and recounts a historical anecdote about a chess-playing automaton built by a rebel Russian noble to escape Catherine the Great's court. 'An Obnoxious Measure' condemns the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Indigenous Faith Bill, 1978 as illiberal and anti-Christian legislation aimed at suppressing missionary conversion activity, arguing it targets ethnic estrangement in the northeast rather than addressing it. 'The R Document Uncensored' reveals that the Indian edition of Irving Wallace's novel The R Document, serialized during the Emergency, had sentences censored that referenced the 1975 Emergency and suspension of civil liberties in India. Further short pieces in the continuation on page 8 include 'It's a Dog's World After All' (a light essay on national character and animal treatment), 'A Stupid Decision' (criticising Bombay University's move to make English optional), 'Sound Advice' (on Vinoba Bhave's advice to Mrs Gandhi), and 'No More Preference' (welcoming the withdrawal of price preference for public-sector undertakings). - Criticises the student occupation of Bombay University's administration building as agitation that outstripped the underlying fee-rise grievance. - Uses the Korchnoi-Karpov chess championship at Baguio to satirise Cold War media sensationalism, with a historical digression on an 18th-century chess automaton built by a dissident Russian noble. - Condemns the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Indigenous Faith Bill 1978 as illiberal, anti-Christian legislation targeting religious conversion. - Exposes Indian-edition censorship of passages in Irving Wallace's The R Document that referenced the 1975 Emergency. - Criticises a Bombay University decision to make English an optional B.A. subject as harmful to students and English teachers alike. - Notes Vinoba Bhave's advice to Mrs Gandhi to renounce politics, with a critical aside about Bhave's own conduct during the Emergency. ### Humour in Law *By K. S. Venkateswaran* Bernard Levin's three extracted columns present a detailed reading of the Shah Commission's findings on Indira Gandhi's Emergency. The first extract dismantles the two claims in Mrs Gandhi's letter to the President seeking the Emergency's declaration: that internal disturbance posed an imminent threat to security, and that there was no time to consult the Cabinet. Levin quotes the Commission's finding that economic and law-and-order indicators showed nothing alarming, and that plans to arrest opposition leaders and suppress newspapers were already under preparation before the Emergency was proclaimed, proving the official justification fraudulent. The second extract, 'How Mrs Gandhi Gagged the Press by the Flick of a Switch,' documents how the government cut electricity to newspaper offices to enforce a media blackout, imposed formal censorship policy explicitly designed to 'keep the public in ignorance and instil fear,' and used All India Radio and government film units to propagandize for the Congress Party and for Sanjay Gandhi personally. The third extract, 'Jail Without Trial,' details how detention orders were issued without valid grounds, sometimes backdated, and how detainees such as Bhim Sen Sachar were imprisoned for the 'crime' of writing an open letter, with the Commission concluding this constituted a totalitarian abuse of the law. Levin closes by praising the Indian electorate's rejection of the 1977 election gamble as proof that Indians, offered a real choice between democracy and dictatorship, chose democracy. - Refutes the two central justifications in Mrs Gandhi's letter requesting Emergency proclamation, citing the Shah Commission's finding that economic and law-and-order conditions were not alarming. - Shows that arrests of opposition leaders and press suppression measures were being prepared before the Emergency was formally declared, undercutting the claim of urgency. - Documents the shutting off of electricity to newspaper offices as an illegal means of enforcing censorship. - Cites Commission evidence that state media (AIR, Films Division) were used to propagandize for the Congress Party and to build a personal image for Sanjay Gandhi. - Details cases of detention without valid grounds, including the imprisonment of Bhim Sen Sachar and seven others solely for writing an open letter. - Concludes that the Indian electorate's 1977 rejection of authoritarianism vindicates democratic choice and should strengthen resolve against any future repetition. ### India's New Princes *By S. V. Raju* K. S. Venkateswaran offers a light anthology of courtroom humour and legal wit from British judicial history, aiming to counter the notion that law and humour are incompatible. The piece recounts anecdotes involving Judge Greenberg's sardonic exchanges with juries and defendants, Lord Darling's cross-talk with counsel (including puns on Lyons Corner House and George Robey), Lord Bowen's quip about judges' 'manifold defects,' Lord Coleridge's remark on musical taste, a solicitor's overly candid telegram exchange with a client, and Lord Chief Justice O'Brien's courtroom flirtations, closing with Robert Houdin's account of an 18th-century chess-playing automaton operated by a legless Russian revolutionary. - Argues that the Victorian and Edwardian legal profession produced a rich tradition of courtroom wit, contrary to popular assumptions about law's dullness. - Recounts several anecdotes of judges (Greenberg, Darling, Bowen, Coleridge, O'Brien) engaging in humour with juries, counsel, and witnesses. - Notes a solicitor's telegram exchange as an example of unexpectedly blunt communication in legal practice. ### Musings on Prohibition *By Col. H. R. Pasricha (Retd.)* S. V. Raju, prompted by a report of Enoch Powell opposing an MPs' pay rise in the British House of Commons, examines the pay and perquisites of Indian Members of Parliament as detailed by a Lok Sabha publication and reported in India Today. He itemises salary, housing and secretarial allowances, session attendance pay, free air travel and rail passes, telephone facilities, subsidised accommodation, medical benefits, and a newly introduced pension scheme, totalling roughly Rs. 33,228 a year in direct and indirect benefits per MP, alongside a proliferating 'privy pension' cost to the exchequer. The essay closes by asking whether taxpayers should demand restraint from India's 'new princes' as the next budget approaches. - Contrasts Enoch Powell's principled opposition to a British MPs' pay rise with Indian MPs' array of perquisites. - Itemises Indian MPs' salary, allowances, travel, telephone, accommodation, medical, and pension benefits based on Lok Sabha data reported by India Today. - Estimates an MP's annual value of pay and perquisites at roughly Rs. 33,228, excluding pension costs. - Notes the pension scheme for MPs will cost the exchequer Rs. 30 lakhs in its first year, rising by Rs. 10 lakhs annually. - Questions whether India's legislators, dubbed 'new princes,' should show restraint given taxpayer funding of their benefits. ### Film Review: Des Pardes—An Extravaganza of the Senses *By Meenakshi Rao* Col. H. R. Pasricha (Retd.) argues against prohibition, opening with epigraphs from Samuel Butler and Aldous Huxley on the entangled nature of virtue and vice, and on alcohol's psychological function. He contends that enforced prohibition is unenforceable without rampant corruption, that it is a form of dictatorship for one man's conception of virtue to be imposed on a nation's private habits, and that Indian leaders who champion prohibition misunderstand both democracy and human nature. - Uses Samuel Butler's and Aldous Huxley's writings on virtue, vice, and alcohol to frame an argument against prohibition. - Argues that enforcement of prohibition is inherently corrupting because the implementing agency is already compromised. - Frames state-imposed prohibition as a negation of democratic freedom and a dictatorship of personal moral preference. - Criticises 'Khaddar clad leaders' for invoking spiritual heritage to justify prohibition while ignoring the authors' actual arguments. ### Book Review: Arab Strategies and Israel's Response by Yehoshafat Harkabi *By Nitin G. Raut* Meenakshi Rao reviews the Hindi film Des Pardes, describing it as a socially aware but ultimately conventional melodrama about illegal immigrants in the UK, centred on Sameer Sahni's murder and his brother Dev Anand's revenge. The review is critical of Hindi cinema's inability to reconcile serious social themes with its flamboyant commercial conventions of music, romance, and spectacle, concluding that despite its flaws the film's exuberant energy retains a certain charm. - Summarises the plot of Des Pardes: a pub owner's murder by criminals involved in an illegal immigrant racket, and his brother's revenge. - Criticises the film's superficial treatment of the 'plight of illegal immigrants' theme, subordinated to melodrama and spectacle. - Argues that popular Hindi cinema structurally cannot accommodate 'the darker side of life' due to its commercial and stylistic conventions. - Concludes on a note of qualified affection for Hindi cinema's 'bubbling, irrepressible energy' despite its artistic limitations. ### Book Review: The Last Days of Jawaharlal Nehru by H. V. Kamath *By K. S. Hebbar* Four short book reviews appear on pages 13-14. An unsigned review (EDS) of William B. Given Jr.'s How to Manage People finds it commonsensical but derivative, cautioning that its North American perspective needs adaptation to the Indian business environment. Nitin G. Raut reviews Yehoshafat Harkabi's Arab Strategies and Israel's Response, summarising its 'iceberg' model of Arab policy toward Israel, in which shifting diplomatic tactics conceal an unchanged underlying commitment to Israel's destruction. KVP reviews H. V. Kamath's The Last Days of Jawaharlal Nehru, criticising it as a slim, padded collection of previously published articles that fails to substantiate its thesis that Nehru's China policy blunders caused his death. K. S. Hebbar reviews Nayantara Sahgal's novel A Situation in New Delhi, describing it as populated by indistinct, poorly motivated characters and criticising its vague treatment of a post-Independence 'crisis' centred on the death of a Shivraj-like leader figure. - Reviews How to Manage People as useful but unoriginal, requiring adaptation from its American context to Indian business realities. - Summarises Harkabi's argument that Arab diplomatic 'warming' toward Israel is superficial, with the underlying national position still committed to Israel's elimination. - Criticises The Last Days of Jawaharlal Nehru as padded and insufficiently substantiated regarding Nehru's China policy and death. - Criticises A Situation in New Delhi for vague characterisation and an unclear central thesis about post-Independence political drift. ### Book Review: A Situation in New Delhi by Nayantara Sahgal *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Pai gives telephone subscribers practical advice for disputing inflated bills, recommending meticulous record-keeping of calls, retention of correspondence, cutting off STD access to remove one excuse for high bills, prompt payment while formally contesting excess charges, and, if necessary, resorting to a court of law, framing the effort as citizens asserting their right to be served rather than to serve the bureaucracy. - Advises subscribers to keep detailed logs of every call made, including date, time, and person contacted. - Recommends disconnecting STD facility to eliminate one excuse offered by the Telephone Department for high bills. - Suggests paying only the average of the previous four quarters' bills when an excessive bill arrives, with a written objection. - Frames going to court as an expensive but sometimes necessary last resort against an obstinate Telephone Department. - States the underlying democratic principle that the Department exists to serve subscribers, not vice versa. ### Tips for Telephone Subscribers *By M. R. Pai* The 'With Many Voices' page collects short quotations from Indian and international newspapers and public figures on current events of mid-1978, including remarks by B. C. Cariappa, Charan Singh, Menachem Begin, Morarji Desai, Devraj Urs, Roy Wilkins, Karpoori Thakur, S. Nijalingappa, and press commentary from The Economist on comparisons between Sanjay Gandhi and Kanti Desai. - Quotes B. C. Cariappa describing India as 'a nation of a bunch of thugs' pending proof of individual honesty. - Includes Charan Singh's remark that Gandhism and Nehruism 'can't be together.' - Cites The Economist's comparison of Kanti Desai to Sanjay Gandhi as a 'second' influential prime ministerial relative. - Includes commentary from Motif on Morarji Desai's governing style, likening it to a 'modern-day Godman' combined with Mughal 'arrogance.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff311/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 311 (October 1978) opens with editor S. V. Raju's "The Fruits of Compromise," a sharp attack on the Janata Party government for watering down its election pledge to fully repeal the Emergency-era 42nd Amendment, settling instead for a truncated 45th Amendment Bill after the Rajya Sabha, with Mrs. Gandhi's bloc voting it down. The issue's editorial columns ("Frankly Speaking") take up Kerala's Gulf-remittance boom, the Law Ministry's defence of removing the right to property from the Fundamental Rights chapter (rebutted using N. A. Palkhivala's own words), and a satirical dispatch on the Rajneesh ashram in Poona. Zahiruddin Ahmad, writing from Australia on the thirtieth anniversary of independence, offers a personal and historical meditation on Partition, arguing it was a mistake that has hurt Muslims of the subcontinent more than Hindus, and tracing how British policy and communal politics produced 1947. A report summarises a Srinagar seminar on Third World development problems (technology transfer, MNCs, agricultural productivity). P. G.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 311 (October 1978) opens with editor S. V. Raju's "The Fruits of Compromise," a sharp attack on the Janata Party government for watering down its election pledge to fully repeal the Emergency-era 42nd Amendment, settling instead for a truncated 45th Amendment Bill after the Rajya Sabha, with Mrs. Gandhi's bloc voting it down. The issue's editorial columns ("Frankly Speaking") take up Kerala's Gulf-remittance boom, the Law Ministry's defence of removing the right to property from the Fundamental Rights chapter (rebutted using N. A. Palkhivala's own words), and a satirical dispatch on the Rajneesh ashram in Poona. Zahiruddin Ahmad, writing from Australia on the thirtieth anniversary of independence, offers a personal and historical meditation on Partition, arguing it was a mistake that has hurt Muslims of the subcontinent more than Hindus, and tracing how British policy and communal politics produced 1947. A report summarises a Srinagar seminar on Third World development problems (technology transfer, MNCs, agricultural productivity). P. G. Mavalankar, M.P., reflecting on the Shah Commission's findings on the Emergency, presses Parliament to act on its recommendations. World News carries obituaries of Ignazio Silone and Jomo Kenyatta and a note on the Dalai Lama and Tibet. A book review assesses Charan Singh's "India's Economic Policy: A Gandhian Blueprint," and a film review pans the Kannada art film "Ghatashradda." Maj. Gen. E. D'Souza argues India lacks a war memorial worthy of its servicemen's sacrifices. The issue closes with the "With Many Voices" quotations column and subscription information. ## Essays ### The Fruits of Compromise *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju's lead editorial accuses the Janata Party of failing to honour its manifesto pledge to rescind the 42nd Amendment in full. Instead of standing firm, the government sought a watered-down 45th Amendment, which Mrs. Gandhi's bloc (with CPI allies) nonetheless voted down in the Rajya Sabha, leaving even that weaker measure dead. Raju recounts M. R. Masani's parliamentary challenge asking whether a government needing assured majorities in both houses before legislating is functioning democracy, and criticizes reports that the Law Ministry wants the truncated bill accepted anyway. He calls for a fresh Amendment Bill to repeal the 42nd Amendment in toto. - Janata Party's manifesto promised full repeal of the 42nd Amendment but the government pursued only a partial 45th Amendment Bill. - The Rajya Sabha, dominated by Mrs. Gandhi's supporters and CPI allies, rejected even the diluted 45th Amendment. - M. R. Masani's November 1977 Freedom First article questioned whether a government must secure opposition consensus before legislating. - Clauses voted down included restoring primacy of fundamental rights over directive principles and provisions for a referendum on constitutional amendments affecting basic features. - The author urges the government to let the current bill lapse and introduce a fresh bill to repeal the 42nd Amendment entirely. ### Thirty Years Ago-Thirty Years Later *By Zahiruddin Ahmad* Two short unsigned-by-byline columns under the "Frankly Speaking" masthead, both credited GD (Geeta Doctor) and SVR (S. V. Raju) respectively. The first, "Kerala's Mini Boom," describes the social transformation wrought in Kerala by Gulf remittances, citing an Economic and Political Weekly study showing most household savings go into land, buildings, and consumer durables rather than productive investment, and warns of a coming crisis as Gulf jobs dry up. The second, "'Uninformed' Indeed!," rebuts Law Ministry spokesmen who dismissed critics of removing the right to property from the Fundamental Rights chapter as 'uninformed,' countering with a lengthy quotation from N. A. Palkhivala on why the right to property underpins other fundamental rights. - Gulf remittances have driven a consumption boom in Kerala, funding home construction, appliances, and imported goods. - An EPW study found over 90% of household savings went into land, buildings, and durables rather than productive investment. - The number of passport applications from Ernakulam has dropped sharply, signalling the boom may be tapering. - The column warns the government has given no thought to reintegrating returning Gulf workers when the boom ends. - N. A. Palkhivala, India's Ambassador to the USA, is quoted arguing that removing constitutional property rights would hollow out press freedom, trade union rights, and freedom of residence. ### Learning the Right Lessons *By P. G. Mavalankar M.P.* Geeta Doctor's "Rajneesh at Poona" is a wry, observational report on the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh ashram, describing the orange-clad followers flooding Poona's streets, public disapproval including a rumoured rape, and a visit inside the ashram: the meditation hall's 'Kundalini' dancing, the ashramites' unselfconscious dress and behaviour, and the boutiques selling Rajneesh-branded goods. She closes by comparing Rajneesh's provocations favourably to the 'cant and hypocrisy' of conventional society, predicting Poona will never be the same. - Poona's traditional Hindu-orthodox self-image is described as under strain from the visible presence of Rajneesh's orange-robed followers. - The ashram's 'Kundalini' dancing and meditation practices are described in detail as compelling but bewildering to an outside observer. - Followers are described as unselfconscious about nudity, dress, and physical intimacy in ways that scandalize local sentiment. - The author frames Rajneesh as exposing the 'cant and hypocrisy' of conventional social norms rather than as simply immoral. ### Book Review: India's Economic Policy. A Gandhian Blueprint by Charan Singh *By Sonal Shah* Zahiruddin Ahmad, a Bengali Muslim who left for Pakistan in 1951 and resigned from its Civil Service in 1957, reflects on the thirtieth anniversary of Indian independence. He recounts surviving the 1946 Calcutta killings, argues that Muslims of India constitute castes within Hindu society rather than a separate nation, and rejects Jinnah's two-nation theory as a false black-and-white picture of a society full of grey. He blames British policy (the 1909 separate electorates) and Gandhi's repeated 'blunders' (ending non-cooperation in 1922, the 1931 Gandhi-Irwin Pact) for enabling Partition, which he calls a mistake that hurt subcontinental Muslims more than Hindus by fragmenting a once-larger community across India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. He contrasts India's continued protection of its ~60 million Muslims with Pakistan's expulsion or killing of Sikhs and Hindus from Lahore, and closes by asking whether India and Pakistan (and Bangladesh) can cooperate economically even if reunification is impossible. - The author frames Indian Muslims as castes within a heterogeneous Indian society rather than a separate nation, rejecting Jinnah's two-nation theory. - He describes surviving the August 1946 Calcutta killings, saved by a Hindu friend and sheltered by a Muslim pharmacist who protected Hindu refugees. - He argues British policy -- especially the 1909 separate electorates -- was a deliberate 'divide and rule' strategy alongside deep-rooted communal politics. - He criticizes Gandhi three times: ending non-cooperation in 1922, signing the Gandhi-Irwin Pact in 1931, and thereby squandering opportunities against British rule. - He states that had India not been partitioned, its ~200 million Muslims would still be a minority but one 'no one can ignore,' and that Partition weakened Muslim political effectiveness by dividing the community across three states. - He contrasts India's continued accommodation of Muslims with Pakistan's expulsion or killing of nearly all Sikhs and Hindus from Lahore by 1947-48. - He closes wondering whether India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh could cooperate economically -- monetary policy, trade, customs, water resources -- given the changed post-1971 landscape. ### Film Review: "Ghatashradda" — Unrelieved Gloom *By Geeta Doctor* An unsigned report on a seminar on 'Problems of the Third World' held in Srinagar, Kashmir, from 6-9 September, attended by twenty-four participants from Germany, the UK, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Malaysia, Singapore, Togo, Sri Lanka, and India. Opened by L. K. Jha, Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, the seminar addressed developing countries' obligations to build efficient administration and raise productivity, with particular attention to agricultural productivity, technology transfer debates, and the role of multinational corporations, concluding with recommendations for greater public awareness and government support for economic cooperation with LDCs. - Twenty-four participants from ten countries attended the Srinagar seminar, including J. R. D. Tata, G. Malagodi, B. K. Nehru, M. R. Masani, and David Wrimark MP. - The seminar stressed that developing countries must rely primarily on their own resources and build honest, efficient administration. - Agricultural productivity was identified as decisive for LDCs' export capacity, balance of payments, and participation in the world economy. - Debate on technology transfer covered whether developing countries' non-protection of patents harms their own long-term interests. - The seminar recognized both the controversy around and the ultimately welcomed role of multinational corporations, while affirming states' rights to regulate them. - Recommendations included greater public awareness of Third World problems and increased publicity for economic cooperation between LDCs and developed countries. ### A Truly National War Memorial *By Maj. Gen. E. D'Souza PVSM (Retd.)* P. G. Mavalankar, M.P., in a piece based on a Lok Sabha speech of 3 August 1978, asks whether India has learned the right lessons from the Emergency, invoking the Shah Commission's findings on preventive detention converted into punitive detention, press censorship, and the concentration of power. He recalls telling Mrs. Gandhi in Parliament in July 1975 that declaring the Emergency was an act of a weak and cowardly Prime Minister, quotes the Shah Commission on the need to root out extra-constitutional centres of power, and condemns the burning of Shah Commission report copies in several states including his own Gujarat, comparing it to book-burning under Hitler. - Mavalankar frames a series of stark choices facing India post-Emergency: democracy vs authoritarianism, rule of law vs arbitrary action, independent judiciary vs subverted judiciary. - He quotes the Shah Commission's finding that Mrs. Gandhi's decision to promulgate the Emergency reflected 'a political decision... by an interested Prime Minister in a desperate endeavour to save herself.' - He quotes the Shah Commission's call for government to ensure 'extra-constitutional centres of power' are not allowed to grow and are 'snuffed out ruthlessly.' - He notes that copies of the Shah Commission report were burnt in several cities, including in his home state of Gujarat, and condemns this as smacking of fascist tendency. - He calls on the government and Parliament to act courageously on the Shah Commission's findings before time runs out. ### Problems of the Third World: Report of a Seminar The 'World News' section reprints three pieces from foreign press. An obituary from The Guardian (24 August 1978) profiles Italian novelist Ignazio Silone, tracing his path from founding member of the Italian Communist Party and friend of Lenin and Trotsky to anti-Stalinist writer of 'Fontamara' and 'The God That Failed.' A Swiss Press Review piece (28 August 1978) eulogizes the late President Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya as a pioneer of African freedom who forgave his former British jailers and built a stable multiracial, mixed-economy state. A further Swiss Press Review piece (31 July 1978) discusses the Dalai Lama's tentative consultations, encouraged by Indian pressure, about a possible reconciliation with and return to a Chinese-ruled Tibet. - Ignazio Silone, aged 78, is profiled as a founder of the Italian Communist Party who broke with Stalinism in 1930 and became an independent anti-Fascist writer. - Silone refused to vote for a Comintern censure motion against Trotsky's Chinese policy in 1927, an episode he said opened his eyes to Communist methods. - Jomo Kenyatta is eulogized as a pioneer who avoided the common mistake of one-sided justice, building a Kenya where Africans, Asians and Europeans coexist under a mixed economy. - The Dalai Lama is reported to be consulting followers in India about a possible reconciliation with and return to Chinese-ruled Tibet, with Indian diplomatic pressure playing a role. - The piece notes the Dalai Lama's initial rejection of Chinese overtures on the grounds of the continued presence of 300,000 Chinese soldiers in Tibet. ### Frankly Speaking... (Kerala's Mini Boom / "Uninformed" Indeed! / Rajneesh at Poona) *By GD / SVR* Sonal Shah reviews Charan Singh's 'India's Economic Policy: A Gandhian Blueprint' (Vikas Publishing House, 122 pages, Rs. 30). The review summarizes Charan Singh's Gandhian-inspired thesis that India's post-independence planners wrongly chose a capital-intensive, centralized industrial strategy over a labour-intensive, decentralized agricultural one, blaming Nehru for 'aping' the USSR model. The book argues this misallocation between agriculture and industry has produced persistent poverty and unemployment, and calls for a reversal of policy toward agricultural investment. Shah notes the review appears just as the Janata Party itself was riven by tension between Charan Singh and Morarji Desai, but predicts Charan Singh's ideas will outlast his own political position. - The book argues India chose a capital-intensive, mechanised, centralized industrial strategy in 1947 instead of a labour-intensive, decentralized agricultural one inspired by Gandhi. - Charan Singh blames Nehru for a faulty policy of 'misallocation of financial outlay between industry and agriculture' resulting in 42 crores of people below the poverty line 36 years after independence, per the book's claims. - The review quotes the book's argument that heavy industry has created 'a dual economy with small enclaves of prosperity in a hinterland of poverty, unemployment and stagnation.' - Charan Singh proposes a 'complete reversal' of policy: increased agricultural output per acre and reduced number of workers per acre. - The reviewer notes the political irony that this book appears amid the public rift between Charan Singh and Morarji Desai within the Janata Party. ### World News (Ignazio Silone / President Jomo Kenyatta / Lighter Chinese Hand in Tibet) Geeta Doctor reviews the Kannada film 'Ghatashradda' (The Ritual of Excommunication), winner of the year's President's gold medal, calling it 'the most disappointing, dreary, dismal experience that one can hope to see.' She summarizes the plot -- a Brahmin's widowed daughter, made pregnant by a low-caste schoolteacher, is tormented, forced toward a botched abortion and suicide attempt, and finally ritually excommunicated -- and argues the film fails despite (or because of) its unrelieved bleakness, contrasting it unfavourably with 'Zorba the Greek' for offering no affirmation of life. She closes by invoking Charlie Chaplin's disdain for 'tricky effects' in cinema to criticize the film's overused stereotyped art-house visual symbolism. - The film 'Ghatashradda,' winner of the President's gold medal, is criticized as unremittingly dismal without any redeeming character or moment of affirmation. - The reviewer objects to art films being praised as 'realistic' simply for depicting grim subject matter, arguing this is as much a falsification as escapist entertainment films. - The plot involves a pregnant widow's daughter tormented by students, subjected to a coerced abortion, and ultimately ritually excommunicated by her own father. - The reviewer compares the film unfavourably to 'Zorba the Greek,' which despite similar tragedy ends with an affirmation of life; 'Ghatashradda' offers only defeat and resignation. - The review closes by quoting Charlie Chaplin's autobiography condemning directors' overuse of 'tricky effects' and symbolic camera work. ### We can't laugh at ourselves Maj. Gen. E. D'Souza (Retd.) argues India lacks a war memorial worthy of its servicemen, tracing the many conflicts India's forces have fought since 1947 (Kashmir, Hyderabad, Goa, the 1962 China war, 1965 and 1971 wars, Nagaland and Mizoram counter-insurgency). He describes the existing National War Memorial -- a small samadhi with reversed rifle and steel helmet under India Gate, hastily conceived in 1972 -- as architecturally insignificant and physically overshadowed by the Imperial monument surrounding it, rarely visited by dignitaries or the public. He calls for a proper, competition-designed National War Memorial that projects the secular character of the armed forces and the theme of peace bought through sacrifice. - The article catalogues India's continuous military engagements since 1947, from Kashmir and Hyderabad through the 1962, 1965, and 1971 wars to ongoing counter-insurgency in Nagaland and Mizoram. - The existing National War Memorial, a small samadhi under India Gate conceived in 1972, is criticized as architecturally meaningless and physically dwarfed by the surrounding Imperial monument. - The author notes no foreign dignitary has ever been asked to lay a wreath at the memorial in over two years in Delhi, unlike the customary visit to tombs of Unknown Soldiers elsewhere. - British-era war memorials across Indian cantonments and cities (e.g., Pune, unveiled by the Prince of Wales in 1921) are cited as contrasting examples of proper commemoration. - The author calls for a new, competition-designed National War Memorial reflecting the secular, apolitical nature of the armed forces and the theme of peace bought by sacrifice. ### With Many Voices A short, unsigned filler item on page 15 titled 'We can't laugh at ourselves,' reprinted from Times of India (7 September), reporting that censors cut the word 'Marathi' from a comedy film's dialogue where a character mocks Marathi speakers, with actor Amol Palekar citing the episode as evidence Indians cannot laugh at themselves. This is followed on page 16 by 'With Many Voices,' a column of quotations on current affairs drawn from the Indian and international press (Romesh Thapar on the succession of political dynasties from Motilal Nehru onward, Margaret Thatcher on fear as no basis for foreign policy, Ashok Mitra on Centre-State fiscal balance, and others), and the issue's subscription form and imprint. - A censorship anecdote reports the word 'Marathi' being cut from a comedy film's dialogue mocking Marathi-speakers, cited by actor Amol Palekar as evidence Indians cannot laugh at themselves. - The 'With Many Voices' column collects short quotations from Indian and international press commentary published in August 1978. - Romesh Thapar's quoted item wryly traces a chain of political dynasties: Motilal Nehru to Nehru to Indira to Sanjay, and Morarjibhai to Kanti, and so on. - Margaret Thatcher is quoted from the Sunday Statesman stating fear is no basis for foreign policy. - The issue closes with Freedom First's subscription form (Rs. 10 annual) and its publication imprint naming J. R. Patel as publisher for the Democratic Research Service. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff313/ ### Summary This December 1978 issue of Freedom First (No. 313, edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor) opens with an editorial by Raju arguing that Indira Gandhi's by-election victory from Chikmagalur is being overplayed as a national referendum by both her supporters and a bungling Janata Party, and closes with a satirical world-affairs column, book and film reviews, and a reader's letter on fighter-aircraft procurement. The volume's centre of gravity is political commentary on the post-Emergency landscape: Gandhi's return to Parliament, Janata's disarray, and a reprinted 1963 Rajaji essay on corruption and dedicated public service (timed to his forthcoming birth centenary). Other contributors range across literary criticism (Indian writing in English), foreign affairs digests reprinted from the international press, and reviews of a coffee-table book on the Ganga, a book on Indo-Soviet relations, and two American films (Saturday Night Fever and Looking for Mr. Goodbar). ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This December 1978 issue of Freedom First (No. 313, edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor) opens with an editorial by Raju arguing that Indira Gandhi's by-election victory from Chikmagalur is being overplayed as a national referendum by both her supporters and a bungling Janata Party, and closes with a satirical world-affairs column, book and film reviews, and a reader's letter on fighter-aircraft procurement. The volume's centre of gravity is political commentary on the post-Emergency landscape: Gandhi's return to Parliament, Janata's disarray, and a reprinted 1963 Rajaji essay on corruption and dedicated public service (timed to his forthcoming birth centenary). Other contributors range across literary criticism (Indian writing in English), foreign affairs digests reprinted from the international press, and reviews of a coffee-table book on the Ganga, a book on Indo-Soviet relations, and two American films (Saturday Night Fever and Looking for Mr. Goodbar). ## Essays ### A Blessing in Disguise? *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju's editorial argues that Indira Gandhi's Chikmagalur by-election win has been inflated into a national turning point by both her jubilant supporters and her opponents' hand-wringing, when in fact she is merely one of 520 Lok Sabha members. He credits Jayaprakash Narayan's warning that the vote was an 'isolated event' with no bearing on Indian politics generally, and surveys international press reaction, including a Statesman reader's alarmist comparison and a barbed exchange in the London Times pitting a civil-libertarian columnist against Peregrine Worsthorne. The piece continues (p.4) tracing the Janata Party's disorganised Chikmagalur campaign, George Fernandes's fatalistic remarks about the contest, and the argument that Mrs Gandhi's strategy is to divide the country along have/have-not and majority/minority lines. Raju concludes that if the loss forces the squabbling Janata constituents to unite, the by-election result may yet prove a blessing in disguise. - Raju frames the Chikmagalur by-election as being wrongly read as a national referendum on Indira Gandhi's return. - Jayaprakash Narayan is quoted from his message to Chikmagalur voters warning that Gandhi's win reflected an 'isolated event' rather than a political trend. - International press reaction is surveyed, including a Statesman letter, and a London Times exchange between a civil-liberties columnist and Peregrine Worsthorne. - The essay recounts Janata's disorganised campaign, George Fernandes's remarks, and Chandrashekar's confident prediction of a Janata win. - Raju argues Gandhi's electoral strategy rests on pitting harijans and backward classes against caste Hindus and the illiterate majority against the literate minority. - The piece closes on the hope that the by-election defeat forces Janata's factions to bury the hatchet, making the result a 'blessing in disguise'. ### Of Cabbages & Kings (column: "A Private Visit", "Ghosts at Matheran", "'Decruitment' in Denmark") *By SVR / GD* A miscellany column of short pieces under the recurring 'Of Cabbages & Kings' banner (attributed to S.V.R. and G.D.). 'A Private Visit' recounts Indira Gandhi's first trip to the West since the Emergency, ostensibly to attend her father's 89th birthday celebrations in London, and the hostile press reception she received there, including a sharp exchange between Bernard Levin and Peregrine Worsthorne in the London Times. 'Ghosts at Matheran' is a reflective travel piece on the hill station's decaying colonial-era mansions, its small municipal library, and local ghost lore. 'Decruitment in Denmark' describes a Danish corporate practice of phased, voluntary demotion for ageing senior managers as an alternative to abrupt retirement, illustrated by the case of retail manager Tage Nielson. - 'A Private Visit' covers Indira Gandhi's trip to London for her father Nehru's 89th birthday, the diplomatic passport granted by the Janata government, and hostile British press coverage of her visit. - The item quotes a barbed exchange between Bernard Levin and Peregrine Worsthorne in the London Times over Britain's welcome of Gandhi. - 'Ghosts at Matheran' is a melancholy travel sketch of decaying colonial mansions, a small multilingual municipal library, and local hill-folk beliefs about spirits. - 'Decruitment in Denmark' profiles a Danish corporate practice of voluntary phased demotion before retirement, illustrated by retail manager Tage Nielson's choice to become a junior clerk. ### A Dedicated Service, The Only Hope *By C. Rajagopalachari* A reprint of C. Rajagopalachari's May 1963 Swarajya essay, republished on the occasion of what would have been his hundredth year and ahead of a commemorative statue unveiling and postage stamp. Rajaji argues that pervasive corruption at every level of Indian administration flows from excessive government control over production, distribution, and public appointments, and that democracy itself has been debased into 'a puppet dancing to the pull of money-strings.' He recounts a conversation with an anonymous, experienced official who described bribery among judges and district magistrates as endemic and unavoidable. Rajaji warns that unchecked corruption risks tipping the country into revolution, anarchy, or dictatorship, and calls for a smaller, better-paid, less controlling administrative machinery, reduced taxation, release of private capital from planning's 'barbed wire entanglement,' and a revival of Gandhian-era simplicity and honesty among a new generation of dedicated public servants. - Rajaji attributes India's corruption crisis to extensive government controls over production, distribution, transport, and public appointments. - He relays an anonymous senior official's account of bribery among judges and magistrates as widespread and normalized. - He warns that unaddressed corruption could lead to revolution, anarchy, or dictatorship. - His prescriptions include leaner administration, higher salaries for public servants, lower taxation, and freeing private capital and industry from planning controls. - He calls for recruiting idealistic young people into public service and reviving the simplicity and honesty associated with the Gandhian and pre-Independence era. ### In Defence of Indian Writing in English *By Margaret P. Joseph* Margaret P. Joseph surveys the growth of Indian writing in English from a defensive, apologetic tradition into a recognized field of literary and academic study, while cautioning against uncritical acclaim. Drawing on David McCutchion's essays for the Writers' Workshop, she argues that measured against Sanskrit, Chinese, and even English literary history, Indian English writing is still a young tradition that deserves rigorous rather than indulgent criticism. She surveys the credit side of the balance sheet—R. K. Narayan, Manohar Malgonkar, Raja Rao, and Kamala Markandaya—and debates whether authentic 'Indian-ness' requires writing in a regional language at all, concluding that colloquial rather than dialect-heavy English, in the manner of Narayan, is the more viable path, and that great literature in a non-native tongue (she invokes Milton's Satan) is entirely possible. - Joseph traces Indian English writing's shift from a defensive posture to an accepted academic subject, citing David McCutchion's Writers' Workshop essays. - She warns against inflated Western acclaim producing a decline in critical standards applied to Indian writers. - She surveys leading practitioners: R. K. Narayan, Manohar Malgonkar, Raja Rao, and Kamala Markandaya, each assessed for style and command of English. - She discusses the debate over whether Indian identity can be authentically rendered only in a regional language versus in English. - She argues for colloquial rather than regionally-dialected English as the workable solution, citing Narayan's technique, and invokes Milton to argue great literature need not be in one's native tongue. ### World News (Tokyo the World's Costliest City; Sadat, Yes, But Why Begin; The World's Fifth Largest Muslim Power; Polish Communists in a Dilemma; Speaker Hedge Please Note; Lessons in Pragmatism) A 'World News' digest of short items reprinted from international newspapers (The Guardian, The Times of London, Herald Tribune). Items cover the UN's cost-of-living ranking naming Tokyo the world's most expensive city; commentary on Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin sharing the Nobel Peace Prize; a report on the scale and character of Islam within the Soviet Union; the Polish Communist Party's cautious handling of Karol Wojtyla's election as Pope John Paul II; a piece on proposed fines for parliamentary insults in the West German Bundestag; and a report on China's turn to Japan as a model for economic modernization after Mao's death. - Tokyo is named the world's costliest city in a UN cost-of-living survey, ahead of Kinshasa, Accra, and New York. - The item on the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize argues that pairing Sadat with Begin diminished the award's value given Begin's more reluctant, reactive diplomacy. - A report describes the Soviet Union as the world's fifth-largest Muslim power, with Sufi orders reportedly gaining ground over officially tolerated Islam. - Poland's Communist leadership is shown managing press coverage of Karol Wojtyla's papal election with strict directives while still permitting pilgrimages to Rome. - A closing item describes China's post-Mao leadership studying Japan's Meiji-era and postwar economic model as a template for modernization. ### Book Review: Ganga, Sacred River of India *By Manohar Malgonkar* Manohar Malgonkar reviews 'Ganga, Sacred River of India,' a coffee-table volume of photographs by Raghubir Singh with text by Eric Newby. He praises the choice of the name 'Ganga' over the anglicized 'Ganges' and credits the book with successfully tracing the river's course while explaining its religious significance to Hindus, though he finds Newby's text more like a 'high-school level crash course' than his usual travelogue prose. The review's real enthusiasm is for Singh's photography, which Malgonkar says needs no explanatory text and captures a narrative arc showing the Ganga's holiness diminishing as it becomes more integrated into ordinary riverside life. - The review praises the book's choice of 'Ganga' over the colonial-derived 'Ganges' as the more historically apt and euphonic title. - Malgonkar credits Eric Newby's text with useful detail on the river's religious significance but calls it a 'high-school level crash course' rather than Newby's usual travelogue style. - He singles out Raghubir Singh's photography as the book's real strength, needing no accompanying explanation. - He notes the photographs trace an arc in which the river's holiness seems to diminish the more it is absorbed into everyday riverside life. ### Book Review: Indian Soviet Relations 1947-77 *By Nitin Raut* Nitin Raut reviews 'Indian Soviet Relations 1947-77,' edited by V. B. Singh, dismissing the volume as a biased and propagandistic compilation lacking academic objectivity. He argues the book fails to place Indo-Soviet ties within the broader context of shifting international détente, omits Soviet backing of Pakistan during the Kashmir dispute despite covering Soviet help during the Bangladesh crisis, and takes at face value a Soviet Encyclopaedia characterization of Gandhian philosophy as a 'progressive' anti-imperialist doctrine, despite the Soviet Union itself once branding Gandhi an 'imperialist agent.' He concludes the book has value only as an uncritical reference for pro-Soviet readers. - Raut criticises the volume's editors for biased, propagandistic treatment of Indo-Soviet relations lacking academic objectivity. - He faults the book for omitting Soviet support for Pakistan on Kashmir despite covering Soviet assistance during the Bangladesh crisis. - He highlights a contradiction: the Soviet Encyclopaedia's praise of Gandhian philosophy as 'progressive,' despite the USSR once calling Gandhi an 'imperialist agent.' - The review characterizes the book as largely a chronological record of diplomatic visits, pacts, and 'friendship weeks' rather than critical analysis. ### Film Review: Looking for Mr. Goodbar, on a Saturday Night, Feverishly *By Manjula Padmanabhan* Manjula Padmanabhan reviews two American films, 'Saturday Night Fever' and 'Looking for Mr. Goodbar,' finding an uncanny structural resemblance between their protagonists, Tony Manero and Terry Dunn, despite the films' independent origins. Both are young, restless New Yorkers seeking release through nightlife who undergo a personal catharsis and both flee, at moments of crisis, to the subway. She reads Tony's story as populated by broad, interchangeable comic types and Terry's as harsher and more harrowing, reflecting her more conservative, non-immigrant background and the ways men in the story escape consequences that trap women. Padmanabhan argues both films quietly puncture the myth of unrestrained American freedom, showing characters buckling under social pressures, and suggests the films may be either an unintentional preview of a Americanizing world or a warning against following the American example. - Padmanabhan notes an uncanny structural resemblance between Saturday Night Fever's Tony Manero and Looking for Mr. Goodbar's Terry Dunn despite the films being made independently. - Both protagonists seek release through nightlife, undergo catharsis at a peak of stress, and flee via the New York subway. - She contrasts Tony's comic, cliché-filled story with Terry's harsher, more harrowing arc shaped by her conservative background. - She highlights the films' shared, largely unintentional message that the 'American Way' is not always the best or happiest. - She reads the merging of squalor and 'Americana' in both films as newly possible in a way it was not before. ### Letter: Why Jaguar, Why Not Viggen *By Ranjan Guha* A reader's letter from Ranjan Guha argues that the Indian government's choice of the Anglo-French Jaguar over the Swedish Viggen and French Mirage F-1 was militarily unsound, citing detailed comparative statistics on top speed, range, acceleration, runway requirements, and payload performance drawn from Jane's All the World's Aircraft and an Economist report on an RAF survey calling the Jaguar 'theoretically supersonic' but 'in fact underpowered.' Guha suggests the decision was driven by politics and by the U.S. veto of the Viggen deal rather than by objective defence merit, and calls for defence procurement to be kept out of the political arena. - Guha presents comparative performance statistics (speed, range, acceleration, runway needs) showing the Viggen and Mirage F-1 outperforming the chosen Jaguar. - He cites an Economist report on an RAF survey describing the Jaguar as 'theoretically supersonic' but 'in fact underpowered.' - He notes the U.S. vetoed the Viggen deal, implicating geopolitics rather than merit in the final choice. - He argues defence procurement decisions should be kept free of political considerations. ### With Many Voices The closing 'With Many Voices' page is a compilation of short quotations drawn from contemporary press sources (The Economist, Time, The Guardian, Newsweek, India Today, and others), covering figures such as Jimmy Carter, Anwar Sadat, Enoch Powell, Jerry Brown, and Datuk Hussein Onn, on subjects ranging from American politics to Indo-Soviet trade and Conservative Party tactics in Britain. The page also carries the magazine's subscription form and imprint, noting it is published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel. - The page compiles brief quotations from world leaders and commentators as published in contemporary international press. - Quoted figures include Jimmy Carter, Anwar Sadat, Enoch Powell, Governor Jerry Brown, and Malaysian PM Datuk Hussein Onn. - The page carries the Freedom First subscription form addressed to the Democratic Research Service in Bombay. - The imprint identifies J. R. Patel as Associate Editor and lists the printer, States' People Press, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff312/ ### Summary This is issue No. 312 of Freedom First (November 1978), a monthly journal of liberal ideas edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor, published by the Democratic Research Service in Bombay. In its 27th year of publication, the issue opens with S. P. Kotwal, retired Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court and former Lokayukta of Maharashtra, delivering a detailed critique of the Lokpal Bill, 1977, arguing that its exclusion of civil servants and secretaries from the ombudsman's jurisdiction guts the institution's purpose while its inclusion of legislators is unprecedented and unworkable. The regular "Of Cabbages and Kings" column carries commentary (by SVR and GD) on the Chikmagalur by-election contest between Indira Gandhi and Veerendra Patil, on the Sanjay Chhopra/Billa case and rising urban crime, and on India's China and Middle East foreign policy stances following the Camp David accord. Other contributions include D. B. Karnik's account of a Yuvak Kranti Dal training camp at the Leslie Sawhney Centre in Devlali; a reprinted James Cameron piece on tourists in London; R. C.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 312 of Freedom First (November 1978), a monthly journal of liberal ideas edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor, published by the Democratic Research Service in Bombay. In its 27th year of publication, the issue opens with S. P. Kotwal, retired Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court and former Lokayukta of Maharashtra, delivering a detailed critique of the Lokpal Bill, 1977, arguing that its exclusion of civil servants and secretaries from the ombudsman's jurisdiction guts the institution's purpose while its inclusion of legislators is unprecedented and unworkable. The regular "Of Cabbages and Kings" column carries commentary (by SVR and GD) on the Chikmagalur by-election contest between Indira Gandhi and Veerendra Patil, on the Sanjay Chhopra/Billa case and rising urban crime, and on India's China and Middle East foreign policy stances following the Camp David accord. Other contributions include D. B. Karnik's account of a Yuvak Kranti Dal training camp at the Leslie Sawhney Centre in Devlali; a reprinted James Cameron piece on tourists in London; R. C. Cooper on Singapore's car-taxation and urban transport philosophy; a book review of Nandini Joshi's The Challenge of Poverty; a World News section on the tenth anniversary of the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia and post-Camp-David Middle East tensions; a reprinted item on Khmer Rouge Cambodia; Shankar Ranganathan's essay (based on an All India Radio talk) on the necessity of forest conservation in India; and the closing "With Many Voices" page of quotations from the contemporary press. ## Essays ### The Lokpal Bill, 1977 *By S. P. Kotwal* S. P. Kotwal, a retired Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court and former Lokayukta of Maharashtra, examines the Lokpal Bill, 1977, tracing the history of ombudsman legislation in India from the 1966 Bill through the 1968 Joint Select Committee report to the 1971 and 1977 versions. He argues that the central, unbroken thread across all earlier drafts and the Administrative Reforms Commission's own report was that both ministers and secretaries to government would fall within the Lokpal's jurisdiction, since the secretary alone bears permanent, traceable responsibility for departmental orders. The 1977 Bill breaks with this history by dropping secretaries and civil servants from its ambit while newly and unprecedentedly including Members of Parliament and state legislators (potentially over 5,000 individuals) as though they, not the permanent bureaucracy, were the source of administrative corruption. Kotwal also flags the Rs. 1,000 pre-complaint deposit as a de facto bar to poor complainants, criticizes the absence of any provision protecting the Lokpal or complainants from retaliatory action and contempt-style proceedings, and contrasts the diminished status given to the Lokpal's office compared with the 1966 Bill (which equated it with the Chief Justice of India). He concludes that the Bill, after twelve years of gestation, still fails to meet the public demand for a serious anti-corruption remedy. - Traces the Lokpal Bill's lineage from the 1966 draft through the 1968 Bill (No. 51 of 1968), its Joint Select Committee report of March 1969, the 1971 Bill (No. 111), and the 1977 Bill. - Argues every prior version, and the A.R.C. report itself, deliberately included secretaries/civil servants within the Lokpal's jurisdiction because they are the traceable, permanent authors of administrative orders. - Criticizes the 1977 Bill's novel inclusion of Members of Parliament and state legislators (potentially 5,217 individuals) as against the historical focus on ministers and civil servants. - Flags the Rs. 1,000 deposit requirement in clause 2(3) as a practical bar for poor complainants and calls for it to be scrapped or substantially reduced. - Notes the Bill gives no protection to the Lokpal or complainants against contempt actions or a 'trial by the press', unlike the summary-punishment powers given to High Court/Supreme Court judges. - Observes that the 1977 Bill downgrades the Lokpal's status compared to the 1966 Bill, which had accorded him the status of the Chief Justice of India. - Concludes that after twelve years of legislative effort the Bill still does not meet the public's demand for a genuine anti-corruption remedy. ### Of Cabbages & Kings *By GD* The regular 'Of Cabbages and Kings' column, prefaced by a Lewis Carroll epigraph, gathers several short unsigned or initialed pieces. In 'Chikmagalur — A Second Miscalculation?' (signed SVR), the columnist analyses Indira Gandhi's decision to contest the Chikmagalur by-election against Janata's Veerendra Patil, arguing she chose a 'safe' southern seat insulated from Emergency-era backlash, and speculates that overkill in anti-Gandhi campaigning could backfire the way attacks on Krishna Menon once helped him in 1962. 'Two Worlds' (signed GD) reflects on the Billa case and the media's glamorization of the dacoit Gabbar-turned-advertising-icon, connecting rising, casually accepted urban crime and indifference to a widening gap between the privileged and the vulnerable in Indian cities. 'Our Foreign Policy is Our Business' (signed SVR) rebuts 'progressive' criticism of Foreign Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's China outreach and defends the Janata government's efforts to normalise Sino-Indian relations as well as its cautious, non-partisan reaction to the Camp David accord. 'Mud in Your Tea' (signed GD) is a satirical piece mocking Minister George Fernandes's proposal to serve railway tea in disposable mud pots, extending the idea into a mock-serious meditation on 'Stone Age economics' and simplicity of wants. - SVR piece analyses the Chikmagalur by-election, framing it as Indira Gandhi's attempt to secure a 'safe' parliamentary seat away from Emergency-tainted northern constituencies. - Warns that excessive anti-Gandhi campaigning ('backlash of the overkill') could replicate the sympathy effect that helped Krishna Menon defeat Kripalani in the 1962 North Bombay contest. - GD's 'Two Worlds' piece uses the Billa dacoit case and a Sholay-inspired biscuit advertisement to argue that violence and crime have become normalized entertainment even as ordinary urban insecurity (theft, unsafe roads) goes unaddressed. - SVR's 'Our Foreign Policy is Our Business' defends Vajpayee's China visit and criticizes 'progressive'/Soviet-aligned press criticism of the Janata government's foreign policy, while welcoming the Camp David accord despite Vajpayee's reservations. - GD's 'Mud in Your Tea' satirizes George Fernandes's mud-pot tea proposal for Indian Railways, extending it into an ironic commentary on austerity, employment creation, and 'Stone Age economics'. - Column overall models Freedom First's editorial voice: skeptical of both Congress and its 'progressive' critics, supportive of the Janata government's more liberal foreign-policy instincts, and alert to declining civic order. ### Our Foreign Policy is Our Business / Camp David Accord / Mud in Your Tea *By SVR / GD* D. B. Karnik recounts a training programme for members of the Yuvak Kranti Dal (Yukrand), a Maharashtra-based group of revolutionary but non-violent socialist youth, held from 26–29 August at the Leslie Sawhney Centre for Democracy in Devlali. He traces Yukrand's origins to 1962, following the Chinese invasion, as an offshoot of the Socialist party and Rashtra Seva Dal committed to direct social and political action, distinguished from establishment socialists by its impatience with compromise. Karnik describes the group's professed philosophy of Marxist class struggle combined with a commitment to non-violence inspired by Martin Luther King (whose 'We Shall Overcome' the trainees sang), and notes that discussions at the camp were dominated by anger over caste atrocities, particularly recent events in Marathwada, with participants reciting poems by the Dalit poet Subash Thorat warning of impending social upheaval if oppression continued. - Describes the Leslie Sawhney Centre's democracy-training camps, which bring together trade unionists, social workers, journalists, politicians and women's-movement activists. - Traces Yukrand's founding to 1962 in reaction to the Chinese invasion and youth frustration with the socialist establishment's inactivity. - Notes Yukrand combines Marxist class-struggle rhetoric with an explicit commitment to non-violent resistance modeled on Martin Luther King. - Reports that caste atrocities in Marathwada dominated camp discussions, provoking strong reactions from Dalit participants. - Quotes the Dalit poet Subash Thorat's poem warning of a coming 'holocaust' if oppression is not addressed. - Characterizes camp participants as a mix of students, trade unionists, entrepreneurs and full-time Yukrand workers, described as sober, disciplined and forward-looking. ### Yukrand as I Saw and Felt *By D. B. Karnik* A reprint of James Cameron's column from The Times (London, 7 August 1978), a wry meditation on Londoners' ambivalence toward tourists, who are simultaneously an economic asset and a source of exasperation. Cameron recounts playwright John Osborne's bitter piece urging Londoners to be rude to tourists, gently mocks Osborne's over-reaction, and confesses his own irrational prejudices against wealthy Arab visitors around Kensington, comparing the sentiment to earlier anti-Jewish snobbery in the same neighbourhoods in the 1920s-30s. The piece closes with an anecdote of a German tourist mistaking Cameron for a local and asking directions to 'Hyde Park', which turns out to be BBC slang for Broadcasting House. It is followed by a short reader's letter, 'Two Delegations A Day' by Sadananda Mukerjee (Times of India, 9 September 1978), noting that 401 official Indian government delegations went abroad between August 1977 and January 1978 at a cost of Rs. 69,78,181. - Cameron's reprinted Times of London piece explores Londoners' contradictory attitudes to tourism as both economic boon and social nuisance. - References John Osborne's polemic urging Londoners to be deliberately unwelcoming to visitors, and finds it an over-reaction. - Cameron admits to unconscious prejudice against wealthy Arab visitors in London, drawing a parallel to interwar-era snobbery toward Jewish residents. - Closing anecdote plays on 'Hyde Park' being insider slang for BBC Broadcasting House. - Accompanying short item by Sadananda Mukerjee criticizes the cost and frequency (401 delegations, Rs 69.78 lakh) of official Indian government delegations travelling abroad in 1977-78. ### Going to Acton Green? *By James Cameron* R. C. Cooper examines the philosophy behind Singapore's 1978 budget and its long-running policy of taxing private car ownership heavily to discourage congestion and promote mass transit, framing this within Singapore's stated goal since 1954 of a 'more just and equal society'. He details reduced personal income tax rates alongside steep increases in driving-licence fees, car registration fees and other motoring costs, along with non-fiscal measures such as reserved bus lanes, staggered work hours, car pooling and land-use planning that mixes commercial and residential development to reduce commuting pressure on the Central Business District. Cooper frames Singapore's approach as a deliberate policy question — 'are we building a nation for cars or for ourselves — the people?' — and contrasts it with the more haphazard treatment of urban transport policy elsewhere, describing a discernible international trend toward taxing consumption over income to achieve social-justice objectives. - Describes Singapore's stated economic and social philosophy since 1954 emphasizing a just, equal society and full economic participation. - Reports the 1978 budget's mix of reduced personal income tax and sharply raised car-related fees (licence fees doubled; registration fees up 25-125%). - Cites the Minister of State for Communications' concern that lower income tax could tempt motorists back into cars from buses. - Details non-fiscal measures: reserved bus lanes, staggered work hours, car pooling, area licensing, and mixed-use urban planning to reduce commuting pressure. - Frames Singapore's transport policy as prioritizing people and public transit over private car ownership given land scarcity. - Notes a broader international trend of shifting tax emphasis from income to consumption in pursuit of social-justice goals. ### Two Delegations A Day *By Sadananda Mukerjee* V. Krishna Moorthy reviews Nandini Joshi's monograph The Challenge of Poverty: The Developing Countries in the New International Order (Arnold Heinemann, 1978), which argues that persistent absolute poverty in developing countries — affecting an estimated 800 million people — is a multi-dimensional problem spanning technology, entrepreneurship, food production and population growth, and cannot be solved through piecemeal remedies. The review summarises Joshi's call for a new global economic order in which advanced nations take on fundamental responsibility for restructuring trade, investment and market access to benefit poorer countries, and praises the book, published under the Birla Institute of Scientific Research's Economic Research Division, as a useful call to policymakers on both sides of the North-South divide. - Reviews Nandini Joshi's The Challenge of Poverty (Arnold Heinemann, 1978, 110 pages, Rs. 25). - Summarises Joshi's estimate that roughly 800 million people live in absolute poverty in developing countries. - Outlines Joshi's five-part framing of the poverty problem: technological, entrepreneurial/managerial, food, investment, and population dimensions. - Notes Joshi's call for a new international economic order restructuring trade, investment and market access in favour of developing nations. - Cites the World Bank's 1978 World Development Report on the limited poverty-reduction impact of the 1950-1975 growth period. - Reviewer credits the Birla Institute of Scientific Research's Economic Research Division for publishing the monograph. ### A Nation for Cars or People *By R. C. Cooper* The 'World News' section reprints two editorials. The first, from The Times (London, 19 August 1978), marks the tenth anniversary of the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia, arguing the 1968 reforms represented a genuine internal party attempt at liberalization crushed by external force, and that a decade of subsequent repression has left the country's intellectual and cultural life devastated, the population estranged from Moscow, and the situation ultimately unsustainable. The second, from the Swiss Press Review (25 September 1978), assesses the aftermath of the Camp David accord, warning that the Soviet Union and its allies retain destabilizing capacity in Lebanon (via the PLO) and Iran, and that a successful Soviet effort to undermine the Shah's regime would jeopardize the gains of Camp David and risk direct US-Soviet confrontation. - Marks the tenth anniversary (August 1978) of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, per a Times of London editorial. - Argues the 1968 Prague Spring reforms were an internally generated, party-led liberalization effort, unlike Hungary's 1956 armed uprising. - Describes the post-invasion purge of nearly half a million party members and the 'wholly laid waste' state of Czechoslovak intellectual and cultural life a decade on. - Concludes Soviet occupation has left Czechoslovakia 'universally hated' and the situation ultimately unsustainable. - Second item (Swiss Press Review) frames Lebanon and Iran as the two Middle East arenas where Soviet-backed instability could still threaten the Camp David gains. - Warns that a successful Soviet effort to destabilize the Shah's Iran could trigger direct Soviet-US confrontation. ### Book Review: The Challenge of Poverty: The Developing Countries in the New International Order, by Nandini Joshi *By V. Krishna Moorthy* A short reprinted item from UPI (Washington, 6 August 1978) describes Khmer Rouge Cambodia's decreed 'mating periods' during which young men and women may meet romantically without reprisal, while a 'love affair' outside those periods is treated as a crime, sometimes punished by death. Drawing on U.S. Congressman John Anderson's release of embassy interviews with Cambodian refugees in Bangkok and a March 1977 State Department report, the piece recounts eyewitness testimony of the brutal treatment of a couple discovered in an unauthorised relationship, estimates that as many as 1.2 million of Cambodia's roughly 8 million people may have died since the fall of Phnom Penh, and quotes a former hospital worker describing the Khmer Rouge's suspicion of anyone associated with the prior regime or educated classes. - UPI report (6 August 1978) on the Khmer Rouge's decreed 'mating periods' and criminalization of romantic relationships outside them. - Cites Rep. John Anderson's release of U.S. Embassy interviews with Cambodian refugees in Bangkok. - Describes an eyewitness account of a couple beaten and forced to watch each other suffer after being discovered in an unauthorised relationship. - Cites private scholarly estimates that up to 1.2 million of Cambodia's ~8 million people died in the post-1975 bloodbath. - Quotes a 38-year-old former hospital worker describing Khmer Rouge suspicion of 'third graders' as 'dangerous intellectuals' and depopulated villages ('The country is empty'). ### World News (The Continuing Occupation of Czechoslovakia; After Camp David; Cambodian's Prescribe 'Mating Period') Shankar Ranganathan, in an essay adapted from an All India Radio talk, argues that forests are essential to India's ecological and economic survival, citing Plato's ancient observations on deforestation in Attica alongside India's own tradition of conservation-consciousness under Ashoka and the Mughals. He laments that modern India neglects and destroys its forests through thoughtless land clearance and short-term political incentives, warning that at current deforestation rates none will remain within thirty years, and details the many ecological services forests provide (erosion control, oxygen production, flood and drought mitigation, timber, wildlife habitat, tourism revenue). Drawing on the example of the U.S. Civilian Conservation Corps under Franklin Roosevelt during the Depression, which employed millions of young men in reforestation and conservation work, Ranganathan calls for India to adopt a similar large-scale reforestation and employment programme, citing his own booklet 'Will India Become Another Sahara?' and various Indian and international conservation organisations working toward this goal. - Opens with Plato's 2,400-year-old account of deforestation and erosion in Attica as a historical parallel to India's situation. - Notes India's own historical conservation consciousness under Ashoka, and references to nature in Valmiki's and Kalidasa's epics. - Warns that at the current rate of clearance, India's forests (officially 22% of land area) could disappear within thirty years. - Details forests' ecological functions: erosion control, oxygen production, carbon absorption, flood/drought mitigation, and economic value in timber, tourism and employment. - Cites the U.S. Civilian Conservation Corps (1930s, under Franklin Roosevelt) as a model: over 3 billion trees planted, a million miles of road built, employing millions of young men. - References his own earlier booklet 'Will India Become Another Sahara?' distributed to Indian officials and international conservation bodies. - Lists Indian organisations engaged in conservation: Bombay Natural History Society, Friends of the Trees, Society for Clean Cities, World Wildlife Fund, Society for Clean Environment, Rotary International, Lions Clubs, and Gujarat's reforestation programme. - Calls on readers to plant and tend at least one seedling a year as a personal contribution to conservation. ### Forests are Vital for Our Survival *By Shankar Ranganathan* The closing 'With Many Voices' page, prefaced by a Tennyson epigraph, is a compilation of short quotations culled from the contemporary press (The Times, The Economist, The Observer, Herald Tribune, Indian Express, Times of India, and others, dated August-September 1978) on subjects ranging from the Camp David accord and Mrs. Bandaranaike's nepotism to Morarji Desai's teetotal cabinet, the Shah of Iran, and the Moscow Olympics boycott question over Shcharansky and Ginzburg. The page also carries the Freedom First subscription form (annual subscription Rs. 10.00, care of Democratic Research Service, Maneckji Wadia Bldg., Bombay) and the publication's colophon: published by J. R. Patel, Associate Editor, at 127 M. Gandhi Road, Bombay, and printed at States' People Press, Ghoga Street, Fort, Bombay. - Compilation of press quotations dated August-September 1978 from The Times, The Economist, The Observer, Herald Tribune, Indian Express, Times of India and Time magazine. - Includes quotations on the Camp David accord, Mrs Bandaranaike's nepotism compared to Sanjay Gandhi's mother, and Ernest Bevin's classic definition of freedom. - Quotes Chief Justice Y. V. Chandrachud on special courts having 'a martial law flavour'. - Quotes Rajmohan Gandhi comparing treatment of Jayaprakash Narayan's spirit to what the Emergency did to his body. - Includes a quote questioning whether the Moscow Olympics should be cancelled unless Shcharansky and Ginzburg are released. - Carries the Freedom First subscription form and the issue's publication colophon (J. R. Patel, Associate Editor; States' People Press, Bombay). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff314/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 314 (January 1979) is a special number devoted to Human Rights, marking the 27th year of the journal's publication under editors S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor. In the rendered pages the issue opens with the editorial statement "For This We Stand," reaffirming the journal's classical-liberal identity and framing the Emergency of 1975-77 as the proof of its commitment to civil liberty, before moving into essays by S. P. Aiyar on the philosophical basis of the urge for freedom, Rajmohan Gandhi on India's obligation to speak up for human rights violations abroad (including Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge), M. R. Masani on the contemporary relevance of Gandhian thought against both state socialism and the drift of post-Janata politics, and V. B. Karnik on the gap between India's political rights and its unrealised economic rights. Read together in the rendered pages, the volume's argumentative centre is the claim that political liberty and economic rights are inseparable, and that both were tested and validated during the Emergency, while the Janata government since elected has, in the contributors' view, only partly honoured that test. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 314 (January 1979) is a special number devoted to Human Rights, marking the 27th year of the journal's publication under editors S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor. In the rendered pages the issue opens with the editorial statement "For This We Stand," reaffirming the journal's classical-liberal identity and framing the Emergency of 1975-77 as the proof of its commitment to civil liberty, before moving into essays by S. P. Aiyar on the philosophical basis of the urge for freedom, Rajmohan Gandhi on India's obligation to speak up for human rights violations abroad (including Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge), M. R. Masani on the contemporary relevance of Gandhian thought against both state socialism and the drift of post-Janata politics, and V. B. Karnik on the gap between India's political rights and its unrealised economic rights. Read together in the rendered pages, the volume's argumentative centre is the claim that political liberty and economic rights are inseparable, and that both were tested and validated during the Emergency, while the Janata government since elected has, in the contributors' view, only partly honoured that test. ## Essays ### For This We Stand The unsigned editorial "For This We Stand," in the rendered pages, restates the founding mission of the Democratic Research Service (publisher of Freedom First since November 1950, with the blessing of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel) as a guardian against threats to India's democracy. It insists the journal is a journal of "Liberal ideas" rather than of any "ism," defines the Liberal as one who tests all action against individual well-being, and recalls the journal's resistance to censorship during the 19-month Emergency as validation of its stance. It closes by explaining that the present Special Number on Human Rights responds to nostalgic talk, two years after the Emergency ended, of returning to "discipline" and "order." - Freedom First's parent body, the Democratic Research Service, was founded in November 1950 with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's blessing. - The editorial frames the journal as devoted to 'Liberal ideas,' explicitly distinct from 'Liberalism' as an ism. - It defines the Liberal position as testing all state action against individual well-being. - It cites the journal's legal challenge to Emergency-era censorship as proof of its principles. - The Special Number on Human Rights is explained as a response to nostalgia for the 'discipline' of the Emergency two years after its end. ### The Urge for Freedom *By S. P. Aiyar* S. P. Aiyar's "The Urge for Freedom" examines the tension between civil-political rights and economic-social rights in developing countries, starting from the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Aiyar rejects the view, common among Asian and African leaders, that rights are a luxury that can be deferred until poverty is solved, arguing this fallacy has historically been used to justify suppressing freedom. He discusses B. R. Ambedkar's insistence on placing the individual at the centre of India's constitutional order despite his lifelong service to the scheduled castes, and engages at length with Peter L. Berger's 1977 Commentary essay "Are Human Rights Universal?," which proposed grounding a cross-cultural human-rights consensus in the world's religious traditions. Aiyar finds Berger's solution practically fraught, since scriptural texts can be reinterpreted to justify inequality, and notes a November 1978 Indian seminar debating the same thesis. He closes (in the visible portion) discussing how modernisation weakens traditional restraints on power without guaranteeing that new institutional checks will protect human rights, warning that bureaucratic and political power can just as easily be turned against the citizen. - Aiyar argues political and economic rights are 'inextricably intertwined' and should not be graded by importance. - He rejects the claim that rights are a Western luxury inapplicable to poor countries, citing India's Emergency as proof rights matter to everyone. - He praises B. R. Ambedkar for centering individual freedom in the Constitution despite representing India's most oppressed communities. - He engages critically with Peter L. Berger's proposal for a religion-grounded universal human-rights consensus, judging it practically unworkable. - He warns that modernisation, while weakening traditional restraints on power, also concentrates new power in bureaucracies and politicians, posing a fresh threat to freedom. ### The Trampled of the Earth *By Rajmohan Gandhi* Rajmohan Gandhi's "The Trampled of the Earth" reflects on how the 1975-77 Emergency changed Indians' understanding of oppression, arguing that lived experience of the 'authoritarian shoe' taught more than abstract sympathy ever could. He credits international pressure -- especially from West Germany, Britain, Scandinavia, Austria and Australia, and from figures across the political spectrum -- with helping restore Indian democracy, and argues India owes a reciprocal duty to speak up for human rights elsewhere without ideological bias. He criticises India's near-total silence on Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, quoting French priest Francois Ponchaud's account of the revolution's brutality, and criticises Prime Minister Morarji Desai's view that a nation's internal affairs are its own business. He closes by urging Indian citizens to set an example of concern for the world's oppressed that the government has failed to set. - Gandhi argues that living through authoritarian rule (the Emergency) taught Indians what abstract accounts of oppression could not. - International support during the Emergency came from across the political spectrum -- Labourites, Tories, Socialists, Liberals, Christian Democrats -- which he treats as a model for non-partisan human-rights solidarity. - He singles out Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge as the world's worst human-rights record, citing an estimated one million unnatural deaths since April 1975. - He criticises Indian civil-society silence on Cambodia despite India's own recent experience of authoritarian rule. - He criticises Morarji Desai's statement that 'we never asked for help from outside during the emergency' as evasive of the reciprocal duty to speak out for others. ### Relevance of Gandhi *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's "Relevance of Gandhi," based on an October 2, 1978 speech, argues Gandhi has been betrayed both by Mrs Gandhi's 'State Capitalist monopoly' and by Janata Party leaders like George Fernandes, Mohan Dharia, Chandra Shekhar and Madhu Limaye, whom Masani accuses of returning to Karl Marx as their 'real mentor' despite invoking Gandhi's name to win the 1977 election. Masani surveys Gandhi's actual economic thought -- his rejection of state socialism and nationalisation in favour of trusteeship, his preference for a decentralised, village-based economy over concentrated state power, and his admiration (per Louis Fischer's account) for entrusting India's finances to the villages rather than the state -- and credits Jayaprakash Narayan, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Milovan Djilas with 'turning to Gandhi' after disillusionment with Marxism and Soviet communism. In the visible portion, Masani then turns to Gandhi's personal precepts of conduct: the interlinking of ends and means against the Leninist doctrine that the end justifies the means, courage over fear (illustrated through Gandhi's stance on non-violent resistance and his admiration for Bertrand Russell and George Bernard Shaw's views on courage), his willingness to bless a couple's civil-disobedient marriage, his rejection of using law to legislate morality, his 'Double Rejection' of lesser-evil reasoning (as elaborated in Louis Fischer's 'The Great Challenge'), his practice of turning the searchlight inward, his strict punctuality, and his comfort admitting inconsistency and error. - Masani accuses Janata-era leaders (Fernandes, Dharia, Chandra Shekhar, Limaye) of invoking Gandhi's name in 1977 while actually following Karl Marx. - He argues Gandhi rejected state socialism and nationalisation, preferring a system of trusteeship in which owners and workers hold property for the community's benefit. - Gandhi is described as favouring radical decentralisation of economic power to India's villages rather than concentration in government hands, a position Masani says was validated by Yugoslav market-socialist experiments in the 1950s. - Jayaprakash Narayan, Solzhenitsyn and Djilas are cited as examples of thinkers who turned from Marxism/communism toward Gandhi. - The second half of the essay covers Gandhi's personal-conduct precepts: unity of ends and means, courage over fear, rejecting 'lesser evil' reasoning, turning the searchlight inward, punctuality, and comfort with admitted inconsistency. ### Political and Economic Rights *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik's "Political and Economic Rights," in the rendered pages, argues that political rights without economic rights are unstable, and that this instability let democracy be 'subverted in India without much difficulty' in June 1975. Citing Robert McNamara's 1975 definition of fundamental human rights as minimum nutrition, health and education, Karnik argues India denies these to large masses of its people, citing a Planning Commission estimate that 48 percent of the rural population and 41 percent of the urban population fell below the poverty line in 1977-78 (some 290 million people), alongside 20.6 million person-years of unemployment estimated for March 1978. He then discusses B. R. Ambedkar's 1947 memorandum warning the Constituent Assembly that India's Constitution addressed only the 'political structure' of society and left the 'economic structure' unaddressed, predicting this contradiction between political and social/economic equality would eventually threaten the whole structure of political democracy. Karnik closes the visible portion arguing that thirty years on, no steps have been taken to resolve this contradiction, and that Nehru's State Capitalism widened economic inequality rather than narrowing it. - Karnik argues economic rights are as much a part of human rights as political rights, and that neglecting the former weakens the latter. - He cites a Planning Commission estimate that 48% of rural and 41% of urban Indians fell below the poverty line in 1977-78, roughly 290 million people. - He cites an estimated 20.6 million person-years of unemployment in March 1978, calling India's the largest such figure in the world for which data exists. - He recounts B. R. Ambedkar's 1947 warning to the Constituent Assembly that India's Constitution addressed only political structure, not economic structure, calling this a 'life of contradictions.' - He argues Nehru's State Capitalism resulted in the rich becoming richer and the poor poorer, widening economic inequality. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff315/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 315 (February 1979) is the monthly journal of liberal opinion edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor, published for the Democratic Research Service. This issue opens with Raju's editorial "How Bad Is Bad?", which argues that the Janata government's reluctance to enforce ordinary law against agitating students and labour unions is fostering a climate of anarchy that could ultimately benefit anti-democratic forces. It is followed by the regular satirical miscellany column "Of Cabbages & Kings" (on the bank employees' strike settlement, Madras flooding, and the Janata government's habit of manufacturing non-issues), a lengthy analytical essay by Kirtidev D. Desai, "What Ails Janata?", diagnosing the structural and leadership causes of the ruling party's factional crisis, a "From the World Press" reprint section built around E. P. Thompson's personal memoir on Nehru and the Emergency ("Tell Us Mr.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 315 (February 1979) is the monthly journal of liberal opinion edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor, published for the Democratic Research Service. This issue opens with Raju's editorial "How Bad Is Bad?", which argues that the Janata government's reluctance to enforce ordinary law against agitating students and labour unions is fostering a climate of anarchy that could ultimately benefit anti-democratic forces. It is followed by the regular satirical miscellany column "Of Cabbages & Kings" (on the bank employees' strike settlement, Madras flooding, and the Janata government's habit of manufacturing non-issues), a lengthy analytical essay by Kirtidev D. Desai, "What Ails Janata?", diagnosing the structural and leadership causes of the ruling party's factional crisis, a "From the World Press" reprint section built around E. P. Thompson's personal memoir on Nehru and the Emergency ("Tell Us Mr. Michael Foot", from The Guardian) alongside shorter reprinted pieces on political cliche, totalitarianism, and Southeast Asian geopolitics, three book reviews (on a study of Bhutto's Pakistan, a history of the Oxford University Press, and a text on investment decisions), a reader letter protesting the unofficial banning of a Kannada satirical film, and the closing quotes column "With Many Voices". ## Essays ### How Bad is Bad? *By S. V. Raju* In "How Bad Is Bad?", S. V. Raju surveys the deteriorating law-and-order climate twenty-four months after the Janata Party's 1977 electoral victory, arguing that the initial euphoria of the "second freedom" has given way to disillusionment as quarrelling politicians, student unrest, and increasingly militant labour action go unchecked. He contends the government's reluctance to invoke existing statutes against agitators (rather than any lack of legal power) is the core problem, drawing a contrast with Indira Gandhi's Emergency-era over-reach: where she sought total power, the Janata leadership is reluctant to use even the normal powers available to it. Raju warns that this appeasement of disorder is counter-productive and cites the murder of a manager named Godrej and the beating of Vice-Chancellors and university officials as evidence that sectional groups (students, labour) are bullying a passive state. He closes by insisting that maintaining law and order is the basic, non-negotiable duty of any government regardless of its constituents' ideological differences, and that the Janata Party's dwindling public goodwill will not last through to the next election cycle. - Twenty-four months after taking power, the Janata government has failed to arrest a spreading climate of unrest among students and labour. - Raju argues the problem is not inadequate laws but the government's unwillingness to enforce laws already on the statute books. - He draws a pointed contrast with the Emergency: Mrs Gandhi sought total power, whereas Janata is reluctant to use even normal powers. - Appeasement of agitators is described as counter-productive, emboldening further lawlessness. - Vice-Chancellors and university administrators have been assaulted and had records destroyed by student minorities. - Trade unions are characterised as largely captured by political parties or self-serving individuals rather than serving members' genuine interests. - The murder of a manager (Godrej) inside his own home is cited as a shocking instance of labour-related violence. - Raju concludes that maintaining law and order is the Janata coalition's one indispensable, ideology-independent duty, and that public patience is running out. ### Of Cabbages & Kings (Who Won?; Madras when it Drizzles) *By SVR / GD* Kirtidev D. Desai's "What Ails Janata?" is a structural diagnosis of the Janata Party's internal crisis roughly eighteen months after its 1977 landslide. Desai identifies three fundamental causes beyond the oft-cited personality clashes (Morarji Desai's obstinacy, Charan Singh's power-lust, Raj Narain's antics): (i) an incongruity between the coalitional nature of the party — five distinct political traditions merged into one — and Prime Minister Morarji Desai's inflexible, monologue-driven leadership style, which the essay contrasts with Madhu Limaye's preferred consensus model; (ii) a discrepancy between the party's formal power structure (in which the smaller constituent groups hold the top posts of prime minister and party president) and the informal power balance (in which the Jan Sangh and BLD, each roughly a third of the parliamentary strength, are the real heavyweights); and (iii) substantive divergences in political culture and development philosophy, chiefly the tension between a Congress-style political tradition and a non-Congress one, and between the Nehru model of industrial, urban-led development and the Gandhian model of rural, decentralised development formally adopted by Janata but resisted in practice by several constituent groups. Desai traces the crisis's escalation from the 1977 election-ticket disputes through the resignation of Charan Singh's group from the Union Cabinet in mid-1978, and warns that a sullen, alienated Charan Singh retains a formidable rural/kisan political base that Janata cannot afford to lose. He concludes that only a genuine, collective leadership arrangement — not the suppression of one faction or another — can resolve the crisis, and that the party's failure would be a heavy historical responsibility given the scale of the 1977 popular mandate. - Desai attributes the Janata crisis to three structural causes, not merely personality conflicts: leadership-style incongruity, formal/informal power discrepancy, and divergence in political culture and development philosophy. - The party is described as 'a party-in-making', a coalition of five distinct political traditions not yet fused into a homogeneous whole. - Morarji Desai's monologue-driven, 'sermonising' leadership style is contrasted unfavourably with Madhu Limaye's consensus-based theory of coalition management. - Formally, small constituent groups hold the top posts (PM, party president), but informally the Jan Sangh and BLD each command roughly a third of parliamentary strength, creating an unstable formal/informal power mismatch analogous to the UN Security Council's permanent-member imbalance. - Charan Singh and the BLD favour the Gandhian, agriculture-oriented development model; other constituents (CFD, Socialists, Congress-O) quietly prefer to retain elements of the Nehru model. - Charan Singh's alienation risks eroding Janata's rural/kisan support base, since he has become a symbol of farmer resurgence in North India. - Desai warns that Janata cannot survive the defection of either of its two political heavyweights (Jan Sangh or BLD) and calls for collective leadership and reconciliation rather than factional victory. ### A Genius for the Non-issue *By SVR* Reprinted from The Guardian under the "From the World Press" banner, E. P. Thompson's "Tell Us Mr. Michael Foot" is a personal memoir recounting his father Edward John Thompson's friendship with Jawaharlal Nehru from the 1930s through Nehru's imprisonment during the Second World War, and Thompson's own visits to India during and immediately after the 1975-77 Emergency. Thompson describes clandestine meetings with underground student opponents of the Emergency at Jawaharlal Nehru University, the surveillance and interrogation they faced, and their repeated, anguished question to him as a visiting Briton: why had the British Labour movement, and particularly Michael Foot, failed to condemn Indira Gandhi's suppression of civil liberties despite Labour's professed reverence for Nehru's legacy? Thompson intersperses this narrative with excerpts from his father's 1939 diary of meeting the Congress Working Committee (including vivid character sketches of Kripalani, Rajagopalachari, Maulana Azad, Pattabhi Sitaramayya, and Sarojini Naidu) and from wartime correspondence between his father and Nehru, exchanged while Nehru was imprisoned at Dehra Dun. The piece ends with Thompson's reflection on India's enduring intellectual and political vitality despite Emergency-era repression, and a final, unanswered question addressed to Mrs Gandhi about what became of the "true Nehru tradition." - The essay is a personal memoir combining Thompson's own visits to Emergency-era India (1976-77) with his father Edward John Thompson's 1939 diplomatic visit to India and wartime friendship with Nehru. - Thompson describes underground meetings with student opponents of the Emergency at Jawaharlal Nehru University, held under fear of police surveillance and informants. - The recurring question posed to Thompson by his Indian hosts is why the British Labour Party, and Michael Foot specifically, endorsed or failed to criticise Mrs Gandhi's Emergency despite Labour's professed admiration for Nehru. - Excerpts from Edward Thompson's 1939 diary record his impressions of Congress Working Committee members including Kripalani, Rajagopalachari, Maulana Azad, Pattabhi Sitaramayya, and Sarojini Naidu. - Correspondence between Edward Thompson and Nehru (1939-1946), including letters written while Nehru was imprisoned at Dehra Dun jail, is quoted at length. - The essay closes with Thompson contrasting India's vibrant, pluralistic intellectual life with the risk of a 'rolled up' authoritarian sub-continent, and an unresolved rhetorical question to Mrs Gandhi about the Nehru legacy. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff316/ ### Summary This is the complete March 1979 issue (No. 316, 27th Year of Publication) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based monthly journal of liberal ideas edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor. The issue's lead piece is M. R. Masani's essay 'Were Rajaji Alive Today...', which argues that C. Rajagopalachari's moral and constitutional critique of Indian politics -- his insistence on Dharma in public life, his opposition to the erosion of property rights and judicial independence through constitutional amendments, and his call for a decontrolled, low-tax economy -- remains unfulfilled by the post-Emergency Janata Government. The unsigned editorial column 'Of Cabbages & Kings' skewers the Janata Government's double standards on foreign policy and human rights, mocks a passenger-frisking controversy involving George Fernandes, criticizes Hindi-imposition policy, and needles Charan Singh's factional maneuvering. Ian Ball's 'Taxation vs Civilisation' uses Ibn Khaldun's fourteenth-century Muqaddimah alongside Arthur Laffer, Milton Friedman, and California's Proposition 13 tax revolt to argue that rising taxation destroys the incentive for enterprise and ultimately civilisation itself.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the complete March 1979 issue (No. 316, 27th Year of Publication) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based monthly journal of liberal ideas edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor. The issue's lead piece is M. R. Masani's essay 'Were Rajaji Alive Today...', which argues that C. Rajagopalachari's moral and constitutional critique of Indian politics -- his insistence on Dharma in public life, his opposition to the erosion of property rights and judicial independence through constitutional amendments, and his call for a decontrolled, low-tax economy -- remains unfulfilled by the post-Emergency Janata Government. The unsigned editorial column 'Of Cabbages & Kings' skewers the Janata Government's double standards on foreign policy and human rights, mocks a passenger-frisking controversy involving George Fernandes, criticizes Hindi-imposition policy, and needles Charan Singh's factional maneuvering. Ian Ball's 'Taxation vs Civilisation' uses Ibn Khaldun's fourteenth-century Muqaddimah alongside Arthur Laffer, Milton Friedman, and California's Proposition 13 tax revolt to argue that rising taxation destroys the incentive for enterprise and ultimately civilisation itself. A 'World News' digest reprints international clippings on Salvador de Madariaga's death, a British industrial dispute at Cadbury-Schweppes, a doctor's strike against treating trade unionists, and Chinese politics around the Panchen Lama. An Amnesty International report calling for India to abolish preventive detention and improve prison conditions is summarized, and two book reviews close out the substantive content: S. P. Aiyar reviews B. R. Nanda's biography of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, and Mehra Masani reviews a survey-based study, 'Indian Women Today,' by Girija Khanna and Mariamma A. Verghese. The issue ends with 'With Many Voices,' a page of quotations from the world press, and the statutory Form IV ownership statement. ## Essays ### Were Rajaji Alive Today... *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's essay imagines how C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) would judge India's post-Emergency political and constitutional condition. Masani opens by diagnosing India's decade of instability -- coalition chaos, the 'Indira wave,' the 1975 Emergency, and the return to disorder after 1977 -- as a failure of both discipline and democracy together, and calls for a national recovery of 'character.' He then argues Rajaji's core relevance lies first in the moral plane: Rajaji's idea of Dharma in politics, a religiously-grounded but non-sectarian ethical framework, which Masani contrasts with India's constitutional self-description as a 'Socialist Secular Republic.' Masani devotes extended argument to the erosion of the Constitution via the 24th, 25th, 26th, and especially the 42nd Amendment, which he says destroyed fundamental rights (notably the right to property) and judicial independence by subordinating the President and Supreme Court to Parliament and the Prime Minister; he faults the Janata Government for failing to rescind the 42nd Amendment fully, settling instead for a diluted 45th Amendment ('half a mouse'). On the economic plane, Masani recounts Rajaji's demands for abolishing permits, licences, quotas, and the Planning Commission, cutting taxation, and reversing planning priorities to favour agriculture -- noting that only the priority reversal has been implemented, while the 'permit licence quota raj' remains intact. The essay closes by praising Rajaji as 'the Great Dissenter,' recounting an anecdote of Rajaji telling Nehru 'you have the majority... but logic is with me,' and urging readers to speak truth even against majority opinion. - Masani argues India's post-1977 democracy has failed for lack of both discipline and character, causing a swing back toward authoritarian temptation. - Rajaji's concept of Dharma in politics is presented as a non-sectarian ethical demand, contrasted with India's official 'Socialist Secular' constitutional identity. - The 42nd Amendment is described as having destroyed fundamental rights and judicial independence by making Parliament and the Prime Minister supreme over the Constitution. - The Janata Government is criticized for only partially undoing the 42nd Amendment via a watered-down 45th Amendment. - On economics, Rajaji's programme (abolish permits/licences/quotas, abolish the Planning Commission, cut taxes, prioritize agriculture) is judged mostly unimplemented except for the agriculture-first priority shift. - Rajaji is held up as a lifelong political dissenter willing to be right against the majority, exemplified in an anecdote about arguing with Nehru. ### Taxation vs Civilisation *By Ian Ball* The unsigned 'Of Cabbages & Kings' column, prefaced by a Lewis Carroll epigraph, comments acidly on contemporary political hypocrisies. It contrasts the Janata Government's 'internal affair' non-interference stance on Iran's revolution with its readiness to criticize other nations' human-rights records, and accuses Prime Minister Morarji Desai and Foreign Minister Vajpayee of double standards, including a congratulatory message to Ayatollah Khomeini juxtaposed with earlier warmth toward the Shah. A section on 'Frisking St. George' mocks Communications Minister George Fernandes's outrage over being frisked at Madras airport, contrasting it with his own past emergency-era policies. 'Beware the Peking Duck' satirizes China's renaming of Peking to Beijing and questions Vajpayee's forthcoming China trip. 'Not Medicine But Aushadh' criticizes the Prime Minister's suggestion that English be replaced in medical education. 'Sniping at Public Schools' defends elite public schools against criticism from the Citizens for Democracy. 'Operation Checkmate' analyzes intra-Janata factional politics involving Charan Singh, the Jan Sangh, and chief ministers in U.P., Bihar, and Himachal Pradesh. The column concludes with 'Lest We Forget,' reporting on a Bombay exhibition, 'Lest We Forget,' organized by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom and inaugurated by M. R. Masani, documenting underground literature circulated during the Emergency, along with excerpted visitor comments both praising and criticizing the exhibition. - The column criticizes the Janata Government's inconsistent foreign-policy stances, especially over Iran, Bhutto's execution, and China versus Vietnam/Cambodia. - It mocks George Fernandes's objection to being frisked at Madras airport as hypocritical given his own emergency-era security policies. - It criticizes the Prime Minister's suggestion to conduct medical education in regional languages instead of English. - It defends India's public schools against attacks by the Citizens for Democracy. - It analyzes Janata Party factional maneuvering involving Charan Singh and state chief ministers. - It reports on the 'Lest We Forget' exhibition of Emergency-era underground literature, inaugurated by M. R. Masani, including mixed visitor reactions. ### Book Review: Gokhale (by B. R. Nanda) *By S. P. Aiyar* Ian Ball's article 'Taxation vs Civilisation' draws a parallel between California's 1978 'Proposition 13' property-tax revolt (and the broader American tax-limitation movement led by figures like Howard Jarvis and economist Arthur Laffer) and the fourteenth-century Arab historian Ibn Khaldun's account, in his Muqaddimah, of how rising taxation destroys the incentive for productive and cultural activity within a dynasty over time. Ball quotes Ibn Khaldun at length describing how low taxation under a young dynasty encourages enterprise and swells tax revenue, while later rulers' escalating exactions eventually crush incentive, shrink the tax base, and 'destroy civilisation.' The piece concludes (in its continuation) by linking Ibn Khaldun's argument to modern voices -- Laffer's 'Laffer Curve,' Milton Friedman's television commercials for tax reformers, and Howard Jarvis's populist rhetoric -- arguing that all describe the same phenomenon: taxpayers eventually revolt when taxation exceeds what they perceive as a fair return. - Draws a direct parallel between California's Proposition 13 tax revolt and Ibn Khaldun's 14th-century analysis of taxation's effect on dynastic decline. - Extensively quotes Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddimah on how low taxation early in a dynasty produces growth, while escalating taxation later 'stifles' output and 'civilisation is destroyed.' - Cites Arthur Laffer's 'Laffer Curve' theory that cutting tax rates can increase total revenue by restoring incentives. - Connects the historical and economic argument to the contemporary American tax-limitation movement (Howard Jarvis) and Milton Friedman's public tax-reform advocacy. ### Book Review: Indian Women Today (by Dr. Girija Khanna and Mariamma A. Verghese) *By Mehra Masani* This is a two-page digest of reprinted international press items under the heading 'World News.' Items include an obituary of the Spanish liberal writer and diplomat Salvador de Madariaga (from The Guardian and Liberal International News), reprinted from Liberal International sources, describing his exile, his terms as Spain's Minister of Justice and Education, and his role as founding President of the Liberal International; a Daily Telegraph report on 300 women workers at the Cadbury-Schweppes factory in Bournville breaking up a lorry-drivers' picket; a Daily Telegraph report on a British orthopaedic surgeon, Mr. Patrick Chesterman, refusing to treat trade-union-member patients in protest at strikes; and two Daily Telegraph items on Chinese politics -- a report on the Panchen Lama's reported arranged marriage to a Han Chinese woman, and a note ('Callaghan Gets Protest Bra') on a British union protest against Prime Minister Callaghan. - Reprints an obituary of Salvador de Madariaga, the Spanish liberal writer, diplomat, and founding President of the Liberal International (1947). - Reports on a British industrial dispute in which Cadbury-Schweppes women workers physically broke up a picket line by striking lorry drivers. - Reports on a British surgeon's one-day boycott of trade-union-member patients in protest against public-sector strikes. - Covers Chinese political news, including the Panchen Lama's reported arranged marriage and his rehabilitation under the Communist Party after 're-education'. - Includes a brief item on British trade unionists presenting Prime Minister Callaghan with a protest bra during a pay dispute. ### Essay 5 This unsigned item reports on an 84-page Amnesty International study urging India to abolish preventive detention provisions from its constitution. It summarizes the findings of an AI fact-finding mission (December 1977-January 1978, led by Professor James Fawcett) that documented as many as 1,000 political prisoners, mostly alleged Naxalite sympathizers, some held without trial for over six years, and confirmed allegations of torture of political prisoners during 1970-1977, particularly during the Emergency when habeas corpus was suspended. The report's 18 recommendations include establishing an independent body to investigate torture complaints, repealing state preventive-detention laws, abolishing the death penalty, aligning prison conditions with UN standards, and ratifying international human-rights covenants. - Amnesty International's 84-page report recommends India remove preventive detention provisions from its constitution. - An AI mission (Dec 1977-Jan 1978, led by Professor James Fawcett) estimated up to 1,000 political prisoners, mostly alleged Naxalite sympathizers, some held over six years without trial. - AI confirmed allegations of torture of political prisoners during 1970-1977, especially during the 1975-1977 Emergency when habeas corpus was suspended. - The report makes 18 recommendations, including abolishing the death penalty, repealing preventive detention laws, and ratifying international human rights covenants. - The report also investigated alleged police killings of political prisoners in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. ### Essay 6 S. P. Aiyar reviews B. R. Nanda's 1977 political biography of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, published by Oxford University Press. Aiyar praises the book as surpassing earlier biographies through its use of original documents from India, Britain, and the United States, and its framing of Gokhale within the broader 'moderate' politics of the three-and-a-half decades before World War I. The review highlights Nanda's portrayal of Gokhale's disciplined, fact-based political method, the British colonial establishment's mixture of admiration and fear of him (illustrated by quoted correspondence between Lord Hardinge and Fleetwood Wilson describing Gokhale as potentially 'the most dangerous enemy of British rule in India'), his declining a knighthood to preserve the Servants of India Society's simplicity, and his role as an 'interpreter par excellence' between British rule and Indian aspirations. Aiyar takes issue, however, with Nanda's argument -- following Nehru's own prejudice against the moderates -- that moderate politics became obsolete and unable to answer the needs of Indian nationalism by the time of World War I, noting that Nanda dismisses later liberal critics of Gandhi as 'arm chair critics' without full justice to their warnings about the dangers of populism inherent in revolt. - Aiyar praises Nanda's biography for its documentary depth and its framing of Gokhale within a broader political history of the moderate era before WWI. - The review highlights British officialdom's private fear of Gokhale, quoting Lord Hardinge and Fleetwood Wilson correspondence calling him 'the most dangerous enemy of British rule in India.' - Gokhale declined a knighthood offered partly as a scheme to compromise his position in the Servants of India Society and on the Royal Commission on Public Services. - Aiyar credits Gokhale with widening the vocation of teacher into nation-building and interpreting British rule's implications for Indians. - Aiyar criticizes Nanda's Nehru-influenced dismissal of moderate politics as obsolete and of liberal critics of Gandhi as mere 'arm chair critics.' ### Essay 7 Mehra Masani reviews 'Indian Women Today' by Dr. Girija Khanna and Mariamma A. Verghese (Vikas Publishing House), a survey-based study of 1,000 women across sixteen Indian cities examining attitudes toward marriage, family planning, employment, dowry, divorce, and inter-caste marriage. The review is largely skeptical, arguing the survey confirms rather than adds to what earlier studies already showed (e.g., that housewives favour arranged marriages while working women favour love marriages), while presenting a mix of encouraging findings (majorities favouring family planning information for girls, widow remarriage, and women's employment) and discouraging ones (majorities disapproving of inter-caste marriage and divorce, most women admiring only politicians and saints rather than social reformers, low readership rates among educated housewives). Masani criticizes the book's prose as cliché-ridden and its conclusions as stating the obvious, concluding that despite the effort of data collection, the book adds little new to public understanding of Indian women's status. - The book surveys 1,000 women across sixteen Indian cities on marriage, family planning, employment, dowry, and related social attitudes. - Masani argues the findings mostly confirm what earlier studies already established, offering little genuinely new information. - Encouraging findings include majority support for educating adolescent girls about childbirth/family planning, approval of widow remarriage, and approval of women's employment. - Discouraging findings include majority disapproval of inter-caste marriage and divorce, and that most women admire only politicians and saints rather than social reformers. - Masani criticizes the book's writing as clichéd and its concluding chapter as merely recapitulating known facts about discrimination against women. ### Essay 8 'With Many Voices' is the issue's closing quotations page, prefaced by a Tennyson epigraph, gathering short excerpts from the world press on topics including British public-sector inefficiency (The Economist), Prince Charles's marriage prospects (The Observer), Air India's management (Rashmi Mayur in the Indian Express), U.S.-China diplomatic recognition (Senator S.I. Hayakawa), the state of Indian parliamentary politics (Y.B. Chavan), Indira Gandhi's political role (Rajmohan Gandhi in Himmat), and China's Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping on Soviet foreign policy, among others. The page is followed by the statutory Form IV ownership declaration naming J. R. Patel as printer/publisher and the Democratic Research Service, 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay, as the entity behind the periodical, alongside editors S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor. - A curated page of short press quotations on varied political and social topics from British, American, and Indian sources. - Includes Deng Xiaoping's remark on the Soviet Union's foreign-policy character. - Includes Rajmohan Gandhi's assessment of Indira Gandhi's ambiguous role in creating and possibly reuniting Janata. - Closes with the Form IV statutory ownership declaration confirming publisher J. R. Patel and the Democratic Research Service as the entity behind Freedom First. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff317/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 317 (April 1979), edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor, is dominated by reaction to Finance Minister Charan Singh's first Union Budget. The editorial and two signed articles attack the Budget from complementary angles: the editorial ("The Pity of It All") and Prof. B. P. Adarkar's "Charan Singh's Budgetary Bungle" fault its rural-versus-urban framing and its failure to curb public-sector waste and deficit spending, while K. H. Subramaniam's "Mopeds Are For Others" and S. A. A. Pinto's "Rustic Economics" attack specific measures — the steep petrol excise hike and the withdrawal of capital-gains and savings tax relief for the urban self-employed. Beyond the Budget, the issue carries Maj. Gen. E. D'Souza's military-affairs survey of the Chinese People's Liberation Army following the Sino-Vietnamese border war, Geeta Doctor's "Of Cabbages & Kings" column on the veil and women's status in revolutionary Iran, Nargish Hateria's personal travel narrative about being stranded near Deolali during monsoon floods, a reader's letter on the absurdity of domicile-certificate bureaucracy, S. P.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 317 (April 1979), edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor, is dominated by reaction to Finance Minister Charan Singh's first Union Budget. The editorial and two signed articles attack the Budget from complementary angles: the editorial ("The Pity of It All") and Prof. B. P. Adarkar's "Charan Singh's Budgetary Bungle" fault its rural-versus-urban framing and its failure to curb public-sector waste and deficit spending, while K. H. Subramaniam's "Mopeds Are For Others" and S. A. A. Pinto's "Rustic Economics" attack specific measures — the steep petrol excise hike and the withdrawal of capital-gains and savings tax relief for the urban self-employed. Beyond the Budget, the issue carries Maj. Gen. E. D'Souza's military-affairs survey of the Chinese People's Liberation Army following the Sino-Vietnamese border war, Geeta Doctor's "Of Cabbages & Kings" column on the veil and women's status in revolutionary Iran, Nargish Hateria's personal travel narrative about being stranded near Deolali during monsoon floods, a reader's letter on the absurdity of domicile-certificate bureaucracy, S. P. Aiyar's review of Arun Shourie's book of essays on the Emergency ("Symptoms of Fascism"), and the regular "With Many Voices" page of quotations. ## Essays ### The Pity of It All *By SVR* The unsigned lead editorial (signed "SVR", i.e. S. V. Raju) argues that Charan Singh's 1979-80 Union Budget squandered a real chance to break from the state-socialist pattern of previous finance ministers. It notes the irony that Charan Singh, who once championed minimal government, produced a budget that instead props up the public sector and heavy industry while raising taxes on the urban middle class and industry, creating a false rural-versus-urban divide rather than genuine fiscal reform. - Argues Charan Singh had the political stature to break from wasteful Nehruvian state planning but did not use it. - Criticizes the Budget for taxing urban sectors to fund an already bloated public sector and heavy industry under the Sixth Plan. - Calls the 1979-80 Budget the worst since Independence for failing to give farmers a fair deal while retaining socialist economic baggage. - Accuses Charan Singh of creating an artificial rural/urban divide instead of building a coalition between the two. - Notes the irony that Charan Singh, once a vocal critic of Nehru's economic policy, ended up extending Nehru's model of state capitalism. ### Of Cabbages & Kings (Women in Veils) *By GD* Geeta Doctor's regular column "Of Cabbages & Kings" this issue focuses on "Women in Veils," reflecting on the paradox of Iranian women who protested the Shah's regime by donning the chador only to have the Ayatollah Khomeini make the veil compulsory after the revolution. The piece surveys the veil's history as an instrument of controlling women across cultures, recalls Reza Shah's 1936 decree unveiling Iranian women and opening universities to them, and closes praising the 50,000 Iranian women who publicly protested against the reimposition of the chador under the new theocratic regime. - Opens with a cross-cultural survey of how different societies fixate on different parts of the female body, framing the veil as one of history's most restrictive impositions on women. - Notes the irony that Iranian women adopted the chador as an anti-Shah protest symbol only to have the post-revolutionary regime make it mandatory. - Recounts Reza Shah's 1936 decree ending compulsory veiling and opening Tehran University to women as a landmark of Iranian women's emancipation. - Reports that Ayatollah Khomeini's government is rolling back these freedoms, including banning abortion. - Praises the 50,000 Iranian women who demonstrated against the chador and calls the negotiated compromise (a lesser 'veil of modesty') a small but real victory. ### Charan Singh's Budgetary Bungle *By Prof. B. P. Adarkar* Prof. B. P. Adarkar's article, written before the Budget debate in Parliament, dissects Charan Singh's economic philosophy of rural development as expressed in his budget. Adarkar argues that while there is nothing wrong with favouring agriculture and cottage industries per se, Charan Singh's approach is unrealistic in timeframe and neglects the infrastructure (roads, electricity, irrigation, banking) that must precede rural industrialization. He contends the government should focus on building this infrastructure rather than penalizing urban and large-scale industry, and separately criticizes the budget for failing to control runaway public expenditure, fiscal deficits, and corruption in the public sector. - Compares Charan Singh to Keynes's 'madmen in authority' who act on their own untested economic doctrines. - Argues cottage industries cannot be grown overnight and that both small and large industry are needed for the economy. - Quotes 'Prof. Peter Drucker Clarke of Claremont' warning that Indian planners misunderstand the correct policy mix of appropriate technology. - Criticizes government for not building rural infrastructure (roads, electricity, irrigation, banking) before pushing rural industrialisation loans. - Faults the budget for a record Rs. 1,975 crore deficit, uncontrolled Rs. 18,526 crore expenditure, and lack of financial/performance audit of Plan spending. - Blames the sprawling, loss-making Public Sector — a legacy of Nehru's Mixed Economy doctrine — for the country's unemployment, stagflation, and corruption. ### The People's Liberation Army *By Maj. Gen. E. D'Souza, PVSM (Retd)* Maj. Gen. E. D'Souza (Retd.) surveys the organization, doctrine, equipment, and combat record of China's People's Liberation Army in light of its 1979 border war with Vietnam, drawing on his own experience facing PLA units at Himalayan passes during the 1965 Sikkim standoff. He details the PLA's guerrilla-derived doctrine, its Confucian-inflected strategic maxims from Mao's Red Book, its enormous manpower reserves versus its comparatively outdated weapons technology, and its political-commissar command structure. He concludes that while the PLA's supposed invincibility was exposed by Vietnamese resistance, it should not be underestimated given its logistic and manpower advantages in mountainous terrain, though it lags badly in modern weapons and would need time to re-equip against a superpower adversary. - Frames the article around the author's own 1965 experience facing PLA units at Cho La, Yak La, Sebu La and Natu La in the Sikkim Watershed. - Explains the PLA's guerrilla-warfare doctrine derived from Mao's Long March strategy and Confucian-style maxims ('Enemy advances, we retreat...'). - Details PLA organisation: roughly 4 million troops, 35-40 field armies, political commissars holding real command authority alongside military officers. - Argues the PLA is comparatively outgunned and outdated in tanks, aircraft, and missile technology versus the USSR, USA, and even India's own equipment sources. - Recounts an anecdote of a 'goat-parading' standoff with Chinese troops at Natu La as an illustration of PLA concern with saving face. - Concludes the Vietnamese conflict exposed the myth of PLA invincibility, but its vast manpower and guerrilla/infiltration tactics remain formidable in mountainous terrain. ### A Sobering Experience *By Nargish Hateria* Nargish Hateria recounts a monsoon picnic to Wilson Dam near Deolali that turned into a three-day ordeal when floodwaters cut off her group's taxi and stranded them in the village of Devla. The essay describes the group's dependence on villagers' hospitality (notably a woman named Manubai), their adaptation to rustic conditions without modern amenities, and their eventual rescue by wading through the floodwaters piggyback-style. The author reflects that the experience dissolved her and her friends' condescension toward rural people, concluding that urbanites are no more 'superior' than the villagers who sheltered them. - A picnic trip to Wilson Dam is cut off by monsoon flooding, stranding the narrator and two friends in the village of Devla for three days. - The group takes shelter with a villager, Manubai, adapting to life without modern plumbing, toothpaste, or other urban comforts. - The narrator describes local superstition (the inauspicious 'Amvas day') delaying their rescue attempt. - The group is eventually carried piggyback across the flooded road back to their hotel by local swimmers. - The essay closes on a reflective note about who is truly 'superior' — the humble rustic villagers or the soft-living city folk. ### Letter: Must Our Laws be Asinine? *By S. S. Bankeshwar* A reader's letter by S. S. Bankeshwar complains about the bureaucratic absurdity of obtaining a domicile certificate in Bombay, describing onerous documentation requirements even for decades-long residents, and recounts an anecdote of a pensioner denied his pension for a month due to a rigid, illogical identification requirement. The letter closes by asking whether India's laws are designed to help citizens or merely to feed 'briefless lawyers.' - Describes the excessive documentation (rent receipts, LIC premium receipts) required to obtain a Bombay domicile certificate despite years of residency. - Criticizes the requirement for court-affidavit identification by an advocate who has never met the applicant, for a fee of Rs. 20. - Recounts an anecdote of a pensioner denied a month's pension due to rigid procedural identification rules despite producing his identity certificate. - Concludes by questioning whether Indian bureaucratic law serves citizens or merely sustains the legal profession. ### Mopeds are for Others *By K. H. Subramaniam* K. H. Subramaniam's "Mopeds Are For Others" attacks the Union Budget's steep hike in petrol excise duty, arguing the government falsely claims Indian petrol prices are low by international standards while ignoring that India's petrol tax rate (around 400%) is the highest in the world relative to cost. The essay describes a failed pre-Budget lobbying effort by consumer and transport bodies to forestall the price hike, and argues that the claim that only the 'affluent' are affected is a deliberate lie, since higher fuel costs will raise transport costs for essential goods used by all classes. - Criticizes the government's practice of using indirect 'hidden' taxes like excise duty to extract revenue from consumers of all income levels. - Reports the Indian Liberal Group convened representatives of consumer and transport bodies in January 1979 to lobby against a feared petrol price hike, to no avail. - Presents a comparative table showing India's petrol tax (Rs. 14 out of Rs. 3.32 cost, i.e. roughly 400%) as the highest among surveyed countries (US, Japan, West Germany, Italy, Sweden). - Rebuts the government's claim that the 1979 OPEC price rise justified a 20% cost pass-through, noting the actual per-gallon cost increase was minimal. - Argues that the price hike will raise costs for taxi fares and freight transport, hurting ordinary consumers, not just car owners as officially claimed. ### Rustic Economics *By S. A. A. Pinto* S. A. A. Pinto's "Rustic Economics" argues that while Charan Singh's rural-uplift measures are not objectionable in themselves, his budget unfairly penalizes the urban self-employed and professional classes by removing the long-term capital gains exemption and reducing tax relief on long-term savings. Pinto contends these changes will destroy public confidence in government fair play, particularly harming self-employed professionals already exposed to volatile incomes, for a comparatively small net revenue gain. - Argues nobody begrudges rural-sector tax favours, but objects to withdrawing equivalent relief from urban taxpayers. - Criticizes removal of the long-term capital gains exemption and reduced tax relief on long-term savings as the two most objectionable levies on the urban sector. - Notes capital gains are often merely inflationary and notional, with government itself the largest driver of inflation. - Argues self-employed professionals face uniquely volatile incomes and rely on savings-related tax relief as insurance against bad years. - Calculates the net revenue gain from these two measures (Rs. 23.6 crores) is tiny compared to the government's Rs. 11,418 crore non-development expenditure. ### Book Review: Symptoms of Fascism (by Arun Shourie, Vikas Publishing House, 1978) *By S. P. Aiyar* S. P. Aiyar reviews Arun Shourie's Symptoms of Fascism (Vikas Publishing House, 1978), praising it as a scholarly and well-documented indictment of the Emergency's fascist character, drawing on major Western historians of fascism such as Hannah Arendt, K. D. Bracher, Alan Bullock, Joachim Fest and William Shirer. The reviewer commends Shourie's uncompromising prose and his critique of the Janata government's mishandling of the Shah Commission reports, but faults the book for one-sidedness in its treatment of Mrs. Gandhi, some stylistic lapses, and notes a memorable printing error in the book ('Mrs. Gaddhi'). - Praises Shourie's book for exposing the fascist character of the Emergency in India, countering claims that it lacked features of European fascism. - Notes the book cites major scholars of fascism (Hannah Arendt, K. D. Bracher, Alan Bullock, Joachim Fest, William Shirer). - Highlights Shourie's account of how the Janata Cabinet dithered over prosecuting Mrs. Gandhi despite the Shah Commission's damning findings. - Criticizes the book for one-sidedness regarding Mrs. Gandhi's character, some colloquial lapses in prose, and printing errors from the publisher. - Notes the book is organized into five sections: Prelude, The Emergency, Mrs. Gandhi, The Sequel, and New Beginnings. ### With Many Voices "With Many Voices" is the issue's regular closing feature collecting short quotations from contemporary press and public figures on politics, economics, and current events — including remarks by K. F. Rustamji on the state of Indian jails, commentary on Charan Singh's Budget, and quotes from world figures such as Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, Henry Kissinger, Ayatollah Khomeini, and Joti Basu on communism, dictatorship, and dissent. - K. F. Rustamji (Member, National Police Commission) is quoted saying most people in Indian jails ought not to be there. - Two quotes comment sardonically on Charan Singh's Budget, including H. R. Ranina calling it 'a stupid budget presented by an intelligent man.' - Alexandr Solzhenitsyn is quoted calling communism a 'dead dog' in Russia but 'a living lion' in the West. - Henry Kissinger is quoted noting no communist country has solved the problem of succession. - Ayatollah Khomeini is quoted rejecting the word 'democratic' as Western. - S. K. Sinha (Calcutta Police Commissioner) is quoted lamenting the erosion of investigative and prosecutorial habits due to Preventive Detention Acts since 1971. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff318/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 318 (May 1979) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal journal edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor. The issue opens with an editorial-led symposium on the Freedom of Religion Bill, 1978 (the Tyagi Bill), gathering objections from Hindu and Christian commentators alike who see the proposed anti-conversion law as a threat to civil and religious liberty. The regular column 'Of Cabbages & Kings' comments on the death-bed politicking around Jayaprakash Narayan's illness, the economics and communal sensitivities of cow-slaughter bans, the assassination of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's rival Bhutto himself having been hanged, and alleged American dollar-funding controversies involving Mrs Gandhi's Congress.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 318 (May 1979) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal journal edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor. The issue opens with an editorial-led symposium on the Freedom of Religion Bill, 1978 (the Tyagi Bill), gathering objections from Hindu and Christian commentators alike who see the proposed anti-conversion law as a threat to civil and religious liberty. The regular column 'Of Cabbages & Kings' comments on the death-bed politicking around Jayaprakash Narayan's illness, the economics and communal sensitivities of cow-slaughter bans, the assassination of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's rival Bhutto himself having been hanged, and alleged American dollar-funding controversies involving Mrs Gandhi's Congress. Feature pieces include a satirical travel account of chaotic rail and air journeys to Calcutta, an analysis of Bhutto's execution as either the act of a murderer or a victim of judicial murder, a survey of California's Proposition 13 tax revolt and its resonance with Indian fiscal debates (citing Milton Friedman, Arthur Laffer, and Nani Palkhivala), a 'World News' digest of Soviet dissidents, Chinese social controls, and other international items, and a page of quotations ('With Many Voices') drawn from the press. Three book reviews close the issue: Saroj Chakrabarty's memoir on West Bengal chief ministers, Ved Mehta's autobiography Face to Face, and Michael Herr's Vietnam War reportage Dispatches. ## Essays ### The Freedom of Religion Bill The lead editorial explains the background of the Freedom of Religion Bill, 1978, a Private Member's Bill moved by Janata MP O. P. Tyagi, and notes the government's ambivalent stance despite assurances from Prime Minister Morarji Desai and Home Minister H. M. Patel that minority rights would be protected. It reports that Christian communities in Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and Arunachal Pradesh already live under similar state legislation, and that Bombay's Christian community organised morchas and hunger strikes in protest. The editorial frames the piece as introducing a symposium of invited reactions from Hindu and Christian citizens, followed by pieces from Madhu Mehta ('Pitting Krishna Versus Christ'), Rajmohan Gandhi ('An Unwise Bill'), George Menezes ('Violates A Fundamental Right'), and A. Williams, S.J. ('Threat to Communal Harmony'), plus press clippings from Himmat, Sunday Standard, and Indian Express. - The Freedom of Religion Bill, 1978 was a Private Member's Bill by Janata MP O. P. Tyagi, not an official government measure - Home Minister H. M. Patel said government had taken no view but would protect fundamental rights of all religions - PM Morarji Desai told a Christian delegation in Bombay the Bill 'will not be accepted as it is' - Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and Arunachal Pradesh already had similar anti-conversion legislation - Christian community organised morchas, hunger strikes, and blackflag demonstrations against the Bill - Madhu Mehta's contribution argues existing law already covers forcible conversion and that the Bill risks politicising Hindu-Christian relations - Rajmohan Gandhi's piece frames freedom to change religion as a constitutional right and criticises giving officials power to judge conversions as insincere - George Menezes and A. Williams, S.J. argue the Bill violates Articles 25/26 of the Constitution and Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, citing reports of Arunachal Christians pressured to renounce their faith for government jobs ### Pitting Krishna Versus Christ *By MADHU MEHTA* The recurring 'Of Cabbages & Kings' column (headed by a Lewis Carroll epigraph) runs four short items. 'Necrophilic Society' (initialled GD, likely Geeta Doctor) criticises the media and political frenzy around Jayaprakash Narayan's declining health and J. B. Kripalani's frailty, calling the morbid public fascination a 'necrophilic tendency' after Erich Fromm. 'Banning Cow Slaughter' (initialled SVR) surveys the debate over a total ban, quoting West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu's economic objections and Mahatma Gandhi on religious versus State compulsion, and describes Acharya Vinoba Bhave's fast unto death begun on April 21. 'A Return to Tribalism' reflects on the hangings of Bhutto and the killing of Hoveyda, and warns that the fall of strongman rule in Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan could unleash a reversion to tribal loyalties among Kurds, Baluchis, Turkomans, and Pakhtoons. 'Those Alluring Dollars' mocks the controversy stirred by Daniel Moynihan's book alleging Dollar payments to the Indian National Congress, and Mrs Gandhi's rebuttal via Sardar Buta Singh attacking Moynihan as a 'rabid zionist.' - GD criticises the 'necrophilic' public and press fixation on JP Narayan's and J. B. Kripalani's failing health - SVR notes Freedom First's rare agreement with Communist leaders Jyoti Basu and E.M.S. Namboodiripad in opposing a total cow-slaughter ban on economic grounds - Quotes Mahatma Gandhi that Hindu religious prohibition on cow slaughter cannot be imposed on non-Hindus, just as Shariat cannot be imposed on non-Muslims - Acharya Vinoba Bhave began a fast unto death on April 21 over cow slaughter, having previously called off an Emergency-era fast on government assurances - 'A Return to Tribalism' links Bhutto's and Hoveyda's deaths to a broader risk of tribal fragmentation across Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan - 'Those Alluring Dollars' reports on the political fallout in India from Daniel Moynihan's book 'A Dangerous Peace' alleging covert US funding to the Congress ### An Unwise Bill *By RAJMOHAN GANDHI* K. B. Lam's essay weighs whether Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was rightly convicted and hanged for conspiracy to murder, or whether the whole prosecution was a stage-managed act by General Zia to eliminate a political threat. The piece surveys the fairness of the trial (noting three of seven judges found Bhutto not guilty), international appeals for clemency, and Amnesty International's doubts about the evidence, before concluding that the extremity of the sentence despite judicial dissent suggests Bhutto was less a murderer than the victim of a conspiracy against him. It closes praising Bhutto's oratorical brilliance and lamenting the unstable political future facing Pakistan under continued martial law. - Frames the central question as whether Bhutto was a murderer or himself murdered by a manipulated judicial process - Notes three of seven judges pronounced Bhutto not guilty, casting doubt on proof beyond reasonable doubt - Cites an impartial French lawyer's view the case would have been dismissed in Western Europe and Amnesty International's concerns about unfair conduct - Argues Zia felt his own survival depended on eliminating Bhutto once electoral prospects favoured Bhutto's return to power - Credits Bhutto with major achievements in Pakistan's foreign policy and skillful diplomacy after the 1971 war humiliation - Rates Bhutto as an orator matched among contemporaries only by Harold Wilson - Speculates on Pakistan's uncertain political future, ranging from prolonged Zia rule to farcical elections or disintegration ### Violates A Fundamental Right *By GEORGE MENEZES* Geeta Doctor's humorous travel piece 'Oh No, Calcutta!' recounts a friend's disaster-strewn journey to Calcutta, opening with Mark Twain's 1896 observations on the city's chaos before describing a modern odyssey: a delayed flight, a power cut at the guest house, a train delayed by a rail-blockade protest that brought police with rifles, lathis, and tear gas, and a taxi whose axle broke en route, forcing the traveller to complete the journey by bullock cart. - Opens with Mark Twain's 1896 remark that Calcutta's streets seemed 'full of grandmothers waiting for a chance to earn Rs. 10' from traffic fines - The friend's Bombay-Calcutta flight was delayed for hours over two missing passengers - A power cut at the guest house forced a candlelit climb up five flights of stairs - Protesters lay on the tracks at Durgapur, prompting police intervention with rifles, lathis, and tear gas to clear the line - An A/c compartment attendant recited the Bhagwad Gita aloud during the standoff and later served tea boiled with toilet-cistern water - The train was halted again at Barakar by more protesters and the journey was finished by taxi, then bullock cart after the taxi's axle broke ### Threat to Communal Harmony *By A. WILLIAMS, S. J.* K. S. Venkateswaran's essay surveys California's 1978 Proposition 13 tax revolt led by Howard Jarvis, presenting it as a middle-class rebellion against overblown, self-indulgent government. It cites Prof. Arthur Laffer's tax-cut theory (the Laffer Curve), Milton Friedman's public backing of the initiative against establishment opposition, and Walter Heller's Wall Street Journal commentary demanding government 'deliver more per dollar of tax.' The piece then pivots to India, invoking Nani Palkhivala's book The Highest Taxed Nation and his argument that high taxation is inflationary because it discourages saving and investment, concluding that the Californian lesson has global, including Indian, relevance. - Proposition 13 cut California property taxes by $7000 million in a June 1978 referendum after 1.5 million signatures were gathered - Howard Jarvis is credited as the campaign's driving figure after 15 years of tax-slashing advocacy - Arthur Laffer's 'Laffer Curve' thesis holds that lowering tax rates can increase total revenue by expanding business activity - Milton Friedman publicly supported Proposition 13, prompting roughly 400 economists to issue a counter-statement predicting chaos - Friedman calls the victory proof that 'the wave of taxpayer protest' will demand performance and not merely promises from politicians - Nani Palkhivala's The Highest Taxed Nation argues low tax rates are the sine qua non of an economy that fosters enterprise and savings - The essay frames California's revolt as holding lessons 'worthy of greater attention' for countries like India ### Of Cabbages & Kings (Necrophilic Society; Banning Cow Slaughter; A Return to Tribalism; Those Alluring Dollars) *By GD / SVR* A reader's letter signed S. A. A. Pinto responds to a Freedom First item ('Frisking St. George') about a security check on former minister George Fernandes, arguing that Fernandes, unlike other ministers, forgoes VIP privileges and travels by ordinary means, and sarcastically asking the columnist GD to also list 'all the better known history books' in which the Emergency is supposedly being erased from memory. - The letter responds to an earlier Freedom First piece questioning how a security check could arise for George Fernandes - Argues Fernandes travels without VIP privileges unlike other ministers who use VIP lounges and limousines - Accuses the columnist GD of implying the Emergency is being forgotten or 'buried' - Ends with a sarcastic request for a list of history books documenting the Emergency ### Bhutto -- Murderer or Murdered? *By K. B. Lam* The 'World News' digest compiles short wire-service items from The Daily Telegraph on repression and social control abroad: Soviet dissident scientist Yuri Orlov forbidden to send scientific notes from labour camp; engineer Joseph Zisels sentenced for distributing Solzhenitsyn's writings; Chinese press campaigns against Western fashions like bell-bottoms and against contact between Chinese citizens and foreigners; a British vicar's call to meet home-invasion criminals with physical force; and India's lifting of its ban on human skeleton exports for medical education. - Soviet civil-rights campaigner Yuri Orlov, serving seven years in a labour camp, was barred from sending out scientific notes - Engineer Joseph Zisels was sentenced to three years for distributing Solzhenitsyn's writings and information on dissidents in psychiatric wards - Chinese newspapers campaigned against bell-bottom trousers and foreign hairstyles as symbols of 'bourgeois decadence' - Chinese authorities banned informal friendships between Chinese citizens and foreigners in Peking - A Yorkshire vicar urged parishioners to use physical force against home-invasion criminals rather than turn the other cheek - India ended its ban on exporting human skeletons for medical education under new regulatory certification ### Oh No, Calcutta! *By Geeta Doctor* V. B. Karnik reviews Saroj Chakrabarty's 'With West Bengal Chief Ministers,' a memoir by a long-serving personal staff member covering West Bengal's chief ministers from 1962 to 1977. The review highlights the book's access to official correspondence, including exchanges between S. S. Ray and Indira Gandhi and Ray's January 1975 letter recommending strong measures such as banning the RSS and Ananda Marg — measures Karnik notes anticipated the Emergency's actual crackdown. The review judges the book informative but lacking analytical depth into the causes of Bengal's political turbulence, including the rise of Naxalites and Marxist Communists. - The book is a sequel to an earlier volume on Dr B. C. Roy and covers 1962-1977 under successive West Bengal chief ministers - S. S. Ray's January 1975 letter to Indira Gandhi recommended banning organisations like the RSS and Ananda Marg months before the Emergency - Ray reportedly never paid court to Sanjay Gandhi despite the latter's interference in Bengal Congress affairs - The book documents the rise of Naxalites and Marxist Communists in Bengal but offers little causal analysis - Karnik judges it 'a useful publication' for students of the 1962-1977 political era despite its lack of interpretive depth ### The Great Tax Revolt *By K. S. Venkateswaran* Vrunda Moghe Dev reviews Ved Mehta's autobiography 'Face to Face,' praising Mehta's expressive prose style and describing the book's account of the author's childhood blindness from meningitis at age three, his family's flight from Lahore during Partition violence, and his eventual education in America at the Arkansas School for the Blind and the University of California. The review calls the Partition section 'most gripping' and notes the book ends abruptly, just as the reader becomes fully engrossed. - Ved Mehta was blinded by meningitis at age three and educated from age five at the Dadar Blind School - His Lahore-based family fled Partition violence, boarding a train to safety while parents escaped separately to Bombay - The review calls the Partition and refugee-camp section of the book 'most gripping' - Mehta was eventually accepted by an American school after early setbacks, attending the Arkansas School for the Blind and the University of California - The reviewer notes the author shows no self-pity and that the book 'ends quite abruptly... too abruptly for an engrossed reader' ### Letter: Frisking St. George *By S. A. A. PINTO* Maj. Gen. E. D'Souza, PVSM (Retd.), reviews Michael Herr's Vietnam War reportage 'Dispatches,' praising its unflinching depiction of the ordinary soldier's ('grunt') experience over the era's fixation on weapons and technology. The review, written by a retired career officer, discusses Herr's vivid, profanity-laced prose style, his chapter on the sniper 'Luke the Gook,' and passages illustrating wartime atrocities and dehumanising language used by American troops toward Vietnamese civilians, alongside acknowledgment of Herr's structural skill in weaving personal anecdote into broader argument. - Michael Herr was Esquire's special correspondent in Vietnam in 1967-68 during the Tet Offensive and siege of Khe Sanh - The reviewer, a retired 36-year army officer, initially struggled to understand American slang terms like 'grunt' in the book - Herr's Dispatches is organised into six chapters including 'Breathing In,' 'Hell Sucks,' 'Khe Sanh,' and 'Breathing Out' - The review highlights Herr's account of the sniper 'Luke the Gook' as emblematic of the war's absurdity and cruelty - The reviewer cites soldiers' dehumanising remarks about Vietnamese civilians and incidents like the destruction of Ben Tre - The review closes praising Herr's ability to convey 'the beast and the best' in the Vietnam war ### World News (No Maths; No Solzhenitsyn; No Bell-Bottoms; No Foreign Boy-Friends; No Turning the Other Cheek; Skeletons from India) *By Nigel Wade / Richard Beeston / The Daily Telegraph* The closing page 'With Many Voices,' introduced by a Tennyson epigraph, is a compilation of short newspaper quotations on contemporary politics: G. D. Birla on the Janata government's mixed-economy contradictions, The Guardian on Islam versus Marxism, Arun Shourie on legislative contempt proceedings, Milton Friedman-adjacent commentary on socialism's eventual recession, James Cameron on politicians being 'off their crumpets,' Vajpayee quoting Kabir in Peking, Alexei Kosygin threatening journalists, Morarji Desai on Sikkim's accession and educating unwilling ministers, Idi Amin, General Zia-ul-Haq, and Iran's Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan on the aides around Ayatollah Khomeini. - Compiles short press quotations from figures including G. D. Birla, Arun Shourie, James Cameron, Morarji Desai, Idi Amin, and General Zia-ul-Haq - G. D. Birla comments twice: once on the contradiction of the PM backing mixed economy while a minister demands nationalisation, and once on Morarji Desai's difficulty educating unwilling ministers - Atal Bihari Vajpayee is quoted invoking Kabir while visiting Peking - Soviet leader Alexei Kosygin threatens to exclude a journalist from the press corps for inaccurate reporting - Iran's Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan is quoted describing conflict with the 'Committee of aides' around Ayatollah Khomeini - The page functions as a satirical closing digest rather than a single-authored essay --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff320/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 320 (July 1979), the 28th year of publication, edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor. The issue opens with S. K. Ookerjee's critique of the draft National Education Policy and the entrenched dysfunctions of India's higher-education system, and continues with the 'Of Cabbages & Kings' notes column skewering Western 'ashram-hopping' spiritual tourists and lamenting the government's mishandling of the Silent Valley wildlife controversy in Kerala. S. V. Raju defends the legitimacy of Bishop Abel Muzorewa's newly installed government in Zimbabwe-Rhodesia against Western and Indian scepticism, framing it as a gradualist, non-violent alternative to the Marxist-aligned Patriotic Front guerrillas. V. B. Karnik reviews a Stanford law study on racial job discrimination in the United States and draws parallels to caste-based reservation in India. Manjula Padmanabhan contributes a satirical piece imagining exaggerated global consequences of the Skylab re-entry. Two book reviews follow -- Adi H. Doctor on W. H. Morris Jones's essay collection on Indian politics, and K. V. Padmanabhan on A. R. H. Copley's political biography of C.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 320 (July 1979), the 28th year of publication, edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor. The issue opens with S. K. Ookerjee's critique of the draft National Education Policy and the entrenched dysfunctions of India's higher-education system, and continues with the 'Of Cabbages & Kings' notes column skewering Western 'ashram-hopping' spiritual tourists and lamenting the government's mishandling of the Silent Valley wildlife controversy in Kerala. S. V. Raju defends the legitimacy of Bishop Abel Muzorewa's newly installed government in Zimbabwe-Rhodesia against Western and Indian scepticism, framing it as a gradualist, non-violent alternative to the Marxist-aligned Patriotic Front guerrillas. V. B. Karnik reviews a Stanford law study on racial job discrimination in the United States and draws parallels to caste-based reservation in India. Manjula Padmanabhan contributes a satirical piece imagining exaggerated global consequences of the Skylab re-entry. Two book reviews follow -- Adi H. Doctor on W. H. Morris Jones's essay collection on Indian politics, and K. V. Padmanabhan on A. R. H. Copley's political biography of C. Rajagopalachari -- and the issue closes with 'With Many Voices,' a page of topical press quotations. ## Essays ### The Play Within the Play: Some thoughts on the new National Education Policy and our old educational system *By S. K. Ookerjee* S. K. Ookerjee surveys the draft National Education Policy of 1979 and argues that it will change little in practice, echoing decades of reports and commissions that promise reform but leave the underlying system undisturbed. He focuses on two proposals -- 'selective admissions' to higher education and 'internal assessment' replacing rote-memorization examinations -- and walks through why neither is likely to be implemented seriously: colleges compete for enrolment to protect faculty jobs and 'good college' reputations, tutorial teaching has been curtailed rather than expanded even as class sizes rise from 60 to 100 students, and paper-setters, examiners, students and unions all resist a genuinely more demanding examination style. He concludes that without more money for smaller tutorial classes and higher teacher pay, and without political will to make education rather than economy the driving consideration, 'the play will go on' unchanged. - The draft National Education Policy 'does not depart much from the current policy' despite advertised fanfare. - A 1977 Government Resolution rendering teachers 'surplus' when enrolment in their subject falls has already made junior faculty insecure. - Class-size caps have risen from 60 to 80 to 100 students, undermining tutorial-style teaching even as the draft calls for it. - 'Internal assessment' replacing terminal university exams is described as workable only with major changes in student, teacher and management attitudes -- changes the author doubts will happen. - Colleges' desire to protect their 'good college' reputation pressures them to push weak students through to the final exam rather than fail them at internal checkpoints. - The tutorial method (breaking large classes into small groups) is called the single method most likely to improve higher education quality, but is being cut back, not expanded. - The author concludes with resignation that financial and bureaucratic priorities will keep the reforms cosmetic. ### Of Cabbages & Kings (column: Perils of Ashram Hopping; Silent Valley Silenced) *By GD* The 'Of Cabbages & Kings' notes column (signed GD, i.e. Geeta Doctor) runs two items. 'Perils of Ashram Hopping' satirizes a wave of Western spiritual tourists who arrive seeking gurus at Himalayan ashrams and around figures like Sai Baba, Ramana Maharshi, Shankaracharya and the Rajneesh ashram in Poona, portraying them as self-absorbed 'seekers' oblivious to the discomfort and disruption they cause their Indian hosts, and quoting a Rajneesh devotee's dismissive letter to the Indian Express. 'Silent Valley Silenced' criticizes the Kerala hydroelectric project's threat to the Silent Valley rainforest and its endangered wildlife, especially the lion-tailed macaque, and accuses the government of paying lip service to conservation while allowing wildlife habitat to be destroyed unchecked. - Foreign 'ashram hoppers' are depicted as performative seekers of self-realization who romanticize Indian poverty while resisting genuine cultural adjustment. - A Rajneesh devotee's letter in the Indian Express is quoted defending Western dress and behaviour against Indian objections, which the column treats as emblematic of the friction between visitors and hosts. - India's tiger population's decline from 40,000 to 2,500 in a century frames the piece on wildlife loss. - The Silent Valley hydroelectric project in Kerala is criticized for threatening the lion-tailed macaque and other species despite the existence of 150 wildlife sanctuaries. - The column argues government conservation policy amounts to short-term thinking dressed up as concern for the environment. ### Give the Bishop a Chance *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju argues that Bishop Abel Muzorewa's newly installed government in Zimbabwe-Rhodesia deserves international recognition and a chance to govern, rejecting Indian and Western scepticism about the fairness of the April 1979 elections. He recounts Rhodesia's history from Cecil Rhodes's founding in 1890 through Ian Smith's 1965 Unilateral Declaration of Independence and the subsequent sanctions, and contrasts Muzorewa's and Ndabaningi Sithole's peaceful, gradualist path to majority rule with the guerrilla campaigns of Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo, whom Raju characterizes as seeking one-party Marxist rule imposed by force rather than the ballot. He criticizes India's foreign policy as reflexively hostile to the Internal Settlement and notes the U.N., Soviet Union, U.K. and U.S.A.'s mixed responses, closing by asking whether democratic nations will deny the Muzorewa government recognition purely because the transition is imperfect. - India's Prime Minister Morarji Desai told Lord Carrington that India considered the Salisbury government illegal, which Raju calls a continuation of a 'spineless' Nehru-era foreign policy. - Muzorewa's United National African Council won 51 of 72 seats in the April 1979 election, with 64% turnout despite guerrilla intimidation. - Raju frames the guerrilla leaders Mugabe and Nkomo as seeking power via armed force and Soviet/Cuban backing rather than the democratic process. - The Internal Settlement included a bill of rights, protection against nationalisation, an independent judiciary and public service, though whites retained 28 reserved parliamentary seats and guarantees for a decade. - Raju compares Muzorewa's incrementalist strategy to Gandhiji's philosophy of 'one step at a time'. - The U.N. Security Council declared the elections 'null and void' while the U.K. and U.S. abstained and reserved judgment. ### Job Discrimination in the U.S.A. (review of Black Workers in White Unions by William B. Gould) *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik reviews William B. Gould's 'Black Workers in White Unions' (Cornell University Press, 1978), a legal-academic study of racial job discrimination in the United States drawing on Gould's experience as an EEOC consultant. Karnik summarizes Gould's account of how trade-union apprenticeship rules, seniority systems and exclusion from union leadership have perpetuated discrimination against Black, Puerto Rican, Chicano and Mexican workers even after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and how courts -- notably the Supreme Court in Griggs v. Duke Power Co. -- have expanded remedies including affirmative action and quotas. He closes by drawing an explicit parallel to India's own caste-based job reservation system for Scheduled Castes and Tribes, judging it inadequate but 'better than doing nothing.' - Gould's book, based on legal proceedings and court decisions, documents discrimination in apprenticeship admission, journeyman certification, segregated union locals, and exclusion of Blacks from union policy-making bodies. - As of 1973 the UAW's international staff was only 14.3% minority despite Black membership of 25-30% of the union, illustrating persistent underrepresentation even in a 'progressive' union. - The Supreme Court's Griggs v. Duke Power Co. decision held that Title VII targets practices that perpetuate the effects of past discrimination even where neutral on their face. - Karnik notes the book is written more for lawyers and race-relations specialists than general readers. - He draws a direct comparison between U.S. racial job discrimination remedies and India's reservation system for Scheduled Castes and Tribes, judging the latter 'too inadequate' but still worthwhile. ### The Day the Sky fell on our Heads *By Manjula Padmanabhan* Manjula Padmanabhan contributes a comic, satirical piece imagining the aftermath of the 1979 Skylab space-station re-entry, mocking both American media hype over the debris and the exaggerated, farcical consequences she invents -- from a 'Space Debric Cult' in Java to a supposed brisk trade in Skylab-fragment jewellery and collectibles. The piece is pure comic invective rather than reportage, riffing on the real uncertainty and contradictory reporting that surrounded Skylab's actual re-entry. - The piece opens from the narrator's own house being hit by 'a two-kilo weakling' fragment of Skylab, immediately establishing the satirical register. - It lampoons NASA's shifting and contradictory public statements about where debris might land. - It invents absurd consequences: a religious cult worshipping 'the great god NASA' in Java, and Tiffany's reportedly considering 'Skylab jewellery'. - The piece closes by noting (satirically) that Soviet satellites pose a far greater uncontrolled risk than Skylab ever did. ### Book Review: Politics Mainly Indian (by W. H. Morris Jones) *By Adi H. Doctor* Adi H. Doctor reviews W. H. Morris Jones's 'Politics Mainly Indian' (Orient Longman, 1978), a collection of the veteran Indologist's essays spanning the periods of Congress dominance and post-1967 'populist rhetoric' in Indian politics, including his analysis of the Emergency. Doctor highlights Morris Jones's view that the Emergency was largely an inevitable consequence of populist appeal combined with personalised administration, his defence of political apathy against claims that citizenship demands active participation, and his interest in press performance and election forecasting as an underexplored area of Indian political science. - Morris Jones is praised as an outsider who has 'earned the right' to be treated as part of the Indian political scene after 35 years of study. - He divides Indian politics into the earlier period of 'politics of manipulation' (Congress dominance) and the post-1967 'politics of populist rhetoric'. - Morris Jones argues the Emergency did not represent a durable option because it built no institutions to replace the motive powers of democracy. - He also argues the Emergency 'matured the electorate' and taught India a lesson it will not soon forget. - Two essays from the 1960s reflect his early suspicion of Gandhi-JP style 'decentralised democracy' based on consensus rather than majority rule. - Morris Jones defends political apathy, rejecting the idea that citizenship requires a baseline of political participation. ### Book Review: The Political Career of C. Rajagopalachari: 1937-1954, A Moralist in Politics (by A. R. H. Copley) *By K. V. Padmanabhan* K. V. Padmanabhan reviews A. R. H. Copley's 'The Political Career of C. Rajagopalachari: 1937-1954, A Moralist in Politics' (Macmillan, 1978), timed to Rajaji's birth centenary. The review traces Copley's account of Rajaji's rise as Premier of Madras, his fraught relationships with Gandhiji, Nehru and Sardar Patel, his controversial wartime collaboration stance that alienated him from Congress, his subsequent return to high office (Governor of Bengal, Minister, and Governor-General of India), and his major reform record as Madras Premier -- agrarian reforms, prohibition, and temple entry for Harijans -- before his resignation as Chief Minister in 1954 and later founding of the Swatantra Party. - Rajaji's differences with Gandhiji intensified over the 1942 'Quit India' resolution and his own earlier wartime-collaboration stance, which Gandhiji called 'the greatest betrayal of the doctrine of non-violence'. - Rajaji and Nehru shared little in temperament -- Nehru's agnosticism and socialism contrasted with Rajaji's religiosity -- but Nehru favoured Rajaji for the honoured position of India's first President. - Rajaji's rivalry with Sardar Patel and his suspicion that Patel harboured a soft corner for Muslims are noted as sources of friction. - As Premier of Madras (1937-39, and again 1952-54) Rajaji pushed through agrarian reform, prohibition and temple-entry for Harijans against vested-interest opposition. - Governor Lord Erskine in 1939 called Rajaji 'a really good administrator... a good Tory in internal politics... too much of a Tory for me', wishing 'to go back two thousand years and run India as in the time of King Asoka'. - Rajaji founded the Swatantra Party in 1959 after growing alienated from Nehru's 'totalitarian' tendencies in the 1950s. - The book's narrative effectively ends with Rajaji's 1954 resignation as Chief Minister of Madras, with an epilogue and postscript covering his later years and a comparison to Morarji Desai. ### With Many Voices (quotations column) 'With Many Voices' is the issue's closing page of curated topical press quotations, drawn from sources including The Economist, The Daily Telegraph, Business India, The Observer, Time and The Statesman, spanning subjects from British and Indian politics to entrepreneurship and communal tension. - The column collects short quotations attributed to figures including Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Pope John Paul II, U.S. Senator S.I. Hayakawa and U.K. Chancellor Geoffrey Howe. - Quotations touch on bureaucratic jargon, nationalisation of TISCO, communal rioting risk in India, and calls to reduce public-sector borrowing in Britain. - The page is framed with an epigraph from Tennyson ('The deep / Moans round with many voices...'). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff321/ ### Summary This August 1979 issue of Freedom First (No. 321, 28th year of publication) opens with editor S. V. Raju's editorial 'Back to Square One', a bleak assessment of the collapse of the Janata experiment and the return of India's politics to instability after the Emergency interlude. The 'Of Cabbages & Kings' column (signed G.D.) takes up the politicisation of humanitarian aid and the breakdown of civic order and public services in Bombay. The issue's reprinted pieces survey the wider world: Ross H. Munro's Time dispatch profiles Sri Lanka's turn from socialism to market liberalisation under President Jayawardene; P. M. Kamath analyses Richard Nixon's portrayal of India and Indira Gandhi in his memoirs; Robin Gordon-Walker's Topical Commentary piece covers the Vietnamese boat-people refugee crisis; and a World News page carries Guardian pieces on African civil wars and the Soviet bloc's embrace of blue jeans. The book review section assesses Manohar Malgonkar's The Men Who Killed Gandhi, two competing Garhwal Himalaya mountaineering books (Nilakantha and Of Gods and Glaciers), and a Jim Corbett anthology.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This August 1979 issue of Freedom First (No. 321, 28th year of publication) opens with editor S. V. Raju's editorial 'Back to Square One', a bleak assessment of the collapse of the Janata experiment and the return of India's politics to instability after the Emergency interlude. The 'Of Cabbages & Kings' column (signed G.D.) takes up the politicisation of humanitarian aid and the breakdown of civic order and public services in Bombay. The issue's reprinted pieces survey the wider world: Ross H. Munro's Time dispatch profiles Sri Lanka's turn from socialism to market liberalisation under President Jayawardene; P. M. Kamath analyses Richard Nixon's portrayal of India and Indira Gandhi in his memoirs; Robin Gordon-Walker's Topical Commentary piece covers the Vietnamese boat-people refugee crisis; and a World News page carries Guardian pieces on African civil wars and the Soviet bloc's embrace of blue jeans. The book review section assesses Manohar Malgonkar's The Men Who Killed Gandhi, two competing Garhwal Himalaya mountaineering books (Nilakantha and Of Gods and Glaciers), and a Jim Corbett anthology. The issue closes with the 'With Many Voices' page of topical quotations and the publication colophon. ## Essays ### Back to Square One *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju's editorial surveys the wreckage of the Janata Party's two years in power, arguing that the parties that united to defeat Indira Gandhi in 1977 never integrated into a genuine single party and have now fractured into the same squabbling and power-broking that characterised Indian politics before the Emergency. He catalogues the hypocrisy of the Rajghat pledge, the casteist and communal habits persisting among ordinary Indians and politicians alike, and the emerging prospect that either Morarji Desai or Charan Singh will head a fragile minority government dependent on Mrs. Gandhi's tacit support, with an early general election likely within six months. - The Janata Party was a united front of convenience, not a genuine merger, and its parties are now reverting to old rivalries. - Raju calls the political mood 'back to square one': the lessons of the Emergency appear to have been forgotten. - Both possible successor governments (Desai or Charan Singh) would be minority governments dependent on unstable coalition support. - An early general election is anticipated, possibly within six months. - The piece questions whether voters have any real alternative given the discredited state of all major parties. ### Of Cabbages & Kings (How Human is Humanitarian?; Betrayed by Whom?) *By G.D.* A two-part 'Of Cabbages & Kings' column signed G.D. The first item, 'How Human is Humanitarian?', questions whether international charities and aid agencies (Oxfam, Christian Aid, War on Want, UNICEF) can keep humanitarian relief free of political entanglement, citing a Western agency cutting food aid to Madras slum children after India's 1974 nuclear test, and UNICEF aid reaching Southern African guerrilla movements; it closes by turning to relief efforts after a cyclone in Andhra Pradesh and urging systematic disaster-proofing over ad hoc aid. The second item, 'Betrayed by Whom?', uses a Bombay newspaper shutdown (from a printers'/unions' dispute) as a springboard for a meditation on ordinary Indians' sense of betrayal by politicians, arguing that citizens' own petty prejudices, opportunism, and passivity (illustrated by an anecdote of an elderly woman jostled at a bus stop) mirror the very failings they accuse their leaders of. - Charitable and humanitarian aid organisations struggle to keep their work free of political pressure and controversy. - A Western charity cut food aid to Madras slum children after India's nuclear test on the reasoning that a nuclear-capable country could feed its own poor. - UNICEF was reported to have supplied aid to guerrilla movements including the Patriotic Front, SWAPO, PAC, and ANC in Southern Africa. - Bombay's newspaper industry was disrupted by a labour dispute, leaving the Times of India on indefinite holiday and the Free Press Journal's office having burnt down. - The column argues that Indians' own casteism, communalism, and passivity mirror the failings they attribute to politicians, and that the 'betrayal' cuts both ways. - It warns that if no credible, courageous political alternative emerges, the risk is a slide toward dictatorship, as in the Weimar Republic. ### A Country on its Way Up *By Ross H. Munro* Ross H. Munro's Time magazine dispatch (reprinted, dated June 25) describes Sri Lanka's rapid turn away from decades of socialist planning under President J. R. Jayawardene's government, which since 1977 has dismantled price controls, cut import duties and business taxes, reduced subsidised food distribution, and courted foreign investment (up thirteenfold), while establishing a free-trade zone near Colombo. The piece credits the reforms with reviving the economy but notes side effects: inflation near 17%, and civil-service bloat and social costs inherited from the earlier welfare state. It frames Sri Lanka as an extreme case of a global drift away from nationalisation and planning, alongside Britain, France, Peru, and Algeria. - Sri Lanka under President Jayawardene has liberalised the economy since defeating Sirimavo Bandaranaike's socialist government in 1977. - Reforms include eliminating licenses and permits, cutting price controls, reducing import duties and business/export taxes, and privatising management of state corporations. - Foreign investment rose to about $40 million a year, thirteen times the level under the previous government. - A free-trade zone north of Colombo offers tax and duty exemptions to investors; garment factories are being set up partly due to the absence of US import quotas on Sri Lankan garments. - Costs of the transition include inflation near 17% and continued unemployment despite high literacy and education levels. - Two forthcoming tests of the reform program are cited: a $2 billion dam and reservoir project to fight unemployment, and the new free-trade zone's success in attracting investment. ### India in Nixon's Memoirs *By P. M. Kamath* P. M. Kamath analyses how India is portrayed in Richard Nixon's memoirs (RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon, 1978), arguing Nixon held a lasting anti-Indian bias rooted in his 1953 tour, when he found Jawaharlal Nehru the 'least friendly leader' he met and resented Nehru's advocacy for the developing world. The essay traces this hostility through Nixon's handling of the 1971 Bangladesh crisis, his assessment of Indira Gandhi as duplicitous while overlooking Yahya Khan's brutality, his dispatch of the USS Enterprise task force into the Bay of Bengal to intimidate India, and his claim (quoting Kissinger) that the US had no real choice but to back Pakistan given China's stakes in the relationship. Kamath contrasts this hostility with Nixon's marked admiration for C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji), whom Nixon calls 'infinitely wise' and records having spent a memorable afternoon with, discussing the atom bomb, communism, and predestination. - Nixon's memoirs describe Nehru as the 'least friendly leader' he met on his 1953 tour of Asia, criticising Nehru for positioning himself as a Third World spokesman. - Nixon's anti-Indian tilt intensified during the 1971 Bangladesh crisis, when he accused Indira Gandhi of duplicity while ignoring Yahya Khan's suppression of human rights in East Pakistan. - Nixon ordered a naval task force including the carrier USS Enterprise into the Bay of Bengal as a show of force against India during the war. - Nixon's China opening, facilitated in part through Pakistan, shaped his administration's strategic tilt toward Pakistan over India. - In contrast to his view of Indian leaders generally, Nixon expresses deep personal admiration for C. Rajagopalachari, calling him 'infinitely wise' and quoting Paul Hoffman's description of him as 'one of the world's most gifted men.' ### Tragedy of the Boat People *By Robin Gordon-Walker* Robin Gordon-Walker's Topical Commentary piece (No. 030/79) surveys the escalating Vietnamese 'boat people' refugee crisis of 1979, describing Hong Kong's overwhelmed reception camps, the Vietnamese government's systematic expulsion of its ethnic-Chinese population (over one million people) through job dismissals, business closures, and forced relocation to 'New Economic Zones', and the lucrative, state-organised trafficking of refugees for gold payments. It surveys the burden-sharing failures among wealthy nations, noting only China, the US, and France have taken substantial numbers, and reports on Margaret Thatcher's push for a UN Special Conference on Indo-China refugees, welcomed by UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim. - Vietnam is depicted as systematically driving out its ethnic-Chinese population of over one million through job dismissal, business closure (30,000 in Cholon alone), and threats. - Refugees are charged roughly £1,500 in gold by the Vietnamese government to arrange departure, making the exodus a major foreign-exchange earner for Hanoi. - As many as two-thirds of boat refugees are estimated to die at sea in overloaded, unseaworthy vessels. - More than 200,000 refugees are also encamped in Thailand having fled fighting in Cambodia and Laos. - Only a handful of countries -- China, the US, and France -- have absorbed the bulk of the roughly 553,000 Indo-Chinese refugees resettled since the Vietnam War's end. - Margaret Thatcher proposed a UN Special Conference on the refugee crisis on 31 May, a call welcomed by UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim. ### World News (Africa's Endless Strife; A Capitalist Craze in the Kremlin) *By Frank Barnaby, The Guardian / Hella Pick, The Guardian* A 'World News' digest reprinting two Guardian pieces. Frank Barnaby's 'Africa's Endless Strife' (June 18) analyses the continent's roughly 40 wars since 1945 (of a global 125), mostly civil conflicts, and finds Africa's military spending growing faster than any region except the Middle East, with the former colonial powers, the superpowers, and China all vying for regional influence. Hella Pick's 'A Capitalist Craze in the Kremlin' (July 11) reports, with wry humor, on the Soviet Union's decision to license Levi Strauss, Bluebell (Wranglers), and VF Corporation to help manufacture blue jeans domestically, driven by intense underground demand among Soviet youth, noting Hungary's head start via a Levi Strauss partnership. - An estimated 125 wars have been fought globally since 1945, with 40 of them in Africa, three-quarters of these being civil wars over regime control, tribal, religious, or minority issues. - African military spending is rising faster than in any region except the Middle East, and per-capita military spending in Africa (~$30) exceeds that in Asia (~$10) though it trails the Near East (~$350). - The former colonial powers (UK, France), the US, USSR, and China are all described as vying to strengthen influence in parts of Africa. - The Soviet Union has decided to authorise domestic jeans production, inviting Levi Strauss, Bluebell (Wranglers), and VF Corporation to help manufacture them. - Hungary was first among Communist-bloc countries to partner with Levi Strauss, producing jeans that are the focus of envy elsewhere in the bloc. ### Book Review: The Men Who Killed Gandhi (Manohar Malgonkar); Nilakantha (Col. Narinder Kumar) and Of Gods and Glaciers (Lt. Col. M.M. Sharma); Jim Corbett's India (selected by R.E. Hawkins) *By Muriel Wasi / Maj. Gen. E. D'Souza (Retd.) / Lorraine D'Souza* The Book Review section (pages 11-15) carries three reviews. Muriel Wasi reviews Manohar Malgonkar's The Men Who Killed Gandhi (Macmillan, 1978), praising its vivid, readable narrative and access to surviving conspirators but faulting it for lacking historical depth and appearing, on balance, unduly sympathetic to Nathuram Godse and the conspirators, while being comparatively unsympathetic to Gandhi; she quotes extensively from the book's account of the conspirators' final hours. Maj. Gen. E. D'Souza reviews two competing Garhwal Himalaya mountaineering books, Col. Narinder Kumar's Nilakantha and Lt. Col. M. M. Sharma's Of Gods and Glaciers, preferring Kumar's book as focused, gripping mountaineering narrative over Sharma's, which he criticises for excessive religious digression and poor treatment of the NCC Girls' expedition. Lorraine D'Souza reviews Jim Corbett's India (stories selected by R. E. Hawkins, OUP), an anthology of Corbett's hunting narratives, praising its vivid depiction of a vanishing India of forests and man-eating tigers and Corbett's ethic of killing only proven man-eaters. - Muriel Wasi finds Malgonkar's The Men Who Killed Gandhi vivid and well-researched but lacking scholarly depth, and detects an unspoken sympathy for Godse's 'heroism' alongside skepticism toward Gandhi's stature. - The review notes Malgonkar's extensive, largely unquestioning interviews with surviving conspirators including Godse's associates. - Maj. Gen. D'Souza judges Narinder Kumar's Nilakantha superior to Sharma's Of Gods and Glaciers as pure mountaineering narrative, criticising the latter for excessive references to gods and religion at the expense of substantive coverage of the NCC Girls' mountaineering team. - D'Souza notes a factual dispute recorded in Nilakantha over who actually reached the peak's summit (a panel concluded it was Sarin, O.P. Sharma, Phurba Lobsang and Lhakpa Lama, not team leader 'Bull' Kumar). - Lorraine D'Souza's review of Jim Corbett's India frames Corbett as an ethical hunter who killed only confirmed man-eating tigers and leopards, distinguishing him from trophy hunters, and situates the anthology within contemporary wildlife-conservation concerns. ### With Many Voices The closing 'With Many Voices' page collects short topical quotations from Indian and international newspapers and public figures on the political and economic events of mid-1979, including remarks on Morarji Desai's resignation, Skylab's re-entry, British politics, and Bombay Dyeing's export record, followed by a 'To Our Readers' note on the monsoon and Bombay's ongoing power and coal shortages, and the issue's publication colophon (published by J. R. Patel for the Democratic Research Service). - The quotations page juxtaposes remarks from Indian politicians (A. R. Antulay, Raj Narain, C. M. Stephen, Priyaranjan Das Munshi) with international commentary from the Daily Telegraph, The Observer, and Time on the fall of Morarji Desai's government. - One quoted item, from Himmat (Neerja Chowdhury), marks Morarji Desai's resignation as Prime Minister on 20 July 1979. - The 'To Our Readers' note explains that Bombay's chronic coal-to-power supply bottleneck (mined coal not reaching state-owned power stations via state-owned railways) has delayed the magazine's production. - The issue's colophon records it as published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel, Associate Editor, at 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 400 023. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff322/ ### Summary Issue No. 322 of Freedom First (September 1979, 28th year of publication), edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor, opens with M. R. Masani's cover essay "Haven't We Had Enough?", a talk delivered to the Progressive Group in Bombay on 9 August 1979 surveying the collapse of the Janata government, the defection politics that brought Charan Singh to power with Indira Gandhi's support, and President Sanjiva Reddi's dissolution of the Lok Sabha. Masani argues for limited, disciplined government over both dictatorship and the drift he sees in unchecked democracy, blaming statism and the "Permit-Licence Raj" for corrupting Indian public life, and calls for a new generation of honest, non-professional politicians. The "Of Cabbages & Kings" column (initialed GD and SVR) comments on the Morvi flood relief effort, an Asean foreign ministers' musical soiree, the President's constitutional options in dissolving Parliament, and the debate over whether Charan Singh should have been kept on as caretaker PM, quoting Rajaji's and Acharya Kripalani's views on non-political caretaker governments. K. H.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Issue No. 322 of Freedom First (September 1979, 28th year of publication), edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor, opens with M. R. Masani's cover essay "Haven't We Had Enough?", a talk delivered to the Progressive Group in Bombay on 9 August 1979 surveying the collapse of the Janata government, the defection politics that brought Charan Singh to power with Indira Gandhi's support, and President Sanjiva Reddi's dissolution of the Lok Sabha. Masani argues for limited, disciplined government over both dictatorship and the drift he sees in unchecked democracy, blaming statism and the "Permit-Licence Raj" for corrupting Indian public life, and calls for a new generation of honest, non-professional politicians. The "Of Cabbages & Kings" column (initialed GD and SVR) comments on the Morvi flood relief effort, an Asean foreign ministers' musical soiree, the President's constitutional options in dissolving Parliament, and the debate over whether Charan Singh should have been kept on as caretaker PM, quoting Rajaji's and Acharya Kripalani's views on non-political caretaker governments. K. H. Subramaniam's essay "Consumer Exploitation" surveys the weak state of consumer protection in India, contrasting it with the American consumer-rights framework and Ralph Nader-style activism, and pressing for a stronger regulatory and legal regime against fraud, false advertising and monopoly pricing. The book review section covers P. R. Brahmananda's "Planning for a Futureless Economy" (reviewed by Prof. Pestonji N. Driver) and Mohamed Heikal's "Sphinx and Commissar: The Rise and Fall of Soviet Influence in the Middle East" (reviewed by K. V. Padmanabhan). A short unsigned piece, "On Slogans," reprinted from Time (12 February 1979), reflects on the history and psychology of political and advertising slogans. The issue closes with "With Many Voices," a page of quotations on democracy, leadership and international affairs drawn from The Economist, Time, the Daily Telegraph and other sources. ## Essays ### Haven't We Had Enough? *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's lead essay, based on a talk to the Progressive Group in Bombay on 9 August 1979, argues that India's politicians across parties have discredited themselves through opportunistic defections and jockeying for power following the fall of the Janata government. He traces the events by which Charan Singh took office as caretaker prime minister with the Congress (Indira Gandhi faction)'s support, and defends President Sanjiva Reddi's decision to dissolve the Lok Sabha and call fresh elections rather than inviting Jagjivan Ram to try to form a government. Masani contends that India needs "democracy with discipline and discipline without dictatorship," blames the Permit-Licence Raj and statism for institutionalising corruption, and calls for a new class of honest, non-professional citizen-politicians to enter public life within the next six months to a few years, warning that failure risks a slide toward authoritarian rule. - Surveys press commentary (Economist, Statesman, India Today) describing Indian politics in mid-1979 as having 'sunk to a new depth' - Argues there is 'nothing to choose' between Charan Singh and Morarji Desai/Jagjivan Ram given mutual defections and courting of Indira Gandhi's support - Defends President Sanjiva Reddi's dissolution of the Lok Sabha and call for fresh elections as constitutionally justified given the risk of further defections under any alternative government - Blames 'Statism' and the Permit-Licence Raj, inherited from Nehru's economic policy, for fusing political and economic power and fueling corruption - Cites Sri Lanka under Jayawardene and Egypt under Sadat as examples of successful 'U-turns' away from socialist economic policy - Calls for limited but strong government -- strong in law and order, but not dabbling in business, industry and agriculture - Urges people in their 30s-50s with private means and professional backgrounds to enter politics to displace career politicians ### Consumer Exploitation *By K. H. Subramaniam* The 'Of Cabbages & Kings' column, headed by a Lewis Carroll epigraph, opens with a piece on the Morvi dam-burst flood disaster, criticizing Indian complacency about natural-disaster casualties while praising the spontaneous relief response from industry and ordinary citizens, including Ahmedabad textile workers who donated a day's wages. A second item, 'To Asean With Music,' wryly recounts musical performances by Asean foreign ministers at a Bali summit as reported in the Far Eastern Economic Review, and speculates satirically about the political constraints an Indian or Iranian foreign minister would face in similar circumstances. Editorial pieces on 'Commonsense and the Constitution' and 'The President's Options' examine, in Q&A style, whether President Sanjiva Reddi was justified in dissolving the Lok Sabha and calling fresh elections rather than installing an alternative government, quoting Reddi's pre-Independence Day broadcast on the deterioration of public morality. A further piece, 'Poll Yes! Charan No!,' argues the President was wrong only in asking Charan Singh to continue as caretaker PM, invoking Rajaji's 1960 Swarajya essay calling for non-political caretaker governments before elections, and Acharya Kripalani's similar recent advice, alongside press reports of the Charan Singh government's 'pre-poll sops.' - Criticises Indian and international complacency ('ho-hum' attitude, per the BBC) about the scale of casualties in the Morvi flood disaster - Praises spontaneous relief efforts by industrial houses and citizens, including Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association workers donating a holiday's wages - Satirically recounts a musical evening among Asean and allied foreign ministers at Bali, contrasting it with the political constraints an Indian or Iranian minister would face - Analyses, in Q&A form, whether President Sanjiva Reddi was justified in dissolving the Lok Sabha rather than installing Jagjivan Ram or a national government - Quotes President Reddi's pre-Independence Day broadcast on the erosion of constitutional conventions and public morality - Argues the President erred only in retaining Charan Singh as caretaker PM rather than installing a non-political caretaker government - Cites Rajaji's 1960 Swarajya article and Acharya Kripalani's recent statements calling for non-political caretaker governments before elections - Notes press reports (Indian Express, Times of India) of pre-election concessions and alleged misuse of authority by the Charan Singh caretaker government ### Book Review: Planning for a Futureless Economy (P. R. Brahmananda) and Sphinx and Commissar: The Rise and Fall of Soviet Influence in the Middle East (Mohamed Heikal) *By Prof. Pestonji N. Driver / K. V. Padmanabhan* K. H. Subramaniam's 'Consumer Exploitation' argues that Indian consumers are systematically shortchanged by producers, government and trade unions acting in concert, citing examples such as high consumer prices despite ample corporate profits, heavy taxation embedded in the price of goods (fridges, petrol, cars), false advertising, and coupled or gimmick selling. Drawing on J. K. Galbraith's account of the reversal of the classical consumer-sovereignty model, the essay contrasts India's weak consumer protections with the American Presidential Commission's enumerated consumer rights (safety, information, choice) and laments the absence of an Indian Ralph Nader-style consumer movement, calling for a stronger consumer lobby and legal accountability regime. - Defines consumerism as 'getting value for money in terms of goods and services' and argues the consumer interest group is diffuse compared to producer and labour interests - Illustrates producer-labour collusion at consumer expense with an anecdote about a Madras company's wage-goods bonus dispute passed on to consumers - Cites examples of the Indian consumer paying more for locally made goods than for imported equivalents despite steep customs duties - Notes an Indian-made refrigerator carries roughly 800% tax content and petrol nearly 300%, calling pricing based on 'capacity to pay' rather than value an unfair practice - Quotes Galbraith on the reversal of the classical consumer-market-producer 'accepted sequence' into producer-driven demand management - Enumerates the American Presidential Commission's consumer rights: safety, information, and choice/competitive pricing - Criticises the exclusive focus of Indian consumer activism on adulteration and short-weighting, neglecting subtler exploitation like coupled selling and disregarded warranties - Calls for a strong consumer lobby, alliance with government monitoring, and legislation making warranty non-performance a punishable offence ### On Slogans Prof. Pestonji N. Driver reviews P. R. Brahmananda's 'Planning for a Futureless Economy' (Himalaya Publishing House, 1978), praising its courage in challenging the Planning Commission's employment-creation claims and the Mahalanobis strategy, and its 'wage-goods' analysis of chronic unemployment, poverty and inflation, while pushing back on some of the author's specific criticisms, including his comparison of India's development record unfavourably to China's and his objection to rural road development. The review calls the book 'vitally important' despite some defective arguments, and criticizes the lack of translations into Indian languages that would let policymakers, especially in the Janata government, access it. - Praises Brahmananda, alongside Prof. C. N. Vakil, for courageously critiquing India's Five-Year Plans and their employment claims - Summarises the book's 'wage-goods' strategy argument that neither unemployment nor poverty can be solved through the Mahalanobis planning strategy - Notes the book predicts severe, prolonged inflation as a consequence of the Mahalanobis strategy - Disputes the author's favourable comparison of China's development record to India's, citing China's neglect of the West as a hidden cost - Questions the author's objection to rural road development as not sufficiently benefiting the rural poor - Criticises the unavailability of the book's ideas in translation for India's 1,652 'mother tongues', limiting its impact on non-English-reading policymakers - Concludes the book makes a serious, largely fair case for reconsidering past planning mistakes despite some flawed specific arguments ### With Many Voices K. V. Padmanabhan reviews Mohamed Heikal's 'Sphinx and Commissar: The Rise and Fall of Soviet Influence in the Middle East' (Collins, London), summarising the book's account of two decades of Soviet involvement in Egypt from the 1956 Suez Crisis through Nasser's death in 1970 and the eventual expulsion of Soviet influence under Anwar Sadat, culminating in Sadat's 1976 abrogation of the Egypt-Soviet Friendship Treaty and turn toward American-brokered peace with Israel. The review praises Heikal's insider access as a former Nasser confidant, minister and Al Ahram editor, and calls the book an outstanding, objective and meticulously detailed account. - Recounts the 1956 Suez Crisis, Nasser's nationalisation of the Canal, and the Soviet threat that helped force British/French/Israeli withdrawal - Describes growing Soviet-Egyptian ties through the Aswan High Dam project and Khruschev's 1964 visit to Egypt - Notes the devastating impact of the 1967 Six-Day War on Egyptian forces and Nasser's inability to recover before his death in September 1970 - Traces the gradual post-1970 deterioration of Soviet-Egyptian relations under Anwar Sadat - Describes Sadat's turn to the Americans (Kissinger) after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war and the 1976 abrogation of the Friendship Treaty as the breaking point with Moscow - Credits Heikal's unique access as Nasser's information/foreign minister and Al Ahram editor, and his personal relationships with Soviet leaders including Khruschev - Praises the book's objectivity and its 'dos and don'ts' guidance Nasser reportedly compiled for handling Khruschev ### Essay 6 An unsigned short piece, 'On Slogans,' reprinted from Time magazine (12 February 1979), reflects on the potency and psychology of political and commercial slogans, running through a history of memorable American political and advertising catchphrases and speculating whether an oversupply of sloganizing dilutes its persuasive power in the same way an oversupply of money debases currency. - Argues a well-crafted slogan mobilizes latent emotion and plays on audience prejudices and verities - Runs through a list of historic American political slogans, from 'Give me liberty or give me death' to 'We shall overcome' - Lists well-known commercial advertising slogans to illustrate the same psychological mechanism at work in business - Poses the open question whether slogan oversupply dilutes catchiness the way currency oversupply dilutes value, offering this as a hopeful theory ### Essay 7 'With Many Voices,' the closing quotations page (epigraph from Tennyson), gathers short quotes on democracy, leadership, elections and international affairs from sources including The Economist, Time, the Daily Telegraph, the Conservative Party manifesto, Arun Shourie's Indian Express column, and remarks by Margaret Thatcher, Henry Kissinger and others, spanning July-August 1979. - Includes Economist quotes on the pace of elections and a Prime Minister's duty to overcome rather than pander to prejudice - Quotes Henry Kissinger on avoiding nuclear war without succumbing to nuclear blackmail - Quotes Margaret Thatcher declaring 'I am not bulliable' and the Conservative manifesto's call to reduce the state's share of national income - Quotes Arun Shourie on India's dilemma between handing government to 'louts' or watching them paralyse Parliament - Includes a Sunday Telegraph observation on the seeming inconsistency of progressive support for abortion alongside opposition to capital punishment - Notes the issue's colophon: published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel, Associate Editor, Freedom First, at 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay 400023 --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff323/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 323 (October 1979, 28th Year of Publication), priced Re 1, edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor, opens with M. R. Masani's tribute to the recently deceased Jayaprakash Narayan and an unsigned editorial, "Caretaker or Undertaker?", attacking the Charan Singh caretaker government's revival of Preventive Detention and its handling of inflation. The regular "Of Cabbages & Kings" column runs several short, satirical items on the Santa Cruz airport fire, the Lok Dal's rhetoric, party-funding loopholes, film stars entering politics, and the government's chronic public-sector losses. Feature articles cover neurologist William Gooddy on the dangers of cognitive decline ("brain failure") in powerful public figures; a reflective personal account by Vrunda Moghe Dev of working with abandoned and adopted babies at a Bombay hospital; Khozema Mansure's first-person account of volunteering after the Machhu Dam/Morvi flood disaster of August 1979; and a reprinted profile of Friedrich Hayek ("A Time for Vindication") on his resurgent influence following Margaret Thatcher's election and his Nobel Prize.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 323 (October 1979, 28th Year of Publication), priced Re 1, edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor, opens with M. R. Masani's tribute to the recently deceased Jayaprakash Narayan and an unsigned editorial, "Caretaker or Undertaker?", attacking the Charan Singh caretaker government's revival of Preventive Detention and its handling of inflation. The regular "Of Cabbages & Kings" column runs several short, satirical items on the Santa Cruz airport fire, the Lok Dal's rhetoric, party-funding loopholes, film stars entering politics, and the government's chronic public-sector losses. Feature articles cover neurologist William Gooddy on the dangers of cognitive decline ("brain failure") in powerful public figures; a reflective personal account by Vrunda Moghe Dev of working with abandoned and adopted babies at a Bombay hospital; Khozema Mansure's first-person account of volunteering after the Machhu Dam/Morvi flood disaster of August 1979; and a reprinted profile of Friedrich Hayek ("A Time for Vindication") on his resurgent influence following Margaret Thatcher's election and his Nobel Prize. A "World News" digest reprints pieces on Tibetan refugee testimony, Yugoslav President Tito's estranged wife, and the informal private-plot economy sustaining Soviet agriculture. The issue closes with a book review of Ladislas Farago's "Aftermath" on Martin Bormann, a Letters page (on the Panvel Avro air crash, Sri Lankan liberalism, and Vajpayee's call to intellectuals), and the "With Many Voices" quotations column. The issue is fully rendered (all 16 pages of a 16-page issue). ## Essays ### A Friend's Tribute *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani's tribute marks the death of Jayaprakash Narayan after a 47-year friendship, casting JP as India's 'conscience-keeper' who spoke out over Hungary (1956), Tibet (1960), and the Naga ceasefire (1965), and who was instrumental in ending the Emergency and restoring civil liberties and the rule of law. - Written as a personal tribute by M. R. Masani on Jayaprakash Narayan's death. - Frames JP as a moral compass for the nation across three decades of crises. - Credits JP with brokering peace between the underground Nagas and the Indian Army in 1965. - Credits JP with a central role in ending the Emergency and restoring the rule of law. - Closes with a rhetorical question about who will now serve as the nation's moral guide. ### Caretaker or Undertaker? This unsigned lead editorial (continued from page 1 to page 5, likely by S. V. Raju given the 'SVR' signature on the continuation) criticizes the caretaker Charan Singh government for reviving Preventive Detention through presidential decree despite having no policy mandate, and argues that the government's own fiscal mismanagement, not just external shocks, is driving the 15.5% price rise reported for March-August 1979. - Attacks the caretaker government's revival of Preventive Detention as an overreach of its limited mandate. - Notes universal praise, including from Freedom First, when the law had earlier been allowed to lapse. - Cites Swaminathan Aiyar (Times of India) on pre-election spending pressures distorting fiscal policy. - Blames deficit financing and loose monetary policy, not just oil price rises, for inflation. - Concludes elections are likely in early the new year but expects continued chaotic economic conditions until then. ### Of Cabbages & Kings: Airport 1979 *By GD* The regular satirical column "Of Cabbages & Kings" (initialled variously GD and SVR) runs five short pieces: "Airport 1979" on the Santa Cruz airport fire and chronic mismanagement of Indian airports; "Words, Words, Words" mocking the Lok Dal's invocation of Gandhi as empty rhetoric; "There's Plenty Where It Comes From" on the futility of ordinances curbing black money in party funding; "Twentieth Century Soap Opera" on Indian film stars founding political parties, likened to Hitler's mastery of image and mass media; and "A Hardy Annual" mocking the government's yearly, toothless exhortations to public sector enterprises to improve performance. - Airport 1979 (GD) uses the Santa Cruz airport fire to argue Indian institutions are complacent about basic safety standards. - Words, Words, Words (SVR) dismisses the newly formed Lok Dal's invocation of Gandhi as an empty rebranding by politicians who 'betrayed the people's faith' after 1977. - There's Plenty Where It Comes From (SVR) argues ordinances against corporate funding of elections barely touch the much larger flow of black money to parties. - Twentieth Century Soap Opera compares Indian film stars entering politics to Hitler's pioneering use of film and image for political manipulation. - A Hardy Annual mocks the government's recurring, ineffectual calls for public sector enterprises to perform better. ### There's Plenty Where It Comes From *By SVR* Neurologist William Gooddy writes on 'brain failure' — the cognitive and behavioural decline that can afflict powerful people in public life — cataloguing its symptoms (loss of concentration, poor judgement, personality change) and arguing that just as pilots and train drivers face mandatory fitness checks, holders of the highest offices (cabinet ministers, judges, legislators) should face regular, purely preventive medical/cognitive screening, since history offers repeated examples (Chamberlain's cancer, the ailing leaders at Yalta) of critically ill men making momentous decisions. - Defines 'brain failure' broadly, covering loss of concentration, judgement, insight, and personality changes. - Argues brain failure is often concealed by patients themselves due to loss of insight, making external monitoring necessary for those in power. - Cites Chamberlain negotiating with Hitler while suffering bowel cancer, and the ailing leaders (Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin) at the 1945 Yalta conference, as historical warnings. - Proposes CAT-scanning members of the Commons and instituting statutory retirement or mandatory medical surveillance for the powerful, modelled on professions like airline pilots and train drivers. - Frames the goal as strictly preventive, not punitive, since many causes of brain failure are treatable or avoidable if caught early. ### A Hardy Annual *By SVR* Vrunda Moghe Dev recounts her experience visiting a Bombay hospital's ward for abandoned and orphaned babies, describing the mixed reactions of staff and patients, the naming and care of infants (often named after Hindu deities by a religious-minded matron), the discriminatory preference of Indian adoptive families for lighter-skinned, 'unblemished' children, and the emotional toll of sending healthy but unwanted infants abroad (chiefly to Sweden) for adoption. - Describes a hospital ward for abandoned babies attached to a well-known Bombay women's hospital. - Notes Indian couples' adoption preferences discriminate by skin tone and physical appearance, treating adoption 'like choosing a dress in a shop.' - Describes babies rejected by Indian families, including dark-skinned twins, being sent to Swedish adoptive families instead. - Recounts letters from a Swedish adoptive mother describing the adopted Indian child, Prachi, thriving. - Reflects on the emotional cost to hospital staff of repeated attachment and separation as babies arrive, are cared for, and leave for adoption. ### Brain Failure *By William Gooddy M.D. FRCP* Khozema Mansure gives a first-person account of travelling with a friend to Gujarat after the Machhu Dam collapse flooded Morvi on 12 August 1979, killing thousands. Finding on arrival at Rajkot that survivors had already been evacuated to transit camps and that only volunteers willing to help remove badly mutilated corpses were being allowed into Morvi, the author (unable to face that work) praises the RSS volunteers who undertook the grim task, and returns to Bombay work unresolved and shaken. - Describes deciding, on impulse with a friend, to travel to Morvi after the 12 August 1979 Machhu Dam flood disaster. - Notes entry to Morvi was restricted to those willing to help clear corpses, and the author found the physical/psychological task unbearable. - Praises RSS volunteers as the ones engaged in the arduous corpse-removal work, calling it 'humane and difficult.' - Describes the disaster as a rare instance where abstract discussion of rural hardship became a concrete, immediate moral choice. - Ends on an unresolved, guilty note on returning to ordinary office work in Bombay. ### About Abandoned Children *By Vrunda Moghe Dev* John M. Geddes profiles Friedrich Hayek's resurgence, noting Margaret Thatcher's public admiration for him, his 1974 Nobel Prize (shared with Gunnar Myrdal), and quotes from Hayek on 'The Road to Serfdom,' his long unpopularity among fellow economists, his disputes with Keynes, and his continued argument that welfare-state economics and Keynesian remedies for unemployment have failed and made things worse. - Notes Hayek, at 80, is 'back in fashion' with Margaret Thatcher as a prominent supporter of his views. - Recounts Hayek's biography: University of Vienna, Austrian Institute of Economic Science, LSE from 1931, University of Chicago, then Freiburg from 1972. - Summarises 'The Road to Serfdom' (1944) as arguing that centralized planning leads to loss of freedom and eventual totalitarianism. - Describes Keynes's sympathetic but critical response to the book, and Hayek's 1974 Nobel Prize shared with the socialist economist Gunnar Myrdal. - Quotes Hayek arguing Keynesian remedies for unemployment have failed, leading to both inflation and unemployment rising together, and that trade unions and misused monetary policy — not capitalism — are responsible for current economic problems. ### Morvi - A Personal Response *By Khozema Mansure* The 'World News' digest reprints three pieces: an account by Tibetan refugee Tsultrim Tersey (via Algernon Rumbold, President, Tibet Society of the United Kingdom, The Daily Telegraph) of hardship and repression witnessed on a visit to Lhasa; Michael Dobbs's Guardian report on the reappearance of Tito's estranged wife Jovanka after a two-year disappearance; and an Economist piece on how small private plots sustain a large share of Soviet food production despite decades of ideological hostility to non-collective farming. - Tsultrim Tersey's testimony describes food rationing, forced sterilizations, and suppression of Dalai Lama loyalty in Tibet under Chinese rule. - The Tito item reports his estranged wife Jovanka reappeared publicly after nearly two years, with her disgrace's cause still unexplained. - The Soviet agriculture piece states nearly a third of Russia's food is grown on small, privately tilled plots despite official ideological discomfort with the practice. - Notes Brezhnev's public acknowledgment that 'ancillary farming' plays a useful economic role despite communist ideology. - All three items are reprints/credited to external outlets (Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Economist) rather than original Freedom First reporting. ### A Time for Vindication *By John M. Geddes* Maj. Gen. E. D'Souza reviews Ladislas Farago's 'Aftermath: Martin Bormann and the Fourth Reich' (Pan Books, 1976), summarising Farago's thesis that Bormann survived the fall of Berlin and helped Nazi exiles in South America pursue a 'Fourth Reich' under an anti-communist banner, praising the book's documentation while questioning whether Farago's persistence stems from genuine conviction or personal obsession. - Summarises Farago's argument that Martin Bormann did not die in Berlin in 1945 as commonly believed. - Notes Farago's extensive research across multiple continents (Europe and South America) tracking Nazi fugitives. - Recounts Holocaust atrocities described in the book as context for why hunting war criminals like Bormann mattered. - Quotes Farago on the 25 years it took to bring Klaus Stangl to justice as illustrative of government reluctance to pursue Nazi war criminals. - The reviewer praises the book as 'compelling' and 'well worth reading' while questioning the author's underlying motives. ### World News (Impressions of a Visitor to Tibet; Titos Missing Mrs. Gets an Airing; Peasant Proprietorship - Soviet Style) The Letters page carries three items: a protest by four readers over the Panvel Avro air crash, criticizing government and airline indifference toward victims' families; a letter from A. E. Gunawardena (President, Ceylonese Liberal Party) contrasting authoritarian rule in Sri Lanka under Mrs. Bandaranaike (1970-77) with India's experience; and a letter from B. M. Baliga (reprinted from The Hindu) on Vajpayee's call for intellectuals to enter politics, arguing the Janata government failed to honour intellectuals like Minoo Masani and Balraj Madhok during its own tenure. - The Panvel Aircrash letter criticizes IAC and government officials for indifference to the AVRO crash victims, contrasting it with J.R.D. Tata's personal response to an earlier Air India crash. - A. E. Gunawardena's letter argues Sri Lanka's 1972 constitution undermined the sovereignty protections of the earlier Soulbury Constitution, enabling more authoritarian rule than contemporary India. - B. M. Baliga's letter (from The Hindu) faults the Janata Party for failing to give due place to intellectuals like Minoo Masani and Balraj Madhok despite Vajpayee's later call for intellectuals to contest elections. - All three letters engage with themes of governance accountability and the treatment of civil liberties/intellectual participation in politics. ### Book Review: "Aftermath" Martin Borman and the Fourth Reich by Ladislas Farago *By Maj. Gen. E. D'Souza (Retd.)* The closing 'With Many Voices' page collects short quotations from various sources (N. A. Palkhivala, Daniel Moynihan, Hyman Rickover, Arun Shourie, and others) on bureaucracy, law, and politics in the US and India, framed by an epigraph from Tennyson, followed by the issue's publication colophon naming J. R. Patel as printer/associate editor for the Democratic Research Service. - Opens with a Tennyson epigraph ('Tis not too late to seek a newer world'). - Collects aphoristic quotations on bureaucracy and law, largely reprinted from Bhavan's Journal, August 12 issue. - Includes Arun Shourie's quip (Indian Express) on politicians and 'the law shall take its course.' - Closes with the issue's registration/colophon: published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel, Associate Editor, at 127 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff324/ ### Summary This November 1979 issue of Freedom First (No. 324, 28th year of publication, edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor) opens with a reprint of Jayaprakash Narayan's 1952 essay "Incentives for Goodness," republished as a tribute following JP's death on 17 September 1979, with an editorial note explaining the reprint's occasion. The editorial column "Of Cabbages & Kings" comments on the Sikkim election verdict, Charan Singh's attack on Nehru's agricultural record, N. A. Palkhivala's return to arguing against the 42nd Amendment, and the tangled web of party alliances ahead of the impending general election. A "Debate" section carries reader letters responding to Minoo Masani's earlier article "Haven't We Had Enough?", debating whether India's political crisis calls for a change of politicians, a change of constitution, or a mobilisation of independents and intellectuals. Maj. Gen. E. D'Souza examines the Army-versus-Air Force dispute over control of Army Aviation and helicopter assets.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This November 1979 issue of Freedom First (No. 324, 28th year of publication, edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor) opens with a reprint of Jayaprakash Narayan's 1952 essay "Incentives for Goodness," republished as a tribute following JP's death on 17 September 1979, with an editorial note explaining the reprint's occasion. The editorial column "Of Cabbages & Kings" comments on the Sikkim election verdict, Charan Singh's attack on Nehru's agricultural record, N. A. Palkhivala's return to arguing against the 42nd Amendment, and the tangled web of party alliances ahead of the impending general election. A "Debate" section carries reader letters responding to Minoo Masani's earlier article "Haven't We Had Enough?", debating whether India's political crisis calls for a change of politicians, a change of constitution, or a mobilisation of independents and intellectuals. Maj. Gen. E. D'Souza examines the Army-versus-Air Force dispute over control of Army Aviation and helicopter assets. A reprinted Economist piece surveys India's approaching general election against the backdrop of Indira Gandhi's resurgence, and Vladimir Bukovsky, a Russian dissident, argues against holding the 1980 Olympics in Moscow on human-rights and political-stability grounds. The issue closes with two book reviews (of Stephan Alter's novel Neglected Lives and S. Radhakrishnan's Indian Religions) and a page of aphoristic quotations, "With Many Voices." ## Essays ### Incentives for Goodness *By Jayaprakash Narayan* A reprint of JP's September 1952 essay, republished with an editorial framing note marking his death on 17 September 1979. JP argues that modern materialist philosophy has stripped away the traditional religious incentives to goodness, leaving individuals with no rational motive to be virtuous, and that social reconstruction is impossible without a prior reconstruction of the individual's moral character. He contends that the elite's character and philosophy, more than the character of the masses, determines whether a society turns toward good or evil, and that only by transcending materialism (without necessarily returning to any specific religious doctrine) can individuals find a durable incentive toward goodness. - Argues traditional goodness was motivated by religious belief in God, salvation, and moral law, which have been eroded by modern materialism. - Frames the central question as whether any incentive to goodness remains once God, soul, and an afterlife are disbelieved. - Distinguishes 'harmless decent' men, whose morality is untested by real moral choice, from the corrupting effect of social crisis (e.g., communal violence between Hindus and Muslims). - Argues the elite's philosophy and character shape a society's fate more than that of the general population. - Concludes that materialism (including dialectical materialism, which JP says he personally 'worshipped' for years) cannot logically ground a demand for goodness, and that only going 'beyond the material' can restore it. - Frames his own break from Marxism as intellectual as much as moral. ### Of Cabbages & Kings *By SVR (S. V. Raju)* The regular editorial notes column, signed SVR (S. V. Raju), comments on four current-affairs items: the Sikkim state election results as vindication of the merger with India; N. A. Palkhivala's return to arguing in the Supreme Court against the 42nd Constitutional Amendment even as the caretaker government contests his petition; Charan Singh's criticism of Jawaharlal Nehru's neglect of agriculture in favour of heavy industry; and a satirical rundown of the tangled, opportunistic alliances among Congress(U), Congress(I), Janata, the Lok Dal, AIADMK, DMK, CPI and CPI(M) ahead of the coming general election. - Reads the Sikkim Assembly election result, in which all national parties were rejected in favour of the pro-Chogyal Sikkim Janata Parishad, as proof the 1975 merger referendum was manufactured. - Criticises the caretaker government for arguing to retain the 42nd Amendment in court even after having pledged to remove it, naming N. A. Palkhivala's advocacy against it. - Defends Charan Singh's claim that Nehru-era planning favoured heavy industry over agriculture. - Satirises the shifting, contradictory alliance patterns among Janata, Congress(U), Congress(I), Lok Dal, AIADMK, DMK, CPI and CPI(M) as the election approaches. - Notes a Times of India finding that only 39.8% of the dissolved Lok Sabha's members were graduates. ### Debate: Haven't We Had Enough? *By Various readers (V. R. Boal, R. N. Bhaskaran, K. P. Bhagat, A Madhava Wariar, Vijay Phadke, M. K. D. Patel)* A 'Debate' feature carrying reader letters responding to Minoo Masani's earlier Freedom First article 'Haven't We Had Enough?'. Contributors from across India (Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala) largely agree India's political class has failed but disagree on the remedy: some call for backing independent candidates over party nominees, others insist the constitution itself is not the problem but the self-serving politicians who abuse it, and several appeal to intellectuals and the 'uncontaminated younger generation' to provide moral leadership. One letter tabulates civic-election results from Kerala showing independents outperforming all named parties. - V. R. Boal (Rajkot) argues the key problem is how to remove corrupt politicians without destroying democracy itself. - R. N. Bhaskaran (Andhra Pradesh) blames the failure on the electorate's own selfishness rather than the political system, invoking Gandhi's movement as the standard. - A. Madhava Wariar (Kottayam) cites Kerala civic-election results (independents winning 2497 of 6200 declared results, more than any party) as evidence voters prefer independents when given a real choice. - Vijay Phadke (Pune) argues the need is not to change the constitution but to change the 'greedy lot of politicians,' calling for a revolution in political culture. - M. K. D. Patel (Vallabh Vidyanagar) makes 'A Plea to Intellectuals,' arguing the educated elite has failed to set an example and that mobilising honest independent candidates could yet check corrupt factions, citing the unanimous nomination of Justice Hidayatullah as Vice-President as proof good candidates can still prevail. - K. P. Bhagat (Nagpur) blames 28 months of Janata non-performance and rampant defections on politicians' pursuit of personal ambition, and calls for honest citizens to organise electoral councils. ### Army Aviation *By Maj. Gen. E. D'Souza, PVSM (Retd.)* Maj. Gen. E. D'Souza (Retd.) examines the dispute between Army Headquarters and Air Headquarters over whether the Army should control its own helicopter and light-aircraft fleet ('Army Aviation') for artillery observation, vertical envelopment, and close support, or whether this should remain an Air Force responsibility. He lays out the Army's case (sharper liaison with ground forces, faster reaction time, precedent from Israel, USA, NATO and Pakistan) and the Air Force's counter-case (unified control of airspace, the high cost of duplicating training and maintenance infrastructure, and India's weak economic position given the oil crisis), concluding that a separate Army Aviation arm is currently beyond India's economic means and undesirable, and recommending unified, cooperative arrangements modelled loosely on Canada instead. - Describes the Army's argument for its own Aviation arm: tighter liaison with ground troops, faster response, and use of existing Air Observation Post pilots drawn from the Regiment of Artillery. - Notes current production of the Chetak helicopter (based on the Sud Aviation Alouette) at HAL Bangalore, but says it lacks the payload for a true armed-helicopter role; contrasts it with the larger Soviet Mi-8 and Mi-24 (the latter used by Afghan forces). - Presents the Air Force's counter-arguments: unified control of airspace is essential, duplicating training/maintenance/R&D infrastructure would be prohibitively expensive, and helicopter piloting requires career-long specialisation incompatible with the Army's tenure-based postings. - Cites India's deteriorating economic position (OPEC price rises, foreign exchange strain, poor monsoon) as a reason to avoid an expensive third aviation arm. - Concludes Army Aviation is 'beyond our economic resources nor is it desirable at the present juncture,' recommending shared logistics/training infrastructure across the three services instead, citing the model of Canada and the effective India inter-service cooperation seen in the 1971 war. ### India Votes In (and for?) Freedom *By The Economist, September 1 (reprint, unsigned)* A reprint from The Economist (September 1 issue) surveys India's approaching general election, framing it as a paradox: the world's largest democracy has an unmatched record of peacefully resolving political crises through elections (including ending Indira Gandhi's 1975-77 Emergency), yet the coming election presents no clear policy choice, only a scramble of opportunistic alliances among Janata's fragments (Jagjivan Ram, Charan Singh), Congress, and Mrs Gandhi, whose position has been strengthened by the chaos. The piece concludes that the central question hanging over the election is whether it will restore power to the very hands whose earlier abuse of it (1975-77) the electorate had condemned two years before. - Frames India's ability to hold free elections despite immense diversity, mass poverty, and illiteracy as a remarkable achievement, rare enough to be exhilarating. - Notes that even the 1975-77 Emergency was ended not by coup or civil war but by the government yielding to a nationwide democratic demand. - Argues the 1977 election gave a clear verdict against Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi's excesses, but the 1979 election offers no equivalent clarity, only rival personal ambitions. - Describes Janata's fragmentation after Morarji Desai's fall, with Charan Singh's brief premiership as caretaker after Congress withdrew support and parliament's dissolution. - Observes that recent political manoeuvring has strengthened Mrs Gandhi's position, since Janata's leaders (Jagjivan Ram, Charan Singh) have had to court her. - Concludes the central question is whether the coming election will restore power to the same hands whose 1975-77 abuse of it voters had previously condemned. ### The Moscow Olympics *By Vladimir Bukovsky* Vladimir Bukovsky, a Russian dissident who reached Britain three years earlier, argues against holding the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. He contends the Soviet Union fails the IOC's own requirements of political stability and non-discrimination: it occupies the Baltic states, Ukraine and Moldavia; suppresses minority nationalities' cultures and languages; bans independent trade unions; subjects Olympic athletes to KGB political vetting; and will restrict foreign visitors' movements and contact with Soviet Jews during the Games. He argues the Games' proceeds will fund Soviet 'strategic' aims and that holding them in Moscow would reward, rather than restrain, Soviet human-rights abuses. - Argues the Soviet Union fails the IOC's Rule 3 requirement against racial, nationalist, religious or political discrimination, citing suppression of minority nationalities and languages. - Cites ongoing occupation of the Baltic states, Ukraine and Moldavia (from 1939-40) as evidence against claims of political stability. - Notes Olympic sailing events are to be held in illegally occupied Estonian territory. - Describes KGB political vetting of Soviet athletes and restriction of foreign visitors' movement and access to Soviet Jews during the Games. - Argues Games proceeds in hard currency will help finance Soviet 'strategic needs.' - Concludes that holding the Olympics in Moscow at this juncture is 'a great mistake' politically and 'a betrayal' and 'a crime' from a human standpoint. ### Book Review: Neglected Lives by Stephan Alter *By Muriel Wasi* Muriel Wasi reviews Stephan Alter's novel 'Neglected Lives' (Andre Deutsch, 1979), praising it as a groundbreaking, sympathetic portrait of Lucknow's Anglo-Indian community told through multiple narrators. The review summarises the plot centred on Lionel, an Anglo-Indian boy raised in post-1947 Lucknow, his relationships with Sujeeta and later Sylvia, his uncertain paternity between his official father Charles and family friend Brigadier Teddy Augden, and the community's anxieties about identity, legitimacy, and its diminishing status in independent India. Wasi commends the novel's psychological complexity and its refusal to caricature Anglo-Indians as merely sexually permissive or rootless, calling it an understanding, non-cynical treatment of a misunderstood community. - Introduces Lionel, an Anglo-Indian boy in post-1947 Lucknow, whose parents' confused sense of identity (his mother lightens her skin and calls an unseen England 'home') mirrors the community's broader crisis. - Describes the novel's multi-narrator structure (Lionel, Augden, Nat, and later Salim Ahmed) used to present overlapping perspectives on the same events. - Notes the uncertain paternity plot: whether Lionel's biological father is Charles or family friend Brigadier Teddy Augden, given the two couples' past history of exchanging spouses. - Observes that sex plays a dominant role in the novel but argues the book is not salacious, situating Anglo-Indian sexuality within questions of rootlessness and social taboo rather than caricature. - Praises the novel's treatment of the tension between the older generation's obsession with 'legitimacy' and the younger generation's more relaxed attitude to community and marriage. - Concludes the novel succeeds not by answering the identity questions it raises but by making a misunderstood community understood with sympathy rather than contempt or cynicism. ### Book Review: Indian Religions by S. Radhakrishnan *By Padmini Murti* Padmini Murti reviews 'Indian Religions' by S. Radhakrishnan (Vision Books, New Delhi, 1979), a collection of essays by the philosopher-statesman on the basic tenets of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and religions that took root in India such as Islam, Christianity and Zoroastrianism. The review emphasises Radhakrishnan's argument that no religion can claim superiority over others, that cross-fertilisation among religious traditions enriches spiritual life, and that the essence of religion has often been obscured by outdated ritual; the reviewer credits the collection with making Radhakrishnan's thought on comparative religion accessible to general readers. - Describes the book as a collection of essays on the basic tenets of India's major religions, both indigenous (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism) and those that took root in India (Islam, Christianity, Zoroastrianism). - Highlights Radhakrishnan's argument that religions should strengthen shared ideals and understand their differences sympathetically rather than claim mutual superiority. - Quotes Radhakrishnan's metaphor that religious paths 'separate us' in the valley but 'are all one' from the summit. - Notes the reviewer's view that religions have become obscured by outdated rituals and superstitions that Radhakrishnan sought to strip away to reveal their common essence. - Credits the book with making Radhakrishnan's thought accessible to ordinary readers as well as scholars. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff326/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 326 (January 1980) is a Special Number devoted entirely to "The Crisis and Challenge of Leadership in Modern Society," marking the 28th year of the journal's publication and, notably, the issue in which founding-era editors S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor step down and hand over to the poet and critic Nissim Ezekiel as incoming Managing Editor. In the rendered pages the volume assembles a wide roster of contributors -- academics, journalists, a retired major-general, a trade unionist, and Freedom First's own editors -- to examine leadership from many angles: as a political "riddle" resistant to typology (S. P. Aiyar), as a contrast of styles seen in Indian and Western politicians (M. R. Masani), as a problem sharpened by the accelerating pressures of the modern state (R. M. Lala), as a set of moral qualities that cannot be taught by formal instruction alone (S. K. Ookerjee), and as a test of efficiency, honesty, impartiality and accessibility in the civil service (Taya Zinkin, essay not yet concluded in the rendered pages).… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 326 (January 1980) is a Special Number devoted entirely to "The Crisis and Challenge of Leadership in Modern Society," marking the 28th year of the journal's publication and, notably, the issue in which founding-era editors S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor step down and hand over to the poet and critic Nissim Ezekiel as incoming Managing Editor. In the rendered pages the volume assembles a wide roster of contributors -- academics, journalists, a retired major-general, a trade unionist, and Freedom First's own editors -- to examine leadership from many angles: as a political "riddle" resistant to typology (S. P. Aiyar), as a contrast of styles seen in Indian and Western politicians (M. R. Masani), as a problem sharpened by the accelerating pressures of the modern state (R. M. Lala), as a set of moral qualities that cannot be taught by formal instruction alone (S. K. Ookerjee), and as a test of efficiency, honesty, impartiality and accessibility in the civil service (Taya Zinkin, essay not yet concluded in the rendered pages). The volume's argumentative center, set out in the unsigned editorial statement, is that India's problems at the start of the 1980s amount fundamentally to a crisis of character in its leadership, and that the qualities embodied by Gandhi are receding into memory even as the nation's need for them grows. ## Essays ### The Riddle of Leadership *By S. P. Aiyar* S. P. Aiyar's essay surveys the difficulty of generalising about leadership given the wide variation among historical leaders, and singles out "charismatic leadership" for extended, skeptical treatment. He argues charismatic authority rests on followers attributing superhuman qualities to a leader, is inherently transitory, and tends to make the leader impatient of established constraints -- citing Indira Gandhi's wartime and Emergency-era cult of personality as a cautionary Indian example. Aiyar then works through qualities he considers indispensable to effective leadership in any field: knowledge of the situation, imagination/foresight, and courage (physical and moral), illustrating each with examples ranging from Napoleon and Montgomery to Gandhi's grasp of the post-WWI mood in India and Churchill's 1940 Dunkirk speech. In the rendered pages the essay is cut off mid-argument on the theme of courage. - Argues that no single typology of leadership survives contact with historical variety, and that 'leaders are born and not made' is too simple a formula. - Treats charismatic leadership as dangerous: it is transitory, blindly followed, and encourages leaders to bypass established authority. - Cites Indira Gandhi's Emergency-era isolation (surrounded by 'frightened intelligence officers and professional sycophants') as an example of charismatic leadership's failure mode. - Identifies knowledge of the situation as a foundation of authority, invoking Gopal Krishna Gokhale's Servants of India Society as an ideal now receding from Indian public life. - Discusses imagination/foresight through Napoleon's early military career and Gandhi's reading of the post-WWI national mood. - Begins a discussion of courage (physical and moral) using Churchill's Dunkirk speech as illustration; essay continues past the rendered pages. ### Two Styles of Leadership *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani argues that leadership is in especially short supply in India because of cultural traits -- an exaggerated deference to age and authority alongside a 'dialectical' habit of never committing to a clear position -- that discourage the courage and decisiveness leadership requires. He contrasts the conditional, principled leadership style of Winston Churchill and De Gaulle (who led only so long as their parties would follow them) with what he sees as the weaker, more compromised leadership of Morarji Desai and Charan Singh as Indian prime ministers since 1977, concluding that India has had 'big government but not strong government.' - Opens with a Guardian (London) quotation on the American presidential election to show that weak leadership is not uniquely Indian. - Argues Indian culture combines exaggerated respect for age/authority with a 'dialectical' inability to commit to a clear position, both inimical to leadership. - Cites Nehru's rhetorical hedging ('at the same time... on the other hand') as an example of this dialectical habit, linking it to the origin of non-alignment. - Praises Churchill and De Gaulle's model of conditional leadership -- willing to lead only on their own terms -- contrasting it with Morarji Desai and Charan Singh's premierships since April 1977. - Diagnoses Indian governance as 'big government but not strong government': meddlesome but ineffective, with progressive labour laws unmatched by enforcement capacity. ### Leadership Yesterday and Today *By R. M. Lala* R. M. Lala argues that the burdens on modern leaders -- jet travel, instant communication, an exploded volume of legislation, terrorism, pollution, population growth, and unrelenting media scrutiny -- have grown so much heavier than in Gladstone's or Roosevelt's day that the world now faces a shortage of first-rate leaders to match first-rate problems, India included. Drawing on figures from Roosevelt and Truman to Carter, Schmidt, De Gaulle, Adenauer, and the Shah of Iran, he contends that even naturally gifted leaders are more exposed and more easily eclipsed by circumstance than before, and that India's leadership has 'touched depths that few democracies can boast of.' - Opens by contrasting Gladstone's leisurely governance with the compressed, high-pressure demands on modern prime ministers. - Notes the exponential growth of legislation in Britain (450 pages of law in 1911 vs. thirteen volumes 65 years later) as one marker of increased governing complexity. - Surveys Roosevelt, Truman, and Carter's differing burdens (depression/war, the nuclear age, and the energy crisis respectively). - Discusses De Gaulle and Adenauer as leaders who 'gave a turn to their times,' and describes the Shah of Iran's authoritarian drift and isolation from expert advice as a cautionary case, quoting Fereydoun Hoveyda's forthcoming book on the Shah's fall. - Concludes that a decline in leadership quality is a global phenomenon, though Indian leaders have gone further than most democracies, contrasting the Independence-era 'galaxy of stalwarts' with 'the puny characters that strut the stage today.' ### Recipe for Making Leaders *By S. K. Ookerjee* S. K. Ookerjee opens by dismissing formal 'leadership training' as impossible, arguing leadership qualities are moral qualities of character that cannot be produced by rules and instruction the way technical skills can. He works through three misconceptions -- that leadership is morally neutral, that hero-worship or blind followership is healthy, and that leaders may dominate followers without check -- warning against both dictatorial monsters (Hitler, Mussolini, Idi Amin) and against the opposite danger of surrendering one's judgement entirely to a leader, quoting Plato's Republic on the danger of guardians who abuse their auxiliaries. In the rendered pages the essay breaks off mid-argument on the complementary duties of leaders and followers; the TOC indicates it continues to page 31, beyond what was rendered here. - Argues leadership qualities are 'qualities of mind and character' rather than teachable skills, unlike chemical technology or typing. - Notes an earlier, now-defunct 'Training for Leadership Centre' in the Deccan as evidence formal courses cannot manufacture leaders. - Identifies leadership as morally neutral in the sense that monstrous leaders (Hitler, Mussolini, Idi Amin) are still 'leaders' in the descriptive sense, while warning against conflating being led with hero-worship. - Quotes Plato's Republic on the danger of rulers ('Auxiliaries') treating citizens like sheep rather than partners. - Argues followers must retain their own judgement and not surrender it even to legitimate authority when moral duty requires dissent. ### The Civil Servant as a Leader *By Taya Zinkin* Taya Zinkin examines the civil servant as leader by first parsing the dictionary definitions of 'civil,' 'servant,' and 'to lead,' then arguing that a civil servant must first prove efficient, honest, impartial and accessible -- in that order -- before being capable of leadership at all. She illustrates efficiency and honesty with personal anecdotes, including her husband's handling of a corrupt bearer (Sheikh Hussein) who extorted bribes, and James Walmsley's disciplined desk-clearing habits during Partition. She then turns to 'leading by example,' comparing it to teaching, and tells the story of Captain Mohite, a Collector in Sholapur whose personal example transformed his sub-division's development (college education for his wife, latrine-digging, road-building) -- only for the gains to collapse once he was transferred, since his successor lacked his personal force of leadership. In the rendered pages the essay is not yet concluded (it continues past printed page 18, which is where the rendered set ends; the TOC lists the essay running through page 19). - Defines civil service leadership through the dictionary meanings of 'civil' (polite, not rude), 'servant' (one who carries out orders), and 'to lead' (to conduct/guide by example). - Argues efficiency must precede honesty and impartiality, since inefficiency itself breeds corruption by creating bottlenecks that tempt underlings to take bribes. - Recounts how her husband cancelled a corrupt bearer's target's bail and paraded him in handcuffs rather than simply sacking the bearer, judging public exposure more effective than removal. - Cites James Walmsley's practice, during Partition, of keeping a daily list of tasks and holding subordinates answerable for anything left undone. - Tells the story of Captain Mohite, Collector in Sholapur, whose personal example (educating his wife, digging latrines himself) transformed local development, but whose gains evaporated once he was transferred elsewhere. - References the enduring reputation of 'Gorwala Justice' -- named for civil servant A. D. Gorwala -- as a byword in Sind for honest, accessible administration. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff319/ ### Summary This is issue No. 319 of Freedom First (June 1979), a monthly journal of liberal ideas published in Bombay by the Democratic Research Service, edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor. The issue's lead piece welcomes Margaret Thatcher's Conservative victory in the 1979 UK general election as a vindication of Swatantra-style free-market liberalism and a rebuke to Statism, framing it explicitly through the lens of the defunct Swatantra Party's old slogans. The regular 'Of Cabbages & Kings' column and several short editorial notes by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor cover a miscellany of topics: the Indian government's flirtation with the non-aligned 'Inter-Press Service', child-rearing and corporal punishment, MPs' demands for perquisites, an export row over 'holy cow' corned beef, President's Rule after the fall of the Kakodkar ministry in Haryana, press-union tensions in Britain, and railway strike politics under Industries Minister George Fernandes. S. Sahay's 'Politics in the States' surveys factional turmoil within the ruling Janata Party across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Orissa. A tribute by Capt. R. L. Rau (Retd.) memorializes the late journalist C. Y.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 319 of Freedom First (June 1979), a monthly journal of liberal ideas published in Bombay by the Democratic Research Service, edited by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor. The issue's lead piece welcomes Margaret Thatcher's Conservative victory in the 1979 UK general election as a vindication of Swatantra-style free-market liberalism and a rebuke to Statism, framing it explicitly through the lens of the defunct Swatantra Party's old slogans. The regular 'Of Cabbages & Kings' column and several short editorial notes by S. V. Raju and Geeta Doctor cover a miscellany of topics: the Indian government's flirtation with the non-aligned 'Inter-Press Service', child-rearing and corporal punishment, MPs' demands for perquisites, an export row over 'holy cow' corned beef, President's Rule after the fall of the Kakodkar ministry in Haryana, press-union tensions in Britain, and railway strike politics under Industries Minister George Fernandes. S. Sahay's 'Politics in the States' surveys factional turmoil within the ruling Janata Party across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Orissa. A tribute by Capt. R. L. Rau (Retd.) memorializes the late journalist C. Y. Chintamani, editor of the Allahabad Leader, as an exemplar of a vanishing breed of fearless Indian newspaper editors. World News items (mostly Daily Telegraph reprints) cover Islam in Soviet Central Asia, Brezhnev-era Soviet hypocrisy, French intellectuals' disillusionment with the USSR, and repression of an independent trade union in Romania. Alan Osborn's 'Moonlighting — British Style' (reprinted from the Daily Telegraph) examines Britain's black economy and high marginal tax rates. The issue closes with three book reviews (on education, South Asian land tenure, and Indian hockey administration) and the 'With Many Voices' page of topical quotations. ## Essays ### 'Swatantra' Wins in U.K. *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju's lead article reads Margaret Thatcher's May 1979 election victory as part of a worldwide 'swing to the right' against Statism, following Congress's defeat of Indira Gandhi in 1977. He revives former Freedom First editor Minoo Masani's line that Thatcher's win means 'Swatantra has won in the U.K.', recalling Masani's old riposte to Nehru in the Lok Sabha that the Swatantra Party, not the Congress establishment, represented the party of change. Raju praises Thatcher's pledge to cut income tax and grow the economic 'cake' before redistributing it, and frames the Conservative victory as a rejection of trade-union power and a vote for individual freedom over statism. - Frames Thatcher's 1979 victory as validation of Swatantra Party-style classical liberal politics. - Cites Minoo Masani's remark that 'Swatantra has won in the U.K.' - Recalls Masani's Lok Sabha exchange with Nehru: Swatantra as 'the party of change' versus Congress as the status quo. - Highlights Thatcher's pledge to cut income tax and 'create extra wealth' before redistribution. - Notes Thatcher's tough stance on immigration is criticised by some liberal-minded observers even as her economic policy is praised. - Concludes the British vote was a rejection of trade-union power and a turn toward individual freedom. ### Of Cabbages & Kings *By SVR / GD (initialed items: Watch Out For 'IPS'!, Spanking Rights, More Demands from the Privileged Ones, Animals for Parliament, Too Corny For Words, Defection Does Not Always Pay, Rights? Yes! But..., The Dawn of Wisdom?)* The regular 'Of Cabbages & Kings' column (epigraph from Lewis Carroll) collects four short pieces. 'Watch Out for IPS!' (SVR) criticises the government's push to have PTI sign an agreement with the Inter-Press Service, a non-aligned news-agency cooperative Raju regards as a propaganda vehicle for Third World dictatorships, praising PTI's initial refusal and quoting C. R. Irani's account of government pressure via the PTI board. 'Spanking Rights' (GD) discusses a new Swedish law banning corporal punishment of children and reflects on comparative child-rearing and child-labour conditions in the West, Persia, and India. 'More Demands from the Privileged Ones' (SVR) mocks Union Ministers of State demanding higher travel and sumptuary allowances and MPs demanding a retirement housing colony. 'Animals for Parliament' (GD) reports on a British animal-welfare campaign (GECCAP) during the UK election and critiques factory farming and slaughter practices, including in India. - PTI's near-refusal, then signing, of an 'experimental' agreement with the Inter-Press Service (IPS) is criticised as compromising press independence. - C. R. Irani is cited alleging government pressure via PTI board member D. R. Mankekar. - A new Swedish law bans parental corporal punishment; the column weighs this against child-labour conditions in the West, Persia (carpet-weaving), and India. - Ministers of State in India are mocked for demanding higher travel allowances and complaining to the Prime Minister. - MPs across party lines are criticised for demanding a retirement housing colony in the capital. - British animal-rights campaigners (GECCAP) raised welfare issues during the 1979 election; the column extends this to critique factory farming and slaughter methods, including practices in India. ### Politics in the States *By S. Sahay* A cluster of short SVR editorial notes. 'Too Corny for Words' satirises the 'holy cow' export controversy, noting corned beef/buffalo exports to the Middle East amid the Paunar cow-protection agitation. 'Defection Does Not Always Pay' praises the Central Government and Home Minister for not exploiting the fall of the Kakodkar government via defections, but criticises the imposition of President's Rule instead of fresh elections. 'Rights? Yes! But…' reflects on trade unions overriding others' rights, using a West German printers' strike/bombing incident involving the London Times international edition as a cautionary example, and invokes Gandhi's decision to call off the Quit India movement when it turned violent. 'The Dawn of Wisdom?' is a skeptical item on Industries Minister George Fernandes urging railway workers not to strike, framed as an ironic reversal of Fernandes's earlier union-agitator role. - Satirises the 'holy cow' export controversy: corned beef/buffalo meat exports to the Middle East during the Paunar cow-protection agitation. - Praises the Centre and Home Minister for not exploiting the Kakodkar government's collapse via defections, but faults the choice of President's Rule over fresh elections. - Uses a West German printing-union bombing/picketing incident (targeting the London Times' international edition) to argue unions can override others' rights. - Invokes Gandhi's decision to halt the Quit India movement once it turned violent as a model of self-restraint absent from present-day agitators. - Notes the irony of former trade-union militant George Fernandes, now Industries Minister, pleading with railway workers not to strike. ### C. Y. Chintamani - A Tribute *By Capt. R.L. Rau (Retd.)* S. Sahay's 'Politics in the States' (credited to All India Radio) surveys the factionalism gripping the ruling Janata Party in mid-1979. He argues that despite constant talk of 'crisis', no faction is actually anxious about losing power before the 1982 elections, and that infighting is really about internal jockeying rather than genuine ideological rupture. He runs through Uttar Pradesh (Naresh Yadav's replacement by Banarasidas amid BLD–Jansangh tension over RSS-linked ministers), Bihar (Karpuri Thakur's ouster and his subsequent obstruction of successor Ram Sunder Das), Himachal Pradesh (Shanta Kumar facing dissidents), Haryana (Devilal dismissing RSS-oriented ministers), and Orissa (Routray retaining power against the Biju Patnaik faction). Sahay concludes that Janata factions care only about tactical victories, not collective unity, and that the party functions as an 'umbrella' lacking any unifying principle, unlike the old Congress. - Argues that despite talk of 'crisis', no Janata faction plans to leave the party before 1982. - Details factional battles in U.P. between BLD and Jansangh/RSS-aligned elements over cabinet composition. - Covers Karpuri Thakur's fall in Bihar and his subsequent efforts to undermine successor Ram Sunder Das. - Surveys dissident challenges to Chief Ministers in Himachal Pradesh and Orissa (Routray vs. Biju Patnaik faction). - Notes Devilal's dismissal of RSS-oriented ministers in Haryana. - Concludes the Janata Party is an ideologically empty 'umbrella' whose factions pursue narrow tactical wins rather than collective purpose. ### Moonlighting - British Style *By Alan Osborn* Capt. R. L. Rau (Retd.) offers a personal tribute to C. Y. Chintamani, the late editor of the Allahabad Leader, situating him among a generation of fearless Indian newspaper editors (Annie Besant, Kasturi Ranga Iyengar, B. G. Horniman, Sadanand, Kalinath Roy, Moti Lal Ghosh) who confronted British colonial rule through their editorials despite the Defence of India Rules. Rau, who says he 'learnt the ABC of journalism' at Chintamani's feet in the Leader's office, praises Chintamani's honesty, courage of conviction, and independence from political patronage, contrasting this vanished era of powerful editor-proprietors with the more impersonal, agency-mediated and proprietor-controlled press of 1979. - Situates C. Y. Chintamani among a cohort of fearless pre-independence Indian newspaper editors. - Credits this generation with pioneering fearless criticism of British rule despite the Defence of India Rules. - Laments the decline of the powerful individual editor in favour of impersonal, proprietor- and agency-controlled newspapers. - Describes Chintamani as honest, consistent, and free of political or financial patronage in reaching his elected public position. - Personal reminiscence: the author says he learned journalism directly under Chintamani at the Leader in Allahabad. ### World News (Islam In Marxland; Pot Calls Kettle Back; Dissecting Soviet Society) *By Richard Beeston, The Daily Telegraph / various wire sources* A short unsigned continuation item, 'A Salutary Decision' (by SVR, continued from page 4), welcomes the government's move to bring public-sector undertakings within the purview of the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, while suggesting that Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices should be separated in the law and warning against the government exempting favoured bodies like the STC. - Welcomes government decision to bring public-sector undertakings under the MRTP Act. - Suggests decoupling 'Monopolies' from 'Restrictive Trade Practices' in the law for clarity. - Warns against carving out exemptions (e.g., for the STC) that would undermine the reform. ### Grievances in a Workers' Paradise *By The Daily Telegraph, April 30* Alan Osborn's 'Moonlighting — British Style' (reprinted from the Daily Telegraph, April 30) examines Britain's 'black economy' of undeclared second-job and cash-in-hand work. It surveys estimates of the size of the underground economy (Inland Revenue chairman Sir William Pile's guess of 7.5% of GDP, or roughly £9,000 million, evading tax), disputes the theory that high marginal tax rates alone drive moonlighting (noting France and Italy have more of it despite lower rates), links the practice to the end of Schedule A tax relief on home repairs, and notes both major parties lack a concrete plan to curb it since doing so risks alienating a large bloc of voters. - Estimates the British 'black economy' at roughly 7.5% of GDP per the Inland Revenue chairman, costing up to £3,000 million in lost tax revenue. - Argues moonlighting is not simply driven by high marginal tax rates, since France and Italy have more of it with lower rates. - Links growth in moonlighting to the abolition of Schedule A income tax relief for home repairs. - Notes enforcement is politically difficult since it would alienate both moonlighters and their customers, a large voting bloc. - Reports neither Labour nor the Conservatives had a concrete manifesto commitment to curb moonlighting. ### Book Review: Living and Learning (Muriel Wasi); Land Tenure and Peasant in South Asia (Robert Eric Frykenberg) *By S. P. AIYAR / Prof. (Mrs.) S. RAMACHANDRAN* The 'World News' section carries three items. 'Islam in Marxland' (Richard Beeston, Daily Telegraph, April 18) describes Soviet Central Asia's Muslim population boom and growing ethnic/Islamic consciousness amid the Iranian revolution and Afghan civil war. 'Pot Calls Kettle Back' criticises Brezhnev's hypocrisy in condemning China's Vietnam incursion while the USSR itself occupies Czechoslovakia under the 'Brezhnev doctrine'. 'Dissecting Soviet Society' (a Time review, April 30) covers two French bestsellers critical of Soviet society — the Kehayans' Street of the Red Proletariat and Hélène Carrère d'Encausse's The Burst Empire — the latter arguing Soviet nationalities policy has failed to create a unified 'Homo Sovieticus' and that the USSR harbours some 120 million potential dissidents. - Soviet Central Asia's Muslim population is booming and increasingly conscious of ties to Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. - Brezhnev's Kremlin toast criticising China's Vietnam incursion is presented as hypocritical given the USSR's own 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia and the 'Brezhnev doctrine'. - Two French bestsellers — the Kehayans' memoir and Carrère d'Encausse's The Burst Empire — mark a shift among French (often Marxist) intellectuals toward sharper criticism of Soviet society. - Carrère d'Encausse's thesis: the USSR's non-Slavic population growth represents a demographic 'time bomb' with as many as 120 million potential dissidents. ### Book Review: Indian Hockey (Sunil Gujral) *By C. L. PROUDFOOT* A Daily Telegraph report (April 30) on repression of the independent 'Free Union of Rumanian Workers' under President Ceaușescu: members allegedly detained, interrogated, and in some cases jailed under 'parasitism' laws; the union's open letter to the French Committee for the Defence of Human Rights in Rumania denies government claims that it is a 'terrorist organisation of a Fascist type', and a suspicious letter purporting to come from workers renouncing the union is treated by French labour circles as a probable police fabrication. - The Free Union of Rumanian Workers (about 2,000 members) alleges harassment, arbitrary arrest and interrogation by state security (Securitate). - Three members were jailed for two months under an anti-'parasitism' law after a 'parody of a trial'. - Romanian authorities deny the union's legitimacy, branding it a 'terrorist organisation of a Fascist type'. - A letter purporting to be from workers renouncing the union, sent to the French Force Ouvrière union, is treated by Romanian exile circles as a likely police fabrication. ### With Many Voices Three book reviews close out the issue. S. P. Aiyar reviews Muriel Wasi's Living and Learning (Datta Book Centre, 1978), a collection of essays and AIR talks on education contrasting Greek Socratic and Indian guru-chela traditions of teaching, addressing public schools, co-education, and the training of teachers; Aiyar praises its elegance but questions Wasi's optimism about integrating underprivileged children into elite schools and faults her for not addressing bureaucratic obstruction of Indian education. Prof. (Mrs.) S. Ramachandran reviews Robert Eric Frykenberg's edited volume Land Tenure and Peasant in South Asia (Orient Longman, 1977), a twelve-paper collection on the history, economics and politics of South Asian land reform, noting its valuable but geographically narrow (mainly South Indian) focus. C. L. Proudfoot reviews Sunil Gujral's Indian Hockey (Vikas, 1978), a polemic blaming self-interested administrators for Indian hockey's decline, judging the book's argument sound but its dense style self-defeating as a vehicle for reform. - Wasi's Living and Learning contrasts Socratic and guru-chela pedagogical traditions and argues for shifting emphasis from teaching to learning. - Aiyar questions whether Wasi's proposal to admit poor children to elite public schools would work without addressing systemic bureaucratic failure in Indian education. - Frykenberg's edited volume presents twelve papers in three parts: historical land tenure, dimensions of landed relations, and dimensions of development/reform. - Ramachandran notes the volume's valuable interdisciplinary approach but criticises its narrow, mainly South Indian geographic coverage. - Gujral's Indian Hockey argues Indian hockey's decline stems from self-interested, ignorant administrators ('a Mafia of self-centred charlatans'). - Proudfoot judges Gujral's book intellectually sound but self-defeatingly written in a style inaccessible to those who could act on its argument. ### Essay 11 The closing 'With Many Voices' page (epigraph from Tennyson) is a compilation of topical quotations from the world press, including Margaret Thatcher on ability versus sex, Ayatollah Khomeini on executing rather than trying criminals, remarks on hanging former Iranian officials, Joseph Brodsky on Soviet writers, and observations by Nigel Lawson, Germaine Greer, David Shears and others, plus a Bombay Dyeing advertisement. - Compiles quotations on Thatcher's gender and leadership style from the Daily Telegraph. - Includes Ayatollah Khomeini's remarks (via The Economist) on executing rather than trying criminals in post-revolutionary Iran. - Cites Joseph Brodsky (Reader's Digest) on Soviet writers being identified by their prison cells rather than book covers. - Includes Nigel Lawson's line that modern socialism 'is about envy, and about nothing else'. - Closes the issue with miscellaneous commentary on inflation, the Shah of Iran, and Saudi Arabian dress-measurement restrictions. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff327/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 327 (Feb.-March 1980) is a special post-election issue of the Bombay-based liberal journal, published weeks after Indira Gandhi's Congress (I) swept back to power. Founder M. R. Masani opens with a long analysis of the result, arguing that Indians voted 'against' the Janata leadership's misgovernance rather than 'for' Mrs. Gandhi, that India's first-past-the-post system grossly exaggerates parliamentary majorities, and that Mrs. Gandhi now faces a stark choice between constitutional government and a repeat of the Emergency-era abuses of power. The rest of the issue widens the lens: A. E. Gunawardena of the Ceylonese Liberal Party reflects on the dangers of an unchecked parliamentary majority in Sri Lanka; three short 'Voices' pieces address, respectively, the failures of the Soviet bloc economies, whether Indian political parties should run internal intelligence units on their own members, and a post-mortem on why the non-Congress opposition collapsed so badly. C. L. Proudfoot contributes a nostalgic essay on the decline of amateur sporting values in India.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 327 (Feb.-March 1980) is a special post-election issue of the Bombay-based liberal journal, published weeks after Indira Gandhi's Congress (I) swept back to power. Founder M. R. Masani opens with a long analysis of the result, arguing that Indians voted 'against' the Janata leadership's misgovernance rather than 'for' Mrs. Gandhi, that India's first-past-the-post system grossly exaggerates parliamentary majorities, and that Mrs. Gandhi now faces a stark choice between constitutional government and a repeat of the Emergency-era abuses of power. The rest of the issue widens the lens: A. E. Gunawardena of the Ceylonese Liberal Party reflects on the dangers of an unchecked parliamentary majority in Sri Lanka; three short 'Voices' pieces address, respectively, the failures of the Soviet bloc economies, whether Indian political parties should run internal intelligence units on their own members, and a post-mortem on why the non-Congress opposition collapsed so badly. C. L. Proudfoot contributes a nostalgic essay on the decline of amateur sporting values in India. A three-review 'World of Books' section covers Krishnabai Nimbkar's prison-Emergency diary, a personnel-management textbook, and a book on American journalistic ethics. The issue closes with Nissim Ezekiel's essay condemning the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan as naked aggression and weighing possible international responses, including an Olympics boycott. ## Essays ### Another Chance for Mrs. Gandhi *By M. R. MASANI* M. R. Masani, founder of Freedom First, analyses Congress (I)'s landslide return to power in the January 1980 general election. He argues Indian voters consistently vote against incumbents rather than for challengers, and that the scale of Mrs. Gandhi's parliamentary majority (66.85% of seats on 42.58% of votes) is an artefact of the first-past-the-post system rather than genuine popular mandate, illustrated with vote-versus-seat figures from Tamil Nadu, Bombay, and Maharashtra. He calls for a shift to proportional representation. Masani rejects the idea that Indira Gandhi is a unique threat to democracy, tracing dictatorship instead to the failures of the political class as a whole (comparing the rise of Hitler and de Gaulle), and lists the tasks facing her: restoring law and order without dictatorship, adopting pragmatic economic policies including tax cuts and dismantling controls, and avoiding vindictiveness in victory. He closes by recounting a conversation with Jayaprakash Narayan, who said he would accept Mrs. Gandhi's election but questioned whether she would 'obey the Constitution.' - Congress (I)'s parliamentary majority (66.85% of seats) vastly exceeds its vote share (42.58%), a distortion Masani attributes to the first-past-the-post electoral system. - Masani argues voters acted 'against' incumbents in 1971, 1977, and 1980 rather than 'for' any party, rejecting claims that the result was a personal mandate or 'miracle' for Mrs. Gandhi. - He calls for adoption of proportional representation to correct the distortion. - Dictatorship is framed as a consequence of political class failure rather than the personal wickedness of any leader, with Hitler and de Gaulle cited as parallels. - Masani sets out an agenda for Mrs. Gandhi: restore order without dictatorship, cut taxes, dismantle economic controls, and act magnanimously rather than vindictively. - He recounts a 1978 conversation in which Jayaprakash Narayan said he would accept an Indira Gandhi election victory but wondered whether she would 'obey the Constitution.' ### The Experience of Absolutism in Ceylon *By A. E. Gunawardena* A. E. Gunawardena, President of the Ceylonese Liberal Party, reviews Sri Lanka's 1977 general election as an example of democratic breakdown caused by an unchecked two-thirds parliamentary majority. He traces how Sirimavo Bandaranaike's government extended parliament past its due term, abolished the Senate, undermined judicial independence, nationalised or threatened major newspaper groups, and suppressed dissent, culminating in her decisive 1977 electoral defeat. He argues absolute power, regardless of which party holds it, corrupts democratic norms and warns the incoming J. R. Jayawardene government against repeating the pattern. - Sri Lanka's 1977 election was delayed past its constitutional term because the ruling party held a two-thirds majority allowing it to amend the constitution. - The Bandaranaike government abolished the Senate, compromised judicial independence, and nationalised or threatened major newspaper groups (Lake House, Times, Sun). - Gunawardena frames the 1970 and 1977 election defeats as evidence of Sri Lankans' reliance on the ballot rather than coups or insurrection to change government. - He attributes the country's political stability to a two-party/two-personality system rooted in the Sinhala Sabha/Freedom Party and the U.N.P. - The essay closes with a general warning that absolute power is inconsistent with democracy and that the new government should not repeat the pattern of absolutism. ### VOICES I: Non-Alignment and Communist Economy *By Rama Swarup* In the 'Voices I' column, Rama Swarup surveys the economic troubles of the Communist bloc as of 1979, drawing on a Wall Street Journal report from Prague. He describes rising energy costs, hidden inflation, falling industrial output from absenteeism, and declining export competitiveness across the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, citing gasoline price rises of 37-94% across Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria, and noting that Taiwan and Hong Kong have overtaken Switzerland as the leading watch suppliers to the EEC. He concludes that Communist economies cannot compete with free enterprise. - Gasoline prices rose 37% in Poland, 63% in Hungary, 84% in Romania and 94% in Bulgaria in 1979, per a Wall Street Journal report cited by the author. - The Soviet 1980 budget calls for reduced military spending to fund an 8.8% increase in agricultural production. - Grain harvests fell to among the lowest in recent years, forcing larger imports from the United States. - Taiwan and Hong Kong displaced Switzerland as the leading watch suppliers to the EEC between 1977 and 1979. - The essay concludes that communism cannot compete with free enterprise anywhere in the free world. ### VOICES II: Should Political Parties Have Intelligence Units *By Attar Chand* In 'Voices II,' Attar Chand argues, counter-intuitively, that Indian political parties would benefit from running their own internal intelligence units to monitor party members' finances, loyalties, and foreign links. He points to the defections that destabilised Morarji Desai's Janata government and the divided loyalties of former Jan Sangh members retaining ties to the R.S.S. as evidence that parties need dossiers on members' assets and backgrounds to curb corruption and pre-empt sabotage, while cautioning that such units must not overreach into legitimate party activity. - Chand proposes that parties maintain internal intelligence units and dossiers on members' assets, income, and expenditure to detect corruption. - He cites Morarji Desai's fall, attributed to defections by Janata members, as the motivating example. - He argues dual/divided loyalties among former Jan Sangh members retaining R.S.S. ties illustrate the need for such oversight. - Intelligence on ruling-party members is framed as especially important given their access to monetary gains and extra-constitutional power. - The essay cautions that such units must not overstep into legitimate political activity. ### VOICES III: The Bulldozer Victory *By N. C. Zamindar* In 'Voices III,' N. C. Zamindar offers a post-mortem on the non-Congress opposition's crushing 1980 defeat, arguing that both Marxist and caste-based analytical models failed to predict the result. He attributes Congress (I)'s victory to five factors: Indira Gandhi's personal charisma and campaign stamina; widespread discontent within the administrative machine and police force; the atmosphere of instability and near-anarchy created by non-Congress state ministries; the price shocks caused by Charan Singh's budget; and a broader breakdown of dialogue between intellectuals and ordinary people. - Zamindar argues that Marxist and intermediary-caste analytical models both failed to predict the 1980 election outcome. - He blames non-Congress parliamentarians' poor record and mud-slinging campaign for their own defeat rather than crediting Congress (I) with a genuine mandate. - Five reasons are given for the 'bulldozer victory': Mrs. Gandhi's personal charisma, administrative/police discontent, ministry-level instability, Charan Singh's inflationary budget, and a disconnect between intellectuals and the public. - Land-reform slogans and lowered land ceilings in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh are cited as sources of rural uncertainty that hurt the incumbents. - The essay criticises the press for failing to report realistically, calling it 'mere coffee-house reporting.' ### Changing Values in Sports *By C. L. Proudfoot* C. L. Proudfoot, a widely-experienced sportsman and former international hockey player for the Indian Army, laments the decline of amateur sporting values in India. He contrasts an older ethic of 'Skill and Joy' with the modern commercialisation and television-driven theatrics of cricket, which he calls 'The Great Indian Tamasha,' and mourns the decline of hockey, once nurtured in Anglo-Indian boarding schools that have since closed. He closes by questioning why talented young cricketers from schools like Anjuman-I-Islam are not absorbed into corporate and Ranji Trophy cricket, suggesting community bias over merit. - Proudfoot contrasts an older sporting ethic of 'Skill and Joy' with modern self-conscious, television-influenced theatrics in cricket. - He documents the decline of hockey following the closure of Anglo-Indian boarding schools that once supplied players to the Army, Railways, Telegraphs and Customs. - He criticises a BSF team's poor sportsmanship being rewarded with honours as symptomatic of declining standards. - Anjuman-I-Islam High School in Bombay is cited as a consistent producer of cricket talent whose players are not absorbed into corporate or Ranji Trophy cricket. - He questions whether 'Cricket Godfathers' favour community over skill in team selection. ### The World of Books (review section: A Political Dissenter's Diary Vol. II by Krishnabai Nimbkar; Dynamic Personnel Administration by M. N. Rudrabasavaraj; Reporters' Ethics by Bruce M. Swain) *By K. S. Venkateswaran / B. H. Patankar / Githa Hariharan* K. S. Venkateswaran reviews Volume II of Krishnabai Nimbkar's 'A Political Dissenter's Diary,' covering 1970-1978 including the Emergency. The review praises the diary for its condemnation of Emergency-era constitutional amendments and its warnings against complacency about the durability of Indian freedom, while noting a lengthy and possibly indulgent controversy in the book between the author and the 'Citizens for Democracy' group. The reviewer highlights Nimbkar's alarm about creeping socialist indoctrination and communist infiltration in India, illustrated by extended quotation from her book. - The review covers Volume II of Krishnabai Nimbkar's diary, spanning 1970-1978 and centred on the Emergency period. - Nimbkar is quoted condemning the 'unconscionable amendments to the Constitution,' referencing the 24th (sic, per review's numbering) Amendment Bill. - The review notes a lengthy dispute in the book between the author and the Citizens for Democracy group, covering 'more than two-score pages.' - Nimbkar's warnings about the spread of socialist/communist indoctrination among Indians exposed to 'radical propaganda' are quoted at length. - The reviewer judges the book 'readable, notwithstanding an apparent shoddiness in print and production.' ### Afghanistan *By Nissim Ezekiel* B. H. Patankar reviews the second edition of Prof. M. N. Rudrabasavaraj's 'Dynamic Personnel Administration: Management of Human Resources.' The review summarises the book's four-part structure covering personnel administration concepts, manpower planning and employee welfare, industrial relations, and a forward-looking section on HRM trends including computer applications, praising its comprehensiveness while noting it does not address labour unrest or the reasons behind deteriorating union-management relations in recent years. - The book under review is Prof. M. N. Rudrabasavaraj's 'Dynamic Personnel Administration,' second edition, Himalaya Publishing House, September 1979. - It is structured in four parts: concept of personnel administration, manpower planning/employee welfare, industrial relations, and futuristic HRM trends. - The review highlights the book's treatment of HRM education and computer applications as its most forward-looking material. - The reviewer criticises the book for not addressing the causes of recent labour unrest or deteriorating union-management relations. - The review frames the book as useful for corporate managers, consultants, government administrators, and HRM researchers. ### Essay 9 Githa Hariharan reviews Bruce M. Swain's 'Reporters' Ethics' (Iowa State University Press, 1978), which examines the myth versus reality of journalistic objectivity. Drawing on the book's discussion of Walter Cronkite, the American Society of Newspaper Editors' code of ethics, and commentary from Edward J. Epstein and Walter Lippmann, the review highlights the tension between the public's expectation of reporters as truth-tellers and the practical limitations reporters face from biased sources, deadlines, and institutional pressures. - The book reviewed is Bruce M. Swain's 'Reporters' Ethics' (Iowa State University Press, 1978, 153pp). - The review discusses the American 'cult' around star journalists such as Walter Cronkite as inflating public expectations of reporters. - The American Society of Newspaper Editors' 'Statement of Principles' is cited as a formal code of ethics for reporters. - Edward J. Epstein and Walter Lippmann are quoted on the practical limitations of journalism as 'circulators of partial information.' - The review closes by contrasting the comic-book myth of Superman/Clark Kent with the more modest reality of what reporters can accomplish. ### Essay 10 Nissim Ezekiel, the journal's editor, condemns the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan as unambiguous aggression, dismissing all justifications for it as sophistry. He argues foreign troops in an independent nation should support, not supplant, national authority, and rejects arguments that criticism of the invasion will 'escalate' tension, framing such arguments as serving the aggressor. He weighs several proposed responses -- a boycott of the Moscow Olympics, revision of India's friendship treaty with the USSR, and India-Pakistan cooperation on border security -- and concludes that even symbolic, imperfect resistance is preferable to accepting the Soviet presence as a fait accompli, since passivity would embolden authoritarian tendencies domestically and internationally. - Ezekiel argues all justifications for the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan are 'merely sophistry' and calls the action unambiguous aggression. - He rejects the argument that opposing the invasion will 'escalate' conflict, framing this line as one that serves the aggressor's interests. - A boycott of the Moscow Olympics is discussed as a genuine, if imperfect, gesture that could not be hidden from the Russian public. - Revising India's friendship treaty with the USSR and India-Pakistan cooperation on border security are floated as further possible responses. - He concludes that accepting the invasion as a fait accompli under the guise of 'neutrality' is actually 'acquiescence in aggression.' - The essay frames Afghanistan as 'not merely a country that has been invaded' but 'a symbol of political and human depravity.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff328/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 328 (April 1980), edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M.R. Masani, opens with S. V. Raju's editorial-style piece on the dissolution of nine state assemblies by both the Janata government (1977) and Mrs. Gandhi's Congress (I) government (1980), arguing that Mrs. Gandhi has repeated the very abuse of power she once condemned. A separate blueprint from the Hindustani Andolan lays out conditions for national reconciliation across law and order, rising prices, family planning, and corruption. The issue's regular 'Voices' column carries three short first-person pieces: Nissim Ezekiel on the failure of Indian intellectual and institutional life to translate ferment into real change; Preethi Biddapa on the global revival of Islam and its geopolitical stakes after the Iranian revolution and Soviet invasion of Afghanistan; and Shama Futehally's critique of a Bombay junior-college English textbook for privileging moralising content over literary style. V. B. Karnik contributes a long analysis of the challenges facing Indian trade unions in the 1980s, urging a shift from confrontation to constructive, broad-based engagement with unorganised and rural labour.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 328 (April 1980), edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M.R. Masani, opens with S. V. Raju's editorial-style piece on the dissolution of nine state assemblies by both the Janata government (1977) and Mrs. Gandhi's Congress (I) government (1980), arguing that Mrs. Gandhi has repeated the very abuse of power she once condemned. A separate blueprint from the Hindustani Andolan lays out conditions for national reconciliation across law and order, rising prices, family planning, and corruption. The issue's regular 'Voices' column carries three short first-person pieces: Nissim Ezekiel on the failure of Indian intellectual and institutional life to translate ferment into real change; Preethi Biddapa on the global revival of Islam and its geopolitical stakes after the Iranian revolution and Soviet invasion of Afghanistan; and Shama Futehally's critique of a Bombay junior-college English textbook for privileging moralising content over literary style. V. B. Karnik contributes a long analysis of the challenges facing Indian trade unions in the 1980s, urging a shift from confrontation to constructive, broad-based engagement with unorganised and rural labour. Geeta Doctor's satirical column 'Encounters of the Southern Kind' recounts anecdotes about non-voting elites, iconic politics around Tamil Nadu's former chief minister (MGR), and an absurd case of police overreach in Madras. The World of Books section reviews five titles: Jatindra Nath Mukherjee's 'Forward with Nature' (reviewed by Laeeq Futehally), Sean Kelly's 'Access Denied: The Politics of Press Censorship' (Sandhya Bordewekar), Jamila Verghese's 'Her Gold and Her Body' on dowry (Lalita Chandrasekhar), Mario Miranda and Rajan Narayan's 'Elections Indian Style' (Santan Rodrigues), and Jagjit Singh Anand's 'Indo-Soviet Relations: A More Glorious Future', reviewed critically by 'P.I.B.' as one-sided Soviet apologia. The issue closes with a press statement from the Liberal International's 104th Executive Committee meeting in Messina condemning the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the banishment of Andrei Sakharov. ## Essays ### Assemblies Dissolved *By S. V. RAJU* S. V. Raju argues that both the Janata government in 1977 and Mrs. Gandhi's Congress (I) government in February 1980 dissolved state assemblies not of their own political persuasion, using nearly identical specious justifications. He notes the Supreme Court had upheld the Centre's right to dissolve assemblies when Janata did so, a precedent Mrs. Gandhi has now exploited despite her own party's objections in 1977. Raju calls this a tragedy of confrontational politics at a moment when India faces a fraught economic situation and diplomatic isolation over its muted response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. - Nine state assemblies were dissolved by Janata in 1977 and nine (effectively) by Congress (I) in 1980. - The Supreme Court had ruled the Centre was within its rights to dissolve assemblies, a precedent set under Janata now used against them. - Mrs. Gandhi is accused of hypocrisy for repeating an action she once condemned. - The real motive is attributed to electoral timing (looming Presidential and biennial elections) rather than stated justifications. - Raju frames the episode as a missed opportunity for statesmanship amid rising regional and international tension. ### A Blue-Print for National Reconciliation *By Hindustani Andolan* An unsigned position paper from the Hindustani Andolan, addressed to all national political parties, sets out preconditions for genuine 'national reconciliation': agreement that democracy (however imperfect) is the best form of government; that democracy and human values are inseparable; that formal freedoms (speech, dissent, strike, franchise) do not by themselves create a free society without responsible exercise; and that checks and balances, a healthy opposition, and press freedom must be protected. It then addresses specific problems -- law and order, rising prices, family planning, and corruption -- calling for depoliticised administration of justice, decontrol of production, a national (non-partisan) family planning effort, and a crackdown on election-expense-driven corruption. - Sets four foundational principles for national reconciliation, including that discipline and democracy cannot coexist as an excuse for authoritarian rule. - Calls for political parties to stop interfering in the administration of justice and for judicial reforms. - Attributes rising prices partly to bottlenecks, excessive controls/taxation, and the embedded cost of corruption in the price of goods. - Argues family planning should be a national, non-partisan effort rather than a party program. - Identifies election expenses (estimated Rs 400-500 crore in the last election) as a chief breeding ground of corruption, funded by black money from businessmen and industrialists. - Warns that failure to act risks handing the country to a 'mafia-like coalition of corrupt politicians, businessmen and industrialists.' ### Our Trade Unions: Will They Face the Challenge of the Eighties? *By V. B. KARNIK* Under the 'Voices' rubric, three brief first-person columns appear back to back. Nissim Ezekiel's 'A Sense of Failure' argues that despite a lively ferment of ideas, study groups, journals and public debate in India, none of it has translated into real transformation of education, planning, science policy, housing, or urban reconstruction; he confesses to a sense of futility in his own decades of committee and seminar work. Preethi Biddapa's 'Revival of Islam' surveys the global resurgence of Islam as a reaction to Western-associated modernisation, discusses Saudi Arabia, Egypt's Sadat, the Iranian revolution and Khomeini, and argues the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was partly enabled by this Islamic resurgence, closing with a call for a moderate Islamic 'modus vivendi' among Third World nations bordering the Indian Ocean. Shama Futehally's 'The English Textbook' critiques a Bombay junior-college English syllabus for choosing extracts on the basis of moral and patriotic instruction (a Browning biography instead of Browning's own poetry, a Nehru speech) rather than literary merit, arguing this fails to teach the 'life-education' proper literature provides. - Ezekiel: ferment of ideas among the intelligentsia has not produced real change in education, planning, housing, or urban development over the last twenty years. - Ezekiel warns against dogmatic and pseudo-ideological thinking that produces rules and committees adding up to nothing. - Biddapa: Islam is the world's second-largest religion (750 million adherents) and its revival is a reaction against disruptive, Western-linked industrialisation. - Biddapa argues the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was encouraged by the growing Islamic resurgence among Afghan mujahidin and the Iranian revolution. - Biddapa calls Islamic revivalism part of a cyclical pattern common to religious traditions confronting modernisation, not unique to Islam. - Futehally: a Bombay Std. XI/XII English textbook selects prose/poetry extracts for moral and patriotic content rather than literary style, undermining genuine literary education. ### Voices I: A Sense of Failure *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* V. B. Karnik assesses the challenges Indian trade unions face in the 1980s: a slowing economy, rising unemployment, heavier taxation and deficit financing to fund development, and growing pressure on workers' living standards. He argues unions face a strategic choice between confrontational militancy (which he considers self-defeating and liable to alienate public opinion) and a more prudent path of negotiation, coalition-building and widening their base to include unorganised urban and rural labour. Karnik urges unions to shift from purely monetary demands to long-term non-monetary ones (housing, education, pensions) and to take on a constructive, less combative role, criticising both government and employers for entrenching inter-union rivalry and calling for secret-ballot recognition of representative unions and legal reform of collective bargaining. - A new decade poses more pressing versions of familiar challenges: slower growth, unemployment, taxation and deficit financing burdens. - Unions face a dilemma between constant confrontation (heroic but self-defeating) and prudent negotiation-based strategy. - Unions must extend organisation to unorganised urban workers and rural agricultural labourers to remain relevant and avoid being dismissed as a privileged class. - Government has a dual, sometimes conflicting, role as employer and sovereign authority and should model good labour practice. - Cites the British 'Social Contract' and the US AFL-CIO/government 'National Accord' as models India could adapt. - Recommends secret ballot recognition of representative unions and legal provision for check-off and union shop to reduce inter-union rivalry. ### Voices II: Revival of Islam *By PREETHI BIDDAPA* Geeta Doctor's satirical column recounts two anecdotes from South India. In 'How the South was Won,' she describes upper- and middle-class Madras residents who proudly claim they never vote while a poor coolie's wife reports that women were given sarees to stay home on election day rather than vote for the departing chief minister MGR (a former film star). In 'Cops and Robbers,' she recounts the absurdly oversized khaki shorts worn by Madras policemen and a farcical episode in which her uncle's servant boy was wrongfully rounded up in a crime sweep and released only after a lawyer intervened and the family paid the police 'sixty rupees for their kindliness.' - Wealthy Madras elites boast of never voting even in India, while a matron credits her temple offerings, not her vote, for Indira's win. - Coolie wives report being given sarees instead of being encouraged to vote, ending their support for the former chief minister (MGR). - Following the state assembly's dissolution, the former chief minister was reported to be returning to his film career, to fans' relief. - Doctor mocks the exaggerated width of Madras policemen's shorts as a running joke tied to rising theft rates. - An anecdote describes a servant boy wrongly detained overnight by police and released only after a bribe-like payment of sixty rupees. ### Voices III: The English Textbook *By SHAMA FUTEHALLY* The World of Books section carries five reviews. Laeeq Futehally reviews Jatindra Nath Mukherjee's 'Forward with Nature,' finding its case for tree farming and social forestry buried under an overambitious, breathless survey of global technology, energy and agricultural problems in just 112 pages. Sandhya Bordewekar reviews Sean Kelly's 'Access Denied: The Politics of Press Censorship,' praising its detailed cataloguing of press-censorship methods (visa restrictions, harassment of correspondents, UNESCO's shifting stance) while noting its American-centric bias. Lalita Chandrasekhar reviews Jamila Verghese's 'Her Gold and Her Body' on the dowry system, calling it an eye-opener let down by an overly global, unfocused scope. Santan Rodrigues reviews Mario Miranda and Rajan Narayan's cartoon book 'Elections Indian Style,' praising Miranda's satirical caricatures of politicians like Devraj Urs, Y. B. Chavan and Mrs. Gandhi despite some repetitive effects. Finally, a reviewer signing as 'P.I.B.' sharply criticises Jagjit Singh Anand's 'Indo-Soviet Relations: A More Glorious Future' as one-sided Soviet propaganda that ignores Soviet expansionism in Eastern Europe and the invasion of Afghanistan. - Mukherjee's 'Forward with Nature' is faulted for an unfocused, breathless survey that buries its genuinely useful tree-farming/social-forestry argument. - Kelly's 'Access Denied' is praised for detail on press censorship methods but critiqued for an America-centric viewpoint. - Verghese's 'Her Gold and Her Body' is praised as an eye-opener on dowry practices but critiqued for losing focus by covering 'the whole world and all of time.' - Miranda and Narayan's 'Elections Indian Style' is praised for sharp political caricature (Devraj Urs, Y.B. Chavan, Mrs. Gandhi) though called repetitive at times. - Anand's 'Indo-Soviet Relations' is condemned as unbalanced Soviet apologia that omits Soviet invasions of Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary and, most recently, Afghanistan. ### Encounters of the Southern Kind *By Geeta Doctor* A short unsigned report, 'The Liberal International View,' summarises the press statement issued after the Liberal International's 104th Executive Committee meeting in Messina, Sicily (26-27 January 1980). The statement expresses grave concern over the deterioration of East-West relations caused by the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and the internal exile of Andrei Sakharov, condemning both as violations of international norms and the Helsinki Agreements, and calls for continued detente alongside firm Western resistance to further Soviet military intervention, while also noting the LI's undecided position on an Olympic boycott. - The Liberal International condemns the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan as a threat to regional security and a violation of peaceful international relations. - It strongly condemns the banishment of Andrei Sakharov as a violation of the Helsinki Agreements and calls for his immediate release and reinstatement of civil rights. - The LI had not yet reached a common position on boycotting the Moscow Olympics as of the meeting. - The statement urges continued detente alongside firm resistance to further Soviet military intervention. - It welcomes the upcoming EEC-ASEAN treaty (due 7 March 1980) as part of stabilising international relations. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff329/ ### Summary V. B. Karnik surveys the causes of the Assam agitation of 1979-80, arguing that decades of unchecked immigration from East Bengal and neighbouring states, combined with government negligence in policing electoral rolls, left Assamese residents fearing minority status in their own state. He describes the AASU- and Gana Sangram Parishad-led movement's tactics (poll boycotts, picketing, an oil-supply blockade) and the resulting talks with the Prime Minister, noting that most agitators' demands had been conceded except the contested 1951 cut-off date for identifying 'foreigners'. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary V. B. Karnik surveys the causes of the Assam agitation of 1979-80, arguing that decades of unchecked immigration from East Bengal and neighbouring states, combined with government negligence in policing electoral rolls, left Assamese residents fearing minority status in their own state. He describes the AASU- and Gana Sangram Parishad-led movement's tactics (poll boycotts, picketing, an oil-supply blockade) and the resulting talks with the Prime Minister, noting that most agitators' demands had been conceded except the contested 1951 cut-off date for identifying 'foreigners'. ## Key points - Colonial-era policy treated Assam as an 'excluded area', delaying its political and cultural integration after Independence. - Decades of immigration from East Bengal/Nepal/Pakistan, aided by lax electoral-roll administration, made Assamese fear becoming a minority in their own state. - The movement is led by the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and the Gana Sangram Parishad. - Tactics included an election boycott (no election without electoral roll revision), picketing of government offices, and withholding oil supplies. - Talks between the Prime Minister and movement leaders conceded most demands except the cut-off year for identifying foreign nationals (agitators want 1951; the state government's position differs). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff331/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 331 (July 1980) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas, founded by M. R. Masani and edited by Nissim Ezekiel, marking the journal's 29th year of publication. The issue opens with Ezekiel's own editorial on the mood of fear and non-democratic tendencies following Indira Gandhi's return to power, followed by a reprinted speech by Singapore's Foreign Minister S. Rajaratnam warning that detente has let the Soviet Union expand its influence unchecked. Two 'Voices' opinion pieces address the minority-institution loophole in Maharashtra's education policy and the authoritarian temptations exposed by South Korea's political violence.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 331 (July 1980) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas, founded by M. R. Masani and edited by Nissim Ezekiel, marking the journal's 29th year of publication. The issue opens with Ezekiel's own editorial on the mood of fear and non-democratic tendencies following Indira Gandhi's return to power, followed by a reprinted speech by Singapore's Foreign Minister S. Rajaratnam warning that detente has let the Soviet Union expand its influence unchecked. Two 'Voices' opinion pieces address the minority-institution loophole in Maharashtra's education policy and the authoritarian temptations exposed by South Korea's political violence. A rationalist-association statement (with the 192-scientist 'Objections to Astrology' declaration) attacks astrology's hold on Indian public life, a World Bank item highlights that health spending in developing countries bypasses the poorest, book reviews cover Ved Mehta's Daddyji and Jadunath Sarkar's House of Shivaji, an essay by Attar Chand surveys the persistence of rural poverty and unemployment despite Integrated Rural Development schemes, and the issue closes with the second half of Aloo Dalal's two-part investigative piece on Bombay's Municipal Corporation, concluding with a warning against central government supersession of elected civic bodies. ## Essays ### After the Elections *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* Nissim Ezekiel's editorial argues that the substance of the ruling party's performance matters less than its mode of functioning, and that fear -- not mere disagreement -- now colours public reaction to criticism of Mrs. Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi. He notes that friends warned him he was risking his safety by attacking them, evidence of a chilling effect he says would not exist for criticism of other leaders. He surveys rumours of press controls, warns of a 'Power behind the powers' manipulating events, and argues that India's central problem, poverty, cannot be solved by trading one form of enslavement for another; a government that 'works' democratically remains preferable to authoritarian alternatives. - Argues fear, not disagreement, characterises public reaction to criticism of Mrs. Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi - Notes friends warned him of personal danger for criticizing the ruling family - Describes rumours of media controls and constitutional changes as stage-managed - Warns of an unaccountable 'Power' manipulating political puppets behind the scenes - Frames poverty as India's central problem, warning against solving it by enslaving the population - Calls for using existing government power pragmatically rather than seeking more power or propaganda ### Soviet World in the Making *By S. RAJARATNAM* S. Rajaratnam, Singapore's Foreign Minister, argues in a Tokyo speech that detente and peaceful coexistence have, over the preceding fifteen years, worked systematically to the Soviet Union's advantage while the non-Communist world has grown weaker. He traces Soviet gains from Vietnam, Cuba, Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, South Yemen, Kampuchea and Afghanistan, and contends that Brezhnev has been open, not deceptive, about the USSR's revolutionary aims; the West deceived itself through complacency. He concludes that unless non-Communist nations match Soviet foreign-policy coherence and resolve, the century will belong to a Soviet-led world order. - Argues detente has systematically favoured Soviet expansion since the mid-1960s - Lists Soviet-aligned gains: Vietnam, Cuba, Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, South Yemen, Kampuchea, Afghanistan - Contends Brezhnev's revolutionary intentions were openly stated, not concealed - Characterises Western/non-Communist response as self-deception rather than Soviet trickery - Warns the non-Communist world's military and strategic superiority has been squandered since 1965 - Calls for the non-Communist bloc to match Soviet policy coherence or risk a 'Soviet century' ### Voices I: Minority Colleges *By A MAHARASHTRIAN* A short 'Voices' letter signed 'A Maharashtrian' criticises a 1979 Maharashtra government circular that let colleges self-declare as 'minority institutions' to bypass merit-based admission rules, resulting in reservation quotas being manipulated by non-Maharashtrian managements in Bombay even though Maharashtrians are a local minority. The writer warns that such distortions of the constitutional minority-rights provision (Article 31) breed resentment and could fuel sons-of-the-soil agitation and violence, citing Assam as a warning sign. - Criticises the 1979 Maharashtra circular allowing colleges to self-declare 'minority' status - Notes the irony that Maharashtrians are themselves a minority in cosmopolitan Bombay - Argues the reservation and minority-institution rules have been legally gamed by managements - Warns of sons-of-the-soil backlash and violence, citing Assam as a precedent ### Voices II: Lessons from South Korea *By RAHUL SINGH* In a second 'Voices' piece, Rahul Singh draws lessons from South Korea's 1980 political violence, arguing that authoritarian strongman rule -- even when personally honest, as with General Park Chung Hee -- exacts a heavy long-term price, breeds corruption among associates, and tends to entrench itself indefinitely. He warns Indian liberals and intelligentsia who flirted with authoritarianism during the Emergency against romanticising 'strong leadership' models like South Korea's, arguing India's slower democratic path, though frustrating, has avoided the violent reckonings seen in Korea, Iran, Pakistan, the Philippines and Indonesia. - Uses Park Chung Hee's assassination and its aftermath as a cautionary tale about strongman rule - Argues authoritarian rulers who start honest often become corrupt or shield corrupt associates - Criticises Indian intellectuals who considered authoritarianism attractive during the Emergency - Contrasts India's 'slow and cumbersome' democracy favourably against Korea, Pakistan, Philippines, Indonesia - Warns that suppressed dissent eventually explodes, citing South Korea and Bangladesh (Mujib's assassination) ### Astrology and Rationalism A joint statement from the Bombay Rationalist Association and Suvichardharak Mandal, followed by the 192-scientist 'Objections to Astrology' declaration (signatories including Hans Bethe, Francis Crick, Linus Pauling and other Nobel laureates), argues that astrology has no scientific basis, that astrological forecasts are unreliable and internally inconsistent, and that newspapers publishing horoscopes promote irrationalism at the expense of critical thinking and self-reliance in a democratic society. - Bombay Rationalist Association argues astrology has no verified basis in astronomy or science - Calls on newspapers to stop publishing astrological forecasts - Reproduces the 1975 'Objections to Astrology' statement signed by 192 scientists, many Nobel laureates - Statement argues belief in astrology undermines self-reliance and rational decision-making ### Modern Health Systems Bypass 80 per cent of poor in Developing Countries *By New Delhi: U.N. Weekly Newsletter, April 11, 1980* A short news item summarising a World Bank policy paper (published 21 March 1980) reports that a large share of the roughly $75,000 million spent annually on health by developing countries goes to modern hospital-based systems that bypass 80 per cent of the poor. The Bank announces it will begin financing health projects directly, and the report criticises the neglect of preventive and primary care in favour of urban, elite-oriented hospital care. - World Bank paper finds 80% of the poor in developing countries are bypassed by modern health systems - Bank will begin direct financing of health projects for the first time - Report faults over-emphasis on hospital-based care over preventive and primary care - Attributes the neglect partly to health policy being shaped by urban elites ### The World of Books: Daddyji by Ved Mehta *By ZERIN ANKLESARIA* Zerin Anklesaria reviews Ved Mehta's Daddyji (OUP, 1980), a biography of the author's father originally published abroad in 1972. The review praises the book's fragmentary, vignette-based structure, its lack of sentimentality despite Mehta's blindness, and its portrait of a principled, unconventional Punjabi patriarch, calling it a work of reportage-like restraint and visual clarity. - Reviews Ved Mehta's Daddyji, a biography of his father, newly available in India via OUP - Praises the book's fragmentary vignette structure and lack of narcissism or sentimentality - Highlights the father's principled, anti-superstition, anti-dowry character - Notes the visual clarity of Mehta's prose despite his blindness - Closes wishing the book were longer ### The World of Books: House of Shivaji by Jadunath Sarkar *By V. B. KARNIK* V. B. Karnik reviews the fourth edition of Jadunath Sarkar's House of Shivaji (Orient Longman, 1978), noting the enduring popularity of Shivaji in Maharashtra and the book's broader focus on Shivaji's father, sons and contemporaries rather than Shivaji alone. Karnik credits Sarkar's objective historical method with correcting earlier dismissive views of Shivaji as a mere plunderer, while regretting that an authoritative biography of Shivaji himself remains unwritten. - Reviews the fourth edition (1978) of Jadunath Sarkar's House of Shivaji - Notes the book covers Shivaji's father, sons and contemporaries more than Shivaji himself - Credits Sarkar's objective historical method for revising dismissive views of Shivaji - Regrets that no authoritative Shivaji biography yet exists ### Let Us Remember Rural Poverty *By ATTAR CHAND* Attar Chand surveys the persistence of rural poverty in India three decades after independence, citing World Bank data placing India among a 'fourth world' of fast-impoverishing countries, and government statistics showing rising numbers of poor, unemployed and indebted rural households despite Mahalanobis Committee warnings since 1964. He reviews the Integrated Rural Development (IRD) programme's targets and expansion but concludes that little real progress has been made, warning of a potential 'explosive class-war' involving Dalit Panthers, landless labourers and the rural jobless unless government priorities shift. - Cites World Bank data placing India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and others in a 'fourth world' income bracket - Reports 46.33% of Indians (about 290 million) lived below the poverty line in 1977-78 - Notes registered rural unemployment rose from 5 million (1961) to 12.1 million (1978) - Describes the Integrated Rural Development Programme's target of covering 3,500 blocks by 1982-83 - Warns of potential 'explosive class-war' if rural disparities are not addressed - Concludes success depends on government priority, sincerity and resource transfer ### Investigations: The Municipalities-2 *By ALOO DALAL* Aloo Dalal concludes a two-part investigative series on Bombay's Municipal Corporation, describing its wide-ranging civic responsibilities (health, education, fire, markets, transport) and the citizen estrangement caused by bureaucratic rigidity, migrancy, and poor public communication. The piece closes with a pointed warning: following the supersession of the Delhi Metropolitan Council and Delhi Municipal Corporation by the central government in 1980, Bombay's Corporation may be next, and Dalal calls on citizens to resist what she frames as an anti-democratic centralising trend that threatens India's federal structure. - Describes the Bombay Municipal Corporation's budget and civic responsibilities, including a health budget larger than many state governments' - Notes the Corporation runs 1,102 municipal schools and major hospitals with free treatment - Diagnoses citizen estrangement from civic government due to migrancy, bureaucracy and poor communication - Recounts the 1980 supersession of the Delhi Metropolitan Council and Delhi Municipal Corporation by central government order - Warns Bombay's Corporation could be the next target of central government supersession - Calls for citizen vigilance to defend local self-government and the federal structure --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff332/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 332 (August 1980), edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani, opens with an unsparing editorial on Sanjay Gandhi's death, arguing that his political career combined the worst of leftist and rightist authoritarianism and that the cult forming around his memory threatens to obscure this. The issue's other pieces extend the magazine's standing preoccupation with authoritarianism abroad: a detailed account of Amnesty International's report on Soviet abuse of psychiatric confinement and prison conditions, and an open letter from an Iranian exile group to Austria's chancellor protesting Western legitimisation of Khomeini's theocracy. Domestic concerns include two first-person 'Voices' pieces on economic ideology and white-collar work, a satirical parliamentary sketch, a set of book reviews covering contemporary Indian politics, Hindu religious literature, women's labour, and English law, a media-studies piece questioning the 'bad news from the Third World' thesis, and an essay on the crisis of Indian higher education pedagogy. A short notice announces the new J. P. Awards for writing on democracy. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 332 (August 1980), edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani, opens with an unsparing editorial on Sanjay Gandhi's death, arguing that his political career combined the worst of leftist and rightist authoritarianism and that the cult forming around his memory threatens to obscure this. The issue's other pieces extend the magazine's standing preoccupation with authoritarianism abroad: a detailed account of Amnesty International's report on Soviet abuse of psychiatric confinement and prison conditions, and an open letter from an Iranian exile group to Austria's chancellor protesting Western legitimisation of Khomeini's theocracy. Domestic concerns include two first-person 'Voices' pieces on economic ideology and white-collar work, a satirical parliamentary sketch, a set of book reviews covering contemporary Indian politics, Hindu religious literature, women's labour, and English law, a media-studies piece questioning the 'bad news from the Third World' thesis, and an essay on the crisis of Indian higher education pedagogy. A short notice announces the new J. P. Awards for writing on democracy. ## Essays ### Sanjay's Death - & After *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* Nissim Ezekiel's editorial argues that Sanjay Gandhi's death produced no reckoning with his mother's public and private relationship to him, and that his political rise was built on scandal, extra-constitutional action, and an admiring cult of personality rather than genuine achievement. Ezekiel contends Sanjay's politics were 'crypto-fascist' in character, combining leftist and rightist authoritarian tendencies, and pivots to criticise Indira Gandhi's response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan as an echo of Soviet propaganda, citing her government's line that Soviet troop presence could not be judged 'in isolation.' - Sanjay Gandhi's death led to no public accounting of Mrs Gandhi's relationship to him. - The court of inquiry into the circumstances of his death was cancelled soon after being announced. - Ezekiel rejects any admiration for Sanjay's 'adventurous spirit,' cataloguing his failures as student, mechanic, and businessman and the scandals that followed his political rise. - He describes Sanjay's politics as 'crypto-fascist,' arguing he would have ruled like Stalin without Stalinist economic practice. - The piece pivots to criticise Indira Gandhi's government for describing Soviet military action in Afghanistan as explainable and not to be seen 'in isolation.' - Ezekiel states that Sanjay's followers are as confused about non-alignment, communism, and free enterprise as he was. ### Amnesty's Indictment of Soviet Savagery *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* K. S. Venkateswaran summarises and endorses a revised, enlarged Amnesty International report on Soviet treatment of 'prisoners of conscience,' describing the legal basis for politically motivated detention under Article 58 and successor Soviet criminal codes, the show-trial character of proceedings against dissidents such as Balys Gajankas and poetess Yuliya Okulova, the abuse of psychiatric confinement to silence dissent, and appalling prison conditions including deliberate starvation. The essay closes by reproducing at length a dialogue recorded by historian Mikhail Bernstam with a Soviet psychiatric official, Dr L. D. Fedoseyava, illustrating how KGB political judgments substitute for medical diagnosis in committing dissenters. - Amnesty International's revised report documents continued arrest and imprisonment of dissenters under Soviet civil legislation restricting non-violent exercise of human rights. - Article 58 of the 1926 RSFSR Code and its successors permit 'blanket charges' against those merely suspected of opposing Bolshevik rule. - Case studies include Balys Gajankas (10 years for possessing Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago) and poetess Yuliya Okulova (5 years exile for 'false fabrications'). - Prison conditions include deliberate underfeeding; a Mordovia camp account describes prisoners eating rotten fish, gruel, and scraps. - Psychiatric confinement is used against dissenters classified as 'socially dangerous' under a 1971 directive with vague, discretionary criteria. - A reproduced dialogue between historian Mikhail Bernstam and psychiatric official Dr Fedoseyava shows KGB officials making political judgments that substitute for medical evaluation in committing dissenter Ponomaryov. ### An Open Letter To Chancellor Bruno Kreisk Of Austria On Khomeini's Tyrannical Theocracy And The Flaunting Of Human Rights In Iran *By THE IRANIAN COMMITTEE FOR DEMOCRATIC ACTION & HUMAN RIGHTS* An open letter dated June 12, 1980, from the Iranian Committee for Democratic Action and Human Rights to Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, protesting his visit to Tehran and the legitimacy it lent to Khomeini's theocracy. The letter catalogues mass executions, bombing of Kurdish and other regions, banning of leftist and socialist parties, press suppression, and calls on Kreisky to use his influence with the Socialist International to establish a commission of inquiry into the Iranian regime's human rights record. - The letter protests Chancellor Kreisky's Tehran visit as lending legitimacy to Khomeini's 'medievalist' theocracy. - It cites over 1,200 executions without fair trial and military action including napalm bombing in Kurdistan, Khuzestan, and the Gorgan plain. - It reports 50,000 political prisoners and 160,000 people on an official 'black list' barred from travel or public positions. - All progressive and socialist parties, including the League of Iranian Socialists, have been banned; 37 Socialists and Social Democrats have been executed. - Over 2,000 newspapers and periodicals have reportedly been banned, with writers and editors imprisoned without charge. - The letter calls for a Socialist International commission of inquiry to investigate the theocracy's record. ### Voices 1: Myth Of Capitalism And Inflation *By A. E. GUNAWARDENA, President: Ceylonese Liberal Party* In the first of two short 'Voices' pieces, A. E. Gunawardena, President of the Ceylonese Liberal Party, argues that capitalist economies are not inherently more prone to inflation than planned ones, that utility rather than profit alone drives entrepreneurial choice, and that in developed capitalist countries like Britain, the US, and Japan capitalism has produced broad-based infrastructure and prosperity, making claims of capitalist waste or inefficiency a 'myth' in advanced democratic states. - Argues it is a fallacy to assume capitalist economies are inherently more inflation-prone than socialist or centrally planned ones. - Contends utility, not just profit, guides entrepreneurial and societal priorities toward essentials like food, clothing, and shelter. - Claims developing countries lack the industrial revolution's creative impact and remain focused on agriculture with archaic methods. - Argues Western inflation stems from production of luxury goods and is 'not so intolerable' as inflation in some Asian countries. - Concludes that in efficient capitalist democracies (Britain, Canada, USA, Japan), capitalism 'becomes a myth' rather than a reality of exploitation. ### Voices 2: The Routine Job *By HUTOXI MEHENTI* In 'The Routine Job,' Hutoxi Mehenti gives a first-person account of the gap between the promise of a 'challenging' post-graduate office job and the reality of routine clerical work, contrasting her own frustration with the resignation of longer-serving stenographers who have waited years to 'rise.' She criticises employers and India's theoretical educational system for producing graduates equipped for neither meaningful work nor basic office skills, and argues that awareness of this disparity, coupled with courage, is the first step toward change. - The author describes landing a 'prize' secretarial job that promised challenge but delivered filing, registers, and clerical monotony. - She questions why post-graduate hires are screened for business acumen and political awareness yet given only rote clerical tasks. - Blames India's 'impossibly theoretical' educational system for leaving graduates both overqualified and practically unprepared. - Notes some secretaries have 'risen' to Assistant Executive titles but with less real income after losing overtime pay. - Concludes that awareness of one's plight, combined with the courage to act on it, is the necessary first step to becoming 'a SOMEBODY.' ### The Week In Parliament (Geeta Doctor Reports) *By Geeta Doctor* Geeta Doctor's satirical column imagines an uproarious Indian Parliament debate after news that Nobel laureates have donated sperm to a fertility bank, with MPs demanding reservation quotas for scheduled classes, Piloo Mody providing comic relief, and party leaders jockeying to be chosen as India's 'representative' donor, before the twist that the only candidate seated in silence throughout is revealed to be the Prime Minister herself. - The sketch parodies a real Daily Telegraph report on Nobel-laureate sperm donation to a fertility bank. - MPs demand a caste-based quota (33%) of the donated sperm be reserved for scheduled classes. - Charan Singh's faction frames the fertility-bank debate around 'who tills the soil,' while professing Gandhian objection to mechanisation. - A consensus bars anyone over sixty from the Fertility Bank in deference to the 'Father of the Nation's' embrace of brahmacharya. - The twist ending reveals the Prime Minister, quietly knitting throughout, as the disguised 'fifth' candidate who has fooled the assembled members. ### The World Of Books (reviews of Last Days of the Morarji Raj; Religion and Society in the Brahma Purana; We Will Smash This Prison; The Due Process of Law) *By N. C. ZAMINDAR; M. VENKATESWARLU; PREETH I. BIDDAPA; RAMNI TANEJA* The World of Books section carries four reviews: N. C. Zamindar reviews Barun Sengupta's 'Last Days of the Morarji Raj,' calling it a lucid, cartoon-illustrated exposé of political intrigue during the Janata government's collapse; M. Venkateswarlu reviews Surabhi Sheth's 'Religion and Society in the Brahma Purana,' praising its critical study of Puranic social structure and marriage institutions but noting its high price and gaps on ancient Hindu polity; Preeth I. Biddapa reviews Gail Omvedt's 'We Will Smash This Prison,' on the anger of Indian working women, finding it journalistically vivid but analytically thin and confined to a leftist-class framework; and Ramni Taneja reviews Lord Denning's 'The Due Process of Law,' summarising his treatment of contempt of court, judicial inquiries, and landmark cases including the Thalidomide/Sunday Times litigation. - Zamindar's review calls Sengupta's book on Morarji Desai's government fall 'a murky play' exposing corruption among Rajaji, JP, Indira, and Sanjay's circle. - Venkateswarlu praises Sheth's scholarly treatment of the Brahma Purana but flags its Rs. 100 price as a 'major deterrent' by Indian standards. - Biddapa finds Omvedt's account of Maharashtra women's labour organising vivid but undermined by an unresolved, class-focused analytical frame. - Taneja's review of Denning covers his rulings on contempt of court, the Thalidomide/Sunday Times case, the Mareva Injunction, and 'deserted wife's equity.' - Denning's own definition of 'due process of law' is quoted directly as the review's framing device. ### Third World Aversion To Bad News *By JONATHAN FENBY* Jonathan Fenby, a former Reuters World Service editor, examines and largely debunks the widely accepted 'bad news' thesis that Western media disproportionately emphasise disasters, coups, and violence in Third World reporting. He contrasts a partisan 1970s UNESCO study with a more rigorous University of North Carolina study covering 35 newspapers, broadcasters, and news agencies across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa, which found disaster coverage a small share of total coverage everywhere and that political conflict, not calamity, dominates Third World news coverage in a manner proportionate to real instability. - The 'bad news' thesis holds that Western agencies disproportionately relay disasters, coups, and strife from developing nations to audiences in Europe, North America, and Japan. - A mid-1970s UNESCO-commissioned study lumped together political/military violence with crime to conclude Third World coverage skewed toward 'bad news.' - A University of North Carolina study found negative disaster/accident coverage was only about 3% of news studied worldwide, with no evidence of disproportionate Third World emphasis. - The North Carolina study found political conflict dominates Third World coverage roughly in proportion to the real instability of those regions. - Fenby argues Western media give comparable heavy coverage to disruption in the West (terrorism in Italy/West Germany, Northern Ireland, US racial violence). - He concludes that complaints about 'bad news' emphasis are shared by observers in Britain (e.g., Spiro Agnew) and that this is a genuinely complex debate, not simple media bias. ### Investigations: Patterns In Higher Education 1 *By S. K. OOKERJEE* In the first part of an 'Investigations' series on 'Patterns in Higher Education,' S. K. Ookerjee discusses the University of Bombay's new requirement that students attend at least three-quarters of lectures and satisfy principals' standards to sit final exams, following a Bombay High Court ruling upholding principals' authority to withhold exam forms. Ookerjee argues attendance rules alone are insufficient without reform of the essay-type exam system and of student attitudes, proposing a three-semester structure with intermediate testing and greater pedagogic freedom for teachers to make courses engaging, illustrated by a closing dialogue from Plato's Meno on the teacher-student relationship. - Bombay University now requires 3/4 lecture attendance and 'satisfactory' progress as a precondition for sitting final exams, following a High Court ruling upholding principals' discretion. - Ookerjee argues attendance and testing rules are necessary but insufficient without reform of the outdated essay-type examination. - He proposes breaking the academic year into three semesters, each with its own test, to align with students' documented preference for short, intense study bursts before exams. - He calls for greater 'pedagogic freedom' for teachers to design engaging courses ('cut the coat according to the cloth') rather than being bound to fixed, often outdated syllabi. - The essay closes with an extended quotation from Plato's Meno illustrating Socratic teaching as joint inquiry rather than one-way transmission of facts. - A companion notice announces the J. P. Awards for the best book and articles on democracy, administered by the Yusuf Meherally Centre with a panel including Justice V. M. Tarkunde. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff333/ ### Summary Issue No. 333 of Freedom First (September 1980), edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani, opens with Ezekiel's editorial 'The Moral Imperative,' urging individual Indians to embody liberal values in daily conduct rather than rely on absent political leadership. The issue's centre of gravity is anti-Soviet and anti-totalitarian commentary: K. V. Subrahmanyam surveys Soviet resource-driven imperialism from Eastern Europe to Afghanistan; Andrei Sakharov's message to the Sakharov Hearings indicts Soviet legal abuses; a Thomas Hamm piece (reprinted from the International Herald Tribune) profiles defector Truong Nhu Tang's disillusionment with Vietnamese communism; and Preeth I. Bidappa argues that the Moscow Olympics boycott exposed the fiction that sport and politics can be separated. Alongside this, the issue carries its regular 'Voices' reader-contributed column, book reviews under 'The World of Books,' a profile of Statesman editor Cushrow Irani's press-freedom battles with Indira Gandhi's government, and S. K. Ookerjee's continuing 'Investigations' series on Indian higher education reform. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Issue No. 333 of Freedom First (September 1980), edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani, opens with Ezekiel's editorial 'The Moral Imperative,' urging individual Indians to embody liberal values in daily conduct rather than rely on absent political leadership. The issue's centre of gravity is anti-Soviet and anti-totalitarian commentary: K. V. Subrahmanyam surveys Soviet resource-driven imperialism from Eastern Europe to Afghanistan; Andrei Sakharov's message to the Sakharov Hearings indicts Soviet legal abuses; a Thomas Hamm piece (reprinted from the International Herald Tribune) profiles defector Truong Nhu Tang's disillusionment with Vietnamese communism; and Preeth I. Bidappa argues that the Moscow Olympics boycott exposed the fiction that sport and politics can be separated. Alongside this, the issue carries its regular 'Voices' reader-contributed column, book reviews under 'The World of Books,' a profile of Statesman editor Cushrow Irani's press-freedom battles with Indira Gandhi's government, and S. K. Ookerjee's continuing 'Investigations' series on Indian higher education reform. ## Essays ### The Moral Imperative *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* In this editorial, Nissim Ezekiel argues that criticising bad government and fractious opposition parties is easy but insufficient. He calls for a 'moral imperative' of self-criticism and individual constructive action, distinct from mere protest or introspective escapism, in which each citizen demonstrates initiative in small, day-to-day matters. He contrasts self-serving leaders who hoard power and 'yes-men' with a more admirable kind of leader who encourages the emergence of others. Ezekiel closes by describing the democratic struggle in India as reduced to individuals' personal upward mobility, with each rung of the ladder replicating the domination of those above, and calls for 'a new spirit of co-operative thought and action.' - Bad government and opposition dissension are both easy targets for criticism, but the real responsibility falls on individual citizens. - Ezekiel calls for a 'moral imperative' of self-criticism and constructive small-scale action rather than more debate or introspection. - He distinguishes admirable leadership (encouraging others' talent) from self-consolidating leadership reliant on charisma and yes-men. - Publicity, propaganda, and partisan agitation are described as insufficient substitutes for embodying values in one's way of life. - The democratic struggle in India is characterised as reduced to individuals' private upward mobility, replicating power relations at every level. - The piece ends on a call for a 'new spirit of co-operative thought and action' to be born. ### The Politics of Non-Renewable Resources *By K. V. SUBRAHMANYAM* K. V. Subrahmanyam argues that international disputes increasingly turn on the politics of non-renewable resources, and that the Soviet Union has systematically pursued mineral and energy security since the Bolshevik revolution, when it surveyed its own resource deficits (notably bauxite) and set out to secure supply from abroad. He traces Soviet resource-driven interventions from Eastern Europe (Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, GDR) through Cuba, Guinea, Chile, and Angola, to the discovery of bauxite in Orissa-Andhra Pradesh and the Soviet-brokered alumina deal with India. The essay extends into the rupee-payment barter trade as a new form of colonialism, the political economy of uranium enrichment (Tarapur), and closes by linking these resource ambitions to the invasion of Afghanistan and the region's oil, gas, and tin reserves, drawing on a Singapore minister's analysis of the 'political version of Soviet diplomacy.' - International disputes over non-renewable resources are inversely tied to their scarcity and geographic distribution, per the piece's opening framework. - The USSR conducted an early, systematic survey of its mineral deficits after the Bolshevik revolution and has pursued external resource security since. - Soviet interventions in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the GDR are read through their bauxite, coking coal, and lignite deposits. - The USSR's rupee-payment barter trade with India is characterised as 'a new type of colonialism' benefiting from India's political immaturity. - Soviet uranium enrichment capacity and collaboration with West German and Japanese firms is contrasted with its refusal to help India with Tarapur. - The essay ties the invasion of Afghanistan to the region's untapped natural gas fields (Katawaz, Khwaja Gorgerdak) and broader Soviet resource ambitions. - It cites Singapore's Foreign Minister S. Rajaratnam's analysis (from Freedom First, July 1980) of Soviet diplomacy's economic motivations. ### Indian Champion for World Press *By WILLIAM FRANKEL* William Frankel profiles Cushrow Irani, managing director of The Statesman, who was elected the first Indian chairman of the International Press Institute. The piece recounts Irani's defiance of Indira Gandhi's Emergency-era pressure on the press, including passport impoundment, harassment, and threats to nationalise or 'de-link' newspaper ownership, and situates The Statesman's independence within its history since 1818 as a supporter of the Indian National Congress and the underdog. - Cushrow Irani, managing director of The Statesman, became the first Indian chairman of the International Press Institute. - During the Emergency his passport was impounded and he faced threats of imprisonment for resisting government interference. - The government attempted to pack The Statesman's board, withhold advertising, and confiscate its Delhi printing presses. - Mrs Gandhi's government later proposed 'de-linking' newspapers from industrial ownership via a Public Trustee scheme, which was retracted after public outcry. - The Statesman, founded in 1818, is described as historically a supporter of the Indian National Congress and the underdog. ### Law in the Soviet Union *By ANDREI SAKHAROV* A short excerpt from Andrei Sakharov's message to the International Sakharov Hearings (Third Session, U.S.A.) argues that Soviet legality itself violates human rights: the death penalty for non-violent crimes, restrictions on free exchange of information and movement, anti-parasite laws, and persecution of religious belief. Sakharov describes receiving letters documenting beatings, torture, and forged criminal charges used as political reprisals, and calls the moral and ethical level of Soviet criminal procedure 'extremely low.' - Sakharov argues that serious human-rights violations are built into Soviet law itself, not just its abuse. - He cites the death penalty for non-violent offences and the 'anti-parasite law' as examples of legally sanctioned rights violations. - He describes receiving numerous letters documenting beatings, torture, and forged charges used as political reprisals. - The piece is drawn from a message to the International Sakharov Hearings, Third Session, U.S.A. ### Voices 1: Teaching the Deaf *By UMA RANGANATHAN* A three-part 'Voices' reader column. Uma Ranganathan writes on the neglect of deaf education in India, noting about 33 million people with hearing disorders and only around 10,000 deaf children served by existing schools, and argues the field needs better pay and professional recognition rather than being treated as charity. Sandhya Bordewekar satirises the affected 'aesthetic crowd' in Baroda's Fine Arts scene who perform bohemian nonconformity as a substitute for genuine talent, contrasting it with a formerly tomboyish acquaintance now performing dutiful-wife respectability. Harish Kumar reports on the WHO's October 1980 declaration that smallpox has been eradicated worldwide, recounting the disease's history, the search-and-containment vaccination strategy that eliminated it (including a major campaign in Bihar), and warns that continued rural surveillance remains necessary. - Uma Ranganathan: about 33 million Indians have hearing disorders, but only ~10,000 deaf children are served by existing special schools. - Ranganathan argues teaching the deaf is treated as charity work with poor pay rather than a properly professionalised field. - Sandhya Bordewekar satirises performative bohemianism among the 'aesthetic crowd,' contrasting authentic artists like Bhupen Khakhar and Jyoti Bhatt with poseurs. - Bordewekar's second vignette describes a young married woman now performing dutiful, dignified wifeliness after an earlier tomboyish adolescence. - Harish Kumar reports the WHO's October 26 declaration that smallpox has been eradicated worldwide, including from Africa. - Kumar credits a 'search and containment' vaccination strategy, citing a Bihar campaign of 20,000 health workers covering 70,000 villages. - Kumar warns continued rural surveillance is needed to prevent any resurgence, given past illiteracy- and poverty-driven under-reporting. ### Voices 2: Who's Genuine? *By SANDHYA BORDEWEKAR* Havovi Anklesaria reviews 'The Rebellious Home-Makers' by Indira Mahindra (S.N.D.T. Women's University), a study of Indian women who live within traditional domestic settings while quietly resisting them. The reviewer finds the book's social-history chapters on the Hindu system of marriage its strongest but criticises its repetitive structure, its conservative preference for preserving the Indian family system, its claim that Indian women fare better than their American counterparts absent 'male chauvinism,' and its failure to address domestic violence or offer alternatives such as divorce. - The book studies 'women who live in a traditional setting, yet strain at the ropes to loosen the bond,' favouring preservation of the Indian family system. - Anklesaria praises its treatment of the historical development of the Hindu system of marriage as its best material. - She criticises repetitive, poorly organised chapters and Mahindra's failure to define what 'tradition' women are meant to preserve. - The reviewer challenges the book's claim that Indian women are better off than American women due to protection from 'male chauvinism,' noting wife-burning, wife-beating and rape remain common. - The review concludes the book is a useful but analytically thin first introduction to the subject. ### Voices 3: Small-Pox in Rural Areas *By HARISH KUMAR* Rashmi Taneja reviews 'Siege!' by the Sunday Times Insight Team, an account of the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege in London by gunmen from the Democratic Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Arabistan, culminating in the SAS storming of the building. The review praises the book's well-crafted, diligently reported narrative of the six-day standoff, the failed negotiations, and the eventual assault. - The book covers the six-day siege of the Iranian Embassy in London by gunmen demanding release of prisoners held in Arabistan. - It details police strategy, failed mediation attempts by Arab ambassadors, and the SAS's storming of the embassy. - Taneja praises the book as 'ingeniously well-crafted' and an example of 'brilliant and diligent journalism.' ### The World of Books: The Rebellious Home-Makers (review) *By HAVOVI ANKLESARIA* Preeth I. Bidappa argues that the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and the U.S.-led boycott over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, expose the myth that sport and politics can be separated. The essay traces the politicisation of the Olympics back to 1936 Berlin, argues that competing at Moscow implicitly endorses Soviet suppression of Afghan freedom, and criticises the Soviet state's own propaganda for celebrating the Games as testimony to its 'historic importance' while claiming sport is apolitical. - Bidappa argues the Moscow Olympics boycott debate reveals that sport and politics can never truly be separated. - The 1936 Berlin Olympics, used by Hitler for propaganda, is cited as a historical precedent for politicised Games. - The essay criticises India's decision to attend the Games despite otherwise appealing for Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. - Lord Killanin's attempt to allow individual athletes to compete regardless of national boycotts is described as ultimately undermined by IOC politics. - The USSR's own 1980 Party Militants' Handbook is quoted as proof that the Soviet state itself treats the Games as a political statement of its 'historic importance.' ### Siege! (book review) *By RASHMI TANEJA* A reprint from the International Herald Tribune (originally New York Herald Tribune, 28 June 1980) by Thomas Hamm profiles Truong Nhu Tang, a founding member of South Vietnam's National Liberation Front and former justice minister of the Provisional Revolutionary Government, who escaped Vietnam as a boat person after growing disillusioned with the Communist Party's betrayal of nationalist ideals. Tang denounces the Vietnamese Communists as having conducted 'a policy of vengeance and repression' instead of reconciliation, describes Vietnam's deepening dependence on and isolation from all but the Soviet Union, and outlines four structural contradictions (ideological, economic, political, social) facing the regime, while warning of possible unrest if 'war and misery continue.' - Truong Nhu Tang, a founder of the NLF and former PRG justice minister, escaped Vietnam as a boat person, disillusioned with the Communist takeover. - Tang accuses the Vietnamese Communist Party of betraying the NLF/PRG's original goal of a 'neutral and prosperous' unified Vietnam via negotiation. - He describes Vietnam's total dependence on Soviet military and economic aid (an estimated $3 million per day) and its resulting isolation from the rest of the world. - Tang outlines four contradictions facing Vietnam's leadership: ideological, economic, political, and social (a corrupt bureaucrat class widening the gap with the people). - He describes popular sentiment as one of 'discontent' but only 'passive resistance,' while warning of possible explosion if conditions worsen. - Tang states his goal in temporary exile is to 'organize resistance.' ### End of the Olympics *By PREETH I. BIDAPPA* The second installment of S. K. Ookerjee's 'Investigations' series on patterns in Indian higher education argues that the college teacher should function as an explorer of ideas rather than a mere purveyor of information, but that low pay fails to attract sufficiently dedicated talent to the profession. Ookerjee makes the case for small tutorial-style classes over the lecture method, criticises the university system and government policy for favouring large lecture classes and restricting subject departments to a minimum enrollment of 15 students, and calls tutorials 'the harijans of our system' — necessary but neglected. He closes noting the university has taken 'two steps forward' but questioning whether it will 'march further.' - Ookerjee argues the college teacher should be 'an explorer of ideas' rather than a mere instructor delivering ready-made information. - He argues low pay fails to attract sufficiently able and dedicated teachers to higher education in India. - The essay advocates small tutorial classes ('morsel feeding') over large lecture classes to allow individual student contact. - Government and university policy is criticised for favouring large lecture classes and disallowing subject departments with under 15 enrolled students. - Ookerjee proposes giving individual colleges more autonomy ('home rule') over curriculum and teaching method as a feasible reform. - He closes acknowledging his repeated criticisms may have had only a 'cumulative effect' on an otherwise timid and conservative university system. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff330/ ### Summary This June 1980 issue of Freedom First (No. 330, the magazine's 28th year), edited by Nissim Ezekiel, opens with an editorial warning that Indira Gandhi's return to power, and the looming rise of Sanjay Gandhi, threatens India's constitutional democracy. The issue then ranges widely: a legal critique of the Official Secrets Act's press-freedom chilling effect, two pieces on Cuban political repression and comparative authoritarian economics (Cuba vs. Chile), a report on the Soviet Union's hardened posture after invading Afghanistan, two short 'Voices' pieces on Chinese economic stagnation and India's diplomatic overture to the PLO, an extensive book review section covering six new titles, and the first installment of a two-part investigative series on the crisis of India's municipal governments. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This June 1980 issue of Freedom First (No. 330, the magazine's 28th year), edited by Nissim Ezekiel, opens with an editorial warning that Indira Gandhi's return to power, and the looming rise of Sanjay Gandhi, threatens India's constitutional democracy. The issue then ranges widely: a legal critique of the Official Secrets Act's press-freedom chilling effect, two pieces on Cuban political repression and comparative authoritarian economics (Cuba vs. Chile), a report on the Soviet Union's hardened posture after invading Afghanistan, two short 'Voices' pieces on Chinese economic stagnation and India's diplomatic overture to the PLO, an extensive book review section covering six new titles, and the first installment of a two-part investigative series on the crisis of India's municipal governments. ## Essays ### Mrs. Gandhi & Sanjay *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* Nissim Ezekiel's editorial argues that no question matters more to India than Indira Gandhi's political aims, since she has given no sign since returning to power of a change in her methods. He contends her rhetoric about serving 'the people' masks an authoritarian mode of thinking, endorsed by figures like C. M. Stephen who erase the distinction between legitimate authority and authoritarianism. The piece closes by warning that Sanjay Gandhi's ascent poses an even graver danger than his mother's: a Sanjay dictatorship would be harder to resist and survive than Mrs. Gandhi's, potentially locking India into totalitarian rule for decades. - Mrs. Gandhi has shown no evidence of a changed approach to power since her return. - She blames external forces and 'conspiracies' for governmental failures rather than accepting responsibility. - C. M. Stephen's denial of any distinction between authority and authoritarianism is cited as the 'sinister mode of thinking' behind her stance. - The editorial frames Mrs. Gandhi's rule as potentially non-communist authoritarianism, distinct from but comparable to Soviet-style control. - Sanjay Gandhi is described as the greater long-term danger, with a warned-of 'totalitarian darkness' if he takes over. ### Press Freedom and Official Secrets *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* K. S. Venkateswaran examines the Official Secrets Act, 1923, particularly its widely criticised Section 5, which criminalises unauthorised disclosure of any information a government official deems confidential. He contrasts India's unreformed law with British reform efforts following the Franks Committee report and a 1978 White Paper narrowing the scope of official secrecy, and with the US Freedom of Information Act's much stronger citizen access rights. He notes that India's own 1948 Press Laws Enquiry Committee and a later Press Commission both declined to recommend real reform, effectively endorsing government as 'sole judge' of what counts as secret. The piece calls for a comprehensive review drawing on international precedent and India's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. - Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923 (modelled on Britain's 1911 Act) makes disclosure of virtually any official information a criminal offence. - Britain's Franks Committee (1972) and a 1978 White Paper moved to narrow the scope of secrecy law and reduce criminal sanctions. - India's 1948 Press Laws Enquiry Committee and later Press Commission both declined to push for narrowing Section 5. - The US Freedom of Information Act (1966, amended 1972 post-Watergate) is held up as a model of citizen access to government information. - The piece invokes India's obligations under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as grounds for reform. ### That Hell Called Cuba *By ANITA SETHI (with excerpt attributed to ALEXANDER SOLZHENITSYN)* A two-part feature titled 'That Hell Called Cuba.' The first part, reprinted from the Swiss Press Review and News Report, describes conditions for Cuba's roughly one thousand 'plantados' -- long-term political prisoners who refuse to renounce their beliefs in exchange for release -- drawing on a report by the Organisation of American States' Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that documents torture, malnutrition, and over 470 deaths in Cuban prisons. The second part, by Anita Sethi, argues that Cuba's supposed happiness under Castro is a myth exposed by the mass rush of Cubans into the Peruvian Embassy, and draws an extended contrast with Pinochet's Chile, crediting economist Sergio de Castro with an economic turnaround that Western liberal commentators, she argues, unfairly withhold comparable credit for. - Roughly 1,000 Cuban political prisoners ('plantados') have refused repatriation in exchange for renouncing their beliefs, per an OAS Inter-American Commission on Human Rights report. - The report describes systematic beatings, malnutrition, and torture, with more than 470 deaths documented. - Sethi argues the 10,000 Cubans crowding into the Peruvian Embassy disprove propaganda about Cuban contentment under Castro. - The piece draws a pointed comparison between Cuba's economic collapse and Chile's growth under Pinochet and economist Sergio de Castro. - A boxed pull-quote from Alexander Solzhenitsyn on Communism's use of detente closes the feature. ### Kremlin Shuts the Gate and Lives up to its Name *By EDUARD NEUMAIER* Eduard Neumaier surveys Soviet behaviour in the three months following the invasion of Afghanistan, arguing the Kremlin has 'lived up to its name' (fortress) by shutting out Western appeals and offering no genuine concessions. He details contradictory Soviet justifications for the invasion, Moscow's rejection of proposals like Lord Carrington's neutralisation plan, and argues that apparent Soviet uncertainty is really a tactic to buy time and preserve detente's economic and strategic benefits to the USSR while giving nothing back. - The Kremlin has offered no genuine concessions in the three months since invading Afghanistan. - Soviet justifications for the invasion have shifted and contradicted each other depending on audience. - Proposals such as Lord Carrington's neutralisation plan for Afghanistan were dismissed or scorned by Moscow. - The author argues Soviet 'contradictions' are a deliberate tactic to parry Western criticism while stalling for time. - Detente is characterised as having brought the USSR economic benefit, military prestige, and strategic gains rather than genuine political accommodation. ### Voices I: China: No Progress *By RAMA SWARUP* Under the 'Voices I' heading, Rama Swarup argues that three decades of Chinese Communist rule have produced 'changes' rather than genuine 'development,' citing a cycle of destructive campaigns (the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution) that consumed thirteen years, against only five years of actual construction. Drawing on People's Daily and other official Chinese sources, the piece catalogues the mainland economy's technological backwardness, manual agricultural production, low industrial productivity, and low worker skill levels as of the late 1970s. - Chinese Communist economic history divides into seven stages from 1950-1981, alternating recovery/construction with periods of 'destruction'. - Thirteen years were consumed by destructive upheavals (Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution) versus five years of actual construction. - Official sources admit Chinese industrial technology lags 15-20 years behind developed nations. - Agricultural production remains largely manual and dependent, in the words of People's Daily, on 'the mercy of heaven.' - Worker skill levels are low, with most workers having under ten years' experience and only a tenth reaching Grade 5 or above. ### Voices II: Delhi Support to PLO *By NITIN G. RAUT* Under 'Voices II', Nitin G. Raut criticises India's decision to grant diplomatic status to the PLO office in New Delhi, calling it inconsistent given India's continued refusal of full diplomatic relations with Israel. He argues India has not reckoned with the PLO's Covenant, which calls for the destruction of the state of Israel, and that Foreign Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao's parliamentary statement on the matter failed to address this. Raut contends India's stance reflects a broader double standard, given its silence on China's occupation of Tibet, Soviet control of Eastern Europe, and Pakistan's hold on Kashmir. - India granted diplomatic status to the PLO office in New Delhi even as it maintains only a consular office (not full relations) with Israel. - The Palestinian National Covenant, per Article 19, declares the 1947 UN partition and the establishment of Israel 'null and void'. - Foreign Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao's parliamentary statement did not address India's stance on the PLO Covenant's call to destroy Israel. - Raut charges India with selective application of anti-occupation principles, citing China/Tibet, USSR/Eastern Europe, and Pakistan/Kashmir as unremarked-upon parallels. - PLO shadow foreign minister Farouk Khaddoumi is quoted describing a three-phase strategy culminating in a 'democratic State of Palestine.' ### The World of Books: Cue from the Inner Voice (review of Manohar Malgonkar) *By R. M. LALA* The World of Books section carries five reviews. R. M. Lala reviews Manohar Malgonkar's 'Cue From The Inner Voice,' on the philosophy and practice of business trusteeship from Jamsetji Tata through Gandhi to J. P. Narayan's 1965 seminars, noting most Indian companies remain indifferent to the idea despite some (Tata Steel, Levers, ITC) making gestures toward it. Hutoxi Mehenti pans Balwant Gargi's autobiographical novel 'The Naked Triangle' as pseudo-intellectual and self-indulgent. Prema Raghunath reviews C. A. Balan's prison memoir 'In the Shadow of the Gallows,' finding its jail-life descriptions authentic but its overall craft uneven. Geeta Ramanathan critiques P. Lal's book-length poem 'Calcutta' as failing to evoke the city through overcrowded, unsharp language. V. V. Subbarao reviews Vasant Desai's 'Organisation and Management of Small Scale Industries,' praising its systems-approach emphasis on technology but faulting its optimism about small-scale industry's prospects. - Malgonkar's book traces the trusteeship idea from Jamsetji Tata through Gandhi's teachings to J. P. Narayan's 1965 seminars on business social responsibility. - Lala's review notes that of 100 companies surveyed for a 1965 social-responsibility declaration, only the Tata and Bajaj groups showed real willingness. - Gargi's 'The Naked Triangle' is criticised for arrogant, pseudo-intellectual prose despite some genuine warmth in passages about his children. - Balan's prison memoir is praised for authentic depictions of jail life and police brutality but criticised as tonally uneven and unresolved. - P. Lal's long poem 'Calcutta' is faulted for relying on overcrowded adjectives rather than sharp, economical imagery. - Desai's book on small-scale industries is praised for its emphasis on technology but critiqued as overly optimistic given high small-unit mortality rates. ### The Naked Triangle (review of Balwant Gargi) *By HUTOXI MEHENTI* Aloo Dalal opens a two-part investigative series on India's municipal governments, tracing their origin to British-era legislation (the Bombay Acts of 1865, 1872, and 1888) and arguing that municipal government, though a colonial creation, embodies the core democratic idea of popular local representation. The piece catalogues why municipal bodies function poorly today: outdated legal frameworks, weak organisational and managerial capacity, the strain of rapid urbanization on already-stretched services, chronic financial crises, and an ever-widening gap between resources and civic needs, with state governments encroaching on municipal tax resources rather than helping. - India's municipal government system originates in the Bombay Acts of 1865, 1872, and 1888, which introduced elected representation into city government. - Rapid urbanization has strained municipal services (water, transport, sanitation) beyond capacity, contributing to slum proliferation. - Municipal corporations suffer from stagnant finances, still relying on octroi and property tax as mainstays. - Constitutional limits, such as Article 276's cap on professional taxes, work against progressive taxation for municipalities. - State governments have used draconian default, rescission, and supersession powers against municipal bodies since colonial times. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff334/ ### Summary This issue of Freedom First (No. 334, October 1980, the magazine's 29th year of publication) opens with Nissim Ezekiel's editorial 'The Communal Virus,' arguing that communal violence stems from fanaticism and insecurity within every community and that reservation-driven identity politics deepens rather than resolves the problem. The issue is dominated by Cold War and foreign-policy commentary: P. M. Kamath criticises India's ambivalent response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, K. M. Pathak analyses the volatility of American public opinion toward President Carter ahead of the 1980 election, and a 'Voices' column reproduces Solzhenitsyn's warning against detente with Communist regimes, paired with Rama Swarup's commentary on Western misjudgment of Communist China. A book review section covers Brian Crozier's 'Strategy of Survival' (on Soviet expansionism) and Shridath Ramphal's 'One World to Share' (on North-South economic dialogue).… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This issue of Freedom First (No. 334, October 1980, the magazine's 29th year of publication) opens with Nissim Ezekiel's editorial 'The Communal Virus,' arguing that communal violence stems from fanaticism and insecurity within every community and that reservation-driven identity politics deepens rather than resolves the problem. The issue is dominated by Cold War and foreign-policy commentary: P. M. Kamath criticises India's ambivalent response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, K. M. Pathak analyses the volatility of American public opinion toward President Carter ahead of the 1980 election, and a 'Voices' column reproduces Solzhenitsyn's warning against detente with Communist regimes, paired with Rama Swarup's commentary on Western misjudgment of Communist China. A book review section covers Brian Crozier's 'Strategy of Survival' (on Soviet expansionism) and Shridath Ramphal's 'One World to Share' (on North-South economic dialogue). The remainder of the issue profiles civil-society and reform initiatives: the Vigil India Movement's charter, the Academy of Development Science at Kikwi, the Committee for the Protection of Democratic Rights' handbook 'Know Your Rights,' Vasant K. Bawa's report on the 'Agenda for India' conference on national political and constitutional reform, and Attar Chand's piece on Indian scientists working abroad. A satirical short story by Githa Hariharan on women's-magazine culture and a subscription order form round out the issue. ## Essays ### The Communal Virus *By Nissim Ezekiel* Nissim Ezekiel's editorial argues that communal conflict in India is rooted in fanaticism, superstition, and insecurity internal to each religious community, not merely in inter-group friction, and that these forces must be confronted from within each community rather than blamed solely on others. He criticises proportionate reservations and identity-based claims as generators of communal friction, dismisses the government's proposed 'composite' peace force as ineffective and confused about secularism, and concludes that there is no short-term solution beyond individual and communal restraint from favouritism. - Communal problems originate in fanaticism, superstition and insecurity within each community, not just between them. - Reform must come from within each religious community rather than through external criticism alone. - Reservations and proportional claims by communities create structural friction that can escalate to civil conflict, citing Lebanon as the endpoint. - The scheduled castes are treated as a special case warranting reservations, unlike other communities. - The proposed 'composite' peace force is criticised as an incoherent response that cannot itself guarantee secular conduct. - There is no institutional solution; the author calls for a personal ethic of not favoring one's own community. ### India's Sterile Afghan Policy *By P. M. Kamath* P. M. Kamath argues that India's response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 has been weak and self-contradictory. India abstained on the UN resolution condemning Soviet withdrawal, and the government's rhetoric of 'defusing' the crisis has not translated into concrete pressure on Moscow, leaving both the Afghan resistance and the Kabul government dissatisfied with India's stance. Kamath contends that Mrs. Gandhi's tilt toward the Soviet Union has led Moscow to take India's acquiescence for granted, and calls for India to press for an unconditional, immediate Soviet withdrawal and to support the creation of a UN peacekeeping force on the Afghan borders. - The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (27 December 1979) posed the biggest foreign-policy challenge to India due to Afghanistan's proximity and the loss of it as a buffer state. - India abstained on the UN resolution (104-18-18) calling for unconditional Soviet withdrawal. - Neither the Afghan resistance nor the Kabul government has been satisfied by India's position. - Mrs. Gandhi's government has downplayed the crisis and been caught off-guard by Soviet announcements, being informed after France rather than directly. - The author calls for India to demand unconditional withdrawal and support a UN peacekeeping force on the Afghan-Pakistan and Afghan-Iran borders. ### American Public Moods and Mr. Carter's Re-Election *By K. M. Pathak* K. M. Pathak examines the volatility of American public opinion regarding President Jimmy Carter ahead of the 1980 election. Carter was elected in 1976 as a 'people's president' promising morality after Watergate, but within a year the public soured on him over inflation, weak leadership, and uncertain foreign policy. Pathak surveys Carter's record, including the achievements of the Panama Canal treaties and the Camp David accords, alongside the Iran hostage crisis and its failed rescue attempt, and closes by noting the unpredictable polling swings between Carter and Ronald Reagan heading into the November election. - American public mood swings between extremes of isolation/intervention and weak/strong presidents, amplified by television media. - Carter was elected in 1976 as a 'people's president' reacting against Nixon-era imperial presidency and Watergate. - Inflation, energy policy failures, and perceived weakness toward the Soviets and Iran eroded Carter's popularity within a year of taking office. - Carter's foreign-policy achievements include the Panama Canal treaties and the Camp David Egypt-Israel peace agreement. - By mid-1980, polls showed Carter trailing Reagan by 18 points (Newsweek) despite narrowly securing the Democratic renomination over Edward Kennedy. ### Voices 1: The Lecturer's Plight *By A Correspondent* A short 'Voices' column ('The Lecturer's Plight') by an anonymous correspondent criticises the rising bureaucratic qualification requirements for college lectureships in India, arguing that rigid rules around degrees and percentage marks have replaced genuine assessment of teaching ability, while lecturers' salaries remain tied only to years of service rather than merit, driving a shift toward private coaching classes. - New qualification rules for lecturers (M.Phil within 5 years, minimum percentage thresholds) prioritise credentialing over demonstrated teaching ability. - Salary structures reward years of service rather than merit or research output. - The rigidity of official rules is pushing a shift toward unregulated private coaching classes. ### Voices 2: Solzhenitsyn's Warning *By Rama Swarup* Rama Swarup's 'Voices' column endorses Alexander Solzhenitsyn's warning (published in Foreign Affairs) that American diplomacy should not conflate the Russian and Chinese peoples with their Communist regimes, and that reconciliation between the Soviet and Chinese Communist parties could occur overnight and turn against the West. Swarup extends this to argue that the United States' embrace of Communist China as a counterweight to the USSR is a strategic error that has abandoned Taiwan and the free peoples of the Chinese mainland, comparing it to America's earlier betrayal of Chiang Kai-shek's Republic of China. - Solzhenitsyn warned in Foreign Affairs that treating Red China as a shield against the USSR risks a sudden Sino-Soviet reconciliation directed against the West. - The US policy of courting Communist China is portrayed as abandoning Taiwan and the mainland Chinese people to Communist rule. - General Albert C. Wedemeyer's book 'Wedemeyer Reports' is cited to refute claims that the Peking regime meaningfully fought Japan in WWII. - Taiwan (Republic of China) is held up as a model of freedom, democracy and prosperity due to Chiang Kai-shek's refusal to compromise with Peking. ### Voices 3: A Very Short Story *By Githa Hariharan* Githa Hariharan's satirical short story follows Radhika, a 33-year-old housewife, through her ritual weekly reading of women's magazines full of articles on obesity, marriage insurance for daughters, bust development, and idealised 'super-housewife' profiles. After years of internalising this diet of contradictory domestic ideals, Radhika burns her collection of magazines in her backyard and is glimpsed by neighbours dancing. - The story satirises the content of Indian women's magazines: articles on obesity, bust development, and idealised images of domesticity. - It depicts the psychological toll of these contradictory ideals on an ordinary housewife over time. - The story ends with Radhika burning her magazine collection and dancing, read as a moment of liberation. ### Vigil India Movement: What It Stands For An unsigned feature lays out the charter of the Vigil India Movement, describing its goals of defending democracy, secularism, and human values through decentralised 'Vigil Groups' at the grassroots level, and its occasional journal 'Vigil India' used as study material for the movement. - Vigil India Movement aims to resist tampering with democratic norms and institutions and to strengthen secular traits of the state. - The movement organises through local 'Vigil Groups' of at least ten members, formed in both rural and urban areas. - It positions itself as an action-oriented 'crying and shouting movement' rather than a conventional hierarchical organisation. - Its occasional journal, Vigil India, serves as study material and the movement solicits Rs. 10 minimum annual contributions from 'Friends of the Movement'. ### The World of Books: Strategy of Survival by Brian Crozier *By S. V. Raju* A book review by S. V. Raju of Brian Crozier's 'Strategy of Survival' (1978) argues, via an opening imaginary conversation satirising complacent Western liberal opinion, that the Soviet Union has not abandoned its goal of world Communist domination. The review praises Crozier's distinction between reversible authoritarian regimes and irreversible totalitarian ones, and endorses his call for a vigorous Western strategy of resistance rather than complacent detente, noting that the Afghanistan invasion demonstrates the failure of Soviet subversion strategy in that country. - Crozier's book argues the Soviet Union retains Lenin's original ambition of a world Communist system, backed by Pravda and Comintern program quotations. - The review distinguishes 'authoritarian' regimes (reversible) from 'totalitarian'/'totalist' regimes (irreversible), citing James Burnham's earlier work on the same distinction. - Detente is criticised as enabling continued Soviet aggrandizement while allowing the West to supply wheat and technology that strengthens the USSR. - The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan is read as a sign of failed internal subversion, forcing overt military intervention akin to a Vietnam-style entrapment. - Crozier is credited with outlining hard-nosed strategic options for the West to reverse Soviet gains rather than merely contain them. ### The World of Books: One World to Share by Shridath Ramphal *By K. V. Padmanabhan* K. V. Padmanabhan reviews Shridath Ramphal's 'One World to Share' (Oxford University Press), a collection of speeches on the North-South economic dialogue. The review, drawing on Barbara Ward's introduction, summarises the persistent economic gap between industrialised and developing nations despite decades of decolonisation, and praises Ramphal's global, non-partisan commitment to a more equitable world economic order across a wide range of audiences. - The book collects Ramphal's speeches on the North-South dialogue over global economic inequality. - Barbara Ward's introduction notes that the industrialised North retains over 90% of industry and a monopoly on advanced research despite having less than one-third of world population. - The developing world's three-point programme calls for reasonable capital and market access, price stability for primary products, and equitable global economic management. - Ramphal is described as a 'man for all continents': Asian by descent, Caribbean by birth, European by education. ### The Academy of Development Science: An Unacademic Introduction An unsigned feature describes the Academy of Development Science, located at Kikwi near Karjat in Kolaba District, an autonomous institution growing out of a University of Bombay experiential-learning and study-service programme. The Academy aims to bridge academic knowledge and rural development through interdisciplinary study and direct participation, bringing together university graduates and rural students (villagers, artisans, farmers, landless labourers) as co-learners, under a governing council including Raja Ramanna and Mulk Raj Anand. - The Academy grew from a University of Bombay 'Graduate Volunteer Scheme,' which won a Commonwealth Youth Service Award in 1976. - It seeks to link educational processes to rural development through experiential learning and action-research rather than conventional academic pedagogy. - Students include both university graduates/postgraduates and rural students with no prior formal education, learning alongside each other. - It targets interdisciplinary study of problems like poverty, unemployment, water scarcity and food-grain shortages that cut across single academic disciplines. - Its governing council includes Dr. Raja Ramanna, Dr. Mulk Raj Anand, and other academics and industrialists. ### From Know Your Rights A short unsigned notice on 'Know Your Rights,' a handbook published by the Committee for the Protection of Democratic Rights (CPDR), a Bombay-based civil liberties organisation formed in April 1977 in reaction to the Emergency. The piece describes CPDR's work documenting police custodial deaths, corruption, and labour and peasant struggles (citing Taloja workers and Telengana peasants), and its bulletin Raksha. - CPDR was founded in April 1977 as part of the reaction against Emergency-era rule. - It is a Bombay-based, politically unaffiliated civil liberties organisation. - It has documented cases including custodial deaths, university corruption, and labour/peasant struggles in Taloja and Telengana. - It publishes a bulletin called Raksha and organizes talks, slide shows and demonstrations. ### The Nation in Crisis: What Shall I Do? *By Vasant K. Bawa* Vasant K. Bawa reports on the 'Agenda for India' conference held in New Delhi in early April 1980, which proposed structural reforms including decentralisation of power, rethinking the Planning Commission's role, electoral and anti-defection reforms, and protection of civil liberties by freeing media from state control. Bawa reflects on the proper role of concerned citizens and intellectuals in public life, arguing they should organise national policy debate and support civil-liberties institutions rather than direct political involvement, and closes by invoking J. D. Sethi's citation of Gandhi on cooperating with government only when the law is just. - The 'Agenda for India' conference proposed decentralisation of power, constitutional reform of Governors' discretionary powers, and freeing media from state control. - The conference planned a follow-up publication, 'An Agenda for the Eighties,' as a blueprint for a new national consensus. - Bawa outlines three possible roles for concerned citizens: national policy debate, civil-liberties institution-building, or direct political involvement, arguing the latter two are largely mutually exclusive. - Nineteenth-century reform organisations (Servants of India Society, Servants of the People Society) are cited as historical precedents for concerned-citizen action. - J. D. Sethi cited Mahatma Gandhi's view that citizens should cooperate with government when the law is right, resist a wrong law, and oppose anti-people laws, all within a political framework. - The Assam agitation over 'foreign nationals' and the 'sons of the soil' issue is cited as an example of neglected long-term problems becoming acute crises. ### Our Scientists Abroad *By Attar Chand* Attar Chand examines the phenomenon of Indian scientists and technical professionals working abroad, estimating around 200,000 Indian technical personnel overseas, including roughly 20,000 doctors and a similar number of scientists and engineers. Citing N. A. Palkhiwala's observations from his tenure as Indian Ambassador to the US, the article argues India must improve science education, expand research infrastructure in fields like solar energy, genetic engineering and biotechnology (with an investment of Rs. 100 crores projected under the 1980-85 science plan), and reorient expatriate scientists toward national development rather than accept brain drain as inevitable. - An estimated 200,000 Indian technical personnel work abroad, including about 20,000 doctors and a similar number of scientists/engineers. - N. A. Palkhiwala, during his tenure as Indian Ambassador to the US, argued Indians could reach the top given education, organisation and discipline, and criticised 'the political solubility of all problems.' - The new 1980-85 science and technology plan projects a Rs. 100 crore investment in solar energy, ocean technology, genetic engineering and molecular biology. - Japan and China are cited as countries with comparable salary levels to India that have not suffered a brain drain problem. - The article calls for stronger links between expatriate scientists, research institutions and rural development needs. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff335/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 335 (November 1980) is the monthly Bombay journal of liberal ideas edited by Nissim Ezekiel, founded by M. R. Masani, in its 29th year of publication. The issue's centre of gravity is Soviet expansionism and its regional fallout: an address by Dutch Liberal International MP F. Bolkestein on Western strategy after the invasion of Afghanistan, a piece by J. G. Tiwari on the Gdansk agreement and Poland's independent trade unions, and a sharply critical essay by Y. Shivaji on India's non-aligned posture toward Moscow. Domestically, Nissim Ezekiel's opening editorial condemns the National Security Ordinance and the nationalisation of Maruti as a 'backdoor Emergency' under Indira Gandhi's government. A three-part 'Voices' column carries short reader pieces on rural pollution, everyday bribery, and the Maharashtra Chief Minister's remarks on democracy. A substantial 'World of Books' section reviews Bipan Chandra's Nationalism and Colonialism in Modern India, Meira Chand's novel The Gossamer Fly, and two poetry collections by Sunita Jain and Meena Alexander. The issue closes with K. V.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 335 (November 1980) is the monthly Bombay journal of liberal ideas edited by Nissim Ezekiel, founded by M. R. Masani, in its 29th year of publication. The issue's centre of gravity is Soviet expansionism and its regional fallout: an address by Dutch Liberal International MP F. Bolkestein on Western strategy after the invasion of Afghanistan, a piece by J. G. Tiwari on the Gdansk agreement and Poland's independent trade unions, and a sharply critical essay by Y. Shivaji on India's non-aligned posture toward Moscow. Domestically, Nissim Ezekiel's opening editorial condemns the National Security Ordinance and the nationalisation of Maruti as a 'backdoor Emergency' under Indira Gandhi's government. A three-part 'Voices' column carries short reader pieces on rural pollution, everyday bribery, and the Maharashtra Chief Minister's remarks on democracy. A substantial 'World of Books' section reviews Bipan Chandra's Nationalism and Colonialism in Modern India, Meira Chand's novel The Gossamer Fly, and two poetry collections by Sunita Jain and Meena Alexander. The issue closes with K. V. Subrahmanyam's essay 'Right and Wrong in Politics', tracing the moral basis of authority from Orwell and Hayek through ancient religious ethics to the modern nation-state and the corporate/multinational order. ## Essays ### Backdoor Emergency *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* In the unsigned-by-byline (signed 'Nissim Ezekiel') lead editorial 'Backdoor Emergency', the editor argues that the National Security Ordinance and the ordinance nationalising Maruti are both demonstrations of the Indira Gandhi government's non-democratic instincts, even though only the former is a formal step toward Emergency-style rule. He details the due-process failures of the security ordinance (no right of appeal to courts, no lawyer before the Advisory Board, indefinite 12-month detention) and reviews the Maruti nationalisation as a cover-up following the A. C. Gupta Commission's findings of irregularities, undisclosed share allotments, and unauthorised disbursements, plus the secret night-time demolition of Sanjay Gandhi's samadhi. Ezekiel calls for acts of civic resistance and warns that formal democracy cannot be restored to India without them. - The National Security Ordinance removes the right to appeal to courts and to legal counsel before an Advisory Board, allowing 12-month detention without trial. - The Maruti nationalisation ordinance is characterised as a 'despicable cover-up job' rather than a genuine industrial policy measure. - Government compensation of Rs. 4.34 crores against Maruti liabilities of Rs. 6 crores is cited as evidence of special interest in the company. - Justice A. C. Gupta's Maruti Inquiry Commission is quoted describing irregularities in management and unauthorised disbursements. - Sanjay Gandhi's samadhi was secretly demolished at night with instructions to workers not to talk to the press. - The editorial calls the overall pattern a 'backdoor Emergency' and urges immediate acts of civic resistance. ### Soviet Imperialism and Western Strategy *By F. BOLKESTEIN, M.P. (Netherlands)* F. Bolkestein, a Dutch Member of Parliament, delivers a speech to the Liberal International's annual conference in Berlin (5 September 1980) arguing that the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan confirms the USSR's character as an expansionist, hegemonial power. He lays out five Western objectives on Afghanistan (full Russian withdrawal, secure borders, an acceptable regime, free return of refugees, and future assurances) and argues détente must be paired with Western rearmament, citing Helmut Schmidt and SALT II/III. He calls for confidence-building measures across Europe including Russia, criticises Soviet human-rights conduct (citing the Sakharov case before an international tribunal at The Hague), and closes by arguing the West's comparative wealth, education, and technology give it grounds for confidence rather than appeasement. - Argues the USSR is an expansionist power, citing its annexation of half a million square kilometers after WWII and interventions in 1948, 1953, 1956, 1968. - Sets out five Western objectives on Afghanistan: full Soviet withdrawal, secure Afghan borders, an acceptable regime, free return of refugees, future assurances. - Argues detente requires simultaneous Western rearmament (SS-20s, Backfire bombers, Pershing IIs, cruise missiles) to be credible. - Cites Chancellor (Helmut) Schmidt's warning that 'continuity of detente cannot persist if you let the military equilibrium deteriorate.' - Calls for pressing Soviet human-rights obligations under the Helsinki accords, citing the Hague tribunal on the Sakharov case. - Closes on a note of Western self-confidence, comparing Western wealth, schooling, and technology favourably against the Soviet system. ### Soviet Imperialism and Poland's Revolt *By J. G. TIWARI* J. G. Tiwari surveys the aftermath of the Gdansk agreement, arguing the concessions Edward Gierek's government granted Polish workers -- notably the right to form independent trade unions and to strike -- mark a historic step toward pluralism within the Communist system. He credits the Solidarity-era Self-Defence Committee (KOR), the Church, and intellectuals as emergent independent power centres, quotes the editor of Politkia urging Polish moderation to avoid provoking Soviet counteraction, and notes the Soviet leadership's restraint (no Brezhnev-doctrine intervention as in 1956 Hungary) while warning that the USSR's tolerance has practical limits tied to the enormous military and economic costs of any invasion. - The 21-point Gdansk agreement (31 August) grants Polish workers independent trade unions and the right to strike. - Stanislaw Kania, the new Polish Communist Party leader, has announced a commission to decentralise the economic system. - KOR (the Self-Defence Committee), the Church, and intellectuals are named as emergent independent power centres challenging the monolithic Communist regime. - The editor of Politkia is quoted advising a 'moderate course' so as not to provoke Soviet counter-action. - The Soviet Union avoided invoking the Brezhnev doctrine or 1956-style intervention, reportedly because of the huge military and economic cost (a million men, several tank divisions) and risk to detente. - Poland's tradition of cultural, religious, and intellectual freedom is presented as distinguishing it from other Eastern Bloc states. ### Soviet Imperialism and India's Stance *By Y. SHIVAJI* Y. Shivaji delivers a pointed critique of Indian foreign policy under Indira Gandhi, arguing India's recognition of the Vietnam-backed Heng Samrin regime in Kampuchea and its muted response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan reveal a foreign policy that flatters Moscow rather than defending non-alignment's founding principles. He argues Brezhnev's praise of India's 'stabilising role' in Asia at Alma Ata is itself evidence India is being cast in a subordinate role serving Soviet regional strategy, and that non-alignment has been hollowed out into a doctrine of economic backwardness rather than genuine political neutrality, leaving countries like Cuba able to align with Moscow while still claiming non-aligned status. - Criticises India's recognition of the Heng Samrin regime in Kampuchea as inconsistent with genuine non-alignment. - Argues India's response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan has been muted compared to how it would react to comparable action by a capitalist power. - Reads Brezhnev's Alma Ata speech praising India's 'stabilising role' in Asia as evidence India has been cast in a 'handmaidenly role' in Soviet regional strategy. - Argues non-alignment has drifted from a doctrine of political neutrality to one of economic backwardness, allowing communist states like Cuba to claim non-aligned status. - Warns that India's uncertain economic independence risks becoming a loss of political independence as well. - Cites Singapore Deputy PM Rajaratnam's view that it is up to smaller powers to resist superpower efforts to extend influence. ### Voices 1: Rural Decay *By HARISH KUMAR* The first 'Voices' item, 'Rural Decay' by Harish Kumar, surveys environmental degradation in rural India: inadequate sewage systems (only ~200 of 2,921 towns have any), contaminated drinking-water wells, dust pollution from unmetalled roads, deforestation, and noise pollution from vehicles and railways. The author attributes the crisis to poor land management and widespread public apathy compounded by poverty, illiteracy, and unemployment, and argues existing legislation like the Water Pollution Control Act has proven largely ineffective. - Only about 200 of India's 2,921 towns have any kind of sewage facilities; most sewage is dumped untreated into rivers or the sea. - Contaminated open wells and mercury/cyanide/arsenic pollution are linked to disease outbreaks, citing the river Khan at Indore as an example affecting 18,000 people in 23 villages. - Dust pollution from unmetalled village roads is described as a major health hazard, carrying disease and vehicle-exhaust lead particles. - Deforestation, despite official prohibition, is cited as disturbing ecological balance and removing natural pest control. - The Water Pollution Control Act is described as having remained 'largely ineffective.' - The root cause is identified as public apathy rooted in poverty, illiteracy, and preoccupation with survival. ### Voices 2: For Services Rendered *By SHERNAVAZ COLAH* The second 'Voices' item, 'For Services Rendered' by Shernavaz Colah, is a wry essay on the pervasiveness of bribery in Indian daily life, from school admissions and medical-college seats to driving licences, minimum-wage inspectors, and street-level protection payments collected by local 'dadas' and policemen. The author extends the argument to the highest levels of government, alluding to Jaguar deals, Swiss bank accounts, and Lockheed-style scandals, and concludes that curbing corruption is ultimately a matter of individual refusal to offer bribes, however difficult that is in practice. - Frames bribery as pervasive across Indian society, contrasting it with the Soviet term 'blat' for using connections. - Describes school admission 'donations,' medical college seat purchases (Rs. 50,000 cited), and driving-test bribes as everyday examples. - Describes street-level extortion by local 'dadas' and police collecting 'hafta' from vendors and a bootlegger. - Recounts an anecdote of a Minimum Wages Act inspector being placated with tea rather than enforcing pay for underpaid peons. - Extends the critique to elite-level corruption: Jaguar deals, Swiss bank accounts, Lockheed-style scandals benefiting ministers' families. - Concludes that curbing the trend requires individuals to refuse to offer bribes, even though this is difficult when a child's future is at stake. ### Voices 3: Democratic Hypocrisy *By ABRAHAM SOLOMON* The third 'Voices' item, 'Democratic Hypocrisy' by Abraham Solomon, attacks the Maharashtra Chief Minister's remark that 'the English form of democracy was not suited to our nation' as a self-serving rhetorical move common among Indian politicians. The author notes the Chief Minister's stated view that judges of the Supreme or High Courts should not interpret the Constitution because they lack 'contact with the common man,' and connects this with his call for more power to be vested in Indira Gandhi, reading both as signs of a slide back toward Emergency-style rule under a new guise. - Criticises the Maharashtra Chief Minister's claim that 'English' democracy is unsuited to India given widespread poverty. - Notes the Chief Minister's reported view that Supreme and High Court judges should not interpret the Constitution due to lack of contact with 'the common man.' - Reads this as a threat to judicial independence and human rights. - Notes the Chief Minister's plea for more power to be placed in Indira Gandhi's hands. - Concludes that Indira Gandhi is 'relentlessly introducing the Emergency again—in a new guise.' ### The World of Books: Nationalism and Colonialism in Modern India (review of Bipan Chandra) *By F. A. MECHERY* F. A. Mechery reviews Bipan Chandra's Nationalism and Colonialism in Modern India (Orient Longman, 1979), a collection of essays applying a Marxian framework to the Indian nationalist movement. The review credits Chandra's account of the Indian capitalist class's 'two-fold' relationship to imperialism and his 'Pressure-Compromise-Pressure and Step by Step' model of the freedom struggle's strategy, but argues the Marxian framework is too rigid to explain Gandhi's deliberate strategic choices, non-violence, and the political education of the masses, and that the theory leaves the psychological and philosophical roots of Gandhi's leadership unexplained. - Chandra argues the Indian capitalist class had a short-term interest in stability under the Raj but a long-term interest in ending empire. - Introduces Chandra's 'Pressure-Compromise-Pressure and Step by Step' account of nationalist strategy. - Contrasts the Moderates (citing Gokhale, 1907) with the Extremist leader Tilak, whom Chandra brackets with Gandhi as representatives of the industrial bourgeoisie. - The reviewer argues the Marxian framework cannot adequately explain Gandhi's deliberate leadership choices or the mass political education achieved through Satyagraha and civil disobedience. - Notes the historic rivalry between Indian and British capital, citing the eighteenth-century Indian shipbuilding industry as a case study. - Concludes the book is valuable for understanding the historical roots of India's underdevelopment despite its rigid theoretical frame. ### The World of Books: The Gossamer Fly by Meira Chand *By ZERIN ANKLESARIA* Zerin Anklesaria reviews Meira Chand's novel The Gossamer Fly (John Murray), praising its taut, economical prose and its portrayal of ten-year-old Natsuko, a child of mixed English-Japanese parentage caught between her English mother Frances and Japanese family, including the maid Hiroko and Hiroko's disabled brother Shojiro. The review admires Chand's controlled, image-driven style and tight structure while questioning whether a ten-year-old could plausibly register such mature perceptions, ultimately judging the novel an outstanding achievement from a talented new writer. - Novel centres on ten-year-old Natsuko, torn between her English mother Frances and her father's Japanese heritage and samurai-descended husband Kazuo. - Hiroko, the promiscuous maid, and her disabled brother Shojiro are drawn as important secondary figures shaping Natsuko's traumatic coming-of-age. - The reviewer highlights Chand's spare, image-based prose style as conveying a child's fragmented perception of trauma. - Notes the novel's carefully patterned structure in which ancestral samurai armour becomes a symbolic climax. - Raises a reservation about whether a ten-year-old protagonist could plausibly register such mature psychological perceptions. - Concludes with high praise, calling Chand 'a rare capacity for getting at once to the heart of the matter.' ### The World of Books: Lovetime by Sunita Jain / Stone Roots by Meena Alexander *By PRATIMA ASHER* Pratima Asher reviews two poetry collections, Sunita Jain's Lovetime and Meena Alexander's Stone Roots (both Arnold-Heinemann), judging both to fail despite opposite flaws. Jain's Lovetime is criticised as thin and cliche-ridden love poetry lacking depth beyond 'we met, we loved, we parted' motifs, while Alexander's Stone Roots is criticised for the opposite excess: dense, gloom-laden imagery of blood, bones, and corpses that amounts to obscure 'instant profundity' rather than genuine sense, though the reviewer allows Alexander occasionally shows the ability to craft a finely wrought image. - Sunita Jain's Lovetime (40 love poems) is criticised as shallow, hinging on repetitive motifs of meeting, loving, and parting. - The reviewer calls Jain's imagery cliche-ridden, citing 'another day rolls by/I did not call my welfare' as an example of confused, prosaic writing. - Meena Alexander's Stone Roots is criticised for the opposite fault: dense, gloom-laden imagery (blood, bones, corpses) without clear sense. - The reviewer questions several obscure allusions in Alexander's poems (Solomon and Sheba, a fish pot prophecy, a candle in a goat's throat). - Both collections are judged to share 'weakness and pretension' despite their different approaches. - The reviewer allows Alexander occasionally achieves 'a finely wrought image or idea' before undercutting it in the next line. ### Right and Wrong in Politics *By K. V. SUBRAHMANYAM* K. V. Subrahmanyam's 'Right and Wrong in Politics' opens with George Orwell's 1944 observation that both capitalism and collectivism lead to conflict, and that restoring the concept of Right and Wrong to politics requires reconciling planned economy with intellectual freedom. Subrahmanyam traces the search for an objective grounding of political morality from the ancient Priest-Kings and the Egyptian 'Dawn of Conscience' through Isaiah, Jesus, Buddha, and St. Paul's ethic of charity/tolerance, then through Bertrand Russell's Freedom and Organisation and Reith Lectures, arguing that pluralist societies with self-governing institutions -- rather than written constitutions alone -- are what sustain democratic and moral order. He contrasts Western European welfare states (wealthy without being socialist, having lost empires without becoming poorer) with the alternative of centralized planned economies (Stalin's Five-Year Plans, Hitler's Seven-Year Plans), and extends the argument into a discussion of modern multinational corporations as a potential force for good if subject to institutions like the United Nations, invoking J. C. Smuts's 'Holism' and A. N. Whitehead's and Lincoln's view of democracy as resting on pluralist institutions rather than documents alone. The essay then turns to Indian history: the pre-colonial subcontinent as a loose geographical entity without unifying ethos, the 1857 Mutiny as a missed opportunity for a common law transcending caste and religion, Gandhi's introduction of 'imaginary ideals' that the reviewer/author says perpetuated social evils, and a critical account of Nehru's admiration for Stalin's nationalities policy, non-alignment's drift toward the Soviet orbit, and post-Nehru India's political instability through Shastri, Indira Gandhi, and Emergency-era centralisation. - Opens with Orwell's 1944 review contrasting The Road to Serfdom and The Mirror of the Past, arguing planned economy must be reconciled with intellectual freedom. - Traces the concept of Right and Wrong from the Egyptian 'Dawn of Conscience' and Isaiah through Jesus, Buddha, and St. Paul's ethic of charity/tolerance. - Cites Bertrand Russell's Freedom and Organisation and Reith Lectures (Authority and the Individual) on the Ruler/Ruled dichotomy. - Argues Western European welfare states are wealthy without being socialist, and lost empires without becoming poorer -- 'yet there are no bread queues in any of them today.' - Discusses multinational corporations as potentially channelling capital for public good if disciplined by international institutions, citing J. C. Smuts's 'Holism.' - Argues pluralist self-governing institutions, not written constitutions alone, give democracies 'survival value,' citing A. N. Whitehead and Lincoln. - Critiques Gandhi's introduction of 'imaginary ideals' such as 'Ramrajya' as perpetuating social evils like untouchability. - Critiques Nehru's admiration for Stalin's handling of nationalities and argues non-alignment drifted India into the Soviet orbit after 1955. - Closes by warning that unchecked centralisation of power -- whatever its ideological label (Fascism, Communism, Nazism, Falangism) -- eliminates the moral distinction of Right and Wrong. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff336/ ### Summary This is issue No. 336 of Freedom First (December 1980), a Bombay-based monthly journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by Nissim Ezekiel, published for the Democratic Research Service. The issue opens with Ezekiel's own editorial denouncing the Soviet-style "democratic republic" as a totalitarian sham, followed by a two-part critique of Supreme Court Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer's judicial rhetoric by K. S. Venkateswaran, an essay by Milovan Djilas on Eurocommunist confusion over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, an address by Cushrow Irani (as chairman of the International Press Institute) on press freedom versus government-controlled media, a short report on the founding of the JP Forum for Total Revolution, a Radical Humanist Association conference resolution criticizing both the Janata and Congress governments, three "Voices" reader columns (on xenophobia toward and by foreign visitors to India, on unaccounted foreign fund flows into Indian organisations, and on a Films Division documentary on public sanitation), several book reviews (on P. S.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 336 of Freedom First (December 1980), a Bombay-based monthly journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by Nissim Ezekiel, published for the Democratic Research Service. The issue opens with Ezekiel's own editorial denouncing the Soviet-style "democratic republic" as a totalitarian sham, followed by a two-part critique of Supreme Court Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer's judicial rhetoric by K. S. Venkateswaran, an essay by Milovan Djilas on Eurocommunist confusion over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, an address by Cushrow Irani (as chairman of the International Press Institute) on press freedom versus government-controlled media, a short report on the founding of the JP Forum for Total Revolution, a Radical Humanist Association conference resolution criticizing both the Janata and Congress governments, three "Voices" reader columns (on xenophobia toward and by foreign visitors to India, on unaccounted foreign fund flows into Indian organisations, and on a Films Division documentary on public sanitation), several book reviews (on P. S. Jha's political economy of Indian stagnation, Henry Scott Stokes's biography of Yukio Mishima, Asghar Ali Engineer's history of Islam, and a Nehru Memorial Museum symposium volume on Gandhi and Nehru), and a two-part feature on the chaos of Maharashtra's college admissions process for I.C.S.E. students. The issue closes with commercial advertisements (Raymond suitings, Bombay Dyeing, Lakshmi Mills, Orient Fans, Jyoti Ltd., Silvicrete cement) and the printing colophon. ## Essays ### "Democratic Republic" *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* Nissim Ezekiel's editorial "Democratic Republic" argues that one-party states which call themselves "democratic republics" or "people's states" invert the meaning of freedom: they suppress dissent, control press and judiciary, and export their model coercively, as the Soviet Union does through the Gulag and its client states. He contends communism functions as a substitute religion whose radical and secular pretensions mask an underlying will to power, and that its apparent achievements in housing, health and education do not offset its denial of basic civil liberties such as free travel, speech and publication. - One-party states appropriating the language of democracy ("democratic republic", "people's state") systematically deny real political choice. - Communist governments must suppress opposition because ideological legitimacy depends on maintaining a monopoly on 'truth' and 'history'. - Critics of communism are pre-emptively discredited as reactionary, imperialist stooges or capitalist propagandists. - Citing social achievements (housing, health, education) does not answer the denial of civil liberties. - Communism's claims to secularism and radicalism are undercut by its own dependence on a cult of power. ### Justice Krishna Iyer 1: Judge As Rhetorician / 2: Exercises in Demagogy *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* K. S. Venkateswaran's two-part piece "Justice Krishna Iyer" opens with "1: Judge As Rhetorician", a critical reappraisal of the recently retired Supreme Court judge V. R. Krishna Iyer, accusing him of substituting florid rhetoric and ideological posturing for judicial restraint. The author cites Justice V. D. Tulzapurkar's own on-the-bench remarks lamenting excessive judicial verbosity, and quotes critics, including H. M. Seervai, who called Iyer's approach to the judicial function 'subversive' of the Constitution. Part 2, "Exercises in Demagogy", argues Iyer's exhortations for radical restructuring of the legal profession (breaking up the 'status quo' of costly legal services, disciplining the Bar into a new order) are naive, populist, and inconsistent with his professed admiration for the Soviet legal system, which the author contrasts unfavourably with the 'intrinsic fairness' of India's Anglo-Saxon-derived jurisprudence. - Justice Krishna Iyer is criticized as a 'windbag' whose judgments are cluttered with rhetorical flourish rather than plain legal reasoning. - Fellow Justice V. D. Tulzapurkar publicly rebuked excessive judicial verbosity in terms read as aimed at Iyer. - Constitutional expert H. M. Seervai called Iyer's concept of the judicial function 'subversive' of the law and Constitution. - Iyer's 1972 Expert Committee report on legal aid ('Processual Justice to the People') is described as pompous and self-perpetuating rather than genuinely reformist. - Iyer's calls to dismantle the legal profession's 'status quo' are called dangerously naive exercises in demagogy, drawing a parallel to Emergency-era rhetoric. - The author contrasts Iyer's admiration for Soviet jurisprudence with the comparative fairness of India's inherited Anglo-Saxon legal system. ### Eurocommunist Delusions / Yugoslav Errors *By MILOVAN DJILAS* Milovan Djilas's essay "Eurocommunist Delusions", reprinted from The New Leader, criticizes the muddled response of Italian and Spanish Eurocommunist leaders (Enrico Berlinguer and Santiago Carrillo) to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Though they condemned the takeover, Djilas argues they equated Soviet aggression with alleged US misdeeds, a false symmetry rooted in residual Leninist thinking about a world divided into imperialist blocs. A companion section, "Yugoslav Errors", extends the critique to Yugoslav Communist officials who, out of fear of provoking Moscow, similarly downplay the invasion and cling to a naive 'non-aligned' framing that blames both superpowers equally. - Berlinguer and Carrillo condemned the Soviet 'intervention' in Afghanistan but still framed it as symmetrical with US actions and Cold War bloc rivalry. - Djilas argues this false equivalence stems from residual Leninist categories the Eurocommunists have not fully discarded. - The Yugoslav Communist Party's leadership, fearing Soviet reprisal, adopts a similarly evasive 'non-aligned' framing that assigns blame evenly to both superpowers. - Djilas contends Soviet expansionism (illustrated by the Afghan invasion) targets control of Middle Eastern oil and Indian Ocean access, not merely ideological solidarity. - He calls for a militarily strong, united Europe capable of resisting Soviet expansion rather than pursuing illusory detente. ### Free Press Or Enslaved Press? *By CUSHROW IRANI* Cushrow Irani's address to the 21st General Conference of UNESCO in Belgrade, delivered as Chairman of the International Press Institute, argues against UNESCO's expanding mandate over global communications policy (via the MacBride Commission report) on the grounds that it conflates human rights with levels of economic development and risks handing government's more control over the press. He insists a free press, independent of and often at odds with government, is a basic human right not contingent on economic progress, and warns that UNESCO's proposed International Programme for the Development of Communications would mainly benefit government-controlled propaganda machinery rather than genuine journalism, using his own country's experience of press equipment restrictions as an example. - Irani argues UNESCO's MacBride Commission report wrongly links press freedom to economic development, a connection he says is unsupported by evidence. - He distinguishes sharply between a free press working independently of government and a press functioning as a tool of state propaganda. - He warns training and equipment initiatives proposed by UNESCO could as easily produce propagandists as trained journalists. - He cites his own country's press being denied modernised printing equipment while the government acquires computer systems for propaganda purposes. - The International Press Institute commits to defending free press globally and improving journalistic conduct without accepting government control as the price of aid. ### JP Forum For Total Revolution A short unsigned report announces the founding of the JP Forum for Total Revolution, established on Jayaprakash Narayan's 78th birthday by close associates to carry forward his idea of 'total revolution' (a synthesis of limited, responsive state power and organised, enlightened people's power). The Forum, headquartered at Rajghat, Varanasi, aims to coordinate individuals and groups associated with JP's work, interpret current events through his framework, and remain aloof from party politics; over a hundred sponsors are listed, including Minoo Masani and other prominent Gandhian and socialist figures. - The JP Forum for Total Revolution was formed on Jayaprakash Narayan's 78th birthday by his associates. - It aims to translate JP's 'total revolution' ideas into practice via a decentralised network rather than party politics. - The Forum will interpret national and international events through the lens of JP's thought. - Its headquarters is at Rajghat, Varanasi, pending relocation to a more suitable site. - Over 100 sponsors are named, including Minoo Masani, Hari Vishnu Kamath, and Brahmanand Mishra. ### Conference Resolution: Radical Humanist Association A conference resolution of the Radical Humanist Association (All-India Conference, Jaipur, 18-19 Oct 1980) surveys the failures of successive Indian governments -- Congress, the Janata Party, and Indira Gandhi's returned government -- to solve poverty, unemployment, and inequality. It criticizes Mrs. Gandhi's post-1980 return to power for reviving repressive measures reminiscent of the Emergency, including the National Security Ordinance and attempts to concentrate constitutional power, and warns of possible drift toward a presidential system that could degenerate into dictatorship. The resolution calls for decentralisation of political and economic power and active civic engagement rather than reliance on any single government. - No Indian government since independence -- Congress, Janata, or the restored Gandhi government -- has solved poverty, unemployment or inequality. - Mrs. Gandhi's government is accused of reviving Emergency-style repression via laws like the National Security Ordinance. - The resolution warns that a shift toward a presidential system risks degenerating into dictatorship, citing other Third World examples. - The Association argues no government alone, and no single party, can solve India's structural problems. - It calls for decentralisation of political and economic power combined with active people's power, echoing Jayaprakash Narayan's formula. ### Voices 1: A Touch Of Xenophobia Geeta Doctor's 'Voices' column "A Touch Of Xenophobia" is a satirical piece on the changing dynamics between foreign visitors and Indians -- from the credulous, gift-bearing Peace Corps era to the disdainful, hygiene-obsessed backpackers of 1980, alongside newly arrived Islamic 'rebels' fleeing unrest in the Middle East. The essay mocks both the foreigners' romanticised, condescending view of India ('Culture Indica') and Indians' own eager self-abasement before foreign visitors, arguing that mutual admiration has curdled into mutual contempt. - Contrasts the 1960s Peace Corps era, when foreigners were welcomed with wide-eyed hospitality, with 1980s backpacker tourists who openly disdain Indians. - Satirises Western visitors who claim to love 'Indian culture' in the abstract while despising India and Indians in practice. - Notes the emergence of a new class of visitor: Islamic rebels taking refuge in India from unrest in the Middle East. - Criticises Indians' own servility toward foreign visitors, citing an anecdote of priests giving tourists special treatment at a Jaipur temple. - Frames the overall dynamic as one of mutual illusions collapsing into mutual contempt. ### Voices 2: Foreign Fund Flows *By J. G. TIWARI* J. G. Tiwari's 'Voices' column "Foreign Fund Flows" argues that the Indian government's opacity about foreign money entering the country is dangerous given evidence of undisclosed, poorly regulated inflows. Citing a 1978 Home Ministry report that Rs. 297 crores in foreign contributions reached about 4,700 associations, the piece contends the 1976 law regulating foreign funds is toothless in practice, with no serious inspection of how organisations use the money, and flags clandestine channels including trade deals with Eastern Bloc states, embassy-funded publication work, and lavish embassy functions as likely conduits for funding political activity. - Rs. 297 crores in foreign contributions reached roughly 4,700 associations in 1978 per Home Ministry figures. - The 1976 law on foreign funds creates only an 'illusion' of regulation; inspections are perfunctory and unfollowed-up. - Suspected clandestine channels include Soviet-bloc trade deals with Indian state trading agencies, publication work funded by foreign governments, and embassy functions. - Then-Home Minister Y. B. Chavan had earlier acknowledged in Parliament that the flow of foreign money into India was a serious concern. - The author calls for stronger legislative procedures to curb and track foreign money flowing into Indian political and civic life. ### Voices 3: The Butt Of Ridicule *By SANDHYA BORDEWEKAR* Sandhya Bordewekar's 'Voices' column "The Butt Of Ridicule" criticises a Films Division documentary on public sanitation and open defecation for trivialising a serious social issue into farce. Rather than sensitively addressing the absence of clean, private sanitation for millions of Indians, the film mocks a fictional office-goer's frantic search for a urinal across Bombay, undermining the potential for the documentary to seriously engage the poor, slum-dwellers and working people whose testimony appears only briefly near the end. - The reviewed Films Division documentary on 'Evacuation' addresses the lack of clean, private sanitation for millions of Indians. - The film is criticised for treating a serious subject as slapstick comedy rather than analysis. - A recurring fictional storyline follows a middle-class office-goer's comic search for a urinal across Bombay. - Brief, more serious interviews with sweepers, slum-dwellers and working people appear only near the film's end. - The reviewer argues the subject deserved a sensitive analysis of India's sanitation crisis rather than ridicule. ### The World Of Books: India: A Political Economy Of Stagnation (review of P. S. Jha) *By BRAHM PRAKASH* Brahm Prakash reviews P. S. Jha's 'India: A Political Economy of Stagnation' (Oxford University Press, 1980), which attributes India's 1966-78 economic stagnation to manipulation by an 'intermediate class' of market-oriented peasant proprietors, small manufacturers and traders who captured political power and the underground economy. The reviewer finds the book's core argument -- building on Kalecki's concept of the intermediate class -- persuasive and well-substantiated in Part II, but criticises Part I's agricultural chapter as dated and Part III's proposed alternative development strategy as incoherent and lacking a clear ideological or theoretical framework. - Jha attributes India's 1966-78 economic stagnation to capture of policy by an 'intermediate class' (peasant proprietors, small manufacturers, traders). - The book builds on economist Michal Kalecki's concept of the intermediate class controlling the economy through political and bureaucratic leverage. - The reviewer finds Part II (the core thesis) well-substantiated with empirical detail. - Part I's agriculture chapter is criticised as outdated, reusing older material without updating for 1980. - Part III, proposing alternative development approaches, is judged incoherent, rambling and lacking a clear ideological perspective. ### The Life And Death Of Yukio Mishima (review of Henry Scott Stokes) *By RASHIDA GHADIALI* Rashida Ghadiali reviews Henry Scott Stokes's 'The Life And Death Of Yukio Mishima' (Piper Books), which examines the Japanese novelist's life and his 1970 ritual suicide (hara-kiri) after a failed coup attempt with his private militia, the Tatenokai. The review traces Mishima's childhood under a domineering grandmother, his fascination with death, blood and violence, his wartime association with Japanese Romantic nationalists, and Stokes's suggestion that Mishima's suicide with his companion Morita was a 'shinju' (lovers' suicide) reflecting a homosexual relationship, while judging the biography repetitive and lacking the precision a novelist might bring to such a complex figure. - Mishima, author of 104 books, died by ritual suicide (hara-kiri) in 1970 after a failed coup attempt at a military base. - Stokes traces the roots of Mishima's fascination with death and violence to his childhood, dominated by his grandmother Natsuko. - Mishima organised his own private army, the Tatenokai, viewed by the reviewer and contemporaries as one of his eccentricities. - Stokes suggests Mishima's suicide alongside Tatenokai leader Morita was a 'shinju' (lovers' suicide), pointing to a homosexual relationship. - The reviewer finds the biography's achievement impressive but ultimately repetitive and lacking the precision of fictional characterisation. ### The Origin And Development Of Islam (review of Asghar Ali Engineer) *By LAEEQ FUTEHALLY* Laeeq Futehally reviews Asghar Ali Engineer's 'The Origin And Development Of Islam' (Orient Longman), praising the author, a Muslim scholar, for avoiding both an apologetic defensiveness about Islam and a mechanical Marxist reductionism, and for candidly examining how tribal social structures and property relations in pre-Islamic Mecca shaped the emergence of Koranic teachings on individual responsibility as against collectivism. - Engineer's book focuses strictly on the historical conditions and circumstances that shaped Islam's emergence, not on Islamic culture broadly. - The reviewer praises Engineer's willingness to face unpalatable truths about his own faith's history, a trait she finds rare among Muslim scholars. - Engineer's approach is neither defensively apologetic nor dogmatically Marxist, per his own stated method. - The book situates the Koran's individualist ethical teachings (personal responsibility for one's own soul) against the backdrop of Meccan tribal collectivism. - The reviewer, describing herself as a lay Muslim reader, finds the book full of insights that clarify standard beliefs she had struggled to reconcile. ### Gandhi And Nehru (review of B. R. Nanda, P. C. Joshi, Raj Krishna) *By V. B. KARNIK* V. B. Karnik reviews 'Gandhi And Nehru' by B. R. Nanda, P. C. Joshi and Raj Krishna (Oxford University Press, 1979), a small volume drawn from a Nehru Memorial Museum symposium. The review summarises the contributors' account of Gandhi and Nehru's three-decade 'working partnership' despite real disagreements (over the Chauri Chaura aftermath, the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, separate electorates for untouchables, Quit India, and Partition), and highlights economist Raj Krishna's argument that the two leaders' economic differences were of degree and proportion rather than fundamentally opposed extremes. - The book compiles simplified versions of talks from a Nehru Memorial Museum and Library symposium. - Historian B. R. Nanda describes Gandhi and Nehru's relationship as 'a working partnership' spanning about three decades. - Specific documented disagreements include the 1922 Chauri Chaura aftermath, the 1931 Gandhi-Irwin Pact, the 1932 fast against separate electorates for untouchables, 1942 Quit India, and Partition. - Economist Raj Krishna argues the two leaders' economic policy differences were matters of proportion, not fundamentally opposed extremes. - Raj Krishna attributes some failures of Indian planning to a failure to organise and mobilise the masses, a point the reviewer flags as important but undiscussed further. ### The Educational Mess 1: College Admissions *By INDU SARAIYA* Indu Saraiya's essay "An Experience And A Point Of View: 1: College Admissions" recounts the bureaucratic ordeal facing Maharashtra parents whose children, having passed the I.C.S.E. (rather than the state S.S.C.) exam, seek admission to junior college. She details the maze of eligibility certificates, migration certificates from Delhi, verification queues, and fees required to reconcile the state's H.S.C. system with the I.C.S.E. system, portraying it as a demoralising bureaucratic ordeal for parents navigating overlapping, uncoordinated education boards. - Maharashtra's 10+2+3 education system creates conflict between the state S.S.C. board and the Delhi-based I.C.S.E. board for students entering junior college. - I.C.S.E.-passed students require an Eligibility Certificate from the Maharashtra State Board and a Migration Certificate from the I.C.S.E. Board, both slow and bureaucratically fraught to obtain. - The author vividly describes the queueing process at the Bombay Regional Office of the H.S.C. Board, including multiple fees and verification steps. - Colleges further complicate matters by inconsistently accepting I.C.S.E. students, closing junior college sections, or redirecting suburban candidates. - The essay closes on the parent, having secured a Temporary Eligibility Certificate, now facing the separate ordeal of junior college admission itself. ### The Educational Mess 2: A Question Of Aims *By ANITA GUPTA* Anita Gupta's companion essay "2: A Question Of Aims" broadens the education debate to ask what Indian higher education is actually for, arguing that universities have become impersonal 'graduate-producing factories' disconnected from a unifying sense of purpose or national culture. She criticises untrained, disengaged teachers, the English-medium/vernacular-medium divide, and the brain drain of talented Indians abroad, calling for renewed faith, quality control and a reconnection between education and community rooted in a sense of life's meaning rather than mere job credentialing. - Indian universities are criticised as impersonal 'graduate-producing factories' lacking a unifying purpose. - The 'planned drift' of higher education policy is blamed for enabling mass production of under-qualified graduates. - Teachers are criticised for entering the profession by default, without training or a shared intellectual tradition. - The English-medium versus non-English-medium divide is cited as deepening confusion and polarisation at the college level. - The essay calls for renewed 'faith', quality control, and a sense of purpose to link higher education back to community and national culture. - It notes that talented Indians abroad remain willing to contribute to national development but receive little response from the Indian bureaucracy. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff337/ ### Summary This issue of Freedom First (No. 337, January 1981) opens with editor Nissim Ezekiel's editorial condemning the Indo-Soviet communique on Brezhnev's December 1980 visit to India as a betrayal of principle, followed by Pran Nath Lekhi's analysis of the 'Brezhnev Doctrine' as a strategic grand design masking Soviet expansionism in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf. A news section covers M. R. Masani's 75th birthday felicitation and Liberal International's 1981 plans, then a report on the founding of the People's Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) at a contentious Delhi conference chaired by V. M. Tarkunde. Two reader-contributed 'Voices' pieces address the neglect of the cerebrally palsied ('The Spastics') and a rural-development action agenda. A substantial 'World of Books' review section covers five titles: M. Hidayatullah's memoir My Own Boswell, an anthology Indian Verse by Young Poets, Jayana Sheth's Munshi: Self-Sculptor, P. G. Mavalankar's Emergency-era Parliament speeches No, Sir., and a piece on the Soviet bloc's network of friendship treaties. The issue closes with P. M.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This issue of Freedom First (No. 337, January 1981) opens with editor Nissim Ezekiel's editorial condemning the Indo-Soviet communique on Brezhnev's December 1980 visit to India as a betrayal of principle, followed by Pran Nath Lekhi's analysis of the 'Brezhnev Doctrine' as a strategic grand design masking Soviet expansionism in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf. A news section covers M. R. Masani's 75th birthday felicitation and Liberal International's 1981 plans, then a report on the founding of the People's Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) at a contentious Delhi conference chaired by V. M. Tarkunde. Two reader-contributed 'Voices' pieces address the neglect of the cerebrally palsied ('The Spastics') and a rural-development action agenda. A substantial 'World of Books' review section covers five titles: M. Hidayatullah's memoir My Own Boswell, an anthology Indian Verse by Young Poets, Jayana Sheth's Munshi: Self-Sculptor, P. G. Mavalankar's Emergency-era Parliament speeches No, Sir., and a piece on the Soviet bloc's network of friendship treaties. The issue closes with P. M. Kamath's analysis of the 1979-80 political crisis as a 'de facto Presidential government' in India, and a call for submissions of poetry written during the Emergency. ## Essays ### The Brezhnev Visit *By Nissim Ezekiel* Nissim Ezekiel's editorial 'The Brezhnev Visit' argues that the Indo-Soviet communique following Brezhnev's visit made no mention of Afghanistan and represented a capitulation of Indian principle to power politics. He contends Mrs. Gandhi traded India's moral standing and non-aligned credibility for promises of crude oil and weapons, while at home Congress (I) members pushed for reimposition of the Emergency, curbs on the judiciary, and press controls. The piece closes by warning that a free press and judiciary are the only real guarantees of human rights. - The Indo-Soviet communique omitted any reference to Afghanistan. - Mrs. Gandhi framed her stance as 'sanity' and a 'political settlement' rather than principled opposition to invasion. - India accepted Soviet arms and oil in what the author calls a self-defeating, unprincipled bargain. - Domestic warning signs include calls to reimpose the Emergency and to curb the judiciary and the press. - The National Security Ordinance is cited as already enabling arrests without trial. ### The Brezhnev Doctrine: A Grand Design? *By Pran Nath Lekhi* Pran Nath Lekhi's 'The Brezhnev Doctrine: A Grand Design?' traces the lineage of Soviet doctrine from the 1968 Brezhnev Doctrine (justifying the invasion of Czechoslovakia via the concept of 'limited sovereignty') through the 1978 Soviet-Afghan Treaty to Brezhnev's five-point 'peace' proposal for the Persian Gulf delivered before the Indian Parliament. He raises pointed questions about why the principles apply selectively to Gulf states, why sea lanes are invoked without evident threat, and whether Russia would give up its own Indian Ocean bases. He concludes that Afghanistan was the first non-aligned nation invaded by Russia and that the new doctrine is inconsistent with genuine respect for sovereignty. - Traces the Brezhnev Doctrine's origin to Pravda's 1968 justification of the Czechoslovakia invasion via 'limited sovereignty'. - Finds a dangerous similarity between the 1971 Indo-Soviet Treaty and the 1978 Soviet-Afghan Treaty's 'consultation' clauses and the Warsaw Pact treaty. - Lists Brezhnev's five 'peace' principles for the Persian Gulf and raises six critical questions about their selectivity and sincerity. - Notes the Soviet veto in the UN Security Council on the non-aligned resolution on Afghanistan as evidence of insincerity. - Argues Afghanistan was the first non-aligned nation attacked by Russia, inviting the question of who actually 'invited' Soviet troops in. ### The New Information Order: Threat to Freedom A news brief reports the Rajaji Forum of Madras's felicitation of M. R. Masani on his 75th birthday, with speeches by P. C. Satagopan and C. R. Narasimhan praising his role in the Swatantra Party (1959-1971) and his opposition to totalitarian and socialist trends in Congress. A companion item previews Liberal International's 1981 agenda, including a September Spoleto congress to adopt a new 'Liberal Appeal 1981' document and spring seminars in Hong Kong and on US-Western European relations. - M. R. Masani, Freedom First's founder, was felicitated on his 75th birthday by the Rajaji Forum of Madras. - Speakers credited Masani with resisting totalitarian trends in Congress and the 'socialist myth' via the Swatantra Party. - Liberal International plans a September 1981 congress in Spoleto, Italy to adopt 'Liberal Appeal 1981', following the 1947 Manifesto and 1967 Declaration of Oxford. - Liberal International also plans spring seminars in Hong Kong and on US-Western Europe relations. ### STATESMAN Awards For Rural Reporting *By A Correspondent* An unsigned editorial piece, 'The New Information Order: Threat to Freedom', criticises UNESCO's proposed 'new information order' as a UN-sanctioned justification for state censorship, framed against the backdrop of Mrs. Gandhi's government pushing for such measures internationally while curbing press freedom domestically via the National Security Ordinance. The piece contrasts the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by a UN with a built-in democratic majority, against 1980's UNESCO debates, now shaped by a bloc of dictatorships, and closes citing a Swiss Press Review analysis defending unconditional press freedom worldwide. - UNESCO's 'new information order' is criticised as prioritising what governments believe people 'need' over freedom of expression guaranteed by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. - Mrs. Gandhi's government is cited as a leading advocate of the new order internationally, despite India's own history of press suppression during the Emergency and continuing threats via the National Security Ordinance. - Argues that today's UN and UNESCO have a built-in majority of dictatorships compared to 1948's democratic majority. - Piece is reprinted or adapted from the Swiss Press Review, No. 21. - Followed by a short unrelated item on the Statesman's Rural Reporting awards given at Agra in December 1978, listing prize-winners including Rajnarayan Mishra of Desh Bandhu and Kishore Shah and Gobind Thukral of The Indian Express. ### People's Union of Civil Liberties A report on the founding conference of the People's Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL), held November 22-23, 1980 at the Aiwan-e-Ghalib and Gandhi Peace Foundation in Delhi. V. M. Tarkunde presided; Arun Shourie welcomed delegates and read messages from Acharya Kripalani, M. C. Chagla, and Nani Palkhivala. The session was disrupted when part of the audience heckled Congress (I) General Secretary Shyamsunder Mahapatra, preventing him from completing his speech, which he later publicly denounced as politically partisan. The conference adopted a constitution, elected Tarkunde as President and Arun Shourie as General Secretary, and passed resolutions against the National Security Ordinance and preventive detention, and in support of civil liberties in Assam, Bhagalpur (blindings), Narasempet, and for Kim Dae Jung and Nagabhushan Patnaik. - PUCL founded at a two-day Delhi conference, November 22-23, 1980, chaired by V. M. Tarkunde. - Political leaders who addressed the conference included Charan Singh, Y. B. Chavan, E. M. S. Namboodiripad, Bhupesh Gupta, Ram Jethmalani, and H. N. Bahuguna. - A faction of the audience heckled Congress (I)'s Shyamsunder Mahapatra, who was prevented from finishing his address; he later called the conference a partisan attack on the Prime Minister. - V. M. Tarkunde elected President and Arun Shourie General Secretary for the organisation's first term. - Resolutions passed condemned the National Security Ordinance and preventive detention, and called for release of Kim Dae Jung and Nagabhushan Patnaik, and against police atrocities in Bhagalpur and Narasempet. ### Voices-1: The Spastics *By Edwina Baher* Edwina Baher's 'Voices-1: The Spastics' surveys the neglect of cerebrally palsied Indians, noting India's estimated 8 million cerebral palsy cases and the fact that they were recognised as a disabled category by the government only in October 1980. The piece describes systemic failures in special education (only since 1973, via the Spastics Society of India), employment quotas that exclude the multiple-handicapped in practice, inadequate healthcare, and minimal state economic support, closing on the psychological toll of exclusion and stigma linked to beliefs about karma. - An estimated 24 babies with cerebral palsy are born daily in India; roughly 8 million cerebrally palsied persons nationwide. - Government recognition of the cerebrally palsied as a disabled group entitled to assistance came only in October 1980. - 60% of cerebrally palsied children have average or above-average intelligence, yet special education only began in 1973 via the Spastics Society of India. - Employment quotas (3% of openings) exist on paper but the multiple-handicapped are often barred from even registering with employment bureaus. - Author argues society reinforces belief in 'karma' as a rationale for neglecting the disabled, compounding despair and hopelessness. ### Voices-2: Rural Growth *By N. K. Ganapaiah, Secretary-General, The Farmers Federation Of India* N. K. Ganapaiah's 'Voices-2: Rural Growth' lays out an eight-point programme for rural development: intensive training in comprehensive rural development at block levels; proper farmer/artisan surveys by panchayats; state-level Agro-Industries Corporations; simplified administration; decentralisation of power to district level; panchayat responsibility for forestry and ecological programmes; need-based education; and priority for rural health and family planning given continued 2.2% population growth. - Calls for intensive Rural Development training at block level to stem urban migration. - Recommends state-level Agro-Industries Corporations with grass-roots branches. - Advocates decentralisation of power to the district level, then further, with panchayats given implementation responsibility. - Calls for need-based education from primary schools to adult education centres. - Flags population growth of 2.2% as undermining any development progress absent family planning priority. ### The World of Books: My Own Boswell (review of M. Hidayatullah's autobiography) *By Mehra Masani* The 'World of Books' section opens with Mehra Masani's review of M. Hidayatullah's memoir My Own Boswell, criticising the former Chief Justice of India for confining his account almost entirely to legal and judicial matters while omitting substantive commentary on major political events of his lifetime -- Partition, Gandhi, Nehru, Sardar Patel, the Emergency, and the pressures exerted on the judiciary. The review contrasts this reticence unfavourably with US Supreme Court Justice William Douglas's outspoken memoirs. - My Own Boswell by M. Hidayatullah is criticised as confined to legal/judicial anecdote with little on wider political events. - Notable omissions include Gandhiji, Nehru's premiership, Sardar Patel, Rajaji, Partition, and especially the Emergency. - Reviewer contrasts Hidayatullah's reticence with US Justice William Douglas's outspoken memoirs on the same period (1939-1975). - Reviewer concludes the author was unwilling to speak on controversial issues despite his prominent constitutional position. ### The World of Books: Indian Verse By Young Poets (review) *By Nimmoo Kinger* Nimmoo Kinger reviews Indian Verse by Young Poets, edited by Dr. Pranab Bandyopadhyaya, sharply criticising the anthology for weak selection standards, poor English, and inclusion of poets chosen for institutional prestige (judges, award-winners) rather than quality, concluding the collection is 'extremely annoying' due to printing errors and mediocre verse. - The anthology of 122 poets out of 300 submissions is judged as poorly curated, with 'dull, banal, uninspiring' poems dominating. - Reviewer objects to inclusion of poets on the basis of professional prestige (Supreme Court judges, award winners) rather than poetic merit. - Cites specific examples of clumsy language and unpolished English throughout the collection. - Criticises numerous printing errors compounding the anthology's weaknesses. ### The World of Books: Munshi: Self-Sculptor (review of Jayana Sheth's book) *By Lina Mayadas* Lina Mayadas reviews Jayana Sheth's Munshi: Self-Sculptor, describing it as two works in one -- a critical biographical study linking K. M. Munshi's life to his historical plays and novels, and a translation of his play Dhruvaswaminidevi. The review praises the biographical analysis of Munshi's paradoxical feminism-in-theory-conservatism-in-practice but finds the translated play's language stilted and its literary merit doubtful. - The book combines a critical/biographical study of K. M. Munshi with a translation of his play Dhruvaswaminidevi. - Munshi is described as espousing feminist ideals in his writing while living a more conservative personal life. - Reviewer questions whether Dhruvaswaminidevi (dealing with Chandragupta and his brother's wife) rises to literature given its stilted, embarrassing translated dialogue. - Cites Lilavati Munshi's own assessment of her husband as combining 'great capacity of provoking hearts and minds' with 'unconcealed egotism'. ### The World of Books: No, Sir. (review of P.G. Mavalankar's speeches) *By K. Balasubramaniyan* K. Balasubramaniyan reviews P. G. Mavalankar's No, Sir., a compilation of about twenty Emergency-era Parliament speeches (July 1975-November 1976) by the Independent MP and Harold Laski Institute Founder-Director. The review highlights Mavalankar's opposition to the Emergency proclamation, his rhetorical clashes with Speaker G. S. Dhillon, and draws a parallel between the Emergency-era climate and contemporary developments such as the National Security Ordinance and preventive detention acts. - No, Sir. compiles roughly twenty Parliament speeches delivered by P. G. Mavalankar during the Emergency, July 1975-November 1976. - Mavalankar, son of first Lok Sabha Speaker G. V. Mavalankar, opposed the Emergency's proclamation on the floor of Parliament. - He sparred with Emergency-era Speaker G. S. Dhillon over time allotted for his speeches. - Reviewer draws a direct parallel between the Emergency period and the contemporary (1981) National Security Ordinance and preventive detention measures. ### Soviet Bloc Network of Friendship Treaties *By Background Brief, Foreign Office, London* An unsigned analytical piece, 'Soviet Bloc Network of Friendship Treaties', catalogues the USSR's friendship and cooperation treaties with Third World countries from 1971 (Egypt, India) through 1979 (South Yemen), noting which have since been abrogated (Egypt, Somalia). It analyses the treaty language, particularly the 'consultation' clauses that echo Warsaw Pact obligations, situates the Afghanistan and Vietnam treaties as most binding, and surveys parallel friendship treaties concluded by other Warsaw Pact states (Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary) with Third World nations, closing with an East German official's statement that these treaties extend socialist influence globally. - Lists USSR friendship treaties with Egypt (1971, abrogated 1976), India (1971), Iraq (1972), Somalia (1974, abrogated 1977), Angola (1976), Mozambique (1977), Vietnam (1978), Ethiopia (1978), Afghanistan (1978), and South Yemen (1979). - The Vietnam treaty is unique in invoking mutual 'internationalist duty' to defend 'Socialist gains', paralleling Warsaw Pact obligations. - The Afghanistan treaty's Article 4 'consultation' clause is compared to the Czechoslovakia occupation-era treaty language. - Analyses the historical justification via the 1968 Brezhnev Doctrine and its citation to justify the Afghanistan invasion. - Notes parallel treaties by Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, and Hungary with Third World states, quoting East German Foreign Minister Oskar Fischer on their purpose of extending 'the influence of the Socialist community of States on world events'. ### De Facto Presidential Government in India *By P. M. Kamath* P. M. Kamath's 'De Facto Presidential Government in India' argues that during the political crisis of July 1979-January 1980 -- following the collapse of the Janata government and Charan Singh's minority caretaker premiership -- President Sanjiva Reddy effectively exercised presidential-style discretionary power beyond his constitutional role, most notably by simultaneously inviting Charan Singh and Morarji Desai to prove majority support and by allowing Charan Singh to remain in office without ever facing a Lok Sabha vote of confidence. Kamath contends this was a de facto Presidential system exercised without constitutional or electoral accountability. - Argues that President Sanjiva Reddy's actions between July 1979 and January 1980 amounted to a de facto Presidential government in India. - Notes Charan Singh became PM on July 17, 1979 after the President's own inquiries found he had more support than Morarji Desai, but Charan Singh never faced the Lok Sabha. - Criticises the President for simultaneously inviting two contenders (Desai and Singh) to submit supporter lists, calling this a departure from precedent of inviting only the single largest party's leader. - Argues Charan Singh's caretaker government, which never faced a vote of confidence, was the longest-lived caretaker government in India up to that point. - Piece continues (on page 16, likely by the same author) examining whether the President was bound to accept Charan Singh's advice to dissolve the Lok Sabha, and criticises invocation of 'conscience' as justification lacking constitutional basis. ### WANTED: Poems of the Emergency *By (Dr.) John Oliver Perry, Dept. of English, Tufts University* A short notice, 'WANTED: Poems of the Emergency', by Dr. John Oliver Perry of Tufts University, appeals for help locating poetry written during the 1975-77 Emergency in any Indian language, as part of a joint Indo-US project to publish an anthology with a critical essay symposium. Perry describes prior fieldwork collecting material in 1978 and forthcoming previews in US literary journals, and lists existing regional-language collections he has gathered in Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, and Kannada. - Dr. John Oliver Perry (Tufts University) seeks contemporary Indian poetry responding to the Emergency (1975-77) for a joint Indo-US anthology project. - Plans include a symposium of critical essays and publication in India, the US, and possibly Britain. - US journals Literature East and West and Journal of South Asian Literature will preview 30-poem selections. - Existing collections gathered include Hindi (via Baldev Vanshi), Marathi (Dr. Arun Limaye), Malayalam (K. Ayyappa Paniker), and Kannada (Chadrashekhar Patil). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff338/ ### Summary This is issue no. 338 of Freedom First (Bombay), dated February 1981, priced at Rs 1, in its 29th year of publication, edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani. The 16-page issue opens with Ezekiel's editorial "The Two Super-Powers," weighing the risks of a more confrontational Reagan-era U.S. posture toward the Soviet Union against the dangers of appeasement, and contrasting the self-correcting openness of American society with Soviet totalitarian closure. R. V. Sen's "Cruelty in Indian Society" uses the Bhagalpur police blindings and the Samastipur killings as a springboard for an argument that everyday authoritarian cruelty — in police stations, schools, homes, and workplaces — is the deeper, more pervasive problem behind headline atrocities. A report by Arvind Deshpande, "People's Action," records a December 1980 Bombay planning meeting (with Acharya Dada Dharmadhikari, Vimla Thakar, and others) organising a national convention on civil liberties, decentralisation, and authoritarian drift in the post-JP era.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue no. 338 of Freedom First (Bombay), dated February 1981, priced at Rs 1, in its 29th year of publication, edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani. The 16-page issue opens with Ezekiel's editorial "The Two Super-Powers," weighing the risks of a more confrontational Reagan-era U.S. posture toward the Soviet Union against the dangers of appeasement, and contrasting the self-correcting openness of American society with Soviet totalitarian closure. R. V. Sen's "Cruelty in Indian Society" uses the Bhagalpur police blindings and the Samastipur killings as a springboard for an argument that everyday authoritarian cruelty — in police stations, schools, homes, and workplaces — is the deeper, more pervasive problem behind headline atrocities. A report by Arvind Deshpande, "People's Action," records a December 1980 Bombay planning meeting (with Acharya Dada Dharmadhikari, Vimla Thakar, and others) organising a national convention on civil liberties, decentralisation, and authoritarian drift in the post-JP era. Other pieces in the rendered pages include a short essay on the International Year of the Disabled (Mohini D'Penha), a reprinted commentary on the 1980 Polish strikes titled "Workers and Democracy" (Bayard Rustin, extracted from Free Trade Union News), a three-part "Voices" column by younger contributors on university education (Menka Shivdasani), children's religious magazines (Pratima Asher), and women's education (an unsigned report on a talk by Dr. Suma Chitnis), three book reviews under "The World of Books" (on the Dawoodi Bohra priesthood, an anthology of Indian-English prose, and Bapsy Sidhwa's novel The Crow Eaters), and a full reprint of the 1980 "Secular Humanist Declaration" drafted by Paul Kurtz of Free Inquiry magazine defending free inquiry, church-state separation, and scientific rationalism against religious authoritarianism. The issue's throughline, across editorial, reportage, and reprints alike, is a liberal preoccupation with authoritarian abuse of power — political, religious, domestic, and institutional — and the civic and intellectual resources needed to resist it. ## Essays ### The Two Super-Powers *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* Nissim Ezekiel's editorial weighs whether a more confrontational Reagan-era American posture toward the Soviet Union endangers world peace or is a necessary corrective to appeasement. He argues that despite America's flaws, its open society allows endless self-criticism and correction, while the Soviet Union is a closed, totalitarian system where dissent is criminalised; he concludes the two superpowers cannot be morally equated in India's foreign-policy calculus. - Frames the central question as whether a tougher American stance under Reagan raises or lowers the risk to world peace and non-aligned nations. - Notes the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' doomsday clock at three minutes to midnight as a marker of nuclear risk. - Argues 'Better Red Than Dead' appeasement logic has given way to recognition that Soviet dominance would itself be a form of death for millions. - Contrasts America's open society, self-criticism, and exposure of its own corruption (citing Watergate) with the Soviet Union's total suppression of dissent. - Criticises the non-aligned movement as reflexively suspicious of America while blind to Soviet intentions. - Concludes that America represents flawed democracy and the Soviet Union represents totalitarian dictatorship, and that no diplomatic nuance should obscure that distinction. ### Cruelty in Indian Society *By R. V. SEN* R. V. Sen's essay argues that public outrage over dramatic atrocities like the Bhagalpur blindings and Samastipur killings misses the deeper, ordinary cruelty embedded across Indian institutions — police, schools, homes, and workplaces — and that only addressing this everyday authoritarianism, not commissions of inquiry after each scandal, will produce lasting change. - Opens from the Bhagalpur police blindings and Samastipur killings as widely publicised instances of state cruelty. - Argues authoritarian cruelty is not confined to police but pervades schools (teachers beating children), homes (parents beating children, dowry deaths), and workplaces (exploitative bosses and labour leaders alike). - Invokes Naipaul's phrase 'an area of darkness' (originally about all of India) as applicable to the normalised violence in Bihar and elsewhere. - Calls commissions of inquiry and delayed reports inadequate; urges immediate, low-cost humane reforms to prison conditions. - Insists individual citizens must feel implicated in cruelty happening 'nearer home,' not just in reported, distant atrocities. ### People's Action *By ARVIND DESHPANDE* Arvind Deshpande reports on a day-long Bombay planning meeting (31 December 1980) convened by Govindrao Deshpande, with Acharya Dada Dharmadhikari's guidance, that resolved to organise a national convention (27-29 March 1981, near Delhi) on civil liberties, resisting authoritarianism, electoral and economic decentralisation, and rural pauperisation, sponsored by groups including Sarva Seva Sangh, Gandhi Peace Foundation, and PUCL. - Records participants including Vimla Thakar, Thakurdas Bang, Siddharaj Daddha, Manmohan Choudhry, and Arvind Deshpande himself. - Concludes that political parties alone cannot address India's crises and that voluntary organisations and concerned citizens must take initiative 'in the absence of JP.' - Sets convention dates (March 27-29, 1981) and venue (Patti Kalyan, near Delhi), with about 150 invitees. - Lists sponsoring bodies: Sarva Seva Sangh, National People's Committee, Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, Gandhi Peace Foundation, Citizens for Democracy, PUCL, and Lok Seva Sangh. - Enumerates a wide agenda: civil liberties, resisting authoritarian/repressive tendencies, electoral reform, Northeast/Assam situation, decentralisation of political and economic power, rural/urban pauperisation, and demographic pressure. - Notes Rs. 10,000 pledged by Prof. Thakurdas Bang for convention expenses, and a background paper to be prepared by Manmohan Choudhry with L. C. Jain, Rajni Kothari, and Arun Shourie. ### International Year of the Disabled *By MOHINI D'PENHA* Mohini D'Penha's short piece welcomes the UN's 1981 International Year of the Disabled, citing roughly 30 million disabled persons in India, and argues India's rehabilitation efforts suffer from poor coordination, inadequate standardisation, and insufficiently trained personnel, calling for a comprehensive, India-specific national policy rather than imported Western norms. - Cites approximately 30 million disabled persons in India, comparable to the combined populations of Australia and Canada. - Criticises inadequate consultation, coordination, and standardisation among rehabilitation agencies. - Calls for a national policy attuned to developing-country ethos rather than Western norms. - Flags the 1981 census as an opportunity to identify disabled populations if surveys are time-bound and well-targeted. - Emphasises rural service gaps and the risk of urban migration by disabled persons seeking care. ### Workers and Democracy *By BAYARD RUSTIN (reprinted, extract, Free Trade Union News, Washington, Vol. 35, No. 9)* A short reprinted piece by Bayard Rustin (from Free Trade Union News, Washington) frames the 1980 Polish workers' strikes as an inspiring struggle to democratise an authoritarian society, winning concessions including independent trade unions, while warning that Soviet-pressured reversal remains a real danger and urging continued American labour support for the strikers. - Describes the Polish strikes as transforming from a wage dispute into a democratisation struggle. - Notes the key concession won: trade unions independent of government control. - Warns of the risk that Soviet pressure could cause the Polish leadership to revoke the settlement. - Draws an explicit comparison to the American civil rights movement's freedom rides and activists who risked their lives. - Calls for continued support from American organised labour for the new Polish free trade unions. ### Voices 1: Succeeding By Degrees *By MENKA SHIVDASANI* The first 'Voices' piece, by Menka Shivdasani, is a young writer's satirical complaint about the Indian higher-education system: the fetishisation of degrees over ability, the extension of graduation to 21 years with the 10+2+3 system, compulsory attendance rules that fail to raise teaching quality, and a job market that rewards connections over competence. - Argues intelligence has been reduced to possession of a university degree, even as the degree itself is treated as 'useless.' - Criticises the 10+2+3 system for raising the minimum graduation age to 21, calling the extra year unjustified by real educational gain. - Describes compulsory 75% attendance as pointless when lecture-based teaching is poor and course material is 'crammed' before exams. - Recounts a personal example of being denied a job for lacking a degree despite adequate skill. - Concludes that job prospects depend more on personal connections ('so-and-so') than the value of the degree itself. ### Voices 2: A Magazine For Children *By PRATIMA ASHER* The second 'Voices' piece, by Pratima Asher, critiques a children's religious monthly published by an unnamed 'well-known mission,' arguing its moralising content on sense-objects, caste, and the existence of God is condescending, poorly reasoned, and either too abstract or too didactic for genuine child readers, ultimately robbing children of imaginative engagement with religion and mythology. - Describes the magazine's framing message from a 'Swamiji' warning children against sense-pleasures and desire. - Criticises child-written pieces on the Avatara and the four Varnas as uncritically defending caste hierarchy. - Argues children's literature that explains away religious and mythological figures destroys their imaginative power. - Suggests such magazines are effectively written or heavily edited by adults despite child bylines. - Calls for children's religious/moral content to be more rationally explained rather than delivered as unquestioned dogma. ### Voices 3: Role of Women *By A CORRESPONDENT* The third 'Voices' piece reports on Dr. Suma Chitnis addressing a women's camp in Bangalore (organised by the Leslie Sawhny Programme) on the history and purpose of women's education in India, tracing it from Raja Ram Mohan Roy's 1833 movement through missionary involvement, the 1940s, and post-Independence constitutional guarantees, and arguing that education must equip women to think and decide for themselves rather than merely serve marriageability or motherhood. - Chitnis defines good leadership in educated women as the capacity to lead oneself into new roles, not merely lead others. - Traces women's education history from Raja Ram Mohan Roy's 1833 movement, through the linkage of higher education with widowhood, missionary involvement, and 1940s wartime employment opportunities. - Notes constitutional guarantees of free compulsory schooling in the 1950s, with special provisions for Scheduled Castes, tribals, and women. - Observes that women underperform in exams relative to men despite equal opportunity, attributing this to social conditioning toward compromise. - Argues current education is too theoretical and abstract, leaving women unequipped to make strong decisions about their own roles. - Concludes real educational goals must build women's ability and confidence to think for themselves and act as agents of social change. ### The World of Books: Dawoodi Bohras (by Noman Contractor, New Quest Publications) *By PREETH I. BIDDAPA* The World of Books section opens with Preeth I. Biddapa's review of Noman Contractor's booklet Dawoodi Bohras (New Quest Publications, Rs 8), which documents how the Dai/Syedna hierarchy exercises near-feudal authority over the Bohra community through excommunication, social boycott ('barrat'), and control of communal wealth via religious levies, despite legal setbacks such as the Bombay High Court/Supreme Court ruling against the Prevention of Excommunication Act's suppression by the Syedna. - Describes the Dai (Syedna)'s hereditary authority as originating with the 47th Dai's seizure of the title, becoming a demi-god-like hereditary office. - Quotes the oath of allegiance every Bohra male must swear, pledging absolute obedience to the Dai/Syedna. - Details 'raza' (permission) as controlling Bohras' rights to vote, marry, publish, or hold public meetings. - Notes Morarji Desai's 1947 Prevention of Excommunication Act and its being ruled ultra vires by the Supreme Court as it 'negatived the rights of one million Bohras.' - Describes social boycott ('barrat') as a substitute weapon of control used against dissenters after the Act. - Mentions a reformist Bohra Youth Association in Udaipur pressing only for accountability over Syedna funds, not for doctrinal change. - Reviewer praises the booklet as 'dynamic' in exposing this subjugation despite Bohras being relatively educated and prosperous. ### The World of Books: Indian-English Prose: An Anthology (ed. D. Ramakrishna, Arnold Heinemann) *By MEENAKSHI MUKHERJEE* Meenakshi Mukherjee reviews Indian-English Prose: An Anthology, edited by D. Ramakrishna (Arnold Heinemann, Rs 60), praising it as a needed complement to existing Indian-English poetry anthologies but criticising its conventional, non-chronological arrangement, its lack of composition dates for many pieces, its heavy reliance on well-known 'standard' authors and lengthy novel extracts, and a superfluous glossary aimed at a non-Indian readership despite the editor's stated aim of tracing prose's growth since the early nineteenth century. - Notes the anthology spans from Rammohun Roy (1823) and Vivekananda (1894) to contemporary writers like Dom Moraes and Ved Mehta. - Lists contributors including Romilla Thapar, Prakash Tandon, Kusum Nair, Raja Rao, Mulk Raj Anand, Gandhi, Nehru, Rajagopalachari, Radhakrishnan, Tilak, Gokhale, and Sri Aurobindo among others. - Criticises the near-total absence of composition dates, undermining historical/diachronic reading of the pieces. - Faults the editor's deliberate avoidance of chronological ordering as contrary to the anthology's own stated historical aims, since only two of thirty pieces are from the 19th century. - Criticises inclusion of a glossary of common Indian English words (karma, ashram, guru) as unnecessary and revealing the intended non-Indian readership. - Concludes the volume is useful but more conventional and less pedagogically ambitious than a prior anthology (Statements, ed. Jussawalla and de Souza). ### The World of Books: The Crow Eaters (by Bapsy Sidhwa, Sangam Books, 1980) *By SHIREEN VAKIL* Shireen Vakil reviews Bapsy Sidhwa's novel The Crow Eaters (Sangam Books, 1980, Rs 15), finding it a lively but ultimately shallow 'hilarious saga of a Parsi family' centred on the rascally, worldly Freddy Junglewalla and his feuding mother-in-law Jerbanoo, whose farcical episodes entertain but reduce Parsi identity to caricature and superstition rather than serious exploration of community and intermarriage issues. - Summarises the plot: Freedoon 'Freddy' Junglewalla builds a prosperous business in Lahore and clashes comically with his shrewish mother-in-law Jerbanoo. - Notes the novel's strength lies in its lively, lusty characters rather than plot or story. - Criticises the novel for reducing Parsi identity to superficial markers (sadra, kusti, customs) rather than exploring distinctive community traits. - Notes the intermarriage subplot (Yezdi's affair with an Anglo-Indian girl) is treated lightly, subordinated to the novel's 'best-seller' aims of comedy and sex. - Compares the novel unfavourably in seriousness to Perin Bharucha's earlier The Fire Worshippers, while still finding it more successful as comic entertainment. - Closes by wishing for a more searching, well-considered novel about the Parsi community. ### A Secular Humanist Declaration *By Drafted by Paul Kurtz, Editor, Free Inquiry* This is a full reprint of the 1980 'Secular Humanist Declaration,' drafted by Paul Kurtz (editor of Free Inquiry), defending democratic secular humanism against renewed attacks from fundamentalist religion and authoritarian ideologies. It lays out ten principles — free inquiry, church-state separation, freedom, ethics based on critical intelligence, moral education, religious scepticism, reason, science and technology, evolution, and education — arguing that reason, science, and democratic freedom, not divine guidance, are the best foundations for human welfare. - Frames secular humanism as historically rooted in classical Greek and Roman philosophy, Chinese Confucian thought, and the Carvaka tradition of India. - Identifies contemporary threats: fundamentalist Christianity, Islamic clericalism, Catholic papal authority, religious Judaism, and 'bizarre paranormal and occult beliefs' like astrology. - Lays out ten numbered principles including Free Inquiry, Separation of Church and State, the Ideal of Freedom, Ethics Based on Critical Intelligence, Moral Education, Religious Scepticism, Reason, Science and Technology, Evolution, and Education. - Explicitly links historical religious tyranny to modern secular totalitarian ideologies, treating both as threats to free thought. - Defends evolution against fundamentalist attack as strongly supported by scientific evidence. - Concludes that reasonable persons should recognise secular humanism's contributions to human welfare rather than treat it as morally corrupting. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff339/ ### Summary Issue 339 of Freedom First (March 1981) opens with editor Nissim Ezekiel's column questioning the moral coherence of non-alignment in light of the Delhi Conference, Afghanistan, and Kampuchea. K. S. Venkateswaran summarises Amnesty International's 1979-80 annual report, with attention to the Indian scene and the National Security Act, while J. G. Tiwari analyses a Soviet propaganda document on Pakistan, Iran, and the Islamic world. C. Raju's essay 'Dilemmas of Liberty' argues that concentration of economic power, whether in the state or in monopolistic private hands, is the central threat to liberty, citing Milton Friedman. Homai Moos reports on the international Child-to-Child Programme for children's health and welfare. A substantial 'World of Books' section reviews works on H. M. Patel, Ved Mehta's Mamaji, an anthology on contemporary Indian English verse, and a Jaico volume on women in the Third World's industrialising economies. The issue closes with M. A. Rane's tribute to the late M. C. Chagla, delivered at a Bombay condolence meeting, and a short item contrasting British and Soviet foreign aid to India. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Issue 339 of Freedom First (March 1981) opens with editor Nissim Ezekiel's column questioning the moral coherence of non-alignment in light of the Delhi Conference, Afghanistan, and Kampuchea. K. S. Venkateswaran summarises Amnesty International's 1979-80 annual report, with attention to the Indian scene and the National Security Act, while J. G. Tiwari analyses a Soviet propaganda document on Pakistan, Iran, and the Islamic world. C. Raju's essay 'Dilemmas of Liberty' argues that concentration of economic power, whether in the state or in monopolistic private hands, is the central threat to liberty, citing Milton Friedman. Homai Moos reports on the international Child-to-Child Programme for children's health and welfare. A substantial 'World of Books' section reviews works on H. M. Patel, Ved Mehta's Mamaji, an anthology on contemporary Indian English verse, and a Jaico volume on women in the Third World's industrialising economies. The issue closes with M. A. Rane's tribute to the late M. C. Chagla, delivered at a Bombay condolence meeting, and a short item contrasting British and Soviet foreign aid to India. ## Essays ### Alignments of the non-aligned *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* In this editorial, Nissim Ezekiel argues that partisan judgements about non-alignment are exercises in futility, and that the Delhi Declaration's compromises among ninety-six nations said very little about freedom. He criticises both pro-Soviet and pro-Western non-aligned states for inconsistency, singles out India's muted response to the Vietnamese occupation of Kampuchea and the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and concludes that non-alignment retains value only if it consistently asserts democratic and free values rather than functioning as a forum for power politics. - Partisan analysis of non-alignment, whether pro-Soviet or pro-Western, is dismissed as an exercise in futility. - The Delhi Declaration's compromises among ninety-six nations said little about freedom as a value. - India is criticised for a weak, unclear stance on Kampuchea and Afghanistan despite claiming moral leadership of the non-aligned movement. - ASEAN is credited with greater credibility than the non-aligned bloc for refusing to recognise the Heng Samrin regime. - Non-alignment is said to retain value only if it consistently asserts democracy and freedom rather than serving as a forum for power politics. ### Amnesty International Annual Report *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* K. S. Venkateswaran summarises Amnesty International's 408-page annual report covering May 1979 to April 1980, noting the growing scale of imprisonment, torture, and extra-judicial killing worldwide and Amnesty's observation that the most flagrant violations occur in totalitarian states. He details criticism levelled at Iran (unfair trials and executions under the Islamic Revolutionary Tribunals), Poland (police brutality against dissidents such as Edmund Zadrozynski), and the Soviet Union (persecution of Helsinki monitors including Andrei Sakharov and Edward Arutunyan), before turning to 'The Indian Scene', where Amnesty's aide-memoire to Mrs Gandhi criticised the misuse of preventive detention law, police brutality, and prison conditions at Tihar Jail, and recalled the Supreme Court's ruling in Sunil Batra's Case. - Amnesty's 1979-80 report covers over a hundred countries and 12 months of human rights findings. - Amnesty avoids formally ranking regimes but Venkateswaran notes the worst violations recur in totalitarian and mostly leftist states. - Iran is criticised for unfair trials, executions, and flogging under the Islamic Revolutionary Tribunals. - Poland is criticised for police brutality against dissidents including a named retired metal worker. - The Soviet Union is criticised for persistent persecution of Helsinki monitors, including Andrei Sakharov and Edward Arutunyan. - An Amnesty aide-memoire to Indira Gandhi's government criticised misuse of preventive detention (the National Security Act), police brutality, and conditions in Tihar Jail, citing the Supreme Court ruling in Sunil Batra's Case. ### Soviet Designs On Pak, Iran And The Islamic World *By J. G. TIWARI* J. G. Tiwari analyses a Soviet-published pamphlet, The Truth About Afghanistan, arguing it reveals Moscow's strategic thinking on Pakistan, Iran, and the wider Islamic world. He shows the document frames Pakistan's General Staff as a tool of 'liberation-struggle' suppression, implies Pakistan's independence is at risk if it continues opposing Soviet actions in Afghanistan, and floats redrawing the Pak-Afghan border over the Pushtun issue. Tiwari also details the document's condemnation of Iran for supporting Afghan rebels and criticising the USSR, and its portrayal of Ayatollah Khomeini as a reactionary obstructing a 'progressive' revolution, closing on the ironic Soviet rehabilitation of Zafar Peshavari, the communist who led the failed 1921 Gilan Soviet Republic in northern Iran. - The analysis is based on a Novosti (Soviet) publication titled The Truth About Afghanistan. - The document frames Pakistan's military as complicit in suppressing 'liberation struggle' in the region and warns Pakistan's independence is at risk if it opposes Soviet actions. - Soviet backing for Pushtun and Baluchi irredentism against Pakistan is highlighted as a means of destabilising the Pak-Afghan border. - Iran and Ayatollah Khomeini are condemned in the document for anti-Soviet rhetoric and support for Afghan rebels, despite Khomeini's own anti-communist credentials domestically. - The document rehabilitates Zafar Peshavari, leader of the 1921 Soviet-backed Gilan Soviet Republic in Iran, as a heroic precedent. ### Dilemmas Of Liberty *By C. RAJU* C. Raju argues that liberty and good government can coexist only through careful, discriminating restraint on the concentration of power, whether wielded by a dictator, an unaccountable electorate, or an overweening state. He contends that competitive private enterprise is a bulwark of liberty and that its erosion in favour of public enterprise concentrates dangerous power in the state, invoking Milton Friedman's Capitalism and Freedom on the link between economic and political freedom. Raju further criticises India's electoral politics for producing corruption and short-termism, the passivity of the Indian electorate toward inequality, and the growing power of both corporations and organised labour to raise costs at the consumer's expense, concluding that the balance between liberty and state power is increasingly endangered. - Liberty requires eliminating concentrations of power, whether in the hands of a dictator, the state, or unaccountable elites. - Competitive private enterprise is framed as a bulwark of liberty against creeping state and public-sector power. - Milton Friedman's Capitalism and Freedom is cited approvingly on the link between economic and political freedom. - Indian electoral politics is criticised for producing corruption, sub-committees, and short-term slogans like 'Garibi Hatao' rather than sustained reform. - Both corporate monopolies and organised labour are described as increasingly able to raise costs at the expense of the consumer. - The essay warns that the balance between liberty and state power may be endangered by self-generating inflation and the government's role as broker. ### Child-To-Child Programme *By HOMAI MOOS* Homai Moos, a member of the international committee of the Child-to-Child Programme, describes this London-founded initiative that trains older children to assist in the health, welfare, and development of younger children in their communities. She outlines its Indian chapters (Hyderabad, Bombay, Delhi, Chandigarh, Madras, and others), its patron Mrs Roda Mistry, its six broad strategies for child-to-child help, and international examples from Chile, Guatemala, India, Kuwait, and Papua New Guinea, noting that 1981's focus is the handicapped child in the International Year of Disabled Persons. - The Child-to-Child Programme originated at the Institute of Education and Child Health, University of London, and trains older children to help younger ones with health and welfare. - India's national headquarters is at Niloufer Hospital, Hyderabad, with a Western Region base in Bombay and chapters in several other cities. - Mrs Roda Mistry, Member of the Rajya Sabha, is the Programme's patron in India. - Six broad strategies are outlined: eating well, improving health, providing safe environments, simple research, stimulating younger children, and helping handicapped children. - 1981, the International Year of Disabled Persons, sees the Programme's Indian focus shift toward handicapped children. ### The World Of Books: H. M. Patel 75th Birthday Commemoration Volume (review) *By MEHRA MASANI* The 'World of Books' section carries four reviews. Mehra Masani reviews the H. M. Patel 75th Birthday Commemoration Volume, finding most tributes dull but valuing the account of Patel's role in the 1947 Partition Secretariat and his forced retirement following the Mundhra LIC scandal, praising his post-retirement rural development work at Vallabh Vidyanagar. Havovi Anklesaria reviews Ved Mehta's Mamaji (sequel to Daddyji), describing it as a family chronicle centred on Mehta's father, criticising its flat, cameo-like treatment of characters including the arranged child-marriage of the author's aunt. Elizabeth Reuben reviews Contemporary Indian English Verse: An Evaluation, a twenty-essay anthology, finding the first half stronger and noting misprints and thin analysis undermine some individual essays despite a valuable closing piece by Vrinda Nabar on Keki Daruwalla. Vasantha Surya reviews Women in the Third World (ed. Laeeq Futehally), surveying essays on the exploitation of women workers under industrialisation in Japan, Malaysia, and India, and contrasting these with the relatively better status of women in Sri Lanka, Kerala, Java, and Sudan. - Mehra Masani reviews the H. M. Patel commemoration volume, highlighting Patel's role in 1947 Partition negotiations and his forced ICS retirement over the Mundhra/LIC scandal under T. T. Krishnamachari. - Havovi Anklesaria reviews Ved Mehta's Mamaji, a family memoir sequel to Daddyji, criticising its flat narrative style despite its vivid detail. - Elizabeth Reuben reviews an anthology of twenty essays on contemporary Indian English poetry, praising Vrinda Nabar's closing essay on Keki Daruwalla as the collection's strongest. - Vasantha Surya reviews Women in the Third World, which documents how industrialisation in Japan, Malaysia, and India has intensified the exploitation of female labour. - Surya's review contrasts this exploitation with the comparatively stronger status of women in Sri Lanka, Kerala, Java, and Sudan due to differing cultural and religious traditions. ### The World Of Books: Mamaji by Ved Mehta (review) *By HAVOVI ANKLESARIA* M. A. Rane's speech at a Bombay condolence meeting pays tribute to M. C. Chagla, recalling his frequent public addresses for Citizens For Democracy and allied civil liberties organisations, his defiance of MISA-era restrictions during the Emergency to address banned meetings, and his role as All India President of Citizens for Democracy after Jayaprakash Narayan's death. Rane recounts Chagla's opposition to the Emergency and to the 42nd Amendment, his founding role in the Rationalist Association of India alongside contemporaries such as Sir Raghunath Paranjpe and D. R. Karve, his professed rationalism and secular humanism, and his wish for a non-religious cremation, closing with the claim that Chagla will have 'an abiding place' in the coming rise of secular humanism. - Chagla addressed public meetings for Citizens For Democracy from 1974 until shortly before his death, including a defiant appearance ten days after a hospital operation in November 1980. - He was unanimously elected All India President of Citizens for Democracy after Jayaprakash Narayan's death and defied MISA restrictions to speak at banned meetings during the Emergency. - He was among the founders of the Rationalist Association of India in the early 1930s, alongside figures such as Sir Raghunath Paranjpe and D. R. Karve. - Chagla's cremation was conducted without religious rites at his own request, which Rane frames as consistent with his rationalist convictions. - Rane frames Chagla as belonging to 'the age of enlightenment' and predicts a rise of secular humanism in his mould by the end of the century. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff340/ ### Summary Issue 340 of Freedom First (April 1981, 29th year of publication) opens with editor Nissim Ezekiel's alarmist editorial on separatism and the risk of India's disintegration, followed by short opinion pieces on caste-based reservation policy and the opportunistic political rehabilitation of Rajaji and JP after their deaths. A substantial essay attacks Gandhian trusteeship theory as advocated by Rajaji, arguing it is an intellectually evasive alternative to both socialism and capitalism. A three-part 'Voices' column carries reader/contributor pieces on the role of intellectuals, a Gujarati biography of singer-composer Pankaj Mullick, and audience reactions to a Cambridge Theatre Company production of Macbeth in Bombay. A long polemical piece indicts the Congress government's control of All India Radio and Doordarshan, arguing that state ownership makes 'functional autonomy' for broadcasters impossible. The books page reviews a critical study of Nirad C. Chaudhuri and a first volume of English poetry by Marathi writer Dilip Chitre. The issue closes with a substantial interview by Pratima Asher of sociologist Dr. Neera Desai, head of the Women's Studies Research Unit at S.N.D.T.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Issue 340 of Freedom First (April 1981, 29th year of publication) opens with editor Nissim Ezekiel's alarmist editorial on separatism and the risk of India's disintegration, followed by short opinion pieces on caste-based reservation policy and the opportunistic political rehabilitation of Rajaji and JP after their deaths. A substantial essay attacks Gandhian trusteeship theory as advocated by Rajaji, arguing it is an intellectually evasive alternative to both socialism and capitalism. A three-part 'Voices' column carries reader/contributor pieces on the role of intellectuals, a Gujarati biography of singer-composer Pankaj Mullick, and audience reactions to a Cambridge Theatre Company production of Macbeth in Bombay. A long polemical piece indicts the Congress government's control of All India Radio and Doordarshan, arguing that state ownership makes 'functional autonomy' for broadcasters impossible. The books page reviews a critical study of Nirad C. Chaudhuri and a first volume of English poetry by Marathi writer Dilip Chitre. The issue closes with a substantial interview by Pratima Asher of sociologist Dr. Neera Desai, head of the Women's Studies Research Unit at S.N.D.T. Women's University, on the state of women's studies in India, feminism versus women's studies, and rural development work in South Gujarat. ## Essays ### How To Destroy The Unity of India *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* In the lead editorial, Nissim Ezekiel warns that India's unity is under threat from communal conflict, separatist demands (citing Kashmir specifically), and the political appeasement of minority groups for votes. He argues that separatism is a 'political crime' against national integrity and that principles like democracy, free speech, and secularism are being invoked disingenuously by separatists who will abandon them once their 'real objectives' of separate statehood are achieved. - Predicts continued disintegration pressures on India through the end of the century. - Cites the communal problem, and the possibility of a minority community converting members of the majority community to increase its numbers. - Flags Kashmir's special status as a possible stepping stone to full nationhood if 'the people' so choose. - Warns that appeasement of separatist groups for votes will not avert the dangers foreseen. - Frames separatism as a political crime against Indian unity, arguing democratic and secular principles are invoked only instrumentally by separatists. ### The Reservation Trap *By ARVIND DESHPANDE* Arvind Deshpande's 'The Reservation Trap' argues that caste-based reservation is not by itself a solution to backward-class deprivation, since laws cannot succeed without social and moral acceptance, and that the burden of social conflict falls disproportionately on the rural poor rather than the urban policymaking elite. He calls for job creation and education rather than reservation alone, invoking Ambedkar's emphasis on self-respect over legislative remedy and comparing the needed struggle to the American civil rights movement. - Argues no law succeeds without social and moral acceptance of it. - Contrasts the urban intelligentsia's 'world of policies' with the raw deprivation faced by villagers. - Calls for a national programme creating a million jobs a year for scheduled castes/tribes over the next decade. - Invokes a lineage of Indian reformers -- Ram Mohan Roy, Vivekananda, Ranade, Gokhale, Phule, Gandhi, Nehru, JP, Ambedkar -- as builders of a shared social conscience. - Cites Ambedkar's view that self-respect and dignity cannot be conferred by legislation, likening the needed struggle to Martin Luther King's civil rights movement. ### The dead cannot protest *By A CORRESPONDENT* An unsigned piece by 'A Correspondent' titled 'The dead cannot protest' accuses Indian politicians -- naming Mrs. Gandhi, Sanjiva Reddy, Yeshwantrao Chavan, B. D. Jatti and S. B. Chavan -- of opportunistically claiming affinity with the late Rajaji and Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) despite having opposed their ideas and treated them poorly in life. It singles out the invitation of lifelong socialist James Callaghan to deliver a memorial lecture honouring Rajaji, a lifelong opponent of socialism, as a particularly stark example of this political opportunism. - Questions why politicians who opposed Rajaji's philosophy in life now participate in centenary/memorial events honouring him. - Notes Mrs. Gandhi's proposed role heading a memorial panel for JP despite her historical treatment of him. - Highlights the irony of inviting socialist James Callaghan to a lecture endowed in memory of Rajaji, who devoted his last two decades to opposing the 'myth of socialism'. - Contrasts this with the near-total absence of Rajaji's and JP's actual close associates from these commemorative events, citing Achyut Patwardhan as one rare inclusion on JP's side. - Concludes that this political exploitation of dead men is 'hypocrisy of the worst kind' reflecting the broader lack of values in Indian politics. ### Gandhian Socialism *By SMITA BANKESHWAR* Smita Bankeshwar's 'Gandhian Socialism' argues that the phrase is a contradiction in terms, since Gandhi himself opposed socialism as ordinarily understood. She contends Rajaji's advocacy of Gandhian trusteeship as an alternative to both capitalism and communism is intellectually evasive, resting on an untested wish that the rich will behave altruistically rather than on any examined theory of human nature, and calls the whole approach anti-intellectual. - Argues 25 years of Indian 'socialism' have driven 50% of the population below the poverty line. - Quotes Gandhiji's own statements that economic control by the state would extinguish freedom of thought and culture. - Quotes Rajaji's claim that total economic control leads inevitably to control of thought, opinion, and soul. - Criticises the trusteeship doctrine for not explaining why or how the rich would behave altruistically, or who among them qualifies as trustees. - Contrasts Hobbes's view of humans as naturally selfish with Gandhi's view of human nature, framing trusteeship as resting on unexamined premises. - Concludes that no ideology solves problems -- only reason, science and technology are reliable. ### Voices 1: Crucial Roles *By C. RAJU* Under the 'Voices' rubric, three short contributed pieces appear. C. Raju's 'Crucial Roles' (Voices 1) reflects on the historic tension between intellectuals/artists and their times, arguing intellectuals have a special responsibility in the nuclear age to remain dispassionate and defend true values. Yashvant Trivedi's 'On Pankaj Mullick' (Voices 2) reviews a Gujarati anthology, Guzar Gaya Wah Zamana, compiling autobiographical material and tributes to the singer-composer Pankaj Mullick, compiled by Ajit Sheth. Indu Saraiya's 'Macbeth in Bombay -- Audience Response' (Voices 3) reviews a Cambridge Theatre Company production of Macbeth at the Homi Bhabha Auditorium, noting an audience partly unfamiliar with Shakespeare, and assessing Brian Cox's and Gemma Jones's performances. - Raju: intellectuals have historically been at odds with their times, and modern civilisation's nuclear risk gives them a distinctively crucial, dispassionate role. - Raju: cites 'Partisan Review' and 'Encounter' as venues that gave intellectuals space to express dissenting views against Soviet-style state control of art. - Trivedi: Guzar Gaya Wah Zamana is an anthology (not a strict autobiography) assembled by Ajit Sheth from Pankaj Mullick's own Bengali writings, letters, interviews, and tributes from contemporaries. - Saraiya: the Cambridge Theatre Company's Macbeth suffered from an audience split between those familiar and unfamiliar with Shakespeare, producing mistimed laughter at serious moments. - Saraiya: praises Brian Cox's Macbeth and Gemma Jones's Lady Macbeth, though feels the production could have built a stronger crescendo of desperation across the murders. ### Voices 2: On Pankaj Mullick *By YASHVANT TRIVEDI* Mehra Masani's 'WANTED: A new broom for the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting' criticises Information & Broadcasting Minister Mr. Sathe and Mrs. Gandhi's government for treating All India Radio and Doordarshan as organs of the state rather than independent public broadcasters. She argues genuine professionalism in broadcasting is impossible so long as the media remain under direct government control, detailing how civil-service staffing, bureaucratic budget control, and lack of a protective charter prevent objective news coverage, and criticises the government's underfunded, urban-biased radio and unrealistic Colour TV ambitions. - A new Advisory Panel under G. Parthasarathy has been appointed despite the pre-existing Chanda Committee and Verghese working group recommendations already covering the needed reforms. - Argues broadcasters cannot set or maintain professional standards when instructions from government can override them at any time, citing the treatment of PM speeches as 'feature items' rather than news. - Notes only roughly 25 million radio receivers exist, concentrated in cities, effectively one receiver per 100 rural persons; community listening has collapsed due to poor maintenance of village sets. - All 700,000 TV sets are in cities, mostly bought by the rich to watch Hindi films; the government's ambitions for a colour TV set in every village have been scaled back for cost reasons. - Concludes broadcasting reform requires the government to relinquish control, not merely inject professionalism rhetoric. ### Voices 3: Macbeth in Bombay - Audience Response *By INDU SARAIYA* A short unsigned announcement introduces Free Inquiry, a new quarterly journal published by the Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism (Buffalo, New York), edited by Paul Kurtz. The notice describes the journal's mission to defend freedom and secularism against a perceived global resurgence of religious fundamentalism and irrational doctrines, listing V. M. Tarkunde as a member of its editorial board. - Free Inquiry aims to analyse religious inconsistencies and their social consequences from a secular humanist viewpoint. - Cites the growth of Christian fundamentalism, Chasidic Judaism, Islamic sects, Asian cults, and paranormal beliefs as evidence of a global retreat from Enlightenment values. - V. M. Tarkunde, former Indian Supreme Court judge and President of the Radical Humanist Association, India, is named on the editorial board. - Subscription rate given as $12.00 per year for the quarterly publication. ### WANTED: A new broom for the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting *By MEHRA MASANI* 'The World of Books' carries two reviews. K. Balasubramaniyan reviews Chetan Karnani's Nirad C. Chaudhuri (Twayne Publishers, 1980), describing it as a thorough but critical look at Chaudhuri's contempt for Hindu culture, his views on Indian women and marriage, and his dismissive attitude toward regional-language writers, while noting Karnani finds him no liking for Gandhi's methods despite nationalist sympathies. Zerin Anklesaria reviews Dilip Chitre's Travelling in a Cage, the poet's first English-language poetry volume, finding the U.S.A.-themed opening section flaccid and prone to hortatory statement, but praising the later Bombay poems for their concrete, bare, non-descriptive style. - Balasubramaniyan: Karnani criticises Chaudhuri for a 'defective literary sensibility', cavalier attitude to Indology, and inconsistent standards between British and Indian publishers. - Balasubramaniyan: notes Chaudhuri's series 'Why I Hate Indians' and his claims about Hindu marriage and sexuality are discussed critically in the book. - Balasubramaniyan: Karnani also calls Chaudhuri's portrait of Max Muller (Scholar Extraordinary) a painstaking but dull piece of research. - Anklesaria: finds the collection's USA section marred by vague cosmic imagery, overstatement, and unpoetic hortatory tone ('I will teach you...'). - Anklesaria: praises the Bombay-themed poems (e.g. 'The View from Chinchpokli') for grounding the collection in concrete, self-deprecating, sardonic observation rather than abstraction. ### The World of Books: Nirad C. Chaudhuri by Chetan Karnani (review) *By K. BALASUBRAMANIYAN* Pratima Asher interviews Dr. Neera Desai, Professor and Head of Sociology and Director of the Research Unit on Women's Studies at S.N.D.T. Women's University, Bombay -- the first such unit in India, founded in 1974. Desai discusses the unit's origins, funding sources (ICSSR, UNICEF, CSIR), completed research projects, and a three-pronged action programme (education, health, income generation) in nine villages of South Gujarat run in partnership with a local women's organisation in Udhwada. She distinguishes women's studies from feminism, arguing feminism has become 'anti-man' whereas women's studies takes a total-system perspective, and reflects on her own largely non-sexist upbringing and family life, including her lawyer son's voluntary work on rape cases. - The Women's Studies Research Unit began in 1974 as the first of its kind in India; the ICSSR's own women's studies cell followed only in 1975. - The unit runs a time-bound (Dec '80-Dec '81) action programme in nine South Gujarat villages focused on education, health, and income generation, partnering with a 25-year-old local women's organisation in Udhwada. - Desai argues women's studies and feminism differ: feminism has a definite thrust on the woman's viewpoint and is increasingly 'anti-man', while women's studies requires considering the whole system including men. - She argues patriarchal social attitudes, imprinted on boys from childhood, must change, and envisions a co-educational women's studies curriculum. - S.N.D.T. is described as the only university offering a full undergraduate course on the Sociology of Women. - Desai's son, a lawyer, has voluntarily taken up rape-related legal cases, which she credits partly to his non-sexist upbringing. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff341/ ### Summary Issue No. 341 of Freedom First (May 1981), edited by Nissim Ezekiel with M. R. Masani as founder, opens with Masani's own essay on euthanasia, provoked by Milton and Rose Friedman's Free to Choose and by a Poona citizen's assisted death, arguing that the right to die is a fundamental right alongside the right to live, while acknowledging the dangers of abuse. Anita Sethi analyses Brezhnev's Persian Gulf proposal as a strategic move to ease Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. P. M. Kamath examines the case for Presidential government in India, made by Maharashtra Chief Minister A. R. Antulay and by Nani Palkhivala and J.R.D. Tata, and concludes that a change to the American system risks individual dictatorship given India's weak checks and balances. Two 'Voices' pieces follow: Sandhya Bordewekar's critical report on a Tribal Arts seminar in the Dangs, and Attar Chand's policy prescriptions for controlling inflation through supply-side measures. A World of Books section reviews Asghar Ali Engineer's The Bohras and a translated Tamil novel, Metamorphosis.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Issue No. 341 of Freedom First (May 1981), edited by Nissim Ezekiel with M. R. Masani as founder, opens with Masani's own essay on euthanasia, provoked by Milton and Rose Friedman's Free to Choose and by a Poona citizen's assisted death, arguing that the right to die is a fundamental right alongside the right to live, while acknowledging the dangers of abuse. Anita Sethi analyses Brezhnev's Persian Gulf proposal as a strategic move to ease Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. P. M. Kamath examines the case for Presidential government in India, made by Maharashtra Chief Minister A. R. Antulay and by Nani Palkhivala and J.R.D. Tata, and concludes that a change to the American system risks individual dictatorship given India's weak checks and balances. Two 'Voices' pieces follow: Sandhya Bordewekar's critical report on a Tribal Arts seminar in the Dangs, and Attar Chand's policy prescriptions for controlling inflation through supply-side measures. A World of Books section reviews Asghar Ali Engineer's The Bohras and a translated Tamil novel, Metamorphosis. A reader's letter from Radha Shrivastava reproduces extracts of Malcolm Muggeridge's polemic against Soviet apologists and 'Friends of the Soviet Union' groups. The issue also carries the International League for Human Rights' statement on the UN Human Rights Commission's handling of the Andrei Sakharov case, a report on the Vigil India Movement's women's groups in Kanya Kumari district, and a PUCL (Bombay) resolution condemning the National Security Act. ## Essays ### Life or Death: The Freedom to Choose *By M. R. MASANI* M. R. Masani argues that the freedom to choose extends to the right to choose between life and death. He cites the case of Gopal Mandlik, an 85-year-old Poona resident who ended his life after failing to secure government support for a Bill legalising assisted death, framing the act as Gandhian civil disobedience. Masani surveys the varying legal status of suicide and euthanasia across countries, quotes Arthur Koestler's preface to a book on 'auto-euthanasia' published by the British society EXIT, and describes the practice of 'passive euthanasia' by physician Christian Barnard. He concludes that the right to die is a fundamental human right that should be legally regulated (with safeguards against abuse) rather than banned outright, and invites readers to write to him in support of establishing an Indian society for the right to die with dignity. - Prompted by the Friedmans' Free to Choose and by Gopal Mandlik's assisted death in Poona on 8 December 1980 - Surveys divergent legal treatment of suicide/euthanasia across Scotland, England, India, and various US states - Quotes Arthur Koestler's preface to the EXIT society's guide to 'auto-euthanasia' - Describes Dr. Christian Barnard's practice of passive euthanasia and his personal death pact with his brother - Argues the right to die is a fundamental right that must nonetheless be limited to prevent abuse by relatives seeking personal benefit - Notes Mahatma Gandhi's precedent of putting a suffering calf to sleep in his ashram as support for the principle - Reports that an article on the subject in the Statesman drew over a hundred supportive reader letters - Invites Freedom First readers to contact him to help establish an Indian right-to-die society ### Brezhnev's New Suggestion *By ANITA SETHI* Anita Sethi analyses Brezhnev's proposal, floated at the 26th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, that Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan would be easier if the West accepted his suggestions on the Persian Gulf. She recounts the history of Soviet ambitions in Iran since 1917, the 1921 Soviet-Iran Treaty's Articles 5 and 6 (which Iran has twice repudiated), and recent Soviet military buildup near the Gulf, concluding that the real aim is to force Western withdrawal from the Gulf so that the USSR can dominate the region and Iran, and expressing surprise that India's Ministry of External Affairs welcomed the suggestion. - Brezhnev linked Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan to Western acceptance of his Persian Gulf proposals - Indian Minister (Shri Narasimha Rao) recommended the proposal as a correct approach in Lok Sabha remarks - Traces Soviet-Iran relations since the 1917 October Revolution, including the short-lived Soviet Republic of Azarbaijan at Gilan - Cites the 1921 Treaty's Articles 5-6 giving USSR a unilateral right to intervene in Iran, twice denounced by Tehran (1930, 1975) - Notes Soviet troop concentrations near Turkestan and the Sino-Soviet border, and the Shinbad airport dispute with Afghanistan in 1979 - Argues the strategic aim is to compel Western withdrawal from the Gulf, enabling Soviet hegemony - Criticises the Indian government for welcoming Brezhnev's suggestion ### Parliamentary Democracy or Presidential Dictatorship? *By P. M. KAMATH* P. M. Kamath examines the growing demand, voiced by Maharashtra Chief Minister A. R. Antulay and by Nani Palkhivala and J. R. D. Tata, for India to switch from parliamentary to presidential government. He reviews arguments for the switch (fixed terms, ability to appoint talent from outside politics) and against it (paralysis when a President loses capacity, as with Wilson and Nixon; concentration of power without adequate checks and balances in the Indian context), citing Kennedy's, Reagan's and Nehru's cabinet appointments, and statistics on the small number of laws struck down by Indian courts between 1950 and 1980. He concludes that a presidential system risks devolving into individual dictatorship in India and that reform, not wholesale change, is the better path. - Antulay, drafter of an unused Emergency-era presidential-government proposal, is a leading advocate for the switch - Fixed executive terms and the ability to recruit talent from outside one's party are cited as presidential-system advantages - Cites Kennedy's appointment of Republicans McNamara and Dillon, and Reagan's appointment of Democrat Kirkpatrick, as evidence of cross-party talent recruitment in the US - Notes Nehru brought John Mathai, C. D. Deshmukh and M. C. Chagla into his cabinet despite the parliamentary system - Cites the Law Minister's Lok Sabha statement that of 1977 Acts passed 1950-1980, courts invalidated only 22 - Warns that in the absence of US-style checks and balances, a presidential system in India risks individual dictatorship - Notes that even Palkhivala, a presidential-system supporter, argues the current moment is not opportune for change ### Voices 1: Tribal Traditions *By SANDHYA BORDEWEKAR* Sandhya Bordewekar reports critically on a four-day Mahotsava (festival) of Tribal Arts held at Ahwa in the Dangs, organised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Research Centre for the Performing Arts of the Indian National Theatre. She argues the seminar failed to generate practical solutions for the Dangis, was dominated by outsiders' impractical suggestions and Marathi-Gujarati linguistic squabbles, and that the accompanying tribal crafts exhibition displayed inauthentic, commercially redesigned items rather than genuine Dangi work, concluding that the event mainly served the interests and 'conversation piece' needs of urban elites rather than the tribal performers. - Four-day Mahotsava of Tribal Arts held at Ahwa in the Dangs, organised by Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Research Centre for the Performing Arts - Seminar speakers lacked authoritative field experience; impractical suggestions (e.g., archery and fishing as 'Performing Arts') dominated - Discussions degenerated into Marathi-Gujarati cultural and linguistic conflicts - Exhibited tribal crafts were largely redesigned by Spanish missionaries rather than authentic Dangi work - Tribal performers were paid little attention and left "back to their routine fight with the impoverished living conditions" - Author questions the motives and competence of the urban 'experts' organising such preservation efforts ### Voices 2: How To Control Inflation *By ATTAR CHAND* Attar Chand offers a supply-side prescription for controlling India's inflation, which he attributes to rising oil import costs, monsoon-driven agricultural fluctuations, and imported inflation in commodities like cement and paper. He argues that raising interest rates or squeezing credit worsens rather than cures inflation when the real constraint is supply, and calls for boosting domestic production (citing cement as an example of a good India could produce more cheaply than it imports), private-sector participation in oil exploration beyond Bombay High, greater use of solar energy and coal as alternative fuels, and reallocation of investment priorities toward productive capacity and exports. - Oil import bill reached roughly Rs. 5,000 crores, projected to rise to Rs. 6,000 crores, consuming nearly 80% of export earnings - Buffer stocks have reduced foodgrain price volatility, but sugar, pulses and edible oils remain supply-sensitive - Argues government has been 'excessively concerned' with demand-side measures (interest rates, credit) rather than supply-side fixes - Calls for private-party involvement in oil exploration beyond Bombay High, including off-shore and on-shore sources - Advocates greater use of solar energy (especially for agricultural pumping) and coal as substitutes for oil - Urges import of relevant technology from Japan and the USA to support production growth - Calls for removing the embargo on private investment in power, mining and transport ### The World of Books (reviews of 'The Bohras' and 'Metamorphosis') *By ADAM ADIL / ZERIN ANKLESARIA* A 'World of Books' section carries two reviews. Adam Adil reviews Asghar Ali Engineer's The Bohras, praising it as a well-documented account of the Ismaili-derived Bohra community and its reformist movement, and of the alleged oppression by the Bohra High Priest (the Saydina), though noting Engineer applies a Marxist framework and is silent on the Aga Khani branch's emergence. Zerin Anklesaria reviews Metamorphosis, a Tamil novel by Sivasankari translated by Krishna Srinivas, mocking its melodramatic prose and plot as an unintentionally comic failure. - Adam Adil praises The Bohras as an important, well-documented contribution on the Bohra community and reformist movement - Notes Engineer's Marxist ideological lens and his silence on the Aga Khani Ismaili offshoot - Highlights the book's account of political and press complicity with the Bohra High Priest's alleged oppression of reformists - Zerin Anklesaria's review of Metamorphosis is sharply satirical, quoting the novel's overwrought prose as evidence of its poor quality - The review frames the translated Tamil novel's promised 'world prize' status as ironic given its melodramatic writing ### A Letter and an Extract (on 'Friends of the Soviet Union') *By RADHA SHRIVASTAVA* A letter from reader Radha Shrivastava, prompted by the revival of 'Friends of the Soviet Union' groups among Indian MPs, reproduces extracts from Malcolm Muggeridge's writings as the Manchester Guardian's Moscow correspondent, castigating Western sympathisers of Soviet Communism. The extracts denounce the dictatorship of the proletariat as cruel, incompetent, and impoverishing, characterise Marxism as a dangerous 'General Idea' that possesses narrow minds, and warn Indian 'friends of the Soviet Union' that they are more contemptible than the regime they admire. - Prompted by the revival of 'Friends of the Soviet Union' groups by Congress MPs in Delhi - Shrivastava recalls Muggeridge's own disillusioning experience living in Moscow as a Soviet sympathiser - Extracts denounce the Soviet dictatorship of the proletariat as cruel, incompetent, and hypocritical - Draws on Taine's concept of the 'General Idea' as a tyranny that possesses narrow, empty minds - Concludes that Indian sympathisers who excuse the Soviet regime are 'more contemptible, if not more dangerous' than the dictatorship itself ### United Nations Human Rights Commission Takes up the Sakharov Case A statement from the International League for Human Rights, reproduced from its Human Rights Bulletin, describes how the UN Human Rights Commission's 1980 Geneva session repeatedly deferred consideration of the Andrei Sakharov case despite a French proposal to cable the Soviet government about his exile in Gorky. The League situates Sakharov's case alongside those of other persecuted human-rights figures worldwide (Huang Hsieh-Chieh, Beyers Naude, Winnie Mandela, Domingo Laino, Benino Aquino) and details his role as Honorary Vice President of the League and his advocacy for freedoms enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, urging the Commission to act on his behalf. - Sakharov case first raised in the UN Human Rights Commission on 5 February 1980 by the French delegation - The Commission repeatedly postponed and deferred the matter rather than voting on sending a protest cable - League's written statement on repression of human rights advocates was declined for circulation by the Division of Human Rights - Sakharov's case is placed alongside other global cases: Huang Hsieh-Chieh (Taiwan), Beyers Naude and Winnie Mandela (South Africa), Domingo Laino (Paraguay), Benino Aquino (Philippines) - Details Sakharov's role as Honorary Vice President of the International League for Human Rights and founder-chairman of its Moscow human rights committee - Describes Sakharov's advocacy of freedoms of speech, publication, assembly, religion, emigration, and the rule of law - Statement urges the Commission's help in alleviating Sakharov's situation, invoking the Helsinki Accords ### Vigilant Woman (review of Vigil Series - 4, quoting M. A. Thomas introduction) *By M. A. THOMAS* M. A. Thomas's introduction to 'Vigilant Woman', a pamphlet in the Vigil Series about the Vigil India Movement, is excerpted, describing eighty-three village Women's Vigil Groups in Kanya Kumari District, Tamil Nadu, comprising three thousand literate and illiterate members who organise to fight oppression and study local problems, drawing strength from collective solidarity among fisherfolk and rural communities. - Reviews 'Vigilant Woman', Vigil Series No. 4, published by the Vigil India Movement, Bangalore - Describes eighty-three Women's Vigil Groups in Kanya Kumari District with over 3,000 members - Conveners meet quarterly to study wider issues; district-area conveners meet monthly - Vigil Group workers are mostly unemployed or underemployed poor women, receiving no remuneration - Many workers have undergone two-week or three-month socio-political training courses from the Movement's National Office ### Against The National Security Act (PUCL Bombay resolution) *By Proposed by: M. A. Rane; Seconded by: Prof. V. B. Kamath* A resolution from a meeting of the Bombay Branch of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) condemns the promulgation and enforcement of the National Security Act and similar preventive-detention laws, arguing that government assurances against their political misuse are contradicted by actual detentions across several states, and calling for the repeal of all preventive-detention laws. - PUCL (Bombay) resolution unreservedly condemns the National Security Act and preventive-detention laws - Notes that government assurances the Act would not be used against political opponents are belied by actual detentions in several States - Argues such laws are unnecessary in a civilized society except perhaps in wartime - Warns that such laws corrode investigative efficiency, enable abuse of power, and facilitate authoritarianism - Resolution proposed by M. A. Rane and seconded by Prof. V. B. Kamath on 17 April 1981 --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff342/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 342 (June 1981), the monthly journal of liberal ideas edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani, opens with Ezekiel's own polemic against Rajiv Gandhi's entry into politics as an extension of Indira Gandhi's dynastic control. The issue mixes foreign-affairs commentary (on Sino-Indian relations and Soviet religious policy toward Muslims), an economic-philosophy essay revisiting Gandhian trusteeship against common ownership, a reprint of the Indian Liberal Group's 1975 statement condemning the Emergency, reader-contributed 'Voices' pieces on apartheid South Africa and a Citizens for Democracy resolution on electoral corruption, a books page reviewing works on press freedom and poetry, and a syndicated piece on population control and economic growth. Contributors include B. P. Adarkar, Arvind A. Deshpande, Indu Saraiya, M. A. Rane, Preeth I. Biddapa, Havovi Anklesaria, and Attar Chand, alongside the journal's regular subscription and advertising pages. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 342 (June 1981), the monthly journal of liberal ideas edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani, opens with Ezekiel's own polemic against Rajiv Gandhi's entry into politics as an extension of Indira Gandhi's dynastic control. The issue mixes foreign-affairs commentary (on Sino-Indian relations and Soviet religious policy toward Muslims), an economic-philosophy essay revisiting Gandhian trusteeship against common ownership, a reprint of the Indian Liberal Group's 1975 statement condemning the Emergency, reader-contributed 'Voices' pieces on apartheid South Africa and a Citizens for Democracy resolution on electoral corruption, a books page reviewing works on press freedom and poetry, and a syndicated piece on population control and economic growth. Contributors include B. P. Adarkar, Arvind A. Deshpande, Indu Saraiya, M. A. Rane, Preeth I. Biddapa, Havovi Anklesaria, and Attar Chand, alongside the journal's regular subscription and advertising pages. ## Essays ### Rajiv in Politics: What it means *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* In this editorial-style piece, Nissim Ezekiel attacks Rajiv Gandhi's move into politics as a stage-managed production directed by Indira Gandhi, comparing it to a Hollywood suspense plot. He argues Rajiv's ascent rests entirely on his mother's patronage rather than any independent record of achievement, and that his rhetoric of completing Sanjay Gandhi's 'unfinished task' is empty sloganeering that does nothing to address the country's poverty or institutional decay. Ezekiel concludes that the episode reflects poorly on India's political culture, since supporters back Rajiv out of expediency and deference to Mrs. Gandhi rather than conviction. - Ezekiel frames Rajiv Gandhi's political entry as entirely engineered by Indira Gandhi, not his own initiative. - He contrasts Rajiv's untested public role with the disruptive legacy of Sanjay Gandhi, invoking the Maruti project as a case study of failure. - He argues Mrs. Gandhi asks for public trust in her sons based on personal loyalty rather than concrete achievements or plans. - The piece criticizes supporters who back Rajiv only out of political expediency rather than principle. - Ezekiel predicts Rajiv's political fate depends wholly on his continued alignment with his mother's favour. ### The Chinese Conundrum *By B. P. ADARKAR* B. P. Adarkar surveys the unresolved 'Chinese Conundrum' in Indian foreign policy, arguing that Nehru's non-alignment doctrine was always internally contradictory and that the 1962 border war stemmed from India being misled by Khrushchev into contesting Aksai Chin, a territory of negligible worth. He traces how the Sino-Soviet split, the Sino-Pakistani alignment, and shifting Indian diplomacy (including Subramaniam Swamy's visit and Vajpayee's 1979 Beijing trip) have left India without a coherent China policy. Adarkar urges renewed government-to-government negotiations, prioritizing the border question, and warns that continued deference to Moscow's preferences undermines any settlement with Beijing. - Adarkar argues India's non-alignment policy was 'schizophrenic', neither genuinely neutral nor coherent. - He blames Khrushchev's USSR for pushing Nehru into confronting China over the strategically worthless Aksai Chin region. - He traces the post-1962 Sino-Pakistani alignment as a consequence of India's alienation of China. - He criticizes the lack of sustained government-to-government negotiation with China since 1962, citing Subramaniam Swamy's and Vajpayee's visits as isolated exceptions. - He calls for resolving the border question first and warns against continued deference to Soviet interests in shaping India's China policy. ### A Statement to Remember: The Indian Liberal Group on the Emergency *By Indian Liberal Group* This is a reprint of a 1975 statement by the Indian Liberal Group condemning the imposition of the Emergency, framed under the heading 'A Statement to Remember.' It traces Indian liberalism's nineteenth-century roots through figures like Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Srinivasa Sastri, argues the Emergency's censorship, MISA detentions, and suspension of civil liberties represent a slide toward authoritarianism worse than colonial-era repression, and calls for a free and fair general election with restored press freedom and release of political detainees as the only legitimate path back to constitutional government. - The statement situates the Indian Liberal Group within a nineteenth-century liberal tradition tracing to Gokhale and Sastri. - It condemns the Emergency's censorship, MISA detentions, and suspension of civil liberties as exceeding even British colonial repression. - It warns that authoritarian measures risk leaving permanent scars on Indian democracy. - It calls for a free and fair general election with restored freedom of expression and release of detainees as the route back to legitimacy. - It expresses hope that the authoritarian regime is not yet irreversible. ### Trusteeship and Common Ownership *By ARVIND A. DESHPANDE* This unsigned piece, sourced from the Swiss Press Review and News Report, examines Soviet policy toward Islam, focusing on the 1981 delegation of Soviet Muslims to South Yemen and Moscow's broader propaganda effort to portray religious tolerance across its Muslim-majority regions. It reports on suppressed mosques, restricted seminaries in Bokhara and Tashkent, state-controlled religious leadership, and the gap between Soviet claims of religious freedom and the lived reality of surveillance, indoctrination, and limited seminarian training under close state supervision. - Soviet authorities sent a delegation of Muslims to South Yemen to counter accusations of anti-Islamic policy, following criticism over the Afghanistan invasion. - Daily prayers were reportedly declared illegal in South Yemen, with mosques converted to military use. - Only two Muslim seminaries remain in the USSR (Bokhara and Tashkent), training roughly 100 seminarists against a Muslim population exceeding 40 million. - The article contrasts Soviet propaganda of religious freedom with the reality of atheist indoctrination in schools and restrictions on public religious practice. - The Communist Party of Turkmenistan's First Secretary Muhammednazar Gafurov condemned the persistence of religious belief as incompatible with Soviet patriotism. ### Voices 1: The Ugly South African Reality *By INDU SARAIYA* Arvind A. Deshpande offers a rebuttal to a previously published article on Gandhian Socialism, arguing for the Gandhian concept of trusteeship over common ownership as a model for reconciling capital and labour. He surveys psychological theories of human motivation (Freud, Maslow, Schumacher) to argue that self-actualisation through service, not mere material redistribution, sustains ethical economic behaviour, and describes a common-ownership model from England and Spain with democratized management, capped wage differentials, and profit-sharing among workers, consumers, and community. - Deshpande frames trusteeship as the responsibility of the privileged and skilled toward the community, especially the poor and disadvantaged. - He invokes Jayaprakash Narayan's view that trusteeship offers an alternative to both unchecked capitalism and communism. - He draws on Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Schumacher's ideas on meaningful work to argue self-actualisation drives ethical economic conduct. - He describes a common-ownership model (from England and Spain) featuring elected management, a 1:6 maximum wage differential, and equal profit-sharing among workers, community, and self. - He contrasts this 'realistic' industry-society relationship with Indira Gandhi's narrower view of corporate obligation limited to quality standards and tax compliance. ### Voices 2: Recent Resolutions of Citizens for Democracy *By M. A. RANE* Indu Saraiya reviews Arun Gandhi's book 'A Patch of White' (Thackers, Bombay, 1969), describing its portrait of apartheid-era South Africa through the eyes of the author, a journalist and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. The review traces the book's account of the colonial origins of South African racial division, the entry of indentured Indian labour, and the entrenched Pass Laws, segregation, and imprisonment of African leaders like Luthuli and Mandela, praising the book's factual, dispassionate treatment of a highly charged subject. - Saraiya reviews Arun Gandhi's 'A Patch of White', which examines apartheid South Africa from a journalist's perspective. - The review recounts the book's history of Dutch and British colonization and the racialized origins of South Africa's social order. - It describes the entry of indentured Indian labour into Natal's sugar-cane economy and subsequent Indian community tensions. - It highlights the book's account of Pass Laws, segregated transport and public facilities, and imprisonment of African nationalists on Robben Island. - The reviewer credits the book for even-handedness, criticizing both white apartheid policy and some Asian commercial conduct. ### The World of Books (reviews of Freedom of the Press, and Winter Poems by Keki Daruwalla) *By PREETH I. BIDDAPA; HAVOVI ANKLESARIA* M. A. Rane reports the recent resolutions of the Citizens for Democracy (Bombay), which express concern over political corruption, black money in elections, and inflation harming the poor. The resolutions endorse electoral reforms proposed by a committee appointed by Jayaprakash Narayan, including state funding of a substantial part of election expenses, and call for decentralisation of power, repeal of preventive detention laws, and greater grassroots involvement in governance. - The Citizens for Democracy resolution highlights alarm over political corruption and black money's role in elections. - It endorses electoral reforms from a committee appointed by Jayaprakash Narayan, including partial state funding of election expenses. - It argues that poverty, corruption, and law-and-order problems cannot be solved by centralising power in one leader. - It calls for repeal of preventive detention laws and decentralisation of power to grassroots-level people's committees. - The resolution is dated 25 April 1981 and signed by M. A. Rane as Honorary Secretary. ### Population Control for Economic Growth *By ATTAR CHAND* The 'World of Books' page carries two reviews. Preeth I. Biddapa reviews 'Freedom of the Press', a booklet from an Institute of Social Studies seminar featuring excerpts from C. R. Irani, Prof. Sanghavi, and M. V. Kamath, which debates whether Indian press freedom is substantively constrained by economic pressures, urban bias, and government control of newsprint and advertising despite the absence of overt legal censorship outside the Emergency. Havovi Anklesaria reviews Keki Daruwalla's poetry collection 'Winter Poems' (Allied Publishers), finding its unrelenting imagery of decay and despair powerful in individual poems but repetitive across the collection as a whole, while praising its concrete, unsentimental language. - Biddapa's review covers a seminar booklet on press freedom, citing arguments from C. R. Irani, Prof. Sanghavi, and M. V. Kamath. - The reviewed seminar concludes that economic pressures, urban bias, and government control of newsprint/advertising limit real press freedom in India more than formal legal restriction. - It notes that only a few papers, including The Statesman and Freedom First, resisted press censorship during the Emergency. - Anklesaria's review of Daruwalla's 'Winter Poems' finds the poems individually striking but repetitive in their reliance on imagery of deserts and decay across the collection. - Anklesaria highlights the collection's monologue sequences and its blend of grotesque and tender imagery as its strongest achievement. ### Essay 9 Attar Chand surveys the global population growth challenge and its implications for economic development, contrasting rapid growth rates in developing regions with much lower rates in developed countries. The essay argues that population growth strains food production, employment, and environmental resources in poorer nations, and reviews policy approaches including infant mortality reduction, women's education, community incentives (citing Indonesia), and family planning services as complementary strategies to reduce fertility alongside economic development. - Developing regions grow at 2.1 percent annually versus 0.7 percent in developed regions, driving most of projected global population growth to 2000. - The UN projected world population reaching 6,200 million by 2000, with 90 percent of the increase occurring in developing nations. - Environmental degradation, unemployment, and stagnant per-capita calorie intake in 23 countries are linked to population pressure. - Chand identifies reduced infant mortality, women's education, and delayed marriage age as key levers for lowering fertility. - The essay reviews policy categories: improved services, information/education, restructural development, incentives/disincentives, and pressures/sanctions, citing Indonesia, Kerala, Sri Lanka, and China as examples. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff344/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 344 (August 1981), the magazine's 30th year of publication, edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani, opens with Ezekiel's own editorial denouncing the Maharashtra government's plan to build 204 costly 'Martyrs' Memorials' while pavement-dwellers are being evicted, reading it as a symptom of arbitrary, personality-driven governance. The issue's news and opinion pieces range widely over Cold War and human-rights themes: K. V. Subramanyam dissects Soviet 'switch trade' and mica/oilcake exploitation of India as a form of neo-colonialism; an unsigned report summarises Amnesty International's decade-long campaign against Vietnam's 're-education' camps; Zena Sorabjee documents the escalating persecution of Baha'is in revolutionary Iran; Rashmi Taneja assesses the Solidarity-era crisis in Poland and Brezhnev's dilemma; and P. M. Kamath analyses Indo-Pak relations against the backdrop of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and US arms sales to Pakistan.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 344 (August 1981), the magazine's 30th year of publication, edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani, opens with Ezekiel's own editorial denouncing the Maharashtra government's plan to build 204 costly 'Martyrs' Memorials' while pavement-dwellers are being evicted, reading it as a symptom of arbitrary, personality-driven governance. The issue's news and opinion pieces range widely over Cold War and human-rights themes: K. V. Subramanyam dissects Soviet 'switch trade' and mica/oilcake exploitation of India as a form of neo-colonialism; an unsigned report summarises Amnesty International's decade-long campaign against Vietnam's 're-education' camps; Zena Sorabjee documents the escalating persecution of Baha'is in revolutionary Iran; Rashmi Taneja assesses the Solidarity-era crisis in Poland and Brezhnev's dilemma; and P. M. Kamath analyses Indo-Pak relations against the backdrop of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and US arms sales to Pakistan. Domestically, the issue carries a full set of resolutions from the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) condemning preventive detention, attacks on judicial independence, press intimidation, and postal interception, alongside a note on the newly formed Society for the Right to Die with Dignity (chaired by M. R. Masani). A 'World of Books' section reviews Mary Carras's biography of Indira Gandhi and a Shashi Deshpande short-story collection, and Sampath S. Iyengar contributes an essay on moral versus purely economic approaches to development, invoking E. F. Schumacher and Robert McNamara. The volume is published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel. ## Essays ### Martyrs of Maharashtra *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* Nissim Ezekiel's editorial 'Martyrs of Maharashtra' attacks the state government's plan to build 204 Martyrs' Memorials at Rs. 5 crores each while, at the same time, pavement-dwellers and hutment-colony labourers are being evicted from Bombay in the middle of the monsoon. He characterises the Chief Minister's style as whimsical and personality-driven government by patronage rather than policy, citing a large grant to a dying Urdu poet, funds for a murdered professor's son, and lavish treatment of state guests as examples of 'management by muddle.' He calls for the public to organise against such abuses since the political opposition remains weak and divided. - 204 Martyrs' Memorials are planned at Rs. 5 crores each, of doubtful public utility - Pavement-dwellers and hutment-colony labourers were being evicted during the monsoon around the same time - The Maharashtra Chief Minister's governing style is described as whimsical, personality-driven patronage rather than policy - Examples cited include a large grant to a dying Urdu poet and funds for a murdered professor's son - The author calls the situation 'management by muddle' and urges public organisation against such governance ### The Ways of Soviet Neo-colonialism *By K. V. SUBRAMANYAM* K. V. Subramanyam's 'The Ways of Soviet Neo-colonialism' argues that the Soviet Union has replicated older imperial patterns of resource extraction dressed up in socialist rhetoric. Drawing on D. P. Sharma's investigative reporting in the Times of India and Economic & Political Weekly, he traces the origins of 'switch trade' to Hjalmar Schacht's financing of Nazi Germany and its perfection by Anastas Mikoyan, then describes how the USSR uses non-convertible rupee balances to extract Indian mica, groundnut/oil-cake, tobacco, and foodgrains cheaply while India is left short of foreign exchange and edible oils. He situates this within a broader claim that the Soviet Union, as the last surviving empire, pursued a Cold War strategy of gaining political and economic control over newly independent nations of Africa and Asia. - Article traces 'switch trade' methodology from Hjalmar Schacht's Nazi-era trade practices to Anastas Mikoyan's Soviet adaptation - Describes Soviet exploitation of India's rupee trade, citing D. P. Sharma's investigative journalism in the Times of India and EPW - Mica, groundnut/oil-cake, tobacco, and foodgrains are cited as commodities extracted from India via non-convertible currency arrangements - The 1971 Indo-Soviet protocol is described as trading Indian raw materials for Soviet metals and machinery without earning India free foreign exchange - Frames the USSR as the sole surviving empire pursuing political control over newly independent Afro-Asian states after WWII ### Call for End to "Re-education" Camps in Viet Nam This unsigned report, 'Call for End to "Re-education" Camps in Viet Nam,' summarises Amnesty International's multi-year engagement with the Vietnamese government following a December 1979 fact-finding mission. It recounts AI's 18 recommendations submitted after visiting three re-education camps, the Vietnamese government's official justification of continued detention on grounds of 'national treason,' and specific individual cases (a former South Vietnamese diplomat and a writer of children's stories) held without trial. The piece situates the camps as holding tens of thousands of former military, civilian, and political figures of the defeated South Vietnamese government since 1975, and describes AI's push for inspections, published camp lists, abolition of the death penalty, and ratification of international human-rights covenants. - AI's December 1979 mission to Vietnam produced 18 recommendations to the government, exchanged over 10 months - As of September 1980 the Vietnamese government reported 20,000 prisoners still held in re-education camps - The Vietnamese government justifies detention on the basis of a 1967 ordinance covering 'national treason' - AI documents individual cases including a former South Vietnamese diplomat (Buu Huang) and writer Duyen Anh, held without formal charges - AI's report calls for camp inspections, published prisoner lists, abolition of the death penalty, and ratification of human rights covenants ### The Society for the Right to Die with Dignity *By M. R. Pai* A brief notice announces the founding of the Society for the Right to Die with Dignity, headquartered in Bombay with a Bengal branch, aimed at building public support for legislation permitting terminally ill and suffering patients to end their lives under appropriate safeguards. M. R. Masani chairs the Society; Dr. Fredoon P. Antia is vice-chairman; Mr. G. G. Mehta and Mr. P. C. Manaktala serve as honorary secretaries; and Mr. A. N. Parakh is honorary treasurer. The Society intends to appoint a working group including a doctor and lawyer to draft a model bill for public discussion and submission to the Union Government and Parliament. - The Society for the Right to Die with Dignity is newly established with headquarters in Bombay and a branch in Bengal - M. R. Masani chairs the Society; other officers include Dr. Fredoon P. Antia, Mr. G. G. Mehta, Mr. P. C. Manaktala, and Mr. A. N. Parakh - The Society plans to draft a model bill on euthanasia/right-to-die legislation for public and parliamentary consideration ### Persecution of the Baha'is in Iran *By ZENA SORABJEE* Zena Sorabjee's 'Persecution of the Baha'is in Iran' documents the intensifying, government-backed persecution of Iran's roughly 500,000-strong Baha'i community following the Islamic Revolution. She traces episodic persecution back to the faith's 1844 origins in Iran and earlier confirmations by orientalists such as Count Gobineau and Lord Curzon, then details contemporary charges against Baha'is (heresy, 'spreading prostitution,' Zionism), the confiscation of Baha'i institutions, exclusion of Baha'i youth from universities, destruction of the holiest Baha'i shrine in Shiraz, and executions under Islamic Revolutionary Courts on charges of 'teaching the Baha'i Faith.' - Iran's Baha'i community, founded in 1844 and numbering nearly 500,000, faces a new wave of state-backed persecution post-revolution - Charges against Baha'is include heresy, promoting 'prostitution' (via women's education), and being 'Zionists' due to the faith's Haifa headquarters - Government teachers, doctors and officials who are Baha'i have been purged from their posts - Baha'i universities access is barred; only officially recognised religions (Islam, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity) are admitted - The holiest Baha'i shrine in Shiraz was destroyed while ostensibly under government protection; loyalty to the faith is now a capital offence ### Russia's Dilemma (Poland) *By RASHMI TANEJA* Rashmi Taneja's 'Russia's Dilemma' analyses the year-long Solidarity-driven crisis in Poland, describing the concessions won by Polish workers (independent unions, right to strike, press relaxation) and the reformist mandate given to Stanislaw Kania and General Jaruzelski at the Polish Communist Party's Ninth Congress. She frames Brezhnev's choice as a catch-22: military intervention risks a bloody, Czechoslovakia-1968-style repression with uncertain army loyalty, while tolerating reform risks further liberalisation spreading across the Soviet bloc. - Polish strikes since Gdansk have won independent trade unions, the right to strike, relaxed press censorship, and a five-day work week - The Polish Communist Party's Ninth Congress (July 1981) used Eastern Europe's first secret ballot to elect a reform-oriented central committee - The author compares the Polish crisis to Czechoslovakia in 1968, noting Poland's stronger grassroots and institutional base (Catholic Church, private sector) - Brezhnev faces a dilemma: military intervention risks uncertain army loyalty and severe cost, while tolerance risks further bloc-wide liberalisation ### People's Union for Civil Liberties — Resolutions This unsigned set of resolutions from the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), adopted at a National Council meeting in Bombay on 4th July 1981, addresses alarming increases in preventive detention, attacks on judicial independence, intensified attacks on the press, and interception of postal communications. It catalogues government tactics against the press (pre-censorship in Assam, abuse of journalists by ministers such as Gundu Rao and Antulay, newsprint denial, planting sympathisers), calls on the press to resist and publicise such encroachments, and condemns the Karnataka government's interception of citizens' mail as defended by Union Communications Minister C. M. Stephen. - PUCL condemns the growing use of the National Security Act (NSA) and preventive detention laws by central and state governments - Resolution criticises denigration of the judiciary by ministers and calls for judicial appointments free of political influence - Details systematic government pressure on the press including pre-censorship (Assam), abusive rhetoric from ministers Gundu Rao and Antulay, and threats to deny newsprint - Condemns Karnataka government's interception of citizens' postal mail, defended by Central Minister Stephen as a 'constitutional obligation' - PUCL membership and constitution available via Arun Shourie at the New Delhi address given ### The World of Books (reviews of Indira Gandhi In the Crucible of Leadership and a Shashi Deshpande story collection) *By PREETHI BIDDAPA; HUTOXI MEHENTI* Preethi Biddapa reviews Mary Carras's biography 'Indira Gandhi In the Crucible of Leadership,' praising its unusually objective, factual analysis of Mrs. Gandhi's life and the events leading to the Emergency. The review highlights Carras's critical assessment of both Mrs. Gandhi (her ad hoc rather than systematic approach to social reform) and Jayaprakash Narayan's movement (its ambivalence in justifying sedition and 'total revolution'), as well as her treatment of the Shah Commission's findings that no genuine emergency situation existed in 1975. - Mary Carras's biography of Indira Gandhi is praised as unusually objective compared to prior hagiographic or condemnatory accounts - Carras attributes pre-Emergency instability partly to Mrs. Gandhi's own policies rather than external conditions alone - The review notes Carras's critical assessment of JP's movement as ambivalent about sedition and violent versus non-violent revolution - Discusses the Shah Commission's finding, per Justice Khandalawala and Ram Jethmalani, that no law-and-order emergency existed at the time of declaration - Concludes with Mrs. Gandhi's own remarks defending the Emergency by pointing to Mujib's assassination and Bandaranaike's lack of comparable measures ### Unemphasized Issues in Economics *By SAMPATH S. IYENGAR* Hutoxi Mehenti reviews Shashi Deshpande's short-story collection (A Writer's Workshop Greenbird Book), praising its exploration of loneliness, guilt, and the fragility of emotional needs within middle-class Indian domestic life. The review highlights stories such as 'The Dim Corridor,' 'The Eternal Theme,' 'A Liberated Woman,' 'The Intrusion,' and 'Rain,' each examining constraints placed on women within patriarchal family structures, and praises Deshpande's simple, energetic prose style suited to spoken Indian English. - The collection has ten stories with a preface by G. S. Amur of Marathwada University - Major themes identified are loneliness, loss of privacy, guilt, and fragility of emotional needs within family relationships - Stories discussed include 'The Dim Corridor,' 'The Eternal Theme,' 'A Liberated Woman,' 'The Intrusion,' and 'Rain' - The reviewer highlights Deshpande's critique of patriarchal norms constraining women's choices in marriage and widowhood - Praises the prose style as simple and energetic, well suited to spoken Indian English ### Indo-Pak Relations *By P. M. KAMATH* Sampath S. Iyengar's 'Unemphasized Issues in Economics' argues that decades of Indian planning have failed to meaningfully reduce poverty because market mechanisms inherently favour those with prior endowments of capital, education, or power. Drawing on E. F. Schumacher's critique of economics based on envy and greed, and on historical moral safeguards against inequality (such as ancient prohibitions on permanent land alienation and slavery), he calls for economics to be infused with moral values, citing Robert McNamara and Willy Brandt's appeals to a moral basis for development, and invoking Buddha, Ashoka, and Mahatma Gandhi as exemplars of a morally grounded economic order. - India's economy has averaged only 3.5% annual growth and 1.3% per capita growth over 30 years, with benefits poorly distributed to the poor - The market mechanism is said to structurally exclude those lacking initial endowments of capital, education, or power - E. F. Schumacher's critique of economics based on 'envy and greed' and his call for 'meta economics' are discussed at length - Historical examples of built-in moral constraints on inequality (land reversion, five-year slave redemption, fallow-field rules) are cited approvingly - Robert McNamara and Willy Brandt are quoted on the moral (not merely economic) case for aiding the poor; Buddha, Ashoka and Gandhi are cited as advocates of a morally grounded economic order ### Essay 11 P. M. Kamath's 'Indo-Pak Relations' surveys the history of India-Pakistan relations through the lens of superpower rivalry, from Pakistan's Cold War alliances and India's 1971 Peace and Friendship Treaty with the USSR, through the brief thaw following Pakistan's 1979 non-aligned turn, to the renewed Cold War tension caused by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. He argues Pakistan may be preparing a pre-emptive strategy against India exploiting superpower rivalry, and closes by arguing India needs Pakistan as a buffer state and should offer a no-war pact, though this depends on Pakistan accepting India's position on Kashmir and abandoning its quest for parity with India. - Pakistan's post-independence insecurity led it into US-led anti-communist military alliances, drawing India toward the Soviet Union - The 1971 Bangladesh war and Pakistan's 1979 non-aligned turn briefly raised hopes for bilateral India-Pakistan relations free of superpower rivalry - The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan reintroduced superpower rivalry into the region, with the US agreeing to $3 billion in military/economic aid to Pakistan - The author suggests Pakistan may be preparing a pre-emptive military strategy against India, exploiting potential Soviet-Afghan involvement - Concludes that India needs Pakistan as a buffer state and should offer a no-war pact, contingent on Pakistan accepting India's position on Kashmir --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff345/ ### Summary This September 1981 issue of Freedom First (No. 345, marking the journal's 30th year of publication) opens with editor Nissim Ezekiel's sharp attack on Indira Gandhi's record of undermining judicial independence, particularly through the transfer of judges. Rashmi Taneja surveys the international controversy over President Reagan's neutron bomb decision and its strain on NATO unity. K. V. Subrahmanyam offers a historical critique of how Congress dominance, Nehru's authoritarian drift, and unresolved caste politics produced what he calls India's 'one party democracy.' A two-part 'Voices' section carries a correspondent's polemic against Janata Party defections and mergers, and Aloo Dalal's report on the poor state of women's health and development in India. 'The World of Books' reviews Bimal Prasad's edited volume of Jayaprakash Narayan's writings and Taya Zinkin's guide to English communication. K. S.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This September 1981 issue of Freedom First (No. 345, marking the journal's 30th year of publication) opens with editor Nissim Ezekiel's sharp attack on Indira Gandhi's record of undermining judicial independence, particularly through the transfer of judges. Rashmi Taneja surveys the international controversy over President Reagan's neutron bomb decision and its strain on NATO unity. K. V. Subrahmanyam offers a historical critique of how Congress dominance, Nehru's authoritarian drift, and unresolved caste politics produced what he calls India's 'one party democracy.' A two-part 'Voices' section carries a correspondent's polemic against Janata Party defections and mergers, and Aloo Dalal's report on the poor state of women's health and development in India. 'The World of Books' reviews Bimal Prasad's edited volume of Jayaprakash Narayan's writings and Taya Zinkin's guide to English communication. K. S. Venkateswaran's 'A Variety of Comment' column takes up race riots in Britain, trade union conduct (including a defense of the American 'right to work' movement, quoting Hayek), and a skeptical look at calls to nationalise Indian healthcare, quoting Nirad Chaudhuri's disillusionment with Britain's NHS. The issue closes with notices from the Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers and Common Cause (H. D. Shourie), reporting on their advocacy activities. ## Essays ### The Judiciary and Mrs. Gandhi *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* Nissim Ezekiel's lead editorial indicts Indira Gandhi's government for systematically undermining the independence of the judiciary, arguing that the transfer and supersession of judges whose verdicts went against her wishes was a deliberate campaign to intimidate the courts into compliance. He frames this as part of a broader authoritarian impulse evident throughout the Emergency and its surrounding periods, and warns that a judiciary stripped of freedom heralds a society without freedom, replaced by a pyramidal, tyrannical power structure. - Mrs. Gandhi's treatment of the judiciary is called deliberate, not accidental or well-intentioned. - The transfer of judges over adverse verdicts is described as one of the scandals of post-Independence judicial history. - Ezekiel links judicial interference to the same authoritarian logic seen in information and press policy. - He rejects the argument that judicial elitism justifies executive interference. - The piece frames an independent judiciary as essential to a democratic, non-tyrannical polity. ### The Neutron Bomb *By RASHMI TANEJA* Rashmi Taneja examines the controversy surrounding President Reagan's decision to produce the neutron bomb, describing the weapon's radiation-heavy, low-blast design and its intended use against Soviet tank superiority in Europe. She details the backlash from NATO allies, especially West Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, who were not consulted and fear the weapon lowers the nuclear threshold, and closes by warning that the decision could alienate European publics and hand the Soviet Union a propaganda advantage. - The neutron bomb is designed to maximise radiation and minimise blast/property damage, aimed at Soviet tank forces. - NATO allies were upset at not being consulted before the announcement. - European anti-nuclear sentiment and scepticism about U.S. foreign policy consistency are rising. - The Soviet Union is depicted as exploiting the controversy for propaganda purposes. - Taneja criticises Reagan's foreign policy as overly reliant on arms build-up over arms-limitation talks. ### India's One Party Democracy *By K. V. SUBRAHMANYAM* K. V. Subrahmanyam traces how the absence of a clear post-Independence policy vision, combined with Nehru's admiration for the Soviet model and Congress's decision to remain in power as a party rather than dissolve, entrenched one-party dominance in India. He argues Ambedkar was alone among the constitution's framers in grasping the risks of directive principles overriding fundamental rights, and that adult franchise without literacy requirements enabled caste- and community-based vote-bank politics. The essay ends by describing Nehru's drift toward authoritarian tendencies in power and the Congress syndicate's miscalculated elevation of Indira Gandhi as a pliable figurehead. - Congress chose to retain power as a party after Independence rather than following the American post-revolutionary precedent of dissolving. - Nehru's fascination with the Soviet Union's handling of a multinational state shaped his political instincts. - Ambedkar is credited as the only framer alert to the constitution's structural risks, drawing a parallel to Weimar Germany's collapse. - Adult franchise without literacy/civics requirements is blamed for caste- and community-based electoral politics. - Nehru's increasing intolerance of criticism in his later years is illustrated via the cases of John Mathai and Chintaman Deshmukh. - The essay closes on the Congress Syndicate misjudging Indira Gandhi as a controllable figurehead after Shastri's death. ### Voices - 1: Repeating Failures *By A CORRESPONDENT* Writing under 'Voices — 1', a correspondent excoriates the Congress(U), Lok Dal and Janata Party leaders for exploring a merger, accusing them of shamelessness and a cynical view of the electorate. The piece singles out Madhu Limaye's role in engineering the Janata Party split over the 'dual membership' issue as a pretext to purge the Jan Sangh element, and mocks the proposed leadership carve-up among Chandra Shekhar, Charan Singh and Devaraj Urs, calling instead for senior politicians to retire and let younger people lead. - Responds to an Indian Express report on a possible Congress(U)-Lok Dal-Janata merger. - Accuses politicians of megalomania rather than sincere reform intent. - Criticises the 'dual membership' pretext used to expel Jan Sangh elements from the Janata Party. - Mocks a proposed division of leadership roles among Chandra Shekhar, Charan Singh and Urs as self-serving. - Calls for senior politicians to retire and cede ground to younger leaders. ### Voices - 2: Women Health and Development *By ALOO DALAL* In 'Voices — 2', Aloo Dalal reports on the deteriorating health status of Indian women, citing findings from the National Committee on the Status of Women and the report 'Health for All: An Alternative Strategy.' She documents high maternal and infant mortality, an adverse and worsening sex ratio, the decline in women medical graduates, and the disproportionate burden of malnutrition, early marriage and prolonged breastfeeding on women's health, concluding that economic development has unfairly disadvantaged women, especially rural and construction labourers. - India's maternal mortality rate is cited at 393 per thousand live births, with high infant mortality at 120 per thousand. - India's sex ratio has worsened from 972 females per thousand males in 1901 to 935 in 1981, lowest in Punjab, most favourable in Kerala. - Kerala's high female literacy is linked to its comparatively better health outcomes and status for women. - The proportion of women among medical graduates fell from 47.1% in 1965 to 19.2% in 1976. - Female construction workers and rural female labour are highlighted as especially neglected and exploited groups. ### The World of Books (reviews of 'A Revolutionary's Quest: Selected Writings of Jayaprakash Narayan' ed. Bimal Prasad, and 'Write Right' by Taya Zinkin) *By B. P. ADARKAR; RAJALAKSHMI HEBSUR* In 'The World of Books,' B. P. Adarkar reviews Bimal Prasad's edited volume 'A Revolutionary's Quest: Selected Writings of Jayaprakash Narayan,' praising Prasad's introduction and selection while tracing JP's evolution from Marxism through Gandhism, Sarvodaya, Bhoodan, and finally to the concept of 'Total Revolution.' Rajalakshmi Hebsur separately reviews Taya Zinkin's 'Write Right,' a guide to effective English communication aimed partly at social scientists, praising its compactness and practical exercises. - Adarkar credits Bimal Prasad's introduction and 33-chapter selection for tracing JP's ideological evolution. - JP's thought moved from Marxism to a blend of Marxism, Gandhism and Western democratic values, and finally to Sarvodaya and Total Revolution. - Adarkar notes JP's reluctance to take administrative power despite his influence, including declining Nehru's invitation to join government. - Hebsur's review of Zinkin's 'Write Right' highlights its two-part structure: precepts on clear writing, followed by applied exercises. - Zinkin's book originated from her work training African and Asian doctoral students in the social sciences. ### A Variety of Comment: 1. Race Riots in Britain; 2. Trade Union Conduct; 3. Health Service Problems *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* K. S. Venkateswaran's 'A Variety of Comment' column covers three subjects: the disproportionate and hypocritical Indian media reaction to Britain's 1981 race riots, quoting Khushwant Singh's blunt account of immigrant behaviour contributing to tensions; the wave of trade union militancy in India (citing the Datta Samant affair and a strike-banning ordinance) contrasted approvingly with the American National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation's fight against 'forced unionism,' quoting Hayek and Justice Thurgood Marshall; and a sceptical review of the 'Health for All: An Alternative Strategy' report, contrasting its utopian rhetoric against public-sector health corruption with Nirad Chaudhuri's own disillusionment with Britain's National Health Service. - Venkateswaran criticises Indian media's hysterical, one-sided coverage of the 1981 British race riots. - He quotes Khushwant Singh's frank commentary on the behaviour of South Asian immigrants in England as a contributing factor to tensions. - He praises the U.S. National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation's legal battles against 'forced unionism,' quoting Hayek and Justice Thurgood Marshall. - He links rising Indian trade union militancy (the Datta Samant arrest, a government strike-banning ordinance) to a broader crisis of union conduct. - He criticises the 'Health for All: An Alternative Strategy' report as utopian statism, citing Nirad Chaudhuri's own reversal on Britain's NHS. ### Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers (notice) A short notice describes the newly formed Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers (CIJL), established by the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva, whose mission is to collect and disseminate information about threats to the independence of judges and advocates worldwide, especially those defending persons accused of political offences, and to invite cooperation from organisations and individuals. - CIJL was formed at the International Commission of Jurists' Geneva headquarters. - Its remit covers collecting information on inroads into judicial and legal-profession independence worldwide. - It documents harassment, arrest, exile and assassination of advocates, particularly those defending political offence cases. - It invites organisations and individuals globally to supply information or request assistance. ### Common Cause: Programmes and Activities *By H. D. SHOURIE* H. D. Shourie, Director of Common Cause, reports on the organisation's programmes and activities as a voluntary, non-political platform for the urban middle class, covering its advocacy on direct tax anomalies, estate duty, property tax, pensioner discrimination (including a Supreme Court writ petition), and rent control, and closes with a membership and funding appeal. - Common Cause presents itself as a non-political, non-sectarian, non-profit voice for urban middle-class grievances. - It successfully influenced the 1980 and 1981 Union Budgets on direct tax anomalies. - It pursued Estate Duty and Property Tax reform, including organising conferences and a resolution to the Government. - It filed a Supreme Court writ petition on pensioner discrimination and anomalies after collecting thousands of petitions. - It appeals for life membership (Rs. 100) noting donations are tax-exempt under section 80-G. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff346/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 346 (October 1981), the classical-liberal Bombay monthly founded by M. R. Masani and edited by Nissim Ezekiel, opens with Ezekiel's own editorial excoriating the non-aligned movement's selective moral outrage -- readily condemning Israel, South Africa, and the United States while staying silent on Soviet aggression in Afghanistan and Poland. K. S. Venkateswaran's regular "A Variety of Comment" column takes up three current controversies: the Antulay scandal as an indictment of concentrated state power, the Bombay pavement-dwellers case and the claimed 'fundamental right' to squat on public land, and a data-driven defence of infant-milk-food manufacturers against the anti-formula campaign. Y. Sivaji contributes a wide-ranging essay on how post-colonial 'socialist' strongmen (Sukarno, Nkrumah, Indira Gandhi, Ne Win) erode liberal democracy through Soviet-style planning and concentrated economic power. The issue's book-review section, "The World of Books," covers A. B. Shah's Religion and Society in India and B. R.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 346 (October 1981), the classical-liberal Bombay monthly founded by M. R. Masani and edited by Nissim Ezekiel, opens with Ezekiel's own editorial excoriating the non-aligned movement's selective moral outrage -- readily condemning Israel, South Africa, and the United States while staying silent on Soviet aggression in Afghanistan and Poland. K. S. Venkateswaran's regular "A Variety of Comment" column takes up three current controversies: the Antulay scandal as an indictment of concentrated state power, the Bombay pavement-dwellers case and the claimed 'fundamental right' to squat on public land, and a data-driven defence of infant-milk-food manufacturers against the anti-formula campaign. Y. Sivaji contributes a wide-ranging essay on how post-colonial 'socialist' strongmen (Sukarno, Nkrumah, Indira Gandhi, Ne Win) erode liberal democracy through Soviet-style planning and concentrated economic power. The issue's book-review section, "The World of Books," covers A. B. Shah's Religion and Society in India and B. R. Nanda's Mahatma Gandhi: A Biography, and two "Voices" columns give personal takes on a Sam Shepard play (Buried Child) and on meritocracy in Indian and British education. Buchung K. Tsering's essay recounts the political history of Tibet's loss of independence to China, and a public-service feature from Beauty Without Cruelty details the animal-derived ingredients in cosmetics and consumer goods. The masthead notes this is the magazine's 30th year of publication. ## Essays ### Evading the Truth: About African, Middle Eastern and Communist Regimes *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* Editor Nissim Ezekiel argues that the non-aligned movement and much of world opinion apply a double standard: quick to condemn Israel, South Africa, and the United States (e.g., for shooting down attacking Libyan planes), but silent on Soviet actions in Afghanistan, Poland, and elsewhere. He contends that India's Commonwealth appeal for an end to 'Big-Power confrontations' is naive, since in practice non-alignment functions to let Communist expansion proceed 'inch by inch' unchallenged. - Non-aligned nations condemn the US, Israel, and South Africa but stay silent on Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and events in Poland. - The dictator of Libya is cited as an example of a Middle Eastern regime pursuing territorial ambition under the guise of 'revolutionary justice'. - The US shoot-down of attacking Libyan planes over international waters is defended as justified self-defence. - India's Commonwealth appeal to end 'Big-Power confrontations' is criticized as vague and unworkable in practice. - The author concludes that non-aligned rhetoric effectively enables gradual Communist expansion. ### A Variety of Comment: 1. The Antulay Scandal, 2. The Pavement-Dwellers, 3. Baby Foods *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* K. S. Venkateswaran's 'A Variety of Comment' column addresses three topics. First, the Antulay scandal is read as proof of the corrupting potential of excessive state power, quoting Adam Smith on the 'interested sophistry of merchants and manufacturers' and Pogo's line about having met the enemy. Second, on the Bombay pavement-dwellers case, he argues it is wrong in principle to accept that unauthorised squatters possess a 'fundamental right' to occupy public pavements, even while sympathising with their plight. Third, on baby foods, he marshals market-share and breastfeeding statistics to argue that the anti-formula campaign (inspired by The Baby Killers report) rests on exaggerated claims about multinational milk-food companies' impact on Indian breastfeeding rates and rural consumption. - The Antulay scandal illustrates the 'inherent perversive potential of excessive state power' concentrated in the hands of elected representatives. - Business houses that ingratiated themselves with Antulay are blamed for succumbing to the licence-permit system's coercive leverage. - The Supreme Court's order in the pavement-dwellers case is criticized for extending the Bombay High Court's embargo on slum clearance indefinitely. - Petitioners' claim of a 'fundamental right' to occupy pavements is called legally and morally unsound, distinct from a humanitarian claim for reprieve. - Only 4.7% of Indian babies use branded infant milk food, and of these only 1.9% use a foreign brand, per the column's figures. - Glaxo's market share fell from over 29% (1971) to about 11% (1978) as milk co-operatives like Amul expanded. - A 1978 survey found 93% of Indian mothers breastfeed for at least some time, undercutting claims that formula marketing undermines breastfeeding. - The column argues a total ban on baby foods is not the right remedy; poor hygiene, not the products themselves, causes most bottle-feeding-related illness. ### Threats to Liberal Democracy *By Y. SIVAJI* Y. Sivaji's essay 'Threats to Liberal Democracy' surveys how newly independent Asian, African, and post-colonial states have drifted from democratic promise toward authoritarianism. Leaders such as Sukarno, Nkrumah, and (implicitly) Indira Gandhi's contemporaries -- Sirimavo of Ceylon, Ne Win of Burma -- assumed paternalistic 'father figure' roles while pursuing Soviet-style economic planning that emphasizes heavy industry and public-sector expansion at the expense of private capital and consumer welfare. The author argues that genuine liberal democrats mistakenly equate 'planning for democracy' with Soviet-style 'planning for totalitarianism,' and that Communist united-front tactics exploit and eventually eliminate genuine socialists and liberals alike. He calls for decentralization of political power and a mixed economy that avoids both unchecked capitalism and stifling public-sector control. - Post-independence leaders like Sukarno and Nkrumah styled themselves 'father figures' promising to dole out freedom and guide democracy paternalistically. - Communist united-front strategy uses opportunistic 'Socialist' rulers as allies before eventually eliminating both them and genuine liberals. - Soviet-style economic planning, emphasizing heavy industry and neglecting consumer industries, gradually leads newly liberated countries toward totalitarianism. - Concentration of economic power inevitably leads to concentration of political power in the state. - The essay calls for decentralisation of political power and a mixed economy balancing private capital with a non-wasteful public sector. - China's emergence as a third superpower has reshaped non-alignment's original rationale, alongside Soviet actions in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and support for authoritarian regimes. ### Voices-1: Theatre Greatness (review of Buried Child by Sam Shepard) *By INDU SARAIYA* Indu Saraiya reviews 'Buried Child,' Sam Shepard's Pulitzer Prize-winning play staged in Bombay by the Trinity Square Repertory Company (Rhode Island) at the Tata Theatre on 24 September 1981. The review reads the play's surreal three-act structure as a study of family degeneration and regeneration, centred on Vince's return to his dysfunctional farmhouse family, and praises the uniformly excellent cast including David Jones, Richard Kneeland, Tim Daly, and Amy Van Nostrand. - The play concerns Vince's return, after six years, to a decaying family farmhouse in Illinois, where no family member recognizes him. - Central characters include Grandpa Dodge, Grandma Halie, and sons Tilden and Bradley, each caught in dysfunction and isolation. - The mystery of a 'buried child' and its possible connection to Vince's own birth structures the play's suspense. - Shepard is quoted (from 1974) reflecting on themes of dying and rebirth rooted in his own upbringing as an Episcopalian. - The review praises the ensemble cast as uniformly excellent, highlighting David Jones, Richard Kneeland, Tim Daly, and Amy Van Nostrand. ### Voices-2: Meritocracy? *By N. L. KHANOLKAR* N. L. Khanolkar's 'Voices' column questions whether India's (and Britain's) exam-driven, 'meritocratic' education systems truly reward merit. Drawing on C. Northcote Parkinson's satire and sociological studies by Anthony Heath and Miles Hewstone, he contrasts Britain's class-inflected school hierarchy with the mechanical cut-off marks used for Indian professional-college admissions, and asks whether the well-rounded, curious student is being crowded out by rote learners, coaching classes, and exam malpractice. - Parkinson's satirical anecdote about a candidate rejected merely for being from 'Wigglesworth' opens the column's skepticism about meritocratic selection. - British sociologists Anthony Heath and Miles Hewstone are cited on the flawed workings of a 'semi-meritocratic society' and how public-school versus comprehensive-school students view each other. - Anthony Sampson's 'Anatomy of Britain Today' is invoked to argue that public-school old-boy networks still matter more than merit in the City. - In India, admission to science, medical, and engineering courses is governed by rigid aggregate-mark cut-offs (e.g., 85% out of a 94% top score). - The column criticizes exam copying, bribery for grade changes, and coaching-class culture as corrupting the meritocratic ideal. - It closes by asking whether education's purpose is only upward mobility, or also nurturing the 'average learner' and the well-rounded, curious student. ### The World of Books: Religion and Society in India by A. B. Shah (review) *By P. S. SUNDARAM* P. S. Sundaram reviews A. B. Shah's 'Religion and Society in India' (Somaiya Publications), a collection of essays by the self-described 'conscientious atheist' Shah. The review summarizes Shah's argument that India's founding vision of a shared national, not communal, identity has been undermined by religious separatism -- more pronounced historically among Muslim elites than Hindu reformers -- and by governmental policies (like the stalled uniform Civil Code and treatment of Aligarh Muslim University) that fail true secularism. Shah criticizes Radhakrishnan's model of secularism as equal state patronage of all religions rather than genuine separation of religion and state. - A. B. Shah is described as a 'self-proclaimed atheist' who nonetheless qualifies it with 'conscientious', retaining a strong moral sensibility. - Shah argues India's Constitution-framers sought a shared national identity rather than continued Hindu/Muslim/Sikh/Christian communal identification. - The book contrasts the 19th-century Hindu renaissance's willingness to self-critique with a Muslim elite that Shah says remained more circumspect toward Western/rationalist scrutiny of Islam. - Shah highlights Gandhi's practical secularism (treating Harijans as 'blood brothers', opening temples) versus Jinnah's framing of Gandhi as merely a 'Hindu politician'. - Shah rejects Radhakrishnan's notion of secularism as equal state funding of all religions, calling it inconsistent with genuine separation of religion and state. - The review closes questioning why India has not enacted a uniform Civil Code and why Aligarh Muslim University escapes reform scrutiny. ### The World of Books: Mahatma Gandhi - A Biography by B. R. Nanda (review) *By K. V. PADMANABHAN* K. V. Padmanabhan reviews B. R. Nanda's 'Mahatma Gandhi: A Biography' (Oxford University Press), first published in 1958 and reissued for this printing. The review recounts an anecdote from Gandhi's 1934 Harijan-fund tour to Mahe (the reviewer's own mother was present and donated jewellery), praises Nanda -- Curator of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library -- as eminently suited to write the 'most readable biography on Gandhiji one can find in India,' and traces Gandhi's arc from Porbander and South Africa (where he developed Satyagraha) through the Independence and Partition negotiations, regretting only that the book was not updated to address criticisms of Gandhi raised in scholarship since 1958. - The review opens with a personal anecdote: the reviewer's own mother donated gold jewellery at Gandhi's 1934 Harijan-fund collection in Mahe, French India. - Nanda, Curator of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, is called eminently suited to the task, and the book is termed the most readable Gandhi biography available in India. - The reviewer's chief criticism is that the book (first published 1958) was not updated to incorporate newer scholarship or to counter 'unfair and misguided criticisms' of Gandhi. - Gandhi's political weapon, Satyagraha, is traced to his South Africa years, with early admirers like J. J. Doke (his first biographer) noting his 'quiet, assured strength'. - Gokhale is credited with inducing Gandhi's return to India, hoping he would succeed him as President of the Servants of India Society. - The book covers the tortuous WWII-era and post-war negotiations leading to Independence and Partition, crediting Attlee's Britain and Gandhi's acceptance of the 'inevitable' partition. ### The Tragedy of the Tibetan People *By BUCHUNG K. TSERING* Buchung K. Tsering's 'The Tragedy of the Tibetan People' surveys the twenty-two years since Tibet lost its independence to China, explaining Tibet's historical isolation (as the 'forbidden city' of Lhasa) and religious institutions' fear of foreign contamination as key reasons China could subjugate the country so easily. The essay describes the great-power rivalry among Russia, China, and British India over Tibet in the 1940s, the failure of the UN and international community to act on Tibetan appeals, and the current 'sickening' state of continued repression despite a nominal 1979-era liberalisation that has since been withdrawn. Tsering, while admiring the PLO's use of violence to draw attention to its cause, argues Tibetans must continue pursuing non-violent means, and calls on the Tibetan government-in-exile to do more to publicise its cause internationally. - China began arriving in Tibet around 1950 and had fully subjugated the country by the end of 1959. - Tibet's historic self-sufficiency, religious insularity, and restriction on foreign entry (except for Sherpas and Monpas) enabled China to isolate and control the country with little external scrutiny. - In the 1940s, Tibet was caught between three power-hungry neighbours -- Russia, China, and British India -- competing for influence given Tibet's strategic position and mineral wealth. - Treaties like the Anglo-Russian, Anglo-Chinese, and Sino-Russian agreements led Russia and British India to wrongfully acknowledge Chinese 'suzerainty' over Tibet. - The Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama's 1956 visit to India, and Chou-en-Lai's follow-up 'friendly visit', are cited as moments when China managed international perception of Tibet. - The UN and international community are criticized for ineffectiveness despite Tibetan government delegations and memoranda. - Even under a nominal 1979 'liberalisation' policy, subsequent reports show renewed strict controls, and conditions are described as 'sickening'. - The author admires the PLO's determination but ultimately affirms non-violence as the appropriate means for the Tibetan cause, while urging the Tibetan government to publicise the cause more aggressively. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff343/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 343 (July 1981), the 30th-year issue of the Bombay-based liberal monthly edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani, opens with Ezekiel's own editorial-style essay indicting Western and Indian complacency toward Soviet expansionism, and Rahul Singh's survey of political assassination and terrorism worldwide following the killing of Bangladesh's President Zia-ur-Rahman. Domestic politics is covered through S. S. Bankeshwar's polemic against Y. B. Chavan's defection to Congress(I) and M. R. Masani's tribute to the late S. K. Patil. The issue carries a comment piece accusing a Congress(I)-linked Soviet friendship body of enabling covert influence, a book review of R. M. Lala's pro-Tata, pro-free-enterprise history "The Creation of Wealth," and a cluster of shorter reports and organisational notices covering population policy, a women's studies conference, consumer protection advocacy, alleged police brutality in Bihar's Bhagalpur blindings, and a profile of the Maratha Mandir charitable institution in Bombay.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 343 (July 1981), the 30th-year issue of the Bombay-based liberal monthly edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani, opens with Ezekiel's own editorial-style essay indicting Western and Indian complacency toward Soviet expansionism, and Rahul Singh's survey of political assassination and terrorism worldwide following the killing of Bangladesh's President Zia-ur-Rahman. Domestic politics is covered through S. S. Bankeshwar's polemic against Y. B. Chavan's defection to Congress(I) and M. R. Masani's tribute to the late S. K. Patil. The issue carries a comment piece accusing a Congress(I)-linked Soviet friendship body of enabling covert influence, a book review of R. M. Lala's pro-Tata, pro-free-enterprise history "The Creation of Wealth," and a cluster of shorter reports and organisational notices covering population policy, a women's studies conference, consumer protection advocacy, alleged police brutality in Bihar's Bhagalpur blindings, and a profile of the Maratha Mandir charitable institution in Bombay. In the rendered pages the volume reads as a mix of geopolitical commentary, partisan domestic political sparring, and civic/NGO reportage characteristic of the magazine's format, interspersed with period advertising. ## Essays ### Communist Doctrines — Illusion and Reality *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* Nissim Ezekiel's lead piece argues that the Soviet Union and its allies harbour no illusions about the non-communist world, while the West and India persistently delude themselves about Soviet intentions. He catalogues asymmetries: communists claim a right to intervene militarily in their 'sphere of influence' while granting no reciprocal right to others; they enjoy civil rights in free societies that they deny to dissidents at home; and Western and Indian opinion excuses Soviet actions in Afghanistan, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland as needing to be understood 'in context.' He closes by challenging readers to say whether communist doctrines are compatible with any genuine peace process, concluding that those who answer yes are 'instruments of communism.' - Communists' political language (peace, detente) is read by Ezekiel as strategic camouflage, not sincere policy. - Democracies extend civil rights to communists that communist states deny to their own citizens. - The USSR claims an unchallengeable right of intervention in its declared 'sphere of influence.' - Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland are cited as evidence that subject peoples reject Soviet 'moral hegemony.' - India's official framing of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan is cited as an example of self-deceiving euphemism. - Spain's position vis-a-vis NATO is used as a thought experiment about buffer-state complacency. - The piece ends by branding non-communist accommodationism as itself an instrument of communist interests. ### The Rule of the Gun *By RAHUL SINGH* Rahul Singh's 'The Rule of the Gun' surveys a spate of political assassinations and terrorism around 1981 — the killing of Bangladesh's President Zia-ur-Rahman, the Iranian parliament bombing, the shooting of Bani-Sadr's government, and the attempts on President Reagan and the Pope — and asks what drives such violence. He distinguishes lone deranged assassins (citing Mark Chapman and John Hinckley) from organised terrorist movements (Palestinian groups, the IRA, Basque nationalists, Italy's Red Brigades, West Germany's Baader-Meinhof gang), arguing the latter have identifiable grievances even when their methods are indefensible. Turning to India, he judges the country 'relatively free' of such violence apart from dacoity, communalism and the spread of unlicensed guns in Bihar, and credits Indian democracy's absorption of extremists (citing West Bengal's Marxists and the DMK) with defusing radicalism, while warning that economic stagnation and corruption could still erode this stability and eventually test military restraint from politics. - Assassination of Bangladesh's President Zia-ur-Rahman by General Manzoor frames the essay's opening. - Reagan and the Pope's 1981 shootings are cited as evidence that even stable Western democracies are vulnerable. - The American gun lobby's 'guns don't kill, people do' motto is criticized as self-serving. - South Korea's assassination of President Park is used as a case study in how a single killing can unravel state stability. - Organised terrorist groups (Palestinians, IRA, Basques, Red Brigades, Baader-Meinhof) are distinguished from lone deranged assassins. - India is characterized as comparatively free of political violence, aside from dacoity, communalism, and the proliferation of unlicensed Bihar-made guns. - Indian democracy's absorption of former extremists (West Bengal Marxists, DMK) into moderate governance is presented as a stabilizing mechanism. - The essay closes with a warning that economic stagnation and corruption could still destabilize India and test military non-intervention in politics. ### Chavan: The Lost Leader *By S. S. BANKESHWAR* S. S. Bankeshwar attacks Y. B. Chavan's decision to rejoin Congress(I) as rank opportunism dressed up as principle, mocking his description of the move as 'Home Coming' rather than defection. The essay recounts Chavan's public vows only weeks earlier to hold the Congress flag aloft even if abandoned by all others, contrasts this with his abrupt reversal, and predicts he will be humiliated by Indira Gandhi's inner circle and denied both cabinet rank and an assured Congress(I) ticket. Bankeshwar broadens the attack into a lament about the decline of Indian political leadership since the era of Tilak, Gandhi, Nehru, Rajaji and Bhagat Singh, coining the term 'Chavanism' for opportunistic fence-sitting, and calls for the political retirement of ageing leaders like Jagjivan Ram, Chavan and Charan Singh in favour of constructive social work. - Chavan's rejoining Congress(I) is framed as defection dressed up as reconciliation ('Home Coming'). - Bankeshwar quotes Chavan's own recent vow to hold the Congress flag aloft even if left alone, to highlight the reversal's hypocrisy. - The essay predicts Chavan will be denied a cabinet post and possibly an electoral ticket by Congress(I) loyalists. - Congress(I) is described as riven with infighting between post-1977 and post-1980 loyalist factions. - The essay coins 'Chavanism' as a new term for opportunistic political fence-sitting, alongside references to Gerrymandering and Spoonerism. - A broader lament contrasts contemporary politicians unfavourably with historic leaders like Tilak, Gandhi, Nehru, Rajaji, and Bhagat Singh. - The piece calls for veteran politicians (Jagjivan Ram, Chavan, Charan Singh) to retire into constructive social work. ### 'Live And Let Live' — S. K. Patil's Way *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Masani's short tribute on the death of S. K. Patil recalls him as a patriot whose fierce love for Bombay dominated the city's civic life for years, comparable to the era of Sir Pherozeshah Mehta. Masani praises Patil's cosmopolitan devotion to Bombay, which led him to champion a bilingual state and, failing that, a separate city-state rather than allow partition of the city. Despite being Masani's domestic political opponent within Congress in the pre-independence years, Patil is remembered as unusually tolerant and non-petty by Indian political standards, embodying a 'Live and Let Live' philosophy that Masani calls a rare liberal trait in Indian politics today. - Patil is remembered as a patriot whose devotion to Bombay's civic life was unmatched since Sir Pherozeshah Mehta's day. - Patil championed a bilingual Bombay state and, failing that, a separate City State, to avoid partition of Bombay. - Masani notes Patil was his domestic political opponent within Congress in pre-independence days, yet was 'grateful' for his tolerance. - Patil is praised as unusually free of pettiness and intolerance compared to most Indian politicians. - Masani frames Patil's 'Live and Let Live' outlook as a rare example of genuine liberalism in Indian politics. ### "Friends of the Soviet Union" — A Comment *By SHAHABUDDIN M. AKHATAR* This unsigned-byline comment piece (signed Shahabuddin M. Akhatar) raises alarm over a proposed protocol between the Congress(I)-sponsored Friends of the Soviet Union (FSU) and the USSR's Soviet India Friendship Society, drawing a parallel to the earlier CPI-linked Indo-Soviet Cultural Society, which the author claims enabled covert fund flows and Moscow travel. It singles out Professor Nurul Hasan, Vice-President of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, for signing the protocol despite governmental rules against officials joining politically sponsored bodies, and links him to Professor Moonis Raza's alleged installation of Marxist sympathisers at Jawaharlal Nehru University. The piece calls on the Prime Minister to act against what it frames as systematic Communist subversion of India's premier research institution. - A new protocol between the Congress(I)-backed Friends of the Soviet Union and the USSR's Soviet India Friendship Society is criticized as suspiciously timed. - The piece draws a parallel to the earlier CPI-dominated Indo-Soviet Cultural Society, alleged to have enabled covert subversion. - Professor Nurul Hasan, CSIR Vice-President, is criticized for signing the protocol despite rules against officials in politically sponsored bodies. - Nurul Hasan is linked to Professor Moonis Raza's alleged recruitment of CPI-affiliated faculty into Jawaharlal Nehru University. - The piece claims at least 40 percent of some JNU faculty are connected to Raza or share his 'Marxist Philosophy.' - The author calls on the Prime Minister to intervene to protect the CSIR from Communist subversion. ### Voices 2 — A Theatre Triumph *By INDU SARAIYA* A 'Voices' notice from the Aditya Vaanprasth Ashram, an organisation for retired people, describes its programmes: a proposed Indian Journal of Gerontology, a free pre-retirement advisory service staffed by already-retired volunteers, an emergency relief service organising local groups to help people in distress, and a project compiling, in collaboration with the Indian Merchants Chamber, a corrective record of Indian businessmen's social welfare contributions to counter what it calls one-sided public criticism of business. - The Aditya Vaanprasth Ashram plans an Indian Journal of Gerontology edited by C. P. Gupta. - A free Pre-Retirement Advisory Service is run by already-retired volunteers who have faced similar problems. - An Emergency Relief Service organises local groups of retired and younger people to assist people in distress. - The organisation is compiling, with the Indian Merchants Chamber, a record of business houses' social welfare work to counter one-sided criticism of businessmen. ### The World of Books — review of 'The Creation of Wealth' by R. M. Lala *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* Indu Saraiya reviews Theatre Group's revival of Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman,' directed by and starring Alyque Padamsee as Willy Loman. She praises Padamsee's portrayal of Willy's inner torment as achieved 'with astonishing ease,' commends Vijay Crishna's performance as Biff for capturing desperate, thwarted longing, and finds Dolly Thakore's Linda slightly short of the emotional complexity Miller's text demands. Farrokh Mehta's Charley is singled out as 'a masterpiece in miniature,' and Ronnie Screwwalla's Happy is called fluent, with a minor quibble about excess exuberance in the restaurant scene. - The review covers Theatre Group's revival of Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman.' - Alyque Padamsee's Willy Loman is praised for achieving Miller's 'Certain Private Conversations' with ease. - Vijay Crishna as Biff is commended for conveying desperate longing but urged to vary his emotional pitch more. - Dolly Thakore's Linda is judged to fall slightly short in expressing compounded love, faith, and doubt. - Farrokh Mehta's Charley is called 'a masterpiece in miniature'; Ronnie Screwwalla's Happy is 'fluent.' - A minor criticism is raised about excess exuberance in the restaurant scene relative to the otherwise muted orchestration. ### National Conference On Women's Studies *By SUNAINA SINGH* K. S. Venkateswaran reviews R. M. Lala's 'The Creation of Wealth' (IBH Publishing House, 1981), a House-of-Tata-commissioned history defending free enterprise against 'redistributionist' orthodoxy in India. The review praises the book for debunking claims of runaway Tata 'bigness,' citing figures showing Tata assets grew only 19% in real terms between 1972-77 once inflation is accounted for, and comparing Tata turnover favourably against General Motors and US Steel. It highlights JRD Tata's 1979 memorandum to the Janata Party asserting that management control rests with an elected Board, not the Tata family, and closes by praising the book's account of Tata labour-welfare innovations and philanthropic legacy, while acknowledging Lala's proximity to the subject invites accusations of being an 'official' history. - The book under review is R. M. Lala's 'The Creation of Wealth,' IBH Publishing House, 1981, pp. 209, Rs. 45. - The review frames Indian public discourse as gripped by a 'collectivist fog' hostile to free enterprise and 'Big Business.' - Tata assets grew only 19% in real (inflation-adjusted) terms between 1972-77, versus a nominal 66% figure often cited. - General Motors' turnover is cited as 150 times that of Telco; US Steel's as 30 times that of Tata Steel. - JRD Tata's 1979 memorandum to the Janata Party's National Executive is quoted stating management control rests with an elected Board, not the Tata family. - TISCO ownership is noted as spread among 80,000 shareholders, with government institutions controlling 45% of voting power. - The review praises Tata labour-welfare innovations dating to Jamsetji Tata, including an eight-hour day, provident fund, and maternity benefit. - The reviewer acknowledges the book's official sponsorship invites suspicion but argues its documentation still serves a valuable public purpose. ### Letter to the Editor (euthanasia / 'mercy killing') *By A. SOLOMON* A multi-signatory public statement, 'Our Population Explosion,' warns that India's population (given as around 686 million) threatens national stability and that recent slackening in family planning efforts risks reversing earlier gains. It calls for a package of social and economic development, well-structured health measures, and a national consensus above partisan politics to combine population control with family welfare in the forthcoming Sixth Plan. The statement carries a long list of signatories spanning politicians, industrialists, scientists, and cultural figures, and is followed by a short notice on the R. D. Karve Birth Centenary honouring the pioneer of family planning in India, organised by several rationalist and secular societies. - India's population is put at approximately 686 million, with nearly half living in abject poverty. - Only a little over a fifth of 113 million eligible couples are currently effectively covered by family planning. - The statement calls for combining population control and family welfare within a development strategy targeting the poor, in the new Sixth Plan. - It urges a 'minimal national consensus, above partisan politics' on family planning and welfare. - The signatory list spans politicians (Charan Singh, Devraj Urs, Vajpayee), industrialists (JRD Tata), scientists, and cultural figures. - A companion piece marks the R. D. Karve Birth Centenary, honouring Karve as a pioneer of family planning and rationalism in India, with a centenary committee chaired by Prabhakar Padhye and organised jointly by several rationalist and secular societies. ### Consumer Centre Inaugurated *By MANUBHAI SHAH, Managing Trustee* A short notice announces the R. D. Karve Birth Centenary, honouring Prof. R. D. Karve as a pioneer of family planning and rationalism in Maharashtra, noting that his name went unmentioned for most of the centenary year (beginning 14 January 1981) until several rationalist and secular societies formed a centenary committee to organise lectures, seminars, and a planned English biography and selection of his writings edited by Professor Y. D. Phadke. - R. D. Karve is described as a pioneer of family planning in India and a leading rationalist after Gopal Ganesh Agarkar. - Karve's monthly Samaj Swasthya and his Bombay family planning clinic are cited as evidence of his lifelong mission. - The centenary year began 14 January 1981; a committee was formed by the Indian Secular Society and allied bodies to mark it. - Planned centenary activities include lectures/seminars in Bombay, Pune, and Aurangabad, and an English biography and selection of Karve's writings edited by Professor Y. D. Phadke. - A separate Marathi biography by Phadke has been independently commissioned by H. V. Mote Prakashan. ### Essay 11 Sunaina Singh reports on a National Conference on Women's Studies held at SNDT University, describing it as deliberately 'national' rather than 'All-India' since women's education is framed as a national, not exclusively feminine, concern. UGC Chairman Mrs. Madhuri Shah and SNDT Vice-Chancellor Mrs. Jyoti Trivedi both called for structural change in attitudes and curricula; the conference recommended new courses across History, Political Science, Legal Studies and Psychology addressing women's status, but the report notes it left unaddressed reforms at primary/secondary levels and questions of syllabus design authority. A following letter to the editor references M. R. Masani's proposal for a 'Society for the Right to Die with Dignity' and criticises the term 'mercy killing' as prejudicial framing of voluntary euthanasia. - The conference at SNDT University was deliberately framed as 'National' rather than 'All-India' since women's education is a national concern. - UGC Chairman Mrs. Madhuri Shah's keynote called for addressing women's 'shackled' position of inequality and exclusion from development. - SNDT Vice-Chancellor Mrs. Jyoti Trivedi urged basic change in the attitudes of men holding power and policymaking roles. - New recommended courses spanned History (Women in the Russian Revolution, Social History of Women in India), Political Science, Legal Studies (rape, dowry, property law reform), and Psychology. - The report flags that the conference did not address needed reforms at the primary and secondary education levels, nor who should design the new syllabus. - A subsequent letter to the editor (A. Solomon) references M. R. Masani's proposal for a 'Society for the Right to Die with Dignity' and objects to the term 'mercy killing' as biasing public perception against voluntary euthanasia. ### Essay 12 A Sarvodaya Press Service report alleges that Bhagalpur police responsible for blinding numerous under-trial prisoners are being financially supported by local business magnates, who reportedly donated Rs. 5 lakhs toward the police's legal defence, and notes the Bihar Chief Minister publicly praised the police on a recent visit. It describes eyewitness accounts gathered by a Citizens' Freedom League film team, including the killing of Brahmadeo Mahato and the blinding of Raman Bind, and criticises the Government of India for denying British filmmakers permission to document the blindings, framing continued suppression as backfiring into greater publicity. - Business magnates and moneyed interests reportedly donated Rs. 5 lakhs to Bhagalpur police for litigation costs related to the blindings. - The Bihar Chief Minister is reported to have praised the police during a visit to Bhagalpur, drawing public surprise. - A Citizens' Freedom League film team documented testimony from blinded prisoners and villagers in the Shahkund sub-division. - Specific cases cited include the killing of Shri Brahmadeo Mahato and the blinding of Shri Raman Bind, then undergoing treatment in Aligarh. - The Government of India is criticized for refusing British filmmakers permission to portray the Bhagalpur blindings. - The report argues that government suppression is backfiring, drawing more publicity to the scandal. ### Essay 13 A short organisational notice describes the newly launched Sarvodaya Press Service (SPS), a Sarvodaya-activist-run news and features agency aimed at covering rural India and neighbouring countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) for a press otherwise poorly served by rural correspondents. It outlines subscription pricing, plans for an annual yearbook on agrarian youth, students, workers and women's movements from 1981, and frames its mission as bridging the communication gap between remote rural regions and the urban press. - Sarvodaya Press Service (SPS) is a new feature agency run by Sarvodaya activists to cover under-reported rural news. - SPS covers Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. - Services are priced at Rs. 500 annually for non-exclusive access and Rs. 250 per exclusive dispatch. - SPS plans an annual yearbook from 1981 covering agrarian youth, students, workers, and women's movements. - The notice frames rural India's isolation as a communication-gap problem, not merely a terrain problem. ### Essay 14 Manubhai Shah, Managing Trustee, reports on the inauguration of a new Consumer Centre by the Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC), Ahmedabad, following a settlement of a repudiated LIC death claim. He details the Centre's staffing, facilities (including a planned milk and edible-oil testing laboratory, a large library, and imported book holdings costing about a lakh of rupees), and its funding history, then recounts CERC's litigation record against LIC, the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation, the Gujarat Electricity Board, Ahmedabad Telephones, and Indian Airlines, including a landmark Gujarat High Court ruling on the right of reply. The piece closes by announcing CERC's own forthcoming monthly periodicals, Consumer Confrontation (English) and Grahak Suraksha (Gujarati). - The new Consumer Centre was inaugurated following the settlement of a repudiated Rs. 5,000 LIC death claim. - CERC's Centre has nine full-time staff, a 1900 sq. ft. facility, and is setting up a testing laboratory for milk and edible oil. - Its library subscribes to 80 journals from the USA, Canada, Australia, UK, Malaysia and elsewhere. - CERC's funding history includes an initial Rs. 250 corpus in 1978, growing to Rs. 6.50 lakhs collected and Rs. 4.25 lakhs spent in 1980-81, with the Gujarat Government alone contributing Rs. 1,15,000. - CERC has litigated against LIC, Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation, Gujarat Electricity Board, Ahmedabad Telephones, and Indian Airlines. - A landmark Gujarat High Court decision (under appeal to the Supreme Court) directed LIC to publish a reply by Prof. Manubhai Shah in its journal Yogakshema. - CERC is launching its own monthly periodicals: Consumer Confrontation (English) and Grahak Suraksha (Gujarati). ### Essay 15 An institutional profile introduces the Maratha Mandir, Bombay, describing its nine constituent organisations dedicated to spreading education and combating religious and caste bigotry, poverty and ignorance across seven schools in Bombay and Sholapur. It details the Mandir's programmes for women (Vanita Vishwa's Home Science, tailoring and dance classes), cultural promotion (Kala Kendra), healthcare (Arogya Kendra with free family planning services), social work training (Pragati Sangh), and employment assistance for the destitute (Bekari Nirodhan Sangh), presenting the Mandir as a broad civic and welfare institution serving Bombay's lower-middle and working classes. - The Maratha Mandir runs nine organisations and seven schools in Bombay and Sholapur serving about 5,000 students across all castes and communities. - Vanita Vishwa, the women's branch, runs Home Science, tailoring, and dance (Kathak, Manipuri) classes for women. - Kala Kendra promotes Marathi-stage singers and actors and has awarded over Rs. 20,000 in competition prizes over ten years. - Arogya Kendra provides free consultation in gynaecology, ENT, orthopaedic surgery and cardiology, alongside a Family Planning Centre. - Pragati Sangh trains social workers, conducts seminars, and runs a book bank. - Bekari Nirodhan Sangh assists destitute men and women on the premise that work is a fundamental right, and provides famine/flood relief. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff347/ ### Summary Issue 347 of Freedom First (November/December 1981), edited by Nissim Ezekiel, opens with an editorial attacking Indira Gandhi's foreign-policy rhetoric on a visit to Bulgaria, followed by K. S. Venkateswaran's regular "A Variety of Comment" column on Soviet law, India's West Asia diplomacy, and Soviet restrictions on scientists. The issue's central feature is a two-part response to Anwar Sadat's assassination: Rashmi Taneja traces the political causes of his fall, and Arvind A. Deshpande criticizes Indira Gandhi's public remarks about Sadat. Other contents include two film/theme reviews under "Voices" (a review of the film 36 Chowringhee Lane, and a reader's letter on euthanasia invoking Hindu scripture), a condolence tribute to the humanist scholar A. B. Shah, two book reviews under "The World of Books," and a substantial analytical essay by P. M. Kamath on over-centralization in Indian federalism under Congress (I) rule. The volume's argumentative center is a defence of liberal-democratic and constitutionalist values against both authoritarian foreign models (the Soviet bloc) and domestic centralization of power under Mrs. Gandhi. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Issue 347 of Freedom First (November/December 1981), edited by Nissim Ezekiel, opens with an editorial attacking Indira Gandhi's foreign-policy rhetoric on a visit to Bulgaria, followed by K. S. Venkateswaran's regular "A Variety of Comment" column on Soviet law, India's West Asia diplomacy, and Soviet restrictions on scientists. The issue's central feature is a two-part response to Anwar Sadat's assassination: Rashmi Taneja traces the political causes of his fall, and Arvind A. Deshpande criticizes Indira Gandhi's public remarks about Sadat. Other contents include two film/theme reviews under "Voices" (a review of the film 36 Chowringhee Lane, and a reader's letter on euthanasia invoking Hindu scripture), a condolence tribute to the humanist scholar A. B. Shah, two book reviews under "The World of Books," and a substantial analytical essay by P. M. Kamath on over-centralization in Indian federalism under Congress (I) rule. The volume's argumentative center is a defence of liberal-democratic and constitutionalist values against both authoritarian foreign models (the Soviet bloc) and domestic centralization of power under Mrs. Gandhi. ## Essays ### Bulgaria and Reality *By Nissim Ezekiel* In this editorial, Nissim Ezekiel accuses Indira Gandhi of ideological evasiveness on her tour of Bulgaria, arguing that her calls for an end to military build-up and for "sovereign equality" ignore Bulgaria's total subservience to Soviet military and economic power. He contends that her rhetoric of peace and non-alignment obscures the real source of Asian tension, which he locates in Soviet expansionism (via arms to Pakistan and presence in Afghanistan) rather than in American resistance to it. - Criticizes Mrs. Gandhi's calls for 'sovereign equality' and an end to military build-up as hollow given Bulgaria's total subservience to Soviet power. - Argues Bulgaria's economy and politics are tied to the Soviet Union, making its support for 'restructuring international economic relations' hypocritical. - Notes that Terror as a method of political control is taken for granted in communist states and goes unmentioned by Mrs. Gandhi. - Frames Soviet arms to Pakistan and presence in Afghanistan, not American resistance, as the true source of Asian military tension. - Accuses Mrs. Gandhi of blinding herself to ideological differences in order to repeat a 'mantra of peace'. ### A Variety of Comment (1. Soviet Law; 2. India and West Asia; 3. The Missing Scientist) *By K. S. Venkateswaran* K. S. Venkateswaran's regular column offers three short items. "Soviet Law" criticizes the Indian Law Minister's praise for the speed of Soviet justice, arguing that Soviet legal 'efficiency' comes at the cost of subordinating law to political expediency, unlike Britain's independent judiciary. "India and West Asia" endorses Janata MP Subramaniam Swamy's criticism that India's public support for the Arab cause alongside private sympathy for Israel constitutes diplomatic dishonesty that has cost India credibility without gaining reciprocal Arab support. "The Missing Scientist" reports on the unexplained absence of Soviet physicist Prof. L. B. Okunn from an international physics conference, reading it as further evidence of Soviet restrictions on academic freedom, and asks why Indian scientists have not protested such restrictions. - Criticizes the Union Law Minister's praise for the Soviet legal system's 'speed' as ignoring its subordination of law to political expediency. - Contrasts Soviet legal practice unfavorably with Britain's fiercely independent judiciary despite institutional shortcomings. - Endorses Subramaniam Swamy's charge that India's West Asia policy of public pro-Arab posture plus private sympathy to Israel is self-defeating hypocrisy. - Notes that in every India conflict, the Arab vote has sided with India's opponent despite India's consistent pro-Arab diplomacy. - Reports the unexplained non-appearance of Soviet physicist Prof. L. B. Okunn at a Wisconsin physics conference as a symptom of Soviet restriction on scientific freedom. - Challenges the Indian scientific community to protest Soviet restrictions on intellectual freedom. ### Why Sadat Was Killed *By Rashmi Taneja* Rashmi Taneja's feature traces the political trajectory that led to Anwar Sadat's assassination: his consolidation of power after succeeding Nasser, the 1973 war, the 1977 Jerusalem visit, the Camp David accords, and the domestic economic liberalization that widened inequality and fed both Nasserist and Muslim Brotherhood opposition. She argues the assassination was not an isolated act but the product of intensifying Islamist unrest, sectarian riots, and a government crackdown that swept up 1500 people shortly before Sadat's death, and closes by weighing the constraints facing his successor, Hosni Mubarak, including Arab isolation and the unfinished return of Sinai. A short companion piece by Arvind A. Deshpande, "Sadat: Another View," criticizes Indira Gandhi's public description of Sadat as a leader of an unpopular regime propped up by the West, arguing this was an ungracious and politically damaging remark about a courageous ally, and calls for an opinion poll to test whether Indians actually approve of India's pro-Arab-confrontation stance. - Sadat's domestic liberalization after 1974 abandoned Nasser's socialist economics, widening inequality and triggering the 1977 bread riots. - Both Nasserist leftists and the Muslim Brotherhood grew as organized opposition amid economic stagnation and pro-Western foreign policy. - A crackdown arresting 1500 people, including political critics, preceded the assassination by a month, suggesting the killing was not isolated. - The Camp David accords (Sept 1978) and 1979 peace treaty isolated Sadat from the Arab world by sidelining Palestinian autonomy. - Mubarak inherits a difficult legacy: containing Islamist unrest, recovering the remaining Sinai territory by April 1982, and deciding whether to realign with the Arab world or the Soviet Union. - Deshpande's companion piece condemns Indira Gandhi's description of Sadat as an 'unpopular' Western-propped leader as ungracious and out of step with Indian public opinion. ### Sadat: Another View *By Arvind A. Deshpande* Under the "Voices" rubric, Ramni Taneja reviews Aparna Sen's directorial debut 36 Chowringhee Lane, praising Jennifer Kendal's performance as Anglo-Indian schoolteacher Violet Stoneham, an aging, isolated spinster whose brief renewed sense of purpose through a young Bengali couple ends in a quiet betrayal. The review reads the film as a meditation on loneliness, the decline of the Anglo-Indian community in post-independence Calcutta, and the contrast between youth and old age, highlighting the use of the hymn "Silent Night" as a recurring ironic motif. - Reviews Aparna Sen's 36 Chowringhee Lane (produced by Shashi Kapoor), her directorial debut and Jennifer Kendal's breakthrough role. - Reads Violet Stoneham as both an individual and a symbol of the dwindling Anglo-Indian community's isolation in old age. - Traces the plot: Stoneham's friendship with a young couple, Nandita and Samaresh, who use her flat and ultimately abandon her after marrying. - Highlights a dream sequence recalling the wartime death of Stoneham's fiance as the film's most emotionally direct scene. - Notes the recurring use of the hymn 'Silent Night' as an ironic motif bookending the friendship's rise and betrayal. ### Voices-1: 36 Chowringhee Lane *By Ramni Taneja* In a second "Voices" item, Praja R. Parekh responds to M. R. Masani's earlier comments on the right to die with dignity, arguing that India's law criminalizing attempted suicide reflects Lord Macaulay's Christian theological assumptions rather than Hindu tradition. Citing the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Bhagavata Purana, and examples such as Adi Shankaracharya and Swami Vivekananda, the author argues Hindu dharma has never condemned voluntary death and that the existing law contravenes Hindu ethics and scripture, while conceding that any legal liberalization would need safeguards against abuse. - Argues the Indian Penal Code's criminalization of attempted suicide, drafted by Lord Macaulay, reflects Christian theology rather than Hindu tradition. - Cites the Ramayana (Rama's death by drowning), the Mahabharata (the Pandavas' final journey), and the Bhagavata Purana (Krishna's death) as scriptural precedent for voluntary death. - Lists historical examples: Adi Shankaracharya, Swami Rama Tirtha, Sant Dnyaneshwar, and Swami Vivekananda as having invited or chosen their own deaths. - Acknowledges fears that legalizing the right to die could be abused, but argues the law can build in safeguards against coercion or fraud. - Concludes current Indian law on suicide contravenes Hindu ethics, usage, and scriptural tradition. ### Voices-2: The Right To Die *By Praja R. Parekh* A. Solomon's tribute, extracted from a speech at a condolence meeting in Pune, honours the philosopher and humanist A. B. Shah, describing him as a rigorous rationalist who devoted his life to the social and cultural preconditions for freedom, equality, and dignity. It praises Shah's fearless, evidence-based critical study of Islam, noting that although this earned him accusations of being 'anti-Muslim,' his aim was the social emancipation of Muslims as fellow citizens, and that Shah's larger goal was to combat obscurantism and fanaticism in all religions equally. - Shah asked for no religious rites or condolence meetings at his death, in keeping with his rationalist and humanist convictions. - His life's dedication was to creating the 'social and cultural pre-conditions for a society based on freedom, equality, and the dignity of the individual.' - He was among the few non-Muslims to undertake serious critical study of Islam, which some considered scholarly and others labeled 'anti-Muslim.' - The speech argues his critiques were motivated by a genuine desire for the social emancipation of Muslims, not hostility. - Frames obscurantism and fanaticism, in any religion, as the true threats to human freedom that Shah opposed throughout his career. ### Tribute to A. B. Shah (extracts from a speech at the condolence meeting held at Pune on 16 October 1981) *By A. Solomon* "The World of Books" carries two reviews. Preeth J. Biddapa reviews W. D. Thatte's novel Ripples on Jamuna, a critical account of post-independence Indian politics, judging it pedantic, cynical, and verbose, lacking real insight into the causes of political decay despite its ambitious scope, and questioning its high Rs. 40 price. Shama Futehally reviews the art magazine Art Heritage 2 (edited by E. Alkazi), praising its physical production, well-chosen illustrations, and wide-ranging themes from early Indian symbolism to modern painters like Gieve Patel and Nalini Malani, but criticizing the uniformly heavy, monotonous prose style of most contributors as a barrier to a general readership interested in Indian art. - Biddapa faults Ripples on Jamuna for pedantic, verbose prose that fails to illuminate the causes of Indian political decay despite covering the freedom struggle and its aftermath. - Biddapa singles out the book's Rs. 40 price as disproportionate to its quality. - Futehally praises Art Heritage 2's production quality, comparing it to Marg magazine, including tasteful integration of advertising. - Futehally covers essays on symbolism in early Indian art, Gwalior court paintings, and modern painters including Gieve Patel, Nalini Malani, and the 18th-century Garhwali painter Mola Ram. - Futehally criticizes the 'scholarly Indian disease' of monotonous, heavy prose that makes the volume's essays a burden rather than a pleasure to read for general readers. ### The World of Books: Ripples on Jamuna by W. D. Thatte (review) *By Preeth J. Biddapa* P. M. Kamath argues that the central malady of Indian federalism since 1971, and especially since Indira Gandhi's return to power in 1980, is over-centralization rather than any structural design flaw. He traces the historical roots of centralization to the 1947 communal violence and the Telangana uprising, which pushed the Constitution's framers toward a strong Centre, but argues that Mrs. Gandhi's dual role as Prime Minister and Congress (I) party president has since concentrated political power to the point where governors, chief ministers, and party organs at every level are effectively her personal creations. Kamath calls for a 'federalized political process' involving inner-party democracy and devolved initiative, while conceding this call is likely to go unheeded given the vested interests of Congress (I)'s state leadership. - Frames over-centralization, not federal structure itself, as the core problem afflicting Indian federalism since 1971 and especially since 1980. - Traces the historical case for a strong Centre to 1947 communal violence and the Telangana uprising, which shaped the Constitution's distribution of powers. - Argues non-Congress state governments (West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, J&K) exercise greater real autonomy than Congress-ruled states, showing the issue is partly political rather than purely structural. - Describes Mrs. Gandhi's dual role as Prime Minister and Party President as concentrating appointment and removal power over chief ministers, governors, and party officials. - Cites the 'administrative constipation' (a phrase attributed to former Burmese PM U Nu) caused by requiring all decisions to funnel through one leader. - Proposes a federalized political process with inner-party democracy and devolution of initiative as the necessary corrective, while doubting Congress (I) will adopt it. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff348/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 348 (January 1982) opens with editor Nissim Ezekiel's editorial "Lies About Poland" and a report on advocate P. N. Lekhi's Bombay address "Betrayal of Poland," both using the Solidarity crisis and General Jaruzelski's martial law to indict Soviet-backed communism, drawing an explicit parallel to Indira Gandhi's 1975 Emergency. K. S. Venkateswaran's "A Variety of Comment" column takes up judicial integrity in the wake of the Delhi High Court judges controversy, a Maharashtra circular mandating a civic pledge in colleges, and the neglected centenary of P. G. Wodehouse. A three-part "Voices" section carries short pieces on the war in Angola (Ian Tickle), a Doordarshan poetry programme review (Indu Saraiya), and a satirical column on communal one-upmanship titled "Oh to be an Indian!" (Geeta Doctor). Rashmi Taneja reports on the Crosby by-election and the rise of the SDP-Liberal Alliance as a challenge to Britain's two-party system. "The World of Books" reviews Humayun Kabir's reissued novel Men and Rivers (Feroza Vaghaiwalla) and Vaikom Basheer's story collection Me Grandad 'Ad an Elephant (Havovi Anklesaria).… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 348 (January 1982) opens with editor Nissim Ezekiel's editorial "Lies About Poland" and a report on advocate P. N. Lekhi's Bombay address "Betrayal of Poland," both using the Solidarity crisis and General Jaruzelski's martial law to indict Soviet-backed communism, drawing an explicit parallel to Indira Gandhi's 1975 Emergency. K. S. Venkateswaran's "A Variety of Comment" column takes up judicial integrity in the wake of the Delhi High Court judges controversy, a Maharashtra circular mandating a civic pledge in colleges, and the neglected centenary of P. G. Wodehouse. A three-part "Voices" section carries short pieces on the war in Angola (Ian Tickle), a Doordarshan poetry programme review (Indu Saraiya), and a satirical column on communal one-upmanship titled "Oh to be an Indian!" (Geeta Doctor). Rashmi Taneja reports on the Crosby by-election and the rise of the SDP-Liberal Alliance as a challenge to Britain's two-party system. "The World of Books" reviews Humayun Kabir's reissued novel Men and Rivers (Feroza Vaghaiwalla) and Vaikom Basheer's story collection Me Grandad 'Ad an Elephant (Havovi Anklesaria). The issue closes with a Sarvodaya Press Service report on Raj Inqalab, a Bihar-movement activist held without trial and on a prolonged fast in Bhagalpur jail. ## Essays ### Lies About Poland *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* Editor Nissim Ezekiel's editorial argues that Western and Indian commentary on Poland has been captured by communist propaganda that recasts Soviet-backed repression of Solidarity as a legitimate internal matter. He contends that all attempts to reconcile Marxist and progressive politics with democratic pluralism have failed, since in practice such regimes are tyrannical and anti-democratic. - World opinion on Soviet expansionism and Poland is described as late, divided and impotent. - The editorial rejects the framing that Solidarity's actions risked an 'easy take-over of Poland by the West'. - Argues the Daily editorial's language ('normal', 'relaxed emergency regulations') obscures continued repression. - Frames the Polish crisis as part of a larger truth about communism and Marxist-influenced socialism being tyrannical in practice. - Concludes that no communist or socialist society has assimilated the practices of democratic pluralism. ### Betrayal of Poland *By P. N. LEKHI* P. N. Lekhi's address, delivered at a Bombay public meeting on Indian solidarity with Poland, traces the history of Polish worker uprisings from Poznan 1956 through Gdansk 1970 to the 1980 founding of Solidarity, and explicitly parallels Gen. Jaruzelski's martial-law broadcast justifying Poland's emergency with Indira Gandhi's 26 June 1975 broadcast imposing the Indian Emergency, arguing both were dressed in the same propagandistic language documented by the Shah Commission. He further argues that Soviet military presence in Angola, Russian troop involvement in India-adjacent affairs, and Indo-Soviet treaty 'consultation' clauses show a pattern of Soviet interference comparable to its actions in Poland. - Traces Polish worker revolts of 1956 (Poznan), 1970 (Gdansk) and 1976, culminating in Solidarity's founding in September 1980. - Cites Solidarity's membership (8-10 million of 16 million Polish workers) and its demands: end of censorship, release of political prisoners, independent trade unions. - Draws a direct parallel between Jaruzelski's martial-law broadcast and Indira Gandhi's 26 June 1975 Emergency broadcast, both examined via 'brilliant lies' per Lekhi's account of the Shah Commission findings. - Compares Pravda's and Tass's justifications for the Polish emergency to CPI paper New Age's 1975 'Fascist Conspiracy Crushed' framing of the Indian Emergency. - Cites a population imbalance in Poland (17 million males vs 18.1 million females) as evidence of genocide via wartime deportations, referencing the Genocide Convention. - Argues Russian troop presence and arms sales in India (over 13,000 Russian advisors, four-fifths of weapons imports) mirror Soviet designs on Poland. - Notes Brezhnev's 12 November 1968 Warsaw speech (the Brezhnev Doctrine of limited sovereignty) as the ideological basis for Soviet intervention. ### A Variety of Comment (Judicial Integrity / The Stature of Wodehouse / Honour Thy Elders) *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* K. S. Venkateswaran's regular comment column covers three topics: the erosion of judicial integrity following the non-confirmation of two Delhi High Court judges and Maharashtra Chief Minister A. R. Antulay's proposal to abolish the Bombay High Court's Original Side; a Maharashtra government circular mandating a twice-yearly patriotic pledge in colleges on Republic Day and Independence Day, which the column questions on principle even while conceding the pledge's content is unobjectionable; and the neglected centenary of P. G. Wodehouse in India, noted alongside Dr. M. N. Sharma's new critical study Wodehouse, The Fictionist. - References the 1973 and 1976 'supersession' episodes when independent judges were bypassed for top judicial appointments on political grounds. - Criticizes the 1980 episode of a Supreme Court judge sending an admiring letter to the Prime Minister, and the recent controversial non-confirmation of two Delhi High Court judges. - Reports Antulay's proposal to abolish the Bombay High Court's Original Side as wasting judicial time, which the column calls unsound. - Describes a Maharashtra Directorate of Education circular requiring students to take a patriotic pledge twice yearly, and questions whether patriotism should be compulsory rather than voluntary. - Cites U.S. Justice Jackson's opinion that no official may prescribe orthodox belief and that patriotism should be voluntary, not a compulsory routine. - Notes Wodehouse's birth centenary passed largely unremarked in India apart from Auberon Waugh's controversial Observer piece and Dr. M. N. Sharma's new study. ### Voices-1: The Real Battle in Angola *By IAN TICKLE (Swiss Press Review and News Report)* Ian Tickle's short 'Voices' piece on Angola argues that the Western press has overlooked Jonas Savimbi's UNITA movement, which controls southern Angola and fights against Soviet and Cuban-backed forces, following a South African incursion that killed and captured Soviet military personnel. It frames UNITA as a genuine popular movement with 80,000 guerrillas building fledgling democratic institutions, and predicts a northward offensive toward Luanda. - South Africa's incursion into southern Angola killed, captured, and routed Soviet military personnel. - UNITA, led by Jonas Savimbi, holds the eastern half of the Angola frontier and fights Communist-backed MPLA forces, receiving diesel fuel aid from South Africa despite Savimbi's opposition to apartheid. - UNITA fields 11 infantry battalions and 80,000 guerrillas, with arms captured from MPLA or supplied by China. - Saudi Arabia is described as UNITA's biggest funder. - The piece frames UNITA's fledgling democratic institutions as the only democratic institutions Angola has ever had. ### Voices-2: Tele-Review *By INDU SARAIYA* Indu Saraiya reviews a Doordarshan programme, 'Vibrations,' featuring poet Saleem Peeradina interviewed by Shanta Gokhale, with actors Naseeruddin Shah and Tom Alter reciting his poems. She judges the show flawed by over-production and excessive visual staging that undercut the poems, and criticizes the interviewer for offering her own critical interpretations rather than letting Peeradina explain his own work. - The 12 December 1981 Doordarshan programme combined recitation of Saleem Peeradina's poems by actors Naseeruddin Shah and Tom Alter with an interview conducted by Shanta Gokhale. - Saraiya argues visual staging and lighting effects distracted from poems like 'Marriage Manual', 'Tree' and 'Finalities'. - Criticizes Gokhale for supplying her own critical readings of the poems rather than letting Peeradina fully articulate his own view. - Argues anterior criticism by an interviewer generates self-consciousness and defensive attitudes in the poet being interviewed. ### Voices-3: Oh to be an Indian! *By GEETA DOCTOR* Geeta Doctor's satirical piece describes a Madras 'parlour game' called 'Who is an Indian?' in which Hindus freely criticize the government among themselves, but a Muslim who voices identical criticism is challenged to prove his national loyalty. She extends the satire to loudspeaker wars between temples and mosques, and to the differing treatment of NRI professionals in the US versus unskilled Gulf migrant workers, noting the latter group draws suspicion specifically because its members are mostly Muslim. - Describes an informal game in Madras newspaper columns where Muslims voicing standard political complaints are challenged with 'Are you an Indian?' while Hindus voicing the same complaints face no such challenge. - Extends the satire to competitive loudspeaker use between temples and mosques in Indian cities. - Contrasts NRI professionals who emigrated to the USA (mostly upper-caste, from the South) with Gulf migrant labourers, noting the latter remit money home faithfully yet face suspicion. - Notes that suspicion of Gulf remittances intensified specifically because that migrant group is predominantly Muslim. ### Major Change in British Politics *By RASHMI TANEJA* Rashmi Taneja analyses the Crosby by-election victory of Shirley Williams for the new Social Democratic Party (allied with the Liberals) as a sign that Britain's traditional two-party system may be ending. She surveys Margaret Thatcher's unpopular monetarist policies amid rising inflation and unemployment, dissent from 'wet' cabinet ministers like Sir Ian Gilmour, and Labour's internal split between the moderate right (Denis Healy) and the radical left (Tony Benn), concluding that the SDP-Liberal Alliance could be unstoppable unless either major party changes course. - Shirley Williams won the Crosby by-election for the SDP by over 5,000 votes in a previously safe Conservative seat, with Labour's candidate losing his deposit. - Thatcher's monetarist policies had produced 11.5% inflation and unemployment nearing 3 million; she dismissed dissenting 'wet' ministers in September. - Sir Ian Gilmour, a dismissed 'wet' and former deputy Foreign Secretary, accused Thatcher of 'steering full speed ahead for the rocks'. - Labour is described as split between Denis Healy's moderate right and Tony Benn's radical left, with a party policy document favouring EEC withdrawal without referendum and unilateral nuclear disarmament while remaining in NATO. - SDP co-founder Roy Jenkins insists the SDP is 'not a Mark II Labour Party', noting 24 of its 25 MPs are former Labour members and one former Tory. - Concludes the SDP-Liberal Alliance's rise may be unstoppable unless Benn abandons the radical left or Thatcher reverses her strategy. ### The World of Books: Men and Rivers (review) *By FEROZA VAGHAIWALLA* Feroza Vaghaiwalla reviews the 1982 Orient Longman reprint of Humayun Kabir's 1945 novel Men and Rivers, a story of rural friendship turned enmity between Nazu Mia and Asgar Mia, whose children Malek and Nuru fall in love only to discover they share a mother, a revelation that shatters Malek's world. The reviewer praises the novel's vivid depiction of village life and its parallel between human fate and the unpredictable river, but finds the principal characters one-dimensional compared to vividly drawn minor figures like the faqir and the hakim, and judges it a simple, worthwhile period piece. - The novel centers on the broken friendship of Nazu Mia and Asgar Mia and the forbidden love of their children Malek and Nuru, who share a mother. - Nazu drowns in the river during a storm just as Malek's life is upended by learning the truth of his parentage, reinforcing the novel's Nature/Fate parallel. - The reviewer finds principal characters one-dimensional but praises vivid minor characters, especially the faqir and the hakim. - Malek's encounter with river pirates is criticized as melodramatic and out of keeping with the novel's otherwise plain, direct style. - The review frames the book as valuable chiefly as a benchmark for how far Indian English fiction has progressed in the 35 years since first publication. ### The World of Books: Me Grandad 'Ad an Elephant (review) *By HAVOVI ANKLESARIA* Havovi Anklesaria reviews Me Grandad 'Ad an Elephant, a UNESCO-published English translation of three Muslim-life stories from Kerala by Vaikom Basheer. She praises Basheer's unpretentious, unideological authenticity and his gift for depersonalized, unmanipulative storytelling, singling out the title story's naive heroine Kanjupattumma, the tragic 'Childhood Friend', and the comic, autobiographical 'Pathumna's Goat'. - The collection contains three stories of Muslim life in South India, all set in Basheer's native Keralite Muslim milieu. - The reviewer credits the stories' success in translation to Basheer's universality as a writer with no ideological axe to grind. - 'Childhood Friend' is called the most tragic story, involving heroine Suhra's death from T.B., though its melodrama is muted compared to Hindi cinema conventions. - The title story follows Kanjupattumma, whose insular world and family status decline alongside her father's income and power. - 'Pathumna's Goat', largely autobiographical, is described as funny, ironical and self-deprecating. ### Raj Inqalab's Life and Death Struggle in Bhagalpur Jail *By Sarvodaya Press Service* A Sarvodaya Press Service report describes the plight of Raj Inqalab, a young artist and songwriter from the 1974 Bihar movement, held without trial in Bhagalpur jail for three years and on a fast unto death for about two and a half years amid forced feeding. It traces his organizing work among villagers in the Rajaun division, his conflict with local strongman Govind Jethi (who was later murdered), the sixteen-person case built around him despite his not being named the main accused, and appeals for outside help to save his life. - Raj Inqalab composed protest songs during the 1974 Bihar movement and toured Patna with a full-size portrait of Jayaprakash Narayan. - He organized villagers in Nawada and Neema (Rajaun division, Bhagalpur district) around building a bridge, dam, road and sluicegate. - Conflict with local strongman Govind Jethi, who later helped police arrest him in 1978 in exchange for being allowed to keep his firearms, led to his continued detention; Jethi was later murdered for unknown reasons. - Sixteen persons were implicated in the case, with one Naresh Singh as main accused; Raj himself faces charges under thirty-two sections across seven cases. - He was produced in court only twice in three years and has refused bail on principle, demanding either prosecution or release. - A citizens' committee at Bhagalpur, aided by Rama Saran of the People's Sangharsh Vahini, is working for his release, and the report warns he may die without urgent outside help. - The report explicitly warns his death in jail could trigger unrest and inspire further hunger strikes, comparing the situation to Bobby Sands. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff349/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 349 (February/March 1982) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal journal, in its 30th year of publication, founded by M. R. Masani and edited by Nissim Ezekiel. The issue opens with Ezekiel's own editorial lambasting Maharashtra's Chief Minister Babasaheb Bhosale and his predecessor A. R. Antulay as symptomatic of a broader decay of political seriousness in the state. It continues with K. S. Venkateswaran's regular "A Variety of Comment" column (on Reagan and Third World aid, the Bombay High Court's verdict against Antulay, and Western sanctions over Poland and South Africa), Rama Swarup on Soviet and Chinese disinformation strategies against the U.S., and Rashmi Taneja's report on martial-law Turkey under General Kenan Evren. The book review section, "The World of Books," covers Minoo Masani's memoir Against the Tide, Dhananjay Keer's biography of B. R. Ambedkar, and a collection of Khushwant Singh's editorials.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 349 (February/March 1982) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal journal, in its 30th year of publication, founded by M. R. Masani and edited by Nissim Ezekiel. The issue opens with Ezekiel's own editorial lambasting Maharashtra's Chief Minister Babasaheb Bhosale and his predecessor A. R. Antulay as symptomatic of a broader decay of political seriousness in the state. It continues with K. S. Venkateswaran's regular "A Variety of Comment" column (on Reagan and Third World aid, the Bombay High Court's verdict against Antulay, and Western sanctions over Poland and South Africa), Rama Swarup on Soviet and Chinese disinformation strategies against the U.S., and Rashmi Taneja's report on martial-law Turkey under General Kenan Evren. The book review section, "The World of Books," covers Minoo Masani's memoir Against the Tide, Dhananjay Keer's biography of B. R. Ambedkar, and a collection of Khushwant Singh's editorials. Two shorter pieces reprinted from other publications close out the substantive content: a critique of Satya Sai Baba's controversially awarded "Deemed University" status (from The Radical Humanist) and a sardonic editorial on the Supreme Court's Judges Case ruling and its implications for judicial independence (from OPINION). ## Essays ### A Chief Minister as Clown *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* In this editorial, Nissim Ezekiel argues that Maharashtra Chief Minister Babasaheb Bhosale and his corruption-tainted predecessor A. R. Antulay are useful precisely because their naivety exposes attitudes usually concealed in Indian public life: Antulay's institutionalisation and glorification of corruption, and Bhosale's public deification of Indira Gandhi as a goddess before whom he prostrates himself. Ezekiel insists the objection is not that these men fail to practice what they preach, but that Indian public culture too readily accepts flattery, blind loyalty, and uncritical deference to leaders as normal. He concludes that Bhosale lacks the calibre, stature, and dignity required of high office, calling him "something of the clown," and predicts continuing political and administrative drift in Maharashtra under both men. - Ezekiel frames Antulay and Bhosale as revealing widely-held but usually concealed Indian political attitudes, not as isolated bad actors. - Bhosale's public claim that Indira Gandhi is a goddess before whom he prostrates himself is cited as evidence of his political immaturity. - Antulay is described as having institutionalised and glorified corruption in public office. - A Times of India letter-writer's proposed remedy (surrounding Mrs. Gandhi only with subtler flatterers) is itself criticised as no real remedy. - Ezekiel predicts no administrative progress in Maharashtra under Bhosale and expects Antulay to continue seeking a political comeback. ### A Variety of Comment (1. The Limits of Aid; 2. Antulay and the Law; 3. American Sanctions) *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* K. S. Venkateswaran's regular column offers three short items of comment. The first defends Ronald Reagan's blunt message at the Cancun summit that no amount of foreign aid can substitute for a nation putting its own economic house in order, framing this as an unfashionable but valid point against Third World economic mismanagement and centralised planning. The second praises the Bombay High Court's judgment against Antulay as demonstrating the value of a fearless judiciary and establishing that an ordinary citizen can hold even powerful officeholders to account. The third turns to American sanctions on Poland following martial law, noting the irony of socialist-camp countries objecting to sanctions they themselves demand against South Africa and Israel, and arguing that despite the practical ineffectiveness of sanctions in general, endorsing at least the symbolic value of the American response to Poland is warranted. - Reagan's Cancun remarks on aid are defended as candid rather than as Western insensitivity, stressing individual initiative and open markets over state planning. - The Bombay High Court's ruling against Antulay is presented as proof that judicial independence and citizen action can check abuse of public office. - Locus standi in the Antulay case is highlighted as a significant win even though the underlying petition was dismissed on merits. - Socialist-bloc criticism of American sanctions on Poland is called hypocritical given those countries' own support for sanctions against South Africa and Israel. - The column questions whether sanctions of any kind (against Poland or South Africa) produce real benefit for the populations they target. ### Red Disinformation *By RAMA SWARUP* Rama Swarup argues that the United States has fallen badly behind the Soviet Union and China in the propaganda and "disinformation" war. Citing the director of the U.S. International Communications Agency, the piece describes a two-pronged Soviet disinformation campaign portraying Europeans as peace-loving and Americans as warmongers over missile deployments, and a parallel Chinese campaign offering the U.S. an illusory anti-Soviet partnership while giving nothing on Taiwan. The author calls for the U.S. to mount a vigorous counter-disinformation campaign and expresses cautious hope that Reagan, unlike Carter, will not be as easily played by Beijing. - Communist states are described as unencumbered by truth or pledges, giving them an advantage in propaganda warfare. - Soviet disinformation among Europeans casts NATO's Pershing/cruise missile deployment as provocative while downplaying Soviet military buildup. - China is accused of running a disinformation campaign suggesting cooperation against the USSR while giving no real concessions on Taiwan. - The U.S. International Communications Agency (successor to USIS) and its "Dateline America" project are cited as the main U.S. counter-propaganda vehicles. - The author calls for aggressive, persuasive U.S. counter-disinformation rather than passive fact-based responses. ### Turkey in Turmoil *By RASHMI TANEJA* Rashmi Taneja surveys Turkey seventeen months after the September 1980 military coup led by General Kenan Evren. She describes a country still under martial law, with tens of thousands detained, dozens of death sentences, and continuing restrictions on trade unions and political parties, but notes that the military regime enjoys majority public support because it ended the civil-war-like violence of the late 1970s between left- and right-wing extremists. The piece credits Finance Minister Turgut Ozal's economic reforms, adopted by the junta, with a partial recovery (falling inflation, rising exports), though experts doubt its durability. Taneja closes by describing a slow build-up of dissent among politicians, journalists, and academics, and notes NATO's and the U.S.'s continued strategic and financial support for the regime despite its human-rights record. - 40,000 detained and roughly 30,000 indicted since the coup; 85 death sentences passed, 11 carried out; torture reported in jails. - Public support for the junta is attributed to relief after years of gang warfare between left- and right-wing extremists that killed 5,000 in 1980 alone. - Finance Minister Turgut Ozal's economic measures (adopted by the military government) are credited with falling inflation (120% in 1980 down to 40%) and a 55% rise in exports in 1981. - The National Security Council, headed by General Kenan Evren, disbanded all 18 political parties on October 16 and formed a handpicked consultative assembly to draft a new constitution. - Former PM Bulent Ecevit received a 3-month jail term for publicly censuring the regime; journalists and academics also face restrictions. - The U.S. has pledged $900 million in military and economic aid for 1982, and Turkey's strategic value to NATO has grown given Greece's new anti-NATO government under Andreas Papandreou. ### The World of Books: Look Back With Candour (review of 'Against the Tide' by Minoo Masani) *By GEETA DOCTOR* In the "World of Books" section, Geeta Doctor reviews Minoo Masani's memoir Against the Tide, the sequel to his earlier Bliss Was It in That Dawn, covering the decades since independence. She describes the book's device of inviting readers to imagine alternate historical choices, and praises Masani's clarity, wit, and unwavering liberal conviction even while acknowledging its self-justificatory tone. The review dwells at length on Masani's complicated, often adversarial relationship with Nehru, on his account of the Swatantra Party's rise and decline (including his dedication to "the memory of Rajaji, the great dissenter"), and on Masani's definition of "Swatantra" as self-propelled, self-determined freedom rather than mere absence of restraint. - Against the Tide is the sequel to Masani's Bliss Was It in That Dawn, covering roughly forty years since independence. - The book uses a 'choose your own path' narrative device, inviting readers to consider alternate courses history might have taken. - Masani is praised as a leader who gave voice, meaning, and character to the idea of a parliamentary Opposition. - The review highlights Masani's account of Nehru's ambivalence -- democrat in mind, autocrat in action -- as the central indictment of the book. - Masani's account of the Swatantra Party's formation, growth, and decline is discussed, including his dedication of the book to Rajaji, 'the great dissenter.' ### The World of Books: review of 'Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission' by Dhananjay Keer *By K. V. PADMANABHAN* K. V. Padmanabhan reviews Dhananjay Keer's biography Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission, drawing on his own recollection of working with Ambedkar during his tenure as Law Minister and Chairman of the Constituent Assembly's Drafting Committee. The review recounts Ambedkar's childhood humiliations as a Mahar in the Konkan, his education abroad under the patronage of the Maharaja of Baroda, his rise to become a formidable legal and political figure, and his lifelong campaign against untouchability including temple-entry and well-access movements, culminating in his conversion to Buddhism at Nagpur in 1956. Padmanabhan calls the biography a fair and truthful study of continuing relevance to contemporary debates over the 'Harijan issue.' - Ambedkar was born into a Mahar (untouchable) family in the Konkan region and endured humiliations including being denied drinking water as a child. - The Maharaja of Baroda, Sayaji Rao, sponsored Ambedkar's higher studies in the U.S. and U.K., enabling his rise as a scholar and lawyer. - Padmanabhan recalls working closely with Ambedkar while he was Law Minister and Chairman of the Constituent Assembly's Drafting Committee. - The biography details Ambedkar's campaigns for temple entry, access to tanks and wells for Harijans, and education, against orthodox opposition. - Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism at Nagpur on 14 October 1956 is presented as an act of defiance against his inability to eliminate untouchability from Hindu society. ### The World of Books: review of Khushwant Singh's Editor's Page *By SANDHYA HARIHARAN* Sandhya Hariharan reviews a collection of Khushwant Singh's editorials from The Illustrated Weekly and Sunday, titled Khushwant Singh's Editor's Page. She praises Singh's versatile, caustic, and irreverent prose, particularly his profiles of eminent personalities, singling out his mixed but admiring portrait of V. K. Krishna Menon. The review highlights Singh's concern for the poor without condescension and his sharp aphoristic style, quoting his line that 'Vitriol makes better ink than honey.' - The reviewed book collects Khushwant Singh's editorials from The Illustrated Weekly and Sunday (India Book House, Rs. 12). - Hariharan singles out Singh's personality profiles as the strongest material in the collection. - Singh's piece on Krishna Menon is cited as an example of criticism balanced with grudging admiration. - The review notes Singh's discomfort with charity to beggars and his self-described 'complex about whites.' ### Satya Saibaba's "Deemed" University *By N.I. in The Radical Humanist, Jan. 1982* This reprinted piece (originally from The Radical Humanist, January 1982) criticises the Indian University Grants Commission's decision to grant "Deemed University" status to Satya Sai Baba's three-year-old degree college at Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, without the college first establishing a post-graduate program as is normally required. The author, identified only as "N.I.", notes that Chief Justice Y. V. Chandrachud inaugurated the institution and publicly praised its claim to impart "integral education," and criticises the UGC chairman's and Chandrachud's remarks as an abdication of secular, scientific standards in favour of religious sentiment, warning that other religious organisations will now demand similar university status for their own institutions. - Satya Sai Baba's degree college at Puttaparthi was declared a 'Deemed University' on 20 November 1981, reportedly the first degree college to gain this status without a postgraduate college. - Chief Justice Y. V. Chandrachud inaugurated the deemed university and praised its 'integral education' concept. - UGC Chairman Dr. Mrs. Madhuri Shah is described as having gone out of her way to grant this recognition. - The Andhra Pradesh state education minister and department were not consulted or invited to the inauguration. - The author warns that Anand Marg, Jamat-e-Islami, Christian missionary groups, and others may now demand similar university status for their own institutions. - The piece argues Hinduism, spiritualism, and yoga already permeate Indian life and that religious institutions have failed to solve the country's real problems, which require the scientific spirit. ### A Gift for Mrs. Gandhi *By OPINION, Jan 5, 1982* Reprinted from OPINION (5 January 1982), this sardonic editorial condemns the Supreme Court's ruling in the Judges Case as a 'gift' to Mrs. Gandhi that establishes executive supremacy over the judiciary. It argues the ruling makes the Law Minister the effective arbiter of judges' transfers and fates, reducing judicial independence to a fiction and leaving judges as, at best, 'a lion beneath the throne.' The piece closes with a defiant but mournful affirmation that the spirit of freedom, though battered, remains unconquerable. - The piece frames the Supreme Court's ruling in the 'Judges Case' as establishing the Executive's supremacy over the Judiciary. - It argues the Law Minister effectively becomes arbiter of a judge's fate through the power of transfer. - The editorial predicts the distinction between an independent judge and an ordinary obedient government servant will progressively disappear. - It closes with an appeal to the unconquerable spirit of man despite the apparent triumph of executive power over judicial independence. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff350/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 350 (April 1982) opens with an unusually personal note: founder-chairman M. R. Masani's "Mea Culpa," apologising to readers for the journal's recent lapses in punctuality caused by printing-press failures, and announcing that the magazine (marking its 30th year of publication) will continue under new management rather than suspend. The rest of the issue is a typical Freedom First miscellany of signed political commentary, foreign-affairs analysis, reader letters, and a book review, unified by a Cold War-era classical-liberal and anti-Soviet vantage point. Contributors range across the Judges' Case controversy in the Indian judiciary, India's growing trade dependence on the USSR, the coherence (or myth) of non-alignment, alleged KGB penetration of Indian politics, a satirical airport vignette on Indian institutional culture, European reactions to the nuclear-freeze/peace movement, proposals for governmental reform in India, the twentieth anniversary of the Berlin Wall, and letters commemorating the 1956 Hungarian uprising. The issue closes with B. G. Verghese's review of D. R.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 350 (April 1982) opens with an unusually personal note: founder-chairman M. R. Masani's "Mea Culpa," apologising to readers for the journal's recent lapses in punctuality caused by printing-press failures, and announcing that the magazine (marking its 30th year of publication) will continue under new management rather than suspend. The rest of the issue is a typical Freedom First miscellany of signed political commentary, foreign-affairs analysis, reader letters, and a book review, unified by a Cold War-era classical-liberal and anti-Soviet vantage point. Contributors range across the Judges' Case controversy in the Indian judiciary, India's growing trade dependence on the USSR, the coherence (or myth) of non-alignment, alleged KGB penetration of Indian politics, a satirical airport vignette on Indian institutional culture, European reactions to the nuclear-freeze/peace movement, proposals for governmental reform in India, the twentieth anniversary of the Berlin Wall, and letters commemorating the 1956 Hungarian uprising. The issue closes with B. G. Verghese's review of D. R. Mankekar's book on the New World Information Order and a short wire item on Pakistan's re-imagining of Jinnah's dress in official portraiture. ## Essays ### A Variety of Comment (1. The Judges' Case; 2. Irish Prisons) *By K. S. Venkateswaran* M. R. Masani, Chairman of the Democratic Research Service (Freedom First's publisher), apologises to readers for the poor service and irregular publication of the journal in recent times, attributing this to neglect, the ill health of Honorary Secretary V. B. Karnik, and repeated failures by five different printing presses (two of which shut down amid labour trouble). He reveals that the Democratic Research Service had decided to suspend Freedom First altogether, in keeping with his stated belief in "voluntary euthanasia" for institutions rather than prolonging decline, but reversed the decision after friends pledged additional subscribers and finance. He announces the journal will resume regular monthly publication from May onward under new management and a new press, and appeals to readers to help multiply subscriptions twelve-fold over the year. - Masani apologises as Chairman of the Democratic Research Service for the poor service and irregularity of Freedom First. - Blames neglect and the ill health of Honorary Secretary V. B. Karnik, plus the failure/closure of multiple printing presses. - States he believes in 'voluntary euthanasia' for institutions rather than a prolonged, painful decline. - The Service had decided to suspend the journal, but reversed course after friends promised additional subscribers and funding. - Announces resumption of regular monthly publication from May onward under new management and a new printing press. - Contrasts Freedom First's near-closure with the actual closure of the journal Himmat, framing it as a reflection on public taste. - Appeals to readers to recruit one new subscriber a month to multiply circulation twelve-fold in a year. ### Easy and Dangerous Dependence *By Rama Swarup* K. S. Venkateswaran's regular column takes up two unrelated topics. In "The Judges' Case," he discusses the controversy sparked by Arun Shourie's Indian Express series "By What Are Judges Bribed?", which analysed inconsistencies in Supreme Court rulings, including those of Justice P. N. Bhagwati; Venkateswaran raises the ethical question of whether it is proper for a sitting judge to discuss a pending judgment informally with a journalist. In "Irish Prisons," he reviews a British government booklet, Day to Day Life in Northern Ireland Prisons, describing improved prisoner clothing, vocational training, and recreational facilities in Maze and Armagh, and pointedly asks how conditions in Indian prisons compare, given that the described amenities are extended to people convicted of terrorism. - Discusses Arun Shourie's Indian Express serial 'By What Are Judges Bribed?' critiquing Supreme Court judgments' inconsistency. - Notes Justice P. N. Bhagwati discussed his own judgment informally, and sent Shourie a specially prepared summary, raising propriety concerns. - Questions whether journalists should publicise private conversations with judges even when well-intentioned. - Reviews the British government booklet on Maze and Armagh prisons in Northern Ireland, describing eased dress codes and vocational training. - Highlights a prisoner who won City and Guilds craft distinctions and a Worshipful Company prize while incarcerated. - Closes by asking how Indian prison conditions compare to the described British/Irish prison standards. ### The Non-Alignment Movement — Myth or Reality? *By S. S. Bankeshwar* Rama Swarup examines India's rapidly deepening trade dependence on the Soviet Union, which had by 1981 become India's largest trading partner with a turnover of about Rs. 2,500 crores. The essay questions whether Moscow pays fair prices, whether Soviet purchases are reliable and long-term, and cites erratic patterns in tea and groundnut-extraction exports as evidence that reliance on the USSR is risky. It notes the 1982 trade protocol projecting a 22% rise in Indian exports to the USSR, and closes by asking whether India's trade profile, especially in light of the IMF loan, reflects an unhealthy dependence on a single market. - The USSR became India's largest trading partner in 1981 with turnover of about Rs. 2,500 crores. - Questions whether Moscow's purchases reflect genuine demand or serve Soviet strategic ends, and whether prices are fair. - Cites erratic Soviet purchases of Indian tea (fluctuating tonnages 1976-1981) and groundnut extractions (halted 1976-80, resumed 1980-81). - Notes speculation that the USSR re-exports Indian groundnut extractions and tea to third countries. - The 1982 trade protocol envisages Indian exports to the USSR rising 22% to Rs. 1,760 crores. - Argues India must diversify markets and increase competitiveness rather than rely on the 'easy' Soviet outlet. - Frames the concern explicitly in the context of India's contemporaneous IMF loan. ### VOICES — 1: K.G.B. In India *By Pran Nath Lekhi* S. S. Bankeshwar argues that non-alignment is largely a myth: every so-called non-aligned country is in practice dependent on and identifiable with one superpower camp or the other, and foreign policy is driven by pragmatism and self-interest rather than ideology. He points to India's silence over Soviet interventions in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Afghanistan (contrasted with vocal condemnation of American actions) as proof that India's own non-alignment is selective, driven by dependence on Soviet support at the UN over Kashmir and on Arab oil supplies. He also discusses Pakistan's strategic position as a buffer state and concludes that a Pakistan-India-Bangladesh alliance is essential given Afghanistan's loss as a buffer to Soviet annexation, warning that a war with India would be catastrophic for Pakistan. - Claims no non-aligned country is genuinely non-aligned; all are effectively 'non-aligned (R)' pro-Russia or 'non-aligned (A)' pro-America. - Argues India's silence on Soviet aggression in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Afghanistan stems from dependence on Soviet UN support over Kashmir. - States India cannot be neutral in Israel-Arab disputes because of dependence on Arab oil. - Argues foreign policy is guided by pragmatism and national interest, not ideology, citing USSR-USA and USA-China relations as proof. - Frames Pakistan as India's new buffer state against Russia following Afghanistan's annexation. - Warns that a war between India and Pakistan would end with both nations reduced to satellite status of Russia or China. - Concludes the viability of non-alignment as a policy depends entirely on the superpowers, not on non-aligned nations themselves. ### VOICES — 2: Our Culture Today — A Viewpoint *By Laeeq Futehally* In the Voices column, Pran Nath Lekhi warns of KGB infiltration of Indian political life, citing the suspension of CPM leader Shiva Pada Sen Gupta for allegedly leaking party secrets to India's Intelligence Bureau, which the CPM learned of from Soviet KGB sources. Lekhi argues this reveals active KGB involvement with Indian political parties and government intelligence apparatus, criticises the Indian government's acceptance of the Cuban ambassador Mr. Novoa (previously expelled from Ethiopia over KGB links), quotes the CPI's 1974 thesis on the political role of the army in developing countries as evidence of preached sedition, and states that 14,000 Russian advisers are currently active in India with no public scrutiny of their influence. - CPM suspended Comrade Shiva Pada Sen Gupta for allegedly leaking party secrets to India's Intelligence Bureau. - The CPM's information about the leak reportedly came from Soviet KGB sources. - Criticises Indian government's acceptance of Mr. Novoa as Cuban ambassador despite his prior expulsion from Ethiopia over KGB links. - Cites the CPI's 1974 thesis on the army's political role in developing countries as evidence of a subversive strategy. - Claims 80% of foreign KGB recruits are drawn from Communist Party ranks worldwide. - States 14,000 Russian advisers are currently active in India, embedded across government activity. - Frames Soviet influence in Afghanistan as a direct warning to India. ### "Peace Without Weapons Is An Illusion": German, French and British Press Opinions *By Juan Fercsey* In the second Voices piece, Laeeq Futehally recounts a farcical personal experience at a Bombay airport, where confusing parking rules, an unreliable flight information board, and staff unable to give a straight answer about a delayed flight illustrate what she calls a broader Indian cultural pattern: intention divorced from execution, and a habitual indifference to logical consistency and truth. She argues this reflects deeper flaws in Indian institutional culture and thought-habits, rooted in a preoccupation with 'Appearance and Reality' rather than practical follow-through, and calls for a shift toward valuing 'mere functioning' and small, working improvements over grand but unfulfilled intentions. - Recounts a real airport experience: contradictory rules on parking enclosures, and staff giving inconsistent flight-delay information. - Uses the anecdote as a 'contemporary version' of the classic Indian philosophical preoccupation with Appearance versus Reality. - Argues Indian culture prizes the passing of an order or intention over its actual execution. - Extends the critique to Indian temple sculpture, dance forms and rituals, arguing quality of human material/institutions goes unexamined. - Attributes many everyday difficulties to muddled thought-habits rather than corruption alone. - Calls for starting reform from small, functional things rather than grand abstractions. ### A Few Suggestions For A Better Government *By N. K. Somani* Juan Fercsey surveys German, French, and British press opinion on the Western European nuclear-freeze/peace movement, arguing that it is heavily shaped by Soviet-aligned Communist parties and organising networks rather than being purely spontaneous. He quotes West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and opposition leader Helmut Kohl defending NATO's 'dual decision' and warning against neutralism, cites Le Monde on Communist influence within the French peace movement, and quotes Le Figaro, the Daily Telegraph, and the Observer describing Soviet orchestration of the peace rallies, culminating in The Economist's assessment that Moscow wants a friendly Western Europe that accepts Soviet definitions of its own interests, achieved through intimidation of various kinds. As rendered, the piece appears to be cut off mid-sentence at the end of page 10. - West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt defends NATO's 'dual decision' on countering Soviet SS-20 missiles while pursuing arms-control talks. - Opposition leader Helmut Kohl warns against neutralism and states 'peace without weapons is an illusion'. - Le Monde highlights strong French Communist Party influence on the French peace movement and its pro-Soviet slogans. - Le Figaro argues Soviet strategy aims to get Western Europe to abandon Euro-missile deployment while leaving SS-20s largely intact. - The Daily Telegraph and Observer describe the peace movement's foot soldiers as young, idealistic, and exploited by Communist-linked organising networks. - The Economist concludes Soviet policy seeks a 'friendly' Western Europe achieved via arm-twisting, sabre-rattling, or direct intervention. ### The Focus in East Germany: Twenty Years of the Berlin Wall *By A. James McAdams* N. K. Somani offers a set of policy proposals for improving Indian governance, arguing that post-independence governments have been too cautious to pursue bold reforms. He calls for reducing bureaucratic interference in citizens' lives, decentralising decision-making away from Delhi and state capitals, modernising outdated data-collection methods and civil/criminal laws dating to the 19th century, targeting agricultural and industrial surpluses to eliminate price and distribution controls, rationalising subsidies (citing kerosene and furnace oil pricing anomalies), reforming outdated labour laws that make dismissing unproductive workers nearly impossible, improving education to support family planning acceptance (citing Kerala as a model), and reducing India's political culture of hero-worship in favour of ideology-and-teamwork-based governance. - Argues governments have lacked courage for bold, creative policy due to excessive caution. - Calls for decentralisation so citizens need not travel to Delhi or state capitals for routine matters. - Urges modernising data collection and government organisation using new technology (cites silicon chip data storage). - Proposes targeting 10-15% production surpluses in agriculture/industry to eliminate price and distribution controls. - Cites kerosene sold below international price (Rs. 1,400 vs Rs. 2,625 per KL) and furnace oil sold above cost as pricing anomalies. - Calls for reform of outdated 19th-century civil and criminal laws. - Advocates reforming labour law to allow dismissal of unproductive workers under proven circumstances. - Argues education reform would ease family-planning acceptance, citing Kerala's success. - Calls for moving away from personality-centred, hero-worship politics toward ideology and teamwork. ### Remembering Hungary 1956 (letters: to Freedom First from Bela Varga; to Prime Minister Gandhi from S. K. Tripathi enclosing correspondence) *By Bela Varga / S. K. Tripathi* A. James McAdams marks the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall by examining how East German leaders have transformed a structure once conceded even by Khrushchev and Ulbricht to be an 'ugly thing' into an object of state pride, marked by annual August 13 celebrations rivaling May Day. He traces official East German justifications for the Wall (halting a supposed Western assault, stopping 'spies, smugglers and kidnappers', achieving 'clarity' after confusion) against the more candid admission, in a 1970 Neues Deutschland editorial, that sealing the border stopped a ruinous population drain of skilled workers essential to economic stability. He argues the Wall gave the GDR both economic breathing room and a form of proof of sovereignty the Soviet Union itself could never fully confer, and traces how the Wall's symbolic meaning has shifted from Cold War flashpoint to a cornerstone of the two-bloc European status quo, invoked by East Germans in every phase of East-West relations up to détente. - Both Khrushchev and Ulbricht privately conceded the Wall was an 'ugly thing' and a 'defect' immediately after its 1961 construction. - East Germany later transformed the Wall into a source of state pride, marked by annual celebrations on August 13. - Official GDR justifications include stopping a supposed Western assault and halting 'spies, smugglers and kidnappers'. - A 1970 Neues Deutschland editorial more candidly credited the Wall with stopping the drain of skilled workers that threatened economic collapse. - The GDR's mid-1960s economic improvement ('Wirtschaftswunder') is attributed by the regime partly to the Wall's construction. - The Wall gave the GDR proof of sovereignty that had previously been denied it internationally. - Neues Deutschland's 1976 statement declared the GDR's border 'not open to debate'. - The Wall's symbolism shifted over time from Cold War flashpoint to a foundation of the European status quo, invoked through SALT and the Helsinki Conference era. - Piece appears to conclude with Erich Honecker's 20th-anniversary address framing the Wall as a warning to the West about superpower confrontation. ### Book Review: Whose Freedom? Whose Order? (review of D. R. Mankekar's book) *By B. G. Verghese* This section reprints two letters occasioned by the 25th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian uprising. The first, from S. K. Tripathi (Director, Antar-Sanchar, New Delhi) to the Editor of Freedom First, encloses a booklet titled 'Hungary 1956' and asks Freedom First to comment on the desirability of Hungarian independence; it includes a letter to Prime Minister (Indira) Gandhi recounting the 1956 revolution, the Soviet military crushing of the uprising despite prior negotiation promises, and the UN's 14 condemnatory (but ignored) resolutions, and drawing a direct line from Hungary 1956 to the Soviet invasions of Czechoslovakia (1968) and Afghanistan (1979). The second letter, a formal statement by Bela Varga (former Speaker of the Hungarian Parliament, 1946-47, and Chairman of the Hungarian Committee), draws parallels between the Hungarian and Polish independence struggles, warns the Hungarian government against participating in any Soviet action against Poland, and invokes historical Hungarian sympathy for Poland (including wartime refuge for Polish refugees) as grounds for solidarity. - S. K. Tripathi of Antar-Sanchar sends Freedom First a booklet, 'Hungary 1956', marking the uprising's 25th anniversary. - An accompanying letter to Prime Minister Gandhi recounts the 1956 revolution, the Soviet promise to negotiate withdrawal, and the subsequent crushing attack on November 4, 1956. - Notes the UN passed 14 resolutions condemning the Soviet Union over Hungary, all ignored by Moscow and the installed regime. - Draws a line from Hungary 1956 to the Soviet invasions of Czechoslovakia (1968) and Afghanistan (1979), and rising pressure on Poland. - Notes 70,000 Soviet occupation troops remain 'temporarily' in Hungary 35 years after 1956, a cost borne by Hungary. - Bela Varga's statement links the Hungarian and Polish struggles for independence, historically and currently. - Varga warns the Hungarian government not to assist any Soviet action against Poland, citing historical Polish-Hungarian solidarity including Hungary's shelter of Polish refugees during WWII. ### Redressing history (unsigned filler item on Jinnah portraiture, credited to The Times, London) B. G. Verghese reviews D. R. Mankekar's book Whose Freedom? Whose Order? (Clarion, Rs. 55), which examines the debate over a New World Information Order. Verghese summarises Mankekar's argument that global information and communication flows constitute a form of power dividing the world into information-rich and information-poor nations, that Western fears of the 'new order' demand as regulation/censorship were initially a product of ethnocentric misunderstanding, and that a more balanced flow is both necessary and compatible with freedom of information. He praises Mankekar's support for the MacBride Commission and proposal for an independent World Press Institute of journalists to adjudicate matters like the Right of Reply, but identifies three weaknesses: confusing use of 'a new order' vs 'the new (world) information order,' omission of TASS from scrutiny of propagandistic news services, and inadequate attention to information imbalances within nations and among developing countries themselves. Verghese concludes the book nonetheless adds value to a major international debate. - Reviews D. R. Mankekar's Whose Freedom? Whose Order? (Clarion, 234pp, Rs. 55) on the New World Information Order debate. - Mankekar attributes Western initial alarm over the new information order to ethnocentricity and a false either/or debate about censorship. - Discusses the shift in concept from 'free flow' to 'free and balanced flow' to a 'right to communicate' (two-way). - Notes emerging concepts of a 'right to privacy' and 'right not to know' as products of the electronics revolution. - Mankekar supports the MacBride Commission and proposes a journalist-run World Press Institute to adjudicate international news disputes. - Verghese flags Mankekar's confusing use of 'a new order' versus 'the new (world) information order' as an unintended slip. - Verghese criticises the omission of TASS from scrutiny of state-linked propaganda/news services. - Verghese's key critique: inadequate treatment of information imbalance within nations and among developing countries, not just between rich and poor blocs. ### Essay 12 A short filler item reprinted from The Times, London, reports that Pakistani President Zia Ul-Haq, having already ordered civil servants into national dress, is now sponsoring a competition (prize £2,500) to produce an official portrait of Muhammad Ali Jinnah dressed in a sherwani rather than his customary Western suit, cuffs, and two-tone shoes, for use on government offices and banknotes. - President Zia Ul-Haq is sponsoring a painting competition to depict Jinnah in a sherwani rather than Western dress. - The competition prize is £2,500, with the president selecting the winning portrait. - The winning portrait is intended to become the official portrait for Pakistani government offices and banknotes. - Jinnah is historically remembered as a fastidious dresser who favoured Western suits, cuffs, and two-tone shoes and spats. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff351/ ### Summary Freedom First issue no. 351 (May 1982), edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani, opens with Ezekiel's editorial condemning the Akali Dal's "World Sikh Convention" resolution for political autonomy and a separate Punjab constitution as a voice of separatism, and rejecting any Jammu-and-Kashmir-style special status for Punjab. The issue's regular "A Variety of Comment" column (K. S. Venkateswaran) covers the Law Commission's questionnaire on restructuring the Supreme Court under Justice K. K. Mathew, and a spat between J. K. Galbraith and free-market economists (Milton Friedman, Arthur Laffer, Jude Wanniski) over monetarism, plus a note on Britain's continued lead in bilateral aid to India. Other contributions address Indian opposition politics and the case for the BJP as a "national alternative" (S. S. Bankeshwar), a proposed international-arbitration approach to the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan (S. G.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue no. 351 (May 1982), edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani, opens with Ezekiel's editorial condemning the Akali Dal's "World Sikh Convention" resolution for political autonomy and a separate Punjab constitution as a voice of separatism, and rejecting any Jammu-and-Kashmir-style special status for Punjab. The issue's regular "A Variety of Comment" column (K. S. Venkateswaran) covers the Law Commission's questionnaire on restructuring the Supreme Court under Justice K. K. Mathew, and a spat between J. K. Galbraith and free-market economists (Milton Friedman, Arthur Laffer, Jude Wanniski) over monetarism, plus a note on Britain's continued lead in bilateral aid to India. Other contributions address Indian opposition politics and the case for the BJP as a "national alternative" (S. S. Bankeshwar), a proposed international-arbitration approach to the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan (S. G. Mampalli), a detailed account of the Falklands/Malvinas crisis (Rashmi Taneja), Soviet media's rare admissions about the economic burden of foreign aid, especially to Poland (Ram Swarup), two "Voices" opinion pieces on the politicization of Marathi literary conferences (C. Raju) and the economic squeeze on India's middle-income group (A. Solomon), a short note on a Bengali-language play about Indira Gandhi banned from overt reference ("OK Calcutta"), a book review of L. J. Macfarlane's The Right to Strike weighed against India's Maintenance of Essential Services Act (Aloo Dalal), and a report on the political tensions following the death of Sikkim's last Chogyal, Palden Namgyal (Brahmanand Mishra). The back matter carries the journal's statutory ownership statement, subscription form, and advertisements. ## Essays ### The Voice of Separatism *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* In "The Voice of Separatism," editor Nissim Ezekiel condemns the Akali Dal's (Talwandi group) resolution at an April 13 "World Sikh Convention" in Anandpur Sahib demanding political autonomy for all Indian states and a separate constitution for Punjab modeled on Jammu and Kashmir. He argues the Jammu and Kashmir exception was historically justified but should not be extended, that further Balkanisation of the subcontinent following Partition and Bangladesh would be disastrous, and that the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid's call for minorities to unite against the Centre only deepens communal division. He concludes that greater state autonomy is legitimate but separatism dressed up as autonomy is not, and that the Akali Dal convention's rhetoric, deadlines, and threats amount to a voice of separatism. - The Akali Dal (Talwandi group) passed a resolution at Anandpur Sahib on April 13 demanding political autonomy for all states and a separate Punjab constitution on the Jammu and Kashmir pattern. - Randhir Singh Cheema, described as the 'dictator' of the morcha, set an August 15 deadline for the Union Government and disclaimed responsibility for consequences if unmet. - Claims of 'world' representation at the convention were exaggerated; a speech by deported Ganga Singh Dhillon was read out by legal adviser Gurnam Singh Tir. - The Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid urged Sikhs, Muslims, Christians and weaker Hindu sections to unite against Centre/Congress(I) 'injustices,' which Ezekiel calls further evidence of communalism among minorities themselves. - Ezekiel argues Jammu and Kashmir's special status was justified by unique historical circumstances but should not be a precedent; full integration, not disintegration, is India's only viable future. - Greater relative autonomy for states is acceptable in principle, but separatism dressed as autonomy is categorically different and must be rejected. ### A Variety of Comment *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* K. S. Venkateswaran's regular "A Variety of Comment" column has two parts. The first, "Against the Judiciary," criticizes the Law Commission under Chairman K. K. Mathew for circulating a 28-page questionnaire that raises the possibility of splitting the Supreme Court into a Court of Appeal and a Constitutional Court, which many senior lawyers see as a threat to judicial independence; the author notes Mathew's own admission that the Commission 'means business' and wants 'absolutely drastic changes.' The second, "Economists Disagree," recounts John Kenneth Galbraith's critical remarks in India about Milton Friedman and Arthur Laffer's free-market economics, situates this within broader liberal establishment hostility to monetarism (including supply-sider Jude Wanniski's criticism of Friedman), and quotes Friedman's rebuttal defending his advice to Israel and his qualified admiration for Margaret Thatcher's policy even as he criticizes her government's practical failures to cut taxes and spending. - The reconstituted Law Commission under former Supreme Court judge K. K. Mathew circulated a questionnaire on 'evolving a methodology for speedier disposal' of Supreme Court and High Court matters. - The questionnaire floats splitting the Supreme Court into a Court of Appeal and a Constitutional Court, seen by many Bar members as endangering judicial independence. - Mathew is reported to have said the questionnaire does not touch separation of powers, judicial independence, or fundamental rights, but admitted the Commission wants 'absolutely drastic changes.' - J. K. Galbraith's remarks in India repeatedly criticized Milton Friedman and Arthur Laffer, which the author calls an unbecoming pettiness reflecting broader liberal-establishment hostility to free-market economists influential in the Reagan administration. - Supply-sider Jude Wanniski also criticized Friedman's monetarism as ruinous to England and Israel; Friedman responded that he is responsible for advice given, not for policies followed differently afterward. - Friedman praised Thatcher's announced policy as 'splendid' but said her government failed to cut taxes/spending or reduce regulation and ownership, calling the British economy's performance under her 'terrible' in a BBC interview. - The column also reports the UK's continued top position among bilateral aid donors to India in 1980-81 (Rs. 196.7 crores), per the Economic Survey 1981-82, versus Rs. 170 crores total from the Soviet Union over six years. ### A National Alternative *By S. S. BANKESHWAR* In "A National Alternative," S. S. Bankeshwar argues that talk of opposition unity against Indira Gandhi's 'authoritarianism' is a joke given the long history of splits among the Janata, BLD, Raj Narain's party, the Socialist party, the CPI, and Congress(U), driven by personal ambition rather than ideology. He credits the Bharatiya Janata Party as the only opposition party that has recognized it must establish its own credibility rather than merge into shapeless alliances, crediting Jayaprakash Narayan's original Janata project with successfully bringing the RSS and Jan Sangh into the national mainstream before defectors like Charan Singh, Jagjivan Ram, and Madhu Limaye sabotaged it. He closes by calling for merit-based policy, legislative abolition of caste, and dismissing all current opposition formations (Congress(J), Congress(S), BLD) as incapable of becoming a genuine national alternative to the BJP. - Bankeshwar dismisses current opposition-unity talk as incredible given repeated splits in Janata, BLD, Raj Narain's party, the Socialist party, CPI (and Naxalite offshoots), and Congress(U), driven by personal ambition rather than ideology. - He credits the BJP alone with recognizing that no party can be a National Alternative without establishing its own credibility while cooperating selectively with other opposition parties on national issues. - He argues Jayaprakash Narayan's greatest achievement was bringing the RSS and Jan Sangh into India's national mainstream through the Janata experiment, which was later sabotaged by defectors who isolated the Jan Sangh constituent. - Contemporary opposition leaders (Charan Singh, Bahuguna, Charanjit, Raj Narain) are dismissed as capable of winning only a handful of municipal or panchayat seats. - He calls for abolishing the caste system through legislation, ending strikes and bandhs, and grounding policy in merit rather than religion or caste. - He concludes the BJP is the only party with the potential to become the National Alternative once Indira Gandhi is out of India's political scene. ### India, Pakistan and Kashmir: A Simple Solution *By S. G. MAMPALLI* S. G. Mampalli's short piece "India, Pakistan and Kashmir: A Simple Solution" responds to a Radio Pakistan broadcast reiterating Kashmir as an obstacle to Indo-Pakistani friendship. He argues India has repeatedly said only the Pakistani-occupied portion of Kashmir remains an open question, and that the Pakistani demand for a plebiscite cannot survive the reality of Kashmir's successfully held, unboycotted elections. Rather than merely invoking the bilateralism of the Simla Agreement, Mampalli proposes India take the diplomatic risk of referring the dispute to the International Court of Justice to settle the matter definitively and demonstrate India's sincerity about regional friendship. - A March 28 Radio Pakistan broadcast claimed the Kashmir problem remains unsolved and is an obstacle to Indo-Pakistani friendship. - Mampalli notes India's position that only the Pakistani-occupied portion of Kashmir remains a live problem. - He argues Pakistan's plebiscite demand fails against the reality of repeated, unboycotted elections in Kashmir. - He proposes referring the Kashmir dispute to the International Court of Justice as a bolder, more positive step than merely defending the bilateral 'Simla spirit.' - He warns that continued drift could drag both nations to the battlefield, allowing superpowers to exploit the sub-continent. ### The Falkland Islands Crisis *By RASHMI TANEJA* Rashmi Taneja's "The Falkland Islands Crisis" narrates the escalation from Argentine scrap merchants raising their flag at Leith Harbour in March 1982 to Argentina's April 2 declared 'recovery' of the Falklands, and Britain's dispatch of half its navy after Mrs. Thatcher's government was condemned in a special Saturday parliamentary session (the first since Suez in 1956), which cost Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington and two deputies their jobs. The piece situates General Galtieri's invasion within Argentina's internal crises of 143% inflation, 13% unemployment, and the junta's 20,000 'disappeared' since the 1976 coup, and surveys the diplomatic landscape: Soviet neutrality tilting toward blaming British colonialism, an EEC-led sanctions front, and a US 'honest broker' role via Alexander Haig shuttling between London and Buenos Aires amid rejected leaseback, Hongkong-formula, and UN-supervision proposals. - The crisis began March 19 when Argentine scrap merchants raised the Argentine flag and sang the national anthem at Leith Harbour, South Georgia, provoking local British scientists. - Argentina announced on April 2 that its forces had 'recovered' the Falklands through 'a successful military operation'; Britain's Parliament held its first special Saturday session since Suez (1956), where it condemned the government and Lord Carrington and two deputy foreign secretaries resigned. - Mrs. Thatcher pledged to regain sovereignty by diplomatic means but would use force if necessary, and half the British navy sailed from Portsmouth for a two-week voyage south. - General Galtieri's junta, facing 143% inflation, 13% unemployment, mass protests, and an estimated 20,000 'disappeared' since the 1976 coup, used the invasion to rally national sentiment and cast himself as a national hero. - The Soviet Union initially abstained at the UN Security Council but later blamed the crisis on British colonialism, benefiting from Argentina's trade relationship and hostility to Thatcher. - The US, caught between its ties to Argentina and its alliance with Thatcher, pursued an 'honest broker' role via Secretary of State Alexander Haig; Argentina's insistence on recognized sovereignty as a precondition for troop withdrawal stalled talks, and proposals for tripartite administration, leaseback, the 'Hongkong formula,' and UN supervision were all considered. - The dispute dates to 1833, when Argentina's garrison was expelled by the Royal Navy; the islands today have 1,800 people and 600,000 sheep, and residents have declared no wish to join the Argentine mainland. ### Soviet Media Sensitivity on Foreign Aid *By RAM SWARUP* Ram Swarup's "Soviet Media Sensitivity on Foreign Aid" documents a rare crack in Soviet press silence about the economic cost of foreign aid, particularly stepped-up meat shipments to Poland reported by Radio Warsaw and (in Polish only, for external consumption) Radio Moscow, against a backdrop of a third consecutive poor Soviet grain harvest and an official 2% fall in 1981 agricultural production. He cites the newspaper Trud's defensive explanation of declining per-capita meat sales despite rising production figures, and a Komsomolskaya Pravda reader's letter questioning whether Soviet aid abroad harms the domestic economy, concluding that domestic grumbling about aid burdens to 'fraternal countries' appears to be gathering momentum inside the USSR. - Soviet citizens have long believed, contrary to official silence, that the USSR's foreign-aid program burdens the domestic economy and causes chronic shortages; Western estimates put Soviet aid at just 0.12% of GNP in 1979. - Radio Warsaw reported December 29 that the USSR supplied Poland 32,000 tons of meat since mid-November, with more shipments expected; Radio Moscow carried the same announcement only in Polish, for external consumption. - Soviet agricultural production officially fell 2% in 1981, following the third poor grain harvest in a row, worsening the timing of meat exports to Poland. - The newspaper Trud explained the gap between rising official meat production and falling per-capita sales as due to distribution through cafeterias, sanatoriums, and children's establishments, and transport losses, without providing figures on the actual decline. - Trud also rebutted rumors that too much meat is being sold abroad, citing meat import figures rising from 165,000 to 611,000 tons over a decade against exports falling from 55,000 to 34,000 tons. - A Komsomolskaya Pravda reader asked whether aid to developing and other countries harms the Soviet domestic economy; the paper's reassuring reply is read by the author as itself evidence that public discontent over aid burdens is becoming troublesome to the authorities. ### Voices-1: Politics and Literature *By C. RAJU* In the "Voices" column entry "Politics and Literature," C. Raju criticizes the politicization of Marathi literary conferences, contrasting a Government-backed Marathi Sahitya Sammelan in Raipur with a rival 'rebel' writers' conference in Bombay, and argues that writers who accept political patronage and awards compromise their art. He quotes humorist P. L. Deshpande's protest against ministers like Vasant Sathe and Antulay attending literary gatherings, and Sammelan president Malati Bedekar's charge that ruling politicians seek to turn citizens into 'tame domestic animals,' concluding that only self-respecting refusal of political patronage preserves a writer's integrity. - Bombay's rival Sangeeth Sabhas and Samajs are used as an analogy to justify the existence of two competing Marathi Sahitya Sammelans, one government-backed (Raipur) and one a 'rebel' session (Bombay). - Raju argues politics has infiltrated literature, and that many aspiring writers are tempted by government awards and political patronage into becoming propagandists. - P. L. Deshpande, ex-president of the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, is quoted saying writers should tell ministers they have no right to attend and 'pollute' literary conferences. - Deshpande singles out Union Information Minister Vasant Sathe and Antulay as examples of politicians whose presence at literary gatherings he finds intolerable. - Sammelan president Malati Bedekar is cited agreeing that ruling politicians seek to convert self-respecting citizens into 'tame domestic animals.' - Raju allows an exception for politicians who are also eminent writers, citing Radhakrishnan and K. M. Munshi as acceptable invitees. ### Voices-2: Middle-Income Miseries *By A. SOLOMON* The second "Voices" entry, A. Solomon's "Middle-Income Miseries," argues that government economic policy is deliberately crushing India's middle-income group through steep taxation (33-40% marginal rates), disproportionate second/first-class train fare gaps, and the unaffordability of telephones, flats, cars, and air travel, suggesting rulers wish to silence this politically aware, rights-demanding class by economic attrition. It closes by mocking officials who decry a 'phoren craze' for imported goods while themselves importing foreign articles duty-free through diplomatic privilege, arguing Indian-made goods are often shoddier due to a captive, uncompetitive market. A short following item, "OK Calcutta," notes that British playwright David Selbourne's play for Calcutta's People's Theatre, originally titled The Trial of Mrs Gandhi, was renamed for its Bengali-language premiere by translator/director Utpal Dutt to avoid overt reference to Indira Gandhi, though the woman-in-the-dock character remains recognizable by her distinctive white hair streak. - A. Solomon argues government tax policy (33% on the lowest taxable slab, nearly 40% up to Rs. 30,000) and steep train-fare disparities (e.g., roughly 20x between first and second class on Bombay suburban routes) are crushing India's middle-income group. - He suggests this is deliberate: the middle class is politically aware, demands civil liberties, and exposes corruption, so economic attrition silences it, leaving only the very rich and very poor for a patronage-based electoral system. - He dismisses the 'phoren craze' accusation as a figment of politicians' imagination, arguing Indian-made goods are often shoddier and costlier due to lack of competition, while quality Indian exports are forced abroad as 'export quality' goods unavailable domestically. - He notes hypocrisy in ministers, politicians, and bureaucrats who criticize the public's taste for foreign goods while themselves importing such items duty-free via diplomatic privilege. - The short item 'OK Calcutta' reports that David Selbourne's play, commissioned for the People's Theatre of West Bengal and originally titled The Trial of Mrs Gandhi, was retitled for its Bengali premiere (translated/directed by Utpal Dutt) to avoid explicit reference to Indira Gandhi, though the character remains recognizable by a distinctive white hair streak. ### OK Calcutta *By (The Times, London)* Aloo Dalal reviews L. J. Macfarlane's The Right to Strike (Penguin, 1981), a closely-argued analysis of whether the right to strike is morally as well as legally justified, written partly in response to British Conservative restrictions on closed shops and picketing. Dalal uses the book to critique India's Maintenance of Essential Services Act (February 1982), which permits detention without trial under the National Security Act for strikes in a sweeping range of 'essential' sectors, arguing the measure is unprovoked given improving industrial-dispute statistics and likely reflects government's inability to tackle inflation, black money, and corruption by other means. Following Macfarlane, she surveys the conditions for a morally valid right to strike (independent trade unions, freedom from police interference, democratic strike calls) while noting Macfarlane's view that doctors, surgeons, and nurses have a moral duty never to strike, and applies this framework approvingly to a contemporary Maharashtra college-teachers' examination boycott. - Macfarlane's book (Penguin, 1981) examines whether the right to strike is morally justified, prompted by British Conservative restrictions on closed shops and picketing. - Dalal contrasts this with India's Maintenance of Essential Services Act, under which the government (Feb 8, 1982) defined essential services broadly enough to cover nearly all transport, government services, defence, banking, and basic industries, with detention without trial available under the National Security Act. - She argues the measure is unprovoked given the government's own claim that man-days lost to strikes fell in 1980-81, and suggests the real motive is government's inability to address inflation, black money, and corruption. - Under the 1976 Emergency, by contrast, man-days lost to lockouts, lay-offs, and retrenchment rose sharply (lockouts from 24% to 70% of lost man-days between 1975 and 1976), a comparison Dalal uses to argue the Essential Services Act one-sidedly targets workers. - Macfarlane's conditions for a morally valid right to strike include independent, non-government-controlled trade unions, freedom from police surveillance, and democratically called strikes; the right is instrumental and collective, not universal or absolute. - Macfarlane holds that doctors, surgeons, and nurses have a moral duty never to strike regardless of grievance, though non-medical hospital staff may strike if minimum emergency cover is maintained; Dalal applies this framework approvingly to a contemporaneous Maharashtra college-teachers' exam boycott, judging it morally justified. ### The World of Books: The Right to Strike (review of L. J. Macfarlane, Penguin Books, 1981) *By ALOO DALAL* Brahmanand Mishra's "The Sikkim Connection" reports on the political aftermath of the February 19 cremation of Palden Namgyal, Sikkim's ex-Chogyal, when thousands of Nepalese, Bhutias, Lepchas, and Tsongs staged a ceremonial demonstration proclaiming his son Tobgyal Wangchuck Namgyal the 13th Chogyal, complete with a memorandum on court paper presented by opposition leader Bhim Bahadur Gurung. New Delhi, having abolished the Sikkimese throne in 1975 following a merger with India, regards the acclamation as a form of sedition it cannot ignore, and Sikkim's Chief Minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari reportedly considered sedition charges against the ten legislators involved. The article details the scale of administrative overhead now running the small state (a Governor, IAS/IPS officers on deputation, thousands of state employees) versus the far leaner staff under the former monarchy, alongside a comparison to a similar anti-Indian demonstration by schoolchildren in December 1968. - Palden Namgyal, Sikkim's ex-Chogyal, was cremated February 19; the ceremony turned into a mass demonstration by Nepalese, Bhutias, Lepchas and Tsongs proclaiming his son Tobgyal Wangchuck Namgyal the 13th Chogyal. - Opposition Congress (Revolutionary) leader Bhim Bahadur Gurung presented Prince Wangchuck a memorandum on a one-rupee court-paper stamp acclaiming him as Chogyal. - New Delhi regards the acclamation as bordering on sedition, since Sikkim's monarchy was abolished in 1975 following a special poll and merger with India; Chief Minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari reportedly considered sedition charges against the ten legislators involved. - Prince Wangchuck, 29, educated at Harrow and the Ealing School of Business, denies seeking a 'coronation' but reportedly believes succession to his religious functions is 'automatic.' - The article contrasts the Chogyal-era administration (one private secretary, one chief secretary, 110 police) with the current top-heavy bureaucracy: a Governor, Military Secretary, 23 IAS officers, 3 IAS/5 IPS on Central deputation, and roughly 9,000 state employees serving under 300,000 residents. - New Delhi provides roughly 80 crores of rupees every five years to Sikkim, versus the state's own contribution of about 4 crores annually. - The article draws a parallel to a similar December 15, 1968 anti-Indian demonstration by schoolchildren carrying placards reading 'Indians go back' and 'Down with Indian Imperialism.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff352/ ### Summary Issue No. 352 of Freedom First (June 1982, 30th year of publication), edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani, opens with Ezekiel's editorial "The Peace-Mongers," which attacks Western disarmament campaigners for a double standard that ignores Soviet militarism and totalitarianism while condemning only Western and American defence build-ups. The issue's center of gravity is the Cold War: pieces on the Falklands conflict analyse Soviet opportunism (Rama Swarup) and rebut equivalence between Poland and El Salvador (Gordon Brook-Shepherd, reprinted from the Sunday Telegraph), while M. R. Masani's column defends Freedom First's record on Sikkim and Nagaland against a reader's charge of double standards on imperialism. Other contributions include K. S.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Issue No. 352 of Freedom First (June 1982, 30th year of publication), edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani, opens with Ezekiel's editorial "The Peace-Mongers," which attacks Western disarmament campaigners for a double standard that ignores Soviet militarism and totalitarianism while condemning only Western and American defence build-ups. The issue's center of gravity is the Cold War: pieces on the Falklands conflict analyse Soviet opportunism (Rama Swarup) and rebut equivalence between Poland and El Salvador (Gordon Brook-Shepherd, reprinted from the Sunday Telegraph), while M. R. Masani's column defends Freedom First's record on Sikkim and Nagaland against a reader's charge of double standards on imperialism. Other contributions include K. S. Venkateswaran's miscellany on intellectual hostility to markets, the Hayflick cell-ownership case, and Polish martial-law persecution; book reviews of two accounts of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and of an edited volume of Indian journalists' essays; the ICFTU's May Day message on labour rights and disarmament; a compiled digest, "Glimpses of Our World Today," covering North Korean labour camps, Solidarity's underground testimony, Cuban-Argentine relations, Soviet anti-Western-culture campaigns, and conditions in Delhi's Tihar jail; and the recurring "With Many Voices" quotations column. ## Essays ### The Peace-Mongers *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* In the lead editorial, Nissim Ezekiel argues that Western peace campaigners who condemn NATO and American rearmament while giving the Soviet Union a pass are practising a double standard, since Soviet military build-up and expansionism proceed unannounced and unchallenged by internal debate. He contends every Soviet 'peace' initiative is part of a broader war strategy aimed at extending Soviet hegemony, and that Western disarmament advocates who ignore this are either naive or disingenuous. - Western critics attack American and NATO rearmament as warmongering while treating Soviet military build-up as beyond criticism. - The Soviet Union avoids public debate on its defence plans, unlike Western democracies. - For 13 years the US halted chemical weapons manufacture; no comparable Soviet restraint is evidenced. - Ezekiel calls the peace-movement stance 'naive or cunning' and rejects moral equivalence between Western and Soviet military policy. - He frames every Soviet peace gesture as part of a strategy to achieve military and ideological superiority over the West. ### A Variety of Comment (Intellectual Predisposition; The Hayflick Case; Polish Persecution) *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* K. S. Venkateswaran's miscellany column covers three unrelated items: a review of a Heritage Foundation essay collection (featuring economist Peter Bauer) on intellectuals' hostility toward free markets; a recap of the Leonard Hayflick cell-ownership dispute with the US National Institutes of Health; and a report on the harsh sentencing of Polish trade unionist Ewa Kubasiewicz under martial law. - A Heritage Foundation essay collection explores why intellectuals are predisposed against the free market despite market economics reducing statist horrors. - Peter Bauer is praised for a 'brilliant analysis' demolishing arguments for state intervention in developing countries. - The Hayflick case (1962-1981) pitted microbiologist Leonard Hayflick against the NIH over ownership of human cell lines WI-38 and WI-26, settled out of court with Hayflick retaining $90,000 in proceeds. - Ewa Kubasiewicz, a Solidarity union organiser at a maritime college in Gdynia, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and 5 years' loss of civil rights by Polish martial-law authorities. ### Letter: Invitation to a Play *By M. R. MASANI* A published letter from M. R. Masani, in his capacity as Chairman of the Society For The Right To Die With Dignity, invites Freedom First readers in Bombay to attend a production of the play Whose Life Is It Anyway?, staged to mark the Society's first year and to build public understanding of voluntary euthanasia. - The Society For The Right To Die With Dignity completed one year of existence. - The Society sponsored a production of Whose Life Is It Anyway? by Hosi Vasunia Productions, directed by Vijay Crishna. - Shows were scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th July, with booking opening at Rhythm House from 23rd June. ### Sikkim - Through Other Eyes *By M. R. MASANI* M. R. Masani responds to a reader's letter accusing Freedom First of a double standard for condemning Western and Soviet imperialism while overlooking India's 1975 annexation of Sikkim. Masani concedes the criticism has merit, noting his own past objections to the Sikkim takeover, and cites his and Jayaprakash Narayan's efforts on Kashmir and Nagaland as evidence the magazine has not been silent on Indian actions, while acknowledging that prominent Indian critics of foreign imperialism are rare when it comes to India's own conduct toward smaller neighbours. - A reader living in Asia praised Freedom First's editorials on Poland but challenged it to apply the same standard to India's annexation of Sikkim. - Masani states he was 'quite disgusted' by the Sikkim takeover and welcomed Morarji Desai's later admission that it could not be justified. - Masani cites his membership in the India-Pakistan Conciliation Group (with Mrs. Malati Singh) and Jayaprakash Narayan's role in negotiating a Nagaland ceasefire as evidence of consistency. - He concludes that Indian public figures rarely apply anti-imperialist principles to India's own conduct, quoting the reader's letter extensively. - Masani acknowledges the magazine has 'never lowered our flag' on Kashmir or Nagaland even while conceding the broader point about double standards. ### The Falkland Islands Issue: How the Soviets Gain *By RAMA SWARUP* Rama Swarup analyses how the Falklands crisis has benefited the Soviet Union, arguing that Argentina's right-wing junta under Galtieri and the Soviet Politburo are using each other opportunistically despite ideological incompatibility, with Moscow gaining grain and arms trade, nuclear material sales, and strategic advantage from the resulting rift between Britain/the US and Latin America. - Argentina, despite being anti-Communist, has become open to Soviet support during the Falklands dispute, including a possible arms deal. - The Soviet Union has become Argentina's largest grain customer, with 80 percent of Argentine grain and oil-seed exports going to the USSR in 1982. - Moscow has agreed to send Argentina $500 million in oil equipment and supply enriched uranium and heavy water for its nuclear programme, worrying Washington about proliferation. - The crisis threatens to unseat Margaret Thatcher, a vocal anti-Communist, and could disrupt Reagan's Latin American Cold War strategy. - A Western diplomat is quoted saying the Soviets are 'the only winners in this crisis.' ### Why Salvador is not Reagan's Poland *By GORDON BROOK-SHEPHERD* Gordon Brook-Shepherd, reprinted from the Sunday Telegraph, rebuts the ideological equivalence Moscow draws between Poland and El Salvador, arguing that the West has never militarily intervened to support Solidarity the way the Soviet bloc has armed and advised Salvadoran guerrillas, and that Reagan's application of the Monroe Doctrine differs fundamentally from the Brezhnev Doctrine's use of force to preserve the socialist camp. - Moscow accuses Washington of doing worse in Central America than the Kremlin has done in Poland, a comparison Brook-Shepherd rejects. - The West honoured the Helsinki Pact's acceptance of Europe's post-war boundaries; the Soviet Union did not honour its counter-pledge to extend liberties. - Cuban, Czech and East German advisers actively support Salvadoran guerrillas, unlike the restraint shown by the West toward Solidarity. - The article draws a contrast between Afghanistan (Soviet military intervention) and El Salvador (US-backed elections), arguing the moral weight favours the West. - Britain's pro-American stance on the Falklands has opened a diplomatic gap that France, under Mitterrand, is filling by restoring the Paris-Bonn axis. ### Book Reviews (The Truth About Afghanistan; Report on Afghanistan; The India of Our Dreams) *By HAVOVI ANKLESARIA / ADAM ADIL / V. B. KARNIK* Three book reviews: Havovi Anklesaria reviews The Truth About Afghanistan (Novosti Publishing House), a Soviet propaganda volume she finds repetitive, evasive, and unconvincing as a justification for the Russian occupation; Adam Adil reviews the Asian Lawyers' Legal Inquiry Committee's Report on Afghanistan, chaired by P. N. Lekhi, which documents the Soviet-backed political history from the 1964 constitutional monarchy through Daoud's, Taraki's, and Amin's regimes to the Soviet-installed Babrak Karmal government; and V. B. Karnik reviews The India of Our Dreams, an edited volume of essays by Indian journalists (edited by M. V. Kamath) united in advocating expansion of freedom and decentralisation of power, followed by a short excerpt from The Economist titled 'Nation In Search Of Role?' on India's international image. - Anklesaria calls The Truth About Afghanistan hollow propaganda that 'arouses anger for the destruction of an innocent nation' rather than vindicating Soviet presence. - The book claims 30,000 peasants received land under agrarian reform without addressing what happened to previous owners. - Adam Adil's review of the Lawyers' Committee report traces Afghanistan's history from the 1964 constitutional monarchy through Daoud's 1973 coup, Taraki's Communist takeover, Amin's ascension, and the Soviet-backed installation of Babrak Karmal. - V. B. Karnik notes the contributors to The India of Our Dreams disagree on remedies but unanimously favour expansion of freedom and decentralisation of power over tightening state control. - An Economist excerpt observes India is perceived abroad as 'a poor and faraway corner of a lost empire' still 'in search of a role' after more than 20 years. ### Nation in Search of Role? (reprinted from The Economist, March 27, 1982) The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions' May Day message, marking its motto 'Bread, Peace and Freedom,' surveys global threats to workers' rights -- from Solidarity's suppression in Poland to trade-union persecution in Turkey, Latin America, and apartheid South Africa -- and calls on governments to abandon nuclear and conventional arms build-up, resume disarmament negotiations, and honour ILO-protected labour rights. - The ICFTU represents 130 affiliated organisations in 91 countries with 85 million members. - The message demands the release of all Solidarnosc members and observance of Polish freedom-of-association commitments under ILO conventions. - It cites 52 Turkish trade unionists at risk of death sentences for union activity. - It calls for withdrawal of Soviet SS-20 missiles and abandonment of US/NATO Cruise, Pershing II, and neutron weapons production. - The statement links unemployment, hunger, poverty and oppression to the case for disarmament and a new international economic order. ### May Day Message of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions A compiled digest of excerpted news reports under six headings: North Korea's political labour camps (from The Guardian), smuggled Solidarity testimony from Jacek Kuron and Adam Michnik warning of Polish bloodshed (The Observer), an American 'new isolationism' critiqued by Max Lerner (The New Republic), a Soviet crackdown on Western-style youth fashion in Ukraine (The Times), improving but morally troubling Cuban-Argentine relations amid the Falklands war (Swiss Press Review), and a first-hand account of degrading conditions in Delhi's Tihar jail (PUCL Bulletin). - South Korean intelligence estimates North Korea holds at least 105,000 political prisoners in labour camps, some reportedly former high-ranking officials. - Solidarity advisers Kuron and Michnik smuggled out documents from Bialoleka prison warning martial law could end in a 'Polish bloodbath' absent compromise. - Max Lerner's New Republic piece is quoted describing an emerging American isolationist stance toward Soviet expansionism. - Soviet 'clean-cut Communist vigilantes' in Ukraine are reported rounding up youths wearing Western jeans and T-shirts as ideologically subversive. - Cuba pivoted from criticizing to fully supporting Argentina's Falklands invasion within days, while Argentina is separately noted to hold roughly 800 political prisoners without trial. - A PUCL Bulletin account describes overcrowding, poor food, absent medical care, and abuse of prisoners at Tihar jail, contrasted with conditions during the Emergency. ### Glimpses of Our World Today (North Korea; Poland; America; Russia; Cuba and Argentina; India) The recurring 'With Many Voices' column closes the issue with a set of pointed quotations on the Falklands crisis, Cold War rhetoric, and ideology, drawn from figures including Tennyson, President Reagan, Jean-Francois Revel, Lenin, P. W. Botha, and Bernard Shaw, followed by the subscription form and the issue's printer/publisher imprint. - A Times of London quote suggests Reagan could better afford to lose General Galtieri than Mrs. Thatcher. - Jean-Francois Revel is quoted linking the French Gaullist right and Socialist left through shared xenophobia and isolationism. - Lenin is quoted (Party Congress, 20 April 1921) conceding socialism is better than capitalism, but capitalism better than medievalism. - Bernard Shaw is quoted calling America the only country to go from barbarism to decadence without an intervening period of civilisation. - The page also carries the Freedom First subscription order form and the publication's legal imprint naming J. R. Patel as Associate Editor and printer. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff353/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 353 (July 1982) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal journal founded by M. R. Masani, edited at this point by Nissim Ezekiel. Marking the magazine's 30th year of publication, the issue opens with Ezekiel's own editorial lamenting a 'cultural vacuum' in Indian public life, then moves through a mix of domestic and international commentary: a three-part comment column on the BBC's Falklands coverage and press freedom, judicial activism over Bombay pavement-dweller evictions, and Amnesty International's findings on Uganda; a syndicated Alexander Solzhenitsyn polemic against Western complacency in the face of Soviet expansion; reporting on the Iran-Iraq war's regional fallout, on Indian diplomatic drift toward the Soviet-backed Kabul regime, and on alleged KGB funding of Western European peace movements; a book review of an interdisciplinary poverty-studies volume; and a satirical 'Open Letter' mocking political defectors amid the Haryana/Himachal Pradesh floor-crossing crisis. The issue closes with the 'With Many Voices' quotations column and the magazine's own subscription appeal. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 353 (July 1982) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal journal founded by M. R. Masani, edited at this point by Nissim Ezekiel. Marking the magazine's 30th year of publication, the issue opens with Ezekiel's own editorial lamenting a 'cultural vacuum' in Indian public life, then moves through a mix of domestic and international commentary: a three-part comment column on the BBC's Falklands coverage and press freedom, judicial activism over Bombay pavement-dweller evictions, and Amnesty International's findings on Uganda; a syndicated Alexander Solzhenitsyn polemic against Western complacency in the face of Soviet expansion; reporting on the Iran-Iraq war's regional fallout, on Indian diplomatic drift toward the Soviet-backed Kabul regime, and on alleged KGB funding of Western European peace movements; a book review of an interdisciplinary poverty-studies volume; and a satirical 'Open Letter' mocking political defectors amid the Haryana/Himachal Pradesh floor-crossing crisis. The issue closes with the 'With Many Voices' quotations column and the magazine's own subscription appeal. ## Essays ### The Cultural Vacuum *By Nissim Ezekiel* In this lead editorial, Nissim Ezekiel argues that India's chronic failures — from traffic chaos to dysfunctional democratic institutions — stem from a 'cultural vacuum': a democratic culture has never taken root beneath the formal machinery of politics. He contends that Indian political life is instead undergirded by communalism, feudal attitudes, and ritualistic conduct, which explains the ineffectiveness of everything from sports-club committees to national policy bodies. He extends the critique to education, arguing the old Guru-Shishya model has collapsed without a working substitute, and to public ethics, noting Indians treat public property with a carelessness they would never show their own. He closes by calling for an organic revival of traditional culture into public life, distinguishing this from mere Westernisation. - India's high accident rates and institutional dysfunction are traced to an absence of shared democratic culture, not lack of law. - Election candidates cannot be chosen without appeal to religious and ethnic roots matching the constituency. - Elected representatives show little interest in constituents' problems once in office, regardless of party. - The Guru-Shishya educational model is defunct and has not been replaced by a genuine teacher-student relationship. - A national magazine's special issue on 'Waste' found consensus that Indians treat public property differently from private property. - Ezekiel calls for organic cultural growth into public life, explicitly not Westernisation. ### A Variety Of Comment (Courageous Stand / Judicial Activism / Amnesty on Uganda) *By K. S. Venkateswaran* K. S. Venkateswaran's 'A Variety of Comment' column covers three unrelated items. The first praises BBC Chairman George Howard's defence of the corporation's Falklands War coverage against government pressure, comparing it to Director-General John Reith's resistance to Winston Churchill's demand that the BBC serve as a government mouthpiece during the 1926 General Strike. The second criticizes Bombay's civil-rights activists and the Supreme Court for obstructing the state's clearance of unauthorised pavement dwellings, arguing the activists' opposition is 'meaningless and disquieting' given the government's now-lawful, notice-based approach. The third summarises an Amnesty International report, sourced to defector-turned-informant testimony, describing extra-legal killings, torture, and detention without due process under Milton Obote's Uganda, arguing conditions have not improved since Idi Amin. - BBC Chairman George Howard's defence of Falklands coverage is likened to Reith's 1926 stand against Churchill. - Reith's diary is quoted refusing to let the BBC become a government propaganda instrument during the General Strike. - The column argues Bombay's pavement-dweller clearance now follows due legal process (notice, alternative arrangement) and faults activists for continued opposition. - It cites a Supreme Court-quoted anonymous judge questioning what legal basis trespassers have to alternative accommodation. - An Amnesty International report on Uganda under Milton Obote describes mass executions, torture, and abductions, including named victim J. Mawange. - The column concludes Uganda's human rights record has not improved despite the change of regime from Idi Amin to Obote. ### Why Can't The West See This Is No Time To Smile? *By Alexander Solzhenitsyn* Alexander Solzhenitsyn's polemic, reprinted from The Times (May 11, 1982), attacks Western media and public culture for an enforced cheerfulness that he says blinds it to the advance of totalitarianism, contrasting this with the East's inherited resignation to suffering. He accuses Western television crews of one-sided reporting that undermines besieged anti-communist governments (citing Vietnam and El Salvador) while ignoring repression in Soviet-aligned states like Nicaragua and Afghanistan. He extends this into a broader argument that communism has swallowed roughly 40 countries, mocks Eurocommunists like Santiago Carrillo and Enrico Berlinguer for claiming distance from the Soviet model without renouncing Marxism, and argues Western capitalism, in pursuit of profit, is unwittingly arming the 'communist monster.' He closes warning that time is short to find a 'third road' grounded in spiritual renewal rather than economic dogma, and warns of the danger of a Sino-Soviet rapprochement. - Solzhenitsyn contrasts enforced Western cheerfulness with the East's honest, 'downcast' demeanor born of accumulated suffering under totalitarianism. - He accuses Western TV networks of one-sided coverage that supports losing anti-communist governments' opponents (Vietnam, El Salvador) while sparing Sandinist Nicaragua and Soviet Afghanistan similar scrutiny. - He argues roughly 40 countries have already been 'swallowed' by communism and predicts continued American retreat until communists reach Texas. - He imagines how film crews would have covered Trotsky, Denikin, and Kolchak in the 1917-1922 Russian Civil War, arguing Western media would have sided against the anti-Bolshevik forces. - He mocks Eurocommunist leaders Carrillo and Berlinguer as insufficiently distinct from the Soviet model despite their claimed independence. - He argues Western capitalists, driven by profit, are arming the 'communist monster' that will destroy them, and calls for a 'third road' focused on spiritual foundations rather than economic combinations. - He warns that a Soviet-Chinese reconciliation would make the communist threat even more dangerous. ### The Middle-East In Flames *By Rashmi Taneja* Rashmi Taneja's report surveys the regional consequences of the Iran-Iraq war after Iran's recapture of Khorramshahr. She argues Iraq's stated aim of controlling the Shatt-al-Arab masked its true objective of overthrowing Ayatollah Khomeini and forestalling Shiite unrest within Iraq itself, a strategy that backfired badly on President Saddam Hussein as Iraqi casualties mounted and Iran's Islamic clergy consolidated power domestically. She surveys the alarm this has caused among Gulf Arab states with sizable Shi'ite minorities, their formation of the Gulf Co-operation Council, and their turn toward Egypt for security despite Egypt's isolation over its peace treaty with Israel. She also notes the U.S.'s weakened regional position after the Shah's fall and Secretary of State Alexander Haig's inconclusive new diplomatic initiative, closing with the observation that the Soviet Union has armed both sides while gaining leverage in the Gulf. - Iraq's real war aim, per Taneja, was overthrowing Khomeini and pre-empting Shiite unrest at home, not merely securing the Shatt-al-Arab. - At least 30,000 Iraqis are reported dead and 35,000 taken prisoner, with a substantial reduction in Iraqi oil output. - Gulf Sunni monarchies, alarmed by Iranian victories, formed the Gulf Co-operation Council (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE) to coordinate policy. - These states are turning to Egypt for military backing despite Egypt's Arab-world isolation after its Israel peace treaty. - U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig's May diplomatic initiative did not spell out how the war's resolution would be achieved. - The Soviet Union has supplied arms to both Iran and Iraq and is positioned to gain influence in the Gulf. ### Kabul Radio Shows India As "Enemy Of The Afghan People" *By Rama Swarup* Rama Swarup criticizes the Indian government's diplomatic posture toward the Soviet-installed Karmal regime in Kabul, arguing the Indian Ambassador in Afghanistan appears to be defending Soviet 'war aims' more zealously than the Soviets themselves, at the cost of stoking anti-Indian sentiment in Afghan bazaars fuelled by Kabul Radio's characterization of India as an 'enemy of the Afghan people.' Swarup insists India must publicly clarify that it does not endorse Soviet expansionism despite its friendship treaty with Moscow, and cites an International Institute of Strategic Studies appraisal concluding the Karmal government lacks popular support and has failed both politically and militarily. - Swarup argues India's ambassador in Kabul is offering explanations of Soviet 'war aims' more assiduously than Soviet diplomats themselves. - Kabul Radio broadcasts describe India as a 'standard bearer of international communism,' which the article says India must publicly reject. - The article calls for India to clarify there is no linkage between its dealings with the Karmal regime and broader Soviet ideological hegemony. - The International Institute of Strategic Studies is cited concluding the Karmal government lacks a domestic political base and has failed to improve security or popularity. - Armed opposition to the Karmal regime is described as remaining 'active' despite Soviet military presence. ### Western Peace Movements Influenced By The KGB *By Shanti Saroop Bansal* Shanti Saroop Bansal reports on claims by former KGB Major Stanislav Levtjenko, now granted U.S. asylum, that the KGB channels funding and strategic direction to Western European peace movements opposing NATO's planned deployment of medium-range missiles. The article details a Danish Communist Youth 'Catalog of Ideas for the Peace Struggle' describing disinformation tactics, including a forged letter attributed to NATO Secretary General Joseph Luns, methods for staging panic through fake emergency broadcasts, and instructions for obtaining American military surplus uniforms. It closes noting Danish Progress Party figure Uffe Thorndal's push for government disclosure of Soviet funding to Danish peace groups. - Former KGB Major Stanislav Levtjenko, granted U.S. asylum, alleges direct KGB funding and coordination of Western European peace movements. - A Danish Communist Youth organization's 'Catalog of Ideas for the Peace Struggle' outlines disinformation tactics against NATO's missile deployment. - A forged letter attributed to NATO Secretary General Joseph Luns to U.S. Secretary of State Haig was circulated to a West German newspaper to alarm the German public. - The Catalog advises using NATO's own propaganda material against it and details how to obtain American military surplus uniforms. - Danish Progress Party figure Uffe Thorndal has petitioned government ministers to disclose Soviet financial support for Danish peace movements. ### Book Review: Poverty: An Interdisciplinary Approach (eds. B. Sarveswara Rao and V. N. Deshpande) *By Shankar Raj* Shankar Raj reviews 'Poverty: An Interdisciplinary Approach' (edited by B. Sarveswara Rao and V. N. Deshpande, Madras Institute of Development Studies/Somaiya Publications), a compilation of papers from three South Indian workshops held in 1974-76. The review notes the book draws on economics, philosophy, anthropology, geography, sociology, psychology, and nutrition, organized around 'Who are the Poor?,' regional planning against poverty, and rural living-standard indicators. Raj highlights editor C. T. Kurien's candid evaluation that many participants lacked genuine interdisciplinary engagement, with late-coming and early-leaving common despite advance circulation of papers, and concludes the volume, while not path-breaking, offers valuable interdisciplinary breadth for general readers. - The reviewed volume compiles papers from three workshops (1974, 1975, 1976) held at various South Indian centres, mostly by Southern delegates. - Disciplines represented include economics, philosophy, anthropology, geography, sociology, psychology, and nutrition. - Editor-evaluator C. T. Kurien notes many participants showed little genuine interest in interdisciplinary discussion despite advance circulation of papers. - The review judges the papers individually unremarkable ('none...makes a path-breaking contribution') but the volume's interdisciplinary breadth valuable for general readers. - The reviewer recommends the book primarily to non-economist general readers over specialists. ### Open Letter: An Open Letter to Rebel M.L.A.'s of All Parties and Professional Defectors in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh *By S. S. Bankeshwar* S. S. Bankeshwar's satirical 'Open Letter' addresses rebel MLAs and 'professional defectors' amid the 1982 floor-crossing crisis in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, where no party held a clear majority (Himachal: Congress-I 29, BJP 29, Janata 2, Independents 6; Haryana: Congress 34, BJP 5, Lok Dal 31, others 16). Framed as an advertisement for a satirical 'University of Defectors,' the piece mocks the moral rationalizations used to justify political defection — including invoking Ramayana and Mahabharata figures like Sugriva and Vibhishana as precedent — and lists mock 'subjects for specialisation' such as justifying defection as pragmatism and using Trojan Horse tactics to destroy a party from within. - The piece satirizes the 1982 hung-assembly floor-crossing crisis in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh with precise seat tallies for each party. - It frames defection as a mock academic 'University of Defectors' with admissions open only to 'persons with a smooth record of successful defection'. - It mockingly invokes Ramayana/Mahabharata figures Sugriva, Vibhishana, and Balarama as mythological precedents for defection. - Mock curriculum subjects include justifying defection as pragmatism and using a 'Trojan Horse' strategy to destroy a party from within. - The satire closes noting that fighting the official candidate invites disciplinary action, but winning invites recruitment by rival parties. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff354/ ### Summary This is issue No. 354 of Freedom First (August 1982, Rs. 1.50), the Bombay-based monthly journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by Nissim Ezekiel, marking its 30th year of publication. The issue leads with an exclusive interview in which former Prime Minister Morarji Desai defends the Janata Party's Gandhian credentials, dismisses talk of a 'National Alternative' realignment as premature, and offers combative views on Pakistan, Israel, democracy in Islamic countries, and the political scene after Indira Gandhi and Charan Singh. The remaining pages cover Soviet unease over an India-Pakistan No-War Pact, an uncertain new round of Tibetan-Chinese 'bureau' diplomacy, Nissim Ezekiel's defence of Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon against the PLO, a review of Shashi Tharoor's book on Indira Gandhi-era foreign policy, a topical comment column on Lord Denning's retirement and spurious drugs in India, and the regular 'With Many Voices' quotations feature. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 354 of Freedom First (August 1982, Rs. 1.50), the Bombay-based monthly journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by Nissim Ezekiel, marking its 30th year of publication. The issue leads with an exclusive interview in which former Prime Minister Morarji Desai defends the Janata Party's Gandhian credentials, dismisses talk of a 'National Alternative' realignment as premature, and offers combative views on Pakistan, Israel, democracy in Islamic countries, and the political scene after Indira Gandhi and Charan Singh. The remaining pages cover Soviet unease over an India-Pakistan No-War Pact, an uncertain new round of Tibetan-Chinese 'bureau' diplomacy, Nissim Ezekiel's defence of Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon against the PLO, a review of Shashi Tharoor's book on Indira Gandhi-era foreign policy, a topical comment column on Lord Denning's retirement and spurious drugs in India, and the regular 'With Many Voices' quotations feature. ## Essays ### Morarji Desai Talks to Freedom First (Exclusive Interview with Sumant Bankeshwar) *By Sumant Bankeshwar* Sumant Bankeshwar's exclusive interview with Morarji Desai, conducted at Desai's residence on 20 June, opens the issue. Desai argues that the post-1977 Janata Party split has left it a rump of leaders without cadre, yet still insists the Janata Party is the true 'National Alternative' and the 're-incarnation' of Mahatma Gandhi's Congress, since Congress (I) and the BLD are bound to disintegrate once Indira Gandhi and Charan Singh leave the scene. He defends bringing Charan Singh back into his cabinet as a decision forced by unanimous cabinet advice, criticizes Haryana's MLAs as being 'for sale,' and argues democracy is 'in India's blood' but has failed in Pakistan and Bangladesh because Islam is inherently dictatorial, while dismissing Pakistan's F-16 acquisition and nuclear ambitions as no threat. He also rejects a proposed India-Pakistan No-War Pact as meaningless and accuses Indira Gandhi of being unduly influenced by the USSR. The interview closes with Desai contrasting India's historic freedom leaders (Tilak, Gokhale, Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Subhas Chandra Bose, Lala Lajpat Rai, Savarkar, Bhagat Singh, Udham Singh, Madanlal Dhingra, the Chapekar brothers) with what he calls the venal, defection-prone politicians of the present day. - Desai calls the post-split Janata Party a leadership-only rump but still the sole genuine 'National Alternative' to Congress (I) - He frames the Janata Party as the true ideological heir of Mahatma Gandhi's Congress - He defends readmitting Charan Singh to his cabinet as a decision he personally opposed but accepted under unanimous cabinet pressure - He argues democracy has failed in Pakistan and Bangladesh because Islam is a 'dictatorial religion,' contrasting this with democracy's survival in Christian Europe/America and even Israel - He dismisses the F-16 and Pakistani nuclear developments as non-threats and rejects a proposed No-War Pact as unnecessary between India and Pakistan - He accuses Indira Gandhi of USSR-driven foreign policy - He contrasts pre-independence leaders with contemporary politicians he characterizes as defectors ('Ayarams and Gayarams') ### A Variety of Comment (1. Lord Denning; 2. Spurious Drugs) *By K. S. Venkateswaran* K. S. Venkateswaran's regular 'A Variety of Comment' column covers two topics: Lord Denning's forced retirement from the English bench following controversy over his book 'What Next in the Law?', which the columnist frames as a troubling capitulation to public bias against a celebrated jurist; and the Indian government's plan to abolish pharmaceutical brand names in favour of generic prescribing, which the column argues is an ideologically driven, counterproductive move that will invite an influx of poor-quality generic drugs without lowering prices, given existing multi-tier price controls. A short filler item reports a Soviet official blaming 'huge losses' of petrol on carelessness, theft, and administrative disorganization. - Criticizes the campaign that forced Lord Denning's retirement as a victory for public bias over freedom of expression - Calls the Indian government's plan to abolish pharmaceutical brand names an ideologically driven and counterproductive policy - Argues generic-only prescribing will not lower drug prices because of existing multi-tier price controls, and will worsen the problem of spurious drugs - Notes a Soviet official's admission that petrol losses stem from carelessness, theft, and poor labour organization ### Moscow-Islamabad-New Delhi *By Nirmala Joshi* Nirmala Joshi's article examines Soviet anxiety over prospective India-Pakistan normalization, whether through Pakistan's proposed No-War Pact or India's counter-proposal of a Treaty of Friendship and Peace. Drawing on discussions with Soviet Indologists in Moscow, Joshi lays out Soviet objections: skepticism about Pakistani sincerity given its alignment with the US-China 'Strategic Consensus,' concern that a friendship treaty would downgrade the 1971 Indo-Soviet Treaty, and fear that a settled Pakistan would be freer to act against Baluchis, Pathans, and Afghanistan. She argues the Soviets view South Asia through a superpower lens and stand to lose both strategic leverage and arms sales if India-Pakistan tensions ease, while India increasingly rejects viewing regional developments through that Soviet prism. - Soviet Indologists argued against both a No-War Pact and a Treaty of Friendship and Peace between India and Pakistan - Soviets view Pakistan's No-War Pact offer as insincere, aimed at persuading the US Congress of Pakistan's peaceableness to secure F-16 military assistance - A friendship treaty is seen by Moscow as automatically downgrading the 1971 Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Co-operation - Moscow fears a Pakistan free from tension with India could act more forcefully regarding Baluchis, Pathans, and Afghanistan - Normalization would reduce India's reliance on Soviet arms, cutting into Soviet strategic and commercial interests - India is moving away from viewing regional developments through a Soviet-defined superpower lens ### Sino-Tibetan Relations - A New Turn *By Bhuchung K. Tsering* Bhuchung K. Tsering surveys the on-again, off-again 'delegation diplomacy' between the Tibetan government-in-exile and China since 1979, culminating in a high-ranking Tibetan delegation's April 1982 visit to Beijing and a Chinese press note offering to let the Tibetans open a 'Bureau' there. Tsering criticizes the secrecy surrounding these negotiations on both the Tibetan and Chinese sides, reviews the history of earlier Tibet-related offices in China (some dating to the 1930s-50s), and speculates that the new Bureau might end up with a status no better than India's own unofficial Bureau for Tibetans in Delhi. He calls on the Tibetan administration in Dharamsala to disclose the facts of these negotiations to the exile community rather than keeping them as 'state secrets.' - Traces a series of Tibetan delegations to China/Tibet since 1979, several cut short or shrouded in secrecy - Reports the April 1982 visit of three senior Tibetan officials to Beijing and China's offer to allow a Tibetan 'Bureau' there - Notes that neither the Tibetan Kashag nor Chinese officials have confirmed details, fueling speculation - Reviews historical precedents for Tibetan offices in China dating to the 1930s-1950s - Speculates the new Bureau might receive a status resembling Sikkim House or Arunachal Bhavan rather than genuine diplomatic recognition - Calls for the Tibetan government-in-exile to be transparent with its own people about the negotiations ### The War in Lebanon *By Nissim Ezekiel* In this signed editorial-style piece, Nissim Ezekiel mounts a defence of Israel's June 1982 invasion of Lebanon, arguing it aims at restoring Lebanese sovereignty rather than conquest, and was welcomed by many Lebanese who saw it as liberation from PLO tyranny. He contrasts Israeli policy, which he says an open society freely debates and criticizes, with the PLO's stated aim of destroying Israel and its practice of killing Palestinian moderates, and with Syria's mass killing of its own civilians. Ezekiel rejects equating the invasion with genocide or comparing Zionism to fascism, and argues that any future Palestinian state must accept Israel's existence and abandon the goal of Israel's destruction; he closes by describing the rhetorical double standards he sees in condemnations of Israel that ignore Arab aggression. - Frames the Israeli invasion of Lebanon as aimed at restoring Lebanese independence, not conquest, citing the welcome given by many Lebanese - Argues Israeli society tolerates and expresses internal dissent over the invasion, unlike Arab states or the PLO/Syria - Contrasts PLO's declared aim of destroying Israel and its killing of Palestinian moderates with characterizations of Israel as the aggressor - Cites Syria's killing of 25,000 of its own civilians in Homs in 1982 as context for regional violence - Rejects comparisons of Israeli policy to genocide or Zionism to fascism - Argues any Palestinian state must be conditioned on accepting Israel's existence, ruling out a state built on the goal of Israel's destruction ### Book Review: Our Foreign Policy (review of Shashi Tharoor, Reasons of State: Political Developments and India's Foreign Policy under Indira Gandhi, 1966-1977) *By K. S. Venkateswaran* K. S. Venkateswaran reviews Shashi Tharoor's 'Reasons of State: Political Developments and India's Foreign Policy under Indira Gandhi, 1966-1977' (Vikas, 1982). The review endorses Tharoor's account of Indian foreign policy as incoherent and ad hoc, rooted in contradictory Nehru-era premises (anti-imperialism, liberal internationalism, neutralism, neo-Marxism, Gandhism, Hindu nationalism) applied selectively rather than pragmatically. It highlights Tharoor's account of India's inconsistent application of anti-imperialism (criticizing the US but not the Soviets over Czechoslovakia), Mrs. Gandhi's antipathy toward America and obsession with alleged CIA subversion, and a relatively more favorable assessment of Janata-era foreign policy professionalism under Vajpayee, despite Desai's failure to build rapport with ASEAN. - Reviews Shashi Tharoor's 'Reasons of State' on Indian foreign policy 1966-1977 under Indira Gandhi - Praises the book's diagnosis of foreign-policy incoherence rooted in Nehru's contradictory ideological premises - Cites Tharoor's examples of selective anti-imperialism: silence on Soviet actions in Czechoslovakia versus criticism of the US - Highlights Mrs. Gandhi's antipathy toward the US and her 1975 remarks about a CIA-driven 'danger' as reflecting insecurity - Notes the review's relatively favorable view of Janata-era foreign policy professionalism under Vajpayee, alongside criticism of Desai's ASEAN diplomacy - Concludes the book is a valuable, non-doctrinaire addition to writing on Indian foreign policy ### With Many Voices The issue's regular 'With Many Voices' feature collects short quotations from world figures and publications on politics, conviction, objectivity, and other topics, drawn from June 1982 issues of the Sunday Times, National Review, The Times, The Guardian, Herald Tribune, The Economist, and the Indian Express, among others. - Quotes Margaret Thatcher describing herself as 'a conviction politician' rather than a consensus or pragmatic one - Quotes an Economist item likening the Congress party's permit system to a 'monumental system of extortion' - Includes quotations from Bismarck, Joshua Nkomo, Mark Twain, and others on politics, courage, and habit --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff355/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 355 (September 1982, 30th year of publication) is the monthly journal of liberal ideas published by the Democratic Research Service, founded by M. R. Masani and edited by Nissim Ezekiel. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with S. A. A. Pinto's essay "The Root of All Evil," which traces India's epidemic of corruption and black money to the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, licensing controls, and socialist planning, and calls for a new political party willing to tell the poor that the socialist system has failed. K. S. Venkateswaran's regular "A Variety of Comment" column covers President Mobutu's defiance of Arab-African pressure over Zaire's ties with Israel, praises George Gilder's Wealth and Poverty as a defence of free enterprise, and reports on mass executions under Iran's post-1979 regime. Arvind Deshpande poses a series of open questions on federalism, state autonomy, and constitutional design in "The Autonomy Demand." The editorial board pays tribute to the Australian journal Quadrant on its 25th anniversary. A reprinted Kenyan editorial by George Githii, "Speaking Out of Turn in Kenya" (introduced by M. R.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 355 (September 1982, 30th year of publication) is the monthly journal of liberal ideas published by the Democratic Research Service, founded by M. R. Masani and edited by Nissim Ezekiel. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with S. A. A. Pinto's essay "The Root of All Evil," which traces India's epidemic of corruption and black money to the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, licensing controls, and socialist planning, and calls for a new political party willing to tell the poor that the socialist system has failed. K. S. Venkateswaran's regular "A Variety of Comment" column covers President Mobutu's defiance of Arab-African pressure over Zaire's ties with Israel, praises George Gilder's Wealth and Poverty as a defence of free enterprise, and reports on mass executions under Iran's post-1979 regime. Arvind Deshpande poses a series of open questions on federalism, state autonomy, and constitutional design in "The Autonomy Demand." The editorial board pays tribute to the Australian journal Quadrant on its 25th anniversary. A reprinted Kenyan editorial by George Githii, "Speaking Out of Turn in Kenya" (introduced by M. R. Masani), protests preventive detention and the harassment of a lawyer and university lecturers, and is followed by commentary linking Kenya's situation to India's own constitutional bill of rights and its tension with preventive-detention law. Rama Swarup's "The Elusive Sino-Soviet Detente" analyses Brezhnev's 1982 Tashkent overture to China and the mutual distrust between Moscow and Beijing. Also included are a reader's letter (P. S. Daver) proposing that programme booklets carry inspirational citations, with a reply from Masani; a report on a seminar on ageing ("The Aged and Society"); and the "With Many Voices" column of aphoristic quotations from the world press. ## Essays ### The Root of All Evil *By S. A. A. PINTO* S. A. A. Pinto argues that India's rampant corruption and black money are not aberrations but the predictable outcome of socialism and centralised planning. He traces a causal chain from the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act of 1951 and the Industrial Policy Resolution, through artificial scarcity created by licensing, to bribery, evasion, and the corrupting nexus between politicians and businessmen who fund elections with black money. He concludes that a new political party is needed to organise the poor and unemployed outside the shrinking "tent" of the existing economy and to make the case that socialism has failed. - Corruption in India (citing the Antulay affair and the Bhajanlal ministry) is presented as an entirely predictable outcome of socialism and centralised planning, not an isolated moral failure. - The Industries (Development and Regulation) Act of 1951, built on the Industrial Policy Resolution, enforced licensing that created artificial scarcity ('excess production' becomes punishable). - Scarcity created by licensing makes bribery for licences and permits highly profitable, which in turn fuels black money and tax evasion. - Businessmen become dependent on political favour and are pressured to fund the re-election of politicians, often financing rival candidates as insurance. - Because political donations were regulated and then banned, all such funding had to move into black money, deepening the cycle. - Nationalisation is described as a mechanism that transfers private wealth into a government 'cess pool,' expanding patronage, inefficiency, and corruption. - The author calls for a new political party to organise the growing population outside the shrinking economic 'tent' -- unemployed and below the poverty line -- around the message that the socialist system has failed and an alternative offering 'bread with freedom' is possible. ### A Variety of Comment *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* K. S. Venkateswaran's regular column "A Variety of Comment" runs three short items. The first praises Zaire's President Mobutu Sese-Seko for resuming diplomatic ties with Israel despite Arab pressure, quoting his rebuke of Arab-African 'solidarity' as a one-way 'wagon and locomotive' arrangement. The second welcomes George Gilder's Wealth and Poverty as a rare lucid defence of free-enterprise philosophy against a demoralised consensus that capitalism suffers inherent moral and social contradictions. The third reports on mass executions in Iran since the 1979 revolution, citing Amnesty International's estimate that the true toll exceeds the regime's own figure of 4,400, and recounts the case of Omid Gharib, executed despite a lighter official sentence. - Zaire's President Mobutu is praised for defying Arab-African pressure by maintaining ties with Israel, and for calling Arab-African solidarity a one-sided 'wagon and locomotive' arrangement. - George Gilder's Wealth and Poverty is described as an important defence of free enterprise against a widespread, largely unrebutted consensus (shared by left and right) that capitalism has deep moral and social flaws. - Gilder is credited with influence on Reagan-era 'supply-side' economic policy. - Iran's post-revolutionary regime is reported to have executed far more people than its official figure of 4,400, per Amnesty International. - The case of Omid Gharib -- arrested for a private letter, indicted for having been 'Westernised,' and executed despite a three-year sentence -- is cited as an example of the regime's arbitrary brutality. ### The Autonomy Demand: Some Questions *By ARVIND DESHPANDE* Arvind Deshpande's "The Autonomy Demand: Some Questions" poses a series of open, numbered questions about how far India should devolve autonomy to states and regions. He surveys India's history of de facto regional autonomy even under strong central rulers, the British-era balance of autonomy with accountability, and the risk that greater autonomy could either broaden or narrow citizens' horizons, worsening parochialism, intolerance of dissent, or minority repression. He raises comparisons to Switzerland, Canada, Australia and West Germany, questions B. K. Nehru's proposal for direct rural-level elections with indirect elections above the district level, and asks what role a Governor should play in more autonomous states, concluding that any workable model of autonomy must lead to a more open, democratic, and accountable polity rather than parochial insularity. - India has historically been a 'quasi-federal polity with strong unitary overtones,' with regions retaining de facto autonomy even under strong central rulers like Ashoka or Akbar. - The British combined disarming the princely states with a degree of openness and autonomy-with-accountability, which the author treats as a template. - Greater regional autonomy risks worsening parochialism, intolerance of dissent, and administrative corruption, citing examples like Kashmir, the Akalis in Punjab, and Marxists in Kerala/West Bengal. - The author asks whether lessons on balancing autonomy and unity can be drawn from federal systems in Switzerland, Canada, Australia, and West Germany. - B. K. Nehru's proposal for direct elections only at the rural unit level, with indirect elections upward, is questioned as potentially entrenching local bosses without accountability. - The piece asks what role a Governor or 'umpire' figure should play in protecting minority interests within more autonomous states. - The author insists any move toward autonomy must be judged by whether it produces a more open, responsible, and democratic polity, not merely reservation-minded parochialism. ### Tribute to Quadrant A short editorial note from the Freedom First editorial board congratulates the Australian journal Quadrant, published by the Democratic Research Service's Australian counterpart, on its 25th anniversary, praising its sustained commitment to freedom and intellectual inquiry alongside journals like Encounter, and paying particular tribute to Richard Krygier, the Polish emigre who has been its mainstay since founding. - Freedom First offers congratulations to Quadrant (Australia) on its 25th anniversary. - Quadrant is compared favourably to Encounter as a journal sustaining freedom-oriented intellectual inquiry. - Richard Krygier, a Polish emigre to Australia, is credited as the guiding figure behind Quadrant across 25 years. - Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser reportedly attended and spoke at the anniversary dinner. - The tribute recalls the late Jayaprakash Narayan and Minoo Masani as past readers who valued Quadrant. ### Speaking Out of Turn in Kenya *By George Githii (editorial reprinted from The Standard, Kenya; introductory note by M. R. Masani)* Freedom First reprints, with an introductory note by M. R. Masani, the full text of an editorial by George Githii, editor of Kenya's The Standard, protesting the climate of fear created by preventive detention in Kenya -- including the reported detention of lawyer John Khaminwa and the resignations of university lecturers afraid to express views. Masani notes that Githii's own newspaper disowned the editorial and that Githii himself faced possible arrest for 'treason.' The piece, and the commentary that follows it, draws an explicit parallel to India's own experience with the Emergency (1975-77) and its Constitution's Bill of Rights, arguing that preventive detention law contradicts the Constitution's guarantees of personal liberty and due process, and calls for repealing or strictly limiting such laws to wartime. - The reprinted Kenyan editorial by George Githii protests detention without trial, self-censorship among university lecturers, and intimidation of journalists and lawyers in Kenya. - Masani's introduction notes that Githii's own paper, owned by Lonrho, disowned the editorial as 'provocative' and sacked him, and that he faced arrest on a charge of 'treason.' - The lawyer John Khaminwa was reportedly detained for defending dissidents and questioning executive power, not for any recognised crime. - The commentary explicitly likens Kenya's situation to India's Emergency period (1975-1977). - India's Constitution's Bill of Rights (chapter five) protects personal liberty and due process, but is said to directly contradict Section 85 and Section III of the Preservation of Public Security Act, which allow detention without due process. - The author proposes three remedies: release of those detained without evidence, trial of those with evidence against them, and repeal or strict wartime-only limitation of preventive detention law. ### [Untitled continuation re: Constitution, bill of rights, preventive detention act] Rama Swarup's "The Elusive Sino-Soviet Detente" analyses Leonid Brezhnev's March 1982 Tashkent speech proposing unconditional resumption of Sino-Soviet dialogue, and China's cool, largely dismissive response. The essay traces the diplomatic back-and-forth through Chinese Foreign Ministry statements, Soviet media commentary (TASS, Novosti, Xinhua), the April 1982 trade agreement, and the ongoing Sino-Soviet border dispute, concluding that neither side genuinely seeks detente but each is manoeuvring for advantage -- China wary of jeopardising its US relationship over Taiwan, and the USSR seeking to exploit US-China friction, while distrust and troop concentrations along the border persist. - Brezhnev's March 24, 1982 Tashkent speech proposed resuming Sino-Soviet dialogue 'without prior conditions' in a conciliatory tone. - China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Qian Qichen firmly rejected the overture on March 26, while pointedly not addressing the resumption-of-talks proposal itself. - Soviet media (Novosti, TASS) emphasised Soviet goodwill while criticising China's rejection as irresponsible; Chinese media (Xinhua) cited continued Soviet troop concentration on the border as evidence Brezhnev's assurances were hollow. - An April 16 Sino-Soviet trade agreement, estimated near $300 million, merely restored trade to 1980 levels rather than signalling a real thaw. - The Far Eastern Economic Review is quoted arguing China cannot respond positively without risking its security relationship with the US over Taiwan. - The Soviet Union reportedly demanded China return occupied territory near New Delhi during India-China talks, complicating any rapprochement. - The essay concludes that neither the USSR nor China genuinely seeks detente; each seeks diplomatic advantage from the other's difficulties, with world peace treated as a secondary consideration. ### The Elusive Sino-Soviet Detente *By RAMA SWARUP* In a letter titled "A Suggestion," reader P. S. Daver praises the programme booklet for the play Whose Life Is It Anyway?, sponsored by the Society for the Right to Die with Dignity (founded and chaired by Minoo Masani), for including substantive reading matter rather than only advertisements. Daver proposes that advertisers sponsoring such programmes be encouraged to include inspiring citations instead of plain 'With Best Compliments' notices, illustrating the idea with a quoted suicide note from Charlotte Perkins Gilman on the right to choose death over prolonged suffering from cancer. Masani appends a brief editorial comment endorsing the suggestion for future souvenir programmes. - The letter praises the programme for Whose Life Is It Anyway?, sponsored by the Society for the Right to Die with Dignity, founded and chaired by Minoo Masani. - Daver suggests that advertisers in such programmes replace generic 'With Best Compliments' notices with inspiring citations relevant to the cause. - He quotes at length Charlotte Perkins Gilman's suicide note defending the right to choose 'a quick and easy death' over prolonged suffering from cancer. - Masani replies briefly, endorsing Daver's idea for future souvenir programmes. ### A Suggestion *By P. S. DAVER* A book-review-section report, "The Aged and Society," summarises a symposium held on April 7, 1982 (World Health Day), organised jointly by SNDT Women's University's Department of Continuing and Adult Education and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, to mark 1982 as 'The Year of the Aged.' Experts including Dr. M. S. Gore, Dr. K. G. Desai, Dr. J. D. Pathak, Dr. (Mrs.) Neera Desai, Mrs. Leela Moolgaonkar, and Prof. A. N. Kothare discussed health, psychological, and social dimensions of ageing in India, noting faster ageing among Indians, rising numbers of elderly living alone or feeling alienated despite the nominal persistence of joint families, and the need for social security and health insurance schemes for the retired. - The symposium, held April 7, 1982 on World Health Day, was organised by SNDT Women's University and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences to mark the UN's 'Year of the Aged.' - Dr. J. D. Pathak noted that Indians age faster, while reduced infant mortality and better disease control have increased the senior population. - Dr. K. G. Desai discussed socio-psychological problems of the aged, noting Western patterns of isolation are increasingly appearing in urban India. - Dr. Neera Desai observed that although the joint family structure persists nominally, elderly members have lost their traditional decision-making role, reversing to a situation where parents live with the children rather than the other way round. - Mrs. Leela Moolgaonkar highlighted the role of the elderly in childcare within families and the traditional role of religious groups like bhajans and kirtan mandals in providing tranquility, alongside the need for social security and health insurance schemes. - Prof. A. N. Kothare argued that active engagement, close family ties, and post-retirement pursuit of earlier unfulfilled ambitions were key to solving problems of old age. - Dr. M. S. Gore called for strategies tailored to India's cultural context to address the unique problems of the aged. ### The Aged and Society: Report of a Seminar The regular "With Many Voices" column collects short quotations from the international press and public figures on the theme of the issue's news cycle, including remarks from The Economist, a Soviet radio broadcast, Lenin, Salman Rushdie, and commentary on Zia ul-Haq, feminism in politics, the IRA, and China's economic aspirations. - Quotes span British railway unions, Soviet Arabic-language broadcasting, Lenin on peace as an instrument of power, Salman Rushdie on British colonial legacy, and Trevor Fishlock on Zia ul-Haq. - Includes Janet Watts's observation that a token woman leader would not necessarily challenge the political status quo. - Includes a Beijing People's Daily quote on the acceptance of unequal enrichment as part of getting rich together. - The column functions as a collection of pointed, often ironic, aphorisms rather than a single argument. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff356/ ### Summary This is issue No. 356 of Freedom First (October 1982, Re. 1.50), in its 30th year of publication, founded by M. R. Masani and edited by Nissim Ezekiel, published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel. The issue opens with Ezekiel's editorial attacking Farooq Abdullah's abrupt post-succession cabinet purge in Kashmir as symptomatic of a broader Indian culture of arbitrary power grabs dressed up as reform. It continues with K. S. Venkateswaran's regular comment column on Palestinian anger at the PLO's conduct in Lebanon, Indian journalists' selective outrage over the Bihar Press Bill, and Western scholarly reluctance to confront China's persecution of intellectuals; Rama Swarup's analysis of a leaked Chinese internal briefing paper on Peking's anti-Soviet, pro-American 'card' diplomacy; two 'Voices' pieces (a reported vignette on child flower-sellers in Sri Lanka by Geeta Doctor, and V. V. Deshpande's promotional essay on the Leucaena tree for rural development); two book reviews (P. M. Kamath on A.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 356 of Freedom First (October 1982, Re. 1.50), in its 30th year of publication, founded by M. R. Masani and edited by Nissim Ezekiel, published for the Democratic Research Service by J. R. Patel. The issue opens with Ezekiel's editorial attacking Farooq Abdullah's abrupt post-succession cabinet purge in Kashmir as symptomatic of a broader Indian culture of arbitrary power grabs dressed up as reform. It continues with K. S. Venkateswaran's regular comment column on Palestinian anger at the PLO's conduct in Lebanon, Indian journalists' selective outrage over the Bihar Press Bill, and Western scholarly reluctance to confront China's persecution of intellectuals; Rama Swarup's analysis of a leaked Chinese internal briefing paper on Peking's anti-Soviet, pro-American 'card' diplomacy; two 'Voices' pieces (a reported vignette on child flower-sellers in Sri Lanka by Geeta Doctor, and V. V. Deshpande's promotional essay on the Leucaena tree for rural development); two book reviews (P. M. Kamath on A. Appadorai's study of the domestic roots of Indian foreign policy, and Mary Thomas on the Minute of Dissent to the Second Press Commission Report); a Letters page debating Morarji Desai's post-Janata political standing; and the back-page 'With Many Voices' column of press quotations. ## Essays ### Welcome Farooq Abdullah! *By Nissim Ezekiel* Nissim Ezekiel's front-page editorial, 'Welcome Farooq Abdullah!', is a sarcastic attack on the new Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister's decision to sack his father's entire cabinet within 48 hours of succeeding Sheikh Abdullah. Ezekiel likens this to a general Indian pattern of new leaders (university vice-chancellors, newspaper chairmen) purging predecessors' appointees under the guise of showing 'mettle', regardless of competence. He notes the removed ministers had themselves begged the Governor to install Farooq, and were rewarded with dismissal as a demonstration that in the pursuit of power there is 'no respect for persons as persons but only as pieces on a chessboard' — a pattern he says is 'the same in the rest of the country'. He closes by linking this to Sheikh Abdullah's final major act (allowing Muslims who had resettled in Pakistan to return to Kashmir) as a case study in the limits of Indian secularism. - Farooq Abdullah dismissed his entire cabinet within 48 hours of becoming J&K Chief Minister, following his father Sheikh Abdullah. - Ezekiel frames this as evidence of a wider Indian tendency to equate ruthless purges with demonstrating leadership 'mettle'. - The dismissed ministers had themselves petitioned the Governor en masse to make Farooq Chief Minister, and were purged regardless. - Ezekiel draws a parallel to Farooq's brother-in-law G. M. Shah, who was also sidelined. - He questions whether Farooq's likely push for closer ties with New Delhi will proceed smoothly given Kashmir's realpolitik. - The piece closes on Sheikh Abdullah's decision to let long-settled Muslims return from Pakistan as a comment on Indian secularism. ### A Variety of Comment (Palestinian Excesses; Press Freedom; Intellectuals in China) *By K. S. Venkateswaran* K. S. Venkateswaran's 'A Variety of Comment' column covers three unrelated items. First, on 'Palestinian Excesses', he argues that international media narratives sympathetic to departing PLO fighters in Lebanon ignore first-hand Lebanese testimony (from Muslim, Christian, and Shiite residents of Sidon) describing PLO abuses — harassment, theft, and violence — that made the occupation itself feel like a relief to be rid of. Second, on 'Press Freedom', he criticizes the Indian press's opportunistic outrage over the Bihar Press Bill as inconsistent given many journalists' own history of servility during the Emergency, while still concluding that some restriction of government overreach on press freedom is necessary. Third, on 'Intellectuals in China', he notes the comparative silence of the global human-rights movement on Chinese intellectuals' persecution under Mao, quoting an American commentator's candid admission that Cold War-era sympathy for Chinese communism blinded Western scholars to its cruelties. - First-hand Lebanese accounts described PLO forces' abuses in Beirut/Sidon — harassment, theft, and violence — contradicting sympathetic media narratives about the PLO's exit. - Venkateswaran criticizes Indian journalists' selective, ad hoc opposition to the Bihar Press Bill given their own compromised record during the Emergency. - He nonetheless argues some restrictions on the press are a 'necessary evil' if abuses of media freedom by proprietors are to be checked. - Global human rights attention has neglected the persecution of intellectuals in China relative to other authoritarian regimes. - An American literary commentator is quoted attributing this neglect to Cold War-era sympathy for Chinese Communism overriding concern for persecuted intellectuals. ### Peking's Foreign Relations *By Rama Swarup* Rama Swarup's 'Peking's Foreign Relations' analyzes a classified Red Chinese internal briefing paper (from January 1980) said to reveal candid party thinking behind China's foreign policy. The piece argues China's alignment with the US since the 1971 ping-pong diplomacy and 1979 normalization was a matter of strategic necessity against the Soviet Union, intensified by the 1969 Sino-Soviet border clashes and 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. It describes China playing multiple 'cards' simultaneously — an 'American card' against the USSR, an occasional hint of a 'Soviet card' to pressure Washington on Taiwan arms sales, and a 'Europe-Japan card' to diversify weapons and technology suppliers — while insisting there is 'no room for compromise' on ending US arms sales to Taiwan. The document also frames China's modernization drive as a core consideration shaping its foreign-policy engagement with the West. - A classified January 1980 Red Chinese internal briefing paper is the source for the analysis. - China's rapprochement with the US (1971 ping-pong diplomacy to 1979 normalization) is framed as strategic necessity against Soviet military build-up. - The 1969 Sino-Soviet border clashes and 1979 Afghanistan invasion are cited as key breaking points ending any sense that the Sino-Soviet split was merely ideological. - China is described as playing an 'American card', a latent 'Soviet card', and a 'Europe-Japan card' simultaneously in its diplomacy. - China demands an end to US arms sales to Taiwan with 'no room for compromise', even as it courts American, European, and Japanese weapons and technology suppliers for modernization. ### Voices-1: A Boy Named Satyam *By Geeta Doctor* Geeta Doctor's 'Voices-1: A Boy Named Satyam' is a reported personal narrative from a hill-country car trip in Sri Lanka, describing an escalating roadside encounter with a group of children (tourism-industry flower-sellers) near Nuwara Eliya, centered on one boy selling Gerbera flowers who chases the car across several hairpin bends demanding five rupees. The piece dwells on the discomfort and guilt the narrator feels at the mix of desperation, performance, and commerce in the children's begging, culminating in a final exchange where the boy, who says he is an orphan named 'Satyam' (Truth), refuses to simply be given money and insists on completing the flower transaction, leaving the narrator with the sense of having failed him even in the moment of paying him what he demanded. - Sri Lanka's tourism boom in the hills around Nuwara Eliya coexists with a declining tea industry, itself hurt by drought and deforestation. - A group of poor children, led by a boy holding Gerbera flowers, pursue the narrator's car across several hairpin turns demanding five rupees. - The narrator feels increasing guilt and unease at the desperation on display, comparing it to a 'beggar's chant'. - The boy refuses an unconditional handout and insists on completing the flower sale for the full five rupees he named. - The boy identifies himself as an orphan named Satyam, meaning 'Truth' — the narrator ends feeling they 'cheated him of his victory' by finally paying rather than continuing to refuse. ### Voices-2: A Wonder Tree *By V. V. Deshpande* V. V. Deshpande's 'Voices-2: A Wonder Tree' is a promotional, semi-technical essay on Leucaena leucocephala (known in India as 'Su-Babul'), advocating its mass cultivation for rural development. It describes the tree's fast growth, nitrogen-fixing properties, and multiple uses (firewood, fodder, timber, paper pulp, cocoa-like drink, soil reclamation), and lists policy measures needed for large-scale adoption — crash nurseries, seed import licences, bank financing, and inter-departmental coordination — noting that the Government of India plans to import 2.5 tonnes of seed over five years and that Maharashtra has adopted the tree for its social forestry programme with per-village and per-taluka planting targets. - Leucaena leucocephala ('Su-Babul' in India) is promoted as a fast-growing (up to 65 feet in four years), multi-use tree for rural development. - Uses cited include firewood, animal fodder, timber, paper pulp, a cocoa-like drink, nitrogen fixation for soil, and reclamation of saline lands. - The Government of India is reported to plan importing 2.5 tonnes of Leucaena seed over the next five years. - Maharashtra Government has adopted it for social forestry, targeting five lakh trees per taluka and 2,000 trees per village. - Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank and other banks are said to offer term loans of Rs. 2,000 per acre at 6% interest, repayable over five years. ### Book Review: Domestic Roots of India's Foreign Policy, 1947-1972 (by A. Appadorai) *By P. M. Kamath* P. M. Kamath reviews A. Appadorai's 'Domestic Roots of India's Foreign Policy, 1947-1972' (Oxford University Press, 1981). The review summarizes Appadorai's central thesis that the old post-war dichotomy between domestic and foreign policy has collapsed amid growing interdependence and democratization, so that India's foreign-policy choices (non-alignment, ties with the Arab world, support for Bangladesh's secular liberation) are substantially explained by domestic factors — geography, the size of India's Muslim population, and internal political currents — rather than by international structure alone. Kamath praises the book as a rare, well-documented Indian contribution to a subject otherwise dominated by Western national case studies, and reports Appadorai's own indication that this is only an introductory study, with further work anticipated. - Appadorai's book argues the domestic/foreign-policy dichotomy that prevailed until WWII has become obsolete due to interdependence and democratization. - Nehru's Constituent Assembly remark, 'External affairs will follow internal affairs,' is cited as an early statement of this thesis. - India's Arab-friendly foreign policy is explained partly by the size of its Muslim population, per a 1967 Indira Gandhi observation. - India's support for the Bangladesh liberation war is linked to its likely effect on Indian Muslims' domestic standing. - A 1971 quote from Bangladesh Mission head H. R. Choudhury on secular nationhood is reproduced as evidence for the era's mood. - Kamath calls the book 'a singular contribution' to Indian IR literature and a 'must' for students and policymakers, and anticipates further volumes from Appadorai. ### Book Review: In Defence of Press Freedom - Minute of Dissent to the Report of the Second Press Commission, 1982 *By Mary Thomas* Mary Thomas reviews 'In Defence of Press Freedom: Minute of Dissent to the Report of the Second Press Commission — 1982' (A Statesman Publication, Calcutta), a dissenting report by four Press Commission members (Justice Sisir Kumar Mukherjea, Rajendra Mathur, Girilal Jain, and H. K. Paranjape) against the Commission majority's recommendations. She lays out both sides' positions on delinking newspaper ownership from other businesses, applying the MRTP Act, price-page schedules, and advertising limits, quoting the Majority's view that dedicated newspaper owners are more likely to defend press principles against the Minority's counter that owners should be willing to absorb losses for journalism's sake. The review closes by endorsing some restriction on the press industry as a 'necessary evil' while criticizing the Minority's implicit prioritization of commercial viability over stated ideals of press freedom, and references the contemporary Bihar Press Bill controversy as a related test case. - The Minute of Dissent was authored by four Second Press Commission members: Justice Sisir Kumar Mukherjea, Rajendra Mathur, Girilal Jain, and H. K. Paranjape. - Cushrow Irani's Preface states the dissenters 'disagree thoroughly' with the Majority Report's assumptions and conclusions. - Majority recommendations include delinking newspapers from other businesses, MRTP Act coverage, a price-page schedule, and advertising-space limits tied to circulation. - The Minority opposes the price-page schedule and import duty on newsprint but accepts a progressive tax on advertisement revenue. - Both Majority and Minority favour an outside Advisory Board overseeing editorial appointments, though they differ on how its members should be chosen. - The review situates the debate against the ongoing Bihar Press Bill controversy as evidence some press restriction may be a 'necessary evil'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff357/ ### Summary Issue No. 357 of Freedom First (November 1982, Re. 1.50), edited by Nissim Ezekiel with founder M. R. Masani credited on the masthead, opens with Ezekiel's own editorial 'Shuffle and Reshuffle', a sardonic look at the pattern of Cabinet and Chief Ministerial reshuffles in Indian politics, arguing that these changes are almost always about personalities and factional accommodation rather than policy or genuine efficiency. The issue then carries Bhabani Sen Gupta's report on Soviet strategic thinking towards South Asia following a Moscow visit, J. G. Tiwari's polemic against the economic inefficiency of communist systems, B. C. Upreti's analysis of the Nepalese monarchy's role in (and limits to) national modernisation, Rama Swarup's short piece on the practical difficulties of doing business in China, and Major M. P. Vora's essay on the neglected problem of venereal disease among Indian children in the aftermath of the UN's International Year of the Child.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Issue No. 357 of Freedom First (November 1982, Re. 1.50), edited by Nissim Ezekiel with founder M. R. Masani credited on the masthead, opens with Ezekiel's own editorial 'Shuffle and Reshuffle', a sardonic look at the pattern of Cabinet and Chief Ministerial reshuffles in Indian politics, arguing that these changes are almost always about personalities and factional accommodation rather than policy or genuine efficiency. The issue then carries Bhabani Sen Gupta's report on Soviet strategic thinking towards South Asia following a Moscow visit, J. G. Tiwari's polemic against the economic inefficiency of communist systems, B. C. Upreti's analysis of the Nepalese monarchy's role in (and limits to) national modernisation, Rama Swarup's short piece on the practical difficulties of doing business in China, and Major M. P. Vora's essay on the neglected problem of venereal disease among Indian children in the aftermath of the UN's International Year of the Child. The back pages carry two book reviews (of Lord Denning's 'What Next in the Law' and the edited volume 'The India of Our Dreams'), a Letters column debating an opposition peace march and a Kashmir-related editorial exchange, and the recurring 'With Many Voices' page of quotations from the world press. ## Essays ### Shuffle and Reshuffle *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* Nissim Ezekiel's editorial argues that the constant churn of Cabinet and Chief Ministerial reshuffles reported in Indian newspapers is misleadingly treated as significant news, when in fact it almost never reflects a change of policy. He contends that ministers are dropped or moved chiefly over personality clashes and factional pressure rather than principle, that Chief Ministers reshuffle their councils to accommodate followers and 'broaden the base' rather than improve governance, and that commentators' habitual wait-and-see stance ('it remains to be seen') is itself part of the problem, since the outcome of such reshuffles is entirely predictable. - Newspaper focus on Cabinet/Ministerial reshuffles overstates their importance. - Vasant Sathe's removal from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry is cited as an example of a minister losing his post for attracting excessive personal attention rather than for policy disagreement with Mrs. Gandhi. - Chief Ministers replace ousted council members with factionally reliable loyalists rather than on merit. - State Councils of Ministers grow larger each year for factional accommodation, not administrative need. - The media is criticised for praising reshuffling Chief Ministers as 'skilled' despite the personal-enmity basis of such moves. - The editorial concludes that nothing new 'remains to be seen' — the wrong means (factional reshuffling) cannot lead to the right ends (party discipline, efficiency). ### Russia, America and India *By BHABANI SEN GUPTA* Bhabani Sen Gupta reports on discussions held with Soviet academics, media figures, and foreign-service officials in Moscow on Soviet strategic perceptions of South Asia. He lays out the Soviet view of a single geo-strategic 'Southwestern and South Asia' region (a framework Sen Gupta says Brezhnev advanced during his December 1980 Delhi visit), the competing Soviet and American 'frameworks' of international relations, and Moscow's classification of Afghanistan as Soviet-aligned, Pakistan as American-aligned, and India (along with Iran) as occupying an independent 'zone'. The piece covers Soviet views on the war in Afghanistan and conditions for troop withdrawal, hostility toward Pakistan's alignment with the US, warm Soviet perceptions of India and Indira Gandhi, and Soviet caution about a possible India-Pakistan no-war pact and India's economic liberalisation. - Soviets see South Asia and Southwest Asia as a single geo-strategic region, a concept Sen Gupta traces to Brezhnev's December 1980 Delhi visit. - Soviet, American, and non-aligned 'frameworks' are described as the three competing structures of international relations in the region. - Afghan officials told Sen Gupta that 40% of Afghan territory was Kabul-controlled, 20% rebel-controlled, and 40% contested. - Soviets require a 'congenial regional environment' rather than territorial control as the condition for troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. - Moscow views Pakistan as firmly pro-American but detects growing anti-American and self-rule sentiment among the Pakistani public. - India is described as held in very high esteem in Soviet perception, with Indira Gandhi 'universally admired' and hailed as a world peace leader. - Soviets classify India as an 'Independent Capitalist' country, not part of the imperialist periphery, and are watching India's economic liberalisation and openness to multinational investment for its political impact. - A Soviet-Indian no-war-pact position is described: Moscow would welcome it only if it reduces Pakistan's linkage to the US, not otherwise. ### Business with China *By RAMA SWARUP* A short unsigned/staff item on the practical frustrations of Western and Asian businessmen operating in mainland China: inadequate office and hotel space, high rents, arbitrary and inconsistent tariffs (25-300%) on imported goods, opaque and inconsistently enforced commercial law, and a dual pricing system requiring foreign currency certificates. The piece cites the case of the Friendship Hotel in Peking, where 181 foreign business guests protested a doubled rent, and references a briefing by a Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation manager on the difficulty of confirming legal enforceability of agreements under Chinese commercial law. - About 350 foreign firms have offices in Peking and hundreds more send travelling businessmen, despite China's economic retrenchment. - Housing and office space shortages are described as the biggest foreign business annoyances. - Import tariffs on goods including typewriters and filing cabinets range from 25% to 300% and are arbitrarily applied. - Foreigners must use foreign currency certificates rather than yuan, part of a dual-pricing system. - 181 people protested when the Friendship Hotel doubled rents for business guests. - A Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation manager described difficulty obtaining confirmation of legal enforceability of agreements from Chinese authorities. ### Inefficiency of Communism *By J. G. TIWARI* J. G. Tiwari argues against the common assumption that communism, whatever its costs to human rights, is at least economically efficient. He contends communism's core weakness is that it subordinates economics to political control by a totalitarian centre, citing Soviet agriculture (where tiny private plots supply a disproportionate share of dairy, meat and produce) as evidence of the inefficiency of collectivised farming, and arguing that a communist party's inherent drive for total power creates expansionist foreign policy that provokes Western hostility, arms races, and diversion of resources to the military — all of which further degrades economic performance. He concludes that communist economies are structurally marked by poor incentives, sectoral imbalance, high production costs, shoddy goods, distribution bottlenecks, and scarcity. - Communism's basic weakness is that it subordinates economics to totalitarian political control, per Tiwari. - Soviet private farm plots, at only 3% of cultivable land, supply 30-66% of dairy, meat and agricultural output, cited as proof of collectivised agriculture's inefficiency. - Communist party structure is described as geared to 'total power,' producing an inherent expansionist foreign-policy tendency. - In 1966-67 communist states (China, North Korea, Albania, Vietnam, Cuba) spent 10.18% of GNP on armaments versus 3.8% average for India, Korea, Greece. - Foreign capital inflow is framed as critical for developing nations, and going communist is framed as a way to cut off that capital by antagonising the West. - Communist economies are said to suffer poor incentives, sectoral imbalance, high costs, shoddy goods, distribution bottlenecks and scarcity. ### Monarchy and the Modernisation of Nepal *By B. C. UPRETI* B. C. Upreti traces the political history of the Nepalese monarchy and its contested role as an agent of modernisation. He covers the founding of the present monarchy by Prithvi Narayan Shah in 1769, the century-long eclipse of royal power under the Rana oligarchy (1846-1951), the monarchy's revived and religiously-grounded significance (the king as an avatar of Vishnu in a constitutionally Hindu state), the 1951 restoration and 1959 experiment with parliamentary democracy, King Mahendra's 1960 abrogation of that democracy and 1962 introduction of the party-less Panchayat system (explicitly modelled on Ayub Khan's 'basic democracy', Sukarno's 'guided democracy', and Nasser's one-party system), and the Panchayat system's built-in contradictions: proclaimed decentralisation that in practice concentrated power further in the monarchy. Upreti concludes that despite five-year plans since 1956 and efforts at infrastructure, health, and agricultural development, real economic modernisation has been superficial, benefiting only the rich, amid corruption, faulty planning, and dependence on foreign aid. - The present Nepalese monarchy was founded in 1769 by Prithvi Narayan Shah; the Rana family effectively ruled behind a figurehead king from 1846 to 1951. - The king's status as a Hindu religious symbol ('Avtar of Lord Vishnu') is described as central to the monarchy's unifying role across Nepal's ethnic communities. - Parliamentary democracy was established in 1959 under King Mahendra but abrogated by him in 1960. - The 1962 Panchayat system is explicitly compared to Ayub Khan's basic democracy, Sukarno's guided democracy, and Nasser's class organisation as rejections of Western-style democracy. - The Panchayat system's decentralisation was nominal; political parties were banned and power remained centralised in the monarchy. - 94% of the population was dependent on undeveloped agriculture as of 1950, with almost no transport, communication or industry. - Despite five Five-Year Plans (a sixth underway) and foreign aid dependence, Upreti concludes real economic benefits have gone chiefly to the rich amid corruption and faulty planning. ### The Year of the Child and V.D. *By MAJOR M. P. VORA (R)* Major M. P. Vora argues that the 1979 International Year of the Child failed to draw attention to venereal disease as a serious hazard to Indian children, a topic he says was entirely absent from the extensive publicity given to childhood disabilities such as blindness, deafness, and mental retardation. He argues that congenital and person-to-person VD transmission in children is systematically underreported due to a 'conspiracy of silence' and the false assumption that VD only afflicts those engaged in promiscuous behaviour. Citing an old (1920) Bombay Social Hygiene Council report on Bombay City, Vora presents historical statistics on VD-linked stillbirths, infant deaths, blindness, deafness and mental deficiency, and calls for authentic, systematic data collection by health authorities — noting that even this striking old report failed to become the 'eye-opener' it should have been. - The 1979 International Year of the Child gave extensive publicity to childhood disabilities but none to VD as a childhood hazard, per Vora. - VD in children is under-recognised due to the false assumption it is linked only to promiscuous adult behaviour. - A 1920 Bombay Social Hygiene Council report on Bombay City is cited: J. J. Hospital recorded 18.7% of indoor and 23.3% of outdoor patients showing evidence of VD. - At Motalibai and Cama women's hospitals, 10-15% of patients were seropositive for syphilis. - Of 2,000 yearly stillbirths in the city, 18.5% (370) were attributed to syphilis; of 9,000 children who died annually, 3,000 died of congenital syphilis. - Of blind children 30%, of deaf children 25%, and of mentally deficient children 50% were attributed to VD in the cited report. - Vora calls for authentic qualitative and quantitative data on child VD, which he says health authorities have overlooked or ignored. ### Book Reviews: What Next in the Law (Lord Denning) [rev. K. S. Venkateswaran]; The India of Our Dreams (ed. M. V. Kamath) [rev. V. B. Karnik] *By K. S. Venkateswaran; V. B. Karnik* K. S. Venkateswaran reviews Lord Denning's 1982 book 'What Next in the Law' (Butterworths), part of an annual series of memoirs/commentary by the English judge. The review recounts the controversy provoked by Denning's remarks on jury selection — that only 'sensible and responsible' community members should serve on juries and that England is no longer a racially homogeneous society sharing common standards — which led the Society of Black Lawyers and the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers to demand his retirement, the publisher to withdraw 10,000 copies, and Denning himself to announce his retirement effective 31 July. The reviewer nonetheless praises the book's pen-portraits of legal reformers (Bracton, Coke, Blackstone, Murray, Brougham) and singles out the reproduced 1980 Richard Dimbleby Lecture, 'Misuse of Power,' as the book's most compelling section. - Lord Denning's 'What Next in the Law' (Butterworths, 1982, 352pp, £5.95) is the latest in an annual series since 1979. - Denning's remarks that only 'sensible and responsible' people should serve on juries, and that England is no longer racially homogeneous, provoked the controversy. - The Society of Black Lawyers and Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers demanded Denning's retirement from the Bench. - The publisher withdrew 10,000 copies issued on 20 May in the face of threatened legal action. - Denning announced on 25 May that his judicial career would end on 31 July. - The review praises the book's pen-portraits of legal reformers and highlights the reproduced 1980 Richard Dimbleby Lecture, 'Misuse of Power,' as the book's strongest section. ### Letters (Opposition Peace March; editorial reply on Farooq Abdullah editorial) *By S. G. Mampilli; Ms. S. S. Rao* V. B. Karnik reviews 'The India of Our Dreams', edited by M. V. Kamath (IBH Publishing Company, Rs. 25, 226pp). The volume collects contributions from five prominent journalists plus a joint piece by several economists, all offering their visions for India's future. Karnik notes that despite differing perspectives, none of the contributors argue for a withdrawal of liberties or tightening of state control; all favour expansion of freedom and decentralisation of power, with some expressing strong resentment at the recent tendency toward concentration of power. - 'The India of Our Dreams', ed. M. V. Kamath, IBH Publishing Company, Bombay, Rs. 25, pp. 19+226. - Five prominent journalists contribute individual essays; a group of economists contribute a joint piece. - All contributors favour expansion of freedom and decentralisation of power over tightening state control. - Some contributors express strong resentment against the recent trend toward concentration of power. ### With Many Voices (quotations column) The Letters page carries two items. S. G. Mampilli of New Delhi writes about the 4 October 1982 opposition-led Peace March in Delhi (organised by the CPI, CPI(M), Democratic Socialist Party and Forward Bloc), arguing that the marchers' simultaneous demand for a ban on nuclear weapons and unconditional support for the PLO was self-contradictory, since the PLO is 'a terrorist organisation.' Ms. S. S. Rao of Bombay objects to language in Freedom First's October 1982 editorial on Farooq Abdullah that she reads as implying Kashmir is not fully part of India; the editor replies defending the original phrasing as reflecting Kashmir's 'special relation' with India. - S. G. Mampilli criticises the 4 October 1982 Delhi Peace March (organised by CPI, CPI(M), Democratic Socialist Party, Forward Bloc) as self-contradictory for combining anti-nuclear demands with unconditional PLO support. - Mampilli invokes Gandhi's teachings against violence and cites Pope John Paul II's meeting with Yasser Arafat as a model of non-partisan engagement. - Ms. S. S. Rao (Bombay) objects to wording in Freedom First's October 1982 editorial on Farooq Abdullah that she says implies doubt about Kashmir's integration with India. - The editor (Nissim Ezekiel) replies defending the phrasing as reflecting Kashmir's 'special relation' with India, not questioning its status. ### Essay 10 The recurring 'With Many Voices' feature reprints a set of quotations from the international and Indian press (September-October 1982 dates, plus two from Encounter magazine, August 1981), on subjects ranging from Indian chief ministers' job security and Martina Navratilova on commitment, to Menachem Begin's comparison of Israel's position to Chile's, Mark Twain on dangerous months for stock speculation, and reflections on global political violence and Soviet expansionism during the 1970s detente. - Quotes India's Jyoti Basu, M. G. Ramachandran and Farooq Abdullah as jokingly named the three most secure chief ministers (The Sunday Observer, 19 September). - Martina Navratilova, quoted in Newsweek, distinguishes 'involvement' from 'commitment' using a ham-and-eggs metaphor. - The Economist (21 August) asks rhetorically why a schoolboy can't wear a turban if a judge can. - Israeli PM Begin, quoted in The Times (11 September), says 'Israel is not Chile and I am not (President) Allende.' - Two quotations from Jean-Francois Revel and Robert Elegant (Encounter, August 1981) reflect on Soviet expansionism during the 1970s detente and on Angola/Afghanistan/Iran counterfactuals tied to the fall of Saigon. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff358/ ### Summary This December 1982 issue (No. 358, Rs. 2, 30th year of publication) of Freedom First, edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani, opens with Ezekiel's own editorial on the death of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, followed by the full text of a speech by Alexander Solzhenitsyn delivered in Taipei warning free China and the West against complacency toward communist expansion. The issue's recurring theme is anti-communist and anti-corruption critique: K. S. Venkateswaran's regular "A Variety of Comment" column covers rural repression in Guatemala and El Salvador, a Bangladeshi drug-pricing ordinance, and the perils of welfarism via Tamil Nadu's Nutritious Meal Scheme; Aziz Madni surveys corruption within the Soviet elite by drawing on Konstantin Simis's book; and Rama Swarup details how the Soviet occupation is extracting Afghan natural gas as debt repayment. Also featured is S. S. Bankeshwar's personal tribute to the late parliamentarian H. V. Kamath, a book review of Manohar Malgaonkar's spy novel The Bandicoot Run, a reader's letter responding to a prior interview with Morarji Desai on Islam and democracy, a publisher's note from Chairman M. R.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This December 1982 issue (No. 358, Rs. 2, 30th year of publication) of Freedom First, edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani, opens with Ezekiel's own editorial on the death of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, followed by the full text of a speech by Alexander Solzhenitsyn delivered in Taipei warning free China and the West against complacency toward communist expansion. The issue's recurring theme is anti-communist and anti-corruption critique: K. S. Venkateswaran's regular "A Variety of Comment" column covers rural repression in Guatemala and El Salvador, a Bangladeshi drug-pricing ordinance, and the perils of welfarism via Tamil Nadu's Nutritious Meal Scheme; Aziz Madni surveys corruption within the Soviet elite by drawing on Konstantin Simis's book; and Rama Swarup details how the Soviet occupation is extracting Afghan natural gas as debt repayment. Also featured is S. S. Bankeshwar's personal tribute to the late parliamentarian H. V. Kamath, a book review of Manohar Malgaonkar's spy novel The Bandicoot Run, a reader's letter responding to a prior interview with Morarji Desai on Islam and democracy, a publisher's note from Chairman M. R. Masani announcing a subscription price increase, and the regular "With Many Voices" page of press quotations. ## Essays ### Death of a Dictator *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* Nissim Ezekiel's editorial "Death of a Dictator" is a polemical obituary of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, rejecting the eulogies offered by world leaders including Indira Gandhi. Ezekiel catalogues Brezhnev's record: continuation of Stalinist repression (though without mass killings on Stalin's scale), the crushing of the Prague-era "communism with a human face" movement, the use of detente to build Soviet military strength, the invasion of Afghanistan, indifference to Poland's Solidarity movement, imprisonment and psychiatric confinement of dissidents, and non-compliance with the Helsinki human-rights accords despite having signed them. He criticises Indira Gandhi's praise of Brezhnev's "dedication, tenacity and achievement," noting the same words could describe Stalin or Hitler, and argues Indian journalists opposing press-code restrictions at home should not simultaneously praise a leader who imposed total control over the Soviet press. The piece closes by predicting Brezhnev's historical image will be that of an oppressor, not a liberator. - Argues Brezhnev continued Stalinist-style dictatorship in changed circumstances, killing fewer but still imprisoning and torturing dissidents. - Cites the crushing of Czechoslovakia's 'communism with a human face' movement and non-intervention rhetoric toward Poland's uprising as evidence of Soviet imperialism. - Contends detente was used solely to build Soviet military might, alongside the invasion of Afghanistan. - Criticises Indira Gandhi's tribute to Brezhnev as 'dedication, tenacity and achievement,' equating the phrase with descriptions that could apply to Stalin or Hitler. - Calls out Indian press hypocrisy: opposing domestic press curbs (the Bihar Press Bill) while praising a leader who imposed total control over Soviet media. - Concludes Brezhnev's legacy will be as oppressor, not liberator. ### Free China and the Peoples of Asia *By ALEXANDER SOLZHENITSYN* This is the full text of a speech by Alexander Solzhenitsyn delivered in Taipei on October 23, reproduced by Freedom First for its relevance to all peoples of Asia. Solzhenitsyn praises Taiwan (the Republic of China) as proof that a fragment of China spared communist rule could achieve prosperity and development, contrasting it with the destruction wrought by communism across the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, mainland China, Vietnam, Cambodia and North Korea. He accuses the Western world, the United Nations (which expelled Taiwan), and third-world countries of cowardice and betrayal in abandoning free nations to appease communist powers, citing the abrogation of U.S.-Taiwan diplomatic relations and reduced American arms support. He warns against the myth of "good" versus "bad" communism, argues Taiwan's 18 million people face a threat comparable to the Jewish people's historical predicament, and urges Taiwan not to let prosperity soften its will to resist. He closes by expressing hope for eventual liberation of both Chinese and Russian peoples from communist rule, while cautioning that no outside power can be relied upon. - Frames Taiwan/Republic of China as living proof of what China could have achieved without communist rule. - Condemns the UN's 1971 expulsion of the Republic of China and the West's progressive 'senility' in defending free nations. - Criticises the US abrogation of diplomatic relations with Taiwan and reduced military support as a betrayal driven by the illusion of an alliance with communist China. - Rejects the notion of 'good' communism (attributed to some Western and South Korean sympathies toward Peking) as despair-driven myth-making. - Warns that prosperity and complacency could weaken Taiwanese resistance and urges vigilance among the youth. - Argues the communist system's core hostility to Taiwan is ideological (fear of a 'deviant' free-Chinese model), not merely economic. - Expresses hope that world communism will eventually be outlived by ordinary Chinese and Russian people working toward mutual liberation. ### A Variety of Comment (Rural Repression; Drug Reforms in Bangladesh; The Perils of Welfarism) *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* K. S. Venkateswaran's regular column "A Variety of Comment" addresses three unrelated topics. First, "Rural Repression" surveys Amnesty International's Prisoners of Conscience Week supplement documenting mass killings and torture of peasants in Guatemala and El Salvador, including a graphic account of the murder of a pregnant woman, Adelaida Aleman. Second, "Drug Reforms in Bangladesh" criticises a Bangladeshi martial-law Ordinance banning 1,707 pharmaceutical products (including proven drugs like ampicillin and tetracycline) as an arbitrary measure that will raise consumer prices and reduce availability, arguing many banned products are made by local firms, not multinationals. Third, "The Perils of Welfarism" invokes Milton Friedman's 'no free lunch' argument to criticise Tamil Nadu's Nutritious Meal Scheme, a large child-feeding programme launched without legislative debate, warning that such welfare schemes foster dependency and institutionalised corruption. - Documents Amnesty International reports of mass torture and killing of rural populations in Guatemala and El Salvador in 1981-82. - Criticises a Bangladeshi martial-law Ordinance removing 1,707 drugs from sale as arbitrary and likely to raise prices and reduce availability of proven medicines. - Notes many banned Bangladeshi drug products are locally, not multinationally, manufactured, undercutting the stated rationale of curbing MNC influence. - Uses Milton Friedman's 'no free lunch' principle to critique Tamil Nadu's Nutritious Meal Scheme as a costly, undebated welfare measure. - Argues welfarism breeds a 'culture of dependence' and institutionalised corruption, citing the Tamil Nadu scheme as an example of unchecked state expansion. ### A Fair Deal *By M. R. Masani* Aziz Madni's "Corruption in the Communist Fatherland" surveys allegations of endemic corruption in the Soviet Union, framed against the common view that corruption is a Third World phenomenon. The essay draws heavily on Konstantin Simis's book U.S.S.R.: Secrets of a Corrupt Society (Dent & Sons, forthcoming), quoting extracts on the vast income gap between the Soviet ruling elite and ordinary workers, exclusive access to goods via 'Kremlin Canteens,' bribery required for hospital admission and university entrance, and a black market in cemetery plots. It also cites Michael Binyon of The Times on Brezhnev's own anti-corruption campaign and the scandal implicating his daughter Galina in a diamond-smuggling affair linked to a Bolshoi performer known as 'Boris the Gypsy.' - Frames Soviet corruption as contradicting the popular belief that communism guarantees against it, citing Khrushchev's 20th Congress revelations about Stalin as an early precedent. - Draws on Konstantin Simis's book to detail the income and privilege gap between the Soviet ruling elite (via 'Kremlin Canteens') and average workers earning 164 roubles a month. - Describes bribery required for maternity/hospital care, university admission, and even burial arrangements in major Soviet cities. - Recounts the case of Ekaterina Furtseva, whose rapid rise in the Party apparatus was rumored to involve Khrushchev. - Cites Michael Binyon (The Times Moscow correspondent, 1978-82) on Brezhnev's crackdown on corruption and the scandal involving his daughter Galina's link to a diamond-smuggling ring. ### Corruption in the Communist Fatherland *By AZIZ MADNI* S. S. Bankeshwar's personal tribute "H. V. Kamath — a true Karma Yogi" remembers the recently deceased parliamentarian and freedom fighter H. V. Kamath (known familiarly as 'Vishnumam'). Drawing on decades of personal correspondence and family friendship dating to 1954, Bankeshwar portrays Kamath as an uncompromising, principled politician who moved through the Forward Bloc, the PSP and the Janata Party without ever holding ministerial office by choice, having been influenced early in life by a meeting with Subhas Chandra Bose. The piece includes several of Kamath's letters commenting on Bankeshwar's Freedom First articles on non-alignment, Gandhian socialism, and 'a national alternative,' revealing his views that nationalization is mere 'governmentalization' and 'bureaucratization,' and closes by likening Kamath to Acharya Kripalani and Jayaprakash Narayan as politicians who fought for freedom and justice rather than power. - Portrays H. V. Kamath as a principled 'Karma Yogi' who declined ministerial office to avoid compromising on corruption and inefficiency. - Notes Kamath's political path through the Forward Bloc, PSP and Janata Party, driven by value-based rather than power-based politics. - Recounts Kamath's claim that meeting Subhas Chandra Bose diverted him from a bureaucratic (ICS) career into politics. - Reproduces Kamath's critical correspondence on Bankeshwar's Freedom First essays regarding non-alignment and Gandhian socialism. - Records Kamath's view that nationalization is 'nothing but governmentalization... bureaucratization,' with 'socialism' having become a term meaning all things to all men. - Closes by comparing Kamath to Acharya Kripalani, S. M. Joshi and J.P. Narayan as exemplars of principled political life. ### H. V. Kamath - a true Karma Yogi *By S. S. BANKESHWAR* Sandhya Hariharan reviews Manohar Malgaonkar's espionage novel The Bandicoot Run (Vision Books, 338 pages, Rs. 60), calling it a disappointment from an author of Malgaonkar's stature (best known for A Bend in the Ganges and Distant Drum). The novel concerns a court-martial file revealing a British mercenary-turned-Pakistani-spy, Brian Gilchrist, whose theft and sale of military secrets implicates General Shamlal Behl and ensnares two amateur investigators, retired army captain 'Kite' Nadkar and serving Colonel Pulla Reddy. The reviewer criticises the book's lack of tension and 'complete placidity' despite its dramatic premise of post-Partition espionage, though notes Gilchrist himself is the most interesting character, a morally ambivalent Englishman who ultimately decides selling secrets to Pakistan is less dangerous for the subcontinent than to the CIA. - Reviews The Bandicoot Run as a spy novel set against post-Partition India-Pakistan military distrust. - Criticises the book for lacking narrative tension despite an eventful plot involving blackmail and stolen military secrets. - Praises the character of Brian Gilchrist as the novel's most compelling figure, a leftover Englishman who steals then redirects secrets from the CIA to Pakistan. - Judges the book a disappointment relative to Malgaonkar's earlier acclaimed novels A Bend in the Ganges and Distant Drum. ### Book Review: The Bandicoot Run by Manohar Malgaonkar *By SANDHYA HARIHARAN* Rama Swarup's "Kabul's Debt To Moscow Requires Piping Out Of Its Gas For 10 Years" details how, since the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the USSR no longer pays for Afghan natural gas but instead deducts its value from Afghanistan's mounting debt to Moscow, a debt the article estimates at about 50 million dollars and priced well below world rates. The piece documents the broader economic damage of the occupation: a 50 per cent drop in Afghan GNP in 1980, collapsed customs revenue, disrupted trade with India and Pakistan, Soviet takeover of Afghan mining and mineral development, and a 1981 wheat sale from the USSR to Afghanistan whose cost is likewise being added to the Afghan debt — all of which the author presents as evidence of a deepening Soviet economic stranglehold over Afghanistan. - Describes the Soviet practice of deducting the value of Afghan natural gas exports from Afghanistan's war-occupation debt to Moscow rather than paying for it. - States the debt is roughly 50 million dollars, and would take 10 years of gas exports to discharge even without further increase. - Notes Afghan natural gas is priced by the USSR at about half the world rate. - Documents a 50 per cent fall in Afghan GNP in 1980 and steep declines in Kabul customs revenue since 1978. - Reports Soviet takeover of Afghan mining and mineral survey operations following the occupation. - Notes a 1981 Soviet wheat sale to Afghanistan whose cost is also being added to the Afghan debt, reinforcing Soviet economic control. ### Kabul's Debt To Moscow Requires Piping Out Of Its Gas For 10 Years *By RAMA SWARUP* A reader's letter from Adam Adil (Bombay) responds to a previously published Freedom First interview between Sumant Bankeshwar and Morarji Desai, disputing Desai's claim that Muslim countries are undemocratic because they are Islamic. The letter argues early Islamic Khilafat was elected by democratic consensus among the first four Khalifs, that Islam's social system is inherently egalitarian and casteless, and that later dynastic corruption (beginning with Mawiya) departed from this democratic tradition. The author further argues India's democratic institutions derive from British colonial legacy rather than Hindu tradition, and that Hindu social structure, particularly caste, has in fact fragmented Indian society. - Disputes Morarji Desai's claim (made in an earlier Freedom First interview) that Islamic countries are inherently undemocratic. - Argues the first four Khalifs were elected by democratic consensus among early Muslims, paralleling Desai's own democratic election as Prime Minister. - Contends Islamic social structure is casteless and egalitarian, contrasting it with the influence of Hindu caste divisions on some Indian Muslim communities. - Attributes Mawiya's shift to dynastic rule (with the exception of Umar-Bin-Abdul Aziz) as the point where early Islamic democratic practice broke down. - Argues India's democratic institutions are a legacy of British rule rather than of Hindu tradition, which the author says fragmented society via caste. ### Letters (re: Morarji Desai interview and Islam) *By ADAM ADIL* In a signed publisher's note titled "A Fair Deal," M. R. Masani (Chairman, Democratic Research Service) informs readers that the true cost of printing, paper and postage per issue of Freedom First has risen to Rs. 1.66, against a subscriber price of Rs. 1.25, and announces an immediate subscription increase to Rs. 20 per year (Rs. 1.66 per issue) for renewals and new subscriptions, framing the increase as necessary to keep the journal financially viable. - Discloses that direct per-issue costs (paper, printing, postage) have risen to Rs. 1.66 against a subscriber price of Rs. 1.25. - Announces an immediate subscription increase to Rs. 20 per year (Rs. 1.66 per issue). - Notes the new price still does not cover office overheads, staff honoraria, and other costs, which will continue to be met through advertising and donations. - Frames the increase as essential to keep Freedom First financially sustainable, invoking the line that the journal is 'better read than dead.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff359/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 359 (January 1983), edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani, opens its 30th year of publication with a characteristically wide sweep of Cold War-era liberal commentary. The issue leads with Ezekiel's own polemic against the double standards of UNO and UNESCO in policing human rights, followed by K. S. Venkateswaran's regular 'A Variety of Comment' column covering judicial activism, a consumer-rights court victory on generic drug names, and the persecution of Soviet peace activists. A substantial interview conducted by Sumant S. Bankeshwar with veteran socialist leader S. M. Joshi ranges over non-alignment, Indo-Pak relations, the Akali agitation in Punjab, and the state of Indian political leadership. The remaining pages carry Rama Swarup's obituary-style indictment of Brezhnev's foreign-policy legacy, Minoo Masani's tribute to Vinoba Bhave on his death and defence of voluntary euthanasia, Nitin G. Raut's piece on the Sabra and Chatilla massacres in Lebanon, a critical book review by Shankar Raj of M. Chalapathi Rao's 'Indian Drama,' and the magazine's recurring 'With Many Voices' page of quoted aphorisms from the international press. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 359 (January 1983), edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani, opens its 30th year of publication with a characteristically wide sweep of Cold War-era liberal commentary. The issue leads with Ezekiel's own polemic against the double standards of UNO and UNESCO in policing human rights, followed by K. S. Venkateswaran's regular 'A Variety of Comment' column covering judicial activism, a consumer-rights court victory on generic drug names, and the persecution of Soviet peace activists. A substantial interview conducted by Sumant S. Bankeshwar with veteran socialist leader S. M. Joshi ranges over non-alignment, Indo-Pak relations, the Akali agitation in Punjab, and the state of Indian political leadership. The remaining pages carry Rama Swarup's obituary-style indictment of Brezhnev's foreign-policy legacy, Minoo Masani's tribute to Vinoba Bhave on his death and defence of voluntary euthanasia, Nitin G. Raut's piece on the Sabra and Chatilla massacres in Lebanon, a critical book review by Shankar Raj of M. Chalapathi Rao's 'Indian Drama,' and the magazine's recurring 'With Many Voices' page of quoted aphorisms from the international press. ## Essays ### UNO and UNESCO *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* Nissim Ezekiel's opening piece argues that UNO and UNESCO apply a double standard: they speak loudly against rights violations by liberal democracies while staying largely silent on far graver abuses by communist and other dictatorial regimes. He accuses Third World nations of demanding wealth redistribution globally while resisting it domestically, of denouncing Western multinational corporations while ignoring Soviet infiltration of UNESCO, and of failing to develop their own education systems while blaming the West for not sharing technology. The piece closes by arguing that pluralist, liberal societies are held to standards that closed societies are never asked to meet. - UNO and UNESCO speak with 'two voices': harsh toward liberal democracies, soft toward totalitarian dictatorships. - Third World nations demand global wealth redistribution but resist it within their own borders. - Not a single Third World country has made a major successful effort at mass education or poverty reduction, per the author. - UNESCO's 'Information Order' is characterized as a device to protect government control of media rather than to break a Western news monopoly. - UNESCO is described as infiltrated by Soviet/KGB influence, a fact the author says the Third World never acknowledges. - The article closes arguing that anti-open, anti-pluralist, anti-democratic forces are excused by the international community while liberal democracies are held to strict account. ### A Variety of Comment *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* K. S. Venkateswaran's 'A Variety of Comment' column covers three items. First, he defends Justice Tulzapurkar's controversial public criticism of judicial activism and of fellow Justice Bhagwati's conduct, arguing the judge performed a public service by naming the decline in judicial standards. Second, he hails an under-reported Delhi High Court judgment striking down a government notification that would have banned brand names for five common drugs (analgin, aspirin, chlorpromazine, ferrous sulphate, piperazine), finding it unconstitutional and discriminatory. Third, he reports on Soviet persecution of an informal peace group ('Group for the Establishment of Trust between the USSR and USA'), including the forcible psychiatric confinement of member Sergei Batovrin, drawing on an Amnesty International report. - Justice Tulzapurkar's Symbiosis Institute lecture criticizing judicial activism and fellow judges is defended as a service to judicial standards, not an embarrassment. - References criticism of Justice Bhagwati, including his 'fawning letter of congratulations to Mrs. Gandhi' after her election win. - Delhi High Court struck down a January 1981 government notification banning brand names for five drugs as unconstitutional interference with trade rights. - The government's argument that generic-only labelling would lower drug prices is dismissed as unlikely given tight price controls on all drugs. - A Soviet informal peace group was subjected to interrogation, confiscation, and psychiatric confinement of a member (Sergei Batovrin) despite the group's professed aim of easing US-USSR tensions. ### S. M. Joshi Speaks to FREEDOM FIRST *By Sumant S Bankeshwar* A wide-ranging Q&A conducted by Sumant S. Bankeshwar with veteran Praja Socialist/Sarvodaya leader S. M. Joshi. Joshi argues non-alignment has lost its original meaning as nations have split into US- and USSR-aligned camps, credits Dr. Lohia (not Nehru) as the movement's original architect, and criticizes both superpowers for exploiting Third World conflicts to test weapons and expand influence. He supports dialogue with Pakistan and China without abandoning the Soviet relationship, favors a South Asian federation including Ceylon, Burma and Nepal, and discusses the Akali agitation in Punjab, urging the government to concede 'reasonable and just' demands (such as the riparian water-sharing principle) while rejecting demands like a special status for Amritsar. He also reflects on the erosion of principled politics since independence and calls Gandhi the greatest man born after Christ. - Joshi says non-alignment has lost meaning as nations split into pro-US and pro-USSR camps; credits Dr. Lohia, not Nehru, as its original architect. - Argues superpowers have a vested interest in instigating wars among developing nations to test weapons and expand spheres of influence. - Supports the Indira Gandhi-Zia dialogue and a Joint Commission with Pakistan, and favours an EEC/ASEAN-style South Asian federation including Ceylon, Burma, and Nepal. - On Punjab: supports conceding the Akalis' 'just and reasonable' demands (e.g., riparian water rights) but rejects demands like Vatican-style status for Amritsar or a separate Akali constitution. - Criticizes the rise of 'consensus' leadership selection within Indian political parties as a fraud on democracy. - Calls Mahatma Gandhi the greatest man born after Christ and laments that pre-independence politicians' spirit of sacrifice has given way to post-independence politics driven by power and money. ### The Hard Truths Of The Brezhnev Legacy *By RAMA SWARUP* Rama Swarup's piece, written on the death of Leonid Brezhnev, rejects the sympathetic Western reminiscences (from figures like Jimmy Carter and Cyrus Vance) and instead catalogues what it calls the 'hard truths' of the Brezhnev era: the 1968 'Brezhnev Doctrine' used to justify invasions of Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan and suppression in Poland; a massive Soviet buildup of nuclear and conventional forces despite detente; Soviet support for destabilizing movements and proxy conflicts across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa; and repeated violations of arms-control treaties. The essay concludes that the U.S. should not romanticize the Brezhnev legacy but should keep pressuring the Soviets. - Rejects sympathetic Western reminiscences of Brezhnev (citing Jimmy Carter and Cyrus Vance) as a distortion of the actual Soviet record. - Cites the 1968 'Brezhnev Doctrine' as justification for invasions of Czechoslovakia (1968) and Afghanistan (1979) and suppression of Polish liberties (1981). - Details a decade of Soviet nuclear and conventional buildup: 733 new nuclear-capable missiles, 4,000+ additional warheads, and continued SS-20 deployment despite the 1982 'Brezhnev freeze' announcement. - Details Soviet-backed destabilization efforts in Vietnam/Cambodia, the Middle East (Nasser's 1967 blockade, Iran-Iraq arms transfers), Africa (ANC, SWAPO, Polisario, Angola), and Cuba. - Argues Soviet military spending under Brezhnev was roughly 40% higher than U.S. outlay and 12-15% of GNP versus about 6% for the U.S. - Concludes the U.S. should continue pressuring the USSR into difficult foreign-policy and resource-allocation choices rather than romanticizing Brezhnev's legacy. ### Vinoba Bhave *By MINOO MASANI* Minoo Masani's tribute to Acharya Vinoba Bhave, written on his death, praises Vinoba's voluntary fast unto death as a fitting end to a life devoted to 'voluntaryism' and opposition to centralized power. Masani defends Vinoba's right to die voluntarily against a petition filed in the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court seeking to force medical intervention, calling that petition illegal and an affront to the right of any citizen to refuse food, water, or medication. Masani places Vinoba in a lineage of Indian voluntary-death traditions (citing Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram, V. D. Savarkar, and Gopal Mandlik) and calls Vinoba and Jayaprakash Narayan the last apostles of the Gandhian faith, whose deaths mark the end of an era. - Praises Vinoba Bhave's voluntary death (November 15) as an assertion of the 'Right to Die with Dignity'. - Notes Gandhiji selected Vinoba as India's first individual Satyagrahi in 1940 for his discipline. - Criticizes a petition filed in the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court seeking to force medical intervention to prolong Vinoba's life, calling it illegal and a violation of a citizen's right to refuse treatment. - Situates voluntary euthanasia within an Indian tradition citing Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram, V. D. Savarkar and Gopal Mandlik. - Declares that with Vinoba's and Jayaprakash Narayan's deaths, 'the era of Mahatma Gandhi may be said to have come to an end.' - Piece is credited as reprinted from Masani's 'As I See It' column, courtesy The Statesman, Calcutta. ### The Lebanon Massacre *By NITIN G. RAUT* Nitin G. Raut's essay responds to the international outcry over the Sabra and Chatilla massacres in Lebanon, arguing that the condemnation of Israel reflects a double standard given the world's relative silence on other mass atrocities (the My Lai massacre, Soviet actions in Afghanistan, Pakistan's 1971 actions against Bangladeshis, King Hussein's 1970 killing of Palestinians in Jordan, and PLO terrorism and massacres of Christians in Lebanon). He notes Israel itself appointed a Commission of Inquiry into the massacre and argues this response has more credibility than the international outcry against Israel, which he attributes partly to 'petro-dollar politics.' - Argues international condemnation of Israel over the Sabra and Chatilla massacres reflects double standards, given silence on comparable atrocities elsewhere. - Cites the My Lai massacre, Soviet actions in Afghanistan, Pakistan's 1971 killings of Bangladeshis, and King Hussein's 1970 killing of Palestinians in Jordan (for which the PLO called him 'The Butcher') as comparators. - Alleges Pakistani President Zia, then commander of Pakistan's army contingent in Jordan, was in charge of the 1970 operation against Palestinians. - Notes PLO massacres of Christians in Lebanon, particularly in Damour, and PLO chief Yasser Arafat's reception by the Pope despite this. - Praises Israel's own Commission of Inquiry into the massacre as evidence of self-scrutiny lacking elsewhere. - Attributes Western sympathy toward the PLO partly to 'petro-dollar politics.' ### Book Review: Indian Drama: Traditional Societies in Transition (by M. Chalapathi Rao) *By SHANKAR RAJ* Shankar Raj reviews M. Chalapathi Rao's 'Indian Drama: Traditional Societies in Transition' (Allied Publishers, Rs. 60) and finds it wanting: derivative of Gunnar Myrdal's 'Asian Drama' despite the author's denial, thinly researched, lacking bibliography or index, and composed of short essays that skim generalities on democracy, secularism, caste and population without real insight. The review singles out the essay on 'Parliamentary Democracy' as emblematic of the book's superficiality. - Reviews M. Chalapathi Rao's 'Indian Drama: Traditional Societies in Transition' (Allied Publishers, 240pp, Rs. 60). - Criticizes the book for lacking bibliography, index, and depth of research despite the author's credentials (editor of National Herald, biographer, UN/Unesco service). - Notes the author denies but effectively confirms the book's debt to Gunnar Myrdal's 'Asian Drama.' - Calls the book 'an exercise in self-delusion' covering democracy, secularism, caste, population, mass media and foreign policy without a single impressive insight. - Singles out the essay on Parliamentary Democracy as illustrative of the book's reliance on generalities and a Reader's Digest-level account. ### With Many Voices (quotations column) The closing 'With Many Voices' page compiles short quoted aphorisms and observations from the international press (the Economist, the Times, the Observer, the Guardian, and the Herald Tribune), touching on Soviet life, Indian governance, political ambition, and journalism, credited to figures including Harold Macmillan, Gladstone, Henry Kissinger, Harold Wilson, Amos Oz, and James Cameron. - A compilation of short quotations drawn from the Economist, Times, Observer, Guardian and Herald Tribune (October-November editions). - Includes a quip on India as 'a functioning anarchy' where 'the anarchy is getting the better of the functioning' (the Economist, October 23). - Includes Henry Kissinger's remark that the Soviet Union is 'the only country in the world entirely surrounded by hostile communist states.' - Includes Harold Wilson's comment on resigning after four premierships upon turning 60. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff360/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 360 (February 1983, in its 30th year of publication) is a Bombay-based monthly journal of liberal ideas, founded by M. R. Masani and edited by Nissim Ezekiel. This issue opens with Ezekiel's own editorial distinguishing legitimate criticism of American life from Soviet-orchestrated anti-American propaganda and the double standard applied to criticism of capitalist versus socialist states. It continues with K. S. Venkateswaran's roundup column on Afghanistan, the Mishra bank case verdict, and repression in China; Nitin G. Raut's polemic against a Muslim MPs' memorandum that he argues weaponises the language of secularism; a report on a Forum/Indian Liberal Group luncheon address by LSE economist Prof. A. R. Prest on public finance in developing economies; A. Kumar's comparative piece on food shortages in Soviet-bloc and Indo-Chinese communist states; M. R.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 360 (February 1983, in its 30th year of publication) is a Bombay-based monthly journal of liberal ideas, founded by M. R. Masani and edited by Nissim Ezekiel. This issue opens with Ezekiel's own editorial distinguishing legitimate criticism of American life from Soviet-orchestrated anti-American propaganda and the double standard applied to criticism of capitalist versus socialist states. It continues with K. S. Venkateswaran's roundup column on Afghanistan, the Mishra bank case verdict, and repression in China; Nitin G. Raut's polemic against a Muslim MPs' memorandum that he argues weaponises the language of secularism; a report on a Forum/Indian Liberal Group luncheon address by LSE economist Prof. A. R. Prest on public finance in developing economies; A. Kumar's comparative piece on food shortages in Soviet-bloc and Indo-Chinese communist states; M. R. Masani's regular column on Andropov's KGB background and India's non-aligned-summit handling of Kampuchea's seat; a report on an Asian consumer-education seminar in Bangalore; a reader's letter on Chinese naval power; Flora Lewis's review of a Soviet satirical novel (The Kangaroo); and a book review of The Media Crisis on UNESCO's 'New World Information Order' debates. The issue closes with the regular 'With Many Voices' quotations page, subscription form, and colophon. ## Essays ### Criticising America *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* Nissim Ezekiel's editorial argues for distinguishing genuine, functionally valuable criticism of American society and policy from Soviet-directed anti-American propaganda, including outright disinformation. He contends that Western discourse applies a double standard, crediting socialist states with peace and justice while treating capitalist ones as inherently exploitative, and that the international Peace movement is manipulated by pro-Soviet organisers despite attracting sincere idealists. He closes by asking why observers fail to see the gap, in essentials, between American and Soviet conduct on democracy and freedom. - Distinguishes serious criticism of American life/policy (legitimate, no need to counter, only to assess) from anti-American propaganda (a distinct, often Soviet-linked category). - Cites 'Disinformation' — forged letters/documents attributed to the Soviet Union and sympathisers, including some in the U.S., to mislead world opinion. - Argues a double standard operates: socialist nations are credited with peace/justice/progress while capitalist nations are presumed exploitative and war-mongering. - Describes the international Peace movement as controlled by pro-Soviet organisers who manipulate idealists, clergy, academics and intellectuals with one-sided perceptions. - Notes that criticism of America in India often pairs with favourable comments on Soviet 'peace moves', which he calls a vicious error given actual Soviet aims. - Closes with the framing claim that strategies do not create affinities, only shared values do, and that by democratic norms the Soviet Union and its satellites fail as one-party dictatorships. ### A Variety of Comment (Report on Afghanistan; The Mishra Case; Repression in China) *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* K. S. Venkateswaran's 'A Variety of Comment' column covers three items: an Asian Lawyers' Legal Inquiry Committee report finding the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan an unjustified act of armed aggression under the UN Charter and documenting Karmal-regime human rights violations; the Indian Supreme Court's 2-1 ruling (Justice Tulzapurkar dissenting) upholding the withdrawal of prosecution against Bihar Chief Minister Dr. Jagannath Mishra in the Patna Urban Co-operative Bank case, which the author calls poorly reasoned; and reports of political repression of unofficial journal editors in China, including the 15-year sentence given to Xu Wenli. - The Asian Lawyers' Legal Inquiry Committee (convened by Pran Nath Lekhi, seven lawyers from South/Southeast Asia) investigated Afghanistan in May 1981 and found the Soviet entry in December 1979 an act of armed aggression under UN Resolution 3314 (XXIX). - The Committee also documented human rights violations, including acts of genocide, by the Karmal regime and Soviet forces, despite Pakistan's refusal to grant camp access. - The Supreme Court of India's majority (2-1) accepted the 'political and personal vendetta' defence to uphold withdrawal of Dr. Jagannath Mishra's prosecution in the Patna bank case, a decision the column calls a disturbing lack of appreciation of the evidence. - Justice Tulzapurkar's dissent is praised as exceptionally well-argued. - Chinese authorities are reported to have tried and sentenced dissident editor Xu Wenli (15 years plus 4 years' deprivation of political rights) for organising an unofficial 'counter-revolutionary' group, which the column reframes as retaliation for calls for liberalisation and advocacy for released activist Lin Quing of the April Fifth Forum. ### In the Name of Secularism *By NITIN G. RAUT* A short unsigned news item reports that an Amnesty International conference in Amsterdam, bringing together 120 participants from 30 countries, called for an end to extrajudicial political killings by governments worldwide, describing such killings as unlawful and deliberate acts carried out by or with the complicity of governments, militaries, police, and death squads. - Human rights workers from 30 countries convened in Amsterdam on 'Extrajudicial Executions', organised by AI's Dutch Section. - The conference stated hundreds of thousands had died over the past 10 years from unlawful, government-complicit killings. - Perpetrators cited include regular military and police forces, special death squads, and assassins operating in other countries. - The conference statement warned such killings continue outside judicial process and in denial of legal protection. ### The Economic Malaise in India (A Report) Nitin G. Raut attacks a memorandum issued by 45 Muslim MPs (December 9, 1982) demanding a ban on organisations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and RSS in the name of secularism, arguing the memorandum is itself communal, ignores provocations behind the Meerut and Baroda riots, and reflects a broader pattern of Muslim communalism (including the Minakshipuram conversions and Kashmir's Resettlement Act) being shielded under secularist rhetoric while Hindu organisational responses are branded chauvinist. - 45 Muslim MPs' memorandum demanded a ban on the VHP and RSS as organisations 'preaching communal hatred', which the author calls reeking of communalism itself. - The memorandum is described as silent on triggering incidents (stabbing of a Hindu priest, attack on a Navratri procession in Baroda) behind the riots it references. - Raut criticises proposals for religion-based restructuring of police forces as effectively communalising law enforcement, drawing a comparison to Lebanon's militia-fractured state. - He argues the Minakshipuram conversions had political overtones and that VHP/RSS reform activity is mischaracterised as 'chauvinism' under the memorandum's framing. - He criticises Syed Shahabuddin's remarks to The Sunday Observer calling Hindu reform activity 'chauvinist, extremist, militant'. - He cites the Jammu & Kashmir Resettlement Act (permitting return of Pakistan emigres) and disenfranchisement of 45,000 Hindu refugees in J&K as examples of selective application of 'secularism'. ### Food Crisis In Socialist Countries *By A. KUMAR* An unsigned report on a December 17, 1982 Indian Liberal Group luncheon meeting in New Delhi, chaired by M. R. Masani, at which LSE professor A. R. Prest addressed 'Model for Public Finance in a Developing Society'. Prest argued economic theory does not differ for developing countries, that market forces generally outperform government intervention, criticised high marginal tax rates, wealth taxes and slow tax administration in India, and Masani closed by pointing to Sri Lanka's Jayawardene government as a positive example of tax cuts and liberalisation succeeding electorally. - Meeting organised by the Indian Liberal Group, attended by about 170 people including officials, economists, businessmen and journalists. - Masani, presiding, cited the Liberal International's Hague resolution 'From the Welfare State To a Truly Human Society' and India's pattern of excessive taxation and deficit finance. - Prest argued there is no separate economic theory for developing countries and that government enterprises rarely outperform private ones. - Prest criticised India's high marginal income/corporate tax rates as driving evasion and a parallel economy, and called the wealth tax unjustifiable given its low revenue yield and disincentive to savings. - Prest also criticised slow tax assessment leading to massive litigation, and excessive complexity benefiting lawyers. - Masani closed by praising Sri Lankan President Jayawardene's tax cuts, decentralisation and pro-competition reforms as an electorally successful liberalising model. ### Two Insights (Andropov; Non-Alignment) *By M. R. MASANI* A. Kumar's article, citing Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug and FAO/UN data, argues that socialist and communist states — the USSR, China, Vietnam, Kampuchea, Laos — face chronic food deficits because ideological priorities and militarisation crowded out agricultural investment, forcing the USSR and its allies into heavy grain imports even as capitalist producers like the US, Canada, Argentina, Australia and Brazil post surpluses. - Norman Borlaug is cited as attributing socialist countries' food deficiency to ideological prioritisation over agricultural investment since the 1917 revolution. - FAO estimates the USSR will import around 15m tonnes of grain this year and China a million tonnes more than Russia. - The US is cited as producing a near-record 268.8m tonnes of grain in 1980 with 73m tonnes of exports expected this year. - Vietnam, despite a 1.5m-strong military, is described as food-deficient, with rice production falling short of targets and UNICEF citing malnutrition as the most common childhood illness there. - The piece frames the contrast as evidence against the socialist system's capacity to feed its own people without capitalist-world imports. ### Consumer Education in Schools *By M. R. Pai* M. R. Masani's 'Two Insights' column (reprinted from The Statesman's 'As I See It') covers two topics: the significance of Andropov's KGB background and his history of broken promises (citing his role in the 1956 Hungarian crackdown and the killing of General Pal Maleter) for judging Soviet trustworthiness on arms and detente; and India's 'dubious' non-alignment stance in refusing to invite Prince Norodom Sihanouk's anti-Vietnamese coalition to the March 1983 non-aligned summit in Delhi despite majority support in the movement, which Masani calls a pro-Soviet tilt. - Masani notes commentary in The Observer and The Guardian questioning whether Andropov's ascent and Brezhnev's death/Lech Walesa's release were coincidental. - He cites the promotion of KGB figure Geidar Aliyev as evidence Andropov is moving KGB cadres into key positions. - He recounts Andropov's 1956 conduct as Soviet ambassador to Hungary, assuring Imre Nagy of no re-occupation while tanks entered Budapest, and the later killing of General Pal Maleter after a safe-conduct invitation. - He quotes Bernard Levin's warning against assuming Soviet negotiators share the same interests/attitudes as Western counterparts, and asks rhetorically about withdrawing Soviet troops from Afghanistan. - On non-alignment, Masani criticises India's recognition of the Vietnamese-installed Kampuchean government and its December 13 refusal to invite Prince Sihanouk to the March Delhi summit, despite the Malaysian PM's and UN majority's support for the anti-Vietnamese coalition. - He cites UN experts from Egypt, Kenya, Peru and the Philippines finding evidence of Vietnamese use of toxic-chemical weapons in Kampuchea and Laos. ### A Letter (on Chinese naval/missile capability) *By RAMA SWARUP* An unsigned report on the conclusions of the Asian Seminar on Consumer Education in Schools, held in Bangalore (Nov 22-25, 1982) by the International Organisation of Consumers Unions with the Karnataka Consumer Service Society and Leslie Sawhny Programme, recommending consumer education be integrated into school curricula from ages 10-12 onward and extended to rural populations via mass media. - Seminar organised by IOCU with KCSS and the Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy, Bombay, in Bangalore. - Participants came from Malaysia, Bangladesh, Fiji, UK, USA, Holland and India (multiple cities). - Working groups recommended formal consumer education for ages 10-12 and non-formal education throughout school years, with a trained teacher per school. - Recommended rural and women's consumer awareness via radio, theatre, folk music and film. - Recommendations to be sent to the Prime Minister and all state governments; Indira Gandhi and the Karnataka government reportedly already receptive. - An institute for training consumer activists and teachers is proposed near Bangalore. ### Soviet Satirical Novel Underlines a Crucial Truth *By FLORA LEWIS* A reader's letter from Rama Swarup (New Delhi) argues that Communist China's successful test-firing of a medium-range submarine-launched missile in the East China Sea shows Beijing pursuing big-power nuclear status despite its claims to reject hegemony, warning this poses a serious threat to Taiwan and the broader Asia-Pacific region and that the free world should have no illusions about Chinese Communist willingness to use force, citing the 1979 invasion of Vietnam as precedent. - Letter reports a Chinese medium-range missile test-fired from a submarine in the East China Sea, roughly 300 miles north of Taiwan. - Argues the test contradicts China's claims to reject hegemony and superpower status. - Warns of threat to Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Mastu and the wider Western Pacific/Asia-Pacific region. - Cites China's 1979 invasion of Vietnam ('to teach the Vietnamese a lesson') as evidence of willingness to use armed force to settle disputes. ### Book Review: The Media Crisis .... A Continuing Challenge *By Shankar Raj* Flora Lewis reviews The Kangaroo, a satirical underground Soviet novel by dissident writer Iouz Alechkowski (published in France, an American edition forthcoming), praising its brutal, street-slang humour depicting a petty crook/KGB informer protagonist caught in an absurdist bureaucratic show-trial, calling it comparable in impact to Candide, Schweik, and 1984, and arguing its central truth is that ordinary Soviet citizens endure and survive the system rather than overthrow it. - The novel, The Kangaroo, was written in Moscow, circulated underground, and recently published in France by dissident author Iouz Alechkowski. - It is written in unvarnished Russian street slang, making it difficult to translate, per Lewis. - Its protagonist is a petty crook/KGB informer who claims to have raped and killed the Moscow zoo's oldest kangaroo to avoid a more damning propaganda confession. - Lewis compares its impact to Candide, Schweik, and Orwell's 1984 in stripping away Soviet historical pretensions. - The review's central takeaway: Soviet citizens' 'happy ending' is simply persisting in avoiding disaster, not overthrowing the system. ### With Many Voices (quotations column) Shankar Raj reviews The Media Crisis: A Continuing Challenge, a World Press Freedom Committee compilation of essays on press freedom, UNESCO's New World Information Order, and related debates, highlighting Statesman managing director C. R. Irani's attack on UNESCO's information-order proposals and the Macbride Commission, contrasted with defences from Gabon's Jean Ping and UNESCO's Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow, and Carmel Budiardjo's account of press controls in Indonesia. - Book published by the World Press Freedom Committee (Rex Rand Fund, Washington D.C.), 150 pages. - C. R. Irani (managing director, The Statesman, Calcutta, and past IPI chairman) contributes a forthright attack on UNESCO's proposals as providing 'philosophical justification' for government control of media, and criticises the Macbride Commission report. - Jean Ping (Gabon's ambassador, president of the African States group at UNESCO) and Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow (UNESCO director-general) defend the new information order, which the reviewer criticises as evasive given their countries lack a free press. - Carmel Budiardjo (editor, Tapol bulletin) contributes an account of press controls and a 'newspapers-to-the-villages' project in Indonesia limiting content that expresses cynicism or negative city-life portrayals. - The review is skeptical of Indonesia's and UNESCO's commitment to genuine press pluralism. ### Essay 12 The regular 'With Many Voices' column collects short quotations from public figures on communism, detente, and politics, drawn from Modern Liberalism, The Times, and the Observer, including Joe Grimond, Reagan, Bernard Levin, Giovanni Malagodi, Peter Sager, Fritz Bolkestein, Elizabeth Taylor, Margaret Thatcher, and Henry Kissinger. - Quotes Joe Grimond (Modern Liberalism) on communist belief that the next communist state will be heaven, and on enjoying politics more than being a minister. - Quotes President Reagan (The Times, Nov 13) on detente needing deeds, not just words. - Quotes Bernard Levin (The Times, Nov 26) on the danger of assuming Soviet negotiators share Western interests/attitudes. - Quotes Giovanni Malagodi (Modern Liberalism) calling Social Democrats 'by now barren'. - Quotes Peter Sager (Swiss Press Review) on hard lines by democracies restraining dictatorships, and Fritz Bolkestein (Modern Liberalism) on welfare states needing a functioning economy. - Quotes Margaret Thatcher and Henry Kissinger from the Observer (Jan 2), plus Elizabeth Taylor. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff362/ ### Summary Issue No. 362 of Freedom First (April 1983, price Rs. 2), in its 30th year of publication, edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani. In the rendered pages the issue opens with Ezekiel's own editorial excoriating the Non-Aligned Movement as devoid of political or moral coherence and as a facade of anti-Western unity papering over the members' own dictatorships and double standards, before turning to India's specific failures of governance and development. K. S. Venkateswaran's regular "A Variety of Comment" column covers the aftermath of the Kahan Commission report on the Beirut massacre, a satirical dispatch on sycophancy toward Ceausescu in Romania, and a report on torture in Iranian jails drawn from Amnesty International findings. A long unsigned investigative report, credited to the Asiad Virodh Samiti ("Asian Games Opposition Committee"), itemises the runaway cost of the 1982 Delhi Asian Games (put at Rs. 725.5 crores against an official Rs.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Issue No. 362 of Freedom First (April 1983, price Rs. 2), in its 30th year of publication, edited by Nissim Ezekiel and founded by M. R. Masani. In the rendered pages the issue opens with Ezekiel's own editorial excoriating the Non-Aligned Movement as devoid of political or moral coherence and as a facade of anti-Western unity papering over the members' own dictatorships and double standards, before turning to India's specific failures of governance and development. K. S. Venkateswaran's regular "A Variety of Comment" column covers the aftermath of the Kahan Commission report on the Beirut massacre, a satirical dispatch on sycophancy toward Ceausescu in Romania, and a report on torture in Iranian jails drawn from Amnesty International findings. A long unsigned investigative report, credited to the Asiad Virodh Samiti ("Asian Games Opposition Committee"), itemises the runaway cost of the 1982 Delhi Asian Games (put at Rs. 725.5 crores against an official Rs. 67 crore estimate), documents labour exploitation of migrant construction workers, environmental damage to Delhi's tree cover and the Ridge forest, and contrasts the expenditure with poverty, floods, and bonded labour elsewhere in India. The issue carries the translated text of a World Freedom Day address by Sun Yun-suan, Premier of the Republic of China (Taiwan), calling for a unified global anti-Communist strategy alongside the Reagan administration's push for the 'democratization of Communist nations.' Minoo Masani's column "From the Sublime to the Ridiculous" pays tribute to the recently deceased Arthur Koestler, recounting Masani's friendship with him and Koestler's views on euthanasia and India, before pivoting to a sharply satirical account of the March 1983 Non-Aligned Summit in New Delhi, cataloguing its contradictions as a set of 'myths.' A reader's letter from Arvind Deshpande of the Trusteeship Foundation criticises the 1983-84 Budget's withdrawal of Section 35CCA tax incentives for rural development contributions. The issue closes with the "With Many Voices" page of quotations from the international press, and publication/printing details. ## Essays ### Non-Alignment *By NISSIM EZEKIEL* Nissim Ezekiel's editorial argues that the Non-Aligned Movement has lost any political or moral coherence: its members are overwhelmingly dictatorships that invoke anti-imperialist rhetoric selectively, condemning the West while giving each other a pass (citing the Iran-Iraq war, Poland, Afghanistan and Eastern Europe). He turns the critique inward, faulting India's own record of corruption, inefficiency, socialist economic dogma, and self-righteous posturing toward wealthy nations even as it depends on their foreign aid, closing with a call for sustained domestic criticism as the only route to a healthier political climate. - The Non-aligned Movement has no political base and, per the author, no moral base either. - Almost all major and minor NAM members are dictatorships differing only in degree of brutality. - The Delhi NAM meeting's economic committee is characterised as a facade of unity against 'the North'. - Non-aligned nations are accused of practising protectionism and squandering resources while blaming the North. - India's own economic and political degradation is attributed to corruption, inefficiency, waste, and socialist planning. - The government and people of India are accused of a self-righteous stance towards affluent nations despite depending on their aid. - The author calls the Delhi summit an 'Asiad-type diversion' from real solutions. ### A Variety of Comment (1. The Aftermath of Beirut; 2. The Limits of Sycophancy; 3. Torture Tales from Iran) *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* K. S. Venkateswaran's 'A Variety of Comment' column (three items in the rendered pages): first, a piece on the hypocrisy surrounding reactions to the Kahan Commission report on the Sabra and Chatila massacre, noting that critics of Israel such as the PLO, Syria and other Arab regimes have far worse records of violence against civilians and no comparable self-scrutiny; second, a satirical piece on sycophancy toward Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, quoting a party official's fawning comparison of Ceausescu to Julius Caesar, Alexander, Cromwell and Napoleon; third, a harrowing account, drawn from an Amnesty International report, of torture and arbitrary detention in Iranian prisons under the post-revolutionary regime, including a detailed first-person account of a man tortured after being wrongly accused of Fedayeen membership. - Critiques the selective outrage over Israel's Kahan Commission findings on the Beirut/Sabra-Chatila massacre. - Cites Robert Fisk's reporting that Arafat and Assad have far worse records with no equivalent inquiry. - Satirises Romanian Communist Party sycophancy toward Ceausescu, quoting a 1980s propaganda speech. - Summarises a fresh Amnesty International report on ill-treatment, torture and arbitrary detention in five Iranian jails. - Details methods of torture and detention conditions in Evin and the 'Komiteh' prison ('hen house'). - Recounts one prisoner's account of being whipped and beaten after being mistaken for a Fedayeen member. ### Looting the Gold *By A Report by The Asiad Virodh Samiti* An unsigned investigative report attributed to the 'Asiad Virodh Samiti' (Asian Games Opposition Committee) that tallies the true cost of the Ninth Asian Games held in New Delhi in November 1982, arguing the government's official figure of Rs. 67 crores masks a real cost of at least Rs. 725.5 crores (and, with items like the INTELSAT satellite and import duty concessions on TV sets, potentially ten times the official figure). It documents the exploitation of roughly 125,000 migrant construction workers in violation of labour laws, environmental destruction including the felling of over 1,342 trees and encroachment on Delhi's Ridge forest, and politically motivated allocation of prime real estate to Congress (I)-linked developers such as Charanjit Singh and Sagar Suri. It contrasts the Games' expenditure with concurrent floods in Orissa, starvation deaths in Bihar, Rajasthan and elsewhere, and bonded and child labour nationally, concluding the Games were 'a crime against the people of India.' - Total Asiad-related expenditure is itemised at Rs. 725.5 crores against an official estimate of Rs. 67 crores. - Additional uncounted costs include the INTELSAT satellite programme (Rs. 130 crores) and concessional-duty TV imports. - About 125,000 migrant labourers, mostly tribal and nomadic, were employed under alleged violations of the Minimum Wages Act, Bonded Labour Act, and other labour laws. - 1,342 full-grown trees were felled and the Ridge forest was encroached upon for roads. - Prime real estate near Connaught Place was allotted to Congress (I)-linked developers (Charanjit Singh and Sagar Suri) via waived tender procedures. - The report contrasts the Games' cost with contemporaneous floods in Orissa, starvation deaths in several states, and bonded/child labour nationwide. - It concludes the Games amounted to a 'false notion of prestige' pursued at the expense of development priorities. ### A Future for Freedom *By Address by H.E. Sun Yun-suan, Premier of the Republic of China, at the 1983 World Freedom Day Meeting of the Republic of China, Taipei, January 23, 1983. Translated from Chinese* A translated address, 'A Future for Freedom,' delivered by H.E. Sun Yun-suan, Premier of the Republic of China (Taiwan), at the 1983 World Freedom Day meeting in Taipei on 23 January 1983. Sun frames the era as one of a global struggle between the forces of freedom/democracy and Communist tyranny, arguing Communism is bankrupt and headed for collapse while democratic movements are gaining strength worldwide. He links Taiwan's campaign to 'reunify China under the Three Principles of the People' with President Reagan's calls for a 'world movement for democracy and peace' and the 'democratization of Communist nations,' and calls on free nations to reject peaceful coexistence with Communist states, strengthen collective defence, and unite against Marxism-Leninism. - Frames the 1980s as a period of confrontation between the forces of freedom/democracy and Communist totalitarianism. - Argues Communism is in crisis across the USSR, China, Eastern Europe, North Korea, Vietnam and Cuba. - Links Taiwan's 'unifying China under the Three Principles of the People' campaign to Reagan's 'world movement for democracy and peace.' - Calls for free nations to reject the concept of 'peaceful coexistence' with Communist states. - Calls for strengthened bilateral and multilateral defence and a unified global anti-Communist strategy. - Closes with an appeal for the US and the free world to uphold treaty and defence commitments. ### From the Sublime to the Ridiculous (Arthur Koestler; The Non-Aligned Summit) *By MINOO MASANI* Minoo Masani's column combines two pieces. The first is a personal tribute to Arthur Koestler following his and his wife Cynthia's death by suicide on 2 March 1983; Masani recounts meeting Koestler in Philadelphia in 1951, Koestler's visits to India in search of a spiritual alternative to Zionism and Communism (recounted in The Lotus and the Robot, 1961), his shock at Bombay's pavement dwellers, his subsequent charitable fund for India's homeless, his role as Vice-Chairman of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society ('Exit'), and his 1981 letter to Masani supporting the founding of an Indian right-to-die society. The second piece, 'The Non-Aligned Summit,' is a satirical catalogue of what Masani calls the 'myths' of the March 1983 Delhi Non-Aligned summit — its claimed independence, unity, and moral authority — contrasted with the war between Iran and Iraq, the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and Mugabe's suppression in Matabeleland, alongside praise for Mrs. Gandhi's chairmanship and a closing anecdote about meeting Sri Lankan President Jayewardene. - Tribute to Arthur Koestler and his wife Cynthia following their joint suicide on 2 March 1983. - Recounts Koestler's visits to India (1958-59) seeking a spiritual substitute for Zionism and Communism, documented in The Lotus and the Robot (1961). - Describes Koestler's shock at Bombay's pavement dwellers and his subsequent fund, backed by David Astor, to help India's homeless. - Notes Koestler's role as Vice-Chairman of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society ('Exit') and his 1981 letter supporting Masani's founding of an Indian right-to-die society. - Satirises five 'myths' of the March 1983 Non-Aligned summit in Delhi: independence, unity, indivisibility of peace and freedom, imminent nuclear catastrophe, and world attention. - Cites the Iran-Iraq war, Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and Mugabe's Fifth Brigade violence in Matabeleland as contradictions of NAM's claims. - Praises Mrs. Gandhi's chairmanship of the summit as an effective public-relations exercise, and Natwar Singh and K. S. Bajpai for their handling of it. - Closes with an anecdote about meeting Sri Lankan President Jayewardene, who discussed his country's economic concerns rather than the summit. ### A Letter *By ARVIND DESHPANDE, Director, Trusteeship Foundation* A reader's letter from Arvind Deshpande, Director of the Trusteeship Foundation, Bombay, criticising the 1983-84 Union Budget's withdrawal of Section 35CCA of the Income Tax Act, which had allowed companies to redirect a portion of their tax liability to approved rural development trusts and voluntary organisations. Deshpande traces the provision's introduction by H. M. Patel in 1977 and its strengthening under Charan Singh, arguing that its repeal reverses 25 years of centralised development policy's one small decentralising opening and forecloses grassroots, company- and citizen-led rural development initiatives in favour of channelling all such contributions through the Prime Minister's Fund. - Criticises the 1983-84 Budget's repeal of Section 35CCA of the Income Tax Act. - 35CCA had let companies direct 42 paise of profit to rural development trusts in lieu of 58 paise of tax otherwise due. - Traces the provision's introduction by H. M. Patel in June 1977 and its expansion under Charan Singh. - Argues the provision was a rare decentralising step after 25 years of centralised development financing via taxation. - Argues the repeal forecloses opportunities for companies, workers, and voluntary organisations to pursue grassroots rural development. - Notes contributions can now only be made to the Prime Minister's Fund instead. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff361/ ### Summary This is issue 361 of Freedom First (March 1983, Bombay), a monthly journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by Nissim Ezekiel in its 30th year of publication. The issue opens with Ezekiel's own editorial on the deadlocked Assam and Punjab crises, warning against regional and communal fragmentation, then moves through a mix of staff commentary, geopolitics, religion-and-science debate, a defence of Muslim MPs against charges of communalism, a critique of a Madhya Pradesh ordinance prescribing harsh punishments, and a book review of Maxime Rodinson's Marxism and the Muslim World. Contributors include Freedom First regulars (K. S. Venkateswaran, Minoo Masani) alongside outside writers (Rama Swarup, Aziz Madni, Manmohan Choudhuri, A. Solomon), reflecting the journal's mix of in-house liberal commentary and guest polemic on politics, civil liberties, and Cold War-era international affairs. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue 361 of Freedom First (March 1983, Bombay), a monthly journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by Nissim Ezekiel in its 30th year of publication. The issue opens with Ezekiel's own editorial on the deadlocked Assam and Punjab crises, warning against regional and communal fragmentation, then moves through a mix of staff commentary, geopolitics, religion-and-science debate, a defence of Muslim MPs against charges of communalism, a critique of a Madhya Pradesh ordinance prescribing harsh punishments, and a book review of Maxime Rodinson's Marxism and the Muslim World. Contributors include Freedom First regulars (K. S. Venkateswaran, Minoo Masani) alongside outside writers (Rama Swarup, Aziz Madni, Manmohan Choudhuri, A. Solomon), reflecting the journal's mix of in-house liberal commentary and guest polemic on politics, civil liberties, and Cold War-era international affairs. ## Essays ### Dead-End Politics *By Nissim Ezekiel* Nissim Ezekiel's editorial 'Dead-End Politics' argues that the crises in Assam and, prospectively, Punjab have reached a point where no solution remains possible in the short term, and that disruption, violence and economic regression must be accepted as the price of a future fresh start. He criticises Indira Gandhi for lacking a comprehensive reconciliation formula for Assam, argues that Sikh grievances in Punjab are, in truth, expressions of ethnic and religious identity politics rather than genuine discrimination, and warns that separatist demands (culminating in Khalistan) could fragment India into competing nation-states prone to war. He closes by cautioning that regional-language chauvinism (citing Gujarat and the Telugu Desam party's signboard policy) threatens national integration and a weakened centre. - Argues dead-end politics in Assam and Punjab means 'any solution is no solution' at this stage - Calls for President's rule in Assam and renewed negotiation on the 'foreigners' issue - Criticises Indira Gandhi for lacking a national, reconciliatory voice above partisan politics - Frames Sikh grievance under Bhindranwale as identity/fundamentalism rather than genuine second-class treatment - Warns that a fragmented India of ethnic nation-states risks border wars - Cites Gujarat's language-signboard fanaticism and the Telugu Desam party as a cautionary example ### A Variety of Comment (International Redistributionism; The Pavement-Dwellers' Rights; Human Rights in Pakistan) *By K. S. Venkateswaran* K. S. Venkateswaran's regular 'A Variety of Comment' column covers three items. First, he criticises the Brandt Commission's renewed call for restructuring the international economic order, endorsing Peter Bauer's critique (in Dissent on Development) of the 'vicious circle of poverty' thesis as empirically unsupported and politically motivated. Second, he argues that press coverage defending Bombay pavement-dwellers' constitutional 'right' to occupy public land under Articles 14 and 21 rests on a confused and ultimately absurd extension of constitutional doctrine. Third, he surveys Amnesty International's report on human rights abuses under Pakistan's martial law regime under General Zia-ul-Haq, citing torture, incommunicado detention, and deaths in custody, alongside Zia's ruling that two women's testimony equals one man's under Islamic law. - Critiques the Brandt Commission report's call for radical restructuring of the international economic order - Endorses Peter Bauer's Dissent on Development as debunking the 'vicious circle of poverty' thesis - Argues the pavement-dwellers' constitutional rights case (Articles 14 and 21) rests on flawed legal reasoning - Surveys Amnesty International's 1983 report on torture and detention under Pakistan's Martial Law Regime - Notes Zia-ul-Haq's ruling equating two women's testimony to one man's under Islamic law reforms ### Three Years of Soviet Intervention in Afghanistan *By Rama Swarup* Rama Swarup's numbered analytical piece marks three years of Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan, documenting the growth of Soviet forces to over 130,000 troops, the weakness and demoralisation of the Afghan army, the quintupling of resistance forces to over 100,000 fighters, factional bloodletting within the Afghan Communist Party (Karmal's Parcham wing versus the Khalq group), and the economic subjugation of Afghanistan to Soviet supply needs. It closes by noting international condemnation of the occupation, including criticism from Indira Gandhi during her September 1982 Moscow visit, and ongoing Geneva negotiations under UN auspices. - Soviet forces in Afghanistan have grown from 30,000 to over 130,000 combat troops since the December 1979 invasion - Afghan army has fallen to under 40,000 men amid mutinies, desertions, and forced recruitment - Resistance forces have quintupled to over 100,000 fighters controlling most rural districts - Documents a violent factional feud between Babrak Karmal's Parcham wing and the Khalq group - More than 2.8 million Afghan refugees have fled to Pakistan and Iran - Notes Indira Gandhi's public criticism of Soviet occupation during her September 1982 Moscow visit - UN-sponsored Geneva talks between Afghan and Pakistani governments began in June 1982 ### A Visit to Free China *By Minoo Masani* Minoo Masani, reprinted from The Statesman's 'As I See It' column, recounts his visit to the Republic of China (Taiwan) for World Freedom Day on 23 January, invited by the World Anti-Communist League. He recalls his 1963 visit and interview with Chiang Kai-shek, contrasts Taiwan's economic progress against mainland China (citing per-capita income, wages, electricity consumption and calorie intake figures favouring Taiwan), and argues that both Moscow and Peking's systems are equally to be rejected. He criticises U.S. President Reagan's 'China Card' diplomacy toward Communist China as yielding no benefit to the U.S. and argues peace is indivisible between Europe and Asia, citing the Afghanistan invasion as evidence the focus of communist aggression has shifted East. - Masani attended Taiwan's World Freedom Day (23 January) as a guest of the World Anti-Communist League - Recalls a 1963 interview with President Chiang Kai-shek and reporting to Nehru afterward - Cites comparative statistics: Taiwan per-capita income $2265 vs. $238 on the mainland; monthly wage $91.7 vs. $12.4 - Argues both Soviet and Chinese communist systems are equally to be rejected, invoking Gandhi's rejection of 'the lesser evil' - Criticises the U.S. 'China Card' strategy toward Peking as ineffective and unreciprocated - Frames the Afghanistan invasion as evidence that communist aggression's focus has shifted from Europe to Asia ### Science and Moral Values *By Mr. A. Solomon* A statement by A. Solomon, President of the Maharashtra Rationalist Association and the Indian Secular Society, delivered at a Nehru Centre/Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan seminar on 'Scientific Temper and Spiritual Values.' Solomon argues that moral and ethical values arise from reason applied to social experience, not from religion or spirituality, and that religion has become an obstacle to social and cultural progress by resting on unquestionable faith and authority. He rejects the claim that transcendental religious wisdom is the true source of moral values, arguing instead that science and philosophy together provide a comprehensive, evolving world-view capable of grounding ethics. - Argues moral and ethical values derive from reason and social experience, not religious faith - Rejects the framing of the seminar topic, preferring 'Scientific Temper and Moral or Ethical Values' to 'Spiritual Values' - Challenges the claim that religion is the transcendental source of universal moral values - Argues the abolition of practices like sati shows moral revulsion, not religion, refining religious belief - Contends religions became dogmatic creeds based on unquestionable faith once reasoned inquiry was discarded - Concludes science and philosophy provide the wisdom needed to meet the modern world's challenges ### Yes, In the Name of Secularism! *By Aziz Madni* Aziz Madni responds to an earlier Freedom First article (by Nitin C. Raut, 'In the Name of Secularism', February 1983) which criticised a memorandum by 45 Muslim MPs demanding a ban on communal para-military organisations such as the RSS and Vishva Hindu Parishad. Madni defends the memorandum as legitimate, accuses Raut of double standards and selective quotation (particularly of Syed Shahabuddin), and marshals counter-citations from A. G. Noorani, M. V. Kamath, and V. V. John to argue that Muslim grievances over police complicity in communal violence are genuine rather than communalist provocation. - Defends the memorandum by 45 Muslim MPs demanding a ban on communal paramilitary organisations - Accuses Nitin Raut's earlier Freedom First article of tendentious and one-sided argument - Cites A. G. Noorani's charge of hypocrisy in labelling Muslim grievance gatherings as 'communal' - Quotes M. V. Kamath's MID-DAY commentary defending Syed Shahabuddin's remarks from being read out of context - Cites V. V. John's Indian Express column noting MPs are being 'warned' for raising police complicity in anti-Muslim violence ### Brutalising the Polity *By Manmohan Choudhuri* Manmohan Choudhuri (an SPS Feature syndicated piece) criticises a Madhya Pradesh ordinance imposing harsh punishments, including the death penalty, for offences like bribery, illicit tree-felling, and adulterated liquor causing death. He argues the ordinance reflects a broader authoritarian drift and public appetite for 'tough' measures, but contends that crime levels correlate inversely with a society's moral tone, not the harshness of its laws, and warns that such ordinances and press-restricting bills may be used to harass opposition and critics rather than genuinely combat corruption, given that the ruling party's own members commit the same offences with impunity. - Critiques an MP ordinance prescribing death penalty and harsh punishment for bribery, tree-felling, and other offences - Notes proposals for anti-hijacking laws and special courts for communal and economic offences - Argues brutality-as-deterrent is an age-old but discredited belief, citing worldwide abolition of the death penalty in about two dozen countries - Contrasts India's drift toward harsher penal measures with the global anti-death-penalty movement - Warns the M.P. Ordinance and related press-restricting legislation (referencing the Bihar Press Bill) may be used to intimidate the Opposition rather than curb official corruption - Calls for the civil liberties movement to scrutinise the M.P. Ordinance thoroughly ### Book Review: Marxism and the Muslim World by Maxime Rodinson (trans. Michael Pallis) *By Mary Thomas and Thomas George* Mary Thomas and Thomas George review Maxime Rodinson's Marxism and the Muslim World (Orient Longman, translated by Michael Pallis). The review traces Rodinson's biography as a former French Communist Party member expelled in 1958 who became a critic of Soviet Marxism, and summarises his arguments: that revolution is an ongoing, unending process; that Marxist practice has not escaped the spirit of colonialism, illustrated through the case of Tartar Bolshevik Sultan Galiev; and that Islamic sharia is not inherently incompatible with socialist strategy, as illustrated by Nasser's Egypt. The reviewers note Rodinson's pessimism, expressed in his 1978 preface, about the entrenchment of reactionary systems funded by oil money in the Muslim world. - Reviews Maxime Rodinson's Marxism and the Muslim World, translated by Michael Pallis (Orient Longman, Rs. 80) - Traces Rodinson's biography from French Communist Party member (1937) to expulsion in 1958 over Soviet-era doubts - Summarises Rodinson's case study of Tartar Bolshevik Sultan Galiev as evidence Marxist practice retained colonialist attitudes - Notes Rodinson's view that sharia and socialist strategy are not inherently incompatible, citing Nasser's Egypt - Reports Rodinson's 1978-preface pessimism about oil-money entrenching reactionary systems in Muslim-majority countries --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff363/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 363 (May 1983) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal journal founded by M. R. Masani, edited by Nissim Ezekiel. Across its rendered 16 pages it runs the regular "A Variety of Comment" column by K. S. Venkateswaran (on Soviet psychiatric abuse, threatened BBC External Services cuts, and child malnutrition in the developing world, citing Nani Palkhivala and UNICEF), a short trade-policy piece on the India-USSR trade impasse by "Sagittarius," Minoo Masani's regular "As I See It" column (an obituary tribute to Constantine FitzGibbon, warnings about Vietnamese-communist expansion into Thailand and Indira Gandhi's stance as Non-Aligned Movement chair, and commentary on octroi as a regressive local tax and on capital punishment in the Joshi-Abhyankar murder case), a reprinted Bernard Levin essay from The Times of London arguing Marx bears responsibility for the tyrannies enacted in his name, a note on a change of editorship at the journal Opinion, two book reviews (of Modern Liberalism, edited by Frits Bolkestein, reviewed by Mehra Masani; and of Lawrence Lader's Power on the Left, reviewed by Nitin G.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 363 (May 1983) is a monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal journal founded by M. R. Masani, edited by Nissim Ezekiel. Across its rendered 16 pages it runs the regular "A Variety of Comment" column by K. S. Venkateswaran (on Soviet psychiatric abuse, threatened BBC External Services cuts, and child malnutrition in the developing world, citing Nani Palkhivala and UNICEF), a short trade-policy piece on the India-USSR trade impasse by "Sagittarius," Minoo Masani's regular "As I See It" column (an obituary tribute to Constantine FitzGibbon, warnings about Vietnamese-communist expansion into Thailand and Indira Gandhi's stance as Non-Aligned Movement chair, and commentary on octroi as a regressive local tax and on capital punishment in the Joshi-Abhyankar murder case), a reprinted Bernard Levin essay from The Times of London arguing Marx bears responsibility for the tyrannies enacted in his name, a note on a change of editorship at the journal Opinion, two book reviews (of Modern Liberalism, edited by Frits Bolkestein, reviewed by Mehra Masani; and of Lawrence Lader's Power on the Left, reviewed by Nitin G. Raut), a reader's letter on the Bombay textile strike, and the back-page "With Many Voices" quotations column. The issue is padded with numerous full-page commercial advertisements (Walchand Group, Mukand Steel, Orient Fans, Raymond suitings, Godrej Cinthol, Kaycee Industries, Brakes India, Consolidated Coffee, Sundaram Finance, Nachiketa Publications) typical of the magazine's format. ## Essays ### A Variety of Comment *By K. S. Venkateswaran* K. S. Venkateswaran's regular column covers three unrelated items of liberal commentary: continuing Soviet abuse of psychiatric confinement against dissidents (citing Amnesty International's follow-up briefing and the case of Petro Grigorenko), British government proposals to cut BBC External Services language broadcasts and the international backlash against the cuts, and the scale of child malnutrition in developing countries as reported by UNICEF, with Nani Palkhivala's warning that proposed changes to Sections 35CC/35CCA of the Income Tax Act would harm India's rural development funding. - Amnesty International's follow-up briefing documents continued Soviet confinement of political dissidents to psychiatric hospitals under criminal procedures. - Petro Grigorenko, an ex-Soviet army officer, was ruled 'not responsible' and confined for five years; the psychiatrist who challenged his diagnosis, Dr. Semyon Gluzman, was himself imprisoned for 10 years. - A panel of American psychiatrists who examined Grigorenko after his 1979 emigration found no evidence of mental illness. - Britain's proposed BBC External Services cuts to seven language broadcasts (French, Italian, Spanish, Somali, Portuguese, Maltese, Burmese) drew an international outcry from listeners. - UNICEF's 'State of the World's Children' report states roughly 40,000 children die daily from malnutrition and related disease. - Nani Palkhivala warned that proposed Income Tax Act changes (Sections 35CC, 35CCA) would politicize rural development funding by forcing contributions through the Prime Minister's Rural Development Fund. - Nutritionist Dr. C. Gopalan's estimate: of 23 million children to be born in India in 1983, 20 million were expected to be physically or mentally impaired by malnutrition. ### Indian Aid to USSR? *By "Sagittarius"* Writing under the pseudonym 'Sagittarius,' this short piece argues that the Soviet Union, not India, is responsible for a trade impasse: the USSR has contracted for only about 40% of its annual purchase commitments from India (versus India fulfilling roughly 70% of its own commitments), creating unemployment in export-oriented Indian industries such as Ludhiana hosiery and the Kandla Free Trade Zone. The author contends the USSR's claimed Rs. 500 crore trade deficit is really a form of 'reverse aid' from India, and calls on the Indian government to press the USSR to honor its trade protocol obligations, particularly on crude oil, petroleum products, and fertilizers. - The USSR signed contracts for only about 40% of its Rs. 1800 crore annual purchase commitment, versus India's roughly 70% fulfillment. - The Soviet-claimed trade deficit is characterized as effectively a short-term loan/aid from India to the USSR. - Indian export industries (Ludhiana hosiery, Kandla Free Trade Zone) face unemployment risk from the Soviet embargo-like behavior. - The article calls for the Indian government to press the USSR against a total purchase embargo, especially on woollen hosiery, cashewnuts, and carpets. - The USSR is criticized for failing to supply crude oil, petroleum products, and fertilizers as obligated under the Annual Trade Protocol. ### As I See It *By Minoo Masani* In this instalment of his regular column, Minoo Masani mourns the death of writer Constantine FitzGibbon, recalling their friendship since 1960 and FitzGibbon's anti-communist novel 'When The Kissing Had to Stop.' He then turns to foreign policy, warning that the fall of South Vietnam to North Vietnamese forces set a 'domino' precedent that now threatens Thailand, and argues Indira Gandhi, as both Indian PM and chair of the Non-Aligned Movement, has an obligation to denounce Vietnamese aggression, noting Singapore's Foreign Minister Dhanbalan has voiced disappointment at India's silence. Masani closes with domestic commentary: he opposes abolition of octroi as a 'pernicious' regressive tax, endorses replacing it with a turnover tax or sales-tax surcharge as his own Masani Committee had recommended, and discusses capital punishment, expressing support for the President's rejection of a clemency plea for four men sentenced to death in the Joshi-Abhyankar murders. - Masani recalls his friendship with the late Constantine FitzGibbon, author of the anti-communist novel 'When The Kissing Had to Stop.' - He warns that after South Vietnam's fall, North Vietnamese-backed forces threaten Thailand next, following Laos and Cambodia. - He argues Indira Gandhi, as Non-Aligned Movement chair, is obligated to denounce Vietnamese aggression and break relations with the Heng Samrin regime in Cambodia. - Singapore's Foreign Minister Dhanbalan reportedly said Singapore would be disappointed if India stays silent on the Thai incursion. - Masani opposes abolition of octroi (a municipal entry tax) as regressive and corruption-prone, citing findings of the Keskar Committee and National Council of Applied Economic Research on enforced truck idling and fuel waste. - The Masani Committee (chaired by him) had recommended octroi be discontinued and merged into general sales tax; he criticizes Maharashtra and Gujarat for foot-dragging on reform. - He supports the President's rejection of a clemency petition for four men convicted in the 1976 Joshi-Abhyankar family murders in Poona. ### Karl Marx: The Tyranny that Feeds on his Name *By Bernard Levin* A reprint (courtesy The Times, London) of Bernard Levin's essay arguing that Karl Marx bears real responsibility for the totalitarian regimes carried out in his name. Levin rejects the defence that Marxist states have 'nothing Marxist about them,' contending instead that Marx's personal intolerance, his all-explaining historicist theory, and the doctrine of the dictatorship of the proletariat together supplied the intellectual scaffolding later dictators used to justify mass repression. He names Lenin, Stalin, Brezhnev, Ulbricht, Jaruzelski, Rakosi, Mao, and Castro as 'not aberrations from Marxism, but its most perfect flowers.' - Levin frames the paradox that nearly half the world lives under self-declared Marxist governments that are more repressive than any capitalist system, despite Marx's stated goal of freeing the individual. - He rejects the 'no true Marxism' defence used by Western apologists for communist tyranny. - Marx's personal intolerance of dissent within his own camp is cited as prefiguring later political purges. - The theory of historicism -- that history moves toward a predetermined end -- is blamed for justifying ruthless suppression of perceived 'enemies of the people.' - The dictatorship of the proletariat, combined with Rousseau's theory of a general will, gave rulers a ready justification for authoritarian rule in the proletariat's supposed interest. - Levin names specific rulers (Lenin, Stalin, Brezhnev, Ulbricht, Jaruzelski, Rakosi, Mao, Castro) as the fullest expression of Marxism rather than its betrayal. ### Opinion — The New Look *By Arvind Deshpande* A brief editorial note announcing that Jehangir Patel became the new editor of the weekly Opinion starting with the February 1983 issue, succeeding A. D. Gorwala, who remains proprietor and continues to personally cover the publication's deficit. The note, signed by Arvind Deshpande, pays tribute to Gorwala's record of public service. - Jehangir Patel became editor of Opinion starting with the February 1983 issue. - A. D. Gorwala remains proprietor and continues to fund the publication's deficit from personal income. - The note expresses confidence that Patel will help the weekly achieve financial break-even. ### Book Reviews: Modern Liberalism (Conversations With Liberal Politicians), ed. F. Bolkestein *By Mehra Masani* Mehra Masani reviews 'Modern Liberalism' (Conversations With Liberal Politicians), edited by Frits Bolkestein and published under the auspices of the Professor B. M. Telders Foundation. The book collects interviews with eight prominent European liberal politicians, including Giovanni Malagudi and Jo Grimond, and one Indian, Minoo Masani. The review summarizes shared liberal positions surfaced across the interviews: freedom as a fundamental right, primacy of the individual, decentralization, scepticism toward unrestrained laissez-faire alongside support for free enterprise, caution about the welfare state's effect on personal responsibility, support for equality of opportunity without rigid quotas, and a cautious attitude toward trade unions and socialism. The review closes admiring the book's production quality while criticizing Indian publishers' comparatively poor standards. - The book compiles interviews conducted by Fritz Bolkestein, Dutch Minister of Trade, with eight European liberal politicians and one Indian (Minoo Masani). - Interviewees include Giovanni Malagudi (Italian liberal) and Jo Grimond, three of whom have been Presidents of Liberal International. - Shared liberal positions identified: freedom as a fundamental human right, primacy of the individual, and support for decentralization of government. - Liberals interviewed favour free enterprise and market economy but do not endorse complete laissez-faire, believing there is a role for public intervention balanced against individual autonomy. - The liberal attitude toward the welfare state emphasizes individual responsibility over excessive security, warning that overreach breeds self-defeating bureaucracy. - Masani is quoted specifically to note the Indian objection to non-brahmins being given hiring priority over qualified brahmins in Madras, 'regardless of qualifications.' - The review criticizes the poor production quality of Indian publishers by contrast with this book's quality get-up and printing. ### Book Reviews: Power on the Left. American Radical Movements since 1946 by Lawrence Lader *By Nitin G. Raut* Nitin G. Raut reviews Lawrence Lader's 'Power on the Left: American Radical Movements since 1946' (W. W. Norton). The review summarizes the book's chronicle of the American Left from the end of World War II through the more passive late 1970s, covering the 1946 anti-Communist backlash against labour, the persecution of figures like Henry Wallace and Vito Marcantonio, and the Congressional purge of Communists from American politics in the book's chapters 5-7. Raut criticizes Lader's evident sympathy for radicalism and Communism as biasing the account, and faults the author for failing to explain how the 'New Left' differs philosophically from the Old Left. - The book traces changing ideological patterns of the American Left from orthodox communism to the New Left across the postwar decades. - Chapter 1 covers 'The Campaign against Labour and the Left, 1946,' when American business and press branded anti-Communist labour leaders as themselves Communist. - Chapters 2-3 discuss Congressman Vito Marcantonio being labelled Communist for espousing ethnic-minority causes, versus Henry Wallace, an actual Communist sympathizer who served in Truman's administration. - Chapters 5-7 cover the purge of Communists from American politics via what the reviewer calls 'judicial persecution' through Court indictments. - Raut criticizes Lader's own admitted participation in the 1946-1950 American Left as a source of bias in the book. - Raut faults Lader for not explaining how the New Left differs philosophically from the Old Left, beginning only with the Berkeley campus revolt without addressing its causes. ### A Letter: The Textile Strike *By C. Cardoz, S. S. Bankeshwar, Saby Pinto, P. M. Dias* A satirical reader's letter signed by C. Cardoz, S. S. Bankeshwar, Saby Pinto, and P. M. Dias on the ongoing Bombay textile strike, arguing strikes have become a 'nuisance' that inevitably end without benefit to workers, and proposing a five-point 'formula' (no victimization, permanent status for badli workers, a cash advance, a salary increase, and arbitration by retired judges) framed ironically as the standard face-saving pattern by which strikes are always withdrawn. - The letter argues strikes and morchas have become a recurring 'nuisance' in Bombay with no lasting benefit to workers. - It claims 99% of strikes in the last thirty years have ended in total failure and humiliating withdrawal. - The authors satirize standard justifications used for withdrawing strikes (appeals from leaders, no-victimization assurances). - They propose a five-point formula to end the ongoing textile strike: no victimization, permanency for badli workers, a Rs. 2000 advance, a Rs. 100 salary increase, and referral of other disputes to retired judges. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff364/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 364 (June 1983), a monthly journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by Nissim Ezekiel, opens with K. S. Venkateswaran's lead essay questioning the Indian government's hypocrisy in decrying human rights abuses abroad (South Africa, Israel) while tolerating and committing rights violations at home (citing Assam). Editor Minoo Masani's regular column 'As I See It' argues that India is not constitutionally a secular state but a multi-religious democratic republic, attacks the conflation of secularism with Marxist egalitarianism, and defends Sir Richard Attenborough's right to premiere the film Gandhi in South Africa. Other contributions cover a seminar on the ethics and legal status of voluntary euthanasia ('The Right to Die' by Aziz Madni), the rehabilitation of paraplegics in India (Homai Jal Moos), two book reviews (H. W. R. Wade's Administrative Law, and P. R.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 364 (June 1983), a monthly journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by Nissim Ezekiel, opens with K. S. Venkateswaran's lead essay questioning the Indian government's hypocrisy in decrying human rights abuses abroad (South Africa, Israel) while tolerating and committing rights violations at home (citing Assam). Editor Minoo Masani's regular column 'As I See It' argues that India is not constitutionally a secular state but a multi-religious democratic republic, attacks the conflation of secularism with Marxist egalitarianism, and defends Sir Richard Attenborough's right to premiere the film Gandhi in South Africa. Other contributions cover a seminar on the ethics and legal status of voluntary euthanasia ('The Right to Die' by Aziz Madni), the rehabilitation of paraplegics in India (Homai Jal Moos), two book reviews (H. W. R. Wade's Administrative Law, and P. R. Brahmananda's Productivity in the Indian Economy), a first-person account of a Hungarian Christian judge's nineteen-and-a-half years of imprisonment under Communist rule (Laszlo Varga), a letter from the Citizens for Democracy on abolition of state Legislative Councils and elected representatives' pensions (M. A. Rane), and the recurring 'With Many Voices' quotations column. ## Essays ### Are Human Rights Divisible? *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* Venkateswaran's lead article argues that the Indian government's outraged reaction to a proposed British parliamentary motion of censure (based on Amnesty International testimony bracketing India with other countries tolerating political killings) exposes its own hypocrisy. The government denounces human rights violations in politically convenient target-nations such as South Africa and Israel while riding roughshod over its own citizens' rights, as in Assam. The author warns that pointing to India's comparatively better human-rights record, as officials do, breeds dangerous complacency and gives the government an excuse to continue large-scale violations. - A British parliamentary motion of censure, based on Amnesty International testimony, bracketed India with other countries tolerating political killings. - Indian officials and MPs reacted with sharp, self-righteous protest, with one MP calling it an attempt to destabilise Indian democracy. - The author argues the government's own record includes serious domestic rights violations, citing the situation in Assam. - The government selectively condemns human rights abuses in 'politically-convenient target-nations' like South Africa and Israel, exemplified by Indira Gandhi's rhetoric at the Non-Aligned Meet in New Delhi. - India's High Commissioner in London argued India has a superior human rights record versus other Third World nations with democratic institutions. - The author calls this comparative defence dangerous, since it fosters complacency and excuses continued violations. ### As I See It *By MINOO MASANI* In his regular column, Minoo Masani commends Ramkrishna Bajaj for distinguishing 'Sarva Dharma Samabhava' (equal respect for all religions) from anti-religious secularism, arguing India is not a secular state but a democratic republic respecting all faiths equally, and blaming V. K. Krishna Menon and Jawaharlal Nehru for popularising the misleading label 'secular democratic republic.' He criticises P. N. Haksar for conflating secularism with egalitarianism, and separately rebuts Guha Thakurta's charge that Masani unfairly blamed Karl Marx for the horrors of Soviet Russia and Communist China, insisting Marx's theories, whatever his intentions, bear responsibility for the totalitarian states built in his name. He closes by defending Sir Richard Attenborough's right to attend the South African premiere of Gandhi against a campaign to shame him into abstaining, invoking Rajaji's 1970 defence of cricket ties with apartheid South Africa and Arun Gandhi's public criticism of hate-filled anti-apartheid campaigning as a betrayal of Gandhian philosophy. - Distinguishes Sarva Dharma Samabhava (equal respect for religions) from secularism, which Masani defines as anti-religious per the Concise Oxford Dictionary. - Argues India's Constitution enjoins equal respect for all religions, not secularism in the anti-religious sense; blames Krishna Menon and Nehru for popularising 'secular democratic republic.' - Criticises P. N. Haksar's 20 April 1983 Bombay speech conflating 'egalitarianism' and 'secularism.' - Responds to S. Guha Thakurta's letter to The Statesman, doubling down on the claim that Marx bears responsibility for the totalitarian outcomes of Soviet Russia and Communist China, quoting Bernard Levin's Times column on Lenin, Stalin, Brezhnev, Mao and Castro as 'the most perfect flowers' of Marxism. - Defends Sir Richard Attenborough against a campaign pressuring him not to attend the Gandhi premiere in South Africa, drawing a parallel to Rajaji's 1970 defence of a cricket tour of apartheid South Africa. - Cites Arun Gandhi's Sunday Observer column arguing that hate-filled anti-apartheid campaigning betrays Gandhian principles of love and non-violence. ### The Right To Die *By AZIZ MADNI* Aziz Madni reports on a seminar, 'Implications and Limits of Voluntary Euthanasia,' held by the Society For The Right To Die With Dignity at the Indian Merchants' Chamber, Bombay, on 30 April. The first session, chaired by Dr. B. N. Colabawalla, addressed care of terminally ill patients and a draft bill protecting physicians who assist such patients; the second, chaired by M. R. Masani, addressed 'The Right To Die Of Others.' Colabawalla distinguished mercy killing (ending life without the patient's express wish) from voluntary euthanasia (acting on the patient's wish). Masani framed the right to die with dignity as on a par with free expression, invoking Voltaire and Tennyson, and cited Vinoba Bhave's and Arthur Koestler's deaths as models of dying by choice. - Seminar held 30 April 1983 at the Indian Merchants' Chamber, Bombay, under the auspices of the Society For The Right To Die With Dignity. - Session one, chaired by Dr. B. N. Colabawalla, covered care of terminally ill/injured patients and a Draft Bill protecting physicians and surgeons who treat them. - Colabawalla distinguished mercy killing from voluntary euthanasia, the latter resting on the patient's express wish. - Session two, chaired by M. R. Masani, addressed the intellectual dimension: the terminally ill patient's freedom to choose between life and death. - Masani cited Vinoba Bhave, who ended his own life by stopping intake of nourishment, and Arthur Koestler's suicide as acts of courage and conviction rather than cowardice. - The seminar announced a Bombay premiere of Whose Life Is It Anyway? on 1 September 1983 in aid of the Society. ### Paraplegia and Society *By HOMAI JAL MOOS* Homai Jal Moos, PRO of the Society for the Rehabilitation of Paraplegics, describes the plight of paraplegics in India — mostly from lower economic strata, permanently paralysed by spinal injury — and the Society's work since 1968, run in collaboration with the J. J. Group of Hospitals' Orthopaedic Department. It covers the physical and social rehabilitation needed, the importance of sport (citing the 1972 All-India Federation for Sports and Rehabilitation of Paraplegics and national and international games), and the ongoing construction of the 'Sharan' rehabilitation centre at Vashi, whose foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in October 1980, at an estimated cost of Rs. 40 lakhs. The piece closes with an appeal for donations. - The Society for the Rehabilitation of Paraplegics was founded in 1968, working with the J. J. Group of Hospitals' Orthopaedic Department since a Paraplegic Unit was set up in 1969. - Rehabilitation requires both physical treatment (preventing bed-sores, infections) and social/vocational retraining. - Sports (swimming, wheelchair races, javelin, archery, table-tennis, etc.) are framed as key to regaining mental and physical well-being; the All-India Federation for Sports and Rehabilitation of Paraplegics was formed in 1972. - National Paraplegic Games were first held in 1978 and again in 1980 at the Paraplegic Home, Kirkee, Poona. - A plot at Vashi was purchased in 1979 for a dedicated rehabilitation centre, 'Sharan', with its foundation stone laid by Indira Gandhi on 11 October 1980, estimated to cost Rs. 40 lakhs. - The article appeals for donations, noting tax exemption under Section 80G. ### Twenty Years In A Communist Jail: Agony of Dr. Matheovits—Convicted for Christian Beliefs *By LASZLO VARGA* K. S. Venkateswaran reviews the 5th edition of H. W. R. Wade's Administrative Law (Oxford University Press, 1982), praising it as an indispensable, historically-grounded reference tracing the growth of administrative law in England, including the post-war decline and later revival of judicial oversight of executive discretion, culminating in Ridge v. Baldwin (1963). The review notes the book's relevance to India, where a written constitution and fundamental rights chapter have driven similarly innovative Supreme Court decisions (Maneka Gandhi's Case, Kasturilal's Case, The International Airports Authority Case), regrets that none of these Indian cases are mentioned in Wade's book, and highlights Wade's warning about the dangers of unchecked parliamentary/executive supremacy, especially relevant in India given the weakening of parliamentary control by party dominance. - Reviews H. W. R. Wade's Administrative Law, 5th edition (OUP, 1982, 892pp, Rs. 175), calling it an indispensable classic first published two decades earlier. - Notes the post-WWII decline in vigour of administrative law and its revival in the 1960s, marked by the landmark House of Lords decision Ridge v. Baldwin (1963). - Argues Indian Supreme Court decisions (Maneka Gandhi's Case, Kasturilal's Case, International Airports Authority Case) mirror English developments but are not referenced in Wade's book. - Highlights Wade's warning that the party system has progressively weakened parliamentary control over the executive, calling this 'the malaise' remediable only by a strengthened judiciary. ### Book Reviews: Administrative Law by H.W.R. Wade *By K. S. Venkateswaran* K. Balasubramanian reviews P. R. Brahmananda's Productivity in the Indian Economy: Rising Inputs for Falling Outputs (Himalaya Publishing House, Bombay, 280pp), Brahmananda's twelfth book, describing it as an erudite treatise on the transition of the Indian economy away from older, now-irrelevant theories, offering a new growth theory and comparative studies with the UK, Japan, USA, Germany, the Soviet Union, China and Latin America. The review notes the book's advocacy of Gandhian trusteeship, its emphasis on research and development and population control, and its concluding appraisal of smuggling and political corruption in the Indian politico-economic system. - Reviews P. R. Brahmananda's Productivity in the Indian Economy: Rising Inputs For Falling Outputs, his twelfth book. - The book offers a new theory of growth after tracing the ills of the Indian economy and the causes of a 'Productivity Fade-Out.' - Comparative studies span the UK, Japan, USA, Germany, the Soviet Union, China and Latin America. - Advocates Trusteeship in the Gandhian spirit and stresses boosting research and development and population control. - Appendices, interspersed with sayings from the Koran and Upanishads, conclude with an appraisal of smuggling and political corruption in the Indian system. ### Book Reviews: Productivity in the Indian Economy: Rising Inputs for Falling Outputs by P. R. Brahmananda *By K. Balasubramanian* Laszlo Varga recounts the story of Dr. Ferenc Matheovits, a Hungarian judge and 1947 Democratic People's Party MP, who was imprisoned by the Stalinist-Rakoski regime in 1949 for his Christian beliefs and outspoken parliamentary defence of human rights, and who ultimately spent nineteen and a half years in Communist prisons across three separate detentions (1949-56, 1956-63, and 1964-c.1970s). The article contrasts his treatment with that of rehabilitated Communist-era Marxists like Janos Kadar, who were welcomed as heroes, compensated, and given jobs and pensions after Stalin's death, while Matheovits, now 68 and fluent in five languages, remains branded a 'convict,' denied any job, pension, or exit visa to the West despite the regime's official human-rights guarantees. - Dr. Ferenc Matheovits, a judge in Pecs, Hungary, and 1947 Democratic People's Party MP, was arrested by the Stalinist-Rakoski regime in 1949 for his Christian beliefs and defence of human rights, tortured, and imprisoned for 7 years. - After a brief release, he was re-imprisoned for 6 years following the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, and again for six and a half years from 1964 'for absolutely nothing' — nineteen and a half years total. - The article contrasts his treatment with rehabilitated Marxists such as Janos Kadar and Gyorgy Marosan, who were welcomed as heroes, compensated, and given jobs and pensions after Stalin's death. - Matheovits consistently rejected the 'Communist bargain' to renounce his Christian faith in exchange for better treatment. - Despite the Hungarian Communist Constitution and the 1948 UN Declaration of Human Rights nominally guaranteeing basic rights, Matheovits, now 68, is denied any job (beyond mine work his health can't support), any pension, and an exit visa to travel to Rome or the West. - The piece is credited at the end to 'Antar Sanchar' though the byline is Laszlo Varga. ### A Letter (on Fifth Bi-Annual All-India Conference of Citizens For Democracy) *By M. A. Rane, General Secretary, CFD Bombay* M. A. Rane, General Secretary of Citizens For Democracy (CFD), Bombay, reports resolutions passed at the Fifth Bi-Annual All-India CFD Conference in Ahmedabad (27-28 March 1983): congratulating the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly for moving to abolish its Upper House and the state government for withdrawing pensions for former legislators (worth nearly Rs. 35 lakhs annually), calling for abolition of Legislative Councils in other states as anachronistic, and condemning legislators voting themselves pensions, housing plots, and other largesse as a form of political corruption that swells 'an ever-increasing army of parasites on the public treasuries.' - CFD's Fifth Bi-Annual All-India Conference was held in Ahmedabad on 27-28 March 1983. - Resolutions congratulated Andhra Pradesh for moving to abolish its Legislative Council and for withdrawing pensions to former legislators (nearly Rs. 35 lakhs annually). - CFD called for abolition of Legislative Councils across all states where they exist, terming them anachronistic and used to reward defeated or discredited politicians. - CFD condemned legislators voting themselves pensions and housing plots as a form of political corruption creating 'an ever-increasing army of parasites on the public treasuries.' - CFD appealed to citizens and voluntary organisations to mobilise public opinion on these issues. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff365/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 365 (July 1983) opens with Nissim Ezekiel's editorial "The Akali Demands," a hard-edged critique of the Akali Dal's Punjab agitation, questioning the reasonableness of the party's 45 demands and warning the Union Government against conceding under threat of violence. K. S. Venkateswaran's regular "A Variety of Comment" column takes up Western foreign-aid orthodoxy (drawing on Peter Bauer and Basil Yamey), the endemic violence within the Arab world as a counter to conventional Middle East narratives, and Soviet destabilisation efforts in Southern Africa. The issue carries an extended extract from Bernard Levin's Times interview with Alexander Solzhenitsyn on suffering, Western complacency, unilateral disarmament, and the coming struggle with communism. Minoo Masani contributes a reprinted Statesman column, "Two Cheers for the British Electorate," analysing the June 1983 UK general election and the distortions of the first-past-the-post system. Anita Gupta's "Freedom for Teachers" argues for greater professional autonomy for schoolteachers, and Nitin G. Raut reviews John Laffin's book The P.L.O. Connection.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 365 (July 1983) opens with Nissim Ezekiel's editorial "The Akali Demands," a hard-edged critique of the Akali Dal's Punjab agitation, questioning the reasonableness of the party's 45 demands and warning the Union Government against conceding under threat of violence. K. S. Venkateswaran's regular "A Variety of Comment" column takes up Western foreign-aid orthodoxy (drawing on Peter Bauer and Basil Yamey), the endemic violence within the Arab world as a counter to conventional Middle East narratives, and Soviet destabilisation efforts in Southern Africa. The issue carries an extended extract from Bernard Levin's Times interview with Alexander Solzhenitsyn on suffering, Western complacency, unilateral disarmament, and the coming struggle with communism. Minoo Masani contributes a reprinted Statesman column, "Two Cheers for the British Electorate," analysing the June 1983 UK general election and the distortions of the first-past-the-post system. Anita Gupta's "Freedom for Teachers" argues for greater professional autonomy for schoolteachers, and Nitin G. Raut reviews John Laffin's book The P.L.O. Connection. A boxed notice announces Venkateswaran's move from columnist to editor of the magazine, succeeding Ezekiel from the August 1983 issue. The issue closes with the "With Many Voices" quotations page and subscription details. ## Essays ### The Akali Demands *By Nissim Ezekiel* Nissim Ezekiel's lead editorial argues there is no reasonable way to defuse the Akali-created crisis in Punjab short of capitulation, since the Akali Dal treats any partial concession as encouragement to continue its "struggle." He lays out the Dal's demands (handover of Chandigarh, more territory, more river waters) and its threat of a 100,000-strong volunteer "army," and questions whether the movement is truly non-separatist given the Sikhs' minority status (about 53% of Punjab's population) in the state. He calls on the Union Government to act firmly in the interests of national unity and communal harmony. - Frames the Akali Dal's demands as non-negotiable maximalism rather than a basis for talks - Notes the Dal's pledge of a 100,000-volunteer 'Army' administered by the Sikh chief priest - Cites the Far Eastern Economic Review (April 28) figure that the Dal has never polled more than 25% of the vote - Questions the claim that the Akali movement is not separatist given Punjab's near-even Sikh-Hindu population split (53%/47%) - Criticises the Union Government's offer of talks as pathetic and warns that further postponement risks violence - Calls for firm government action to protect national unity, communal harmony, and inter-state relations ### A Variety of Comment (The Myths About Aid; Violence in the Middle East; Soviet Meddling in Southern Africa) *By K. S. Venkateswaran* K. S. Venkateswaran's "A Variety of Comment" column covers three subjects. First, he endorses Peter Bauer and Basil Yamey's Times argument that official foreign aid has failed to relieve Third World poverty or win goodwill for the West, applying the thesis to India's own decades of aid receipt. Second, drawing on a Wall Street Journal article by Benjamin Netanyahu, he argues that violence is endemic to the Arab world independent of the Arab-Israeli conflict, citing military rule and repression across Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan and Iraq, and criticises Western commentary for focusing exclusively on Israeli 'recalcitrance.' Third, he cites a Pretoria government study published in The Star (May 21) quantifying Soviet military and financial support to Angola, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania and Botswana, and the resulting civilian and armed-personnel death toll from Soviet-trained terrorist groups in the region, while acknowledging South Africa's own abuses. - Cites Peter Bauer and Basil Yamey's Times article arguing official aid neither relieves poverty nor buys Western goodwill - Applies Bauer's thesis to India, questioning whether three decades of foreign aid improved living standards for the poor - Draws on a Benjamin Netanyahu Wall Street Journal article cataloguing endemic Arab-on-Arab political violence and military rule - Argues Western discourse wrongly focuses solely on Israeli 'recalcitrance' while ignoring intra-Arab repression - Reports a Pretoria-government study (published in The Star, May 21) quantifying Soviet arms and funding to Angola, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania and Botswana - Cites casualty figures: at least 40,000 civilians and 83,000 armed personnel dead over five years, and R690 million in sabotage costs to Southern Africa - Cautions that highlighting Soviet destabilisation does not excuse Pretoria's own domestic and regional abuses ### Levin Interviews Solzhenitsyn A short boxed editorial notice, signed by M. R. Masani as Chairman of the Democratic Research Service, announces that Nissim Ezekiel has resigned as editor of Freedom First after more than three years, citing the burden of academic work and frequent absences from Bombay, though he remains on the Editorial Board and will continue to write. K. S. Venkateswaran, already familiar to readers through his "Variety of Comment" column, will take over as editor from the August 1983 issue. - Announces Nissim Ezekiel's resignation as editor after three-plus years, due to academic workload and absences from Bombay - Ezekiel remains on the Editorial Board and will continue writing for the journal - K. S. Venkateswaran appointed as incoming editor effective the August 1983 issue - Notice signed by M. R. Masani, Chairman, Democratic Research Service ### Two Cheers for the British Electorate *By Minoo Masani* An extended extract, reprinted with acknowledgement to the Times (London) and journalist Bernard Levin, from Levin's interview with Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Solzhenitsyn distinguishes suffering (universal and potentially redemptive) from oppression (as in the USSR, which he says exceeds ordinary suffering and has spiritually strengthened its survivors while making him more pessimistic about the West's resolve). He argues war in some form is inevitable, criticises Western leaders (naming Brandt, Palme, and Papandreou) for weakening resistance to communism, and argues unilateral nuclear disarmament reflects moral cowardice and a failure to recognise the Soviet Union and Comintern's decades-old declared hostility to the West, tracing this back to 1917 Bolshevik funding of demonstrations and Stalin's peace-movement financing. - Solzhenitsyn distinguishes universal, potentially redemptive suffering from the singular horror of Soviet oppression - Says nine years in the West have made him a pessimist about Western resolve against communism, contrary to his expectations from the East - Argues freedom and oppression cannot be transferred between peoples merely through literature; only lived experience truly conveys it - Considers a form of war (including internal 'liberation wars') inevitable, and criticises Willy Brandt, Olof Palme and Andreas Papandreou for weakening Western resistance - Attacks the Western unilateral disarmament movement as concealing moral cowardice and ignoring decades of Soviet organisational involvement in peace movements, tracing this back to Lenin, Trotsky and the 1919 Comintern - Rejects 'better red than dead' as a false choice, arguing surrender to communism means a 'slow death' as 'moribund slaves' ### Freedom for Teachers *By Minoo Masani* Minoo Masani, writing in a piece reprinted from The Statesman (Calcutta), analyses Britain's June 9, 1983 general election. He welcomes the Conservative landslide and Labour's rout as evidence of Labour's obsolescence as a '19th century socialist party,' but deplores that the SDP-Liberal Alliance won 26% of the vote yet only 4% of seats under first-past-the-post, comparing this distortion to India's own electoral system. He credits Thatcher's re-election with enabling continued fiscal discipline, privatisation of loss-making public enterprises, and a firm anti-Soviet alliance with Reagan, and argues Britain's working class has become largely bourgeois in values. - Welcomes the Conservative landslide and Labour's defeat as confirmation that Labour has become an obsolete '19th century socialist party' - Deplores the Alliance's 26% vote share yielding only 4% of Commons seats, and draws a parallel to India's own first-past-the-post distortions - Notes that on second-place finishes, Roy Jenkins would today be Prime Minister - Credits Thatcher's re-election with enabling trade union reform, privatisation of 'white elephant' public enterprises, and a firm Reagan-aligned anti-Soviet stance - Argues British society has undergone a values shift, with the working class merging into a bourgeois middle class - Cites Bernard Levin's Times argument for the value of a non-socialist parliamentary alternative to Conservatism ### Book Review: The P.L.O. Connection by John Laffin (Corgi Books) *By Nitin G. Raut* Anita Gupta reflects on judging school magazines and the talented young contributors she encountered, using this as a springboard to argue that education has become overly confused with instruction and hemmed in by rules, leaving teachers 'paid, but not trusted.' She contrasts the relative liberty enjoyed by public (boarding) school teachers with the constant oversight faced by teachers in primary and city schools, and argues that granting teachers greater autonomy and status, akin to public-school freedom, would improve both morale and educational outcomes, while acknowledging the risk that some teachers might abuse such freedom. - Opens with an anecdote about judging school magazines and the talent of contributors aged roughly ten to sixteen - Argues education has been wrongly reduced to instruction, and that excessive rules and oversight strangle teachers' judgment - Contrasts the relative freedom of public/boarding school teachers with the surveillance faced by city and primary school teachers - Calls for exempting good teachers from excessive supervision and increasing their status and authority rather than only their pay - Acknowledges the risk that removing supervision is a 'gamble' since some teachers are simply bad, but argues liberty would improve most - Concludes that historically it was the autonomous school-master who built the foundation of an educated country ### With Many Voices (quotations column) Nitin G. Raut reviews John Laffin's The P.L.O. Connection (Corgi Books), praising it as a well-compiled, thoroughly researched exposure of the PLO's organisation, ideology, propaganda, terrorist methods and diplomatic strategy. The review recounts Laffin's account of Yasser Arafat's brutality (illustrated by an anecdote of Arafat wringing a chicken's neck to demonstrate the mindset behind the Munich massacre), the PLO's disunity as a coalition of Arab-state-sponsored factions, its well-funded international propaganda campaign, and its explicit commitment via the PLO Covenant to the destruction of the State of Israel rather than genuine national liberation. - Describes Laffin's book as unmasking 'The Many Faces of the PLO' and its network of international terror - Recounts an anecdote of Arafat wringing a chicken's neck during a personal conversation with Laffin, illustrating the ruthlessness behind the Munich massacre - Notes the PLO's estimated £1,000 million annual income, funded by Arab states for mixed motives including insurance against PLO extremism - Highlights chapters on 'The Multi-Barrel Propaganda Weapon' and 'The European Connection' describing the PLO's propaganda success in Europe - Recounts Laffin's chapter on PLO terrorist training ('Schools for Terror') as systematic and professionalized - Concludes the book exposes the PLO Covenant's explicit aim as the annihilation of the State of Israel, not liberation --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff366/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 366 (August 1983) is the monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal journal, edited by K. S. Venkateswaran with M. R. Masani as founder. The issue opens with an editorial on constitutional reform proposals in apartheid-era South Africa, then runs Masani's regular "As I See It" column reflecting on the Pope's second visit to Poland, the Solidarity movement, and the newly formed International Democratic Union of conservative parties. The remaining articles form a strongly anti-Soviet cluster: a critique of Soviet agricultural failure and dependence on Western grain imports, a history of the Soviet secret police from the Cheka to the KGB under Andropov, and a report on continued Soviet economic exploitation of occupied Afghanistan. The issue closes with a review of Bruce Grant's book on Indira Gandhi-era India and the 1975 Emergency (with a comparison to Australia's 1975 constitutional crisis), and the recurring "With Many Voices" page of quotations. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 366 (August 1983) is the monthly issue of the Bombay-based liberal journal, edited by K. S. Venkateswaran with M. R. Masani as founder. The issue opens with an editorial on constitutional reform proposals in apartheid-era South Africa, then runs Masani's regular "As I See It" column reflecting on the Pope's second visit to Poland, the Solidarity movement, and the newly formed International Democratic Union of conservative parties. The remaining articles form a strongly anti-Soviet cluster: a critique of Soviet agricultural failure and dependence on Western grain imports, a history of the Soviet secret police from the Cheka to the KGB under Andropov, and a report on continued Soviet economic exploitation of occupied Afghanistan. The issue closes with a review of Bruce Grant's book on Indira Gandhi-era India and the 1975 Emergency (with a comparison to Australia's 1975 constitutional crisis), and the recurring "With Many Voices" page of quotations. ## Essays ### Reform in South Africa *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* K. S. Venkateswaran's editorial examines South Africa's proposed constitutional reforms, which would create a tricameral legislature with separate chambers for Whites, Coloureds, and Indians under a racially-mixed President's Council. The piece surveys criticism that the reforms are cosmetic and do not extend to the provincial and local levels where ordinary citizens engage most with government, quotes the Johannesburg daily The Star's skepticism about the government's promises, but concludes that the debate itself, conducted with unusual freedom for South Africa, may improve conditions for the country's population over time even though black majority rule remains a distant prospect. - Proposes a tricameral parliament for Whites, Coloureds, and Indians, with a racially-mixed President's Council as final arbiter. - Critics say the reform stops short because similar changes have not been extended to provincial and local government. - The Johannesburg daily The Star is quoted expressing 'grave misgivings' about the government treating local government as its 'own affair'. - The author argues the relative freedom and thoroughness of the public debate is itself notable, whatever the reforms' ultimate merits. ### As I See It *By MINOO MASANI* Minoo Masani's 'As I See It' column reflects on Pope John Paul II's second visit to Poland and its entanglement with the Solidarity movement led by Lech Walesa, discussing a controversy over an article in the Vatican paper L'Osservatore Romano suggesting the Pope had advised Walesa to step down. Masani surveys Western press reaction (the Guardian, William Safire in the Times) and notes General Jaruzelski's receipt of the Order of Lenin in Moscow as a sign the Kremlin is satisfied with its 'stooge.' The column closes with a note on the founding, in London on 24 June 1983, of the International Democratic Union, an international federation of conservative parties involving Margaret Thatcher, Helmut Kohl, Jacques Chirac, and George Bush, which the London Times wryly dubbed the 'Conintern.' - Discusses the Pope's second visit to Poland and his moral rather than military approach to confronting Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe. - Covers the controversy over an Osservatore Romano article suggesting the Pope urged Lech Walesa to step down as Solidarity leader, which both the Pope and Walesa denied. - Notes Jaruzelski's Order of Lenin as evidence the Kremlin approves of his handling of Poland. - Reports the founding of the International Democratic Union in London on 24 June 1983, joining conservative parties including Thatcher's Conservatives, Kohl's Christian Democrats, and Chirac's Gaullists. - Observes that the Liberal International, of which Masani is a Patron, was founded in 1947, decades before this new conservative bloc. ### Soviet Agriculture *By S. K. BAIN* S. K. Bain's article on Soviet agriculture contrasts official Soviet self-congratulation about collective farming with the increasingly candid Soviet press acknowledgment of a deepening agricultural crisis. Drawing on Moscow's own Soviet Union magazine and on the work of American food-policy expert Lester R. Brown, the piece documents the USSR's growing dependence on grain imports (rising from the 1975 US-Soviet grain agreement to a projected 160,000 tons import target), a decline in agricultural output since 1978, and structural causes including centralised planning, lack of incentives, poor mechanization, and waste, concluding that the Soviet leadership's ideological rejection of structural reform is a 'dangerous self-made and self-sustained trap.' - Soviet publications commemorating the USSR's 60th anniversary conspicuously omit agriculture from their coverage of state achievements. - The Soviet Union magazine admits 'the USSR has the worst climate for crop farming' and that returns from investment have been inadequate. - Lester R. Brown's study 'U.S. and Soviet Agriculture: The Shifting Balance of Power' is cited on the 1982 grain harvest shortfall and Soviet import needs of roughly 40 million tons of grain. - Soviet agricultural output is said to have peaked 1975-1978 and declined since, a decline too pervasive to blame on weather alone. - Centralised planning, lack of incentives, poor mechanization, and bureaucratic waste are identified as structural causes, contrasted with the individual-farmer model of US agriculture. - The article warns that continued food import dependence threatens the legitimacy of Soviet leadership, citing reported work stoppages and consumer protests. ### The Frightening Story of the Soviet Secret Police *By JUAN FERCSEY* Juan Fercsey's article, credited to Antar-Sanchar, traces the history of the Soviet secret police from the Cheka founded by Feliks Dzerzhinsky in 1917 through its successive renamings (GPU, OGPU, NKVD/NKGB, MGB, KGB) under a chain of chiefs including Menzhinsky, Yagoda, Yezhov, and Beria, most of whom were themselves eventually purged and executed. The piece recounts the Cheka's 1918 'Red Terror' decree authorizing extrajudicial arrest and execution, the deaths of millions in farm collectivization and the 1930s purge trials, Beria's assassination after Stalin's death, and the organization's modern form under Yuri Andropov, who led the KGB for fifteen years before becoming General Secretary, closing with a quote from journalist Brian Freemantle that 'the Soviet Union needs the KGB because without it there would not be a Soviet Union.' - Traces the secret police lineage: Cheka (1917) to GPU to OGPU to NKVD/NKGB to MGB to KGB (1954). - The 1918 'Red Terror' decree authorized the Cheka to arrest and execute suspects without courts or trials. - Genrikh Yagoda's OGPU/NKVD administered farm collectivization, with a death toll estimated between 3.5 and 5.5 million. - Successive secret police chiefs (Yagoda, Yezhov, Beria, Abakumov, Merkulov) were themselves purged and executed, often in Lubyanka prison. - Yuri Andropov headed the KGB for 15 years before becoming General Secretary, dedicating a monument to Dzerzhinsky in 1977. - The article estimates the KGB employs 250,000 agents and calls it the largest espionage network and prison/labour-camp system in history. ### Continued Soviet Exploitation of Afghanistan *By RAMA SWARUP* Rama Swarup's article details continued Soviet economic exploitation of occupied Afghanistan as of the fifth anniversary of the Communist takeover in April 1983. It reports Prime Minister Soltan Ali Keshtmand's admission that state property tax revenue collapsed from 280 million Afghanis (1978-79) to 16 million (1981-82), that the Mujahiddin have destroyed three-quarters of the country's communications network and half its schools and hospitals, and that Kabul is increasingly dependent on Soviet grain imports (projected at 160,000 tons in 1983) and high-interest Soviet loans. The piece also describes Soviet extraction of natural gas (over 95% of Afghan gas production consumed by the USSR) and secretive uranium prospecting near Herat, concluding that Moscow has 'shown that they know how to assure their own interests and their own strategic goals' regardless of Afghanistan's economic collapse. - Afghan PM Soltan Ali Keshtmand admits the state can no longer levy property taxes effectively; revenue fell from 280 million Afghanis (1978-79) to 16 million (1981-82). - Mujahiddin resistance has destroyed three-quarters of Afghanistan's communications network and half its schools, hospitals, and power stations. - Afghan grain imports from the Soviet Union are projected to reach 160,000 tons in 1983, up from 74,000 tons in 1981. - The Soviet 'scorched earth' policy of destroying harvests is described as an attempt to starve out the freedom-fighters. - The USSR is reported to consume over 95% of natural gas produced at the Jarqaduq and Khwaja Gogerdak fields in northern Afghanistan. - Secretive uranium prospecting near Herat and Shinand, with ore reportedly helicoptered into the Soviet Union, is also reported. ### Book Review: Gods and Politicians by Bruce Grant; Allen Lane; 1982; Pp. 198 *By M. R. Masani* M. R. Masani reviews Bruce Grant's 'Gods and Politicians' (Allen Lane, 1982), based on Grant's tenure as Australian High Commissioner to India from 1973-76. Masani praises Grant as a good raconteur but faults his claim (drawing on A. G. Noorani's 1965 Opinion article and a Peking People's Daily editorial) that Moscow supported Delhi against China in 1962, when in fact Khrushchev was shown to have privately endorsed the Chinese position before the attack. Masani's central objection is to Grant's parallel between the Australian constitutional crisis of 1975 (Governor-General Sir John Kerr's dismissal of PM Gough Whitlam) and India's 1975 Emergency under Indira Gandhi, arguing the true parallel is between Whitlam and Gandhi as populist leaders who treated heads of state as rubber stamps, not between Kerr's principled dismissal of Whitlam and Gandhi's unconstitutional imprisonment of Morarji Desai and Jayaprakash Narayan without trial. - Grant's book covers his 1973-76 tenure as Australian High Commissioner to India and treats Indian politics with what Masani calls fairness bordering on over-forgiveness. - Grant errs in claiming Moscow backed Delhi against China in 1962; Masani cites A. G. Noorani's 1965 Opinion article and a Peking People's Daily editorial showing Khrushchev privately endorsed China's position days before the attack. - Masani argues President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed should have dismissed Indira Gandhi and called elections in June 1975, just as Governor-General Kerr dismissed Whitlam in Australia -- but the Indian President did not act. - Masani's key objection to Grant: the real parallel is between Whitlam and Gandhi as populists who treated heads of state as rubber stamps, not between Kerr's dismissal of Whitlam and Gandhi's imprisonment of Morarji Desai and Jayaprakash Narayan without trial. - The review closes with an assertion that democratic checks and balances (Head of State, courts, free press) exist precisely to restrain leaders who mistake a temporary parliamentary majority for a mandate to disregard them. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff367/ ### Summary Issue No. 367 of Freedom First (September 1983, priced Rs. 2, its 31st year of publication) opens with editor K. S. Venkateswaran's defence of V. S. Naipaul against Indian critics who accuse him of pathologising the country, arguing that the hostility toward Naipaul stems from envy rather than any factual error in his reporting. Founder M. R. Masani contributes 'The Isle of Serendip,' a topical piece on the 1983 Sinhalese-Tamil violence in Sri Lanka, drawing on press accounts (Mascarenhas, The Times, The Guardian, The Indian Express) to argue that Tamil Tiger aggression triggered the Sinhalese backlash, that President Jayewardene has been unfairly vilified in India, and that Indian politicians' saber-rattling over intervention is itself hypocritical given India's tolerance of Khalistani separatists. Brian Crozier's 'How Reagan could start rolling back the Russians' surveys Soviet territorial gains since detente (Vietnam, Angola, Afghanistan, Grenada, etc.) and argues the West should exploit vulnerable client states like Cabinda, the Seychelles, Grenada and Surinam. A running debate on secularism continues from earlier issues: M. B.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Issue No. 367 of Freedom First (September 1983, priced Rs. 2, its 31st year of publication) opens with editor K. S. Venkateswaran's defence of V. S. Naipaul against Indian critics who accuse him of pathologising the country, arguing that the hostility toward Naipaul stems from envy rather than any factual error in his reporting. Founder M. R. Masani contributes 'The Isle of Serendip,' a topical piece on the 1983 Sinhalese-Tamil violence in Sri Lanka, drawing on press accounts (Mascarenhas, The Times, The Guardian, The Indian Express) to argue that Tamil Tiger aggression triggered the Sinhalese backlash, that President Jayewardene has been unfairly vilified in India, and that Indian politicians' saber-rattling over intervention is itself hypocritical given India's tolerance of Khalistani separatists. Brian Crozier's 'How Reagan could start rolling back the Russians' surveys Soviet territorial gains since detente (Vietnam, Angola, Afghanistan, Grenada, etc.) and argues the West should exploit vulnerable client states like Cabinda, the Seychelles, Grenada and Surinam. A running debate on secularism continues from earlier issues: M. B. Shah's 'Secularism: A Dissenting View' rebuts Masani's claim (from the June 1983 issue) that secularism is Marxist-derived jargon that displaced 'Sarva Dharma Samabhava,' arguing instead that secularism counters obscurantism and is compatible with, even conducive to, genuine religiousness; Masani then responds, citing J. P. Narayan, M. V. Kamath, and Confucius to reaffirm his view that 'secularism' in Indian usage is anti-religious cant. Ashley J. Tellis reviews Nari Rustomji's book Imperilled Frontiers: India's North Eastern Borderland (Oxford University Press, 1983), praising its empirical account of tribal-state conflict in Nagaland, Meghalaya, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh while noting the book's implicit rejection of a purely Marxist class-conflict explanation for regional unrest. The issue closes with the 'With Many Voices' page of quoted aphorisms (Hayek, Solzhenitsyn, Bernard Levin, George Shultz, and others) and a subscription order form. ## Essays ### Is Naipaul Guilty? *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* Editor K. S. Venkateswaran's front-page piece defends V. S. Naipaul against what he characterises as an unjustified, envy-driven campaign of vilification in the Indian press, provoked most recently by Naipaul's remarks on India in a BBC interview with Bernard Levin. The author argues that none of Naipaul's Indian critics have produced evidence against the substance of his observations, and that Naipaul's unflattering portraits are in fact a service to Indian self-understanding rather than an attack on it. - Naipaul has faced disproportionate criticism in India compared to other expatriate writers, barring perhaps Nirad Chaudhuri. - Recent press attacks followed Naipaul's remarks on India in a BBC interview with Bernard Levin. - Critics rely on pseudo-psychological explanations (Naipaul's 'flawed psyche', 'genetic stigma') rather than factual rebuttal. - The author contends Naipaul's fidelity to facts is not seriously in question, only his subjective interpretations. - The hostility to Naipaul is attributed to envy of a genius whose criticism forces Indians to confront their own shortcomings. ### The Isle of Serendip *By MINOO MASANI* M. R. Masani's 'The Isle of Serendip' surveys the 1983 anti-Tamil violence in Sri Lanka, drawing on reports by Anthony Mascarenhas and editorials from The Times, The Guardian and The Indian Express to argue that Tamil Tiger ambushes provoked the Sinhalese backlash that killed over 350 people. Masani defends President Jayewardene against Indian vilification, noting his efforts to accommodate Tamil grievances, and criticises Indian politicians (naming Karunanidhi) for chauvinistic war-mongering while India tolerates Khalistani separatists and shelters Tamil militants in Madras. - Violence began with a Tamil Tiger ambush of a Lankan army convoy on 23 July, followed by a Sinhalese backlash killing over 350, mostly Tamils. - Masani argues the original aggression came from the Tamil side, though this does not excuse the Sinhalese reprisals. - President Jayewardene is portrayed sympathetically as a 'humane and mature statesman' subjected to a hysterical Indian vilification campaign. - M. Karunanidhi is singled out for demanding Indian military intervention and partition of Sri Lanka along Cyprus lines. - The Indian government is criticised for giving credence to a false canard that Lanka had requested military assistance from the UK, US, Pakistan and Bangladesh. - Masani accuses India of a double standard: intolerant of foreign involvement in its own Assam troubles yet demanding a say in Sri Lanka, while sheltering Tamil secessionists in Madras. ### How Reagan could start rolling back the Russians *By BRIAN CROZIER* Brian Crozier's piece argues that despite Margaret Thatcher's optimistic rhetoric about the 'march of history' favouring free democracies, the factual record since detente shows continual Soviet territorial gains (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, South Yemen, Ethiopia, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Grenada, Surinam, Seychelles) with no reversals. He argues a cautious 'rollback' is now stirring in Washington under Reagan and Shultz, and identifies Cabinda (Angola), the Seychelles, Grenada and Surinam as low-risk targets for Western-backed change, citing historical precedents (Guatemala 1954, Iran 1953, Central African Republic 1979, Oman 1970) where determined Western action successfully removed or installed rulers. - Since detente began in the 1970s, no country has ever left the Soviet orbit once captured, though China and Yugoslavia left Soviet control while remaining communist. - Reagan called for a campaign to promote democratic institutions in communist countries; Secretary of State George Shultz convened a conference in October to implement this. - The Pope's visit to Poland demonstrated the fragility of Moscow's hold on Eastern Europe, but Crozier argues systematic Western intervention there or in Cuba remains too dangerous for now. - Cabinda, the Seychelles, Grenada, and Surinam are identified as low-risk or no-risk targets because their rulers lack legitimacy beyond force. - Historical precedents cited: US action in Guatemala (1954) and Iran (1953), French removal of Bokassa in the Central African Republic (1979), and installation of Sultan Qaboos in Oman. ### Secularism: A Dissenting View (with Mr. Masani's rejoinder and 'The Wisdom of Confucius') *By M. B. SHAH* M. B. Shah's 'Secularism: A Dissenting View' rebuts Minoo Masani's earlier column (June 1983 issue) which had called secularism a piece of Marxist jargon introduced by Nehru at Krishna Menon's behest, displacing the Indian concept of 'Sarva Dharma Samabhava'. Shah argues secularism is far older than Marxism, is necessary in India to counteract obscurantism and commercialised religion, and is not opposed to but actually conducive to genuine religiousness, understood as rationalist, humanist values distinct from institutional religion. - Shah disputes Masani's claim that secularism is Marxist jargon imposed by Nehru; he says secularism is a concept as old as mankind. - Institutionalised, commercialised religion in India is depicted as an 'opiate' that has fuelled partition, communal riots and sectarianism. - Shah distinguishes 'religion' from 'religiousness,' arguing secularism only opposes the former's abuses, not genuine spiritual values. - Rationalism is presented as the intellectual foundation of secularism, challenging outdated religious presuppositions. - Shah is sharply critical of Gandhi and Marx alike, quoting historian R. C. Majumdar's description of Gandhi as a 'magnificent failure.' ### Book Review: Imperilled Frontiers: India's North Eastern Borderland, by Nari Rustomji (Oxford University Press, 1983) *By Ashley J. Tellis* Minoo Masani responds to M. B. Shah's dissent, reiterating that secularism as commonly used in India is basically anti-religious, and defending his earlier column. He cites Solzhenitsyn's Templeton Address, J. P. Narayan's 1962 Freedom First essay renouncing dialectical materialism, and M. V. Kamath's Indian Express article 'The Myth of Secularism' to argue secularism has bred cynicism and hypocrisy among Indian politicians and fudged questions of religious identity. He closes by invoking Confucius's dictum that 'calling things by their proper names is the beginning of wisdom.' - Masani had earlier distinguished a secular state from one equally benevolent to all religions, and denied that either the Indian people or Constitution are truly secular. - He cites J. P. Narayan's September 1962 Freedom First article recounting his disillusionment with dialectical materialism. - He notes the Janata Government's 45th Amendment attempt to redefine 'secular' in the Constitution's preamble failed in the Rajya Sabha due to Congress (I) opposition. - M. V. Kamath's Indian Express article is quoted extensively, arguing 'secular' in Indian usage means anti-religious and that the concept is fudging political honesty. - Masani closes with Confucius's maxim on calling things by their proper names. ### With Many Voices (quotations column) Ashley J. Tellis reviews Nari Rustomji's Imperilled Frontiers: India's North Eastern Borderland (Oxford University Press, 1983, Rs. 80), the third book in a trilogy on India's North East. The review credits Rustomji's decades of administrative experience as Advisor to the Governor of the North Eastern Frontiers, and summarises his central thesis: that tribal unrest in Nagaland, Meghalaya, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh stems from a clash between imposed 'modernisation' and indigenous culture, not from Marxist class conflict as competing analyses claim. The reviewer finds the book's readability and empirical grounding valuable against a Marxist paradigm he regards as insufficient, and calls the treatment of the Naga problem in particular masterful. - The book is the third in a trilogy by Rustomji on India's North Eastern region, following his career as Advisor to the Governor of the North Eastern Frontiers. - Rustomji contrasts the 'success story' of Arunachal Pradesh (where he and Verrier Elwin were personally involved) with failures elsewhere in the region. - The reviewer rejects the competing Marxist explanation that class conflict and exploitation of tribals by parasitic migrants drives unrest, though he calls the Marxist hypothesis 'attractive' though 'insufficient.' - Rustomji is critical of the Indian Army's counter-insurgency tactics, arguing forced resettlement and disrespect for local mores fuelled insurgency rather than quelling it. - The review quotes Nehru's 1947 reflection on the danger of imposing an alien 'image or likeness' on tribal peoples. - The reviewer notes the Naga problem occupies almost a third of the book and is its most masterfully handled section. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff368/ ### Summary This is the October 1983 issue (No. 368, 31st year of publication) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran. The issue opens with an appeal on behalf of the newly established Freedom First Foundation, a charitable trust meant to fund lectures, seminars, and publications promoting freedom and the rule of law. The editorial core of the issue addresses Cold War geopolitics and Indian governance: K. S. Venkateswaran examines the Reagan administration's dilemma in Central America amid Soviet/Cuban-backed military build-up in Nicaragua, and Minoo Masani's regular "As I See It" column condemns the Soviet shooting down of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 and the Indian government's muted response, alongside remarks on Joshua Nkomo's return to Zimbabwe. A satirical courtroom sketch by Miles Kington (reprinted from The Times, London) lampoons Yuri Andropov. The issue carries two substantial book reviews: Thomas Gay reviews Arun Shourie's "Mrs. Gandhi's Second Reign," and K. S. Venkateswaran reviews the third edition of H. M.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the October 1983 issue (No. 368, 31st year of publication) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran. The issue opens with an appeal on behalf of the newly established Freedom First Foundation, a charitable trust meant to fund lectures, seminars, and publications promoting freedom and the rule of law. The editorial core of the issue addresses Cold War geopolitics and Indian governance: K. S. Venkateswaran examines the Reagan administration's dilemma in Central America amid Soviet/Cuban-backed military build-up in Nicaragua, and Minoo Masani's regular "As I See It" column condemns the Soviet shooting down of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 and the Indian government's muted response, alongside remarks on Joshua Nkomo's return to Zimbabwe. A satirical courtroom sketch by Miles Kington (reprinted from The Times, London) lampoons Yuri Andropov. The issue carries two substantial book reviews: Thomas Gay reviews Arun Shourie's "Mrs. Gandhi's Second Reign," and K. S. Venkateswaran reviews the third edition of H. M. Seervai's "Constitutional Law of India." A historical document, the 1950 "Manifesto of Freedom" (associated with the Congress for Cultural Freedom, with an editorial note on Arthur Koestler, A. J. Ayer, and Hugh Trevor-Roper's roles in drafting it), is reprinted across pages 13-14. The issue also includes a reader's letter on the Mandal Commission's caste-reservation report, and the recurring "With Many Voices" column of aphoristic quotations drawn from the international press. ## Essays ### U.S. Dilemma In Central America *By K. S. Venkateswaran* K. S. Venkateswaran's lead article surveys the Reagan administration's response to escalating Soviet- and Cuban-backed militarisation in Central America, particularly Nicaragua under the Sandinistas. He frames the Reagan initiatives (including Henry Kissinger's appointment to chair a Bipartisan Commission on Central America) as controversial but grounded in intelligence reports of Soviet arms shipments, and quotes President Reagan and William Buckley to argue that the U.S. faces a genuine strategic threat it cannot responsibly ignore. - Opens with an epigraph from FDR's 1941 State of the Union on pre-empting hostile footholds near American shores. - Notes the irony that Reagan's Central America policy echoes Roosevelt-era strategic logic despite ideological distance from Roosevelt. - Cites a U.S. inter-agency intelligence study describing Soviet 'active measures' (forgeries, front groups, disinformation) in the region. - Reports Soviet cargo vessels and a failed Libyan arms shipment (disguised as medical supplies) routed through Brazil. - Details the scale of Sandinista militarisation: 138,000 men under arms, Soviet tanks, and thousands of Cuban, Soviet, East German, Bulgarian, North Korean and PLO advisers. - Closes by citing William Buckley's National Review remark on the burdens of superpower responsibility. ### As I See It *By Minoo Masani* Minoo Masani's "As I See It" column condemns the Soviet downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007, quoting cockpit-tape transcripts of the attacking MiG pilot and criticising the Indian government's reluctance to condemn (rather than merely 'deplore') the killing of an Indian national among the victims. He contrasts this with Western press reactions from The Times and Sunday Times, and closes with a note on Joshua Nkomo's dangerous return to Zimbabwe amid tension with Robert Mugabe's government. - Quotes intercepted Soviet pilot transcripts confirming a deliberate, unprovoked attack on the KAL airliner. - Criticises the Indian government spokesman's use of 'deplore' rather than 'condemn', paralleling India's past reticence over Soviet actions in Hungary (1956), Czechoslovakia, and Afghanistan. - Cites K. R. Sunder Rajan's charge in the Sunday Observer that hypocrisy is central to Indira Gandhi's foreign policy. - Reports on Joshua Nkomo's return to Zimbabwe from exile and the ridicule he faced in Parliament from Mugabe's Treasury benches despite the risk to his safety. - Draws a comparison between Nkomo's situation and that of Benigno Aquino in the Philippines. ### A Close Shave For Andropov *By Miles Kington* A satirical courtroom sketch by Miles Kington, reprinted from The Times of London, imagines Yuri Andropov on trial over correspondence with an American teenage girl, mocking Soviet paranoia and propaganda through absurdist cross-examination. - Presented as a leaked 'trial transcript' of Yuri Andropov being cross-examined over letters to an American girl. - Uses absurdist humour to satirise Soviet secrecy and propaganda. - Reprinted from The Times, London, as a piece of political satire rather than reportage. ### Book Reviews: Mrs. Gandhi's Second Reign by Arun Shourie *By Thomas Gay* Thomas Gay reviews Arun Shourie's "Mrs. Gandhi's Second Reign" (Vikas Publishing House, 1983), describing it as a grim but essential indictment of India's governing class. The review walks through the book's nine chapters, which document administrative corruption, misuse of the National Security Act, judicial politics (including Bhagwati J.'s dissensions), the Bhagalpur blindings, and communal politics, before noting the author's comparatively tentative concluding recommendations rooted in Gandhian ideals. - Shourie's book is praised for rigorous documentation, including quoted 'Top Secret' government documents. - Chapter-by-chapter summary covers the Prime Minister's reliance on ineffective subordinates, corruption enquiry commissions, misuse of the National Security Act, judicial infighting, the Bhagalpur blindings scandal, and unequal justice for rich and poor. - The review credits Shourie, as a 'reformed Empire-builder', for refusing to blame India's problems on British colonial legacy. - The reviewer finds the book's final prescriptive chapters (on what citizens should do) comparatively weak, resting on a hesitant return to Gandhian ideals of patience and self-sacrifice. - The review ends on a qualified note of hope, citing Shourie's reliance on scattered individuals of goodwill who reject collaboration with corrupt power. ### Book Reviews: Constitutional Law of India: A Critical Commentary by H. M. Seervai *By K. S. Venkateswaran* K. S. Venkateswaran reviews the third edition, Volume 1, of H. M. Seervai's "Constitutional Law of India" (N. M. Tripathi Pvt. Ltd., 1983), calling it a pre-eminent reference work whose commentary extends beyond legal technicality into questions of constitutional morality. The review highlights Seervai's criticism of the Supreme Court's expansive Article 14 jurisprudence and of judges (naming Krishna Iyer J.'s verbosity) who denounce the very colonial-derived system they administer, while praising the book's comprehensiveness and lamenting the long gap before its next volume. - Describes Seervai's treatise as a standard reference increasingly relied upon by practitioners and academics. - Notes Seervai's consistent defence of freedom and rule of law, of particular value to 'libertarians' among the journal's readers. - Highlights Seervai's critique of Justice Bhagwati's expansive reading of Article 14 (right to equality) as narrowing rather than enlarging the right. - Criticises members of the higher judiciary who denounce the constitutional system as a 'colonial legacy' while being among the most long-winded in their own judgments, singling out Krishna Iyer J. - Notes the long time-lag between volumes of Seervai's work as its one drawback. ### Manifesto of Freedom (1950) A reprint of the fourteen-point "Manifesto of Freedom" (1950), a foundational liberal-anticommunist statement holding intellectual freedom to be an inalienable right, condemning totalitarianism's suppression of dissent, and calling for international oversight to preserve peace and freedom together. An editorial footnote records Arthur Koestler's observation (from the Danube Edition of The Trail of the Dinosaur) that the bracketed passages in points 11 and 14 were added by British committee members A. J. Ayer and Hugh Trevor-Roper. - Article 1 holds intellectual freedom, defined as the right to hold and express opinions (including dissent from rulers), to be an inalienable right of man. - Articles 3-4 argue freedom and peace are inseparable and that wars can be waged even under the banner of peace absent real accountability. - Articles 7-9 address the danger of emergency restrictions degenerating into permanent tyranny, and describe totalitarian regimes as representing restrictions on freedom falsely dressed as civilisational progress. - Article 14 addresses the manifesto to all who seek to regain lost liberties and preserve or extend those they retain. - An editorial footnote attributes certain bracketed additions to the manifesto's British drafting committee members, Alfred J. Ayer and Hugh Trevor-Roper, per Arthur Koestler's account. ### A Letter: A Blueprint For Ruining India *By S. S. Bankeshwar* A reader's letter from S. S. Bankeshwar of Bombay criticises the Mandal Commission Report as a 'blueprint for ruining India', arguing that caste-based reservation entrenches rather than dissolves the caste system, rewards vote-bank politics over merit, and is perpetuated by politicians who have a vested interest in maintaining caste divisions even while publicly condemning them. - Argues the Mandal Commission Report risks instigating caste-war and institutionalising backwardness as a caste-based category. - Questions whether reservation ends the caste system or perpetuates it by rewarding claimed caste status. - Charges that most Indian politicians have a vested interest in preserving caste divisions for vote-bank purposes. - Argues movements based purely on merit and talent face little chance of success given widespread ignorance and vote-bank incentives. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff369/ ### Summary This is issue No. 369 of Freedom First (November 1983, Rs. 2, 31st Year of Publication), the Bombay-based liberal monthly founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran, published for the Democratic Research Service. The issue opens with the editor's own cover essay condemning Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwean government for re-arresting acquitted Air Force officers and undermining judicial independence, continues with Minoo Masani's regular "As I See It" column arguing for replacing hanging with lethal injection while retaining capital punishment for the worst crimes, carries a polemical piece defending South Korea and attacking the Soviet Union over the KAL 007 shootdown, a "Cultural Roundabout" arts column, an essay on the crisis of credibility facing the Non-Aligned Movement and Indira Gandhi's handling of it, two book reviews (on Gandhian economics and on the political history of Sikkim's merger with India), and a closing page of "With Many Voices" press quotations.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 369 of Freedom First (November 1983, Rs. 2, 31st Year of Publication), the Bombay-based liberal monthly founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran, published for the Democratic Research Service. The issue opens with the editor's own cover essay condemning Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwean government for re-arresting acquitted Air Force officers and undermining judicial independence, continues with Minoo Masani's regular "As I See It" column arguing for replacing hanging with lethal injection while retaining capital punishment for the worst crimes, carries a polemical piece defending South Korea and attacking the Soviet Union over the KAL 007 shootdown, a "Cultural Roundabout" arts column, an essay on the crisis of credibility facing the Non-Aligned Movement and Indira Gandhi's handling of it, two book reviews (on Gandhian economics and on the political history of Sikkim's merger with India), and a closing page of "With Many Voices" press quotations. In the rendered pages the volume's argumentative centre is a defence of liberal-constitutionalist and anti-Soviet/anti-authoritarian positions across very different registers -- African decolonisation, criminal justice, Cold War propaganda, and non-alignment. ## Essays ### Human Rights in Zimbabwe *By K. S. Venkateswaran* K. S. Venkateswaran's cover editorial condemns Zimbabwean Prime Minister Robert Mugabe for re-arresting six white Air Force officers immediately after their acquittal by the Harare High Court on charges of sabotage, despite judicial findings that their 'confessions' had been extracted through torture. The piece frames the episode as exposing the hollowness of Mugabe's democratic credentials, contrasts it with the independence shown by judges such as Mr. Justice Dumbutshena, and widens the argument into scepticism about whether newly decolonised states are equipped to sustain democratic rule. - Joshua Nkomo's return to Harare from exile was used by Mugabe's regime for propaganda purposes. - Six white Air Force officers, acquitted of sabotage and complicity with South Africa after prolonged detention and alleged torture, were re-arrested by Mugabe's order immediately after acquittal. - The presiding judge who upheld the officers' torture complaint was himself a prominent black African who had backed Zimbabwe's independence struggle. - Mugabe dismissed the British evidentiary rule against confessions obtained under torture as a 'stupid ass' colonial relic. - The episode drew resignations in the Zimbabwean Air Force and international press criticism, including from The Times (London). - The essay argues the episode raises broader questions about the wisdom of granting self-rule to states not equipped to sustain democratic polity. - Judicial independence, exemplified by Mr. Justice Dumbutshena's ruling, is presented as the one redeeming feature of the episode. ### As I See It *By Minoo Masani* Minoo Masani's "As I See It" column responds to the Indian Supreme Court's September 1983 ruling upholding execution by hanging. Masani says he is not opposed to capital punishment for the most heinous crimes (citing the Pune murder of Sanskrit scholar Mr. Abhyankar and his family) but argues the Court underestimated how often hanging fails to kill instantly, causing slow strangulation, botched drops, or suffocation. He proposes replacing hanging with pentothal lethal injection as a more humane method, citing the 1982 U.S. execution of Charlie Brooks Jr. as the sole precedent, and calls on Amnesty International's Mrs. Malti Singh to campaign not for abolition but for a more humane method of execution and a right to opt for immediate execution over life imprisonment. - The Indian Supreme Court ruled on 23 September that execution by hanging should continue, as only Parliament can abolish capital punishment. - Masani supports capital punishment for particularly heinous murders but distinguishes this from believing all life is sacred. - He argues the Supreme Court underestimated the frequency of botched or prolonged hangings, citing a criminologist's estimate of 5-10% misadministration. - He cites Dr. Hiranandani's 1976 advocacy of pentothal injection and his own graphic account of witnessing a hanging. - Pentothal lethal injection, used on Charlie Brooks Jr. in Texas in December 1982, is presented as a painless alternative already used on animals. - Masani credits the 'Hangman's Handbook' by Duff and his friends Arthur Koestler and David Astor with helping abolish capital punishment in Britain. - He calls for Amnesty International to campaign for humane execution methods and a prisoner's right to opt for immediate execution rather than abolition per se. ### The Lies Behind KAL 007 *By Sqn. Ldr. S. K. Bain (Retd.)* Sqn. Ldr. S. K. Bain (Retd.) argues that the Soviet Union's 1 September 1983 shootdown of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 violated multiple ICAO conventions and international norms, drawing an explicit parallel to the Soviet delegate's own condemnation of Israel's 1973 shootdown of a Libyan airliner. The essay lays out ICAO rules requiring identification of unidentified aircraft before force is used, argues the published flight path shows KAL 007 only marginally strayed into Soviet airspace, and dismisses the Soviet claim that the airliner was on an espionage mission as technically implausible given the risk of exposure and the availability of superior U.S. reconnaissance aircraft (SR-71, U-2R). - The Soviet Union itself joined a unanimous 1973 ICAO resolution condemning Israel's shootdown of a Libyan civilian airliner and had paid compensation for it. - ICAO, with 151 of 156 UN member-nations as signatories, requires identification and non-lethal interception of straying aircraft before resorting to force. - KAL 007 killed 269 people from 14 countries, including India, and was shot down after the Soviets allegedly tracked it off-course for two and a half hours without redirecting it. - The published flight path shows the wreckage falling in open sea far from Sakhalin, undercutting Soviet claims the plane penetrated 500 miles into Soviet airspace. - The Soviet Union refused to submit flight recordings or allow independent investigation of the incident. - The essay dismisses the Soviet 'spy plane' theory as implausible given superior U.S. reconnaissance capability (SR-71, U-2R) and the technical difficulty of concealing espionage modifications from ground technicians. - The 1978 Soviet shootdown of another Korean airliner is cited as the precedent that led to the 1981 expansion of ICAO's Annexe conventions. ### Cultural Roundabout *By S. I. Clerk* S. I. Clerk's "Cultural Roundabout" column surveys Bombay's cultural scene between May and September 1983: the Jehangir Art Gallery's annual Monsoon Show spotlighting young J. J. School of Art talent alongside established artists Ram Kumar and Husain; an Alliance Francaise exhibition of woodcuts by sculptor Amarnath Sehgal; a Prince of Wales Museum exhibition of Krishna-themed art timed to Janmashtami; Alyque Padamsee's lavish, high-priced production of Evita; and the American Center's John Huston film retrospective (nine films including The African Queen, The Misfits, and Treasure of the Sierra Madre), with commentary on Huston's directing career and prior USIS retrospectives. - The Jehangir Art Gallery's sixth annual Monsoon Show featured roughly 70 works by 13 young artists including photographers, a ceramist, and two sculptors, alongside works by established artists Ram Kumar and Husain. - Alliance Francaise exhibited woodcuts by Indian sculptor Amarnath Sehgal, accompanied by his own short poems. - The Prince of Wales Museum and Museum Society of Bombay co-sponsored a Janmashtami exhibition of Krishna-themed miniatures, pichhwais, and artifacts from Kangra, Nathdwara, Nepal, and South India at Coomaraswamy Hall. - Alyque Padamsee's production of Evita is described as visually lavish, with a Rs. 100 top ticket price described as a new record for local theatre. - The American Center (USIS) ran a John Huston film festival from 10-27 September with five daily shows of nine classic films. - The column praises Huston's naturalistic directing style and highlights his Oscar-winning supporting role in Treasure of the Sierra Madre alongside his son Walter Huston. ### The NAM Crisis *By Nitin G. Raut* Nitin G. Raut argues that the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) has degenerated into a facade that no longer reflects genuine non-alignment, taking President Reagan's UN speech about NAM states as disguised Soviet client-states as its starting point. The essay accuses NAM of applying double standards -- condemning the U.S. over Diego Garcia and Israel while soft-pedaling Soviet-backed aggressions (Afghanistan, Libya's invasion of Chad, the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia, Cuban interventions in Africa) -- and criticises Indira Gandhi, as NAM chairperson, both for contradictory rhetoric on disarmament and for a private approach to Soviet leaders (Andropov, Brezhnev) seeking help restraining the Communist Party of India's domestic opposition, which the author frames as itself an invitation to foreign interference. It closes by noting the poor turnout at Mrs. Gandhi's UN summit as evidence of NAM's declining credibility. - President Reagan told the UN General Assembly that many non-aligned states are Soviet client-governments practising 'pseudo non-alignment'. - NAM is accused of consistently condemning US-linked issues (Diego Garcia, Israel) while downplaying Soviet-aligned interventions in Afghanistan, Chad, Lebanon, Cambodia, and Africa. - Indira Gandhi's UN speech on disarmament is called contradictory given that NAM states are themselves major arms recipients from the superpowers. - Gandhi's private correspondence with Andropov and her complaints to Brezhnev about domestic Left-party opposition are cited as ironic given her public criticism of superpower interference. - Gandhi's global summit in New York drew a lukewarm, disparate turnout dominated by Soviet client-states, which the essay reads as evidence of NAM's declining credibility. - The essay concludes both superpowers benefit from keeping NAM weak and divided as a testing ground for their own influence. ### Book Reviews: Industrial Civilisation & Gandhian Economics by J. S. Mathur *By R. V. Murthy* R. V. Murthy reviews "Industrial Civilisation & Gandhian Economics" by J. S. Mathur (1971, Pustakayan, Pp. 175, Rs. 13), praising the author for marshalling Mahatma Gandhi's economic observations alongside supportive views from figures like Bertrand Russell, while cautioning readers to distinguish what Gandhi actually said from later interpretations of "Gandhian Economics." The review explains Gandhi was not a formal economist but was concerned more with limiting individual wants than with wealth per se, favoured village self-sufficiency and export only after domestic needs were met, supported the theory of trusteeship as a step beyond G. D. H. Cole's social-economic order, and was not opposed to machinery as such but only to automation that displaced workers while enriching manufacturers. - The book, though published in 1971, is presented as newly relevant given India's post-Independence economic experience and the fading memory of Gandhi's theories. - The reviewer distinguishes Gandhi's actual statements from later interpretations packaged as 'Gandhian Economics'. - Gandhi rejected economics as merely 'the science of wants' and prioritised reducing wants over increasing production. - Gandhi advocated village self-sufficiency and industries catering first to local needs, permitting exports only once internal demand was met. - Gandhi's theory of trusteeship is described as going a step beyond G. D. H. Cole's concept of a social economic order, aiming at 'equal distribution' rather than equal possession of goods. - The review clarifies Gandhi was not opposed to all machinery, only to automation that displaced human labour while enriching manufacturers and concentrating economic power. - A 1935 Harijan quote by Gandhi on village revival and a further quote opposing 'the madness of thinking that machinery saves labour' are cited at length. ### Book Reviews: From The Horse's Mouth — The Sikkim Saga by B. S. Das *By S. I. Clerk* S. I. Clerk reviews "The Sikkim Saga" by B. S. Das (Vikas, New Delhi; Pp. 166; Rs. 75.00), a first-hand account by the last Chief Executive of Sikkim (1973-74) of the process by which Sikkim became India's 22nd state via the 38th Constitutional Amendment in April 1975. The review traces the book's historical background from 1641 through the 1950 treaty preserving Sikkim's protectorate status, the Chogyal's conflict with Delhi and the anti-Chogyal parties, the 1973 agreement effectively subordinating Sikkim to India, and personality sketches including the Chogyal, his American wife Sarah Lawrence (Hope Cooke), and Indira Gandhi, whom Das describes as the 'main actor' in the Sikkim saga. - Das was appointed Chief Executive of Sikkim in April 1973 and headed the administration until its 1974 associate-state status and 1975 full merger into India. - The book traces Sikkim's history from 1641, its 1861 protectorate status under the East India Company, and a 1950 treaty retaining protectorate status despite Sardar Patel's contrary pragmatic views against Nehru's idealism. - Das describes the 'grim' situation on assuming charge and the events leading to the 8 May 1973 Agreement between the Chogyal, Sikkimese political parties, and the Government of India. - Das admits his own role was essentially as an instrument converting a protectorate into an Indian state, while expressing personal affection for the Chogyal. - The book profiles women involved, including Sarah Lawrence (the Chogyal's American wife, nee Hope Cooke), Cocoola, and Elisa Maria Kazini, plus Rani Bhuvaneshwari Devi. - Das calls Indira Gandhi the 'main actor' in the Sikkim saga, saying she 'had all the cards up her sleeve and her ruthlessness was unmatched'. - The review notes ongoing consequences, including the Gorkha League of Darjeeling's demand for a Gorkhaland incorporating Darjeeling. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff371/ ### Summary This is the January 1984 issue (No. 371, 32nd year of publication) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran. The issue is anchored by a long cover essay marking Orwell's titular year, alongside a tribute to two recently deceased liberal intellectuals, a review of a Gandhi anthology, a roundup of Bombay's cultural scene, and the magazine's regular closing column of quoted press excerpts. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the January 1984 issue (No. 371, 32nd year of publication) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran. The issue is anchored by a long cover essay marking Orwell's titular year, alongside a tribute to two recently deceased liberal intellectuals, a review of a Gandhi anthology, a roundup of Bombay's cultural scene, and the magazine's regular closing column of quoted press excerpts. ## Essays ### 1984 and the Orwellian Prophecy *By Govind Talwalkar* Govind Talwalkar's cover essay, '1984 and the Orwellian Prophecy', uses the arrival of the year 1984 to assess how much of Orwell's dystopia in Nineteen Eighty-Four has come to pass. He traces the novel's roots alongside Animal Farm, situates Orwell against Swift and Kafka, and recounts the biographical and political experiences (the Spanish Civil War, his break with pro-Soviet fellow-travellers, his reading of Zamyatin's We, Borkenau's The Spanish Cockpit, and Burnham's The Managerial Revolution) that shaped his anti-totalitarian outlook. The essay surveys how Soviet and East European writers (Eugenia Ginzburg, Czeslaw Milosz) and critics (Arthur Koestler, Isaac Deutscher, Malcolm Muggeridge, Richard Rees) read Orwell's insight into totalitarianism, and closes by arguing that, while 1984 has not literally arrived, the growth of state power, industrial conglomerates and organised lobbies vindicates Orwell's fears, with only the possibility of 'robbers falling out with each other' (as in Poland) offering hope for individual freedom. - Frames Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four as a single meditation on the failure of revolution and the totalitarian usurpation of power. - Traces the three books that shaped Orwell's totalitarian imagination: Zamyatin's We, Borkenau's The Spanish Cockpit, and Burnham's The Managerial Revolution. - Recounts Orwell's disillusionment with Soviet-aligned progressives after the Spanish Civil War and his refusal to be 'anti-Fascist without being anti-totalitarian.' - Surveys Soviet and East European readings of Orwell (Ginzburg, Milosz) versus Western critics (Koestler, Deutscher, Muggeridge) to argue Orwell's insight into totalitarian psychology was validated from inside the system. - Contends that with 1984 arrived, the Orwellian prophecy has not literally come true, but the growth of state power, industrial lobbies, and union pressure show his fears were justified. - Closes on Orwell's own caveat, quoted from a letter to Francis Henson, that the book is a satire and warning rather than a prediction. ### Amnesty's Indictment *By K. S. Venkateswaran* Minoo Masani's tribute, 'Freedom Loses Two Champions', memorialises Raymond Aron, who died on 16 October 1983, and Leonard Schapiro, both intellectuals Masani knew personally. Masani recalls Aron's fluency across English and French at Congress for Cultural Freedom meetings in Paris, his lifelong role countering pro-Marxist currents among French intellectuals led by Jean-Paul Sartre, and the commercial and critical success of his final book, Memoirs: 30 Years of Political Reflection. He also briefly memorialises Leonard Schapiro, a leading Western analyst of Soviet affairs and LSE professor from 1955 to 1975, son-in-law of Salvador de Madariaga. - Masani recalls his personal friendship with Raymond Aron through bilingual debates at Congress for Cultural Freedom meetings in Paris in the 1950s-60s. - Aron's intellectual role was to counter pro-Marxist trends among French intellectuals led by Jean-Paul Sartre. - Aron's final book, Memoirs: 30 Years of Political Reflection, sold 300,000 copies in three weeks and topped French bestseller lists. - Aron moved from being a scholarly Marxist and Socialist to a liberal pluralist after studying economics and witnessing the horrors of totalitarianism. - Leonard Schapiro, the second subject, was a leading Western analyst of Soviet affairs and LSE professor (1955-1975), and son-in-law of Salvador de Madariaga. ### Freedom Loses Two Champions *By Minoo Masani* S. I. Clerk's 'Cultural Roundabout' column surveys Bombay's arts and theatre scene: Pearl Padamsee's direction of Mark Medoff's Children of a Lesser God with Ronnie Screwvala and Farida Pedder; a Gujarati-stage adaptation of Fiddler on the Roof titled Dholido by Chorus Unit; a group art exhibition of five Madras-based artists at Jehangir Art Gallery sponsored by Mahindra and Mahindra; a Korean ceramics exhibition at the Jehangir Nicholson Museum of Modern Art; and a wind-music concert by the New London Wind Trio. - Reviews Pearl Padamsee's production of Children of a Lesser God (Mark Medoff), praising leads Ronnie Screwvala and Farida Pedder. - Reviews Dholido, a Gujarati-stage adaptation of Fiddler on the Roof by Chorus Unit, transposing the fiddler into an untouchable drummer, Bhalo Bhagat. - Covers a group exhibition of five Madras-based artists (from the Cholamandal Artists' Village) at Jehangir Art Gallery, sponsored by Mahindra and Mahindra as an instance of corporate arts patronage. - Notes a 'Korean Ceramics Today' exhibition at the Jehangir Nicholson Museum of Modern Art, organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations with the NCPA. - Reviews a wind-music concert by the New London Wind Trio, co-sponsored by the British Council, National Centre, and Hong Kong Bank. ### Cultural Roundabout *By S. I. Clerk* A book review, signed 'Arun Gandhi', covers The Gandhi Reader, edited by Dr. Homer A. Jack (Affiliated East-West Press, Madras, Rs. 90), a reprint of a 1956 anthology reissued amid renewed interest in Gandhi following Richard Attenborough's film. The reviewer, who recalls meeting Jack in the early 1950s and discusses his own father Manilal's long engagement with Gandhian thought, praises the book's depth and readability while criticising its unattractive jacket design. He uses the review as an occasion to reflect at length on Gandhi's own writings on untouchability, Hinduism, and the 'holy cow' question, arguing contemporary Hindus who invoke Gandhi to defend cow protection or oppose untouchability abolition misread Gandhi's actual, more expansive views on both subjects. - The Gandhi Reader, edited by Homer A. Jack, is described as an unofficial 'autobiography' of Gandhi covering the period after his own Experiments With Truth (which stops in 1920). - Reviewer criticises the plain, unattractive book jacket despite praising the content as 'eminently readable, facile and lucid.' - Reviewer (signed Arun Gandhi) recounts personal history: his father Manilal's decades of correspondence and discussion with Gandhi on satyagraha and racism, and his own first meeting with editor Homer Jack in South Africa in the early 1950s. - Extended discussion of Gandhi's actual position on the 'holy cow': that 'protection' meant protecting all sub-human creation from cruelty and neglect, not merely banning slaughter, and that the cow itself holds no special status in Hinduism per se. - Quotes Gandhi's chapter on Hinduism arguing untouchability is 'repugnant to reason and to the instinct of pity or love' and that Hindus who retain the taint of untouchability do not deserve freedom. - Criticises both cow-protection activists ('tallow-baiters') and religious-yatra organisers ('yatris') for misapplying Gandhi's teaching. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff370/ ### Summary This is issue No. 370 of Freedom First (December 1983, Rs. 2, 31st year of publication), founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran. The issue opens with Masani's own polemic defending the U.S.-Caribbean intervention in Grenada as a legitimate rescue rather than an invasion, followed by K. S. Venkateswaran on the government's abuse of Ordinance-making power (particularly around the Bombay textile mills takeover and in Bihar), Manfred Schonfeld on Soviet strategic penetration of Latin America, M. B. Shah's critique of the PUCL's advocacy for Bombay's pavement and hutment dwellers, Roger Boyes (reprinted from The Times, London) on Lech Walesa and the Nobel Peace Prize's effect on Polish politics, a book review by David Davidar of Salman Rushdie's Shame, and a closing page of quotations ('With Many Voices') plus the subscription order form and imprint. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 370 of Freedom First (December 1983, Rs. 2, 31st year of publication), founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran. The issue opens with Masani's own polemic defending the U.S.-Caribbean intervention in Grenada as a legitimate rescue rather than an invasion, followed by K. S. Venkateswaran on the government's abuse of Ordinance-making power (particularly around the Bombay textile mills takeover and in Bihar), Manfred Schonfeld on Soviet strategic penetration of Latin America, M. B. Shah's critique of the PUCL's advocacy for Bombay's pavement and hutment dwellers, Roger Boyes (reprinted from The Times, London) on Lech Walesa and the Nobel Peace Prize's effect on Polish politics, a book review by David Davidar of Salman Rushdie's Shame, and a closing page of quotations ('With Many Voices') plus the subscription order form and imprint. ## Essays ### Rescue, Not Invasion *By MINOO MASANI* Minoo Masani argues, through an extended point-by-point parallel, that the U.S.-Caribbean military intervention in Grenada following the murder of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop by Marxist-Leninist hardliners was a legitimate 'rescue' at the invitation of Governor-General Sir Paul Scoon, not an invasion. He constructs a hypothetical in which foreign forces liberate India from a coup, then reveals the actual Grenada timeline (October 19 to November 3, 1983), quotes Sir Paul Scoon's request for assistance, cites British and American press and legal opinion validating the action's constitutionality, quotes Margaret Thatcher's support in the House of Commons, and closes by criticising the U.N. General Assembly's condemnatory resolution and the Government of India's abstention on a British amendment calling for early elections in Grenada. - Frames the piece as a hypothetical (a coup in Delhi) before revealing it describes the actual events in Grenada, October-November 1983 - Governor-General Sir Paul Scoon's letter requesting military assistance is quoted at length, as published in the Daily Telegraph of October 28 - Cites The Times, The Observer, The Herald Tribune, and The Sunday Times reporting that Grenadians welcomed the intervening troops and that a Soviet-Cuban arms buildup was discovered - Rejects accusations that the action violated international law, invoking the maxim 'inter armes leges silent' and comparing critics' logic to excusing Idi Amin or Bacha-e-Saqqo - Quotes Margaret Thatcher's defence of the U.S. action in the House of Commons despite Britain's own public disapproval - Criticises the Government of India for voting for the U.N. resolution deploring the action and for abstaining on a British amendment calling for early Grenadian elections - Notes the irony that the NAM chairperson did not mourn Maurice Bishop's assassination ### Rule by Ordinance *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* K. S. Venkateswaran, the magazine's editor, argues that the Ordinance-making power under the Indian Constitution has been chronically abused by governments at the Centre and in the states, citing the October 1983 takeover of 13 Bombay-based textile mills by midnight Ordinance as the most recent flagrant example. Drawing on D. C. Wadhwa's study Re-promulgation of Ordinances: A Fraud on the Constitution of India, he details how the Bihar government re-promulgated Ordinances for as long as 13 years without ever converting them into legislation, including 56 Ordinances issued in a single day (18 January 1976), and laments that the Supreme Court has twice (in the Bank Nationalisation Case and the National Security Ordinance Case) declined to rule on the justiciability of the practice. - Identifies the October 19, 1983 Ordinance-based takeover of 13 Bombay textile mills as the most recent example of Ordinance-power abuse - Cites D. C. Wadhwa's Poona-based study documenting 1,958 Ordinances promulgated between 1971 and 1982 alone, with Bihar accounting for 163 versus the legislature's own enactments - Describes the modus operandi: proroguing the legislature before six weeks elapse, then re-promulgating an identical Ordinance to bypass the constitutional lapse requirement - Notes 56 Ordinances were promulgated by the Bihar Governor on a single day, 18 January 1976 - Reports that the Supreme Court avoided ruling on Ordinance justiciability in both the Bank Nationalisation Case (1970) and the National Security Ordinance Case (1981) - Calls for the judiciary to set strict guidelines curbing the executive's Ordinance-making power ### Latin America and the Soviet Strategy *By MANFRED SCHONFELD* Manfred Schonfeld surveys Soviet strategic interest in Latin America, arguing that Moscow's aim is not economic (oil) but geopolitical destabilisation of Western-aligned states, with Colombia, Peru and Bolivia identified as the countries most vulnerable to Soviet-backed subversion via drug-trafficking-fuelled corruption and leftist guerrilla movements. The piece (courtesy of Antar-Sanchar) surveys Chile, Brazil, Argentina, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, concluding that the Soviet strategy, while patient and flexible, may ultimately fail to overcome the 'irrational element' peculiar to each Latin American nation. - Argues Soviet interest in Central America and the Caribbean is geopolitical/coercive leverage over Western industrialised countries, not a need for oil - Identifies Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia as the countries most susceptible to Soviet penetration via corruption and drug trafficking - Describes El Salvador as an exception to the 'rich oligarchy vs poor mass' narrative, having an industrious middle class the Marxists specifically target - Criticises the U.S. government for lacking a clear policy by refusing arms to Salvadorean forces resisting communist guerrillas - Notes the Sandinista government in Nicaragua faces anti-Sandinista guerrillas spanning the political spectrum from right to left - Concludes Soviet strategy in the region is patient, flexible, and works 'unceasingly, heavily and slowly' but may be undone by the distinct national character of each Latin American country ### The Shunned and the Shunted? *By M. B. SHAH* M. B. Shah criticises the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) for its advocacy on behalf of Bombay's pavement and hutment dwellers, arguing the organisation has abandoned legal rigor for populist appeals since facing backlash (including the resignation of Durgabai Bhagwat) over its Supreme Court writ petitions. He cites Nani Palkhivala's rebuttal that the Municipal Commissioner is merely performing a statutory duty, and quotes the PUCL's own pamphlet 'The Shunned and the Shunted' as internally conceding that hutment dwellers have no fundamental right to occupy pavements or open land. - PUCL described as an 'elitist organisation' that adopted a populist stance to rebuild mass support after backlash over its hutment-dweller writ petitions - Durgabai Bhagwat's resignation from PUCL is cited as evidence of internal dissent against its position - PUCL's own pamphlet, The Shunned and the Shunted: The Slum and Pavement Dwellers of Bombay, is quoted as conceding no fundamental right to live on pavements exists - Nani Palkhivala is quoted rebutting PUCL: the Municipal Commissioner is performing an indisputable statutory duty that courts cannot be used to prevent - Criticises PUCL for rhetorically comparing hutment-dweller removal to the deportation of Jews in Nazi Germany and Blacks in South Africa ### Poland's Prize Predicament *By ROGER BOYES* Roger Boyes, reprinted from The Times of London, profiles Lech Walesa in the aftermath of his Nobel Peace Prize, arguing the prize forces both Walesa and the Jaruzelski government into an awkward standoff: Walesa can either wait for renewed worker discontent or capitalise on the prize's prestige, while the government's strategy of discrediting him has left the 'institutionalisation' option unused. The piece notes Walesa's decision to donate the prize money to the Church's private-farmers fund as a sign he will choose the waiting option, and closes on the 'frankly absurd situation' of a Nobel laureate still working as a maintenance electrician in the Lenin shipyards. - Frames the Nobel Prize as forcing a strategic choice on Walesa: wait for worker discontent to rebuild, or become more active in opposition - Notes the government's chosen tactic was a propaganda campaign to discredit Walesa among fellow workers rather than institutionalise him - Cites Walesa's donation of prize money to the Catholic Church's private-farmers fund as evidence he will choose patience and cement Church ties - References Pope John Paul II's June meeting with Walesa as a warning signal to the Polish government of his continued significance - Contrasts Walesa's situation with Andrei Sakharov's, noting Walesa has not been exiled and still works as an electrician in the Lenin shipyards - Describes the government's handling of Walesa as a 'failure of political imagination' ### Book Review: Shame by Salman Rushdie; Rupa & Co., Rs. 30 *By David Davidar* David Davidar reviews Salman Rushdie's novel Shame (Rupa & Co., Rs. 30), summarising its allegorical treatment of modern-day Pakistan through the intertwined Hyder and Harappa families, and identifying its thinly veiled real-world referents (Raza Hyder as General Zia-ul-Haq, Iskander Harappa as Bhutto, Arjumand as Benazir Bhutto, Haroun Harappa as the leader of the Al-Zulfikar terrorist gang). Davidar calls it an absorbing, apocalyptic political satire that, alongside Grimus and Midnight's Children, cements Rushdie's reputation for reshaping the literary map of the subcontinent. - Identifies the novel's real-world referents: Raza Hyder as Zia-ul-Haq, Iskander Harappa as Bhutto, Arjumand as Benazir, Haroun Harappa as the Al-Zulfikar terrorist leader - Summarises the plot centered on the Hyder and Harappa families and the character Omar Khayyam Shakil - Notes Rushdie's own claim that his fictional country exists 'like myself, at a slight angle to reality' - Quotes Rushdie on why he reshapes English language for postcolonial purposes rather than following 'the studied elegance of a Naipaul or the flowery imagery of a Marquez' - Concludes the novel addresses three preoccupations: Pakistan's ruin under army autocrats, Rushdie's own immigrant status in England, and British ill-treatment of Asians - Calls the novel an absorbing book that sets new standards for other authors --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff372/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 372 (February 1984) is dominated by the Karnataka political crisis: a pair of paired interviews with Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde and Opposition leader Veerappa Moily on the 'Moily tape' scandal and allegations of Congress(I) attempts to topple the year-old Janata ministry through defection and bribery. Founder-editor content includes Minoo Masani's 'As I See It' column defending the U.S./Caribbean intervention in Grenada (with a reader's rebuttal letter and Masani's promised reply elsewhere in the issue) and K. S. Venkateswaran's editorial on the U.S. withdrawal from UNESCO. The issue also reports the inaugural function of the newly launched Freedom First Foundation (a tribute to George Orwell's 1984), carries a book review of an anti-Soviet account of the Afghan war, a theatre and chamber-music cultural roundup, a reader's-letters page, and the recurring 'With Many Voices' quotations column. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 372 (February 1984) is dominated by the Karnataka political crisis: a pair of paired interviews with Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde and Opposition leader Veerappa Moily on the 'Moily tape' scandal and allegations of Congress(I) attempts to topple the year-old Janata ministry through defection and bribery. Founder-editor content includes Minoo Masani's 'As I See It' column defending the U.S./Caribbean intervention in Grenada (with a reader's rebuttal letter and Masani's promised reply elsewhere in the issue) and K. S. Venkateswaran's editorial on the U.S. withdrawal from UNESCO. The issue also reports the inaugural function of the newly launched Freedom First Foundation (a tribute to George Orwell's 1984), carries a book review of an anti-Soviet account of the Afghan war, a theatre and chamber-music cultural roundup, a reader's-letters page, and the recurring 'With Many Voices' quotations column. ## Essays ### "I'm Fighting for Value-based, Clean Politics" (interview with Ramakrishna Hegde) *By SUMANT BANKESHWAR* An exclusive two-part interview conducted by Sumant Bankeshwar with Karnataka Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde, in which Hegde defends his year-old Janata ministry against Congress(I) efforts to engineer defections, discusses the 'Moily tape' bribery controversy, explains why he will not set up a Commission of Inquiry (citing the precedent of the Shah Commission), announces he will refer the matter to the Assembly's Committee of Privileges, and describes his anti-defection and Lok Ayukta bills. Hegde argues that Karnataka's Janata Party, though made up mostly of ex-Congressmen, represents a break from the 'alien' post-1969 Congress culture introduced by Indira Gandhi, and frames his politics as a fight for 'value-based, clean politics' against money- and power-driven public life. - Hegde says he will not appoint a Commission of Inquiry because parties could refuse to appear before it (as happened with the Shah Commission), but will refer the bribery allegations to the Assembly's Committee of Privileges. - Hegde states some of his MLAs were offered Rs. 20-25 lakh to defect but refused, and calls a potential defector 'very much afraid of the public reaction.' - He distinguishes the 'original' pre-1969 Congress culture from the culture created after the Congress split by Indira Gandhi, which he says introduced defection politics. - Hegde defends his minority government's legitimacy by pointing to Indira Gandhi's own minority government in Delhi after the 1969 split, and to the Congress(I) government in Kerala with only 15 members. - He frames his project as promoting 'value-based, clean politics' in contrast to money-oriented politics, contrasting it with the patriotism-driven politics of the freedom struggle. ### "I'll Take the Matter to the People's Court" - Moily (interview with Veerappa Moily) *By SUMANT BANKESHWAR* A companion interview, conducted 16 December 1983, with Opposition leader Veerappa Moily, who denies the authenticity of the so-called 'Moily tape' used to allege he took a bribe, calls it 'nothing but political vendetta,' and says he would rather 'take the matter to the people's court' through the next election than pursue a defamation suit or judicial inquiry. The interviewer plays the tape for him during the interview and reports it as 'hardly audible,' with Moily's voice unrecognisable. Moily also criticises the Hegde government as a minority administration propped up by defectors, comparing it to Indira Gandhi's minority government in Delhi after the 1969 split. - Moily calls the tape used against him 'a fake one' and 'nothing but political vendetta,' declining to sue Byre Gowda alone and instead threatening suit against all newspapers that published on it. - When the tape is played during the interview, the reporter notes it is 'hardly audible' and Moily's voice 'cannot be recognised.' - Moily says he would rather contest the issue in the next election ('the people's court') than pursue courts or commissions. - He argues the Janata Party in Karnataka is a party of 'ticketless Congressmen' living 'on oxygen in an intensive care unit' and predicts its imminent collapse. - Moily challenges the legitimacy of Hegde's minority government, drawing a parallel to Indira Gandhi's minority government in Delhi before the 1971 elections. ### Calling UNESCO's Bluff *By K. S. Venkateswaran* Minoo Masani's regular 'As I See It' column returns to the subject of the U.S./Caribbean intervention in Grenada, arguing that subsequent developments -- including an apology by U.S. House Democrats who toured the island, a New York Times advertisement in which 110 Britons apologised to Reagan, the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting's refusal to condemn the intervention, the full U.S. withdrawal of forces, and a Grenadian petition for continued U.S. association -- have vindicated his earlier support for the action, contrary to a Congress(I) resolution in Calcutta condemning the 'overthrow of the Communist tyranny in Grenada.' - Masani responds to a Congress(I) party resolution in Calcutta condemning the Grenada intervention by listing facts he says vindicate his earlier support. - He cites House Speaker Thomas P. O'Neill's reversal, from opposing to endorsing Reagan's Grenada action after touring the island. - He notes a New York Times advertisement in which 110 Britons, including Conservative MPs, apologised to Reagan for earlier British criticism. - He notes the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in New Delhi refused to condemn the intervention, and that U.S. forces have since fully withdrawn. - He reports that thousands of Grenadian citizens signed a petition seeking continued U.S. association for stability and protection from Soviet/Cuban influence. ### As I See It *By Minoo Masani* K. S. Venkateswaran's editorial 'Calling UNESCO's Bluff' defends the Reagan Administration's December 1983 decision to withdraw the U.S. from UNESCO, arguing the move was well-considered (following a State Department review of 96 international organisations) and citing a Times of London editorial and a Heritage Foundation study accusing UNESCO of wasting money, promoting a 'new world information and communications order' as cover for authoritarian control of media, and inadvertently aiding 'Marxist guerilla-terrorist groups.' The piece concludes the U.S. has left the door open to reconsider if UNESCO reforms before the year's end. - The withdrawal followed a State Department review of U.S. participation in 96 international organisations. - A Times of London editorial is quoted calling UNESCO's activities wasteful and its 'new world information and communications order' a cover for authoritarian control of information. - A Heritage Foundation U.N. Assessment Programme study is cited claiming the U.S. inadvertently supports 'Marxist guerilla-terrorist groups' through the U.N. and that KGB agents hold high U.N. positions. - The editorial frames the withdrawal as an act of 'courage and decisiveness' by the Reagan Administration. - It notes Washington signalled willingness to reconsider if UNESCO reformed before the end of the year. ### Freedom First Foundation Launched A short news item reports the inaugural function of the Freedom First Foundation, held 10 January 1984 at the Indian Merchants' Chamber Committee Room in Bombay under the chairmanship of M. R. Masani, with a programme titled '1984: A Tribute to George Orwell' featuring lectures by Nissim Ezekiel and P. G. Mavalankar. Masani outlined the Foundation's mission as a non-partisan educational charitable trust promoting the values of a free society through lectures, seminars, and publications; Ezekiel eulogised Orwell as a sceptic and master of English prose whose invention of 'Newspeak' illuminated language's role in self-deception; Mavalankar argued Orwell's message was that totalitarianism, while not inevitable, must be actively resisted. - The Freedom First Foundation held its inaugural function on 10 January 1984 at the IMC Committee Room, Bombay, chaired by M. R. Masani. - The programme, titled '1984: A Tribute to George Orwell,' featured lectures by Nissim Ezekiel and P. G. Mavalankar (Director, Harold Laski Institute, Ahmedabad). - Masani described the Foundation as a non-partisan educational and charitable trust for promoting the values and ideals of a free society. - Ezekiel praised Orwell's precision and his understanding of language's role in self-deception, citing 'Newspeak.' - Mavalankar argued Orwell's central message was that totalitarianism can be resisted with courage, drawing relevance to recent events in India and abroad. ### A Letter (on "Rescue, Not Invasion", re: Grenada) *By Satish J. Shah* A reader's letter from Satish J. Shah of Bombay disputes Minoo Masani's earlier article 'Rescue, Not Invasion' (FF, Dec. 1983), arguing that India is not comparable to Grenada in scale, and that the U.S. intervention was motivated by opportunism and self-interest rather than principle, citing the CIA-backed 1973 coup against Chile's elected Marxist government as a precedent for scepticism about U.S. motives, and speculating that mineral or oil resources near Grenada may explain the intervention. - The letter-writer rejects Masani's comparison between a hypothetical Indian scenario and Grenada, noting Grenada's entire population could fit in Bombay's Brabourne and Wankhede stadia. - He argues disclosures show the U.S. had contemplated the attack and held military exercises in preparation before Maurice Bishop's death. - He cites the 1973 CIA-linked overthrow of Chile's elected Marxist government as an example of U.S. opportunism disguised as principle. - He speculates that oil or mineral discovery near Grenada might explain the U.S. action and predicts multinational companies will be given rights to exploit it. - A note indicates Masani's reply to this line of argument appears elsewhere in the same issue (page 5). ### Book Review: Afghanistan Will Not Die by S. K. Bain *By M. B. Shah* A book review by M. B. Shah of S. K. Bain's 'Afghanistan Will Not Die' (1982) praises the book's account of the Soviet invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, describing Soviet economic exploitation (gas exports, gemstone expropriation, forced cotton cultivation), Mujahedin resistance controlling most rural and urban areas, and heavy Afghan and Soviet casualties, while criticising the Indian government for failing to denounce the invasion despite its threat to regional security. - The review describes the book's account of the 1979 Soviet invasion, the killing of Hafizullah Amin, and the installation of Babrak Karmal. - It cites Soviet economic exploitation: gas priced far below international rates, expropriation of 275 tons of lapis lazuli, and forced conversion of Afghan agriculture to cotton. - It reports Mujahedin control of roughly 90% of urban and rural areas versus Soviet control of about 10%. - Casualty figures cited: roughly 8,000 Russian casualties (2,000 dead, 6,000 wounded) by March 1982, versus 3 lakh Afghan dead, 7 lakh wounded/disabled, and 35 lakh refugees. - The review criticises the Indian government for failing to denounce the Soviet invasion despite India's security being 'vastly endangered.' ### Cultural Roundabout *By S. I. Clerk* A 'Cultural Roundabout' column by S. I. Clerk reviews the NCPA-sponsored theatre production of Jean Kerr's 'Mary Mary' directed by Adi Marzban with Hosi Vasunia and Ruby Patel, and a chamber music soiree by the New London Wind Trio (Neil Black, Roger Birnstingl, Keith Puddy) at the Tata Theatre, covering works by Mozart, Telermann, Beethoven, Henri Tomasi, Jean Francaix, Alan Ridout, Malcolm Arnold, and Jacques Ibert. - The 'Mary Mary' review praises the cast's naturalism and Adi Marzban's direction, calling the plot 'entirely predictable' but well executed. - The New London Wind Trio concert at the Tata Theatre featured eight pieces of German, French, and English chamber music. - Highlighted pieces include Mozart's Divertimento No. 5, Beethoven's Duo No. 3, and Jacques Ibert's Five Pieces for Reed Trio. - The concert was co-sponsored by the British Council, the NCPA, and the Hongkong Bank. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff373/ ### Summary This is the March 1984 issue (No. 373, 32nd year of publication) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based monthly journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran. The issue opens with an editorial account of the persecution of Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov and his wife Yelena Bonner, followed by Minoo Masani's regular "As I See It" column touching on Farooq Abdullah and Kashmir politics, Queen Elizabeth's Commonwealth Christmas broadcast and its economic-egalitarian assumptions, Ronald Reagan's re-election bid and Cold War posture, and the constitutionality of the government broadcasting monopoly over All India Radio and Doordarshan. A historical piece by Aloo Dalal profiles the philanthropist Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy and his role in building civic and educational institutions in colonial Bombay. Dr. Otto Count Lambsdorff, the West German economics minister, contributes a piece on protectionism and competing state-versus-market visions of world trade. S. I.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the March 1984 issue (No. 373, 32nd year of publication) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based monthly journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran. The issue opens with an editorial account of the persecution of Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov and his wife Yelena Bonner, followed by Minoo Masani's regular "As I See It" column touching on Farooq Abdullah and Kashmir politics, Queen Elizabeth's Commonwealth Christmas broadcast and its economic-egalitarian assumptions, Ronald Reagan's re-election bid and Cold War posture, and the constitutionality of the government broadcasting monopoly over All India Radio and Doordarshan. A historical piece by Aloo Dalal profiles the philanthropist Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy and his role in building civic and educational institutions in colonial Bombay. Dr. Otto Count Lambsdorff, the West German economics minister, contributes a piece on protectionism and competing state-versus-market visions of world trade. S. I. Clerk reviews Bombay's cultural scene (a Shavian stage adaptation of Saint Joan and an international dance encounter) and also reviews two books, alongside a review by Komala Sarathy of The Book of Lech Walesa. The issue closes with a reader's letter on the Society for the Right to Die with Dignity, a correction notice, publisher/subscription details, and the regular "With Many Voices" page of quoted aphorisms from the world press. ## Essays ### The Agony of Andrei Sakharov *By K. S. Venkateswaran* K. S. Venkateswaran's editorial piece recounts the continued persecution of Nobel laureate physicist Andrei Sakharov, held in internal exile in Gorki since 1980, and the escalating KGB harassment of his wife Yelena Bonner, including surveillance, threats, and the disconnection of their telephone after her heart attack. The piece cites Sakharov's own smuggled letters and appeals published in The Observer and The New York Times, notes Soviet official Vitaly Ruben's claim that Sakharov was mentally ill, and closes by quoting a Times (London) editorial on how Sakharov's dissent strips away the self-satisfaction of Soviet leaders. - Sakharov has lived in enforced exile in Gorki for nearly four years as of March 1984. - Yelena Bonner has become the target of sustained KGB intimidation, including threats delivered by an officer claiming KGB identity at 5:30 a.m. - Bonner suffered a severe myocardial infarction in April 1983, reportedly followed by further attacks, amid continued denial of medical access. - Soviet official Vitaly Ruben asserted Sakharov was mentally ill and that his exile was for his own 'peace of mind' and out of 'humane considerations'. - Western scientists, including Philip Handler of the US National Academy of Sciences, threatened to sever scientific exchanges with the USSR over the treatment of Sakharov. - The piece closes with a Times (London) editorial framing Sakharov's dissent as unmasking the moral bankruptcy of Soviet Communist rule. ### As I See It *By Minoo Masani* Minoo Masani's regular column ranges across four items: praise for Jammu & Kashmir Governor B. K. Nehru for reportedly threatening to resign rather than dismiss the Farooq Abdullah ministry; a rebuttal of Queen Elizabeth's Christmas Commonwealth broadcast, which Masani (echoing the London Times) criticises for assuming a 'gap' between rich and poor nations and for embracing an egalitarian view that redistribution of income is an end in itself; a defence of President Reagan's re-election bid and his hardline Cold War posture towards the Soviet Union, crediting Reagan's firmness (not Andropov's 'moderation') for movement on nuclear arms talks; and support for a Andhra Pradesh High Court ruling that the government monopoly over All India Radio and Doordarshan is unconstitutional under Article 19(1)A. - Masani praises J&K Governor B. K. Nehru for standing up to New Delhi's attempts to topple the Farooq Abdullah government. - Masani, citing Michael Hamlyn's profile in the London Times, calls Farooq Abdullah 'attractive' and 'ebullient' and backs his position after a vote of confidence in the Assembly. - Masani criticises Enoch Powell's claim that the Queen's Commonwealth speech reflected only ministerial advice, while separately criticising the substance of the Queen's remarks on global economic inequality as naive. - He argues there is no genuine 'gap' between rich and poor nations, only a continuous range of per capita incomes, and rejects the premise that equality of opportunity should produce equality of income. - He credits President Reagan's firmness for prompting apparent Soviet flexibility (Andropov's 'Russia ready for dialogue' statement) on missile talks, arguing this is being wrongly credited to Andropov's moderation instead. - He endorses Justice P. A. Choudary's Andhra Pradesh High Court view that the government broadcasting monopoly (AIR/Doordarshan) is unconstitutional, and calls for the Supreme Court to rule on the matter. ### Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy And The City of Bombay *By Aloo Dalal* Aloo Dalal's historical essay profiles Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy (1783-1859), the Parsi merchant whose fortune, built through hazardous trade voyages to China, funded much of colonial Bombay's civic and educational infrastructure. The essay traces his rags-to-riches trajectory, his philanthropic model of wealth as a 'trust' anticipating Gandhian trusteeship, his sponsorship of girls' education among Parsees, the founding of the J. J. School of Art and J. J. Hospital, his funding of the Poona causeway and waterworks, and his political role as an early advocate for Indian representation and honorary president of the Bombay Association. - Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, born 1783 in Navsari to an impoverished weaver family, built a fortune through hazardous China trade voyages between 1800 and 1808. - He treated wealth as a 'trust' for the benefit of the poor, a view the essay likens to Gandhi's later theory of trusteeship. - By 1850 he had started girls' schools in Bombay in the face of orthodox opposition, and by the turn of the century more than 75 per cent of Parsee women were educated as a result of his institutions. - He founded the J. J. School of Art (1857), later divided into three branches, and endowed the J. J. Hospital, the first civilian hospital in Bombay. - He funded major public works including the Poona Bund and waterworks and the Mahim-Bandra causeway (with his wife Lady Jamsetjee funding the approach road) after a fatal 1841 ferry disaster. - He petitioned the British House of Commons for Indians' right to serve as jurors and be appointed Justices of the Peace, and became honorary president of the Bombay Association when it was formed in 1852. ### Two Views of the World Market *By Dr. Otto Count Lambsdorff* West German economics minister Dr. Otto Count Lambsdorff argues that the world faces a fundamental choice between treating the world market as an arena for competition among individual companies versus one for competition among national economies pursuing industrial policy. He warns against government-directed 'industrial targeting' and 'laser beaming' of favoured sectors, arguing such strategies provoke retaliatory protectionism and could sever the industrialised countries from the Third World's trade and debt interests, and calls instead for strengthening GATT and pursuing positive adjustment policies. - Lambsdorff frames a choice between viewing world trade as competition among companies (fair, rules-based) versus among national economies (state-subsidised industrial policy). - He warns that when governments coordinate whole industrial sectors under 'administrative guidance' against foreign markets, industrial structures are dramatically and quickly altered. - EEC-Japan trade tensions are cited as a reflection of such state-directed industrial targeting strategies. - He argues a spiral of retaliatory protectionism would harm all parties, including the initiators, and could sever industrialised countries' trade ties from the Third World, worsening debt problems. - He calls for strengthening GATT and pursuing a 'positive adjustment policy' instead of defensive growth strategies. ### Cultural Roundabout *By S. I. Clerk* S. I. Clerk's cultural column reviews a Bombay stage production of Hosi Vasunia's Saint Joan (praising Scheherzade Mody's title performance and the design team, alongside performances by Homi Daruwala, Vijay Crishna, and Vasunia himself), and reports on two January 1984 cultural events: the third 'East-West Dance Encounter' co-organised by Max Mueller Bhavan and the NCPA at the Little Theatre and Tata Theatre, featuring Indian classical dancers (Yamini Krishnamurti, Sonal Mansingh, Mrinalini Sarabhai's troupe and others) alongside Western dancers and cross-cultural experimental pieces by Uttara Asha Coorlawala and Astad Deboo; and a folk-music evening, 'The Boys of the Lough', presented by the Bombay Madrigal Singers' Organisation and NCPA. - Hosi Vasunia's production of Shaw's Saint Joan is praised for capturing both the play's ethos and its Shavian wit, with sets by Urshila Kerkar and Arti Joshi and lighting by Alyque Padamsee. - Scheherzade Mody's performance in the title role is singled out as central to the play's success. - The 'East-West Dance Encounter' (its third edition, after music in 1983 and philosophy in November) paired Indian classical dance forms (Bharata Natyam, Odissi, Chhau, Kathak) with Western dancers and hybrid pieces. - Uttara Asha Coorlawala's 'Winds of Shiva' and Astad Deboo's 'Mangalore Street' are highlighted as notable East-West assimilation experiments. - 'The Boys of the Lough', a four-piece traditional Scottish/Irish folk act, performed at the Tata Theatre to an audience that participated enthusiastically. ### Book Reviews: The Book of Lech Walesa; Voices of Emergency: An All India Anthology of Protest Poetry of the 1975-77 Emergency *By Komala Sarathy; S. I. Clerk* Two book reviews appear on pages 13-14. Komala Sarathy reviews The Book of Lech Walesa (Penguin), a collective portrait of the Polish Solidarity leader, praising his diligence, truthfulness, restraint and non-violent approach while situating his movement within the longer Polish struggle against Russian dominance. S. I. Clerk reviews Voices of Emergency: An All India Anthology of Protest Poetry of the 1975-77 Emergency (ed. John Oliver Perry, Popular Prakashan), finding the roughly 280-poem, 14-language anthology politically significant as evidence that the Emergency could not suppress dissent, but criticising its literary quality and indiscriminate inclusion of substandard verse. - The Book of Lech Walesa is described as a 'collective portrait' emphasising Walesa's broad-based, non-narrow trade-union vision for Polish society. - The review highlights Walesa's restraint and rejection of strikes as an unavoidable tactic, preferring alternatives such as worker expropriation of output without state benefit. - The review situates the Solidarity movement within the centuries-old Polish struggle against Russian dominance, cautioning that its stated aims are limited to liberalisation, not full break with the Soviet Union. - Voices of Emergency collects about 280 poems from 14 regional languages plus English, with a foreword by David Selbourne, preface by John Oliver Perry, an introduction by K. Ayyappa Paniker, and a postscript on the Emergency by Aloo Dastur. - Clerk criticises the anthology for prioritising political over literary criteria, noting the inclusion of poems by both A. B. Vajpayee and Jayaprakash Narayan, and judges many included poems substandard. ### A Letter (Society for the Right to Die with Dignity) *By M. R. Masani, Chairman, Society for the Right to Die with Dignity* M. R. Masani, writing as Chairman, publicises the Society for the Right to Die with Dignity, established in May 1981 as India's first such body, affiliated with the World Federation of Right to Die Societies. The letter clarifies the Society advocates voluntary euthanasia (not mercy killing), describes two draft bills it has prepared (to decriminalise attempted suicide under IPC Section 309, and to protect physicians assisting voluntary euthanasia for the terminally ill), and cites Vinoba Bhave and Arthur Koestler as examples of voluntary death by refusing treatment. - The Society for the Right to Die with Dignity was founded in May 1981 as India's first organisation of its kind, affiliated with the World Federation of Right to Die Societies. - It sponsored the Bombay production of Whose Life Is It Anyway? and an Indian premiere event attended by the Governor of Maharashtra in September 1983. - The Society has drafted two bills: one to delete IPC Section 309 (criminalising attempted suicide), another to protect physicians/surgeons assisting voluntary euthanasia for the terminally ill. - The letter explicitly distinguishes voluntary euthanasia from mercy killing. - Vinoba Bhave and Arthur Koestler are cited as recent examples of individuals who chose to refuse medication/sustenance at the end of life. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff374/ ### Summary This is issue No. 374 of Freedom First (April 1984, Rs. 2), the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran, published for the Democratic Research Service. The issue opens with the first instalment of Vladimir Voinovich's first-person account (carried courtesy Radio Liberty) of his years-long persecution and expulsion from the USSR Union of Writers, illustrating the precariousness of freedom of expression in the Soviet Union. Founder M. R. Masani's regular column 'As I See It' (reprinted from The Statesman) attacks the 1984 Union Budget's tax and deficit-finance burden, contrasts it with Margaret Thatcher's low-tax approach in Britain, reports on Nani Palkhivala's budget speech at the Forum of Free Enterprise, and argues for winding up LIC's life-insurance monopoly.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 374 of Freedom First (April 1984, Rs. 2), the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran, published for the Democratic Research Service. The issue opens with the first instalment of Vladimir Voinovich's first-person account (carried courtesy Radio Liberty) of his years-long persecution and expulsion from the USSR Union of Writers, illustrating the precariousness of freedom of expression in the Soviet Union. Founder M. R. Masani's regular column 'As I See It' (reprinted from The Statesman) attacks the 1984 Union Budget's tax and deficit-finance burden, contrasts it with Margaret Thatcher's low-tax approach in Britain, reports on Nani Palkhivala's budget speech at the Forum of Free Enterprise, and argues for winding up LIC's life-insurance monopoly. Peter Sager (courtesy Swiss Press Review and News Report) reports from a visit to Sandinista Nicaragua, contrasting the regime's official narrative of reform and non-alignment with what he found: continued militarisation, restrictions on emigration, censorship of the opposition paper Prensa, and an internal Sandinista document candidly avowing a Marxist-Leninist path to socialism. A 'Cultural Roundabout' column by S. I. Clerk reviews a Rosalind Solomon photography exhibition on Indian festivals and a retrospective of sculptor Pilloo Pochkhanawala. Book review pages cover the World Bank's World Development Report 1983 (reviewed by Prof. B. P. Adarkar) and Alvin Toffler's The Third Wave (reviewed by Gayatri Jayant, who reads it as heralding a 'neo-Gandhism' to replace Marxism). The issue closes with a page of quotations from the world press ('With Many Voices') and publisher notices/subscription information. ## Essays ### Ten Years On *By Vladimir Voinovich* Vladimir Voinovich narrates, in the first person, the circumstances of his expulsion from the USSR Union of Writers on (probably) February 20, 1974, and the years of harassment that preceded it. He describes the Soviet authorities' tactic of erasing him from public existence -- banning his books, stripping his name from broadcasts and print, and pressuring him to recant his 1968 signature on a letter defending dissident writers Ginzburg, Galanskov, Lashkova, and Dobrovol'sky. The account (continued from page 2 on pages 7-8) details two secretariat sessions of the Moscow Union of Writers at which colleagues -- including KGB-linked officials -- pressed him to disavow his novel (referred to obliquely as anti-Soviet, anti-popular, and 'written on the orders of the CIA'), an ordeal that ended with a formal reprimand rather than expulsion, followed a year later by publication abroad of Chonkin and a second, 'final' warning in December 1970. The excerpt ends noting a second instalment will run in the next issue. - Voinovich was expelled from the USSR Union of Writers around February 20, 1974, though the exact proceedings were never disclosed to him. - The authorities' preferred tactic was total erasure: banning his books, refusing to print his name, and instructing editors/censors to cease all mention of him. - His plays 'Khochu byt chestnym' and 'Dva tovarishcha' were pulled from some 50 theatres, risking punishment of actors uninvolved in his 'offense.' - The persecution intensified after he refused, under pressure from Moscow Party Secretary Anna Shaposhnikova and others, to withdraw his 1968 signature on a letter defending dissident writers. - Two secretariat sessions (1969 and December 1970) probed his 'ideologically damaging' unpublished novel, with KGB-linked figures like Viktor Il'in and colonel Mikhail Bragin present. - Publication abroad (in the emigre journal Grani) of the first part of his novel Chonkin triggered a fresh round of pressure and a 'last warning.' - By late 1972 two of his books were allowed to be published simultaneously, which Voinovich frames as the authorities mistakenly believing they had broken him. - The piece is credited as appearing by courtesy of Radio Liberty; a second instalment is promised for the next issue. ### As I See It *By Minoo Masani* Minoo Masani's column criticises the Union Budget for raising Rs. 230 crores in additional taxation and Rs. 1762 crores in deficit finance, arguing that only a massive cut in wasteful public expenditure -- not more taxation -- could have avoided further inflation. He contrasts this with Margaret Thatcher's low-tax, 'enterprise culture' approach in Britain, reports approvingly on Nani Palkhivala's Forum of Free Enterprise budget speech (and plugs Palkhivala's book We, The People), and closes by arguing that LIC's life-insurance monopoly -- a legacy of C. D. Deshmukh's tenure as Finance Minister under Nehru -- should be abolished in favour of private enterprise and competition. - Masani attacks the Union Budget's combination of higher taxation and deficit financing as continuing two decades of fiscal drift. - He invokes Winston Churchill's description of a socialist society as one 'in which nobody counts for anything except a politician and an official.' - He contrasts India's budget unfavourably with Margaret Thatcher's UK approach of cutting public expenditure to permit lower taxes. - He reports on Nani Palkhivala's widely attended Forum of Free Enterprise speech on the budget and promotes Palkhivala's book We, The People. - He argues the LIC (Life Insurance Corporation) monopoly, created under C. D. Deshmukh to please Nehru, should be broken up in favour of private, competitive insurance. ### Nicaragua: The Official Version and the Real Thing *By Peter Sager* Peter Sager reports on a visit to Sandinista-controlled Nicaragua, contrasting the official version of events given to him by Sub-Comandante Rafael Solis Cerda with the situation he observed. Solis claimed continued private ownership of much of the economy, non-aligned foreign policy, and remedial efforts among the Miskito Indians, but Sager finds the promised 1981 elections still not held, growing militarisation of a country whose army grew from 7,000 to 40,000, restrictions on emigration, and continued repression of the Miskitos despite admitted 'mistakes.' He cites a leaked 1982 internal Sandinista document explicitly describing socialism as a step toward communism, and highlights press censorship targeting the opposition paper Prensa following the 1978 murder of its editor Pedro Joaquin Chamorro Sr. - Sager was received not by junta members but by Sub-Comandante Rafael Solis Cerda, who gave the 'official version' of the Sandinista revolution's progress. - Solis claimed two-thirds of the economy remained in private hands and cited agricultural and educational reforms, while admitting 'mistakes' regarding the Miskito Indians of the Atlantic Coast. - The promised elections within two years of the 1979 revolution have not been held; new electoral law is not expected before 1985, and the opposition threatens a boycott. - The army has grown from 7,000 under Somoza to 40,000, with a further 200,000-strong militia planned, alongside restrictions on university access and emigration. - A leaked internal document (August 1982) analysing the slogan 'Defend the revolution in order to build socialism' explicitly frames socialism as a step toward communism. - Opposition newspaper Prensa faces daily censorship; its former editor Pedro Joaquin Chamorro Sr. was murdered in January 1978, a killing widely attributed to the Somoza regime. ### Cultural Roundabout *By S. I. Clerk* S. I. Clerk's 'Cultural Roundabout' column covers two Bombay exhibitions: a 40-photograph show by American photographer Rosalind Solomon on Indian festivals (shot 1981-82 across Himachal Pradesh, Bengal, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and slated to travel to the Smithsonian in 1985), and a three-decade retrospective of sculptor Pilloo Pochkhanawala's work at the Jehangir Art Gallery, later remounted at the Tata Theatre. - Rosalind Solomon's USIS-organised photography exhibition focused on Indian festivals and social ethos, favouring posed portraits that foreground facial expression over documentary spontaneity. - The exhibition was concurrently shown at the International Museum of Photography, New York, with a 1985 Smithsonian showing planned as part of the Festival of India in the US. - Pilloo Pochkhanawala's retrospective spanned 1954-1984 and around 80 works in varied materials, showing an evolution from 'Metal Scapes' and 'Sea-scapes' toward more metaphysical themes. - The columnist notes Pochkhanawala is also a poet and designer, and suggests her drawings would have deepened the retrospective's presentation of her sculptural work. ### Book Reviews: World Development Report 1983 *By Prof. B. P. Adarkar* Prof. B. P. Adarkar reviews the World Bank's World Development Report 1983, the sixth in its annual series, noting its two parts (recent development trends, and a special section on management and institutional aspects of development). He summarises its findings that the 1982-anticipated recovery did not materialise in 1983, setting back global development 'more decisively than at any time since the Great Depression'; that developing-country debt (estimated at $548 billion in 1982, projected to reach $1,997 billion within a decade) has become a severe burden; and that the Report calls for stimulating growth and curbing population growth. Adarkar criticises the Report for ignoring the distorting effect of the superpowers' armaments expenditure on the global economy and inflation, closing with the question of whether 1984 and beyond will bring 'All Well or Orwell.' - The World Development Report 1983 was prepared by a World Bank team with contributors from the UN, ILO, IMF, and OECD. - The Report states the 1982-anticipated global recovery failed to occur in 1983, setting back development 'more decisively than at any time since the Great Depression.' - Developing-country debt was $548 billion in 1982 and is projected to reach $1,997 billion within ten years; India's international debt is cited at Rs. 23,500 crores, projected to reach Rs. 30,000 crores by 1988-89. - China and India are noted as having weathered the recession with 'encouraging resilience' compared to many low-income African and Asian countries. - Adarkar's central critique is that the Report ignores how superpower armaments expenditure distorts the world economy and fuels non-stop hyperinflation. - The review ends with a rhetorical flourish asking whether 1984 will be a year of 'All Well or Orwell' for developing and developed countries. ### Book Reviews: The Third Wave: Neo-Gandhism in Place of Marxism *By Gayatri Jayant* Gayatri Jayant reviews Alvin Toffler's The Third Wave, describing it as an illuminating analysis of a coming civilisational shift beyond the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions. The review outlines Toffler's forecasts -- a new 'electronic cottage' economy, decentralised and semi-autonomous governance, de-massified media, and a return to a higher-technology 'cottage industry' -- and frames this vision as a modernised, technologically updated version of Mahatma Gandhi's ideals, concluding that Toffler's 'Neo-Gandhism' will replace Marxism, which the reviewer calls 'totally outdated.' - Toffler's The Third Wave is presented as a sweeping analysis of a civilisational shift following the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions. - The book forecasts the fall of bureaucracies, the reduced role of the nation-state, and the rise of semi-autonomous, post-imperialist economies. - Mass media will be forced to share influence with 'de-massified' localised dailies and periodicals as the Third Wave advances. - The Third Wave is said to revive cottage industry on an 'electronic' basis, echoing but modernising Mahatma Gandhi's vision. - The reviewer concludes that Toffler's vision amounts to a 'Neo-Gandhism' that will supersede Marxism. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff375/ ### Summary This is issue No. 375 of Freedom First (May 1984, Rs. 2), the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran, in its 32nd year of publication. The issue opens with Cushrow Irani's critique of UNESCO's New World Information Order as a cover for Third World and Soviet-bloc governments to legitimize press controls, followed by K. S. Venkateswaran on the Sarah Tisdall Official Secrets Act case in Britain and the resulting debate over press freedom versus state secrecy. Minoo Masani's regular column recounts Arun Shourie's M. N. Roy Memorial Lectures exposing wartime collusion between the Communist Party of India's leadership and British colonial authorities during the 1941-45 'People's War' period. The second and final instalment of Vladimir Voinovich's memoir describes his persecution by the Soviet Writers' Union bureau, culminating in his effective break from the Union. Shorter items include a cultural review of a Bombay stage production of 'All the King's Men,' a roundup of quotable press excerpts ('With Many Voices'), and a brief obituary for Shantilal H. Shah.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 375 of Freedom First (May 1984, Rs. 2), the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran, in its 32nd year of publication. The issue opens with Cushrow Irani's critique of UNESCO's New World Information Order as a cover for Third World and Soviet-bloc governments to legitimize press controls, followed by K. S. Venkateswaran on the Sarah Tisdall Official Secrets Act case in Britain and the resulting debate over press freedom versus state secrecy. Minoo Masani's regular column recounts Arun Shourie's M. N. Roy Memorial Lectures exposing wartime collusion between the Communist Party of India's leadership and British colonial authorities during the 1941-45 'People's War' period. The second and final instalment of Vladimir Voinovich's memoir describes his persecution by the Soviet Writers' Union bureau, culminating in his effective break from the Union. Shorter items include a cultural review of a Bombay stage production of 'All the King's Men,' a roundup of quotable press excerpts ('With Many Voices'), and a brief obituary for Shantilal H. Shah. The issue is heavily interspersed with commercial advertisements (Godrej, Raymond's, Sundaram Finance, Hindustan Construction, textile mills, etc.). ## Essays ### UNESCO and the New World Information Order *By CUSHROW IRANI* Cushrow Irani argues that UNESCO has for a decade let itself be used by Soviet-bloc and Third World governments to make curbs on the free press respectable, under the banner of a 'New World Information Order.' He rejects the claim that Western wire agencies (Reuters, AP, AFP, UPI) monopolize world news, contrasts them with the government-controlled Tass and the Non-Aligned News Agencies Pool, and criticizes India's role in hosting and diplomatically shielding the Namedia conference. He walks through UNESCO's shifting positions on 'commercialisation of the media,' a proposed 'right of access' to the press, and a new-minted 'right to communicate' that could be used to justify abridging press freedom as a mere 'derivative' right. He closes by welcoming the United States' decision to withdraw from UNESCO at year's end and urges Britain and West Germany to threaten the same unless UNESCO recommits to press freedom over government control of information. - UNESCO's formulations on the media are said to give philosophical cover to Third World and Communist governments suppressing press freedoms. - Irani disputes the 'monopoly' charge against Reuters, AP, AFP and UPI, noting they compete for custom, unlike Tass. - The Namedia (Non-Aligned Movement Media) conference in Delhi, sponsored by the Government of India, is criticized as politically motivated. - UNESCO's 'right to communicate' syllogism is presented as a mechanism to demote press freedom from a right to an abridgeable derivative. - The article endorses the U.S. withdrawal from UNESCO and calls on Britain and West Germany to consider the same. ### The Tisdall Affair *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* K. S. Venkateswaran examines the public outcry over the conviction and jailing of Sarah Tisdall, a junior Foreign Office clerk who leaked confidential information about the arrival of Cruise missiles at Greenham Common, under Britain's Official Secrets Act, Section 2. He surveys reactions ranging from Times correspondents condemning the harshness of her sentence to others insisting she got what she deserved, and quotes the sentencing judge's rationale that any custodial leniency would fail to deter future leaks. Venkateswaran concludes that while Tisdall's appeal to conscience was genuine, the case does not fit the classic 'mole' pattern of ideological or paid espionage, and that the episode has reignited the long-running debate over reforming the Official Secrets Act. - Sarah Tisdall was jailed for leaking Foreign Office documents on Cruise missile deployment to Greenham Common. - Her case is described as the first custodial sentence under Official Secrets Act Section 2 in a decade. - Public reaction in The Times ranged from outrage at the harshness of the sentence to approval of it. - The sentencing judge argued leniency would fail to deter others in possession of classified material. - The case reinvigorated debate on reforming Britain's official secrecy law. ### As I See It *By MINOO MASANI* In his regular 'As I See It' column, Minoo Masani describes reconnecting with Arun Shourie, whose two M. N. Roy Memorial Lectures in Bombay ('Ideology as an Obstacle') drew large audiences. Shourie, drawing on newly declassified National Archives documents, detailed correspondence between P. C. Joshi (CPI General Secretary) and Sir Reginald Maxwell (Home Member of the Viceroy's Council) allegedly showing the Communist Party's wartime collusion with British authorities against the 1942 Quit India movement and Subhas Chandra Bose's Azad Hind Fauj. Masani notes that he had documented similar CPI wartime conduct in his own 1954 book on the Communist Party of India, based on a 1946 confidential interview given by former CPI Central Committee member S. S. Batlivala. Masani praises Shourie's research, calls E.M.S. Namboodiripad's denial of the episode a 'cold-blooded lie,' and criticizes the Janata Party and PUCL for continuing to associate with the CPI. - Masani recounts meeting Arun Shourie again after twenty years, following Shourie's well-attended M. N. Roy Memorial Lectures in Bombay. - Shourie's lectures used c. 800 National Archives documents to argue the CPI collaborated with British colonial authorities during the 1941-45 'People's War' period. - Masani corroborates this with his own 1954 book on the Communist Party of India and a 1946 Batlivala interview alleging CPI-Home Department collusion. - Batlivala's letter charged P. C. Joshi with supplying CID with information against 1942 movement activists and Azad Hind Fauj sympathizers. - Masani calls E.M.S. Namboodiripad's denial a 'cold-blooded lie' and faults the Janata Party and PUCL for continued association with Communist parties. ### Ten Years On *By Vladimir Voinovich* In the second and final instalment of his memoir (the first appeared in the April 1984 issue), Vladimir Voinovich recounts his escalating conflicts with the Soviet Writers' Union in 1973-74, including run-ins with KGB Colonel Ivan'ko, his signing of a joint letter defending Andrei Sakharov and Solzhenitsyn, and a December 1973/February 1974 disciplinary meeting of the prose writers' bureau chaired by Georgii Radov, where colleagues denounced him for his novel Chonkin and for anti-Soviet correspondence. Voinovich describes the meeting's theatrical hostility, his own defiant refusals to answer or attend further proceedings, and his declaration that he no longer recognized the Union's authority over him, feeling for the first time that his soul had escaped their control. The instalment ends with his arrest scare via a 2 a.m. phone call from a Reuters correspondent. - Voinovich describes KGB Colonel Ivan'ko's attempt to seize his apartment and his own escalating acts of dissent through 1973 (Grani submission, Sakharov/Solzhenitsyn defense letter, Chonkin's Western publication). - A bureau meeting of the prose writers' association, chaired by Georgii Radov, was convened to examine Voinovich's 'personal case' amid the expulsions of Chukovskaya and Solzhenitsyn. - Colleagues including Berezko, Amlinsky, and Brovman denounced Voinovich in a session he describes as theatrical and hostile. - Voinovich refused to answer questions, calling the proceedings illegal, and declared he no longer acknowledged the Union's authority or reprimands. - The meeting concluded with a unanimous vote recommending Voinovich's expulsion from the Union of Writers; he describes feeling his 'soul' had escaped their control. - The piece ends with a 2 a.m. phone call from a Moscow Reuters correspondent asking if Voinovich had been arrested. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff376/ ### Summary This is issue No. 376 of Freedom First (June 1984, Rs. 2, 32nd year of publication), edited by K. S. Venkateswaran and founded by M. R. Masani. The issue's lead piece reports on a Freedom First Foundation workshop, "How Businessmen Can Enrich Public Life," held in Bombay on April 24, 1984, with panelists N. A. Palkhivala, Viren Shah, M. R. Pai, and Minoo Masani arguing that businessmen have civic obligations beyond profit-making. K. S. Venkateswaran contributes a piece on threats to judicial independence (low judicial salaries, the "committed judiciary" doctrine, and mass transfers of judges). Minoo Masani's regular column "As I See It" criticizes Tiny Rowland's interference with the Observer's editorial independence over its Zimbabwe/Matabeleland reporting, and separately dismisses E. M. S. Namboodiripad's defence of the Communist Party's wartime volte-face on World War II. The issue carries book reviews (Sir John Kerr's Australian constitutional-crisis memoir Matters for Judgement, reviewed by Komala Sarathy; Nani Palkhivala's We, The People, reviewed by Venkateswaran) plus shorter notices on books about Delhi, Indian constitutional history, and press law.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 376 of Freedom First (June 1984, Rs. 2, 32nd year of publication), edited by K. S. Venkateswaran and founded by M. R. Masani. The issue's lead piece reports on a Freedom First Foundation workshop, "How Businessmen Can Enrich Public Life," held in Bombay on April 24, 1984, with panelists N. A. Palkhivala, Viren Shah, M. R. Pai, and Minoo Masani arguing that businessmen have civic obligations beyond profit-making. K. S. Venkateswaran contributes a piece on threats to judicial independence (low judicial salaries, the "committed judiciary" doctrine, and mass transfers of judges). Minoo Masani's regular column "As I See It" criticizes Tiny Rowland's interference with the Observer's editorial independence over its Zimbabwe/Matabeleland reporting, and separately dismisses E. M. S. Namboodiripad's defence of the Communist Party's wartime volte-face on World War II. The issue carries book reviews (Sir John Kerr's Australian constitutional-crisis memoir Matters for Judgement, reviewed by Komala Sarathy; Nani Palkhivala's We, The People, reviewed by Venkateswaran) plus shorter notices on books about Delhi, Indian constitutional history, and press law. Regular features round out the issue: a "Cultural Roundabout" theatre column and a "With Many Voices" page of quoted press excerpts. ## Essays ### "Can Businessmen Enrich Public Life"? *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju reports on a Freedom First Foundation workshop titled "How Businessmen Can Enrich Public Life," held in Bombay on April 24, 1984, attended by over seventy businessmen, industrialists, professionals and executives. Four panelists addressed different angles: N. A. Palkhivala argued businessmen have obligations to preserve the environment, serve the community, and participate in public life, and lamented that Indian businessmen court politicians rather than the reverse. Viren Shah spoke on "Parliament and Parties," arguing businessmen must be better informed on public affairs and address their poor public image through substance rather than PR. M. R. Pai addressed businessmen's underuse of the press as a tool for public communication. Minoo Masani, addressing "Active Citizenship," blamed India's stagnation on excessive taxation and controls, invoked the 1965 Delhi Declaration on the Social Responsibilities of Business, and called for a bold business policy alongside a counter-offensive against politicians. - Workshop organised by the Freedom First Foundation in Bombay on April 24, 1984, drew over 70 businessmen and professionals. - Panelists: N. A. Palkhivala, Viren Shah, M. R. Pai, and Minoo Masani. - Palkhivala listed three businessman obligations: environment, community, participation in public life; criticized businessmen currying favour with politicians instead of the reverse. - Viren Shah argued businessmen's poor public image cannot be fixed by PR alone, only by substantive change in behaviour. - M. R. Pai discussed businessmen's failure to use the press effectively, noting a demographic shift toward younger journalists. - Minoo Masani attributed India's economic stagnation to excessive taxation, controls, and concentration of power, and called for a two-pronged business strategy: bold policy plus counter-offensive against politicians. - Masani cited the 1965 Delhi Declaration on the Social Responsibilities of Business as a benchmark businessmen have not lived up to. ### Whither Judicial Independence? *By K. S. Venkateswaran* K. S. Venkateswaran examines threats to judicial independence in India, prompted by a speech given by Supreme Court Justice V. D. Tulzapurkar at Rajahmundry. Tulzapurkar identified low judicial salaries (frozen since 1950 in real terms) as the first disincentive to attracting quality judges, contrasting Indian judicial pay unfavourably with England and Singapore. The piece then discusses the "committed judiciary" doctrine first articulated by Mohan Kumaramangalam in 1973, which Tulzapurkar says has been followed "with a vengeance," and criticizes the government's practice of transferring High Court judges en masse under the guise of public interest. Venkateswaran closes by contrasting Kerr's willingness (per the Book Reviews piece on the same page) to exercise reserve powers against a sitting government with the pliancy of Indian presidents, citing President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed's rubber-stamping of the 1975 Emergency. - Prompted by Justice V. D. Tulzapurkar's speech at Rajahmundry on threats to judicial independence. - Judicial salaries were reduced when the Constitution came into force and have remained frozen at 1950 levels; contrasted with much higher UK and Singapore judicial pay. - Discusses the 'committed judiciary' concept originated by Mohan Kumaramangalam in 1973 and its continued influence on judicial appointments. - Criticizes the Government's policy of transferring High Court judges en masse, allegedly to sideline judges who ruled against it. - Draws a parallel to President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed's compliance during the 1975 Emergency as an example of a 'rubber-stamp' constitutional office-holder. ### As I See It *By Minoo Masani* In his regular column "As I See It," Minoo Masani criticizes Tiny Rowland, chairman of Lonhro and of the Observer's board, for interfering with the paper's editorial independence after it reported on Zimbabwean government atrocities against Ndebele supporters of Joshua Nkomo in Matabeleland. Rowland wrote an apologetic letter to Robert Mugabe and an offensive letter to editor Donald Trelford, then withdrew Lonhro advertising in retaliation, before backing down after the Observer's independent directors censured him. Masani argues that press freedom principles do not bend based on whether the offending power is a Third World government or a former colonial one. In a second item, Masani mocks E. M. S. Namboodiripad's defence of the Communist Party of India's 1941 reversal from calling World War II an 'Imperialist War' to a 'People's War' once the Soviet Union was attacked, noting Namboodiripad has never addressed Arun Shourie's documented charges of wartime treachery against Indian nationalism. - Tiny Rowland (Lonhro, chairman of the Observer) tried to suppress Observer reporting on Zimbabwean government violence in Matabeleland against Joshua Nkomo's supporters. - Rowland wrote a servile apology to Mugabe and an offensive letter to editor Donald Trelford, then withdrew advertising as retaliation before backing down. - The Observer's independent directors censured Rowland for breaching a 1981 agreement on editorial independence. - Masani argues morality on press freedom is not determined by whether the offending regime is Third World or former colonial power. - Masani separately criticizes E. M. S. Namboodiripad for defending the Communist Party of India's 1941 shift from opposing WWII as an 'Imperialist War' to supporting it as a 'People's War,' timed to Moscow's own reversal after Germany invaded the USSR. - Masani references Jayaprakash Narayan's 1941 book Socialist Unity and the Congress Socialist Party, which credited Masani as first to expose the Communists' 'game of disruption and capture.' ### Book Reviews: Matters for Judgement: An Autobiography by Sir John Kerr *By Komala Sarathy* A book review section covering two titles. The first review (unsigned, continuing to page 9 and signed 'Komala Sarathy') covers Sir John Kerr's 1978 autobiography Matters for Judgement, recounting Kerr's 1975 use of reserve powers as Australian Governor-General to dismiss PM Gough Whitlam's government amid a supply crisis, and comparing this to India's pliant presidency during the 1975 Emergency. The second review, by K. S. Venkateswaran, covers Nani Palkhivala's 1984 anthology We, The People, praising Palkhivala's decades-long public education campaign while criticizing readers' indifference and noting one striking omission: the volume lacks any account of Palkhivala's reasoning for accepting Mrs. Gandhi's brief in her 1975 election appeal. - Review of Sir John Kerr's Matters for Judgement (Macmillan, 1978) recounts the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, in which PM Whitlam refused to resign after the Senate blocked supply. - Kerr used reserve powers to dismiss Whitlam and appoint Malcolm Fraser as caretaker PM, who then secured supply and called an election. - The review draws a direct comparison to India in 1975, arguing an Indian President would not have acted as Kerr did, contrasting with Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed's compliance during the Emergency. - Second review (Venkateswaran) covers Palkhivala's We, The People, an anthology of his writings/speeches over three decades organised into four sections. - Venkateswaran praises Palkhivala's prose and analytical clarity but faults readers' civic indifference for the limited impact of his public campaigns. - The review notes a significant omission: no explanation from Palkhivala on why he accepted Mrs. Gandhi's brief in her 1975 Allahabad High Court appeal. ### Book Reviews: We, the People by Nani A. Palkhivala *By K. S. Venkateswaran* An 'In Brief' column of short book notices covering Delhi: A Portrait by Khushwant Singh and Raghu Rai (praised for production quality and Raghu Rai's photography, but criticized as too expensive for wide circulation); Readings in the Constitutional History of India 1757-1947 edited by S. V. Desika Char (praised as an indispensable sourcebook of colonial-era documents); and Introduction to the Constitution of India by Durga Das Basu, 10th edition (criticized as sketchy and pedestrian despite its wide use as a university textbook). - Delhi: A Portrait (Khushwant Singh text, Raghu Rai photographs) is praised for tasteful production but criticized as too expensive for wide circulation. - Readings in the Constitutional History of India 1757-1947 (ed. S. V. Desika Char) is called an indispensable sourcebook collating ~400 documents on British colonial governance. - Durga Das Basu's Introduction to the Constitution of India (10th edn.) is criticized as sketchy and pedestrian despite claims of wide adoption as a university textbook. ### In Brief ... (short book notices: Delhi: A Portrait; Readings in the Constitutional History of India; Introduction to the Constitution of India; Second Chamber of Indian Parliament; Law of the Press in India; Books Received) Continuing book coverage: a review of N. K. Trikha's Second Chamber of Indian Parliament (on the Rajya Sabha's utility, drawing on Trikha's doctoral thesis) and Durga Das Basu's Law of the Press in India, both broadly favourable. A 'Books Received' list follows, noting K. Gupta's Total Revolution and Prem D. Swami Doss's Israel As Seen By An Indian. - N. K. Trikha's Second Chamber of Indian Parliament, based on his doctoral thesis at Meerut University, concludes the Rajya Sabha has played a useful role and could be made more effective with changes to composition, powers, and procedure. - Durga Das Basu's Law of the Press in India is praised as a useful, if not comprehensive, aid for lawyers and journalists, with a large appendix of relevant press legislation. - Books Received list includes Total Revolution by K. Gupta and Israel As Seen By An Indian by Prem D. Swami Doss. ### Cultural Roundabout *By S. I. Clerk* S. I. Clerk's 'Cultural Roundabout' column surveys a month of Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi and English theatre in Bombay and Pune: Vijay Tendulkar's Ghashiram Kotwal (Theatre Academy Pune, at Tata Theatre), the Gujarati production Channas (inspired by One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), the Hindi play Adaa staged by Hum Unit, and Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man staged by Motley Theatre Unit, featuring Naseeruddin Shah and Sony Razdan. - Vijay Tendulkar's Ghashiram Kotwal, presented by Theatre Academy Pune under NCPA aegis, reflects debauchery and corruption under Nana Phadnavis's regime; directed by Jabbar Patel. - Channas, a new Gujarati INT production inspired by One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, exposes inhumane treatment of patients in a mental asylum, starring Paresh Rawal. - Adaa, Hum Unit's latest Hindi play adapted from the Italian Filumena by Dr. Sitanshu Yashashchandra, stars Bhakti Barve and Shafi Inamdar. - Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man, staged by Motley Theatre Unit at Tata Theatre, stars Naseeruddin Shah and Sony Razdan. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff377/ ### Summary This is the 377th issue of Freedom First (July 1984, Rs. 2, 32nd year of publication), the Bombay-based classical liberal journal founded by M. R. Masani and edited in this issue by K. S. Venkateswaran. The issue opens with Venkateswaran's lead essay on the unresolved state of Indian parliamentary privilege law, prompted by the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council's confrontation with the editor of the Telugu daily Eenadu, and argues that decades of drift since the 1950 Constitution have left citizens' free speech vulnerable to legislative bodies acting in a quasi-judicial capacity. Minoo Masani's regular "As I See It" column takes up the Thatcher-Botha invitation controversy and a separate British press-freedom dispute between newspaper proprietors and editors (The Observer, the Daily Express), using both to argue that proprietors, not just editors, have a legitimate stake in editorial direction.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the 377th issue of Freedom First (July 1984, Rs. 2, 32nd year of publication), the Bombay-based classical liberal journal founded by M. R. Masani and edited in this issue by K. S. Venkateswaran. The issue opens with Venkateswaran's lead essay on the unresolved state of Indian parliamentary privilege law, prompted by the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council's confrontation with the editor of the Telugu daily Eenadu, and argues that decades of drift since the 1950 Constitution have left citizens' free speech vulnerable to legislative bodies acting in a quasi-judicial capacity. Minoo Masani's regular "As I See It" column takes up the Thatcher-Botha invitation controversy and a separate British press-freedom dispute between newspaper proprietors and editors (The Observer, the Daily Express), using both to argue that proprietors, not just editors, have a legitimate stake in editorial direction. A feature by Juan Fercsey chronicles the improbable survival of The Grenadian Voice, an independent Grenadian newspaper that published only one issue in its first two and a half years due to repression under the Bishop regime, and situates it within the broader story of Grenada's 1983 crisis. The book review section covers J. B. H. Wadia's biography M. N. Roy—The Man (reviewed by Mary Thomas) and two Indian Law Institute monographs on official secrecy and contempt of court law (reviewed by Venkateswaran), the latter arguing for narrowing Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act and for a public-interest defence in prosecutions. S. I. Clerk's "Cultural Roundabout" column surveys current Bombay theatre, including P. L. Deshpande's Teen Paishacha Tamasha (a Marathi adaptation of Brecht's Threepenny Opera) and Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie. The issue closes with the "With Many Voices" quotations column and a subscription order form. ## Essays ### Parliamentary Privileges: *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* K. S. Venkateswaran's lead essay traces the unsatisfactory state of Indian law on parliamentary privilege, using the 1984 Eenadu Case (in which the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council sought to imprison editor Ramoji Rao for breach of privilege, before the Supreme Court intervened) as its hook. The piece reviews Article 105(3)/194(3) of the Constitution, which left privileges tied to the undefined and uncodified privileges of the House of Commons as of 1950, and criticizes the 42nd Amendment for making things worse by letting privileges be 'evolved' by the legislature itself rather than defined by law. It surveys the 1958 Searchlight Case (fundamental rights held subordinate to privilege by a 4-1 majority, with Justice Subba Rao dissenting) and the partial correction in Keshav Singh's Case, before closing on a suspicious late development: the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council chairman reportedly discussed the Eenadu matter with the Lok Sabha Speaker, Balram Jakhar, raising concerns about external influence on what should be a quasi-judicial proceeding. - The Eenadu Case saw the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council seek a warrant of arrest against editor Ramoji Rao for breach of privilege; the Supreme Court restrained the Council. - Article 105(3)/194(3) tied Indian legislative privileges to the undefined privileges of the House of Commons as they stood on 26 January 1950, pending codification that never happened. - The 42nd Amendment worsened the problem by removing the requirement that privileges be defined 'by law', allowing them instead to be 'evolved' by the legislature. - In the 1958 Searchlight Case, the Supreme Court held 4-1 that parliamentary privilege prevails over the fundamental right to free speech; Justice Subba Rao dissented. - Keshav Singh's Case later held that the rights to personal liberty (Art. 21) and recourse to the Supreme Court (Art. 32) are 'absolute' and not subservient to privilege articles. - A late-breaking development revealed the AP Legislative Council chairman met with Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar to discuss the pending case, raising concerns about improper external influence on a quasi-judicial proceeding. ### As I See It *By MINOO MASANI* Minoo Masani's column opens with the controversy over Margaret Thatcher's invitation to South African Prime Minister P. W. Botha, quoting The Daily Telegraph and The Times at length in defence of Thatcher's position against critics like Liberal leader David Steel, and siding with The Times's view that racial tyranny in South Africa, however repugnant, is less totalizing than Soviet-style tyranny given South Africa's independent courts and partially free press. Masani pivots to a British press-freedom dispute, describing a clash at the Daily Express between its Chairman and Editor over whether to print a reply from miners' leader Arthur Scargill after he compared the paper's editor to Goebels; Masani sides with the Chairman's original refusal, endorsing arguments (via Woodrow Wyatt's Times article) that proprietors, not just editors, have legitimate authority over their papers, since market discipline by readers—not government regulation—is what should keep editors and proprietors honest. - Masani defends Margaret Thatcher's invitation to South African PM P. W. Botha against 'leftist hysteria', citing The Daily Telegraph's argument that Botha's government has been dismantling apartheid structures. - Masani sides with The Times over Liberal leader David Steel, arguing South Africa's system, though racially unjust, allows independent courts and a partly critical press, unlike the 'total tyranny' of the Kremlin. - He invokes the Sakharovs as examples of Soviet tyranny's victims to argue moral equivalence claims against South Africa are overstated. - A separate item covers a Daily Express dispute in which Arthur Scargill compared the paper's editor to Goebels; the editor initially refused to print Scargill's reply and the Chairman backed the editor. - Masani approvingly quotes Woodrow Wyatt's Times article arguing that proprietors have as much legitimate say as editors, and that the market (reader choice), not statutory regulation, is the proper check on both. ### The Grenadian Voice: The New Beginning of a Caribbean Newspaper *By JUAN FERCSEY* Juan Fercsey's feature recounts the extraordinary story of The Grenadian Voice, an independent Grenadian newspaper founded by 26 citizens who each contributed $100, whose first issue appeared on 13 June 1981 and whose second issue was seized and suppressed by Maurice Bishop's People's Revolutionary Government before it could be distributed—creating what the paper itself claimed was a record for 'the longest time between two issues' (nearly two and a half years) of any newspaper. The piece narrates Bishop's 1979 coup against Eric Gairy, the PRG's closure of the paper Torchlight and repeated jailing of journalist Alister Hughes, and then the October 1983 crisis in which Bishop was placed under house arrest and later killed along with education minister Jackeline Creff, followed by US/East Caribbean intervention. The Grenadian Voice resumed publishing on 20 November 1983 with an editorial invoking the motto of West Indian journalist Theophilus Albert Marryshow ('The right alone is right, the wrong is always wrong') and pledging independence from the new PRG-successor government under Governor-General Sir Paul Scoon, while depending on cross-Caribbean solidarity (printing in Trinidad, aid from Barbados and Jamaican colleagues) to keep publishing. - The Grenadian Voice's first issue (13 June 1981) was funded by 26 citizens contributing $100 each; its second issue, prepared for 30 June 1981, was never distributed after PRG forces seized the material and arrested editor-in-chief Leslie Pierre and two shareholders. - Maurice Bishop's New Jewel Movement overthrew Eric Gairy's government on 13 March 1979, the first coup in the English-speaking Caribbean Commonwealth. - Under Bishop, the paper Torchlight was closed and journalist Alister Hughes was repeatedly jailed for years. - Bishop was placed under house arrest on 14 October 1983 (allegedly for plotting against Bernard and Phyllis Coard) and was killed along with education minister Jackeline Creff and others during the crisis; a Revolutionary Military Council briefly seized power. - The Grenadian Voice resumed publication on 20 November 1983, pledging independence from government and no sponsorship of counter-revolution, and adopted the motto of West Indian journalist Theophilus Albert Marryshow. - The paper depends on Caribbean press solidarity: it is printed in Trinidad and shipped back to St. George's in 35 bags of 200 copies each by plane, with help from Barbadian and Jamaican colleagues. - Governor-General Sir Paul Scoon holds full power pending elections, assisted by a nine-member Advisory Council, with continued reliance on the Commonwealth Caribbean Peace-keeping Force for law and order. ### Book Reviews: M. N. Roy - The Man by J. B. H. Wadia *By Mary Thomas* Mary Thomas reviews J. B. H. Wadia's biography M. N. Roy—The Man (Popular Prakashan, Rs. 50), which traces Roy's life from his 1887 birth as Narendranath Bhattacharya through his career as a revolutionary, his founding of the Mexican Communist Party and (per the review) the first Communist Party outside Russia, his meetings with Lenin and later falling-out with Stalin, his imprisonment by the British on return to India, his subsequent presidency-adjacent role in the Congress, his founding of the Radical Democratic Party of India, and his eventual disillusionment with Marxism, leading him to found the Radical Humanist Movement. The review, drawing on Wadia's personal association with Roy from 1937 until his death, praises the book's portrayal of Roy's intellectual range and describes his wife Ellen Roy's central role in his life and work, while noting the book is modestly self-described by its author as 'an incomplete Royana'. - M. N. Roy was born Narendranath Bhattacharya in 1887 and became a revolutionary in India's freedom movement before age fourteen. - Roy founded the Mexican Communist Party and, per the review, the first Communist Party outside Russia; he was invited by Lenin to submit his thesis on 'the Colonial Question' at the Second Comintern Congress in 1920. - Roy's alleged failure in a China mission turned Stalin against him; he escaped to Berlin and later returned to India, where the British jailed him for five years starting in 1931. - After release in 1936 Roy joined the Indian National Congress, later founded the League of Radical Congressmen and then the Radical Democratic Party of India (dissolved 1948), converting it into the Radical Humanist Movement. - Roy defined freedom as 'the progressive removal of all restrictions from the unfolding of human potentialities'. - The review credits Roy's wife Ellen with sustaining him materially and intellectually, noting the book gives her contribution due credit. ### Official Secrecy and the Press / Contempt of Court and the Press (review of two ILI studies) *By K. S. Venkateswaran* K. S. Venkateswaran reviews two Indian Law Institute monographs commissioned for the Press Council of India: Official Secrecy and the Press by S. N. Jain (Rs. 15) and Contempt of Court and the Press by Rajeev Dhawan (Rs. 45). The first study focuses on Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923—modelled on the sweeping English Official Secrets Act of 1911—which criminalizes communication of any official document or information without authorisation, and argues this 'catch-all provision' should be narrowed to specific categories of protected information, with a statutory public-interest defence. The second study on contempt of court argues for reform of the 1971 Contempt of Courts Act while cautioning that courts must retain jurisdiction over 'scandalising the judges', citing occasions like Chief Justice M. H. Beg's contempt proceedings against two newspapers after the Emergency. The review closes on a pessimistic note that the situation regarding press freedom and judicial protection has 'only grown worse' since the cited observations were written. - Both studies were commissioned by the Indian Law Institute for the Press Council of India, prompted partly by the Morarji Desai-Sanjiva Reddy correspondence controversy. - Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, modelled on Section 2 of the UK's 1911 Act, is described as a 'catch-all provision' criminalizing communication of official information without authorisation, with liability extending to recipients. - The Jain study recommends narrowing Section 5 to specific categories of protected information and instituting a statutory public-interest defence in prosecutions. - The Dhawan study on contempt of court supports narrowing disclosure/confidentiality obligations for journalists but argues judges must retain the power to punish 'scandalising the judges'. - The review cites Chief Justice M. H. Beg's initiation of contempt proceedings against two newspapers after the Emergency, later dropped before hearings began, as a historical flashpoint. - Venkateswaran closes pessimistically, noting the state of press freedom and press-judiciary relations has worsened since the studies were written. ### Cultural Roundabout *By S. I. CLERK* S. I. Clerk's 'Cultural Roundabout' column surveys current Bombay theatre. It highlights P. L. Deshpande's Teen Paishacha Tamasha, an adaptation of Brecht's Threepenny Opera presented by Theatre Academy, Pune at the Tata Theatre under NCPA auspices, directed by Jabbar Patel with a cast including rock musician Nandu Bhende, and praised as a brilliant satire on corrupt politicians and blind superstition. It also covers the IPTA production Ek Aur Dronacharya (correlating the Mahabharata's Dronacharya to a modern college principal), Ekjut's Hindi play Sandhya Chhaya (adapted by Kusum Kumar from a Marathi original by Jayant Dalvi, directed by Nadira), and Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie performed by 'Creators' at the Tata Theatre, noting the latter's dialogue was 'rather inaudible' at the reviewed performance. - Teen Paishacha Tamasha, P. L. Deshpande's Marathi adaptation of Brecht's Threepenny Opera, is singled out as the most outstanding current Bombay production, directed by Jabbar Patel. - The IPTA play Ek Aur Dronacharya draws a parallel between the Mahabharata's Dronacharya and a modern college principal, Professor Arvind, who compromises his values for status. - Ekjut's Hindi play Sandhya Chhaya, adapted by Kusum Kumar from Jayant Dalvi's Marathi original and directed by Nadira, is a tear-jerker about an aged couple abandoned by their US-settled son. - Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie (1948), performed by 'Creators' under NCPA auspices, is praised for its dramatic theme but criticized for inaudible dialogue at the performance reviewed. ### With Many Voices (quotations column) The closing 'With Many Voices' column collects short quotations from contemporary press sources on varied topics: colonial freedom (Joshua Nkomo), marriage (La Rochefoucauld), a Reagan quote censored by Chinese authorities, a comment on writing about Thatcher (Ian Aitken), music (Yehudi Menuhin), power (Henry Kissinger), selective condemnation of imperialism (Conor Cruise O'Brien), self-description by Farooq Abdullah, love and age (Edna O'Brien), and a comparison of Marxist economic forecasting to entrail-reading (Swaminathan Aiyar). - The column is a curated set of quotations drawn from Indian and international press between March and May 1984. - Topics range from South African and Rhodesian politics to marriage, music, and Cold War commentary. - Swaminathan Aiyar's quote likens Marxist economic prediction to entrail-reading, predicting 'a sad future for all systems save communism'. - Farooq Abdullah is quoted defending himself against being called a 'gadda' (donkey), instead calling himself a 'diwana' (madcap) who speaks the truth. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff378/ ### Summary This is the August 1984 issue (No. 378, 32nd year of publication) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran. Published in the immediate aftermath of Operation Blue Star, the issue is dominated by reflections on the storming of the Golden Temple and its implications for Sikh communalism, Indian secularism, and press freedom, alongside a substantial book-review symposium on P. T. Bauer's development economics. Contributors include the editor, founder Minoo Masani, and Irish political theorist Conor Cruise O'Brien writing from a comparative perspective on martyrdom and nationalism. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the August 1984 issue (No. 378, 32nd year of publication) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran. Published in the immediate aftermath of Operation Blue Star, the issue is dominated by reflections on the storming of the Golden Temple and its implications for Sikh communalism, Indian secularism, and press freedom, alongside a substantial book-review symposium on P. T. Bauer's development economics. Contributors include the editor, founder Minoo Masani, and Irish political theorist Conor Cruise O'Brien writing from a comparative perspective on martyrdom and nationalism. ## Essays ### The Scourge of Torture *By K. S. VENKATESWARAN* K. S. Venkateswaran's editorial 'The Scourge of Torture' reviews Amnesty International's report 'Torture in the Eighties', covering 98 countries. He highlights Zimbabwe's Mugabe government as a case study in hypocrisy on human rights, quoting the report's account of the torture of MP Wally Stuttaford, then notes that India's own police are cited in the same report for routine custodial brutality. The piece closes on a skeptical note about whether international conventions can meaningfully curb torture where the underlying will to abuse power persists. - Reviews Amnesty International's report 'Torture in the Eighties', covering 98 countries - Report catalogues abuses: electric shocks, prolonged incarceration, beatings, floggings, forced drugging, amputations - Zimbabwe under Mugabe singled out for hypocrisy given his condemnation of predecessor Ian Smith - Quotes report's description of the torture of Wally Stuttaford, a white Zimbabwean MP - Notes India's own police cited by Amnesty for routine brutality and custodial deaths - Concludes that conventions and declarations against torture are 'writ in water' absent genuine will to change ### As I See It *By MINOO MASANI* Minoo Masani's 'As I See It' column condemns press censorship in Punjab following the storming of the Golden Temple, arguing (citing Bernard Shaw) that pre-censorship is always wrong and that blocking a free press only fuels rumour. He cites Ramoji Rao of Eenadu on desertions in the Indian Army arising from press restriction, criticizes Doordarshan and All India Radio for selective and propagandistic coverage compared to foreign outlets like The Times and the New York Times, and objects to Doordarshan's coverage of protests against the BBC. He closes with a personal recollection from his London School of Economics days of expelling two communist students, one of whom, Freda Utlay, later endured the Soviet system's refusal to disclose whether her purged husband was alive, a story he links to the Kremlin's continued silence over the whereabouts of Andrei and Elena Sakharov. - Condemns pre-censorship of the press in Punjab after the Golden Temple storming, invoking Bernard Shaw's arguments against censorship - Cites Ramoji Rao (Eenadu) linking army desertions to lack of a free press on the Punjab situation - Criticizes Doordarshan and All India Radio for one-sided coverage versus foreign press (The Times, Guardian, New York Times) - Questions government's charge that BBC was biased for reporting Dr. Jagjit Singh's remarks - Recounts expelling two communist students from the LSE Labour Party group in the 1930s, including Freda Utlay - Freda Utlay's husband was purged/executed in Stalin's USSR; Soviet authorities refused to confirm his fate - Draws a parallel to the Kremlin's ongoing refusal to disclose the whereabouts of Andrei and Elena Sakharov ### Potent Medicine of the Martyrs *By CONOR CRUISE O'BRIEN* Conor Cruise O'Brien's 'Potent Medicine of the Martyrs' (reprinted courtesy The Observer, London) critiques the claim, made in The Times, that the storming of the Golden Temple was a blow against communalism and a victory for secularism. O'Brien argues it is instead likely to be seen by Hindus as a communal victory, and may push young Sikhs toward nationalism rather than away from it. He draws two extended historical analogies: assimilated European Jews (Herzl) confronting rising anti-Semitism, and Patrick Pearse's 1916 Easter Rising, arguing that Sant Bhindranwale, by seizing the Golden Temple and being killed there, achieved a martyrdom comparable to Pearse's that could sanctify Sikh nationalist insurrection much as Pearse's memory sanctified Irish Catholic separatism. He cautions that analogies have limits (citing Biafra) and expresses sympathy for both Khushwant Singh and for the difficult position of Sikhs generally, concluding that their fate depends on relations with the Indian government, not on Western sympathy. - Disputes The Times' framing of the Golden Temple storming as a defeat for communalism and win for secularism - Argues it is more likely a Hindu-communal victory that could push Sikhs toward nationalism - Compares Sant Bhindranwale's death in the Golden Temple to Patrick Pearse's martyrdom in the 1916 Easter Rising - Argues martyrdom can transform a community's political outlook, citing Pearse's effect on Irish Catholic separatism - Draws a second, more limited analogy to assimilated European Jews (Herzl) confronting anti-Semitism - Notes analogies can mislead, citing the failed Biafra secession as a cautionary parallel - Concludes that Sikhs' fate depends on relations with India's government, not on 'world opinion' or Western sympathy ### Book Reviews: Controversial Lord Bauer — review of Reality and Rhetoric by P.T. Bauer *By B. P. Adarkar* A book-review symposium, 'Controversial Lord Bauer', pairs two reviews of works by development economist P. T. Bauer: B. P. Adarkar reviews 'Reality and Rhetoric' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) and finds it verbose and inconclusive, criticizing Bauer's attacks on Myrdal, Keynes and others as more rhetorical than substantive, though he concedes value in the chapters on Africa. Ashley J. Tellis reviews 'Equality, the Third World and Economic Delusion' (Methuen) far more admiringly, praising Bauer's empirical demolition of egalitarian and foreign-aid orthodoxies, his takedown of the 'population explosion' thesis using the counter-examples of Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore, and his argument that foreign aid often functions as an opiate that entrenches Third World dependency rather than curing poverty. The section closes with a comment from M. R. Masani, who sides substantially with Tellis and Bauer, invoking his own history opposing Nehru's planning model and the Swatantra Party's 1959 manifesto rejecting official aid. - Adarkar's review of 'Reality and Rhetoric' calls it verbose, repetitive, and short on a positive theory of development - Adarkar credits Bauer's chapters on Black Africa/Nigeria with historical detail but finds them light on useful conclusions - Tellis's review of 'Equality, the Third World and Economic Delusion' praises Bauer's critique of egalitarianism and foreign aid as empirically rigorous - Tellis highlights Bauer's demolition of the 'population explosion' myth via Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore - Tellis credits Bauer with arguing aid functions as an opiate, entrenching poverty rather than curing it - Amartya Sen is quoted describing Bauer as 'the foremost conservative' development economist - M. R. Masani's closing comment endorses Bauer/Tellis over Adarkar and recalls the Swatantra Party's 1959 manifesto rejecting official aid ### Book Reviews: Controversial Lord Bauer — review of Equality, the Third World and Economic Delusion by P.T. Bauer *By Ashley J. Tellis* 'With Many Voices' is the issue's closing miscellany of topical quotations drawn from the international press (The Observer, The Times, Indian Express, Pravda, The Economist, International Herald Tribune), touching on Sikkim politics, Ayatollah Khomeini, Soviet life and gender inequality, inflation, and the Afghan resistance. - Compiles topical quotations from The Observer, The Times, Indian Express, Pravda, The Economist and the International Herald Tribune - Includes deposed Sikkim Chief Minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari on Congress (I) corruption - Includes Ayatollah Khomeini quoted on America - Includes commentary on Soviet consumer shortages and lack of sex education - Includes an Economist quip on the Soviet Union 'rolling itself up like a hedgehog' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff379/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 379 (September 1984) is the monthly journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran, published by the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, in its 32nd year of publication. This issue leads with an interview with the freedom fighter and former socialist Achyut Patwardhan, who renounces his earlier Marxist-influenced convictions and calls himself a "repentant socialist," followed by Minoo Masani's regular column on the proposed withdrawal of a common civil code for Goan Muslims and a new anti-terrorism ordinance, Govind Talwalkar's analysis of the army's repeated deployment to quell civil and communal disorder across Indian states, a Delhi Letter column on a PUCL meeting on press censorship, three book reviews (on Raymond Aron's American foreign-policy study, two Bernard Levin essay collections, and a history of the Soviet Union), and a closing page of quotations titled "With Many Voices." In the rendered pages, the volume's argumentative centre is a sustained liberal critique of the Indira Gandhi government's authoritarian drift — reversal of secular civil-code gains, misuse of ordinance powers, and the breakdown of civil admini… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 379 (September 1984) is the monthly journal of liberal ideas founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran, published by the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, in its 32nd year of publication. This issue leads with an interview with the freedom fighter and former socialist Achyut Patwardhan, who renounces his earlier Marxist-influenced convictions and calls himself a "repentant socialist," followed by Minoo Masani's regular column on the proposed withdrawal of a common civil code for Goan Muslims and a new anti-terrorism ordinance, Govind Talwalkar's analysis of the army's repeated deployment to quell civil and communal disorder across Indian states, a Delhi Letter column on a PUCL meeting on press censorship, three book reviews (on Raymond Aron's American foreign-policy study, two Bernard Levin essay collections, and a history of the Soviet Union), and a closing page of quotations titled "With Many Voices." In the rendered pages, the volume's argumentative centre is a sustained liberal critique of the Indira Gandhi government's authoritarian drift — reversal of secular civil-code gains, misuse of ordinance powers, and the breakdown of civil administration that forces reliance on the army. ## Essays ### "I Am a Repentant Socialist" (interview with Achyut Patwardhan) *By Achyut Patwardhan* In an exclusive interview conducted by Sumant Bankeshwar, freedom fighter Achyut Patwardhan disavows being a Marxist or a Gandhian, describing himself instead as a reluctant socialist who now calls himself a "repentant socialist." He recounts his disillusionment with both the promise that independence would end poverty and the promise that socialism would solve India's problems, criticizes the nationalisation of banks and industries as having been captured by the ruling party's own interests, and argues that a country's peasant-proprietors are the true backbone of its economy. He closes by dismissing the selection of political leaders by 'consensus' as a fraud that lets ruling cliques bypass genuine elections. - Patwardhan denies ever having been a true Marxist or Gandhian; calls himself a reluctant socialist and reluctant politician. - He says he was 'cheated twice' — first by the promise of independence, then by the promise of socialism — and now calls himself a 'repentant socialist' who owes the public an apology for propagating half-truths. - He once favoured state control of natural resources and bank nationalisation but says experience showed the state is run by 'a political party' whose interests become those of a 'ruling clique.' - He argues technology, not ideology, is now the main force reshaping society, and that peasant-proprietors are the backbone of the economy. - He criticizes the nationalised banks' 'mass loan melas' as an unscrupulous misuse of the credit system. - He dismisses party leadership selection by 'consensus' as a sham that sidesteps elections, citing the Janata party leadership selection as an example. ### As I See It *By MINOO MASANI* In his regular 'As I See It' column, Minoo Masani protests a move by the Congress (I) government in Goa to withdraw Muslim women's access to the territory's common civil code (a legacy of Portuguese rule) and replace it with Muslim personal law, a change opposed by the newly formed Goa Muslim Women's Association led by Rashida Muzawar. Masani recalls his own long-standing advocacy, since the Constituent Assembly, for a uniform civil code across India, noting he was supported by Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Hansa Mehta, and Dr. Ambedkar but defeated by an all-Hindu majority including Acharya Kripalani and K. M. Munshi. He then turns to a new Ordinance President's-assent Ordinance shifting the burden of proof from prosecution to defence in cases certified as 'terrorism-affected,' calling it undemocratic and hoping the Supreme Court will strike it down, as it did with the 1968 Banks Nationalisation Ordinance. - Goa's Muslim women, led by Rashida Muzawar of the Goa Muslim Women's Association, are campaigning against a Congress (I) move to end the territory's common civil code for Muslims. - Masani cites Chief Justice Y. V. Chandrachud's 1979 praise of Goa's uniform civil code as a precedent worth preserving. - The All India Muslim Personal Law Board is pushing to extend the Shariat Act to Goa and exempt Muslims from compulsory marriage registration. - Masani recounts his own role as a Constituent Assembly Advisory Sub-Committee member arguing (in a minute of dissent) for a uniform civil code within five to ten years, backed by Amrit Kaur, Hansa Mehta and Ambedkar but defeated by an all-Hindu majority. - Masani condemns the new Terrorist Affected Areas (Special Courts) Ordinance 1984 for reversing the presumption of innocence in certified 'disturbed' areas, and hopes the Supreme Court will strike it down as it did the 1968 Banks Nationalisation Ordinance. ### Dangerous Portents *By GOVIND TALWALKAR* Govind Talwalkar's 'Dangerous Portents' traces the growing post-independence pattern of Indian governments deploying the army to handle civil and communal unrest — in Assam, Gujarat, Karnataka, Baroda, Bombay and Bhiwandi — arguing that this reflects the collapse of civil administration and policing rather than a deliberate policy choice. He faults chronic political instability, frequent leadership changes, over-population, black money, smuggling, and political interference in police postings for the deterioration of law and order, and warns that repeated reliance on the army both erodes democratic legitimacy and risks encouraging ambitions within the armed forces. - The army was used heavily in Assam and Punjab, including an incident of Sikh soldiers revolting and trying to reach Amritsar, straining its secular character. - Talwalkar catalogues repeated army deployments for civil unrest: Assam (1980, 1983), Gujarat/Ahmedabad police revolt (1979), Bangalore (1981), Baroda (1982), Bombay police revolt, and Bhiwandi (1984). - He notes the Congress Working Committee itself in 1979 condemned reliance on the army as a sign a government was 'losing its democratic and political legitimacy' — a resolution it later ignored once back in power. - He attributes police failure to over-population, unmanageable city growth, black money, smuggling, and protection of gangsters and slumlords by politicians (citing the Haji Mastan protest in Bhendi Bazar). - Political interference in police appointments, promotions and transfers has demoralised and politicised the force, and intelligence reports are tailored to please those in power. - He warns that frequent use of the army for domestic order is dangerous both because it isn't the army's proper role and because it may inspire ambitions among 'ambitious elements' in the armed forces. ### Delhi Letter *By KOMALA SARATHY* Komala Sarathy's 'Delhi Letter' reports on a PUCL (People's Union for Civil Liberties) meeting on 'Censorship — Overt and Covert' held in Delhi on April 27, addressed by Rajendra Mathur, Soli Sorabjee, O. V. Vijayan and Arun Bose, at which Soli Sorabjee praised Freedom First and Himmat for standing up to censorship during the Emergency. The column also reports the founding of a new organisation, Nav Nirman, by admirers of the late Piloo Mody, and notes the apparent fizzling of an earlier Piloo Mody Memorial Lecture Series and Piloo Mody Trust. - PUCL organised a meeting on censorship in Delhi on April 27, prompted partly by Foreign Office difficulties faced by a Delhi University economics lecturer over his book. - Speakers included Rajendra Mathur (editor, Navbharat Times) on telephone tapping and misuse of censorship powers, Soli Sorabjee on the dangers of wartime censorship powers being misused in peacetime, and O. V. Vijayan and Arun Bose on self-censorship. - Soli Sorabjee praised Freedom First and Himmat for standing up to censorship during the Emergency. - Ironically, the meeting itself faced an apparent attempt to be gagged when a microphone was reportedly unavailable at the last minute. - A new organisation called Nav Nirman was formed by admirers of the late Piloo Mody, convened by Bheem Singh Rathore of Udaipur, while an earlier Piloo Mody Memorial Lecture Series and Piloo Mody Trust appear to have fizzled after a single lecture by C. R. Irani. ### Book Review: The Imperial Republic by Raymond Aron *By M. G. Bailur* M. G. Bailur reviews Raymond Aron's 'The Imperial Republic' (Prentice Hall of India), a study of American foreign policy from the end of World War II to 1973, praising Aron's balance as a scholar who is sympathetic without being uncritical. The review summarises Aron's account of America's shift from post-WWI isolationism to post-WWII global engagement (the Marshall Plan), his caustic view of the Suez crisis, and his thesis that postwar American diplomacy sought to fill the vacuum left by the collapse of Pax Britannica with an approximation of a Pax Americana, while faulting the translation-quality praise given to translator Frank Jellinek. - Aron's study covers American foreign policy from the end of WWII to 1973 and is praised as illuminating and balanced. - The review contrasts America's isolationist retreat after WWI with its full engagement after WWII, crediting the Marshall Plan's success in rebuilding Western Europe. - Aron is described as caustic about the American 'let-down' of allies during the Suez crisis but sympathetic to the constraints imposed by Western Europe's need for American protection. - Aron's central thesis is that postwar American diplomacy sought to fill the vacuum from the collapse of Pax Britannica with something approaching a Pax Americana. - The review closes praising translator Frank Jellinek for unusually lucid prose. ### Book Review: Speaking Up and Enthusiasms by Bernard Levin *By K. S. Venkateswaran* K. S. Venkateswaran reviews two 1983 Bernard Levin collections, 'Speaking Up' and 'Enthusiasms,' praising Levin as the most perceptive and controversial journalist of his time. The review highlights Levin's essay defending the seesaw of freedom against Soviet oppression, his stinging rejoinder in The Times to critics of exposed Soviet spy Anthony Blunt, and 'Enthusiasms' as an unusually personal collection revealing Levin's private passions (opera, Shakespeare, painting, cuisine, travel), closing with regret that the book's high price may deter readers until a paperback edition appears. - Speaking Up (1983) is the sequel Levin promised after his 1979 collection Taking Sides, covering politics, sport, sociology, music and human rights. - The review highlights Levin's essay on the 'seesaw of freedom,' contrasting brave dissidents in the Soviet Union with those in free countries who wish to be relieved of the burdens of liberty. - Levin's rejoinder in The Times defends distinguishing right from wrong even when a 'gifted and distinguished' man like Anthony Blunt is revealed as a Soviet spy. - Enthusiasms (1983) is praised as unusually personal, revealing Levin's passions for opera, Shakespeare, painting, haute cuisine, walking, reading and cities. - The reviewer's only complaint is the prohibitive price, hoping a paperback edition will follow. ### Book Review: A History of Russia by Basil Dmytryshyn *By Dr. M. Muralidhara* Dr. M. Muralidhara reviews Basil Dmytryshyn's 'A History of Russia' (Prentice-Hall of India, 1981), calling it a fact-rich but interpretively thin textbook. The review argues that studying closed, authoritarian societies is inherently difficult given scarce authentic information and history's tendency to be rewritten with each change of regime, citing the shifting historiographical treatment of Stalin and the unresolved debate over whether Mao was a liberator or dictator, and concludes the book is useful for general readers but disappoints specialists for lacking issue-oriented discussion of dissent and Party ideology. - The review frames studying closed/authoritarian societies as inherently difficult due to scarce authentic information and frequent historical rewriting. - It cites Stalin's role being 'redefined so many times' in Russian historiography, and the unresolved debate over whether Mao was a liberator or a dictator. - The book is described as rich in facts about the Soviet Union but lacking objective interpretation or issue-oriented discussion of Party dissent and ideology. - Overall verdict: a good, comprehensive textbook for general readers but disappointing for specialists. ### With Many Voices The closing 'With Many Voices' page is a compilation of short quotations on politics, feminism, censorship and free speech drawn from international press sources dated June-August 1984, including Geraldine Ferraro, Sheila Kennedy, Khushwant Singh, Anne Sofer, Roger Scruton, Katharine Whitehorn and Rupert Murdoch. - Includes Geraldine Ferraro's quote 'A Woman's place is in the White House' from the International Herald Tribune, July 26, 1984. - Attorney Sheila Kennedy criticizes using feminism to justify censorship/book-banning. - Khushwant Singh remarks in Debonair (August 1984) that there is no self-respect left in talking to Indira Gandhi. - Katharine Whitehorn argues fairness requires a check-and-appeals mechanism wherever there is power. - Rupert Murdoch speculates Shakespeare would today be a television scriptwriter for mass audiences. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff380/ ### Summary Freedom First issue 380 (October 1984) opens with editor K. S. Venkateswaran's leader on child malnutrition and health policy failures in India, drawing on a UNICEF report to indict government priorities. Ashley Tellis contributes a sharply argued Cold War polemic, "The Politics of Illusion," attacking the nuclear disarmament movement (GROUND) as naive and dangerous, defending deterrence and the balance of power as the only realistic guarantors of peace. The issue carries an exclusive interview with Juanita Castro, Fidel Castro's estranged sister, conducted by Juan Fercsey in Copenhagen, in which she denounces her brother's regime as a Soviet-aligned dictatorship built on opportunism rather than conviction. A substantial book-reviews section follows: Sharad Bailur reviews Stanley Kochanek's study of Pakistani business-government relations and Ved Mehta's Daddyji/Mamaji family biographies, while C. G. Pradeep Kumar reviews several law and politics titles (public law, administrative law, writ jurisdiction, an American presidential-election primer, and Roger Scruton's Kant) in brief notices.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First issue 380 (October 1984) opens with editor K. S. Venkateswaran's leader on child malnutrition and health policy failures in India, drawing on a UNICEF report to indict government priorities. Ashley Tellis contributes a sharply argued Cold War polemic, "The Politics of Illusion," attacking the nuclear disarmament movement (GROUND) as naive and dangerous, defending deterrence and the balance of power as the only realistic guarantors of peace. The issue carries an exclusive interview with Juanita Castro, Fidel Castro's estranged sister, conducted by Juan Fercsey in Copenhagen, in which she denounces her brother's regime as a Soviet-aligned dictatorship built on opportunism rather than conviction. A substantial book-reviews section follows: Sharad Bailur reviews Stanley Kochanek's study of Pakistani business-government relations and Ved Mehta's Daddyji/Mamaji family biographies, while C. G. Pradeep Kumar reviews several law and politics titles (public law, administrative law, writ jurisdiction, an American presidential-election primer, and Roger Scruton's Kant) in brief notices. The issue closes with "With Many Voices," a page of pointed quotations culled from the contemporary press on Sikh militancy, Arthur Scargill, Kashmir, terrorism, Reagan, and Soviet isolation. A short notice reports on a Freedom First Foundation discussion event held in Delhi on 9 August 1984. ## Essays ### The State of Children *By K. S. Venkateswaran* In this editorial, K. S. Venkateswaran uses a UNICEF report, "An Analysis of the Situation of Children in India," to argue that government policy is failing India's children on a massive scale. He cites the government's withdrawal of tax deductions for rural-development spending as emblematic of a broader gap between developmental rhetoric and action, then marshals statistics on malnutrition, child mortality, school dropout rates, and vaccine-preventable disease to indict the state's record, contrasting it with what private enterprise could achieve if unburdened. - Cites Dr. C. Gopalan's warning that 20 million of 23 million children born in 1983 could be physically or mentally impaired by malnutrition. - Criticises the government for withdrawing tax deduction benefits for rural development spending shortly after the warning. - Draws on a UNICEF report by David Haxton to document India's child welfare crisis with statistics on nutrition, health care, and education access. - Notes rural child mortality of 48.9% versus 38.29% in urban areas, and that over 60% of Indian women suffer anaemia. - Highlights educational attrition: 63.1% of children drop out before completing primary school, 77.1% before middle school. - Argues lack of resources is a false alibi given rising government revenue, and contrasts state failure with the potential of private enterprise, citing lagging vaccine production. ### The Politics of Illusion *By Ashley Tellis* Ashley Tellis attacks the Group for Nuclear Disarmament (GROUND) and the broader anti-nuclear movement as intellectually dishonest and strategically naive. He argues that nuclear deterrence, not disarmament, has preserved the longest peace in European history, and that complete disarmament is both a logical non-starter (requiring an enforcing world government) and destabilising, since asymmetric cheating would be catastrophic. He contends the real threat to peace is aggressive intent, not weapons themselves, and closes by framing deterrence as a moral necessity for defending free political communities. - Opens by situating GROUND within a decades-long history of pacifist and appeasement movements since the World Wars. - Critiques the film Prophecy, screened by GROUND, as one-sided propaganda that ignores the Soviet arsenal while dwelling on US weapons. - Argues complete nuclear disarmament is a 'logical non-starter' since only a world government could enforce it, and such a government would itself need weapons. - Claims a unilateral or asymmetric disarmament scenario would be more dangerous than the current balance of deterrence. - States that aggression, not weapons, causes war, and that N-weapons raise the cost of aggression, thereby preserving peace. - Advocates arms control negotiations with deep, balanced cuts rather than total disarmament as the realistic policy path. - Closes with a moral defence of deterrence as necessary to preserve free political communities, rejecting the choice as being between survival and extinction. ### "Fidel Tried to Kidnap Me" *By Juanita Castro (interview conducted by Juan Fercsey; courtesy Antar-Sanchar)* This is a reprinted exclusive interview (courtesy Antar-Sanchar) that journalist Juan Fercsey conducted with Juanita Castro, Fidel Castro's sister, in Copenhagen. Juanita, who left Cuba twenty years earlier after opposing her brother's Soviet alignment, describes Fidel as a poor loser as a child, an opportunist without genuine political conviction, and the architect of a totalitarian, Soviet-client regime with concentration camps and mass political imprisonment. She recounts the Castro family background, Fidel's schooling and early political career in the Orthodox Party, and warns of a Soviet-Cuban continental strategy extending through Nicaragua, El Salvador, and eventually toward Mexico and the United States. - Juanita Castro recalls Fidel as a poor loser in childhood games and describes the family's upbringing on a sugarcane plantation in Biran. - She left Cuba after opposing Fidel's Soviet alignment and 'terror-regime,' and now lives in Miami running a pharmacy. - Describes Fidel's schooling at a Jesuit college and his unsuccessful bid for student leadership, followed by his role in the Orthodox Party ahead of the cancelled 1952 elections. - Calls Fidel an opportunist who 'created his Marxist history' and needs the Soviet Union to sustain his power. - Details Cuba's network of jails and concentration camps, including the imprisonment of children of dissidents, and cites over one million exiles and 15,000 executions. - Warns of a Soviet-Cuban 'continental plan' extending from Nicaragua and El Salvador toward Mexico and the US border, framing Sovietization as a spreading cancer. ### Book Reviews: Interest Groups and Development; Business and Politics in Pakistan (Stanley A. Kochanek) *By Sharad Bailur* Sharad Bailur reviews Stanley A. Kochanek's Interest Groups and Development: Business and Politics in Pakistan, praising it as a companion volume to Kochanek's earlier Business and Politics in India and a valuable window onto the Pakistani business psyche and its parallels with India. The review summarises Kochanek's account of how weak formal channels of access to government fostered informal lobbying, bureaucratic corruption, and the concentration of economic power among Pakistan's twenty-two families, and highlights the book's warning about ordinance-driven governance and a weakened legislature -- parallels the reviewer finds "striking and ominous" for India. - Frames the book as a companion to Kochanek's earlier Business and Politics in India, forming a corpus on South Asian business-politics relations. - Explains that weak formal representational organisations pushed Pakistani business toward informal lobbying, fostering bureaucratic corruption and 'black money'. - Notes that General Zia-ul-Haq's rule has not changed the underlying pattern, leaving businesses wary of the state despite reliance on emigrant remittances and the Green Revolution. - Highlights the reviewer's view that the concentration of power in twenty-two families, weak legislative accountability, and executive-heavy governance parallel dangers visible in India. - Praises Kochanek's style and analytical precision while noting he does not examine whether the bureaucracy itself encourages factional infighting to protect its own rent-seeking. ### Book Review: Daddyji/Mamaji (Ved Mehta) *By C. G. Pradeep Kumar* Sharad Bailur reviews Ved Mehta's Daddyji/Mamaji, a reissued paperback combining Mehta's two biographical portraits of his parents. The review credits Mehta's meticulous, first-hand reconstruction of his parents' lives from written records, witness testimony, and memory, noting the closing chapters -- where the parents come to terms with their son's blindness -- as the freshest material, and calls the biographies a must-read for admirers of Mehta's earlier autobiography Face to Face. - Daddyji (1972) and Mamaji (1979) are reissued together as a Pan paperback in 1984. - The biographies are built from written records, witness testimony, 'fragments of memory,' and Mehta's grandfather's diary. - The review praises Mehta's juxtaposition of an England-returned doctor father and a superstitious, traditional Indian mother. - Notes the closing chapters on the parents coming to terms with their son's blindness as the only genuinely new material relative to Face to Face. - Concludes the biographies are a 'must' for readers of Face to Face and a representative example of Mehta's narrative skill. ### In Brief... (capsule reviews: Public Law in India; Administrative Law; Writ Jurisdiction Under the Constitution; Choosing the President 1984; Kant by Roger Scruton) C. G. Pradeep Kumar's "In Brief" column gives short notices of five books: A. G. Noorani's edited Public Law in India, a collection of essays on Indian constitutional and administrative law; S. P. Sathe's Administrative Law (4th edn.), a standard but non-exhaustive law-school text; B. L. Hansaria's Writ Jurisdiction Under the Constitution, praised for its overview of prerogative writs but faulted for not engaging seriously with liberalised standing and public interest litigation; The League of Women Voters' Choosing the President, 1984, an accessible primer on the US presidential process; and Roger Scruton's Kant (Past Masters), called 'a little masterpiece' for its concise, incisive introduction to Kantian philosophy. - Public Law in India (ed. A. G. Noorani) collects essays by legal scholars including Nariman, Sorabjee, Bakshi, Rashid & Yaqin, Jain, Baxi, and Jacob, with a treatment of Emergency-era jurisprudence by Anil B. Divan. - Sathe's Administrative Law is called a useful but non-exhaustive standard text, no match for comparable Western works like Wade or de Smith. - Hansaria's Writ Jurisdiction is praised for historical overview but criticised for merely echoing rhetoric on 'standing' and PIL rather than critically examining it. - Choosing the President, 1984 is described as a comprehensive, non-partisan enchiridion on the American electoral process, with appendices and bibliography. - Scruton's Kant is praised as an excellent, concise introduction to Kant's philosophy, including his philosophy of art. ### With Many Voices "With Many Voices" is a recurring column of pointed quotations drawn from the contemporary press, covering Sikh militancy, British trade-union politics, Kashmir, terrorism and rape in India, press ownership, Indian editorial hypocrisy on Punjab and Sri Lanka, Reagan's political rekindling of American optimism, and Soviet international isolation. - Quotes Inderjit Singh (The Guardian) on Sikh resistance to tyranny, and Lord Mayhew (The Times) dismissing Arthur Scargill as a law-and-order rather than political problem. - Quotes Dr. Farooq Abdullah (The Times of India) asserting Kashmir belongs to Kashmiris. - Includes a startling quoted claim from a Jaipur police officer (The Indian Express) that Harijans are 'meant to be raped,' presented without comment as a documentation of official attitudes. - Quotes James Cameron on newspaper ownership, and Rajmohan Gandhi on the self-cancelling inconsistency of Indian press editorials on Punjab versus Sri Lanka. - Closes with three Economist editorials: on Reagan's restoration of American optimism compared to Kennedy and Roosevelt, on Soviet diplomatic isolation, and on the fragility of one-party rule in Africa. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff381/ ### Summary This is issue no. 381 of Freedom First (November 1984, Rs. 2, 32nd year of publication), founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran. The issue opens with Govind Talwalkar's front-page piece on the Congress(I) government's engineering of the fall of N. T. Rama Rao's Andhra Pradesh ministry via Governor Ram Lal and challenger N. Bhaskara Rao, framed as political thuggery defeated by public pressure. Peter Bauer contributes 'In Office But Not In Power,' arguing that elected conservative leaders like Thatcher, Reagan, Nixon and Heath are constrained from enacting their platforms by an entrenched 'political nation' of civil servants, academics, media and interest groups hostile to market-oriented policy. Minoo Masani's regular 'As I See It' column addresses the UN population conference's stance against abortion-as-birth-control and separately comments on the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict via a Swiss press report. Komala Sarathy's 'Delhi Letter' covers two Punjab-related public meetings (Indian Minorities Forum and PUCL) marked by heckling of speakers critical of Sikh extremism, and recounts an alleged case of police mistreatment of a Sikh youth. Bhuchung K.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue no. 381 of Freedom First (November 1984, Rs. 2, 32nd year of publication), founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran. The issue opens with Govind Talwalkar's front-page piece on the Congress(I) government's engineering of the fall of N. T. Rama Rao's Andhra Pradesh ministry via Governor Ram Lal and challenger N. Bhaskara Rao, framed as political thuggery defeated by public pressure. Peter Bauer contributes 'In Office But Not In Power,' arguing that elected conservative leaders like Thatcher, Reagan, Nixon and Heath are constrained from enacting their platforms by an entrenched 'political nation' of civil servants, academics, media and interest groups hostile to market-oriented policy. Minoo Masani's regular 'As I See It' column addresses the UN population conference's stance against abortion-as-birth-control and separately comments on the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict via a Swiss press report. Komala Sarathy's 'Delhi Letter' covers two Punjab-related public meetings (Indian Minorities Forum and PUCL) marked by heckling of speakers critical of Sikh extremism, and recounts an alleged case of police mistreatment of a Sikh youth. Bhuchung K. Tsering writes on 25 years of Chinese rule in Tibet and Peking's overtures to the Dalai Lama's government-in-exile at Dharamsala. The book review section covers Dr. U. K. Jadhav's statistical study of capital punishment in India and Apa Pant's philosophical work on individual autonomy, 'The Survival of the Individual.' The issue closes with a 'With Many Voices' quotations column, a subscription order form, and the publisher's colophon (published by J. R. Patel for the Democratic Research Service, printed at The Popular Press, Bombay). ## Essays ### Thuggery Checkmated in Andhra *By Govind Talwalkar* Govind Talwalkar's lead article condemns the Congress(I) leadership's role in toppling the N. T. Rama Rao government in Andhra Pradesh, comparing it to earlier dismissals of ministries in Sikkim and Jammu & Kashmir. He describes Governor Ram Lal's dubious finding that the ministry had lost its majority, the thirty-day window given to defector N. Bhaskara Rao to prove a majority using money and pressure tactics, and the eventual failure of the plot in the face of public outrage and the loyalty of 165 MLAs. The piece accuses Bhaskara Rao of branding Rama Rao a CIA agent, of attempts to kidnap legislators, and of provoking a communal riot in Hyderabad, and closes by warning that unless Indian politics changes course, 'lumpen elements will take charge.' - The dismissal of the N. T. Rama Rao ministry is characterized as 'political thuggery' orchestrated by the Congress(I) leadership. - Governor Ram Lal declared the ministry had lost majority support and gave defector N. Bhaskara Rao 30 days to prove a majority. - Bhaskara Rao brought money from Delhi and used 'gangsterism' but failed to secure enough defections; 165 MLAs stood firm. - Mrs. Gandhi claimed to have learned of the events only via a news agency report, a claim the author calls incredible. - The author draws parallels to earlier dismissals of ministries in Sikkim (Governor Homi J. H. Taleyarkhan) and Jammu & Kashmir (Farooq Abdullah's government). - Bhaskara Rao allegedly accused Rama Rao of being a CIA agent with secret China/CPI(M) links and attempted to kidnap MLAs; a communal riot was allegedly engineered in Hyderabad. - The article warns that if constitutional fora are bypassed in favor of street politics and legislative subversion, 'lumpen elements will take charge.' ### In Office But Not in Power *By Peter Bauer* Peter Bauer argues that electorally successful conservative leaders (Thatcher, Reagan, Nixon, Heath) end up 'in office but not in power' because an articulate, largely anti-market 'political nation'—civil servants, academics, media figures, and organized interest groups—constrains what they can actually implement despite their mandates. He contends that reelection alone will not let Thatcher overcome this resistance; she must build alliances that weaken these groups' influence, following the model of how successful left-wing leaders such as Gaitskell, Wilson and the Kennedys built cooperative coalitions. - Presidents Nixon and Reagan and PMs Heath and Thatcher won large majorities but were pushed by circumstance to deviate from declared policy platforms. - A journalist's explanation cited by Bauer: politicians seek office, not to enact policy per se, and thus gravitate to policies that maximize continued tenure. - Bauer's own thesis: these leaders were elected against the opposition of an influential 'political nation' — civil servants, academics, media, and various professional and interest groups. - This political nation is often conflated with 'public opinion' in Britain, giving disproportionate weight to groups opposed to market reforms. - Bauer argues reelection alone won't let Thatcher overcome this resistance; she must build alliances and reduce the influence of these groups, as successful Labour leaders like Gaitskell, Wilson, and the Kennedys did within their own coalitions. ### As I See It *By Minoo Masani* In his regular column, Minoo Masani endorses the U.N. International Conference on Population's (Mexico, August 1984) position that abortion should not be treated as a legitimate method of population control, drawing on his own experience on the Joint Select Committee that passed India's 1970 Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act. He argues abortion is the worst method of birth control and criticizes coercive family planning practices, citing forced sterilization during the Indian Emergency and China's one-child policy, which he says has led to female infanticide. In a second item, he reproduces an excerpt from the Swiss Press Review and News Report suggesting international Communist and other foreign involvement (Soviet surrogates, the PLO, Libya, North Korea) behind the Tamil 'Liberation Tigers of Eelam' insurgency in Sri Lanka. - Masani supports the U.N. Population Conference's stance against abortion as a method of population control, distinguishing it from other birth control methods. - He recalls serving on the Joint Select Committee of Parliament that passed the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1970. - He criticizes coerced sterilization during the Indian Emergency and China's one-child policy, citing an estimate by Princeton demographer Ansley Coale of 250,000 female infanticides. - A second item reproduces a Swiss Press Review and News Report piece suggesting the Sri Lankan Tamil insurgency (Liberation Tigers of Eelam) is receiving international backing from Soviet surrogates, the PLO, Libya, and North Korea. ### Delhi Letter *By Komala Sarathy* Komala Sarathy's 'Delhi Letter' reports on two public meetings on the Punjab situation in late July 1984 — one organized by the Indian Minorities Forum, the other by the PUCL — at which speakers critical of Sikh extremism, including Lt. Gen. J. S. Aurora and journalists Khushwant Singh and Neerja Choudhary, were heckled by predominantly Sikh audiences. The column also relates an account given by Kuldip Nayar of a Sikh student allegedly beaten and humiliated by police near the Safdarjang Tomb after his motorcycle broke down, and closes by blaming government mishandling — press censorship, detention laws, and continued army presence — for growing Sikh alienation. - Two Punjab-related public meetings (Indian Minorities Forum, PUCL) in late July 1984 saw large Sikh turnout and heckling of speakers seen as insufficiently sympathetic to Sikh grievances. - Lt. Gen. J. S. Aurora was heckled and booed after saying the Akali morcha had failed. - Journalist Neerja Choudhary was heckled after criticizing extremist violence in Punjab. - Khushwant Singh was cheered when criticizing the government's handling of Punjab and the Golden Temple army action. - Kuldip Nayar related an incident of an alleged police beating and humiliation of a Sikh student near the Safdarjang Tomb. - The column attributes rising Sikh 'clannishness' to government mishandling, including press censorship, detention laws, and continued military presence in Punjab. ### The Chinese Overtures to Tibet *By Bhuchung K. Tsering* Bhuchung K. Tsering marks 25 years of Chinese rule in Tibet, arguing that despite constitutional promises of equality among China's nationalities, Chinese ('Han') chauvinism persists in practice: real power remains with Chinese officials such as Yin Fatang even as token Tibetan appointments are made, and PLA troop levels in Tibet have risen past 500,000. The article surveys renewed contact between Peking and the Dalai Lama's government-in-exile in Dharamsala, including 'exploratory' talks in 1981, and situates this within China's broader push for 'reunification' involving Hong Kong and Taiwan, concluding that lasting resolution requires Peking to take a realistic view of conditions in Tibet. - The article marks the 25th anniversary of Chinese occupation of Tibet, examining the gap between constitutional promises of equality and actual conditions. - Real power in Tibet remains with Chinese officials (e.g. Yin Fatang) despite reported withdrawals and Tibetan appointments to token posts. - PLA troop strength in Tibet is estimated to have grown to over 500,000. - Peking has opened successive contacts with the Dalai Lama's government-in-exile in Dharamsala, including 'exploratory' talks in April-May 1981. - The Tibet issue is linked to China's broader reunification push involving Hong Kong and Taiwan. - The Dalai Lama is described as favoring a non-violent, negotiated solution. ### Book Reviews — Is Capital Punishment Necessary? by Dr. U. K. Jadhav *By S.* An unsigned (initialed 'S') review of Dr. U. K. Jadhav's 'Is Capital Punishment Necessary?' (Anand Publications, Bombay; Rs. 80; Pp. 231) summarizes the book's statistical approach to the death-penalty debate in India, noting its comparative pre- and post-abolition data from other countries and its detailed tables on Indian murderers (weight, height, rural/urban origin, motive, occupation) between 1954 and 1963. The reviewer finds the author's numbers interesting but under-analyzed, and notes Jadhav favors retaining capital punishment given India's rising crime rate. - The book compiles statistics on capital punishment, comparing pre- and post-abolition data across several countries. - Between 1954-1963 in India, 105,720 murders occurred; only 5,957 murderers were sentenced to death, and only 1,251 executions were actually carried out. - The book's Chapter IV summarizes Indian Penal Code provisions on offences punishable by death. - Tables cover physical characteristics and social background (rural vs. urban) of Indian murderers, finding rural areas produce more murderers and agricultural laborers are the most represented profession among them. - The reviewer judges the author unable to draw much analytical insight from the considerable data collected, calling it 'like the proverbial curate's egg, delectable in parts.' - Jadhav advocates retention of capital punishment given India's rising crime rate. ### Book Reviews — The Survival of the Individual by Apa Pant *By S. I. Clerk* S. I. Clerk reviews Apa Pant's 'The Survival of the Individual' (Sangam Books; Pp. 149; Rs. 75.00), describing the book as an attempt to move beyond Rousseau's Social Contract into ethical and metaphysical territory, exploring the individual's relationship to environment, society, and the state. The review highlights Pant's engagement with the Isopanishad on desire and non-attachment, his critique of consumer society as breeding confusion and turning people to 'godmen, drugs, alcohol, sex, violence,' and his call for individuals to understand and live in harmony with nature. - Apa Pant's book seeks to move beyond Rousseau's 'Social Contract' toward ethical and metaphysical questions of individual, family, society, and state. - Pant draws on the Isopanishad's teaching on desire and non-attachment ('Enjoy it by not being attached to it; do not be greedy'). - The book argues modern consumer society confuses the individual, driving them toward 'godmen, drugs, alcohol, sex, violence' as false solace. - Pant acknowledges the Indian individual can be as 'competitive, cruel and uncivilised' as anyone else, with a largely negative attitude to work. - The book urges individuals to be alert, intelligent, and responsible, arguing societal harmony depends on this, and calls for understanding and preserving ecological balance. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff383/ ### Summary This is the January 1985 issue (No. 383, 33rd year of publication) of Freedom First, the Bombay liberal journal founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran. The issue opens with S. V. Raju's review essay on Rajmohan Gandhi's two-volume biography of C. Rajagopalachari, using the second volume, 'The Rajaji Story (1937-1972),' to reflect on Rajaji's career, his rivalry and philosophical divergence from Nehru, and the founding of the Swatantra Party. Minoo Masani's regular 'As I See It' column excoriates the Madhya Pradesh and central government response to the Bhopal gas disaster, attacking Chief Minister Arjun Singh's conduct and the contradictory arrest and release of Union Carbide's Warren Anderson. Rama Swarup contributes a short piece cataloguing Soviet defections in 1984, citing artists, soldiers, and Estonian citizens fleeing over Afghanistan war conscription and lack of artistic freedom. The issue closes with three book reviews (of a study of the Indian press, of 'In Search of Excellence,' and of a book on sex differences), a note on Karnataka's small-industries schemes, and the 'With Many Voices' quotations column. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the January 1985 issue (No. 383, 33rd year of publication) of Freedom First, the Bombay liberal journal founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran. The issue opens with S. V. Raju's review essay on Rajmohan Gandhi's two-volume biography of C. Rajagopalachari, using the second volume, 'The Rajaji Story (1937-1972),' to reflect on Rajaji's career, his rivalry and philosophical divergence from Nehru, and the founding of the Swatantra Party. Minoo Masani's regular 'As I See It' column excoriates the Madhya Pradesh and central government response to the Bhopal gas disaster, attacking Chief Minister Arjun Singh's conduct and the contradictory arrest and release of Union Carbide's Warren Anderson. Rama Swarup contributes a short piece cataloguing Soviet defections in 1984, citing artists, soldiers, and Estonian citizens fleeing over Afghanistan war conscription and lack of artistic freedom. The issue closes with three book reviews (of a study of the Indian press, of 'In Search of Excellence,' and of a book on sex differences), a note on Karnataka's small-industries schemes, and the 'With Many Voices' quotations column. ## Essays ### "The Last of the Romans" *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju reviews Rajmohan Gandhi's 'The Rajaji Story (1937-1972),' the second volume of a biography of C. Rajagopalachari by his grandson (also grandson of Gandhiji). Raju recalls his own encounters with Rajaji between 1960 and 1972, praising his simplicity and freedom from VIP trappings, and muses that Rajaji might have become India's first Prime Minister had he been born in the north. He traces how Gandhiji shifted his anointed successor from Rajaji to Nehru by 1941 because Nehru had wider mass appeal, and argues Rajaji, unlike Nehru, never hesitated to publicly disagree with Gandhiji (on cooperating with the British war effort, opposing Quit India, and the inevitability of Pakistan) and was vindicated by subsequent events. The essay reviews Rajaji's rapid rotation through top offices (Premier of Madras, Minister without Portfolio, Governor of Bengal, Governor-General of India, Home Minister, Chief Minister of Madras), his reputation for personal frugality and incorruptibility, and his founding of the Swatantra Party at age 80. It closes with the party's rise and later internal strains, Rajaji's ill-fated endorsement of the 'Indira Hatao' slogan, his falling out over the succession to Masani as party president, and his death, quoting Frank Moraes's description of him as 'the last of the Romans.' - Reviews Rajmohan Gandhi's 'The Rajaji Story (1937-1972)', the sequel to 'A Warrior from the South' (1978) - Raju draws on personal memories of meeting Rajaji between 1960 and 1972 - Argues Gandhiji replaced Rajaji with Nehru as chosen successor by 1941 due to Nehru's greater mass appeal and Rajaji's weaker Hindi and rapport with north Indian masses - Contrasts Rajaji's willingness to publicly disagree with Gandhiji versus Nehru's private dissent - Details Rajaji's frugality in office, e.g. voluntarily reducing his Premier's salary from Rs. 56,000 to Rs. 9,000 - Covers founding of the Swatantra Party at age 80 and its rise as leading opposition party, later strained by Rajaji's failing health and the 'Indira Hatao' slogan's failure - Ends with Rajaji's death six months after his last public appearance in 1972, invoking Frank Moraes's epithet 'the last of the Romans' ### As I See It *By Minoo Masani* Minoo Masani's 'As I See It' column condemns the response of Indian authorities to the Bhopal gas disaster of December 1984. He criticizes Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh for not resigning and instead joining Rajiv Gandhi's election tour while complaints of official negligence poured in, and mocks Governor K. T. Chandy for leaving for Bombay during the crisis. Masani details the 'crude attempt to cover up' guilt through the arrest of Union Carbide chairman Warren Anderson and Indian company chairman Keshub Mahindra on non-bailable charges, followed by Anderson's swift, seemingly illegal release and transport out of Bhopal, contrasted with the continued detention of Mahindra and Mr. Gokhale. He cites Indian Express reporting that Union Carbide experts had warned Madhya Pradesh authorities of safety problems, including methyl isocyanate leakage risk, as early as 1982, and closes by condemning a 'double standard' applied to politicians versus ordinary citizens. - Attacks Arjun Singh for touring with Rajiv Gandhi instead of resigning or managing relief efforts after the Bhopal gas leak - Criticizes Governor K. T. Chandy for leaving the state during the crisis - Describes the arrest of Warren Anderson (Union Carbide USA) and Keshub Mahindra (Union Carbide India) on non-bailable culpable-homicide charges - Details Anderson's swift, unexplained release and removal from Bhopal without magistrate knowledge, while Mahindra and Gokhale remained in custody - Cites 1982 Union Carbide safety report warnings about methyl isocyanate leakage that were not acted upon - Frames the episode as an example of double standards between politicians in office and 'ordinary' citizens ### Soviet Union Plagued by Defections *By Rama Swarup* Rama Swarup surveys at least twenty Soviet defections in the first eight months of 1984, noting that most defectors held positions allowing foreign travel and that five of the twenty risked fleeing outright. Reasons cited include the war in Afghanistan (especially among younger defectors and conscripted soldiers), Russification pressure in Estonia, and lack of artistic freedom. Named cases include theatre director Yurii Lyubimov (removed from the Taganka Theatre), filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky and his wife Larisa Tarkovskaya, ballet dancer Yurii Aleshin, six Estonians including athletes, four Soviet soldiers from Afghanistan, a Soviet trade-mission member Yurii Shtankin, ship's officer Igor Egorov, and Irena Majumdar, a Soviet citizen married to an Indian who sought asylum in the US after alleged KGB harassment in India. - At least twenty Soviet personalities, artists, soldiers and trade union leaders defected in the first eight months of 1984 - War in Afghanistan and fear of conscription cited as a leading motive, especially among younger defectors - Six Estonians, including four athletes, cited Russification and fear of Afghan war conscription - Theatre director Yurii Lyubimov and filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky both cited lack of artistic freedom and working conditions - Four Soviet Army soldiers defected from Afghanistan citing mistreatment by senior soldiers and discovery they were fighting Afghan freedom fighters - Irena Majumdar, a Soviet citizen settled in India, sought US asylum citing KGB harassment for refusing to spy in India ### Book Reviews: Truth Images and Distortions: A View of the Indian Press by Sunny Thomas *By M. V. Kamath* M. V. Kamath reviews Sunny Thomas's 'Truth Images and Distortions: A View of the Indian Press' (Heritage Publishers, Rs. 95), arguing the book's title misleads readers into expecting a sharp examination of the Indian press but instead delivers a panegyric to journalists that fails to substantiate its own thesis that a 'manipulated press is a symptom of a manipulated democracy.' Kamath criticizes the book's structure, noting that of 224 pages, 104 are devoted to usage/style guidance better suited to a textbook, 37 pages are quotations from historical orations (Pericles to Nehru), and only a small portion addresses the stated theme, leaving the reader 'cheated.' He credits Thomas's entertaining style but faults him for naming no names when citing press failures, such as an unnamed editor who called the Emergency '90 days of national discipline.' - Reviews Sunny Thomas's 'Truth Images and Distortions: A View of the Indian Press' (Heritage Publishers, New Delhi, 224pp, Rs. 95) - Argues the book's title promises a critical examination of the Indian press that the text does not deliver - Notes 104 of 224 pages are devoted to usage/style guidance irrelevant to the stated theme - Faults the author for citing press failures (e.g. Emergency-era sycophancy) without naming the responsible editors - Praises Thomas's entertaining prose style while criticizing his failure of nerve in taking on the Indian press directly ### Book Reviews: In Search of Excellence by Thomas J. Peters & Robert H. Waterman, Jr. *By K. S. Venkateswaran* K. S. Venkateswaran reviews Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman Jr.'s 'In Search of Excellence' (1982, Harper & Row), summarizing its argument that the pursuit of excellence, though rare in India across industry, sport, politics, and administration, is deeply embedded in the American business ethic. He cites the authors' 1970-80 survey of 75 'excellent' companies and their finding that these firms combined simplicity, discipline, and innovation, quoting the book's invocation of psychologist Ernest Becker's thesis on human dualism (the need both to belong and to stand out). The review closes by asking rhetorically how many Indian companies could be said to exhibit the same qualities. - Reviews Peters & Waterman's 'In Search of Excellence' (1982, Harper & Row, distributed in India by India Book Distributors at Rs. 80) - Notes the book's 1970-80 survey of 75 'excellent' American companies - Cites the authors' invocation of psychologist Ernest Becker's dualism thesis to explain the drive for excellence - Frames American business culture as uniquely oriented toward excellence compared to Indian industry, sport, politics, and administration - Closes with a pointed question about whether Indian companies could match this standard ### Book Reviews: Men and Women: How Different Are They by John Nicholson *By (Dr.) Thangam Jacob* Dr. Thangam Jacob reviews John Nicholson's 'Men and Women: How Different Are They' (Oxford, 1984), calling it a powerful, scholarly attempt to unravel the mystery of sex differences over 179 pages. The review praises the book's use of scientific research and surveys to argue men and women are less different than commonly believed, and that the notion of a 'woman's job' is a social construction. Jacob cautions that the argument may be a double-edged sword for men while noting the book's central claim: that equality for women depends on rejecting the idea of inherently gendered work. - Reviews John Nicholson's 'Men and Women: How Different Are They' (Oxford, 1984, 193pp, £2.50) - Book draws on scientific research and surveys across 179 pages to argue men and women are less different than assumed - Argues the book could be liberating for women but a 'two-edged sword' for men - Central thesis: rejecting the concept of a 'woman's job' (aside from childbirth) is necessary for the equality of the sexes --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff382/ ### Summary Issue 382 of Freedom First (December 1984, 32nd year of publication; Founder M. R. Masani, Editor K. S. Venkateswaran) is dominated by the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, and its violent aftermath. Masani's lead editorial condemns both the assassination and the anti-Sikh pogrom that followed in Delhi, criticises President Zail Singh's handling of Rajiv Gandhi's succession as unconstitutional, and surveys press and broadcast failures during the crisis. A reprinted Sunday Times piece by Simon Freeman and Barrie Penrose imagines, via Attorney General Sir Michael Havers, how Britain's constitutional machinery would have coped had the IRA's Brighton bomb killed Margaret Thatcher's whole cabinet -- offered as an implicit contrast to India's messier transition. A reprinted South African Beeld editorial addresses an open letter to Thatcher equating the ANC with the IRA and PLO. The book review section covers Sarvepalli Gopal's third volume of his Nehru biography, the published Yes, Minister diaries, M. Hidayatullah's Right to Property and the Indian Constitution, and Ralph Miliband's Capitalist Democracy in Britain.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Issue 382 of Freedom First (December 1984, 32nd year of publication; Founder M. R. Masani, Editor K. S. Venkateswaran) is dominated by the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, and its violent aftermath. Masani's lead editorial condemns both the assassination and the anti-Sikh pogrom that followed in Delhi, criticises President Zail Singh's handling of Rajiv Gandhi's succession as unconstitutional, and surveys press and broadcast failures during the crisis. A reprinted Sunday Times piece by Simon Freeman and Barrie Penrose imagines, via Attorney General Sir Michael Havers, how Britain's constitutional machinery would have coped had the IRA's Brighton bomb killed Margaret Thatcher's whole cabinet -- offered as an implicit contrast to India's messier transition. A reprinted South African Beeld editorial addresses an open letter to Thatcher equating the ANC with the IRA and PLO. The book review section covers Sarvepalli Gopal's third volume of his Nehru biography, the published Yes, Minister diaries, M. Hidayatullah's Right to Property and the Indian Constitution, and Ralph Miliband's Capitalist Democracy in Britain. The issue closes with a page of quotations ('With Many Voices') from world leaders and commentators, and the standard subscription order form. ## Essays ### "India Has Lost Its Way" *By Minoo Masani* Minoo Masani's editorial 'India Has Lost Its Way' opens by quoting the New York Times' verdict on Indira Gandhi's assassination, then recounts his own ambivalent relationship with her -- a consistent policy critic who nonetheless admired her personally. He condemns terrorism uniformly (citing the IRA's Brighton attack, PLO and Tamil Tiger violence, and anti-apartheid killings in South Africa) and faults the Government of India for selective condemnation of terrorism abroad while failing to prevent the anti-Sikh massacres in Delhi. He details mob violence against Sikhs, including the burning of a Sikh taxi driver and an attack on Lok Dal MP Ram Vilas Paswan's house, quotes The Times of India's admission that the Youth Congress harbours violent 'lumpens', and criticises All India Radio and Doordarshan for suppressing news of the assassination for hours and then indulging in 'a paroxysm of hyperbole'. The piece continues into a critique of President Zail Singh's failure to follow constitutional convention (naming a caretaker PM and awaiting the Congress Parliamentary Party's choice of leader) before swearing in Rajiv Gandhi, contrasted with a reprinted Sunday Times account of how Britain would have managed a comparable crisis. - Masani frames Indira Gandhi's assassination as part of a global pattern of terrorism (IRA, PLO, Tamil Tigers, anti-apartheid violence) and criticises selective condemnation of terrorism by the Government of India. - Details the anti-Sikh violence in Delhi following the assassination, including mob attacks reported by the London Times and Sunday Observer. - Credits Bombay with avoiding any 'ugly incident' during the unrest. - Criticises All India Radio and Doordarshan for suppressing the news for six hours and then over-dramatising coverage; cites Amita Malik's critique of 'TV's Dismal Failure'. - Argues President Zail Singh acted unconstitutionally by directly installing Rajiv Gandhi as PM rather than awaiting the Congress Parliamentary Party's election of a leader, following 'the Moscow model and not that of Westminster'. - Credits Rajiv Gandhi personally with decent instinct (ordering state leaders back to their posts, threatening police over complicity in the massacre) despite the flawed process that installed him. - Uses a reprinted Sunday Times report (Sir Michael Havers' hypothetical scenario for a decapitated Thatcher cabinet) as a foil, arguing Britain's constitutional machinery would have coped smoothly where India's did not. ### How Britain Would Have Coped If the Cabinet Had Been Killed *By Simon Freeman and Barrie Penrose* A reprint from The Sunday Times (by Simon Freeman and Barrie Penrose) in which Attorney General Sir Michael Havers describes, hour by hour, how Britain's government would have functioned had the IRA's October 1984 Brighton bomb killed Margaret Thatcher and her entire cabinet. Havers walks through the constitutional mechanics: the Cabinet Secretary alerting surviving ministers, the Queen (on holiday in America) being recalled, Lord Whitelaw taking temporary control pending a Tory leadership election, and the likelihood that Britain would have had a new Prime Minister within roughly 24 hours. He stresses there would have been no need for a state of emergency and expresses confidence that British constitutional tradition would have ensured continuity 'business as usual within a day or two.' - Havers' scenario assumes all eleven cabinet ministers present at the Grand Hotel died in the bombing. - Cabinet Secretary Sir Robert Armstrong would have called surviving ministers and alerted permanent secretaries. - The Queen, on holiday in America, would have returned; Lord Whitelaw (deputy PM) would have taken interim control without automatically becoming PM. - A Tory leadership election would likely have concluded within about ten days, with a fully constituted government by the Friday evening after the bombing. - Havers argues no state of emergency would have been necessary and that British democratic tradition would have absorbed the shock without panic. ### An Open Letter to Mrs. Thatcher A reprinted editorial from the South African daily Beeld, cast as 'An Open Letter to Mrs. Thatcher' after the Brighton bombing, argues there is no meaningful difference between the IRA and the African National Congress (ANC), both alleged to seek the violent overthrow of legitimate governments in favour of Marxist systems, both linked to a wider terrorist network including the PLO. The editorial presses Thatcher to recognise the inconsistency of Britain's criticism of apartheid-era South Africa's dealings with the IRA compared to Britain's own hosting of ANC representatives. - Argues the IRA and ANC share tactics, aims (Marxist overthrow of legal governments), and terrorist networks including links to the PLO. - Claims the ANC and PLO cooperated during Israel's 1982 Lebanon campaign. - Presses Thatcher on the inconsistency of Britain hosting ANC representatives while itself facing IRA terrorism. - Concludes there is 'no difference between terrorist organisations, whether the ANC, the IRA, the PLO.' ### Book Reviews (Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography by Dr. Sarvepalli Gopal, Vol. III; Right to Property and the Indian Constitution by M. Hidayatullah; Capitalist Democracy in Britain by Ralph Miliband) *By S. S. Bankeshwar* Book review of Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography, Vol. III by Sarvepalli Gopal (Oxford University Press). The reviewer is highly critical, calling Gopal 'a sycophant with utter disregard for objectivity' who exonerates Nehru of blame for the failures of aides like V. K. Krishna Menon and M. O. Mathai. The review highlights Gopal's charge that C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) supported southern secessionism -- which the reviewer disputes, saying Nehru's actual complaint concerned Rajaji's advocacy of free enterprise, not secession -- and praises Rajaji's integrity in contrast to contemporary politicians. It also flags revelations about Mathai's CIA-linked wealth, US U-2 flights and a nuclear-powered sensing device near Nandadevi, and Krishna Menon's plans to manufacture 'mechanical toys' during the 1962 Chinese aggression, alongside a broader argument that developed nations have prospered by rejecting socialism for competitive free enterprise. Byline: S. S. Bankeshwar. - Reviewer condemns Gopal's Nehru biography as hagiographic, faulting Nehru's own admission that he 'failed practically in everything he attempted' while blaming aides. - Disputes Gopal's claim that Rajaji supported southern secession, arguing Nehru's real objection was to Rajaji's free-enterprise advocacy. - Praises Rajaji's personal integrity, contrasting him with politicians who 'groom' sons or amass wealth. - Cites revelations: CIA access to Nehru's secretariat correspondence (1946-59), US U-2 flights permitted from Indian soil, a nuclear-powered sensing device near Nandadevi to monitor Chinese missile development, and Krishna Menon's mechanical-toy manufacturing scheme during the 1962 war. - Closes with an argument that Western Europe, the US and Japan prospered by rejecting socialism for competitive free enterprise while communist and socialist states 'stagnated or slid downhill.' ### In Brief... (Yes, Minister: Vols. 1, 2 & 3, ed. Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay) Short review ('In Brief') of the Yes, Minister book series (Vols. 1-3, ed. Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay, BBC, 1981-83), occasioned by Doordarshan's broadcast of the TV series. The reviewer calls the show's airing on state television an unlikely bonanza given Doordarshan's reputation for servility, praises the diaries for their portrait of civil-service manoeuvring (personified by Sir Humphrey Appleby) against inept ministers (Jim Hacker), and notes the series has won awards and is recommended reading for politicians and civil servants. - Notes the irony of Doordarshan -- known for governmental servility -- airing a satire lampooning bureaucratic and ministerial dysfunction. - Describes the show as depicting 'collusion and collision in the corridors of power' between civil service and ministers. - Notes the series has won 'nearly half a dozen prestigious awards' and is recommended reading for politicians and civil servants. ### With Many Voices Review of Right to Property and the Indian Constitution by M. Hidayatullah (Arnold-Heinemann, 1983). The reviewer credits Hidayatullah as one of few Indian judges to openly disapprove of repeated governmental efforts to whittle down the Right to Property, citing his stance in the Golak Nath case upholding the primacy of fundamental rights, but criticises his more recent view that property is 'the weakest' of fundamental rights and needing protection 'in a different way' without specifying how. Calls the book illuminating overall and recommends it to students of constitutional law. - Praises Hidayatullah's historical record of defending property rights, including his position in the Golak Nath case. - Criticises his newer, softer stance that property rights need protection 'in a different way' without concrete proposals. - Recommends the book to students of constitutional law and politics despite this reservation. ### Essay 7 Review of Capitalist Democracy in Britain by Ralph Miliband (Oxford, 1984). The reviewer is dismissive, characterising Miliband as echoing 'the highly debatable leftist lament' that Britain's political system serves to prevent rather than facilitate popular power, and faults his reliance on Marxian class-conflict concepts as naive or ludicrous, framing the book as one more addition to anti-capitalist literature. - Characterises Miliband's central claim -- that the British political system prevents rather than facilitates popular power -- as a 'highly debatable leftist lament.' - Criticises reliance on Marxian class-conflict concepts as naive or ludicrous. - Dismisses the book as one more addition to 'the growing body of anti-capitalist literature in contemporary Britain.' ### Essay 8 'With Many Voices' is a recurring back-page column of quotations from public figures and editorials on current affairs, drawn from international press in September-October 1984: The Economist on ageing world leaders and on America's capital inflows and Unesco, President Reagan on age in the 1984 US election, M. Hidayatullah on disliking elections, a Daily Telegraph joke about Soviet symphony orchestras, Lord Shinwell on turning 100, Zubin Mehta on his affinity for Israel, and others. - Quotes The Economist on aged world leaders (Reagan, Chernenko, Deng Xiaoping, Khomeini, Pertini) needing 'to get into training.' - Quotes M. Hidayatullah ('I hate elections') from The Indian Express, October 28, 1984. - Quotes President Reagan's famous age/experience line from the 1984 debate. - Includes an Economist observation on America attracting $100 billion in foreign capital during a 'non-inflationary boom.' - Includes Zubin Mehta's remark on his musical and personal ties to Israel. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff384/ ### Summary This is issue no. 384 of Freedom First (February 1985, Bombay), the 34th year of publication, edited by K. S. Venkateswaran with M. R. Masani as founder. The issue opens with Minoo Masani's editorial "Give Rajiv a Chance," written in the immediate aftermath of the December 1984 general election, which examines the new Prime Minister's mandate with guarded skepticism, sets out Masani's own reform priorities (economic "U-turn," tax cuts, dismantling of the Planning Commission, restoration of states' rights, non-alignment reform), and argues that the scale of the Congress victory was an electoral "overkill" produced by first-past-the-post arithmetic rather than genuine consensus. An editorial announcement in the same pages informs readers that Freedom First will convert from a monthly to a quarterly (January/April/July/October) from April 1985, with S. V. Raju joining Venkateswaran as co-editor.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue no. 384 of Freedom First (February 1985, Bombay), the 34th year of publication, edited by K. S. Venkateswaran with M. R. Masani as founder. The issue opens with Minoo Masani's editorial "Give Rajiv a Chance," written in the immediate aftermath of the December 1984 general election, which examines the new Prime Minister's mandate with guarded skepticism, sets out Masani's own reform priorities (economic "U-turn," tax cuts, dismantling of the Planning Commission, restoration of states' rights, non-alignment reform), and argues that the scale of the Congress victory was an electoral "overkill" produced by first-past-the-post arithmetic rather than genuine consensus. An editorial announcement in the same pages informs readers that Freedom First will convert from a monthly to a quarterly (January/April/July/October) from April 1985, with S. V. Raju joining Venkateswaran as co-editor. The rest of the issue carries a reprinted address by Gregory Newell (US Assistant Secretary of State) defending the American withdrawal from UNESCO, a reprinted UK news report by Charles Laurence on a Social Affairs Unit study opposing "positive discrimination"/reverse racism, three book reviews (of R. M. Lala's history of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, Myron Weiner's edited volume on the 1980 Lok Sabha elections, and Shakuntala Jagannathan's primer on Hinduism), a reader's letter objecting to the magazine's earlier reprint of an anti-Thatcher "open letter" on South Africa and the ANC, and a closing page of ideologically pointed quotations ("With Many Voices") drawn from the British press on Thatcher-era politics. ## Essays ### "Give Rajiv a Chance" *By MINOO MASANI* Minoo Masani's editorial questions the wave of post-election euphoria over Rajiv Gandhi, arguing that constructive criticism, not uncritical goodwill, will help the new Prime Minister "deliver the goods." He lists constraints facing the new government — a bloated majority that breeds arrogance, a weak opposition, dependence on a corrupt "permit licence raj," and the absence of genuine two-party competition — and reprints his own December 1984 list of policy priorities for the incoming government: an economic "U-turn" toward removing controls and winding up the National Planning Commission in favour of indicative planning; halving direct and indirect taxes while ending deficit financing; restoring constitutional rights of the states and appointing governors in consultation with chief ministers; and practising genuine non-alignment, including ending the Indo-Soviet Treaty and establishing ties with Israel. He characterises the Congress win as an "overkill" driven by First Past the Post arithmetic (only 51.9% of the vote), the sympathy wave following Indira Gandhi's assassination, opposition disarray, and a one-sided media campaign via AIR and Doordarshan monopoly, and endorses Rajaji's view that stable parliamentary democracy needs two roughly balanced blocs — welcoming N. T. Rama Rao's move to form a federal party ("Bharat Desam") of regional groups as a step toward that end. - Masani rejects the premise that any doubt about Rajiv Gandhi's capacity is automatically 'unfair to the PM'. - He lists four constraints on the new government: a bloated majority, a weak opposition, a corrupt permit-licence system, and untested leadership. - His own reform priorities include an economic 'U-turn', tax cuts, winding up the Planning Commission, restoring states' constitutional rights, and genuine non-alignment. - He calls the scale of the Congress victory an 'overkill' resulting from Britain/US-style FPTP elections rather than genuine popular consensus (51.9% vote share). - He cites Rajaji's dictum that stable democracy needs two evenly balanced political blocs. - He welcomes N. T. Rama Rao's initiative to build a federal party of regional groups ('Bharat Desam') as a step toward that balance. ### Perspectives on the U.S. Withdrawal from UNESCO *By GREGORY NEWELL* Gregory Newell, US Assistant Secretary of State, defends the Reagan administration's December 1983 decision to withdraw the United States from UNESCO, in an address adapted for the magazine. He argues the decision followed a two-year policy review that found UNESCO chronically politicized, hostile to a free press and free markets, and captured by a Soviet-aligned bloc pushing a 'New World Information and Communication Order' that would threaten press freedom, alongside wasteful budget priorities (heavy spending on 'peace and disarmament' initiatives versus modest sums for literacy). He lists US policy priorities toward UNESCO reform — reasserting American leadership, a zero-net-growth budget policy, equitable staffing, fewer conferences, and a role for the private sector — and warns of a further push within UNESCO for a 'code of conduct' regulating multinational media and publishing corporations, which the US opposes. - Newell frames the US withdrawal from UNESCO as a considered response to two years of policy review, not an impulsive act. - He argues UNESCO's programmes are consistently 'inimical to US interests' and infected with Soviet-aligned concepts of collective rights. - He cites UNESCO's 'New World Information and Communication Order' as a threat to First Amendment/press freedoms. - He gives budget figures: $978,000 spent on 'peace and disarmament' initiatives versus $62,000 for eradicating illiteracy among 10 million refugees. - He lists five US policy priorities for engagement with UNESCO and other multilateral bodies going forward. - He warns of a UNESCO-backed push for a 'code of conduct' over multinational media, publishing, film, and TV industries worth an estimated $3.5 billion annually, which the US opposes. ### The Perils of Reverse Racism *By CHARLES LAURENCE* A reprinted news report by Charles Laurence (from the Daily Telegraph) covers a November 1984 report by Britain's Social Affairs Unit, 'Reversing Racism: Lessons from America,' which argues that the growing race-relations lobby's calls for 'positive' or 'reverse' discrimination in housing, jobs and education should be rejected. The report holds that American racial quotas backfired and worsened race relations, criticises the Commission for Racial Equality for not condemning reverse racism, and quotes contributors including Prof. Kenneth Holland (University of Vermont), who attributes black underperformance to cultural attitudes rather than discrimination, and Geoffrey Parkins, who distinguishes 'equal opportunity' from 'equal outcome' policy goals and warns Britain risks following the US down the latter path. - The Social Affairs Unit report calls on the UK government to reject 'positive'/'reverse' discrimination policies in jobs, housing and education. - It argues American racial quotas 'back-fired' and worsened rather than improved race relations. - It criticises the Commission for Racial Equality's £8,000,000 annual public subsidy for not clearly opposing reverse racism. - Prof. Kenneth Holland argues black underperformance stems from cultural attitudes and values, not discrimination. - Geoffrey Parkins distinguishes 'equal opportunity' from 'equal outcome' as the crucial dividing line in race policy. - The report concludes that government-sponsored 'positive racism' is as dangerous as individual 'negative racism'. ### Book Reviews: The Heartbeat of a Trust: Fifty Years of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust by R. M. Lala *By S. V. Raju* Three book reviews. S. V. Raju reviews R. M. Lala's 'The Heartbeat of a Trust: Fifty Years of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust' (Tata McGraw Hill, 1984), calling it a story of philanthropic trusteeship in action and praising Lala's narrative skill in bringing to life the men behind the Trust's achievements, including the founding of TIFR, the Tata Memorial cancer hospital, and TISS; Raju laments there is a dearth of such men today and asks what will happen to Indian trusts once they are gone. M. V. Kamath reviews Myron Weiner's edited volume 'India at the Polls, 1980,' summarising its six-part structure covering the Janata split, the 1980 campaign, electoral geography, voting patterns among Muslims/Scheduled Castes/Tribes, and India's 1980s political economy, and highlighting Weiner's finding that 1980 turnout (57%) was lower than 1977 or 1967, with lower turnout correlating with better Congress (I) results. K. S. Venkateswaran reviews Shakuntala Jagannathan's 'Hinduism: An Introduction' (Vakils, Feffer and Simons, 1984), describing its three-chapter structure covering Hindu philosophy, scriptures, and concepts like Nirguna/Saguna Brahma, Karma and Dharma, and praising its glossary as indispensable for foreign readers. - S. V. Raju's review of Lala's Tata Trust history highlights the Trust's role in founding TIFR, the Tata Memorial Hospital, and TISS, funded by Sir Dorab Tata's one-crore bequest. - Raju notes the bequest is equivalent to roughly Rs. 25 crores in 1984 currency. - M. V. Kamath's review of Weiner's 'India at the Polls, 1980' summarises the book's six-part structure and voter-turnout findings. - Weiner found 1980 turnout (57%) was lower than in 1977 (60.5%) or 1967 (61.6%), with lower turnout correlating with bigger Congress (I) wins. - Congress (I) won 351 of 525 seats in 1980 on only 42.7% of the popular vote. - K. S. Venkateswaran's review of Jagannathan's Hinduism primer praises its glossary and simplified treatment of core concepts for a lay/foreign readership. ### Book Reviews: India at the Polls, 1980: A Study of the Parliamentary Elections, ed. Myron Weiner *By M. V. Kamath* A reader's letter from Satish J. Shah criticises Freedom First for having reproduced, without comment, an 'open letter' to Mrs. Thatcher from a South African newspaper that urged her to expel the ANC from Britain by equating it with the IRA. Shah argues the comparison is false: Britain is a free society facing IRA terrorism aimed at territorial secession, whereas South Africa is 'governed by a system that is little short of Nazism' in which the ANC's resort to violence, where it occurs, reflects despair at achieving equality by peaceful means. He argues the magazine's silent reproduction of the letter implied tacit support for a 'barbaric and despicable form of government.' - Shah objects to the magazine's uncommented reprint of an open letter to Thatcher comparing the ANC to the IRA. - He argues South Africa's system is 'little short of Nazism', unlike Britain, a free society. - He argues ANC violence, where present, stems from despair at achieving equality through peaceful means, unlike the IRA's aims. - He calls on Freedom First to have ignored the letter rather than reprint it without comment. ### Book Reviews: Hinduism: An Introduction by Shakuntala Jagannathan *By K. S. Venkateswaran* 'With Many Voices' is an unsigned closing column of quotations excerpted from the British press (The Economist, The Times, The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph) from November-December 1984, on subjects including Konstantin Chernenko, the miners' strike, Arthur Scargill, US-Commonwealth relations, Nehru's legacy, Sikh reaction to Rajiv Gandhi's conduct after Indira Gandhi's assassination, and NATO-Soviet arms negotiations. - Quotes The Economist on how to bargain with Konstantin Chernenko. - Quotes Arthur Scargill (via The Times) on winning 'on the streets of Britain' rather than in the Commons, juxtaposed with his claim to be 'a reasonable and moderate man'. - Quotes Woodrow Wyatt calling the USA 'a much more de facto member of the Commonwealth than India'. - Quotes Trevor Fishlock doubting India would 'fly apart' without a Nehru in power. - Quotes The Economist on Sikh anger at Rajiv Gandhi's public conduct beside Indira Gandhi's body while Sikhs faced attacks. - Quotes a Sunday Times editorial and Neil Kinnock on the Soviet return to nuclear negotiations and Scargill's handling of the coal strike. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff385/ ### Summary This April 1985 issue of Freedom First (No. 385) marks a turning point for the magazine: after 32 years as a monthly, it converts to a quarterly format, a change the editors frame as an effort to offer readers "better and more varied fare." The issue opens with a note from the editorial team (S. V. Raju, K. S. Venkateswaran, and Associate Editor Jehangir Patel) announcing this shift and introducing a new recurring feature, a quarterly essay on liberal thought, inaugurated in this issue by founder Minoo Masani himself with a piece titled "What Is Liberalism?" In the rendered pages, the volume's argumentative center is an anxious, arm's-length assessment of the new prime minister Rajiv Gandhi following his landslide election victory: Subramaniam Swamy's lead essay questions whether the young, untested PM can "deliver the goods," and Govind Talwalkar's companion piece presses him to modernize not just India's economic "hardware" but its bureaucratic "software." Other contributions in the rendered set include Minoo Masani on the anti-defection law ("Freezing the 400") and on the unresolved 1984 Delhi anti-Sikh riots, Rama Swarup's report on the Ethiopian famine and the Mengistu regim… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This April 1985 issue of Freedom First (No. 385) marks a turning point for the magazine: after 32 years as a monthly, it converts to a quarterly format, a change the editors frame as an effort to offer readers "better and more varied fare." The issue opens with a note from the editorial team (S. V. Raju, K. S. Venkateswaran, and Associate Editor Jehangir Patel) announcing this shift and introducing a new recurring feature, a quarterly essay on liberal thought, inaugurated in this issue by founder Minoo Masani himself with a piece titled "What Is Liberalism?" In the rendered pages, the volume's argumentative center is an anxious, arm's-length assessment of the new prime minister Rajiv Gandhi following his landslide election victory: Subramaniam Swamy's lead essay questions whether the young, untested PM can "deliver the goods," and Govind Talwalkar's companion piece presses him to modernize not just India's economic "hardware" but its bureaucratic "software." Other contributions in the rendered set include Minoo Masani on the anti-defection law ("Freezing the 400") and on the unresolved 1984 Delhi anti-Sikh riots, Rama Swarup's report on the Ethiopian famine and the Mengistu regime's culpability, and M. V. Kamath's survey of the Worldwatch Institute's report on global ecological decline. ## Essays ### Can Rajiv Deliver the Goods? *By Subramaniam Swamy* Subramaniam Swamy, writing as a former Member of Parliament, assesses whether Rajiv Gandhi, barely 41 and only four years in politics, can govern effectively as India's new Prime Minister. He argues Gandhi lacks a clear ideological framework across three dimensions -- ideology, administrative style, and party control -- and that his economic and foreign policy advisers are the same "timid group" his mother Indira Gandhi relied upon, making real change unlikely. Swamy is skeptical of the wave of goodwill around Gandhi, noting his mother never enjoyed comparable popularity despite 16 years in power, and warns that the Congress (I) party organization -- overrun during the Sanjay Gandhi years by "criminals, hijackers and bootleggers" -- remains Gandhi's weakest link, citing examples of tickets denied to honest candidates and given to compromised ones in Kerala, Bombay, U.P., and Bihar. - Gandhi's ideological moorings are unclear; unlike his mother he has not committed to state dominance of the economy but has also not committed to a market-oriented shift - No substantive evidence yet that Gandhi will diverge from his mother's pro-Soviet foreign-policy tilt despite his English education and Western ties - Gandhi has shown no administrative acumen; ministerial and bureaucratic heads have rolled mainly due to the ongoing spy scandal, not from clear policy direction - The Congress (I) party organization is riddled with corrupt and criminal elements that Gandhi has yet to confront - Swamy predicts the PM's economic/foreign policy advisers, inherited from Indira Gandhi, will limit any real change ### What About the Software? *By Govind Talwalkar* Govind Talwalkar, editor of the Maharashtra Times, examines Rajiv Gandhi's early months in office following the Congress (I)'s sweeping victories in the assembly elections. He credits Gandhi with dismissing corrupt officials and legislators and enhancing his 'Mr. Clean' image, but argues the deeper unmet challenge is not economic 'hardware' -- new machinery, electronics, imported technology -- but 'software': the skills, outlook, and administrative culture needed to use it. Talwalkar criticizes ministers and bureaucrats as incapable of new thinking, cites Nani Palkhivala's critiques of bureaucratic overreach, and calls for a mass training programme using satellite-delivered education, alongside dismantling needless regulatory restrictions -- while cautioning that Thatcher-style monetarism paired with unchanged worker/leader attitudes, as in Britain, risks failure without a corresponding shift in mindset. - Congress (I)'s state and central sweep confirms Gandhi's mandate but does not itself prove effective governance - Gandhi's dismissals of officials, non-renomination of tainted legislators, and the spy scandal fallout have burnished his 'Mr. Clean' image - The real bottleneck to modernization is 'software' -- skilled, adaptable administrators and technicians -- not just imported hardware/electronics - Bureaucrats are criticized (via Nani Palkhivala's arguments) for ignorance or wilful narrow rule-making that stifles the economy - Talwalkar proposes satellite/television-based mass training in electronics and new techniques, modeled partly on a Glasgow experiment he observed 15 years earlier - Warns against copying Reagan/Thatcher-style monetarism without a parallel change in attitudes, pointing to Britain's continued economic sickness ### Freezing the 400 *By Minoo Masani* Minoo Masani argues that the anti-defection Bill, rushed through Parliament and now law, is a disaster on both principled and technical grounds. As a liberal, he objects in principle to legislating morality: defection is a symptom of corruption best cured by social boycott of defectors, not statute. He then lists concrete defects -- unconstitutional statutory recognition of self-appointed, undemocratic political parties; MPs reduced to voting machines with no protection for conscience (invoking Edmund Burke); no provision for abstention as in British practice; a requirement of majority state-legislature concurrence that may render the law invalid; and the exclusion of judicial review in favor of a Speaker's 'kangaroo court' ruling. He closes by suggesting the Bill's real purpose is to 'freeze' the current 400-member Lok Sabha in place for five years, given the Congress (I)'s own recent record of encouraging defections in Sikkim, Kashmir, Andhra, Manipur, and Meghalaya. - Masani opposes anti-defection legislation in principle as a liberal: law cannot cure a moral/character failing like defection; social boycott is the proper remedy - The Bill gives unprecedented statutory recognition to political parties, which (unlike in the US) remain self-appointed coteries with no internal democracy in India - MPs lose the right of conscience and even the right to abstain, unlike British parliamentary convention; Burke's argument that MPs are not mere delegates is invoked - The Bill requires majority-of-state-legislatures concurrence to be valid, which Masani says has not been obtained, rendering it potentially void - Judicial review is excluded in favor of the Speaker's ruling, which Masani calls a 'kangaroo court' arrangement - Congress (I)'s own history of engineering defections in several states undercuts the Bill's stated purpose; Masani suspects its real aim is to insulate the current Lok Sabha membership for five years ### The Agony of Ethiopia *By Rama Swarup* In a short, uncredited-to-TOC piece appearing between the Swamy and Masani-defection essays, Minoo Masani addresses the unresolved 1984 Delhi riots against Sikhs. Three independent reports (PUCL-PUDR, Citizens for Democracy, and the Citizens' Commission under former Chief Justice Sikri) have all concluded the violence was a 'politically-sponsored massacre' involving Congress (I) figures, yet the government has refused a judicial enquiry, with the Prime Minister reportedly dismissing the matter as raising 'issues which are really dead.' Masani argues two basic questions remain unanswered -- whether the riots were instigated by people in power, and whether authorities failed to maintain order -- and warns that refusing an enquiry feeds public suspicion that senior Congressmen, including Cabinet ministers, were complicit. - Three separate reports converge on describing the October 1984 Delhi violence against Sikhs as a premeditated, politically-sponsored massacre - Two of the three reports explicitly name Congress (I) elements as involved; the Citizens' Commission report abstains from naming culprits - The Prime Minister has refused a judicial enquiry, reportedly calling the issues 'really dead' - Masani frames two basic unresolved questions: instigation by powerful figures, and dereliction by law-and-order authorities - He warns that refusal to investigate damages public confidence in the new government's 'good start' ### Ecology—The Drift Towards Disaster *By M. V. Kamath* Rama Swarup, a Delhi-based journalist, argues that while drought triggered Ethiopia's famine, it is the political choices of dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam that turned it into a catastrophe. Since seizing power in 1974, Mengistu has outlawed traditional agricultural and trading practices, imposed fixed low prices that destroyed farmer incentives, funneled 90 percent of agricultural investment into inefficient state farms producing only 6 percent of the nation's grain, and diverted resources to sustain Africa's largest army and unresolved wars in Eritrea and Tigray. Swarup contends the West is not to blame for lack of charity -- $80 billion in aid poured into Africa over 20 years, including $1 billion to Ethiopia between 1978-82 -- but for lacking the courage to withhold aid from regimes whose ideology causes the damage, and he calls for an independent, conditional, US-led rescue mission with accountability safeguards rather than continued reliance on the UN. - Mengistu's 1974 land reform and fixed-price system destroyed peasant incentive to produce and market surplus food - 90% of state agricultural investment goes to inefficient state farms producing only 6% of national grain output - The regime outlawed traditional food-hoarding and independent food trading, replacing markets with state commissions - War with Eritrean and Tigrayan rebels consumes one-third to one-half of the national budget and disrupts food distribution - The regime blames the West for insufficient aid while praising the Soviets, who provided weaponry rather than food - 60-80% of Ethiopia's starving population is in rebel-controlled areas the regime denies relief access to, echoing the Soviet famine tactic against Ukrainians in 1933-34 - The UN is criticized as structurally unable to help: it can only deal with established governments and has a poor track record (citing Cambodia 1979-80) - Swarup proposes a US-led ad hoc rescue mission with independent monitoring, conditional aid, and guaranteed delivery to Eritrea and Tigray regardless of Addis Ababa's consent ### The Truth About Mr. Nicechapovich *By Bernard Levin* M. V. Kamath, former editor of the Illustrated Weekly of India, surveys a Worldwatch Institute study led by Lester Brown on accelerating global ecological decline, with special attention to Africa's famine and European forest death ('Waldsterben'). He reports that Africa, self-sufficient in food as recently as 1970, now has 140 million people dependent on imported grain, driven by population growth, soil erosion, and agricultural neglect; in Ethiopia alone a billion tons of topsoil are lost annually. He pairs this with a warning about acid rain and fossil-fuel pollutants devastating Central European forests -- West German forest damage rose from 8% in 1982 to 50% in 1984 -- and about rising atmospheric CO2 potentially doubling pre-industrial levels by 2030, raising sea levels by several feet and threatening low-lying farmland including the Ganges delta. Kamath closes by urging India to expand its Chipko movement and warns against complacent dismissal of these warnings as 'worst-case' scenarios. - Africa went from food self-sufficiency in 1970 to 140 million people fed by imported grain in 1984, per Worldwatch Institute research led by Lester Brown - Ethiopia alone loses a billion tons of topsoil annually to soil erosion, worsening its famine vulnerability - European forests are dying from acid rain and fossil-fuel pollutants; West German forest damage rose from 8% (1982) to 50% (1984), a phenomenon Germans call 'Waldsterben' - Unchecked fossil fuel growth could double atmospheric CO2 by 2030, raising temperatures ~3°C and sea levels by several feet, threatening rice-growing river deltas including the Ganges - Reforestation is badly outpaced by deforestation: ratios of loss-to-planting are 29:1 in Africa, 10:1 in Latin America, 5:1 in Asia - Kamath calls for expanding India's Chipko movement as a model of ecological reversal and criticizes governments for dismissing long-term ecological warnings --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff386/ ### Summary This is the July 1985 issue (No. 386) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani, edited by S. V. Raju and K. S. Venkateswaran. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with editorial notices explaining the journal's shift from monthly to quarterly frequency, the front-matter miscellany column 'With Many Voices' (a collection of quoted aphorisms on politics and the USSR), and 'Of Cabbages & Kings', a two-part opinion column criticising both the Indian government's soft handling of Soviet diplomacy around Gorbachev's Moscow meetings with Rajiv Gandhi, and, separately, defending the journal's consistently anti-Soviet editorial stance against a reader's complaint. The lead pieces surveyed here are Minoo Masani's 'One Cheer for Rajiv Gandhi', a sharply critical assessment of the 1985 Union Budget and of Rajiv Gandhi's early record as Prime Minister on economic policy, deficit finance, and susceptibility to political pressure; Amal Ray's 'Erosion of Fiscal Federalism', an analysis of centre-state financial relations under the Indian Constitution and the case for restructuring them; Russi M.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the July 1985 issue (No. 386) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani, edited by S. V. Raju and K. S. Venkateswaran. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with editorial notices explaining the journal's shift from monthly to quarterly frequency, the front-matter miscellany column 'With Many Voices' (a collection of quoted aphorisms on politics and the USSR), and 'Of Cabbages & Kings', a two-part opinion column criticising both the Indian government's soft handling of Soviet diplomacy around Gorbachev's Moscow meetings with Rajiv Gandhi, and, separately, defending the journal's consistently anti-Soviet editorial stance against a reader's complaint. The lead pieces surveyed here are Minoo Masani's 'One Cheer for Rajiv Gandhi', a sharply critical assessment of the 1985 Union Budget and of Rajiv Gandhi's early record as Prime Minister on economic policy, deficit finance, and susceptibility to political pressure; Amal Ray's 'Erosion of Fiscal Federalism', an analysis of centre-state financial relations under the Indian Constitution and the case for restructuring them; Russi M. Lala's 'The Road to Dignity', a reflective essay on caste, dignity, and inter-community relations built around encounters in Japan and rural Bihar; and K. S. Venkateswaran's 'The Great Reservation Debate', a report on a seminar organised by the Indian Liberal Group and the Freedom First Foundation on the reservation policy for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other backward classes, chaired by M. R. Masani. The quarterly essay by H. M. Seervai, 'Reservation—Discrimination in Reverse?', begins later in the issue (from page 23) and was only partially rendered here in a related report context. Later essays in the table of contents (Louella Lobo Prabhu on the budget, K. H. Subramaniam on the Indian consumer, Yogesh Kamdar, R. Srinivasan's profile of Gazulu Narasu Chetty, Jeri Laber and Barnett Rubin on Afghanistan, Richard Krygier, and Rama Swarup) fall outside the rendered page range and are not summarised here. ## Essays ### One Cheer for Rajiv Gandhi *By Minoo Masani* In the rendered pages, Minoo Masani's 'One Cheer for Rajiv Gandhi' attacks the Union Budget presented in March 1985 as continuing a pattern, unbroken since 1955, of wasteful expenditure, deficit-financed inflation, and excessive taxation. Masani argues the budget's income-tax relief benefits only a small minority of taxpayers while indirect taxes rise on everyone else, and mocks Finance Ministry denials of inflationary effect by recalling his own predictions from decades of Lok Sabha budget debates. He then criticises Rajiv Gandhi personally for two instances of political capitulation: backtracking on a reformist AICC(I) economic policy resolution under pressure from Congress traditionalists invoking Nehru-era socialism, and abandoning J. R. D. Tata's proposal (publicly taken up by Bal Thackeray and the Shiv Sena) to regulate migration into Bombay. Masani contrasts Rajiv Gandhi unfavourably with Margaret Thatcher's resolve and closes (in the seen portion) with the nursery-rhyme image of the Duke of York to characterise the Prime Minister's vacillation. - Frames the 1985 budget as the latest in an unbroken line of wasteful, deficit-financed, inflationary budgets going back to 1955. - Notes only about 4 million Indians pay income tax, so touted tax relief benefits a small class while indirect taxation rises for everyone else. - Recounts a personal history of warning Nehru-era officials about inflation from deficit finance, invoking Acharya Kripalani's phrase 'legalised counterfeiting'. - Criticises Rajiv Gandhi for backtracking on a reformist AICC(I) draft economic resolution under pressure from Congress old guard. - Criticises Rajiv Gandhi for abandoning J. R. D. Tata's/Shiv Sena's proposal to regulate the influx of outsiders into Bombay. - Contrasts Rajiv Gandhi's perceived weakness with Margaret Thatcher's resolve despite his larger parliamentary majority. ### Erosion of Fiscal Federalism *By Amal Ray* Amal Ray's 'Erosion of Fiscal Federalism', in the rendered pages, lays out the constitutional architecture of centre-state financial relations in India (drawing on the Government of India Act 1935 and Articles 268-282 of the Constitution) and argues that resource allocation has increasingly centralised in favour of the Union government. Ray shows that non-statutory transfers have come to dominate over statutory ones (59.6% versus 40.4% of resources transferred between 1951-84), that plan grants and loans have outstripped statutory grants, and that this has diluted the intended role of the Finance Commission. He calls for a wider divisible pool of taxes, a narrower central excise ambit, greater use of state taxing powers under Article 269, and routing more transfers through the Finance Commission rather than the Planning Commission, citing his recent discussions with the Sarkaria Commission on centre-state relations. - Traces the constitutional basis of centre-state fiscal relations to the Government of India Act 1935 and Articles 268-282. - Finds statutory transfers (40.4%) have been vastly outstripped by non-statutory/plan transfers (59.6%) between 1951-84. - Argues loan-heavy plan assistance (70% of the total) has diluted the constitutionally intended role of the Finance Commission relative to the Planning Commission. - Proposes enlarging the divisible tax pool, narrowing central excise duties, and greater state use of Article 269 taxing powers. - References his own recent discussions with the Sarkaria Commission on centre-state relations as informing the analysis. ### A 'Swatantra' Budget? *By Louella Lobo Prabhu* Russi M. Lala's 'The Road to Dignity', in the rendered pages, opens with reflections on cleanliness and civic order observed in Japan and contrasts this with poverty and social division in Bihar. Lala recounts an anecdote of an adivasi companion being addressed condescendingly by a company official, and a story from Arrah district in which a Yadav landowning family initially refused to share well water with villagers during a drought, framing this as illustrative of caste-driven resource-grabbing that he links to a recent mass killing of children in Bihar attributed to caste conflict. He argues exploitation is anti-growth, invoking the historical argument against William Wilberforce that abolishing slavery would ruin England's economy, and closes (in the seen portion) with an anecdote about a Muslim factory worker in Pune who restored a neglected temple, prompting local Hindus to reciprocate by funding the repainting of a dargah, as an example of communal harmony achieved without any official 'Integration Council'. - Contrasts civic cleanliness and order observed in Japan with poverty and social division encountered in Bihar. - Recounts an adivasi companion being addressed condescendingly ('Aap Kahase Aya?') by a company executive despite the same official's courtesy toward Lala. - Tells a story of a Yadav landowning family in Arrah district initially denying villagers well water during a drought, illustrating caste-based resource control. - Links this caste dynamic to the recent murder of 13 children in Bihar attributed to caste war. - Invokes the historical argument that abolishing slavery would ruin England's economy as a parallel to arguments defending exploitative caste practices. - Closes with an anecdote of a Muslim worker restoring a Hindu temple in a Pune village, prompting Hindus to fund repainting a dargah in turn, as a model of organic communal harmony. ### The Road to Dignity *By Russi M. Lala* K. S. Venkateswaran's 'The Great Reservation Debate' reports on a seminar organised by the Indian Liberal Group and the Freedom First Foundation in Bombay, chaired by M. R. Masani, on the reservation policy for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other backward classes, held against the backdrop of violent anti-reservation unrest in Gujarat. The report traces the constitutional history of reservations from the 1932 Poona Pact between Gandhi and Ambedkar through the original ten-year sunset clause (extended repeatedly, including a failed 1970 Swatantra Party push by Masani and N. Dandeker to cap reservations at 1980), and surveys seminar participants' views: Subramaniam Swamy's call to distinguish SC/ST reservations from those for 'other backward classes' and to add an income ceiling and three-generation rule; Rajni Iyer's and R. Srinivasan's arguments that reservations have become a corrupting, abused 'unemployment guarantee scheme' benefiting a political elite rather than the poorest; and Usha Mehta's aspiration for an eventual end to reservation in all fields. The piece includes a boxed excerpt from Mahatma Gandhi opposing communal quotas in government employment in favour of appointment by merit through impartial boards. - Reports on an Indian Liberal Group / Freedom First Foundation seminar on reservation policy, chaired by M. R. Masani, held amid anti-reservation violence in Gujarat. - Traces the history of reservations from the 1932 Poona Pact (Gandhi-Ambedkar) through repeated extensions of an original ten-year sunset clause. - Notes a 1970 Swatantra Party attempt (Masani and N. Dandeker) to cap reservations by 1980, which was rejected by the ruling party. - Surveys Subramaniam Swamy's proposed reforms: income ceiling, three-generation rule, and distinguishing SC/ST reservation from 'other backward classes' reservation. - Presents Rajni Iyer's and R. Srinivasan's arguments that reservation has become an abused 'unemployment guarantee scheme' serving a political elite rather than SCs/STs themselves. - Includes a Mahatma Gandhi excerpt opposing communal proportional representation in government jobs in favour of merit-based selection by impartial boards. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff387/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 387 (October 1985), the quarterly of liberal ideas published by the Democratic Research Service under editors S. V. Raju and K. S. Venkateswaran, appears amid the centenary celebrations of the Indian National Congress and takes a deliberately unsentimental view of that anniversary. The lead essay by S. P. Aiyar surveys the Congress's century from 1885 to 1985 and argues that its ideological vagueness, drift from mass movement to authoritarian one-party dominance, and erosion of federalism have left it unable to fulfil its founding mission. Minoo Masani's 'What Congress? Which Congress?' makes a companion argument from personal testimony, disowning the post-1952 Congress as a hijacked institution.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 387 (October 1985), the quarterly of liberal ideas published by the Democratic Research Service under editors S. V. Raju and K. S. Venkateswaran, appears amid the centenary celebrations of the Indian National Congress and takes a deliberately unsentimental view of that anniversary. The lead essay by S. P. Aiyar surveys the Congress's century from 1885 to 1985 and argues that its ideological vagueness, drift from mass movement to authoritarian one-party dominance, and erosion of federalism have left it unable to fulfil its founding mission. Minoo Masani's 'What Congress? Which Congress?' makes a companion argument from personal testimony, disowning the post-1952 Congress as a hijacked institution. In the rendered pages the issue also carries editorial miscellany ('With Many Voices' and 'Of Cabbages & Kings') commenting on Rajiv Gandhi's politics, the future of Chandigarh, and a critical review of a booklet on Sikh separatism; a light piece on shoe-throwing in Indian legislatures; a translated 1886 eyewitness account of the first Congress convention; Masani's defence of the NDDB/IDC's Operation Flood dairy programme against press criticism, citing the Jha Committee evaluation report; and the opening pages of R. Srinivasan's 'Remembering the Emergency,' surveying press silence and public ambivalence ten years after 1975. ## Essays ### The Indian National Congress—Its Mission and Failures *By S. P. Aiyar* S. P. Aiyar, Head of the Department of Civics and Politics at Bombay University, surveys the Indian National Congress's hundred-year history on the occasion of its 1985 centenary, which he notes 'roused little enthusiasm.' He traces the organisation from Allan Octavian Hume's 1885 founding letter through its transformation under Gandhi into a mass movement, its drift toward intolerance of dissent and a 'one party doctrine,' the ideological vagueness of its socialism (from the 1931 Karachi resolution through Nehru's 'Socialistic Pattern of Society'), the failures of centralized planning and community development schemes, and finally what he calls 'the twilight of federalism' under Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, in which state autonomy was steadily eroded by centre-driven planning and political dominance. He closes by arguing that only a genuine federal system with less statism can allow the diversified leadership India's future nation-building requires. - The Congress's 1985 centenary provoked little public enthusiasm or idealism - The Congress evolved from an elite 'microscopic minority' movement into a mass movement under Gandhi after 1920, then into an intolerant, near one-party political force after Independence - Socialism within Congress economic policy was never precisely defined, producing what Aiyar calls 'fuddled ideology' and 'confusion most confounded' in planning (citing S.K. Dey and community development failures) - Centralised planning and near one-party rule under Indira Gandhi eroded state autonomy and reduced federalism to a 'quasi-federal system' - Aiyar argues India's future nation-building requires diversified leadership possible only under genuine federalism with less statism ### Operation Flood *By Minoo Masani* Minoo Masani, founder of Freedom First, personally disavows any continuity between the Indian National Congress he served (as an underground activist, imprisoned Bombay Provincial Congress Committee president, Constituent Assembly member, and independent MP after 1957) and the party being celebrated in 1985. He states that, for him, the Congress 'died when India achieved independence,' and that it was hijacked by politicians who converted it into a permanent ruling party rather than winding it up or splitting into two parties as advised. He cites former Congress President Nijalingappa's charge that Indira Gandhi's 1969 split 'defamed, degraded and destroyed' the original Congress. - Masani recounts his own Congress career from 1932 underground activity through 1957, when he returned to Parliament as an independent - He argues the historic Indian National Congress effectively ceased to exist at Independence in 1947 - He quotes former Congress President Nijalingappa's view that Indira Gandhi's 1969 split destroyed the original party - He refuses to recognise the 1985 centenary celebration as connected to the Congress he belonged to for twenty years ### Remembering the Emergency *By R. Srinivasan* A short, wry piece by Padmini Menon on the historical and contemporary phenomenon of shoe- and slipper-throwing ('sole-throwing') in Indian legislative politics, tracing it from the 1907 Surat Congress session's 'sole split' between Nationalists and Moderates through to its persistence on parliament floors in 1985. - Traces sole/shoe-throwing as a mode of political protest back to the 1907 Surat Congress session, when a shoe thrown at Rash Behari Ghosh split the party into Nationalists and Moderates - Frames the practice as a form of self-expression that carries less risk and responsibility than a physical scuffle - Treats the subject satirically as a comment on the state of decorum in Indian parliamentary politics ### The Crisis at UNESCO *By Cushrow Irani* A translated eyewitness account (rendered by 'R.S.' from a 1886 Kalanidhi article, reproduced in Kumari Malar, September 1967) by a Coimbatore delegate to the first Indian National Congress convention held in Bombay, 27-30 December 1885. The account describes the journey from Madras, the hospitality of Bombay hosts including Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta and K. T. Telang, and the lavish arrangements made by Goculdas Tejpal. - First-person account of travel from Madras to Bombay for the inaugural Congress convention of December 1885 - Describes hospitality from Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta and K. T. Telang among the Bombay elite - Notes the philanthropy of Goculdas Tejpal, whose estate funded a palace used to house delegates - Piece is a translation reproduced from a 1967 Tamil periodical, itself drawing on an 1886 source ### Gandhi Jayanti Thoughts *By C. Rajagopalachari* Minoo Masani defends the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and Indian Dairy Corporation's 'Operation Flood' programme against press criticism associated with Dr. V. Kurien, citing the findings of the L. K. Jha-chaired Evaluation Committee on Operation Flood-II. He quotes the Committee's conclusions that the programme was implemented competently, benefited small and marginal farmers and Scheduled Castes/Tribes, stabilised producer prices, and expanded urban milk supply, and states his own admiration for AMUL's work in Anand under Kurien's leadership. - Masani responds to press criticism of Operation Flood and Dr. V. Kurien by citing the Jha Committee's evaluation report - The report credits NDDB and IDC with competent, dedicated implementation despite uneven state-level cooperation - Cited achievements include stabilised producer prices, increased milk availability free of adulteration in Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta and Madras, and technical innovations such as aseptic tetrapak milk and an indigenised dairy equipment industry - Masani concludes the Committee's findings dispel doubts raised in the public mind about the programme ### Report of Seminar on Reservation R. Srinivasan reflects, ten years on, on how the Indian press and public engaged with the memory of the 1975-77 Emergency. He notes that while a few weeklies (Sunday, Illustrated Weekly, Imprint) ran retrospective pieces, most mainstream and even leftist journals (including Economic and Political Weekly) were largely silent, and that survey data showed a troubling majority of urban respondents open to the Emergency's reimposition. In the pages rendered, he goes on to summarise Professor Rajni Kothari's analysis of the Emergency's ideological legacy — including its normalisation of state supremacy over civil society and suppression of grassroots dissent — but the essay continues past the rendered pages. - Marks the tenth anniversary of the end of the Emergency and surveys how sparsely it was covered in the press in 1985 - Only a handful of weeklies (Sunday, Illustrated Weekly of India, Imprint) ran substantive retrospective analysis; most publications, including left-leaning Economic and Political Weekly, were silent - Cites a four-city survey (in Imprint, July 1985) finding roughly 65% of respondents would support another Emergency and 37% expected one - Discusses Professor Rajni Kothari's argument that the Emergency exposed enduring beliefs favouring state supremacy over civil society and suppression of grassroots movements - Essay is cut off mid-argument at page 20 within the rendered chunk; discussion of Kothari's analysis continues beyond it --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff388/ ### Summary This is the January 1986 issue (No. 388) of Freedom First, 'A Quarterly of Liberal Ideas', published by the Democratic Research Service and edited by S. V. Raju and K. S. Venkateswaran, with Minoo Masani as founder. The issue opens by dedicating itself to the memory of V. B. Karnik, the Democratic Research Service's Honorary Secretary and former Freedom First editor, who died on November 5, 1985, and carries a tribute to him by Vilas Patankar. It also marks Minoo Masani's eightieth birthday, noting the felicitation dinner held in his honour and the presentation of a festschrift volume, 'Freedom and Dissent', with congratulatory notes reproduced from figures including J. R. D. Tata and Senator Giovanni Malagodi of the Liberal International. In the rendered pages, the issue's regular front-of-book columns ('With Many Voices', a digest of quoted commentary from the Indian and international press, and 'Of Cabbages & Kings', an editorial notes column) address contemporary Indian politics, media freedom, and human-rights concerns such as the 1984 anti-Sikh violence and 'black laws.' ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the January 1986 issue (No. 388) of Freedom First, 'A Quarterly of Liberal Ideas', published by the Democratic Research Service and edited by S. V. Raju and K. S. Venkateswaran, with Minoo Masani as founder. The issue opens by dedicating itself to the memory of V. B. Karnik, the Democratic Research Service's Honorary Secretary and former Freedom First editor, who died on November 5, 1985, and carries a tribute to him by Vilas Patankar. It also marks Minoo Masani's eightieth birthday, noting the felicitation dinner held in his honour and the presentation of a festschrift volume, 'Freedom and Dissent', with congratulatory notes reproduced from figures including J. R. D. Tata and Senator Giovanni Malagodi of the Liberal International. In the rendered pages, the issue's regular front-of-book columns ('With Many Voices', a digest of quoted commentary from the Indian and international press, and 'Of Cabbages & Kings', an editorial notes column) address contemporary Indian politics, media freedom, and human-rights concerns such as the 1984 anti-Sikh violence and 'black laws.' ## Essays ### V. B. Karnik—A Tribute *By Vilas Patankar* Vilas Patankar's tribute to V. B. Karnik recounts an assassination attempt on Karnik decades earlier (from which a colleague, Wamanrao Kulkarni, saved him by intervening physically), Karnik's composure after his wife's murder, his work organizing a 1960 seminar marking the formation of Maharashtra, his direction of Acharya Kripalani's 1962 election campaign against Krishna Menon, and his qualities of self-effacement, rationalism, and moral courage. A sidebar by Minoo Masani, 'A Life of Great Dignity,' adds that Karnik served for years as Honorary Secretary of the Democratic Research Service and as editor of Freedom First, and describes the dignified manner of his death. - Karnik survived a knife attack decades earlier when colleague Wamanrao Kulkarni threw himself between Karnik and the assailants - Karnik insisted the attackers be released rather than handed to police, saying cruelty should not be repaid with cruelty - He maintained composure and kept working even during his wife's medical emergency and after her murder - He conceived and executed a 1960 seminar series marking the formation of the state of Maharashtra - In 1962 he directed Acharya Kripalani's parliamentary campaign against V. K. Krishna Menon - Masani's sidebar notes Karnik served for years as Honorary Secretary of the Democratic Research Service and as editor of Freedom First - Karnik died at 82 after declining artificial life-prolonging measures ### Indian Agriculture—A Stunted Giant *By Bhanu Pratap Singh* Bhanu Pratap Singh's essay argues that Indian agriculture has been artificially stunted by the Nehru-Mahalanobis development strategy, which prioritized capital formation in large-scale (especially public-sector) industry and treated agriculture as merely a source of subsistence food, raw materials, and surplus for industrial growth. He documents India's poor comparative growth in foodgrain production during 1971-81, low per-capita caloric intake, and argues India's natural endowments (arable land, water, climate allowing multiple cropping seasons) are under-utilized, citing Punjab's disproportionate productivity and National Demonstration Plot yields as evidence of unrealized potential. He attributes the underperformance to policies that suppress farm prices, restrict trade and movement of foodgrains, under-invest in rural infrastructure and credit, and force farmers to buy inferior domestic implements, calling farmers 'captive producers and captive consumers,' and calls for restoring farmers' right to sell produce freely, building rural warehousing, and redirecting budgetary and credit allocations toward agriculture. - Blames the Nehru-Mahalanobis strategy of channeling capital into large-scale industry for stunting Indian agriculture - Notes 1971-81 was India's slowest farm-production growth decade in South Asia except Bangladesh and Nepal - States 1981-82 foodgrain production was only 8.82% of world production versus 11.76% of world arable land and 15.66% of world population - Cites Punjab (under 3% of national farmland) contributing 9.75% of national foodgrain production in 1983-84 as proof of unrealized potential - Estimates India's agricultural capacity utilization at perhaps no more than 30% - Argues government price and trade policy, not nature, causes low farm incomes, terming farmers 'captive producers and captive consumers' - Calls for restoring farmers' right to sell at best price, building rural warehouses, and ending dumping of subsidized imported foodgrains - Author identified as a former Minister of State for Agriculture, Government of India ### Traditions and Trends in Marathi Newspapers *By D. B. Karnik* In 'In Which Century?', Minoo Masani recalls Jawaharlal Nehru once telling him in Parliament that Masani, like Nehru, 'thinks like a modern man,' and uses this to argue that India's readiness for the '21st century' is a matter of human attitudes and institutions, not technology alone. Drawing on his service on a Railway Accidents Enquiry Committee, he concludes accidents stemmed from human failure despite adequate safety devices. He catalogues examples of institutional dysfunction and low productivity in daily Indian life as seen through 1985 -- unresponsive postal service, slow bank clearing, low government-employee working days, and (continuing onto the essay's second rendered page) superstition and 'mumbo-jumbo,' customs officials, population growth despite available contraception, the absence of a common civil code, and the weakening of a common Hindustani link-language under pressure from Hindi-lobby fanaticism. - Recounts Nehru telling Masani in a Parliament debate that Masani 'thinks like a modern man' - Argues India's entry into the 21st century is a human/institutional problem, not merely a technological one - Cites his role on the Railway Accidents Enquiry Committee (with Justice Wanchoo) concluding accidents were due to human failure despite safety devices - Lists everyday institutional failures: slow postal delivery, slow bank cheque clearing, striking bank officers, low government workday counts - Criticizes reliance on 'mumbo-jumbo' -- caste, untouchability, reservation, astrology -- as brakes on progress - Calls for a common civil code, noting his own unsuccessful attempt to move for one in the Constituent Assembly - Advocates Hindustani over Hindi as India's practical link language, criticizing 'Hindi lobbyists' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff389/ ### Body # Freedom First --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff390/ ### Summary This July 1986 issue of Freedom First (No. 390) marks the quarterly's entry into its 35th year of continuous publication and carries a redesigned, modernised layout. The issue centers on a symposium, "Indian Education — The Creeping Wasteland," with four contributions examining the deterioration of Indian universities and schools: S.P. Aiyar diagnoses the collapse of the classroom relationship between teacher and student and proposes that students pay the full cost of their education to restore accountability; M.S. Gore addresses the financing of higher education along similar lines; and Padmini Murthy surveys the state of women's education in India, documenting high female drop-out rates, gendered channeling into arts and humanities, and the double burden placed on rural women. A second strand, "Raids on Personal Freedom," carries pieces by founder Minoo Masani and M.R. Pai (seen only via the table of contents in the rendered pages).… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This July 1986 issue of Freedom First (No. 390) marks the quarterly's entry into its 35th year of continuous publication and carries a redesigned, modernised layout. The issue centers on a symposium, "Indian Education — The Creeping Wasteland," with four contributions examining the deterioration of Indian universities and schools: S.P. Aiyar diagnoses the collapse of the classroom relationship between teacher and student and proposes that students pay the full cost of their education to restore accountability; M.S. Gore addresses the financing of higher education along similar lines; and Padmini Murthy surveys the state of women's education in India, documenting high female drop-out rates, gendered channeling into arts and humanities, and the double burden placed on rural women. A second strand, "Raids on Personal Freedom," carries pieces by founder Minoo Masani and M.R. Pai (seen only via the table of contents in the rendered pages). The issue also carries Giovanni Malagodi's "The Maintenance of Freedom," an essay by the President of Liberal International on the erosion of press freedom and pluralism through concentrated media ownership and state control, written against the backdrop of UNESCO's "New World Information Order" debate. Recurring back-of-book features in the rendered pages include "With Many Voices" (a page of press clippings and quotations), "Of Cabbages and Kings" (a miscellany column with obituary notes on Masti Venkatesa Iyengar and Sophia Wadia, plus commentary on the Arwal massacre, the Tagore centenary, and environmental pollution), and "The Masani Viewpoint," a caustic column by Minoo Masani criticizing government holiday-making, Rajiv Gandhi's rhetoric on pragmatism and alienness, and gender-unequal marriage rules for Indian diplomats. ## Essays ### Recapturing the Lost Spirit of the University *By S.P. Aiyar* S.P. Aiyar's essay opens the education symposium by contrasting the ideal of the university as a retreat for disinterested inquiry — the model he says prevailed when he began teaching in 1950 — with a 1986 landscape of collapsed student motivation, rote learning, and administrative dysfunction. He traces the growth from 27 universities and 798 colleges in 1950-51 to 140 universities and 5,246 colleges by 1982-83, blaming this proliferation, reservation policy effects on faculty recruitment, and poor teacher morale for declining standards. His proposed remedy is that students pay the full cost of their education (directly or through loans) rather than receiving state subsidy, arguing this would make them more demanding clients and free government funds for primary and secondary schooling. - Compares the post-Independence university ideal (research, disinterested inquiry, teacher-student engagement) to its 1986 state of decay - Cites growth from 27 universities/798 colleges (1950-51) to 140 universities/5,246 colleges (1982-83) with over 3 million students - Blames reservation-driven recruitment uncertainty and low teaching status for declining faculty quality - Describes a 'gigantic conspiracy against the intellect' in which guide books and objective-type exams remove the need to read or think - Proposes that students should pay the full cost of their education to restore institutional accountability and free public funds for primary/secondary education - Invokes Robert Gaudino's and Rabindranath Tagore's remarks on teacher-student disengagement ### Women's Education — A Perspective *By Padmini Murty* Dr. Padmini Murthy's essay on women's education documents severe gender disparities across the Indian schooling pipeline in the rendered pages: high drop-out rates for girls at the elementary stage, a sharp narrowing of access at the secondary and higher-education levels, and a gendered concentration of women students in arts, education and medicine rather than science, commerce or engineering. She attributes this to the low social status accorded daughters relative to sons, the domestic and childcare burdens placed on girls during family crises, and broader patriarchal patterns that persist even in modern economic sectors. The essay extends into the situation of rural women specifically, describing their disproportionate share of agricultural and domestic labour, the effects of deforestation on time spent gathering fuel and water, and the structural reasons — including uneconomical landholding sizes — that keep marginal farmers from fully using their land. She closes (within the rendered portion) by arguing that any programme to improve female literacy must be tailored to women's specific socio-economic circumstances, including flexible hours and curricula. - One in three girls aged 6-11 remains outside school in classes I-V; only 30 of 100 girls enrolled in class I reach class V - Educational opportunity narrows sharply for women in secondary and higher education, concentrated among urban middle and upper-middle classes - 1981-82 faculty-wise enrolment data show women clustered in arts (56%), education, and medicine, with negligible representation in engineering (0.7%) - Attributes gendered education gaps to the lower social status of daughters, domestic-chore expectations, and family crises that fall disproportionately on girls - Describes rural women's disproportionate share of agricultural and domestic labour, worsened by deforestation increasing time spent gathering fuel and water - Calls for education policy and literacy programmes tailored to women's specific socio-economic needs, including flexible curricula and hours - Author bio note: Dr. Padmini Murthy teaches political science at Thana College, Thane, Maharashtra ### Dangerous 'Carelessness' *By Minoo Masani* In this instalment of his regular column, Minoo Masani (writing as founder and columnist under "The Masani Viewpoint") delivers three short, sharply satirical items. In "Any Excuse Not to Work," he mocks the Maharashtra government's and the Prime Minister's practice of declaring ad hoc public holidays, using the announcement of a holiday for Tagore's 125th birth anniversary as a springboard to sarcastically propose a holiday for every great Indian who has died a century or more ago. In "Sauce for the Goose," he highlights a letter noting that Indian diplomats who marry foreign women without government permission risk being forced to resign from the Foreign Service, and points out the irony that the Prime Minister himself has a foreign-born wife. In "Rajiv Gandhi's Alienitis," he ridicules the Prime Minister's warning against the "alien concept of pragmatism," arguing from the dictionary definition of pragmatism that Rajiv Gandhi misunderstands or misapplies the term, and suggests his advisers are responsible for the confusion. - Satirises the Maharashtra government's and Prime Minister's habit of declaring holidays on short notice, using the Tagore 125th-birthday holiday as the trigger - Proposes, tongue-in-cheek, that India create a public holiday for every century-old death anniversary of a great son or daughter of the country - Notes the pre-1980 rule barring Indian diplomats from marrying foreign women without government permission, and the irony that the Prime Minister himself has a foreign-born wife - Criticises Rajiv Gandhi's warning against the 'alien concept of pragmatism' as a misunderstanding of the term's dictionary meaning - Suggests the Prime Minister's advisers, not he himself, are responsible for muddled political rhetoric ### Financing Higher Education *By M.S. Gore* Giovanni Malagodi, President of Liberal International, writes on "The Maintenance of Freedom," examining threats to press freedom and pluralism worldwide. He argues that although the technical means of disseminating information (post, telegraph, radio, television, satellites) have expanded enormously, they are increasingly subject to control by the state or by powerful private and state-run bodies, and that modern administrative measures for controlling information are more effective and less visible than old-fashioned censorship laws. He discusses the UNESCO-centered "New World Information Order" debate between Western states defending free information flow and Third World states who see themselves as threatened by Western media power, arguing that Third World governments often use this critique to justify their own media monopolies. His proposed remedy rests on maintaining freedom and genuine pluralism among those who already have it, on ethical and political education, and possibly on the creation of a qualified ombudsman or professional codes of conduct for journalists. He closes by lamenting the general decline in the quality of news and comment programming, including sensationalism and the compression of news for television. - Notes the paradox that free states now use effective but low-visibility administrative controls on information, replacing overt censorship laws - Frames the UNESCO 'New World Information Order' debate as pitting Western defenders of free information flow against Third World states citing Western media dominance - Argues Third World governments' complaints often mask their own monopolistic and primitive control of domestic media for political ends - Proposes maintaining freedom and pluralism among free societies, plus ethical/political education and possibly a qualified ombudsman or professional codes of conduct, as remedies - Warns against concentrated ownership of media by multinational companies with self-interested economic motives - Laments declining quality in news and comment programming — political sectarianism, sensationalism, and compression of news, especially on television --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff391/ ### Summary This is the October 1986 issue (No. 391) of Freedom First, the quarterly of liberal ideas published by the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, under founder Minoo Masani and editors S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. The issue opens with Manohar Malgonkar's profile of J.R.D. Tata occasioned by the book Keynote, followed by Minoo Masani's regular "Masani Viewpoint" column (on the Supreme Court's national-anthem ruling, Vasant Sathe's public-sector heresies, and a reminiscence of Gandhi and Subhas Chandra Bose). The bulk of the rendered pages is given to the issue's special symposium, "The State and the Arts," reprinting condensed papers from a Leslie Sawhny Programme seminar held in Goa in August 1986 on "The Arts, Letters and the State." Contributors argue, from a broadly classical-liberal position, that the State's proper role in cultural life should be minimal — confined to education and preservation rather than direct patronage — because government support tends to reward mediocrity, invite censorship, and corrupt both artists and bureaucrats. S.V.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the October 1986 issue (No. 391) of Freedom First, the quarterly of liberal ideas published by the Democratic Research Service, Bombay, under founder Minoo Masani and editors S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. The issue opens with Manohar Malgonkar's profile of J.R.D. Tata occasioned by the book Keynote, followed by Minoo Masani's regular "Masani Viewpoint" column (on the Supreme Court's national-anthem ruling, Vasant Sathe's public-sector heresies, and a reminiscence of Gandhi and Subhas Chandra Bose). The bulk of the rendered pages is given to the issue's special symposium, "The State and the Arts," reprinting condensed papers from a Leslie Sawhny Programme seminar held in Goa in August 1986 on "The Arts, Letters and the State." Contributors argue, from a broadly classical-liberal position, that the State's proper role in cultural life should be minimal — confined to education and preservation rather than direct patronage — because government support tends to reward mediocrity, invite censorship, and corrupt both artists and bureaucrats. S.V. Raju's framing essay describes the seminar's inconclusive debate over autonomy for All India Radio and Doordarshan and over the ethics of state art awards; Nissim Ezekiel, Govind Talwalkar, Krishen Khanna, and Mehra Masani each contribute essays applying this liberal skepticism of state cultural patronage to literature, the visual arts, and broadcasting respectively. ## Essays ### J.R.D. Tata – A Profile in Trusteeship *By Manohar Malgonkar* Novelist Manohar Malgonkar reviews Keynote, a compiled volume of J.R.D. Tata's speeches and shareholder addresses edited by S.A. Sabavala and R.M. Lala, using it as an occasion for a personal profile of Tata. He reads Tata's altered Tata family crest (adding wings to the original ring-and-sceptre motto Humata, Hukhta, Hvarshta) as symbolic of the expansiveness he brought to the Tata group, crediting him with founding India's first air service, Tata Air Mail, precursor to Air India. Malgonkar notes Tata's disarming self-deprecation about the book's origins in shareholder statements, his blend of criticism and occasional praise for government economic policy, his lifelong passion for flying (he held aviator's certificate No. 1), and his stated regret-free acceptance in 1938 of the burden of running the Tata empire at a young age, a decision that meant sacrificing personal aspirations including active involvement in the freedom struggle. - Malgonkar frames Tata as an exception to public figures who fear having early statements exhumed, since Tata endorsed republishing decades of his speeches in Keynote. - Tata modified the Tata family crest by adding wings to the original ring-and-sceptre emblem bearing the motto Humata, Hukhta, Hvarshta (Good thoughts, Good deeds, Good words). - Tata is credited with founding India's first air service, the Tata Air Mail, forerunner of Air India. - In 1938 Tata resolved to dedicate himself to Jamshedji Tata's vision, choosing business responsibility over deeper involvement in the independence movement, a choice he said he never regretted. - Tata held India's first pilot's aviator certificate and maintained a lifelong 'infatuation' with flying alongside interests in French and English language, literature, and poetry. ### The Masani Viewpoint *By Minoo Masani* In his regular column, Minoo Masani takes up three subjects. First, he criticises the Supreme Court's August 1986 ruling that singing the national anthem is not compulsory, and objects to the Attorney-General's decision to seek a review of that judgment, calling Kerala's expulsion of three schoolchildren for religious non-participation in Jana Gana Mana absurd; he confesses to a lifelong preference for singing Vande Mataram over the national anthem. Second, he surveys Union Minister Vasant Sathe's public criticisms (in three Times of India articles and a Telegraph interview) of India equating the public sector with socialism and treating it as a 'holy cow,' broadly endorsing Sathe's diagnosis of monopoly and unaccountability while noting it falls short of the Swatantra Party's own critique, and criticises Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for publicly disowning Sathe's views rather than staying silent as Indira Gandhi reportedly would have. Third, prompted by a new book on Gandhi and Subhas Chandra Bose by Samar Guha, Masani reminisces about his personal acquaintance with both men, characterising Bose as a nationalist par excellence and Gandhi as a humanist who denied being a nationalist at all. - Masani criticises the Supreme Court review sought by the Attorney-General against the ruling that anthem-singing is not compulsory, and calls Kerala's expulsion of dissenting schoolchildren absurd. - He discusses Union Minister Vasant Sathe's public criticism that India wrongly equated the public sector with socialism, turning it into an unaccountable 'holy cow.' - Masani largely agrees with Sathe's diagnosis but notes it does not go as far as the Swatantra Party's historical critique of the public sector. - He criticises PM Rajiv Gandhi for publicly repudiating Sathe's views instead of staying silent, contrasting this with Indira Gandhi's handling of a similar episode with Sathe previously. - Reflecting on a new book by Samar Guha, Masani recalls personal relations with both Subhas Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi, quoting his own memoir Bliss Was It That Dawn on his friendship with Bose. - He also comments on the Reliance Industries/Dhirubhai Ambani monopoly controversy, arguing that a large enterprise is not necessarily a monopoly and that government monopolies are India's real monopolies. ### The Limits of State Involvement *By Nissim Ezekiel* This unsigned framing piece introduces the special symposium section, laying out the liberal premise that the State should play only a minimal role in the Arts and Letters, since these are the expression of individual creativity in a free society. It previews the questions taken up by the individual contributors: whether state awards and patronage promote or corrupt excellence, whether broadcasting should be state-owned or autonomous, and what the correct limits of censorship are. - States the classical-liberal premise that a democratic State has a minimal role, if at all, to play in the Arts and Letters. - Frames the symposium's guiding questions: the extent of State involvement, effects on quality, awards, censorship, and autonomy for AIR and TV. ### The Perils of State Support *By Govind Talwalkar* S.V. Raju's "The Arts on a Leash" reports on the Leslie Sawhny Programme's August 1986 Goa seminar on "The Arts, Letters and the State," expressing disappointment at the lack of consensus among the assembled writers, artists, and media figures. He describes sharp disagreement over whether the state should fund the arts at all (a strong minority favoured leaving artists entirely to the market), whether state literary and art awards corrupt the process, and whether broadcasting (AIR and Doordarshan) should be made autonomous — the official government position being that neither the public nor the system was 'ready' for autonomy. Raju is particularly critical of the government's announcement of a large increase in arts funding (from 12 crores to Rs. 51 crores) intended for Zonal Arts Councils, which he sees as a scheme to promote artificial 'national integration' by circulating artists like Kathakali dancers to places such as Mizoram regardless of local interest or appreciation. - The seminar was organised by the Leslie Sawhny Programme in Goa, August 15-17, 1986, bringing together prominent figures from the arts and media plus a few government representatives. - No consensus emerged on whether the State should support the arts at all; views ranged from total non-interference to institutional assistance or tax relief. - Sharp division on censorship: one faction favoured letting works fail or succeed in the marketplace without censorship, another argued censorship was necessary but poorly administered by incompetent bureaucrats. - The government defended its stance that AIR and Doordarshan autonomy was not yet appropriate, framing it as a management rather than ownership question. - Raju criticises the government's plan to raise arts funding from 12 crores to Rs. 51 crores for Zonal Arts Councils, questioning the forced circulation of regional art forms (e.g. Kathakali in Mizoram) as a substitute for genuine cultural policy. - Overall conclusion: state interference in the arts should be minimal, but state assistance was still seen by the majority as necessary; disagreement centred on execution rather than the underlying system. ### The Contemporary Arts Scene *By Krishen Khanna* Poet Nissim Ezekiel argues that a democratic government, while not identical with Society and Culture and therefore unable to legitimately speak in their name, cannot in practice do nothing for the arts; at minimum it maintains inherited commitments to art education, academies, and prize funds. He is skeptical of state patronage's benefits, arguing that state art awards and subsidized institutions tend to raise controversy without raising standards, benefiting mediocrity and a class of literary bureaucrats rather than genuine creative achievement, citing Hugh Jenkins's account of Britain's Arts Council ballooning appetite for funds without commensurate cultural payoff. He proposes that government funding should focus on education and preservation, with patronage kept to a necessary minimum, and that the state must not attempt to control or dominate the arts but only promote and assist them. - Ezekiel's core premise: government is only one expression of Society and Culture, and cannot legitimately claim to speak in their name. - He argues state support for the arts is unavoidable at a minimal level (education, preservation) but should not extend to broad patronage. - Citing Hugh Jenkins's The Culture Gap, he notes UK Arts Council funding grew from GBP 350,000 (1946/47) to over GBP 50 million (1977/78) without commensurate cultural achievement, becoming a 'novel concept of government dependance.' - He distinguishes support for the sake of artists from support for the sake of the public/society, arguing the latter (popularising art) is neglected in favour of the former. - Government's proper function, per Ezekiel (quoting Charles Morgan), is to promote and assist the arts without controlling or dominating them, treating the artist as neither the community's priest nor its slave. ### TV and Radio – The Case Against Monopoly *By Mehra Masani* Editor Govind Talwalkar argues that the modern state's role and the world of letters are inherently in tension, tracing this back to Plato's argument in The Republic that rulers must be willing to lie for the good of the city, and to Hans Morgenthau's claim that even democratic governments 'strangulate truth.' He surveys India's post-independence cultural bureaucracy — state takeover of textbook publishing, government literary and cultural boards, state-sponsored literary workshops, the Sahitya/Natya/Sangeet/Lalit Kala Akademis, and the National Book Trust — arguing these schemes have largely failed: textbook nationalisation crowded out serious literary magazines and private scholarly publishing, the National Book Trust badly missed its translation targets and lost heavily on unsold stock, and state-funded literary conferences bred linguistic chauvinism and provincialism rather than lasting literature. Talwalkar concludes that creative literature is a private enterprise which government patronage cannot substitute for genuine recognition by discerning readers, though some minimal government support via media, tax concessions for donors, and university endowment (on the Western model) remains desirable. - Talwalkar frames the tension between the world of letters and the modern state through Plato's claim (The Republic) that rulers must be willing to lie for the city's benefit, likening this to 'all modern rulers and politicians' being Platonists. - He quotes Hans Morgenthau's Truth and Power on the US President's ability to 'deform' truth at will, arguing writers' duty is to resist this even under democratic governments. - State takeover of textbook publishing in India is blamed for undermining private publishing of serious literature and for financially starving literary magazines that textbook profits once cross-subsidised. - The National Book Trust's translation scheme badly underperformed its target (170 of 1,300 planned titles by 1985) with large unsold stock and losses of Rs. 147.8 lakhs, per an Indian Express report and CAG criticism. - State-sponsored literary conferences and workshops (e.g. in Maharashtra) are said to have produced 'not a single outstanding book' while breeding linguistic chauvinism, provincialism, and factional Akademi awards. - Talwalkar concludes creative literature is fundamentally a private enterprise that government patronage cannot substitute for, though some limited state role via 'via media' funding of arts councils/magazines and tax concessions for private donors is acceptable. ### Cinema and TV – Playing Complementary Roles *By Sai Paranjpye* Painter Krishen Khanna surveys the varying relationship between the state and the visual arts across countries and through Indian history, noting that even the ostensibly hands-off United States has State Department cultural diplomacy and depression-era arts programmes. He traces Indian state patronage from royal and princely support of court artists and musicians through the colonial production of "Victorian" academic art (citing Raja Ravi Verma) to the post-independence Lalit Kala Akademi's neutral stance between "Traditional" and "Modern" art. Khanna recounts censorship episodes — Souza's exhibition being partially taken down at the Artists' Aid Centre, and Akbar Padamsee's 1954 obscenity trial and acquittal — to argue the state is ill-equipped to judge where art's legitimate boundaries lie, especially as cinema, TV and video (unlike the plastic arts) reach far larger audiences and are treated by the state as needing moral curbs like drugs. In the rendered pages, Khanna's essay continues with a critique of the National Gallery of Modern Art's bureaucratic, once-a-year acquisition procedure, which he says produces a poor collection because serious artists rarely submit works for purchase and private collectors beat the museum to good work. - Khanna compares state involvement in the arts across the US, Soviet bloc, Western Europe, and India, arguing even 'hands-off' states like the US fund museums, fellowships and 'cultural diplomacy' abroad. - He traces Indian state-versus-arts patronage from royal/princely court painters and musicians, through colonial 'Victorian' academic art (e.g. Raja Ravi Verma), to the post-independence Lalit Kala Akademi's neutral Traditional/Modern art categories. - Recounts censorship incidents: Souza's exhibition partly taken down at the Artists' Aid Centre, and Akbar Padamsee's 1954 obscenity trial (he was acquitted). - Argues cinema, TV and video reach vastly larger audiences than the plastic arts, prompting the state to treat morally objectionable content 'in much the same way as it prohibits the use of drugs.' - Describes two personal anecdotes of state and quasi-state mishandling of his own paintings (one intended as a gift to Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, dumped in a warehouse; another rejected by the Ministry of External Affairs for embassy display as 'too near the bone'). - Criticises the bureaucratic, once-a-year submission-and-purchase system of India's National Gallery of Modern Art, arguing serious artists rarely submit work and private collectors 'beat the Museum to it.' ### Travails of the Indian Cinema *By B.K. Karanjia* In the opening pages of her essay (cut off in the rendered chunk), Mehra Masani argues against state monopoly of radio and television broadcasting in India. She contends that all governments, including democratic ones, would prefer a compliant media, but that the difference between authoritarian and democratic societies lies in whether the right to dissent and question is protected. She criticises Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's declaration that India is 'not ready for autonomy' for All India Radio and Doordarshan, arguing the broadcasters and the public are ready and it is only the government that is not, and traces the history of unfulfilled promises of broadcasting autonomy back through the Janata government's Prasar Bharati Bill. She lists specific disadvantages of state control: denial of citizens' right to full information, limited and urban/middle-class-skewed programming despite the greater need in rural areas, politically biased news coverage under the restrictive 1967 AIR Code, and the absence of any constitutional safeguard protecting broadcasting from political interference, unlike print media where plurality of ownership provides some check. - Masani argues all governments prefer a compliant media, but democracies are distinguished by protecting the right to dissent and question, unlike Communist states where broadcasting is 'operated by the government and entirely subservient.' - She criticises PM Rajiv Gandhi's statement that India is 'not ready for autonomy for AIR and Doordarshan,' arguing the broadcasters and public are ready and only the government is not. - Traces the history of broadcasting-autonomy promises through the 1977 Janata government's Prasar Bharati Bill, noting it still granted government directive powers. - Lists the disadvantages of state broadcasting control: denial of the public's right to full information, urban/middle-class-skewed programming versus greater rural need, heavily pro-government news bias under the restrictive 1967 AIR Code, and no constitutional safeguard against political interference in broadcasting (unlike the press, which benefits from plurality of ownership). - Notes the AIR Code (1967) bars criticism of friendly countries and religious/communal commentary, and was abrogated during the Emergency but restored (and increasingly ignored) by the Janata government. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff392/ ### Summary This is the January 1987 issue of Freedom First (No. 392), a quarterly of liberal ideas published by the Democratic Research Service in Bombay, edited by S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan under founder Minoo Masani. The issue is organised around a special theme, "The Face of Indian Communalism," for which the editors invited a range of contributors to examine communal violence and majority-minority relations in India from different angles, explicitly noting in the editorial that the views expressed are the contributors' own. In the rendered pages, M.V. Kamath surveys the sociology and history of Hindu-Muslim and other communal tensions; Kamila Tyabji reflects, through personal experience organising a women's group in a Bombay-area village, on how segregated schooling entrenches communal division and proposes multi-lingual, multi-community schools as a remedy; Dilip Simeon argues that Indian communalism is best understood as a species of fascist populism rooted in Brahmanical revivalism rather than as the antithesis of nationalism; K.F. Rustomji, drawing on decades of policing experience, contends that rioters are rarely genuine believers but opportunists exploiting religion; and Aloo J.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the January 1987 issue of Freedom First (No. 392), a quarterly of liberal ideas published by the Democratic Research Service in Bombay, edited by S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan under founder Minoo Masani. The issue is organised around a special theme, "The Face of Indian Communalism," for which the editors invited a range of contributors to examine communal violence and majority-minority relations in India from different angles, explicitly noting in the editorial that the views expressed are the contributors' own. In the rendered pages, M.V. Kamath surveys the sociology and history of Hindu-Muslim and other communal tensions; Kamila Tyabji reflects, through personal experience organising a women's group in a Bombay-area village, on how segregated schooling entrenches communal division and proposes multi-lingual, multi-community schools as a remedy; Dilip Simeon argues that Indian communalism is best understood as a species of fascist populism rooted in Brahmanical revivalism rather than as the antithesis of nationalism; K.F. Rustomji, drawing on decades of policing experience, contends that rioters are rarely genuine believers but opportunists exploiting religion; and Aloo J. Dastur (essay continues past the rendered pages) surveys the proliferation of government minority commissions and questions whether India's minority policy has become self-defeating. The issue also carries the regular features "With Many Voices" (a page of quoted press clippings) and "Of Cabbages and Kings" (a column of short editorial notes on black money, leadership, and defaulting politicians). ## Essays ### The Face of Indian Communalism *By M.V. Kamath* M.V. Kamath surveys the many faces of communal tension in India — Hindu-Muslim, Hindu-Christian, Hindu-Sikh, and intra-Hindu caste conflict — arguing that most riots are locally triggered by economic competition (using the 1982 Baroda riots between Bhoi Hindu and Muslim bootleggers as his central case study) rather than by ancient religious grievance. He discusses the difficulty of defining "who is a Hindu," citing R.K. Hazari and Girilal Jain, and traces the historical roots of the Hindu-Muslim divide to the trauma of Partition and to a Muslim political "dilemma" articulated by Sir Syed Ahmed and analysed by Prof. R. Suntheralingam. He closes by arguing that reconciling India and Pakistan into a friendlier regional relationship is key to ending communalism. - Argues that most communal riots are 'sectoral' economic conflicts rather than truly religious, using the 1982-83 Baroda riots (Bhoi Hindus vs. poor Muslim bootleggers) as evidence - Notes that Hindu unity has historically been cultural rather than political, citing a Turk/stone-sand simile for Hindu disparateness-as-strength - Cites Girilal Jain on Hindus' amorphous, non-proselytizing self-image and the Census's negative definition of a Hindu - Discusses caste violence in UP, Bihar, and Maharashtra as distinct from communal (interreligious) violence, with 1,500 UP caste-related murders cited - Presents statistics on communal 'incidents' 1968-1982, peaking at 519 clashes in 1969 and troughing at 169 in the Emergency year of 1976 - Invokes Sir Syed Ahmed's early-20th-century 'Muslim dilemma' — fear of permanent political subjugation under majoritarian democracy — as an explanatory root of Muslim separatism - Concludes that reconciling India-Pakistan relations, not just internal reform, is 'the key' to ending communalism ### The Roots of National (Dis)Integration *By Kamila Tyabji* Kamila Tyabji recounts her 1968 experience organising a stitching class for Hindu and Muslim women in Taloja, a village near Bombay, where the venue had to be moved after five weeks because Muslim women would not cross into a 'Hindu mohalla' just an eight-foot street away — an episode she says opened her eyes to communal division despite her own background as a Muslim who had never previously perceived such rifts. She argues that Indian schooling, which segregates children by language and community from the earliest age, is a root cause of adult communal estrangement, and proposes multi-lingual, mixed-community schools (citing the Godrej School at Vikroli and Women's India Trust's own Panvel kindergarten as existing models) as a long-term remedy that existing minorities commissions and integration seminars have failed to deliver. - Recounts a 1968 personal episode in Taloja village where Muslim women stopped attending a mixed stitching class rather than cross into a 'Hindu mohalla' just across the street - Notes her own surprise at this, given her background organising the Women's India Association (UK) and the India Defence Fund Committee as a Muslim without prior sense of communal difference - Argues that communalism/racism is 'nothing but the fear we all have of something new or different' - Proposes multi-lingual, mixed pre-primary and primary schools as a structural fix, citing the Godrej School at Vikroli and Women's India Trust's Panvel kindergarten - Calls for the State to house different language-medium schools in the same building/premises with shared facilities to encourage intermingling ### Communalism: A Symptom of Fascism *By Dilip Simeon* Dilip Simeon argues that Indian 'communalism' is best understood not as the opposite of nationalism but as a domestic variant of fascist populism — a form of 'Brahmanical fascism' that manufactures an internal enemy (in the manner of Nazi antisemitism) and legitimises mass violence as retributive justice. He traces this to late-19th-century revivalist thought (Bankim Chattopadhyay's shift from critiquing Brahmanism to authoring 'Anandamath,' and Tilak's fusion of Ganapati/Shivaji festivals with nationalist politics), contrasts it with India's shramanic/syncretic counter-tradition (Buddhism, Bhakti saints, Kabir, the sufis), and holds that Partition was itself substantially a product of Brahmanical fascism's political success alongside British scheming and Muslim League intransigence. He closes by warning that a society in crisis can turn to communal, authoritarian reconstruction, and that only a social-democratic nationalism rooted in India's syncretic traditions offers an antidote to the 'nightmare of Partition.' - Opens with a vignette of Congress politicians administering loyalty oaths to widows of the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom at India Gate, calling it symbolic of political hypocrisy - Defines communalism as 'the Indian form of fascist populism and racist nationalism' that substitutes religious frenzy for rational, tolerant patriotism - Critiques the Mishra Commission of Inquiry into the 1984 anti-Sikh violence as designed to shield 'communalism in high places' rather than establish guilt - Traces revivalist Hindu nationalism to Bankim Chattopadhyay ('Anandamath', 1883) and Bal Gangadhar Tilak's Shivaji/Ganapati festivals, arguing they fused patriotic and communal sentiment - Identifies a parallel 'protocommunal' current in Deoband ulema nationalism, arguing all such 1930s-40s tendencies were 'equally communal' despite differing on Partition - Contrasts Brahmanical orthodoxy with India's shramanic/syncretic tradition (Buddhism, Bhakti saints, Kabir, Nanak, sufis) as evidence India was 'never purely Brahmanic' - Argues 'Hindu communalism' is a misnomer better called Brahmanical fascism, since it need not implicate all Brahmins any more than Christian antisemitism implicates all Christians - Concludes that Partition was substantially a product of Brahmanical fascism's political success, and that only social-democratic, syncretic nationalism can prevent renewed authoritarian crisis ### Who Are the Fanatics? *By K.F. Rustomji* K.F. Rustomji, drawing on nearly fifty years in policing, argues that the perpetrators of communal riots are almost never genuine religious believers but rather cynical operators — lawyers, businessmen, editors, and politicians — who invoke religion instrumentally to mobilise crowds for personal or political gain, while ordinary devout people are conspicuously absent from mob violence. He criticises the Mushawarat's inflexibility over disputed mosque sites and questions whether confrontation over such symbolic issues is worth endangering the safety and economic interests of poor Muslims, concluding that communal politics harms both Hindus (made to feel falsely besieged) and Muslims (pushed toward confrontation that historically 'brought ruin'). - States that in fifty years of policing communal riots he has 'never come across a genuine fanatic' among rioters - Argues killers 'have no faith in their religion' but a 'deep, obstinate, fiendish sort of hatred of the other side' - Identifies lawyers, businessmen, and editors who incite riots for personal/political gain as the real instigators, not religious men - Argues that fear of police and majority-community reprisal, not aggression, often drives minority crowds to gather defensively - Criticises the Mushawarat's refusal to compromise over an unused mosque as endangering thousands of poor Muslims for a symbolic cause - Concludes that communal politics harms Hindus (manufactured sense of victimhood despite real socioeconomic gains) and Muslims (pushed toward a confrontational course that 'brought ruin ... in the sub-continent') ### Are the Minorities Too Much With Us? *By Aloo J. Dastur* Aloo J. Dastur opens by cataloguing the proliferation of Indian government bodies addressing minorities and backward classes — the Kaka Kalelkar Commission, the Mandal Commission, the Minorities Commission, state-level minorities boards, and the National Integration Council — arguing that this profusion of commissions has whetted minority appetites without resolving underlying grievances. She argues the deeper problem is a national 'minority psyche' rooted in segregated, partitioned communal identities rather than superficial policy gaps, and begins to explore the tension between majority (Hindu) backlash sentiment — evidenced by the rise of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Ekatmata Yatra — and minority separateness. The essay is cut off mid-argument (discussing the Uniform Civil Code and Nehru's handling of the Hindu Code Bill) at the end of the rendered pages, so its concluding argument was not seen. - Lists the proliferation of Indian commissions on minorities/backward classes: Kaka Kalelkar Commission (2399 castes identified), Mandal Commission (3743 castes), Minorities Commission, state Minorities Boards (UP, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat), and National Integration Council - Argues these bodies have 'succeeded in whetting minority appetites, not satisfying them' - Criticises the Ramakrishna Mission's 1980s claim to minority-institution status as a 'caricature' of Vivekananda's universalist teaching - Notes rising Hindu majority anxiety evidenced by the VHP, Virat Hindu Sabha, and the Ekatmata Yatra - Frames the central policy question as how to judge/identify 'minorities' — nationally versus in states like J&K, Punjab, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh where Hindus are local minorities - Discusses Nehru's Hindu Code Bill/Hindu Marriage and Divorce Act reforms as benefiting Hindu women while leaving Article 44's Uniform Civil Code unrealised for Muslim women (essay cuts off here) --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff393/ ### Summary This is the April 1987 issue (No. 393) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani. The issue is a special number devoted almost entirely to "The Right to Live and the Right to Die with Dignity," built around extracts and summaries from the Sixth Biennial Conference of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies, held in Bombay in November 1986. In their editorial note, the editors explain the choice of theme against a backdrop of budget disappointment, the President-Prime Minister controversy, and violence in Punjab, framing the euthanasia symposium as material that "provide[s] some relief to our reader" despite concerning death and dying, and note the cover's depiction of Bhishma choosing his hour of death as testimony to an Indian tradition of dignified dying. In the rendered pages, contributions come from Sir Edmund Hillary (New Zealand's High Commissioner to India, recounting personal brushes with death and his views on the right to die), Minoo Masani (on the Netherlands' court-driven euthanasia framework and Indian legal reform efforts led by Prof.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the April 1987 issue (No. 393) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani. The issue is a special number devoted almost entirely to "The Right to Live and the Right to Die with Dignity," built around extracts and summaries from the Sixth Biennial Conference of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies, held in Bombay in November 1986. In their editorial note, the editors explain the choice of theme against a backdrop of budget disappointment, the President-Prime Minister controversy, and violence in Punjab, framing the euthanasia symposium as material that "provide[s] some relief to our reader" despite concerning death and dying, and note the cover's depiction of Bhishma choosing his hour of death as testimony to an Indian tradition of dignified dying. In the rendered pages, contributions come from Sir Edmund Hillary (New Zealand's High Commissioner to India, recounting personal brushes with death and his views on the right to die), Minoo Masani (on the Netherlands' court-driven euthanasia framework and Indian legal reform efforts led by Prof. Sadanand Varde's bill and judgments by Justice Sachar and the Bombay High Court), and Prof. Alexander Capron of the University of Southern California (on the American legal history of patients' right-to-die and three "perils" facing the movement: the gap between legal rights and actual practice, the risk of a "right to die" sliding into a "duty to die," and the risk of passive euthanasia sliding into active, physician-assisted killing). The issue also opens with shorter regular features: Geeta Doctor's "Acoustic Trauma" (a satirical account of a Madras anti-noise-pollution march amid loudspeaker devotional broadcasts) and the "With Many Voices" and "Of Cabbages and Kings" column pages of quotations and editorial miscellany on Indian politics, press freedom, and academic corruption. ## Essays ### Essay 0 The editors' note explains why this issue is devoted to euthanasia despite pressing national concerns (the budget, the President-PM rift, Punjab violence), and introduces the cover illustration of Bhishma dying on his bed of arrows as an Indian precedent for choosing one's hour of death with dignity. - Frames the euthanasia theme as timely material drawn from a November 1986 Bombay conference of Right-to-Die Societies - Cites Bhishma from the Mahabharata, depicted on the cover, as an Indian tradition of dying with dignity and choice ### Acoustic Trauma *By Geeta Doctor* Geeta Doctor's satirical column recounts an anti-noise-pollution march by the Environmental Society of Madras, contrasting its well-heeled organizers with the pavement dwellers and traffic they disrupt, and closing on the irony that a nearby temple loudspeaker starts blaring devotional songs the moment the march ends. - Describes the yearly loudspeaker-driven "acoustic trauma" of devotional broadcasts in Madras during temple festival season - Satirizes a genteel anti-noise-pollution march organized by the Environmental Society of Madras - Notes the march's disruption of traffic, street vendors, and pavement dwellers near a bus depot - Ends with the ironic return of blaring devotional loudspeakers as soon as the march concludes ### Life or Death — Not an Easy Decision *By Edmund Hillary* Sir Edmund Hillary's address opens the euthanasia symposium with personal anecdotes -- his mother's decline and death, a near-fatal crevasse fall during the 1953 Everest expedition, and reflections on Sherpa children born disabled from iodine deficiency -- building to his view that no one should be kept alive as "a helpless cabbage" once incapacitated, terminally ill, or in great pain, while affirming everyone's right to risk their own life in adventure. - Hillary distinguishes the right to risk one's life in adventure from carelessly wasting it - Describes his mother's peaceful death from Parkinson's and his regret at not staying longer at her bedside - Recounts a near-fatal fall into a crevasse during the 1953 Everest expedition, saved by Tenzing Norgay's belay - Describes the burden borne by Sherpa parents raising a severely disabled, cretinous child for eighteen years - States his personal conviction that if incapacitated, terminally ill, senile, or in great pain, he would want to be allowed to die rather than sustained artificially ### The Right to Choose *By Minoo Masani* Minoo Masani's address surveys the international right-to-die movement, praising the Netherlands' judge-led (rather than legislated) framework for permissible euthanasia and recounting Indian legal progress -- Justice Rajinder Sachar's ruling against prosecuting attempted suicide in Delhi, and a 1986 Bombay High Court Division Bench ruling declaring the relevant Indian Penal Code section on attempted suicide unconstitutional in Maharashtra. He addresses two common objections (that legalizing the right to die would increase suicides, or enable murders disguised as suicide) and closes by reframing the Society's cause as the right to choose between life and death, quoting Pope John Paul II and Pope Pius XII as supportive of passive euthanasia and citing the Hindu saint Dnyaneshwar's chosen death at 21. - Describes six conditions under Dutch (Rotterdam High Court) case law permitting doctor-administered euthanasia - Contrasts progressive US state "right to die" laws and court rulings (New Jersey, Karen Quinlan case) with India's colonial-era penal provisions against attempted suicide and abetment of suicide - Recounts Justice Rajinder Sachar's Delhi High Court ruling against harassing failed-suicide attempters and a 1986 Bombay High Court Division Bench ruling that the relevant IPC section is ultra vires the Constitution in Maharashtra - Rebuts the arguments that legal suicide increases actual suicides or facilitates disguised murders, citing comparative country data - Describes Prof. Sadanand Varde's Bill granting immunity to doctors honouring a patient's wish for passive euthanasia, and its strong public support in replies received by the Maharashtra government - Cites Pope John Paul II's 1980 declaration and Pope Pius XII's 1957 address as compatible with passive euthanasia despite Catholic institutional opposition to the Bill - Reframes the Society's mission as protecting the 'right to choose' between life and death rather than simply a 'right to die', quoting William Ernest Henley's 'Invictus' ### The Vital Issues *By Alexander Capron* Prof. Alexander Capron's address, titled (per the text) 'The Right to Die: Progress and Peril,' surveys the US legal history of patient autonomy over life-sustaining treatment -- from the 1976 Karen Ann Quinlan case and California's Natural Death Act to durable powers of attorney and Living Wills -- and then sets out three perils facing the right-to-die movement: (1) that legal victories may not translate into changed attitudes and behaviour among physicians and nurses; (2) that a 'right to die' could slide into a perceived 'duty to die,' particularly under pressure from rising elder-care costs; and (3) that acceptance of passive euthanasia (withholding or withdrawing treatment) could slide into acceptance of active physician-assisted killing, which he argues should remain legally and morally distinct. In the rendered portion he works through counter-arguments for maintaining that distinction, citing risks of misdiagnosis, erosion of trust in physicians, and coercion of vulnerable patients in long-term care. - Frames the movement's original objective as making dying 'part of living' and protecting patients' right to choose their own care, not merely a 'right to die' - Traces US legal progress: informed consent doctrine, the 1976 Karen Ann Quinlan ruling, California's 1976 Natural Death Act, and subsequent state statutes and case law - Distinguishes Living Wills from durable powers of attorney as complementary legal instruments for surrogate decision-making - Sets out three perils: (1) gap between legal rights and clinical practice/attitudes, (2) 'right to die' becoming a perceived 'duty to die' amid rising health-care costs for an aging population, referencing Governor Richard Lamm of Colorado's controversial remarks, and (3) passive euthanasia sliding into active, physician-assisted killing - Argues against legalizing active euthanasia on practical grounds: risk of irreversible error from mistaken terminal prognoses, erosion of trust in physicians as healers, and greater potential for abuse and subtle coercion of vulnerable, long-term patients - Invokes V.D. Savarkar and Vinoba Bhave, both shown in photographs, as Indian examples of individuals who in their last days refused all medical aid - Notes Arthur Koestler as an example (with photograph) of someone who championed euthanasia and ultimately chose it himself while suffering from leukaemia --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff394/ ### Summary This is the July 1987 issue (No. 394) of Freedom First, "A Quarterly of Liberal Ideas," published in Bombay by the Democratic Research Service under founder Minoo Masani, with S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan as editors. The cover story is Sharad Joshi's speech-based essay arguing that India's post-independence Republic is failing and that a Second Republic is needed. The issue also carries Minoo Masani defending the largely dormant constitutional powers of the President against the Prime Minister, and D. V. Gundappa's essay (reprinted to mark his birth centenary) tracing Indian liberalism to the concept of Dharma and to the reformist lineage of Rammohan Roy and Mahadev Govind Ranade. The regular "Of Cabbages and Kings" column comments on political scandals, the Radical Humanist journal's fiftieth anniversary, the Uniform Civil Code debate, sugarcane/paddy agricultural policy in Maharashtra, and the death of former Prime Minister Charan Singh. A separate box reprints a statement by the Dalai Lama on Tibet, and the issue also honours the late administrator A. D. Gorwala.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the July 1987 issue (No. 394) of Freedom First, "A Quarterly of Liberal Ideas," published in Bombay by the Democratic Research Service under founder Minoo Masani, with S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan as editors. The cover story is Sharad Joshi's speech-based essay arguing that India's post-independence Republic is failing and that a Second Republic is needed. The issue also carries Minoo Masani defending the largely dormant constitutional powers of the President against the Prime Minister, and D. V. Gundappa's essay (reprinted to mark his birth centenary) tracing Indian liberalism to the concept of Dharma and to the reformist lineage of Rammohan Roy and Mahadev Govind Ranade. The regular "Of Cabbages and Kings" column comments on political scandals, the Radical Humanist journal's fiftieth anniversary, the Uniform Civil Code debate, sugarcane/paddy agricultural policy in Maharashtra, and the death of former Prime Minister Charan Singh. A separate box reprints a statement by the Dalai Lama on Tibet, and the issue also honours the late administrator A. D. Gorwala. Based on the rendered pages (1-20 of 52), the volume centers on constitutional crisis, the erosion of republican institutions, the historical roots of Indian liberal thought, and Congress-era political controversy. ## Essays ### The Need for a Second Republic *By Sharad Joshi* Sharad Joshi, founder of the Shetkari Sanghatana (farmers' organisation), argues in the rendered pages that the Indian Republic born in 1950 is dying because its founding structures have been eroded and its unifying spirit is disappearing. He traces the 'euphoria' of 1947-50 through the drafting of the Constitution, then argues that over forty years power has been concentrated in the Prime Minister at the expense of the states, the judiciary, Parliament, and the Cabinet, turning the states into a 'fiefdom' of Delhi. He rejects moral-decline explanations for India's troubles in favour of an economic one: parochial and communal conflict (Punjab, the Hindu-Muslim problem, caste and Dalit alienation) flares up in periods of stagnation and is fundamentally rooted in economic exploitation of agriculture and the lower classes by a 'dualistic' urban-biased economy, citing national income statistics comparing agricultural and non-agricultural per capita product. He gives an extended historical account of the Punjab and Sikh farmers' grievances (BKU agitation, Operation Bluestar, Indira Gandhi's assassination) as evidence of this economic dualism curdling into political crisis, and argues that a new elite of 'Dada-Goondas' (urban slumlords/smugglers/license-permit beneficiaries in collusion with rural power-brokers) has effectively captured the state in a 'silent coup.' He argues the Constitution itself is not to blame (quoting Ambedkar) and that a genuine Second Republic requires decentralised, federal government, subordination of state and religion, term limits on the Prime Minister, and above all treating the economic interests of the nation as a whole rather than favouring one sector over another. - Argues the Indian Republic, founded in 1950, is dying because its institutions (judiciary, Parliament, Cabinet, Presidency) have been progressively subjugated to a single concentrated executive. - Attributes India's parochial, communal, and caste conflicts to periods of economic stagnation rather than moral decline, citing Bhagat Singh and Babu Genu as evidence against a 'moral decadence' thesis. - Gives detailed economic data contrasting per-capita product in the agricultural vs non-agricultural sector (1951 vs 1983) to argue the state has systematically disadvantaged agriculture. - Traces the Punjab crisis to the agrarian economic grievances of Sikh farmers under the green revolution, arguing traders (mostly Hindu) captured gains meant for farmers (mostly Sikh). - Describes a new ruling combination of urban 'Dadas' (slumlords, smugglers, license-permit beneficiaries) and rural 'Goondas' as having captured political power in a bloodless coup. - Quotes Ambedkar to argue the Constitution is workable and not the source of the Republic's failure -- the failure lies in the men who wield it and in an economy that was never actually integrated. - Proposes remedies for a Second Republic: radical decentralisation, a genuinely federal constitution, a two-term cap on the Prime Minister, rotation of the premiership, and a state confined to defence, external affairs, currency and inter-state coordination. - Frames the argument in language borrowed from Jyotirao Phule, calling for the creation of an 'integrated nation' as the precondition for a genuine Republic. ### The President's Powers *By Minoo Masani* Minoo Masani responds to critics of his earlier Times of India article on the President-Prime Minister relationship, restating his argument that the Constitution deliberately gives the President real checks-and-balances power (not merely nominal, rubber-stamp authority), quoting Articles 74, 75, and 111 of the Constitution at length. He argues it is illogical to claim the President must act solely on the Prime Minister's advice while also claiming the Cabinet holds office only 'during the pleasure' of the President, since both cannot be literally true at once. Masani insists democracy is not the same as unconstrained majority rule -- 'the tyranny of a brute majority can be as undemocratic and oppressive as the tyranny of a minority or an individual' -- citing Hitler's rise via majority vote as evidence, and endorses power-sharing devices such as the Swiss Confederation's proportional-representation-based executive. He criticizes the 42nd Amendment (pushed through during the Emergency) for supporting an anti-pluralist reading of majority rule, laments that the Janata Government failed to repeal it despite promising to, and closes by quoting Dicey via a Statesman excerpt on the constitutional propriety of the Crown/President dismissing a government that has lost the confidence of the electorate. - Restates and defends an earlier Times of India piece arguing the President has genuine constitutional checks on the Prime Minister, not merely ceremonial powers. - Quotes Articles 74(1), 75(1), 75(2) and 111 of the Constitution verbatim to support the claim that Ministers hold office 'during the pleasure of the President.' - Argues that critics' logic (that the President can never act except on PM's advice) is self-contradictory given the plain constitutional text. - Distinguishes democracy from majority rule, arguing unchecked majoritarianism can itself become tyrannical, citing Hitler's 'one man one vote' ascent to power. - Criticizes the 42nd Amendment (passed during the Emergency) and faults the Janata Government for not repealing it in full despite its manifesto promise. - Cites the Swiss Confederation's proportional-representation cabinet as a model for accommodating minorities within majority governance. - Closes with a quotation (via The Statesman) invoking Dicey on the legitimate grounds for the Crown to dismiss a ministry and dissolve Parliament. ### Liberalism in India *By D. V. Gundappa* D. V. Gundappa's essay, reprinted (with permission from the Gokhale Institute of Public Affairs, Bangalore) to mark his birth centenary, defines liberalism as faith in the free working of human intelligence and conscience, opposed to dictatorship by any person, group, or institution, and committed to reasoned persuasion and inviolable individual/minority rights. In the pages rendered, Gundappa first lays out a general theory of liberty and authority -- authority exists to protect liberty but must be restricted to the limits of proven necessity -- and then argues that Indian liberalism, unlike Europe's, did not arise from conflict with an aggressive king or church, but instead represents a re-articulation of the ancient Hindu concept of Dharma under the stimulus of British-introduced enlightenment. He expounds a threefold philosophy of Dharma (one's own nature/function; the sustaining order of righteousness and justice; and self-renunciation toward the highest self-fulfillment) as the philosophical bedrock from which modern Indian liberalism grew. He then traces the modern genealogy of Indian liberalism beginning with Rammohan Roy (1774-1833), a cosmopolitan reformer who championed press freedom, women's rights, and opposed Sati, and continues into Mahadev Govind Ranade (1842-1900), described as having given Indian liberalism its 'distinctive physiognomy' through decades of work in education, economic development, women's status, and reform of depressed classes, alongside collaborators including Dadabhai Naoroji, Telang, and Bhandarkar. The rendered pages end partway through the discussion of Ranade's liberal doctrine, including his view that state action has a legitimate role in supporting education, social reform, and economic development, contra a narrow laissez-faire reading of liberalism. - Defines liberalism as faith in free intelligence and conscience, opposed to dictatorship of persons, groups or institutions, upholding inviolable rights of individuals and minorities. - Argues Indian liberalism did not emerge (as in Europe) from conflict against an aggressive king or church, since India's history recorded no comparable systemic abuse of established rights. - Presents Indian liberalism as a re-articulation of the ancient concept of Dharma, stimulated by the new knowledge and enlightenment introduced by British rule, rather than a European import. - Expounds a threefold definition of Dharma: one's own function/nature, the sustaining order of justice, and self-renunciation toward spiritual self-fulfillment. - Credits Rammohan Roy (1774-1833) as the starting point of modern Indian liberalism -- reformer of Sati, advocate of press freedom and women's rights to property and education. - Credits Mahadev Govind Ranade (1842-1900) with giving Indian liberalism its distinctive character across education, economic development, social reform and women's status. - Argues Ranade rejected a doctrinaire laissez-faire liberalism, holding that the state has a legitimate duty to support education, social reform, and economic development where individual effort is insufficient. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff395/ ### Summary This is the October 1987 issue (No. 395) of Freedom First, "A Quarterly of Liberal Ideas," published by the Democratic Research Service in Bombay under founder Minoo Masani and editors S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. In the rendered pages the issue opens with an editors' note lamenting India's lack of leadership amid communal frenzy, and a "With Many Voices" page of press quotations. The regular "Of Cabbages and Kings" column (bylined SVR/RS) covers a Masani-Chatterjee writ petition against the AIR/Doordarshan broadcasting monopoly, a teachers' strike, the Vayudoot courier fiasco, and drought as a man-made policy failure. Feature essays in the rendered portion address leadership for the coming century (R.M. Lala), the sociological roots of communal conflict (Ratna Naidu), minority rights and the case for a national civil code (Lionel Fernandes), industrial policy priorities for the 21st century (A.H. Doctor), and Kamal Wadhwa's account of advocate Ram Jethmalani's public interrogation of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi over the Bofors affair. Minoo Masani's regular "Masani Viewpoint" column takes up the persecution of writer Rama Swarup, the 45th anniversary of Quit India, V.P.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the October 1987 issue (No. 395) of Freedom First, "A Quarterly of Liberal Ideas," published by the Democratic Research Service in Bombay under founder Minoo Masani and editors S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. In the rendered pages the issue opens with an editors' note lamenting India's lack of leadership amid communal frenzy, and a "With Many Voices" page of press quotations. The regular "Of Cabbages and Kings" column (bylined SVR/RS) covers a Masani-Chatterjee writ petition against the AIR/Doordarshan broadcasting monopoly, a teachers' strike, the Vayudoot courier fiasco, and drought as a man-made policy failure. Feature essays in the rendered portion address leadership for the coming century (R.M. Lala), the sociological roots of communal conflict (Ratna Naidu), minority rights and the case for a national civil code (Lionel Fernandes), industrial policy priorities for the 21st century (A.H. Doctor), and Kamal Wadhwa's account of advocate Ram Jethmalani's public interrogation of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi over the Bofors affair. Minoo Masani's regular "Masani Viewpoint" column takes up the persecution of writer Rama Swarup, the 45th anniversary of Quit India, V.P. Singh, and Swiss bank account secrecy. The issue's cover also lists further articles (an industrial-relations piece by Sudhakar Nair, a piece on the Indian soldier by C.L. Proudfoot, and Amlan Datta's essay on development theory) that were not reached in the rendered pages. ## Essays ### Leadership for the 21st Century *By R.M. Lala* R.M. Lala argues that the demands on political and social leadership have grown far more complex than in the era of Roosevelt, Adenauer, or Churchill, while India's own leadership has shrunk in stature since the Constituent Assembly generation. He contends that India's future leader must command the confidence of minorities and lower castes the way the Nehru family once did, invoking Akbar's shift from rule by the sword to rule by consent (citing Percival Spear's *History of India*) as the historical template for legitimate rule over a religiously diverse polity. Lala closes by urging devolution of power from the Prime Minister's Office to the Cabinet and states, warning that continued centralisation under a "democratic monarchy" model makes India harder, not easier, to govern. - Leadership challenges have multiplied since the Roosevelt/Adenauer/Churchill era due to nuclear weapons, terrorism, pollution and other new pressures. - India's post-independence leadership has not matched the calibre of the Constituent Assembly and first Parliament. - A future Indian leader must hold the confidence of minorities, especially Muslims and lower castes, citing Akbar's shift from conquest to consent as the historic template. - Quotes Percival Spear's *History of India* (Pelican Vol. II) on Akbar's creative, humane leadership as a model for holding a mixed population together. - Calls for devolution of power away from the Prime Minister's Office to the Cabinet and states as essential to governability. - Cites British columnist Peregrine Worsthrone on the pettiness of contemporary leaders versus their capacity to inspire. ### The Conditions which Generate Communal Conflict *By Ratna Naidu* Sociologist Ratna Naidu distinguishes communal conflict from regional or caste conflict, arguing that unlike regionalism, communalism resists resolution through dialogue because it involves geographically intermingled communities. She identifies three social conditions that generate communal conflict: a class's perceived threat of withdrawal of privileges (illustrated by upper-class Muslims' fears before Partition and by Jat Sikh landlords' anxieties after the Green Revolution), demographic spread patterns that make territorial solutions to Sikh-Hindu conflict in Punjab unworkable, and the cumulative deepening of inter-communal hate lodged in collective memory. She closes by drawing parallels to Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Assam, and calls for halting both state and popular terrorism. - Distinguishes 'minorities by will' (regional/linguistic/religious) from 'minorities by force' (caste-based), arguing only the former is a source of true communal conflict. - Identifies three structural conditions generating communal conflict: perceived threat to a class's privileges, adverse demographic spread patterns, and accumulated historical hatred. - Uses the Green Revolution and Jat Sikh landlord anxieties as the case study for how economic class interests get channeled into communal ideology in Punjab. - Argues Punjab's demographic distribution (Sikh rural majority, urban Hindu majority) makes any territorial partition into Khalistan unworkable. - Draws comparative examples from Malaysia (Malay-Chinese) and Sri Lanka (Sinhalese-Tamil) to generalize the thesis. - Concludes that halting both state terrorism and inter-communal terrorism is essential. ### De-mythifying Minority Rights *By Lionel Fernandes* Lionel Fernandes argues that while minorities deserve constitutional protection of their distinct identities, this protection cannot extend to a right to perpetuate fundamentalist or obscurantist practices, or to exemption from rational, uniform civil regulation. He warns that a rising, often uncritical, 'minority consciousness' is eroding national cohesion, citing examples where minority-community practices conflict with sexual equality, public order, hygiene norms, or clerical control over lay members. Fernandes calls for a voluntary, secular National Civil Code as a pilot step toward a genuinely enlightened common civil framework that would apply equally to majority and minority communities. - Minorities have a legitimate right to recognition and protection of group identity, rooted in hard lessons of majority-minority strife. - Questions whether minority rights extend to self-governing 'states within the State' -- exacting levies, imposing sanctions, or resisting civil jurisdiction. - Cites conflicts between some minority practices and sexual equality, public-order norms, hygiene, and clerical authority over lay members. - Argues pluralism is welcome in culture and religion but civil law must remain a common, rational domain not fragmented among communities. - Proposes a voluntary, secular National Civil Code as a pilot project toward eventual uniform civil law. ### An Industrial Policy for the 21st Century *By A.H. Doctor* A.H. Doctor lays out four components of an industrial policy that would let India enter the 21st century as a significant industrial power: judicious technology transfer, a time-conscious import-substitution strategy, product-quality improvement through competition, and long-range manpower/human-resource planning. He criticizes private-sector technology imports aimed merely at consumer goods (citing cars, televisions, even potato chips) and argues government should restrict technology imports to bridging genuine gaps in the capital-goods sector, while building negotiating skill to access strategically significant, closely-guarded technologies. He also flags computer software as an industry where India could retain talent and reverse brain drain. - Names four pillars of a 21st-century industrial policy: technology transfer, import substitution, product-quality improvement via competition, and manpower/human-resource planning. - Criticizes vested interests benefiting from imported consumer-goods technology (cars, TVs, even potato-chip production) at the expense of capital-goods modernization. - Urges developing strong negotiating skills to access strategic technologies that developed nations do not offer freely, especially in defence-related industry. - Advocates fundamental R&D rather than one-off process substitution, citing drought-resistant and early-maturing crop varieties as agricultural examples. - Calls for allowing firms to grow to scale sufficient to sustain meaningful R&D and innovation. - Flags computer software as a strategic industry that could retain India's brightest graduates and reverse brain drain, noting Tata Burroughs and Computronics India's early success in the US market. ### The 'Dog' that Barks *By Kamal Wadhwa* Kamal Wadhwa surveys the public reaction to Ram Jethmalani's 300-plus-question, month-long public interrogation of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi over the Bofors, Fairfax, and submarine-deal allegations, arguing it has set a healthy precedent by rallying scattered anti-Gandhi opposition around the single issue of corruption. The piece catalogues abusive and supportive letters Jethmalani received, former Maharashtra Chief Minister A.R. Antulay's 'barking dog' defence of the Prime Minister, and the ensuing 'canine jurisprudence' debate -- including Upendra Baxi's essay in Lex et Juris parsing whether citizens are 'sleeping dogs' or 'watch-dogs' under the Constitution. Wadhwa concludes that Jethmalani's campaign shows what wealth and education can achieve in a poor country, and speculates about whether the moment could crystallize into an organized anti-corruption opposition front. - Details Jethmalani's month-long questioning of Rajiv Gandhi via the press over Bofors, Fairfax, and submarine-deal corruption allegations. - Surveys hostile anonymous letters accusing Jethmalani of being a 'traitor' and 'street dog,' alongside supportive letters praising his 'crusade against corruption.' - Recounts former Maharashtra CM A.R. Antulay's defence of Rajiv Gandhi's 'barking dog' jibe, escalating into personal attacks on Jethmalani. - Details the 'canine jurisprudence' debate, including Congress-I spokesman G.K. Moopanar's and jurist Upendra Baxi's dueling interpretations of whether citizens are constitutionally 'sleeping dogs' or 'watch-dogs.' - Frames Jethmalani's campaign as a potential rallying point for a fragmented anti-Congress opposition, though uncertain whether it will produce an organized political alternative. - Concludes that India needs more wealthy, independent citizens capable of funding accountability exercises like Jethmalani's. ### The Masani Viewpoint *By Minoo Masani* In his regular column, Minoo Masani publishes an appeal from writer Rama Swarup describing his persecution under the Official Secrets Act -- 28 police guards around his house, frozen bank accounts, and a burgled office -- and asks readers to contribute funds via Freedom First. Masani also reflects on the poorly-attended 45th anniversary of the Quit India resolution, criticizing Aruna Asaf Ali's later turn to communism while noting her charm during the underground years, briefly assesses V.P. Singh as personable but limited by his Congress background, and discusses Swiss bank secrecy law, arguing (via A.G. Noorani) that the obstacle to disclosure of Indians' Swiss accounts lies in New Delhi's own laxity, not in Berne. - Publishes Rama Swarup's letter describing severe restrictions under police guard, frozen accounts, and appeals for financial help to fight charges under the Official Secrets Act. - Reflects on the poorly-attended 45th anniversary of Quit India, noting most surviving freedom fighters (Achyut Patwardhan, Morarji Desai, S.M. Joshi, Ushaben Mehta) declined to attend. - Recalls working underground with Aruna Asaf Ali from 1942, criticizing her later turn to 'communist fellow traveller' politics and Soviet Peace Prize. - Tells an anecdote about General S.S. Sokhey declining to pass on a peace-prize award to a local communist party functionary (Romesh Chandra). - Gives a mixed assessment of V.P. Singh as personable and intelligent but limited by his Congress/U.P. background. - Discusses Swiss bank account secrecy, citing A.G. Noorani, arguing India's own lack of a treaty basis (not Swiss law) blocks disclosure of illicit deposits. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff396/ ### Summary This is the January 1988 issue (No. 396) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani and published by the Democratic Research Service. The issue opens with a reappraisal of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel by Jayaprakash Narayan (reprinted from a 1974 Bhavan's Journal special issue marking Patel's centenary), paired with an extract from Patel's November 1950 letter to Nehru warning of Chinese expansionism after the annexation of Tibet. The bulk of the rendered pages carry four papers from a Leslie Sawhny Programme seminar on 'Problems of Democracy in India' (Bangalore, August 1986/87): Arvind Deshpande on the case for a National Caretaker Government, B.K. Nehru on the erosion of constitutional checks through the 'Indianisation' of the Constitution, Minoo Masani arguing that majority rule is not the essence of democracy, and (beginning within the rendered pages but continuing past them) M.V. Kamath on 'Rule by Districts.' The issue also carries the regular features 'With Many Voices' (press quotations), 'Of Cabbages and Kings' (editorial notes on current affairs), and a tribute to Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky by Nissim Ezekiel. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the January 1988 issue (No. 396) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani and published by the Democratic Research Service. The issue opens with a reappraisal of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel by Jayaprakash Narayan (reprinted from a 1974 Bhavan's Journal special issue marking Patel's centenary), paired with an extract from Patel's November 1950 letter to Nehru warning of Chinese expansionism after the annexation of Tibet. The bulk of the rendered pages carry four papers from a Leslie Sawhny Programme seminar on 'Problems of Democracy in India' (Bangalore, August 1986/87): Arvind Deshpande on the case for a National Caretaker Government, B.K. Nehru on the erosion of constitutional checks through the 'Indianisation' of the Constitution, Minoo Masani arguing that majority rule is not the essence of democracy, and (beginning within the rendered pages but continuing past them) M.V. Kamath on 'Rule by Districts.' The issue also carries the regular features 'With Many Voices' (press quotations), 'Of Cabbages and Kings' (editorial notes on current affairs), and a tribute to Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky by Nissim Ezekiel. ## Essays ### Sardar Patel – A Re-appraisal *By Jayaprakash Narayan* Jayaprakash Narayan reappraises Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, confessing that during Patel's lifetime he had been not merely a critic but an opponent, viewing him as a conservative defender of capitalism and foe of socialism. JP recounts how the Congress Socialists, including himself, Narendra Deva, Achyut Patwardhan, Ram Manohar Lohia, and Asoka Mehta, regarded Patel warily despite personal respect, and describes Patel's mastery of the Bardoli Satyagraha and his role integrating the princely states after independence -- a feat JP says even Khrushchev admired. The essay dwells on the Kashmir issue (which JP argues Nehru mishandled by internationalising it), recounts Patel's foresight on Tibet and China, and criticises the 'dignity of State' ostentation that grew after Patel's death, contrasting it with Patel's own modest official residence. It closes admiringly, quoting Nehru's own parliamentary tribute to Patel as builder and consolidator of modern India. - JP admits he was an opponent of Patel during Patel's lifetime, viewing him as a defender of capitalism against Congress Socialist aims. - Patel organised the Bardoli Satyagraha and was regarded even by socialists as an impeccable, incorruptible commander. - Patel's integration of the princely states after 1947 is presented as a unique feat -- even Khrushchev is quoted admiring how India 'liquidated the Princely States without liquidating the Princes.' - JP argues Nehru's mishandling of Kashmir (leaving it to the UN) made it an enduring international dispute, unlike the states Patel integrated directly. - Patel's November 1950 letter warning Nehru about Chinese designs on Tibet is treated as prophetic in light of the 1962 war. - The essay criticises the growth of 'dignity of State' pomp among post-Patel leaders, contrasting it with Patel's modest residence at 1 Aurangzeb Road. - JP faults Nehru for tolerating corruption and floor-crossing once Patel's organisational discipline was gone, quoting Vinoba on the 'accepted social code' of self-interest. ### A National Caretaker Government *By Arvind Deshpande* Arvind Deshpande argues for a 'National Caretaker Government' as a constitutional middle path between an unaccountable elected majority and the drastic remedy of an Emergency. Surveying objections raised by legal and political figures (H.M. Seervai, Soli Sorabji, N.G. Goray) to an appeal for the President to explore forming such a government, he contends that repeated electoral mandates (1971, 1977, 1985) have left voters disillusioned, producing a corrosive 'choicelessness,' and that no credible alternative to the Congress exists because it functions as an umbrella party. His proposed solution is a short, President-installed caretaker government of talents to steer the country through a crisis of legitimacy before fresh elections, explicitly distinguished from both an Emergency and a 'palace revolution.' - Deshpande frames the core problem as 'choicelessness': voters repeatedly change governments but never see accountability or good governance result. - He reports legal objections from H.M. Seervai and Soli Sorabji doubting the President has power to impose a National Government while the Council of Ministers retains majority confidence. - N.G. Goray warns that presidential imposition of a 'national government' effectively amounts to a subjective declaration of Emergency under Article 352, risking a 'palace revolution.' - Deshpande argues no real alternative exists to the Congress because it is a historic 'umbrella party' embodying all shades of opinion. - He proposes explicitly calling it a 'National Caretaker Government' -- a temporary arrangement of talents installed by the President to bridge an interregnum before elections, not a permanent alternative. - The essay closes on the paradox that Indian voters can elect a government but cannot force it to be honest, efficient, and ethical. ### The "Indianisation" of the Constitution *By B.K. Nehru* B.K. Nehru, a former civil servant and diplomat, argues that while the Constitution as framed contained strong checks and balances modeled partly on the Westminster system, decades of 'Indianisation' in practice have eroded nearly all of them. He traces this across the Presidency (whose informational and advisory role vis-a-vis the Prime Minister has shrunk since Nehru's era), the bureaucracy (whose Westminster-style independence has been compromised by ministers deciding individual cases and transferring or suspending recalcitrant civil servants), and the individual MP (rendered powerless by the party whip). He concludes by calling for constitutional revision to create new checks that cannot be dismantled by the same processes of 'Indianisation.' - Nehru argues the Indian Presidency was intended to function like the British Crown -- with rights to be consulted, to encourage, and to warn -- but this role has been steadily eroded since Nehru's premiership. - He notes the weekly Prime Minister-President audience, scrupulously observed until 1962, has since lost any fixed convention. - Article 74 (binding the President to ministerial advice) is now read to override Article 78 (the President's right to information), reducing the latter to an absurdity. - The bureaucracy's Westminster-model independence has been undermined because Indian ministers, unlike their British counterparts, routinely decide individual cases and can transfer or suspend civil servants who object. - The individual MP has no real check on the executive because party whips compel voting regardless of personal conviction. - Nehru calls for a revision of the Constitution to build checks and balances resistant to further erosion by 'Indianisation.' ### The Essence of Democracy – Not Majority Rule *By Minoo Masani* Minoo Masani argues that majority rule, taken alone, is not the essence of democracy and can in fact be undemocratic -- especially in 'polyglot societies' with a permanent ethnic, religious, or linguistic majority (he cites Sinhalese domination in Sri Lanka and Hindu domination over minorities in India as examples). Drawing on E.F.M. Durbin's test of effective opposition, Croce's warning against the State becoming the sole employer and landlord, and comparative examples (Stalin, Hitler, African dictatorships, apartheid South Africa), Masani lays out five conditions for genuine democracy: limited government, sharing and participation in power (including proportional representation for minorities), separation of powers, rule of law, and individual liberty. He is critical of India's 'first past the post' system and its concentration of economic control in the state, and favourably cites Switzerland's proportional, cantonal, rotating-executive model as a superior alternative for polyglot societies. - Masani's central claim: majority rule without limits is not democracy, and can produce tyranny of a permanent majority over minorities. - He invokes E.F.M. Durbin's test that a society without effective, actually exercised opposition is not a democracy. - Benedetto Croce is cited for the argument that when the State becomes the sole employer/landlord, society ceases to be free because there is no autonomous social force left to oppose it. - Masani lists five requirements for real democracy: limited government, shared/proportional power, separation of powers, rule of law, and individual liberty. - He criticises 'first past the post' electoral systems (UK, US, India) for producing gross under-representation, citing Margaret Thatcher's re-election on a minority of votes as an example. - Switzerland's system of proportional representation, cantonal autonomy, and a rotating collective executive is held up as the superior model for religiously/linguistically plural societies. - He argues reservations for scheduled castes/tribes should be time-limited and phased out, calling permanent or excessive discrimination ultra vires the Constitution. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff397/ ### Summary This is the April 1988 quarterly issue (No. 397) of Freedom First, Bombay's long-running journal of liberal ideas, edited by S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan under founder Minoo Masani. In the rendered pages the issue opens with its regular front-matter features -- 'With Many Voices' (press clippings), 'Of Cabbages and Kings' (short editorial notes on Milovan Djilas, Bharat Bandhs, press censorship in Singapore, and South Korea's state-directed 'free enterprise') -- followed by a Bombay seminar statement and report on Chinese rule in Tibet ('Tibet Struggles for Freedom' and 'Chinese Imperialism in Tibet -- Some Facts'). The issue's editorial center, signalled on the cover with a stylised pistol illustration, is a themed section 'On Violence' comprising four essays: A.N.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the April 1988 quarterly issue (No. 397) of Freedom First, Bombay's long-running journal of liberal ideas, edited by S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan under founder Minoo Masani. In the rendered pages the issue opens with its regular front-matter features -- 'With Many Voices' (press clippings), 'Of Cabbages and Kings' (short editorial notes on Milovan Djilas, Bharat Bandhs, press censorship in Singapore, and South Korea's state-directed 'free enterprise') -- followed by a Bombay seminar statement and report on Chinese rule in Tibet ('Tibet Struggles for Freedom' and 'Chinese Imperialism in Tibet -- Some Facts'). The issue's editorial center, signalled on the cover with a stylised pistol illustration, is a themed section 'On Violence' comprising four essays: A.N. Dalal on the psychology and sociology of mass and mediated violence and its incompatibility with democratic values (with a companion book-note on Elias Canetti's Crowds and Power); Louella Lobo Prabhu tracing violence in Indian politics from mythic and historical precedent through Emergency-era state violence, reverse discrimination, and organised labour unrest; Kamal Wadhwa on violence as a tool of political manipulation; and S.V. Raju's piece on the 'Riddles' controversy -- the political storm over the posthumous publication of B.R. Ambedkar's Riddles in Hinduism -- accompanied by an extract from Ambedkar's own book and a separate reprinted extract of an Ambedkar Constituent Assembly speech, 'Safeguarding Our Democracy.' In the rendered pages the volume also carries the constituent-assembly extract as a stand-alone item, several short items in the front matter (e.g. 'Hooliganism in the House' on a Rajya Sabha incident), and begins into further articles (Frits Bolkestein on Dutch citizenship, Ramakrishna Hegde on coalition government) that extend past the last page seen. ## Essays ### Of Cabbages & Kings An editorial round-up titled 'Of Cabbages and Kings' comprising four short unsigned/initialed notes: on Milovan Djilas's rare 1987 interview describing continuing crisis in communist systems and his qualified praise for Gorbachev; on the mixed success and rising public fatigue with opposition-called Bharat Bandhs; on Singapore's 'gazetting' (circulation-crippling) of critical foreign publications alongside anti-drug enforcement oddities in Sri Lanka, Israel and Germany; and on South Korea's state-directed conglomerate ('Chaebol') economy presented as a cautionary case of 'free enterprise' that is neither free nor humane toward its industrial workforce. - Djilas describes himself as a 'virtual unperson' in Yugoslavia despite The New Class being a major 20th-century political tract - Djilas sees Gorbachev as bringing something positive but doubts reform will succeed without dismantling the whole Soviet system - The March 15 Bharat Bandh killed seven and injured 250 but is judged to have achieved little beyond political theatre - Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew 'gazetted' (restricted circulation of) Far Eastern Economic Review, Time and Asian Wall Street Journal for critical coverage - South Korea's Chaebols are described as capitalist in name but under total Ministry of Finance control, with harsh labour conditions for women workers ### Tibet Struggles for Freedom The text of a statement adopted at a February 1988 Bombay seminar convened by the Hindustani Andolan and the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, condemning China's occupation of Tibet, backed by a companion fact-sheet ('Chinese Imperialism in Tibet -- Some Facts') on troop levels, monastery destruction, and demographic transfer, and a report on the seminar proceedings featuring remarks from Minoo Masani, M.V. Kamath and Tibetan representative Thupten Samphel. - The statement calls on the Government of India to permit a Tibetan government-in-exile and criticises India's 'pusillanimous' historic acquiescence to China's annexation - It records that over 87,000 Tibetans were killed suppressing the national uprising and endorses the Dalai Lama's Five Point Peace Plan - The seminar proposes observing 1989, marking 30 years of the Dalai Lama's exile, as the 'Year of Tibet' - The accompanying fact-sheet documents 6,254 destroyed monasteries, 1.2 million Tibetan deaths, and Chinese population transfer reducing Tibetans to a minority in Lhasa - Minoo Masani recalled that Nehru prevented the United Nations from coming to Tibet's assistance in 1959 ### Violence, Civilization and Democratic Values *By A.N. Dalal* A.N. Dalal, Professor of Political Science at Wilson College, Bombay, argues that mass violence -- from football hooliganism to communal riots -- is chiefly learned through social conditioning and mass-media desensitisation rather than innate, and that it is fundamentally incompatible with democratic values resting on rule of law and individual freedom. He surveys educational decline, group psychology and de-individuation, and violence against the powerless (dowry deaths, female infanticide, child labour) as 'passive' forms of social violence often ignored because they are not overtly political. The essay closes by invoking Gandhian non-violence, Martin Luther King and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan as models, arguing violence can only be overcome by non-violence, not eliminated outright. - Violence is treated as largely learned/socially conditioned rather than a fixed genetic disposition - Mass media (TV, cinema) desensitises viewers to violence and 'glamourises barbarism', especially for youth - Group psychology de-individuates people, permitting acts of aggression individuals would not commit alone - Passive/structural violence -- dowry, female infanticide, child labour, exploitative wages -- is as morally serious as overt political violence - Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan are cited as proof that non-violence is a learnable, effective response to provocation - Violence by the state (e.g. extra-judicial 'encounters') is treated as equally corrosive of the rule of law as private violence ### The Roots of Violence in India's Polity *By Louella Lobo Prabhu* A companion book-note by A.N. Dalal reviewing Elias Canetti's Crowds and Power (translated by Carol Stewart, Penguin 1973), summarising Canetti's theory of the destructiveness of crowds, the psychology of the 'survivor' who feels empowered by mass death, and the Schreber case-history as a model of the paranoid pursuit of absolute power, comparing this dynamic to Hitler's regime. - Canetti identifies four traits of crowds: the drive to grow, internal equality, love of density, and the need for a common direction - The 'survivor' -- the commander or ruler who outlives others in mass death -- is presented as the essence of political power-seeking - The Schreber case (a paranoid lawyer) is used by Canetti as a precise model of political power that feeds on the crowd - Dalal calls the book's neglect in India 'one of the surprising scandals of our decade' ### Violence and Political Manipulation *By Kamal Wadhwa* Louella Lobo Prabhu, Associate Editor of Insight, traces the roots of violence in Indian politics from mythic/historic precedent (the Mahabharata-era and medieval betrayals cited as recurring patterns of internal treachery enabling foreign conquest) through to post-independence India, arguing that communal, linguistic and caste prejudice explain mass violence far more than poverty or unemployment. In the rendered portion she covers Constitutional amendments unilaterally overriding contracts with princes and the ICS, the unintended consequences and 'reverse discrimination' effects of caste-based reservations, and violence embedded in organised labour's adversarial relationship with government, concluding that India has strayed from the standards of Ashoka and Gandhi under its own elected governments rather than under foreign rule. - Communal, linguistic and caste prejudices are argued to matter more for India's mass violence than economic deprivation - The abrogation of privy purses and contractual pensions to princes and ICS officers is characterised as a form of 'violence by the State' - Reservation policy, intended to uplift Scheduled Castes, is argued to have calcified into a 'travesty' inviting reverse discrimination and resentment - Industrial labour relations are described as violence-prone because government 'only responds to violence' in industrial disputes - The essay closes by contrasting India's current trajectory unfavourably with the eras of Ashoka and Gandhi ### Coalition at the Centre *By Ramakrishna Hegde* S.V. Raju's article on the 'Riddles' controversy is not directly rendered in this chunk, but the issue carries an associated primary-source extract from B.R. Ambedkar's Riddles in Hinduism, reproducing Ambedkar's critique of Rama's treatment of Sita after her rescue from Ravana in the Ramayana, alongside the Sanskrit verses (Kalyana-Kalpataru edition of Valmiki's Ramayana) and their English translation. - The extract reproduces Ambedkar's argument that Rama's cold, suspicious treatment of Sita after her rescue is incompatible with 'ordinary human kindness' - Sanskrit verses from the Valmiki Ramayana (Kalyana-Kalpataru edition) are quoted with facing English translation - Rama is quoted telling Sita he reclaimed her only to avenge his own honour, not for her sake, and that her 'very sight is revolting' to him ### The 'Riddles' Controversy *By B. R. Ambedkar* A reprinted extract, 'Safeguarding Our Democracy', from B.R. Ambedkar's speech in the Constituent Assembly during the third reading of the Constitution of India (25 November 1949), warning that India, having lost its independence once before through internal treachery, could lose its hard-won democracy again if political parties place party creed above country, and urging that constitutional methods -- not the 'Grammar of Anarchy' (civil disobedience, satyagraha, non-cooperation) -- must now be the sole legitimate means of pursuing social and economic change. - Ambedkar warns that India previously lost independence through the 'infidelity and treachery' of figures like Jaichand and the commanders who took bribes during Mahommed-Bin-Kasim's invasion of Sind - He fears that placing political creed above country could again put India's independence in jeopardy - He argues India was never ignorant of democratic or parliamentary procedure, citing the rules of the Buddhist Sanghas as proof - He calls for abandoning 'unconstitutional methods' (civil disobedience, non-cooperation, satyagraha) now that constitutional avenues are open, terming them 'the Grammar of Anarchy' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff399/ ### Summary This is issue No. 399 of Freedom First (October 1988, 36th year of publication), the Bombay-based liberal quarterly founded by Minoo Masani and published by the Democratic Research Service, edited by S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. In the rendered pages (PDF pp.1-20, covering printed pages 1-18 plus front matter), the issue is built around a symposium titled 'The Hammer & Sickle — A Big Question Mark' on Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika, alongside editorial commentary on India's own political scene (the withdrawal of the Defamation Bill, 1988, and the fragility of the newly formed National Front). The symposium gathers international and Indian contributors — Milovan Djilas, Bernard Levin, Geeta Doctor (satire), Ramnath Narayanswamy, and Vasundhara Mohan — who together take a mostly skeptical, wait-and-see view of Soviet reform, framing it as change managed from above by the ruling oligarchy rather than a genuine embrace of liberty or free markets. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 399 of Freedom First (October 1988, 36th year of publication), the Bombay-based liberal quarterly founded by Minoo Masani and published by the Democratic Research Service, edited by S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. In the rendered pages (PDF pp.1-20, covering printed pages 1-18 plus front matter), the issue is built around a symposium titled 'The Hammer & Sickle — A Big Question Mark' on Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika, alongside editorial commentary on India's own political scene (the withdrawal of the Defamation Bill, 1988, and the fragility of the newly formed National Front). The symposium gathers international and Indian contributors — Milovan Djilas, Bernard Levin, Geeta Doctor (satire), Ramnath Narayanswamy, and Vasundhara Mohan — who together take a mostly skeptical, wait-and-see view of Soviet reform, framing it as change managed from above by the ruling oligarchy rather than a genuine embrace of liberty or free markets. ## Essays ### Is Soviet Ideology Really Changing *By Milovan Djilas* Milovan Djilas, the Yugoslav dissident and former Vice-President of Yugoslavia, argues that Gorbachev's reforms are changes made by the ruling oligarchy and are too limited to constitute a change of system: communism, he writes, is always changing while remaining essentially the same. He traces the fossilization of Marxism-Leninism through Lenin's reduction of the state to 'the stick' and Stalin's consistent use of it, and contends that Soviet-style economies cannot embrace a genuine free market because 'socialist property' and party monopoly of power are treated as sacred and are abandoned only when strictly necessary. Djilas credits Gorbachev's glasnost as a real, if modest and non-institutionalized, achievement — chiefly as publicity that exposes the 'destructive force of Brezhnev's bureaucratism' — but predicts Gorbachev will face resistance from the conservative bureaucracy, and that fundamental ideology remains an obstacle he cannot circumvent. He closes by urging that the Soviet Union be understood 'in long blocks of time, in decades if not in centuries.' - Argues changes under Gorbachev and Deng are made by the ruling oligarchy and are too limited to be called systemic change; communism 'has always been changing, remaining in essence always the same.' - Traces the ideological lineage from Marx through Lenin ('the state equals the stick') to Stalin, arguing Stalinism is a phase of Leninism, not an aberration. - Contends property in communist states is not legally defined, which lets the party monopolize the economy and generate 'total power,' unfreedoms, and stagnation. - Credits glasnost as Gorbachev's most important achievement — publicity/exposure of Brezhnev-era bureaucratic rot — but says it operates strictly within party-prescribed limits. - Predicts resistance from the conservative bureaucracy and warns that ideology (Marxism-Leninism) itself remains an obstacle Gorbachev cannot get around. - Sees Gorbachev as more flexible in foreign policy than his predecessors, and expects arms-control gestures aimed at removing Western distrust. - Advises observers to judge Soviet developments over decades or centuries, not in the short term. ### On Guard — or Gorbachev will Tickle You Red *By Bernard Levin* Bernard Levin's essay, reprinted from The Times of London (March 9, 1987), skewers the Western rush to celebrate Gorbachev's glasnost as naive. He argues Gorbachev is distinguished from Brezhnev, Andropov, and Chernenko not by any liberal inclination but by intelligence, and that his reforms so far amount to efficiency measures rather than a genuine embrace of freedom. Levin recounts, as a personal thought experiment, the 25-year-old claim that real change would come to the Soviet Union 'through the system, from below,' via safe, unremarkable apparatchiks who privately know the system is rotten — and he insists this is not romantic fantasy but literally what happened in the Czechoslovak Spring. He catalogues the regime's continuing evils — arbitrary law, censorship, the Gulag — and warns against extending Gorbachev the benefit of the doubt before he has earned it, closing with a line from Brecht's Arturo Ui warning that the totalitarian legacy is 'fecund still.' - Argues the salient difference between Gorbachev and his three predecessors is intelligence, not any liberal or democratic inclination. - Distinguishes Gorbachev's genuine drive for economic efficiency from an unproven, and doubted, commitment to political freedom. - Recounts a 25-year-old personal prediction that real Soviet change would come 'through the system, from below' via unremarkable, compliant officials who privately despise it — and claims this is exactly what happened with the leaders of the Czechoslovak Spring. - Lists continuing Soviet abuses — arbitrary law, a meaningless constitution, torture, censorship, anti-semitism, religious persecution, exploitation — as evidence the 'evil empire' framing still applies. - Criticizes Western public figures and celebrities for embracing 'Glasnost Chic' uncritically. - Concludes it would be premature and dangerous to extend Gorbachev the benefit of the doubt before real, unambiguous evidence of freedom arrives. ### Glass Nose Anyone? *By Geeta Doctor* A short satirical piece by Geeta Doctor, Contributing Editor of Freedom First, imagining a hapless 'agent' sent around the world's capitals to find out what glasnost and perestroika actually mean, encountering only marketing slogans, confused bystanders, and a French president who mishears perestroika as a call for the restoration of the monarchy. It ends with a Muscovite named Ivan, weeping, offering only 'Perish the thought of a Glasnost.' - Frames the global media excitement over glasnost and perestroika as empty sloganeering, from New York billboards to a Radio City musical. - Satirizes Western credulity by having an unnamed international 'agent' fail to get a coherent answer anywhere he travels. - Imagines France's President Mitterrand misconstruing perestroika as 'Pour restorer les rois' (for the restoration of royalty). - Ends on a bleak note in Moscow itself, where an ordinary citizen, Ivan, can only respond with grief and a pun rejecting glasnost. ### Eastern Europe: Who's Afraid of Gorbachev? *By Ramnath Narayanswamy* Ramnath Narayanswamy, who teaches at the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune, surveys glasnost and perestroika's reception across the Soviet bloc. He opens with the rehabilitation of Nikolai Bukharin — including publication of his long-suppressed political 'testament' — as a marker of how far glasnost has gone, then argues that Soviet economic reform, despite genuinely new elements like contract brigades and price decontrol, remains modest next to China's, Hungary's, and Yugoslavia's more far-reaching departures from the centralized model. He frames 1988 as an 'acid test' for Gorbachev, tied to the outcome of the 19th Party Conference and confrontation with hardliner Yegor Ligachev, and then works country by country through Eastern Europe: Hungary in economic crisis despite two decades of reform; Poland facing the same debt crisis with no glasnost to match it; a GDR openly resistant to reform despite efficient central management; Bulgaria descending into chaos from Zhivkov's own reforms; Czechoslovakia reforming 'under pressure' following Husak's exit and Jakes's ambiguous succession; Ceausescu's Romania as unreformed and repressive as ever; Yugoslavia amid deepening crisis with economists proposing a full market economy; and Albania cautiously opening diplomatic and credit ties with West Germany while resisting internal reform. - Cites the Soviet publication of Bukharin's long-suppressed 'testament' and moves toward his political rehabilitation as concrete evidence glasnost has substance. - Argues Gorbachev's economic reform program, though containing genuinely new elements, remains modest compared with China's, Hungary's, and Yugoslavia's more radical departures from centralized planning. - Frames 1988 as an 'acid test' year for Gorbachev, hinging on the outcome of the 19th Party Conference and his rivalry with Yegor Ligachev. - Surveys Eastern Europe country by country: Hungary in economic crisis with 18 billion dollars of debt despite two decades of reform; Poland facing 36 billion dollars of debt with 'no glasnost'; the GDR openly resisting decentralization; Bulgaria in 'greater and greater disorder' from Zhivkov's own reforms. - Notes Czechoslovakia is 'reforming under pressure' after Husak's retirement and Milos Jakes's ambiguous succession, on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Prague Spring. - Describes Ceausescu's Romania as unreformed, repressive, and hostile to Gorbachev, with 'some of the harshest' living conditions in Europe. - Reports Yugoslav economists Marijan Korosic and Slavko Gudstein proposing a full free-market economy, and Albania cautiously restoring diplomatic and credit ties with West Germany while resisting internal reform. ### Reforms in the Soviet Union *By Vasundhara Mohan* Vasundhara Mohan reports on the 19th All-Union Conference of the CPSU (June-July 1988), the first such conference in 47 years, describing it as a clear endorsement of Gorbachev's perestroika and glasnost and a moment that exposed dissenters within the party. She summarizes the structural and economic ills perestroika was meant to cure — declining investment, labour indiscipline, an overcentralized command system, and consumer goods shortages — and credits glasnost with allowing the press to report past mistakes, official misdeeds, and rights violations, including the corruption case against Brezhnev's son-in-law Yuri Churbanov. In the section on 'Voices of Dissent' (continuing past the rendered pages), she profiles Boris Yeltsin as impatient for faster reform and demoted for his methods, quotes historian Roy Medvedev's warning against moving too fast, and outlines conservative critics — including Ligachev, Gromyko, Chebrikov, and Shcherbitsky — who resented the press freedoms glasnost had unleashed. - Describes the 19th CPSU Conference (June-July 1988) — the first in 47 years — as a clear endorsement of perestroika and glasnost, and a forum that exposed dissenters. - Lists the systemic ills perestroika targeted: declining investment, infrastructure underdevelopment, labour indiscipline, chronic overemployment alongside labour shortages, and an overcentralized command-and-administer system. - Credits glasnost with expanding press freedom to report past mistakes, the causes of failures, and misdeeds by high officials — citing the Yuri Churbanov corruption case as an example. - Profiles Boris Yeltsin as the reform camp's most impatient figure, who was demoted and stripped of Candidate Membership after Gorbachev criticized his 'peremptory attitudes and command methods.' - Quotes historian Roy Medvedev warning that going 'too fast' risks 'the end of perestroika rather than its success.' - Identifies conservative critics of glasnost's press freedoms — Y.K. Ligachev, Vladimir Karpov, Filipp Popov, Andrei Gromyko, Viktor Chebrikov, and Vladimir Shcherbitsky — who accused the press of painting the Soviet past exclusively in black. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff400/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 400 (Jan-Mar 1989), marking the journal's 37th year of publication, is a themed issue on religion and public life, assembled against the backdrop of the government's October 1988 ban on Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses. The editorial and the lead section reprint reflections on religion and values from C. Rajagopalachari, the Dalai Lama, and the late A. B. Shah, framing religion as, in the editors' words, neither for nor against liberalism but a source of values whose institutional capture by 'priests, preachers and politicians' produces communal mischief. The issue's polemical center is the Rushdie ban: Abe Solomon takes issue with Minoo Masani's plea for 'Dharma in politics,' arguing for a strictly secular, rights-based public life, while M. R. Sundareswaran's 'Ban and be Damned!' supplies a detailed chronology of the ban and indicts it as political appeasement of Muslim vote-bank politics and a betrayal of constitutional free-expression guarantees, reinforced by sidebar reprints from Nehru (on the folly of banning books) and a note on the earlier proscription of Premchand. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 400 (Jan-Mar 1989), marking the journal's 37th year of publication, is a themed issue on religion and public life, assembled against the backdrop of the government's October 1988 ban on Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses. The editorial and the lead section reprint reflections on religion and values from C. Rajagopalachari, the Dalai Lama, and the late A. B. Shah, framing religion as, in the editors' words, neither for nor against liberalism but a source of values whose institutional capture by 'priests, preachers and politicians' produces communal mischief. The issue's polemical center is the Rushdie ban: Abe Solomon takes issue with Minoo Masani's plea for 'Dharma in politics,' arguing for a strictly secular, rights-based public life, while M. R. Sundareswaran's 'Ban and be Damned!' supplies a detailed chronology of the ban and indicts it as political appeasement of Muslim vote-bank politics and a betrayal of constitutional free-expression guarantees, reinforced by sidebar reprints from Nehru (on the folly of banning books) and a note on the earlier proscription of Premchand. ## Essays ### The Value of Traditional Values *By C. Rajagopalachari* A 1964 Swarajya reprint in which Rajagopalachari, describing himself as 'superstitious' in the etymological sense, argues that traditional values such as honesty, compassion, and respect for contracts are evolutionary products essential to human survival, and that secularly enforced laws cannot substitute for them. He rejects a purely materialist account of evolution, holding that some 'inscrutable design' underlies these values, and warns that discarding traditional values under the pressure of destructive scepticism would return mankind to a feeble, beast-like condition. - Rajagopalachari self-identifies as a 'superstitious' believer in things beyond reason and rationality. - Quotes the Isa Upanishad on those who deny the soul wandering in darkness. - Argues traditional values (honesty, compassion, cooperation) arose through natural selection and have survival value. - Credits Herbert Spencer (unread but presumed) with a similar argument about man's original evolutionary bestiality. - Rejects blind evolutionary materialism; believes values reflect a divinely designed order. - Warns that intellectual critique of tradition is easy from the safety of settled civilization, but civilization itself depends on the 'knitted fabric' of inherited values. ### Religious Values and Human Society *By His Holiness The Dalai Lama* A reprint (courtesy Awareness, Clarity and Insight, Snow Lion Publications) of an address by the Dalai Lama arguing that compassion is the essential core of all religion and that a rightly-motivated life matters more than doctrinal belief. He develops a reasoning for extending compassion even to enemies by contrasting the 'single I' against the 'limitless' others, and argues that good motivation, not religious affiliation, is what makes politics, science, and other fields serve rather than harm humankind. - Compassion, not doctrine, is presented as the real essence of religion, common across Buddhism, Christianity, and other faiths. - A reasoning exercise: since 'others' are limitless and the self is one, others' happiness should take priority — the basis for developing universal compassion. - One's enemy is described as 'the best teacher' because it tests and develops tolerance and inner strength. - Politics itself is not inherently 'dirty'; it becomes bad only when practised with cunning and selfish motivation. - Warns that a society preoccupied with money and power at the expense of compassion and honesty will face greater suffering in future generations. ### Religion and Society *By A.B. Shah* A reprint of the late A. B. Shah's essay 'Religion and Society in India' (from his book Religion and Politics, Somaiya Publications), examining how religion and social change have historically interacted in India. Shah lays out a general theory of religion's three functions (explaining man's experiences, providing criteria for choosing between alternatives, and undergirding social institutions), traces how religions arise as harbingers of change but become entrenched and resistant to further reform, and then applies this to a comparison of Gandhi's and Maulana Azad's differing approaches to reforming Hinduism and Islam. Shah argues Gandhi succeeded partly because generations of prior Hindu reformers (since Raja Rammohan Roy) had already done the intellectual 'spadework,' whereas Islam in India has not yet had its equivalent reform movement, and that even the Gandhian approach — reliant on religious idiom — proved a weak vehicle for lasting change, as shown by continued untouchability among Gandhi's own followers. - Religion has three core functions: intellectual explanation of existence, ethical criteria for choice, and legitimation of social institutions. - Religions begin as reformist/revolutionary movements but become entrenched establishments resistant to further change. - Christianity accommodated modern change over roughly 400 years; Hinduism underwent comparable change in the 19th century; Islam, per Shah, has only just begun this process. - Gandhi and Maulana Azad are contrasted as the leading modern reinterpreters of Hinduism and Islam respectively, but Azad's approach was cautious/apologetic compared to Gandhi's revolutionary willingness to override scripture. - Gandhi's reliance on religious idiom (Rama-Rajya, Sanatana Dharma) is identified as a structural weakness: after his death the traditional meanings of these terms reasserted themselves, eroding his reformist message. - Muslim society in India lacks the countervailing secular/reformist infrastructure that cushioned Hindu society, making a 'Gandhi' figure alone insufficient for Muslim reform. - Shah calls for a new generation of radical, liberal, modernist Muslim reformers willing to subject Islamic tradition to rigorous scrutiny. ### Religion and Politics *By Abe Solomon* Abe Solomon (President, Indian Secular Society, and trustee of the Freedom First Foundation) responds to Minoo Masani's July 1988 Freedom First essay 'India — Time for a Renaissance,' rejecting Masani's call for more 'Dharma in politics.' Solomon argues that the European Renaissance's essence was a shift from a God-centered to a Man-centered worldview and the assertion of reason against religious authority, and that religion in India has become an obstacle to social and cultural progress rather than a resource for it. He criticizes the Indian conception of secularism as sarva-dharma-samabhava ('respect for all religions') as a corruption of true secularism, which he defines as tolerance combined with opposition to any belief or practice that violates human rights. - Solomon takes issue with Masani's essay for lapsing into 'confused' apologetics for religion in politics. - Defines the historical Renaissance as a shift from God-centered to Man-centered worldview and a revolt against dogmatic religious authority. - Argues moral and ethical values are products of human reason and social development, not religion, which he calls an 'obstacle to social and cultural progress' in modern society. - Critiques the Indian usage of 'secularism' as sarva-dharma-samabhava (equal respect for all religions) as effectively endorsing all religions' dogmas and discriminatory practices (e.g., suttee, untouchability). - Insists secularism is not anti-religious but requires opposition to beliefs/practices violating human rights, and agrees with Masani only insofar as 'Dharma' is read as moral/ethical behaviour rather than religion as such. - Concludes with a call for India to build its future on reason, truth, freedom and compassion rather than religiously-inflected politics. - Includes a sidebar reprint of a telegram from 'Friends of Tibet, Bombay' urging Rajiv Gandhi to raise Tibetan autonomy with China, quoting Nehru's 1950 parliamentary statement on Chinese suzerainty over Tibet. ### Ban and be Damned! *By M.R. Sundareswaran* M. R. Sundareswaran's 'Ban and be Damned!' recounts the October 5, 1988 banning of Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses by the Government of India under Section 11 of the Indian Customs Act, following pressure from MP Syed Shahabuddin and other Muslim politicians who admitted not having read the book. The essay surveys press and political reaction — including Rajiv Gandhi's refusal to revoke the ban, divided Muslim intelligentsia opinion, and near-total silence from opposition parties — and argues the ban was an act of political expediency ahead of general elections rather than a principled response to genuine offense, casting it as surrender to fundamentalism and a betrayal of India's constitutional free-speech guarantees. The piece incorporates substantial sidebar material: Soli Sorabjee's Times of India op-ed 'A Betrayal of India's Tradition of Tolerance,' an extract from Premchand's autobiography on the colonial-era proscription of his story collection Soz-e-Watan, Minoo Masani's 'Let the Courts Decide' (recalling Indira Gandhi's Emergency-era ban on a biography written by his son Zareer Masani), and a closing Jawaharlal Nehru extract 'On the Banning of Books' plus a note on the historical banning of Tamil and Hindu texts ('Swadeshi Hindu Satanic Verses'). - The Satanic Verses was banned on October 5, 1988 under Section 11 of the Indian Customs Act after protests led by Syed Shahabuddin, who admitted not having read the book. - Rajiv Gandhi publicly refused to revoke the ban despite acknowledging Home Ministry officials had not read the book themselves. - Sundareswaran frames the ban as electorally motivated appeasement of the Muslim vote ahead of general elections, not a principled or consistent policy. - Muslim intelligentsia opinion was divided: most published reactions supported the ban, with the Indian Muslim Youth Conference president Mukhtar Abbas Naqri a notable exception opposing it. - Opposition parties are criticized for near-total silence on the ban, seen as complicity via a shared fear of alienating Muslim votes. - Soli Sorabjee's reprinted op-ed argues no law permits banning creative work merely for hurting religious sentiment absent malicious intent, quoting Justice Chinnappa Reddy on India's constitutional culture of tolerance. - The Premchand sidebar recounts his own book being suppressed by a British colonial district collector in 1909-10 for 'sedition,' offered as a historical parallel to contemporary censorship. - Minoo Masani's sidebar recalls Indira Gandhi's Emergency-era ban on a biography of her written by his son, Zareer Masani, later found to contain nothing objectionable and released by the Janata government. - Nehru's reprinted 1937-38-era essay 'On the Banning of Books' (from his Selected Works, Vol. 3) argues book bans are self-defeating, driven by human fascination with the forbidden, and dangerous as precedent regardless of who wields the power. - A closing sidebar, 'Swadeshi Hindu Satanic Verses,' notes earlier Indian bans on the Tamil poem Ravana Kaviyam and briefly references controversy over a Tamil folk-song collection reprinted by the Saraswathi Mahal Library in Tanjore. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff401/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 401 (April–June 1989) is a themed issue built around a symposium, 'A Perspective on the Indian Economy — Must We Live Beyond Our Means?', guest-edited by Jiban K. Mukhopadhyay, an economist with Tata Services. In the rendered pages, the symposium's core contributions warn in near-unison that the Government of India is living beyond its means: Mukhopadhyay's lead essay traces a widening fiscal deficit financed by borrowing and RBI credit rather than genuine revenue; D. R. Pendse quantifies the 'internal debt trap' the Centre is approaching by 1992; P. R. Brahmananda argues the Central Government fails even the 'canon of minimal fiscal viability'; N. A. Palkhivala's annual Budget speech (delivered in Bombay on 3 March) dismisses the 1989-90 Union Budget as 'purely an exercise in political symbolism'; Y. Sivaji, a Telugu Desam Rajya Sabha MP, calls for perestroika of public sector enterprises and a twelve-point corrective programme; and Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar's 'A Tale of Two Deficits' argues that economic liberalisation has newly linked India's budget deficit to its trade deficit.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 401 (April–June 1989) is a themed issue built around a symposium, 'A Perspective on the Indian Economy — Must We Live Beyond Our Means?', guest-edited by Jiban K. Mukhopadhyay, an economist with Tata Services. In the rendered pages, the symposium's core contributions warn in near-unison that the Government of India is living beyond its means: Mukhopadhyay's lead essay traces a widening fiscal deficit financed by borrowing and RBI credit rather than genuine revenue; D. R. Pendse quantifies the 'internal debt trap' the Centre is approaching by 1992; P. R. Brahmananda argues the Central Government fails even the 'canon of minimal fiscal viability'; N. A. Palkhivala's annual Budget speech (delivered in Bombay on 3 March) dismisses the 1989-90 Union Budget as 'purely an exercise in political symbolism'; Y. Sivaji, a Telugu Desam Rajya Sabha MP, calls for perestroika of public sector enterprises and a twelve-point corrective programme; and Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar's 'A Tale of Two Deficits' argues that economic liberalisation has newly linked India's budget deficit to its trade deficit. The issue also reprints a 1960 Rajaji essay on deficit financing and a short 1960 Swatantra Party policy extract, situating the 1989 crisis within the magazine's long-running classical-liberal critique of Congress-era planning. Beyond the symposium, the rendered pages include the regular 'With Many Voices' page of press quotations, subscriber-appeal and ownership-statement pages, and the opening of the table of contents pointing to further pieces (on Tibet, Tamil Nadu politics, Soviet joint ventures, Nelson Mandela, the Reagan presidency, and a serialized essay on democracy) that were not rendered in this chunk. ## Essays ### Must We Live Beyond Our Means? (A Perspective on the Indian Economy) *By Jiban K. Mukhopadhyay* In the rendered pages, Jiban K. Mukhopadhyay's lead essay argues that the Government of India's non-plan expenditure has permanently outstripped its revenue receipts, forcing ever-larger deficit financing and borrowing. He describes a 'statistical juggler' in the 1989-90 Budget — a Rs. 2,300 crore transfer from the Oil Development Fund used to mask the true revenue and capital account deficits — and projects total outstanding government debt reaching Rs. 2.6 lakh crores by end-March 1990, with interest payments alone of Rs. 17,000 crores. He surveys inflation trends, the external debt and debt-service ratio, and the inefficiency of state-owned enterprises, before concluding that only a sustained, whole-hearted policy of economic liberalisation — not the piecemeal liberalisation practised since the early 1980s — can restructure the economy. - Non-plan expenditure (Rs. 54,347 crores in 1989-90) exceeds total revenue receipts (Rs. 52,630 crores), forcing deficit financing. - The 1989-90 Budget disguises the real deficit through a Rs. 2,300 crore statistical transfer from the Oil Development Fund into revenue receipts. - Total outstanding government debt is projected at Rs. 2.6 lakh crores by March 1990, with Rs. 17,000 crores in interest payments. - State-owned enterprises return under 4% while government borrows at about 12%, a structurally unsound gap. - Inflation (average 7.8% in 1980-86) and a highly protective trade regime (mean tariff over 120%) are cited as symptoms of the same fiscal indiscipline. - Liberalisation since the early 1980s has been procedural and piecemeal rather than a genuine 'liberalisation' in the fundamental sense. - The essay closes calling for a wholistic rather than ad hoc liberalisation policy, driven by conviction rather than compulsion. ### The Internal Debt Trap — Too Close for Comfort *By D. R. Pendse* D. R. Pendse defines the 'Internal Debt Trap' as the point at which a year's interest burden on government debt exceeds all new loans raised that year, and shows that India's total internal debt grew from Rs. 2,533 crores in 1950-51 to a projected Rs. 224,451 crores in 1989-90 (Rs. 259,429 crores including external debt). He warns, citing senior RBI officials, that India will enter this trap by 1992, and traces the root cause to a 'borrowing spree' financing rising non-plan (consumption) expenditure — defence, interest payments, subsidies, and administration — rather than plan/investment needs. He cites tax evasion (Rs. 243 unassessed for every Rs. 100 assessed, per a 1985 government report on black money) and poor returns on public-sector investment (barely 3.4% after interest and tax) as root causes, and closes urging the government to sell up to 49% of shares in profitable public enterprises and to cut consumption expenditure rather than continuing to borrow. - Internal debt trap defined: when annual interest burden exceeds new borrowing raised that year, forcing a self-perpetuating spiral. - Total internal debt projected to rise from Rs. 2,533 crores (1950-51) to Rs. 224,451 crores (1989-90); total debt including external at Rs. 259,429 crores. - India projected to enter the internal debt trap by 1992, per senior RBI officials' analysis. - 80% of consumption expenditure comes from just four items: defence, interest payments, subsidies, and administrative expenditure. - Tax evasion is severe: for every Rs. 100 of assessed income, about Rs. 243 goes unassessed, per the government's 1985 Black Money report. - Government's Rs. 71,000+ crore investment in central commercial enterprises returns barely 3.4% after interest and tax. - Recommends selling up to 49% of shares in profitable public sector units to raise resources and reduce internal debt. ### Is the Central Government Fiscally Viable? *By P.R. Brahmananda* P. R. Brahmananda applies a 'canon of minimal fiscal viability' — that tax revenue should at least cover a government's minimal, inescapable expenditures (defence, police, general/social/economic services, grants, pensions, and interest) — and finds the Central Government fails this test in both 1988-89 and 1989-90, with a shortfall of roughly Rs. 6,400–4,900 crores despite tax revenues rising from Rs. 24,366 crores (1984-85) to Rs. 48,701 crores (1988-89 BE). He concludes the government is, by the RBI's own criteria for business sickness, 'very chronically sick' and recommends retrenchment of staff and even partial closure of some government functions. - Introduces a 'canon of minimal fiscal viability': tax revenue must at least cover minimal, inescapable expenditures. - Minimal and inescapable outlays were Rs. 39,059 crores (1988-89 RE) and Rs. 43,314 crores (1989-90 BE). - Own tax revenues fell short by Rs. 6,407 crores (1988-89) and Rs. 4,927 crores (1989-90). - Tax revenues rose from Rs. 24,366 crores (1984-85) to Rs. 48,701 crores (1988-89 BE), but current expenditure rose faster, widening the shortfall by Rs. 5,548 crores. - By RBI's own sickness criteria for business units, the Central Government itself is 'very chronically sick'. - Recommends retrenchment of staff and partial closure where a government function persistently cannot cover its costs. ### The Union Budget — 1989-90: An Exercise in Political Symbolism *By N.A. Palkhivala* This is a published gist of N. A. Palkhivala's annual Budget speech, delivered in Bombay on 3 March 1989 to an audience the introduction notes typically exceeds 50,000 people. Palkhivala calls the 1989-90 Union Budget 'purely an exercise in political symbolism' that reverses the government's own 1985 policy planks of low tax rates, simplification, stability, and liberalization. He attacks the 8% surcharge as an effective 4% tax increase that would be pocketed entirely by the Centre rather than shared with the states, criticizes the plan to fund a rural employment programme from surcharge revenue as 'dangerous' quasi-official party financing, and calls for Parliament to fix statutory limits on government borrowing under Article 292 of the Constitution, as recommended by multiple official committees since the 1960s. - Palkhivala's Bombay budget speech reportedly draws audiences of over 50,000, requiring the Brabourne Stadium. - Calls the 1989-90 Budget 'purely an exercise in political symbolism' with no underlying policy. - Argues the Budget reverses the government's own 1985 planks: low tax rates, simplification, stability, and liberalization. - The 8% surcharge is criticized as an effective 4% tax hike that the Centre would keep entirely rather than share three-fourths with the states. - Total government liabilities projected to reach Rs. 259,729 crores, with interest burden rising to Rs. 17,000 crores, approaching the 'debt trap'. - Calls for Parliament to fix statutory borrowing limits under Article 292, as recommended by the Chakravarty Committee and multiple Public Accounts Committee and CAG reports since the 1960s. ### An Economy in Dire Straits *By Y. Sivaji* Y. Sivaji, described as a Telugu Desam Member of the Rajya Sabha, argues the Indian economy is in 'dire straits' behind an officially rosy picture: reported GDP and industrial growth figures are distorted by a drought-depressed base year and by narrow gains concentrated in electronics and automobiles, while farmers face discriminatory pricing policies and urban consumers are protected at their expense. He details a widening trade deficit, a depreciating rupee (down 14% against the US dollar and 17% against the yen over two years), and an approaching debt trap, then lays out a twelve-point programme: strict expenditure control, a moratorium on new government hiring, cuts to defence and subsidies, 'perestroika' of loss-making public sector units, encouraging joint ventures over capital borrowing, raising the income-tax exemption limit to Rs. 25,000, and other reforms. - Argues official GDP/industrial growth figures for 1988-89 are distorted by a drought-affected base year and narrow gains in electronics/automobiles. - Farmers face discriminatory pricing that favors urban consumers, while inflation erodes real incomes of the poor. - Trade deficit rose from Rs. 99 crores (1970-71) to an estimated Rs. 8,500 crores in the current year; the rupee fell 14% against the US dollar and 17% against the yen over two years (Feb 1988-Feb 1989). - Non-plan expenditure is 66% of total 1989-90 expenditure (Rs. 82,161 crores), a 'colossal drain' with inflationary potential. - Warns of an approaching debt trap: external debt-servicing ratio at 26%, projected to reach a 'highly critical' 30% by 1992. - Twelve-point programme: expenditure control via an inter-ministerial watchdog committee, moratorium on government hiring, defence/subsidy review, public-sector 'perestroika' and closure of chronically loss-making units, preference for joint ventures over capital borrowing, and raising the income-tax exemption limit to Rs. 25,000. ### Deficit Financing *By C. Rajagopalachari* This is a reprint of an essay by C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji), originally written almost three decades earlier (per an editorial footnote, published 24 September 1960), arguing that inflation results from money supply expanding faster than the physical output of goods, and that India's deficit financing since 1955-56 is the root cause of chronic price rises. Rajaji traces budget deficits from Rs. 97 crores (1954-55) to Rs. 225 crores (1955-56) and warns the Third Plan's deficit financing, nominally Rs. 550 crores, is in practice about six times that figure. He argues inflation and price/import controls together enrich importers, smugglers, and corrupt officials while impoverishing wage-earners and the middle class, and calls for restoring the balance between the flow of production and the flow of money as the only real cure. - Inflation defined as money supply expansion outpacing the physical volume of output; the general price index in India rose nearly five-fold using a 1938-39 base by August 1960. - Traces the roots of chronic post-1955-56 Indian inflation to budget deficits, which rose from Rs. 97 crores (1954-55) to Rs. 225 crores (1955-56) and peaked at Rs. 495 crores in 1957-58. - The Third Plan's nominal deficit financing of Rs. 550 crores is, in Rajaji's estimate, actually about six times that figure once foreign-aid shortfalls are accounted for. - Argues inflation combined with price and import controls creates windfall profits for importers and smugglers (illicit gains estimated at Rs. 1,000 crores over two years) while impoverishing wage-earners. - Rejects the idea that price rises stem from traders' conspiracies, calling this notion 'stupid'. - Concludes that only restoring balance between production and money flow — ending both deficit financing and excessive state interference — can stop rising prices. ### A Tale of Two Deficits *By Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar* Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar (Editor of the Financial Express) argues in 'A Tale of Two Deficits' that India's budget deficit and trade deficit, historically unlinked because of high household savings and strict import controls, have become newly connected as a result of economic liberalisation in the 1980s. Despite rupee devaluation that boosted exports 24%, imports simultaneously rose about 27%, which he attributes to deficit-financing-driven over-consumption rather than to import controls being loosened for particular sectors like electronics or automobiles. He warns that reimposing import controls would only shift excess demand into higher inflation, and argues the real solution is slashing deficit financing itself — the disease, not the symptom. - Argues budget and trade deficits, previously unlinked in India due to high savings and import controls, are now linked because of liberalisation. - Rupee devaluation raised exports 24% but imports also rose about 27%, a puzzle attributed to deficit-financing-fueled over-consumption. - Contrasts India (savings rate 21-24%) with Japan (savings up to 30% of GNP, no trade deficit) and the USA (savings under 5%, forced to borrow abroad). - Detailed import data shows the import surge is broad-based (bulk commodities, project imports, miscellaneous items) rather than concentrated in luxury items like automobiles or electronics. - Rejects reimposing strict import controls as a fix, since suppressed demand would instead fuel higher inflation. - Concludes the government must curb its own deficit financing ('over-consumption') rather than continuing to lecture states on fiscal profligacy while being guilty of it itself. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff402/ ### Summary This is issue No. 402 of Freedom First (July–September 1989, 37th year of publication), the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani and edited by S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. The rendered pages (1–20 of 56) cover the front matter, the two regular commentary columns, and the bulk of the issue's cover symposium, 'The Indian Bureaucracy — An Assessment.' The editorial and both columns ('With Many Voices' and 'Of Cabbages and Kings') are dominated by the Tiananmen Square massacre of June 1989 and its regional echoes (Tibet, the Dalai Lama's statement, India's tepid official response), alongside a domestic complaint about the government's refusal to grant autonomy to All India Radio and Doordarshan. The main symposium assembles retired and serving civil servants and administrators — Dharma Vira, L.K. Jha, J.B. D'Souza, H.M. Patel, and (continuing past the rendered pages) A.G. Sivaramakrishnan — to assess why India's bureaucracy, once the 'steel frame' inherited from the British, has declined into self-serving inefficiency since Independence.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 402 of Freedom First (July–September 1989, 37th year of publication), the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani and edited by S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. The rendered pages (1–20 of 56) cover the front matter, the two regular commentary columns, and the bulk of the issue's cover symposium, 'The Indian Bureaucracy — An Assessment.' The editorial and both columns ('With Many Voices' and 'Of Cabbages and Kings') are dominated by the Tiananmen Square massacre of June 1989 and its regional echoes (Tibet, the Dalai Lama's statement, India's tepid official response), alongside a domestic complaint about the government's refusal to grant autonomy to All India Radio and Doordarshan. The main symposium assembles retired and serving civil servants and administrators — Dharma Vira, L.K. Jha, J.B. D'Souza, H.M. Patel, and (continuing past the rendered pages) A.G. Sivaramakrishnan — to assess why India's bureaucracy, once the 'steel frame' inherited from the British, has declined into self-serving inefficiency since Independence. Contributors trace the shift from a public-service ethos under Sardar Patel's original vision for the IAS to a culture of political subservience, rigid and unenforced service rules, and personal advancement at the expense of integrity. In the rendered pages Sivaramakrishnan's essay had just begun a reminiscence about the British ICS officer Philip Mason. Further symposium essays (A.G. Sivaramakrishnan continuing, Marina Pinto) and separate pieces on S.M. Joshi, 'Democracy — What is It?', Rajaji, the Roy Medvedev piece 'The Suit Against Stalin,' 'Perestroika for India,' 'JP and the Sarvodaya Movement,' 'Economics for the Common Man,' and book reviews were listed in the table of contents but fall outside the rendered page range. ## Essays ### The Civil Service — Then & Now *By Dharma Vira* In the rendered pages, Dharma Vira's opening essay in the bureaucracy symposium traces the history of India's administrative services from the East India Company era through the creation of the Indian Civil Service and its post-Independence transformation into the IAS. He credits Sardar Patel with insisting on constitutional safeguards (Article 311) and political insulation for the services, quoting Patel's warning that 'the Union will go' without a strong all-India service. The essay argues that the civil service's original ideals of integrity, courage in advising political masters, and esprit de corps have eroded since Independence because officers pursued personal advancement and bowed to self-seeking politicians, while salaries stagnated relative to inflation. Vira proposes concrete reforms (fighting corruption, resuming district touring, fearless advice-giving) and insists the decline can still be reversed, closing by holding the services accountable to the memory of Patel, Nehru, and the constitution-makers. - Traces administrative history from the East India Company's part-time trader-administrators to the creation of the ICS via UK Public Service Commission recruitment. - Credits Sardar Patel as architect of the all-India services and Article 311 safeguards, quoting his warning that without a good all-India service 'the Union will go.' - Lists five original tasks of the IAS: law and order, clean government, advising on policy, implementing policy, and continuity during political instability. - Argues integrity and esprit de corps have collapsed since Independence as officers prioritized personal gain over duty, aided by self-seeking politicians. - Notes salaries were cut relative to the pre-Independence era (Secretary's pay fell from Rs. 4,000/month to Rs. 3,500/month) despite rising prices, pushing some toward corruption. - Proposes a six-point reform programme: esprit de corps, objectivity in decisions, stringent anti-corruption penalties, fearless advice, resumed district touring, and mentorship of younger officers. - Closes with a moral appeal that the services owe it to Patel, Nehru and other freedom-fighting founders not to betray the country's future. ### Mr. Red Tape *By L.K. Jha* L.K. Jha's satirical sketch 'Mr. Red Tape' (reprinted from his book Mr. Red Tape, courtesy Allied Publishers) personifies bureaucratic obstruction as a single character encountered at every stage of an ordinary citizen's life. Jha, a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and Chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission, imagines interviewing 'Mr. Red Tape' at home, where the official explains his own behaviour as a rational response to a system that punishes decisive error far more than it punishes paralysis: 'Sins of commission are easier to detect than sins of omission.' The piece closes with Mr. Red Tape deflecting responsibility for reform onto the Department of Administrative Reforms, illustrating the essay's satirical point that no one within the system is willing, or able, to fix it. - Personifies bureaucratic delay and objection-raising as a single recurring character, 'Mr. Red Tape', encountered at every official transaction of a citizen's life. - Frames the character as sympathetic in private but transformed into an obstructive persona at the office, prompting the narrator to ask why. - Mr. Red Tape explains his caution as rational self-preservation: results don't get him judged, but deviations from rules do. - Coins the maxim that sins of commission are punished more severely than sins of omission, so refugees and citizens are made to wait rather than risk an official error. - Ends with Mr. Red Tape passing responsibility for fixing the system to the Department of Administrative Reforms, underscoring the essay's satire that the system is self-perpetuating. ### Bumbling Officialdom — Vaccillation & Dilemma *By J.B. D'Souza* J.B. D'Souza, a former Municipal Commissioner of Bombay and Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, uses an extended guard-and-train metaphor to argue that India's creaking administrative machinery habitually slows or blunts the initiatives of elected politicians. He illustrates this through the case of Bombay's 1981–2001 Draft Development Plan, sanctioned for preparation in 1977 but still unadopted eight years after submission to government, delayed by an endless proliferation of advisory committees and consultations. D'Souza quotes Paul Appleby's decades-old critique of Indian administrative review as still apt, and closes by asking whether senior officials are 'just Government servants' or 'public servants whose responsibilities transcend the ordinary master-servant relationship' to the government of the day — a question he leaves open as the central dilemma of his essay. - Opens with a guard-and-train metaphor: officials are usually the slow 'train' that blunts the guard-politician's initial zeal, though exceptions exist. - Case study: Bombay's Draft Development Plan (1981-2001) took from 1977 to 1985 to reach government, then remained unsanctioned for years further, passed among a proliferating chain of advisory committees. - Quotes Paul Appleby's critique that Indian administrative decisions are reviewed by too many people in too many organs of government, creating systematic barriers to action. - Notes that Appleby, an experienced New Deal administrator invited by Nehru to advise on Indian public administration, found the 'steel frame' too rigid to reform even then. - Raises unresolved central question: are civil servants merely government servants bound to loyalty to the government of the day, or public servants whose obligations run to society at large? ### What is Wrong with our Bureaucracy? *By H.M. Patel* H.M. Patel, a former Union Finance Minister and ICS officer, argues in the rendered concluding pages of his essay that a corrupt surrounding political and social atmosphere neuters even a well-manned bureaucracy, and that today's civil servants have inverted their proper relationship to citizens — behaving as masters rather than servants by imitating their political bosses' arrogance. He contrasts this with older ICS officers, who toured their districts extensively and thus understood ground realities, unlike their less-travelled, more arrogant successors. Patel calls for a 'total revolution' in civil servants' self-conception of duty, insisting they must recover courtesy and responsiveness to citizens, but ultimately locates the lasting solution in the electorate's willingness to vote out bad government. - Argues bureaucratic machinery cannot function well when the surrounding political and social atmosphere is itself corrupt. - Criticises today's civil servants for behaving as masters rather than servants, imitating the arrogance of their political bosses. - Contrasts today's officers, who rarely tour districts and have little ground knowledge, with earlier ICS officers who traveled extensively and knew their districts' residents. - Calls for 'a total revolution' in civil servants' concept of their duties, urging courtesy and readiness to listen rather than treating service to citizens as a favour. - Concludes that real change ultimately depends on voters exercising their right to vote out non-performing governments. ### The Steel Frame — Some Reminiscences *By A.G. Sivaramakrishnan* A.G. Sivaramakrishnan's essay, a personal reminiscence titled 'The Steel Frame — Some Reminiscences,' opens by praising the calibre of the old ICS 'steel frame' and lamenting that Sardar Patel's far-sighted recognition of these officers' abilities was squandered by an unsympathetic political leadership after his death. In the rendered pages the essay centres on a lengthy anecdote about Philip Mason, a British ICS officer who served as Joint Secretary in the War Department during World War II: Mason is shown treating a junior Indian scientific assistant with more respect and attention than a superior-ranked British Brigadier, and is described as an excellent draftsman whose incisive file notes (including a famous dig about the Bhatnagar Committee having 'raised this genie... It cannot be bottled up until it has had its say') exemplified administrative wit and independence. The essay (continuing beyond the rendered pages) frames Mason and similar officers as embodiments of an administrative ethos India has since lost. - Opens by praising the ICS 'steel frame' and blaming an unsympathetic post-Patel political leadership for discarding these officers' talents. - Notes that ICS officers, though drawn from Britain's and India's elite, are generally agreed to have served the country well and included nationalist leaders like Sri Aurobindo and Subhas Chandra Bose who began careers in the ICS. - Long anecdote: British ICS officer Philip Mason, Joint Secretary of the War Department, publicly rebukes a senior Brigadier for disrespecting a junior Indian assistant, demonstrating his rejection of racial hierarchy. - Describes Mason as an outstanding draftsman whose file notes were 'crisp, pungent and hit the nail on the head,' including a witty two-line note about the Bhatnagar Committee. - Notes Mason later wrote well-regarded books on the British Raj, including The Men Who Ruled India: The Founders and The Guardians. - Essay explicitly marked complete: false — the rendered chunk ends mid-essay at page 18, before further reminiscences promised by the title. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff404/ ### Summary This is issue No. 404 of Freedom First (January–March 1990), the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani and published by the Democratic Research Service, edited by S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. The issue is dominated by a special section, 'The Elections and After', analysing the Ninth General Elections to the Lok Sabha (November 1989), which ended Rajiv Gandhi's Congress majority and installed V.P. Singh's National Front government with outside support from the BJP and the Left. Contributors including Minoo Masani, R.S. Morkhandikar, Aloo J. Dastur, Mihir Sinha, Prema Nanda Kumar, Louella Lobo Prabhu, Babu Joseph, Geeta Doctor, Nitin Raut and Arvind Deshpande assess the results region by region and debate whether the hung Parliament marks the start of coalition politics in India, the durability of the new government, and the rejection of the Bofors-tainted Congress establishment. The rendered pages also carry the Dalai Lama's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance statement and a Liberal International resolution on Tibet, obituary tributes to Andrei Sakharov, a 1966 Rajaji piece on constitutional convention reprinted from Swarajya, and the opening of M.N.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 404 of Freedom First (January–March 1990), the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani and published by the Democratic Research Service, edited by S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. The issue is dominated by a special section, 'The Elections and After', analysing the Ninth General Elections to the Lok Sabha (November 1989), which ended Rajiv Gandhi's Congress majority and installed V.P. Singh's National Front government with outside support from the BJP and the Left. Contributors including Minoo Masani, R.S. Morkhandikar, Aloo J. Dastur, Mihir Sinha, Prema Nanda Kumar, Louella Lobo Prabhu, Babu Joseph, Geeta Doctor, Nitin Raut and Arvind Deshpande assess the results region by region and debate whether the hung Parliament marks the start of coalition politics in India, the durability of the new government, and the rejection of the Bofors-tainted Congress establishment. The rendered pages also carry the Dalai Lama's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance statement and a Liberal International resolution on Tibet, obituary tributes to Andrei Sakharov, a 1966 Rajaji piece on constitutional convention reprinted from Swarajya, and the opening of M.N. Buch's essay on the Panchayat Raj Bill. ## Essays ### The Ninth General Elections to the Lok Sabha *By R. Srinivasan & S.V. Raju* R. Srinivasan and S.V. Raju's lead essay reviews the Ninth General Elections, arguing that voters chose on issues rather than personalities or dynastic charisma. It traces Rajiv Gandhi's gamble in calling early elections to shed the Bofors scandal, the opposition's seat-sharing arithmetic between the Janata Dal and BJP, and Congress disarray over dummy candidates and a delayed manifesto. The piece credits the electorate with holding incumbents accountable regardless of caste, region, or literacy, citing the fall of both Rajiv Gandhi nationally and N.T. Rama Rao in Andhra Pradesh, and closes on a note of cautious optimism about the maturing of Indian democracy. - Frames the 1989 result as voters choosing on issues over personalities, a sign of improving democratic quality - Attributes Rajiv Gandhi's early election call to N. Ram's fresh Bofors revelations and a favourable but fragile economic picture (5.7% growth, IMF pressure for devaluation) - Describes the rapid, arithmetic-driven Janata Dal-BJP seat-sharing pact covering 221 Hindi-belt seats - Notes Congress confusion over dummy candidates and a manifesto delayed partly by astrological timing advice - Cites the emergence of the Bahujan Samaj Party as evidence backward-class voters no longer feel tied to Congress - Argues the ninth elections prove no correlation between illiteracy and unconsidered voting ### A Hung Parliament — The Beginning of Coalition Politics in India *By Minoo Masani* Minoo Masani welcomes the hung Parliament as the natural beginning of coalition politics in India, arguing that single-party dominance was itself an anomaly compared to the rest of the democratic world. He praises the electorate for ousting Rajiv Gandhi and other 'miscreants' regardless of region, criticises Devi Lal and Chandra Shekhar for trying to block V.P. Singh's election as leader, and rebuts the notion that poor and rural voters cannot grasp corruption, arguing it was actually the affluent, educated class that underestimated the moral force of the Bofors issue. He recalls the Swatantra Party's rural base as historical precedent for informed non-elite voting. - Welcomes the hung Parliament as normal rather than aberrant, comparing India favourably to other democracies outside the US and UK - Credits the electorate with punishing incumbents at both the Centre (Rajiv Gandhi) and states (N.T. Rama Rao, Ramakrishna Hegde) - Criticises Devi Lal and Chandra Shekhar's manoeuvring against V.P. Singh's leadership bid as reminiscent of Janata-era infighting - Argues the rural and 'illiterate' voter grasped the Bofors/corruption issue better than the affluent educated class - Cites the Swatantra Party's 1959-74 farmer base as evidence rural voters resist elite-driven ideological capture --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff405/ ### Summary S.V. Raju's cover article dissects the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Bill, 1989, arguing that despite its stated aim of freeing Akashvani (All India Radio) and Doordarshan from State control, the Bill recreates a government-style bureaucracy under a new name. In the rendered pages, Raju walks through the Bill's structure (an eleven-member Board of Governors appointed effectively by the government, an Executive Governor equivalent to a managing director), notes that the word 'autonomy' never appears in the Bill's text, criticises the government's retained 'power to give directions' and total control of funding, and reports on the March 3 ICCF seminar's conclusion that the Bill fails to free media from state control and that competition among channels, not a single monopoly corporation, is the only real safeguard of media freedom. The piece is interspersed with boxed sidebars quoting the Bill's Statement of Objects and Reasons, comparanda from the UK broadcasting White Paper, the seminar's participant list, and outside commentary (A.G.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary S.V. Raju's cover article dissects the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Bill, 1989, arguing that despite its stated aim of freeing Akashvani (All India Radio) and Doordarshan from State control, the Bill recreates a government-style bureaucracy under a new name. In the rendered pages, Raju walks through the Bill's structure (an eleven-member Board of Governors appointed effectively by the government, an Executive Governor equivalent to a managing director), notes that the word 'autonomy' never appears in the Bill's text, criticises the government's retained 'power to give directions' and total control of funding, and reports on the March 3 ICCF seminar's conclusion that the Bill fails to free media from state control and that competition among channels, not a single monopoly corporation, is the only real safeguard of media freedom. The piece is interspersed with boxed sidebars quoting the Bill's Statement of Objects and Reasons, comparanda from the UK broadcasting White Paper, the seminar's participant list, and outside commentary (A.G. Noorani on the superior 1978 Verghese Committee proposals, Sumit Mitra on Doordarshan's reach, Chanchal Sarkar and Louella Lobo Prabhu on press self-censorship in cases like 'The City of Joy' and the 'Newstrack' video magazine). ## Key points - The Prasar Bharati Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 29 December 1989 and would take effect 1 January 1991, replacing Akashvani and Doordarshan as government departments with a single wholly government-owned Corporation. - The Bill's eleven-member Board of Governors is effectively appointed by the government (via the Vice-President as Rajya Sabha Chairman, the Press Council Chairman and a Presidential nominee), which Raju says 'vitiates the very concept of autonomy'. - The word 'autonomy' does not appear anywhere in the Bill's text, despite that being its stated purpose. - A 'power of Central Government to give directions' clause (Chapter IV) and total government funding leave Prasar Bharati financially and operationally dependent on the I&B Ministry. - The ICCF seminar (Bombay, 3 March 1990) concluded unanimously that the Bill does not free media from state control because Prasar Bharati remains a monopoly with both direct and indirect government control. - Raju and seminar participants argue competition among broadcasters, not the 'autonomy' of a single corporation, is the only real guarantee against government interference — pointing to the BBC's independence despite government funding as a partial counter-model. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff407/ ### Summary This is No. 407 of Freedom First, Bombay's quarterly of liberal ideas, covering October-December 1990 (the journal's 38th year of publication). The issue is dominated by two urgent domestic concerns: the deadlock over Kashmir and the erosion of the judiciary's integrity. The lead feature, drawn from a Rajaji Foundation seminar held in Bombay on July 14, 1990, argues that decades of broken promises on a plebiscite, over-centralisation from Delhi, and militant repression have alienated Kashmiris, and calls for a 'people's initiative' -- restoring genuine autonomy and letting Kashmiris themselves negotiate their future -- rather than continued reliance on the army. Founder Minoo Masani, in his own remarks reprinted from the seminar, goes further, calling 'integral part of India' a hollow slogan and urging India to offer Kashmir a real choice, including outright independence if that's what its people want. A three-part symposium (H.M.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is No. 407 of Freedom First, Bombay's quarterly of liberal ideas, covering October-December 1990 (the journal's 38th year of publication). The issue is dominated by two urgent domestic concerns: the deadlock over Kashmir and the erosion of the judiciary's integrity. The lead feature, drawn from a Rajaji Foundation seminar held in Bombay on July 14, 1990, argues that decades of broken promises on a plebiscite, over-centralisation from Delhi, and militant repression have alienated Kashmiris, and calls for a 'people's initiative' -- restoring genuine autonomy and letting Kashmiris themselves negotiate their future -- rather than continued reliance on the army. Founder Minoo Masani, in his own remarks reprinted from the seminar, goes further, calling 'integral part of India' a hollow slogan and urging India to offer Kashmir a real choice, including outright independence if that's what its people want. A three-part symposium (H.M. Seervai, Louella Lobo Prabhu, and Lionel Fernandes) examines corruption in the higher judiciary in unusually blunt terms, cataloguing bribery, politically motivated transfers and appointments, decrepit court infrastructure, and the practical impossibility of disciplining a corrupt judge given the cumbersome impeachment process. Other pieces in the rendered pages include S.V. Raju's editorial 'The Liberal Conspiracy,' a housewife's perspective blaming Congress for India's ills (Rani Sircar), guidelines for a national agricultural policy (Bhanu Pratap Singh), Chinese dissident-astrophysicist Fang Lizhi on 'Keeping the Faith,' and the regular 'With Many Voices' and 'Of Cabbages and Kings' editorial-notes sections, which mourn the deaths of associates Farrok Mulla and Aloo Dalal and industrialist Naoroji Godrej, and reflect (via Bruno Bettelheim's posthumous unmasking) on the fallibility of intellectual heroes. The cover also previews an assessment of three recently deceased or newly reassessed twentieth-century figures -- Sardar Patel, Boris Pasternak, and Walter Lippmann -- to be treated later in the issue. ## Essays ### The Kashmir Problem — Time for a People's Initiative A report on a Rajaji Foundation seminar (Bombay, July 14, 1990) on the Kashmir problem, tracing the 1947 accession, the broken promise of a plebiscite by Nehru and Mountbatten, the dilution of Article 370, and the descent into militancy following the 1989-90 crackdown and Sheikh Abdullah's jailing. The report argues the idea that Kashmiris freely chose to integrate with India is a fiction maintained since independence, and that continued reliance on the army has turned a 'docile people' into an insurgency. It closes by summarising a call for a 'people's initiative': treat the notion of forced national unity as a colonial-era myth, restore real autonomy to the states (not just Kashmir), and let the Kashmiri public -- not politicians -- decide whether to stay in the Union, on the understanding that India will respect their choice either way. - Traces the 1947 accession of Jammu & Kashmir, the Pakistani-backed tribal invasion, and Nehru's promise (reinforced in a November 1947 broadcast) of a UN-supervised plebiscite that was subsequently 'quietly frozen' - Reports Jayaprakash Narayan's 1964 argument (reprinted from The Hindustan Times) that treating Kashmiri accession as settled is 'a mockery of the Indian nation' - Includes Minoo Masani's seminar remarks proposing genuine autonomy or independence for Kashmir, drawing an analogy to Gorbachev's stance toward Baltic sovereignty claims - Lists the full roster of seminar participants, including J.R.D. Tata, Nissim Ezekiel, Usha Mehta, and S.V. Raju - Concludes that the issue should be 'taken out of the hands of government and politicians' and decided through a people's initiative on both sides of the border ### Corruption in the Judiciary: The Crisis in the Judiciary *By H.M. Seervai* H.M. Seervai's 'The Crisis in the Judiciary' argues that judicial corruption, though rarer than corruption among ministers or civil servants, is especially corrosive because it removes society's last line of institutional defence. He surveys historical precedents of judicial corruption (citing 1930s U.S. federal judges forced to resign under threat of impeachment) and insists corrupt judges deserve no special leniency: a judge who takes bribes should face criminal prosecution like anyone else. He closes by invoking Lord Devlin's observation that judges are no better or worse than the society producing them, and warns that any remedy devised against corrupt judges could just as easily be turned into a tool of executive intimidation against an honest judiciary. - Cites the 1937 mass resignation of fifty-four Federal Court of Appeals judges in the US under threat of impeachment, and one judge later jailed for two years and fined $10,000 for corruption - Insists a corrupt judge is not immune from ordinary criminal prosecution any more than someone who commits murder or forges documents - Confines his allegations of judicial corruption to Maharashtra specifically, noting Chief Justice Chandrachud's remark about 'total darkness' and pervasive corruption - Quotes Lord Devlin's dictum that judges as a class are no better or worse than the society they live in - Warns that any anti-corruption remedy devised for the judiciary could be abused by the Executive against the judiciary generally ### Corruption in the Judiciary: Corruption in the Higher Judiciary *By Louella Lobo Prabhu* Louella Lobo Prabhu's 'Corruption in the Higher Judiciary' catalogues specific recent scandals -- a bag of currency found in a judicial ante-chamber, a judge frequenting a hotel with a femme fatale, a no-confidence motion by Bar members against designated judges -- and traces the politicisation of judicial appointments back to Indira Gandhi's era, when a 'committed judiciary' concept and supersession of judges for gallantry to the ruling party corroded merit-based selection. She also documents the physical decrepitude of lower courts (courts held in garages in Uttar Pradesh, a Karnataka rural judge's chamber only 10 by 10 feet) and rejects the excuse that poor judicial pay explains corruption, arguing a judge knows his likely emoluments before accepting the post. - Documents concrete recent scandals: a bag of currency notes in a Bombay High Court judge's ante-chamber, a judge frequenting a hotel with a 'femme fatale', a no-confidence motion by Bar members against certain judges - Traces politicisation of appointments to Indira Gandhi's era and the 'committed judiciary' doctrine, including the supersession of Justice Subba Rao's line - Describes dire physical conditions of lower courts: proceedings held in garages in Uttar Pradesh, a 10x10 foot rural court chamber in Kanakapura, Karnataka, and courts with no toilets or chairs - Rejects low judicial pay as an excuse for corruption -- 'he knows his likely emoluments when he accepts the job' - Notes judicial salaries were frozen from 1950 to 1986, feeding a longer-term culture of corruption, but says things have improved since revision, with High Court judge compensation now roughly Rs. 27,000-30,000/month including perquisites --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff408/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 408 (January-March 1991), the quarterly's 38th year of publication, leads with a themed symposium, "Anything Karega for Power," on the moral collapse of Indian political life amid the rapid churn of prime ministers (Rajiv Gandhi to V.P. Singh to Chandra Shekhar) and the fallout of the Mandal Commission's OBC reservation recommendation and the Ayodhya dispute. Minoo Masani, R. Swaminathan, F.A. Mechery and Maneesha Tikekar, Gayatri Narayanan, and Louella Lobo Prabhu contribute essays examining, respectively, the fitness of India's revolving-door prime ministers, the constitutional legitimacy of the Chandra Shekhar government installed with Congress(I) support, the Mandal Report's aftermath and its overlooked non-reservation recommendations, and the Ayodhya temple-mosque dispute as an avoidable communal confrontation. In the Centenary Year of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the issue reprints an extract of his 25 November 1949 Constituent Assembly speech, "Will Democracy Survive in India?", warning against hero-worship (bhakti) in politics and urging that political democracy be completed by social and economic democracy.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 408 (January-March 1991), the quarterly's 38th year of publication, leads with a themed symposium, "Anything Karega for Power," on the moral collapse of Indian political life amid the rapid churn of prime ministers (Rajiv Gandhi to V.P. Singh to Chandra Shekhar) and the fallout of the Mandal Commission's OBC reservation recommendation and the Ayodhya dispute. Minoo Masani, R. Swaminathan, F.A. Mechery and Maneesha Tikekar, Gayatri Narayanan, and Louella Lobo Prabhu contribute essays examining, respectively, the fitness of India's revolving-door prime ministers, the constitutional legitimacy of the Chandra Shekhar government installed with Congress(I) support, the Mandal Report's aftermath and its overlooked non-reservation recommendations, and the Ayodhya temple-mosque dispute as an avoidable communal confrontation. In the Centenary Year of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the issue reprints an extract of his 25 November 1949 Constituent Assembly speech, "Will Democracy Survive in India?", warning against hero-worship (bhakti) in politics and urging that political democracy be completed by social and economic democracy. Additional contents (per the table of contents, largely beyond the rendered pages) include C. Subramaniam on "Dharma in Public Life," G.N. Sarma revisiting Raja Rao's Kanthapura fifty years on, Padma Srinivasan on South Africa, S.V. Raju on a Tibet festival, Satish Oberoi on Indian sports, a debate on the credibility of civil libertarians, and book reviews. ## Essays ### Do We Deserve our Prime Ministers? *By Minoo Masani* Minoo Masani's opening editorial-style essay indicts the entire political class for the country's decline, arguing that Rajiv Gandhi, V.P. Singh, and now Chandra Shekhar have each shown themselves unfit, and that the President's installation of Chandra Shekhar as a stopgap premier reflects a desperate search for "anyone" willing to hold office rather than a mandate-driven choice. Masani is unsparing about V.P. Singh in particular, blaming his Mandal Commission gambit and his indifference to police brutality against protesting students for deepening social division, and argues a caretaker government of non-partisan eminent citizens (naming Justice H.R. Khanna and Justice B. Lentin as examples) should have been installed instead pending fresh elections. - Masani calls V.P. Singh's tenure as Prime Minister "something of a misery" and a "humiliation," faulting his embrace of Mandal-style reservations and his indifference to police violence against anti-Mandal student protesters. - He argues Chandra Shekhar's installation, brokered via Congress(I) support after a Janata Dal(S) split, lacks a real popular mandate. - Masani criticizes the government's replacement of state Governors and the treatment of Punjab's Anandpur Sahib Resolution as evidence that Delhi still does not respect India's federal structure. - He proposes that a caretaker government of non-political, distinguished citizens (naming Justice H.R. Khanna and Justice B. Lentin) should have governed pending fresh elections. - The essay closes gesturing toward upcoming pieces examining whether Indians, as a people, have lapsed into political fatalism. ### Prime Minister — Anyone? *By R. Swaminathan* R. Swaminathan's essay argues that India's chief political malady is leaders who seek the prime ministership without a coherent sense of why, offering only platitudes about poverty eradication rather than workable policy. He walks through the arithmetic of Chandra Shekhar's dependence on Congress(I) support, compares the situation to Britain's Thatcher-to-Major transition, and closes arguing for administrative decentralization and, eventually, a more consultative "government by discussion" in which MPs demand a genuine say in policy rather than mere patronage. - Swaminathan argues political leaders "don't know why they want power," offering only "tiresome glibness of platitudes" about uplift and social justice. - He details the Congress(I)'s calculated decision to prop up Chandra Shekhar's minority government rather than force fresh elections, seeing it as a tactic to buy time and avoid immediate accountability. - He compares Chandra Shekhar's position to Britain's Conservative succession from Thatcher to Major, and notes the BJP's advantage in being untested by a governing record. - Swaminathan quotes historian G.M. Trevelyan on Tudor-era English rural prosperity to argue against treating rural and urban India's interests as opposed. - He closes by predicting future Indian politics will move toward a more consultative 'government by discussion' as MPs increasingly demand real input into policy. ### The Legitimacy of 'Arithmetical Democracy' *By F.A. Mechery and Maneesha Tikekar* F.A. Mechery and Maneesha Tikekar examine the constitutional propriety of Chandra Shekhar's government, which they argue has a defensible legal case on arithmetic and procedural grounds (having split from the Janata Dal and secured Congress(I) backing) but lacks deeper political legitimacy since it never sought or won a popular mandate. The essay traces the sequence of defections after V.P. Singh's fall, the Speaker's uneven application of the anti-defection law, and Congress(I)'s calculated interest in keeping Chandra Shekhar's minority government afloat as a low-risk, low-accountability arrangement while it waits out the political cycle. - The authors argue that while Chandra Shekhar's government has a 'legal case on the basis of arithmetic and procedure,' it lacks the legitimacy that comes from a popular mandate. - They detail how the Congress(I) calculated that propping up a piece-meal, dependent government kept it in the limelight while narrowing V.P. Singh's power base. - The essay describes how a trickle of defections from the Janata Dal (including Chandrashekhar, Maneka Gandhi, and Harmohan Dhawan) exploited gaps in the anti-defection law by allowing a slow accumulation past the one-third threshold. - It cites jurist N.A. Palkhivala's criticism of the anti-defection law for making legislators 'soulless and conscienceless entities.' - The authors conclude the government's 'freedom from accountability' could paradoxically let it act boldly on issues like Punjab, Kashmir, and Ayodhya-Babri Masjid, since it has little further to lose. ### The Mandal Report — Some Reservations *By Gayatri Narayanan* Gayatri Narayanan's essay revisits the Mandal Commission's 27% OBC reservation recommendation, arguing that public debate wrongly reduced a seven-volume, ten-year-old report to a single reservations clause, ignoring its broader recommendations on educational concessions, land reform, and dedicated Backward Classes Development Corporations. She surveys the Commission's own findings on OBC educational disadvantage and argues that V.P. Singh's government over-emphasized reservations to the exclusion of more structural, less politically charged reforms the report also proposed. - Narayanan argues the Mandal Report was 'much more than prescribing quotas,' and that its educational, land-reform, and financing recommendations went largely unnoticed. - She quotes the Commission's own observation that reservations would let only 52% of OBCs (constitutionally a general figure) 'go forward,' underscoring that quotas alone cannot fix backwardness. - The essay reviews the Commission's proposed 'educational concessions' for OBC students (fee exemptions, books, hostels, stipends) as insufficient without structural changes to an 'elitist' education system inherited from British rule. - She highlights the Commission's land legislation recommendations and its proposal for Backward Classes Development Corporations at the Central and state levels. - Narayanan concludes that V.P. Singh's decision to implement Mandal fits a pattern of governments chasing short-term political gain from 'radical' policy moves rather than pursuing the report's fuller structural agenda. ### The Mandal Commission — An Assessment / The Mandal Report — Some Reservations This unsigned contributed essay, "The Mandal Commission — An Assessment," reflects on the violent fallout of the Mandal reservations dispute, including student self-immolations, and argues that political parties on all sides abandoned their responsibility to calm the situation. It lays out both pro- and anti-reservation arguments in some detail — concerns about merit and competence versus arguments that upper castes have long monopolized education, the professions, and the bureaucracy — and concludes that Indian society and politics have reached an ideological 'point of divide' on Mandal that will likely see only temporary resolutions. - The essay condemns the emotional and physical violence surrounding the Mandal agitation, including self-immolations, as a 'permanent scar' on the country, and faults political leaders and media for partisan coverage. - It presents the anti-reservation case (concerns about merit, competence, and a 'quantum of injustice' in any such scheme) alongside the pro-reservation case (upper-caste dominance of education, professions, and the civil service). - The essay discusses U.S.-style affirmative action as a comparator, noting the U.S. is 'compelled to resort to some form of reservations' despite being an advanced economy. - It anticipates that the reservations dispute will trigger further caste-based political mobilization, including agrarian castes newly demanding backward status (citing the Vanniyar agitation in Tamil Nadu), and predicts increased upper-caste migration abroad. - The essay closes concluding the country has reached 'a point of divide' on Mandal, with valid arguments on both sides underplayed by their opponents, and that any resolution will be temporary. ### The Ayodhya Non-Issue — An Avoidable Confrontation *By Louella Lobo Prabhu* In a boxed sidebar within the Mandal coverage, economist Daniel Seligman's Fortune column 'Affirmative Action, Indian Style' is reproduced, applying economist Thomas Sowell's five generalizations about affirmative action (drawn from his book Preferential Policies: An International Perspective) to India's Mandal-driven reservations regime — covering the tendency of 'temporary' preferences to persist, benefits accruing to the already-advantaged within preferred groups, group polarization and violence, fraudulent caste-certificate claims, and a broader absence of evidence on whether such policies actually reduce inequality. - The sidebar reproduces Daniel Seligman's Fortune (March 12, 1990) column applying Thomas Sowell's five 'laws' of affirmative action to the Indian case. - Law 1: affirmative action framed as temporary invariably becomes permanent, as has 'plainly happened in India.' - Law 4 is illustrated by a Washington Post story describing a brisk trade in fraudulent lower-caste certificates in Pauna, India. - Law 3 is linked to India's caste-based violence, private caste armies, and student self-immolations following expanded preferences. - The column closes noting no evidence has crossed Seligman's desk showing affirmative action programs, in India or the U.S., actually succeed in reducing inequality. ### Will Democracy Survive in India? *By B.R. Ambedkar* Louella Lobo Prabhu's essay frames the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute as an 'avoidable confrontation' and, in her view, a 'non-issue' turned into a communal tinderbox by political actors. She lays out both the Muslim legal case (possession, the impossibility of endlessly relitigating historical title, the mosque's protected status as a century-old structure) and the Hindu psychological/cultural case (Ram's centrality to Hindu tradition regardless of literal historicity), and argues that L.K. Advani's Rath Yatra exploited resurgent Hindu sentiment in a low-key but calculated response to V.P. Singh's Mandal-driven caste politics. - Lobo Prabhu argues that unlike the 'Left' parties (whose Marxist atheism simplifies their dealings with religious minorities), other parties have struggled to find a principled position on Ayodhya. - She presents the 'Muslim case': possession is nine-tenths of the law, and reopening title on a centuries-old religious site invites endless historical relitigation (comparing it to the Elgin Marbles dispute). - She presents the 'Hindu case': Ram is integral to the Hindu psyche regardless of religious-mythological status, and the psyche was not disturbed by the Babri Masjid's presence until politics revived the dispute. - The essay credits Chandra Shekhar with a good record on human rights and civil liberties (unlike V.P. Singh), noting he was imprisoned during the Emergency. - Lobo Prabhu suggests L.K. Advani's Rathyatra was a calculated, if 'odious,' attempt to counter V.P. Singh's caste-based mobilization through resurgent Hindu chauvinism, and closes urging both majority and minority communities to step back from the 'brink of the precipice.' ### Kanthapura — Fifty Years Later *By B. R. Ambedkar* In Ambedkar's Centenary Year, Freedom First reprints an extract from his 25 November 1949 address to the Constituent Assembly, 'Will Democracy Survive in India?' Ambedkar voices anxiety over whether independent India will retain both its independence and its new democratic constitution, recalling historical betrayals (Sind's fall to Mohammed-bin-Kasim, Jaichand's invitation to Mohammed Ghori, the Sikh rulers' passivity in 1857) as cautionary precedent for internal treachery undermining self-rule. He argues India must hold fast to constitutional methods over 'the Grammar of Anarchy,' warns against the political dangers of bhakti/hero-worship, and insists that political democracy is unsustainable without underlying social and economic democracy rooted in liberty, equality, and fraternity. - Ambedkar frames his central anxiety as whether India, having once lost its independence through the treachery of some of its own people, might lose it again after 26 January 1950. - He recounts historical episodes of internal betrayal — the invasion of Sind, Jaichand's invitation to Mohammed Ghori, and Sikh rulers' passivity in 1857 — as evidence that India's past loss of freedom came from within, not merely from external conquest. - He argues newly-won democracy in India could give way to dictatorship if constitutional methods are abandoned in favor of civil disobedience, satyagraha, or revolution once constitutional avenues are open. - Ambedkar warns explicitly against bhakti (hero-worship) in politics, quoting John Stuart Mill's caution against laying liberties 'at the feet of even a great man,' and calling bhakti in politics 'a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship.' - He defines 'real democracy' as requiring liberty, equality, and fraternity together as an indivisible trinity, and argues that persistent social and economic inequality alongside political equality constitutes a dangerous 'life of contradictions' that could eventually 'blow up the structure of political democracy.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff409/ ### Summary This is issue No. 409 of Freedom First, "A Quarterly of Liberal Ideas," covering April-June 1991 (38th year of publication), published by the Democratic Research Service for the Freedom First Foundation, Bombay, and edited by S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. In the rendered pages (1-20 of 52), the issue opens with front matter (masthead, editorial note, contents), a "Twenty Questions to Ask Your Candidate" election checklist from the Freedom First Foundation, the recurring "With Many Voices" page of quoted press excerpts, the "Of Cabbages and Kings" notes column (on the decline of parliamentarians and the closure of the British weekly The Listener), and a tribute by Minoo Masani to J.R.D. Tata on his retirement as Chairman of Tata Sons.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 409 of Freedom First, "A Quarterly of Liberal Ideas," covering April-June 1991 (38th year of publication), published by the Democratic Research Service for the Freedom First Foundation, Bombay, and edited by S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. In the rendered pages (1-20 of 52), the issue opens with front matter (masthead, editorial note, contents), a "Twenty Questions to Ask Your Candidate" election checklist from the Freedom First Foundation, the recurring "With Many Voices" page of quoted press excerpts, the "Of Cabbages and Kings" notes column (on the decline of parliamentarians and the closure of the British weekly The Listener), and a tribute by Minoo Masani to J.R.D. Tata on his retirement as Chairman of Tata Sons. The bulk of the rendered material is the issue's cover feature, "India and the Gulf War," a report on a Freedom First Foundation seminar held in Bombay on March 16, 1991, which assembles a long list of named seminar participants alongside extensive compiled press excerpts (from The Times of India, The Economic Times, Indian Express, Guardian Weekly, and others) on India's ambivalent, non-aligned response to the 1991 Gulf War, the conduct and consequences of the war itself, the debate over Indian intellectuals' pro-Saddam sympathies, and the erosion of national sovereignty and non-alignment as organising principles of foreign policy. The rendered pages close with three individual written submissions from seminar participants: "Strengthen the United Nations" by M.A. Rane, "Rethinking India's Foreign Policy" by Nitin G. Raut, and the opening of "NAM Has a Role to Play" by V.S. Sheth, arguing respectively for a strengthened UN role, a fundamental reorientation of Indian foreign policy away from non-alignment, and a continued (if reduced) role for NAM in reordering international economic relations. ## Essays ### India and the Gulf War The cover feature reports on a Freedom First Foundation seminar on "India and the Gulf War" held in Bombay on March 16, 1991. It opens with a narrative account of the causes of the war (Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, UN Security Council resolutions, the economic and diplomatic costs to India of the embargo and war), followed by a long compilation of press excerpts and commentary addressing India's confused and ambivalent diplomatic response, the refuelling controversy involving Rajiv Gandhi, the pro-Saddam sympathies of sections of the Indian intelligentsia and press (contrasted with what the piece frames as a more sensible "ordinary Indian" reaction), the environmental and demographic toll of the war, criticism of the conduct of the US-led coalition, the debate over whether the world is moving toward a unipolar order, and the erosion of non-alignment and national sovereignty as organising principles for Indian foreign policy. The piece lists a large roster of seminar participants (academics, retired officials, businessmen, and civil society figures) and ends with S.V. Raju's summary of points of seminar consensus: rejecting the unipolar-world thesis, strengthening the UN and Security Council, reviewing non-alignment so it does not become anti-American, building SAARC on an ECM-like model, and abandoning a one-sided position on Palestine in favour of diplomatic relations with Israel. - The five-and-a-half month embargo and the war cost India heavily: oil price shocks, dwindling foreign exchange, lost NRI remittances, stranded expatriate labour, and unpaid Iraqi debts to Indian contractors (estimated over Rs. 900 crores owed). - India's diplomatic conduct was widely criticised as confused and ambivalent, including the then-foreign minister's embrace of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad and the controversy over refuelling US military aircraft. - Sections of the Indian intelligentsia and left press were accused of pro-Saddam bias and intellectual dishonesty, while the 'ordinary Indian', informed by satellite TV and cable news, was described as having a more sensible, less ideologically captured view. - The war is characterised as an unprecedented environmental and demographic catastrophe: hundreds of burning Kuwaiti oil wells, oil slicks, and Iraqi casualties compared against the earlier Iran-Iraq war. - Contributors debated whether the war signalled a shift to a 'unipolar world' dominated by the US, with several arguing this reading was premature given Japan, Germany, and other emerging power centres. - The seminar produced a consensus list of five foreign-policy recommendations: reject the unipolar-world thesis; strengthen the UN and reconstruct the Security Council; reorient non-alignment away from anti-Americanism; build up SAARC on an ECM model; and drop the one-sided Palestine position in favour of ties with Israel. - Extensive attention is given to the Israel-Palestine dimension, with several excerpts arguing that Arab and Palestinian intransigence, not just Israeli occupation, complicated a resolution, and that India's automatic pro-PLO tilt should be reconsidered. - Named participants at the underlying seminar span academia (Bombay University), civil society (Radical Humanist Association, Indian Secular Society), industry, and retired government/police officials, reflecting Freedom First's habitual convening of a broad liberal-minded audience. ### Headless India *By The Economist editorial* M.A. Rane's written submission, 'Strengthen the United Nations,' argues that criticising uncritical Indian support for Saddam does not amount to condoning the United States or its role in the war, noting the US had earlier helped build up Saddam's war machine against Iran before he became inconvenient. Rane contends the Gulf War was fought over oil interests common to the US, European powers, and OPEC producers like Saudi Arabia, and that this shared interest, not disinterested principle, is what secured near-unanimous Security Council backing, including from the USSR and China who declined to exercise their veto. - Rane distinguishes between criticising pro-Saddam sympathisers and endorsing US conduct, noting the US's earlier role in arming Saddam against Iran. - He argues the Gulf War's near-unanimous Security Council support (barring Cuba and Yemen) reflected shared oil interests among major and developing powers rather than principle. ### The Mahabharata as a Study of the Problem of Evil *By A.N. Moorthy Rao* Nitin G. Raut's 'Rethinking India's Foreign Policy' argues that India's self-image as the world's conscience-keeper on peace and morality was never backed by economic or military clout, and that Nehruvian non-alignment, tilted toward the Soviet Union, reduced India to a 'voluntary satellite of the USSR.' Raut contends the Gulf crisis exposed India's marginal standing internationally, criticises Rajiv Gandhi's freelance peace diplomacy as one-upmanship against Chandrashekhar, credits Chandrashekhar's restraint on the refuelling issue and on delinking Kuwait from Palestine, and calls for India to strengthen SAARC, seek full diplomatic ties with Israel, and abandon NAM's now-irrelevant framing. - Raut argues India's self-styled role as global conscience-keeper on peace lacked the economic and military backing to be taken seriously, and that non-alignment tilted toward Moscow made India a de facto Soviet satellite. - He credits Prime Minister Chandrashekhar's statesmanship in holding out on the refuelling issue and refusing to link the Kuwait crisis to the Palestinian question, while criticising Rajiv Gandhi's unsolicited peace initiative as immature grandstanding. - He calls for India to build up SAARC toward an ECM-like arrangement, establish full diplomatic relations with Israel, and abandon the now largely symbolic non-aligned movement. ### The Masani Viewpoint V.S. Sheth's 'NAM Has a Role to Play' opens by noting that Indian press commentary during the war, including The Times of India's 'Pax Americana' editorial, was written under exceptional circumstances and should be judged with the benefit of hindsight regarding how the US ultimately conducted the war in consultation with allies. In the rendered portion, Sheth argues NAM, though politically weakened, retains a role in reordering international economic relations, particularly around a fairer, internationally guaranteed arrangement for exploiting and distributing Gulf oil resources, and regrets that NAM failed to seize this opportunity, leaving the field to a Western-proposed regional security arrangement instead. - Sheth argues Indian press criticism of the US written during the war should be reassessed with hindsight, since US conduct (consulting allies, constraining its own action) diverged from wartime expectations. - He contends NAM, while politically weakened, still has a role in brokering a fair international arrangement for the exploitation and distribution of Gulf oil resources, and regrets that NAM countries missed this opportunity, ceding ground to a Western-proposed regional security arrangement instead. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff406/ ### Summary This is the July-September 1990 issue (No. 406, 38th year) of Freedom First, a quarterly of liberal ideas published by the Democratic Research Service in Bombay, founded by Minoo Masani and edited by S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with front matter (a masthead editorial explaining the theme, a personal tribute to broadcaster Mehra Masani by P.C. Chatterji, a 'With Many Voices' page of press quotations, and an 'Of Cabbages and Kings' commentary column) before turning to its lead symposium, 'Urban Teenage Violence — The Fallout of a Crumbling Educational Structure.' The editorial frames the symposium around a spate of campus killings and rising student violence, arguing this reflects the degeneration of Indian higher education under political interference, corruption, and the collapse of family and institutional discipline. Contributors include R. Srinivasan, Louella Lobo Prabhu, P.L. Olatikar, R.S. Morkhandikar, an anonymous schoolteacher, and a reprinted 1959 convocation address by Will Durant. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the July-September 1990 issue (No. 406, 38th year) of Freedom First, a quarterly of liberal ideas published by the Democratic Research Service in Bombay, founded by Minoo Masani and edited by S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with front matter (a masthead editorial explaining the theme, a personal tribute to broadcaster Mehra Masani by P.C. Chatterji, a 'With Many Voices' page of press quotations, and an 'Of Cabbages and Kings' commentary column) before turning to its lead symposium, 'Urban Teenage Violence — The Fallout of a Crumbling Educational Structure.' The editorial frames the symposium around a spate of campus killings and rising student violence, arguing this reflects the degeneration of Indian higher education under political interference, corruption, and the collapse of family and institutional discipline. Contributors include R. Srinivasan, Louella Lobo Prabhu, P.L. Olatikar, R.S. Morkhandikar, an anonymous schoolteacher, and a reprinted 1959 convocation address by Will Durant. ## Essays ### Degeneration of Higher Education *By R. Srinivasan* In the rendered pages, R. Srinivasan's 'Degeneration of Higher Education — The Roots of Student Unrest' argues that urban teenage violence connects to a broader collapse of discipline, family structure, and moral values, compounded by media glorification of violence and a rush to send unqualified students to college. He cites two novels (Kannada 'College Ranga' and Marathi 'Bonsai') as sociological windows into how political patronage, nepotism, and criminal elements have corrupted higher-education institutions, and closes (in the rendered portion) with a section on politicians' direct control over colleges via admissions, bribery, and violence against principals. - Frames urban teenage violence as linked to, but not simply explained by, the general social dimension of violence in India - Blames commercial cinema and TV for normalizing violence and eroding parental/family discipline - Argues an earlier generation's college students had discipline and hard work instilled at home; today college admission is pursued regardless of fitness for it - Uses two novels ('College Ranga' in Kannada, 'Bonsai' in Marathi) as sociological evidence of institutional corruption in higher education - Describes politician-controlled colleges as sources of patronage, admissions-for-bribes, and violence against principals who resist - Cites Rs 3.5 crore worth of colleges started with money 'tucked away' via the Indira Gandhi Pratibha Pratisthan as an example of political abuse of educational institutions - Details a candidate's Rs 45,000 election-expense breakdown in a college union election, including line items for liquor and 'blue films' ### Turmoil in the Campus *By P. L. Olatikar* In the rendered pages, P.L. Olatikar's contribution 'A Right to Higher Education?' argues that the mass rush for college admission stems from parental confusion and anxiety rather than genuine academic interest, with many students uninvolved in study, discipline, or examinations. He calls the current system of open admission a waste of public money and proposes vocationalisation of education after the 10th standard as a partial remedy. - Argues most students admitted to college have no real interest in academics or discipline - Says government/society spends crores of rupees admitting students to no productive end - Proposes mass vocationalisation of education after the 10th standard as a solution ### Urban Teenage Violence — The Danger Signals *By A Teacher* In the rendered pages, an unsigned piece by 'A Teacher,' titled 'Urban Teenage Violence — The Danger Signals,' catalogues recent flashpoints (the Rinku Patil murder in Ulhasnagar, campus strikes, drug problems, assaults on teachers) and argues society has failed to understand adolescents' frustrations rather than merely moralize about them. It criticizes teachers for careerism (private tuitions, outdated lecture notes) as much as students for indiscipline, and situates campus violence within a wider politician-student nexus reaching back to the freedom struggle and Dravidian movement, but now driven by corruption, ignorance, and violence instead of idealism. - Lists 'danger signals' of urban teenage violence: campus crises, student strikes, drugs, campus politicization, the Rinku Patil murder, assaults on teachers - Criticizes moral judgment of youth without addressing underlying causes: adolescent frustration, hidden tensions, lack of engagement from educators - Notes teachers increasingly treat classroom teaching as secondary to private tuition/coaching income - Frames student-politician relationships as historically rooted (Quit India movement, Dravidian movement in Tamil Nadu) but now degraded into mutual exploitation - Concludes today's student politics reflects corruption, ignorance, and violence rather than idealism ### The Decline of Education *By R. S. Morkhandikar* In the rendered pages, R.S. Morkhandikar's 'The Decline of Education' traces how educational institutions founded by idealist politician-educationists (Ambedkar, Bhaurao Patil, Panjabrao Deshmukh) for social uplift were gradually captured, from the 1960s onward, by politicians seeking patronage, contracts, and control over admissions to lucrative courses (MBA, engineering, medicine, B.Ed). He documents scandals in Marathwada's B.Ed and engineering colleges and argues that university 'democratic' governance structures (syndicates, committees) have themselves become vehicles for capture by 'educational entrepreneurs.' - Distinguishes an earlier generation of politician-educationists motivated by social uplift from a post-1960s generation that captured institutions for patronage and profit - Describes how control of admissions to high-demand courses (MBA, engineering, medicine, B.Ed) became a source of under-the-table funds - Notes institutions are privately administered but run largely on public funds from UGC, state/central governments, and trusts - Cites scandals in B.Ed and engineering colleges in Marathwada as evidence of institutional corruption - Argues 'democratic' university governance (syndicates, committees) has itself become a site of capture by political and business interests ### Advice to Youth *By Will Durant* In the rendered pages, Will Durant's reprinted 1959 convocation address, 'Advice to Youth,' offers a philosopher's paternal counsel on health, marriage, character, and religion, urging discipline of bodily appetites, early and considerate marriage, and cultivation of character as prerequisites to a well-lived life, with reflections on how modern civilization has unsettled the restraints once provided by family, religion, and moral code. - Urges youth to prioritize health, calling illness often 'a crime' resulting from foolish choices - Frames marriage as a civilizing check on the sexual impulse and advises marrying young rather than waiting for false wisdom - Defines a gentleman as 'a person continually considerate' and urges youth to speak no evil of others - Argues modern civilization has unwisely over-stimulated sexual impulse through advertising and a doctrine that inhibition is a mistake - Traces the origins of human character to hunter-gatherer survival pressures, later restrained by moral codes transmitted through family, parental authority, and religious instruction --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff410/ ### Summary This is issue No. 410 of Freedom First (July-September 1991), the quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani, in its 39th year of publication, edited by S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. The cover cartoon depicts India as a car stalled after "40 years of stability," mired in FERA, licences, income tax, MRTP, nationalisation, and the "socialist pattern of society" -- setting the theme for the issue's cover symposium, "After 40 Years of Stability," in which a retired civil servant (J.B. D'Souza), a business executive (Tanmay Datta), a farmer-politician and former Union Agriculture Minister (Bhanu Pratap Singh), and an economist (S. Ambirajan) each argue that four decades of one-party Congress rule produced institutional decay, agricultural exploitation, and economic stagnation rather than genuine stability.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 410 of Freedom First (July-September 1991), the quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani, in its 39th year of publication, edited by S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. The cover cartoon depicts India as a car stalled after "40 years of stability," mired in FERA, licences, income tax, MRTP, nationalisation, and the "socialist pattern of society" -- setting the theme for the issue's cover symposium, "After 40 Years of Stability," in which a retired civil servant (J.B. D'Souza), a business executive (Tanmay Datta), a farmer-politician and former Union Agriculture Minister (Bhanu Pratap Singh), and an economist (S. Ambirajan) each argue that four decades of one-party Congress rule produced institutional decay, agricultural exploitation, and economic stagnation rather than genuine stability. The rendered pages also cover an editorial ("Between Ourselves") introducing the theme and reporting on the magazine's subscriber base and continuing mission; a reprint of Amnesty International's 1991 report on India's human-rights record (torture, extrajudicial killings, and detention in Punjab, Kashmir, Assam, and after the Ayodhya-related violence) under the header "What Doordarshan Didn't Want You to Know"; a satirical roundup of public opinion on politicians ("With Many Voices"); a column on the devaluation of the Bharat Ratna award and on the handling of state mourning for dead VIPs ("Of Cabbages and Kings"); an unsigned editorial-page piece, "Economic Reforms," praising Rajaji and Minoo Masani's Swatantra Party as decades ahead of its time in advocating deregulation; an analysis of the BJP's rise after the tenth general election ("BJP -- The New Bogey-man of Indian Politics" by R. Srinivasan and S.V. Raju), which questions alarmist readings of the BJP's success and argues its gains reflect local political factors as much as a 'Hindu wave'; and the start of a reprinted Economist Survey of India extract ("India -- The Tiger Caged"), which indicts four decades of state overreach and neglect for India's underperformance relative to other Asian economies, paired with a reprinted Sunday Times piece, "Home Truths for India," making a similar free-market critique of Nehruvian protectionism and licensing. In the rendered pages the volume's argumentative center is a sustained critique of Nehru-era economic planning, state control, and one-party political dominance, contrasted with calls for liberalisation, deregulation, and a free-market economy. ## Essays ### After 40 Years of Stability *By J.B. D'Souza, Tanmay Datta, Bhanu Pratap Singh, S. Ambirajan* J.B. D'Souza, a retired civil servant, argues in the rendered pages that Indian institutions -- from bureaucracy to the judiciary -- have decayed under four decades of Congress rule, leaving citizens without recourse to justice. He illustrates this with an anecdote about exploited forest workers whose rescuer, a sub-collector, was punished by transfer for helping them, and with an account of corruption allegations against judges of the Bombay High Court. He argues that 'stability' has chiefly benefited a new class of politicians and their cronies rather than the poor. - Argues that 'stability' is desired by economists, businessmen, and the political/social 'haves', but not by the 250 million below the poverty line, for whom it means sustained exploitation - Recounts a case of wattle-bark workers held in exploitative conditions in a forest near Kodaikanal, and the punitive transfer of the sub-collector who tried to help them - Identifies judicial decay as the most spectacular example of institutional decline, citing corruption allegations against several Bombay High Court judges - Quotes Shashi Tharoor's description of hypocritical politicians who mouth socialist rhetoric while amassing private wealth - Attributes the erosion of institutions to a process he says Indira Gandhi began ### The Setting of the Rising Sun *By Prema Nandakumar* Bhanu Pratap Singh, a farmer and former Union Minister for Agriculture, argues in the rendered pages that Indian agriculture has been the chief victim of Nehruvian development strategy: procurement price controls, fertiliser subsidy design, and skewed capital formation have systematically drained wealth out of the farm sector even as production rose. He presents statistical tables showing static or declining real returns to wheat and rice growers between 1970-71 and 1988-89 despite productivity gains, and argues that consumption and income disparities between primary producers and the rest of the population widened sharply between 1980-81 and 1988-89. - India's rate of poverty reduction (1.04% per annum, 1972-1983) lagged behind Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil, Pakistan, Costa Rica and Thailand - Presents tables showing wheat and rice procurement/wholesale price indices rising much faster than real per-hectare returns to farmers between 1970-71 and 1988-89 - Argues government fertiliser subsidies chiefly prop up inefficient domestic fertiliser factories rather than farmers, who pay 10-25% more for fertiliser than international prices would imply - Shows agriculture's share of plan expenditure fell from 49.6% (First Plan) to 27.5% (Seventh Plan) even as its capital formation share and foodgrain growth rate both declined from the 1970s to the late 1980s - Argues income disparities widened 1980-81 to 1988-89: primary producers (70% of the population) received only 2.15% of the real increase in national income, while legislators' and public-sector employees' emoluments rose far faster than consumer prices ### Of Freedom and Restraint *By M. Varma* S. Ambirajan, an economics professor at IIT Madras, opens his essay by questioning whether 'stability' is even a meaningful or desirable single concept for economic policy, arguing that development necessarily entails a degree of instability and that year-to-year per capita income growth in India ranged from -8.7% to 20.5% over the preceding decades despite an average of about 4%. The rendered pages cut off as he begins to analyze the sources of economic instability in more depth. - Distinguishes 'stability' as economists use it (firm but not static, allowing managed change) from a narrowly defined stability in the economic sphere alone - Argues economic development inherently involves dynamic tension and thus some instability, and that even isolated societies untouched by the outside world are exceptions - Notes India's real per capita NNP growth has averaged around 4% but ranged year-to-year from -8.7% (1954-55) to 20.5% (1973-74) - Frames the desirability of stability as dependent on prevailing circumstances rather than an absolute good ### India - The Tiger Caged (From The Economist's Survey of India) A reprinted extract from The Economist's 1991 Survey of India, 'India -- The Tiger Caged,' argues that India's underperformance relative to faster-growing Asian economies (South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia) cannot be excused by population growth or a supposedly harder starting position, since India had comparable or better initial advantages at independence -- a functioning democracy, civil service, and entrepreneurial population. It contends the state has 'done far too much and far too little,' crippling the economy through overregulation while neglecting essential public functions, at great human cost. The rendered excerpt is marked 'To be continued' and is paired with a companion Sunday Times piece, 'Home Truths for India,' making a similar case against Nehruvian protectionism, licensing, and the political dynasties (Nehru and Gandhi family) blamed for entrenching it. - Rejects population growth and inherited poverty as adequate excuses for India's comparatively poor development record versus Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Indonesia - Argues India at independence had a functioning democracy, a well-developed civil service, and an entrepreneurial population -- advantages squandered by policy choices - Diagnoses the core problem as a state that 'has done far too much and far too little' -- overregulating private enterprise while failing to deliver core public services like education - The companion piece 'Home Truths for India' blames Fabian-socialist policy inherited from the Nehru-Gandhi family for import bans, licensing ('permit raj'), and entrenched bureaucratic corruption - Both pieces call for the incoming government to dismantle licensing restrictions and open the economy to trade and foreign investment --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff411/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 411 (Oct-Dec 1991), the quarterly journal founded by Minoo Masani, appeared at a watershed moment for Indian economic policy: months after Manmohan Singh's 1991 reforms began dismantling the licence-permit raj. The issue's editorial tone is one of vindication and cautious welcome for liberalisation, framed against decades of the magazine's own warnings about statism. In the rendered pages, the volume opens with a report on a Freedom First Foundation seminar on the Indian economy, continues with the concluding instalment of The Economist's 'Survey of India' (on the licence raj, rent-seeking corruption, agricultural neglect and rural infrastructure), and moves into a critical review of Bimal Jalan's book on the reform package by a reviewer writing as 'An Economist'. Recurring contributors visible in this chunk include S.V. Raju (editor) and the in-house columns 'With Many Voices' (press quotations) and 'Of Cabbages and Kings' (short editorial notes signed RS, i.e. R. Srinivasan), plus an In Memoriam section for Giovanni Malagodi, R.V. Murthy and Ramnath Goenka. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 411 (Oct-Dec 1991), the quarterly journal founded by Minoo Masani, appeared at a watershed moment for Indian economic policy: months after Manmohan Singh's 1991 reforms began dismantling the licence-permit raj. The issue's editorial tone is one of vindication and cautious welcome for liberalisation, framed against decades of the magazine's own warnings about statism. In the rendered pages, the volume opens with a report on a Freedom First Foundation seminar on the Indian economy, continues with the concluding instalment of The Economist's 'Survey of India' (on the licence raj, rent-seeking corruption, agricultural neglect and rural infrastructure), and moves into a critical review of Bimal Jalan's book on the reform package by a reviewer writing as 'An Economist'. Recurring contributors visible in this chunk include S.V. Raju (editor) and the in-house columns 'With Many Voices' (press quotations) and 'Of Cabbages and Kings' (short editorial notes signed RS, i.e. R. Srinivasan), plus an In Memoriam section for Giovanni Malagodi, R.V. Murthy and Ramnath Goenka. ## Essays ### The Indian Economy - Grappling with Realities - At Last This is a report on the proceedings of a Freedom First Foundation seminar on 'A New Politics for India' held in Bombay on August 31, 1991. In the rendered pages it argues that statism has been defeated everywhere by economic reality rather than by popular struggle, situates India's 1991 reforms alongside the collapse of Soviet and East European communism, and welcomes the Congress government's reform package as overdue vindication of positions the magazine held for 39 years. It raises open questions about whether reform will solve mass poverty and what growth model (Korea vs. a Scandinavian welfare-blended model) India should emulate, then lists seminar participants (economists, businessmen, academics, journalists, and civil rights activists). - Frames the 1991 reforms as the defeat of statism by economic reality, not by a popular civil-liberties movement, in India as in the Soviet bloc - Notes India's growth was only marginal for most of the post-Independence period, improving to 5-5.5% in the 1980s under partial liberalisation before sliding toward bankruptcy - Credits the change to a hung Parliament and a Congress government led for the first time by someone outside the Nehru family - Freedom First claims 39 years of continuous warning against statism and 'welcomes' the new reform measures - Poses unresolved questions: will reform solve poverty; should India emulate a Korea-style growth model or a Danish welfare-blended model - Lists seminar participants including economists, an architect, a civil rights activist, journalists, and Freedom First editors S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan ### India - The Tiger Caged (Concluding instalment from The Economist's Survey of India) The concluding instalment of The Economist's May 1991 'Survey of India', reprinted by Freedom First to give readers the full picture behind the reform debate. In the rendered pages it catalogues the mechanics of the licence-permit raj (actual-user import rules, canalising agencies, phased manufacturing programmes, the MRTP Act's perverse effects on firm size), the anti-export bias created by protectionism, chronic under-investment in irrigation and rural roads, and Robert Wade's research on institutionalised corruption in irrigation and other public services, ending on the political costs of rent-seeking and separatist violence linked to economic grievance. - Details how import licensing, canalising agencies and technology-transfer restrictions created one of the world's most protected economies while depressing exports - Shows the MRTP Act and small-scale reservation policy produced a polarised industrial structure of many small inefficient firms and a few large monopolists - Documents that protected industries pay wages 70% higher and are five times more capital-intensive than unprotected ones - Cites Robert Wade's research on a 'market for public office' in irrigation departments, where postings are bought and sold based on their corruption-generating potential - Notes the fertiliser subsidy alone (Rs 37 billion) is twice food subsidies for the poorest, yet farmers still pay 10-25% more than world prices due to policy inefficiency - Links economic grievance to separatist and communal violence in Punjab, Kashmir, Assam and caste-reservation disputes - Reports J.R.D. Tata's view that Nehru, if alive, would have welcomed the reforms ### Reconciling the Irreconcilable - A Statist Bureaucrat's Prescriptions *By An Economist* A signed review, credited to 'An Economist', of Bimal Jalan's book 'India's Economic Crisis: The Way Ahead' (Oxford University Press, 1991). The reviewer, describing Jalan as a 'statist bureaucrat' by outlook, praises the book's diagnostic chapters on India's economic crisis but criticises its prescriptive 'Way Ahead' section as timid and rooted in an assumption that the state should retain a dominant role, arguing the actual reform package announced in mid-1991 goes considerably further than anything Jalan recommends. - Reviews Bimal Jalan's 'India's Economic Crisis: The Way Ahead', noting Jalan was Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council and a former Executive Director of the IMF Board - Praises the diagnostic ('India's Economic Crisis') portion as scholastically and eminently carried out - Criticises the prescriptive portion as unconvincing from either a liberal or pragmatic standpoint, since it is written within the framework of a dominant state model - Argues real-world reforms (devaluation, trade liberalisation, new industrial policy, reform-oriented budget) already exceed Jalan's proposals - Faults Jalan for not discussing the intellectual case against government's dominant economic role or invoking Hayek, Shenoy, Thatcher, Rajaji or Masani - Continues (beyond the rendered chunk) into detailed critique of specific chapters on savings, balance of payments, and literacy --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff412/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 412 (January–March 1992), the Bombay-published quarterly of the Democratic Research Service, is dedicated to Mikhail Gorbachev in the aftermath of the Soviet Union's dissolution. The issue's cover package, 'The End of an Empire — A New Beginning for Democracy?', gathers four pieces on the August 1991 Moscow coup and its aftermath: Vasundhara Mohan's 'The Coup in the USSR' traces Gorbachev's reform record and the conservative backlash that produced the putsch; A.G. Modak's 'Why the Coup Failed?' argues the plotters invoked a Union that had already lost its ideological and national legitimacy; Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's 'Can Democracy Grow in Russia?' (adapted from his pre-coup pamphlet Rebuilding Russia) cautions that durable Russian democracy must be built bottom-up from local self-government rather than proclaimed wholesale from above; and Fang Lizhi's 'The Unfinished Revolution — China's Time Will Come' extends the argument to China, insisting that modernization is impossible without democratization and that Tiananmen was only 'the tip of the iceberg.' Shorter regular features in the rendered pages include the editorial 'Between Ourselves,' a page of quoted pres… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 412 (January–March 1992), the Bombay-published quarterly of the Democratic Research Service, is dedicated to Mikhail Gorbachev in the aftermath of the Soviet Union's dissolution. The issue's cover package, 'The End of an Empire — A New Beginning for Democracy?', gathers four pieces on the August 1991 Moscow coup and its aftermath: Vasundhara Mohan's 'The Coup in the USSR' traces Gorbachev's reform record and the conservative backlash that produced the putsch; A.G. Modak's 'Why the Coup Failed?' argues the plotters invoked a Union that had already lost its ideological and national legitimacy; Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's 'Can Democracy Grow in Russia?' (adapted from his pre-coup pamphlet Rebuilding Russia) cautions that durable Russian democracy must be built bottom-up from local self-government rather than proclaimed wholesale from above; and Fang Lizhi's 'The Unfinished Revolution — China's Time Will Come' extends the argument to China, insisting that modernization is impossible without democratization and that Tiananmen was only 'the tip of the iceberg.' Shorter regular features in the rendered pages include the editorial 'Between Ourselves,' a page of quoted press clippings ('With Many Voices'), a column on forced blood donation by Tibetan prisoners in Chinese custody ('Of Cabbages and Kings'), a historical sidebar on Lenin's 1917 coup, a boxed poem on Gorbachev by Louella Lobo Prabhu, a short obituary-styled essay 'Soviet Communism (1917–1991)' by Robert Conquest, and a boxed excerpt from Leszek Kolakowski on the limits of denationalization. The table of contents shows the issue continuing past what was rendered here into 'The Masani Viewpoint,' Amlan Datta's Rajaji Birthday Lecture on 'The Market Economy and the Contemporary Crisis,' a Burma piece by Aung San Suu Kyi, an agriculture symposium, a debate section, and a book review — none of which were seen in these pages. ## Essays ### The Coup in the USSR *By Vasundhara Mohan* Vasundhara Mohan surveys Gorbachev's rise and reform agenda from 1985 and the mounting conservative resentment inside the CPSU that culminated in the August 1991 coup. She credits Gorbachev's 'consensus building' style — arms control, troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and Eastern Europe, glasnost's press liberalisation, and the repeal of Article 6 of the USSR Constitution ending the Party's constitutional monopoly — while showing how each concession alienated hardliners in the Party apparatus, the KGB and the armed forces. The essay closes (across the rendered pages) with the coup itself: the plotters' poor planning, Yeltsin's public defiance, and Gorbachev's return to office, though weakened relative to Yeltsin. - Gorbachev became CPSU General Secretary in March 1985 as the youngest leader since Stalin, pursuing glasnost and perestroika. - His foreign policy (INF Treaty, withdrawal from Afghanistan/Czechoslovakia/Hungary) was initially dismissed by both Western leaders and Soviet citizens as propaganda. - Domestic reforms — replacing septuagenarian leaders, releasing political prisoners, loosening press control and emigration law — provoked conservative fear. - The repeal of Article 6 (ending the CPSU's special constitutional privileges) is described as 'the last straw' forcing Party conservatives to act. - The August 1991 coup, led by Gennady Yenayev, failed due to poor coordination and Yeltsin's success in rallying public resistance. - Gorbachev was restored to the presidency but emerged diminished relative to Yeltsin's new popularity. ### Why the Coup Failed? *By A.G. Modak* A.G. Modak, Reader in the Centre for Soviet Studies at Bombay University, dissects why the August 1991 coup collapsed and offers a four-cause analysis of Soviet communism's broader decline: dogmatism (tracing intellectual repression from Lenin through Stalin), statism (the USSR's over-reliance on centralized state power to catch up with capitalism), 'the truth about the West' (the puncturing of decades of Soviet propaganda contrasting capitalist exploitation with socialist justice), and 'militant materialism' (the exhaustion of Marxist-Leninist philosophy itself, including a swipe at communist intellectual Roger Garaudy). He concludes the coup failed because the plotters, modeling themselves on Brezhnev's ouster of Khrushchev, misjudged both Gorbachev's remaining public standing and the Russian people's unwillingness to return to Stalinism. - Yenayev's conspirators modeled their coup on Leonid Brezhnev's 1964 ouster of Khrushchev but misjudged public mood. - Modak identifies four causes for the USSR's collapse: dogmatism, statism, exposure to the economic truth about Western capitalism, and the exhaustion of militant materialist philosophy. - Lenin, not just Stalin, is now held responsible for Soviet dogmatism and the persecution of 'reformist' intellectuals. - Soviet propaganda had contrasted a supposedly exploitative capitalist state with a just socialist one, but by 1991 citizens recognized this dichotomy as false. - The coup's failure is presented as also unintentionally dismantling 'the whole legacy of the October revolution of 1917.' ### Can Democracy Grow in Russia? *By Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn* Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, in an excerpt adapted from his pamphlet Rebuilding Russia (written before the coup and published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux), argues that genuine Russian democracy cannot be proclaimed 'thunderously from above' but must grow from the bottom up — starting with local self-government in small towns, settlements and districts where voters can know their candidates directly. He warns against the excesses of universal-suffrage electoral theater, invokes Karl Popper's view that democracy is chosen not for its virtues but to avoid tyranny, and cites Vasily Maklakov's 1917-era warning that democracy requires a disciplined populace Russia lacked then and lacks even more now. The rendered excerpt ends with a Freedom First-sourced boxed rebuttal/commentary from Leszek Kolakowski on the pitfalls of denationalization and market reform. - Solzhenitsyn insists 1917's chaos must not be repeated by rushing into 'a marvelous constitution' or trusting 'breathless orators.' - He argues real democracy must be built from the bottom up: villages, settlements (poselki), and districts (uyezd, rayon), not proclaimed as a finished system from the center. - Cites Karl Popper: democracy is chosen not because it 'abounds in virtues' but to avoid tyranny. - Cites Vasily Maklakov, a Constitutional Democrat leader, on democracy requiring political discipline that Russia lacked in 1917 and lacks even more today. - Critiques mass electoral campaigns for degrading political thought and rewarding demagogues over statesmen. - A boxed commentary by Leszek Kolakowski (not part of Solzhenitsyn's own text) argues denationalization need not mean total privatization and that market forces alone cannot resolve every social conflict. ### The Unfinished Revolution - China's Time Will Come *By Fang Lizhi* Fang Lizhi, the Chinese astrophysicist and pro-democracy dissident who took refuge in the American Embassy in Beijing after Tiananmen, argues in this reprint from The Journal of Democracy (Summer 1991) that China cannot achieve genuine modernization without democratization. He rejects the claim that economic development can proceed without political reform, pointing to repeated failures of Chinese modernization efforts (including the post-1987 stalling of 1980s economic reforms) as evidence that authoritarian rule itself is the obstacle. He cites documented abuses — at least 876 labour camps, an estimated 10 percent political-prisoner rate among inmates, and continued trials of Tiananmen-era student demonstrators exploiting Gulf War distraction — and predicts with confidence that China will eventually move toward democracy as part of a worldwide historical trend, comparing his own hopeful role to that of a fellow dissident scientist. - Fang argues democratization is a precondition for genuine modernization, not a luxury to be deferred for economic development. - China's 1980s economic reform enjoyed early success but began sliding toward failure after 1987, evidence (he argues) that political reform cannot be separated from economic reform. - Cites documentation of at least 876 labour camps in China and an estimated 10% political-prisoner rate among inmates. - Notes the Chinese government used the Gulf War as a distraction to intensify repression and resume trials of Tiananmen-era student demonstrators. - Frames the Tiananmen massacre as only 'the tip of the iceberg' of China's human rights record. - Predicts with confidence, based on worldwide historical trends (Eastern Europe, USSR, inter-Korean dialogue), that China will eventually democratize despite the setback of Tiananmen. - The piece carries an editorial note identifying Fang as having been called 'China's Andrei Sakharov.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff413/ ### Summary This is issue No. 413 (April–June 1992) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani, in its 39th year of publication, edited by S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. In the rendered pages, the issue centers on the early phase of India's 1991 economic liberalisation, framed by the cover story "India: The Tiger Uncaged — Almost." D.R. Pendse and Jiban K. Mukhopadhyay assess the Narasimha Rao government's reform trajectory and the Union Budget 1992-93; J.B. D'Souza argues that bureaucratic resistance, not political will, is the chief obstacle to the new economic order; M.S. Srinivasan itemises the cost of Parliament to the taxpayer and proposes reforms to MP pay and perquisites; and a report covers a Project for Economic Education seminar, "Obstacles to Liberalisation," featuring Gurcharan Das, D.R. Pendse, and D.N. Patodia.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 413 (April–June 1992) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani, in its 39th year of publication, edited by S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. In the rendered pages, the issue centers on the early phase of India's 1991 economic liberalisation, framed by the cover story "India: The Tiger Uncaged — Almost." D.R. Pendse and Jiban K. Mukhopadhyay assess the Narasimha Rao government's reform trajectory and the Union Budget 1992-93; J.B. D'Souza argues that bureaucratic resistance, not political will, is the chief obstacle to the new economic order; M.S. Srinivasan itemises the cost of Parliament to the taxpayer and proposes reforms to MP pay and perquisites; and a report covers a Project for Economic Education seminar, "Obstacles to Liberalisation," featuring Gurcharan Das, D.R. Pendse, and D.N. Patodia. The issue also carries a reprinted Amnesty International petition on human rights in Myanmar, a Friedrich Hayek obituary (reprinted from The Economist), a page of press quotations ("With Many Voices"), Minoo Masani's regular opinion column ("The Masani Viewpoint") touching on India-Israel relations and the historiography of independent India, and the recurring "Of Cabbages and Kings" notes column on MPs' pensions and a Bihar medical-college admissions scandal. ## Essays ### Bureaucracy in the New Order – Descent from the Commanding Heights *By J.B. D'Souza* J.B. D'Souza, a former Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, argues that India's civil service culture — negativity, delay, and self-protective obstruction — remains the single biggest threat to the success of economic liberalisation, regardless of which party governs. He traces the pathology to Parkinson's 'Abominable No-Man' and 'Prohibitive Procrastinator,' illustrates bureaucratic resistance with the story of flood-relief administrator S.G. Barve in Poona and a Peruvian anecdote about permit delays, and catalogues the deterioration of policing, land administration, and the judiciary. He calls for a fundamental re-orientation of officialdom: shedding paternalism and the pretension to omniscience, and rewriting civil service rules so the dishonest and incompetent can actually be removed. He cites the JJ Hospital glycerine poisoning scandal in Maharashtra and Justice B. Lentin's inquiry as an example of a system that protects the culpable and even promotes them. - Frames bureaucratic obstruction, not politics, as the main threat to India's reform programme - Uses Parkinson's concept of the 'Abominable No-Man' / 'Prohibitive Procrastinator' to characterize administrative delay as a substitute for outright refusal - Recounts S.G. Barve's fight against bureaucratic resistance during Panshet dam flood relief in Poona - Cites the JJ Hospital glycerine poisoning case and Justice B. Lentin's inquiry as evidence that culpable officials are shielded or even promoted - Calls for civil servants to shed 'God-given omniscience' and serve underprivileged and informal-sector clienteles, not just the organised elite - Argues for a rewrite of civil service rules to make it possible to actually dismiss the dishonest and incompetent ### India: The Tiger Uncaged – Almost / Economic Reforms – No Soft Options Left *By Jiban K. Mukhopadhyay* Economist Jiban K. Mukhopadhyay lays out the fiscal logic that forced India to the IMF and World Bank in 1991: a 1980s growth path financed by heavy borrowing and deficit spending, negligible returns on massive investment in state-owned enterprises, and a balance-of-payments crisis brought to a head by the Gulf War. He defends the resulting reforms — rupee devaluation, new industrial policy opening to MNCs, and outward-looking trade policy — as unavoidable, and frames the 1992-93 Budget as a continuation of that process. He warns that the burden of the reform-linked inflation (which he estimates near 14%, above the government's 9% target) falls disproportionately on the poorest 75% of the population, calling this 'the price to be paid for the wrong economic policies of the past four and half decades.' - Explains the debt and deficit dynamics of the 1980s that led India to the brink of default by 1990-91 - Details the scale of IMF/World Bank borrowing received by the previous two governments and the current one - Defends the Narasimha Rao government's 1991-92 and 1992-93 budgets as necessary breaks from Fabian socialism and Soviet-style planning - Argues that decades of import-substitution policy isolated India from global economic activity and increased import-dependence rather than reducing it - States plainly that reform-era inflation, projected around 14% rather than the pledged 9%, falls hardest on the poorest three-quarters of the population ### The Union Budget 1992-93 – Some Economic Implications *By D.R. Pendse* Economist D.R. Pendse reviews the Union Budget 1992-93 as a further step toward de facto rupee convertibility, tracing how the Liberalised Exchange Rate Management System (LERMS) formalises what the havala market had already priced in. He praises the decision to permit gold imports and welcomes new treatment of remittances from Indian workers abroad, criticising the historic treatment of returning NRIs as suspects. He judges the budget's inflationary impact modest given offsetting customs relief, defends it against charges of being anti-poor by noting the demonstrated failure of prior anti-poverty schemes to reach beneficiaries past 'middlemen,' and closes by praising Finance Minister Manmohan Singh as 'a dextrous economist' and 'dedicated patriot' for having made significant, if incomplete, progress on bureaucratic reform, centre-state relations, energy policy, privatisation, and other unresolved items on his ten-point liberalisation agenda. - Frames the budget as continuing the 1991-92 shift away from a fully convertible-in-practice ('havala market') rupee toward de jure convertibility via LERMS - Welcomes the new gold-import policy as 'a crucial link in the opening up process' though flags the accompanying scheme as inadequately drafted - Criticizes India's historic treatment of returning NRI workers as if 'criminals' at airports and calls for reform of remittance handling - Judges the Budget's net additional tax burden (about Rs. 983 crore) modest at 0.8% of government expenditure - Defends the budget against charges of being anti-poor, arguing poverty schemes have failed due to leakage to 'middlemen,' not the new budget's design - Praises the elevation of J.R.D. Tata's Bharat Ratna as signalling that 'a good industrialist is an honoured citizen' - Lists five outstanding reform areas: bureaucratic reform, centre-state relations, energy policy, planning process, and privatisation ### Obstacles to Liberalisation – A Seminar Report A staff report on a two-day seminar, "Liberalisation of the Indian Economy: The Obstacles and Measures to Overcome Them," organised in Bombay (April 4-5) by the Project for Economic Education. D.R. Pendse addressed obstacles to liberalisation and the Union Budget as a reform instrument; Gurcharan Das (an MNC chief executive in India) spoke on economic sovereignty vis-à-vis the IMF/World Bank and multinationals; and former MP and industrialist D.N. Patodia traced the progress of reforms to date. Participants broadly agreed the forty-year policy of state socialism had failed, that current inflationary pressures stem from past policies rather than the new liberalisation measures themselves, and that the new policy's success depends on honest implementation and resistance to capture by vested interests (politicians, bureaucrats, and businessmen who benefited from the licence-permit-quota raj). - General agreement that forty years of state socialism had failed and inflation stems from past, not present, policy - Warned of the risk that vested interests — politicians, bureaucrats, and licence-raj beneficiary businessmen — could scuttle honest implementation - Dismissed concerns about loss of economic sovereignty to the IMF/World Bank/MNCs as a 'bogus cry,' noting it is often raised by communists who have themselves received foreign funds - Stressed the need for Reserve Bank of India autonomy and consumer-oriented restructuring of public sector undertakings - Identified follow-up implementation at state and municipal level (e.g. octroi, State Electricity Boards) as decisive for the reforms' ultimate success ### Representing the People – How much Our MPs Cost Us *By M.S. Srinivasan* M.S. Srinivasan, an engineer-economist and founder of the First Public Education Trust, itemises the direct salary, allowances, housing, travel, telephone, medical, and pension perquisites enjoyed by India's roughly 800 Members of Parliament, estimating a total annual cost to the exchequer of about Rs. 30 crore, equivalent to a notional 'head-tax' of roughly Rs. 100 per eligible voter. He contrasts this largesse with MPs' comparatively modest legislative productivity, citing the House of Commons as a counter-example of substantive lawmaking. He closes with a ten-point reform programme — capping salary at Rs. 3,000/month, standard housing, abolishing pensions in favour of a contributory provident fund, taxing legislators' incomes like ordinary citizens, and creating a research secretariat — and warns that unchecked, legislators could entrench their perquisites into a hereditary right. - Estimates the all-in cost of each MP at roughly Rs. 4 lakh/year and the full 800-member Parliament at about Rs. 30 crore/year - Details specific perquisites: liberal air/rail travel, two free-call telephone lines, subsidised housing (Rs. 10,000-50,000/month value), free utilities, subsidised food, tax-exempt allowances - Describes the MP pension scheme (Rs. 500/month after 58 months' service, rising with tenure, extending to spouse) as unlimited and undisqualified even by illegal conduct - Proposes a ten-point reform: salary cap at Rs. 3,000/month, standard housing, provident fund instead of pension, taxable income, and a research secretariat for legislators - Warns that expanding the number of legislators, as some clamour for, would only multiply the cost of 'democracy' without improving representation ### The Erosion of Political Authority and Legitimacy *By Louis D'Silva* Minoo Masani's regular opinion column, covering several unrelated topics current at the time. He welcomes India's belated establishment of full diplomatic relations with Israel, crediting Israeli Consul General G. Becher and Prime Minister Narasimha Rao (overruling the Foreign Minister). He dismisses a Far Eastern Economic Review contributor's 'neo-Nehruism' framing of India's economic troubles, endorsing a correspondent's view that thirty-five years of cloning the Soviet economic model, not the current reforms, produced India's crisis. He opposes a proposal for a government-sponsored history of India since independence, arguing history-writing is the job of independent scholars, not the state, and criticizes historian Sarvepalli Gopal's prior biography of Nehru as 'abjectly adulatory.' He closes by congratulating South Africa's F.W. de Klerk on his referendum win while cautioning that 'majority rule is not democracy' in a plural society without power-sharing. - Welcomes India's establishment of full diplomatic relations with Israel, crediting Consul General G. Becher and PM Narasimha Rao - Rejects the 'neo-Nehruism' framing of India's economic crisis, instead blaming 35 years of Soviet-style planning - Opposes a government-sponsored official history of independent India as improperly politicised, criticizing Professor Sarvepalli Gopal's prior Nehru biography as adulatory - Comments on the F.W. de Klerk referendum in South Africa, distinguishing majority rule from genuine power-sharing democracy --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff414/ ### Summary This is issue No. 414 of Freedom First (July-September 1992), the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani, published in its 40th year by the Democratic Research Service under editors S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. The issue's cover package is 'Liberalising the Indian Economy', assessing the first year of the Narasimha Rao government's reforms: industrialist D.N. Patodia surveys the reforms undertaken (delicensing, MRTP easing, rupee devaluation and partial convertibility, liberalised foreign investment) and argues what remains — cutting wasteful government expenditure, rationalising the tax structure, developing infrastructure, and reforming employment policy — while economist D.R. Pendse, interviewed by the US quarterly Economic Reforms Today, discusses the case for privatisation, the need for an independent public-policy think tank, and cautious optimism about India's medium-term prospects. In the rendered pages the volume also carries Minoo Masani's regular 'The Masani Viewpoint' column (on Pakistan's treatment of an Indian diplomat, Article 368 amendment debates, judicial supremacy, and telephone tariffs), S.V.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 414 of Freedom First (July-September 1992), the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani, published in its 40th year by the Democratic Research Service under editors S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. The issue's cover package is 'Liberalising the Indian Economy', assessing the first year of the Narasimha Rao government's reforms: industrialist D.N. Patodia surveys the reforms undertaken (delicensing, MRTP easing, rupee devaluation and partial convertibility, liberalised foreign investment) and argues what remains — cutting wasteful government expenditure, rationalising the tax structure, developing infrastructure, and reforming employment policy — while economist D.R. Pendse, interviewed by the US quarterly Economic Reforms Today, discusses the case for privatisation, the need for an independent public-policy think tank, and cautious optimism about India's medium-term prospects. In the rendered pages the volume also carries Minoo Masani's regular 'The Masani Viewpoint' column (on Pakistan's treatment of an Indian diplomat, Article 368 amendment debates, judicial supremacy, and telephone tariffs), S.V. Raju's report on a communal controversy over the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's use of Anjuman-i-Islam premises, A.G. Nadkarni's analysis of the Harshad Mehta securities scam ('The Mother of All Indian Scams?'), and the start of M.S. Srinivasan's essay 'Cutting Politicians Down to Size' arguing for constraining politicians' role via specialist national commissions, alongside a reprinted extract from David McCullough on American self-reliance. ## Essays ### The Reforms so Far — What Remains to be Done *By D.N. Patodia* Industrialist D.N. Patodia surveys, in the rendered pages, the economic reforms carried out in the first eight months of the Narasimha Rao/Manmohan Singh government and lists supporting measures still needed. He credits the reforms with delicensing about 80 percent of industries, removing MRTP restrictions on assets, liberalising foreign trade, devaluing and partially converting the rupee, and permitting up to 50 percent foreign equity. He then argues, in the rendered pages, that further work is required on cutting wasteful government and public-sector expenditure, curbing internal and external borrowing, rationalising the tax structure (including gold and silver import duties), developing infrastructure, and reforming education and employment policy so that industry is not asked to be the primary employment provider. - Forty years of state control left India with multiple controls, restrictive regulation, and a savings apparatus diverted to subsidise loss-making public enterprises. - By 1989 the balance-of-payments crisis and foreign-exchange depletion pushed the country to the brink of default, prompting the reforms of 1991-92. - Reforms so far: ~80% of industries delicensed, MRTP asset restrictions removed, foreign trade liberalised, rupee devalued and partially convertible, up to 50% foreign equity permitted in most sectors. - Government wage bills consume 40% of aggregate central/state receipts; central government employee numbers and remuneration are both projected to rise rather than fall despite stated cutbacks. - Author proposes: selling/closing loss-making public sector commercial enterprises, disinvesting up to 49% of profit-making PSU shares, curbing internal debt (exceeding Rs 2,60,000 crores in 1990-91), rationalising tax/customs duty (bringing gold import duty down from 15% to under 10%), and legalising silver import to curb smuggling. - Population growth and a defective education system are identified as central constraints on employment; industry alone cannot absorb the unemployed. ### "Awakening the Sleeping Giant" *By D. R. Pendse* This is a reprint of an interview with economist D.R. Pendse conducted by John Zemko, editor of the US quarterly Economic Reforms Today, on India's new economic policy. In the rendered pages, Pendse argues that the reform process must be made politically durable by educating public opinion — he calls for an independent, non-official think tank on the model of Washington policy institutes, invoking Lincoln's dictum that 'a man who molds public sentiment goes deeper than the man who makes statutes.' He characterises the reforms as driven jointly by crisis management and a genuine intellectual shift, distinguishes privatisation from mere promotion of the private sector, and describes India's peculiar model of privatisation (partial disinvestment of PSU equity rather than full sale, given the historically reserved industrial sectors). He also discusses continuing constraints — a nationalised financial sector starved of long-term capital, and private-sector reluctance to enter newly opened areas like power generation and road construction. On the future outlook, Pendse expresses confidence that India could be a major economic force in Asia by 2005-2010 if entrepreneurship (which he judges plentiful) is matched by consistent policy, arguing natural resources are secondary to policy and entrepreneurial capacity. - Public sentiment does not yet grasp why reforms are necessary; Pendse calls for a Washington-style independent think tank to educate opinion, citing his talks with CIPE (Center for International Private Enterprise). - Reforms are both crisis management and part of a wider intellectual shift toward market-oriented policy in India. - Indian privatisation ≠ mere private-sector promotion; the government is disinvesting up to 49% of equity in profit-making PSUs (about Rs 25 billion raised) rather than selling full ownership as Mrs Thatcher did in Britain. - Government has reserved seven industries for the public sector under the new industrial policy, down from a much larger prior list; 278 'commercial enterprises' of government exist, many perennial loss-makers, which Pendse says should be sold off, restructured or closed. - Private sector has been slow to respond even where sectors like power generation and road construction have been opened, partly because transmission networks remain state-controlled and price caps discourage new entrants. - The financial sector is 'basically nationalized', starving private long-term (10-15 year) capital projects like power plants of funding. - Pendse is confident that within 15 years (by 2005-2010) India will be seen as a major Asian economic force, provided consistent policy support continues; he rates entrepreneurship and policy above natural-resource endowment as growth drivers. ### The Masani Viewpoint Minoo Masani's regular column, in the rendered pages, covers several unrelated topical items. He condemns the torture of an Indian diplomat by Pakistani police and urges India to press Amnesty International's findings on Pakistan; dismisses as 'absolute nonsense' the government's claim that a constitutional amendment by Indira Gandhi makes secularism and socialism unamendable, arguing constitutional amendment (even of India's frontiers) is a legitimate right of political parties; endorses A.G. Noorani's warning against curbing judicial review in favour of the Speaker; approves of monitored, metered local telephone calls; recounts his own 1960s role chairing the Road Transport Reorganisation ('Masani') Committee, which recommended abolishing octroi on petrol (still unimplemented thirty years on) and criticises the 1992 truckers' strike settlement as a postponement of the underlying problem; laments Britain's first-past-the-post election result as a lost opportunity for proportional representation; and closes with alarm at India's population reaching 844 million (23% growth in ten years), calling for fiscal disincentives such as higher income tax for a third child. - Condemns Pakistan's 'primitive and brutal' torture of Indian diplomat Rajesh Mittal and urges tougher diplomatic response, while criticising India's own past dismissiveness of Amnesty International findings against India. - Rejects the claim that a Prime Minister's constitutional amendment can place secularism/socialism beyond further amendment, calling this 'absolute nonsense' and defending the amendability of even India's frontiers by legitimate political process. - Backs A.G. Noorani's Statesman article warning against amendments that would subordinate judicial review to the Speaker and state legislatures, citing the Supreme Court's 'basic structure' doctrine. - Recalls chairing the Road Transport Reorganisation Committee (~1960) which recommended abolishing octroi on petrol due to waste and corruption at check-posts; thirty years later the recommendation remains unimplemented outside Union Territories. - Criticises the 1992 resolution of the All India Motor Transport Congress truckers' strike as a mere postponement, urging state/municipal governments be stripped of octroi-levying power. - Views the British 1992 general election result (Conservative 42% of vote, Labour 35%, Liberal Democrats 18%) as a missed opportunity for proportional representation and coalition government. - Calls India's population growth (844 million, +23% in a decade) a symptom of the government's 'utter failure' to control population and proposes financial disincentives, e.g. higher income tax for parents of a third child. ### Tamilnadu's Politics of Spectacle *By R. Srinivasan* A.G. Nadkarni analyses the 1992 Harshad Mehta securities scam, the largest Indian financial fraud since the 1950s Mundhra scandal. He explains the modus operandi — brokers exploiting banks' government-bond trading (via unphysically-transferred Banker's Receipts) to divert bank funds into stock-market speculation — and cites the Janakiraman Committee's findings of glaring internal-control deficiencies at multiple banks, with the scam's scale estimated at Rs 3,542.78 crores. Nadkarni argues the failure is systemic rather than personal, rooted in bank nationalisation's combination of inefficiency and corruption, and calls for denationalisation of banking and free, fair competition as the remedy. - The scam (named for broker Harshad Mehta) is described as the largest since the 1950s Mundhra Life Insurance Corporation scandal. - Banks must hold over a third of deposits in government bonds (SLR); daily bond trading exceeds Rs 1000 crores, often via brokers using Bank Receipts (BRs) rather than physical securities transfer. - Modus operandi: Mehta swapped low- for high-yielding bonds with banks like SBI on reverse-swap agreements, shortsold high-yield bonds anticipating new issuances, and used borrowed BRs as collateral for stock-market speculation loans. - The scheme unraveled when the RBI's Securities General Ledger revealed a shortfall of over Rs 600 crores in the SBI account. - Janakiraman Committee findings: National Housing Bank, State Bank of Saurashtra, SBI-Capital Markets and Standard Chartered Bank made payments without matching SGL notes/BRs worth Rs 1,795.66 crores; Standard Chartered, Canbank Financial Services and Canbank Mutual held BRs from Bank of Karad/Metropolitan Bank unbacked by securities worth Rs 1,282.97 crores. - Mehta's dealings with SBI alone between July 1991 and April 1992 totalled about Rs 17,000 crores; his personal wealth was estimated by tax authorities at around Rs 4,000 crores. - Nadkarni's remedy: denationalisation of the banking industry and free, fair competition, framing the scam as evidence of systemic failure rather than a few bad actors. ### R.D. Karve: Modern India's Birth Control Movement Pioneer *By J.V. Naik* M.S. Srinivasan argues, in the rendered pages, that India's politicians have accumulated an unsustainable burden of decision-making authority for which most are unqualified, resulting in a string of policy failures (Kashmir, Punjab, Sri Lanka, defence procurement) and demoralised institutions. He contends ordinary voting mechanisms cannot check this because 'every man has his price' in the political market, and proposes cutting politicians' role down to matters of properly political concern while delegating economic, social, educational and technical policy to specialist, independent bodies — starting with a forty-member National Economic Commission staffed mostly by professional economists and technologists, insulated from ministerial control, that would take binding decisions on economic policy. This is followed (or accompanied) by a reprinted extract from David McCullough arguing that America's national achievements came from work and self-reliance rather than politicians or charity — introduced by M.S. Srinivasan as a provocation asking whether India, whose politicians are not comparably 'educated' or oriented to national progress, should not similarly reduce reliance on its political class. - Argues politicians are overburdened with decisions spanning defence procurement, agriculture, health, industry and diplomacy, despite frequently lacking relevant expertise ('barely literate' in Srinivasan's framing). - Cites Kashmir, Punjab, Sri Lanka, and defence-equipment deals as examples of decisions 'proved to be wrong'. - Argues voting cannot discipline this class because political actors treat power and wealth as the sole objective, unconstrained by an honest/dishonest distinction within a 'casteless, classless' political fraternity. - Proposes a National Economic Commission (40 members, at least 30 professionals: economists, engineers, technologists) as an independent, continuing authority over economic policy — growth, resource mobilisation, borrowing, foreign exchange, imports/exports, development projects — explicitly barring politicians (including as Chairman) from holding office in it. - Envisions parallel National Social, Education, Technology and Judicial Commissions restricting politicians to expressing (not implementing) the people's views. - The accompanying McCullough extract argues American national achievement (institutions, wealth, freedoms, moon landings, the Panama Canal) came from work and self-reliance, not from politicians or charity, and that citizens should not expect politicians to solve their problems for them. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff415/ ### Summary This is issue No. 415 (October–December 1992) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas, in its 40th year of publication. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with editorial and topical commentary — an editors' note on the Rio Earth Summit, a 'With Many Voices' page of press quotations, and a 'Cabbages and Kings' column on media hathos surrounding the Harshad Mehta scandal and on fiscal collapse in West Bengal and Kerala — followed by S.V. Raju's piece challenging the Home Minister's dismissal of human-rights abuses as 'stray incidents,' a three-part tribute to Dadabhai Naoroji marking the centenary of his election to the House of Commons (essays by Jamshed N. Guzder, Adi Doctor, and an excerpt from V.S. Srinivasa Sastri's 'Thumb-nail Sketches'), Minoo Masani's regular opinion column, and the opening of the cover feature on the environment and the Rio summit, beginning with Chief Seattle's 1854 letter and a report on the World Bank's independent ('Morse Committee') review of the Sardar Sarovar/Narmada River project. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 415 (October–December 1992) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas, in its 40th year of publication. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with editorial and topical commentary — an editors' note on the Rio Earth Summit, a 'With Many Voices' page of press quotations, and a 'Cabbages and Kings' column on media hathos surrounding the Harshad Mehta scandal and on fiscal collapse in West Bengal and Kerala — followed by S.V. Raju's piece challenging the Home Minister's dismissal of human-rights abuses as 'stray incidents,' a three-part tribute to Dadabhai Naoroji marking the centenary of his election to the House of Commons (essays by Jamshed N. Guzder, Adi Doctor, and an excerpt from V.S. Srinivasa Sastri's 'Thumb-nail Sketches'), Minoo Masani's regular opinion column, and the opening of the cover feature on the environment and the Rio summit, beginning with Chief Seattle's 1854 letter and a report on the World Bank's independent ('Morse Committee') review of the Sardar Sarovar/Narmada River project. ## Essays ### 'Stray Incidents' Did You Say, Mr. Home Minister? *By S.V. Raju* S.V. Raju's editorial rebuts Union Home Minister S.B. Chavan's September 1992 claim that India has rule of law and that reported abuses are merely 'stray incidents.' Raju argues that four decades of Congress rule produced a bureaucracy, including the police, that serves ruling-party interests rather than citizens' rights, and catalogues specific cases (a public interest petition by playwright Vijay Tendulkar, and police brutality incidents involving Rajiv Agrawal, B.L. Miranda, Baburao Jadhav, and Dilip D'Souza) as well as further 'stray incidents' — CBI mistreatment of a bank official, torture of a Lucknow jailer's family, and an armed police raid on a Bombay family — to argue that Amnesty International's criticism of India's human rights record has substance. - Home Minister S.B. Chavan told The Times of India (Sept 27, 1992) that India would not tolerate Amnesty International's claim there is no rule of law, conceding only 'stray incidents.' - Raju argues 40 of India's 45 post-independence years have been ruled by Congress, whose bureaucracy (including police) grew a 'cozy relationship' with political masters. - Playwright Vijay Tendulkar filed a Bombay High Court petition asking for an independent body to investigate police complaints, citing four specific Bombay cases of police violence. - Additional 'stray incidents' recounted: brutal beating of a truck driver by a sub-inspector; assault of a bank executive by CBI officers seeking kickback information; torture of a Lucknow deputy jailer and threats against his family; an armed police raid on a middle-class Bombay family's home. - Raju concludes that barring Amnesty International from India is 'silly if not idiotic' given this record. ### Dadabhai Naoroji: Grand Old Man of India *By Jamshed N. Guzder* Jamshed N. Guzder's biographical tribute traces Dadabhai Naoroji's life from his childhood as the son of a poor Parsi priest through his education at Elphinstone Institute, his pioneering work founding girls' schools in Bombay in 1849, his career in London as manager of the Cama brothers' firm and professor of Gujarati at University College London, his role in Bombay Municipal Corporation and the founding of the Indian National Congress, his election to the British House of Commons in 1892 as the first Indian MP, his mentorship of a young Gandhi in South Africa, and his death in 1917. - Naoroji's father died when he was four; his mother sent him to the Native Education Society School, and he later attended Elphinstone Institute. - In 1849, at age 24, Naoroji helped found Bombay's first school for girls, recruiting 44 Parsi and 24 Hindu students despite parental resistance. - He managed the Cama brothers' London firm from 1855, coined the phrase 'India for Indians,' and founded the London Zoroastrian Association in 1861. - He was a founder of the Indian National Congress (1885) and was elected the first Indian Member of the British House of Commons for Central Finsbury in 1892. - He guided a young Mahatma Gandhi during Gandhi's early years in South Africa, corresponding regularly and advising him. - He died on 30 June 1917; Sir Narayan Chandavarkar's tribute is quoted at length. ### Dadabhai — The Secular Nationalist *By Adi Doctor* Adi Doctor contrasts Dadabhai Naoroji's secular nationalism, which viewed the state as a collectivity of individuals with rights, against the religio-spiritual nationalism of Tilak, Aurobindo, and Dayanand Saraswati, which imagined the nation as a divine, maternal shakti. The essay traces Naoroji's constitutionalism (his insistence on Britain's own pledged rights to Indian subjects), his 'drain of wealth' theory arguing that British rule, unlike Mughal or Maratha rule, permanently extracted India's wealth abroad, and his efforts to build a purely secular, unifying political-economic platform for the Congress that avoided divisive social and religious reform. - Naoroji's secular nationalism saw the state as a collectivity of persons with rights and institutions, contrasted with Tilak/Aurobindo's mystical, shakti-based nationalism. - Naoroji is called 'the father of constitutionalism in India' for consistently invoking Britain's own royal proclamations and pledges to Indian subjects. - His 'drain of wealth' theory held that British loot of India was continuous and irrecoverable, unlike Mughal/Maratha plunder which stayed within India. - He proposed ending the drain via Indian-managed development, restructured financial relations with Britain, and a swadeshi movement. - Naoroji sought a purely secular, political-economic unifying platform for Congress, opposing efforts to fold social/religious reform into Congress business to avoid communal splits. - Gandhi's 1938 foreword to Masani's Naoroji biography is reproduced, describing Naoroji as a hero and fatherly advisor during Gandhi's South Africa years. ### Dadabhai in the House of Commons *By V.S. Srinivasa Sastri* This excerpt from V.S. Srinivasa Sastri's 1946 'Thumb-nail Sketches' narrates Dadabhai Naoroji's campaign for the British House of Commons, including Lord Salisbury's 1888 'black man' gaffe that inadvertently won Naoroji sympathy, his narrow three-vote victory for Central Finsbury in 1892 as the first Indian MP, and his subsequent parliamentary work pressing for simultaneous ICS examinations in India and England and for the Welby Commission on Indo-British financial relations, before which Gokhale gave evidence. - Lord Salisbury's 1888 Edinburgh speech dismissively calling Naoroji 'a black man' backfired, drawing British sympathy for Naoroji's cause. - Naoroji was elected MP for Central Finsbury in 1892 by a majority of just three votes, earning the nickname 'Narrow Majority.' - A contemporary newspaper description portrays Naoroji as resembling 'a cultivated English gentleman' with 'a large leaven of benevolence' and formidable rhetorical skill. - In 1893 Naoroji had Herbert Paul move a resolution for simultaneous ICS examinations in India and England, which passed in a sparsely attended 'snatch vote' (84 to 76). - The Welby Commission was appointed to examine Indo-British financial relations; Gokhale, G. Subrahmanya Ayyar, Surendranath Banerjea, and Sir Dinshaw Wacha gave evidence, and Naoroji himself submitted to cross-examination as a Commission member. - A closing letter from Naoroji to an 'American disputant' condemns Britain's 'destructive and dishonourable system of government' in India. ### The Masani Viewpoint *By Minoo Masani* In his regular column, Minoo Masani (the magazine's founder) comments on several current topics: the hypocrisy of official 'Quit India' commemorations, praising Captain Lakshmi of the INA for rejecting a state award and criticising the concentration of wealth and resurgence of communalism; support for tougher action against Saddam Hussein following the Gulf War; concern over the persecution of Baha'is in Iran, referencing a Liberal International resolution; support for a separate Jharkhand state for Adivasis in Bihar, drawing on his own 1957 election experience; and a personal remembrance of his late friend Dr. John Marsh. - Masani praises Captain Lakshmi of the INA for refusing a Quit India commemorative award, quoting her criticism of wealth concentration, communal disharmony, and casteism. - Masani argues Saddam Hussein should have been removed during the Gulf War and criticises the 'half-hearted' post-war handling of Iraq. - He cites a Liberal International Executive Committee resolution condemning Iran's persecution of the Baha'i community and the execution of Bahman Samandari. - Masani supports a separate Jharkhand state for Adivasis, recalling that he was elected to Parliament in 1957 largely with Adivasi support in a constituency with its own informal 'ground rules.' - He recalls his friendship with the late Dr. John Marsh, former Director of the Industrial Welfare Society and British Management Association, who visited India nearly twenty times. ### The Earth's Environment: What the Quarrel's All About — I am a Savage and I Do Not Understand *By Chief Seattle* The cover feature on the environment opens (unattributed introductory framing) with a reprint of Chief Seattle's celebrated 1854 letter to the US President on the interconnectedness of humans and nature and the folly of treating land as property, followed by a report (originally from Geotimes) on the World Bank-commissioned independent 'Morse' review of the Sardar Sarovar Projects on the Narmada River, which found the resettlement and rehabilitation program inadequate, environmental impacts unassessed, and recommended the Bank 'step back' from the project — accompanied by a boxed 'Narmada Action Alert' by Medha Patkar summarising the Morse Report's findings and calling for international pressure to halt funding. - Chief Seattle's 1854 letter is reprinted in full, arguing land, air, animals, and humans are interconnected and cannot simply be bought and sold. - The World Bank's independent review of the Sardar Sarovar Projects, chaired by Bradford Morse with Thomas Berger as deputy, was released 18 June 1992. - The review found resettlement and rehabilitation 'not possible under prevailing circumstances' and environmental impacts of the dam/canal project inadequately assessed. - The Sardar Sarovar complex includes a 535-foot dam, 3,970-foot length, 47,000 miles of canals, would affect at least 240,000 people including submergence of 245 villages. - Medha Patkar's 'Narmada Action Alert' box summarises the Morse Report's findings and calls readers to write to the World Bank, Indian government ministers, and MPs/MLAs to halt the project. - A letter from Louisiana-based engineer Raphael Kazmann, reprinted as a preface, warns that sedimentation effects on a project of this scale, based on Missouri/Arkansas river experience, have likely not been properly accounted for. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff418/ ### Summary This is issue No. 418 (July-September 1993) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani, edited in this issue by S. V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. The cover theme is Human Rights, and in the rendered pages the issue opens with a compressed press-quotes column ("With Many Voices"), a notes-and-comment section ("Of Cabbages and Kings") on cycle-rickshaws and the environmental costs of the East Asian "tiger" economies, an obituary tribute to the d'Avoine family of Bombay rationalists, a report on a college essay survey of Bhiwandi youth on the 1992-93 communal riots, two poems, a review of Osborne and Gaebler's "Reinventing Government," B. N. Mehrish's account of the 1993 UN World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, the Dalai Lama's statement on the 34th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising, a Minoo Masani column reminiscing about his sister Mehra Masani, a satirical piece personifying a suitcase amid the Harshad Mehta scandal, and the opening pages of G. Narayanaswamy's Rajaji Birthday Lecture on C. Rajagopalachari's values.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 418 (July-September 1993) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani, edited in this issue by S. V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. The cover theme is Human Rights, and in the rendered pages the issue opens with a compressed press-quotes column ("With Many Voices"), a notes-and-comment section ("Of Cabbages and Kings") on cycle-rickshaws and the environmental costs of the East Asian "tiger" economies, an obituary tribute to the d'Avoine family of Bombay rationalists, a report on a college essay survey of Bhiwandi youth on the 1992-93 communal riots, two poems, a review of Osborne and Gaebler's "Reinventing Government," B. N. Mehrish's account of the 1993 UN World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, the Dalai Lama's statement on the 34th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising, a Minoo Masani column reminiscing about his sister Mehra Masani, a satirical piece personifying a suitcase amid the Harshad Mehta scandal, and the opening pages of G. Narayanaswamy's Rajaji Birthday Lecture on C. Rajagopalachari's values. In the rendered pages, editorial concerns cluster around human rights (domestic and international), critique of bureaucratic/socialist governance in favour of market and entrepreneurial alternatives, and reverence for classical-liberal and nationalist-liberal exemplars (Rajaji, Minoo Masani). ## Essays ### Many Voices A compilation of quotations from the Indian and international press (May-August 1993) on themes including communal theocracy, corruption, Indian bureaucracy's suspicion of markets, capitalism, Marxism, and the state of Indian democracy. In the rendered pages, the column ranges from Nirad Chaudhuri on Indian emigres to Swaminathan S. A. Aiyar's aphorism that "Marxism may also be odious, but Karl Marx was a great man," to the Dalai Lama on Indian democracy's untapped strength. - Compiles short newspaper quotations from named columnists and public figures, dated May-August 1993 - Touches on communalism, corruption, capitalism vs socialism, and quality of Indian political leadership - Includes a quote from the Dalai Lama (via The Times of India, June 5) on Indian democracy's strength ### Cabbages & Kings *By RS* An unsigned notes column in two parts. "Two Cheers for Cycle-Rickshaws" argues, drawing on Ivan Illich's Energy and Equity and a study of Dhaka's rickshaw economy, that cycle-rickshaws remain an underappreciated, high-employment, low-pollution transport mode that Indian and Bangladeshi policy discourages through high import duties and neglect. "The Unknown Story of the Dragons" punctures the East Asian miracle narrative by cataloguing the severe environmental costs of industrialisation in Taiwan and South Korea (river pollution, rising cancer and asthma rates, agricultural contamination). - Cites Ivan Illich's Energy and Equity on the social value of bicycle-based transport - Reports that cycle-rickshaws account for over half of Dhaka's vehicles and 70% of its passengers, citing scholar Rob Gallagher - Criticises government neglect and high taxation of rickshaw manufacture in India/Bangladesh - Details environmental costs of industrialisation in Taiwan and South Korea: polluted rivers, contaminated farmland, rising asthma and cancer - References the magazine's own earlier reporting (Freedom First, April 1988, p.4) on Taiwan's pollution costs ### The d'Avoines of Bombay *By S. V. Raju* An obituary tribute by S. V. Raju marking the death of Irene d'Avoine (died July 28, 1993), headmistress of Walsingham High School, and recounting the life of her father Dr. Charles d'Avoine, a Mauritius-born, France/Belgium-educated physician who settled in Bombay, became a leading rationalist, edited the journal Reason for the Rationalist Association of India, and was tried and acquitted in 1933 under Section 295 of the Indian Penal Code for an article on "Religion and Morality." - Irene d'Avoine, headmistress of Walsingham High School and a Freedom First reader, died July 28, 1993 - Her father Dr. Charles d'Avoine (b. 1875, Mauritius) settled in Bombay, treated plague victims, and became editor of Reason, journal of the Rationalist Association of India (RAI) - Dr. d'Avoine was prosecuted in December 1933 under IPC Section 295 for his article "Religion and Morality" in Reason, and was acquitted - Both father and daughter were buried without religious rites in unconsecrated ground in Bombay's Sewree Cemetery - Names numerous RAI members and Bombay public figures of the era (editors of Bombay Chronicle and The Bombay Sentinel, etc.) ### India's Youth - The Only Hope *By V. C. Phadke* Prof. V. C. Phadke reports on an essay exercise he administered to 300 first-year B.A. students at Bhiwandi Nizampur Nagarpalika College, in which two-thirds chose to write on "Riots, Riots, Riots" reflecting on the communal violence that followed the Babri Masjid demolition. The essay synthesises the students' recorded views: many blamed religious fanaticism and politicians who incite riots for power, some invoked Gandhian universalism, and others pointed to unemployment and government weakness as root causes. Phadke frames the students' spontaneous, ungraded responses as evidence that Indian youth are not the ivory-tower innocents they are assumed to be, and voices cautious hope in the youth's professed desire for communal harmony. - Based on an essay survey of 300 Bhiwandi college students (age 18-20) writing on the 1992-93 Bombay/Bhiwandi communal riots - About 200 of 300 students chose to write on the riots topic rather than alternatives like 'My Own Budget' - Common themes in student essays: blame on religious fanatics and opportunistic politicians, invocation of Gandhian brotherhood, and structural causes like unemployment - Notes Bhiwandi's history of communal violence and a student observation that it stayed peaceful relative to its 'mini-Pakistan' reputation despite Babri Masjid provocations - Concludes with a qualified affirmation that youth represent hope for India's future ### Rethinking Government *By Adi Doctor* Two poems under "Poets' Corner" by Ms. Sanskritirani Desai (Gujarati-language poet, translated into English): "In The Waiting Room Of Life," a meditation on transient human relationships and unfulfilled understanding of life's purpose, and "Mountains of Possibilities," an allegory of God sifting through a mountain of life-possibilities with a sieve to give each person only what suits them, framed as a dialogue between the poet and God. - Two poems by Ms. Sanskritirani Desai, a Gujarati-language poet published since the 1960s - First poem uses a waiting-room metaphor for transient human connection and unexamined purpose - Second poem allegorises fate/providence as God sifting a 'mountain of possibilities' through a sieve for each individual ### Universalization of Human Rights *By B. N. Mehrish* Prof. Adi H. Doctor (Head, Department of Politics, University of Goa) reviews David Osborne and Ted Gaebler's "Reinventing Government" (Prentice-Hall of India, 1992), explaining the book's concept of "entrepreneurial government" as one that steers rather than rows: promoting competition among service-providers, empowering communities rather than servicing them as dependent clients, focusing on outputs/performance rather than inputs/rules, decentralising decision-making, and emphasising prevention over crisis response. Examples cited include US private vs municipal garbage collection costs, New Zealand's airline deregulation, Chicago's parent-controlled school councils, California's DMV computerisation, and a lead-paint bureaucratic bottleneck at a US federal housing agency. Doctor also flags the book's caution against romanticising competition, since communities cannot always be forced into self-organisation. - Reviews Osborne & Gaebler's 'Reinventing Government,' proposing ten principles of 'entrepreneurial government' - Central thesis: entrepreneurial government steers (sets policy, fosters competition) rather than rows (directly provides services) via monopoly agencies - Cites a US example: private garbage collection cost $17/ton vs $49/ton for municipal agencies due to inefficiency under monopoly - Cites New Zealand's move from a monopoly domestic airline to competition, sharply improving service - Describes Chicago's decentralised school governance via elected parent/community/teacher councils that hire and fire principals on performance - Notes the book's own caveat that government cannot force communities to organise or take control if they are unable to ### For A Free Tibet - The Continuing Struggle *By The Dalai Lama* Dr. B. N. Mehrish (Reader in International Law, Bombay University) reports on the UN World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna, June 14-25, 1993, attended by delegates from about 180 states plus NGOs, amid a sharp rise in reported violations (over 125,000 complaints received by the UN Centre for Human Rights that year, nearly triple 1992). The article summarises the Vienna Declaration's action programme (anti-racism measures, women's rights, anti-torture steps, proposed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and International Human Rights Court), India's position at the conference (including Dr. Manmohan Singh's and Dr. L. M. Singhvi's interventions on Kashmir, self-determination, and terrorism), and the broader emerging doctrine of humanitarian intervention overriding state sovereignty, including a quoted position from Boris Yeltsin. - Covers the UN World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna, 14-25 June 1993, with ~5,000 delegates from 180 states - UN Centre for Human Rights received over 125,000 complaints in 1993, nearly triple 1992's total - Details the Vienna Declaration's action programme: anti-racism, women's rights, anti-torture measures, proposed High Commissioner for Human Rights and International Human Rights Court - Describes India's delegation position on Kashmir self-determination, opposing Pakistan's framing of 'liberation struggles' - Notes Amnesty International representatives were refused permission by the Indian Government to visit Bombay in July 1993 to investigate post-riot police conduct - Discusses the tension between national sovereignty and an emerging doctrine of humanitarian intervention, with the Soviet bloc historically opposing a High Commissioner on sovereignty grounds ### Masani Viewpoint *By Minoo Masani* The full text of the Dalai Lama's statement on the 34th anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day (10 March 1993). He surveys renewed but inconclusive contact with the Chinese government (via the Beijing-Dharamsala channel and envoy Kalon Gyalo Thondup), calls for progress on four fronts (dialogue with China, international education about Tibet, monitoring the impact of new Chinese economic policies on Tibetan cultural survival, and democratisation of the Tibetan government-in-exile), and warns that China's demographic policy of population transfer and the new 'special economic zone' status for the 'Tibet Autonomous Region' risk completing Tibet's colonisation. He reaffirms his personal commitment to a genuinely democratic future Tibet, restates he will not hold office in a free Tibet, and closes with an affirmation that human dignity and freedom cannot ultimately be suppressed by dictatorship. - Marks the 34th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan National Uprising - Reports renewed but strained direct contact between Dharamsala and Beijing via envoy Kalon Gyalo Thondup, with China maintaining a hard-line negotiating position - Describes new official contact established with Taiwan as a hopeful development - Warns that China's new 'special economic zone' designation for the Tibet Autonomous Region risks accelerating demographic and cultural assimilation of Tibetans - Calls for continued international pressure, education efforts, and democratisation of the Tibetan administration-in-exile - Reaffirms his 'Guidelines For Future Tibet's Polity' and his personal pledge not to hold office in a future free, demilitarised, non-violent Tibet ### An Interview with Mr. Suitcase *By S. S. Bankeshwar* In this instalment of 'The Masani Viewpoint,' Minoo Masani writes a personal tribute to his late sister Mehra Masani, an accomplished All India Radio official (Director of External Services, later denied the Directorship-General despite topping the merit list) who fought a long illness (rheumatoid arthritis) and died in 1990. He also touches on three unrelated notes: support for the convention that the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) be drawn from the leader of the Opposition (recalling his own 1967-69 term succeeded by Atal Behari Vajpayee), and a comment on a student suicide over inability to pay a college admission donation, criticising both social pressure and a Supreme Court decision permitting fee-based reservation of seats. - Personal tribute to Mehra Masani, Minoo Masani's sister, a senior All India Radio official who was denied the Director-General post despite topping the merit list, seen by Masani as due to 'male chauvinism and intrigue' - Recounts her career from AIR's External Services Directorship to her later post as Director of the Leslie Sawhney Centre, Deolali, and her death in 1990 after a long struggle with rheumatoid arthritis - Separately notes the 1967 convention (which Masani says should be maintained) that the PAC Chairman should come from the Opposition leader, referencing his own term succeeded by Atal Behari Vajpayee - Criticises a case of a student suicide over an unaffordable college donation as exposing failures in India's education system and objects to a Supreme Court decision permitting fee-based seat reservation ### C. Rajagopalachari - The Man and His Values *By G. Narayanaswamy* A satirical piece by S. S. Bankeshwar in which the author 'interviews' his own suitcase, personified as newly jubilant after suitcases (in the guise of cash-stuffed bags) became notorious symbols of political corruption following the Harshad Mehta stock scandal (the Rs. 67 lakh suitcase allegedly delivered to PM Narasimha Rao) and after unnamed MPs ('suitcases') were said to have saved the Narasimha Rao government in a no-confidence vote. The suitcase boasts of demand from VIPs, mocks the going rate for a Bombay University degree, and jokes about export prospects for India's endemic corruption. - A satirical dialogue personifying a suitcase as a stand-in for cash-bribe politics after the Harshad Mehta scandal - References the Rs. 67 lakh suitcase allegedly delivered to PM Narasimha Rao as a first installment of political patronage - Mocks MPs who allegedly took bribes ('suitcases' themselves) to save the government in a no-confidence vote, comparing it to Kapil Dev's World Cup batting feat - Jokes that a Bombay University B.A./B.Sc./B.Com. degree now 'costs' Rs. 9,000, naming a Shiv Sena leader as reference - Ends with the suitcase declining to say which newspaper would publish the interview unless bribed itself ### The British Political Scene *By Ian Tickle* G. Narayanaswamy delivers the Rajaji Birthday Lecture 1992 on C. Rajagopalachari's life and values, covering (in the rendered pages) Rajaji's attitude to life and his personal qualities. Narayanaswamy, who knew Rajaji personally for over 12 years, structures the talk around five themes: attitude to life, personal qualities, concern for the poor and downtrodden, respect for law, and economic philosophy. The rendered pages cover the first two themes and open the third (concern for the downtrodden), describing Rajaji's Vedantic/Gita-inflected philosophy of detached duty, anecdotes illustrating his personal integrity (the Ma Po Si anecdote, the fake-doctor prosecution), and his record as Chief Minister opening temples to Harijans, introducing debt relief for agriculturists, and pioneering prohibition as social policy from 1937. This essay continues past the rendered pages (TOC lists it running to p.25); coverage here is partial. - Delivered as the Rajaji Birthday Lecture, 5 December 1992, by G. Narayanaswamy, who was closely associated with Rajaji for over 12 years - Structures the talk into five themes: attitude to life, personal qualities, concern for the poor, respect for law, economic philosophy - Rajaji's philosophy draws on the Gita and Upanishads: detached performance of duty ('yoga is the effort to purify our character') - Anecdotes illustrate personal humility and integrity, including refusing to let VIP status override friendship (the Ma Po Si story) and testifying candidly in a fraud trial against a fake doctor claiming to have treated him - As Chief Minister of Madras (1937), opened the Meenakshi Temple at Madurai to Harijans roughly 50 years before the Mandal-era reservations debate, introduced the Debt Relief Act for agriculturists, and pioneered prohibition as both social and economic policy - As Chief Minister he also backed labour rights (the Pannayar Act for agricultural workers' share of produce) and stood up to the English Governor over a 1938 Harvey Mills lock-out dispute --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff417/ ### Summary This April-June 1993 issue of Freedom First (No. 417, 41st year of publication) is organized around a cover package titled "The Descent of India — From Dadabhai to Dawood," responding to the March 1993 Bombay bomb blasts and the preceding December 1992-January 1993 communal riots following the Babri Masjid demolition. The editorial ("Between Ourselves" by S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan) frames the issue as a delayed response to the bombings, which forced postponement of a planned seminar on "The Role of the State in a Market Economy." The lead essays, by R. Srinivasan and S.V. Raju, argue that the bomb blasts exposed a decades-long criminalisation of Indian politics, tracing its roots to the Licence-Permit-Quota Raj of Nehru's Second Five Year Plan and documenting, through contemporary press reports, the extensive criminal records of sitting municipal corporators and MLAs, including the alleged Dawood Ibrahim-politician nexus in Bombay's Vasai-Virar belt.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This April-June 1993 issue of Freedom First (No. 417, 41st year of publication) is organized around a cover package titled "The Descent of India — From Dadabhai to Dawood," responding to the March 1993 Bombay bomb blasts and the preceding December 1992-January 1993 communal riots following the Babri Masjid demolition. The editorial ("Between Ourselves" by S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan) frames the issue as a delayed response to the bombings, which forced postponement of a planned seminar on "The Role of the State in a Market Economy." The lead essays, by R. Srinivasan and S.V. Raju, argue that the bomb blasts exposed a decades-long criminalisation of Indian politics, tracing its roots to the Licence-Permit-Quota Raj of Nehru's Second Five Year Plan and documenting, through contemporary press reports, the extensive criminal records of sitting municipal corporators and MLAs, including the alleged Dawood Ibrahim-politician nexus in Bombay's Vasai-Virar belt. In the rendered pages, the volume also carries a tribute to the Sarajevo newspaper Oslobodenje (nominated by the Indian Liberal Group for the Liberal International 1993 Prize for Freedom), a report on how Bhiwandi's police-community model preserved communal peace during the 1992-93 riots (V.C. Phadke), an essay on the incompatibility of Islamic theocratic instincts with secular pluralist democracy in Britain, India, Pakistan, Sudan and Nigeria (Mervyn Hiskett), and, under the 'Masani Viewpoint' feature, a piece by A.G. Philip questioning whether Hindutva and Shiv Sena-style politics can serve national integration. ## Essays ### The Criminalisation of Politics in India *By R. Srinivasan* R. Srinivasan's opening essay argues, in the rendered pages, that the March 1993 Bombay bomb blasts confirmed a long-recognised criminalisation of Indian politics. He traces the process from an idealistic post-independence generation of politicians to the corrupting pressures of election financing, which pushed politicians into dependence on 'vote deliverers' and musclemen; over time these criminal enforcers stopped working behind the scenes and began winning public office themselves. The essay singles out the Emergency of 1975 and the Youth Congress clique around Sanjay Gandhi as an apogee of this trend, and closes with proposed remedies: state financing of elections, civic education, support for grassroots anti-corruption movements, and public recognition for honest officials. - Argues the criminalisation of Indian politics is a settled fact, not a matter of dispute, confirmed by the March 12, 1993 Bombay blasts - Cites Rajni Kothari's long-standing warnings about this trend as prescient but unheeded - Identifies election-cost financing as the 'thin edge' through which criminal money entered politics, alongside intimidation, booth capturing and kidnapping - Describes the Emergency-era Youth Congress as a turning point where political criminality became entrenched - Proposes remedies in the rendered pages, including state-funded elections, civic education campaigns, and public support for anti-corruption grassroots movements ### Criminal Politicians or Political Criminals? *By S.V. Raju* S.V. Raju's essay argues that criminals in India have moved from manipulating politicians behind the scenes to directly winning public office themselves, so that 'goondas' now hold elected positions rather than merely controlling those who do. He surveys competing accounts of when this rot began (1947, the 1957 Second Five Year Plan, Indira Gandhi, or Sanjay Gandhi) and personally favours the Second Plan's licence-permit-quota regime as the root cause, since it created lucrative rents that a new class of smugglers, black-marketeers and 'dons' arose to capture. The essay then presents an extensive dossier of press-sourced examples of corporators and MLAs across Bombay, Aurangabad and Nagpur facing criminal charges (from Thane politician Hitendra Thakur's alleged links to Dawood Ibrahim, to dozens of corporators with pending criminal trials), and closes by citing national crime statistics showing a rising, unpunished tide of crime in India. - Frames the March 1993 blasts as the moment India's 'descent' became undeniable, with criminals now openly holding elected office rather than working through proxies - Surveys four competing 'milestone' theories for when political criminalisation began, favouring the 1957 Second Five Year Plan's licence-permit-quota system - Documents specific cases: Hitendra Thakur (Vasai-Virar), alleged links between his brother 'Bhai' and Dawood Ibrahim; Ahmed Ali alias Sher Khan of Agra facing 25+ criminal cases while nominated to a government council - Cites Aurangabad and Nagpur municipal corporators with dozens of pending criminal cases including murder, dacoity, and kidnapping charges - Closes with an 'Mera Bharat Mahan' sidebar citing national crime-clock statistics: one cognizable crime every seven seconds, rising female criminality (362% increase 1971-1990), and a sharp increase in left-wing extremist and terrorism-related violence ### Keeping the Peace the Bhiwandi Way *By V.C. Phadke* V.C. Phadke's essay explains why Bhiwandi, a powerloom town near Bombay known for prior communal riots, remained peaceful during the December 1992-January 1993 violence that convulsed Bombay after the Babri Masjid demolition. He credits a sustained, decades-long programme of police-community cooperation begun after the 1984 riots: mohalla committees in all 70 municipal wards, joint Hindu-Muslim patrols, advance intelligence-gathering (nakabandis), suspension of cable TV to prevent inflammatory Ayodhya visuals from provoking residents, and confidence-building events such as a mushaira attended by 25,000 people of both communities. Phadke calls this the 'Bhiwandi Model' and recommends it be replicated in other communally sensitive parts of India. - Bhiwandi, despite past riots in 1970 and 1984, stayed largely peaceful through the December 1992-January 1993 communal violence that hit Bombay - Credits a sustained police-citizen cooperation programme built by successive Deputy Commissioners of Police (K.P. Gaekwad, Suresh Khopde, Gulabrao Pol) since 1984 - Describes mohalla committees of 25 members each across all 70 municipal wards as the backbone of the model - Cites specific preventive measures around the Babri Masjid demolition: disconnecting cable TV dish antennas, patrolling by political/social leaders and committee members, and rapid police response promises - Concludes by calling this the 'Bhiwandi Model,' worth emulating nationally, while cautioning it depends on mutual trust and both communities shedding prejudice ### Democracy or Theocracy *By Mervyn Hiskett* Mervyn Hiskett's essay, in the pages seen, argues that a recurring Islamic predisposition — an inability to reconcile with secular pluralism, religious diversity and universal adult suffrage — has repeatedly produced conflict wherever Muslim populations have confronted democratic, pluralist states. He traces this from the 1993 proposal for a 'Muslim Parliament' in Britain back through the Indian Muslim League's rejection of Gandhi- and Nehru-style secular pluralism (contrasted with M.A. Ansari's failed accommodationist stance), Jinnah's Fourteen Points, and 1906-1929-era Muslim deputations demanding special constitutional status, culminating in Partition. He extends the argument to northern Nigeria's 1983 coup following anti-secular-democracy protests at Bayero University and to Sudan's turn toward an anti-democratic Islamist elite corps, situating Sheikh Shabbir Akhtar's 'Be Careful with Muhammad' as a contemporary British instance of the same impulse. - Opens from a 1991 London Times report on a proposed 'Muslim Parliament' in Britain, framed as an early sign of separatist sentiment likely to recur as British Muslims gain confidence - Argues Islamic dhimma tradition is structurally incompatible with equal-citizenship secular pluralism, tolerating non-Muslims only as tribute-paying subjects, not political equals - Traces the Indian case from M.A. Ansari's failed attempt to reconcile Muslim politics with Gandhian secular nationalism, through Jinnah's Fourteen Points, to the 1947 Partition - Cites 1906 and 1929-era Muslim deputations to British colonial authorities (to Minto, and around the 1920s) rejecting universal suffrage as alien to Islamic theocratic values - Extends the argument internationally to Nigeria (1983 Bayero University protests and coup) and Sudan (post-colonial turn to an anti-democratic Islamist elite), and cites Sheikh Shabbir Akhtar's book as a British parallel ### Essay 19 Under the 'Masani Viewpoint' feature, A.G. Philip's piece (courtesy The Sunday Observer) argues that Hindutva, like the intolerance it claims to oppose, is not a genuine force for national integration but a mobile prejudice that finds ever-new targets. Using the Shiv Sena's shifting targets (south Indians, then Muslims) as the primary example, and drawing a parallel to how West Pakistan's dominant elite turned on East Pakistan's Bengalis after Partition, the essay contends that both the Sena and the BJP's linguistic and religious chauvinism threaten to fragment India's unity rather than strengthen it, contrasting India's historical accommodation of linguistic-state demands with Pakistan's suppression of Bengali demands that led to Bangladesh's secession. - Argues intolerance is a state of mind that persists after a theocratic or ethno-nationalist state is established, merely finding new targets (using post-Partition Pakistan's turn against Bengalis as the model case) - Traces the Shiv Sena's shifting targets from south Indians in the 1960s Bombay to Muslims across Maharashtra, arguing the shift was a strategic, marketing-driven choice, not a change in the underlying intolerance - Compares the BJP's Jan Sangh-era demand for Hindi imposition to the Sena's linguistic chauvinism, questioning whether Hindutva politics can accommodate India's linguistic and ethnic diversity - Contrasts India's relatively successful accommodation of linguistic-state demands (e.g., Tamil Nadu, DMK) with Pakistan's suppression of Bengali demands, crediting this flexibility with keeping India united while Pakistan broke apart - Concludes that a Hindutva-based unitary government, if the Sena and BJP overcame their rivalry, would risk repeating Pakistan's mistake of intolerance toward internal diversity --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff416/ ### Summary This January-March 1993 issue of Freedom First (No. 416), marking the magazine's 40th year of publication, is dominated by its response to the December 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid and the Bombay riots that followed. The editors S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan explain in their opening note that the issue was delayed because the planned January symposium on "The Role of the State in a Market Economy" had to be shelved in the wake of the violence; in its place the Freedom First Foundation, the Indian Secular Society, and the SNDT Women's University Department of Politics convened an emergency seminar on "Secularism, Precept and Practice in Contemporary India" on January 9, 1993, held despite curfew and unrest in Bombay. In the rendered pages, the volume's main feature, "Have We Gone Mad?", reproduces that seminar's proceedings at length -- debating what secularism means in India, whether sarva-dharma-samabhava is a coherent basis for a secular state, the failures of the post-Independence political class, and the case for a Uniform Civil Code -- interspersed with boxed contributions from named participants (M.S.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This January-March 1993 issue of Freedom First (No. 416), marking the magazine's 40th year of publication, is dominated by its response to the December 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid and the Bombay riots that followed. The editors S.V. Raju and R. Srinivasan explain in their opening note that the issue was delayed because the planned January symposium on "The Role of the State in a Market Economy" had to be shelved in the wake of the violence; in its place the Freedom First Foundation, the Indian Secular Society, and the SNDT Women's University Department of Politics convened an emergency seminar on "Secularism, Precept and Practice in Contemporary India" on January 9, 1993, held despite curfew and unrest in Bombay. In the rendered pages, the volume's main feature, "Have We Gone Mad?", reproduces that seminar's proceedings at length -- debating what secularism means in India, whether sarva-dharma-samabhava is a coherent basis for a secular state, the failures of the post-Independence political class, and the case for a Uniform Civil Code -- interspersed with boxed contributions from named participants (M.S. Gore, Minoo Masani) and reprinted pieces (a Shivaji-Aurangzeb tolerance exchange, Babar's "secret will", B.T. Dastur on lawlessness, and Ruchira Gupta's eyewitness account of the Ayodhya demolition). Regular features in the rendered pages include the "With Many Voices" page of quotations from the contemporary press and the "Of Cabbages and Kings" column of editorial miscellany. ## Essays ### Have We Gone Mad The lead feature reports on a January 9, 1993 emergency seminar on secularism convened by the Indian Secular Society, SNDT Women's University's Department of Politics, and the Freedom First Foundation, held in the middle of the Bombay riots that followed the Babri Masjid demolition. The piece opens by describing the surreal circumstance of holding an intellectual discussion on secularism while the city burned, then moves through a wide-ranging discussion: the argument that pre-modern India was fundamentally communal rather than harmoniously plural; a critique of school history for flattening India's past into a Hindu-Muslim binary; competing dictionary and philosophical definitions of secularism; a sustained rebuttal (via M.S. Gore's contributed piece) of the idea that sarva-dharma-samabhava (equal respect for all religions) is equivalent to secularism, arguing instead that genuine secularism requires treating religion as irrelevant to the individual's access to opportunity; and a survey of how political parties across the spectrum have compromised with communalism for electoral gain. The section also carries reprinted material: a 1679 letter from Shivaji to Aurangzeb pleading for religious tolerance and Babar's 1529 'secret will' to Humayun urging the same; a polemical piece by B.T. Dastur on India's supposed 'relapse into savagery'; and Ruchira Gupta's first-person eyewitness account of the December 6, 1992 demolition at Ayodhya, describing kar sevaks attacking journalists and the mob turning on her when identified as Muslim. The seminar report continues into discussion of a Uniform Civil Code, reproducing Indian Secular Society president A. Solomon's introduction and Dr. S.P. Sathe's rationale for a 1986 draft proposal on marriage and matrimonial remedies, plus a boxed piece titled 'The Dilemma of Progressive Muslims' voicing concerns from within the Muslim Satyashodak Mandal about the difficulty of spreading secular ideas at the grassroots. - The seminar was held on January 9, 1993 despite curfew and continuing violence in Bombay, with 51 participants including academics, judges, businessmen, and activists. - Discussion questioned whether pre-modern India was ever genuinely tolerant, arguing that the 'plural, tolerant India' narrative is partly a myth that ignores intra-Hindu and intra-religious persecution. - M.S. Gore directly disputes the idea that sarva-dharma-samabhava (equal regard for all religions) is consistent with a secular ethic, arguing that most religions posit transcendental claims that cannot be reconciled by mere tolerance. - Multiple speakers argue that Indian political parties across the spectrum -- Congress, Janata Dal, BJP -- have all compromised with communal politics for electoral advantage. - Minoo Masani argues India should be 'non-denominational, not secular,' proposing only Republic Day and Independence Day as universal holidays with all religious holidays observed sectionally. - Ruchira Gupta's eyewitness account describes the December 6, 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid, kar sevaks assaulting journalists and photographers, and her own near-lynching when identified as Muslim. - The Uniform Civil Code section reproduces a 1986 draft proposal (Indian Secular Society, with Justice V.D. Tulzapurkar) recommending abolition of polygamy and unilateral divorce while permitting religious rituals to continue outside the law's purview. - A contribution attributed to a Muslim Satyashodak Mandal activist describes the 'dilemma of progressive Muslims': accused of trying to teach Islam when raising reform, and of anti-Islamic bias when criticizing it. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff420/ ### Summary This is issue No. 420 of Freedom First (January-March 1994), the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas in its 42nd year of publication, edited by S. V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. The cover feature is Kashmir, presented through three contrasting pieces: K. S. Ramamurthy's case for an internationally-supervised plebiscite honouring India's original commitment to the Kashmiri people; a Swiss Press Review piece arguing for outright Kashmiri independence as the only durable solution; and Ashok V. Chowgule's rebuttal, in the letters vein, defending the Indian Army's conduct against Bernard Levin's earlier accusations and insisting Kashmir's accession is non-negotiable. Alongside the Kashmir package, the issue carries M. R. Masani's 'Open Letter to My Younger Friends' urging a new generation to organise in defence of economic liberalisation, a lengthy set of resolutions from the Fifth Convention of the Shetkari Sanghatana (covering the Latur-Osmanabad earthquake, agricultural pricing, property rights, and austerity in government spending), tributes to the recently deceased H. M. Patel and Justice N. P. Nathwani, a short history of the Indian Secular Society's 25 years, R.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 420 of Freedom First (January-March 1994), the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas in its 42nd year of publication, edited by S. V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. The cover feature is Kashmir, presented through three contrasting pieces: K. S. Ramamurthy's case for an internationally-supervised plebiscite honouring India's original commitment to the Kashmiri people; a Swiss Press Review piece arguing for outright Kashmiri independence as the only durable solution; and Ashok V. Chowgule's rebuttal, in the letters vein, defending the Indian Army's conduct against Bernard Levin's earlier accusations and insisting Kashmir's accession is non-negotiable. Alongside the Kashmir package, the issue carries M. R. Masani's 'Open Letter to My Younger Friends' urging a new generation to organise in defence of economic liberalisation, a lengthy set of resolutions from the Fifth Convention of the Shetkari Sanghatana (covering the Latur-Osmanabad earthquake, agricultural pricing, property rights, and austerity in government spending), tributes to the recently deceased H. M. Patel and Justice N. P. Nathwani, a short history of the Indian Secular Society's 25 years, R. Srinivasan's regular 'With Many Voices' and 'Of Cabbages and Kings' columns, and Jude H. Gomes's historical essay on Bombay's early mercantile and social peculiarities. In the rendered pages the volume's argumentative centre is classical-liberal: scepticism of the Nehruvian planned economy, insistence on property rights and market reform, and a nationalist-liberal but rights-conscious position on Kashmir. ## Essays ### Many Voices An unbylined obituary tribute (signed S. V. Raju) to H. M. Patel, the ICS officer, Swatantra Party leader and Union Finance/Home Minister who died on 30 November 1993. It recounts his role reorganising the armed forces after Partition, nationalising insurance and forming LIC, his presidency of the Swatantra Party, his tenure as Finance Minister in the Janata government, and his later work building a rural hospital at Vallabh Vidyanagar. - H. M. Patel died on 30 November 1993 at his residence in Vallabh Vidyanagar. - As Defence Secretary in 1947 he helped reorganise the Indian armed forces after Partition. - As Principal Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs he was involved in nationalising insurance companies and forming LIC, and in creating the State Bank of India. - He was falsely implicated in an LIC scam, was exonerated, and took premature retirement. - He joined the Swatantra Party in 1966 at Bhaikaka's urging, later became its national president in 1968, and was Morarji Desai's choice as Finance Minister and later Home Minister in the Janata government. - After leaving active politics in 1980 he helped build an 850-bed hospital complex at Vallabh Vidyanagar. ### Of Cabbages and Kings R. Srinivasan's regular 'With Many Voices' column, a compilation of pointed quotations culled from the press (The Sunday Observer, The Week, Time, Indian Express, The Statesman, The Economist, and others) on Indian politics, economic liberalisation, Kashmir, and social commentary, followed by 'Of Cabbages and Kings', a set of short editorial notes on a Muzaffarnagar panchayat that shielded a rapist, on the value of a free press in exposing wrongdoing, and a note recommending the new magazine Communalism Combat. - The 'With Many Voices' page strings together press quotations on Indian politics, Israel policy, communism's decline, budget-making, Kashmir security policy, and consumer capitalism. - 'Of Cabbages and Kings' opens with a case from Muzaffarnagar (UP) where a gram panchayat let a rapist off with a minor, face-blackening punishment and destroyed evidence, prompting a call for panchayat education on democratic responsibility. - A second item argues a free press, despite its excesses, is essential to exposing the misdeeds of the powerful, citing historical examples from Nero to Indira Gandhi and the Antulay affair. - The column also notes a reader's complaint about the magazine's coverage and recommends the new monthly Communalism Combat, founded by Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand. ### Indian Secular Society - 25 years of commitment *By R.Srinivasan* A short piece marking 25 years of the Indian Secular Society (founded 1968 in Bombay), tracing its origins to secularist humanist G. G. Agarkar's legacy, its founding moving spirit Professor A. B. Shah, and early activist Hamid Dalwai. It covers the Society's work on the Uniform Civil Code, Muslim Satyashodak Mandal, and opposition to Hindu Sanatanist attacks on dissidents, and appeals to readers to support the Society and its journal The Secularist. - The Indian Secular Society was inaugurated in 1968 in Bombay and has completed 25 years of activity as of the special Jan-Feb 1994 issue of The Secularist. - Professor A. B. Shah was the moving spirit, aided by early activist Hamid Dalwai, focusing on Muslim community reform, a Uniform Civil Code, and countering both Muslim and Hindu obscurantism. - The article situates the Society's mission against a backdrop of post-Ayodhya intolerance, quoting Leviticus 24:16 on blasphemy to illustrate how local figures now act as 'Ayatollahs'. - Both A. B. Shah and Hamid Dalwai died early but their successors are said to be carrying on the work. ### The Masani Viewpoint - An Open Letter M. R. Masani's 'An Open Letter to My Younger Friends', part of his regular 'Masani Viewpoint' column. Masani recalls founding the Swatantra Party with Rajaji in 1959 against the prevailing socialist dogma, argues that the economic reforms of the 1990s were forced on the Congress government only by necessity rather than conviction, and appeals to a younger generation to organise a movement to keep the liberalisation process from stalling. - Masani and Rajaji founded the Swatantra Party in 1959 to advocate a market economy against Nehru's 'socialistic pattern of society'. - He argues the Congress leadership speaks with different voices to different audiences: free economy to foreign investors, continuity to partymen, residual socialism to organised labour, and welfarism to the poor. - Masani criticises government price administration (e.g. on petrol) as anti-market backsliding that undermines liberalisation. - He is unhappy that Indian voters must choose between unwilling liberalisers and those appealing to religion or caste (Ayodhya, Mandal). - Citing his advanced age and frailty, he appeals to younger readers who believe in individual dignity and minimal state intervention to organise a movement to keep pressure on the government to honestly implement reforms. ### Kashmir ... Promises to Keep (section header) K. S. Ramamurthy's 'Kashmir - The Way Out' argues that India should move past treating Pakistan as a permanent enemy and should honour its original 1948 commitment to hold a free plebiscite in Kashmir. It reviews the legal history of accession (N. Gopalswamy Iyengar's 1948 Security Council address, A. A. A. Fyzee's view that the Kashmir valley would have gone to Pakistan under partition's logic, Maharaja Hari Singh's conditional accession), Article 370's special status, and concludes that India should proceed to an internationally acceptable free and fair plebiscite regardless of Pakistan's cooperation, since India's own past assurances make this the honourable course. - The article argues that under the 'basis of partition' logic applied elsewhere (Junagadh, Hyderabad, Jodhpur, Bhopal), the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley would properly have gone to Pakistan. - Maharaja Hari Singh's accession was made conditional on Indian military help against raiders, and the Government of India itself pledged, via N. Gopalswamy Iyengar's 1948 UN Security Council speech, to let Kashmiris decide their future by plebiscite. - Article 370 of the Constitution is cited as evidence that India itself, tacitly, never treated the accession as final or irrevocable. - The author cites Jayaprakash Narayan's 1974 observation that no election in Kashmir was ever fought on the accession issue itself. - Ramamurthy concludes India should proceed with an internationally acceptable free and fair plebiscite in the entire state, honouring its 'solemn assurance' to Kashmiris even without Pakistani agreement, since doing so enhances India's international standing regardless of outcome. ### Kashmir - The Way Out *By K.S.Ramamurthy* A reprinted Swiss Press Review piece, 'The Solution: An Independent Kashmir', arguing that neither the Indian nor Pakistani position serves the interests of Kashmiris, that both countries risk nuclear confrontation over the dispute, and that independence for Kashmir would be a solution consistent with the fundamental principles of both nations. It reviews the 1962-63 period when Nehru and Ayub Khan came close to agreeing on Kashmiri independence with joint neutrality guarantees, and criticises the Indian Army's human-rights record while also blaming Pakistan's rigid insistence on Kashmir as a precondition for any dialogue. - The article characterises the Siachen Glacier conflict as 'stupid' and unwinnable for either side, fought in a totally inhospitable, undemarcated area. - It notes India and Pakistan are both nuclear powers, raising the stakes of any renewed confrontation over Kashmir. - Nehru, after 1962, came to see Kashmir's special Muslim-majority status as an exception to his usual insistence on keeping every part of India, and reached a near-agreement with Ayub Khan on independence with joint guarantees of neutrality shortly before his death. - The piece states over 12,000 people have been killed in Kashmir since 1990, overwhelmingly civilians, citing collapse of rule of law and lack of foreign observer access. - It closes urging that Kashmiri independence, jointly guaranteed by India and Pakistan, would let two 'prestigious leaders' (P. V. Narasimha Rao and Benazir Bhutto) resolve one of the longest-running problems of decolonisation. ### The Solution: An Independent Kashmir *By Swiss Press Review* Ashok V. Chowgule's letter-style rebuttal, 'Indian Army's Role in Kashmir', responds to Bernard Levin's earlier Freedom First article 'India's Army on the Rampage' by defending the Army's overall conduct in Kashmir, citing the Press Council's Verghese Committee finding that reports of army excesses were 'grossly exaggerated or invented,' and arguing that Kashmir's accession to India is not a negotiable issue. - Chowgule argues Levin's article did India and its Army a disservice by ignoring that India is fighting a proxy war with Pakistan in Kashmir. - He acknowledges that excesses by the Army have occurred, comparing this to abuses by American and Pakistani troops in Somalia, but insists such incidents are properly dealt with through inquiry and punishment rather than blanket condemnation. - He quotes the Verghese Committee report (Press Council of India, December 1990) via Anil Maheshwari's book 'The Crescent over Kashmir', stating that reports of Army human rights excesses have been 'grossly exaggerated or invented.' - He challenges Levin to identify his source of evidence and pass it to the Government of India rather than making unsubstantiated claims. - He cites the Army's operation clearing out terrorists from Sopore without civilian casualties as an underreported success, and insists Kashmir's status as part of India is non-negotiable. ### Indian Army's Role in Kashmir *By Ashok V.Chowgule* A long compilation of formal resolutions adopted at the Fifth Convention of the Shetkari Sanghatana held at Aurangabad, covering the Latur-Osmanabad earthquake of 30 September 1993 and its politicised relief effort, agricultural pricing and marketing controls, welcome for economic liberalisation ('Bali Rajya'), demands for structural economic reforms, restoration of constitutional property rights, and austerity in government expenditure. - The Convention mourns the Latur-Osmanabad earthquake victims and attributes the scale of the disaster to the state's longstanding anti-farmer policies that left farmers living in unsafe stone-and-mud houses, rather than to natural causes alone. - It condemns politicised village 'adoption' for earthquake relief and demands only non-political, non-communal organisations be allowed to adopt villages. - Resolutions on agricultural pricing condemn the state cotton monopoly, restrictions on milk/paddy/sugarcane processing, and demand all controls, levies and export restrictions on agricultural produce be abolished. - The Convention welcomes the fall of the 'Nehru model' and international 'Bali Rajya' (liberalisation), but criticises the government's reform effort as tepid and driven by necessity rather than conviction. - It demands restoration of the constitutional right to property (eroded via Schedule IX), redefinition of 'public purpose' land acquisition, and a public enquiry into politicians' land wealth. - It calls for halving administrative and bureaucratic expenditure, freezing salary scales, and stopping further government recruitment to reduce the fiscal deficit. ### The Rural Perspective (section header) / Resolutions of the 5th Shetkari Sanghatana Convention held at Aurangabad Jude H. Gomes's historical essay 'Bombay Peculiarities' describes the early growth of Bombay under the East India Company, arguing that Parsi shipbuilder Lowji Nassarwanjee Wadia, rather than the English, was the true maker of the city thanks to its harbour and dockyard. It covers Bombay's early reputation as an unhealthy 'cemetery of the English', its slow population growth compared to rival ports like Surat, Bassein, and Salsette, its slave-owning household economy, and the relatively liberal, non-purdah social outlook of its Parsi and Christian communities. - Bombay was surrounded by more powerful rival settlements (Surat, Portuguese Bassein and Salsette) until the mid-18th century and grew slowly, reaching only an estimated 70,000 people by 1744. - The city's unhealthy malarial climate earned it the label 'the cemetery of the English'; Keigwin's revolt (1683-84) and Child's Moghul war further set back its development. - The Parsi shipbuilder Lowji Nassarwanjee Wadia, rather than the English, is credited as the true maker of Bombay via its dockyard and harbour trade. - In 1789 there were 431 slaves in Bombay, typically arriving from Madagascar or the Red Sea and converting to Roman Catholicism. - The Parsi and Christian communities had no purdah system or caste inhibitions restricting contact with the English, giving Bombay society a comparatively cosmopolitan, tolerant character. ### Bombay Peculiarities *By Jude H.Gomes* Yogesh Kamdar's tribute 'N.P. Nathwani: He Bestowed Dignity to Dissent' recounts the life of Justice Narendra Pragji Nathwani (1913-1993) — freedom fighter, Constituent Assembly and Lok Sabha member, Bombay High Court judge, and lifelong civil-rights campaigner — including his role in the Junagadh 'Aarzi Hukumat', his defence and later renunciation of the Preventive Detention Act, his opposition to the Emergency, his chairing of the Nathwani Commission on repression of the Dawoodi Bohra community, and his public protest against a lavish Bombay wedding at age 77. - Nathwani was born in Uganda in 1913, settled in Junagadh, and participated in the freedom struggle, being jailed in 1932-33 and going underground during Quit India in 1942. - During Partition he served as a Minister for Law & Justice in the 'Aarzi Hukumat' (provisional government) formed to fight the Nawab of Junagadh's plan to accede to Pakistan. - As an MP he was among Nehru's chosen defenders of the Preventive Detention Act, but later publicly called his own defence of it 'not just a blunder, but a sin' once he saw the Act misused. - During the Emergency he was a leading Citizens for Democracy activist against Mrs. Gandhi's dictatorship, winning a landmark Bombay High Court judgment upholding free speech and association. - In 1978 he headed the Citizens for Democracy Commission of Enquiry (the 'Nathwani Commission') into repression of the Dawoodi Bohra community by its chief priest. - At age 77 he stood outside a lavish Bombay wedding with a placard protesting vulgar displays of wealth, shaming at least two couples out of attending. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff421/ ### Summary This is issue No. 421 of Freedom First (April–June 1994, 42nd year of publication), the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani and edited in this issue by S. V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. The cover story, marked by a pointing-hand cartoon under the banner "Don't Let Them Fool You," targets the wave of hysteria from opposition parties and trade unions against India's signing of the GATT/Uruguay Round agreement at Marrakesh. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with tributes to two recently deceased public figures (industrialist S. L. Kirloskar and scholar Tarkateerth Laxmanshastri Joshi), the regular "With Many Voices" and "Of Cabbages and Kings" miscellany columns, S. V. Raju's explainer defending GATT against protectionist and sovereignty-based objections, Sharad Joshi's essay on 'ulti-patti' (reverse/negative pricing) documenting decades of implicit taxation of Indian farmers, "The Masani Viewpoint" column of short political notes by Minoo Masani, and the opening of Sharad Bailur's "The Great American Bubble" on U.S. fiscal and monetary policy.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 421 of Freedom First (April–June 1994, 42nd year of publication), the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani and edited in this issue by S. V. Raju and R. Srinivasan. The cover story, marked by a pointing-hand cartoon under the banner "Don't Let Them Fool You," targets the wave of hysteria from opposition parties and trade unions against India's signing of the GATT/Uruguay Round agreement at Marrakesh. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with tributes to two recently deceased public figures (industrialist S. L. Kirloskar and scholar Tarkateerth Laxmanshastri Joshi), the regular "With Many Voices" and "Of Cabbages and Kings" miscellany columns, S. V. Raju's explainer defending GATT against protectionist and sovereignty-based objections, Sharad Joshi's essay on 'ulti-patti' (reverse/negative pricing) documenting decades of implicit taxation of Indian farmers, "The Masani Viewpoint" column of short political notes by Minoo Masani, and the opening of Sharad Bailur's "The Great American Bubble" on U.S. fiscal and monetary policy. Other listed contents not covered in the rendered pages include pieces on euthanasia, West Asia peace prospects, Islam and Bosnia, God and Violence, the Nigerian crisis and corruption, and book reviews. ## Essays ### Many Voices A brief editorial tribute marking the deaths in April and May 1994 of industrialist S. L. Kirloskar and scholar Tarkateerth Laxmanshastri Joshi. The Kirloskar tribute, reprinted from an article by D. R. Pendse, recalls Kirloskar's blunt free-market convictions (abolition of the Planning Commission, scrapping of FERA and industrial licensing) and his composure when raided by tax and enforcement authorities. The Joshi tribute, reprinted from The Times of India, portrays him as a polymath scholar-activist who fought untouchability and championed Jyotiba Phule's reforms while producing a 14-volume Marathi encyclopaedia. - S. L. Kirloskar, industrialist and founder of the Kirloskar group, died on April 24, 1994 at age 91 - Tarkateerth Laxmanshastri Joshi, Maharashtrian scholar, died on May 27, 1994 at age 94 - Kirloskar favoured abolishing the Planning Commission and FERA and ending industrial licensing - Kirloskar's policy positions are described as later echoed in Manmohan Singh's post-1991 reforms - Joshi campaigned against untouchability and defended Gandhi's anti-untouchability movement using shastric arguments - Joshi was influenced by M. N. Roy's new humanism after an earlier attraction to Marxist thought ### The Masani Viewpoint S. V. Raju's explainer piece answers reader requests to clarify what GATT (the 'Dunkel Draft') is and defends the government's decision to sign the Marrakesh accord in April 1994. It walks through GATT's history since 1947, its 117-member structure, the concept of Most Favoured Nation status, the eight negotiating 'Rounds' culminating in the Uruguay Round, and the impending conversion of GATT into the World Trade Organisation from April 1995. The piece then assesses India's negotiating performance, quoting T. C. A. Srinivasan Raghavan's Business Standard analysis that India gained in agriculture but lost ground in textiles, and argues India negotiated "from a position of weakness" partly because its GATT representation until 1989 was ideologically anti-market. It closes covering related trade issues: inconsistencies in Indian IPR/patent law per solicitor R. A. Shah, and a boxed rebuttal of the sovereignty objection to GATT. - GATT was founded in 1947 by 23 countries, including India, and by 1994 had 117 member countries - GATT member-countries account for an estimated 93% of world trade and enjoy Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status with each other - The Uruguay Round (the 8th GATT round) concluded with the Marrakesh accord signed April 15, 1994 - From April 1995 GATT would convert into a formal body, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) - T. C. A. Srinivasan Raghavan's analysis (quoted at length) argues India gained in agricultural trade but lost in textiles for a decade, and negotiated from weakness partly due to ideological baggage - A separate boxed item argues Indian patent law is inconsistent, citing solicitor R. A. Shah on the anomaly of a 7-year patent grant process against a 5-7 year patent term - A boxed argument on 'Sovereignty' contends that GATT membership does not compromise India's sovereignty, comparing objectors' logic unfavourably ### The Great American Bubble *By Sharad Bailur* Sharad Joshi's essay opens with a personal anecdote from his time as a UN-official-turned-farmer: after selling cucumbers at market, he was handed a bill for Rs. 32 rather than payment, having lost money net of marketing costs, cess, and commission — an experience he calls 'ulti-patti' (reverse settlement), where the farmer pays rather than receives. He generalizes this into an argument that Indian agricultural policy has systematically imposed negative real prices on farmers for decades, citing his own estimate of Rs. 12,000 crores in annual farmer losses from unremunerative prices, alongside the lower estimates of Dalip Swamy and Ashok Gulati (Rs. 5,000–6,000 crores). He criticizes what he calls the 'Goebbels of the Left' — filmmakers, actors, and left economists (naming Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi, and Dr. Ashok Mitra) — for portraying landholding farmers as class oppressors despite the sector's actual negative subsidy. The piece connects this argument to the GATT/Uruguay Round debate, framing it as evidence the Indian farmer has effectively subsidized the rest of the economy. - Sharad Joshi recounts his own experience being billed Rs. 32 instead of paid, after selling cucumbers, coining/using the term 'ulti-patti' (reverse settlement) - He estimates the Indian farmer's annual loss from unremunerative pricing at Rs. 12,000 crores - Dalip Swamy and Ashok Gulati's published estimate, using more conservative Agricultural Prices Commission data, put the loss at Rs. 5,000-6,000 crores - He argues that in 1990 the Government of India first officially admitted farmers received a negative subsidy of 2.3% - He criticizes prominent cultural and left-economist figures for depicting landholding farmers as a privileged 'kulak' class - The essay links this history of implicit farm taxation directly to the ongoing GATT/Uruguay Round agricultural negotiations ### The Right to Choose a Dignified Death *By B. N. Colabawalla* A column of short political notes attributed to Minoo Masani ('The Masani Viewpoint'), covering several unrelated current issues in the rendered page: criticism of the federal government for allegedly overreaching in choosing Gujarat's Chief Minister; praise for T. N. Seshan's independence as Chief Election Commissioner; qualified support for and criticism of amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code; support for Deputy Municipal Commissioner G. R. Khairnar's anti-corruption stance; and remarks on the newly planned Swatantra Bharat movement to be launched in Nagpur, which Masani hopes will revive the free-enterprise and dharma-based ideals of the original Swatantra Party. - Criticizes the Union Government for allegedly being asked to select Gujarat's Chief Minister, calling this inconsistent with federalism - Praises T. N. Seshan for defending the independence of the Election Commission - Discusses mixed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, welcoming protection for women from arrest between sunset and sunrise but opposing bail for serious offences like murder - Supports Deputy Municipal Commissioner Khairnar's anti-corruption efforts - Announces the planned launch of the Swatantra Bharat movement in Nagpur on October 2, framed as reviving the original Swatantra Party's ideals of free enterprise and dharma - Argues neither the Congress nor the BJP can fulfil the constitutional tasks required, citing Congress's reputation and BJP's communal character as disqualifying ### West Asia: New Challenges to Peace *By Nitin G. Raut* Sharad Bailur's essay opens by criticizing the U.S. Congress's passage of the NAFTA Bill and America's broader trade and monetary policy, arguing the health of the world economy depends heavily on the American economy and that a collapse there would have major political as well as economic repercussions worldwide. In the rendered portion, Bailur lays out a primer on money, central banking, inflation, and free trade before turning to what he calls America's 'credit card economy' — the proliferation of consumer credit that has left the U.S. population, in his telling, among the most indebted in the world, creating fragility that underlies his 'bubble' thesis. The essay is cut off partway through the section on credit card companies' reliance on national credit-information databases. - Opens by criticizing the U.S. Senate and House's passage of NAFTA, comparing American legislators unfavourably to Gadarene swine - Argues American trade barrier reduction (customs duties down to a token 5% on selected items) drove a US-centred model of globalised trade via GATT and NAFTA - Provides a primer defining money, the role of a central bank (the Federal Reserve), and the causes of inflation - Introduces a 'Credit Card Economy' section arguing that in the US, virtually anyone can issue and obtain credit cards, fuelling a national reliance on deferred payment - Warns the resulting consumer debt load makes the U.S. population 'the most indebted in the world' - Frames the essay's stakes as global: an American economic collapse could trigger major worldwide political upheaval, not just economic disruption --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff424/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 424 (January-March 1995) is a quarterly issue marking the journal's 43rd year of publication and its return to being published directly by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (ICCF) after the Democratic Research Service, its publisher of 40 years, was required to vacate its Bombay premises. The editorial explains this institutional history and reaffirms the magazine's founding commitment to an open society, free-market economics, and opposition to both statist economic policy and religious fundamentalism. The issue's central theme, previewed on the cover as 'The Changing Face of Indian Politics', is explored across several essays: S. V. Kogekar traces the decline of the Congress-dominated post-Independence political order into personality-driven, casteist, populist politics; P. R.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 424 (January-March 1995) is a quarterly issue marking the journal's 43rd year of publication and its return to being published directly by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (ICCF) after the Democratic Research Service, its publisher of 40 years, was required to vacate its Bombay premises. The editorial explains this institutional history and reaffirms the magazine's founding commitment to an open society, free-market economics, and opposition to both statist economic policy and religious fundamentalism. The issue's central theme, previewed on the cover as 'The Changing Face of Indian Politics', is explored across several essays: S. V. Kogekar traces the decline of the Congress-dominated post-Independence political order into personality-driven, casteist, populist politics; P. R. Dubhashi argues that the pursuit of power in politics need not preclude decency and proposes a code of conduct for parties; Mangesh Kulkarni examines what limits can realistically be placed on politics in a mass democracy, warning against both technocratic and free-market panaceas; and an extract from Minoo Masani's 1969 Rajaji Birthday Lecture, reprinted for its continuing relevance, diagnoses the decay of Indian public life. The issue closes (within the rendered pages) with Sharad Joshi's polemical essay likening the transition from a statist to a market economy to drug de-addiction, arguing that half-measures and equivocation will fail. ## Essays ### The Changing Face of Indian Politics *By S. V. Kogekar* S. V. Kogekar surveys the trajectory of Indian politics from the idealistic, self-sacrificing nationalist movement of the pre-Independence period through the Congress Party's post-1947 dominance (the 'Congress System') to its disintegration under Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. He argues that both leaders centralised authority, subverted internal party democracy, and replaced ideology with the naked pursuit of power, a shift that produced populism, dynastic succession, criminalisation of politics, and reliance on caste- and community-based vote banks. He then surveys the opposition landscape of the mid-1990s -- regional parties built around film-star personalities (Telugu Desam, AIADMK), the Communist Party in West Bengal, the Janata Dal's collapse after the Mandal agitation, the BJP's implication in the Babri Masjid demolition and its alliance with the Shiv Sena, and the caste-based Bahujan Samaj Party -- concluding that no major party has built itself on a coherent ideology and organisational discipline. - Pre-Independence politics was marked by self-sacrifice and nationalist conviction rather than personal gain. - After 1947 the Congress enjoyed a near-monopoly of power for about twenty years under a disciplined, consensus-seeking party structure (the 'Congress System'). - Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi centralised authority, nominated rather than elected functionaries, and personalised power, destabilising the party pyramid. - Ideology gave way to the pursuit of power itself, producing populist programmes (free electricity, cheap foodgrains) that strain state resources without solving problems. - Politics is increasingly organised around caste and communal 'vote banks', reversing the pre-Independence emphasis on abolishing caste distinctions. - Criminal elements have entered politics as money and muscle power become an accepted part of electoral strategy. - Regional parties (Telugu Desam, AIADMK, BSP), the BJP, and the Janata Dal are each surveyed and found to rest on personality, caste, or short-term populism rather than a durable ideology or organisation. ### The Purpose of Politics *By P. R. Dubhashi* P. R. Dubhashi, writing as Vice-Chancellor of Goa University, addresses the widespread disenchantment with Indian politics, attributing it to the criminalisation of politics and the loss of ideological commitment among parties since Independence. He argues that the pursuit of power is not inherently wrong provided it serves the progress of the nation, but that Indian parties have reduced ideology to an external facade (citing Indira Gandhi's 'Garibi Hatao', V. P. Singh's Mandal card, and L. K. Advani's Mandir Rathyatra as examples of issue-based rather than ideological politics). He calls for a formal code of conduct -- maintaining the distinction between party and government, avoiding populist causes that incite disorder, and ensuring merit-based appointments -- to be enshrined in the Constitution, crediting Chief Election Commissioner T. N. Seshan's enforcement of the electoral code of conduct as a partial precedent. - Disenchantment with politics stems from politicians' behaviour, not from a change in what politics fundamentally is. - The pursuit of power in politics is not itself objectionable, provided it serves national progress rather than purely factional interest. - Ideological coherence among Indian parties has weakened progressively since Independence, especially after the Soviet collapse discredited socialist patterns. - Parties adopted vote-catching slogans (Garibi Hatao, the Mandal card, Mandir Rathyatra) as substitutes for genuine ideological commitment. - A constitutional code of conduct is needed to keep party and government separate, curb populism, and restore public faith in politics. - T. N. Seshan's enforcement of the electoral code of conduct is cited as a positive but incomplete precedent. ### Limits to Politics *By Mangesh Kulkarni* Mangesh Kulkarni, a lecturer in Political Science at SNDT Women's University, asks whether limits can be placed on politics, taking his title from the Club of Rome's 'Limits to Growth' report. He defines politics broadly as the mediation of conflicting interests through norms, laws, and institutions, and argues that the notion of ridding society of politics entirely is naive: total unanimity or total conflict are the only conditions under which politics becomes redundant, and neither exists in practice (he cites the Rwandan genocide as an example of raw conflict overwhelming political mediation). He surveys historical and contemporary devices for limiting politics -- custom in traditional societies, the utopian abolition of politics in Plato and Marx, theocracy (with Iran as a cautionary example and Poland's Church-led anti-communism as a positive one), technocracy (exemplified by Rajiv Gandhi's reliance on Sam Pitroda and by Finance Minister Manmohan Singh), and the free market -- concluding that India lacks the prerequisites (land reform, literacy, work culture) for a market economy to benefit all, and that a 'social market economy' geared to welfare rather than profit, embedded in a vibrant civil society, is the only sound way to bound politics. - The essay's title alludes to the Club of Rome's 1972 'Limits to Growth' report, drawing an analogy between limiting economic growth and limiting politics. - Politics is defined as the process by which conflicting interests are mediated through norms, laws, and institutions, not merely government activity. - The desire to eliminate politics entirely is naive; only total consensus or total conflict removes the need for politics, and the Rwandan tragedy shows what happens when conflict outstrips political mediation. - Plato's philosopher-guardians and Marx's vision of communist society are cited as utopian schemes that replace politics with benevolent rule or benign anarchy. - Theocracy is examined as a limiting device, contrasting Iran's Islamic regime negatively with the Polish Catholic Church's role against communism. - Technocracy, exemplified by Sam Pitroda's 'technology missions' under Rajiv Gandhi and by Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, is criticised because technocrats are not selfless and most political problems resist purely technical solution. - India lacks prerequisites -- land reform, universal literacy, appropriate work culture -- for the free market alone to limit politics beneficially; a 'social market economy' geared to welfare within a strong civil society is proposed instead. ### Too Much Politics, Too Little Citizenship *By M. R. Pai* This is a republished extract from Minoo Masani's Fourth Rajaji Birthday Lecture, delivered in Bangalore in January 1969 under the auspices of the Gokhale Institute of Public Opinion, and reprinted here (edited to remove some dated references) because the editors judged it as relevant in 1995 as when delivered 25 years earlier. Speaking as a Swatantra Party parliamentarian, Masani laments the declining effectiveness and rising indiscipline of Parliament compared to the pre-Independence Legislative Assembly, and surveys the disintegration of the Congress Party and the short-lived non-Congress 'United Front' governments of the period. He identifies four causes of the decay of public life: the reluctance of India's politicians to accept being in opposition (unlike healthy democracies where a substantial share of politicians are prepared to be out of office); the transformation of the party from a means into an end in itself; the cult of personality over principle; and an illiterate electorate that is difficult to communicate with through normal democratic channels. The extract (marked 'to be continued') ends as Masani begins to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the Indian national character, including 'lack of courage' -- specifically the absence of a non-conformist conscience -- as manifested in indiscipline, unpunctuality, and the failure of institutions such as universities and the judiciary to resist political interference. - This is a 1969 lecture by Minoo Masani, reprinted in 1995 with light editing because the editors consider its diagnosis of Indian political decay still relevant. - Masani argues Parliament in 1969 was less effective than the pre-Independence Legislative Assembly and that all parties, including his own Swatantra Party, had lost credibility with the electorate. - He identifies the reluctance to be in opposition as the first cause of political decay, contrasting India's near-universal desire for office with healthier democracies where a substantial share of politicians accept opposition. - A second cause is that the party, meant to be a means to policy ends, has become an end in itself, with office sought for its own sake. - A third cause is the cult of personality -- preoccupation with which individuals hold power rather than with policies or principles. - A fourth cause is an illiterate electorate that is hard to reach through manifestos, print, or independent broadcast media, all of which were under government control at the time. - The lecture segues into a discussion of the Indian national character, praising traits like patience and love of family while criticising a lack of the 'non-conformist conscience' Gandhi embodied in his willingness to say 'no'. - The excerpt ends mid-argument with an explicit editorial note that it is being published in two instalments and the continuation is signalled with '(to be continued)'. ### Kicking the Statist-Drug Habit *By Sharad Joshi* Sharad Joshi, founder of the Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement and President of the Swatantra Bharat party, argues that the transition from a 'statist' to a market-oriented economic system must be total and uncompromising, likening it to hard-drug de-addiction. He dismisses gentler analogies -- weaning a baby, unbinding a Chinese woman's feet, cutting a dog's tail -- as inadequate because the socialist state is not an organic or naturally nurturing relationship but an artificial addiction with no organic basis, comparing the socialist state to the demoness Pootana offering poisoned milk to the infant Krishna. He insists de-addiction requires strict discipline, firm resolve, and total denial of access to the 'drug' of state intervention, warning that half-hearted reformers -- bureaucrats, crony-capitalists, or governments themselves nostalgic for the old license-permit-quota raj -- will doom liberalisation to failure, and that societies long habituated to statism (whether under 'iron, bamboo or khadi curtains') suffer particular psychological difficulty adjusting to a free economy. - Joshi frames economic liberalisation as identical in structure to drug de-addiction: it requires total, unequivocal commitment with no half-measures. - He rejects gentler comparisons (weaning a baby, Chinese foot-binding reversal, docking a dog's tail) as failing to capture that the socialist state is an artificial addiction, not an organic relationship. - The socialist state is likened to the demoness Pootana, who offered poisoned milk to the infant Krishna in Hindu epic, an image of deceptive nurture that is actually lethal. - De-addiction demands strict discipline, firm resolve, and total denial of access to state intervention, not gradual or soft-hearted treatment. - Bureaucrats and crony-capitalists who benefited under the old license-permit-quota raj are identified as likely saboteurs of genuine reform. - Nations under long socialist ('iron, bamboo or khadi curtain') regimes face particular psychological difficulty adapting to open markets and international norms. - The essay closes with the epigrammatic claim that de-statisation is de-addiction because the state itself is the drug. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff422/ ### Summary This July-September 1994 issue of Freedom First (No. 422, 42nd year of publication) opens with editor S. V. Raju and R. Srinivasan praising Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen for confronting religious fundamentalism, and reports on Sharad Joshi's May 1994 meeting (convened in response to Minoo Masani's appeal) that led to the founding of a new political party, Swatantra Bharat, with a detailed thirty-point transitional programme for reversing what it calls the damage of the "Nehruvian regime." The bulk of the rendered pages is given over to Taslima Nasreen: a biographical profile by V. K. Sinha, her own essay and poems, Gwynne Dyer's piece on "Islamic Feminism," and a sidebar chronicling worldwide incidents of religious-bigot threats to free speech. Other rendered pieces cover the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi's Lakshmi-Mukti movement to transfer agricultural land titles to farmers' wives in Maharashtra, Dilip Thakore's critique of India's poor showing in the 1994 Human Development Report, and the opening pages of Rajesh M. Basrur's essay on Indian national identity, cut off mid-argument. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This July-September 1994 issue of Freedom First (No. 422, 42nd year of publication) opens with editor S. V. Raju and R. Srinivasan praising Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen for confronting religious fundamentalism, and reports on Sharad Joshi's May 1994 meeting (convened in response to Minoo Masani's appeal) that led to the founding of a new political party, Swatantra Bharat, with a detailed thirty-point transitional programme for reversing what it calls the damage of the "Nehruvian regime." The bulk of the rendered pages is given over to Taslima Nasreen: a biographical profile by V. K. Sinha, her own essay and poems, Gwynne Dyer's piece on "Islamic Feminism," and a sidebar chronicling worldwide incidents of religious-bigot threats to free speech. Other rendered pieces cover the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi's Lakshmi-Mukti movement to transfer agricultural land titles to farmers' wives in Maharashtra, Dilip Thakore's critique of India's poor showing in the 1994 Human Development Report, and the opening pages of Rajesh M. Basrur's essay on Indian national identity, cut off mid-argument. ## Essays ### Many Voices A compilation of quoted remarks from public figures and newspapers of mid-1994, ranging from a Swatantra-flavoured jab at INTEL's Craig Barrett on competitiveness to Kanshi Ram's advice on defecting legislators, comments on Bombay's goonda raj, a controversial quote from Kapileshwaranand Saraswati about women reciting the Vedas, and BJP MP Uma Bharati's remark linking a mosque at Ayodhya to a temple at Mecca. - A curated "quotes of the quarter" column drawing on Indian and international press - Includes barbed political commentary on corruption, crime, and party defections in India - Features a controversial remark on women and the Vedas from a religious figure - Closes on a note about free trade eclipsing ideology in India and China ### Of Cabbages & Kings An editorial column (byline "RS") on censorship in the Arab world, opening with the fable of "Sami," a fictionalised journalist who self-censors until he can no longer distinguish his own opinions from what censors permit, then turning to the case of Egyptian professor Dr. Nasr Abu-Zaid, whose promotion was blocked and marriage annulment sought on charges of apostasy after he published a work of religious semantics. - Illustrates self-censorship through the parable of "Sami," a journalist worn down into an unthinking mouthpiece of press censors - Cites Koestler's Darkness at Noon as a text worth revisiting now that the communist monolith has crumbled - Details the case of Dr. Nasr Abu-Zaid, an Egyptian professor of Arabic literature blocked from promotion and accused of apostasy over his book A Critique of Religious Discourse - Notes a parallel demand to annul Abu-Zaid's marriage on grounds an apostate cannot be married to a Muslim ### The Masani Viewpoint Minoo Masani's regular column offers short takes on current affairs: comparing crime-ridden Bombay to Chicago, welcoming a Supreme Court ruling against punishing failed suicide attempts, criticising government commissions as a dodge, and commenting on Nelson Mandela's election and power-sharing in Sri Lanka, plus a recollection of a conversation with President Jayawardene on including Tamils and Muslims in the Sri Lankan cabinet. - Criticises the rise in violent crime in Bombay, likening it to Chicago - Welcomes the Supreme Court's view that criminalising failed suicide should be removed from the Indian Penal Code - Argues that in a polyglot society like South Africa a bare majority (the ANC's win) is not itself democratic consensus, and that power-sharing is required - Recounts a personal exchange with Sri Lankan President Jayawardene on Tamil and Muslim cabinet representation - A separate item by K. S. Ramamurthy mocks C. Subramaniam and R. Venkataraman for proposing anti-corruption plans despite their own governmental pasts ### The Return of Swatantra *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju reports on the founding of a new political party, Swatantra Bharat, prompted by Minoo Masani's January-March 1994 open letter urging his younger allies to keep economic reform from stalling. Sharad Joshi of the Shetkari Sanghatana convened a meeting at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on 28 May 1994, at which he explained his decision to enter party politics after fifteen years of self-professed apolitical public life, and the meeting resolved to form Swatantra Bharat with a Preparatory Committee to draft its constitution. The essay reproduces the party's transitional thirty-point programme covering law and order, pruning of the state, economic and electoral reforms, and corrective measures, plus a poetic "Statement of Objective." - Traces the revival of the Swatantra tradition to Minoo Masani's January-March 1994 appeal for a freedom movement - Sharad Joshi, leader of the Shetkari Sanghatana, convened the founding meeting on 28 May 1994 at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay - Joshi describes abandoning fifteen years of political abstention out of concern that reforms were losing momentum - The new party's thirty-point programme calls for abolishing bodies like the Planning Commission, a five-year moratorium on new social legislation, privatisation of state monopolies, proportional representation, and a 'Zero Regulation Day' - The programme also proposes joint ownership of private property with spouses and public scrutiny of the wealth of long-serving public officeholders ### Taslima Nasreen - A Profile in Courage *By V. K. Sinha* V. K. Sinha's profile presents Taslima Nasreen as a Bangladeshi physician, poet and columnist who became a global cause celebre after a fundamentalist group issued a fatwa and bounty on her over her novel Lajja and remarks calling for revision of the Koran. The essay traces her family background, her medical career and firsthand encounters with the abuse of rural women, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh's fragile democracy, and the argument (via Philip Green) that free speech is constitutive of democracy while religious sentiment is merely incidental to it. It is followed within the same feature by an interview/essay in Nasreen's own words ("I Am Like the Voice of Women"), two of her poems, Gwynne Dyer's syndicated piece "Islamic Feminism" contrasting female heads of government in Muslim-majority states with ongoing fundamentalist violence, and a chronological sidebar, "Threats to Free Speech from Religious Bigots," listing incidents from the 1950s to 1994 including the Rushdie affair and the banned Schindler's List. - Nasreen, born in Mymensingh, trained as a physician and began writing poetry at thirteen, well known in Bangladesh and West Bengal before Lajja's 1993 publication - As a family planning officer she witnessed widespread abuse of rural women, informing her feminism - The essay situates her persecution within a fragile Bangladeshi democracy where fundamentalist groups like Jamaat-i-Islami are gaining political ground - Sinha argues, citing Philip Green, that free speech is constitutive of democracy whereas religious sentiment is only incidental to it, so free expression should take primacy over claims of religious offence - Nasreen's own essay describes her motivation as writing 'for change' and 'for women', stating she hates both the BJP and the Jamaat-e-Islami equally - Gwynne Dyer's accompanying piece notes that Pakistan, Bangladesh and Turkey all had female prime ministers in 1994 despite Islam's reputation for oppressing women, while noting simultaneous fundamentalist violence in Algeria, Egypt and Sudan - The 'Threats to Free Speech' sidebar catalogues decades of fundamentalist and communal attacks on writers and works, from Hindu chauvinist attacks on O Rama in the 1950s to the banning of Schindler's List in 1994 ### Lakshmi-Mukti An unsigned report on Lakshmi-Mukti, a movement organised by the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi (the women's wing of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana) to transfer ownership of agricultural land to rural housewives in Maharashtra. Launched across the state on 2 October 1990 after a pilot in Vitner village, the movement has seen over a hundred thousand women benefit from land transfers, though the report stresses it is a strictly economic rather than feminist movement, and that securing property rights for women proved far harder than shutting liquor shops or winning panchayat representation. - Lakshmi-Mukti began with a pilot transfer of land titles to housewives in Vitner village, Jalgaon district, under Vimlatai Patil's leadership - The state-wide movement launched on 2 October 1990; villages with at least a hundred qualifying transfers earn the title of Lakshmi-Mukti village - Yenora in Wardha district was the first village honoured; over a thousand villages had qualified by February 1992 - The SMA's broader agenda includes drinking-water access, a common civil code, education for girls, and addressing violence against women, alongside its central property-rights push - The report closes by comparing rural Indian women's position to Sita's abandonment in the Ramayana, arguing that what is needed is 'a temple for Sita' ### A Testimony of Shame *By Dilip Thakore* Dilip Thakore reviews the UNDP's Human Development Report 1994, arguing that despite its diplomatic language the report is a damning indictment of India's post-independence development record, ranking India 135th of 173 nations. He traces India's poor showing to the 'mother of all errors' -- the adoption of a centrally planned socialist model that created a bloated, loss-making public sector and a licence-permit-quota regime, which in turn entrenched an 'amoral', quasi-literate mofussil middle class in political power, whose regressive value premises Thakore blames for illiteracy, poor health infrastructure, and communal and caste prejudice. - HDR 1994, authored under Dr. Mahbub Ul Haq for the UNDP, ranks India 135th of 173 nations despite relatively strong life expectancy at birth (59.7 years) - Thakore attributes India's underdevelopment to the post-independence adoption of a centrally planned socialist model and pervasive licence-permit-quota controls on private enterprise - He argues Indian media commentary on the report has been surprisingly muted, showing 'resignation tinged with...oriental fatalism' - The essay blames a newly emergent 'amoral' mofussil middle class for capturing political power and imposing shallow, regressive value premises nationally, including communal and caste prejudice - Less than half of India's adult population (49.8%) was literate per the report, meaning over 450 million citizens lacked basic literacy - Thakore credits the Union government's economic liberalisation and deregulation programme as a belated but necessary corrective, while warning that entrenched interests are fighting back via strikes in PSEs, banks and insurance companies ### What Makes for a Nation State / Forging a National Identity *By Rajesh M. Basrur* Rajesh M. Basrur opens an essay questioning what sustains a sense of Indian national identity, pointing to separatist movements in Assam, Punjab and Kashmir, communal violence around Ayodhya, and caste and linguistic conflict as symptoms of fraying national bonds. He argues the real sources of unease lie within Indian society itself rather than in external threats, and that the Nehruvian model of nation-building -- secular, liberal-democratic politics combined with planned industrialisation -- attempted a transformation of a technologically backward, socially orthodox society at a scale whose difficulty should not be underestimated. The rendered pages break off as Basrur begins evaluating the Nehru model's outcomes. - Opens by asking what 'Indian-ness' means and whether a fragmented sense of national identity is emerging, citing Assam, Punjab and Kashmir separatism - Argues Ayodhya-related violence is symbolic of a broader rise in communal, caste and linguistic conflict across India - Contends that the real sources of national unease lie within Indian society, not from external 'foreign hand' threats - Describes a pervasive 'moral anarchy' in which religions preaching humanism are turned into instruments of aggression against the 'other' - Introduces the Nehru model of post-independence nation-building -- secular liberal democracy plus planned industrialisation -- as the essay's next subject of evaluation, cut off mid-argument --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff423/ ### Summary This is No. 423 (October-December 1994) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas, marking the magazine's 42nd year of publication. The issue is anchored by J. B. D'Souza's cover essay "Privileged Parasites," a polemic against the perks, allowances, and impunity enjoyed by India's elected legislators ahead of a fresh round of state elections. It is paired with Madhu Limaye's "The Enemy Within," which lays out in granular, name-by-name detail the 1991 Jain hawala diaries seizure and the political and bureaucratic figures implicated, alongside official parliamentary answers tabulating unpaid rent owed by former MPs and ministers occupying government housing. Y. D. Altekar's "Making Democracy Work" continues an earlier debate on separating executive from legislative power as a check on corruption. A substantial block of the issue (in the rendered pages) is devoted to the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, with two generationally contrasting reader responses to his autobiography (Renuka Sinha's admiring "One Step Towards Gandhi" and Nagindas Sanghavi's more critical "Gandhi - His Trials and Triumphs") followed by Adi H.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is No. 423 (October-December 1994) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas, marking the magazine's 42nd year of publication. The issue is anchored by J. B. D'Souza's cover essay "Privileged Parasites," a polemic against the perks, allowances, and impunity enjoyed by India's elected legislators ahead of a fresh round of state elections. It is paired with Madhu Limaye's "The Enemy Within," which lays out in granular, name-by-name detail the 1991 Jain hawala diaries seizure and the political and bureaucratic figures implicated, alongside official parliamentary answers tabulating unpaid rent owed by former MPs and ministers occupying government housing. Y. D. Altekar's "Making Democracy Work" continues an earlier debate on separating executive from legislative power as a check on corruption. A substantial block of the issue (in the rendered pages) is devoted to the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, with two generationally contrasting reader responses to his autobiography (Renuka Sinha's admiring "One Step Towards Gandhi" and Nagindas Sanghavi's more critical "Gandhi - His Trials and Triumphs") followed by Adi H. Doctor's "Gandhi's Place in Today's Politics," which argues for the contemporary relevance of Gandhian ideas on sustainable development, trusteeship, and limited government. The front matter includes the regular "With Many Voices" quotations column and the "Of Cabbages and Kings" editorial notes (on the Surat plague, Coca-Cola's return to India, and the politicisation of school textbooks), plus a publisher's notice announcing that from January 1995 the magazine would be published by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom. ## Essays ### Privileged Parasites *By J. B. D'Souza* J. B. D'Souza's cover essay is a sustained, sardonic attack on the material privileges Indian legislators award themselves - free telephones and calls, air and rail tickets, secretariat allowances, subsidised housing - while a huge number of MPs and ministers default on rent and dues owed to the public exchequer. D'Souza cites specific cases (Tavleen Singh's reporting, the Nikhil Wagle-Sharad Pawar episode in Maharashtra, MP Virender Singh's ticketless-travel letter, Chandrashekhar's air-conditioned "hut") to argue that legislators combine the freedom to extend their own privileges at will with near-total escape from accountability for misconduct or unpaid dues, and he closes by asking whether voters are about to elect yet another "fresh gang of crooks." - MPs enjoy extensive perks: free telephones (50,000 calls/year), 16 air/rail tickets annually, secretariat and constituency allowances, subsidised housing, and eventual pensions. - Three former Prime Ministers (Chandrashekhar, Rajiv Gandhi, V. P. Singh) are named as owing the IAF Rs. 8.5 crores collectively for non-official use of aircraft. - A list of defaulting ministers/former ministers cites Dinesh Singh (Rs. 8.4 lacs), Vasant Sathe (Rs. 7.8 lacs), Bhajan Lal (Rs. 1.8 lacs), and Eduardo Faleiro (Rs. 93,000) owed on housing. - Prime Minister Chandrashekhar's publicised austerity gesture - living in a hut in his MP bungalow compound - is described as bamboo-roofed but properly air-conditioned. - D'Souza argues each hour of Parliament costs the nation Rs. 1.54 lakhs, yet much time is spent on walkouts, thumping desks, and gossip rather than legislative work. - The piece cites the case of editor Nikhil Wagle, jailed by Maharashtra's legislature over criticism of a corrupt, criminally-implicated MLA, as an example of legislators using 'privilege' to suppress press freedom. ### The Enemy Within *By Madhu Limaye* Madhu Limaye's essay, written on the 125th anniversary of Gandhi's birth, argues that corruption has overtaken plague and disease as India's most dangerous scourge, and uses the 1991 Jain hawala diaries case as its central evidence. He lays out the CBI's own account of the May 1991 raids on J. K. Jain and S. K. Jain's properties (recovering over Rs. 93 lakhs in unaccounted cash, foreign currency, gold, and Indira Vikas Patra), links the funds to Kashmiri terrorists via Hawala dealers, and reproduces detailed tables of politicians and bureaucrats named in the diaries as recipients of payments, including Rajiv Gandhi, L. K. Advani, Devi Lal, Arif Mohammad Khan, and senior bureaucrats at NTPC, RAW, and the Ministry of Power. Limaye excoriates the CBI for stalling the investigation for over three years and calls for ruthless action against everyone implicated, framing corruption, not Pakistan, as "the enemy within." - The May 3, 1991 CBI raids on J. K. Jain and S. K. Jain recovered Rs. 93,52,755 in unaccounted cash, Rs. 3,69,307 in foreign exchange, Indira Vikas Patra worth Rs. 10,50,000, and 4,430 kg of gold bearing across five locations. - Diaries recovered link Hawala payments to Kashmiri terrorists, politicians, and bureaucrats; the CBI itself admitted diary entries were not difficult to decode. - A detailed table lists named politicians (e.g., Rajiv Gandhi - Rs. 2 crores, L. K. Advani - Rs. 60 lakhs, Arif Mohammad Khan - Rs. 7.5 crores) and bureaucrats (including a RAW Secretary and NTPC officials) as recipients. - Limaye reports the investigation into Ashfaq Hussain Lone and Shahabuddin Ghauri (a JNU student) as the initial thread that led to the wider Jain hawala exposure. - He accuses the CBI of prevarication, noting interrogation of the Jains was delayed until mid-1993 and charge-sheets initially omitted reference to the May 1991 seizure. - Limaye concludes that ruthless action against all implicated, regardless of party, is necessary to cleanse Indian public life, framing corruption as more dangerous than any external threat. ### Making Democracy Work *By Y. D. Altekar* Y. D. Altekar continues an argument begun in Freedom First No. 417 (April-June 1993) for separating the executive from the legislature as a remedy for corruption and weak accountability. Responding to objections raised in conversation, he examines whether such separation would actually curb corruption, pointing to municipalities (where the Commissioner is already independent of elected corporators) as a case where the problem persists because the Commissioner is still politically appointed and pressured by the ruling party. He acknowledges that any reform must be enacted by the very MPs and MLAs who benefit from the status quo, making implementation the central practical obstacle. - Altekar reprises an earlier proposal (Freedom First No. 417, April-June 1993) to separate executive and legislative power as a check on corruption. - He uses the example of municipal commissioners - appointed rather than elected - to show that formal separation alone does not eliminate political pressure or corruption. - He argues genetic/technical fixes (citing the mosquito-genetics analogy) are as futile for curbing corruption as moral uplift campaigns, given how entrenched self-interest is. - The reform he proposes would strip legislators of bargaining power gained by winning elections and would strengthen real legislative oversight of the executive. - He concedes the central difficulty: the needed changes can only be enacted by MPs and MLAs who have no incentive to reduce their own power. ### One Step Towards Gandhi *By Renuka Sinha* Renuka Sinha's personal reflection on reading Gandhi's autobiography, written as one of two inter-generational assessments commissioned for the 125th birth anniversary, frames Gandhi as a stylish, independent-minded experimenter rather than a conventional 'wise old man' - someone who invented his own fashion, diet, architecture, and politics alike. She uses a question-and-answer format to rebut common caricatures (that he was a wife-bullying chauvinist, a religious fanatic, an authoritarian personality) and closes by admitting her own contradictions and hope that the encounter with Gandhi's life might, in some sense, make them friends. - Sinha frames Gandhi as glamorous and independent rather than merely saintly, citing his self-designed clothing, diet, architecture, and farming experiments. - She rebuts the charge that Gandhi was a wife-bullying chauvinist by noting he regretted past behaviour and encouraged his wife's full participation in public life. - She argues Gandhi was not a religious fanatic: he founded no sect and treated Truth itself, not blind faith, as God. - She addresses whether Gandhi was 'political,' concluding his politics were inseparable from his personal life and his opposition to discriminatory laws. - The essay closes on Sinha's own unresolved contradictions - continuing to value credentials and consumer comforts despite admiring Gandhi's asceticism. ### Gandhi - His Trials and Triumphs *By Nagindas Sanghavi* Nagindas Sanghavi's companion assessment, seen only through its opening page in this chunk, argues that Gandhi's autobiography is an inadequate and even misguiding source for understanding his public achievements, since Gandhi deliberately avoids the limelight and omits sustained discussion of major events and personalities, including his South African satyagraha campaigns and his seminal role in Indian public life. - Sanghavi argues the autobiography is 'quite inadequate, nay even a misguiding volume' for understanding Gandhi's life and achievements. - He notes Gandhi deliberately avoids self-focus, leaving out significant events and figures central to his historical role. - He cites the omission of Gandhi's South African satyagraha campaign as an example of the book's gaps. - The essay (as far as rendered) contrasts with Sinha's more admiring companion piece. ### Gandhi's Place in Today's Politics *By Adi H. Doctor* Adi H. Doctor, Head of the Department of Politics at Goa University, argues for the continuing relevance of Gandhian thought to contemporary Indian politics. He enumerates several ideas he considers valuable: that development should not be measured by GNP alone since it can mask unequal distribution; the case for balanced, decentralised growth against unchecked urban-industrial concentration; sustainable development achieved through non-polluting, renewable technologies; Gandhi's critique of mindless competition and the trusteeship doctrine, which holds that ownership carries moral rather than merely legal obligations; and the notion of empowering people rather than government, which Doctor connects to a liberal, minimal-state agenda. He closes with a defence of Gandhi's doctrine of non-violence as a practical strategy for durable social change rather than an absolute pacifist creed. - Doctor argues rising GNP can mask unequal distribution and does not by itself indicate genuine human development. - He credits Gandhi as a forerunner of sustainable-development thinking, citing Gandhi's warnings against resource-exhausting growth and his openness to renewable energy sources. - He cites Gandhi's Hind Swaraj on the corrupting effect of unchecked competition, even on professions meant to serve (doctors, lawyers). - Doctor frames Gandhian trusteeship as holding that ownership is a matter of spirit, not just law, obliging the wealthy to reinvest surplus for communal welfare. - He argues Gandhi wanted less government not because he opposed the state per se, but because he wanted to empower people to act voluntarily rather than depend on the state. - Doctor reframes Gandhian non-violence (Ahimsa) as a practical rejection of permanent change through violent means, not an absolute pacifist creed. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff425/ ### Summary This is issue No. 425 (April-June 1995) of Freedom First, "A Quarterly of Liberal Ideas," in its 43rd year of publication, edited by S. V. Raju with Minoo Masani as founder. The issue is built around a twentieth-anniversary retrospective on the Emergency (declared by Indira Gandhi on 26 June 1975), packaged under the cover line "18 Months of Indira's India." In the rendered pages, contributors recount the imposition of press censorship and the legal battles Freedom First and the Gujarati periodical Bhumiputra fought against it, the detention of political leaders and lawyers under MISA, and the judiciary's mixed record (including the Habeas Corpus Case) during those eighteen months. The issue opens with regular features -- a "With Many Voices" digest of press quotations, the "Of Cabbages and Kings" column on civic affairs, a report on a Friedrich Naumann Foundation environmental seminar in Germany, and birthday greetings to the Dalai Lama -- before turning to the Emergency retrospective essays by Minoo Masani, S. P. Aiyar and S. V. Raju, and M. A. Rane. The rendered pages then move into the start of Subhash C.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 425 (April-June 1995) of Freedom First, "A Quarterly of Liberal Ideas," in its 43rd year of publication, edited by S. V. Raju with Minoo Masani as founder. The issue is built around a twentieth-anniversary retrospective on the Emergency (declared by Indira Gandhi on 26 June 1975), packaged under the cover line "18 Months of Indira's India." In the rendered pages, contributors recount the imposition of press censorship and the legal battles Freedom First and the Gujarati periodical Bhumiputra fought against it, the detention of political leaders and lawyers under MISA, and the judiciary's mixed record (including the Habeas Corpus Case) during those eighteen months. The issue opens with regular features -- a "With Many Voices" digest of press quotations, the "Of Cabbages and Kings" column on civic affairs, a report on a Friedrich Naumann Foundation environmental seminar in Germany, and birthday greetings to the Dalai Lama -- before turning to the Emergency retrospective essays by Minoo Masani, S. P. Aiyar and S. V. Raju, and M. A. Rane. The rendered pages then move into the start of Subhash C. Kashyap's essay on "Socialism and Secularism in the Constitution of India," which traces the constitutional debates on secularism and communalism. ## Essays ### Many Voices A miscellany column collecting short quotations from the Indian and international press on topics of the day -- BJP-BSP caste politics, film censorship, Salman Rushdie's death sentence, market regulation, press freedom in the post-Emergency generation, and China-Taiwan tensions -- followed by a birthday tribute to the Dalai Lama on his 60th birthday with a quoted statement on compassion, in the rendered pages. - Compiles press commentary from India Today, The Economist, The Times of India, Indian Express, Business Today, Span, Mid-day and Time, dated June-July 1995 - Comments range across caste politics, censorship, economic deregulation, press courage during the Emergency, and cross-strait tensions - Closes with a birthday greeting to the Dalai Lama on his 60th birthday from the 'Freedom First Fraternity', including a quoted appeal for compassion and a 'Please Help Save Tibet' banner ### Of Cabbages and Kings A column of civic commentary, opening with a Lewis Carroll epigraph, on Bombay's flyover politics -- how two nearly identical flyover projects near Bandra were named (or left unnamed) along partisan lines by successive governments -- and closing with wry observations on India's habit of naming public infrastructure after political figures. - Contrasts the Bandra flyover, quickly named 'Prabodhankar Thackeray Flyover' by the incoming RSS-BJP/Shiv Sena government, with a second flyover left without a name amid inter-party rivalry - Criticises the waste of fuel and public inconvenience caused by delayed completion and politically timed openings of infrastructure - Argues that India's political class prefers symbolic naming battles to substantive governance, comparing the practice to naming streets after Lenin or Saddam Hussein ### 18 Months of Indira's India: Why the Emergency was not Unexpected *By Minoo Masani* A short report (bylined SVR) on a Friedrich Naumann Foundation seminar in Gummersbach, Germany, on 'De-regulation and Responsibility in State and Society,' attended by participants from 19 countries. The piece reprints the resulting Gummersbach Declaration of 16 June 1995 establishing an 'Asian Association for Environmental Protection,' with international headquarters in Amman, Jordan, and signatures from delegates including India. - Twenty participants from 19 countries, including politicians, businessmen and lawyers, discussed deregulation and privatisation across differing national contexts - Common concerns identified: bureaucratic overreach, corruption, judicial delay, and weak basic education across the participating societies - A Jordanian professor initiated the founding of an Asian Association for Environmental Protection, formalised in the reprinted Gummersbach Declaration ### 18 Months of Indira's India: When Freedom First and Bhumiputra battled the Censors *By S. P. Aiyar & S. V. Raju* An unrelated reprinted piece, 'Not the End of Remembering' by Rabbi Albert Friedlander of Westminster Synagogue, London, reflecting on the fiftieth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz (27 January 1945). The essay meditates on the difficulty of fully commemorating the Holocaust, connects it to ongoing atrocities such as 'ethnic cleansing' in Bosnia, and recalls the author's own childhood in Nazi Berlin and later friendships, including with the family of a July 20 plotter against Hitler. Not part of the numbered table of contents but printed ahead of it in the rendered pages, introduced by a note from Ian Tickle of Swiss Press Review. - Marks the 50th anniversary of the Red Army's discovery of Auschwitz and argues observance risks becoming a way to 'forget' rather than truly remember - Connects Holocaust remembrance to other twentieth-century atrocities, including Soviet gulags and Bosnian ethnic cleansing among Croats, Serbs and Muslims - Recounts the author's personal history: hiding from Nazis as a child in Berlin, later solidarity work with Sinti-Roma communities and with Martin Luther King in America - Describes a visit to a memorial for Adam von Trott zu Solz, executed for the July 20 plot against Hitler, whose home village refused to honour him ### 18 Months of Indira's India: When Lawyers Did Indian Democracy Proud *By M. A. Rane* Minoo Masani's essay 'Why the Emergency Was Not Unexpected' opens the '18 Months of Indira's India' retrospective section. Masani recounts the 12 June 1975 Allahabad High Court judgment against Indira Gandhi's election, her choice to cling to power rather than resign, the midnight arrests of opposition leaders on 25-26 June, and his own experience of news blackouts and rumours about Jayaprakash Narayan's detention. He reflects on the proper role of a liberal democrat under authoritarian pressure, his own battle with censors as editor of Freedom First, the eventual 1976 Bombay High Court judgment vindicating the magazine, and the broader failure of the press (quoting Khushwant Singh's later self-critical account) alongside a short honour roll of journalists who resisted, including Ram Nath Goenka, Kuldip Nayar and A. D. Gorwala. In the rendered pages the essay is not shown to its end; it appears to continue past page 20 given the printed page numbering. - Recounts the Allahabad High Court's June 1975 finding against Mrs Gandhi and her decision not to resign - Describes the midnight arrests of Jayaprakash Narayan, Morarji Desai and other opposition leaders and the imposition of censorship - Argues the proper liberal response was to 'eschew romanticism' and 'craven fear' and assert citizens' rights within the limits of legality - Details Freedom First's own suspension and legal fight against pre-censorship, culminating in the 1976 Division Bench judgment in the magazine's favour - Quotes Khushwant Singh's 1977 self-critical account of the press's general capitulation to Information Minister Shukla's censorship, naming a small honour roll of journalists who resisted ### 18 Months of Indira's India: A Letter to Comrade K. A. Abbas *By N. G. Jog* S. P. Aiyar and S. V. Raju recount the legal battles Freedom First and the Gujarati periodical Bhumiputra fought against pre-censorship during the Emergency. It details how Masani submitted the August 1975 issue with deliberately provocative but legally defensible content, leading to a writ petition and a landmark February 1976 Bombay High Court ruling (Justices D. P. Madon and M. H. Kania) that most of the censor's objections were 'fanciful and far-fetched.' A parallel account covers the Bhumiputra case, in which the Gujarat High Court (Justices J. B. Mehta and S. H. Sheth) went further than the Bombay bench in striking down the censor's guidelines as exceeding statutory authority. - Masani submitted carefully chosen material for the August 1975 Freedom First issue to test the limits of censorship, prompting a writ petition to the Bombay High Court - Justice R. P. Bhatt's November 1975 ruling struck down the censor's orders; the Division Bench's February 1976 final judgment (Madon and Kania JJ) upheld the censor only on two of eleven items - The Court held that censorship must not force the press to 'trim their sails to one wind' and called such interference the 'nurse-maid of democracy' - The parallel Bhumiputra case (Gujarat High Court, March 1976) went further, ruling the Chief Censor's guidelines exceeded Rule 48 of the Defence and Internal Security Rules ### Socialism and Secularism in the Constitution of India *By Subash C. Kashyap* M. A. Rane's essay 'When Lawyers Did Indian Democracy Proud' recounts how lawyers across India protested the Emergency's midnight arrests and censorship, the wave of habeas corpus petitions filed on behalf of political detenus in various High Courts, and the eventual Supreme Court Habeas Corpus Case in which a five-judge bench (Chief Justice A. N. Ray and Justices Khanna, Beg, Chandrachud and Bhagwati) upheld the government's position, with Justice Khanna dissenting alone. The essay also covers the transfer and supersession of judges seen as insufficiently pliant, including Justice Khanna's supersession by Justice Beg for Chief Justice of India. - Lawyers led by Chagla, C. J. Shah, V. M. Tarkunde, Ram Jethmalani and others protested the Emergency and abstained from courts on 26 June 1975 - Early habeas corpus petitions succeeded in several High Courts (Delhi released Kuldip Nayar and others) though the Kerala High Court was an exception - Chagla successfully argued habeas corpus petitions for Vajpayee and Madhu Dandavate in the Karnataka High Court, though they were re-arrested under fresh detention orders - The Supreme Court's Habeas Corpus Case (bench headed by Chief Justice A. N. Ray) upheld the constitutional validity of the Emergency and suspension of Article 21 rights, with Justice Khanna dissenting - Justice Khanna was subsequently superseded for Chief Justice of India in February 1976; several other High Court judges seen as unfavourable to the government were transferred ### The Sovereign Nation State at the Crossroads of History *By B. Ramesh Babu* N. G. Jog's letter to 'Comrade K. A. Abbas,' written during the Emergency and reprinted from a commemoration volume, is a sharp personal rebuttal to a defence of the Emergency. Jog argues the crackdown was directed not at 'smugglers, black-marketers... and violent elements' as claimed, but at dissent itself, describes the collapse of a free press under Information Minister Shukla, and criticises the hypocrisy of a regime that suppressed foreign publications critical of Mrs Gandhi while broadcasting praise from Algeria, Libya and Moscow. - Jog rejects the claim that the Emergency was aimed only at smugglers, black-marketers and violent elements like the RSS and Anand Margis - Describes leading Delhi papers unable to publish for days due to a 'conveniently' timed power failure in the Bahadur Shah Jafar Marg press district - Notes that even avowedly leftist papers like Mainstream confessed it was 'neither feasible nor permissible' to attempt honest weekly appraisal under the conditions - Criticises the government for blacking out foreign publications like Time while broadcasting praise for the crackdown from Algeria, Libya, Timbuctoo and Moscow - Closes with a reflection on Indian emigrants abroad, revising his earlier view that emigration was unpatriotic 'brain drain' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff427/ ### Summary This is the October-December 1995 issue (No. 427, 43rd year of publication) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas. The issue is dominated by a special tribute section, 'Minoo Masani 90', marking the 90th birthday of the magazine's founder, Minoo Masani (1905-), veteran parliamentarian, Constituent Assembly member, and co-founder of the Swatantra Party. In the rendered pages, the tribute section includes a report on the felicitation function held at the Royal Bombay Yacht Club on November 20, 1995 (with speeches by Nani Palkhivala, Sharad Joshi, and others); an essay by Ian Tickle pairing Masani with Swiss anti-communist publisher Peter Sager; a biographical piece, 'From Marx to Gandhi', tracing Masani's political journey from the Congress Socialist Party through his break with Communism to founding the Swatantra Party; 'The Man Who Saw Tomorrow', an interview-based profile by Manuwant K.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the October-December 1995 issue (No. 427, 43rd year of publication) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas. The issue is dominated by a special tribute section, 'Minoo Masani 90', marking the 90th birthday of the magazine's founder, Minoo Masani (1905-), veteran parliamentarian, Constituent Assembly member, and co-founder of the Swatantra Party. In the rendered pages, the tribute section includes a report on the felicitation function held at the Royal Bombay Yacht Club on November 20, 1995 (with speeches by Nani Palkhivala, Sharad Joshi, and others); an essay by Ian Tickle pairing Masani with Swiss anti-communist publisher Peter Sager; a biographical piece, 'From Marx to Gandhi', tracing Masani's political journey from the Congress Socialist Party through his break with Communism to founding the Swatantra Party; 'The Man Who Saw Tomorrow', an interview-based profile by Manuwant K. Choudhary reprinted from The Afternoon; 'Ninety+', a reminiscence piece drawing on Masani's own words about jail, Nehru, and public life; and 'The Last Roman' by Prakash Arolkar (translated from Marathi), a full biographical sketch spanning Masani's family background, education, socialist years, and eventual disillusionment with Nehru and the Congress. An advertisement announces a companion tribute volume, also titled Minoo Masani 90, compiling extracts from his writings over 50 years. Beyond the tribute, the rendered pages include the regular 'With Many Voices' and 'Of Cabbages and Kings' columns (miscellany, quotations, and commentary on topics from the Beijing women's conference to a WHO financial scandal), an obituary tribute to assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, an opinion piece by Paresh Vasa criticising the government's new Employees' Pension Scheme ('Robbing the People'), and the opening of an essay by Ranga Kota, 'The Reforms and the Poor', defending Narasimha Rao-era economic reforms against the charge that they hurt the poor. ## Essays ### Yitzhak Rabin - The Peacemaker An unsigned in-house obituary marking the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on November 4, 1995. The piece recounts Rabin's career as a Palmah fighter, his role in the Six-Day War, his terms as Prime Minister, the Oslo peace process, and the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize shared with Arafat and Peres. It draws an explicit parallel between Rabin's assassination by a religious extremist and Gandhi's assassination by a Hindu nationalist, and closes with excerpts from Rabin's final speech at the Tel Aviv peace rally on November 5, 1995, before he was shot. - Rabin was assassinated on November 4, 1995 by a Jewish university student with extremist views. - The piece explicitly compares Rabin's assassination to Gandhi's, both killed by religious fanatics from within their own community. - Recounts Rabin's military career: Palmah fighter, Six-Day War commander, ambassador to the US. - Covers his political career: Knesset member, labour minister under Golda Meir, Prime Minister from 1974, resignation in 1977, return as defence minister, and second term as Prime Minister from 1992. - Notes the 1993 Declaration of Principles, 1994 peace treaty with Jordan, and the shared Nobel Peace Prize with Arafat and Peres. - Quotes Rabin's final speech at the Tel Aviv peace rally, emphasizing that 'peace is preferable to war'. - Freedom First closes by saluting Rabin as 'a fighter for freedom' and 'a true Gandhian'. ### With Many Voices The regular 'With Many Voices' column, a page of quotations and epigrams from contemporary press and public figures on topics of the day: Polish privatization, Pakistan's balancing of Islam and secularism, the Beijing women's conference and the split between Western feminist priorities and third-world concerns, China's human rights record on Tibet, India's judiciary versus executive, and other miscellany from late 1995. - Compiles quotations from National Review, Time, the Times of India, Indian Express, and other outlets, dated September-December 1995. - Several quotes address the Beijing UN women's conference, contrasting Western feminist demands (e.g., abortion rights, lesbian rights) with third-world priorities like clean water and healthcare, per Ela Bhatt and Ayesha Khanam. - Includes Harrison Ford on Tibet and China, and Barbara Ehrenreich's criticism of the Beijing conference's optics. - Domestic Indian quotes from Nani Palkhivala and Madhu Dandavate note the judiciary's expanding role as executive authority is seen to abdicate responsibility. - A quote from Vijay Tendulkar references Bal Thackeray's Shiv Sena and its attempt to ban Salman Rushdie's 'The Moor's Last Sigh'. ### Of Cabbages and Kings (My Friend Madhu; Plain English; The WHO Scam; An Encyclopedia on Democracy) *By SVR / RS* The 'Of Cabbages and Kings' column, a miscellany section. In the rendered pages it includes a personal reminiscence titled 'My Friend Madhu' about the late Madhu Mehta, a Swatantra Party colleague and trade unionist who died August 27, 1995, and who worked closely with both the author (identified by initials SVR) and Minoo Masani; a piece on 'Plain English' discussing a Swiss Press Review editor's advocacy of simple prose and split infinitives; a note on a 'WHO Scam' detailing financial irregularities and mismanagement at the World Health Organisation uncovered in 1993; and a note on a forthcoming four-volume Encyclopedia of Democracy edited by S. M. Lipset. - Personal tribute to Madhu Mehta, a longtime Swatantra Party colleague of the author (initialed SVR, likely S. V. Raju) and of Minoo Masani, who died August 27, 1995. - Recounts Mehta's and the author's parallel careers in the Bombay Pradesh National Trade Union Congress and the Swatantra Party from 1952 onward, and their eventual falling out over the party's 1974 split. - A section on 'Plain English' discusses debates over grammar rules, split infinitives, and sentence-initial 'But', referencing Minoo Masani, Gandhi, and Rajagopalachari as exemplars of simple English prose. - The 'WHO Scam' item details 1993 revelations of financial irregularities at the World Health Organisation, including questionable contracts and the resignation of Britain's national auditor Sir John Bourne. - Notes the publication of a four-volume Encyclopedia of Democracy edited by S. M. Lipset, with contributors including Larry Diamond, covering entries on figures like Gandhi, Nehru, Plato, and Schumpeter. ### Minoo Masani 90 (report on 90th-birthday felicitation) A report on the function held at the Royal Bombay Yacht Club on November 20, 1995 to felicitate Minoo Masani on his 90th birthday, reproduced from Parsiana with permission of its editor Jehangir Patel. It describes speeches by Nani Palkhivala (who called Masani one of the noblest Indians and criticised the country for not recognising his services), Sharad Joshi (founder of the Shetkari Sanghatana, who credited Masani's Swatantra Party with shaping his own political ideas), and remarks from retired Judge Bakhtavar Lentin. The special Freedom First tribute issue 'Minoo Masani 90' was released at the event. - Function held November 20, 1995 at the Royal Bombay Yacht Club, Bombay, to mark Masani's 90th birthday. - Nani Palkhivala called Masani 'one of the nobliest Indians who ever lived' and noted the country's failure to recognise his services; he also called Masani probably the only surviving member of India's Constituent Assembly. - A volume of essays in Masani's honour, 'In the Vanguard of Freedom', edited by K. S. Venkateswaran, was mentioned, with contributors including Bernard Levin, Sol Sanders, and Soli Sorabjee. - Sharad Joshi, founder of the Shetkari Sanghatana, said Masani's book 'Our India' had made him 'temporarily a socialist', and described socialism as having 'been replaced by something worse' -- 'the madness of communalism'. - S. V. Raju, editor of Freedom First, introduced speakers and released the special tribute issue 'Minoo Masani 90'. - Masani cut his birthday cake alongside his wife Sheela and Palkhivala, and thanked the gathering without making a speech. ### Two Fighters for Freedom *By Peter Sager & Minoo Masani* An essay titled 'Two Fighters for Freedom: Peter Sager & Minoo Masani' by Ian Tickle, editor of Swiss Press Review and News Report, comparing Masani's fight against British colonialism and later communism with Swiss anti-communist Peter Sager's founding of the Swiss Eastern Institute. Tickle recounts how Sager recruited him to edit Swiss Press Review, describes Masani and Sager's shared Cold War-era anti-communism, quotes from Sager's 1966 book 'Moscow's Hand in India' (which Tickle translated), and reflects on new threats -- ethnic cleansing, the UN's failures -- as the Cold War generation's fight against communism gives way to newer struggles for human rights. - Ian Tickle links Masani and Peter Sager as two Cold War-era 'fighters for freedom' who both influenced his own career. - Sager founded the Swiss Eastern Institute and asked Tickle to edit Swiss Press Review and News Report, now in its 36th year. - Freedom First, founded by Masani in Bombay in 1952, is described as now in its 43rd year, with an editorial tradition of 'bold and independent thinking'. - Tickle edited a Festschrift for Sager on his 1991 retirement, titled 'Freedom First' in tribute to Masani, calling Masani 'one of the fathers of modern India'. - Includes an excerpt from Sager's 1966 book 'Moscow's Hand in India' on Soviet propaganda aims toward India. - Nehru's admiration for Stalin is noted as a source of Masani's early fears, quoting Masani's 1944 remarks as Bombay mayor on 'Socialism Reconsidered'. - Tickle closes by arguing new threats (ethnic cleansing, UN failures, revival of concentration camps in ex-Yugoslavia) require the same vigilance that defined the Cold War fight, name-checking Freedom First and Swiss Press Review as ongoing efforts. ### From Marx to Gandhi *By S. V. Raju* An unsigned essay, 'From Marx to Gandhi', tracing Minoo Masani's ideological journey from co-founding the Congress Socialist Party in February 1934 to co-founding the free-market Swatantra Party with C. Rajagopalachari 25 years later. It covers his resignation from the CSP after concluding Communism was a Moscow-directed international conspiracy, his 1942 essay 'Socialism Reconsidered', his embrace of Gandhian Trusteeship as a middle path between statism and unchecked capitalism, and the founding of the Swatantra Party in 1959 as India's first serious free-market political alternative. - Masani helped found the Congress Socialist Party in February 1934 alongside Jayaprakash Narayan, Achyut Patwardhan, Ram Manohar Lohia, Asoka Mehta and others. - He quit the CSP after concluding, contrary to his colleagues, that Indian Communists had to be 'thrown out' due to their subservience to Moscow. - Bertram Wolfe (former Communist and author of 'Three Who Made a Revolution') is quoted crediting Masani with recognizing Communist duplicity early via correspondence with Yusuf Meherally. - Masani's 1942 essay 'Socialism Reconsidered' marked his first questioning of socialist premises, attributing his change of mind to the Soviet Revolution's failures and the influence of Mahatma Gandhi. - He embraced the Gandhian concept of Trusteeship as a way to give capitalism 'a human face' without abolishing the State. - In 1959 Masani and C. Rajagopalachari founded the Swatantra Party as an alternative to Nehru's 'socialist pattern of society', with Rajaji coining the phrase 'Permit-Licence-Quota Raj'. - The essay quotes Masani's autobiography 'Bliss Was It in That Dawn' on the dangers of combined political and economic power in a nationalised economy. ### The Man Who Saw Tomorrow *By Manuwant K. Choudhary (interview, reprinted from The Afternoon on Sunday, Nov 26, 1995)* S. V. Raju's signed essay closes the run of pieces on Masani's political philosophy, covering the Swatantra Party's rise as the largest opposition party in Parliament between 1967-71, Masani's articulation of a Gandhi-Western-liberal synthesis in his 'Liberalism' lecture, his resignation from the Minorities Commission chairmanship under the Janata government, and a personal assessment of Masani as one of the last politicians for whom power was 'the means to an end -- not an end in itself'. - Between 1967 and 1971, the Swatantra Party was the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha (House of the People). - Masani is credited by Raju with single-handedly putting Liberalism on India's political map and delegitimising the word 'Socialism' in Indian politics. - Quotes Masani's 'Liberalism' lecture, describing his liberalism as a fusion of Western liberal thought and Gandhian ethics, citing ends-means linkage, minimal government, and Trusteeship. - Masani resigned the Chairmanship of the Minorities Commission under the Janata government when he felt it was not serious about its work -- an act Raju says only Jayaprakash Narayan matched in disinterestedness. - Masani quit active party politics in 1971 but remained publicly active until nearly 1990, when failing eyesight slowed him. - Raju's closing assessment: Masani belonged 'to a generation of politicians whose passion for integrity and courage of conviction gave politics a meaningful direction'; for such men, 'politics was public service and not a profession'. ### Ninety + *By Firdaus Ali (interview, reprinted from Sunday Mid-day, Nov 26, 1995)* An interview-based profile, 'The Man Who Saw Tomorrow', by Manuwant K. Choudhary (Chief Reporter of The Afternoon), reprinted from The Afternoon on Sunday, November 26, 1995. It recounts a personal interview with Masani about Nehru's economic policies (which Masani calls 'disastrous'), the Kashmir dispute (on which Masani argues Kashmiris have a right to self-determination), and Masani's own political evolution, framed by his declaration to a British Tory MP in his youth that he was 'an ardent socialist'. - Choudhary describes meeting Masani at the Army & Navy Building office to discuss Nehru's economic policies, which Masani calls 'Disastrous', citing 'heavy industry first, consumer goods second and agriculture last'. - Masani says he and Nehru had breakfast every Sunday until 1948, when a disagreement over Stalin ended their close friendship; they did not speak again except in Parliament until Nehru's death in 1964. - Masani states Kashmir's accession to India in 1947 was conditional on a promised plebiscite, and that he is 'perhaps the only national leader to admit that the Kashmiris have a right to self-determination'. - He credits Ayub Khan's planned 1963 visit (cut short by Nehru's death) as a lost chance to permanently resolve the Kashmir dispute. - Recalls a Conservative MP in England telling a young Masani that having no heart at 21 (as a non-socialist) or no head at 41 (as a still-committed socialist) were both flaws -- foreshadowing Masani's own later shift. - Notes that Masani's 1942 book 'Socialism Reconsidered' anticipated arguments Milovan Djilas made in 'The New Class' (1956), some 25 years ahead of its time. ### The Last Roman *By Prakash Arolkar (translated by Arvind Deshpande; reprinted from Maharashtra Times, Nov 19, 1995)* A short reminiscence piece, 'Ninety +' (drawn from a Sunday Mid-day interview by Firdaus Ali, November 26, 1995), describing Masani at 90 reflecting on his life: his early career as chief of J. R. D. Tata's office, quitting to join the Quit India movement, his imprisonment at Yerawada Jail, writing 'Our India', his parliamentary career and Swatantra Party leadership, and closing reflections on national character and his own physical decline (failing eyesight). - Masani reminisces about working as Chief of J. R. D. Tata's office before giving it up when Gandhi launched the Quit India Movement. - Describes his imprisonment at Yerawada Jail in Pune, including a curt exchange with jail superintendent Barker about bedbugs in his cell. - After 1957 Masani had 'a glorious career in Parliament' opening debates on foreign policy and the Union budget; later elected Swatantra Party general secretary and then president, resigning over 25 years before the interview. - His only political post afterward was Chairman of the Minorities Commission. - Names Jayaprakash Narayan, Achyut Patwardhan and Asoka Mehta as some of the outstanding men he ever met, but says Gandhi remains his idol. - Reflects candidly that Nehru's ascension to power might not have changed India's trajectory much regardless, despite his criticisms of Nehru's Stalin sympathies. - Closes with Masani's message to India to 'be more committed and sincere' and improve national character, and laments his loss of eyesight preventing him from reading. ### Robbing the People *By Paresh Vasa* An advertisement for the companion tribute volume 'Minoo Masani 90', announcing its release to mark Masani's 90th birthday on November 20, 1995. The 100-page volume, printed on parchment paper as a collector's item, compiles extracts from Masani's writings over 50 years, including from 'Our India', his 1940s rejection of socialism, Lok Sabha speeches from the 1960s, and extracts from his last book 'We Indians'. Price Rs. 150 (Rs. 100 for Freedom First subscribers). - Volume commemorates Masani's 90th birthday on November 20, 1995; published by Freedom First. - Contains extracts from 'Our India', his late-1940s rejection of socialism, 1960s Lok Sabha speeches, articles on basic national issues, and extracts from his last book 'We Indians' (described as a sequel to 'Our India'). - Limited print run of 100 pages on parchment paper, priced at Rs. 150 per copy (Rs. 100 for Freedom First subscribers). ### The Reforms and the Poor *By Ranga Kota* A biographical essay, 'The Last Roman' by Prakash Arolkar (translated by Arvind Deshpande from the original Marathi article in the Maharashtra Times, November 19, 1995), giving a comprehensive life sketch of Minoo Masani: his birth as Minocher on November 20, 1905 into the family of civil servant Sir Rustom Masani, his education, his early journalism at Janmabhoomi, the writing of 'Our India', his time in Yerawada Jail with Jayaprakash Narayan and others, his break with Nehru over communism, and his explanation for the Swatantra Party's eventual decline. - Masani was born November 20, 1905 in an illustrious family; his father Sir Rustom Masani was a distinguished civil servant, educationist and intellectual. - Studied at the Cathedral School, Bharda New School, Elphinstone College, and the London School of Economics; qualified as Bar-at-Law but abandoned legal practice. - His father disapproved of his politics, so Masani left home and took a low-paying job at the Gujarati daily Janmabhoomi, where he wrote 'Our India', which sold over 100,000 copies -- a first for an Indian book -- and won him a post at Tata Sons. - Was imprisoned at Yerawada Jail, where he met Jayaprakash Narayan, Achyut Patwardhan, and Asoka Mehta, and became a founder and General Secretary of the Congress Socialist Party. - Nehru initially praised Masani's work on the Constituent Assembly's fundamental rights sub-committee, but the two later became estranged as Masani turned firmly against communism while Nehru drew closer to Krishna Menon. - Masani explains the Swatantra Party's decline as stemming from some leaders' decision to merge with Charan Singh's Lok Dal, which Masani considered a 'parochial and casteist' vehicle rather than a genuinely national party. - In his later years Masani supported Sharad Joshi and the Swatantra Bharat Party, though it did not succeed. - The essay frames Masani's life as 'swimming against the current' -- literally, as a young man swimming against warned currents near Versova beach, and figuratively, in his political journey from left to right. ### Essay 12 An opinion piece, 'Robbing the People' by Paresh Vasa, criticising the new Employees' Pension Scheme that came into force November 16, 1995, arguing that it silently confiscates workers' provident fund contributions by pooling individual accounts and reverting unclaimed corpora to government rather than heirs, unlike the previous system's clearer inheritance rules. Includes a reprinted list from the Philips Employees' Union of twelve reasons the scheme harms workers. - The Employees Pension Scheme, effective November 16, 1995, diverts 8.33% of Provident Fund contributions into a pooled scheme replacing the earlier arrangement. - Vasa estimated in May 1993 that the corpus subject to forfeiture could reach Rs. 24 lakh crore (twelve zeros), potentially rising to Rs. 1 crore times fourteen zeros as the current generation retires. - Under the new scheme, pensions are halved on the employee's death and quartered if the spouse also dies, with no dependent children; the remaining corpus is 'swallowed' by the government. - Vasa contrasts this with the old rules, under which heirs continued to receive PF principal and interest benefits indefinitely. - Frames the scheme as a 'family pension scam' worse than other contemporary scandals -- the share scam, the sugar scam, railway scams and the telecom scam. - Appends a reprinted list from the Philips Employees' Union citing twelve reasons the scheme is detrimental to workers, including loss of principal, no inflation-linkage, and discriminatory minimum-pension rules. ### Essay 13 The opening pages of an essay, 'The Reforms and the Poor' by Ranga Kota, written in May 1995, which defends the Narasimha Rao government's economic reforms against opposition claims that they have harmed the poor. In the rendered portion, Kota rebuts arguments based on self-reliance and employment, arguing that opponents of liberalisation -- including 'left-leaning intellectuals and former bureaucrats' -- rely on unproven assumptions about the reforms' anti-poor effects, and that large industry likely generates more indirect employment than small industry. - Written in May 1995, defending Narasimha Rao's reform agenda as its government entered its final year. - Kota argues that opposition to reforms unites 'left-leaning intellectuals and former bureaucrats' whose ideological relevance has waned, alongside opposition parties. - Identifies three main arguments used against reforms: threats to self-reliance, harm to employment, and inflation; the rendered pages address the first two. - On self-reliance, Kota argues the rural poor are largely unaffected by competition among goods (e.g., Thums Up vs Pepsi) that do not reach them. - On employment, Kota contends proponents of anti-reform arguments ignore the indirect employment generated by large industry through trade, transport, advertising, repair and maintenance services. - The essay is cut off mid-argument, transitioning into a discussion of inflation's effects on the poor, which is not covered in the rendered pages. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff428/ ### Summary This is issue No. 428 of Freedom First (January–March 1996, 44th year of publication), the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani in 1952 and edited by S. V. Raju. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with an obituary tribute to the jurist H. M. Seervai (died 26th January 1996), followed by the regular 'With Many Voices' page of press quotations and the satirical column 'Of Cabbages and Kings' (this instalment eviscerating Mother Teresa's reputation via Christopher Hitchens-adjacent claims about her homes for the dying). A piece on the Tibetan freedom movement marking the 10th March anniversary follows. The bulk of the rendered pages are given to the cover package, 'The Communications Revolution,' four essays examining India's telecom and broadcast liberalisation of the 1980s-90s: S. V. Raju on the lived experience of the shift from valve radios to the internet; T. H. Chowdary on communications satellites and India's self-defeating uplinking restrictions; Amita Malik on Doordarshan's fumbling response to satellite-channel competition; and Namita Unnikrishnan on a study of television's effect on Indian children and advertising.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 428 of Freedom First (January–March 1996, 44th year of publication), the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani in 1952 and edited by S. V. Raju. In the rendered pages, the issue opens with an obituary tribute to the jurist H. M. Seervai (died 26th January 1996), followed by the regular 'With Many Voices' page of press quotations and the satirical column 'Of Cabbages and Kings' (this instalment eviscerating Mother Teresa's reputation via Christopher Hitchens-adjacent claims about her homes for the dying). A piece on the Tibetan freedom movement marking the 10th March anniversary follows. The bulk of the rendered pages are given to the cover package, 'The Communications Revolution,' four essays examining India's telecom and broadcast liberalisation of the 1980s-90s: S. V. Raju on the lived experience of the shift from valve radios to the internet; T. H. Chowdary on communications satellites and India's self-defeating uplinking restrictions; Amita Malik on Doordarshan's fumbling response to satellite-channel competition; and Namita Unnikrishnan on a study of television's effect on Indian children and advertising. The issue also carries a special section marking Minoo Masani's 90th birthday, with tributes from his son Zareer Masani and from Khushwant Singh, plus a promotional notice for a commemorative volume of Masani's writings. The final rendered essay, J. B. D'Souza's 'Delusions of Progress,' is a critique of GNP/GDP and the Human Development Index as measures of national well-being, drawing on a San Francisco think tank's 'genuine progress indicator' research. Further contents listed in the table of contents but not reached in the rendered pages include essays on populism and the Indian economy, gender debate, South Asian society and politics, religious fundamentalism, earthquake prediction, India's strategic options, and China, plus book reviews. ## Essays ### Essay 0 An unsigned obituary tribute to H. M. Seervai (1906–1996), the Bombay jurist and constitutional lawyer, who died on Republic Day, 26th January 1996, in his 90th year. It traces his life from a Parsi Zoroastrian upbringing and boyhood ordination as a fire-temple priest, through Elphinstone College, to a 65-year career at the Bombay Bar beginning in 1929. It highlights his major cases (Keshav Singh's Case, Keshavananda Bharati's Case, the Kerala arguments before a 13-judge Supreme Court bench, and the 1981 Judges Transfer Case), his 17-year tenure as Advocate General of Bombay from 1957, his monumental treatise on the Constitutional Law of India (first published 1967, later in its 4th edition), his honours (Padma Vibhushan 1972, Dadabhoy Naoroji Award 1980, Living Legend of the Law 1994), and his decades as a civil libertarian and president of the PUCL, Bombay (1983-1993). It closes by dwelling on his character: absolute honesty, love of poetry and literature, and inflexible devotion to truth. - Seervai died on 26th January 1996 (Republic Day) at age 89, in his 90th year - Born in Bombay, 5 December 1906, into a priestly Parsi Zoroastrian family; ordained a fire-temple priest at age 8 - Joined the Bar in 1929, worked under Sir Jamshedji Kanga; career spanned over 65 years - Served as Advocate General of Bombay for over 17 years starting 1957, a record for the post in Maharashtra - Authored the classic treatise on Constitutional Law of India, first published 1967 - President of the PUCL, Bombay, for 10 years (1983-1993), reflecting his civil-liberties commitment - Received Padma Vibhushan (1972), Dadabhoy Naoroji Award (1980), and Living Legend of the Law (1994) ### Many Voices The 'With Many Voices' page, a recurring feature collecting notable or provocative quotations from the contemporary Indian and international press (November 1995 - March 1996), including remarks by M. J. Akbar, Bal Thackeray, L. K. Advani, Biju Patnaik, Nani Palkhivala, Amartya Sen, and Princess Diana, among others, generally used to illustrate hypocrisy, cynicism, or communalism in Indian public life. - Compiles press quotations from November 1995 to March 1996 - Several quotes target Congress politicians' opportunism and the hawala scandal's implication of all parties - BJP leaders L. K. Advani and Bal Thackeray are quoted on Hindutva and religious appeal in politics - Amartya Sen is quoted from a Satyajit Ray Memorial Lecture defending India's cultural openness against conservative purism - Nani Palkhivala is quoted lamenting the erosion of legal certainty in India ### Of Cabbages and Kings The 'Of Cabbages and Kings' column (signed 'RS') is a sharply critical piece on Mother Teresa, prompted by the book The Missionary Position (Harper Collins) and by Dr. Robin Fox's 1994 Lancet report on her Calcutta medical centre. It alleges primitive medical conditions, absence of strong analgesics, dogmatic resistance to modern hospital practice, and troubling accounts from her homes in San Francisco, New York, and elsewhere involving cold, punitive conditions for residents and controversial 'baptising' of the dying, contrasted with Mother Teresa's own recourse to expensive European medical care when she herself fell ill. - Cites The Missionary Position (Harper Collins) as a critical exposé of Mother Teresa - References Dr. Robin Fox, editor of The Lancet, and his 1994 visit to Calcutta describing primitive medical conditions - Describes alleged conditions in Mother Teresa's homes in San Francisco and New York, including lack of amenities and forced conversions/baptisms of the dying - Notes the irony that Mother Teresa sought expensive private medical treatment in Europe for her own heart trouble - Column signed only with initials 'RS' ### The Movement for Tibetan Freedom 'The Movement for Tibetan Freedom' recounts the history of Tibetan resistance to Chinese rule, from China's 1949/50 invasion and the forced 1951 17-point treaty, through the armed resistance of the 1950s, to the 10th March 1959 Lhasa uprising and the flight of the Dalai Lama into exile in India along with roughly 80,000 Tibetans. It describes the government-in-exile based in Dharamshala and frames the 10th March commemoration as an annual affirmation that Tibetan sacrifices for freedom were not in vain, noting that over 1.2 million Tibetans have died as a result of the Chinese occupation since 1959. - China invaded Tibet in 1949/50; Tibet was coerced into signing the 17-point treaty in 1951 - The 10th March 1959 Lhasa uprising was suppressed by the People's Liberation Army within about three days - China's own estimate cited: about 87,000 Tibetans killed in central Tibet alone during the suppression campaign - The Dalai Lama fled to India along with his government and about 80,000 Tibetans - The Tibetan government-in-exile, based in Dharamshala, pursues a non-violent resistance movement - Since 1959, more than 1.2 million Tibetans are said to have died as a result of the occupation ### Changing the Way We Live *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju's 'Changing the Way We Live' opens the Communications Revolution cover package with a personal, nostalgic survey of India's communications history: manual typewriters giving way to electric, electronic, and computer word processing; valve radios yielding to transistors; the era of All India Radio's dominance and Radio Ceylon's popularity; and the transformation of telegraphs, telephones (from shouted manual exchanges to digital and optic-fibre lines), cordless and mobile phones. A companion note on 'Of Chips and Satellites' explains how silicon chips underlie satellites and computers, and introduces 'Internet' to readers via an extracted definition, announcing a new regular column, 'The Communications Revolution,' to demystify the changes ahead. - Traces a personal history from manual typewriters to computers and from valve radios to transistors - Recalls All India Radio's 9 pm news and the popularity of Radio Ceylon's 'Binaca Geet Mala' - Describes the evolution of Indian telephone service from manually shouted exchanges to digital switching and optic fibre - Introduces cordless and mobile ('cellular') phones and pagers as recent developments - A sidebar explains silicon chips as the basis of satellites and computers and introduces the concept of the Internet - Announces a new recurring Freedom First column titled 'The Communications Revolution' ### Communications Satellites *By T. H. Chowdary* T. H. Chowdary's 'Communications Satellites: Revolutionary Developments and Trivialising Uses' explains the science of geostationary satellites (invoking Arthur C. Clarke's 1945 proposal and Arnold Toynbee's hopeful remarks at the 1963 launch of Telstar), traces thirty years of technical progress (rising payloads, longer satellite lifespans, cheaper ground equipment), and argues that India's regulatory posture is self-defeating: the government bans domestic uplinking to foreign satellites, forcing Indian broadcasters to uplink from abroad and lose foreign exchange, while INSAT remains uncorporatised and unable to compete commercially. Chowdary calls for de-monopolising the radio spectrum, privatising INSAT's commercial functions, and ending restrictions that prevent India from becoming an international satellite-services provider like Thailand or Hong Kong. - Opens with Arthur C. Clarke's 1945 'Wireless World' proposal for geostationary communications satellites - Cites Arnold Toynbee's hope, expressed at the 1963 Telstar launch, that global communication would foster mutual human understanding - Details 30 years of technical progress: satellite circuit capacity rose from 240 (1965) to 120,000 (1992), lifespan from 1.5 to 15 years - Argues India's ban on uplinking from Indian soil to foreign satellites is 'senseless' and causes needless foreign-exchange losses - Calls for corporatisation and eventual privatisation of ISRO's INSAT business - Frames Indian government satellite/spectrum policy as 'ostrich-like' ### Doordarshan : Responding to Competition *By Amita Malik* Amita Malik's 'Doordarshan: Responding to Competition' surveys Doordarshan's history from its amateurish, earnest beginnings and the SITE satellite experiment through the Emergency-era subordination to government control (recalling Indira Gandhi's dismissive 'Credibility? What is credibility?' remark) to its slow, defensive response to satellite-channel competition from the late 1980s onward. Malik criticises Doordarshan's news failures (delayed reporting of Indira Gandhi's assassination and the Nagpur stadium tragedy), its abandonment of the promising Channel 3 experiment by prime ministerial fiat, and its imitative, poor-quality response to entertainment competitors like Zee TV and MTV, concluding that its future depends on offering distinctive quality programming rather than joining a 'commercial rat race.' - Recalls Doordarshan's amateurish, enthusiastic early years and the 1975-76 SITE satellite broadcasting experiment - Cites Indira Gandhi's remark dismissing the idea of broadcaster credibility during the Emergency - Criticises Doordarshan's delayed and inadequate news coverage of Indira Gandhi's 1984 assassination and a Nagpur stadium tragedy - Describes the aborted 'Channel 3' experiment, cancelled by an overnight PMO directive - Argues Doordarshan's response to satellite competition has been imitative (a sanitised MTV clone, plagiarism of Zee TV formats) rather than distinctive - Concludes Doordarshan's future should rest on quality and difference, not competing on satellite channels' own terms ### Children & The New Information Environment *By Namita Unnikrishnan* Namita Unnikrishnan's 'Children and The New Information Environment' summarises a Delhi-based study (soon to appear in book form) on television's impact on children and the advertising they are exposed to. It finds that Indian children's relationship to television varies sharply by class, with affluent children sometimes owning personal TV sets while migrant labourer families prioritise renting a TV/VCR even over adequate meals; documents a 'silent family' phenomenon in which television replaces conversation; and reports that TV advertising, riddled with fantasy and hyperbole, drives consumerist aspirations even among children who cannot afford advertised products. The essay closes with recommendations for critical evaluation of television and its advertising codes, given children's vulnerability as an audience. - Draws on a Delhi study of TV's impact on children across affluent, middle-income, and poor households - Reports the rise of a 'silent family,' where separate personal TV sets replace shared family interaction - Notes some upper-class children own personal TVs but watch less than middle-class peers, per the survey - Documents that migrant labourer families in Delhi prioritise renting a TV/VCR over adequate meals - Finds 75% of children aged 8-15 surveyed wanted to own products advertised on TV - Advertising to children incorporates fantasy and hyperbole; some ads misrepresent products or promote unsafe behaviour - Calls for critical evaluation of TV and stricter appraisal of advertising aimed at children ### A Son's Tribute *By Zareer Masani* Zareer Masani's 'A Son's Tribute,' part of the special 'Minoo Masani 90' section, is a personal and political reflection by Minoo Masani's son on his father's life and character. It recounts Masani's anti-communism as a formative influence on his household, Zareer's own youthful rebellion into socialism and later disillusionment, and their many political disagreements. It credits Masani with unwavering conviction, internationalism, rejection of national chauvinism, championship of minorities, and belief in federalism (including support for a right to secession), while noting his stubbornness may have cost him potential allies against the Indian left. - Minoo Masani was twelve when the Bolshevik Revolution occurred and later rejected Stalinist autocracy in the 1930s - Masani founded Freedom First in 1952 and led the Swatantra Party's economic liberalism agenda in the 1960s - The essay frames Masani's defining conviction as fierce, career-long anti-communism - Zareer Masani recalls his own youthful swing to socialism and opposition to the Vietnam War at Oxford, later returning to more liberal views - Credits his father with internationalism, minority rights advocacy, and belief in federalism including a right to secession - Notes Masani's stubbornness as both his strength and weakness, potentially costing him allies ### Walk Alone *By Khushwant Singh* Khushwant Singh's 'Walk Alone,' also part of the Minoo Masani 90 tribute section, reflects on Masani's independence of mind, invoking Tagore's 'Ekla Chalo' and a couplet by Majrooh Sultanpuri on walking a lonely path until others join. Singh recounts his personal connections to the Masani family (Minoo's father Sir Rustom, sister Mehra, first wife Shakuntala, son Zareer, and wife Sheela) and praises Masani's clear-headed political analysis and foresight, closing with Masani's own self-description as a lifelong non-conformist ('If you are not a socialist at 20 ... you have no head'). - Invokes Tagore's song 'Ekla Chalo' (Walk Alone) and a Majrooh Sultanpuri couplet as framing for Masani's independence of mind - Recounts Khushwant Singh's personal acquaintance with several generations of the Masani family - Praises Masani's clear-headed analysis of world events and Indian politics and his foresight - Notes the essay is reprinted from Mid-Day, February 3, 1996 - Accompanied by a promotional notice for a commemorative 100-page 'Minoo Masani 90' volume of his writings, priced Rs.150 (Rs.100 for Freedom First subscribers) ### Delusions of Progress *By J. B. D'Souza* J. B. D'Souza's 'Delusions of Progress' (seen only through its opening, page 17-18 of a longer piece) argues that GNI/GDP is a poor and misleading measure of national well-being. Citing a San Francisco think tank's 'genuine progress indicator' (GPI) research, D'Souza shows that while conventional GDP suggests steady American progress since the 1950s, the GPI reveals roughly a 45% decline since 1970 once social costs are properly counted. He details specific distortions in GDP accounting: it credits spending on crime prevention and repair, environmental destruction and clean-up, diet industries addressing overeating, and wasteful VIP security and bureaucratic travel, while ignoring household and community labour and income distribution. - India's per capita national income roughly doubled between the early 1950s and early 1990s (Rs.1127 to Rs.2240 in 1980 prices), a much slower rate of growth than South Korea's - Cites a 1993 UN human development ranking of 173 countries and the shortcomings of the Human Development Index (HDI) as an improvement on but still inadequate replacement for GDP - Introduces the 'genuine progress indicator' (GPI), developed by San Francisco analysts, as a closer measure of a nation's true condition - The GPI shows a roughly 45% decline in genuine American progress since 1970, despite GDP's steady rise - GDP counts money spent fixing crime damage, environmental destruction and its clean-up, and the diet industry addressing overeating as economic 'growth' - In the seen portion, the essay is not yet complete; it continues past page 18 given the table of contents shows it running to around page 19 --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff430/ ### Summary This is the July-September 1996 issue (No. 430, 44th year of publication) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani and edited by S. V. Raju. The cover feature, 'Right to Information,' anchors the issue: a cluster of essays by R. Srinivasan, S. P. Sathe, M. S. Srinivasan, and V. M. Tarkunde argue, from complementary angles (constitutional law, administrative practice, and democratic theory), that access to government information should be elevated to a fundamental right under the Indian Constitution, and that entrenched instruments like the Official Secrets Act, 1923 obstruct this. The editor's note ties the theme to the recent Eleventh Lok Sabha elections and the end of one-party dominance, previews a seminar report on coalition politics, and apologises for recurring publication delays.… ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is the July-September 1996 issue (No. 430, 44th year of publication) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani and edited by S. V. Raju. The cover feature, 'Right to Information,' anchors the issue: a cluster of essays by R. Srinivasan, S. P. Sathe, M. S. Srinivasan, and V. M. Tarkunde argue, from complementary angles (constitutional law, administrative practice, and democratic theory), that access to government information should be elevated to a fundamental right under the Indian Constitution, and that entrenched instruments like the Official Secrets Act, 1923 obstruct this. The editor's note ties the theme to the recent Eleventh Lok Sabha elections and the end of one-party dominance, previews a seminar report on coalition politics, and apologises for recurring publication delays. In the rendered pages the issue also opens its regular satirical/miscellany features -- 'With Many Voices' (a page of quoted extracts on Indian and world politics) and 'Of Cabbages and Kings' (a topical commentary column covering endocrine-disrupting chemicals, Saudi and Chinese human-rights issues, Aung San Suu Kyi's Burma boycott call, and VIP security-culture critique in India). ## Essays ### Many Voices A short editorial-style feature ('Many Voices') is a compilation of quotations from Indian and international press on politics, secularism, and public figures -- not a single-author essay but a curated page of extracts under the Tennyson epigraph 'The deep moans round with many voices.' - Quotes India Today, The Indian Express, The Times of India, and other outlets on the Ayodhya dispute, coalition politics, and the 1996 general election aftermath - Includes remarks attributed to Laloo Prasad Yadav, CPM leader Namboodiripad, BJP leader K. R. Malkani, and Lok Sabha Speaker P. A. Sangma - Touches on judicial activism, communalism, and Singapore's rule of law under Lee Kuan Yew ### Cabbages & Kings 'Of Cabbages and Kings' is the magazine's recurring topical-commentary column, unsigned save initials 'RS' and 'SVR' on individual items, covering a miscellany of current-affairs observations: falling human sperm counts linked to environmental estrogens, the beheading of an Indian expatriate in a Saudi public execution, Hong Kong's transition anxieties and Chinese Communist attitudes to democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi's call for a foreign-investment boycott of Burma, and a critique of India's VIP security culture (SPG costs, red-light convoys, and the Phoolan Devi train-halting episode). - Opens with humorous Aldous Huxley verse on human fertility, segues into a serious item on endocrine-disrupting industrial chemicals and declining sperm counts - Reports the public beheading of Indian citizen Manickam Ramalingam in Riyadh and questions the Indian Embassy's diligence - Notes Chinese Communist Party's rejection of liberal democracy alongside concern for 'a slice of China's trade pie' - Covers Aung San Suu Kyi's appeal for foreign businesses to boycott investment in military-ruled Burma - Criticises India's VIP culture: red-light convoys, Shiv Sena's Bal Thackeray threatening to strip ministers of perks, and the cost of Special Protection Group security (cited at Rs. 40 crores) ### Towards an Open Government *By R. Srinivasan* R. Srinivasan's 'Towards an Open Government' opens the Right to Information cover feature, framing government secrecy as a betrayal of nearly fifty years of Indian democracy. Drawing on James Madison and the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (1966), it surveys comparable transparency laws in Australia, Canada, and Britain, and critiques the weakness of India's parliamentary oversight bodies (Lok Pal, Lok Ayukta, Public Accounts Committee) in curbing corruption. It closes by urging India to adopt a Union-level FOI act and extend transparency to municipal governance. - Argues that oligarchic or plutocratic governments are inherently closed, while democracies should default to transparency - Cites James Madison's warning that 'a popular government without popular information...is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both' - Credits investigative journalists, in the absence of strong institutional checks, with exposing corrupt public dealings in India - Describes the mechanics of the US Freedom of Information Act, 1966, including its 'protected areas' exemptions (personnel, medical, defence, trade secrets) and Justice Stewart's Iran-Contra-era warning about over-classification - Notes a draft transparency bill from the Consumer Education and Research Centre, Ahmedabad, and calls for similar Union and municipal-level Indian legislation ### Access to Information: The Constitutional Position *By S. P. Sathe* S. P. Sathe's 'Access to Information: The Constitutional Position' traces the historical link between information monopolies and social hegemony (from Roman Patricians to Brahminical control of religious knowledge), then conducts a close legal analysis of Indian Supreme Court jurisprudence on the right to information -- including the Judges Case (S. P. Gupta v. India), the LIC v. M. D. Shah 'Yogakshema' case, and privacy-related rulings (Neera Mathur, Nishi Prem) -- concluding that courts have treated the right to information only as collateral to freedom of speech (Article 19(1)(a)) rather than as a freestanding right. Sathe recommends a constitutional amendment making the right to information an explicit fundamental right, subject to enumerated reasonable restrictions, alongside a comprehensive Freedom of Information Act to supersede the Official Secrets Act, 1923. - Frames information control historically as a tool of hegemony: Roman Patricians over Plebeians, Brahminical control of the Shudras and women, later colonial and imperial restriction - Argues universal education (Article 45) is a precondition for a meaningful right to information, given mass illiteracy - Analyses the LIC v. M. D. Shah 'Yogakshema' case in detail, questioning whether the Supreme Court's 'readers' right to know' rationale improperly overrode editorial freedom - Reviews the Judges Case (S. P. Gupta v. India) as establishing the executive cannot withhold information except for narrowly justified confidentiality, subject to judicial review - Recommends the right to information be made an explicit fundamental right, subject to restrictions for sovereignty/integrity, security, foreign relations, public order, decency, privacy, copyright, and contempt of court/legislature - Calls for a comprehensive Freedom of Information Act (FOA) to replace the Official Secrets Act, 1923, whose Section 5 is described as 'omnibus' and prone to suppressing routine, non-sensitive documents - Cites the Narmada Bachao andolan's exclusion from Sardar Sarovar dam site information as a concrete instance of OSA misuse ### Right to Information *By M. S. Srinivasan* M. S. Srinivasan's 'Right to Information' argues that democratic rule of law requires citizens to have full information about decisions that affect them, framing uninformed impositions by the state as a form of tyranny. It reviews Article 19(1) freedoms, contrasts India's constitutional free-speech provision unfavourably with the American First Amendment, discusses the 1975 Emergency censorship as a cautionary precedent (quoting H. M. Seervai), and closes with concrete policy proposals: state-subsidised information centres, mandatory raw-data disclosure by media, and expanded library/communication infrastructure. - Frames information as foundational to rational decision-making at every social level, from family to nation - Quotes H. M. Seervai on the constitutional necessity of free speech and free press for democratic government - Cites the 1975 Emergency's press censorship as evidence of how governments can suppress information and erode freedoms - Argues government has 'simply reduced citizens to the status of dumb driven cattle' by withholding information, likening this to a continuation of British-style imposition - Recommends free/inexpensive government information centres in every state, subsidised information technology, and a duty on media to present 'raw and factual information' rather than editorialised coverage ### Right to Information and Accountability of the State *By V. M. Tarkunde* Justice V. M. Tarkunde's 'Right to Information and Accountability of the State' argues that governmental accountability need not be confined to election day even within India's existing party-based parliamentary system. Tarkunde reviews M. N. Roy's and Jayaprakash Narayan's partyless-democracy and Gram Panchayat ideas as a deeper structural alternative, then identifies three concrete mechanisms that have, in practice, extended government accountability between elections: public interest litigation, the National Human Rights Commission, and (the article's main proposal) a statutory 'people's right to know,' modelled on the US Freedom of Information Reform Act, 1986. He calls for a comprehensive Indian access-to-information law, flags the Atomic Energy Act's Section 18 secrecy provision for repeal, and welcomes the Press Council of India's move to draft a 'Bill for Access to Information.' - Opens by noting representative democracy gives citizens power only 'on the day of voting' and is otherwise 'essentially weak and superficial,' vulnerable to overthrow (citing Hitler in 1933 and the 1975 Indian Emergency) - Surveys M. N. Roy's and Jayaprakash Narayan's advocacy of partyless democracy built on people's committees/Gram Panchayats as a radical decentralisation alternative to party rule - Credits public interest litigation (from the late 1960s-70s in the US/UK, adopted enthusiastically by the Indian Supreme Court) with letting any genuinely interested party seek redress for others' wrongs - Credits the National Human Rights Commission, despite restricted powers, with usefully increasing state transparency and accountability - Calls the U.S. Freedom of Information Reform Act, 1986 a model, and recommends India pass a comprehensive people's-right-to-know statute - Singles out Section 18 of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 (barring disclosure about nuclear plants) for full repeal as incompatible with public safety needs - Notes the Press Council of India is organising a seminar dedicated to drafting a 'Bill for Access to Information' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff429/ ### Summary Freedom First No. 429 (April-June 1996), the 44th-year quarterly of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, leads with a report and documents from a Convention on Liberal Values held in New Delhi in January 1996, organised by the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung. The issue's editorial ('Between Ourselves') frames the Convention as a 'reaffirmation of liberal values' against a backdrop of criminalised politics and eroding public morality in India. In the rendered pages, contributors range from FNSt South Asia figures (Geeta Lal reporting on the Convention) to European liberal statesmen (Otto Graf Lambsdorff on protectionism as a disguised imperialism) to regular Indian columnists (Sharad Joshi excoriating the Beijing Fourth World Women's Conference as a vehicle for state expansion, and Tavleen Singh defending her criticism of NGO activists like Medha Patkar). Recurring departments include 'With Many Voices' (a page of quotations from the press), 'Of Cabbages and Kings' (an editorial column on corruption, democracy and civil liberties), and an open letter from international PEN protesting the imprisonment of Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary Freedom First No. 429 (April-June 1996), the 44th-year quarterly of the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, leads with a report and documents from a Convention on Liberal Values held in New Delhi in January 1996, organised by the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung. The issue's editorial ('Between Ourselves') frames the Convention as a 'reaffirmation of liberal values' against a backdrop of criminalised politics and eroding public morality in India. In the rendered pages, contributors range from FNSt South Asia figures (Geeta Lal reporting on the Convention) to European liberal statesmen (Otto Graf Lambsdorff on protectionism as a disguised imperialism) to regular Indian columnists (Sharad Joshi excoriating the Beijing Fourth World Women's Conference as a vehicle for state expansion, and Tavleen Singh defending her criticism of NGO activists like Medha Patkar). Recurring departments include 'With Many Voices' (a page of quotations from the press), 'Of Cabbages and Kings' (an editorial column on corruption, democracy and civil liberties), and an open letter from international PEN protesting the imprisonment of Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng. ## Essays ### Protectionism the Modern Face of Imperialism *By Otto Count Lambsdorff* A report by Geeta Lal, Assistant Editor of Liberal Times (published by the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung's South Asian regional office), on the Convention on Liberal Values held in New Delhi, January 5-7, 1996. The report describes the convention's aims -- presenting liberalism as a comprehensive philosophy, tracing its roots in Indian tradition, and applying it to contemporary problems -- and summarises addresses by speakers including Vice-President K. R. Narayanan, Sir David Steel, Otto Graf Lambsdorff, Jurgen Axer, and Soli Sorabjee. Themes covered include the universality of human rights, the limited but essential role of the state (a 'slim and strong state, not a fat one'), and the tension between social justice rhetoric and genuine poverty alleviation through market mechanisms. A sidebar quotes Minoo Masani describing 'India's New Liberalism' as a fusion of Western liberalism and Gandhian teachings on trusteeship and minimal government. - Convention on Liberal Values held in New Delhi, 5-7 January 1996, organised by the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung (FNSt), attended by roughly 200 economists, social/political scientists, journalists, and activists - Core liberal principles affirmed: individual liberty, tolerance, universality of human rights, pluralism, minimal state interference, liberal democracy, market economy, free trade, and rule of law - Speakers stressed a 'slim and strong state, not a fat state' -- limited to national security, environment, and essential infrastructure, education and healthcare provision - Social justice and free markets framed as complementary rather than contradictory; existing redistributive bureaucracies criticised as serving political elites rather than the poor - Minoo Masani's sidebar frames Indian liberalism as combining Western liberal thought with Gandhian trusteeship ### The Return of the State / Beijing WWC's 'Achievement' *By Sharad Joshi* Text of the concluding consensus statement adopted at the Convention on Liberal Values, laying out 'Basic Liberal Principles,' the relationship between democracy, human rights and liberalism, and the role of the state in economic development. The statement affirms individual liberty as bounded by responsibility, defines liberalism as rooted partly in Vedantic tolerance, and asserts that political liberalism is not to be confused with laissez-faire: the state must maintain rule of law, prevent monopoly, separate powers, guarantee an independent judiciary, and ensure education, healthcare and infrastructure while otherwise leaving markets open and competitive. - Individual liberty is not absolute but carries responsibility and must not interfere with others' freedom - Liberalism is distinguished from laissez-faire: it requires democracy, human rights, market economy AND rule of law together, not any one element alone - The state's economic role should be a 'slim and strong state, not a fat one' -- keeping markets competitive, preventing monopoly, and providing infrastructure/education/healthcare - Poverty alleviation should not mean charity but strengthening the poor's ability to compete as equals in a free market - Excessive redistributive bureaucracy is criticized as creating patronage networks that fail to reach the truly disadvantaged ### On Writing Plain English *By A.K.R.Hemmady* Otto Graf Lambsdorff (former German Minister for Economic Affairs and FNSt chairman) argues that protectionism, not free trade, is the true modern heir of 19th-century imperialism. He traces the 19th-century Manchester Liberal free-trade movement (Adam Smith, Richard Cobden) as originally anti-imperialist, contrasts it with Sir John Seeley's openly imperialist justification of free trade as requiring expansionist state power, and argues that today's 'fair trade' advocates, eco-imperialists, and WTO 'social clause' proponents repeat the same coercive logic under moralized cover. He cites Keynes's description of the pre-1914 liberal economic order, criticizes Friedrich List's infant-industry protectionism, invokes Milton Friedman's boat-drilling metaphor against retaliatory tariffs, and blames the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 for deepening the Great Depression and fostering totalitarianism. He concludes that protectionism, however dressed up in the language of fairness or environmentalism, is 'the modern face of imperialism.' - 19th-century Manchester Liberals (Cobden, citing Adam Smith) were the first movement to link free trade explicitly to anti-imperialism and world peace - Sir John Seeley's imperialist theory held that free trade requires an expansionist state to secure markets by force -- Lambsdorff argues this logic persists in modern 'harmonisation' demands from bodies like the European Commission - Modern protectionism disguises itself as 'fair trade,' 'eco-imperialism,' or WTO 'social clauses,' but functions the same way as historical imperialism: coercively imposing one country's preferences on others - The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act (1930) triggered a collapse in international trade (60% below 1929 levels by 1938) that may have contributed to the rise of totalitarianism and World War II - Milton Friedman's parable of two people drilling holes in a boat illustrates why retaliatory counter-protectionism only compounds economic damage - Friedrich List's 'infant industry' argument for protecting developing-country industries is dismissed as having had disastrous historical consequences ### The Emergency in a Southern State *By P. R. Dubhashi* Sharad Joshi (of the Shetkari Sanghatana) attacks the Fourth World Women's Conference held in Beijing in September 1995 as an exercise in expanding state power under feminist cover. Comparing it unfavourably with earlier UN women's conferences (Mexico 1975, Copenhagen 1980, Nairobi 1985), Joshi argues that the Beijing NGOs -- unlike the more independent activists of earlier decades -- are salaried employees dependent on government and international funding, and that both governments and NGOs have converged on demanding an expanded, protective state to counter their own eroding relevance as economic liberalisation proceeds worldwide. He argues that true gender inequality lies in differential degrees of freedom, not power or wealth, and that genuine liberation for women comes through liberalisation and market-driven dismantling of the domiciliary/non-domiciliary divide in labour, not through a state-sponsored 'empowerment of women' that is really a bid by NGOs and bureaucracies to preserve their own institutional survival. - The Beijing Fourth World Women's Conference (September 1995) is portrayed as marginalising genuine grassroots activism in favour of a professionalised NGO class dependent on government/international funding - Joshi argues 'the State shall replace father, husband and son' became the feminists' effective demand at Beijing, a demand governments eagerly endorsed to counter their own disempowerment amid economic liberalisation - Gender inequality is reframed as a matter of differential degrees of freedom and choice, not of power, wealth, or income, per an empirical test cited from a UNDP-style report on gender preference at birth - Liberalisation, not state intervention, is presented as the true 'antidote' to gender division of labour by dismantling barriers that confine women to domiciliary work - The demand to measure and value women's unwaged domestic work in GNP accounting is criticised via Prof. A. C. Pigou's paradox about a bachelor marrying his maid --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom First URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ff431/ ### Summary This is issue No. 431 (October-December 1996) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani in 1952, edited at this point by S. V. Raju with R. Srinivasan as Associate Editor. In the rendered pages the issue opens with its regular "With Many Voices" and "Of Cabbages and Kings" columns, then runs its cover package "CTBT and all that...", three essays debating India's refusal to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. This is followed by Sharad Joshi's essay "Liberalism in India - Awaiting a Hitler?", which argues that ancient Vedantic thought anticipated liberal individualism but that the tradition was suppressed under successive rulers and left contemporary India vulnerable to authoritarian populism. The chunk closes with a report, "In the Cause of Tibetan Freedom," on the Second International Conference of Tibet Support Groups in Bonn and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation's decision to continue the conference despite Chinese pressure (which led Beijing to shut down the Foundation's China offices), and the start of a serialized "Tibet: The Facts" backgrounder. ### Body # Freedom First ## Summary This is issue No. 431 (October-December 1996) of Freedom First, the Bombay-based quarterly of liberal ideas founded by Minoo Masani in 1952, edited at this point by S. V. Raju with R. Srinivasan as Associate Editor. In the rendered pages the issue opens with its regular "With Many Voices" and "Of Cabbages and Kings" columns, then runs its cover package "CTBT and all that...", three essays debating India's refusal to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. This is followed by Sharad Joshi's essay "Liberalism in India - Awaiting a Hitler?", which argues that ancient Vedantic thought anticipated liberal individualism but that the tradition was suppressed under successive rulers and left contemporary India vulnerable to authoritarian populism. The chunk closes with a report, "In the Cause of Tibetan Freedom," on the Second International Conference of Tibet Support Groups in Bonn and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation's decision to continue the conference despite Chinese pressure (which led Beijing to shut down the Foundation's China offices), and the start of a serialized "Tibet: The Facts" backgrounder. ## Essays ### Many Voices The magazine's recurring miscellany column of quoted press clippings and editorial one-liners on Indian and world affairs, framed by a Tennyson epigraph. In the rendered pages it compiles quips from Indian columnists and public figures on political corruption, coalition politics, the Bombay High Court, and prime-ministerial ambition, illustrated by an R. K. Laxman-style cartoon about a judge asking for an injunction against Gandhi-tribute speeches. - Compiles quoted remarks from Indian newspapers (Indian Express, Times of India, The Hindu, The Pioneer, India Today) and other outlets from May-September 1996 - Recurring theme: cynicism about politicians' pursuit of power and coalition-era democracy - Includes commentary on corruption among bureaucrats and godmen (Chandraswami's arrest) - One entry references the 1971 Bangladesh war dead being forgotten in national memory ### Of Cabbages & Kings The editor's regular personal column of obituary notes and current-affairs commentary. This installment mourns the death of Swatantra Party colleague N. C. Zamindar, reports on a long-delayed broadcasting-license writ petition connected to Freedom First founder M. R. Masani's fight against Indira Gandhi-era censorship, and comments on the execution of Indian workers in Saudi Arabia, the CIA's Cold War-era 'Operation Jakarta' in Indonesia, and Dr. Indumati Parikh's honor from the Centre for the Study of Social Change. - Obituary for N. C. Zamindar, Swatantra Party colleague, Hindi novelist, and Agra University gold medalist, who died in Indore aged 73 - Reports a 1996 letter from Solicitor D. H. Nanavati about the 1987 writ petition M. R. Masani and P. C. Chatterjee filed for permission to run an independent broadcasting station, filed amid Emergency-era censorship disputes - Comments on the beheading of Indian and other foreign nationals in Saudi Arabia for murder and robbery, and Amnesty International's concern over Saudi executions - Recounts the CIA's 'Operation Jakarta' covert support for anti-communist forces after Indonesia's 1965 massacre, drawing a parallel to the toppling of Allende in Chile - Congratulates Dr. Indumati Parikh, Radical Humanist and founder of Streehitakarini, on winning the Dr. Jankidas Bajaj Award ### CTBT and all that ... / The Future of Arms Control *By Rajesh M. Basrur* Editorial note explaining the issue's contents: why the magazine had avoided covering the CTBT until now, framing it as this issue's cover story following reader requests, and introducing profiles of C. Rajagopalachari, Annie Besant, and the husband-wife musician team M. S. Subbulakshmi and T. Sadasivam, plus a tribute to the Friedrich Naumann Foundation's stand on Tibet. - Explains the editorial decision to finally cover the CTBT as the cover story after reader requests - Frames Sharad Joshi's essay on liberalism as marking his succession to Minoo Masani's leadership of the Indian liberal movement - Previews profiles on C. Rajagopalachari, Annie Besant, and the Subbulakshmi-Sadasivam musical partnership - Praises the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for holding a Tibet conference in Germany despite Chinese pressure ### India's Objections *By E. D'Souza* Rajesh M. Basrur's essay argues that the 1996 collapse of the CTBT negotiations at Geneva reflected the P5 nuclear powers' own lack of genuine commitment to arms control, not merely India's objections. He contends the treaty's Entry Into Force (EIF) clause, which effectively required India, Pakistan, and Israel to sign as a precondition, was a diplomatic blunder that let India be cast as the spoiler, while the non-proliferation value of the CTBT was marginal given existing NPT coverage. He faults US domestic politics, especially Republican opposition associated with Colin Powell, for undermining a serious arms-control push. - Attributes the CTBT's collapse to India's objection to the EIF clause requiring signature by India, Pakistan, and Israel as threshold states - Argues the treaty's non-proliferation value was peripheral since the NPT already covers most of that ground - Notes the P5 (US, Russia, Britain, France, China) all continued modernizing arsenals rather than committing to real disarmament - Blames the Clinton administration's deference to the Pentagon and figures like Colin Powell for the CTBT's weak arms-control ambition - Frames India's 1996 stance as consistent with Nehru's 1954 call for a nuclear test moratorium ### An Exercise in Futility *By S. S. Bankeshwar* E. D'Souza (Maj. Gen., Retd.) defends India's refusal to sign the CTBT, arguing the treaty is not truly comprehensive since it exempts several kinds of testing and lets the five declared nuclear powers keep upgrading arsenals while denying the option to others. He surveys expert and political opinion (K. Subramanyam, Jasjit Singh, Lt. Gen. S. K. Sinha, Dr. Usha Mehta) on whether India should conduct one more test before signing, and defends India's ambassador Arundhati Ghose for holding firm against pressure at Geneva. As a Hiroshima veteran (present shortly after the bombing as part of Commonwealth occupation forces), he grounds his anti-nuclear-weapons advocacy in personal experience while still endorsing India keeping its options open. - Argues the CTBT is not truly 'comprehensive' since it doesn't cover lab, computer-simulated, or sub-critical tests - Traces India's consistent objection to nuclear disarmament treaties back to Nehru's 1954 moratorium call - Surveys the debate over whether India should conduct a second nuclear test (after Pokhran 1974) before signing any test-ban treaty, citing A. Venkateswaran and Lt. Gen. S. K. Sinha in favor and the author's own skepticism - Notes Dr. Usha Mehta, a Gandhian, surprisingly supported a second test, while the author invokes Gandhi's opposition to nuclear weapons based on his own visit to Hiroshima's hospital - Praises Ambassador Arundhati Ghose's performance at the Geneva CTBT talks against pressure from the nuclear 'haves' - Cites Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw's view that the nuclear five have no moral right to arrogate nuclear monopoly to themselves ### Liberalism in India - Awaiting a Hitler? *By Sharad Joshi* S. S. Bankeshwar argues bluntly that nuclear non-proliferation efforts and the CTBT are an exercise in futility, since existing nuclear powers (especially the US) will never truly give up their weapons and 'might is right' governs international relations. He contends India has only three choices - fatalism, seeking a foreign nuclear umbrella, or building its own bombs - and argues forcefully for self-reliant nuclear deterrence, rejecting reliance on external protection as immoral cowardice. - Calls nuclear disarmament talks futile because destroyed weapons technology 'cannot be disinvented' - Notes the US has conducted 1,149 nuclear tests, Russia 1,100, France 209, Britain 45, China 43, versus India's single Pokhran test - Argues seeking nuclear protection from allies is no less immoral than developing nuclear weapons domestically - States India faces only three alternatives: fatalism, seeking a nuclear umbrella, or self-reliant nuclear armament, and endorses the third - Frames nuclear self-reliance as a lesson from India's wars with Pakistan about the unreliability of foreign guarantees ### The Eleventh Commandment -Thou Shalt not Disclose *By Sharad Joshi* Sharad Joshi, founder of the Shetkari Sanghatana and Swatantra Bharat Party (successor to Minoo Masani as leader of the Indian liberal movement per the editor's note), argues that ancient Indian society, particularly the Vedanta tradition, anticipated core liberal tenets - individual autonomy, skepticism of authority, and epistemic humility - but that this liberal inheritance was suppressed for seven centuries first by Muslim conquest and then British colonial administration, and finally captured by statist Congress-era socialism after independence. He surveys the failure of the Nehruvian licence-permit model, argues that liberal politics faces almost no organized constituency in India today because liberal-minded individuals are hard to organize, and warns that the resulting economic and political disillusionment creates fertile ground for an Indian Hitler figure to emerge and exploit communal and caste grievances, positioning the Swatantra Party and its successors as history's underdeveloped liberal alternative. - Argues ancient India, especially the Vedanta school, anticipated liberal tenets: individual uniqueness, rejection of absolutism, skepticism of authority - Traces Indian liberal lineage to Dadabhai Naoroji, Gokhale, Raja Rammohan Roy, Narmad, Phule, Agarkar, and links them to J. S. Mill and Adam Smith - Argues Muslim invasions from the 13th century and British colonial rule together produced seven centuries of 'liberal eclipse' despite the British instituting rule of law - Identifies three post-independence political currents - socio-religious reformist movements, Hindu-nation movements (Tilak-style), and oppressed-community movements led by Ambedkar, Periyar, and Ramaswami Naicker - as all ultimately statist - Credits Gandhi with an anarchist, minimal-government vision but says Nehruvian socialism captured the state instead, producing the licence-permit-quota Raj - Warns that economic stagnation and disillusionment with all governments create conditions like Weimar Germany, ripe for a 'comic-book Hitler' figure exploiting communal and caste hatred - Surveys the electoral failure of the Swatantra Party (founded by Rajaji, swept away in 1971) and the fledgling Swatantra Bharat Party (founded 1994, negligible seats) - Concludes liberals have almost no organizational base because liberal individuals are inherently resistant to being organized under any single authority ### C. Rajagopalachari - The Man & his Vision *By G. Narayanaswamy* A news report on the Second International Conference of Tibet Support Groups held at the Wasserwerk in Bonn, Germany, jointly organised by the Tibetan Government in Exile and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. It covers the Dalai Lama's keynote address distinguishing the Tibetan freedom struggle from anti-Chinese sentiment, the Chinese government's retaliatory shutdown of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation's China offices and cancellation of ministerial visits, and the German Parliament's unanimous resolution condemning Chinese pressure and supporting the conference. - The Dalai Lama told delegates the Tibet struggle should be seen as pro-justice rather than anti-Chinese, and criticized international bodies for letting economic gains override human rights concerns - China pressured the German government to cancel funding and banned the Friedrich Naumann Foundation's China activities in retaliation for the Foundation proceeding with the conference - More than 250 delegates from 56 countries attended; a joint plan of action was adopted for Tibet Support Groups worldwide - The German Bundestag (FDP resolution, later a cross-party resolution including CDU/CSU, SPD, FDP, and the Greens) condemned Chinese pressure and called for stronger German government action on Tibetan human rights - Bilateral Sino-German trade tensions (DM 27 billion trade, major projects like Volkswagen and BASF investments) are noted as the backdrop straining Germany's Tibet policy - The report ends mid-way into a serialized factual backgrounder, 'Tibet: The Facts - I,' covering Tibet's history, geography, and the 1959 flight of the Dalai Lama into exile --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] FIFTEEN YEARS OF INDIAN PLANNING URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/fifteen-years-of-indian-planning-prof-b-r-shenoy-aug10-1966/ ### Summary Delivered as the Walchand Memorial Lecture in Bombay on 7 April 1966 and issued in pamphlet form by the Forum of Free Enterprise that August, B. R. Shenoy's address is a forensic indictment of the first fifteen years of Indian central planning. Shenoy, then Director of the School of Social Sciences at Gujarat University, opens by insisting that economic progress must be measured by mass well-being — chiefly by the per capita availability of food and cloth — and then marshals official statistics to show that on this test the post-1951 record is at best semi-stagnant and on some measures (cereal availability per capita, cotton cloth consumption) worse than the late inter-war years.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the Walchand Memorial Lecture in Bombay on 7 April 1966 and issued in pamphlet form by the Forum of Free Enterprise that August, B. R. Shenoy's address is a forensic indictment of the first fifteen years of Indian central planning. Shenoy, then Director of the School of Social Sciences at Gujarat University, opens by insisting that economic progress must be measured by mass well-being — chiefly by the per capita availability of food and cloth — and then marshals official statistics to show that on this test the post-1951 record is at best semi-stagnant and on some measures (cereal availability per capita, cotton cloth consumption) worse than the late inter-war years. He argues that the planning regime has produced a structural divorce between production and consumer needs, channelling roughly 70 per cent of Third Plan investment into Public Sector "infrastructure" and heavy industry while the basic-goods sectors (agriculture, cotton textiles) atrophy. The second half of the lecture builds a causal chain from this misallocation to India's compounding crises: deficit-financed budgets that have doubled money supply over the decade and pushed prices up 70 per cent; recurring foreign-exchange droughts; mounting food shortages requiring 10 million tonnes of imports in 1966; the collapse of the capital market; and a perverse income redistribution from consumers to traders, intermediaries and Public Sector contractors that he calls a social injustice. Shenoy then prescribes fifteen reform points — denationalisation of Public Sector projects "capable of being worked on sound commercial principles", a floating rupee, freezing or replacing P.L. 480 counterpart funds, removal of import-exchange controls, price decontrol, and a drastic scaling-down of Public Sector activity to under ten per cent of national income. Throughout he draws on Milton Friedman's contrast between centrally planned societies and the free-pricing systems of West Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaya, Singapore, Hong Kong and Formosa, and rests his case on the Rule of Law and the consumer's sovereignty at "the shopping referendum". The pamphlet closes with a fourteen-point summary of conclusions and a table of production indices for 1954-55 to 1964-65, framing the work as both a diagnosis of planning failure and a manifesto for restoring market coordination and a limited state. ## Key points - Defines economic progress as a continued rise in the standard of living of the masses, measured first by per capita food and cloth availability, and tests Indian planning by that yardstick. - Documents that per capita cereal availability fell from 15.3 oz/day (1937-38 average) to 13.7 oz in 1964 and cotton cloth from 14.7 m in 1956 to 15.11 m only after 34.4 million tonnes of net wartime/post-war imports — concluding that the masses are "more hungry today than before the war". - Attributes stagnation to a planning-induced divorce between production and consumer needs, with about 70 per cent of Third Plan investment going to Public Sector "infrastructure" and heavy industry rather than agriculture, cotton textiles and basic consumer goods. - Traces inflation, the foreign-exchange crisis, and the capital-market malaise to chronic budget deficits, exchange controls, import licensing premia of 500-700 per cent, and the diversion of P.L. 480 counterpart funds into deficit financing. - Quotes Milton Friedman to argue that no centrally planned society has produced sustained mass improvement, while citing West Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaya, Singapore, Hong Kong and Formosa as free-market success cases. - Calls for denationalisation of viable Public Sector projects, a floating rupee, repeal of import and price controls, freezing of P.L. 480 funds, and confinement of state activity to the Rule of Law, defence, monetary stability and rural extension services. - Concludes with a 14-point reform programme and TABLE II (Pattern of Production 1954-55 to 1964-65) showing Public Sector investment indexed at 438.3 against industrial production at 210.8 and agricultural production at 134.7. --- ## [Primary work] FINANCE AND INDUSTRY IN INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/finance-and-industry-in-india-a-d-shroff-october-10-1964/ ### Summary Finance and Industry in India is a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet based on the Sir Vithal Chandavarkar Memorial Lectures that A. D. Shroff delivered at the Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore, on 29-30 March 1963. Shroff surveys the financial scaffolding of Indian industry across the first two Five-Year Plans, marshalling Reserve Bank data on roughly 25,500 joint-stock enterprises and showing how internal resources of about 1,000 large companies rose from Rs. 274 crores in 1951-55 to Rs. 504 crores in 1956-60 while their bank borrowings shot up from 17 per cent to 28.7 per cent of total resources — a trend he calls structurally unhealthy. The core of the booklet maps the institutional ecology that has filled the long-term-credit vacuum left by India's inherited British-style commercial banks: the government-anchored Industrial Finance Corporation (1948), the wholly private ICICI (1955) on whose board Shroff served, the National Industrial Development Corporation, the Refinance Corporation backed by PL 480 counterpart funds, and the Life Insurance Corporation, which by his count has placed about Rs. 125 crores in industrial issues.… ### Body ## Summary Finance and Industry in India is a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet based on the Sir Vithal Chandavarkar Memorial Lectures that A. D. Shroff delivered at the Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore, on 29-30 March 1963. Shroff surveys the financial scaffolding of Indian industry across the first two Five-Year Plans, marshalling Reserve Bank data on roughly 25,500 joint-stock enterprises and showing how internal resources of about 1,000 large companies rose from Rs. 274 crores in 1951-55 to Rs. 504 crores in 1956-60 while their bank borrowings shot up from 17 per cent to 28.7 per cent of total resources — a trend he calls structurally unhealthy. The core of the booklet maps the institutional ecology that has filled the long-term-credit vacuum left by India's inherited British-style commercial banks: the government-anchored Industrial Finance Corporation (1948), the wholly private ICICI (1955) on whose board Shroff served, the National Industrial Development Corporation, the Refinance Corporation backed by PL 480 counterpart funds, and the Life Insurance Corporation, which by his count has placed about Rs. 125 crores in industrial issues. He pairs this domestic map with an unusually detailed account of foreign-currency channels — the World Bank, IDA, AID (and its predecessor Development Loan Fund), the Export-Import Bank, the Commonwealth Development Finance Corporation, and West Germany's HERMES insurance facility — arguing that India is the World Bank's single largest borrower and crediting Eugene Black and George Woods for sympathetic stewardship. While generous in praise of these agencies, Shroff is unsparing about domestic policy. He attacks the super-profits-tax-era fiscal regime for siphoning 65-80 per cent of industrial profits away from modernisation, dubs the country's planning effort 'Planless Planning', and traces how T. T. Krishnamachari's 1957 budget shock collapsed new capital issues from Rs. 117 crores to Rs. 98 crores. He further argues that the pursuit of complete self-sufficiency is a fallacy — every expansion in installed capacity, he notes, raises rather than lowers the import bill for sulphur, alloy steel, machine tools and other essential inputs. The chunk ends with a defence of the broadening Indian capital market, citing a March 1963 memorandum from the stock-exchange presidents showing that 90 per cent of industrial equity is held by small investors with individual holdings under Rs. 10,000, which Shroff offers as a direct rebuttal to Delhi's narrative of monopoly concentration. ## Key points - Of roughly 25,500 joint-stock companies registered in India, about 22,500 (85 per cent) have a paid-up capital of Rs. 5 lakhs or less, which Shroff treats as a structural marker of poverty rather than entrepreneurial dynamism. - Industrial borrowing from banks rose from 17 per cent of total resources in 1951-55 to 28.7 per cent in 1956-60, which Shroff calls unhealthy because banks fund themselves with short-term deposits and cannot prudently lock them into long-term industrial credit. - Shroff argues that the super-profits tax and the broader fiscal regime force industries to surrender 65-80 per cent of annual profits as direct taxation, leaving too little for modernisation and capacity expansion. - He maps the new institutional layer built to plug the long-term-credit gap: the Industrial Finance Corporation (1948), ICICI (1955, on whose board he served), the National Industrial Development Corporation, the Refinance Corporation, and the LIC, which has invested about Rs. 125 crores in industrial issues. - On the foreign-exchange side, the booklet walks through the World Bank, IDA, AID (absorbing the older Development Loan Fund), the Export-Import Bank, the Commonwealth Development Finance Corporation, and West Germany's HERMES insurance — crediting Eugene Black and George Woods for unusually sympathetic terms. - Shroff describes Indian planning as 'Planless Planning' and singles out T. T. Krishnamachari's 1957 budget as the shock that cut new capital issues from Rs. 117 crores to Rs. 98 crores and rattled investor confidence for the next year. - He rejects the pursuit of complete economic self-sufficiency as a fallacy, arguing that every additional unit of installed capacity raises rather than reduces India's bill for imported sulphur, alloy steel, machine tools, copper and spare parts. - Citing a March 1963 memorandum from the presidents of all stock exchanges in India, he notes that 90 per cent of industrial equity is held by small investors with holdings of Rs. 10,000 or less — a fact he uses to dismiss the Delhi narrative of monopoly concentration. --- ## [Primary work] Fifty Years After ... URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/fifty-years-after/ ### Summary Fifty Years After … is a slim proceedings booklet published in 1997 by the Project for Economic Education (Mumbai) with support from the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung, edited by S. V. Raju. It gathers presentations and discussion contributions from a seminar titled 'India-Fifty Years After' held in April 1997 in Mumbai, assembling freedom fighters, retired military officers, a retired judge, academics, and activists to take stock of India's record fifty years on from independence. The volume is divided into a main-papers section (one extended lead essay by Sadanand Varde, pp. 1–8) and a longer 'Discussions' section (pp. 9 onward) containing shorter contributions from nine additional speakers, capped by a final essay on infrastructure by Jiban Mukhopadhyay beginning at printed p. 33. Sadanand Varde, a 1942-generation freedom fighter, opens with a personal reckoning that dates the moral decline of public life to Indira Gandhi's transformation of Congress into a family business, catalogues the wreckage of the permit-licence raj (over Rs 2 lakh crore sunk in loss-making public sector units), and skewers the 'VIP Republic' of rent-free MP bungalows and competitive populism. The Discussions section opens with K. F. Rustomji's blunt audit — 400 million below the poverty line, 70% illiterate, sessions courts taking 8–10 years to convict, police substituting torture for due process. Maj. Gen. (retd.) E. D'Souza identifies constitutional collapse and the absence of a viable alternative to Congress as the twin root failures, quoting B. K. Nehru on the gulf between founders (Nehru, Patel, Rajaji) and present rulers (Laloo, Jayalalitha, Mulayam Singh). Arvind Deshpande's 'Today's Pindaris' deploys Achyut Patwardhan's warning that 1990s India resembles 1837 — twenty years before 1857, a phase of anarchy. Admiral Ramdas (retd.) offers a brief forward-looking note on leadership, discipline, and the armed forces' non-caste, non-partisan national role. Dr. Maneesha Tikekar attributes the failure to build civil society to excessive governmentalisation in a hierarchy-bound culture where politics fills the vacuum left by absent social mobility. Dr. Usha Mehta, drawing on her own service under Gandhi, defends the non-violent convertibility of means and aims and praises the unbroken constitutional framework — India alone among comparable post-colonial states has never gone under military rule. Justice R. A. Jahagirdar (retd.) takes the most optimistic line, contrasting India favourably with Nkrumah's Ghana and invoking Ambedkar's opposition to panchayat rule against the Gandhian Gram Swaraj ideal: 'the patient is still alive and curable'. Indumati Parikh's long essay reframes 'freedom' through M. N. Roy's definition (continuous removal of impediments to human development), then works through the sham of rural schooling, the family-planning fiasco entrusted to a Catholic health minister, and the failures of primary health care. Jiban Mukhopadhyay closes with an infrastructure essay. The governing question across the volume is whether the freedoms for which the independence generation fought have been delivered to ordinary Indians. The contributors reach a broadly shared negative verdict: economic capture by the permit-licence-quota raj, democratic institutions degenerated into a VIP Republic, mass illiteracy and stubborn infrastructure failure. Yet Jahagirdar and Usha Mehta resist pure pessimism, arguing that the constitutional framework has proved resilient and that civil society, the armed forces, and voluntary organisations can still push reform forward. ### Body ## Summary Fifty Years After … is a slim proceedings booklet published in 1997 by the Project for Economic Education (Mumbai) with support from the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung, edited by S. V. Raju. It gathers presentations and discussion contributions from a seminar titled 'India-Fifty Years After' held in April 1997 in Mumbai, assembling freedom fighters, retired military officers, a retired judge, academics, and activists to take stock of India's record fifty years on from independence. The volume is divided into a main-papers section (one extended lead essay by Sadanand Varde, pp. 1–8) and a longer 'Discussions' section (pp. 9 onward) containing shorter contributions from nine additional speakers, capped by a final essay on infrastructure by Jiban Mukhopadhyay beginning at printed p. 33. The governing question across the volume is whether the freedoms for which the independence generation fought have been delivered to ordinary Indians. The contributors reach a broadly shared negative verdict: the economy was captured by a permit-licence-quota raj that produced a vast public sector, fiscal profligacy, and entrenched bureaucratic rent-seeking; democratic institutions have degenerated into a VIP Republic serving politicians and goondas rather than citizens; mass illiteracy, inadequate health care, and poor infrastructure remain stubborn failures fifty years on. Yet several speakers — notably Justice Jahagirdar and Dr. Usha Mehta — resist pure pessimism, arguing that the constitutional framework has proved resilient and that civil society, the armed forces, and voluntary organisations can still push reform forward. The discussions section adds concrete proposals on municipal schooling, family planning, nutrition, women's employment, and community entitlements, giving the volume a policy-reform as well as retrospective character. ## Essays ### Is This the Freedom We Fought For? *By Sadanand Varde* Sadanand Varde opens the volume with a deeply personal reckoning. A veteran of the 1942 freedom struggle, he confesses that the labels 'freedom fighter' carry no pride for him today, given how many who claim them have been hauled into court for criminal offences. He surveys fifty years of development and concludes they have been years of 'wasted opportunities and lost morality.' The State was placed at the head of the economy through the National Planning Commission, producing a closed economy, a huge loss-making public sector (over Rs 2 lakh crore sunk), and a culture where bureaucrats and ministers arrogated enormous powers to themselves. The result is a 'VIP Republic' in which parliamentary privilege shields criminals, the Shiv Sena can extort goondas under political patronage, and competitive populism — dual-card ration schemes, subsidised power — drains resources from education and health. Varde traces the moral decline to the moment Indira Gandhi turned Congress into a family business and personalist politics displaced principled leadership. He is cautiously hopeful about technology (TV and radio freeing communications from state control) and emerging federal pressures, but ends with a letter exchange between Sheila Kaul and Nanasaheb Goray parodying the 'Dandi March Run' as a symbol of the frivolity of those in power. - Varde argues that the National Planning Commission placed the State at the head of the economy, producing a closed economy, high tariffs, and a parallel economy accounting for nearly half of national production. - The public sector absorbed over Rs 2 lakh crore in capital, most of it loss-making; crores in investments returned less than 2.5% on investment. - Parliamentary institutions have deteriorated into a 'VIP Republic': MPs occupy government bungalows rent-free, use their offices to extort constituents, and cannot be arrested while Parliament is in session. - Competitive populism — dual-card ration systems in Andhra Pradesh, open-ended subsidies in power and education — wastes resources and is not cost-effective. - The moral decline of public life is dated to Indira Gandhi's decision to treat Congress as a family affair, triggering the era of coalition politics and criminality in public life. - Technology (independent TV and radio channels) is identified as a structural antidote to State control of communications. - Varde ends with a satirical letter exchange mocking the 'Freedom Run' gimmick under Rajiv Gandhi as emblematic of the hollow official celebration of independence. ### Democracy only for the Few? *By K. F. Rustomji* K. F. Rustomji opens the Discussions section with a blunt assessment of India's achievements. He acknowledges genuine progress in agriculture and expansion of the middle class, but notes that 44% of the population — around 400 million — live below the poverty line, 70% of the country is illiterate, and the justice system has broken down: murder cases now take 8–10 years to reach a sessions court verdict, and conviction rates are near zero. He describes a justice system that has substituted police torture and extrajudicial killing for due process. - Middle class has expanded but 400 million remain below the poverty line and 300 million are illiterate. - The justice system is effectively non-functional: serious cases take 8–10 years in sessions courts and conviction rates are nearly zero. - Police have substituted torture and extrajudicial killing for deterrence, which Rustomji describes as uncivilised. - The home minister Indrajit Gupta is quoted as acknowledging a general fall in performance of the policing system across the country. ### The Armed Forces *By Maj.Gen. (retd.) E. D'souza* Maj. Gen. (retd.) E. D'Souza recounts a small incident from the night of 14/15 August 1947 to frame his reflections on the armed forces. He identifies two fundamental problems: the collapse of the Constitution's spirit and India's failure, in fifty years, to find a long-term viable alternative to the Indian National Congress. He quotes B. K. Nehru on the divergence between the constitutional values of founders like Nehru, Patel, and Rajaji and the values of today's rulers (Laloo, Jayalalitha, Mulayam Singh). He draws an analogy with South Africa's constitutional process and emphasises that for liberal democracy to survive, India needs leaders who look at poverty rationally — citing Gandhi, J.P. Narayan, and M. N. Roy as models. - D'Souza identifies two root causes of India's failures: collapse of constitutional values and the absence of a viable alternative to Congress dominance. - He cites B. K. Nehru's warning about the gap between the constitutional values of founders and current rulers. - He draws an analogy with the South African constitutional process, noting that India's 70% OBC and SC population mirrors the percentages that shaped South Africa's new constitution. - He argues that for liberal democracy to survive after freedom, leaders who look at poverty rationally — not sentimentally — are needed. ### Today's Pindaris *By Arvind Deshpande* Arvind Deshpande's contribution 'Today's Pindaris' uses the historical Pindari marauders as a metaphor for the current political class. He recounts Achyut Patwardhan's invitation to speak at a 'People's Parliament' in Delhi and Patwardhan's warning that India is entering a phase equivalent to 20 years before 1857 — 20 years after the Mughal collapse, when Peshwas fell and 'there was total anarchy.' Deshpande argues that the two basic problems facing India are political: the collapse of the Constitution and the failure to find a viable alternative to the Indian National Congress. - Deshpande uses the Pindari metaphor to characterise today's political criminals and goondas who have captured the state. - Achyut Patwardhan is quoted warning that India in the 1990s resembles India around 1837 — 20 years after the Mughal collapse and the fall of the Peshwas. - The two basic problems identified are: (1) constitutional collapse and (2) the failure to find a long-term viable political alternative to Congress. ### Let's Look Forward *By Admiral Ramdas (retd.)* Admiral Ramdas (retd.) offers a brief forward-looking statement emphasising that the quality of leadership, discipline, and the role of the armed forces are the keys to improvement. He states that the armed forces have a basic subscription to democracy and have always rallied to national causes, and explicitly notes that 'we always rallied to national causes like floods, restoring disrupted civil services, electrical failures' and do not recruit on a caste basis. - Ramdas identifies quality of leadership, sense of discipline, and sound values as the three priorities for improvement. - The armed forces are presented as a remaining bastion of non-caste, non-partisan national commitment. - He calls for armed forces to maintain a basic subscription to democracy and to help ensure national cohesion. ### Our Failures *By Dr. Maneesha Tikekar* Dr. Maneesha Tikekar's short contribution 'Our Failures' attributes India's inability to create a genuine civil society to the excessive governmentalisation and politicisation of the entire society. She argues that in a hierarchy-bound society where social mobility is not easily available, politics becomes an avenue for status and money. She identifies four causes of continued failure: politicisation of public life; the constitutional morality being reduced to technicalities; the sudden coming of mass society without a genuine mass society having been cultivated (India has borrowed many things through technology without cultivating indigenous ideas and ideologies); and the resulting tendency of rulers to be populist. - Tikekar attributes the failure to create civil society to excessive governmentalisation and politicisation of society. - She argues that in hierarchy-bound societies, politics fills the vacuum left by absent social mobility. - Constitutional morality has been reduced to mere formalities while moral substance has been overlooked. - India has borrowed technology and mass-society forms without cultivating indigenous ideas and ideologies, making populism structurally inevitable. ### Keeping Alive the Ideals of the Freedom Struggle *By Dr. Usha Mehta* Dr. Usha Mehta draws on her personal experience as a freedom fighter under Mahatma Gandhi to reflect on what keeping the ideals of the freedom struggle alive means. She insists that Gandhi's emphasis on the convertibility of means and aims — the movement must remain non-violent — is as relevant now as it was then. She argues that the armed forces should not develop any political ambitions and cites M. C. Chagla's encouraging statement during the Emergency as evidence that institutions can hold. She acknowledges systemic failures (the Army Rule lasting 37 years in Pakistan as a counter-example) but argues that India is 'the only country which has retained its constitutional framework and government all these fifty years.' - Usha Mehta grounds her address in personal memory of fighting under Gandhi and insists on the non-violent convertibility of means and aims. - She praises the armed forces for never developing political ambitions and cites this as a key institutional achievement. - She holds up India's unbroken constitutional framework as exceptional among post-colonial states — uniquely among comparable nations, India has never gone under military rule. - She quotes M. C. Chagla's encouraging statement during the Emergency as evidence of judicial and institutional resilience. - She warns against 'quarrelling with the Constitution' and calls for using it as a tool rather than blaming it for situations that arise. ### The Patient is still Alive and curable *By Justice R. A. Jahagirdar (retd.)* Justice R. A. Jahagirdar (retd.) takes the most explicitly optimistic line in the volume. His essay 'The Patient is still Alive and curable' argues that India's constitutional fabric has survived despite all provocations — including Emergency — and that the judiciary and armed forces have been the key pillars of stability. He draws a pointed contrast between India and Ghana: both became independent at the same time, but Ghana went into darkness after Nkrumah was overthrown, while India retained its constitutional framework across fifty years. He attributes poverty in India partly to the Gandhian fixation on charkha and swadeshi rather than modern economic development, notes Ambedkar's opposition to panchayat rule, and contends that even a pessimist must acknowledge that 'the patient is still alive and we can still cure him and make him live and kicking again.' - Jahagirdar argues that India uniquely among comparable post-colonial states has retained its constitutional framework for fifty years, never going under military rule. - He draws an invidious comparison with Ghana: India vs. Nkrumah's Ghana; Nehru vs. Nkrumah — India came out ahead. - He attributes initial attributions of poverty to foreign rule (charkha, swadeshi) as a historical mistake that delayed modern economic development. - He invokes Ambedkar's opposition to panchayat rule as a counterpoint to the Gandhian ideal of Gram Swaraj. - He closes on a qualified optimism: the patient is ill but alive and curable. ### Too Many People, Too Little Health Care, Too Many Illiterates *By Indumati Parikh* Indumati Parikh's is the longest essay in the volume, running from printed pp. 18–23. She opens by arguing that 'freedom' was never truly understood by most Indians — belonging to a hierarchical culture where freedom was within community, caste, and religion, the concept of individual freedom was alien to the independence generation's mass base. She argues that the real meaning of freedom is the continuous removal of impediments to human development, citing M. N. Roy's definition. She then works through four major failure domains: the sham of rural schools (government figures claim 56% female literacy but her fieldwork finds girls absent from classrooms, drop-outs lapsing back to illiteracy after two years, unwritten rules preventing promotion past 4th standard in municipal schools); the population problem (India was the first country to adopt family planning policy in 1951 but implementation was left to a Catholic health minister opposed to artificial birth control); health care (primary health care centres are poorly manned and equipped, people do not know how to use them, tribal communities lack basic nutritional knowledge); and the need for non-formal education and appropriate technology as grassroots tools. - Parikh argues that 'freedom' was never internalised by the mass of Indians raised in hierarchical, caste-bound community structures where freedom meant communal membership, not individual autonomy. - She cites M. N. Roy's definition — freedom is the continuous removal of impediments to the development of human beings — as the correct benchmark. - Rural schooling is described as a sham: girls are absent from classrooms, drop-outs relapse into illiteracy within two years, municipal school rules prevent promotion past 4th standard. - The population problem was compounded by entrusting family planning implementation to a Catholic health minister who introduced the rhythm method against government warnings. - Primary health care centres are poorly staffed and poorly used because people are not educated about preventive and promotive health. - Non-formal education and appropriate technology — usable by and understandable to anybody — are proposed as the route out of the impasse. --- ## [Primary work] Finance Companies URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/finance-companies-agenda-for-urgent-action-by-dr-ac-shah-july-15-1997/ ### Summary Delivered as a talk at the Forum of Free Enterprise in Mumbai on 24th July 1997 and published as a booklet on 15 July 1997, Dr. A. C. Shah's address takes stock of India's Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) in the aftermath of the CRB scam and the sweeping 1997 amendment to the Reserve Bank of India Act. Speaking as a former Chairman and Managing Director of Bank of Baroda and Chairman of the RBI Committee on NBFCs, Shah argues that the industry — although the youngest member of India's financial sector, with an asset base of over Rs.50,000 crores and a deposit base of about Rs.18,000 crores — is being unfairly tarred by the misconduct of a single firm and is now under severe liquidity stress as deposits dry up, withdrawals accelerate, and banks adopt a 'wait and watch' posture. Shah's central plea is that the process of deregulation initiated over the previous four years not be reversed: RBI should tighten and clarify entry norms (the new Net Owned Funds threshold of Rs.25 lakhs is endorsed) while protecting well-managed NBFCs from collective punishment.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as a talk at the Forum of Free Enterprise in Mumbai on 24th July 1997 and published as a booklet on 15 July 1997, Dr. A. C. Shah's address takes stock of India's Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) in the aftermath of the CRB scam and the sweeping 1997 amendment to the Reserve Bank of India Act. Speaking as a former Chairman and Managing Director of Bank of Baroda and Chairman of the RBI Committee on NBFCs, Shah argues that the industry — although the youngest member of India's financial sector, with an asset base of over Rs.50,000 crores and a deposit base of about Rs.18,000 crores — is being unfairly tarred by the misconduct of a single firm and is now under severe liquidity stress as deposits dry up, withdrawals accelerate, and banks adopt a 'wait and watch' posture. Shah's central plea is that the process of deregulation initiated over the previous four years not be reversed: RBI should tighten and clarify entry norms (the new Net Owned Funds threshold of Rs.25 lakhs is endorsed) while protecting well-managed NBFCs from collective punishment. He proposes a graded regime — only NBFCs with NOFs of Rs.5 crores and above, rated and prudentially compliant, should access unrestricted public deposits; smaller companies should be given a three-year window to scale up or exit; sub-Rs.1–2 crore firms should be barred from accepting public deposits altogether and possibly brought under a revised Money Lenders Act. He urges RBI to operationalise the P. R. Khanna Expert Group's 1996 recommendations on supervision, to advance a deposit insurance scheme on the lines of UK and USA models, and to use the recent SLR hike to fund a stand-by refinance facility for registered NBFCs. The second half of the talk turns to the industry's own duties: build a Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO) with a federal structure and binding code of conduct, set up shared infrastructure for credit information and registry of leased assets, invest in training at the Bankers Training College and National Institute of Bank Management, and project a clearer public image. Shah anticipates a wave of mergers and acquisitions producing a small number of dominant players surrounded by specialist satellites, and closes with a quotation from RBI Governor Dr. C. Rangarajan affirming the NBFC role in deepening capital markets and offering wider choice to investors. The booklet's bookends — an A. D. Shroff epigraph on free enterprise and a Eugene Black epigraph on private enterprise as 'an affirmative good' — frame the address squarely within the Forum of Free Enterprise's classical-liberal tradition. ## Key points - The CRB scam and the 1997 amendment to the RBI Act mark a turning point: RBI now has 'wide ranging and sweeping' powers over NBFCs and has relaxed credit and deposit access for rated, prudentially compliant companies. - The NBFC industry holds an asset base of over Rs.50,000 crores and roughly Rs.18,000 crores in deposits, but faces an acute liquidity squeeze as deposits vanish and banks freeze sanctioned credit. - Shah opposes collective punishment of NBFCs for one firm's fraud, citing the Bank of England's handling of Baring Bros and Lord Dingham's BCCI report ('the player is always few steps ahead of the regulator'). - Proposes a tiered NOF-based regime: free deposit-raising only for NBFCs with NOFs of Rs.5 crores and above; a three-year transition for Rs.1–5 crore firms; outright ban for sub-Rs.1–2 crore firms. - Calls on RBI to urgently operationalise the P. R. Khanna Expert Group (April 1996) supervisory scheme, launch deposit insurance for NBFCs, and use the SLR increase to underwrite stand-by refinance. - Argues the industry must form a federally structured Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO) with a binding code of conduct, common credit-information pool, and leased-asset registry. - Expects consolidation through mergers and acquisitions to leave 'only a small number of dominant players' surrounded by specialised satellite firms over the next five to ten years. - Closes with RBI Governor Dr. C. Rangarajan's observation that NBFCs' success ultimately depends on 'management capabilities, observance of financial discipline and effective deployment of funds.' --- ## [Primary work] Financial Sector Reforms: The Unfinished Agenda URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/financial-sector-reforms-the-unfinished-agenda-m-narasimhan-december-6-1993/ ### Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture on Banking in September 1993 and published by the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust, M. Narasimham — former Reserve Bank Governor and chairman of the Government's Committee on the Financial System — takes stock of India's still-incomplete liberalisation, two years after the 1991 crisis. He frames the lecture as a tribute to Shroff's prescient insistence that a centralised command economy and a pluralist democratic polity do not cohere, and argues that the new economic policy follows from four decades of disappointing results under directed planning rather than from any imported orthodoxy.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture on Banking in September 1993 and published by the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust, M. Narasimham — former Reserve Bank Governor and chairman of the Government's Committee on the Financial System — takes stock of India's still-incomplete liberalisation, two years after the 1991 crisis. He frames the lecture as a tribute to Shroff's prescient insistence that a centralised command economy and a pluralist democratic polity do not cohere, and argues that the new economic policy follows from four decades of disappointing results under directed planning rather than from any imported orthodoxy. Within the broader reform programme, he singles out the financial sector as the area where reform has lagged: progress in industry, trade and the exchange rate has been real, but agriculture and labour have hardly been touched, and banking reform has proceeded in an ad hoc, piecemeal fashion when the Narasimham Committee's own recommendations were designed as an integrated, jig-saw whole. The lecture's analytical centre is the 1992 securities scam, which Narasimham reads not as a reason to slow reform but as evidence that India had built an over-administered yet under-regulated banking system in which detailed scrutiny of internal minutiae crowded out attention to productivity, profitability and prudential supervision. He defends the steps already taken — capital adequacy norms, transparent accounting and provisioning standards, reductions in SLR and CRR, branch-licensing liberalisation and private-bank entry — while warning that without recapitalisation through a vehicle such as the Assets Reconstruction Fund, banks will be unable to clean their books or access the capital market. He pushes back firmly against the official reluctance to redefine and cap priority-sector lending, insisting that the Committee never opposed credit to agriculture or small industry but objected to subsidised, quantity-driven directed lending that bred non-performing assets and forced cross-subsidisation through high interest rates on the rest of the economy. A second cluster of arguments addresses interest rates, internal organisation and ownership. Narasimham welcomes the move towards market-determined rates, calls the Tandon and Chore quantitative norms anachronistic in a prudentially supervised market environment, and urges modernisation of internal audit and computerisation. He defends the entry of private and foreign banks against the post-scam political backlash, criticises the Banking Regulation Act's one-per-cent voting cap and rules on cross-directorships and the chairman-cum-CEO model as regulatory hangovers from the social-control era, and argues that the most important pending recommendation is the granting of genuine operational flexibility and internal autonomy to bank managements within a rule-based rather than discretionary regulatory framework. The booklet covers the lecture itself plus the Trust's front matter, with the closing few pages of the address falling outside the rendered chunk. ## Key points - Narasimham positions financial-sector reform as the unfinished portion of an integrated 1991-onwards liberalisation programme, contrasting real progress in trade, industry and the exchange rate with stalled agriculture, labour and banking reforms. - He treats the Committee on the Financial System's recommendations as a jig-saw whole and criticises the Government's ad hoc, piecemeal implementation as 'incrementalism rather than a sequencing of reform as part of an integrated programme.' - The 1992 securities scam is diagnosed as the product of an 'over-administered but underregulated' system, not a case for slowing liberalisation; Narasimham argues the scandal sharpens, rather than blunts, the reform imperative. - He defends the Committee's proposed Assets Reconstruction Fund and urges authorities to find some workable mechanism to take impaired assets off bank books so banks can recapitalise from the market. - On priority-sector credit, he rejects the charge that the Committee opposed lending to agriculture and small industry, insisting that subsidised, quantity-driven directed credit hurt borrowers, banks and the wider 'high cost economy'. - He calls for market-determined interest rates, abolition of the Tandon and Chore quantitative norms, and a re-examination of consortium lending, which he likens to a cartel. - He criticises the Banking Regulation Act's one-per-cent voting-rights cap, the rules on cross-directorships and the mandated chairman-cum-CEO model as anachronisms from the social-control phase and pushes back against the post-scam backlash on foreign banks. - The most important pending reform, he argues, is operational autonomy and internal flexibility for bank managements within a transparent, rule-based — rather than discretionary — supervisory framework. --- ## [Primary work] FINANCE COMPANIES URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/finance-companies-searching-for-a-meaningful-role-a-c-shah-december-5-1996/ ### Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Annual Public Lecture in Mumbai on 29 August 1996 and published by the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust later that year, Dr. A. C. Shah's address surveys the rise of India's non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) in the wake of the 1991 reforms and asks what kind of regulatory architecture would let them play a useful role alongside the banking system. Shah, a former Chairman and Managing Director of Bank of Baroda who also chaired the RBI Study Group on NBFCs (1992), opens with a tribute to A. D. Shroff's 'extra-ordinary moral courage and bold vision (arsh-Dristi)' in resisting the socialist consensus of the fifties, and announces that the lecture will move through three parts: the current scenario, the regulatory framework, and an approach to problems. In the 'Current Scenario' section the lecture documents the sector's phenomenal expansion — from 7,063 companies in 1981 to 39,454 in 1995 — and explains why NBFCs have outgrown the banks at the margin: tailor-made services, lower regulatory weight, simpler sanction procedures, and marginally higher deposit rates that attract small savers. Shah quotes RBI Governor C.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Annual Public Lecture in Mumbai on 29 August 1996 and published by the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust later that year, Dr. A. C. Shah's address surveys the rise of India's non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) in the wake of the 1991 reforms and asks what kind of regulatory architecture would let them play a useful role alongside the banking system. Shah, a former Chairman and Managing Director of Bank of Baroda who also chaired the RBI Study Group on NBFCs (1992), opens with a tribute to A. D. Shroff's 'extra-ordinary moral courage and bold vision (arsh-Dristi)' in resisting the socialist consensus of the fifties, and announces that the lecture will move through three parts: the current scenario, the regulatory framework, and an approach to problems. In the 'Current Scenario' section the lecture documents the sector's phenomenal expansion — from 7,063 companies in 1981 to 39,454 in 1995 — and explains why NBFCs have outgrown the banks at the margin: tailor-made services, lower regulatory weight, simpler sanction procedures, and marginally higher deposit rates that attract small savers. Shah quotes RBI Governor C. Rangarajan on the rising importance of leasing companies, and draws on Lester Chandler's 'Economics of Money and Banking' to frame NBFCs as the 'outer fringe of the organised financial sector', whose growth reflects functional inter-penetration, the global integration of markets, and the spread of financial technology. He notes that of the 745 NBFCs with net-owned funds above Rs. 50 lakhs registered with RBI, fewer than 100 really qualify as major players. The 'Regulatory Framework' section — which the rendered pages cover through printed p. 15 — summarises the regime that Shah's own Study Group put in place from 1993 onwards. He defends the new architecture's three basic objectives (orderly growth of NBFCs, depositor protection, and the efficacy of monetary and credit policy), the dismantling of the nine-category classification in favour of uniform regulation, the revised definition of Net Owned Funds, capital adequacy raised to 8 per cent, prudential norms on liquidity, single-party exposure, brokerage caps and credit-rating requirements, the new asset-classification and provisioning matrix, compulsory half-yearly returns to RBI, an enlarged role for auditors, and the creation of a High-Powered Supervisory Board with an expert group under P. N. Khanna to design its supervisory framework. Shah is careful to argue that regulators 'have to resist the temptations of over-regulation which would stifle the growth of NBFCs', and at the close of section II calls for an industry-wide Self Regulatory Organisation alongside the RBI's continuing oversight, warning that 'any permissiveness would cost the system dearly in terms of credibility and soundness.' The rendered pages stop just as Shah begins his third section on 'An Approach to Problems'; the remainder of the booklet (about eighteen further pages) is not seen here. ## Key points - The lecture is the 1996 A. D. Shroff Memorial Annual Public Lecture, delivered by Dr. A. C. Shah — former Chairman and Managing Director of Bank of Baroda and Chairman of the RBI Study Group on NBFCs. - Shah frames his subject in three parts: (a) The Current Scenario, (b) The Regulatory Framework, and (c) An Approach to Problems; the rendered pages cover (a) and most of (b). - Indian NBFCs grew from 7,063 in 1981 to 39,454 in 1995 (a compound rate of 14% p.a.); 745 have net-owned funds above Rs. 50 lakhs and are registered with RBI, but fewer than 100 qualify as major players. - Shah attributes NBFC growth to tailor-made services, lower regulatory weight, simpler sanction processes, marginally higher deposit rates, and global trends of functional inter-penetration and integration of markets. - The 1992 Study Group (chaired by Shah) recommended dismantling the nine-category classification, applying uniform regulation, revising Net Owned Funds, raising capital adequacy to 8%, and imposing prudential norms on liquidity, single-party exposure, brokerage and credit rating. - Shah explicitly warns regulators against over-regulation that would stifle the sector, and proposes an industry-wide Self Regulatory Organisation alongside the new High-Powered Supervisory Board. - Pull-quoted authorities include RBI Governor C. Rangarajan on leasing companies and the monetary theorist Lester Chandler on the erosion of bank monopolies through functional diversification. - Only 225 of 745 registered NBFCs have complied with the half-yearly returns requirement — a compliance gap Shah flags as a matter of concern. --- ## [Primary work] Financing Under Planned Economy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/financing-under-planned-economy-m-a-master-feb6-1964/ ### Summary M. A. Master's 1964 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet is a tightly argued audit of how India proposes to pay for the Third Five-Year Plan. Master opens by faulting the Planning Commission for headlining a 'Rs. 10,400 crores' plan when the real outlay, public and private together, comes to Rs. 11,600 crores; the deduction of current outlay and the inclusion of inventories, he argues, obscure rather than clarify the financing problem. He then walks systematically through the four sources of finance the Commission claims it will tap — additional taxation, foreign exchange, borrowings from within the country, and surpluses from public enterprises — and shows that the Commission has consistently overestimated each one. Additional taxation has had to jump from a budgeted Rs. 2,400 crores to Rs. 2,750 crores and is squeezing a population already 'paying nearly 200%' more in central interest charges than at the start of Plan-era India. The second half of the pamphlet turns from arithmetic to political economy.… ### Body ## Summary M. A. Master's 1964 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet is a tightly argued audit of how India proposes to pay for the Third Five-Year Plan. Master opens by faulting the Planning Commission for headlining a 'Rs. 10,400 crores' plan when the real outlay, public and private together, comes to Rs. 11,600 crores; the deduction of current outlay and the inclusion of inventories, he argues, obscure rather than clarify the financing problem. He then walks systematically through the four sources of finance the Commission claims it will tap — additional taxation, foreign exchange, borrowings from within the country, and surpluses from public enterprises — and shows that the Commission has consistently overestimated each one. Additional taxation has had to jump from a budgeted Rs. 2,400 crores to Rs. 2,750 crores and is squeezing a population already 'paying nearly 200%' more in central interest charges than at the start of Plan-era India. The second half of the pamphlet turns from arithmetic to political economy. Master draws what he calls the 'vital distinction' between the financing of the Public and Private Sectors: 30% of public-sector capital comes out of tax revenue and never has to be serviced, whereas every rupee of private capital must earn a dividend or vanish. From this asymmetry he argues that the Private Sector is being squeezed out of a single national pool of savings already drained by deficit financing, compulsory deposits, small savings schemes, and direct state borrowing from the Reserve Bank. Public enterprises that were meant to throw off surpluses (Hindustan Steel especially) are instead running losses while enjoying tax holidays the private sector is denied. Quoting Sir A. Ramaswami Mudaliar and Eugene Black on the exhaustion of the capital market and the mortgaging of future export earnings, Master closes with a warning that the nationalisation of banks would leave 'the Private Sector and democracy' both in danger, and calls for fiscal, taxation and credit policies that free private enterprise to play its role in building 'a strong and prosperous India of tomorrow.' ## Key points - The Third Plan's real outlay is Rs. 11,600 crores (Rs. 7,500 public + Rs. 4,100 private), not the Rs. 10,400 crores publicly headlined; Master finds the Planning Commission's accounting opaque and misleading. - Additional taxation budgeted at Rs. 2,400 crores for the Plan period has already overshot to Rs. 2,750 crores, with central interest charges by 1960-61 standing at nearly 200% of their 1951-52 level. - The country must finance not only the Rs. 11,600 crores of the Third Plan but also Rs. 3,000 crores of committed expenditure carried over from the Second Plan — a structural cost of 'planned economy' rarely acknowledged. - Foreign exchange estimates have been wrong by almost 100%: India had to borrow Rs. 2,059 crores instead of the projected Rs. 1,100 crores during the Second Plan, and external debt servicing now consumes a fast-rising share of export earnings. - There is only one pool of national savings; deficit financing, compulsory deposits, small savings drives and direct RBI borrowing siphon it toward the Public Sector and crowd the Private Sector out of legitimate finance. - Public-Sector capital enjoys a hidden subsidy — 30% of it comes from tax revenue and requires no dividend, while every rupee raised by private companies must be serviced or it dries up. - Public enterprises promised as surplus-generators (notably Hindustan Steel) are instead booking losses and enjoy interest holidays that the Reserve Bank Report itself flags as 'not sufficiently firm'. - Nationalisation of banks would cut off the Private Sector's 'real sheet-anchor' — at peak season, industry takes 54% of scheduled bank advances — and would, Master warns, endanger both private enterprise and democracy. --- ## [Primary work] FOOD AND ENVIRONMENT – WALKING THE TIGHTROPE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/food-and-environment-walking-a-tightrope-by-dr-na-swaminathan-jan-2001/ ### Summary Dr. M. S. Swaminathan's Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet, reprinted from the January–March 2000 issue of *Financing Agriculture*, addresses what he calls the central tightrope of the new century: producing more food from a shrinking base of land and water without further damaging the ecological foundations of agriculture. He opens with the World Scientists' Warning to Humanity and the Hadley Centre's sea-level projections to frame agriculture as inseparable from climate, biodiversity and the global commons, then narrates how post-1947 India moved from a 0.1 percent annual growth in food production to a ten-fold rise in wheat output by 1998–99 — the green revolution that 'proved doomsday predictions wrong'. The core argument is a call for an *evergreen revolution*: productivity gains rooted in ecology, equity and employment rather than in chemical intensification or proprietary control.… ### Body ## Summary Dr. M. S. Swaminathan's Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet, reprinted from the January–March 2000 issue of *Financing Agriculture*, addresses what he calls the central tightrope of the new century: producing more food from a shrinking base of land and water without further damaging the ecological foundations of agriculture. He opens with the World Scientists' Warning to Humanity and the Hadley Centre's sea-level projections to frame agriculture as inseparable from climate, biodiversity and the global commons, then narrates how post-1947 India moved from a 0.1 percent annual growth in food production to a ten-fold rise in wheat output by 1998–99 — the green revolution that 'proved doomsday predictions wrong'. The core argument is a call for an *evergreen revolution*: productivity gains rooted in ecology, equity and employment rather than in chemical intensification or proprietary control. Swaminathan walks the reader through three converging revolutions — the gene revolution, the ecotechnology revolution that blends traditional and frontier knowledge, and the information and communication revolution — and warns that because the new science is largely proprietary, public-good institutions must mobilise it for the unreached. He defends the precautionary principle on GMOs, calls for a Biosafety Protocol under Article 19 of the CBD, and urges broad-based National Commissions on Genetic Modification for Sustainable Food and Health Security composed of scientists, environmentalists, farmers' and women's organisations, civil society and regulators. A long second movement examines intellectual property and benefit-sharing under TRIPS Article 27(b), pressing all nations to enshrine the ethics and equity principles of CBD Articles 8(j) and 15, restructuring UPOV into a Union for the Protection of Farmers' and Breeders' Rights, and rewarding tribal and rural custodians of medicinal plants such as *Trichopus zeylanicus*, *Bacopa monnieri* and *Prunus africana*. Illustrative MSSRF projects — GIS-driven hunger mapping in Dharmapuri district and the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust modelled on UNESCO's Seville vision — show what the prescriptions look like on the ground. The pamphlet closes with lessons on development assistance, drawing on India's experience with USAID's Land Grant model, the Rockefeller Foundation's role in establishing the IARI Post-graduate School in 1958 and the All-India Coordinated Research Projects, the Ford Foundation's Community Development Programme and Water Technology Centre, CGIAR partnerships with CIMMYT and IRRI, and the PL 480 episode of 1965–66. The repeated lesson is that scientific leadership 'must be home grown and not externally imposed' — external aid succeeds only where strong national commitment, humility from donor agencies, and investment in NARS leadership training are already in place. ## Key points - Frames 21st-century agriculture as a 'tightrope' between rising food demand and the ecological limits of land, water, biodiversity and climate. - Proposes an 'evergreen revolution' — sustainable productivity growth grounded in ecology, economics, social and gender equity, and employment generation — as the successor to the public-funded green revolution. - Identifies three converging revolutions (gene, ecotechnology, information & communication) and warns that frontier science is increasingly proprietary, requiring public-good mobilisation for the unreached. - Endorses the precautionary principle for GMOs and calls for an internationally agreed Biosafety Protocol under Article 19 of the Convention on Biological Diversity, plus broad-based National Commissions on Genetic Modification for Sustainable Food and Health Security. - Argues that TRIPS Article 27(b) of the World Trade Agreement must incorporate the ethics and equity principles of CBD Articles 8(j) and 15, and that UPOV should be restructured into a Union for the Protection of Farmers' and Breeders' Rights. - Illustrates MSSRF work — GIS-based hunger mapping in Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu, and the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust — as templates for translating biodiversity policy into local action. - Reviews how Rockefeller and Ford Foundations, USAID's Land Grant partnerships, and CGIAR centres (CIMMYT, IRRI) helped build Indian agricultural research capacity from 1957–1970, while criticising supply-driven, inflexible government aid. - Concludes that effective scientific leadership must be 'home grown and not externally imposed', and that development assistance works only where there is strong national commitment, donor humility, and investment in NARS leadership. --- ## [Primary work] FINANCING - THE CHANGING PARADIGM IN INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/financing-the-changing-paradigm-in-india-uday-kotak-august-6-2003/ ### Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture on 11 February 2003 and published as a booklet that August, this address by banker Uday Kotak surveys what he calls the ten paradigm shifts reshaping financial services in India. Kotak opens with everyday analogies — the arrival of the black-and-white television, the mobile phone, the Internet bubble — to argue that the financial sector is condemned to absorb every paradigm shift in the real economy, but that it must do so without abandoning the bedrock principles of prudence, trust and conservatism. The lecture is staged as a friendly amendment to Shroff's own classic on industrial finance, banking and insurance: where Shroff defended compartments, Kotak argues that the compartments themselves are dissolving. The nine shifts he develops in the rendered pages move from the conceptual to the structural.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture on 11 February 2003 and published as a booklet that August, this address by banker Uday Kotak surveys what he calls the ten paradigm shifts reshaping financial services in India. Kotak opens with everyday analogies — the arrival of the black-and-white television, the mobile phone, the Internet bubble — to argue that the financial sector is condemned to absorb every paradigm shift in the real economy, but that it must do so without abandoning the bedrock principles of prudence, trust and conservatism. The lecture is staged as a friendly amendment to Shroff's own classic on industrial finance, banking and insurance: where Shroff defended compartments, Kotak argues that the compartments themselves are dissolving. The nine shifts he develops in the rendered pages move from the conceptual to the structural. The vocabulary of "financing" gives way to "financial services"; product-pushing gives way to customer-centric solutions and cross-selling; wholesale industrial term-lending gives way to retail consumer credit (with the telecom sector as the only real project-finance exception); development lending gives way to commercial discipline, with agriculture singled out as a frontier where free pricing of risk could outperform priority-sector mandates; security-backed lending gives way to cash-flow underwriting; institutional silos blur as banks, NBFCs, insurers and asset managers begin to do everything; derivatives return as a parallel trading layer disconnected from underlying paper; and global capital flows turn money into water that moves wherever returns are highest. He closes the rendered portion by elevating risk management — credit, market, operational, counter-party and the new "event risk" born of 9/11 and India–Pakistan tensions — to the central preoccupation of the modern financial-services CEO. Throughout, Kotak balances bullishness on India's services-led growth and consumer-leverage runway against cautionary tales drawn from the dot-com bust, the Korean consumer-credit bubble, the East Asian crisis, and the Enron and WorldCom conflicts-of-interest scandals. The rendered set ends mid-discussion of a final cluster of concerns — the AAA bias of India's bond market and the difficulty of pricing lower-rated paper — with the booklet's last three pages unseen. ## Key points - Frames the lecture as a tribute to A. D. Shroff that updates his "compartmentalising" thesis: institutions now do everything, and the old walls between industrial finance, banking and insurance are dissolving. - Argues that the word "financing" itself is obsolete and should be replaced by "financial services" — a customer-solutions mindset rather than a product-supply mindset. - Identifies a pivot from wholesale industrial term-lending to retail consumer and small-business credit, with telecom as the only large wholesale exception in the prior two years. - Predicts that lifting RBI priority-sector targets would unleash more genuine commercial lending to agriculture than mandates ever produced, because mandated credit attracts only token effort. - Reframes lending as cash-flow underwriting (security as cover, not as the asset financed) and notes the return of derivatives as a layered market disconnected from underlying paper. - Treats global capital flows as water — drawn to interest-differential arbitrage between dollar and rupee positions — and warns that the same liquidity surfeit that funds Indian growth can reverse violently, as in the East Asian crisis. - Elevates risk management to the central CEO concern, naming a new category — "event risk" — that emerged with 9/11 and the India–Pakistan tensions of May 2002. - Cites Enron, WorldCom and the international commercial-bank/investment-bank conflict of interest as warnings India must heed as its own institutions become universal financial supermarkets. --- ## [Primary work] FOOD CRISIS IN INDIA — CAUSES & CURE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/food-crisis-in-india-causes-and-cure-b-r-shenoy-m-a-sreenivasan-15-february-1975/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet, dated 15 February 1975, collects two short essays on India's food crisis prefaced by an anonymous Forum introduction. The lead piece, drawn from Prof. B. R. Shenoy's inaugural address to the Farmers' Federation of India convention at Pathankot on 20 December 1974, argues that India's persistent foodgrain deficits are the cumulative result of policy choices that have starved agriculture of capital while privileging heavy industry, public-sector outlays, deficit financing and below-market procurement. The companion essay by M. A. Sreenivasan, a former Agriculture Minister of Mysore, asks why Indian plantations — coffee, tea, rubber — flourish on the same earth and monsoon under which foodgrain agriculture languishes, and traces the disparity to colonial-era land-revenue provisions, security of title and the legal-political treatment of cultivation as an industry. The introduction crystallises the argumentative centre of the volume: the crisis is one of production, not distribution; food zones, monopoly procurement and deficit financing aggravate it; and the remedy lies in restoring agriculture's claim on national investment resources. ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet, dated 15 February 1975, collects two short essays on India's food crisis prefaced by an anonymous Forum introduction. The lead piece, drawn from Prof. B. R. Shenoy's inaugural address to the Farmers' Federation of India convention at Pathankot on 20 December 1974, argues that India's persistent foodgrain deficits are the cumulative result of policy choices that have starved agriculture of capital while privileging heavy industry, public-sector outlays, deficit financing and below-market procurement. The companion essay by M. A. Sreenivasan, a former Agriculture Minister of Mysore, asks why Indian plantations — coffee, tea, rubber — flourish on the same earth and monsoon under which foodgrain agriculture languishes, and traces the disparity to colonial-era land-revenue provisions, security of title and the legal-political treatment of cultivation as an industry. The introduction crystallises the argumentative centre of the volume: the crisis is one of production, not distribution; food zones, monopoly procurement and deficit financing aggravate it; and the remedy lies in restoring agriculture's claim on national investment resources. ## Essays ### FOOD CRISIS IN INDIA — CAUSES & CURE *By B. R. Shenoy* Shenoy opens by reminding readers that India, like the pre-war United States, is a nation of farmers — yet two decades of policy have inverted the natural order of investment, taxing the countryside to subsidise heavy industry. Marshalling evidence from the Reserve Bank of India's Rural Credit Survey 1951-52 and Rural Debt and Investment Survey 1961-62, from rising hundi and bazar bill rates, and from the post-1961 collapse in per-capita farm investment, he argues that the apparent 1971 food self-sufficiency was an artefact of favourable weather and a one-crop wheat shift, not a structural improvement. He chronicles the 1972 surrender of PL-480 entitlements, the rapid collapse of buffer stocks, the 1973-74 ration cuts in Bombay and Calcutta, the 1974 renationalisation of the wheat trade that produced 'lathyrism' from Kesari dal substitution in U.P. and M.P., and famine-like conditions across the deficit states. Two preconditions, Shenoy insists, must be met: a drastic scaling-down of public-sector and industrial outlays to release credit and capital for agriculture, and the abolition of zoning, monopoly procurement and arbitrary ceilings on foodgrain prices, so that food farmers receive competitive market returns on the same logic by which exporters of foreign exchange are offered incentives. Inflation, he insists against the Agricultural Prices Commission's contrary view, is a monetary phenomenon driven by printing-press finance of Union and State budget deficits — not by farm prices — and the corrective lies in fiscal discipline, not in further hidden taxation of cultivators through procurement. Quoting his own PL 480 AID AND INDIA'S FOOD PROBLEM (1974), he closes by warning that the wheat farmer, branded variously hoarder, smuggler and Kulak under MISA-era policing, will rationally shift land away from wheat — and that only parity treatment with other entrepreneurs can put India on the road to Garibi Hatao. - India has appropriated 65 per cent of total investment resources to a public sector that produces only 3.5 to 6.3 per cent of national product, leaving 87-92 per cent of the economy with the leftover 35 per cent — the structural cause of agriculture's capital starvation. - Per-capita investment in farming dwindled from 1.7 per cent per year in the decade ending 1961 to 0.3 per cent per year in 1961-72; output growth fell from 0.8 per cent to negative in step. - Nationalised commercial banks operating 6,175 rural branches collect Rs. 459 crores in deposits but advance only Rs. 191 crores back to the rural sector, functioning as 'suction pumps' draining capital to urban manufacturing. - The 1972 decision to forego PL 480 imports and the 14,300-tonne Basmati export were premised on a one-crop wheat illusion; production then declined 3.3 million tonnes in 1972 and another 8 million tonnes in 1973, forcing the 1973-74 ration cuts of 36 per cent in Bombay and 26 per cent in Calcutta. - Inflation is a monetary phenomenon traceable to printing-press financing of Union and State budget deficits; the Agricultural Prices Commission's price-ceiling logic confuses consequence with cause and arbitrarily caps the incomes of food-producing farmers who are already among the poorest in the world. - Food zones are 'a device of taxing farmers to finance the subsidy' and instrumental in retarding production in granary states; the public distribution system's needs should instead be met through all-India tenders at competitive prices. - Under the wheat-trade renationalisation of March 1974, the wheat farmer who stocks, sells, transports or shifts grain risks being branded a hoarder, black-marketeer or smuggler — even attracting MISA detention — making rational withdrawal from wheat cultivation a certainty. ### TREAT AGRICULTURE AS AN INDUSTRY *By MA Sreenivasan* In the rendered opening of his essay, Sreenivasan poses a paradox: how did the green hills of Coorg and the Bababudans come to be clothed with coffee, pepper and orange while the same Indian soil, sun and monsoon produce rice yields that rank India only 50th in the world and cotton yields 40th? Drawing on his January 1918 entry into the Mysore Civil Service at Chikmagalur, where as a probationary assistant commissioner he processed Takavi loan applications from struggling coffee planters, he reconstructs the Mysore Land Revenue Code and Revenue Manual provisions on 'Shraya' — improvement of land by cultivation. Waste land was granted at Rs. 20 per 0.405 hectares with a 30-year guarantee, free of assessment for three years, half-assessed for the next two and fully assessed only from the sixth year onward; no grant was made unless the applicant could raise the capital to start the industry; one-fifth of the area had to be planted each year; and the grantee could draw toddy from Bagani trees for the bona fide bread of his household. From this institutional history Sreenivasan turns to his central indictment: agricultural land in independent India has become the very reverse of 'Sthira' (permanent, certain). Title is a scrap of paper blown about by every political breeze; landholding ceilings have been ratcheted from 18 standard acres in 1961 to ten; the river of capital that once flowed to land has dried or been diverted; and the cultivator is derecognised as an investor and stigmatised as an 'absentee landlord' in a way no shareholder in Tata Steels, Binny's or the Mysore Sugar Company is ever stigmatised. The rendered pages stop before his policy recommendations. - India ranks first in the world in tea yield per hectare and fourth in coffee — but only 50th in rice and 40th in cotton — even though the same Indian soil, sun, monsoon, skills and hands work both sectors. - Mysore's Land Revenue Code and Revenue Manual treated waste-land grants as 'Shraya' (improvement by cultivation), with 30-year guarantees, graduated assessment holidays, low upset prices and capital-raising conditions designed to attract bold private investment into plantation industry. - The Mysore Manual explicitly described coffee planting as 'industry' and required one-fifth of the granted area to be planted every year, demonstrating an industrial conception of cultivation that contemporary food agriculture has been denied. - Sreenivasan invokes the ancient Indian description of land as 'Sthira' — permanent, certain — and the eight-fold deed-of-transfer formula (nidhi nikshepa, jala tharu, pashanadi, ashtabhoga tejas swamyam, until the sun and moon last) to argue that the constitutional and political treatment of agricultural land has betrayed a millennia-old legal tradition. - The land-ceiling regime has been lowered from 18 standard acres in 1961 to ten and is treated as a 'platform, if not the playground of politics' on which every party vies to outdo the others, while the same investor in sugar, steel or textile shares faces no equivalent stigma of absenteeism. --- ## [Primary work] For Freedom, Farm And Family URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/for-freedom-farm-and-family-m-a-sreenivasan-aug7-1959/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects three speeches from a meeting organised by the Forum's Bangalore Centre on 29 May 1959 — a gathering that helped launch the political mobilisation which would crystallise as the Swatantra Party. The order is preserved: a welcome speech by M. A. Sreenivasan, chairman of the Bangalore Centre, titled "Coop and Kotow"; the main address "Nagpur and After" by M. R. Masani, M.P.; and the presidential speech "For Freedom, Farm and Family" by C. Rajagopalachari. The argumentative centre is a frontal attack on the Congress's Nagpur Resolution of January 1959 on joint cooperative farming, read as the latest step in a drift toward state capitalism and "Communist dictatorship". All three speakers call for a non-Socialist opposition — a "Middleclass Front" and "Small Man's Party" — to defend peasant proprietorship, parliamentary democracy and free enterprise against what Rajaji names a "Totalitarian State". ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects three speeches from a meeting organised by the Forum's Bangalore Centre on 29 May 1959 — a gathering that helped launch the political mobilisation which would crystallise as the Swatantra Party. The order is preserved: a welcome speech by M. A. Sreenivasan, chairman of the Bangalore Centre, titled "Coop and Kotow"; the main address "Nagpur and After" by M. R. Masani, M.P.; and the presidential speech "For Freedom, Farm and Family" by C. Rajagopalachari. The argumentative centre is a frontal attack on the Congress's Nagpur Resolution of January 1959 on joint cooperative farming, read as the latest step in a drift toward state capitalism and "Communist dictatorship". All three speakers call for a non-Socialist opposition — a "Middleclass Front" and "Small Man's Party" — to defend peasant proprietorship, parliamentary democracy and free enterprise against what Rajaji names a "Totalitarian State". ## Essays ### "Coop and Kotow" *By MA Sreenivasan* Sreenivasan's welcome speech frames the Bangalore meeting as a stand by two "champions of freedom" — Rajaji and Minoo Masani — against the dimming of the "lamps of freedom" eleven years after Independence. He marshals the doubts of the common man into a series of rhetorical questions about persistent slums, dearer food and cloth, falling rupee value, unemployment, bureaucratic proliferation and an army of party men sitting in officialdom, asking whether the Nagpur Resolution's "Violent Co-operation" will undo the freedom won by Gandhian non-violent non-co-operation. He closes with the hope that Rajaji's "invisible telescope" and Masani's inside knowledge will provide authentic answers to the questions troubling the country. - Positions Rajaji and Masani as fearless champions of freedom willing to travel and speak only because the situation is grave. - Catalogues popular grievances: slums, dearer food and cloth, falling rupee, unemployment, ten ministers and proliferating offices where one served before. - Frames the Nagpur Resolution as a "Violent Co-operation" that threatens the freedom won by Gandhian Non-violent Non-co-operation. - Mocks the "Socialistic Juggernaut of Avadi" for being driven without brakes or steering. - Hands over to Rajaji and Masani as authoritative diagnosticians of the country's confusion. ### Nagpur and After *By M. R. Masani, M.P.* Masani's main address takes up the diagnostic question Sreenivasan posed and answers it: the Nagpur Resolution and the broader Nehru-government policy are pushing India toward Communist dictatorship by destroying peasant proprietorship, concentrating power in a few hands, dismantling the law of supply and demand, and disenfranchising the voter through a near-monopoly Congress. He surveys trends — falling per capita income, rising prices, decline in agriculture, mortgaging of national credit — and warns that "State Capitalism" plus collective agriculture cannot coexist with parliamentary democracy. He cites the experience of Iron Curtain Eastern Europe, Hungary, Tibet, and the recantations of Polish reformers reading Adam Shaff, against Indian socialists' belief in benign collectivisation. The constructive half of the speech argues that the Forum of Free Enterprise's public-relations work is no longer enough: India needs a new political party — a broad-based "Middleclass Front" and "Small Man's Party" trusting people, peasant proprietors and the price mechanism — to provide an effective alternative at the 1962 elections. Masani ends with Ludwig Erhard's slogan "Let the men and the money loose" and a hope for a non-Socialist coalition led by Rajaji, with whom Jayaprakash Narayan and Prof. N. G. Ranga share the diagnosis. - Reads the Nagpur Resolution as confirmation that Nehru-government policies are taking India toward Communist dictatorship. - Lists the worsening trends — falling per capita income, killed incentives, concentration of power — that make collectivisation plausible. - Insists State Capitalism and parliamentary democracy cannot coexist; cites Tibet, Hungary, Poland, Yugoslavia and Adam Shaff as evidence. - Argues a non-Socialist opposition is essential because the last election left voters with no alternative pattern to vote for. - Calls for a "Middleclass Front" and "Small Man's Party" rooted in peasant proprietors, professionals, technicians and teachers — quoting Erhard's "Let the men and the money loose". ### For Freedom, Farm and Family *By C. Rajagopalachari* Rajaji's presidential address argues that the deepest cure for the country's drift is the recovery of independent thinking by citizens who have grown indolent by leaving everything to Nehru. He identifies "megalomania" as the affliction of Indian planning and locates the single most urgent problem in food production, against which compulsory transfer of land from cultivating owners to multiple management — the Nagpur Resolution dressed up as "joint farming" or "co-operation" — will deepen the deficit by destroying the incentive of the owner-cultivator. He extends the warning to State Trading in foodgrains, citing the Gujarati proverb "when the State takes to trade, the people take to begging", and to ever-heavier taxation that creates unemployment by closing one set of businesses to fill another. He ends with the famous formula that the time has come to protect the farm and the family against the inroads of a Totalitarian State, and to build — well before the 1962 election — an opposition first in the country and afterwards in Parliament. - Diagnoses Indian citizens' atrophy of independent thinking as the deepest cause of the drift, urging that everyone must think for themselves. - Names "megalomania" the disease of planning and the deficit in food production the most urgent single problem. - Attacks multiple ownership and multiple management of land — joint farming under the Nagpur Resolution — as the destruction of the cultivator's incentive. - Rejects State Trading in foodgrains and excessive taxation as forms of "unconscious socialism" that breed unemployment and dependency. - Calls for an opposition built first in the country and then in Parliament to protect "the farm and the family" against the Totalitarian State. --- ## [Primary work] FOREIGN EXCHANGE CRISIS — THE WAY OUT URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/foreign-exchange-crisis-and-the-way-out-a-d-shroff-feb5-1962/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects three talks delivered in Bombay, Bangalore and Ahmedabad in the last quarter of 1962, all diagnosing India's foreign exchange crisis at the threshold of the Third Five-Year Plan. The contributors — A. D. Shroff (President of the Forum), R. V. Murthy (Chairman of the Press Guild of India, editor of Records and Statistics) and Dr. Lanka Sundaram (former M.P., editor of Commerce and Industry) — converge on the verdict that the crisis is not a transient shock but a structural product of careless planning, gross underestimation of the foreign-exchange component of the Plans, and the dependence on external assistance that the planners had concealed from themselves and from the public. Shroff traces the collapse of the Second Plan's foreign balances from Rs. 746 crores to Rs. 140 crores despite double the anticipated foreign aid, and unpacks the implications of P.L. 480 and "tied" loans. Murthy surveys remedial proposals — IDA loans, export-promotion machinery, mobilisation of private gold hoards — while warning that none will save the country unless the intensity of the problem is honestly recognised.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects three talks delivered in Bombay, Bangalore and Ahmedabad in the last quarter of 1962, all diagnosing India's foreign exchange crisis at the threshold of the Third Five-Year Plan. The contributors — A. D. Shroff (President of the Forum), R. V. Murthy (Chairman of the Press Guild of India, editor of Records and Statistics) and Dr. Lanka Sundaram (former M.P., editor of Commerce and Industry) — converge on the verdict that the crisis is not a transient shock but a structural product of careless planning, gross underestimation of the foreign-exchange component of the Plans, and the dependence on external assistance that the planners had concealed from themselves and from the public. Shroff traces the collapse of the Second Plan's foreign balances from Rs. 746 crores to Rs. 140 crores despite double the anticipated foreign aid, and unpacks the implications of P.L. 480 and "tied" loans. Murthy surveys remedial proposals — IDA loans, export-promotion machinery, mobilisation of private gold hoards — while warning that none will save the country unless the intensity of the problem is honestly recognised. Sundaram, the most polemical of the three, attacks the unreliability of government statistics, the camouflaging of Plan documents, and the absence of parliamentary scrutiny over treaties such as those tied to P.L. 480, P.L. 665, GATT, the E.C.M. and the Treaty of Rome, calling for a non-political National Committee on Budget reforms before "our economy will be a runaway horse". ## Essays ### I [Foreign Exchange Crisis — The Way Out] *By A. D. Shroff* Shroff opens the booklet by declaring that the foreign exchange crisis is "a built-in crisis in our Plans". Recounting the Second Plan's experience, he shows that the planners had assumed Rs. 800 crores of foreign assistance and a Rs. 200-crore drawdown of London balances; instead India received Rs. 1,600 crores of assistance but its balances still collapsed from Rs. 746 crores to Rs. 140 crores. He attributes the wreckage to the import spree of 1955–56 ordered under Commerce Minister T. T. Krishnamachari's anti-inflation theory that imports would mop up Plan-induced purchasing power. He then walks the reader through the political economy of foreign assistance — the gradual conversion of accumulated sterling balances after Bretton Woods, the rise of P.L. 480 surplus-commodity loans (the largest single source of relief), the trap of "tied" and "untied" loans, and the maintenance-imports problem of the three steel plants. With Rs. 500 crores of repayment due in the Third Plan and India not yet able to export enough, Shroff warns that the day may come when India is "compelled to declare its inability to repay or meet its obligations". - The foreign exchange crisis is structural, not accidental — built into the planners' underestimation of the Plans' foreign exchange requirements. - Despite receiving Rs. 1,600 crores of foreign assistance (double the anticipated Rs. 800 crores), India's London balances fell from Rs. 746 crores to Rs. 140 crores by the end of the Second Plan. - The 1955–56 import spree under Commerce Minister T. T. Krishnamachari — justified as anti-inflationary mopping-up of purchasing power — is identified as the real genesis of the crisis. - P.L. 480 is the largest single source of relief but creates a long-term repayment-in-rupees liability that mortgages future generations. - Distinguishes "development imports" from "maintenance imports" of components and raw materials; the three steel plants will idle without continued maintenance-imports, even though installed capacity has grown. - Warns that with Rs. 500 crores of loan repayments due in the Third Plan, India faces the prospect of being unable to honour its external obligations. ### II *By R. V. MURTHY* Murthy, opening with an R. K. Laxman cartoon — "The situation is not dangerous, though serious now. Now, the situation is not serious, but pretty dangerous" — argues that the foreign exchange position is what it has always been: a persistent adverse trade balance worsening since the First Plan. He prints comparative reserve figures for West Germany, the United States, France, Britain and India to show that India alone must build infrastructure by drawing on a meagre Rs. 3,000-crore reserve, financed largely through tied loans of dubious utility. He surveys remedies: a separate Ministry for International Trade and Export Promotion; emulation of Japanese export adaptability; more IDA (50-year, near-interest-free) loans from the World Bank, citing Eugene Black; a reappraisal of "tied" loans whose actual project cost exceeds the credit; restriction of foreign-investment and technical-collaboration agreements to truly essential sectors; standby IMF credit; rupee-payment agreements with East European countries; and the gold-hoard mobilisation idea (which he rejects as politically impossible and certain to drive private gold to the black market). His verdict: no single device will rescue India unless the seriousness of the situation is honestly recognised. - Frames the crisis with R. K. Laxman's cartoon — "not dangerous, though serious" / "not serious, but pretty dangerous" — to ridicule official complacency. - Contrasts India's reserves (Rs. 3,000 crores, ~2.6 months of imports) with West Germany (6.8 months), the United States (14 months), France, the Netherlands, Belgium-Luxembourg, Britain and Denmark. - Cites three problems of utilisation of tied IDA aid: leeway between estimated and actual project cost, the political economy of remittance of profits, and the slow drawdown rate. - Argues for a separate Ministry of International Trade and Export Promotion and for emulating Japan's export adaptability while keeping prices and quality competitive. - Rejects compulsory acquisition of private gold hoards on grounds of administrative infeasibility, political unpopularity, and likely diversion to black markets and exchange auctions. - Endorses standby IMF credit and rupee-payment agreements with East European countries while warning that even these have severe limitations. ### III *By DR. LANKA SUNDARAM* Sundaram delivers the most polemical of the three addresses, repudiating the "facile assumption" that the foreign exchange crisis is a "built-in" feature of the Plans. He argues instead that the problem is "the result of a completely runaway system of economics and economic policy" and that even the available figures lack validity — the Reserve Bank Bulletin, the Report on Currency and Finance and the Economic Survey give materially different totals for the same years' adverse balance. Drawing on his long parliamentary experience (he chaired processing committees for both the First and Second Plans), Sundaram dissects the absence of accountancy in Plan documents — gross under-estimation of revenue, concealment of revenue, gross over-estimation of expenditure — and the politically motivated camouflage of project costs and unutilised loans (Rs. 1,386 crores carried forward from earlier Plans according to the latest Economic Survey, 42 per cent of received aid still unutilised). He details the lack of parliamentary scrutiny over treaties: India has had no Treaty of Friendship, Trade and Navigation with the U.S.A. for fifteen years despite GATT, no proper debate on the European Common Market (E.C.M.), no review of Commonwealth Preferences. Citing Eugene Black, I. J. P. Arnold and Klaus Billerbeck on Soviet bloc aid, he closes with the demand that a non-political National Committee of competent people be set up to bring about Budget reforms, lest "our economy will be a runaway horse". - Rejects the official line that the foreign exchange crisis is "built-in"; insists it is the product of a runaway system of economics and policy. - Documents discrepancies between the Reserve Bank Bulletin, the Report on Currency and Finance and the Economic Survey on the adverse balance of trade for 1956–57 and 1958–59, with figures differing by hundreds of crores. - Attacks the practice of treating aid and investment as interchangeable, citing I. J. P. Arnold (Federation of British Industries) and Klaus Billerbeck on Soviet foreign aid. - Reports that Rs. 1,386 crores of external assistance had been carried forward, unutilised, from First Plan to Second to Third — alongside the planners simultaneously demanding Rs. 2,200 crores more. - Decries the absence of parliamentary ratification of treaties — no Indo-American Treaty of Friendship, Trade and Navigation for fifteen years; no debate on E.C.M. or the Treaty of Rome; the GATT review of Commonwealth Preferences blocked in the Lok Sabha. - Demands a non-political National Committee of competent people to reform the Budget and restore reasonable honesty in the presentation of facts. - Recalls C. D. Deshmukh as Finance Minister conceding that compilation of Budget documents is "a race against time" — a confession Sundaram says would be unacceptable in any parliament elsewhere. --- ## [Primary work] FOREIGN INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS IN INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/foreign-institutional-investors-in-india-by-gr-parrikar-and-rg-katoti-november-1994/ ### Summary G. R. Parrikar and R. G. Katoti, both economists in the Department of Economics & Statistics at Tata Services Ltd., survey the entry of Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) into India's capital markets in the early years after the September 1992 SEBI guidelines. The pamphlet, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in November 1994, treats the opening-up of Indian equity markets to FIIs as one of the defining markers of the country's transition to a market-driven economic system, situating the move within Finance Minister Manmohan Singh's 1992-93 budget pledge to admit reputable foreign investors such as pension funds. The authors note the encouraging response of 1993-94 — over 225 FIIs registered with SEBI and cumulative net inflows of about $2.7 billion (Rs. 8,470 crores) — while flagging the cautionary view that international capital flows are 'fair weather friends' and that, as N. A.… ### Body ## Summary G. R. Parrikar and R. G. Katoti, both economists in the Department of Economics & Statistics at Tata Services Ltd., survey the entry of Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) into India's capital markets in the early years after the September 1992 SEBI guidelines. The pamphlet, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in November 1994, treats the opening-up of Indian equity markets to FIIs as one of the defining markers of the country's transition to a market-driven economic system, situating the move within Finance Minister Manmohan Singh's 1992-93 budget pledge to admit reputable foreign investors such as pension funds. The authors note the encouraging response of 1993-94 — over 225 FIIs registered with SEBI and cumulative net inflows of about $2.7 billion (Rs. 8,470 crores) — while flagging the cautionary view that international capital flows are 'fair weather friends' and that, as N. A. Palkhivala has argued, a cap on FII investments may be desirable. Section I situates Indian FII activity in a global picture: FII-type vehicles date to 1868, the USA, UK and Japan still dominate flows, and only since the late 1980s have surplus savings rotated towards higher-yielding emerging markets in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. The authors document the resulting shift — $160 billion into emerging markets in 1993, 12% of world equity trading versus 4% in 1983 — and quote the Bank for International Settlements' observation that cross-border portfolio transactions now exceed trade-related transactions, sometimes by a large multiple. A comparative table on investment ceilings and tax rates places India's 24% aggregate cap and graded tax regime against the more liberal stances of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Section II then walks through India's policy framework — registration, the 24% aggregate / 5% single-FII ceiling, the RBI's earlier 10% cap on preferential allotments (later raised to 15% from April 1994 after a controversy involving private placements by companies like Nicholas Piramal, Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto and Saw Pipes), repatriation, the special tax treatment (20% on dividend/interest, 30% short-term and 10% long-term capital gains, with NRI-style concessions explicitly denied), and other operational provisions including the ban on short-selling and the use of recognised custodians. The narrative records the surge in secondary-market investment from Rs. 150 crores in June 1993 to Rs. 4,455 crores in February 1994, the BSE Sensex's parallel climb from 2,282 to over 4,000, and the contribution of FII inflows (alongside Euro Issues and FDI) of roughly $8.2 billion to forex reserves. A short transition introduces Section III, 'Some Critical Issues', which had only just begun on the last rendered page. ## Key points - Frames the opening of Indian capital markets to FIIs as a defining feature of India's post-1991 transition to a market-driven economy, dated to Finance Minister Manmohan Singh's 1992-93 budget speech and the SEBI guidelines of September 1992. - Reports that by 1993-94 more than 225 FIIs had registered with SEBI, with cumulative net inflows of about $2.7 billion (Rs. 8,470 crores) and a market capitalisation ranking India seventh among 22 emerging markets. - Traces the global shift of portfolio capital towards emerging markets since the late 1980s — $160 billion in 1993, 12% of world equity trading vs. 4% in 1983 — driven by the maxim that 'money goes where money is'. - Lays out India's policy regime: SEBI registration, a 24% aggregate ceiling and 5% single-FII ceiling on issued share capital, an RBI cap on preferential allotments raised from 10% to 15% from April 1994, and graded tax rates (20% on dividend/interest, 30% short-term and 10% long-term capital gains). - Catalogues operational rules — no short-selling, mandatory routing through recognised stock-exchange intermediaries including OTCEI, five-year renewable registration, repatriation through designated custodians like Hongkong Bank, Citibank, Standard Chartered and SBI. - Documents the bullish impact of FII entry on secondary markets: secondary-market FII investments rose from Rs. 150 crores in June 1993 to Rs. 4,455 crores by February 1994 (a 29x jump), with the BSE sensex climbing from 2,282 in June 1993 past 4,000 by January 1994. - Notes the cautious counter-view, citing the RBI Governor's description of international capital flows as 'fair weather friends' and N. A. Palkhivala's call for a cap on FII investments. - Highlights qualitative effects: institutionalisation of Indian markets, broader-based investment across roughly 500 listed companies, and pressure on Indian firms to adopt greater efficiency, transparency and equity-research-based investment decisions. --- ## [Primary work] Foreign Capital URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/foreign-capital-by-kiran-nanda-december-17-1995/ ### Summary Kiran Nanda, Chief Economist of Gujarat Ambuja Cements, delivers a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet based on her keynote address at a Bombay seminar on "FOREIGN CAPITAL & GLOBALISATION" in September 1995. She argues that the opening of the Indian economy to foreign capital — central to the New Industrial Policy of 1991 — is indispensable if India is to lift growth from 5–6 per cent to 7–8 per cent. Foreign capital, in her telling, plugs the savings-investment gap, especially in infrastructure (roads, power, telecoms, railways requiring at least $200 billion over a decade), modernises industry, brings managerial and marketing skills, and helps reorient the work culture toward international competitiveness. The booklet walks the reader through the architecture of the post-1991 reforms: 51 per cent foreign equity in 34 high-priority industries, amendment of FERA, tariff rationalisation, current-account convertibility, MRTP dilution, GDR issuance, and FII directives.… ### Body ## Summary Kiran Nanda, Chief Economist of Gujarat Ambuja Cements, delivers a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet based on her keynote address at a Bombay seminar on "FOREIGN CAPITAL & GLOBALISATION" in September 1995. She argues that the opening of the Indian economy to foreign capital — central to the New Industrial Policy of 1991 — is indispensable if India is to lift growth from 5–6 per cent to 7–8 per cent. Foreign capital, in her telling, plugs the savings-investment gap, especially in infrastructure (roads, power, telecoms, railways requiring at least $200 billion over a decade), modernises industry, brings managerial and marketing skills, and helps reorient the work culture toward international competitiveness. The booklet walks the reader through the architecture of the post-1991 reforms: 51 per cent foreign equity in 34 high-priority industries, amendment of FERA, tariff rationalisation, current-account convertibility, MRTP dilution, GDR issuance, and FII directives. Nanda surveys the numbers — FDI approvals rising from Rs.5.3 bn in 1991 to Rs.118.6 bn in 1994, NRI share of FDI above 30 per cent, the four-state concentration (Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal) of inflows, and the comparative position of India vis-à-vis China as a "Big Emerging Market." She notes that the public sector's grip is loosening: only atomic energy, coal and lignite, and mineral oils remain reserved. A substantial middle section addresses contested questions: whether Indian industry is being discriminated against (she lists non-tariff barriers, high interest rates, and a labyrinthine bureaucracy as genuine handicaps), whether foreign capital is inflationary (depends on end use), whether it substitutes for domestic savings (it supplements them while bringing technology and systems), and the impact on the Rupee (mild depreciation unlikely to scare FIIs that already price in 4–5 per cent currency loss). She is critical of ad-hocism in policy, the Enron Project controversy, depleting forex reserves, and the persistent fiscal deficit, while welcoming the Depositories Ordinance, Bilateral Investment Treaties, and the Finance Minister's promised arbitration and insurance reforms. Nanda closes with measured optimism — "only two cheers" for the new economy policy, with the third reserved for when reforms acquire irreversible momentum. The signpost, she warns, is not the destination; foreign capital can provide temporary growth, but India must set its own house in order through SEB reform, infrastructure delivery, and a clear long-term policy framework. ## Key points - Foreign capital is required to lift Indian growth from 5–6% to 7–8% p.a. and finance the $200 billion infrastructure need over ten years. - Post-1991 reforms — 51% FDI automatic approval in 34 industries, FERA amendment, tariff rationalisation, current-account convertibility, MRTP dilution — provided the main boost. - FDI approvals rose from Rs.5.3 bn (1991) to Rs.118.6 bn (1994), aggregating Rs.397.5 bn in the post-liberalisation period; actuals are about 28% of approvals. - Inflows are concentrated in four industrialised states (Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal) and in fuels, metallurgy, chemicals, services and food processing. - India and China are now jointly courted as Big Emerging Markets; NRIs make up over 30% of FDI and could replicate the Chinese-overseas-investor pattern. - Crucial debates surveyed: alleged discrimination against Indian industry, the inflationary potential of foreign capital, its relation to domestic savings, and pressure on the Rupee. - Persistent constraints — high tax structure, weak infrastructure, poor labour relations, IPR protection gaps, ad-hoc policymaking, and the fiscal deficit — could choke the inflow. - Reforms must accelerate via corporate-tax harmonisation, Company Act revision, faster government clearances and a clear long-term policy framework; foreign capital alone cannot fix infrastructure. --- ## [Primary work] Forty-Three Years of Independence URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/forty-three-years-of-independence-by-nani-a-palkhivala-january-18-1991/ ### Summary Delivered as the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Lecture at Trinity College, Cambridge on 7 November 1990 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, Nani A. Palkhivala's lecture is a stocktaking of India at forty-three years of independence: an accounting that begins with what the republic inherited and ends with what it has squandered. He opens by celebrating the survival of Indian democracy as the central miracle of the post-war era, naming three inestimable advantages with which the republic began — a five-thousand-year civilisation, the unification effected by British rule, and a 'sublime' Constitution that embeds the substance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Constitution, he stresses, never enshrined socialism; on the contrary, its Directive Principles rule out state ownership, 'the Monolithic State... which is the hallmark of communism, euphemistically called socialism.' The second movement of the lecture is an indictment of what successive governments did with that inheritance.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Lecture at Trinity College, Cambridge on 7 November 1990 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, Nani A. Palkhivala's lecture is a stocktaking of India at forty-three years of independence: an accounting that begins with what the republic inherited and ends with what it has squandered. He opens by celebrating the survival of Indian democracy as the central miracle of the post-war era, naming three inestimable advantages with which the republic began — a five-thousand-year civilisation, the unification effected by British rule, and a 'sublime' Constitution that embeds the substance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Constitution, he stresses, never enshrined socialism; on the contrary, its Directive Principles rule out state ownership, 'the Monolithic State... which is the hallmark of communism, euphemistically called socialism.' The second movement of the lecture is an indictment of what successive governments did with that inheritance. Palkhivala argues that India 'respected the shells of socialism — state control and state ownership — while the kernel, the spirit of social justice, was left no chance of coming to life,' building 231 Union and 636 State public-sector enterprises that became 'black holes' and 'money guzzlers.' Drawing on The Economist's January 1987 verdict that Indian socialism is a fraud — transferring wealth not from the rich to the poor but from the honest rich to the dishonest rich — he traces the steel claws of the permit-licence-quota raj, the torrential bureaucracy that wastes millions of man-hours, and the failure to invest in education, family planning, nutrition, and public health. The Budget of 1985 was, in his telling, an epoch-making break with this 'economic theology,' but its liberalising philosophy was sabotaged by a top-heavy bureaucracy, socialist politicians, and rent-seeking businessmen. The lecture's later sections diagnose the consequences — India has 15 per cent of the world's population but 1.5 per cent of its income; its share of world exports has fallen from 2.2 per cent in 1950 to 0.45 per cent; Hong Kong's economy is twice India's — and then enumerate the moral pathologies: corruption, indiscipline, mobocracy, the bandh as the country's contribution to sociology, and divisiveness as 'the AIDS of India.' Palkhivala closes on a note of conditional hope: India's vitality is real, foreign investment in India is investment in democracy, and the country has a record of producing leaders 'in the darkest hour' — invoking Mahatma Gandhi as the exemplar who 'made us realize the profound truth that single-minded pursuit of money impoverishes the mind, shrivels the imagination, and desiccates the heart.' ## Key points - Frames the lecture as Nehru Memorial Lecture (Cambridge, 7 Nov 1990) reviewing forty-three years of Indian independence — survival of democracy across 840 million people is the central achievement. - Names three 'inestimable advantages' India started with: a 5000-year civilisation, British-era unification into a single political entity, and a 'sublime' Constitution that anticipated the UDHR's Fundamental Rights. - Argues that 'socialism' is alien to the original Constitution — the Directive Principles rule out the 'Monolithic State' of state ownership. - Indicts the public sector (231 Union + 636 State enterprises) as 'black holes' and 'money guzzlers' and laments that the global wave of privatisation has 'turned aside in its course and passed India by.' - Coins the diagnostic that India suffers from 'too much government and too little administration; too many laws and too little justice; too many public servants and too little public service' under the permit-licence-quota raj. - Identifies the 1985 Budget as 'epoch-making' — abolishing estate duty, slashing wealth-tax to 2% and personal income-tax to 50% — but argues its liberalising mood was sabotaged by bureaucracy, socialist politicians, and rent-seeking businessmen. - Documents the human cost: per-capita income did not even double in four decades; India fell from sixteenth (1950) to forty-third in world export rankings; 30+ million on Employment Exchanges; two-thirds of Indians and four-fifths of women illiterate. - Closes on conditional hope — divisiveness is 'the AIDS of India' and moral decay is severe, but India's vitality, democratic credentials, and Gandhian capacity to produce leaders in dark hours justify long-term confidence. --- ## [Primary work] The Forum of Free Enterprise URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/forum-of-free-enterprise-2005-2006/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reproduces a long extract from Sucheta Dalal's biography 'A.D. Shroff — Titan of Finance Free Enterprise' (Viking/Penguin India, 2000), retelling the institutional origin story of the Forum against the backdrop of the high noon of Nehruvian socialism. The text opens in 1956, with the Congress's 1954 Avadi Resolution committing the country to a 'socialistic pattern of society', Marxist rhetoric becoming the lingua franca of public life, the second wave of nationalisations (transport, then life insurance) advancing, and the income-tax department running an intimidation campaign against the Tatas, Birlas and Sarabhais.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reproduces a long extract from Sucheta Dalal's biography 'A.D. Shroff — Titan of Finance Free Enterprise' (Viking/Penguin India, 2000), retelling the institutional origin story of the Forum against the backdrop of the high noon of Nehruvian socialism. The text opens in 1956, with the Congress's 1954 Avadi Resolution committing the country to a 'socialistic pattern of society', Marxist rhetoric becoming the lingua franca of public life, the second wave of nationalisations (transport, then life insurance) advancing, and the income-tax department running an intimidation campaign against the Tatas, Birlas and Sarabhais. Shroff — chairman of New India Assurance, signatory to the 1944 Bombay Plan, and member of Nehru's own National Planning Council — is portrayed not as an opponent of planning but as the one industrialist unwilling to be silenced by it. The narrative then traces the Forum's actual founding on 18 July 1956 and its early character: the manifesto that drew over a thousand letters from villages and small towns, the refusal of FICCI and many big houses to be publicly associated with it, the FICCI counter-circular discouraging support, and the whisper campaign that the Forum was foreign-financed (Shroff calls the charge 'as fantastic as expecting to receive remittances from the man on the moon'). The biographer dwells on the institutional design choices Shroff insisted upon — apolitical posture, unregistered ad-hoc body, no permanent corpus, funds raised only yearly and only as needed, J. R. D. Tata's offer of a lakh of rupees turned down for a Rs. 10,000 collection — and on the founding Council of Management he assembled (Anantharamakrishnan, S. K. Sen, M. A. Sreenivasan, Sardar Mohan Singh, Narayan Dandekar, M. R. Masani, S. N. Haji, Col. Leslie Sawhny, F. S. Mulla, T. M. Desai, K. C. Cooper, Chimanlal B. Parikh, F. P. Mehta, M. A. Master, C. M. Srinivasan, K. G. Khosla). The pamphlet ends the rendered section with two set-pieces of Shroff's polemical method. First, the 'Code of Conduct' he drafted for free enterprise — a four-decade-old precursor, the biographer argues, to the late-1990s corporate governance code — pledging high standards of integrity towards shareholders, consumers, labour and community, condemning hoarding, black-marketing and tax evasion, and accepting fair wages, working conditions, trade unions and a 'fair return' for risk capital as constitutive of the system. Second, 'The Impact of the Forum' opens with Shroff's response to T. T. Krishnamachari's post-Union-Budget claim of a 'capitalist strike': Shroff calls a press conference, ridicules TTK ('in the extreme it might mean that all industrialists would decide to close down their industries'), and pushes back against the minister's insinuation that Indians distrust Indian enterprise more than foreigners do. The rendered chunk breaks off mid-argument as Shroff catalogues earlier achievements of Indian capital (the 'Tata twos' debenture in 1930s London, the World Bank's $75 million loan to TISCO). ## Key points - Frames the Forum's birth (18 July 1956) as a direct response to the 1954 Avadi Resolution, the nationalisation of insurance, and a propaganda climate in which Nehru declared 'private enterprise and democracy are incompatible'. - Stresses that Shroff was not anti-planning — he was one of the eight Bombay Plan signatories and a member of Nehru's National Planning Council — but opposed planning that stifled private initiative. - Documents the Shroff–TTK 'admirer-adversary equation', including TTK's claim that 'private enterprise had failed me' and Shroff's Shakespearean 'most unkindest cut of all' rejoinder. - Records the design principles Shroff imposed on the Forum: apolitical, unregistered, no permanent corpus, yearly funding only, educative rather than partisan, refusing J. R. D. Tata's offer of one lakh in favour of Rs. 10,000. - Names the founding Council of Management (Anantharamakrishnan, S. K. Sen, M. A. Sreenivasan, Sardar Mohan Singh, Narayan Dandekar, M. R. Masani, S. N. Haji, Col. Leslie Sawhny, F. S. Mulla, T. M. Desai, K. C. Cooper, Chimanlal B. Parikh, F. P. Mehta, M. A. Master, C. M. Srinivasan, K. G. Khosla) and notes that FICCI under government pressure circulated a counter-letter discouraging support. - Reproduces the Forum's 'Code of Conduct' as a four-decade-old precursor to the corporate-governance code of the late 1990s — pledging integrity to shareholders, consumers, labour and the community, recognising trade unions, and condemning hoarding, black-marketing and tax evasion. - Shows Shroff using the Forum platform to puncture TTK's 'capitalist strike' charge, defending the historical record of Indian enterprise (Jamshedji Tata's steel gamble, Scindia Steamships, the 'Tata twos' London debenture, World Bank lending to TISCO). - Treats the whisper campaign that the Forum was American-financed as the recurring slur against an Indian classical-liberal institution, and Shroff's claim that it is 'as swadeshi in its genesis and operations as any other national organization, not excluding the Congress'. --- ## [Primary work] Forum of Free Enterprise URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/forum-of-free-enterprise-a-manifesto/ ### Summary This short institutional pamphlet is the founding manifesto of the Forum of Free Enterprise, the Bombay-based classical-liberal organisation set up in 1956 at 235 Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji Road. Built as a sequence of declarative 'WE BELIEVE' paragraphs, the text frames democracy and free enterprise as inseparable strands of 'the Indian way of life' and argues that the case for free enterprise is 'going by default' under sustained and unjustified attack — hence the Forum's reason for existing as a vehicle to 'educate public opinion on the fundamentals of Free Enterprise.' The manifesto's positive argument is that enterprise is not a recent or alien construct but 'as old as man,' encompassing 'the shopkeeper and the merchant, the farmer and the artisan, the worker and the manager, the doctor and the lawyer.' Profit-seeking, the text insists, is a legitimate expectation of reward for 'honest, productive effort' that must be distinguished sharply from antisocial profiteering.… ### Body ## Summary This short institutional pamphlet is the founding manifesto of the Forum of Free Enterprise, the Bombay-based classical-liberal organisation set up in 1956 at 235 Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji Road. Built as a sequence of declarative 'WE BELIEVE' paragraphs, the text frames democracy and free enterprise as inseparable strands of 'the Indian way of life' and argues that the case for free enterprise is 'going by default' under sustained and unjustified attack — hence the Forum's reason for existing as a vehicle to 'educate public opinion on the fundamentals of Free Enterprise.' The manifesto's positive argument is that enterprise is not a recent or alien construct but 'as old as man,' encompassing 'the shopkeeper and the merchant, the farmer and the artisan, the worker and the manager, the doctor and the lawyer.' Profit-seeking, the text insists, is a legitimate expectation of reward for 'honest, productive effort' that must be distinguished sharply from antisocial profiteering. The Forum credits private enterprise — operating despite 'handicaps' — with building Indian steel, textile, sugar, cement, shipping, banking and insurance, and notes that during the first Five-Year Plan a number of free-enterprise industries 'exceeded the targets allotted to them.' The negative argument is calibrated rather than absolutist: the Forum concedes 'ample room for State enterprise to function alongside of Free Enterprise in the service of the people,' but warns that monopoly 'of any kind, whether State or private, is undesirable,' and singles out the 'displacement of normal trade channels by the intrusion of State trading' as a dangerous trend that risks depriving individual traders of livelihood and concentrating power and patronage in a few hands. Free enterprise, the manifesto closes, must keep 'clean hands' and accept regulation by a democratic government, but is ultimately 'economic democracy in action' and 'the lifebreath of a free society.' The pamphlet ends with an invitation to all who believe in voluntary enterprise — in service, profession, agriculture, trade or industry — to join the Forum, and with the slogan 'Free Enterprise is your Enterprise: Safeguard it.' ## Key points - Declares democracy and free enterprise inseparable parts of 'the Indian way of life,' framing the Forum's mission as defending the latter to preserve the former. - Argues the case for free enterprise is 'going by default' under sustained, unjustified attack, justifying the Forum as a public-education body. - Defines free enterprise broadly as 'as old as man' and inclusive of traders, farmers, workers, professionals and managers — not only large industrialists. - Distinguishes legitimate profit and fair wages as 'necessary and healthy' from antisocial profiteering, anchoring a moral defence of enterprise. - Concedes a role for state enterprise alongside private enterprise but condemns monopoly 'of any kind, whether State or private' as a threat to democratic order. - Singles out the 'intrusion of State trading' into normal trade channels as the most dangerous contemporary trend, warning of concentrated patronage in a few hands. - Credits private enterprise with building India's steel, textile, sugar, cement, shipping, banking and insurance sectors, and cites Five-Year Plan target overshoots as evidence. - Accepts democratic regulation and self-policing of 'black sheep' within the system, positioning the Forum as non-political, non-partisan and reform-minded rather than libertarian-absolutist. --- ## [Primary work] Code of Conduct URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/forum-of-free-enterprise-code-of-conduct/ ### Summary This brief pamphlet from the Forum of Free Enterprise lays out a 'Code of Conduct' addressed to industrialists, businessmen, and members of the professions in India. Issued by the Forum on the conviction that free enterprise must be defended through visible self-discipline as much as through advocacy, the document argues that the system can only retain its democratic legitimacy if its practitioners uphold high standards of integrity, honesty, hard work, courtesy and continuous initiative. The Code then walks through the obligations of each constituency in the productive order. Producers and distributors owe consumers quality goods at reasonable cost, fair measure, and protection from adulteration. Employers owe labour dignified working conditions, fair wages, opportunities for skill-formation, grievance procedures, and recognition of stable democratic trade unions as part of a 'checks and balances' framework for employee-management relations. Management owes shareholders a fair return commensurate with risk, while also maintaining reserves for expansion, modernisation and research.… ### Body ## Summary This brief pamphlet from the Forum of Free Enterprise lays out a 'Code of Conduct' addressed to industrialists, businessmen, and members of the professions in India. Issued by the Forum on the conviction that free enterprise must be defended through visible self-discipline as much as through advocacy, the document argues that the system can only retain its democratic legitimacy if its practitioners uphold high standards of integrity, honesty, hard work, courtesy and continuous initiative. The Code then walks through the obligations of each constituency in the productive order. Producers and distributors owe consumers quality goods at reasonable cost, fair measure, and protection from adulteration. Employers owe labour dignified working conditions, fair wages, opportunities for skill-formation, grievance procedures, and recognition of stable democratic trade unions as part of a 'checks and balances' framework for employee-management relations. Management owes shareholders a fair return commensurate with risk, while also maintaining reserves for expansion, modernisation and research. Profit earned under competitive conditions, after fair wages are paid, is defended as a 'legitimate reward' — but hoarding, black-marketing, profiteering and malpractices in company management are condemned as anti-social. Professional men are asked to subordinate personal gain to the larger objective of service. The pamphlet closes with a civic obligation owed by 'all' to the community: to bear one's share of taxation honestly, to repudiate tax evasion, to participate in social and civic improvement, and to treat wealth or power as an opportunity for service rather than vainglorious display. A back-cover slogan — 'Free Enterprise is your Enterprise. Safeguard it.' — frames the entire tract as a self-policing manifesto designed to inoculate Indian capitalism against the moral case for state expansion. ## Key points - The Forum of Free Enterprise issues this Code as a public pledge that practitioners of free enterprise will police their own conduct, not merely defend the system rhetorically. - Honesty, hard work, courtesy and continuous initiative are named as the four foundations on which 'the edifice of Free Enterprise rests'. - Producers and distributors are bound to quality, reasonable cost, fair measure and protection of consumers against adulteration. - Employers are asked to treat worker welfare as a social obligation rather than philanthropy, to pay fair wages, to institute grievance procedures, and explicitly to welcome stable, democratic trade unions. - Management's accountability is dual: a fair return to investors for risk taken, and a duty to retain reserves for expansion, modernisation and research. - Profit under competitive conditions is defended as a legitimate reward for risk and development work, but hoarding, black-marketing, profiteering and company-management malpractices are condemned as anti-social and evil. - Professional men — lawyers, teachers, doctors, auditors, writers — are charged with subordinating personal gain to the 'larger objective of service'. - The civic coda condemns tax evasion unequivocally and treats wealth and power as obligations of community service rather than occasions for ostentation. --- ## [Primary work] Forum of Free Enterprise URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/forum-of-free-enterprise-speech-by-mr-ad-shroff-july-25-1956/ ### Summary This pamphlet reproduces A. D. Shroff's address at the first press conference of the Forum of Free Enterprise, held on July 25, 1956. Shroff opens by responding to press criticism that the Forum's sponsors are hiding in the background, insisting that the group is an ad hoc body with no written constitution, formed by observers who felt it was time to articulate publicly what Free Enterprise means in India, what it has already achieved, and what it can still do for the country. He extends the meaning of Free Enterprise beyond industrialists and businessmen to include shop-keepers, clerical employees, and professional groups, arguing that its essence is the democratic way of life and that the Forum exists to educate the public and warn it against trends of thinking that could ultimately destroy that way of life. The substantive economic argument identifies State Trading as the most sinister encroachment on Free Enterprise. Shroff warns that its extension would deprive millions of small people of the right to choose their own way of living.… ### Body ## Summary This pamphlet reproduces A. D. Shroff's address at the first press conference of the Forum of Free Enterprise, held on July 25, 1956. Shroff opens by responding to press criticism that the Forum's sponsors are hiding in the background, insisting that the group is an ad hoc body with no written constitution, formed by observers who felt it was time to articulate publicly what Free Enterprise means in India, what it has already achieved, and what it can still do for the country. He extends the meaning of Free Enterprise beyond industrialists and businessmen to include shop-keepers, clerical employees, and professional groups, arguing that its essence is the democratic way of life and that the Forum exists to educate the public and warn it against trends of thinking that could ultimately destroy that way of life. The substantive economic argument identifies State Trading as the most sinister encroachment on Free Enterprise. Shroff warns that its extension would deprive millions of small people of the right to choose their own way of living. At the same time he distances the Forum from doctrinal laissez-faire and from what he calls the "outmoded concept of capitalism": he accepts planned development and some regulation, provided regulation does not destroy initiative or the profit motive, which he defends as legitimate, inherent in human nature, and necessary for social progress. On the welfare-state question Shroff offers a counter-intuitive provocation — that the greatest Welfare State on earth is the United States of America — and uses it to criticise the means and methods being adopted to build a Welfare State in India. He closes with an appeal to the Press, praising the independent Judiciary and an open-minded press as the two institutions that have remained precious to India, and asking that the Forum be granted the same facilities and opportunities of expression as others, even where editors disagree with its creed. ## Key points - Shroff inaugurates the Forum of Free Enterprise at its first press conference on July 25, 1956, describing it as an ad hoc body with no written constitution, formed to articulate and defend Free Enterprise in India. - He widens the constituency of Free Enterprise from industrialists to every citizen — shop-keepers, clerks, professionals — on the grounds that its essence is the democratic way of life. - State Trading is singled out as the most sinister encroachment on Free Enterprise, threatening to strip millions of small people of the right to choose their own way of living. - The Forum disavows both laissez-faire and the "outmoded concept of capitalism", accepting planned development and regulation as long as initiative and the profit motive survive. - The profit motive is defended as legitimate and inherent in human nature, and as the motivating force without which society cannot progress and develop. - Shroff calls the United States the greatest Welfare State on earth, using the comparison to criticise the means India is adopting to build its own welfare state. - He closes with an appeal to the Press, praising the independent Judiciary and an open-minded Press as the two institutions that have remained precious to India, and asking that the Forum be granted the same facilities of expression as others. --- ## [Primary work] Forward Trading in Shares URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/forward-trading-in-shares-by-mr-mayya-april-5-1996/ ### Summary Forward Trading in Shares is a technical brief by M. R. Mayya, former Executive Director of the Bombay Stock Exchange, written in April 1996 and published as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet. Mayya traces the century-long history of forward or badla trading on Indian exchanges — its prohibition by Government of India on 27 June 1969 as 'contracts for the clearing', its return in 1983 under the new label of 'specified shares', and its second prohibition by SEBI on 13 December 1993. He explains in detail the institutional mechanics: hand delivery contracts, settlement cycles, the role of vyaj badlawalas (financiers who lend money via contango / 'seedha badla') and teji or mal badlawalas (financiers who lend shares via backwardation / 'ulta badla'), and the way carry forward charges emerge from market forces during the badla session. The pamphlet's argumentative center is a defence of carry forward trading as economically useful and a sharp critique of SEBI's regulatory posture.… ### Body ## Summary Forward Trading in Shares is a technical brief by M. R. Mayya, former Executive Director of the Bombay Stock Exchange, written in April 1996 and published as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet. Mayya traces the century-long history of forward or badla trading on Indian exchanges — its prohibition by Government of India on 27 June 1969 as 'contracts for the clearing', its return in 1983 under the new label of 'specified shares', and its second prohibition by SEBI on 13 December 1993. He explains in detail the institutional mechanics: hand delivery contracts, settlement cycles, the role of vyaj badlawalas (financiers who lend money via contango / 'seedha badla') and teji or mal badlawalas (financiers who lend shares via backwardation / 'ulta badla'), and the way carry forward charges emerge from market forces during the badla session. The pamphlet's argumentative center is a defence of carry forward trading as economically useful and a sharp critique of SEBI's regulatory posture. Mayya argues that the carry forward facility injects liquidity, moderates extreme price movements by enabling short selling in rising markets and long purchases in falling ones, and acts as an indispensable risk-hedging instrument akin to options and futures. Drawing on the recommendations of the Patel Committee — on which he himself served alongside G. S. Patel and Deepak S. Parekh — he endorses a screen-based, transparent revival of carry forward with built-in safety valves, while objecting to two specific SEBI stipulations: the 25 per cent broker-wise outstanding position cap, which he finds unworkable given the specialisation of broker houses, and the steep 20/30/40/50 per cent margin schedule on successive settlements, which he sees as cumbersome and damaging to market liquidity. Throughout, Mayya frames speculators as legitimate market participants whose activity is 'totally an act of volition' and quotes The Economist of London approvingly to the effect that 'speculators are public servants' whose work in a market economy is indispensable. The text reads as an insider's technocratic brief for liberalising Indian securities regulation along lines consistent with international futures-market practice. ## Key points - Forward / badla trading existed on Indian exchanges for nearly 100 years before being prohibited by Government of India on 27 June 1969 as 'contracts for the clearing'. - After a 14-year gap, forward trading returned in 1983 under the label 'specified shares' at the Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi and Ahmedabad exchanges, without the 1969 notification being rescinded. - SEBI banned trading in specified shares on 13 December 1993; at that point 133 specified shares accounted for roughly Rs.21,000 crore in market capitalisation, about 60 per cent of total stock market cap of Rs.350,000 crore. - Mayya explains the mechanics of vyaj badla (contango / seedha badla — money lending by financiers) and mal badla (backwardation / ulta badla — share lending), and shows that carry forward charges are determined by market forces in the badla session. - The Patel Committee (appointed by SEBI on 22 February 1995, reporting on 20 March 1995) recommended resumption of carry forward with screen-based trading, transaction IDs, a 90-day cap, and audit certification. - Mayya defends carry forward as a liquidity-enhancing, price-moderating, risk-hedging facility and cites empirical support from the 1994 BSE Sensex rise to 4643.31 and 1995 fall to 2996.84 as a case where carry over would have moderated volatility. - He criticises SEBI's 25 per cent broker-wise outstanding position cap as impractical given the actual specialisation of broker houses across foreign institutional, mutual fund, government securities, jobbing and odd-lot lines. - He criticises SEBI's escalating 20/30/40/50 per cent margin schedule on successive carry-forward settlements as cumbersome and damaging to liquidity, arguing margins on Indian markets should track the 7-8 per cent international futures norm, adjusted for the absence of daily mark-to-market. --- ## [Primary work] Four Wheels for All URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/four-wheels-for-all-the-case-of-rapid-automobilisation-of-india/ ### Summary Four Wheels for All is a libertarian polemic by the journalist Sauvik Chakraverti, published as Liberty Institute Occasional Paper No. 18 (2008) in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung. Across the rendered pages, Chakraverti builds the opening movements of a single sustained argument: that universal car ownership is not a luxury but a precondition of prosperity, and that decades of Indian socialism deliberately denied ordinary Indians 'proper wheels.' He opens with a paean to the automobile as an extension of human mobility — invoking the wheel as 'an extension of the foot,' the Ford Model-T that 'put America on wheels,' and the vastly enlarged 'geographical opportunity circle' a car gives its owner — and argues that the benefits of one person's mobility 'trickle down' to those without cars (as when car-owning specialist doctors reach his villages in South Goa). The paper then turns historical and combative.… ### Body # Four Wheels for All *By Sauvik Chakraverti* ## Summary Four Wheels for All is a libertarian polemic by the journalist Sauvik Chakraverti, published as Liberty Institute Occasional Paper No. 18 (2008) in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung. Across the rendered pages, Chakraverti builds the opening movements of a single sustained argument: that universal car ownership is not a luxury but a precondition of prosperity, and that decades of Indian socialism deliberately denied ordinary Indians 'proper wheels.' He opens with a paean to the automobile as an extension of human mobility — invoking the wheel as 'an extension of the foot,' the Ford Model-T that 'put America on wheels,' and the vastly enlarged 'geographical opportunity circle' a car gives its owner — and argues that the benefits of one person's mobility 'trickle down' to those without cars (as when car-owning specialist doctors reach his villages in South Goa). The paper then turns historical and combative. In 'The Dreary Old Days of Socialism,' Chakraverti recalls coming of age when Indian socialism 'reached the zenith of its idiocy' — graduating as Indira Gandhi declared the Emergency into an economy where second-hand Fiats sold above the price of new ones because of decade-long waiting lists. He frames the Tata Nano's promise of mass car ownership as the welcome reversal of those years, and attacks 'the enemies of prosperity' — high taxers and environmentalists — as 'enemies of poor people,' arguing that punitive fuel and car taxes are regressive and that bad roads and inept traffic management, not cars, are the real enemies of India's environment. The central practical proposal in the rendered pages is 'The Case for Used Car Imports': India should lift its effective ban on importing second-hand cars and trucks, which Chakraverti (quoting Milton Friedman's Friedman on India) calls 'the sensible and cheap way for India to get automobile transportation.' He argues there are no longer any moral grounds to 'protect' a domestic industry now dominated by foreign firms (Suzuki, Toyota, Hyundai, BMW), and that bigger second-hand cars would serve India's hill states and hot plains far better than tiny engines. The remaining subsections listed in the Contents — on productivity, infrastructure, urban congestion, road-building and the 'death of Indian socialism' — extend beyond the rendered pages. ## Key points - A single-author libertarian occasional paper (Liberty Institute No. 18, 2008) arguing for the rapid automobilisation of India. - Chakraverti frames the car as a basic tool of human mobility and prosperity, not a luxury, citing the Model-T and an enlarged 'geographical opportunity circle.' - He argues one person's car-ownership benefits trickle down to non-owners (e.g., specialist doctors reaching his South Goa villages). - 'The Dreary Old Days of Socialism' recalls Emergency-era India where used Fiats cost more than new ones due to waiting lists. - High taxers and environmentalists are cast as 'enemies of prosperity' and thus 'enemies of poor people'; fuel/car taxes are regressive. - Central proposal: lift India's ban on importing second-hand cars and trucks, quoting Milton Friedman as endorsing this as the cheap, sensible path. - He argues there is no moral case to 'protect' an auto industry already dominated by foreign firms (Suzuki, Toyota, BMW, etc.). - Bigger second-hand cars (vs. the 623cc Nano or Maruti 800) would better serve India's hill states and hot plains. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] FOURTH PLAN - A STRATEGY FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/fourth-plan-strategy-dr-f-a-mehta-june-9-1969/ ### Summary Dr. F. A. Mehta, Economic Adviser to a business house, delivered this address under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 23 April 1969; the Forum published it as a booklet on 9 June 1969. Mehta is responding to the Draft Outline of the Fourth Five-Year Plan (1969-74), just approved by the National Development Council, which he reads as marking — at least formally — the resumption of 'planning' after the so-called three-year Plan Holiday. His central contention is that the entire framework of planning in India has changed: with subjects of plan implementation legally vested in the States, the Planning Commission's role as a co-ordinating agency has been hollowed out, and the NDC itself has degenerated into what he calls a 'Tower of Babel' of conflicting state ministers, threatening to turn elaborate targets and capital-output ratios into mere 'paper-value'. The Plan's right priorities — agriculture, power and family planning, with a Rs. 4-4.5 per cent agricultural growth target and the resumption of a Rs. 24,400-crore outlay — are, Mehta argues, necessary but emphatically not sufficient.… ### Body ## Summary Dr. F. A. Mehta, Economic Adviser to a business house, delivered this address under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 23 April 1969; the Forum published it as a booklet on 9 June 1969. Mehta is responding to the Draft Outline of the Fourth Five-Year Plan (1969-74), just approved by the National Development Council, which he reads as marking — at least formally — the resumption of 'planning' after the so-called three-year Plan Holiday. His central contention is that the entire framework of planning in India has changed: with subjects of plan implementation legally vested in the States, the Planning Commission's role as a co-ordinating agency has been hollowed out, and the NDC itself has degenerated into what he calls a 'Tower of Babel' of conflicting state ministers, threatening to turn elaborate targets and capital-output ratios into mere 'paper-value'. The Plan's right priorities — agriculture, power and family planning, with a Rs. 4-4.5 per cent agricultural growth target and the resumption of a Rs. 24,400-crore outlay — are, Mehta argues, necessary but emphatically not sufficient. For the first time in 13 years the private sector has been assigned a quantitative target of Rs. 10,000 crores, more than doubling its Third-Plan share, yet the same Draft hedges private investment with restrictions, licences and steps to keep private profit low. Quoting W. Arthur Lewis on the recurring 'come-to-nothing' episodes of plans predicated on private investment but hostile to it, Mehta warns that the biggest single beneficiary of any private-sector resurgence will in fact be the Government and the public sector themselves. The 'true menace' he locates is the threat of reintroducing price-controls, which he calls a Damoclean sword hanging over Indian industry and the surest way to dismantle the price-mechanism. The real weakness of the Draft Plan, on Mehta's reading, is not its size but its 'national game of fudging': D. R. Gadgil's drafting evades the conflict between increased production and increased equality, defaults to the 'distributive approach', and offers no concrete policy on taxation, industrial licensing or pricing — least of all for savagely-taxed but capital-hungry sectors like road transport and consumer goods. His prescriptions are blunt: end price-controls, give time-bound freedom from price-controls before demanding fresh investment, liberalise taxation on private savings, abolish industrial de-licensing for the small-scale and stop 'freezing' the capacity of large industrial houses. He closes by insisting that the quarrel is no longer between a Big Plan and a Small Plan, nor between the public and private sectors, but between policies that will or will not activise private industry; ideologies of both right and left, he urges, must cease. ## Key points - Frames the Draft Outline of the Fourth Five-Year Plan as a formal resumption of planning after the 'three-year Plan Holiday', but argues that the underlying framework of Indian planning has fundamentally shifted because plan-implementation now legally rests with the States. - Calls the National Development Council a 'Tower of Babel' that has displaced the Planning Commission as effective master of the Plan and threatens to reduce capital-output ratios and elaborate targets to mere 'paper-value'. - Notes that for the first time in 13 years the private sector has been given a quantitative outlay target (Rs. 10,000 crores, more than double the Third Plan's Rs. 4,190 crores), while the same Draft simultaneously hedges private investment with licences, restrictions and profit-suppressing measures. - Argues that the Plan's right priorities (agriculture, power, family planning, a 4-4.5% agricultural growth rate) are necessary but insufficient without right policies on taxation, industrial licensing and pricing. - Identifies the threat of re-introducing price-controls as the 'true menace' to private sector industry — a Damoclean sword that would dismantle the price-mechanism and entrench stagnation in investment, production and employment. - Reads D. R. Gadgil's drafting as a 'national game of fudging' that evades the conflict between development and distribution and defaults to the 'distributive approach' rather than supplying concrete policy. - Predicts that the biggest single beneficiary of any genuine revival of private-sector investment will be the public sector and the Union and State Governments, via tax-revenues and demand for capital goods. - Concludes that the real quarrel is no longer between Big Plan vs. Small Plan or between public vs. private sectors, but about whether tax, licensing and pricing policies will actually activise private industry — and that 'ideology, both of the right and of the left, must cease.' --- ## [Primary work] FREE BUT FETTERED—THE ILLITERATE CITIZEN URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/free-but-fettered-the-illiterate-citizen-dr-c-d-deshmukh-november-12-1970/ ### Summary Delivered on 27 October 1970 as the Fifth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay, C. D. Deshmukh's address opens with a tribute to A. D. Shroff as an exemplar of a patriotism that 'can co-exist with a judicious bias in favour of free enterprise', then pivots to its real subject: the political and economic cost of mass illiteracy in India. The thesis, which Deshmukh borrows in part from the Education (Kothari) Commission of 1964, is that an illiterate population cannot exercise the citizenship that the Constitution promises — that India's adults are, in the phrase he repeatedly returns to, free but fettered. In the rendered pages Deshmukh moves chronologically through India's planning record on literacy and adult education.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered on 27 October 1970 as the Fifth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay, C. D. Deshmukh's address opens with a tribute to A. D. Shroff as an exemplar of a patriotism that 'can co-exist with a judicious bias in favour of free enterprise', then pivots to its real subject: the political and economic cost of mass illiteracy in India. The thesis, which Deshmukh borrows in part from the Education (Kothari) Commission of 1964, is that an illiterate population cannot exercise the citizenship that the Constitution promises — that India's adults are, in the phrase he repeatedly returns to, free but fettered. In the rendered pages Deshmukh moves chronologically through India's planning record on literacy and adult education. He revisits the First Five-Year Plan's coinage of 'Social Education' as an all-comprehensive uplift through community action, contrasts its ambition with the modest outlays that followed in the Second, Third and Fourth Plans, and tracks the headline numbers: literacy at 8.3% in 1931 (undivided British India), 17.2% in 1951, about 24% in 1961, and 28.6% in 1966 — gains that, against population growth of 2.5% a year, leave India with roughly 350 million illiterates, about two-thirds of all illiterates in the world. He notes the persistent gaps between male and female, and between urban and rural literacy. Deshmukh then traces the international turn of the late 1960s, drawing on his own role as a consulting expert in UNESCO's Asian Model of Educational Development (Bangkok, November 1965) and on the work of his wife, Dr. Mrs. Durgabai Deshmukh, who convened the sub-group on Literacy Education for the Kothari Commission's Adult Education Task Force (chaired by D. S. Kothari, with V. S. Jha as convenor). He quotes at length the Asian Model's reasoning that adult education must become 'functional' — geared to economic and social needs — and the Kothari Commission's blunt verdict that 'The uneducated is not in reality a free citizen', that the strategy of relying on free and compulsory schooling alone has failed, and that 'a massive unorthodox national effort' is now required. The rendered pages end mid-argument, having set out the diagnosis (drawing on a UNESCO-sponsored study by J. M. Kapoor and Prodipto Roy on retention of literacy) and the prerequisites the Commission identified for sustained eradication — what Deshmukh will presumably build into a programme over the lecture's remaining pages. ## Key points - Framed as the Fifth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture (27 October 1970, Bombay), opening with a tribute that yokes patriotism to free enterprise. - Central claim, borrowed from the Kothari Commission: an illiterate citizen is not in reality a free citizen — illiteracy is a fetter on democratic and economic life. - Walks through India's Five-Year Plans on literacy and 'Social Education', noting declining seriousness from the First Plan's ambitious community-action vision to the Fourth Plan's silence on prior efforts. - Marshals statistics: literacy rising from 8.3% (1931) to 17.2% (1951) to ~24% (1961) to 28.6% (1966), yet absolute illiterates grew because population grew at 2.5% per year. - Calls out India's particular failure on a global scale — 350 million illiterates, two-thirds of the world's total — and persistent urban/rural and male/female gaps. - Draws on UNESCO's Asian Model of Educational Development (Bangkok, 1965), which he and Durgabai Deshmukh helped draft, to argue adult education must become 'functional' — tied to economic priorities. - Reports the Kothari Commission's verdict that India's primary-school-only strategy has failed and that 7 years of education for all children will not be achieved until 1986 rather than the constitutional 1961 target. - Closes the rendered section with the Commission's prerequisites for sustained literacy programmes: industrialisation, recognition of illiterate resistance to change, follow-up provision, and avoidance of past errors of scale, sporadicity and haste. --- ## [Primary work] FREE ENTERPRISE IN INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/free-eneterprise-in-india-a-d-shroff-january-1-1970/ ### Summary Free Enterprise in India is a short Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reproducing a 30 March 1956 Times of India article by A. D. Shroff. Writing in the immediate aftermath of the government's declared intention to establish a 'Socialist State' — the political setting of the Second Five Year Plan and the Industrial Policy Resolution of 1956 — Shroff argues that the future role of the private sector can be assessed only in that context. He reads two corollaries into the declaration: the state will assume increasing control of the means of production, and resources available to the private sector will be gradually diverted to the public sector. The argumentative core is an urgent call for the private sector to mount a countrywide educative campaign. Shroff contends that 'thousands of thinking people' have been demoralised by the policy and by harsh fiscal measures such as Section 23-A of the Indian Income-tax Act, with some businessmen seriously considering emigration.… ### Body ## Summary Free Enterprise in India is a short Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reproducing a 30 March 1956 Times of India article by A. D. Shroff. Writing in the immediate aftermath of the government's declared intention to establish a 'Socialist State' — the political setting of the Second Five Year Plan and the Industrial Policy Resolution of 1956 — Shroff argues that the future role of the private sector can be assessed only in that context. He reads two corollaries into the declaration: the state will assume increasing control of the means of production, and resources available to the private sector will be gradually diverted to the public sector. The argumentative core is an urgent call for the private sector to mount a countrywide educative campaign. Shroff contends that 'thousands of thinking people' have been demoralised by the policy and by harsh fiscal measures such as Section 23-A of the Indian Income-tax Act, with some businessmen seriously considering emigration. He insists that the 'private sector' is widely misrepresented: not a clutch of 'tall poppies' running large factories, but the totality of agriculture, small and cottage industries, and the whole range of wholesale and retail trade. He cites National Income Committee figures — small enterprises in 1950–51 producing roughly 1,910 crores of nett output against factory establishments' 550 crores, employing 11.5 million workers against three million — to make the scale concrete. The pamphlet then sketches a positive programme on the basis of a mixed economy. The state, Shroff argues, should confine itself for the next fifteen to twenty years to genuine prerequisites of orderly progress: a quick spread of education, essential health services, clearance of slums, roads, rail and river transport, postal and telegraph services, irrigation, modern agricultural methods, and credit and marketing facilities for the seventy per cent of Indians dependent on agriculture. He documents petty state failures — a Bombay General Post Office that will not accept more than 500 registered letters a day from one party, third-class railway passengers 'packed like sardines', the Calcutta air-office running short of luggage tickets, a Bihar telegraph office out of forms — as evidence that the state cannot meet its existing obligations, let alone subsume large-scale industry. He calls for a concrete development plan with clear demarcation between public and private spheres, urges the private sector to observe high standards of integrity and pay its taxes promptly, and asks government to give 'concrete proofs' of its preparedness to let the private sector serve the country. The piece closes with a constitutional warning that has given it lasting force: in a country with one dominant political party and no effective organised opposition, the thin borderline between democracy and totalitarianism can soon be crossed, and unless public opinion becomes more vigilant Indians risk losing their most cherished possessions — the freedom to think and the freedom to criticise. ## Key points - Frames the future of private enterprise entirely in terms of the government's declared intention to establish a Socialist State, with consequent state control of production and a diversion of resources from private to public sector. - Identifies the most urgent need as organising a countrywide educative campaign to dispel mistaken public impressions of the private sector and its role. - Argues that Section 23-A of the Indian Income-tax Act has been cruelly applied, demoralising businessmen to the point where some seriously contemplate emigration before 'the worse coming in future' materialises. - Insists the private sector is not a few 'tall poppies' running large factories but encompasses all agriculture, large, small-scale and cottage industries, and the whole range of trade including import, export, wholesale and retail. - Cites National Income Committee figures: 1950–51 nett output of 'Small Enterprises' around 1,910 crores against 550 crores for 'Factory Establishments', employing 11.5 million workers against three million. - Reads the campaign of vilification around the nationalisation of life insurance as a deliberate sweeping condemnation of all private management, requiring counter-propaganda from organised business. - Sets out a mixed-economy programme in which the state confines itself for fifteen to twenty years to prerequisites of orderly progress — education, health, slum clearance, roads, rail and river transport, posts, telegraphs, irrigation, agricultural credit and marketing — rather than expanding into industry. - Documents state failures in elementary services (Bombay GPO refusing more than 500 registered letters per party per day; third-class rail passengers packed like sardines; Calcutta air-office short of luggage tickets; Bihar telegraph office short of forms) as evidence the state is not meeting its existing obligations. - Closes with a constitutional warning that one-party dominance with no effective opposition risks crossing the line from democracy into totalitarianism and erasing the freedom to think and to criticise. --- ## [Primary work] FREE ENTERPRISE IN A FREE SOCIETY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/free-enterpise-in-a-free-society-by-onlooker-february-21-1957/ ### Summary Reprinted from The Times of India of 21 May 1957 by the newly formed Forum of Free Enterprise, this short polemic by the pseudonymous "Onlooker" attacks what it calls India's 'compartmentalised thinking' on the economy — the habit of treating capital as inherently sinister, labour as sacrosanct and public enterprise as virtuous by definition. Prompted by Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari's budget and the broader 'socialistic pattern of society' line emanating from Nehru's government, the essay argues that Indian leaders are fighting capitalism in the discredited idiom of the nineteenth century, oblivious to how capitalism has actually evolved. The core argument runs in three movements. First, Onlooker observes that the contemporary Indian state legislatively coerces private enterprise into wage rises, bonuses and retroactive payments while shielding governmental enterprise as a 'protected monument'. Second, drawing on Switzerland, the United States and Canada, the author insists that Marx's prediction of an impoverished proletariat has been falsified — modern capitalism spreads ownership and rewards more widely, not less.… ### Body ## Summary Reprinted from The Times of India of 21 May 1957 by the newly formed Forum of Free Enterprise, this short polemic by the pseudonymous "Onlooker" attacks what it calls India's 'compartmentalised thinking' on the economy — the habit of treating capital as inherently sinister, labour as sacrosanct and public enterprise as virtuous by definition. Prompted by Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari's budget and the broader 'socialistic pattern of society' line emanating from Nehru's government, the essay argues that Indian leaders are fighting capitalism in the discredited idiom of the nineteenth century, oblivious to how capitalism has actually evolved. The core argument runs in three movements. First, Onlooker observes that the contemporary Indian state legislatively coerces private enterprise into wage rises, bonuses and retroactive payments while shielding governmental enterprise as a 'protected monument'. Second, drawing on Switzerland, the United States and Canada, the author insists that Marx's prediction of an impoverished proletariat has been falsified — modern capitalism spreads ownership and rewards more widely, not less. The countries that actually destroyed capitalism, the essay notes, ended up as Communist (Russia, China) or Fascist (Italy, Germany, parts of South America) tyrannies; freedom in the economic and political spheres stand or fall together. The piece closes by stipulating that 'the intelligent capitalist has never quarrelled with reasonable government regulations.' Citing President Eisenhower's enumeration of US economic instruments (Federal Reserve, debt management, mortgage insurance, agricultural supports, tax structure, public works) and a line from Luigi Einaudi, former President of the Italian Republic, Onlooker argues that the goal of policy must be not the abolition of regulation but the framing of regulations 'within which the citizen can act freely'. The conclusion — that 'free enterprise, as free labour, can only exist under a free government' — sets the early ideological keynote for the Forum of Free Enterprise. ## Key points - Frames T. T. Krishnamachari's budget and the Nehru government's 'socialistic pattern of society' as the trigger for a wider attack on anti-capitalist rhetoric in Indian public life. - Argues that Indian political discourse continues to define capitalism in nineteenth-century terms that even Khrushchev's Soviet Union has begun to abandon. - Documents an asymmetry in Indian policy: private enterprise is legislatively compelled to raise wages and pay bonuses while public enterprise is shielded as a 'protected monument'. - Refutes the Marxist immiseration thesis by pointing to Switzerland, the United States and Canada, where the proletariat shares increasingly in both ownership and rewards. - Insists that the destruction of capitalism historically yields totalitarianism — either Communist (Russia, China) or Fascist (Italy, Germany, parts of South America) — so reform, not abolition, is the right path. - Distinguishes the 'intelligent capitalist', who accepts reasonable regulation, from a doctrinaire laissez-faire position, citing Eisenhower's enumeration of US economic instruments and Luigi Einaudi on the purpose of regulation. - Concludes that economic and political freedom are inseparable, warning 'wiseacres on the extreme right and extreme left' that ignoring this link imperils freedom in both spheres. --- ## [Primary work] FREE ENTERPRISE AND DEMOCRACY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/free-enterprise-and-democracy-a-d-shroff-feb11-1956/ ### Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in 1956 — and reproduced from the Annual Number of Commerce that same year — A. D. Shroff's pamphlet is a direct rejoinder to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who had recently told a Calcutta press conference that democracy and unrestricted private enterprise were incompatible. With the announcement of the 'Socialist pattern of Society' as the national goal, Shroff argues, the relationship between free enterprise and democracy has assumed great significance, and the country must decide whether the drift towards State Capitalism under the plea of a Welfare State threatens to 'enslave man to the State as a totalitarian State'. Shroff concedes that the doctrine of laissez faire is 'dead as dodo' and that the modern State legitimately regulates production, taxation, labour, and dividends. The real question is one of balance: a mixed economy in which a circumscribed free-enterprise sector and a State sector each play 'an important and autonomous role'.… ### Body ## Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in 1956 — and reproduced from the Annual Number of Commerce that same year — A. D. Shroff's pamphlet is a direct rejoinder to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who had recently told a Calcutta press conference that democracy and unrestricted private enterprise were incompatible. With the announcement of the 'Socialist pattern of Society' as the national goal, Shroff argues, the relationship between free enterprise and democracy has assumed great significance, and the country must decide whether the drift towards State Capitalism under the plea of a Welfare State threatens to 'enslave man to the State as a totalitarian State'. Shroff concedes that the doctrine of laissez faire is 'dead as dodo' and that the modern State legitimately regulates production, taxation, labour, and dividends. The real question is one of balance: a mixed economy in which a circumscribed free-enterprise sector and a State sector each play 'an important and autonomous role'. He insists, against orthodox planners, that 'there is nothing inherently socialistic in Planning', and warns that once the State 'begins to intrude in the field of private or free enterprise, it will soon develop into a monopolist wielding power of an enormous character'. Drawing on Gandhi's warnings about the growing power of the State, Thomas Jefferson on the concentration of cares and powers, R. H. Tawney on the spirit behind planning, and R. H. S. Crossman on the menace of a 'vast centralised State bureaucracy', he reads recent events in Poland and Hungary as confirmation that nationalised industry breeds bureaucratic despotism and curtails democracy. The positive case rests on an analogy: the free market is itself a daily plebiscite, in which producers, workers, consumers, investors, creditors, and employers check one another, and where 'no single factor can ever hope to dominate a given situation for a long time'. Citing the Forum of Free Enterprise's own Manifesto — 'Monopoly of any kind, whether State or private, is undesirable' — Shroff points to the Sindhri Fertiliser Factory, the Life Insurance Corporation, Indian Airlines, the State Trading Corporation, and the State Transport Corporation as semi-monopoly bodies that risk the very freedoms Indian democracy depends on. The joint-stock company, with its 'about two and a half million' investors and broad share-ownership in steel, cement, textiles, and electricity, he holds up as a genuinely co-operative and democratic alternative. The pamphlet closes with a warning against the 'schizophrenia' of democratic socialists who accept freedom in theory and impose regimentation in practice. Free enterprise, Shroff concludes, must not be tolerated 'on sufferance, to be tolerated on grounds of political expediency, with the sword of Democles hanging over it in perpetual threat'; the new India must derive its strength from 'the solid foundations of democracy and freedom and not from the top-heavy buttresses of regimentation and concentration of power in a few hands'. ## Key points - Framed as a direct response to Nehru's Calcutta press-conference claim that democracy and unrestricted private enterprise are incompatible, and to the official 'Socialist pattern of Society' goal. - Concedes that laissez faire is obsolete and accepts a mixed economy in which a regulated State sector and an autonomous free-enterprise sector both play important roles. - Argues that planning is not inherently socialist; the real danger is the slide from planning into State Capitalism and a 'vast centralised State bureaucracy'. - Marshals Gandhi, Thomas Jefferson, Tawney, and Crossman to show that concentration of economic power in the State destroys individual liberty and corrodes democracy. - Cites Poland and Hungary as recent evidence that public ownership leads to bureaucratic despotism and curtailment of democracy. - Reframes the free market as itself a democratic institution — a continuous plebiscite by producers, consumers, workers, and investors that checks monopoly. - Names concrete Indian state ventures (Sindhri Fertiliser Factory, Life Insurance Corporation, Indian Airlines, State Trading Corporation, State Transport Corporation) as semi-monopoly threats to economic and political freedom. - Closes with a plea that free enterprise be treated as indispensable to democracy, not tolerated on sufferance under a perpetual sword of Damocles of legislative and administrative restriction. --- ## [Primary work] Free Enterprise and Freedom URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/free-enterprise-and-freedom-murarji-j-vaidya-apr10-1956/ ### Summary Free Enterprise and Freedom is a short polemical pamphlet (No. 2 in the Forum of Free Enterprise series) reproducing an article by Murarji J. Vaidya from The Times of India of 30 March 1956. Its subject is the draft outline of the Second Five-Year Plan and, more pointedly, the Planning Commission's commitment to the "Socialist Pattern of Society" adopted at the Avadi session of the Congress. Vaidya quotes the Commission's own framing at length to show how programmatically the planners have absorbed the Avadi resolution into the basic criterion for what counts as economically advanced. The argumentative core is that simultaneously evolving democracy and a socialist pattern in an "underdeveloped economy working under an infant democracy" is historically unproven and dangerous.… ### Body ## Summary Free Enterprise and Freedom is a short polemical pamphlet (No. 2 in the Forum of Free Enterprise series) reproducing an article by Murarji J. Vaidya from The Times of India of 30 March 1956. Its subject is the draft outline of the Second Five-Year Plan and, more pointedly, the Planning Commission's commitment to the "Socialist Pattern of Society" adopted at the Avadi session of the Congress. Vaidya quotes the Commission's own framing at length to show how programmatically the planners have absorbed the Avadi resolution into the basic criterion for what counts as economically advanced. The argumentative core is that simultaneously evolving democracy and a socialist pattern in an "underdeveloped economy working under an infant democracy" is historically unproven and dangerous. Vaidya invokes Eastern Europe, Russia and China to argue that socialism has elsewhere "sounded the death-knell of democracy and of individual liberty," and turns the planners' own anti-concentration logic against them: if human nature, integrity and selflessness are at a uniformly low level across businessmen, industrialists, politicians and civil servants, there is no reason to believe that concentrating economic power in the hands of a few politicians and bureaucrats will yield better results than the supposed concentration already deplored in a few capitalists. From this, Vaidya draws a constitutional-liberal conclusion: a country that took decades to win political freedom should rank democracy, freedom and individual liberty above the pace of economic growth, and should prefer "the surer and historical proven processes of comparatively slow moving democracy" over the rapid methods witnessed in totalitarian countries. He further argues, on the planners' own numbers, that the Second Plan's industrial-sector targets are not of such higher magnitude than the First Plan as to require the institutional shift toward public ownership the draft proposes; the expansion of the public sector is, he says, "entirely dictated by the ideological determination based upon the Avadi resolution and not on considerations of the need for rapid rate of development." The pamphlet closes with an OUTLAY table comparing First and Second Plan allocations across seven major heads totalling Rs. 4,800 crores; the table runs to the last rendered page and appears truncated mid-list. ## Key points - Reproduction of a Times of India article (30 March 1956) by Murarji J. Vaidya, issued as Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet No. 2; the topic is the draft outline of the Second Five-Year Plan and the place of the private sector within it. - Vaidya argues the Plan is conditioned by the Avadi-session "Socialist Pattern of Society" and that the Prime Minister and Congress leaders have already moved rhetorically from "Socialist Pattern" to plain "Socialist." - He challenges the feasibility of pursuing democracy and a socialist pattern simultaneously in an "underdeveloped economy working under an infant democracy," citing Eastern Europe, Russia (socialism abolishing democracy) and the still-unfolding Chinese experiment. - Central rhetorical move: if standards of integrity and selflessness are uniformly low across businessmen, industrialists, politicians and civil servants, replacing one concentration of economic power with another offers no guarantee of better outcomes. - Normative claim: a country that took decades to win political freedom should weigh democracy, freedom and individual liberty above the pace of economic development, preferring "comparatively slow moving democracy" to the rapid methods of totalitarian states. - Quantitative case: the Second Plan's industrial-sector targets (apart from already-decided steel plants) are not of such magnitude beyond First Plan capacity as to require an institutional shift to public ownership; the shift is ideological, not developmental. - Pamphlet ends with an OUTLAY table comparing First Plan and Second Plan provisions across seven heads — agriculture, irrigation, power, industries, transport, social services and miscellaneous — on a total developmental outlay of Rs. 4,800 crores. --- ## [Primary work] Free Enterprise in India — A Call For Leadership URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/free-enterprise-in-india-a-call-for-leadership-a-d-shroff-25-october-1961/ ### Summary Delivered as A. D. Shroff's presidential address at the fifth annual general body meeting of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 25 October 1961, this pamphlet mounts a sustained critique of India's Third Five-Year Plan as a 'carbon copy of the Soviet Communist model of planning.' Shroff argues that doctrinaire socialism is unsuited to India's democratic life, citing converging evidence from the Soviet Union (Khrushchev's cautions on wages and incentives), China (the Big Leap Forward's failure and the emergence of 'small freedoms'), Yugoslavia, Poland, and France that even communist and socialist economies are quietly shifting toward market signals, price formation, and private initiative.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as A. D. Shroff's presidential address at the fifth annual general body meeting of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 25 October 1961, this pamphlet mounts a sustained critique of India's Third Five-Year Plan as a 'carbon copy of the Soviet Communist model of planning.' Shroff argues that doctrinaire socialism is unsuited to India's democratic life, citing converging evidence from the Soviet Union (Khrushchev's cautions on wages and incentives), China (the Big Leap Forward's failure and the emergence of 'small freedoms'), Yugoslavia, Poland, and France that even communist and socialist economies are quietly shifting toward market signals, price formation, and private initiative. He marshals Wilhelm Roepke on the time horizon of economic activity, Arthur Larson on consumer sovereignty, and Colin Clark on the human—not capital—factor in growth to argue that state-led investment without legal-institutional foundations wastes resources and lowers public morals. Shroff then turns to a detailed indictment of the Indian state sector: profiteering and bungling by the State Trading Corporation, rupee-payment scandals with communist countries, half-percent returns on state investment, the unilateral hike of telephone and platform-ticket rates, the H.M.T. watch scandal recounted by the columnist 'Beachcomber,' and the Maharashtra Land Ceiling Act's takeover of Deccan sugar-factory farms despite a four-times-national-average yield. Vituperative press attacks on the 'jute Press' and the steady erosion of Article 31 property rights, he warns, show that 'those who frown on free enterprise and free society are the grave-diggers of the free Press.' The most arresting passages reframe socialism as the practice by which 'politics has become an industry of major proportions'—a perquisite-driven class of professional politicians whose unregulated industry has lowered standards of public conduct, while private enterprise alone faces the discipline of market and regulation. Shroff calls not for a ceiling over enterprise but for a ceiling over 'arbitrary political and bureaucratic power.' He closes with a call to leadership: private enterprise must step beyond its commercial role into education, civic amenities, social service, and flood-relief work, taking 'the mischief of politics' out of every sphere of life. He invokes Acharya Vinoba Bhave's 1959 warning and Mahatma Gandhi's caution against a government that 'did everything for the people' while people did nothing—anchoring the case for free enterprise in India's own democratic and Gandhian inheritance. ## Key points - Frames the Third Five-Year Plan as a 'carbon copy of the Soviet Communist model' and as eminently unsuited to India's democratic structure. - Marshals comparative evidence from the USSR, China, Yugoslavia, Poland, and France that communist and socialist economies are themselves drifting toward market incentives and private initiative. - Cites Jayaprakash Narayan's reported disillusionment with the nationalisation of big industries as evidence that even socialist founders are abandoning doctrinaire positions. - Indicts the State Trading Corporation for bungling, profiteering in cement, and a rupee-payment regime that shrinks Indian exports to Western markets and may finance subversion of the Constitution. - Catalogues failures of state enterprises: half-percent returns on state investment, ad-hoc hikes of telephone and platform-ticket rates, the H.M.T. 'Sujata' watch scandal, and inadequate telegraphic and telephonic infrastructure. - Argues that erosion of Article 31 property rights and the Maharashtra Land Ceiling Act's takeover of high-yield Deccan sugar-factory farms penalise success and chill entrepreneurial initiative. - Reframes socialism as 'politics as an industry,' a perquisite economy of professional politicians whose unregulated profession lowers standards of public conduct. - Calls on private enterprise to assume leadership beyond commerce—in education, civic life, and social service—citing Indian Chamber of Commerce, Indian Merchants' Chamber, and Andhra Chamber initiatives as encouraging signs. --- ## [Primary work] Free Enterprise in India - A Call For Leadership URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/free-enterprise-in-india-a-call-for-leadership-by-ad-shroff-november-8-1961/ ### Summary A. D. Shroff's presidential address to the fifth annual general body meeting of the Forum of Free Enterprise (Bombay, 25 October 1961) is a sweeping liberal indictment of India's Third Five-Year Plan and the doctrinaire socialism that animates it. Shroff opens with the observation that even committed socialists like Jayaprakash Narayan are now disillusioned with nationalisation, and reads the lengthy delay between draft and parliamentary approval of the Third Plan as itself a comment on the costs of centralised planning. He frames the Third Plan as a "carbon copy of the Soviet Communist model" — heavy industry, collectivised agriculture, centralised ownership, and a gross disregard for basic human liberties — and argues that even communist regimes (the USSR under Khrushchev, China after the Great Leap, Yugoslavia, Poland) are quietly retreating toward price signals, private smallholdings, and incentives.… ### Body ## Summary A. D. Shroff's presidential address to the fifth annual general body meeting of the Forum of Free Enterprise (Bombay, 25 October 1961) is a sweeping liberal indictment of India's Third Five-Year Plan and the doctrinaire socialism that animates it. Shroff opens with the observation that even committed socialists like Jayaprakash Narayan are now disillusioned with nationalisation, and reads the lengthy delay between draft and parliamentary approval of the Third Plan as itself a comment on the costs of centralised planning. He frames the Third Plan as a "carbon copy of the Soviet Communist model" — heavy industry, collectivised agriculture, centralised ownership, and a gross disregard for basic human liberties — and argues that even communist regimes (the USSR under Khrushchev, China after the Great Leap, Yugoslavia, Poland) are quietly retreating toward price signals, private smallholdings, and incentives. By contrast, French indicative planning, which works through consultation with industry and incentives rather than coercion, is offered as the better model for a democracy. Drawing heavily on Colin Clark's Growthmanship, Shroff argues that the controlling factor in economic growth is the human factor, not the volume of state investment, and that India's planners have wasted capital, distorted production, and built up a costly apparatus of officialdom by treating public expenditure as automatically productive. He then catalogues the operational failure of Indian state enterprises — the State Trading Corporation's cement profiteering and the cancelled Pakistan sugar deal, the rupee-payment scandal flagged by Murarji Vaidya, low returns on state investments confirmed by the Finance Minister, the unaccountable accounting at government companies, unilateral hikes in telephone and air fares, and the H.M.T. "Sujata" watch episode in which Japanese-made watches were distributed as gifts to M.P.s and journalists — to argue that monopolistic government undertakings hold consumers to ransom while lowering public morality. In parallel, Shroff documents what he calls a "sustained attack on the fundamental requirements of private enterprise and a democratic society" — vituperative attacks on a press described as "jute Press" by a professional politician, the steady erosion of Article 31 property rights, the takeover of Deccan sugar factory farms under the Maharashtra Land Ceiling Act despite their yields being four times the national average, and the criminalisation of politics evidenced by reports of M.P.s consorting with Chambal dacoits, M.L.A. kidnapping charges, and Home Minister Charan Singh's own admission that criminal elements had entered political parties. He concludes that "under socialism, politics has become an industry of major proportions," with a new professional-political class whose privileges depend on the state sector and who face no market discipline. The closing call is to private enterprise itself: to assume leadership beyond business — in education, civic life, social service, and the shaping of public opinion in favour of "realistic planning" — and to stop ceding these spheres to professional politicians. Shroff points to the Indian Chamber of Commerce's Dandakaranya work, the Indian Merchants' Chamber's economic research unit, the Andhra Chamber's employment exchange, and private flood-relief and rural-uplift work as harbingers of a more responsible non-state leadership. He closes with Acharya Vinoba Bhave's January 1959 warning that concentrated power in the name of welfare digs democracy's own grave, and with Mahatma Gandhi's reminder that a state that does everything for the people is the negation of democracy. ## Key points - The Third Five-Year Plan is characterised as a "carbon copy of the Soviet Communist model" — heavy industry, collectivisation, centralised ownership, neglect of consumer goods, and disregard for basic human liberties — and judged incompatible with India's democratic structure. - Communist economies themselves (USSR under Khrushchev, China's Ta Kung Pao on "small freedoms", Yugoslavia, Poland) are quietly shifting back toward market incentives and private ownership, undermining the Indian planners' chosen model. - French indicative planning — consultation with 3,000 industry representatives through 25 commissions, incentives instead of coercion, qualitative living-conditions targets — is offered as a democratically compatible alternative. - Citing Colin Clark's Growthmanship, Shroff argues the controlling factor in growth is human rather than capital, that capital-output-ratio thinking is discredited, and that India's pre-occupation with state investment betrays an urge to enlarge the public sector for its own sake. - State enterprises are catalogued as inefficient and corrupting — State Trading Corporation profiteering and a Pakistan sugar deal lost over a missed telegram, the rupee-payment scandal flagged by Murarji Vaidya, sub-1% returns on state investment, the H.M.T. "Sujata" watch episode, unilateral telephone and air-fare hikes. - A sustained attack on private enterprise and democratic preconditions is identified: vituperation against the press (the "jute Press" slur), steady erosion of Article 31 property rights, the Maharashtra Land Ceiling Act takeover of high-yielding Deccan sugar factory farms, and arbitrary regulatory ceilings on private initiative. - Shroff argues that under socialism politics has itself become "an industry of major proportions," with a perquisite-driven political class (Union Ministers paid Rs. 2,250 but worth Rs. 6,000 with free electricity and perks) shielded from market or regulatory discipline. - Private enterprise is called to leadership beyond business — in education, civic amenities, social service, and shaping public opinion for realistic planning — with the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Indian Merchants' Chamber, and Andhra Chamber cited as positive signs. --- ## [Primary work] Free Enterprise in India and Freedom URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/free-enterprise-in-india-and-freedom-a-d-shroff-january-4-2011/ ### Summary This 2011 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reproduces two companion articles originally published in The Times of India on 30 March 1956 — A. D. Shroff's "Free Enterprise in India" and Murarji J. Vaidya's "Free Enterprise and Freedom" — bracketed by a fresh introduction from then-president Minoo R. Shroff that frames the reissue as a tribute to the late Farrok Mulla, a long-serving Forum office-bearer whose family sponsored the booklet. The two essays were prompted by the Government of India's adoption of a "socialistic pattern of society" as the credo of the Second Five-Year Plan, and together they argue that assigning the commanding heights of the economy to the public sector will both stifle the private sector that sustained pre-Independence growth and, more dangerously, concentrate economic power in the hands of politicians and bureaucrats in ways that will erode democracy and individual liberty. Shroff's piece concentrates on the practical and morale-based case for the private sector — describing the despondency among small businesspeople under Section 23-A of the Income-tax Act, the misrepresentation of "the Private Sector" as a handful of large industrialists, and the in… ### Body ## Summary This 2011 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reproduces two companion articles originally published in The Times of India on 30 March 1956 — A. D. Shroff's "Free Enterprise in India" and Murarji J. Vaidya's "Free Enterprise and Freedom" — bracketed by a fresh introduction from then-president Minoo R. Shroff that frames the reissue as a tribute to the late Farrok Mulla, a long-serving Forum office-bearer whose family sponsored the booklet. The two essays were prompted by the Government of India's adoption of a "socialistic pattern of society" as the credo of the Second Five-Year Plan, and together they argue that assigning the commanding heights of the economy to the public sector will both stifle the private sector that sustained pre-Independence growth and, more dangerously, concentrate economic power in the hands of politicians and bureaucrats in ways that will erode democracy and individual liberty. Shroff's piece concentrates on the practical and morale-based case for the private sector — describing the despondency among small businesspeople under Section 23-A of the Income-tax Act, the misrepresentation of "the Private Sector" as a handful of large industrialists, and the indispensable role of agriculture, trade and small enterprise — and calls for an organised, country-wide educative campaign by the Forum and like-minded bodies. Vaidya's essay treats the same Second Plan documents as a political-philosophical problem: drawing on the experience of Eastern European countries that slid from socialism into communism, he warns that simultaneous pursuit of socialism and democracy in an under-developed economy risks sacrificing the latter, and that institutional changes envisaged by the Planners are dictated by the Avadi resolution rather than by any economic necessity. The introduction concludes that Forum's 1950s campaign has "in some way led to the liberalisation of the economy and the assignment of a larger role to the private sector after 1991". ## Essays ### Free Enterprise in India *By A. D. Shroff* Shroff assesses the role of private enterprise in the context of the Government's decision to establish a Socialist State, identifying two consequences: the State will progressively assume ownership of the means of production, and resources will be steadily diverted from the Private Sector to the Public Sector. He argues that while the unthinking majority may accept the official claim that this will raise mass living standards, many thinking citizens believe the policy will neither accelerate development nor serve the country's long-term interest, and that the cumulative effect of fiscal measures — notably Section 23-A of the Income-tax Act — is already breeding a defeatist mentality among small entrepreneurs that could amount to the "suicide of the Private Sector". The essay then turns from diagnosis to remedy. Shroff calls for an organised, country-wide educative campaign to dispel the caricature of the private sector as a few "tall poppies", reminding readers that it encompasses all of agriculture, the bulk of trade, and the great majority of industrial employment. He outlines a programme of cooperation with Government on national objectives, criticises the press for amplifying the ruling party while neglecting counter-arguments — singling out the campaign of vilification against private life insurance management ahead of nationalisation — and ends with a warning that India's thin borderline between democracy and totalitarianism can be crossed unless public opinion becomes vigilant enough to defend the freedom to think and to criticise. - Frames the Second Five-Year Plan's socialist credo as a binary choice that will shift ownership of production to the State and starve the Private Sector of resources. - Identifies Section 23-A of the Income-tax Act and broader fiscal measures as already producing a defeatist mood among small businesspeople who began with modest capital. - Insists the Private Sector is not a clique of large industrialists but encompasses agriculture, small and cottage industries, and the whole of internal and external trade. - Cites National Income Committee figures: nett output of "Small Enterprises" in 1950-51 was Rs 910 crores versus Rs 550 crores for "Factory Establishments", with 11.5 million workers in the former against 3 million in the latter. - Argues for an organised, country-wide educative campaign by Chambers of Commerce, trade associations and the Forum to counter Government propaganda, while still respecting laws and tax obligations. - Reads the vilification campaign against private life insurance management as a template for how the State justifies further nationalisation, and warns against tacit public acquiescence. - Closes with a civil-liberty warning that under one dominant party and no effective opposition, the line between democracy and totalitarianism in the economic field can soon be crossed. ### Free Enterprise and Freedom *By Murarji J. Vaidya* Vaidya reads the first chapter of the Second Five-Year Plan's draft outline as a near-final commitment to the "Socialistic Pattern of Society" adopted at the Avadi session of Congress, hardened in subsequent speeches by the Prime Minister and other Congress leaders into plain "Socialism". He notes that the Planning Commission justifies expanding the public sector chiefly on the ground of reducing inequalities of income, wealth and economic power, and that the Commission itself insists private profit can no longer be the criterion for major investment decisions, which must instead be made by "agencies informed by social purpose". Vaidya's central objection is not that these objectives are themselves illegitimate, but that simultaneous pursuit of socialism and democracy in an under-developed economy carries grave risks — risks already realised, he argues, by the Eastern European countries that slid from socialism into communism and lost both democracy and individual liberty. He warns that an expanding public sector will simply transfer concentrated economic power from "so-called capitalists" to politicians and bureaucrats whose integrity and patriotism cannot be assumed to exceed the average, and that the institutional changes envisaged are dictated by the Avadi resolution rather than by any demonstrated economic necessity, especially given the Private Sector's adequate performance in the First Plan outside of steel. He concludes by arguing that the new economic order should advance through the "surer and historically proven processes of comparatively slow moving democracy" rather than through totalitarian methods. - Treats the draft Second Plan as the operational expression of the Avadi resolution, with "Socialism" now formally replacing "Socialistic Pattern of Society". - Highlights the Commission's claim that private profit cannot be the basic criterion for major decisions, which must be made by "agencies informed by social purpose". - Draws an explicit parallel with Eastern European countries (including Russia) that began with socialism and ended with communism — "the death-knell of democracy and of individual liberty". - Argues that nationalisation merely relocates concentrated economic power from capitalists to politicians and bureaucrats, with no guarantee that the latter will be more virtuous. - Questions whether the rate of industrial-sector development envisaged justifies the institutional overhaul, given the Private Sector's record in the First Plan outside of the Steel Plants. - Frames the choice as one between achieving rapid socialism at the expense of democracy or achieving democracy at the expense of speed, and prefers the slower democratic path. --- ## [Primary work] FREE ENTERPRISE—THE KEY TO PROSPERITY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/free-enterprise-the-key-to-prosperity-by-sm-dahanukar/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet, S. M. Dahanukar argues that India's post-Independence industrial and commercial progress — achieved against an initially hostile Governmental attitude — has come overwhelmingly from the spirit of enterprise of the private sector, and that the country's future development requires the Government to give private initiative still more room to operate. He concedes that the official outlook has begun to change since the First Plan and that the Second Plan set targets for the private sector worth Rs. 233 crores, but warns that adequate imports, finance, raw materials, and freedom to expand still need to be assured if private enterprise is to flourish. The heart of the pamphlet is an extended West German parable. Dahanukar describes Berlin in 1947, with sixty per cent of the city in rubble, and credits Ludwig Erhard's bold decision to remove controls — taken in the face of predicted chaos — with unleashing the individual initiative that produced the so-called German economic miracle.… ### Body ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet, S. M. Dahanukar argues that India's post-Independence industrial and commercial progress — achieved against an initially hostile Governmental attitude — has come overwhelmingly from the spirit of enterprise of the private sector, and that the country's future development requires the Government to give private initiative still more room to operate. He concedes that the official outlook has begun to change since the First Plan and that the Second Plan set targets for the private sector worth Rs. 233 crores, but warns that adequate imports, finance, raw materials, and freedom to expand still need to be assured if private enterprise is to flourish. The heart of the pamphlet is an extended West German parable. Dahanukar describes Berlin in 1947, with sixty per cent of the city in rubble, and credits Ludwig Erhard's bold decision to remove controls — taken in the face of predicted chaos — with unleashing the individual initiative that produced the so-called German economic miracle. He quotes Erhard at length, including the latter's insistence that what happened in Germany was not a miracle at all but the result of an economic policy based on the principles of freedom that made human labour valuable and useful again. By 1958 West Germany had risen, in Dahanukar's telling, to lead Europe and overtake victorious England. Dahanukar then transposes the lesson onto India. He cites Erhard's 1958 New Delhi address to argue that fully-fledged economic planning misreads basic human nature, that economic life is shaped not at the draft-board but by human beings, and that the individual must be conscious of the value of his work and entitled to enjoy the fruits of his own success. The leaflet closes by posing the choice — free enterprise or planned development through a controlled public sector — and answering it through the West German results, expressing the hope that the Planning Commission and Government will take note while finalising the Third Five-Year Plan. ## Key points - Frames post-Independence Indian industrial progress as the achievement of the private sector working against, and only later with, Government attitudes. - Notes that the Second Five-Year Plan allocated Rs. 233 crores in targets to the private sector but argues that imports, finance, raw materials, and room to expand remain inadequately assured. - Uses West Germany after 1947 — Berlin sixty per cent rubble, no porter, no taxi, no cigarette — as the central case study for what economic freedom can rebuild. - Credits Ludwig Erhard's decision to scrap controls (against predictions of chaos) with releasing individual initiative that produced the 'German economic miracle'. - Quotes Erhard at length to argue that the so-called miracle was not a miracle but a deliberate policy based on the principles of freedom that restored the value of human labour. - Reports that by 1958 West Germany had become the leading nation of Europe and surpassed victorious England in foreign exchange reserves, with a standard of living twice that of England. - Invokes Erhard's 1958 New Delhi address to attack imitative planning, insisting that economic life is shaped 'not at the draft-board, but by human beings' and that individuals must enjoy the fruits of their own success. - Closes by posing the choice between free enterprise and controlled public-sector development and addresses the Planning Commission directly as it considers the Third Five-Year Plan. --- ## [Primary work] Free Enterprise is Economic Democracy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/free-enterprise-is-economic-democracy-lady-margaret-thatcher-february-15-1995/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects two excerpts from Lady Margaret Thatcher: a keynote address delivered in Bombay on 9 September 1994 under the Citibank Leadership Speaker Series ("Free Enterprise is Economic Democracy"), and a lecture titled "The New World Order" given at the Fraser Institute's 20th Anniversary luncheon in Vancouver in 1994. Together they amount to a compressed manifesto of Thatcherism reframed for an Indian audience on the cusp of liberalisation. In the first piece Thatcher argues that economic freedom is itself a form of freedom, that free enterprise is best understood as 'economic democracy,' and that the state's role should be limited but strong — sound on currency and finance, restrained on industry.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects two excerpts from Lady Margaret Thatcher: a keynote address delivered in Bombay on 9 September 1994 under the Citibank Leadership Speaker Series ("Free Enterprise is Economic Democracy"), and a lecture titled "The New World Order" given at the Fraser Institute's 20th Anniversary luncheon in Vancouver in 1994. Together they amount to a compressed manifesto of Thatcherism reframed for an Indian audience on the cusp of liberalisation. In the first piece Thatcher argues that economic freedom is itself a form of freedom, that free enterprise is best understood as 'economic democracy,' and that the state's role should be limited but strong — sound on currency and finance, restrained on industry. She praises Asia's growth miracle, urges India to use its democratic openness and middle-class capacity to consolidate reform, and presents privatisation as the mechanism that 'shrinks the powers of the state and enlarges the power of the people.' The second piece is autobiographical: Thatcher recounts the four things her 1979 government did 'pretty well immediately' — cutting income tax rates from a top of 83 percent down to 40 percent, dismantling price/incomes/exchange/development controls, rewriting trade-union law to restore the secret ballot and curb collective bullying, and privatising 46 nationalised industries. She frames the project as a moral one: capitalism, not socialism, carries the moral quality because it depends on voluntary cooperation, the rule of law, and the responsible exercise of freedom. The closing reflection insists that politicians must seek power by 'getting their convictions right,' rooted in the best traditions of their country. ## Key points - Thatcher reframes free enterprise as 'economic democracy' — power dispersed to the people through ownership and the market, parallel to political democracy through the vote. - The state should be 'limited but strong': sound finance and a stable currency are core duties, while industry and management belong with private owners. - Privatisation is treated as both an economic and a political instrument — it shrinks state power and converts ordinary wage-earners into shareholders and homeowners. - India is addressed directly: its established parliamentary democracy and large entrepreneurial middle class are presented as competitive advantages over China and post-Soviet Russia. - The 1979 UK reform programme is summarised as four immediate moves — cut income-tax rates (top rate from 83% to 40%), abolish prices/incomes/exchange/Development controls, reform trade-union law (secret ballot, end of the closed shop), and privatise 46 nationalised industries. - Lower tax rates produced higher revenues: the top 5 percent of earners contributed a bigger share of tax at 40 percent than they had at 83 percent — Thatcher's headline 'power of incentives' claim. - Capitalism is defended in explicitly moral terms — it requires voluntary joint action, the rule of law, and serving others through the market — while socialism is cast as 'the planning by the few over the lives of the many.' - Political leadership is figured as conviction politics against 'the art of the possible': the task in 1979 was to make the impossible happen by refusing pragmatism untethered from values. --- ## [Primary work] FREE ENTERPRISE WILL SURVIVE AS LONG AS MAN SURVIVES URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/free-enterprise-will-survive-as-long-as-man-survives-by-ad-shroff-december-31-1958/ ### Summary A. D. Shroff replies to a recent batch of speeches by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru that attacked the private sector, in particular a Calcutta address in which Nehru reportedly said critics in the Private Sector 'can be swept away with a broomstick.' Shroff treats this as evidence of irritation rather than argument: Nehru, he writes, has the political power to wield such a broom but cannot have any permanent effect, and the very sensitiveness on display is 'a weakness of small men born of the consciousness of having made mistakes and not having the moral courage to acknowledge them.' He pointedly contrasts the 'champion Democrat' with General Ayub Khan, whom Nehru has himself described as representing a 'naked military dictatorship', to suggest the Prime Minister's intolerance of dissent sits uneasily with his democratic claims. The second half turns to substance.… ### Body ## Summary A. D. Shroff replies to a recent batch of speeches by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru that attacked the private sector, in particular a Calcutta address in which Nehru reportedly said critics in the Private Sector 'can be swept away with a broomstick.' Shroff treats this as evidence of irritation rather than argument: Nehru, he writes, has the political power to wield such a broom but cannot have any permanent effect, and the very sensitiveness on display is 'a weakness of small men born of the consciousness of having made mistakes and not having the moral courage to acknowledge them.' He pointedly contrasts the 'champion Democrat' with General Ayub Khan, whom Nehru has himself described as representing a 'naked military dictatorship', to suggest the Prime Minister's intolerance of dissent sits uneasily with his democratic claims. The second half turns to substance. Shroff concedes that the food problem requires constructive attention and that the State could play some role in correcting maldistribution, but argues that the decision to monopolise wholesale food-grain trading will displace hundreds of thousands of small merchants who have done this work for generations, will not increase output, and will end in a State Trading Corporation that — like the cement, manganese ore and tinplate monopolies before it — simply inserts an unnecessary and avoidable intermediary, taking 'no record so far' but a great deal of profiteering with it. He estimates the existing food trade at about Rs. 500 crores. Against Nehru's contention that private enterprise and democracy can be separated, the Forum of Free Enterprise insists the opposite: every diminution of private enterprise erodes the democratic way of life, and every citizen has a right to choose his avocation that State trading curtails. Shroff closes with confidence that informed opinion, once mobilised, will be heard 'sooner or later.' ## Key points - Frames the piece as a 'nasty rejoinder' to Nehru's recent attacks on private enterprise, especially his Calcutta line that critics 'can be swept away with a broomstick.' - Reads Nehru's sensitiveness as small-man weakness and as inconsistent with his own labelling of Ayub Khan's regime a 'naked military dictatorship.' - Argues that Government can clean its own Public Sector — already showing inefficiency, corruption and mismanagement — without abolishing private enterprise. - Accepts a limited State role in correcting maldistribution of food grains but rejects wholesale State trading on grounds it displaces hundreds of thousands of small merchants and adds no productive capacity. - Cites earlier State Trading Corporation interventions in cement, manganese ore and tinplate as precedents for profiteering and unnecessary intermediation. - Estimates the displaced private food-grains trade at about Rs. 500 crores. - Rejects Nehru's separation of private enterprise from democracy, insisting their fates are linked. - Positions the Forum of Free Enterprise as a vehicle for mobilising 'voiceless illiterate voters' and intelligent public opinion against State trading. --- ## [Primary work] FREE MARKET ECONOMY —Key to Economic Progress and Freedoms URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/free-market-economy-key-to-economic-progress-and-freedoms-by-ma-rangoonwala-1982/ ### Summary Free Market Economy — Key to Economic Progress and Freedoms reproduces M. A. Rangoonwala's January 1982 inaugural address at the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Forum of Free Enterprise, prefaced by an introduction by N. A. Palkhivala and a short biographical sketch of the Forum's founder-president A. D. Shroff. Rangoonwala, then the immediate past President of the International Chamber of Commerce, argues that the free market is not merely an efficient allocation mechanism but the indispensable foundation of all human freedoms — "the market and freedom are really synonymous terms." The bulk of the rendered chunk is a sustained polemic against government planning and the dirigiste state. Rangoonwala rejects the standard justifications for government direction (that the free market produces "wrong" goods, or insufficient goods) and exposes the linguistic sleight by which planners rebrand compulsion as merely "indicative". He insists that all controls are ultimately "people control": the State does not, in the end, control commodities, prices or services in the abstract but only the human beings who manufacture, distribute and consume them.… ### Body ## Summary Free Market Economy — Key to Economic Progress and Freedoms reproduces M. A. Rangoonwala's January 1982 inaugural address at the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Forum of Free Enterprise, prefaced by an introduction by N. A. Palkhivala and a short biographical sketch of the Forum's founder-president A. D. Shroff. Rangoonwala, then the immediate past President of the International Chamber of Commerce, argues that the free market is not merely an efficient allocation mechanism but the indispensable foundation of all human freedoms — "the market and freedom are really synonymous terms." The bulk of the rendered chunk is a sustained polemic against government planning and the dirigiste state. Rangoonwala rejects the standard justifications for government direction (that the free market produces "wrong" goods, or insufficient goods) and exposes the linguistic sleight by which planners rebrand compulsion as merely "indicative". He insists that all controls are ultimately "people control": the State does not, in the end, control commodities, prices or services in the abstract but only the human beings who manufacture, distribute and consume them. Planning is meaningful only when it overrides what individuals would have chosen voluntarily, and therefore unavoidably involves coercion; rapid growth, he argues, is a by-product of sound policy, not a policy in itself. Beyond planning, Rangoonwala mounts a broader case for entrepreneurship as a cultural and moral inheritance — addressing his audience as "descendants of those great entrepreneurs which this sub-continent produced" — and warns that government intervention now serves chiefly to "placate or curry favour with organised, vocal and politically powerful groups". He treats the "compromising way" or middle path as a covert variant of socialism, arguing that a half-free economy is inherently unstable because its coercive component is expansionist. In the closing pages of the rendered set he turns to agriculture, charging India and other developing countries with having been "criminally neglectful" of the rural economy by squeezing the peasant to subsidise industrialisation. Palkhivala's introduction frames the booklet's polemical ambition: he praises Rangoonwala for refusing to apologise for profit, indicts the "permit-licence-quota raj" that Rajaji had named, and invokes Daniel Webster on the duty of citizens to safeguard their own freedom. The chunk ends mid-argument on agricultural neglect, with at least eleven further PDF pages of the speech and back-matter unseen. ## Key points - Rangoonwala equates the free market with freedom itself, treating economic liberty as the precondition for every other freedom rather than as a merely technical question of efficiency. - The central rhetorical move of the speech is to relabel "economic controls" as "people control" — the State does not regulate commodities in the abstract but coerces the human beings behind them. - Government planning is exposed as inherently coercive: a plan that merely ratified what individuals would freely have chosen would be pointless, so a meaningful plan must override their preferences. - Rangoonwala dismisses growth-rate targeting as magical thinking, arguing rapid growth is a by-product of good policy (sound money, light taxes, profit-respect, free interest rates) and not a policy in itself. - He rejects the "compromising way" or mixed economy as a covert form of socialism, on the grounds that a half-free economy is unstable because its coercive part is expansionist. - He frames Indian and developing-country entrepreneurs as inheritors of a sub-continental tradition of self-made enterprise, and worries that pervasive bureaucratic permission-seeking is "diluting the blood of entrepreneurship in our veins". - He charges policy-makers with "criminally neglectful" treatment of agriculture, warning that squeezing the peasantry to fund industrialisation produces inevitable rebound and decline. - Palkhivala's introduction situates the address within the Forum of Free Enterprise's anti-permit-licence-quota tradition and explicitly endorses Rangoonwala's defence of profit and critique of "omniscient Government". --- ## [Primary work] FREE MARKET ECONOMY —Key to Economic Progress and Freedoms URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/free-market-economy-key-to-economic-progress-and-freedoms-m-a-rangoonwaala-june-15-1982/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces the inaugural address delivered by M. A. Rangoonwala, then immediate past President of the International Chamber of Commerce, at the Forum's Silver Jubilee celebrations in Bombay on 12 January 1982. It is framed by an introduction from the Forum's President N. A. Palkhivala and a short biographical note on the Forum's founder A. D. Shroff. Palkhivala's introduction sets up Rangoonwala's argument as a plea for the return of market forces, attacks the "permit-licence-quota raj" that Rajaji had named, and quotes Daniel Webster on civic responsibility. Rangoonwala's central claim is that the free market is not merely an instrument of efficiency but synonymous with freedom itself. He insists that government controls, whatever their stated rationale, are always "people control" rather than control of goods, prices or services, and that economic planning by definition requires compulsion even when dressed up in the consultative language of "indicative" rather than "imperative" plans.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces the inaugural address delivered by M. A. Rangoonwala, then immediate past President of the International Chamber of Commerce, at the Forum's Silver Jubilee celebrations in Bombay on 12 January 1982. It is framed by an introduction from the Forum's President N. A. Palkhivala and a short biographical note on the Forum's founder A. D. Shroff. Palkhivala's introduction sets up Rangoonwala's argument as a plea for the return of market forces, attacks the "permit-licence-quota raj" that Rajaji had named, and quotes Daniel Webster on civic responsibility. Rangoonwala's central claim is that the free market is not merely an instrument of efficiency but synonymous with freedom itself. He insists that government controls, whatever their stated rationale, are always "people control" rather than control of goods, prices or services, and that economic planning by definition requires compulsion even when dressed up in the consultative language of "indicative" rather than "imperative" plans. He treats profit as morally legitimate, frames entrepreneurship as a unifying force, and argues that politicians' attachment to specific growth-rate targets reflects a "profound mystical belief in the power of words." He distinguishes three methods of organising an economy — the free market, the socialist or centralised method, and a "compromising way" that pretends to occupy a middle path. The compromising way, in his account, is in substance the socialist method, because once the principle of coercion is admitted there is no defensible ground on which to stop the proliferation of controls. The half-free economy, while preferable to none at all, is inherently unstable and expansionist in its coercive component. The rendered pages close with the opening of an extended critique of developing-country policy. Rangoonwala argues that intervention has gone far beyond protecting the weak and now placates organised, vocal interests; that the fetish of industrialisation has caused governments to oppress and exploit agriculture; and that this neglect must eventually trigger a rebound as peasants retreat to subsistence farming. The chunk ends mid-argument on page 14 of the printed text, with the remainder of the address not yet rendered. ## Key points - Text of M. A. Rangoonwala's address at the Forum of Free Enterprise Silver Jubilee, Bombay, 12 January 1982, prefaced by N. A. Palkhivala's introduction and a biographical sketch of A. D. Shroff. - Core thesis: the free market and freedom are synonymous; the only thing governments can ever control is people, not goods, prices or services. - Planning is inherently coercive — "indicative" planning is a euphemism, since a plan that genuinely accommodated everyone's voluntary choices would be pointless. - Government targets for growth rates rest on a "mystical belief in the power of words"; rapid growth is a by-product of good policy, never a policy in itself. - Three methods compared — free market, socialist/centralised, and a "compromising way" middle path that Rangoonwala argues collapses into socialism because it admits coercion without limit. - Critique of developing-country interventionism as placation of organised, vocal interest groups irrespective of their economic condition. - Critique of industrialisation bias: agriculture has been squeezed to subsidise industry, and a peasant retreat to subsistence farming will follow. - Palkhivala's introduction reinforces the address with Rajaji's "permit-licence-quota raj" and a Daniel Webster epigraph on civic responsibility. --- ## [Primary work] FREE POWER A Step Backward! URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/free-power-a-step-backward-harish-budhlani-october-18-2004/ ### Summary Free Power: A Step Backward! is a 2004 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet by the Thane-based energy management consultant Harish Budhlani, reprinted from an article in IEEMA Journal (September 2004). Budhlani argues that India's chronic underperformance in the power sector — per capita consumption of about 400 kwh against China's 850 kwh and the United States' 12,300 kwh, capacity-growth halved over 1995–2004, and State Electricity Board commercial losses anticipated at Rs.21,698 crore in 2004–05 — has finally produced a serious piece of reform legislation in the Electricity Act 2003, with provisions to phase out subsidies, deter theft, and put the sector on commercial principles. He warns that the new United Progressive Alliance's Common Minimum Programme proposal to review that Act, and the decisions of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra to revive free power for farmers, betray a consensus that all Chief Ministers had reached with the Prime Minister to charge a minimum of 50 paise per unit. The core of the booklet is a populism critique grounded in distributional facts.… ### Body ## Summary Free Power: A Step Backward! is a 2004 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet by the Thane-based energy management consultant Harish Budhlani, reprinted from an article in IEEMA Journal (September 2004). Budhlani argues that India's chronic underperformance in the power sector — per capita consumption of about 400 kwh against China's 850 kwh and the United States' 12,300 kwh, capacity-growth halved over 1995–2004, and State Electricity Board commercial losses anticipated at Rs.21,698 crore in 2004–05 — has finally produced a serious piece of reform legislation in the Electricity Act 2003, with provisions to phase out subsidies, deter theft, and put the sector on commercial principles. He warns that the new United Progressive Alliance's Common Minimum Programme proposal to review that Act, and the decisions of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra to revive free power for farmers, betray a consensus that all Chief Ministers had reached with the Prime Minister to charge a minimum of 50 paise per unit. The core of the booklet is a populism critique grounded in distributional facts. Budhlani argues that only 8–10 per cent of a Rs.1,500-crore-per-year free-power scheme will reach small farmers, with the bulk flowing to large and rich farmers; that nearly half of farmers depend on rainwater and only fifteen per cent use pump-sets, so the right policy is targeted relief — direct reimbursement of bills (as in Kerala), interest waivers on farm loans, or a uniform 50–100 paise tariff — not blanket give-aways that push State governments deeper into deficit and demoralise SEBs. He invokes Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar's own statement that farmers want reliable power at a reasonable price rather than charitable power, and cites Shetkari Sanghatana's senior leader Sharad Joshi (referred to as 'Kamgar Paksh') as a farmers' voice opposing the free-power decision. The closing argument is institutional. CERC and SERCs, Budhlani writes, must set tariffs that progressively reflect the cost of supply; private investment in generation, transmission and distribution — the only realistic route to closing the 8,000–9,000 MW annual capacity gap — will not come if State governments continue to send populist signals or expect regulators to absorb political pressure. The Electricity Act 2003 must be implemented 'in words and spirit'; otherwise India's familiar pattern of 'two steps forward and one step backward' will defeat the goal of power for all at an affordable price. ## Key points - Per capita electricity consumption in India (~400 kwh) is roughly half of China's and a fraction of the United States' (~12,300 kwh), and capacity growth over 1995–2004 slowed to 3.6% — half the previous decade's rate. - The Electricity Act 2003 is praised as well-drafted legislation: it mandates regulatory commissions, gradual elimination of subsidies and cross-subsidies, advance government payment for any subsidies (Clause 65), and deterrent punishment for theft. - The UPA's Common Minimum Programme proposal to review the Act, and free-power announcements by Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, break the Chief Ministers' consensus with the Prime Minister to charge a minimum of 50 paise per unit. - Distributional analysis: only about 8–10% of a Rs.1,500-crore free-power scheme would actually benefit small farmers; the remainder accrues to large and rich farmers, while Maharashtra already carries Rs.90,000 crore of state debt. - Author cites Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar — and Shetkari Sanghatana's senior leadership — for the position that farmers want reliable, affordable power, not free and charitable power. - Alternatives proposed include reimbursement of electricity bills for genuinely poor farmers (as done by Kerala), interest waivers on farm loans, and a uniform 50–100 paise/unit tariff fixed in consultation with the Prime Minister. - CERC and SERCs must be allowed to set fair, affordable, cost-reflective tariffs without political interference; otherwise private sector investment in generation and distribution will not materialise. - Populist free-power decisions endanger SEB finances, deter domestic and foreign investment, and undo two decades of reform momentum. --- ## [Primary work] Free Your Mind URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/free-your-mind-a-beginners-guide-to-political-economy/ ### Summary These opening five chapters of *A Beginner's Guide to Political Economy* lay out a polemical, free-market primer aimed at young or lay readers, illustrated with line drawings, verse insets and 'Points to Ponder' question boxes. Chapter 1 ('Know Thyself') argues that the capacity to trade is what makes humans uniquely 'economic' (Homo Economicus) and wealth-generating; Chapter 2 ('Population Causes Prosperity') inverts the standard Indian-economics claim that India's population causes poverty, contending instead that dense, urbanised places are rich precisely because they permit a deeper division of labour. The author treats self-sufficiency as 'economic suicide' and roads/urbanisation as the real engines of prosperity, blaming India's urban squalor on an undersupply of roads rather than on overcrowding. Chapters 3 through 5 turn to why the state mishandles the economy.… ### Body # Free Your Mind ## Summary These opening five chapters of *A Beginner's Guide to Political Economy* lay out a polemical, free-market primer aimed at young or lay readers, illustrated with line drawings, verse insets and 'Points to Ponder' question boxes. Chapter 1 ('Know Thyself') argues that the capacity to trade is what makes humans uniquely 'economic' (Homo Economicus) and wealth-generating; Chapter 2 ('Population Causes Prosperity') inverts the standard Indian-economics claim that India's population causes poverty, contending instead that dense, urbanised places are rich precisely because they permit a deeper division of labour. The author treats self-sufficiency as 'economic suicide' and roads/urbanisation as the real engines of prosperity, blaming India's urban squalor on an undersupply of roads rather than on overcrowding. Chapters 3 through 5 turn to why the state mishandles the economy. Chapter 3 ('Why Political Markets Don't Work') introduces public-choice reasoning: private choices self-correct because consumers bear their consequences, whereas political markets reward re-election-seeking politicians, budget-maximising bureaucrats, and rent-seeking interest groups (free water, subsidised rice, protective import duties). Chapter 4 ('Public Goods and Market Failure') concedes the classical case for state-supplied public goods like roads and policing, while Chapter 5 ('The Case for Free Trade') opens an attack on swadeshi/self-reliance and the half-century of Indian trade restriction lifted only under WTO pressure. The text also gestures at 'predatory states' and 'kleptocracies' as a frame for governance failure in India and the Third World. ## Key points - Frames the human capacity to trade as the defining 'economic' trait, coining the book's refrain that humans are Homo Economicus, 'born to be rich'. - Argues population is a resource, not a burden: dense cities are rich because they enable a deeper division of labour ('Population Causes Prosperity'). - Treats self-sufficiency/swadeshi as 'economic suicide' for individuals and nations alike. - Blames Indian urban squalor on an undersupply of roads and poor transport links, not on overpopulation, citing lower densities than Japan/Germany/Holland/Belgium. - Deploys public-choice theory: politicians chase re-election, bureaucrats maximise budgets, interest groups seek 'free lunches' at other taxpayers' expense. - Concedes a classical-liberal case for genuine public goods (roads, police) funded from the 'collective kitty'. - Opens a case for free trade, framing India's 50 years of import restriction as ended only by WTO pressure. - Introduces 'predatory state' and 'kleptocracy' framing for governance failure, invoking Sher Shah Suri and contemporary extortion of street vendors. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom and Economic Growth URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/freedom-and-economic-growth-prof-g-carlweiland-jun8-1962/ ### Summary Freedom and Economic Growth is a short Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet by Prof. G. Carl Wiegand of Southern Illinois University, published in Bombay on 8 June 1962 and subtitled "Is Socialism the Answer?". Wiegand argues that mass hunger in Asia, Africa and Latin America is not a problem of natural resources or capital scarcity but of ideology: the leaders of underdeveloped countries have absorbed European-style statism, Keynesian deficit thinking, and Fabian welfare-state slogans precisely at the moment when the West is paying the price for them. He marshals a series of national comparisons — Switzerland against Brazil, post-war West Germany against fifteen years of regimentation, Malaya against Indonesia, Japan against an India that for two hundred years "lived for almost 200 years under British colonial rule" yet remained behind — to insist that institutions, private property rights and personal freedom, not endowment or aid, determine growth. The pamphlet's central polemic is directed at the conviction, which Wiegand attributes to Jawaharlal Nehru and to "many American economists and politicians," that a totalitarian or socialist state is "a 'people's republic' in which th… ### Body ## Summary Freedom and Economic Growth is a short Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet by Prof. G. Carl Wiegand of Southern Illinois University, published in Bombay on 8 June 1962 and subtitled "Is Socialism the Answer?". Wiegand argues that mass hunger in Asia, Africa and Latin America is not a problem of natural resources or capital scarcity but of ideology: the leaders of underdeveloped countries have absorbed European-style statism, Keynesian deficit thinking, and Fabian welfare-state slogans precisely at the moment when the West is paying the price for them. He marshals a series of national comparisons — Switzerland against Brazil, post-war West Germany against fifteen years of regimentation, Malaya against Indonesia, Japan against an India that for two hundred years "lived for almost 200 years under British colonial rule" yet remained behind — to insist that institutions, private property rights and personal freedom, not endowment or aid, determine growth. The pamphlet's central polemic is directed at the conviction, which Wiegand attributes to Jawaharlal Nehru and to "many American economists and politicians," that a totalitarian or socialist state is "a 'people's republic' in which the people have a choice." Against this he sets a long passage from Gandhi describing the state as "a soulless machine" that "can never be weaned from violence," and against the welfare-state slogan of "freedom from want" he argues a semantic confusion: men under such regimes surrender freedom for security and end with neither. Forced industrialisation, displacement of private investment by inter-governmental loans (the "Alliance for Progress" is cited as a cautionary example), and growth-through-inflation policies are presented as wrong remedies that mimic the European absolutism and mercantilism Europe itself had to defeat. The closing pages turn to a constructive recommendation aimed squarely at Indian planners. Wiegand argues that agricultural surplus, not steel mills, has historically preceded industrialisation — citing eastern Germany and the early United States — and that India would gain more from "100,000 steel plows at $20 each" than from a single $2 million machine tool. He warns that India's Second Five-Year Plan misreads the tempo of progress, that public-sector competition with private firms scares away investment, and that the "growth-through-inflation" formula makes Indian economic development possible only "on a totalitarian basis." The pamphlet closes with the standard Forum of Free Enterprise membership appeal and a flanking A. D. Shroff epigraph: "Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives." ## Key points - Hunger in the underdeveloped world is framed as an ideological failure, not a resource or capital shortage — "Neither capital nor natural resources assure economic growth." - Cross-country comparisons (Switzerland vs Brazil, West Germany's recovery, Malaya vs Indonesia, Japan vs India) are used to argue that private property, private initiative and respect for individual rights are the real growth variables. - Nehru's collectivist premise — that a socialist state is a "people's republic" in which the people have a choice — is rejected as resting on a false equation of state and people. - Gandhi is enlisted as an ally against state planning, via his characterisations of the state as a "soulless machine" and as concentrated violence that "unmans the people and deprives them of initiative." - Fabian "freedom from want" rhetoric is attacked as a semantic confusion that trades political freedom for economic security and yields neither. - Foreign aid and inter-governmental loans (Inter-American "Alliance for Progress") are argued to crowd out private investment rather than complement it, especially when channelled into public-sector industries that compete with private enterprise. - Agricultural surplus is presented as the historical precondition for industrialisation; capital-light, labour-intensive agriculture — "100,000 steel plows at $20 each" — is recommended over showcase heavy industry. - The "growth-through-inflation" formula is named as the chief threat to both the US economy and India's development, making Indian growth possible only on "a totalitarian basis." --- ## [Primary work] Freedom of the Press URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/freedom-of-the-press-dr-mankekar-october-12-1971/ ### Summary D. R. Mankekar's 1971 booklet reprints a speech delivered on 15 September at the New Delhi Centre of the Forum of Free Enterprise. It is a polemic against two emerging Government misconceptions about the press in the months leading up to the draft Bill on diffusion of newspaper ownership and the 25th Constitution Amendment: first, that dissent is a grave crime and conformity to the Government's thinking is the quintessence of free expression; and second, that diffusion of press ownership somehow secures the independence of the press. Mankekar frames press freedom as the right of dissent — the co-existence of conflicting viewpoints contending for the minds of citizens — and reads the assault on the so-called 'monopoly business' papers as an ideological vendetta against the only papers financially strong enough to resist Government pressure and patronage. The argument moves through international comparisons. Mankekar invokes the U.S. First Amendment as the bulwark behind a press that took on Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and John Kennedy; the Republican-owned American papers that nevertheless criticised Republican policies; Edward Heath's grumbles in Britain; M.… ### Body ## Summary D. R. Mankekar's 1971 booklet reprints a speech delivered on 15 September at the New Delhi Centre of the Forum of Free Enterprise. It is a polemic against two emerging Government misconceptions about the press in the months leading up to the draft Bill on diffusion of newspaper ownership and the 25th Constitution Amendment: first, that dissent is a grave crime and conformity to the Government's thinking is the quintessence of free expression; and second, that diffusion of press ownership somehow secures the independence of the press. Mankekar frames press freedom as the right of dissent — the co-existence of conflicting viewpoints contending for the minds of citizens — and reads the assault on the so-called 'monopoly business' papers as an ideological vendetta against the only papers financially strong enough to resist Government pressure and patronage. The argument moves through international comparisons. Mankekar invokes the U.S. First Amendment as the bulwark behind a press that took on Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and John Kennedy; the Republican-owned American papers that nevertheless criticised Republican policies; Edward Heath's grumbles in Britain; M. Hubert Beauve-Mery of Le Monde on why a newspaper cannot allow dissensions in command; and John Thaddeus Delane's classic claim that the duties of government and press are 'constantly separate, generally independent, sometimes diametrically opposite.' He treats the draft Bill's call for editorial unity in a board of representative trade unions and elective directors as a 'tall order' that would either deliver the editorial sanctum to trade-union ideology, hand it to Government nominees through the back door, or leave editorial anarchy in place of proprietorial discipline. The 'Yugoslav analogy' of co-existence of conflicting ideologies within one paper is dismissed as inapplicable to a republic whose constitution lays down a single ideological framework and whose industries are not socially owned. The remedy Mankekar proposes is not structural reform of ownership but the elevation of the editor — protecting the editor's supremacy against proprietorial interference and undue commercial considerations, while urging the proprietor to divest commercial interests that conflict with the paper's vocation. He closes by recommending that the Government refer charges against the press to the Press Council and seek its expert opinion before legislating. An appendix collects Mankekar's own credo of the journalist's vocation, his invocations of Lokmanya Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi as exemplars of journalism as 'foundry of the nation', a 1968 passage from Indira Gandhi on the threat to a free press coming as much from within journalism as from authority, and Justice Hugo Black's opinion in U.S. v. New York Times. ## Key points - Frames the essence of press freedom as the right of dissent and the co-existence of conflicting viewpoints, against a Government view that equates dissent with grave crime and 'commitment' with blind acceptance of policy. - Argues that the draft Bill on diffusion of press ownership and the 25th Constitution Amendment together threaten the Fundamental Right of free expression and amount to 'nationalisation of the Press by the backdoor'. - Reads the Government's championing of 'small newspapers' as an ideological vendetta against larger, financially independent papers that resist governmental pressure and patronage. - Anchors the argument in U.S. and U.K. parallels — the First Amendment, Republican-owned papers opposing Republican presidents, Heath's complaints about the British press — to show that a hostile press is the normal condition of a working democracy. - Critiques co-operative or employee-shareholder schemes as an opening for trade-union political ideology to penetrate the editorial sanctum, and the 'Yugoslav analogy' as inapplicable to Indian constitutional and economic conditions. - Locates the real measure of press reform in editorial supremacy: protecting the editor from proprietorial and commercial interference, and asking proprietors to disengage from conflicting commercial interests. - Recommends that Government route any charges against the press through the Press Council and act on its expert opinion rather than through new legislation. - Concludes with an appendix triangulating Mankekar's own credo, Indira Gandhi's 1968 warning about threats to press freedom from within journalism, and Justice Hugo Black's defence of the press's right to expose deception in government. --- ## [Primary work] From the Hair of Shiva to the Hair of the Prophet URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/from-the-hair-of-shiva-to-the-hair-of-the-prophet-and-other-essays/ ### Summary In the rendered pages (front matter plus the opening essays of a 40-essay collection), Sauvik Chakraverti sets out a deliberately simple, polemical case for classical liberalism aimed at lay readers rather than economists. The foreword frames the whole book as 'enjoyable politico-economic journalism' in the tradition of Bastiat and Hazlitt, written so that non-specialists 'may not only enjoy the read but also appreciate the importance of Freedom: Freedom From The State' (p.4); the author signs off 'Onwards to a free India - and then, a free world' and dates the piece January 2004. The contents page (rendered pp.6-8) shows the volume organised into five Parts - Evil, Good, the travelogue sequence that gives the book its title, Stray Thoughts, and Law - each chapter a short, exclamatory essay. The essays visible in the rendered pages develop a single thesis. 'Evil!' argues that there are only two ways to survive - earning in the market or living off others by plunder - and brands India's socialist 'license-permit-quota raj' as institutionalised theft dressed up as democracy.… ### Body # From the Hair of Shiva to the Hair of the Prophet *By SAUVIK CHAKRAVERTI* ## Summary In the rendered pages (front matter plus the opening essays of a 40-essay collection), Sauvik Chakraverti sets out a deliberately simple, polemical case for classical liberalism aimed at lay readers rather than economists. The foreword frames the whole book as 'enjoyable politico-economic journalism' in the tradition of Bastiat and Hazlitt, written so that non-specialists 'may not only enjoy the read but also appreciate the importance of Freedom: Freedom From The State' (p.4); the author signs off 'Onwards to a free India - and then, a free world' and dates the piece January 2004. The contents page (rendered pp.6-8) shows the volume organised into five Parts - Evil, Good, the travelogue sequence that gives the book its title, Stray Thoughts, and Law - each chapter a short, exclamatory essay. The essays visible in the rendered pages develop a single thesis. 'Evil!' argues that there are only two ways to survive - earning in the market or living off others by plunder - and brands India's socialist 'license-permit-quota raj' as institutionalised theft dressed up as democracy. 'Truth!' insists the free market rests not on disposable 'theories' but on the basic truth that humans have, in Adam Smith's phrase, a 'natural propensity to truck, barter and exchange'. 'Knowledge!' attacks state education for teaching the young that India's population causes poverty, countering (against an 'Amartya Sen view' he names as statist) that dense cities are rich because they widen the division of labour, and that landless labourers are poor only because they lack a marketable surplus. In the rendered pages the recurring prescription is urbanisation, free trade, and getting the state out of economic life. ## Key points - In the rendered pages the book is framed as accessible libertarian journalism in the lineage of Bastiat and Hazlitt, aimed at lay voters rather than economists. - The foreword (p.4) names the volume's goal as 'Freedom From The State' and is signed/dated January 2004. - Contents (rendered pp.6-8) lay out 40 short essays across five Parts: Evil; Good; the Shiva-to-Prophet travelogues; Stray Thoughts; Law. - Essay 1 ('Evil!') reduces human survival to honest market earning vs. plunder, casting socialism's 'license-permit-quota raj' as legalised loot. - Essay 2 ('Truth!') grounds the free market in Adam Smith's 'natural propensity to truck, barter and exchange' rather than in economic theory. - Essay 3 ('Knowledge!') attacks state schooling for teaching that population causes poverty, arguing instead that dense cities create wealth via the division of labour. - The author repeatedly prescribes urbanisation and free trade and disparages the 'population problem' framing, in the rendered pages. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Fresh Thinking on Planning and Prices URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/fresh-thinking-on-planning-and-prices-june-14-1977/ ### Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay and dated June 1977, "Fresh Thinking on Planning and Prices" is a compilation pamphlet rather than a single-author essay. It brings together two important planning documents that appeared in the second half of April 1977 — a moment of political and economic transition in India following the end of the Emergency — and frames them as essential reading for citizens concerned with growth, social justice, and the persistent problem of rising prices. The first half of the pamphlet reproduces substantial extracts from "People's Plan II," prepared by a Planning Committee of the Indian Renaissance Institute (a society founded by the late M. N. Roy) under the convening leadership of V. M. Tarkunde and including economists B. M. Banerjee, Amlan Datta, G. R. Dalvi, G. D. Parikh, and Amrutananda Das. Banerjee, Datta, Dalvi, Parikh and Das co-authored the planning framework as members of the IRI committee, contributing the analysis of investment priorities, distributive justice, and the four-objectives architecture that organises the document. People's Plan II builds on the original People's Plan prepared in 1944 by a committee of the Indian Federation of Labour under M. N. Roy's inspiration. The document articulates four core planning objectives: satisfying minimum primary consumption needs, maximising employment through productive involvement rather than mere welfare transfers, achieving distributive justice by reversing the accrual of growth benefits to rentiers and traders, and eliminating the poverty afflicting the bottom 40 percent of the population. On investment priorities it makes a decisive break with Nehruvian orthodoxy by subordinating heavy-industry allocations to agricultural development, small industry, social services, and basic wage-goods production — arguing that heavy industry should be a tool of development, not an end in itself. The second half reproduces a summary of FULLMANGAL (Five per cent Upper Linear Limit on Money's Annual Growth rate As per Law), a scheme submitted to the Prime Minister in April 1977 by Prof. C. N. Vakil and Prof. P. R. Brahmananda of Bombay University. Building on the earlier SEMIBOMBLA memorandum that 140 economists had submitted in February 1974 — and which the authors credit for the fall in prices witnessed from September 1974 — FULLMANGAL proposes a monetarist anti-inflation programme of 22 specific measures. Its centrepiece is a constitutional amendment placing a 5 percent annual ceiling on money supply growth, combined with a 5 percent reduction in money stock in 1977–78, a target WPI reduction of 10 percent over two financial years from the March 1977 level of 182, a budgetary surplus of Rs. 750 crores, a 5 percent across-the-board cut in government disbursements, a reduction of subsidies by 50 percent, and a comprehensive 8-point interest-rate reform. ### Body ## Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay and dated June 1977, "Fresh Thinking on Planning and Prices" is a compilation pamphlet rather than a single-author essay. It brings together two important planning documents that appeared in the second half of April 1977 — a moment of political and economic transition in India following the end of the Emergency — and frames them as essential reading for citizens concerned with growth, social justice, and the persistent problem of rising prices. The first half of the pamphlet reproduces substantial extracts from "People's Plan II," prepared by a Planning Committee of the Indian Renaissance Institute (a society founded by the late M. N. Roy) under the convening leadership of V. M. Tarkunde and including economists Amlan Datta, G. R. Dalvi, G. D. Parikh, and Amrutananda Das. People's Plan II builds on the original People's Plan prepared in 1944 by a committee of the Indian Federation of Labour under M. N. Roy's inspiration. The document articulates four core planning objectives: satisfying minimum primary consumption needs, maximising employment through productive involvement rather than mere welfare transfers, achieving distributive justice by reversing the accrual of growth benefits to rentiers and traders, and eliminating the poverty afflicting the bottom 40 percent of the population. On investment priorities it makes a decisive break with Nehruvian orthodoxy by subordinating heavy-industry allocations to agricultural development, small industry, social services, and basic wage-goods production — arguing that heavy industry should be a tool of development, not an end in itself. The second half reproduces a summary of FULLMANGAL (Five per cent Upper Linear Limit on Money's Annual Growth rate As per Law), a scheme submitted to the Prime Minister in April 1977 by Prof. C. N. Vakil and Prof. P. R. Brahmananda of Bombay University. Building on the earlier SEMIBOMBLA memorandum that 140 economists had submitted in February 1974 — and which the authors credit for the fall in prices witnessed from September 1974 — FULLMANGAL proposes a monetarist anti-inflation programme of 22 specific measures. Its centrepiece is a constitutional amendment placing a 5 percent annual ceiling on money supply growth, combined with a 5 percent reduction in money stock in 1977–78, a target WPI reduction of 10 percent over two financial years from the March 1977 level of 182, a budgetary surplus of Rs. 750 crores, a 5 percent across-the-board cut in government disbursements, a reduction of subsidies by 50 percent, and a comprehensive 8-point interest-rate reform. ## Key points - A Forum of Free Enterprise compilation pamphlet, June 1977, presenting extracts from two documents released in April 1977 at a moment of post-Emergency political transition. - People's Plan II (Indian Renaissance Institute, inspired by M. N. Roy's tradition) sets four planning objectives: primary needs satisfaction, employment through productive involvement, distributive justice, and elimination of poverty in the bottom 40 percent. - Rejects Nehruvian heavy-industry-first orthodoxy: argues industrialisation is a tool not an end, and that investment priorities should flow from the requirements of primary needs, agriculture, small industry, and social services. - Calls for minimum necessary controls only — foreign exchange, rationing/distribution of basic wage goods, and luxury consumption restrictions — scrapping the rest as counterproductive. - Advocates decentralised indicative planning with managerial autonomy, productivity orientation, and parallel treatment of public and private sector enterprises in credit and contract allocation. - FULLMANGAL (Vakil and Brahmananda, April 1977) proposes a constitutional amendment capping money supply growth at 5 percent per annum as the centrepiece of a 22-measure anti-inflation programme. - Near-term FULLMANGAL targets: WPI to fall 10 percent from the index level of 182 over two years; money stock to contract 5 percent in 1977–78; budgetary surplus of Rs. 750 crores; 5 percent across-the-board cut in government disbursements; subsidies reduced by 50 percent. - Precedent cited: the 1974 SEMIBOMBLA memorandum signed by 140 economists was credited with the fall in prices from September 1974 over the subsequent 18 months, establishing the authors' credibility for this follow-on scheme. --- ## [Primary work] FROM THE INDUSTRIAL AGE TO THE INFORMATION AGE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/from-the-industrial-age-to-the-information-age-by-bardley-d-belt/ ### Summary First published in The Washington Quarterly (Summer 1996 issue) and reproduced as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet (published November–December 1996) with the sponsorship of the Economics Research Centre founded by the late Prof. B. R. Shenoy, Bradley D. Belt's essay makes the case that the U.S. securities regulatory framework — erected in the shadow of the Great Depression and administered by the SEC for more than 60 years — is fundamentally obsolete and, unless substantially revised, will impair the competitive position of American capital markets in a globalised, technology-driven world. Belt wrote from his position as Director of Capital Markets at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC, having previously served as Counsel to the SEC and the Senate Banking Committee. Belt begins with a historical contrast: when Congress enacted the Securities Act of 1933 and the Exchange Act of 1934 in the wake of the Pecora hearings' revelations of large-scale fraud, the NYSE had a total equity capitalisation of just $16 billion, listed some 800 companies, and traded roughly one million shares a day — a volume now executed every minute. The regulatory framework that emerged from that era, though remarkably resilient, was designed for self-contained national markets in an industrial age. Four forces have since fundamentally transformed the landscape: internationalisation (U.S. equities traded by foreign investors grew from $125 billion in 1984 to $700 billion in 1994; foreign equities traded by U.S. investors rose from $30 billion to $815 billion, nearly 40 percent per year); institutionalisation (institutions now hold nearly half of all U.S. equities and account for three-quarters of listed exchange trading volume); product innovation (notional value of derivatives markets grew from just over $1 trillion in 1986 to more than $20 trillion in 1994); and technological advance (transactions worth trillions of dollars now occur electronically and instantaneously). Belt then identifies five constraints that will erode the SEC's capacity to provide meaningful oversight: the sheer power of global capital flows (foreign exchange trading exceeds $1.3 trillion per day); regulatory arbitrage by market participants; resource constraints (the SEC's entire annual budget of $300 million equals roughly one day's cross-border securities trading); competence gaps as private firms recruit world-class technologists at salaries the government cannot match; and the inherent temporal lag of bureaucratic rulemaking versus market-speed adaptation. He concludes with six design principles for a twenty-first-century regulatory framework: regulation must facilitate rather than impede capital formation; balance competing goals; demonstrate that benefits exceed costs; be integrated and integrative (including potentially merging the SEC and CFTC, harmonising international standards, and considering a supranational regulatory framework); provide clarity and certainty; and be based on performance standards rather than command-and-control edicts. ### Body ## Summary First published in The Washington Quarterly (Summer 1996 issue) and reproduced as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet (published November–December 1996) with the sponsorship of the Economics Research Centre founded by the late Prof. B. R. Shenoy, Bradley D. Belt's essay makes the case that the U.S. securities regulatory framework — erected in the shadow of the Great Depression and administered by the SEC for more than 60 years — is fundamentally obsolete and, unless substantially revised, will impair the competitive position of American capital markets in a globalised, technology-driven world. Belt wrote from his position as Director of Capital Markets at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC, having previously served as Counsel to the SEC and the Senate Banking Committee. Belt begins with a historical contrast: when Congress enacted the Securities Act of 1933 and the Exchange Act of 1934 in the wake of the Pecora hearings' revelations of large-scale fraud, the NYSE had a total equity capitalisation of just $16 billion, listed some 800 companies, and traded roughly one million shares a day — a volume now executed every minute. The regulatory framework that emerged from that era, though remarkably resilient, was designed for self-contained national markets in an industrial age. Four forces have since fundamentally transformed the landscape: internationalisation (U.S. equities traded by foreign investors grew from $125 billion in 1984 to $700 billion in 1994; foreign equities traded by U.S. investors rose from $30 billion to $815 billion, nearly 40 percent per year); institutionalisation (institutions now hold nearly half of all U.S. equities and account for three-quarters of listed exchange trading volume); product innovation (notional value of derivatives markets grew from just over $1 trillion in 1986 to more than $20 trillion in 1994); and technological advance (transactions worth trillions of dollars now occur electronically and instantaneously). Belt then identifies five constraints that will erode the SEC's capacity to provide meaningful oversight: the sheer power of global capital flows (foreign exchange trading exceeds $1.3 trillion per day); regulatory arbitrage by market participants; resource constraints (the SEC's entire annual budget of $300 million equals roughly one day's cross-border securities trading); competence gaps as private firms recruit world-class technologists at salaries the government cannot match; and the inherent temporal lag of bureaucratic rulemaking versus market-speed adaptation. He concludes with six design principles for a twenty-first-century regulatory framework: regulation must facilitate rather than impede capital formation; balance competing goals; demonstrate that benefits exceed costs; be integrated and integrative (including potentially merging the SEC and CFTC, harmonising international standards, and considering a supranational regulatory framework); provide clarity and certainty; and be based on performance standards rather than command-and-control edicts. ## Key points - Reproduced from The Washington Quarterly, Summer 1996; published as a Forum of Free Enterprise / Economics Research Centre pamphlet in November–December 1996. Author is Director of Capital Markets, CSIS, Washington, DC, and former SEC and Senate Banking Committee Counsel. - Central argument: U.S. securities regulation, unchanged in structure for more than 60 years since the Depression era, is dangerously obsolete and risks ceding competitive advantage to less regulated global markets. - Four transformative forces since 1934: internationalisation (foreign equities traded by U.S. investors rose ~40 percent per year to $815 billion by 1994), institutionalisation (institutions now hold ~50 percent of U.S. equities and 75 percent of exchange trading volume), product innovation (derivatives notional value grew from $1 trillion in 1986 to $20 trillion in 1994), and technological advance. - Historical baseline: NYSE market cap was $16 billion in 1930 with ~800 listed companies and 1 million shares traded per day — roughly what is now traded every minute. - Five constraints on future SEC oversight: power of global capital ($1.3 trillion/day in foreign exchange); regulatory arbitrage; resource mismatch (SEC annual budget ~$300 million vs. $1 trillion+ in daily cross-border trading); competence gap in recruiting technology talent; and temporal lag of regulatory decision cycles. - London already leads the NYSE in international listings: 464 foreign issuers with $3 trillion market cap versus fewer than 300 foreign issuers and $200 billion on the NYSE — illustrating the competitive threat. - Six design principles for a 21st-century framework: facilitate capital formation; balance competing goals; ensure benefits exceed costs; integrate domestic and international regulatory structures (possibly merging SEC and CFTC and creating a supranational framework); provide regulatory clarity; and adopt performance standards over command-and-control rules. - Published for an Indian audience under the Forum of Free Enterprise imprint, making it a case study in how globalisation arguments about securities market deregulation were disseminated within India's liberal-market intellectual tradition. --- ## [Primary work] FUNDAMENTAL CHANGES NEEDED IN ECONOMIC POLICY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/fundamental-changes-needed-in-economic-policy-m-h-mody-september-13-1980/ ### Summary Delivered as the keynote address at the Diamond Jubilee Symposium of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi on 20 July 1980, and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in September 1980, M. H. Mody's address opens with a bleak statistical reckoning. Three decades of planned development had yielded an average GNP growth rate of under 3 per cent annually, and a per capita income growth of just 0.6 per cent during the 1970s — placing India near the bottom of the World Bank's league table, behind Bangladesh and Pakistan. Industrial output barely grew 50 per cent over the decade while Korea's expanded by over 400 per cent; the rupee lost 60 per cent of its value; and in 1979–80, national income fell by 3 per cent, agricultural output by 10 per cent, and inflation surpassed 20 per cent. Against this backdrop, India remained among the world's sixteen poorest nations by per capita income at roughly $150. Mody's argument proceeds in two registers — short-run and long-run. In the immediate term he urges 'consolidation for growth': mobilising the Rs. 3,000–4,000 crores of production left unrealised in 1979–80 due to coal, power and transport bottlenecks, and appointing small task forces with overriding powers to cut through the licensing maze. He reserves particular scorn for the state sector, which had absorbed over Rs. 14,000 crores of investment yet delivered neither production nor profitability — a 'puny dwarf' atop the commanding heights. His remedy is not renationalisation but managerial liberation: allow the publicly-financed (private) sector to manage selected public undertakings on an experimental basis, especially in power generation and coal. For the longer run, Mody calls for a 7–8 per cent GNP growth target sustained by a 35 per cent investment rate, a declining capital-output ratio (from over 5 back toward 3), aggressive use of India's 20 per cent savings rate and international borrowing capacity, and turn-key imports of fertiliser, steel and telecommunications plant. He also addresses labour relations — 44 million man-days lost to strikes in 1979 — arguing for worker participation and a property right in jobs as the price of industrial truce. He closes with a warning that without the political will to abandon 'the left luggage of the socialists of the last generation,' none of these reforms will materialise. ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the keynote address at the Diamond Jubilee Symposium of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi on 20 July 1980, and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in September 1980, M. H. Mody's address opens with a bleak statistical reckoning. Three decades of planned development had yielded an average GNP growth rate of under 3 per cent annually, and a per capita income growth of just 0.6 per cent during the 1970s — placing India near the bottom of the World Bank's league table, behind Bangladesh and Pakistan. Industrial output barely grew 50 per cent over the decade while Korea's expanded by over 400 per cent; the rupee lost 60 per cent of its value; and in 1979–80, national income fell by 3 per cent, agricultural output by 10 per cent, and inflation surpassed 20 per cent. Against this backdrop, India remained among the world's sixteen poorest nations by per capita income at roughly $150. Mody's argument proceeds in two registers — short-run and long-run. In the immediate term he urges 'consolidation for growth': mobilising the Rs. 3,000–4,000 crores of production left unrealised in 1979–80 due to coal, power and transport bottlenecks, and appointing small task forces with overriding powers to cut through the licensing maze. He reserves particular scorn for the state sector, which had absorbed over Rs. 14,000 crores of investment yet delivered neither production nor profitability — a 'puny dwarf' atop the commanding heights. His remedy is not renationalisation but managerial liberation: allow the publicly-financed (private) sector to manage selected public undertakings on an experimental basis, especially in power generation and coal. For the longer run, Mody calls for a 7–8 per cent GNP growth target sustained by a 35 per cent investment rate, a declining capital-output ratio (from over 5 back toward 3), aggressive use of India's 20 per cent savings rate and international borrowing capacity, and turn-key imports of fertiliser, steel and telecommunications plant. He also addresses labour relations — 44 million man-days lost to strikes in 1979 — arguing for worker participation and a property right in jobs as the price of industrial truce. He closes with a warning that without the political will to abandon 'the left luggage of the socialists of the last generation,' none of these reforms will materialise. ## Key points - India's GNP grew at only 2.8 per cent annually during 1970–77, placing it near the bottom of World Bank rankings, with per capita income rising just 0.6 per cent per year over the decade. - In 1979–80, national income fell 3 per cent, agricultural output fell 10 per cent, and inflation crossed 20 per cent — one of the worst combined contractions since independence. - At least Rs. 3,000–4,000 crores of additional production was lost in 1979–80 due to coal, power and transport bottlenecks, which Mody treats as a management failure correctable by task forces with overriding executive powers. - The state sector, with over Rs. 14,000 crores of cumulative investment, had failed on both production and profitability grounds; Mody proposes allowing private firms to manage selected public undertakings on an experimental basis. - A 7–8 per cent long-run growth rate would require roughly 35 per cent investment; Mody argues this is achievable by combining India's ~20 per cent savings rate with international borrowing and turn-key plant imports. - The capital-output ratio deteriorated from roughly 3 at the start of planning to over 5 by 1980; returns on fixed capital investment fell from 46 paise per rupee in 1963–64 to an estimated 16 paise by the late 1970s. - 44 million man-days were lost to strikes and lockouts in 1979; Mody advocates worker participation in management and a 'property right in jobs' to secure industrial peace. - Population growth of 2.2 per cent annually through the 1970s nullified much of the economy's modest gains; Mody identifies population control as the single most crucial precondition for development. --- ## [Primary work] Fundamental Right to Property URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/fundamental-right-to-propety-v-m-tarkunde-may-10-1971/ ### Summary V. M. Tarkunde, a former judge of the Bombay High Court, argues that the right to property was rightly placed among the fundamental rights by the Constitution-makers, even though successive amendments have made it the weakest of those rights. Reprinted from the March 1971 issue of The Radical Humanist as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, the editorial pushes back on Justice Hidayatullah's view in the Golaknath case that including property among fundamental rights was an 'error'. Tarkunde reasons that the enjoyment of every other fundamental right — food, shelter, freedom of movement, the freedom to practise a profession — presupposes a minimum of private property, so property must be regarded as a necessary complement of rights that are 'unquestionably fundamental'. The bulk of the essay is a close survey of the constitutional erosion of property rights: the original guarantees in Articles 19(1)(f) and 31(2); the limits introduced by the First Amendment in Article 19(5) and 19(6); the Fourth Amendment's reach over compensation and over trade or business; and Articles 31A and 31B with the Ninth Schedule, which now shields a large body of acts and regulations — particularly on a… ### Body ## Summary V. M. Tarkunde, a former judge of the Bombay High Court, argues that the right to property was rightly placed among the fundamental rights by the Constitution-makers, even though successive amendments have made it the weakest of those rights. Reprinted from the March 1971 issue of The Radical Humanist as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, the editorial pushes back on Justice Hidayatullah's view in the Golaknath case that including property among fundamental rights was an 'error'. Tarkunde reasons that the enjoyment of every other fundamental right — food, shelter, freedom of movement, the freedom to practise a profession — presupposes a minimum of private property, so property must be regarded as a necessary complement of rights that are 'unquestionably fundamental'. The bulk of the essay is a close survey of the constitutional erosion of property rights: the original guarantees in Articles 19(1)(f) and 31(2); the limits introduced by the First Amendment in Article 19(5) and 19(6); the Fourth Amendment's reach over compensation and over trade or business; and Articles 31A and 31B with the Ninth Schedule, which now shields a large body of acts and regulations — particularly on agricultural and forest lands and on industrial takeovers — from review on fundamental-rights grounds. Tarkunde concedes that the state may legitimately regulate property, fix prices, manage rents and modify shareholder rights, and even acquire urban properties and inefficiently run undertakings. But he draws a hard line against confiscation: lawfully acquired property and efficiently run concerns cannot, in his view, be taken over without fair compensation if the private sector is to function in a mixed economy. To the social-justice case for further dilution, he answers that confiscation is the wrong instrument for reducing economic disparities. Once inflation and import licensing are addressed, residual inequality is better attacked through estate duty, wealth tax, excise on luxury, progressive income tax — and above all through a policy of full employment, citing a comparison in which the wage ratio between unskilled and managerial labour is about 1 to 2.5 in the United States but about 1 to 11 in Bombay. Tarkunde closes by reaffirming the journal's standing position that no further abridgement of any fundamental right should be attempted unless a concrete case shows that the right obstructs socially beneficial legislation, since fundamental rights are 'the main guarantee for the preservation of freedom and democracy' in India. The booklet is rounded out with framing quotations from Eugene Black, F. A. Hayek's The Road to Serfdom, Max Eastman on Marx, and A. D. Shroff. ## Key points - Disputes Justice Hidayatullah's Golaknath dictum that placing the right of property among fundamental rights was a Constitution-making 'error', while accepting his observation that property is the weakest of those rights. - Defends property as a fundamental right on the ground that enjoyment of other admittedly fundamental rights — food, clothing, shelter, freedom of movement, freedom to practise a profession — presupposes some private property. - Traces the constitutional erosion of property rights through Articles 19(1)(f) and 31(2), the First Amendment's 'reasonable restrictions' clauses, the Fourth Amendment, and Articles 31A, 31B and the Ninth Schedule. - Distinguishes legitimate state action (regulation, rent control, price control, taxation, acquisition with compensation of urban property and of inefficiently run concerns) from confiscation of lawfully acquired or efficiently run property, which he opposes. - Argues that further constitutional amendments waiving fair compensation are neither necessary for social justice nor effective in reducing economic disparities. - Proposes redistribution through estate duty, wealth tax, excise on luxury goods and progressive income tax, with full employment as the most effective remedy, citing a US/Bombay wage-ratio comparison of roughly 1:2.5 against 1:11. - Notes that the second Bank Nationalisation Act was not even challenged in court, and argues the rulers' privy-purse rights should have been abolished by negotiation rather than executive fiat. - Concludes that fundamental rights are the main guarantee of freedom and democracy and should not be tinkered with absent a compelling, concrete necessity. --- ## [Primary work] Fundamental Rights in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/fundamental-rights-b-shiva-rao-october-9-1969/ ### Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay and drawing on two articles — B. Shiva Rao's historical survey reproduced from the Times of India of 17 December 1968, and Dr. M. V. Pylee's constitutional analysis reproduced from Quest (July–September 1969) — this pamphlet intervenes in the controversy surrounding Nath Pai's private member's Bill, which sought to restore Parliament's power to amend the Fundamental Rights chapter of the Constitution following the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Golak Nath v. State of Punjab (February 1967). Shiva Rao's contribution traces the Indian demand for constitutionally guaranteed rights from the Swaraj Bill of 1895 (inspired by Tilak) through Mrs. Besant's Commonwealth of India Bill, the Nehru Committee Report of 1928, the Round Table Conferences, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru's Non-Party Committee of 1944–45, and the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946. He shows that the demand was unanimous across Congress, the Liberals, religious minorities and constitutional lawyers — rejected only by the British-imposed Government of India Act, 1935. The Constituent Assembly, chaired by Sardar Patel for the rights sub-committee and with Dr. Ambedkar heading the Drafting Committee, embedded not just rights but remedies (Article 32), with Ambedkar calling Article 32 'the very heart' of the Constitution. Dr. Pylee's essay explains the Golak Nath decision (six judges against five, presided over by Chief Justice Subba Rao) and dissects Nath Pai's Bill. The Bill purported to re-establish parliamentary supremacy, but Pylee argues this conflates popular sovereignty with parliamentary sovereignty — a category error drawn from British constitutional history inapplicable to India's written, federal, judicially reviewable constitution. He warns that if Parliament could amend Article 368 by simple majority to remove the two-thirds threshold, the Constitution would be at the mercy of ephemeral majorities. The pamphlet concludes that Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy (Parts III and IV) form an integrated, elastic scheme sufficient to accommodate social reform without dismantling individual and minority protections. ### Body ## Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay and drawing on two articles — B. Shiva Rao's historical survey reproduced from the Times of India of 17 December 1968, and Dr. M. V. Pylee's constitutional analysis reproduced from Quest (July–September 1969) — this pamphlet intervenes in the controversy surrounding Nath Pai's private member's Bill, which sought to restore Parliament's power to amend the Fundamental Rights chapter of the Constitution following the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Golak Nath v. State of Punjab (February 1967). Shiva Rao's contribution traces the Indian demand for constitutionally guaranteed rights from the Swaraj Bill of 1895 (inspired by Tilak) through Mrs. Besant's Commonwealth of India Bill, the Nehru Committee Report of 1928, the Round Table Conferences, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru's Non-Party Committee of 1944–45, and the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946. He shows that the demand was unanimous across Congress, the Liberals, religious minorities and constitutional lawyers — rejected only by the British-imposed Government of India Act, 1935. The Constituent Assembly, chaired by Sardar Patel for the rights sub-committee and with Dr. Ambedkar heading the Drafting Committee, embedded not just rights but remedies (Article 32), with Ambedkar calling Article 32 'the very heart' of the Constitution. Dr. Pylee's essay explains the Golak Nath decision (six judges against five, presided over by Chief Justice Subba Rao) and dissects Nath Pai's Bill. The Bill purported to re-establish parliamentary supremacy, but Pylee argues this conflates popular sovereignty with parliamentary sovereignty — a category error drawn from British constitutional history inapplicable to India's written, federal, judicially reviewable constitution. He warns that if Parliament could amend Article 368 by simple majority to remove the two-thirds threshold, the Constitution would be at the mercy of ephemeral majorities. The pamphlet concludes that Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy (Parts III and IV) form an integrated, elastic scheme sufficient to accommodate social reform without dismantling individual and minority protections. ## Key points - The demand for constitutionally entrenched fundamental rights in India dates to the Swaraj Bill of 1895 and runs through the Nehru Committee (1928), the Round Table Conferences, and the Cabinet Mission Plan (1946), rejected at every stage by the British Government. - The Golak Nath case (1967) was decided six to five by all eleven Supreme Court judges sitting as a Constitution Bench; the majority held that Fundamental Rights in Part III are outside the amending power of Parliament under Article 368. - Dr. Ambedkar identified Article 32 — the right to approach the Supreme Court directly for enforcement of Fundamental Rights — as 'the very heart' of the Constitution, and argued that rights without remedies are meaningless. - Nath Pai's Bill sought to restore Parliament's power to amend Fundamental Rights and require ratification by more than half the states; its proponents framed it as asserting popular sovereignty against judicial overreach. - Pylee distinguishes popular sovereignty from parliamentary sovereignty: India's written, federal constitution constrains Parliament's legislative field, and the Supreme Court's power to invalidate Parliament's laws is incompatible with any doctrine of parliamentary supremacy. - The exclusion of 'due process of law' (borrowed from the US) in favour of 'procedure established by law' — on Justice Frankfurter's advice — was itself contested; Muslim members feared it would strip courts of the power to review the merits of legislation. - Fundamental Rights in the Constitution are not absolute; each carries enumerated limitations allowing the state to impose reasonable restrictions in the public interest, making radical social legislation compatible with rights protection. - Chief Justice Subba Rao warned that an all-comprehensive amending power cannot prevent revolution, but a restrictive amending power gives stability and guards against totalitarian or dictatorial capture of the constitutional order. --- ## [Primary work] G 20 and India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/g20-and-india-dr-d-subbarao-november-3-2012/ ### Summary Delivered as the 46th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Mumbai on 20 November 2012 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise, this address by Dr. D. Subbarao — then Governor of the Reserve Bank of India — offers a comprehensive account of the G20's origins, architecture, agenda and future challenges from the standpoint of a central banker who had participated directly in its deliberations. The lecture was published as a pamphlet and sponsored by New India Assurance Co. Ltd. Subbarao opens by honouring A. D. Shroff himself, noting the irony that this 'perceived Congress Economist' became one of the most trenchant critics of Congress economic policy, and that the liberalisation Shroff advocated from 1956 onwards did not fully arrive until the 1990s — a quarter-century after his death. Subbarao traces the G20's genesis not to the 2008 global financial crisis but to the Asian crisis of 1997, explaining how it evolved from a Finance Ministers' forum into a Leaders' forum at the London Summit of April 2009 — which he identifies as the clear turning point where coordinated fiscal stimulus, monetary accommodation, deposit guarantees and currency swaps halted the crisis spiral. He then works through the major items on the post-crisis G20 agenda. On global imbalances, he argues that the root cause was a 'consumption binge' in advanced economies matched by a 'savings glut' in emerging market economies (EMEs), and that correction requires symmetric adjustment — deficit economies saving more, surplus economies spending more — even though the incentives are asymmetric. He is precise about China's exchange rate: the yuan appreciated 20–35 per cent against major currencies between 2005 and 2012, yet remained widely considered undervalued. On the global reserve currency, Subbarao explains the Triffin paradox — the US, as issuer of the reserve currency, runs persistent deficits and enjoys 'exorbitant privilege' while creating the very imbalances that destabilise the system. He reviews four reform options (multiple reserve currencies, SDR development, SDR basket expansion, and multilateral credit lines) and concludes that none fully resolves the problem; India's position is that the number of reserve currencies should increase organically. On financial sector reform, he commends the Basel III framework while warning against regulatory arbitrage, the risk of emerging market deleveraging, and the neglect of redirecting savings from volatile financial assets into real-economy infrastructure investment. He concludes with three future challenges for the G20: balancing short-term fiscal compulsions against medium-term sustainability; holding sovereigns accountable to commitments without a legal enforcement mechanism; and coordinating domestic policy actions in a world where economic integration has outrun political integration. ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the 46th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Mumbai on 20 November 2012 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise, this address by Dr. D. Subbarao — then Governor of the Reserve Bank of India — offers a comprehensive account of the G20's origins, architecture, agenda and future challenges from the standpoint of a central banker who had participated directly in its deliberations. The lecture was published as a pamphlet and sponsored by New India Assurance Co. Ltd. Subbarao opens by honouring A. D. Shroff himself, noting the irony that this 'perceived Congress Economist' became one of the most trenchant critics of Congress economic policy, and that the liberalisation Shroff advocated from 1956 onwards did not fully arrive until the 1990s — a quarter-century after his death. Subbarao traces the G20's genesis not to the 2008 global financial crisis but to the Asian crisis of 1997, explaining how it evolved from a Finance Ministers' forum into a Leaders' forum at the London Summit of April 2009 — which he identifies as the clear turning point where coordinated fiscal stimulus, monetary accommodation, deposit guarantees and currency swaps halted the crisis spiral. He then works through the major items on the post-crisis G20 agenda. On global imbalances, he argues that the root cause was a 'consumption binge' in advanced economies matched by a 'savings glut' in emerging market economies (EMEs), and that correction requires symmetric adjustment — deficit economies saving more, surplus economies spending more — even though the incentives are asymmetric. He is precise about China's exchange rate: the yuan appreciated 20–35 per cent against major currencies between 2005 and 2012, yet remained widely considered undervalued. On the global reserve currency, Subbarao explains the Triffin paradox — the US, as issuer of the reserve currency, runs persistent deficits and enjoys 'exorbitant privilege' while creating the very imbalances that destabilise the system. He reviews four reform options (multiple reserve currencies, SDR development, SDR basket expansion, and multilateral credit lines) and concludes that none fully resolves the problem; India's position is that the number of reserve currencies should increase organically. On financial sector reform, he commends the Basel III framework while warning against regulatory arbitrage, the risk of emerging market deleveraging, and the neglect of redirecting savings from volatile financial assets into real-economy infrastructure investment. He concludes with three future challenges for the G20: balancing short-term fiscal compulsions against medium-term sustainability; holding sovereigns accountable to commitments without a legal enforcement mechanism; and coordinating domestic policy actions in a world where economic integration has outrun political integration. ## Key points - The G20 was formed in 1997 in response to the Asian financial crisis, not 2008; it was elevated from a Finance Ministers' forum to a Leaders' forum at the London Summit in April 2009, which Subbarao identifies as the decisive turning point in managing the global financial crisis. - The G20's 19 member countries plus the EU represent 90 per cent of global GDP, 80 per cent of global trade and two-thirds of the global population; its decisions are not legally binding and it has no formal mandate for global governance. - Global imbalances — a 'consumption binge' in advanced economies and a 'savings glut' in EMEs — are identified as a root cause of the 2008 crisis; symmetric correction requires deficit economies to save more and surplus economies to consume more, but incentives are asymmetric. - China's real effective exchange rate appreciated 20–35 per cent against major currencies between 2005 and 2012, yet pressure for further appreciation persisted; oil-producing countries had by 2012 overtaken China as the largest contributors to global current account surpluses. - The Triffin paradox is central to Subbarao's analysis: the US runs persistent fiscal and external deficits as the price of issuing the reserve currency, enjoying 'exorbitant privilege' while generating the global imbalances that threaten financial stability; paradoxically the dollar strengthened during the crisis as a flight-to-safety asset even as the US economy contracted. - India's exchange rate policy is described as 'festina lente' (make haste slowly) — largely market-driven, with intervention only to manage volatility; India co-chaired the G20 Framework and Mutual Assessment Process (MAP) Working Group alongside Canada. - Financial sector reform rests on four pillars — regulation, supervision, resolution (especially for systemically important financial institutions), and implementation assessment; Subbarao warns that tighter Basel III standards must not inadvertently disadvantage emerging market financial intermediaries or trigger deleveraging out of EMEs. - The three forward challenges for the G20 are: (i) harmonising short-term fiscal stimulus with medium-term consolidation; (ii) holding member governments accountable to non-binding commitments in the absence of an enforcement mechanism; and (iii) achieving policy coordination in a world where economic integration has moved far ahead of political integration. --- ## [Primary work] The Role of General Insurance After Nationalisation URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/general-insurance-after-nationalisation-me-g-v-kapadia-april-29-1979/ ### Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust's annual public lecture in Bombay on 14 February 1979 and published the same year, G. V. Kapadia's address provides an authoritative insider's account of general insurance in India seven years after nationalisation. Kapadia, then Chairman of the General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC), opens with an extended tribute to A. D. Shroff's role in building New India Assurance Co. from 1946 until his death in 1965 — growing its share of new life insurance from 9.5 per cent (1950) to 19.1 per cent (1955), and of general insurance premium income from 7 per cent (1955) to 17 per cent (1971). He also credits Shroff with founding the India Reinsurance Corporation in 1956 and, through the Shroff Committee (1953), providing the intellectual foundations for ICICI, IDBI and UTI. Kapadia then surveys the industry's post-nationalisation performance with considerable candour. The Government took over 107 companies and merged them into four competing subsidiaries — National Insurance, New India, Oriental, and United India — under the GIC holding company. Premium income grew from Rs. 147.5 crores in 1971 to over Rs. 340 crores in 1978, a growth of 130 per cent, achieved without increases in premium rates despite rising claims and costs. The GIC paid dividends of 25 per cent on equity capital to the Government for 1976 and 1977, up from 12 per cent in 1974. Total investible funds reached over Rs. 615 crores by end-1977, deployed across government securities (31 per cent), corporate debentures and shares (32 per cent), bank deposits (31 per cent), and housing loans (6 per cent). The lecture's more forward-looking sections address the two major unmet challenges: rural penetration and risk management culture. India's per capita general insurance premium stands at Rs. 5.2, against Rs. 2,600 in the USA and Rs. 800 in the UK; general insurance premiums represent just 0.4 per cent of GNP versus 4.6 per cent in the USA. Kapadia argues that the rural sector — which contributes half of national income and supports three-quarters of the population — has been almost entirely overlooked. Cattle insurance, Janata Personal Accident policies (1.7 million sold in nine months in 1976, though renewal proved difficult), agricultural pumpset insurance and a new crop insurance scheme requiring state government co-participation are described as early forays. He closes by outlining a four-part model of professional service: risk management advice, accurate documentation, loss prevention, and prompt claims settlement. ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust's annual public lecture in Bombay on 14 February 1979 and published the same year, G. V. Kapadia's address provides an authoritative insider's account of general insurance in India seven years after nationalisation. Kapadia, then Chairman of the General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC), opens with an extended tribute to A. D. Shroff's role in building New India Assurance Co. from 1946 until his death in 1965 — growing its share of new life insurance from 9.5 per cent (1950) to 19.1 per cent (1955), and of general insurance premium income from 7 per cent (1955) to 17 per cent (1971). He also credits Shroff with founding the India Reinsurance Corporation in 1956 and, through the Shroff Committee (1953), providing the intellectual foundations for ICICI, IDBI and UTI. Kapadia then surveys the industry's post-nationalisation performance with considerable candour. The Government took over 107 companies and merged them into four competing subsidiaries — National Insurance, New India, Oriental, and United India — under the GIC holding company. Premium income grew from Rs. 147.5 crores in 1971 to over Rs. 340 crores in 1978, a growth of 130 per cent, achieved without increases in premium rates despite rising claims and costs. The GIC paid dividends of 25 per cent on equity capital to the Government for 1976 and 1977, up from 12 per cent in 1974. Total investible funds reached over Rs. 615 crores by end-1977, deployed across government securities (31 per cent), corporate debentures and shares (32 per cent), bank deposits (31 per cent), and housing loans (6 per cent). The lecture's more forward-looking sections address the two major unmet challenges: rural penetration and risk management culture. India's per capita general insurance premium stands at Rs. 5.2, against Rs. 2,600 in the USA and Rs. 800 in the UK; general insurance premiums represent just 0.4 per cent of GNP versus 4.6 per cent in the USA. Kapadia argues that the rural sector — which contributes half of national income and supports three-quarters of the population — has been almost entirely overlooked. Cattle insurance, Janata Personal Accident policies (1.7 million sold in nine months in 1976, though renewal proved difficult), agricultural pumpset insurance and a new crop insurance scheme requiring state government co-participation are described as early forays. He closes by outlining a four-part model of professional service: risk management advice, accurate documentation, loss prevention, and prompt claims settlement. ## Key points - General insurance premium income grew from Rs. 147.5 crores (1971) to over Rs. 340 crores (1978), a 130 per cent increase achieved without any increase in premium rates despite rising claims costs. - The GIC paid dividends of 25 per cent on equity capital to the Government for 1976 and 1977 (up from 12 per cent in 1974), and the gross profit before tax of the four subsidiary companies was approximately Rs. 106 crores in 1977. - India's per capita general insurance premium of Rs. 5.2 compared with Rs. 2,600 in the USA, Rs. 800 in the UK and Rs. 540 in Japan; general insurance premiums were 0.4 per cent of GNP against 4.6 per cent in the USA, indicating enormous unrealised potential. - 107 pre-nationalisation insurers were merged into four competing subsidiaries (National Insurance, New India, Oriental, United India) under the GIC holding company, creating a network of over 870 branch and divisional offices and a workforce exceeding 31,200. - The GIC pioneered loss prevention infrastructure, including the Loss Prevention Association of India (January 1978) and Cargo Loss Minimisation Cells in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras; between August 1977 and October 1978, Bombay's cell supervised 2,000 consignments and traced 11,180 missing packages. - A scheme to screen tramp vessel operators lifting cargo from Bombay port — 234 vessels approved between August 1977 and October 1978 with no subsequent cargo problems — was introduced without legal authority, using premium surcharges as the only lever. - Total investible funds of the GIC and subsidiaries exceeded Rs. 615 crores at end-1977; investment policy was reoriented post-nationalisation toward government securities, housing loans and industrial equity, with growing emphasis on mortgage insurance and secondary mortgage markets. - Rural penetration remained the central unfinished task: cattle insurance covered over one million heads in 1978, Janata Personal Accident policies sold 1.7 million in nine months of 1976 but lapsed at renewal, and a crop insurance scheme requiring state co-participation was under development. --- ## [Primary work] General Insurance and Nationalisation URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/general-insurance-and-nationalisation-j-d-chokshi-october-12-1967/ ### Summary Adapted from a talk delivered under the auspices of the Bombay Insurance Institute in 1967 and published as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet dated 12 October 1967, J. D. Choksi's address — delivered as Chairman of New India Assurance Company — mounts a sustained case against the proposed nationalisation of general insurance at a moment when the Congress Working Committee had just moved a resolution directing the government to explore the measure. The pamphlet is a direct intervention: it names the political process that brought the proposal forward (a thinly attended AICC session), and quotes both the Finance Minister's statement at the time of life insurance nationalisation in 1956 and Deputy Finance Minister B. R. Bhagat's reaffirmation in 1961 that there was no case for nationalising general insurance. Choksi's argument rests on the essential character of the business rather than ideology. General insurance, he contends, is not a credit institution and not a builder of large funds: total investible resources stood at roughly Rs. 72 crores and annual accretions at only Rs. 5 crores — far too small to serve as a justification of mobilising capital for the state. It is instead a highly differentiated service business that must distinguish risk from risk at every hour of the day across multiple jurisdictions. He illustrates this through two registers: the bureaucratic absurdity of government claims-handling (his anecdote of a widow asked to produce a certificate of life for a period before she filed her claim), and the operational realities of real-time risk coverage — a cargo of gold and currency worth Rs. 50 lakhs to a crore covered overnight by a syndicate of insurers at short notice in a manner no government official could replicate. The pamphlet broadens its argument to foreign investment and international business. Roughly Rs. 800 crores of foreign capital was then invested in India, Choksi notes, and foreign collaborators routinely insisted on placing part of project insurance with their home-country insurers. Nationalisation would displace the 40 foreign insurance companies then operating in India and dampen further inflows. Conversely, Indian insurers had established offices or agencies in 40 countries; the lesson of life insurance nationalisation — where LIC was slow to replace the international business that private firms had built — argued against repeating the experiment with general insurance's even more transaction-specific, continuous service requirements. An appendix reprints a letter from former MP Sushama Sen in the Hindustan Times (7 September 1967), offering independent political confirmation that neither the LIC nor the State Bank had fulfilled the promises made at the time of their nationalisation. ### Body ## Summary Adapted from a talk delivered under the auspices of the Bombay Insurance Institute in 1967 and published as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet dated 12 October 1967, J. D. Choksi's address — delivered as Chairman of New India Assurance Company — mounts a sustained case against the proposed nationalisation of general insurance at a moment when the Congress Working Committee had just moved a resolution directing the government to explore the measure. The pamphlet is a direct intervention: it names the political process that brought the proposal forward (a thinly attended AICC session), and quotes both the Finance Minister's statement at the time of life insurance nationalisation in 1956 and Deputy Finance Minister B. R. Bhagat's reaffirmation in 1961 that there was no case for nationalising general insurance. Choksi's argument rests on the essential character of the business rather than ideology. General insurance, he contends, is not a credit institution and not a builder of large funds: total investible resources stood at roughly Rs. 72 crores and annual accretions at only Rs. 5 crores — far too small to serve as a justification of mobilising capital for the state. It is instead a highly differentiated service business that must distinguish risk from risk at every hour of the day across multiple jurisdictions. He illustrates this through two registers: the bureaucratic absurdity of government claims-handling (his anecdote of a widow asked to produce a certificate of life for a period before she filed her claim), and the operational realities of real-time risk coverage — a cargo of gold and currency worth Rs. 50 lakhs to a crore covered overnight by a syndicate of insurers at short notice in a manner no government official could replicate. The pamphlet broadens its argument to foreign investment and international business. Roughly Rs. 800 crores of foreign capital was then invested in India, Choksi notes, and foreign collaborators routinely insisted on placing part of project insurance with their home-country insurers. Nationalisation would displace the 40 foreign insurance companies then operating in India and dampen further inflows. Conversely, Indian insurers had established offices or agencies in 40 countries; the lesson of life insurance nationalisation — where LIC was slow to replace the international business that private firms had built — argued against repeating the experiment with general insurance's even more transaction-specific, continuous service requirements. An appendix reprints a letter from former MP Sushama Sen in the Hindustan Times (7 September 1967), offering independent political confirmation that neither the LIC nor the State Bank had fulfilled the promises made at the time of their nationalisation. ## Key points - Both the Finance Minister (1956) and Deputy Finance Minister B. R. Bhagat (1961) had previously stated there was no case for nationalising general insurance; the 1967 Congress Working Committee resolution emerged from a thinly attended AICC session and was backed by no published public reasoning. - General insurance held total investible resources of only ~Rs. 72 crores with annual accretions of ~Rs. 5 crores, making the fund-mobilisation rationale for nationalisation inapplicable — unlike banking or life insurance, it is a service business, not a capital accumulator. - The business operates across an estimated 2.5 million individual policies per year in India with approximately 250,000 claims, many requiring real-time or overnight settlement; Choksi argues a government bureaucracy applying uniform rules cannot handle the risk-by-risk differentiation this demands. - Roughly Rs. 800 crores of foreign capital was invested in India, with foreign collaborators frequently requiring that part of project insurance be placed with their home-country insurers; nationalisation would displace the 40 foreign insurance companies in India and act as a deterrent to future investment. - Indian general insurers had established offices or agencies in 40 countries; the failure of LIC to promptly replace the foreign business previously conducted by nationalised life insurance companies served as a cautionary precedent for the faster-moving, transaction-specific general insurance market. - The government machine applies uniform rules to all claimants and cannot pioneer new insurance covers for novel or urgent risks; Choksi's central operational objection is that general insurance's value lies precisely in its ability to discriminate between risks and respond flexibly at any hour. - Public opinion, including newspaper commentary, had not supported nationalisation; the only justification offered was ideological — that all credit institutions should be state-owned — a premise Choksi contests since general insurance is not a credit institution. - Former MP Sushama Sen (appendix) draws on her experience on the 1956 Lok Sabha Select Committee to argue that neither LIC nor the State Bank fulfilled their nationalisation promises, and questions whether the government's primary duty to provide food, shelter and clothing should precede further institutional experiments. --- ## [Primary work] GENERAL INSURANCE AS A FINANCIAL SERVICE IN THE CONTEXT OF LIBERALISATION URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/general-insurance-as-a-financial-institute-in-the-context-of-liberalisation-s-v-mony-june-24-1992/ ### Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust's 1992 annual lecture on insurance, S. V. Mony — then Chairman of the General Insurance Corporation of India — uses the moment of India's 1991 structural adjustment to argue that liberalisation is the right direction for the country's financial services, but that financial-sector liberalisation must not be confused with deregulation. In the rendered pages he situates the reform turn against the planned-development model, citing the Finance Minister's 1992-93 budget speech and the Statement of Industrial Policy of 24th July 1991 to acknowledge that the public sector's 'commanding heights' role has produced poor productivity, overmanning and a low return on capital, making some public enterprises 'a burden rather than an asset to the government.' Mony then builds the conceptual frame for the rest of the lecture: services as a catalyst of socio-economic development, the rapid rise of services to 41% of India's GDP, and financial services — banking, insurance, leasing, securities, asset management — as the connective tissue of a modern economy.… ### Body # GENERAL INSURANCE AS A FINANCIAL SERVICE IN THE CONTEXT OF LIBERALISATION *By S V MONY* ## Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust's 1992 annual lecture on insurance, S. V. Mony — then Chairman of the General Insurance Corporation of India — uses the moment of India's 1991 structural adjustment to argue that liberalisation is the right direction for the country's financial services, but that financial-sector liberalisation must not be confused with deregulation. In the rendered pages he situates the reform turn against the planned-development model, citing the Finance Minister's 1992-93 budget speech and the Statement of Industrial Policy of 24th July 1991 to acknowledge that the public sector's 'commanding heights' role has produced poor productivity, overmanning and a low return on capital, making some public enterprises 'a burden rather than an asset to the government.' Mony then builds the conceptual frame for the rest of the lecture: services as a catalyst of socio-economic development, the rapid rise of services to 41% of India's GDP, and financial services — banking, insurance, leasing, securities, asset management — as the connective tissue of a modern economy. He defends general insurance specifically as a 'financial service' on two grounds: it closes the production-cycle breach caused by fire, flood or breakdown, and the float between premium and claim makes insurers among the largest institutional investors in any economy. The regulatory portion of the rendered text insists that opening up cross-border insurance and reinsurance trade actually requires stricter, not looser, supervision — citing the Uruguay Round talks, the U.S. Financial Services Group's position statement, and the watchdog functions (solvency, fair trade, probity, domestic-market strengthening) that supervisory authorities must perform. Mony surveys global insurance-market structure (state monopolies in many developing countries, concentration of reinsurance in six countries) before turning to India, where his historical sketch is unsparing about the pre-1973 private market — 'reckless competition in rates and terms, fictitious appointments... lack of safeguards in investments, excessive reinsurance abroad' — while crediting a handful of enlightened firms, notably the 'New India' under A. D. Shroff's chairmanship, with building the discipline that survived nationalisation. The rendered pages end with the social objectives the nationalised industry was directed to pursue under the Five Year Plans — rural cover, crop insurance, social-security-linked products, balanced regional reach, channelling investible funds to socially oriented sectors — and open a section on the post-1972 performance of the four GIC subsidiaries, which continues past the chunk. ## Key points - Frames the 1991-92 reforms as a structural adjustment that began with a balance-of-payments crisis, double-digit inflation, and the Finance Minister's stated need to 'arrest the slide and restore India's credibility' both at home and abroad. - Argues that public-sector enterprises, after the 'initial exuberance' of entering new industrial and technical areas, now show poor productivity, overmanning, weak project management and inadequate R&D — and a very low rate of return on invested capital. - Distinguishes liberalisation in goods from liberalisation in services: in financial services, opening domestic and international competition demands stricter regulation, not deregulation. - Positions services (41% of Indian GDP by the late seventies) as the country's largest sectoral contributor to GDP, with general insurance acting as a financial service through risk transfer, production-cycle restoration, and institutional investment. - Surveys global insurance structure: state monopolies dominate many developing-country markets; the U.S. alone accounted for 46% of world non-life and 30% of life premiums in 1987; six countries concentrate the bulk of world reinsurance premium. - Reviews the pre-1973 Indian private insurance market as plagued by reckless rate-cutting, fictitious appointments, weak investment safeguards, and inadequate capitalisation — with a small group of 'enlightened companies' such as 'New India' under A. D. Shroff as honourable exceptions. - Lays out the five social objectives the nationalised general-insurance industry was directed to pursue under the Five Year Plans: rural cover, crop insurance, social-security-linked products, balanced regional marketing, and channelling investible funds to socially oriented sectors. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Giving is Receiving URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/giving-is-receiving-mrs-meera-shenoy/ ### Summary Giving is Receiving is the printed text of the 30th Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture, delivered by Meera Shenoy in Mumbai on 5 December 2018 under the auspices of the Bhogilal Leherchand Foundation, the Forum of Free Enterprise, and the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust. After an editorial introduction by Sunil S. Bhandare framing Shenoy's work against India's paradox of "jobless growth" and an unmet "demographic dividend," Shenoy uses the lecture to recount how, after a decade of skilling rural youth, she founded Youth4Jobs to train youth with disabilities and link them to formal-sector employment. Shenoy threads the talk with concrete vignettes — parents in villages who first dismissed the idea of jobs for "useless children," companies that initially asked for trainees who "look like you and me," and entrepreneurs such as Arvind (a wheelchair-using CEO) and former Yum India president Niren Choudhary, who hired speech- and hearing-impaired staff at KFC.… ### Body # Giving is Receiving *By Mrs. Meera Shenoy* ## Summary Giving is Receiving is the printed text of the 30th Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture, delivered by Meera Shenoy in Mumbai on 5 December 2018 under the auspices of the Bhogilal Leherchand Foundation, the Forum of Free Enterprise, and the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust. After an editorial introduction by Sunil S. Bhandare framing Shenoy's work against India's paradox of "jobless growth" and an unmet "demographic dividend," Shenoy uses the lecture to recount how, after a decade of skilling rural youth, she founded Youth4Jobs to train youth with disabilities and link them to formal-sector employment. Shenoy threads the talk with concrete vignettes — parents in villages who first dismissed the idea of jobs for "useless children," companies that initially asked for trainees who "look like you and me," and entrepreneurs such as Arvind (a wheelchair-using CEO) and former Yum India president Niren Choudhary, who hired speech- and hearing-impaired staff at KFC. She positions her organisation as advocacy-first (touching 2,75,000 households, villages, schools and societies with the slogan "Ability in Disability"), as a builder of a scalable, replicable training template now operating across twenty-five centres from Guwahati to Trichy and as far as Mauritius, and as the originator of "Not Just Art," billed as the world's first portal for disability art. The second half of the lecture moves from individual stories to system design: MoUs with universities, a CII–DFID sensitisation workshop that landed fifty blind interns at a private-sector bank, "Smart Inclusion Centres" as experiential zones for corporate partners, a government girls' blind school where teachers are now requesting JAWS and NVDA screen-readers, and a pilot in Chennai that mainstreamed speech- and hearing-impaired cashiers — a single test, she claims, that unlocked the potential of more than 75,000 jobs. The recurring frame is that compassion routed through markets and structured employability is more dignifying than subsidies and doles, and that "if They can, I can," so too can the reader. ## Key points - The booklet reproduces Meera Shenoy's 30th Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture (Mumbai, 5 December 2018), jointly hosted by the Bhogilal Leherchand Foundation, the Forum of Free Enterprise, and the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust. - Editor Sunil S. Bhandare frames Shenoy's work against India's "jobless growth" paradox and reports that Youth4Jobs has trained ~12,500 disabled youth in six years, with 65% placed in the organised sector. - Shenoy invokes Gandhi's choice of Sabarmati as a parable of compassion to explain why Youth4Jobs targets the intersection of poverty and disability rather than poverty alone. - She argues that government subsidies and doles, especially around elections, dampen the incentive to work, and that the harder, more dignifying route is linking disabled youth to organised-sector jobs. - The model is presented as scalable and replicable: 25 centres from Assam to Tamil Nadu, partnerships with ~550 companies (200 of them first-time hirers), and a first global centre in Mauritius. - Shenoy launched "Not Just Art," pitched as the world's first portal for Disability Art, with UNESCO signalling interest in becoming its first partner. - A Chennai pilot placing speech- and hearing-impaired cashiers — chosen by 97% of surveyed consumers over speaking cashiers — is held up as a market-led unlock of an estimated 75,000+ jobs. - Recurring frames include "Ability in Disability," "if They can, I can," and the claim that more educated disabled youth are often less placeable because faculty cannot train them and aspirations outrun technical skill. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Golden Jubilee (1956-2006) URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/golden-jubilee-1956-2006/ ### Summary This short institutional retrospective, issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise to mark its golden jubilee, narrates the Forum's half-century journey from its 1956 founding to 2006. It locates the organisation's genesis in the "ominous clouds of socialism" of the mid-1950s: the Government's commitment to a state-directed economy, the nationalisations of coal, civil aviation and life insurance, and a propaganda climate that, in the Forum's reading, slandered private enterprise. A.D. Shroff and a circle of businessmen-publicists — Murarji Vaidya, M.A. Master, M.A. Sreenivasan and others — concluded that a centralised command economy was incompatible with a pluralist democracy, and built the Forum as a vehicle of economic education to defend the private sector and stem what they saw as drift toward totalitarianism. The narrative tracks the Forum's institutional milestones: a 1957 Code of Conduct for business; Nani Palkhivala's long presidency (1968–2000) and his crusade against confiscatory taxation through the treatise *The Highest Taxed Nation*; an indictment of the licence-permit regime that, by the booklet's account, held GDP growth to 3.5% and per-capita income growth to 1.3% b… ### Body # Golden Jubilee (1956-2006) ## Summary This short institutional retrospective, issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise to mark its golden jubilee, narrates the Forum's half-century journey from its 1956 founding to 2006. It locates the organisation's genesis in the "ominous clouds of socialism" of the mid-1950s: the Government's commitment to a state-directed economy, the nationalisations of coal, civil aviation and life insurance, and a propaganda climate that, in the Forum's reading, slandered private enterprise. A.D. Shroff and a circle of businessmen-publicists — Murarji Vaidya, M.A. Master, M.A. Sreenivasan and others — concluded that a centralised command economy was incompatible with a pluralist democracy, and built the Forum as a vehicle of economic education to defend the private sector and stem what they saw as drift toward totalitarianism. The narrative tracks the Forum's institutional milestones: a 1957 Code of Conduct for business; Nani Palkhivala's long presidency (1968–2000) and his crusade against confiscatory taxation through the treatise *The Highest Taxed Nation*; an indictment of the licence-permit regime that, by the booklet's account, held GDP growth to 3.5% and per-capita income growth to 1.3% between 1951 and 1980; and credit-claiming for the more equitable tax structure that emerged after 1991. It also chronicles the Forum's cultural footprint — public lectures, booklets, essay and elocution competitions, the A.D. Shroff Memorial Lectures (which hosted Milton Friedman, Peter Bauer and Colin Clark), and the founding of the A.D. Shroff Memorial Trust, the Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Trust and the M.R. Pai Foundation. The closing pages perform a tribute function: government recognition of Shroff (commemorative stamp, 1999) and Palkhivala (stamp 2004, Padma Vibhushan, honorary doctorates), and the appearance of the Forum and M.R. Pai in the Friedmans' autobiography *Two Lucky People*, alongside George Woods's encomium to Shroff. The piece ends by announcing a website launch in January 2006 and rededicating the Forum to its mission of objectivity and high standards of governance in public life. ## Key points - Frames the Forum's 1956 founding as a direct response to the Nehruvian socialist turn — nationalisation of coal, civil aviation and life insurance, and the official rhetoric against private enterprise. - Identifies A.D. Shroff as the founder-leader and names Murarji Vaidya, M.A. Master and M.A. Sreenivasan as fellow signed-article publicists who built early intellectual momentum. - Asserts the Forum's central political thesis: a centralised command economy and a pluralist democratic polity are incompatible, and one-party dominance without organised opposition risks crossing the line into totalitarianism. - Claims the Forum produced India's first comprehensive business Code of Conduct in 1957, framing self-regulation as part of liberal credibility. - Indicts the licence-permit-tariff regime with a hard datum: average annual GDP growth of 3.5% and per-capita income growth of 1.3% between 1951 and 1980, one-third of what was planned. - Credits Nani Palkhivala (President 1968–2000) and his treatise The Highest Taxed Nation with creating pressure that produced the more equitable post-1991 tax structure. - Catalogues an institutional ecology built around three memorial trusts (Shroff, Palkhivala, Pai), the A.D. Shroff Memorial Lectures (Friedman, Bauer, Clark), and decades of youth-oriented essay competitions and leadership camps. - Closes with state and international recognition — commemorative stamps for Shroff (1999) and Palkhivala (2004), Padma Vibhushan, and the mention of the Forum and M.R. Pai in the Friedmans' Two Lucky People. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Good Governance in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/good-governance-by-minoo-r-shroff-and-hd-shourie-2002/ ### Summary Good Governance in India is a January–March 2002 booklet published by the Forum of Free Enterprise (Mumbai) that pairs two short addresses on the institutional preconditions for good governance — one trained on the voluntary sector, the other on the machinery of the State. Minoo R. Shroff, President of the Forum, writes on the effective governance of NGOs, importing the Nolan Committee's seven principles of public life (selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, leadership) into a checklist for Indian charitable boards and their chief executives. H. D. Shourie, Director of Common Cause, reproduces a January 14, 2002 circular he addressed to all Chief Ministers and Chief Secretaries, cataloguing seven concrete remedies for State-level administrative malaise: tenure assurance via a Civil Services Board, grievance redressal, accountability via Citizens Charters, transparency and Right to Information, de-bloating of staff, anti-corruption machinery (CVC, CBI, Lokayukta, Benami and money-laundering laws), and modernisation through e-governance.… ### Body # Good Governance in India *By MINOO R. SHROFF, H. D. SHOURIE* ## Summary Good Governance in India is a January–March 2002 booklet published by the Forum of Free Enterprise (Mumbai) that pairs two short addresses on the institutional preconditions for good governance — one trained on the voluntary sector, the other on the machinery of the State. Minoo R. Shroff, President of the Forum, writes on the effective governance of NGOs, importing the Nolan Committee's seven principles of public life (selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, leadership) into a checklist for Indian charitable boards and their chief executives. H. D. Shourie, Director of Common Cause, reproduces a January 14, 2002 circular he addressed to all Chief Ministers and Chief Secretaries, cataloguing seven concrete remedies for State-level administrative malaise: tenure assurance via a Civil Services Board, grievance redressal, accountability via Citizens Charters, transparency and Right to Information, de-bloating of staff, anti-corruption machinery (CVC, CBI, Lokayukta, Benami and money-laundering laws), and modernisation through e-governance. Both pieces frame Indian state and civil-society failure as a problem of culture-of-office — bribery, opaque transfers, conflict of interest — and converge on the prescription that boards, chairmen, and chief executives must lead by personal example and operate under codified, monitored standards. ## Essays ### Effective Governance of NGOs *By Minoo R. Shroff* Minoo R. Shroff, President of the Forum of Free Enterprise, lays down a governance manual for the Indian NGO sector, treating non-governmental organisations as serious institutions that must be 'run on commercial lines albeit with great accent on social good.' He argues that the Board is the apex custodian of values and must be staffed with high-calibre, ethically clean members who steer clear of conflict of interest; he imports verbatim the seven principles of public life from Britain's Nolan Committee (selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, leadership) as the template for a 'Charter of Governance.' Shroff insists on Chairman–Chief Executive synergy, fixed terms (not exceeding ten years), a retirement age cap around 75, internal audit, merit-based hiring with zero nepotism, and a five-point checklist for purposeful functioning (vision, road map, organisation, systems, financial plan). The closing reflection concedes that administering NGOs is daunting because expectations outrun resources, yet stresses that voluntary effort matters all the more 'in our country where the delivery and response of public services is so poor.' - NGOs span education, health, charity, environment, arts and public awareness, and must be run on commercial lines with social accent — generating a surplus for renewal. - Boards must be ethically clean, free of conflict of interest, and built around a strong Chairman who acts as the 'Kingpin' and custodian of values. - The seven Nolan principles (selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, leadership) are explicitly imported as the template for an Indian Charter of Governance. - Term limits (≤10 years) and a 75-year retirement cap are proposed to keep fresh blood flowing into Boards. - Chief Executive must be empowered with clear delegation, backed by internal audit (departmental or via reputed Chartered Accountants), and matched to staff hired strictly on merit — 'nepotism in any shape or form should be scrupulously avoided.' - A five-step checklist — Strategic Vision, Road Map, Effective Organisation, Systems and Procedures, Financial Plan — is offered as the discipline of purposeful functioning. ### Our Governmental System Must Improve *By H. D. Shourie* H. D. Shourie, Director of the citizen-grievance body Common Cause, frames Indian governance as a 'malaise' fifty years after independence: bloated, inefficient, riddled with arbitrary transfers and corruption, and lacking transparency and accountability. The body of the piece reproduces his January 14, 2002 circular letter to every Chief Minister and Chief Secretary in the Union, distilling the recommendations of past Commissions, Committees and the 1997 Chief Ministers' Conference into seven concrete reform demands. These cover (i) tenure assurance via an institutionalised Civil Services Board to insulate officers from politically motivated transfers — citing Uttar Pradesh's six-month average tenure as a scandal; (ii) grievance redressal mechanisms within departments and districts to relieve the Central Administrative Tribunal of its 41,647-case backlog; (iii) accountability through universally published Citizens Charters; (iv) transparency by enacting freedom-of-information laws and gutting the Official Secrets Act; (v) de-bloating of state staffing, citing Orissa's reported diversion of cyclone relief funds to salaries; (vi) anti-corruption enforcement via Vigilance officers, Lokayuktas, CVC/CBI, the Benami Transactions Prohibition Act and pending money-laundering legislation; and (vii) modernisation through e-governance, websites and Total Quality Management. The letter closes with an explicit appeal for time-bound action by each State Government. - Frames the problem as 'general feeling' that India's governmental and administrative machinery generates delays, frustrations and 'resort to bribery and corruption' for routine service delivery. - Proposes a statutory Civil Services Board (Chief Secretary + two Secretaries) in every State to control postings and transfers — directly attacking politically-motivated reshuffles. - Cites concrete data: 3,45,436 cases taken to the Central Administrative Tribunal since 1985, with 41,647 currently pending across 33 Benches. - Endorses Citizens Charters, Right to Information Acts and the pending Freedom of Information Bill; calls for eliminating 'inhibiting clauses in the Official Secrets Act and Conduct Rules.' - Couples anti-corruption enforcement (CVC, CBI, Lokayuktas) with statutory teeth — Benami Transactions Prohibition Act, the pending Corrupt Public Servants (Forfeiture of Property) Act, and Prevention of Money Laundering legislation. - Treats e-governance and Total Quality Management as the modernisation track, channelling assistance from the Department of Administrative Reforms, Government of India. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Goods & Services Tax URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/goods-services-tax-an-overview-jamshyd-godrej-bhavana-doshi-s-s-bhandare/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects three short essays giving an overview of India's Goods & Services Tax (GST) shortly after its 1 July 2017 rollout. The cover lists three contributors — Jamshyd Godrej, Bhavna Doshi and S. S. Bhandare — and the booklet is sponsored by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust, with a memorial page dedicated to the late chartered accountant Shailesh Kapadia (1949–1988) preceding the essays. In the rendered pages, two of the three essays appear: Godrej's brief 'GST: A Business Perspective' (a corporate-leader endorsement of GST as the largest indirect-tax reform since liberalisation) and the opening portion of Bhavna Doshi's longer 'India Goods and Services Tax — a Macro Overview' (a technical mapping of the new dual GST architecture, its constitutional path, and its comparison with Australia, the EU and Canada). The volume's argumentative center, so far as the rendered pages show, is that GST — though imperfectly multi-rated — is a federal-cooperation triumph that simplifies compliance, eliminates cascading, and tilts India toward a single market. ### Body # Goods & Services Tax *By Jamshyd Godrej, Bhavna Doshi, S.S. Bhandare* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects three short essays giving an overview of India's Goods & Services Tax (GST) shortly after its 1 July 2017 rollout. The cover lists three contributors — Jamshyd Godrej, Bhavna Doshi and S. S. Bhandare — and the booklet is sponsored by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust, with a memorial page dedicated to the late chartered accountant Shailesh Kapadia (1949–1988) preceding the essays. In the rendered pages, two of the three essays appear: Godrej's brief 'GST: A Business Perspective' (a corporate-leader endorsement of GST as the largest indirect-tax reform since liberalisation) and the opening portion of Bhavna Doshi's longer 'India Goods and Services Tax — a Macro Overview' (a technical mapping of the new dual GST architecture, its constitutional path, and its comparison with Australia, the EU and Canada). The volume's argumentative center, so far as the rendered pages show, is that GST — though imperfectly multi-rated — is a federal-cooperation triumph that simplifies compliance, eliminates cascading, and tilts India toward a single market. ## Essays ### GST : A Business Perspective *By Jamshyd Godrej* Jamshyd Godrej, writing as an industrialist (Managing Director, Godrej & Boyce), frames GST as 'the biggest reform in the Indian indirect tax structure since the economy opened up, twenty six years ago.' He sketches the constitutional and institutional path — the 122nd Constitution Amendment, the formation of the GST Council, the passage of the GST Act and Rules — and argues that subsuming a maze of central and state levies under one umbrella will simplify compliance for businesses operating across states and end the headaches of dealing with each state's separate rules. Godrej concedes that the change is sweeping: business processes, accounting and ERP systems must all adapt to a supply-based concept of tax that replaces the older manufacture/sale/service trichotomy, and corporate decisions on plant location and supply chains will now turn on business efficiency rather than tax arbitrage. He credits Parliament, the state governments and the Finance Ministry for the political willingness that delivered the law, and closes with the wish that it deliver 'an India in which trade is free, compliances are easier, growth is phenomenal and consumers are satisfied' — adding the pointed reservation that this would have been 'best achieved through a single low rate structure, similar to what was originally proposed.' - Calls GST the biggest indirect-tax reform since the 1991 liberalisation, anchored in the 122nd Constitution Amendment and the GST Council. - Argues the single-umbrella levy ends the burden of dealing with varied state-by-state rules and will simplify compliance for industry. - Identifies the consumer as the largest beneficiary, with most consumer-price-index items placed at lower rates or exempted. - Notes that GST forces a paradigm shift from manufacture/sale/service to a 'supply' concept, requiring overhaul of business processes, accounting and ERP. - Predicts the destination principle and zero-rated exports will lift Indian firms' competitiveness, and ends with a pointed preference for a single low rate. ### India Goods and Services Tax – a Macro Overview *By Bhavna Doshi* Bhavna Doshi, a senior chartered accountant and KPMG adviser, supplies the booklet's technical anchor. She defines GST as 'a common tax on supply of both, goods and services, to be commonly levied and collected by Centre, 28 States and 7 Union Territories, on a common base, at common rates, having common procedures to be administered fully electronically through a common digital platform,' and recounts the nine-year negotiation through the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers that produced the 122nd Constitution Amendment (the earlier 115th Bill having lapsed) and ultimately the Constitution (One Hundred and First) Amendment Act, 2016. She traces the chain of enactments through the CGST, IGST, UTGST and Compensation Cess Acts up to the 1 July 2017 launch (and Jammu & Kashmir's 8 July adherence). In the rendered pages Doshi then situates India's dual model against Australia's federal GST (2000, 10% standard rate, ACCC anti-profiteering), the EU's harmonised VAT under the 1977 Sixth Directive, and Canada's mixed national/provincial HST/PST/QST patchwork — concluding that none is a clean comparator and that India's design is novel. She lays out the IGST mechanism for inter-state and intra-entity stock transfers, the elimination of C/F/I forms and state-border check posts, and the credit-chain logic; flags business worries over valuation of inter-state self-supplies and the inclusion of employee cost; and reaches the rate structure (0.25%, 3%, 5%, 12%, 18%, 28% plus Compensation Cess) just as the rendered pages cut off. Throughout, she treats the GST Council's voting design — where neither Centre nor all States together can override the Council — as a federal-cooperation breakthrough. - Frames GST as a constitutionally mandated common tax administered electronically by Centre, 28 States and 7 UTs on a common base and rates. - Walks through the nine-year journey via the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers, the lapsed 115th Bill, the 122nd Amendment, and enactment of CGST/IGST/UTGST/Compensation Cess Acts. - Compares India's dual model against Australia (federal GST, 2000), the EU (Sixth Directive, 1977) and Canada (HST/PST mosaic), arguing each is only partly comparable. - Explains the IGST settlement mechanism, the dismantling of C/F/I forms and check posts, and credit-chain restrictions on items like rent-a-cab, outdoor catering and motor vehicles. - Flags business anxieties over valuation of inter-state self-supplies and the inclusion of employee cost in 'open market value' for intra-organisation services. - Reads the GST Council's vote-share design as a 'path breaking' federal device delivering 'one tax across the nation'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Governance & Democracy in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/governance-democracy-in-india-r-balasubramanian/ ### Summary Governance & Democracy in India is a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet transcribing Dr. R. Balasubramaniam's inaugural keynote address delivered in Berlin on 16 January 2019 at an event organised by the Tagore Center, Embassy of India, in association with the Indian Center for Cultural Relations, New Delhi. Speaking as a medical doctor turned grassroots development activist with three decades of work among India's poorest, Balasubramaniam argues that 'governance', 'democracy' and 'citizenship' cannot be cleanly separated — they are intricately enmeshed and only become legible at the last mile, where a tribal woman in a forest or a small entrepreneur in tier-2 Mysuru actually encounters the state. The rendered pages develop the booklet's central diagnosis: India's deepest transition is not economic but cultural — from 'subject-hood' to 'citizen-hood', and from an 'entitlement mindset' to an 'empowerment mindset'.… ### Body # Governance & Democracy in India *By Dr. R. Balasubramaniam* ## Summary Governance & Democracy in India is a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet transcribing Dr. R. Balasubramaniam's inaugural keynote address delivered in Berlin on 16 January 2019 at an event organised by the Tagore Center, Embassy of India, in association with the Indian Center for Cultural Relations, New Delhi. Speaking as a medical doctor turned grassroots development activist with three decades of work among India's poorest, Balasubramaniam argues that 'governance', 'democracy' and 'citizenship' cannot be cleanly separated — they are intricately enmeshed and only become legible at the last mile, where a tribal woman in a forest or a small entrepreneur in tier-2 Mysuru actually encounters the state. The rendered pages develop the booklet's central diagnosis: India's deepest transition is not economic but cultural — from 'subject-hood' to 'citizen-hood', and from an 'entitlement mindset' to an 'empowerment mindset'. Balasubramaniam reads sixty-plus post-independence years as a long habituation to dependence on a paternalist state whose constitution promises food, nutrition and jobs, then narrates the evolution of Indian democracy from one-party Congress hegemony through the 1975 Emergency, the Vajpayee-era coalition experiment, and the post-2014 single-party mandate. He frames the next stage of maturation around three forces: the framing of politically acceptable, administratively feasible and sustainable rules; the building (and dismantling) of democratic institutions; and political leadership willing to ask 1.3 billion people to stop receiving and start participating. Sunil S. Bhandare's editorial introduction situates the address inside global anxieties about democratic retreat and signals that the booklet is offered as an 'honest independent perspective' from a practitioner rather than an academic — explicitly inviting researchers and students to test his claims about whether recent policy initiatives are 'conferring the desired benefits to the concerned deserving people'. ## Key points - Transcript of Balasubramaniam's inaugural keynote address in Berlin (16 January 2019), published by Forum of Free Enterprise with an editorial introduction by Sunil S. Bhandare and underwritten by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust. - Frames governance, democracy and citizenship as inseparable at the grassroots, drawing on three decades of practitioner work with 'the poorest of the poor' in India. - Uses an elderly tribal woman's pension story — and her later access to a bank account via the JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile) stack — as a parable for 'last mile' good governance. - Diagnoses India's core challenge as a shift from subject-hood to citizen-hood, and from an entitlement mindset to an empowerment mindset across 1.3 billion people. - Reads Indian democratic evolution in phases: Congress one-party dominance, the 1975 Emergency, coalition governance under Vajpayee, and a post-2014 single-party mandate seen as growing maturation. - Names a 'bureaucratic challenge': civil servants accustomed for 65 years to being 'master' must internalise the manifesto-stated role of 'servants of the public'. - Lays out three forces shaping governance — rules (politically acceptable, administratively feasible, sustainable), democratic institutions to deliver them, and political leadership to absorb citizen challenge. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] GRAVE DANGERS OF STATE TRADING IN FOODGRAINS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/grave-dangers-of-state-trading-in-foodgrains-by-ajit-prasad-jain-november-2-1959/ ### Summary Ajit Prasad Jain, a former Union Food Minister, dissects two of independent India's most consequential food-policy decisions: the 1956 commitment to raise foodgrain production from 75 to 80 million tons under the second Plan, and the fall-1958 resolution that the State should take over the wholesale trade in foodgrains. Both, he writes, 'descended meteor-like from the sky', taken at meetings of the National Development Council without prior consultation, papers, or notes — and put up before the Council essentially as faits accomplis. He uses the occasion to anatomise the N.D.C. itself: an extra-constitutional body with no formal link to the Cabinet, suited equally to debate and to no real responsibility, where Chief Ministers attend by courtesy and the Prime Minister's compromise instincts paper over genuine conflicts between Centre and States. The heart of the pamphlet is Jain's account of how the food-production target was inflated.… ### Body # GRAVE DANGERS OF STATE TRADING IN FOODGRAINS *By Ajit Prasad Jain* ## Summary Ajit Prasad Jain, a former Union Food Minister, dissects two of independent India's most consequential food-policy decisions: the 1956 commitment to raise foodgrain production from 75 to 80 million tons under the second Plan, and the fall-1958 resolution that the State should take over the wholesale trade in foodgrains. Both, he writes, 'descended meteor-like from the sky', taken at meetings of the National Development Council without prior consultation, papers, or notes — and put up before the Council essentially as faits accomplis. He uses the occasion to anatomise the N.D.C. itself: an extra-constitutional body with no formal link to the Cabinet, suited equally to debate and to no real responsibility, where Chief Ministers attend by courtesy and the Prime Minister's compromise instincts paper over genuine conflicts between Centre and States. The heart of the pamphlet is Jain's account of how the food-production target was inflated. He recounts that in April 1956 a Planning Commission member — 'an academician but had little to do with agriculture' — wrote to the Prime Minister citing 8 per cent annual growth in Chinese foodgrain output and commending a 'two-fold programme' built on a Marxian view of labour as the sole source of value. Jain shows that this enthusiasm crowded out capital: of Rs. 369 crores allotted for Food and Agriculture, only Rs. 170 crores were earmarked for production itself, and Ford Foundation experts had to remind the government that labour alone could not substitute for fertilizers, irrigation, and other inputs. The Mussoorie conference of State Agriculture Ministers, the Foodgrains Enquiry Committee, and the warning bell of the failed 1957 fertilizer supply all went unheeded. On State trading, Jain's verdict is uncompromising. Where the State is only a partial buyer, prices can be controlled only through statutory mechanism — meaning, in practice, seizure of stocks. The two-year experiment of buffer-stock operations before State trading proper had already produced 'a plethora of harsh words' but words break no bones. Citing the breakdown of controls in Orissa, Andhra and Bihar — where smuggling rose 'to six-digit-ton figures' and the Bihar Government had to retrace its measures — he argues that full State trading implies the complete elimination of wholesale traders, and that controls on price and movement of foodgrains will have to follow. He closes by noting that Nehru wields, in this area, powers President Roosevelt once exercised in America, and that the A.I.C.C. Chandigarh announcement has tripled his responsibility: 'A mere play with State trading can only involve the country in grave dangers.' The text is reproduced from the Times of India of November 2 and 3, 1959, and circulated by the Forum of Free Enterprise. ## Key points - Frames the 1956 production target hike and the 1958 decision on State wholesale trade in foodgrains as two NDC decisions taken without prior consultation, papers or notes. - Argues the National Development Council has no constitutional basis, no formal link with the Union Cabinet, and increasingly resembles the 'German Diet of the pre-Bismarck era' — suited only to debate and advice. - Traces the inflated foodgrain target to a Planning Commission member's April 1956 letter to the PM about Chinese 8% annual growth, built on a Marxian valuation of labour as the only source of value. - Shows that Rs. 369 crores were allotted to Food and Agriculture but only Rs. 170 crores were earmarked for food production proper, with the rest going to Community Development, N.E.S. blocks and irrigation. - Quotes the Ford Foundation team's insistence that abundant labour cannot substitute for capital — fertilizers, irrigation, drainage and improved seed — in raising agricultural output. - Recounts the 1957 Foodgrains Enquiry Committee's finding that most State governments achieved less than 60 per cent of the revised second-Plan targets, and the 1958 fertilizer supply shortfall of 45 per cent. - Contends that State trading in any partial form requires statutory controls on price and movement, citing breakdowns in Orissa, Andhra and Bihar where smuggling reached 'six-digit-ton figures'. - Closes with the warning that the Chandigarh A.I.C.C. announcement has tripled the Prime Minister's responsibility, and that 'a mere play with State trading can only involve the country in grave dangers.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Green Energy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/green-energy-prof-soli-j-arceivalal-june-4-2011/ ### Summary Green Energy is a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet by Prof. Soli J. Arceivala, an environmental engineer and former Chief Environmental Health expert with WHO/UN South-East Asia. Editor Sunil S. Bhandare's introduction frames the core dilemma: India's per capita energy availability must rise six-fold over the coming decades, yet its room for additional carbon emissions is only about three-fold — a structural mismatch between development aspiration and ecological constraint. Arceivala's reply, written in plain prose for a general policy audience, is that India must mainstream renewables now and treat them as the price-competitive default rather than a virtuous luxury. The bulk of the booklet is a practitioner's tour of alternative-energy options. Arceivala concentrates on the three he judges most viable at 2011 prices — wind, solar, and biomass — and folds in shorter sections on hydro, shale gas, coal gas, LNG/CNG/LPG, biofuels (Jatropha and ethanol), nuclear, wave, and geo-thermal energy. Each is examined for installed capacity, capital cost, payback, land requirements, and policy frictions.… ### Body # Green Energy *By Prof. Soli J. Arceivala* ## Summary Green Energy is a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet by Prof. Soli J. Arceivala, an environmental engineer and former Chief Environmental Health expert with WHO/UN South-East Asia. Editor Sunil S. Bhandare's introduction frames the core dilemma: India's per capita energy availability must rise six-fold over the coming decades, yet its room for additional carbon emissions is only about three-fold — a structural mismatch between development aspiration and ecological constraint. Arceivala's reply, written in plain prose for a general policy audience, is that India must mainstream renewables now and treat them as the price-competitive default rather than a virtuous luxury. The bulk of the booklet is a practitioner's tour of alternative-energy options. Arceivala concentrates on the three he judges most viable at 2011 prices — wind, solar, and biomass — and folds in shorter sections on hydro, shale gas, coal gas, LNG/CNG/LPG, biofuels (Jatropha and ethanol), nuclear, wave, and geo-thermal energy. Each is examined for installed capacity, capital cost, payback, land requirements, and policy frictions. The reader is taken from the cube-of-speed physics of wind turbines through coastal wind-tunnelling sites, off-shore floating farms (StatoilHydro), Suzlon's export footprint, IDFC- and DLF-backed wind ventures, and ONGC's 50 MW farm at Kutch, to solar lanterns and water heaters with two-year paybacks, to large concentrated-solar projects in Rajasthan and the Thar, to satellite-based CSP as a frontier idea. The booklet's underlying argument is liberal and pragmatic rather than environmentalist. Arceivala notes that 'hard-headed businessmen' will only switch when costs converge — which they are doing — and proposes a fiscal-policy and public-private-partnership architecture (accelerated depreciation, captive-generation feed-in tariffs at Rs 18.50/kWh, reverse selling to the grid, German-style feedback payments) to accelerate that convergence. Three policy reforms are named as urgent: a more people-friendly land-acquisition regime (the Jaitapur nuclear and Singur/Nandigram experiences are flagged), a research policy that picks promising technologies such as wave energy, and a fiscal policy oriented to PPP investment in renewables. The volume closes with a biographical tribute to Shailesh Kapadia (1949–1988), a Bombay chartered accountant whose memorial trust sponsored the booklet, and the Forum's signature A. D. Shroff epigraph on free enterprise. ## Key points - Sets up the central tension: India's per capita energy needs must grow six-fold while permissible carbon emissions can only triple, forcing a green-energy pivot. - Arceivala defines 'GREEN' as 'Growth with Resources, Environment Enhancement and Nature' — energy that grows the economy without exhausting or polluting it. - Concentrates on wind, solar, and biomass as the three presently viable renewables at 2011 prices, with secondary treatment of hydro, shale gas, biofuels, nuclear, wave, and geo-thermal. - Reports that renewables were under 3% of India's energy mix in 2010, against a national target of around 20% by 2020 — requiring fiscal incentives and large public-private investment. - Wind discussion covers the cube-of-speed physics, monsoon seasonality, accelerated depreciation as a tax-saving lever, offshore floating farms (StatoilHydro), Suzlon's exports, and ventures by IDFC, DLF, JSW Green Energy, and ONGC. - Solar section walks through cookers, water heaters, TERI-type lanterns (targeted at displacing 1 billion litres of kerosene annually by 2022), stand-alone PV for telecom and water treatment, grid-connected rooftop PV, and concentrated solar power in Rajasthan, the Thar, and Spain/US analogues. - Biomass and waste-to-energy receive substantial treatment: gobar-gas plants, UASB reactors, BARC's 'Nisargruna' bio-methanation units, Thermax/Lambion partnerships, and Karnataka's 4.5 MW biomass plant as a model. - Names three urgent policy reforms — land acquisition, research direction (especially wave energy), and fiscal policy — and ends with the claim that wind, solar, hydro and wave energy 'would win hands down' as the sources to concentrate on. - Frames the project in classical-liberal terms: market price advantage, private-public partnership, and feedback payment to private generators, rather than command-and-control environmentalism. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] GROW MORE VOTES URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/grow-more-votes-by-ma-sreenivasan-february-8-1960/ ### Summary "Grow More Votes" is a polemical Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet by M. A. Sreenivasan, dated 8 February 1960, that punningly turns the government's "Grow More Food" campaign on its head. Triggered by Union Food Minister A. P. Jain's resignation and the Lok Sabha debate that followed, Sreenivasan asks why an independent India of plenty of land and labour continues to import hundreds of crores of rupees worth of foodgrains every year. His single-word answer is "Politics" — agriculture, he argues, has been smothered by what he calls the "Juggernaut of Avadi," the Socialist Pattern of Society, and by a ruling class of "political panjandrums" whose obsession with vote-catching slogans like "Land belongs to the People" and "Land to the Landless" has destroyed the security of land as property. The leaflet defends private property in land by invoking the traditional Indian categories of sthira (permanent, immoveable property) and astha bhoga thejas swamyam (the owner's right to enjoy his land as long as the sun and moon last), and laments that title to land is now "a scrap of paper that flutters about in each political breeze." Sreenivasan attacks absentee landlordism by Congress polit… ### Body # GROW MORE VOTES *By MA Sreenivasan* ## Summary "Grow More Votes" is a polemical Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet by M. A. Sreenivasan, dated 8 February 1960, that punningly turns the government's "Grow More Food" campaign on its head. Triggered by Union Food Minister A. P. Jain's resignation and the Lok Sabha debate that followed, Sreenivasan asks why an independent India of plenty of land and labour continues to import hundreds of crores of rupees worth of foodgrains every year. His single-word answer is "Politics" — agriculture, he argues, has been smothered by what he calls the "Juggernaut of Avadi," the Socialist Pattern of Society, and by a ruling class of "political panjandrums" whose obsession with vote-catching slogans like "Land belongs to the People" and "Land to the Landless" has destroyed the security of land as property. The leaflet defends private property in land by invoking the traditional Indian categories of sthira (permanent, immoveable property) and astha bhoga thejas swamyam (the owner's right to enjoy his land as long as the sun and moon last), and laments that title to land is now "a scrap of paper that flutters about in each political breeze." Sreenivasan attacks absentee landlordism by Congress politicians who own steel-works, sugar companies and chemical factories while their tenants quit cultivation, and warns that the Nagpur resolution on Joint Co-operative Farming — pushed despite the resignation of the Food Minister — masks compulsion as voluntarism. Mobilising Anatole France's aphorism about the thickness of a court-fee stamp, he claims the difference between "voluntary" and "compulsory" co-operation in India is now the thickness of "a Minister's letter head — or a bureaucrat's visiting card." He frames the newly-launched Swatantra Party as the only serious political rival to a Congress that, since Gandhi's death, has drifted toward what the Communist Party would have done in power, only "painless and performed under the chloroform of mass hypnosis." The leaflet closes with a tart thanksgiving that the Prime Minister has acknowledged the "Senior Partner of the new Party" — God — and carries the standard Forum disclaimer that the views expressed are not necessarily those of the Forum of Free Enterprise. ## Key points - Sreenivasan turns the government slogan "Grow More Food" into "Grow More Votes," arguing that vote-seeking politics — not soil, climate or capital — is the binding constraint on Indian agriculture. - He blames the persistent foodgrain import bill of hundreds of crores of rupees on the "Juggernaut of Avadi" — the Socialist Pattern of Society adopted by the Congress — which he says concentrates power beyond that of Moghul Emperors and Maharajas. - He defends land as sthira (permanent property) and invokes the traditional formula astha bhoga thejas swamyam, contrasting it with the present condition in which title to land "flutters about in each political breeze." - He attacks Congress politicians who hold shares in steel works, sugar companies, and chemical factories while functioning as absentee landlords, presiding over the fall of cultivated value and the flight of small owners. - He charges that Mr. S. K. Patil's reformist voice is being "jammed" by his own party's High Command after the Nagpur Joint Co-operative Farming resolution. - He uses Anatole France's line about court-fee stamps to argue that in present-day India the line between voluntary and compulsory state action is "the thickness of a Minister's letter head — or a bureaucrat's visiting card." - He treats the Swatantra Party as the first serious political rival to a Congress that, after Gandhi's death, has drifted toward executing the Communist programme under mass hypnosis. - The leaflet is published by the Forum of Free Enterprise (235 Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji Road, Bombay) with M. R. Pai as publisher and the standard disclaimer that the views are not necessarily those of the Forum. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Growing Government Expenditure is a Cause for Concern URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/growing-government-is-a-cause-for-concern-dr-pendise-july-17-1995/ ### Summary D. R. Pendse, then Chief Consulting Economist of the Industrial Development Bank of India, uses this Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet (based on a United News of India interview note) to sound an alarm about the deteriorating fiscal situation that lay just beneath the noisy debate over the March 1995 Union Budget. Writing in mid-1995, he warns that the underlying Budget arithmetic has been worsening for two or three years and that the Centre's outstanding debt — projected at over Rs. 6,00,000 crores by the end of 1995-96 — is being used in ways that should disturb taxpayers and policymakers alike. Using a single table broken into ten numbered observations, Pendse shows how roughly 36 per cent of every rupee borrowed by the Centre is consumed rather than invested, how a large slice of "capital outlay" (notably Rs. 55,500 crore in defence) yields no commercial return, and how the public sector undertakings — sitting on Rs. 1,59,000 crores of capital employed — earn a "measly 2.3 per cent" net return.… ### Body # Growing Government Expenditure is a Cause for Concern *By D. R. Pendse* ## Summary D. R. Pendse, then Chief Consulting Economist of the Industrial Development Bank of India, uses this Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet (based on a United News of India interview note) to sound an alarm about the deteriorating fiscal situation that lay just beneath the noisy debate over the March 1995 Union Budget. Writing in mid-1995, he warns that the underlying Budget arithmetic has been worsening for two or three years and that the Centre's outstanding debt — projected at over Rs. 6,00,000 crores by the end of 1995-96 — is being used in ways that should disturb taxpayers and policymakers alike. Using a single table broken into ten numbered observations, Pendse shows how roughly 36 per cent of every rupee borrowed by the Centre is consumed rather than invested, how a large slice of "capital outlay" (notably Rs. 55,500 crore in defence) yields no commercial return, and how the public sector undertakings — sitting on Rs. 1,59,000 crores of capital employed — earn a "measly 2.3 per cent" net return. He notes that the dividends the Centre receives from the RBI alone exceed those from every other public enterprise combined, that loans to state governments earn an average of just 10 per cent against the Centre's own higher cost of borrowing, and that of Rs. 11,526 crore of fresh external assistance in 1995-96, almost 89 per cent will be pre-empted by interest payments and repayments of past loans. The core polemic is fiscal-deficit revisionism: against the Finance Minister's target of Rs. 57,634 crore, Pendse argues the 1995-96 deficit will instead come in close to Rs. 71,000 crore. He points to suspiciously low projected increases in total expenditure, the absence of provision for six new anti-poverty ministries and for Pay Commission burdens, and the political logic of a pre-election year. The pamphlet closes with the explicit warning that a similarly fast-deteriorating fiscal situation "landed us into our economic crisis of 1991", and is accompanied by a statistical appendix reproducing tables from the Economic Survey 1994-95 on Central government deficits, outstanding liabilities, interest payments and budgetary transactions, framed by signature Forum sidebar quotes from A. D. Shroff and Eugene Black. ## Key points - Pendse argues the Centre's outstanding debt will exceed Rs. 6,00,000 crore by end-1995-96 — the largest single figure he can find in the budget papers. - Of every rupee borrowed, roughly 36 per cent is used up in the Centre's own consumption rather than investment, producing a chronic 'surplus on capital account'. - A large share of so-called capital outlay — including Rs. 55,500 crore in defence — earns no commercial return, making it economically akin to consumption. - Public sector undertakings deploy about Rs. 1,59,000 crore of capital employed but earn only a 'measly' 2.3 per cent net return over the last five years. - Dividends from the Reserve Bank of India (Rs. 1,500 crore) exceed those from all other public enterprises combined (Rs. 1,446 crore), exposing how thin PSU profitability really is. - Loans to state governments yield the Centre an average of just 10 per cent, well below its own cost of borrowing, so a large part of these loans is effectively rolled over rather than repaid. - Of Rs. 11,526 crore of fresh external assistance budgeted for 1995-96, only about 11 per cent (Rs. 1,284 crore) will be available for fresh use; the rest is pre-empted by interest and repayments. - Against the Finance Minister's budget estimate of Rs. 57,634 crore, Pendse projects the 1995-96 fiscal deficit will reach close to Rs. 71,000 crore, with unbudgeted spending on Pay Commission awards, new poverty ministries and election-year pressures yet to bite. - A statistical appendix reproduces Economic Survey 1994-95 tables on deficits as a share of GDP, outstanding liabilities, interest on liabilities and central/state budgetary transactions over 1980-81 to 1994-95. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] "Growthmanship": Fact and Fallacy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/growthmanship-fact-or-fallacy-colin-clark-jul11-1965/ ### Summary "Growthmanship": Fact and Fallacy is Colin Clark's 1965 essay, reprinted from the January 1965 issue of The Intercollegiate Review and issued by Bombay's Forum of Free Enterprise as a 26-page booklet (Booklet No. 206, dated 11 July 1965) with an introduction by FFE President A. D. Shroff. Clark, then Director of Oxford's Agricultural Economics Research Institute, coins the term "growthmanship" to describe an excessive preoccupation with economic growth, the advocacy of unduly simple proposals for obtaining it, and the selective use of statistics to flatter one's preferred political and economic system at the expense of one's opponents. The core argument is that the post-war growth models of Sir Roy Harrod, Evsey Domar and Walt Whitman Rostow over-credit capital and under-credit human factors.… ### Body # "Growthmanship": Fact and Fallacy *By COLIN CLARK* ## Summary "Growthmanship": Fact and Fallacy is Colin Clark's 1965 essay, reprinted from the January 1965 issue of The Intercollegiate Review and issued by Bombay's Forum of Free Enterprise as a 26-page booklet (Booklet No. 206, dated 11 July 1965) with an introduction by FFE President A. D. Shroff. Clark, then Director of Oxford's Agricultural Economics Research Institute, coins the term "growthmanship" to describe an excessive preoccupation with economic growth, the advocacy of unduly simple proposals for obtaining it, and the selective use of statistics to flatter one's preferred political and economic system at the expense of one's opponents. The core argument is that the post-war growth models of Sir Roy Harrod, Evsey Domar and Walt Whitman Rostow over-credit capital and under-credit human factors. Drawing on cross-country capital-output ratios, the Norwegian research of Doctor Aukrust, Robert Solow's American findings and Tibor Barna's manufacturing comparisons, Clark contends that the marginal capital-output ratio is roughly four or less and often falling, that productivity gains come overwhelmingly from "better knowledge, organisation, skill, effort, education, enterprise", and that the Communist-era doctrine of a continually rising capital-output ratio — rooted in Eugen von Bohm-Bawerk and fossilised in Soviet planning — is empirically wrong. He dismantles widely-cited international "league tables" purporting to show that high investment drives rapid growth, singling out Governor Nelson Rockefeller's diagram for the Republicans' liberal wing, and rejects the Bergson–Nutter–Jasny and CIA-endorsed claim that Soviet productivity was overtaking the United States. The political payoff is a classical-liberal warning: governments that force the pace through capital-intensive prestige projects can waste real resources and retard rather than accelerate development. Clark cites Nehru's "comparative religion" reply to a question about building more Indian steel mills, and the wider tendency of "newly developing" countries to crave "a steel mill, a national airline, a six-lane highway and an invitation for the President of the country to address the Washington Press Club", as emblems of this danger. The summary and conclusions reassert the classical view that land, labour, capital and enterprise must all be present with no factor taking absolute precedence, and that international comparisons designed to show high investment going hand in hand with rapid growth do not survive examination. ## Key points - Clark coins the polemical term "growthmanship" for an excessive preoccupation with economic growth combined with simplistic policy prescriptions and tendentious selection of statistics. - He argues that the post-war Harrod-Domar growth models, designed for a period of capital shortage, are now out of date — capital is created during growth rather than being its principal cause. - Empirical capital-output ratios across Argentina, Australia, Canada, West Germany, India, Japan, Norway, the U.K., U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. cluster around 4 or less and often fall as economies advance, contradicting the Communist-era doctrine of an ever-rising ratio. - Norwegian research by Doctor Aukrust and parallel American work by Robert Solow show that growth in real national product comes overwhelmingly from human factors — education, skill, organisation and enterprise — rather than from sheer additions to the capital stock. - Walt Whitman Rostow's "take-off into sustained growth" doctrine is dismissed as a "half-truth at best"; Governor Nelson Rockefeller's diagram correlating high investment with rapid growth collapses when supplemented with a fuller country sample. - The Bergson-Nutter-Jasny studies, accepted even by the CIA, have shown that the supposed Soviet "catching up" with U.S. productivity was an artefact of mistaken, selectively-used evidence. - Clark ridicules the steel-mill cult — invoking Nehru's "comparative religion" remark — and warns that newly developing countries who fixate on prestige heavy industry while neglecting other sectors waste capital and retard development. - The conclusion is a classical-liberal restatement: land, labour, capital and enterprise must all be present with no factor taking absolute precedence, and government attempts to force the pace are likely to be counter-productive. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Handbook of Transformation to Market Economy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/handbook-for-transformation-to-market-economy/ ### Summary Handbook of Transformation to Market Economy is a single-author primer by the economist Bibek Debroy, published in 2008 by liberal Verlag GmbH (Berlin) in the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung's 'Ideas on Liberty' series. In the rendered pages — the front matter and the opening two chapters — Debroy sets out what a market economy is and how economic freedom is to be understood. The first chapter, 'Types of Economies and a Market Economy,' argues that a market is not a physical place but a notional space governed by institutions, and that real economies sit on a continuum between pure-market and pure-planned poles rather than in a binary. It introduces the laissez-faire tradition of the eighteenth-century French physiocrats and analyses how unrealistic rules and regulations enlarge the informal and black economy, citing Fraser Institute and Friedrich Schneider estimates that informal segments account for large shares of GDP across world regions. The second chapter, 'Freedom and Economic Freedom,' in the rendered pages distinguishes negative from positive rights.… ### Body # Handbook of Transformation to Market Economy *By Bibek Debroy* ## Summary Handbook of Transformation to Market Economy is a single-author primer by the economist Bibek Debroy, published in 2008 by liberal Verlag GmbH (Berlin) in the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung's 'Ideas on Liberty' series. In the rendered pages — the front matter and the opening two chapters — Debroy sets out what a market economy is and how economic freedom is to be understood. The first chapter, 'Types of Economies and a Market Economy,' argues that a market is not a physical place but a notional space governed by institutions, and that real economies sit on a continuum between pure-market and pure-planned poles rather than in a binary. It introduces the laissez-faire tradition of the eighteenth-century French physiocrats and analyses how unrealistic rules and regulations enlarge the informal and black economy, citing Fraser Institute and Friedrich Schneider estimates that informal segments account for large shares of GDP across world regions. The second chapter, 'Freedom and Economic Freedom,' in the rendered pages distinguishes negative from positive rights. Debroy treats negative rights — security, liberty of belief and movement, due process, equality before the law — as the core of freedom captured in legislation up to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), and questions the status of the positive 'economic and social' rights (to education, health-care, livelihood, paid leave) that the same Declaration also enumerates. The handbook's larger apparatus, visible in the Contents, is a survey of governance and economic-freedom measurement: chapter 3 catalogues indices such as the Bertelsmann Transformation Index, the Press Freedom Index, Freedom House, the World Bank and Transparency International, and chapter 4 turns to the Fraser Institute's Economic Freedom of the World — but these chapters fall past the rendered pages. ## Key points - Single-author economics primer by Bibek Debroy, published 2008 by liberal Verlag (Berlin), 'Ideas on Liberty' series, ISBN 978-3-920590-25-7. - Chapter 1 frames a market economy as a notional, institution-governed space, with real economies on a continuum between market and planned. - Traces laissez-faire to the eighteenth-century French physiocrats and argues unrealistic regulation grows the informal and black economy. - Cites Fraser Institute and Friedrich Schneider data on the size of the informal economy across regions. - Chapter 2 (rendered) distinguishes negative rights (the core of freedom) from positive economic/social rights. - Reads the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights as mixing negative rights with contested positive ones. - Per the Contents, later chapters survey governance and economic-freedom indices (BTI, Press Freedom Index, Freedom House, World Bank, Transparency International, Fraser Institute) — not in the rendered pages. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Growth, Resilience and Reform URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/growth-resilience-dr-subir-gokarn-november-5-2011/ ### Summary This booklet reproduces the 45th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by Dr. Subir Gokarn — then Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India — at the Indian Merchants' Chamber, Mumbai, on 2 November 2011 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise. Gokarn's central proposition is that the balance between efficiency and stability must be built into India's development strategy: reforms that open the economy to competition and accelerate growth have to be complemented by safeguards that contain the risks those very reforms generate. He reads the post-1991 record through this lens and argues that the same balance explains both the dream run of 2003-08 (when GDP averaged 8.9 per cent) and the relatively short-lived, transitory impact of the 2008 global financial crisis on India compared with developed economies. Using a 2x2 matrix of favourable / unfavourable global and domestic conditions, Gokarn maps Indian performance from 2003 to 2010, frames 2008-10 as the crisis quadrant, and treats 2011-onward as the new question.… ### Body # Growth, Resilience and Reform *By Dr. Subir Gokarn* ## Summary This booklet reproduces the 45th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by Dr. Subir Gokarn — then Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India — at the Indian Merchants' Chamber, Mumbai, on 2 November 2011 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise. Gokarn's central proposition is that the balance between efficiency and stability must be built into India's development strategy: reforms that open the economy to competition and accelerate growth have to be complemented by safeguards that contain the risks those very reforms generate. He reads the post-1991 record through this lens and argues that the same balance explains both the dream run of 2003-08 (when GDP averaged 8.9 per cent) and the relatively short-lived, transitory impact of the 2008 global financial crisis on India compared with developed economies. Using a 2x2 matrix of favourable / unfavourable global and domestic conditions, Gokarn maps Indian performance from 2003 to 2010, frames 2008-10 as the crisis quadrant, and treats 2011-onward as the new question. He stresses that the 1991 reforms were evolutionary rather than revolutionary — trade liberalisation in two stages, gradual financial-sector reform, capital-account opening through preference ordering (FDI preferred over portfolio, equity over debt, long-term debt over short), and fiscal consolidation under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act of 2003 — and that their full impact only arrived when these strands reached a critical threshold around 2003. The accompanying slides (rising investment and falling deficits, increasing global integration, contributors to inflation, stable private consumption, monetary policy responses, banks' balance sheet composition, food inflation, and the diverging GDP/employment shares of agriculture, industry and services) anchor the empirical narrative. On risks, Gokarn singles out two channels arising from greater global integration: capital-flow volatility, which India's preference-ordered capital-account framework has dampened, and energy-import dependence, which has translated global price shocks into domestic inflation. On resilience he identifies four structural buffers — domestic-consumption-led demand, an anti-inflationary monetary stance built up before the crisis, fiscal space created by the 2003-08 consolidation, and bank balance sheets dominated by loans rather than mark-to-market investments. Looking forward, he calls for an integrated energy strategy that conserves use and shifts toward renewables, supply expansion in proteins / vegetables / fruits to entrench food disinflation, infrastructure and labour-market reform so industry can absorb workers leaving agriculture, and a financial sector capable of safely funding rapid growth — a "tightrope walk" between too much and too little caution. The closing message is that growth and resilience together require speed, synchronisation, and a continuing balance between exploiting opportunities and managing risk. A. D. Shroff's institutional voice frames the booklet: the cover and final pages identify the Forum of Free Enterprise as publisher (sponsored by The New India Assurance Co. Ltd.), the front matter carries Shroff's motto on free enterprise and a biographical sketch quoting J. R. D. Tata and former World Bank President George Woods, and the back matter lists every Shroff Memorial lecture from 1966 to 2010 — situating Gokarn's argument inside the Forum's classical-liberal lineage even as he speaks from the central bank. ## Key points - Delivered as the 45th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture on 2 November 2011 at the Indian Merchants' Chamber, Mumbai, under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise; the speaker is the sitting Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. - The organising frame is a 2x2 matrix of favourable / unfavourable global and domestic conditions: 2003-08 sits in the favourable / favourable quadrant (8.9% average growth), 2008-10 in the unfavourable / unfavourable crisis quadrant, and the future is presented as an open question. - Gokarn argues the 1991 reforms were evolutionary, not revolutionary — trade reform in two stages, gradual financial-sector liberalisation, preference-ordered capital-account opening, and fiscal consolidation under the FRBM Act of 2003 — with full effects only arriving around 2003 when all strands crossed a tipping point. - Three drivers of the pre-crisis acceleration are identified: a stable, predictable investment environment; a virtuous cycle that raised the investment-to-GDP ratio above 35 per cent; and a fiscal switch from government consumption toward investment. - Two new risks from greater global integration are highlighted — capital-flow volatility (mitigated by India's preference-ordered capital-account framework) and rising energy-import dependence (which transmits global price shocks into domestic inflation). - Four structural sources of Indian resilience to the 2008 shock are catalogued: large share of domestic private consumption in demand, an anti-inflationary monetary stance with high policy rates and CRR going into the crisis, fiscal space accumulated during 2003-08, and bank balance sheets dominated by loans rather than mark-to-market investments. - Forward-looking policy priorities cover an integrated energy strategy, supply-side expansion of protein and horticultural foods to break entrenched food inflation, infrastructure and labour-market reform so industry can absorb labour leaving agriculture, and a financial sector that can finance rapid growth without amplifying risk. - Concluding messages: balanced reform produced both pre-crisis growth and post-crisis resilience; future performance depends more heavily on reinforcing domestic drivers given a hostile external environment; and 'speed, synchronization and the balance between exploiting opportunities and managing risk' should govern any reform strategy. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Has Private Enterprise Failed? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/has-private-enterprise-failed-ad-shroff-230ct-1956/ ### Summary A. D. Shroff's October 1956 address to the Commerce Graduates' Association in Bombay is a point-by-point rebuttal of two then-current charges against Indian private enterprise: Union Commerce and Industry Minister T. T. Krishnamachari's quip at Madurai that 'Private Enterprise has failed me', and the Prime Minister's contention in Calcutta that private enterprise and democracy are incompatible. Shroff acknowledges the constraints of the post-Independence regulatory environment — 'discriminating protection', the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act of 1951, and the nationalisation of the Imperial Bank, life insurance and Indian Airlines — and argues that private industry has nonetheless carried the bulk of the country's industrial growth. He marshals official data to make the case: the Planning Commission's own publication concedes that public-sector investment under the First Plan was running far below the estimate of Rs.… ### Body # Has Private Enterprise Failed? *By A. D. Shroff* ## Summary A. D. Shroff's October 1956 address to the Commerce Graduates' Association in Bombay is a point-by-point rebuttal of two then-current charges against Indian private enterprise: Union Commerce and Industry Minister T. T. Krishnamachari's quip at Madurai that 'Private Enterprise has failed me', and the Prime Minister's contention in Calcutta that private enterprise and democracy are incompatible. Shroff acknowledges the constraints of the post-Independence regulatory environment — 'discriminating protection', the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act of 1951, and the nationalisation of the Imperial Bank, life insurance and Indian Airlines — and argues that private industry has nonetheless carried the bulk of the country's industrial growth. He marshals official data to make the case: the Planning Commission's own publication concedes that public-sector investment under the First Plan was running far below the estimate of Rs. 94 crores; the industrial production index, taking 1946 as base 100, climbed to 161.5 by 1955; cotton textiles, jute, steel, cement, paper, matches, sugar, machine tools, diesel engines, bicycles, sewing machines, soda ash, caustic soda and super-phosphates all show steep expansion under private operation. Pioneering ventures such as J. N. Tata's steel mill, Bombay's hydro-electric power, and the shipping firms of Walchand Hirachand and Narottam Morarji are offered as evidence that the private sector built the country's industrial spine in the modern sense. Shroff then turns to the charge that private enterprise concentrates economic power, citing an April Tata Quarterly article to argue that demand has so consistently outrun supply across Indian industry that genuine monopolies have not formed. He reads at length from World Bank President Eugene Black's letter to Krishnamachari urging India to give private enterprise an unqualified opportunity under the Second Five Year Plan, and closes by rejecting the Calcutta thesis outright — insisting that the democratic way of life assured by the constitution will suffer if free enterprise is not allowed to be practised. ## Key points - Frames the pamphlet as a direct response to T. T. Krishnamachari's 4 August Madurai speech ('Private Enterprise has failed me') and to the Prime Minister's Calcutta claim that private enterprise and democracy are incompatible. - Argues that despite 'discriminating protection', the 1951 Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, and the nationalisation of the Imperial Bank, life insurance and Indian Airlines, private enterprise has carried India's industrialisation. - Uses the Planning Commission's own figures — only about Rs. 57 crore of an expected Rs. 94 crore First Plan public-sector investment was realised — to show that the bulk of production gains came from private firms. - Cites an industrial production index that rose from 100 in 1946 to 161.5 in 1955 across textiles, steel, cement, machine tools, diesel engines and other lines. - Names J. N. Tata's steel works, Bombay hydro-electric power, the Tata Iron and Steel Company, and the shipping ventures of Walchand Hirachand and Narottam Morarji as private-sector pioneering feats that built modern Indian industry. - Disputes the concentration-of-economic-power thesis by reference to an April Tata Quarterly article showing that Indian demand has consistently outrun supply in every major industry. - Reproduces the substance of World Bank President Eugene Black's letter to Krishnamachari, which urged India to give private enterprise an unqualified opportunity under the Second Five Year Plan. - Concludes that the constitutional commitment to democracy is endangered if free enterprise is not allowed to be practised in India. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] हमारा हिन्दुस्तान URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/hamara-hindustan/ ### Summary हमारा हिन्दुस्तान (Hamārā Hindustān) is a 1942 Hindi translation, by V. P. Sinha (वी. पी. सिन्हा), of Minoo Masani's English popular primer Our India, published by Oxford University Press Bombay. The book is addressed to a general Hindi-reading audience and sets out to introduce India's geography, population, climate, agriculture, and economic life in plain, conversational prose illustrated with approximately 100 diagrams and woodcut-style images. In the rendered pages Masani opens with an appeal to national pride: one in every five human beings on earth is an Indian, a fact that ought, he argues, to stir every reader to engage with the country's problems and potential. The first chapter (पाँच में एक, 'One in Five') covers India's physical geography — its vast extent from east to west and north to south, its three broad physiographic zones (the Himalaya, the great river plains, and the peninsula), the monsoon system, and the diversity of peoples and occupations.… ### Body ## Summary हमारा हिन्दुस्तान (Hamārā Hindustān) is a 1942 Hindi translation, by V. P. Sinha (वी. पी. सिन्हा), of Minoo Masani's English popular primer Our India, published by Oxford University Press Bombay. The book is addressed to a general Hindi-reading audience and sets out to introduce India's geography, population, climate, agriculture, and economic life in plain, conversational prose illustrated with approximately 100 diagrams and woodcut-style images. In the rendered pages Masani opens with an appeal to national pride: one in every five human beings on earth is an Indian, a fact that ought, he argues, to stir every reader to engage with the country's problems and potential. The first chapter (पाँच में एक, 'One in Five') covers India's physical geography — its vast extent from east to west and north to south, its three broad physiographic zones (the Himalaya, the great river plains, and the peninsula), the monsoon system, and the diversity of peoples and occupations. The second chapter (क्या हम सूर्य को खा सकते हैं?, 'Can We Eat the Sun?') turns to political economy: it explains how plants fix solar energy and why India's agricultural abundance is undermined by poverty, low yields, and the failure to use land and labour to full productive capacity, drawing comparative data on tea, coal, manganese, and jute against output in the USA, Russia, and other countries. The third chapter (एक पहेली, 'A Riddle'), only partially visible in the rendered pages, poses the central paradox of Indian poverty amid natural plenty — asking why a country so richly endowed should have a population that is overwhelmingly poor and undernourished. The very opening of the fourth chapter (नाश का घर, 'House of Destruction') appears on the last rendered page and begins to characterise the typical Indian as represented by a cross-section of ten people. Throughout the rendered pages Masani deploys vivid comparative statistics — India's population as nearly one-fifth of the world, the average Indian family's annual income, calorie intake, and infant mortality relative to counterparts in Britain, the USA, and Australia — to make the case that India's resources are underused and that informed citizens must understand and act on this gap. The tone is that of popular civic education aimed at ordinary readers, consistent with the book's origin as a mass-circulation primer written during the independence movement. ## Key points - In the rendered pages, Masani frames India's enormous population (one in five humans is Indian) as a source of national pride and civic responsibility, not merely a demographic fact. - Chapter 1 presents a geographic overview of India — three physiographic zones, the monsoon, river systems — using comparison with European countries to convey scale. - Chapter 2 explains agricultural productivity through an accessible account of photosynthesis and solar energy, then uses comparative charts to show India's underperformance in tea, coal, manganese, and jute production relative to its potential. - In the rendered pages, Masani cites specific figures: India produces roughly 20 crore maunds of coal annually compared to much higher outputs in the USA and USSR; India accounts for the largest share of world jute and manganese output but lags in per-capita industrial goods. - Chapter 3 poses the central 'riddle' of Indian poverty amid plenty, noting that the average Indian's annual income is extremely low (around 64–74 rupees per year according to figures cited) and that this traps families in a cycle of under-nutrition and debt. - In the rendered pages, the book argues that land fragmentation, landlordism, and lack of rural credit and health infrastructure are the structural causes of rural poverty. - The illustrated format (comparative pictograms, maps, woodcuts) is integral to the pedagogical design, making statistical arguments accessible to readers with limited formal education. - The opening of Chapter 4 (नाश का घर) introduces a typology of ten representative Indians, setting up a structural analysis of occupational distribution. --- ## [Primary work] Higher Education at the Cross-Roads of the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/higher-education-at-the-cross-roads-of-the-twentieth-and-twenty-first-centuries-dr-miss-a-s-desai/ ### Summary Delivered as the 33rd A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Mumbai on 7 December 1998, Dr. (Miss) A. S. Desai's address frames Indian higher education as a system standing between a twentieth century preoccupied with material resources and a twenty-first century built on knowledge and information. Speaking as Chairperson of the University Grants Commission, she argues that India can ill afford the complacency of believing the country cannot bear the costs of an expanded university system — on the contrary, the country cannot afford NOT to invest in it. The lecture surveys the quantitative growth of the system since Independence — from a handful of universities at 1947 to 228 universities and roughly 9,703 colleges by 1997-98 — and judges the expansion to have been 'poorly planned': one college established every day and one university every three to four months, but only 6 per cent of the 17-23 age cohort enrolled, well behind Malaysia, Thailand or Singapore.… ### Body # Higher Education at the Cross-Roads of the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries *By Dr. (Miss) A. S. DESAI* ## Summary Delivered as the 33rd A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Mumbai on 7 December 1998, Dr. (Miss) A. S. Desai's address frames Indian higher education as a system standing between a twentieth century preoccupied with material resources and a twenty-first century built on knowledge and information. Speaking as Chairperson of the University Grants Commission, she argues that India can ill afford the complacency of believing the country cannot bear the costs of an expanded university system — on the contrary, the country cannot afford NOT to invest in it. The lecture surveys the quantitative growth of the system since Independence — from a handful of universities at 1947 to 228 universities and roughly 9,703 colleges by 1997-98 — and judges the expansion to have been 'poorly planned': one college established every day and one university every three to four months, but only 6 per cent of the 17-23 age cohort enrolled, well behind Malaysia, Thailand or Singapore. Desai then examines access and equity (the under-representation of women, marginal farmers, casual labour, displaced and disabled groups), quality (the way 'massification' at lower levels feeds unequal preparation into higher education, with first-generation learners particularly disadvantaged), and relevance (the need to couple humanities, social sciences, sciences and commerce with field experience, problem-based specialisations, distance-learning credits and ICAR-tied rural courses). The second half of the rendered pages turns to the impact of globalization on university research — WTO, intellectual property regimes, and the need for indigenous R&D — and opens a discussion of funding. Citing the UNESCO World Declaration on Higher Education for the Twenty-First Century (Paris, October 1998) and the Delors report, Desai defends public funding as essential, noting that Plan allocations to the Department of Education have collapsed from 25 per cent in the IVth Plan to 8 per cent in the VIIIth, leaving universities starved for infrastructure, equipment and library materials. ## Key points - India has built the second-largest university system in the world — 228 universities and ~9,703 colleges by 1997-98 — yet only 6 per cent of the 17-23 age group is enrolled in higher education, lagging Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. - The expansion has been 'poorly planned': one college is established roughly every day and one university every three or four months, with growth disconnected from local need or course-type. - Desai inverts the conventional fiscal anxiety — India cannot afford NOT to invest in higher education if it is to nurture leadership and professionals for the twenty-first century. - Access remains skewed: women are only one-third of enrolment, and marginal farmers, casual labour, migrant families, displaced groups and the disabled are largely excluded from tertiary education. - The 'massification' of school education without quality inputs has produced first-generation learners poorly prepared in language, mathematics and science; the merit debate is meaningless when socio-economic factors determine preparation. - Curricula must move beyond narrow disciplinary specialisation toward 'cafeteria-style' problem-based options, with field-based experience, hands-on training in industry, and mixed distance/conventional credit transfer. - Globalization, WTO, and intellectual property regimes oblige Indian universities to build indigenous R&D and to educate researchers on IPR — 'to publish is to perish unless the intellectual property rights are defended'. - Plan funding for education has declined from 25 per cent in the IVth Plan to 8 per cent in the VIIIth, leaving infrastructure deteriorated; the UNESCO 1998 World Declaration is invoked to defend the essential role of public support. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Housing Problem in India — Today and 2000 A.D. URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/housing-problem-india-deepak-parekh-aug-1988/ ### Summary Deepak S. Parekh, then Managing Director of HDFC, uses a Forum of Free Enterprise lecture (delivered 1 June 1988) to lay out the scale, causes and likely trajectory of India's housing shortage as the country approaches the year 2000. He concedes that the early post-independence neglect of housing was understandable while food, irrigation and heavy industry took priority, but argues that with food production no longer an overriding crisis, housing and education are now the country's two paramount basic-needs problems. Using NBO data he charts a shortage rising from 9 million units in 1951 to a projected 39.1 million by 2001, with about 30 million urban Indians already living in slums and one-fifth of the population effectively houseless or sub-standardly housed. Parekh traces the worsening situation to five reinforcing factors: a population explosion projected to cross one billion by 2000, accelerating rural-to-urban migration (urban growth at ~4% versus general 2–2.5%), the historically low priority accorded to housing in the Five-Year Plans (investment falling from 34% in the First Plan to ~10% in the Seventh, public housing investment from 16% to 1.6%), restrictive laws and re… ### Body # Housing Problem in India — Today and 2000 A.D. *By DEEPAK S. PAREKH* ## Summary Deepak S. Parekh, then Managing Director of HDFC, uses a Forum of Free Enterprise lecture (delivered 1 June 1988) to lay out the scale, causes and likely trajectory of India's housing shortage as the country approaches the year 2000. He concedes that the early post-independence neglect of housing was understandable while food, irrigation and heavy industry took priority, but argues that with food production no longer an overriding crisis, housing and education are now the country's two paramount basic-needs problems. Using NBO data he charts a shortage rising from 9 million units in 1951 to a projected 39.1 million by 2001, with about 30 million urban Indians already living in slums and one-fifth of the population effectively houseless or sub-standardly housed. Parekh traces the worsening situation to five reinforcing factors: a population explosion projected to cross one billion by 2000, accelerating rural-to-urban migration (urban growth at ~4% versus general 2–2.5%), the historically low priority accorded to housing in the Five-Year Plans (investment falling from 34% in the First Plan to ~10% in the Seventh, public housing investment from 16% to 1.6%), restrictive laws and regulations, and the runaway cost of land and materials. He singles out the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act 1976, the Rent Control Act, restrictive municipal building bye-laws and density norms, and Maharashtra's withdrawal of stamp-duty exemption on residential units as policies that, however well-intentioned, have shrunk supply, encouraged 'pugree' deposits, hoarded vacant flats and pushed conforming construction out of reach of the poor. The second half of the talk reads as a programme for a market-friendly housing-finance architecture. Parekh notes that only about 25% of housing investment in 1982–83 came from formal sources (LIC, GIC, HUDCO, banks, HDFC and the co-operative sector), with the bulk supplied by households and employers, and welcomes the Seventh Plan's frank admission that the major responsibility for house construction must be left to the private sector. He endorses the new National Housing Policy and the formation of the National Housing Bank, calls for lowered construction norms, mortgage-insurance legislation, an 'approved housing lender' regime, and recognition of housing as an industry so that fiscal incentives can channel savings into the sector. He casts the Government primarily as facilitator and promoter — with direct provision reserved for amenities (water, sanitation) and subsidised shelter for the weaker sections — and closes with the warning that without a satellite-township strategy, mass-transit investment and re-balancing of employment toward rural and semi-urban areas, urban centres will face 'unbearable pressure' in the next decade. ## Key points - Housing shortage projected to rise from 9 million units in 1951 to 39.1 million by 2001, with rural shortage growing faster than urban due to population and income gaps. - Around 30 million urban Indians — roughly one-fifth of the urban population, and ~30% in metro cities — live in slums; 40% live in single-room dwellings. - Housing's share of total plan investment fell from 34% in the First Plan to ~10% in the Seventh; public-sector share collapsed from 16% to 1.6%. - The Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act 1976 is portrayed as having pushed up land prices by creating artificial scarcity, the inverse of its stated aim. - The Rent Control Act is faulted for protecting rich and corporate tenants alongside the poor, encouraging 'pugree' deposits, vacant flats and a collapse in rental supply. - About 75% of housing investment in 1982–83 came from informal sources; the formal system (LIC, GIC, HUDCO, HDFC, co-operatives) reached only the remaining 25%. - Parekh endorses the National Housing Policy, the new National Housing Bank, lowered construction norms, mortgage-insurance legislation and recognition of housing as an industry, casting the State as facilitator rather than builder. - Closes with a call for satellite townships, mass-transit, de-urbanization through rural job creation and indigenous low-cost construction materials to avoid urban decay in the next decade. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] HOW BIG ARE BIG ENTERPRISES IN INDIA? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/how-big-are-big-enterprises-h-t-parekh-april-10-1971/ ### Summary H. T. Parekh's pamphlet, reproduced from the Financial Express of 16 February 1971 and issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise, takes stock of the legal and political squeeze on Indian "large houses" at the start of the 1970s. He argues that the conceptual machinery the Dutt Committee used to identify big business — drawn from the 1965 Monopolies Inquiry Commission and resting on the figure of the managing agency house, the "%house-interest" measure of effective equity, and the Rs. 20 crore asset threshold under the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act — has been overtaken by events. With managing agencies abolished, financial institutions like LIC, UTI, IDBI, IFC and ICICI nominating directors, and family groups sub-dividing as new generations grow up, he says the same firms that the Act treats as monolithic blocs of "economic power" no longer look or behave like the houses the Commission had in mind. From this diagnosis Parekh moves to a positive case for size.… ### Body ## Summary H. T. Parekh's pamphlet, reproduced from the Financial Express of 16 February 1971 and issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise, takes stock of the legal and political squeeze on Indian "large houses" at the start of the 1970s. He argues that the conceptual machinery the Dutt Committee used to identify big business — drawn from the 1965 Monopolies Inquiry Commission and resting on the figure of the managing agency house, the "%house-interest" measure of effective equity, and the Rs. 20 crore asset threshold under the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act — has been overtaken by events. With managing agencies abolished, financial institutions like LIC, UTI, IDBI, IFC and ICICI nominating directors, and family groups sub-dividing as new generations grow up, he says the same firms that the Act treats as monolithic blocs of "economic power" no longer look or behave like the houses the Commission had in mind. From this diagnosis Parekh moves to a positive case for size. He observes that the optimum economic unit has shifted upward as technology has changed: paper plants once viable at 10 tons a day now need 100–200 tons, sugar factories that began at 500 tons of cane now run 2,000–3,500 tons, a cement plant of 1,200 tonnes costs about Rs. 10 crores. To stay competitive against international rivals, and to produce for export, Indian industry must keep upgrading plant — which means more capital, larger units, and groups large enough to diversify into new fields such as dyes, chemicals and man-made fibres. Examples like Delhi Cloth Mills, the Kirloskar group, Century Mills, Gwalior Rayon, Associated Cement Companies and Scindia Steam are offered as evidence that successful enterprises naturally outgrow a single product line. Parekh's conclusion is that the current statutory limits will probably need to be reconsidered, that anti-trust legislation as used in the United States and the more permissive merger regime in the United Kingdom point in the opposite direction from India's, and that — measured against public sector giants such as Hindustan Steel, Heavy Engineering Ranchi, State Trading Corporation and Indian Oil — the bulk of Indian private firms are in fact "puny". He grants that some of the larger private houses have grown complacent and need more dynamism, but warns that legislating against natural growth is the wrong remedy. The booklet ends with the hope that the "negative phase" of government policy toward private enterprise will pass, and is framed by paratext quotes from A. D. Shroff and Eugene Black affirming free enterprise as a positive good. ## Key points - Argues the Dutt Committee's 1969–70 definition of a large business house, built on managing agencies and the %house-interest test, is obsolete now that the managing agency system has been abolished and financial institutions are themselves the dominant shareholders. - Questions the continuing relevance of the Rs. 20 crore asset threshold for "large undertakings" and the Rs. 1 crore threshold for "dominant undertakings" under the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act. - Distinguishes between a "large business group" and a "large company," warning that aggregating many small companies into one "house" gives a false picture of monopoly position, especially as family groups naturally sub-divide. - Documents how technological change has raised the minimum viable scale across industries — paper from 10 to 100–200 tons/day, sugar from 500 to 2,000–3,500 tons of cane/day, a 1,200-tonne cement plant at about Rs. 10 crores. - Asserts that international competition and export ambitions require continuous upgrading of plant, which only larger units and diversified groups can finance. - Cites Delhi Cloth Mills, the Kirloskar group, Century Mills, Gwalior Rayon, Associated Cement Companies, Hindustan Machine Tools and Scindia Steam as evidence that growth is intrinsically tied to diversification into allied fields. - Contrasts Indian restriction with U.S. antitrust experience (over 50 years of larger firms despite the law) and U.K. Labour Government encouragement of mergers in the national interest. - Concludes that against the scale of public sector enterprises such as Hindustan Steel, Heavy Engineering Ranchi, State Trading and Indian Oil, the bulk of Indian private firms are small by international or even Indian yardsticks. --- ## [Primary work] HOW CONTROLLED INDUSTRIES WORK IN INDIA—A CASE STUDY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/how-controlled-industries-work-in-india-sir-biren-mookerjee-mar10-1963/ ### Summary Sir Biren Mookerjee's March 1963 address — delivered as Chairman of the Indian Iron & Steel Company (IISCO) and circulated as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet — uses the steel industry as a case study in how India's regime of administered prices and bureaucratic controls is hampering, rather than aiding, industrial development. A. D. Shroff's introduction sets the polemical frame: even committed planners are alarmed at how, under the Second and Third Five-Year Plans, the state has sought to take over as many economic activities as possible, with regulation 'bordering on regimentation' and controls hindering the very growth they were meant to stimulate. Two prefatory notes prepared with the help of S. V.… ### Body ## Summary Sir Biren Mookerjee's March 1963 address — delivered as Chairman of the Indian Iron & Steel Company (IISCO) and circulated as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet — uses the steel industry as a case study in how India's regime of administered prices and bureaucratic controls is hampering, rather than aiding, industrial development. A. D. Shroff's introduction sets the polemical frame: even committed planners are alarmed at how, under the Second and Third Five-Year Plans, the state has sought to take over as many economic activities as possible, with regulation 'bordering on regimentation' and controls hindering the very growth they were meant to stimulate. Two prefatory notes prepared with the help of S. V. Rayan, Editor of 'Commerce', explain the constitutional position of the Tariff Commission and the mechanics of retention prices, charging that the Government's habit of overriding the Commission's recommendations downward has crippled the capital-raising capacity of cement, steel, coal and basic chemicals. Mookerjee's statement, originally addressed to IISCO shareholders, mounts an unsparing accounting of the Government's September 1962 retention-price order: against the Tariff Commission's recommendation of an Rs. 38-per-tonne increase, the Government allowed only Rs. 10.50; it disallowed interest on the Rs. 10-crore Special Advance the Company had been compelled to accept; it shrank the working-capital allowance from eight months to four; and it backdated the cuts so that earnings already credited had to be written back. He revisits the 1952–53 negotiations with Eugene R. Black's World Bank mission — recalling visits to Burnpur by Black, George D. Woods, Joseph Rucinski, Leonard B. Rist, Harold N. Graves and others — to show that today's Government insistence on a punishingly low return on capital contradicts the 'profit-margin' undertakings written into the original loan agreement of 15 July 1953. The second half of the speech turns from grievance to defence and prescription. Mookerjee documents that IISCO has actually operated at an eight-year average of 92.2 per cent capacity against the Tariff Board's assumed 90 per cent, that the country has been saved roughly Rs. 266 crores in foreign exchange over a decade (Charts A and B), and that expansion has been financed largely out of ploughed-back profits rather than fresh equity. He argues that crediting non-existent 'expected' earnings into retention prices, then clawing them back years later, has retarded India's industrial growth and weakened its defence-production base. He closes with prescriptions for the Fourth Five-Year Plan — continual rather than periodic capacity review, larger and locationally sensible plant units, beneficiation of coking coal and iron ore, more in-house training in place of premature overseas tours, and a longer reliance on experienced foreign staff. The pamphlet is bracketed by inset epigraphs from Eugene Black ('People must come to accept private enterprise not as a necessary evil, but as an affirmative good') and A. D. Shroff ('Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives'), framing Mookerjee's technical complaint as a broader brief for the dignity of private enterprise. ## Key points - Forum of Free Enterprise booklet (10 March 1963) built around Sir Biren Mookerjee's IISCO chairman's statement, with an introduction by A. D. Shroff and two prefatory notes on the Tariff Commission and retention prices prepared with S. V. Rayan's help. - Documents the Union Government's September 1962 decision to award steel producers only an Rs. 10.50-per-tonne retention-price increase against the Tariff Commission's recommendation of Rs. 38, and to disallow interest on the Rs. 10-crore Special Advance. - Argues that retroactive price-fixing forces companies to write back earnings already paid out and credit non-existent receipts as if they were real income, distorting accounts and depreciation. - Reconstructs the 1952–53 World Bank loan negotiations — Eugene R. Black's visit, George D. Woods's Fact-Finding and Feasibility Mission, and the 15 July 1953 agreement — to show the Government is breaching the 'profit-margin' undertakings it gave foreign lenders. - Marshals empirical defence of the private steel sector: IISCO's eight-year capacity utilisation averaged 92.2 per cent versus the Board's 90 per cent assumption; private steel saved India roughly Rs. 266 crores in foreign exchange over a decade. - Demonstrates that expansion (Rs. 34.69 crores capital expenditure between 1952/53 and 1961/62) has been overwhelmingly financed by ploughed-back profits, with shareholders only paid bonus shares converted to equity. - Recommends, for the Fourth Plan, long-term continual capacity review, larger integrated plants of three to five million tonnes, attention to coking-coal and iron-ore quality, and ten- to twelve-year reliance on overseas expertise plus on-the-job training for Indian managers. --- ## [Primary work] HOW TO START AN INDUSTRY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/how-to-start-an-industry-d-v-desai-august-8-1961/ ### Summary D. V. Desai's pamphlet, based on a lecture delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 24 May 1961, is a practitioner's walk-through of what it actually takes to set up an industrial unit in Nehruvian India. Desai begins with the Government's bifurcated taxonomy — large versus small, with no recognised middle tier — and traces how the legal definition of a 'small industry' was successively rewritten between 1953 and 1958 to widen the band of firms eligible for assistance. The bulk of the pamphlet then catalogues the lattice of agencies a would-be entrepreneur must thread through: the Development Wing of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry with its seventeen Technical Directors and eighty-five Development Officers, the Controller of Capital Issues, the Reserve Bank's Exchange Control Department (now centralised in the Industrial Policy Section, New Delhi), the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports, and the Licensing Committee drawn from six ministries. For large-scale and foreign-collaboration ventures Desai itemises the six basic conditions the Government imposes on collaboration terms — royalty caps at ten years, no export bans, no compulsory c… ### Body ## Summary D. V. Desai's pamphlet, based on a lecture delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 24 May 1961, is a practitioner's walk-through of what it actually takes to set up an industrial unit in Nehruvian India. Desai begins with the Government's bifurcated taxonomy — large versus small, with no recognised middle tier — and traces how the legal definition of a 'small industry' was successively rewritten between 1953 and 1958 to widen the band of firms eligible for assistance. The bulk of the pamphlet then catalogues the lattice of agencies a would-be entrepreneur must thread through: the Development Wing of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry with its seventeen Technical Directors and eighty-five Development Officers, the Controller of Capital Issues, the Reserve Bank's Exchange Control Department (now centralised in the Industrial Policy Section, New Delhi), the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports, and the Licensing Committee drawn from six ministries. For large-scale and foreign-collaboration ventures Desai itemises the six basic conditions the Government imposes on collaboration terms — royalty caps at ten years, no export bans, no compulsory component purchase, royalties tied to turnover, effective Indian control, and training of Indian personnel abroad — alongside the three concessions offered in return. For small industries he reconstructs the institutional machinery: the Development Commissioner, the Small Industries Service Institute (originating from a 1953 Ford Foundation diagnosis), the sixteen Institutes with their forty-five Industrial Extension Centres, the Block-level Extension Officer scheme borrowed from the United States, mobile workshops touring villages, and the National Small Industries Corporation that since 1956 has channelled hire-purchase machinery, Government tenders with a fifteen-per-cent price preference, prototype production centres, and Industrial Estates at Okhla, Naini, Baroda, Poona, Rajkot, Surat, Kolhapur and Ahmedabad. Though his tone is largely descriptive, Desai's verdict turns sharp at the close. Citing the State Bank's Pilot Credit Scheme and the Essentiality Certificate process, he argues that the one structural defect — uniquely fatal for small units that lack the Development Wing's patronage — is the Government's indifference to a steady supply of raw materials. The Director of Industries halves the requirement, the C.C.I. & E. or J.C.C.I. trims it further 'like the proverbial old lady with a pair of scissors', and the small industrialist is left buying material at 'sky-high prices in the market' from those very licence holders the system suspects. Desai closes with a free-enterprise coda: technicalities can be taught, but it is initiative and enterprise that finally determine whether an industry succeeds — a closing flourish consistent with the Forum of Free Enterprise's larger argumentative project. ## Key points - The pamphlet originated as a 24 May 1961 Forum of Free Enterprise lecture and was issued as booklet on 8 August 1961, published by M. R. Pai. - Desai documents how the legal definition of 'small industry' was revised twice (mid-1950s and 1958), eventually settling on a block-capital ceiling of Rs. 5 lakhs irrespective of workforce. - He maps the full sanction chain — Development Wing, Controller of Capital Issues, Reserve Bank Exchange Control / Industrial Policy Section, C.C.I. & E., Licensing Committee — and notes sanctions routinely take five months or more, sometimes fifteen. - For foreign collaboration he lists six Government conditions (royalty cap of ten years, no export ban, no compulsory component purchase, turnover-linked royalties, Indian control, training of Indian personnel) and three Government concessions in return. - He credits the Ford Foundation's 1953 observation with catalysing the Small Industries Service Institute network — sixteen Institutes, forty-five Industrial Extension Centres, mobile workshops, and the National Small Industries Corporation (1955). - He cites concrete data: between June 1956 and March 1961 the NSIC processed 4,549 hire-purchase applicants for 17,829 machines worth over Rs. 18 crores; tenders secured for small industries rose from Rs. 62.15 lakhs (1957-58) to Rs. 2,64,81,000 (1959-60). - Desai's central critique is the raw-materials bottleneck: small industries holding an Essentiality Certificate get arbitrary cuts at multiple levels and end up buying the same scarce material at inflated open-market prices. - The closing argument frames initiative and enterprise — not procedural mastery — as the decisive variables, consistent with the Forum of Free Enterprise's classical-liberal programme. --- ## [Primary work] Identity, Markets and Social Welfare URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/identity-markets-and-socia-lwelfare-nandan-nilkekani-november-5-2009/ ### Summary This booklet reproduces the 43rd A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by Nandan Nilekani in Mumbai on 27 October 2009 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise, with an editorial note by Sunil S. Bhandare and a biographical sketch of A. D. Shroff appended. Speaking as the newly appointed chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI), Nilekani frames the UID project as the missing third leg — alongside mobile telephony and online banking — of a technological platform that can transform welfare delivery for India's poor. He opens by saluting Ardeshir Shroff's early advocacy of competition, liberalisation and 'intellectual capital' in an era dominated by faith in planning, and argues that growth in the 1990s and 2000s, however impressive, has failed to dislodge the structural poverty that Shroff diagnosed. The core of the lecture is a diagnosis of why Indian welfare schemes — from NREGA to the Indira Awaas Yojana to PDS rations — leak so heavily into fraud, duplicate identities and ghost beneficiaries.… ### Body ## Summary This booklet reproduces the 43rd A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by Nandan Nilekani in Mumbai on 27 October 2009 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise, with an editorial note by Sunil S. Bhandare and a biographical sketch of A. D. Shroff appended. Speaking as the newly appointed chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI), Nilekani frames the UID project as the missing third leg — alongside mobile telephony and online banking — of a technological platform that can transform welfare delivery for India's poor. He opens by saluting Ardeshir Shroff's early advocacy of competition, liberalisation and 'intellectual capital' in an era dominated by faith in planning, and argues that growth in the 1990s and 2000s, however impressive, has failed to dislodge the structural poverty that Shroff diagnosed. The core of the lecture is a diagnosis of why Indian welfare schemes — from NREGA to the Indira Awaas Yojana to PDS rations — leak so heavily into fraud, duplicate identities and ghost beneficiaries. Nilekani contends that the poor are 'chained to the places they work' by their inability to prove who they are, and that India's existing indirect subsidies on electricity, fertiliser and crops both segregate the poor from markets and produce quixotic ecological outcomes such as a 60 per cent fall in Punjab's water table. A biometric, online-verifiable UID number, he argues, would let governments shift to direct cash, conditional-cash and voucher transfers along the lines of programmes in Brazil, Mexico, Pakistan and Bangladesh — eliminating duplication, empowering migrants and women, and freeing utilities such as electricity boards from below-cost tariffs. Nilekani closes by insisting that the UID is only an enabler: its real payoff depends on how governments and public agencies redesign their systems around it, and on a willingness to treat welfare as a 'bridge between markets and our welfare systems' rather than as an alternative to markets. The volume is rounded out by a profile of A. D. Shroff — co-author of the 1944 Bombay Plan, founder of the Forum of Free Enterprise in 1956 — and a closing Eugene Black epigraph that recasts private enterprise as 'an affirmative good'. ## Key points - Nilekani positions himself as an admirer of Ardeshir Shroff's 1940s–50s defence of competition and 'intellectual capital' against the planning consensus. - He argues growth alone cannot mask India's poverty landscape: weak welfare delivery, leakages and the absence of effective solutions persist despite huge budgetary spending. - Poverty is reframed as a deprivation of access — to skills, markets, schools, healthcare and finance — rather than merely of food, clothing or housing. - Indirect subsidies on electricity, fertiliser and crop prices segregate the poor from markets, depress farmer incomes and trigger ecological costs such as Punjab's 60 per cent groundwater decline. - Three technological tools — mobile phones, online banking and the UID — together make a direct-benefit revolution feasible in India for the first time. - Weak identity is the binding constraint: duplicate ration cards, ghost NREGA workers and the Venkatanna case of double-claimed housing schemes illustrate the leakage problem. - A central, online-verifiable biometric UID would enable unrestricted, conditional and restricted-cash transfers modelled on Brazil, Mexico, Pakistan and Bangladesh programmes. - Direct benefits would empower migrants, women and Dalits in particular — Andre Béteille and Chandrabhan Prasad are cited on cash, mobility and feudal village structures. - The UID is presented as 'an enabler', not a panacea: its long-term value depends on how governments and public agencies redesign their systems around it. - The booklet concludes with a Forum-authored biography of A. D. Shroff (Bombay Plan co-author, founder of FFE in 1956) framing the UID agenda within India's classical-liberal lineage. --- ## [Primary work] Impact of Taxation on Small & Medium Scale Industries URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/impact-of-taxation-murarji-j-vaidya-jan6-1958/ ### Summary Murarji J. Vaidya's pamphlet reproduces a public lecture delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on April 9, 1958, on the burden of taxation borne by India's small and medium scale industries. Vaidya opens by defining the two categories — small industries (up to 50 workers with power, 100 without, capital up to Rs. 5 lakhs) and medium industries (up to 500 workers, capital around Rs. 5 lakhs) — and notes that government has never offered a formal definition of medium-scale industry, a neglect he had publicly flagged at the 1956 All-India Manufacturers' Organisation conference. He then establishes the sector's economic weight: organised small and medium concerns employ roughly 12 lakh workers, with another 8–10 lakh in unorganised small units, putting total employment at 20–22 lakhs — second only to agriculture, commerce and transport in national income contribution. The core of the argument is a structured indictment of the tax regime.… ### Body ## Summary Murarji J. Vaidya's pamphlet reproduces a public lecture delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on April 9, 1958, on the burden of taxation borne by India's small and medium scale industries. Vaidya opens by defining the two categories — small industries (up to 50 workers with power, 100 without, capital up to Rs. 5 lakhs) and medium industries (up to 500 workers, capital around Rs. 5 lakhs) — and notes that government has never offered a formal definition of medium-scale industry, a neglect he had publicly flagged at the 1956 All-India Manufacturers' Organisation conference. He then establishes the sector's economic weight: organised small and medium concerns employ roughly 12 lakh workers, with another 8–10 lakh in unorganised small units, putting total employment at 20–22 lakhs — second only to agriculture, commerce and transport in national income contribution. The core of the argument is a structured indictment of the tax regime. Excise duties, Vaidya shows, fall on the manufacturer rather than the consumer because small and medium producers lack the marketing organisation to pass costs forward, so price falls when duties rise rather than the other way around. The compounded sales tax (now combined with excise, often levied at the factory gate) compounds the squeeze, while income tax, corporation tax and wealth tax together absorb close to 60 per cent of profits of typical small and medium concerns; once provident fund, employees' state insurance, octroi and municipal taxes are added, 90–95 per cent of profits are taken by central and local authorities, leaving owners 5–10 per cent. Vaidya also attacks the arbitrary distinction between handloom (exempted) and powerloom (heavily taxed), the restrictive lending rules of the State Finance Corporations (only against existing assets, not new capital), and the broader "drying up" of capital and finance for the sector. The closing pages turn to who actually pays. Of 4,54,695 income-tax assessees, 3,87,518 earn below Rs. 15,000 a year — the bulk of revenue, Vaidya argues, comes from the middle class that runs precisely these enterprises. He warns that unless wiser counsels prevail and tax policy is revised at an early date, the Planning Commission's target of employment for 11 million people by 1961 will be unmet, and the government will "have to thank themselves and their policies." The pamphlet carries Forum of Free Enterprise pull-quotes from Eugene Black of the World Bank on the inside-front cover and from A. D. Shroff on the back panel. ## Key points - Defines small-scale industry (≤50 workers with power / ≤100 without; capital up to Rs. 5 lakhs) and proposes a medium-scale definition (up to 500 workers, capital around Rs. 5 lakhs) that Vaidya says the Government of India has never formally adopted. - Estimates total employment in small and medium industries at 20–22 lakh workers — about 12 lakh in organised units plus 8–10 lakh in unorganised small concerns — placing the sector second only to agriculture, commerce and transport in national income. - Argues that excise duties are effectively borne by manufacturers, not consumers, because small and medium producers lack the marketing organisation to push costs forward — prices in fact fall when excise rises. - Documents that income tax, corporation tax and wealth tax together take roughly 60 per cent of profits of typical small and medium concerns, and that all levies combined (including provident fund, ESI, octroi, municipal taxes) absorb 90–95 per cent of profits. - Attacks the policy distinction between exempted handlooms and heavily-taxed powerlooms — and the restriction of powerlooms from weaving sarees and dhotis — as economically incoherent given both are uneconomic instruments of production. - Criticises the State Finance Corporations for lending only against existing assets (at half value) rather than financing new capital formation, deepening the capital squeeze on the sector. - Shows that 3,87,518 of 4,54,695 income-tax assessees earn below Rs. 15,000 per year, meaning the bulk of the central income-tax base is the middle class that runs these enterprises. - Warns that without an early revision of taxation policy the Planning Commission's target of employment for 11 million people by 1961 will be missed. --- ## [Primary work] Implications of Bank Nationalisation URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/implications-of-bank-nationalisation-misc-mar9-1964/ ### Summary Issued by the Bombay-based Forum of Free Enterprise in March 1964, this 28-page booklet bundles three Economic Times articles, two appendices of cautionary quotations and reader letters, and a short editorial introduction to argue against the then-current demand for nationalisation of India's commercial banks. The introduction frames the booklet as an antidote to slogan-driven thinking, insisting that radical changes in the banking economy would 'hurt the much-desired economic growth' and push the country 'towards totalitarianism' unless the public studies the question 'in a rational manner'. The main essay, signed 'Observer', surveys the three standard cases for nationalisation — service-over-profit, mobilisation of deposits for planning, and breaking the monopolistic concentration of credit — and rebuts each in turn, leaning heavily on the underwhelming record of the State Bank of India and the Life Insurance Corporation after their nationalisation in 1955 and 1956.… ### Body ## Summary Issued by the Bombay-based Forum of Free Enterprise in March 1964, this 28-page booklet bundles three Economic Times articles, two appendices of cautionary quotations and reader letters, and a short editorial introduction to argue against the then-current demand for nationalisation of India's commercial banks. The introduction frames the booklet as an antidote to slogan-driven thinking, insisting that radical changes in the banking economy would 'hurt the much-desired economic growth' and push the country 'towards totalitarianism' unless the public studies the question 'in a rational manner'. The main essay, signed 'Observer', surveys the three standard cases for nationalisation — service-over-profit, mobilisation of deposits for planning, and breaking the monopolistic concentration of credit — and rebuts each in turn, leaning heavily on the underwhelming record of the State Bank of India and the Life Insurance Corporation after their nationalisation in 1955 and 1956. A second pair of pieces, signed 'Uday', dismantles the Company Law administration's interlocking-directorships study and the Reserve Bank's bank-shareholding survey, treating both as statistically thin pretexts for a political decision the Finance Minister has already 'vehemently denied' is on the cards. The argumentative centre is that the commercial banking system is already 'extensively regulated' by the Reserve Bank and the Banking Companies Act, that the State Bank has not outperformed the private banks even with privileged access to PL-480 and Reserve Bank balances, and that 'the heavier concentration of economic power' under state ownership 'could only lead to greater delay, intense irritation, official interference and lost opportunities, if not to increased corruption and unhealthy practices'. The Observer article distinguishes carefully between money and wealth — 'Banks can and certainly do create money but they cannot create wealth' — to puncture what it sees as the soft socialist notion that a transfer of ownership is itself an act of creation. Appendix A reproduces second-thoughts on nationalisation from prominent British Labour figures (Gaitskell, Bevan, Attlee, Douglas Jay, Crossman, Norman Dodds, Roy Jenkins, Balogh) and the Webbs, plus Burma's U Nu, presented as a chorus of socialists 'disillusioned with nationalisation'. Appendix B prints two reader letters from Roorkee and Gauhati recounting frustrating encounters with the nationalised State Bank and LIC, offered as anecdotal evidence that public-sector banking would extend, not solve, the consumer's grievance. The booklet closes with the colophonic A. D. Shroff line that 'Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives.' ## Key points - Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet (Bombay, 9 March 1964) compiling three Economic Times articles plus two appendices, published five years before bank nationalisation actually occurred in 1969. - Editorial framing positions the booklet as a 'rational' rebuttal to slogan-mongering, warning that nationalisation of banks, foodgrains trade and rice mills would push India 'towards totalitarianism'. - The lead essay by 'Observer' identifies three schools demanding nationalisation — service-over-profit, planning needs, and breaking monopolistic credit concentration — and rebuts each by appealing to the disappointing record of the State Bank of India (nationalised 1955) and the LIC (1956). - Repeated use of distinction between money and wealth: 'Banks can and certainly do create money but they cannot create wealth' is the analytical hinge of the anti-nationalisation case. - Two follow-up pieces by 'Uday' attack the Company Law Administration's interlocking-directorships study (Raj K. Nigam) and the Reserve Bank's call for shareholding data, treating both as inadequately supported political pretexts. - Appendix A assembles cautionary quotations from British Labour figures and the Webbs, plus Burmese socialist Premier U Nu, as evidence that socialists abroad have themselves 'turned away' from nationalisation as a route to socialism. - Appendix B reprints two reader letters about the State Bank of India (Roorkee) and LIC (New Delhi) as consumer-side evidence that public-sector financial services degrade service quality. - The booklet argues that the commercial banks are already 'extensively regulated' by the Reserve Bank and the Banking Companies Act, so further regulatory aims can be achieved without ownership change. --- ## [Primary work] INCOME-TAX BILL PENALISES HONEST TAX-PAYERS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/income-tax-penalises-honest-taxpayers-n-a-palkhivala-august-7-1961/ ### Summary Based on a lecture delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 25 July 1961, this booklet is N. A. Palkhivala's clause-by-clause critique of the Income-tax Bill that was then before Parliament. Palkhivala argues that the re-enactment of the 1922 Income-tax Act, far from being used as a golden opportunity to bring "a modicum of justice and fairplay" into Indian tax law, will inject fresh inequities while leaving almost all of the existing ones unredressed. He frames the country as falling into two divisions: those who conceive and administer the laws, and those who timidly suffer them — and the Bill, in his reading, treats the honest taxpayer as the principal target. The bulk of the booklet is a granular walk through more than a dozen specific clauses. Clause 2(47) imports capital-gains tax onto shareholders of amalgamated companies, hitting the middle classes who hold the bulk of corporate share capital. Clause 9 perpetuates a vague doctrine of "business connection" that deters foreign capital just when India is wooing it.… ### Body ## Summary Based on a lecture delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 25 July 1961, this booklet is N. A. Palkhivala's clause-by-clause critique of the Income-tax Bill that was then before Parliament. Palkhivala argues that the re-enactment of the 1922 Income-tax Act, far from being used as a golden opportunity to bring "a modicum of justice and fairplay" into Indian tax law, will inject fresh inequities while leaving almost all of the existing ones unredressed. He frames the country as falling into two divisions: those who conceive and administer the laws, and those who timidly suffer them — and the Bill, in his reading, treats the honest taxpayer as the principal target. The bulk of the booklet is a granular walk through more than a dozen specific clauses. Clause 2(47) imports capital-gains tax onto shareholders of amalgamated companies, hitting the middle classes who hold the bulk of corporate share capital. Clause 9 perpetuates a vague doctrine of "business connection" that deters foreign capital just when India is wooing it. Clauses 10(10), 11 and 13 hit retirement gratuities for private-sector employees and bona fide charitable trusts, including, in his words, charities created for the poor relatives of a settlor — provisions he calls "a more blatant sin against humanity in the name of a Welfare State." Clauses 62 and 64 tax irrevocable trusts in the hands of the settlor; Clause 67(3) denies legitimate partnership deductions; Clauses 86 and 182 perpetuate the double taxation of registered firms; Clauses 33–34, 87 and 23 strip honest taxpayers of development rebate, life-insurance rebate and full municipal-tax deduction on technical grounds; Clause 104 punishes companies that use current profits to pay past tax arrears or trade liabilities rather than declare dividends; and Clause 179 — described as a "violent departure" from Indian jurisprudence — pierces the corporate veil to make directors, shareholders and even their heirs personally liable for a private company's tax dues. Clause 254 extends the Tribunal's powers in a way that can leave the taxpayer worse off for appealing. Behind every clause, Palkhivala discerns the same impulse: a state that would rather tighten the net around the honest majority than refine its tools for catching the few who are dishonest. He closes by invoking Justice Frankfurter on the citizen's duty in a democracy — and exhorts the reader, as a holder of the office of citizen, to oppose the Bill's unjust provisions through public protest and amendment. ## Key points - The 1961 Income-tax Bill is presented as a missed opportunity to inject justice and fairplay into the income-tax law that has stood since 1922. - Palkhivala's central charge: the Bill is heavily loaded against the taxpayer; honest taxpayers are made worse off merely to widen the net for the dishonest. - Clause 2(47) extends capital-gains tax to shareholders of amalgamated companies and Clause 9 entrenches the vague "business connection" doctrine that deters foreign capital. - Clauses 10(10), 11 and 13 squeeze private-sector retirement gratuities and bona fide charitable trusts — including those benefitting poor relatives of the settlor. - Clauses 62, 64 and 67(3) tax genuine irrevocable trusts in the settlor's hands and deny legitimate partnership deductions, breeding disrespect for the law. - Clauses 86 and 182 perpetuate the double taxation of registered firms, while Clauses 33–34, 87 and 23 deny development rebate, life-insurance rebate and full municipal-tax deduction on technical grounds. - Clause 104 penalises companies that pay past tax arrears or trade liabilities out of current profits instead of declaring dividends. - Clause 179 — singled out as the most dangerous innovation — pierces the corporate veil to make directors, shareholders and even their heirs personally liable for a private company's unpaid tax. --- ## [Primary work] INDIA AND INTERNAL DEBT TRAP URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/india-and-internal-debt-trap-dr-s-r-k-rao/ ### Summary Delivered as the M.V. Sirur Memorial Lecture in Hubli in February 1999 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, this pamphlet by Dr. S.R.K. Rao — a former Principal Adviser to the Reserve Bank of India — diagnoses the late-1990s Indian economy and warns that the Centre is sliding into what he had earlier christened the "Internal Debt Trap". After acknowledging genuine post-Independence achievements in foodgrains, fertilisers, heavy industry, banking spread and infotech, Rao argues that these gains are dwarfed by population pressure, persistent mass poverty, sluggish 1998-99 GDP growth, agricultural stagnation, industrial deceleration and a fragile external sector marked by widening trade and current-account deficits and only a trickle of FDI relative to China. Much of the lecture is a forensic critique of public-sector banking and the financial regulator. Rao tracks Non-Performing Assets at commercial banks past Rs.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the M.V. Sirur Memorial Lecture in Hubli in February 1999 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, this pamphlet by Dr. S.R.K. Rao — a former Principal Adviser to the Reserve Bank of India — diagnoses the late-1990s Indian economy and warns that the Centre is sliding into what he had earlier christened the "Internal Debt Trap". After acknowledging genuine post-Independence achievements in foodgrains, fertilisers, heavy industry, banking spread and infotech, Rao argues that these gains are dwarfed by population pressure, persistent mass poverty, sluggish 1998-99 GDP growth, agricultural stagnation, industrial deceleration and a fragile external sector marked by widening trade and current-account deficits and only a trickle of FDI relative to China. Much of the lecture is a forensic critique of public-sector banking and the financial regulator. Rao tracks Non-Performing Assets at commercial banks past Rs. 48,000 crore, capital adequacy below Basel norms at a third of nationalised banks, "evergreening" of bad loans at Development Financial Institutions, and a series of scandals — the 1992 securities scam, the Urea Scam, irregularities at IDBI and revoked licences at CRB Global, Cox & King and Bank of Gujarat. He scrutinises the Resurgent India Bonds operation, calculates that repayment burdens of US$8-10 billion could fall on the country, and observes that the dollars raised for infrastructure sit idle while State Bank of India on-lends them at 9.5 per cent to foreign banks that recycle them into 17.24-per-cent consumer-durable credit. The constructive half of the lecture asks what the Reserve Bank should become. Echoing the Narasimham Committee, Rao backs separating supervisory functions, considers a cynical proposal to convert the RBI into a pure Monetary Authority, and recommends a high-powered Banking Commission, parliamentary accountability for the Governor, and Cabinet-rank status for the post. He closes by recalling the speech he gave in 1986 in which he first coined the phrase "Internal Debt Trap" — defining it as the point at which government borrowings can no longer cover even debt-servicing charges — and shows, via the RBI's own 1997-98 Report on Currency and Finance, that the market has stopped absorbing Centre's gross borrowings and the Bank itself is now soaking up nearly 40 per cent through devolvement and private placement. The rendered pages stop mid-discussion of Union Budget expenditure composition. ## Key points - Frames India at the end of the 1990s as standing at a "QUO VADIS" crossroads — real post-Independence gains in foodgrains, banking spread and infotech offset by population growth, near-40 per cent poverty incidence and sluggish 1998-99 GDP estimates of 4.5-5.8 per cent. - Attributes the loss of catch-up opportunities with neighbouring economies to "lack of vision and dynamism" in economic managers and to the socialist obsession with public-sector "commanding heights" that has now made "Disinvestment" the new mantra. - Documents financial-sector distress: NPAs above Rs. 48,000 crore (over 20 per cent of loan assets), one-third of nationalised banks below 10 per cent Capital Adequacy, "evergreening" of bad loans, and serial scams (1992 securities scam, Urea Scam, M.S. Shoe, CRB Global, Cox & King, Bank of Gujarat). - Treats Resurgent India Bonds as a costly gimmick: US$4.15 billion mobilised at 12 per cent, only US$3.5 billion brought into India, Rs. 7,500 crore parked back with foreign banks at 9.5 per cent that on-lent at 17.24 per cent for consumer durables — with potential US$8-10 billion repayment burden on India's external debt. - Argues Foreign Direct Investment of US$3-5 billion is "peanuts" beside China's US$30-40 billion, blaming red tape, policy inconsistency, infrastructure gaps and an untouched "live wire" of labour-law reform. - Defends the Reserve Bank from blanket criticism — "Rajah Vikram had only one 'Vetal'… Reserve Bank has a score of 'Vetals'" — while urging that its supervisory function be hived off (per the Narasimham Committee), its relations with Government be "spelt out clearly", the Governor be given Cabinet-rank status and a permanent Parliamentary Committee oversee its working. - Reprises the author's 1986 coinage "Internal Debt Trap", defining it as the threshold beyond which fresh borrowings cannot cover even debt-servicing charges, and cites the RBI's 1997-98 Report on Currency and Finance showing the Bank itself absorbed 39.9 per cent of Government's gross borrowings via devolvement and private placement — evidence India is already operating fiscal policy inside the trap. --- ## [Primary work] INDIA HAS THE BEST EVER 15 YEARS AHEAD URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/india-has-the-best-15-years-ahead-r-gopalakrishnan-march-5-2010/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces an expanded version of R. Gopalakrishnan's Economic Times article of 2 March 2010, written at the time of that year's Union Budget. Gopalakrishnan — then Executive Director of Tata Sons — argues that India is poised for its best ever fifteen-year stretch of growth, framing the country's unusual choice to embrace democracy and constitutional liberalism before capitalism as climbing up the 'down' escalator: confusing in motion, but unambiguously upward. He marshals macro data (a trillion-dollar economy capable of doubling every seven to eight years, an 8 percent growth rate he calls a 'slam dunk', rising per-capita consumption, the cell-phone and two-wheeler revolutions, the doubling of rural non-agricultural employment) to argue that the Hindu rate of growth is now firmly behind India. He then lays out nine accelerators — scale, consumption depth, global connectedness, demographic dividend, productivity gains, the displacement of older corporate giants by new ones like Bharti, Suzlon and Essar Oil, the maturing of coalition politics, and the country's broad religious tolerance and entrepreneurial flair.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces an expanded version of R. Gopalakrishnan's Economic Times article of 2 March 2010, written at the time of that year's Union Budget. Gopalakrishnan — then Executive Director of Tata Sons — argues that India is poised for its best ever fifteen-year stretch of growth, framing the country's unusual choice to embrace democracy and constitutional liberalism before capitalism as climbing up the 'down' escalator: confusing in motion, but unambiguously upward. He marshals macro data (a trillion-dollar economy capable of doubling every seven to eight years, an 8 percent growth rate he calls a 'slam dunk', rising per-capita consumption, the cell-phone and two-wheeler revolutions, the doubling of rural non-agricultural employment) to argue that the Hindu rate of growth is now firmly behind India. He then lays out nine accelerators — scale, consumption depth, global connectedness, demographic dividend, productivity gains, the displacement of older corporate giants by new ones like Bharti, Suzlon and Essar Oil, the maturing of coalition politics, and the country's broad religious tolerance and entrepreneurial flair. Against this he is candid about fault lines — caste politics, agitation for new states, tribal uprisings — but compares India's stage to America's mid-19th-century crises to argue these are growing pains, not collapse. A section on government insists the state should focus on the four 'HELP' priorities — Health, Education, Law (delayed justice) and Pakistan policy — and leave 'direct' economic determinants to the private sector. The 'Entrepreneurs' and 'Greater use of intuition' sections celebrate the transformation of Gurgaon and Sriperumbudur into industrial clusters, invoke David McClelland's theory of achievement orientation, and argue (via an anecdote about a lost Swiss army unit using a map of the Pyrenees) that an enterprising community trusts intuition where rationalists hesitate. Gopalakrishnan closes with four aphorisms on meaning, action, optimism and self-confidence as the secret of entrepreneurship. The booklet is sponsored by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust, and closes with a short biographical tribute to Shailesh Kapadia (1949–1988), a Bombay chartered accountant and past President of the Bombay Chartered Accountants' Society, alongside the customary Forum of Free Enterprise masthead and an A. D. Shroff epigraph. ## Key points - Frames India as a country that adopted democracy and constitutional liberalism ahead of capitalism — climbing the 'down' escalator, but heading up. - Predicts the next 15 years (to 2025) will be India's best, with the economy doubling every 7–8 years and 8% annual growth treated as a 'slam dunk'. - Declares the 'Hindu rate of growth' dead with the passing of Raj Krishna, citing BCG's Rhodes/Stelter forecast that India, China and Brazil will return to original trend-growth paths. - Lists nine accelerators (scale, consumption, global connectedness, demographic dividend, productivity, churn among top firms, maturing coalition politics, religious tolerance, social pluralism). - Distinguishes 'direct' economic determinants (industry, energy, infrastructure) from 'indirect' ones (HELP: Health, Education, Law, Pakistan policy) and argues government should focus on the latter. - Celebrates Gurgaon and Sriperumbudur as proof of an entrepreneurial 'gene' in Indian society and predicts Sriperumbudur will soon rival Shenzhen in mobile-phone output. - Invokes David McClelland's four conditions for achievement motivation and uses a Swiss-army-in-the-Alps parable to argue intuition and optimism are the true engines of enterprise. - Volume also carries a biographical tribute to Shailesh Kapadia (1949–1988), past President of the Bombay Chartered Accountants' Society, in whose memory the booklet is sponsored. --- ## [Primary work] INDIA NEEDS A FREE MARKET EXCHANGE RATE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/india-needs-a-free-market-interest-rate-by-milton-friedman-may-9-1963/ ### Summary Milton Friedman, then Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago, argues in this Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet (reproduced from Swarajya of 30 March 1963) that India's pegged, overvalued rupee is the single biggest weakness of its economy. He observes that while domestic prices have risen 30–40 per cent since 1955, prices in the US, UK and Germany have risen at most 10 per cent — yet the official exchange rate has not moved. The result is that imports look artificially cheap, exports look artificially expensive, and the government has been forced into four increasingly unsustainable strategies for filling the gap: drawing down foreign reserves, taking on foreign aid and loans, imposing direct controls on imports and exports, and tolerating a swelling black market. Friedman dwells longest on the third recourse — direct controls — because it is the lever on which Indian policy has come to lean hardest.… ### Body ## Summary Milton Friedman, then Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago, argues in this Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet (reproduced from Swarajya of 30 March 1963) that India's pegged, overvalued rupee is the single biggest weakness of its economy. He observes that while domestic prices have risen 30–40 per cent since 1955, prices in the US, UK and Germany have risen at most 10 per cent — yet the official exchange rate has not moved. The result is that imports look artificially cheap, exports look artificially expensive, and the government has been forced into four increasingly unsustainable strategies for filling the gap: drawing down foreign reserves, taking on foreign aid and loans, imposing direct controls on imports and exports, and tolerating a swelling black market. Friedman dwells longest on the third recourse — direct controls — because it is the lever on which Indian policy has come to lean hardest. He argues that there is no satisfactory administrative criterion for deciding which imports are 'essential', that no central authority can know which domestic substitutes are worth producing or at what cost, and that quantitative licensing inevitably breeds corruption, windfall profits for licence-holders, and a corrosion of public trust in government. Exchange control has not stimulated exports either; they have stagnated or fallen because importing inputs through the official channel is uneconomic. His prescription is to stop pegging the rupee and let it float in a free market, with day-to-day rates set by private transactions. A floating rate would supply an automatic adjustment mechanism, make exchange crises impossible, and allow the complete elimination of import quotas, tariffs, subsidies and other interference with international trade. Friedman closes with a Hayekian appeal to dispersed knowledge: a market rate would mobilise the specialised information of tens of millions of Indians, providing 'a far more subtle and efficient adjustment than blunt measures of a few central planners'. A one-shot fixed devaluation, he concedes, would be an improvement, but a continuously market-clearing rate is what India actually needs. ## Key points - Friedman identifies the artificial, overvalued rupee as the 'Achilles heel' of India's economy, citing a 30–40 per cent rise in Indian prices since 1955 against at most 10 per cent in the US, UK and Germany. - He enumerates four ways India has met balance-of-payments pressure: running down reserves, taking foreign aid and loans, direct controls on imports and exports, and an expanding black market. - Direct controls, he argues, lack any rational criterion for deciding 'essential' imports and force planners to ration foreign exchange without the information needed to do so intelligently. - Import licensing breeds corruption, windfall profits, inequality of income and wealth, and erodes public trust in government. - Exchange control has failed even on its own terms — exports have stagnated or fallen because producers cannot import inputs economically at the official rate. - A one-off devaluation to a more realistic peg (he floats figures like 7 rupees to the dollar or 20 to the pound) would be a partial fix but invites renewed crisis as inflation continues. - The first-best policy is a freely floating rupee whose rate is set day-to-day by private transactions, supplying an automatic adjustment mechanism and rendering import quotas, tariffs and subsidies unnecessary. - A market rate would harness the dispersed specialised knowledge of millions of Indians — a Hayekian argument that planners, however able, cannot collectively match the aggregate knowledge of the population. --- ## [Primary work] India Needs A Practical Economic Policy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/india-needs-a-practical-economic-policy-dr-a-n-agarwala-may-10-1965/ ### Summary Dr. A. N. Agarwala's presidential address to the XVIII session of the Indian Commerce Conference (Poona, January 1965), issued as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet on 10 May 1965, diagnoses a worsening food and price crisis and argues that India needs a pragmatic — not doctrinaire — economic policy. Agarwala opens with hard numbers: a foodgrain production shortage of 8–14 million tons depending on the standard used, a market shortage projected at 14–20 million tons in 1964-65, an internal rupee value already down to 17 paise, and roughly 7% annual inflation since the start of the Second Plan. He insists that imports cannot close the gap, that government expenditure must be cut by about 10%, and that the Defence Budget be separated from the regular Revenue and Capital Budgets so that defence does not cannibalise development. Agarwala then aligns himself with Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri's New Economic Policy — welfare of the common man, manageable plan size, urgency of food output, quick-yielding projects — and frames a broader thesis: the inter-war certainties of doctrinaire Capitalism vs Socialism have dissolved.… ### Body ## Summary Dr. A. N. Agarwala's presidential address to the XVIII session of the Indian Commerce Conference (Poona, January 1965), issued as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet on 10 May 1965, diagnoses a worsening food and price crisis and argues that India needs a pragmatic — not doctrinaire — economic policy. Agarwala opens with hard numbers: a foodgrain production shortage of 8–14 million tons depending on the standard used, a market shortage projected at 14–20 million tons in 1964-65, an internal rupee value already down to 17 paise, and roughly 7% annual inflation since the start of the Second Plan. He insists that imports cannot close the gap, that government expenditure must be cut by about 10%, and that the Defence Budget be separated from the regular Revenue and Capital Budgets so that defence does not cannibalise development. Agarwala then aligns himself with Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri's New Economic Policy — welfare of the common man, manageable plan size, urgency of food output, quick-yielding projects — and frames a broader thesis: the inter-war certainties of doctrinaire Capitalism vs Socialism have dissolved. The five leading capitalist economies are booming, communist countries are quietly adopting profit incentives and marketing techniques, and the result is a converging "Neo-Capitalism" of private enterprise, selective state intervention and welfare functions. Citing Schumpeter, Fortune, J. K. Galbraith, Douglas McGregor, Douglas Jay, John P. Lewis and S. S. Khera, he argues that India's planners suffer less from a shortage of ideas than from a shortage of "implementation input" and a national habit of substituting words and slogans for action. The booklet's analytical core is a value-free test for the public-vs-private question: operational efficiency, measured as lower cost per unit. By this yardstick Agarwala finds the public sector wanting. The Central Government Audit Report for 1964 covering 46 Government companies showed only 11 declared a dividend (Rs 1.54 crores, 6.4% of their own paid-up capital but 0.2% of the total), interest-holidays and loan moratoria of hundreds of crores, and an estimated social cost of Rs 211 crores in 1962-63 — about Rs 4 per capita of foregone national income. He rejects the conventional monopoly framing too: India's problem is not single-seller monopoly but a "dominant firms situation" largely engineered by licensing, foreign-exchange allocation and technological scale, and "to invoke the whole ethics of monopoly to meet a simple situation is like using a sledge hammer to break a nut." Agarwala closes by insisting that, whatever ideological label is attached, the operative criterion must be efficiency and cost reduction — both to protect consumers and to widen export markets — and that many current policies would look very different if those goals were taken seriously. He disclaims any doctrinaire bias for private ownership, allowing that if public ownership could rapidly relieve poverty he would back it; but if private enterprise is to continue, it must be brought under social discipline rather than driven away by hostility to bigness. ## Key points - Quantifies India's 1963-64 foodgrain crisis as an 8–14 million ton production shortage and a 14–20 million ton projected market shortage in 1964-65, with imports capped near 6 million tons by world supply and Indian port capacity. - Documents rupee depreciation to 17 paise and roughly 7% annual inflation since the Second Plan, calling anything beyond 4% "monetary recklessness" and citing W. Arthur Lewis on 3–4% as an upper safe limit for developing economies. - Demands the Defence Budget be separated from Revenue and Capital Budgets and government expenditure cut by ~10% to prevent defence from eroding development. - Endorses PM Lal Bahadur Shastri's New Economic Policy and its emphasis on the common man's welfare, a manageable Fourth Plan, quick-yielding projects, and better implementation machinery. - Argues capitalism and communism are converging into a pragmatic "Neo-Capitalism" — private enterprise plus social welfare and selective state intervention — and that doctrinaire ideology is being displaced by technology-driven, measurable gains. - Proposes operational efficiency (cost per unit) as a value-free criterion for choosing between public and private ownership, treating inefficiency as no less anti-national than the profit motive is alleged to be. - Marshalls Audit Report data — only 11 of 46 Government companies declared dividends in 1962-63, with interest holidays on Rs 357 crores of Hindustan Steel loans and a social cost of roughly Rs 211 crores — to argue that India is paying a heavy ideological price for public ownership. - Reframes the monopoly debate as a "dominant firms situation" largely produced by government licensing, raw-material rationing and foreign-exchange allocation, and warns against treating it with anti-monopoly punitive machinery. --- ## [Primary work] India Needs Urgently a Communication Revolution URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/india-needs-urgently-a-communication-revolution-n-t-taskar-february-1983/ ### Summary Marking the United Nations' 1983 World Communication Year, N. T. Taskar — a former Technical Director of the Department of Electronics with three decades inside Indian P&T — argues that India's poverty-removal agenda cannot succeed without a national communication revolution, and that the chief obstacle to that revolution is the Government of India itself. He opens with a brisk historical sketch: the British built telegraph and telephone networks to serve administration, defence and commerce, and (a point he stresses) deliberately left big-city telephone provision to the private sector for nearly sixty years, with Bombay, Karachi and Madras enjoying automatic exchanges while Calcutta languished on manual service until 1943. Against this background Taskar surveys the post-war world telecommunications scene — the transistor of 1948, computers shrinking by a factor of a thousand, electronic mail, 2.8 million personal computers sold in the United States in 1982 — and contrasts it with India, where 80% of the world's telephones sit in North America and Europe and the third world is being left further behind.… ### Body ## Summary Marking the United Nations' 1983 World Communication Year, N. T. Taskar — a former Technical Director of the Department of Electronics with three decades inside Indian P&T — argues that India's poverty-removal agenda cannot succeed without a national communication revolution, and that the chief obstacle to that revolution is the Government of India itself. He opens with a brisk historical sketch: the British built telegraph and telephone networks to serve administration, defence and commerce, and (a point he stresses) deliberately left big-city telephone provision to the private sector for nearly sixty years, with Bombay, Karachi and Madras enjoying automatic exchanges while Calcutta languished on manual service until 1943. Against this background Taskar surveys the post-war world telecommunications scene — the transistor of 1948, computers shrinking by a factor of a thousand, electronic mail, 2.8 million personal computers sold in the United States in 1982 — and contrasts it with India, where 80% of the world's telephones sit in North America and Europe and the third world is being left further behind. He then walks sector by sector through the cost of the Government's three-decade monopoly on both the provision of communication services and the manufacture of communication equipment: banking (quoting bank economist Dr. K. S. Krishnaswami at length on the productivity gap with Tokyo, Singapore, Bahrain, London and New York), industry (industrial estates in Nasik, Aurangabad and Roha forced to run their own courier services because P&T links were unreliable), the Indian Telephone Industries' own factories at Naini and Rae Bareli being effectively cut off from their Bangalore head office, the power sector and State Electricity Boards starved of communication equipment, and Indian Railways forced to abandon centralised traffic control because P&T could not deliver. He invokes Arya Chanakya's principle of "Artha Eva Pradhan" and points to France's 1960s rural telecom investments and the U.S. New Deal as models India ignored. The final sections give the statistics of post-Independence growth — telephone exchanges from 300 to nearly 8,000, telephones from 1 lakh to 30 lakh, long-distance circuits from 1,500 to over 70,000 — only to insist that quantitative expansion has not produced reliable service, because P&T after the 1956 Industrial Policy Resolution became "impervious to any constructive criticism" and zealously guarded its monopoly. Taskar warns that, unlike the United States breaking up the Bell System, India faces the harder task of breaking a monopoly held by the Government itself, and that failure to do so will not only stunt the economy but generate conditions "very favourable to a violent upheaval." His recommendations (cut off at PDF page 20) begin by reframing the choice as one between communication-led peaceful evolution toward an egalitarian society and a simmering volcano of public discontent. ## Key points - Frames the 1983 UN World Communication Year as a moment for India to introspect on why post-Independence telecom expansion has not delivered reliable service. - Reads British-era policy as a case for plural provision: telephone service in Bombay, Karachi and Madras was left to the private sector for nearly 60 years with automatic exchanges, while Government-run Calcutta languished on manual service until 1943. - Identifies the Government's three-decade total monopoly over both the provision of communication facilities and the manufacture of communication equipment as the root structural problem — 'In no advanced country of the world this is so.' - Walks through sector-by-sector damage: banking productivity (citing Dr. K. S. Krishnaswami), industrial estates in Nasik/Aurangabad/Roha needing private courier services, Indian Telephone Industries' own factories at Naini and Rae Bareli being uncontactable, power sector starved of equipment, and Railways forced to abandon centralised traffic control. - Marshals comparative evidence: 80% of the world's telephones in North America and Europe; computer size down by a factor of 1,000 and reliability up by a factor of 1,000 since the early 1950s; France's 1960s rural telecom push and the U.S. New Deal as models India ignored. - Quotes statistics of post-Independence growth (exchanges 300 → 8,000; telephones 1 lakh → 30 lakh; long-distance circuits 1,500 → 70,000) only to argue that quantity has not produced quality or reliability. - Reads the 1956 Industrial Policy Resolution and P&T's subsequent zealotry as the moment Indian telecom became impervious to criticism, and contrasts this with the U.S. administration's decision to break up the Bell monopoly. - Closes with a political warning: continued monopoly will produce conditions 'very favourable to a violent upheaval' and only a communication revolution can underwrite a peaceful transition to an egalitarian society. --- ## [Primary work] INDIA REQUIRES INDICATIVE PLANNING URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/india-requires-indicative-planning-dharamsey-m-khatau-april-11-1967/ ### Summary Drawn from his inaugural address to the 59th Annual General Meeting of the Indian Merchants' Chamber on 10 February 1967, Dharamsey M. Khatau's pamphlet argues that India's drift toward 'state capitalism and Statism' has produced costly, wasteful, and politically dangerous results. Reviewing the first three Plans, he notes that targets were missed, unemployment rose across educated, agricultural, and non-agricultural classes, and the strategy's capital-intensive, heavy-industry bias starved agriculture and rural development. The Fourth Plan, on inadequate data, projects only 9 to 10 million additional jobs against a backlog of 15 to 18 million disguised unemployed and an incremental labour force of 23 to 25 million — a shortfall he treats as a fundamental indictment of comprehensive planning. Khatau ties planning failure to the concentration of economic power in political and bureaucratic hands, citing the Planning Commission's own review that the Public Sector earned only 1.5% on Rs. 2,037 crores invested across 34 undertakings, and quoting Dr. Radhakrishnan's Republic Day broadcast on 'widespread incompetence and gross mismanagement'.… ### Body ## Summary Drawn from his inaugural address to the 59th Annual General Meeting of the Indian Merchants' Chamber on 10 February 1967, Dharamsey M. Khatau's pamphlet argues that India's drift toward 'state capitalism and Statism' has produced costly, wasteful, and politically dangerous results. Reviewing the first three Plans, he notes that targets were missed, unemployment rose across educated, agricultural, and non-agricultural classes, and the strategy's capital-intensive, heavy-industry bias starved agriculture and rural development. The Fourth Plan, on inadequate data, projects only 9 to 10 million additional jobs against a backlog of 15 to 18 million disguised unemployed and an incremental labour force of 23 to 25 million — a shortfall he treats as a fundamental indictment of comprehensive planning. Khatau ties planning failure to the concentration of economic power in political and bureaucratic hands, citing the Planning Commission's own review that the Public Sector earned only 1.5% on Rs. 2,037 crores invested across 34 undertakings, and quoting Dr. Radhakrishnan's Republic Day broadcast on 'widespread incompetence and gross mismanagement'. He clarifies that he opposes neither planning nor a mixed economy; he opposes lop-sided, ideologically pre-conceived planning. Pointing to France's success with 'indicative planning' — coordinative, market-respecting, free of doctrinaire rigidity — he urges India to adopt a similar pragmatic system that uses fiscal and monetary tools rather than administrative fiats, relies on cooperative planning with industry and trade unions, and frees the Private Sector from discriminatory restrictions. The closing section is a defence of private enterprise as 'an affirmative goad' (echoing Eugene Black) and a call to industry to abandon sheltered-market complacency, raise productivity, and trust that advanced techniques and modern machinery can expand rather than shrink employment. Khatau's frame throughout is Gandhian as well as liberal: he invokes Gandhi's warning that doctrinaire schemes which minimise exploitation can also 'destroy individuality, which lies at the root of all progress', and ends with confidence that the Private Sector, given the opportunity, 'will deliver the goods'. ## Key points - Diagnoses post-devaluation drift toward 'state capitalism and Statism' as costly and wasteful, and calls for pragmatic reorientation of basic planning assumptions. - Treats employment as the decisive test of planning: capital-intensive heavy-industry bias has failed to dent unemployment, with the former Minister for Planning conceding that the agricultural population's share could shrink only from 70% to 60% over fifteen years. - Cites Fourth Plan arithmetic — 9 to 10 million new jobs against 15 to 18 million disguised unemployed plus 23 to 25 million incremental labour — to argue that current strategy cannot absorb the backlog. - Attacks Public Sector performance using the Planning Commission's own figures: a 1.5% return on Rs. 2,037 crores across 34 undertakings, bureaucratic mismanagement, and a doctrinaire 'commanding heights' approach that has crowded out private effort. - Quotes Gandhi on the danger of suppressing individuality 'at the root of all progress' and Dr. Radhakrishnan's Republic Day rebuke of incompetence and mismanagement of national resources. - Distinguishes 'indicative' (French-style, cooperative, market-respecting) planning from India's 'comprehensive' planning, advocating annual and mid-term plan appraisal, fiscal-monetary tools, and joint formulation with industry and trade unions. - Calls on the Private Sector to shed sheltered-market complacency, lift productivity, and treat automation and modern machinery as employment-expanding rather than labour-displacing. - Frames private enterprise positively — 'not as a necessary evil, but as an affirmative goad' — and closes with confidence that given the opportunity it 'will deliver the goods'. --- ## [Primary work] India: Seeing the Future in its Past URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/india-seeing-the-future-in-its-past-dr-raghumm-g-rajan-february-15-2006/ ### Summary Delivered on 20 January 2006 in Mumbai as part of the Forum of Free Enterprise's Golden Jubilee series, this lecture by IMF Chief Economist Raghuram G. Rajan asks whether the 'buzz' surrounding India's growth at mid-decade is justified, and reads the answer back through the country's post-Independence policy history. Rajan opens by saluting A. D. Shroff and Nani Palkhivala as lonely voices of free enterprise during decades when Indian regulation, in his view, transferred wealth 'from the honest rich to the dishonest rich,' and positions himself, despite his international bureaucratic post, as a sympathetic visitor to that classical-liberal lineage. The booklet's front matter — M. R. Shroff's note on the Forum's fifty-year history and Sunil S.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered on 20 January 2006 in Mumbai as part of the Forum of Free Enterprise's Golden Jubilee series, this lecture by IMF Chief Economist Raghuram G. Rajan asks whether the 'buzz' surrounding India's growth at mid-decade is justified, and reads the answer back through the country's post-Independence policy history. Rajan opens by saluting A. D. Shroff and Nani Palkhivala as lonely voices of free enterprise during decades when Indian regulation, in his view, transferred wealth 'from the honest rich to the dishonest rich,' and positions himself, despite his international bureaucratic post, as a sympathetic visitor to that classical-liberal lineage. The booklet's front matter — M. R. Shroff's note on the Forum's fifty-year history and Sunil S. Bhandare's editor's preface — frames the lecture as a critique of planning that nonetheless credits the post-1980 'constrained adaptation' for India's diversified industrial base. The analytical core of the lecture is Rajan's reading of pre-1980 policy as the source of three durable distortions: a nurturing-then-suffocating protectionism that bred infant industries which never grew up (the Ambassador car as a 'version of the Oxford Morris which remained virtually unchanged over 40 years'); a 'commanding heights' allocation of scarce capital to inefficient public-sector heavy industry; and small-scale and labour-law regimes that, while branded pro-worker, blocked the formation of large labour-intensive firms and therefore the very jobs they claimed to protect. He insists that 'despite all the rhetoric about socialism, government policies were of the few, by the few, and for the few,' arguing — only half-charitably — that this may have been intentional, cloaked in 'smoke and mirrors.' India's silver lining, he notes, was an unintentionally diversified manufacturing base and Nehru's investment in higher education and science, which positioned the country to seize the liberalisation openings under Indira and Rajiv Gandhi and the deeper 1991 reforms. Turning to the present, Rajan describes a self-reinforcing dynamic in which capability-intensive sectors (autos, telecom, finance, software, pharmaceuticals) and reform-minded states (Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu) skip the labour-intensive phase typical of East Asian catch-up. He warns that the 'laggard states' will not reform on their own, that urban services (he singles out Mumbai's ten-hours-a-day water against Paris's 24×7) are deteriorating, and that the 'license-permit raj' survives in higher education — India needs '50 IITs, not 7,' real fees with scholarships, and the entry of private and foreign institutions. Other prescriptions: a cautious capital-account opening, building Mumbai into a world-class financial centre, fiscal discipline so the deficit stops crowding out private investment, transparent and incentive-based rather than coercive government, and policies that enlist citizens' self-interest rather than fighting it. Rajan closes by treating BRIC-style straight-line extrapolations with scepticism and offering 'churning' — the devas-and-asuras myth of the ocean of milk — as the defining metaphor for India: entrenched interests displaced, jobs created and destroyed, Bharat becoming India and India becoming Bharat again, with the amrita of sustained 8 percent growth available only after more hard work. The Eugene Black epigraph on the rear inside cover — 'People must come to accept private enterprise not as a necessary evil, but as an affirmative good' — distils the booklet's polemical purpose. ## Key points - Rajan situates himself as an IMF bureaucrat speaking 'from the same forum as these stalwarts,' explicitly honouring A. D. Shroff and Nani Palkhivala as lonely defenders of free enterprise in the 1950s-70s. - He reframes India's pre-1980 policy regime as 'constrained adaptation' — protective barriers raised to nurture infants that never grew up, with the Ambassador car as the canonical example of an 'infant' frozen for 40 years. - The 'commanding heights' strategy directed scarce capital to inefficient public-sector heavy industry while small-scale reservations and rigid labour laws blocked the rise of large labour-intensive firms, throttling formal job creation. - Rajan argues that India's post-1980 growth was unintentionally well-positioned by a diversified manufacturing base and by Nehruvian investments in higher education, science and public-sector technology (Bharat Electronics, CMC, ECIL, State Bank of India). - Pre-1991 liberalisation under Indira and Rajiv Gandhi, plus political decentralisation after the decline of Congress dominance, shifted competitive pressure onto state governments and produced uneven but real reform across Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. - India is skipping the labour-intensive phase of East Asian growth, advancing instead in capability- and skill-intensive sectors (autos, telecom, pharma, software, finance) — creating both a vibrant capital market and a sharp labour-market bifurcation between dynamic and laggard states. - Policy prescriptions: cautious capital-account opening and a Mumbai financial centre, fifty IITs with real fees and private/foreign entry, urban infrastructure for migrant labour, incentives (not bans) for formal job creation in laggard states, and fiscal discipline so the public deficit stops crowding out private capital. - The concluding metaphor of 'churning' (the devas-asuras myth) frames sustained 8 percent growth as available only after further dislocation of entrenched interests and warns against straight-line extrapolations like the Goldman Sachs BRIC report. --- ## [Primary work] INDIAN BANKING IN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/indian-banking-in-international-perspective-dr-y-v-reddy-october-31-2002/ ### Summary Delivered on 25 October 2002 as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Public Lecture in Mumbai (sponsored by Bank of India), this booklet collects Y. V. Reddy's address "Indian Banking in International Perspective." Reddy — then Executive Director at the IMF and a former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India — frames his lecture as a tribute to Shroff's classical-liberal advocacy through the Forum of Free Enterprise, recalling that his own student generation first encountered free-enterprise ideas in contrast with the socialism-oriented declarations of official Indian policy. He opens with three episodes that link Shroff to international finance: Shroff's role (with Sir R. K. Shanmukham Chetty) in the IMF quota negotiations; his presence on the Indian delegation that christened the IBRD; and his architecture of the Bombay Plan. The first half of the lecture is a retrospective traversal of every prior A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture on banking, from H. V. R. Iengar's 1967 inaugural through B. N. Adarkar (1971), R. K. Talwar (1974), J. N. Saxena (1977), R. C. Shah (1983), N. N. Pai, N. Vaghul (1989), M. Narasimham (1993) and S. S. Tarapore.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered on 25 October 2002 as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Public Lecture in Mumbai (sponsored by Bank of India), this booklet collects Y. V. Reddy's address "Indian Banking in International Perspective." Reddy — then Executive Director at the IMF and a former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India — frames his lecture as a tribute to Shroff's classical-liberal advocacy through the Forum of Free Enterprise, recalling that his own student generation first encountered free-enterprise ideas in contrast with the socialism-oriented declarations of official Indian policy. He opens with three episodes that link Shroff to international finance: Shroff's role (with Sir R. K. Shanmukham Chetty) in the IMF quota negotiations; his presence on the Indian delegation that christened the IBRD; and his architecture of the Bombay Plan. The first half of the lecture is a retrospective traversal of every prior A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture on banking, from H. V. R. Iengar's 1967 inaugural through B. N. Adarkar (1971), R. K. Talwar (1974), J. N. Saxena (1977), R. C. Shah (1983), N. N. Pai, N. Vaghul (1989), M. Narasimham (1993) and S. S. Tarapore. Reddy reads the series as a chronicle of recurring concerns: public confidence in banks, credit flow to small and unorganised sectors, the politics of nationalisation, the failure of the cooperative movement, quality and professionalism in service, and the unfinished agenda of reform that Narasimham named. He notes that the four decades after independence first stabilised and quantitatively expanded banking, but that the 1980s revealed serious qualitative pitfalls in public-sector banking — issues whose remediation, though begun in the 1990s, remains incomplete. The second half pivots to the lecture's central argument: that by 2002 banking can no longer be treated as a domestic matter. Reddy enumerates six pressures globalising Indian banking — the entry of foreign banks under WTO commitments, foreign-owned non-bank financial companies, cross-border payment firms such as Western Union, multinationals' captive banking ties, the multinational ambitions of Indian companies, and the loosening of public-sector banks' tie to large business as disinvestment progresses. He then turns to the multilateral architecture: BIS-led Basel norms (whose adoption Reddy treats as effectively non-voluntary in broad direction), IMF surveillance now extending to banking-system health, World Bank involvement in financial-sector reform, and G20 attention. The rendered chunk closes mid-discussion of international standards and codes, where Reddy defends India's stand that such standards be adopted at each country's chosen pace and on a strictly voluntary basis. ## Key points - Reddy frames the lecture as both a personal tribute to A. D. Shroff and a continuation of the Forum of Free Enterprise's classical-liberal pedagogy against early-independence socialism. - Three Shroff vignettes — IMF quota negotiations, the naming of the IBRD, and the Bombay Plan — anchor the claim that national upliftment requires active engagement with multilateral bodies. - A chronological reading of prior Shroff Memorial Lectures (Iengar 1967 through Tarapore) is used as a proxy history of post-independence Indian banking concerns. - Reddy identifies a four-decade arc: stabilisation and public confidence (first two decades), nationalisation and quantitative expansion (third decade), recognition of qualitative pitfalls (fourth decade), and clear-cut but unfinished reform (1990s). - The lecture's pivot: as of 2002 banking is no longer exclusively domestic — competition is global, regulatory codes are converging, and ignoring the international dimension while opening the economy is dangerous. - Six concrete globalising pressures: foreign bank entry under WTO, foreign non-bank financial companies, cross-border payment firms, multinationals' captive banking, Indian companies going multinational, and disinvestment loosening PSU-bank ties to large business. - Multilateral architecture matters: BIS/Basel norms, IMF surveillance of banking-system health, World Bank financial-sector engagement, and G20 attention — even where adoption is nominally voluntary. - Reddy defends India's position that international standards should be adopted at each country's chosen pace and only on a voluntary basis, while granting their relevance to domestic reform. --- ## [Primary work] Indian Banks and The Prevention of Corruption Act : Freedom and Discipline URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/indian-banks-and-the-prevention-of-corruption-act-freedom-and-discipline-ar-ashima-goyal/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces Dr. Ashima Goyal's lecture at the Fourteenth M. R. Pai Memorial Award Function (Mumbai, 10 September 2018), preceded by an editorial introduction by Sunil S. Bhandare. Goyal — Professor at IGIDR and a member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council — uses the occasion to ask how Indian banks can be properly disciplined without being criminalised, and reads the 2018 amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act against that test. The heart of her argument is institutional hysteresis. Independent India layered centralised planning onto a federal constitutional structure, multiplying agencies without clean exits, so 'controls created discretion and corruption.' Anti-corruption institutions like CBI and CVC were themselves built for that control regime and never absorbed the post-reform distinction between commercial risk-taking and crime.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces Dr. Ashima Goyal's lecture at the Fourteenth M. R. Pai Memorial Award Function (Mumbai, 10 September 2018), preceded by an editorial introduction by Sunil S. Bhandare. Goyal — Professor at IGIDR and a member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council — uses the occasion to ask how Indian banks can be properly disciplined without being criminalised, and reads the 2018 amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act against that test. The heart of her argument is institutional hysteresis. Independent India layered centralised planning onto a federal constitutional structure, multiplying agencies without clean exits, so 'controls created discretion and corruption.' Anti-corruption institutions like CBI and CVC were themselves built for that control regime and never absorbed the post-reform distinction between commercial risk-taking and crime. Once reforms raised the value of natural resources, suspicion and CAG loss estimates pushed politicians and industrialists into jail, growth and credit collapsed, and a tenth-year acquittal could not restore reputations or assets. Goyal then walks through the NPA story in public sector banks. PSBs took on long-gestation infrastructure lending after development banks closed and bond markets failed to deepen; when private projects soured and global and domestic shocks compounded firms' losses, rollovers were branded 'evergreening' and FIRs were issued against bankers and even independent directors who had followed due process. Drawing on her own work on credit, market and country risk, she insists that banks are natural risk-aggregators and that reform should make them bear more risk through equity rather than treat ordinary losses as criminal — vigilance institutions, in an age of big data, can rely on patterns and random checks instead of accusatory lists. The rendered pages close with her assessment of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 26 July 2018. She welcomes statutory deadlines on trials (two years, extendable to four), reads Section 8's stiff penalties on bribe-givers as a deterrent to corporate cornering of resources, and notes the escape clauses for compelled or cooperating bribe-givers. The chunk ends mid-discussion of the 'intentional enrichment' and 'undue advantage' clauses; the remaining pages of the booklet (printed pages 19 onward) are not in this rendered set. ## Key points - Goyal's lecture, delivered at the 14th M. R. Pai Memorial Award Function (Mumbai, 10 Sept 2018) and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, asks how Indian banking can be disciplined without being criminalised. - Institutional 'hysteresis': superimposing central planning on a federal constitution produced a multiplicity of overlapping agencies with no accountability, so 'controls created discretion and corruption.' - CBI, CVC and the 1988 PCA were built for a control regime and could not distinguish post-reform commercial risk-taking from criminal misconduct; the CAG's headline loss estimates in the 2G case fed an atmosphere of suspicion that paralysed decisions. - PSBs took infrastructure loans to compensate for shuttered development banks and thin bond markets; global slowdown plus 'permission paralysis' turned many loans non-performing, and regulatory over-reaction punished honest bankers along with crooks like Nirav Modi. - Banks face credit, market and country risk; reform should let them bear more risk through equity rather than treat ordinary loss as crime, with insurance-vs-incentive trade-offs left to ex-ante diversification. - Vigilance institutions can be made market-compatible by relying on big-data patterns, suspicious-transaction reports and random checks rather than reputation-damaging accusatory lists. - The 2018 PCA amendment imposes hard deadlines (two years, extendable to four) on prolonged investigations and stiffens punishment of bribe-givers (up to seven years), with escape clauses for compelled bribers and compliance-defended corporates. - Goyal frames the whole project as a continuation of the Forum of Free Enterprise's fight — freedom from stifling controls must now be paired with the right kind of discipline. --- ## [Primary work] Indian Capital Market — Past, Present & Future URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/indian-capital-market-past-present-and-future-h-t-parekh-june-10-1975/ ### Summary H. T. Parekh's 1975 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture surveys the Indian capital market in three movements — past (up to Independence), present (the quarter-century from 1947 to 1974), and future (the next quarter-century). The opening pages frame the address as a personal homage: Parekh, then chairman of the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India, regards A. D. Shroff as his 'Guru' and credits him as the moving spirit behind ICICI itself. He pauses to honour the Forum of Free Enterprise as a continuing instrument of public economic education. The historical narrative argues that India was unusually well prepared for a modern capital market. Hundies, bills of acceptance and the credit standing of nagarseths familiarised ordinary people with financial instruments long before joint-stock companies arrived; the Bombay Stock Exchange, formally constituted in 1875 as the 'Native Share and Stock Brokers' Association', was the first stock exchange opened in Asia.… ### Body ## Summary H. T. Parekh's 1975 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture surveys the Indian capital market in three movements — past (up to Independence), present (the quarter-century from 1947 to 1974), and future (the next quarter-century). The opening pages frame the address as a personal homage: Parekh, then chairman of the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India, regards A. D. Shroff as his 'Guru' and credits him as the moving spirit behind ICICI itself. He pauses to honour the Forum of Free Enterprise as a continuing instrument of public economic education. The historical narrative argues that India was unusually well prepared for a modern capital market. Hundies, bills of acceptance and the credit standing of nagarseths familiarised ordinary people with financial instruments long before joint-stock companies arrived; the Bombay Stock Exchange, formally constituted in 1875 as the 'Native Share and Stock Brokers' Association', was the first stock exchange opened in Asia. Parekh sketches 1860–1947 through the textile mills of Bombay and Ahmedabad, Scottish-controlled jute and tea capital in Calcutta, the floatation of Tata hydro shares in 1920, and the watershed Tata Iron and Steel issue of 1911 — when Indian investors' confidence in the Tata name rescued an issue that the London money market had refused. Through the war booms and slumps of 1936-37, 1939-40 and 1943-46, Tata Deferred became, in his words, the 'king of the capital market'. The 'present' section dates the qualitative break to the post-1947 institutionalisation of finance — IFCI in 1948, the SFCs in 1952-53, ICICI in 1955, UTI and IDBI in 1964 — and to the steady assertion of Government control over organised savings. Parekh observes that roughly 90 per cent of the investment of organised savings is now owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by Government; that outstanding marketable Government loans have risen from about Rs. 2,000 crores in 1951 to about Rs. 7,500 crores; and that the nationalisations of life insurance (1955), the major banks (1969) and the Reserve Bank (1949), alongside the statutory finance corporations, have made the state the dominant force in long-term finance. He defends institutional finance as a 'blessing to industry' while worrying that easy institutional access has eroded the personal sense of obligation that earlier entrepreneurs such as Kirloskar and Seshasayee felt toward their financiers. The rendered chunk closes mid-argument on the contemporary period, with Parekh praising the broadening of the investor base since the 1957-58 foreign exchange crisis, the upsurge of new issues across engineering, chemicals, fertilisers, petro-chemicals, automobiles and ball bearings, and the role of the Unit Trust of India under chairmen R. S. Bhatt and J. S. Raj in mobilising small savings. The 'future' section announced at the start of the lecture is not yet reached in these pages. ## Key points - Lecture is the 1975 A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust annual address, delivered by H. T. Parekh, chairman of ICICI, on 10 June 1975 in Bombay. - Parekh structures his argument around three periods: the past (pre-1947), the present (1947-1974), and the future (the next 25 years). - He insists that Indians were already conversant with financial instruments — hundies, bills of acceptance, deposits with nagarseths — long before joint-stock companies appeared. - Bombay Stock Exchange (formally opened 1875 as the 'Native Share and Stock Brokers' Association') was the first stock exchange in Asia; the Calcutta exchange dominated jute/tea/coal but the centre of financial gravity shifted to Bombay over the 20th century. - The 1911 Tata Iron and Steel issue is identified as the moment 'the capital market, as an institution, had established itself in India' — Indian investors absorbed an issue that the London market had rejected. - Post-1947 'qualitative change': institutionalisation of finance (IFCI 1948, SFCs 1952-53, ICICI 1955, UTI and IDBI 1964) and predominance of Government control over organised finance. - Roughly 90 per cent of the investment of organised savings is now owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by Government; outstanding marketable Government loans rose from c. Rs. 2,000 crores (1951) to c. Rs. 7,500 crores. - Parekh worries that easy institutional finance has weakened entrepreneurs' personal sense of obligation that earlier figures like Kirloskar and Seshasayee felt toward their financiers. --- ## [Primary work] INDIAN ECONOMIC CRISES URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/indian-economic-crises-a-programme-of-reform-professor-b-r-shenoy-may-11-1968/ ### Summary B. R. Shenoy's 1968 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet — drawn from a series of articles in *Swarajya* (Madras) — diagnoses India's compounding economic crises as the outcome not of bad monsoons, the Chinese border war or the 1965 Indo-Pakistan conflict, but of fifteen years of avoidable policy mismanagement. The argument unfolds across four chapters (I. Anti-Social Income Shifts; II. Importance of Zero Inflation; III. PL 480 Inflation; IV. A Programme of Reform). Inflation, Shenoy insists, is the tap-root of nearly every ailment — the chronic price acceleration, the foreign-exchange scarcity, the recourse to import licensing and other 'defences', and the perverse income transfers that have fed luxury living among a privileged upper crust while pushing the salaried middle classes toward indigence. The pamphlet's central technical claim is that the inflationary finance of recent years has come almost entirely from PL 480 rupee disbursements held with the U.S. Embassy. Shenoy walks through the 1967-68 Budget arithmetic to argue that PL 480 receipts (Rs. 435 crores) exceeded the sale proceeds of PL 480 foodgrains (Rs. 285 crores) by Rs.… ### Body ## Summary B. R. Shenoy's 1968 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet — drawn from a series of articles in *Swarajya* (Madras) — diagnoses India's compounding economic crises as the outcome not of bad monsoons, the Chinese border war or the 1965 Indo-Pakistan conflict, but of fifteen years of avoidable policy mismanagement. The argument unfolds across four chapters (I. Anti-Social Income Shifts; II. Importance of Zero Inflation; III. PL 480 Inflation; IV. A Programme of Reform). Inflation, Shenoy insists, is the tap-root of nearly every ailment — the chronic price acceleration, the foreign-exchange scarcity, the recourse to import licensing and other 'defences', and the perverse income transfers that have fed luxury living among a privileged upper crust while pushing the salaried middle classes toward indigence. The pamphlet's central technical claim is that the inflationary finance of recent years has come almost entirely from PL 480 rupee disbursements held with the U.S. Embassy. Shenoy walks through the 1967-68 Budget arithmetic to argue that PL 480 receipts (Rs. 435 crores) exceeded the sale proceeds of PL 480 foodgrains (Rs. 285 crores) by Rs. 150 crores, demonstrating — by his reading — that PL 480 finance is inflationary by precisely that excess, contra the position taken by the Reserve Bank of India, the Ministry of Finance and USAID's Dr. Samuel A. Costanzo. Naxalbari, gheraos, bandhs and 'President's rule' are framed as surface symptoms of the deeper income shifts produced by inflation and licensing — themselves the 'Alladin's lamp' that hands politicians and administrators unearned power. The programme of reform proposed is stark: stop PL 480 deficit financing immediately and immobilise (preferably write off) the accumulated Rs. 744 crores of PL 480 rupees; abolish import licensing and replace the dual exchange-rate regime with a single market-clearing rate; cut taxes and matching government expenditures; denationalise Public Sector enterprises; and replace government-to-government aid with capital flowing through the aid-giving countries' capital markets. Shenoy warns that fiscal measures to ensure zero inflation must receive top priority, and that without them the alternative may be 'the demise of democracy'. The rendered pages carry the work through the opening of Chapter IV; the final pages of the reform programme (printed pages 19 onward) were not rendered for this pass. ## Key points - Shenoy attributes India's economic crises to 1.5 decades of policy mismanagement, not to monsoons, the Chinese attack on the northern frontier, or the Indo-Pakistan war. - Inflation is named the 'tap-root' of foreign-exchange scarcity, balance-of-payments deficits, import controls and the perverse income transfers producing 'asuric' luxury living amid mass misery. - Inflationary finance, in his telling, has issued almost wholly from PL 480 rupee disbursements held with the U.S. Embassy — paper funds whose physical counterpart (foodgrains) has long been consumed. - Import licensing is portrayed as a 'veritable Alladin's lamp' that channels unmerited wealth (Rs. 550 crores annually in licence premia) into upper-income groups and political power into office-holders. - Shenoy uses a *reductio ad absurdum* on 1966-67 Budget data to argue PL 480 operations produced a deficit of Rs. 859 crores against an overall deficit of Rs. 764 crores, refuting RBI/Ministry/USAID claims of monetary neutrality. - He warns that tear-gas and President's rule cannot durably suppress Naxalbari, gheraos and bandhs so long as the underlying income shifts persist. - The reform programme: stop deficit financing, immobilise/write off accumulated PL 480 rupees, abolish import licensing and the dual exchange-rate regime, cut taxes and matching expenditures, denationalise Public Sector enterprises, and shift aid from government-to-government channels to capital-market flows. - Currency over-valuation is shown to have caused over-capitalisation and labour-saving capital intensity beyond what employment conditions could justify, with militant trade unionism amplifying the bias. --- ## [Primary work] INDIAN INDUSTRY IN POST-LIBERALISATION ERA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/indian-industry-post-liberalisation-era-by-ss-bhandare-2001/ ### Summary S. S. Bhandare, an economist and consultant with Tata Services Ltd., uses this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet to take stock of Indian industry roughly a decade after the July 1991 reforms. His verdict is mixed: quantitatively, post-reform industrial growth (averaging 6.5% in 1992–2001) has been only marginally better than the pre-reform decade's 6.3%, and the sector has become more volatile, with the coefficient of variation rising from 38.75 to 47.18. Qualitatively, however, he sees real gains — a liberalised and intensely competitive market, wider consumer choice, market-determined pricing, productivity drivers in manufacturing, and the compulsion to globalise both prices and profit margins. The booklet is organised around a series of "critical issues for debate." Bhandare contests the fashionable thesis that industrialisation will "by-pass India" in favour of a services-led trajectory, pointing out that India has slipped from being the world's tenth-largest industrial power around 1970 to roughly 17th or 18th, while its consumption of steel, cement and power is one-third to one-fourth of China's.… ### Body ## Summary S. S. Bhandare, an economist and consultant with Tata Services Ltd., uses this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet to take stock of Indian industry roughly a decade after the July 1991 reforms. His verdict is mixed: quantitatively, post-reform industrial growth (averaging 6.5% in 1992–2001) has been only marginally better than the pre-reform decade's 6.3%, and the sector has become more volatile, with the coefficient of variation rising from 38.75 to 47.18. Qualitatively, however, he sees real gains — a liberalised and intensely competitive market, wider consumer choice, market-determined pricing, productivity drivers in manufacturing, and the compulsion to globalise both prices and profit margins. The booklet is organised around a series of "critical issues for debate." Bhandare contests the fashionable thesis that industrialisation will "by-pass India" in favour of a services-led trajectory, pointing out that India has slipped from being the world's tenth-largest industrial power around 1970 to roughly 17th or 18th, while its consumption of steel, cement and power is one-third to one-fourth of China's. He argues for an indigenous industrial programme rather than dependence on imports, and presses for second-generation reforms: rationalisation of domestic indirect taxes (excises, sales taxes, octroi), reduction of customs tariffs towards East Asian levels (the Shome Advisory Group's 15% peak by 2004-05), repeal of SICA, dissolution of BIFR, flexibility in labour markets, and acceleration of mergers, acquisitions and divestments. Further sections evaluate the challenges of globalisation (India's exports remain concentrated in labour-intensive, low-value categories with only a 0.7% share of global exports), the social fallout of rationalisation (the stalled National Renewal Fund, the case for aggressive privatisation to fund retraining), and the rising disciplinary role of stock markets as the Planning Commission's influence wanes. The closing piece on the "jigsaw of new economy" cautions against treating IT-led growth as a substitute for fixing the "old economy," arguing instead that brick-and-mortar industries must absorb new-economy productivity gains. Bhandare ends with a Dickensian flourish: it has been the best of times and the worst of times for Indian industry, and the next few years will determine whether India remains a serious industrial power in the global league. ## Key points - Post-reform industrial growth (6.5% p.a., 1992-2001) is only marginally higher than pre-reform (6.3%, 1981-1992), while volatility has risen sharply (coefficient of variation 47.18 vs 38.75). - Qualitative gains — competitive markets, wider consumer choice, market-determined pricing, productivity discipline, globalised price and margin pressure — are the real dividends of reform. - Bhandare rejects the 'industrialisation will by-pass India' thesis, citing India's slide from 10th to 17th-18th in global industrial rank and consumption levels one-third to one-fourth of China's. - He argues for rationalisation of domestic indirect taxes (excises, sales taxes, octroi) and customs tariff cuts to East Asian levels as a precondition for global competitiveness. - Restructuring impediments include rigid labour markets, SICA and BIFR, fragmented capacities, transaction costs, and infrastructure infirmities; mergers, acquisitions and divestments need vigorous pursuit. - India's 0.7% share of global exports is concentrated in labour-intensive, low-value categories like gems and jewellery, garments and leather; IT software is a bright spot but hardware lags. - The National Renewal Fund concept has fallen by the wayside; aggressive privatisation could fund retraining and a credible social safety net, but political will is lacking. - Stock markets have become the new allocator of capital as the Planning Commission's role declines, punishing diversified, commodity-oriented, capital-intensive businesses; IT euphoria must not displace fixing the old economy. --- ## [Primary work] INDIAN ADMINISTRATION URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/indian-administartion-v-p-menon-jun5-1958/ ### Summary V. P. Menon's pamphlet, based on his 5 August 1958 Forum of Free Enterprise lecture in Bombay, surveys two centuries of Indian administration to argue that the post-Independence machinery has slid into disorganisation. He sketches the East India Company's chaotic early rule, the slow rationalisation through Pitt's Act of 1784, Warren Hastings's system-building, the Crown takeover in 1857, and the steady professionalisation of the Indian Civil Service that, by 1914, made Indian government 'a machine that stood up, in fact, through two World Wars.' That inherited efficiency, he says, has been squandered. The core indictment is administrative bloat and political interference.… ### Body ## Summary V. P. Menon's pamphlet, based on his 5 August 1958 Forum of Free Enterprise lecture in Bombay, surveys two centuries of Indian administration to argue that the post-Independence machinery has slid into disorganisation. He sketches the East India Company's chaotic early rule, the slow rationalisation through Pitt's Act of 1784, Warren Hastings's system-building, the Crown takeover in 1857, and the steady professionalisation of the Indian Civil Service that, by 1914, made Indian government 'a machine that stood up, in fact, through two World Wars.' That inherited efficiency, he says, has been squandered. The core indictment is administrative bloat and political interference. Menon catalogues the explosion of secretariat positions, the loss of direct access between minister and senior officer, and a 'Planning era' in which schemes routinely exceed the State's capacity 'to control, regulate, and bear.' He warns that the linguistic reorganisation of States has 'robbed us of our national outlook,' that District Officers have become 'trigger happy,' and that politicians demanding prosecution of 'corrupt' officers are themselves often the biggest abusers of public funds. Menon contrasts this with the brief Patel era, when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel — alone among the new ministers — refused to interfere with the services, treated officers fairly, and restored their esprit de corps. After Patel's death the Centre filled the vacuum left by weak Chief Ministers, Congress autonomy 'became a dead letter,' and the States were reduced to agents of Delhi. He calls for a high-powered Commission to reorganise administration at both Centre and provinces, and for decentralisation grounded in a non-partisan ideal of good governance. The pamphlet closes with a humanist appeal: officers will respond to encouragement, India is not lacking in human material, but in the end 'the country will not be saved by its institutions, if it is not saved by its own people.' The booklet carries marginalia quotes from Eugene Black and A. D. Shroff, signalling the Forum's classical-liberal framing of Menon's bureaucratic critique. ## Key points - Traces the British administrative arc from the Company's 'quite disastrous' early essays, through Pitt's Act of 1784, Warren Hastings's system-building, and the 1857 Crown takeover, to the highly professional pre-1914 ICS that Menon says reached 'its highest efficiency, judged by the standard then prevailing.' - Argues that the political class after Independence inherited a smoothly running machine but degraded it by inflating the Secretariat, multiplying ministers and deputies, and demanding officials report to them by telephone — making bureaucracy 'greatly increased; that officials are more bureaucratic than they were' — while planning schemes outran administrative capacity. - Singles out Sardar Patel as the exception: he refused to interfere in the services, gave officers fair treatment, dispelled fears after Partition, and re-instilled esprit de corps; after his death the Cabinet became collectively responsible 'only in name' and the Prime Minister effectively ran government. - Diagnoses linguistic State reorganisation as having 'robbed us of our national outlook,' and warns that Congress losing power in provinces (e.g., Kerala) has not produced provincial autonomy but reduced States to agents of the Centre. - Attacks the politicisation of anti-corruption: ministers publicly accuse officers while themselves indulging in 'non-bailable, warrant case of mis-appropriation of public funds,' and election costs 'are becoming prohibitive' so that 'good candidates with limited means have no chance to fight elections.' - Calls for a high-powered Commission to reorganise administration at the Centre and in the provinces, with a Central Commission and provincial committees, framed around the principle that 'the Centre must be strong but consistent with that there should be de-centralisation at all levels.' - Closes with a humanist coda — officers respond to good treatment, India has 'great opportunities' and 'a history and a tradition,' but 'the country will not be saved by its institutions, if it is not saved by its own people.' --- ## [Primary work] Indian Economic Development 1950-1980: An Assessment URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/indian-economic-development-1950-1980-an-assessment-by-dr-rm-honavar/ ### Summary Indian Economic Development 1950-1980: An Assessment is a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reproducing Dr. R. M. Honavar's A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered at the Madras Centre of the Forum in October 1981. Honavar, then Director of the Institute for Financial Management and Research at Madras and a former Economic Adviser to the Government of India, takes the thirty-year mark of planned development as an occasion for a stock-taking. He opens by conceding the textbook achievements — net national product up 165 per cent at 1970-71 prices, agriculture lifted out of pre-planning stagnation to a 2.7 per cent annual growth, a savings rate that has climbed from 8 per cent to about 16-17 per cent of national income, and a tax-take that has nearly tripled as a share of national income — and then proceeds to argue that, judged against any reasonable benchmark, the performance has nonetheless been unsatisfactory. His assessment is structured around four diagnoses of failure.… ### Body ## Summary Indian Economic Development 1950-1980: An Assessment is a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reproducing Dr. R. M. Honavar's A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered at the Madras Centre of the Forum in October 1981. Honavar, then Director of the Institute for Financial Management and Research at Madras and a former Economic Adviser to the Government of India, takes the thirty-year mark of planned development as an occasion for a stock-taking. He opens by conceding the textbook achievements — net national product up 165 per cent at 1970-71 prices, agriculture lifted out of pre-planning stagnation to a 2.7 per cent annual growth, a savings rate that has climbed from 8 per cent to about 16-17 per cent of national income, and a tax-take that has nearly tripled as a share of national income — and then proceeds to argue that, judged against any reasonable benchmark, the performance has nonetheless been unsatisfactory. His assessment is structured around four diagnoses of failure. First, India failed to control population growth: the decennial rate ran to 24.8 per cent at the 1971 and 1981 censuses, far above the planners' assumption of 13-14 per cent, and the State has neither offered Chinese-style incentives nor — more damningly — raised female literacy in the high-fertility States of UP, Bihar, MP and Rajasthan. Second, agricultural growth lagged what other South and South-East Asian countries achieved: irrigation, fertiliser and rural electrification projects were spread too thinly across constituencies for political reasons, completion schedules stretched to 15-20 years, on-farm water management remained poor, and the water-fertiliser-HYV package was effectively confined to wheat and rice and to larger farmers with capital. Third, industrial production grew at only 6.1 per cent on average and collapsed after the mid-sixties: the post-Third-Plan resource constraint, the exhaustion of easy import substitution, MRTP-driven rejection of scale economies, and a licensing regime that produced a class of rentier entrepreneurs were compounded by a refusal to pursue export-led growth on the mistaken view that a country the size of India could not export at scale. Fourth and finally, Honavar examines resource mobilisation and the public sector. Net domestic capital formation, he notes, only crossed 19 per cent of national income by 1978-79 — still well below comparator countries — and the State has been unable to suppress non-developmental expenditure or to generate surpluses from public sector enterprises. The 'no profit, no loss' philosophy, fear of cost-push inflation, the burden of overmanning (Coal India is singled out), the suspicion of discretion that produced a 'plethora of rules,' and the early staffing of industrial enterprises with civil servants together explain why some Rs. 20,000 crores of investment cannot generate an adequate return. He closes the rendered portion of the lecture with a critique of fiscal practice: more than four-fifths of tax revenue comes from regressive indirect taxes, and the failure to mobilise resources has forced a slide into deficit financing whose inflationary consequences make further mobilisation harder still. ## Key points - Honavar grants the headline numbers — NNP up 165 per cent, agriculture growing 2.7 per cent annually, the savings rate roughly doubled — but argues per-caput income gained only 45 per cent over thirty years and per-caput consumption only 1.1 per cent annually, making the record poor by comparator standards. - He diagnoses four causes of underperformance: failure to control population, agricultural growth below South and South-East Asian peers, slow industrial growth, and weak resource mobilisation. - Population control faltered both because incentives were meagre relative to China's and because female literacy was neglected — Kerala has the lowest birth rate and highest female literacy, while UP, Bihar, MP and Rajasthan combine the lowest female literacy with the highest fertility. - Agricultural investment in irrigation, fertiliser plants and rural electrification was diluted by the political imperative to spread allocations thinly across regions; construction periods of 15-20 years were normal, and the water-fertiliser-HYV technology effectively reached only wheat and rice farmers with sufficient capital. - Industrial growth was strangled by the exhaustion of easy import substitution, by an MRTP-driven rejection of scale economies, and above all by a licensing regime that produced 'so-called entrepreneurs who looked upon the industrial licence as the modern equivalent of the sanad given by Lord Cornwallis to the Zamindars in Bengal.' - Export-led growth was summarily ruled out by Indian economists on the assumption that a country the size of India could not export at scale — an assumption Honavar regards as a costly historical error, citing Japan, Hong Kong and Korea. - Public sector enterprises have generated negligible surpluses because of the 'no-profit-no-loss' price philosophy, fear of cost-push inflation, civil servant management, and political resistance to retrenchment in overmanned units like Coal India. - Fiscal mobilisation has come overwhelmingly from indirect taxes (more than four-fifths of revenue), which weigh more heavily on the poor and feed cost-push inflation, while the failure to tax agricultural income or check evasion has pushed Government into ever heavier deficit financing. --- ## [Primary work] Indian Planning and the Common Man URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/indian-planning-and-the-common-man-prof-b-r-shenoy-jan8-1962/ ### Summary Prof. B. R. Shenoy's 1962 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet bundles three of his newspaper essays — two from the Indian Express (28 October 1961) and one from the Times of India (23 October 1961) — into a sustained attack on the development model defended by Prime Minister Nehru at the Third Plan debate in the Lok Sabha. Shenoy concedes the headline statistics (national income up 42 per cent in a decade, life expectancy from 24 to 47.5 years, industrial output up 94 per cent) but argues they are a "misleading bunch of statistics": the composition of the national product, not its aggregate volume, is the real test of welfare, and on that test India has failed. The output of cotton cloth in common use rose only 1.4 times in a decade while electric lamps rose 2.9 times, radios 5.9 times and sewing machines 9.6 times; per capita foodgrain availability has steadily declined.… ### Body ## Summary Prof. B. R. Shenoy's 1962 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet bundles three of his newspaper essays — two from the Indian Express (28 October 1961) and one from the Times of India (23 October 1961) — into a sustained attack on the development model defended by Prime Minister Nehru at the Third Plan debate in the Lok Sabha. Shenoy concedes the headline statistics (national income up 42 per cent in a decade, life expectancy from 24 to 47.5 years, industrial output up 94 per cent) but argues they are a "misleading bunch of statistics": the composition of the national product, not its aggregate volume, is the real test of welfare, and on that test India has failed. The output of cotton cloth in common use rose only 1.4 times in a decade while electric lamps rose 2.9 times, radios 5.9 times and sewing machines 9.6 times; per capita foodgrain availability has steadily declined. "Planning has produced a 'good life' not for the masses but for a thin layer of the parasitical minority of its beneficiaries." The second essay, "Planning & Social Justice," reframes the objective of planning as the production of mass-consumption goods commanded by consumer sovereignty rather than the heavy-industries-plus-statism bias of the official plans. Shenoy connects the regimentation of investment to the concentration of economic power in "State functionaries — with arbitrary rights of disposal, directly or indirectly, over the employment, livelihood and well-being of virtually the entire nation" — calling this "a potential source of ruthless social injustice — ruthless, among other reasons, because arbitrariness is backed by police powers." Real social justice, he insists, cannot be ensured better than "through policies of economic freedom on the pattern of the E. E. C. countries and Japan, where state planning is confined to its natural sphere." The third essay, "Planning & Inflation," attacks the Economic Survey 1960-61's claim that price rises are "the very condition of economic advance." Shenoy marshals comparative data — West German national income rising 12 per cent annually 1953-59 with prices up only 1 per cent a year; Japanese national income rising 12.3 per cent annually with prices up 2 per cent over the whole period; France and Italy posting strong growth while prices actually fell — to argue that rapid growth and monetary stability normally go hand in hand. India's inflation, he concludes, is the avoidable by-product of public-sector over-investment financed by deficit financing (Rs. 450 crores 1959-60), bank-credit expansion, and P. L. 480 counterpart funds; foreign aid has "illegitimately" masked the symptoms but cannot defer the crash indefinitely. The pamphlet closes with an appendix listing twenty-one recommended works — Hayek, Mises, Robbins, Roepke, Erhard, Bauer, Hazlitt and others — that constitute Shenoy's classical-liberal canon. ## Key points - Shenoy frames the pamphlet as a rebuttal to the Prime Minister's January 1962 Lok Sabha defence of the Third Plan, arguing that aggregate income gains conceal a composition that has neglected mass-consumption goods. - Per capita foodgrain availability fell from 15.5 oz/day in 1955 to 15.3 oz in 1959-60 to 15.4 oz in 1960 despite 17.8 million tons of imports, while cotton cloth in common use rose only 1.4 times against electric lamps 2.9x, radios 5.9x and sewing machines 9.6x. - He attributes the consumer-goods shortfall to a heavy-industries plan-bias, statist controls and the displacement of consumer sovereignty by "statist slogans" of public good. - Section II reframes statism as a structural source of social injustice because arbitrary state allocation is "backed by police powers," and points to the E.E.C. countries and Japan as evidence that growth and social justice come through economic freedom, not state planning. - Section III refutes the Economic Survey 1960-61 thesis that inflation is the inevitable price of growth, citing West Germany (12% growth, 1% inflation), Japan (12.3% growth, 2% inflation) and France/Italy as counter-examples. - Shenoy diagnoses Indian inflation as a consequence of deficit financing (Rs. 450 crores in 1959-60), commercial-bank credit creation, and P. L. 480 counterpart funds — with foreign aid acting as a misleading cushion that may "defer the crash for a while, but not for an indefinite period." - The appendix's 21-item reading list — Hayek (multiple), Mises, Robbins, Roepke, Erhard, Colin Clark, P. T. Bauer, Henry Hazlitt — anchors the polemic in the Mont Pelerin/classical-liberal tradition. --- ## [Primary work] Indian Planning at the Cross-Roads URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/indian-planning-at-the-crossroads-n-dandeker-m-p-nov11-1965/ ### Summary This November 1965 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet bundles three short interventions on the Fourth Five-Year Plan, issued as the Indian economy slid into monetary inflation, a foreign-exchange crunch, and chronic foodgrain shortages. The contributors are N. Dandeker, an M.P. with administrative experience in the I.C.S.; G. L. Mehta, a former Indian Ambassador to the U.S.A., former member of the Planning Commission, and Chairman of the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India; and K. Santhanam, M.P., former Chairman of the Finance Commission, whose piece is reprinted from the Statesman of July 24, 1964. All three reject the Planning Commission's proposed Rs. 21,500-crore Fourth Plan as conceived, but from distinct angles. Dandeker indicts the macro consequences of monetary expansion, the collapse of public utilities, the worsening foreign-exchange position, and "rupee payment trade" as a quack remedy, arguing that "totalitarian" planning has been eroding the Constitution.… ### Body ## Summary This November 1965 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet bundles three short interventions on the Fourth Five-Year Plan, issued as the Indian economy slid into monetary inflation, a foreign-exchange crunch, and chronic foodgrain shortages. The contributors are N. Dandeker, an M.P. with administrative experience in the I.C.S.; G. L. Mehta, a former Indian Ambassador to the U.S.A., former member of the Planning Commission, and Chairman of the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India; and K. Santhanam, M.P., former Chairman of the Finance Commission, whose piece is reprinted from the Statesman of July 24, 1964. All three reject the Planning Commission's proposed Rs. 21,500-crore Fourth Plan as conceived, but from distinct angles. Dandeker indicts the macro consequences of monetary expansion, the collapse of public utilities, the worsening foreign-exchange position, and "rupee payment trade" as a quack remedy, arguing that "totalitarian" planning has been eroding the Constitution. Mehta urges a smaller, more selective Plan, automatic licensing of projects that do not draw on foreign exchange, and scepticism about further public-sector steel plants, petro-chemical complexes, and the Cochin shipyard as Galbraith's "symbolic modernism." Santhanam pleads for a one-year extension of the Third Plan to March 1967, a moratorium on new starts, and self-financing public-sector industries, warning that the assumption that Fourth-Plan outlays must be proportionate to the Third has "become a vested interest." The booklet is framed by sidebar pull-quotes from Eugene Black and A. D. Shroff defending private enterprise as an affirmative good. ## Essays ### I. The Present Economic Situation Demands Re-Thinking on Fourth Plan Strategy & Size *By N. DANDEKER, M.P.* Writing as the inflationary crisis of 1965 deepens, Dandeker diagnoses the Indian economy as "overheated by monetary inflation": money supply rose roughly 43.7 per cent between 1960 and 1964 against a 17.5 per cent rise in national income, the general price level rose 32 per cent between 1952–53 and 1963 and another 25 per cent by July 1965, and foodgrains prices rose 30 per cent in eighteen months. He traces the regressive incidence of this inflation on the industrial worker, the landless rural labourer, the salaried middle class, the peasant farmer, and the small investor whose savings are eroded by direct taxation and "ridiculous small savings schemes." He then catalogues the decay of public utilities — Law and Order, railways, electricity, water, sanitation, education, road transport, communications — and the way corporate taxation, licences, controls and a dead capital market have driven industry into the arms of state financial institutions. On foreign exchange, Dandeker calls the Government a "squanderer" through public-sector mismanagement and dismisses the "rupee payment trade" as a magic-word remedy. He concludes that the Fourth Plan of Rs. 21,500 crores is an "adventurous step," that the totalitarian planning mode of the Second and Third Plans has been "steadily eroding the fundamentals of our Constitution, because the Government had been bending the Constitution to the Plan," and that what India needs is for the Government to plan its own business rather than everyone else's. Without serious re-thinking on the strategy and size of the Plan, he warns, the economy faces a major disaster in which fixed-income groups will suffer worst. - Money supply grew 43.7 per cent between 1960 and 1964 while national income grew only 17.5 per cent, producing structural inflation - Foodgrains prices rose 30 per cent in the eighteen months ending July 1965, with the salaried middle class, peasant farmer and small investor bearing the brunt - Public utilities — railways, electricity, water, sanitation, education, road transport — are in advanced decay; corporate taxation, controls and a dead capital market have starved private industry of finance - "Rupee payment trade" is a magic-word remedy for foreign-exchange mismanagement that in fact worsens the balance of payments - The Rs. 21,500-crore Fourth Plan is an "adventurous step"; the totalitarian mode of planning has been bending the Constitution to the Plan and must be re-thought ### II. A Plea for Realism in Planning *By G. L. MEHTA* Mehta's "plea for realism in planning," delivered originally to the Central Advisory Council of Industries in New Delhi on 13 August 1965, is a senior insider's case for shrinking and refocusing the Fourth Plan rather than scuttling it. He warns that the breast-beating produced by the present crisis should not lead the country to throw out the baby with the bath water; planners must still think long-term even if, as Keynes said, in the long run we shall all be dead. Recalling his own 1959 FICCI speech on "Some Lessons of the Second Plan," Mehta repeats his objection to the "numbers game" — gross magnitudes derived from appeals to fortitude rather than from project-by-project calculation — and complains that the Fourth Plan's headline figure has again been chosen as a "symbol" of hope. He pushes for several concrete shifts: automatic licensing of industrial projects that do not draw on foreign exchange or scarce raw materials; more selective control of capital issues, illustrated by Rajaji's quip about a cure that killed the patient's wife; closer scrutiny of further petro-chemical complexes, additional public-sector steel plants and the long-delayed Cochin shipyard, which he treats as instances of what "Prof. Galbraith would call symbolic modernism"; and a tighter linkage between investment magnitudes and the policy environment for prices, controls and incentives. The Government, he argues, should set free a certain portion of the price system — control by liberalisation — and resist the press's portrayal of price controls as the test of industrial growth. - Rejects both "scuttling of plans" and the "numbers game" approach to fixing Plan size - Proposes automatic licensing of industrial projects that do not require foreign exchange or scarce raw materials - Calls for selective capital-issues control rather than blanket restraint; cites Rajaji on cures killing the patient - Treats further petro-chemical complexes, new public-sector steel plants and the Cochin shipyard as Galbraithian "symbolic modernism" - Argues that physical investment targets must be reconciled with policy decisions on prices, controls and incentives, including selective decontrol ### III. Plan Consolidation to Reduce Strains on Economy *By K. SANTHANAM, M.P.* Santhanam's piece — reprinted with the Editor's permission from the Statesman of 24 July 1964 — argues that Lal Bahadur Shastri's first year in office has stabilised the country and that the immediate task is plan consolidation rather than a fresh round of expansion. He dismisses talk of a "plan holiday" because economic activities are continuing processes, but insists the country is "unable to bear" the strain that the Vice-chairman of the Planning Commission's current course will impose. Echoing Churchill's refusal to liquidate the empire, he hopes the Finance Minister of India will fare better than the Prime Minister of Britain who failed to do likewise. His proposed remedy is a one-year extension of the Third Plan to March 1967 — freeing additional Plan resources, avoiding deferred completion of in-train projects, and delaying the Fourth Plan's start to 1967–68. He sketches a structural reform of the public sector around self-financing: each branch should work to a time limit by which it generates the savings needed for its own expansion, with the steel industry positioned similarly after the fourth public-sector steel plant is operational, and with handloom, khadi, textiles, and even the railways funded through annual budget contributions treated as re-lent for expansion. Triennial rather than annual conferences with the States would free up administrative bandwidth. He also questions whether much of the country's industrial capital investment has become saturated, arguing for studies of capacity utilisation; and he insists that progress means controlling fewer commodities, scrutinising humbug investments in social overheads, and convincing the public that the planners are not hopelessly bound by procedures valid ten years ago. - Rejects a "plan holiday" but urges extending the Third Plan by one year to March 1967, freeing resources for unfinished projects and postponing the Fourth Plan to 1967–68 - Every branch of the public sector should work to a time limit by which it generates the savings needed for its own expansion — including steel, railways, handloom, khadi and textiles - The assumption that Fourth-Plan investment should be roughly proportionate to the Third Plan "for every item" has become a vested interest and threatens to make planning mechanical - Triennial rather than annual planning conferences with the States would reduce wasteful procedure and free bandwidth for implementation - Progress lies in setting free a certain portion of the price system, decontrolling commodities like steel and cement, and pruning humbug investments in social overheads --- ## [Primary work] INDIAN PLANNING —PAST & FUTURE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/indian-planning-past-and-future-sir-biren-mookerjee-dr-n-das-h-t-parekh-june-11-1966/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet gathers three independent essays by prominent Indian voices in industry, economics, and finance, all converging on a single verdict: fifteen years of Five-Year Plans have failed to improve the material condition of the average Indian, and the Fourth Plan must radically reconsider both its diagnosis and its methods. The frontispiece frames the volume's ideological stance with a Eugene Black epigraph insisting that private enterprise be embraced as "an affirmative good" rather than a tolerated evil. Sir Biren Mookerjee's opening essay argues that planning success is impossible without sweeping modernisation — mechanisation, automation, and managerial pragmatism — and lays particular blame on restrictive public-sector licensing and a 'labour monopoly' that prices Indian goods out of world markets. Dr. N. Das (I.C.S. Retd.) furnishes a dense statistical indictment originally published in the Times of India, showing that per-capita income, foodgrain consumption, housing, and employment all registered negligible or negative improvement across the planning period; he marshals Galbraith's consumption criterion, Sukhatme's nutrition studies, and Colin Clark's investment-employment ratio to conclude that planning has failed even on minimum-human-needs criteria. H. T. Parekh, writing as General Manager of ICICI on the eve of the Fourth Plan, reframes the central problem as runaway inflation produced by contradictory fiscal, monetary, and price-control policies — citing the sugar industry as a textbook case of government-industry-farmer collusion — and urges a shift from prestige-driven outlay targets to economical, productivity-oriented resource use. ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet gathers three independent essays by prominent Indian voices in industry, economics, and finance, all converging on a single verdict: fifteen years of Five-Year Plans have failed to improve the material condition of the average Indian, and the Fourth Plan must radically reconsider both its diagnosis and its methods. The frontispiece frames the volume's ideological stance with a Eugene Black epigraph insisting that private enterprise be embraced as "an affirmative good" rather than a tolerated evil. Mookerjee's opening essay argues that planning success is impossible without sweeping modernisation—mechanisation, automation, and managerial pragmatism—and lays particular blame on restrictive public-sector licensing and labour-monopoly policies. Das furnishes a dense statistical indictment, showing that per capita income, diet, housing, and employment all registered negligible or negative improvement across the planning period. Parekh, writing on the eve of the Fourth Plan, reframes the central problem as runaway inflation produced by contradictory fiscal, monetary, and price-control policies, and urges a shift from prestige-driven outlay targets to economical, productivity-oriented resource use. ## Essays ### PLANNING SUCCESS DEPENDS ON MODERNISATION *By SIR BIREN MOOKERJEE* Mookerjee opens with Lewis Carroll's Red Queen parable—India has been running ever faster under its Plans yet finds itself standing under the same tree—and uses this to argue that the real obstacle to planning success is not insufficient outlay but a failure to embrace modernisation. He documents the stagnation of Indian agriculture (70% of workers cannot produce enough to feed themselves and the remaining 30%) against New Zealand's example where mechanised farming supports 96 people per agricultural worker. He extends the argument to industry: automation and computers are no longer optional, and the fear that they cause unemployment is contradicted by the experience of expanding economies in the USA, Europe, Japan, and the USSR. The deeper problem, he argues, is a "labour monopoly" that raises production costs, prices Indian goods out of world markets, and forces the taxpayer to subsidise export gaps. He concludes with a pointed warning that if government policy of appeasing labour monopoly continues, it will, like Frankenstein's monster, turn on its own creator. - Uses the Lewis Carroll Red Queen allegory to argue India has made no real progress despite fifteen years of planning effort. - Contrasts Indian agricultural productivity (70% of workers cannot feed the country) with New Zealand (one farmer feeds 96 people on average). - Argues automation and mechanisation are essential and that fears of resultant unemployment are not borne out in any expanding economy. - Identifies 'labour monopoly' and government appeasement of trade unions as the primary cause of rising production costs and loss of export competitiveness. - Calls for a change in government and trade-union attitudes toward technical modernisation as a prerequisite for any planning success. ### POOR PERFORMANCE OF 15 YEARS OF PLANNING IN INDIA *By DR. N. DAS, I.C.S. (Retd.)* Das offers a meticulous data-driven assessment of fifteen years of Indian planning, originally published in the Times of India (February 24, 1966). While acknowledging macro-level gains—national income up 68.7%, the industrial production index rising from 73 to 174.8, and reduced import dependence in key industries—he argues these aggregate figures mask a deeply disappointing human reality. Per capita income at constant prices rose by only Rs.66.9 over fifteen years. Diet surveys show no appreciable quantitative improvement in foodgrain consumption: the daily per capita figure moved from 16.88 oz in 1935–48 to 16.98 oz in 1955–58, and by 1964 had actually fallen below pre-war levels. The housing shortage more than tripled. Unemployment backlogs grew from 4.1 million to an estimated 12 million by the end of the Third Plan, with underemployment pushing the figure to 32 million. Drawing on Galbraith's consumption criterion, Sukhatme's nutrition studies, USAID findings, and Colin Clark's investment-employment ratio, Das concludes that planning has failed to achieve even minimum human needs for food, clothing, and shelter, and calls for a fundamental reappraisal of planning strategy. - National income rose 68.7% in constant prices, 1950–65, but 41.7% of that gain was neutralised by population growth, leaving only about 27% available as per capita increase. - Per capita daily foodgrain availability actually declined from 16.4 oz in 1961 to 15.7 oz in 1964—lower than in the pre-war period 1935–48. - Housing shortage grew from 1.6 million units in 1951 to 5.6 million in 1961, with overcrowding and sanitation conditions essentially unchanged. - Unemployment backlog rose from 4.1 million at the start of the First Plan to 8 million in 1960–61 and an estimated 12 million at the end of the Third Plan; adding underemployed, the figure reaches 32 million. - Applies Galbraith's consumption criterion and Sukhatme's nutrition data to show that the average Indian's diet is only three-quarters of the index for poor countries (excluding India), and that 250 million Indians are undernourished or malnourished. ### PROBLEMS OF THE FOURTH PLAN *By H. T. PAREKH* Parekh addresses the challenge of the Fourth Plan from his vantage point as General Manager of the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India. His central argument is that plan size and resource availability are not the real problems; the crux is the rising cost of living and runaway inflation. He traces the inflationary spiral to a contradictory combination: governments at both central and state levels add to indirect taxes, businesses pass costs on through higher prices, and even price controls paradoxically help industry recoup costs with government backing. The sugar industry is cited as a classic case of government-industry-farmer collusion exploiting the consumer. On agriculture, Parekh welcomes the lesson of the 1965 national emergency—it dispelled complacency about foreign aid and directed attention to genuine self-reliance—and is optimistic that with adequate inputs, agricultural self-sufficiency within five years is achievable. The essay is cut off at printed page 18 (PDF page 20), mid-argument on monetary policy and the limits of credit-squeeze approaches. - Argues that plan outlay size is a misleading metric: each successive plan left more intractable problems than it solved. - Identifies the rising cost of living and inflation as the central challenge for the Fourth Plan, overriding concerns about resource availability. - Critiques the sugar-control system as a textbook case of government, industry, and farmers jointly exploiting the consumer over twenty years. - Welcomes the 1965 withdrawal of US aid as a catalyst for genuine self-reliance and welcomes remunerative foodgrain prices as a stimulus to production. - Argues that the credit squeeze has disproportionately damaged small traders and entrepreneurs who rely on indigenous (informal) bankers charging 15–20% interest, not the organised banking system. --- ## [Primary work] INDIAN SHIPPING URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/indian-shipping-m-a-master-sept6-1959/ ### Summary M. A. Master's 1959 lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 23 July 1959 and published as a booklet, is a polemical history of Indian shipping mounted in direct response to Jawaharlal Nehru's pronouncements that the public sector would be the 'basic, strategic, important and advancing sector' of the economy. Master argues that the expansion of the State Trading Corporation and the proposed decentralisation of private enterprise are a betrayal of Mahatma Gandhi's teaching that economic and political power must not concentrate in the hands of the State, and an injustice to an industry that had been built, sustained and brought to its present strength almost entirely by private Indian initiative under extraordinarily hostile conditions. The bulk of the booklet retells the struggle of Indian shipowners against organised British shipping interests during the colonial period.… ### Body ## Summary M. A. Master's 1959 lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 23 July 1959 and published as a booklet, is a polemical history of Indian shipping mounted in direct response to Jawaharlal Nehru's pronouncements that the public sector would be the 'basic, strategic, important and advancing sector' of the economy. Master argues that the expansion of the State Trading Corporation and the proposed decentralisation of private enterprise are a betrayal of Mahatma Gandhi's teaching that economic and political power must not concentrate in the hands of the State, and an injustice to an industry that had been built, sustained and brought to its present strength almost entirely by private Indian initiative under extraordinarily hostile conditions. The bulk of the booklet retells the struggle of Indian shipowners against organised British shipping interests during the colonial period. Master traces the destruction of the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company under Chidambaram Pillai, the freight wars waged by the P & O Group against the Scindia Steam Navigation Company under Narottam Morarjee and Walchand Hirachand, and the techniques by which British lines used cargo boycotts, predatory pricing and political pressure to keep Indian ships from carrying any cargo at all. He recounts how Lord Inchcape tried to buy up Scindia outright, the rate-wars of 1933 forced by the renewal of the National Shipping Industry Agreement, and the legislative battles — Haji's Bill for coastal reservation, the Mercantile Marine Committee, the training ship Dufferin, the Bengal Pilot Service — through which Indian legislators and shipowners painstakingly built a national merchant navy from nothing. Master then carries the story into the early independence period: the failure of the 1947 London negotiations with British shipowners, the inauguration of the India/U.K.-Continental Line and the India–America route in 1947–48, the founding of new lines (Bharat Line, India Steamship Line) and the acquisition of 73 ships by private enterprise between 1946 and 1948. He notes that of Rs. 63.25 crores invested in shipping by the end of the First Plan period, private enterprise raised Rs. 40.72 crores from its own resources while the public-sector Shipping Corporation contributed Rs. 5.14 crores raised from no internal resources at all. The rhetorical purpose is consistent: to convince readers that private enterprise has already 'achieved' what State capitalism is now claiming to deliver, and that any further encroachment on the field will, in Nehru's own commerce minister C. H. Bhabha's earlier words, make 'the growth and development of our mercantile marine disappointingly slow.' The booklet closes with an explicit appeal that private enterprise 'deserves better appreciation, greater recognition and is entitled to all possible encouragement' in building up a merchant navy for a great maritime country. ## Key points - Frames the lecture as a response to Nehru's 1959 statements that the public sector will be 'the basic, strategic, important and advancing sector,' arguing this contradicts Gandhi's view that State power must not be concentrated. - Retells the destruction of the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company under Chidambaram Pillai and quotes Gandhi: 'Indian shipping had to perish so that British shipping might flourish.' - Documents British shipping techniques — denial of cargo, freight-wars, political pressure — used to drive Indian lines out of even their own coastal waters, citing the testimony of Sir Alfred Watson before the Joint Select Committee of Parliament. - Centres the narrative on the Scindia Steam Navigation Company, Narottam Morarjee and Walchand Hirachand, including Lord Inchcape's failed 1923 attempt to buy out the line and the rate-war following the 1933 National Shipping Industry Agreement. - Treats the Mercantile Marine Committee, the training ship Dufferin, and the Indianisation of the Bengal Pilot Service and wireless operator cadre as achievements of Indian legislators and private enterprise, not the colonial government. - Records the foundation of the Visakhapatnam Shipbuilding Yard by Walchand in 1941 (foundation-stone laid by Rajendra Prasad) and its withering once 'private enterprise even on its own initiative' had no effective Government support. - Surveys post-independence developments — the failed 1947 London negotiations, the inauguration of the India/U.K.-Continental Line on 3 February 1948, the India–America Line, and the acquisition of 73 ships by private enterprise between 1946 and 1948. - Marshals fiscal data to argue that of Rs. 63.25 crores invested in shipping by the end of the First Plan period private enterprise raised Rs. 40.72 crores from its own resources, while public-sector Shipping Corporation contributed Rs. 5.14 crores from no internal resources. - Argues that the new 1956 policy of reserving 'a sufficiently large number of these ships' for the public sector is unjust given private enterprise's record, echoing C. H. Bhabha's 1947 warning that ignoring private enterprise would make mercantile-marine development 'disappointingly slow.' --- ## [Primary work] INDIA'S FOOD PROBLEM URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/indias-food-problem-b-r-shenoy-december-1973/ ### Summary Delivered on 30th October 1973 as the Eighth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, B. R. Shenoy's lecture argues that India's January 1972 decision to forego PL 480 and other concessional foodgrain imports was a debacle on par with the 1962 military reverses on the northern frontier. He reconstructs how three years of good harvests, a wheat break-through and an 8.1-million-tonne stock cushion bred a misplaced optimism that collapsed when the 1971-72 harvest failed, procurement fell, public-distribution offtake rose and Bangladesh's food crisis forced a 909,000-tonne export — leaving closing stocks at the end of 1972 at just 3.4 million tonnes. Shenoy then sets out the 1973 arithmetic — a roughly 13.2-million-tonne offtake against an 11.7-million-tonne supply — to show that imports of 8.9 million tonnes are unavoidable if reserves are to be kept intact, yet balance-of-payments weakness makes commercial purchases impossible.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered on 30th October 1973 as the Eighth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, B. R. Shenoy's lecture argues that India's January 1972 decision to forego PL 480 and other concessional foodgrain imports was a debacle on par with the 1962 military reverses on the northern frontier. He reconstructs how three years of good harvests, a wheat break-through and an 8.1-million-tonne stock cushion bred a misplaced optimism that collapsed when the 1971-72 harvest failed, procurement fell, public-distribution offtake rose and Bangladesh's food crisis forced a 909,000-tonne export — leaving closing stocks at the end of 1972 at just 3.4 million tonnes. Shenoy then sets out the 1973 arithmetic — a roughly 13.2-million-tonne offtake against an 11.7-million-tonne supply — to show that imports of 8.9 million tonnes are unavoidable if reserves are to be kept intact, yet balance-of-payments weakness makes commercial purchases impossible. He treats the Soviet loan of two million tonnes as itself a concessional import, and reads the episode as proof that India's two-decade reliance on imports is structural, that per capita consumption sits below the nutritional norm and that domestic 'buffer' procurement is mere pipe-line stock — what Rajagopalachari called transferring blood from the right arm to the left. The positive programme is twofold: zero-inflation budgets (since inflation is a monetary phenomenon that cannot be cured by lathi charges, raids on grocers or price-control edicts) and the urgent revival of PL 480 and other concessional imports while the green revolution matures. Shenoy closes the rendered portion with a survey of the scope for expanding production — citing the Mysore survey, ICAR's J. S. Kanwar on HYV-plus-fertiliser yield gains, and Nehru's 1948 call for self-sufficiency — arguing that even a six per cent rise in output would wipe out the market deficit and turn India into a foodgrain exporter. ## Key points - Frames the January 1972 decision to end PL 480 and other concessional imports as a self-inflicted debacle 'perhaps even more so than the military reverses on our northern frontiers in 1962.' - Reconstructs the slide from a 1970-71 peak output of 108 million tonnes and 8.1-million-tonne stocks to a 3.4-million-tonne closing stock at end-1972, driven by a bad 1971-72 harvest, falling procurement, rising offtake and 909,000 tonnes exported to Bangladesh. - Computes the 1973 supply gap: against an offtake projected at 13.2 million tonnes, total availability is 11.7 million tonnes, leaving imports of 8.9 million tonnes necessary to keep reserves intact. - Argues that balance-of-payments weakness — continuous IMF indebtedness since 1948 and sharply higher world wheat prices — makes commercial purchases impossible, so the USSR's two-million-tonne loan is itself a concessional import. - Dismisses domestically-built 'buffer' stocks as a mere transfer of pipe-line inventory, quoting Rajagopalachari's image of transferring blood from the right arm to the left. - Diagnoses inflation as a monetary phenomenon and prescribes zero-inflation budgets in the hands of the Minister of Finance, rejecting lathi charges, raids on grocers and price-control edicts as remedies for hoarding. - Documents a chronic nutritional deficit — 1972 cereals shortfall of 16.65 million tonnes (20.3 per cent of domestic production) and a 52.8 per cent deficit in pulses — to argue that imports are a high-priority social obligation, not an embarrassment. - Maps the scope for expanding output by citing India's low per-hectare yields against world averages, the Mysore survey on better seeds and rotation, and ICAR's J. S. Kanwar on controlled fertiliser dosages with HYV seeds. --- ## [Primary work] India's Balance of Payments Problem URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/indias-balance-of-payments-problem-by-jiban-k-mukhopadhyay-july-14-1989/ ### Summary Jiban K. Mukhopadhyay, an economist at Tata Services Ltd., offers a measured diagnosis of India's persistent balance of payments (BOP) difficulty as of mid-1989. He argues that the strain on the external sector is not a fresh crisis but the cumulative product of nearly four decades of an inward-looking trade regime built around import substitution, soft concessional borrowing, and a residual treatment of exports inside the Five Year Plans. Cheap multilateral finance from the World Bank's IDA window, he writes, made India complacent in the 1960s — the decade when world demand would have rewarded a serious export drive — and the country "missed the bus". The central comparative move in the booklet contrasts India's stagnating share of world exports (around 0.5 per cent through the late 1970s and 1980s) with the export-led ascent of the "Four Tigers" and China.… ### Body ## Summary Jiban K. Mukhopadhyay, an economist at Tata Services Ltd., offers a measured diagnosis of India's persistent balance of payments (BOP) difficulty as of mid-1989. He argues that the strain on the external sector is not a fresh crisis but the cumulative product of nearly four decades of an inward-looking trade regime built around import substitution, soft concessional borrowing, and a residual treatment of exports inside the Five Year Plans. Cheap multilateral finance from the World Bank's IDA window, he writes, made India complacent in the 1960s — the decade when world demand would have rewarded a serious export drive — and the country "missed the bus". The central comparative move in the booklet contrasts India's stagnating share of world exports (around 0.5 per cent through the late 1970s and 1980s) with the export-led ascent of the "Four Tigers" and China. Mukhopadhyay is careful, however, not to prescribe an export-led growth model wholesale for "a vast poor and unemployment ridden country like India"; following the Abid Hussain Committee (1985) he urges instead that export growth must progressively supplement national economic growth, with production for export treated as an integral part of domestic production rather than a residual. He then surveys the "pragmatic liberalisation" that began with the 1975-76 import policy and accelerated through the import policies of 1985-88 and 1988-91, alongside a multifaceted export-promotion package (CCS, Duty Drawback, MODVAT, 80 HHC income-tax exemption, eased export credit, and a steady downward adjustment of the rupee). The recent BOP picture, in his reading, is "difficult, but not critical": exports grew about 23 per cent annually over three years to 1988-89, the export-to-import ratio improved from 55 per cent to 73 per cent, and reserves cover three months of imports. Risks remain — fragile invisibles, NRI deposits that are technically repatriable liabilities, a debt-service ratio that climbed to roughly 26 per cent, and protectionist headwinds from the US's "Super 301" naming of India and the prospect of a "Fortress Europe" by 1992 — but he concludes that an external debt-trap is not in close sight provided India does not relapse into over-consumption of foreign exchange on projects that do not earn it back. ## Key points - Frames India's BOP strain as a chronic, structural problem rooted in four decades of inward-looking trade policy, not a sudden crisis. - Argues that cheap IDA concessional finance (US$24bn cumulative 1951-52 to 1986-87, 58% from IDA since 1961) bred export complacency, especially during the high-growth 1960s when 'we missed the bus'. - Documents India's collapsing share of world exports — from nearly 3% in 1938 to 1.1% in 1960, 0.7% in 1970, and stagnant below 0.5% through the 1980s — against the Four Tigers' rise from 2% to 7.2% and China's surge from 0.7% to 1.6% of world exports. - Rejects a wholesale export-led growth model for a labour-surplus India but, citing the Abid Hussain Committee, endorses growth-led exports in which export production is integral to domestic production. - Tracks the gradual liberalisation of import policy from 1975-76 through the 1988-91 policy, framing it as procedural de-bottlenecking rather than genuine liberalisation, since consumer goods remain banned and a mean nominal tariff above 120% persists. - Inventories the post-1985 export-promotion package: action plans on 14 thrust commodities, CCS and Duty Drawback extensions, MODVAT, 100% Section 80 HHC profit exemption, concessional customs duty for export thrust industries, and a steady downward rupee adjustment. - Reads current BOP indicators as encouraging — exports up ~23% annually in rupee terms, export-to-import ratio rising 55%→73% (1985-86 to 1988-89), trade deficit barely growing in dollar terms — while flagging that invisibles cover only 36% of the trade deficit versus 72% in 1980-81. - Warns that NRI deposits (Rs.13,000 crores by end-1988) cushion reserves but remain repatriable liabilities, the debt-service ratio has climbed to ~26%, and protectionist threats (US 'Super 301', 'Fortress Europe' by 1992) demand further liberalisation to lift export competitiveness. --- ## [Primary work] INDIA'S EXTERNAL SECTOR — AGENDA FOR REFORMS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/indias-external-sector-agenda-for-reforms-mr-s-s-tarapore-april-27-1999/ ### Summary S. S. Tarapore — economist, former Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor, and chairman of the RBI Committee on Capital Account Convertibility — delivers the 1998 A. D. Shroff Annual Public Lecture (read on 7 April 1999) on the reform of India's external sector. After a personal tribute to Shroff and to Nani Palkhivala, who invited him to speak, Tarapore frames the external sector as 'in a sense, the true success story of Indian economic reforms' since 1991, citing the climb from under $1 billion in foreign currency assets in July 1991 to over $27 billion at the time of the lecture, the fall in external debt from 41 per cent of GDP in 1991-92 to 24 per cent in 1997-98, and the collapse of the debt service ratio from 35.3 to 19.5 per cent over the same period. He nonetheless flags a measurement gap: India's external debt is reported on a contracted-maturity rather than a residual-maturity basis, which understates short-term liabilities. The second section turns to the South East Asian currency crisis. Tarapore argues that India is 'learning precisely the wrong lessons' — drawing comfort from its own controls instead of confronting the deeper causes of the Asian collapse.… ### Body ## Summary S. S. Tarapore — economist, former Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor, and chairman of the RBI Committee on Capital Account Convertibility — delivers the 1998 A. D. Shroff Annual Public Lecture (read on 7 April 1999) on the reform of India's external sector. After a personal tribute to Shroff and to Nani Palkhivala, who invited him to speak, Tarapore frames the external sector as 'in a sense, the true success story of Indian economic reforms' since 1991, citing the climb from under $1 billion in foreign currency assets in July 1991 to over $27 billion at the time of the lecture, the fall in external debt from 41 per cent of GDP in 1991-92 to 24 per cent in 1997-98, and the collapse of the debt service ratio from 35.3 to 19.5 per cent over the same period. He nonetheless flags a measurement gap: India's external debt is reported on a contracted-maturity rather than a residual-maturity basis, which understates short-term liabilities. The second section turns to the South East Asian currency crisis. Tarapore argues that India is 'learning precisely the wrong lessons' — drawing comfort from its own controls instead of confronting the deeper causes of the Asian collapse. Drawing on Y. C. Richard Wong's Cato Institute lecture of October 1998, he attributes the crisis to opaque banking, defended exchange-rate pegs, currency and maturity mismatches, and weak prudential supervision rather than to capital account convertibility as such. He also pushes back on the post-crisis fashion among 'renowned experts' who he believes have given respectability to capital controls and to a low-interest-rate, fiscal-expansion response that, applied to India, would 'be a sure way of ensuring a severe external payments crisis in 24-36 months'. The third section, on the sequencing of financial liberalisation, situates Tarapore's view inside the academic literature — invoking John Williamson and Molly Mahar's 1998 Princeton survey, Joseph Stiglitz on continued interest-rate controls, Jeffrey Frankel's ICRIER lecture on the theory of the second best, and Rudiger Dornbusch's dictum that 'capital controls are an idea whose time is past'. He concedes that liberalisation must follow a sequence — prudential norms first, then financial-sector reform, then capital-account opening, with trade reform as the indispensable real-sector precondition and inflows liberalised before outflows — but insists that 'caution on proper sequencing of reform is not an advocacy of total paralysis'. He warns specifically against ad hoc suspension of convertibility as a response to outflow pressure, calling such episodes of 'slamming on' controls 'just about the worst kind of system'. The rendered pages end inside the opening of the 'Agenda for External Sector Reforms' section, where Tarapore (echoing Stiglitz's phrase) urges India not to 'slide in its external sector reforms from gradualism to zeroism' and begins his concrete twelve-month agenda: a stable foreign-investment regime, removal of bureaucratic redtape, and — under the sub-heading 'Foreign Institutional Investors' — unfettered FII access to the forward exchange market, dematerialisation of debt and equity, and an end to 'moral' distinctions between 'good' and 'bad' capital flows. The remaining thirteen pages of the booklet, not in this chunk, presumably carry the rest of the agenda and any concluding remarks. ## Key points - External sector reform is presented as the most successful strand of India's post-1991 liberalisation: foreign currency assets up from under $1 billion (July 1991) to over $27 billion; external debt down from 41% of GDP (1991-92) to 24% (1997-98); debt service ratio down from 35.3% to 19.5%. - Reported external-debt figures understate short-term exposure because they use contracted rather than residual maturity; letters-of-credit-based trade credit is excluded. - Tarapore rejects the popular Indian reading of the South East Asian crisis as a verdict against capital-account convertibility; the real causes were opaque banking, defended exchange-rate pegs, currency and maturity mismatches, and weak prudential supervision. - He warns that the post-crisis vogue of low interest rates plus fiscal expansion would, if imported into India, trigger 'a severe external payments crisis in 24-36 months'. - Sequencing matters: trade reform first, then prudential norms and domestic financial-sector reform, then capital-account liberalisation, with inflows liberalised before outflows; but caution must not become paralysis. - Ad hoc suspension of convertibility in response to outflow pressure is 'just about the worst kind of system' because investors pre-empt it with capital flight. - The immediate twelve-month agenda begins with stabilising the foreign-investment policy framework, removing redtape, granting FIIs unfettered access to the forward exchange market, completing dematerialisation in debt and equity segments, and abandoning 'moral' distinctions between FDI and portfolio flows. - He explicitly cites Stiglitz's phrase to argue that India must not let recent events push it 'from gradualism to zeroism' in external-sector reform. --- ## [Primary work] India's Jobless Growth URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/indias-jobless-growth-dr-s-d-naik/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet is Dr. S. D. Naik's diagnosis of India's "jobless growth" — economic expansion that fails to produce enough formal jobs. After Sunil S. Bhandare's editorial framing (printed pages 3–6), Naik's essay "What needs to be done to tackle it?" opens by defining jobless growth and pointing to a contradiction: India grows at 7–7.5% per year while creating only 4 to 4.5 million jobs against an annual labour-force addition of roughly 12 million. He attributes this paradox to India's failure to build a labour-intensive manufacturing sector along Chinese lines and to the dominance of services, which now employ 30 per cent of the working-age population. Drawing on Labour Bureau, CMIE and McKinsey Global Institute data, Naik shows that 93 per cent of employment sits in the unorganised sector, that rural wages are at a decade low, and that underemployment runs at 35 per cent. He traces a collapse in India's employment elasticity from 0.44 in 1999–2005 to roughly 0.01, well below the 0.3 global average for 2000–2010.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet is Dr. S. D. Naik's diagnosis of India's "jobless growth" — economic expansion that fails to produce enough formal jobs. After Sunil S. Bhandare's editorial framing (printed pages 3–6), Naik's essay "What needs to be done to tackle it?" opens by defining jobless growth and pointing to a contradiction: India grows at 7–7.5% per year while creating only 4 to 4.5 million jobs against an annual labour-force addition of roughly 12 million. He attributes this paradox to India's failure to build a labour-intensive manufacturing sector along Chinese lines and to the dominance of services, which now employ 30 per cent of the working-age population. Drawing on Labour Bureau, CMIE and McKinsey Global Institute data, Naik shows that 93 per cent of employment sits in the unorganised sector, that rural wages are at a decade low, and that underemployment runs at 35 per cent. He traces a collapse in India's employment elasticity from 0.44 in 1999–2005 to roughly 0.01, well below the 0.3 global average for 2000–2010. He treats the Make in India target of 100 million new jobs by 2022 as already failed, with $117.35 billion of sanctioned investments scrapped in FY 2017–18, and uses recruitment surges — 25 million applications for fewer than 90,000 Railway posts; 200,000 applications for 1,167 Mumbai constable jobs — as evidence of the formal market's exhaustion. Naik then identifies the ideological culprits. India's roughly 200 labour laws, including the Industrial Disputes Act and the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act of 1946, require government permission for retrenchment or even reassignment in firms with 100+ workers; these protect just 7 per cent of the workforce while preventing labour-intensive production and leaving Vietnam, Bangladesh and Cambodia to absorb the low-end manufacturing share China has vacated. He further faults the inverted duty structure — 10 per cent on raw materials, duty-free finished apparel — and the shocks of demonetisation and a poorly implemented GST, which together shed up to 1.5 million informal textile jobs and shuttered Bhiwandi's power-loom cluster. The rendered pages close at the first item of Naik's eight-point reform agenda: scrapping rigid labour laws. ## Key points - India's economy grows at 7–7.5% per year but creates only 4 to 4.5 million jobs against roughly 12 million annual additions to the labour force — the central 'jobless growth' paradox the booklet investigates. - 93 per cent of total employment lies in the unorganised sector with no formal monthly payment or social security; rural wages are at a decade low while agriculture employs about 45% of the population yet contributes only ~15% of GDP. - Employment elasticity collapsed from 0.44 in 1999–2000 to 2004–05 to about 0.01 by the late 2010s, well below the 0.3 global average for 2000–2010 — each unit of GDP growth now generates almost no jobs. - McKinsey Global Institute analysis shows 4.75 million people entered India's labour market every year between 2012 and 2015 while the economy generated only about seven million jobs in the entire four-year period. - Make in India's target of raising manufacturing to 25% of GDP and creating 100 million new jobs by 2022 has failed; sanctioned investments worth $117.35 billion were scrapped in FY 2017–18 alone. - India's roughly 200 labour laws — particularly the Industrial Disputes Act and the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 — protect just 7% of the workforce while making labour-intensive production unviable for the other 93%. - The inverted duty structure (10% duty on raw materials versus duty-free imports of finished apparel and electronics) blocks India from capturing the low-end manufacturing share China has vacated, which has flowed instead to Vietnam, Bangladesh and Cambodia. - Demonetisation in 2016 and a poorly implemented GST in 2017 disproportionately hurt the cash-dependent informal sector — the textile industry alone shed up to 1.5 million informal jobs and the Bhiwandi power-loom cluster near Mumbai shut down. --- ## [Primary work] Indian Thought Through the Ages URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/indian-thought-through-the-ages-a-study-of-some-dominant-concepts/ ### Summary In the rendered pages — the front matter plus the opening of Chapter One — B. G. Gokhale frames *Indian Thought Through the Ages* (1961) as a historian's attempt to trace nine 'dominant concepts' that have shaped Indian thinking across the centuries, rather than a conventional political history or a survey of Indian philosophy. The preface (printed pp. vii–viii) sets out the scheme: a chapter on the Indian view of history, then chapters on the three classical aims of life (Dharma, Artha, Kama), on Karma and Punarjanma and Samsara, on authority and freedom, on war and non-violence, and a closing essay on 'Man Perfected' (Uttamapurusha).… ### Body # Indian Thought Through the Ages *By B. G. GOKHALE, M.A., PH.D.* ## Summary In the rendered pages — the front matter plus the opening of Chapter One — B. G. Gokhale frames *Indian Thought Through the Ages* (1961) as a historian's attempt to trace nine 'dominant concepts' that have shaped Indian thinking across the centuries, rather than a conventional political history or a survey of Indian philosophy. The preface (printed pp. vii–viii) sets out the scheme: a chapter on the Indian view of history, then chapters on the three classical aims of life (Dharma, Artha, Kama), on Karma and Punarjanma and Samsara, on authority and freedom, on war and non-violence, and a closing essay on 'Man Perfected' (Uttamapurusha). Gokhale stresses that he treats these not as metaphysical abstractions but as 'living and changing ideas' that influenced ordinary lives, and he flags the questions that animate the book — among them whether Indian 'spirituality' explains economic backwardness, and the economic and political implications of caste enshrined in the concept of Dharma. Chapter One ('Thus It Has Been: The Indian View of History'), the only body chapter visible in the rendered pages, argues that ideas — not merely material conditions — are the threads that bind societies and drive historical action, drawing on Goethe, Napoleon, Collingwood, the Buddhist Dhammapada, and repeatedly on Ludwig von Mises. Gokhale then confronts a difficulty: ancient India, for all its scientific achievement, produced almost no critical historiography, with the Puranas offering genealogy rather than history and only Kalhana's Rajatarangini approaching a critical historian's standard. In the rendered pages the chapter is building toward an account of why historical awareness was weak in a civilisation otherwise rich in mathematics, astronomy and engineering. ## Key points - In the rendered pages the book is framed as a historian's study of nine 'dominant concepts' in Indian thought, not a political history or a philosophy survey. - The preface lays out the nine concept-chapters: the Indian view of history; Dharma, Artha, Kama; Karma/Punarjanma; Samsara; authority and freedom; war and non-violence; and 'Man Perfected'. - Gokhale insists on treating these concepts as living ideas shaping real lives, and raises whether Indian 'spirituality' and caste-as-Dharma bear on economic backwardness. - Chapter One argues that ideas, not material conditions alone, are the binding threads of society and the engine of historical action. - It leans heavily on Ludwig von Mises's view of history as the study of human value-judgements and action, alongside Goethe, Napoleon and Collingwood. - It contends ancient India produced little critical historiography — the Puranas give genealogy, not history — with only Kalhana's Rajatarangini approaching critical standards. - The scanned copy carries Central Archaeological Library, New Delhi accession stamps (acc. dated 31/5/61). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Industrial Finance and Investment in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/industrial-finance-and-investment-in-india-a-d-shroff-october-5-1961/ ### Summary A. D. Shroff's pamphlet, issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise in October 1961, is a two-part primer on how Indian industry raises long-term capital and on how the resulting securities are bought and sold. Part I walks the reader through the architecture of industrial finance: capital expenditure versus working capital, the gatekeeping role of the Controller of Capital Issues, and the distinct functions of equity, cumulative preference, debenture and (now-abolished) deferred capital. Shroff uses the Tata Iron and Steel Company's Rs.30 deferred shares — which rose to Rs.1,600 during the First World War — to illustrate both the upside and the speculative dangers of that vanished instrument. He notes that India lacks the issue houses and underwriting firms of Western markets, surveys the recent founding of ICICI (1955) as a partial remedy, and singles out Section 23-A(1) of the income-tax law as a perverse statute that punishes medium- and small-scale industries by forcing them to distribute 50% of profits and so prevents the very capital formation the country needs. Part II turns to investment as an art rather than a science.… ### Body ## Summary A. D. Shroff's pamphlet, issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise in October 1961, is a two-part primer on how Indian industry raises long-term capital and on how the resulting securities are bought and sold. Part I walks the reader through the architecture of industrial finance: capital expenditure versus working capital, the gatekeeping role of the Controller of Capital Issues, and the distinct functions of equity, cumulative preference, debenture and (now-abolished) deferred capital. Shroff uses the Tata Iron and Steel Company's Rs.30 deferred shares — which rose to Rs.1,600 during the First World War — to illustrate both the upside and the speculative dangers of that vanished instrument. He notes that India lacks the issue houses and underwriting firms of Western markets, surveys the recent founding of ICICI (1955) as a partial remedy, and singles out Section 23-A(1) of the income-tax law as a perverse statute that punishes medium- and small-scale industries by forcing them to distribute 50% of profits and so prevents the very capital formation the country needs. Part II turns to investment as an art rather than a science. Drawing on a thirty-seven-year career as a stockbroker, Shroff defends speculation as the legitimate practice of "taking a view" — the same activity that every industrialist performs — and distinguishes it from gambling, which begins only when a man trades beyond his capacity to support. He sharply rebukes the Prime Minister's remark that stock exchanges should be abolished, arguing that in any non-communist economy they remain indispensable for the liquidity and mobility of capital. The pamphlet closes with an extended case for introducing Mutual Funds (Unit Trusts) to India, citing the explosive growth of these vehicles in the U.S. and U.K. as evidence that they can mobilise small and medium savings, foster the saving habit, and channel a continuous flow of capital into industrial expansion — a model he urges Delhi's short-sighted tax-gatherers to embrace rather than resist. ## Key points - Industrial finance divides into capital expenditure and working capital; under Indian law no company can be floated without the Controller of Capital Issues being satisfied that the capital determined is sufficient. - Shroff surveys the spectrum of instruments — equity, cumulative preference, debentures, and the now-abolished deferred capital — illustrating speculative excess with Tata Iron and Steel's Rs.30 deferred shares that rose to Rs.1,600 during the First World War. - India lacks the Issue Houses and Underwriting Firms common in Western countries; the 1955 founding of ICICI (with 10% American, 20% British and 70% Indian capital plus a Rs.7.5-crore interest-free Government deposit) was a partial remedy that has helped sugar, paper and engineering ventures get off the ground. - Section 23-A(1) of the income-tax law is described as obnoxious because it forces closely-held companies to distribute 50% of profits, suffocating the medium and small-scale industries that should be ploughing earnings back. - Shroff defends the stock exchange and rebukes Nehru's remark that exchanges should be abolished, arguing that liquidity of capital is indispensable to a non-communist economy. - Speculation is reframed as the legitimate act of "taking a view" — the same thing every industrialist does — and is distinguished from gambling, which begins only when one trades beyond capacity. - Investment is an art, not a science: two simple lessons from a 37-year career are that profit taken is never lost and that learning to cut one's losses is the harder discipline. - Shroff makes an extended case for introducing Mutual Funds / Unit Trusts to India on the U.S. and U.K. model, as a mechanism to mobilise small savings and provide a continuous pipeline of capital for industrial expansion. --- ## [Primary work] INDUSTRIAL FINANCE IN A MIXED ECONOMY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/industrial-finance-in-a-mixed-economy-mr-g-l-mehta-april-14-1972/ ### Summary "Industrial Finance in a Mixed Economy" is the inaugural A. D. Shroff Memorial Address, delivered by G. L. Mehta in Bombay on 14 March 1972 and published the following month by the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust under N. A. Palkhivala's chairmanship. Mehta — then Special Adviser to ICICI and its former Chairman — opens with a personal tribute to Shroff, his contemporary at Elphinstone College and the London School of Economics, recalling Shroff's role in the Bretton Woods delegation of 1944 (led by Sir Jeremy Raisman, with Chintaman Deshmukh and Shanmukham Chetty), the 1953 Reserve Bank enquiry into private-industry finance, the Bombay Plan and the founding Steering Committee of ICICI. The substantive lecture takes the "mixed economy" as a settled Indian policy — reaffirmed in the Prime Minister's election speeches the previous year — and asks how industrial finance must be organised within it.… ### Body ## Summary "Industrial Finance in a Mixed Economy" is the inaugural A. D. Shroff Memorial Address, delivered by G. L. Mehta in Bombay on 14 March 1972 and published the following month by the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust under N. A. Palkhivala's chairmanship. Mehta — then Special Adviser to ICICI and its former Chairman — opens with a personal tribute to Shroff, his contemporary at Elphinstone College and the London School of Economics, recalling Shroff's role in the Bretton Woods delegation of 1944 (led by Sir Jeremy Raisman, with Chintaman Deshmukh and Shanmukham Chetty), the 1953 Reserve Bank enquiry into private-industry finance, the Bombay Plan and the founding Steering Committee of ICICI. The substantive lecture takes the "mixed economy" as a settled Indian policy — reaffirmed in the Prime Minister's election speeches the previous year — and asks how industrial finance must be organised within it. Mehta cites Twentieth Century Socialism to the effect that even a socialist economy needs a private sector because socialists value individual freedom, and then surveys the institutional architecture India has built since independence: the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) at the apex, modelled on a Canadian precedent and constituted as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank; the IFCI and ICICI at the all-India level; State Finance Corporations and State Industrial Development Corporations at the state level, with SICOM as a Maharashtra pioneer in spreading industry beyond the Bombay–Poona belt; the NSIC and Reserve Bank guarantee schemes for small industry; and the Life Insurance Corporation and Unit Trust of India as institutional investors in the capital market. Mehta concedes that the consequence of this expansion is that almost all sources of long-term industrial finance now lie with the Government or under Government control, yet he reads the system as workable rather than monolithic, because the diversity of Central and State-level institutions creates competing pulls that 'wind up in a working and workable system.' He defends the still-undefined "joint sector" as a via media for cooperation between Government, private enterprise and the public, naming Oil India, Indian Explosives and Gujarat State Fertilizer Corporation as successful joint ventures. In the closing rendered pages, Mehta turns to medium-and-large industry — the "73 large houses" and those likely to join their ranks. He notes that Government ambivalence has slowed the most dynamic element of the economy in the preceding three or four years, even though monopoly-control legislation has shown that this sector cannot continue on its existing organisational pattern. His prescription is to diversify the ownership base through wider public participation in share capital and through convertibility of loans from finance institutions, so that growth can resume within the mixed-economy framework. He also concedes that, with current tax rates and ceilings on wealth, the main sources of finance must remain with the Government, since corporate and private savings alone cannot fund the industrial growth ahead. The rendered chunk ends at printed page 15 of a 28-page booklet; the lecture's concluding pages were not seen. ## Key points - Inaugural A. D. Shroff Memorial Address, delivered by G. L. Mehta on 14 March 1972 in Bombay and published by the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust on 14 April 1972 with an introduction by N. A. Palkhivala. - Mehta accepts the "mixed economy" as settled Indian policy and cites Twentieth Century Socialism to argue that even socialist economies require a private sector because socialists value individual freedom. - Tribute to A. D. Shroff covers his role in the Bretton Woods delegation of 1944, the Reserve Bank's 1953 enquiry into private-industry finance, the Bombay Plan, and the founding Steering Committee of ICICI; Mehta notes Shroff's later turn into a strong critic of Government planning. - Survey of India's industrial-finance architecture: IDBI at the apex (constituted as a wholly owned RBI subsidiary on the Canadian precedent), IFCI and ICICI at the all-India level, State Finance Corporations and SIDCs at state level, SICOM as Maharashtra's regional pioneer, NSIC and RBI guarantee schemes for small industry, plus LIC and the Unit Trust of India as institutional investors. - Mehta concedes that almost all organisations mobilising or distributing finance are now Government-owned or Government-controlled, but argues that diversity of Central and State institutions creates competing pulls that produce a workable system rather than a monolith. - He defends the still-undefined "joint sector" as a via media for cooperation between Government, private enterprise and the public, citing Oil India, Indian Explosives and Gujarat State Fertilizer Corporation as successful joint ventures. - Government policy is ambivalent toward the medium-and-large sector — the so-called "73 large houses" — even though it has been the most dynamic element of the economy; the way out is diversification of ownership through wider public participation in share capital and convertibility of finance-institution loans into shares. - Given current tax rates and ceilings on wealth, Mehta accepts that the main sources of industrial finance must remain with the Government, since private and corporate savings cannot keep pace with the growth the economy needs. --- ## [Primary work] INDUSTRIAL FINANCE—SOME TRENDS AND SOME ISSUES URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/industrial-finance-some-trends-and-some-issues-s-s-nadkarni-june-26-1984/ ### Summary Delivered as the 1984 A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust public lecture by S. S. Nadkarni, then Chairman and Managing Director of ICICI, this address surveys the structure and direction of Indian industrial finance three and a half decades after independence. Nadkarni opens by setting aside transient controversies in order to identify abiding trends — quantitative and structural growth of the manufacturing sector, the expansion of the entrepreneurial base, dispersal into backward regions, and a Sixth Plan rebalancing in which public and private sector outlays in mining and manufacturing are projected at roughly equal levels. He stresses that the private sector remains the dominant source of value added (81% of factory output) and that the government has begun signalling room for private investment in fertilizers, communications and modernisation. The core of the lecture analyses the financial system itself — financial institutions, the capital market, and commercial banks — under the long shadow of nationalisation (LIC 1956, banks 1969, general insurance 1973, IDBI Act 1975).… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the 1984 A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust public lecture by S. S. Nadkarni, then Chairman and Managing Director of ICICI, this address surveys the structure and direction of Indian industrial finance three and a half decades after independence. Nadkarni opens by setting aside transient controversies in order to identify abiding trends — quantitative and structural growth of the manufacturing sector, the expansion of the entrepreneurial base, dispersal into backward regions, and a Sixth Plan rebalancing in which public and private sector outlays in mining and manufacturing are projected at roughly equal levels. He stresses that the private sector remains the dominant source of value added (81% of factory output) and that the government has begun signalling room for private investment in fertilizers, communications and modernisation. The core of the lecture analyses the financial system itself — financial institutions, the capital market, and commercial banks — under the long shadow of nationalisation (LIC 1956, banks 1969, general insurance 1973, IDBI Act 1975). Nadkarni concedes that pervasive government ownership is not about to recede, and shifts the question from ownership pattern to operating efficiency. He quotes Dr. I. G. Patel on the discipline that credit is not a gift or subsidy, and lays out a managerial agenda for the financial system: merit-based selection of top management, continuity in tenure, day-to-day operational freedom, commitment to operational surpluses, and reward structures tied to results. On term finance, he describes the bewildering but defensible architecture of IDBI, ICICI, IFCI, LIC, GIC, UTI, State Financial and Development Corporations, IRCI and the new Export-Import Bank; sanctions rose from Rs. 343 crores in 1971–72 to Rs. 3,278 crores in 1982–83. He defends institutional shareholding (Rs. 627 crores face value at end-1982) against the popular misperception that it has been built through the convertibility clause — less than 10% has — and treats the 1971 convertibility regime as one whose recent liberalisation industry has failed to recognise. He flags worsening debt-equity and current-ratio trends in Indian corporates and argues that institutions must insist on healthier capital structures, even at the cost of underwriting equity that earns nothing in early years. He calls for taxation incentives to enliven the primary equity market, for venture-capital organisations with tax-free dividend and capital-gains status, and for coordination between banks (working capital) and institutions (fixed capital), an absence felt most acutely in sick-unit rehabilitation. The chunk ends inside the Capital Market section, noting that India's roughly 2.75 million shareholders are fewer than those of a single U.S. company like AT&T. ## Key points - Manufacturing sector invested capital roughly tripled from Rs. 10,000 crores (1970-71) to Rs. 30,000 crores (1979-80); non-traditional engineering and chemical industries grew at 8-14% annually against 1.2% for textiles (1951-1982). - Despite nationalisations and public-sector growth, the private sector owned 56% of factory capital and accounted for 81% of value of output and value added in 1978-79; the Sixth Plan projects roughly equal public-private outlays in mining and manufacturing. - Nadkarni accepts that pervasive government influence over banks, LIC, GIC, IDBI etc. is here to stay, and reframes the question from ownership to operational efficiency, quoting Dr. I. G. Patel that 'credit is not a gift or a subsidy'. - He prescribes a managerial code for the financial system: merit-based top management, tenure continuity, operational freedom within policy, commitment to operating surpluses, and reward systems tied to results. - All-India financial institutions' sanctions grew from Rs. 343 crores (1971-72) to Rs. 3,278 crores (1982-83); cumulative sanctions through March 1983 stood at Rs. 16,960 crores against disbursements of Rs. 12,203 crores. - Contrary to popular belief, less than 10% of institutional equity holdings (Rs. 627 crores face value at December 1982) was acquired through the convertibility option; recent liberalisation of the 1971 regime has removed most irritants. - Corporate debt-equity ratios are rising and current ratios deteriorating, an unhealthy trend coincident with rising interest rates; institutions should insist on healthier capital structures and, if necessary, underwrite larger equity. - He urges taxation incentives for the primary equity market, the creation of venture-capital organisations with tax-free dividend and capital-gains status, and a coordination mechanism between commercial banks and term-lending institutions, especially for sick-unit rehabilitation. --- ## [Primary work] Industrial Licensing and Economic Growth in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/industrial-licensing-dr-f-a-mehta-may-9-1969/ ### Summary Dr. F. A. Mehta's 1969 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet is a frontal indictment of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 and the industrial-licensing regime it spawned. Writing as Economic Adviser to Tata Industries Ltd., Mehta traces the Act from its 1949 introduction through the 1951 passage, the Avadi Session's 1955 'socialistic pattern of society' resolution, and the 1956 Industrial Policy Resolution that recast private industry as a tolerated junior partner under three Schedules ringfencing state and joint-sector activity. Licensing, he argues, was conceived to serve a 'mixed economy' but was almost immediately conscripted into a second role — as an instrument of central planning — and it is the simultaneous discharge of these two functions, against an over-ambitious Second Plan, that rendered the system both ideologically suspect and operationally incoherent. The core of the booklet catalogues four administrative pathologies: over-licensing irrespective of plan targets (the gap between 998 First-Plan licences and 4,794 Second-Plan licences); under-utilised licensed capacity from chronic shortages of foreign exchange, raw materials and infrastructure (units … ### Body ## Summary Dr. F. A. Mehta's 1969 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet is a frontal indictment of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 and the industrial-licensing regime it spawned. Writing as Economic Adviser to Tata Industries Ltd., Mehta traces the Act from its 1949 introduction through the 1951 passage, the Avadi Session's 1955 'socialistic pattern of society' resolution, and the 1956 Industrial Policy Resolution that recast private industry as a tolerated junior partner under three Schedules ringfencing state and joint-sector activity. Licensing, he argues, was conceived to serve a 'mixed economy' but was almost immediately conscripted into a second role — as an instrument of central planning — and it is the simultaneous discharge of these two functions, against an over-ambitious Second Plan, that rendered the system both ideologically suspect and operationally incoherent. The core of the booklet catalogues four administrative pathologies: over-licensing irrespective of plan targets (the gap between 998 First-Plan licences and 4,794 Second-Plan licences); under-utilised licensed capacity from chronic shortages of foreign exchange, raw materials and infrastructure (units running at 40 per cent of capacity); no proper concept of economic costs in scrutinising applications; and the burdening of licensing with too many policy objectives at once — small-scale promotion, regional dispersal, conservation of foreign exchange, anti-concentration — none of which it can deliver. Mehta walks through the Swaminathan Committee (1964), the Administrative Reforms Commission, and the May 1966 liberalisation that de-licensed 45 industries, conceding genuine procedural gains while insisting the underlying disease persists. The second half attacks the 'concentration of economic power' bogey raised by Dr. R. K. Hazari's reports, the Mahalanobis Committee and the Monopolies Inquiry Commission. Mehta accepts Hazari's own central finding — that licensing itself, by restricting entry, helped produce the concentration it was meant to prevent — and quotes J. R. D. Tata at length on the Catch-22 in which a 'Big Business' house is condemned whether it stays inactive, diversifies into small ventures, or undertakes major capital-intensive projects. The conclusion calls for industrial licensing to be liberated from its 'ideological bouts', supplemented by a dual exchange rate, and stripped of price controls so that the private sector can exceed planned investment targets. The closing tables (1951-1967 licence counts; unit-growth across 30 industries) supply the data backbone. ## Key points - Industrial licensing was conceived to operationalise a 'mixed economy' under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 but was quickly recast as an instrument of central planning after the 1956 Industrial Policy Resolution — Mehta treats this dual mandate as the original sin. - Mehta identifies four administrative defects: over-licensing irrespective of plan targets, no concept of economic costs, no priority discipline, and overloading licensing with multiple incompatible policy objectives. - Quantitative spine: 998 licences in the First Plan, 4,794 in the Second Plan, 4,560 in the Third Plan, with licensed capacity routinely splintered into uneconomic units operating at 40 per cent of plate capacity. - He concedes real procedural liberalisation — the Swaminathan Committee's Letter of Intent procedure (1964), the May 1966 de-licensing of 45 industries — while arguing the underlying ideological captivity persists. - On 'concentration of economic power', Mehta endorses Dr. R. K. Hazari's own finding that licensing itself, by restricting entry, produced the concentration it was meant to prevent. - He invokes J. R. D. Tata's framing that a 'Big Business' house is condemned whether it stays inactive, diversifies into small ventures, or undertakes a major capital-intensive project — illustrated by the Tata Fertiliser Project delays. - Mehta names the political-economy lineage on both sides: M. R. Masani's 1947 booklet's influence on Nehru, G. D. Birla's 1949 assent to a 'primary part' for government, P. C. Mahalanobis's Second Plan formulation, and the contrary cautions of Eugene Black and J. R. D. Tata. - Prescription: dismantle licensing as a regulatory weapon, introduce a dual-priority foreign-exchange rate, remove price controls, and restrict licensing to a narrow positive role of signalling investment opportunities. --- ## [Primary work] Industrial Relations URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/industrial-relations-naval-tata-13aug-1979/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, issued in Bombay on 13 August 1979, gathers two industry-side interventions in the late-Janata-era debate on labour law and union power, plus an appendix reproducing a Financial Express report on the simultaneous bonus controversy. The opening essay is an extract from Naval H. Tata's inaugural talk of 29 January 1979 at an ASSOCHAM workshop on the Industrial Relations Bill, framing labour-law reform as a human-rights issue and defending the Janata Government's Bill against trade-union opposition. The second essay reproduces P. C. Mehta's 16 April 1979 Forum lecture, 'Democracy and Labour Movement', arguing that industrial peace in a democracy must rest on law rather than trials of strength. The closing appendix carries the Finance Minister Charan Singh's June 1979 case against extending bonus to railwaymen and Government departmental employees. Together the three pieces present a coordinated employer-side and free-enterprise critique of trade-union militancy, wage-productivity drift, and bonus-as-statutory-right. ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, issued in Bombay on 13 August 1979, gathers two industry-side interventions in the late-Janata-era debate on labour law and union power, plus an appendix reproducing a Financial Express report on the simultaneous bonus controversy. The opening essay is an extract from Naval H. Tata's inaugural talk of 29 January 1979 at an ASSOCHAM workshop on the Industrial Relations Bill, framing labour-law reform as a human-rights issue and defending the Janata Government's Bill against trade-union opposition. The second essay reproduces P. C. Mehta's 16 April 1979 Forum lecture, 'Democracy and Labour Movement', arguing that industrial peace in a democracy must rest on law rather than trials of strength. The closing appendix carries the Finance Minister Charan Singh's June 1979 case against extending bonus to railwaymen and Government departmental employees. Together the three pieces present a coordinated employer-side and free-enterprise critique of trade-union militancy, wage-productivity drift, and bonus-as-statutory-right. ## Essays ### Industrial Relations *By Naval H. Tata* Naval H. Tata, then President of the Employers' Federation of India, argues that the Industrial Relations Bill before Parliament is a human-rights measure rather than an anti-labour one. He contends that unchecked direct action by trade unions in vital services — Railways, Airlines, Dockyards and Banks — inflicts social injustice on millions of uninvolved citizens, and welcomes the Bill's attempt to identify bargaining agents and curb the proliferation of unions that has followed the 'multiplicity of trade unions' lacuna in existing law. Drawing on West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu's call to employers to 'explore all possible ways to avoid strike' and on Dr. V. M. Dandekar's critique of the bankmen's strike invoking Karl Marx and social justice, Tata maintains that employers' protest cannot be dismissed as sectional interest and that escalation of wages unlinked to productivity is counter-productive. Tata supports his case with a quantitative survey of organised-labour costs in Bombay and Calcutta — a Rs.25.65 wage per day of an unskilled metropolitan worker, 253 working days a year after 112 days of leave and holidays, and Rs.100/- per day cost for a white-collar employee enjoying 30 days of annual leave plus festival holidays and five days a week — and asks for a hard look at wage-productivity disparities pin-pointed by the Bhoothalingam Committee. He praises Swiss trade unions for voluntarily refusing wage demands and additional management seats, points to the UK consensus emerging between Mr. Callaghan and Mrs. Thatcher that reducing union bargaining power is central to anti-inflation policy, and ends by appealing for industrial peace as a product of goodwill and meaningful mediation, not of unilateral State intervention at the behest of either side. - Frames the Industrial Relations Bill as a human-rights issue that protects citizens, not just workers, from union-led dislocation of essential services. - Rejects the union charge of anti-labour bias and argues the Bill plugs loopholes that employers could otherwise misuse, while curbing the multiplicity of unions. - Cites wage figures — Rs.25.65 per unskilled day in metropolitan Bombay/Calcutta, Rs.100/- per white-collar day — to argue organised labour is not 'sweated' and absentee privileges raise costs by Rs.10.5 lakhs in a 1,000-worker plant. - Endorses the Bhoothalingam Committee's diagnosis of wage-productivity disparity and rejects the Boothalingam Report's dismissal by trade unions. - Holds up Switzerland's referendum-based union restraint and the Callaghan-Thatcher convergence in the UK as comparative models that reduction of union bargaining power is central to anti-inflation policy. - Defends the Janata Government against the union charge of betrayal, arguing a few restraints on 'outsiders in the trade Union hierarchy' are legitimate. ### Democracy and Labour Movement *By P. C. Mehta* P. C. Mehta, a senior personnel executive and member of the Janata Government's Ravindra Varma Committee on comprehensive industrial-relations law, argues that democracy and a robust labour movement must be tethered to the rule of law. India's independent project — rapid economic development with social justice and a socialistic pattern of society — requires that industrial relations answer two questions: under what conditions shall work be done, and how shall its proceeds be divided. Democracy, he argues, is the middle position between totalitarian rule and anarchy; preserving it requires self-imposed restraint and the separation of legislative, judicial and executive functions. The right of organisation and collective bargaining is a fundamental right, but it is being used negatively — to substitute trial of strength for trial of issues — and risks pushing democracy itself toward feudalism by allowing one section to dominate others. Mehta closes by warning that in an agrarian country where the unorganised landless masses live below the poverty line, the organised industrial worker is the elite of the working class, and economic growth — not coercive redistribution of poverty — is the route to social revolution. Constant vigilance, he concludes, is the price of liberty: only an awake public can prevent the nation from drifting either into totalitarianism or anarchy. - Defines industrial relations through two questions: the conditions of work and the division of its proceeds. - Treats democracy as the middle position between totalitarianism and anarchy, requiring separation of legislative, judicial and executive functions. - Argues the right to organise and collectively bargain is fundamental but is being abused into 'trial of strength' that drifts democracy toward feudalism. - Holds that disputes must be settled by law, adjudication or third-party arbitration — not lynch law — to avoid anarchy in modern industrial relations. - Contends the organised industrial worker is already the elite, so privileging that section at the cost of the unorganised landless rural majority is a privileged status, not social justice. - Closes on the Jeffersonian formula that 'constant vigilance is the price of liberty', warning against drift to totalitarianism or anarchy. ### Appendix: The Bonus Issue The appendix reproduces a 14 June 1979 Financial Express dispatch summarising a note from the then Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Charan Singh, addressed to Prime Minister Morarji Desai, opposing the grant of bonus to railwaymen and other employees of Government departmental undertakings. Charan Singh argues that extending bonus to railwaymen would obligate it for all Central Government employees at an annual cost of about Rs.600 crores against a deficit budget of Rs.1,345 crores for 1979-80, generate inflationary deficit financing harming the poor, and unjustly reward a small organised section: of India's 180-million working population (1971 census), only 30 million are in the wage and salary sector and only 7 million are eligible for bonus. The note also flags lower productivity of Indian Government employees (1,839 hours per year against 2,632-2,696 in Egypt and 2,156-2,192 in the U.K.), railwaymen's existing concessions (free travel, 70 paid holidays vs. 40-45 elsewhere), and the Bhoothalingam Committee's recommendation against bonus to railwaymen and Government departmental staff. A standard Forum disclaimer notes the views are reproduced because they have provoked country-wide discussion and are not necessarily those of the Forum of Free Enterprise. - Reproduces Charan Singh's June 1979 case against extending bonus to railwaymen and Government departmental employees. - Pegs additional cost at Rs.600 crores annually against a Rs.1,345-crore 1979-80 deficit budget. - Argues only ~7 million of India's 180 million workers are bonus-eligible — so bonus reinforces privilege over equity. - Cites lower Indian Government productivity (1,839 hours/year vs. UK 2,156-2,192, Egypt 2,632-2,696, USSR 2,248). - Invokes the Bhoothalingam Committee's standing recommendation against bonus to railwaymen and departmental employees. --- ## [Primary work] Inflation & Economic Growth URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/inflation-and-economic-growth-december-1973/ ### Summary H. V. R. Iengar, a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, delivered this inaugural address at a seminar on inflation organised by the Institute for Financial Management and Research in Madras on 14 December 1973. The Forum of Free Enterprise issued the talk as a pamphlet, prefaced with a Eugene Black epigraph that private enterprise must be accepted "not as a necessary evil but as an affirmative good." Iengar accepts the orthodox diagnosis — that inflation is the joint product of an enormous expansion of the money supply and a shortfall of production — and uses his lecture to interrogate the political and administrative reasons why neither half of that equation is being corrected. The first part of the address concentrates on the money side. Iengar argues that the Fifth Plan's contemplated expansion of government outlay, financed in alarming proportions by Bank credit, is driving monetary expansion, and that ministerial pleas of "inescapability" for every budget head do not survive scrutiny; on his own estimate as much as 40 per cent of departmental expenditure simply "goes down the drain" through incompetence, corruption and pilferage.… ### Body ## Summary H. V. R. Iengar, a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, delivered this inaugural address at a seminar on inflation organised by the Institute for Financial Management and Research in Madras on 14 December 1973. The Forum of Free Enterprise issued the talk as a pamphlet, prefaced with a Eugene Black epigraph that private enterprise must be accepted "not as a necessary evil but as an affirmative good." Iengar accepts the orthodox diagnosis — that inflation is the joint product of an enormous expansion of the money supply and a shortfall of production — and uses his lecture to interrogate the political and administrative reasons why neither half of that equation is being corrected. The first part of the address concentrates on the money side. Iengar argues that the Fifth Plan's contemplated expansion of government outlay, financed in alarming proportions by Bank credit, is driving monetary expansion, and that ministerial pleas of "inescapability" for every budget head do not survive scrutiny; on his own estimate as much as 40 per cent of departmental expenditure simply "goes down the drain" through incompetence, corruption and pilferage. He couples this with a withering account of declining administrative discipline — unauthorised state-government overdrafts on the Reserve Bank dressed up at year-end, the perversion of election finance into a market for black money, and a politicised trade-union movement whose strikes hold the country to ransom. Through the discussion he keeps returning to Jayaprakash Narayan's appeal for moral renewal and contrasts Indian sloppiness with the post-revolutionary discipline he observes in China. The second half turns to production, especially agriculture, which Iengar reminds his audience supplies nearly half of national income. Citing a National Council of Applied Economic Research projection of food supply to 1980-81 and Dr. Koteswaran's work on drought recurrence, he insists India must plan for repeated droughts and a competently run buffer stock and distribution system, rather than repeat the recently-collapsed wholesale wheat takeover. On industry he distinguishes between "monopoly houses" and merely "big houses," accusing government of conflating the two on ideological grounds and so denying reputable firms the chance to expand and diversify. He closes by endorsing Sir Arthur Lewis's view that the prime task is to eliminate the road-blocks to sustained growth, warning that without great moral leadership inflation will lead India "down the slippery path." An appendix reproduces an excerpt from an April/June 1973 IPA Review (Institute of Public Affairs, Australia) editorial on "Keynes & Inflation." It argues that Keynes himself was a fierce opponent of inflation — citing his lines on how price changes "redistribute Fortune's favours so as to frustrate design and disappoint expectation" — and that the Keynesian remedy for deflation must be inverted in present conditions: the way to cure chronic inflation is to reduce government spending and shrink "the impecuniosity of governments." The rendered chunk ends mid-appendix in the discussion of Keynes's "inflationary gap" concept. ## Key points - Iengar diagnoses the 1973 inflation as a money-supply explosion meeting a production shortfall in both agriculture and industry, and insists the cure lies on both sides simultaneously. - He treats deficit financing of an expanding Fifth Plan budget through Bank credit as the principal monetary driver, and proposes a procedural rule requiring the central government to consult — and disclose disagreements with — the Reserve Bank before crossing ceilings. - Administrative decay is treated as an inflation problem in its own right: he estimates that up to 40 per cent of departmental expenditure is wasted, and points to unauthorised state overdrafts on the RBI that are quietly recycled each year-end. - Political corruption — driven by costly elections and a law that bars corporate donations — is identified as the chief generator of black money and a tax on the productive economy. - On agriculture, he draws on NCAER projections and Dr. Koteswaran's drought-recurrence data to argue for a permanent, honestly run buffer stock and distribution system rather than ad hoc state takeovers of wholesale trade. - On industry, he distinguishes monopoly practices from mere bigness and accuses the post-Monopolies Commission legislation of penalising large reputable firms on ideological grounds. - Strikes and lock-outs in public-sector undertakings, he argues, show that nationalisation has not produced the disciplined workforce its philosophy assumed, and that political parties must let trade unions act as trade unions. - The appended IPA Review extract reads Keynes against the Keynesians, marshalling Keynes's own writings on the distributive injustice of inflation to argue that in conditions of over-full employment the prescription should be reduced — not expanded — government spending. --- ## [Primary work] Inflation Endangers Economic Progress URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/inflation-endangers-a-d-shroff-apr7-1961/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet, based on a lecture A. D. Shroff delivered in Bombay on 8 March 1961, presents a sustained critical reading of the Union Budget for 1961-62. Shroff opens by faulting the year's Economic Survey for departing from the dispassionate tone of its 1959-60 predecessor — it is, in his words, "heavily loaded with a certain bias and ideology" — and uses the Budget as a "photographic presentation" through which to test whether the closing Second Five-Year Plan has actually paid for the price rises and balance-of-payments strain it has caused. The bulk of the pamphlet works through the Finance Minister's proposals item by item. Shroff documents a revenue deficit of about Rs. 60 crores to be covered through Rs. 57 crores of new customs and excise duties and Rs. 3 crores of direct taxes, with public expenditure climbing from Rs. 998 crores in 1951-52 to Rs. 2,557 crores in 1960-61. He cites a then-recent National Council of Applied Economic Research study led by Dr. P. S.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet, based on a lecture A. D. Shroff delivered in Bombay on 8 March 1961, presents a sustained critical reading of the Union Budget for 1961-62. Shroff opens by faulting the year's Economic Survey for departing from the dispassionate tone of its 1959-60 predecessor — it is, in his words, "heavily loaded with a certain bias and ideology" — and uses the Budget as a "photographic presentation" through which to test whether the closing Second Five-Year Plan has actually paid for the price rises and balance-of-payments strain it has caused. The bulk of the pamphlet works through the Finance Minister's proposals item by item. Shroff documents a revenue deficit of about Rs. 60 crores to be covered through Rs. 57 crores of new customs and excise duties and Rs. 3 crores of direct taxes, with public expenditure climbing from Rs. 998 crores in 1951-52 to Rs. 2,557 crores in 1960-61. He cites a then-recent National Council of Applied Economic Research study led by Dr. P. S. Lokanathan to argue that direct taxation has reached a ceiling: rates so high that large-income earners have nothing left to invest, joint-stock company savings are falling, and the government is forced back onto indirect taxes. The result is excises on 14 new commodities and rate increases on 18 more — kerosene, sugar, matches, vegetable products, radios, tobacco, paper, cement, fuel oils, motor vehicles — which Shroff says will be passed straight to consumers and choke the very industries meant to absorb agricultural labour. Shroff's central charge is that the budget institutionalises inflation. Deficit financing of Rs. 1,200 crores under the Second Plan has driven a 25 per cent rise in wholesale prices and a 43 per cent rise in the working-class cost-of-living index since 1949. The depreciation of the rupee, he warns, is now visible to outsiders: 100 Hong Kong dollars cost Rs. 116 instead of Rs. 83, and the pound sterling trades at Rs. 18 on the unofficial Bombay market against a par value of Rs. 13.34. With the Third Plan demanding a capital outlay of Rs. 12,000 crores (including Rs. 2,600 crores of foreign exchange) at a moment when India must repay Rs. 600 crores of foreign loans by 1966 and foreign balances have collapsed from Rs. 746 crores to Rs. 157 crores, Shroff closes with a plea for organised public opinion as the "only saving feature" left for stabilising the economy. ## Key points - Opens by accusing the Economic Survey 1960-61 of ideological bias compared with the more dispassionate 1959-60 Survey. - Budget 1961-62 proposes Rs. 57 crores of new customs/excise duties and Rs. 3 crores of direct taxes to cover an estimated Rs. 60 crores revenue deficit. - Total public expenditure has risen from Rs. 998 crores in 1951-52 to Rs. 2,557 crores in 1960-61; Second Plan deficit financing reached Rs. 1,200 crores. - Cites NCAER study led by Dr. P. S. Lokanathan to argue direct taxation has hit a ceiling — corporate savings are falling and the net investment rate is in decline. - Excise duty extended to 14 new commodities and raised on 18 existing ones, including kerosene, sugar, matches, radios, tobacco, paper, cement and motor vehicles. - Wholesale prices rose 25 per cent across the Second Plan; the all-India working-class cost-of-living index is at its highest since 1949. - Internal rupee depreciation now visible abroad: 100 Hong Kong dollars cost Rs. 116 versus Rs. 83 a year earlier; pound sterling trades at Rs. 18 unofficially against the par value of Rs. 13.34. - Third Plan needs Rs. 12,000 crores capital outlay (Rs. 2,600 crores in forex) while India must repay Rs. 600 crores of foreign loans by 1966 and foreign balances have fallen from Rs. 746 crores to Rs. 157 crores. - Closes by arguing organised public opinion is the only remaining instrument for stabilising the economy. --- ## [Primary work] Inflation in Brazil—the Principles of Monetary Correction URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/inflation-in-brazil-the-principles-of-monetary-correction-roberto-de-oliveira-campos-15-october-1975/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces Roberto de Oliveira Campos's inaugural Chairman's lecture, delivered at the London Stock Exchange on 19 November 1974 and published in Bombay in October 1975. Campos, a former Brazilian Minister of Finance and then Ambassador to the United Kingdom, sets out the rationale and architecture of Brazil's policy of generalised monetary correction — that is, indexation — as a tool for living with chronic inflation rather than eradicating it. He opens with a diagnosis of the inflationary malaise afflicting the industrial West after 1971: money has lost its functions as store of value and unit of account, inflation is now structurally embedded in modern social structures, the conventional medicine of monetary and fiscal policy produces stagflation, and even mature democracies feel the political strain of two-digit price rises. From this diagnosis Campos draws a heterodox conclusion.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces Roberto de Oliveira Campos's inaugural Chairman's lecture, delivered at the London Stock Exchange on 19 November 1974 and published in Bombay in October 1975. Campos, a former Brazilian Minister of Finance and then Ambassador to the United Kingdom, sets out the rationale and architecture of Brazil's policy of generalised monetary correction — that is, indexation — as a tool for living with chronic inflation rather than eradicating it. He opens with a diagnosis of the inflationary malaise afflicting the industrial West after 1971: money has lost its functions as store of value and unit of account, inflation is now structurally embedded in modern social structures, the conventional medicine of monetary and fiscal policy produces stagflation, and even mature democracies feel the political strain of two-digit price rises. From this diagnosis Campos draws a heterodox conclusion. Because shock-treatment risked wrecking the entrepreneurial class and provoking a political backlash, Brazil after 1964 chose gradualism, attacking instead the five textbook 'evils of inflation': erosion of savings, wage disorder, balance-of-payments disequilibrium, disincentive to long-gestation investment, and tax-system distortions. Between 1964 and 1967 a battery of devices was implanted to neutralise each of these: generalised indexation of all forms of saving and medium- and long-term loans; a statutory wage formula combining a 12- to 24-month real-wage average with a productivity coefficient and a 'half-the-expected-inflation' residual; a tax reform that revalued capital assets and indexed the exemption threshold for low-income groups; and a 'crawling-peg' mini-devaluation regime tied to internal wholesale prices. The author then weighs the results. Inflation, he reports, fell from roughly 100% in early 1964 to between 15 and 20% in 1972–73, while real growth ran above 10% a year, exports quadrupled and foreign-exchange reserves moved from $6.4 billion in deficit to almost $5.5 billion despite the oil shock. He stresses that indexation is exportable only with caveats — it presupposes ingrained inflationary expectations, a constitutional balanced-budget rule, and political tolerance for the wage formula — and warns repeatedly against overclaiming. Indexation, he concludes, neither cures inflation nor causes it; like a thermometer, it registers fever without producing it, and its real virtue is to preserve savings, investment incentives and democratic stability while the longer fight against inflation is fought. The booklet closes with the editorial disclaimer that the views are not necessarily those of the Forum. ## Key points - Frames post-1971 Western inflation as a structural 'malaise' that is unlikely to yield to conventional anti-inflationary shock treatment. - Argues that the choice between 'stop-go' and stagflation has made gradualist cohabitation with inflation, not eradication, the realistic policy goal. - Catalogues five textbook evils of inflation — savings erosion, wage disorder, BoP disequilibrium, investment disincentive and tax distortion — that Brazilian indexation was designed to neutralise. - Describes the components of the Brazilian system: generalised indexation of savings instruments, the statutory wage formula, indexed tax reform, and the 'crawling-peg' exchange-rate mini-devaluation. - Reports headline results: inflation falling from c.100% in 1964 to 15–20% by 1972–73, real growth above 10%, exports rising from $1.5bn to a projected $7.5bn, and reserves swinging from –$6.4bn to nearly $5.5bn. - Identifies the preconditions for exportability of the Brazilian model — chronic inflation, a constitutional balanced-budget rule, wage-formula political viability — and is sceptical other countries can meet them. - Insists indexation is not a cure for inflation but a means of preventing its worst distortions on savings, investment and income distribution. - Traces the intellectual ancestry of indexation through William Fleetwood, Joseph Lowe, Jevons, Marshall, Irving Fisher and Keynes, citing Milton Friedman's IEA Occasional Paper 41 as a contemporary reference. --- ## [Primary work] INFLATION IN INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/inflation-in-india-1964-1975-january-1975/ ### Summary Prof. L. G. Bapat's prize-winning Forum of Free Enterprise essay is a textbook-style diagnosis of post-Independence Indian inflation, written for a general audience but anchored in the monetary economics of Fisher, Lerner, Hayek and Schultze. Bapat begins by defining inflation as an unanticipated, unprovided rise in prices above their normal level — and insists that in a controls-and-rationing regime it surfaces not as visible price increases but as queues, black markets and hoarding, i.e., 'suppressed' inflation. The villain, he argues, is the persistent attempt of under-developed economies to consume and invest more than they actually produce, a temptation aggravated by ambitious Keynesian-flavoured development plans copied from the West. The core of the booklet is empirical. Drawing on RBI 'Currency and Finance' reports, NCAER's 'Management of Public Debt in India' and the work of K. N. C. Pillai of the Central Statistical Organisation, Bapat tabulates money supply, real national income and wholesale prices from 1951-52 through 1970-71.… ### Body ## Summary Prof. L. G. Bapat's prize-winning Forum of Free Enterprise essay is a textbook-style diagnosis of post-Independence Indian inflation, written for a general audience but anchored in the monetary economics of Fisher, Lerner, Hayek and Schultze. Bapat begins by defining inflation as an unanticipated, unprovided rise in prices above their normal level — and insists that in a controls-and-rationing regime it surfaces not as visible price increases but as queues, black markets and hoarding, i.e., 'suppressed' inflation. The villain, he argues, is the persistent attempt of under-developed economies to consume and invest more than they actually produce, a temptation aggravated by ambitious Keynesian-flavoured development plans copied from the West. The core of the booklet is empirical. Drawing on RBI 'Currency and Finance' reports, NCAER's 'Management of Public Debt in India' and the work of K. N. C. Pillai of the Central Statistical Organisation, Bapat tabulates money supply, real national income and wholesale prices from 1951-52 through 1970-71. He shows that Pillai's correlation coefficient of 0.92 between excess money supply and the following year's prices broadly holds for India in the 1960s, and traces the inflation of 1966-68 to a 9.3 per cent jump in money supply against a national-income growth of only 0.9 per cent. He singles out a less-visible channel of monetary expansion: RBI purchases of central-government rupee loans, which by the late 1960s absorbed nearly two-fifths of total issues and amounted, with ad-hoc treasury bills and overdrafts, to large-scale 'back-door deficit financing'. Bapat then tests rival explanations and largely rejects them for Indian conditions. Direct taxes, he argues, are net disinflationary; indirect taxes raise the price level only once, not cumulatively; and total taxation in 1967-68, at 18.7 per cent of national income, was still below Colin Clark's 25 per cent inflationary threshold. Cost-push pressure does exist — coal miners' wages outran productivity sharply between 1961 and 1968 — but administrative or oligopolistic inflation 'of the type found in the U.S.A.' is essentially absent. A separate strand of the argument concerns the agricultural marketed surplus: rice and wheat production rose through the 1960s, but the share reaching the market actually fell, because rising foodgrain prices let farmers consume more on the farm and demand fancy manufactured goods to spend the windfall on. The booklet closes with a five-point remedy: a surplus Union budget; a public-debt policy that mobilises genuine savings instead of monetising deficits; steps to draw out a larger marketed surplus from agriculture; a halt on further tax increases; and rapid productivity gains by workers. Throughout, Bapat treats inflation as a policy failure rather than an external shock, and an inefficient public sector — Rs. 3,033 crores invested over two decades with little to show in profits — as one of the structural reasons monetary expansion has not been matched by goods. ## Key points - Defines inflation as an unanticipated, unprovided, substantial rise in prices above the normal level; under controls it manifests as queues, black markets and hoarding rather than visible price rises. - Locates the root cause of inflation in under-developed economies' attempt to consume and invest in excess of what they actually produce, aggravated by ambitious development plans modelled on the post-Depression West. - Reproduces RBI data on money supply, national income and wholesale prices from 1951-52 to 1970-71 and uses K. N. C. Pillai's 0.92 correlation between excess money supply and next-year prices as the empirical backbone. - Identifies RBI purchases of Government rupee loans — about one-third of the total by the late 1960s — together with ad-hoc treasury bills and overdrafts as a covert channel of deficit financing in addition to the open budget. - Shows that even as rice and wheat production grew through the 1960s, the marketed surplus fell, because high foodgrain prices induced farmers to consume more on the farm and to chase manufactured consumer goods. - Rejects taxation as a major inflationary force in India: direct taxes are disinflationary, indirect-tax effects are one-shot, and 1967-68 total taxation at 18.7 per cent of national income falls short of Colin Clark's 25 per cent threshold. - Argues that administrative or oligopolistic inflation of the U.S. type is absent in India, but cost-push pressure exists where wages have outrun productivity, as in coal mining between 1961 and 1968. - Prescribes a five-point cure: a surplus budget, a public-debt policy that taps real savings, larger agricultural marketed surplus, no further tax increases, and a rapid lift in worker productivity. --- ## [Primary work] INFLATION IN INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/inflation-in-india-l-g-bapat/ ### Summary Prof. L. G. Bapat's prize-winning booklet for the Forum of Free Enterprise (Bombay, 15 November 1972) walks a general Indian reader through the theory and the Indian record of inflation. Bapat opens with definitions — inflation is an unanticipated, unprovided, rapid and substantial rise in prices above their normal level, with 'suppressed' inflation revealing itself through queues, black markets and hoarding when prices are held down by controls. He then canvasses the standard mechanisms: Fisher's Quantity Theory and the German hyperinflation of the 1920s for the monetary channel; Lerner's account of inflation as 'real changes' people did not intend; Charles Schultze's asymmetric ratchet in which prices rise but never fall; and Hayek's framing of inflation as a symptom of disequilibrium. From these he extracts the textbook trio of demand-pull, cost-push and administrative inflation. Applied to India, Bapat treats money supply as the central villain. Citing K. N. C.… ### Body ## Summary Prof. L. G. Bapat's prize-winning booklet for the Forum of Free Enterprise (Bombay, 15 November 1972) walks a general Indian reader through the theory and the Indian record of inflation. Bapat opens with definitions — inflation is an unanticipated, unprovided, rapid and substantial rise in prices above their normal level, with 'suppressed' inflation revealing itself through queues, black markets and hoarding when prices are held down by controls. He then canvasses the standard mechanisms: Fisher's Quantity Theory and the German hyperinflation of the 1920s for the monetary channel; Lerner's account of inflation as 'real changes' people did not intend; Charles Schultze's asymmetric ratchet in which prices rise but never fall; and Hayek's framing of inflation as a symptom of disequilibrium. From these he extracts the textbook trio of demand-pull, cost-push and administrative inflation. Applied to India, Bapat treats money supply as the central villain. Citing K. N. C. Pillai of the Central Statistical Organisation, he reports a 0.92 correlation between money supply growth and the wholesale price index of the succeeding year over 1950-51 to 1960-61, and updates the picture in his own Tables I and II with RBI data for 1951-71. He argues that government has expanded money supply 'enormously' through deficit financing — ad hoc treasury bills, RBI purchase of nearly one-third of Government of India rupee loans, and rising state and co-operative bank securities held against RBI advances — rather than through transparent budgetary operations. Production constraints make the inflationary gap impossible to close on the supply side in an underdeveloped country; Table III shows that the marketed surplus of rice and wheat fell even as output rose, intensifying foodgrain prices. On taxation, Bapat is unusually careful. Direct taxes, he argues, are on balance deflationary; indirect taxes raise prices but only once and by perhaps 10 per cent cumulatively over two decades. Measured against Colin Clark's 20-25 per cent of national income threshold, Indian taxation at 18.7 per cent in 1967-68 was below the inflationary line, though the scope for further increase is limited. Cost-push pressure is real — coal-mine productivity rose 33 per cent between 1961 and 1968 while money wages rose 61.5 per cent — but administrative inflation of the American kind is absent because India has no genuine monopolies. The booklet ends with a five-point programme: a surplus budget, public-debt policy that mobilises true savings, steps to enlarge the marketed surplus, a check on further taxation, and a rapid rise in worker productivity. ## Key points - Defines inflation as an unanticipated, unprovided, rapid and substantial rise in prices above the normal level, with 'suppressed' inflation manifesting in queues, black markets, hoarding and rationing. - Surveys monetary, demand-pull, cost-push and administrative theories — citing Fisher's Quantity Theory, Lerner on unintended 'real changes', Schultze's downward-rigid prices, and Hayek's disequilibrium account. - Uses K. N. C. Pillai's 1950-51 to 1960-61 study from the Central Statistical Organisation, which found a 0.92 correlation between money-supply growth and the next year's wholesale prices, and a 0.84 coefficient for later years. - Tables I-II compile RBI data showing money supply rising from Rs. 1,804 crores in 1951-52 to Rs. 6,987 crores in 1970-71, and the RBI purchasing nearly one-third of all Government of India rupee loans. - Argues deficit financing — ad hoc treasury bills and RBI absorption of government paper — is the principal Indian channel for unwarranted money creation, supplemented by state and co-operative bank borrowings. - Table III shows the marketed surplus of rice and wheat falling even as production rises, so the inflationary gap cannot be closed on the supply side in an underdeveloped economy. - Direct taxes are net deflationary; indirect taxes raised the 1967-68 price level by about 10 per cent but only once, and 1967-68 taxation at 18.7 per cent of national income was below Colin Clark's 20-25 per cent inflationary threshold. - Coal-mine productivity rose from 0.48 to 0.64 tonne per manshift between 1961 and 1968 (33 per cent) while per-capita earnings rose 61.5 per cent — confirming cost-push inflation; but with no real monopoly, administrative inflation is absent. - Closes with a five-point remedy: a surplus budget, a public-debt policy mobilising true savings, steps to enlarge the marketed surplus, a check on further taxation, and rapid productivity improvement. --- ## [Primary work] INFLATION THREATENS INDIAN ECONOMY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/inflation-threatens-indian-economy-a-d-shroff-mar8-1960/ ### Summary A. D. Shroff's pamphlet, based on a lecture on the Union Budget 1960/61 delivered in Bombay on 10 March 1960, reads the Government of India's budget against the Finance Ministry's own Economic Survey and argues that the Survey's sober warnings have been ignored. Shroff seizes on the Survey's admission that wholesale prices have risen about 20 per cent since the start of the Second Plan to build a sustained case that India is being pushed into a structural inflation by reckless public expenditure outrunning the supply of goods and services. He commends the anonymous Economic Survey writer for objectivity but accuses the Finance Minister of refusing to accept that diagnosis when framing the budget. The substance of the critique is a planning-critique grounded in monetary and fiscal arithmetic. Shroff tracks civil expenditure rising from Rs. 35.56 crores in 1948-49 to Rs. 233.35 crores in 1960-61, foreign exchange reserves dropping by Rs. 2,900 crores since 1956 with Rs.… ### Body ## Summary A. D. Shroff's pamphlet, based on a lecture on the Union Budget 1960/61 delivered in Bombay on 10 March 1960, reads the Government of India's budget against the Finance Ministry's own Economic Survey and argues that the Survey's sober warnings have been ignored. Shroff seizes on the Survey's admission that wholesale prices have risen about 20 per cent since the start of the Second Plan to build a sustained case that India is being pushed into a structural inflation by reckless public expenditure outrunning the supply of goods and services. He commends the anonymous Economic Survey writer for objectivity but accuses the Finance Minister of refusing to accept that diagnosis when framing the budget. The substance of the critique is a planning-critique grounded in monetary and fiscal arithmetic. Shroff tracks civil expenditure rising from Rs. 35.56 crores in 1948-49 to Rs. 233.35 crores in 1960-61, foreign exchange reserves dropping by Rs. 2,900 crores since 1956 with Rs. 600 crores of new borrowings to be repaid 1960-67, and warns that a Government boasting about subscriptions to its capital issues and a booming stock exchange is mistaking symptoms of inflation for signs of economic health. He endorses M. R. Masani's Lok Sabha quip that the Finance Minister has become 'a prisoner of the Plan,' faults the Karachi Congress salary cap for being silently discarded against the original spirit advocated by Mahatma Gandhi, and dismisses the Integrated Pattern of Taxation as a disincentive to save and invest, citing estate duty receipts of barely Rs. 3 crores against an overall budget of Rs. 980 crores as proof that prestige tax instruments have failed. In the closing pages Shroff broadens the indictment from macroeconomic mismanagement to administrative incompetence: excise duties piled on kerosene, sugar, cloth and other essentials feed inflation; small savings campaigns cannot succeed when citizens doubt the future purchasing power of the rupee; and a Government that cannot keep money-order forms in a Matunga post office, sink a well for a village near Delhi, or wind up six hundred dormant joint-stock companies has no moral claim to spend thousands of crores on wasteful projects. The pamphlet ends with a Forum-style aphorism affirming that 'Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives.' ## Key points - Reads the 1960/61 Budget against the Finance Ministry's Economic Survey and accuses the Finance Minister of ignoring the Survey's own warnings on inflation and imbalance. - Anchors the polemic on the Survey's admission that wholesale prices have risen about 20 per cent since the start of the Second Plan. - Tracks civil expenditure climbing from Rs. 35.56 crores in 1948-49 to Rs. 233.35 crores in 1960-61 as evidence of a bureaucratic state outgrowing the country's productive base. - Endorses M. R. Masani's Lok Sabha description of the Finance Minister as 'a prisoner of the Plan,' framing the budget as ideologically constrained rather than economically reasoned. - Calls the boom on the stock exchange and over-subscription of capital issues symptoms of monetary disorder, not signs of economic health. - Faults the abandonment of the Karachi Congress ministerial salary norm advocated by Mahatma Gandhi as evidence that planning has eroded the rupee while ministers compensate themselves for the depreciation. - Attacks the Integrated Pattern of Taxation and expenditure tax as disincentives to saving and capital formation, citing estate duty yields of barely Rs. 3 crores against a Rs. 980-crore budget gap. - Lists administrative failures — Matunga post office shortages, an un-dug well near Delhi, 600 unwound joint-stock companies, telephone waitlists — to argue the State has no warrant to spend more until it can perform basic functions. --- ## [Primary work] Infrastructure, Public Goods and Markets URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/infrastructure-public-goods-and-markets-kirit-s-parekh/ ### Summary Delivered as the Dr. M. H. Gopal Memorial Lecture at the 81st Annual Conference of the Indian Economic Association in December 1998 and reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise, Kirit S. Parekh's lecture diagnoses India's infrastructure deficit and prescribes market-based remedies. He opens with a survey of bottlenecks — peak power shortages around 10 percent, congested ports that impose demurrage running into hundreds of crores, crawling Mumbai traffic, polluted rivers and air, and a telephone density of 13 per 1000 persons against a world average of 110. The root cause, he argues, is chronic underinvestment driven by public-sector enterprises that cannot charge appropriate user fees, by political capture (notably the agricultural electricity subsidy that has grown from 3.9 percent of demand in 1950-51 to nearly 30 percent today) and by overstaffed State Electricity Boards whose T&D losses largely mask outright theft. The rest of the lecture builds a positive programme for using markets and price signals to deliver infrastructure and manage public goods.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the Dr. M. H. Gopal Memorial Lecture at the 81st Annual Conference of the Indian Economic Association in December 1998 and reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise, Kirit S. Parekh's lecture diagnoses India's infrastructure deficit and prescribes market-based remedies. He opens with a survey of bottlenecks — peak power shortages around 10 percent, congested ports that impose demurrage running into hundreds of crores, crawling Mumbai traffic, polluted rivers and air, and a telephone density of 13 per 1000 persons against a world average of 110. The root cause, he argues, is chronic underinvestment driven by public-sector enterprises that cannot charge appropriate user fees, by political capture (notably the agricultural electricity subsidy that has grown from 3.9 percent of demand in 1950-51 to nearly 30 percent today) and by overstaffed State Electricity Boards whose T&D losses largely mask outright theft. The rest of the lecture builds a positive programme for using markets and price signals to deliver infrastructure and manage public goods. Parekh proposes open electronic limit-order-book markets for electricity (with the distribution company as market-maker and a separate independent regulator for the transmission monopoly), competitive distribution at taluka or district scale, and BOT-style auctions for roads where bidders compete on the minimum present-discounted value of revenue rather than on toll levels. For open-access roads he sketches a land-value-capture mechanism using auctioned FSI to finance flyovers and expressways, and for telecommunications — where optical fibre has driven the marginal cost of carrying traffic close to zero — he urges complete deregulation, letting anyone enter and leasing only bandwidth at internationally comparable rates. The closing sections turn to environmental public goods. Citing suspended-particulate-matter levels in Delhi at eight times WHO standards and rising 40 percent in two years, Parekh argues that command-and-control approaches built on best-available-technology emission standards are both informationally and economically inferior to tradable emission permits. He works through a stylised two-firm example to show that equalising the marginal cost of abatement across emitters minimises social cost, and proposes that municipal authorities issue and auction permits which then trade like shares on India's existing stock-market infrastructure, with futures and options to guide investment under price volatility. The lecture is, in effect, a sustained case that the design of competitive markets — not the multiplication of regulators or the renegotiation of bilateral PPAs — is the cheapest route to infrastructure adequacy and environmental quality. ## Key points - India's growth is constrained by acute infrastructure shortages: ~10% peak power deficit, port congestion costing hundreds of crores in demurrage on petroleum imports alone, and a telephone density of 13 per 1000 versus 110 worldwide. - The root cause is underinvestment by public-sector enterprises that cannot charge appropriate user fees, compounded by political interference and soft budget constraints. - Agricultural electricity subsidies have ballooned from 3.9% of demand in 1950-51 to ~30% in 1993-94, totalling Rs 7,000 crore per year and crippling State Electricity Boards' capacity to invest or supply reliably. - Parekh proposes splitting electricity into competitive generation (via open electronic limit-order-book spot and futures markets), a regulated transmission monopoly under an independent regulator, and small-scale distribution monopolies at taluka or district level so that local bodies can recycle surplus into schools, roads and clinics. - Roads should be financed via BOT auctions on minimum present-discounted revenue (rather than minimum toll), with open-access roads funded by capturing land-value uplift through auctioned floor space index (FSI). - Telecommunications already shows the gains from competition; with optical fibre making the marginal cost of carrying traffic nearly zero, Parekh urges complete deregulation and leasing of bandwidth at internationally comparable rates. - Tradable emission permits — issued by municipal authorities up to the ambient absorptive capacity (e.g. 100,000 1-kg permits for a 100-tonne Mumbai cap) and traded on existing stock-exchange infrastructure — would equalise marginal abatement costs and outperform best-available-technology standards. - Across sectors the recurring claim is that well-designed competitive markets, not bilateral PPAs or stand-alone regulators, are the simplest route to economic efficiency in infrastructure and public-goods provision. --- ## [Primary work] Innovating India - Road Map 2014-19 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/innovating-india-road-map-2014-2019-various-april-5-2014/ ### Summary Innovating India – Road Map 2014-19 is a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet that reproduces substantial portions of a policy document of the same name prepared by the Pune International Centre (PIC) and timed to the 2014 general election. Editor Sunil S. Bhandare frames the reproduction as a non-partisan attempt to push PIC's recommendations into wider public debate before the new government takes office. Forum President Minoo R. Shroff's foreword and the introduction signed jointly by R. A. Mashelkar and Vijay Kelkar position the report as a 'Big Ideas' roadmap whose proposed reforms aim to combine rapid growth, equity and quality of life while explicitly eschewing 'competitive populism' and a diminished role for the state. Section 1, signed by Dileep Padgaonkar on behalf of PIC's Programme Committee, sets out an agenda for development built around eight tectonic shifts the authors see reshaping India — from the state to the market, from government to civil society, from Delhi to the states and panchayats, from upper-caste dominance to the assertiveness of those lower in the order, from older to younger generations, from male-centric to more gender-balanced power, from a techno-phobic to a techno-philic country, and from non-alignment to multi-alignment. Section 2, introduced by Nitin Desai, translates these diagnoses into sector-wise policy recommendations covering fiscal consolidation, privatisation, manufacturing, agriculture, energy, urban renewal, social security and labour-law reform. The booklet's substantive chapters are the collaborative work of PIC's larger Programme Committee and sector working groups, whose contributing authors include Abhay Bang (public health and tribal welfare), Abhay Pethe (urban economics and municipal finance), Abhijit Pawar (media, communications and rural enterprise), Ajit Ranade (macro-economics and growth strategy), Amitav Malik (defence technology and strategic affairs), Arun Firodia (manufacturing and industry), Arun Nigavekar (higher education and research), Ashwin Gambhir (renewable energy and decentralised electricity), Bhushan Gokhale (defence and security), Chandrahas Deshpande (fiscal and monetary policy), Jayant Umranikar (policing and internal security), Jayanta Roy (trade and external sector), John Kurien (agriculture and fisheries), Naim Keruwala (urban planning), Niranjan Rajadhyaksha (economic commentary and macro narrative), Prakash Hebalkar (technology, IT and disinvestment), Prashant Girbane (PIC programme coordination on policy synthesis), Ravi Pandit (manufacturing competitiveness and skilling), Sudhir Devare (foreign policy and multi-alignment), and Sumita Kale (social-security architecture and Aadhaar-based delivery). Together they author the chapter-level analysis behind the eight tectonic-shifts framework and the Section 2 sectoral recommendations. The booklet's argumentative centre is a classical-liberal critique of crony capitalism, license-permit residues and 'competitive populism', paired with a constructive case for a regulatory state that polices markets rather than substitutes for them, and a decentralised governance architecture that empowers municipalities, panchayats and state governments to deliver public goods. ### Body ## Summary Innovating India – Road Map 2014-19 is a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet that reproduces substantial portions of a policy document of the same name prepared by the Pune International Centre (PIC) and timed to the 2014 general election. Editor Sunil S. Bhandare frames the reproduction as a non-partisan attempt to push PIC's recommendations into wider public debate before the new government takes office. Forum President Minoo R. Shroff's foreword and the introduction signed jointly by R. A. Mashelkar and Vijay Kelkar position the report as a 'Big Ideas' roadmap whose proposed reforms aim to combine rapid growth, equity and quality of life while explicitly eschewing 'competitive populism' and a diminished role for the state. Section 1, signed by Dileep Padgaonkar on behalf of PIC's Programme Committee, sets out an agenda for development built around eight tectonic shifts the authors see reshaping India — from the state to the market, from government to civil society, from Delhi to the states and panchayats, from upper-caste dominance to the assertiveness of those lower in the order, from older to younger generations, from male-centric to more gender-balanced power, from a techno-phobic to a techno-philic country, and from non-alignment to multi-alignment. The argument then works through macro-economic stability, redirecting growth toward the lagging North and East, industry and services, energy transition, the urban challenge, a structured social security system anchored in Aadhaar, environmental management, reform of public administration, and the deeper question of whether a fragmented parliamentary polity can deliver the political transformation a rapidly urbanising economy demands. Section 2, introduced by Nitin Desai, translates these diagnoses into sector-wise policy recommendations through which the rendered pages run: fiscal consolidation (GST, return to 20% tax-to-GDP, sub-national fiscal autonomy, control of populist transfers), an aggressive privatisation and disinvestment programme, efficient subsidy management built around Aadhaar, rejuvenation of manufacturing through FDI commitments, NIMZ-style clusters and labour-law reform (decentralising labour to the State List, flexibility on retrenchment along Chinese and Gujarat lines, contract-worker hiring, exempting small firms from the Factories Act), and a new agriculture agenda covering irrigation, dryland farming, land leasing, subsidy review, GM technology and trade reform. The booklet's argumentative centre is a classical-liberal critique of crony capitalism, license-permit residues and 'competitive populism', paired with a constructive case for a regulatory state that polices markets rather than substitutes for them, and a decentralised governance architecture that empowers municipalities, panchayats and state governments to deliver public goods. ## Key points - The booklet is the Forum of Free Enterprise's free-distribution reprint of a Pune International Centre policy report led by Raghunath Mashelkar and Vijay Kelkar, edited by Sunil S. Bhandare and timed to the 2014 general election. - Section 1, signed by Dileep Padgaonkar, organises India's recent trajectory around eight 'tectonic shifts' — including state-to-market, Centre-to-States/panchayats, upper-caste to lower-rung assertiveness, and non-aligned to multi-aligned foreign posture. - Macro-economic chapter warns that 'competitive populism' between parties is producing fiscal profligacy and large hand-outs that threaten the 6–8% growth required to absorb a 100-million person rural-to-urban shift. - Recommendations call for rebalancing growth toward the North and East, professionalising corporate management to curb crony capitalism, and using public-private partnership and disinvestment to restructure public sector monoliths. - Energy section treats India as 'not a fossil fuel rich country' and argues for an open-access, decentralised electricity model built on renewables, smart grids and electric/fuel-cell mobility. - Urban chapter targets corrupt politician-bureaucrat-developer nexus around urban land and proposes empowered, fiscally autonomous local governments and reform of building and planning codes. - A unified social-security architecture anchored in Aadhaar is proposed to deliver universal health insurance, pensions and unemployment protection, replacing fragmented group-targeted schemes. - Section 2 specifies concrete fiscal-policy moves — GST, single-rate excise/service tax integration, PAN/UID-linked transactions, a Directorate of Risk Management — alongside aggressive disinvestment, FDI fast-tracking, NIMZ/Common Facilities Centres for manufacturing, and labour-law decentralisation plus retrenchment and contract-worker flexibility. --- ## [Primary work] INTEGRITY IN NATIONAL LIFE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/integrity-national-life-nittoor-srinivasa-rao-1971/ ### Summary This booklet reproduces the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture delivered by Nittoor Srinivasa Rao — former Chief Justice of Mysore and Central Vigilance Commissioner from 1964 to 1968 — at the Madras Centre of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 7 November 1970. Rao takes 'Integrity in National Life' as a topic 'of basic importance to all systems of society', then narrows the lens to post-Independence India, where, he warns, corruption and the erosion of ethical standards have spread to a point that endangers the country's future. Rao locates the problem in three overlapping zones. First, the moral climate of the community itself: where the prevailing code is corrupt, conformity makes it 'virtually impossible' for an honest functionary to operate, and the higher the level at which low standards are tolerated the more they cascade downward. Second, the political level: he argues that in representative democracy the unscrupulous acquisition and retention of power — through patronage of supporters, favours to financiers, and the wielding of political authority by men 'not of character and calibre' — necessarily demoralises the permanent civil services beneath.… ### Body ## Summary This booklet reproduces the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture delivered by Nittoor Srinivasa Rao — former Chief Justice of Mysore and Central Vigilance Commissioner from 1964 to 1968 — at the Madras Centre of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 7 November 1970. Rao takes 'Integrity in National Life' as a topic 'of basic importance to all systems of society', then narrows the lens to post-Independence India, where, he warns, corruption and the erosion of ethical standards have spread to a point that endangers the country's future. Rao locates the problem in three overlapping zones. First, the moral climate of the community itself: where the prevailing code is corrupt, conformity makes it 'virtually impossible' for an honest functionary to operate, and the higher the level at which low standards are tolerated the more they cascade downward. Second, the political level: he argues that in representative democracy the unscrupulous acquisition and retention of power — through patronage of supporters, favours to financiers, and the wielding of political authority by men 'not of character and calibre' — necessarily demoralises the permanent civil services beneath. Third, the citizen's side of the transaction: corruption is also the act of the private individual who exploits monopoly or seeks an illegitimate favour, so the remedy cannot lie only with public functionaries. A long historical middle section sets India's position against the West — virtual absence of corruption today in Britain and Scandinavia, but a Walpole-era past in which 'every man has his price', and a still-surviving American spoils system in which thousands of federal offices change hands at each election. Within India, Rao traces a deteriorating arc: the East India Company's looting servants, gradual improvement under the Crown, war-time backsliding, and a 'progressive deterioration in standards' after 1947, capped by floor-crossing, undisciplined Legislatures, and routine attacks on the bona fides of judges and election officials — a slide he dates to 'the last days of Jawaharlal Nehru's Prime Ministership.' The institutional response Rao surveys is the Santhanam Committee, the Administrative Vigilance Division, the Central Vigilance Commission, and the Administrative Reforms Commission's proposal for a Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in the States, modelled on the Scandinavian Ombudsman. He endorses these as necessary but insufficient: because most corrupt transactions have no aggrieved party, grievance-based machinery alone cannot reach them. He closes by calling for non-official supplements — Citizens' Advice Bureaus staffed by 'men of experience and knowledge' and Consumers' Organisations to discipline those wielding economic power — and expresses a guarded hope that 'the nation's inner strength and stamina will assert itself in due course, but before long.' ## Key points - Frames integrity as a universal problem of organised life, citing Kautilya's Arthasastra and Aristophanes' 'The Frogs', and warns that corruption has historically toppled regimes (Rome, Vichy France, Chiang Kai-Shek's China). - Identifies low-income society, weak administration, and bureaucratic delay (the 'speed money' that mutates into deliberate obstruction) as enabling conditions for petty corruption. - Argues that the moral climate of the community is the single most powerful variable — conformity makes individual rectitude almost untenable in a corrupt environment. - Treats representative democracy as especially vulnerable: politicians dependent on supporters trade favours, demoralise the permanent services, and recruit men of wealth outside the legislature as patrons in exchange for influence. - Reads Indian public life since Independence as a story of 'progressive deterioration', dating the sharpest decline in legislative conduct (floor-crossing, defection, attacks on judges and election officials) to the closing years of Nehru's premiership. - Surveys the institutional toolkit — Santhanam Committee, Administrative Vigilance Division, Central Vigilance Commission, Administrative Reforms Commission's Lokpal/Lokayukta proposal modelled on the Scandinavian Ombudsman — and warns that grievance-driven machinery cannot reach the typical corrupt transaction, which has no aggrieved party. - Extends the moral burden to the citizen and the private monopolist, arguing that 'the man who makes excessive profit by exploiting the needs of society or by creating a monopoly also acts without integrity and anti-socially'. - Recommends non-official supplements — Citizens' Advice Bureaus and Consumers' Organisations — to back up the new vigilance institutions, closing on a guarded hope for national moral revival. --- ## [Primary work] Interest Rates - An Insight URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/interest-rates-an-insight-rajaram-ajgaonkar/ ### Summary Rajaram Ajgaonkar's booklet, reproduced from the Bombay Chartered Accountants' Journal (May 2016) and reissued by the Forum of Free Enterprise, offers a primer on how interest rates are set and what their movements mean for an economy. Ajgaonkar, a Chartered Accountant, begins from first principles — interest as the price of borrowed money, alternately framed as rent for a lender, cost of capital for a business, and the cost of preponing consumption for a household — and builds outward toward the macroeconomic forces that move rates. The central analytical block surveys the major determinants of interest rates: monetary policy and the central bank's balancing act between growth and inflation, the demand pressure exerted by the growth rate, global and local liquidity (including the way cheap money fuels and then unwinds carry trades), economic and political uncertainty, and the inflation rate itself.… ### Body ## Summary Rajaram Ajgaonkar's booklet, reproduced from the Bombay Chartered Accountants' Journal (May 2016) and reissued by the Forum of Free Enterprise, offers a primer on how interest rates are set and what their movements mean for an economy. Ajgaonkar, a Chartered Accountant, begins from first principles — interest as the price of borrowed money, alternately framed as rent for a lender, cost of capital for a business, and the cost of preponing consumption for a household — and builds outward toward the macroeconomic forces that move rates. The central analytical block surveys the major determinants of interest rates: monetary policy and the central bank's balancing act between growth and inflation, the demand pressure exerted by the growth rate, global and local liquidity (including the way cheap money fuels and then unwinds carry trades), economic and political uncertainty, and the inflation rate itself. He then moves to transaction-level factors — type and cover of security, tenure of loan, end-use of funds, the borrower's creditworthiness, and the industry to which the borrower belongs — that explain why a single benchmark rate fans out into very different effective rates across borrowers. A substantial section is devoted to the post-2008 phenomenon of negative interest rates in the Euro Zone, Japan, Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland, where central banks invert the usual logic of lending and effectively penalise banks for holding cash. Ajgaonkar enumerates seventeen distinct effects of low interest rates — on savers, senior citizens dependent on deposit income, charities, banks, consumer durables, housing, stock and bond markets, capital-versus-labour substitution, currency stability, and the temptation toward riskier assets — arguing that the welfare verdict depends on the weight one places on each constituency. The rendered pages close with the opening of an "Indian scene" discussion in which Ajgaonkar credits supply-side reforms with bringing CPI inflation from 9.70% in 2008 down to 5.72% in 2016 and tracks the RBI's repo rate cuts from 9% to 6.50% over the same span. He projects further gradual easing if inflation stays anchored; the chunk cuts off mid-paragraph as the comparison with developed economies begins. ## Key points - Defines interest three ways at once: rent for the lender, cost of capital for a business, and the cost of preponing consumption for a household. - Catalogues five macro drivers of interest rates — monetary policy, growth rate, liquidity, uncertainty, and inflation — and explains the central bank's balancing act between growth and inflation control. - Adds a second layer of transaction-level determinants: security quality, loan tenure, end-use of funds, creditworthiness, and industry, showing why one benchmark rate produces many effective rates. - Explains the carry-trade mechanics that link low domestic rates to capital flows, and how a reversal of those flows can unwind carry positions and pressure currencies. - Analyses negative interest rate policies in the Euro Zone, Japan, Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland as a post-2008 dislocation that inverts the lender-borrower payment relationship. - Enumerates seventeen effects of low interest rates — punishing savers, senior citizens, and charities; aiding entrepreneurs, housing, and stock markets; risking asset bubbles, capital-for-labour substitution, and bad-loan build-up. - Tracks the Indian disinflation: CPI from 9.70% (2008) to 5.72% (2016) and RBI repo rate cuts from 9% to 6.50%, attributing the improvement to supply-side strengthening. - Frames the welfare verdict on low rates as a weighting problem between business/borrower gains and the erosion of nominal incomes and real living standards for savers. --- ## [Primary work] Interest Rates and Economic Activity URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/interest-rates-and-economic-activity-dr-deepak-mohanty-february-3-2014/ ### Summary Dr. Deepak Mohanty, Executive Director of the Reserve Bank of India, uses this 2014 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet (based on a talk delivered at the Association of Financial Professionals of India in Pune in August 2013) to probe whether monetary policy alone can revive India's flagging growth. Reviewing the decade 2003-04 through 2012-13, he divides the Reserve Bank's stance into four growth-inflation phases — the boom of 2003-08, the global-crisis response of 2008-10, the inflation-fighting tightening of 2010-12, and the cautious easing of 2012-14 — and asks whether interest-rate movements actually transmitted into market lending rates and real economic activity. His answer is sceptical of the easy view that cheaper credit will restart investment. Empirical evidence cited from Reserve Bank and IMF working papers shows that policy rate changes do affect output and inflation, but transmission is asymmetric: banks raise lending rates quickly during tightening and adjust them more sluggishly during easing, because fixed-rate deposit liabilities and the apprehension of losing deposits constrain them.… ### Body ## Summary Dr. Deepak Mohanty, Executive Director of the Reserve Bank of India, uses this 2014 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet (based on a talk delivered at the Association of Financial Professionals of India in Pune in August 2013) to probe whether monetary policy alone can revive India's flagging growth. Reviewing the decade 2003-04 through 2012-13, he divides the Reserve Bank's stance into four growth-inflation phases — the boom of 2003-08, the global-crisis response of 2008-10, the inflation-fighting tightening of 2010-12, and the cautious easing of 2012-14 — and asks whether interest-rate movements actually transmitted into market lending rates and real economic activity. His answer is sceptical of the easy view that cheaper credit will restart investment. Empirical evidence cited from Reserve Bank and IMF working papers shows that policy rate changes do affect output and inflation, but transmission is asymmetric: banks raise lending rates quickly during tightening and adjust them more sluggishly during easing, because fixed-rate deposit liabilities and the apprehension of losing deposits constrain them. Mohanty unpacks the Fisher decomposition to argue that nominal rather than real rates have shaped recent investment, and presents firm-level data showing the interest cost-to-sales ratio rose from 2.6 per cent to 3.8 per cent while sales growth collapsed from 20.9 per cent to 9.5 per cent — a squeeze driven less by RBI policy than by sluggish demand, supply bottlenecks, and a declining marginal efficiency of capital. The booklet's argumentative centre, set up by Minoo R. Shroff's foreword and reaffirmed in Mohanty's conclusion, is that India's investment slowdown is structural rather than monetary. Price stability and exchange-rate stability, he insists, are necessary preconditions for sustainable high growth; when non-monetary factors — corporate over-leverage, supply-side bottlenecks, weak global demand — are doing the damage, lowering interest rates is no panacea. Charts and tables tracking repo and CRR moves, weighted average lending rates, the incremental capital-output ratio, and the marginal productivity of capital are mustered to support the case for monetary caution over premature easing. ## Key points - The booklet covers the Reserve Bank of India's monetary stance from 2003-04 through 2012-13, partitioned into four growth-inflation phases. - Mohanty argues that monetary policy transmission in India is asymmetric — faster from policy rate to market rates during tightening than during easing. - He attributes the post-crisis investment slump primarily to non-monetary factors: supply bottlenecks, sluggish demand, and corporate deleveraging. - The Fisher equation framework is used to distinguish nominal and real interest rate effects on investment decisions. - Firm-level evidence shows interest cost-to-sales ratio rose from 2.6 per cent (2003-08) to 3.8 per cent (2012-13) as sales growth collapsed from 20.9 per cent to 9.5 per cent. - The incremental capital-output ratio (ICOR) has been rising and the marginal productivity of capital (MPC) declining since 2008-09. - Mohanty's central policy conclusion is that lower interest rates alone cannot stimulate growth when non-monetary headwinds dominate; price and exchange-rate stability are prerequisites for sustainable growth. - The booklet appears in the Forum of Free Enterprise series dedicated to the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust, with a foreword by Forum President Minoo R. Shroff. --- ## [Primary work] INTERNATIONAL FINANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT — A STRATEGY FOR INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/international-finance-development-a-strategy-for-india-t-thomas-december-12-1982/ ### Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Bombay on 25th October 1982 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, T. Thomas — the first Indian Director of Unilever and a former chairman of Hindustan Lever — sets out a businessman's strategy for financing Indian development in a decelerating world economy. He opens by surveying the global landscape: unemployment near 10% in the OECD, world GDP growth falling from over 4% in the 1970s to barely 1% in 1981, and sovereign debts of Poland, Argentina and Mexico ballooning into crisis. Unlike the 1930s, he argues, professionally managed institutions like the IMF and the World Bank, together with determined Western restructuring, should permit a modest recovery to 2–3% growth by 1984, and India's strategy must be built on this hopeful but unoptimistic outlook. Turning inward, Thomas identifies three phases in independent India's economic evolution — Initiation, Introversion and Isolation — and calls for a fourth phase of Innovation: opening more sectors to private industry, dismantling the obsession with self-reliance, importing modern technology, and rolling back the public sector.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Bombay on 25th October 1982 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, T. Thomas — the first Indian Director of Unilever and a former chairman of Hindustan Lever — sets out a businessman's strategy for financing Indian development in a decelerating world economy. He opens by surveying the global landscape: unemployment near 10% in the OECD, world GDP growth falling from over 4% in the 1970s to barely 1% in 1981, and sovereign debts of Poland, Argentina and Mexico ballooning into crisis. Unlike the 1930s, he argues, professionally managed institutions like the IMF and the World Bank, together with determined Western restructuring, should permit a modest recovery to 2–3% growth by 1984, and India's strategy must be built on this hopeful but unoptimistic outlook. Turning inward, Thomas identifies three phases in independent India's economic evolution — Initiation, Introversion and Isolation — and calls for a fourth phase of Innovation: opening more sectors to private industry, dismantling the obsession with self-reliance, importing modern technology, and rolling back the public sector. He treats the deteriorating capital-output ratio (from 2.5 to 3.3 over twenty years) as the central inefficiency to be reversed and warns that restoring it to 2.5 could lift growth by nearly 3% per annum at no fiscal cost. Citing Britain's struggle with the "British Disease" and its subsequent privatisations, he argues that India, being a growing economy, can shift course without the convulsive U-turns of the West. The second half of the lecture focuses on enhancing investment capital by raising foreign financial flows from about 6% to 12% of total investment. Thomas evaluates three channels — official flows (multilateral and bilateral loans), private financial institutions (commercial banks and bond markets), and direct foreign investment — and finds the first two limited and risky: official funds tend to flow into the already-bloated bureaucracy and public sector, and create what he calls a "charity" image he believes India does not deserve, citing China as a contrast. Through an extended analysis of Mexico's 1976–81 borrowing binge and 1982 default, he draws five lessons against over-reliance on short-term bank loans and in favour of direct equity investment, which he begins enumerating at the close of the rendered pages. ## Key points - Frames the lecture as a businessman's perspective (distinct from academic or political economists) on India's investment strategy, invoking the Bombay Plan precedent associated with J. R. D. Tata and A. D. Shroff. - Diagnoses world GDP growth as having dropped from over 4% in the 1970s to 1.12% in 1981, with developing-country per-capita GDP falling for the first time in 25 years. - Periodises post-independence India into three phases — Initiation, Introversion and Isolation — and calls for a fourth phase of Innovation through openness to private industry and foreign technology. - Identifies the deteriorating Capital:Output ratio (2.5 to 3.3 over twenty years) as the binding constraint, attributing it to public-sector reservations, technology import restrictions and the obsession with self-reliance. - Argues that restoring the Capital:Output ratio to 2.5 would raise growth by nearly 3% per annum, treating efficiency gains as a free lever within India's control. - Recommends doubling external capital inflows from 6% to 12% of total investment, with the additional flow weighted away from official channels toward private equity. - Warns that official multilateral loans gravitate toward the bureaucracy and public sector, deepening inefficiency, and create a psychological image of dependence — contrasting India's standing with China's relative independence from concessional aid. - Uses Mexico's 1976–81 over-borrowing and 1982 crisis as a cautionary template, drawing lessons against substituting domestic savings, against short-term bank loans, and in favour of direct foreign equity investment. --- ## [Primary work] INTERNATIONALISATION OF INDIAN BUSINESS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/internationalisation-of-indian-business-role-of-financial-institution-r-c-shah-june-28-1983/ ### Summary Delivered in April 1983 as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust's annual public lecture and published by the Trust the following June, R. C. Shah's address argues that India — long an 'open society' but a 'relatively closed economy' — has now reached a level of self-sufficiency from which it can credibly internationalise its business. Shah, then Chairman and Managing Director of the EXIM Bank, frames internationalisation around three concrete vehicles: joint ventures abroad promoted by Indian business houses, project (turnkey) exports, and the overseas branch networks of Indian banks. He treats internationalisation as the natural next stage of the import-substitution path: three decades of inward industrialisation have built diversified industrial capacity and a distinctly Indian 'intermediate technology' that, he argues, is appropriate for partners in other developing economies. The data sections of the lecture survey approvals, regional spread and earnings from Indian joint ventures up to 1980–81. Shah documents 399 approvals (117 in operation, 195 abandoned), a 49 per cent attrition rate, and a cumulative net foreign-exchange inflow of about Rs. 754 million.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered in April 1983 as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust's annual public lecture and published by the Trust the following June, R. C. Shah's address argues that India — long an 'open society' but a 'relatively closed economy' — has now reached a level of self-sufficiency from which it can credibly internationalise its business. Shah, then Chairman and Managing Director of the EXIM Bank, frames internationalisation around three concrete vehicles: joint ventures abroad promoted by Indian business houses, project (turnkey) exports, and the overseas branch networks of Indian banks. He treats internationalisation as the natural next stage of the import-substitution path: three decades of inward industrialisation have built diversified industrial capacity and a distinctly Indian 'intermediate technology' that, he argues, is appropriate for partners in other developing economies. The data sections of the lecture survey approvals, regional spread and earnings from Indian joint ventures up to 1980–81. Shah documents 399 approvals (117 in operation, 195 abandoned), a 49 per cent attrition rate, and a cumulative net foreign-exchange inflow of about Rs. 754 million. He diagnoses the rising 'sickness' of overseas ventures with four causes — inappropriate choice of local partner, inadequate product adaptation, lack of brand name, and chronic under-capitalisation — and replies with six policy and practice recommendations: tighter commercial-viability screening before approval, allowance for cash equity, fiscal incentives for repatriated earnings, flexibility on royalty and dividend rules, consortium rehabilitation of sick ventures, and better personnel allocation by Indian parent firms. A parallel section on project exports values cumulative capital-goods and turnkey contracts at roughly Rs. 16 billion between 1973 and 1981, with construction contracts of Rs. 35 billion concentrated in Middle East oil economies. The rendered pages close as Shah opens the third pillar — Indian banks abroad — noting that twelve Indian banks ran 137 offices across 25 countries by mid-1982, and identifying State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Bank of India as the genuinely transnational players. He distinguishes the ethnic-retail growth of the late 1950s from the directed expansion of the 1970s, and signals that the lecture will move from production-side internationalisation to services. The argument throughout is pragmatic rather than ideological: the case for internationalisation is built on returns, technology fit and discipline, with repeated insistence that protected markets and weak financial preparation are the real obstacles to Indian business succeeding overseas. ## Key points - Distinguishes 'open society' (which India is) from 'open economy' (which India has not been) and treats internationalisation of business as the bridge between them. - Frames the three-decade import-substitution regime as a dynamic ladder that has now produced 'intermediate technology' appropriate for other developing economies — the basis for Indian outward expansion. - Identifies three forms of internationalisation: joint ventures abroad, project (turnkey) exports, and the overseas branch networks of Indian banks. - Reports that of 399 joint-venture approvals up to August 1980, only 117 were in operation and 195 were abandoned, with a 49 per cent attrition rate — yet net foreign-exchange inflow was roughly Rs. 754 million. - Diagnoses sickness in Indian joint ventures via four causes: inappropriate local partners, weak product adaptation, absence of brand name, and thin capitalisation that forces premature debt. - Proposes six policy reforms — commercial-viability screening, cash-equity allowance, fiscal incentives for repatriations, flexible royalty/dividend ploughback, consortium rehabilitation, and better personnel deployment. - Notes that cumulative capital-goods and project exports between 1973 and 1981 reached about Rs. 16 billion, projecting Rs. 160 billion by 1990 if 'conscious and disciplined steps' are taken. - Observes that twelve Indian banks operated 137 offices across 25 countries by June 1982, with State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Bank of India qualifying as transnational — but with weak congruence between bank networks and trade flows in the developing world. --- ## [Primary work] INTERNATIONALISATION OF INDIAN BUSINESS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/internationalization-of-indian-business-m-k-raju-january-12-1980/ ### Summary M. K. Raju's A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered in Madras on 27 October 1979 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise and published as this booklet in January 1980, is a sober post-mortem of India's first decade of outbound joint ventures. Opening with a tribute to Shroff and his generation's faith in free enterprise as the engine of national development, Raju shifts quickly from rhetoric to data: of 345 Indian joint ventures approved abroad by December 1978, only 31% were in production, 26% under implementation, and a striking 43% had been abandoned. A closer survey of 23 manufacturing units in a single South-East Asian host country found just 9% profitable and 70% incurring cash losses. Raju rejects the standard alibis — interest burden, invisible entry barriers, marginal Indian commitment — as inadequate, and instead builds a multi-dimensional diagnosis.… ### Body ## Summary M. K. Raju's A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered in Madras on 27 October 1979 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise and published as this booklet in January 1980, is a sober post-mortem of India's first decade of outbound joint ventures. Opening with a tribute to Shroff and his generation's faith in free enterprise as the engine of national development, Raju shifts quickly from rhetoric to data: of 345 Indian joint ventures approved abroad by December 1978, only 31% were in production, 26% under implementation, and a striking 43% had been abandoned. A closer survey of 23 manufacturing units in a single South-East Asian host country found just 9% profitable and 70% incurring cash losses. Raju rejects the standard alibis — interest burden, invisible entry barriers, marginal Indian commitment — as inadequate, and instead builds a multi-dimensional diagnosis. Indian joint ventures, he argues, are 'cash-starved' from conception, technical-know-how fees and expatriate costs eat up nearly 24% of the equity, debt-equity norms ignore the openness of host-country markets, and Indian parents transferred to overseas operations the same 'domestic market only' assumptions that had shaped their import-substitution era at home. Set against Korean, Taiwanese and Japanese firms that built export-oriented industries at world scale from inception, Indian enterprises lacked both the scale and the brand-and-distribution capabilities that define a defensible comparative advantage in a market environment. The second half of the lecture turns prescriptive. Raju calls on the Government of India and the Reserve Bank to stop treating joint ventures as 'a foreign exchange generator' through the export of raw materials and royalties, and to instead build a long-term industrial strategy: liberalised remittances of cash equity, consortium financing through Indian banks, stiff penalties for opportunistic abandonment, and organised takeover of 'sick units' by a consortium of Indian firms. The closing turn-around strategy frames the booklet's central polemic — that 'strategy must replace opportunism and expediency' — and ends with a reminder, via a Eugene Black epigraph on the back cover, that private enterprise must be embraced 'not as a necessary evil, but as an affirmative good.' ## Key points - Booklet reproduces the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture delivered by management consultant M. K. Raju in Madras on 27 October 1979 under Forum of Free Enterprise auspices. - Of 345 Indian joint ventures approved abroad by December 1978, only 31% were in production, 26% under implementation, and 43% were abandoned; in a survey of 23 manufacturing units in one host country, 70% were running cash losses. - Raju dismisses the standard 'interest burden', 'invisible barriers to entry' and 'marginal commitment' explanations as insufficient and proposes a multi-dimensional, structural diagnosis. - Indian joint ventures are cash-starved from inception: technical fees and expatriate costs cover ~24% of equity, and debt-equity norms safe in protected India become dangerous in open host-country markets. - Indian industry's 'domestic market only' import-substitution mindset and reliance on tariff protection do not translate to host markets where Korean, Taiwanese and Japanese firms compete with world-scale, export-oriented operations. - GOI's treatment of joint ventures as a 'foreign exchange generator' — and as a vent for idle Indian capacity after the 1969–72 recession — produced the wrong incentive structure and short-term horizon. - Reform agenda: GOI/RBI must share long-term financing through a consortium of Indian banks, liberalise equity remittances in cash, impose stiff penalties on opportunistic abandonment, and organise a consortium of Indian industry to take over 'sick units'. - Final exhortation: 'Strategy must replace opportunism and expediency' — Indian industrialists must hone business acumen on the concept of strategy if Indian business is to internationalise in a big way. --- ## [Primary work] IS INDIAN AIRLINES CORPORATION FAIR TO THE PUBLIC? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/is-india-airline-corporation-fair-to-the-public-september-5-1961/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet — reproduced from an August 1961 editorial in Asian & Indian Skyways — mounts a sustained critique of the Indian Airlines Corporation (IAC) as a case study in the inefficiencies that follow nationalisation. The author opens by conceding that air transport is a national necessity and a public service, but argues that IAC has betrayed both its private-sector predecessors and the travelling public through cost-padding, fare hikes, and an absolute refusal to be challenged. Returning to the August 1953 takeover under Minister for Transport and Communications Jagjivan Ram, the leaflet recalls the original promise that no employee would suffer from nationalisation, then walks through eight years of IAC annual reports to show that this guarantee curdled into a permanent expansion of payroll bearing no relationship to operational need. The heart of the pamphlet is an audit of staffing trends against the active fleet. While the number of aircraft on the active list fell from 99 to 73 and the surviving aircraft were flown harder, IAC's headcount climbed from 7,107 at formation to 9,553 by 1959–60 — a 34.4 per cent increase.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet — reproduced from an August 1961 editorial in Asian & Indian Skyways — mounts a sustained critique of the Indian Airlines Corporation (IAC) as a case study in the inefficiencies that follow nationalisation. The author opens by conceding that air transport is a national necessity and a public service, but argues that IAC has betrayed both its private-sector predecessors and the travelling public through cost-padding, fare hikes, and an absolute refusal to be challenged. Returning to the August 1953 takeover under Minister for Transport and Communications Jagjivan Ram, the leaflet recalls the original promise that no employee would suffer from nationalisation, then walks through eight years of IAC annual reports to show that this guarantee curdled into a permanent expansion of payroll bearing no relationship to operational need. The heart of the pamphlet is an audit of staffing trends against the active fleet. While the number of aircraft on the active list fell from 99 to 73 and the surviving aircraft were flown harder, IAC's headcount climbed from 7,107 at formation to 9,553 by 1959–60 — a 34.4 per cent increase. The engineering department added 1,119 employees (a 46.6 per cent jump) even though additional flying hours per extra engineer worked out to just 2 hours 41 minutes per annum; Accounts and Audit nearly doubled before drifting back; Administration and Miscellaneous rose to 1,578. The author treats these ratios as 'absolutely unique in airline operation history' and quips that the IAC annual reports read as if written by Lewis Carroll. From staffing the critique broadens to operational waste — twelve serviceable Viking aircraft left to rust in the open after the Viscounts arrived, ground time exceeding flying time, and 'a variety of other drains' through which revenue leaks: pilferage of in-flight food, mishandling of excess-luggage charges, and unpaid commissions on credit-card bookings because IAC has refused membership in the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The leaflet closes by arguing that the General Manager's pleas about rising maintenance costs do not survive arithmetic: with income growing more than 13 per cent a year, the Corporation's financial troubles trace not to external pressures but to a managerial approach to business that the author calls 'peculiar' and unworthy of public sympathy. ## Key points - Frames IAC as a public service that has nevertheless failed the public by raising fares and refusing to be questioned because strikes by 'Government servants' are illegal. - Recovers the August 1953 nationalisation moment under Jagjivan Ram, when the government promised no employee would suffer — and treats that promise as the seed of permanent overstaffing. - Builds a granular eight-year staffing audit from IAC's own annual reports: total employees up from 7,107 to 9,553 (+34.4%) while the active aircraft list fell from 99 to 73. - Highlights a 46.6% growth in engineering staff yielding only 2 hours 41 minutes of additional flying per extra engineer — a ratio the author calls unique in world airline history. - Catalogues operational waste: twelve serviceable Viking aircraft scrapped instead of redeployed, excessive ground time, pilferage of food and spares, and mishandled excess-luggage billing. - Faults IAC for not joining IATA, costing it commissions on credit-card bookings made through other carriers — a self-inflicted revenue leak. - Concludes that with income rising more than 13% per year, IAC's financial troubles are managerial, not structural, and reflect an approach to business 'so peculiar' that no sympathy is warranted. --- ## [Primary work] Is India Heading Towards an Internal Debt Trap? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/is-india-heading-towards-internal-debt-trap-sks-rao-1988/ ### Summary Dr. S. R. K. Rao, former Principal Adviser to the Reserve Bank of India, delivered this lecture under the Forum of Free Enterprise auspices in Bombay on 31 August 1988. The text develops the concept of an "Internal Debt Trap" that Rao says he first publicly enunciated at the Ninth Public Sector Banks' Economists' Meet in New Delhi on 30 May 1986, and which subsequently attracted backing from N. A. Palkhivala, eminent Indian economists, and the international press. Rao defines the trap as the threshold beyond which fresh government borrowing is no longer sufficient even to meet the debt-servicing burden, and he argues that India is rapidly approaching that point — a possibility he and his Reserve Bank colleague A.… ### Body ## Summary Dr. S. R. K. Rao, former Principal Adviser to the Reserve Bank of India, delivered this lecture under the Forum of Free Enterprise auspices in Bombay on 31 August 1988. The text develops the concept of an "Internal Debt Trap" that Rao says he first publicly enunciated at the Ninth Public Sector Banks' Economists' Meet in New Delhi on 30 May 1986, and which subsequently attracted backing from N. A. Palkhivala, eminent Indian economists, and the international press. Rao defines the trap as the threshold beyond which fresh government borrowing is no longer sufficient even to meet the debt-servicing burden, and he argues that India is rapidly approaching that point — a possibility he and his Reserve Bank colleague A. Seshan empirically tested and pinned to roughly 1992-93 on the basis of historic growth rates of 15.3 per cent in net market borrowings and 25.7 per cent in interest payments between 1979-80 and 1986-87. The bulk of the lecture marshals official evidence — successive "Economic Survey" reports, RBI Annual Reports, the Eighth and Ninth Finance Commission papers, the CAG's July 1988 Report on Public Debt, and the World Bank's recent India report — to show that the deficit on revenue account has risen sharply, that tax-to-GDP buoyancy is being outrun by non-plan expenditure (defence, subsidies, interest, transfers to States), and that total Central liabilities reached 64 per cent of GDP and Rs. 1,66,546 crores by 1986-87. Rao stresses four "supply-side" parameters that make the Indian government securities market a captive rather than inexhaustible source — the small share of household holdings, the inordinate delays in fructification of investments, the limited household-sector elasticity to interest-rate hikes, and the constraint that monetary targeting now places on the RBI's ability to absorb residuary loan tranches. He compares the trajectory with the "sybaritic psychology" that drove Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico into an external debt trap in the 1970s. The final sections weigh policy alternatives. Rao is sceptical of cosmetic remedies: a statutory ceiling under Article 292 of the Constitution (advocated by B. K. Madan and the Public Accounts Committee) founders on the "Cinderella phrase" of exceptional circumstances; a Gramm-Rudman-style six-year zeroing of the revenue deficit, contemplated by the Ninth Finance Commission, is judged unlikely to outperform earlier Five-Year-Plan targets given Pay Commission, NDC and disaster-relief commitments. His preferred alternative is "Debt Planning" coupled with a "Disaggregation Model" — every loan tranche tagged to specific productive projects or areas, with defined minimum yields and maximum gestation lags accountable to Parliament — so that public borrowing functions as a catalyst to growth rather than a means of bridging structural revenue gaps. The Conclusions section warns that interest costs already represented 56 per cent of non-RBI borrowings in 1987-88 against 44 per cent in 1980-81, and that household savings rates have plateaued just as crowding-out is set to intensify. ## Key points - Rao defines the "Internal Debt Trap" as the threshold beyond which fresh government borrowings cannot even meet debt-servicing charges, let alone fund development. - He locates the empirical danger zone around 1992-93 based on 15.3% annual growth in net market borrowings and 25.7% growth in interest payments between 1979-80 and 1986-87. - Four supply-side parameters — captive securities market, delays in fructification, inelastic household savings response to interest rates, and monetary targeting — undercut the optimistic view that India can keep borrowing indefinitely. - Rao draws an explicit parallel between India's fiscal trajectory and the "sybaritic psychology" of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico (the "ABCM Countries") that led them into an external debt trap. - He marshals the Economic Survey, RBI Annual Reports, the Eighth and Ninth Finance Commissions, the CAG's July 1988 Public Debt Report, and the World Bank's India report as converging evidence of structural revenue-expenditure imbalance. - Total Central liabilities rose from Rs. 59,749 crores in 1980-81 to Rs. 1,66,546 crores in 1986-87 (64% of GDP); borrowings of Rs. 27,000 crores planned for 1989-90 mean half of fresh borrowings would only service interest. - Rao rejects statutory ceilings (Article 292) and Gramm-Rudman-style zeroing as mechanistic, and proposes "Debt Planning" plus a "Disaggregation Model" tagging each loan tranche to productive projects with parliamentary accountability. - He credits N. A. Palkhivala with popularising the "Internal Debt Trap" concept after Rao first enunciated it on 30 May 1986, and acknowledges the Business Standard for early press coverage. --- ## [Primary work] Is India Ready for Challenge of 1980s? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/is-india-ready-for-challenge-of-1980s-j-h-doshi-november-15-1979/ ### Summary J. H. Doshi delivered this Presidential address at the 23rd Annual General Meeting of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 13 November 1979, and the Forum published it as a pamphlet a few days later. Doshi frames India at the close of the 1970s as 'a giant in chains' — chains, he insists, that the country has deliberately forged for itself through bureaucratic controls, statist planning and an entrenched political dogma he names 'Synthetic Socialism'. The address reads as a stock-taking exercise: 28 years after planned economic development was initiated, foodgrain output has barely doubled while millions remain too poor to buy grain from the very buffer stocks that are rotting in unscientific storage; unemployment registrations have shot up from 34 lakhs in 1969 to 136 lakhs in 1979; foreign debt has climbed from Rs. 32 crores in 1951 to over Rs. 7,000 crores; and inflation, running at roughly 17 per cent above the previous year, has by his count been a fixture of Indian life for a quarter-century. Against this gloom, Doshi sets a counter-archive of what citizens have done despite the state — the leap in gem, jewellery and diamond exports from Rs. 10 crores in 1965-66 to Rs.… ### Body ## Summary J. H. Doshi delivered this Presidential address at the 23rd Annual General Meeting of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 13 November 1979, and the Forum published it as a pamphlet a few days later. Doshi frames India at the close of the 1970s as 'a giant in chains' — chains, he insists, that the country has deliberately forged for itself through bureaucratic controls, statist planning and an entrenched political dogma he names 'Synthetic Socialism'. The address reads as a stock-taking exercise: 28 years after planned economic development was initiated, foodgrain output has barely doubled while millions remain too poor to buy grain from the very buffer stocks that are rotting in unscientific storage; unemployment registrations have shot up from 34 lakhs in 1969 to 136 lakhs in 1979; foreign debt has climbed from Rs. 32 crores in 1951 to over Rs. 7,000 crores; and inflation, running at roughly 17 per cent above the previous year, has by his count been a fixture of Indian life for a quarter-century. Against this gloom, Doshi sets a counter-archive of what citizens have done despite the state — the leap in gem, jewellery and diamond exports from Rs. 10 crores in 1965-66 to Rs. 700 crores; the Rs. 200 crores a year remitted by semi-literate workers in the Middle East; the women who built a multi-crore 'Pappad' industry on a few hundred rupees of capital. The lesson he draws is that India's economic potential is sleeping under the weight of permits, licences, credit squeezes, power cuts, nationalised industries that blame one another, and a Government 'machinery' that he says has become 'an engine of corruption and oppression'. Public-sector expansion, in his telling, has both starved primary public functions (drinking water, primary education, village roads, public health) and crowded out productive private enterprise. Doshi closes by widening the lens to the coming decade: population pressure, stagflation, energy shortages, an adverse trade balance and the looming collapse of the foreign-exchange surplus once oil import costs are fully felt. He warns the country may slide back to the conditions of the late 1950s and early 1960s unless Government, business and economists co-operate — as, he argues, they have in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore — and unless 'vigorous public opinion' compels the political class to abandon dogma. The pamphlet ends not with a programme but with a question: 'Can we make this happen?', and reminds readers that the Forum of Free Enterprise has been making this case for 23 years. ## Key points - Frames India circa 1979 as a self-shackled giant whose chains are 'carefully designed and forged' by its own policy choices. - Treats the buffer stock of nearly 20 million tonnes of foodgrains rotting alongside millions without purchasing power as the paradigmatic Indian paradox. - Marshals data on debt (Rs. 32 crores in 1951 to over Rs. 7,000 crores in 1979), unemployment (34 lakhs to 136 lakhs registered between 1969 and 1979) and inflation (~17% YoY, a 25-year continuum) to argue the planning model has failed on its own terms. - Celebrates the unplanned successes — gems/jewellery/diamond exports, Middle East remittances, the women's Pappad industry — as evidence of a 'sleeping economic giant' that officialdom obstructs. - Indicts the public sector for crowding out primary state functions (water, primary education, roads, health) while running bread-making, soft drinks and bus transport at a loss. - Names the underlying ideology 'Synthetic Socialism' — statism plus hypocrisy — and identifies ceilings on executive pay, bans on company donations to parties, and the resulting industrialist arm-twisting as symptoms of the double standard. - Warns the 1980s will bring population pressure, stagflation, energy shortages and adverse trade balances that could push India back to its late-1950s / early-1960s condition unless policy changes. - Argues that only sustained education of public opinion, of the kind the Forum of Free Enterprise has carried on for 23 years, can compel politicians to abandon dogma. --- ## [Primary work] Is Nationalisation of Industries in Public Interest? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/is-nationalisation-of-industries-in-public-interest-gangadhar-gadgil-june-18-1979/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet asks whether nationalisation still serves the public interest, and answers — emphatically — no. It opens with a brief historical framing piece signed by M. R. Pai, which traces nationalisation back to the socialist response to Industrial Revolution exploitation and argues that fifty years of European experience (the British Labour Party, Fabians, even the Chinese under Deng) has discredited public ownership as a vehicle for either efficiency or social justice. Pai catalogues the failures that drove socialists like Hugh Gaitskell, C. A. R. Crosland, R. H. S. Crossman, U Nu and Lee Kuan Yew to abandon nationalisation: loss of productivity once "everybody's business became nobody's business"; bureaucratic indifference to workers; monopoly contempt for consumers (LIC, IAC, the State Trading Corporation); and the illusion that parliamentary control could discipline the resulting bureaucracy. The substantive essay is Prof.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet asks whether nationalisation still serves the public interest, and answers — emphatically — no. It opens with a brief historical framing piece signed by M. R. Pai, which traces nationalisation back to the socialist response to Industrial Revolution exploitation and argues that fifty years of European experience (the British Labour Party, Fabians, even the Chinese under Deng) has discredited public ownership as a vehicle for either efficiency or social justice. Pai catalogues the failures that drove socialists like Hugh Gaitskell, C. A. R. Crosland, R. H. S. Crossman, U Nu and Lee Kuan Yew to abandon nationalisation: loss of productivity once "everybody's business became nobody's business"; bureaucratic indifference to workers; monopoly contempt for consumers (LIC, IAC, the State Trading Corporation); and the illusion that parliamentary control could discipline the resulting bureaucracy. The substantive essay is Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil's "An Analysis of Arguments in Favour of Nationalisation," a point-by-point rebuttal of Industries Minister George Fernandes's 1979 proposal to nationalise the iron and steel, automobile and aluminium industries. Gadgil argues that the Janata Party's own election manifesto and Economic Charter explicitly rejected expansion of the public sector in favour of Gandhian trusteeship, decentralisation and small-scale industry; Fernandes's proposal is therefore inconsistent with the policy framework on which his government was elected. Gadgil then dismantles Fernandes's five stated grounds — that the industries are commanding heights, that they are controlled by big business houses, that they have failed to modernise, that they depend on public funds, and that they fail to serve public purposes — showing in each case that the public sector already produces a substantial share of steel and aluminium, that licensing, FERA, MRTP, taxation, credit allocation and conversion clauses already give Government "tremendous power to persuade, cajole or coerce" private enterprise, and that the Tatas, ACC and Mafatlal have in fact done pioneering work in rural development, ancillaries and research. The rendered pages close with Gadgil refusing the bail-out logic for sick units: loss-making private firms, he argues, should be allowed to fail or be acquired by entrepreneurs who can run them at a profit, with workers' interests protected by an unemployment-insurance scheme rather than by perpetuating waste through public takeover. The polemic positions itself within a wider liberal critique of dirigisme — invoking Deng's "black cat / white cat" pragmatism, Gandhian trusteeship, and the comparative record of public-sector banks, LIC, Indian Airlines and the State Trading Corporation as monopolies that have failed consumers. ## Key points - Frames nationalisation as a tool of public policy that must be judged solely by whether it serves public interest, not by socialist intent. - Argues that European democratic socialists and even Deng's China have abandoned nationalisation after finding it reduces productivity, oppresses workers and ignores consumers. - Identifies four canonical failures of public ownership: loss of personal stake ("everybody's business became nobody's business"), bureaucratic hostility to unions, monopoly indifference to consumers, and the illusion of parliamentary control. - Directly challenges Industries Minister George Fernandes's proposal to nationalise iron and steel, automobiles and aluminium, calling his arguments "flimsy" and inconsistent with the Janata Party's own election manifesto and Economic Charter. - Insists nationalisation is unnecessary for effective state control, since licensing, FERA, MRTP, credit allocation, conversion clauses and taxation already give Government "tremendous power to persuade, cajole or coerce" private enterprise. - Invokes Gandhian trusteeship — explicitly endorsed by the Janata Party — as the philosophically consistent alternative to nationalisation of large industries. - Argues that sick private-sector units should be allowed to enter liquidation or be acquired by entrepreneurs who can profit from them, with workers protected by an unemployment scheme rather than by social-waste bail-outs. - Notes counter-evidence to the "big business houses" charge: public-sector banks and financial institutions already hold near-controlling stakes in Tata Iron & Steel, and big houses' political clout has been visibly insufficient to prevent bank, insurance and textile nationalisation or confiscatory taxation. --- ## [Primary work] IS RIGHT TO PROPERTY NOT FUNDAMENTAL? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/is-right-to-property-c-k-daphtary-april-9-1970/ ### Summary This April 1970 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, titled 'Is Right to Property Not Fundamental?', bundles three essays defending the place of the right to property within Part III of the Indian Constitution at a moment when the Congress government was preparing to dilute or remove Article 31. C. K. Daphtary, former Attorney-General of India, opens with a speech he delivered at the Forum's New Delhi Centre on 6 February 1970 that traces the constitutional history of property from the Round Table Conferences through the Fourth Amendment and the Supreme Court's compensation jurisprudence. He is followed by the constitutional commentator A. G. Noorani (reprinted from the Indian Express, 29-30 December 1969) and by A. G. Mulgaokar (reprinted from Freedom First, December 1969). All three contributors converge on the argument that property is the foundation of every other liberty, that judicial review of compensation is what stops 'just equivalent' from collapsing into 'illusory', and that removing the right from the Fundamental Rights chapter would license confiscation and weaken the Rule of Law. ### Body ## Summary This April 1970 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, titled 'Is Right to Property Not Fundamental?', bundles three essays defending the place of the right to property within Part III of the Indian Constitution at a moment when the Congress government was preparing to dilute or remove Article 31. C. K. Daphtary, former Attorney-General of India, opens with a speech he delivered at the Forum's New Delhi Centre on 6 February 1970 that traces the constitutional history of property from the Round Table Conferences through the Fourth Amendment and the Supreme Court's compensation jurisprudence. He is followed by the constitutional commentator A. G. Noorani (reprinted from the Indian Express, 29-30 December 1969) and by A. G. Mulgaokar (reprinted from Freedom First, December 1969). All three contributors converge on the argument that property is the foundation of every other liberty, that judicial review of compensation is what stops 'just equivalent' from collapsing into 'illusory', and that removing the right from the Fundamental Rights chapter would license confiscation and weaken the Rule of Law. ## Essays ### Essay 1 Daphtary argues that the right to property has been treated as a vital and essential human right in every country and every age, but that scientific and industrial progress in the late 1800s gave property a new, potentially dominating dimension which justified regulation in the public interest. He recounts how the framers of the Indian Constitution, after long debate at the Round Table Conferences and in the Constituent Assembly, deliberately placed property and its acquisition (Sections 30 and 31, later Articles 30 and 31) among the Fundamental Rights, with judicial review built in 'because that power was considered to be that the Constitution expressly provided for a direct approach to the Supreme Court itself for relief.' He then walks through the Supreme Court's struggle with the word 'compensation' after the zamindari laws, the 1955 Fourth Amendment, Mrs. Bela Banerjee's case, and the Court's ruling in State of Gujarat v. Shantilal Mangaldas that compensation principles must not be illusory or arbitrary. Daphtary closes by re-reading Nehru's own Constituent Assembly speech of 10 September 1949, in which Nehru insisted the judiciary should come in 'to see if there has been a fraud on the Constitution.' On that authority Daphtary concludes that the right to property is 'fundamental in another sense' because it is the foundation of every other right, that the Courts should still look upon the Judiciary kindly and prefer to do without it only if absolutely necessary, and that removing the right altogether without compensation 'only opens the flood-gates of confiscation and expropriation.' - Property has historically been treated as a vital and essential right because it secures personality, status, comfort and old-age protection, and is the foundation of every other right. - The framers of the Indian Constitution decided after the Round Table Conferences to place property and its acquisition expressly in the Fundamental Rights chapter so that Supreme Court review was guaranteed. - Successive Supreme Court rulings (zamindari cases, the Fourth Amendment, Bela Banerjee, State of Gujarat v. Shantilal Mangaldas) preserved a justiciable floor against compensation principles that are illusory or arbitrary. - Daphtary cites Nehru's own 1949 Constituent Assembly speech to argue that Article 31 was always meant to be patrolled by the judiciary against 'a fraud on the Constitution'. - Removing the right to property altogether, he warns, would open 'the flood-gates of confiscation and expropriation' and is no real obstacle to genuine social welfare legislation. ### Essay 2 Noorani's essay (Section II, reprinted from the Indian Express of 29 and 30 December 1969) argues that the campaign to strip the right to property from the Fundamental Rights chapter began in Communist quarters but has now been picked up by the Congress government and even endorsed by ministers like K. V. Raghunatha Reddy. He treats the proposal as transparently wrong: the demand mistakes retention of the right for a transfer of power from judges to Parliament over the quantum of compensation, when in truth the Directive Principles of State Policy already make implementation impossible if property is also retained. He draws on Granville Austin's account of the Fourth Amendment and on Justice Hidayatullah's reasoning in Golak Nath to show that the framers expected the courts to police arbitrary expropriation. Noorani then turns to comparative material — Article 15 of the West German Basic Law of 1949 (which expressly provides for compensation recourse to the ordinary courts and which, contrary to claims made on the Supreme Court bench, allows judicial review in 'socialisation' cases) — and to the 1965 International Commission of Jurists conference in Bangkok, whose theme of 'Economic and Social Development within the Rule of Law' concluded that nationalisation should proceed by democratic procedures and on payment of fair and reasonable compensation determined by an independent tribunal. His verdict is that the present campaign represents 'not social progress but the abolition of the Rule of Law'. - The demand to remove property from Fundamental Rights originated in Communist quarters but is now being pushed by the Congress government and ministers. - Noorani uses Granville Austin's history of the Fourth Amendment to argue the framers deliberately made the fundamental rights justiciable. - Justice Hidayatullah's reasoning in Golak Nath is invoked to show that property's protection is not unique but part of a constitutional architecture of justiciable rights. - Comparative reading of Article 15 of the West German Basic Law shows that even modern democratic socialist constitutions preserve compensation recourse to the ordinary courts. - The 1965 ICJ Bangkok conference on Economic and Social Development within the Rule of Law concluded that nationalisation requires democratic process and independent-tribunal compensation. ### Essay 3 Mulgaokar's essay (Section III, reprinted from the December 1969 issue of Freedom First) re-frames the property debate around what 'fundamental' can possibly mean if a fundamental right can be restricted away by ordinary legislative process. He surveys the moral, legal and economic case for retaining the right, observing that the Supreme Court has already conceded Parliament's amending power, so the move to abridge property rights is gratuitous rather than necessary. The deeper risk, he argues, is precedent: if property can be peeled off the Fundamental Rights chapter on the whim of the moment's majority, no other right is safe — 'the right to move to any place in the union territory given to every citizen' could be the next to go. He then makes a procedural-constitutional argument addressed directly to President V. V. Giri. Citing the 1910 British precedent in which Asquith was compelled, after Edward VII's death, to fight a second general election within months before George V would create peers to pass the Lloyd George Budget and the Parliament Act, Mulgaokar contends that no government should be allowed to amend the Constitution in 'such a major way' without a clear electoral mandate, and that it is the President's 'bounden duty' to warn the Prime Minister accordingly. - Mulgaokar's central question: what does 'fundamental' mean if a right can be restricted or taken away by ordinary legislation at the fancy of legislators? - He warns that abridging property would set a precedent reaching to other rights, citing the freedom of movement guarantee as the next plausible casualty. - Surveying twenty years of legislative haste, blind adherence to slogans and 'illusory immediate satisfaction', he argues that judicial review is what protects against oppressive laws. - Mulgaokar invokes the 1910 Asquith/Lloyd George precedent — where the Crown insisted on a fresh general election before agreeing to create peers and pass the Budget and the Parliament Act — to argue that major constitutional change requires a popular mandate. - He directs his argument to President V. V. Giri, urging him to warn the Prime Minister that he cannot assent to a constitutional amendment of this magnitude without the people first declaring their wishes at an election. --- ## [Primary work] Is Socialism Outdated? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/is-socialism-outdated-n-a-palkhivala-mar10-1966/ ### Summary This March 1966 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet stitches together three short polemics that frame socialism as an exhausted creed and liberalism as its successor. N. A. Palkhivala's 'The Shells of Socialism' (reproduced from the Economic Times of 7 February 1966) attacks Asoka Mehta's Saugor University convocation address and the drift toward bank nationalisation; former British Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home's 'Why Socialism Always Fails' (via INFA) argues that socialism collides with human nature and the profit motive; and Swatantra Party MP M. R. Masani's 'Will Liberalism Survive Socialism?' (from Swarajya Annual 1966) parades Soviet shortages, Indian wage stagnation, and West German prosperity to argue that 'isms have become wasms' and that liberalism — not State-ism — is the quicker road to social justice. The three pieces share a common publisher, a common antagonist (Indian planning orthodoxy in the wake of Nehru's death and the food crisis), and a common rhetorical posture: socialism is morally enervating, economically sterile, and globally in retreat. ### Body ## Summary This March 1966 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet stitches together three short polemics that frame socialism as an exhausted creed and liberalism as its successor. N. A. Palkhivala's 'The Shells of Socialism' (reproduced from the Economic Times of 7 February 1966) attacks Asoka Mehta's Saugor University convocation address and the drift toward bank nationalisation; former British Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home's 'Why Socialism Always Fails' (via INFA) argues that socialism collides with human nature and the profit motive; and Swatantra Party MP M. R. Masani's 'Will Liberalism Survive Socialism?' (from Swarajya Annual 1966) parades Soviet shortages, Indian wage stagnation, and West German prosperity to argue that 'isms have become wasms' and that liberalism — not State-ism — is the quicker road to social justice. The three pieces share a common publisher, a common antagonist (Indian planning orthodoxy in the wake of Nehru's death and the food crisis), and a common rhetorical posture: socialism is morally enervating, economically sterile, and globally in retreat. ## Essays ### The Shells of Socialism *By N. A. PALKHIVALA* Palkhivala uses Asoka Mehta's convocation address at Saugor University as a launchpad for a broader assault on the central-planning consensus. He argues that Mehta's hints at bank nationalisation jolted the capital market and unnerved investors at a time when Indian banking was already two-thirds public-sector and when the Indian National Congress lacked consensus on the question — citing Nehru's May 1964 reassurance and T. T. Krishnamachari's June 1964 reversal as evidence that 'the Cabinet alone should speak as a body'. He contrasts Mehta's preoccupation with curbing private monopoly against the country's real crisis: a food emergency that demands incentives to landholders, not heavier imposts. The essay ends by reclaiming the language of the Constitution — 'justice', 'equality of status and opportunity' — and arguing that genuine socialism means levelling up through private enterprise, not the 'rigid shells' of state ownership. - Frames Asoka Mehta's Saugor convocation as a portentous and possibly unauthorised signalling of further nationalisation. - Notes that the State Bank already accounts for 25 per cent of paid-up capital and 32 per cent of deposits of all Indian scheduled banks — making further nationalisation redundant. - Records Nehru's 22 May 1964 reassurance against bank nationalisation and T. T. Krishnamachari's 5 June 1964 reversal as evidence of Cabinet drift. - Argues that India's food crisis requires incentives to landholders, not ceilings on irrigated holdings. - Insists wealth must be created before it is distributed, and that the Constitution's Preamble uses 'justice' and 'equality of opportunity' — not the 'empty label' of socialism. ### Why Socialism Always Fails *By SIR ALEC DOUGLAS-HOME* Former British Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home offers a brisk first-principles argument that socialism fails because it presumes men are equal in capacity when nature has made them unequal. State ownership, he argues, denies the profit motive and reward-for-skill that drive the average man to excel, and so production sinks to the pace of the slowest. He surveys Russia, Britain, and the wider socialist world to claim that nationalisation has eroded efficiency, hardened inequality of a different sort, and forced Socialists into the same machinery of incentives, prices, and taxes that they once denounced. The piece closes with the conservative concession that one can only dismiss a creed by championing a better one — setting up the next essay's defence of liberalism. - Roots socialism's failure in a clash with human nature: men are not equal and society moves at the pace of the slowest under collective ownership. - Argues nationalisation kills the profit motive, widens the reward gap between skilled and unskilled, and produces mediocrity. - Notes that even Russia is 'changing to cater to incentive and profit and reward' under the form of a bureaucratic state capitalism. - Contrasts Socialism's expansion of state ownership against Conservatism's vision of the state serving — not dominating — the individual. - Concedes that no creed can be discarded without a better alternative, framing the case for the liberal economy that follows. ### Will Liberalism Survive Socialism? *By M. R. MASANI M.P.* Masani opens with an autobiographical confession that he was once an ardent socialist and author of Socialism Reconsidered, then locates his own liberal turn in the example of Mahatma Gandhi, whom he reads as an enemy of state violence and a tester of every policy by its effect on the poorest. He sets up two tests — the Lenin-Gandhi-Oxford definitions of socialism, all of which collapse around the requirement of state ownership — and runs them through the experience of the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, India, and the Western free economies. Soviet life is shabby, agriculturally calamitous, and economically unequal; India's 'soviet-style' planning since 1947 has produced stagnant wages, a withering middle class, and a 'new class' of commissars and protected businessmen; meanwhile West Germany, Japan, Britain, France, and Scandinavia have raised their living standards through free-market economies. Citing Hobhouse and Parkinson, Masani redefines liberalism as the politics of self-directing personality and 'opportunity', and closes with the slogan that 'in our time all isms have become wasms', invoking Carlos Romulo's 'I am going forward' as the liberal's reply to the left-right question. - Reframes Gandhi as a liberal whose test of any system was its impact on 'the poorest and the weakest', not as a socialist. - Argues that every classical definition of socialism — Lenin's, the Oxford Dictionary's, the British Labour Party's — reduces to state ownership of the means of production. - Uses Soviet housing, food, clothing, wage inequality (20:1 vs India's 25:1), and the income tax + wealth tax exceeding 100 per cent to deny socialism's promises of equality and prosperity. - Identifies a 'new class' of commissars and protected Indian businessmen who replace the old exploiters under state patronage. - Holds up West Germany under Erhard, Japan, France, Britain, the Scandinavian countries, the US, Australia, and New Zealand as evidence that free economies — not 'Etatisme' — lift wages and living standards fastest. - Quotes Nehru in Kathmandu (1959) conceding that 'Socialism in a poor country can only mean that it will remain permanently poor', and uses it as an indictment of Indian planning. - Concludes with the 'isms have become wasms' line and Carlos Romulo's 'I am going forward' as the liberal's directional reply. --- ## [Primary work] IS SOCIALISM THE RIGHT PATH? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/is-socialism-the-right-path-by-sh-batlivala-december-29-1956/ ### Summary Reprinted from The Times of India of 28 December 1956, S. H. Batlivala's short polemic — issued as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet — argues that India's drift toward a "Socialistic pattern of economy" misreads the country's actual development needs. Batlivala opens by conceding that private capital alone cannot finance the Government's plans, but he insists that this is a case for collaboration between the private and public sectors, not for taxation that would imperil the Second Five-Year Plan. He marshals testimony from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and former Finance Minister C. D. Deshmukh to argue that the Indian civil service lacks the depth to run nationalised industries, and asks whether the Second Plan can succeed when administered by a thinned-out bureaucracy. The heart of the piece is a sustained attack on British and Indian planning by analogy. Batlivala quotes Alfred Edwards, a defector from the U.K. Labour Party, on how nationalising the Bank of England, the coal mines, transport, power and steel left British industry with weaker output than before: coal production was 155,000 tons per week below 1938 levels despite mechanisation.… ### Body ## Summary Reprinted from The Times of India of 28 December 1956, S. H. Batlivala's short polemic — issued as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet — argues that India's drift toward a "Socialistic pattern of economy" misreads the country's actual development needs. Batlivala opens by conceding that private capital alone cannot finance the Government's plans, but he insists that this is a case for collaboration between the private and public sectors, not for taxation that would imperil the Second Five-Year Plan. He marshals testimony from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and former Finance Minister C. D. Deshmukh to argue that the Indian civil service lacks the depth to run nationalised industries, and asks whether the Second Plan can succeed when administered by a thinned-out bureaucracy. The heart of the piece is a sustained attack on British and Indian planning by analogy. Batlivala quotes Alfred Edwards, a defector from the U.K. Labour Party, on how nationalising the Bank of England, the coal mines, transport, power and steel left British industry with weaker output than before: coal production was 155,000 tons per week below 1938 levels despite mechanisation. A satirical "Form of Daily Service for Use in Govt. Depts." from the New Statesman dramatises the paralysis of civil servants caught between committees and circulars. He ridicules "the Labour idea of planning" as installing London School of Economics theorists over industries they have never built, and amplifies the point with a now-famous comparison: the Ten Commandments run to 297 words, Lincoln's Gettysburg address to 266, the Declaration of Independence to 300, while the U.S. Office of Price Stabilisation's order regulating cabbage prices runs to 26,911. On the income-ceiling proposal then circulating inside the Congress, Batlivala marshals data to show its futility — even Hugh Gaitskell warned that the British equivalent would yield only £53 million, and Soviet wage data shows widening inequality between top managers and the 400-rouble minimum. American examples (a 23-cents-on-the-dollar real take from a $25,000 income; Harlow Curtice's voluntary $200,000 pay cut at General Motors) are deployed to argue that punitive taxation does not redistribute, it merely demoralises producers. The pamphlet closes with the imprint of the Forum of Free Enterprise at Sohrab House, Bombay, and a back-cover quotation from Jawaharlal Nehru affirming that material progress must not come "at the expense of the spirit of man" — turned, by placement, into an implicit rebuke of the very planning enthusiasm Nehru himself led. ## Key points - Batlivala concedes private capital cannot alone finance the Second Five-Year Plan, but argues that imposing fresh taxation on private industry and investors will imperil the Plan rather than save it. - He cites Patel and ex-Finance Minister C. D. Deshmukh to show that the Indian civil service is too thin to run nationalised industries, of whom only fifteen per cent are good performers by Patel's own count. - Britain's nationalisation programme is treated as a cautionary case: under the National Coal Board, weekly coal output fell 155,000 tons below 1938 despite mechanisation, and Alfred Edwards is quoted recanting the socialist's caricature of business. - A New Statesman "Form of Daily Service for Use in Govt. Depts." is reprinted to satirise bureaucratic paralysis, indecision, and worship of committees over common sense. - Batlivala's signature comparison contrasts the brevity of the Ten Commandments (297 words), Lincoln's Gettysburg Address (266) and the Declaration of Independence (300) with a 26,911-word U.S. Office of Price Stabilisation order regulating cabbage prices, as evidence that controls breed verbosity. - Against Congress proposals for an income ceiling, he marshals Hugh Gaitskell's own warning that taxing the wealthy would raise only £53 million, alongside Soviet wage data showing socialist inequality widening between officials and the 400-rouble minimum. - American comparisons — a $25,000 income net-of-tax of about $4,650, and Harlow Curtice's voluntary $200,000 pay cut at General Motors after a strike-driven slump — are used to claim that high marginal taxation neither redistributes meaningfully nor produces social equality. - The pamphlet closes with the Forum of Free Enterprise imprint and a Nehru epigraph on the back leaf insisting material progress must not be bought at the expense of "the spirit of man" — positioned to enlist Nehru against the planning regime he himself champions. --- ## [Primary work] IS THERE A MIDDLE WAY? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/is-there-a-middle-way-dr-f-a-mehta-january-15-1995/ ### Summary Dr. Fredie A. Mehta's 'Is There a Middle Way?' is the 29th A.D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 30 November 1994 and published as a pamphlet on 15 January 1995. Mehta poses the central economic question of India's early reform decade: is there a path between Capitalism and Socialism, between the Price Mechanism and Planning, between Efficiency and Equity? His answer is an emphatic yes, framed by Prime Minister Narasimha Rao's 'Middle Path' speech at Davos and defended against both pro-reform impatience and left-wing rejection. He argues that 'a Federal country with innumerable vested interests' and 'a background of 40 years of bureaucratic socialism' cannot perform an overnight miracle; gradualism is required 'both on pragmatic and humane grounds' because in a democracy people 'can be brain-washed; they cannot be brow-beaten'. Mehta then mounts a sustained defence of the proposition that Free Enterprise and a Welfare State are mutually complementary rather than antagonistic.… ### Body ## Summary Dr. Fredie A. Mehta's 'Is There a Middle Way?' is the 29th A.D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 30 November 1994 and published as a pamphlet on 15 January 1995. Mehta poses the central economic question of India's early reform decade: is there a path between Capitalism and Socialism, between the Price Mechanism and Planning, between Efficiency and Equity? His answer is an emphatic yes, framed by Prime Minister Narasimha Rao's 'Middle Path' speech at Davos and defended against both pro-reform impatience and left-wing rejection. He argues that 'a Federal country with innumerable vested interests' and 'a background of 40 years of bureaucratic socialism' cannot perform an overnight miracle; gradualism is required 'both on pragmatic and humane grounds' because in a democracy people 'can be brain-washed; they cannot be brow-beaten'. Mehta then mounts a sustained defence of the proposition that Free Enterprise and a Welfare State are mutually complementary rather than antagonistic. He cites Sweden's 73% public-expenditure ratio, the persistence of large public sectors during the Thatcher and Reagan eras, Adam Smith's true target (the 'Right Wing, Mercantile Lobby' rather than the State as such), and Schumpeter on competition as 'the gale of creative destruction'. The Price Mechanism, he insists, is 'a very strict disciplinarian'; Free Enterprise delivers the goods in the long run while bringing dislocation, inequality and even crime in the short run, which is precisely why safety nets, productivity growth, tax buoyancy, privatisation and continued state activity in social infrastructure must run together. The sharpest passages turn on India's domestic pathologies. Mehta describes an Indian economy converted into 'warring segments' — public versus private, large-scale versus small-scale, foreign versus indigenous, industrial labour versus management, tenants versus landlords — the antithesis of a harmonised 'India Inc' on the Japan Inc pattern. He attacks rent-control legislation that has frozen rents at 1940 levels, subsidies that have reduced small-scale industry to permanent crutches, and a middle class that has captured the reform narrative ('I'm all right, Jack') while ignoring the 'larger Under Class'. To bind promoters, investors and the poor together he sketches a seven-plank Trusteeship scheme drawn from Mahatma Gandhi: preferential share allotments to Indian promoters held in a Specified Trust whose dividends flow to anti-poverty applications. A substantial Appendix marshals historical evidence for the Middle Path: Leon Trotsky on the impossibility of frictionless central planning ('Economic accounting is unthinkable without market relations'), the 1944 Bombay Plan's chapter on national planning, Minoo Masani's Mixed Economy thesis, Prof. Dublin, James E. Meade and W. Arthur Lewis on democratic planning, Otto von Bismarck on 'oiling' German capitalism, Ludwig Erhard's 'socially oriented' market, Roosevelt and Keynes on state intervention, and recent Tory speeches by Kenneth Clarke and Peter Lilley together with Robert Heilbroner's reflection that 'the collapse of socialism should not put an end to our social imagination'. The peroration returns to four watchwords — Gradualism, Compromise, Tolerance and Pragmatism — and to Gandhiji's 'talisman' as the moral compass for combining 'a passion for rapid economic growth with a compassion for the poor'. ## Key points - Mehta frames the central economic question of the 1990s reform decade as whether a Middle Way exists between Capitalism and Socialism, Price Mechanism and Planning, Efficiency and Equity — and answers yes. - He defends the Narasimha Rao government's gradualist reform sequencing (the 'Middle Path' Davos speech) against both Right-Wing impatience and Left-Wing rejection, on the ground that 40 years of bureaucratic socialism cannot be undone in four. - Free Enterprise and the Welfare State are presented as mutually complementary, with Sweden, Thatcher- and Reagan-era public spending, and Bismarck/Erhard cited as evidence that 'socially oriented' markets are the actual historical pattern. - The Price Mechanism is defended as 'a very strict disciplinarian' that allocates resources via Schumpeter's 'gale of creative destruction', not as a magic wand that inflicts few hardships. - Mehta diagnoses India's economy as a system of 'warring segments' (public/private, large/small, labour/management, tenants/landlords) rather than a harmonised 'India Inc' on the Japan Inc model. - He criticises the middle class for capturing the reform narrative while ignoring the unorganised 'Under Class', and insists anti-poverty programmes must be honest and administratively efficient rather than political-economic frauds. - He proposes a seven-plank Trusteeship-Concept scheme, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, in which Indian promoters receive preferential share allotments held in a Specified Trust whose dividends fund poverty alleviation. - The Appendix assembles a century of evidence — from Trotsky and the 1944 Bombay Plan to Erhard, Roosevelt-Keynes, Kenneth Clarke, Peter Lilley and Robert Heilbroner — to show that the Middle Path has been the working reality of both socialist and capitalist economies. --- ## [Primary work] Is VDIS a Success? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/is-vdis-a-success-january-1998/ ### Summary In this short January 1998 pamphlet, the economist D. R. Pendse delivers a sharply critical post-mortem of India's Voluntary Disclosure of Incomes Scheme (VDIS), the tax-amnesty programme that closed on 31 December 1997. Pendse argues that the scheme's success cannot be judged because policymakers never stated its objective, so he tests it against the three goals their statements implied: collecting revenue, widening the tax net, and tackling black money. On each count he finds it a failure. The roughly Rs. 10,000 crores collected, he contends, will mostly flow to the States and be squandered on revenue (not capital) expenditure; the scheme will not widen the tax net because evaders likely under-reported again rather than entering the system honestly; and a one-time amnesty does nothing to stop the streams of corruption and public-expenditure 'leakages' that generate black money in the first place. The deeper objection is moral and systemic.… ### Body # Is VDIS a Success? *By D. R. Pendse* ## Summary In this short January 1998 pamphlet, the economist D. R. Pendse delivers a sharply critical post-mortem of India's Voluntary Disclosure of Incomes Scheme (VDIS), the tax-amnesty programme that closed on 31 December 1997. Pendse argues that the scheme's success cannot be judged because policymakers never stated its objective, so he tests it against the three goals their statements implied: collecting revenue, widening the tax net, and tackling black money. On each count he finds it a failure. The roughly Rs. 10,000 crores collected, he contends, will mostly flow to the States and be squandered on revenue (not capital) expenditure; the scheme will not widen the tax net because evaders likely under-reported again rather than entering the system honestly; and a one-time amnesty does nothing to stop the streams of corruption and public-expenditure 'leakages' that generate black money in the first place. The deeper objection is moral and systemic. Pendse holds that a fiscal system should reward the honest and penalise the dishonest, whereas VDIS demoralised honest taxpayers with extra burdens while repeatedly making dishonesty 'a more and more rewarding and peaceful enterprise.' He notes that tax evaders, with the help of obliging chartered accountants, often disclosed far in excess of their concealed incomes to launder future earnings, and he is openly cynical about official assurances that this amnesty will be the last — predicting 'another and yet more attractive scheme will one day be born.' The pamphlet, issued 'with compliments of the author' and mailed from his Centre for Economic Policy Advice in Worli, Mumbai, is a complete stand-alone tract of about six printed pages. ## Key points - A complete January 1998 single-author pamphlet evaluating India's VDIS tax-amnesty scheme, which closed 31 December 1997. - Pendse notes policymakers never declared VDIS's objective, so he tests it against three implied goals: revenue, widening the tax net, and tackling black money. - On revenue: the ~Rs. 10,000 crores collected will mostly go to States and be wasted on revenue expenditure, with little impact on the fiscal deficit. - On the tax net: evaders likely re-concealed income rather than becoming honest filers, so the net is not genuinely widened. - On black money: a one-time amnesty cannot stop the corruption and public-expenditure leakages that keep generating black incomes. - Moral core: VDIS punishes the honest and rewards the dishonest, corroding the fiscal system's integrity. - Pendse cites an NIPFP study on kickbacks in public-sector contracts as a major source of unaccounted political funds. - He cynically predicts the government will launch further, more attractive amnesty schemes despite promising none. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] It's India's Turn Now URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/its-indias-turn-now-jayant-sinha/ ### Summary "It's India's Turn Now" reproduces the text of an address delivered by Jayant Sinha, then Minister of State for Civil Aviation, in Mumbai on 29 September 2016 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of the Forum of Free Enterprise and the Golden Jubilee of the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust. Sinha frames the moment as one in which globalist liberalism is under siege — citing the first US presidential debate, the Brexit vote, the rise of European extremist parties and global terrorism — and argues that India, with its single-party majority and a decisive prime minister, is now positioned to take up the vanguard of a new global order and become a "Vishwa Guru." The address is organised around three theses. First, India's growth model is inherently frugal and sustainable: with only 2.5% of the world's land, 4% of its fresh water but 17% of its population, India must — and does — generate GDP with far less energy, carbon, capital and leverage than China or the United States, and so its growth is good for the planet as well as for Indians.… ### Body ## Summary "It's India's Turn Now" reproduces the text of an address delivered by Jayant Sinha, then Minister of State for Civil Aviation, in Mumbai on 29 September 2016 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of the Forum of Free Enterprise and the Golden Jubilee of the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust. Sinha frames the moment as one in which globalist liberalism is under siege — citing the first US presidential debate, the Brexit vote, the rise of European extremist parties and global terrorism — and argues that India, with its single-party majority and a decisive prime minister, is now positioned to take up the vanguard of a new global order and become a "Vishwa Guru." The address is organised around three theses. First, India's growth model is inherently frugal and sustainable: with only 2.5% of the world's land, 4% of its fresh water but 17% of its population, India must — and does — generate GDP with far less energy, carbon, capital and leverage than China or the United States, and so its growth is good for the planet as well as for Indians. Second, India's for-profit and non-profit entrepreneurs, supported by a maturing innovation ecosystem (e-commerce marketplaces, payment banks, microfinance, electric two-wheelers), are uniquely placed to serve the "Next 6 Billion" at the base of the pyramid that neither traditional governments nor large companies have served well. The third and most polemical thesis is a call to redefine the Indian state. Sinha attacks the inheritance of a "Nehruvian sarkar" or maibaap sarkar — large entitlement programmes such as NREGA, the PDS and PM Gram Sadak Yojana — as an extension of the dynastic rule of Rajas, Maharajas, Nawabs and Sultans that has failed both citizen and exchequer. In its place he prescribes a "Kautilyan sarkar": a lean, rule-based, non-discretionary umpire that secures property and tenancy rights, strengthens regulators (RBI, SEBI, TRAI, NHAI, the new Real Estate Regulator), invests in public goods (roads, railways, digital connectivity) and coordinates with private capital to overcome collective-action market failures. The booklet closes with a peroration to the Mumbai audience as the pioneers "creating the next Indigo, the next Google, and the next Apple," who will transform both India and the world. ## Key points - The booklet is the verbatim text of Jayant Sinha's 29 September 2016 address marking the Diamond Jubilee of Forum of Free Enterprise and Golden Jubilee of the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust. - Sinha argues that with free markets and globalism under siege (Brexit, US debate, European extremism), India is the natural new vanguard for an open global order and a 'Vishwa Guru' in the making. - He defends a 'frugal development model' using PPP GDP comparisons: India can generate growth with far less energy, carbon, capital and leverage than China or the US, and so India's growth is good for the planet. - Indian entrepreneurs and large companies — Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, payment banks, microfinance — are positioned to serve the 'Next 6 Billion' at the base of the pyramid, where both states and big firms have historically failed. - The central polemic is a contrast between the 'Nehruvian sarkar' (maibaap, entitlement-heavy, exemplified by NREGA, PDS, PM Gram Sadak Yojana) and a 'Kautilyan sarkar' (rule-based, non-discretionary, minimum-government / maximum-governance). - Sinha praises the Modi government's Jan Dhan Yojana as a model of state-enabled market infrastructure — 100% bank-account coverage in 100 days — that financial inclusion is then built on by RBI/SEBI-regulated private players. - He frames the Kautilyan state metaphorically as the umpire and groundsman: it prepares the pitch, defines rules, builds public goods, and only then steps off the field so entrepreneurs can play. - Minoo R. Shroff's introduction underscores the speech's polemical contrast with the 'Nehruvian Sarkar or maibaap' and praises Sinha for differentiating the roles of business and government for a globalised India. --- ## [Primary work] JOINT SECTOR—SOME ISSUES URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/joint-sector-some-issues-by-minoo-shroff-1972/ ### Summary Minoo R. Shroff's 1972 booklet 'Joint Sector — Some Issues', published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, is the printed version of a public lecture delivered in Bombay on 13th October 1972, against the backdrop of the Dutt Committee's then-emerging proposals for institutionalising the joint sector in Indian industry. Shroff treats the joint sector as a 'logical sequel' to the mixed economy of the previous two decades — an institutional framework in which private-sector managerial expertise is wedded to public-sector financial resources, with private equity participation capped at around 25%. He frames the move not as an ideological capitulation by either side but as a transformation of 'co-existence' into 'co-partnership', anchored on the conviction that competent professional management — not ownership — determines the success of an enterprise. The bulk of the booklet sketches operating principles for the joint sector.… ### Body ## Summary Minoo R. Shroff's 1972 booklet 'Joint Sector — Some Issues', published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, is the printed version of a public lecture delivered in Bombay on 13th October 1972, against the backdrop of the Dutt Committee's then-emerging proposals for institutionalising the joint sector in Indian industry. Shroff treats the joint sector as a 'logical sequel' to the mixed economy of the previous two decades — an institutional framework in which private-sector managerial expertise is wedded to public-sector financial resources, with private equity participation capped at around 25%. He frames the move not as an ideological capitulation by either side but as a transformation of 'co-existence' into 'co-partnership', anchored on the conviction that competent professional management — not ownership — determines the success of an enterprise. The bulk of the booklet sketches operating principles for the joint sector. Shroff insists on a compact, broad-based, professionally drawn board of directors; an independent-minded chairman able to withstand political pressure; a managing director nominated by the private partner with wide autonomy; and government/financial-institution nominees who can exercise judgement without 'constant consultation back and forth with their sponsors'. He also urges that investment in joint sector projects be exempted from MRTP Act clearance, arguing that the Act's purpose is already served by the structure itself. Subsequent sections recommend internal promotion and job enrichment in management; market-driven pricing and selling policies; rigorous cost consciousness in a 'relatively sheltered economy'; serious R&D outlays; and broad-based consultative industrial relations rather than paternalism. On accountability, Shroff argues for high but bounded transparency: managerial and social audits internally, and only an annual report to Parliament — sparing the management from day-to-day political and parliamentary interference, which he identifies as the principal source of stifled initiative in existing state enterprises. He closes by acknowledging 'many grey areas' but maintains that, given mutual trust and adequate groundwork, the joint sector experiment can succeed and 'pave the way for industrial revival', invoking W. W. Rostow's claim that the public-vs-private debate is itself 'old-fashioned' and that partnership is the most fruitful relationship for modern economies. ## Key points - Frames the joint sector as a 'logical sequel' to India's two-decade-old mixed economy — converting public–private co-existence into co-partnership, with private equity normally capped at 25%. - Argues that ownership is secondary to management: 'good competent professional management makes all the difference between success and failure of an enterprise, irrespective of ownership.' - Lays out a governance template — compact broad-based board, independent chairman, autonomous managing director nominated by the private partner, professionally drawn institutional nominees. - Calls for MRTP Act clearance to be waived for joint-sector investments, on the ground that the joint-sector structure itself already prevents concentration of economic power. - Lists operating priorities the author says have been 'paid only lip service': internal promotion and job enrichment, market-driven pricing, cost consciousness, dedicated R&D, and consultative industrial relations. - Insists on high but bounded accountability — managerial and social audits internally, but only an annual report to Parliament, to spare management the 'stifling' interference that has plagued state enterprises. - Cites Industrial Development Minister C. Subramaniam, Planning Minister D. P. Dhar, the IDBI Annual Report 1971-72, and W. W. Rostow to position the joint sector within contemporary policy debates. - Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise (Bombay) as a public-lecture booklet; Shroff is identified as a financial consultant, President of OPUL (Organisation for Public Life for Businessmen & Professionals) and past President of the Bombay Management Association. --- ## [Primary work] ખોજ URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/khoj-january-april-2009/ ### Summary Khoj (ખોજ — જીવન એક અવિરત ખોજ), a Gujarati-language periodical published from Vadodara, presents this combined double issue (January–April 2009, Year 3, Issues 1–2) under the thematic banner 'આર્થિક કટોકટી' (Economic Crisis). In the rendered pages, the issue opens with an editorial by Ambrish Mehta that frames the 2008–09 global financial crisis as an occasion to revisit foundational questions about markets and state regulation, and previews contributions from economist John Taylor (via a Peter Robinson interview), Mukesh Adenwala, and Ela R. Bhatt. The letters section brings a polyphonic range of reader voices on communalism, Muslim identity, and the role of the periodical itself — including a 1942 Gujarati poem 'The Prayer of Youth' by Nathalal Dave of Bhavnagar.… ### Body ## Summary Khoj (ખોજ — જીવન એક અવિરત ખોજ), a Gujarati-language periodical published from Vadodara, presents this combined double issue (January–April 2009, Year 3, Issues 1–2) under the thematic banner 'આર્થિક કટોકટી' (Economic Crisis). In the rendered pages, the issue opens with an editorial by Ambrish Mehta that frames the 2008–09 global financial crisis as an occasion to revisit foundational questions about markets and state regulation, and previews contributions from economist John Taylor (via a Peter Robinson interview), Mukesh Adenwala, and Ela R. Bhatt. The letters section brings a polyphonic range of reader voices on communalism, Muslim identity, and the role of the periodical itself — including a 1942 Gujarati poem 'The Prayer of Youth' by Nathalal Dave of Bhavnagar. The five substantive articles visible in the rendered pages cover: a Hepatitis B outbreak in Modasa traced to unqualified practitioners (Rajesh Mishra); tribal women's resistance to liquor in south Gujarat (Varsha Chaudhary); a critique of 'moral policing' in contemporary India referencing Gandhi, Nehru, and Tagore (Ashvinkumar Karia); a translated analysis of Taliban rule and human rights erosion in Pakistan's Swat Valley (Murtaza Razvi, translated from Dawn by Trupti Parekh); an appeal for Hindu-Muslim communal harmony in the wake of Deoband fatwas (Ismail Gandhi); and a substantive essay on the state of the sadabhavana (goodwill) movement in Gujarat seven years after the 2002 riots (Rajesh Mishra). The thematic centre of gravity in the rendered pages lies at the intersection of civil society, communalism-secularism, and public health — with the economic-crisis frame announced on the cover and in the editorial but not yet developed in the articles falling within the first twenty pages. ## Essays ### સંપાદકીય The editorial by Ambrish Mehta, written as the global financial crisis broke, situates the 2008–09 meltdown in the context of the perennial debate between 'bazaar' (market) and 'sarkar' (state). In the rendered pages the editor argues that most commentary reflexively blames free markets, but contends that a factual, evidence-based inquiry is needed. He cites economist John Taylor as having investigated the crisis systematically and concluded that excessive government intervention and regulatory failure — not unregulated markets — were among the primary causes. The editorial previews the issue's multi-author approach to the crisis: Peter Robinson's translated interview with John Taylor (from Hoover Institution), Mukesh Adenwala's English article, and Ela R. Bhatt's piece on poverty. - Frames the 2008–09 crisis as reopening foundational questions about the respective roles of market and state in economic life. - Argues against ideological reflex and for evidence-based analysis — citing John Taylor's finding that government intervention, not free markets, was a primary cause. - Previews contributions from Peter Robinson (John Taylor interview), Mukesh Adenwala (English essay on the crisis), and Ela R. Bhatt (poverty). - Notes that the crisis slowed growth in India, China, and other emerging economies as well as the West. - Establishes the issue's central theme: understanding what actually happened and why, not scoring ideological points. ### પત્રો The letters section (pages 5–8) carries responses from multiple readers across Gujarat. In the rendered pages, letters engage with the previous issue's articles on Islam and communal peace, criticise or praise the periodical's editorial direction, and address the aftermath of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. A standout contribution is a 1942 poem 'The Prayer of Youth' by Nathalal Dave of Bhavnagar — a verse about freedom of conscience and resistance to tyranny, reprinted in the Khoj letters column. Long letters from Hakim Rangwala (Bhavnagar) and others engage with Hindu-Muslim relations, the role of Muslim institutions in condemning terrorism, and the nature of secularism. Reader Surbhakant Parikh (Ahmedabad) makes a case for Khoj to expand its civic reach across Gujarat. The section is editorially interleaved with a subscription notice and subscription pricing information. - Letters span communalism, Muslim identity, Hindu-Muslim relations post-26/11 (2008 Mumbai attacks), and the periodical's editorial direction. - Jyotibhai Desai (Dedkdi) praises a previous article on Islam and communal peace but urges the editorial board not to repeat the same contributors. - A 1942 poem 'The Prayer of Youth' by Nathalal Dave (Bhavnagar) is reproduced — a statement of civic conscience and resistance to authoritarian suppression. - Hakim Rangwala's letter advocates Hindu-Muslim goodwill, critiquing communal violence and calling for Muslim institutions to speak clearly against terrorism. - Reader Surbhakant Parikh connects Khoj's mission to building a socially active readership in Gujarat. ### મોડાસા હીપેટાઈટીસ બી ઘટના *By રાજેશ મિશ્રા* Rajesh Mishra's investigative article 'મોડાસા હીપેટાઈટીસ બી ઘટના ના અનુસંધાનમાં' (pages 9–11) documents a public health crisis in Modasa town, Gujarat, in which large numbers of residents contracted Hepatitis B through unsafe injection practices by unqualified RMP (Rural Medical Practitioner) doctors. In the rendered pages the article details how the epidemic unfolded over several days, the role of district health officials and state administration in delaying response and suppressing information, and the failures of regulatory oversight. Mishra cites IANS press agency reports and the views of virologist Dr. Vidya Acharkar on transmission mechanisms, and notes that Hepatitis B had already been declared epidemic (endemic) in Modasa before this incident. The article argues that the state's response was characterised by cover-up, bureaucratic paralysis, and political indifference, and calls for accountability and systemic reform of rural healthcare. - Documents a Hepatitis B outbreak in Modasa, Gujarat, linked to unsafe injection practices by unqualified RMP doctors. - Argues the state administration suppressed information and delayed response, while the laboratory and SGPT testing infrastructure failed. - Cites Dr. Vidya Acharkar (virologist) and IANS reports as key sources on transmission mechanisms. - Notes the wider Gujarat context: Hepatitis B already endemic in Modasa before this incident. - Calls for systemic reform of rural healthcare regulation and accountability of private unqualified practitioners. ### વિપદ સામેનો મરણિયો મોરચો *By વર્ષા ચૌધરી* Varsha Chaudhary's article 'વિપદ સામેનો મરણિયો મોરચો' (pages 12–13) is a field report on the liquor problem in tribal communities of south Gujarat and the community resistance it has generated. In the rendered pages Chaudhary documents how women and community members organise to stop liquor supply routes and confront local officials, against a backdrop of state prohibition that is effectively unenforced in tribal and rural areas. She describes specific episodes — liquor stockpiles of 150–200 litres per village, police inaction, and the social destruction wrought by addiction. The article invokes Swami Anand's book 'Dharti nu Loon' (Salt of the Earth) as a moral reference, and closes with a pointed numbered list of questions directed at political figures and state authorities about why the prohibition policy fails in practice. - Documents community-level resistance by women in south Gujarat tribal areas to widespread liquor availability despite formal prohibition. - Describes volumes of country liquor available daily in villages (150–200 litres), indicating the scale of prohibition failure. - Critiques police inaction and political complicity in allowing liquor to flow despite official prohibition. - Closes with rhetorical numbered questions to political figures: why is prohibition not enforced? - Invokes Swami Anand's 'Dharti nu Loon' as a moral-cultural reference for the stakes of the anti-liquor struggle. ### નૈતિકતાના સૈનિકો, એક નઝર... *By અશ્વિન કારીઆ* Ashvinkumar N. Karia's essay 'નૈતિકતાના સૈનિકો, એક નઝર ઇસ ઔર ભી કીજિયે' (p.14) critiques the phenomenon of moral policing in India. In the rendered pages Karia begins by noting how violence in the name of religion and morality — including the murder of Dipmal Swami in Orissa following the Christian-conversion controversies — has drawn international condemnation but minimal domestic accountability. He argues that 'moral soldiers' misuse the name of culture, religion, and tradition to attack individuals' freedom of thought, dress, and behaviour. Karia draws on a tradition of Western and Indian thinkers — Aristotle, Plato, Raphael, Gandhi, Nehru, Tagore, Vivekananda — who oppose coercive moralism, and argues that true morality can only be cultivated through inner conscience, not external coercion. The article appeals to individuals and civil society to challenge the discourse of religious enforcement. - Critiques moral policing in India — attacks on individuals in the name of religious or cultural 'morality'. - References the murder of Dipmal Swami in Orissa as a case of religiously motivated violence insufficiently condemned domestically. - Invokes Aristotle, Plato, Raphael, Gandhi, Nehru, Tagore, and Vivekananda as a combined tradition opposing coercive moralism. - Argues that genuine morality requires cultivation of inner conscience, not enforcement by vigilante groups or state agents. - Calls on women's colleges and civil institutions in Gujarat's cities and towns to resist the discourse of moral policing. ### સ્વાતના થીજી ગયેલા અધિકારો *By મુર્તઝા રઝવી* Murtaza Razvi's article 'સ્વાતના થીજી ગયેલા અધિકારો' (pages 15–16) analyses the human rights crisis in Pakistan's Swat Valley, translated from the Dawn newspaper (Indian Express, 18-2-08) by Trupti Parekh. In the rendered pages Razvi documents how the Pakistani government struck the Nizam-e-Adl deal with Sufi Mohammad's Taliban-aligned faction, effectively ceding Swat to parallel Shariat governance. The article describes the destruction of girls' schools, the coercion of women, the collapse of the regular judiciary, and the paralysis of local administration. Razvi raises the central question of whether a democratic state can tolerate two parallel legal orders — one constitutional, one Taliban-imposed — within its borders, and argues that the capitulation to the Taliban emboldens militancy while abandoning millions of civilians. - Documents the Pakistani government's capitulation to Taliban forces in Swat Valley via the Nizam-e-Adl agreement. - Describes the destruction of girls' schools, harassment of women, and erasure of civil rights under Taliban rule in Swat. - Raises the central constitutional question: can a democratic state allow two parallel systems of justice within its borders? - Argues that ceding Swat to Taliban governance sets a dangerous precedent, emboldening militancy across Pakistan. - Article is translated from Dawn newspaper (Indian Express, 18-2-08) by Trupti Parekh. ### મઝહબ નહીં સિખાતા... *By ઈસ્માઈલ ગાંધી* Ismail Gandhi's essay 'મઝહબ નહીં સિખાતા આપસ મેં બૈર રખના' (p.17) — the title paraphrasing Allama Iqbal's famous couplet — is an appeal for Hindu-Muslim communal peace. In the rendered pages Gandhi writes in the context of the Deoband–Bareilly theological debate following the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and argues that dominant media framing — which demands that Muslim institutions repeatedly prove their condemnation of terrorism — places an unfair burden on ordinary Muslims while obscuring the everyday reality of Hindu-Muslim coexistence. He argues that the real need is for institutional Muslim bodies to speak clearly against violence and for both communities to resist fringe provocations. The essay addresses an open letter to Muslim mosques and organisations in Gujarat, urging them to build programmes of dialogue and community service, and invokes the legacy of Gandhian institutions in Vadodara (Gandhibhavan, P.P. Vadilya Sansthan, Kareganj) as models. - Responds to the Deoband–Bareilly fatwa controversy post-26/11, arguing that Muslim institutions bear an unfair burden of proving anti-terror credentials. - Invokes Iqbal's line 'मज़हब नहीं सिखाता आपस में बैर रखना' (religion does not teach enmity between us) as the normative frame. - Argues everyday Hindu-Muslim coexistence is the norm, distorted by media attention to fringe voices. - Addresses an open letter to Muslim organisations and mosques in Gujarat, urging programmes of dialogue and service. - Invokes Gandhian institutions in Vadodara (Gandhibhavan, P.P. Vadilya Sansthan, Kareganj) as models of communal harmony work. ### સમયનો તકાજો : સદ્ભાવનાને પણ શૂન્યાવકાશ નથી ! *By રાજેશ મિશ્રા* Rajesh Mishra's essay 'સમયનો તકાજો : સદ્ભાવનાને પણ શૂન્યાવકાશ નથી!' (pages 18–20) is a substantive reflection on the state of the sadabhavana (communal goodwill) movement in Gujarat, written in the run-up to the 2009 general elections. In the rendered pages Mishra reports on a series of sadabhavana events held at Mahuva in February 2008, including a gathering organised under the banner of 'Manviya Ekta Sammelan', where topics including terrorism, communal harmony, and civil society roles were discussed. He engages Javeed Anand's commentary in Communalism Combat and analyses why sadabhavana events remain necessary but often fail to produce structural change. The essay argues that genuine communal harmony requires a commitment to rule of law and equal citizenship — not merely inter-faith social gatherings — and that the test is whether the state guarantees equal legal protection to every citizen regardless of faith. Mishra closes with an appeal to citizens of Vadodara district to hold parliamentary candidates accountable on these questions before the 2009 elections. - Assesses the sadabhavana (communal goodwill) movement in Gujarat seven years after the 2002 riots. - Reports on a Manviya Ekta Sammelan held at Mahuva in February 2008 with civil society participation. - Argues that genuine communal harmony requires rule of law and equal citizenship — not performative inter-faith events. - Engages Javeed Anand (Communalism Combat) as a commentator on Gujarat's communal situation. - Calls on voters in Vadodara district to hold 2009 parliamentary candidates accountable on communal justice. --- ## [Primary work] Judiciary Vis a Vis Parliament & Executive URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/judiciary-vis-a-vis-parliament-and-executive-1981/ ### Summary Anil B. Divan's 1981 keynote address to the Bar Council of India Trust, published as a booklet by the Forum of Free Enterprise, traces the genealogy of judicial independence from Stuart England through colonial India to the first three decades of the Indian Supreme Court. Divan opens with the dictionary sense of 'vis-a-vis' as two parties facing each other, and asks whether the Court's recurrent confrontations with Parliament and the Executive — most recently the new Government's mass transfers of High Court judges and Chief Justices — could harden into 'eyeball to eyeball' confrontation. He grounds the answer in history: Sir Edward Coke's defiance of James I at Westminster Hall in 1608, the Act of Settlement (1701) securing judges' tenure during good behaviour, the colonial-era stand of Sir Peter Grant in Bombay (1829), and Sir Morris Gwyer's wartime striking down of Rule 26 of the Defence of India Rules. The address then walks through the Constituent Assembly's intent — quoting Nehru, Ambedkar and B. N.… ### Body ## Summary Anil B. Divan's 1981 keynote address to the Bar Council of India Trust, published as a booklet by the Forum of Free Enterprise, traces the genealogy of judicial independence from Stuart England through colonial India to the first three decades of the Indian Supreme Court. Divan opens with the dictionary sense of 'vis-a-vis' as two parties facing each other, and asks whether the Court's recurrent confrontations with Parliament and the Executive — most recently the new Government's mass transfers of High Court judges and Chief Justices — could harden into 'eyeball to eyeball' confrontation. He grounds the answer in history: Sir Edward Coke's defiance of James I at Westminster Hall in 1608, the Act of Settlement (1701) securing judges' tenure during good behaviour, the colonial-era stand of Sir Peter Grant in Bombay (1829), and Sir Morris Gwyer's wartime striking down of Rule 26 of the Defence of India Rules. The address then walks through the Constituent Assembly's intent — quoting Nehru, Ambedkar and B. N. Rau on the need for judges free from party bias — and the inaugural sitting of the Supreme Court on 28 January 1950, where Chief Justice Kania set the standard that the Court 'should be quite untouchable by the legislature and the executive authority'. Divan uses this benchmark to audit each decade. The 1950s emerge as 'the era of the conservatives', with foundational losses on personal liberty (the Gopalan judgment killed 'due process') offset by sharp equality decisions (Ameerunissa Begum, Ram Prasad Sahi) and Vivian Bose's prose elevating Article 14 into an 'attitude of mind'. The 1960s, dominated by Gajendragadkar, Subba Rao, Hidayatullah and J. C. Shah and influenced by Ridge v. Baldwin, Gideon's Trumpet and the Warren Court, sharpen review of administrative action and culminate in Golaknath (1967) and the Supreme Court's defence of two judges of the UP High Court against the Vidhan Sabha. The Seventies, Divan argues, fall into three sub-periods marked by Keshavananda Bharati's basic-structure doctrine — 'probably the greatest blow in any civilized country by the Judiciary for the preservation of the democratic form of Government' — the Emergency-era low of ADM Jabalpur, which 'made the darkness complete', and a post-Emergency renaissance through Maneka Gandhi, the Hoosseinara undertrial cases and the International Airport Authority decision. By the end of the rendered pages Divan is celebrating the Court's openly activist posture as an 'instrument of social reform and social dynamics', while warning that a tidal wave of petitions is congesting its docket. The booklet's printed text breaks off at page 18; the final eight pages of the PDF (printed pages 19 onward) are not in this chunk. ## Key points - Framed as the keynote address to the Bar Council of India Trust on 25 January 1981, against the backdrop of the new Government's mass transfers of High Court judges and Chief Justices. - Builds the case for judicial independence by tracing it from Coke's 1608 defiance of James I, through the Act of Settlement (1701) and Sir Peter Grant's 1829 Bombay stand, to Sir Morris Gwyer's wartime striking down of Rule 26 of the Defence of India Rules. - Anchors the Indian standard in the Constituent Assembly Debates — Nehru, Ambedkar and B. N. Rau — and in Chief Justice Kania's inaugural address that the Court 'should be quite untouchable by the legislature and the executive authority'. - Audits the 1950s as conservative-era foundations: criticises the Gopalan judgment for stillborn personal liberty while praising equality decisions (Ameerunissa Begum, Ram Prasad Sahi) and Vivian Bose's interpretation of Article 14. - Reads the 1960s as a 'Renaissance of Administrative Law' through Gajendragadkar, Subba Rao, Hidayatullah and J. C. Shah, with Ridge v. Baldwin, Gideon's Trumpet and the Warren Court reshaping Indian doctrine and Golaknath asserting the law-making role of the judiciary. - Splits the Seventies into pre-Emergency, Emergency and post-Emergency phases, treating Keshavananda Bharati's basic-structure doctrine as a constitutional bulwark and ADM Jabalpur as the Court's lowest ebb. - Charts the post-Emergency revival via Maneka Gandhi, the Hoosseinara undertrial judgments, the International Airport Authority case and the expansion of 'State' in Part III, declaring an openly activist Court committed to social reform. - Flags that the Court's new activism is producing a flood of petitions and mounting arrears, with constitutional matters awaiting hearing. --- ## [Primary work] ખોજ URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/khoj-january-february-2007/ ### Summary ખોજ (Khoj) — 'જીવન એક અવિરત ખોજ-આવિષ્કાર' — is the inaugural issue (Year 1, Issue 1, January–February 2007) of a Gujarati liberal periodical published from Vadodara by the Initiative for Open Society (Pahel Kendra), edited by Ambarish Mehta with an editorial board of Trushi Parekh, Anil Patel, and Rajesh Mishra. In the rendered pages (pp. 1–20), the issue announces itself as a forum for civil-society inquiry into questions of freedom, governance, law, and education. The opening quotes from the Rig Veda and Xenophanes establish an epistemological humility that frames the entire enterprise: truth is sought, not declared. The editorial situates the issue around two focal concerns — the passage of the Forest Rights Act 2006 (Van Adhikar Kanoon) and the SEZ controversy — presented as test cases for whether India's liberal constitutional promises reach its most marginalised citizens. Letters from readers engage urban housing policy, zoning, city poverty, and judicial reform, giving the issue a lively public-correspondence character. Suresh Parikh ('The Teacher's Work — Not the Potter's, but the Midwife's') argues for a Socratic, facilitative model of teaching that draws out the student's innate capacity rather than moulding a passive recipient, and calls for value-based education. Kardam Modi (કર્દમ મોડી) follows with a philosophical essay on adolescent education that asks whether 'youth education' is a genitive or instrumental compound and argues that values emerge from intergenerational encounter rather than top-down transmission. Trushi Parekh (તૃષિ પારેખ) analyses the Supreme Court's January 2007 nine-judge ruling subjecting post-1973 Ninth Schedule laws to fundamental-rights review, and contributes a separate short celebratory note on civic-legal milestones. Ashwin Karia (અશ્વિન કારીઆ) documents corruption and unaccountable management in the Travancore Devaswom Board and the Sabarimala shrine, framing temple-trust governance as a rule-of-law issue. Rajesh Mishra's dialogic column 'From the Bottom…' (તળિયેથી…) reports encounters with Dalit, adivasi, and rural-poor activists at a Delhi 'Summit of Powerless'. Himanshi Shelat (હિમાંશી શેલત) writes an urgent advocacy piece on missing children and systemic indifference of police and child-welfare institutions in Gujarat. Dankesh Oza (ડંકેશ ઓઝા) uses Swami Sahajanand's Gujarat tour as a foil to critique today's media-driven public figures and sectarian intolerance. A short unsigned piece on page 20 (signed by editorial voice) takes up religious-veto censorship around the film Parzania. Further contributors listed in the masthead — Prof. K. V. Patel (પ્રો. કે.વી. પટેલ), Kirit Panvala (કિરીટ પાનવાલા), Sauvik Chakraverti, a Frédéric Bastiat translation (ફેડરિક બેસ્ટિયાટ), a Munshi Premchand piece (મુન્શી પ્રેમચંદ), and Matt Ridley — appear in pages beyond the rendered chunk. ### Body ## Summary ખોજ (Khoj) — 'જીવન એક અવિરત ખોજ-આવિષ્કાર' — is the inaugural issue (Year 1, Issue 1, January–February 2007) of a Gujarati liberal periodical published from Vadodara by the Initiative for Open Society (Pahel Kendra), edited by Ambarish Mehta with an editorial board of Trushi Parekh, Anil Patel, and Rajesh Mishra. In the rendered pages (pp. 1–20), the issue announces itself as a forum for civil-society inquiry into questions of freedom, governance, law, and education. The opening quotes from the Rig Veda and Xenophanes establish an epistemological humility that frames the entire enterprise: truth is sought, not declared. The editorial situates the issue around two focal concerns — the passage of the Forest Rights Act 2006 (Van Adhikar Kanoon) and the SEZ controversy — presented as test cases for whether India's liberal constitutional promises reach its most marginalised citizens. Letters from readers engage urban housing policy, zoning, city poverty, and judicial reform, giving the issue a lively public-correspondence character. The remaining articles in the rendered chunk cover education philosophy (two pieces), a Supreme Court ruling on the Ninth Schedule, temple-trust corruption in Kerala, a column on Dalit experience from the grassroots, society's treatment of children, lessons from public life drawn from Swami Sahajanand's Gujarat tour, and two short opinion pieces on religious intolerance — together composing a picture of a periodical committed to liberal constitutionalism, civil society watchfulness, and the interface between high policy and everyday injustice. ## Essays ### સંપાદકીય *By અંબરીષ મહેતા* The editorial by Ambarish Mehta introduces the first issue of Khoj by situating it around two landmark events: the passage of the Van Adhikar (Forest Rights) Act 2006, which he describes as an historic recognition of adivasi and forest-dwelling communities' long-standing claims, and the SEZ controversy, which he frames as a test of whether free-market and liberalisation policies are being pursued with genuine respect for property rights and democratic accountability. Mehta signals the magazine's intent to provide substantive analysis of such issues rather than partisan cheerleading, and invites reader participation — including new subscriptions, corrections, and contributed articles — as the publication finds its feet. - Frames Van Adhikar Kanoon as historic justice for adivasis and forest communities after decades of struggle - SEZ policy is critiqued for inconsistency with free-market and liberalisation principles - Announces Khoj as a platform for civil-society inquiry, not ideological propaganda - Invites reader letters, articles, and subscriptions as the magazine launches - References upcoming long-form pieces by Trushi Parekh on Van Adhikar and by Ambarish Mehta on SEZ ### પત્રો The letters section (પત્રો / પ્રતિભાવો) spans pages 6–8 and contains substantial reader correspondence engaging with urban planning, housing, city poverty, and judicial reform. One letter by Pravinchandra Thakar of Ankleshwar critiques town-planning and zoning frameworks as instruments of elite capture that dispossess the poor; he questions whether NURM (National Urban Renewal Mission) can deliver genuine housing justice. A second letter from Chirantan Y. Bhogilal, Bhogilpura, Vadodara critiques zoning laws as benefiting real-estate and commercial interests over working-class residents. A third reader, Nishant Patel of Ahmedabad, cites a statistic that urban land values in India are US $6,380 per sq. ft. in some localities compared to US $2,600 per sq. ft. in rural areas. Another letter (Anjana Desai, Ahmedabad) covers the SEZ debate, linking it to the Narmada displacement and arguing that Special Economic Zones replicate patterns of land dispossession. The final letter on page 8 (Anjana Desai) also responds to a previous Khoj piece on judicial reform by Kirit Panwala, engaging his argument about 250–300 frivolous personal cases clogging Mumbai courts. - Multiple readers critique urban zoning and town-planning as instruments that disadvantage the urban poor - NURM scheme discussed as a potential but insufficient response to city housing failures - Statistical claim offered: urban land prices at US $6,380 per sq. ft. vs US $2,600 in rural areas - SEZ critique linked to Narmada-era displacement patterns - Judicial reform debate engaged — Kirit Panwala's earlier series prompts reader responses ### શિક્ષકનું કાર્ય - દાયણનું *By સુરેશ પરીખ* Suresh Parikh's piece 'શિક્ષકનું કાર્ય — કુંભારનું નહીં, દાયણનું' (The Teacher's Work — Not the Potter's, but the Midwife's) argues for a Socratic, facilitative model of teaching over the dominant 'potter' model in which the teacher moulds a passive student. Drawing on five questions a writer must answer before writing (What, Why, How, When, Where, How Much), Parikh argues that good teaching is the art of drawing out what the student already carries within — midwifery rather than manufacture. He critiques the school system's fixation on content delivery and measurable outputs, and calls for value-based education, reserving sharp criticism for the current curriculum's inability to form autonomous moral judgment. A reference to Mahendra Jotvadiyano's forthcoming piece on 'moolya-shikshan' (value education) in Khoj July–August 2007 signals the magazine's serialised engagement with the theme. - Contrasts 'potter' model of education (moulding students) with 'midwife' model (drawing out innate capacity) - Uses five editorial questions (What/Why/How/When/Where/How Much) as heuristic for good teaching - Argues that value education cannot be reduced to content — it requires moral environment, not curriculum - Critiques government schools' administrative burden and the divorce between teaching and learning goals - References a forthcoming Khoj piece by Mahendra Jotvadiyano on value education ### તરુણ શિક્ષણ - ક્યો સમાસ ? *By કર્દમ મોડી* Kardam Modi's 'તરુણ શિક્ષણ — ક્યો સમાસ?' (Youth Education — What Compound?) is a philosophical essay on adolescent education that asks whether 'youth education' is a genitive compound (education OF youth) or an instrumental one (education FOR youth, or education THROUGH youth). Modi argues that adolescents (ages 13–19) are in a formative phase during which the family, school, and peer community must cooperate rather than work at cross-purposes. He invokes the image of generations: just as the 1901 generation coexisted with the 2001 generation and had to learn from each other, today's adults must not dismiss adolescent values as mere rebellion. The essay argues that 'moolya' (values) are not static gifts passed down from a potter-parent but emergent properties of intergenerational encounter — and that schools are failing to create the conditions for such encounter. - Poses the grammatical ambiguity of 'youth education' (tatpurusha vs. bahuvrihi compound) as a substantive philosophical question - Argues that adolescents aged 13–19 form a distinct social stratum requiring a distinct educational philosophy - Values are not transmitted top-down but emerge from intergenerational encounter - Critiques the 1901/2001 generational gap as evidence that each era must negotiate its own moral vocabulary - Ends by distinguishing three levels of the youth-education problem: first-, second-, and third-order tatpurusha ### નવમા પરિશિષ્ટ પરનો ચુકાદો *By તૃષિ પારેખ* Trushi Parekh's 'નવમા પરિશિષ્ટ પરનો સુપ્રીમનો શક્તવર્તી ચુકાદો' (The Supreme Court's Powerful Ruling on the Ninth Schedule) covers the Supreme Court's nine-judge constitutional bench ruling of 11 January 2007 that subjected Ninth Schedule laws to fundamental-rights review. Parekh explains the historical context: the Ninth Schedule was inserted in 1951 to protect land-reform laws from judicial invalidation, and was subsequently used to shield an ever-expanding corpus of laws from Article 13 scrutiny. The ruling — that all laws inserted after 24 April 1973 (the Kesavananda Bharati date) are justiciable — is presented as a milestone for constitutional liberalism and separation of powers. Parekh notes, however, that the practical implications are uncertain: courts will need to assess each law, and the government retains the power to re-enact struck-down provisions in modified form. The piece is balanced — it does not celebrate the ruling uncritically — and raises the question of whether 'rule of law' or 'rule of lawyers' will prevail. - Supreme Court nine-judge bench on 11 January 2007 ruled Ninth Schedule laws post-1973 subject to fundamental-rights review - Historical background: Ninth Schedule created in 1951 to protect land reforms from Article 13 challenges - Kesavananda Bharati (1973) is the constitutional watershed — post-1973 insertions are now judicially reviewable - Ruling seen as a victory for separation of powers and constitutional supremacy over legislative immunity - Parekh raises the practical question of whether courts will act as genuine guardians or merely formal reviewers ### ઈશ્વરના પોતાના જ ધામમાં કૌભાંડ *By અશ્વિન કારીઆ* Ashwin Karia's 'ઈશ્વરના પોતાના જ ધામમાં કૌભાંડ!' (Scandal in God's Own Abode!) examines the governance failure of the Travancore Devaswom Board — the state agency that administers over 1,200 temples in Kerala — and the systemic corruption and mismanagement of temple trusts across India. Karia documents how the Board, which controls enormous financial flows (he cites annual turnover of crores of rupees, with Sabarimala alone generating hundreds of crores), operates without proper accountability, with reports of rampant pilferage of offerings, discrimination in service, and opaque internal appointments. The piece focuses on a specific investigation into the Sabarimala shrine's management, the role of the tantri (hereditary priest) families, and the failure of parliamentary and judicial oversight. It closes with a sharp question: if the state administers these temples on behalf of the devotee public, why is the devotee public the last to know how the money is spent? - Travancore Devaswom Board manages 1,200+ temples in Kerala with very large annual revenues - Sabarimala shrine generates hundreds of crores annually; mismanagement and pilferage are documented - Tantri (hereditary priest) families wield unaccountable power over temple administration - State administration of temples does not translate into public accountability to devotees - Article frames temple-trust corruption as a civil-liberties and rule-of-law issue, not a religious one ### તળિયેથી. . . *By રાજેશ મિશ્રા* Rajesh Mishra's column 'તળિયેથી…' (From the Bottom…) is a dialogic, documentary piece presenting an encounter at a conference ('Summit of Powerless') in Delhi, at which Mishra — identified as a Gujarati who works on adivasi issues — meets Dalit activists, women from rural Rajasthan, and grassroots voices from Bihar and Gujarat. The column is composed largely as reported dialogue: conversations on caste discrimination, the limits of constitutional promises, dowry harassment, police violence against Dalits, and the experience of being invisible to mainstream society. The piece works as testimony journalism, capturing the emotional register of the marginalized alongside Mishra's reflective voice as interlocutor. A memorable exchange about a mobile phone conversation between Mishra and a Dalit woman during a train journey anchors the column's second half and functions as a metaphor for the gap between connectivity and genuine social solidarity. - Dialogic column drawing on encounters at a grassroots Delhi conference of marginalised communities - Voices of Dalit women, adivasi activists, and rural poor foregrounded through direct reported speech - Themes: caste discrimination, police violence, dowry harassment, constitutional promise vs. lived reality - Mobile phone exchange on a Vadodara train as a parable of false connectivity between social classes - Column embodies the magazine's commitment to witness journalism from the grassroots ### બાળકો સાથે સમાજનો અક્ષમ્ય વ્યવહાર *By હિમાંશી શેલત* Himanshi Shelat's 'બાળકો સાથે સમાજનો અક્ષમ્ય વ્યવહાર' (Society's Unpardonable Treatment of Children) is a short but urgent essay on child neglect and abuse in Gujarat — drawing on news reports of missing children, custodial violence, and the failure of state institutions to protect minors. Shelat documents a specific period in which thousands of children went missing in Gujarat and examines the systemic indifference of police, courts, and child welfare institutions. The piece asks why Indian society tolerates such treatment and draws a connection between the social invisibility of children and broader failures of public accountability. It calls for child-rights mechanisms with real enforcement power. - Documents large numbers of missing children in Gujarat over recent years - Police and child welfare institutions shown to be systemically indifferent - Connects child neglect to broader public-accountability failures - Calls for enforceable child-rights mechanisms rather than advisory bodies - Tone is advocacy journalism: specific, evidence-based, and morally urgent ### જાહેર જીવનના પદાર્થપાઠ ક્યારે ? *By ડંકેશ ઓઝા* Dankesh Oza's 'જાહેર જીવનના પદાર્થપાઠ ક્યારે?' (When Will We Learn the Lessons of Public Life?) uses Swami Sahajanand's Gujarat tour as a case study in the failure of contemporary public figures to engage meaningfully with civic life. Oza observes that Swami Sahajanand, whose autobiography 'Mara Anubhavo' is referenced, encountered the complexity of Gujarati social conditions in his travels; by contrast, today's public figures treat Gujarat tours as media events. The piece draws on several encounters: a meeting with a cow-protection zealot, an exchange with a secular intellectual on religious tolerance, and a reflection on how the media's appetite for spectacle crowds out substantive civic discourse. Oza argues that public figures have a duty to model 'public life' — accountable, engaged, and non-sectarian — and that the current media environment makes this almost impossible. - Swami Sahajanand's Gujarat autobiography used as touchstone for genuine civic engagement - Contrasts authentic public-life witness with contemporary media-driven spectacle - Critiques religious intolerance — cow-protection vigilantism specifically — as a corruption of public life - Draws on Gandhian and secular-reformist tradition without naming Gandhi directly - Calls for public figures who model non-sectarian accountability rather than performing identity politics ### હરખ હવે તું હિન્દુસ્તાન *By તૃષિ પારેખ* Trushi Parekh's short piece 'હરખ હવે તું હિન્દુસ્તાન' (Rejoice Now, Hindustan) is a brief celebratory note — likely an editorial comment — noting positive signals for India's democratic health in the period: the Forest Rights Act's passage, the Supreme Court's Ninth Schedule ruling, and a broader sense that civil society institutions are finding their voice after years of impasse. The tone is cautiously optimistic and functions as an interlude between the more analytical pieces. - Short celebratory piece noting two civic-legal milestones: Van Adhikar Act and Ninth Schedule ruling - Cautiously optimistic about civil society momentum - Functions as editorial commentary rather than analytical article ### આ અસહિષ્ણતા અટકશે ખરી ? The short unsigned piece 'આ અસહિષ્ણતા અટકશે ખરી?' (Will This Intolerance Stop?) on page 20 responds to a specific incident of religious intolerance in Gujarat — the blocking of a film's screening because its content was deemed offensive by a religious group — and draws a broader argument about the creeping normalisation of veto power by sectarian groups over cultural expression. The piece names the film industry's self-censorship under communal pressure and questions whether the state is fulfilling its constitutional duty to protect freedom of expression. A reference to the film 'Parzania' (a 2006 Gujarati film about the 2002 riots) places the argument in the context of post-2002 Gujarat's contested public culture. - Documents a specific act of sectarian veto over film screening in Gujarat - Critiques film industry's self-censorship under communal pressure - References 'Parzania' (2006) as a case where state complicity in censorship was evident - Argues that constitutional freedom of expression requires active state protection, not passive non-interference - Connects cultural intolerance to the broader post-2002 Gujarat civic environment --- ## [Primary work] ખોજ URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/khoj-november-december-2007/ ### Summary Khoj ("ખોજ — જીવન એક અવિરત ખોજ", roughly "Life, an unending quest") is a Gujarati liberal little-magazine published from Vadodara; this is Year 1, Issue 5 (cover and masthead date September-October 2007, despite the file name). Edited by Ambarish Mehta with an editorial board and a wide advisory committee, the issue opens with bilingual epigraphs (a Rig Veda verse and the Greek sceptic Xenophanes) and an editorial, then runs a substantial letters-and-responses section before its main features. In the rendered pages the issue is dominated by an ongoing debate on "Vigyan-Adhyatma" (science vs. spirituality) and on whether free markets automatically produce prosperity, alongside topical commentary on civil liberties, the India-US nuclear deal, and the Sethusamudram canal project. The magazine prints translated pieces by liberal and libertarian authors (Leonard E. Read's "I, Pencil", Sauvik Chakravarti, Fareed Zakaria) and carries explicitly classical-liberal arguments about knowledge, markets and individual freedom. ### Body # ખોજ ## Summary Khoj ("ખોજ — જીવન એક અવિરત ખોજ", roughly "Life, an unending quest") is a Gujarati liberal little-magazine published from Vadodara; this is Year 1, Issue 5 (cover and masthead date September-October 2007, despite the file name). Edited by Ambarish Mehta with an editorial board and a wide advisory committee, the issue opens with bilingual epigraphs (a Rig Veda verse and the Greek sceptic Xenophanes) and an editorial, then runs a substantial letters-and-responses section before its main features. In the rendered pages the issue is dominated by an ongoing debate on "Vigyan-Adhyatma" (science vs. spirituality) and on whether free markets automatically produce prosperity, alongside topical commentary on civil liberties, the India-US nuclear deal, and the Sethusamudram canal project. The magazine prints translated pieces by liberal and libertarian authors (Leonard E. Read's "I, Pencil", Sauvik Chakravarti, Fareed Zakaria) and carries explicitly classical-liberal arguments about knowledge, markets and individual freedom. ## Essays ### વિજ્ઞાન - આધ્યાત્મ *By જ્યંતી પટેલ અને મિત્રો* The "Vigyan-Adhyatma" (science and spirituality) feature collects responses to an earlier essay series in Khoj. In the rendered pages it argues that science and spirituality both pursue truth but by different methods — science through reproducible, public verification, spirituality through inward, person-specific experience — and warns that treating subjective spiritual claims as objective truth produces dogma. It draws a distinction between knowledge that can be tested against history and merely asserted belief, and cautions against religious-spiritual knowledge overstepping its boundaries. - Frames science and spirituality as two distinct paths to truth, with different epistemic methods. - Science is characterised by public, reproducible verification; spiritual knowledge as inward and person-specific. - Warns against converting subjective spiritual experience into claims of objective truth (the root of dogma). - Part of an ongoing multi-issue debate in Khoj prompted by Jayanti Patel and others. ### યાકુબ મેમણ માટે કોણ આંસુ સારશે ? *By કિરીટ પાનવાલા* Kirit Panvala's "Yakub Memon mate kon aansu sarshe?" ("Who will shed tears for Yakub Memon?") responds to an earlier Khoj piece on the 1993 Mumbai serial-blasts case. Rather than defending Memon, it makes a due-process and rule-of-law argument: that even those accused of grave terrorist crimes are entitled to a fair trial, that evidence and the courts' reasoning must be scrutinised, and that the integrity of India's democratic and judicial system matters more than vengeance. It examines the TADA court verdict and the standards of proof in the case. - A reply within an ongoing Khoj exchange about the 1993 Mumbai blasts case. - Centres the rule of law and due process even for those accused of terrorism. - Scrutinises the TADA court's reasoning and the standard of evidence. - Argues the credibility of the judicial system outweighs the impulse to vengeance. ### સ્વતંત્રતા - જ્ઞાન અને બજાર *By મુકેશ એદનવાલા* Mukesh Adenwala's "Svatantrata — Jnan ane Bajar" ("Freedom — Knowledge and the Market"), printed in English, is a careful rejoinder in a debate with Anil Patel over whether establishing a market order automatically yields prosperity. Adenwala accepts the centrality of individual liberty and the idea of free institutions guiding economic agents, citing Adam Smith on markets as a set of institutions, but doubts that market mechanisms automatically and assuredly lead to development irrespective of the institutional and cultural setting. He argues that the historical success of capitalism in 18th-19th century Europe depended on prior conditions — secularism, personal dignity, rule of law, an independent judiciary, enforceable contracts — and that culture and institutions shape developmental outcomes, so there is no single guaranteed path to prosperity. - Written in English as a response to Anil Patel in a market-and-prosperity debate. - Accepts individual liberty and free choice but disputes that markets automatically guarantee development. - Invokes Adam Smith on markets as institutions and the 'rules of the game' definition of institutions. - Argues capitalism's European success rested on prior conditions: secularism, rule of law, independent judiciary, property rights. - Concludes culture and institutions condition development; no single sure route to prosperity. ### ન્યુક્લીયર કરારના બચાવમાં *By ટી. એસ. ગોપી રેથીનારજ* T. S. Gopi Rethinaraj's "Nuclear kararna bachavma" ("In Defence of the Nuclear Deal") argues that the July 2007 India-US civil nuclear agreement should not be obstructed for narrow political reasons. It frames the deal as a chance to end India's nuclear 'apartheid' and isolation, discusses the NSG and international safeguards, and criticises both left and right opponents whose objections it reads as ideological and anti-American rather than grounded in India's strategic interests. - Defends the July 2007 India-US civil nuclear agreement. - Casts the deal as ending India's nuclear 'apartheid' and international isolation. - Discusses the NSG and safeguards arrangements. - Criticises both left and right opposition as ideological rather than strategic. ### સેતુસમુદ્રમ્ પ્રોજેક્ટ જરૂરી છે ખરો ? *By તૃપ્તિ પારેખ* Tripti Parekh's "Setusamudram project jaruri chhe kharo?" ("Is the Sethusamudram project really necessary?") examines the controversial shipping-canal project through the Palk Strait. It sets aside the religious 'Ram Setu' politics to ask whether the project is justified on economic, environmental and strategic-security grounds, and from an economic viewpoint questions whether the time and cost savings to shipping justify the ecological damage and expense, noting that the dredged channel may silt up and that larger vessels could not use it. - Assesses the Sethusamudram Palk Strait canal project on economic, environmental and security grounds. - Deliberately brackets the 'Ram Setu' religious-political controversy. - Questions whether shipping time/cost savings justify ecological damage and cost. - Notes risks of silting and that larger ships could not use the channel. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] L.I.C. — Discounting the Assured URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/l-i-c-discounting-the-assured-shailaja-bapat-september-14-1979/ ### Summary Shailaja Bapat's 1979 booklet, reproduced by the Forum of Free Enterprise from the June 1979 issue of Imprint, is a sustained policy critique of the Life Insurance Corporation of India twenty-two years after its formation. Her opening premise is structural rather than personal: the failures of LIC are not the fault of the people who run it but of the monopoly form itself, and 'State monopolies' are 'no different from privately owned ones'. Against the promises C. D. Deshmukh made on the eve of nationalisation in 1956 — cheaper insurance, better service, higher efficiency, growth-oriented investment and employment — Bapat assembles an evidentiary indictment drawn from LIC's own valuation reports, the Estimates Committee of the Lok Sabha, and the Administrative Reforms Commission. On premium rates, she shows that LIC continues to use the Modified Oriental (1925-35) Ultimate Mortality Table even though successive in-house surveys (1953-54, 1962, the tenth valuation for 1973-75) confirm that actual deaths are between 43 and 45 per cent of those projected; the postal life insurance scheme, working in the same Indian conditions, charges premiums 18-20 per cent lower.… ### Body ## Summary Shailaja Bapat's 1979 booklet, reproduced by the Forum of Free Enterprise from the June 1979 issue of Imprint, is a sustained policy critique of the Life Insurance Corporation of India twenty-two years after its formation. Her opening premise is structural rather than personal: the failures of LIC are not the fault of the people who run it but of the monopoly form itself, and 'State monopolies' are 'no different from privately owned ones'. Against the promises C. D. Deshmukh made on the eve of nationalisation in 1956 — cheaper insurance, better service, higher efficiency, growth-oriented investment and employment — Bapat assembles an evidentiary indictment drawn from LIC's own valuation reports, the Estimates Committee of the Lok Sabha, and the Administrative Reforms Commission. On premium rates, she shows that LIC continues to use the Modified Oriental (1925-35) Ultimate Mortality Table even though successive in-house surveys (1953-54, 1962, the tenth valuation for 1973-75) confirm that actual deaths are between 43 and 45 per cent of those projected; the postal life insurance scheme, working in the same Indian conditions, charges premiums 18-20 per cent lower. On bonuses, she calculates that if the LIC had assumed realistic interest income and expense provisions, its distributable surplus for the 1973-75 biennium would have been Rs. 152.79 crores higher, enabling bonuses of Rs. 32 and Rs. 40 against the Rs. 17.60 and Rs. 22 actually declared. On expenses, she documents a renewal expense ratio (20.79 per cent) far above the UK (12.23 per cent) and the USA (16.9 per cent), inflated peon wages, and a Class I officer head-count that grew 467 per cent between 1957 and 1978 while the supervisory load per officer fell from 30 to 13 subordinates. The second half of the booklet broadens into a service and governance audit: rising complaints, three-month policy transfers, delayed claim settlements (outstanding claims up 350 per cent in two decades), lapse ratios above 30 per cent, near-total neglect of the rural market (3.5 per cent of new business in 1977-78), and an investment policy that holds 75.6 per cent of funds in low-yielding government securities even though the statutory minimum is only 50 per cent, costing policyholders an estimated Rs. 41 crores in 1978 alone. Bapat's prescriptions are explicit: decentralise the central office, break LIC into four or five competing units as the ARC recommended in 1969, give policyholders representation on the actuarial and audit boards, and abolish the monopoly so 'healthy competition' can supply the 'norms for judging the efficiency of life insurance business'. The argument is offered as a cautionary case study at a moment of 'ideological demands for nationalisation of more sectors of the economy'. ## Key points - Frames LIC's failures as a structural problem of state monopoly rather than the fault of its managers, and treats the case as a warning against further nationalisation. - Argues LIC's premium rates are anchored to the Modified Oriental (1925-35) mortality table even though actual deaths are 43-45 per cent of projected, and the postal life insurance scheme charges 18-20 per cent less for similar plans. - Calculates that realistic interest and expense assumptions would have raised distributable surplus by Rs. 152.79 crores for 1973-75 and allowed bonuses of Rs. 32 and Rs. 40 per thousand against the Rs. 17.60 and Rs. 22 actually declared. - Documents a renewal expense ratio of 20.79 per cent in India versus 12.23 per cent in the UK and 16.9 per cent in the USA, and a 467 per cent rise in Class I officers between 1957 and 1978 while supervisory load per officer fell from 30 to 13 subordinates. - Catalogues service deterioration: 7,818 complaints to the central office in 1977-78, a 350 per cent rise in outstanding claims over two decades, three-month policy transfers, and lapse ratios above 30 per cent. - Shows LIC investing 75.6 per cent of its funds in government securities yielding only 5 per cent, against a statutory minimum of 50 per cent, and estimates the foregone return at about Rs. 41 crores in 1978 alone. - Notes that only 3.5 per cent of new business in 1977-78 came from rural areas, against the Union Finance Minister's 1956 promise that LIC would carry insurance 'to the doors of the people'. - Endorses the Administrative Reforms Commission's 1969 proposal to break LIC into four or five competing units, demands policyholder representation on its actuarial and audit boards, and calls for the abolition of the monopoly. --- ## [Primary work] LAND REFORM URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/land-reform-kae-jee-feb6-1958/ ### Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise and reprinted from The Mail, Madras (19 January 1959), this short pamphlet by the pseudonymous "Kaejee" is a sustained polemic against the Congress government's then-impending land-reform package — fixing a ceiling on individual landholdings and channelling the excised land into cooperative farms. Kaejee argues that, after the abolition of zamindari and princely estates, the new measure is no longer reform but "an agrarian revolution where the very concept of ownership of land is destroyed," and that compulsory alienation of private holdings for cooperative cultivation falls outside the limits of a constitutional, benevolent democracy. The substantive core of the argument is demographic and statistical. Drawing on the 1951 Census, Kaejee insists that India's agrarian misery is a problem of land scarcity, not of land distribution: per capita cultivable area is barely 0.79 acre, compared with 15 acres in the United States and 19 in the USSR, and 351 lakh of the 710 lakh "agriculturists" are in fact unpaid family helpers or earners drawn into farming for want of alternative livelihoods.… ### Body ## Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise and reprinted from The Mail, Madras (19 January 1959), this short pamphlet by the pseudonymous "Kaejee" is a sustained polemic against the Congress government's then-impending land-reform package — fixing a ceiling on individual landholdings and channelling the excised land into cooperative farms. Kaejee argues that, after the abolition of zamindari and princely estates, the new measure is no longer reform but "an agrarian revolution where the very concept of ownership of land is destroyed," and that compulsory alienation of private holdings for cooperative cultivation falls outside the limits of a constitutional, benevolent democracy. The substantive core of the argument is demographic and statistical. Drawing on the 1951 Census, Kaejee insists that India's agrarian misery is a problem of land scarcity, not of land distribution: per capita cultivable area is barely 0.79 acre, compared with 15 acres in the United States and 19 in the USSR, and 351 lakh of the 710 lakh "agriculturists" are in fact unpaid family helpers or earners drawn into farming for want of alternative livelihoods. Redistribution, on this reading, cannot redeem masses for whom no chemical reform can extract more than a thin living from too little soil; only industrialisation, off-farm employment and modern machinery — which require larger, not smaller, holdings — can raise rural incomes. Anti-fragmentation by ceiling, Kaejee writes, is "the very negation" of the case for consolidation. The pamphlet then turns to the cooperative-farming proposal itself, treating it as a way-station to Soviet- and Chinese-style collectivisation. Kaejee cites the 1945 Congress Agrarian Reforms Committee's own caution that collective farming presupposes reclaimed wastelands and non-existent ownership sentiments, and the 1951 Census Commissioner's warning against confusing "cooperative farming, collectivisation, redistribution of land" in a single bundle. Russia's and China's collectivisation drives, undertaken to free manpower for war industry, have no analogue in an India already groaning under labour surplus; American conditions, with their virgin land and labour shortage, are likewise inapplicable. Kaejee closes with a plea that India "build her own pattern of agrarian economy on indigenous lines" within the four corners of a democratic constitution, and warns that pursuing cooperative farming risks ending in "State farming and collectivisation, with its consequences of regimentation of labour" or in "utter economic and social chaos." ## Key points - Frames the ceiling-on-landholdings plus cooperative-farming package as an "agrarian revolution" disguised as reform — a transition from zamindari abolition to the abolition of private ownership itself. - Distinguishes constitutional regulation of land tenure or agricultural-labour conditions (legitimate) from compulsory alienation of land for cooperatives (beyond benevolent democracy). - Uses 1951 Census figures to argue India's per capita cultivable area (~0.79 acre) is structurally insufficient, vastly below the USA (15 acres) and USSR (19 acres) — no redistribution can fix scarcity. - Argues 351 lakh of 710 lakh "agriculturists" are non-earning dependents or unpaid family workers, evidence that the real problem is rural underemployment, not maldistribution of holdings. - Holds that mechanisation and modern scientific agriculture require larger, not smaller, holdings, so a ceiling is "the very negation" of consolidation logic. - Reads cooperative farming as a way-station to Soviet/Chinese-style collectivisation, citing the 1945 Congress Agrarian Reforms Committee and the 1951 Census Commissioner against conflating cooperation, collectivisation and redistribution. - Calls for industrialisation and de-urbanised, off-farm employment to drain the agrarian labour surplus, urging that the Third Five-Year Plan not repeat the First and Second Plans' mistakes. - Insists Indian agrarian policy be "moulded in relation to economic, political and social conditions now prevailing in India" within a democratic constitution, not transplanted from Russian, Chinese or American patterns. --- ## [Primary work] LESSONS OF WHEAT TRADE NATIONALISATION URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/lessons-of-wheat-trade-nationalisation-dr-a-c-chhatrapati-11-april-1974/ ### Summary Lessons of Wheat Trade Nationalisation collects Dr. A. C. Chhatrapati's April 1974 talk at a Forum of Free Enterprise symposium in Bombay together with a chronological dossier of news clippings from 1973 that document the unravelling of the Government of India's monopoly procurement of wheat. Chhatrapati, then Secretary of the Vanaspati Manufacturers' Association and a specialist in agricultural economics, treats the recent decision to abandon nationalised wholesale wheat trade as a vindication of market mechanisms and a rebuke to planners who had treated state takeover as a cure-all for food insecurity. Section I ("The Rationale of the New Food Policy") reconstructs why the 1973 takeover failed: the procurement price of Rs. 76 per quintal had become unremunerative against rising input costs, farmers withheld marketable surplus, state zoning broke the national grain market, and the Centre — denied imports because Russia and China had absorbed world surpluses — could not feed deficit areas. The result was rationing as low as 5 kg a month in Bombay, food riots in Gujarat, and a Rs.… ### Body ## Summary Lessons of Wheat Trade Nationalisation collects Dr. A. C. Chhatrapati's April 1974 talk at a Forum of Free Enterprise symposium in Bombay together with a chronological dossier of news clippings from 1973 that document the unravelling of the Government of India's monopoly procurement of wheat. Chhatrapati, then Secretary of the Vanaspati Manufacturers' Association and a specialist in agricultural economics, treats the recent decision to abandon nationalised wholesale wheat trade as a vindication of market mechanisms and a rebuke to planners who had treated state takeover as a cure-all for food insecurity. Section I ("The Rationale of the New Food Policy") reconstructs why the 1973 takeover failed: the procurement price of Rs. 76 per quintal had become unremunerative against rising input costs, farmers withheld marketable surplus, state zoning broke the national grain market, and the Centre — denied imports because Russia and China had absorbed world surpluses — could not feed deficit areas. The result was rationing as low as 5 kg a month in Bombay, food riots in Gujarat, and a Rs. 250-crore subsidy bill that fuelled inflation rather than relief. Chhatrapati argues that the new policy, which licenses wholesalers to sell 50 per cent of purchases to government at Rs. 105 per quintal while letting the remainder move in the open market and across state lines, restores a national market while preserving a buffer-stock role for the State. He distinguishes regulated commodity markets from "laissez faire," insists that bumper-crop procurement and limited public distribution in deficit urban areas are legitimate, and warns that the only durable remedy for high prices is to curb monetary and fiscal indiscipline and raise output — not to coerce producers. Section II reprints reports from The Times of India, Free Press Journal, Indian Express and UNI between April 1973 and June 1973 chronicling the takeover's collapse: missed procurement targets, food riots, police firings at Sinnar and Bulsar, queues for sub-standard rice, bogus ration cards in Patna, the destitute scraping wheat from compost pits at Bombay's Aarey Milk Colony, and Congress MLAs themselves sabotaging procurement by selling stocks to private traders at higher prices. The cumulative effect is documentary: the takeover did not raise the quantity procured, denied consumers reasonable supplies, widened price disparities between surplus and deficit zones, and forced citizens onto the black market. The pamphlet's argumentative centre is that democratic governments cannot indefinitely sustain coercive policies that punish both farmer and consumer, and that the wheat episode is a transferable lesson for other commodities — small farmers are no longer credulous, bureaucracies cannot manage scale, and state governments respond to political not administrative incentives. Chhatrapati treats the Centre's reversal as the right reading of these realities and a return to the regulatory-plus-market policy followed before the 1973 misadventure. ## Key points - Chhatrapati frames the end of wholesale wheat nationalisation as proper democratic responsiveness, not an ideological retreat — governments rule by consensus, not dogma. - The 1973 takeover failed on its own terms: against a target of 8.1 million tonnes only 4.3 million were procured, lower than the 5–5.1 million tonnes procured in earlier years when private wholesalers were also operating. - An unchanged procurement price of Rs. 76 per quintal had become unremunerative as input costs rose; many farmers found it cheaper to feed wheat to cattle than to sell to the State. - Inter-state and inter-district movement bans broke the national grain market, shifting onto the Centre the entire burden of feeding deficit States while imports were unavailable because Russia and China had swept world surpluses. - Public distribution shrank rather than expanded: Bombay rations fell to about 5 kg per month (roughly 40 per cent of normal needs); Gujarat's distress drove riots that contributed to the fall of the State Government. - Chhatrapati endorses regulated markets — minimum support prices, buffer stocks, and limited public distribution in deficit urban areas — but rejects monopoly procurement as administratively unworkable in a vast country and politically corrosive in a federal democracy. - He argues that inflation, not private trade, is the real driver of high food prices, and that the remedy lies in monetary and fiscal discipline and higher production, not in takeovers. - Section II's news compilation documents the human cost: police firings on bread mobs, sub-standard rationed rice, two million bogus ration cards in Patna, and Congress MLAs themselves selling wheat to private retailers at premium prices. --- ## [Primary work] The Liberal Budget 2006-07 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/liberal-budget-2006-07/ ### Summary The Liberal Budget 2006-07, subtitled "Right Choices Tough Decisions", is the third alternative budget document produced by the Indian Liberal Group (ILG) under its Project for Economic Education, prepared three months ahead of the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2006-07. The document opens with a statement of liberal philosophy — centring the individual over the state, invoking Gopal Krishna Gokhale's liberal vision and D. V. Gundappa's caution about selective borrowing from foreign ideas — before proceeding to a structured five-chapter analysis. The work is positioned explicitly as a counter to both Left-wing obstructionism within the UPA coalition and the UPA government's failure to press the Economic Policy Reforms (EPR) agenda with sufficient conviction after fifteen years of liberalisation since 1991. The first chapter assesses India's Economic Policy Reforms, cataloguing their achievements — GDP growth moving from 1.3% to 7.5%, forex reserves rising from $0.9 billion to $135 billion, FDI inflows from $100 million to $5,500 million — alongside persistent failures: the jobless-growth problem, the North-Central-East regional imbalance, public-sector obstructionism, and inad… ### Body ## Summary The Liberal Budget 2006-07, subtitled "Right Choices Tough Decisions", is the third alternative budget document produced by the Indian Liberal Group (ILG) under its Project for Economic Education, prepared three months ahead of the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2006-07. The document opens with a statement of liberal philosophy — centring the individual over the state, invoking Gopal Krishna Gokhale's liberal vision and D. V. Gundappa's caution about selective borrowing from foreign ideas — before proceeding to a structured five-chapter analysis. The work is positioned explicitly as a counter to both Left-wing obstructionism within the UPA coalition and the UPA government's failure to press the Economic Policy Reforms (EPR) agenda with sufficient conviction after fifteen years of liberalisation since 1991. The first chapter assesses India's Economic Policy Reforms, cataloguing their achievements — GDP growth moving from 1.3% to 7.5%, forex reserves rising from $0.9 billion to $135 billion, FDI inflows from $100 million to $5,500 million — alongside persistent failures: the jobless-growth problem, the North-Central-East regional imbalance, public-sector obstructionism, and inadequate social expenditure. The second chapter reviews the Central Budget 2005-06, acknowledging its growth-supporting features (VAT introduction, Bharat Nirman rural connectivity, Viability Gap Funding for infrastructure) while criticising the coalition compulsions that distorted its fiscal discipline, introduced retrograde taxes (Fringe Benefits Tax, Banking Cash Transaction Tax), and prevented transformational reform in FDI, labour, and disinvestment. The third chapter sets out the Liberal Budget's strategic framework: a Seven-Point Action Agenda for sustained 8% real GDP growth, poverty reduction to below 15% by 2015-16, and creation of at least 8 million new jobs annually, anchored in a proposed Economic Reforms Implementation Authority (ERIA) to give institutional teeth to reforms. The chapter also calls for aggressive disinvestment of PSUs, radical indirect-tax reform towards a single GST rate, and public-private partnership via Special Purpose Vehicles. Chapter 4, seen through page 18, begins the analysis of Central Government expenditure structure, noting the sharp rise in revenue expenditure (to 87% of total outlay) and the collapse of capital expenditure (to 13%), raising concerns about fiscal quality. ## Key points - The document is the ILG's third Liberal Budget, presented three months before the Union Budget 2006-07, explicitly positioning liberal fiscal prescriptions against the UPA coalition's compromises with Left parties. - Chapter 1 provides a balanced scorecard of fifteen years of EPR: strong macro gains (GDP growth, forex, FDI) but stark failures in employment generation, regional equity, social sector spending, and administrative reform. - Chapter 2 critiques Budget 2005-06 for introducing regressive taxes (FBT, BCTT) and failing to move on FDI ceilings, labour reform, and disinvestment, despite its welcome features such as Bharat Nirman and VAT. - The strategic framework (Chapter 3) proposes a Seven-Point Agenda and an Economic Reforms Implementation Authority (ERIA) — a statutory body headed by a Cabinet-rank minister with corporate-style executive powers — to accelerate reforms. - The Liberal Budget advocates aggressive and full disinvestment/privatisation of PSUs, condemning the BRPSE as an outmoded delay mechanism, and calls for ring-fencing disinvestment revenues for incremental infrastructure investment. - Chapter 3 calls for a single flat 10% customs tariff, movement to a unified GST regime, and alignment of all indirect taxes with global benchmarks to strengthen manufacturing competitiveness. - Chapter 4 raises alarm at the structural deterioration in expenditure quality: revenue expenditure at 87% of total outlay and capital expenditure collapsing to 13%, indicating chronic fiscal ill-health. --- ## [Primary work] The Liberal Budget URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/liberal-budget-building-equitable-society/ ### Summary *The Liberal Budget: Building an Equitable Society* presents a model fiscal framework developed in 2004 by a Drafting Group convened by the Indian Liberal Group's Project for Economic Education. The preface, signed by S. V. Raju as Executive Chairman, explains that the document was designed as a template and benchmark against which to evaluate actual Union Budgets, and that it draws on consultations held at the Leslie Sawhny Centre in Deviall and with economists and civil servants in Chennai. S. S. Bhandare's Introduction characterises the fiscal environment as one of severe constraint, arguing that a genuinely liberal economic environment is a precondition for any effective budget, and closes with a postscript acknowledging the newly elected UPA government's Common Minimum Programme while asserting that the Liberal Budget's 'human face' is stronger than that of the CMP without diluting liberal reform. The Executive Summary states that the Liberal Budget's philosophical bedrock is that 'man is the measure of all things' and that the business of government is governance, not business.… ### Body ## Summary *The Liberal Budget: Building an Equitable Society* presents a model fiscal framework developed in 2004 by a Drafting Group convened by the Indian Liberal Group's Project for Economic Education. The preface, signed by S. V. Raju as Executive Chairman, explains that the document was designed as a template and benchmark against which to evaluate actual Union Budgets, and that it draws on consultations held at the Leslie Sawhny Centre in Deviall and with economists and civil servants in Chennai. S. S. Bhandare's Introduction characterises the fiscal environment as one of severe constraint, arguing that a genuinely liberal economic environment is a precondition for any effective budget, and closes with a postscript acknowledging the newly elected UPA government's Common Minimum Programme while asserting that the Liberal Budget's 'human face' is stronger than that of the CMP without diluting liberal reform. The Executive Summary states that the Liberal Budget's philosophical bedrock is that 'man is the measure of all things' and that the business of government is governance, not business. It sets out nine concrete human-development targets for 2007 and 2012 (including halving poverty, achieving near-universal primary schooling, and reducing infant and maternal mortality), and outlines five governing objectives: Effective Fiscal Governance, Fiscal Consolidation and Stabilisation, Efficiency and Productivity, Acceleration of Growth, and Promotion of Equity. It advocates a shift in the composition of expenditure from non-development to development spending, rationalisation and simplification of the tax system guided by the Kelkar Committee Report, accelerated privatisation of PSUs on the principle that the test is whether the state should be in an activity at all rather than whether it is profitable, and a suite of structural reforms including independent regulators, labour-law reform, agricultural deregulation, and e-governance. Chapter 1 ('Liberal Perspectives and Human Development') opens with a philosophical statement of the Liberal position — citing Ludwig von Mises, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, and D. V. Gundappa — and moves into the five operational tenets of the Liberal Budget, covering Effective Fiscal Governance (including the Fiscal Responsibility Act and e-governance), Fiscal Consolidation, Efficiency and Productivity (including Kelkar Committee tax reforms and PSU divestment), Acceleration of Growth (targeting 8–9% per annum), and Promotion of Equity. Section 1.3 begins addressing human-development parameters, covering poverty and employment (including a proposed employment-generation programme for below-poverty-line families with an outlay of Rs. 30,000–35,000 crores annually), welfare for those unable to work, agriculture (documenting the decline in GCF in agriculture from 7.47% to 6.02% of GCF between 1993–94 and 2000–01), and the opening of sections on education and health. ## Key points - The document presents itself as a 'model Liberal Budget' — a benchmark template against which actual Union Budgets can be measured, produced by a Drafting Group led by S. S. Bhandare under the ILG's Project for Economic Education. - The philosophical foundation is that 'man is the measure of all things' and that the state's role is governance, not business — referencing von Mises and the liberal tradition. - Nine specific human-development targets are set for 2007 and 2012, including reducing poverty by 5 percentage points by 2007, universal primary schooling by 2005–2009, and halving infant and maternal mortality. - The Liberal Budget advocates shifting the composition of expenditure decisively towards development spending (raising development expenditure from approximately 7% to 9% of GDP), while strictly capping overall expenditure growth to no more than real GDP growth. - Tax reform is framed around the Kelkar Committee Report: no increase in tax rates, rationalisation and simplification of direct and indirect taxes, abolition of search-and-seizure powers and 'public interest provisions', and full computerisation of tax operations. - Privatisation is presented as a principle not of profit-maximisation but of correct state scope — the test being whether the state should be in a given field at all. - Structural reforms advocated include independent regulators, labour-law flexibility, agricultural deregulation and contract farming, single-window trading procedures, judicial reforms, and e-governance leading to 'Seamless Governance'. - The document explicitly distances itself from populist symbolism, stating its dictum as: 'Everyone knows what's wrong. The job is to offer the people what is right.' --- ## [Primary work] Taking Reforms to the Poor URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/liberal-budget-reforms-for-poor/ ### Summary In the rendered pages, "Taking Reforms to the Poor: The Liberal Budget 2007-08" presents the Indian Liberal Group's fourth annual alternative budget proposal (LB4). The document opens with a statement of liberal economic philosophy — centring the individual, a limited state, and market-led allocation — before moving into its main analytical chapters. The preface, authored by S. V. Raju as National Coordinator, situates LB4 in the context of India's 8.5% GDP growth and a growing convergence between the ILG's alternative budgets and the Union Government's fiscal numbers, while criticising backsliding tendencies such as proposed RTI rollback, media censorship bills, and the Petroleum Ministry's capture attempts. In the rendered pages, Chapter 1 ("Fiscal Issues: Challenges and Policy Response") reviews the fiscal policy record of the three previous Liberal Budgets (LB1–LB3), identifies areas of convergence and divergence with the Central Budgets of 2004-05 to 2006-07, and lays out LB4's fiscal framework.… ### Body ## Summary In the rendered pages, "Taking Reforms to the Poor: The Liberal Budget 2007-08" presents the Indian Liberal Group's fourth annual alternative budget proposal (LB4). The document opens with a statement of liberal economic philosophy — centring the individual, a limited state, and market-led allocation — before moving into its main analytical chapters. The preface, authored by S. V. Raju as National Coordinator, situates LB4 in the context of India's 8.5% GDP growth and a growing convergence between the ILG's alternative budgets and the Union Government's fiscal numbers, while criticising backsliding tendencies such as proposed RTI rollback, media censorship bills, and the Petroleum Ministry's capture attempts. In the rendered pages, Chapter 1 ("Fiscal Issues: Challenges and Policy Response") reviews the fiscal policy record of the three previous Liberal Budgets (LB1–LB3), identifies areas of convergence and divergence with the Central Budgets of 2004-05 to 2006-07, and lays out LB4's fiscal framework. The ILG endorses continued FRBM-mandated fiscal consolidation, radical indirect-tax simplification along Kelkar Committee lines, agricultural income tax, vigorous disinvestment targeting Rs.35,000–50,000 crore in receipts, PPP-based infrastructure investment, and a decisive shift in expenditure composition toward social sectors. The chapter explicitly rejects the 11th Plan Approach Paper's case for FRBM dilution, arguing that loosening deficit targets to finance plan expenditure would jeopardise macroeconomic stability. In the rendered pages, Chapter 2 ("Taking On the Challenge of Poverty") opens with poverty trend data showing that while the poverty ratio fell from 44.5% in 1983 to 28% in 2004-05, the pace of decline has been insufficient. The chapter critiques the official caloric-based poverty line as too restrictive, argues that the real number of poor could exceed 30 crore, and calls for a more realistic poverty line. Initial analysis in the rendered pages links slow poverty reduction to sluggish agricultural growth and raises the second-order growth effects of the reforms process as a partial explanation. Chapter 2 is cut off at printed page 20. ## Key points - LB4 is the fourth in ILG's annual Liberal Budget series; the preface notes growing numerical convergence between the Liberal Budget and the Union Government budget while flagging persistent governance backsliding. - In the rendered pages, Chapter 1 endorses FRBM fiscal consolidation, rejects the 11th Plan Approach Paper's proposal to dilute deficit targets, and calls for radical tax rationalisation along Kelkar Committee lines. - The ILG proposes vigorous disinvestment targeting Rs.35,000–50,000 crore and ring-fencing/earmarking of proceeds for social sector investment and debt retirement. - LB4 advocates a decisive shift in expenditure composition toward social sectors — raising education spending to 6% of GDP and public health to 2.5% of GDP — funded by curtailing non-developmental revenue expenditure. - In the rendered pages, Chapter 2 presents poverty trend data (poverty ratio fell from 44.5% in 1983 to 28% in 2004-05) but argues the pace of decline is far too slow and the official poverty line understates the true extent of deprivation. - The document explicitly critiques the 11th Plan Approach Paper's inclusive-growth framing as susceptible to populist interventions, arguing that sustained liberal reforms are the more effective route to poverty reduction. - The Sixth Pay Commission is flagged in the rendered pages as a looming fiscal pressure requiring stricter administrative expenditure control. --- ## [Primary work] LIBERALISING INDIA'S INSURANCE INDUSTRY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/liberalising-indias-insurance-industry-september-29-1995/ ### Summary Delivered as the 1995 Annual Public Lecture under the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust, R. N. Malhotra — former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and Chairman of the Government of India Committee on Reforms in the Insurance Sector — argues that India's state-monopoly insurance industry must be opened to competition. He situates the case within the broader liberalisation programme begun in 1991: trade liberalisation, de-licensing, capital-market deepening, foreign-investment inflows, and reform of the banking and financial sectors have, in his telling, produced strong balance-of-payments, growth, and consumer-welfare gains without the dire consequences predicted by critics.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the 1995 Annual Public Lecture under the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust, R. N. Malhotra — former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and Chairman of the Government of India Committee on Reforms in the Insurance Sector — argues that India's state-monopoly insurance industry must be opened to competition. He situates the case within the broader liberalisation programme begun in 1991: trade liberalisation, de-licensing, capital-market deepening, foreign-investment inflows, and reform of the banking and financial sectors have, in his telling, produced strong balance-of-payments, growth, and consumer-welfare gains without the dire consequences predicted by critics. Against that record he asks why insurance alone should be exempted from competition. The lecture surveys the structure of the Life Insurance Corporation (245 firms nationalised in 1956) and the General Insurance Corporation with its four subsidiaries (107 non-life insurers nationalised in 1973), describing their sprawling networks but also a culture of complacency: poor customer responsiveness, high costs, over-staffing, restrictive staff practices, lapsation of life policies, and an atrophied regulatory function. Malhotra summarises his Committee's diagnosis and its conclusion that competition would lift service quality, accelerate insurance penetration, and bring discipline that the public monopoly has lost. To answer sceptics, the lecture works through concrete precedents inside India where monopolies have been opened up — mutual funds after 1987 and especially 1993 (UTI's investible base actually grew even as new entrants captured market share), civil aviation (private carriers reduced waiting lists, raised standards, and even improved Indian Airlines' own image), and telecommunications (bids of over Rs. 1,11,000 crore in licence fees revealed the scale of pent-up demand). Malhotra closes the rendered portion by refuting the "natural monopoly" and fiduciary-obligation defences of state ownership, noting that most insurance worldwide is run by the private sector and that fiduciary relationships are common to banks, mutual funds, and other intermediaries that operate competitively under regulatory oversight. ## Key points - The lecture is the 1995 Annual Public Lecture of the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust, delivered on 13 September 1995 by R. N. Malhotra (former RBI Governor and Chairman of the Government Committee on Reforms in the Insurance Sector). - Malhotra frames insurance reform as the logical next step of the 1991 liberalisation programme — pointing to gains in the external sector, capital markets, industry de-licensing, banking, and the financial sector as evidence that further reform carries low risk. - He details the size and reach of LIC (1906 branches, Rs. 49,400 crore life fund) and the four GIC subsidiaries (3151 branch offices, Rs. 4,427 crore net premium in 1993-94) while diagnosing complacency, high costs, over-staffing, and atrophied regulation. - The Government Committee on Reforms in the Insurance Sector (1993), which he chaired, consulted opinion leaders and commissioned a MARG survey before recommending that the sector be opened to private competition. - He cites the mutual funds story (UTI's share fell to 80% but its absolute investible base grew massively as the industry expanded to Rs. 74,000 crore by 1995) to rebut fears that competition destroys incumbents. - Civil aviation and telecommunications are presented as further proof that private entry into former monopolies improves consumer welfare, employment, and even the public incumbent's performance. - He rejects the claim that insurance is a "natural state monopoly" requiring state ownership for fiduciary trust, noting that most of world insurance is private and that fiduciary trust is sustained elsewhere by mutual trust and effective regulation. - The rendered chunk also reproduces the Trust's objectives, a tribute to A. D. Shroff (1899-1965), and N. A. Palkhivala's chairman's introduction commending the lecture to policy-makers. --- ## [Primary work] Leading in Turbulent Times URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/leading-in-turbulent-times-by-azim-premji-2003/ ### Summary This 2003 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet bundles two short pieces by Azim Premji, Chairman of Wipro Corporation: the Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture he delivered in Mumbai on 2 December 2002 under the title "Leading in Turbulent Times," and his earlier convocation address at IIT Chennai of 27 July 2001, reprinted as "Opportunities and Challenges." Together they sit inside FFE's classical-liberal pamphleteering tradition not as a policy intervention but as a corporate leader's argument that private enterprise must deserve, through its own internal culture, the latitude that liberals seek to defend for it. The title essay reads the early-2000s slump — globalisation shock, recession, and the wave of US corporate scams of which Enron is the named case — and argues that the gravest casualty has been investor trust, not balance-sheet value.… ### Body ## Summary This 2003 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet bundles two short pieces by Azim Premji, Chairman of Wipro Corporation: the Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture he delivered in Mumbai on 2 December 2002 under the title "Leading in Turbulent Times," and his earlier convocation address at IIT Chennai of 27 July 2001, reprinted as "Opportunities and Challenges." Together they sit inside FFE's classical-liberal pamphleteering tradition not as a policy intervention but as a corporate leader's argument that private enterprise must deserve, through its own internal culture, the latitude that liberals seek to defend for it. The title essay reads the early-2000s slump — globalisation shock, recession, and the wave of US corporate scams of which Enron is the named case — and argues that the gravest casualty has been investor trust, not balance-sheet value. Premji distils four operational lessons from the downturn (re-focus on Customer Value, invest strategically while assets and talent are cheap, transform and trim the organisation, and discipline costs even in boom years), but his main move is cultural rather than tactical: laws and board reforms cannot by themselves guarantee ethical behaviour, so strong corporate governance must rest on shared Values consistently practised by leaders. He cites a Brookings estimate that the scandals had cost US GDP \$38 billion in their first year and Paul Krugman's view that their damage to the US economy exceeds that of 11 September 2001. "Opportunities and Challenges" turns from incumbent CEOs to entering engineers. Premji offers ten lessons drawn from three-and-a-half decades at Wipro: dare to dream; define what you stand for; never lose your zest and curiosity (he notes that the world's codified knowledge base, doubling every thirty years in the early twentieth century and every seven years by the 1970s, is projected to double every eleven hours by 2010); strive for global-grade excellence; build self-confidence; learn to work in cross-cultural teams; develop a rounded, synthesising personality; take care of yourself; cultivate a broader social vision; and persevere. The social-vision lesson is where he positions the Azim Premji Foundation's pledge to enrol over a million out-of-school children as the obligation that knowledge-economy wealth carries. The booklet is framed by the Forum's house furniture — an A. D. Shroff dedication on the inside cover ("Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives"), an Introduction by FFE President Minoo R. Shroff, a closing Eugene Black quote that "people must come to accept private enterprise not as a necessary evil, but as an affirmative good," and the standard FFE membership page — so the reader is meant to leave with the Values-based defence of free enterprise as the takeaway, not only the management advice. ## Key points - The booklet bundles two single-author addresses by Azim Premji: the 2002 Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture ("Leading in Turbulent Times") and the 2001 IIT Chennai convocation address ("Opportunities and Challenges"). - The title lecture reads the post-globalisation, recession, and US-corporate-scandal landscape as a stress test of business leadership and identifies four operational lessons from the downturn — re-focus on Customer Value, invest strategically, transform the organisation, and discipline costs even in good times. - Premji's central argument is cultural rather than regulatory: laws and board structures alone cannot guarantee ethical behaviour, so corporate governance must be anchored in shared Values practised consistently by leaders. - He invokes a Brookings estimate that the US corporate scandals cost \$38 billion (0.36% of GDP) in their first year and Paul Krugman's view that the damage exceeds that of September 11, 2001. - The second piece sets out ten lessons for young engineers: dare to dream, define what you stand for, sustain curiosity, strive for global-grade excellence, build self-confidence, work in cross-cultural teams, develop a rounded personality, take care of yourself, hold a broader social vision, and persevere. - The Azim Premji Foundation's pledge to enrol over a million out-of-school children is foregrounded as the model of knowledge-economy social vision. - The booklet is bracketed by FFE's standing apparatus — A. D. Shroff and Eugene Black dedicatory quotes plus an Introduction by Minoo R. Shroff — positioning Premji's leadership ethic as a buttress for the FFE free-enterprise project. --- ## [Primary work] Liberalism in South Asia URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/liberalism-in-south-asia/ ### Summary This issue of Liberal Times (Volume III / Number 4, 1995), published by the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung Regional Office South Asia, takes 'Liberalism in South Asia' as its unifying theme. Six contributors — from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Germany — survey the state of liberal thought and practice across the region. The issue opens with Sharad Joshi's sweeping historical essay on why liberalism never took firm root in India despite a hospitable philosophical environment, arguing that the dominant intellectual traditions — from Gandhian quasi-anarchism to Congress socialism — crowded out a genuine liberal politics and produced instead a 'Nehruvian socialist brand of statism'. Ashok V. Desai's tightly argued piece follows with an analysis of how the post-independence 'control regime' was inherited from wartime British economic management and how the economic liberalisation of the 1990s, while substantively significant, proceeds without any ideological acknowledgment of liberty as a political value. Chanaka Amaratunga surveys the surprisingly resilient liberal tradition in Sri Lanka, centred on the Liberal Party and its programme of federalism, proportional representation, and ethnic reconciliation. Kusum Shrestha reads Nepal's 1990 Constitution as an expression of liberal constitutionalism — sovereignty in the people, supremacy of the Constitution, an independent judiciary, and a formal bill of twelve fundamental rights — while flagging the dualistic gap between justiciable civil-political rights and aspirational Directive Principles. Detmar Doering opens a brief intellectual history of liberalism that traces its lineage from classical antiquity through Locke's Two Treatises (1689) to Adam Smith's market economy and the nineteenth-century theorists (Mill, Tocqueville, Bastiat, Spencer); only the first page of his essay falls within the rendered chunk. S. V. Raju, the long-standing Indian liberal editor (Freedom First) and Indian Liberal Group figure, also contributes to the issue per the contents listing; his piece sits in the unrendered pages beyond p. 20. The issue is edited by Jurgen Axer for the Foundation's regional office. ### Body ## Summary This issue of Liberal Times (Volume III / Number 4, 1995), published by the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung Regional Office South Asia, takes 'Liberalism in South Asia' as its unifying theme. In the rendered pages, six contributors — from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Germany — survey the state of liberal thought and practice across the region. The issue opens with Sharad Joshi's sweeping historical essay on why liberalism never took firm root in India despite a hospitable philosophical environment, arguing that the dominant intellectual traditions — from Gandhian quasi-anarchism to Congress socialism — crowded out a genuine liberal politics. Ashok V. Desai's tightly argued piece follows with an analysis of how the post-independence 'control regime' was inherited from wartime British economic management and how the economic liberalisation of the 1990s, while substantively significant, proceeds without any ideological acknowledgment of liberty as a political value. Chanaka Amaratunga surveys the surprisingly resilient liberal tradition in Sri Lanka, centred on the Liberal Party and its programme of federalism, proportional representation, and ethnic reconciliation. Kusum Shrestha examines Nepal's 1990 Constitution as an expression of liberal constitutionalism — sovereignty in the people, supremacy of the Constitution, an independent judiciary, and a formal bill of fundamental rights — while noting the dualistic gap between aspirational 'Directive Principles' and judicially enforceable rights. Detmar Doering opens a brief intellectual history of liberalism, tracing its lineage from Locke through 19th-century liberals and the post-war social-liberal divergence; only the first page of that essay falls within this chunk. ## Essays ### Any Hope for Indian Liberals? *By Sharad Joshi* Sharad Joshi's cover essay asks whether Indian liberalism has any political future, and answers with a long historical argument for why it has so far failed. In the rendered pages he surveys the philosophical compatibility of 'Vedanta' individualism with liberalism, the ways in which British colonial rule introduced rule of law while also seeding a 'plethora of statists', and the three streams that dominated nationalist politics — socio-religious reformism, Hindu revivalism, and the Gandhian platform — none of which produced a durable liberal politics. Joshi argues that Gandhi's quasi-anarchist village-economy vision, though spiritually sincere, produced a programme antithetical to liberal modernity, while the Congress socialist tradition actively modelled itself on the USSR. He diagnoses the resulting post-independence state as a 'Nehruvian socialist brand of statism' that proved hospitable to bureaucratic rent-seeking and hostile to individual economic freedom. The closing pages — visible through printed page 8 — turn to the prospects: with socialist credibility exhausted after the Bangladesh debacle and the left's failure on economic management, Joshi argues the window for a genuine liberal party may be opening, though the Hindu nationalist parties are capitalising on the same vacuum. - Ancient Vedanta philosophy is philosophically congruent with liberalism — it stresses individuality, rejects absolutism, and distrusts intermediary institutions like Planning Commissions. - British colonial rule introduced rule of law but limited itself to administration and exploitation after 1857, producing a 'plethora of statists' rather than liberal democrats. - The three dominant nationalist streams — socio-religious reform movements, Hindu revivalism, and Gandhism — all failed to generate a liberal political economy. - Gandhi's village-economy programme combined genuine ecumenism with an economic vision that was static, anti-growth, and antithetical to liberal modernity. - The post-independence 'Nehruvian socialist' state, modelled on the USSR, gave power to a bureaucratic class that used regulation and licensing to entrench itself. - By 1995 the socialist brand of statism holds little promise, creating an opening for liberals, though Hindu nationalist parties are filling the same political vacuum. - Joshi calls for a new liberal party — tentatively referenced as 'Swatantra Bharat' — built on Maharashtrian farmers and urban self-employed workers rather than the old elite. ### Liberalisation and Liberalism in India *By By Dr. Ashok V. Desai* Ashok V. Desai's essay traces the origins of India's post-independence 'control regime' to the wartime British economic machine that India inherited in 1947, and then explains why the economic liberalisation of the 1990s has proceeded without any accompanying liberal ideology. Desai catalogues the major instruments — industrial licensing, capital-flow controls, import controls, agricultural procurement and distribution controls, and discriminatory taxation — as mechanisms that were originally wartime expedients but became entrenched because powerful interests grew up around them. He distinguishes sharply between 'liberalisation' (the pragmatic relaxation of controls to reduce inefficiency) and 'liberal philosophy', arguing that India belongs to the post-war social-liberal tradition in which liberty is not accepted as the ultimate goal of political systems. The essay closes by observing that the foreign enterprise is perceived as a structural threat to domestic actors at every level of the economy, which explains the paradox of strong growth coexisting with pervasive shame and no public celebration of reform. - India's comprehensive control regime was not an ideological choice at independence — it was directly inherited from the Allied wartime economic machine. - The five major control instruments (industrial licensing, capital flow, import controls, agricultural procurement, discriminatory taxation) reinforced each other and bred vested interests that perpetuated them. - India belongs to the post-war social-liberal tradition: liberty is not accepted as the ultimate goal, hence the paranoia about foreign investment. - Economic liberalisation since 1991 has been 'on the defensive' — starting from a crisis, proceeding without ideological confidence, and producing growth that no one openly celebrates. - The essay distinguishes clearly between liberalisation (a set of policy changes) and liberalism (a philosophy of individual freedom). ### Liberalism in Sri Lanka *By By Dr. Chanaka Amaratunga* Chanaka Amaratunga's essay surveys the surprisingly resilient prospects for liberalism in Sri Lanka. He opens with a long history of Sri Lanka's constitutional evolution — two constitutions (1972 and 1978), each drafted in a spirit of majoritarianism — and documents how political authoritarianism, ethnic conflict, and the civil war involving the LTTE have dominated the post-independence decades. Against this, he identifies several structural advantages: Sri Lanka's unbroken tradition of elected government since 1833, its adoption of proportional representation in 1989, and the active role of the Council for Liberal Democracy (CLD) and the Liberal Party (a full member of the Liberal International since 1987). The essay then outlines the Liberal Party's five-area reform programme: constitutional reform, resolution of ethnic conflict, economic reform, media freedom, and social freedom and criminal-law reform. Amaratunga argues that the party's sustained advocacy for federalism and maximum devolution of power to the provinces as the route to ethnic reconciliation distinguishes Sri Lankan liberalism in the region. He concludes that despite many illiberal features, Sri Lanka's history of constitutional government and small but committed liberal constituency make its prospects 'brighter than elsewhere in the South Asian region'. - Sri Lanka has had unbroken constitutional democratic government since 1833 — longer than any other South Asian nation — and has never had a military government. - The Liberal Party has existed since 1981 and is a full member of both the Liberal International and the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD). - The party's top reform priority is constitutional change: abolishing the executive presidency, creating a bicameral parliament with proportional representation, and devolving maximum power to provinces. - The Liberal Party has been one of the strongest advocates of federalism and devolution as the path to resolving the ethnic conflict between Sinhalese and Tamil communities. - Economic reform advocacy focuses on privatisation, deregulation, welfare measures for the poor, and inclusion of private property rights in the Constitution. - Liberals in Sri Lanka strongly oppose the death penalty, corporal punishment, censorship, and criminalisation of consensual adult acts. ### Liberal Aspects of Nepal's Constitution *By By Kusum Shrestha* Kusum Shrestha's essay reads Nepal's 1990 Constitution as an expression of liberal constitutionalism, arising out of the democratic movement that forced King Birendra to abandon the panchayat system. The essay catalogues the liberal structural features of the new constitution: sovereignty in the people, supremacy of the Constitution over any act of state, an independent judiciary, checks and balances between the King, the Parliament, and the executive, and an explicit bill of twelve fundamental rights — including rights to equality, personal liberty, freedom from preventive detention, press and publication rights, right to information, cultural and educational rights, right to religion, right to privacy, right to freedom from exile, and right to constitutional remedies. Shrestha identifies a 'dualistic approach' as the constitution's main limitation: civil and political rights are guaranteed and justiciable, but social, economic, and cultural rights are placed in 'Directive Principles and Policies of the State', which are aspirational and non-justiciable. She concludes that the challenge is to translate the liberal and democratic values embodied in the constitution into living reality, so that democratic and progressive aspirations of the people can be addressed. - Nepal's 1990 Constitution arose from the democratic movement that overthrew the panchayat system, converting a dynastic state into a constitutional monarchy with sovereignty in the people. - The Constitution is made supreme — all laws inconsistent with it are void, and its basic structures (Article 116) cannot be destroyed even by constitutional amendment. - Twelve fundamental rights are guaranteed and justiciable; courts can declare any inconsistent law void. - A 'dualistic approach' limits the constitution: social, economic and cultural rights are relegated to non-justiciable Directive Principles. - The essay cites Nepal's ratification of several UN human rights conventions (Convention on the Right of the Child, ICCPR, ICESCR, ICCPR, Convention against Torture) as positive developments. - The essay ends with a call to translate constitutional liberal values into democratic reality to meet the aspirations of the people. ### Liberalism: The Eternal Quest for Freedom *By By Dr. Detmar Doering* Only the first page of Detmar Doering's essay falls within this chunk (printed page 20). In the rendered page, Doering opens with an intellectual-history argument: the idea that power must be limited is as old as mankind, traceable through classical authors (Cicero, Tacitus), medieval thinkers (Thomas Aquinas), and the Reformation. He credits John Locke's Two Treatises of Government (1689) as the first systematic rational theory of inalienable rights — life, liberty, and property. He then notes that Adam Smith's Physiocrats and the Scottish philosophical tradition developed a new approach to economics — the market economy — and that Montesquieu contributed the concept of division of power. The essay breaks off on page 20 with a reference to 19th-century liberal theorists including John Stuart Mill, Alexis de Tocqueville, Frédéric Bastiat, and Herbert Spencer. - Doering traces the genealogy of liberal ideas from classical antiquity through medieval natural-law theory to the Enlightenment. - Locke's Two Treatises of Government (1689) is identified as the first universal, rational theory of inalienable rights encompassing life, liberty, and property. - Adam Smith and the Physiocrats developed the 'market economy' concept as a practical application of liberal principles. - Montesquieu's concept of division of power is presented as a foundational contribution to liberal constitutional design. --- ## [Primary work] LIBERTY TO TRADE ENDANGERED URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/liberty-to-trade-endangered-by-ad-shroff-january-16-1957/ ### Summary This pamphlet reproduces a speech by A. D. Shroff delivered at the Southern India Chamber of Commerce, Madras, on 16 January 1957 and issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay. Shroff argues that Free Enterprise has come under sustained attack in recent months in India, with the State Trading Corporation, compulsory industrial deposits, and the nationalisation of life insurance treated as illustrations of an expanding regulatory state that drifts steadily from a planned economy into the daily regulation of economic life. Shroff is careful not to argue for an unqualified laissez-faire — he concedes that controls are necessary in any planned economy and that intelligent Indian businessmen accept some measure of regulation as inevitable in the modern world. His complaint is that the cumulative effect of recent measures amounts to a gradual diminishing of the democratic way of life and individual liberty. He sets this critique against the pioneering tradition of Indian business, recalling how the late J. N. Tata first conceived of making steel in India against British ridicule, and how the late Sir Sassoon J.… ### Body ## Summary This pamphlet reproduces a speech by A. D. Shroff delivered at the Southern India Chamber of Commerce, Madras, on 16 January 1957 and issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay. Shroff argues that Free Enterprise has come under sustained attack in recent months in India, with the State Trading Corporation, compulsory industrial deposits, and the nationalisation of life insurance treated as illustrations of an expanding regulatory state that drifts steadily from a planned economy into the daily regulation of economic life. Shroff is careful not to argue for an unqualified laissez-faire — he concedes that controls are necessary in any planned economy and that intelligent Indian businessmen accept some measure of regulation as inevitable in the modern world. His complaint is that the cumulative effect of recent measures amounts to a gradual diminishing of the democratic way of life and individual liberty. He sets this critique against the pioneering tradition of Indian business, recalling how the late J. N. Tata first conceived of making steel in India against British ridicule, and how the late Sir Sassoon J. David and Sir Shapoorji Bharucha underwrote the offtake of Tatas' hydro-electric power for the Bombay cotton mills — evidence that industrial independence was built by private enterprise long before the state took an active developmental interest. The second half of the address turns to immediate threats. Shroff warns that the State Trading Corporation has cast "avaricious" eyes over cement, manganese and iron ore exports, and even smaller trades like lemongrass and sandalwood oil, despite having neither personnel nor experience. He calls the proposed compulsory deposit of Rs. 80–100 crores on industry a "man-made crisis of the greatest magnitude", arguing it will force banks to recall credit lines already granted to business. He places a "Code of Conduct" before businessmen — distinguishing profit-making from profiteering — and urges the community to back the Forum of Free Enterprise as a restraining voice against "the crazy and frantic financial policies" emanating from Delhi. ## Key points - Speech given to the Southern India Chamber of Commerce, Madras, on 16 January 1957 and circulated as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet. - Shroff concedes that 'Laissez-faire philosophy simply does not exist in the modern world' but argues that Indian regulation has gone beyond a planned economy into daily interference with economic life. - He invokes the pioneering history of Indian business — J. N. Tata's steel and power projects, underwritten by Sir Sassoon J. David and Sir Shapoorji Bharucha — to insist that industrial independence in India was built by private enterprise. - The State Trading Corporation is singled out as the 'new activities the State has undertaken', encroaching on cement, manganese and iron ore, and even lemongrass and sandalwood oil, despite having no expertise or personnel. - Nationalisation of life insurance is treated not only as a takeover of a business but as the extended patronage of an entire democratic ecosystem of agents, drawn into the ruling party's machine. - Shroff frames the proposed compulsory deposits of Rs. 80–100 crores on industry as 'a man-made crisis of the greatest magnitude' that will force banks to withdraw credit limits already granted. - He places a 'Code of Conduct' before businessmen — distinguishing profit-making from profiteering — and argues that Free Enterprise must convince public opinion by acting fairly toward employees and consumers. - He urges the audience to keep the Forum of Free Enterprise active as a brake on 'the crazy and frantic financial policies' emerging from Delhi. --- ## [Primary work] LIMITATIONS OF NATIONALISATION URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/limitations-of-nationalisation-by-s-narayana-aiyar/ ### Summary S. Narayana Aiyar draws on twenty-four years of firsthand telephone-administration experience — fourteen-plus years with the Bombay Telephone Company Ltd. before nationalisation, and ten years thereafter under the Posts and Telegraphs Department (seven as Engineer at Bombay, three as Manager at Madras) — to argue that government management of commercial undertakings is, in his words, an inherent failure. He recalls his pre-nationalisation colleagues warning him that efficiency would 'disappear' once the state took over, and recounts how, within days of the April 1, 1943 takeover, the transfer of the Telephone Company's stores from the Bombay Manager to the Chief Controller of Telegraphic Stores at Calcutta made telephone parts 'unobtainable' and produced an immediate drop in service quality. Aiyar marshals concrete cost evidence to extend the indictment. The Madras Telephone Directory, which he had previously printed and bound through private contractors for just over Rs. 6,000 for 13,000 copies, drew an estimate of Rs. 21,500 from the Government Press, Madras — with a proviso that the final bill might be higher still. He cites an episode in which T. T.… ### Body ## Summary S. Narayana Aiyar draws on twenty-four years of firsthand telephone-administration experience — fourteen-plus years with the Bombay Telephone Company Ltd. before nationalisation, and ten years thereafter under the Posts and Telegraphs Department (seven as Engineer at Bombay, three as Manager at Madras) — to argue that government management of commercial undertakings is, in his words, an inherent failure. He recalls his pre-nationalisation colleagues warning him that efficiency would 'disappear' once the state took over, and recounts how, within days of the April 1, 1943 takeover, the transfer of the Telephone Company's stores from the Bombay Manager to the Chief Controller of Telegraphic Stores at Calcutta made telephone parts 'unobtainable' and produced an immediate drop in service quality. Aiyar marshals concrete cost evidence to extend the indictment. The Madras Telephone Directory, which he had previously printed and bound through private contractors for just over Rs. 6,000 for 13,000 copies, drew an estimate of Rs. 21,500 from the Government Press, Madras — with a proviso that the final bill might be higher still. He cites an episode in which T. T. Krishnamachari invited an English expert, Mr. Scaife, under the Colombo Plan to examine the Prototype Machine Tool Factory at Ambernath and the Hindustan Machine Tool Factory then under construction at Jalahalli; Scaife reported that a reputable private agency would have obtained five times the result at one-fifth the total cost. Aiyar generalises that across a wide range of his experience, government institutions deliver in the shape of value to the public about a third of what they spend, dragged down by 'unnecessary work', 'offensive inquiries' and audit-department harassment that crowd out productive effort. The essay closes with a programmatic distinction that has since become a touchstone of the Forum of Free Enterprise literature: government should plan, regulate and control, but should not administer or operate commercial, industrial and public-utility services. Drawing on experience 'both here and in other countries', Aiyar argues that government agency is 'a very unsuitable instrument for trade, manufacture and the operation of public utility services', and that the state, even when it owns the means of production, is best advised to lease them to competent private operators on long-term contracts rather than attempting monolithic administration. The pamphlet is a reprint of an article first published in Swarajya (Madras) of December 1, 1956, issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise. ## Key points - Author served fourteen-plus years with the Bombay Telephone Company Ltd. before its 1943 nationalisation and ten years under the Posts and Telegraphs Department thereafter, giving the essay an unusual insider's vantage on the transition. - Within days of the April 1, 1943 government takeover, control of the Telephone Company's stores was shifted from the Bombay Manager to the Chief Controller of Telegraphic Stores at Calcutta, after which telephone parts and other stores became 'unobtainable' and service quality dropped immediately. - Cost comparison on the Madras Telephone Directory: Rs. 6,000-plus for 13,000 copies under private contract, against an estimate of Rs. 21,500 from the Government Press, Madras with a proviso that the actual bill might be larger. - T. T. Krishnamachari engaged Mr. Scaife from England under the Colombo Plan to evaluate the Prototype Machine Tool Factory at Ambernath and the Hindustan Machine Tool Factory at Jalahalli; Scaife concluded a competent private agency would have achieved five times the output at one-fifth the cost. - Aiyar generalises that government institutions return to the public roughly one-third of the value of the sums they spend, dragged down by unnecessary work, offensive inquiries and audit-department checks that crowd out productive effort. - Programmatic conclusion: government should be confined to planning, regulation and control; the exclusive right to manage commercial, industrial and public-utility services should rest with the private sector. - Even where the state owns means of production, Aiyar argues, it should split them into independent units leased to private operators on long-term contracts rather than attempt monolithic administration. - The essay is a December 1, 1956 Swarajya article reprinted as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet from 'Sohrab House', 235 Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji Road, Bombay 1. --- ## [Primary work] LIMITS OF NATIONALISATION URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/limits-of-nationalisation-dr-john-matthai-january-1-1970/ ### Summary Dr. John Matthai's short pamphlet "Limits of Nationalisation," reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise from a speech delivered at the Rotary Club, Bombay, mounts a careful, lawyerly case against the general application of nationalisation in Indian industrial policy. Matthai concedes that state enterprise has a legitimate place where there is "proved necessity" — defence-related industries are his prima facie example — but insists that free enterprise should be the rule and state ownership the narrowly justified exception, decided industry by industry on the merits rather than by a priori categories or by appeal to a Socialist Pattern of Society. The argument rests on two main lines. First, Matthai rereads the genealogy of socialism: he argues that Marx's thesis of socialising the means of production was a response to nineteenth-century conditions — despotic governments, propertied-class capture of the state, and the bargaining weakness of labour — which no longer obtain in democratically governed countries with adult franchise and sovereign parliaments.… ### Body ## Summary Dr. John Matthai's short pamphlet "Limits of Nationalisation," reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise from a speech delivered at the Rotary Club, Bombay, mounts a careful, lawyerly case against the general application of nationalisation in Indian industrial policy. Matthai concedes that state enterprise has a legitimate place where there is "proved necessity" — defence-related industries are his prima facie example — but insists that free enterprise should be the rule and state ownership the narrowly justified exception, decided industry by industry on the merits rather than by a priori categories or by appeal to a Socialist Pattern of Society. The argument rests on two main lines. First, Matthai rereads the genealogy of socialism: he argues that Marx's thesis of socialising the means of production was a response to nineteenth-century conditions — despotic governments, propertied-class capture of the state, and the bargaining weakness of labour — which no longer obtain in democratically governed countries with adult franchise and sovereign parliaments. Keynesian state participation and Roosevelt's New Deal, he reminds his audience, were emergency measures whose own architects warned against turning them into permanent ownership of the instruments of production. Second, Matthai questions whether the Government of India's administrative apparatus can actually deliver the speedy development that the case for nationalisation presupposes: India is, in his judgement, one of the most under-administered countries in the world, the dynamic momentum supplied by the post-Independence leadership cannot last, and the civil service has grown too cautious, too legalistic and too risk-averse to run productive enterprises well. A further section trains his fire on the Planning Commission, which he frankly says he has "never been happy about": a body of experts has, through adventitious circumstances, displaced cabinet responsibility for economic policy, leaving ministers without initiative in the very areas where their political accountability is most needed. The dislocation of partition, expenditure pressures from neighbouring countries, and a fresh inflationary trend are flagged as further reasons to proceed slowly. Matthai closes with a four-point programme — nationalisation should be strictly limited in scope, applied selectively to specific industries rather than whole categories, empirical in approach, and as decentralised as possible — and a ringing defence of freedom of enterprise as "one of the greatest freedoms in a democratic community." ## Key points - Matthai's controlling thesis: free enterprise should be the rule and nationalisation the narrowly justified exception, decided on the merits of each industry rather than by a priori categories. - He rereads Marx historically — socialisation of the means of production made sense against nineteenth-century despotism and propertied-class capture, but loses its grip in democratically governed states with adult franchise and a sovereign parliament. - Keynesian state participation and Roosevelt's New Deal are read as emergency stabilisation measures, not as a doctrinal warrant for permanent state ownership of industry. - He distinguishes the first Five-Year Plan (essentially piecemeal projects designed before Independence) from the second, which is a genuinely comprehensive plan demanding far larger finance — and warns that deficit financing carries serious risks. - Implementing such a plan, he argues, will require unprecedented administrative and financial capacity, which the Government of India does not possess: India is one of the most under-administered countries in the world. - The civil service is now too slow, too legalistic, and too fearful of risk to run nationalised enterprises well; political chiefs are increasingly adopting officials' caution rather than overriding it. - He attacks the Planning Commission as a body of "amateurs" with whom final responsibility for economic decisions has come to rest, displacing the cabinet ministers who alone are politically accountable. - His closing four-point programme: nationalisation should be strictly limited in scope, applied selectively to specific industries, empirical in approach, and as far as possible decentralised. --- ## [Primary work] LIMITATIONS OF NATIONALISATION URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/limitations-of-nationalism-by-s-narayana-aiyar-december-1-1956/ ### Summary S. Narayana Aiyar's "Limitations of Nationalisation" — reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise from Swarajya (Madras), 1 December 1956 — is a first-person indictment of state ownership drawn from the author's own career. Aiyar served as an Assistant Engineer at the privately run Bombay Telephone Company before its nationalisation, then spent ten further years inside the Government of India's telephone service (seven as Engineer at Bombay, three as Manager of Telephones, Madras). Day after day, he writes, he had "burnt into" him the lesson that government management does not work. When the State took over on 1 April 1943, one of its first acts — switching stores control from the Bombay Telephone Manager to the Chief Controller of Telegraphic Stores at Calcutta — produced an immediate collapse in service: telephone parts became unobtainable and his old colleagues, who had warned him "when Government comes our efficiency will disappear," were proved "dead right." The core argument is that nationalisation degrades work not by accident but by structure.… ### Body ## Summary S. Narayana Aiyar's "Limitations of Nationalisation" — reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise from Swarajya (Madras), 1 December 1956 — is a first-person indictment of state ownership drawn from the author's own career. Aiyar served as an Assistant Engineer at the privately run Bombay Telephone Company before its nationalisation, then spent ten further years inside the Government of India's telephone service (seven as Engineer at Bombay, three as Manager of Telephones, Madras). Day after day, he writes, he had "burnt into" him the lesson that government management does not work. When the State took over on 1 April 1943, one of its first acts — switching stores control from the Bombay Telephone Manager to the Chief Controller of Telegraphic Stores at Calcutta — produced an immediate collapse in service: telephone parts became unobtainable and his old colleagues, who had warned him "when Government comes our efficiency will disappear," were proved "dead right." The core argument is that nationalisation degrades work not by accident but by structure. Expenses go up, service goes down "almost immediately," and the tempo of effort "goes down with immediate effect" because what had been "honest work for wages" becomes "the paper-pushing routine characteristic of every Government office." Aiyar offers two concrete illustrations: a quotation from the Government Press, Madras, of Rs. 21,500 to print and bind 13,000 copies of the Madras Telephone Directory for which he had been paying just over Rs. 6,000 in the private market; and the report of Mr. Scaife, a tool-man invited from England under the Colombo Plan by Sri T. T. Krishnamachari to examine the Prototype Machine Tool Factory at Ambernath and the Hindustan Machine Tool Factory at Jalahalli, who concluded that "any reputable private agency would have obtained five times the result at one-fifth the total cost." Aiyar generalises from these cases into a structural claim: government institutions return to the public only about a third of the sums they expend, partly because public-sector employees take pride in not being "governed by the profit motive," partly because audit-driven inquiries and routine displace any return-to-the-office discipline that operates in commercial life. His conclusion is the Forum of Free Enterprise's house position rendered in workplace prose — the private sector should have the exclusive right to manage all commercial, industrial and public utility services, while government confines itself to "planning, regulating and controlling at the bar of public opinion in India." Even if the State were to own the means of production outright, he argues, the best route to output is to break the work into independent units placed on long-term contracts with fair operational independence, rather than "trying to run it all with its own monolithic organisation." ## Key points - Aiyar grounds his case against nationalisation in 25 years of personal service — 15 with the privately-owned Bombay Telephone Company and 10 inside the Government of India's nationalised successor as Engineer (Bombay) and Manager (Madras). - He dates the operational collapse to a specific act: on 1 April 1943, the State switched stores control from the Bombay Telephone Manager to the Chief Controller of Telegraphic Stores at Calcutta, and parts "almost immediately" became unobtainable. - The structural cost of state ownership, in Aiyar's reading, is the conversion of "honest work for wages" into "paper-pushing routine," producing an "immediate" drop in tempo even with the same workforce. - He offers a price comparison as illustrative evidence: the Government Press, Madras, quoted Rs. 21,500 to print 13,000 copies of the Madras Telephone Directory against the just-over-Rs. 6,000 he had been paying privately. - He cites Mr. Scaife — brought from England by Sri T. T. Krishnamachari under the Colombo Plan — who, after examining the Ambernath and Jalahalli machine tool factories, told the Government of India that a private agency "would have obtained five times the result at one-fifth the total cost." - Aiyar generalises: government institutions return only about a third of the value of the sums they expend, with the rest dissipated in audit-driven routine and the absence of a profit-motive check on activity. - His prescription is a strict division of labour — private exclusivity in commercial, industrial and public-utility operation; government confined to planning, regulation and answerability "at the bar of public opinion." - Even under public ownership, he argues, the right delivery model is decentralised: breaking work into independent units under long-term contracts rather than running it through a single monolithic state organisation. --- ## [Primary work] LIFE AFTER LIBERALISATION URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/life-after-liberalisation-dr-a-s-ganguly-january-15-1992/ ### Summary The 26th A.D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by Dr. Ashok S. Ganguly — then Director of Unilever in London and formerly Chairman of Hindustan Lever — on 24 December 1991 in Bombay and published as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet on 15 January 1992. Ganguly speaks in the immediate aftermath of two epochal ruptures, the collapse of Soviet socialism and the Narasimha Rao government's launch of economic reforms, and uses the platform to think aloud about what daily life, work and political expectation will look like in an India that has formally turned away from the developmental settlement of 1947. The address opens with the observation that the "half-life of innovations" is collapsing — from a decade in the 1960s to perhaps two years by century's end — and reads the global moment through that lens. Gorbachev's perestroika unleashed forces that the reformers themselves could not control; the collapse of the Comecon bloc has left newly liberated states without trusted institutions; suppressed ethnic and religious conflicts have reopened wounds fifty years closed.… ### Body ## Summary The 26th A.D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by Dr. Ashok S. Ganguly — then Director of Unilever in London and formerly Chairman of Hindustan Lever — on 24 December 1991 in Bombay and published as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet on 15 January 1992. Ganguly speaks in the immediate aftermath of two epochal ruptures, the collapse of Soviet socialism and the Narasimha Rao government's launch of economic reforms, and uses the platform to think aloud about what daily life, work and political expectation will look like in an India that has formally turned away from the developmental settlement of 1947. The address opens with the observation that the "half-life of innovations" is collapsing — from a decade in the 1960s to perhaps two years by century's end — and reads the global moment through that lens. Gorbachev's perestroika unleashed forces that the reformers themselves could not control; the collapse of the Comecon bloc has left newly liberated states without trusted institutions; suppressed ethnic and religious conflicts have reopened wounds fifty years closed. Against the hope that markets will rescue moribund economies on their own, Ganguly insists that life after liberalisation can be built only by blood, toil and tears, not by political rhetoric or by pretending that laissez-faire is an easy route. Turning to India, Ganguly diagnoses the inherited developmental formula — central planning, suspicion of foreign capital, anti-concentration controls, self-reliance and nationalisation of economic flows — as an obsolete "mantra" that trapped Indian society and that his own pre-1947 generation believed in too long. India's real strengths, he argues, are its people, its transport and communication infrastructure, its abundant natural endowments, and the modern economic philosophy produced by figures like Amartya Sen and Jagdish Bhagwati. He warns of the vast gap between "liberalisation on paper" and "liberalisation in practice", criticises the scientific establishment for resisting modernisation in order to keep using taxpayer money, and insists employment and dignified livelihoods cannot be legislated into existence — only sustainable growth can deliver them. The closing "Post Script" frames liberalisation as irreversible. Ganguly invokes the late Rajiv Gandhi's reform impulse, defends Indians who emigrated and remitted skills back, and tells "the midnight's children and their offsprings" that they need no longer justify the failures of the past. The lecture closes with the prediction — printed alongside a back-cover epigraph from Eugene Black that private enterprise must be embraced as an "affirmative good" — that life after liberalisation will be thrilling, if somewhat awe-inspiring, and for a time very painful. ## Key points - The 26th A.D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered in Bombay on 24 December 1991 by Ganguly, then Director of Unilever London and formerly Chairman of Hindustan Lever. - Reads the post-1989 global moment through the metaphor of a collapsing 'half-life of innovations' — from ten years in the 1960s to perhaps two by the turn of the century. - Argues there is no proven model for transitioning from centralised planning to a market economy; Hong Kong, Guangdong, Taiwan and the two Koreas provide only partial parallels. - Diagnoses the Nehruvian formula — central planning, suspicion of foreign capital, anti-concentration controls, self-reliance and nationalisation — as an 'incontrovertible mantra' with disastrous consequences. - Identifies Amartya Sen and Jagdish Bhagwati as founders of modern economic philosophy relevant to the realities of the poorest of the poor. - Warns of a 'vast difference between liberalisation on paper and liberalisation in practice', with state-level plans still asserting strengths and resources individually rather than as a federal whole. - Insists employment and dignified livelihoods cannot be created artificially or by legislation — only sustained economic growth can deliver them. - Frames the post-liberalisation transition as irreversible, painful in the short run but ultimately thrilling, invoking the late Rajiv Gandhi's reform aspirations. --- ## [Primary work] M. R. Pai URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/m-r-pai-the-story-of-an-uncommon-man-by-s-v-raju-2008/ ### Summary In the rendered pages (front matter plus the opening chapters of a 107-page biography), S. V. Raju introduces M. R. Pai as an 'uncommon common man' and explains why he undertook the book: invited by Gita Pai and S. Divakara, Raju found that what he knew of his friend of over four decades was only 'the proverbial tip of the iceberg.' The Foreword (by Ajay Piramal, Chairman of the M.R. Pai Foundation) and the authorial Introduction frame Pai as a one-man consumer movement and a builder of the Forum of Free Enterprise rather than a conventional public figure, and Raju states his aim is to tell the story plainly and let readers draw their own lessons. The chapters seen in the rendered pages trace Pai's origins and early life. Chapter 1 ('Mangalore's Ranganna') sets him among the Gowd Saraswat Brahmins of coastal Karnataka, records his birth at Manjeshwar on 7 May 1931, and portrays the boy 'Ranganna' as quiet, studious, an avid amateur photographer and an early writer who circulated a handwritten Kannada neighbourhood newsletter; a youthful nationalist and socialist who would later become a champion of free enterprise.… ### Body # M. R. Pai *By S. V. Raju* ## Summary In the rendered pages (front matter plus the opening chapters of a 107-page biography), S. V. Raju introduces M. R. Pai as an 'uncommon common man' and explains why he undertook the book: invited by Gita Pai and S. Divakara, Raju found that what he knew of his friend of over four decades was only 'the proverbial tip of the iceberg.' The Foreword (by Ajay Piramal, Chairman of the M.R. Pai Foundation) and the authorial Introduction frame Pai as a one-man consumer movement and a builder of the Forum of Free Enterprise rather than a conventional public figure, and Raju states his aim is to tell the story plainly and let readers draw their own lessons. The chapters seen in the rendered pages trace Pai's origins and early life. Chapter 1 ('Mangalore's Ranganna') sets him among the Gowd Saraswat Brahmins of coastal Karnataka, records his birth at Manjeshwar on 7 May 1931, and portrays the boy 'Ranganna' as quiet, studious, an avid amateur photographer and an early writer who circulated a handwritten Kannada neighbourhood newsletter; a youthful nationalist and socialist who would later become a champion of free enterprise. Chapter 2 ('The Choice of a Vocation') follows him from Presidency College, Chennai, to a sub-editor's post at The Times of India and a first-class journalism Master's from UCLA earned by working his way through. Chapter 3 ('Managing the Family') covers his 1955 move to Mumbai, his 1958 marriage to Gita, and his role as the head of a household Raju describes as liberal and harmonious. ## Key points - In the rendered pages the work is established as a single-author biography of M. R. Pai written by S. V. Raju, with a Foreword by Ajay Piramal and an authorial Introduction. - Raju, who knew Pai for over forty years through the Forum of Free Enterprise, calls the biography a 're-discovery of a very unusual person.' - Chapter 1 ('Mangalore's Ranganna') traces Pai's GSB origins, his birth at Manjeshwar on 7 May 1931, and his childhood as 'Ranganna' in a Mangalore joint family. - The young Ranganna is depicted as quiet and studious, a keen amateur photographer, and an early writer who circulated a handwritten Kannada neighbourhood newsletter. - In his early years he was a nationalist (influenced by Mahatma Gandhi, an admirer of Subhas Chandra Bose) and a socialist who later became a champion of free enterprise while remaining a staunch nationalist. - Chapter 2 ('The Choice of a Vocation') covers his graduation from Presidency College, Chennai, a sub-editor post at The Times of India in Mumbai, and a first-class journalism Master's from UCLA. - Chapter 3 ('Managing the Family') describes his 1955 move to Mumbai, his 1958 marriage to Gita, and his role as head of a 'liberal and harmonious' household. - The rendered pages cover only chapters 1-3 of ten; the consumer activism, Forum work, and spiritual chapters lie beyond this chunk. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] LIMITS OF PUBLIC SECTOR IN INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/limits-of-public-sector-in-india-gangadhar-gadgil-july-18-1979/ ### Summary Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil's lecture, delivered in Bombay on 20 March 1979 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise, mounts a point-by-point rebuttal of the Janata Government's case for India's public sector, as recently summarised by Union Industry Minister George Fernandes. Gadgil opens by reproducing Fernandes's nine claims — that the public sector should not be judged by profitability, that India would not be a front-ranker in heavy industry, nuclear or space technology without it, that it has rescued sick units, established public control over the commanding heights, decentralised industry, and looked after worker welfare — and then proceeds to test each claim against the criteria the Janata Party itself and the Planning Commission had set: post-tax return on investment, generation of investible surpluses, and capacity utilisation. On that ground, Gadgil argues, the public sector is failing on its own stated terms. He marshals official figures — a fall in post-tax return from 9.7 per cent (1976-77) to 8.3 per cent (1977-78), the conversion of Rs. 239.59 crores of net profit into a Rs. 14.72 crore loss, accounting devices around depreciation rates (4.88 per cent vs.… ### Body ## Summary Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil's lecture, delivered in Bombay on 20 March 1979 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise, mounts a point-by-point rebuttal of the Janata Government's case for India's public sector, as recently summarised by Union Industry Minister George Fernandes. Gadgil opens by reproducing Fernandes's nine claims — that the public sector should not be judged by profitability, that India would not be a front-ranker in heavy industry, nuclear or space technology without it, that it has rescued sick units, established public control over the commanding heights, decentralised industry, and looked after worker welfare — and then proceeds to test each claim against the criteria the Janata Party itself and the Planning Commission had set: post-tax return on investment, generation of investible surpluses, and capacity utilisation. On that ground, Gadgil argues, the public sector is failing on its own stated terms. He marshals official figures — a fall in post-tax return from 9.7 per cent (1976-77) to 8.3 per cent (1977-78), the conversion of Rs. 239.59 crores of net profit into a Rs. 14.72 crore loss, accounting devices around depreciation rates (4.88 per cent vs. 6.06 per cent), and concessional interest of 6.25-8 per cent on government loans where no private firm could borrow — to show that public sector enterprises are 'pampered babies' that look profitable only because of favoured treatment. He dissects pricing policy to argue that statutory price controls bind both sectors symmetrically, and that on the visible side, public enterprises in fact enjoy monopoly pricing power, canalised imports/exports (HMT, SAIL, STC), purchase preferences, and subsidised inputs; on the invisible side, cheap land, fiscal concessions to LIC and UTI, and procurement steered by ministries. Gadgil then turns to the social-goals argument. Capacity utilisation is poor (only 71 units at 75 per cent or more in 1977-78, against 76 the year before; 27 units below 50 per cent), key fertiliser and heavy engineering plants are dragging, Bokaro and Durgapur steel plants are under-utilised while TISCO runs above rated capacity, and BHEL's record at Patratu and Pimpri penicillin is held up as the visible cost of public ownership. Inventories remain bloated against Tandon Committee norms. The Bureau of Public Enterprises' five-year loss-streak definition of 'sickness' is shown to be so lax that an enterprise that erodes its capital in three years still escapes the label. Sustaining such units, Gadgil writes, can only be done by an entity that has unlimited powers of taxation and captive lenders — i.e., the State. The lecture closes by widening the indictment from efficiency to politics. The public sector, Gadgil argues, has produced 'enormous concentration of economic power in the hands of the bureaucracy and the politicians in power', created monopolies he calls 'Leviathans', and — most pointedly, in a clear reference to the 1975-77 Emergency — was 'used for creating dictatorship in this country'. If big business in the private sector poses dangers, the answer is regulation, not the multiplication of an equally dangerous state monolith; expansion of the public sector through further nationalisation, he concludes, is 'neither in public interest nor consistent with the philosophy and goals of the Government'. ## Key points - Gadgil structures the lecture as a rebuttal of nine claims attributed to Union Industry Minister George Fernandes, treating Fernandes's defence as the authoritative pro-public-sector case to refute. - He turns the Janata Party's own Statement on Economic Policy and the Sixth Five Year Plan (1978-83) against the public sector, arguing both documents set criteria — post-tax return on investment, generation of investible surpluses, agricultural and small-industry support — on which the sector is plainly failing. - A central evidentiary move is the post-tax return on capital: 9.7 per cent (1976-77) → 8.3 per cent (1977-78); a Rs. 239.59 crore net profit in 1976-77 turning into a Rs. 14.72 crore loss in 1977-78; depreciation provisions raised from 4.88 to 6.06 per cent that he calls 'shockingly bad accounting practice'. - He attacks the 'pampered babies' thesis: public sector loans at 6.25-8 per cent (and even punitive non-plan loans at 12.5-14 per cent that remain below private market rates), purchase preferences until July 1978, canalised imports/exports through HMT, SAIL and STC, plus subsidies and invisible favours like cheap land and fiscal carve-outs for LIC and UTI. - On capacity utilisation, he cites that only 71 units met 75 per cent capacity in 1977-78 (vs. 76 the prior year) while 27 fell below 50 per cent, and contrasts public steel plants at Bokaro and Durgapur with J.R.D. Tata's TISCO running above rated capacity. - He demolishes the 'sick unit rescue' defence: the Bureau of Public Enterprises' five-year-loss test for sickness is too liberal, the government blocks amalgamation of sick units by big business houses, and absorbing sick units is unreasonable to expect of private firms that lack the State's powers of taxation. - The political critique is the rhetorical climax: public sector growth has concentrated economic power in bureaucrats and politicians, created sectoral monopolies he labels 'Leviathans', and — in a clear allusion to the Emergency — was 'used for creating dictatorship in this country'. - Final position: the bigness problem of private capital is real and warrants regulation, but cannot be solved by nationalisation; expanding the public sector through further nationalisation is incompatible with the Janata Government's stated philosophy. --- ## [Primary work] Making Indian Industry Globally Competitive URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/making-indian-industry-globally-competitive-15-may-1995/ ### Summary This booklet reproduces the Twelfth T. A. Pai Memorial Lecture, delivered by Nani A. Palkhivala in Bombay on 17 January 1995 under the auspices of the T. A. Pai Institute of Management, Manipal, and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise. Opening with a tribute to the late T. A. Pai of Manipal as a rare blend of vision and pragmatism, Palkhivala argues that entrepreneurship 'comes naturally to Indians' and that the liberalization launched after 1991 finally let the 'arthritic economy' begin to perform like an athletic one. The core of the lecture is a programme for making Indian industry globally competitive.… ### Body # Making Indian Industry Globally Competitive *By Nani A. Palkhivala* ## Summary This booklet reproduces the Twelfth T. A. Pai Memorial Lecture, delivered by Nani A. Palkhivala in Bombay on 17 January 1995 under the auspices of the T. A. Pai Institute of Management, Manipal, and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise. Opening with a tribute to the late T. A. Pai of Manipal as a rare blend of vision and pragmatism, Palkhivala argues that entrepreneurship 'comes naturally to Indians' and that the liberalization launched after 1991 finally let the 'arthritic economy' begin to perform like an athletic one. The core of the lecture is a programme for making Indian industry globally competitive. Palkhivala insists that to compete a country must be 'blessed with two favourable factors — an unlimited reservoir of talented and skilled labour and an abundance of capital,' and he ranges across a set of reforms: spreading education (since half of India is 'literally illiterate'), privatizing the public sector ('the black holes, the money guzzlers'), reforming the labour policy and the tax system (calling the Income-tax Act 'a national disgrace'), ending the government telephone monopoly, and rolling back caste-based reservations, which he calls 'the greatest Himalayan blunder of India in this decade.' He credits Manmohan Singh's reforms but warns that 'half-hearted reforms yield only half-baked results,' and closes by lamenting India's lack of moral leadership and contrasting Indian socialism with the British Labour Party's repudiation of ideological socialism under John Smith and Tony Blair. ## Key points - The work is a single-author memorial lecture by Nani A. Palkhivala (the 12th T. A. Pai Memorial Lecture, 17 January 1995), published as an FFE booklet. - Palkhivala opens by honouring T. A. Pai of Manipal and arguing entrepreneurship comes naturally to Indians. - He hails the post-1991 New Industrial Policy as a turning point that ended 'the period of collective insanity' and made India a 'shareholding democracy'. - Global competitiveness, he argues, requires an abundance of skilled labour and capital, and above all the spread of education and value-based education. - His reform agenda: privatize the public sector, change labour policy, overhaul the tax system, end the telephone monopoly, and abolish caste reservations. - He calls reservations 'the greatest Himalayan blunder of India in this decade' and warns casteism is turning democracy into a 'misguided democracy'. - He credits Dr. Manmohan Singh's reforms but warns that 'half-hearted reforms yield only half-baked results'. - He closes by contrasting India's continued constitutional socialism with the British Labour Party's dissociation from ideological socialism under John Smith and Tony Blair. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] MANAGING A BUSINESS IN INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/managing-a-business-in-india-t-thomas-dilip-g-piramal-november-12-1980/ ### Summary Managing a Business in India is a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet that bundles excerpts from two speeches — one by T. Thomas, the long-serving Chairman of Hindustan Lever Ltd., delivered at the firm's Annual General Meeting in Bombay on 20 June 1980, and another by the young industrialist Dilip G. Piramal. The introduction frames the volume as a periodic stocktaking of the conditions under which private enterprise must operate within India's mixed economy, and argues that if its propositions are taken seriously, the role of private enterprise in national economic development can be secured. An epigraph from Eugene Black — "People must come to accept private enterprise not as a necessary evil, but as an affirmative good" — sets the polemical key. ### Body ## Summary Managing a Business in India is a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet that bundles excerpts from two speeches — one by T. Thomas, the long-serving Chairman of Hindustan Lever Ltd., delivered at the firm's Annual General Meeting in Bombay on 20 June 1980, and another by the young industrialist Dilip G. Piramal. The introduction frames the volume as a periodic stocktaking of the conditions under which private enterprise must operate within India's mixed economy, and argues that if its propositions are taken seriously, the role of private enterprise in national economic development can be secured. An epigraph from Eugene Black — "People must come to accept private enterprise not as a necessary evil, but as an affirmative good" — sets the polemical key. ## Essays ### Relationship with Environment *By T. Thomas* In Part I, "Relationship with Environment," T. Thomas argues that the most important task of a Chief Executive in India is no longer internal management but the management of relations with an all-pervasive, controlling Government. He traces how industrial licensing, the Companies Act, the Monopolies Act, price and remuneration restraints, and a creeping upward movement of decision-making — from Joint Secretaries in the 1960s up to the Cabinet by the 1970s — have together slowed the economy, fattened the bureaucracy, and bred mutual distrust between officials and businessmen. He attributes much of this not to a coherent ideology but to political insecurity and a small but vocal minority hostile to private enterprise, and asks for the trend to be challenged rather than philosophically accepted. Drawing on the Japanese Meiji-era partnership between government and large private industry, and on the recent troubles of British Steel and British Leyland, Thomas argues that public-sector ownership weakens governments politically (because no politician can be tough with public-sector employees) and is best confined to areas where it is the only possible choice. He marshals a 1977 National Council of Applied Economic Research study to enumerate the costs of price controls — black markets, quality erosion, parallel economy, bureaucratic corruption, neglect of the consumer — and dismisses the Janata-era "small is beautiful" enthusiasm, insisting that the realistic formula is "small with large." He calls for 5% p.a. cumulative growth permission for existing units, MRTP and licensing thresholds indexed to inflation, free-trade-zone treatment for export-oriented factories, IAS officers seconded to private companies to build mutual trust, cash limits on public-sector enterprises, and opening of power generation in metros and offshore oil exploration to private firms. He closes by invoking India's tradition of absorbing foreign influences — Aryan, Buddhist, Christian, Zoroastrian, Islamic — and the example of Gandhi and Nehru, who drew on the "liberal West" to free India politically; a similar opening, he argues, is now needed to free it economically, with even Russia and China rediscovering the root of enterprise. - Government's pervasive controls — industrial licensing, MRTP, the Companies Act, price and remuneration restraints — have made management of the external environment the dominant task of Indian CEOs. - Decision-making has migrated upward from Joint Secretaries in the 1960s to Cabinet Committees and the Cabinet in the 1970s, slowing the economy and raising the share of negative decisions. - Japan's Meiji-era partnership between government and private industry is held up as the model India failed to follow; British Steel and British Leyland illustrate the costs of public-sector ownership. - An NCAER 1977 study is invoked to itemise the damage done by price controls — quality erosion, blackmarketing, black money, bureaucratic corruption, and neglect of consumer welfare. - The Janata "small is beautiful" turn is rejected as "meta-economics or philosophy"; the realistic formula offered is "small with large," with large-scale industry essential for growth. - Policy asks include 5% p.a. cumulative growth permission for existing units, inflation-indexed licensing and MRTP exemption limits, free-trade-zone treatment for export factories, IAS secondment to private companies, cash limits on public-sector firms, and private entry into urban power generation and offshore oil. - Thomas grounds his closing appeal in India's tradition of cultural absorption and in Gandhi's and Nehru's borrowing from the "liberal West," calling for a parallel economic opening so that private enterprise — the root of all enterprise — can be revived. --- ## [Primary work] MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY OF PETER DRUCKER URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/management-philosophy-of-peter-drucker-n-n-sachitanand-february-14-1979/ ### Summary N. N. Sachitanand's profile, reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise from The Hindu of 29 November 1978, presents Peter F. Drucker as the 'living prophet' of management on the occasion of his first visit to India to keynote the Bangalore Management Association's silver jubilee. Sachitanand sketches Drucker's biography — Vienna 1909, apprenticeship in Hamburg, doctorate at Frankfurt, flight from Nazi Germany, the 1942 General Motors study that produced 'Concept of the Corporation' — and explains his self-description as a management philosopher who treats consulting as his laboratory and society as a 'Society of Organisations' in which the manager bears the load that masters once carried. The booklet then walks the reader through Drucker's signature positions as he stated them to the Bangalore press: think through purpose and objectives, concentrate resources, and lead from people's strengths rather than their weaknesses.… ### Body ## Summary N. N. Sachitanand's profile, reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise from The Hindu of 29 November 1978, presents Peter F. Drucker as the 'living prophet' of management on the occasion of his first visit to India to keynote the Bangalore Management Association's silver jubilee. Sachitanand sketches Drucker's biography — Vienna 1909, apprenticeship in Hamburg, doctorate at Frankfurt, flight from Nazi Germany, the 1942 General Motors study that produced 'Concept of the Corporation' — and explains his self-description as a management philosopher who treats consulting as his laboratory and society as a 'Society of Organisations' in which the manager bears the load that masters once carried. The booklet then walks the reader through Drucker's signature positions as he stated them to the Bangalore press: think through purpose and objectives, concentrate resources, and lead from people's strengths rather than their weaknesses. Drucker's most polemical claims are aligned with the Forum's classical-liberal editorial line — that 'there are no profits in business, there are only costs', that with prevailing inflation 'businesses are not making profits but only destroying capital', and that capital is so scarce in India that 'it is irresponsible to run a business at a loss or even talk of profiteering.' A long section catalogues Drucker's scepticism about the state: governments have demonstrated competence only in waging war and inflating currency; civil-service safeguards built to deter corruption end up shielding bureaucrats from performance demands and obstructing initiative; organisational inertia is most acute in government because failed agencies are not allowed to expire. He nonetheless concedes that Indian state enterprises like Hindustan Machine Tools have run without heavy subsidies and proposes they 'go really public and autonomous', freeing capital for fresh investment. He criticises Indian foreign-investment rules such as FERA, defends the multinational as the century's most fruitful social innovation, attacks worker participation on boards as a 'conspiracy against the consumer', and notes with 'remarkable accuracy' that India's small entrepreneur is 'being killed by kindness — well meaning regulations that he cannot afford.' The closing pages move from policy to philosophy: Drucker the 'old existentialist' sees the world in a philosophical vacuum awaiting a new concept of the whole, suggests that the workable test 'Does it work?' may be all we have left in place of 'Is it right?', and looks for 'the acceptable range of imperfection' rather than the good society. The Forum frames the reprint with epigraphs from A. D. Shroff and Eugene Black insisting that free enterprise is 'an affirmative good', and notes that the views in the booklet are not necessarily those of the Forum. ## Key points - Reprint by the Forum of Free Enterprise of Sachitanand's profile of Peter Drucker, originally in The Hindu of 29 November 1978, occasioned by Drucker's keynote at the Bangalore Management Association's silver jubilee. - Biographical arc: Vienna 1909, Hamburg clerkship, doctorate in law at Frankfurt 1931, anti-Nazi monograph banned 1933, England, then the United States from 1937; the 1942 General Motors study yielded 'Concept of the Corporation' and the lifelong project of theorising the modern corporation. - Drucker's three rules of good management as he stated them in Bangalore: think through purpose and objectives, concentrate resources, lead from people's strengths. - On profit: 'there are no profits in business, there are only costs'; under current inflation businesses are destroying rather than accumulating capital, and in capital-scarce India running a business at a loss is irresponsible. - Sharp critique of state capacity — governments have proved competent only at waging war and inflating currency; civil-service safeguards protect bureaucrats from performance demands and block innovation; organisational inertia is worst in government. - Indian-policy specifics: Drucker urges that successful state enterprises like Hindustan Machine Tools 'go really public and autonomous'; attacks FERA-style restrictions; defends the multinational as a wealth-generating social innovation; calls worker participation on boards a 'conspiracy against the consumer'. - Catalogues the regulatory strangulation of India's small entrepreneur — 'being killed by kindness — well meaning regulations that he cannot afford' — and argues the future managerial frontier is the badly-managed service institution (universities, hospitals, government agencies). - Closes with Drucker's philosophical mood — 'old existentialist' in a philosophical vacuum, end of ideology, the tolerant society defined by 'the acceptable range of imperfection' — framed by Forum epigraphs from A. D. Shroff and Eugene Black affirming private enterprise as an 'affirmative good'. --- ## [Primary work] Manifesto for Indian Liberals URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/manifesto-1985/ ### Summary The Manifesto for Indian Liberals is a brief programmatic declaration adopted on November 21, 1985 by a conference of Indian liberals assembled at the Royal Bombay Yacht Club in Bombay. It opens by identifying the immediate context — gross violations of human rights and persistent grave tensions threatening peace and democracy — and attributes these conditions to the abandonment of liberal principles. The document affirms that only true democracy, grounded in the free and enlightened consent of the majority with due respect for minorities, can secure the rights and freedoms the manifesto enumerates. Across six sections, the manifesto sets out the core liberal programme. The first section grounds liberal politics in individual sovereignty, affirming personal freedom, freedom of worship and speech, free choice of occupation, the right to property and private enterprise, and equality between men and women. The second warns against the drive toward unhealthy centralisation that has degraded parliamentary institutions and advocates the greatest possible devolution of power, protection of minorities, elimination of racial and oppressive discrimination, and measures against monopolies.… ### Body ## Summary The Manifesto for Indian Liberals is a brief programmatic declaration adopted on November 21, 1985 by a conference of Indian liberals assembled at the Royal Bombay Yacht Club in Bombay. It opens by identifying the immediate context — gross violations of human rights and persistent grave tensions threatening peace and democracy — and attributes these conditions to the abandonment of liberal principles. The document affirms that only true democracy, grounded in the free and enlightened consent of the majority with due respect for minorities, can secure the rights and freedoms the manifesto enumerates. Across six sections, the manifesto sets out the core liberal programme. The first section grounds liberal politics in individual sovereignty, affirming personal freedom, freedom of worship and speech, free choice of occupation, the right to property and private enterprise, and equality between men and women. The second warns against the drive toward unhealthy centralisation that has degraded parliamentary institutions and advocates the greatest possible devolution of power, protection of minorities, elimination of racial and oppressive discrimination, and measures against monopolies. Section III argues for continual democratic renewal through proportional representation, decentralisation to local self-government, and inclusion of civil society bodies in checks and balances. Section IV identifies education as the chief instrument for fighting cultural and political intolerance, and calls for a uniform Civil Code, freedom and pluralism in the media, and promotion of education for both sexes at all ages. The Economic Issues section (V) directly challenges state-dominated planning in India, arguing that three decades of centralised control have produced slow growth, lawlessness, corruption, and a black-market economy. The manifesto advocates a social market economy with limited government, indicative planning only, constant review of public activities for possible return to private enterprise or voluntary organisations, and taxation balanced between individual needs and social investment. It explicitly rejects egalitarianism understood as rigid equality of conditions while strongly supporting equality of opportunity. The concluding section, 'The Test of Character', frames the entire project as a demand for elected representatives with integrity and competence whose motivation is achievement rather than power. ## Key points - Adopted at the Conference of Indian Liberals, Bombay, November 21, 1985; collectively authored, no individual byline. - Grounds liberal politics in individual sovereignty: personal freedom, property rights, free occupation, equality of men and women, and freedom of worship and speech. - Opposes the drift toward centralisation; calls for maximum devolution of power to states and local self-government within the original 1950 Constitution's framework. - Advocates democratic renewal through proportional representation, minority protections, and inclusion of trade unions and professional bodies in checks and balances. - Education identified as the primary weapon against cultural, political, and racial intolerance; demands a uniform Civil Code and media pluralism. - Diagnoses three decades of state-controlled planning as the root of slow growth, corruption, lawlessness, and black-market proliferation. - Calls for a social market economy with indicative planning, constant review of public-sector activities, and taxation that encourages enterprise. - Closes with a character test: liberal progress requires elected representatives motivated by achievement, not power, whose faith lies outside partisan politics. --- ## [Primary work] market-by-the-dock-by-pt-bauer-january-1981 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/market-by-the-dock-by-pt-bauer-january-1981/ ### Summary The Market in the Dock is the text of a December 19, 1979 lecture by Cambridge-trained development economist P. T. Bauer, then Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, delivered in Bombay under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise and published as a pamphlet in January 1981. A foreword by Minoo H. Mody, who presided over the lecture, frames Bauer's central provocation: the market economy stands accused not because it has failed but because in much of the Third World it has never been tried. Mody links Bauer's argument to a broader critique of the welfare state, which he calls "the most tragic mistake of the twentieth century", and to the perplexity of governments who cannot reconcile demands for tax cuts with the bloated apparatus of subsidised state activity. Bauer's lecture itself opens by distinguishing predominantly market, centrally planned, and custom-dominated economies, and reminds readers that during the hundred years before the Second World War large parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America made substantial economic progress under market arrangements — well before any organised central planning.… ### Body ## Summary The Market in the Dock is the text of a December 19, 1979 lecture by Cambridge-trained development economist P. T. Bauer, then Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, delivered in Bombay under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise and published as a pamphlet in January 1981. A foreword by Minoo H. Mody, who presided over the lecture, frames Bauer's central provocation: the market economy stands accused not because it has failed but because in much of the Third World it has never been tried. Mody links Bauer's argument to a broader critique of the welfare state, which he calls "the most tragic mistake of the twentieth century", and to the perplexity of governments who cannot reconcile demands for tax cuts with the bloated apparatus of subsidised state activity. Bauer's lecture itself opens by distinguishing predominantly market, centrally planned, and custom-dominated economies, and reminds readers that during the hundred years before the Second World War large parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America made substantial economic progress under market arrangements — well before any organised central planning. He then catalogues the limitations of markets honestly (they cannot guarantee happiness or universal prosperity) before turning the indictment outward: critics, he argues, treat the market's inherent limits as defects while ignoring that planning does not create resources, only concentrates power, politicises economic life, obstructs the movement of resources to their best uses, and reinforces traditions of authority that already suppress individual self-reliance in the Third World. The bulk of the lecture is an anatomy of where Third World hostility to the market originates: Western and Westernised academics, urban politicians and civil servants who staff opinion-making channels; the authoritarian inheritances of colonial administration; Marxist-Leninist ideology — particularly the doctrine of imperialism — which offers intellectuals both a totalising creed and a path to power; the official international organisations (the UN Secretariat, FAO, UNCTAD, ILO, UNIDO, UNDP, the World Bank, ECAFE, ECA and ECLA) which Bauer charges with propagating myths that international trade damages poor countries; the colonial-era state export monopolies in cocoa, rice, coffee, cotton and oilseeds that successor governments in Ghana, Burma and British Africa inherited, expanded, and used as power bases; and the structural bias of foreign aid, which by definition strengthens the state at the expense of the private sector. He punctures the romantic image of the subsistence economy by noting that famines and the worst epidemic diseases occur there, not in market economies, and closes the rendered pages by observing that both stagnation and rapid market-led advance are used as evidence against the market — "it is always in the dock, more often than not on palpably unfounded charges." ## Key points - Bauer's central thesis, reinforced by Mody's foreword, is that the market economy is in the dock not because it has failed but because in much of the Third World it has never seriously been tried. - Decentralised market prices and incomes coordinate production, consumption and investment voluntarily, whereas centrally planned and socialist economies substitute governmental for individual decisions. - Large parts of South-East Asia, West Africa and Latin America made substantial material progress under market arrangements between the late nineteenth century and the Second World War, refuting Gunnar Myrdal's claim that central planning is indispensable for development. - Central planning, Bauer argues, does not augment resources but only concentrates power, politicises life, obstructs the movement of resources, and reinforces pre-existing authoritarian traditions. - Hostility to the market in the Third World is generated by Western and Westernised intellectuals, by Marxist-Leninist ideology rooted in Lenin's Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism, and by the doctrine that prosperity in the West has been won at the colonies' expense. - UN agencies (FAO, UNCTAD, ILO, UNIDO, UNDP, World Bank, ECAFE, ECA, ECLA) propagate the view that international trade damages the Third World and that state planning is necessary — and they staff and fund the planning commissions that replace the market. - Colonial-era state export monopolies in cocoa, rice, coffee, cotton and oilseeds — paying producers far less than world prices — were maintained and extended by independent governments and became durable bases of state power in Ghana, Burma and British Africa. - Foreign aid is structurally biased against the market because it flows to governments, strengthens the state sector, and rewards economies with severe payments problems or state-controlled regimes; subsistence economies, contrary to romantic portrayals, are where famines and the worst diseases occur. --- ## [Primary work] MILESTONES & MILLSTONES OF PLANNING URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/milestones-and-millstones-of-planning-by-ma-sreenivasan-january-5-1963/ ### Summary M. A. Sreenivasan's pamphlet, reproduced by the Forum of Free Enterprise from his October 1962 articles in the Economic Times, takes its title from the recognition that Indian planning has yielded as many "millstones" as milestones. Sreenivasan opens on a cautiously hopeful note: the Prime Minister has finally summoned the State Chief Ministers to a conference "to engage themselves in a dispassionate, continuous and systematic study of all that hampers the achievement of best results"—an admission, he argues, that the country's planners and policy-makers can no longer pretend the Plans are working as advertised. Citing Mahatma Gandhi's readiness to admit "a blunder, even if Himalayan," he insists that retracing steps is no failure but a precondition for honest course-correction. The heart of the pamphlet is an inventory of concrete planning pathologies.… ### Body ## Summary M. A. Sreenivasan's pamphlet, reproduced by the Forum of Free Enterprise from his October 1962 articles in the Economic Times, takes its title from the recognition that Indian planning has yielded as many "millstones" as milestones. Sreenivasan opens on a cautiously hopeful note: the Prime Minister has finally summoned the State Chief Ministers to a conference "to engage themselves in a dispassionate, continuous and systematic study of all that hampers the achievement of best results"—an admission, he argues, that the country's planners and policy-makers can no longer pretend the Plans are working as advertised. Citing Mahatma Gandhi's readiness to admit "a blunder, even if Himalayan," he insists that retracing steps is no failure but a precondition for honest course-correction. The heart of the pamphlet is an inventory of concrete planning pathologies. Coal piles unsold at one colliery while factories in the same state shut down for want of fuel; the copper crisis closes a hundred cable factories and shrinks oxygen-cylinder output to one-fifth of need; Postal, Telegraph and Telephone services have decayed into "a national institution for Communications coolly admit in Parliament that something like a hundred thousand telegrams were being sent by post every day." Railways meanwhile divert capacity to ferry VIPs on "Yathras" with private secretaries and Public Works officers in attendance. Concentration of economic decision-making, licence-permit gatekeeping, and the multiplication of controls have, in Sreenivasan's reading, bred corruption, evasion, black-marketing and a steadily lowered "standard of misery." From this diagnosis he draws four Plan priorities: (1) revise the priorities themselves, dropping anything not "essential to keep existing industries alive and working to capacity"; (2) reduce the heavy dependence on foreign loans; (3) concentrate on the infrastructure of progress—railways, posts and telegraphs, but also education and agriculture; and (4) arrest further inflation, treating monetary stability as the precondition for every other reform. Above these sits a fifth, almost constitutional, injunction—"Halt and reverse the drift towards authoritarianism and excessive concentration of power in the hands of the State." The pamphlet closes with a polemical question that has become a Forum signature: a Government that styles itself the world's keenest advocate of unilateral disarmament has armed itself "ceaselessly, unilaterally, against the people—people who placed it in power, instead of placing faith in them and setting them free to work and to prosper." ## Key points - Welcomes the Prime Minister's conference with State Chief Ministers as a long-overdue admission that planning needs dispassionate review, and uses Gandhi's example of admitting blunders to defend retracing steps as statesmanship rather than weakness. - Catalogues concrete planning failures: 90,000 tons of coal stockpiled at one colliery while factories in the same state shut down for lack of fuel; a copper shortage closing roughly a hundred cable factories; oxygen cylinder output at a fifth of need. - Indicts the deterioration of Postal, Telegraph and Telephone services—telegrams travelling by post, trunk calls left unanswered for hours—as a routine, scaled-up cost of state monopoly in communications. - Attacks the apparatus of permits, licences and quotas as the spring of corruption, evasion, black-marketing and "the raising of the standard of misery to the people." - Notes the diversion of scarce rail capacity to ministerial and VIP "Yathras" (pilgrimages) accompanied by retinues of secretaries and officers, as a symptom of misplaced priorities. - Proposes four operational Plan priorities—revise priorities to protect existing industry, reduce foreign-loan dependence, concentrate on infrastructure (transport, communications, education, agriculture), and arrest inflation—plus a constitutional injunction to reverse authoritarian drift. - Argues against any further "engine of taxation or control," warning that constant threats of new measures have produced "a crisis of confidence" and disinvestment from agriculture and plantations alike. - Closes by inverting the Government's pacifist rhetoric: a state that preaches unilateral disarmament should not be arming itself unilaterally against the citizens who elected it. --- ## [Primary work] Mind Vs Mindset : The Grand Indian Challenge URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/mind-vs-mindset-the-grand-indian-challenge-dr-r-a-mashelkar-f-r-s-october-5-2010/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces Dr. R. A. Mashelkar's address "Shaping Young Minds — Managing Career Expectations", delivered in August 2008 under the joint auspices of the Lucknow Management Association and the All-India Management Association. Mashelkar, then Chairman of the Governing Council of the National Innovation Foundation and a former Director General of the CSIR, frames India's twenty-first-century challenge as one of "mind versus mindset": the Indian mind has never wanted for intellect — it produced the zero and now lays the foundation of the digital economy — but the Indian mindset, captured in the proverb that two Indians together "neutralize each other", routinely strips that intellect of its multiplier effect. The argument is that demography, democracy and diversity give India structural advantages over China only if institutional and national mindsets are deliberately rebuilt. Mashelkar develops the thesis autobiographically.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces Dr. R. A. Mashelkar's address "Shaping Young Minds — Managing Career Expectations", delivered in August 2008 under the joint auspices of the Lucknow Management Association and the All-India Management Association. Mashelkar, then Chairman of the Governing Council of the National Innovation Foundation and a former Director General of the CSIR, frames India's twenty-first-century challenge as one of "mind versus mindset": the Indian mind has never wanted for intellect — it produced the zero and now lays the foundation of the digital economy — but the Indian mindset, captured in the proverb that two Indians together "neutralize each other", routinely strips that intellect of its multiplier effect. The argument is that demography, democracy and diversity give India structural advantages over China only if institutional and national mindsets are deliberately rebuilt. Mashelkar develops the thesis autobiographically. He tells the story of his rise from an SSC examinee living in Chowpatty on a Tata trust scholarship to Director of the National Chemical Laboratory (1989–1995), where, instead of doing reverse engineering for Indian firms, NCL filed a US patent for a solid-state polycondensation route to polycarbonates and forced General Electric into a knowledge-partnership. The personal narrative carries the institutional message: NCL's mindset shifted from "publish or perish" to "patent, publish and prosper", from reaching the limits of excellence to exceeding them, and from being intermediaries in a domestic market to selling globally. The 1991 liberalisation is treated as a "second freedom" — the parallel case of Tata Motors being permitted to build the Indica (and therefore the Nano) is offered as evidence that the same engineers, freed of the licence-permit mindset, become world-class. The closing sections pivot to a programme for the country. India's three structural Ds — Democracy, Demography and Diversity — must be matched by three Ts — Talent, Technology and Tolerance. Talent is in evidence (Olympics of the Mind, TCS's CBFL functional-literacy software, Medak's literacy gains); technology, especially IT and inclusive science, can lift the bottom of the pyramid; tolerance — of risk, of failure, and crucially of ambiguity — is the missing Silicon Valley ingredient. He insists growth must be "inclusive growth" rooted in innovation that reaches the excluded, citing the National Innovation Foundation's Shodha Yatras and grass-roots innovators such as the eighth-standard dropout schoolboy who built a robot. Mashelkar closes by invoking the Hanuman who learned his powers only when Jambawant reminded him of them: India's 1.2 billion potential Hanumans, he argues, must be told what they can do. The booklet is introduced by Minoo R. Shroff, President of the Forum of Free Enterprise, and is dedicated to the late Shailesh Kapadia (1949–1988) with sponsorship by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust. ## Key points - Mashelkar distinguishes mind (intellect, analysis, synthesis) from mindset (attitude, approach), arguing India's grand challenge is the latter, not the former. - He retells his career — Chowpatty boyhood, Sir Dorab Tata Trust scholarship, NCL directorship, FRS — as a parable of how an individual ladder of excellence becomes "limitless" only when the mindset changes. - NCL's solid-state polycondensation patent and its R&D partnership with General Electric (Jack Welch) are presented as the institutional inflection from reverse engineering to "forward engineering". - 1991 economic liberalisation is framed as India's "second freedom": the same Tata engineers built the Indica and Nano only after the licensing regime was lifted. - Against China's authoritarian model, India's competitive advantages are the three Ds — Democracy, Demography (over half the population under 25) and Diversity — but only if managed as "unity in diversity". - The prescription for the twenty-first century is the three Ts — Talent, Technology and Tolerance (especially tolerance of failure and ambiguity, the missing Silicon Valley element). - Growth must be inclusive: innovation has to reach the bottom of the pyramid, exemplified by TCS's CBFL adult-literacy software, Medak's literacy turnaround and the National Innovation Foundation's Shodha Yatras. - The booklet is a Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust-sponsored Forum of Free Enterprise reprint of an address delivered on 9 August 2008, issued on 5 October 2010 with an introduction by Minoo R. Shroff. --- ## [Primary work] Minoo Masani 90 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/minoo-masani-at-90-freedom-first-1995/ ### Summary In the rendered pages, this is a special tribute issue of Freedom First ('A Quarterly of Liberal Ideas'), dated 20 November 1995, marking the 90th year of the magazine's founder, Minoo Masani. Edited by S. V. Raju, the volume gathers extracts from Masani's own books and speeches across more than five decades — each chapter tagged with its year of origin — rather than commissioned tributes from others, so that (in the rendered pages) the honouree speaks in his own voice. The editorial 'Between Ourselves' note frames the collection as a 'wealth of knowledge and wisdom' offered to a younger generation, and the acknowledgements credit sources including Our India, We Indians, The Growing Human Family, Picture of A Plan and Against the Tide. The rendered pages cover the front matter and the first three chapters, drawn from Masani's early popular works of 1940-1945; the remaining seventeen chapters (on the Swatantra Party, the Emergency, foreign policy, the Constitution and more) lie beyond this chunk. ### Body # Minoo Masani 90 *By Minoo Masani* ## Summary In the rendered pages, this is a special tribute issue of Freedom First ('A Quarterly of Liberal Ideas'), dated 20 November 1995, marking the 90th year of the magazine's founder, Minoo Masani. Edited by S. V. Raju, the volume gathers extracts from Masani's own books and speeches across more than five decades — each chapter tagged with its year of origin — rather than commissioned tributes from others, so that (in the rendered pages) the honouree speaks in his own voice. The editorial 'Between Ourselves' note frames the collection as a 'wealth of knowledge and wisdom' offered to a younger generation, and the acknowledgements credit sources including Our India, We Indians, The Growing Human Family, Picture of A Plan and Against the Tide. The rendered pages cover the front matter and the first three chapters, drawn from Masani's early popular works of 1940-1945; the remaining seventeen chapters (on the Swatantra Party, the Emergency, foreign policy, the Constitution and more) lie beyond this chunk. ## Essays ### Hindostan Hamara *By Minoo Masani* In the rendered pages, 'Hindostan Hamara' is an extract from Masani's 1940 popular primer Our India, addressed in a plain, conversational voice to the ordinary young Indian reader. Masani argues that the country's destiny rests on its citizens ('Yes, YOU... you alone can fit together the odd pieces'), that governments do only as much as the people force them to ('every nation gets the government it deserves'), and that India is squandering its possibilities by living 'higgledy-piggledy, from day to day and from hand to mouth.' A long set-piece dramatises the debate between the 'Modernist' who wants machines and big industry and the 'Back-to-the-Village-Man,' which Masani resolves with a characteristically pragmatic formula for industrialisation that still keeps people on the land. - In the rendered pages the chapter is an extract from Our India (1940), Masani's primer for young Indian readers. - It insists national progress depends on what kind of citizens Indians become, not on government alone. - It stages the machinery-versus-village debate and invokes Gandhi's qualified objection to 'the craze for machinery.' - Masani offers the formula 'Maximum Employment + Maximum Production + Equitable Distribution' for industrialising India. ### Reconsidering Socialism *By Minoo Masani* In the rendered pages, 'Reconsidering Socialism' reproduces Masani's 1944 self-critical re-examination of his own socialism, the basis of his book Socialism Reconsidered. Twenty-five years after the Russian Revolution, he revisits the assumptions on which he had built his faith in socialism as 'the solvent of almost all the world's ills' and concludes they need revision. His central worry is that nationalisation does not automatically yield a classless society: in a fully collectivised economy a new managerial and bureaucratic class can come to monopolise control, so that 'production is socialised, but not distribution... Bureaucracy is replaced, not by socialism, but by bureaucracy.' He insists on the primacy of individual liberty and democratic means over ends, repudiating the 'end justifies the means' slogan, and looks to the Scandinavian democracies and to Gandhi's ethical contribution for a humane, democratic socialism. - In the rendered pages the chapter is drawn from Masani's 1944 essay that became Socialism Reconsidered. - He revisits and revises his earlier faith that nationalisation alone would end the world's ills. - He warns a collectivised economy can hand control to a new bureaucratic-managerial class. - He defends individual liberty and democratic means, rejecting the Communist 'end justifies the means.' - He points to the Scandinavian democracies and to Gandhi as guides to a humane socialism. ### Planning *By Minoo Masani* In the rendered pages, 'Planning' (dated 1945) opens with Masani asking who is to organise increased production and ensure its benefits are equitably shared, answering 'we ourselves, all of us,' through the instrument of a responsible, democratically accountable government. Echoing Lincoln's definition of government 'of the people, by the people and for the people,' he argues that a national Plan, like a medical injection, can cure or ruin a country, and so must be entrusted only to a genuinely Indian and representative government rather than to self-serving cliques. - In the rendered pages the chapter (1945) argues that planning must be carried out by the people through responsible democratic government. - Masani likens a Plan to a medical injection that can 'cure or kill,' depending on who administers it. - He invokes Lincoln's formulation of democratic government as the only kind that can be trusted with such a Plan. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Management Development URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/management-development-dr-surinder-p-s-pruthi-october-12-1971/ ### Summary "Management Development", a 1971 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet based on a public lecture delivered by Dr. Surinder P. S. Pruthi in Bombay on 11 May 1971, surveys the problem of building India's first generation of professionally trained business managers. Pruthi addresses three constituencies — the post-graduate business schools, the companies that hire MBAs, and the management trainees themselves — and argues that a "happy synthesis of their collective objectives" requires all three to recognise how poorly they currently understand one another. The bulk of the lecture diagnoses what each party gets wrong. The schools, modelled on a British heritage that prized utilitarian clerk-training and "status quo"-oriented Arts curricula, started late and remain over-reliant on text-book prescriptions, part-time pontificators and case-method formulae; they need a healthier mix of academic and industrial faculty, more emphasis on "doing-orientation" and "problem-finding", and serious investment in in-company and on-the-job programmes, which Pruthi calls the locus of "something like 90%" of a manager's actual development.… ### Body ## Summary "Management Development", a 1971 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet based on a public lecture delivered by Dr. Surinder P. S. Pruthi in Bombay on 11 May 1971, surveys the problem of building India's first generation of professionally trained business managers. Pruthi addresses three constituencies — the post-graduate business schools, the companies that hire MBAs, and the management trainees themselves — and argues that a "happy synthesis of their collective objectives" requires all three to recognise how poorly they currently understand one another. The bulk of the lecture diagnoses what each party gets wrong. The schools, modelled on a British heritage that prized utilitarian clerk-training and "status quo"-oriented Arts curricula, started late and remain over-reliant on text-book prescriptions, part-time pontificators and case-method formulae; they need a healthier mix of academic and industrial faculty, more emphasis on "doing-orientation" and "problem-finding", and serious investment in in-company and on-the-job programmes, which Pruthi calls the locus of "something like 90%" of a manager's actual development. The trainees, in turn, are warned against money- and title-consciousness, reflexive job-hopping, pomposity and an "all-knowing" attitude derived from their MBAs. The long-term currency, Pruthi insists, is "qualities of character and intellect rather than mere knowledge"; "leadership requires sacrifice and hard work", and the trainee must learn to find the right things to do, not merely to do things right. The closing sections widen out into a brief on the Indian corporate scene as it stood in 1971 — the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, bank nationalisation, abolition of the managing agency system, financial-institution and joint-sector participation, new labour and company legislation, and growing union and government scrutiny are all flagged as forces displacing the self-made, family-firm manager with a professionalised, accountable, "philosopher"-type executive. Pruthi calls on Indian business to expose existing middle and senior managers to systematic developmental programmes, to elevate Organisational Development and Manpower Planning to a board-level function reporting at the highest level, and to design a flexible salary structure that pays for the job rather than for age or seniority. The rendered pages stop in the middle of that closing prescription, before any concluding paragraphs or the Forum of Free Enterprise back-matter. ## Key points - Pruthi frames Indian business education as a roughly ten-year-old infrastructure that must professionalise in step with the companies and trainees it serves; without that three-way synthesis, MBAs will go the way of mismatched engineers. - India's inherited British educational philosophy privileged utilitarian clerkship and ruling-class "status quo" training; business education started at home before London and Manchester set up their own schools after Independence. - Curricula over-weight "respondent behaviour" (analysis, debate, case-method) at the expense of "operant behaviour" (action); the corrective is doing-orientation, work experience, an industrially seasoned faculty mix, and a more imaginative Summer jobs scheme. - About 90% of a manager's growth in knowledge, skills and attitudes occurs on the job, making in-company and on-the-job training non-negotiable adjuncts to formal classroom education. - Trainees are urged to resist money- and title-consciousness, casual job-hopping, pomposity and an "all-knowing" attitude, and to invest the first year or two as an "ears and eyes" apprenticeship that builds character, judgement and continual learning. - Indian business is being remade in 1971 by the MRTP Act, bank nationalisation, abolition of the managing agency system, joint-sector arrangements, financial-institution participation and tighter labour and company law; the self-made family-firm manager is giving way to a professionally educated administrator under simultaneous union and government pressure. - Concrete remedies proposed for industry: systematic developmental programmes for existing middle and senior managers, organisational development and manpower planning as a board-level function, and a flexible salary structure that pays for the job rather than age or seniority. --- ## [Primary work] Modern Policing for a Modern India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/modern-policing-for-a-modern-india-maja-daruwala-june-5-2009/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects two addresses delivered together in Mumbai on 30 January 2009 — by Maja Daruwala, Executive Director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), and by Julio F. Ribeiro, IPS (Retd.), former Police Commissioner of Mumbai and former Director-General of Police, Punjab. Both speakers diagnose Indian policing as a colonial-era institution that has decayed into a politicised, unaccountable instrument and argue that the Supreme Court's September 2006 directions — fixed tenures, a State Security Commission, a Police Establishment Board, Police Complaints Authorities, and separation of investigation from law-and-order — provide a workable template for reform that the Centre and the states are actively subverting. Daruwala lays out the institutional architecture and CHRI's monitoring of state-level compliance; Ribeiro, speaking after her, frames police reform as the citizen's agenda after 26/11, calling on the middle class that voted to also organise around good leadership, operational independence and the elimination of the politician-bureaucrat-police 'partnership' he sees corroding the service. ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects two addresses delivered together in Mumbai on 30 January 2009 — by Maja Daruwala, Executive Director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), and by Julio F. Ribeiro, IPS (Retd.), former Police Commissioner of Mumbai and former Director-General of Police, Punjab. Both speakers diagnose Indian policing as a colonial-era institution that has decayed into a politicised, unaccountable instrument and argue that the Supreme Court's September 2006 directions — fixed tenures, a State Security Commission, a Police Establishment Board, Police Complaints Authorities, and separation of investigation from law-and-order — provide a workable template for reform that the Centre and the states are actively subverting. Daruwala lays out the institutional architecture and CHRI's monitoring of state-level compliance; Ribeiro, speaking after her, frames police reform as the citizen's agenda after 26/11, calling on the middle class that voted to also organise around good leadership, operational independence and the elimination of the politician-bureaucrat-police 'partnership' he sees corroding the service. ## Essays ### Modern Policing for a Modern India *By Mrs. Maja Daruwala* Maja Daruwala opens with the claim that a vibrant democracy belongs to the people and therefore requires accessible justice, and narrows her focus from the wider justice system to police reform on the grounds that fixing one large area will create knock-on pressure on the rest. She walks through CHRI's diagnosis: the public perceives the police as inefficient, untrustworthy and corrupt; National Human Rights Commission data show 60–80% of complaints are filed against police; political interference has broken the chain of command; and service conditions, recruitment, training and internal management are all in disrepair. The essay then turns to the constitutional argument that policing in a democracy must be re-grounded — the police are upholders of the law, not mere enforcers of executive will, and must protect liberties and create an environment for free citizens, not just quell rebelliousness as under colonial rule. Daruwala devotes the second half to the Supreme Court's September 2006 directions in the Prakash Singh PIL: fixed tenure and merit-based selection for the police chief through a State Security Commission that includes the opposition; a Police Establishment Board to handle transfers and promotions transparently; and Police Complaints Authorities at state and district levels staffed by civilians independent of serving or retired police officers. She catalogues how states have responded with retrograde legislation that retains the 1861 colonial model, or with sham bodies — Maharashtra has set up a State Security Council under Justice Shri Krishna with over sixty members but no real teeth, and other states have legislated to dilute the Court's orders. She closes with a call to action: Mumbaikars must move beyond demanding more police arms and equipment and instead insist that underlying structures change to make the police responsive to public needs and rights. - Frames a stable democracy as one that delivers accessible justice, and chooses police reform as the leverage point inside the criminal justice system. - Cites NHRC and Transparency International data showing 60–80% of complaints filed are against the police, and notes a recent statute restricting police arrest discretion as evidence of legislative loss of trust. - Argues that the colonial 1861 Police Act model — hierarchical, militaristic, prioritising intelligence over service — is incompatible with a Constitution under which citizens and police are equal subjects of law. - Walks through the Supreme Court's September 2006 directions in the Prakash Singh PIL: State Security Commission, fixed tenure and merit-based selection of the police chief, Police Establishment Board, and state and district Police Complaints Authorities. - Documents widespread state-level non-compliance: retrograde laws that preserve the 1861 model, Police Complaints Authorities packed with serving or retired police, and ornamental bodies like Maharashtra's State Security Council under Justice Shri Krishna. - Closes with a call for organised citizen pressure on government to implement the Court's scheme, not just to demand more equipment after 26/11. ### Modern Policing for a Modern India *By Julio Ribeiro, IPS (Retd.)* Julio Ribeiro picks up where Daruwala leaves off, treating 26 November 2008 as a watershed because, for the first time, the middle class — which usually relies on its own pipelines to bureaucrats and politicians — was forced to care about policing. He argues that most of what Mumbaikars discussed after the attacks was equipment and weapons rather than reform, and insists that the only durable response operates on three fronts: police reform, organising as voters to elect lawmakers who will not pass laws meant to be broken, and disaster-readiness at the neighbourhood level. He calls citizens to lend their signatures and presence to ministers, because ministers only respond when they sense that votes are at stake. Ribeiro's core demand is twofold: choose good leaders, and give them operational independence. He defines operational independence concretely as no political interference in postings, transfers and punishments from Deputy Superintendent down to constable, and argues that the current 'partnership' between corrupt politicians, corrupt bureaucrats and corrupt officers is what the citizenry must break. He also calls for separating the investigation arm from the law-and-order arm so that investigations are conducted under the Bombay Police Act and the rule of law rather than under political control, and recalls his own PIL securing the reversal of reinstatements of dismissed officers. He closes by endorsing the National Police Commission scheme — under Dharma Vira — of a Security Commission with the leader of opposition, a transparent process for selecting the police chief with fixed tenure, and a Police Establishment Board, framing all this as professional accountability to law, people and elected representatives. - Reads 26/11 as a watershed because the middle class, normally insulated by personal pipelines, was forced to engage with policing failure. - Argues the citizens' agenda has three legs: police reforms, organised voting in municipalities, Assemblies and the Lok Sabha to avoid laws that invite breaking, and neighbourhood-level disaster preparedness. - Demands good leadership at the top of the police and concrete operational independence — defined as no political interference in postings, transfers or punishments from Deputy Superintendent down to constable. - Names a 'partnership' between corrupt politicians, corrupt bureaucrats and corrupt police officers as the structural problem, and recalls a PIL in which he successfully challenged the reinstatement of dismissed officers. - Calls for separation of the investigation arm from the law-and-order arm so that investigations operate under the Bombay Police Act and the rule of law, not under political control. - Endorses the National Police Commission framework — Security Commission with the leader of opposition, transparent selection and fixed tenure for the chief, and a Police Establishment Board — as the route to a force accountable to law, people and elected representatives. --- ## [Primary work] Modern Technology for Economic Development URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/modern-technology-for-economic-development-14-june-1976/ ### Summary Prof. S. Sampath, then Deputy Director of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, uses the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture (delivered 28 October 1975, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in 1976) to argue that modern science and technology are the decisive levers of economic development and that India must learn to harness them on its own terms. The opening section catalogues the explosive pace of twentieth-century invention — from the Wright brothers and the telephone to Sputnik, the integrated circuit, the electronic computer and the communications satellite — and frames technology not as a smoke-belching factory but as a sequence of self-reinforcing stages of idea, realisation and diffusion that reshape the way humans think about and act on their environment.… ### Body ## Summary Prof. S. Sampath, then Deputy Director of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, uses the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture (delivered 28 October 1975, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in 1976) to argue that modern science and technology are the decisive levers of economic development and that India must learn to harness them on its own terms. The opening section catalogues the explosive pace of twentieth-century invention — from the Wright brothers and the telephone to Sputnik, the integrated circuit, the electronic computer and the communications satellite — and frames technology not as a smoke-belching factory but as a sequence of self-reinforcing stages of idea, realisation and diffusion that reshape the way humans think about and act on their environment. Computers, satellites and integrated-circuit electronics are presented as devices that abolish the age of isolation, slash unit costs and put once-elite capabilities within reach of the common man. The second section, 'The Gearing of Technology to Humane Goals', concedes the deleterious side-effects — pollution, centralisation, weaponisation, displacement of labour — and argues that the answer is not to jettison technology but to inject 'a substantial dose of new technology', sensitively appropriated. Sampath surveys the case for alternative or appropriate technologies in energy (wood, hydro-electric, geo-thermal, tidal, wind and solar), housing, sewage and food, citing Robin Clarke on the need to lift technology out of the moral vacuum in which it has long existed. The third section places the argument in the Indian context. Drawing on Indira Gandhi, C. V. Raman, M. G. K. Menon, Vikram Sarabhai and Homi Bhabha, Sampath rejects the post-colonial assumption that growth will follow automatically from importing capital equipment, and instead calls for a judicious blend: build a strong domestic scientific base, adopt frontier techniques in selected high-payoff areas (electronics, communications, defence, medicine, water and energy), and use intermediate technology to lift the bullock-cart economy. He closes by attacking the inherited administrative culture's suspicion of the profit motive, defending profit as 'the motive-power for saving' and the engine of capital formation, and pleading for a civic ethic of competence at every level — 'good scientists and good carpenters; good teachers and good plumbers; and good cabinet ministers and good bus-drivers.' ## Key points - Frames modern technology as a self-reinforcing cycle of idea, realisation and diffusion, accelerating at a pace that doubles scientific output every decade. - Presents the electronic computer, communications satellites and integrated-circuit electronics as instruments that end isolation, lower unit costs and enlarge the reach of the common man. - Concedes serious side-effects — pollution, centralisation, capital-intensity, weaponisation — but rejects deceleration: the cure for bad technology is more, better-directed technology. - Argues for alternative or appropriate technologies in energy (solar, wind, tidal, hydro, geo-thermal), housing, sanitation and food, citing Robin Clarke's case that humane goals lift technology out of its moral vacuum. - Endorses C. V. Raman's quip about bullock-carts and M. G. K. Menon's plea to adopt the most modern techniques in selected fields, advocating a blend of intermediate and frontier technologies. - Reads Vikram Sarabhai's case for an Indian communications satellite as compatible with — not opposed to — rural priorities of roads, schools, hospitals and water. - Invokes Homi Bhabha to insist that foreign technology can only super-charge a domestic engine, never replace it; economic development must be 'an adaptive and assimilative' quest. - Closes with a Forum-of-Free-Enterprise-flavoured defence of the profit motive as the indispensable engine of saving and capital formation, paired with a Gardner-style ethic of competence at every level of work. --- ## [Primary work] MONOPOLY CAPITALISM? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/monopoly-capitalism-january-1-1970/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reprints, with permission, an analytical article from the April/July 1956 issue of the Tata Quarterly that asks whether the rapid post-Independence expansion of private industry in India amounts to 'monopoly capitalism.' Prefaced by a brief statement of openness from Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari, the article defines monopoly narrowly — as a combination of barring entry, eliminating competition, driving out rivals, and curtailing output to raise prices — and then tests that definition against the actual structure of Indian industry during the First Five-Year Plan (1951–56). The author methodically surveys industrial patterns: the small number of operating units in many new chemical and engineering industries; the existence of substantial unutilised capacity (which the article argues reflects optimistic individual planning rather than collusion); the operation of the licensing system under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951; and the trends in prices across closely regulated key industries, young protected industries, and old established consumer-goods industries.… ### Body ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reprints, with permission, an analytical article from the April/July 1956 issue of the Tata Quarterly that asks whether the rapid post-Independence expansion of private industry in India amounts to 'monopoly capitalism.' Prefaced by a brief statement of openness from Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari, the article defines monopoly narrowly — as a combination of barring entry, eliminating competition, driving out rivals, and curtailing output to raise prices — and then tests that definition against the actual structure of Indian industry during the First Five-Year Plan (1951–56). The author methodically surveys industrial patterns: the small number of operating units in many new chemical and engineering industries; the existence of substantial unutilised capacity (which the article argues reflects optimistic individual planning rather than collusion); the operation of the licensing system under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951; and the trends in prices across closely regulated key industries, young protected industries, and old established consumer-goods industries. In each case the evidence is read against the test of whether producers, rather than market conditions or government policy, are manipulating supply or prices. The verdict is that the situation in India during this period is one of a 'controlled industry geared to a planned economy,' not a monopolised one. Statutory price controls, tariff inquiries, licensing, succession duties and excise levies all work against monopoly accumulation, while genuine competition persists in jute, sugar, cotton, soap and other staples. The piece concedes that demand pressures and protection give established producers an 'easier reward,' and that government could do more to curb undesirable features, but it argues that calling the organised sector 'monopoly capitalist' clouds analysis and impugns industrialists for conditions created largely by the planning regime itself. ## Key points - Pamphlet reprints a Tata Quarterly (April/July 1956) article under Forum of Free Enterprise imprint, framed by an opening note from Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari welcoming constructive criticism. - Defines monopoly as a bundle of unsocial practices — barring new entrants, eliminating competition, driving out rivals, and cutting output to raise prices — and uses this as the test for whether Indian organised industry qualifies. - Surveys the structural state of post-war Indian industry: many young industries with very few units (often 2–35), and significant unutilised capacity in radio receivers, automobiles, bicycles, caustic soda, super-phosphates and diesel engines. - Argues that idle capacity in Indian industry reflects optimistic individual investment plans, war-time shortages and import restrictions — not collusive curtailment — and is therefore the opposite of monopoly behaviour. - Analyses the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 licensing regime: of 1,142 applications in 1953–55, 605 were granted, 298 refused and 236 not pursued, with refusals attributed to over-capacity rather than monopoly protection. - Classifies industrial prices into closely regulated key industries (steel, cement, coal, locomotives), young protected industries policed by the Tariff Commission, and old established consumer goods (cotton, sugar, jute, soap) shaped by competitive market forces. - Concludes that statutory price control, tariff scrutiny, high direct and succession taxation, sectional excise duties, and active encouragement of new entrants together rule out the picture of unscrupulous 'acquisitive' capitalists dominating Indian industry. - Acknowledges real defects — protection occasionally enabling 'excessive' ex-works prices, poor workmanship in some young industries, and government's own un-monopolistic but mistaken licensing biases — but treats these as failings of the planning model, not evidence of monopoly capitalism. --- ## [Primary work] MOVING TOWARDS AN EMPOWERED CUSTOMER URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/moving-towards-an-empowered-customer-mrs-usha-thorat-august-8-2007/ ### Summary Delivered on 27 June 2007 at the 3rd M. R. Pai Memorial Award Function in Mumbai and published the following August by the Forum of Free Enterprise, this address by Mrs. Usha Thorat, then Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, argues that 'customer empowerment' in Indian banking is a two-sided project — institutional design by regulators on one side, an alert and assertive citizenry on the other. Thorat opens with a tribute to M. R. Pai, the consumer activist whose campaigns from the 1970s onward — for the right to nominate, the right to retrieve fraudulently withdrawn money, the right to access a locker before drill-opening, the right to redress for negligent storage — are framed as the moral premise of the talk: 'Unless a citizen knows his rights and is willing to fight to assert them, he has no reason to complain.' The speech is structured in three parts.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered on 27 June 2007 at the 3rd M. R. Pai Memorial Award Function in Mumbai and published the following August by the Forum of Free Enterprise, this address by Mrs. Usha Thorat, then Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, argues that 'customer empowerment' in Indian banking is a two-sided project — institutional design by regulators on one side, an alert and assertive citizenry on the other. Thorat opens with a tribute to M. R. Pai, the consumer activist whose campaigns from the 1970s onward — for the right to nominate, the right to retrieve fraudulently withdrawn money, the right to access a locker before drill-opening, the right to redress for negligent storage — are framed as the moral premise of the talk: 'Unless a citizen knows his rights and is willing to fight to assert them, he has no reason to complain.' The speech is structured in three parts. The international section surveys the regulatory architecture for fair customer treatment across the United Kingdom (Office of Fair Trading, Financial Services Authority, Financial Ombudsman Service, Banking Code Standards Board), the European Commission (Treaty-level consumer protection and the 'internal market' rules on unfair contract terms, mis-selling, and guarantees), and the United States (Federal Reserve, FDIC, OCC, Office of Thrift Supervision, plus credit-union and FTC overlays). Thorat reads this comparative material as evidence that financial regulation everywhere now rests on two distinct pillars — prudential supervision of institutions, and conduct-of-business protection for customers — and that India must build out the second pillar in parallel with the first. The Indian section catalogues the RBI's recent moves: the Tarapore Committee's May 2004 report on disenfranchisement of the depositor; the revised Banking Ombudsman Scheme of 2006 (RBI-funded, scope expanded to credit-card complaints, sales-agent deficiencies, and code non-adherence); the autonomous self-regulatory Banking Codes and Standards Board of India set up in July 2006, with sixty-seven of eighty-four scheduled commercial banks signed up; the new Customer Service Department at the RBI; comprehensive Credit Card Guidelines (November 2005); a Fair Practices Code for Lenders (2003); a Working Group report (August 2006) on the reasonableness of bank charges across twenty-seven basic banking services; IBA Model Policies on cheque collection, grievance redressal, compensation and security repossession; and the restoration of passbooks and cheque drop-box acknowledgements after evidence that banks were unilaterally curtailing them. Thorat notes that of roughly 44,000 complaints handled in 2006, about 48 per cent were resolved through mutual settlement and 34 per cent were rejected as outside scope or without cause. The third part is a numbered checklist of nineteen practical tips for ordinary customers — read your Code of Bank's Commitment to Customers, understand 'average monthly/quarterly balance', use 'no-frills' accounts, watch ATM and credit-card transactions, protect PINs and CVVs, study Most Important Terms and Conditions, escalate first to the bank's internal grievance officer and only then to the Banking Ombudsman, and approach the Appellate Authority if dissatisfied. The booklet closes with a biographical tribute to M. R. Pai — gold medalist at the University of Madras, biographer of Nani Palkhivala, Secretary and later Vice-President of the Forum of Free Enterprise from 1956 — and prints A. D. Shroff's epigraph that 'Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives,' alongside Eugene Black's exhortation that private enterprise be accepted 'not as a necessary evil, but as an affirmative good.' ## Key points - Speech delivered on 27 June 2007 by Mrs. Usha Thorat, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, at the 3rd M. R. Pai Memorial Award Function in Mumbai, sponsored by Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank. - Frames financial-sector regulation as two distinct pillars — prudential supervision of institutions and conduct-of-business protection of customers — and argues India is now consciously building out the second pillar. - Surveys international institutional architecture for fair treatment of bank customers: UK (OFT, FSA, FOS, BCSB), European Commission (Treaty-level consumer protection), and US (Federal Reserve, FDIC, OCC, OTS, FTC, National Credit Union Administration). - Catalogues RBI initiatives — Tarapore Committee (May 2004), revised Banking Ombudsman Scheme (2006), Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (July 2006), Customer Service Department, Credit Card Guidelines (November 2005), Fair Practices Code for Lenders (2003), and the Working Group on reasonableness of bank charges (August 2006). - Reports complaint volumetrics: about 44,000 complaints handled in 2006, of which roughly 48% were resolved through mutual settlement, 34% rejected for cause, and awards passed in 88 cases. - Documents IBA Model Policies on Collection of Cheques/Instruments, Grievance Redressal, Compensation, and Collection of Dues and Repossession of Security as benchmarks for individual bank policies. - Closes with a checklist of nineteen practical tips for customers — covering codes of commitment, no-frills accounts, ATM/credit-card vigilance, MITC awareness, internal grievance officers, and escalation paths through the Banking Ombudsman and Appellate Authority. - Pays tribute to M. R. Pai (1922–2003), Forum of Free Enterprise Secretary and biographer of Nani Palkhivala, whose maxim — that a citizen must know his rights and be willing to fight to assert them — sets the polemical frame of the talk. --- ## [Primary work] MUTUAL FUNDS AND OFFSHORE FUNDS IN INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/mutual-funds-and-offshore-funds-in-india-s-a-dave-march-19-1991/ ### Summary S. A. Dave's 1991 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture opens with an unusually candid intellectual autobiography. As a student of economics in the 1950s, Dave was raised on Marx, Soviet planning and the Mahalanobis model, and saw free enterprise as the cause of India's problems rather than the cure; only over time, watching the planning era fail to deliver, did he come to appreciate the courage it took A. D. Shroff to found the Forum of Free Enterprise in 1956. The lecture is framed as homage to Shroff and to the Unit Trust of India, whose ninety lakh unitholders Dave sees as the living test of an institution built entirely on individual trust. The first half develops a theory of household saving — safety, liquidity and yield — and explains why mutual funds matter for the small saver who lacks the capital to buy a single growth-share trading lot of Rs. 25,000. Dave defends, as a peculiarly Indian innovation, the practice of declaring assured moderate returns at the launching of a scheme, arguing that this 'unconventional practice' is what drew household savings into the equity cult and that no Indian fund has yet failed its assurances. He traces UTI from Shri T. T.… ### Body ## Summary S. A. Dave's 1991 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture opens with an unusually candid intellectual autobiography. As a student of economics in the 1950s, Dave was raised on Marx, Soviet planning and the Mahalanobis model, and saw free enterprise as the cause of India's problems rather than the cure; only over time, watching the planning era fail to deliver, did he come to appreciate the courage it took A. D. Shroff to found the Forum of Free Enterprise in 1956. The lecture is framed as homage to Shroff and to the Unit Trust of India, whose ninety lakh unitholders Dave sees as the living test of an institution built entirely on individual trust. The first half develops a theory of household saving — safety, liquidity and yield — and explains why mutual funds matter for the small saver who lacks the capital to buy a single growth-share trading lot of Rs. 25,000. Dave defends, as a peculiarly Indian innovation, the practice of declaring assured moderate returns at the launching of a scheme, arguing that this 'unconventional practice' is what drew household savings into the equity cult and that no Indian fund has yet failed its assurances. He traces UTI from Shri T. T. Krishnamachari's 1963 pitch to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru through the explosive growth of the eighties — annual sales from Rs. 19 crores in 1964-65 to Rs. 5,569 crores by 1989-90, investible funds crossing Rs. 17,650 crores — and recounts the high-growth experiment that drew over a million US-64 unitholders in a single year. The second half turns to offshore funds, with UTI's India Fund (London, 1986) and India Growth Fund (NYSE, 1988) as the country's first portals to foreign portfolio capital. Dave pays tribute to international fund managers as 'modern day Columbuses' who discovered and 'hardsold' emerging markets to domestic professionals in the developed world who had never before parted with money across borders. He links the rise of country funds to the LDC debt crisis of 1982, the drying up of soft commercial loans, financial globalisation and an Asian growth wave running two to four times the world average; total capitalisation of emerging markets, he notes, grew from USD 81 billion in 1983 to USD 611 billion in 1990. The rendered pages close mid-argument on the 'Prospects and Scope for Newer Funds' — Dave's prediction that Indian mutual funds will continue to grow through the nineties, particularly as nationalised banks, squeezed for deposits, move decisively into the mutual fund business. ## Key points - Dave frames the lecture as an autobiographical conversion narrative: an economics student raised on Marx, Soviet planning and the Mahalanobis model who came, over time, to see free enterprise as the remedy rather than the cause of India's problems. - He positions A. D. Shroff's 1956 founding of the Forum of Free Enterprise as an act of unusual intellectual courage at the high tide of planning orthodoxy. - Mutual funds are defended as the only practical channel for small savers to enter the equity market when a single growth-share trading lot costs more than Rs. 25,000. - He acknowledges that Indian funds' practice of declaring assured moderate returns at launch is unconventional and would be frowned on by regulators abroad, but credits it with mobilising household savings. - UTI's lineage is traced from T. T. Krishnamachari's letter to Nehru to Krishnamachari's later piloting of the UTI Bill, with growth figures (Rs. 19 cr to Rs. 5,569 cr in annual sales; 1.3 lakh to 87 lakh unitholders) presented as vindication. - UTI's US-64 high-growth experiment drew over one million unitholders and Rs. 190 crores in a single year — the largest single-year subscription to any Indian scheme — with strong uptake from economically backward states. - Offshore funds are framed through UTI's India Fund (London 1986) and India Growth Fund (NYSE 1988); international fund managers are valorised as 'modern day Columbuses' of emerging markets. - Dave links the rise of country funds to the 1982 LDC debt crisis, the exhaustion of soft loans, financial globalisation, and the Asian growth wave that lifted emerging-market capitalisation from USD 81 bn (1983) to USD 611 bn (1990). --- ## [Primary work] MYTHS THAT KEEP PEOPLE HUNGRY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/myths-that-keep-people-hungry-prof-milton-friedman-february-11-1968/ ### Summary Reproducing a 1967 Harper's Magazine essay, Milton Friedman draws on a year of travel with his wife through Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East to argue that the gap between the intellectual consensus on economic development and what he observed on the ground had become unbridgeable. Wherever Friedman found ordinary people enjoying both freedom and rising material comfort, he found a private market organising economic life; wherever the state had supplanted the market with detailed central planning, he saw political fetters, low living standards, and ordinary people reduced to instruments of state purpose. The 'myths' of the title are the orthodoxies of the development intelligentsia — that planning accelerates growth, that markets cannot mobilise capital, that backward societies need state direction — which Friedman tests against three paired comparisons. The first pair sets the Soviet Union against Yugoslavia: tightly controlled Russia versus a more loosely planned Yugoslavia where private plots covering 3 per cent of cultivated land already produce a third of total agricultural output.… ### Body ## Summary Reproducing a 1967 Harper's Magazine essay, Milton Friedman draws on a year of travel with his wife through Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East to argue that the gap between the intellectual consensus on economic development and what he observed on the ground had become unbridgeable. Wherever Friedman found ordinary people enjoying both freedom and rising material comfort, he found a private market organising economic life; wherever the state had supplanted the market with detailed central planning, he saw political fetters, low living standards, and ordinary people reduced to instruments of state purpose. The 'myths' of the title are the orthodoxies of the development intelligentsia — that planning accelerates growth, that markets cannot mobilise capital, that backward societies need state direction — which Friedman tests against three paired comparisons. The first pair sets the Soviet Union against Yugoslavia: tightly controlled Russia versus a more loosely planned Yugoslavia where private plots covering 3 per cent of cultivated land already produce a third of total agricultural output. The second pair contrasts Malaysia and Indonesia, the former independent eight years and prospering on free trade, the latter mired in standard-of-living decline and political turmoil. The third pair — the essay's argumentative climax — is the parallel between Meiji-era Japan (1868) and post-independence India (1948). Both societies began with similar handicaps, but Japan converted its rural revenue into productive industry under a free-market, free-trade policy that left ownership and direction in private hands, while India embraced Fabian socialism, five-year plans, exchange controls, licensing, and price controls. The result, Friedman writes, was a Japan that broke out of stagnation and an India whose ordinary people remain stationary or worse off, even as a 'self-confident, strident capitalism' bursts at the seams in places like Ludhiana and the Punjab when controls relent. Friedman closes by reading the divergence as a contest of ideas: mid-nineteenth-century liberalism told Japan's leaders to take free trade and private enterprise for granted, while mid-twentieth-century collectivism told India's leaders to take central planning for granted. He concedes that ideas can outrun reality for a time, but insists they eventually meet the test of evidence — and that the West's comfortable assumption that freedom and affluence are mankind's natural lot is historically false. The booklet ends with a warning that the climate of opinion hostile to market arrangements, if it persists, may push the developing world into a renewed era of universal tyranny and misery. ## Key points - Friedman frames the essay as a report on a 'striking contrast' between facts on the ground in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the Far East and the ideas about those facts held by Western and local intellectuals. - He treats the private market versus detailed central planning as the master variable explaining differences in freedom and material progress across the countries he visited. - Russia vs. Yugoslavia: 3 per cent of Soviet farmland in private plots produces one third of total agricultural output, while Yugoslavia under looser planning feels 'far from free' yet 'far more affluent' than Russia. - Malaysia vs. Indonesia: free-market Malaysia, only eight years independent, has built a standard of living 'much higher than that of its other neighbours', while planned Indonesia has seen ordinary living conditions deteriorate for two decades. - Japan (1868) vs. India (1948): both began with stagnant economies and a thin layer of trained administrators, but Meiji Japan adopted free trade and private enterprise while independent India adopted Fabian socialism, five-year plans, exchange controls, and licensing. - Friedman concedes Japan's state built railways, ports and pilot plants but stresses that ownership and direction stayed private — most pilot plants were sold off to private firms within a few years. - He cites the Punjab — Ludhiana's 'industrial revolution' of thousands of small workshops — and Indian entrepreneurs who built businesses abroad as evidence that the constraint on Indian growth is policy, not the supply of enterprise. - The closing argument is a contest of ideas: nineteenth-century liberalism shaped Meiji Japan, mid-twentieth-century collectivism shaped Nehruvian India, and the West has 'transmitted a climate of opinion hostile to the market arrangements' on which its own freedom rests. --- ## [Primary work] NATIONALISATION AT THE CROSSROADS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/nationalisation-and-the-crossroads-prof-amul-desai-apr8-1962/ ### Summary Prof. Amul Desai's lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on December 19, 1961, surveys the worldwide retreat from nationalisation and argues that India should rethink its commitment to state ownership as an instrument of socialism. Desai opens by historicising Marx: when Das Capital was written, labour had no right to organise or vote, parliamentary democracy was a fiction, and the welfare state did not yet exist — so violent overthrow of the capitalist order appeared to be the only remedy. With trade unionism, social legislation, adult franchise and labour parties returned by ballot, that case has collapsed, and class conflict can no longer be assumed the inevitable corollary of capitalism. The bulk of the booklet is a tour of the international evidence. Burma's U Nu, in an April 1960 address to parliament, formally repudiated nationalisation as a doctrine; Ceylon's Dudley Senanayake declared in March 1960 that nationalisation as an end in itself was something to which his government was 'certainly not wedded'.… ### Body ## Summary Prof. Amul Desai's lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on December 19, 1961, surveys the worldwide retreat from nationalisation and argues that India should rethink its commitment to state ownership as an instrument of socialism. Desai opens by historicising Marx: when Das Capital was written, labour had no right to organise or vote, parliamentary democracy was a fiction, and the welfare state did not yet exist — so violent overthrow of the capitalist order appeared to be the only remedy. With trade unionism, social legislation, adult franchise and labour parties returned by ballot, that case has collapsed, and class conflict can no longer be assumed the inevitable corollary of capitalism. The bulk of the booklet is a tour of the international evidence. Burma's U Nu, in an April 1960 address to parliament, formally repudiated nationalisation as a doctrine; Ceylon's Dudley Senanayake declared in March 1960 that nationalisation as an end in itself was something to which his government was 'certainly not wedded'. Desai walks through the British, Canadian, Italian, Swedish and Indian experiences to argue that the industries actually nationalised in the West — coal, railways, road and air transport, gas, electricity — were chronically loss-making concerns the private sector had abandoned, not commercially successful enterprises. Where it was tried on ideological grounds, as in Britain's mood of 'intellectual frustration' in the 1930s and 40s, the outcome was operational decline, unfunded compensation burdens, falling investment, and a Labour Party that by the early 1960s was openly rethinking the programme. Applied to India, Desai marshals plan-period figures to show the public sector consistently undershooting its own targets while the private sector overshot — the First Plan delivered roughly 15% of state-sector targets, and Second Plan public investment ran at Rs. 3,100 crores against a target of Rs. 2,400 crores in private investment. He cites the Sindhri Fertiliser Factory and Hindustan Aircraft as exemplars of high salaries, bloated supervisory staff, mounting bad debts and ex-gratia payments at taxpayer expense. Long-term industrial investment, he reports, fell from 65.33% (1945–47) to 22.20% (1950) as the fear of nationalisation set in. Desai closes by drawing on C.A.R. Crosland, R.H.S. Crossman and W. Arthur Lewis — all from within the Labour tradition — to show that ends like full employment, equitable distribution and curbing monopoly can be achieved through taxation, regulation, co-operative ownership, municipal ownership and competition from autonomous state corporations, without resorting to wholesale nationalisation. His verdict: socialism's beauty is the beauty of morning dew, and policy must rest on pragmatism rather than 'blind faith in outmoded dogmas like nationalisation'. ## Key points - Historicises Marx by arguing that adult franchise, trade unionism, welfare-state legislation and labour parties winning power at the ballot box have dissolved the 19th-century premise that nationalisation is the only escape from capitalist exploitation. - Cites Burmese Premier U Nu's April 5, 1960 parliamentary speech and Ceylon Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake's March 26, 1960 declaration as public repudiations of nationalisation by Asian governments that had earlier embraced it. - Reframes Western nationalisation (UK coal, railways, road and air transport, gas, electricity; Canada; Italy; Sweden) as a pragmatic rescue of loss-making industries the private sector had abandoned, not as a socialist victory over thriving capitalism. - Contrasts Indian First Plan public-sector performance (about 15% of target, with Hindustan Aircraft and Sindhri Fertiliser running heavy losses, bloated supervisory expenses and ex-gratia payouts) against a private sector that overshot its Second Plan target by roughly Rs. 700 crores. - Reports that the share of long-term industrial investment fell from 65.33% in 1945–47 to 22.20% by 1950 as the threat of nationalisation 'shattered the confidence of the business and industrial community'. - Marshals Labour-tradition voices — C.A.R. Crosland, R.H.S. Crossman, W. Arthur Lewis — to argue that egalitarian ends can be reached through taxation, co-operative ownership, municipal ownership, and a multitude of small autonomous state corporations competing with private firms, rather than monopoly state ownership. - Endorses competition from state-owned regional life-insurance corporations as an alternative to nationalising existing insurance companies in India. - Closes with a methodological case for pragmatism: policy must measure 'the muddy soil on which it is standing' rather than worship outmoded socialist dogmas. --- ## [Primary work] NATIONALISED INSURANCE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/nationalised-insurance-policies-and-strategies-for-the-90s-r-k-daruwalla-june-10-1988/ ### Summary Delivered on 28 April 1988 as the annual A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust lecture and published as a booklet by the Trust two months later, R. K. Daruwalla — a former Chairman of the General Insurance Corporation of India who had spent over forty-five years in the insurance industry — uses the platform to argue that the nationalised insurance industry, having matured since the takeovers of 1956 (life) and 1971/72 (general), now needs a structural rethink before the 1990s. His framing is striking for an insider: rather than relitigate the merits of nationalisation, he treats consolidation as its single most significant gain, then turns to why the existing GIC structure — four subsidiaries each writing every class of business — is no longer fit for the decade ahead. The rendered pages cover the booklet's front matter (Trust trustees, Palkhivala's introduction, the biographical tribute to A. D. Shroff) and the first half of the lecture proper, focusing on general insurance. Daruwalla sets out the scale of the industry — gross direct premium of Rs. 184 crores in 1973 rising to roughly Rs. 1,535 crores by 1987, with profits before tax of Rs.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered on 28 April 1988 as the annual A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust lecture and published as a booklet by the Trust two months later, R. K. Daruwalla — a former Chairman of the General Insurance Corporation of India who had spent over forty-five years in the insurance industry — uses the platform to argue that the nationalised insurance industry, having matured since the takeovers of 1956 (life) and 1971/72 (general), now needs a structural rethink before the 1990s. His framing is striking for an insider: rather than relitigate the merits of nationalisation, he treats consolidation as its single most significant gain, then turns to why the existing GIC structure — four subsidiaries each writing every class of business — is no longer fit for the decade ahead. The rendered pages cover the booklet's front matter (Trust trustees, Palkhivala's introduction, the biographical tribute to A. D. Shroff) and the first half of the lecture proper, focusing on general insurance. Daruwalla sets out the scale of the industry — gross direct premium of Rs. 184 crores in 1973 rising to roughly Rs. 1,535 crores by 1987, with profits before tax of Rs. 318 crores, 60,000 employees and nearly 3,000 offices — and projects that premiums could approach Rs. 4,000 crores by the mid-1990s. Against that backdrop he segments the clientele into commercial/industrial, trading and small business, urban personal lines, rural and agricultural, and government, and contends that each segment requires its own organisational vehicle. The core policy recommendation in the rendered pages is to carve specialised companies out of the GIC umbrella: four subsidiaries dedicated to rural and agricultural business (each with a defined territory, drawing on the Vayudoot precedent of a feeder-airline spin-off from Indian Airlines), and a new urban personal-lines company operating from branch offices in residential areas through full-time commission agents rather than salaried development staff. He argues that small-premium personal business, mass rural covers, and high-technology industrial risks each demand different expertise, marketing models and cost structures, and that lumping them together strains the existing companies and dilutes technical depth. The chunk closes by opening the question of whether the GIC itself should absorb specialised classes such as marine hull, off-shore oil, satellite and nuclear risks, and by surveying how the industry has already responded to the Bhopal disaster, terrorist-damage cover, product liability for Indian exporters, and the demand for simpler 'All Risks' policies on the Western model. ## Key points - Daruwalla, writing as a former GIC Chairman, treats the question of nationalisation itself as settled and instead focuses on restructuring the four-subsidiary model the GIC inherited in 1973. - He names consolidation of business and people as the single greatest gain of nationalisation — it gave the industry favourable reinsurance terms abroad and the capacity to retain large risks domestically. - Industry scale figures: gross direct premium of Rs. 184 crores (1973) to Rs. 1,535 crores (1987); investment income Rs. 20 crores to Rs. 289 crores; profits before tax Rs. 35 crores to Rs. 318 crores; ~60,000 employees and ~3,000 offices. - He projects gross direct premium of roughly Rs. 4,000 crores by the mid-1990s, driven by industrial growth, exports, mass rural covers and rising urban personal-insurance awareness. - He segments the market into five clienteles — commercial/industrial, trading and small business, urban personal lines, rural and agricultural, and government — and argues each needs its own organisational structure. - Specific proposal: four new GIC subsidiaries each with a defined territory to handle rural and agricultural business, on the Vayudoot precedent, capitalised so that investment income offsets any underwriting losses. - Specific proposal: a new dedicated urban personal-lines company operating from residential-area branch offices through full-time commission agents, starting in metro cities, to compete alongside (not replace) the existing four companies. - He flags Bhopal, the DCM judgment, export-driven product liability, terrorist-damage cover and the appeal of Western-style 'All Risks' policies as evidence that the industry must move toward simpler, more flexible, consumer-responsive cover wordings. --- ## [Primary work] NATURAL ECONOMIC GROWTH IS VIA AGRICULTURE & CONSUMER GOODS INDUSTRIES URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/natural-economic-growth-is-via-agriculture-and-consumer-goods-industries-by-prof-b-shenoy-august-5-1961/ ### Summary B. R. Shenoy attacks the central premise of India's planning model: that forced industrialisation, weighted toward heavy industry, is the road to prosperity. Reviewing the First Plan and the first three years of the Second, he concedes that industrial output has grown impressively — production rose 68 per cent over the decade, a 7.6 per cent annual rate that exceeded every Asian economy bar Japan, and capital goods such as automobiles, diesel engines and rayon yarn multiplied many times over. But he insists that this growth was 'generally forced or induced' in defiance of comparative cost, sustained by import controls, exchange rationing and quotas that have left consumers paying ransom prices for imported and import-substituting goods alike. Sugar surpluses go unsold because Indian production costs nearly double the world price; Pimpri-manufactured penicillin costs Rs. 2,250 a unit against an import equivalent of Rs. 1.25. The deeper argument is that forced industrialisation has actively harmed the national product.… ### Body ## Summary B. R. Shenoy attacks the central premise of India's planning model: that forced industrialisation, weighted toward heavy industry, is the road to prosperity. Reviewing the First Plan and the first three years of the Second, he concedes that industrial output has grown impressively — production rose 68 per cent over the decade, a 7.6 per cent annual rate that exceeded every Asian economy bar Japan, and capital goods such as automobiles, diesel engines and rayon yarn multiplied many times over. But he insists that this growth was 'generally forced or induced' in defiance of comparative cost, sustained by import controls, exchange rationing and quotas that have left consumers paying ransom prices for imported and import-substituting goods alike. Sugar surpluses go unsold because Indian production costs nearly double the world price; Pimpri-manufactured penicillin costs Rs. 2,250 a unit against an import equivalent of Rs. 1.25. The deeper argument is that forced industrialisation has actively harmed the national product. Resources have been pulled out of agriculture and light industry — sectors with low capital-output ratios and quick employment payoffs — into heavy plants that yield neither output nor jobs in the short run. Shenoy estimates that during the First Plan and the early Second, agricultural investment produced output increases of 57 to 69 per cent of capital invested, while heavy-industry additions came in at 14 per cent or less; rough calculations suggest that 500 workers in consumer-goods industries plus 4,000 in agriculture and household industries can substitute for the 1,150 workers in heavy industry that current Plan priorities support. National product has grown at only 2.9 per cent a year when 8 to 10 per cent was achievable under a different allocation. Shenoy closes with a historical claim and a policy prescription. Every successful industrial revolution, he argues, has been preceded by an agricultural revolution and the spread of lighter industries — these generate broad-based demand and reliable surpluses that pull heavier industries up behind them. India has inverted this sequence and produced 'topsy-turvy' growth that 'must inherently render the Indian economy more and more vulnerable'. The remedy is not more planning of the same kind but a basic policy reorientation that puts agriculture and consumer goods first. The leaflet reproduces a Times of India piece of 8 June 1961 and is issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise, with the standard disclaimer that the views are the author's alone. ## Key points - Industrial output grew 68 per cent over the decade (7.6 per cent annual rate), outpacing every Asian economy bar Japan, but Shenoy treats this as forced rather than natural growth. - Heavy-industry expansion was driven by import compression — private imports fell from Rs. 812 crores in 1956-57 to Rs. 505 crores in 1958-59 — and by rationing that delivers monopoly rents to domestic producers. - Price comparisons reveal severe inefficiency: Indian sugar Rs. 700 vs world Rs. 400 per ton, Pimpri penicillin Rs. 2,250 vs imports at Rs. 1.25, Sindri fertiliser priced below world levels only because of state direction. - Forced industrialisation has been a net drag on the national product because resources diverted from agriculture and light industry produce more output and employment per rupee than heavy plants. - Estimated capital-output ratios during the First and early Second Plans: agriculture 57-69 per cent, cement/iron/steel/textiles only 2-14 per cent of investment recovered as added output in the first Plan period. - Employment arithmetic: 500 workers in consumer-goods industries plus 4,000 in agriculture and household industries can substitute for 1,150 in heavy industry, at lower real cost and shorter payoff. - Historical generalisation: agricultural revolutions have preceded industrial revolutions everywhere; lighter industries seed the demand that pulls heavier industries forward. - Policy prescription: India has reversed the natural sequence; modernisation requires basic reorientation toward agriculture and consumer goods rather than further forcing of heavy industry. --- ## [Primary work] Natural Order URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/natural-order-essays-exploring-civil-government-and-the-rule-of-law/ ### Summary In the rendered pages (cover, dedication 'To Varuna', contents, the Introduction and the opening of Chapter One), Sauvik Chakraverti sets out a classical-liberal manifesto on civil government and the rule of law. The Introduction ('The Historical Setting of this Volume') diagnoses, in the rendered pages, a 'quiet crisis... a crisis of legitimacy' in the socialist Indian state: a government that 'does not know how to govern,' that taxes the productive to 'teach the unlettered' while courts and police fail and over 100,000 people die yearly on 'India's anarchical streets.' Chakraverti argues that India 'aped English institutions without the liberal ideals upon which they are based,' and proposes to trace how the rule of law emerged in England — a lineage running, in the rendered pages, from John Locke through the Scottish Enlightenment to Hayek, with Peter Bauer, Hernando de Soto and B. R. Shenoy cited as defenders of liberal ideals for the Third World. In the rendered pages, Chapter One ('The Presumption of Natural Order') develops the book's central idea: that a spontaneous order exists in society independent of any single will.… ### Body # Natural Order *By SAUVIK CHAKRAVERTI* ## Summary In the rendered pages (cover, dedication 'To Varuna', contents, the Introduction and the opening of Chapter One), Sauvik Chakraverti sets out a classical-liberal manifesto on civil government and the rule of law. The Introduction ('The Historical Setting of this Volume') diagnoses, in the rendered pages, a 'quiet crisis... a crisis of legitimacy' in the socialist Indian state: a government that 'does not know how to govern,' that taxes the productive to 'teach the unlettered' while courts and police fail and over 100,000 people die yearly on 'India's anarchical streets.' Chakraverti argues that India 'aped English institutions without the liberal ideals upon which they are based,' and proposes to trace how the rule of law emerged in England — a lineage running, in the rendered pages, from John Locke through the Scottish Enlightenment to Hayek, with Peter Bauer, Hernando de Soto and B. R. Shenoy cited as defenders of liberal ideals for the Third World. In the rendered pages, Chapter One ('The Presumption of Natural Order') develops the book's central idea: that a spontaneous order exists in society independent of any single will. Pointing to crowded commercial streets — Delhi's Chandni Chowk, London's Oxford Street — where order persists without 'posses of armed policemen,' Chakraverti casts Homo Economicus as a 'rule-following animal' whose market is a 'complex, competitive and impersonal' order anterior to all government. Echoing Hayek's dictum that 'what cannot be known cannot be planned,' he frames central planning and socialism as an 'abuse of reason' and a 'false and absurd social science,' and defines good government as that which preserves the self-ordering market rather than preying on it with the 'evil eye.' ## Key points - In the rendered pages the work is a single-author classical-liberal book of essays by Sauvik Chakraverti, dedicated 'To Varuna'. - The Introduction diagnoses a 'crisis of legitimacy' in the socialist Indian state that 'does not know how to govern'. - Chakraverti argues India adopted English (Westminster) institutions without the liberal ideals underpinning them. - He traces a liberal lineage from John Locke through the Scottish Enlightenment to Hayek, invoking Bauer, de Soto and B. R. Shenoy. - Chapter One advances the thesis of a spontaneous 'natural order' existing independently of any single human will. - He illustrates order with crowded commercial streets that function without policing, casting man as a 'rule-following animal'. - He attacks central planning and socialism as an 'abuse of reason' and a 'false and absurd social science', citing Hayek. - Good government, he argues in the rendered pages, preserves the market order; bad government preys on it with the 'evil eye'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] A New Approach to Overcome Constraints on Private Sector URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/new-approach-to-overcome-constraints-on-private-sector-by-rd-aga-1980/ ### Summary Delivered at the Eleventh Annual Convention of the Bombay Management Association on 3rd December 1980 and reissued as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet, R. D. Aga's address recasts the standard Indian industrialist's grievance list — MRTP, FERA, licensing, price controls, FERA, labour and tax law — as a self-defeating monologue. Aga, chairman and managing director of Thermax (India), opens by distinguishing the entrepreneur from the administrator: the administrator treats boundary conditions as given, while the entrepreneur stretches them. From this distinction he argues that the post-1950 Indian preoccupation with external constraints, far from being an honest diagnosis, has become a cultural reflex that crowds out the search for opportunities. The argument is then made empirically. Drawing on the Assocham Parliamentary Digest's data for the twenty largest industrial houses under MRTP Section 26 (1972–78) and on Bombay Stock Exchange data for twelve large multinationals under FERA (1972–79), Aga shows wide dispersion in asset growth, turnover and profit before tax within both groups — from declines and losses at the bottom to gains of 200–300 per cent at the top.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered at the Eleventh Annual Convention of the Bombay Management Association on 3rd December 1980 and reissued as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet, R. D. Aga's address recasts the standard Indian industrialist's grievance list — MRTP, FERA, licensing, price controls, FERA, labour and tax law — as a self-defeating monologue. Aga, chairman and managing director of Thermax (India), opens by distinguishing the entrepreneur from the administrator: the administrator treats boundary conditions as given, while the entrepreneur stretches them. From this distinction he argues that the post-1950 Indian preoccupation with external constraints, far from being an honest diagnosis, has become a cultural reflex that crowds out the search for opportunities. The argument is then made empirically. Drawing on the Assocham Parliamentary Digest's data for the twenty largest industrial houses under MRTP Section 26 (1972–78) and on Bombay Stock Exchange data for twelve large multinationals under FERA (1972–79), Aga shows wide dispersion in asset growth, turnover and profit before tax within both groups — from declines and losses at the bottom to gains of 200–300 per cent at the top. If external constraints applied uniformly to all units in a category, he reasons, performance variance this large can only be explained by what management does inside the firm. He develops this into four propositions: that mindset matters more than the constraint, that intra-industry variance reveals the secondary role of constraints, that strategic response to environment distinguishes the high-flyer from the also-ran, and that for smaller firms internal management decides growth more than external policy does. A long autobiographical section walks through Thermax's growth from a small-scale boiler unit in 1966 to a three-company group with Rs. 30 crores turnover and 1,500 employees by 1980. The 'critical areas' that required management attention, Aga insists, had nothing to do with government: finance, the learning curve in new technology, organisation structure as the firm grew from single-product to multi-product, and the motivation of people as the company moved from a compact group to a formalised hierarchy. The closing pages widen the indictment of the licensing regime — it has, in his phrase, bred a 'sheltered economy' culture of waste, obesity, evasion of the law and customer apathy — and propose replacing classical economics' 'Economic Man', who reacts only to profit and survival, with a 'Professional Man' who upholds standards out of competence rather than competitive compulsion. The pamphlet ends with a rhetorical device: an 'Imaginary Address by the President of an industrial and trade apex body' to a cabinet minister chief guest, breaking with the genre's traditional litany of complaint to offer partnership in delivering the Sixth Five-Year Plan and lifting the standard of life of 600 million Indians. ## Key points - Aga frames the entrepreneur as one who stretches boundary conditions while the administrator merely operates within them — the difference between fault-finding and target-setting. - Indian industry's habitual catalogue of woes (MRTP, FERA, licensing, price controls, power, credit) is, in Aga's view, a 30-year monologue of negativism that has proved 'self-fulfilling'. - Empirical evidence from the 20 MRTP houses (1972–78) and 12 large FERA multinationals (1972–79) shows growth dispersion so wide — from losses to 200%+ gains — that external constraints cannot be the dominant limiting factor. - The four critical management challenges in Aga's own company, Thermax, were internal: finance, the learning curve on new technology, evolving organisation structure, and motivation in a growing firm. - Industrial licensing has, beyond its direct economic costs, bred 'a whole new business and social culture' of waste, evasion and customer apathy that has acted as 'an insidious opiate' on the private sector. - Aga proposes replacing the 'Economic Man' of classical doctrine with a 'Professional Man' whose standards are warranted by competence and commitment, not by the invisible hand. - The closing 'Imaginary Address' offers a cabinet minister partnership in implementing the Sixth Five-Year Plan, dropping the traditional litany of complaint in favour of placing the private sector's 'reservoir of talent' at the government's disposal. --- ## [Primary work] NEW COMPANY TAX SCHEME HITS SHAREHOLDERS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/new-company-tax-scheme-prof-r-j-taraporevala-feb8-1960/ ### Summary Prof. Russi Jal Taraporevala's pamphlet, issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise on 8 February 1960 and reproduced from the Capital Annual of 1959, is a technical assessment of the radical streamlining of Indian company taxation introduced by the Finance Act, 1959. Taraporevala opens by contrasting the old regime — under which companies were subject to seven different direct taxes (income tax with surcharge, corporation tax, excess dividends tax, wealth tax, capital gains tax, the Section 23A penal super-tax, and the bonus issue tax) and where 'grossing' of dividends produced a cumbersome and unpredictable effective rate — with the new scheme that consolidates direct taxation into income tax at 20 percent and corporation tax at 25 percent of assessed profits, and abolishes the excess dividends tax, the wealth tax on companies and the practice of grossing up dividends. The author welcomes the reform 'in principle' as a long overdue rationalisation, but devotes most of the booklet to a granular analysis of who actually gains and who loses.… ### Body ## Summary Prof. Russi Jal Taraporevala's pamphlet, issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise on 8 February 1960 and reproduced from the Capital Annual of 1959, is a technical assessment of the radical streamlining of Indian company taxation introduced by the Finance Act, 1959. Taraporevala opens by contrasting the old regime — under which companies were subject to seven different direct taxes (income tax with surcharge, corporation tax, excess dividends tax, wealth tax, capital gains tax, the Section 23A penal super-tax, and the bonus issue tax) and where 'grossing' of dividends produced a cumbersome and unpredictable effective rate — with the new scheme that consolidates direct taxation into income tax at 20 percent and corporation tax at 25 percent of assessed profits, and abolishes the excess dividends tax, the wealth tax on companies and the practice of grossing up dividends. The author welcomes the reform 'in principle' as a long overdue rationalisation, but devotes most of the booklet to a granular analysis of who actually gains and who loses. Drawing on a statistical comparison (the table on page 8) of total taxes, net dividends and gross dividends under the old and new schemes, he shows that companies distributing all their after-tax profits as dividends will see total tax burdens rise between roughly 9 and 22 percent, with net cash dividends falling between 11 and 21 percent. Ordinary shareholders — particularly of companies with large past reserves grossed up at the full rate — lose the credit they would previously have received in their personal assessments; preference shareholders and inter-corporate investors are hit hardest, with gross dividend income on intra-group holdings covered by Section 56A falling by as much as 32 to 35 percent. Taraporevala is sharply critical of Section 23A, which he says still impedes industrial growth by discouraging companies from ploughing back profits, and of the bonus issue tax, which the Finance Act 1959 has actually widened by withdrawing the exemption for bonus shares issued from share-premium accounts. He treats this retention as the 'most deplorable step' in the reform, citing Nicholas Kaldor, the Indian Taxation Enquiry Commission, the British Royal Commission on the Taxation of Profits and Income, and the NCAER as authorities who have condemned the levy in principle. He closes by recommending that the total rate of income tax and corporation tax be fixed between 35 and 40 percent of gross profits, that ad hoc relief be granted for dividends paid out of past taxed profits, that Section 23A and the bonus issue tax be abolished, and that ultimately a single non-refundable flat tax on gross corporate profits replace the entire structure — a goal he hopes Finance Minister Morarji Desai will continue to pursue. ## Key points - The Finance Act, 1959 radically simplifies Indian company taxation by replacing seven overlapping direct taxes with income tax at 20 percent and corporation tax at 25 percent of assessed annual profits. - The cumbersome 'grossing' of dividends, which made the effective rate of tax on shareholders depend on the composition of company income and delayed assessments throughout the system, is abolished for accounting years ending after 31 March 1959. - Although the excess dividends tax and the wealth tax on companies are eliminated, ordinary shareholders lose the credit previously received for grossing up dividends paid out of past taxed profits or reserves. - A statistical comparison (page 8) shows total tax burdens rising between 8.8 and 19.4 percent, and gross dividends falling between 2.1 and 22.3 percent, depending on a company's historical tax profile. - Inter-corporate investments are hit hardest: individual shareholders may suffer a 30-35 percent loss of gross dividend income on holdings in companies covered by Section 56A of the Indian Income Tax Act. - Section 23A's penal super-tax on closely held companies, though marginally relaxed, still penalises ploughing back of profits and impedes industrial growth. - The retention and widening of the bonus issue tax — now extended to bonus shares issued from share premium accounts — is condemned as economically unjustified and contrary to the recommendations of Kaldor, the Indian Taxation Enquiry Commission and the Royal Commission on the Taxation of Profits and Income of Britain. - Taraporevala recommends a single flat non-refundable tax on gross corporate profits between 35 and 40 percent, ad hoc relief for dividends paid from past reserves, and abolition of Section 23A and the bonus issue tax. --- ## [Primary work] New Era of Enriching Hindu Growth Rate URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/new-era-of-enriching-hindu-growth-rate-sunil-s-bhandare-march-5-2010/ ### Summary Sunil S. Bhandare's booklet, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in March 2010 and adapted from an article in MEDC's Monthly Economic Digest, charts India's exit from the so-called "Hindu growth rate" of roughly 3.5% per year that prevailed across the first four decades of planning (1950-89), through the "neo-Hindu" rate of 5.5% in the 1990s, to what he names a third phase: an "Enriching Hindu Growth" (EHG) decade in which real GDP averaged above 7% from 2000-01 to 2009-10, peaking at a historic 8.5%. He frames this as a benchmark-setting consolidation of the post-1991 reform process — "an irreversible process of economic reforms" — and as the moment India is being recognised as a formidable emerging economic power. Bhandare anatomises six features of the EHG phase: acceleration in the doubling of per capita real income (now about twelve years, versus nineteen during the planning era); a sharp structural shift into services (which rose from 48.5% of GDP in 1989-90 to 65.7% in 2009-10 while agriculture collapsed from 31.8% to 15.5% even though it still employs 55% of the labour force); new manufacturing drivers in automobiles, telecom, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, wit… ### Body ## Summary Sunil S. Bhandare's booklet, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in March 2010 and adapted from an article in MEDC's Monthly Economic Digest, charts India's exit from the so-called "Hindu growth rate" of roughly 3.5% per year that prevailed across the first four decades of planning (1950-89), through the "neo-Hindu" rate of 5.5% in the 1990s, to what he names a third phase: an "Enriching Hindu Growth" (EHG) decade in which real GDP averaged above 7% from 2000-01 to 2009-10, peaking at a historic 8.5%. He frames this as a benchmark-setting consolidation of the post-1991 reform process — "an irreversible process of economic reforms" — and as the moment India is being recognised as a formidable emerging economic power. Bhandare anatomises six features of the EHG phase: acceleration in the doubling of per capita real income (now about twelve years, versus nineteen during the planning era); a sharp structural shift into services (which rose from 48.5% of GDP in 1989-90 to 65.7% in 2009-10 while agriculture collapsed from 31.8% to 15.5% even though it still employs 55% of the labour force); new manufacturing drivers in automobiles, telecom, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, with autos crossing 11 million units; the IT/BPO industry's transformational role in services exports and skilled employment; sharply shifting private consumption patterns (food's share of PFCE falling from 48.2% to 42.3%, with comforts, communications and entertainment rising); and a visibly changing income pyramid as middle- and upper-class households expand. Each claim is supported with CSO, RBI Handbook of Statistics, NCAER and World Development Report data. The argument is decidedly not triumphalist. Quoting Chief Economic Adviser Kaushik Basu on India's 10% potential and the need for the bureaucracy to "pull up its socks," Bhandare flags that India still ranks 83rd of 133 countries on per capita PPP GNI ($2,960), trails China badly in industrial capacity (steel: 660 vs 60 mn tonnes; cement: ~1400 vs ~200 mn tonnes), and faces food inflation hovering at 18% with persistent agricultural-productivity stagnation. He calls for a "Second Green Revolution" through land-holding consolidation, contract and corporate farming, post-harvest infrastructure and rural connectivity; restoration of fiscal discipline under FRBM toward a 40% investment-and-savings ratio; and substantial state-led thrust on power and transport infrastructure, since "the most important component is the power sector." The closing register is liberal-optimist: India needs "more positive, proactive investment-friendly policy; and more importantly, a high pedestal of governance, good governance and better and better governance" to deliver sustainable and inclusive growth in the coming decade. The booklet closes with a biographical tribute to Shailesh Kapadia (1949-1988), a Chartered Accountant, FFE associate and Vice-Chairman of the Indian Merchants' Chamber's Direct Taxation Committee, whose memorial trust sponsored the publication. ## Key points - Bhandare proposes naming the 2000-2010 decade the "Enriching Hindu Growth" (EHG) rate phase, with average real GDP growth above 7% peaking at 8.5%, succeeding the "Hindu" (3.5%, 1950-89) and "neo-Hindu" (5.5%, 1990-2000) phases. - Per capita real GDP now doubles in about twelve years, compared with nineteen during the earlier planning era — the headline marker of the EHG phase. - Sectoral shares of GDP shifted dramatically: services from 48.5% to 65.7%, agriculture from 31.8% to 15.5%, industry roughly flat — even though agriculture still employs 55% of the labour force. - India ranks 12th globally on GNI at market exchange rates and 4th in PPP terms, but per capita PPP GNI ($2,960) still places it 83rd of 133 countries, well behind China. - Manufacturing has new drivers in autos (11 mn units crossed in 2009-10), telecom, pharma and biotech, while IT/BPO has built world-class capability and over 8 mn direct and indirect jobs. - Private consumption is rebalancing away from food (PFCE share down from 48.2% to 42.3%) toward comforts, services and a fast-growing organised retail format. - Major constraints flagged: low agricultural productivity, food inflation around 18%, inadequate physical infrastructure (especially power) and the unresolved poverty/inequality debate around the Tendulkar Committee's revised estimates. - The prescription is liberal-reformist: fiscal consolidation back toward FRBM discipline, a 40% investment-and-savings ratio, a "Second Green Revolution" via consolidated land-holdings and corporate farming, and above all "a high pedestal of governance" for sustained, inclusive growth. --- ## [Primary work] New Horizons in the General Insurance Industry URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/new-horizons-in-general-insurance-mr-vasant-c-vaidya-june-7-1982/ ### Summary In the rendered pages, V. C. Vaidya — former Chairman-cum-Managing Director of New India Assurance Company Limited — delivers the 1982 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture as a status review of India's General Insurance Industry one decade after its 1972 nationalisation. He opens by anchoring the talk in Shroff's own legacy at New India (Board member from 1937, Chairman from 1946 until his death in 1965) and reads the present moment as a projection from a base "soundly established" under that earlier leadership. The core of the rendered text moves through eight signposted sections — Present Position, Business Growth, Claims, Profitability, Investments, Staff Position, Foreign Operations, and Social Obligations — before opening a Problems and Prospects forecast that the chunk does not complete. Vaidya reports that the merger of 107 pre-nationalisation units into four competing subsidiaries (National, New India, Oriental, United India) under the General Insurance Corporation has expanded distribution (Branch Offices up 70% in five years to over 1,250) and pushed gross direct premium from Rs. 161 crores in 1972 to an estimated Rs.… ### Body # New Horizons in the General Insurance Industry *By V. C. VAIDYA* ## Summary In the rendered pages, V. C. Vaidya — former Chairman-cum-Managing Director of New India Assurance Company Limited — delivers the 1982 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture as a status review of India's General Insurance Industry one decade after its 1972 nationalisation. He opens by anchoring the talk in Shroff's own legacy at New India (Board member from 1937, Chairman from 1946 until his death in 1965) and reads the present moment as a projection from a base "soundly established" under that earlier leadership. The core of the rendered text moves through eight signposted sections — Present Position, Business Growth, Claims, Profitability, Investments, Staff Position, Foreign Operations, and Social Obligations — before opening a Problems and Prospects forecast that the chunk does not complete. Vaidya reports that the merger of 107 pre-nationalisation units into four competing subsidiaries (National, New India, Oriental, United India) under the General Insurance Corporation has expanded distribution (Branch Offices up 70% in five years to over 1,250) and pushed gross direct premium from Rs. 161 crores in 1972 to an estimated Rs. 580 crores in 1981, an average annual rise of about 15% achieved in spite of a 20% fire-tariff cut and a 3.5% agency-commission revision. He defends the rising claims ratio (49% in 1972 to about 60% in 1981) as evidence of fair pricing rather than inefficiency, since "a very low claims ratio means premium rates are being overcharged." On the fiscal ledger, Vaidya argues the Industry has more than repaid the State: against an initial outlay of Rs. 38.55 crores, it contributed roughly Rs. 445 crores to the exchequer during 1974–1980 (Rs. 407 crores in direct taxes plus Rs. 38 crores in dividends), and has fully redeemed the Government's preference capital of Rs. 19.05 crores. Investible funds have grown from Rs. 360 crores in 1973 to Rs. 1100 crores, and the GIC and its subsidiaries were declared an All India Financial Institution in 1978, supporting preference share issues, debenture markets, HUDCO and EWS housing loans, and State Government fire-fighting equipment purchases. Industry employment has nearly doubled from 22,000 to over 41,000, and India has been selected by UNCTAD as a Regional Training Centre for insurance and management training among developing countries. The rendered pages close with a survey of foreign operations across 28 countries (Rs. 34 crores premium in 1980), the Industry's 86.9% retention of gross direct premium written in India, joint ventures with L.I.C., and India's participation in the United Nations' ESCAP-promoted Asian Reinsurance Corporation. A Social Obligations passage notes employment reservations for SC, ST, the physically handicapped and ex-servicemen, the sponsorship of the Loss Prevention Association of India, and Cargo Loss Minimisation Cells at major ports. Two pages of 1980 summary tables (organisational set-up, premium by department, claims ratio, staff strength, investment portfolio totalling Rs. 1042.52 crores) round off the financial snapshot, and the chunk ends part-way into the Business Projection — Vaidya forecasting general insurance premium of Rs. 1200 crores by 1985 and Fire Department premium of over Rs. 350 crores — with the Marine, Motor and Miscellaneous projections still to come. ## Key points - Vaidya frames the lecture as a status review of the Indian General Insurance Industry one decade after the 1972 nationalisation, deliberately reading present prospects as continuous with the base 'soundly established' under A. D. Shroff's leadership at New India Assurance. - At nationalisation 107 units transacting general insurance in India — both Indian and foreign — were amalgamated into four competing subsidiary companies (National at Calcutta, New India at Bombay, Oriental at Delhi, United India at Madras) under the General Insurance Corporation of India holding company. - Gross direct premium written in India rose from Rs. 161 crores in 1972 to an estimated Rs. 580 crores in 1981 — an average annual increase of about 15% — achieved in spite of a ~20% reduction in fire premiums and a ~3.5% cut in gross premium through revised agency commission. - The claims ratio rose from around 49% in 1972 to about 60% in 1981; Vaidya treats the rise as healthy because a very low claims ratio would indicate that premium rates are being overcharged. - Against a Government outlay of Rs. 38.55 crores at nationalisation, the Industry contributed nearly Rs. 445 crores to the national exchequer during 1974–1980 (Rs. 407 crores in direct taxes and Rs. 38 crores in dividends), and the Rs. 19.05 crores of preference capital has been fully redeemed. - Investible funds grew from Rs. 360 crores in 1973 to about Rs. 1100 crores, with the GIC declared an All India Financial Institution in 1978 and supporting preference shares, debentures, HUDCO/EWS housing loans (over Rs. 150 crores in three years) and State Government fire-fighting equipment loans. - Industry employment expanded from about 22,000 at nationalisation to over 41,000 full-time employees on uniform service terms; UNCTAD designated India as a Regional Training Centre for insurance and management training and the National Insurance Academy was established for management research. - Foreign operations covered 28 countries with Rs. 34 crores of direct premium in 1980; the Industry retains 86.9% of gross direct premium written in India and is associated with the United Nations' ESCAP-promoted Asian Reinsurance Corporation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] New Public Management: Escape from Babudom URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/new-public-management-escape-from-babudom/ ### Summary This Centre for Civil Society 'View Point' essay argues that good public administration in India is rooted in classical liberal political economy, and that the modern reform agenda known as New Public Management (NPM) can restore it. The author opens by defining a 'liberal administrator' as one who treats freedom as the highest political value, keeps the state minimal, respects the market as the institution that produces 'natural liberty,' and contrasts this figure with the 'control freak' or 'statist' administrator who multiplies rules and paperwork. India, the essay claims, once enjoyed excellent administration under the Indian Civil Service precisely because its officers were steeped in the economics of Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill; the post-1947 turn to a 'commanding heights' maximalist state under the 'rule of the aged' bureaucracy is presented as the rupture that produced a 'rent seeking society.' The middle sections diagnose bureaucracy through Max Weber's ideal-type (hierarchy, impersonality, career, expertise) and then through Ludwig von Mises's critique that bureaucratic management, lacking the profit-and-loss account, is fit only for a narrow range of state functio… ### Body # New Public Management: Escape from Babudom ## Summary This Centre for Civil Society 'View Point' essay argues that good public administration in India is rooted in classical liberal political economy, and that the modern reform agenda known as New Public Management (NPM) can restore it. The author opens by defining a 'liberal administrator' as one who treats freedom as the highest political value, keeps the state minimal, respects the market as the institution that produces 'natural liberty,' and contrasts this figure with the 'control freak' or 'statist' administrator who multiplies rules and paperwork. India, the essay claims, once enjoyed excellent administration under the Indian Civil Service precisely because its officers were steeped in the economics of Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill; the post-1947 turn to a 'commanding heights' maximalist state under the 'rule of the aged' bureaucracy is presented as the rupture that produced a 'rent seeking society.' The middle sections diagnose bureaucracy through Max Weber's ideal-type (hierarchy, impersonality, career, expertise) and then through Ludwig von Mises's critique that bureaucratic management, lacking the profit-and-loss account, is fit only for a narrow range of state functions such as tax collection and policing. The author traces the lineage of the ICS back to the East India Company's private-sector 'covenanted services' and to the economist S. Ambirajan's account of how classical political economy shaped administration under the Raj. NPM is then introduced as the contemporary 'avatar' of this liberal inheritance: a movement, exemplified by New Zealand's reforms and Osborne and Gaebler's 'Reinventing Government,' built on separating provision from production ('steering' not 'rowing'), serving consumers, market pricing, and contracting out. The closing sections apply NPM to Indian cities, proposing elected Mayors and Councils that hire political public managers and contract service delivery to the private sector, eliminating a 'permanent bureaucracy' at the municipal level. The author sketches a 'vision statement' of 600 self-governing free-trading cities and towns and calls for re-training the IAS in liberal economics and free-market public administration. The piece is unsigned in the rendered pages and prints no date. ## Key points - Defines the 'liberal administrator' as one who prizes freedom, keeps the state minimal, and respects the market as the source of 'natural liberty' — against the rule-multiplying 'control freak' or statist administrator. - Claims India's pre-1947 administrative excellence under the ICS flowed from officers trained in classical political economy (Adam Smith, J. S. Mill), citing S. Ambirajan's study of economic ideas in British policy. - Argues the post-1947 'commanding heights' state, extending bureaucratic management to banking, insurance, hotels and steel, produced over-extension, loss of legitimacy, and a 'rent seeking society.' - Uses Max Weber's four features of bureaucracy and Ludwig von Mises's profit-and-loss critique to bound bureaucracy to tax collection and policing only. - Presents New Public Management as the liberal 'avatar' for reform: separating provision from production ('steering vs rowing'), serving consumers, market pricing, and contracting out — citing New Zealand and Osborne & Gaebler. - Proposes applying NPM to Indian cities via elected Mayors and Councils with political public managers, abolishing the permanent municipal bureaucracy and contracting services to the private sector. - Offers a 'vision statement' of 600 well-run free-trading Indian cities and towns and calls for re-training the IAS in liberal economics. - The essay is anonymous and undated in the rendered PDF; only the 'Centre for Civil Society / View Point' running header identifies its provenance. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] NEW PATTERN OF TAXATION IN INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/new-pattern-of-taxaton-in-india-students-dec8-1959/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet (series 8/D/59, December 1959) collects the three prize-winning essays from the FFE's 1958 student essay competition on 'The New Pattern of Taxation in India'. An unsigned editorial introduction frames the competition, names the panel of judges — Dr. D. T. Lakdavala (University of Bombay), Mr. R. V. Murthy and Prof. R. J. Taraporevala — and prints a marginal note from Eugene Black of the World Bank arguing that people must come to accept private enterprise 'not as a necessary evil, but as an affirmative good'. The three essays — by R. S. Sivaramakrishnan (Christian College, Madras), E. S. Ganesh (Jamshedpur Co-operative College) and M. V. Nadkarni (Karnatak College, Dharwar) — converge on a shared critique. Each writer accepts that the Second Five-Year Plan demands more revenue but argues that the post-Kaldor structure of Income-tax, Super-tax, Surcharge, Wealth Tax, Expenditure Tax, Gift Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Estate Duty has stacked complementary levies on the same narrow base of high-income individuals and companies, dampening private saving, capital formation and the appetite to invest.… ### Body # NEW PATTERN OF TAXATION IN INDIA ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet (series 8/D/59, December 1959) collects the three prize-winning essays from the FFE's 1958 student essay competition on 'The New Pattern of Taxation in India'. An unsigned editorial introduction frames the competition, names the panel of judges — Dr. D. T. Lakdavala (University of Bombay), Mr. R. V. Murthy and Prof. R. J. Taraporevala — and prints a marginal note from Eugene Black of the World Bank arguing that people must come to accept private enterprise 'not as a necessary evil, but as an affirmative good'. The three essays — by R. S. Sivaramakrishnan (Christian College, Madras), E. S. Ganesh (Jamshedpur Co-operative College) and M. V. Nadkarni (Karnatak College, Dharwar) — converge on a shared critique. Each writer accepts that the Second Five-Year Plan demands more revenue but argues that the post-Kaldor structure of Income-tax, Super-tax, Surcharge, Wealth Tax, Expenditure Tax, Gift Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Estate Duty has stacked complementary levies on the same narrow base of high-income individuals and companies, dampening private saving, capital formation and the appetite to invest. The volume closes with the FFE's customary disclaimer and A. D. Shroff's motto on the back inner cover. The full 20-page booklet was rendered for this pass. ## Essays ### I *By R. S. SIVARAMAKRISHNAN* Sivaramakrishnan opens with the Government's 'insatiable demand' for development revenue and credits Prof. Kaldor's Indian Tax Reform report and the Taxation Enquiry Commission with paving the way for the new pattern. He reads the package — heavy progressive personal taxation, broadened company taxation and a battery of structural levies on Wealth, Expenditure, Capital Gains, Annual Capital and Gifts — as an attempt to graft an 'integrated' tax structure on top of an already heavy base of direct taxation. The essay argues that, despite the formal logic of broadening checks and balance, the cumulative incidence on a 'minority of the total population' is administratively burdensome and confiscatory, with marginal rates running to 84 per cent and Wealth Tax stacked on top of Income-tax, Super-tax and Surcharge. The second half catalogues specific damage: Capital Gains and Estate Duty depress the climate for risk capital just when industry is starved of equity finance; Excess Dividends Tax, the Section 23A penalty rate and the Bonus Tax pull companies into a 'peculiar conflict in principle'; rationalised Excise on cloth, sugar and vegetable products offends the principle of automatic increase in revenue with national income; and the rise of corporate taxation has measurably depressed corporate savings and foreign investment. The author closes with four remedies — fair rates, an investment-friendly structure, simplification through abolition of prohibition and reform of land revenue, and constitutional accommodation of the Expenditure and Wealth taxes recommended by Kaldor. - Reads the New Pattern as a Kaldor-driven attempt to weld Wealth, Expenditure, Capital Gains, Annual Capital and Gift taxes onto an already heavy direct-tax base. - Argues the cumulative incidence on a 'very small minority' of taxpayers reaches 84 per cent and is administratively unenforceable in practice. - Treats Capital Gains Tax and Estate Duty as direct disincentives to risk-capital formation at a time of capital scarcity. - Diagnoses Section 23A, Excess Dividends Tax and the Bonus Tax as contradictory company-tax penalties that cramp new ventures. - Recommends fair rates, rationalisation, abolition of prohibition, reform of land revenue, and a comprehensive structure on sound economic principles. ### II *By E. S. GANESH* Ganesh frames a sound tax policy as one that simultaneously raises revenue, advances social justice and protects economic stability, and identifies 'greater production and better distribution' as its twin tests. He reads the New Pattern as an essentially welcome response to the disequilibrium of the over-ambitious Second Plan but warns that the reduction of income-tax rates for high earners has been offset by Wealth Tax and Expenditure Tax in a way that seals the only outlets — saving and spending — through which an individual can respond to incentives. On company taxation he piles up the contradictions: the Excess Dividends Tax punishes well-managed companies for distributing profits, while Section 23A punishes them for retaining profits; the Wealth Tax on companies operates on accruals rather than ability to pay; and the inclusion of companies within the Wealth Tax produces 'a clear case of double taxation'. He closes by invoking Chief Justice Marshall's dictum that the power to tax is the power to destroy, endorsing C. D. Deshmukh's call to find forms of taxation that are 'less repugnant and more voluntary', and arguing that Indian tradition's recognition of personal initiative is the deepest available incentive to efficiency. - Defines a sound tax policy by its twin tests of greater production and better distribution. - Argues that reductions in marginal income-tax rates have been neutralised by Wealth Tax and Expenditure Tax sealing off both saving and consumption. - Catalogues the contradictions of company taxation, including Section 23A, the Excess Dividends Tax and the Wealth Tax on companies as double taxation. - Calls for a 'Simple Tax Structure', invoking Kaldor's suggested single uniform rate of seven annas in the rupee as worthy of consideration. - Closes on Marshall's 'power to tax is the power to destroy' and Deshmukh's plea for taxation that is 'less repugnant and more voluntary'. ### III *By M. V. NADKARNI* Nadkarni reads the New Pattern through four stated objectives — meeting the Plan's revenue needs, promoting savings and checking inflation, minimising evasion, and making taxes broad-based, progressive and equitable. He concedes that the pattern is 'integrated and comprehensive' but argues that, judged by capital formation and investment incentive, it has not improved on its predecessor. The regressive character of indirect taxation persists, the poorest sections receive no relief, and the structure's sheer complexity raises tax-collection costs, multiplies legal formalities for the taxpayer and converts the 'vicious circle' of high rates and high evasion into a permanent feature. Frequent, short-sighted experimentation, he argues, has replaced the 'coherent, continuous, planned policy' the system needs for healthy growth. The second half audits the individual taxes. Income-tax rate cuts have privileged unearned over earned income; the new structure has hit lower-middle-class households without giving them the social-security backing such cuts presuppose elsewhere; the Expenditure Tax is conceptually sound but its exemptions blunt its purpose; the Wealth Tax on new companies risks expropriation by being levied on accruals; the welcome of concessions for fresh capital is undercut by the psychological effect of the surrounding tax structure. Sales Tax, Excise on textiles and indirect levies on necessities all need rationalisation. The essay closes with five concrete recommendations — minimising State expenditure, ruthless punishment of evasion conditioned on removing assessment defects, heavier taxes on luxury industries with little employment potential, systematic tapping of higher slabs of agricultural income across all States, and greater reliance on State borrowing and savings mobilisation. - Reads the New Pattern as 'integrated and comprehensive' in form but unimproved on capital formation, investment and relief to the poorest. - Identifies frequent, short-sighted experimentation as the enemy of a 'coherent, continuous, planned policy' for economic growth. - Argues that lower marginal rates have privileged unearned over earned income and squeezed the lower middle class without compensating social-security infrastructure. - Treats the Wealth Tax on new companies as an expropriation in principle because it is levied on accruals rather than ability to pay. - Recommends five reforms: minimised State expenditure, ruthless punishment of evasion paired with removal of assessment defects, heavier taxes on low-employment luxury industries, taxation of higher agricultural-income slabs in all States, and reliance on State borrowing and savings mobilisation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Liberal Position URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/newsletter-april-2002/ ### Summary The Liberal Position, Number 2 (April 2002), is the second issue of the newsletter of the Indian Liberal Group (ILG), written and signed by its President, S. V. Raju. Picking up the 'story so far' from the October 2001 inaugural issue, it reports on the organisation's revival and restructuring: it records 355 members as of April 15, 2002 (with a state-wise table led by Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh), extends membership subscriptions to March 31, 2003, and explains the amended Article 9 of the ILG Constitution, which replaces moribund District Committees with member-driven Local Chapters as the organisation's primary units. Raju lays out a grassroots theory of the organisation: Local Chapters as the 'ears, eyes and foot soldiers' of the ILG, feeding a bottom-up 'Liberal Position' on local and national issues, anchored in five professed values — freedom, responsibility, tolerance, social justice, and equality of opportunity.… ### Body # The Liberal Position *By S. V. Raju* ## Summary The Liberal Position, Number 2 (April 2002), is the second issue of the newsletter of the Indian Liberal Group (ILG), written and signed by its President, S. V. Raju. Picking up the 'story so far' from the October 2001 inaugural issue, it reports on the organisation's revival and restructuring: it records 355 members as of April 15, 2002 (with a state-wise table led by Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh), extends membership subscriptions to March 31, 2003, and explains the amended Article 9 of the ILG Constitution, which replaces moribund District Committees with member-driven Local Chapters as the organisation's primary units. Raju lays out a grassroots theory of the organisation: Local Chapters as the 'ears, eyes and foot soldiers' of the ILG, feeding a bottom-up 'Liberal Position' on local and national issues, anchored in five professed values — freedom, responsibility, tolerance, social justice, and equality of opportunity. The issue also describes 'Special Interest Teams' (SITs) functioning as the ILG's modest 'think tanks' (one having prepared a Statement on the Union Budget circulated to over 120 MPs), an Activities log of seminars and meetings across Kolhapur, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Cochin (several featuring Dr. Detmar Doering of the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung's Liberales Institut), statements and press releases — including one expressing anguish over the communal violence in Gujarat — a calendar of programmes planned for 2002, and a list of available publications (notably a reprint of Minoo Masani's We Indians). The issue closes with a personal note from Raju soliciting members' candid feedback. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] NEW TAXATION PROPOSALS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/new-taxation-proposals-january-1-1970/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet, banker and classical-liberal commentator A. D. Shroff dissects Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari's mid-year tax proposals of 30 November 1956, introduced to plug the widening gap in financing the Second Five-Year Plan. Shroff opens by setting out the deteriorating economic background: the rapid depletion of India's sterling balances from Rs. 542 crores to a withdrawable balance of Rs. 142 crores within a year, the heavy import bill created by capital projects under the Plan, rising prices of foodgrains and cloth, and the freight and insurance shock from the closure of the Suez Canal. Against this background, he argues, the Government has finally been forced to admit that the Plan, originally pegged at Rs. 4,800 crores in the public sector, will now require Rs. 5,300 crores and roughly Rs. 1,300 crores of additional taxation rather than the Rs. 400 crores first envisaged. The Plan, he concludes, was 'so formulated that it was not related to the realities of the situation in our economy.' The speech then takes each new direct tax in turn.… ### Body ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet, banker and classical-liberal commentator A. D. Shroff dissects Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari's mid-year tax proposals of 30 November 1956, introduced to plug the widening gap in financing the Second Five-Year Plan. Shroff opens by setting out the deteriorating economic background: the rapid depletion of India's sterling balances from Rs. 542 crores to a withdrawable balance of Rs. 142 crores within a year, the heavy import bill created by capital projects under the Plan, rising prices of foodgrains and cloth, and the freight and insurance shock from the closure of the Suez Canal. Against this background, he argues, the Government has finally been forced to admit that the Plan, originally pegged at Rs. 4,800 crores in the public sector, will now require Rs. 5,300 crores and roughly Rs. 1,300 crores of additional taxation rather than the Rs. 400 crores first envisaged. The Plan, he concludes, was 'so formulated that it was not related to the realities of the situation in our economy.' The speech then takes each new direct tax in turn. The extension of the penal super-tax on undistributed dividends — first introduced in the previous Finance Minister C. D. Deshmukh's last budget and now made heavier — is condemned as a misreading of how industry actually accumulates capital. Calculating dividend obligations against paid-up capital rather than capital actually employed punishes precisely the prudent reinvestment of profits that built firms like Tata Chemicals over decades, and the harsh operation of Section 23A of the Income Tax Act risks crushing the very small and medium companies the country needs to encourage. The revived Capital Gains Tax draws an equally hostile reading: Shroff recalls that Liaquat Ali Khan had introduced it in 1947 and withdrawn it two years later for raising negligible revenue, and warns that taxing inflation-driven gains amounts to a levy on the capital base itself. Subjecting the compensation paid on nationalisation to capital-gains tax he calls 'most inequitable.' The third and 'most serious' proposal — compulsory deposit, requiring every company to lodge 25% of accumulated reserves and 75% of current surplus profits with the Government — is described as a 'forced loan' likely to provoke a serious monetary crisis and to apply, despite the Finance Minister's assurances, even to banks, insurance companies and investment houses. Shroff also flags the more technical but telling proposal to raise the stamp duty on Bills of Exchange eighty-fold, warning that the cost will pass straight into higher borrowing rates through the Usance Bill mechanism and burden the public at large. Drawing every strand together, he reads the whole package as evidence of 'a definite and confirmed trend towards a gradual disappearance of democracy in the economic field' — achieved less by overt nationalisation than by the insidious diversion of resources from the private sector to the public sector. The pamphlet closes on the warning that an authoritarian regime is being built up by 'depriving the private sector of the resources that it has collected in the past.' ## Key points - Speech delivered to the Democratic Group in Bombay on 30 November 1956, reacting to Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari's mid-year tax package and republished by the Forum of Free Enterprise. - Documents the collapse of sterling balances from Rs. 542 crores to a withdrawable Rs. 142 crores and the reluctant admission that the Second Plan would need Rs. 5,300 crores of public-sector outlay and roughly Rs. 1,300 crores of fresh taxation, not the Rs. 400 crores first laid down. - Argues that the Second Plan 'was so formulated that it was not related to the realities of the situation in our economy', and that the resources and capacity to collect them simply do not exist. - Critiques the extension of the penal super-tax on undistributed dividends as wrongly basing dividend obligations on paid-up capital rather than capital actually employed, thereby penalising prudent reinvestment that has built firms like Tata Chemicals. - Calls for amending Section 23A of the Income Tax Act into three categories — investment, manufacturing and purely family-investment companies — so that small businesses and the first years of new industries are spared penal taxation. - Reads the revived Capital Gains Tax as a tax on inflation-driven gains and the capital base itself, recalling Liaquat Ali Khan's short-lived 1947 levy and condemning the application of the tax to compensation paid on nationalisation as 'most inequitable'. - Describes the compulsory-deposit proposal — 25% of accumulated reserves and 75% of current surplus profits to be lodged with Government — as a 'forced loan', the 'severest blow to the private sector', and likely to apply even to banks and insurers despite the Finance Minister's reassurances. - Reads the cumulative package, together with the proposed eighty-fold increase in stamp duty on Bills of Exchange, as a deliberate diversion of resources from the private to the public sector and a step toward an authoritarian economic order. --- ## [Primary work] The Liberal Position URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/newsletter-october-2001/ ### Summary "The Liberal Position" is the members' newsletter of the Indian Liberal Group; this is its inaugural issue (No. 1, October 2001), issued from the Group's Mumbai national headquarters and marked "For Private Circulation only." The issue has two parts. The first is a long signed letter from ILG President S. V. Raju that doubles as an editorial: it introduces the newsletter, reminds members of the liberal values that led them to revive and reorganise the ILG in 2000, reports on the Group's website and its recent seminars and chapter activities across India, and shares (anonymised) member responses to a candid status report admitting the organisation's slow progress. The second part is "Annexure (A)," a detailed set of draft amendments to the ILG's Constitution proposed by Raju, aimed at simplifying the organisational structure ahead of the Group's First National Convention (tentatively February 2002). The issue also tells members that a reprint of founder Minoo Masani's book "We Indians" — funded by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust — is enclosed. ### Body # The Liberal Position ## Summary "The Liberal Position" is the members' newsletter of the Indian Liberal Group; this is its inaugural issue (No. 1, October 2001), issued from the Group's Mumbai national headquarters and marked "For Private Circulation only." The issue has two parts. The first is a long signed letter from ILG President S. V. Raju that doubles as an editorial: it introduces the newsletter, reminds members of the liberal values that led them to revive and reorganise the ILG in 2000, reports on the Group's website and its recent seminars and chapter activities across India, and shares (anonymised) member responses to a candid status report admitting the organisation's slow progress. The second part is "Annexure (A)," a detailed set of draft amendments to the ILG's Constitution proposed by Raju, aimed at simplifying the organisational structure ahead of the Group's First National Convention (tentatively February 2002). The issue also tells members that a reprint of founder Minoo Masani's book "We Indians" — funded by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust — is enclosed. ## Essays ### President's letter / 'Dear Friend' (inaugural editorial) *By S. V. Raju, President* President S. V. Raju's inaugural letter frames "The Liberal Position" as a medium to bridge the "digital divide" among members (those with and without internet access) and to strengthen fraternal bonds. He restates the ILG's shared values — freedom, responsibility, tolerance, social justice, equality of opportunity — and its defence of personal liberty, free expression, association, property and the right to information. He explains why the ILG, founded in 1964 as essentially a debating group, was reorganised in 2000 to become action-oriented, and laments that liberalisation begun in 1991 has stalled while corruption corrodes public morality. The letter promotes the Group's new website (www.liberalsindia.com), lists current public-policy debates and a calendar of 2001 seminars and chapter inaugurations (Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Vidarbha, Maharashtra), and reproduces frank member feedback on the ILG's slow growth, including calls for a strong centre, high-profile members, and a focus on a few concrete projects. - Inaugural editorial letter from ILG President S. V. Raju. - Newsletter conceived to bridge members' 'digital divide' and strengthen fraternal bonds. - Restates ILG's liberal values and its 2000 reorganisation from a 1964 debating group into an action-oriented body. - Argues liberalisation has stalled since 1991 and that corruption is a graver threat than terrorism. - Promotes the new website and lists 2001 seminars and new state chapters (AP, Kerala, Vidarbha, Maharashtra). - Publishes candid, anonymised member responses on the organisation's slow progress. ### Annexure (A): Draft Amendments to the Constitution of the Indian Liberal Group *By Suggested by S. V. Raju, President, ILG* "Annexure (A): Draft Amendments to the Constitution of the Indian Liberal Group," suggested by President S. V. Raju, proposes a sweeping simplification of the ILG's organisational structure. Articles 1-3 (Name, Objectives, Headquarters) are left unchanged; the amendments begin at Article 4, replacing the existing tiers (National Council, National Executive, State Councils, State and District Committees) with a leaner structure of National Executive, State Chapters and Local Chapters. The annexure invites members to respond by 10 November 2001, sets out interim arrangements vesting authority in an ad-hoc National Executive (capped at twelve members) until organisational elections, and targets the holding of the First National Convention (and approval of the amendments) by early 2002. - Draft amendments to the ILG Constitution proposed by President S. V. Raju. - Articles 1-3 unchanged; revisions begin at Article 4 (Organisation). - Replaces multi-tier structure with National Executive, State Chapters and Local Chapters for simplicity and flexibility. - Members invited to comment by 10 November 2001, ahead of the First National Convention (tentatively 16-17 Feb 2002). - Interim arrangements vest power in an ad-hoc National Executive (max 12 members) until elections. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] NO VERVE IN BUDGET PROPOSALS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/no-verve-in-budget-proposals-by-hp-raina/ ### Summary Ranina opens with a diagnosis of the Indian economy of 1984 — uncontrollable prices, a stagnant industrial sector, dwindling foreign exchange reserves, the spreading cancer of black money and tax evasion, a flatulent public sector, labour indiscipline, and decaying infrastructure — and argues that the Finance Minister's Budget proposals do nothing to revive industry or to meet the 9 per cent growth target fixed under the Seventh Five-Year Plan. The pamphlet then walks the reader through the Finance Bill, 1984, in three parts: provisions affecting industry, provisions affecting individuals, and miscellaneous provisions. On industry, Ranina attacks the persistence of depreciation on historical cost when replacement cost is roughly three times original cost, and proposes either a tax-payer surcharge route or depreciation on double the original cost. He criticises the abolition of weighted deductions under sections 35(2-A), 35(2-B) and 36(1)(ii-a) for scientific research and for salaries paid to blind or physically disabled employees; the discontinuance of the rehabilitation allowance under section 33-B; and the withdrawal of the agricultural-extension deduction under section 35-C.… ### Body ## Summary Ranina opens with a diagnosis of the Indian economy of 1984 — uncontrollable prices, a stagnant industrial sector, dwindling foreign exchange reserves, the spreading cancer of black money and tax evasion, a flatulent public sector, labour indiscipline, and decaying infrastructure — and argues that the Finance Minister's Budget proposals do nothing to revive industry or to meet the 9 per cent growth target fixed under the Seventh Five-Year Plan. The pamphlet then walks the reader through the Finance Bill, 1984, in three parts: provisions affecting industry, provisions affecting individuals, and miscellaneous provisions. On industry, Ranina attacks the persistence of depreciation on historical cost when replacement cost is roughly three times original cost, and proposes either a tax-payer surcharge route or depreciation on double the original cost. He criticises the abolition of weighted deductions under sections 35(2-A), 35(2-B) and 36(1)(ii-a) for scientific research and for salaries paid to blind or physically disabled employees; the discontinuance of the rehabilitation allowance under section 33-B; and the withdrawal of the agricultural-extension deduction under section 35-C. He warns that reductions in the foreign-technology and inter-corporate dividend deductions under sections 80-N, 80-O and 80-M will retard technology imports and discourage subsidiary formation, even as the Bill raises ceilings on managerial remuneration under sections 40(c) and 40-A(5). On individuals, Ranina credits the Finance Minister for cutting personal income-tax rates but calls the doubled wealth-tax exemption on houses (Rs.1 lakh to Rs.2 lakhs) almost meaningless after Rule 1-BB, and condemns the retrospective abolition of section 80-CC (equity investment relief) and the withdrawal of section 80-D medical-treatment deductions. He welcomes the expansion of section 80-L to National Deposit Scheme deposits and bank deposits, and the procedural relaxation of TDS on small interest and dividend receipts. On miscellaneous provisions, he supports the new compulsory tax audit for businesses above Rs.20 lakh turnover and professions above Rs.10 lakh, and analyses the new prohibition (with criminal penalty) on cash loans and deposits of Rs.10,000 or more. His conclusion is that the proposals merely make cosmetic changes and would do nothing to solve inflation, unemployment, or the foreign exchange crisis — the Budget should have been tailored to the Seventh Plan rather than to the forthcoming elections. ## Key points - Frames the 1984 economic scenario around three weaknesses — uncontrollable prices, a stagnant industrial sector and dwindling foreign exchange reserves — and argues the Finance Minister has left them untouched. - Attacks depreciation on historical cost when replacement cost is roughly three times original cost; proposes either a tax-payer surcharge write-off or depreciation on double the original cost to ensure asset replacement. - Criticises the proposed abolition of weighted-deduction provisions under sections 35(2-A), 35(2-B) and 36(1)(ii-a) of the Income-tax Act and the discontinuance of the rehabilitation allowance under section 33-B and the section 35-C agricultural-extension deduction. - Warns that the cut in sections 80-N, 80-O and 80-M deductions (from 100 to 50 or 60 per cent) will retard technology imports, foreign-exchange earnings and the formation of priority-industry subsidiaries. - Calls the doubling of the wealth-tax exemption for houses from Rs.1 lakh to Rs.2 lakhs almost meaningless after Rule 1-BB collapsed residential valuations, and condemns the retrospective abolition of section 80-CC equity-investment relief and the withdrawal of the section 80-D medical-treatment deduction. - Supports the new compulsory tax audit obligation for businesses with turnover above Rs.20 lakhs and professions above Rs.10 lakhs as being in the best interest of taxpayers and the revenue administration. - Examines the new section debarring loans or deposits of Rs.10,000 or more otherwise than by account-payee cheque, with penalties of up to two years' imprisonment, as a device to curb the laundering of unaccounted cash. - Concludes that the provisions are cosmetic, will not address inflation, unemployment or foreign exchange depletion, and that the Budget should have been tailored to the Seventh 5-Year Plan rather than to the forthcoming elections. --- ## [Primary work] Nurturing Management Talent in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/nurturing-management-talent-in-india-kumar-mangalam-birla/ ### Summary Kumar Mangalam Birla's pamphlet — based on his acceptance speech for the Bombay Management Association's "Management Man of the Year" Award (26 May 2000) — argues that talent, rather than capital, scale, technology, or labour in the conventional sense, has become the dominant strategic resource of contemporary business. Borrowing John Gardner's typology of "pathfinders and path preservers," Birla redefines managerial talent as a composite of intellectual range, emotional intelligence, creativity, willingness to learn, and the ability to straddle functional, cultural, and geographic boundaries. He attributes the present urgency to a global supply-demand imbalance for such people, a generational appetite for entrepreneurial autonomy, the diffusion of decision-making to every level of complex organisations, and rising business complexity that places a premium on integrated, non-linear thinking. Birla then turns to India's specific position.… ### Body ## Summary Kumar Mangalam Birla's pamphlet — based on his acceptance speech for the Bombay Management Association's "Management Man of the Year" Award (26 May 2000) — argues that talent, rather than capital, scale, technology, or labour in the conventional sense, has become the dominant strategic resource of contemporary business. Borrowing John Gardner's typology of "pathfinders and path preservers," Birla redefines managerial talent as a composite of intellectual range, emotional intelligence, creativity, willingness to learn, and the ability to straddle functional, cultural, and geographic boundaries. He attributes the present urgency to a global supply-demand imbalance for such people, a generational appetite for entrepreneurial autonomy, the diffusion of decision-making to every level of complex organisations, and rising business complexity that places a premium on integrated, non-linear thinking. Birla then turns to India's specific position. He treats English-language facility, numerical aptitude, an innate capacity to adapt, and an intensely competitive culture (from nursery-school interviews to the Civil Service) as endowments that have already produced a globalised cohort of Indian professionals in IT, engineering, and finance. Against this he places three retarding forces: a social stigma around failure that suppresses experimentation, a conformist culture in which "the nail that sticks out invariably gets hammered down," and an educational system that is rote-driven, narrow, and "memory-centric." The final stretch reads as a practitioner's checklist for Indian organisations. Birla identifies three live issues — keeping talented people perpetually challenged through fast-tracking and cross-functional exposure; integrating talent without letting mediocrity drive it out or letting it harden into an ivory tower; and managing the widening compensation divergence between high-performers and the rest in an era of stock options and performance-linked pay. Citing Ernest Shackleton's 1900 Antarctic recruitment advertisement, he ends on the claim that the real challenge is striking a balance between material rewards and a larger sense of mission, and that making India genuinely talent-friendly requires macro-level action on quality-of-life and human-development indicators so that the brain drain can be reversed. ## Key points - Talent — not capital, scale, technology, or conventional labour — is framed as the single dominant strategic resource of contemporary business; Birla calls the resulting paradigm "People Power." - The definition of managerial talent is widened beyond functional expertise to include emotional intelligence, creativity, team orientation, entrepreneurial drive, and cross-cultural mobility. - Four drivers are offered for the talent crunch: a global supply-demand imbalance, the desire to "be one's own boss," the need to spread decision-making to every organisational level, and rising business complexity. - India's enabling endowments are listed as English fluency, numerical aptitude, an adaptive temperament, and a hyper-competitive culture exemplified by nursery-school interviews and Civil Service ratios. - Three retarding forces are diagnosed: an indelible social stigma around failure, a conformist culture hostile to dissent, and an educational system that is rote-based and "memory-centric." - Three live organisational issues are flagged: keeping talented people challenged through fast-tracking and overseas secondments, integrating talent without letting mediocrity drive it out, and managing widening compensation differentials and stock-option pressure. - Birla invokes Ernest Shackleton's 1900 Antarctic recruitment notice to argue that mission and meaning, not material rewards alone, mobilise talent. - The conclusion shifts to a macro register: nurturing and retaining talent in India requires fixing quality-of-life, human-development, and infrastructure deficits — "attracting brains is a lot more difficult than attracting FDI." --- ## [Primary work] NEW INDUSTRIAL POLICY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/new-industrial-policy-minoo-r-shroff-march-14-1978/ ### Summary Minoo R. Shroff's public lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 27 February 1978 and issued as a Forum booklet, reads the Janata government's December 1977 industrial policy statement against the November 1977 economic policy of the ruling party. Shroff finds the document a 'mixture of politics and economics' that breaks no radical ground from the 1948 and 1956 industrial resolutions but does abandon built-in ideological bias, rejecting both capitalism and communism in favour of a Gandhian framework that decentralises the economic apparatus and lifts agriculture, rural development and cottage and village industry to the centre of planning. Shroff walks through the policy's four-part architecture — a sharply expanded small-scale reservation (504 items, up from about 180), a residual large-scale sector hemmed in by the MRTP Act and forced to rely on internally generated resources, an expanding public sector charged with stabilising essential supplies, and a technology policy that allows imports only where domestic capability is inadequate. He grants the political logic of a labour-intensive thrust (citing Finance Minister H. M.… ### Body ## Summary Minoo R. Shroff's public lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 27 February 1978 and issued as a Forum booklet, reads the Janata government's December 1977 industrial policy statement against the November 1977 economic policy of the ruling party. Shroff finds the document a 'mixture of politics and economics' that breaks no radical ground from the 1948 and 1956 industrial resolutions but does abandon built-in ideological bias, rejecting both capitalism and communism in favour of a Gandhian framework that decentralises the economic apparatus and lifts agriculture, rural development and cottage and village industry to the centre of planning. Shroff walks through the policy's four-part architecture — a sharply expanded small-scale reservation (504 items, up from about 180), a residual large-scale sector hemmed in by the MRTP Act and forced to rely on internally generated resources, an expanding public sector charged with stabilising essential supplies, and a technology policy that allows imports only where domestic capability is inadequate. He grants the political logic of a labour-intensive thrust (citing Finance Minister H. M. Patel's caveat that 'wasteful techniques' must not be used merely because they employ more people) but rejects the proposition that 7-8 million new jobs can come from the small-scale sector alone, calling the assumption 'fallacious' and arguing employment growth must be tackled outside industry. The sharper polemic concerns the model itself. Shroff defends the modern-technology choice India made in the 1950s and early 1960s — which placed her among the ten most industrialised nations and built a diversified export base and capital-goods capability — and warns against the China analogy, noting that fifteen years of small-scale rural concentration there 'put the clock back in terms of industrial progress'. He marshals Annual Survey of Industries data, Economic Times tables on corporate capital formation for 101 large and medium companies, and the 22 January 1978 white paper on national income (private corporate net capital formation halved in 1976-77; savings fell from Rs. 314 crores to Rs. 116 crores) to argue that unrealistic pricing, heavy corporate taxation and historical-cost depreciation have eroded the very large houses now expected to finance new capacity. Shroff closes with a procedural verdict rather than an ideological one: policy pronouncements and good intentions count for little without the political will, administrative vigour and orchestration of governmental machinery to convert them into reality — an outcome, he says, 'yet to be demonstrated'. ## Key points - Frames the December 1977 industrial policy as a 'mixture of politics and economics' that must be read alongside the Janata Party's November 1977 economic policy statement. - Identifies the only real departure from the 1948 and 1956 resolutions as the absence of built-in ideological bias — the new statement rejects capitalism and communism and stands 'squarely for Gandhian economic thought and philosophy'. - Documents the expanded small-scale reservation (504 items vs. ~180 earlier), the special focus on tiny units (investment up to Rs. 1 lac in towns under 50,000), and the licensing/MRTP constraints placed on larger houses, including the expectation that expansion be financed from internally generated resources. - Quotes Finance Minister H. M. Patel acknowledging that labour-intensive techniques must not become a euphemism for 'wasteful' ones, and that strategy must weigh social cost against private-cost calculations. - Marshals 1975-76 Annual Survey of Industries figures showing organised-sector industrial employment of 4.56 million with virtually no growth over four years; capital per employee of Rs. 4,500 (small), Rs. 17,250 (medium) and Rs. 33,395 (large); and employee-productivity growth of 3.5% in large-scale versus 1.7% in small-scale. - Rejects as 'fallacious' the assumption that 7-8 million new industrial jobs can be created in a decade by extrapolating recent small-scale growth, arguing the bulk of employment generation must occur outside industry. - Defends India's 1950s-60s choice of modern-technology industrialisation and invokes the Chinese experience — fifteen years of small-scale rural concentration that 'put the clock back in terms of industrial progress' — as a cautionary example. - Uses Economic Times capital-formation data for 101 large/medium private corporates and the 22 January 1978 white paper (net private corporate capital formation halved 1975-76 to 1976-77; savings fell from Rs. 314 crores to Rs. 116 crores) to argue pricing, taxation and depreciation policy must change if large houses are to fulfil the role assigned to them. - Closes with an administrative verdict: policy pronouncements are inert without political will and a governmental machinery that 'orchestrates as a team' — something 'yet to be demonstrated'. --- ## [Primary work] On Railway Strike And Industrial Relations URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/on-railway-strike-and-industrial-relations-n-h-tata-s-r-mohan-das-prof-r-c-goyal-may-1974-june-1974-october-1973/ ### Summary This 1974 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects three pieces — a reprinted Financial Express article by N. H. Tata, a Bombay lecture by S. R. Mohan Das, and the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture delivered in New Delhi by Prof. R. C. Goyal — all responding to the nation-wide Indian railway strike of 1974 and the broader crisis of industrial relations under a mixed economy. The contributors, though writing from different vantage points (employer body, industrial-relations commentator, public-administration academic), converge on a common diagnosis: a wage and bonus structure detached from profit or productivity, a regulatory framework that treats workers as wards of the state while excluding them from genuine collective bargaining, and a Government that simultaneously promotes trade unionism and undercuts it by acting as both legislator and largest employer. ### Body # On Railway Strike And Industrial Relations ## Summary This 1974 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects three pieces — a reprinted Financial Express article by N. H. Tata, a Bombay lecture by S. R. Mohan Das, and the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture delivered in New Delhi by Prof. R. C. Goyal — all responding to the nation-wide Indian railway strike of 1974 and the broader crisis of industrial relations under a mixed economy. The contributors, though writing from different vantage points (employer body, industrial-relations commentator, public-administration academic), converge on a common diagnosis: a wage and bonus structure detached from profit or productivity, a regulatory framework that treats workers as wards of the state while excluding them from genuine collective bargaining, and a Government that simultaneously promotes trade unionism and undercuts it by acting as both legislator and largest employer. ## Essays ### BASIC ISSUES BEHIND THE RAILWAY STRIKE *By N. H. Tata* N. H. Tata, writing as President of the Employers' Federation of India in a Financial Express article reprinted here, treats the 1974 railway strike as a symptom of two structural blunders in Indian industrial-relations policy: the Bonus Act of 1965, which fixed a 4 per cent minimum bonus unrelated to profit or productivity and thereby converted bonus into a deferred wage; and the unwillingness to anchor wages in either productivity or comparative justice across the organised and unorganised sectors. He argues that the railwaymen's claim of parity with other public-sector workers, however emotionally justified, measures itself against a 'mythical yardstick' while more than 85 million unorganised non-industrial workers receive no bonus, no dearness allowance and no job security. - The Bonus Act of 1965 wrongly enshrined a minimum bonus unrelated to profit or productivity, turning bonus into a disguised wage boost. - The Government's 1974 pre-election raising of minimum bonus from 4 to 8.33 per cent (inclusive of D.A.) created a windfall for organised industry and a grievance for excluded service workers. - Wage parity claims by railwaymen ignore the absence of any scientific national wage structure linking pay to productivity. - More than 85 million unorganised rural and urban workers enjoy none of the social-security benefits — Provident Fund, gratuity, sickness insurance, D.A., bonus or job security — that organised labour secured. - The right to strike is not a fundamental right but flows from a Human Rights Convention; it must be balanced by an employer's right to lock-out and, in essential services, restricted by Parliament. - Suspension of the Payment of Wages Act and use of D.I.R. and M.I.S.A. are extreme measures with 'no legitimate place' in normal industrial relations and should not be used as strike-breaking tools. ### BASIC FACTORS BEHIND THE RAILWAY STRIKE *By S. R. Mohan Das* S. R. Mohan Das, in a lecture at the Forum of Free Enterprise on 6 June 1974, traces the railway strike to inherited paternalistic and civil-service attitudes that prevent the Railway Board from behaving like industrial management. The Government, he argues, did not bargain over the Miabhoy Tribunal Award or the bonus demand; instead it fragmented unions (sponsoring the INTUC-backed National Federation of Indian Railwaymen against Jayaprakash Narayan's All-India Railwaymen's Federation), arrested leaders on 2 May, suspended the Payment of Wages Act and treated the railwaymen as agents of an 'anti-nationalist' agitation rather than as workers asking why public-sector wages elsewhere outpaced theirs. He estimates that a settlement at roughly Rs. 140 crores would have cost less than the damage to steel and other production caused by the strike. - India responds to strikes 'through a judgment based on emotional reactions' rather than positive analysis of an industrial conflict. - Civil-service rules inherited from the British Charter Companies prevent the Railway Board from accepting industrial accountability and produce a 'cultural block' to industrial behaviour. - Government-sponsored fragmentation of railway unions — INTUC's National Federation set up against AIRF, with Jayaprakash Narayan as AIRF president — undermined any institutional employee voice. - The strike's real grievance was a simple industrial-job claim — 'Why can't we get wages like any other public sector organisation?' — not a leader-driven political revolt. - Government used suspension of the Payment of Wages Act and non-implementation of the Miabhoy Tribunal Award as power-play rather than negotiation tools. - A negotiated settlement of about Rs. 140 crores would have been cheaper than the strike damage to steel production and the black-market price spike. ### INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS IN A MIXED ECONOMY *By Prof. R. C. Goyal* Prof. R. C. Goyal's A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture (27 October 1973), of which the rendered pages cover the opening through the discussion of National Commission on Labour recommendations, frames industrial relations as a historical product of Western liberal-democratic capitalism — the joint outcome of autonomous trade unions, collective bargaining and a regulating state — and asks how this construct fits the Indian 'mixed economy', where the state has become both the largest employer and the dominant rule-maker. Goyal argues that successive Five-Year Plans proclaimed voluntary collective bargaining, healthy trade unionism and rising productivity as policy objectives, but the legal framework (especially the Indian Trade Union Act of 1926 and the Industrial Disputes Act) and Government's discretionary powers of compulsory adjudication have instead fragmented unions — from two All-India federations in 1947 to eight by 1972, and from 4,623 registered unions with an average membership of 781 in 1951-52 to 15,314 unions with an average of 546 in 1965 — while industrial disputes and man-days lost have mounted sharply (1,357 disputes in 1961 against 2,889 in 1970; man-days lost rising from 4.9 million to 20.6 million). - Industrial relations is historically a Western liberal-democratic invention — capitalist industry, autonomous unions and collective bargaining — now grafted onto India's mixed economy. - Because the Government is India's single largest employer (with banks, insurance and joint-sector ventures like Oil India, Indian Explosives and Gujarat State Fertilizer added to the state's sphere), it carries the bulk of responsibility for productive employee relations. - Five-Year Plan statements consistently proclaimed voluntary collective bargaining, a healthy trade-union movement and rising productivity as objectives, but never spelt out how to reach them. - Legal incentives — discretionary compulsory adjudication, Industrial Disputes Act machinery, and the Trade Union Act's seven-worker threshold — encourage parties to abandon bargaining and have fragmented unions both inter- and intra-establishment. - Quantitative evidence of policy failure: All-India federations rose from two (pre-1947) to eight (1972); registered unions from 4,623 (1951-52) to 15,314 (1967), with average membership falling from 781 to 546. - Industrial disputes nearly doubled (1,357 in 1961 to 2,889 in 1970) while man-days lost more than quadrupled (4.9 million to 20.6 million), exposing a 'curious hotch-potch' of regulatory technique. - The 1969 National Commission on Labour proposed statutory recognition of a sole bargaining agent, a permanent Industrial Relations Commission at the Centre and in each State, and union-based Works Committees — most of which were not implemented. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] ON RISING PRICES AND BLACK MONEY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/on-rising-prices-and-black-money-dr-a-k-sur-professor-b-r-shenoy-september-12-1971/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet pairs two thematic clusters of contemporary Indian economic anxiety — rising prices and black money — in a uniform editorial format: a short publisher's "Introductory Note" framing each problem in plain language for a general reader, followed by a scholarly contribution from a named economist. The first half opens with an unsigned editorial diagnosis of inflation as a problem of Government mismanagement (heavy taxation, public-sector losses, bank nationalisation, deficit financing by the back-door through the RBI) and then reproduces a long article by Dr. A. K. Sur, "A Study in the Growth and Causes of Inflation in India" (originally in Economic Affairs, March 1971), which traces Indian price history from the idyll of the 1930s through wartime shortage, Partition, the Korean War, the second-plan spurt, the 1962 emergency and the "alarming" rise from 1970. The second half, introduced on the last rendered page, turns to black money and the "parallel economy" admitted by the Union Finance Minister, and is to be developed in an article by Prof. B. R. Shenoy that lies beyond this 20-page chunk. ### Body # ON RISING PRICES AND BLACK MONEY *By Dr. A. K. Sur, B. R. Shenoy* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet pairs two thematic clusters of contemporary Indian economic anxiety — rising prices and black money — in a uniform editorial format: a short publisher's "Introductory Note" framing each problem in plain language for a general reader, followed by a scholarly contribution from a named economist. The first half opens with an unsigned editorial diagnosis of inflation as a problem of Government mismanagement (heavy taxation, public-sector losses, bank nationalisation, deficit financing by the back-door through the RBI) and then reproduces a long article by Dr. A. K. Sur, "A Study in the Growth and Causes of Inflation in India" (originally in Economic Affairs, March 1971), which traces Indian price history from the idyll of the 1930s through wartime shortage, Partition, the Korean War, the second-plan spurt, the 1962 emergency and the "alarming" rise from 1970. The second half, introduced on the last rendered page, turns to black money and the "parallel economy" admitted by the Union Finance Minister, and is to be developed in an article by Prof. B. R. Shenoy that lies beyond this 20-page chunk. ## Essays ### INTRODUCTION A single-page editorial introduction signed implicitly by the Forum of Free Enterprise. It announces the booklet's two-part design — an introductory note plus a scholarly analysis on each of the two named issues — and supplies short biographical paragraphs on the two contributors. Dr. A. K. Sur is described as M.A., D.Sc. (Econ), Economic Adviser to the Calcutta Stock Exchange for 34 years until 1969 and now Director of the Institute of Company Affairs; Prof. B. R. Shenoy is described as the former Director and Professor of Economics at Gujarat University's School of Social Sciences (1954–68), India's Alternate Executive Director at the IMF and World Bank (1951–53), President of the Indian Economic Association in 1957, and currently Director of the Economics Research Centre, New Delhi. The note closes with the hope that the booklet will help "give a clear picture of rising prices and black money and evolve suitable policy measures to tackle these national problems." - Booklet pairs two editorial notes with two named scholarly articles on rising prices and black money. - Dr. A. K. Sur is positioned by his long Calcutta Stock Exchange tenure and Company Law authorship. - Prof. B. R. Shenoy is positioned by his Gujarat University, IMF/World Bank, and IEA credentials. - FFE's stated aim is policy-evolution, not partisan polemic. ### I. RISING PRICES — AN INTRODUCTORY NOTE An unsigned editorial introductory note that frames inflation as a fifteen-year continuous rise in Indian prices that has hurt fixed-income groups — the middle class "backbone of any democracy", the urban poor and the landless labourer — far more than comparable inflation in affluent countries. It backs the comparative claim with a country-by-country index of currency value (India 56 against Switzerland 74, USA 79, West Germany 78, etc.) and a Bombay family-budget table showing decadal price increases for salt, tea, kerosene, tur dal, detergent and coconut between 1961 and 1971. The diagnosis is squarely political: the Government has mismanaged the economy, expanded money supply (from Rs. 2,026 crores in 1951 to over Rs. 7,000 crores in 1971) without matching real output, financed loss-making public-sector enterprises through taxation, and let the nationalised banks become a back-door channel for deficit financing as they borrow from the RBI. The note ends on a reformist note: inflation is not inevitable and can be curbed by a realistic policy. - Indian price level has risen 3½ times the world average over the last eight years, against a c. 20% world rise. - Currency-value index puts India at 56 (1969, 1959=100), behind almost every comparator country listed. - A Bombay family-budget table tracks the doubling and tripling of household-staple prices between 1961 and 1971. - Money supply roughly tripled between 1951 and 1971 while national income only doubled; the gap is the price rise. - Public-sector losses (Rs. 3.4 crores against Rs. 3,300 crore investment) tax citizens twice — through lost output and through subsidising losses. - RBI lending to nationalised banks is identified as "deficit financing by the back-door". - Closes with a reformist claim that inflation is not inevitable and is curable by realistic policy. ### II. A STUDY IN THE GROWTH AND CAUSES OF INFLATION IN INDIA *By By Dr. A. K. Sur* Dr. A. K. Sur's long scholarly article (reproduced with permission from Economic Affairs, March 1971) sets out a chronological history of Indian inflation since the 1930s and then turns to causal analysis. The historical narrative runs from the "idyllic" cheap-price 1930s through the disruption caused by the Second World War — the fall of Rangoon on 8 March 1942, the closing of the Burma rice supply, the Bengal famine of 1943 — through Partition (production collapse, money supply spurt), the Korean-War scramble of 1950–51, the second-plan rise of 30 per cent against a first-plan fall of 18.4 per cent, the 1962 Chinese border emergency, and the "alarming" tempo of 1970 onward despite the publicised "green revolution". Sur's causal account converges on official policy: deficit financing across successive plans (Rs. 333 crores in the First Plan rising to a proposed Rs. 800 crores in the Fourth), unproductive expenditure, mounting public-sector losses, gaps between resources and outlays, and the inflationary use of bank nationalisation. He criticises high preference- and debenture-capital costs (9.3% and 7.75%) and warns that monetary tightening will only raise the cost of production further. In the closing pages he engages the international cost-push versus demand-pull debate, citing Machlup on the proliferation of inflation definitions and Harris on the empirical inability to tie growth episodes cleanly to either falling or rising prices, and presents Indian per-capita-income/price-index tables for 1950–55 to argue that inflation is not a necessary price of growth. He concludes that inflation is a complex phenomenon, with rising wages and imported-raw-material prices set outside the normal supply-and-demand mechanism, and that economists "know more about its results than about its causes." - Chronologically reconstructs Indian inflation from the 1930s through 1971, with named turning points (Burma fall, Partition, Korean War, 1962 emergency, post-1970 "alarming" rise). - Detailed deficit-financing ledger across the five-year plans, culminating in a proposed Rs. 800 crore Fourth-Plan figure. - Faults the Planning Commission's diagnosis of post-1970 inflation and rejects "green revolution" optimism as falsified by behaviour of prices. - Reads the Reserve Bank's strict-credit policy as part of the cost-push problem rather than its solution. - Engages Machlup and Harris to argue that the cost-push/demand-pull dichotomy is largely spurious. - Uses 1950–55 price-index vs per-capita-income tables to deny that inflation is a necessary by-product of growth. - Closes with an epistemic concession: economists know inflation's results better than its causes. ### III. BLACK MONEY — AN INTRODUCTORY NOTE Only the opening paragraph of this unsigned editorial note on black money is visible in the rendered chunk. It dates the Indian black-money problem to the Second World War, characterises its growth over the last fifteen years as having reached "menacing proportions", and registers that the Union Finance Minister has now had to publicly concede the existence of a "parallel economy" arising from black money in circulation. The substantive treatment, and the Shenoy article that the Introduction said would follow this note, lie beyond the 20-page chunk. - Dates Indian black money to the Second World War. - Characterises the post-1956 growth of black money as "menacing". - Notes the Union Finance Minister's admission of a "parallel economy". --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] On Socialism and Bank Nationalisation URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/on-socialism-and-bank-nationalisation-dr-r-c-cooper-professor-k-a-joseph-professor-b-r-shenoy-c-c-desai-a-k-chanda-august-9-1/ ### Summary A Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet collecting addresses delivered around the July 1969 bank nationalisation by a roster of classical-liberal voices: Dr. R. C. Cooper, Prof. K. A. Joseph, Prof. B. R. Shenoy, C. C. Desai (I.C.S., Retd., M.P.) and — beyond the rendered pages — A. K. Chanda. The contributions read as a coordinated rebuttal of Indira Gandhi's "New Economic Policy" note and of the bank nationalisation it heralded, arguing that the diagnosis is wrong (capital is being consumed and misdirected, not hoarded by private bankers), that the remedy is worse than the disease (it brings the country closer to communism rather than to welfare), and that what India actually needs is open competition, decontrol, sound money and a sturdy democratic culture grounded in individual rights. Across the four essays seen, the volume's argumentative centre is the claim that India's economic stagnation is the product of a decade and a half of planning, licensing and arbitrary investment priorities — not of free enterprise — and that nationalising banks merely deepens the same political control that has already corroded the cooperative sector and public undertakings.… ### Body # On Socialism and Bank Nationalisation ## Summary A Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet collecting addresses delivered around the July 1969 bank nationalisation by a roster of classical-liberal voices: Dr. R. C. Cooper, Prof. K. A. Joseph, Prof. B. R. Shenoy, C. C. Desai (I.C.S., Retd., M.P.) and — beyond the rendered pages — A. K. Chanda. The contributions read as a coordinated rebuttal of Indira Gandhi's "New Economic Policy" note and of the bank nationalisation it heralded, arguing that the diagnosis is wrong (capital is being consumed and misdirected, not hoarded by private bankers), that the remedy is worse than the disease (it brings the country closer to communism rather than to welfare), and that what India actually needs is open competition, decontrol, sound money and a sturdy democratic culture grounded in individual rights. Across the four essays seen, the volume's argumentative centre is the claim that India's economic stagnation is the product of a decade and a half of planning, licensing and arbitrary investment priorities — not of free enterprise — and that nationalising banks merely deepens the same political control that has already corroded the cooperative sector and public undertakings. The contributors variously appeal to British and Soviet experience with socialism, the cooperative banks' history of failure, and the practical mechanics of capital markets, savings and small-borrower credit to argue that bank nationalisation has no economic justification and that only basic policy changes — not retrograde slogans — can restore growth and democratic stability. ## Essays ### An Economic Analysis of Prime Minister's Note *By Dr. R. C. COOPER* Dr. R. C. Cooper — Vice-President of the Forum of Free Enterprise and former president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and of the Indian Merchants' Chamber — walks point-by-point through the Prime Minister's note on a "New Economic Policy," treating each of its thirteen suggestions as a policy proposal to be tested on economic merit alone. He argues that ceilings on "unproductive expenditure" misdiagnose the problem (planning and indiscriminate taxation are what created sheltered markets and wastage), that licensing has barred new entrepreneurs and produced brain drain, that monopolies oversight should cover the public and cooperative sectors too, that public-sector autonomy is impossible while politicians and bureaucrats refuse to release control, and that cooperatives only work when voluntary and self-financed. Cooper concludes that proposals to nationalise raw-material imports, cap incomes, impose urban property ceilings or expand profit-sharing are economically unsound — "against public welfare" — and that the note's own closing line ("These are just some stray thoughts rather hurriedly dictated") is a damning admission. His preferred remedy throughout is the same: open competition, value-added taxation as in France, and wealth creation before redistribution. - Treats the Prime Minister's note as an economic document and brackets its political-ideological aspects. - Diagnoses unproductive expenditure as a by-product of planning, sheltered markets and indiscriminate taxation, not of corporate excess. - Cites the "Demonstration Effect" of politician spending — new PM residence at Rs. 23 lakhs, Maharashtra CM's sumptuary allowance hiked from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 1 lakh. - Calls licensing the chief barrier to new entrepreneurs and points to brain drain ("For every Dr. Khorana who is known there are hundred unknown ones"). - Argues public-sector autonomy is impossible while government interferes even in advertising operations, and that cooperatives succeed only when voluntary and self-financed. - Rejects income ceilings and urban property ceilings as workable only under a communist constitution. - Concludes the thirteen proposals are economically unsound and that public welfare cannot be furthered by such a casual approach. ### Is Socialist Planning Suited to Indian Democracy? *By Prof. K. A. JOSEPH* Prof. K. A. Joseph, an economist at Presidency College, Madras, argues that socialist central planning — whether in post-war Britain or in the Soviet Union — has hollowed out economic and civil liberty alike, and that India, drawn by sugar-coated promises, risks a similar serfdom. He marshals quotations from "Mr. Seaman," Whitehead and Friedman to portray British socialism as "competition without prizes" and Soviet planning as exploitation of labour for the State, then turns to India to insist that planning has not produced welfare but corruption, nepotism and stagnation. His affirmative case is for a free democracy fertilised by free enterprise and competition, sustained by patriotism, civic responsibility and rule-of-law individualism rather than by bandhs and slogans. He warns that a universal welfare state risks becoming a universal dictator and that economic and social freedom are preconditions, not optional ornaments, of democratic society. - British post-war socialism is read as a record of "promised prosperity and given misery" — Seaman quoted on "competition without prizes, statistics without end". - Centralised planning is treated as a triple tyranny — ideological fanaticism, technological infallibility, bureaucratic red-tape — citing Whitehead on liberty. - Soviet planning is described, via Friedman, as exploitation of labour for the profit of the State and Communist Party, with no freedom of thought or expression. - Indian public life is charged with avarice, corruption and nepotism — paralleled to the Clive and Warren Hastings era of "shaking the pagoda tree". - Affirms free enterprise, competitive efficiency, rule of law and individualism as the bases of a viable Indian democracy. ### Not Nationalisation of Banks, But Basic Policy Changes are Required *By B. R. Shenoy* Prof. B. R. Shenoy, Director of the Economic Research Centre, sets aside the political case for bank nationalisation to focus on its economic consequences. He argues that the Indian economy has been suffering from capital consumption and misdirection since 1955-56, and that nationalisation will make matters worse on two counts: it will divert national savings into extravagant and almost "no-return" Public Sector projects, and it will pile up bad and doubtful debts. The semi-stagnation of per capita output — especially in agriculture — and the social and political tensions that follow are, in his telling, the real crisis, none of which is caused by how banks are run. Shenoy warns that foreign aid (already about 65 per cent of Indian national savings) and good monsoons have masked the ill effects of capital consumption, but that bank nationalisation may itself prompt donor countries to review aid flows. He sees harsh effects on the capital market, on working-capital availability for trade and industry, and on interest rates outside the commercial banks. The remedy, he insists, is not retrograde measures but basic policy changes — to monetary and fiscal policy, investment priorities, wages, and the allocation of goods. - Bank nationalisation is framed as "a major leap backward," hailed only by leftist forces. - Underlying disease is capital consumption and misdirection since 1955-56, evidenced by semi-stagnation of per capita output and agricultural decline. - Nationalisation will compound the problem by diverting savings into low-return public-sector projects and piling up bad and doubtful debts. - Foreign aid (about 65 per cent of Indian national savings) and good monsoons have hidden the underlying capital consumption — nationalisation may jeopardise both. - Predicts harsh effects on the capital market: new issues already fell from Rs. 258 crores in 1964-65 to Rs. 175 crores in 1967-68. - Real cure is basic policy reform — monetary and fiscal policy, investment priorities, wages and goods allocation — not slogans. ### No Economic Justification for Bank Nationalisation *By C. C. DESAI, I.C.S. (Retd.), M.P.* C. C. Desai, I.C.S. (Retd.) and M.P., treats bank nationalisation as a political slogan rather than a piece of economic policy. He calls it not merely a step towards communism but "communism itself" — because once banks are run by the Government, which means the majority party, lending decisions move from commercial to political criteria. Drawing on his own time as Registrar of Cooperative Societies in the Central Provinces and Berar, he predicts the commercial banks will share the fate of the cooperative banks: hardly any solvent institutions left. Against nationalisation he sets free economy, free enterprise and free competition as the only routes to production, growth and prosperity, and answers the four common charges against banks (concentration of economic power, misuse of resources, mis-allocation of credit, financing of anti-social activity) with figures showing rising shares of small-scale and agricultural credit even before nationalisation — Rs. 430 crores of advances against agricultural production and marketing by January 1968, plus an estimated Rs. 50 crores of clean rural advances. He warns that the rising costs and discipline problems banks already faced will only worsen under State ownership. The essay is cut off in the rendered chunk mid-discussion of bank credit costs. - Frames nationalisation as a slogan and "a pawn in the political game" rather than serious economics. - Argues banks under Government become instruments of the ruling party — control of loans and advances becomes political. - Predicts commercial banks will repeat the cooperative-bank collapse he witnessed as Registrar of Cooperative Societies in Central Provinces and Berar. - Rebuts charges against banks with data: small-scale credit share up from 3.9% (Mar 1966) to 6.6% (Mar 1967); Rs. 430 crores of agricultural advances by Jan 1968 plus an estimated Rs. 50 crores of clean rural advances. - Affirms free economy, free enterprise and free competition as the only ways to raise production and prosperity. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] ON WAGE PROBLEM AND INDUSTRIAL UNREST URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/on-wage-problem-and-industrial-unrest-naval-h-tata-c-v-pavaskar-b-n-srikrishna-january-14-1982/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet collects three talks on India's wage structure and the deepening industrial unrest of the early 1980s, delivered by Naval H. Tata (President of The Employers' Federation of India), C. V. Pavaskar (Additional Labour Adviser, Bombay Chamber of Commerce & Industry), and the advocate B. N. Srikrishna. Each contribution speaks from a management-and-law standpoint and converges on a shared diagnosis: an ideologically driven, ad hoc state intervention regime — impounded dearness allowance, an undefined profit-sharing bonus, an eroded occupational differential, and weak conciliation machinery — has produced a wage system that is neither fair nor enforceable while militant trade unionism has displaced responsible collective bargaining. The remedies the three speakers urge — tripartite consultation before any State labour legislation, productivity-linked bonus, faster adjudication along the lines of the Kantharia Committee, statutory recognition of unions, parity of enforcement between employer-side and union-side breaches, and a defence of collective bargaining as the primus inter pares of dispute settlement — give the volume its argumentative centr… ### Body # ON WAGE PROBLEM AND INDUSTRIAL UNREST *By Naval H. Tata, C. V. Pavaskar, B. N. Srikrishna* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet collects three talks on India's wage structure and the deepening industrial unrest of the early 1980s, delivered by Naval H. Tata (President of The Employers' Federation of India), C. V. Pavaskar (Additional Labour Adviser, Bombay Chamber of Commerce & Industry), and the advocate B. N. Srikrishna. Each contribution speaks from a management-and-law standpoint and converges on a shared diagnosis: an ideologically driven, ad hoc state intervention regime — impounded dearness allowance, an undefined profit-sharing bonus, an eroded occupational differential, and weak conciliation machinery — has produced a wage system that is neither fair nor enforceable while militant trade unionism has displaced responsible collective bargaining. The remedies the three speakers urge — tripartite consultation before any State labour legislation, productivity-linked bonus, faster adjudication along the lines of the Kantharia Committee, statutory recognition of unions, parity of enforcement between employer-side and union-side breaches, and a defence of collective bargaining as the primus inter pares of dispute settlement — give the volume its argumentative centre. The collection reads as a coordinated employers-and-bar critique of the post-Independence labour settlement, published from Bombay under the Forum's classical-liberal banner. ## Essays ### I (untitled section by Naval H. Tata) *By Naval H. Tata* Naval H. Tata, President of The Employers' Federation of India, opens with the claim that India's industrial wage structure is in a chaotic state, with reports of the National Labour Commission, the Bhoothalingam Committee, the Chakrabarty Committee and successive Five-Year Plan labour chapters routinely shelved by Government without action or explanation. He attributes the inertia to a habit of seeking ideological solutions to purely economic problems, noting that India has not assessed ab initio whether GNP can sustain promises of social justice for 660 million people; the only vocal industrial and bank-and-insurance workers therefore keep extracting gains at the expense of the unorganised non-industrial majority. Ad hoc actions — impounding dearness allowance, compulsory deposit of a percentage of salaried income, cuts in LIC bonus, managerial-pay guidelines — paper over a defective wage design rather than rectify it. Tata reserves particular criticism for the profit-sharing bonus law, calling it the biggest single factor for generating industrial discord, and praises the Prime Minister's courage in eliminating Section 34(iii) against trade-union opposition. If even bonus legislation is so easily circumvented, he asks, how can minimum-wage legislation ever be enforced where State Governments will not stand behind employers in the face of agitators. He urges that future labour law pass through tripartite forums before enactment, warns against hasty State legislation on ideological or regional grounds, and proposes a comprehensive wage policy that links pay to production, restores inter-occupational and inter-industry differentials, and protects the supervisory and managerial tier whose salaries have eroded under inflation and pay-curb policy. - Successive committee reports (Bhoothalingam, Chakrabarty, National Labour Commission) on wages, prices and incomes have been routinely shelved by Government without explanation. - Ad hoc patchwork — impounding dearness allowance, compulsory deposit of part of salaried income, LIC bonus cuts, managerial-pay guidelines — leaves the underlying wage design defective. - Profit-sharing bonus, undefined by the Bonus Commission itself and applied even to loss-making units, is the single biggest source of industrial discord; the elimination of Section 34(iii) is welcomed. - Universal-suffrage politics gives the vocal organised sector recurring wage gains that the unorganised majority subsidises, in the name of a social justice the GNP cannot fund. - Reform should run through tripartite consultation, link wages to production, restore inter-occupational and inter-industry differentials, and protect supervisory and managerial pay from erosion. ### II (untitled section by C. V. Pavaskar) *By C. V. Pavaskar* C. V. Pavaskar, Additional Labour Adviser of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce & Industry, describes a labour scene of turbulence in which the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 has failed to settle disputes and collective bargaining has degenerated into coercive bargaining. Go-slow, he argues, must not be granted the legitimacy that strike enjoys; responsible and responsive unions are progressively being edged out by militants, with Gresham's law fully in operation in the field of industrial relations. Bonus demands routinely outrun the Payment of Bonus Act, and managements are pushed beyond the statutory ceiling through strikes, go-slows and indiscipline. Pavaskar locates the trouble in weak conciliation machinery, in outsized multi-industry unions where power concentrates in a few hands and the individual plant disappears from view, in appeasement-driven settlements (he points to Bombay concerns granting Rs.300–500 monthly increases that ripple into neighbouring units), and in adjudication delays whose remedy he draws from the Kantharia Committee's compulsory pre-trial hearing scheme. He calls for statutory union recognition through the law (citing the Maharashtra precedent), recognition that lasts co-terminus with the settlement, de-recognition of unions that flout settlements, and parity of enforcement between employer-side statutes (Factories Act, EPF, ESI) and union-side breaches of awards. He closes by insisting that, despite these aberrations, there is no substitute for collective bargaining as the primus inter pares for settlement of disputes. - The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 has failed and collective bargaining has degenerated into coercive bargaining; go-slow should not enjoy the legitimacy granted to strike. - Responsible unions are being edged out by militants — 'Gresham's law' applied to industrial relations — and bonus demands routinely exceed the statutory ceiling. - Weak conciliation, outsized multi-industry unions, and appeasement settlements (Rs.300–500 wage hikes in Bombay concerns rippling through neighbourhoods) drive industrial unrest. - The Kantharia Committee's compulsory pre-trial hearing scheme and tighter Tribunal timelines should curb adjudication delays. - Statutory union recognition (on the Maharashtra model), de-recognition of unions that flout settlements, and parity of enforcement between employer-side and union-side breaches are urged; collective bargaining remains the primus inter pares of settlement. ### III (untitled section by B. N. Srikrishna) *By B. N. Srikrishna* B. N. Srikrishna, an advocate, frames industrial relations as inherently conflict-generating because capital and labour, in practice, assume that their interests are mutually contradictory. He defines industrial unrest broadly as any activity that increases the strain between capital and labour, manifesting either as worker-initiated strike, gherao, go-slow and similar coercive tactics, or as capital-led shut-down, lay-off, retrenchment and lock-out. He divides unrest into the lawful (within the framework of law and even encouraged by it) and the unlawful, using a Queensberry-Rules boxing-ring analogy in which the State acts as referee — an analogy that, he notes, must stop short of accepting that the activity is contained within the ring. From this frame Srikrishna moves to causes. He treats industrial unrest as a symptom of a wider society-wide fall in ethical and moral standards, a runaway inflation that consumes a fifth of one's real earnings each year, and an industrial adjudication machinery that has tried to feed ever-larger dearness allowance into the inflationary spiral. He concedes the simmering discontent has legitimate roots in poverty, squalour and ignorance, but charges contemporary union leadership with abandoning dedication and social service for self-aggrandisement and money-making, 'puncturing the pressure vessel itself' rather than acting as safety valves. The essay continues past the rendered pages. - Industrial relations is inherently conflict-generating because capital and labour assume their interests are mutually contradictory. - Industrial unrest is defined broadly to include both worker-side activity (strike, gherao, go-slow) and capital-side activity (shut-down, lay-off, lock-out). - Two heads of industrial unrest: that which operates within the framework of law and that which lies outside it — the State is the referee in a Queensberry-Rules boxing ring. - Unrest is a symptom of a wider fall in ethical and moral standards and of inflation that erodes about a fifth of real earnings each year. - Trade union leadership has degenerated into a mercenary profession that punctures the social pressure vessel instead of serving as a safety valve. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] OPENING UP OF THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY – THREE YEARS ON URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/opening-up-of-insurance-industry-d-m-satwalekar-april-2-2004/ ### Summary Delivered on 10 February 2004 as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust's annual public lecture in Mumbai, Deepak M. Satwalekar's address takes stock of the Indian life insurance industry three years after it was opened to private participation by the IRDA Bill of December 1999. Speaking as Managing Director and CEO of HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Satwalekar frames liberalisation as a continuation of the spirit of A. D. Shroff and the Forum of Free Enterprise, insisting that 'competition is not — and has never been — a zero sum game' and that private entry has, in three years, captured 12.78% of new life business while mobilising Rs. 1,666.3 crores in premium income. The central section reports three positive developments since liberalisation: product innovation (unbundled riders, unit-linked plans), the evolution of distribution channels (bancassurance, brokers, the internet alongside the traditional tied-agency model), and a stronger emphasis on consumer awareness underwritten by a partnership between insurers and a media-active regulator.… ### Body # OPENING UP OF THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY – THREE YEARS ON *By D M SATWALEKAR* ## Summary Delivered on 10 February 2004 as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust's annual public lecture in Mumbai, Deepak M. Satwalekar's address takes stock of the Indian life insurance industry three years after it was opened to private participation by the IRDA Bill of December 1999. Speaking as Managing Director and CEO of HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Satwalekar frames liberalisation as a continuation of the spirit of A. D. Shroff and the Forum of Free Enterprise, insisting that 'competition is not — and has never been — a zero sum game' and that private entry has, in three years, captured 12.78% of new life business while mobilising Rs. 1,666.3 crores in premium income. The central section reports three positive developments since liberalisation: product innovation (unbundled riders, unit-linked plans), the evolution of distribution channels (bancassurance, brokers, the internet alongside the traditional tied-agency model), and a stronger emphasis on consumer awareness underwritten by a partnership between insurers and a media-active regulator. He credits the IRDA with building a 'truly world class' regulatory framework but argues the next phase must be one of stringent enforcement rather than additional rule-making that strangulates compliant players. Throughout, he insists that earlier nationalisation in 1956 was driven by short-cuts and unethical practices that today's private insurers must consciously shun if they are to retain consumer confidence. Looking ahead, Satwalekar lays out a five-part agenda for policy makers: convergence and consistency of regulation across a blurring financial-services landscape; consolidation of the Insurance Act 1938, the IRDA Act 1999, the LIC Act 1956, the General Insurance Business Nationalisation Act 1971 and several adjacent statutes into a single flexible principal legislation; sharper risk-management tools (including a Mortality and Morbidity Investigation Bureau being set up with the Actuarial Society of India) as Indian insurers gain exposure to overseas markets and cross-country risk; serious commercial engagement with the rural market, which he argues is a profitable but segmented opportunity rather than a regulatory obligation, drawing the 'sachet' analogy from FMCG; and urgent pension reform to address the gap between non-contributory defined-benefit government schemes and the defined-contribution reality faced by most Indians as life expectancy rises towards 80 by 2020. The booklet opens with a brief profile of A. D. Shroff and an introduction by M. R. Shroff dated 2 April 2004, and closes with statistical annexures, one of which (on Employees' Provident Fund coverage and contributions as of March 2003) falls within the rendered pages. The lecture itself reads as a practitioner's brief for measured, enforcement-led liberalisation and consumer-centric reform, written from inside one of the new private players that the 1999 opening made possible. ## Key points - Frames the 1999 IRDA Bill as the long-delayed liberalisation of a sector that had been untouched while the rest of the Indian economy opened up; the Malhotra Committee reported in 1994 but reform took five years to enact. - Reports that private life insurers captured 12.78% of new business and Rs. 1,666.3 crores in premium income within three years, treating this share as a 'vote of confidence from customers'. - Identifies three positive post-liberalisation developments: product innovation (unbundled riders, unit-linked plans), new distribution channels (bancassurance, brokers, internet alongside tied agency), and stronger consumer awareness via insurer-regulator-consumer partnership. - Praises the IRDA for a 'truly world class' framework but argues the next priority is stringent enforcement against violators rather than fresh regulations that 'strangulate' compliant players. - Calls for consolidating the Insurance Act 1938, IRDA Act 1999, LIC Act 1956, General Insurance Business Nationalisation Act 1971, Marine Insurance Act 1965, Insurance Rules 1939 and Ombudsman Rules 1998 into a single flexible principal legislation, with detail moved to subordinate regulation. - Argues rural insurance is 'a myth' as an unprofitable segment — rural India is heterogeneous, more than half of rural GDP is non-agricultural, and the FMCG 'sachet' model shows commercial-only design works better than regulatory compulsion. - Frames pension reform as urgent given rising life expectancy (projected 80 years by 2020), the limits of defined-contribution PPF/annuity arrangements, and the need for a level playing field across pension providers. - Recurring ethical argument: nationalisation in 1956 came after short-cuts and unethical practices; private insurers must adopt strong business ethics to avoid a repeat and to earn customer goodwill. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] OUR ECONOMIC FUTURE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/our-economic-future-a-d-shroff-apr7-1958/ ### Summary Delivered as a talk under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bangalore on 17 January 1958 and reprinted as a Forum pamphlet, A. D. Shroff's "Our Economic Future" is a sharply argued indictment of the policy regime built around the Second Five-Year Plan. Shroff opens by chiding the country for letting regional quarrels over language and States' reorganisation distract it from an unusually difficult economic situation. He then walks the lay reader through the principal symptoms: a recurring food shortage that has forced Government to import grain at heavy cost in foreign exchange; sterling balances that fell by Rs. 330 crores in a single week of January 1958; an outstanding gap of Rs. 700 crores against the Plan's remaining requirements; and a Capital Market "practically dead" because confiscatory direct taxation has destroyed the incentive to save and invest. The diagnosis is unsparing.… ### Body # OUR ECONOMIC FUTURE *By A. D. Shroff* ## Summary Delivered as a talk under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bangalore on 17 January 1958 and reprinted as a Forum pamphlet, A. D. Shroff's "Our Economic Future" is a sharply argued indictment of the policy regime built around the Second Five-Year Plan. Shroff opens by chiding the country for letting regional quarrels over language and States' reorganisation distract it from an unusually difficult economic situation. He then walks the lay reader through the principal symptoms: a recurring food shortage that has forced Government to import grain at heavy cost in foreign exchange; sterling balances that fell by Rs. 330 crores in a single week of January 1958; an outstanding gap of Rs. 700 crores against the Plan's remaining requirements; and a Capital Market "practically dead" because confiscatory direct taxation has destroyed the incentive to save and invest. The diagnosis is unsparing. Shroff blames the "thoughtless and indiscriminate issue of import licences in 1956", the Planning Commission's under-estimate of foreign-exchange needs, the lack of coordination between the Commerce and Finance Ministries, and a structurally over-ambitious Public Sector outlay that survives only because of "prestige". He argues that periodic Five-Year Plans are not suited to Indian conditions, that economic development must be "a continuous process" under flexible planning, and that the State has crowded out both the new-issues market and the small saver. Anti-corruption is treated as a structural reform: Shroff renews the Forum's suggestion that the Home Ministry compile and publish a list of Ministers' commercial relations and connections, a proposal the Home Minister had dismissed as "not practicable". The closing pages frame the alternative. Shroff calls for a "radical change in our economic policies", the pooling of expertise across party lines, voluntary consumers' associations to discipline hoarders and profiteers, and a tax regime that invites both domestic savings and foreign capital. The pamphlet ends on his characteristic warning that the attempt to destroy the acquisitive society is producing an "authoritarian State" — a line that, together with the Eugene Black epigraph ("People must come to accept private enterprise not as a necessary evil, but as an affirmative good") and Shroff's own back-cover credo ("Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives"), supplies the pamphlet's polemical bookends. ## Key points - Frames India's economic crisis (food shortage, foreign-exchange depletion, dead Capital Market) as a consequence of the Second Five-Year Plan and bad licensing policy, not of monsoons or fate. - Documents specific figures: sterling balances down Rs. 330 crores in the week ending 3 January 1958, Rs. 95 crores temporary IMF loan, Rs. 198 crores reserves vs. Rs. 700 crores outstanding gap on Plan requirements. - Public Sector outlay under the Second Plan now reset to Rs. 4,800 crores, with Rs. 1,500 crores spent in two years and Rs. 3,300 crores still to be spent in three — a pace Shroff calls inflationary and unfundable. - Attributes the foreign-exchange crisis to the "thoughtless and indiscriminate issue of import licences in 1956" and to the lack of coordination between the Commerce and Finance Ministries. - Rejects rigid periodic Plans, calling for continuous, flexible development planning suited to Indian conditions; treats the "core of the Plan" retreat as a tacit admission of error. - Argues that confiscatory direct taxation has both reduced the capacity to save and dissuaded investors, leaving under-writers stuck with 90–95% of new equity issues. - Treats corruption as a structural threat: renews the Forum's call for the Home Ministry to publish a list of Ministers' commercial connections, and cites the State Trading Corporation's cement monopoly profits as evidence that Government itself profiteers. - Closes by warning that ever-expanding State powers are turning India into an "authoritarian State" and pleads for the pooling of all citizens' expertise irrespective of party. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Our India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/our-india/ ### Summary 'Our India' by Minoo Masani is an illustrated introduction to India written for young readers, opening with a pictorial textile cover and a twelve-chapter table of contents (from 'One in Five' through 'Hindostán Hamárá'). In the rendered pages the book's first chapter, 'One in Five,' establishes its scale-and-wonder method: it tells the reader that one person in every five on earth is an Indian, that India is nearly a fifth of the human race and second only to China in population, and that the country is as large as the whole of Europe excluding Russia. Through accessible analogies, bold woodcut-style illustrations, and rhetorical questions addressed directly to the child reader, Masani invites Indians to feel both the importance and the responsibility of their numbers and size. The chapter then turns from size to geography and human variety.… ### Body # Our India *By MINOO MASANI* ## Summary 'Our India' by Minoo Masani is an illustrated introduction to India written for young readers, opening with a pictorial textile cover and a twelve-chapter table of contents (from 'One in Five' through 'Hindostán Hamárá'). In the rendered pages the book's first chapter, 'One in Five,' establishes its scale-and-wonder method: it tells the reader that one person in every five on earth is an Indian, that India is nearly a fifth of the human race and second only to China in population, and that the country is as large as the whole of Europe excluding Russia. Through accessible analogies, bold woodcut-style illustrations, and rhetorical questions addressed directly to the child reader, Masani invites Indians to feel both the importance and the responsibility of their numbers and size. The chapter then turns from size to geography and human variety. In the rendered pages Masani describes India's three structural regions (the southern peninsular plateau, the Himalayas, and the Indo-Gangetic plain), explains how the great rivers and the monsoon — personified as a friendly jinn out of Aladdin's lamp — built and water the land, and catalogues India's extremes of climate from Jacobabad's heat to Cherrapunji's rainfall. He argues that the country's physical variety is mirrored in the variety of its people, noting (writing 'Even in 1940') that India contains human types of every kind and a 'man-power' of nearly 40 crores. The chapter closes, in the rendered pages, by introducing the division of labour — why no one can make everything for themselves — as the reason India's combination of every type of land, climate and people makes it uniquely rich in raw materials. Because only the cover, contents, and the first chapter were rendered, this summary does not characterise the remaining eleven chapters, which the contents page indicates cover agriculture, land, wool, mineral 'buried treasures,' power, steel, and a closing national chapter. ## Key points - An illustrated children's/young-readers introduction to India by Minoo Masani; pictorial cover and a 12-chapter contents page are rendered. - Chapter I 'One in Five' opens with the claim that one person in five on earth is Indian and that India rivals a continent in size, to instil pride and a sense of responsibility. - In the rendered pages, Masani lays out India's three geographic regions — peninsular plateau, Himalayas, and the Indo-Gangetic plain — and how rivers and silt built the land. - The monsoon is personified as a benevolent jinn that waters the parched plains; India's climatic extremes (Jacobabad heat, Cherrapunji rain) are catalogued. - Masani links physical variety to human variety, stating that 'Even in 1940' India holds human types of every century and kind, with 'man-power' of nearly 40 crores. - The rendered chapter ends by introducing division of labour as the reason India's wealth of land, climate and people types makes it rich in raw materials. - Tone is direct and didactic, addressing the child reader with questions and homely analogies (a landlord with a big estate; a father who cannot make everything himself). - Only cover + contents + chapter I were rendered (20 of 86 PDF pages); chapters II-XII are not characterised here. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] PERESTROIKA AND INDIA – THE GLOBAL PROCESS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/perestroika-and-india-global-process-viren-shah-1988/ ### Summary Viren J. Shah's 1988 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet treats Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika not as a Soviet curiosity but as the local expression of a planet-wide turn against over-centralised economic management. Drawing extensively on long block-quotations from Gorbachev's 'Perestroika: New Thinking for our Country and the World', Shah lets the General Secretary make the case in his own voice: that the old Soviet machinery lacked inner stimuli for self-development, that wages had been detached from end results, that ministries had to surrender day-to-day regimentation, and that enterprises should henceforth operate on the principle 'everything which is not prohibited by law is allowed.' Shah pauses to note that the diagnostic passages echo, with uncanny fidelity, Milovan Djilas's analysis of the communist 'New Class' written three decades earlier. The second movement of the address widens the lens.… ### Body # PERESTROIKA AND INDIA – THE GLOBAL PROCESS *By VIREN J. SHAH* ## Summary Viren J. Shah's 1988 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet treats Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika not as a Soviet curiosity but as the local expression of a planet-wide turn against over-centralised economic management. Drawing extensively on long block-quotations from Gorbachev's 'Perestroika: New Thinking for our Country and the World', Shah lets the General Secretary make the case in his own voice: that the old Soviet machinery lacked inner stimuli for self-development, that wages had been detached from end results, that ministries had to surrender day-to-day regimentation, and that enterprises should henceforth operate on the principle 'everything which is not prohibited by law is allowed.' Shah pauses to note that the diagnostic passages echo, with uncanny fidelity, Milovan Djilas's analysis of the communist 'New Class' written three decades earlier. The second movement of the address widens the lens. Shah surveys the Chinese reforms after 1978 (the new law on state industrial enterprises, foreign capital in over 4,000 ventures, rural family enterprise), traces parallel impulses in Hungary, Poland, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, and then crosses into the non-communist world — Mitterand's privatisations in France, New Zealand's liberalisation under a 'leftist' government, Reaganism, Thatcherism, and Kinnock's Labour Party drifting to the centre. His conclusion is blunt: 'Restructuring is now a truly global process,' and its direction is the same everywhere — towards openness, competition, and respect for the individual as a citizen rather than as manpower. The pamphlet closes by turning this global verdict on India. Shah locates an Indian opening-up beginning in 1977 and continuing under the present government's early liberal noises on licensing, taxation, technology imports and foreign trade, but argues that the initiatives 'got fragmented and lost all coherence in the process of execution' — 'the clear stream of reason has been lost in the desert sand of dead habit.' He calls for an Indian perestroika 'on a broad front and with determination', flagging the loose nexus between vote-shares and parliamentary majorities, the anti-defection law, the lowering of the voting age, and the federal handling of sub-nationalism as items on the agenda. The rendered pages stop in the middle of that agenda, with the final eight pages of the pamphlet (PDF 21–28) outside this chunk. ## Key points - Frames perestroika through a Regis Debray epigraph: revolutions tend to wear the mask of the preceding scene, and observers must learn to re-read continuity. - Reproduces Gorbachev at length on the operative content of perestroika — mass initiative, glasnost, retreat from management-by-injunction, and the elevation of honest skilled labour. - Pairs Gorbachev's critique of the Soviet 'plan indices' system with Milovan Djilas's 1957 diagnosis to argue the failure-mode of bureaucratic socialism was known thirty years before reform began. - Highlights the new Law on State Enterprises (effective 1 January 1988), the abrogation of thousands of normative acts, and the principle that anything not prohibited by law is allowed. - Reads glasnost as the institutional guarantee of irreversibility — once people grow used to openness they will not easily accept a return to the past. - Argues that restructuring is a global phenomenon spanning China's post-1978 reforms, Eastern European reform traditions, Mitterand's privatisations, New Zealand's liberalisation, Reaganism, Thatcherism and Kinnock's Labour. - Diagnoses India's post-1977 liberalisation as fragmented in execution and lost in 'the desert sand of dead habit', and calls for an Indian perestroika on a broad front. - Opens an Indian reform agenda: tightening the vote-to-seat nexus, revisiting the anti-defection law, the voting-age question, and a Gorbachev-style accommodation of sub-nationalisms within the federal structure. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Organised Crime and Economic Development in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/organized-crime-and-economic-development-in-india-dr-ajit-kumar-sinha/ ### Summary Dr. Ajit Kumar Sinha, then immediate past president of the Indian Economic Association, uses his 1999 Presidential address (reproduced by the Forum of Free Enterprise) to argue that organised crime — not just slow reform or weak institutions — has become the binding constraint on India's market transition. Writing at the close of the first decade of post-1991 liberalisation, he concedes that successive governments have held to a common economic agenda, but observes that headline indicators (HDI rank of 132/174, per-capita GNP rank of 165/210, FDI absorption a fraction of China's) lag behind expectations. The reason, he insists, is that markets cannot function without effective property rights, predictable law and protection of life and property — and crime syndicates have steadily eroded all three. The pamphlet then walks through the evidence trail: the 1993 Vohra Committee's account of an entrenched nexus between criminals, politicians, bureaucracy and police; the Supreme Court's 1997 directive that produced a follow-up high-level committee under N. N. Vohra with B. G. Deshmukh and S. V.… ### Body # Organised Crime and Economic Development in India *By Dr. Ajit Kumar Sinha* ## Summary Dr. Ajit Kumar Sinha, then immediate past president of the Indian Economic Association, uses his 1999 Presidential address (reproduced by the Forum of Free Enterprise) to argue that organised crime — not just slow reform or weak institutions — has become the binding constraint on India's market transition. Writing at the close of the first decade of post-1991 liberalisation, he concedes that successive governments have held to a common economic agenda, but observes that headline indicators (HDI rank of 132/174, per-capita GNP rank of 165/210, FDI absorption a fraction of China's) lag behind expectations. The reason, he insists, is that markets cannot function without effective property rights, predictable law and protection of life and property — and crime syndicates have steadily eroded all three. The pamphlet then walks through the evidence trail: the 1993 Vohra Committee's account of an entrenched nexus between criminals, politicians, bureaucracy and police; the Supreme Court's 1997 directive that produced a follow-up high-level committee under N. N. Vohra with B. G. Deshmukh and S. V. Giri; confirmatory reports from the Centre for Policy Research, the Bihar police, and a Bihar Legislative Council house committee; and the National Crime Record Bureau's own preface to Crimes in India 1997. Sinha treats organised crime as a global economic actor (estimated at $1.5 trillion a year) that now rivals multinational corporations in scale and uses information technology to dissolve state borders. Most of the second half reports Sinha's own questionnaire-based survey of 206 economists across 16 non-special-category states, six special-category states and Chandigarh. The numbers are striking: 93% report rising crime, 38% confirm 'Rangdari' (protection) tax as a precondition for opening or running a business, 80% see a nexus between criminals and police, 74% accept a four-way nexus across mafia, police, bureaucracy and politicians, and 47% confirm that mafia dons have been elected as representatives in their areas. A rank correlation of 0.94 between rise in 'anti-development crime' and capital flight, and 0.71 for rural militant organisations' impact on the rural investment climate, anchor his case quantitatively. The through-line is a classical-liberal one with empirical reinforcement: free entry and free exit — the basic preconditions of a market — are being foreclosed by syndicates that levy Rangdari tax on entrepreneurs, Firauti (ransom) tax on industrialists, and 'greasing/speed money' on every interaction with the state. When mafia figures themselves graduate to ministerial office and Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seats, Sinha argues, the criminal economy stops being a deviation from the political economy and becomes its dominant logic, and reform without restoring rule of law is a self-defeating exercise. ## Key points - Frames organised crime as the principal limiting factor on India's post-1991 reforms, not the more commonly cited political instability, communal tension or tax structure. - Anchors the diagnosis in property rights, free entry/exit and rule of law — markets cannot function without protection of life and property from criminal acts. - Summarises the Vohra Committee (1993, tabled 1995) and the Supreme Court-mandated 1997 follow-up under N. N. Vohra, B. G. Deshmukh and S. V. Giri to establish official confirmation of the criminal-political-bureaucratic nexus. - Reports the global scale of organised crime ($1.5 trillion/year), arguing syndicates have become economic powers rivalling multinational corporations and now exploit information technology to bypass state borders. - Presents an original 206-respondent survey of economists across 22 states/UTs to verify ground realities the official statistics do not capture, including the prevalence of Rangdari (protection) tax and Firauti (ransom) tax. - Documents the mainstreaming of mafia figures into elected office (Mukhiya, MLA/MLC, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha) and into ministerial positions in several states. - Quantifies the linkage between crime and economic performance via rank correlations — 0.94 between anti-development crime and capital flight, 0.71 between rural militant organisations' nexus and the rural investment climate. - Treats 'greasing/speed money' as having moved beyond ordinary file-pushing into a syndicate-mediated tariff on doing business, making reform without enforcement infeasible. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] OUR FOREIGN EXCHANGE PROBLEM CAN BE SOLVED BY A NEW EXPORT POLICY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/our-foreign-exchange-problem-murarji-j-vaidya-nov25-1961/ ### Summary In this 1961 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet, Murarji J. Vaidya argues that India's chronic foreign-exchange deficit cannot be cured by tighter import controls and ought to be tackled through a more liberal export policy that leans on private enterprise rather than the State Trading Corporation. He opens with the data — exports of Rs. 6,300 million against imports of Rs. 10,100 million in 1960, with the gap widening from Rs. 2,900 million in 1958 to a likely Rs. 3,200 million in 1961 — to insist that the solution does not lie in further restricting imports but in expanding earnings abroad. Vaidya then dissects why the medium-term credits extended by Western governments since 1956 have failed to translate into commissioned plant on schedule: licensing delays, Government-to-Government negotiations skewing project priorities, and a chronic distrust between the political-official class and the commercial community.… ### Body # OUR FOREIGN EXCHANGE PROBLEM CAN BE SOLVED BY A NEW EXPORT POLICY *By MURARJI J. VAIDYA* ## Summary In this 1961 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet, Murarji J. Vaidya argues that India's chronic foreign-exchange deficit cannot be cured by tighter import controls and ought to be tackled through a more liberal export policy that leans on private enterprise rather than the State Trading Corporation. He opens with the data — exports of Rs. 6,300 million against imports of Rs. 10,100 million in 1960, with the gap widening from Rs. 2,900 million in 1958 to a likely Rs. 3,200 million in 1961 — to insist that the solution does not lie in further restricting imports but in expanding earnings abroad. Vaidya then dissects why the medium-term credits extended by Western governments since 1956 have failed to translate into commissioned plant on schedule: licensing delays, Government-to-Government negotiations skewing project priorities, and a chronic distrust between the political-official class and the commercial community. He concedes that a small section of business has not lived up to ethical standards but argues that blanket controls and the Government's refusal to extend export incentives — such as retention of foreign exchange against exported items, or import-licence entitlements tied to export performance — punish honest exporters and choke supply. The State Trading Corporation, in his account, has channelised exports of certain commodities into Communist markets at the cost of established Western buyers, and its monopolistic role over private trading houses needs to be confined to genuinely non-convertible currency areas. In an appended essay on the European Common Market, Vaidya turns to the strategic question raised by Britain's pending negotiations to join the E.E.C. He warns that the Commonwealth preferences governing the bulk of Indian exports to the U.K. could erode, and that Indian products would face stiffer competition in Western Europe from the associated countries of the E.C.M. itself. Against this backdrop he urges that India consider an active role in some regional economic union of "appropriate and suitable neighbours" rather than standing alone in the face of growing trading blocs — a stand he says the Government has cold-shouldered "probably as a projection of our political neutrality." He closes by pointing to the example of Mr. B. B. Lall's appointment as Ambassador to Belgium and Commissioner-General to the E.C.M., and to nearly eight years already lost in inaction. ## Key points - India's trade deficit widened from Rs. 2,900 million in 1958 to a projected Rs. 3,200 million in 1961, despite very strict import controls. - Medium-term foreign credits extended since 1956 have not delivered commissioned industrial plant on schedule, because of licensing delays and intergovernmental priority disputes. - Vaidya defends the integrity of private enterprise against the dominant 'industrial-distrust' narrative and argues that ethical lapses are not confined to business. - He calls for export incentives — retention of part of foreign exchange earned, or import-licence rights against exported items — which the Government has rejected as contrary to its socialistic pattern. - The State Trading Corporation is criticised for monopolising exports of certain commodities and channelling trade to Communist countries at the cost of established Western buyers. - Government spending on commercial exhibitions abroad is judged disproportionate to actual Indian export development on the ground. - On the European Common Market, Vaidya warns that Britain's likely entry will erode Commonwealth Preferences and intensify competition from E.C.M.-associated countries in markets like the U.K. - He urges India to consider active membership of a regional economic union with neighbours of similar outlook, rather than persisting in economic isolation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Peter Bauer URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/peter-bauer-a-true-friend-of-the-worlds-poor-ccs-viewpoint-4/ ### Summary In this Centre for Civil Society 'Viewpoint 4' essay, Sauvik Chakraverti writes a tribute to the recently deceased development economist Lord Peter (P. T.) Bauer, hailing him as 'the greatest development economist that ever lived' and 'a true friend of the world's poor.' Against what he calls the 'bleeding hearts brigade,' Chakraverti celebrates Bauer as the man who most trenchantly opposed foreign aid — Bauer's line that government-to-government aid transfers wealth 'from the poor of the rich countries to the rich of the poor countries' — and argues that aid manufactured permanent Third World poverty by propping up corrupt, predatory states. The essay builds its case through a series of Indian illustrations of Bauer's insight that the poor possess economic skill and knowledge that planning ignores.… ### Body # Peter Bauer *By SAUVIK CHAKRAVERTI* ## Summary In this Centre for Civil Society 'Viewpoint 4' essay, Sauvik Chakraverti writes a tribute to the recently deceased development economist Lord Peter (P. T.) Bauer, hailing him as 'the greatest development economist that ever lived' and 'a true friend of the world's poor.' Against what he calls the 'bleeding hearts brigade,' Chakraverti celebrates Bauer as the man who most trenchantly opposed foreign aid — Bauer's line that government-to-government aid transfers wealth 'from the poor of the rich countries to the rich of the poor countries' — and argues that aid manufactured permanent Third World poverty by propping up corrupt, predatory states. The essay builds its case through a series of Indian illustrations of Bauer's insight that the poor possess economic skill and knowledge that planning ignores. Chakraverti uses widespread beggary (and the feeding of monkeys near Roorkee) to argue that begging persists not because India is poor but because its civil society is generously charitable; he praises poor traders who break bulk into tiny saleable portions, tribals who distil mahua, and rubber smallholders in Malaya, all as evidence of what Bauer called 'the denial of the economic principle' by development economists who treat the Third World poor as a stupid 'intellectual-moral' charge of the state. He contrasts Bauer with Gunnar Myrdal and Amartya Sen, who in his telling stress the state's role in educating and uplifting a supposedly helpless poor. The later sections extend Bauer's anti-statism to population and infrastructure. Chakraverti endorses Bauer's anti-Malthusian view that people are a resource and that the number of children should be decided by parents, not 'the agents of the state,' citing Sanjay Gandhi's forced sterilisations and China's one-child norm as the tyrannies that follow from treating population as a 'problem.' He blames the state's road monopoly for urban overcrowding ('If I had money, I would build roads...'), and closes by arguing that the truly influential economists are not the planners but dissenters like Bauer and B. R. Shenoy. A References section lists Bauer's works and the Bauer-Myrdal debate. ## Key points - A CCS Viewpoint tribute by Sauvik Chakraverti to Lord Peter (P. T.) Bauer, presented as the greatest development economist and 'a true friend of the world's poor.' - Centres on Bauer's opposition to foreign aid as transfers 'from the poor of the developed world to the rich of the underdeveloped,' which props up predatory states and manufactures permanent poverty. - Uses Indian beggary (and monkeys fed by Hanuman worshippers) to argue begging reflects a generous civil society, not national poverty — religious mendicancy, per Bauer's 1965 observation, explains it. - Celebrates the economic ingenuity of the poor — bulk-breaking petty traders, mahua-distilling tribals, Malayan rubber smallholders — as refuting 'the denial of the economic principle.' - Contrasts Bauer with Gunnar Myrdal and Amartya Sen, who in the author's account treat the Third World poor as helpless and the state as their educator. - Endorses Bauer's anti-Malthusianism: people are a resource and family size belongs to parents, not the state; cites Sanjay Gandhi's sterilisations and China's one-child policy as the alternative. - Blames the state's monopoly on roads for urban overcrowding and de-population of satellite towns; 'This State cannot educate people. It is itself in need of education.' - Concludes that dissenters like Bauer and B. R. Shenoy, not compliant planners, are the truly influential economists; closes with a References section. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] PITFALLS IN OUR INDUSTRIAL POLICY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/pitfalls-in-ouri-ndustrial-policy-m-a-master-nov6-1959/ ### Summary M. A. Master uses this Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet — reprinted from the Free Press Journal Republic Day Number, 1959 — to argue that India's post-1948 industrial policy, and especially the 1956 Industrial Policy Resolution that followed the Avadi Resolution, has steadily relegated private enterprise to a subordinate role behind a state sector destined, in the Prime Minister's own words, to 'grow and become the dominant feature of the landscape'. Master concedes that even before independence the Bombay Plan of 1944 accepted the need for planning, but contends that the 'first radical shift' came in August 1953 with the nationalisation of air services, followed by the Imperial Bank in 1955, life insurance in 1956, and the constitutional amendment making the compensation question unjusticiable. The First Five-Year Plan's promise that the public sector would enter only where private enterprise was 'unable or unwilling' has, on his reading, been replaced by an ideological doctrine that gives the public sector 'a basic sector, a strategic, important and advancing sector' status across the economy. The second half of the pamphlet builds a case study indictment.… ### Body # PITFALLS IN OUR INDUSTRIAL POLICY *By M. A. MASTER* ## Summary M. A. Master uses this Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet — reprinted from the Free Press Journal Republic Day Number, 1959 — to argue that India's post-1948 industrial policy, and especially the 1956 Industrial Policy Resolution that followed the Avadi Resolution, has steadily relegated private enterprise to a subordinate role behind a state sector destined, in the Prime Minister's own words, to 'grow and become the dominant feature of the landscape'. Master concedes that even before independence the Bombay Plan of 1944 accepted the need for planning, but contends that the 'first radical shift' came in August 1953 with the nationalisation of air services, followed by the Imperial Bank in 1955, life insurance in 1956, and the constitutional amendment making the compensation question unjusticiable. The First Five-Year Plan's promise that the public sector would enter only where private enterprise was 'unable or unwilling' has, on his reading, been replaced by an ideological doctrine that gives the public sector 'a basic sector, a strategic, important and advancing sector' status across the economy. The second half of the pamphlet builds a case study indictment. Master draws on the State Trading Corporation's monopolisation of cement trade, the price hike to fund road construction at consumer expense, the rate discrimination favouring nationalised airlines and ferries, and the Merchant Shipping Act's near-dictatorial powers over private shipping to show that the rhetoric of 'no policy of discrimination' is hollow. He marshals tax and capital data — Rs. 137 crores collected from business in 1955-56 rising past Rs. 157 crores in 1957-58, against a paid-up private capital of only Rs. 80 crores — to argue that the Second Plan's expectation of Rs. 300 crores from private internal resources is fiscally impossible. The pamphlet closes by invoking Acharya Vinoba Bhave's warning that power has concentrated in 'a handful of people', and asserts that the present trajectory of 'liquidating private enterprise' will lead democracy to give way to dictatorship. A boxed quotation from A. D. Shroff — 'Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives' — frames the publisher's editorial stance. ## Key points - Master traces an 'onward revolutionary march' from the 1948 Industrial Policy Resolution through the nationalisation of air services (1953), the Imperial Bank (1955), the life insurance companies (1956), and the 1956 Industrial Policy Resolution that placed twelve schedule 'B' industries under State leadership. - He treats the Avadi Resolution and Nehru's 1954-55 Lok Sabha statements as the ideological turning point, citing the PM's claim that under planning the public sector 'must grow and become the dominant feature of the landscape'. - He argues that the First Five-Year Plan's 'public sector where private is unable or unwilling' principle has been quietly overturned in favour of the public sector as a 'basic, strategic, important and advancing sector'. - He attacks the State Trading Corporation's cement monopoly (a Rs. 10 crore profit raised at the consumer's cost) and the rate-fixing rules that let nationalised airlines and railways raise fares while barring private ferry operators from doing the same — what he calls one law for the public sector, another for the private. - He criticises the new Merchant Shipping Act and the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act for handing officials 'extraordinary power' that, he warns, will breed 'corruption and overpowering dictatorship'. - He uses tax and capital-issues data — Rs. 137 crores in business taxes for 1955-56, Rs. 157 crores for 1957-58, against Rs. 80 crores of fresh paid-up capital and only Rs. 37.28 crores raised in 1956 — to argue that the Second Plan's demand for Rs. 300 crores from private internal resources is arithmetically impossible. - He invokes Acharya Vinoba Bhave's warning about power concentrating in the hands of 'not more than 5 or 6' people to argue that the constitutional concentration of wealth and power is shifting from industrialists to 'ministers and the bureaucracy'. - He closes with a prophetic warning that the policy of 'liquidating private enterprise' will end in dictatorship, and the booklet pairs his polemic with framing pull-quotes from Eugene Black of the World Bank and A. D. Shroff. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Planning & Nationalisation URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/planning-and-nationalization-rethinking-in-india-and-abroad-l-n-birla-dr-n-das-january-12-1967/ ### Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in January 1967, this pamphlet collects three short addresses on Indian planning by L. N. Birla and Dr. Nabagopal Das (I.C.S. Retd.). The two Birla pieces — reproduced from the Indian Express (November 12, 1966) and Hindusthan Times (October 3, 1966) — indict the Fourth Plan as an exercise in 'wishful' aggregation that has consistently subordinated the Indian consumer to heavy-industry dogma, mounting taxation, and bureaucratic expenditure. Das's contribution opens a comparative survey of how the doctrine of nationalisation and command planning is being rethought in socialist economies, beginning with the USSR's struggle to reconcile state ownership with consumer demand. Together the three essays form a coherent Forum of Free Enterprise argument: that India's planning apparatus must shift from physical-output targets and public-sector expansion to consumer satisfaction, agricultural priority, and a freer role for private enterprise — a corrective the pamphlet draws both from Indian experience under three Plans and from doctrinal reappraisals visible inside the socialist bloc itself. ### Body # Planning & Nationalisation *By L. N. BIRLA, Dr. N. DAS I.C.S. (Retd.)* ## Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in January 1967, this pamphlet collects three short addresses on Indian planning by L. N. Birla and Dr. Nabagopal Das (I.C.S. Retd.). The two Birla pieces — reproduced from the Indian Express (November 12, 1966) and Hindusthan Times (October 3, 1966) — indict the Fourth Plan as an exercise in 'wishful' aggregation that has consistently subordinated the Indian consumer to heavy-industry dogma, mounting taxation, and bureaucratic expenditure. Das's contribution opens a comparative survey of how the doctrine of nationalisation and command planning is being rethought in socialist economies, beginning with the USSR's struggle to reconcile state ownership with consumer demand. Together the three essays form a coherent Forum of Free Enterprise argument: that India's planning apparatus must shift from physical-output targets and public-sector expansion to consumer satisfaction, agricultural priority, and a freer role for private enterprise — a corrective the pamphlet draws both from Indian experience under three Plans and from doctrinal reappraisals visible inside the socialist bloc itself. ## Essays ### Planning & Nationalisation — Consumer, Forgotten Factor in Indian Planning *By L. N. BIRLA* L. N. Birla argues that fifteen years of perspective planning have failed the Indian consumer because the Plans have privileged producer-goods industries and aggregate GNP arithmetic over the daily needs of the population — food, cloth, housing, milch cattle, education. He marshals statistics on declining per-capita cloth availability, sluggish foodgrain output, and a population spiral that medical progress has accelerated without compensatory family planning, and warns that more than three-fourths of industrial investment going to producer goods is 'unrelated to the realities of living of the masses'. The essay calls for a 'new economic logic' that drops prestige projects like Bokaro, lowers taxation that has crushed corporate savings, and judges the Plan by physical supply rather than financial targets. The consumer, Birla concludes, 'is visibly on the war path', and the violent unrest spreading across the country is the predictable price of austerity preaching unaccompanied by goods. The piece was first published in the Indian Express on November 12, 1966. - Fifteen years of Indian planning have produced disappointing per-capita outcomes — cloth availability fell from 15.8 metres pre-WWII to 14.4 metres in 1965. - Plans wrongly favour producer goods over consumer goods; over three-fourths of industrial investment is earmarked for producer goods. - High taxation has dried up corporate savings (Rs. 112.5 crores in 1963-64) and contributed to inflation. - Prestige projects like Bokaro should be set aside; the capital-output ratio will disappoint. - The Soviet example shows even command economies are turning consumer-oriented, a corrective India should heed. - Consumer-goods industries absorb more labour than capital-goods industries, easing the unemployment backlog of ten million. ### An Alternative to Wishful Planning *By L. N. BIRLA* In this second essay, L. N. Birla turns to the Draft Fourth Plan and finds it a Rs. 23,750-crore exercise in 'dreamstuff' resting on four assumptions — agricultural production stepping up as envisaged, sufficient foreign aid, rising exports, and defence expenditure capped at Rs. 5,500 crores — that are all 'beyond the control of the planners.' He documents that the Third Plan overshot its outlay by Rs. 1,130 crores yet left consumption at distress levels, while Public Sector enterprises returned only 1.2 per cent on capital employed against the planners' assumed 12 per cent and fulfilled only 41 per cent of their physical targets compared with 71 per cent for the Private Sector. From this Birla mounts a structural attack on the assumed complementarity of public and private investment, calling Public Sector organisation 'not an alternative to Private Sector organisation' but a costlier rival that crowds out funds through compulsory instruments and disproportionate taxation. The remedy is to free the entrepreneur to invest in consumer industries, confine Government to infrastructure (power, roads), give agriculture the highest priority and free it from controls, and prefer quick-maturing projects to mystical hopes. The essay closes with the call that 'our planning technique must avoid spinning words and spring to reasoned action — Preferably, action by the people.' It was first published in the Hindusthan Times on October 3, 1966. - Per-capita income fell from Rs. 326 (1960-61) to Rs. 325 (1965-66) at constant prices, despite a Rs. 8,630-crore Third Plan outlay. - All four foundational assumptions of the Draft Fourth Plan lie outside the planners' control. - Public Sector industrial enterprises hit 41% of targets; Private Sector hit 71%; gross profit on Government capital was 1.2%. - Public Sector is 'not an alternative' to Private Sector organisation but a higher-cost competitor for scarce funds. - Bokaro illustrates the trap: Rs. 1,000-crore investment would require steel prices far above current market levels to break even. - Government should retreat to infrastructure (power, roads); the entrepreneur must choose industry, location, and scale; agriculture deserves priority and freedom from controls. ### Re-Thinking on Nationalisation and Centralised Planning in Socialist Countries *By Dr. Nabagopal Das, I.C.S. (Retd.)* Dr. Nabagopal Das opens his address by observing that nationalisation — once 'the linchpin of socialism' — has lost much of its old enchantment even in socialist countries. He sets out a working distinction between socialism and capitalism as simply public versus private ownership of the means of production, noting that an Anglo-Scandinavian model of private ownership with redistributive social services has expanded the meaning of socialism; nonetheless, following Marx, public ownership remains the doctrinal sine qua non of a fully socialist programme. Das then sketches why nationalisation was thought indispensable: free competition would have channelled private investment to high-profit niches rather than to the harmonious development a poor country needs, and only state control of the means of production allows attention to turn to equal opportunity and income redistribution. He begins the comparative case with the USSR, where state ownership delivered command-economy planning but where the bureaucracy was forced to administer what the market does automatically — once scarcity eased, between 1959 and 1964 inventories of textiles and apparel nearly doubled while sales lagged, exposing the system's indifference to consumer choice. (The argument continues past the rendered chunk.) - Nationalisation, once the 'linchpin' of socialism, is being reconsidered even inside socialist states. - Socialism and capitalism reduce to public vs. private ownership of the means of production; equal income distribution is desirable but not essential to socialism. - For Marx, nationalisation was the indispensable pre-requisite of planning. - Free competition would have steered private capital to quick-profit niches rather than balanced development, justifying state ownership in poor countries. - USSR shows the limit: the command economy maximises physical output rather than consumer satisfaction, and once scarcity eased, unsold inventories ballooned. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Planning in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/planning-for-prosperity-a-d-shroff-oct8-1960/ ### Summary "Planning in India" is a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet by A. D. Shroff, drawn from a talk delivered at Vivekananda College, Madras, on January 17, 1957. Shroff opens by tying sustained political independence to economic strength: with 365 million people to feed and an income roughly one-twenty-eighth of the American level, India has both the need and the room to raise mass living standards. He accepts that planned development is the sensible route, but insists the objective must be lifting people up rather than levelling them down — and illustrates the point with a fable about French Communists discovering, when the country's wealth is divided equally, that the average worker would have to surrender money rather than receive any. Most of the address is a sectoral diagnosis.… ### Body # Planning in India *By A. D. Shroff* ## Summary "Planning in India" is a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet by A. D. Shroff, drawn from a talk delivered at Vivekananda College, Madras, on January 17, 1957. Shroff opens by tying sustained political independence to economic strength: with 365 million people to feed and an income roughly one-twenty-eighth of the American level, India has both the need and the room to raise mass living standards. He accepts that planned development is the sensible route, but insists the objective must be lifting people up rather than levelling them down — and illustrates the point with a fable about French Communists discovering, when the country's wealth is divided equally, that the average worker would have to surrender money rather than receive any. Most of the address is a sectoral diagnosis. Food and cloth are India's two consumption priorities, and Shroff walks through the practical limits on rapid agricultural output (the orthodoxy of cultivators toward fertilisers, dependence on rainfall, the river-valley projects' slow germination), the post-Partition disruption to cotton and jute supplies, the gulf between organised mills and handloom weavers, and the heavy seasonal unemployment in the countryside. He repeatedly contrasts the United States — the wealthiest country in the world because every household can satisfy its consumption needs — with Soviet, Hungarian and Polish experience, where heavy-industry priority denuded agriculture and produced economic distress. The criticism of ideology driving priorities is direct: an ideological bias in Government policy, he warns, could be disastrous for the whole country. The closing section is a fiscal critique of the Second Five-Year Plan. Shroff argues that a Rs. 5,300-crore expenditure programme exceeds India's actual resources; the gap is being bridged by Rs. 1,300 crores of additional taxation, Rs. 800 crores of borrowing, and Rs. 1,200 crores of foreign assistance that has not materialised. Deficit financing on this scale, he argues, is inflationary and regressive — the salaried middle class and the rural poor bear the burden through rising prices, while the rich can absorb them. Compulsory deposits and similar ad-hoc levies, imposed without sufficient thinking, will erode the country's future capacity to raise revenue. Throughout, Shroff invokes the Finance Minister's own admission that the Government is neither omniscient nor infallible to urge a flexible mind willing to adapt the Plan to reality rather than insisting on "anything else, nothing but disaster will face this country." ## Key points - Sustained political independence requires economic strength; raising the mass standard of living is the proper objective of planning. - Levelling-down redistribution cannot lift the poor — only a process of levelling up through growth can; the French 37½-million Francs anecdote illustrates the futility of equal-poverty arithmetic. - Food and cloth are India's two consumption priorities; agricultural productivity, not heavy industry, must come first. - Ideology must not be allowed to drive planning priorities; an ideological bias in Government policy could prove disastrous. - The Soviet, Hungarian and Polish experience of starving agriculture and consumer industries to build heavy industry is a cautionary tale, not a model. - The Second Five-Year Plan's Rs. 5,300-crore expenditure outstrips India's resources, with a Rs. 1,200-crore foreign-aid gap and Rs. 1,200 crores of deficit financing creating inflationary pressure. - Deficit financing is regressive: the salaried middle class and the rural poor are squeezed by rising prices while the rich can adjust. - Compulsory deposits and other ad-hoc levies, imposed without sufficient thinking, will damage the country's future taxable capacity. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] PLANNING IN INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/planning-in-india-a-d-shroff-january-1-1970/ ### Summary Delivered as a talk at Vivekananda College, Madras, on 17 January 1957 and reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise, this pamphlet is A. D. Shroff's pointed but reasoned critique of India's Second Five-Year Plan. Shroff opens by establishing his own planning credentials — he had a hand in the 1944 Bombay Plan, drafted by eight businessmen — and accepts that a poor country with a fast-growing population must develop in a planned way. His argument is not against planning as such, but against planning that lets ideology displace economic reality. The central charge is that the government has set political priorities (heavy industry over consumer goods, public sector over private) ahead of practical ones (food and cloth for a population growing by five million a year). He walks through cotton, jute, handloom, and steel to show how partition, ideology, and over-ambition have produced gluts in some sectors and shortages in others.… ### Body # PLANNING IN INDIA *By A. D. Shroff* ## Summary Delivered as a talk at Vivekananda College, Madras, on 17 January 1957 and reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise, this pamphlet is A. D. Shroff's pointed but reasoned critique of India's Second Five-Year Plan. Shroff opens by establishing his own planning credentials — he had a hand in the 1944 Bombay Plan, drafted by eight businessmen — and accepts that a poor country with a fast-growing population must develop in a planned way. His argument is not against planning as such, but against planning that lets ideology displace economic reality. The central charge is that the government has set political priorities (heavy industry over consumer goods, public sector over private) ahead of practical ones (food and cloth for a population growing by five million a year). He walks through cotton, jute, handloom, and steel to show how partition, ideology, and over-ambition have produced gluts in some sectors and shortages in others. He warns that the East European experience — Hungary and Poland forced into heavy industry by Soviet pressure — should counsel against the same imbalance in India, and that disregard for consumer demand has historically produced political crises rather than prosperity. The back half of the lecture is a working economist's anatomy of the Plan's finances. The proposed Rs. 5,300 crore public-sector outlay will flow largely into wages, creating purchasing power that the supply side cannot match; the result, Shroff argues, is inflation that erodes the real incomes of salaried and fixed-income people while the rich absorb the shock. He breaks down the gap — Rs. 1,200 crore of deficit financing, a Rs. 900 crore additional-taxation demand, dependence on World Bank and Colombo Plan aid — and insists that the laws of economics cannot be suspended by legislation or political will. Throughout, he frames his dissent as patriotism: it is no humiliation, he says, to admit that the country's resources cannot finance everything that has been promised. ## Key points - Shroff accepts planned development in principle and cites his own role in the 1944 Bombay Plan, but rejects the Second Five-Year Plan as over-ambitious relative to India's resources. - His core indictment is that ideology — heavy industry over consumer goods, public sector over private — has crowded out practical priority-setting around food and cloth for a rapidly growing population. - Agricultural productivity must rise by 10–20% through fertilizers, irrigation, and changed methods; without this, food imports from the U.S. will remain structural rather than transitional. - Sectoral case studies of cotton, jute, handloom, and steel show that ideological organisation (favouring organised mills over handlooms, expanding raw jute without mill capacity) has produced surpluses and shortages simultaneously. - The East European experience — Hungary and Poland forced by Soviet pressure into heavy industry at the cost of consumer goods — is offered as a cautionary parallel for India. - The Rs. 5,300 crore public-sector outlay will be spent largely as wages, creating effective demand without matching supply and forcing prices up; salaried and fixed-income households absorb the loss while the rich can adjust. - Deficit financing of Rs. 1,200 crore and additional taxation of Rs. 900 crore reflect a planning gap; even sound taxes have a psychological ceiling beyond which collections actually fall. - Shroff insists that the laws of economics — particularly supply and demand — operate regardless of finance ministers' wishes, and that compulsory deposits and other expedients risk destabilising the economy. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] PLANNING AT CROSS-PURPOSES URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/planning-at-cross-purposes-s-bhootalingam-december-1970/ ### Summary Delivered as the Fifth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Delhi on 27 October 1970 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in December 1970, S. Bhoothalingam's pamphlet diagnoses what he calls 'planning at cross-purposes' — the chronic failure of Indian planning to harmonise its ends with its means. Writing as Director-General of the National Council of Applied Economic Research and a former senior official, he opens with the empirical embarrassment of the Fourth Plan: a near-final draft surfacing months after launch, railway traffic falling instead of growing by the projected 3.6 per cent, industrial production lagging, fertiliser consumption stagnant, and Plan schemes that 'cost much more, take longer to complete, and when completed take even longer to yield their results.' From that audit Bhoothalingam moves to a structural argument.… ### Body # PLANNING AT CROSS-PURPOSES *By S. BHOOTHALINGAM* ## Summary Delivered as the Fifth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Delhi on 27 October 1970 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in December 1970, S. Bhoothalingam's pamphlet diagnoses what he calls 'planning at cross-purposes' — the chronic failure of Indian planning to harmonise its ends with its means. Writing as Director-General of the National Council of Applied Economic Research and a former senior official, he opens with the empirical embarrassment of the Fourth Plan: a near-final draft surfacing months after launch, railway traffic falling instead of growing by the projected 3.6 per cent, industrial production lagging, fertiliser consumption stagnant, and Plan schemes that 'cost much more, take longer to complete, and when completed take even longer to yield their results.' From that audit Bhoothalingam moves to a structural argument. Indian planning, properly understood, is neither as comprehensive as its detractors fear nor as total as its devotees pretend — it is 'nothing more than public investment in certain sectors and the management of economic activities springing therefrom.' The real choice, he insists, 'is not between planning and no planning, but only between different kinds of planning or between good planning and bad planning.' What has gone wrong is the divorce of Plan from non-Plan: resources painfully mobilised for Plan investment are diverted to ordinary government expenditure, while the Planning Commission is kept off the non-Plan sector that quietly consumes the country's growth. The diagnostic core of the lecture is a sustained attack on the confusion of means with ends. Mobilisation of resources, exchange controls, import controls and Company Law administration have, he argues, 'become truly autonomous and self-contained' — means promoted into objectives in themselves. Corrective regulation breeds vested interests: 'When you cannot do something yourself you are tempted, if you have the power, to stop anyone else from doing it except by your grace and permission.' His prescription is radical recasting rather than abolition: controls should be general in character, work through economic forces rather than against them ('one should use controls as the sailor uses the winds'), and free up the intellectual effort now 'wasted in a perpetual game of hide and seek in a dark and ever-growing jungle.' Bhoothalingam closes by gathering the threads into a liberal frame consistent with the Forum's outlook: the basic objective of planning is 'the development of human personality in a free society through economic growth and social justice', requiring comprehensive planning at the highest level but means that 'facilitate and not hinder the display of constructive energy and initiative.' Without that clarity and steadfastness, he warns, 'planning will continue to be at cross-purposes.' ## Key points - Frames the Fourth Plan's troubles — late drafts, falling railway traffic, sluggish industrial output, stagnant fertiliser consumption — as symptoms of a deeper, recurring crisis in Indian planning rather than a passing aberration. - Redefines Indian planning as narrower than commonly claimed: 'nothing more than public investment in certain sectors' plus indirect management of the rest of the economy, not the encyclopaedic enterprise the Plan documents suggest. - Rejects the dichotomy between planning and no planning, recasting the real choice as one between good and bad planning consistent with democratic government. - Identifies confusion of ends and means as the central malaise — resource mobilisation, exchange control, import control and Company Law administration have become ends in themselves and 'sacred cows'. - Attacks the institutional divorce of Plan from non-Plan expenditure, arguing the non-Plan sector — schools, hospitals, ongoing services — exercises prior claim on resources and falsifies Plan arithmetic. - Argues that the Planning Commission should be one organ of the Central Government, not a separate authority kept off non-Plan activity; planning and implementation must not be divorced. - Calls for radical reform of import controls and detailed industrial regulation: controls should be general, work through economic forces ('as the sailor uses the winds'), and not require discretion exercised by a large number of functionaries. - Locates the lecture's normative core in the freedom of choice as the wellspring of initiative and enterprise, and in growth-with-social-justice pursued through means that do not stifle private effort. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Plans and Perspectives URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/plans-and-perspectives-by-bg-verghese-january-8-1961/ ### Summary B. G. Verghese's 'Plans and Perspectives', reproduced by the Forum of Free Enterprise from The Times of India of 14 December 1960, opens with a sharp diagnostic claim: 'Two kinds of planning co-exist in Delhi each destructive of the other.' The Government, Verghese argues, has become so preoccupied with noticing this detail or perhaps with accepting this situation as a reflection of its own ambivalent thinking, that the real object of planning — to promote production and progress and not thwart initiative and inhibit growth — has been lost. He uses the case of natural gas at the Naharkatiya and Barauni oilfields in Assam to anchor the critique with hard numbers: roughly 38 million cubic feet a day of 'associated' gas (rising with the production of 2.75 million tons of refined oil), plus eleven million cubic feet of 'non-associated' gas, of which only a fraction is currently being put to use.… ### Body # Plans and Perspectives *By B. G. Verghese* ## Summary B. G. Verghese's 'Plans and Perspectives', reproduced by the Forum of Free Enterprise from The Times of India of 14 December 1960, opens with a sharp diagnostic claim: 'Two kinds of planning co-exist in Delhi each destructive of the other.' The Government, Verghese argues, has become so preoccupied with noticing this detail or perhaps with accepting this situation as a reflection of its own ambivalent thinking, that the real object of planning — to promote production and progress and not thwart initiative and inhibit growth — has been lost. He uses the case of natural gas at the Naharkatiya and Barauni oilfields in Assam to anchor the critique with hard numbers: roughly 38 million cubic feet a day of 'associated' gas (rising with the production of 2.75 million tons of refined oil), plus eleven million cubic feet of 'non-associated' gas, of which only a fraction is currently being put to use. The Nunmati refinery uses some, another 27 million cubic feet is meant to be utilised by 1962-63, and 'all this gas must be utilised or will have to be flared.' The second half of the leaflet narrates how the State of Assam and the Union Government have responded — a 50,000 kW thermal station at Naharkatiya, a fertiliser plant of 32,000 tons of nitrogen per annum, four public sector projects projected to absorb about 22 million cubic feet a day, a cement plant delayed for want of limestone, and a separate gas pipeline to Tinsukia and Dibrugarh. But Verghese is most exercised by what has happened to the private sector. An absolute minimum of 38 million cubic feet of gas per day will soon be available, of which not less than 16 million cubic feet must either be used or be flared, and proposals from licensees offering capital and foreign collaborators — for synthetic rubber, intermediates, chemicals, polythene, carbon black, a steel plant at Bareilly — have been quietly blocked on the ground that petro-chemicals are 'strategic', and so must be reserved for the public sector. The Industrial Policy Resolution, he writes, was 'not drafted with any profitability test in view,' and the practical effect is that 16 million cubic feet of associated gas, equivalent to about 350,000 tons of oil per annum, are at risk of being wasted while the public-sector alternative drags on. The closing pages widen the lens from gas to politics. Verghese ties the under-utilisation of Naharkatiya gas to the 'cultural' aspects of the recent Assam riots, to communal discontent, and to an Assam manifesto cited as evidence that ordinary people would 'be denied the right to provide work for its people and the opportunity of advancement to satisfy some fad.' His verdict, set out as the leaflet's parting line, is unsparing: 'Naharkatiya gas is only a symbol of a wider malaise — an ideological masochism, an infirmity of purpose and a complete disregard of the cardinal fact that we have no time. It is already high time.' A footer reminds the reader that the views expressed in the leaflet do not necessarily represent those of the Forum of Free Enterprise. ## Key points - Verghese frames Indian planning as internally contradictory: two competing kinds of planning operate in Delhi simultaneously, each destructive of the other. - He uses the Naharkatiya and Barauni gas fields as a case study, quantifying roughly 38 million cubic feet/day of 'associated' gas plus 11 million cubic feet of 'non-associated' gas that must be utilised or flared. - On the public-sector side, the Assam Government plans a 50,000 kW thermal station and a gas pipeline to Tinsukia and Dibrugarh, while the Union Government has approved a fertiliser plant for 32,000 tons of nitrogen per annum and four projects absorbing about 22 million cubic feet/day. - Verghese argues that private-sector licensee proposals — for synthetic rubber, polythene, carbon black, and a steel plant at Bareilly, backed by capital and foreign collaborators — have been blocked by the Industrial Policy Resolution's classification of petro-chemicals as 'strategic' and reserved for the public sector. - He estimates 16 million cubic feet of 'associated' gas (the equivalent of 350,000 tons of oil per annum) is at risk of being flared because of regulatory delay rather than economic necessity. - Strategic-industry reservation, he contends, was drafted without any profitability test and amounts to a refusal of corporate profits as a legitimate source of capital formation. - He links the gas under-utilisation to the recent Assam riots and a perceived 'cultural' upheaval, citing local discontent at being denied work for the sake of doctrine. - The leaflet's polemical centre is its closing aphorism: Naharkatiya gas is only a symbol of a wider malaise — 'ideological masochism, an infirmity of purpose and a complete disregard of the cardinal fact that we have no time.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] PLURALISM & MIXED ECONOMY — A BASIS FOR CENTRE-STATE RELATIONS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/pluralism---mixed-economy-a-basis-for-centre-state-relations-v-k-narasimhan-february-14-1978/ ### Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture at Bangalore on 27 October 1977 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in February 1978, V. K. Narasimhan's pamphlet argues that India's tangled centre-state relations cannot be resolved by clinging to any monolithic 'ism'. Speaking in the immediate aftermath of the Emergency, he treats the rise of the socialist creed since Nehru's time as having so thoroughly subordinated individual freedom to the goal of equality that constitutional checks, federal balance, and the private sphere of voluntary action have all been hollowed out. Against this drift he sets a 'pluralist approach': the federal architecture of the Constitution, the diffusion of power among states and groups, and a genuinely mixed economy in which the private sector is treated as an affirmative good rather than a 'grudging' admission. On centre-state relations, Narasimhan reads the 1967 elections as the moment when the unitary illusion of a single dominant party broke down, leaving the country with a permanent pattern of governments of different complexions in different states.… ### Body # PLURALISM & MIXED ECONOMY — A BASIS FOR CENTRE-STATE RELATIONS *By V. K. Narasimhan* ## Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture at Bangalore on 27 October 1977 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in February 1978, V. K. Narasimhan's pamphlet argues that India's tangled centre-state relations cannot be resolved by clinging to any monolithic 'ism'. Speaking in the immediate aftermath of the Emergency, he treats the rise of the socialist creed since Nehru's time as having so thoroughly subordinated individual freedom to the goal of equality that constitutional checks, federal balance, and the private sphere of voluntary action have all been hollowed out. Against this drift he sets a 'pluralist approach': the federal architecture of the Constitution, the diffusion of power among states and groups, and a genuinely mixed economy in which the private sector is treated as an affirmative good rather than a 'grudging' admission. On centre-state relations, Narasimhan reads the 1967 elections as the moment when the unitary illusion of a single dominant party broke down, leaving the country with a permanent pattern of governments of different complexions in different states. Rather than treating this as a calamity, he argues it should force the centre to devolve real fiscal and policy responsibility — particularly in agriculture, health, education, transport and irrigation — and to confine itself to coordination, allowing each state to set priorities suited to its own backgrounds and resources. He warns that the centralisation of finance has so eroded states' initiative that they now spend more energy extracting funds from New Delhi than husbanding them. On the economy, he indicts the steady expansion of the state-owned sector — insurance, electricity, road transport, banking, trade, and the standing threat of further nationalisation — as 'hardly conducive' to a democratic order. The framework of democracy, he insists, requires a genuinely mixed economy and not a predominantly socialised one; every addition to the state sector must be independently justified, never assumed. Examples drawn from the Voluntary Health Service and the Public Health Centre at Madras illustrate how voluntary, group-based action can serve public needs more imaginatively than monopoly state provision. Narasimhan closes by invoking Gandhiji's vision of self-sufficient village communities as the 'pluralists' paradise', conceding that industrialisation and urbanisation make that ideal utopian, but urging that its spirit — the deliberate diffusion of power and the encouragement of voluntary cooperation — be carried into a modern, multilingual, multi-religious India. ## Key points - Frames the lecture as a tribute to A. D. Shroff, whose 1956 founding of the Forum of Free Enterprise meant 'swimming against a strong socialist current' that was both fashionable and entrenched in public policy. - Identifies the over-readiness with which the socialist credo was accepted as the root cause of the neglect of individual freedom and basic human rights in post-Independence India. - Reads the 1967 general election as the watershed that broke the 'unitary' overhang of one-party rule and made a genuinely federal, pluralist Centre-State pattern unavoidable. - Argues that the constitutional distribution of powers between Centre and States is only 'quasi-federal' and that this bias toward Delhi has produced excessive centralisation of economic policy, planning and finance. - Calls for devolving primary responsibility for agriculture, health, education, irrigation, road transport and urban development to the states, with the Centre confined to coordination and advice. - Treats the continuous expansion of state-owned sectors — insurance, electricity, road transport, banking, trade — as 'hardly conducive' to democracy, and demands that every enlargement of the state sector be positively justified. - Defends the citizen's Fundamental Rights under Chapter III as a 'strong and lively' check on abuse of state power, but insists vigilant public opinion matters more than recourse to the courts. - Reads the Emergency of 1975-77 as proof that 'the masses have been willing to sacrifice liberty for security' and that the slow, inefficient workings of democracy create their own corruptions which authoritarianism then exploits. - Recovers Gandhi's emphasis on voluntary, cooperative activity at the widest possible scale as the pluralist core of an Indian liberalism adapted to a multi-lingual, multi-religious nation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Population and Economic Development In India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/population-and-economic-development-in-india-by-nr-narayan-murthy/ ### Summary This booklet reproduces the 38th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by N. R. Narayana Murthy in Mumbai on 8 April 2005 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise. An introduction by Minoo R. Shroff frames the lecture within the Forum's classical-liberal tradition, recalling A. D. Shroff's stand against the "ominous clouds of socialism" gathering over 1950s India and crediting Shroff — and later Nani Palkhivala — with sustaining a three-decade campaign for free enterprise whose fruits, he argues, India is now harvesting through liberalisation. Murthy's lecture takes up the "sixty-four million dollar question" of whether India's billion-strong, fast-growing population is a drag or an opportunity. His answer is neither in itself: drawing on demographic comparisons with China, the East Asian tigers, and the ageing developed economies, he reframes the issue as a "demographic window of opportunity" that converts into growth only when accompanied by "good human capital" — a workforce equipped with skills, schooling, health, and labour-market access.… ### Body # Population and Economic Development In India *By N. R. Narayana Murthy* ## Summary This booklet reproduces the 38th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by N. R. Narayana Murthy in Mumbai on 8 April 2005 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise. An introduction by Minoo R. Shroff frames the lecture within the Forum's classical-liberal tradition, recalling A. D. Shroff's stand against the "ominous clouds of socialism" gathering over 1950s India and crediting Shroff — and later Nani Palkhivala — with sustaining a three-decade campaign for free enterprise whose fruits, he argues, India is now harvesting through liberalisation. Murthy's lecture takes up the "sixty-four million dollar question" of whether India's billion-strong, fast-growing population is a drag or an opportunity. His answer is neither in itself: drawing on demographic comparisons with China, the East Asian tigers, and the ageing developed economies, he reframes the issue as a "demographic window of opportunity" that converts into growth only when accompanied by "good human capital" — a workforce equipped with skills, schooling, health, and labour-market access. Without that, he insists, large numbers turn into a liability. He stitches the argument together with a dense statistical comparison: India's 1.5% population growth still adds 16 million people a year against China's 10; India ranks 127th of 177 on the Human Development Index with 39% adult illiteracy and 64% child malnourishment; 27% of urban Indians lack sanitation; the water table is falling six feet annually; half of India's 329 million hectares of soil are already degraded. He calls for stabilising population at 1.7 billion by 2045 through replacement-level fertility of 2.1 by 2010, achieved via state-level performance targets, NGO involvement, women's literacy, and primary healthcare — citing Kerala and the southern states as proof of concept against the high-fertility "Bimaru" north. The closing chapters press a twin economic-and-environmental brief: India must simultaneously stabilise population, raise GDP growth to 8–9%, reform labour markets, scrap distorting subsidies on fuel and flat-rate electricity, and "leapfrog" to clean-fuel transport, bioengineered crops, and efficient sanitation. The Western consumption model, he warns, is unrepayable. Quoting Martin Luther King, George Eliot, and Albert Einstein in turn, Murthy ends on the Forum's preferred register — that India has the talent to convert demographic burden into demographic dividend, provided leaders manufacture the urgency for change. ## Key points - The text is the 38th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture (Mumbai, 8 April 2005), with a Forum of Free Enterprise introduction by Minoo R. Shroff situating it in the classical-liberal lineage of A. D. Shroff and Nani Palkhivala. - Murthy reframes the population question: a billion Indians are neither inherently a drag nor an asset — they convert into growth only as 'good human capital' supported by education, healthcare, and labour-market flexibility. - He benchmarks India relentlessly against China — fertility (3.3 vs near-replacement), HDI rank (127/177), illiteracy (39% vs 9%), poverty (26% vs 11%), and per-capita income ($530 vs $1,100 in 2003). - He treats the 'demographic window' as time-limited: by 2020 India will hold a surplus of 47 million working-age people against US/China/Japan shortages, but only if growth is stepped up to 8% and jobs are actually created. - Stabilisation target: 1.7 billion by 2045, via replacement fertility of 2.1 by 2010, achieved through state-level performance targets, women's literacy, primary healthcare, and NGO-led local family planning — citing Kerala and the southern states as exemplars. - The lecture's environmental case argues that resource degradation already costs India 4.5% of GDP, water scarcity will bite by 2025, and Western consumption patterns are unrepayable — making clean-technology leapfrogging and subsidy reform mandatory. - Policy prescriptions are practical and state-capacity-oriented: 66,000 new primary schools and 3,000 new health centres a year, 3% annual food output growth, removal of fuel and flat-rate electricity subsidies, and labour-market liberalisation. - The framing is recognisably Forum-liberal — free enterprise as 'affirmative good' (Eugene Black on the back cover), private-sector productivity as the engine of human-capital uplift, government's role recast as regulator and enabler. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Planning Machinery Should Be Placed Above Politics URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/planning-machinery-should-be-placed-above-politics-november-9-1962/ ### Summary This short Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reproduces an unsigned editorial from The Economic Times of 6 September 1962. The editorial complains that, amid the storm of public criticism over the shortfalls of the Third Five-Year Plan, the one institution that has so far escaped its share of blame — the Planning Commission itself — is the very body whose work is at fault. Even Planning Minister Nanda's own report to Parliament on the first year of the Plan, the editorial notes, was a 'scrappy, disjointed narration of truths and half-truths'. The core charge is technical and political. Despite a vast planning apparatus — the Perspective Planning Division, central and state planning cells, panels of economists and statisticians, the Indian Statistical Institute, the Central Statistical Organisation, and the Reserve Bank's Research Department — the Plan's projections in cement, steel, electricity, coal, transport and fertilisers have 'gone hay-wire' within a year of publication.… ### Body # Planning Machinery Should Be Placed Above Politics ## Summary This short Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reproduces an unsigned editorial from The Economic Times of 6 September 1962. The editorial complains that, amid the storm of public criticism over the shortfalls of the Third Five-Year Plan, the one institution that has so far escaped its share of blame — the Planning Commission itself — is the very body whose work is at fault. Even Planning Minister Nanda's own report to Parliament on the first year of the Plan, the editorial notes, was a 'scrappy, disjointed narration of truths and half-truths'. The core charge is technical and political. Despite a vast planning apparatus — the Perspective Planning Division, central and state planning cells, panels of economists and statisticians, the Indian Statistical Institute, the Central Statistical Organisation, and the Reserve Bank's Research Department — the Plan's projections in cement, steel, electricity, coal, transport and fertilisers have 'gone hay-wire' within a year of publication. National income grew at three per cent against the assumed five; wholesale prices, far from staying stable, rose 3.4 per cent on the official index and 4½ per cent on the Economic Times index; Central Government undertakings have made no progress towards their promised Rs. 300-crore surplus; and exports of Rs. 656 crores in year one fall well short of the Rs. 740-crore annual average required. Foreign-exchange needs were under-estimated and even the invisibles balance has turned adverse. The editorial's argument turns from data to structure. The fashionable apparatus of 'model building', 'econometric models', 'input-output analysis' and 'flow-of-funds analysis' has not prevented basic structural variables from drifting away from the pre-determined estimates. The Planning Commission cannot plead a lack of power — it has 'functioned in several fields as a super-Cabinet'. Its peculiar composition — its top membership being only a concentrated version of the Central Cabinet itself — places planning in India even above governmental censure, so that development targets become 'a mere echo of political whims and compromise' and economic estimates are sometimes 'carefully worked backwards' from pre-determined conclusions. The remedy proposed is institutional autonomy: planning will improve only when the planners work in a freer atmosphere, with a personality of their own, free from the vagaries of political exigency, and in a setting where planning and administrative authorities can freely and fearlessly exchange criticism. Otherwise, the editorial concludes, Indian development will continue to be 'the unfortunate essay in misdirected energy and money that it is today'. ## Key points - The Planning Commission has uniquely escaped blame for the Third Plan's shortfalls, even as the Government and administrative machinery have been heavily criticised. - Even Planning Minister Nanda's first-year report to Parliament was characterised by the editorial as a scrappy, disjointed narration of truths and half-truths. - Despite a vast planning apparatus and Reserve Bank research support, projections for cement, steel, electricity, coal, transport and fertilisers have gone hay-wire within a year of the Plan's publication. - National income grew only three per cent against a five per cent target; wholesale prices rose 3.4 per cent (official) and 4½ per cent (Economic Times index); Central Government undertakings made no progress toward their Rs. 300-crore surplus. - Exports of Rs. 656 crores in the first year fall short of the Rs. 740-crore annual average required, and foreign-exchange needs were under-estimated while invisibles turned adverse. - Imported techniques — model building, econometric models, input-output analysis, flow-of-funds analysis — have not prevented basic structural drift from pre-determined estimates. - Structural diagnosis: the Planning Commission's top membership is a concentrated version of the Central Cabinet, so planning sits above governmental censure and targets become an echo of political whims and compromise. - Reform demands institutional autonomy — planners with a personality of their own, free from political exigency, with frank mutual criticism between planning and administrative authorities. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Population and Economic Liberalization URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/population-and-economic-liberalization-s-l-rao-november-18-1995/ ### Summary Delivered as the 30th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture at the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 3 November 1995, S. L. Rao's address argues that the economic freedoms India has begun to enjoy since 1991 must now be extended to population policy. Rather than persisting with target-driven family planning and large-scale female sterilisation, Rao calls for a re-orientation of government effort toward investment in human capital — child nutrition, infant mortality reduction, female schooling, adult female literacy, maternal health and basic preventive services — delivered through better-targeted programmes that actually reach the poor. The heart of the lecture is a comparative reading of India against China, Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea. Drawing on the National Family Health Survey (1992), the 1995 Human Development Report and NCAER work, Rao shows that India's East Asian neighbours have moved faster on fertility, infant mortality, female life expectancy, schooling and inequality because they invested earlier in women's education, health and labour-force participation, built credible local government, and (in China's case) carried out land reform and basic social security.… ### Body # Population and Economic Liberalization *By S.L. RAO* ## Summary Delivered as the 30th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture at the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 3 November 1995, S. L. Rao's address argues that the economic freedoms India has begun to enjoy since 1991 must now be extended to population policy. Rather than persisting with target-driven family planning and large-scale female sterilisation, Rao calls for a re-orientation of government effort toward investment in human capital — child nutrition, infant mortality reduction, female schooling, adult female literacy, maternal health and basic preventive services — delivered through better-targeted programmes that actually reach the poor. The heart of the lecture is a comparative reading of India against China, Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea. Drawing on the National Family Health Survey (1992), the 1995 Human Development Report and NCAER work, Rao shows that India's East Asian neighbours have moved faster on fertility, infant mortality, female life expectancy, schooling and inequality because they invested earlier in women's education, health and labour-force participation, built credible local government, and (in China's case) carried out land reform and basic social security. Within India, Kerala and Tamil Nadu confirm the same lesson: relatively poor states with strong female literacy and health systems have outperformed the demographically worst-off "BIMARU" group of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. From this evidence Rao draws an explicitly liberal conclusion. Economic development alone is not the best contraceptive; women's status is. The state's job is not to set sterilisation targets but to create the "enabling environment" — schools, clinics, nutrition, panchayat-level participation — in which families freely choose smaller size. To finance and sustain this, India must press ahead with trade liberalisation, disinvest from public enterprises, decentralise political power, and reduce the role of government in running the economy, so that public resources and managerial talent can be focused on human development. Population policy, in his framing, becomes a continuation of the 1991 economic reforms by other means. ## Key points - Rao's central thesis: the economic liberalisation begun in 1991 must be extended to population policy, replacing target-driven family planning with investment in human capital and an 'enabling environment' for families to choose smaller size. - He traces fifty years of Indian population control — from the 'clinic' approach of the First Five Year Plan, through 'extension' education, the coercive sterilisation 'camps' of the early 1970s, the Emergency watershed, and the continuing target-and-incentive regime — and judges all of them as having coerced women and failed on outcomes. - Cross-country comparison with China, Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea shows India lagging on Total Fertility Rate, infant mortality, female life expectancy, female literacy, female labour-force participation and inequality, despite India having started reforms only in 1991. - Within India, Kerala and Tamil Nadu demonstrate that relatively poor states with strong female literacy and health services can beat richer 'BIMARU' states (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and to a lesser extent Andhra and Orissa) on demographic and human-development indicators. - Female literacy, female labour-force participation, rising age at marriage, and reduction of gender bias in child survival emerge as the most powerful levers on fertility — economic growth by itself is not the best contraceptive. - Social service delivery in India fails because of poor targeting, leakage, excessive administrative cost, low motivation of workers, and a wide gulf between citizens and the state; the 73rd/74th panchayat amendment is welcomed as a step toward participatory delivery. - Public policy implications: invest in child nutrition and health, infant mortality reduction, female schooling, adult female literacy, maternal health and care of older girls; ensure cheap food, immunisation, safe water and disease control; and provide minimal social security to the aged poor. - These investments require fiscal space, which Rao argues will only come from continuing trade liberalisation, disinvestment from government-owned enterprises, decentralisation of political power, and a smaller managerial role for the state in the economy. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Population Causes Prosperity URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/population-causes-prosperity-ccs-viewpoint-2/ ### Summary In this Centre for Civil Society 'Viewpoint 2' essay, Sauvik Chakraverti inverts the orthodox Indian view of population, arguing that 'population causes prosperity' rather than poverty. He observes that the world's densely populated cities — Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, New York, London — are precisely where wealth, cars, cellphones and millionaires concentrate, and that urbanisation is also the cure for high birth rates because urban dwellers find small families 'economic.' On this basis he calls for a radical rethink of the 'population problem' that government-approved economics textbooks teach schoolchildren, condemning the coercive 'cure' (Sanjay Gandhi's forced sterilisations) as anathema in a free society and as resting on a false premise. The core of the argument is economic. In the 'Homo Economicus' section, Chakraverti follows Adam Smith's 'propensity to truck, barter and exchange' to claim that only human beings have an 'economy' because only they trade and specialise; population density is therefore a precondition of the division of labour and of wealth creation, making cities 'the ant hills of human colonists' whose purpose is wealth creation.… ### Body # Population Causes Prosperity *By Sauvik Chakraverti* ## Summary In this Centre for Civil Society 'Viewpoint 2' essay, Sauvik Chakraverti inverts the orthodox Indian view of population, arguing that 'population causes prosperity' rather than poverty. He observes that the world's densely populated cities — Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, New York, London — are precisely where wealth, cars, cellphones and millionaires concentrate, and that urbanisation is also the cure for high birth rates because urban dwellers find small families 'economic.' On this basis he calls for a radical rethink of the 'population problem' that government-approved economics textbooks teach schoolchildren, condemning the coercive 'cure' (Sanjay Gandhi's forced sterilisations) as anathema in a free society and as resting on a false premise. The core of the argument is economic. In the 'Homo Economicus' section, Chakraverti follows Adam Smith's 'propensity to truck, barter and exchange' to claim that only human beings have an 'economy' because only they trade and specialise; population density is therefore a precondition of the division of labour and of wealth creation, making cities 'the ant hills of human colonists' whose purpose is wealth creation. He attacks 'socialist development economics' — associated with Gunnar Myrdal — for what Peter Bauer called 'the denial of the economic principle': treating the poor as an irrational problem rather than as skilled, rational traders and as a resource. The later sections ('Urbanisation,' 'Primacy and Delhi's state-sponsored markets,' 'The economics of abundance') argue that India's urban squalor is not caused by numbers but by state-directed, mal-integrated cities: an absent road and transport network, a botched Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System that serves students and bypasses the working masses, and the failure to reinvest public-good assets. He contends that connecting villages to towns by tramway would release vast land and lower prices, citing Japan, West Germany, Holland and Belgium as denser yet unburdened by India's overcrowding. The essay closes by reframing economics as the study of abundance, not scarcity, with the market as an 'eco-system,' and appends a References section (Clark, Lal, King, Hall). ## Key points - A CCS Viewpoint essay by Sauvik Chakraverti arguing that population density and urbanisation cause prosperity, not poverty. - Points to dense, wealthy cities (Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, New York, London) as evidence and calls urbanisation the real cure for high birth rates. - Attacks the textbook 'population problem' and condemns coercive remedies such as Sanjay Gandhi's forced sterilisations as unjustified and premise-false. - In 'Homo Economicus,' grounds the case in Adam Smith's propensity to exchange: only humans trade and specialise, so density enables the division of labour and wealth. - Frames socialist development economics (Gunnar Myrdal) as guilty of Peter Bauer's 'denial of the economic principle' — treating the poor as a problem, not a resource. - Blames India's urban squalor on state-directed, poorly integrated cities: missing roads, a misdesigned Delhi MRTS, and failure to reinvest public assets. - Argues connecting villages to towns (e.g. by tramway) would free up land and lower prices; cites Japan, West Germany, Holland, Belgium as denser yet less overcrowded. - Closes by recasting economics as the study of abundance, the market as an 'eco-system,' and appends a References list (Clark, Lal, King, Hall). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Population, Development and Environment URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/population-development-and-environment-by-sp-godrej-december-15-1994/ ### Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in December 1994, this twelve-page booklet reproduces S. P. Godrej's keynote address to a WWF-India seminar in New Delhi in November 1994. Godrej, an industrialist and Vice-President of the World Wide Fund for Nature - India, argues that the new economic policy's promise will not be realised so long as India fails to confront its 'population holocaust'. Development, environment and population, he contends, constitute a trinity in which the third element relentlessly degrades the other two: India must support 16 per cent of the world's population on 2.5 per cent of its land and 1.5 per cent of its income, while 170 million go hungry, 48 per cent remain illiterate, and 1.3 million hectares of forest are cleared every year. The essay reads as a polemic of missed opportunities. Godrej notes that India was the first country to adopt family planning as state policy and the first to open a birth-control clinic (Mysore, 1930), yet has fallen behind Sri Lanka, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and Japan.… ### Body # Population, Development and Environment *By S. P. GODREJ* ## Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in December 1994, this twelve-page booklet reproduces S. P. Godrej's keynote address to a WWF-India seminar in New Delhi in November 1994. Godrej, an industrialist and Vice-President of the World Wide Fund for Nature - India, argues that the new economic policy's promise will not be realised so long as India fails to confront its 'population holocaust'. Development, environment and population, he contends, constitute a trinity in which the third element relentlessly degrades the other two: India must support 16 per cent of the world's population on 2.5 per cent of its land and 1.5 per cent of its income, while 170 million go hungry, 48 per cent remain illiterate, and 1.3 million hectares of forest are cleared every year. The essay reads as a polemic of missed opportunities. Godrej notes that India was the first country to adopt family planning as state policy and the first to open a birth-control clinic (Mysore, 1930), yet has fallen behind Sri Lanka, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and Japan. He blames the political backlash from Emergency-era coercion ('we threw out the baby with the bath water!'), an over-concentration on economic growth at the expense of health and education, a 'chalta hai, chalne do' fatalism that mistakes karma and astrology for thought, and 'religious' zeal around the Five-Year Plans. He invokes Gandhi on village uplift, J. R. D. Tata on a 'global concern' for population, Karan Singh on a national movement for population control, and the Pearson Commission's warning that no other phenomenon 'casts a darker shadow' over development. His prescriptions are positive rather than coercive: sound education, crash programmes for female literacy (citing Kerala's example, where rising literacy reduces fertility), trade unions as carriers of awareness, committed media, scientists and 'medical men particularly' agitating against the conditions that breed disease, and electoral incentives that reward politicians who plan their own families. Godrej praises WWF-India's expanding network of branches and its Pirojsha Godrej National Conservation Centre, lauds the Grow More Food Campaign and the Earth Summit/Cairo agendas while faulting them for sidelining population, and closes by tying the booklet's argument to the Forum of Free Enterprise tradition with framing quotations from A. D. Shroff ('Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives') and Eugene Black on private enterprise as 'an affirmative good'. ## Key points - Frames development, environment and population as a trinity in which uncontrolled population growth inevitably degrades the other two. - Marshals stark comparative data: India carries 16 per cent of world population on 2.5 per cent of its land and 1.5 per cent of its income; 170 million go hungry and 48 per cent remain illiterate. - Reads India's family-planning record (first to adopt it as state policy, first birth-control clinic in Mysore 1930) as a story of squandered firsts compared to Sri Lanka, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and Japan. - Blames the Emergency's coercive excesses for politically discrediting the family-planning movement: 'we threw out the baby with the bath water!' - Argues that excess concentration on economic growth has starved health and education; cites Kerala and partially Tamil Nadu as proofs that welfare investment lowers fertility. - Faults Rio's Earth Summit and the Cairo Conference for prioritising contraception, abortion and women's rights over population control itself, while still endorsing female literacy as the most powerful demographic lever. - Rejects fatalistic 'chalta hai, chalne do' cultural attitudes, belief in karma and astrology, and 'religious' faith in Five-Year Plans as traditional weaknesses obstructing demographic transition. - Proposes positive solutions — sound education, crash programmes for female literacy, trade-union mobilisation, a committed media, doctors as advocates, and an electoral norm that withholds tickets from politicians who do not practise small-family planning. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] PRESS FREEDOMS AND HUMAN RIGHTS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/press-freedoms-and-human-rights-c-r-irani-january-16-1978/ ### Summary C. R. Irani's A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered for the Forum of Free Enterprise on 19 October 1977 and issued as a booklet on 16 January 1978, argues that press freedoms are not adjacent to human rights but constitutive of them. Irani opens with US Secretary of State Cyrus Vance's three-part definition of human rights — protection from governmental violation of the person, fulfilment of basic needs, and political and civil liberties — and uses Solzhenitsyn's image of peoples who 'soar unhampered over the peaks of freedom' only to lose the will to defend it. His diagnosis is that free peoples are seduced into slavery because they are unwilling to pay the continuing price of liberty. The centre of the lecture is a first-hand narrative of the assault on the Indian press from 1969 onward, climaxing in the Emergency of 1975.… ### Body # PRESS FREEDOMS AND HUMAN RIGHTS *By C. R. IRANI* ## Summary C. R. Irani's A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered for the Forum of Free Enterprise on 19 October 1977 and issued as a booklet on 16 January 1978, argues that press freedoms are not adjacent to human rights but constitutive of them. Irani opens with US Secretary of State Cyrus Vance's three-part definition of human rights — protection from governmental violation of the person, fulfilment of basic needs, and political and civil liberties — and uses Solzhenitsyn's image of peoples who 'soar unhampered over the peaks of freedom' only to lose the will to defend it. His diagnosis is that free peoples are seduced into slavery because they are unwilling to pay the continuing price of liberty. The centre of the lecture is a first-hand narrative of the assault on the Indian press from 1969 onward, climaxing in the Emergency of 1975. Irani, then Managing Director of The Statesman, recounts the 'carrot-and-stick' regime used against prestige editors — attempts to take over The Statesman by stacking its board, the cutting of the Indian Express's electricity supply, MISA arrests of journalists, full pre-censorship, and the PPOMA legislation slipped into the Ninth Schedule to head off legal challenge. He pays tribute to the 'brave little band' of dissident editors — Gorwala's Opinion, Raj Mohan Gandhi's Himmat, N. G. Goray's Janata, Thatte's Sadhana, Minoo Masani's Freedom First — and to advocates such as Soli Sorabjee who carried the press's case into the Bombay High Court before Justice Tulzapurkar. Irani then attacks the construction of Samachar as a single news pool, framed as an instrument of state propaganda that destroyed credibility, and turns to the wider doctrinal argument made by some Third World governments under UNESCO auspices that economic development justifies state direction of news. He rejects the trade-off, citing The Economist's verdict after the Lok Sabha elections that 'no one will ever be able to claim again that there is a choice between freedom and bread.' Personal anecdotes — a Bombay customs officer who quietly waved him through after the Emergency, the 'halaas ordinary people' who kept resistant editors going — round out a closing prescription: the press's duty is to report objectively, analyse logically, and criticise fearlessly, always with an ear to the voice of dissent. ## Key points - Frames press freedom as constitutive of human rights, anchoring the case in Cyrus Vance's April 1977 Georgia Law School speech and its three-part definition (personal integrity, basic needs, political and civil rights). - Diagnoses, via Solzhenitsyn, that free peoples lose liberty because they will not pay its continuing price — 'it is only this unwillingness to pay a proper price for liberty that seduces people to slavery.' - Dates the assault on the Indian press to 1969, escalating in 1971 with a plan to put the press in a 'strait-jacket' via two cabinet ministers, and intensifying through the 1975 Emergency. - Recounts as Managing Director of The Statesman: attempts to forfeit printing presses, install hostile directors, impose pre-censorship by telephone, and use MISA arrests and PPOMA legislation (placed in the Ninth Schedule) to insulate censorship from legal challenge. - Salutes a small dissident press — Gorwala's Opinion, Raj Mohan Gandhi's Himmat, N. G. Goray's Janata, Thatte's Sadhana, Minoo Masani's Freedom First — and tributes Soli Sorabjee for arguing their cases before Justice Tulzapurkar's Bombay High Court bench. - Attacks the Samachar news pool as a fabricated 'government organ' that destroyed the credibility of Indian news agencies and was used to circulate fake nation-wide surveys. - Rebuts the UNESCO / Third World doctrine that economic development justifies state control of news, citing The Economist's post-election conclusion that there is no choice between freedom and bread. - Closes with the press's prescriptive duty: to report objectively, analyse logically, criticise fearlessly, and remain attentive to dissent as the 'one unfailing test of respect for Human Rights.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Press and Private Enterprise in a Democracy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/press-and-private-enterprise-in-a-democracy-by-njn-september-9-1963/ ### Summary Published as a Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet on 9 September 1963 and reproduced from the Times of India of 15 April 1963, this short polemic — signed only with the initials N. J. N. — challenges the gap between the Indian government's rhetorical fealty to press freedom and what the author sees as its actual record of harassment, favouritism and slogan-mongering against newspapers. The opening pages target a Government of India directive that permitted papers under 10,000 copies to expand at will while requiring 'general guidance' from the Registrar of Newspapers for larger papers; the author reads this as a deliberate effort to reward small, pliant titles and discipline the independent ones, and asks whether any paper that accepts newsprint favours from government can remain objective. The second half broadens the indictment. The author argues that hostile slogans such as 'jute press' and 'monopoly' have been mainstreamed by Nehru himself — most recently at an A.I.C.C. session denouncing newspapers as 'wholly undesirable and objectionable' — and amplified by Congressmen, Communists and 'leader-writers' who have built a career of disparaging the press.… ### Body # Press and Private Enterprise in a Democracy *By N. J. N.* ## Summary Published as a Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet on 9 September 1963 and reproduced from the Times of India of 15 April 1963, this short polemic — signed only with the initials N. J. N. — challenges the gap between the Indian government's rhetorical fealty to press freedom and what the author sees as its actual record of harassment, favouritism and slogan-mongering against newspapers. The opening pages target a Government of India directive that permitted papers under 10,000 copies to expand at will while requiring 'general guidance' from the Registrar of Newspapers for larger papers; the author reads this as a deliberate effort to reward small, pliant titles and discipline the independent ones, and asks whether any paper that accepts newsprint favours from government can remain objective. The second half broadens the indictment. The author argues that hostile slogans such as 'jute press' and 'monopoly' have been mainstreamed by Nehru himself — most recently at an A.I.C.C. session denouncing newspapers as 'wholly undesirable and objectionable' — and amplified by Congressmen, Communists and 'leader-writers' who have built a career of disparaging the press. He insists no single agency or family controls all the newspapers, magazines and weeklies in the country, and that what looks like a chain is in fact a sustained conflict of different views and ideas. Defending career editors as a 'few individuals' whose tradition-bound judgment is more reliable than that of Ministers, he reminds readers that it was these same journalists who warned of the Chinese threat and the inadequacies of Nehru's China policy years before the crisis broke. He closes with the proposition that 'the greatest of all Press freedoms is freedom from Government interference and prejudice,' warning that if constant vilification is not replaced by genuine understanding, the loser will be democracy itself, not just the press. ## Key points - Frames Indian press freedom as a platitude routinely mouthed by Ministers while the Government's actual conduct is riddled with anti-liberal prejudice and favouritism. - Attacks a Ministry of Information and Broadcasting order that lets newspapers under 10,000 copies expand freely but requires 'general guidance' from the Registrar of Newspapers for larger papers — read as a sanctioned vehicle for discriminating against independent titles. - Argues that government newsprint allocations are a covert form of patronage and that any paper accepting such favours cannot credibly claim objectivity. - Catalogues the slogans — 'jute press', 'monopoly', 'cute press' — used to discredit the privately owned press, and traces them to Nehru's own remarks at an A.I.C.C. session against 'personal attacks'. - Disputes the monopoly charge empirically: no single person, agency or family controls all newspapers, magazines and weeklies in India; what critics call a chain is actually a competing field of views and ideas. - Defends career editors and journalistic tradition against the Prime Minister's dismissal of them as having mental equipment 'slightly above zero', noting that it was journalists who first warned of the Chinese threat and the failures of non-alignment. - Worries that Government policy is shifting from criticism of newspapers to building up a class of dependent, smaller papers willing to trade independence for state favours. - Concludes that the greatest press freedom is freedom from Government interference and prejudice, and that constant vilification ultimately injures democracy rather than just the press. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Price Control on Drugs URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/price-control-on-drugs-prof-p-a-gaitonde-october-10-1970/ ### Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise on 10 October 1970, this pamphlet collects three short polemics opposing the Government of India's Drugs (Prices Control) Order of 16 May 1970. The contributors — economist Prof. P. A. Gaitonde of K. C. College, Bombay; pharmaceutical Managing Director N. H. Israni; and PAMDAL Past President Champaklal Zaveri — share a common argument: in the absence of war or emergency shortage, rigid price control on drugs will throttle competition, deter R&D, reduce supply, and ultimately injure the very consumers it claims to help. The volume marshals price-index data, comparative international evidence, the Tariff Commission's 1968 report, and the confusion produced by the Order's repeated amendments to argue that the industry's growth and the public's health are best served by lower taxes, decanalised raw-material imports, and the discipline of competition rather than by a single-formula government fiat. ### Body # Price Control on Drugs ## Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise on 10 October 1970, this pamphlet collects three short polemics opposing the Government of India's Drugs (Prices Control) Order of 16 May 1970. The contributors — economist Prof. P. A. Gaitonde of K. C. College, Bombay; pharmaceutical Managing Director N. H. Israni; and PAMDAL Past President Champaklal Zaveri — share a common argument: in the absence of war or emergency shortage, rigid price control on drugs will throttle competition, deter R&D, reduce supply, and ultimately injure the very consumers it claims to help. The volume marshals price-index data, comparative international evidence, the Tariff Commission's 1968 report, and the confusion produced by the Order's repeated amendments to argue that the industry's growth and the public's health are best served by lower taxes, decanalised raw-material imports, and the discipline of competition rather than by a single-formula government fiat. ## Essays ### Price Control on Drugs *By Prof. P. R. Gaitonde* Prof. Gaitonde frames the Drugs (Prices Control) Order of 16 May 1970 as a non-economic intervention dressed up as consumer protection. He concedes controls can be justified during war or shortage but argues that, absent those conditions, competition — not coercion — is the engine of falling prices and broader prosperity. Reviewing wholesale-price-index movements from 1952-53 onward, he points out that drug and pharmaceutical prices rose far less than the general index (88.7 per cent vs 111.6 per cent between 1956-57 and 1968-69), so the Government's premise of runaway drug prices is empirically thin. He traces the regulatory creep from the 1963 Drug Price Control Order through the Tariff Commission's two-year inquiry, the August 1968 report whose recommendations were shelved, and Dr. Triguna Sen's announcement of the new formula-based Order. Gaitonde then dissects the Order's pricing formula, showing that the permitted mark-ups (75 per cent over costs, 100-150 for products requiring development and research, with manufacturers' price further cut by 20 per cent off retail and trade commissions squeezed to 12.5 per cent for ethical drugs and 10.5 per cent for others) leave too thin a margin to fund R&D in an industry where new products take four years and substantial capital to develop. He warns that the Indian industry, which has grown from Rs. 34 crores in 1954 to Rs. 235 crores in 1969 and projects Rs. 625 crores by 1980-81, will be choked precisely when investment of around Rs. 750 crores is needed. The remedy he urges is structural: cheap raw materials from the public sector, monetary and fiscal discipline, lower taxation on inputs, and a growth-oriented climate — not a price freeze. - Concedes controls may be justified in shortage, emergency or war — but rejects them as the default tool in normal conditions. - Cites wholesale-price-index data showing drug prices rose much slower (88.7%) than general commodity prices (111.6%) between 1956-57 and 1968-69. - Reviews 1963 Drug Price Control Order, 1966 Tariff Commission reference, and 1968 report shelved by Government. - Argues the May 1970 Order's mark-up formula leaves no incentive for the four-year, capital-intensive R&D cycle new drugs require. - Notes IDPL and other public-sector raw-material producers sell at far higher rupee-per-kg prices than imports, calling that the leverage point Government should fix. - Recommends reduction of the 20-30 per cent indirect tax burden on drugs and a growth-oriented climate rather than price freezes. ### Drug Price Control & the Consumer *By N. H. Israni* Writing as Managing Director of a pharmaceutical company, Israni argues that public discussion of drug prices over the four or five months since the Order has been driven more by emotion than by evidence. He sketches the pre-1963 history — when prices of bulk drugs (Tetracycline capsules from Rs. 2.50 to Rs. 1.15 between 1956 and 1963, Penicillin Ointment, PAS, Vitamin C tablets and others) fell year after year under the discipline of international competition — to show that competition, not control, was already delivering reductions. The first 1963 Order, he says, was a panicked response to the Chinese aggression that ended up freezing prices and was unfair to manufacturers who had been selling cheap. The core of the essay reviews the Tariff Commission's 1968 finding that Indian pre-tax profits varied widely (5-25 per cent of turnover) and that the industry could not absorb a uniform 25-30 per cent cut. Israni recounts how, in February 1970, manufacturers offered to bring down prices of selected essential drugs by 10-25 per cent, but the Government chose instead to rationalise all 18 categories through a rigid formula — the first country in the world to do so. He details the 50-66 per cent voluntary cuts on around 1,100 products, the Rs. 15-crore annual gain to consumers, and the confusion sown by 1,500 amendments. He closes with a five-point programme: abolish controls and intensify competition; encourage cost-consciousness; permit profits to fund tropical-disease research (where a single research unit needs Rs. 2-3 crores and Rs. 50-60 lakhs annually); treat industry as a partner rather than a target of compulsion; and examine the 22 per cent burden of indirect taxes on every rupee of drugs. - Pre-1963 history shows competition was driving drug prices down (Tetracycline capsule from Rs. 2.50 in 1956 to Rs. 1.15 in 1963; similar falls in PAS, Penicillin Ointment, Vitamin C). - Indian profits were already lower than international comparators per Tariff Commission's 1968 report; uniform 25-30% cut was rejected as unworkable. - Industry voluntarily reduced prices of about 1,100 products by 50-66% (annual consumer gain ~Rs. 15 crores) before being subjected to a rigid formula. - India is the only country in the world applying so rigid a price-formula approach to pharmaceuticals. - Five-point reform agenda: abolish controls, encourage efficiency, allow profits for tropical-disease R&D, treat industry as partner, cut the 22% indirect-tax load on drugs. ### Will There Be a Shortage of Drugs? *By Champaklal Zaveri* Champaklal Zaveri, writing as a Past President of PAMDAL, opens by restating the volume's frame: price control is an emergency measure, not a routine instrument. He concedes that some branded drugs are expensive but argues that competitive pressure has already kept Indian manufacturers' prices reasonably low — often lower than the mark-up the formula now permits. He puts drug prices in perspective by noting a vial of B-Complex parenteral solution costing Rs. 3 supports ten injections of the same solution priced at Rs. 30, so the medical context matters more than headline drug prices. He revisits the 1963 Statutory Control Order under Chinese-aggression conditions, which froze rather than reduced prices and penalised manufacturers who had been selling cheap. The essay then examines the 1970 Order, the 54 per cent reductions / 25 per cent unchanged / 21 per cent increases revealed in the Health Minister's Lok Sabha statement, and the two main drivers of the increases: seven years of cost build-up not reflected in prices, and imported raw-material price rises forced by canalisation through Government undertakings. Zaveri reports four amendments in quick succession, culminating in the fourth amendment rolling all increases back to the 15 May level — a step he calls administratively chaotic, especially for Indian-sector manufacturers who most needed rationalisation. He closes by urging Government to settle the revised prices quickly, to retrace canalisation if public undertakings cannot meet raw-material demand, and warns the country will face an acute shortage of drugs otherwise. - Frames price control as an emergency tool only; competition already keeps average Indian manufacturers near a low price level. - Argues drug prices must be read against total medical costs (Rs. 3 vial vs Rs. 30 of injection charges). - Recounts the 1963 freeze as a Chinese-aggression response that penalised low-priced manufacturers. - Reports Health Minister's Lok Sabha disclosure: 54% of drugs cut, 25% unchanged, 21% increased — with positive reductions ignored by Press. - Two causes of the 21% increases: seven-year cost build-up and canalisation-driven raw-material price rises. - Fourth amendment rolling prices back to 15 May level created confusion and hit the Indian sector hardest. - Warns of acute drug shortage if Government does not retrace canalisation when public-sector supply falls short. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Price Policy in Nationalised Industry and Trade URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/price-policy-p-h-sheshagiri-rao-mar8-1960/ ### Summary P. H. Sheshagiri Rao's pamphlet, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise on 8 March 1960 and drawn from a 1959 lecture at the Institute of World Culture in Bangalore, takes as its provocation two contemporary moves: the All-India Congress Committee's Chandigarh resolution to widen nationalised industry and trade, and the National Development Council's decision to push ahead with state trading in foodgrains. Rao argues that the ruling party is treating nationalisation as a matter of ideology and sentiment, and that it falls to the intelligentsia to bring the question down to earth by asking a single hard question: at what price will nationalised industry and trade deliver goods to the consumer? He walks the reader through the economics of price formation in buyers' and sellers' markets, in shortage and emergency, and through the four contract types familiar from procurement — formed, farmed, negotiated and cost-plus. He then turns this taxonomy on the State itself.… ### Body # Price Policy in Nationalised Industry and Trade *By P. H. SHESHAGIRI RAO* ## Summary P. H. Sheshagiri Rao's pamphlet, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise on 8 March 1960 and drawn from a 1959 lecture at the Institute of World Culture in Bangalore, takes as its provocation two contemporary moves: the All-India Congress Committee's Chandigarh resolution to widen nationalised industry and trade, and the National Development Council's decision to push ahead with state trading in foodgrains. Rao argues that the ruling party is treating nationalisation as a matter of ideology and sentiment, and that it falls to the intelligentsia to bring the question down to earth by asking a single hard question: at what price will nationalised industry and trade deliver goods to the consumer? He walks the reader through the economics of price formation in buyers' and sellers' markets, in shortage and emergency, and through the four contract types familiar from procurement — formed, farmed, negotiated and cost-plus. He then turns this taxonomy on the State itself. The slogan of "no-profit no-loss", he writes, was a carrot dangled before a credulous public; once the State entered industry and trade, the profit motive was quietly reinstalled under names like "pooled price" and "retention price." His central case study is the State Trading Corporation's cement operation, where, by his reading of the S.T.C.'s own annual reports and balance sheets for 1956-57 and 1957-58, an "equalised price" concealed an effective levy on imported cement, a 105 per cent margin on subsidised stocks, and a net trading profit of roughly Rs. 1.12 crores routed through "service charges" and dalali commissions. He extends the indictment to steel (the "retention price" device), locomotives (the dispute between Chittaranjan and TELCO), and the proposed state purchase of foodgrains, where varying soils and tenancies make any single "fair price" arbitrary. The deeper argument is structural. When the State is producer, regulator and monopolist all at once, the consumer loses the open-market exit that disciplines a private monopolist; the citizen has "no chances of beating down the price" the State demands. Pooled prices, he insists, do not remove the cause of complaint, they only remove the accusing finger from the inefficient producer (the State itself) and re-aim it at the efficient one. The whole apparatus, he concludes, functions as backdoor taxation — "every sale becomes a collection of tax" — and points toward the kind of "undiluted totalitarianism" already in place in Communist Russia. Rao closes by setting two alternatives before India: the Russian path of nationalisation and coercion, and the West German path under Ludwig Erhard, whose Prosperity Through Competition he cites as evidence that voluntary, free-enterprise progress is both possible and durable. He invokes the British electorate's denationalisation of steel under the Conservatives to argue that "a mature democracy has decided that socialism leads to state capitalism" and that private enterprise is fully compatible with social justice. ## Key points - Frames the pamphlet around the All-India Congress Committee's Chandigarh resolution to extend nationalised industry and the National Development Council's move to state trading in foodgrains, arguing that nationalisation is being defended on ideology rather than on price to the consumer. - Walks through price formation in buyers' versus sellers' markets and the four contract types — formed, farmed, negotiated and cost-plus — to set up a taxonomy he then applies to the State as trader. - Treats "no-profit no-loss" as a public-relations carrot that the State quietly abandoned once in business, replacing it with "pooled" and "retention" prices that revive the profit motive under euphemisms. - Uses the State Trading Corporation's cement operation as his central case, citing S.T.C.'s own 1956-57 and 1957-58 annual reports to allege concealed levies on imported cement, a 105 per cent margin on subsidised stocks, and a roughly Rs. 1.12 crore net profit routed through "service charges" and dalali commissions. - Extends the critique to steel retention prices, the Chittaranjan-versus-TELCO locomotive dispute, and the proposed state purchase of foodgrains, where varying soils and tenancies make any single "fair price" arbitrary. - Argues structurally that when the State is producer, regulator and monopolist, the citizen loses the open-market exit that disciplines a private monopolist, and that pooled prices merely shield the inefficient producer. - Reads State Trading as backdoor taxation — "every sale becomes a collection of tax" — and warns it leads toward the totalitarian arrangement of Communist Russia. - Closes by contrasting the Russian path with West Germany under Ludwig Erhard and Britain's denationalisation of steel under the Conservatives to argue that mature democracies have decided socialism leads to state capitalism. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] PRINCIPLES OF A SOUND PERSONNEL POLICY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/principles-of-a-sound-personnel-policy-s-r-mohan-das-15-march-1976/ ### Summary S. R. Mohan Das, Director of the Industrial Relations Institute of India, sets out the architecture of an effective personnel policy for industrial organisations. Adapted from a talk delivered at the Forum of Free Enterprise on 26 September 1975 and issued by the Forum as a booklet in March 1976, the text distinguishes material from human resources and argues that under-developed societies err in assuming that sheer population can be slotted into the industrial system without a prior 'quality transformation'. Personnel management, on Mohan Das's account, is the integrated discipline of generating, selecting, inducting, training, utilising and severing human resources so they can function as an integrated team across the work and non-work spheres of the enterprise. The argumentative spine is a typology of three interest groups inside the organisation — owners, employees with management responsibilities, and workmen — plus three external constituencies (government, suppliers, clients). Each carries partisan claims, and the personnel function exists to mediate them as a continuous, multi-level, power-balancing relationship rather than a litigatory or peace-keeping exercise.… ### Body # PRINCIPLES OF A SOUND PERSONNEL POLICY *By S. R. MOHAN DAS* ## Summary S. R. Mohan Das, Director of the Industrial Relations Institute of India, sets out the architecture of an effective personnel policy for industrial organisations. Adapted from a talk delivered at the Forum of Free Enterprise on 26 September 1975 and issued by the Forum as a booklet in March 1976, the text distinguishes material from human resources and argues that under-developed societies err in assuming that sheer population can be slotted into the industrial system without a prior 'quality transformation'. Personnel management, on Mohan Das's account, is the integrated discipline of generating, selecting, inducting, training, utilising and severing human resources so they can function as an integrated team across the work and non-work spheres of the enterprise. The argumentative spine is a typology of three interest groups inside the organisation — owners, employees with management responsibilities, and workmen — plus three external constituencies (government, suppliers, clients). Each carries partisan claims, and the personnel function exists to mediate them as a continuous, multi-level, power-balancing relationship rather than a litigatory or peace-keeping exercise. Mohan Das insists that human resources be treated as scarce investment, not cost; that workers be approached as 'quality adult personalities', not dependent children; and that role relationships replace the feudal 'master–servant' or 'command and obedience' model with one of explicit mutuality and reciprocity. The core of the booklet is a six-point policy framework. Industrial relations objectives must be performance-oriented rather than merely peace-oriented; relationships must be organisational and role-based rather than individualistic; modern industrial work demands mutuality and discretion, not blind obedience; the relationship is continuous and multi-level from shop floor to top management; industrial relations function as an apprenticeship in leadership and problem-processing; and the system should convert conflict into a game between strong opponents rather than guerrilla warfare aimed at liquidating a 'hated enemy'. Mohan Das closes by insisting that line supervisors and managers — not just specialist personnel or legal officers — be involved, and that the policy include a time-bound grievance procedure and two-way communication channels. The Forum appends its own 1957 'Code of Conduct' as an editorial supplement, framing producers', employers', management's, professional men's and citizens' obligations in the private-enterprise order. The booklet opens with an epigraph from Eugene Black urging acceptance of private enterprise as 'an affirmative good' and closes with the Forum's standing A. D. Shroff epigraph on free enterprise's permanence. ## Key points - Personnel management is reframed as human-resources management: an integrated discipline covering generation, selection, induction, utilisation, training, development and severance of quality manpower. - Under-developed societies' assumption that quantitative population can be automatically absorbed into the industrial system is challenged; population must undergo a 'quality transformation' before it becomes usable labour. - Three internal interest groups (owners, managerial employees, workmen) and three external constituencies (government, suppliers, clients) must be continuously reconciled by a sound personnel policy. - Human resources are scarce and should be treated as investment, not cost — a managerial axiom Mohan Das uses to attack consumption-oriented, control-based approaches. - Each human resource carries three identities — socio-cultural, occupational and collective/professional — and good industrial relations refuse to confuse one with the other. - A six-point policy framework: performance-oriented objectives; role-based organisational behaviour; mutuality and reciprocity replacing the master–servant model; continuous, multi-level relationships; industrial relations as leadership apprenticeship; and conflict converted from guerrilla warfare into a game. - Line supervisors and managers — not just specialist personnel or legal staff — must own the industrial-relations exercise, supported by a time-bound grievance procedure and regular two-way communication. - The Forum of Free Enterprise frames the booklet with its 1957 Code of Conduct for producers, employers, management, professionals and citizens, anchoring Mohan Das's HR doctrine inside an explicit private-enterprise ethic. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Private Enterprise and Politics URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/private-enterprise-and-politics-a-d-shroff-jun8-1962/ ### Summary This 14-page booklet collects four addresses delivered at a symposium organised by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 23 January 1962, prompted by debate during the February 1962 General Elections over the place of private enterprise in Indian politics. A. D. Shroff, President of the Forum, presided and opened by urging businessmen to shed their 'moral cowardice' and engage politics directly. He is joined by industrialist Lalchand Hirachand (President, Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce), journalist Frank Moraes (Editor-in-Chief, Indian Express), and educationist Dr. A. R. Wadia, M.P. (Director, Tata School of Social Sciences, Bombay). Across the four talks the contributors converge on a shared thesis: that the post-Independence expansion of state activity has made political abstention impossible for private industry, that the public-sector model is producing waste and unfair competition rather than virtue, and that defending free enterprise is inseparable from defending democracy itself. ### Body # Private Enterprise and Politics ## Summary This 14-page booklet collects four addresses delivered at a symposium organised by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 23 January 1962, prompted by debate during the February 1962 General Elections over the place of private enterprise in Indian politics. A. D. Shroff, President of the Forum, presided and opened by urging businessmen to shed their 'moral cowardice' and engage politics directly. He is joined by industrialist Lalchand Hirachand (President, Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce), journalist Frank Moraes (Editor-in-Chief, Indian Express), and educationist Dr. A. R. Wadia, M.P. (Director, Tata School of Social Sciences, Bombay). Across the four talks the contributors converge on a shared thesis: that the post-Independence expansion of state activity has made political abstention impossible for private industry, that the public-sector model is producing waste and unfair competition rather than virtue, and that defending free enterprise is inseparable from defending democracy itself. ## Essays ### BUSINESS MEN MUST PICK UP COURAGE *By A. D. Shroff* A. D. Shroff, presiding President of the Forum of Free Enterprise, opens with an anecdote crowning the politician as the oldest profession because 'he was the one who creates chaos', then argues that under the expanded post-Independence state, business can no longer stand aside from politics. Where pre-Independence businessmen complained that government took too little interest in them, the modern complaint is the opposite. He recalls the political activism of the Indian Merchants' Chamber during the freedom struggle and laments that today's businessmen are too timid to oppose the ruling party publicly — a 'trend of thinking' he warns 'was an idea propounded by Fascist Mussolini'. He closes by binding the cause of business to the cause of democratic survival itself. - Frames the booklet's central concern: the vast post-Independence increase in state power makes political engagement compulsory for business. - Contrasts pre-Independence businessman activism (Indian Merchants' Chamber boycott resolutions) with present-day political timidity. - Diagnoses Indian businessmen with 'moral cowardice' that the Forum of Free Enterprise (founded 1956) was set up to cure. - Warns that automatic deference to the ruling party is the totalitarian method of Fascist Mussolini. - Asserts the indivisibility of free enterprise and democracy. ### PRIVATE ENTERPRISE SHOULD IMPART REALISM TO ECONOMIC POLICIES *By LALCHAND HIRACHAND* Lalchand Hirachand, speaking as President of the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, argues that as economic activity has become 'dominant in everyday life', the Government's deepening interest in business has made economic policy a political question — and businessmen who keep aloof do so at their peril. He insists that businessmen must publicly advise the Government on industrial development, the Five-Year Plans, and the Public Sector vs. Private Sector controversy, citing the State Trading Corporation's profiteering on cement (as flagged by Parliament's Estimates Committee) as proof that public enterprises hold no monopoly on virtue. Profit-making, once dismissed as anti-social, is now widely recognised as 'absolutely essential for the development of industry and trade'; the time has come for private enterprise to defend itself through the press and the platform as well as through legislatures. - As economic life becomes the dominant axis of politics, business cannot abdicate the political conversation. - Calls for private enterprise to 'realise its useful role in political matters' rather than being scapegoated. - Cites the State Trading Corporation's cement profiteering (per Parliament's Estimates Committee) to refute the moral case for the Public Sector. - Notes the elite reversal that has rehabilitated profit-making as legitimate and necessary. - Insists that ideological self-defence must reach the public through press and platform, not only through legislatures. ### PRIVATE ENTERPRISE SHOULD HAVE AN IMPORTANT PLACE IN OUR DEMOCRACY *By FRANK MORAES* Frank Moraes, Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Express, opens with the witticism that 'there are only two ways of getting on in this world, either by one's own industry or by the stupidity of others' — and warns that some governments would happily profit from the latter. He rejects the romantic claim of pure freedom anywhere (neither in China and Russia, nor in the United States, where rich governments spend heavily on nuclear and atomic experiments) and argues that the proper test is comparative: a government's primary function is to ensure law, order, and economic and social justice, not to substitute itself for private initiative. India, he contends, is no longer 'underdeveloped' but a 'developing country' that 'needs more the stimuli of private enterprise'; the Five-Year Plans have produced a 'top-heavy mass of personnel, with a great deal of wastefulness' that legislatures struggle to bring to account. He closes by criticising Indian and Asian historians for instinctively equating industrialisation with capitalism and colonialism — a 'case of confused and arrested thinking' that still distorts India's economic life a century after the Industrial Revolution reached its shores. - Rejects the binary of 'unadulterated freedom' vs. classless society; insists on degree, not kind. - Government's primary function is law, order, and economic and social justice, not direct economic command. - India is a developing, not underdeveloped, country and now needs private-enterprise stimulus. - Five-Year Plans have produced wasteful, oversized state structures resistant to legislative oversight. - Indian and Asian historians have wrongly conflated industrialisation with capitalism and colonialism, freezing Indian economic thought. ### PRIVATE ENTERPRISE SHOULD TAKE INTEREST IN POLITICS *By DR. A. R. WADIA, M.P.* Dr. A. R. Wadia, M.P., Director of the Tata School of Social Sciences, opens by inverting the proverb that 'government governs the best which governs the least' — under modern socialism the dictum no longer holds. He argues that the capitalists of the 18th and 19th centuries in England and America 'were not as enlightened as the capitalists of today': had they been 'a little just to the claims of the labourers', socialism might never have arisen. Today even nominally non-socialist nations — the U.S.A., England, West Germany, France — are 'socialistic in that they do realise the importance of looking to the benefits and well-being of labourers' and tax heavily to fund welfare states. He notes that India has wavered between embracing and disavowing socialism, citing contradictory statements 'even from the Prime Minister', and argues that allowing private enterprise to exist 'almost by sufferance' is not enough — it must be actively encouraged because it brings expert management, the competitive impetus of profit, and the example of 'a genius like Jamshedji Tata'. The failure of Public Sector undertakings, he says, is largely because they are run by people without 'the special management expertise needed for success in business'. - Inverts the classical proverb: in the welfare-state era, minimal government is no longer the accepted standard. - Argues that capitalists themselves invited socialism by failing to share gains with labour; today's welfare states are partly capitalist corrections of that failure. - India's policy ambivalence on socialism (illustrated by inconsistent prime-ministerial statements) is itself a reason for private enterprise to speak up. - Public Sector failures trace to placing administrators without business management expertise in commercial roles. - Honours Jamshedji Tata as the type of entrepreneurial genius that government action could not have produced. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] PRIVATE ENTERPRISE SHOULD BE ALLOWED IN LIFE INSURANCE INDUSTRY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/private-enterprise-should-be-allowed-in-life-insurance-industry-by-prof--rl-varshney-may-8-1962/ ### Summary Prof. R. L. Varshney, an assistant professor at Lucknow University, mounts a sustained critique of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) six years after the 1956 nationalisation of life insurance, arguing that on every important index — premium rates, bonuses, agent quality, claims handling, expense ratios, and product range — the state monopoly has under-performed the private insurers it displaced. He marshals concrete comparisons: at the time of nationalisation an official communique promised a Re. 1 reduction in premiums per Rs. 1,000 of sum assured, yet in fact pre-nationalisation premium rates of leading Indian companies such as the Oriental and the New Asiatic were already lower than what the LIC now charges, and the bonuses paid out have fallen short of pre-takeover expectations. The growth in new business — Rs.… ### Body # PRIVATE ENTERPRISE SHOULD BE ALLOWED IN LIFE INSURANCE INDUSTRY *By Prof. R. L. Varshney* ## Summary Prof. R. L. Varshney, an assistant professor at Lucknow University, mounts a sustained critique of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) six years after the 1956 nationalisation of life insurance, arguing that on every important index — premium rates, bonuses, agent quality, claims handling, expense ratios, and product range — the state monopoly has under-performed the private insurers it displaced. He marshals concrete comparisons: at the time of nationalisation an official communique promised a Re. 1 reduction in premiums per Rs. 1,000 of sum assured, yet in fact pre-nationalisation premium rates of leading Indian companies such as the Oriental and the New Asiatic were already lower than what the LIC now charges, and the bonuses paid out have fallen short of pre-takeover expectations. The growth in new business — Rs. 609 crores in 1961 — cannot, he insists, be read as evidence of efficiency, since rising population, employment and national income would have produced the same expansion under any regime. The essay then catalogues operational failures that policyholders feel directly: an unchecked practice of premium rebating that nationalisation was meant to abolish; poorly trained agents who push standardised endowment plans regardless of a client's marriage, education or retirement needs; unreasonable delays in answering letters, inquiries and claims, with a deductible-from-interest penalty proposed for officers responsible; the withdrawal of joint-life policies without justification; and the abandonment of attractive products like the Retirement Benefit Plan and Endowment Benefit Plan offered by the pre-nationalisation United India. Varshney's constructive proposals run in two directions. First, restore competition by allowing sound state-owned general insurers — he names the Oriental and the New India — to re-enter life business, a move he attributes to a committee appointed by the Congress Parliamentary Party; competition, he argues, will lift talent into senior positions and force the LIC to develop its own character. Second, even short of competition, reform corporate governance: abolish without-profit issues of with-profit policies (which subsidise the LIC's costs at policyholders' expense), and give policyholders a statutory right to elect at least a third of LIC's directors and members of its Investment Committee, restoring a representational right they enjoyed before nationalisation. The piece was first published in the Economic Times of 2 April 1962 and reissued as a Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet dated 8 May 1962. ## Key points - Six years after nationalisation, premium rates of the LIC remain higher than those previously charged by leading private Indian insurers such as the Oriental and the New Asiatic, and bonuses have fallen below expectations. - The Rs. 609 crore volume of new business in 1961 is not a valid index of LIC efficiency, because population growth, rising employment and rising national income would produce comparable expansion under any organisational form. - The practice of rebating premiums — explicitly cited as a reason for nationalisation — has actually increased under the LIC, with agents and dummy agencies openly inducing business through rebates. - LIC agents are insufficiently trained to recommend differentiated products (marriage, education, retirement plans) and default to a multi-purpose endowment policy that does not fit varied policyholder circumstances. - Service has deteriorated: unreasonable delays in answering letters, inquiries and settling claims have prompted Varshney to propose deducting one per cent interest per month from the salary of officers responsible. - The LIC has withdrawn attractive pre-nationalisation products without justification, including joint-life policies and the Retirement Benefit Plan of the former United India, which offered notably lower premiums. - Without-profit issues of with-profit policies should be abolished because they cross-subsidise LIC expenses, lack any compensating return to policyholders, and contradict the purpose of insurance — risk coverage at lowest premium. - The cleanest remedy is to allow sound general insurers like Oriental and New India to re-enter life business — a step recommended by a committee of the Congress Parliamentary Party — so that competition restores efficiency and develops the LIC's own character. - Policyholders should regain the right they had before nationalisation to elect directors: those holding with-profit policies of not less than Rs. 3,000 for three years should elect at least one-third of LIC's board and have representation on the Investment Committee. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Problems and Prospects of Developing Countries URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/problem-and-prospects-of-developing-countries-s-jannathan-1980/ ### Summary This 1980 A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust booklet prints a lecture S. Jagannathan, I.C.S. (Retd.) and former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, delivered in Madras on 30th October 1980. After tributes to A. D. Shroff and an introduction by N. A. Palkhivala, Jagannathan opens by re-framing the development debate along North-South rather than East-West lines, invoking Nehru's reminder that the salient divide runs between the industrialised North (whether centrally planned or market economy) and the South that is still struggling to develop. The bulk of the rendered pages walks through the two oil shocks and their fallout. Jagannathan splits the developing world into oil exporters and oil importers, then divides the importers between middle-income and low-income groups; the latter, he reminds the audience, contains the four South Asian countries that house half the world's absolute poor. He argues the 1979-80 doubling of oil prices is in absolute terms a bigger blow than the 1973-74 quadrupling, and traces how commercial banks bulging with recycled petro-dollars, together with the IMF's new "oil facility", carried much of the adjustment after 1973-74.… ### Body # Problems and Prospects of Developing Countries *By S. JAGANNATHAN, I.C.S. (RETD.)* ## Summary This 1980 A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust booklet prints a lecture S. Jagannathan, I.C.S. (Retd.) and former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, delivered in Madras on 30th October 1980. After tributes to A. D. Shroff and an introduction by N. A. Palkhivala, Jagannathan opens by re-framing the development debate along North-South rather than East-West lines, invoking Nehru's reminder that the salient divide runs between the industrialised North (whether centrally planned or market economy) and the South that is still struggling to develop. The bulk of the rendered pages walks through the two oil shocks and their fallout. Jagannathan splits the developing world into oil exporters and oil importers, then divides the importers between middle-income and low-income groups; the latter, he reminds the audience, contains the four South Asian countries that house half the world's absolute poor. He argues the 1979-80 doubling of oil prices is in absolute terms a bigger blow than the 1973-74 quadrupling, and traces how commercial banks bulging with recycled petro-dollars, together with the IMF's new "oil facility", carried much of the adjustment after 1973-74. He warns that this recycling cannot be repeated on the same scale now that lending banks face debt-service strain and portfolio-concentration limits. A long autobiographical section recounts India's response. He credits the post-1966 devaluation, the Green Revolution (citing the F.A.O. CERES award in 1971), the build-up of foreign-exchange reserves, the paying off of IMF short-term debt, and the fall in debt service from 20.9 per cent of export earnings in 1970 to 9.4 per cent in 1978, alongside diversified exports into engineering goods, garments, gems, and Gulf-region construction contracts and remittances. He revisits the notorious 1964 World Bank "Bell Mission" — whose hostile reception in the Finance Ministry he treats as a cautionary tale — to underline how Indian policy ultimately moved toward most of what the mission recommended on devaluation, agriculture, exports and family planning. The closing pages register an intellectual convergence: Northern donors and economists now accept the importance of basic needs, education, nutrition, and well-targeted food subsidies (citing the World Bank's World Development Report and the Brandt Commission), while Indian and developing-country economists have grown more pragmatic about exchange rates, export promotion and family planning. Jagannathan defends the basic-needs agenda against suspicions in some Southern capitals that it is a capitalist conspiracy to derail the New International Economic Order, quoting a "thoughtful Indian" on the irony of accepting trickle-down internationally after rejecting it nationally. The rendered chunk breaks off mid-discussion of what the World Bank and IMF must do next to carry oil-importing l.d.c.s through the second shock. ## Key points - Reframes the development debate along North-South (industrialised vs developing) lines rather than the older East-West or capitalist-vs-socialist axis, following Nehru. - Splits the developing world into oil exporters (housing roughly a fifth of the developing population) and oil importers, then further between middle-income and low-income groups, with India and three other South Asian states housing half the world's absolute poor. - Argues the 1979-80 oil price doubling (about $15 to $32 per barrel) is in absolute terms a heavier blow than the 1973-74 quadrupling, even though percentage growth was higher then. - Describes how commercial bank petro-dollar recycling and the IMF's new "oil facility" cushioned the 1973-74 shock but cannot be repeated on the same scale now that debt service, portfolio concentration and regulator concern have piled up. - Documents India's recovery: 1966 devaluation, Green Revolution (F.A.O. CERES award in 1971), repayment of IMF short-term debt, reserve build-up, and a fall in debt service from 20.9% of export earnings in 1970 to 9.4% in 1978. - Recounts the 1964 World Bank Bell Mission and its hostile reception in the Finance Ministry as a cautionary tale about resisting honest external diagnosis. - Tracks a convergence in development thinking: Northern aid donors now embrace basic needs, education, nutrition and targeted food subsidies, while Indian policy has become more pragmatic on exchange rates and exports. - Defends the basic-needs approach — invoking the Brandt Commission — against fears in the South that it is a capitalist ploy to displace the New International Economic Order. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Problems of Free Enterprise in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/problems-of-free-enterprise-obv-january-1-1970/ ### Summary Written pseudonymously by "An Observer" for the Forum of Free Enterprise shortly after the launch of India's Second Five-Year Plan, this pamphlet argues that the country's accelerating drift toward State control threatens both the productive capacity and the political liberty that free enterprise has historically secured. The author opens by recalling that, despite the hostility of colonial-era competitors, Indian businessmen — Jamshedji Tata's steel venture is the emblem — built cotton, sugar, cement, chemicals, banking and insurance, lifting India to become Asia's second-most industrialised country.… ### Body # Problems of Free Enterprise in India *By An Observer* ## Summary Written pseudonymously by "An Observer" for the Forum of Free Enterprise shortly after the launch of India's Second Five-Year Plan, this pamphlet argues that the country's accelerating drift toward State control threatens both the productive capacity and the political liberty that free enterprise has historically secured. The author opens by recalling that, despite the hostility of colonial-era competitors, Indian businessmen — Jamshedji Tata's steel venture is the emblem — built cotton, sugar, cement, chemicals, banking and insurance, lifting India to become Asia's second-most industrialised country. The Second Plan's stated commitment to a "mixed economy" and a "comradeship" of the two sectors is, in the author's view, contradicted in practice by the 1956 Industrial Policy Resolution, which reserves seventeen industries exclusively to the State (Schedule A) and twelve more for primary State initiative (Schedule B), confining free enterprise to whatever is left over. The pamphlet then catalogues the policy actions that have rattled the "enterprising community": the nationalisation of life insurance and air transport; expansion of the State Trading Corporation; the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act; restrictions in the Companies Act on managing agencies and inter-company investment; capital gains tax, higher dividend taxes, and the new compulsory deposit scheme; and — most consequentially — the Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Act of 1955, which curbs judicial review over compensation for property acquired by the State. The author marshals quotations from Nehru, Dr. John Matthai, World Bank president Eugene Black, the American economist Harry Robinson, and British Labour figures Hugh Gaitskell and C. A. R. Crosland to argue that even sympathetic socialist opinion abroad now doubts the equation of wholesale nationalisation with social progress. The concluding pages press a constitutional case: a country whose economy is dominated by the State cannot preserve the basic principles of democracy. The "enterprising class" is not a handful of big-business men but extends to the cultivator, craftsman and village trader; all have a stake in liberty. Misbehaviour by particular firms should be "firmly dealt with," but the tendency to "run down and revile free enterprise as a whole" must be deprecated. Borrowing Professor Westlake's image of a ship's crew under "the categorical imperative of the captain," the author closes with a plea for a real comradeship between public and private sectors against the common enemies of poverty and suffering. ## Key points - Frames free enterprise as the engine of India's pre- and post-Independence industrial growth — from Tata steel through cotton, cement, chemicals and banking — and warns that its capacity is being squandered. - Reads the 1956 Industrial Policy Resolution as a sharp tightening of State jurisdiction: seventeen industries reserved exclusively to government, twelve more in which the State takes the initiative, and a vague residual space for private enterprise. - Argues that official rhetoric of a "mixed economy" and "comradeship" between sectors is undercut by nationalisation of life insurance and air transport, State Trading Corporation expansion, and a steady drift toward socialism. - Cites Eugene Black (World Bank) and the American economist Harry Robinson alongside Dr. John Matthai to show that even friendly observers find the policy framework discouraging to investors, especially foreign ones. - Treats the Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Act, 1955 as the most worrying step — removing meaningful judicial review over compensation when property is acquired, and thereby endangering property rights and savings. - Catalogues fiscal disincentives: capital gains tax, higher taxation on dividends in excess of six per cent, and the new compulsory deposit scheme — all judged likely to dry up savings rather than feed the Plan. - Notes that even British socialists (Hugh Gaitskell, C. A. R. Crosland) now question the simple identification of socialism with nationalisation — a comparative argument the author uses to embarrass Indian planners. - Concludes that political democracy cannot survive in an economy dominated by the State; the "enterprising class" includes the cultivator and craftsman and has a vital stake in safeguarding free enterprise. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Problems & Prospects of Cement Industry in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/problems-and-prospects-of-cement-industry-dharamsey-m-khatau-jun10-1965/ ### Summary Dharamsey M. Khatau's pamphlet — based on his presidential welcome address of 18 January 1965 marking fifty years of the Indian cement industry — is at once a celebratory history and a sustained critique of governmental price control. Tracing the industry from its first successful Portland-cement run in October 1914 (under 1,000 tonnes) to a one-crore-tonne mark by the mid-1960s, Khatau credits the Concrete Association of India (1927), the Indian Cement Manufacturers' Association, the Tariff Board, and the wartime Department of Planning for shepherding the industry through hostile colonial markets, raw-material shortages, and the post-war rate war that culminated in the formation of the Associated Cement Companies in 1936. He frames the present scarcity not as a failure of producer effort — the 34 private-sector units have run at roughly 95% of installed capacity for three years — but as the predictable consequence of a state pricing regime that has starved a basic industry of expansion capital. The core polemic targets the Tariff Commission's price-fixation order of November 1961, ad-hoc adjustments that recovered only Rs. 3.75 per tonne against an actual cost rise of Rs.… ### Body # Problems & Prospects of Cement Industry in India *By DHARAMSEY M. KHATAU* ## Summary Dharamsey M. Khatau's pamphlet — based on his presidential welcome address of 18 January 1965 marking fifty years of the Indian cement industry — is at once a celebratory history and a sustained critique of governmental price control. Tracing the industry from its first successful Portland-cement run in October 1914 (under 1,000 tonnes) to a one-crore-tonne mark by the mid-1960s, Khatau credits the Concrete Association of India (1927), the Indian Cement Manufacturers' Association, the Tariff Board, and the wartime Department of Planning for shepherding the industry through hostile colonial markets, raw-material shortages, and the post-war rate war that culminated in the formation of the Associated Cement Companies in 1936. He frames the present scarcity not as a failure of producer effort — the 34 private-sector units have run at roughly 95% of installed capacity for three years — but as the predictable consequence of a state pricing regime that has starved a basic industry of expansion capital. The core polemic targets the Tariff Commission's price-fixation order of November 1961, ad-hoc adjustments that recovered only Rs. 3.75 per tonne against an actual cost rise of Rs. 5.91, and the foreign-exchange and licensing bottlenecks that have widened the gap between demand and supply. Khatau argues that controlled prices have prevented manufacturers from paying dividends adequate to attract new equity, denied retained earnings for modernisation, and effectively diverted capital from priority sectors — a diagnosis he reinforces by quoting a World Bank Mission view that price control in key industries has hurt coal and cement most. He details the Cement Manufacturers' Association's proposals for a special Expansion Allowance, the case for letting the private sector add the 50-lakh-tonne Fourth Plan increment instead of expanding the Public Sector, and grievances over 'mixed' jute-bag packing requirements that raise seepage losses. The pamphlet closes on a more constructive note: the establishment of the Cement Research Institute of India on 24 December 1962 (jointly sponsored by CSIR and the Association on a 50:50 basis), the entry of seven undertakings into indigenous cement-machinery manufacture, and the industry's record on rural labour welfare — schools, hospitals, X-ray facilities — endorsed by both the 1946 Labour Investigation Committee and the latest tripartite Cement Wage Board. Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise and bookended by sidebar quotations from Eugene Black and A. D. Shroff, the booklet positions private enterprise in cement as a battle-tested partner in national development that will rise to the Fourth Plan task only if a 'proper climate' of remunerative pricing is created. ## Key points - Indian cement output rose from under 1,000 tonnes in 1914 to roughly one crore tonnes by 1964–65, with 34 private-sector units running at about 95% of installed capacity over the preceding three years. - Khatau locates the current scarcity in the Government's pricing and licensing policy, not in any deficit of producer effort or capacity utilisation. - The Tariff Commission's price structure of 1 November 1961 and subsequent ad-hoc adjustments recovered only Rs. 3.75 per tonne against an actual cost rise of about Rs. 5.91, costing the industry Rs. 3.25 crores between 1 June 1963 and 30 June 1964 alone. - Controlled prices have starved the industry of capital — denying adequate dividends to shareholders, blocking access to the equity market, and preventing internal accruals for modernisation. - The Association has proposed a special Expansion Allowance to fund the additional 50-lakh-tonne capacity sought in the Fourth Plan, arguing that private capacity is more economic than further Public Sector entry. - Foreign-exchange constraints have pushed standard plant costs from roughly Rs. 3.2–3.4 crores down to about Rs. 50 lakhs of foreign exchange today, intensifying the case for indigenous cement-machinery manufacture (now undertaken by seven firms). - The Cement Research Institute of India was registered as a society under the Association's auspices on 24 December 1962, jointly sponsored by CSIR and the industry on a 50:50 basis. - Both the 1946 Labour Investigation Committee and the most recent tripartite Cement Wage Board recognised the cement industry as ahead of comparable industries in providing housing, education, medical care and welfare amenities at remote factory sites. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] PRODUCTIVITY IN JAPAN : LESSONS FOR INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/productivity-in-japan-lessons-for-india-s-a-sapre-october-16-1982/ ### Summary S. A. Sapre, then Director of the Institute for the Study of Work and co-author of "The Incredible Japanese," delivers a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet (based on a public lecture given in Bombay on 13 September 1982) that argues India can learn from Japan's post-war productivity miracle. The pamphlet opens with a stark contrast: Japan, ruined after the Second World War, has become the world's third-richest country with near-100% literacy, a 1% needy population, and very low crime, while India ranks as the ninth poorest country with 47% below the poverty line and a per capita GNP of $190 against Japan's $8,800.… ### Body # PRODUCTIVITY IN JAPAN : LESSONS FOR INDIA *By S. A. SAPRE* ## Summary S. A. Sapre, then Director of the Institute for the Study of Work and co-author of "The Incredible Japanese," delivers a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet (based on a public lecture given in Bombay on 13 September 1982) that argues India can learn from Japan's post-war productivity miracle. The pamphlet opens with a stark contrast: Japan, ruined after the Second World War, has become the world's third-richest country with near-100% literacy, a 1% needy population, and very low crime, while India ranks as the ninth poorest country with 47% below the poverty line and a per capita GNP of $190 against Japan's $8,800. Sapre attributes Japan's growth to a shift from agriculture to industry, a 20% national savings rate, ten times more research manpower than India, close government-industry cooperation, low interest rates and tax incentives, and a deliberate preference for sales volume and market position over short-term profits. The heart of the pamphlet is a catalogue of Japanese management features that Sapre commends to Indian managers: putting the national interest first; lifetime employment that removes union resistance to innovation; family-style firms that show ethical concern for workers' home lives; quality circles (4,200 of them at Nissan generating 1.12 million suggestions in 1980 with 80% adoption); the ringi consensus decision-making system; "soldiers at the front" knowledge groups; Zen-influenced ideas of life-long practice (illustrated by the Hakuin Ekaku anecdote of "ten minutes and eighty years"); and a work ethic in which a Hitachi worker treats labour as worship and even wears the firm's badge on holidays. Sapre cites Professor Thurow on differential productivity growth rates, Ronald Dore on Japan's silent social-democratic revolution, and an unnamed Malaysian Prime Minister's quip that "Brilliance is buying Japanese, genius is importing the Japanese work ethic itself." The later sections turn to industrial relations and trade unions. Sapre cites striking statistics on man-days lost to strikes per 1,000 population (Japan 13, France 69, USA 166, Britain 183), praises the abolition of office-worker and shop-floor distinctions, and contrasts the loved-and-respected Japanese foreman with his coercive British counterpart. Japanese unions, he argues, do not see themselves as permanent opposition to management; they accept that workers wear two masks (producer and consumer), recognise that Japan's affluence depends on productivity, value harmony over individual rights, and moderated wage demands during the 1974–76 inflation by accepting just a 1.9% annual increase. The implicit lesson for India is that humane, harmonious, productivity-focused industrial relations are not only possible but the foundation of an affluent yet civilised society. ## Key points - Frames Japan's post-war recovery as proof that "poverty can be abolished by peaceful, democratic means" and contrasts Japan's $8,800 per capita GNP with India's $190 and 47% poverty rate. - Attributes Japanese productivity growth (230 vs Britain's 110 on the 1967=100 index by 1981) to shifts from agriculture to industry, a 20% savings rate, ten-times-India research manpower, and close government-industry coordination via the Ministry of Industrial Trade and the Supreme Trade Council. - Highlights distinctive management practices: putting national interest first (citing industrialist Mr. S. Honda), lifetime employment, family-like firms, the ringi consensus decision system, and Tokyo Electric's "Soldiers at the Front" knowledge groups. - Praises quality control circles (4,200 at Nissan with 1.12 million worker suggestions in 1980, ~80% accepted) and the Zen-influenced philosophy of life-long practice illustrated by the Hakuin Ekaku "ten minutes and eighty years" anecdote. - Argues Japanese major business objectives are "sales volume and market position rather than profits," exemplified by Toyota and Nissan moving into luxury cars. - Contrasts industrial-relations statistics — man-days lost to strikes per 1,000 population in 1977: Japan 13, France 69, USA 166, Britain 183 — and cites Professor Ronald Dore on Japan's "silent" social-democratic revolution that abolished the office-staff/shop-floor distinction. - Lays out an eight-point trade-union philosophy in which unions accept that workers are also consumers, that natural-resource-poor Japan depends on productive efficiency, and that "what hampers productivity ultimately harms the workers themselves." - Concludes that the Indian lesson is humane, harmonious, productivity-oriented management — "an affluent but cultured and humane society" — rather than the conflict-prone British-style trade unionism India has imported. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY OF WORK LIFE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/productivity-and-quality-of-work-life-a-n-haksar-april-14-1979/ ### Summary Delivered on 12 January 1979 as the Murarji Vaidya Memorial Lecture under the joint auspices of the Bombay Productivity Council and the Murarji J. Vaidya Memorial Trust, A. N. Haksar's address — published in April 1979 as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet — sets out to rescue the word "Productivity" from its many competing meanings and to weld it to a humane management philosophy. Haksar, then Chairman of India Tobacco Company, complains that productivity has "as many different meanings and interpretations as the word Socialism" and that departmentalised accountants, engineers, purchase managers and personnel officers each mutilate the term to suit their own discipline; the predictable result, he says, is the cost-cutting drive that "starts with a bang" and "dies with a whimper." At the heart of the lecture is a conceptual substitution: in place of "Productivity" Haksar proposes "Internal Profit" — the quality, quantity and cost of goods and services entirely under the company's control — paired with "external profit" from the marketplace.… ### Body # PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY OF WORK LIFE *By A. N. HAKSAR* ## Summary Delivered on 12 January 1979 as the Murarji Vaidya Memorial Lecture under the joint auspices of the Bombay Productivity Council and the Murarji J. Vaidya Memorial Trust, A. N. Haksar's address — published in April 1979 as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet — sets out to rescue the word "Productivity" from its many competing meanings and to weld it to a humane management philosophy. Haksar, then Chairman of India Tobacco Company, complains that productivity has "as many different meanings and interpretations as the word Socialism" and that departmentalised accountants, engineers, purchase managers and personnel officers each mutilate the term to suit their own discipline; the predictable result, he says, is the cost-cutting drive that "starts with a bang" and "dies with a whimper." At the heart of the lecture is a conceptual substitution: in place of "Productivity" Haksar proposes "Internal Profit" — the quality, quantity and cost of goods and services entirely under the company's control — paired with "external profit" from the marketplace. To operationalise this he offers two memorable mnemonics: the seven basic resources (Real Estate, Time, Ideas, Men, Money, Machines, Materials, anagrammed as REMMITEMM) and the organisational "4 Ps" (People, Practices, Profits, Policies). Adapting Kipling's six honest serving men, he urges that the central question of business be reframed as "WHO'S PRODUCTIVITY" — directing managerial attention to scientifically assessable and numerate measures rather than to inter-departmental blame. From this base Haksar turns to Quality of Work Life. Drawing on Theodore W. Schultz's "Human Wealth and Economic Growth" he argues that the unexplained residual in growth and output comes from "invisible" investment in human capital, and that humans are an organisation's "most valuable asset." Lincoln's formula "of the people, by the people, for the people" is invoked to describe what organised economic activity must finally serve, and a "WORK LIFE CULTURE" of creativity, involvement, co-operation, self-growth, excellence, planning, training, meritocracy and fair reward is laid out as the pre-requisite for sustained internal profit. The booklet is framed editorially by the Forum of Free Enterprise's wider capitalism-defence agenda: a front-matter epigraph from Eugene Black on accepting private enterprise "as an affirmative good" and a closing epigraph from FFE founder-president A. D. Shroff that "Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives." Within those brackets Haksar's text reads less as political polemic than as an industrialist's attempt to give Indian management a vocabulary in which human dignity and the profit motive are not adversaries. ## Key points - Haksar opens by arguing that the word "Productivity" is as semantically promiscuous as "Socialism" — interpreted by each manager according to where the shoe pinches. - He proposes replacing "Productivity" with "Internal Profit" (within-business cost/quantity/quality) as a single cohesive dimension, paired with "external profit" from the marketplace. - Seven basic resources are anagrammed as REMMITEMM (Real Estate, Time, Ideas, Men, Money, Machines, Materials) and coupled to an organisational "4 Ps": People, Practices, Profits, Policies. - Departmentalisation, the "we/they" management-labour syndrome and isolated economy drives are identified as the chief enemies of real productivity. - Kipling's six honest serving men are repurposed: only "how" survives, and the dominant question becomes "WHO'S PRODUCTIVITY" with numerate, scientifically assessable targets. - Quality of Work Life requires an enabling, open, meritocratic culture in which directors, managers, supervisors and labour pull in the same direction toward Profit-Growth-Survival. - Drawing on Theodore W. Schultz's notion of investment in human capital, Haksar argues that humans are "an organisation's most valuable asset" and that Indian organisations must study Indian people rather than import foreign assumptions. - The booklet is bookended by Forum of Free Enterprise epigraphs — Eugene Black at the front, A. D. Shroff at the back — that frame the lecture within a classical-liberal defence of private enterprise. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Property Rights under the Constitution URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/property-rights-k-subba-rao-dec10-1968/ ### Summary K. Subba Rao, retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, uses the Third A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture (delivered 28 October 1968) to trace how the constitutional right to property has been progressively hollowed out by eighteen years of legislative amendment and judicial accommodation. He opens by clarifying the misconception that property exists only at the pleasure of the legislature: the Constitution, he argues, took the substantive law of property as it found it and guaranteed it subject only to reasonable, public-interest restrictions, so that Parliament cannot redefine property out of existence without infringing the fundamental right itself. Rao walks through the major constitutional amendments — the First, Fourth, Seventeenth and successive insertions of Articles 31A, 31B and the Ninth Schedule — showing how each step shifted compensation, agrarian acquisition and the very category of "estate" outside judicial scrutiny.… ### Body # Property Rights under the Constitution *By K. Subba Rao* ## Summary K. Subba Rao, retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, uses the Third A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture (delivered 28 October 1968) to trace how the constitutional right to property has been progressively hollowed out by eighteen years of legislative amendment and judicial accommodation. He opens by clarifying the misconception that property exists only at the pleasure of the legislature: the Constitution, he argues, took the substantive law of property as it found it and guaranteed it subject only to reasonable, public-interest restrictions, so that Parliament cannot redefine property out of existence without infringing the fundamental right itself. Rao walks through the major constitutional amendments — the First, Fourth, Seventeenth and successive insertions of Articles 31A, 31B and the Ninth Schedule — showing how each step shifted compensation, agrarian acquisition and the very category of "estate" outside judicial scrutiny. Through close readings of Kochuni, Seethabhathi Devi, Vajravelu, Ranjit, Karimbil Kunhikoman, Chemudu and Vijayanagaram, he argues that the Supreme Court drew a workable line — substantive reasonableness, non-illusory compensation, public purpose tested in court — until political amendments removed those tests, replacing the rule of law with what he calls a "totalitarian slant" on State power. The second half generalises the argument from property to business, corporations and the freedom of trade under Articles 19(1)(g) and 301–307. Rao warns that nationalisation, corporate management takeovers and the open-ended Ninth Schedule together convert constitutional democracy into something closer to centralised planning. He insists planning is compatible with democracy only when subjected to the rule of law; haphazard, ideology-driven planning, he says, will end either in failure or in the death of democracy. Rao closes with a constitutional and philosophical creed: democratic socialism, lucidly explained by A. B. Shah, can be reconciled with individual right; what cannot be reconciled is the unrestrained constituent power exercised by transitory parliamentary majorities. The Supreme Court has saved the other fundamental rights — speech, religion, equality, personal liberty — but its salvage of property has been incomplete. The lecture ends with a plea for "a just society where a right balance will be maintained between the right to property and social justice," and a warning that India's tragedy is "the uninformed repetition of foreign slogans." ## Key points - Frames A. D. Shroff as neither doctrinaire Marxist nor nineteenth-century capitalist but a believer in a Welfare State whose economic philosophy synchronised with the Constitution's. - Rejects the textbook doctrine that property exists only because law recognises it: the Constitution, Rao argues, accepted property as it stood under statute, custom and common law and only then subjected it to reasonable restrictions. - Reads the right to property as three rights — to acquire, to possess and enjoy, and to dispose — each subject to taxation, police power, eminent domain and public-interest restriction, but not to extinction by redefinition. - Traces the erosion through the First (Article 31A and 31B), Fourth (compensation made non-justiciable) and Seventeenth (expansion of 'estate' to forest, waste and slum lands) Amendments, plus the open-ended Ninth Schedule. - Builds a doctrinal arc through Kochuni, Seethabhathi Devi, Vajravelu, Karimbil Kunhikoman, Ranjit, Chemudu, Vijayanagaram and the Bank Nationalisation-adjacent corporate-personality cases to show how courts policed reasonableness until amendments removed the tests. - Extends the property argument to corporate personhood and freedom of trade, warning that nationalisation, state takeovers of management, and forced amalgamations under amended Article 31A convert the Constitution's safeguards into mere slogans. - Distinguishes democratic from totalitarian planning: democratic planning works within the rule of law and operates as a tool of free, complex human personality; totalitarian planning, however efficient, kills democracy. - Concludes that the Supreme Court protected most fundamental rights but only partially saved property, and pleads for constitutional pragmatism rather than ideological imitation of foreign models. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Promoting Exports and Scientific Marketing URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/promoting-exports-and-scientific-marketing-s-p-godrej-y-a-fazalbhoy-m-mathias-january-9-1970/ ### Summary This 1970 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects three short addresses delivered in Bombay under the Forum's auspices: 'Some Steps for Export Promotion' by industrialist S. P. Godrej, 'A Strategy for Export Promotion' by Y. A. Fazalbhoy (a former president of the All-India Manufacturer's Organisation), and 'Scientific Marketing' by M. Mathias (a director of Hindustan Lever Limited). The volume's argumentative center is a defence of the Private Sector as the natural engine of India's foreign trade and a critique of the post-bank-nationalisation drift toward state control. Godrej and Fazalbhoy press the case for treating exports as a private-sector domain backed by infrastructure rather than displaced by it, while Mathias argues that the discipline of marketing must be reconceived as a science drawing on economics, statistics, psychology and sociology — a managerial counterpart to the policy programme the first two essays advance. ### Body # Promoting Exports and Scientific Marketing ## Summary This 1970 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects three short addresses delivered in Bombay under the Forum's auspices: 'Some Steps for Export Promotion' by industrialist S. P. Godrej, 'A Strategy for Export Promotion' by Y. A. Fazalbhoy (a former president of the All-India Manufacturer's Organisation), and 'Scientific Marketing' by M. Mathias (a director of Hindustan Lever Limited). The volume's argumentative center is a defence of the Private Sector as the natural engine of India's foreign trade and a critique of the post-bank-nationalisation drift toward state control. Godrej and Fazalbhoy press the case for treating exports as a private-sector domain backed by infrastructure rather than displaced by it, while Mathias argues that the discipline of marketing must be reconceived as a science drawing on economics, statistics, psychology and sociology — a managerial counterpart to the policy programme the first two essays advance. ## Essays ### Some Steps for Export Promotion *By S. P. GODREJ* S. P. Godrej opens by naming the 'political malaise' of 1969-70 — the sudden nationalisation of fourteen banks, the talk of nationalising foreign trade — as an active drag on accelerated economic development just when exports had begun to recover from devaluation. He insists that the great export success stories (USA, Japan, West Germany, UK) belong to free-market economies in which governments supply infrastructure but do not themselves trade, and that exports must therefore remain a Private Sector domain. The bulk of the essay is a practical checklist for business firms: shed the 'Made in India' inferiority complex; revive a Fashion Council to project Indian design, decoration and yoga abroad; eliminate steel-shortage bottlenecks that cause order cancellations; invest in product development, marketing research, design and packaging, multilingual sales literature, publicity, and a dedicated permanent export department staffed by people with foreign-language proficiency. Godrej praises the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade as a 'college of exports', urges joint ventures abroad as a way around tariff walls and freight discrimination, and closes by arguing that tourism — 'an invisible export' and a labour-intensive industry — should be treated as a national necessity rather than a mere convenience, with Chambers of Commerce leading the way as in Japan. - Frames the 1969 bank nationalisations and threats to nationalise foreign trade as ideological intrusions damaging export confidence. - Argues export success belongs to free-market economies where the state provides infrastructure but does not itself trade. - Lists concrete firm-level reforms: product development, marketing research, design/packaging, multilingual sales literature, publicity at fairs like Expo-70 Osaka. - Calls for a permanent export department in every firm, staffed by people with proven sales records and a second language (French, Arabic, Russian or Spanish). - Endorses joint ventures abroad as a way around tariff walls, freight discrimination and dumping pressure, and singles out tourism as an 'invisible export' the Private Sector should lead. ### A Strategy for Export Promotion *By Y. A. FAZALBHOY* Y. A. Fazalbhoy turns from firm-level practice to national strategy. He documents that India's export earnings have grown at only 2.2 per cent during 1966-69 against a target rate of 7 per cent for the Draft Fourth Plan, and that India's share of world exports has fallen from 2.1 per cent to under 1 per cent over eighteen years even as world trade more than doubled. The diagnosis: traditional exports (tea, jute, cotton textiles) will grow slowly, so India must concentrate on non-traditional items — metals and machinery, equipment, engineering goods, iron ore, chemicals — and diversify the export basket. Fazalbhoy calls for an 'Export Concept' consciousness running through industry, suppliers, transport, tax authorities, labour and management. He proposes that Indian embassies and STC foreign offices run information centres and showrooms with FOB-port prices and full catalogues, that trained market research representatives be stationed abroad through industry associations, and that a special Export Promotion Wing of the Commerce Ministry grade factories by export share (A, B, C through 'J' for 100 per cent exporters), giving top-grade firms priority access to machinery, raw materials at international prices, higher import licence quotas and transferable import vouchers along Indonesian and Ceylonese lines. - Quantifies the export slowdown: 2.2 per cent annual growth in 1966-69 versus a Fourth Plan target of about 7 per cent, with India's world-trade share falling from 2.1 per cent to under 1 per cent. - Urges diversification away from tea, jute and cotton textiles toward engineering goods, iron ore and chemicals. - Proposes a sector-wide 'Export Concept' culture spanning industry, transport, tax authorities and labour. - Calls for Indian-embassy-run information centres, FOB-port pricing showrooms abroad, and industry-association-selected market research representatives stationed in foreign countries. - Recommends a Commerce Ministry Export Promotion Wing that grades factories by export share and rewards top exporters with priority machinery, raw-material access at international prices and transferable import-licence vouchers. ### Scientific Marketing *By M. MATHIAS* M. Mathias argues that marketing has outgrown its old identification with selling and advertising and must now be reconceived as 'the total marketing operation' — a continuous flow from raw materials through production, distribution, advertising and pricing, organised around the consumer's interest rather than the producer's. The recession has, he says, already pushed both business and government to recognise that providing the wheels of industry is not enough; one must keep them moving by being consumer-oriented. The challenge of the 1970s, in Mathias's framing, calls for an orientation of attitude, not just an orientation of technique. He defines 'scientific marketing' as the use of specialists' skills across economics, statistics, human relations, psychology, sociology and the physical sciences to refine data, segment populations, forecast demand through mathematical and econometric models, and predict consumer behaviour. He concedes that scientific skills alone cannot give the final answer — the informed judgment, intuition and confidence of the marketing manager remain essential — but insists that without the scientific approach as a basis, sound marketing decisions cannot be made. - Distinguishes the old 'selling and advertising' view of marketing from the integrated marketing concept that organises every stage of business around consumer interest. - Identifies the recession as the moment when both private enterprise and government recognised that production alone does not sustain industry. - Defines scientific marketing as drawing on economics, statistics, human relations, psychology, sociology and physical sciences to segment populations and forecast demand. - Notes the marketing man's reliance on demography, sociology and human-motivation research to classify consumers into homogeneous groups by income, profession, location and psychology. - Concludes that mathematical and econometric forecasting must be combined with the marketing manager's informed judgment, intuition and confidence. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] PROFITS IN A PLANNED ECONOMY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/profits-in-a-planned-economy-m-a-master-feb10-1965/ ### Summary M. A. Master's pamphlet, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in February 1965, mounts a case for the legitimacy and necessity of profits within India's planned economy. Master opens by observing that profit-making is recognised everywhere — even in Communist states — as essential to the stability and growth of national economies, and that the post-independence equation of profit with un-patriotism distorted the early years of Indian planning. He traces how the planners' faith in "no-profit, no-loss" working of public enterprises began to crack during the Second Plan when resources fell short, prompting the Congress Planning Sub-Committee under U. N. Dhebar (September 1959) and successive Union Finance Ministers — Morarji Desai and T. T. Krishnamachari — to insist that public enterprises must earn profits to finance investment in railways, irrigation, fertiliser plants and steel. The core of the pamphlet is an empirical accounting of how the Public Sector has actually performed.… ### Body # PROFITS IN A PLANNED ECONOMY *By M. A. MASTER* ## Summary M. A. Master's pamphlet, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in February 1965, mounts a case for the legitimacy and necessity of profits within India's planned economy. Master opens by observing that profit-making is recognised everywhere — even in Communist states — as essential to the stability and growth of national economies, and that the post-independence equation of profit with un-patriotism distorted the early years of Indian planning. He traces how the planners' faith in "no-profit, no-loss" working of public enterprises began to crack during the Second Plan when resources fell short, prompting the Congress Planning Sub-Committee under U. N. Dhebar (September 1959) and successive Union Finance Ministers — Morarji Desai and T. T. Krishnamachari — to insist that public enterprises must earn profits to finance investment in railways, irrigation, fertiliser plants and steel. The core of the pamphlet is an empirical accounting of how the Public Sector has actually performed. Master marshals figures from the Audit Report (Commercial) 1963, the Annual Report on Working of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings, and Reserve Bank data to show that ventures expected to recoup capital — fertiliser distribution, the State Trading Corporation, Hindustan Steel, Hindustan Antibiotics, Hindustan Machine Tools, Hindustan Aircraft Factory and others — have generated either low returns (16–51%) or outright deficits, with Rs. 14,000 crores of Third Plan outlay yielding only Rs. 6,500 crores of fresh resources, deficit-financed for the rest. Master then turns the argument against the Government's own logic. He argues that the same Laws of Economics that compel public enterprises to earn an "adequate return" on capital employed apply with equal force to the Private Sector, which — unlike the State — must service interest, repay loans, replace assets and pay dividends out of profits already taxed at 65–70%. He criticises the Bonus Bill, the "retention price" mechanism for steel, and the asymmetric application of the "partners-in-prosperity" principle, warning that crippling taxation and a hostile investment climate (citing the Reserve Bank's own observation that "the investment climate is not there") jeopardise capital formation just when fresh taxation of Rs. 2,500–3,000 crores is being contemplated in the Fourth Plan. The pamphlet closes with an appendix excerpt from Wilhelm Roepke on the indispensability of the profit motive and a sidebar quotation from A. D. Shroff defending free enterprise. ## Key points - Argues that profits are universally necessary for trade, industry and services — even in Communist economies — and that India's post-independence equation of profit-making with un-patriotism distorted economic policy. - Reconstructs the policy reversal between the Second and Third Plans: U. N. Dhebar's 1959 Planning Sub-Committee, Morarji Desai's 1962-63 budget speech and T. T. Krishnamachari's reaffirmation that public undertakings must earn an adequate return on capital. - Documents empirically that key public enterprises — fertiliser distribution, the State Trading Corporation, Hindustan Steel, Hindustan Antibiotics, Hindustan Machine Tools, Hindustan Aircraft Factory — produced low returns or losses despite their pricing power. - Shows that of Rs. 14,000 crores of Third Plan outlay, only Rs. 6,500 crores will come from fresh resources while the rest is deficit-financed, weakening the planners' claim that public enterprise can substitute for private capital formation. - Insists that the Private Sector must earn enough profit to service interest, repay loans, replace assets and pay dividends after 65-70% effective taxation — a constraint the Public Sector does not face. - Criticises the asymmetric application of the Bonus Bill's "partners in prosperity" principle, which excludes Government undertakings, and the use of "retention prices" to subsidise public-sector amortisation. - Warns, citing the Reserve Bank's own Central Board, that India's hostile tax regime, unreliable equity market and weak investment climate threaten capital formation just as the Fourth Plan contemplates Rs. 2,500–3,000 crores of additional taxation. - Closes with Wilhelm Roepke's argument that the profit principle is the only known criterion for selecting managers and directing production, and that no equivalent has yet been found. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] PROSPERITY BEYOND OUR CITIES BY SPREADING ENTERPRISE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/prosperity-beyond-our-cities-by-spreading-enterprises-r-gopalakrishnan-october-10-2007/ ### Summary Delivered as the 41st A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Mumbai on 12 October 2007 and published as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, R. Gopalakrishnan's address argues that India's much-celebrated macro-economic growth has scarcely reached the roughly sixty per cent of the population living in rural areas and small towns — what he calls 'Little India'. The remedy he proposes is not another centrally-administered programme but the deliberate liberation of enterprise through decentralization: returning power, finance and decision-making to villages, panchayats and small-town entrepreneurs so that latent energies are released for socio-economic development. Gopalakrishnan grounds the case historically. He recalls that India was for centuries a 'no-government condition' of self-governing village communities, that Indians were prominent in trade and industry between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, and that the Indian enterprise gene has survived invasion, colonial rule and partition. He contrasts that inheritance with post-independence centralization, citing C.… ### Body # PROSPERITY BEYOND OUR CITIES BY SPREADING ENTERPRISE *By R. Gopalakrishnan* ## Summary Delivered as the 41st A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Mumbai on 12 October 2007 and published as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, R. Gopalakrishnan's address argues that India's much-celebrated macro-economic growth has scarcely reached the roughly sixty per cent of the population living in rural areas and small towns — what he calls 'Little India'. The remedy he proposes is not another centrally-administered programme but the deliberate liberation of enterprise through decentralization: returning power, finance and decision-making to villages, panchayats and small-town entrepreneurs so that latent energies are released for socio-economic development. Gopalakrishnan grounds the case historically. He recalls that India was for centuries a 'no-government condition' of self-governing village communities, that Indians were prominent in trade and industry between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, and that the Indian enterprise gene has survived invasion, colonial rule and partition. He contrasts that inheritance with post-independence centralization, citing C. Rajagopalachari's image of long intervals between effective governments, Milton Friedman's taxonomy of spending modes, and a cluster of contemporary indicators — flat rural per-capita income, shrinking rural credit share, unelectrified villages, judicial backlogs of 425–1,165 days for contract enforcement, and lawlessness in 150–165 districts — to show that the Bharat Nirman model of spending other people's money on other people is not closing the gap. The speech then turns constructive. Drawing on a Tata Services study of 1,200 entrepreneurs across twelve village clusters, on KVIC, Chetna Gala Sinha's Mann Deshi Udyogini, Dhriti, Citibank's micro-entrepreneurship awards, and Tata BP Solar's rural employment model, Gopalakrishnan sketches a four-driver template — infrastructure, finance and facilitation, rural MBA training, and social capital — that small-town and village enterprise needs. He cites Hernando de Soto on the necessity of functioning markets in land, credit and agro-produce, and argues that markets, panchayat finance and trust in local 'lords' are the route to scalability. The concluding section is openly polemical. Gopalakrishnan warns of six symptoms of a 'brewing crisis' in which leaders recognise problems but defer costly fixes, endorses the Bombay Chamber's proposal to let panchayats raise their own revenue (drawing on a paper that shows land revenue alone could raise Rs 25,000 crores), and insists that the agenda is evolutionary, not the dramatic industrial dismantling of the 1990s. A short biographical postscript and a quotation from Eugene Black — 'People must come to accept private enterprise not as a necessary evil, but as an affirmative good' — close the booklet, framing the lecture as an extension of A. D. Shroff's classical-liberal lineage. ## Key points - Macro growth of the last five years has mainly served urban 'Big India'; the 60 per cent of Indians in villages and small towns ('Little India') have been bypassed. - Gopalakrishnan frames decentralization and enterprise as 'two sides of the same coin' — centralized bureaucratic schemes stifle rather than release the natural enterprise of Indians. - A historical sweep — Mohenjodaro–Harappa trade, Takshila as the first university, a 'government-less civilization' of self-governing village communities — is used to argue that India's default state has been decentralized and entrepreneurial. - Empirical indicators of stagnation in Little India: flat rural per-capita income 1980–2000, rural credit share shrinking from 27% (1994) to 18% (2006), millions in unelectrified villages, contract-enforcement delays of 425–1,165 days, 150–165 districts under Naxal disturbance, land-ownership disputes covering nine-tenths of land. - A Tata Services / DES study of 1,200 entrepreneurs identifies four drivers for sparking enterprise in small towns and villages: Infrastructure, Finance & Facilitation, 'Rural MBA' training, and Social Capital — mirroring David McClelland's classic findings. - Examples of scalable rural enterprise are surveyed: KVIC, Mann Deshi Udyogini, Sheetalmata Sabzi Mandi at Khamla, Dhriti, Citibank's 22-state award scheme, KIVA, the ICECD/TCRDS 'rural MBA' programme, and Tata BP Solar's solar-panel manufacturing model. - Reform proposals: empower panchayats to raise revenue (per the Bombay Chamber paper, land revenue alone could yield Rs 25,000 crores), accept Hernando de Soto's argument for functioning markets in land/credit/produce, and move from 'Stop' and 'Slow down' to 'Accelerate' on decentralized governance. - The agenda is framed as evolutionary, not dramatic — but urgent, closing with A. D. Shroff's spirit of urgency and Eugene Black's defence of private enterprise as 'an affirmative good'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] PROSPERITY THROUGH FREE ECONOMY — A CASE STUDY OF TAIWAN URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/prosperity-through-free-enterprise-a-case-study-of-taiwan-by-kv-narain-november-9-1964/ ### Summary K. V. Narain's two-page Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet, reprinted from a Tokyo correspondent's despatch in The Hindu (Madras, 23 May 1964), uses Taiwan as a worked example of what free-enterprise policy combined with carefully sequenced land reform can deliver. Narain reports an island with no visible dire poverty, sound currency, and the absence of inflation, where stores carry foodstuffs, clothing and consumer goods, where literacy exceeds 96 per cent, and where the average monthly income for permanent employees runs between roughly NT$2,000 and NT$4,000 (about US$50 to US$100). Education is free and compulsory for six years; per-capita income has risen by some 7.5 per cent annually for fifteen years. The spine of the argument is the land reform programme begun in 1949.… ### Body # PROSPERITY THROUGH FREE ECONOMY — A CASE STUDY OF TAIWAN *By K. V. Narain* ## Summary K. V. Narain's two-page Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet, reprinted from a Tokyo correspondent's despatch in The Hindu (Madras, 23 May 1964), uses Taiwan as a worked example of what free-enterprise policy combined with carefully sequenced land reform can deliver. Narain reports an island with no visible dire poverty, sound currency, and the absence of inflation, where stores carry foodstuffs, clothing and consumer goods, where literacy exceeds 96 per cent, and where the average monthly income for permanent employees runs between roughly NT$2,000 and NT$4,000 (about US$50 to US$100). Education is free and compulsory for six years; per-capita income has risen by some 7.5 per cent annually for fifteen years. The spine of the argument is the land reform programme begun in 1949. Rent was first capped at 37.5 per cent of the farm-rent payable to landlords; the state then sold public land to its tillers; and finally, under the Land-to-the-Tiller scheme, private landowners were required to sell tenanted holdings in excess of 7.5 acres of medium-grade paddy (or equivalent), receiving 70 per cent in land bonds and 30 per cent in stock of government industrial enterprises that were subsequently transferred to private ownership. Narain reports 256,000 hectares redistributed to 298,000 tenant families, with a further 158,000 tenant families brought onto former public land. Rice yields per hectare rose from 3,896 kg in 1948 to 5,216 kg by 1960; production climbed from 6,800 kg of paddy on a 300-kg leasehold to higher owner-cultivated volumes. The leaflet treats land reform as the platform for industrial take-off rather than its alternative. The four-year plans launched in 1953 emphasised power, fertiliser, petroleum and railways; the second plan added co-ordination of agriculture and industry plus an export drive; the third (1961) consolidated the gains. Industrial output spans chemicals, cement, aluminium, building materials and a widening range of consumer goods including electrical appliances, bicycles and sewing machines. Textiles, processed foods and fertilisers led the export expansion: textile exports rose from US$35 million to US$43 million, and the country's external accounts swung from a chronic US$80-million annual deficit covered by U.S. aid to a US$20-million favourable trade balance in 1963, with foreign-exchange reserves of US$200 million. The implied moral, signposted in Narain's editorial footnote, is that Taiwan's record "clearly indicates the benefits of a free enterprise economy" for Indian readers debating planning and the public sector. ## Key points - Reprints a Tokyo despatch published in The Hindu (Madras, 23 May 1964); the leaflet's editorial frame presents Taiwan as a free-enterprise success story for Indian readers. - Narain reports no visible dire poverty, sound currency, no inflation, literacy above 96 per cent, and average monthly incomes of NT$2,000-$4,000 (about US$50-$100) for permanent employees. - The 1949 land reform capped tenant rent at 37.5 per cent of the farm rent payable to landlords, with the state subsequently selling public land to its tillers. - Under the Land-to-the-Tiller scheme, landlords retained up to 7.5 acres of medium-grade paddy (or equivalent); excess holdings were transferred to tenants, with compensation paid 70 per cent in land bonds and 30 per cent in shares of state industrial enterprises that were then privatised. - Reported redistribution: 256,000 hectares to 298,000 tenant families, plus 158,000 tenant families brought onto former public land. - Per-hectare rice yield rose from 3,896 kg (1948) to 5,216 kg (1960); per-capita income grew about 7.5 per cent annually over fifteen years. - Four-year plans from 1953 emphasised power, fertiliser, petroleum, railways and exports; industrial output now spans chemicals, cement, aluminium, electrical appliances, bicycles and sewing machines. - Textile exports rose from US$35 million to US$43 million; the trade account swung from a chronic US$80-million annual deficit covered by U.S. aid to a US$20-million surplus in 1963, with US$200 million in foreign-exchange reserves. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Prune the Plan URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/prune-the-plan-prof-b-r-shebnoy-january-1-1970/ ### Summary Prune the Plan is the full text of an address by Professor B. R. Shenoy, delivered in Bombay on June 17, 1957, on the Union Budget and the Second Five-Year Plan. Shenoy opens with the arithmetic of the Plan: the first two years' outlay of about Rs. 1,600 crores is roughly 75% of the contemplated expenditure, the Government insists it will stick to the Plan whatever the difficulties, yet the resources to do so simply do not exist either at home or from abroad. The whole of the Plan's overall resource gap of Rs. 2,500 crores, he argues, sits inside the Public Sector, while the Private Sector's own target of Rs. 2,400 crores is already fully committed — so any attempt to close the gap by tapping private savings amounts to confiscation rather than democratic finance. The core argument is austerely classical: economic development is a function of invested savings, and a poor country with per-capita income of Rs. 23.42 a month against America's Rs. 775 cannot will into existence resources it does not have.… ### Body # Prune the Plan *By B. R. Shenoy* ## Summary Prune the Plan is the full text of an address by Professor B. R. Shenoy, delivered in Bombay on June 17, 1957, on the Union Budget and the Second Five-Year Plan. Shenoy opens with the arithmetic of the Plan: the first two years' outlay of about Rs. 1,600 crores is roughly 75% of the contemplated expenditure, the Government insists it will stick to the Plan whatever the difficulties, yet the resources to do so simply do not exist either at home or from abroad. The whole of the Plan's overall resource gap of Rs. 2,500 crores, he argues, sits inside the Public Sector, while the Private Sector's own target of Rs. 2,400 crores is already fully committed — so any attempt to close the gap by tapping private savings amounts to confiscation rather than democratic finance. The core argument is austerely classical: economic development is a function of invested savings, and a poor country with per-capita income of Rs. 23.42 a month against America's Rs. 775 cannot will into existence resources it does not have. Shenoy walks through the heads of finance — taxation, market loans, small savings, self-financing by industry, credit creation by commercial banks, deficit financing — and shows that each is either tapped out, already counted, or inflationary. Heavy current-year taxation has hit share values and dividends and contracted private investment; subscriptions to Government loans have exceeded expectations only because inflationary funds are circulating back as 'voluntary' savings; deficit financing has already pushed wholesale prices up 27% in twenty months. From this diagnosis flow concrete consequences he is unsparing about: an acute foreign-exchange scarcity caused by over-investment, a yawning gap between internal and external gold prices (Rs. 62.50 per tola official, around Rs. 105 in Bombay) that the Sea Customs Act and an inverted burden of proof on gold-holders cannot close, and the spectacle of a Government 'clipping the civil liberties of the individual' in the manner of medieval monarchs clipping coins. Shenoy's prescription is in the title: prune the Plan to the resources actually available, devalue the rupee to its real value, restore a balanced budget, and accept that inflation, once tolerated as a tool of development, will deliver less growth than the permissible maximum, not more. The pamphlet closes with the publisher's standing invitation to join the Forum of Free Enterprise. ## Key points - Frames the Second Five-Year Plan's Rs. 2,500-crore overall resource gap as wholly located in the Public Sector, with the Private Sector's Rs. 2,400-crore target already fully committed. - Insists on the classical proposition that economic development is a function of invested savings, and that a society cannot invest resources it does not possess. - Contrasts U.S. per-capita income of Rs. 775 per month with India's Rs. 23.42 per month to argue that whatever 'socialistic pattern of society' is to be built must be built within that constraint. - Argues that heavy taxation in the current year has depressed share values and dividends and has therefore reduced rather than augmented investment. - Treats apparent successes of public subscription to Government loans as artefacts of inflationary money flowing back through the State, not as genuine voluntary saving. - Documents a 27% rise in prices in 20 months from deficit financing and warns that further deficit finance will deliver development below — not above — the permissible maximum. - Identifies an acute foreign-exchange scarcity as the direct consequence of over-investment, with imports rising from index 106 to 135 even as exports fell from 112 to 106. - Reads the Sea Customs Act's reversal of the burden of proof on seized gold as a 'case of clipping the civil liberties of the individual', analogous to medieval coin-clipping. - Prescribes pruning the Plan to available resources, devaluing the rupee to its real value, and restoring non-inflationary budget financing. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] PUBLIC ACTION TO REMEDY HUNGER URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/public-action-to-remedy-hunger-prof-amartya-sen/ ### Summary Public Action to Remedy Hunger reprints Amartya Sen's 1990 Arturo Tanco Memorial Lecture, reissued by the Forum of Free Enterprise in November 1998 to mark his Nobel Prize. In the rendered pages, Sen distinguishes two faces of hunger — transient but violent famines and the more persistent, less spectacular phenomenon of endemic undernourishment — and argues that both yield to systematic public action, including legislation, an open press, democratic accountability, and the active engagement of markets, civil society, and the state working in concert. He rejects the fatalism that has long dampened preventive effort, illustrating it through James Mill's gloomy 1816 letter to David Ricardo, and insists that the 'inflamed minds of the lower orders' have historically been closer to the truth than the resigned philosophers. On endemic deprivation, Sen develops a now-familiar comparative argument: countries and regions that have invested in basic health care, female education, and public provisioning — Kerala, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Chile, Jamaica, and pre-1979 China — outperform much richer 'unaimed opulence' economies such as Brazil and Oman in life expectancy and child mortality.… ### Body # PUBLIC ACTION TO REMEDY HUNGER *By Amartya Sen* ## Summary Public Action to Remedy Hunger reprints Amartya Sen's 1990 Arturo Tanco Memorial Lecture, reissued by the Forum of Free Enterprise in November 1998 to mark his Nobel Prize. In the rendered pages, Sen distinguishes two faces of hunger — transient but violent famines and the more persistent, less spectacular phenomenon of endemic undernourishment — and argues that both yield to systematic public action, including legislation, an open press, democratic accountability, and the active engagement of markets, civil society, and the state working in concert. He rejects the fatalism that has long dampened preventive effort, illustrating it through James Mill's gloomy 1816 letter to David Ricardo, and insists that the 'inflamed minds of the lower orders' have historically been closer to the truth than the resigned philosophers. On endemic deprivation, Sen develops a now-familiar comparative argument: countries and regions that have invested in basic health care, female education, and public provisioning — Kerala, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Chile, Jamaica, and pre-1979 China — outperform much richer 'unaimed opulence' economies such as Brazil and Oman in life expectancy and child mortality. Because health and education are labour-intensive, they are also relatively cheap in poor countries, so the pessimism about affordability is overstated. He then turns to famines as entitlement failures rather than mere food-availability collapses, drawing on the Bengal famine of 1943, the Wollo famine in Ethiopia (1973), and the Bangladesh famine of 1974 to show how famines 'survive by divide and rule', and how modest income-creating public works — re-establishing entitlements for affected occupation groups — can avert mass starvation at very small fiscal cost. The rendered chunk closes with a discussion of food production, diversification, and the special predicament of sub-Saharan Africa, where the underlying problem is general economic stagnation, not food output alone. ## Key points - Hunger has two distinct faces — episodic famines and chronic endemic undernourishment — that demand different strategic responses but are both tractable through public action. - Pessimism about hunger is empirically unfounded; Sen traces it to a long intellectual lineage (Mill and Ricardo in 1816) and treats it as the chief obstacle to remedial effort. - Public action is broader than state action: it includes a free press, democratic rights, popular vigilance, and the cooperation of markets and civil society rather than the state as 'lone ranger'. - Kerala, Sri Lanka, China before 1979, Costa Rica, Chile, and Jamaica show that poor economies can achieve rich-country mortality and life-expectancy outcomes through public provisioning of health and basic education, especially female literacy. - Labour-intensive social services are cheaper in poor countries because wages are low, so the affordability objection against publicly funded health and education is weaker than commonly assumed. - Famines are entitlement failures, not necessarily failures of food availability — Bengal 1943, Wollo 1973, and Bangladesh 1974 all featured adequate or near-peak food supplies but collapsed purchasing power among specific occupation groups. - Famine prevention is fiscally cheap: even where potential victims constitute 10 per cent of the population, restoring their income may require only about 3 per cent of GNP, so timely public employment schemes can avert starvation at modest cost. - For sub-Saharan Africa the diagnosis is overall economic stagnation rather than food-output decline alone; diversification and broader sources of income, not just expansion of food crops, are essential. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/public-accountability-m-r-masani-m-p-february-10-1970/ ### Summary M. R. Masani's lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 8 October 1969 and printed as a booklet on 10 February 1970, argues that public accountability — Parliament's actual capacity to scrutinise the expenditure of public money and the conduct of public enterprises — is the indispensable instrument by which untamed power is restrained in a parliamentary democracy. Drawing on his recent two-year term as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (1967–69), Masani opens with the old maxim 'no taxation without representation' and surveys three constitutional levers available to MPs: the vote on Demands for Budget Grants, parliamentary questions, and the standing financial committees (Public Accounts, Estimates, Public Undertakings). He finds each blunted in Indian practice: budget cuts are token, questions are wasted on the trivial, and even the committees suffer from a time-lag between spending and investigation that drains their findings of bite. The bulk of the lecture is a sharp indictment of state industrial and commercial enterprises.… ### Body # PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY *By M. R. Masani, M.P.* ## Summary M. R. Masani's lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 8 October 1969 and printed as a booklet on 10 February 1970, argues that public accountability — Parliament's actual capacity to scrutinise the expenditure of public money and the conduct of public enterprises — is the indispensable instrument by which untamed power is restrained in a parliamentary democracy. Drawing on his recent two-year term as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (1967–69), Masani opens with the old maxim 'no taxation without representation' and surveys three constitutional levers available to MPs: the vote on Demands for Budget Grants, parliamentary questions, and the standing financial committees (Public Accounts, Estimates, Public Undertakings). He finds each blunted in Indian practice: budget cuts are token, questions are wasted on the trivial, and even the committees suffer from a time-lag between spending and investigation that drains their findings of bite. The bulk of the lecture is a sharp indictment of state industrial and commercial enterprises. Citing the latest Audit Report's finding that 70 Central Government undertakings returned only 0.8 per cent on Rs. 1,200 crores of invested capital in 1965–66, with losses already announced of Rs. 40 crores in the current year, Masani argues that the very 'no-profit, no-loss' doctrine Galbraith dubbed 'post office socialism' is the source of the malaise: an enterprise that cannot earn a profit has no right to exist, because profit is the yardstick of efficiency. He invokes C. D. Deshmukh's 1953 Lok Sabha speech, the Administrative Reforms Commission's October 1968 report on Public Sector Undertakings, and the Chanda Committee on AIR to argue that ministerial interference must be reduced, that ministers should be barred from chairing public undertakings, and that any directive must be reduced to writing and laid before Parliament. Masani then deploys two notable converts to bolster his case: John Kenneth Galbraith, the former U.S. Ambassador to India, whose 'New Industrial State' he reads as a confession of disillusionment with aggressive public control, and Lee Kuan Yew, the socialist Prime Minister of Singapore, who in a Bombay address asked why the bustling free-enterprise economies of Japan, Hong Kong, Formosa, Thailand and Malaysia had outperformed their socialist neighbours. He concludes that the conflict between business efficiency and political control is irreconcilable: competition must be restored, state monopolies in fields like life insurance and airlines must be broken up, and infrastructure aside, enterprises that cannot run profitably should be denationalised — sold to those willing to take the risk, as Germany, Japan and France have done. He ends with an arresting anecdote: even Yugoslav communists, in conversations he had in Belgrade in 1955, told him that a failing public enterprise should be allowed to fold up and its managers sent back to the bench. ## Key points - Public accountability is defined narrowly as parliamentary scrutiny of public money — grounded in the maxim 'no taxation without representation' and the principle that untamed power is a menace. - Three parliamentary instruments — Demand for Grants votes, Questions, and the financial Standing Committees (PAC, Estimates, Public Undertakings) — are each shown to be eroded in Indian practice by token cuts, supplementaries, and a long time-lag between spending and investigation. - Masani cites the latest Audit Report's finding that 70 Central Government enterprises returned only 0.8 per cent on Rs. 1,200 crores of capital in 1965–66, with announced losses of Rs. 40 crores in the current year, to argue that the 'no-profit, no-loss' doctrine of state enterprise is structurally broken. - He endorses the Administrative Reforms Commission report on Public Sector Undertakings (October 1967) and its recommendation that no Minister should chair a public undertaking and that any ministerial interference must be reduced to writing and reported to Parliament. - He marshals the testimony of Galbraith (recanting via 'The New Industrial State') and Lee Kuan Yew (asking why East Asia's free-enterprise economies are outpacing Asian socialism) to argue that even leading socialists have conceded the failure of state industry. - Masani proposes restoring competition by breaking state monopolies in life insurance, civil aviation and similar fields, and denationalising loss-making enterprises along the lines of post-war Germany, Japan and France. - He invokes a Yugoslav precedent — communist managers in 1955 told him that a failing public enterprise should be allowed to fold up and its managers sent back to ordinary work — to argue that even doctrinaire socialists accept the discipline of profit. - Throughout, Masani frames public accountability as the reconciliation of business efficiency with democratic control, and warns that without it, management becomes a 'sovereign entity' answerable to no one. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] PUBLIC ENTERPRISES IN INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/public-enterprises-in-india-by-ak-chandra-august-8-1960/ ### Summary A. K. Chanda, writing as Comptroller and Auditor-General of India, examines the rapid post-Independence expansion of state enterprise in India and argues that the institutional habits of departmental government are choking the very public ventures the Centre has staked its industrial future on. He traces the lineage of the public sector from the nationalisation of the railways in 1924 and the equity capital of the Reserve Bank to the Industrial Policy Resolution of 1948, which made state initiative "a significant ingredient of her economic development". Drawing on Herbert Morrison and on British experience under nationalisation, Chanda insists that a corporate enterprise needs autonomy and elasticity if it is to deliver the very purposes for which it was created. The essay then turns to the practical record. Chanda catalogues failures of planning, location, and execution — the loss of eighteen months at Rourkela, the eleven-crore Konar Dam dedicated by the Prime Minister but not yet producing a kilowatt of power or an irrigated acre, contracts placed with under-qualified firms despite warnings, and the political and parochial pressures determining the siting of steel refineries.… ### Body # PUBLIC ENTERPRISES IN INDIA *By A. K. Chanda* ## Summary A. K. Chanda, writing as Comptroller and Auditor-General of India, examines the rapid post-Independence expansion of state enterprise in India and argues that the institutional habits of departmental government are choking the very public ventures the Centre has staked its industrial future on. He traces the lineage of the public sector from the nationalisation of the railways in 1924 and the equity capital of the Reserve Bank to the Industrial Policy Resolution of 1948, which made state initiative "a significant ingredient of her economic development". Drawing on Herbert Morrison and on British experience under nationalisation, Chanda insists that a corporate enterprise needs autonomy and elasticity if it is to deliver the very purposes for which it was created. The essay then turns to the practical record. Chanda catalogues failures of planning, location, and execution — the loss of eighteen months at Rourkela, the eleven-crore Konar Dam dedicated by the Prime Minister but not yet producing a kilowatt of power or an irrigated acre, contracts placed with under-qualified firms despite warnings, and the political and parochial pressures determining the siting of steel refineries. He links these to defects in the constitution of the Boards (overweighted with the official block, leavened by senior officials and political chiefs) and to a finance-representative veto that drains autonomy back to the Ministry. The case of Life Insurance Corporation is offered as a classic example of non-official directors being overridden without recourse to a formal Board decision. The closing argument is reformist rather than abolitionist: Chanda proposes wider non-official representation on Boards, the offering of roughly twenty-five per cent of equity capital for public subscription, and a constitutional re-balancing of the Minister's role from operational control to general policy guidance. He treats parliamentary accountability and managerial autonomy as reconcilable, provided the Board is freed from the "directives, the consultations they (the Ministers) escape responsibility" and given clear policy direction from above. The pamphlet ends with a call for a re-orientation of policy capable of producing State enterprises that are genuinely competent, industrially strong, and economically viable. ## Key points - Public enterprise is now "a permanent and important sector of national economic life", but its growth in India was unplanned and spasmodic rather than ideologically driven. - The Industrial Policy Resolution of 1948 made state initiative a significant component of economic development, building on prior nationalisations such as the railways (1924) and the equity capital of the Reserve Bank. - Departmental rules and Treasury-style controls are unsuitable for state commercial enterprises, which require autonomy, elasticity, and managerial speed — Chanda invokes Herbert Morrison and UK nationalised industry to support the point. - Concrete operational failures are catalogued: the Rourkela plant lost eighteen months to indecision, the Konar Dam component of the Damodar Valley Corporation cost over Rs. 11 crores without producing power or irrigation, and steel-refinery siting was driven by political and parochial pressures rather than economic logic. - Boards of state enterprises are dominated by an "official block" of civil servants and political chiefs, and the finance representative's veto over capital expenditure exceeding Rs. 10 lakhs re-imposes departmental drag on supposedly autonomous companies. - Parliamentary accountability for state enterprises is theoretical rather than effective: by refraining from exercise of their directional powers, Ministers escape responsibility while still influencing companies through consultation. - Reform proposals include enlarging the proportion of non-official Directors with industrial and labour expertise, opening 25 per cent of equity to public subscription, and confining the Minister to broad policy guidance rather than directive intervention. - Chanda treats the question as one of institutional design — re-orienting policy to bring "greater realism in planning, competence and wider interest in management" — not of dismantling the public sector. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Public Opinion on Private and State Enterprises URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/public-opinion-on-private-and-state-enterprises-various-dec9-1962/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, dated 9 December 1962, compiles selected letters to the editor that had appeared in major Indian newspapers — the Statesman of Calcutta, the Indian Express of Bombay, the Hindu of Madras, the Times of India and Navabharath of Mangalore — protesting the inefficiency of nationalised state enterprises. The Forum's brief introduction frames the exercise: freedom, like oxygen, is taken for granted until its supply is threatened, and the nationalisation slogans of the day have obscured the value of private enterprise. By printing letters that contrast the service once rendered by private firms with the bureaucratic torpor that succeeded them, the booklet aims to surface dangers of state monopolies that, in the editor's words, can and often do exploit the ordinary consumer. The letters cover a representative spread of state-run undertakings. Subscribers and policy-holders of the Life Insurance Corporation describe lapsed premiums, missing receipts and stonewalling officials; a field officer of the LIC writes from the inside to attack the "Policy-holder" reply offered by Mr. P. R.… ### Body # Public Opinion on Private and State Enterprises ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, dated 9 December 1962, compiles selected letters to the editor that had appeared in major Indian newspapers — the Statesman of Calcutta, the Indian Express of Bombay, the Hindu of Madras, the Times of India and Navabharath of Mangalore — protesting the inefficiency of nationalised state enterprises. The Forum's brief introduction frames the exercise: freedom, like oxygen, is taken for granted until its supply is threatened, and the nationalisation slogans of the day have obscured the value of private enterprise. By printing letters that contrast the service once rendered by private firms with the bureaucratic torpor that succeeded them, the booklet aims to surface dangers of state monopolies that, in the editor's words, can and often do exploit the ordinary consumer. The letters cover a representative spread of state-run undertakings. Subscribers and policy-holders of the Life Insurance Corporation describe lapsed premiums, missing receipts and stonewalling officials; a field officer of the LIC writes from the inside to attack the "Policy-holder" reply offered by Mr. P. R. Gupta and argue that the Corporation's administrative machinery cannot keep pace with its growing volume. Other correspondents complain of postal money-order instalments rejected on technicalities, of registered parcels lost without recourse, of State Transport buses now used as mailbags, of BEST electricity billing chaos in Bombay, and of the decline of the Kolar Goldfields after nationalisation drove out experienced engineers. A further cluster of letters turns to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and its arms — All India Radio, the Films Division and the Central Film Censors Board — describing them as instruments of official propaganda, vested patronage and stifled private cultural enterprise; T. N. Kalidoss Aiyar protests the way nationalised railways have raised fares and freight while running at fifty per cent efficiency; and "Y. Z." reports from an educational tour of Hindustan Shipyard, Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, Nangal Fertilisers and the Heavy Water Plant whose upkeep, he says, compares unfavourably with TELCO, Ashok Leyland and TISCO. Closing pages carry signed slogans by Eugene Black of the World Bank and A. D. Shroff, and a recruitment notice inviting readers to join the Forum. ## Key points - Publication is a 1962 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet that anthologises letters to the editor from leading Indian newspapers (Statesman, Indian Express, Hindu, Times of India, Navabharath) attacking the performance of nationalised undertakings. - The introduction articulates the Forum's framing thesis: nationalisation slogans have obscured the value of private enterprise, and contrast with state monopolies is now revealing what was lost. - Multiple letters target the Life Insurance Corporation — bureaucratic non-receipt of premia, lapsed policies, unanswered correspondence — including a letter from a serving LIC field officer arguing that the Corporation's administrative machinery has become obsolete. - Other complaints itemise failures at the postal department, State Transport buses doubling as postal carriers, the Bombay Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (B.E.S.T.) and its billing irregularities. - Several letters tie the decline of the Kolar Goldfields to the post-nationalisation exodus of experienced Indian mining engineers under Mysore Government recruitment rules. - A bloc of letters indicts the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and its arms — All India Radio, the Films Division, the Central Film Censors Board — as propaganda monopolies that have stifled the private documentary sector. - T. N. Kalidoss Aiyar contests nationalised Indian Railways' fare and freight hikes, citing that the project ran at only fifty per cent efficiency in spite of huge expenditure on the 70-percent rule. - The closing letter ("Y. Z.") reports a study tour finding the Hindustan Shipyard, Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, Nangal Fertilisers and the Heavy Water Plant in technically informal and poorly maintained condition compared to private firms like TELCO, Ashok Leyland and TISCO. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Public Sector Wastage - Issues and Challenges URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/public-sector-wastage-sunil-s-bhandare-march-3-2014/ ### Summary Sunil S. Bhandare's booklet, originally delivered as a talk at the Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Trust in Mangalore on 20 January 2014 and reissued by the Forum of Free Enterprise, frames the squandering of India's public resources as a tragedy of national time, energy and manpower. Writing in the policy idiom of the Forum — Minoo R. Shroff's foreword insists on "the business of government is governance and not business" — Bhandare argues that India's declining productivity of capital, stalling reforms and rising populism have all been compounded by the wastage embedded in how the Centre, States and public sector undertakings spend money. Wastage in his definition encompasses depletion, drain and leakage: cost and time overruns, excess capacities, mindless misdirected subsidies, loan waivers and write-offs, persistent budgetary support to loss-making PSUs, and the forced extraction of high dividends from cash-rich PSUs. Part I situates the problem inside the post-2008 global expansion of state spending and the Indian post-reforms surge in combined Centre-State expenditure (a 14.2% annual rate over 1991-92 to 2012-13).… ### Body # Public Sector Wastage - Issues and Challenges *By Sunil S. Bhandare* ## Summary Sunil S. Bhandare's booklet, originally delivered as a talk at the Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Trust in Mangalore on 20 January 2014 and reissued by the Forum of Free Enterprise, frames the squandering of India's public resources as a tragedy of national time, energy and manpower. Writing in the policy idiom of the Forum — Minoo R. Shroff's foreword insists on "the business of government is governance and not business" — Bhandare argues that India's declining productivity of capital, stalling reforms and rising populism have all been compounded by the wastage embedded in how the Centre, States and public sector undertakings spend money. Wastage in his definition encompasses depletion, drain and leakage: cost and time overruns, excess capacities, mindless misdirected subsidies, loan waivers and write-offs, persistent budgetary support to loss-making PSUs, and the forced extraction of high dividends from cash-rich PSUs. Part I situates the problem inside the post-2008 global expansion of state spending and the Indian post-reforms surge in combined Centre-State expenditure (a 14.2% annual rate over 1991-92 to 2012-13). Bhandare insists that fiscal discipline cannot be sacrificed to the AAP-flavoured populism then ascendant, and that good governance — not more outlays — is the only sustainable route to growth. Part II dissects the classification of expenditure into Plan vs Non-Plan and developmental vs non-developmental, drawing heavily on Dr. C. Rangarajan's 2011 Committee on Efficient Management of Public Expenditure (which recommended scrapping the Plan/Non-Plan distinction) and on the K. P. Geethakrishnan (2001) and Veerappa Moily (2005) Expenditure and Administrative Reforms Commissions to argue that institutional inertia has prevented any serious downsizing of the bureaucracy or reform of the public distribution system. Tables I-III reproduce official Centre-States data showing developmental expenditure recovering to roughly 58-59% of total spending after 2001-02, while social services have absorbed almost half of that share at the expense of physical infrastructure. Part III turns to Central Public Sector Enterprises. Bhandare tabulates that of 225 CPSEs in 2012-13, sixty-three were loss-making and their losses (Rs.276 billion) knocked off much of the profits of the 161 profit-making firms (Rs.1251 billion); oil marketing companies alone recorded under-recoveries of around Rs.550 billion. He revives B. R. Shenoy's 1971 catalogue of "idle production capacities, unconscionable wastage of materials and accessories, incredible over-staffing, lack of cost consciousness, gross neglect of maintenance, high cost and low quality, and pressures by politicians" as still describing CPSE pathologies four decades on, and cites MOSPI data showing average cost overruns of 20% across 584 major government projects, including Rs.420 billion sunk into 426 incomplete Maharashtra irrigation projects and the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla railway whose Rs.30.8 billion cost has ballooned to Rs.195 billion. Part IV ties the diagnosis to a governance agenda — sincere implementation of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, an Outlay-Outcome budget framework, performance monitoring, an autonomous Fiscal Council, and structural disinvestment of CPSEs whose recovery window during the 2003-07 boom years was lost to political expediency. Bhandare closes by invoking CAG Vinod Rai's Harvard Kennedy School address and the United Nations' definition of good governance to argue that civil society, media and the judiciary will have to grow more "vociferous and demanding" to force the Indian state to vacate the economic terrain it has proved incapable of managing profitably. ## Key points - Wastage of public resources is defined broadly as depletion, drain and leakage spanning cost/time overruns, excess capacities, misdirected subsidies, loan waivers, perpetual support to loss-making PSUs, and forced high dividend extraction from cash-rich PSUs. - The macro extent of public-sector wastage in India remains uncounted because village panchayats, urban local bodies and municipalities lack comprehensive composite revenue-and-expenditure data. - Combined Centre-States expenditure grew at 14.2% annually over 1991-92 to 2012-13, with a sharp acceleration after 2008-09 driven by counter-cyclical fiscal stimulus and a thrust towards social-sector spending. - Bhandare endorses the Rangarajan Committee's recommendation to scrap the Plan/Non-Plan distinction and to have Planning Commission consolidate Five Year Plans while the Ministry of Finance handles annual budgeting under a multi-year framework. - Of 225 CPSEs in 2012-13, 161 made aggregate profits of Rs.1251 billion while 63 loss-making CPSEs together lost Rs.276 billion; oil marketing companies recorded under-recoveries of around Rs.550 billion. - B. R. Shenoy's 1971 list of CPSE pathologies — idle capacity, unconscionable wastage, over-staffing, neglected maintenance, political interference — is presented as still valid in 2013. - The lost 2003-07 boom was the optimum window for disinvestment and strategic privatisation, but the political class found vigorous privatisation 'expedient' to avoid even when economically sound. - Reform agenda: rigorous FRBM implementation, Outlay-Outcome budgeting, performance monitoring, an autonomous Fiscal Council, expenditure tilting from revenue to capital, and renewed disinvestment to usher in a competitive, financially viable economic order. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] PUZZLES AND CLUES URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/puzzles-and-clues-m-a-sreenivavsan-1957/ ### Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in 1957 (reprinted from the Commerce Annual of that year), M. A. Sreenivasan's pamphlet diagnoses India's malaise at the end of the first decade of independence. Sreenivasan opens by conceding the period's impressive monuments — dams, hydro-electric installations, government factories, research laboratories — only to insist that real poverty, unemployment, and a rising cost of living remain untouched, and that the socialist pattern of society has further degraded middle-class life. The trouble, he argues, is a Government-made confusion: contradictory ministerial pronouncements on food control, taxation, deficit financing, and the place of the State leave the ordinary citizen bewildered, while a 'cocksureness' and 'unhealthy superiority complex' among rulers fresh to high office breed habits of idolatry and kowtowing. The pamphlet's argumentative core is a libertarian-leaning warning against the intoxication of power. Sreenivasan recalls serving under autocratic maharajas and viceroys and judges that no viceroy or maharaja ever wielded as much unbridled authority as the present heads of the Central and State Governments.… ### Body # PUZZLES AND CLUES *By MA Sreenivasan* ## Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in 1957 (reprinted from the Commerce Annual of that year), M. A. Sreenivasan's pamphlet diagnoses India's malaise at the end of the first decade of independence. Sreenivasan opens by conceding the period's impressive monuments — dams, hydro-electric installations, government factories, research laboratories — only to insist that real poverty, unemployment, and a rising cost of living remain untouched, and that the socialist pattern of society has further degraded middle-class life. The trouble, he argues, is a Government-made confusion: contradictory ministerial pronouncements on food control, taxation, deficit financing, and the place of the State leave the ordinary citizen bewildered, while a 'cocksureness' and 'unhealthy superiority complex' among rulers fresh to high office breed habits of idolatry and kowtowing. The pamphlet's argumentative core is a libertarian-leaning warning against the intoxication of power. Sreenivasan recalls serving under autocratic maharajas and viceroys and judges that no viceroy or maharaja ever wielded as much unbridled authority as the present heads of the Central and State Governments. He attacks the second Five-Year Plan as unrealistic, citing eminent economists ignored when they warned that deficit financing would generate uncontrollable inflation; he ridicules the search for development models in Belgrade and Peking when Western democracies have already lifted their people; and he reads the Communist drift of ministerial rhetoric as a self-deception that converts even sane listeners through repetition. The pamphlet closes with five plain prescriptions addressed to the Government: give up the thirst for power and stop encroaching on citizens' liberties and the courts' jurisdiction; stop lecturing the world about Korea, Syria, Vietnam, Egypt, and China and mind India's own business; slash the colossal defence budget given the country's profession of Panch Shila; scrap Prohibition, which the nation can ill afford in lost revenue and enforcement cost and which has corroded respect for law; and, finally, 'don't overdo it' — 'Too little and too late' undid the British Empire, but 'Too much and too soon' must not be allowed to undo independent India. A. D. Shroff's epigraph on the back cover — 'Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives' — locates the tract squarely within the Forum's classical-liberal programme. ## Key points - Treats 1957 as 'a year of hardship and disenchantment' that has belied even modest expectations a decade after independence. - Concedes physical achievements (dams, factories, laboratories) but insists poverty, unemployment, and inflation remain untouched and have downgraded the middle class. - Blames a Government-made 'confusion' produced by contradictory ministerial pronouncements on food control, taxation, deficit financing, and the proper role of the State. - Identifies the intoxication of power as the deepest problem, arguing today's Central and State Governments wield more unbridled authority than viceroys or maharajas ever did. - Attacks the second Five-Year Plan as unrealistic, citing economists who warned that deficit financing would generate uncontrollable inflation and were ignored. - Mocks the search for development models in Belgrade and Peking when the U.S.A., U.K., Canada, Sweden, and West Germany have already raised their living standards. - Prescribes five remedies: surrender the thirst for power; stop hectoring the world about Korea, Syria, Vietnam, Egypt, and China; slash the defence budget given Panch Shila; scrap Prohibition; and 'don't overdo it'. - Frames the tract as a classical-liberal intervention via the Forum of Free Enterprise, with A. D. Shroff's epigraph on free enterprise as its closing signature. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] QUALITY IN BANKING URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/quality-in-banking-n-vaghul-december-20-1989/ ### Summary Quality in Banking is the text of the 1989 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered in Bombay on 12 October 1989 by N. Vaghul, then Chairman and Managing Director of the Industrial Credit & Investment Corporation of India Ltd (ICICI) and earlier Chairman of Bank of India. The lecture, published as a booklet by The A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust with an introduction by N. A. Palkhivala, opens by paying tribute to Shroff's early defence of free enterprise at a time when 'the nation was riding a wave of socialism', and argues that the collapse of communism in Russia, Poland and Hungary has now vindicated Shroff's stand. Vaghul then narrows his subject from the broader question of liberalisation to a problem he believes Indian bankers have systematically dodged — the relentless emphasis on quantity over quality. The core argument is that Indian banking has confused growth metrics — branch openings, deposit mobilisation, priority-sector targets — with health, and that 'the banking quality has indeed declined' across service, housekeeping and, most seriously, the quality of assets.… ### Body # QUALITY IN BANKING *By N. VAGHUL* ## Summary Quality in Banking is the text of the 1989 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered in Bombay on 12 October 1989 by N. Vaghul, then Chairman and Managing Director of the Industrial Credit & Investment Corporation of India Ltd (ICICI) and earlier Chairman of Bank of India. The lecture, published as a booklet by The A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust with an introduction by N. A. Palkhivala, opens by paying tribute to Shroff's early defence of free enterprise at a time when 'the nation was riding a wave of socialism', and argues that the collapse of communism in Russia, Poland and Hungary has now vindicated Shroff's stand. Vaghul then narrows his subject from the broader question of liberalisation to a problem he believes Indian bankers have systematically dodged — the relentless emphasis on quantity over quality. The core argument is that Indian banking has confused growth metrics — branch openings, deposit mobilisation, priority-sector targets — with health, and that 'the banking quality has indeed declined' across service, housekeeping and, most seriously, the quality of assets. Vaghul calls for what he terms a 'quality movement' and frames its principal lever as a regulatory one: Indian banks should be required to make full public disclosure of their non-performing assets, the provisions held against them, and the bad debts written off each year. The existing secrecy law, he argues, is a hangover from British banking practice; the international banking system has already abandoned it without any loss of public confidence. He also wants an objective accounting rule — interest unreceived for two or three years triggers a non-performing classification — to remove discretion and end the fiction of booking notional interest on which banks then pay real tax. Vaghul defends Indian banks' developmental and risk-bearing role against any naive comparison with conservative banks in the developed world, but insists that the alternative to disclosure is to bequeath a hidden problem to the next generation. He extends the diagnosis to customer service and housekeeping, rejecting the view that the deterioration began with nationalisation in July 1969: bankers did not become 'angels' the day before takeover, and the rot has been steady. The closing pages turn to systems, arguing that Indian banking still runs on procedures inherited from 1920s Scottish bankers that cannot cope with a thousand-fold rise in transactions, while trade-union resistance treats computers as 'a man-eating tiger'. The rendered pages stop at printed page 15, mid-discussion of systems reform; the remainder of the booklet (PDF pages 21–24) is not in view. ## Key points - Vaghul opens by crediting A. D. Shroff for boldly preaching free enterprise during India's socialist tide and treats the fall of communism in Russia, Poland and Hungary as posthumous vindication of Shroff's stand. - He invokes Swami Ranganathananda's reading of Saraswati and Lakshmi as concepts of knowledge and welfare, and proposes that India now needs a 'third goddess' symbolising quality. - The central thesis is that Indian banking is obsessed with quantitative achievements — branches, deposits, priority targets — while service, housekeeping and especially asset quality have visibly deteriorated. - He calls for mandatory public disclosure of doubtful loans, non-performing assets, aggregate provisions and bad debts written off, breaking with a British-era secrecy law that the rest of the banking world has already abandoned. - He proposes an objective, non-discretionary accounting rule: a loan on which interest has not been received for two or three years should be classified as non-performing, ending the practice of booking notional accrued interest (on which banks then pay real tax). - He concedes initial disclosure will be 'traumatic' but argues it will impose internal discipline on branch managers and force timely rehabilitation of sick units, instead of postponing losses to protect the balance sheet. - Deterioration in service, he insists, is not caused by the 1969 nationalisation — employees did not switch character overnight — but is a slow, structural decline. - The systems running Indian banks were designed by Scottish bankers in the 1920s for a fraction of today's transaction volume; ideological resistance from trade unions, who view computers as 'a man-eating tiger', is blocking modernisation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Quotas and Reservations URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/quotas-and-reservations-imperative-action-by-sujata-manohar-2006/ ### Summary Quotas and Reservations — Imperatives of Affirmative Action is the printed text of a lecture delivered by Justice (Mrs.) Sujata Manohar (Retd.), a former Chief Justice of the Bombay and Kerala High Courts and Supreme Court judge, at the Annual Day of the Leslie Sawhny Endowment programme on 16th May 2006. The pamphlet was published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Mumbai and opens with an Introduction signed by Minoo R. Shroff, President of the Forum, who frames the address as an incisive analysis of the country's reservations regime and laments that politicians who divide the nation on the basis of religion and caste 'scar a country forever'. Manohar reads the Indian reservations regime against its constitutional intent. Recalling Martin Luther King, Rabindranath Tagore's Geetanjali, and Ambedkar's Constituent Assembly warning that 'castes are anti national', she argues that Articles 14, 15, 16 and 335 were designed to build a non-discriminatory and fraternal order; the special provisions for women, children, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were conceived as short-term, reverse-discrimination measures pending empowerment.… ### Body # Quotas and Reservations *By Justice (Mrs.) Sujata Manohar (Retd.)* ## Summary Quotas and Reservations — Imperatives of Affirmative Action is the printed text of a lecture delivered by Justice (Mrs.) Sujata Manohar (Retd.), a former Chief Justice of the Bombay and Kerala High Courts and Supreme Court judge, at the Annual Day of the Leslie Sawhny Endowment programme on 16th May 2006. The pamphlet was published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Mumbai and opens with an Introduction signed by Minoo R. Shroff, President of the Forum, who frames the address as an incisive analysis of the country's reservations regime and laments that politicians who divide the nation on the basis of religion and caste 'scar a country forever'. Manohar reads the Indian reservations regime against its constitutional intent. Recalling Martin Luther King, Rabindranath Tagore's Geetanjali, and Ambedkar's Constituent Assembly warning that 'castes are anti national', she argues that Articles 14, 15, 16 and 335 were designed to build a non-discriminatory and fraternal order; the special provisions for women, children, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were conceived as short-term, reverse-discrimination measures pending empowerment. The Constituent Assembly's choice of reservations over US-style affirmative action, she contends, was a 'flawed perception' — born of a lack of confidence that prejudice could be overcome by structural support rather than by quota. The core indictment is empirical and institutional. After sixty years no Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe has been removed from the backward list; quotas have only expanded; no inbuilt programme of gradual reduction exists; and reliable data on the reduction of backwardness is missing from public discourse. Manohar walks through the Supreme Court's reasoning in Indra Sawhney v. Union of India and Preeti Srivastava v. State of Madhya Pradesh (she sat on the latter bench), the 50 per cent ceiling, the extension of reservation to promotions, and the running controversies of 2006 — the proposed 27 per cent OBC quota and its extension to IITs, IIMs and the private sector. She argues that quotas have lent themselves to misuse, killed incentive to excel, created a 'vested interest in backwardness', and generated divisive forces stronger than those at independence. The remedy she urges is a massive shift of weight from reservation to affirmative action: economic policy that empowers the backward, fee-regulation and need-based aid in schools and colleges, special effort by both public and private sector to broaden recruitment, and a sustained programme to retain Scheduled Caste children in school (citing a 76 per cent pre-Class X dropout rate). She points to the South African Employment Equity Act — non-quota, duty-based, covering women and other discriminated groups — as a model worth studying, and closes the rendered section on the need for civil society, NGOs, the private sector and government to build schools and colleges that 'generate excellence' rather than parcel out shrinking opportunities by caste. ## Key points - Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet (Mumbai, 2006) reproducing Justice Sujata Manohar's address at the Leslie Sawhny Endowment Annual Day on 16 May 2006, prefaced by an Introduction signed by Minoo R. Shroff (FFE President). - Reads reservations against the constitutional design of Articles 14, 15, 16 and 335: special provisions were intended as short-term reverse discrimination to make the weak able to compete, not as permanent entitlements. - Argues that opting for reservations instead of US-style affirmative action was a 'flawed perception', driven by lack of confidence that social prejudice could be overcome by structural means. - Empirical indictment: in sixty years no Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe has been removed from the backward list, reservations have only expanded, and there is no inbuilt mechanism for gradual reduction. - Walks through Supreme Court jurisprudence — Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (50% ceiling, promotions) and Preeti Srivastava v. State of M.P. (on which she sat) — and the live 2006 controversies over the 27% OBC quota and its extension to IITs, IIMs and the private sector. - Identifies a 'vested interest in backwardness' and warns that divisive forces unleashed by misused reservations are now stronger than those that existed at independence. - Programmatic recommendations centre on massive affirmative action: basic education quality, fee regulation, need-based aid, retention of Scheduled Caste children in school (76% pre-Class X dropout), and a duty on private and public sector employers to broaden recruitment. - Holds up South Africa's Employment Equity Act — duty-based, non-quota, covering women and a wide range of discriminated groups — as a model India should study. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Ramtanu Lahiri O Tatkalin Bangosamaj URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/ramtanu-lahiri-o-tatkalin-bangosamaj-sivanath-sastri/ ### Summary This chapter — Chapter V of Sivanath Sastri's 1904 Bengali biography of Ramtanu Lahiri — is an English translation covering the period 1825–1833, described as a 'watershed between the old and the new' in Bengal's social history. Sastri frames this era as one of paradigm shift: the East India Company's consolidation of revenue-extraction power, the catastrophic famine of 1176 Bengali Era (1769–70) and the Company's callous indifference, and the gradual replacement of Indian officials with Europeans up to 1833, are laid out as the political backdrop against which the social and intellectual upheaval takes place. The chapter's argumentative centre is the collision between orthodoxy and liberal-reformist energies. Sastri traces three overlapping currents: Ram Mohan Roy's campaign against suttee and his founding of the Brahmo Samaj (1828), the electrifying influence of Henry Louis Vivian Derozio as a teacher at Hindu College (1828–1831) and the 'Young Bengal' movement he inspired, and Lord William Bentinck's abolition of suttee by regulation on 4 December 1829.… ### Body ## Summary This chapter — Chapter V of Sivanath Sastri's 1904 Bengali biography of Ramtanu Lahiri — is an English translation covering the period 1825–1833, described as a 'watershed between the old and the new' in Bengal's social history. Sastri frames this era as one of paradigm shift: the East India Company's consolidation of revenue-extraction power, the catastrophic famine of 1176 Bengali Era (1769–70) and the Company's callous indifference, and the gradual replacement of Indian officials with Europeans up to 1833, are laid out as the political backdrop against which the social and intellectual upheaval takes place. The chapter's argumentative centre is the collision between orthodoxy and liberal-reformist energies. Sastri traces three overlapping currents: Ram Mohan Roy's campaign against suttee and his founding of the Brahmo Samaj (1828), the electrifying influence of Henry Louis Vivian Derozio as a teacher at Hindu College (1828–1831) and the 'Young Bengal' movement he inspired, and Lord William Bentinck's abolition of suttee by regulation on 4 December 1829. Ramtanu Lahiri himself is named as a member of Derozio's circle and a listener at the Academic Association meetings; he graduated from Hindu College in 1833. The chapter ends with the Charter Act of 1833, specifically Section 87, which barred the East India Company from disqualifying native subjects from holding public office on grounds of religion, birth, descent, or colour — presented by Sastri as a direct fruit of Rammohan Roy's advocacy in Britain and as the moment that opened government careers to English-educated Indians. Throughout, Sastri interweaves biography with social history, showing the personal networks, debates, and scandals that drove the Bengal Renaissance forward. ## Key points - Sastri frames 1825–1845 as Bengal's 'period of rebirth', when colonial consolidation and Enlightenment ideas produced an unprecedented social upheaval. - The Company's extraction-first mentality is indicted through Warren Hastings's 1772 revenue letters and famine data showing collection continued — and even increased — through the catastrophic 1770 famine. - Raja Ram Mohan Roy is presented as the catalytic figure who first turned Bengali educated minds westward while selectively retaining Hinduism's best, founding the Brahmo Samaj in 1828 and spearheading the anti-suttee movement. - Derozio's three-year tenure at Hindu College (1828–1831) is narrated in detail: his Academic Association, the radicalism of his students ('Young Bengal'), the scandal and social war it provoked, and his eventual sacking and death from cholera in December 1831. - Ramtanu Lahiri is identified as an auditor at Academic Association meetings alongside future luminaries such as Rasikkrishna Mallik and Dakshinaranjan Mukhopadhyay. - Lord Bentinck's suttee abolition regulation of 4 December 1829 is quoted verbatim, and Alexander Duff's educational mission is introduced as a further vector of liberal-Christian influence. - The chapter closes with the Charter Act of 1833 (Section 87), opening Company civil posts to Indians regardless of religion, birth, or colour — secured through Rammohan Roy's lobbying in England, and framed as a turning-point for Ramtanu Lahiri's generation. --- ## [Primary work] Recent Changes in Laws Affecting Business and Industry URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/recent-changes-in-law-affecting-business-and-industry-december-1965/ ### Summary In the rendered pages, this 1965 Forum of Free Enterprise pocketbook collects talks from a Bombay symposium on how the rapid, repeated amendment of Indian commercial law was affecting business and industry. The front matter rendered here — a foreword by N. A. Palkhivala, an introduction by A. D. Shroff in his capacity as Forum President, and the contents page — frames the project as a complaint against legislative excess: laws so frequent, so complex, and so carelessly drafted that compliance has become near-impossible for laymen and exhausting for experts. The contents page rendered here lists six contributions covering income-tax computation (S. P. Mehta), mercantile law (Khorshed D. P. Madon), company law (H. B. Dhondy), foreign exchange (S. R. Vakil), sales tax (N. C. Mehta), and corporate taxes (S. V. Ghatalia). In the rendered pages, only S. P. Mehta's opening essay on the computation of business profits under the Income-tax Act is substantively visible, and even there the chunk stops one printed page short of its end.… ### Body # Recent Changes in Laws Affecting Business and Industry ## Summary In the rendered pages, this 1965 Forum of Free Enterprise pocketbook collects talks from a Bombay symposium on how the rapid, repeated amendment of Indian commercial law was affecting business and industry. The front matter rendered here — a foreword by N. A. Palkhivala, an introduction by A. D. Shroff in his capacity as Forum President, and the contents page — frames the project as a complaint against legislative excess: laws so frequent, so complex, and so carelessly drafted that compliance has become near-impossible for laymen and exhausting for experts. The contents page rendered here lists six contributions covering income-tax computation (S. P. Mehta), mercantile law (Khorshed D. P. Madon), company law (H. B. Dhondy), foreign exchange (S. R. Vakil), sales tax (N. C. Mehta), and corporate taxes (S. V. Ghatalia). In the rendered pages, only S. P. Mehta's opening essay on the computation of business profits under the Income-tax Act is substantively visible, and even there the chunk stops one printed page short of its end. The argumentative centre observable in the rendered pages is the rule-of-law claim — Shroff's insistence that good and simple laws are a precondition for economic functioning, and Palkhivala's catalogue of defects (uncertainty, complexity, injustice, careless drafting) — applied to the specific irritants the contributors knew best as practising advocates and chartered accountants. ## Essays ### Few aspects of computation of Business Profits under Income-tax Act *By S. P. Mehta* In the rendered pages, S. P. Mehta — described in the footnote as an eminent advocate specialising in income-tax law — walks through what he treats as a series of unfair or unsettled wrinkles in the computation of business profits under the Income-tax Act. He opens with a Holmesian aphorism on taxes as the price of civilisation, then catalogues the elastic statutory definition of "business" (citing the Supreme Court's Krishna Menon ruling that even a Vedanta philosopher's spontaneous receipts were taxable vocation income), the Income-Tax Officer's freedom to reject account books on flimsy grounds, the harsh treatment of pre-commencement expenses, the disallowance of remuneration to persons connected with controlling shareholders, and the rejection of foreign travel costs as capital expenditure. He extends the critique to royalty payments — citing Pingle's Industries and Abdul Kayoom, where the Supreme Court by 2-1 held royalty to be non-deductible capital expenditure — and to the broader question of whether the State should disallow payments simply because some incidental law was breached (Haji Aziz & Bros and Abdul Shakoor). The essay closes within the rendered chunk on the treatment of speculative-transaction losses and the misuse of losing companies under Section 79. Throughout, Mehta's stance is that the legislature and the tax authorities are tilted against the assessee, and that fair drafting and disciplined administrative practice would close most of the disputes. - Mehta opens with Justice Holmes's aphorism that taxes are the price of civilised society, then jokes that an Indian taxpayer is surrounded on all sides — income tax, expenditure tax, wealth tax, gift tax, estate duty. - The statutory definition of "business" is so wide (per the Supreme Court in Krishna Menon vs. Commissioner of Income-Tax, Madras) that even a Vedanta philosopher's voluntary receipts from a foreign disciple were taxed as vocation income. - The Income-Tax Officer's power to reject books of account on flimsy grounds, and to compare marginal units against the largest in a trade, produces systemic unfairness despite the constitutional guarantee of equality. - Pre-commencement expenses are routinely disallowed even though, if rolled into a third-party turnkey contract, the identical outlays would be capitalised — an arbitrary distinction Mehta urges authorities to abandon. - Remuneration paid to relatives or associates of company controllers is often disallowed under the wide power in the Act, even when the recipient would draw the same pay on merit elsewhere; Mehta argues the power should be confined to cases where company interests are actually overlooked. - Foreign travel by directors or partners to acquire know-how is wrongly treated as capital expenditure: improving an individual's knowledge is not the acquisition of a capital asset. - On royalty, the Supreme Court's majority in Pingle's Industries and Abdul Kayoom treated payments for stock-in-trade as non-deductible capital expenditure — a result Mehta finds at odds with commercial reality and one Parliament should overturn by amendment. - Mehta resists extending Haji Aziz & Bros and Abdul Shakoor: a bona fide payment should not be disallowed simply because the underlying arrangement contravenes some law, when even tainted income is itself taxable. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] RECESSION IN INDIAN ECONOMY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/recession-in-indian-economy-dr-r-ccooper-august-10-1967/ ### Summary Dr. R. C. Cooper — then President of the Indian Merchants' Chamber and a past-President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India — delivers this booklet as a diagnosis of the industrial recession that had visibly settled over India by mid-1967. He sketches the slide in the index of industrial production from 200 in December 1966 to 186 by April, links it to a collapse in purchasing power produced by two consecutive drought years and persistent inflation, and warns that 'a crisis of vast magnitude is threatening to take over the economy'. His central analytic move is to deny that recession is a discrete short-term problem soluble by ad hoc stimulus: it is, he argues, a symptom of the deeper inflationary malaise produced by chronic over-licensing, an over-built heavy-industry programme, ruinously high indirect taxation, and the Reserve Bank's progressive credit tightening. Cooper's policy prescription is recognisably classical-liberal in its sympathies, though phrased as practical reform rather than ideology.… ### Body # RECESSION IN INDIAN ECONOMY *By DR. R. C. COOPER* ## Summary Dr. R. C. Cooper — then President of the Indian Merchants' Chamber and a past-President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India — delivers this booklet as a diagnosis of the industrial recession that had visibly settled over India by mid-1967. He sketches the slide in the index of industrial production from 200 in December 1966 to 186 by April, links it to a collapse in purchasing power produced by two consecutive drought years and persistent inflation, and warns that 'a crisis of vast magnitude is threatening to take over the economy'. His central analytic move is to deny that recession is a discrete short-term problem soluble by ad hoc stimulus: it is, he argues, a symptom of the deeper inflationary malaise produced by chronic over-licensing, an over-built heavy-industry programme, ruinously high indirect taxation, and the Reserve Bank's progressive credit tightening. Cooper's policy prescription is recognisably classical-liberal in its sympathies, though phrased as practical reform rather than ideology. He criticises the Planning Commission's continued licensing of new capacity in already over-built industries, the Government's preference for Public Sector suppliers over the unutilised capacity of private units, and the build-up of non-plan, non-developmental expenditure, which he reports has risen from Rs. 953 crores in 1960-61 to Rs. 3,623 crores. He calls for selective reductions in excise duty and corporate taxation to revive demand, a meaningful pivot to export markets, and a hard look at the over-licensing of capacity. He notes the Union Minister of Works and Housing Mr. Jagannatha Rao's estimate that economies of 10 to 20 per cent in construction outlays alone could yield Rs. 600 to Rs. 1,200 crores in savings, and quotes the Union Minister for Steel Mr. Chenna Reddy on the neglect of production costs in the early development push. The closing pages widen the lens from cures-for-recession into a broader plea: 'shall we not learn by experience to free ourselves from dogmas and ideological considerations and fashion our policies on a realistic and pragmatic approach to problems of economic development?' Cooper urges a fresh look at the Government's whole approach to planning and import policy — a more genuine import-substitution drive, lower indirect taxes, attention to cost-consciousness, and reduced reliance on Government help and guidance. Issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise on 10 August 1967, the booklet sits squarely in the Forum's tradition of using practitioner authority to argue that recession is the bill arriving for two decades of dirigiste planning. ## Key points - Industrial production index fell from 200 in December 1966 to 186 in April 1967, after a sharp 1965-66 deceleration; the recession had been visible long before it was acknowledged. - Root cause is identified as the inflationary collapse of purchasing power after two drought years, compounded by Reserve Bank credit tightening that closed normal avenues of working-capital finance. - Cooper blames over-licensing by the Planning Commission for the surplus capacity now sitting idle in steel castings, railway wagons, heavy structurals, welding electrodes and machine tools. - Indirect taxation is singled out as the inbuilt cost-inflator: excise revenue rose from Rs. 67 crores in 1950-51 to Rs. 1,030 crores in 1966-67, and indirect levies make up nearly 30 to 40 per cent of an industrial product's price. - He attacks the Government's preference for Public Sector suppliers (citing planned steel-foundry expansion while private capacity lies idle) and the practice of denying private units a share of departmental purchase programmes. - Non-plan, non-development expenditure has grown from Rs. 953 crores in 1960-61 to Rs. 3,623 crores — he treats this as the engine of the inflation that has 'made the position still worse'. - Export promotion is offered as a long-term outlet, conditional on labour productivity, scientific management, quality, and fiscal/taxation reform — not as a short-term escape. - The booklet closes with a generalised plea for pragmatism over ideology and for a fundamental reconsideration of the Government's approach to planning and development. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Recession in Indian Industry — Causes, Consequences & Prospects URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/recession-in-indian-industry-causes-consequences-and-prospects-d-r-pendse-15-december-1975/ ### Summary D. R. Pendse, then Economic Adviser to a business house, reprints in this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet two Indian Express columns from late October and early November 1975 that together diagnose, weigh, and forecast the recession then engulfing Indian industry. The first essay, "Causes and Consequences," notes that the debate over whether recessionary tendencies exist is finally over: textiles, cars, steel, air-conditioners, consumer durables, basic engineering goods and even high-priority lines such as fertilisers and tractors are all in trouble. Pendse identifies five interlocking causes — inadequate consumer purchasing power, overlicensing that built capacity vastly out of step with demand (television sets licensed at over three lakh against output of 74,000; dry cells licensed at 1,521 million against 635 million produced), sharp price escalations following decontrols and tax hikes, the crackdown on black money that hit luxury-oriented and service industries, and imbalances in plan performance, especially the Fourth Plan's 49 per cent shortfall in power generation that starved downstream industries of demand. Pendse refuses to treat the recession as wholly malign.… ### Body # Recession in Indian Industry — Causes, Consequences & Prospects *By D. R. Pendse* ## Summary D. R. Pendse, then Economic Adviser to a business house, reprints in this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet two Indian Express columns from late October and early November 1975 that together diagnose, weigh, and forecast the recession then engulfing Indian industry. The first essay, "Causes and Consequences," notes that the debate over whether recessionary tendencies exist is finally over: textiles, cars, steel, air-conditioners, consumer durables, basic engineering goods and even high-priority lines such as fertilisers and tractors are all in trouble. Pendse identifies five interlocking causes — inadequate consumer purchasing power, overlicensing that built capacity vastly out of step with demand (television sets licensed at over three lakh against output of 74,000; dry cells licensed at 1,521 million against 635 million produced), sharp price escalations following decontrols and tax hikes, the crackdown on black money that hit luxury-oriented and service industries, and imbalances in plan performance, especially the Fourth Plan's 49 per cent shortfall in power generation that starved downstream industries of demand. Pendse refuses to treat the recession as wholly malign. He casts it as a "purgative" that weeds out inefficient firms, makes scarce inputs more manageable, and chokes the generation of black money — but he weighs against this the waste of idle capacity in a country still at or below the poverty line, the chilling of new entrepreneurs, and above all the employment set-back, which feeds back into shrinking purchasing power and deepens the slump. He concludes that the debit-versus-credit ledger is best left open rather than litigated. The second essay, "Is the Recession on the way out?", takes up four recurring puzzles: why demand has not picked up despite near-price-stability, whether excise relief would help, why corporate results for 1974 and 1974-75 look strong in a recession-hit economy, and when the recession will end. Pendse argues that price stability without rising incomes only freezes demand at depressed levels; that selective tax relief is justified only where a recent jack-up in duties caused the demand to taper; that good corporate profits often reflect efficient managements coping through exports, diversification and product-mix changes, plus the lag of balance-sheets, controlled output prices, and paper profits in a depreciated currency. On prospects he is cautiously hopeful: sustained net bank credit to Government (Rs. 997 crores between end-March and end-September 1975 against Rs. 588 crores the previous year), an additional Rs. 700–800 crores in rural hands from a good kharif crop without inflationary risk, and stepped-up but selective public-sector outlay on agriculture and energy should arrest the recession in several industries, though with widely varying time-lags. The booklet opens with an A. D. Shroff epigraph defending free enterprise as coeval with man, closes with a Eugene Black quotation urging acceptance of private enterprise "not as a necessary evil, but as an affirmative good," and bears the Forum's standard disclaimer that the views are the author's own. ## Key points - Pendse declares the verbal debate over the existence of recession effectively closed by late 1975 — textiles, cars, steel, air-conditioners, consumer durables, engineering goods and even high-priority lines like fertilisers and tractors are all affected, with power and mining equipment as rare exceptions. - Five causes are itemised: inadequate consumer purchasing power, overlicensing that gives capacity wildly in excess of demand, sharp price escalations after decontrols and tax hikes, the black-money crackdown that hit luxury and service industries, and imbalances in plan performance (notably the Fourth Plan's 49 per cent shortfall in power generation). - The booklet treats recession with two-handed honesty: a "purgative" that disciplines inefficient firms, eases scarcities, and shrinks black-money circulation, but at the cost of idle capacity, deterred entrepreneurs, and — most damaging — set-back to employment creation that feeds back into still weaker demand. - On price stability, Pendse insists that flat prices without rising incomes only freezes consumption patterns set during the inflation peak; genuine recovery requires either falling prices that release surplus purchasing power or rising money emoluments and employment. - On tax reliefs, he urges a selective approach: only where a recent jack-up in excise (e.g., the supplementary 1974 budget) demonstrably caused demand to taper does tax relief have strong counter-recessionary force; he warns against the drift from specific to ad valorem duties, which gives Government a vested interest in high prices. - Strong 1974 and 1974-75 corporate results are not, he argues, evidence against recession: vanishing black-market premia, shortened queues and stock accumulation are the first symptoms; balance-sheets lag, controlled prices mask declines, and "encouraging" profits are often paper profits in a depreciated currency. - Three macro-factors give cautious grounds for relief by the turn of 1975-76: a near-doubling of net bank credit to Government year-on-year, Rs. 700–800 crores of new rural purchasing power from a good kharif crop, and selective public-sector step-up in agriculture and energy, with a larger kharif and bigger foreign-assistance receipts dampening the inflation risk of higher outlay. - Throughout, Pendse positions the analysis within Forum of Free Enterprise's house frame — bracketed by the Shroff and Eugene Black epigraphs — while keeping his own diagnosis empirically detailed and policy-pragmatic rather than ideological. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] REFLECTIONS ON THE CHANGING SCENARIO OF THE INDIAN STOCK MARKETS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/reflection-on-the-changing-scenario-of-the-indian-stock-marketst-m-r-mayya-december-21-1994/ ### Summary Delivered as the 1994 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture under the auspices of the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust and printed as a booklet in 1995, M. R. Mayya's address surveys the transformation of the Indian stock market since the liberalisation impulse of November 1984 and especially since June 1991. Writing as the recently retired Executive Director of the Bombay Stock Exchange, Mayya frames the half-century preceding 1991 as a self-inflicted detour: a 'trauma of restrictions and constraints to growth' that the nation eventually realised was not the proper path for progress. Liberalisation, he argues, has produced a primary-market expansion of roughly 250 times since the seventies, taken Indian listed-company count past that of the United States, and lifted the investor base to over 40 million. Having celebrated the quantitative explosion, Mayya devotes the bulk of the rendered pages to the qualitative reforms still owed to investors.… ### Body # REFLECTIONS ON THE CHANGING SCENARIO OF THE INDIAN STOCK MARKETS *By M. R. MAYYA* ## Summary Delivered as the 1994 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture under the auspices of the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust and printed as a booklet in 1995, M. R. Mayya's address surveys the transformation of the Indian stock market since the liberalisation impulse of November 1984 and especially since June 1991. Writing as the recently retired Executive Director of the Bombay Stock Exchange, Mayya frames the half-century preceding 1991 as a self-inflicted detour: a 'trauma of restrictions and constraints to growth' that the nation eventually realised was not the proper path for progress. Liberalisation, he argues, has produced a primary-market expansion of roughly 250 times since the seventies, taken Indian listed-company count past that of the United States, and lifted the investor base to over 40 million. Having celebrated the quantitative explosion, Mayya devotes the bulk of the rendered pages to the qualitative reforms still owed to investors. He calls for space currently occupied by public-sector tenants in stock-exchange buildings to be vacated on commercial terms; for accelerated computerisation, telecom and postal upgrades; for the absorption of sub-brokers into the regulated fold; for genuine corporatisation of broking firms (with one-time capital-gains relief to ease conversion); and for a clearer entry path for financial-institution members so that a 'level playing ground' is restored. On governance, he accepts the 50:50 elected-broker/non-broker board ratio but insists that the real prize is improved director quality, and proposes that the executive director of each exchange be appointed by a standing committee rather than left hostage to the political pulls of the governing board. The later pages take up SEBI's new regulatory edifice — the 1992 Act, the Stock Brokers, Merchant Bankers, Underwriters, Insider Trading and Mutual Fund regulations, and the repeal of the Capital Issues (Control) Act, 1947. Mayya credits SEBI's disclosure code, credit-rating mandate and 'Stockinvest' instrument while warning that free pricing has been misused by issuers and merchant bankers, and that the persistent 'grey market' for unlisted scrip — three decades old and counting — must either be declared illegal or formally regulated. He closes the rendered portion by criticising two recent policy moves as adverse to small investors: the September 1993 dilution of the minimum public offer from 60 per cent to 25 per cent of issued capital, and the raising of the minimum application size from 100 to 500 shares, proposing 40 per cent and 300 shares respectively as the more defensible figures. ## Key points - Mayya frames pre-1991 economic policy as a fifty-year 'trauma of restrictions and constraints' that the nation only belatedly recognised as misguided. - Primary-market raisings climbed from an average of Rs. 900 million annually in the seventies to Rs. 224.80 billion in 1993-94 — a 250x rise equal to 12.8 per cent of gross domestic savings. - India's roughly 7,500 listed companies in 1994 surpassed the United States' 7,250, while the investor population reached over 40 million, second only to the U.S.A. - Infrastructure remains the choke point: public-sector institutions occupy exchange space, computerisation has stalled 'partly to block transparency', and telecom/postal facilities lag. - Corporatisation of broking firms is necessary for perpetuity and professionalism; Mayya appeals for a one-time capital-gains exemption to unblock conversions. - Sub-brokers — a uniquely Indian class — must be brought into a regulated arbitration framework or phased out over a ten-year horizon. - The 50:50 broker/non-broker governing-board ratio is settled, but director quality matters more; executive directors should be appointed by an independent standing committee to insulate them from board pressure. - SEBI's post-1992 regulatory architecture has improved disclosures but free pricing is being misused, and the three-decade-old 'grey market' for unlisted scrip must either be banned or formally regulated. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Recent Changes in the Tax Structure URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/recent-changes-in-tax-structure-feb7-1958/ ### Summary N. A. Palkhivala's pamphlet, based on a talk delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on December 2, 1957, treats 1957 as a watershed in Indian fiscal history. He argues that, almost unnoticed, the country has passed through a revolution in its taxation laws, and organises his critique under three heads: the introduction of new taxes, the complication of existing ones, and the growing use of taxation as an instrument of executive control over private life. The first part dissects the new Wealth-tax, Expenditure-tax and Capital Gains tax. Palkhivala attacks the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 for resting on the subjective opinion of the Wealth-tax Officer (Sections 2(m), 3 and 7), for amounting to virtual expropriation by swallowing income, and for irrationally taxing companies — a measure even Prof. Kaldor, who conceived the combined levy, opposed. He pillories the Expenditure-tax as a fourth bite at the same cake and a futile attempt to discourage ostentation, citing William Pitt's Napoleonic-war income-tax as proof that 'temporary' taxes never die.… ### Body # Recent Changes in the Tax Structure *By N. A. Palkhivala* ## Summary N. A. Palkhivala's pamphlet, based on a talk delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on December 2, 1957, treats 1957 as a watershed in Indian fiscal history. He argues that, almost unnoticed, the country has passed through a revolution in its taxation laws, and organises his critique under three heads: the introduction of new taxes, the complication of existing ones, and the growing use of taxation as an instrument of executive control over private life. The first part dissects the new Wealth-tax, Expenditure-tax and Capital Gains tax. Palkhivala attacks the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 for resting on the subjective opinion of the Wealth-tax Officer (Sections 2(m), 3 and 7), for amounting to virtual expropriation by swallowing income, and for irrationally taxing companies — a measure even Prof. Kaldor, who conceived the combined levy, opposed. He pillories the Expenditure-tax as a fourth bite at the same cake and a futile attempt to discourage ostentation, citing William Pitt's Napoleonic-war income-tax as proof that 'temporary' taxes never die. The Capital Gains tax is judged inopportune in a capital-hungry economy. The second section catalogues complications such as the Current Profits Deposit Rules and amendments to Section 23-A of the Income-tax Act, which leave 'approved purposes' to executive discretion and produce capricious differential super-tax on dividends. The third and most polemical section turns from finance to freedom: tax legislation is becoming the leading edge of a wider regimentation in which executive officers, untrained in judicial reasoning, are vested with the widest powers, redress in court is being narrowed, and Chapter 3 of the Constitution risks becoming a dead letter. Palkhivala closes by warning that doubling the national income through the Five-Year Plan will be a poor bargain if civil liberty and individual freedom are halved in the process — the people would have sold their priceless heritage for a mess of pottage. ## Key points - Frames 1957 as the most consequential year for Indian taxation, comparable in significance to 1757 and 1857 in earlier Indian history. - Organises the critique under three heads: new taxes, complicated existing taxes, and executive control over private life through tax law. - Attacks the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 for relying on the subjective opinion of the Wealth-tax Officer and for irrationally double-taxing companies, contrary even to Prof. Kaldor's original design. - Reads the Expenditure-tax as a fourth duplicative levy on already-taxed income, futile as a check on ostentation and likely to be permanent — citing William Pitt's 'temporary' Napoleonic income-tax as precedent. - Argues the Capital Gains tax is inopportune in a capital-starved economy that needs investment in industry. - Identifies Section 23-A amendments and the Current Profits Deposit Rules as instances of legislation that hands businesses' commercial judgement to executive discretion under vague 'approved purposes' standards. - Warns that 'opinion of the Government' clauses oust judicial review, citing the Bombay Land Requisition Act as a more drastic instrument than any English wartime measure. - Concludes that civil liberty and individual freedom can die in a democracy as surely as under totalitarianism — leaving only the 'husk of democracy' if the Five-Year Plan doubles income while halving freedom. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] REFLECTIONS ON FOREIGN AID URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/reflections-on-foreign-aid-prof-p-tbauer-july-10-1970/ ### Summary Prof. P. T. Bauer's lecture, delivered at the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 3 February 1970 and published as a Forum booklet in July 1970, mounts a frontal attack on the prevailing development-economics consensus that inter-governmental grants and subsidised loans are indispensable for the progress of poor countries. Bauer treats this consensus as an unexamined axiom and dismantles it on empirical and analytical grounds: all developed countries themselves rose out of poverty without foreign aid, many under-developed countries advanced rapidly between 1880 and 1960 without external transfers, and India, after fifteen years of large-scale aid, ended the 1960s more dependent on foreign food and foreign exchange than before. If a population is not interested in material advance — Bauer uses the Navajo case alongside other examples — neither aid nor anything else can produce development. Most of the booklet inventories the active harms Bauer attributes to aid.… ### Body # REFLECTIONS ON FOREIGN AID *By Prof. P. T. Bauer* ## Summary Prof. P. T. Bauer's lecture, delivered at the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 3 February 1970 and published as a Forum booklet in July 1970, mounts a frontal attack on the prevailing development-economics consensus that inter-governmental grants and subsidised loans are indispensable for the progress of poor countries. Bauer treats this consensus as an unexamined axiom and dismantles it on empirical and analytical grounds: all developed countries themselves rose out of poverty without foreign aid, many under-developed countries advanced rapidly between 1880 and 1960 without external transfers, and India, after fifteen years of large-scale aid, ended the 1960s more dependent on foreign food and foreign exchange than before. If a population is not interested in material advance — Bauer uses the Navajo case alongside other examples — neither aid nor anything else can produce development. Most of the booklet inventories the active harms Bauer attributes to aid. Aid augments the resources of recipient governments and so 'increases the weight of the Government in the society and economy and thereby promotes a concentration of power'; it biases development toward inappropriate Western prototypes (universities, civil-service forms, large-scale state industry); it underwrites comprehensive central planning that retards rather than promotes adjustment; it discourages domestic savings and chokes off private capital, which is usually more productive than subsidised public capital; and through 'sheltered markets' it operates as a covert transfer from Western taxpayers to Western exporters rather than to the world's poor. Bauer then takes apart the four standard justifications for aid. The argument from need leads to absurdity, since by that logic the most productive groups (Asians in East Africa, Indians in Burma) should be expelled to qualify their countries for further aid. The argument from moral duty fails because charity compulsorily extracted by the tax collector — 'If I do not pay the income-tax, I go to jail' — is not a moral act at all. The Cold-War argument that aid keeps poor countries out of the Communist bloc collapses on inspection: aid actually promotes centralised, closely controlled economies congenial to Communist sympathies, and the indiscriminate transfer of taxpayers' money breeds suspicion rather than gratitude. And the restitution argument — that Western wealth was extracted from the under-developed world — fails the historical test, as illustrated by the Tashkent Conference of 1966, when Pakistan and India turned to the Soviet Premier rather than the United States despite a decade of substantial American aid. Bauer closes by acknowledging that his views are unpopular but insisting that the validity of an argument has nothing to do with its political popularity. ## Key points - Foreign aid is the orthodoxy that Bauer treats as an unexamined axiom of contemporary development literature; his lecture exists to argue that the axiom is wrong. - Aid is neither necessary nor sufficient for development: developed countries grew without it, many poor countries grew rapidly without it, and India's fifteen years of large-scale aid since the mid-1950s left it more dependent, not less. - Aid concentrates economic and political power in the recipient government, biases policy toward Western institutional prototypes, and underwrites comprehensive central planning that itself retards adjustment. - Aid discourages domestic savings and private capital inflow; private capital, even when more expensive, is usually more productive than subsidised public capital, and Indian Railways and Calcutta Tramways are cited as historical counter-examples of infra-structure built by private investment. - Much aid is in practice a subsidy from Western taxpayers to Western exporters via sheltered markets, not a transfer to the world's poor. - The need-based case for aid leads to absurd implications, since the most productive groups (Asians in East Africa, Indians in Burma) earn above-average incomes and would have to be expelled to lower national averages and qualify for more aid. - Aid as a moral duty fails because tax-financed aid is compulsory, not voluntary, and so lacks the moral character of private charity; aid as Cold-War political strategy is counter-productive because it strengthens the centralised state and breeds suspicion of Western motives. - The restitution argument that Western prosperity was extracted from the under-developed world is rejected empirically; the Tashkent mediation of 1966 illustrates that aid does not even buy diplomatic alignment. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Reflections of Enlightened Young Minds URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/reflections-of-enlightened-young-minds-kush-ganatra-april-3-2014/ ### Summary Reflections of Enlightened Young Minds collects the four prize-winning speeches from the 49th A.D. Shroff Memorial Inter-Collegiate Elocution Contest, held in Mumbai on 26 January 2014 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise on 3 April 2014. In a foreword, Forum President Minoo R. Shroff frames the contests — the A.D. Shroff Inter-Collegiate, the Nani A. Palkhivala (for law students) and the M.R. Pai (for schools) — as part of the Forum's youth-empowerment work, citing Dale Carnegie on public speaking as the 'most potent tool' for career advancement, and reporting that more than 4,000 contests across 13 states have drawn 45,000 student speakers since 1965-66. The booklet is sponsored by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust, with a biographical tribute to the late chartered accountant Shailesh Kapadia (1949-1988). The four student speeches gather around three themes flagged on the cover: safety of women, white collar crimes, and civil society and good governance. Kush Ganatra (N. M. College of Commerce & Economics) and Dr. Sabeena Gonsalves (K.C.… ### Body # Reflections of Enlightened Young Minds *By Kush Ganatra, Varsha Srinivasan, Vasudha Ramakrishna, Dr. Sabeena Gonsalves* ## Summary Reflections of Enlightened Young Minds collects the four prize-winning speeches from the 49th A.D. Shroff Memorial Inter-Collegiate Elocution Contest, held in Mumbai on 26 January 2014 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise on 3 April 2014. In a foreword, Forum President Minoo R. Shroff frames the contests — the A.D. Shroff Inter-Collegiate, the Nani A. Palkhivala (for law students) and the M.R. Pai (for schools) — as part of the Forum's youth-empowerment work, citing Dale Carnegie on public speaking as the 'most potent tool' for career advancement, and reporting that more than 4,000 contests across 13 states have drawn 45,000 student speakers since 1965-66. The booklet is sponsored by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust, with a biographical tribute to the late chartered accountant Shailesh Kapadia (1949-1988). The four student speeches gather around three themes flagged on the cover: safety of women, white collar crimes, and civil society and good governance. Kush Ganatra (N. M. College of Commerce & Economics) and Dr. Sabeena Gonsalves (K.C. Law College) both speak on 'Role of Civil Society in Ensuring Safety of Women', taking the post-Nirbhaya conversation as their starting point and arguing that legal reform alone cannot fix entrenched cultural and psychological patterns. Varsha Srinivasan (R. A. Podar College) treats white collar crime as a quiet but compounding threat to economic stability, citing Enron, Lehman Brothers, the 2G scam, Kalmadi and Lalu as Indian and global instances. Vasudha Ramakrishna (Ramnarain Ruia College) traces governance from the Greek root kubernesis to argue that India's bottleneck is not policy design but implementation, gesturing at stalled power capacity and Mumbai infrastructure projects. The closing matter carries an aphorism from Eugene Black, former World Bank President, on private enterprise as 'an affirmative good,' and a short note on the Forum's mission and membership. ## Essays ### Role of Civil Society in Ensuring Safety of Women *By Kush Ganatra* Kush Ganatra opens with a deliberate disclaimer — he is male, and welcomes the audience to discount what follows — before arguing that India's response to violence against women is reactionary, episodic and shaped largely by candlelight marches and social-media outrage. He cites a G20 survey ranking India as the worst country for women, ahead of Saudi Arabia, and a National Crime Bureau figure that fewer than 30 per cent of reported rapes in 2010 resulted in conviction. From these, he draws a structural point: legislation cannot work unless conviction follows, and conviction cannot follow unless cultural attitudes — including the 'ghar ka mamla' habit of treating domestic violence as private — change first. The speech turns from outrage to indifference. Ganatra rejects the catchall slogan 'we need to teach men and children to respect women,' arguing instead that masculinity itself must be uncoupled from dominance, and that the truly damning fact of the Delhi case was not the act but the bystanders who walked past a bleeding girl for two hours. The closing line — 'Rape is awful. Indifference is infinitely worse' — sets the rhetorical centre of the chunk: a civil society for women begins with ordinary people willing to stop, act, and dismantle the sexist mindsets that legal reform cannot reach. - Argues India's response to gendered violence is reactionary rather than pre-emptive, dominated by hashtag activism that does not change behaviour. - Cites a G20 survey placing India as the worst country for women — ahead of Saudi Arabia — as evidence of structural rather than incidental failure. - Notes National Crime Bureau data: fewer than 30 per cent of reported rapes in 2010 resulted in conviction, undercutting calls for harsher punishment without prior reform of enforcement. - Diagnoses the cultural problem as a 'ghar ka mamla hai' habit that treats domestic violence as private, and a society more horrified by rape jokes than rapists. - Closes on indifference rather than misogyny as the deeper crisis, citing bystanders who left the Delhi victim bleeding on the street for two hours. ### White Collar Crimes and their Economic Implications *By Varsha Srinivasan* Varsha Srinivasan opens with a parable — a 200-rupee contribution sold back for 300 — to define white collar crime as manipulation dressed in legitimacy: 'Lying, cheating, stealing… except that it is a 100 rupees here but it is a 100 billion there.' She marshals Enron (December 2001), Lehman Brothers, the WorldCom scam (33,000 jobs lost in a single day) and a UN Millennium Project estimate of an annual half-trillion dollar revenue loss to argue that fraud against firms is, in scale and consequence, a macroeconomic event rather than a private misdeed. The speech then maps how the harm propagates. White-collar crime erodes investor confidence, raises the cost of doing business, concentrates purchasing power in a few hands and — by injecting unaccounted money into circulation — drives the textbook definition of inflation. Srinivasan cites a 2011 spike in the Indian crime branch's white-collar arrests (148 versus 71 the year prior, a 108 per cent jump) and lists 25 fraud sub-categories from credit-card fraud to insider trading. The closing image — the well-mannered neighbour looting a 600-billion-dollar company while ordinary citizens pay sixty rupees for onions — is offered as the everyday face of the problem. - Defines white-collar crime through a parable of compounding theft, framing it as manipulation at scale rather than petty dishonesty. - Anchors macroeconomic stakes in Enron (Dec 2001), Lehman Brothers and the WorldCom scam (33,000 jobs lost in a single day). - Cites a UN Millennium Project estimate of US$500 trillion in annual revenue loss attributed to white collar crimes (likely a transcription error for billion). - Reports a 108 per cent year-on-year rise in Indian white-collar arrests in 2011 (148 vs 71) across 25 fraud sub-categories — bank fraud, computer fraud, insider trading, blackmail. - Closes by linking unaccounted-money inflows to retail inflation, with the rising price of onions and tomatoes as the citizen-level signal of white collar harm. ### Good Governance is the need of the hour *By Vasudha Ramakrishna* Vasudha Ramakrishna opens by tracing 'governance' to its Greek root kubernesis — the act of piloting a ship — and defines good governance against five tests: multi-party participation, accountability, equitability, efficiency and rule of law. She then turns to India's diagnosis: it is not the absence of policy that is the problem but the absence of execution. Decisions and judgments stall under political contestation, leaving 'policy and action paralysis' in their wake. The argument is grounded in two concrete instances. In the power sector, a 12,000 MW deficit against a 1,35,453 MW requirement in the previous fiscal year is attributed to stalled coal and fuel clearances rather than capacity shortfalls. In Mumbai, the Trans-harbour link, airport and metro projects are described as victims of inordinate policy delay, with the city 'sinking into a morass.' She closes on a quip about a divinely engineered horse turned into a donkey by an over-committeed government, calling for India to stop stifling the horse of governance with grooming processes and 'set the horse free.' - Etymologises 'governance' from Greek kubernesis (act of piloting a ship), framing the concept around direction and protection. - Defines good governance by five tests: multi-party participation, accountability, equitability, efficiency, and observance of the rule of law. - Diagnoses India's problem as policy and action paralysis from contested decisions, not absence of policy design. - Concrete case 1: a 12,000 MW power deficit against a 1,35,453 MW requirement, blamed on stalled coal and fuel clearances. - Concrete case 2: Mumbai's Trans-harbour link, airport and metro projects stalled, with the city 'overwhelmed by the influx of humanity'. - Closes with a barbed parable that an over-committeed government turned a sturdy horse into a donkey, calling for less grooming and more action. ### Role of Civil Society in Ensuring Safety of Women *By Dr. Sabeena Gonsalves* Dr. Sabeena Gonsalves' speech — sharing its title with Kush Ganatra's — opens by cataloguing the range of crimes against women (foeticide, domestic violence, acid attacks, gang rape, trafficking, voyeurism, stalking, dowry deaths) and asks whether male perpetrators alone can be blamed, or whether other factors — upbringing, peer group, patriarchal code, the 'greed struck mother-in-law' or 'viscous step mother' — also produce the violence. She cites the National Crime Records Bureau's 2012 figure of 2,44,270 reported crimes against women in India (16,353 in Maharashtra), noting that this is roughly 20 per cent of actual incidence because of social stigma and family pressure to keep silent. From there she presses on the meaning of 'civil society,' rejecting equations with literate-strength, the urban environment or middle-class lifestyle. The constituents she names are unbiased upbringing, sensitivity, freedom of speech, the right to life and liberty, an independent and prompt judiciary, a non-corrupt law-enforcement agency and educational (not merely literacy-based) awareness. Her central claim: 'Gender/ Sex does not lie between the legs, it lies between the ears — that is, within the MIND of a person.' She closes with a warning that if civil society fails, women will eventually take the law into their own hands — 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' — and a half-serious image of a future contest on the 'safety of MEN.' - Catalogues the breadth of crimes against women — foeticide, acid attacks, brutal gang rapes, trafficking, dowry deaths — refusing a single-cause explanation. - Cites NCRB 2012: 2,44,270 reported crimes against women in India, 16,353 in Maharashtra — estimates these are ~20% of actual incidence due to stigma and ostracism. - Names women themselves (mothers-in-law, step mothers, madams of brothels) among the agents of harm to women, not only men. - Rejects equating 'civil society' with literacy, urbanity or middle-class lifestyle — proposing instead values, judiciary, law enforcement and educational awareness. - Distinguishes literacy from education, arguing an illiterate person can be educated enough to grasp consequences of their actions. - Closes with the aphorism that gender lies in the mind, and warns of vigilante retaliation — 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' — if civil society fails. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Reflections on Global Trends and Sustainable Development URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/reflections-on-global-trends-and-sustainable-development-by-piya-mahatey-2005/ ### Summary Piya Mahtaney opens this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet by characterising current global trends as "chaotic, contradictory, perplexing and disappointing" and asks whether the avowed objective of sustainable development can be achieved within a decade or two. Her central move is to refuse both purist positions on offer: she rejects the simplistic equation of higher inequality with higher growth, and she equally rejects the assumption that privatisation and deregulation will, on their own, deliver equity. Empirical evidence linking growth to poverty reduction, she notes, is mixed; redistributive tools have disincentive effects; and growth gains eroded by skewed income distribution are no real gains at all. The middle of the essay marshals the Eastern bloc and former Soviet Union experience as evidence against market-fundamentalist optimism. For the period 1990–99 the GDP index for 25 transition countries and the FSU stood at 65 per cent and 54 per cent of pre-transition output respectively; Mahtaney attributes this contraction to weak states, the lack of well-defined central–local relations, an underdeveloped civil society, and the absence of accountability mechanisms.… ### Body # Reflections on Global Trends and Sustainable Development *By Piya Mahtaney* ## Summary Piya Mahtaney opens this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet by characterising current global trends as "chaotic, contradictory, perplexing and disappointing" and asks whether the avowed objective of sustainable development can be achieved within a decade or two. Her central move is to refuse both purist positions on offer: she rejects the simplistic equation of higher inequality with higher growth, and she equally rejects the assumption that privatisation and deregulation will, on their own, deliver equity. Empirical evidence linking growth to poverty reduction, she notes, is mixed; redistributive tools have disincentive effects; and growth gains eroded by skewed income distribution are no real gains at all. The middle of the essay marshals the Eastern bloc and former Soviet Union experience as evidence against market-fundamentalist optimism. For the period 1990–99 the GDP index for 25 transition countries and the FSU stood at 65 per cent and 54 per cent of pre-transition output respectively; Mahtaney attributes this contraction to weak states, the lack of well-defined central–local relations, an underdeveloped civil society, and the absence of accountability mechanisms. She concludes that a market reinstatement uncoupled from institution-building produces "either anarchy or stagnancy," and that a capitalist orientation was made attractive partly by the failures of socialist institutional design rather than by intrinsic market virtue. The second half turns to structural adjustment and cost–benefit analysis (CBA). Mahtaney argues that adjustments are routinely captured by vested interests, that the real divide between developed and underdeveloped worlds is the bargaining power of the lower-income majority, and that CBA — the neoclassical workhorse for project appraisal — systematically discounts social, cultural and anthropological costs by reducing them to monetary equivalents. The Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat is offered as the showcase failure: the CBA framework trivialised the displacement of tribals and villagers (a resistance "headed by a prominent social worker, Medha Patkar"), and roughly ten million people are displaced annually by such infrastructure projects. Her solution is not to discard CBA but to make it more inclusive and demote it to one guideline among many. A closing table from the Human Development Report 2005 anchors the argument in regional poverty trends from 1981 to 2001. ## Key points - The empirical correlation between growth and poverty reduction is mixed, and the prevailing assumption that higher income inequality fuels higher growth was a simplistic policymaker conceit that ignored the disincentive effects of redistributive tools. - Privatisation and deregulation, taken as ends in themselves, do not automatically reform institutions; even granting their effect on efficiency and competitiveness, they do not necessarily reduce poverty or inequality. - The transition of formerly socialist economies failed to deliver the expected growth surge — for 1990–99 the GDP index stood at 65% of pre-transition output for the 25 transition countries and 54% for the FSU. - Institutional weaknesses (poor enforcement of law, captured tax collection, lobby pressure, weak central–local relations, underdeveloped civil society) are the binding constraint on transition success, not the formal market/state choice. - Structural adjustment programmes have produced rising unemployment, poverty and cuts to social expenditure, and are routinely manipulated by vested-interest groups to maximise their share of the gains. - Development should be understood as eradicating dehumanising deprivation and securing tolerable levels of inequity rather than as a utopian quest for complete equity. - Cost–benefit analysis, exemplified by the Sardar Sarovar Dam case, monetises non-monetary impacts in ways that erase displacement, environmental loss and the trauma of dispossession — it must be widened in scope and used as one guideline among many, not the sole basis for decision. - Global poverty data (Human Development Report 2005) show the share of people on under $1/day fell from 40.4% (1981) to 20.7% (2001) globally, but Sub-Saharan Africa rose from 41.6% to 46.4% and South Asia remained around 32%. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Reform of Direct Taxes URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/reform-of-direct-taxes-k-r-ramamani-january-12-1983/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture delivered by tax counsel K. R. Ramamani at the Forum's Madras centre on 17 November 1982. Ramamani opens by inverting Justice Holmes's famous fondness for taxes — given India's punishing rates and the decline of civilised life, he argues, Holmes would today stand alone. Reaching back to Mill's classic definition of a direct tax, he insists that the system's efficacy depends entirely on honest reporting, and that the chasm between that ideal and Indian realities is what makes reform urgent. The core of the lecture is an attack on Indian corporate taxation, where basic rates run between 45% and 65% (exclusive of surtax). Ramamani rebuts the claim — drawn from a sample of twenty public limited companies — that the effective rate is only around 40%, calling the figure fallacious: the divergence comes from straight-line versus written-down-value depreciation methods, initial depreciation, investment allowance, Section 80J relief and scientific-research write-offs, all of which favour large and expanding firms while leaving the average industrialist exposed.… ### Body # Reform of Direct Taxes *By K.R. Ramamani* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture delivered by tax counsel K. R. Ramamani at the Forum's Madras centre on 17 November 1982. Ramamani opens by inverting Justice Holmes's famous fondness for taxes — given India's punishing rates and the decline of civilised life, he argues, Holmes would today stand alone. Reaching back to Mill's classic definition of a direct tax, he insists that the system's efficacy depends entirely on honest reporting, and that the chasm between that ideal and Indian realities is what makes reform urgent. The core of the lecture is an attack on Indian corporate taxation, where basic rates run between 45% and 65% (exclusive of surtax). Ramamani rebuts the claim — drawn from a sample of twenty public limited companies — that the effective rate is only around 40%, calling the figure fallacious: the divergence comes from straight-line versus written-down-value depreciation methods, initial depreciation, investment allowance, Section 80J relief and scientific-research write-offs, all of which favour large and expanding firms while leaving the average industrialist exposed. Many concessions in the statute book, he says, are illusory because Chapter VIA reliefs require a profit that new units rarely earn, and the tax treatment of convertible debentures effectively double-taxes equity capital. Ramamani widens the lens by citing a 1976 UN Inter-Regional Seminar on Development Planning in Amsterdam, which warned that heavy taxation of productive sectors blunts incentive and breeds evasion, and that lower corporate taxation is consistently associated with faster growth. He calls for tax provisions that encourage the splitting up of unwieldy companies (mirroring the existing relief for amalgamation), rate reductions for smaller companies, removal of disallowances on managerial remuneration and the Compulsory Deposit Scheme, and additional relief on capital gains for plant and machinery. Pointing to South Korea and Taiwan, he closes with a paraphrase of Francis Bacon: a people overlaid with tax will never be prosperous or honest. ## Key points - Frames Indian direct taxation as a moral and economic burden, inverting Justice Holmes's defence of taxes as the price of civilisation. - Anchors the argument in Mill's definition of a direct tax — a levy on the very person intended to pay — and stresses that the system depends wholly on voluntary honest reporting. - Disputes the claim that the effective corporate tax rate is around 40%, calling it fallacious and demonstrating how depreciation method, investment allowance and Section 80J relief skew the headline. - Argues that many statutory reliefs (notably Chapter VIA deductions) are illusory because they require profits that new industrial undertakings cannot generate in early years. - Identifies double taxation of equity capital via the treatment of interest on convertible debentures and dividend distribution as a structural disincentive to raising equity. - Cites a 1976 UN Inter-Regional Seminar at Amsterdam to argue that heavy taxes on productive sectors depress output, incentive and honesty, while lower corporate taxation correlates with faster growth. - Proposes seven reforms: relief for splitting large companies, rate cuts for smaller firms, restructuring to encourage equity investment, removal of disallowances on managerial and hospitality expenses, removal of the Chapter VIA profit pre-condition, capital-gains relief on selected plant and machinery, and abolition of the Compulsory Deposit Scheme. - Invokes South Korea and Taiwan as evidence that pragmatic taxation policy and rapid industrial growth are inversely correlated, closing with a paraphrase of Francis Bacon. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Reforms for a Better Tax Governance in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/reforms-for-better-tax-governance-in-india-s-mahalingam/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces the lecture S. Mahalingam — former Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director of Tata Consultancy Services — delivered in Bangalore on 13 January 2016 under the auspices of the Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Trust. The first part of the talk is a personal tribute to Palkhivala the jurist, post-budget orator, ambassador and TCS founder-chairman, framed through Mahalingam's own years of working alongside him. The second part pivots into a structural critique of the Indian tax governance system written from the unusual vantage point of a private-sector member of the Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC) constituted in 2013 under Dr. Parthasarathi Shome. Mahalingam argues that India suffers not merely from bad tax laws but from a broken governance culture: revenue officers chase targets set and monitored by the Finance Minister himself, raise notional and "protective" demands they themselves consider far-fetched, refuse to accept any adverse appellate verdict on principle, and lack any service focus toward honest taxpayers.… ### Body # Reforms for a Better Tax Governance in India *By S. Mahalingam* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces the lecture S. Mahalingam — former Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director of Tata Consultancy Services — delivered in Bangalore on 13 January 2016 under the auspices of the Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Trust. The first part of the talk is a personal tribute to Palkhivala the jurist, post-budget orator, ambassador and TCS founder-chairman, framed through Mahalingam's own years of working alongside him. The second part pivots into a structural critique of the Indian tax governance system written from the unusual vantage point of a private-sector member of the Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC) constituted in 2013 under Dr. Parthasarathi Shome. Mahalingam argues that India suffers not merely from bad tax laws but from a broken governance culture: revenue officers chase targets set and monitored by the Finance Minister himself, raise notional and "protective" demands they themselves consider far-fetched, refuse to accept any adverse appellate verdict on principle, and lack any service focus toward honest taxpayers. He labels the cumulative effect "tax terrorism" and traces it through the Vodafone-era retrospective amendments, the moral-hazard ecosystem inside the Revenue Department, and the antiquated accounting incentive to withhold refunds. In the rendered pages he then turns to remedies drawn from TARC's four reports (over 1,370 pages). On the disputes side he documents the massive pendency before Commissioner (Appeals), CESTAT, Appellate Tribunal, High Courts and the Supreme Court for both direct and indirect taxes, and surveys existing alternative-dispute mechanisms — the Authority for Advance Rulings, the Settlement Commission, Advance Pricing Agreements, and the 2009 Dispute Resolution Panel — concluding that the Department "had no will" to use them to either prevent or speed up resolution. He then introduces a trust-based compliance framework that classifies taxpayers into four behavioural segments — Compliant, Triers, Fence Sitters and Offenders — each meriting a different mix of self-compliance, guidance, monitoring and prosecution. The chunk ends mid-way through a section on Dispute Management that examines the under-use of Boards' clarification powers under Section 119 of the Income Tax Act, Section 37B of the Central Excise Act and Section 151A of the Customs Act, with a worked example of CBEC's flip-flop on Karnataka Soaps and Detergents. ## Key points - The booklet is the text of Mahalingam's 13 January 2016 Bangalore lecture for the Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Trust, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise and sponsored by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust, with an introduction by editor Sunil S. Bhandare. - The opening section is a personal-memoir tribute to Nani Palkhivala — his discovery by A. D. Shroff and M. R. Pai at a 1957 Forum event, his post-budget speeches that filled Brabourne Stadium until 1994, his Kesavananda Bharati argument over 31 days, his ambassadorship to the United States after the Emergency, and his role founding Tata Consultancy Services in 1968 alongside F. C. Kohli. - Mahalingam's framing thesis: India's problem is not tax rates but a tax governance system that produces "tax terrorism" through target-driven assessments, retrospective demands of the Vodafone type, "protective demands" cascaded across companies, and an officer culture that never accepts an adverse verdict short of the Supreme Court. - The Revenue Department is charged with having no service focus, treating taxpayers and even its own officers shabbily, and exploiting an antiquated accounting system to delay refunds in order to manage the fiscal deficit optically. - Mahalingam draws on his membership of the 2013 Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC) chaired by Dr. Parthasarathi Shome, whose four reports across 18 months covered over 1,370 pages and whose private-sector members included Mr. Diwakar (formerly head of taxation at the Murugappa Group) and the author himself. - He marshals concrete pendency data from CBDT and CBEC for 2012-13 — including 199,390 cases before Commissioner (Appeals), 31,015 at the Appellate Tribunal, 31,230 at the High Courts and 5,808 at the Supreme Court on the direct-tax side — to show that existing alternative-dispute mechanisms (AAR, Settlement Commission, APA, the 2009 Dispute Resolution Panel) are under-used because the Department has no will to use them. - He proposes a trust-based compliance management framework segmenting taxpayers into Compliant, Triers, Fence Sitters and Offenders, with differentiated treatment — self-compliance for the first, help and guidance for triers, balanced persuasion-plus-enforcement for fence sitters, and the full penal armoury including prosecution reserved for habitual offenders. - The Dispute Management section, where the chunk cuts off, faults the two Boards for under-using their statutory clarification powers (Section 119 IT Act, Section 37B Central Excise, Section 151A Customs) and field officers for ignoring clarifications even when issued — illustrated by CBEC's 1999 clarification on agarbatti odoriferous compounds that the Department itself reversed in November 2005 against Karnataka Soaps and Detergents. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Regional Cooperation in South Asia URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/regional-cooperation-in-south-asia-h-t-parekh-december-13-1981/ ### Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Bombay on 23 October 1981 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, H. T. Parekh's slim pamphlet argues that regional co-operation in South Asia is no longer a diplomatic ornament but "a matter of compulsion" for India and its neighbours. Parekh opens by paying tribute to Shroff as his guru and connecting Shroff's lifelong defence of economic freedom to the case he is about to make, then surveys India's standing thirty years after Independence — high in the world's military and industrial rankings, low in per-capita income, and curiously distant from the very Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Nepalis with whom Indians share geography, culture and a common struggle against poverty. The core argument is that competitive military build-up is the catastrophe to be avoided and that India must take the first unilateral steps — generously, on the basis of strict equality with smaller neighbours — to prove its bona fides.… ### Body # Regional Cooperation in South Asia *By H. T. PAREKH* ## Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Bombay on 23 October 1981 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, H. T. Parekh's slim pamphlet argues that regional co-operation in South Asia is no longer a diplomatic ornament but "a matter of compulsion" for India and its neighbours. Parekh opens by paying tribute to Shroff as his guru and connecting Shroff's lifelong defence of economic freedom to the case he is about to make, then surveys India's standing thirty years after Independence — high in the world's military and industrial rankings, low in per-capita income, and curiously distant from the very Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Nepalis with whom Indians share geography, culture and a common struggle against poverty. The core argument is that competitive military build-up is the catastrophe to be avoided and that India must take the first unilateral steps — generously, on the basis of strict equality with smaller neighbours — to prove its bona fides. Parekh inventories the existing scaffolding: the Simla Agreement of 1972 with Pakistan, the Indo-Bangladesh Treaty of 1972, the Treaty of Friendship and Trade with Nepal that already functions as a customs union with free movement of people and capital, and the 1964 settlement that normalised relations with Sri Lanka. He then proposes concrete moves under three headings — communication and tourism, social and cultural exchanges, and trade, industry and finance — including liberal student scholarships, regular professional meetings of bankers and doctors, preferential tariffs, a customs union, common clearing and monetary co-operation. Parekh insists the project must be a people's movement rather than a government scheme, invoking the Treaty of Rome and Jean Monnet's European success story as the relevant model, and he calls for the formation of an independent, voluntary, non-political council to promote South Asia as a community. The pamphlet closes with an appendix excerpting the Simla Agreement and the Indo-Bangladesh Treaty of Co-operation, Friendship and Peace, plus the Forum's standard back matter inviting readers to join. ## Key points - Frames South Asian regional co-operation as a compulsion, not a choice, and the only credible alternative to competitive military build-up in the region. - Anchors the lecture in A. D. Shroff's classical-liberal legacy of economic freedom and fewer controls, treating Shroff's policies as vindicated by 1981 conditions. - Argues that India must take the first generous steps unilaterally, on the basis of strict equality, to prove its bona fides to smaller neighbours. - Surveys the existing treaty architecture — Simla 1972, Indo-Bangladesh 1972, the Nepal Treaty of Friendship and Trade, and the 1964 Sri Lanka settlement — as foundations to build on. - Proposes a concrete agenda under three headings: communication and tourism, social and cultural exchanges, and trade, industry and finance — including intra-regional tourism subsidies, student scholarships and professional associations meeting across borders. - Calls for preferential tariffs, a customs union, common clearing, monetary co-operation and free capital flows within the region, and joint ventures with neighbours rather than only with foreign firms. - Invokes the European Economic Community and Jean Monnet's Treaty of Rome as the model, insisting the movement must come from people rather than governments. - Recommends the formation of an independent, voluntary, non-political council of like-minded people in every country of the region to promote South Asia as a community. - Appends excerpts from the Simla Agreement (1972) and the Indo-Bangladesh Treaty of Co-operation, Friendship and Peace (March 1972) as documentary support. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] RESHAPING THE CONSTITUTION URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/reshaping-the-constitution-implications-of-the-swaran-singh-committee-recommendations-n-a-palkhivala-20-july-1976/ ### Summary Written in the heart of the Emergency, this Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reprints N. A. Palkhivala's polemic against the Swaran Singh Committee's report on constitutional amendments. Palkhivala concedes a handful of innocuous proposals — moving agriculture and education to the Concurrent List, allowing localised Emergency proclamations, setting up service tribunals — but argues that the Committee's central thrust would in reality alter the basic structure of the Constitution. He frames the moment as a civic emergency in itself, warning a complacent public that the proposals are debated less than the monsoon or the price of onions, and that posterity will ask where citizens were when their freedoms were put up for discussion. The core of the tract is a constitutional-law argument against the proposed amendment of Article 368, which would put parliamentary amendments beyond the reach of any court.… ### Body # RESHAPING THE CONSTITUTION *By N. A. Palkhivala* ## Summary Written in the heart of the Emergency, this Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reprints N. A. Palkhivala's polemic against the Swaran Singh Committee's report on constitutional amendments. Palkhivala concedes a handful of innocuous proposals — moving agriculture and education to the Concurrent List, allowing localised Emergency proclamations, setting up service tribunals — but argues that the Committee's central thrust would in reality alter the basic structure of the Constitution. He frames the moment as a civic emergency in itself, warning a complacent public that the proposals are debated less than the monsoon or the price of onions, and that posterity will ask where citizens were when their freedoms were put up for discussion. The core of the tract is a constitutional-law argument against the proposed amendment of Article 368, which would put parliamentary amendments beyond the reach of any court. Drawing on the Kesavananda Bharati decision, Palkhivala lays out six interlocking reasons why Parliament's amending power is inherently limited: ultimate sovereignty rests with the people; Parliament is a creature of the Constitution; a delegated power cannot destroy other powers or itself; an unlimited amending power could be used to make all future amendments impossible; the historical bargain that secured minority assent to the Constitution rested on guaranteed Fundamental Rights; and Article 60's presidential oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution" would be incoherent if Parliament could destroy its basic structure. He then dismantles three further sets of proposals. The substitution of "Sovereign Democratic Secular Socialist Republic" for the existing Preamble formula he treats as cosmetically unnecessary and substantively dangerous, quoting Solzhenitsyn on the emptiness of the phrase "socialist democracy" and recalling that the Constituent Assembly itself rejected inserting "Socialist." The proposed expansion of Article 31C — immunising any law claiming to pursue Directive Principles from Fundamental Rights challenge — would, he argues, leave only "the corpse of the Fundamental Rights" embalmed in the text. Finally, curtailing the writ jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and High Courts under Articles 32 and 226, and requiring super-majorities of judges to strike down a law, would devalue the High Courts, subordinate the judiciary to the executive, and enforce against citizens laws that a majority of judges have already held unconstitutional. Palkhivala closes with Lord Acton on the choice every democracy faces between the authority of law and the will of force, and reminds readers that the people of India made their choice in 1949 — and are now being asked, twenty-seven years later, to make the other one. The pamphlet is a courtesy reprint from The Illustrated Weekly of India of 4 July 1976. ## Key points - Palkhivala accepts a few Swaran Singh Committee proposals as benign — moving agriculture and education to the Concurrent List, localised Emergency proclamations under Article 352, and administrative service tribunals — but treats the bulk of the report as an attack on the Constitution's basic structure. - He invokes the Supreme Court's ruling in Kesavananda Bharati to argue that Parliament's amending power is inherently bounded and cannot be used to destroy the Constitution's basic features, and that the proposal to make Article 368 amendments non-justiciable is itself unconstitutional. - A six-point first-principles argument: sovereignty rests with the people, Parliament is a creature of the Constitution, delegated power cannot destroy other powers or itself, the President's Article 60 oath to preserve the Constitution presupposes limited amending power, and the Constitution's minority-protection bargain depends on Fundamental Rights being inalienable. - Inserting "Secular" and "Socialist" into the Preamble is dismissed as cosmetic and dangerous; "socialism" is ambiguous, the Constituent Assembly already rejected the word, and the Preamble in any case cannot be amended under Article 368. - Expanding Article 31C to shield any law claiming to advance Directive Principles from Fundamental Rights challenge would leave Fundamental Rights — including life, liberty, free expression, assembly, association, movement, and equality before the law — virtually abrogated. - Stripping the Supreme Court's Article 32 jurisdiction and the High Courts' Article 226 jurisdiction, requiring prior notice before interim stays, and devaluing High Court review of central laws would relegate the judiciary to the background and leave citizens — especially poor citizens — without effective legal redress. - The proposed two-thirds-of-the-Bench rule for striking down laws is shown to violate arithmetic and the rule of law: it means that laws already held unconstitutional by a majority of judges would still be enforced by the executive. - Closing frame: the Acton dictum on law versus arbitrary power, and the rhetorical contrast between the choice India made in 1949 and the opposite choice it is now being invited to make. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] REFORMS NEEDED IN INDIAN INCOME-TAX LAW URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/reforms-needed-in-indian-income-tax-v-r-dalal-feb10-1966/ ### Summary V. R. Dalal, a chartered accountant writing for the Forum of Free Enterprise in February 1966, audits the Income-tax Act, 1961 — the statute that replaced the 1922 Act after four decades — against the classical canons of taxation: simplicity, certainty, and reference to ability to pay. The opening pages set the polemical frame. In a developing economy, Dalal argues, tax laws must do more than raise revenue: they must encourage business, narrow inequality, and avoid the trap of redistributing scarcity. The booklet then works through five heads — language, tax calculation, procedure, administration, and piecemeal amendments — showing that the new Act fails each test. The 1922 Act's 67 sections have ballooned to 297 in 1961, and the drafting has grown more (not less) ambiguous: ill-defined provisions on "Not Ordinarily Resident" status, on development-rebate reserves, on capital-gains treatment of bonus shares, and on the carry-forward of losses force constant judicial intervention. The middle pages catalogue the cumulative drift of the Act away from the principle of taxing real income.… ### Body # REFORMS NEEDED IN INDIAN INCOME-TAX LAW *By V. R. DALAL* ## Summary V. R. Dalal, a chartered accountant writing for the Forum of Free Enterprise in February 1966, audits the Income-tax Act, 1961 — the statute that replaced the 1922 Act after four decades — against the classical canons of taxation: simplicity, certainty, and reference to ability to pay. The opening pages set the polemical frame. In a developing economy, Dalal argues, tax laws must do more than raise revenue: they must encourage business, narrow inequality, and avoid the trap of redistributing scarcity. The booklet then works through five heads — language, tax calculation, procedure, administration, and piecemeal amendments — showing that the new Act fails each test. The 1922 Act's 67 sections have ballooned to 297 in 1961, and the drafting has grown more (not less) ambiguous: ill-defined provisions on "Not Ordinarily Resident" status, on development-rebate reserves, on capital-gains treatment of bonus shares, and on the carry-forward of losses force constant judicial intervention. The middle pages catalogue the cumulative drift of the Act away from the principle of taxing real income. Dalal documents how "deeming" fictions, disallowed bona-fide business expenditures, artificial computation rules under Section 37, separate-legal-entity tests under Section 79, and triple-shift depreciation anomalies all push the taxable figure away from what an ordinary accountant or businessman would recognise as income. The effect is high nominal rates compounded by an artificially inflated base — taxing what the law calls income, not what is in fact earned. The closing sections turn to administration and remedy. Dalal documents wide and largely uncheckable discretion vested in Income-tax Officers — over registration of firms (Section 185), accounting-year changes (Section 3(4)), stay of collection (Section 220), reopening of assessments under Sections 147–148, and rectification under Section 154 — and shows that even where Tribunals and Courts rule for the assessee, the Department routinely appeals or refuses to follow the spirit of the decisions. He endorses the Direct Taxes Administration Inquiry Committee's warning that wide discretion in the hands of officers, however high-minded, breeds high-handed and unreasonable administration and damages public confidence. The pamphlet ends with a plea for a tax code that is simple, unambiguous, tied to ability to pay, and sparing in fictions and discretion — a code that does not adopt "the policy of killing the goose which lays the golden egg." ## Key points - Frames the 1961 Income-tax Act against three canons — simple and clear, certain and unambiguous, equitable and bearable — and finds it deficient on all three. - Documents bloat: the 1922 Act's 67 sections grew to 297 in 1961, yet drafting became more (not less) ambiguous, with model examples drawn from Section 6(6)(a) on "Not Ordinarily Resident" status and Section 34(3)(a) on development rebate reserves. - Tracks how "deeming" fictions, disallowed bona-fide expenditures, and artificial computation rules push taxable income away from real income, violating the ability-to-pay canon. - Notes the multiplication of piecemeal amendments — including changes pushed through after the Finance Act, 1962 — that introduce ambiguity faster than courts can resolve it. - Criticises Section 37 (entertainment expenditure), Section 79 (shareholding-change losses), and the disallowance of depreciation on house property under Section 32 as departures from sound accountancy principles. - Catalogues unfettered administrative discretion under Sections 3(4), 147–148, 154, 185, 220, 271(1)(c), and others, where appeals against the Income-tax Officer's exercise of power offer the assessee little real protection. - Endorses the Direct Taxes Administration Inquiry Committee's caution that giving wide-ranging discretion to officials, even capable ones, breeds high-handed administration and erodes public confidence in tax fairness. - Calls for a code that is simple, unambiguous, tied to ability to pay, and that presumes the citizen honest — and reminds the state not to "kill the goose which lays the golden egg." --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] REGULATION OF THE CAPITAL MARKET AND THE ROLE OF SEBI URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/regulation-of-the-capital-market-and-the-role-of-sebi-by-gv-ramakrishna-may-15-1993/ ### Summary Based on a talk delivered on 17 September 1992 at the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay, G. V. Ramakrishna — then Chairman of the Securities & Exchange Board of India — surveys the Indian capital market a year into liberalisation. He argues that India's economy must take off on two engines: exports, to retire external debt and finance imports, and capital markets, to channel household and institutional savings into productive use now that bureaucratic and public-sector intermediation is shrinking. Both engines, he insists, require an institutional substrate that India still lacks — a strong contract-law regime, an effective supervisory body, and observance of the spirit (not merely the letter) of regulation. Ramakrishna anchors the case for a credible securities regulator in the history of the US SEC under Roosevelt, Landis, Douglas and Frankfurter, and in the IOSCO code of conduct adopted at Santiago, which India is observing 'in the breach'. He notes that 69 of 70 IOSCO members — Mauritius, Malaysia and Indonesia among them — had statutory regulators before India did.… ### Body # REGULATION OF THE CAPITAL MARKET AND THE ROLE OF SEBI *By G.V. RAMAKRISHNA* ## Summary Based on a talk delivered on 17 September 1992 at the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay, G. V. Ramakrishna — then Chairman of the Securities & Exchange Board of India — surveys the Indian capital market a year into liberalisation. He argues that India's economy must take off on two engines: exports, to retire external debt and finance imports, and capital markets, to channel household and institutional savings into productive use now that bureaucratic and public-sector intermediation is shrinking. Both engines, he insists, require an institutional substrate that India still lacks — a strong contract-law regime, an effective supervisory body, and observance of the spirit (not merely the letter) of regulation. Ramakrishna anchors the case for a credible securities regulator in the history of the US SEC under Roosevelt, Landis, Douglas and Frankfurter, and in the IOSCO code of conduct adopted at Santiago, which India is observing 'in the breach'. He notes that 69 of 70 IOSCO members — Mauritius, Malaysia and Indonesia among them — had statutory regulators before India did. SEBI itself, set up by administrative order in 1988, only became a statutory body in April 1992 after years of being called a 'toothless tiger'. Despite India's 6,500 listed companies, 21 exchanges, 15 million investors and a tenfold rise in annual capital raised during the eighties (from Rs. 200 to Rs. 10,000 crores), Ramakrishna stresses that quantitative growth has outrun qualitative integrity, exposing investors to fraud, weak disclosure and broken contracts. The bulk of the address is a granular account of market-integrity pathologies SEBI confronts: a complaint volume that has grown from 500 a month in 1990 to 30,000 a month, of which only about 30% are redressible; issuers who hide abridged prospectuses behind perforated edges to avoid disclosing material information; employees' quotas absorbing 98,000 applications at companies with 600–700 employees; 'telephone directory' applications using fictitious names; and Rs. 1,500 crores of 1991 refund money withheld by companies and their banks, prompting the Stockinvest scheme and litigation taken to the Supreme Court. He criticises the prevailing 'zero sum' framing that pits investor against issuer, calls for higher corporate ethics, and signals a shift from complaint-by-complaint redress to systemic reform of intermediaries — especially registrars to the issue, whom he identifies as the primary market's weakest link. ## Key points - Frames Indian liberalisation as requiring two engines — exports and capital markets — once the role of government and public-sector finance is minimised. - Argues that an orderly capital market presupposes the rule of law: strong contract law, effective supervision and speedy redressal, without which investors demand a risk premium that raises the cost of capital. - Uses the US SEC's evolution under Roosevelt, Landis, Douglas and Frankfurter, and the IOSCO Santiago code of conduct, as the institutional template India must catch up to. - Notes that 69 of 70 IOSCO member countries — including Mauritius, Malaysia and Indonesia — had statutory securities regulators before India; SEBI became statutory only in April 1992. - Quantifies the Indian market: 6,500 listed companies (second only to the USA), 21 exchanges, 15 million investors, and an increase in annual capital raised from Rs. 200 crores to Rs. 10,000 crores over the eighties. - Reports a surge in investor complaints from 500 per month in 1990 to roughly 30,000 per month, with ~30% redressed; many of the rest involve sick, BIFR or fly-by-night companies. - Catalogues specific malpractices: hidden or unreadable abridged prospectuses, abuse of the employees' quota, telephone-directory applications, and non-return of Rs. 1,500 crores of 1991 oversubscription refunds — the impetus for the Stockinvest scheme. - Rejects the 'zero sum' framing of issuer versus investor, calls for higher corporate ethics, and signals SEBI's shift from individual complaint redressal to systemic reform of intermediaries, especially the registrar to the issue. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Resources for the Third Plan URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/resources-for-the-third-plan-m-a-master-mar5-1961/ ### Summary M. A. Master's "Resources for the Third Plan" is the printed text of a speech delivered at the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 25 October 1960, six months before the Third Five-Year Plan was to begin on 1 April 1961. Master sets aside the Plan's wider socialistic objectives — a "socialistic pattern of society," removal of income inequality, full employment, higher living standards — to confront a single question: how is the Plan to be financed, both internally and externally? He frames the inquiry as a sober audit of what the Second Plan actually taught India about resource-raising under planning. The core of the booklet is a tabulation of five "lessons" from the Second Plan, each one a gap between estimate and outcome. The three steel plants estimated at Rs. 300 crores rose past Rs. 620; foodgrain imports planned at Rs. 144 crores reached Rs. 4,694 crores; the adverse balance of trade swelled from an estimated Rs. 700 crores to Rs. 1,500; withdrawals from the Sterling Balances overshot estimates by more than 100 per cent; and revenue raised by additional taxation in the name of the Plan — about Rs. 604 crores — was absorbed instead by non-Plan expenditure.… ### Body # Resources for the Third Plan *By M. A. Master* ## Summary M. A. Master's "Resources for the Third Plan" is the printed text of a speech delivered at the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 25 October 1960, six months before the Third Five-Year Plan was to begin on 1 April 1961. Master sets aside the Plan's wider socialistic objectives — a "socialistic pattern of society," removal of income inequality, full employment, higher living standards — to confront a single question: how is the Plan to be financed, both internally and externally? He frames the inquiry as a sober audit of what the Second Plan actually taught India about resource-raising under planning. The core of the booklet is a tabulation of five "lessons" from the Second Plan, each one a gap between estimate and outcome. The three steel plants estimated at Rs. 300 crores rose past Rs. 620; foodgrain imports planned at Rs. 144 crores reached Rs. 4,694 crores; the adverse balance of trade swelled from an estimated Rs. 700 crores to Rs. 1,500; withdrawals from the Sterling Balances overshot estimates by more than 100 per cent; and revenue raised by additional taxation in the name of the Plan — about Rs. 604 crores — was absorbed instead by non-Plan expenditure. Master leans on the Economic Survey of 1958-59 and the Estimates Committee's 92nd Report to argue that this "frittering away" of Plan revenues is now a settled administrative habit, and he warns that without sustained public vigilance the Third Plan will see the same diversion. Master then walks source by source through the Draft Outline's announced financing — Rs. 350 crores from existing taxation; Rs. 1,696 crores of additional taxation; Rs. 1,650 crores of "surpluses of public enterprises" raised by lifting administered prices; Rs. 850 crores of loans; Rs. 550 crores of small savings; Rs. 510 crores from Provident Funds; Rs. 2,200 crores of external assistance; and only Rs. 550 crores of deficit financing — and finds every estimate optimistic. His structural argument is that the Public Sector now draws from a pool fed by both general taxation and deficit financing, while the Private Sector has access to neither: "the path of the Public Sector is strewn... with a bed of roses which can never be available to the Private Sector." Worse, the Planners assume Rs. 547 crores of profit from State industrial undertakings whose actual return runs at roughly 1½ per cent. The booklet closes by invoking T. T. Krishnamachari's own concession that the Plan must be trimmed to what is "manageable," and ends with the warning that "economic laws do not respect ethical or ideological aspirations." PDF page 10 (printed pages 16–17) was not in the rendered set, so a short stretch of the argument between the analysis of Provident Funds / external assistance and the concluding section on deficit financing and dear-money policy is not covered above. ## Key points - Booklet is the text of a Forum of Free Enterprise speech delivered in Bombay on 25 October 1960, on the eve of the Third Five-Year Plan starting 1 April 1961. - Author brackets the Plan's wider socialistic objectives to focus on one question — how its resources are to be raised, internally and externally. - Five "lessons" from the Second Plan: wide cost overruns on steel; foodgrain imports vastly exceeding estimates; an adverse trade balance roughly double the estimate; Sterling Balance withdrawals overshooting by more than 100 per cent; and roughly Rs. 604 crores of Plan-purpose revenue absorbed by non-Plan expenditure. - Master cites the Economic Survey 1958-59 and the Estimates Committee's 92nd Report to argue that fresh taxation levied "specifically for financing the projects of the Plan" has been routinely diverted to non-Plan objects. - Taxation and deficit financing during the Second Plan (Rs. 575 crores deficit, Rs. 531 crores fresh tax) financed the Public Sector while the Private Sector had access to neither pool. - Indirect taxation and higher administered prices of public-sector goods are explicitly treated by the Planners as "a part of the calculated sacrifices that have to be made," turning a negation of democracy into Plan financing. - The Draft Outline projects Rs. 1,650 crores from "surpluses of public enterprises," but Master notes that the Rs. 547 crores invested in State industrial undertakings during the Second Plan returned roughly 1½ per cent — making the Third Plan estimate implausible. - External assistance assumed at Rs. 2,200 crores rests partly on continued use of Sterling Balances, which have already been drawn down; private-sector foreign-exchange needs of about Rs. 300 crores are not in this total. - Master quotes T. T. Krishnamachari's admission that the Plan, originally Rs. 5,600 crores, had to be cut to Rs. 4,500 crores, and argues the same logic of paring un-urgent projects still applies. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] RE-THINKING ON GOLD CONTROL URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/rethinking-on-gold-control-by-bs-mahajan-setember-11-1965/ ### Summary Writing in September 1965 for the Forum of Free Enterprise, B. S. Mahajan — identified in a footnote as Secretary of the All-India Sarafa Association and an authority on the gold problem — argues that the Gold Control Rules are fundamentally misconceived and have comprehensively failed on their own stated terms. His central contention is that gold-hoarding is not a pathology to be regulated away but a rational response to currency depreciation: with the rupee now worth roughly 17 paise in terms of its pre-war purchasing power, and postal savings yielding compound interest of only 4.4 per cent against gold investment's implied 6.02 per cent return, ordinary people have every economic reason to hold gold. State measures that seek to override this preference treat the symptom while the disease — monetary instability — goes unattended. Mahajan marshals three categories of evidence for the Rules' failure. First, administrative cost: implementation has burdened the national exchequer with approximately Rs. 29 lakhs, imposed an additional Rs. 20 crores on the trade in rehabilitation costs for displaced goldsmiths, and eliminated a permanent income-tax revenue stream of over Rs.… ### Body ## Summary Writing in September 1965 for the Forum of Free Enterprise, B. S. Mahajan — identified in a footnote as Secretary of the All-India Sarafa Association and an authority on the gold problem — argues that the Gold Control Rules are fundamentally misconceived and have comprehensively failed on their own stated terms. His central contention is that gold-hoarding is not a pathology to be regulated away but a rational response to currency depreciation: with the rupee now worth roughly 17 paise in terms of its pre-war purchasing power, and postal savings yielding compound interest of only 4.4 per cent against gold investment's implied 6.02 per cent return, ordinary people have every economic reason to hold gold. State measures that seek to override this preference treat the symptom while the disease — monetary instability — goes unattended. Mahajan marshals three categories of evidence for the Rules' failure. First, administrative cost: implementation has burdened the national exchequer with approximately Rs. 29 lakhs, imposed an additional Rs. 20 crores on the trade in rehabilitation costs for displaced goldsmiths, and eliminated a permanent income-tax revenue stream of over Rs. 27 crores per year. Second, market effect: the 14-carat purity cap has not reduced ornament purchases; it has merely redirected demand toward clandestinely sourced fine gold, pushing all transactions underground and making accurate turnover data impossible to obtain. Third, price signal: gold prices rose from Rs. 103.50–112.50 per 10 grammes before the Rules to Rs. 135.50–139.65 during the same month the following year, a premium that itself constitutes an incentive to smuggle. The Government's claim that the number of dealers has fallen from 27,000 to 12,000 is turned against it: fewer licensed dealers means more clandestine operators, not less gold in circulation. Mahajan closes by proposing that an independent Currency and Gold Commission of experts be constituted to address the underlying monetary disease rather than continuing a prohibitionist approach that, like alcohol prohibition elsewhere, has proved counter-productive. ## Key points - Gold-holding is a rational savings strategy given the rupee's depreciation to approximately 17 paise of its pre-war purchasing power; gold investment yielded 6.02% compound vs. 4.4% for postal savings. - The NCAER survey confirms that gold and silver purchases represent a significant component of Indian household saving, rooted in the absence of rural banking and deep cultural attachment. - The 14-carat purity ceiling backfired: it created insatiable demand for fine gold, driving buyers to clandestine sources and pushing the entire trade underground. - Gold prices rose from Rs. 103.50–112.50 to Rs. 135.50–139.65 per 10 grammes under the Rules, with the price premium acting as a direct incentive to smuggle. - Administrative and fiscal costs of the Rules include Rs. 29 lakhs to the exchequer, an additional Rs. 20 crores burden on the trade, and loss of over Rs. 27 crores per year in income-tax revenue. - The fall in licensed dealers from 27,000 to 12,000 has not reduced gold demand; it has handed the trade to a 'clan of clandestine operators' replacing honest jewellers and sarafs. - Mahajan proposes an independent Currency and Gold Commission to tackle monetary instability — the root cause — rather than persisting with negative regulatory measures that cannot cure basic economic maladies. --- ## [Primary work] Report URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/report-second-national-convention-mangalore-feburary-18-20-2005-july-2005/ ### Summary This volume is the formal proceedings report of the Second National Convention of the Indian Liberal Group (ILG), held at the T. V. Raman Pai Convention Centre, Mangalore, on February 18–20, 2005, and dedicated to ILG founder Minoo Masani on his birth centenary. The convention's declared theme was 'Accountability in Governance', chosen because the organisers regard accountability as both the operational guarantee and the road map for liberalism in India. N. Vittal's Inaugural Address ('Accountability: The Road Map and Guarantee for Liberalism') argues that accountability — rooted in individual responsibility, professional codes of conduct, and enforcement mechanisms — is the indispensable condition for a liberal society; he calls for radical reform of Article 311 and a culture shift from power to public service. S. P. Sathe's Keynote Address grounds accountability as a moral concept, drawing on H. L. A. Hart's distinction between 'being obliged' and 'having an obligation', tracing the constitutional conversion of unwritten conventions into written rules through the Rajendra Prasad–Nehru dispute, and analysing the Anti-Defection Law and the disqualification of elected representatives. Hubertus von Welck (Regional Director, Friedrich Naumann Foundation South Asia) delivers the Chief Guest address on 'Promoting Liberalism Globally', tracing the FNF's origins under Theodor Heuss to its current focal themes (globalisation, education, peace-building, active citizenry, human rights, liberal information society) and closing with a reading from Ken Schoolland's Jonathan Gullible. S. V. Raju's President's Address ('Reviving the Liberal Dialogue in Contemporary India') addresses 'GenerationNext' (21–40-year-olds, 70% of the population), credits Narasimha Rao's government with the 1991 U-turn, invokes the Swatantra Party legacy, and argues for a new Liberal Party committed to individual liberty, the rule of law, and limited government with basic social services. Three Liberal Position Papers follow. Ajit Karnik ('India's Economic Liberalisation: The Unfinished Liberal Agenda') argues that pro-poor policies were anti-poor in practice, invokes Hayek's Fatal Conceit against planning hubris, defends globalisation via Bhagwati against Stiglitz, draws on Hernando de Soto for property-rights enforcement, and dismantles Polanyi's 'satanic mill' framing. R. M. Mohan Rao ('Indian Agriculture and Rural Indebtedness') diagnoses post-liberalisation farm distress as a deliberate exclusion of agriculture from reform and prescribes Kisan Credit Cards, mandatory 18% agricultural bank lending, village-level crop insurance, removal of Exim restrictions, and extension reform. G. Giridhar Prabhu ('Administration of Justice') invokes Lincoln and Palkhivala to argue India's judicial system has been corroded by over-amendment, opaque collegium appointments, judicial overreach, and case backlog, and demands a transparent Judicial Service Commission, mandatory codes of conduct, and a five-year reform timeline. The volume's annexures cover the ILG's 2005–2010 strategy (under Dr. Peter Traub's guidance), a President's Report, and a delegate list. ### Body ## Summary This volume is the formal proceedings report of the Second National Convention of the Indian Liberal Group (ILG), held at the T. V. Raman Pai Convention Centre, Mangalore, on February 18–20, 2005. The convention's declared theme was 'Accountability in Governance', chosen because the organizers regard accountability as both the operational guarantee and the road map for liberalism in India. In the rendered pages, the volume opens with a Preface that records the context: mourning the death of ILG founding member Minoo Masani's birth centenary dedication, noting reduced delegate attendance (52 of 319 members, against 100 of 434 at the first convention in Hyderabad), and summarizing the inaugural session. The substantive content in these pages consists of two major addresses: N. Vittal's Inaugural Address arguing that accountability — rooted in individual responsibility, professional standards, and legal enforcement — is the indispensable condition for a liberal society, and S. P. Sathe's Keynote Address, only partially rendered, which frames accountability within constitutional democracy, examining the formal and moral dimensions of legitimacy, the role of the judiciary, anti-defection law, and the accountability of elected representatives. The volume as a whole (115 pages) also contains addresses by Hubertus von Welck (FNSt) and S. V. Raju, a Delegates' Session with organisational business and constitutional amendments, three Liberal Position Papers on economic liberalisation (Ajit Karnik), Indian agriculture (R. M. Mohan Rao), and administration of justice (G. Giridhar Prabhu), plus annexures on the ILG strategy 2005–2010, a President's Report annexure, and a delegate list — none of which appear in the rendered pages. ## Essays ### Preface The Preface, written in the voice of the ILG executive, contextualises the Second National Convention in the rendered pages. It notes that 52 of 319 ILG members attended (against approximately 100 of 434 at the first convention in Hyderabad) and attributes the lower turnout to organisational difficulties catalogued in the President's Report. Before the formal sessions, the gathering observed two sad duties: mourning the passing of Dr. Mme Louella Lobo Prabhu (who had been scheduled to deliver the valedictory address and died on 31 January, the eve of the convention) and observing condolences for Tsunami victims of December 26, 2004. The convention was dedicated to the memory of ILG founding member Minoo Masani on his birth centenary. The open inaugural session was held at the state-of-the-art T. V. Raman Pai Convention Centre before a 300-plus audience; students from St. Agnes Special School performed a play in Kannada ('Beggar Who Would Be King'). The Preface briefly characterises the three addresses delivered — Vittal's on anti-corruption, Sathe's analytical keynote on accountability in governance, and von Welck's on promoting liberalism globally — and thanks the Mangalore Chapter organising committee. - Convention held February 18–20, 2005, at T. V. Raman Pai Convention Centre, Mangalore, with 52 of 319 ILG members attending. - Dedicated to Minoo Masani on his birth centenary; convention mourned two deaths: Dr. Mme Louella Lobo Prabhu and Tsunami victims. - Open inaugural session included a Kannada play by St. Agnes Special School students. - Three inaugural addresses delivered: Vittal (anti-corruption/accountability), Sathe (constitutional accountability), von Welck (global liberalism/FNSt). - Mangalore Chapter organisers credited: G. Giridhar Prabhu, T. Subbaya Shetty, S. L. Shanbhogue, M. R. N. Pai, Claret D'Souza, Dr. Satheesh Rao, K. Prakash Rao. ### Inaugural Address: Accountability :The Road Map and Guarantee for Liberalism *By N. Vittal* N. Vittal's Inaugural Address, titled 'Accountability: The Road Map and Guarantee for Liberalism', argues in the rendered pages that accountability is not merely a bureaucratic desideratum but the functional precondition for a liberal society. He opens by invoking Minoo Masani's definition of liberalism — the individual at the centre, tolerance as the essential spirit, pragmatism as method, and pluralism as outcome — and links this to the ILG's founding principles (individual freedom, right to information, economic prosperity, technology and human development, active citizenship, rule of law). He then identifies four features of good governance under liberalism: rule of law with equal access to justice; dignity of the individual (drawing on President Kalam's observation about human potential); optimum total factor productivity (framed via Masani's pragmatism); and the three pillars of constitutional governance (judiciary, legislature, executive). The address traces accountability to three sources: individual sense of responsibility (the mother as ideal type), professional codes of conduct, and enforcement mechanisms. Vittal introduces his two informal 'laws': the first — that in any organisation, those who work get more work and those who do not work get no promotion or perquisites — and the second — that the greater the media publicity a corruption case receives, the greater the chances of acquittal of the guilty. He analyses why prosecutions fail in India: the legal presumption of innocence, the 300-year backlog in courts (illustrated by the Harshad Mehta scam), the legal cushions available to the wealthy, and the conspiracy charge that often backfires. He argues for greater transparency and the Right to Information Act as the first step, cites John Kennedy's 'failure is an orphan' observation in the context of the Bay of Pigs, and calls for a systemic change: radical modification of Article 311 to bring public servants under a performance contract system. He concludes by calling for a culture change — moving from a culture of power to one of service — and cites L. K. Jha's observation that India erred in calling public servants 'government servants' rather than 'public servants'. - Accountability is defined as the functional guarantee and road map for liberalism, not merely an administrative virtue. - Four features of good governance under liberalism: rule of law, individual dignity, optimum total factor productivity, and constitutional separation of powers. - Accountability arises from three sources: individual responsibility, professional codes of conduct, and enforcement systems. - Vittal's First Law: those who work get more work; those who do not work get no promotion. Vittal's Second Law: media publicity for a corruption case increases the probability of acquittal. - Structural reasons for impunity: 300-year court backlog, legal cushions for the wealthy, conspiracy charges that backfire, and Article 311 protections for public servants. - Prescription: Right to Information Act, radical reform of Article 311 to allow performance contracts, and a culture change from power-seeking to public service. ### Keynote Address: Accountability in Governance *By S. P. Sathe* S. P. Sathe's Keynote Address, 'Accountability in Governance', begins in the rendered pages with a rigorous jurisprudential and constitutional analysis. Sathe opens by distinguishing democracy as government by elected representatives accountable to the people, and frames the Constitution of India as requiring the State to promote welfare and secure a just social order. He then introduces his central concept: accountability as a moral concept — constitutional/liberal democracy is essentially a moral system in which constitutionalism is sustained not merely by law but by morality. He distinguishes obedience out of fear from obedience out of volition, drawing on H. L. A. Hart's distinction between 'being obliged' and 'having an obligation'. The Nuremberg tribunal is cited to show that legal validity does not equal legitimacy. Sathe then examines what constitutional democracy entails: (a) rule of law, (b) utmost regard for individual liberty, and (c) an independent judiciary. He surveys how parliamentary conventions evolved differently in India than in England and Australia, using the controversy over the President's obligation to act on the advice of the Council of Ministers (from Rajendra Prasad's conflicts with Nehru, through M. C. Setalwad's opinion, to the Supreme Court's eventual endorsement and subsequent constitutional amendment) as a case study in the conversion of unwritten conventions into written rules. He examines the Anti-Defection Law (Fifty-second Amendment) and its consequences — cabinet size, the 1/3rd exception, and the later constitutional amendment removing that exception. The address then turns to the accountability of elected representatives: disqualification provisions under the Constitution (office of profit, criminal convictions, the Representation of the People Act Section 8), citing the Satish Harma petrol pump allotments case and the Kargil victims case to illustrate partisan and judicial inconsistency. The rendered pages end mid-address, with Sathe arguing that legal restraints are insufficient and that healthy political precedents matter more, giving the examples of Profumo in England and Mrs. Gandhi's forcing of ministers to resign despite legal clearance. - Accountability is a moral concept: constitutional democracy functions according to law and morality together; legitimacy requires both. - H. L. A. Hart's distinction between 'being obliged' and 'having an obligation' underpins Sathe's argument that accountability is not merely coerced compliance. - The Nuremberg tribunal is used to show that legal validity without legitimacy is insufficient — Nazi officials could not plead superior orders as a defence. - India's constitutional history is traced through the conversion of unwritten conventions (President's obligation to act on Council of Ministers' advice) into written constitutional rules. - Anti-Defection Law (52nd Amendment) is examined in detail: the 1/3rd exception, subsequent removal, and the problem of partisan disqualification decisions by Speakers. - Disqualification of elected members: office of profit, criminal conviction, the Representation of the People Act provisions, and inconsistency in judicial enforcement. ### India's Economic Liberalisation : The Unfinished Liberal Agenda *By Ajit Karnik* Ajit Karnik opens with two apparently contradictory propositions: India has made substantial progress since the 1991 liberalisation, yet the country still has a very long way to go before it can deliver the benefits of economic development to its people. He anchors this tension in a comparison with China, noting that at India's average growth rate the doubling period for per capita GDP is seventeen years against nine for China, and that average Indian incomes of Rs. 2,000 per month could have been four times higher had India followed a less dirigiste path from the start. His central polemical point is that decades of pro-poor policy were in practice anti-poor: subsidising consumption rather than guaranteeing income, protecting those already employed rather than opening opportunity to those without jobs, and chasing a socialist dream of welfare enhancement through means that are the worst enemy of socialist ends. The essay then moves through the achievements of post-1991 reforms — rapid stabilisation, sustained growth above 5 per cent, sharp reduction in the poverty ratio, and the dramatic reversal of the external-account crisis — before pivoting to the "Unfinished Liberal Agenda." Karnik articulates the liberal position as rejecting any false State-versus-market dichotomy in favour of complementarity, invoking Hayek's "Fatal Conceit" as the danger of planning hubris. He works through five institutional reform areas that he regards as inadequately recognised in mainstream policy debate: privatisation (the burden of proof should lie with those who wish to keep any enterprise in the public sector); labour laws (rigid job-security provisions have suppressed formal employment and driven capital-intensity, benefiting incumbents at the expense of those seeking work); globalisation (trade liberalisation unambiguously benefits growth and lowers poverty; Bhagwati's "In Defense of Globalisation" is preferred to Stiglitz's critique); government finances (India's tax-to-GDP ratio is far too low and expenditure composition, not quantum, must change); and credible commitments and policy predictability (the FRBM Act is offered as a model for earmarked fiscal rules). A sixth section, on property rights, draws heavily on Hernando de Soto to argue that it is the enforcement of rights — not their formal existence — that matters for development and that the poor suffer most from their non-enforcement. In the conclusion and Suggested Plan of Action (seen through printed page 71), Karnik engages Karl Polanyi's "The Great Transformation" directly, calling Polanyi's characterisation of market society as a "satanic mill" graphically false, and likening the liberal economist's task of persistently arguing for market institutions to Sisyphus condemned to roll a boulder up a mountain. The Suggested Plan of Action recaps each reform area as a set of specific action points for the Indian Liberal Group. - India's post-1991 growth record is real but insufficient: at 6 per cent per annum per capita GDP doubles only every 17 years, against China's 9-year doubling time. - Decades of ostensibly pro-poor policy were actually anti-poor because they confused redistribution of a fixed pie with growth, and protected the employed at the expense of the unemployed. - The liberal position is not State versus market but complementarity: the State's role is to create a market-enabling environment and provide a safety net, not to run businesses. - Rigid labour laws are identified as a structural cause of India's failure to industrialise and generate formal employment, keeping over 60 per cent of the labour force in agriculture. - Globalisation is defended via Bhagwati against Stiglitz: trade liberalisation unambiguously lowers poverty; selective safety nets, not closure, are the correct policy response to transition costs. - Property-rights enforcement — not their formal legal existence — is the key institutional gap for the poor, drawing on de Soto's work on Peru and developing-country experience. - Polanyi's "Great Transformation" is challenged directly as a false romanticisation of pre-market society that has become a rhetorical resource for anti-reform forces. ### Indian Agriculture and Rural Indebtedness *By R. M. Mohan Rao* R. M. Mohan Rao's paper is an executive summary of proceedings from a National Seminar on Indian Agriculture and Rural Indebtedness held at Guntur. It opens by framing the post-liberalisation farm crisis — rising suicides, growing indebtedness, and the deliberate exclusion of agriculture from the economic reform process — as an indictment of policy neglect that demands urgent liberal remediation. The essay surveys the structural condition of Indian agriculture (predominantly small and marginal holdings, declining institutional credit, stagnating Green Revolution technologies, fragmented marketing, and an eroding social safety net) before systematically proposing policy initiatives across five domains. The policy prescriptions follow a liberal conception of the State as promoter and facilitator rather than controller. Mohan Rao calls for debt relief along the lines of the 1990 Debt Relief Scheme, issue of Kisan Credit Cards with expanded credit limits, de-politicisation of co-operatives, mandatory 18 per cent bank lending to agriculture, crop insurance redesigned at the village level, removal of all Exim restrictions on farm-product movement, a reoriented extension system accountable to farmers rather than bureaucracies, marketing reforms giving farmers freedom to transport and sell freely, and a social-sector package covering primary education, rural health insurance, and broadened KCC insurance limits. Throughout, the paper frames agriculture's exclusion from liberalisation not as an oversight but as a deliberate policy choice, and argues that correcting it is both an economic necessity and a liberal imperative. - Agriculture contributes approximately 25 percent of GDP and employs 56.7 percent of the workforce yet has been deliberately kept outside the economic reform process, which Mohan Rao treats as a liberal grievance rather than mere oversight. - The persistence of old problems (monsoon dependence, debt bondage, poor rural infrastructure) is compounded by new ones: growing fragmentation of holdings, declining soil fertility, falling groundwater, increased commercialisation risk, and collapse of joint-family social absorption networks. - Post-1991 financial sector reforms disrupted institutional rural credit flow, pushing farmers toward input dealers and non-institutional lenders — a key driver of the farmer-suicide crisis particularly visible in Andhra Pradesh cotton belt during 1997-98. - The liberal policy framework proposed centres on a pro-active State that guarantees land and water stewardship, removes all movement and Exim restrictions on farm products, issues Kisan Credit Cards with consumption coverage, mandates 18 per cent bank lending to agriculture, and funds crop insurance at village level. - Extension reform is flagged as critical: existing public-extension systems lack accountability; para-extension through input suppliers has actively contributed to suicides; a multi-agency approach with media, SHGs, and farmers' organisations is recommended alongside a holistic farming-system approach suited to Indian diversity. - Marketing is described as having become 'a gamble' due to government interventions that procure forcefully in rising markets and abandon farmers in falling ones; the essay calls for toll-free market intelligence services, warehouse receipt credit, and electronic-media price dissemination. - Social-sector interventions — vocational education for rural youth, group rural health insurance, extended KCC insurance limits, and special health schemes for small and marginal farmers — are presented as integral to reducing the vulnerability that converts debt into death. ### Administration of Justice *By G. Giridhar Prabhu* G. Giridhar Prabhu's position paper argues that an independent judiciary is the sine qua non of democracy, but that India's judicial system has been severely compromised by five decades of constitutional over-amendment, opaque and politically influenced appointment processes, judicial overreach into legislative territory, and an overwhelming backlog of cases. Drawing on Lincoln's definition of democracy and Palkhivala's lament that Indians received a Constitution but not the ability to cherish it, Prabhu frames the crisis as a failure of all three constitutional pillars — Legislature, Judiciary, and Executive — to uphold the Rule of Law, which he characterises through the three Cs: Corruption, Confusion, and Chaos. The paper moves through a series of concrete reform demands on behalf of the Indian Liberal Group. On judicial appointments, Prabhu calls for a transparent Judicial Service Commission to replace the opaque collegium system, citing the Law Commission's 14th Report and Ram Jethmalani's observation that there are really only two kinds of judges — those who know law and those who know the Law Minister. He advocates mandatory Codes of Conduct, age-capped recruitment (no appointment above 55 for High Courts, 57 for Supreme Court), retirement extended to 65, and a cooling-off period before retired judges take arbitration assignments. On criminal justice, ILG demands prioritise enforcement of law, fair trial, punishment, social rehabilitation, and a five-year reform timeline for new prisons and backlog reduction. An appended 'Notes for Discussion' section provides case-pendency data showing 3.27 million cases pending in High Courts (41% older than five years) and over 22.7 million in district courts, with the ILG noting that up to 80 per cent of current litigants have lost confidence in the judicial system. - Prabhu opens by invoking Lincoln and Palkhivala to argue that India has a Constitution but has failed to develop the capacity to cherish or enforce it. - He identifies judicial activism — the judiciary acting as lawmaker — as the primary structural deformity corroding the separation of powers. - The collegium system for judicial appointments is criticised as non-transparent and susceptible to political and partisan influence, with Ram Jethmalani cited as evidence. - ILG proposes a Judicial Service Commission, mandatory Code of Conduct, retirement age raised to 65, and a bar on retired judges taking government arbitration assignments for at least one year. - Criminal justice demands include fair trial, enforcement of law, social rehabilitation through a correctional system, and implementation of the Malimath Committee's recommendations. - The 'Notes for Discussion' appendix presents stark pendency data: 21,995 Supreme Court cases, 3.27 million High Court cases, and 22.75 million district-court cases, with up to 80% of litigants reported to have abandoned confidence in the system. - The essay closes with the warning that unless the three constitutional pillars are strengthened, democracy risks meaning 'of the Criminals, for the Criminals and by the Criminals'. ### 1. Strategy of the Indian Liberal Group (ILG) (2005-2010) This annexure presents the formal five-year strategy document of the Indian Liberal Group (ILG) for the period 2005–2010, prepared under the guidance of Dr. Peter Traub, a German liberal consultant affiliated with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. The document opens with a statement of the ILG's main aim — to be recognised as a pressure group and catalyst for change across most of India, fighting for a broad understanding of liberal values at all levels of public life — and organises the strategy around six main-aim aspects: educating people on liberal values; influencing political decision-making; taking up key issues for concrete results; empowering and activating local people; strengthening liberal politicians and political parties; and supporting other organisations and individuals spreading liberal ideas. For each of the six aspects, the document sets out concrete milestones, then specifies detailed activities and task assignments with named responsible persons and deadlines. Aspect 1 (education) involves profiling target groups (students, media, elected representatives, women, farmers, business people, civil servants), formulating liberal principles as guiding frameworks for training, developing training kits, training trainers, and building marketing techniques to 'sell' the liberal message — with the overall image-building slogan 'ILG — we care!' Aspects 2 and 3 focus on lobbying and policy-watch activities: building systematic relationships with the Prime Minister's office, civil servants, elected legislators, opinion leaders, and national and regional media, while also taking up specific issues that demonstrate the relevance of the ILG's 'five liberal pillars.' Aspects 4 and 5 address grassroots empowerment of local elected bodies and citizens, and engagement with political parties — including identifying and training potential liberal candidates, counselling ILG members who are party members, and providing leadership curricula. - The ILG frames itself as a pressure group and catalyst for change, not a political party, aiming for recognition across most of India by 2010. - The strategy is organised around six main-aim aspects with corresponding milestones and time-bound task assignments. - Aspect 1 targets six categories: students/youth/teachers, media, elected representatives, women, farmers, business people, and civil servants, with dedicated responsible persons for each. - Aspect 2 operationalises political influence through systematic relationship-building with the PM's office, civil servants, legislators, opinion leaders, and media — including a proposed 'ILG Policy Watch' monitoring official websites. - Aspect 4 (local empowerment) and Aspect 5 (party strengthening) together constitute a theory of bottom-up liberal political mobilisation, from local body orientation to identifying and supporting liberal political candidates. - Dr. Peter Traub, a German liberal consultant formerly with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, is credited as a key external adviser who shaped the strategy framework. - The document's marketing approach includes producing videos/DVDs on empowerment success stories and identifying an 'emotional, image-building message' for each target audience. ### Address by Chief Guest: Promoting Liberalism Globally - The Mission of the FNSt *By Hubertus von Welck* Hubertus von Welck, Regional Director South Asia of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF), delivered the Chief Guest address at the ILG Second National Convention in Mangalore. The address introduces the FNF's history, global mission, and operational instruments to an Indian liberal audience, framing the Foundation as the institutional vehicle through which Germany's liberal tradition — rooted in Friedrich Naumann's vision of civic education and participatory democracy — is projected internationally. Von Welck organises his remarks in three parts. First, he traces the FNF's origins: established in Germany on 19 May 1958 under the patronage of Federal Republic President Theodor Heuss, the Foundation took its name from Friedrich Naumann (1860–1919), a pastor-turned-politician whose most consequential legacy was the plan for a 'Free Academy for Politics' designed to educate citizens for democracy. Second, he articulates the Foundation's overriding goal — to promote the principle of freedom — through three interlocking convictions: that freedom drives development (with free markets and the rule of law as key components), that democracy safeguards peace, and that human rights are both ends and prerequisites of liberal development policy. Third, he enumerates six focal themes the FNF has adopted for 2004–2007: Globalisation and Development, Education as the basis of a free society, Peace-building and conflict prevention, Active citizenry and local politics, Human rights and constitutional reform, and the Liberal information society. The address closes (in the rendered pages) with an extended reading from 'Jonathan's Guiding Principles' in Ken Schooland's The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible, presented as a distillation of self-ownership and non-aggression principles — the text cuts off before the conclusion. - The FNF was founded on 19 May 1958 in Germany and takes its name and civic-education mission from Friedrich Naumann (1860–1919), whose 'Free Academy for Politics' concept shaped the Foundation's participatory ethos. - Von Welck's overriding thesis is that freedom, development, and peace are inseparable: market freedom correlates positively with growth and the human development index; democracy is a structural bulwark against war and extremism. - The FNF's three primary instruments abroad are civic/political education, political dialogue (including an International Academy of Leadership), and political consultancy for liberal parties and organisations. - Six focal themes for 2004–2007 cover globalisation and development, education reform (including education vouchers), peace-building, active local citizenry, constitutional human-rights protection, and the liberal information society. - The address ends with a reading from Ken Schooland's libertarian fable The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible as a statement of the FNF's philosophical foundations; the text is cut off mid-passage in the rendered pages. ### President's Address: Reviving the Liberal Dialogue in Contemporary India - Why India Needs a liberal Political Party *By S. V. Raju* S. V. Raju's President's Address, titled 'Reviving the Liberal Dialogue in Contemporary India: Why India Needs a Liberal Political Party — The Role of the Indian Liberal Group', is explicitly directed at India's younger generation — those between 21 and 40 who constitute 70% of the population and whom Raju calls 'GenerationNext'. He holds this cohort responsible for the present state of Indian politics and argues that they must understand how post-independence policy choices led the country to its current condition of corruption, nepotism, and crony capitalism. Raju traces a detailed historical arc from the euphoria of 1947 through the Second Five Year Plan's radical socialist turn, the construction of a 'licence-permit-quota raj', the emergence of a 'New Class' of corrupt politicians and bureaucrats, and the eventual crisis that forced India to approach the World Bank and IMF in the early 1990s. He credits the Congress government led by Narasimha Rao (and its Finance Minister, now Prime Minister) with initiating the economic U-turn, and observes that successive NDA and UPA governments have continued that direction despite Left pressure. He draws on the Swatantra Party's legacy as a model for a principled liberal opposition that believed in free markets, decentralisation, and coalition democracy. In the rendered pages, Raju then turns to the question of whether a Liberal Party is viable and necessary in India's emerging coalition environment. He argues that liberal values must permeate all areas of governance — not just the economy — and that the ILG's core purpose is to push that message. He describes the core philosophy of any prospective Liberal Party: belief in individual freedom vis-à-vis the State, the Rule of Law, limited government, and acceptance that government must also provide basic social services. He closes the rendered portion with a discussion of the negative vote and the ILG's public support for the right not to choose any candidate on the ballot. - Raju addresses GenerationNext (ages 21–40, 70% of India's population) and assigns them both responsibility and agency for reforming Indian politics. - He traces India's post-independence decline to the Second Five Year Plan's Soviet-inspired socialist model, the permit-licence-quota raj, and the resulting New Class of corrupt politicians and businessmen. - The economic U-turn initiated by the Narasimha Rao Congress government is acknowledged as the turning point, with successive NDA and UPA governments continuing liberalisation despite Left opposition. - The Swatantra Party is invoked as the historical liberal precedent — a party that championed free markets, decentralisation, and coalition politics — and as a model for what the ILG might revive. - Raju argues that a Liberal Party is needed urgently, before parliamentary democracy is subverted by criminals and unprincipled opportunists, and outlines its core philosophical commitments: individual liberty, Rule of Law, limited government, and basic social service provision. - The ILG's active support for the negative-vote concept (the right to reject all candidates) is cited as a concrete example of liberal engagement in electoral reform. --- ## [Primary work] RETHINKING ON PUBLIC SECTOR URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/rethinking-on-public-sector-september-10-1970/ ### Summary Rethinking on Public Sector is a 1970 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet — issued by the Bombay-based classical-liberal organisation founded by A. D. Shroff — that gathers the main historical, statistical and editorial materials needed to evaluate how India's expanding state-owned sector had performed since Independence. The unsigned Introduction recalls the Forum's 1956 'Manifesto' position, that monopoly of any kind, public or private, is undesirable, and frames the moment as one in which 'even those committed to the ideology of socialism' have begun to rethink the proper role of the Public Sector. The main essay, 'Public Sector in India', traces the journey from the 1948 Industrial Policy Resolution (which placed both sectors on a complementary footing) through Mr. Nehru's 1954 visit to Communist China and the Avadi declaration to the 1956 Resolution that gave the Public Sector preponderance. It documents how Central public-sector investment rose from Rs. 29 crores (5 undertakings in 1950-51) to over Rs.… ### Body # RETHINKING ON PUBLIC SECTOR ## Summary Rethinking on Public Sector is a 1970 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet — issued by the Bombay-based classical-liberal organisation founded by A. D. Shroff — that gathers the main historical, statistical and editorial materials needed to evaluate how India's expanding state-owned sector had performed since Independence. The unsigned Introduction recalls the Forum's 1956 'Manifesto' position, that monopoly of any kind, public or private, is undesirable, and frames the moment as one in which 'even those committed to the ideology of socialism' have begun to rethink the proper role of the Public Sector. The main essay, 'Public Sector in India', traces the journey from the 1948 Industrial Policy Resolution (which placed both sectors on a complementary footing) through Mr. Nehru's 1954 visit to Communist China and the Avadi declaration to the 1956 Resolution that gave the Public Sector preponderance. It documents how Central public-sector investment rose from Rs. 29 crores (5 undertakings in 1950-51) to over Rs. 3,500 crores (86 undertakings) by 1968-69, before sequentially presenting and rebutting four standard arguments for the Public Sector: capital mobilisation, the 'commanding heights' doctrine, the breaking up of private economic concentrations, and the social-welfare motive. The rebuttal draws on Mahalanobis's own job-creation figures (which favour agriculture over heavy industry), on Christopher Mayhew's disillusionment with British nationalisation, on a 'Nationalisation in France and Italy' study of bureaucratic 'private empires', and on the gradual shift back towards markets in Sweden, Soviet Russia, and even Maoist China. The Forum's pragmatic prescription: insist on at least a 10 per cent minimum return, consolidate before expanding, follow Andhra Pradesh's Rajamundhry paper-mill model of selling controlling stakes to private operators, list shares publicly, grant complete autonomy, and reject the idea of a 'committed bureaucracy'. The second half reproduces editorial and reportorial materials that corroborate the case. Dr. Raj K. Nigam's valedictory editorial in Lok Udyog — the Bureau of Public Enterprises' own journal — concedes that the failures were 'not inevitable' and that 'socialism is on trial' in these enterprises. Press dispatches from the Times of India, Economic Times, Hindustan Times and Gujarat Herald document the Parliamentary Committee on Public Undertakings' alarm at sub-15-per-cent capacity utilisation in Bharat Heavy Electricals, Hindustan Machine Tools, the Fertiliser Corporation and other flagships; Dr. M. Chenna Reddy's call for a statutory set-up; Morarji Desai's verdict that the LIC had 'belied hopes'; and a Bhubaneswar expert team's finding that none of Orissa's state-owned undertakings had produced results commensurate with investment. Throughout, the booklet draws a sharp line between the loss-making industrial Public Sector and the 'real' Public Sector — defence, law and order, judiciary, infrastructure, education, sanitation — whose neglect, the Forum argues, is the true cost of statist ambition. ## Key points - Forum's 1956 Manifesto position is restated as the booklet's frame: monopoly of any kind, whether State or private, is undesirable, and the State-owned sector must not continuously expand until it dominates the national economy. - The 1948 Industrial Policy Resolution treated State and private enterprise as complementary; the 1956 Resolution, drafted after Nehru's 1954 China visit and the Avadi session, gave the Public Sector preponderance and was the basis of the Second Five-Year Plan. - Central Public Sector investment grew from Rs. 29 crores across 5 undertakings (1950-51) to over Rs. 3,500 crores across 86 undertakings (1968-69), with Rs. 6,400 crores projected by the end of the Fourth Plan (1973-74). - The booklet lays out four arguments for the Public Sector — capital mobilisation in vicious-circle economies, the 'commanding heights' doctrine, breaking up private concentrations, and a social-good rather than profit motive — and rebuts each by reference to evolving socialist practice in Britain, Sweden, the USSR and China. - Mahalanobis's own figures are turned against the heavy-industry strategy: a crore invested in steel creates 500 jobs, in consumer goods 1,500, in agriculture 4,000 — alongside far larger additional resources generated. - Audit Report data show Central public-sector enterprises swinging from a Rs. 6.34 crore profit in 1961 to a Rs. 42.79 crore loss in 1968, with state-level units (Kerala, Mysore, State Transport) and Orissa's corporations performing worse still. - Pragmatic remedies recommended: a 10 per cent minimum return target, consolidation before new ventures, partial divestiture on the Andhra Pradesh Rajamundhry paper-mill model, complete autonomy for enterprises, and rejection of a 'committed bureaucracy'. - Dr. Raj K. Nigam's Lok Udyog editorial concedes that the unsatisfactory performance was 'not inevitable' and that 'socialism is on trial' in these enterprises, while press cuttings (Parliamentary Committee findings, LIC, Orissa, Punjab) corroborate the diagnosis with concrete data. - A closing distinction is drawn between the 'real' Public Sector — defence, law and order, judiciary, infrastructure, education, drinking water, sanitation — and the industrial Public Sector that is crowding it out. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Revival of Swadeshi Spirit —An Answer to Smuggling URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/revival-of-swadeshi-spirit-an-answer-to-smuggling-s-r-vakil-28-november-1974/ ### Summary S. R. Vakil's 1974 pamphlet, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise (Bombay) and based on public lectures he had been delivering as a Bombay solicitor and authority on foreign exchange laws, frames smuggling as the urgent moral and economic crisis of post-independence India. Vakil opens with an autobiographical recollection of the Salt Satyagraha during his school days in Surat and offers a twin thesis: that the 'Parallel Government' run by smugglers can only be uprooted by reviving the Swadeshi spirit and boycotting foreign luxury goods, and that 'Religion and Economics are obverse and reverse of the same coin'. The body of the pamphlet marshals striking trade statistics — Dubai's role as a free-port clearing house for gold, silver, watches, transistors, textiles and consumer luxuries; sterling-denominated import figures for 1962–1969; British estimates of Indian silver hoards at five thousand million ounces (£4.8 billion / Rs. 9,000 crores) in 1968; and the 39,925,100 ounces of Indian silver officially exported from Dubai to Britain in eleven months of 1968.… ### Body # Revival of Swadeshi Spirit —An Answer to Smuggling *By S. R. Vakil* ## Summary S. R. Vakil's 1974 pamphlet, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise (Bombay) and based on public lectures he had been delivering as a Bombay solicitor and authority on foreign exchange laws, frames smuggling as the urgent moral and economic crisis of post-independence India. Vakil opens with an autobiographical recollection of the Salt Satyagraha during his school days in Surat and offers a twin thesis: that the 'Parallel Government' run by smugglers can only be uprooted by reviving the Swadeshi spirit and boycotting foreign luxury goods, and that 'Religion and Economics are obverse and reverse of the same coin'. The body of the pamphlet marshals striking trade statistics — Dubai's role as a free-port clearing house for gold, silver, watches, transistors, textiles and consumer luxuries; sterling-denominated import figures for 1962–1969; British estimates of Indian silver hoards at five thousand million ounces (£4.8 billion / Rs. 9,000 crores) in 1968; and the 39,925,100 ounces of Indian silver officially exported from Dubai to Britain in eleven months of 1968. Vakil ties the gold-and-silver haemorrhage to a 'crisis of national confidence', criticises India's Gold Control as having produced unemployed goldsmiths, black-market property booms, capital flight and a new bureaucracy of corruption, and includes the recurring smuggling of women, idols and consumer kitsch among the moral costs. The argumentative spine is a classical-liberal one within a Gandhian register: Vakil indicts the Government's 'unreasoning aversion' to trusting the private sector with foreign-exchange-saving projects, the 'neurotic zeal' of experimental legislation, and Exchange Control laws whose 'known uncertainty' he likens to a Frankenstein monster, while welcoming the deterrent effect of the amended MISA on smugglers and arguing that the public must take a five-year vow against foreign goods. He invokes Mahatma Gandhi, J. N. Tata and A. B. Godrej as exemplars of Swadeshi, draws on extracts from Tendolkar's 'Life of Mahatma Gandhi', and announces an Epilogue of sayings from Malcolm Muggeridge. In the rendered pages, the front matter carries dedicatory quotes from A. D. Shroff (Forum founder-president) and Eugene Black; the main address runs printed pages 1–7; Appendix I reprints Vakil's May 1969 'Note on gold Smuggling'; Appendix II reproduces extracts from MISA 1971, the MISA Amending Ordinance 1974, and the Presidential Order on MISA detenus; and Appendix III begins reprinting Section 111 of the Customs Act 1962. The closing pages of Appendix III and the Muggeridge Epilogue announced in the Introduction fall outside this rendered chunk. ## Key points - Vakil's central thesis: the 'Parallel Government' of smugglers can only be eradicated by reviving the Swadeshi spirit and boycotting foreign luxury goods, paired with a moral claim that religion and economics are inseparable. - Dubai is profiled as the seven-Trucial-States free port acting as smuggling clearing house: 4.625% duty on sea cargo, 2% on air, 1.25% on wrist watches, zero duty on gold, with 1964 gold imports of $75 million. - Sterling-denominated trade figures show Dubai imports rising from £8.15 million in 1962 to £80 million by 1969, with Indian silver exports from Dubai to Britain at 39,925,100 ounces in eleven months of 1968. - Vakil estimates Indian silver hoards at 5,000 million ounces (£4.8 billion / Rs. 9,000 crores by 1968 prices) and reports gold imports of 160 metric tonnes (Rs. 280 crores) into Dubai in 1968 alone, largely re-exported to India and Pakistan. - The pamphlet catalogues seven net effects of Gold Control — surreptitious smuggling, goldsmith unemployment, diversion of black money into property, rupee depreciation, capital flight, destruction of rural credit, and new corruption — and laments smuggled idols of Shankar and Vishnu plus the smuggling of girls under false marriage declarations. - MISA is welcomed as a 'salutary' deterrent that has lowered prices of iron, steel, cement and drugs by 40%, halted Singapore compensatory payments, and stilled share bazaars; Vakil casts MISA as 'for smugglers and not for strugglers'. - Government policy is condemned for its 'unreasoning aversion' to entrusting the private sector with foreign-exchange-saving projects, its 'neurotic zeal' for experimental legislation, and its Exchange Control laws whose 'known uncertainty' Vakil compares to a Frankenstein monster. - Appendix II reproduces sections 3–9 of the Maintenance of Internal Security Act 1971 (No. 26 of 1971) as amended by the Defence of India Act 1971, the MISA Amending Ordinance 1974, and the Presidential Order on MISA detenus' right to move the court suspending Articles 14, 21 and 22 during the Emergency proclaimed 3 December 1971. - Appendix III begins extracts from Section 111 of the Customs Act 1962 enumerating goods liable to confiscation as improperly imported. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] RISING PRICES, BLACK MONEY AND DEMONETISATION URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/rising-prices-black-money-and-demonetisation-prof-b-p-adarkar-october-14-1973/ ### Summary Prof. B. P. Adarkar — formerly Economic Adviser in the Ministries of Labour, Finance and External Affairs and later Minister at the Indian Embassy in Bonn — opens this 1973 pamphlet with a deliberately provocative summary of his conclusion: rising prices have not caused black money, black money has not caused rising prices, and demonetisation is no remedy for either. The address, delivered to the Forum of Free Enterprise on 3 September 1973, is structured around three sections that take up each phenomenon in turn. Drawing on the Wanchoo Committee report on Direct Taxes and Black Money, he reads the Government's habit of blaming hoarders, smugglers, tax-evaders and droughts as a way of dodging its own responsibility for deficit financing, profligate Plan expenditure, the wheat and rice takeover misadventure, the Permit Raj of licences and controls, and a tax structure whose 97.75 per cent marginal rate makes evasion almost rational. The second section turns to black money itself.… ### Body # RISING PRICES, BLACK MONEY AND DEMONETISATION *By Prof. B. P. ADARKAR* ## Summary Prof. B. P. Adarkar — formerly Economic Adviser in the Ministries of Labour, Finance and External Affairs and later Minister at the Indian Embassy in Bonn — opens this 1973 pamphlet with a deliberately provocative summary of his conclusion: rising prices have not caused black money, black money has not caused rising prices, and demonetisation is no remedy for either. The address, delivered to the Forum of Free Enterprise on 3 September 1973, is structured around three sections that take up each phenomenon in turn. Drawing on the Wanchoo Committee report on Direct Taxes and Black Money, he reads the Government's habit of blaming hoarders, smugglers, tax-evaders and droughts as a way of dodging its own responsibility for deficit financing, profligate Plan expenditure, the wheat and rice takeover misadventure, the Permit Raj of licences and controls, and a tax structure whose 97.75 per cent marginal rate makes evasion almost rational. The second section turns to black money itself. Adarkar carefully distinguishes black money — currency held outside the banking system to finance the parallel economy — from black wealth, the land, gold, jewellery, benami deposits and housing into which concealed income has already been converted. He argues that this distinction is fatal to the demonetisation case: by the time a freeze on 100-rupee notes takes effect, the real holders have long since switched into assets, and middle-class people holding rupee notes for ordinary purposes end up bearing the cost. Citing the Wanchoo Committee's estimates of black income at Rs. 2,350–3,080 crores and noting that the Committee's confidential demonetisation recommendation in its Interim Report was deliberately not pursued in its Final Report, he warns that a sudden withdrawal of nearly half the rupee currency would damage confidence in the Indian currency abroad and shake the banking system at home. The third section lays out Adarkar's positive programme. Stop deficit financing absolutely. Drastically reduce income tax to a maximum of 75 per cent, with no adjustment at the lower end, and raise the exemption limit to Rs. 7,500 or Rs. 10,600 — citing France's post-war decision to cut its income tax below 33⅓ per cent, after which evasion and black money 'almost disappeared.' Abolish the Wealth Tax. Dismantle the licensing and controls regime. Demand surrender of 90 per cent of black money for white money by 1 April 1974, after which undeclared assets would be confiscated, citing President Marcos's anti-corruption drive in the Philippines as a precedent. Wind up the entire Five-Year-Plan apparatus, restricting the State to 'main nation-building functions' such as transport, technical education, population control and aerial navigation, and let private enterprise and the public sector alike grow freely. The pamphlet is bracketed by two marginalia: Eugene Black on accepting private enterprise as 'an affirmative good,' and the late A. D. Shroff's aphorism that 'Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives.' ## Key points - Thesis: rising prices, black money and demonetisation are three distinct problems with distinct causes and remedies — collapsing them produces bad policy. - Deficit financing — Rs. 1,278 crores in 1972–73 alone — is named the 'most potent cause' of Indian inflation, with the wheat and rice takeovers, the Permit Raj and high punitive taxation as compounding factors. - The Wanchoo Committee on Direct Taxes and Black Money diagnosed four arms of policy (prevention, recovery, tax assessment, evasion) but had its central demonetisation recommendation, confidential to the Interim Report, dropped from the Final Report. - A 97.75% top marginal income-tax rate, Adarkar argues, makes the net profit on concealment 'as much as 4,300 per cent of the after-tax income' — France's post-war cut to below 33⅓% made evasion and black money 'almost disappear' without revenue loss. - The wheat takeover collected only 4.3 of 8.5 million tonnes — Adarkar warns the Government not to 'rush into another bungle over the Rice trade.' - Black money (currency funding the parallel economy) is conceptually separate from black wealth (assets purchased with concealed income); demonetisation only attacks the former, while the latter has already been moved into land, gold, jewellery and benami deposits. - Demonetising 100-rupee notes would be 'a wild hit at the bull's eye' that mostly catches middle-class holders, since serious black-money holders have already converted into smaller-denomination notes and assets; sudden withdrawal of nearly half the rupee currency risks a confidence and banking crisis. - Adarkar's positive programme: stop deficit financing; cap income tax at 75% with a higher exemption limit; abolish the Wealth Tax; dismantle licensing and controls; demand a 90% black-money surrender by 1 April 1974; phase out Five-Year Plans; restrict the State to nation-building infrastructure functions. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] ROLE OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/role-of-financial-institutions-in-economic-development-n-n-pai-may-12-1983/ ### Summary N. N. Pai, then Chairman of the Industrial Development Bank of India, uses this Murarji J. Vaidya Memorial Lecture (delivered 18 January 1983, published as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet) to survey India's network of term-lending financial institutions and argue for the next stage of their evolution. He traces the institutional architecture that grew up alongside the Five Year Plans — the Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI), the State Financial Corporations (SFCs), the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation (ICICI), IDBI as the apex coordinating body, the Unit Trust of India (UTI), the State Industrial Development Corporations (SIDCs) and the Industrial Reconstruction Corporation (IRCI) — and credits this multiplicity with quickening industrial growth in regions and sectors that earlier capital markets had failed to reach. The lecture's quantitative backbone reports that aggregate term-finance sanctions rose from Rs. 254 crores in 1970-71 to Rs. 3,130 crores in 1981-82, with cumulative sanctions of Rs. 14,916.5 crores catalysing some Rs. 25,500 crores of investment and around 32 lakh new jobs.… ### Body # ROLE OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT *By N.N. Pai* ## Summary N. N. Pai, then Chairman of the Industrial Development Bank of India, uses this Murarji J. Vaidya Memorial Lecture (delivered 18 January 1983, published as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet) to survey India's network of term-lending financial institutions and argue for the next stage of their evolution. He traces the institutional architecture that grew up alongside the Five Year Plans — the Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI), the State Financial Corporations (SFCs), the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation (ICICI), IDBI as the apex coordinating body, the Unit Trust of India (UTI), the State Industrial Development Corporations (SIDCs) and the Industrial Reconstruction Corporation (IRCI) — and credits this multiplicity with quickening industrial growth in regions and sectors that earlier capital markets had failed to reach. The lecture's quantitative backbone reports that aggregate term-finance sanctions rose from Rs. 254 crores in 1970-71 to Rs. 3,130 crores in 1981-82, with cumulative sanctions of Rs. 14,916.5 crores catalysing some Rs. 25,500 crores of investment and around 32 lakh new jobs. Against this performance Pai sets the Sixth Plan's funding gap: he estimates that the private corporate sector will need to mobilise Rs. 7,000–8,000 crores from external sources, and that conventional government and bond-market support is constrained by budgetary pressures and a stretched Statutory Liquidity Ratio. His prescriptions push the financial institutions toward a more market-oriented role: tap concessional foreign borrowings while debt-service ratios remain favourable, deepen the secondary market for non-convertible debentures through the LIC-UTI-GIC repurchase scheme, and use convertibility and pricing reforms to revive the primary equity market — without resorting to what entrepreneurs feared as 'back-door nationalisation'. Roughly 41 per cent of cumulative assistance, he reports, has been routed to backward areas, and IDBI is now coordinating Technical Consultancy Organisations to seed industry in the 87 'No Industry Districts'. The lecture closes with a sober note on industrial sickness — an RBI study finding 52 per cent of sick units suffered from management, not financial, deficiencies — and warns against treating institutional finance as a panacea for badly run firms. ## Key points - Frames financial institutions as 'a fulcrum on which the process of economic growth rests heavily', built up alongside the Five Year Plans as a deliberate break with the pre-Plan stagnation. - Maps the institutional ecosystem — IFCI, SFCs, ICICI, IDBI (apex, since 1964), UTI, SIDCs, IRCI — and credits multiplicity with reaching small/medium units and backward regions that earlier markets missed. - Reports aggregate term-finance sanctions rising from Rs. 254 crores (1970-71) to Rs. 3,130 crores (1981-82); cumulative sanctions of Rs. 14,916.5 crores have catalysed an estimated Rs. 25,500 crores of investment and around 32 lakh jobs. - Describes consortium-financing reforms — common appraisal, lead-institution model, single-disbursement window, participation certificates — that have largely eliminated entrepreneurs' fears of dealing with multiple lenders. - Argues that with budget and SLR ceilings constraining domestic public funds, the institutions must lean more on foreign commercial borrowings (debt-service ratio is around 10 per cent) and on a deeper capital market for non-convertible debentures and equity. - Defends the 1980 convertibility guidelines (cap at 40 per cent of share capital, no convertibility under Rs. 1 crore) and explicitly denies that conversion is a 'back-door nationalisation' device — institutions will assume control only in mismanaged or defaulting units. - About 41 per cent (Rs. 5,553 crores) of cumulative assistance has gone to backward-area units; IDBI is using Technical Consultancy Organisations to identify viable projects in the 87 'No Industry Districts'. - Treats industrial sickness as principally a management problem — citing an RBI finding that 52 per cent of sick units fail on management — and resists the idea that finance alone can rescue badly run enterprises. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] ROLE OF FREE ENTERPRISE IN SECOND PLAN URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/role-of-free-enterprise-c-l-gheevala-january-1-1970/ ### Summary C. L. Gheevala's pamphlet, issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay, is a sustained critique of the place assigned to private enterprise in India's Second Five-Year Plan. Writing in the immediate aftermath of the Plan's parliamentary approval and the Industrial Policy Resolution of April 1956, Gheevala argues that the 'socialist pattern of society' enunciated at the Avadi session of the Indian National Congress has hardened into a programme of nationalisation and Public Sector expansion that progressively confines free enterprise to a residual third category of industry. He marshals the Plan's own allocation figures — Rs. 4,800 crores in the public sector against only Rs. 2,400 crores for organised private investment, a ratio of 61:39 — to show how sharply the centre of gravity has shifted from the First Plan's 50:50 balance. Against this, Gheevala mounts a defence of the record of Free Enterprise during the First Plan.… ### Body # ROLE OF FREE ENTERPRISE IN SECOND PLAN *By C. L. Gheevala* ## Summary C. L. Gheevala's pamphlet, issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay, is a sustained critique of the place assigned to private enterprise in India's Second Five-Year Plan. Writing in the immediate aftermath of the Plan's parliamentary approval and the Industrial Policy Resolution of April 1956, Gheevala argues that the 'socialist pattern of society' enunciated at the Avadi session of the Indian National Congress has hardened into a programme of nationalisation and Public Sector expansion that progressively confines free enterprise to a residual third category of industry. He marshals the Plan's own allocation figures — Rs. 4,800 crores in the public sector against only Rs. 2,400 crores for organised private investment, a ratio of 61:39 — to show how sharply the centre of gravity has shifted from the First Plan's 50:50 balance. Against this, Gheevala mounts a defence of the record of Free Enterprise during the First Plan. He credits private industry with carrying 71% of the rise in net output and 90% of the increase in industrial and mining production, despite hostile official rhetoric, an 'inflexible labour legislation' regime, and what he calls a 'climate of distinctness' created by heavy taxation. New industries — bicycles, automobiles, machine tools, non-ferrous alloys, chemicals, ball bearings — emerged from private initiative outside the Plan, and the Indian Tube Company, steel cast foundries and railway-wagon manufacture are cited as cases in point. He singles out the then Minister for Commerce and Industry, Shri T. T. Krishnamachari, whose Madurai remark that 'private enterprise has failed me' Gheevala finds incomprehensible given the World Bank Mission's own favourable assessment and the testimony of the Planning Commission's periodical reports. The pamphlet's deeper argument is political. Gheevala warns that a Public Sector entrusted with the bulk of investible resources will not only crowd out private requirements but will, through nationalisation of Air Transport and Imperial Bank, amendments to Article 31, drastic changes in the Company Law and the establishment of the State Trading Corporation, drift towards 'State Capitalism' and a 'New Despotism'. Quoting the Socialist leader Shri J. B. Kripalani's Lok Sabha speech of 8 September 1956 and R. H. Crossman on the menace of a 'vast centralised State bureaucracy', he insists that the real moral content of socialism is a protest against injustice and inequality, not the construction of a Leviathan that threatens freedom. The closing pages plead for a genuine Mixed Economy of co-existence in which the Private Sector functions under over-all regulation 'without its initiative being smothered or its incentives destroyed', and for Free Enterprise itself to discharge fresh obligations to the community so as to make the Second Plan succeed. ## Key points - The Second Five-Year Plan, shaped by the 'socialist pattern of society' resolved at the Avadi session of the Indian National Congress, has shifted the public-to-private investment ratio from 50:50 in the First Plan to 61:39, with Centre and State outlays of Rs. 4,800 crores against organised private investment of Rs. 2,400 crores. - The Industrial Policy Resolution of April 1956 confines free enterprise to a third, residual category of industries and, in Gheevala's reading, treats private initiative as a stop-gap rather than a partner. - Despite hostile rhetoric, private business carried roughly 90% of the increase in industrial and mining output and 71% of the rise in net output during the First Plan, and pioneered new lines — automobiles, machine tools, non-ferrous alloys, chemicals, ball bearings, the Indian Tube Company's steel tubes — outside the Plan's own schemes. - Gheevala targets Shri T. T. Krishnamachari's Madurai claim that 'private enterprise has failed me', arguing that the World Bank Mission's report and the Planning Commission's own findings flatly contradict the charge. - He identifies a financing gap of nearly Rs. 1,800 crores in the Second Plan and warns that drawing on the 'common reservoir' of savings to feed the Public Sector will leave private requirements starved. - Recent steps — nationalisation of Air Transport and the Imperial Bank, amendments to Article 31 of the Constitution, changes in Life Assurance, the Company Law and the establishment of the State Trading Corporation — are presented as evidence of a drift toward 'State Capitalism' and a 'New Despotism'. - Citing Shri J. B. Kripalani's Lok Sabha speech of 8 September 1956 and R. H. Crossman on the dangers of a 'vast centralised State bureaucracy', Gheevala argues that the moral core of socialism is protest against injustice, not Leviathan-building. - The pamphlet's positive prescription is a genuine Mixed Economy of co-existence, with private enterprise functioning under regulation but with intact incentives, and with Free Enterprise itself accepting new obligations to community welfare to make the Second Plan succeed. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Role of Free Enterprise URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/role-of-free-enterprises-by-sn-haji-october-2-1956/ ### Summary S. N. Haji's short article, reprinted from The Times of India of 2 October 1956 and reissued by the Forum of Free Enterprise, builds a historical case for Indian private enterprise by walking through the survival and revival of the country's modern shipping industry. He argues that shipping is the field in which Indian nationals have given the best account of themselves under free enterprise, despite the deliberate hostility of British policy: Navigation Acts that strangled the older Indian sail and ship-building traditions, a controlling British bureaucracy in the post-sail era, and a foreign-owned coastal fleet propped up by an imperial government. The central narrative is the founding of the Scindia Steam Navigation Company in 1919, which Haji presents as the economic counterpart of the political independence movement.… ### Body # Role of Free Enterprise *By By S. N. HAJI* ## Summary S. N. Haji's short article, reprinted from The Times of India of 2 October 1956 and reissued by the Forum of Free Enterprise, builds a historical case for Indian private enterprise by walking through the survival and revival of the country's modern shipping industry. He argues that shipping is the field in which Indian nationals have given the best account of themselves under free enterprise, despite the deliberate hostility of British policy: Navigation Acts that strangled the older Indian sail and ship-building traditions, a controlling British bureaucracy in the post-sail era, and a foreign-owned coastal fleet propped up by an imperial government. The central narrative is the founding of the Scindia Steam Navigation Company in 1919, which Haji presents as the economic counterpart of the political independence movement. He recounts the practical obstacles confronting its sponsors — Narottam Morarjee, Walchand Hirachand, Lallubhai Samaldas and Kilachand Devchand — including the absence of shipyards, trained crews, marine engineers and repair facilities, and the readiness of the principal British rival to absorb Scindia by buying out its shareholders, an offer the company rejected outright. He then catalogues the rate war and rebate practices used by entrenched British lines to choke off Indian competitors, listing five small Indian companies on the east and west coasts that perished before Scindia's tenacity, backed by the patriotic action of the wider Indian public, broke the British coastal monopoly. Haji closes by tallying what Indian private enterprise has done since the end of the Second World War: new tanker, tramp and liner services in the Persian Gulf and U.K./Continent trades, companies such as the India Steamship of Calcutta, the Bharat Line of Saurashtra and the Great Eastern of Bombay, and the lifting of fleet tonnage from a wartime low of 75,000 gross tons to 500,000 with another 100,000 on order — a figure he highlights as already meeting the First Five-Year Plan's shipping target. The piece thus reads simultaneously as economic history, as nationalist memory, and as a pointed Forum of Free Enterprise tract demonstrating that the Plan's own targets are being met by private capital rather than the state. ## Key points - Frames Indian shipping as the strongest historical proof that Indian nationals can succeed under free enterprise. - Argues that the decline of pre-modern Indian shipping was the result of deliberate British policy — Navigation Acts, denial of steam and iron, and the British bureaucracy's refusal to let an Indian modern marine arise. - Treats the 1919 founding of the Scindia Steam Navigation Company, with Rs. 4.5 crores of paid-up capital, as the economic counterpart of the Indian political independence movement. - Names Narottam Morarjee, Walchand Hirachand, Lallubhai Samaldas and Kilachand Devchand as the sponsors of Scindia and recounts the absence of shipyards, repair shops and trained Indian marine personnel they had to overcome. - Describes how the principal British rival tried to absorb Scindia by buying out shareholders and, when refused, mounted a sustained rate war and rebate system that destroyed five smaller Indian coastal lines. - Reports post-1945 expansion of Indian shipping into tanker, tramp and liner trades, listing India Steamship of Calcutta, Bharat Line of Saurashtra and Great Eastern of Bombay among new entrants. - Quantifies the recovery: fleet tonnage raised from a World War II low of 75,000 gross tons to 500,000, with 100,000 more on order — meeting the First Five-Year Plan target through private effort. - Carries an implicit polemical message — appropriate to a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet in 1956 — that planning targets are being delivered by private capital, not state monopoly. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Rights, Duties & Obligations of Company Directors URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/rights-duties-and-obligations-n-k-petigara-jun10-1964/ ### Summary N. K. Petigara, a Bombay solicitor and authority on company law, delivers a careful exposition of how the legal position of company directors in India had been transformed by the Companies Act 1956, the Companies (Amendment) Act 1963, and the Banking Laws (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1963. He argues that while the duties and obligations of directors have remained substantively unchanged, the rights of directors — particularly the right of management — have been steadily cut down. The recommendations of the Vivian Bose Commission, covering misuse of objects clauses, underwriting commissions, fictitious shareholdings, dummy directors, and inter-company loans, frame much of the new legislation and the booklet's first half catalogues each item the Commission flagged. The central polemical concern of the talk is the displacement of shareholder oversight by Government regulation under the elastic banner of "public interest." Petigara accepts that mismanagement exists and that legislative intervention is sometimes warranted, but he insists that India's institution of corporate enterprise is "extremely limited" relative to the country's industrialisation needs and that an undesirable … ### Body # Rights, Duties & Obligations of Company Directors *By N. K. PETIGARA* ## Summary N. K. Petigara, a Bombay solicitor and authority on company law, delivers a careful exposition of how the legal position of company directors in India had been transformed by the Companies Act 1956, the Companies (Amendment) Act 1963, and the Banking Laws (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1963. He argues that while the duties and obligations of directors have remained substantively unchanged, the rights of directors — particularly the right of management — have been steadily cut down. The recommendations of the Vivian Bose Commission, covering misuse of objects clauses, underwriting commissions, fictitious shareholdings, dummy directors, and inter-company loans, frame much of the new legislation and the booklet's first half catalogues each item the Commission flagged. The central polemical concern of the talk is the displacement of shareholder oversight by Government regulation under the elastic banner of "public interest." Petigara accepts that mismanagement exists and that legislative intervention is sometimes warranted, but he insists that India's institution of corporate enterprise is "extremely limited" relative to the country's industrialisation needs and that an undesirable element exists in every system. He surveys the modern doctrine of directors' fiduciary duties through House of Lords authority (Regal (Hastings) v. Gulliver) and the Allahabad High Court's expansive use of Sections 397 and 398 of the Act in the Haridas Mundhra holding-company litigation, where the court pierced the corporate veil to treat parent and subsidiary as a single business reality. In its closing sections Petigara turns to the new Tribunal and Board of Company Law Administration created by the 1963 amendments, the enhanced supervisory powers granted to the Reserve Bank over bank directors under the Banking Laws (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, and the introduction of Section 388B permitting Government removal of directors. He is sharply critical of the transfer of jurisdiction from the High Courts to administrative tribunals, arguing — as a matter of constitutional principle and despatch — that judicial redress "capable of being corrected" remains preferable to administrative finality. The booklet records a talk delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on January 10, 1964, and is published in their characteristic format as a contribution to public debate on the regulatory direction of Indian company law. ## Key points - Duties and obligations of directors are substantively unchanged by recent legislation; what has been cut down is the right of management. - The Vivian Bose Commission's catalogue of abuses (misuse of objects clauses, underwriting commissions, fictitious or nominee holdings, dummy directors, inter-company loans, asset-stripping in liquidation) drives the recent statutory changes embodied in the Companies (Amendment) Act 1963. - Petigara's central worry is the elastic concept of "public interest," under which regulatory power is handed to Government agencies rather than left with shareholders — a notion "definitely something much wider than the interest of the shareholders." - He defends the existence and growth of large limited companies as the only mechanism capable of mobilising the finance and resources required for industrialising India. - The fiduciary standard summarised through Lord Russell's dictum in Regal (Hastings) Ltd. v. Gulliver and the treatise of Baker and Cury frames the discussion of directors as agents, trustees and officers held to "the extreme measure of candour, unselfishness and goodwill." - The Allahabad High Court's decision in the Life Insurance Corporation v. Haridas Mundhra litigation is treated as a major doctrinal development: courts may treat parent and subsidiary as a single enterprise and hold a holding company's directors liable for subsidiary losses caused by misfeasance. - Petigara is openly critical of the new Tribunal and the Board of Company Law Administration replacing the Company Law Department; he sees the ouster of High Court jurisdiction in favour of administrative tribunals as constitutionally regressive. - Enhanced Reserve Bank powers over banking-company directors under the Banking Laws (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1963 — including appointment, removal, and the new Section 388B Central Government removal power — are presented as further restrictions on directors' rights. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Role of Intellectuals in Public Life URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/role-of-intellectuals-in-public-life-prof-p-g-mavalankar-october-1979/ ### Summary This booklet reproduces the 14th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by Prof. P. G. Mavalankar under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 30th October 1979. Opening with a tribute to A. D. Shroff as a rare individual whose clarity of thought, hard work and vision made him an effective crusader on the National Planning Committee and the Bombay Plan, Mavalankar argues that the real Shroff legacy is the discipline of expressing one's views firmly, without waiting for authority's permission. He insists, against the prevailing Indian habit, that public life is far vaster than political life — and that India's tragedy is the conflation of the two, which has polluted public life with the venalities of party politics. Mavalankar then anatomises the intellectual. Drawing on Pericles, Lincoln, Mao Tse-Tung, J. S.… ### Body # Role of Intellectuals in Public Life *By Prof. P. G. Mavalankar* ## Summary This booklet reproduces the 14th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by Prof. P. G. Mavalankar under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 30th October 1979. Opening with a tribute to A. D. Shroff as a rare individual whose clarity of thought, hard work and vision made him an effective crusader on the National Planning Committee and the Bombay Plan, Mavalankar argues that the real Shroff legacy is the discipline of expressing one's views firmly, without waiting for authority's permission. He insists, against the prevailing Indian habit, that public life is far vaster than political life — and that India's tragedy is the conflation of the two, which has polluted public life with the venalities of party politics. Mavalankar then anatomises the intellectual. Drawing on Pericles, Lincoln, Mao Tse-Tung, J. S. Mill, Adlai Stevenson, Tagore, Einstein and Gandhi, he sketches the intellectual as a rare commodity who thrives only in a climate of liberty: intelligent but not clever, sane but not sullen, idealist but not romanticist; possessed of imagination, integrity, independence and incorruptibility; vigilant, single-minded, a championing 'live-wire' even for lost causes. He distinguishes intellectuals from the wider intelligentsia, warns against 'pseudo-intellectuals' and 'fake intellectuals', and dwells at length on the duty to 'go alone' on grounds of conscience, citing Gandhi's reply to Julian Huxley that the inseparability of rights and duties is best taught by an illiterate mother. The second half traces the concept of public life from the ganatantras of pre-Buddhist India and the street-corner Socratic assembly of Athens through Lord Bryce's 'Ideal Democracy' to Gopal Krishna Gokhale's 1910 dictum that 'our public life is weak, because our public spirit is weak'. Against this backdrop Mavalankar indicts the thirty-two years since Independence as a slow erosion in which educated classes have drifted into 'Yesmanship' and a cosy proximity to the Establishment — a weakness most cruelly exposed during the Emergency of 1975-77, when intellectuals failed to show the courage of their convictions. His prescription is unambiguous: intellectuals must serve as catalyst for change and as non-conformist critic, ready to stand for elective office, willing to live dangerously, and committed to freedom of thought and expression as the means of toning up public life. He closes by holding up Jayaprakash Narayan's life of dynamism, daring and dedication as the model Indian intellectuals must follow if they are not to fail the country or their own conscience. ## Key points - Frames the lecture as a memorial tribute to A. D. Shroff (1899-1965), founder of the Forum of Free Enterprise, and to his insistence on expressing views frankly regardless of authority. - Argues a sharp distinction between 'public life' (broader, ideal-bearing) and 'political life' (party-bound) and warns that India is dangerously conflating the two. - Defines the intellectual through a series of paradoxical pairings (intelligent but not clever, sane but not sullen, idealist but not romanticist) and four essential qualities: imagination, integrity, independence and incorruptibility. - Distinguishes true intellectuals (rare, principled, willing to 'go alone') from a wider intelligentsia and from 'pseudo-' or 'fake' intellectuals. - Traces the concept of public life through ancient Greece (Socratic assembly), pre-Buddhist Indian ganatantras, Lord Bryce's Ideal Democracy, and Gokhale's 1910 lecture on public spirit. - Reads the Emergency of 1975-77 as evidence that the educated classes lack the courage of their convictions and have drifted into 'Yesmanship' alongside the Establishment. - Prescribes a dual role for intellectuals — catalyst for change and non-conformist critic — including willingness to stand for elective office and to 'live dangerously'. - Holds up Jayaprakash Narayan as the inspiring contemporary model of dynamism, daring and dedication that Indian intellectuals must emulate. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Role of Life Insurance in National Economy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/role-of-life-insurance-in-national-economy-mr-era-sezhiyan-october-28-1985/ ### Summary Era Sezhiyan's 1985 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered in Bombay on 26 April 1985 and published by the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust, evaluates the record of nationalised life insurance in India three decades after the 1956 nationalisation. Drawing on his work as Chairman of the LIC Review Committee (1979–80) and his long parliamentary career, Sezhiyan organises his argument around three planks: the benefit of life insurance for individuals and the country, the objectives and performance of the nationalised industry, and the attitude of the Government with concrete suggestions for improvement. The early sections explain how life insurance evolved from short-term risk cover into long-term endowment plans that bundle savings with risk protection, and then situate insurance within India's anaemic social-welfare provision.… ### Body # Role of Life Insurance in National Economy *By ERA SEZHIYAN* ## Summary Era Sezhiyan's 1985 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered in Bombay on 26 April 1985 and published by the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust, evaluates the record of nationalised life insurance in India three decades after the 1956 nationalisation. Drawing on his work as Chairman of the LIC Review Committee (1979–80) and his long parliamentary career, Sezhiyan organises his argument around three planks: the benefit of life insurance for individuals and the country, the objectives and performance of the nationalised industry, and the attitude of the Government with concrete suggestions for improvement. The early sections explain how life insurance evolved from short-term risk cover into long-term endowment plans that bundle savings with risk protection, and then situate insurance within India's anaemic social-welfare provision. Citing the World Bank's World Development Report (1984), Sezhiyan notes that India devotes only 4.2 per cent of central government expenditure to social welfare against 30–60 per cent in countries with twenty to fifty times its per-capita GNP, and argues that life insurance therefore has a heightened role to play in providing security to the "teeming millions of disadvantaged people". A detailed chronology of life insurance in India — from the Oriental Life Assurance Co. (1818) through the Insurance Acts of 1912, 1928 and 1938 to the 1956 nationalisation — is anchored by long quotations from C. D. Deshmukh's broadcast and his speech moving the Life Insurance (Emergency Provisions) Bill, in which the Finance Minister framed nationalisation as a vehicle for "more effective mobilisation of the people's savings". Sezhiyan accepts this premise but proceeds, in the "Progress of Nationalised Insurance" and "Failure to Mobilise" sections, to set the LIC's headline successes (premium income growing from Rs. 278 crore in 1957 to an estimated Rs. 5,500 crore in 1984-85; life fund rising from Rs. 409 crore to Rs. 9,800 crore) against a damning record on its stated objectives. In the rendered pages he documents a decline in the rural share of new business from 38.5 per cent (1963) to 35.1 per cent (1984); a 41.41 per cent lapse-and-surrender ratio in 1983-84; an unstable agency cadre in which roughly 45,000 agents leave each year; and, most strikingly, a fall in life insurance's share of household financial savings from 10.6 per cent in 1970-71 to 7.3 per cent in 1983-84 even as bank deposits rose from 41.3 to 46.6 per cent. Sezhiyan, declaring himself a supporter of nationalisation in principle, indicts the "ineptitude of the management and the inexcusable negligence of the Government" for defeating LIC's social and financial mandate. The chunk ends mid-discussion of the structural reasons why nationalised insurance cannot compete with other savings instruments. ## Key points - Sezhiyan delivers the 1985 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture organised around three questions: benefits of life insurance, the LIC's performance, and the Government's attitude — drawing on his chairmanship of the LIC Review Committee (1979–80). - He explains the evolution of life insurance from short-term risk cover to the with-profit Endowment Assurance, whose premium has four components — savings, risk, expenses, and bonus loading — illustrated with an actuarial breakdown of a 20-year policy issued at entry age 30. - Citing the World Bank's World Development Report (1984), he contrasts India's 4.2 per cent of central expenditure on social welfare with 29–60 per cent in Australia, Canada, West Germany, the USA and Switzerland, arguing this leaves insurance with a disproportionate burden of providing security. - He chronicles regulatory history from the Oriental Life Assurance Co. (1818) through the Acts of 1912, 1928 and 1938 to nationalisation in 1956, anchored by Finance Minister C. D. Deshmukh's articulation of nationalisation as a tool for mobilising household savings. - Headline LIC growth figures are recited — new business from Rs. 278 crore (1957) to an estimated Rs. 5,500 crore (1984-85); business-in-force from Rs. 1,374 crore to Rs. 30,266 crore; life fund from Rs. 409 crore to Rs. 9,800 crore. - Against these, Sezhiyan documents failures: the rural share of new business has slipped from 38.5 per cent (1963) to 35.1 per cent (1984); only 2.3 per cent of the self-employed and under 10 per cent of insurable males are covered; lapses and surrenders ran at 41.41 per cent in 1983-84. - Despite endorsing nationalisation in principle, he calls out "the ineptitude of the management and the inexcusable negligence of the Government" as threatening to defeat the very purpose of LIC. - He demonstrates the failure to mobilise savings: life insurance's share of household financial savings has fallen from 10.6 per cent in 1970-71 to 7.3 per cent in 1983-84, while bank and non-bank deposits rose from 41.3 to 46.6 per cent in the same period. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] ROLE OF MANAGEMENT IN PRODUCTIVITY MOVEMENT URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/role-of-management-in-productive-movement-s-anantharamakrishnan-october-7-1960/ ### Summary S. Anantharamakrishnan's pamphlet reproduces the text of a speech delivered in Madras under the auspices of the Madras Productivity Council on June 28, 1960, and reissued by the Forum of Free Enterprise. He frames productivity as a national-development imperative: with capital, foreign exchange, plant, and trained manpower all in acutely short supply, and the country's population projected at 527 million by 1971, India cannot afford to multiply plants before extracting the maximum output from those already running. Productivity, he insists, is no longer 'ivory-tower speculation' but a 'new way of life' in industry. The core argument is that responsibility for the productivity drive sits with three parties — Government, employers, and workers — but the operative burden falls on management. Anantharamakrishnan rejects the common reflex of equating productivity with labour productivity alone, calling it 'basically wrong'.… ### Body # ROLE OF MANAGEMENT IN PRODUCTIVITY MOVEMENT *By S. ANANTHARAMAKRISHNAN* ## Summary S. Anantharamakrishnan's pamphlet reproduces the text of a speech delivered in Madras under the auspices of the Madras Productivity Council on June 28, 1960, and reissued by the Forum of Free Enterprise. He frames productivity as a national-development imperative: with capital, foreign exchange, plant, and trained manpower all in acutely short supply, and the country's population projected at 527 million by 1971, India cannot afford to multiply plants before extracting the maximum output from those already running. Productivity, he insists, is no longer 'ivory-tower speculation' but a 'new way of life' in industry. The core argument is that responsibility for the productivity drive sits with three parties — Government, employers, and workers — but the operative burden falls on management. Anantharamakrishnan rejects the common reflex of equating productivity with labour productivity alone, calling it 'basically wrong'. He lays out seven cardinal requirements of modern industrial management — scientific methods, productivity techniques, good industrial relations, sound personnel policy, effective communication, fair sharing of productivity gains, and industrial research — and devotes successive sections to each. Management, he argues, is no longer an inherited family interest but a profession that must be taught and learnt; supervisory and middle-management training are the structural backbone of any productivity drive. On industrial relations he leans heavily on documents from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and ILO expert committees: workers must be assured a share of productivity gains — through higher wages, lower prices, shorter hours or better conditions — and the precise form is a matter for collective bargaining. He acknowledges that India's 'multiplicity of trade unions in one industry' is a 'bane' to joint consultation, and points to the United Kingdom's last decade as a hopeful counter-example. The booklet closes with the formulation that productivity becomes 'a measure of managerial efficiency', and the publication is bookended by epigraphs from Eugene Black of the World Bank ('People must come to accept private enterprise not as a necessary evil, but as an affirmative good') and A. D. Shroff ('Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives') — Forum of Free Enterprise framing that locates the speech within its broader liberal-economic agenda. ## Key points - Productivity Movement in India is only two years old (1960) and is positioned as an instrument of national development at a moment of capital, foreign-exchange and manpower scarcity. - Cites Planning Commission estimate of 1.91% annual population growth and a projected 527 million Indians by 1971 to argue against expanding plant before fully utilising existing capacity. - Rejects the equation of productivity with labour productivity alone — calls focusing 'all attention on the worker' basically wrong and shifts the spotlight onto managerial competence. - Enumerates seven cardinal requirements of modern industrial management: scientific methods, productivity techniques, industrial relations, personnel policy, communication, sharing of gains, and research. - Argues that management has shifted from an inherited family interest to a learned profession requiring formal training, with middle-management and supervisors as 'the backbone of the industry'. - On sharing of productivity gains, defers to ILO expert-committee reasoning that the share can take the form of higher wages, lower prices, shorter hours or better working conditions — to be settled by collective bargaining. - Diagnoses India's 'multiplicity of trade unions in one industry' as the principal bane of joint consultation, while invoking the United Kingdom's last ten years as evidence that co-operation can work. - Closes by reframing productivity as 'a measure of managerial efficiency', and the Forum of Free Enterprise brackets the speech with Eugene Black and A. D. Shroff epigraphs defending private enterprise. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] ROLE OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/role-of-private-enterprises-by-thakorelal-m-desai-september-4-1956/ ### Summary Thakorelal M. Desai's article, reprinted from The Times of India of 4 September 1956 and circulated as a pamphlet by the Forum of Free Enterprise, mounts a point-by-point defence of Indian private enterprise against what Desai describes as a sustained but largely unjustified campaign by politicians and public men. The immediate provocation is a speech delivered by T. T. Krishnamachari, then Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, at the Madura-Ramnad Chamber of Commerce on 5 August 1956. Krishnamachari had levelled two allegations: that private enterprise had failed to meet the production targets set under the First Plan, and that it had shown no initiative in building new industries. Desai notes that J. R. D. Tata, as Chairman of the Tata Iron and Steel Company, had already rejected the charge in general terms, but argues that a documented rejoinder grounded in fact has become indispensable. The core of the article is an inventory of the actual record.… ### Body # ROLE OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISE *By By THAKORELAL M. DESAI* ## Summary Thakorelal M. Desai's article, reprinted from The Times of India of 4 September 1956 and circulated as a pamphlet by the Forum of Free Enterprise, mounts a point-by-point defence of Indian private enterprise against what Desai describes as a sustained but largely unjustified campaign by politicians and public men. The immediate provocation is a speech delivered by T. T. Krishnamachari, then Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, at the Madura-Ramnad Chamber of Commerce on 5 August 1956. Krishnamachari had levelled two allegations: that private enterprise had failed to meet the production targets set under the First Plan, and that it had shown no initiative in building new industries. Desai notes that J. R. D. Tata, as Chairman of the Tata Iron and Steel Company, had already rejected the charge in general terms, but argues that a documented rejoinder grounded in fact has become indispensable. The core of the article is an inventory of the actual record. Desai lists sectors — bicycles, grinding wheels, non-ferrous alloys, ship-building, automobiles, machine tools, chemicals, belting, abrasives, ball-bearings and piston rings — and argues that almost every new line of industrial development absorbed by the First Plan grew out of schemes private enterprise had itself formulated; the Government's role was to approve and accept what industry had already conceived. He invokes the Planning Commission's own admission that investment in the public sector fell short by nearly 40 per cent of its target, with only Rs. 47 crores invested against an expected Rs. 94 crores, while a substantial number of industries — bicycles, caustic soda, paper, vegetable oils, electric transformers — either fulfilled or over-fulfilled their targets in the private sector. He cites the World Bank Mission's finding that Indian business is "definitely expansion minded", and walks through the long history in which the Tariff Commission and Government repeatedly rejected Tata Iron and Steel Company's proposals to expand capacity between 1949 and 1953, and ultimately turned down its offer to build the Durgapur plant. The pamphlet's closing argument shifts from defence to indictment of the policy environment. Desai insists that the apparent under-performance of private enterprise cannot be separated from a regime of taxation, restrictions on returns to investors, and discretionary controls that he says deter risk capital. He calls upon the Forum of Free Enterprise to prepare and publish a detailed, documented rejoinder educating public opinion on the fundamentals of free enterprise, and ends with a rhetorical flourish that captures the whole essay's frame: that blaming industry for failing to deliver while binding it in restrictions is "like tying up a man in knots and blaming him for not sprinting". ## Key points - Article reprinted from The Times of India, 4 September 1956, and circulated as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet from Sohrab House, Bombay. - Direct rebuttal to T. T. Krishnamachari's 5 August 1956 speech at the Madura-Ramnad Chamber of Commerce, which alleged that private enterprise had not met First Plan production targets and had shown no initiative in starting new industries. - Cites J. R. D. Tata's recent TISCO chairman's address as a first, generalised rejection of the indictment, and laments that no other industry body had yet stepped forward to defend its raison d'etre. - Lists specific industrial sectors — bicycles, grinding wheels, non-ferrous alloys, ship-building, automobiles, machine tools, chemicals, belting, abrasives, ball-bearings, piston rings — to argue that First Plan industrial development originated in schemes private enterprise had already formulated. - Invokes the Planning Commission's own report showing public-sector investment fell nearly 40 per cent short of target (Rs. 47 crores against Rs. 94 crores expected), while private-sector targets in many industries were fulfilled or over-fulfilled. - Quotes the World Bank Mission's finding that Indian private business is "definitely expansion minded" and that a substantial increase in investment is currently taking place. - Traces the Tariff Commission's repeated rejection of Tata Iron and Steel Company expansion proposals from 1949 through 1953, and the Government's later refusal to permit private enterprise to establish the Durgapur steel plant. - Calls on the Forum of Free Enterprise to issue a documented rejoinder educating public opinion on the fundamentals of free enterprise, and frames the underlying complaint as one of regulatory and fiscal constraint rather than entrepreneurial failure. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Role of Technology in Enhancing Quality of Customer Service in Banks URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/role-of-technology-in-enhancing-of-customer-service-in-banks-m-d-mallya-june-5-2009/ ### Summary M. D. Mallya, then Chairman and Managing Director of Bank of Baroda, uses this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet — the text of his Chief Guest address at the Fifth M.R. Pai Memorial Award function in Mumbai on 30th June 2009 — to argue that information and communication technology has become the central enabler of quality customer service in Indian banking. He frames customer confidence as the foundation of any banking system and identifies three dimensions of service quality: accessibility (branch and virtual presence), a wide range of liability and asset products, and the human element of processing and delivery. The address traces an arc from the pre-Independence private banking system through the 1935 founding of the Reserve Bank of India, the 1969 and 1980 waves of nationalisation, and the post-1991 Narasimham Committee reforms that opened the field to new-generation private and foreign banks.… ### Body # Role of Technology in Enhancing Quality of Customer Service in Banks *By M.D. Mallya* ## Summary M. D. Mallya, then Chairman and Managing Director of Bank of Baroda, uses this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet — the text of his Chief Guest address at the Fifth M.R. Pai Memorial Award function in Mumbai on 30th June 2009 — to argue that information and communication technology has become the central enabler of quality customer service in Indian banking. He frames customer confidence as the foundation of any banking system and identifies three dimensions of service quality: accessibility (branch and virtual presence), a wide range of liability and asset products, and the human element of processing and delivery. The address traces an arc from the pre-Independence private banking system through the 1935 founding of the Reserve Bank of India, the 1969 and 1980 waves of nationalisation, and the post-1991 Narasimham Committee reforms that opened the field to new-generation private and foreign banks. Mallya documents how competition pushed Public Sector Banks to lift their delivery models — citing CAGR figures for deposit growth, Deposit-to-GDP rising to 67.8% by FY08, the migration to Core Banking Solutions (67% of branches), the spread of around 35,000 off-site ATMs, the IDRBT-built INFINET, and newer rails such as RTGS, NEFT, ECS, NFS and Cheque Truncation. He explains how Core Banking turns the branch customer into a customer of the bank as a whole, and surveys benefits including anywhere/anytime banking, MIS-driven customisation, and remote back-office automation. The second half of the booklet takes up unfinished business: financial inclusion in a country where most villagers still bank with indigenous moneylenders; the need for low-cost, multilingual, energy-light and biometric ATM solutions; the integration challenges of obsolescence, security, phishing, and the cost asymmetry between manual (Rs. 45–50) and electronic (Rs. 15 ATM, Rs. 4 e-banking) transactions; and the rising customer expectations created by globalisation. Mallya closes by inviting his audience to become partners in spreading e-banking literacy and by insisting that even as Customer Relationship Management, smart-card mobile wallets and call-centre video banking arrive, the value of personal relationship will continue to outweigh the computer — banks, he says, must deliver the right blend of both. ## Key points - Customer confidence is presented as the foundation of any banking system, with service quality decomposed into accessibility, product range, and the human element. - Mallya narrates the evolution of Indian banking through the 1935 RBI Act, the 1969 and 1980 nationalisations, the 1991 Narasimham Committee reforms, and the entry of new-generation private and foreign banks. - Quantitative evidence anchors the argument: PSBs hold 72.6% of SCB advances (March 2008), deposits grew at 19.6% CAGR FY03–FY08, and Deposit/GDP rose to 67.8% by FY08. - Core Banking Solutions, present in 67% of branches with about 35,000 off-site ATMs, are framed as a centralisation that makes each account-holder a customer of the bank rather than of a single branch. - Payment and settlement infrastructure — INFINET, RTGS, NEFT, ECS, NFS, Cheque Truncation, and CCIL platforms — is surveyed as the plumbing behind anywhere-anytime banking. - Financial inclusion is identified as the unfinished agenda: indigenous moneylenders still dominate villages, and low-cost multilingual biometric ATMs, business correspondents and mobile banking are proposed remedies. - Transaction-cost economics drives the case for migration: manual transactions cost Rs. 45–50 against Rs. 15 for ATM and Rs. 4 for e-banking, but only volume can amortise the technology investment. - Mallya warns that integration risks — obsolescence, hacking, phishing, data integrity, vendor alignment — are operational hazards that must be addressed alongside customer education, and that personal relationship will remain more valuable than computer-driven service. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME—TWO VIEWS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/rural-employment-guarantee-scheme-two-reviews-gangadhar-gadgil-n-g-abhyankar-15-august-1975/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet records two opposing addresses delivered at a Bombay symposium on 28 April 1975 assessing the Maharashtra Government's Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS), the precursor to what would later become India's national rural employment-guarantee policy. The editors frame the volume as a public-education exercise: one speaker, the economist Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil (then Economic Adviser to the Apte Group of Industries), argues that the EGS is a 'welcome and revolutionary measure' that gives concrete content to the Article 41 right to work and channels resources to the poorest rural strata. The other, N. G. Abhyankar, I.A.S. (Retd.), a former Development Commissioner and Finance Secretary of Maharashtra (then Executive Director of the All-India Manufacturers' Organisation), argues the Scheme is a costly diversion of scarce resources toward 'totally unproductive ends' and indistinguishable from earlier scarcity-relief programmes. The two essays appear back to back under a common title and are aimed at students of economics, administrators and policymakers. ### Body # RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME—TWO VIEWS ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet records two opposing addresses delivered at a Bombay symposium on 28 April 1975 assessing the Maharashtra Government's Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS), the precursor to what would later become India's national rural employment-guarantee policy. The editors frame the volume as a public-education exercise: one speaker, the economist Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil (then Economic Adviser to the Apte Group of Industries), argues that the EGS is a 'welcome and revolutionary measure' that gives concrete content to the Article 41 right to work and channels resources to the poorest rural strata. The other, N. G. Abhyankar, I.A.S. (Retd.), a former Development Commissioner and Finance Secretary of Maharashtra (then Executive Director of the All-India Manufacturers' Organisation), argues the Scheme is a costly diversion of scarce resources toward 'totally unproductive ends' and indistinguishable from earlier scarcity-relief programmes. The two essays appear back to back under a common title and are aimed at students of economics, administrators and policymakers. ## Essays ### I — A WELCOME MEASURE *By Prof. GANGADHAR GADGIL* Gadgil's address ('A Welcome Measure') concedes the EGS's limitations but treats it as a 'welcome and revolutionary' attempt to honour the directive principle in Article 41 of the Constitution. He traces the Scheme's growth from a Rs. 10 crore experiment in 1972 to a Rs. 50 crore programme covering rural areas and 'C'-class municipal towns, and defends its targeting logic: keeping employment rural prevents distress migration to large cities where the social cost of maintaining the unemployed is higher. He answers the standard criticisms one by one — that 'Kulaks' will obstruct it, that landlords will capture the assets, that the new cesses fall on the small salaried class, that the financial cost is understated — by arguing the surcharges are progressive within their limits, the big farmers already bear over 75 per cent of indirect taxes, and Rs. 50 crores is under 5 per cent of Maharashtra's budget. The bulk of the essay is constructive: he urges that works be done through co-operatives of small and marginal farmers and landless labourers rather than left as wage-doles, that some afforestation, percolation tanks and Khar-land bunding be designed to yield monetary returns, that administrative machinery be radically reformed (he cites his visit to the Konkan's Chiplun area, where the Koyna's water runs to waste), and — most provocatively — that participation be tied to compulsory vasectomy for those with two or more children and to literacy camps for workers' children. He closes by warning that the Scheme will either be 'the harbinger of a great social and economic revolution' or 'another avenue of waste, corruption, inflation and frustration', depending entirely on implementation. - Frames the EGS as the first serious institutional attempt to redeem the Article 41 directive on the right to work. - Defends confining the Scheme to rural and small-town areas because urban social-maintenance costs are higher and large cities already draw inter-state migrants. - Rebuts the charge that the cess on incomes above Rs. 400/month is regressive by arguing that the salaried already bear heavy indirect taxes. - Estimates the true unemployment-coverage cost at Rs. 150 crores (against the Rs. 50 crore programme), citing Professor Dandekar and Rath's earlier work. - Proposes that wage-works be organised through co-operatives of small farmers and landless labourers so the assets created (afforestation, percolation tanks, Khar-land bunding) generate monetary returns. - Calls for a 'revolution in administration' to fix the multiplicity of agencies that frustrate rural development. - Urges that EGS employment be tied to family planning (vasectomy for workers with two or more children) and to literacy classes for workers' children at camps. ### II — DIVERSION OF SCARCE RESOURCES *By N. G. Abhyankar I.A.S. (Retd.)* Abhyankar's address ('Diversion of Scarce Resources') is a closely argued administrative critique from a former Development Commissioner of Maharashtra. He stresses that the EGS is not a general employment guarantee but specifically a guarantee of non-agricultural work in the rural areas, and that the Centre and Planning Commission have so far refused to share its cost on a 50:50 basis. He organises his argument around five questions — whether the Scheme is genuinely path-breaking, whether its works produce durable assets, whether it amounts to a permanent scarcity-relief programme, whether it degenerates into 'digging holes and filling them up again', and whether the diversion of funds is justified. On the employment side, he argues that the types of works on the State's approved list — open wells, percolation tanks, contour-bunds, rural roads — have low labour-absorption per rupee and demand skilled (not unskilled) labour for completion; only contour-bunding, which the Agricultural Refinance Corporation's own field study found to add 'nil' productivity in Maharashtra, can absorb large numbers. He marshals the experience of the 1969-72 scarcity-relief programmes to show that such rural roads typically washed away in the next monsoon, and that absent advance engineering, geological and groundwater surveys, well-construction targets produced 'holes without water'. On the administrative side, he contrasts the firm schedules and engineering discipline of normal Plan works with the EGS's open-ended, voluntary, district-collector-driven model, in which 'powerfully entrenched local vested interests' rather than need would dictate which works got started — citing the routine paving of roads in front of municipal chairpersons' houses. He concludes (in the pages seen) that the EGS is in essence a permanent scarcity-relief programme that cannot be justified district-by-district when prosperous areas like Sangli, Kolhapur, Nanded and Jalgaon are included alongside Bhir and Osmanabad. - Insists the EGS is a rural non-agricultural employment guarantee, not a general one — and that the Centre and Planning Commission have refused 50:50 cost-sharing. - Frames the inquiry around five critical questions, including whether the Scheme degenerates into 'digging holes and filling them up' and whether diversion of funds is justified. - Argues the approved works (open wells, percolation tanks, storage tanks, rural roads) have low unskilled-labour absorption and depend on skilled engineering labour for completion. - Cites the Agricultural Refinance Corporation's field study finding that Maharashtra's Rs. 60 crore contour-bunding programme since 1952 produced 'nil' increase in agricultural productivity over much of the sample. - Uses the 1969-72 scarcity-relief experience to show rural roads constructed under such programmes vanished with the next monsoon and well-targets produced 'holes without water'. - Contrasts firm Plan-programme schedules and engineering discipline with the EGS's open-ended, voluntary, collector-driven model captured by local vested interests. - Argues that universal district-wise allotment cannot be reconciled with the genuine needs of varied districts, citing the prosperous diversified agriculture of Sangli, Kolhapur, Nanded and Jalgaon. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Safety and Efficiency in Indian Railways URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/safety-and-efficiency-in-indian-railways-b-s-d-baliga-august-14-1982/ ### Summary B. S. D. Baliga, a former Chairman of the Railway Board, delivered this lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 10 May 1982. The pamphlet sketches the historical arc of Indian Railways from their 1853 origin as a vehicle for British import-export trade through the post-Independence consolidation of rates, wages, and through-traffic, and then turns to the operational and political pressures the system faces in the 1980s. Baliga argues that the network has handled vastly more traffic since 1947 with broadly improved freight efficiency, but that ageing rolling stock, chronic underfunding, and over-staffing have eroded passenger service quality and stretched safety margins. The core diagnosis is twofold. First, the Railways are starved of capital: the Planning Commission has allotted only half the Sixth Plan demand, the Depreciation Fund has been chronically under-provided, dividends are paid on a never-revalued book capital, and political reluctance to raise rates and fares since 1967 has driven the system into the red.… ### Body # Safety and Efficiency in Indian Railways *By B. S. D. Baliga* ## Summary B. S. D. Baliga, a former Chairman of the Railway Board, delivered this lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 10 May 1982. The pamphlet sketches the historical arc of Indian Railways from their 1853 origin as a vehicle for British import-export trade through the post-Independence consolidation of rates, wages, and through-traffic, and then turns to the operational and political pressures the system faces in the 1980s. Baliga argues that the network has handled vastly more traffic since 1947 with broadly improved freight efficiency, but that ageing rolling stock, chronic underfunding, and over-staffing have eroded passenger service quality and stretched safety margins. The core diagnosis is twofold. First, the Railways are starved of capital: the Planning Commission has allotted only half the Sixth Plan demand, the Depreciation Fund has been chronically under-provided, dividends are paid on a never-revalued book capital, and political reluctance to raise rates and fares since 1967 has driven the system into the red. Second, the workforce has doubled beyond traffic needs, leave reserves, absenteeism, and an anti-management mood within trade unions make discipline and mechanisation hard to enforce. Baliga reads safety statistics — collisions and derailments mostly attributable to staff failure, the 1981-82 spike in fatalities including a 270-death NE Railway accident — as evidence that discipline and managerial autonomy must be restored. Against this background, Baliga's prescriptive frame is a classical-liberal one tuned to a state monopoly: he wants the Railways insulated from populism, freed to raise resources internally without Planning Commission ceilings, audited by a technical body modelled on Japan's Director of Technical Audit or the US Inter-State Commerce Commission, and protected from political demands for uneconomic branch lines built to satisfy regional egos. He defends rail's irreplaceable role in bulk and long-distance traffic for a populous, capital-scarce country, but insists that hilly and light-traffic areas are better served by roads, and that travel concessions and non-essential travel should be trimmed. The closing argument is blunt: only business methods, far-sighted pricing, and freedom from political pressure can give Indian Railways an efficient, economical, and safe future. ## Key points - Indian Railways began in 1853 as British capital under a guaranteed-return scheme, with lines built inland from Calcutta, Bombay and Madras to serve import-export trade. - Post-1947 standardisation of rates, fares, wages and the telescopic system for through distance brought network-wide benefits, but staff strength has roughly doubled beyond traffic needs. - Freight performance has improved markedly — originating loading reached 220 million tonnes in 1981-82, wagon turn-around fell to 13.5 days, and net tonne-km per wagon capacity rose 35% from 1950-51, second only to Japanese Railways. - Passenger services have deteriorated in punctuality, cleanliness, catering and reservations; trains run with about 1,600 fewer coaches than required due to stock shortages. - Accidents rose from 780 in 1976-77 to 956 in the first ten months of 1981-82, with staff failure responsible for 97% of collisions and 45% of derailments; safety drives are now lowering the trend. - The Railways have been in the red since 1967 because political reluctance to revise rates and fares has left Depreciation Fund contributions and maintenance allotments inadequate against inflation. - Baliga calls for a Director of Technical Audit on the Japanese model, freedom from Planning Commission ceilings on internal resource-raising, and revaluation of the capital base for dividend purposes. - He warns that politicalisation and populism — uneconomic branch lines, peak-period over-crowding, ego-driven low-traffic routes — threaten the very survival of the Railways and must be replaced by business methods. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] समस्याएँ भारत की URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/samasyayen-bharat-ki/ ### Summary Samasyāẽ Bhārat Kī (समस्याएँ भारत की, 'India's Problems') is a Hindi-language collection of essays by Sharad Joshi, the founder of Shetkari Sanghatana, translated and compiled from his Marathi and English journalism of 1980–1988 and published by Shetkari Prakashan in 1988. In the rendered pages (covering the first four complete essays and the opening pages of essays five and six), Joshi develops a sustained argument that independent India has merely replaced white English rulers with brown English rulers — a westernised, urban administrative class that perpetuates the same colonial extraction of agricultural surplus that the British practised. The central claim, repeated across essays, is that the poverty of Indian cities and the misery of rural India are both downstream of a single cause: the systematic underpricing of agricultural produce by a state whose instincts and educational formation remain colonial. In the rendered pages Joshi argues that conventional economics, whether capitalist or socialist in orientation, treats farming as merely a source of raw material and cheap labour for industry, and that this foundational error drives all flawed policy.… ### Body ## Summary Samasyāẽ Bhārat Kī (समस्याएँ भारत की, 'India's Problems') is a Hindi-language collection of essays by Sharad Joshi, the founder of Shetkari Sanghatana, translated and compiled from his Marathi and English journalism of 1980–1988 and published by Shetkari Prakashan in 1988. In the rendered pages (covering the first four complete essays and the opening pages of essays five and six), Joshi develops a sustained argument that independent India has merely replaced white English rulers with brown English rulers — a westernised, urban administrative class that perpetuates the same colonial extraction of agricultural surplus that the British practised. The central claim, repeated across essays, is that the poverty of Indian cities and the misery of rural India are both downstream of a single cause: the systematic underpricing of agricultural produce by a state whose instincts and educational formation remain colonial. In the rendered pages Joshi argues that conventional economics, whether capitalist or socialist in orientation, treats farming as merely a source of raw material and cheap labour for industry, and that this foundational error drives all flawed policy. Essay 2 ('New Light on the Prevailing Economy') extends this critique into a macro-economic framework, showing that the Marxist and mainstream development-economics traditions alike treat agriculture as subordinate to industry, thereby legitimising the continued suppression of farm prices. Essay 3 ('Is India Truly Free?') historicises the argument, contending that the concept of freedom that animated anti-colonial struggles — associated with figures such as Maharana Pratap and Shivaji — was appropriated by urban nationalists after 1947 and turned into a tool of continued rural subjugation. Joshi argues that the Agricultural Price Commission (established partly on the recommendations of a 1965 committee chaired by T.T. Krishnamachari) is structurally incapable of ensuring remunerative prices because its mandate is to keep urban food prices and industrial wage-costs low, not to protect the farmer. The opening pages of essay 6 in the rendered chunk turn to the critics of Shetkari Sanghatana, addressing the charge that its farm-price demand is economically illiterate. Joshi counters that the organisation's positions are not drawn from foreign economists but from the lived experience of millions of Indian farmers, and that Marx himself — who is invoked by the organisation's left-wing detractors — has yet to receive recognition from the Indian establishment for his analysis of exploitation. The prose throughout is polemical and accessible, addressed explicitly to Hindi-speaking farmers and rural activists rather than to academic economists. ## Key points - In the rendered pages Joshi argues that independent India replaced British colonial rulers with a domestic urban-elite class ('काले अंग्रेज') that continues the same extraction of agricultural surplus through price suppression and discriminatory state policy. - In the rendered pages the structural cause of Indian poverty is identified as systematic underpricing of farm produce: urban poverty, slum growth, and rural distress are presented as effects of this single policy choice. - In the rendered pages conventional economics — both Marxist and mainstream development-economics — is indicted for treating agriculture as a subordinate input to industry, thereby providing intellectual cover for anti-farmer state policy. - In the rendered pages essay 3 argues that formal political independence (1947) did not end the colonial relationship between the state and the farmer; the Agricultural Price Commission is described as a colonial-era instrument in a new institutional form. - In the rendered pages Joshi invokes the moral-historical tradition of armed resistance (Maharana Pratap, Shivaji) to argue that farmer self-assertion is not merely an economic demand but a legitimate continuation of freedom struggle. - In the rendered pages rainfall uncertainty is cited as causing crop losses of up to 47 per cent over seven years — a loss no insurance scheme can cover — as evidence of the structural vulnerability of dryland farmers. - In the rendered pages the publisher's note confirms that essays span 1980–1988 and were originally published in Hindi periodicals including Nayi Duniya (Indore), Mazadur Kisan Niti, and Chatra Kisan Niti. --- ## [Primary work] Sales Tax URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/sales-tax-a-d-shroff-jun1-1958/ ### Summary Jamshed M. Antia's lecture, delivered in Bombay on 14 April 1958 under the Forum of Free Enterprise's series on 'The New Pattern of Taxation', is a comprehensive technical and polemical survey of the sales tax in India two decades after its introduction. Antia traces the lineage from the Central Provinces' 1937 tax on motor spirit and Madras's pioneering General Sales Tax of 1938 to its emergence by the late 1950s as the mainstay of State finances — revenue having multiplied tenfold from Rs. 8 crores in 1944 to over Rs. 80 crores, rivalling Land Revenue and approaching Central Income-tax in importance. The lecture surveys the three systems of taxation (multi-point, single-point, and double-point), the constitutional history that led to the 1956 Amendment of Article 286, and the Central Sales Tax Act of 1956 with its categories of intra-State, outside-State, import/export, and inter-State sales.… ### Body # Sales Tax *By JAMSHED M. ANTIA* ## Summary Jamshed M. Antia's lecture, delivered in Bombay on 14 April 1958 under the Forum of Free Enterprise's series on 'The New Pattern of Taxation', is a comprehensive technical and polemical survey of the sales tax in India two decades after its introduction. Antia traces the lineage from the Central Provinces' 1937 tax on motor spirit and Madras's pioneering General Sales Tax of 1938 to its emergence by the late 1950s as the mainstay of State finances — revenue having multiplied tenfold from Rs. 8 crores in 1944 to over Rs. 80 crores, rivalling Land Revenue and approaching Central Income-tax in importance. The lecture surveys the three systems of taxation (multi-point, single-point, and double-point), the constitutional history that led to the 1956 Amendment of Article 286, and the Central Sales Tax Act of 1956 with its categories of intra-State, outside-State, import/export, and inter-State sales. Antia then mounts a sustained critique of the actual effects of sales tax in operation: he argues that despite formal incidence on the seller, the burden ultimately falls on consumer or producer depending on bargaining power, and presents Taxation Inquiry Commission and re-worked Bombay-city figures showing that the burden on the average consumer roughly equals 4.5% of income, becoming heavier than income-tax for incomes below Rs. 700 per month. He documents how multi-point taxes and inter-State rate differences have distorted trade routes, hampered specialisation, encouraged inefficient small-scale production, raised industrial costs, suppressed exports, and inflicted a regressive burden on small dealers and consumers. The second half turns to administration — recital-pattern penalties, suspicion-driven inspection, corruption, and 'justice delayed is justice denied' — and closes with six concrete reform recommendations: making sales tax a Central subject by constitutional amendment, simplifying the structure for the layman, enforcing uniform levy across India, shifting to a single-point tax at the last sale, calibrating rates by economic need (exempting necessaries, taxing luxuries progressively), and compensating States through Finance Commission grants. Antia frames the goal as an integrated tax structure that would let government 'control the direction of resources without stifling private enterprise' and create a climate of confidence for free enterprise to play its role in national welfare. ## Key points - Sales tax revenue in India grew from Rs. 8 crores in 1944 to over Rs. 80 crores by the late 1950s, becoming the mainstay of State finances and rivalling Land Revenue, with the first general tax introduced in Madras in 1938. - The constitutional history — Article 286, the Supreme Court's nullification of inter-State taxation by resident dealers, the 1956 Sixth Amendment, and the Central Sales Tax Act 1956 — created a framework of four sale categories and uniform principles for determining situs of sale. - Three systems coexist (multi-point, single-point, double-point); the Centre levies only multi-point inter-State tax while States impose varying rates from less than 1% to 30%. - Although nominally assessed on the seller, the tax is ultimately borne by consumer, manufacturer, or trader depending on bargaining position; in Bombay it amounts to roughly 4.5% of income and becomes heavier than income-tax for incomes below Rs. 700/month. - Inter-State rate differences distort trade flows, encourage in-State self-sufficiency, hamper specialisation, raise industrial costs, suppress exports, and act as 'a tax on industrialization' that depresses the standard of living. - Administration is marked by suspicion-driven inspection, secrecy in interpretation, delegated legislation, corruption concerns, and procedural penalties that fall hardest on the small dealer. - Antia recommends six reforms: making sales tax a Central subject by constitutional amendment, simplifying the structure, uniform levy across India, single-point at last sale, rates governed by economic need with necessaries exempt and luxuries progressive, and compensating States through Finance Commission formulae. - The lecture closes by framing a reformed sales tax as a 'powerful weapon for controlling the economy in a democratic manner' compatible with private enterprise and an integrated national tax structure. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] SATYAM EVA JAYATE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/satyamev-jayate-volume-1-collection-of-writings-from-swarajya/ ### Summary In the rendered pages, Satyam Eva Jayate (Volume I) presents itself as a collection of weekly journalistic pieces written by C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) for Swarajya and related journals between 1956 and 1961. The Preface makes clear that the articles are not a systematic treatise but 'protests against errors — strongly felt protests against great errors,' aimed squarely at the regimentation and statism of the Congress-ruled government. Rajaji dedicates the volumes to Khasa Subba Rau, the editor whose encouragement made the Swarajya venture possible, and names the collection after the Sanskrit phrase 'Truth alone prevails' as an act of faith against entrenched official power. The first seven articles in the rendered pages span July–September 1956 and establish the recurring preoccupations of the collection. In 'Value of Frank Criticism,' Rajaji invokes Socrates's self-description as a gadfly to argue that India's post-Independence press has surrendered its critical function, leaving the Prime Minister cocooned in unqualified adulation and democracy itself at risk. 'National and Official' and 'Commonsense vs.… ### Body ## Summary In the rendered pages, Satyam Eva Jayate (Volume I) presents itself as a collection of weekly journalistic pieces written by C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) for Swarajya and related journals between 1956 and 1961. The Preface makes clear that the articles are not a systematic treatise but 'protests against errors — strongly felt protests against great errors,' aimed squarely at the regimentation and statism of the Congress-ruled government. Rajaji dedicates the volumes to Khasa Subba Rau, the editor whose encouragement made the Swarajya venture possible, and names the collection after the Sanskrit phrase 'Truth alone prevails' as an act of faith against entrenched official power. The first seven articles in the rendered pages span July–September 1956 and establish the recurring preoccupations of the collection. In 'Value of Frank Criticism,' Rajaji invokes Socrates's self-description as a gadfly to argue that India's post-Independence press has surrendered its critical function, leaving the Prime Minister cocooned in unqualified adulation and democracy itself at risk. 'National and Official' and 'Commonsense vs. Pride' mount a sustained, carefully reasoned case against making Hindi the official language of the Union, distinguishing 'national' (majority usage) from 'official' (state-enforced medium) and warning that imposing Hindi would constitute an 'unconscionable waste' destructive of the constitution's linguistic guarantees. 'Fifteenth of August' reframes Independence Day not as a chauvinistic occasion but as a demonstration to all subject peoples that consent cannot be manufactured indefinitely. 'Am I a Pessimist?' catalogues contradictions in post-Independence policy — the destruction of cottage industries, the debarring of religion from schools while lamenting moral decline, the forced break-up of multi-lingual states. 'Brinkmanship at Suez' and 'Physician, Heal Thyself' turn to foreign affairs: Rajaji subjects John Foster Dulles's doctrine of brinkmanship to biting analysis, arguing that nuclear deterrence compels peace-loving nations to concede unjust terms, and charges the Western Powers with hypocrisy in arraigning Egypt over Suez while continuing radioactive nuclear testing that poisons the world. The physical copy scanned carries a scanner's caveat that the book was water-damaged and pages are missing; this chunk covers only the opening front matter and the first seven of what are evidently many dozens of articles across two volumes. ## Key points - In the rendered pages, Rajaji frames the entire collection as an act of 'faith in truth' against a powerful ruling party: the title Satyam Eva Jayate is explicitly explained in the Preface as a protest-slogan against government regimentation and statism. - In the rendered pages, the opening article uses Socrates's gadfly metaphor to diagnose a crisis of press freedom: post-Independence India's daily newspapers have become commercially dependent on advertisements and politically dependent on government approval, ceding the critical role once played by small, financially independent weeklies. - In the rendered pages, two articles on language policy ('National and Official' and 'Commonsense vs. Pride') develop the argument that Hindi may legitimately be the 'national' language in a cultural sense but must not become the coercive 'official' language of administration, because true democracy requires 'even-handed justice to all' communities, not imposition by numerical majority. - In the rendered pages, the 'Brinkmanship at Suez' article analyses Dulles's brinkmanship doctrine and argues it has been deployed not only in Cold War confrontations but to bully a small nation (Egypt) into surrendering sovereign control of the Suez Canal — demonstrating that nuclear deterrence paradoxically strengthens aggressors against peace-seeking nations. - In the rendered pages, 'Physician, Heal Thyself' draws a direct parallel between the Anglo-French position on Suez and U.S. control of the Panama Canal, charging the Western Powers with applying a double standard and using propaganda machinery to justify expropriation under the guise of 'internationalisation'. - In the rendered pages, 'Am I a Pessimist?' is a compressed inventory of policy contradictions — handloom weavers destroyed by mechanisation, religious culture denigrated in the name of anti-superstition, multi-lingual states broken up and then artificially re-stitched — that functions as an early statement of Rajaji's disillusionment with Congress governance. - In the rendered pages, the Preface explicitly disavows party discipline on the language question, stating that Rajaji will not press his views through the Swatantra Party until public opinion comes round of its own accord. --- ## [Primary work] SECOND FIVE YEAR PLAN IS THE REAL MISCHIEF-MAKER URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/second-five-year-plan-is-the-real-mischief-maker-by-c-rajagopalachari-may-23-1957/ ### Summary Reprinting a Hindu report of a speech delivered at a Madras symposium on May 22, 1957, organised by the Madras Centre of the Forum of Free Enterprise and other bodies, this pamphlet records C. Rajagopalachari's frontal attack on the 1957 Budget proposals and, behind them, the Second Five Year Plan itself. Rajaji rejects the dominant frame in which critics debate only the abstract, ethical or psychological 'defeatism' of opposing the Plan; the concrete question, he insists, is whether the Plan is right and whether it requires alteration. He charges that the Plan has given a 'monolithic cast' to public affairs, imprisoning them within 'stone walls' and stripping them of flexibility, so that when the Plan generates high prices the Government's only response is to pile on fresh taxes that fall on the poor. Much of the speech is a close reading of Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari's budget. Rajaji warns that the new imposts revive what he calls 'financial brinkmanship' and risk breaking the taxpayer's back.… ### Body # SECOND FIVE YEAR PLAN IS THE REAL MISCHIEF-MAKER *By C. Rajagopalachari* ## Summary Reprinting a Hindu report of a speech delivered at a Madras symposium on May 22, 1957, organised by the Madras Centre of the Forum of Free Enterprise and other bodies, this pamphlet records C. Rajagopalachari's frontal attack on the 1957 Budget proposals and, behind them, the Second Five Year Plan itself. Rajaji rejects the dominant frame in which critics debate only the abstract, ethical or psychological 'defeatism' of opposing the Plan; the concrete question, he insists, is whether the Plan is right and whether it requires alteration. He charges that the Plan has given a 'monolithic cast' to public affairs, imprisoning them within 'stone walls' and stripping them of flexibility, so that when the Plan generates high prices the Government's only response is to pile on fresh taxes that fall on the poor. Much of the speech is a close reading of Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari's budget. Rajaji warns that the new imposts revive what he calls 'financial brinkmanship' and risk breaking the taxpayer's back. He grants Krishnamachari's intellectual stature and personal friendship, but turns this concession into the rhetorical pivot for sharper criticism: a true friend tells the truth. He defends the Opposition's duty to wrest the political initiative from the Congress, lest the ruling party become endangered by its own monopoly. He also rejects the Government's habit of dressing up taxation as a moral disapproval of consumption, arguing that India's poor majority pays indirect taxes through every commodity, and that 'looking into the Plan more carefully' would force the Government to 'cut their coat according to the cloth' rather than rely on foreign aid that 'will come back with compound interest'. The later sections target specific measures: the wealth-tax and expenditure-tax, the kerosene price rise, increased railway fares and taxes on tea and coffee, and the constitutional novelty of an expenditure tax that Rajaji reads as a federal encroachment on the States' sphere over sales and purchases. He defends Rajkumari Amrit Kaur's Rajya Sabha plea for scrapping Prohibition and ridicules the converse logic — treating Government inefficiency as licence for fresh taxes. The closing paragraphs read the Government's taxation of an agricultural article as a manufactured one, and the silent acquiescence of dole-dependent States, as further evidence that the Plan has eroded both federal balance and economic common sense. The pamphlet ends with the Forum of Free Enterprise's Bombay imprint. ## Key points - Rajagopalachari reframes opposition to the Plan: the question is not 'defeatism' but whether the Plan is correct and whether it needs alteration. - He accuses the Plan of imposing a 'monolithic cast' on public affairs, imprisoning policy within 'stone walls' and forcing high prices that are then patched over with new taxes. - He warns the Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari against 'financial brinkmanship' and argues a comparatively heavier burden of the new taxes falls on the poor. - He defends the constitutional role of the Opposition: the Congress itself is endangered when there is no real party wresting the political initiative. - He attacks the moralised rationale for indirect taxation, insisting India's poor pay through every commodity and that 'inefficiency of the Government' is being used as an excuse to tax. - He prescribes fiscal restraint — cutting the coat to the cloth — over reliance on foreign aid that 'will come back with compound interest'. - He treats the new expenditure tax as a constitutional encroachment by the Centre on the States' sphere of taxation on sales and purchases, and reads agricultural articles being taxed as manufactured ones as a federal overreach. - He backs Rajkumari Amrit Kaur's Rajya Sabha plea for scrapping Prohibition and rejects the symmetrical logic of taxing the rich to compensate for administrative failure. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shenoy-Hayek Correspondences, Set I URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shenoy-hayek-correspondences-set-i-hoover-institution-archives/ ### Summary These archival pages, drawn from the Friedrich A. von Hayek Collection (Box 50) at the Hoover Institution, pair a substantial economic 'Note' by B. R. Shenoy with a 1964 covering letter to Hayek himself. The bulk of the rendered pages (the twelve-section Note issued from Shenoy's Economics Research Centre in New Delhi) dissects the effects of the Indian Union Budget for 1969-70, assembled from two pre-budget articles in the Hindustan Times (24-25 February 1969) and two post-budget articles in The Times of India (13-14 March 1969). Shenoy argues that the Indian economy, far from 'moving out of the woods' as the budget speech claimed, remains gripped by three structural ailments: social injustice, capital consumption, and capital misdirection. In the rendered pages Shenoy builds a tightly empirical case.… ### Body # Shenoy-Hayek Correspondences, Set I *By B. R. Shenoy* ## Summary These archival pages, drawn from the Friedrich A. von Hayek Collection (Box 50) at the Hoover Institution, pair a substantial economic 'Note' by B. R. Shenoy with a 1964 covering letter to Hayek himself. The bulk of the rendered pages (the twelve-section Note issued from Shenoy's Economics Research Centre in New Delhi) dissects the effects of the Indian Union Budget for 1969-70, assembled from two pre-budget articles in the Hindustan Times (24-25 February 1969) and two post-budget articles in The Times of India (13-14 March 1969). Shenoy argues that the Indian economy, far from 'moving out of the woods' as the budget speech claimed, remains gripped by three structural ailments: social injustice, capital consumption, and capital misdirection. In the rendered pages Shenoy builds a tightly empirical case. He tracks the fall in the national saving rate from 8.3 per cent (1965-66) to 5.6 per cent (1967-68), attributes apparent income spurts to 'a gift of the gods' (good monsoons) rather than genuine capital formation, and indicts import-licensing and inflationary deficit finance as engines of regressive income transfers 'from the already indigent masses to a thin top layer of the monied minority.' He contends that domestic production costs run 75-100 per cent above import costs, making protection 'unconscionable waste for what is about the poorest country in the world,' and that import liberalisation of agricultural inputs could 'wipe out altogether India's food deficits.' The Note closes by noting that the urge to reform is blunted because India's budgetary resources are heavily underwritten by foreign aid. The final rendered page is a 22 December 1964 letter from Shenoy, then Director of the University School of Social Sciences at Gujarat University, to Professor Hayek, concerning a proposed Gujarati translation of The Road to Serfdom and a free-market anthology Shenoy was assembling. Together the materials document Shenoy's correspondence and intellectual ties with Hayek, and his role as a leading Indian critic of planned-economy orthodoxy. ## Key points - A twelve-section economic Note by B. R. Shenoy on the 1969-70 Indian Union Budget, compiled from his Hindustan Times and Times of India articles of Feb-Mar 1969. - Shenoy diagnoses three structural ailments of the Indian economy: social injustice, capital consumption, and capital misdirection. - He documents a falling national saving rate (8.3% in 1965-66 to 5.6% in 1967-68) as evidence of capital consumption. - Apparent income spurts (1964-65, 1967-68) are attributed to favourable monsoons ('a gift of the gods'), not genuine capital formation. - Import-licensing and inflationary deficit finance are indicted as engines of regressive income transfers to a 'monied minority.' - Domestic production costs run 75-100% above import costs; import liberalisation of agricultural inputs could eliminate India's food deficits. - Budget deficit table (pp.15-16) gives year-by-year Reserve Bank financing figures 1959-60 to 1968-69. - A 22 December 1964 letter from Shenoy to Professor Hayek concerns a Gujarati translation of The Road to Serfdom, evidencing their correspondence. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shenoy-Hayek Correspondences, Set II URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shenoy-hayek-correspondences-set-ii-hoover-institution-archives/ ### Summary Set II of the Shenoy-Hayek archival materials, held in the Friedrich A. von Hayek Collection at the Hoover Institution, documents a 1959 two-way exchange between the Indian economist B. R. Shenoy and Friedrich von Hayek, together with the newspaper writings that occasioned it. The correspondence opens with Shenoy's 13 October 1959 letter from the School of Social Sciences, Gujarat University, reporting on his visit to Zurich, Beirut and the Oxford meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society, and proposing that the Society hold a panel discussion on Indian economic conditions. Hayek replies on 20 October 1959, expressing delight at hearing from Shenoy and admitting that 'my own understanding of Indian affairs' had been transformed; a December 1959 letter, signed 'F. A. Hayek, President,' formally invites Shenoy to become a member of the Mont Pelerin Society. The bulk of the rendered pages are the writings Shenoy enclosed: a typescript essay, 'Free Market Economy for India,' and two clipped Times of India items.… ### Body # Shenoy-Hayek Correspondences, Set II *By B. R. Shenoy, Friedrich Hayek* ## Summary Set II of the Shenoy-Hayek archival materials, held in the Friedrich A. von Hayek Collection at the Hoover Institution, documents a 1959 two-way exchange between the Indian economist B. R. Shenoy and Friedrich von Hayek, together with the newspaper writings that occasioned it. The correspondence opens with Shenoy's 13 October 1959 letter from the School of Social Sciences, Gujarat University, reporting on his visit to Zurich, Beirut and the Oxford meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society, and proposing that the Society hold a panel discussion on Indian economic conditions. Hayek replies on 20 October 1959, expressing delight at hearing from Shenoy and admitting that 'my own understanding of Indian affairs' had been transformed; a December 1959 letter, signed 'F. A. Hayek, President,' formally invites Shenoy to become a member of the Mont Pelerin Society. The bulk of the rendered pages are the writings Shenoy enclosed: a typescript essay, 'Free Market Economy for India,' and two clipped Times of India items. The essay and the companion newspaper article, 'Lessons for India in West German Recovery,' build a sustained case that India should follow Ludwig Erhard's post-war West German model — dismantling controls, ending inflationary deficit finance, and trusting a self-correcting free market — rather than persisting with 'democratic planning.' A 'Free Social Market' Readers' Views letter, replying to correspondents Y. V. Thatte and M. N. Raval, clarifies that Shenoy's free-market position still permits limited public investment in basic industries where private savings fall short. Throughout, Shenoy marshals statistics on plan finance, deficit financing and the falling saving rate (a Plan Finance table covering 1956-57 to 1959-60 closes the set), and closes one piece with the warning that foreign aid, by patching over domestic inflation and policy aberrations, 'may have an element of disservice in disguise.' The materials capture both Shenoy's intellectual alliance with Hayek and his role as the chief Indian advocate of the social-market alternative to Nehruvian planning. ## Key points - A 1959 two-way correspondence between B. R. Shenoy and F. A. von Hayek, including Hayek's invitation for Shenoy to join the Mont Pelerin Society. - Shenoy reports on the Oxford MPS meeting and proposes an MPS panel discussion on Indian economic conditions (letter of 13 Oct 1959). - Hayek replies (20 Oct 1959) crediting Shenoy with transforming his understanding of Indian affairs. - Shenoy's enclosed essay 'Free Market Economy for India' urges India to emulate Ludwig Erhard's West German recovery. - Times of India clippings: 'Free Social Market' Readers' Views letters and 'West German Recovery: Lessons for India.' - Shenoy concedes limited public-sector investment in basic industries where private savings are insufficient. - He indicts inflationary deficit finance and warns that foreign aid can be 'a disservice in disguise.' - A Plan Finance statistics table (1956-57 to 1959-60) documents deficit financing and the domestic savings shortfall. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] शेतकरी संघटक URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-april-21-1992/ ### Summary This issue of Shetkari Sanghatak (Year 9, Issue 2, 21 April 1992), the Marathi fortnightly organ of the Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement, is anchored by a major polemical essay by Sharad Joshi titled 'जोतिबांच्या भटशाही विरोधाचा खरा अर्थ' (The True Meaning of Jotiba's Opposition to Brahmin Domination). Joshi argues that the 19th-century reformer Jyotiba Phule's anti-Brahmin campaign was fundamentally a defence of productive labour and the exploited peasantry — not a Hindu-communalist project, and not a Muslim-sympathising one either — and recruits Phule for the Shetkari Sanghatana's agrarian-liberal critique of the Indian state and urban rentier class. A sidebar box addresses the claim 'Was Jotiba a Hindu nationalist?' and rebuts it on historical grounds.… ### Body ## Summary This issue of Shetkari Sanghatak (Year 9, Issue 2, 21 April 1992), the Marathi fortnightly organ of the Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement, is anchored by a major polemical essay by Sharad Joshi titled 'जोतिबांच्या भटशाही विरोधाचा खरा अर्थ' (The True Meaning of Jotiba's Opposition to Brahmin Domination). Joshi argues that the 19th-century reformer Jyotiba Phule's anti-Brahmin campaign was fundamentally a defence of productive labour and the exploited peasantry — not a Hindu-communalist project, and not a Muslim-sympathising one either — and recruits Phule for the Shetkari Sanghatana's agrarian-liberal critique of the Indian state and urban rentier class. A sidebar box addresses the claim 'Was Jotiba a Hindu nationalist?' and rebuts it on historical grounds. The remaining pages carry shorter contributions: a policy manifesto by Shyamsundar Vasare proposing non-agricultural sector taxation to fund farm liberation, a first-person 'If I were Finance Minister' statement by Ratrao Lahanu Savre outlining ten points of agrarian fiscal policy, and three news items — the Supreme Court permitting collective withdrawal of debt-relief petitions, an announcement of a Rs 21 bonus for sugarcane to Central mills, and a report on farmers burning grain and cotton at Delhi's Boat Club on Shetkari Hutatma Din. ## Essays ### जोतिबांच्या 'भटशाही' विरोधाचा खरा अर्थ *By Sharad Joshi* Joshi opens by referencing a passage from his own earlier book 'Shetkaryacha Asud' (Plough of the Farmer) in which he recalled Mahatma Phule's anti-Brahmin critique. In 1983, Joshi had written the foreword to a book about Phule. Now he reclaims Phule's legacy against two distortions: right-wing Hindu nationalists who try to annex Phule as a proto-Hindutva figure, and those who interpret Phule's solidarity with Muslims and lower castes as evidence of communal anti-Hinduism. Joshi's core argument is that Phule's 'Bhat-shahi' (Brahminical rule) stands for the exploiting, non-productive class — urbanised, priestly, bureaucratic — and that Phule's true enemy was economic exploitation of the toiling peasant, not Brahmin caste as such. The essay engages extensively with B. R. Ambedkar's later interpretations of Phule, noting that Ambedkar eventually framed Phule's anti-caste work in a different register; Joshi insists Phule was not anti-Hindu but anti-exploiter. The article also contests the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's recent attempts to appropriate Phule's legacy for Hindutva, and challenges the claim that Phule's 'Satya Shodak' organisations were aligned with Muslim political interests. Joshi closes by arguing that Shetkari Sanghatana's contemporary struggle for farmers' autonomy is the authentic heir of Phule's project. - Phule's 'Bhat-shahi' should be understood as opposition to the exploitative non-productive urban class, not as caste hatred or anti-Hindu sentiment. - Joshi rebuts RSS/Hindutva attempts to appropriate Phule as a proto-Hindu nationalist, citing Phule's own writings and organisations. - The essay also rejects the mirror-image reading that Phule was pro-Muslim or anti-Hindu in a communal sense. - Ambedkar's later reinterpretation of Phule is noted and partly distinguished from Joshi's own reading. - Shetkari Sanghatana's agrarian movement is presented as the true contemporary continuation of Phule's anti-exploitation project. ### बिगरशेतीक्षेत्राला बेसण घालून शेतीला स्वतंत्र करीन *By श्यामसुंदर वसैरे* Shyamsundar Vasare, writing from Jalgaon district, proposes a policy platform titled 'I will liberate agriculture by taxing the non-agricultural sector.' The piece is structured as a ten-point manifesto: Vasare argues that the Indian state systematically extracts value from agriculture to subsidise industry and urban services, and that the only corrective is to levy a comprehensive tax on all non-agricultural income and use the proceeds to write off farmers' debts, provide free inputs, and eliminate state procurement at below-market prices. The tone is combative, echoing Shetkari Sanghatana's standard framing of a town-versus-village surplus transfer. - Non-agricultural sector taxation proposed as the primary instrument to fund agrarian relief. - Demands cancellation of all farmer debt and free provision of seeds, fertiliser, and water. - Frames state procurement policy as systematic extraction from the farming class. - Aligns with Shetkari Sanghatana's core town-versus-village economic argument. ### मी अर्थमंत्री असतो तर – माझे नीतिविषयक धोरण असे राहील *By श्री. रताराव लहाणु सावरे, काम्पन सीक्यू ति. क. अव्हर, नाशिक* Ratrao Lahanu Savre of Nashik contributes a first-person 'If I were Finance Minister' piece outlining ten planks of agrarian fiscal policy. The proposals include: abolishing land revenue, cancelling all agricultural loans, ensuring remunerative price support, eliminating input taxes on seeds, fertilisers, and electricity for irrigation, and redirecting defence and urban infrastructure spending to rural development. The piece is a reader-contribution genre common in Shetkari Sanghatana publications, translating movement demands into finance-ministry language. - Ten-point agrarian fiscal manifesto framed as a Finance Minister's policy statement. - Calls for abolition of land revenue and all agricultural loan obligations. - Demands input-tax exemptions across seeds, fertilisers, electricity, and water. - Redirects state expenditure from defence and urban infrastructure to rural uplift. ### कर्जमुक्ती अर्ज एकत्रितपणे मागे घेण्यास सुप्रीम कोर्टाची अनुमती A short news item reporting that the Supreme Court of India has granted permission to Shetkari Sanghatana to collectively withdraw debt-relief petitions filed by farmers across Maharashtra. The report notes that Shetkari Sanghatana had coordinated the joint filing of these petitions and that the court's permission enables their en-masse withdrawal — a tactical move consistent with the organisation's strategy of pressuring the state through collective action rather than individual legal remedy. - Supreme Court permits collective withdrawal of Shetkari Sanghatana's coordinated debt-relief petitions. - Movement frames the withdrawal as a tactical organisational decision, not a concession. ### राजा झाला उदार! केंद्रासाठन मड्डाळा २१ रु. बोनस देणार A brief news item headlined 'The King Has Become Generous!' (राजा झाला उदार!) reports that the central government has announced a bonus of Rs 21 per quintal for sugarcane delivered to central mills (केंद्रासाठन मड्डाळा २१ रु. बोनस देणार). The item is framed ironically — the movement regularly demands far higher support prices — and notes that the announcement comes ahead of elections. It briefly reports Shetkari Sanghatana's sceptical response. - Centre announces Rs 21 per quintal bonus for sugarcane to central mills. - Shetkari Sanghatana frames the announcement as tokenistic and electorally motivated. - Ironic headline 'The King Has Become Generous!' signals movement's dismissive stance. ### शेतकरी हुतात्मादिनी दिल्ली बोट क्लबवर धान्य व कापूस यांची होळी The back-page lead reports on the Shetkari Hutatma Din (Farmers' Martyrs' Day) rally held at Delhi's Boat Club on 6 April 1992, at which Shetkari Sanghatana members from across India burnt grain and cotton as a symbolic protest against state pricing policy. The report lists state-wise delegations present — Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, UP, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Delhi, and others — and names several speakers including leaders from Kisan Samvay Samiti and allied farmer organisations. The action is framed as a national demonstration of the cross-regional solidarity of the agrarian movement and a challenge to the government's agricultural pricing regime. The item also carries a brief notice about a Shetkari Mahila Aghadi (Farmers' Women's Front) event at Pune. - Farmers from multiple states gathered at Delhi Boat Club on 6 April 1992 for Shetkari Hutatma Din. - Grain and cotton were burnt as symbolic protest against government procurement prices. - Multi-state delegations listed including Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, UP, Rajasthan, Karnataka. - Event framed as demonstration of pan-India agrarian solidarity. - Brief notice of Shetkari Mahila Aghadi event appended. --- ## [Primary work] शेतकरी संघटक URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-april-6-1992/ ### Summary This is the 6 April 1992 issue (Year 9, Issue 1) of शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak), the Marathi fortnightly organ of the Shetkari Sanghatana, published on शेतकरी हुतात्मा स्मृतिदिन (Farmers' Martyrs' Memorial Day) and marking the paper's entry into its ninth year. The issue's argumentative centre is the Lakshmimukti (लक्ष्मीमुक्ती) campaign — the movement's drive to transfer land into women's names — and the lead article by Sharad Joshi, 'सीतेचे उदाहरण हाच प्रभावी मार्ग आहे' (Sita's example is the effective path), defends this approach through the figure of Sita while engaging objections rooted in religion and tradition. Surrounding pieces develop the movement's free-market and agrarian programme: an editorial 'मी अर्थमंत्री असतो तर—' (If I were Finance Minister), Vijay Jawandhia's 'स्वदेशी अभियान - विदेशी धान्य' (Swadeshi campaign, foreign grain) on the contradictions of import-dependent self-reliance, Bhaskar Borawake's 'उपोषणाने काय साधले?' (What did the fast achieve?), and reports on village-level processing industry, farmers benefiting from open trade, and a 6 April wheat-burning protest by Punjab and Haryana farmers in Delhi.… ### Body # शेतकरी संघटक ## Summary This is the 6 April 1992 issue (Year 9, Issue 1) of शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak), the Marathi fortnightly organ of the Shetkari Sanghatana, published on शेतकरी हुतात्मा स्मृतिदिन (Farmers' Martyrs' Memorial Day) and marking the paper's entry into its ninth year. The issue's argumentative centre is the Lakshmimukti (लक्ष्मीमुक्ती) campaign — the movement's drive to transfer land into women's names — and the lead article by Sharad Joshi, 'सीतेचे उदाहरण हाच प्रभावी मार्ग आहे' (Sita's example is the effective path), defends this approach through the figure of Sita while engaging objections rooted in religion and tradition. Surrounding pieces develop the movement's free-market and agrarian programme: an editorial 'मी अर्थमंत्री असतो तर—' (If I were Finance Minister), Vijay Jawandhia's 'स्वदेशी अभियान - विदेशी धान्य' (Swadeshi campaign, foreign grain) on the contradictions of import-dependent self-reliance, Bhaskar Borawake's 'उपोषणाने काय साधले?' (What did the fast achieve?), and reports on village-level processing industry, farmers benefiting from open trade, and a 6 April wheat-burning protest by Punjab and Haryana farmers in Delhi. Contributions come from activists across Maharashtra (Jalna, Latur, Amravati, Parbhani), and the masthead lists owner Mohan Vihari­lal Pardeshi and editor-printer-publisher Sureshchandra Mhatre, Pune. ## Essays ### Essay The lead article 'सीतेचे उदाहरण हाच प्रभावी मार्ग आहे' (Sita's example is the effective path), signed शरद जोशी (Sharad Joshi), is written for the Lakshmimukti campaign which transfers agricultural land into women's names. Joshi argues that the movement's chosen method — invoking Sita as a model of dignity and self-sacrifice — is more persuasive and culturally rooted than confrontation, and answers objections that the campaign is anti-religious or anti-tradition by reframing Sita's example as a path of justice for women rather than victimhood. He ties the women's land-rights drive to the broader Shetkari Sanghatana programme of freeing farmers and rural society. - Frames the Lakshmimukti women's land-rights campaign through the figure of Sita. - Argues a culturally rooted appeal is more effective than confrontation. - Rebuts charges that the campaign is anti-religion or anti-tradition. - Links women's land rights to the movement's wider agrarian-liberation programme. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] शेतकरी संघटक URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-april-21-1995/ ### Summary This is the 21 April 1995 issue (Year 12, Issue 1) of शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak), the Marathi fortnightly organ of the Shetkari Sanghatana, the Maharashtra farmers' movement led by Sharad Joshi. The issue marks the movement's entry into its twelfth year and is built around a theme of self-examination ('संकल्प आत्मपरीक्षणाचा' — a resolve for self-scrutiny). Most of the contents are open letters and signed articles addressed to Sharad Joshi ('शरदभाऊ' / 'मा. शरद जोशी यांसी सप्रेम नमस्कार'), reflecting on the recent 1995 Maharashtra Assembly elections in which the movement's newly floated political party, the Swatantra Bharat Paksha (स्वतंत्र भारत पक्ष / Independent Bharat Party), contested for the first time and won two seats. Contributors — farmers and activists writing from villages across Nashik, Jalgaon, Nagpur, Pune, Solapur, Bhandara and Ahmednagar districts — debate whether the electoral result is a defeat or a beginning, whether the movement should remain an agitation ('आंदोलन') or become an electoral party, and urge introspection about organisational weaknesses. A recurring news item reports that Sharad Joshi has returned from hospital and his health is improving.… ### Body # शेतकरी संघटक ## Summary This is the 21 April 1995 issue (Year 12, Issue 1) of शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak), the Marathi fortnightly organ of the Shetkari Sanghatana, the Maharashtra farmers' movement led by Sharad Joshi. The issue marks the movement's entry into its twelfth year and is built around a theme of self-examination ('संकल्प आत्मपरीक्षणाचा' — a resolve for self-scrutiny). Most of the contents are open letters and signed articles addressed to Sharad Joshi ('शरदभाऊ' / 'मा. शरद जोशी यांसी सप्रेम नमस्कार'), reflecting on the recent 1995 Maharashtra Assembly elections in which the movement's newly floated political party, the Swatantra Bharat Paksha (स्वतंत्र भारत पक्ष / Independent Bharat Party), contested for the first time and won two seats. Contributors — farmers and activists writing from villages across Nashik, Jalgaon, Nagpur, Pune, Solapur, Bhandara and Ahmednagar districts — debate whether the electoral result is a defeat or a beginning, whether the movement should remain an agitation ('आंदोलन') or become an electoral party, and urge introspection about organisational weaknesses. A recurring news item reports that Sharad Joshi has returned from hospital and his health is improving. The masthead notes the publication is a fortnightly (पाक्षिक), Regd. No. 39926/83, with editor-printer-publisher Sureshchandra Mhatre, Pune. ## Essays ### Essay The lead article 'संकल्प आत्मपरीक्षणाचा' (A Resolve for Self-Examination) by Sureshchandra Mhatre opens the twelfth-year issue with a call for the movement to turn a critical eye on itself. Recalling the movement born in the 1983 hunger-strike at Smriti Mandir, he argues that remembrance, vows and the taking of oaths are not enough; the anniversary should be an occasion to honestly assess the movement's failures and reorient. Adjoining short open letters to 'शरदभाऊ' (Sharad Joshi) from readers such as Pushpa Sandhan and Nanubai Gawali wish him well and urge him to safeguard his health after illness. - Frames the 12th-anniversary issue around self-examination rather than celebration. - Invokes the movement's origin in the 1983 hunger strike (हुतात्मा स्मृतिदिन / Smriti Mandir). - Argues remembrance and oath-taking are insufficient without honest self-criticism. - Accompanied by open letters to Sharad Joshi urging him to protect his health. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] शेतकरी संघटक URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-aug-21-1991/ ### Summary This is the 21 August 1991 issue (Year 8, Issue 9) of शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak), the Marathi fortnightly organ of the Shetkari Sanghatana. The issue is policy-heavy and pivots on the economics of state intervention in agriculture. Sharad Joshi's signed lead article 'खतांच्या अनुदानाचे रहस्य' (The secret of fertilizer subsidies) argues that fertilizer subsidies are a deceptive instrument that ultimately depress farm-gate prices rather than help farmers, supported by a comparative data table of fertilizer-to-grain price ratios across Pakistan, Egypt, Japan, India and Korea for 1985-86. The bulk of the issue (pages 4-7) is a numbered, multi-part policy document, 'राष्ट्रीय कृषिनीती' (National Agricultural Policy), Article No. 5, setting out the Sanghatana's positions on agricultural exports, removing export controls, market/marketing systems, panchayat-raj decentralisation (पंचायत राज्य), government machinery (सरकारी यंत्रणा) and cooperative institutions (सहकारी संस्था).… ### Body # शेतकरी संघटक ## Summary This is the 21 August 1991 issue (Year 8, Issue 9) of शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak), the Marathi fortnightly organ of the Shetkari Sanghatana. The issue is policy-heavy and pivots on the economics of state intervention in agriculture. Sharad Joshi's signed lead article 'खतांच्या अनुदानाचे रहस्य' (The secret of fertilizer subsidies) argues that fertilizer subsidies are a deceptive instrument that ultimately depress farm-gate prices rather than help farmers, supported by a comparative data table of fertilizer-to-grain price ratios across Pakistan, Egypt, Japan, India and Korea for 1985-86. The bulk of the issue (pages 4-7) is a numbered, multi-part policy document, 'राष्ट्रीय कृषिनीती' (National Agricultural Policy), Article No. 5, setting out the Sanghatana's positions on agricultural exports, removing export controls, market/marketing systems, panchayat-raj decentralisation (पंचायत राज्य), government machinery (सरकारी यंत्रणा) and cooperative institutions (सहकारी संस्था). The issue also carries organisational notices: an expanded executive-committee meeting at Alandi on 17/18 September 1991 (signed by Shankar Dhonge, President), a planned march on the District Collector's office over agricultural policy, and a 2 October panchayat-election initiative. The masthead lists owner Mohan Vihari­lal Pardeshi and editor-printer-publisher Sureshchandra Mhatre, Pune. ## Essays ### Essay Sharad Joshi's lead article 'खतांच्या अनुदानाचे रहस्य' (The secret of fertilizer subsidies) dissects the political economy of fertilizer subsidies in India. Joshi contends that the subsidy regime is misunderstood: rather than benefiting cultivators, it functions to keep crop and grain prices artificially low and to mask the real terms of trade against agriculture. He marshals a comparative table of fertilizer-versus-grain price ratios across several countries (1985-86) to show how Indian pricing disadvantages the farmer, and argues that abolishing the subsidy alongside freeing prices would be better for agriculture than the existing arrangement. The piece closes by framing the subsidy debate as part of the movement's wider demand to dismantle controls on the farm economy. - Argues fertilizer subsidies depress farm-gate prices rather than aiding farmers. - Uses a cross-country fertilizer-vs-grain price table (1985-86) as evidence. - Frames the subsidy as a tool that worsens agriculture's terms of trade. - Calls for abolishing the subsidy together with freeing crop prices. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] शेतकरी संघटक URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-aug-21-1992/ ### Summary This is the 21 August 1992 issue (Year 9, Issue 10) of शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak), the Marathi fortnightly organ of the Shetkari Sanghatana. The issue is given over almost entirely to a single long signed essay by Sharad Joshi, 'बुद्धिसंपदेच्या चाच्यांचा कांगावा' (loosely, 'the clamour of the pirates of intellectual property'), which mounts a free-trade defence of the patent system and intellectual-property regime against the swadeshi (स्वदेशी) critique then dominant in Indian debate. Writing in the context of the GATT Uruguay Round and the Dunkel draft, Joshi argues that the patent/IP framework (and bodies such as WIPO) is not a Western imposition to be feared but a market institution that can serve Indian farmers and innovators; he attacks the protectionist 'swadeshi' position as self-defeating, links it to the movement's 'सीताजोती' campaign on plant-variety and bio-diversity rights, and examines US trade pressure (Super-301) and the Narasimha Rao government's liberalisation. A boxed item on page 8 carries a data table of world sugar-production rankings. The masthead lists owner Mohan Vihari­lal Pardeshi and editor-printer-publisher Sureshchandra Mhatre, Pune. ### Body # शेतकरी संघटक ## Summary This is the 21 August 1992 issue (Year 9, Issue 10) of शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak), the Marathi fortnightly organ of the Shetkari Sanghatana. The issue is given over almost entirely to a single long signed essay by Sharad Joshi, 'बुद्धिसंपदेच्या चाच्यांचा कांगावा' (loosely, 'the clamour of the pirates of intellectual property'), which mounts a free-trade defence of the patent system and intellectual-property regime against the swadeshi (स्वदेशी) critique then dominant in Indian debate. Writing in the context of the GATT Uruguay Round and the Dunkel draft, Joshi argues that the patent/IP framework (and bodies such as WIPO) is not a Western imposition to be feared but a market institution that can serve Indian farmers and innovators; he attacks the protectionist 'swadeshi' position as self-defeating, links it to the movement's 'सीताजोती' campaign on plant-variety and bio-diversity rights, and examines US trade pressure (Super-301) and the Narasimha Rao government's liberalisation. A boxed item on page 8 carries a data table of world sugar-production rankings. The masthead lists owner Mohan Vihari­lal Pardeshi and editor-printer-publisher Sureshchandra Mhatre, Pune. ## Essays ### Essay Sharad Joshi's essay 'बुद्धिसंपदेच्या चाच्यांचा कांगावा' reframes the intellectual-property and patent debate from a free-market, pro-farmer standpoint. Against the swadeshi argument that the GATT Dunkel proposals and Western patent norms would enslave Indian agriculture, Joshi contends that the real beneficiaries of an open trade and patent regime are cultivators and innovators, and that the loud 'patriotic' opposition is a cover for entrenched protected interests. He works through the mechanics of patents, WIPO and the Dunkel draft, the threat of US Super-301 sanctions, and the Sanghatana's own 'सीताजोती' position on protecting plant varieties and bio-diversity, concluding that India should embrace rather than fear the new global intellectual-property order. - Defends the patent and intellectual-property system from a free-trade, pro-farmer angle. - Rejects the swadeshi claim that the GATT Dunkel draft would 'enslave' Indian agriculture. - Argues protectionist 'patriotic' opposition shields entrenched interests. - Engages WIPO, the Dunkel draft, US Super-301 pressure, and the movement's सीताजोती plant-variety stance. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-aug-21-1995/ ### Summary This is the 21 August 1995 issue (Year 12, Issue 7) of the Marathi fortnightly शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak), the organ of Sharad Joshi's farmers' movement Shetkari Sanghatana. In the rendered pages the issue is dominated by two long signed pieces by Sharad Joshi: a front-page polemic against the cow-slaughter ban, reframing it as 'गोपाल हत्या' (the killing of cattle-keepers), and a heartfelt obituary-tribute, 'शंकरराव गेले', remembering the activist Shankarrao. Around them sit movement correspondence and notices — a Kolhapur district report demanding a halt to coercive recovery of enhanced land revenue (शेतसारा), a poem 'अंधारदूत' by Subhash Naktode, and condolence notices for movement members. The issue's argumentative centre, in the rendered pages, is an agrarian-liberal economics of livestock: Joshi argues that cattle have value to farmers only as productive, tradeable assets, and that a religiously-motivated slaughter ban, by stripping aged cattle of market value, harms the very farmers and animals it claims to protect. ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This is the 21 August 1995 issue (Year 12, Issue 7) of the Marathi fortnightly शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak), the organ of Sharad Joshi's farmers' movement Shetkari Sanghatana. In the rendered pages the issue is dominated by two long signed pieces by Sharad Joshi: a front-page polemic against the cow-slaughter ban, reframing it as 'गोपाल हत्या' (the killing of cattle-keepers), and a heartfelt obituary-tribute, 'शंकरराव गेले', remembering the activist Shankarrao. Around them sit movement correspondence and notices — a Kolhapur district report demanding a halt to coercive recovery of enhanced land revenue (शेतसारा), a poem 'अंधारदूत' by Subhash Naktode, and condolence notices for movement members. The issue's argumentative centre, in the rendered pages, is an agrarian-liberal economics of livestock: Joshi argues that cattle have value to farmers only as productive, tradeable assets, and that a religiously-motivated slaughter ban, by stripping aged cattle of market value, harms the very farmers and animals it claims to protect. ## Essays ### गोवंश हत्या बंदी? नव्हे, 'गो'पाल हत्या *By शरद जोशी* Sharad Joshi's front-page lead essay, 'गोवंश हत्या बंदी? नव्हे, गोपाल हत्या' (A ban on cattle slaughter? No — the killing of cattle-keepers), argues against a proposed/renewed ban on cow and cattle slaughter. Written in Marathi, it contends that the value of cattle to a farmer is economic: an animal that can no longer work or yield milk becomes a pure burden unless it can be sold. Joshi marshals comparative data — milk yields, the cost of keeping unproductive cattle, and contrasts with Bharat, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya — to claim that 'Servival [survival] technology' and market incentives, not sentiment, sustain healthy herds. He distinguishes reverence for the cow from sound husbandry, invokes Gandhi and Radhakrishnan on the question, and frames the ban as urban, upper-caste sentiment imposed on farmers, hurting cattle-keepers (गोपाल) most. The piece runs across the front pages of the issue in the rendered set. - Reframes a cattle-slaughter ban as 'गोपाल हत्या' — harm to cattle-keepers rather than protection of cattle. - Argues cattle have value to the farmer only as productive, tradeable assets; an unsaleable aged animal is a net burden. - Uses comparative figures across India, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya and invokes 'survival technology' to argue markets sustain herds. - Distinguishes religious reverence for the cow from rational animal husbandry. - Casts the ban as urban, upper-caste sentiment imposed on farmers. ### Essay 2 'शंकरराव गेले' (Shankarrao has gone) is Sharad Joshi's obituary-tribute to the activist Shankarrao, who died of lung cancer on 7 August 1995 while a Shetkari Sanghatana programme was under way. Joshi recalls Shankarrao as a fearless, tireless organiser who threw himself into the movement's agitations across Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat and Chandigarh — including jail terms — and was associated with the weekly 'Warkari'. The piece weaves personal memory with the movement's history, naming local co-workers (Madhavrao More, Prahlad Patil Karad) and the advocate Ram Jethmalani in connection with the activists' legal battles, and closes on Shankarrao's loyalty to the farmers' cause to the very end. - Tribute to the Sanghatana activist Shankarrao, who died of lung cancer on 7 August 1995. - Recalls his role in agitations across Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat and Chandigarh, including imprisonment. - Connects him with the weekly 'Warkari' and the movement's organising work. - Blends personal reminiscence with the broader history of Shetkari Sanghatana. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-aug-6-1995/ ### Summary This is the 6 August 1995 issue (Year 12, Issue 6) of the Marathi fortnightly शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak), the organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana. In the rendered pages it carries a front-page editorial on Gram Panchayat elections and the new reservation of seats for women, signed by the editor; a signed argumentative essay by Gail Omvedt urging the Swatantra Bharat Paksha (the movement's political wing) to abandon its political isolation; and several news boxes — an obituary for the journalist Anil Kokil, a notice that activist Chetna Gala of the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi won an American 'Resourceful Woman' award, and an editorial note on the coming Lok Sabha elections. The issue's centre of gravity, in the rendered pages, is electoral strategy and women's political participation within an agrarian-liberal frame: the editor weighs how women candidates fare under the new reservation, while Omvedt argues the farmers' party must build alliances rather than stand apart. ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This is the 6 August 1995 issue (Year 12, Issue 6) of the Marathi fortnightly शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak), the organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana. In the rendered pages it carries a front-page editorial on Gram Panchayat elections and the new reservation of seats for women, signed by the editor; a signed argumentative essay by Gail Omvedt urging the Swatantra Bharat Paksha (the movement's political wing) to abandon its political isolation; and several news boxes — an obituary for the journalist Anil Kokil, a notice that activist Chetna Gala of the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi won an American 'Resourceful Woman' award, and an editorial note on the coming Lok Sabha elections. The issue's centre of gravity, in the rendered pages, is electoral strategy and women's political participation within an agrarian-liberal frame: the editor weighs how women candidates fare under the new reservation, while Omvedt argues the farmers' party must build alliances rather than stand apart. ## Essays ### ग्रामपंचायत निवडणुका व महिला राखीव जागा *By संपादक* The front-page editorial, 'ग्रामपंचायत निवडणुका व महिला राखीव जागा' (Gram Panchayat elections and reserved seats for women), signed '— संपादक' (the Editor), examines the village-council elections held under the new 33% reservation of seats for women. Writing in Marathi, the editor reports on how women candidates — including for sarpanch posts — actually fared, citing concrete village cases (such as Rukhmini's contest) where caste and faction politics shaped outcomes, and where men sometimes manoeuvred behind women candidates. The piece closes with a wider discussion of socialism, 'Market Socialism' and बहुजनवाद (Bahujanvad), aligning the paper's position with an open market economy against the Communist and socialist alternatives. It invites readers to send in their own election experiences. - Reports on Gram Panchayat elections held under 33% reservation of seats for women. - Gives concrete village cases where caste and faction shaped women candidates' outcomes. - Notes instances of men contesting 'behind' women candidates. - Frames the paper's economic position as an open 'Market Economy' against socialism and 'Market Socialism'. - Invites readers to send in their own election experiences. ### Essay 2 'स्वतंत्र भारत पक्षाने एकांडेपणा सोडावा' (The Swatantra Bharat Party should give up its go-it-alone stance) is a signed essay by Gail Omvedt of Kasegaon, Sangli. She argues that the Swatantra Bharat Paksha — described as the only party in Maharashtra committed to a free-market philosophy — was defeated in the recent assembly elections largely because it contested in isolation while the progressive, Dalit and bahujan forces it should have allied with went elsewhere. Omvedt urges the party to abandon its isolation, build a 'third force' democratic front, and translate its open-market and social-justice positions into a working electoral alliance, with an eye to the coming Lok Sabha elections. The essay continues past page 5 in the rendered set. - Calls the Swatantra Bharat Paksha the only genuinely free-market party in Maharashtra. - Attributes its assembly-election defeat to contesting in political isolation. - Urges alliances with progressive, Dalit and bahujan forces in a 'third force' front. - Links open-market economics with social justice as a basis for coalition. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-august-6-1992/ ### Summary This is the 6 August 1992 issue (Year 9, Issue 9) of the Marathi fortnightly शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak), the organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana. In the rendered pages the issue is built around a single polemical theme — a critique of 'swadeshi' economic nationalism just as India's liberalisation was beginning. Sharad Joshi's front-page lead, 'काळ्या इंग्रजाची भगवी स्वदेशी', attacks the Sangh/BJP brand of swadeshi as a saffron reincarnation of colonial mercantilism that strangles farmers. The same argument is carried by satellite pieces: Siraj Shaikh's 'स्वदेशीवाल्यांनो, डोळे उघडून प्या', a reproduced editorial on liberalising the dairy economy ('दुधाला मोकळा वारा लागू द्या'), a satirical fable 'कथा, देशी कामगारांची' mocking anti-computer protectionism, a commentary on President Shankar Dayal Sharma ('असमर्थ राष्ट्रपती?') with a table of developing-country external debt from the World Development Report 1992, and Vijay Jawandhia's protest that a Rs. 50/quintal cotton bonus betrays growers. In the rendered pages the issue's argumentative centre is a free-trade, anti-protectionist defence of the farmer against 'swadeshi' as a new form of internal colonial exploitation. ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This is the 6 August 1992 issue (Year 9, Issue 9) of the Marathi fortnightly शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak), the organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana. In the rendered pages the issue is built around a single polemical theme — a critique of 'swadeshi' economic nationalism just as India's liberalisation was beginning. Sharad Joshi's front-page lead, 'काळ्या इंग्रजाची भगवी स्वदेशी', attacks the Sangh/BJP brand of swadeshi as a saffron reincarnation of colonial mercantilism that strangles farmers. The same argument is carried by satellite pieces: Siraj Shaikh's 'स्वदेशीवाल्यांनो, डोळे उघडून प्या', a reproduced editorial on liberalising the dairy economy ('दुधाला मोकळा वारा लागू द्या'), a satirical fable 'कथा, देशी कामगारांची' mocking anti-computer protectionism, a commentary on President Shankar Dayal Sharma ('असमर्थ राष्ट्रपती?') with a table of developing-country external debt from the World Development Report 1992, and Vijay Jawandhia's protest that a Rs. 50/quintal cotton bonus betrays growers. In the rendered pages the issue's argumentative centre is a free-trade, anti-protectionist defence of the farmer against 'swadeshi' as a new form of internal colonial exploitation. ## Essays ### काळ्या इंग्रजाची भगवी 'स्वदेशी' *By शरद जोशी* Sharad Joshi's front-page lead, 'काळ्या इंग्रजाची भगवी स्वदेशी' (The saffron 'swadeshi' of the black Englishman), is a sustained Marathi polemic against the swadeshi economic nationalism then being championed by the Sangh Parivar and BJP as India liberalised. Joshi distinguishes Gandhi's swadeshi from its 1990s revival, argues that 'swadeshi' protectionism is a saffron reincarnation of the very mercantilism (Mercantilism) by which England, France and Germany once enriched themselves at others' expense, and contends that closing markets behind a swadeshi wall ultimately strangles the Indian farmer ('शेतकऱ्यांचा गळा घोटणारी स्वदेशी'). He casts the swadeshi camp as 'soldiers dragged along behind the times' (कालमागून फरफटणारे शिलेदार) and defends open markets and exports as the farmer's interest. The essay runs across the issue's opening pages. - Attacks 1990s 'swadeshi' economic nationalism as distinct from, and a betrayal of, Gandhian swadeshi. - Equates protectionist swadeshi with European mercantilism that enriched some nations at others' expense. - Argues swadeshi walls ultimately strangle the Indian farmer. - Defends open markets and exports as the farmer's true interest. - Frames swadeshi advocates as out of step with the times. ### Essay 2 'स्वदेशी वाल्यांनो, डोळे उघडून प्या' (Swadeshi-mongers, open your eyes and drink), a signed piece by Siraj Shaikh of Sangamner (Nagar), extends the lead essay's critique. Invoking 9 August 1942 (Quit India) and Gandhi's swadeshi-and-gram-swaraj programme, Shaikh argues that the contemporary swadeshi slogan misreads both history and economics, and that protectionism dressed as patriotism harms ordinary producers. The piece continues past page 4 in the rendered set. - Builds on the lead essay's anti-protectionist argument. - Invokes Quit India (9 August 1942) and Gandhian swadeshi to contrast with the modern slogan. - Argues protectionism-as-patriotism harms ordinary producers. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-dec-21-1991/ ### Summary This is the 21 December 1991 issue (Year 8, Issue 17) of the Marathi fortnightly शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak), the organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana, a substantial 16-page number with a formal contents box. Its spine, in the rendered pages, is Sharad Joshi's long front-page address 'भारत दशकातील चतुरंग शेती' (Diversified farming in the India of the decade), which argues that the early pain of economic liberalisation is 'the price of freedom' for the farmer and calls for value-added, market-oriented, technology-using agriculture. The rest of the issue turns to the movement's organisational and ideological life as it heads into the February 1992 local-body elections: a report of the 15-17 December Wardha leadership meeting, the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi's election manifesto demanding genuine (not proxy) women's representation under the new 30% reservation, the newly-constituted Sanghatana executive roster, and two pieces elaborating Joshi's 'Sita' idiom — a Ramayana allegory of Sita's 'second exile' tied to the women's front, and a practical 'Sitasheti' (low-external-input natural farming) guide on composting.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This is the 21 December 1991 issue (Year 8, Issue 17) of the Marathi fortnightly शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak), the organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana, a substantial 16-page number with a formal contents box. Its spine, in the rendered pages, is Sharad Joshi's long front-page address 'भारत दशकातील चतुरंग शेती' (Diversified farming in the India of the decade), which argues that the early pain of economic liberalisation is 'the price of freedom' for the farmer and calls for value-added, market-oriented, technology-using agriculture. The rest of the issue turns to the movement's organisational and ideological life as it heads into the February 1992 local-body elections: a report of the 15-17 December Wardha leadership meeting, the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi's election manifesto demanding genuine (not proxy) women's representation under the new 30% reservation, the newly-constituted Sanghatana executive roster, and two pieces elaborating Joshi's 'Sita' idiom — a Ramayana allegory of Sita's 'second exile' tied to the women's front, and a practical 'Sitasheti' (low-external-input natural farming) guide on composting. In the rendered pages the issue's argumentative centre is the linkage of economic-freedom-for-farmers with women's political agency and an ecological, self-reliant farming method. ## Essays ### भारत दशकातील चतुरंग शेती *By शरद जोशी* Sharad Joshi's front-page address, 'भारत दशकातील चतुरंग शेती' (Diversified / fourfold farming in the India of the decade), is the issue's lead. Delivered at the Sanghatana's December 1991 leadership meeting and printed as an essay, it argues that India's farmers must move beyond raw-crop production into processing, value-addition and market-oriented, technology-using agriculture. Joshi frames the disruption of the early liberalisation years as a transitional cost — 'सुरुवातीची वेदना ही स्वातंत्र्याची किंमत आहे' (the initial pain is the price of freedom) — and contrasts the closed, state-directed model associated with the Nehru-Indira-Rajiv Gandhi era with the open, competitive future he advocates, invoking comparisons with China and Japan. The address runs across the issue's opening pages. - Calls for diversified, value-added, market-oriented farming for the coming decade. - Frames liberalisation's early disruption as 'the price of freedom' for the farmer. - Contrasts the closed Nehru-Indira-Rajiv statist model with an open competitive economy. - Invokes China and Japan as comparative reference points. - Originated as a leadership-meeting address, printed here as an essay. ### शेतकरी महिला आघाडीचा जाहिरनामा The Shetkari Mahila Aghadi manifesto, 'जिल्हा परिषद व पंचायत समिती निवडणूक, फेब्रुवारी १९९२ — शेतकरी महिला आघाडीचा जाहिरनामा', is the women's front's platform for the February 1992 Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections. It welcomes the state's 30% reservation of seats for women but warns that reservation can be hollowed out by 'proxy' women candidates fronting for established male leaders. It insists that the reserved seats be filled by genuine representatives who know rural women's problems, and presents the Aghadi as the only organisation representing rural Maharashtra's women across caste, creed and region. - Platform for the February 1992 local-body elections under 30% women's reservation. - Welcomes reservation but warns against 'proxy' women candidates fronting for men. - Demands genuine women representatives who know rural women's issues. - Positions the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi as the sole cross-caste rural women's organisation. ### सीताम्माच्या दुसऱ्या वनवासासाठी कहाणी — २ 'सीतामाईच्या दुसऱ्या वनवासाची कहाणी — २' (The tale of Mother Sita's second exile, part 2), printed on the occasion of a 'Swayamsiddha Sita' temple resolution, retells the Ramayana episode of Sita's banishment, drawing on Valmiki with cited verse references. Within the issue it works as an allegory for the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi's idiom of the self-reliant ('swayamsiddha') woman and the injustice done to her, linking the women's-front politics to a reworked devotional narrative. - Retells the Ramayana's exile of Sita, citing Valmiki with verse references. - Tied to a 'Swayamsiddha Sita' temple resolution. - Functions as an allegory for the women's front's self-reliant-woman idiom. - Part 2 of a continuing series. ### सीताशेती : प्रयोगसूत्र २ 'सीताशेती : प्रयोग सूत्र २' (Sitasheti: experiment-formula 2) is a practical natural-farming guide, the second in a series elaborating Sharad Joshi's low-external-input 'Sitasheti' method. This installment, 'पूर्ण कुजलेले घटक गोळा करणे' (collecting fully decomposed matter), explains composting and soil ecology — the role of bacteria, nitrogen and the food chain of soil organisms — and instructs readers how to build fertile soil from farm and household waste. It is credited to the Krishi Arth Prabodhini, Khed (Pune), and closes with an appeal ('सीताशेती: आवाहन') inviting farmers to register and share their own experiments. - Second in a 'Sitasheti' low-external-input natural-farming series. - Explains composting, soil bacteria, nitrogen and the soil food chain. - Teaches building fertile soil from farm and household waste. - Credited to Krishi Arth Prabodhini, Khed (Pune); invites reader participation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-dec-21-1994/ ### Summary This eight-page issue of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak (Year 11, Issue 16, 21 December 1994), the organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana, is built around a land-rights agitation at Chikhli-Kudalwadi near Pune, where farmers' land was being acquired by a development authority (Pimpri-Chinchwad / 'Telco' lands) at prices the movement deemed confiscatory. The lead article 'जमीन आमची भाव आमचा' (Our land, our price), signed by Sharad Joshi, develops the Sanghatana's demand that landowning farmers — not the state or industry — decide the price of land, casting compulsory acquisition as the latest front of the movement's wider fight for remunerative prices and market freedom. A page-five report welcomes a High Court ruling that frees non-member growers to sell sugarcane outside the 'sugar barons'' cooperative monopoly; page six reports the Chikhli sit-in (ठिय्या आंदोलन) and announces a related meeting; and page seven gathers datelined field correspondent reports of 'रास्ता रोको' (road-blockade) actions across Beed, Sangli/Walwa and Parbhani districts on 1 December 1994.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This eight-page issue of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak (Year 11, Issue 16, 21 December 1994), the organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana, is built around a land-rights agitation at Chikhli-Kudalwadi near Pune, where farmers' land was being acquired by a development authority (Pimpri-Chinchwad / 'Telco' lands) at prices the movement deemed confiscatory. The lead article 'जमीन आमची भाव आमचा' (Our land, our price), signed by Sharad Joshi, develops the Sanghatana's demand that landowning farmers — not the state or industry — decide the price of land, casting compulsory acquisition as the latest front of the movement's wider fight for remunerative prices and market freedom. A page-five report welcomes a High Court ruling that frees non-member growers to sell sugarcane outside the 'sugar barons'' cooperative monopoly; page six reports the Chikhli sit-in (ठिय्या आंदोलन) and announces a related meeting; and page seven gathers datelined field correspondent reports of 'रास्ता रोको' (road-blockade) actions across Beed, Sangli/Walwa and Parbhani districts on 1 December 1994. The back page reprints the agitation call signed by Saroj Kashikar (Shetkari Mahila Aghadi) and Pasha Patel (Shetkari Sanghatana). ## Essays ### जमीन आमची भाव आमचा *By शरद जोशी* The lead article by Sharad Joshi, 'जमीन आमची भाव आमचा', argues that the farmer who owns the land must set its price, attacking the compulsory acquisition of farmland at Chikhli-Kudalwadi (for Pimpri-Chinchwad/Telco-area development) at rates the movement calls unjust and confiscatory. Joshi situates the land question within the Sanghatana's long campaign against state and industrial domination of agricultural pricing, recounts the chronology of the agitation begun on 21 December 1994, and frames freedom over one's land and its price as continuous with the movement's demand for remunerative prices and open markets. - Demands that landowning farmers, not the state or industry, decide land prices. - Attacks compulsory acquisition at Chikhli-Kudalwadi for Pimpri-Chinchwad/Telco-area development as confiscatory. - Frames the land fight as the latest front of the movement's price-and-market-freedom campaign. - Recounts the chronology of the sit-in agitation begun 21 December 1994. - Signed by Sharad Joshi, the movement's leader. ### खंडपीठाच्या निर्णयाने 'साखर सम्राटां'चे दावे दणाणले — बिगर सभासद उत्पादकांना ऊसविक्रीची पूर्ण मुभा An unsigned report welcomes a High Court bench ruling that, it says, deflates the claims of the 'sugar barons': non-member cane growers are held free to sell their sugarcane outside the cooperative sugar factories' monopoly. The piece reads the judgment as a vindication of the Sanghatana's long-standing position that growers should not be bound to a single mill and should be able to sell in an open market. - Reports a High Court ruling freeing non-member growers to sell cane outside cooperative mills. - Frames it as a defeat for the cooperative 'sugar barons'' monopoly. - Reads as vindication of the Sanghatana's open-market stance on sugarcane. ### रास्ता रोको १ डिसेंबर १९९४ (वार्ता संकलन) Page seven compiles short, datelined correspondent reports of 'रास्ता रोको' (road-blockade) actions held on 1 December 1994 across Maharashtra — at Morewadi (Ambajogai) in Beed district, Peth Naka in Walwa taluka (Sangli), and Gunda in Parbhani district — listing local leaders, participant counts, and the spread of the agitation to some twenty places. The reports document the grassroots reach of the Sanghatana's coordinated protest. - Datelined field reports of road-blockade actions on 1 December 1994. - Covers Beed (Morewadi/Ambajogai), Sangli (Walwa/Peth Naka), and Parbhani (Gunda) districts. - Lists local leaders and notes the agitation reached about twenty places. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-dec-21-1992/ ### Summary This four-page issue of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak (Year 9, Issue 18, 21 December 1992), the organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement, leads with a report-and-commentary on the suspension of a planned farmers' agitation in Maharashtra. In the rendered pages the lead piece, signed by Sharad Joshi, explains why a Bombay/Maharashtra-wide protest over cotton and agricultural produce pricing and export-import policy was again postponed, framing it against the Sanghatana's long-running campaign for remunerative prices and freer agricultural trade. A second article by Bhagyashree Kolekar argues for farmer awareness and consumer-court redress against sugar cooperatives, page three carries a long roster of life-subscribers/members of the organisation, and the back page prints a notice for an executive-committee (कार्यकारिणी) meeting at Wardha on 28 December 1992 along with the publication colophon. ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This four-page issue of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak (Year 9, Issue 18, 21 December 1992), the organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement, leads with a report-and-commentary on the suspension of a planned farmers' agitation in Maharashtra. In the rendered pages the lead piece, signed by Sharad Joshi, explains why a Bombay/Maharashtra-wide protest over cotton and agricultural produce pricing and export-import policy was again postponed, framing it against the Sanghatana's long-running campaign for remunerative prices and freer agricultural trade. A second article by Bhagyashree Kolekar argues for farmer awareness and consumer-court redress against sugar cooperatives, page three carries a long roster of life-subscribers/members of the organisation, and the back page prints a notice for an executive-committee (कार्यकारिणी) meeting at Wardha on 28 December 1992 along with the publication colophon. ## Essays ### शेतकऱ्यांची लढाई पुन्हा एकदा स्थगित *By शरद जोशी* The lead article, signed by Sharad Joshi, reports that the farmers' agitation planned by the Shetkari Sanghatana — tied to a meeting at the Oberoi/Ramada Inn in Bombay between 1 and 12 December 1992 and to the Sanghatana's stance on cotton procurement, import duties and export policy — has once again been suspended. It rehearses the movement's grievances about state pricing and trade restrictions on cotton and other produce, recounts the sequence of meetings and decisions through November–December 1992, and presents the postponement as a tactical pause rather than abandonment of the struggle for remunerative prices and market freedom. - The planned Maharashtra-wide farmers' agitation has been postponed a second time. - Grievances center on cotton pricing, import duties, and restrictions on agricultural exports/imports. - References a December 1992 Bombay meeting and a chronology of decisions through late 1992. - Framed as a tactical suspension, not an end to the Sanghatana's price-and-trade campaign. - Signed by Sharad Joshi, the movement's leader. ### शेतकऱ्यांची जागरुकता *By भाग्यश्री कोळेकर* A shorter piece by Bhagyashree Kolekar, headed 'शेतकऱ्यांची जागरुकता' (Farmers' Awareness), urges farmers to assert their rights as consumers and to use consumer-grievance forums against sugar cooperatives, recounting an episode in which a sugar mill near Bhosari (Pune district) is said to have under-weighed or mishandled a farmer's cane and the redress sought. It argues that farmers, as both producers and consumers, should organise to hold cooperative mills accountable. - Encourages farmers to use consumer-court / grievance forums against sugar cooperatives. - Recounts a dispute over cane weighing/handling at a mill near Bhosari, Pune district. - Frames farmers as both producers and consumers entitled to redress. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-dec-28-1995/ ### Summary This eight-page issue of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak (Year 12, Issue 15, 28 December 1995), the organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana, is dominated by the verbatim text of a long Sharad Joshi speech, 'केवळ स्वातंत्र्यासाठी' (Only for freedom), delivered on 12 December 1995 at Narkhed in Nagpur district on a commemoration day (smriti-din). Reflecting in the aftermath of an election setback, Joshi insists the movement's purpose was never power but freedom — economic freedom for the farmer and the right to set prices and dispose of one's own produce and land in an open market — and rebuts critics who read the electoral defeat as a verdict against that cause. A signed column by Dr. Manavendra Kachole, 'अर्थशास्त्रात काय शिकवतात?', questions what academic economics teaches farmers' children, and a short 'पळून कसे चालेल?' note invokes Rajaji on facing rather than fleeing hardship. The back pages report the successful conclusion of a hunger strike and announce a Shetkari Mahila Aghadi (women's wing) gathering at Akola on 11-12 January 1996, signed by Indira Bhanudas Patil. ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This eight-page issue of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak (Year 12, Issue 15, 28 December 1995), the organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana, is dominated by the verbatim text of a long Sharad Joshi speech, 'केवळ स्वातंत्र्यासाठी' (Only for freedom), delivered on 12 December 1995 at Narkhed in Nagpur district on a commemoration day (smriti-din). Reflecting in the aftermath of an election setback, Joshi insists the movement's purpose was never power but freedom — economic freedom for the farmer and the right to set prices and dispose of one's own produce and land in an open market — and rebuts critics who read the electoral defeat as a verdict against that cause. A signed column by Dr. Manavendra Kachole, 'अर्थशास्त्रात काय शिकवतात?', questions what academic economics teaches farmers' children, and a short 'पळून कसे चालेल?' note invokes Rajaji on facing rather than fleeing hardship. The back pages report the successful conclusion of a hunger strike and announce a Shetkari Mahila Aghadi (women's wing) gathering at Akola on 11-12 January 1996, signed by Indira Bhanudas Patil. ## Essays ### केवळ स्वातंत्र्यासाठी..... *By शरद जोशी* The lead piece is the transcribed text of Sharad Joshi's speech 'केवळ स्वातंत्र्यासाठी', given at Narkhed (Nagpur district) on 12 December 1995. Speaking after an electoral reverse, Joshi argues that the Shetkari Sanghatana never sought office or power but freedom — above all the farmer's economic liberty to set the price of his produce and land and to trade in an open market free of state and cooperative monopoly. He answers those who interpret the defeat as a rejection of the movement, reaffirms that the struggle is for liberty itself rather than electoral victory, and ranges across the movement's record in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana and beyond. - Verbatim text of a Sharad Joshi speech delivered 12 December 1995 at Narkhed, Nagpur district. - Argues the movement's aim is freedom, not power or electoral office. - Centers economic liberty: the farmer's right to set prices and trade in an open market. - Rebuts readings of the election defeat as a verdict against the cause. - Delivered on a commemoration day (smriti-din) and reflects on the movement's wider record. ### अर्थशास्त्रात काय शिकवतात? *By डॉ. मानवेंद्र काचोळे* A signed column by Dr. Manavendra Kachole, 'अर्थशास्त्रात काय शिकवतात?' (What do they teach in economics?), criticizes the academic economics taught to the children of farmers and Sanghatana workers as disconnected from agrarian reality, and calls for an economics curriculum that reflects farmers' lived conditions. It appears alongside a short 'पळून कसे चालेल?' note that quotes Rajaji (C. Rajagopalachari) on the futility of running from hardship. - Criticizes academic economics as disconnected from agrarian reality. - Calls for curricula grounded in farmers' lived conditions. - Signed by Dr. Manavendra Kachole; runs beside a note quoting Rajaji. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-dec-6-1994/ ### Summary This 6 December 1994 issue (Year 11, No. 15) of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak — the organ of Sharad Joshi's farmers' movement, the Shetkari Sanghatana — is a special 'वृत्तांत' (proceedings/report) issue devoted almost entirely to the joint convention held at Nagpur on 11–12 November 1994: the 6th convention of the Shetkari Sanghatana together with the 4th convention of its women's wing, the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi. In the rendered pages the reportage, largely unsigned, reconstructs the convention's opening session, the welcome and presidential remarks, and a sequence of addresses by movement leaders, culminating in a long policy address by Sharad Joshi. The recurring argumentative thread is the movement's case for economic freedom (खुली व्यवस्था / open economy) for the Indian farmer against the legacy of state planning and 'socialism', framed in the wake of the early-1990s liberalisation; speakers contrast the licence-permit order with market access, debate whether liberalisation has reached the cultivator, and tie the farmers' cause to a broader liberty argument invoking Gandhi and Phule.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This 6 December 1994 issue (Year 11, No. 15) of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak — the organ of Sharad Joshi's farmers' movement, the Shetkari Sanghatana — is a special 'वृत्तांत' (proceedings/report) issue devoted almost entirely to the joint convention held at Nagpur on 11–12 November 1994: the 6th convention of the Shetkari Sanghatana together with the 4th convention of its women's wing, the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi. In the rendered pages the reportage, largely unsigned, reconstructs the convention's opening session, the welcome and presidential remarks, and a sequence of addresses by movement leaders, culminating in a long policy address by Sharad Joshi. The recurring argumentative thread is the movement's case for economic freedom (खुली व्यवस्था / open economy) for the Indian farmer against the legacy of state planning and 'socialism', framed in the wake of the early-1990s liberalisation; speakers contrast the licence-permit order with market access, debate whether liberalisation has reached the cultivator, and tie the farmers' cause to a broader liberty argument invoking Gandhi and Phule. The issue also carries front-page and back-page news of a police firing on farmers at Hiwari in Yavatmal district, in which three people were injured, alongside the movement's protest ('रास्ता रोको') against what it calls the anti-farmer policies of the Nehruvian dispensation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-dec-6-1995/ ### Summary This 6 December 1995 issue (Year 12, No. 14) of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak, organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana, is built around the movement's campaign against state monopoly controls on agriculture, and in particular the sugar trade. The front-page lead is a signed article by Sharad Joshi, 'उपोषण – मक्तेदारीची बेडी तोडण्यासाठी' ('A fast — to break the shackle of monopoly'), dated 14 December, in which he announces an indefinite hunger strike to press for the freeing of the farmer from the licence-and-monopoly order; he frames the demand as one of freedom alone ('स्वातंत्र्याची'), not of subsidy or favour, and develops the idea of an 'open system' (खुली व्यवस्था) for sugar and other crops against the decades-old planning regime. In the rendered pages the issue reports the 23 November agitation before the sugar-monopoly 'Muktidhwar' march at Pune, Joshi's exchanges with the Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi over the decontrol of sugar zones (ऊस झोनबंदी), and the legal and policy arguments around guaranteed cane prices.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This 6 December 1995 issue (Year 12, No. 14) of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak, organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana, is built around the movement's campaign against state monopoly controls on agriculture, and in particular the sugar trade. The front-page lead is a signed article by Sharad Joshi, 'उपोषण – मक्तेदारीची बेडी तोडण्यासाठी' ('A fast — to break the shackle of monopoly'), dated 14 December, in which he announces an indefinite hunger strike to press for the freeing of the farmer from the licence-and-monopoly order; he frames the demand as one of freedom alone ('स्वातंत्र्याची'), not of subsidy or favour, and develops the idea of an 'open system' (खुली व्यवस्था) for sugar and other crops against the decades-old planning regime. In the rendered pages the issue reports the 23 November agitation before the sugar-monopoly 'Muktidhwar' march at Pune, Joshi's exchanges with the Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi over the decontrol of sugar zones (ऊस झोनबंदी), and the legal and policy arguments around guaranteed cane prices. Throughout, the issue presses the movement's signature themes — that state planning obstructs rural development and that the farmer's prosperity ('बळीराज्य') is a demand rooted in nature rather than politics. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-dec-6-1992/ ### Summary This twelve-page issue of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak (Year 9, Issue 17, 6 December 1992) is an 'Agitation Special Issue No. 2' (आंदोलन विशेषांक - २), a mobilising number for Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana ahead of a mass action at the Gateway of India / Nhava Sheva, Bombay, planned for 9-12 December 1992. The lead article 'धर्मक्षेत्र कुरुक्षेत्र — न्हावा शेवा', signed by Sharad Joshi, casts the coming agitation in Mahabharata terms — the field of battle as a field of dharma — and rallies farmers to march on the Bombay docks against import policy and state control of agricultural trade. The interior pages carry agitation slogans (including 'Government Hands off Economy' and 'भीक नको, घेऊ घामाचे दाम' — not alms but the price of our sweat), trade-policy argument, and statistical tables on wheat, cotton and onion production and exports marshalling the case that government import and pricing policy has betrayed the Indian farmer. The full-page back cover, 'बंदर न्हेरू गद्दार गेहूँ रोकेंगे', announces the Gateway of India action and urges farmers across Maharashtra to converge on Bombay. ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This twelve-page issue of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak (Year 9, Issue 17, 6 December 1992) is an 'Agitation Special Issue No. 2' (आंदोलन विशेषांक - २), a mobilising number for Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana ahead of a mass action at the Gateway of India / Nhava Sheva, Bombay, planned for 9-12 December 1992. The lead article 'धर्मक्षेत्र कुरुक्षेत्र — न्हावा शेवा', signed by Sharad Joshi, casts the coming agitation in Mahabharata terms — the field of battle as a field of dharma — and rallies farmers to march on the Bombay docks against import policy and state control of agricultural trade. The interior pages carry agitation slogans (including 'Government Hands off Economy' and 'भीक नको, घेऊ घामाचे दाम' — not alms but the price of our sweat), trade-policy argument, and statistical tables on wheat, cotton and onion production and exports marshalling the case that government import and pricing policy has betrayed the Indian farmer. The full-page back cover, 'बंदर न्हेरू गद्दार गेहूँ रोकेंगे', announces the Gateway of India action and urges farmers across Maharashtra to converge on Bombay. ## Essays ### धर्मक्षेत्र कुरुक्षेत्र — न्हावा शेवा *By शरद जोशी* The lead article by Sharad Joshi, 'धर्मक्षेत्र कुरुक्षेत्र — न्हावा शेवा', frames the planned 9-12 December 1992 farmers' agitation at the Gateway of India / Nhava Sheva as a righteous battle, borrowing the Mahabharata image of the battlefield as a field of dharma. Joshi attacks state control of agricultural trade and import policy, argues that the farmer is reduced to begging for fair prices, and calls on farmers across Maharashtra to march on the Bombay docks to block 'traitor' imported wheat and assert the movement's demand for an open market and remunerative prices. - Frames the Gateway of India / Nhava Sheva agitation (9-12 Dec 1992) as a battle of dharma. - Attacks state control of agricultural trade and import policy. - Argues the farmer is forced to beg rather than receive fair prices. - Calls farmers across Maharashtra to converge on the Bombay docks. - Signed by Sharad Joshi, the movement's leader. ### लढाईच्या काही घोषणा (आंदोलन घोषणासंग्रह) A page of agitation slogans (लढाईच्या काही घोषणा) sets out the movement's rallying cries for the Gateway of India action — in Marathi and Hindi — including calls for the victory of the Shetkari Sanghatana and its women's wing, rejection of charity in favour of fair prices, and the demand that government keep its hands off the economy. - Compiles the agitation's Marathi and Hindi slogans. - Rejects charity ('भीक नको') in favour of the price of farmers' labour. - Includes 'Government Hands off Economy' and anti-state-control slogans. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-feb-21-1995/ ### Summary This is the 21 February 1995 issue of Shetkari Sanghatak (शेतकरी संघटक), the Marathi-language fortnightly of the Shetkari Sanghatana, Year 11 Issue 18. The issue is built around the upcoming Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha elections of February 1995 and the newly formed Swatantra Bharat Paksha (Free India Party) led by Sharad Joshi, the farmers'-movement leader. The lead piece is a compiled transcript of Joshi's campaign speeches arguing that the freedom won in 1947 was incomplete because state planning, the licence-permit-quota regime, and forced cooperative cartels have replaced foreign rulers with domestic looters. Other items include the full election manifesto of the Swatantra Bharat Paksha, an appeal by Sou. Indira Bhanusu Patil for uncontested gram-panchayat elections by women, an interview with Dr.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This is the 21 February 1995 issue of Shetkari Sanghatak (शेतकरी संघटक), the Marathi-language fortnightly of the Shetkari Sanghatana, Year 11 Issue 18. The issue is built around the upcoming Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha elections of February 1995 and the newly formed Swatantra Bharat Paksha (Free India Party) led by Sharad Joshi, the farmers'-movement leader. The lead piece is a compiled transcript of Joshi's campaign speeches arguing that the freedom won in 1947 was incomplete because state planning, the licence-permit-quota regime, and forced cooperative cartels have replaced foreign rulers with domestic looters. Other items include the full election manifesto of the Swatantra Bharat Paksha, an appeal by Sou. Indira Bhanusu Patil for uncontested gram-panchayat elections by women, an interview with Dr. Appasaheb Pawar declaring the cooperative sector obsolete, a sidebar questioning caste reservations through the Mandal Commission, and a back-page open letter from Joshi to the party's candidates announcing the start of "the decisive phase of the freedom struggle." The volume's argumentative center is a classical-liberal, free-market reframing of the agrarian movement: hostility to Nehruvian planning, cooperative sugar-baron politics, and the Congress, Janata, BJP, and Shiv Sena alike, paired with demands for free agricultural markets, an end to land ceilings, privatization of public enterprises, and devolution of power to ordinary cultivators. ## Essays ### देशाला लुटण्याच्या गुप्ता घेऊ पाहाणाऱ्यांच्या तावडीतून देशाला वाचविण्यासाठी *By शरद जोशी* Sharad Joshi's lead essay "देशाला वाचविण्यासाठी" ("To save the country") is a compiled transcript of speeches he delivered across Maharashtra during the February 1995 Vidhan Sabha election campaign, with the printed version drawn specifically from his address at Umarkhed, district Yavatmal. Joshi argues that the freedom won in 1947 from the British was never extended to the ordinary citizen because Vallabhbhai Patel's unification of princely states was followed by Nehru's, Indira Gandhi's, the Janata and V. P. Singh governments' continuation of a planning-licence-permit regime that exploited farmers and labourers. He sets out a sustained critique of agricultural price policy from 1980 onward, comparing American support prices to Indian procurement prices, and accuses Sharad Pawar's cooperative-sugar lobby of having turned Maharashtra into a privatised fiefdom of cartels, dealers, traders, and middlemen rather than a free market. The piece treats Congress, BJP, Shiv Sena and Janata Dal as variants of the same statist arrangement and concludes that only a renewed swatantrya-ladha (freedom struggle), now waged through the Swatantra Bharat Paksha, can restore economic liberty to the cultivator. - Frames the 1995 Vidhan Sabha election as a continuation of the unfinished 1947 freedom struggle — independence transferred sovereignty but not liberty to the ordinary citizen. - Reads the Nehru-Indira-Janata-V. P. Singh-Narasimha Rao continuum as a single planning regime that systematically depressed agricultural prices. - Compares American farm support prices with Indian procurement rates to argue that Indian farmers are paid 28-32 percent of world prices for cotton, sugarcane, and food grains. - Attacks the Maharashtra cooperative sugar lobby and Sharad Pawar's politics as a privatised cartel — "two-rupees-a-kilo" sugarcane rates while traders profit. - Treats Congress, BJP, Shiv Sena, and Janata Dal as interchangeable variants of the same statist arrangement, identifying the Swatantra Bharat Paksha as the only authentic free-market alternative. ### आज देश खरंच स्वतंत्र आहे का? *By शरद जोशी (निवडक भाषणांतून)* The "स्वतंत्र भारत पक्ष — जाहीरनामा" (Swatantra Bharat Paksha Manifesto) is the new party's full election platform for the February 1995 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha elections. It opens by declaring that the inequality, poverty, and corruption of Indian society arise not from a shortage of capital, knowledge, or effort but from a state-planning model that obstructs the people's economic and social freedom. Organised under headings — economic and industrial policy, land policy, banking, public-sector services, civil liberties, and social reform — the manifesto proposes free markets for agricultural produce with abolition of compulsory levy and the licence-permit-quota regime, scrapping of land-ceiling and tenancy restrictions, privatisation of state-run banks and corporations, repeal of preventive-detention provisions, and a programme of education and rural development that places the cultivator and the worker at the centre. - Diagnoses Indian poverty as a product of state planning and the licence-permit-quota raj rather than scarcity of resources. - Calls for free markets in agricultural produce and abolition of compulsory procurement and levy systems. - Demands repeal of the Maharashtra land-ceiling and tenancy laws so that cultivators can hold and trade land freely. - Programmes the privatisation of public-sector banks, corporations, and state enterprises. - Combines economic liberty with explicit civil-liberties commitments — repeal of preventive-detention powers and protection of press and personal freedoms. ### स्वतंत्र भारत पक्ष — जाहिरनामा : महाराष्ट्र विधानसभा निवडणूक, फेब्रुवारी १९९५ Sou. Indira Bhanusu Patil of Vinte Pir, Tal. Chopda, Dist. Jalgaon, writes "ग्रामपंचायतींच्या निवडणुका बिनविरोध करू या" ("Let us conduct gram-panchayat elections without contest"), arguing that village politics has become so disfigured by faction, money, and liquor that the only way to restore democratic legitimacy is for villages to choose their panchayat slates by consensus rather than competition. She appeals specifically to the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi (the farmers' women's wing) to use the seats reserved for women under the new panchayat-raj amendments as an opportunity for collective village deliberation rather than partisan combat, and frames uncontested election as both a moral and a strategic instrument for cultivator self-government. - Frames uncontested gram-panchayat elections as a remedy to factionalism, money-power, and liquor in village politics. - Appeals to the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi to use reserved women's seats as a vehicle for consensus-based selection rather than partisan contest. - Treats the women's-reservation provisions of the new panchayat-raj amendments as a strategic opening for cultivator self-government. ### ग्रामपंचायतींच्या निवडणुका बिनविरोध करू या *By सौ. इंदिरा भानुदास पाटील* An interview headlined "सहकारक्षेत्र आता उपयोगाचे नाही" ("The cooperative sector is no longer useful") with Dr. Appasaheb Pawar (excerpted from a Vaikunth Mehta Institute discussion of 18 February 1995) argues that the cooperative model has outlived its purpose. In an environment where private and corporate firms can do everything that cooperatives once did — and do it without political capture — sustaining the parallel cooperative apparatus only entrenches a class of intermediaries between the cultivator and the market. Pawar's intervention reinforces the issue's central economic argument: that the post-1991 reforms must extend to agriculture's most protected institutional form. - Argues that the historical justification for the cooperative sector has lapsed once private firms can operate freely in agriculture. - Locates the cooperative apparatus as an obstacle, not an aid, to the cultivator in a liberalised economy. - Aligns Pawar's institutional critique with the manifesto's call to dismantle parastatal structures. ### साक्षात्कार! सहकारक्षेत्र आता उपयोगाचे नाही *By डॉ. आप्पासाहेब पवार* The back-page address by Sharad Joshi to the Swatantra Bharat Paksha candidates, headlined "स्वातंत्र्य लढ्याचा निर्णायक भाग सुरू झाला आहे..." ("The decisive phase of the freedom struggle has begun..."), congratulates the party's nominees for entering the February 1995 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha contest under the banner of an explicitly classical-liberal alternative. Joshi explains that the Shetkari Sanghatana's decision to enter electoral politics through the new party flows directly from the limits of agitational pressure on an entrenched planning regime, calls on candidates to campaign on the party's manifesto rather than on personalities or caste, and frames the present election as the opening battle in a longer institutional struggle to complete the unfinished business of 1947. - Reframes the 1995 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha election as the decisive phase of an ongoing freedom struggle. - Explains the Shetkari Sanghatana's move from agitation to electoral politics through the Swatantra Bharat Paksha. - Instructs candidates to campaign on the manifesto rather than on caste or personality. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-feb-6-1992/ ### Summary This is the 6 February 1992 fortnightly issue of Shetkari Sanghatak (शेतकरी संघटक), Year 8, Issue 20, the Marathi-language organ of the Shetkari Sanghatana, the farmers' organisation led by Sharad Joshi. Across the rendered pages the issue threads together two organising priorities for the movement: mobilising rural women through the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi for the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections scheduled for 25 February 1992, and preparing cadres for a state-wide Rasta Roko (road-blockade) agitation on 8 February 1992 against the Centre's handling of the new liberalisation programme. The lead pieces argue that the 30% reservation for women in local bodies is meaningless without organised women candidates, while a centre-page programmatic note explains why farmers, despite welcoming the broad move toward economic openness, are mobilising against the residual licence-permit controls on agricultural processing, domestic trade and exports. A translated extract from a World Bank-affiliated paper on women in LDC agriculture, and a closing position note by Sharad Joshi himself on the demands placed before Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, round out the issue. ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This is the 6 February 1992 fortnightly issue of Shetkari Sanghatak (शेतकरी संघटक), Year 8, Issue 20, the Marathi-language organ of the Shetkari Sanghatana, the farmers' organisation led by Sharad Joshi. Across the rendered pages the issue threads together two organising priorities for the movement: mobilising rural women through the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi for the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections scheduled for 25 February 1992, and preparing cadres for a state-wide Rasta Roko (road-blockade) agitation on 8 February 1992 against the Centre's handling of the new liberalisation programme. The lead pieces argue that the 30% reservation for women in local bodies is meaningless without organised women candidates, while a centre-page programmatic note explains why farmers, despite welcoming the broad move toward economic openness, are mobilising against the residual licence-permit controls on agricultural processing, domestic trade and exports. A translated extract from a World Bank-affiliated paper on women in LDC agriculture, and a closing position note by Sharad Joshi himself on the demands placed before Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, round out the issue. ## Essays ### खऱ्या विकास कार्याच्या सुरुवातीसाठी शेतकरी महिला आघाडी The lead front-page essay argues that the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi, the women's front of the Shetkari Sanghatana, is the vehicle through which the 30% reservation for women in Maharashtra's Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections (slated for 25 February 1992) can be turned from a paper concession into real political representation. The piece recalls how, eleven years earlier, the very idea of a panchayat-level women's quota was considered impossible, and credits sustained pressure from Sharad Joshi's organisation for forcing the issue onto the agenda. It maintains that without organised women candidates the reservation will be captured by relatives of male politicians, and details the Aghadi's parallel programmes of 'Sita Sheti' and 'Mauj Sheti' (women-led farming experiments), drinking-water rights, and a women-centred development agenda invoked as the true Gandhian path of social-economic reform. - Frames the upcoming 25 February 1992 Zilla Parishad / Panchayat Samiti elections as a test case for whether the 30% women's reservation in Maharashtra panchayats will yield genuine representation. - Credits the Shetkari Sanghatana's earlier agitations, led by Sharad Joshi, for placing women's panchayat reservation on the political agenda. - Warns that without organised candidates the reserved seats will be filled by proxies for sitting male leaders. - Introduces 'Sita Sheti' and 'Mauj Sheti' as women's farming initiatives and frames water, fuel, education and employment as the Aghadi's policy axis. - Positions the Aghadi's project as a continuation of Mahatma Gandhi's economic-social vision applied to rural women. ### शेतकरी संघटनेचे आठ फेब्रुवारीचे रास्ता रोको आंदोलन — भूमिका An unsigned 'Bhumika' (background note) from the Sanghatana's central office sets out the rationale for the state-wide Rasta Roko (road-blockade) agitation called for 8 February 1992. It argues that India's external-debt crisis has forced the government to adopt the rhetoric of a 'new open economic policy' that ought to benefit farmers, but that the bureaucracy has in practice retained the licence-permit controls on agricultural processing, domestic agricultural trade and exports. The note traces the Sanghatana's escalating decisions — at meetings in Sevagram (10 November 1991), Sitamau, and Delhi (18-19 January 1992 with the Kisan Samvay Samiti) — toward direct action, and presents four concrete demands: removal of all restrictions on the processing of agricultural produce, on agricultural exports, on inter-state domestic agricultural trade, and on farmers' freedom to choose whether or not to enter processing, trade and export themselves. - Diagnoses the Centre's liberalisation rhetoric as a response to the external-debt crisis rather than a principled embrace of farmers' freedom. - Argues the new policy will benefit farmers only if the licence-permit raj over agriculture is actually dismantled. - Lists the Sanghatana's preparatory meetings at Sevagram (10 Nov 1991), Sitamau, and Delhi (18-19 Jan 1992) leading to the 8 Feb Rasta Roko. - Names four demands: lifting restrictions on (i) processing of farm produce, (ii) agricultural exports, (iii) domestic inter-state trade in agricultural produce, (iv) farmers' right to choose whether to enter processing/trade/export. - Frames the agitation as protecting the spirit of liberalisation from being killed by the surviving regulatory state. ### शेतकरी महिला आघाडी पंचायत राज्य निवडणुकांसाठी सज्ज *By सौ. सुमन अग्रवाल, अध्यक्ष, शेतकरी महिला आघाडी* A signed notice by Sushma Agrawal, President of the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi, reports that the Aghadi will field roughly 400 women candidates for the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections on 25 February 1992, with another 400-odd men of the Shetkari Sanghatana standing in support. The note traces the build-up — a 24 January meeting at Aurangabad chaired by Sudhakar Naik, a 26 January meeting at Akkalkuva chaired by Saroj Kashikar — and announces a Mumbai meeting with the Chief Minister on 5 February 1992 to press the Aghadi's electoral demands. It closes by listing the Aghadi's campaign coordinators for Nanded, Vidarbha and West Maharashtra. - Announces roughly 400 women candidates from the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi for the 25 Feb 1992 ZP / Panchayat Samiti elections, with ~400 male Sanghatana candidates in supporting seats. - Logs the preparatory meetings at Aurangabad (24 Jan, with Sudhakar Naik) and Akkalkuva (26 Jan, with Saroj Kashikar). - Announces a 5 February 1992 meeting with the Maharashtra Chief Minister in Mumbai. - Names regional coordinators for Nanded, Vidarbha and West Maharashtra. - Positions the campaign as the operational arm of the Aghadi's broader social-political programme. ### कृषिप्रशिक्षण व सुविधा महिला शेतकऱ्यांपर्यंत पोहोचायला हव्या *By मूळ लेख: Extending Help to Women Farmers in LDCs — Katrine A. Saito (Finance and Development, December 1989); मराठी सारांश: श्री. गोपकुमार परांजपे, पुणे* A Marathi rendering, by Gopalrao Paranjpe of Pune, of Katrine A. Saito's article 'Extending Help to Women Farmers in LDCs' (Finance and Development, December 1989). The piece argues that in most developing countries women perform a disproportionate share of agricultural labour while receiving a fraction of agricultural training, extension services, credit and inputs. It documents the chain of disadvantages — illiteracy, social and religious restrictions on movement, household labour burden, and the assumption among male-dominated extension bureaucracies that the 'farmer' is male — and proposes that targeted training, female extension officers, and credit and input-delivery systems designed for women are essential if the productivity gap is to close. The translator presents the analysis as directly relevant to Maharashtra's women farmers and to the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi's programme. - Documents that in most LDCs women supply the majority of agricultural labour but receive a small fraction of training, credit and inputs. - Identifies illiteracy, household-labour burden, religious-social restrictions on women's mobility, and a male-coded extension bureaucracy as compounding causes. - Argues for explicitly targeted training programmes, female extension agents, and women-designed credit and input delivery. - Notes that ignoring women's role in agriculture suppresses national productivity in developing economies. - Frames the World Bank-side analysis as directly useful to the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi's policy agenda in Maharashtra. ### शेतकऱ्यांना उद्योगस्वातंत्र्य हवे *By शरद जोशी* Sharad Joshi's closing position note, derived from a presentation to a Kisan Samvay Samiti meeting with Finance Minister Manmohan Singh on 23 January 1992, presses a single argument: that farmers want udyogswatantrya — freedom of enterprise — and not just relief. Joshi rehearses four operative demands the Sanghatana has placed before the Centre: removal of all restrictions on processing of farm produce; abolition of restrictions on agricultural exports; lifting of restrictions on inter-state domestic agricultural trade; and protection of the farmer's right to choose whether or not to enter processing, trade and export. Joshi argues that India's adverse terms of trade against farmers — what he calls the long-running anti-farmer bias of policy — cannot be cured by subsidies or selective price interventions and must be addressed by lifting the regulatory cordon around agriculture itself. - Restates the Sanghatana's case to Finance Minister Manmohan Singh that farmers' core demand is freedom of enterprise, not subsidy. - Lists four operative demands: end restrictions on farm-produce processing, exports, domestic inter-state trade, and on the farmer's right to choose participation in these activities. - Argues that the long-standing adverse terms of trade against agriculture are policy-engineered and cannot be reversed by price tinkering. - Locates the new economic policy as an opportunity that will be wasted if the residual licence-permit raj over agriculture is left intact. - Frames udyogswatantrya — freedom of enterprise — as the precondition for any genuine rural prosperity. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-feb-6-1994/ ### Summary This 6 February 1994 issue of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak (Year 10, Issue 20) — the house organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana — is dominated by two argumentative threads. The opening polemic by Sharad Joshi ("मध्यममार्गी पंतप्रधान") skewers Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao as a 'middle-path' leader who praises open-market reform in speeches while clinging to the Nehru–Mahalanobis subsidy-and-quota apparatus, arguing that half-hearted liberalisation is bleeding the exchequer without delivering relief to farmers or consumers. The second thread is on-the-ground reportage from the Akola–Amravati–Buldhana cotton-belt agitation ("बळीराज्य अवतरले" and a sidebar by Mo. Vi. Tembhurni in both Marathi and Hindi), documenting the Shetkari Sanghatana's 'Kapus Seemapaar' (cotton-across-the-border) campaign against the Centre's cotton-export ban, the police lathi-charge of women farmers near Buldhana on 23 January 1994, and the arrest of agitation chief Prakash Pohare.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This 6 February 1994 issue of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak (Year 10, Issue 20) — the house organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana — is dominated by two argumentative threads. The opening polemic by Sharad Joshi ("मध्यममार्गी पंतप्रधान") skewers Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao as a 'middle-path' leader who praises open-market reform in speeches while clinging to the Nehru–Mahalanobis subsidy-and-quota apparatus, arguing that half-hearted liberalisation is bleeding the exchequer without delivering relief to farmers or consumers. The second thread is on-the-ground reportage from the Akola–Amravati–Buldhana cotton-belt agitation ("बळीराज्य अवतरले" and a sidebar by Mo. Vi. Tembhurni in both Marathi and Hindi), documenting the Shetkari Sanghatana's 'Kapus Seemapaar' (cotton-across-the-border) campaign against the Centre's cotton-export ban, the police lathi-charge of women farmers near Buldhana on 23 January 1994, and the arrest of agitation chief Prakash Pohare. Shorter items announce the rescheduling of the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi training shibir and a forthcoming 'Baliraj Andolan Visheshank' (21 March 1994), and carry an obituary of Sarjerao Patil of Kurdu (Solapur) — a long-time activist who joined Sharad Joshi's Madha-taluka cycle yatra in 1981/82. ## Essays ### मध्यममार्गी पंतप्रधान *By शरद जोशी* Sharad Joshi's lead essay frames Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao as a 'मध्यममार्गी' — a middle-path leader whose rhetoric endorses open-market reform but whose budgets reproduce the old Nehru–Mahalanobis controls. Joshi opens with a Marathi anecdote about Pandit Pant being asked 'two plus two equals?' and replying 'four — though it could be a little more or a little less' — a parable for the PM's evasive style. He notes that even Dr. Manmohan Singh's reformist line is yoked to a cabinet, party and bureaucracy still wedded to subsidy politics; that government expenditure has ballooned from ₹15,400 crore in the early reform years to ₹38,000 crore on subsidies and ₹21,000 crore on administration, with no tightening visible. The essay closes by arguing that the only honest test of the PM's commitment is whether export bans on cotton and other farm produce — the regulatory residue of the Nehru-era licence-permit raj — are actually lifted, not merely deplored in speeches. - Casts P. V. Narasimha Rao as a 'middle-path PM' who praises liberalisation but refuses to dismantle the controls underpinning it. - Reads Manmohan Singh's reform programme as captive to a Congress establishment still loyal to the Nehru–Mahalanobis model. - Cites government subsidies of ~₹38,000 crore and administrative expenditure of ~₹21,000 crore as evidence that no real fiscal correction has occurred. - Holds up Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea and Hong Kong as small economies that pulled ahead through genuinely open systems. - Treats the cotton-export ban as the decisive litmus test of whether the PM's open-market rhetoric is sincere. ### बळीराज्य अवतरले — अकोला-अमरावती-बुलढाणा An unsigned dispatch from the Akola–Amravati–Buldhana cotton belt reports the Shetkari Sanghatana's escalating 'Kapus Seemapaar' (cross-border cotton) agitation against the Centre's cotton-export ban during November 1993–January 1994. It chronicles a sequence of rallies — the 11 November Karanja taluka office gherao, the 19 November Hiwarkhed roadblock where ~₹500 worth of cotton was sold openly, the entry into Madhya Pradesh on 1 December — culminating in a third-phase action on 23 January 1994 in which women farmers from Vāghiṇī village marched with bullock-carts under the slogan 'कापूस आमचा, मालक आम्ही' ('our cotton, we are the owners') and were lathi-charged by police near Buldhana. The article details the beating of women activists, the snatching of journalists' cameras, and includes a censored/blacked-out photograph captioned as proof of 'गुंडगिरी' (thuggery) by uniformed police, framing the state's response as evidence that the Sanghatana's farmer-republic ('बळीराज्य') has in fact arrived. A short supporting verse by Konḍubai Sawant of Vāghoḷī is printed alongside; agitation leader Prakash Pohare's arrest is reported. - Documents the 'Kapus Seemapaar' export-ban defiance campaign across Akola, Amravati and Buldhana districts (Nov 1993–Jan 1994). - Reports the 23 January 1994 police lathi-charge of women farmers led by the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi near Buldhana. - Names Prakash Pohare as the arrested agitation chief and prints supporting verse by Konḍubai Sawant of Vāghoḷī. - Reads the state's violent response as proving — rather than refuting — that the Sanghatana's 'Baliraj' (farmers' kingdom) has arrived. - Carries a deliberately blacked-out photograph as visual evidence of 'goonda-ism in government uniform'. ### शेतकरी महिला आघाडी शिबीर पुढे ढकलले *By शेतकरी महिला आघाडी* A short sidebar announces that the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi training shibir and Lakshmi-Mukti mahamelava — originally scheduled for 9, 10 and 11 February at Yeval following the executive meeting of 6 January 1994 — have been postponed due to unavoidable reasons; revised dates will be announced separately. Signed by the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi. - Postpones the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi training shibir and Lakshmi-Mukti mahamelava planned for 9–11 February 1994 at Yeval. - Cites 'unavoidable reasons' and promises revised dates separately. ### बळीराज्य आंदोलन विशेषांक *By संपादक* A signed column by Mo. Vi. Tembhurni — identified as Vice-President of the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha — argues that the Central Government's cotton-export ban is anti-farmer at its core. He notes that a recent meeting in Delhi rejected even token relaxations, refusing to issue new export permits or release the pending consignment quotas, on the pretext of supplying Nehruvian-era textile mills cheaply. Tembhurni contends that the ban suppresses domestic cotton prices, denies the farmer the international price that the WTO trade regime would otherwise guarantee, and exists solely to subsidise mill owners at the cultivator's expense. He calls for full deregulation of cotton exports and pledges support to the Shetkari Sanghatana's national agitation. - Frames the Centre's cotton-export ban as anti-farmer at its core, not merely a technical trade measure. - Argues the ban exists to keep textile-mill input prices artificially low, transferring value from cultivator to mill owner. - Calls for complete removal of export curbs so farmers can access international prices. - Pledges the writer's support to the Shetkari Sanghatana's escalating agitation. ### कापूस निर्यातबंदी शेतकरीविरोधी *By मो. वि. टेमुर्डे, उपाध्यक्ष, महाराष्ट्र विधान सभा, मुंबई* A Hindi companion-piece by Mo. Vi. Tembhurni, addressed as an open letter to Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao under the title 'प्रधानमंत्री जी आप के मन में क्या है?' ('Prime Minister, what is on your mind?'). Tembhurni asks why the government has cleared exports of a dozen essential commodities — wheat, rice, sugar, edible oils, pulses — while singling out cotton for re-imposed export curbs through a Cabinet sub-committee; he reads this as a betrayal of farmers in the name of protecting urban consumers and textile interests. He invokes the Nehruvian patron–client legacy as the source of the bias and demands the PM either honour his liberalisation rhetoric by lifting the cotton ban or admit the reform programme is hollow. - Open letter in Hindi to PM Narasimha Rao asking why cotton alone among farm commodities faces re-imposed export curbs. - Reads the export-ban decision as a Nehruvian-era reflex protecting mill owners and urban consumers at the farmer's cost. - Demands the PM choose between liberalisation rhetoric and continued protectionist controls. ### प्रधानमंत्री जी आपके मन में क्या है? *By मो. वि. टेमुर्डे, उपाध्यक्ष, महाराष्ट्र विधान सभा, मुंबई* An obituary, 'कुर्डूच्या सर्जेराव पाटीलांचे निधन', mourns Sarjerao Patil of Kurdu (Madha taluka, Solapur district), a devoted Shetkari Sanghatana activist who died of a heart attack on 11 January 1994. The notice recalls that Patil joined Sharad Joshi in 1981/82 when Joshi cycled through drought-prone Madha taluka to mobilise farmers, that Patil painted Sanghatana slogans on his village walls — a legacy still visible in Kurdu — and that he participated in every Sanghatana agitation from the Parbhani convention onwards despite acute financial hardship at home. The Shetkari Sanghatak pays tribute on behalf of the organisation. - Records the death on 11 January 1994 of Sarjerao Patil of Kurdu (Madha taluka, Solapur) from a heart attack. - Recalls his recruitment during Sharad Joshi's 1981/82 cycle yatra through drought-hit Madha taluka. - Notes that village walls in Kurdu still carry the Sanghatana slogans he painted. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-jan-21-1994/ ### Summary This January 21, 1994 issue of Shetkari Sanghatak, the Marathi fortnightly of the Shetkari Sanghatana, is built around two argumentative spines. The front-page editorial 'मागणं लई न्हाई....' by Sharad Joshi takes the upcoming end of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly term in March 1995 as a pretext to read the electoral landscape: Congress is jockeying internally, regional and caste-bloc players like Sharad Pawar and Mulayam Singh are recalibrating, and the established parties — already worn down by communal arithmetic and a collapsing rural base — are visibly nervous about a Shetkari Sanghatana-allied alternative.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This January 21, 1994 issue of Shetkari Sanghatak, the Marathi fortnightly of the Shetkari Sanghatana, is built around two argumentative spines. The front-page editorial 'मागणं लई न्हाई....' by Sharad Joshi takes the upcoming end of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly term in March 1995 as a pretext to read the electoral landscape: Congress is jockeying internally, regional and caste-bloc players like Sharad Pawar and Mulayam Singh are recalibrating, and the established parties — already worn down by communal arithmetic and a collapsing rural base — are visibly nervous about a Shetkari Sanghatana-allied alternative. Joshi argues that the existing parties cannot construct a coherent farmers' programme because the very state architecture they defend is the architecture choking the countryside. Pages 3–6 carry an unsigned visual feature titled '१९७१ ते १९९५' that telescopes a twenty-one-year retrospective into a single satirical chain: 1947 brought independence, 1950 brought 'development plans for prosperity,' and 1971 brought poverty — because the 'socialist Nehru-state' systematically dismantled the freedoms to produce, to earn, to save and to be generous, replacing them with a layered cascade of taxes (excise, customs, sales tax, income tax, wealth tax, gift tax, capital gains, estate duty) so dense that, in the feature's closing joke, even a journey to heaven requires filling out various forms. The spread closes on a clean Swatantra Paksha credo: a welfarist (not despotic-socialist) society, social justice, opposition to absolute state power, and freedom for farmers, industry, trade, and religion, anchored in the fundamental right to property earned through labour and savings. The back pages report two organisational items the Sanghatana wants its base to act on. Page 7 covers a Supreme Court ruling fixing sugarcane purchase prices at Rs 600+140 in a Pune Pohilchavl matter, and announces an aggressive new posture by the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi (the Farmers' Women's Front), with meetings on 6 February 1994 and demands targeting the women's-empowerment ('Lakshmi Mukti') programme, liquor-shop closures, and the local sugar market. Page 8's main piece, 'तर मदतीसाठी पुढे याल?', lays out a programmatic reform menu spanning law and policing, the financial sector, the sugar industry, education, public-sector reform, women's safety, and bureaucratic audit — framed explicitly as the work the Sanghatana wants any aspiring political ally to underwrite. The issue is in Marathi throughout; key terms recur in 'स्वातंत्र्य' (freedom) and 'समाजवादी नेहरूराज्य' (the socialist Nehru-state). ## Key points - Front-page editorial by Sharad Joshi reads the run-up to the 1995 Maharashtra Assembly elections as a moment when existing parties (Congress, Pawar's camp, Mulayam Singh's allies) are visibly anxious about a Shetkari Sanghatana-aligned alternative. - A four-page visual feature, '१९७१ ते १९९५', stages a twenty-one-year indictment of Nehruvian planning, charging that the 'socialist Nehru-state' replaced the freedoms to produce, earn and save with a layered tax cascade. - The taxation chain is itemised through the spread: excise, customs, sales tax, income tax, wealth tax, gift tax, capital gains and estate duty are each shown as a separate confiscation of citizen autonomy. - Closing panel articulates the Swatantra Paksha credo: a welfarist society opposed to absolutist socialism, defending freedoms of farmers, industry, trade and religion, and the fundamental right to property earned through labour and savings. - Page 7 reports a Supreme Court ruling fixing sugarcane prices at Rs 600+140 in a Pune-area sugar factories dispute, framed as a farmer-favourable judicial intervention. - Page 7 announces an aggressive new phase for the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi (Farmers' Women's Front), with a meeting on 6 February 1994 and resolutions tying women's empowerment to closure of village liquor shops and reform of the local sugar market. - Page 8's 'तर मदतीसाठी पुढे याल?' compiles a multi-sector reform menu — law and policing, financial system, sugar industry, education, public-sector reform, women's safety and audit — as conditions any political ally must meet. - Boxed editorial on page 2 invokes Rajaji's warning, written soon after independence, that Nehru's centralised socialist machinery could not be reconciled with democratic life, to underwrite the Sanghatana's anti-statist line. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] शेतकरी संघटक URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-jan-21-1995/ ### Summary This is a 12-page issue of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak (शेतकरी संघटक, Year 11, Issue 17, 6–21 January 1995), the in-house periodical of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana. The issue is built around a single political event: the launch of the Swatantra Bharat Paksha — the Sanghatana's electoral wing — and its manifesto for the February 1995 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha elections. The lead editorial by Sureshchandra Mhatre, titled 'पिशाच महाल उद्ध्वस्त करण्यासाठी' ('To demolish the demon palace'), frames the election as a campaign to dismantle the Nehruvian licence-permit state that has, in the editor's reading, hollowed out the farmer, the trader and the small entrepreneur alike. The centrepiece of the issue is the formal election manifesto (jahirnama, pp. 6–7) of Swatantra Bharat Paksha.… ### Body # शेतकरी संघटक ## Summary This is a 12-page issue of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak (शेतकरी संघटक, Year 11, Issue 17, 6–21 January 1995), the in-house periodical of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana. The issue is built around a single political event: the launch of the Swatantra Bharat Paksha — the Sanghatana's electoral wing — and its manifesto for the February 1995 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha elections. The lead editorial by Sureshchandra Mhatre, titled 'पिशाच महाल उद्ध्वस्त करण्यासाठी' ('To demolish the demon palace'), frames the election as a campaign to dismantle the Nehruvian licence-permit state that has, in the editor's reading, hollowed out the farmer, the trader and the small entrepreneur alike. The centrepiece of the issue is the formal election manifesto (jahirnama, pp. 6–7) of Swatantra Bharat Paksha. It is structured under four heads — कायदा व सुव्यवस्था (law and order), शासनयंत्रणेत काटछाट (slashing the apparatus of government), आर्थिक सुधारणा (economic reforms), and सुधारणेचे उपाय (reform measures) — and reads as a classical-liberal programme: a five-year freeze on new social legislation, repeal of obsolete laws, codification into four codes, abolition of the entire 'aahe-re/naahi-re' (haves/have-nots) interventionist apparatus erected in the name of socialism, restoration of property rights to farmers, dismantling of state monopolies in production and trade, an end to the licence-permit-quota raj on a 'zero-decision day,' and the death penalty for corruption, custodial rape and breach of public trust. The manifesto is paired with an authorised list of Swatantra Bharat Paksha candidates across roughly 270 Maharashtra constituencies (pp. 8–10), signed by Moreshwar Tembhurde (Patil) as the state co-ordinator. Surrounding the manifesto the issue carries several supporting articles. A 'calculate it yourself' table (p. 4) tallies, crop by crop and quintal by quintal, the gap between government procurement prices and what Sharad Joshi's organisation calls a fair price between 1983 and 1993, headlined 'इंडिया सरकार तुमचे देणे लागते' ('the India Government owes you'). Prof. G. N. S. Pharande argues that the Shetkari Sanghatana is capable of forming a single-party government. A 'dhawta aadhava' (running report) summarises the Sanghatana's activities since its Nagpur convention — the women's session, the founding meeting of Swatantra Bharat Paksha at Pune on 28 December 1994, the Chinchwadi agitation on a sand-dredging permit, and a closing piece (p. 11) on the killing of a Sanghatana worker, Maroti Namale, in Nanded district during a confrontation with East India Company-style settler exploitation. Two boxed columns by Sharad Joshi — 'फार नको, तीन वर्ष पुरेत' (p. 3), 'सरकार यही समस्या है' (p. 10) and 'समाजवादाचे ओझे फेकून द्या' (p. 11) — restate the core argument: the answer to India's misery is not to patch the Nehruvian system but to throw off fifty years of socialism in six months. Marathi poet Indrajeet Bhalerao contributes three short lyric pieces — 'दुःख शेतकरी माउलीचं', 'दुःख शिकत्या शेतकरीपुत्रांचं' and 'कुणी रोविली पहार, गावामध्ये?' — that translate the political programme into the elegiac register of agrarian loss. The back-cover house advertisement closes with the slogan 'स्वतंत्र भारत पक्ष ● स्वच्छ विचार ● स्पष्ट भाषा' ('Swatantra Bharat Party — clean thought, clear speech'). ## Key points - Special issue of Shetkari Sanghatak built around the launch of Swatantra Bharat Paksha (Sharad Joshi's electoral vehicle) and its February 1995 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha campaign. - Full election manifesto (jahirnama) printed on pp. 6–7, organised under law-and-order, slashing of state machinery, economic reform, and reform measures. - Manifesto programme is classical-liberal: repeal of obsolete laws, dismantling of the 'aahe-re/naahi-re' regulatory apparatus, restoration of property rights to farmers, end to the licence-permit-quota raj on a 'zero-decision day,' and codification of the legal corpus into four codes. - Authorised candidate list spans roughly 270 Maharashtra Assembly constituencies (pp. 8–10), signed by state co-ordinator Moreshwar Tembhurde (Patil). - Lead editorial by Sureshchandra Mhatre frames the election as a campaign to demolish the 'demon palace' (पिशाच महाल) of the Nehruvian permit state. - Crop-by-crop ledger (p. 4) for 1983–1993 quantifies the gap between government procurement prices and what the Sanghatana calls a fair price, with the headline 'इंडिया सरकार तुमचे देणे लागते' ('the India Government owes you'). - Three boxed Sharad Joshi columns argue that the country's misery cannot be fixed by repairing the Nehruvian system; the burden of fifty years of socialism must be thrown off, not patched. - Coverage of a 'dhawta aadhava' (running report) since the Nagpur convention: the women's session, the founding meeting of Swatantra Bharat Paksha at Pune on 28 December 1994, and the Chinchwadi sand-dredging agitation. - Page 11 reports the killing of Sanghatana worker Maroti Namale in Nanded district and frames it as the 'cruelty of Indian colonisers'. - Three short Marathi lyric poems by Indrajeet Bhalerao translate the political programme into an agrarian-elegiac register. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-jan-6-1992/ ### Summary This is the 6 January 1992 issue (Year 8, Issue 18) of Shetkari Sanghatak, the Marathi-language fortnightly of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement, edited, printed and published by Sureshchandra Mhatre out of Pune. The eight-page issue carries two policy pieces, an editorial on electoral strategy, the third installment of a serialised political reading of the Ramayana, and back-of-the-book service material (a subscriber list and short notices). The lead piece by Vijay Javandhia of Wardha, 'सहकारी सूत गिरणीचा नफा, कापूस उत्पादकांची लूट' ("Cooperative spinning mill's profit, the plunder of cotton producers"), works through Maharashtra's cooperative cotton purchase scheme year by year from 1986–87 onward. Javandhia compares the cooperative federation's purchase rates with open-market rates, the spinning mills' production costs (₹630–₹740 per quintal), and their realised sale prices, to argue that the federation has been buying member-growers' cotton below market while the mills retain substantial margins — a structure he characterises as state-administered exploitation rather than cooperation.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This is the 6 January 1992 issue (Year 8, Issue 18) of Shetkari Sanghatak, the Marathi-language fortnightly of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement, edited, printed and published by Sureshchandra Mhatre out of Pune. The eight-page issue carries two policy pieces, an editorial on electoral strategy, the third installment of a serialised political reading of the Ramayana, and back-of-the-book service material (a subscriber list and short notices). The lead piece by Vijay Javandhia of Wardha, 'सहकारी सूत गिरणीचा नफा, कापूस उत्पादकांची लूट' ("Cooperative spinning mill's profit, the plunder of cotton producers"), works through Maharashtra's cooperative cotton purchase scheme year by year from 1986–87 onward. Javandhia compares the cooperative federation's purchase rates with open-market rates, the spinning mills' production costs (₹630–₹740 per quintal), and their realised sale prices, to argue that the federation has been buying member-growers' cotton below market while the mills retain substantial margins — a structure he characterises as state-administered exploitation rather than cooperation. Two boxed news items on page 2 extend the agrarian-policy frame: a report (sourced to Lokmat, 25 December 1991) on the Centre opening up inter-state trade in sugar with a 20 percent off-take quota, and a report (sourced to Indian Express, 3 January 1992) on Union Minister Tarun Gogoi's announcement of a 50-paise-per-day interest reduction on stored-grain advances so that fair prices can be passed through to farmers. Page 3 carries Sureshchandra Mhatre's programmatic editorial 'शेतकरी महिला आघाडीने निवडणुका का लढवाव्या?' ("Why should the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi contest elections?"), arguing that Maharashtra's new 30 percent reservation for women in Panchayat Raj elections must be claimed by the Sanghatana's own women's front rather than ceded to proxies of established parties. Mhatre traces the Aghadi's prior agitations — the 1986 Chandwad convention, the आयाबहिणींचे राज्य liquor-ban (दारू दुकान बंदी) movement, the tehsil-level village networks built between 1988 and 1991 — and frames the electoral entry as a continuation of the same 'स्त्री-शक्तीचा जागरण' (awakening of women's power). He lists the campaign issues: women's dignity, sexual freedom, the liquor ban, milk and water (दूध-पाणी), literacy and employment. Pages 4–7 carry the third installment of 'सीतामाईच्या दुसऱ्या वनवासाची कहाणी - ३' ("The Story of Sita's Second Exile — 3"), cantos (sargas) 43–47 of a long verse-and-prose retelling that re-reads the Uttara-kanda episode in which Rama, on hearing village gossip, dispatches Lakshmana to abandon a pregnant Sita on the banks of the Bhagirathi. The cantos here move from Rama's speech repeating the slander against Sita, through Lakshmana's reluctant compliance, Sita's farewell to her brothers-in-law and her parting words about her pregnancy and Rama's reputation — a deliberately gendered allegory that sits alongside the issue's argument that the modern Indian state also exiles its rural women on grounds of 'reputation.' The back page (8) prints the editorial confirming the Mahila Aghadi's decision to contest the Panchayat polls, taken at the Sanghatana's 15–17 December 1991 working-committee meeting at Zilla Parishad Karjat, and a short note 'सीताशेती : प्रयोगसूत्र' announcing two experimental cultivation sutras being trialled on a Shetkari Sanghatak farm. Pages 7–8 reproduce the published list of Shetkari Sanghatak आजीव वर्गणीदार (life subscribers) current as of 31 December 1991. ## Key points - Front-page essay by Vijay Javandhia uses year-by-year price data to argue that Maharashtra's cooperative cotton-purchase federation systematically buys cotton from member growers below market rates while the cooperative spinning mills retain margins of several hundred rupees per quintal — framed as state-administered loot rather than cooperation. - The issue is bookended by two adjacent agrarian-policy news boxes on page 2: the Centre opening up inter-state sugar trade with a 20% off-take quota (sourced to Lokmat, 25 Dec 1991) and a 50-paise-per-day interest reduction on stored-grain advances meant to push fair prices through to farmers (sourced to Indian Express, 3 Jan 1992). - Editor Sureshchandra Mhatre's page-3 editorial argues the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi must contest Maharashtra's newly reserved Panchayat seats (30% women's reservation) rather than letting them go to proxies, situating the move in the Aghadi's prior campaigns — the 1986 Chandwad convention and the आयाबहिणींचे राज्य liquor-ban movement. - The Mahila Aghadi's electoral platform is listed explicitly: स्त्री सन्मान (women's dignity), लैंगिकमुक्ती (sexual freedom), the liquor ban, दूध-पाणी (milk and water), जिप्सो / जळण (fuel access), and रोजगार (employment) — a women-centred reading of the Sanghatana's broader agrarian-liberty programme. - Pages 4–7 carry the third installment of a long political-allegorical retelling of Sita's second exile (cantos 43–47), reading the Uttara-kanda episode in which Rama exiles a pregnant Sita on the strength of village gossip as a parable about how the modern Indian state treats its rural women. - Back-page editorials on page 8 confirm the Mahila Aghadi's electoral decision taken at the 15–17 December 1991 working committee at Zilla Parishad Karjat, and announce two experimental cultivation sutras on a Shetkari Sanghatak demonstration farm under the title 'सीताशेती : प्रयोगसूत्र'. - Pages 7 and 8 reproduce the printed list of Shetkari Sanghatak आजीव वर्गणीदार (life subscribers) as of 31 December 1991, with subscriber localities concentrated in Parbhani, Beed, Aurangabad, Wardha, Chandrapur and Kolhapur — useful for mapping the paper's circulation footprint. - Colophon (p.8) confirms editorial structure: owner Mohan Vihariji Pareshi, printed at Chayan Printing Press, Pune; editor, printer and publisher Sureshchandra Mhatre; published twice monthly (6th and 22nd) from Vishwajeevan, 1247/15, Pune 411 005. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-jan-6-1994/ ### Summary This issue of Shetkari Sanghatak (Marathi fortnightly, Year 10, Issue 18) — the publication of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana — is built around two interlocking arguments: the case for the Sanghatana to step out of the Janata Dal umbrella and contest elections in its own right, and the case that the Narasimha Rao government's economic reforms must be extended to agriculture rather than stop at industry. The lead editorial 'पाटी पुसली, आता पुढे....' by Sharad Joshi reports the 30 December 1993 meeting at the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan convened by Speaker Madhukarrao Chowdhary with the five Sanghatana-backed Janata Dal MLAs (Moreshwar Tembhe, Vasantrao Bande, Vaman Chatap, Jivraj Tondchirkar and Saroj Kashikar) and announces a fresh political beginning under the Sanghatana's own banner. A second long piece reproduces Joshi's 19 December 1993 open letter to the Prime Minister, asking that the GATT/Dunkel-led liberalisation also dismantle the old controls on agriculture (Essential Commodities Act, sugar/cotton/oilseed monopolies, levy rules, MEP and dumping schemes) and offer an exit policy for sick public-sector units.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This issue of Shetkari Sanghatak (Marathi fortnightly, Year 10, Issue 18) — the publication of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana — is built around two interlocking arguments: the case for the Sanghatana to step out of the Janata Dal umbrella and contest elections in its own right, and the case that the Narasimha Rao government's economic reforms must be extended to agriculture rather than stop at industry. The lead editorial 'पाटी पुसली, आता पुढे....' by Sharad Joshi reports the 30 December 1993 meeting at the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan convened by Speaker Madhukarrao Chowdhary with the five Sanghatana-backed Janata Dal MLAs (Moreshwar Tembhe, Vasantrao Bande, Vaman Chatap, Jivraj Tondchirkar and Saroj Kashikar) and announces a fresh political beginning under the Sanghatana's own banner. A second long piece reproduces Joshi's 19 December 1993 open letter to the Prime Minister, asking that the GATT/Dunkel-led liberalisation also dismantle the old controls on agriculture (Essential Commodities Act, sugar/cotton/oilseed monopolies, levy rules, MEP and dumping schemes) and offer an exit policy for sick public-sector units. Shorter items cover the Gujarat Khedut Samaj's 26 January 1994 agitation against the Ankleshwar gas project, a World Bank ranking placing India among the world's poorest economies, the Maharashtra Chief Minister's renewed pledge to close liquor shops on women's resolutions, an organisational order from Pasha Patel mobilising cadres to Ankleshwar, and an appeal from Shetkari Mahila Aghadi chair Saroj Kashikar to back the 26 January 1994 anti-liquor satyagraha. ## Essays ### पाटी पुसली, आता पुढे.... *By शरद जोशी* Sharad Joshi's lead editorial reports the 30 December 1993 meeting at the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan, chaired by Speaker Madhukarrao Chowdhary, between five Shetkari Sanghatana-backed MLAs who had won on Janata Dal tickets (Moreshwar Tembhe, Vasantrao Bande, Vaman Chatap, Jivraj Tondchirkar and Saroj Kashikar) and the Sanghatana leadership. Joshi argues that the Sanghatana's experiment of working through the Janata Dal has run its course: three successive attempts at coalition politics — through the Lok Dal, the V.P. Singh Janata Dal, and its present formation — have all foundered on factionalism and on the Dal's inability to break with the Nehru-Mahalanobis economic framework that the Sanghatana opposes. The editorial frames the Aurangabad convention of October 1993 and the proposed Saatlasi (71st) convention as the moment to 'wipe the slate clean' and launch the Sanghatana as an independent electoral force, alongside organisational changes including Pasha Patel as new president, Saroj Kashikar continuing in the Mahila Aghadi, and Moreshwar Tembhe inducted into the Karyakarini. - 30 December 1993 Vidhan Bhavan meeting brought five Sanghatana-backed Janata Dal MLAs together with the organisation's leadership. - Joshi calls the Sanghatana's Janata Dal experiment a 'third failed experiment' and argues for an independent political identity. - Critique of the Janata Dal's inability to break from Nehru-Mahalanobis-era economic assumptions. - References the 1980 Aurangabad convention as the source of the Sanghatana's organisational strength. - Announces a forthcoming Saatlasi (71st) convention to formalise the electoral pivot. - Sidebar resolution from the convention reaffirms that the Sanghatana cannot stay out of electoral politics. ### सटाणा अधिवेशन — राजकारणविषयक ठराव An open letter from Sharad Joshi (dated 19 December 1993 from Angarmal, Ambethan 410 501) addressed to the Prime Minister, congratulating him on India's accession to the GATT/Dunkel agreement signed at Geneva on 15 December 1993 and defending it against critics — particularly the Hindutva-leaning opposition and segments of the Kisan Samanvay Samiti. Joshi argues that the Sanghatana publicly supported the agreement against this backlash, and now expects the reform logic to be applied with equal force to agriculture. The letter then enumerates the controls on farmers that must be lifted if liberalisation is to be coherent: levy obligations on sugar, edible oils, cotton, dairy and silk; the cooperative monopolies on cotton, sugarcane and food procurement; the Essential Commodities Act restrictions on private trade and storage; the Minimum Export Price and other export curbs; subsidised dumping by parastatals; and the absence of an exit policy for loss-making public-sector units. Joshi closes by warning that if farmers are 'taken for granted' (गृहीत धरून) and excluded from the benefits of reform while remaining bound by old controls, the entire reform programme will lose credibility. - Open letter to the PM, dated 19 December 1993, defending India's signing of the GATT/Dunkel agreement at Geneva on 15 December 1993. - Frames the Sanghatana as having publicly supported the GATT deal against Hindutvavadi and Kisan Samanvay Samiti opposition. - Demands repeal of Essential Commodities Act controls on sugar, oilseeds, cotton, dairy and silk. - Demands abolition of cooperative monopsonies on cotton, sugarcane procurement and the FCI/levy system. - Demands removal of the Minimum Export Price (MEP) and a halt to subsidised dumping by parastatals. - Demands an exit policy for sick public-sector units and corresponding labour-market reform. - Warns that reform will fail if its benefits stop at industry and farmers remain inside old controls. ### शिवार लिमिटेड — शेअर्ससंबंधी वाढीव सूचना *By वसंतराव बोंडे, प्रमोटर्सकरिता* An unsigned report on the Gujarat Khedut Samaj's planned 26 January 1994 agitation at Ankleshwar against the gas-pipeline and mining-installation project that the report says is being pushed through on land already under farmer cultivation. The piece dates the planning to a 13 October 1993 convention in Vadodara that brought together the Kisan Mehasooli Sangh and other Gujarat farmer formations and announced the slogan 'शेतकरी तिकूळ एक एक' as a coordinating frame with the Shetkari Sanghatana. The Maharashtra Sanghatana is reported to be sending volunteers in solidarity. - Gujarat Khedut Samaj will hold its 26 January 1994 agitation at Ankleshwar against a gas-pipeline / mining project on farmland. - Planning traced to a 13 October 1993 Vadodara convention with the Kisan Mehasooli Sangh and other Gujarat groups. - Co-ordination slogan 'शेतकरी तिकूळ एक एक' adopted with the Shetkari Sanghatana. - Maharashtra Sanghatana cadres to travel to Gujarat in solidarity. ### सुधारांच्या योजनांत शेतकऱ्यांना गृहीत धरून वगळू नका (शरद जोशींचे पंतप्रधानांना पत्र) *By शरद जोशी* An unsigned report drawing on a World Bank ranking dated 30 September 1993 (originally carried in Sakal, 31 December 1993) which shows India's per-capita GDP slipping from $330 in 1991 to $310 in 1992, dropping the country two positions in the global ranking. The piece lists Mozambique, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, Bhutan, Nepal, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, Burundi and Bangladesh among the countries the World Bank now places below India and uses the ranking to indict the Nehruvian planned-economy inheritance that the Sanghatana has long criticised. - World Bank ranking of 30 September 1993 places India among the world's poorest economies. - India's per-capita GDP fell from $330 in 1991 to $310 in 1992 — a two-position drop. - Lists Mozambique, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, Bhutan, Nepal, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, Burundi and Bangladesh as the only countries now poorer. - Frames the ranking as a verdict on the Nehruvian planning model. ### 'गुजरात खेडूत समाज' चे आंदोलन — २६ जानेवारी १९९४ An unsigned editorial on the Maharashtra Chief Minister Sharad Pawar's renewed announcement that liquor shops will be closed wherever a village women's resolution demands it. The piece traces the policy back to a 22 May 1993 Vidhan Sabha statement by the Chief Minister authorising district administrations to act on local women's resolutions, and to a follow-up pledge at the Aurangabad convention of October 1993. It argues that earlier rounds of such announcements have repeatedly failed to translate into actual closures, and reports that the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi, alongside MLAs Moreshwar Tembhe, Vasantrao Bande, Vaman Chatap, Jivraj Tondchirkar and Saroj Kashikar, has resolved to launch a fresh satyagraha on 26 January 1994. - Chief Minister Sharad Pawar has renewed his pledge to act on women's resolutions for closing village liquor shops. - Original policy statement dated 22 May 1993 in the Vidhan Sabha; reaffirmed at the Aurangabad convention of October 1993. - Previous rounds have not been honoured at the ground level, the piece argues. - Shetkari Mahila Aghadi and Sanghatana-backed MLAs will launch a fresh agitation on 26 January 1994. ### भारत आणखी 'गरीब' झाला *By (सकाळ ३१ डिसेंबर १९९३)* A short organisational order ('आदेश आदेश आदेश...') signed by Pasha Patel, president of the Shetkari Sanghatana, mobilising Maharashtra Sanghatana cadres for the Gujarat Khedut Samaj's Ankleshwar agitation. The order asks volunteers to travel via the Surat–Ankleshwar route, carry their own provisions, register at the central reception, refrain from offering shelter in their home villages until further notice, and join the 'Nana Patole Brigade' marching contingent. - Mobilisation order from Pasha Patel, president of Shetkari Sanghatana. - Directs Maharashtra Sanghatana cadres to reach Ankleshwar via Surat for the 26 January 1994 agitation. - Cadres are to carry their own provisions and report to the central reception. - Local district shelter/halt activity is suspended until the order is lifted. - Volunteers asked to join the 'Nana Patole Brigade' contingent. ### दारू दुकान बंदी: मुख्यमंत्र्यांची आणखी एक घोषणा A letter from Saroj Kashikar, president of the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi, addressed to 'भावांनो आणि माय-बहिणींनो' (brothers and mothers/sisters), announcing the Mahila Aghadi's 26 January 1994 satyagraha for the closure of liquor shops in villages whose women have passed resolutions to that effect. The letter sets out five operational asks: that the Mahila Aghadi resolutions be carried village-by-village; that village conventions of all women and Sanghatana cadres be held; that 100,000 women and well-wishers go on file in support; that the public stance against liquor licensing be recorded with district administrations; and that consciousness-raising programmes be carried up to 26 January. - Letter from Shetkari Mahila Aghadi president Saroj Kashikar mobilising for the 26 January 1994 anti-liquor satyagraha. - Calls on village-level women's resolutions to be carried under the 23 October 1993 Maharashtra government order. - Asks for village conventions of women and Sanghatana cadres to be convened. - Sets a target of 100,000 women and supporters publicly backing the Mahila Aghadi's stand. - Asks that opposition to liquor licensing be put on record with district administrations until 26 January 1994. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-july-21-1991/ ### Summary This is the July 21, 1991 fortnightly issue (Year 8, No. 7) of शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak), the Marathi bulletin of the Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement, edited and printed at Chakan with Surechandra Mhatre as editor and Mohan Vihari Naresh as owner. The issue is dominated by two pieces from Sharad Joshi: a front-page editorial 'नाणे निधी — एक शेवग्याचे झाड' ('The IMF — A Drumstick Tree') arguing that the foreign-exchange crisis is symptomatic of the collapse of Nehruvian planning, and the third installment ('लेखांक ३') of his serialised 'राष्ट्रीय कृषिनीती' (National Agricultural Policy), translated into Marathi by Gopalrao Parande. Around these sit a letter to the editor from Devram Ambhure of Ganeshnagar, a short verse 'झेंडा लुटला गेला' by Babuvahan Rishale, an instalment of a translated piece titled 'गरीबांची गरीबी वाढविणारा श्रीमंती मदतीचा हात' which draws on Graham Hancock's 'Lords of Poverty' to critique foreign aid, and a short reportage 'प्रश्न : हरियाणातील शेतकरी बायांचा' by Sandhya Engle of Yavatmal on the condition of Haryana's farm women.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This is the July 21, 1991 fortnightly issue (Year 8, No. 7) of शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak), the Marathi bulletin of the Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement, edited and printed at Chakan with Surechandra Mhatre as editor and Mohan Vihari Naresh as owner. The issue is dominated by two pieces from Sharad Joshi: a front-page editorial 'नाणे निधी — एक शेवग्याचे झाड' ('The IMF — A Drumstick Tree') arguing that the foreign-exchange crisis is symptomatic of the collapse of Nehruvian planning, and the third installment ('लेखांक ३') of his serialised 'राष्ट्रीय कृषिनीती' (National Agricultural Policy), translated into Marathi by Gopalrao Parande. Around these sit a letter to the editor from Devram Ambhure of Ganeshnagar, a short verse 'झेंडा लुटला गेला' by Babuvahan Rishale, an instalment of a translated piece titled 'गरीबांची गरीबी वाढविणारा श्रीमंती मदतीचा हात' which draws on Graham Hancock's 'Lords of Poverty' to critique foreign aid, and a short reportage 'प्रश्न : हरियाणातील शेतकरी बायांचा' by Sandhya Engle of Yavatmal on the condition of Haryana's farm women. Across these pieces the issue advances a single argumentative centre: that India's 1991 crisis is the bankruptcy of Nehruvian socialism, that turning to the IMF is a quick-yielding 'drumstick tree' rather than a structural cure, and that real development must come from agricultural liberalisation, freer markets, and an end to the state's extractive treatment of the peasantry. ## Essays ### नाणे निधी – एक शेवग्याचे झाड *By शरद जोशी* Sharad Joshi's front-page editorial frames the 1991 balance-of-payments crisis as the long-foretold defeat of 'नेहरू अर्थशास्त्र' (Nehruvian economics). He argues that the world has already conceded the failure of closed, command-style economies — Russia under Gorbachev and China under Deng have abandoned the model — and that India's intelligentsia is only now admitting, shyly and partially, what Shetkari Sanghatana's literature has said for years: that industrialisation is a *symptom* of progress, not progress itself, and that genuine development is the expansion of a whole society's economic and social freedoms. Joshi attacks the equation of Nehruvian planning with national self-respect, accuses the Nehruvian state of having extracted from agriculture through manipulated terms of trade, and dismisses the IMF loan as a 'शेवग्याचे झाड' — a quick-yielding drumstick tree that yields a few foreign-exchange pods but is no substitute for the structural alternative of an export-led, agriculture-centred open economy. He contrasts this with Gandhi's village-self-sufficiency model and with the Shetkari Sanghatana programme of remunerative prices and freedom from state controls, arguing that the latter, not IMF conditionality, is the real exit from the crisis. - Reads the 1991 foreign-exchange crisis as confirmation that Nehruvian planning has collapsed, not merely stumbled. - Distinguishes 'industrialisation' from 'development', defining development as the growth of a whole society's economic and social freedoms. - Holds that the Nehruvian state extracted surplus from agriculture through rigged terms of trade, leaving rural India impoverished. - Treats the IMF loan as a 'drumstick tree' — a quick yield, not a structural cure for the foreign-exchange crunch. - Argues that an export-oriented, agriculture-led open economy is the real alternative, one the Shetkari Sanghatana literature has long set out. ### बांधावरील पत्रव्यवहार: त्यांचे पाप त्यांच्या पदरात घालायला पुन्हा कंबर कसावी लागणार *By देवराम अंभुरे, गणेशनगर, जि. अहमदनगर* A letter to the editor ('बांधावरील पत्रव्यवहार') dated 8 July 1991 from Devram Ambhure of Ganeshnagar (Ahmednagar district), addressed to Sharad Joshi. Ambhure responds to a recent Shetkari Sanghatak piece headlined 'हे पाप तुमचे आहे' ('This sin is yours'). He accepts the diagnosis that the liberalisers and saamyavadis sit in opposite trenches but warns Joshi that the Sanghatana itself has not built the cadre or the psychological readiness among farmers needed to convert the new opening into actual gains; he urges new training programmes and the recruitment of fresh activists, even as he reaffirms loyalty to the movement. - Reader endorses Joshi's framing that liberalisers and socialists are in opposing trenches. - Warns that Shetkari Sanghatana has not prepared its activists to capitalise on the new policy opening. - Calls for new training programmes and a fresh wave of recruits. - Closes with a personal pledge of continued allegiance to the movement. ### झेंडा लुटला गेला *By बबरुवाहन रसाळे, वाकळी, जि. लातूर* A short Marathi verse 'झेंडा लुटला गेला' ('The flag was looted away') by Babuvahan Rishale of Wakli (Latur district). The poem laments that while readers are still reciting the dry historical credentials of past nationalists, the Nehruvian state has hollowed out the village republics Gandhi promised — the flag of Gandhi's gram-swarajya was looted before it could even be unfurled in the empty stomachs of the famished. - Treats the gap between the rhetoric of nationalist history and the lived hunger of villagers. - Casts the Nehruvian decades as the moment Gandhi's village-republic flag was 'looted'. ### राष्ट्रीय कृषिनीती — लेखांक ३: जीवनाधार कार्यक्रम अभियान धरती *By शरद जोशी (मराठी भाषांतर: श्री गोपालराव पारुडे, पुणे)* The third instalment ('लेखांक ३') of Sharad Joshi's serialised 'राष्ट_ीय कृषिनीती' (National Agricultural Policy), translated into Marathi from Joshi's English original by Gopalrao Parande of Pune. This instalment sets out a programmatic 'जीवनाधार कार्यक्रम' ('Life-support Programme') labelled 'अभियान धरती' and is organised into numbered policy clauses (roughly clauses 43–69) covering land use, soil conservation, rainfed farming, mechanisation, seed and varietal development, fertiliser and energy use, irrigation reform, food supply, dairy and poultry, fisheries, horticulture and forestry, and the diversification of farm income. The dominant themes are: ending the state's extractive treatment of agriculture; consolidating fragmented holdings and lifting ceilings that block efficient land use; redirecting subsidies away from large irrigation projects toward rainfed farming and groundwater recharge; modernising input supply through farmer-cooperatives rather than state monopolies; and treating the farmer as an entrepreneur with full pricing and marketing freedom rather than as a ward of the state. - Lays out 'अभियान धरती', a land-and-livelihood programme that frames rural policy as life-support rather than welfare. - Calls for repeal or restructuring of land-ceiling and tenancy laws that block efficient consolidation and leasing. - Reorients irrigation investment from mega-projects toward rainfed farming, watershed development and groundwater recharge. - Pushes mechanisation, modern seeds, balanced fertiliser and electricity supply for farms via cooperative and private channels, not state monopoly. - Frames dairy, poultry, fisheries, horticulture and forestry as commercial diversification routes for the farm household, with the farmer treated as entrepreneur. ### गरीबांची गरीबी वाढविणारा श्रीमंती मदतीचा हात The opening instalment (marked 'क्रमशः' — 'to be continued') of a translated piece titled 'गरीबांची गरीबी वाढविणारा श्रीमंती मदतीचा हात' ('The rich man's helping hand that deepens the poor man's poverty'). It surveys the multi-billion-dollar industry of bilateral and multilateral aid from rich countries to the poor, anchored on Graham Hancock's 'Lords of Poverty', and argues that under the slogan of 'international health and development' the aid apparatus has become a self-serving employment scheme for Western consultants and a political instrument that hollows out recipient states. Specific examples include Somalia, where aid-funded experts drew salaries 50 times those of local cabinet ministers; the World Bank's resort-style meetings; and US food aid that is described as politically conditional rather than charitable. - Frames foreign aid as a rich-country industry that perpetuates rather than relieves poverty in the recipient countries. - Cites Graham Hancock's 'Lords of Poverty' as the source for figures on aid-worker salaries and lifestyles. - Argues that food aid and project aid are deployed as instruments of donor political influence. - Marked 'क्रमशः' — explicitly a first instalment of a longer translation. ### प्रश्न: हरियाणातील शेतकरी बायांचा *By सौ. संध्या इंगोले, यवतमाळ* A short reportage piece by Sandhya Engle of Yavatmal recounting a 3 May 1991 visit by a delegation of two women and five men from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh to Haryana, where they were detained by police on suspicion of being agitators while travelling to a Shetkari Sanghatana programme. The piece focuses on what the delegation observed of Haryana farm women — their long working day milking buffaloes from 4 a.m., the absence of literacy and of any meaningful leisure, the brutality of domestic life behind the appearance of agricultural prosperity, and the conclusion that the women themselves do not yet articulate their condition as a problem. Engle closes with a citation of an Economic Times report that traces the persistent poverty of farm labour to the trap of land-ceiling laws preventing leasing. - Personal reportage by a Sanghatana woman activist on a visit to Haryana farm villages. - Sketches the long, unrelieved working day of farm women in supposedly prosperous Haryana. - Argues that the deepest barrier is that the women themselves have not yet named their condition as a grievance. - Ends by linking landless-labour poverty to land-ceiling laws that block leasing-in. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-july-21-1992/ ### Summary Issue 8 of Year 9 of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak, dated 21 July 1992, is anchored by Sharad Joshi's long lead essay on the Ayodhya question and built out with shorter pieces on the political economy and movement-organisational concerns of the Shetkari Sanghatana. Joshi opens by asking, pointedly, whether any party — BJP, Congress, the Vajpayee-led judicial-negotiation track or the Mulayam Singh-led secular bloc — actually wants the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute resolved, and outlines a six-point compromise that would leave the disputed site to those who consider it Ram's birthplace while building a new mosque close by.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary Issue 8 of Year 9 of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak, dated 21 July 1992, is anchored by Sharad Joshi's long lead essay on the Ayodhya question and built out with shorter pieces on the political economy and movement-organisational concerns of the Shetkari Sanghatana. Joshi opens by asking, pointedly, whether any party — BJP, Congress, the Vajpayee-led judicial-negotiation track or the Mulayam Singh-led secular bloc — actually wants the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute resolved, and outlines a six-point compromise that would leave the disputed site to those who consider it Ram's birthplace while building a new mosque close by. The issue is interleaved with the Sanghatana's signature concerns: a Nanded organiser's complaint that cadres feel rudderless without training; a Hindi reflection by Manvendra Prakritya on the Ram-Masjid impasse; reports on the flight of NRI deposits and a renewed foreign-exchange crunch; a sharp jab at Manmohan Singh's reform rhetoric; an attack on grain imports under the Narasimha Rao government as proof that the centre is sinking into food dependence; and front-page-style headlines arguing that the Indian state recoils from a real National Agricultural Policy even as it (selectively) frees small industry from the licence raj. A women's section and a notice about the Lakshmi Mukti programme's data-collection round-table round out the number. ## Essays ### अयोध्या प्रश्न सोडवण्याची कुणाला इच्छा आहे का हो? *By — शरद जोशी.* Sharad Joshi's lead essay treats the Ayodhya dispute as a problem nobody in formal politics actually wants solved. He walks through how the issue has burnt the Vishwanath Pratap Singh and Chandra Shekhar governments and now sits in front of the Narasimha Rao government, and argues that the Congress, the BJP, and the various secular formations all have electoral incentives to keep the wound open rather than negotiate. He frames the case as a test of the Indian state's character and offers a four-point compromise: that the disputed Ramjanmabhoomi site itself be handed to those who hold it sacred as Ram's birthplace, that the existing mosque structure not be desecrated, that a new mosque be built near the boundary of the temple complex, and that the whole matter be settled by political agreement rather than dragged through further court proceedings or street agitation. Joshi reads the rival 'samanvay' (reconciliation) proposals of the Vajpayee track and the Mulayam Singh track as cover for inaction, and he is equally tart about Kalyan Singh's Uttar Pradesh government, the cricket-tour distractions of the cadre, and the willingness of leaders to pose as champions of either community without paying any real cost. The piece is a polemical plea for treating Ayodhya as a political problem with a political solution, not a sacral cause to be milked. - Frames the Ayodhya dispute as one that all major parties have an electoral interest in keeping unresolved. - Reviews how the issue brought down successive central governments and now confronts the Narasimha Rao ministry. - Proposes a four-point compromise: hand the Janmabhoomi site to those who revere it as Ram's birthplace, leave the existing mosque structure undefiled, build a new mosque adjacent to the temple precinct, and settle by negotiation not litigation. - Dismisses the 'samanvay' formulae of the Vajpayee and Mulayam Singh camps as cover for paralysis. - Reads the Kalyan Singh government's posture and the BJP cadre's drift into cricket-tour militancy as evidence that the temple movement is treated as theatre rather than a problem to solve. ### कार्यकर्त्यांना प्रशिक्षणअभावी निराधार वाटते *By — श्री. विठ्ठल भंडरवाड, कोसमेट (नांदेड)* Vitthal Bhandarwad of Kosmet (Nanded) argues that the Shetkari Sanghatana's frontline cadre feels strategically adrift because no proper training-camp track has been built behind the agitations. He proposes a three-day district-level training shibir that would walk activists through Sharad Joshi's economic framework, the movement's policy positions and the practical work of a sanghatana karyakarta, so that the organisation can renew itself from below at a time when farm distress is once again forcing the issue. - Diagnoses a training vacuum behind the Sanghatana's agitational successes. - Frames training as the way to convert sympathisers into informed cadre fluent in Joshi's framework. - Proposes a three-day district-level shibir as a replicable format. - Treats organisational renewal as the precondition for any new phase of the farmers' movement. ### अनिवासी भारतीय ठेवी परत घेऊ लागले — भारत पुन्हा एकदा परकीय चलनाच्या संकटात A short report warns that NRIs have begun pulling their deposits out of Indian banks, threatening a fresh foreign-exchange crisis only a few years after the 1990–91 squeeze. Citing Economic Times figures it notes that withdrawals in the most recent quarter reached the order of hundreds of millions of dollars, and reads the trend as a vote of no-confidence in the new industrial and monetary regime by the very diaspora capital the reforms were supposed to attract. - Reports a renewed outflow of NRI deposits from Indian banks. - Cites Economic Times data on the scale and pace of withdrawals. - Reads the outflow as a signal that diaspora capital does not trust the new regime. - Warns that another 1991-style foreign-exchange crisis is in the offing. ### राम-मस्जिद करने में जाता क्या है? *By — मानवेन्द्र प्राकृत्येय* Manvendra Prakritya, writing in Hindi, takes the rhetorical question 'what does it take to just build the Ram temple?' and turns it on the temple movement itself. He argues that successive governments have in fact cleared the way for construction, that the real obstruction is the movement's preference for a politically charged Babri site over alternative locations near the supposed birthplace, and that a 'vote-bank' calculation on both Hindu and Muslim sides keeps the issue burning. The piece ends with a sharp domestic-economy aside about how the urban poor are being asked to absorb the cost of the new policies while attention is monopolised by the shrine dispute. - Treats the 'why not just build the temple?' rhetoric as bad faith. - Argues that legal and political space for construction near the disputed site already exists. - Reads both Hindu and Muslim leaderships as captive to vote-bank arithmetic. - Links the Ayodhya distraction to silent suffering under price-rise and policy adjustment. ### मन मोहनाऽऽ बडे झूठे ... A short piece on the Manmohan Singh-led liberalisation package argues that the Finance Minister's promises of relief to farmers are empty: industrial protection has been preserved while agricultural prices remain suppressed, and the rural and urban poor are being asked to carry the adjustment. The author urges that the Sanghatana respond by raising the demand for parity between farm and industry under the new regime. - Reads Manmohan Singh's reforms as preserving industrial protection while squeezing farmers. - Treats the FM's relief rhetoric as cosmetic. - Calls for a Sanghatana counter-demand for farm-industry parity inside the reform package. ### धान्याची आयात : बुडत्याचा पाय खोलात A reported piece argues that the Narasimha Rao government's decision to import roughly ten lakh tonnes of grain is not the prudent stop-gap it claims to be but a confession that domestic procurement policy has failed farmers. The article assembles wholesale-price data from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to show that producer prices have collapsed below remunerative levels even as the centre buys abroad, and reads the imports as proof that the state would rather underwrite foreign producers than pay Indian farmers a fair price. - Frames grain imports as evidence of the failure of domestic procurement, not of a supply shortfall. - Cites mandi-price data from northern states showing producer prices below cost. - Argues that imports subsidise foreign farmers at the cost of Indian ones. - Treats the policy as a slow drowning of the rural economy. ### लक्ष्मीमुक्ती कार्यक्रम माहिती संकलनाबाबत A short editorial-page piece argues that the Government of India recoils from any genuine National Agricultural Policy because such a policy would force it to confront the price-and-procurement distortions on which urban industrial growth has rested. The author calls for the Sanghatana to push the demand for a real, written national farm policy as the next item on its agenda. - Reads the absence of a National Agricultural Policy as a deliberate avoidance. - Argues that a real policy would expose the urban-industrial subsidy embedded in farm-price suppression. - Sets a written national farm policy as the next Sanghatana demand. ### इंडिया शासनाला राष्ट्रीय कृषिनीतीचे वावडे A short policy report welcomes the central government's notification under which small-scale units below specified investment thresholds will no longer need an industrial licence, and quotes the Maharashtra industries department circular implementing it. The piece treats the move as a long-overdue concession to small enterprise, even while flagging that the same liberalising logic is being denied to agriculture. - Reports the central de-licensing of small-scale industry under specified investment limits. - Cites the Maharashtra industries department circular implementing the change. - Welcomes the move as relief to small entrepreneurs. - Implicitly contrasts it with the continued regulation of agricultural trade. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] शेतकरी संघटक URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-july-6-1992/ ### Summary Shetkari Sanghatak (शेतकरी संघटक), the Marathi-language fortnightly of the agrarian-reform Shetkari Sanghatana founded by Sharad Joshi, devotes this issue (Year 9, No. 7, dated 6 July 1992) to a sustained polemic against the Nehruvian intellectual settlement and its post-1991 inheritors. Joshi's lead essay 'नीरो चे वारस' ('Nero's Heirs') casts the new environmentalist, anti-Dunkel and anti-multinational chorus as the latest avatar of the closed-economy, planning-state mentality that Nehru bequeathed. Companion pieces extend the critique to the cotton monopoly purchase scheme (Joshi's open letter refusing committee membership), the dairy 'permit raj' that survives the 1991 liberalisation only for rural 'Bharat', and the dynastic corruption embodied in the Rajiv Gandhi-era 'Idvellisia/KGB' affair. A reported summary of Joshi's Sapre Smarak lecture at Sangli broadens the indictment to Nehru's political failures — Kashmir, the Sino-Indian collapse — alongside the economic ones, while Mo. Ha. Ajagaonkar's column attacks the Sharad Pawar electoral machine in Maharashtra.… ### Body # शेतकरी संघटक ## Summary Shetkari Sanghatak (शेतकरी संघटक), the Marathi-language fortnightly of the agrarian-reform Shetkari Sanghatana founded by Sharad Joshi, devotes this issue (Year 9, No. 7, dated 6 July 1992) to a sustained polemic against the Nehruvian intellectual settlement and its post-1991 inheritors. Joshi's lead essay 'नीरो चे वारस' ('Nero's Heirs') casts the new environmentalist, anti-Dunkel and anti-multinational chorus as the latest avatar of the closed-economy, planning-state mentality that Nehru bequeathed. Companion pieces extend the critique to the cotton monopoly purchase scheme (Joshi's open letter refusing committee membership), the dairy 'permit raj' that survives the 1991 liberalisation only for rural 'Bharat', and the dynastic corruption embodied in the Rajiv Gandhi-era 'Idvellisia/KGB' affair. A reported summary of Joshi's Sapre Smarak lecture at Sangli broadens the indictment to Nehru's political failures — Kashmir, the Sino-Indian collapse — alongside the economic ones, while Mo. Ha. Ajagaonkar's column attacks the Sharad Pawar electoral machine in Maharashtra. Gail Omvedt contributes the second half of her field report on the Lakshmimukti (women's land-rights) movement, including her North-American tour and meetings with U.S. Green Party feminists. Two short closing items from the ground — a drought-year editorial urging subsistence cropping and a reportorial note on a farmer-run night market at Wakad, Pune that bypasses middlemen — extend the issue's market-versus-state frame into operational practice. The back page also reproduces the Sanghatana's masthead notice 'ऊठ किसाना घे मशाल, अन्यायाला जाळ खुशाल' alongside the official cotton-scheme price-and-grade table. ## Essays ### 'नीरो' चे वारस *By लेखक : शरद जोशी* Sharad Joshi's flagship polemic, occupying the entire first half of the issue, names Nehru as the 'Nero' who fiddled while India burned and identifies a new generation of his heirs — Marxists, Gandhian socialists, anti-Dunkel campaigners, anti-multinational activists, and the freshly mobilised environmentalist lobby — as the same closed-economy mentality reincarnated under fresh banners. Joshi opens by quoting the position he intends to demolish: that giving farmers the freedom to sell at home or abroad will damage 'rural people, nature, and the whole anti-culture'. He then traces the lineage from Nehru's industrial planning through the Indira-era nationalisations to the present coalition of NGO-style environmentalists who, he argues, function as the urban-intellectual front for keeping 'Bharat' (the rural producer) subordinated to 'India' (the protected urban consumer). The Dunkel draft of the GATT Uruguay Round — proposed by an international official named Dunkel — becomes the test case: Joshi defends it as the first external pressure capable of dismantling the licence-permit-quota regime that Nehruvian self-reliance built, and treats the noisy opposition to it as proof that the 'Nero's Heirs' coalition is alive and well. The essay closes with a programmatic image — that Nero's half-burnt remains must be permanently buried — and a call for farmers to recognise the new environmentalism as old socialism in green clothing. - Frames Nehru as 'Nero' and the contemporary anti-reform lobby — environmentalists, anti-Dunkel campaigners, residual socialists — as his heirs. - Distinguishes 'Bharat' (rural producers) from 'India' (urban consumers) and argues both Nehruvian planners and new environmentalists serve the latter at the expense of the former. - Defends the Dunkel draft of the GATT Uruguay Round as the first credible solvent for India's licence-permit-quota regime. - Reads the post-1991 environmentalism as a re-coding of Nehruvian industrialisation-critique that nevertheless preserves the same dirigiste reflexes. - Closes with the programmatic image that 'Nero's' charred remains must be buried for good — a call to bury the planning-state inheritance entirely. ### कापूस एकाधिकार — नवीन योजनाही शेतकरीविरोधीच असणार *By शरद जोशी* An open letter from Sharad Joshi to the Maharashtra Minister of Cooperation and Textiles (dated 1 July 1992) declining a seat on the Cotton Monopoly Purchase Scheme committee. Joshi argues that the new scheme is, like its predecessors, structurally anti-farmer and that his participation would only lend the appearance of farmer endorsement to a fundamentally unsound policy. He recapitulates the Shetkari Sanghatana's long-standing objection to monopoly procurement and lists, point by point, why a committee re-design cannot rescue a policy whose premises are wrong. - Joshi formally refuses to serve on the Maharashtra government's Cotton Monopoly Purchase Scheme committee. - Argues the scheme is anti-farmer by design — committee redesign cannot save a flawed monopoly. - Frames his refusal as preventing the state from using a farmer-leader's name to legitimise the policy. ### ही हिम्मत बोफोर्स प्रकरणी का नाही? A boxed sidebar on the same page asks why the journalistic and political courage now on display in exposing certain financial scandals was absent in the Bofors affair — a brief polemical aside on selective scrutiny of the Rajiv Gandhi-era armaments scandal. - Short polemical box questioning the selective courage of the press and politicians. - Reads Bofors as the paradigmatic untouchable scandal of the Congress establishment. ### लक्ष्मीमुक्ती आणि स्त्रीमुक्ती चळवळीच्या कार्यकर्त्यांना (उत्तरार्ध) *By गेल ऑम्बेट, कासेगाव (सांगली)* The concluding (उत्तरार्ध) half of Gail Omvedt's field report on the Lakshmimukti and women's-liberation activists associated with the Shetkari Sanghatana, picking up from a February 1992 instalment. Writing from Kasegaon (Sangli district), Omvedt recounts a U.S. tour: meetings with Green Party women, the activist Dr. Aileen Diamond, and others in California; conversations with American feminists on environment-and-development questions; and the connection she draws back to organising in Maharashtra. The essay also describes solidarity links spanning Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and the Marathi countryside, situating Lakshmimukti as both a property-rights movement (joint-titling of land for wives) and a women's-autonomy movement. A right-hand sidebar lists Shetkari Sanghatak's lifetime subscribers from late June to early July 1992. - Continues Omvedt's earlier (February 1992) account of Lakshmimukti — the joint-titling-of-land campaign — as both a property-rights and women's-liberation initiative. - Reports on her U.S. tour: encounters with Green Party women, Dr. Aileen Diamond, and American feminists working on environment-and-development. - Maps cross-state activist links — Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu — and reads them as a single emergent network. - Side panel enumerates Shetkari Sanghatak's lifetime subscribers from 21 June to 4 July 1992. ### नेहरूंचे आर्थिकच काय, राजकीय धोरणही अपयशी *By मा. शरदरावजी जोशी यांनी सप्रेम नमस्कार वि. वि.* A boxed report on Sharad Joshi's 21 June 1992 address at the Sapre Smarak Vyakhyanmala (Sangli), filed for the fortnightly. The lecture argues that not only Nehru's economic policies but his political policies failed — the Kashmir question, the Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai collapse, and the broader strategic settlement. Joshi places Nehru and Gandhi at the top of the modern Indian pantheon but insists that if a third figure must be named it is Lokmanya Tilak, and he uses the Sapre platform to argue that India's foreign-policy failures and economic failures share a common root in the Nehruvian assumption that the state can substitute for society. References to M.N. Roy's critique of socialism, the Kashmir and border problems, and Govind Vallabh Pant frame the political argument. - Reports Joshi's claim that Nehru's political record (Kashmir, China) is as much a failure as his economic record. - Names Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru as the twin pillars of modern Indian leadership, with Lokmanya Tilak as the only possible third. - Connects foreign-policy collapse and economic stagnation to the same Nehruvian state-overreach premise. ### सत्तामत्त फुडारी *By गो. ह. आणाले, ३५ व सुभाषनगर, पुणे १६* A signed column by Mo. Ha. Ajagaonkar (Pune, 25 June 1992) attacking Maharashtra Chief Minister Sharad Pawar as a 'power-drunk' (सत्तामत्त) leader whose electoral machine extracts office through gangster-style coercion. The piece reaches back to the Bofors-era Congress to argue that the dynastic-corruption habit has been internalised by state-level satraps and warns that Pawar's grip on Maharashtra reproduces in miniature the national pattern. - Frames Sharad Pawar's politics in Maharashtra as 'satta-matt' (power-drunk) and coercive. - Reads the Pawar machine as a regional echo of Bofors-era Congress dynastic corruption. ### 'भारता'साठी परमिट राज्यच! An editorial column reading a 12 June 1992 Economic Times report on the dairy-monopoly regime: while urban 'India' has enjoyed the post-1991 liberalisation rhetoric, the milk producer in 'Bharat' continues to live under licensing, single-buyer compulsion and permit-raj. The piece argues that the persistence of the milk monopoly is the cleanest empirical refutation of the claim that India has 'opened up'. - Uses the dairy procurement regime as evidence that the post-1991 reforms left the rural producer inside an unreformed permit-raj. - Reads the divide as the Sanghatana's 'India versus Bharat' axis applied to one commodity. ### चिखलप्रूफ भ्रष्ट घराणे A polemical column on what it calls the 'mud-proof corrupt dynasties' of Indian politics — focused on the Rajiv Gandhi-era Italian/KGB-linked 'Idvellisia' affair and the broader Congress habit of letting scandal slide off its first family. The piece argues that institutional accountability cannot function while the same Nehru-Gandhi lineage controls both the executive and the discursive frame. - Names the 'Idvellisia' affair as another iteration of unaccountable Congress dynastic corruption. - Argues that institutional accountability fails when the ruling family also controls the discourse. ### शेतकऱ्यांनी यंदा स्वतःपुरते पिकवावे A short back-page editorial calling on farmers to grow only for their own subsistence during the 1992 monsoon — the rains have failed in stretches, market prices will not compensate sown-area expansion, and the state's procurement architecture cannot be relied on. The piece reads less as a tactical recommendation than as an act of protest: if the market is rigged and the procurement state is broken, withdrawal of surplus is the only rational reply. - Urges farmers to confine 1992 cropping to household subsistence given the failed monsoon and broken procurement system. - Frames the withdrawal of marketable surplus as a deliberate protest against rigged commodity markets. ### शेतकऱ्यांनी स्वतःच मार्ग शोधला — दलालांपासून मुक्ती मिळविलेला रात्रीचा बाजार A reportorial note from the Krushi Utpanna Bazar Samiti at Wakad, near Pimpri-Chinchwad in Pune district, describing a newly opened night vegetable market (rātrīcā bāzār) that lets producers reach urban buyers without dealer middlemen. Sales began 19 June 1992 and have grown rapidly. The piece reads the experiment as practical confirmation of the Sanghatana's policy line — disintermediation is what farmers actually want, given the option. - Reports a successful farmer-run night vegetable market at Wakad that bypasses dealer commissions. - Reads the experiment as on-the-ground vindication of the Sanghatana's anti-middleman programme. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-july-6-1995/ ### Summary This is the 6 July 1995 number (Year 12, Issue 5) of Shetkari Sanghatak, the Marathi fortnightly of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana. The lead editorial 'देवाच्या दरबारात…' ('In God's Court…') opens by quoting Mahatma Gandhi's 23 January 1932 Young India piece on the gulf between urban Indians and the half-fed, dying peasantry, and argues that India's celebration of freedom rings hollow as long as the village population remains unfree — that the urban-industrial order continues colonial-era extraction from the countryside. The second front-page report, 'बङ्या कारखानदारांकडील बँकांची थकबाकी सदतीस हजार कोटी' ('Bank dues from big industrialists run to thirty-seven thousand crore'), draws on a 26 June 1995 Times of India 'Major Industrial Houses figure in Bank's NPA List' to argue that elite houses — Mallya, Modi, Singhania, Khaitan and others — have left over ₹37,000 crore unpaid to public banks, dwarfing aggregate farmer loan dues.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This is the 6 July 1995 number (Year 12, Issue 5) of Shetkari Sanghatak, the Marathi fortnightly of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana. The lead editorial 'देवाच्या दरबारात…' ('In God's Court…') opens by quoting Mahatma Gandhi's 23 January 1932 Young India piece on the gulf between urban Indians and the half-fed, dying peasantry, and argues that India's celebration of freedom rings hollow as long as the village population remains unfree — that the urban-industrial order continues colonial-era extraction from the countryside. The second front-page report, 'बङ्या कारखानदारांकडील बँकांची थकबाकी सदतीस हजार कोटी' ('Bank dues from big industrialists run to thirty-seven thousand crore'), draws on a 26 June 1995 Times of India 'Major Industrial Houses figure in Bank's NPA List' to argue that elite houses — Mallya, Modi, Singhania, Khaitan and others — have left over ₹37,000 crore unpaid to public banks, dwarfing aggregate farmer loan dues. The piece uses this contrast to attack the political framing that treats farm-loan waivers as fiscally irresponsible while industrial defaults are quietly rolled over since the Indira Gandhi-era bank nationalisation. Inside pages carry two interview-format pieces: 'शरद जोशींच्या अर्थशास्त्रात तथ्य आहे', in which NABARD officer S. Shankar Menon endorses Joshi's farm economics after a visit to Ambethan, and 'निर्यातीवरील सर्व बंधने उठवावीत', in which agricultural economists Dr. Ashok Gulati and Dr. C. Hanumantha Rao call for the removal of all restrictions on agricultural exports. The issue also announces a three-day Krishi Arth Prabodhini training course (18–20 June 1995) held jointly with the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi, with a curriculum covering economic-era theory, market behaviour, ideological currents, evolution, organisation and consolidation. The back half of the issue prints the July–August 1995 district tour calendar of the Sanghatana's newly elected state president Shri Babasaheb Deshmukh (based at the divisional office in Kalmanthi-Bunzari, Nanded) alongside a parallel tour by the new Mahila Aghadi president Mrs. Indira Patil; outgoing Mahila Aghadi president Saroj Kakodikar's farewell address from Wardha to the women's farmer movement; and an obituary for Prof. Ramesh Shipurkar, the paper's Aurangabad correspondent for fourteen years and a long-time Sanghatana volunteer, who died on 8 May 1995. ## Key points - Lead editorial 'देवाच्या दरबारात…' opens with Mahatma Gandhi's 23 January 1932 'Young India' indictment of urban India's blindness to dying peasants, and argues that Indian freedom is incomplete while villages remain unfree. - Front-page report uses a Times of India NPA list (26 June 1995) to argue that big industrial houses owe public banks more than ₹37,000 crore, dwarfing aggregate farmer loan dues — a polemical counter to the standard objection to farm-loan waivers. - Interview slug 'शरद जोशींच्या अर्थशास्त्रात तथ्य आहे' reports NABARD officer S. Shankar Menon's visit to Sharad Joshi at Ambethan and his stated agreement with Joshi's farm-economics framework. - Agricultural economists Dr. Ashok Gulati and Dr. C. Hanumantha Rao are reported as calling for all restrictions on agricultural exports to be lifted. - The Shetkari Sanghatana announces a three-day Krishi Arth Prabodhini training course (18–20 June 1995), run jointly with the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi, with a six-module curriculum covering economic-era theory, market behaviour, ideological currents, evolution, organisation and consolidation. - Tour schedule of the newly elected state president Shri Babasaheb Deshmukh (Nanded office) covers districts across Maharashtra in July–August 1995, paired with a parallel tour by new Mahila Aghadi president Mrs. Indira Patil. - Outgoing Mahila Aghadi president Saroj Kakodikar (Wardha) signs off with a reflection on rural women's economic self-organisation. - The issue closes with an obituary for Prof. Ramesh Shipurkar, the paper's Aurangabad correspondent for fourteen years, who died on 8 May 1995. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-june-6-1992/ ### Summary This eight-page Marathi fortnightly issue of Shetkari Sanghatak (Vol. 9, No. 5, dated 6 June 1992) is given over almost entirely to a long policy speech by Sharad Joshi on Maharashtra's Cotton Monopoly Procurement Scheme ("Maharashtra Ekadhikar Kapus Kharedi Yojana"), which the state government had convened a fresh round of discussions about. Joshi traces the scheme's history from its 1971 launch as a socialist intervention meant to protect cotton growers from private trader exploitation, and argues that twenty years on it has become the opposite of its founding promise: a low-price guarantee scheme that effectively subsidises the textile-mill lobby with cheap raw cotton at the cultivator's expense. Comparing Maharashtra prices over many seasons with those obtained by the Gujarat cooperative system and by the open market, he marshals year-by-year tables showing Maharashtra growers consistently received lower final prices, smaller weighted averages, and a markedly smaller share of the rui (lint) realisation than Gujarat's cooperative growers. Joshi's argument is two-pronged. First, the monopoly purchase must end because its administrative costs (he gives figures of roughly Rs.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This eight-page Marathi fortnightly issue of Shetkari Sanghatak (Vol. 9, No. 5, dated 6 June 1992) is given over almost entirely to a long policy speech by Sharad Joshi on Maharashtra's Cotton Monopoly Procurement Scheme ("Maharashtra Ekadhikar Kapus Kharedi Yojana"), which the state government had convened a fresh round of discussions about. Joshi traces the scheme's history from its 1971 launch as a socialist intervention meant to protect cotton growers from private trader exploitation, and argues that twenty years on it has become the opposite of its founding promise: a low-price guarantee scheme that effectively subsidises the textile-mill lobby with cheap raw cotton at the cultivator's expense. Comparing Maharashtra prices over many seasons with those obtained by the Gujarat cooperative system and by the open market, he marshals year-by-year tables showing Maharashtra growers consistently received lower final prices, smaller weighted averages, and a markedly smaller share of the rui (lint) realisation than Gujarat's cooperative growers. Joshi's argument is two-pronged. First, the monopoly purchase must end because its administrative costs (he gives figures of roughly Rs. 30–80 per quintal in scheme overheads), its quality grading, and its delayed payments have all hurt rather than helped the farmer. Second, if the government will not dismantle the scheme it must at least reform it along farmer-friendly lines: deregulate the floor and price-supplement mechanisms, allow open-market trade alongside the monopoly, end the practice of treating the scheme as a free warehouse for mill owners, and pay growers promptly and fully. He frames the political stakes by warning, in a separate boxed editorial titled "Is the government inviting agitation?", that another season of bad procurement will reopen the cycle of farmer protest that Shetkari Sanghatana led in the 1980s. The back page carries a parallel item from the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi (the Sanghatana's women's wing) titled "What did Lakshmimukti give me?" — a continuation of the organisation's Lakshmimukti campaign for transferring agricultural land titles into women's names, with a personal-testimony framing aimed at the next phase of the campaign. The same page records a book-release event at Boregaon (Parbhani district) where the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi released a volume of farm-women's poems, and prints the editorial colophon (publisher Mohan V. Varade, editor Sureshchandra Mhatre, registered office at Ambethan in Khed taluka, Pune district). ## Key points - The issue is dominated by a long Sharad Joshi speech arguing that Maharashtra's Cotton Monopoly Procurement Scheme must either be wound up or fundamentally re-engineered to be farmer-friendly. - Joshi reads the 1971-vintage monopoly as a socialist measure that has decayed into a de facto subsidy for textile mills, paying growers below open-market and Gujarat-cooperative rates. - Tables compare Maharashtra monopoly prices with Gujarat cooperative prices and open-market rates across many seasons, showing Maharashtra growers consistently received less and got a smaller share of the rui (lint) realisation. - He puts administrative overhead at roughly Rs. 30–80 per quintal and argues this cost makes the scheme structurally hostile to the cultivator. - Reform demands include opening parallel free-market sales, ending arbitrary grading, paying farmers promptly, and using price-supplement funds ("kimat chadhautar nidhi") in the grower's interest rather than the mill's. - A boxed editorial warns that continued mismanagement of procurement will provoke renewed farmer agitation in the cotton belt of Vidarbha, Marathwada and beyond. - A back-page Shetkari Mahila Aghadi piece, "Lakshmimukti ne mala kay dile?", builds on the organisation's campaign to transfer farmland titles into women's names, framing it through women's testimony. - Closing notices report a farm-women's poetry collection released at Boregaon (Parbhani) and give the Shetkari Sanghatana's relocated central office address at Ambethan, Khed. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-june-21-1995/ ### Summary This is Issue 4, Year 12 (21 June 1995) of *Shetkari Sanghatak* (शेतकरी संघटक), the Marathi fortnightly bulletin of the Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement, edited by Sureshchandra Mhatre and printed at 6, Budhwar Peth, Pune. The rendered pages carry a full report (वृत्तांत) of the extended working-committee meeting held at Ambethan on 3-4 June 1995, profile sketches of the newly elected office-bearers Shankar Dhondge (organisation president) and Indirabai Bhanudas Patil (Mahila Aghadi president), an opinion piece (मनोगत) by Balubhau Jain from Alibag arguing that meetings have shifted from being kāryakartā-driven to functionary-driven, and a programmatic statement by Indirabai Patil setting out the Mahila Aghadi's four-fold agenda — Lakshmimukti (women's land rights), prohibition, maternity leave, and women's participation in decision-making.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This is Issue 4, Year 12 (21 June 1995) of *Shetkari Sanghatak* (शेतकरी संघटक), the Marathi fortnightly bulletin of the Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement, edited by Sureshchandra Mhatre and printed at 6, Budhwar Peth, Pune. The rendered pages carry a full report (वृत्तांत) of the extended working-committee meeting held at Ambethan on 3-4 June 1995, profile sketches of the newly elected office-bearers Shankar Dhondge (organisation president) and Indirabai Bhanudas Patil (Mahila Aghadi president), an opinion piece (मनोगत) by Balubhau Jain from Alibag arguing that meetings have shifted from being kāryakartā-driven to functionary-driven, and a programmatic statement by Indirabai Patil setting out the Mahila Aghadi's four-fold agenda — Lakshmimukti (women's land rights), prohibition, maternity leave, and women's participation in decision-making. A back-page notice announces enrolment for the September 1995 Krishi Arth Prabodhini training camp at Ambethan. The central political question taken up at the Ambethan meeting is how the Sanghatana should read its support for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance that ousted Congress in the February 1995 Maharashtra assembly elections — Sharad Joshi's framing rejects the view that the rural movement was 'broken' by the result, insists that 'the people are with us' must remain the working presumption of any kāryakartā, and points to the new non-Congress government as continuity with the Sanghatana's long anti-Congress orientation. The volume is in Marathi throughout; the key organisational terms recurring across the issue are विस्तारीत कार्यकारिणी (extended working committee), जोतीबा गाव (a model-village award named for Jyotiba Phule), and लक्ष्मीमुक्ती (the campaign to register agricultural land in women's names). ## Essays ### विस्तारीत कार्यकारिणी बैठक ३/४ जून १९९५ — वृत्तांत / अध्यक्ष शंकर धोंडगे An unsigned editorial report on the Shetkari Sanghatana's two-day extended working committee meeting held at Ambethan on 3-4 June 1995, the first such gathering after the February 1995 Maharashtra assembly elections. The piece sets out the agenda — taking stock of the post-election political situation, deciding the movement's next steps, and electing new office-bearers — and records that 'the prevailing view' in the committee was that the result should not be read as a setback for the Sanghatana, since the toppling of Congress and the formation of the first non-Congress government in Maharashtra was itself a vindication of the Sanghatana's long political direction. The report names the past committee — Bhaskarrao Borade, Ramchandra Bapu Patil, Kishore Madhavkar, Shrirangnana More, Dr. Manavendra Kachole and Moreshwar Temurde — and the Mahila Aghadi outgoing president Saroj Kashikar, before listing the newly elected office-bearers: Ram Newale, Saroj Kashikar, Raghunathrao Patil, Shankar Dhondge and Purushottam Lahoti. It closes with Sharad Joshi's response that those who hold 'whoever is with us is the people; whoever is not is ignorant and foolish' have the wrong leader-mentality and that the kāryakartā must instead start from the presumption that the people are with the movement and that any gap is the movement's own fault to correct. - The extended working committee meeting was held at Ambethan on 3-4 June 1995, the first since the February 1995 Maharashtra assembly elections. - The committee took the view that the February 1995 result, by toppling Congress and installing the first non-Congress government in Maharashtra, was a vindication rather than a defeat of the Sanghatana's political line. - The outgoing past committee included Bhaskarrao Borade, Ramchandra Bapu Patil, Kishore Madhavkar, Shrirangnana More, Dr. Manavendra Kachole and Moreshwar Temurde, with Saroj Kashikar as the outgoing Mahila Aghadi president. - Newly elected office-bearers named are Ram Newale, Saroj Kashikar, Raghunathrao Patil, Shankar Dhondge and Purushottam Lahoti. - Sharad Joshi argued in his closing remarks that the kāryakartā must work from the presumption that the people are with the movement, treating any gap as the movement's own failing to correct. ### अध्यक्षा सौ. इंदिराबाई भानुदास पाटील (शेतकरी महिला आघाडी) *By सौ. इंदिरा भानुदास पाटील* A short profile of Shankar Dhondge, elected president of the Shetkari Sanghatana at the Ambethan meeting for the second time. The piece opens with Sharad Joshi's congratulatory line — that being president for a second time means Shankar is, in effect, a kāryakartā for the first time — and reads Dhondge's career in that light: he was first elected president in 1986 in the period of the Sanghatana's first president, lost the position later, but stayed within the movement through the Nanded district committee and the 1996 [period] internal organisational restructuring under Sharad Joshi. The sketch positions him as a Maratha ordinary farmer rooted in his samaj rather than a career office-bearer, contrasts him with leader-types who use position for personal benefit, and notes that in the last year and a half it was Dhondge who stood for the Sanghatana in some Nanded-area villages without backing down. The closing paragraph reports that in the Maharashtra assembly elections he led the Sanghatana's electoral effort and put six candidates into the field — work undertaken with characteristic stubbornness and at personal sacrifice. - Shankar Dhondge was elected president of the Shetkari Sanghatana for the second time at the 3-4 June 1995 Ambethan meeting. - He was first elected president in 1986 and remained active in the Nanded district committee through subsequent organisational changes. - The profile frames him as a Maratha ordinary farmer rooted in his samaj rather than a position-seeking leader. - In the recent Maharashtra assembly elections he led the Sanghatana's electoral effort and fielded six candidates. ### मनोगत — पूर्वीच्या बैठका 'कार्यकर्त्यां'च्या असायच्या *By बाबुलाल जैन, अलियाबाद, जि. रायगड* Profile of Indirabai Bhanudas Patil, elected president of the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi at the Ambethan meeting. The piece centres her organising work in Hingoli on the Lakshmimukti campaign — the registration of agricultural land in women's names — which it locates within the Phule-Ambedkar tradition of social thought as a practical extension of that lineage. It records that Indirabai's villages took up the 'Jotiba Gaon' award (an honour given to villages that meet a set of social criteria), and announces that she intends, as president, to broaden the Lakshmimukti programme and continue the 'Jotiba Gaon' award scheme. - Indirabai Bhanudas Patil, from Pankanagar, Chopda taluka, Jalgaon district, was elected president of the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi. - Her organising base is the Lakshmimukti campaign in Hingoli, which registers agricultural land in women's names. - The profile situates the Lakshmimukti work in the Phule-Ambedkar tradition of social thought. - Her villages have taken up the 'Jotiba Gaon' award scheme, which she intends to continue and expand as president. ### कृषि अर्थ प्रबोधिनी प्रशिक्षणाची नोंदणी (notice / box item) *By कृषि अर्थ प्रबोधिनी, अंगारमळा, आंबेठाण* An opinion column (मनोगत) by Balubhau Jain of Alibag, Raigad district, complaining that the Ambethan meeting felt unlike earlier Shetkari Sanghatana gatherings. He argues that previous meetings were truly meetings 'of the kāryakartās' — open, argumentative, dominated by working organisers — whereas this one was effectively pre-cooked by an inner functionary core, with the discussion of the February 1995 election result and other items narrowed to ratifying conclusions already reached. He cites parallels in newspapers like *Samana*, observes that organisational meetings have lately settled into a pattern of formal speeches rather than working sessions, and closes by warning that without restoring the older kāryakartā-driven style of meeting the Sanghatana risks losing the qualities that made it distinctive. - The author Balubhau Jain (Alibag, Raigad district) frames the Ambethan meeting against the older format of Shetkari Sanghatana gatherings. - He argues that earlier meetings were genuinely 'of the kāryakartās' while recent ones have become functionary-driven and pre-cooked. - He references the press coverage in *Samana* as illustrating how political discussion has narrowed. - He warns that without recovering the kāryakartā-driven style of meeting the Sanghatana risks losing what made it distinctive. ### Essay 5 A programmatic statement by the newly elected Mahila Aghadi president Indirabai Bhanudas Patil setting out four working priorities. (1) Lakshmimukti: the registration of agricultural land in women's names, which she identifies as the priority that has built the Mahila Aghadi's reach and which she means to scale up; the piece notes that 'Shivar' supermarkets selling women-produced goods are now opening, with the aim of giving women's labour a market presence under the 'Shivar' brand. (2) Daru-bandi (prohibition): the Mahila Aghadi will continue its anti-liquor agitation, which is described as a long-standing women-led movement. (3) Matritva-raja (maternity leave): securing maternity leave for women working in the rural unorganised sector. (4) Nirnay-sahabhag (decision participation): expanding women's substantive role in decision-making within the Sanghatana's own structures and beyond. The piece signs off with thanks to outgoing office-bearers and a call for solidarity. The same page carries a notice for the September 1995 Krishi Arth Prabodhini training course at Ambethan. - Indirabai Bhanudas Patil sets out four working priorities for the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi. - Priority 1 — Lakshmimukti: registration of agricultural land in women's names, the campaign that built the Aghadi's reach. - Priority 2 — Prohibition: continuation of the women-led anti-liquor agitation. - Priority 3 — Maternity leave for women working in the rural unorganised sector. - Priority 4 — Women's substantive participation in decision-making. - The 'Shivar' brand of supermarkets for women-produced goods is announced as a vehicle for giving women's labour a market presence. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-june-21-1992/ ### Summary This is the 21 June 1992 fortnightly issue (Year 9, No. 6) of Shetkari Sanghatak, the Marathi-language organ of the Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement. The issue is anchored by two substantive pieces in the rendered pages: a long front-page polemic by Sharad Joshi titled '´भारता´च्या मानगुटी नेहरुवादाचे भूत' (“The Ghost of Nehruvianism on India's Shoulders”), timed to the 23 May commemorations of Jawaharlal Nehru's death anniversary, which uses the occasion to attack Nehruvian dirigisme, mixed-economy planning and the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty as obstacles to India's liberalisation; and a report-essay by Gail Omvedt of Kasegaon (Sangli) on the women activists of the Shetkari Sanghatana's 'Lakshmimukti' (women's land-rights) campaign and the broader stri-mukti movement that grew out of it after 2 October 1990.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This is the 21 June 1992 fortnightly issue (Year 9, No. 6) of Shetkari Sanghatak, the Marathi-language organ of the Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement. The issue is anchored by two substantive pieces in the rendered pages: a long front-page polemic by Sharad Joshi titled '´भारता´च्या मानगुटी नेहरुवादाचे भूत' (“The Ghost of Nehruvianism on India's Shoulders”), timed to the 23 May commemorations of Jawaharlal Nehru's death anniversary, which uses the occasion to attack Nehruvian dirigisme, mixed-economy planning and the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty as obstacles to India's liberalisation; and a report-essay by Gail Omvedt of Kasegaon (Sangli) on the women activists of the Shetkari Sanghatana's 'Lakshmimukti' (women's land-rights) campaign and the broader stri-mukti movement that grew out of it after 2 October 1990. In the rendered pages, supporting matter includes a side news item on a daily-wage worker dismissed for wearing the Sanghatana's badge and a village-level ban on MLAs in Parbhani district; an announcement and life-subscriber list for the Majghar Sheti agricultural exhibition; and a 'Sitasheti' technical column on the fourth experiment in the Prayog Parivar method of soil-and-seed agronomy. The volume's argumentative centre, across these pieces, is the Sanghatana's classical-liberal agrarian programme: economic opening for farmers, dismantling of state-protectionist planning, and the linkage of women's emancipation to property rights in land. ## Essays ### 'भारता'च्या मानगुटी नेहरूवादाचे भूत *By शरद जोशी* Sharad Joshi's front-page polemic uses the 23 May 1992 nationwide observance of Jawaharlal Nehru's death anniversary — marked by three Nehru-Gandhi prime ministers in succession and a week of state-television tributes — to argue that Nehruvianism (नेहरुवाद) is a 'ghost' still riding on India's back. Joshi's claim is that the official liturgy of praise around Nehru has hardened into a sectarian, dynastic cult that obscures how thoroughly Nehru's own policy synthesis — socialist planning, public-sector dominance, an inward-looking economy, and a 'mixed' compromise with capital — has now collapsed. He sets Nehru against the contemporaries he sidelined — Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Subhash Chandra Bose, Maulana Azad and Govind Vallabh Pant — and notes that even the global edifice of Stalinism and Leninism that flattered Nehru's economic instincts has fallen. The piece's editorial twist, sharpened in the latter columns, is that Nehru's own last position, before he died, was already shifting toward the kind of open economic policy that India is being told in 1991–92 it must now belatedly accept; Nehruism, Joshi argues, has become the alibi the Congress establishment uses to slow that opening. The essay closes by tying this critique to the Shetkari Sanghatana's own line: the farmers' movement has from its start named Nehruvian planning, not colonialism, as the source of rural poverty, and a side box reports on Maharashtra Congress legislators being barred from villages in Parbhani district and a daily-wage worker sacked for wearing the Sanghatana badge as illustrations of the regime the critique describes. - Frames Nehru's 23 May death-anniversary celebrations as the latest installment of a Nehru-Gandhi dynastic cult that has produced three prime ministers in succession. - Argues that Nehruvianism as an economic doctrine — socialist planning, public-sector primacy, closed economy — has been overtaken by events, including the collapse of Stalinism and Leninism. - Recovers the contemporaries Nehru displaced (Patel, Bose, Azad, Govind Vallabh Pant) to denaturalise the official Nehru-centric narrative of independence. - Claims Nehru himself, in his last phase, was moving toward an open economic policy, so the post-1991 liberalisation is not a break from Nehru but a delayed completion. - Connects the polemic to the Shetkari Sanghatana's own line that Nehruvian planning, not colonialism, is the proximate cause of rural Indian poverty. - Side-bar dispatches — a worker dismissed in Maharashtra for wearing the Sanghatana badge, a Parbhani village-level ban on MLAs — are presented as field-level evidence of the dirigiste order the essay attacks. ### लक्ष्मीमुक्ती आणि स्त्रीमुक्ती चळवळीच्या कार्यकर्त्या *By गेल ऑम्व्हेट, कासेगाव (सांगली)* Gail Omvedt, writing from Kasegaon in Sangli, profiles the women activists of the Shetkari Sanghatana's 'Lakshmimukti' (Lakshmi-emancipation) campaign and the wider stri-mukti (women's-liberation) movement it has seeded. The Lakshmimukti programme, launched on 2 October 1990 by the Sanghatana and the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi, demands that ownership of farm land be transferred to or jointly registered in the names of farmers' wives — a 'joint patta' approach. Omvedt records that despite resistance, around one and a half lakh women in India have now moved on this path, and that the campaign has spread through hundreds of villages in Maharashtra's countryside on a scale unseen since the 1962 land-ceiling agitation. She situates the campaign as a direct successor to the women-and-caste reformism of Jotiba Phule and Babasaheb Ambedkar, distinguishes it from urban, Gandhian and middle-class feminisms, and stresses that its constituency is the rural, often illiterate poor and middle-peasant woman whose claim to land is also a claim to economic personhood. The latter columns describe the small core of full-time and volunteer women organisers — named as Swavalan, Liliana and others — who run literacy, training and mobilisation work and are now the seedbed of a politically autonomous women's wing inside the Sanghatana. - Profiles the Shetkari Sanghatana / Shetkari Mahila Aghadi 'Lakshmimukti' campaign launched 2 October 1990 to put farm land in women's names ('joint patta'). - Reports an estimated one-and-a-half-lakh women already engaged with the campaign and compares its rural reach to the 1962 land-ceiling agitation. - Locates the movement in the Phule–Ambedkar reformist lineage rather than urban, Gandhian or middle-class feminism. - Names a working core of women organisers — 'Swavalan', 'Liliana' and others — as the activist backbone of the rural stri-mukti work. - Insists that the campaign's specific constituency is the rural, often illiterate or middle-peasant woman, for whom property in land is the operative form of emancipation. ### सीताशेती (प्रयोग सूत्र ४) / सीताशेती - सहभाग *By प्रतिनिधी, कृ. अ. प्र.* The 'Sitasheti' column on the back page presents the fourth instalment ('प्रयोग सूत्र २') of an ongoing extension series on the Prayog Parivar approach to small-plot, soil-and-seed-centred farming. The first half lays out a step-by-step formula for preparing a Sitasheti test bed — plot dimensions, depth of soil work, organic-matter and ash mixtures (including a recipe combining ash from kadbas with cow dung), spacing for groundnut and other crops, and a guidance not to use chicken-droppings unmixed. A second short piece, 'Sitasheti — Sahabhag' (Sitasheti — Participation), invites readers to send back month-by-month observation notes from their own plots so that the Sanghatana can collate experimental data centrally. The column reads as the technical-agronomy companion to the issue's political and organisational pieces, taking the Sanghatana's classical-liberal agrarian programme down to the individual cultivator's field. - Continues the 'Prayog Sutra' instalment-series on the Prayog Parivar / Sitasheti soil-and-seed extension method, now at instalment 4. - Gives a worked recipe for plot preparation — dimensions, soil work, ash-and-dung organic input, crop spacing — aimed at small cultivators experimenting on a sub-acre plot. - Solicits monthly observation reports from readers under 'Sitasheti — Sahabhag' to build a participatory experimental record across the movement's reach. - Functions as the technical-agronomy counterpart to the issue's political articles, embedding the Sanghatana's economic line in concrete farm practice. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-march-21-1992/ ### Summary This 21 March 1992 issue (Year 8, No. 23) of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak, organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana, is dominated by a long, signed front-page piece by Joshi himself titled 'इति एकाध्याय ॥' ('Thus ends a chapter'), carrying the English line 'She has Expired.' It is an unusually personal, elegiac essay in which Joshi recounts the final illness and death (around early March 1992) of a close family member — his mother — interweaving the deathbed scene and his grief with the relentless calendar of the farmers' movement: zilla-parishad election work, rasta-roko agitations, the December convention, travels to Delhi and Nagpur district organising. In the rendered pages the narrative moves between the domestic and the political, using the bereavement to reflect on duty, the movement, and the cost of public life, and is accompanied by a signed ऋणनिर्देश (acknowledgment) note thanking those who stood with the family. The back pages of the issue carry routine periodical matter, including a commodity price-list table and the colophon. The issue is thus primarily a document of the movement leader's private voice rather than a policy or convention report. ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This 21 March 1992 issue (Year 8, No. 23) of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak, organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana, is dominated by a long, signed front-page piece by Joshi himself titled 'इति एकाध्याय ॥' ('Thus ends a chapter'), carrying the English line 'She has Expired.' It is an unusually personal, elegiac essay in which Joshi recounts the final illness and death (around early March 1992) of a close family member — his mother — interweaving the deathbed scene and his grief with the relentless calendar of the farmers' movement: zilla-parishad election work, rasta-roko agitations, the December convention, travels to Delhi and Nagpur district organising. In the rendered pages the narrative moves between the domestic and the political, using the bereavement to reflect on duty, the movement, and the cost of public life, and is accompanied by a signed ऋणनिर्देश (acknowledgment) note thanking those who stood with the family. The back pages of the issue carry routine periodical matter, including a commodity price-list table and the colophon. The issue is thus primarily a document of the movement leader's private voice rather than a policy or convention report. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-march-6-1992/ ### Summary This is the 6 March 1992 fortnightly issue of Shetkari Sanghatak (शेतकरी संघटक), the Marathi-language organ of the Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement, published from Pune. The lead editorial and a signed analysis by Sharad Joshi (शरद जोशी) read the Union Budget for 1992-93 as a continuation of Nehruvian policy in the agricultural sector — the headline 'शेतीक्षेत्रावरील नेहरूनीतीचा अंमल चालू ठेवणारे अंदाजपत्रक' (a budget that keeps the implementation of Nehru-policy alive on the agricultural sector) frames the issue's polemic. Joshi argues that the talk of liberalisation that surrounded the 1991 reforms stops short of farming: the budget keeps in place input subsidies routed through agencies like NABARD, Rural Development Bank and the Agricultural Refinance Corporation, while withholding remunerative prices and free access to international markets from cultivators. A second cluster of pages reports from the field.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This is the 6 March 1992 fortnightly issue of Shetkari Sanghatak (शेतकरी संघटक), the Marathi-language organ of the Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement, published from Pune. The lead editorial and a signed analysis by Sharad Joshi (शरद जोशी) read the Union Budget for 1992-93 as a continuation of Nehruvian policy in the agricultural sector — the headline 'शेतीक्षेत्रावरील नेहरूनीतीचा अंमल चालू ठेवणारे अंदाजपत्रक' (a budget that keeps the implementation of Nehru-policy alive on the agricultural sector) frames the issue's polemic. Joshi argues that the talk of liberalisation that surrounded the 1991 reforms stops short of farming: the budget keeps in place input subsidies routed through agencies like NABARD, Rural Development Bank and the Agricultural Refinance Corporation, while withholding remunerative prices and free access to international markets from cultivators. A second cluster of pages reports from the field. Page 2 documents the Nashik district 'kanda andolan' (onion agitation) of February 1992 — bandhs at the Lasalgaon market committee, protest rallies, hunger strikes by Shetkari Sanghatana cadre, and the closure of the Lasalgaon Mahavidyalaya by Sanghatana students — coordinated by district leaders including Shivajirao Rajole. The same page tallies the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti election results for candidates fielded jointly by the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi and Shetkari Sanghatana across Nagpur, Wardha, Chandrapur, Akola, Nanded, Parbhani, Latur and Nashik districts. Pages 3 through 6 carry a long technical primer by Shri Palod of Pune on the Standards of Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules — explaining what counts as a packaged commodity, mandatory MRP and labelling disclosures, declarations of net weight, manufacturer's address, retail sale price (printed on the package), date of packing, and the schedule of commodities to which the rules apply. The piece reads as practitioner guidance for farmer-traders and processors wanting to enter packaged-goods markets without falling foul of regulators. Pages 7 and 8 list, village by village, the 144 villages in Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati, Akola, Nanded, Parbhani, Latur, Beed, Jalgaon, Buldhana, Nashik and Ahmednagar districts where the Sanghatana's Lakshmi Mukti gram-gaurav samaroh (women's land-rights ceremony) took place in January–February 1992, presided over by Sharad Joshi. A back-page box reprints the movement's signature aphorism — 'भीक नको घेऊ घामाचे दाम' (don't beg for alms, take the price of your sweat) — and announces a writing competition inviting readers to draft the 'next chapter of India's agricultural history' in 2000 words. ## Key points - Lead editorial and Sharad Joshi's signed analysis read the 1992-93 Union Budget as a continuation of Nehruvian agricultural policy — input-subsidy plumbing through NABARD, Rural Development Bank and Agricultural Refinance Corporation, but no remunerative prices and no opening to international markets for cultivators. - Joshi argues the rhetoric of liberalisation that accompanied the 1991 reforms is silent on agriculture; the Sanghatana's demand of free trade and remunerative prices for farm produce remains unmet. - Field report from Nashik district details the February 1992 onion agitation: bandhs at Lasalgaon and Pimpalgaon market committees, hunger strikes, mass arrests, and the indefinite closure of Lasalgaon Mahavidyalaya by Sanghatana students. - Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti election results show Shetkari Mahila Aghadi / Shetkari Sanghatana candidates winning seats across Nagpur, Wardha, Chandrapur, Akola, Nanded, Parbhani, Latur and Nashik districts. - A four-page primer by Shri Palod (Pune) explains the Standards of Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules — covering MRP labelling, net weight declarations, manufacturer details and the schedule of regulated commodities — aimed at farmer-traders entering processed-goods markets. - The issue lists 144 villages across twelve Maharashtra districts where the Lakshmi Mukti gram-gaurav samaroh (women's land-rights ceremony) was held in January–February 1992 under Sharad Joshi's leadership. - Back-page slogan 'भीक नको घेऊ घामाचे दाम' (don't beg, take the price of your sweat) reaffirms the movement's framing of remunerative prices as earned wages, not subsidy. - An editorial 'लेखन स्पर्धा' (writing competition) invites readers to author 'देशाच्या कृषिइतिहासाचे पुढचे प्रकरण' — the next chapter of India's agricultural history — in 2000 words by 21 March 1992. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-march-21-1995/ ### Summary This is the 21 March 1995 fortnightly issue of Shetkari Sanghatak (शेतकरी संघटक), Vol. 11, No. 19, the Marathi-language organ of the Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement and the newly formed Swatantra Bharat Paksha. The issue is anchored by a long polemical essay from movement founder Sharad Joshi titled 'महात्माजींचा पराभव' (Mahatmaji's Defeat), a heterodox reading of Gandhian thought that argues Gandhi's economic and village-development vision was buried by Nehruvian socialism rather than carried forward, and that Joshi sees himself as a legitimate inheritor of Gandhi's 'sarvodaya' impulse via the farmers' movement.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This is the 21 March 1995 fortnightly issue of Shetkari Sanghatak (शेतकरी संघटक), Vol. 11, No. 19, the Marathi-language organ of the Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement and the newly formed Swatantra Bharat Paksha. The issue is anchored by a long polemical essay from movement founder Sharad Joshi titled 'महात्माजींचा पराभव' (Mahatmaji's Defeat), a heterodox reading of Gandhian thought that argues Gandhi's economic and village-development vision was buried by Nehruvian socialism rather than carried forward, and that Joshi sees himself as a legitimate inheritor of Gandhi's 'sarvodaya' impulse via the farmers' movement. The remainder of the eight-page issue mixes movement news (Punjab–Haryana farmers burning wheat in Delhi to protest procurement prices), a women's-front profile of activist Jayashree Rajput who chased off loan-recovery officers in Chopda taluka, an obituary for the elder brother of martyr Babu Genu, a column on the new Swatantra Bharat Paksha MLAs in the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha (Wamanrao Chatap and Dilip Borse), Aesop's-fable retellings deployed as political parables, a critique of farm-loan certificates ('हा साप आणि ही काठी'), and a closing health bulletin reporting that Sharad Joshi's condition is improving rapidly after timely treatment. ## Essays ### महात्माजींचा पराभव *By शरद जोशी* Sharad Joshi's lead essay 'महात्माजींचा पराभव' (Mahatmaji's Defeat) opens with the disarming admission that he never had the personal darshan of any mahatma — including Gandhi, whom he reached Wardha to meet a day too late. From that personal frame he launches into a substantive defence and reinterpretation of Gandhi against what he calls the 'socialist' betrayal of Gandhi's economic vision. Joshi rejects the standard charge that Gandhi was anti-modern or village-romantic; he reads Gandhi's worldview as a 'dynamic' (gatishil) tradition that valued svadeshi, self-reliance and decentralisation but did not foreclose technology or development. The killing-blow, he argues, came not from Gandhi's death but from Nehru's post-1947 capture of the Congress and the imposition of a Soviet-style socialist economic line, which used Gandhi's name as cover while gutting the practical village-economy programme. Joshi then poses three rhetorical questions Gandhi might have asked his successors: why are the poor still wearing imported (or mill) cloth instead of khadi; why has sarvodaya not arrived after forty-seven years; and why are the villages Gandhi died for emptier and more wretched than before. He answers that the Nehruvian elite kept Gandhi's vocabulary while pursuing the opposite policy — a fraud he describes using the epistemic frame 'doesn't know that doesn't know'. The essay closes by positioning the Shetkari Sanghatana / Swatantra Bharat Paksha movement as the actual contemporary vehicle of Gandhian village-uplift, currently campaigning in Gujarat and Maharashtra against the unfinished business of agrarian liberation. - Joshi opens with a candid admission that he never met any mahatma in person, reframing Gandhi-talk away from darshan-piety toward intellectual succession. - He rejects the caricature of Gandhi as anti-modern village-romantic and presents Gandhian thought as a 'dynamic' tradition compatible with technology and development. - He argues Gandhi's economic-ideological line was not preserved but assassinated by Nehru and the Congress after 1947 under socialist cover. - He poses three questions Gandhi would supposedly ask today — about cloth, about sarvodaya, and about depopulated villages — to indict the post-Independence trajectory. - He uses an epistemic frame ('doesn't know that doesn't know') to characterise the post-Nehruvian intellectual establishment's blindness to its own betrayal of Gandhi. - He positions the Shetkari Sanghatana and the new Swatantra Bharat Paksha as the legitimate contemporary inheritors of Gandhi's village-development vision. ### स्वतंत्र भारत पक्षाला मतदारांनी का नाकारले? *By संपादक, शेतकरी संघटक* A boxed news report titled 'पंजाब हरियानाच्या किसानांनी दिल्लीमध्ये गहू जाळून निषेध नोंदविला' (Punjab and Haryana farmers register protest by burning wheat in Delhi). On 15 March 1995, under the banner of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, farmer leaders Bhupinder Singh Maan, Sardar Vallabh Singh Rajewal, Karnal Singh Miyowara (Punjab), Kehar Singh and Sanjeev Pramatrik (Haryana), and Vipin Desai (U.P. Kisan Samanvay Samiti) gathered at Delhi's Khilji Pradesh Kisan Manch to burn wheat in protest at procurement prices set ₹150–250 per quintal below the cost of production, against an outstanding ₹48,000 crore in dues owed by the central government to Indian farmers. - On 15 March 1995 farmers from Punjab, Haryana and U.P. ritually burned wheat in Delhi to protest below-cost procurement prices. - The protest was convened by the Bharatiya Kisan Union and named six farmer leaders coordinating across northern states. - The report frames a ₹48,000 crore central-government debt to Indian farmers as the underlying grievance. - Punjab's procurement price was put at only ₹150 per quintal more than ten years earlier; Haryana's at only ₹250 above cost. ### पंजाब हरियानाच्या किसानांनी दिल्लीमध्ये गहू जाळून निषेध नोंदविला A column titled 'इसापनीती' तील काही कथा (Some tales from Aesop's fables) retells short fables — 'दुबळे बोल' (Weak words), 'निर्बुद्ध आनंद' (Stupid joy), 'राजकारणाची रीत' (The way of politics), 'स्वतःचे संरक्षण प्रथम' (Self-protection first), 'धनी बदलला तरी नशीब तेच' (Even if the master changes, the fate stays), 'घुबडाचा सल्ला' (The owl's advice), 'खोटी कळकळ' (False concern) and 'उतावळा विचार' (Hasty thought) — each ending in a sharp political moral. They are clearly placed as parables for movement politics: hollow public oaths, the gullibility of the protected, the futility of changing masters when the system is unjust, and the hazards of rushing into collective decisions without thought. - Aesop's fables are deployed as political parables, not as children's literature. - Each short tale closes on a one-line moral aimed at movement workers and ordinary villagers. - Recurring targets are empty public commitments, false sympathy, and the trap of merely swapping rulers. ### 'इसापनीती'तील काही कथा A report by Bhanudas Patil of Chopda headlined 'कर्जवसुली अधिकाऱ्यांना घरात कोंडून धमकावण्याचा जयश्री राजपूत या शूर महिला कार्यकर्तीचा पराक्रम' narrates how, on 11 February 1995 in Nagalwadi village (Jalgaon district, Chopda taluka), Shetkari Sanghatana woman activist Jayashree Rajput locked loan-recovery officers inside a house and confronted them, forcing them to leave the village without attaching any farmer's property. The piece celebrates her as the leading edge of the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi tactic of using women's collective courage to physically block coercive farm-loan recovery. - On 11 February 1995 at Nagalwadi, woman activist Jayashree Rajput locked loan-recovery officers inside a house to stop coercive recovery. - The action is reported as a victory of the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi (Farmers' Women's Front) line. - It is filed under the signature of Bhanudas Patil, Chopda — a recurring district correspondent for the paper. ### कर्जवसुली अधिकाऱ्यांना घरात कोंडून धमकावण्याचा जयश्री राजपूत या शूर महिला कार्यकर्तीचा पराक्रम *By श्री. भानुदास पाटील, धोपडा* Short obituary headlined 'हुतात्मा बाबू गेनूच्या थोरल्या भावाचे निधन' (Death of the elder brother of martyr Babu Genu), recording the passing of Shrimant Kashalu Kushaba Said of Mahalunge-Padwal, the elder brother of independence-era martyr Babu Genu (who died on 12 December 1930 resisting foreign cloth on Mumbai's streets). The note ties the family to ongoing Shetkari Sanghatana movement work in the region. - Records the death of the elder brother of martyr Babu Genu of Mahalunge-Padwal. - Reiterates Babu Genu's 12 December 1930 martyrdom resisting foreign cloth. - Treats the obituary as a movement-history link, not merely a private bereavement. ### बेअकली गाढव An editorial-style piece headlined 'लेखाजोखा प्रमाणपत्रे — हा साप आणि ही काठी' ('Account certificates — this is the snake and this is the stick') argues that the central government's claim of having spent ₹48,000 crore on Indian farmers is itself an indictment, since the 'rate' (rant) sample shows the money never reached farmers. The piece urges Shetkari Sanghatana workers to use these very government certificates as political weapons against the regime that issued them, and recommits the movement's MLAs to a sustained parliamentary fight on procurement-price honesty. - Frames the government's own farmer-expenditure certificates as self-incriminating evidence. - Calls on Sanghatana cadre to weaponise the state's audited figures against the state. - Links the column to a sustained Vidhan Sabha campaign by the movement's newly elected MLAs. ### हुतात्मा बाबू गेनूच्या थोरल्या भावजयींचे निधन A short notice 'स्वतंत्र भारत पक्षाचे दोन आमदार महाराष्ट्र विधानसभेत' announces that the Swatantra Bharat Paksha — the political wing newly spun out of the Shetkari Sanghatana — has won two seats in the February 1995 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha elections, with Adv. Wamanrao Chatap (Rajura, Chandrapur district) and Dilip Borse (Baglan, Nashik district) entering the Assembly. The piece, signed by Sureshchandra Mhatre, frames the win as the start of a parliamentary front for the farmers' movement, directed by Sharad Joshi. - Swatantra Bharat Paksha wins two Maharashtra Assembly seats in the February 1995 polls. - The two MLAs are Adv. Wamanrao Chatap (Rajura, Chandrapur) and Dilip Borse (Baglan, Nashik). - The notice frames the Vidhan Sabha foothold as a parliamentary extension of Shetkari Sanghatana's extra-parliamentary campaign. - Sharad Joshi is named as the political-strategic head; the dispatch is signed by Sureshchandra Mhatre. ### लेखाजोखा प्रमाणपत्रे — 'हा साप आणि ही काठी' *By सुरेशचंद्र म्हात्रे* A health bulletin on page 8 headlined 'वेळीच वैद्यकीय उपचार झाले — शरद जोशी यांची प्रकृती वेगाने सुधारते आहे' (Timely medical treatment was given — Sharad Joshi's health is improving rapidly) reports that, after four months of growing concern, Joshi was finally hospitalised on 11 March 1995. The piece details his recent campaign tour through Maharashtra and Gujarat ahead of the February 1995 Vidhan Sabha elections, his collapse on the night of 26–27 February at Wardha, and the chain of doctors and party workers (Adv. Sham Aptekar, Dr Aziz Khan, Dr Vasantrao Bande and others) who organised diagnosis, ECG, an MRI in Mumbai on 15 March, and stabilising treatment. It closes by warning workers that he is recovering but must not be pressed back into campaigning immediately. - Sharad Joshi's health had been a worry for four months before formal hospitalisation on 11 March 1995. - He fell ill on the night of 26–27 February at Wardha while on the post-election review tour. - Treatment was organised in Pune and Mumbai with ECG and MRI, by a named circle of doctors and party workers. - The note ends with a movement-discipline message asking workers not to drag him back into campaigning prematurely. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-may-21-1995/ ### Summary This 21 May 1995 issue (Year 12, No. 2) of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak, organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana, is anchored by a long signed front-page essay by Joshi reflecting on the February 1995 Maharashtra assembly election, in which the movement's political vehicle, the Swatantra Bharat Paksha (Free India Party), fared badly. Joshi's lead argues that 'it is wrong to blame the people's choice' for the result and turns the defeat into a candid self-examination of the party's strategy and message. In the rendered pages the analysis runs under headings such as 'Why did the people reject the Swatantra Bharat Party?', 'No single-pillar tent', and 'The campaign side was lame' — Joshi diagnoses an over-reliance on a single leader, an under-developed organisation, and a campaign that failed to communicate the free-market, open-economy case to voters, while defending the party against the charge that the electorate repudiated its ideas.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This 21 May 1995 issue (Year 12, No. 2) of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak, organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana, is anchored by a long signed front-page essay by Joshi reflecting on the February 1995 Maharashtra assembly election, in which the movement's political vehicle, the Swatantra Bharat Paksha (Free India Party), fared badly. Joshi's lead argues that 'it is wrong to blame the people's choice' for the result and turns the defeat into a candid self-examination of the party's strategy and message. In the rendered pages the analysis runs under headings such as 'Why did the people reject the Swatantra Bharat Party?', 'No single-pillar tent', and 'The campaign side was lame' — Joshi diagnoses an over-reliance on a single leader, an under-developed organisation, and a campaign that failed to communicate the free-market, open-economy case to voters, while defending the party against the charge that the electorate repudiated its ideas. The issue also reports on farmer debt-relief (कर्जमाफी) and forced recovery of loans, carries a news box noting that Joshi's health is improving at a Hyderabad hospital, and on its back page prints a notice for the expanded executive-committee meeting of 3–4 June 1995 at Ambethan, signed by the movement's office-bearers. Standard periodical matter — a price/displacement table with a reference to Walter Fernandes et al. (Indian Social Institute, 1989) and the colophon — fills out the four pages. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-nov-21-1991/ ### Summary This Marathi-language fortnightly issue of शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak), dated 21 November 1991, is organised around the massive Shegaon farmers' rally held on 10 November 1991 and is dominated by the address of Shetkari Sanghatana's leader Sharad Joshi. In the rendered pages the issue carries Joshi's speech proclaiming a new phase of struggle ('नव्या लढाईची घोषणा') and a 'Bharat Dashak' (1991–2000) to liberate the country from its debt crisis; a short reflective piece by Gopal Paranjape on who the true 'मानकरी' (honour-bearers) of the Shegaon gathering were; the collective Shegaon Jahirnama (Shegaon Manifesto) issued by the assembled peasantry; and a news report ('शेगाव मेलाव्याचा वृत्तांत') summarising the meeting's resolutions. The argumentative centre is a sharp critique of post-Independence agricultural and industrial policy as anti-farmer ('शेतकरीविरोधी'), and a call for a new national agricultural policy built around free trade in farm produce, deregulation of agricultural processing and exports, and the liberation of the metaphorical 'सीता' (the peasantry, here a 'स्वयंसिद्धा सीता') from her forty-year वनवास. ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This Marathi-language fortnightly issue of शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak), dated 21 November 1991, is organised around the massive Shegaon farmers' rally held on 10 November 1991 and is dominated by the address of Shetkari Sanghatana's leader Sharad Joshi. In the rendered pages the issue carries Joshi's speech proclaiming a new phase of struggle ('नव्या लढाईची घोषणा') and a 'Bharat Dashak' (1991–2000) to liberate the country from its debt crisis; a short reflective piece by Gopal Paranjape on who the true 'मानकरी' (honour-bearers) of the Shegaon gathering were; the collective Shegaon Jahirnama (Shegaon Manifesto) issued by the assembled peasantry; and a news report ('शेगाव मेलाव्याचा वृत्तांत') summarising the meeting's resolutions. The argumentative centre is a sharp critique of post-Independence agricultural and industrial policy as anti-farmer ('शेतकरीविरोधी'), and a call for a new national agricultural policy built around free trade in farm produce, deregulation of agricultural processing and exports, and the liberation of the metaphorical 'सीता' (the peasantry, here a 'स्वयंसिद्धा सीता') from her forty-year वनवास. ## Essays ### नव्या लढाईची घोषणा *By शरद जोशी* Sharad Joshi's Shegaon address, presented as a summary ('गोषवारा') of his concluding speech to the rally on 10 November 1991, opens with the parable of a sant-poet's vision of the era when an honest king (Vishnu in disguise) would arrive to restore the farmer's kingdom, and uses it to frame the new phase of struggle. Joshi argues that the assembled peasantry has accepted a National Agricultural Policy ('राष्ट्रीय कृषिनीती') drafted by their own standing advisory committee, and has resolved to celebrate 1991–2000 as the 'Bharat Dashak' — the decade in which India (as distinct from 'India' the urban elite) will free itself from the debt trap by liberating agriculture. The speech then sketches the policy in four registers — शेतकरी शेती (farmer's own holding), मजुरदारातील शेती (wage-labour farming), व्यापारी शेती (commercial farming) and निर्यात शेती (export-oriented farming) — calling for organic inputs, the dismantling of monopoly procurement, freedom to process and export, and an emergency ultimatum to government to lift anti-farmer trade and price controls. - Frames the rally as the launch of a 'new battle' for the farmer, invoking the sant tradition of an awaited just king. - Declares 1991–2000 the 'भारत दशक' — a decade to pull the country out of its debt crisis through agricultural revival. - Announces the Sanghatana's acceptance of a National Agricultural Policy ('राष्ट्रीय कृषिनीती') drafted by its standing advisory committee. - Differentiates farmer, wage-labour, commercial and export agriculture, demanding deregulation and free trade in each. - Warns the government that if it fails to respond, the agitation will move from rural Maharashtra into the cities. ### शेगाव मेळाव्याचे मानकरी *By गोपाळ परांजपे, पुणे* Gopal Paranjape's short reflective column 'शेगाव मेळाव्याचे मानकरी' (The Honour-Bearers of the Shegaon Rally) asks who really deserves the credit for the gathering's success. He sets aside the obvious answer — Sharad Joshi — and argues that the true मानकरी are the ordinary anonymous farmers and farm-women who travelled in from across Vidarbha and Maharashtra, slept under the open sky, brought their own water and bhakri, and built up the moral force of the movement through their silent endurance. The piece reads as a tribute to the peasant base of Shetkari Sanghatana and a corrective to leader-centred coverage. - Reframes the question 'who is the मानकरी of Shegaon?' away from leaders and toward the assembled peasantry. - Foregrounds women, the poor and travellers from distant villages as the moral centre of the rally. - Reads as an editorial corrective against personality-cult coverage of the movement. ### शेगांव जाहीरनामा (१० नोव्हेंबर १९९१) The 'शेगाव जाहीरनामा' (Shegaon Manifesto), dated 10 November 1991 and issued in the collective voice of the assembled farmers, is the issue's programmatic centrepiece. Its preamble distinguishes 'भारत' (the vast peasant society) from 'इंडिया' (the post-Independence urban elite), and indicts forty years of governance for producing poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, unbalanced urbanisation, slum growth, foreign and domestic debt, black money, corruption, communal violence and the failure of constitutional methods of redress. It then resolves to adopt a National Agricultural Policy that includes value-added farming, free trade in farm produce internally and internationally, removal of restrictions on agricultural processing and exports, the right to use modern inputs and to abandon uneconomic land, and the freeing of farm wages, transport and trade from state-imposed controls. A second block of demands, issued by the assembled farmers as citizens, asserts the right to be governed only by their own consent, to use natural resources for their own livelihood, to organise in cooperatives or other forms of their choosing, and to enjoy full freedom of thought, science and technology. The manifesto closes on the 'स्वयंसिद्धा सीता' framing — calling on farmer brothers and sisters to end Sita's exile by reviving Baliraja's kingdom. - Distinguishes 'भारत' (the peasant majority) from 'इंडिया' (the urban-elite state) as the rhetorical hinge of the manifesto. - Indicts the entire post-Independence governance order for poverty, unemployment, debt, corruption and communal violence. - Programmatic demands: a National Agricultural Policy, free internal and external trade in farm produce, deregulation of agro-processing and exports, removal of price controls. - Asserts citizen-level rights: governance by consent, freedom of association, freedom of thought, science and technology, and non-violent struggle. - Frames the cause as the liberation of a self-realised Sita ('स्वयंसिद्धा सीता') from her forty-year वनवास and the restoration of Baliraja's kingdom. ### शेगाव मेळाव्याचा वृत्तांत The closing news report, 'शेगाव मेळाव्याचा वृत्तांत', recounts the proceedings of the 10 November 1991 Shegaon rally for readers who could not attend. It records that Sharad Joshi, in his presidential address, formally adopted the National Agricultural Policy drafted by the Sanghatana's standing advisory committee, declared 1991–2000 the 'भारत दशक' to pull the country out of its debt crisis, and proclaimed the resolve to build a temple to the self-realised Sita ('स्वयंसिद्धा सीता'). It traces the policy back to a March 1990 initiative by then–Prime Minister V. P. Singh, who had asked the Sanghatana to draft a Kisan-Dashak agricultural policy under Joshi's chairmanship; though the political turmoil that followed prevented government action, the Sanghatana persisted, and the Shegaon meeting marks the policy's public adoption by the peasantry itself. The report goes on to list the speakers and dignitaries who addressed the gathering — including farmer-union leaders from Vidarbha, Punjab, Haryana and other states — and records the parallel meetings of the Kisan Samvay Samiti and the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi, the resolutions passed, and the announcement of the Shegaon Manifesto. The issue closes with an editorial-style observation that more than three lakh farmers attended. - Reports Sharad Joshi's formal adoption, at Shegaon, of the Sanghatana's draft National Agricultural Policy. - Traces the policy's origin to a March 1990 ask from then–Prime Minister V. P. Singh to produce a 'Kisan Dashak' agricultural policy. - Records the simultaneous meetings of the Kisan Samvay Samiti and the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi at Shegaon. - Notes the public resolve to build a 'स्वयंसिद्धा सीता' temple as a symbol of peasant self-realisation. - Estimates attendance at more than three lakh farmers from across India. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-may-6-1992/ ### Summary This 6 May 1992 issue (Year 9, No. 3) of Shetkari Sanghatak, the Marathi fortnightly of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement, gathers a mix of organisational, economic, and gender-reform writing aimed at Maharashtra's farming readership. The front page carries a draft constitution (घटनेचा मसुदा) restructuring the Sanghatana's membership and office-bearer rules, alongside reportage on the movement's executive meeting. The economic centrepiece is a long critique of the state cotton monopoly-procurement scheme (एकाधिकार कापूस खरेदी योजना), arguing that its seven defects make its closure welcome to farmers; a satirical 'If I were Finance Minister' piece reinforces the free-market, anti-state-control line. A large share of the issue documents the movement's 'Lakshmi Mukti' women's-empowerment campaign — first-person testimonies by rural women on receiving land in their own names, a 'Sitasheti' agronomy/correspondence column, and a symposium ('What did Lakshmi Mukti give me?'). Across the rendered pages the through-line is the Sanghatana's signature fusion of agrarian free-market economics with women's land-rights reform. ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This 6 May 1992 issue (Year 9, No. 3) of Shetkari Sanghatak, the Marathi fortnightly of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement, gathers a mix of organisational, economic, and gender-reform writing aimed at Maharashtra's farming readership. The front page carries a draft constitution (घटनेचा मसुदा) restructuring the Sanghatana's membership and office-bearer rules, alongside reportage on the movement's executive meeting. The economic centrepiece is a long critique of the state cotton monopoly-procurement scheme (एकाधिकार कापूस खरेदी योजना), arguing that its seven defects make its closure welcome to farmers; a satirical 'If I were Finance Minister' piece reinforces the free-market, anti-state-control line. A large share of the issue documents the movement's 'Lakshmi Mukti' women's-empowerment campaign — first-person testimonies by rural women on receiving land in their own names, a 'Sitasheti' agronomy/correspondence column, and a symposium ('What did Lakshmi Mukti give me?'). Across the rendered pages the through-line is the Sanghatana's signature fusion of agrarian free-market economics with women's land-rights reform. ## Essays ### शेतकरी संघटना — घटनेचा मसुदा The lead item is a draft constitution for the Shetkari Sanghatana setting out membership, governance, and office-bearer rules. It specifies that the organisation's name shall be 'Shetkari Sanghatana', that membership is open to farmers regardless of caste, religion, language, or province, and lays out the structure of conventions (अधिवेशन), regional/district representation, and the powers and election of the executive committee (कार्यकारिणी), president, and other officers. A boxed news item reports a 15 May executive-committee meeting at Nashik that will finalise the draft and discuss registration of the organisation. - Draft constitution names the body 'Shetkari Sanghatana' and opens membership to all farmers without caste/religion/language bars. - Defines convention (अधिवेशन), regional and district representation, and executive-committee powers. - Specifies election and removal procedures for the president and executive committee. - Boxed notice: executive committee to meet 15 May 1992 at Nashik to finalise the draft and take up registration. ### मी अर्थमंत्री असतो तर — *By श्री. शामसुंदर बरोर, जळगाव खुर्द* A short satirical opinion column titled 'If I were Finance Minister', by Shamsundar Baror of Jalgaon Khurd, imagines policy measures the author would adopt — emphasising relief for farmers, removal of restrictions on farm trade and produce pricing, and a broadly free-market, anti-state-control stance consistent with the Sanghatana's economics. - First-person 'If I were Finance Minister' framing. - Calls for removing curbs on agricultural trade and produce pricing. - Echoes the Sanghatana's free-market, anti-control economics. ### 'माजघर शेती' प्रदर्शन A report on a planned 'Majghar Sheti' (kitchen-garden / homestead farming) exhibition, describing its purpose, the four categories of produce and items to be displayed (fresh vegetables and fruits; processed produce; preserved/pickled goods; and dried/value-added items), where and when it is to be held, and an appeal for clean, attractive presentation of exhibits. Practical organising details and a contact office address for the 'Majghar Sheti' exhibition are given. - Announces a 'Majghar Sheti' homestead-farming exhibition. - Lists four display categories: fresh produce; processed; preserved/pickled; dried/value-added. - Stresses clean, attractive presentation and gives an organising-office contact. ### सप्तदोषाने ग्रासलेली कापूस योजना बंद झालेलीच बरी *By श्री. वा. दराडे, मु. तढेगाव (बुलढाणा)* The issue's main economic essay, by Shri Wa. Darade of Tadhegaon (Buldhana), argues that Maharashtra's state cotton monopoly-procurement scheme (एकाधिकार कापूस खरेदी योजना) is 'beset by seven defects' and that its closure is to be welcomed by farmers. It recounts how the scheme made Maharashtra the sole state with monopoly purchase, how private buying was banned, and how delayed and below-market payments, bureaucratic handling, and mounting scheme losses harmed cultivators. The author rebuts the claim that ending the monopoly betrays farmers, contending instead that an open market with competing buyers and prompt payment would serve them better. - Targets Maharashtra's monopoly cotton-procurement scheme as harmful to farmers. - Lists chronic defects: delayed payment, below-market prices, bureaucratic mishandling, scheme losses. - Argues closure is a relief, not a betrayal, of cotton growers. - Advocates an open, competitive market with prompt payment as the alternative. - Cites scheme deficits and reform-committee recommendations as evidence. ### लक्ष्मीमुक्ती — स्त्रीजीवनाच्या *By कु. अविंतका पाटील* A first-person testimony from the Sanghatana's 'Lakshmi Mukti' women's-land-rights campaign, by Ku. Avantika Patil. Organised under numbered headings about a woman's life, it recounts how a 15 March 1992 Lakshmi Mukti event at Udgir, organised by the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi, led to women receiving land in their own names, and reflects on the dignity, security, and changed standing that land ownership brings to rural women — touching on dowry, labour, caste, and the absence of a woman's prior claim to property. - Personal testimony tied to a 15 March 1992 Lakshmi Mukti event at Udgir. - Organised by the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi (farmers' women's front). - Describes women receiving land titled in their own names. - Reflects on dignity, security, dowry, labour and caste in rural women's lives. ### सीताशेती / सीताशेती पत्रव्यवहार *By वीणा लोकनकर* The 'Sitasheti' column combines practical agronomy with a reader-correspondence section. It walks through 'experiment formula 3' on preparing soil from composted refuse (कुजविणे / nursery soil), with step-by-step guidance on layering and decomposition timed to the monsoon, and includes a correspondence exchange ('Sitasheti patravyavahar') in which a reader (signed Veena Loknakar of Goramba, Somnathpur, Udgir) writes about applying the Sitasheti method and the editor's reply encourages wider adoption. - Practical 'Sitasheti' agronomy column on preparing nursery/compost soil ('experiment formula 3'). - Step-by-step composting and soil-preparation timed to the monsoon. - Includes a reader-correspondence section (Sitasheti patravyavahar) with an editor's reply. ### परिसंवाद: 'लक्ष्मीमुक्ती' ने मला काय दिले? A symposium feature headed 'What did Lakshmi Mukti give me?' (परिसंवाद) collects rural women's reflections on the campaign that transfers farm land into women's names, asking participants what the experience of co-ownership and recognition meant for their standing within the family and village. A short editorial notice ('Shetkari Sanghatak — varganidarani nivedan') asking subscribers and committee members to register their subscriptions also appears on the closing page, above the colophon. - Symposium gathers women's first-person responses to the Lakshmi Mukti campaign. - Centres on land co-ownership and women's changed standing in family and village. - Closing-page editorial notice on subscriptions and registration. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-nov-21-1992/ ### Summary This is the 21 November 1992 issue of *Shetkari Sanghatak* (शेतकरी संघटक), the Marathi-language fortnightly of the Shetkari Sanghatana, Year 9, Issue 16 — billed on its masthead as 'आंदोलन विशेषांक — २' (Movement Special — 2). The cover-to-page-4 lead essay, 'गव्हाच्या आयातीचे गौडबंगाल' (The Mystery of the Wheat Imports), is signed by Sharad Joshi and constructs an extended polemic against the P. V. Narasimha Rao government's announcement that it will import wheat from the United States, Canada, Australia and Argentina at a cost Joshi pegs at thousands of crores in scarce foreign exchange. His core charge in the rendered pages is that procurement prices paid to Indian farmers (he cites figures around Rs. 280, Rs. 350 and Rs.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This is the 21 November 1992 issue of *Shetkari Sanghatak* (शेतकरी संघटक), the Marathi-language fortnightly of the Shetkari Sanghatana, Year 9, Issue 16 — billed on its masthead as 'आंदोलन विशेषांक — २' (Movement Special — 2). The cover-to-page-4 lead essay, 'गव्हाच्या आयातीचे गौडबंगाल' (The Mystery of the Wheat Imports), is signed by Sharad Joshi and constructs an extended polemic against the P. V. Narasimha Rao government's announcement that it will import wheat from the United States, Canada, Australia and Argentina at a cost Joshi pegs at thousands of crores in scarce foreign exchange. His core charge in the rendered pages is that procurement prices paid to Indian farmers (he cites figures around Rs. 280, Rs. 350 and Rs. 550 a quintal) were deliberately kept below the cost of production, that the resulting shortfall in government godowns is being used to manufacture a pretext for imports, and that a poor country is in effect taxing its own peasantry to subsidise rich-country growers — a transfer he ridicules as the opposite of a free market and likens, on questions of secrecy and procedure, to the Bofors scandal still on the front pages. The issue then widens out from the lead essay into a thematic dossier. A boxed report on page 5, 'कुठे गेला विलायती गहू? बिहारमध्ये भुकेने ५० जण मेले', juxtaposes the proposed imports with fifty hunger deaths in Manihari, Bihar, and reprints a Karmik Times production table for 1991–92 vs 1992–93 to argue that aggregate output has actually risen. A reprinted *Loksatta* editorial of 17/11/1992 on page 6 ('शेतीला दिलासा / लोकसत्तेतील संपादकीय') debates whether the government's new farm policy and the V. P. Singh advisory committee mark a genuine break from the Nehruvian model or merely tactical relief. A Pune district report on page 7 covers a public 'burning of Nehru-policy' (नेहरूनीतीचे दहन) ceremony led by activists Nandkumar Lokhande and Sanjay Chavhan. Page 8 carries a finance feature reprinted from *Sakal*, Pune (17/11/92), 'परदेशी कर्जांचा वाढता बोजा', which assembles warnings from Krishnachandra Pant, Dr. Manmohan Singh and others about the external-debt trap. The remainder of the issue functions as an organisational call-sheet. Page 9 reports a national Kisan Coordination Committee meeting at Yavatmal — attended by Bhupinder Singh Maan, Ghasiramji Nain, Premsingh Dahiya, Vipinbhai Desai, Vijaybhai Patel, N. P. Shankar Reddy, Ajay Anmol, Dr. Ramnathkrishna Gandhi and Vijay Javandhia — that resolves to cut Punjab's wheat acreage by 25 per cent in protest, and launches a 'गावबंदी' (village-ban) campaign barring ministers from rural Maharashtra from 10 November onward. Page 10 prints a sample interrogation sheet of ten questions for visiting politicians and Sharad Joshi's full Maharashtra tour schedule (21 November–8 December). Page 11 announces the centrepiece of the movement: from 9 December, a blockade ('नाकेबंदी') of Jawaharlal Nehru Port at Nhava Sheva and a symbolic ceremony on 12 December (Babu Genu martyrdom day) to rename the port 'Sarkhel Kanhoji Angre', alongside a poem of farmer lament, 'व्यथा', by A. Jamil A. Khalil of Akola. The back cover carries the campaign slogan 'बंदर न्हेऊ गद्दार गहूं रोकेंगे!' and the publication imprint (Editor: Sureshchandra Mhatre; Owner: Mohan Viharilal Pardeshi; printed at Ganesh Printers, Budhwar Peth, Pune). ## Key points - Lead essay by Sharad Joshi attacks the Narasimha Rao government's plan to import wheat from the US, Canada, Australia and Argentina while paying domestic farmers below cost of production. - Joshi frames the import deal as a Bofors-style opaque transaction in which a poor country uses scarce foreign exchange to subsidise rich-country growers. - A page-5 box pairs the import news with a Dinamalar report of 50 hunger deaths at Manihari, Bihar, and a production table showing 1992–93 foodgrain output has risen, not fallen. - A reprinted Loksatta editorial (17/11/1992) debates whether the new farm policy and V. P. Singh advisory committee genuinely break with Nehruvian planning. - A Sakal Pune feature warns, citing Krishnachandra Pant and Dr. Manmohan Singh, that foreign borrowings of $250–300 million per fortnight are creating a debt trap. - A national Kisan Coordination Committee meeting at Yavatmal — with delegates from Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, UP, Andhra and Maharashtra — resolves to cut Punjab wheat acreage by 25 per cent and launch a 'गावबंदी' barring ministers from villages. - The Shetkari Sanghatana announces a 9 December blockade of Jawaharlal Nehru Port at Nhava Sheva and a 12 December ceremony to rename it Sarkhel Kanhoji Angre Port, timed to Babu Genu's martyrdom day. - The issue's rhetoric is uniformly anti-'Nehrunīti' — page 7 reports a public burning of Nehru-policy in Pune district, and the back cover slogan 'बंदर न्हेऊ गद्दार गहूं रोकेंगे' fuses port-blockade and import-protest into a single campaign. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] शेतकरी संघटक URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-nov-6-1991/ ### Summary This is the 6 November 1991 fortnightly issue (Year 8, Issue 14) of Shetkari Sanghatak (शेतकरी संघटक), the Marathi-language organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana, published from Pune. The issue is built around four substantive items: a lead essay by Sharad Joshi titled 'शेतकरी आंदोलनाचे उद्दिष्ट' (The objective of the farmers' movement) that argues the movement's aim is not to seek subsidies from the state but to secure remunerative prices through a genuinely open market for agricultural produce; an unsigned editorial 'बदल की पुढचे पाऊल?' (Change or the next step?) reflecting on the Sanghatana's direction on the eve of its annual gathering and the re-issue of 'भारतीय शेतीची प्यादेविरू'; Vijay Jawandhia's polemical piece 'नाव बुनकरांचे, नफा नसली वाडीयांचा!!' rebutting Indian Cotton Mill Federation president Nusli Wadia's call to dissolve the Maharashtra cotton monopoly procurement scheme (एकाधिकार) and the central Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) — Jawandhia argues their abolition would benefit Wadia's mills rather than handloom weavers; and an interview by Baburao Hadole and the Chamale sarpanch with Latur cultivator Bhimrao Tondre titled 'राष्ट्रीय संपत्ती संभाळणारा शेतकर… ### Body # शेतकरी संघटक ## Summary This is the 6 November 1991 fortnightly issue (Year 8, Issue 14) of Shetkari Sanghatak (शेतकरी संघटक), the Marathi-language organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana, published from Pune. The issue is built around four substantive items: a lead essay by Sharad Joshi titled 'शेतकरी आंदोलनाचे उद्दिष्ट' (The objective of the farmers' movement) that argues the movement's aim is not to seek subsidies from the state but to secure remunerative prices through a genuinely open market for agricultural produce; an unsigned editorial 'बदल की पुढचे पाऊल?' (Change or the next step?) reflecting on the Sanghatana's direction on the eve of its annual gathering and the re-issue of 'भारतीय शेतीची प्यादेविरू'; Vijay Jawandhia's polemical piece 'नाव बुनकरांचे, नफा नसली वाडीयांचा!!' rebutting Indian Cotton Mill Federation president Nusli Wadia's call to dissolve the Maharashtra cotton monopoly procurement scheme (एकाधिकार) and the central Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) — Jawandhia argues their abolition would benefit Wadia's mills rather than handloom weavers; and an interview by Baburao Hadole and the Chamale sarpanch with Latur cultivator Bhimrao Tondre titled 'राष्ट्रीय संपत्ती संभाळणारा शेतकरी', condemning chemical fertilisers and pesticides as a curse rather than a boon. The remaining pages carry news of Sharad Joshi's 19-23 October Vidarbha 'Lakshmimukti / Gramgaurav Samarambh' tour granting land in cultivators' wives' names with public honour, president Kishor Mhadhakar's Nashik-Jalgaon-Dhule district tour, an announcement of a processing-technology training camp jointly with Shetkari Mahila Aghadi, the standard Sanghatana pledge ('प्रतिज्ञा'), a fresh list of life subscribers registered the previous month, and a back-cover call for the annual gathering at Shegaon (Buldhana) on 10 November 1991 where the Marathi edition of Joshi's 'राष्ट्रीय कृषिनीती' (National Agricultural Policy) will be released. ## Essays ### शेतकरी आंदोलनाचे उद्दिष्ट *By शरद जोशी* Sharad Joshi opens the issue by clarifying what the farmers' movement is and is not asking for. Securing prices for agricultural produce, he writes, does not mean spreading the pallu before government in supplication; the movement does not aid centralisation. Surveying current agitations over onion, cotton, sugar and groundnut prices, he rejects both the 'Regulatory price mechanism' and the 'Public utility price mechanism' as adequate solutions. He lays out three possible paths for the agricultural surplus: a Mahatma Gandhi-style retreat to village self-sufficiency and barter; abandoning farming altogether; or preparing large marketable surpluses and pushing them onto markets through farmer collective action. Joshi endorses the third — but only on the strict condition that the market be genuinely open, both within India and internationally. He invokes the colonial-era 'Imperial preference' as a cautionary example of false openness, demands a working 'Safety-fuse-mechanism' against market shocks, and warns that without a truly open market the cultivator cannot escape his subordinate status. - Reframes the movement's demand as fair prices via open markets, not state handouts. - Rejects 'Regulatory price mechanism' and 'Public utility price mechanism' as inadequate. - Lays out three options for the agricultural surplus: Gandhian self-sufficiency, exit from farming, or organised surplus-pushed market entry. - Endorses the third option, conditional on a genuinely open domestic and international market. - Calls for a 'Safety-fuse-mechanism' as a guardrail against market shocks; warns against the false openness of 'Imperial preference'-style regimes. ### बदल की पुढचे पाऊल? *By संपादक* The unsigned editorial 'बदल की पुढचे पाऊल?' (Change or the next step?) on the cover reflects on the role of Shetkari Sanghatak as the Sanghatana enters a new phase of its movement. It notes that the fortnightly has long been the chief vehicle for organisational news, ideological debate and economic argument, and frames the forthcoming annual gathering and the imminent re-publication of 'भारतीय शेतीची प्यादेविरू' as occasions for renewed clarity about the movement's basic economic ideas. The piece signs off simply as 'संपादक' (editor). - Reaffirms the fortnightly's role as the Sanghatana's organ for ideological and organisational communication. - Treats the upcoming annual gathering and the re-issue of 'भारतीय शेतीची प्यादेविरू' as moments to revisit the movement's economic core. - Signed by the editor — no named byline. ### शेतकरी संघटकचे आजीव वर्गणीदार — गेल्या महिन्याभरात नोंदविलेले Vijay Jawandhia (Wifad, Wardha) takes on Indian Cotton Mill Federation president Nusli Wadia, who has demanded that the Maharashtra state cotton monopoly procurement scheme (एकाधिकार खरेदी) and the central Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) be wound up. Jawandhia argues that the scheme has shielded Maharashtra growers from the price collapses suffered by cotton cultivators in Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, and that its abolition would not free the grower but transfer market power to mill-owners like Wadia. The piece marshals year-by-year cotton price, procurement and export data running from 1985-86 through 1991-92, recounts the political history of the scheme — including its introduction under Indira Gandhi and its continuation through the tenures of Ramnivas Mirdha, Ashok Gehlot, Ajit Yadav and Sharad Pawar — and rebuts the export-licensing case for liberalisation by pointing to international price differentials and the 'Import against Export Under O.G.L.' regime. The conclusion: the monopoly procurement system, far from being anti-grower, functions as a protective price floor; Wadia's demand to dissolve it reads as a mill-lobby move to capture cheaper raw cotton. - Maharashtra's cotton ekadhikar scheme has insulated growers from the price falls seen in other states. - CCI procurement and the ekadhikar function as a price floor rather than a constraint on the grower. - Detailed cotton price, procurement and export tables for 1985-86 through 1991-92 anchor the empirical argument. - Political history of the scheme is traced from Indira Gandhi onward through a succession of Union ministers. - Wadia's call to wind up the schemes is read as serving mill-owners and importers, not weavers. ### नाव बुनकरांचे, नफा नसली वाडीयांचा!! *By विजय जावंधिया, वायफड (वर्धा)* Baburao Hadole and the Chamale sarpanch interview Bhimrao Hawgireev Tondre of Dehrjan (Tal. Udgir, Dist. Latur) on 25 September 1991 under the title 'राष्ट्रीय संपत्ती संभाळणारा शेतकरी' (The farmer who safeguards national wealth). Tondre, around seventy, describes managing a one-acre rainfed plot for a twelve-member household after his younger brother left for the railways. He contrasts pre-1947 cultivation — when seeds were saved, bullocks and farmyard manure managed the rotation, and soils stayed alive — with the current pattern in which government chemical fertilisers and pesticides are pushed onto cultivators through subsidies and credit. He has stopped using chemical fertilisers entirely and reports better yields, healthier soils and lower household costs. The interview's banner line states his verdict bluntly: chemical fertilisers and pesticides are not a boon for the country but a curse. - Tondre is a roughly seventy-year-old smallholder from Dehrjan (Udgir taluka, Latur) supporting a twelve-member household on one acre. - Contrasts the pre-Independence seed-saving and farmyard-manure cycle with current chemical-input dependence. - Reports better yields and lower household costs after abandoning chemical fertilisers. - Frames chemical inputs as a national-level harm, not just a household one. ### अध्यक्षांचा दौरा संपन्न A news report records Sharad Joshi's Vidarbha tour from 19-23 October 1991, conducted jointly with Shetkari Mahila Aghadi under the 'Lakshmimukti / Gramgaurav Samarambh' programme, in which cultivators publicly register land in their wives' names and the village honours the participating households. The piece carries a district-wise table of villages and the number of women whose names were so entered on landholdings — spanning villages in Wardha, Yavatmal and Nashik districts among others. It is followed on the same page by short notices on president Kishor Mhadhakar's Nashik-Jalgaon-Dhule district tour, an upcoming processing-technology (प्रक्रियातंत्र) training camp run with Shetkari Mahila Aghadi, and the standard Sanghatana pledge ('प्रतिज्ञा') closing with a salute to farmer-martyrs. - Joshi's 19-23 October 1991 Vidarbha tour was conducted jointly with Shetkari Mahila Aghadi. - Under Lakshmimukti, land titles are entered in wives' names with public village honour. - A district-wise count of women whose names were so registered is given for villages in Wardha, Yavatmal and Nashik districts. - Pairs with notices on president Kishor Mhadhakar's tour, a processing-technology training camp and the Sanghatana pledge. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-nov-6-1992/ ### Summary This special issue (Andolan Vishishank-1) of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak, dated 6 November 1992, is given over almost entirely to building the Shetkari Sanghatana's case for blockading Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava-Sheva) to halt the central government's wheat imports. The front-page Q&A confronts the obvious counter-argument head-on: does opposing imports mean opposing the open economy? No, the editorial answers — the Sanghatana's stated ideal is an open economy with no restrictions on either imports or exports. What it opposes is the specific manoeuvre of the Narasimha Rao government, which is paying domestic farmers far less per quintal than the landed cost of imported wheat, deliberately suppressing the home price under cover of consumer subsidy. The issue frames the wheat-import policy as the unbroken continuation of Nehru-era controls — what the paper calls 'Nehru-niti' (नेहरूनीती), summed up in a boxed declaration as 'the pomp of industrialism, the entrenched privilege of bureaucracy, and the death of the farmer'.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This special issue (Andolan Vishishank-1) of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak, dated 6 November 1992, is given over almost entirely to building the Shetkari Sanghatana's case for blockading Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava-Sheva) to halt the central government's wheat imports. The front-page Q&A confronts the obvious counter-argument head-on: does opposing imports mean opposing the open economy? No, the editorial answers — the Sanghatana's stated ideal is an open economy with no restrictions on either imports or exports. What it opposes is the specific manoeuvre of the Narasimha Rao government, which is paying domestic farmers far less per quintal than the landed cost of imported wheat, deliberately suppressing the home price under cover of consumer subsidy. The issue frames the wheat-import policy as the unbroken continuation of Nehru-era controls — what the paper calls 'Nehru-niti' (नेहरूनीती), summed up in a boxed declaration as 'the pomp of industrialism, the entrenched privilege of bureaucracy, and the death of the farmer'. The 14 November observance of Nehru-niti Dahan (the ritual burning of Nehru-policy effigies) is scheduled village-by-village to coincide with Nehru's birth anniversary, and farmers are instructed to march out of their homes that day to demand the renaming of Jawaharlal Nehru Port. The connected campaign of mantri-gaon-bandi — ministers barred from entering villages starting 10 November, the new Shetkari Hutatma Din (Farmer Martyrs' Day) — is launched alongside. A second front announces that farmers from south Gujarat (Surat, Valsad, Dang, Bhadochi districts), mobilised at a 29 October rally on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's 113th birth anniversary addressed by Sharad Joshi and Punjab leader Bhupendra Singh Mann, will travel to Nhava-Sheva to join the action. Sharad Joshi's published Maharashtra tour schedule (15 November–6 December), covering Solapur, Kolhapur, Sangli, Nashik, Aurangabad, Akola, Amravati, Yavatmal, Chandrapur, Nagpur and dozens of intermediate halts, occupies most of page 4. The back-page essay invokes the Pune farmer's son Babu Genu — crushed on 12 December 1930 by a British-driven truck of foreign cloth at Bombay's Mulji Jetha Market while satyagrahically blocking its passage — and reads the impending wheat blockade as the same act of protest against foreign goods displacing domestic produce, only now with the Indian state, not a colonial one, doing the displacing. A box of nine sample questions for village campaigners (page 5) gives organisers ready-made talking points pitting consumer-price logic against farmer-price logic. ## Key points - The Sanghatana defends its anti-import stance by clarifying it supports an open economy with no restrictions on imports or exports — what it opposes is the government's selective use of imports to crush domestic farm-gate prices while paying lavishly for foreign wheat. - The doctrinal target is identified by name as 'Nehru-niti': the editorial argues the Narasimha Rao government is merely the latest carrier of a half-century-old state-pricing regime that subsidises industry and bureaucracy at the farmer's expense. - 14 November (Nehru's birth anniversary) is reframed as 'Nehru-niti Dahan Din' — village-level burning of Nehru-policy effigies — paired with the demand that Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava-Sheva) itself be renamed. - 10 November is declared Shetkari Hutatma Din (Farmer Martyrs' Day) and launches a mantri-gaon-bandi: a sustained ban on ministers entering villages until the import policy is reversed. - Sharad Joshi conducts a three-week Maharashtra tour (15 November–6 December 1992) to seed the Nhava-Sheva action across Solapur, Kolhapur, Sangli, Nashik, Aurangabad, Akola, Amravati, Yavatmal, Chandrapur and Nagpur districts, with district kisan-coordination meetings at every halt. - South Gujarat farmers, mobilised on Sardar Patel's birth anniversary at a Surat-area meeting addressed by Sharad Joshi and Bhupendra Singh Mann, commit to travelling to Nhava-Sheva to physically reinforce the blockade. - The back-page essay constructs a direct lineage from Babu Genu's 1930 self-sacrifice against foreign cloth imports to the planned 1992 wheat blockade — inverting the colonial frame so that the Indian state, not the British, is now the foreign agent against domestic produce. - A nine-question script for village campaigners turns the consumer-subsidy argument back on the government: if it can pay double the domestic price to import wheat, why not pay farmers that price directly? --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] शेतकरी संघटक URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-nov-6-1994/ ### Summary This is the 6 November 1994 issue of Shetkari Sanghatak (Marathi: शेतकरी संघटक), the fortnightly mouthpiece of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana, published as a special number (विशेषांक) for the joint Nagpur Adhiveshan of the Sanghatana and the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi held on 12 November 1994. Subtitled राजकीय भूमिकेचे दशक: सन १९८४ ते १९९४ ("Decade of the Political Stance: 1984 to 1994"), the issue is a curated retrospective: it reprints the organisation's earlier editorial statements, candidate-selection circulars, and post-mortems on every major electoral cycle since the movement first decided to step from agitation into the ballot — the 1984 cooperative-society polls, the 1984 Lok Sabha, the 1985 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha, the 1987 Nanded by-election, the 1989 and 1991 Lok Sabha contests, the 1987 panchayati-raj framework, and the 1992 panchayat polls fought by the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi. The volume's argumentative centre, set in editor Sureshchandra Mhatre's foreword and Sharad Joshi's open letter to Dainik Lokmat (गच्छ सूकर। भद्रं ते।), is that the Sanghatana's contested decade of electoral engagement was the necessary political extension of its 'अर्थवादी' (economy-first) mo… ### Body # शेतकरी संघटक ## Summary This is the 6 November 1994 issue of Shetkari Sanghatak (Marathi: शेतकरी संघटक), the fortnightly mouthpiece of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana, published as a special number (विशेषांक) for the joint Nagpur Adhiveshan of the Sanghatana and the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi held on 12 November 1994. Subtitled राजकीय भूमिकेचे दशक: सन १९८४ ते १९९४ ("Decade of the Political Stance: 1984 to 1994"), the issue is a curated retrospective: it reprints the organisation's earlier editorial statements, candidate-selection circulars, and post-mortems on every major electoral cycle since the movement first decided to step from agitation into the ballot — the 1984 cooperative-society polls, the 1984 Lok Sabha, the 1985 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha, the 1987 Nanded by-election, the 1989 and 1991 Lok Sabha contests, the 1987 panchayati-raj framework, and the 1992 panchayat polls fought by the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi. The volume's argumentative centre, set in editor Sureshchandra Mhatre's foreword and Sharad Joshi's open letter to Dainik Lokmat (गच्छ सूकर। भद्रं ते।), is that the Sanghatana's contested decade of electoral engagement was the necessary political extension of its 'अर्थवादी' (economy-first) movement for remunerative agricultural prices — and that the chief enemy of that economy-first politics has been जातीयवाद (caste/communal politics), wielded both by the Congress system and by Hindu-Muslim communal mobilisations to fracture farmer solidarity. The retrospective frames Shetkari Sanghatana's electoral interventions as a refusal of cadre-party machinery in favour of issue-driven, single-plank campaigning around शेतीमालाचा भाव (the price of agricultural produce), and uses the 1985 Vidhan Sabha results to argue that this plank, not any candidate, was "the most effective winning candidate" of the decade. ## Essays ### बळीराजाच्या शोधात संघटकेकेचा खारीचा वाटा Editor Sureshchandra Mhatre's foreword to the Nagpur Adhiveshan special issue. He announces the joint 6th Shetkari Sanghatana and 4th Shetkari Mahila Aghadi convention scheduled for 12 November 1994 at Nagpur, and explains why this issue takes the form of a retrospective: in the three years since the central government formally announced its acceptance of the खुली अर्थव्यवस्था (open economy), the यंत्रणा (state machinery) and political class still resist any genuine liberalisation of agriculture, and the Sanghatana's decade of electoral interventions from 1984 to 1994 is the record that lets cadre and outsiders alike understand why a farmers' movement was forced to enter politics at all. Mhatre argues that the volume should be read alongside Sharad Joshi's existing writings and the resolutions of the joint convention, so that the Sanghatana's political conduct over the decade can be evaluated on its own terms rather than by the conventional yardsticks of party politics. He signs off on 6 November 1994. - Issue is the official Nagpur Adhiveshan special number, dated 6 November 1994 for a 12 November 1994 joint convention. - Frames the entire volume as a documentary retrospective on Shetkari Sanghatana's राजकीय भूमिका (political stance) from 1984 to 1994. - Reads the post-1991 'open economy' announcement as incomplete because state controls on agriculture persist. - Treats the Sanghatana's electoral entries as forced extensions of its economic agitation, not a turn to party politics. ### गच्छ सूकर । भद्रे ते । Sharad Joshi's open letter to the editor of the Nagpur daily Lokmat, reprinted here as a polemic against the Nehru-Gandhi family's continuing hold on Indian politics. Written in response to an editorial titled वाढता भाषा ("The rising language"), Joshi defends the right to criticise Mahatma Gandhi and the Nehru lineage even on Gandhi's 125th birth anniversary, on the ground that uncritical reverence has become a substitute for political thought. Joshi argues that the Indira Gandhi years were a deeper deformation of the freedom-movement legacy than is conventionally admitted, and that what is sustained today in the name of "Gandhian" and "Nehruvian" inheritance is a small clique of दरबारी (courtiers) who weaponise the family's symbolic capital to keep the Congress in business. The headline phrase गच्छ सूकर। भद्रं ते। ("Begone, pig — and bless you") is offered as Joshi's farewell to the Nehru dynasty, framed as a clean rather than a hostile dismissal. - Letter responds to a 21 October 1994 Lokmat editorial वाढता भाषा. - Argues uncritical reverence for Mahatma Gandhi has become an obstacle to political thought, not a guarantee of it. - Reads Indira Gandhi as the real break with the freedom-movement legacy, not as its continuation. - Coins गच्छ सूकर। भद्रं ते। as a deliberately clean send-off to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. ### निवडणूक आंदोलनाची सुरुवात — सहकारी संस्था निवडणुका : १९८४ A reprint from Shetkari Sanghatak of 4 May 1984 explaining why the Sanghatana, until then an agitational body, decided to contest the सहकारी संस्था निवडणुका (cooperative-society elections) of 1984. The piece argues that sugar and cotton cooperatives in Maharashtra had become the principal patronage instrument by which the political class extracted surplus from cultivators while granting itself protected sinecures. The Sanghatana's intervention is presented as a corrective: not a takeover of cooperatives but a discipline imposed on them through a published जाहिरनामा (manifesto) demanding price-floor guarantees, transparent levies, and a five-year freeze on directors' salaries. The article reprints the seven-point pledge that candidates aligned with the Sanghatana were required to sign, and concludes that even losing such elections is useful if it forces the existing co-operative leadership to defend its conduct. - First Sanghatana electoral entry was the 1984 cooperative-society polls, not a general election. - Sugar and cotton cooperatives are treated as the structural lever by which the political class controls farmers. - Candidates were bound by a seven-point manifesto, reproduced verbatim, on prices, purchase-tax, and director austerity. - Even electoral defeat is reframed as movement-building if it exposes the cooperative leadership's record. ### अर्थवादी चळवळींना जातीयवादाचा बडगा — लोकसभा निवडणूक १९८४ A reprint from Shetkari Sanghatak of 14 December 1984, drawn from a Pune कार्यकारिणी (executive committee) resolution dated 22 November 1984, explaining the Sanghatana's posture in the December 1984 Lok Sabha election that followed Indira Gandhi's assassination. The committee resolves that the organisation will not field its own candidates but will call on every farmer to vote against communalism — refusing both the Congress (I)'s appeal to consolidate the Hindu vote and the rival communal mobilisations of other parties. The accompanying essay reads the post-assassination polarisation as a deliberate trap for the अर्थवादी (economy-first) movement: by recasting the election as a contest between caste and religious blocs, the political class hopes to extinguish a politics organised around remunerative prices. Historical analogues are pulled in — English rule in India, the failure to read peasant grievance in religious terms — to argue that farmers across Hindu, Muslim and Sikh identities share an objective economic interest that communal politics is designed to suppress. The Punjab crisis is reread through this frame, with the खालिस्तानी movement diagnosed as the political failure of agrarian economics, not as a sui generis religious problem. - Executive-committee resolution from 22 November 1984 instructs members to oppose communal mobilisation in the 1984 Lok Sabha poll. - The Sanghatana declines to nominate its own candidates and treats the campaign as an anti-communalism exercise. - Diagnoses post-Indira polarisation as a manufactured distraction from agricultural-price politics. - Rereads the Punjab/Khalistan crisis as a downstream effect of farmer impoverishment under government procurement policy. - Argues farmer interests across Hindu, Muslim and Sikh identities are economically aligned and politically suppressed. ### निवडणूक आणि शेतकरी आंदोलनाचे तंत्र — विधानसभा निवडणूक १९८५ : भूमिकेची प्रस्तावना A short prelude, reprinted from Shetkari Sanghatak of 22 February 1985, setting up the Sanghatana's logic for contesting the 1985 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha election. The essay argues that elections are at best one technique among several for an issue-based movement, and that the test of an electoral entry is not whether a seat is won but whether the campaign forces the established parties to argue on the movement's terms. It warns that a movement which makes electoral wins the measure of itself will gradually be absorbed into the existing party system; conversely, a disciplined refusal to chase office is what allows a farmer organisation to expand its mass base without losing its अर्थवादी content. The piece closes by signalling that the next article in the issue will analyse the actual Vidhan Sabha results against this framework. - Electoral contestation is one tactic for a movement, not its purpose. - Success is measured by whether established parties adopt the movement's vocabulary, not by seats won. - Warns of the gravitational pull of party politics on issue movements. - Sets up the more detailed Vidhan Sabha 1985 post-mortem in the next article. ### सर्वात प्रभावी विजयी उमेदवार – शेतीमालाचा भाव — विधानसभा निवडणूक १९८५ : भूमिकेचे विश्लेषण A reprint from Shetkari Sanghatak of 15 March 1985, compiled by Rajendra Basenkar from Sharad Joshi's writings, analysing the results of the 1985 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha election. The piece argues that although the Sanghatana itself did not contest, every winning candidate — from any party — who polled well had been forced to take up some version of the Sanghatana's demand for remunerative शेतीमालाचा भाव (agricultural commodity prices). The verdict is summarised in the title: the most effective winning candidate of 1985 was not a person but the price-of-produce plank. Joshi moves from there to an account of why the Rajiv Gandhi government's response to farmer demand has so far been hollow: subsidised inputs and writeoffs are not equivalent to a real terms-of-trade correction. The essay reads the post-Indira Congress's tactical alliances with breakaway state leaders (the Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar–Vasantdada equilibrium in Maharashtra) as evidence that procurement-price politics is structurally beyond the reach of a Congress that depends on cooperative-sugar money. It closes with the proposition that राजकीय भूमिका (a political stance) is unavoidable for an economic movement, but must remain instrumental to the underlying agitation. - Frames शेतीमालाचा भाव — agricultural commodity price — as the single plank that decided the 1985 Vidhan Sabha contests. - Argues every effective winner across parties was compelled to absorb that plank. - Reads Rajiv Gandhi's farmer-relief measures as cosmetic substitutes for terms-of-trade reform. - Diagnoses the Maharashtra Congress's cooperative-sugar dependence as the structural reason procurement reform is blocked. - Reaffirms that the Sanghatana's electoral interventions are instrumental, not constitutive. ### आमच्या जाती जाती आज जळून गेल्या राख झाल्या — नांदेड : लोकसभा मतदार संघ पोटनिवडणूक, मार्च १९८७ A reprint (from the Shetkari Sanghatak Nanded Adhiveshan Special, 10/11/12 March 1989) of the Sanghatana's stand during the March 1987 Lok Sabha by-election in Nanded. The piece is addressed in the direct voice of Sharad Joshi — माझ्या भावांनो आणि माय बहिणींनो (my brothers and sisters) — calling on farmers to ignore the by-election entirely on the ground that the Sanghatana fights elections only when there is a substantive economic question at stake, and Nanded offers none. The essay argues that turning out for an empty by-election only rehabilitates the local Congress machine and the कुणी आमदार (some MLA), कुणी मुख्यमंत्री (some chief minister), कुणी केंद्रीय मंत्री (some Union minister) — the rotation of dignitaries that is the substance of dynastic politics. Joshi makes a wider point: farmers' poverty is not a problem of inadequate representation but of structural extraction, and electoral participation that does not target that extraction is wasted political effort. The article continues past page 20. - Sanghatana's instruction for the March 1987 Nanded Lok Sabha by-election was active abstention. - Frames by-election turnout as cost-free legitimation of the Congress machine. - Joshi writes in direct second-person voice to cadre rather than as institutional editor. - Reasserts the economy-first criterion: contest only where the question is structural, not symbolic. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-nov-21-1994/ ### Summary Shetkari Sanghatak, the Marathi fortnightly of the Shetkari Sanghatana (Volume 11, Issue 14, dated 21 November 1994), gives over the entire issue to a vrittānt (proceedings report) of the joint seventh session of the Shetkari Sanghatana and the fourth session of the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi (its women's wing), held at Kasturchand Park in Nagpur on 11–12 November 1994 — supplemented by a reprinted Loksatta editorial of 14 November 1994 (titled 'Shetkaryanche Awahan' / 'The Farmers' Challenge'), a tour calendar of district-level women's sessions led by Sharad Joshi, and a back-page call to action. Two parallel streams of resolutions (ठराव) structure the political content. The Sanghatana stream opens with a condemnation of the state government's anti-farmer interventions (Resolution 1) and a charge that the liberalisation promised by Delhi has been blocked on the ground (Resolution 2): the resolutions demand cotton procurement parity with Punjab (where rates of Rs.3,800 per quintal are cited), removal of levies on rice and sugar at Rs.40–50 per quintal, freeing of dairy procurement, and an end to discrimination against Sanghatana-aligned co-operatives.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary Shetkari Sanghatak, the Marathi fortnightly of the Shetkari Sanghatana (Volume 11, Issue 14, dated 21 November 1994), gives over the entire issue to a vrittānt (proceedings report) of the joint seventh session of the Shetkari Sanghatana and the fourth session of the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi (its women's wing), held at Kasturchand Park in Nagpur on 11–12 November 1994 — supplemented by a reprinted Loksatta editorial of 14 November 1994 (titled 'Shetkaryanche Awahan' / 'The Farmers' Challenge'), a tour calendar of district-level women's sessions led by Sharad Joshi, and a back-page call to action. Two parallel streams of resolutions (ठराव) structure the political content. The Sanghatana stream opens with a condemnation of the state government's anti-farmer interventions (Resolution 1) and a charge that the liberalisation promised by Delhi has been blocked on the ground (Resolution 2): the resolutions demand cotton procurement parity with Punjab (where rates of Rs.3,800 per quintal are cited), removal of levies on rice and sugar at Rs.40–50 per quintal, freeing of dairy procurement, and an end to discrimination against Sanghatana-aligned co-operatives. The Mahila Aghadi stream rejects the Maharashtra government's women's policy as a bureaucratic imposition handed down without consultation (Resolution 1), backs the village women's daru-dukan-bandi (liquor-shop closure) agitation as a flagship campaign (Resolution 2), affirms women's full participation in the open economy (Resolution 3), endorses the loan-waiver agitation (Resolution 4), and reasserts Lakshmi Mukti — the programme of transferring family land titles into women's names — as the front's central long-term project (Resolution 5). The reprinted Loksatta editorial reads the Nagpur convention as a passage from constituency-style negotiation to a sharper farmer–state confrontation, and credits the Sanghatana with producing an explicitly farmer-political identity that cuts across both Congress and the BJP–Shivsena alliance. The closing back page announces a Maharashtra-wide rasta roko (road blockade) for 1 December 1994 around three demands — a renunciation of Nehruvian policy (including the symbolic removal of Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi portraits from farmer households), the rasta roko itself, and full opening of trade — and is followed by a calendar of district Mahila Aghadi sessions from 7 December 1994 to 9 January 1995, each addressed by Sharad Joshi. ## Key points - Single-issue report of the joint seventh session of the Shetkari Sanghatana and the fourth session of the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi, held at Kasturchand Park, Nagpur on 11–12 November 1994. - Sanghatana resolutions demand implementation of the liberalised market regime in farm output: cotton parity with Punjab (Rs.3,800/quintal cited as benchmark), removal of rice and sugar levies, freeing of dairy procurement, and the end of state discrimination against Sanghatana-aligned co-operatives. - Shetkari Mahila Aghadi rejects the Maharashtra government's women's policy as imposed without consultation, and reasserts Lakshmi Mukti — putting family land in women's names — as its central programme. - The Mahila Aghadi backs the village women's liquor-shop closure (daru-dukan-bandi) agitation as a flagship organisational campaign. - A reprinted Loksatta editorial of 14 November 1994, 'Shetkaryanche Awahan', reads the Nagpur gathering as a turn from issue-politics to identity-politics for the farmer constituency, distinct from both Congress and the BJP–Shivsena alliance. - The back page calls for a Maharashtra-wide rasta roko (road blockade) on 1 December 1994 and lists a symbolic demand: remove portraits of Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi from farmer households as a public renunciation of Nehruvian policy. - A district tour of Mahila Aghadi sessions from 7 December 1994 to 9 January 1995, covering Nanded, Bhandara, Gadchiroli, Chandrapur, Wardha, Yavatmal, Amravati, Akola, Buldhana, Jalna, Beed, Osmanabad, Solapur, Sangli, Kolhapur, Satara, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Aurangabad, Jalgaon, Dhule and Nashik, each addressed by Sharad Joshi, is published alongside the proceedings. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-oct-21-1991/ ### Summary This is the 21 October 1991 fortnightly issue (Year 8, Issue 13) of Shetkari Sanghatak, the Marathi-language organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana, published from Shivajinagar, Pune, with Sureshchandra Mhatre as editor-printer-publisher. The issue is dominated by Sharad Joshi's long lead essay 'Baliraj-yachi disha' (The direction of Baliraj), which reads the just-announced Manmohan Singh liberalisation reforms through the Sanghatana's farmers'-eye lens: he treats the 1991 crisis as the bankruptcy of the Nehruvian socialist-bureaucratic system rather than its accident, dismisses the cooperative sugar and dairy industries (including a sharp critique of Verghese Kurien's Operation Flood) as 'Chaitgiri' (Bharat against India), and insists that the path forward is the agrarian, decentralised 'Baliraj' direction rather than any new edition of bureaucratic Nehru-pattern industrialisation.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This is the 21 October 1991 fortnightly issue (Year 8, Issue 13) of Shetkari Sanghatak, the Marathi-language organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana, published from Shivajinagar, Pune, with Sureshchandra Mhatre as editor-printer-publisher. The issue is dominated by Sharad Joshi's long lead essay 'Baliraj-yachi disha' (The direction of Baliraj), which reads the just-announced Manmohan Singh liberalisation reforms through the Sanghatana's farmers'-eye lens: he treats the 1991 crisis as the bankruptcy of the Nehruvian socialist-bureaucratic system rather than its accident, dismisses the cooperative sugar and dairy industries (including a sharp critique of Verghese Kurien's Operation Flood) as 'Chaitgiri' (Bharat against India), and insists that the path forward is the agrarian, decentralised 'Baliraj' direction rather than any new edition of bureaucratic Nehru-pattern industrialisation. Around this argument the issue stitches together movement reportage and commemorations: a report from Nanded and Parbhani on the Lakshmimukti Gram-Gaurav samaroh (mass transfer of land into the names of farmers' wives in 14 villages), a long first-person tribute by Asha Yadav of the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi recalling her work with Sharad Joshi and the late Lilatai Joshi, an editorial on the price imbalance between agricultural and industrial goods together with a shraddhanjali for Lilatai Joshi on her ninth death-anniversary, a policy article by MLA Dr Vasant Bonde arguing for rural electrification and electric cables as a vardan (boon) for Vidarbha cotton growers, the Sanghatana president's late-1991 tour itinerary, and a Bhaubeej letter from Joshi's sister Lilatai Aamore (Shetkari Mahila Aghadi, Bhivapur). ## Essays ### बळीराज्याची दिशा *By शरद जोशी* Sharad Joshi's lead editorial reads the July 1991 balance-of-payments crisis and the new Manmohan Singh / Chidambaram reform package as the visible bankruptcy of the entire Nehruvian socialist economy, not a passing fever to be hidden. He argues that the 'socialist' direction — borrowing abroad to import inputs, processing them through licensed industrial houses behind tariff walls, and dumping the result on a captive domestic market — has produced exactly the dead end now in front of the country, and that GATT, intellectual-property regimes (he names 'Intellectual Patent Rights') and the Uruguay round will only deepen the squeeze on Indian industry built up under this model. The essay then turns inward to attack the 'Chaitgiri' factories — bureaucracy-driven, Nehru-pattern industrial units, and especially the cooperative sugar and dairy complexes — as the Bharat-against-India apparatus that exploits the farmer. He singles out Verghese Kurien's Operation Flood for using imported milk powder and butter-oil to undercut Indian dairy farmers' prices, and asks how a Gujarat-style cooperative model can be the future when its own dairies pay producers six rupees per litre at most. - Treats the 1991 crisis as the failure of the socialist model itself, not a contingent fiscal accident that Manmohan Singh's measures can paper over. - Reads the post-reform import-export regime, GATT and the Uruguay round (including 'Intellectual Patent Rights') as a deeper trap for the kind of industry Nehruvian planning built. - Coins / re-uses 'Chaitgiri' to describe bureaucratic, foreign-technology-fed, Nehru-pattern industrial complexes and warns that the same pattern cannot return in a new dress. - Attacks cooperative sugar factories and Dr Verghese Kurien's dairy cooperatives as Bharat-versus-India machinery that shores up urban consumers at producer expense. - Frames 'Baliraj' not as a blueprint but as a direction — agrarian, decentralised, oriented to the producer — to be moved towards once the Nehruvian direction is renounced. ### नांदेड, परभणी लक्ष्मीमुक्ती ग्रामगौरव समारंभ An editorial report from Nanded and Parbhani districts on the Lakshmimukti Gram-Gaurav samaroh held on 5–6 October 1991, where Shetkari Sanghatana leader Sharad Joshi presided over a ceremony in which farmers in 14 villages transferred shares of their farmland into their wives' names, with the women receiving equal status as land-owners. The piece carries the full list of the 14 Nanded-district villages and the number of women honoured in each (Tirthi 102, Pimpri Buwa 110, Bakikhanga (Bhokar) 105 and so on), and frames the event as the on-the-ground operationalisation of the Sanghatana's Shetkari Mahila Aghadi programme. - Reports the first major Lakshmimukti samaroh in Marathwada, dated 5–6 October 1991, presided over by Sharad Joshi. - Lists 14 villages across Nanded district by taluka with the number of women whose names were entered on land documents in each. - Presents the ceremony as a property-rights step for women rather than a symbolic honour: it speaks of equal adhikar (right) on the land. - Embeds the village-by-village data table that the synthesis layer can use as a primary source for early-1990s Shetkari Mahila Aghadi activity in Marathwada. ### माझे पाय मुंबईत टेकतच नाहीत *By सौ. आशा यादव (आशा श्रीरंगराव मोरे), नालासोपारा* Asha Yadav (Asha Shrirangrao More), writing as a paaik of the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi from Nalasopara, addresses 'Adarniya Sharadbhau' in a long first-person memoir of her years inside the Shetkari Sanghatana. She recalls the chant 'Shetkari shetmajoor sanghatanecha vijay aso' that she and other children carried through village streets, the November 1989 women's agitation in which roughly 200 women including her were arrested and held overnight at a police station, the 10 November 1989 Nashik gathering of 30,000 women, hospitalisations and the role of Dr Kolhe at the ESM Hospital, and her two formative encounters with Lilatai Joshi. The essay's title comes from a line Joshi himself addressed to her — 'Your feet don't even touch Mumbai' — and the piece functions both as a movement testimony and as a personal tribute to Lilatai Joshi on the eve of her death anniversary. - First-person testimony from a Shetkari Mahila Aghadi cadre, signed 'Sau. Asha Yadav, paaik, Shetkari Mahila Aghadi'. - Anchors the November 1989 women's agitation around concrete facts: ~200 women arrested overnight, 30,000-woman Nashik gathering on 10 November 1989, hospitalisation under Dr Kolhe at the ESM Hospital. - Frames the essay around a remark by Sharad Joshi — 'your feet don't even touch Mumbai' — which gives the piece its title and captures the author's identity as a rural cadre rather than a city activist. - Reads as a dual tribute — to Joshi's mentorship and to Lilatai Joshi, recalling two meetings and the latter's place as 'the mother' of the women's wing. ### शेतीमाल व औद्योगिक माल यांतील किंमतीचे संतुलन (with श्रद्धांजली — obituary for सौ. लीलाताई जोशी) Page 9 carries a paired editorial essay and shraddhanjali. The essay, 'Shetimal va audyogik maal yantil kimtiche santulan' (Balancing the prices of agricultural and industrial goods), uses cold-storage chains, food processing and the 1990s market for milk derivatives to argue that the supposed parity between farm and factory goods is held in place by state-set conditions rather than competition, and that breaking this requires opening agricultural processing to the same private investment freedom industry already enjoys. Alongside it the shraddhanjali (tribute) marks 22 October 1991 — Kojagiri Poornima — as the ninth death-anniversary of Lilatai Joshi (d. 21 October 1982, the Kojagiri Poornima of 1982), wife of Sharad Joshi and a presiding figure in the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi, with Asha Yadav and Lilatai Joshi's recollections cited and a reading planned from Lilatai's foreword to her book 'Bhumisevak'. - Editorial frames the farm-vs-industry price gap as policy-made rather than market-made, and argues for opening agro-processing to the same private investment freedoms industry enjoys. - Uses the milk-powder / butter-oil cold chain and food-processing industries as concrete illustrations of the asymmetry. - Carries the issue's shraddhanjali to Lilatai Joshi on her ninth death anniversary (21 October 1982, Kojagiri Poornima), to be marked by readings from her 'Bhumisevak' foreword on Kojagiri Poornima 22 October 1991. - Establishes that the woman commemorated, Sau. Lilatai Joshi, was the wife of Sharad Joshi and a central figure in the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi. ### ग्रामीण भागात विद्युत-रेचे: कापूस उत्पादकांसाठी वरदान *By आ. डॉ. वसंत बोंडे* MLA Dr Vasant Bonde, writing from the Vidhan Sabha office at Nariman Point, Bombay, argues that rural electrification — specifically electric overhead cables ('rechye') in the cotton tract of Vidarbha-Marathwada — would be a vardan (boon) for cotton producers facing the squeeze of the new economic crisis. He works through the price differential between unginned cotton (kapus), ginned-and-pressed lint, and processed oil and yarn to show that the value the farmer loses to traders and to grid-deprived ginning operations is large enough to fund electrification several times over, and calls on government and cooperative bodies to underwrite the supply. - Identifies rural electrification of the cotton belt as a concrete, near-term policy step the post-1991 crisis should make politically possible. - Walks through three price stages — kapus, ginned cotton, processed yarn — to quantify the value the farmer loses without on-farm or village-level processing. - Author identifies himself as a sitting MLA writing from the Vidhan Sabha office at Nariman Point, lending the piece a policy-petition framing rather than a movement-essay one. - Sits inside the issue's larger argument: the cooperative-cum-bureaucratic structure has starved producers of the inputs that would let them capture their own value-add. ### शेतकरी संघटना अध्यक्षांचा दौरा Page 11 carries two short pieces and prepares the Annual Gathering announcement that fills the back cover. The first, 'Shetkari Sanghatana adhyakshancha daura', publishes the September-to-November 1991 itinerary of the Sanghatana president — Pandharpur, Brahmpuri, Nagpur, Amravati, Yavatmal, Wani and onwards — culminating in the 10 November 1991 Shetkari Hutatma Smritidini melava at Shegaon, Buldhana. The second, 'Bhaubeej — bahinikadun bhavala', is a Bhaubeej letter from Sharad Joshi's sister Sau. Lilatai Aamore (president, Shetkari Mahila Aghadi, Bhivapur, Nagpur), invoking the brother-sister festival to ask Sanghatana cadres to contribute, on her behalf as the sister, towards the movement. The masthead back cover repeats the 10 November Shegaon melava call: 'Shetkari bhavanno ani maaybahininno, navya yugache nave aavahan svikaranyasathi mothya sankhyene melavyas ya.' - Publishes the Shetkari Sanghatana president's late-1991 tour itinerary as a movement record: Pandharpur, Nagpur, Amravati, Yavatmal, Wani and onward. - Anchors the issue's calendar in the 10 November 1991 Shegaon (Buldhana) Hutatma Smritidini melava as the next major rallying point. - Sister's Bhaubeej letter is signed by Sau. Lilatai Aamore as president of the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi in Bhivapur, Nagpur — a useful biographical datapoint on Joshi's family-and-movement overlap. - Back cover repeats the call to farmer-brothers and mother-sisters to assemble in large numbers at Shegaon to accept 'the new challenge of the new age'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] शेतकरी संघटक URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-nov-6-1995/ ### Summary This is the 6 November 1995 fortnightly issue (Year 12, No. 12) of Shetkari Sanghatak, the Marathi organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana. The lead editorial, 'पराजयाचा विजयोत्सव' (A Victory Celebration of Defeat), reports on a rally Joshi addressed after his loss in a recent Vidhan Sabha by-election; the piece frames the electoral defeat as a moral victory for the agitation, and the issue announces 10 November as 'शेतकरी हुतात्मा स्मरण दिन' (Farmer Martyr Memorial Day) for slain Sangathana activists. The centre of the issue is the text of four resolutions passed by the Karyakarini (executive committee) at Nagpur on 1 November 1995: on the disappointing pace of economic reform; on the sugarcane crisis caused by Congress-era zonal restriction (झोनबंदी) laws and the proposed forced takeover of sick cooperative sugar mills, which the Sangathana protests with a 'हातोडा मोर्चा' (hammer march) at Ambajogai on 15 November; on the खरेदी कर (purchase tax) charged by agricultural produce market committees, which the resolution demands be lifted; and on the renewed extension of the state cotton monopoly-procurement scheme, which the resolution attacks as a vehicle of corruption sustai… ### Body # शेतकरी संघटक ## Summary This is the 6 November 1995 fortnightly issue (Year 12, No. 12) of Shetkari Sanghatak, the Marathi organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana. The lead editorial, 'पराजयाचा विजयोत्सव' (A Victory Celebration of Defeat), reports on a rally Joshi addressed after his loss in a recent Vidhan Sabha by-election; the piece frames the electoral defeat as a moral victory for the agitation, and the issue announces 10 November as 'शेतकरी हुतात्मा स्मरण दिन' (Farmer Martyr Memorial Day) for slain Sangathana activists. The centre of the issue is the text of four resolutions passed by the Karyakarini (executive committee) at Nagpur on 1 November 1995: on the disappointing pace of economic reform; on the sugarcane crisis caused by Congress-era zonal restriction (झोनबंदी) laws and the proposed forced takeover of sick cooperative sugar mills, which the Sangathana protests with a 'हातोडा मोर्चा' (hammer march) at Ambajogai on 15 November; on the खरेदी कर (purchase tax) charged by agricultural produce market committees, which the resolution demands be lifted; and on the renewed extension of the state cotton monopoly-procurement scheme, which the resolution attacks as a vehicle of corruption sustained by deposed Congress politicians and central ministers, paying farmers less than the open market. The paper then runs an instalment of 'जनावरांचे शिवार' — Mahesh Mupedekar's 1956 Marathi adaptation of George Orwell's Animal Farm — under the running heading 'पवनचक्कीचे राजकारण' (Politics of the Windmill). The narrative follows the rebellion of the farm animals against the human farmer, the building of the windmill, and the rise of the pigs as a new ruling class — used as a transparent parable for the Sangathana's anti-statist critique of post-Independence agrarian policy. The issue closes with a signed reply by Joshi himself, 'आपण विचार स्वच्छ ठेवावा' (Keep One's Thinking Clean), dated 24 October 1995 and addressed to Dr. Harnarao Deshmukh, a Sangathana-sympathetic Vidhan Sabha candidate from Buldhana. Joshi argues that the Sangathana inaugurated the most important Indian agitation against the socialist economic order, that this order was sustained by holding down farm-gate prices, and that disappointment with allied politicians must not blur the movement's analytical clarity. The back cover repeats the Ambajogai hammer march call and announces a 'स्वातंत्र्य यात्रा' on 12 December 1995 (Hutatma Babu Genu memorial day) in which Maharashtra farmers will carry cotton bags across the state border into Madhya Pradesh and sell them there. ## Key points - Lead editorial reframes Sharad Joshi's recent Vidhan Sabha by-election defeat as a 'victory celebration', and the issue declares 10 November as Farmer Martyr Memorial Day (शेतकरी हुतात्मा स्मरण दिन). - Four resolutions of the Sangathana's Karyakarini (Nagpur, 1 November 1995) are reproduced verbatim: on the stalled pace of economic reform, on the sugarcane / sugar-mill crisis, on the market-committee purchase tax, and on the cotton monopoly procurement scheme. - Resolution 4 condemns the extension of the cotton monopoly procurement scheme as the product of collusion between Maharashtra's deposed Congress leadership and corrupt central ministers, and as a system that pays farmers less than the open market. - A 'Hatoda Morcha' (hammer march) is called for 15 November 1995 at Ambajogai against the forced state takeover of sick cooperative sugar mills. - The issue serialises Mahesh Mupedekar's 1956 Marathi rendering of George Orwell's Animal Farm as 'जनावरांचे शिवार', running under the title 'पवनचक्कीचे राजकारण' — used as an allegory for the Congress-era agrarian order. - Sharad Joshi's signed essay 'आपण विचार स्वच्छ ठेवावा' is a reply letter to Vidhan Sabha candidate Dr. Harnarao Deshmukh, arguing the Sangathana was the first major Indian movement against the socialist economic system because that system was sustained by suppressing agricultural prices. - The back cover announces a Swatantra Yatra on 12 December 1995 (Hutatma Babu Genu Smritidin) in which farmers will physically carry cotton across the Maharashtra border into Madhya Pradesh to sell it, defying state procurement monopoly. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] शेतकरी संघटक URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-oct-21-1992/ ### Summary This Marathi fortnightly (Shetkari Sanghatak, Year 9 No. 14, 21 October 1992) is built around the lead article "नेहरूनीती विरुद्ध खुली अर्थव्यवस्था आणि शेतकरी आंदोलन" — Sharad Joshi's address to the Shetkari Sanghatana's executive committee meeting at Aurangabad (10–11 October 1992) and his speech to the public rally on 12 October. Joshi opens by contrasting the French farmers' tyre-burning protests against subsidised British wheat ("Goamans") imports with the Indian peasantry's own position: the Shetkari Sanghatana is not opposed to imports per se, but it cannot accept subsidised imports that price domestic growers (whose wheat costs around Rs. 280/quintal) out of their own market when foreign wheat is dumped at Rs. 9–8 per kg. He uses this to distinguish genuine friends of the open economy from its self-styled advocates who actually want one-sided liberalisation that punishes farmers. The second half of Joshi's speech traces the tradition of opposition to the Nehruvian planning order — from Gandhi-era idealists through later dissenters — and argues that no honest farmer leader can today work within Lenin-and-Marx frames; the rural movement has its own anti-statist genealogy.… ### Body # शेतकरी संघटक ## Summary This Marathi fortnightly (Shetkari Sanghatak, Year 9 No. 14, 21 October 1992) is built around the lead article "नेहरूनीती विरुद्ध खुली अर्थव्यवस्था आणि शेतकरी आंदोलन" — Sharad Joshi's address to the Shetkari Sanghatana's executive committee meeting at Aurangabad (10–11 October 1992) and his speech to the public rally on 12 October. Joshi opens by contrasting the French farmers' tyre-burning protests against subsidised British wheat ("Goamans") imports with the Indian peasantry's own position: the Shetkari Sanghatana is not opposed to imports per se, but it cannot accept subsidised imports that price domestic growers (whose wheat costs around Rs. 280/quintal) out of their own market when foreign wheat is dumped at Rs. 9–8 per kg. He uses this to distinguish genuine friends of the open economy from its self-styled advocates who actually want one-sided liberalisation that punishes farmers. The second half of Joshi's speech traces the tradition of opposition to the Nehruvian planning order — from Gandhi-era idealists through later dissenters — and argues that no honest farmer leader can today work within Lenin-and-Marx frames; the rural movement has its own anti-statist genealogy. He attacks the current Narasimha Rao–Manmohan Singh dispensation for confining liberalisation to "India" (urban industrial interests) while leaving Bharat (the village) shackled to Nehruvian controls on agriculture, citing the maxim "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely" to explain why minimum government is a precondition of farmer prosperity. The address ends with the call to build a single front of supporters of the open economy across regions. The issue's news and resolution pages document the Sanghatana's October 10–11 Aurangabad meeting, which passed three resolutions: blockading the ports at which imported wheat would be unloaded; banning state and central ministers from entering villages from Farmers' Martyr Day, 10 November 1992; and building a unified front of open-economy supporters. Joshi's own letter to Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao — alleging that the Centre has "dashed farmers' hopes" — is reproduced (p. 10), alongside Economic Times clippings on India's planned import of 30 lakh tons of wheat, the falling wheat prices in Haryana after the 25 per cent procurement-bonus hike, and the World Bank's call for India to lift its export bans. The issue closes (p. 7) with Subhash Bodhekar's Marathi poem "बळी" and (p. 12) the news that Sanghatana worker Baban Jadhav lost a foot in a tractor accident on a protest convoy. ## Key points - Lead article is a verbatim address by Shetkari Sanghatana founder Sharad Joshi delivered at the executive committee meeting in Aurangabad (10–11 Oct 1992) and the public rally on 12 October. - Joshi opens with the French farmers' protests against subsidised British wheat imports to argue that the Sanghatana opposes only subsidised dumping, not foreign trade as such. - He distinguishes "friends" of the open economy (those who want it for both India and Bharat) from its enemies — including liberalisers who want it only for industry while keeping agriculture under Nehruvian controls. - The speech invokes "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely" and the formula "समाजात किमान शासन असावे" (society should have minimum government) as the moral basis of the open-economy demand. - Joshi attacks the Narasimha Rao–Manmohan Singh dispensation for keeping the Nehruvian framework intact in agriculture even as it liberalises elsewhere, and locates the Sanghatana's politics in a longer anti-planning, anti-Marxist genealogy. - The Aurangabad meeting's three resolutions are reproduced: port blockades of imported wheat; a ministers' village-ban from 10 November 1992 (Farmers' Martyr Day); and a single front of all open-economy supporters. - Economic Times reprints document the Centre's plan to import 30 lakh tons of wheat between March 1993 and April 1993, the falling wheat prices in Haryana after the procurement bonus, and the World Bank's appeal that India lift its export bans. - Subhash Bodhekar's Marathi poem "बळी" and a report on Sanghatana worker Baban Jadhav losing a foot in a tractor accident round out the issue. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-oct-21-1995/ ### Summary This fortnightly issue (Year 12, Issue 11, dated 21 October 1995) of the Marathi-language periodical Shetkari Sanghatak — the house organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement, published from Pune — carries four substantive items alongside Diwali greetings, organisational notices, and observances for Baliraj Day (30 October) and Farmer Martyrs' Day (10 November). In the rendered pages the lead essay is Sharad Joshi's 'प्रशिक्षणाचा खरा अर्थ' (The Real Meaning of Training), excerpted from his pre-camp address of 6 August 1995, arguing that the movement's training programme is not classroom instruction but the cultivation of independent economic reasoning among farmers. A serialised Marathi translation by Shri. Medha Mudholkar of George Orwell's Animal Farm continues with chapter four, 'गोठ्याची लढाई' (The Battle of the Cowshed). Dr. Manavendra Kachole of Aurangabad contributes a constitutional-political polemic, 'या देशावर राज्य कुणाचे?' (Whose State Rules This Country?), arguing that the post-independence Indian state has never genuinely consulted the public on policy.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This fortnightly issue (Year 12, Issue 11, dated 21 October 1995) of the Marathi-language periodical Shetkari Sanghatak — the house organ of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement, published from Pune — carries four substantive items alongside Diwali greetings, organisational notices, and observances for Baliraj Day (30 October) and Farmer Martyrs' Day (10 November). In the rendered pages the lead essay is Sharad Joshi's 'प्रशिक्षणाचा खरा अर्थ' (The Real Meaning of Training), excerpted from his pre-camp address of 6 August 1995, arguing that the movement's training programme is not classroom instruction but the cultivation of independent economic reasoning among farmers. A serialised Marathi translation by Shri. Medha Mudholkar of George Orwell's Animal Farm continues with chapter four, 'गोठ्याची लढाई' (The Battle of the Cowshed). Dr. Manavendra Kachole of Aurangabad contributes a constitutional-political polemic, 'या देशावर राज्य कुणाचे?' (Whose State Rules This Country?), arguing that the post-independence Indian state has never genuinely consulted the public on policy. A featured editorial extract titled 'स्वराज्याची गुरुकिल्ली' reproduces a passage from Gandhi's Hind Swaraj on the duty of civil disobedience to unjust law. The issue closes with notices of cadre training camps at the Krishi Arth Prabodhini in Ambethan and a joint executive meeting of Shetkari Sanghatana and Shetkari Mahila Aghadi scheduled in Nagpur on 9 November 1995. ## Essays ### प्रशिक्षणाचा खरा अर्थ *By शरद जोशी* Sharad Joshi reframes 'training' (प्रशिक्षण) for the Shetkari Sanghatana cadre as something categorically distinct from formal schooling. School-style training, he argues, hands the trainee a settled curriculum and a finished body of knowledge; the movement's training, by contrast, has no fixed textbook and must be invented on the ground because the farmer's predicament — the systematic suppression of agricultural prices through state policy — is one that established economists and politicians have refused to name. The essay reads as a stocktaking of a decade of agitation: Joshi insists that the Sanghatana's most extraordinary achievement is having forced the question of remunerative prices for farm produce into national debate against the ridicule of every mainstream economist and party. - Distinguishes school-style training (fixed syllabus, transmitted knowledge) from movement training, which must be co-constructed from the farmer's own economic experience. - Names the Sanghatana's central achievement as having shifted the public question from subsidies and charity to remunerative prices for agricultural produce. - Argues that the established economists and political parties initially ridiculed the price-of-produce framing but were ultimately compelled to engage it. - Frames cadre training as preparation for autonomous reasoning rather than ideological indoctrination. - Treats Shetkari Sanghatana's movement-knowledge as something that had to be built from scratch because no prior literature addressed the Indian cultivator's terms of trade. ### जनावरांचे शिवार (जॉर्ज ऑरवेल यांच्या Animal Farm चे भाषांतर) *By श्री. मेहूल मुखोपाध्याय (१९८५)* The issue carries the fourth chapter, 'गोठ्याची लढाई' (The Battle of the Cowshed), of Shri. Medha Mudholkar's serialised Marathi translation of George Orwell's Animal Farm (1945). The chapter narrates the animals' first armed defence of the farm against Mr. Jones and the neighbouring farmers, in which Snowball (स्नोबॉल) leads the counter-attack and the animals consolidate the new order. A short sidebar headed 'जनावरांचे शिवार' (Animal Farm) reminds readers that Orwell's allegory was directed at totalitarian regimes in which a revolutionary vanguard captures the levers of power and turns against the ordinary people in whose name it had risen. - Marathi serialisation of George Orwell's Animal Farm, here Chapter 4: the Battle of the Cowshed. - Snowball, Benjamin and Boxer are foregrounded in the defence of the farm against the returning humans. - An editorial sidebar frames Orwell's fable as a parable about revolutionary elites who betray the people they claim to liberate. - Serialisation in a farmers' movement periodical signals the Sanghatana's reading of Animal Farm as a warning against state socialism. ### हे कोण बोलले? *By दै. मराठवाडा वरून* Dr. Manavendra Kachole of Aurangabad opens with a flat claim that the citizens of independent India have never developed a sense of belonging towards their own government, and uses that distance to interrogate the legitimacy of the entire post-independence administrative order. The essay argues that the people have never been seriously consulted on policy, that the state apparatus has substituted itself for them, and that the political class — across parties — has converged on a shared interest in preserving the patronage and rent-extraction structures of governance. Kachole frames the question in the title — 'whose state rules this country?' — as a deliberately unanswerable one, suggesting that the formal constitutional answer ('the people') and the lived answer (a self-perpetuating political-bureaucratic class) have diverged so far that the original republican question has to be posed again. - Diagnoses an enduring alienation between the Indian citizen and the post-1947 state. - Argues that policy has been formulated without genuine public consultation across successive governments. - Treats party-political alternation as cosmetic, since the underlying administrative class and its incentives remain unchanged. - Reposes the foundational republican question — sovereignty in whom — as unsettled rather than settled by the Constitution. - Reads the distance between ruler and ruled as a structural rather than incidental problem of Indian democracy. ### या देशावर राज्य कुणाचे? *By Mahatma Gandhi* A boxed editorial feature on the back page, headed 'स्वराज्याची गुरुकिल्ली' (The Master Key to Swaraj) and credited to M. Gandhi, reproduces a passage from Hind Swaraj on the duty of civil disobedience. Gandhi argues — in Hindi — that the teaching that one must obey laws regardless of their justice is contrary to manhood, contrary to religion, and amounts to the very limit of slavery; that a government whose laws are unjust deserves to be confronted by the citizen who refuses to dance to its tune even at the cost of suffering; and that the willingness to break an unjust law and accept its punishment is the master key of Hind Swaraj. - Reprints a Hind Swaraj passage on the moral status of unjust law. - Frames habitual obedience to law as incompatible with both manliness and dharma. - Positions civil disobedience — willingness to suffer the law's penalty — as the 'master key' of swaraj. - Curated by the periodical as ideological scaffolding for the farmers' movement's confrontational style. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-oct-21-1994/ ### Summary This 21 October 1994 issue of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak (Year 11, Issue 12) is built around the run-up to the Sixth Convention of the Shetkari Sanghatana at Kasturchand Park, Nagpur on 12 November 1994. Sharad Joshi opens the issue with the lead essay 'खुली व्यवस्था व अ-राज्यवाद' (Open System and Anti-Statism), arguing that liberalisation is not Manmohan Singh's invention but a return to Gandhi's anti-statist instincts that Nehru's planning had buried, and that the 1980 Shetkari Sanghatana movement was always rooted in this anti-statist (अ-राज्यवादी) economics. The issue then carries supporting editorials on what government has become versus what it should be, a defence of competition and experience as the only real teachers (citing Ayn Rand and Art Buchwald), a fifteen-year retrospective on the Sanghatana, and a sidebar arguing that 'open system is a path, not a stage'. The women's-policy plank is anchored by MLA C. Saroj Kashikar (president, Shetkari Mahila Aghadi) in a long critique of the Maharashtra government's June 1994 women's policy; Ajay Anmol of the U.P. Kisan Union contributes a Hindi marching-poem 'आजादी की सेना फिर तैयार करो'.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This 21 October 1994 issue of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak (Year 11, Issue 12) is built around the run-up to the Sixth Convention of the Shetkari Sanghatana at Kasturchand Park, Nagpur on 12 November 1994. Sharad Joshi opens the issue with the lead essay 'खुली व्यवस्था व अ-राज्यवाद' (Open System and Anti-Statism), arguing that liberalisation is not Manmohan Singh's invention but a return to Gandhi's anti-statist instincts that Nehru's planning had buried, and that the 1980 Shetkari Sanghatana movement was always rooted in this anti-statist (अ-राज्यवादी) economics. The issue then carries supporting editorials on what government has become versus what it should be, a defence of competition and experience as the only real teachers (citing Ayn Rand and Art Buchwald), a fifteen-year retrospective on the Sanghatana, and a sidebar arguing that 'open system is a path, not a stage'. The women's-policy plank is anchored by MLA C. Saroj Kashikar (president, Shetkari Mahila Aghadi) in a long critique of the Maharashtra government's June 1994 women's policy; Ajay Anmol of the U.P. Kisan Union contributes a Hindi marching-poem 'आजादी की सेना फिर तैयार करो'. Sharad Joshi's accounting circular for the convention, news of the release of Prakash Pohare and other activists from Akola, and the joint Mahila Aghadi–Sanghatana convention announcement on the back cover round out the number. ## Essays ### नागपूर अधिवेशन कशासाठी? / खुली व्यवस्था व अ-राज्यवाद Sharad Joshi's front-page editorial argues that an open economy with minimal state interference is not Manmohan Singh's innovation but the recovery of an older Indian instinct: Mahatma Gandhi's whole worldview, Joshi insists, was अ-राज्यवादी (anti-statist), and the first step away from it was Nehru's choice of Soviet-style central planning after independence. He traces a lineage from Khrushchev's 1956 critique of Stalinist economics through the Shetkari Sanghatana's own 1980 stance that the state itself is the chief problem for the farmer, rejecting both Nehruvian planning and the garibi-hatao welfare frame that 'pretends to protect the poor' while keeping them captive to babudom. The piece sets up the Nagpur convention as a public articulation of the Sanghatana's anti-statist agrarian liberalism. - Open economy and minimum state are not Manmohan Singh's invention — Gandhi was already अ-राज्यवादी (anti-statist). - Nehru's adoption of Soviet planning was the first wrong turn that the Sanghatana now seeks to reverse. - The Shetkari Sanghatana's 1980 charter already identified the state — not market failure — as the farmer's chief adversary. - Garibi-hatao welfarism is reframed as a 'garib hatao' (eliminate the poor) project that perpetuates dependency. - The Nagpur convention is positioned as the public declaration of the Sanghatana's open-economy / anti-statist line. ### सरकार कसे आहे? An unsigned twin editorial on page 2 contrasts 'what government has become' with 'what government ought to be'. The first column catalogues the open-ended list of things citizens have been told only the state can do — feed crops, run schools and hospitals, employ everyone, build housing, supply jobs, even decide what to wear and eat — and observes that under every regime, regardless of ideology, the state has only grown. The second column argues by analogy with the human body: just as essential involuntary functions (breathing, circulation) are best left to the body's autonomic system and conscious meddling damages them, so too the essential functions of an economy — agriculture, industry, trade, communication, education — must be left out of government's hands. The right-hand sidebar 'समर्थनां संरक्षण पांगळेच करणार' argues that protective price-support regimes only cripple farmers and that competitive market discipline is the precondition for agricultural revival. - Under every regime — left, right or centre — the Indian state has only expanded its remit. - An analogy with autonomic bodily functions: essential economic functions work best when government does not 'consciously' direct them. - Government's only legitimate roles are police, military and external security. - Support-price regimes do not protect farmers — they make them dependent and stunted. - The Sanghatana frames market discipline, not state subsidy, as the path to peasant strength. ### सरकार कसे असावे? Page 3 carries two unsigned essays. The first, 'अनुभव आणि स्पर्धा यांच्यासारखे गुरू नाहीत' (There are no teachers like experience and competition), defends open competition against the moralism of socialist critics; it cites American novelist Ayn Rand and humourist Art Buchwald to argue that the question is not whether competition produces casualties but whether any alternative system has ever fed and clothed people as well. The second, 'पिशाचमहालात घुसून पिशाचांना हकला' (Drive the demons out by entering the demon's palace), is a fifteen-year retrospective on the Shetkari Sanghatana: every great victory has had two faces — a positive achievement and a negative reaction. The piece distinguishes the Sanghatana's 'rich peasant' (समृद्ध भारत) demand from the rival 'poor peasant' (गरीब विचार) ideology of conventional politicians and prepares the reader for the Nagpur convention's hard line on poverty-mongering politics. - Open competition and lived experience are framed as the only real teachers — moral objections to competition are dismissed. - Ayn Rand and Art Buchwald are invoked as Western voices for the same anti-collectivist view. - The Sanghatana's fifteen-year history is read as a series of two-faced victories — every win produced a backlash. - The Sanghatana's प्रोस्पेरस-Bharat / 'rich peasant' line is contrasted with the 'गरीब विचार' (thoughts of the poor) line of mainstream politics. - The retrospective positions the Nagpur convention as a renewal rather than a culmination. ### समर्थांना संरक्षण पांगळेच करणार A short, dense sidebar on page 4 — 'खुली व्यवस्था टप्पा नव्हे, मार्ग आहे' (The open system is not a stage, it is a path) — counters both Marxist-style and Gandhian utopian readings of liberalisation. There is no end-state called 'an open economy', the writer argues: history never had one, the present does not contain one, and the future will not produce one either; what is possible is movement toward openness, which is what the Sanghatana means by खुली व्यवस्था. Suffering and dislocation are not the system's failures — they are intrinsic to human life, and the open system is simply the route that allows individuals' creative energies to find use and reduce that suffering at the margin. - There is no historical or future end-state of 'open economy' — only a direction of travel. - Marxist utopia and Gandhian Ram Rajya are both rejected as imagined end-states. - Pain and dislocation are framed as native to human life, not as failures of the market. - The open system is defined as the path that lets individual creativity and skill be put to use. ### अनुभव आणि स्पर्धा यांच्यासारखे गुरु नाहीत A Hindi marching-poem by Ajay Anmol, Mahasachiv of the Kisan Union (U.P.), titled 'आजादी की सेना फिर तैयार करो' (Prepare the army of independence again). Across seven verses the poet calls on the rural poor to re-enlist in a second freedom struggle — this time against the heirs of the freedom movement: the Nehruvian planners whose policy lets thieves dance over the heads of the people, the licence–quota–permit raj, and the socialist coalition that, the poet says, has converted independence into a fresh slavery. The closing verse calls for breaking caste-and-creed walls, throwing out forged scriptures of sin (पाप की दुनिया में गंगा को मैला कर दो), and lighting open-system lamps in every village. - Frames liberalisation as a 'second freedom struggle' that must be fought by the kisan. - Names the Nehruvian licence-quota-permit raj as the new occupier. - Calls socialism a doctrine of inflation and queueing-up for half-rations. - Closes with an anti-communal verse demanding caste and religious walls be torn down. - Signed: Ajay Anmol, Mahasachiv, Kisan Union (U.P.) — extends the Sanghatana's reach into a north-Indian Hindi register. ### पिशाचमहालात घुसून पिशाचांना हकला MLA C. Saroj Kashikar, president of the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi, audits Maharashtra Chief Minister Sharad Pawar's much-publicised women's-policy declaration of 22 June 1994 and finds it largely false. She argues the state's women's-development apparatus — committees, corporations, training centres set up since 1990 — has stayed paper-thin: ten percent of local budgets earmarked for women have not actually been spent for women, and most schemes have been routed through male-dominated bureaucracies. Atrocities and violence against women, dowry deaths and police complicity are catalogued, and a programme of reform is proposed: independent women's local bodies with real budgets, legal reform, economic uplift, supportive administration, media engagement, and partnership with voluntary and non-state institutions. The piece ends framing autonomy and competition (स्वयंस्फूर्त) — not state tutelage — as the genuine route to women's economic dignity. - Sharad Pawar's June 1994 women's-policy declaration is judged largely cosmetic. - The 10% local-body budget earmark for women has not, in practice, reached women. - Atrocities, dowry deaths and police complicity are catalogued as evidence of policy failure. - Real reform requires autonomous women's bodies, independent budgets and legal reform — not new state corporations. - Voluntary and non-state institutions are framed as essential partners; the Sanghatana model of self-organisation is implicit. - Aligns women's-policy critique with the issue's larger anti-statist line. ### खुली व्यवस्था टप्पा नव्हे, मार्ग आहे Sharad Joshi issues a circular to all district presidents (जिल्हाप्रमुख) of the Shetkari Sanghatana setting out the four heads under which accounts for the Sixth Nagpur Convention must be rendered: village fund (गावनिधी), reception-committee membership fees, convention fund (अधिवेशन निधी) and souvenir-advertisement fees. Receipts must be presented in person at the convention venue on 11 November 1994 by 6 pm; uncertified receipts will not be distributed for the next round. The page also carries a brief news item on the release of activist Prakash Pohare and twenty other karyakartas — including Ravsaheb Kabe, Nalinitai Gavle of the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi, and C. Indirabai Nandurkar — who had been arrested on 21 September during the Akola district anti-liquor-shop agitation at Murtizapur. A boxed promo for Shetkari Prakashan booklet no. 20, 'गरीब विचार' (Thoughts on Poverty), priced at Rs 10, sits alongside a small slogan-box: 'सरकार हवे' (government wanted — only to punish those who block the producer's path to the consumer) versus 'सरकार नको' (government not wanted). - Four accounting heads are defined for the Nagpur convention: village fund, reception-committee membership, convention fund, souvenir-ad fees. - Hard deadline: receipts must be in by 6 pm on 11 November 1994. - Prakash Pohare and twenty other karyakartas were jailed on 21 September during the Akola anti-liquor agitation at Murtizapur. - Shetkari Mahila Aghadi office-bearers Nalinitai Gavle and Indirabai Nandurkar were among those arrested. - A new booklet 'गरीब विचार' (Thoughts on Poverty) is announced as Shetkari Prakashan publication no. 20. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] शेतकरी संघटक URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-oct-6-1992/ ### Summary This 6 October 1992 issue of Shetkari Sanghatak (शेतकरी संघटक) — Year 9, No. 13, the Marathi fortnightly of the Shetkari Sanghatana — is built around Sharad Joshi's lead editorial calling for a 'second leap' (दुसरी छलांग) of the farmers' movement: beyond merely demanding price relief and opposing Nehruvian planning, the Sanghatana must articulate an affirmative free-market programme and a new method of agitation, or, Joshi warns, the defeat of Nehruvianism will yield no victory for Bharat. Several news pieces show the movement enacting this Nehru-critique in the street: on Gandhi Jayanti (2 October 1992) volunteers ritually burned copies of 'Nehru's policy' at Sevagram (Mahatma Gandhi's ashram), Akola, and Amravati, where the local 'Nehru Maidan' was simultaneously renamed 'Mahatma Jotiba Phule Maidan'.… ### Body # शेतकरी संघटक ## Summary This 6 October 1992 issue of Shetkari Sanghatak (शेतकरी संघटक) — Year 9, No. 13, the Marathi fortnightly of the Shetkari Sanghatana — is built around Sharad Joshi's lead editorial calling for a 'second leap' (दुसरी छलांग) of the farmers' movement: beyond merely demanding price relief and opposing Nehruvian planning, the Sanghatana must articulate an affirmative free-market programme and a new method of agitation, or, Joshi warns, the defeat of Nehruvianism will yield no victory for Bharat. Several news pieces show the movement enacting this Nehru-critique in the street: on Gandhi Jayanti (2 October 1992) volunteers ritually burned copies of 'Nehru's policy' at Sevagram (Mahatma Gandhi's ashram), Akola, and Amravati, where the local 'Nehru Maidan' was simultaneously renamed 'Mahatma Jotiba Phule Maidan'. The issue also carries an Indian Express reprint on gender discrimination as a cause of poverty, a short item on chemical/pesticide residues in food, an announcement that a Krishi Arth Prabodhini economic-condition survey of farmers will be serialised from 21 October 1992, news of impending wage and electricity-tariff increases for agriculture, the live-subscriber list as of 1 August–1 October 1992, a Karyakarini meeting notice, and the statutory ownership declaration of the periodical. ## Essays ### शेतकरी आंदोलन कुंठित व्हायचे नसेल तर – *By – शरद जोशी* Joshi's lead editorial (in Marathi) argues that the Shetkari Sanghatana's first 'leap' — securing remunerative prices and exposing the exploitative anatomy of the 'India'-versus-'Bharat' economy — has run its course. The 1991 liberalisation and the global shift away from controlled economies have, in his reading, conceded the Sanghatana's economic critique in principle, yet the agitation has lately become reactive and ritualised: cane-charges, morchas, and price-rollback demands repeated without an organising vision. The 'second leap' he proposes drops the price-relief-by-State template altogether and asks the movement to build a positive free-market constituency, drawing into it open-market traders, small entrepreneurs, and others whom the old Nehruvian dispensation forced into bondage; without this affirmative turn, he writes, even Nehruvianism's collapse will not translate into Bharat's victory. The essay quotes liberally from his book Prachalit Arthavyavasthevar Nava Prakash-2 to ground the argument in a longer body of work. - The Sanghatana's two assets — its ideology and its agitation technique — both need overhaul to survive the post-liberalisation moment. - Demanding lower input prices and higher output prices keeps the movement inside the very subsidy logic it set out to attack. - The 'India vs Bharat' framing remains valid, but the membership of each camp has shifted as State capitalism collapses. - A 'second leap' must mobilise open-market traders, small industry, and other Nehruvian losers into a positive free-market coalition. - Defeating Nehruvianism is not the same as winning for Bharat; without a constructive programme the victory will be lost. ### शेतकरी संघटक : आजीव वर्गणीदार (१ ऑगस्ट ते १ ऑक्टोबर १९९२) A reprint from the Indian Express of 14 July 1992 reporting on a study (by Jodi Jenkinson of the Andhra-Pradesh-based 'Wolthab' association) that frames gender discrimination as a primary engine of poverty. Drawing on fieldwork with rural women in Andhra Pradesh, the piece argues that unequal access to wages, training, agricultural extension, and legal protection holds household incomes down; female labourers report lower pay than male counterparts for the same work and are routinely sidelined in landholding and credit decisions. The summary concludes that liberation from this discrimination is itself a poverty-alleviation programme. - Frames women's subordination, not aggregate scarcity, as a structural cause of rural poverty. - Cites field evidence of wage gaps and exclusion from training and extension services. - Calls for women's economic independence as an anti-poverty lever in its own right. ### शेतकरी संघटना : कार्यकारिणी बैठक A short consumer-side notice (Marathi) reporting that, after a Mumbai Indo-Asian chemical company allegedly mixed pesticide residues into tea-leaf, dal, and ghee through a network in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh, distributors are now reluctant to handle its goods. The piece frames the market reaction as proof that consumers themselves penalise poisoning, with one Kolhapur firm reportedly losing 1,500 quintals of dal and 3,000 kg of dyes to the boycott. - Pesticide-laced foodstuffs from an Indo-Asian chemical supplier trigger a distributor-led boycott in three states. - Frames the boycott as a market-discipline response, not requiring fresh regulation. - Concrete loss figures (1,500 quintal dal; 3,000 kg dye) cited to show that bad practice is punished commercially. ### स्त्रियांच्या बाबतीतील पक्षपात गरीबीचे कारण *By (इंडियन एक्स्प्रेस, १४/७/९२ वरून)* A house notice from Krishi Arth Prabodhini announcing that, to mark the conclusion of the Sanghatana's first 12 years (1980–1992), a comparative household-economy survey of farmers across 21 districts has been compiled and will be serialised in Shetkari Sanghatak starting with the 21 October 1992 issue. The piece lists participating districts (Pune, Latur, Beed, Chandrapur, Jalna, Nanded, Parbhani, Osmanabad, Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Yavatmal, Ahmednagar, Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon, Raigad, plus three Karnataka and Gujarat districts) and credits Sharad Joshi's 'Chaturang Sheti' framework as the survey's intellectual scaffold. - Twelve-year retrospective survey of farmers' household economy across 21 districts. - Serialisation begins in the 21 October 1992 issue and runs fortnightly. - Methodologically anchored in Sharad Joshi's 'Chaturang Sheti' (four-fold farming) schema. ### विषारी अन्नाला मागणी नाही Field report from Wardha district (correspondent: Ravi Kashikar) on a 2 October 1992 programme in which Shetkari Sanghatana cadre, gathered on the grounds of Mahatma Gandhi's Sevagram Ashram, ritually burned copies of 'Nehru's policy' (नेहरूनीतीचे पुस्तक) before a crowd of roughly 1,500. Office-bearers including district president Subhash Agrawal, Shetkari Mahila Aghadi leader Sumantai Agrawal, and Kisor Bhopalkar (district vice-president) led the proceedings; Sharad Joshi sent a message but did not attend. The piece notes pointedly that no opposition was registered locally despite the symbolic provocation. - Choice of Gandhi's own ashram for a Nehru-policy burning underlines the movement's claim to Gandhian moral inheritance. - Local turnout of about 1,500 with district-level leadership and the women's wing on stage. - Absence of any organised counter-protest is reported as itself politically significant. ### शेतकऱ्यांची आर्थिक परिस्थिती (पहाणी) *By कृषी अर्थ प्रबोधिनी* Field report from Akola (correspondent: Prakash Pore) on a parallel Gandhi-Jayanti burning of Nehru's economic-policy text in the city. The programme drew several thousand farmers and townspeople; the report records the procession, the public address, and the absence of any administrative or political obstruction. The Akola piece consciously frames the act as an extension of Gandhian moral protest rather than a partisan attack. - Replicates the Sevagram template in a major Vidarbha town on the same day. - Crowd reportedly in the thousands, drawn from both rural and urban constituencies. - Frames itself as Gandhian moral protest, not partisan agitation. ### शेतमजुरांची मजुरी वाढणार Field report from Amravati (correspondent: Shrikant Taral) on a 2 October 1992 gathering of around 1,500 women farmers and 3,000 male farmers at the city's Nehru Maidan, which the meeting then renamed 'Mahatma Jotiba Phule Maidan'. Office-bearers including district president Sanjay Kole and women's leader Kumudini Patil presided; speakers framed the renaming as a repudiation of Nehruvian agricultural policy and a public reclaiming of Phule's anti-caste, pro-cultivator legacy. The report notes that the local administration did not interfere with either the renaming or the accompanying burning of Nehru-policy literature. - Mass meeting of roughly 4,500 farmers, with women's wing leading the dais. - Public renaming of Nehru Maidan to Mahatma Jotiba Phule Maidan stages a substitution of liberal-agrarian Phule for statist Nehru as patron saint of the cultivator. - Administration's non-intervention is read as tacit acquiescence. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-oct-6-1994/ ### Summary This 6 October 1994 issue (Year 11, No. 11) of Shetkari Sanghatak, the Marathi fortnightly of the Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement, is dominated by two campaigns. The front pages report the movement's renewed agitation to shut down the state-protected liquor shop at Mana (दारू दुकान बंदी), reopened under police protection, and Sharad Joshi's resolve to close it again — with accounts of activists' hunger-strikes, mass arrests, rasta-roko blockades, and the movement's reading of the liquor trade as state-sponsored predation on rural households and women. The second strand is mobilisation for a joint convention (संयुक्त अधिवेशन) at Nagpur on 12 November 1994, including a long programmatic essay, 'Why the Nagpur Convention?', that restates the Sanghatana's case for an open economy (खुली व्यवस्था) and a 'non-state' order against socialism, bureaucracy, and political controls, organised under headings such as 'How is the government?', 'How should the government be?', and 'The open order is not a stage but a path.' A signed essay argues that real expertise, not paper degrees, should be given scope, and the back page carries the convention notice over the colophon. ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This 6 October 1994 issue (Year 11, No. 11) of Shetkari Sanghatak, the Marathi fortnightly of the Shetkari Sanghatana farmers' movement, is dominated by two campaigns. The front pages report the movement's renewed agitation to shut down the state-protected liquor shop at Mana (दारू दुकान बंदी), reopened under police protection, and Sharad Joshi's resolve to close it again — with accounts of activists' hunger-strikes, mass arrests, rasta-roko blockades, and the movement's reading of the liquor trade as state-sponsored predation on rural households and women. The second strand is mobilisation for a joint convention (संयुक्त अधिवेशन) at Nagpur on 12 November 1994, including a long programmatic essay, 'Why the Nagpur Convention?', that restates the Sanghatana's case for an open economy (खुली व्यवस्था) and a 'non-state' order against socialism, bureaucracy, and political controls, organised under headings such as 'How is the government?', 'How should the government be?', and 'The open order is not a stage but a path.' A signed essay argues that real expertise, not paper degrees, should be given scope, and the back page carries the convention notice over the colophon. ## Essays ### पोलीस संरक्षणात पुन्हा सुरू झालेले माना येथील दारू दुकान — शरद जोशींच्या नेतृत्वात पुन्हा बंद करण्याचा निर्धार The lead report describes how the liquor shop at Mana, in Akola district, was reopened under police protection and how the Shetkari Sanghatana, under Sharad Joshi's leadership, resolved to shut it down again. It recounts Joshi's announcement (around 11 October) that the shop would be closed, the movement's framing of the liquor trade as protected by the state at the cost of rural families and women, and the mobilisation of activists who would court arrest. Boxed lines voice women activists' defiance — that freedom is never without pain, and that no whip of the state's hirelings will bend them. - Mana liquor shop reopened under police protection; movement resolves to close it again. - Sharad Joshi leads the renewed 'daru dukan bandi' agitation. - Liquor trade framed as state-protected predation on rural households and women. - Women activists pledge to court arrest; defiance quotes boxed on the page. ### स्वातंत्र्य वेदनारहित असत नाही / प्रकाश पोहरे यांचे उपोषण मागे (दारू दुकान बंदी आंदोलन वार्तापत्रे) A cluster of dispatches from the liquor-shop-closure agitation ('Freedom is never without pain'). It reports the police taking a contract/bribe ('supari') over the shop, activist Prakash Pohare withdrawing his hunger-strike, continuing arrests under the movement's satyagraha, and a rasta-roko (road blockade) at Varkhed. The reportage stresses repression of Sanghatana workers, including women, and the movement's insistence that the agitation will continue. - Dispatches from the ongoing liquor-shop-closure satyagraha. - Prakash Pohare withdraws his hunger-strike. - Reports of arrests, a rasta-roko at Varkhed, and repression of activists. - Frames the liquor shop as backed by a police 'supari' (contract/bribe). ### नागपूर अधिवेशन कशासाठी? A long programmatic essay, 'Why the Nagpur Convention?', published as Sharad Joshi's Maharashtra tour begins (from 20 September). It restates the Shetkari Sanghatana's case for an open economic order and a 'non-state' (अ-राज्यवाद) order against the post-1947 Nehruvian socialist model, arguing that planning, bureaucracy, and political controls impoverished farmers and society. Organised under rhetorical headings — 'How is the government?', 'How should the government be?', and 'The open order is not a stage but a path' — it contends that an open, competitive order, not state protection, is what serves cultivators and the poor, and that experience and competition, not ideology, are the true teachers. - Programmatic essay launching the Nagpur convention and Joshi's Maharashtra tour. - Defends an 'open order' (खुली व्यवस्था) and 'non-statism' (अ-राज्यवाद). - Critiques the post-1947 Nehruvian socialist/planning model as impoverishing. - Structured by 'How is / how should the government be?' headings. - Argues the open order is a path, not a stage; experience and competition are the real teachers. ### नागपूर अधिवेशन पूर्वतयारी समिती, जिल्हा औरंगाबाद A boxed organisational notice listing the Nagpur Convention preparatory committee for Aurangabad district, naming the coordinating-committee head (Dr. Manavendra Kachole) and taluka-wise office-bearers (Khultabad, Aurangabad East/West, Gangapur, Paithan, Vaijapur, Sillod, Kannad, Aurangabad city). - Lists the Aurangabad-district preparatory committee for the Nagpur Convention. - Names Dr. Manavendra Kachole as coordinating-committee head. - Gives taluka-wise office-bearers across Aurangabad district. ### पदवीधरांना नव्हे, खऱ्याखुऱ्या तज्ञांना वाव *By श्री. वृधाजीराव मुळीक, स. न. वि. वि.* A signed opinion essay by Shri Vrudhajirao Mulik, 'Scope for real experts, not degree-holders', argues that policy and farm administration should draw on genuine practitioners and experienced cultivators rather than paper-qualified graduates. It contends that real agricultural and economic expertise lies with those who actually farm, and that the open order would reward such practical knowledge over credentialism. - Argues real expertise, not degrees, should be given scope. - Values practising farmers' experiential knowledge over credentialism. - Ties the argument to the Sanghatana's open-order economics. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-oct-6-1995/ ### Summary This 6 October 1995 issue of Shetkari Sanghatak — the Marathi fortnightly of the Shetkari Sanghatana edited from Pune — is largely a Sharad Joshi number, opening with two extended polemics under his byline. The lead piece, "कापूस एकाधिकाराचा मृत्युलेख" ("An Obituary for the Cotton Monopoly"), reads Maharashtra's decision to admit private traders into cotton procurement as the death certificate of the state's Cotton Monopoly Procurement Scheme launched in Indira Gandhi's time, and dismisses the official line that the move is a one-year emergency measure rather than a confession that thirty years of price-fixing impoverished growers and enriched the bureaucracy. The second front-page essay, "कोसळत्या व्यवस्थेतील पडझड" ("Cracks in a Collapsing System"), uses the death of postal officer Sharad Joshi at Bharatpur and a fatal Firozabad railway accident as set-pieces for a wider attack on India's nationalised post, telegraph and railway monopolies — institutions, Joshi argues, that survive on subsidy and prestige while the public increasingly bypasses them via couriers and private transport. ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This 6 October 1995 issue of Shetkari Sanghatak — the Marathi fortnightly of the Shetkari Sanghatana edited from Pune — is largely a Sharad Joshi number, opening with two extended polemics under his byline. The lead piece, "कापूस एकाधिकाराचा मृत्युलेख" ("An Obituary for the Cotton Monopoly"), reads Maharashtra's decision to admit private traders into cotton procurement as the death certificate of the state's Cotton Monopoly Procurement Scheme launched in Indira Gandhi's time, and dismisses the official line that the move is a one-year emergency measure rather than a confession that thirty years of price-fixing impoverished growers and enriched the bureaucracy. The second front-page essay, "कोसळत्या व्यवस्थेतील पडझड" ("Cracks in a Collapsing System"), uses the death of postal officer Sharad Joshi at Bharatpur and a fatal Firozabad railway accident as set-pieces for a wider attack on India's nationalised post, telegraph and railway monopolies — institutions, Joshi argues, that survive on subsidy and prestige while the public increasingly bypasses them via couriers and private transport. ## Essays ### कापूस एकाधिकाराचा मृत्युलेख *By शरद जोशी* Sharad Joshi treats the Maharashtra government's September 1995 notification — opening cotton procurement to private traders alongside the state monopoly — as the obituary notice of the Cotton Monopoly Procurement Scheme. He recalls that the scheme was Indira Gandhi's brainchild, designed by Centre and State to discipline farmers and concentrate trade in official hands, and that for thirty years it kept Maharashtra growers receiving Rs. 200–500 per quintal less than their counterparts in Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh, where private merchants and CCI competed for the crop. The piece insists that the new "liberalisation" is no genuine retreat: the state has merely conceded that its godowns, mills and bureaucracy could no longer absorb the harvest, and the same officers and ginning lobby that bankrupted the scheme will continue to extract their cut. Joshi closes by warning that the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena allies — having opposed the monopoly only as agitators — now run the government, and the Shetkari Sanghatana will not rest until the procurement law itself is repealed and the cotton trade is fully freed. - Frames Maharashtra's mid-September 1995 notification admitting private cotton trade as the death of the Monopoly Procurement Scheme, not its reform. - Names Indira Gandhi as the scheme's originator and reads thirty years of monopoly as a transfer from growers to officials and ginning lobbies. - Quantifies the cost to Maharashtra growers at Rs. 200–500 per quintal below prevailing prices in Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. - Rejects the official line that this is a one-year stopgap; insists the failure is structural and the scheme cannot be revived. - Demands repeal of the procurement law itself and a fully free cotton trade as the Shetkari Sanghatana's continuing programme. ### कोसळत्या व्यवस्थेतील पडझड *By शरद जोशी* Sharad Joshi opens with two recent disasters — the murder of postal officer Sharad Joshi at Bharatpur over a parcel dispute, and the Firozabad collision that killed hundreds on the Delhi–Kanpur line — and treats them as symptoms of a single rot: India's state monopolies in post, telegraph, telephones and railways. He sketches a long history in which the postal service, designed for an era of paper letters and government use, has been overtaken by couriers and STD lines; the public, including small traders and pilgrims, increasingly routes urgent communication around the department rather than through it. The piece then turns to the Railways, arguing that the network has aged, its electrification stalled and its accident record steadily worsened, while its monopoly status keeps users captive and its workforce shielded from accountability. Joshi closes the essay with a short coda, "प्रामाणिकतेत सौंदर्य" ("Beauty in Honesty"), signed 30 September 1995, urging readers and party workers alike to resist the temptation to suppress inconvenient facts: aesthetic devotion to a single approved truth, he warns, ends in the silencing of women, Dalits and the rural poor. - Reads the Bharatpur murder of postal officer Sharad Joshi and the Firozabad rail collision as evidence of a systemic collapse, not isolated accidents. - Argues the postal monopoly survives only because the state forbids alternatives; couriers and STD telephony are already routing around it. - Diagnoses the Railways as an ageing, accident-prone network kept alive by monopoly status and protected employment. - Couples the institutional critique with an ethical appendix insisting that liberal politics cannot rest on suppressing inconvenient truths. - Signs off on 30 September 1995, addressing the Shetkari Sanghatana cadre directly. ### प्रामाणिकतेत सौंदर्य *By शरद जोशी* The third instalment of the paper's serialised Marathi rendering of George Orwell's Animal Farm — translated by Shri Ramesh Mushlikar (with a 1925 date in the credit-line) — picks up the farm under the pigs' rule, with the chant "चार पाय छान, दोन पाय वाईट" ("Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad") echoing across the yard. The chapter narrates the animals' deepening labour, the boar leadership's quiet accumulation of privilege, and the renaming of the farm's life around new commandments; the translator preserves Orwell's tone of bewildered loyalty even as the reader is meant to read it as the warning Shetkari Sanghatak intends. The placement is editorial: by serialising Animal Farm alongside Sharad Joshi's polemics against the cotton monopoly and the railways, the issue makes Orwell's fable read as a parable of the licence-permit state in which the new bosses chant the slogans of the old revolution. - Carries the third chapter of a Marathi serialisation of George Orwell's Animal Farm. - Translator credited as Shri Ramesh Mushlikar (with a 1925 date in the credit-line). - Foregrounds the slogan "चार पाय छान, दोन पाय वाईट" as the chapter's organising line. - Serves as editorial commentary on the surrounding polemics against state monopolies. ### जनावरांचे शिवार — ३. चार पाय छान, दोन पाय वाईट (Animal Farm, ch. 3, translated serial) *By जॉर्ज ऑर्वेल यांच्या Animal Farm चे भाषांतर: श्री. रमेश मुधोळकर (१९२५)* Dr. Ramesh Sinkam, writing from Nagpur, argues that for a new political formation — here the Swatantra Bharat Paksh associated with Sharad Joshi's movement — survival depends not on numbers or alliances but on uncompromising fidelity to principle. The piece reads Nehru-era institutional design as a system that produced caste-bloc politics rather than dissolved them, and warns that joining ranks with parties that practise vote-bank arithmetic would dissolve the new party into the very order it set out to replace. Sinkam pleads for a programme that reaches Dalits, tribals and the rural poor on the basis of liberty and dignity rather than category, and lists five working rules he wants the party to adopt: refuse alliances of convenience, avoid sectarian rhetoric, refuse to flatter bureaucratic socialism, build cadre through ideas rather than patronage, and judge every candidate by his loyalty to declared principle. The note is dated 20 September 1995. - Argues that the new party's only durable asset is fidelity to principle, not numbers or alliances. - Diagnoses Nehru-era institutions as having entrenched caste-bloc politics rather than transcended them. - Rejects vote-bank coalitions as a route by which a liberal formation would be absorbed into the system it opposes. - Proposes a five-point working code for the Swatantra Bharat Paksh, dated 20 September 1995. ### तत्त्वनिष्ठा हाच पक्षाचा पाया *By डॉ. रमेश सिप्पम, स. न. वि. वि.* The closing editorial asks whether the recent reservation of panchayat seats for women has produced any real shift of power, or whether it has merely staged the appearance of one. The author notes that in many villages no woman candidate could be persuaded to stand for the reserved seat, leaving the post vacant or, more often, occupied by a relative of a male strongman who continues to govern through her. A boxed companion item, "बिनराखीव जागी महिला सरपंच" ("A Woman Sarpanch on an Unreserved Seat"), reports from Takli (T.N.) in Hingoli taluka of Parbhani district, where Smt. Nilavati Bhau Govindrao Dhanve was elected sarpanch unopposed on a general seat, with Shri Kisanrao Sabhaji Ingle as upa-sarpanch — read by the paper as a more meaningful breach of the gender bar than any quota. - Asks whether women's panchayat reservation has produced real power-sharing or only the appearance of it. - Notes that many reserved seats are filled by proxies of male strongmen, defeating the policy's stated aim. - Contrasts the quota with the case of Smt. Nilavati Dhanve, elected unopposed on a general seat at Takli (Parbhani district). - Reads the unreserved victory as a more substantive challenge to gender bars than the reservation itself. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-sept-21-1991/ ### Summary This is the September 21, 1991 issue of Shetkari Sanghatak (शेतकरी संघटक), a Marathi fortnightly published by the Shetkari Sanghatana movement and edited by Sureshchandra Mhatre. The eight-page issue carries three pieces, all by Sharad Joshi (शरद जोशी), the movement's founder, written in the weeks immediately following the Narasimha Rao government's economic liberalization announcement of July 1991. The lead piece is an "open response" from farmers to the new Prime Minister, listing ten concrete demands on what a credible liberalisation must do for agriculture. The second piece is Joshi's preface to the Marathi edition of the "National Agricultural Policy" document drafted by the Devi Lal–chaired advisory committee under V. P. Singh's government and shelved by the Chandrashekhar and Narasimha Rao governments. The third piece, marking twelve years of the Shetkari Sanghatana, is a reflective essay arguing that the agitational phase (the "embers") has done its work and that the movement now needs an intellectual and educational flame, anchored by Jefferson's dictum that eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This is the September 21, 1991 issue of Shetkari Sanghatak (शेतकरी संघटक), a Marathi fortnightly published by the Shetkari Sanghatana movement and edited by Sureshchandra Mhatre. The eight-page issue carries three pieces, all by Sharad Joshi (शरद जोशी), the movement's founder, written in the weeks immediately following the Narasimha Rao government's economic liberalization announcement of July 1991. The lead piece is an "open response" from farmers to the new Prime Minister, listing ten concrete demands on what a credible liberalisation must do for agriculture. The second piece is Joshi's preface to the Marathi edition of the "National Agricultural Policy" document drafted by the Devi Lal–chaired advisory committee under V. P. Singh's government and shelved by the Chandrashekhar and Narasimha Rao governments. The third piece, marking twelve years of the Shetkari Sanghatana, is a reflective essay arguing that the agitational phase (the "embers") has done its work and that the movement now needs an intellectual and educational flame, anchored by Jefferson's dictum that eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. The argumentative centre of the issue is a classical-liberal critique of the Nehru-Mahalanobis development model and an insistence that genuine liberalisation must dismantle monopoly procurement, price controls, export restrictions and the urban bias that have impoverished Indian farmers. ## Essays ### इंडियाच्या पंतप्रधानांना शेतकऱ्यांचा अनावृत प्रतिसाद *By शरद जोशी* Datelined "भारत, ३ सप्टेंबर, १९९१" (India, 3 September 1991), this is Sharad Joshi's open letter from Indian farmers to the Prime Minister of "India" — a rhetorical split he uses throughout the piece to distinguish urban-bureaucratic India from rural Bharat. Joshi welcomes the announced shift away from the controlled economy as overdue, but warns that without specific agrarian content the new policy will once again ride on farmers' backs. He sets out ten concrete demands: full freedom to export agricultural produce; removal of quantitative caps and bans on farm exports; an industrial policy that lets small farm-linked processing units (oilseeds, poultry, dairy) come up in rural areas; abolition of the licensing and procurement regime that holds farm prices below world levels; review of the land-ceiling laws and other restrictions on farmers' property rights; reform of agricultural finance and credit; removal of discriminatory taxation; freedom for cooperatives and farmer-owned trading firms; investment in rural infrastructure rather than urban subsidies; and an end to the long-standing Nehru-Mahalanobis policy bias that treats agriculture as a residual sector to be squeezed for industrialisation. The piece reads as the Shetkari Sanghatana's policy brief for the post-1991 moment. - Frames the new economic policy as a long-overdue retreat from the controlled economy but warns it must not again be financed by squeezing farmers. - Uses Joshi's signature "India vs Bharat" framing — addressing the letter to the Prime Minister of "India" on behalf of "Bharat's" farmers. - Demands full freedom to export agricultural produce and the abolition of quantitative caps, minimum-export-price floors, and outright bans. - Calls for an industrial policy that licences small agro-processing units (oilseed, poultry, dairy) to come up in rural areas instead of being concentrated in protected urban industry. - Demands review of land-ceiling laws and restoration of farmers' full property rights over their land. - Names the Nehru-Mahalanobis development model as the source of the structural bias against agriculture that the new policy must explicitly reject. - Reads as Shetkari Sanghatana's ten-point policy brief on what genuine liberalisation should mean for rural India. ### राष्ट्रीय कृषिनीती — मराठी आवृत्तीची प्रस्तावना *By शेतकरी (editorial note attributes preface to श्री. शरद जोशी)* Joshi's preface to the Marathi edition of the "National Agricultural Policy" (राष्ट्रीय कृषिनीती) document. He narrates the document's institutional history: in March 1990 the V. P. Singh-led Janata Dal government set up an Agricultural Advisory Committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Chowdhury Devi Lal, on which Joshi himself sat as a representative of the farmers' movement. The committee finalised a new National Agricultural Policy, but the Janata Dal government fell, the brief Chandrashekhar government did nothing with it, and the incoming Narasimha Rao government quietly shelved it. The preface argues that the document remains the most coherent statement of what a liberalised agricultural regime should look like, and that the Shetkari Sanghatana is publishing the Marathi edition (through Janashakti / Shetkari Prakashan) precisely so that farmer-activists can wield it as a reference text against the official policy drift. The piece is signed "शेतकरी" but the sidebar explicitly identifies Sharad Joshi as the author of the preface. - Recounts that the Devi Lal-chaired Agricultural Advisory Committee was set up by V. P. Singh's government in March 1990 with eleven members, including Joshi himself. - Documents how the report was orphaned: the Janata Dal government fell, Chandrashekhar's interim government ignored it, and the Narasimha Rao government formally shelved it. - Argues the policy document remains the clearest blueprint for what a liberalised agricultural regime should look like — abolition of monopoly procurement, free pricing, freedom to export. - Names the Nehru-Mahalanobis model as the structural cause of agriculture's neglect in successive Five-Year Plans. - Positions the Marathi edition as a study text for the Shetkari Sanghatana cadre, to be used as a counter-document against official policy drift. - Signed "शेतकरी" but explicitly attributed to Sharad Joshi by the editorial sidebar. ### अंगाराने कार्य केले आता ज्योत हवी *By शरद जोशी* Titled "अंगारानें कार्य केलें आता ज्योत हवी" ("The embers have done their work — now we need a flame"), this is Joshi's reflective essay marking twelve years of the Shetkari Sanghatana. He recounts that the agitational phase — burning sugarcane fields, blockading highways, going to jail — succeeded in putting farmers' demands on the national agenda, but that an agitation alone cannot replace the institutional and intellectual work the movement now needs. To explain why, he reaches for Thomas Jefferson's dictum, printed in capitalised English in the body of the Marathi text: ETERNAL VIGILANCE IS THE PRICE OF FREEDOM. He situates the Shetkari Sanghatana in a longer Maharashtrian reform lineage running through Jyotirao Phule and the Satyashodhak Samaj, and contrasts the movement's agrarian-liberal vision with two failed paradigms — the Nehru-Mahalanobis state-planning model and the Maoist peasant-revolution model of which Mao Zedong is the named exemplar. He also separates the movement's economic-liberalism from Mahatma Gandhi's village-self-sufficiency vision. The essay closes by calling for a new intellectual phase — the "flame" — built around the Janashakti reading movement (जनशक्ती वाचक चळवळ) and sustained study, so that the next twelve years of the Sanghatana are anchored in ideas, not only protest. - Twelve-year retrospective on the Shetkari Sanghatana, written as the movement transitions from street agitation to ideological consolidation. - Argues the "embers" of agitation have done their work; the movement now needs a "flame" — sustained intellectual and educational work to defend the gains. - Invokes Thomas Jefferson's "ETERNAL VIGILANCE IS THE PRICE OF FREEDOM" — printed in English capitals inside the Marathi text — as the operative principle for this next phase. - Places the Sanghatana in a Maharashtrian reform lineage descending from Jyotirao Phule and the Satyashodhak Samaj. - Distinguishes the Sanghatana's agrarian-liberal vision from both the Nehru-Mahalanobis planning model and the Maoist peasant-revolution model. - Separates the movement from Mahatma Gandhi's village-self-sufficiency programme, arguing farmers need market integration, not village autarky. - Identifies the Janashakti reading movement (जनशक्ती वाचक चळवळ) as the institutional vehicle for the new "flame" phase. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-sept-21-1992/ ### Summary This 21 September 1992 issue of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak (year 9, number 12) is the house organ of Shetkari Sanghatana, the farmers' movement led by Sharad Joshi. The eight rendered pages are dominated by two long policy interventions by Joshi himself — a front-page essay arguing that India's milk surplus is the work of price liberalisation rather than the cooperative-and-NDDB apparatus, and a long position paper on the August 1992 fertilizer price hike titled 'Subsidy is not the answer — no alms, we want the price of our sweat.' The issue also carries field news from the Nagpur and Nanded propaganda tour, an announcement cancelling the Majghar farm-display, a reader-survey form on farmers' economic condition, a 'सं. न. वि. वि.' letters column with short pieces by Sharad Joshi and others on farm taxation, four-fold (chaturang) farming, the prohibition campaign in Gadchiroli and the Sindhudurg loan-waiver, and two back-page columns — Joshi's 'उत्पन्नाची उलटी गंगा' (the inverted Ganga of farm income) and Akhil Kesarsaikar's testimonial on quitting chemical fertilisers.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This 21 September 1992 issue of the Marathi fortnightly Shetkari Sanghatak (year 9, number 12) is the house organ of Shetkari Sanghatana, the farmers' movement led by Sharad Joshi. The eight rendered pages are dominated by two long policy interventions by Joshi himself — a front-page essay arguing that India's milk surplus is the work of price liberalisation rather than the cooperative-and-NDDB apparatus, and a long position paper on the August 1992 fertilizer price hike titled 'Subsidy is not the answer — no alms, we want the price of our sweat.' The issue also carries field news from the Nagpur and Nanded propaganda tour, an announcement cancelling the Majghar farm-display, a reader-survey form on farmers' economic condition, a 'सं. न. वि. वि.' letters column with short pieces by Sharad Joshi and others on farm taxation, four-fold (chaturang) farming, the prohibition campaign in Gadchiroli and the Sindhudurg loan-waiver, and two back-page columns — Joshi's 'उत्पन्नाची उलटी गंगा' (the inverted Ganga of farm income) and Akhil Kesarsaikar's testimonial on quitting chemical fertilisers. The argumentative centre throughout is the same: farmers prosper when policy clears markets and gets out of the way; cooperatives, subsidies, parastatals and the urban-biased terms of trade are the problem, not the cure. ## Essays ### दूध : सहकार विरुद्ध शेतकरी *By Sharad Joshi* Sharad Joshi's lead essay 'दूध : सहकार विरुद्ध शेतकरी' (Milk: Cooperative versus Farmer) attacks the official line that India's white revolution is a triumph of cooperative dairying. Reviewing a meeting of Maharashtra cooperative-dairy leaders that resolved to keep private players out of milk, Joshi argues the real driver of the milk surplus has been the 1991-92 price liberalisation: when farm-gate prices rose under the new economic regime, supply jumped — not because of NDDB, Operation Flood or the कोऑपरेटिव्ह घराणी (cooperative dynasties). The piece walks through three planks: (a) co-operatives are simply private parastatals controlled by politically-connected milk barons who use farmers' money to crush competition; (b) the Supreme Court's reading of Operation Flood, and the central 'Jeevanvyavak vastu kayda' food-essentials law that lets the centre overrule states in milk policy, both protect this incumbents' cartel; (c) Dr. Kurien's own admissions — quoted by Joshi — show the cooperative model has needed coercive monopoly to survive. Joshi cites European, U.S. and Gujarati surplus comparisons to argue that competitive private dairies, not the NDDB-anchored cooperative pyramid, are what made milk cheap and plentiful for the consumer, and demands an open-market regime where farmers may sell to whoever pays. - Frames Maharashtra cooperative-dairy leaders' anti-private-sector resolution as protecting a political cartel, not farmers. - Reads the post-1991 milk surplus as a price-response, not a cooperative achievement. - Quotes Dr. Verghese Kurien to argue that the cooperative model only survived through state-backed monopoly. - Cites Supreme Court interpretation of Operation Flood and the central essential-commodities Act as instruments that override state-level liberalisation. - Calls for an open-market dairy regime in which farmers may sell to private buyers, not just cooperative federations. ### नागपूर व नांदेड जिल्ह्यातील प्रचारयात्रा जोमात *By Sharad Joshi* 'सूट सबसिडीचे नाही काम, भीक नको, घेऊ घामाचे दाम' is Joshi's response to the August 1992 central decision to roll back fertilizer subsidies and then partially restore them under farmer-organisation pressure. The Shetkari Sanghatana position is unusual on the Indian agrarian left-right map: Joshi rejects both the price rise AND the subsidy itself. Subsidies, he argues, are a transfer to fertilizer manufacturers and to large irrigated farmers in five or six states, not to the dryland majority; they also conceal the real structural problem, which is that the state-set output price for foodgrains is suppressed below the import-parity price. Joshi works through (a) which farmers actually consume the subsidy (the highly-irrigated belts of Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra and western Uttar Pradesh, with India's per-hectare fertilizer use still far below European levels); (b) why the subsidy props up inefficient public-sector fertilizer plants whose costs are several times the import price; and (c) why the right demand is not cheaper inputs but the freedom to sell outputs at world prices. The piece closes by linking the fertilizer fight to the wider liberalisation moment of 1991-92 and warning that without output-price liberty, farmers will keep being asked to accept charity — 'भीक' — instead of fair payment for their labour. - Rejects both the August 1992 fertilizer price hike AND the principle of fertilizer subsidy. - Argues the subsidy is captured by manufacturers and by irrigated-belt farmers in five or six states, not the dryland majority. - Provides per-hectare fertilizer-use comparisons with European countries to show India's overall use is still low. - Frames public-sector fertilizer units as high-cost incumbents whose losses justify the subsidy. - Replaces the demand for cheap inputs with the demand for output prices at world parity — 'घामाचे दाम' (the price of our sweat). ### खतांच्या भाववाढीबाबत शेतकरी संघटनेची भूमिका — सूट सबसिडीचे नाही काम भीक नको, घेऊ घामाचे दाम *By शरद जोशी* A short organisational news piece, 'नागपूर व नांदेड जिल्ह्यातील प्रचारयात्रा जोमात' (The propaganda tour through Nagpur and Nanded districts is in full swing), reports on Shetkari Sanghatana's field campaign through the two districts in early September 1992. It names the सेविका-सेवक training schedule, lists the village stops and meeting tents (including a Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti pandal), tracks the organisation's penetration into the village-level cadre and notes that the campaign is being run jointly by the Shetkari Sanghatana and the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi. The piece reads as an internal accountability report for the readership rather than as argumentative writing. - Reports the early-September 1992 Shetkari Sanghatana propaganda tour through Nagpur and Nanded districts. - Lists training sessions for cadres and village meeting venues, including a Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti tent. - Notes joint conduct of the tour with the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi women's wing. - Functions as a movement-internal accountability report for subscriber-members. ### माजघर शेती प्रदर्शन रद्द *By माजघर शेती प्रदर्शन कार्यालय, आंदेगाव* The 'स. न. वि. वि.' letters column on page 7 bundles five short pieces. Amrut Narayan Dinde (Brahmanwadi) writes against agricultural taxation, arguing that any income-tax-style cess on farm produce would compound the price-suppression farmers already suffer. Sharad Joshi himself contributes 'चतुरंग शेतीला पर्याय नाही' (There is no alternative to four-fold farming), defending the Sanghatana's diversified-farming model against critics. Dr. Keshav Vasantrao Deshmukh (Dongarshelki, Akola) thanks the movement for taking up the Chaturang programme. Dr. Ashok Beng (Gadchiroli) writes on 'दारू दुकान बंदी' — the prohibition of liquor shops — in tribal Gadchiroli district. Sh. M. K. Behre (Sindhudurg) asks why the central loan-waiver has not reached farmers in Sindhudurg, arguing that 600 farmers in that district have been excluded from the benefits available across the rest of the country. - Letter-writers ask for movement positions on farm taxation, the chaturang farming model, prohibition, and the central loan-waiver. - Dinde frames farm taxation as compounding price-suppression rather than redistributing wealth. - Joshi defends 'चतुरंग शेती' (four-fold/diversified farming) as the only viable alternative for Indian agriculture. - Dr. Ashok Beng reports on tribal-area prohibition demands from Gadchiroli. - Behre flags 600 Sindhudurg farmers being denied loan-waiver benefits as discriminatory non-implementation. ### शेतकऱ्यांची आर्थिक परिस्थिती : प्रश्नावली संबंधी *By Sharad Joshi* 'उत्पन्नाची उलटी गंगा' (The inverted Ganga of income) is Joshi's back-page column tying the issue's themes together. Using village-level income figures and showing how rural per-capita output and consumption have fallen from 1959 through 1988, he argues that the terms of trade between the village and the city run upstream — wealth flows from village to city rather than the other way around. He invokes Nehruvian developmentalism as the policy frame that set this current, and points to specific Gandhian rural-development promises that, in his reading, have been hollowed out by urban-industrial extraction. - Argues that India's rural-urban terms of trade form an 'inverted Ganga' — wealth flows out of villages to cities. - Uses per-capita village income time-series from 1959 to 1988 as the evidence base. - Locates the policy source of the inversion in the Nehruvian developmental settlement. - Reads Gandhian village-economy promises as unkept. ### स. न. वि. वि. — शेतीवरील कर *By अमृत नारायण भिंदे, ब्राह्मणवेल (परभणी)* Akhil Kesarsaikar (Nanded) writes 'रासायनिक खतांचा त्याग' (Renouncing chemical fertilizers), a first-person testimonial. He reports that on his forty-acre holding he has stopped using chemical fertilizers and shifted to organic methods, and details the yield trajectory, soil-health outcomes, and the financial maths that — in his account — make the organic switch viable for farmers who can afford the transition. The piece runs as movement testimony rather than as systematic agronomy and sits alongside Joshi's 'उत्पन्नाची उलटी गंगा' as a back-page bookend on the fertilizer-policy theme that ran through the issue. - First-person account of fully renouncing chemical fertilizers on a 40-acre holding. - Reports yield, soil and financial outcomes from the organic transition. - Positioned as movement testimony reinforcing the issue's wider critique of the fertilizer-subsidy regime. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-sept-21-1995/ ### Summary This is Year 12, Issue 9 of Shetkari Sanghatak (शेतकरी संघटक), a Marathi fortnightly newspaper of the Shetkari Sanghatana, dated 21 September 1995 and edited by Sharad Joshi. The issue is anchored by two Sharad Joshi editorials — a long polemical essay reading the just-concluded Beijing UN Women's Conference as an elite NGO carnival that bypasses the working peasant woman, and a sharp attack on the Nehruvian land-ceiling regime as a fraud sold in the name of land reform. Around these sit a translated companion piece on Beijing by Vasudev Malik, a serialised Marathi translation of George Orwell's Animal Farm (chapter 'स्वराज्य अवतरले') by Meghan Mudholkar, Govind Joshi's field report on the breakdown of the Maharashtra cotton monopoly procurement scheme, an organisational notice listing the newly appointed district chiefs (jilhapramukhs) of the Sanghatana, advertisements for the Krishi Arth Prabodhini training camps, a long reportage on a bold woman sarpanch facing local goons and a passive administration, a poem 'हिव' by Swami D. D., and birthday thanks from Sharad Joshi himself.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This is Year 12, Issue 9 of Shetkari Sanghatak (शेतकरी संघटक), a Marathi fortnightly newspaper of the Shetkari Sanghatana, dated 21 September 1995 and edited by Sharad Joshi. The issue is anchored by two Sharad Joshi editorials — a long polemical essay reading the just-concluded Beijing UN Women's Conference as an elite NGO carnival that bypasses the working peasant woman, and a sharp attack on the Nehruvian land-ceiling regime as a fraud sold in the name of land reform. Around these sit a translated companion piece on Beijing by Vasudev Malik, a serialised Marathi translation of George Orwell's Animal Farm (chapter 'स्वराज्य अवतरले') by Meghan Mudholkar, Govind Joshi's field report on the breakdown of the Maharashtra cotton monopoly procurement scheme, an organisational notice listing the newly appointed district chiefs (jilhapramukhs) of the Sanghatana, advertisements for the Krishi Arth Prabodhini training camps, a long reportage on a bold woman sarpanch facing local goons and a passive administration, a poem 'हिव' by Swami D. D., and birthday thanks from Sharad Joshi himself. The issue's argumentative centre is a classical-liberal/agrarian-reform critique of state planning, controlled markets and elite-led 'empowerment' discourse, with the recurring slogan in a boxed insert: 'मुक्त अर्थव्यवस्था येत आहे, तिला कोणीही थांबवू शकणार नाही.' ## Essays ### 'सक्षमीकृत' मुखंडींचा बेजिंगी उरूस *By शरद जोशी* Sharad Joshi's lead editorial reads the Fourth UN World Conference on Women, just concluded in Beijing on 15 September 1995, as a fortnight-long 'urus' (carnival) of self-styled empowered 'mukhandis' (lady-leaders). He notes the staggering scale — 140 government delegations, about 30,000 NGO representatives at the parallel Huairou meet — and the elaborate diplomatic theatre around even letting the NGOs in, but argues that none of this reached the actual condition of the ordinary working woman, especially the peasant and Dalit woman in India. He contrasts the 'socialist' wave of urban educated and reservation-bred women's leadership with the spontaneous emergence of the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi within the farmers' movement, and warns that the borrowed western vocabulary of 'empowerment' (सक्षमीकरण) is being used to redirect the women's question away from the genuine economic and ownership questions that the agrarian movement has placed at the centre. He insists that real progress for women requires opening up the economy, securing property in land for women, and freeing the family farm — not more conference resolutions or quota politics. - Frames the Beijing conference as a fortnight 'urus' (festival) of self-described 'empowered' women leaders rather than a working-women's forum. - Cites 140 country delegations and roughly 30,000 NGO representatives at the parallel Huairou meet to underline its scale and the diplomatic theatre around access. - Argues the conference rhetoric leaves the actual peasant, Dalit and ordinary working woman in India entirely untouched. - Contrasts urban, reservation-bred socialist women's leadership with the organic emergence of the Shetkari Mahila Aghadi within the farmers' movement. - Reads the imported vocabulary of 'empowerment' (सक्षमीकरण) as a device to deflect the women's question away from property, land and market reform. - Holds that genuine progress for women depends on opening the economy and securing land and ownership rights for women within the family farm. ### तुम्ही बेजिंगला जाल तेव्हा.... *By बजरंग मलिक यांच्या Indian Express दि. ६/९/१९९५ मधील लेखाचा अनुवाद* A short companion piece titled 'तुम्ही बेजिंगला जाल तेव्हा....' ('When you go to Beijing...'), translated into Marathi by Vasudev Malik from an Indian Express article of 6 September 1995. The piece, written in the voice of rural Indian women addressing the well-heeled delegates leaving for Beijing, lists everything those delegates will miss about ordinary village life — monsoon rains, the kicks of a calf, the smell of fresh earth, the rasping calls of crickets — while they fly through jet-bridges, sit in air-conditioned halls and debate women's rights in the abstract. It closes by reminding the delegates that the very water, air, soil and food that keep them alive come from the village women they claim to represent. - Cast as a letter from rural Indian women to those leaving for the Beijing conference. - Catalogues sensory detail of the monsoon village — rain, calves, fresh earth, crickets — that the delegates will miss. - Contrasts that texture with the comfort of air travel, conditioned halls and conference-speak. - Reminds delegates that their material existence depends on the village women they purport to speak for. - Translated by Vasudev Malik from an Indian Express piece of 6 September 1995. ### जनावरांचे शिवार — २. स्वराज्य अवतरले (जॉर्ज ऑरवेल यांच्या Animal Farm चे भाषांतर) *By श्री. रमेश मुधोळकर (१९८५)* Under the standing rubric 'जनावरांचे शिवार' ('The Animals' Field'), the issue carries Chapter 2, 'स्वराज्य अवतरले' ('Self-rule arrives'), of a Marathi translation of George Orwell's Animal Farm (1945) by Meghan Mudholkar. The chapter narrates the death of old Major three nights after his prophetic speech, the secret meetings through January and February in which the pigs — chiefly Napoleon, Snowball and Squealer — systematise his ideas into 'Animalism', and the sudden, unplanned revolution that breaks out when the drunk Mr Jones forgets to feed the animals. The animals drive Jones and his men off the farm, ceremonially destroy the harnesses, whips and slaughtering tools, rename Manor Farm as 'Animal Farm', and the seven commandments of Animalism are painted in white on the barn wall. The chapter ends with the cows being milked for the first time under the new regime and the milk mysteriously disappearing by evening. - A serialised Marathi translation of George Orwell's Animal Farm (1945) by Meghan Mudholkar; this instalment is Chapter 2. - Old Major dies three nights after his speech; the pigs codify his teaching into 'Animalism' through secret winter meetings. - Napoleon, Snowball and Squealer emerge as the intellectual leadership; Napoleon is described as fierce, Snowball as quick and inventive, Squealer as a persuasive talker. - The revolution erupts spontaneously when Jones, drunk, neglects to feed the animals and they break into the store-shed. - Jones and his men are driven off, instruments of cruelty are destroyed, the farm is renamed 'Animal Farm', and the Seven Commandments are painted on the barn. - The chapter closes with the unexplained disappearance of the day's milk — a quiet seed of the betrayal to come. ### जमीन सुधारणेचे भाट *By शरद जोशी* In 'जमीन सुधारणेचे भाट' ('The bards of land reform'), Sharad Joshi dissects the 71st Constitutional Amendment introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 21 August 1995, which adds yet more land-ceiling and tenancy laws to the Ninth Schedule and shields some 300 such statutes from judicial review. He argues that the entire body of post-1950 land legislation has been a Nehruvian socialist fraud: ceiling laws hollowed out the productive farmer without ever delivering a meaningful redistribution to the landless, ruined agriculture by capping farm size below viability, and entrenched a bureaucracy of land-record clerks and tehsildars who became the real masters of the village. He insists that the original socialist case for ceilings has collapsed in theory and in practice, that fifty percent of the laws now being protected post-date the 1991 liberalisation and were enacted purely to harass farmers, and that Nehru's pet 'दारिद्रय नारायण' rhetoric created the very poverty it claimed to fight. The essay closes by demanding that all such laws be reviewed on first principles instead of being immunised from the courts. - Targets the 71st Constitutional Amendment moved on 21 August 1995, which protects roughly 300 land-ceiling and tenancy laws from judicial review. - Argues that ceiling laws never delivered serious redistribution to the landless and instead destroyed productive farming. - Charges that the laws empowered the village clerk-and-tehsildar establishment rather than the cultivator. - Claims half of the laws now being shielded post-date 1991 liberalisation and exist only to harass farmers. - Reads Nehru's 'दारिद्रय नारायण' (poverty-deity) rhetoric as the original engine of state-manufactured poverty. - Demands that the legislation be re-examined from first principles rather than placed beyond the courts. ### हिव (कविता) *By स्वामी डी. डी., उदगीर, जि. लातूर* A short Marathi poem 'हिव' ('Frost') by Swami D. D. of Udgir, Jila Latur, set in a boxed insert on page 10. In eight rhymed verses it sketches a peasant household waking at dawn to a hard frost: the cattle bellowing in the byre, the children sent off to school, the wife husking and grinding grain, the standing crops shrivelling in the cold, and the farmer himself standing in the field with thin clothes wrapped around him, watching his year's labour freeze. - Eight-verse Marathi poem on a frost-bound peasant morning. - Domestic detail: cattle, the wife's grain work, children leaving for school. - Agrarian detail: shrivelled standing crop, ruined yield, hard cold on the farmer's body. - Signed by Swami D. D., Udgir, Jila Latur. ### कापसाचा एकाधिकार मोडला, राज्यबंदी मोडली त्या गावात काय चाललंय? *By गोविंद जोशी, सेलू, जि. परभणी* Govind Joshi reports from Sevu, district Parbhani, on the consequences of breaking the Maharashtra cotton monopoly procurement scheme (एकाधिकार खरेदी योजना). For two years he tracks how the international price of cotton, which had fallen to Rs 4500 per quintal in 1994–95, recovered, but the Maharashtra scheme refused to pass on the rise; growers held out, sold across the state border into neighbouring procurement zones, and forced the price up. The article supplies a long, numbered field-list of fifty visible changes the price recovery produced in the cotton villages — specialist shops opening, new tractors and pumps, more children put through M.B.B.S., dispensaries seeing more elderly and women patients, ornaments and saris bought, even rising sales of cassettes, video and cigarettes — alongside an admission that traders too profited and that a parallel illegal cotton trade has now sprung up. The takeaway, framed in a boxed insert, is the slogan: 'मुक्त अर्थव्यवस्था येत आहे, तिला कोणीही थांबवू शकणार नाही.' — the free market is coming and no one can stop it. - Datelined from Sevu, Jila Parbhani; tracks cotton prices over two years (1994–95 to 1995–96). - Argues the state monopoly scheme tried to suppress the international price recovery but failed once farmers smuggled cotton out of state. - Provides a numbered field-list of about fifty observed village-level changes from the price recovery. - Welfare changes include new clinics, school admissions, dental and medical visits, household repairs, women's purchases. - Notes parallel rise of illegal trade and trader profiteering as honest features of a price-led, not scheme-led, recovery. - Closes with the slogan that the free economy is coming and cannot be stopped. ### दारिद्र्य निर्मूलनाच्या नावाखाली आणखी लुटीचे कारस्थान? *By बाबूभाई जैन, अकोलवेगा* A page-13 left-column piece reproduces Sharad Joshi's statement (carried in Lokmat of 18 September 1995) attacking the Centre's announcement of a fresh Rs 10,000-crore corpus, the 'दारिद्रय निर्मूलन कार्यक्रम', as the latest instalment of a Nehru–Indira tradition of using the rhetoric of poverty alleviation to set up further loot. The piece argues that the Congress's own development model — what Joshi calls 'दारिद्रय नारायण परिस्थितीची सुधारणेची देशाचा विकास अवळंबून आहे' — has manufactured the very destitution it now promises to abolish, that the corpus will be funnelled through the same machinery that has failed for forty years, and that the Prime Minister's framing is a deliberate diversion from the unfinished work of dismantling the controlled economy. Two pointed questions are posed: who will run this programme, and what will rural producers gain if the production-side discrimination against agriculture continues? - Reproduces Joshi's Lokmat statement of 18 September 1995 attacking a new Rs 10,000-crore poverty-alleviation corpus. - Reads the announcement as continuous with the Nehru–Indira tradition of poverty rhetoric as cover for fresh patronage. - Charges that the Congress 'दारिद्रय नारायण' model has manufactured the poverty it now promises to abolish. - Demands clarity on who will administer the programme and whether discrimination against agricultural producers will end. - Frames the announcement as a diversion from the unfinished agenda of dismantling the controlled economy. ### शेतकरी संघटना जिल्हाप्रमुख (organisational announcement listing 23 district heads) An organisational notice on the right column of page 13, signed by Bachhubhai Jain of Akiwahan, lists the 23 newly appointed one-year district chiefs (जिल्हाप्रमुख) of the Shetkari Sanghatana across Maharashtra, appointed under the joint direction of president Shri Shankar Dhondge and Shetkari Mahila Aghadi president Smt. Indrabai Patil. Districts named include Nanded, Latur, Beed, Usmanabad, Parbhani, Aurangabad, Jalna, Solapur, Sangli, Kolhapur, Ahmednagar, Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon, Buldhana, Akola, Amravati, Wardha, Nagpur, Bhandara, Gadchiroli, Chandrapur and Yavatmal. The notice flags that an inaugural orientation camp for all 23 chiefs will be held jointly with the Krishi Arth Prabodhini training camp from 2–11 October 1995. - Lists 23 newly appointed one-year district chiefs of the Shetkari Sanghatana. - Appointments made jointly by Shankar Dhondge (president) and Indrabai Patil (Shetkari Mahila Aghadi president). - Covers Marathwada, Khandesh, western Maharashtra, Vidarbha and the Konkan districts. - Orientation camp scheduled with the Krishi Arth Prabodhini camp, 2–11 October 1995. - Signed by Bachhubhai Jain of Akiwahan. ### कृषि अर्थ प्रबोधिनी प्रशिक्षण शिबिरे (training-camp notice with enrolment form) A page-14 announcement of the Krishi Arth Prabodhini training camps (कृषि अर्थ प्रबोधिनी प्रशिक्षण शिबिरे) to be held at the open-economy study centre (खुल्या अर्थव्यवस्थेला केंद्रवाणी) at Angarmal, Khed, Pune. The first camp from 2 October trains all district chiefs and select activists; a second runs 21–30 October and a third 6–15 / 21–30 November. The text explains that prior camps have drawn many enquiries but that the screening process is detailed: candidates must read foundational material, accept travel and stipend rules, and pay a camp fee of Rs 250. A full registration form (with fields for name, address, phone, Sanghatana position, education, occupation, family responsibility, language ability in Marathi/Hindi/English, and prior training) is reproduced on the right half of the page. - Announces training camps at the Krishi Arth Prabodhini centre, Angarmal, Khed, Pune. - First camp from 2 October 1995 for district chiefs and selected activists. - Two further camps, 21–30 October and 6–15 / 21–30 November. - Camp fee is Rs 250; participants must read prescribed material in advance. - Page reproduces the full registration form (nav, patta, phone, position, education, occupation, language, prior training). ### धीट महिला सरपंच, गुंड पुढारी, नाकर्ते प्रशासन आणि थंड जनता A long reportage across pages 15–16 titled 'धीट महिला सरपंच, गुंड पुढारी, नाकर्ते प्रशासन आणि थंड जनता' ('A bold woman sarpanch, goon-leader politicians, an incapable administration and an indifferent public') follows the case of Smt. Vatsala-bai, the elected woman sarpanch of Tilsekhardurg in Ambheghai taluka, who is harassed by local Congress-aligned strongmen demanding she resign her seat. The article documents threats, an attempted forced submission of her resignation, a beating of women activists who came to support her, and the local police's refusal to register cases against the named accused (Kedar, Sitabai, Bhure, Arjunrao Khar, Gadiwan and others). It records a panchayat meeting on 21 August 1995 at which 30 percent reservation for women was reaffirmed, the gram sabha's resolution of support, and the failure of the district administration to act despite repeated representations. The piece reads the episode as a stress-test of the rural reservation experiment under the 73rd Amendment and a case study of how 'goonda raj' captures elected women's seats. - Centres on Smt. Vatsala-bai, woman sarpanch of Tilsekhardurg, Ambheghai taluka. - Documents threats, a forced-resignation attempt and a beating of women activists who came in support. - Names the local Congress-aligned faction (Kedar, Sitabai, Bhure, Arjunrao Khar) and the police's refusal to act. - Records the gram sabha's resolution of support and the panchayat meeting of 21 August 1995 reaffirming women's reservation. - Reads the episode as a stress-test of the 73rd Amendment's promise of women's panchayat reservation. - Frames the failure as a combination of goon politics, incapable administration and an indifferent public. ### वाढदिवस शुभेच्छा — जाहीर आभार (open thank-you note for birthday wishes, dated १० सप्टेंबर १९९५) *By शरद जोशी* A short page-16 note, 'वाढदिवस शुभेच्छा - जाहीर आभार', in which Sharad Joshi publicly thanks the many farmer sympathisers, hitchintaks, well-wishers and other supporters across Maharashtra and beyond who sent him birthday greetings — by telegram, postcard, phone and letter — and who marked his birthday with messages of solidarity to the farmers' movement. Joshi notes that he cannot reply individually to every greeting and offers a collective acknowledgement and pledge to remain in the service of the movement. Signed 'आपला, शरद जोशी' and dated 10 September 1995. - Sharad Joshi's public thank-you note for birthday greetings received from across Maharashtra and beyond. - Acknowledges greetings by telegram, postcard, phone and letter. - Frames the personal occasion as a moment of renewed pledge to the farmers' movement. - Signed and dated 10 September 1995. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-sept-6-1992/ ### Summary This 6 September 1992 issue of the Marathi fortnightly शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak, Year 9, No. 11) — the masthead organ of Shetkari Sanghatana — is dominated by a long signed essay from Sharad Joshi explaining why he declined to attend the first anniversary of the Vasantrao Naik Smruti Pratishthan despite a personal invitation from Maharashtra Chief Minister Sudhakarrao Naik. The piece functions as a polemical audit of the late Vasantrao Naik's agricultural and dairy record (Roshanara cotton variety, the 1980 cotton monopoly procurement scheme, Operation Flood's Aarey/Dudh Mahapur extension to Maharashtra) and frames the Sanghatana's enduring grievance against the Nehruvian state-controlled price regime for farm produce.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary This 6 September 1992 issue of the Marathi fortnightly शेतकरी संघटक (Shetkari Sanghatak, Year 9, No. 11) — the masthead organ of Shetkari Sanghatana — is dominated by a long signed essay from Sharad Joshi explaining why he declined to attend the first anniversary of the Vasantrao Naik Smruti Pratishthan despite a personal invitation from Maharashtra Chief Minister Sudhakarrao Naik. The piece functions as a polemical audit of the late Vasantrao Naik's agricultural and dairy record (Roshanara cotton variety, the 1980 cotton monopoly procurement scheme, Operation Flood's Aarey/Dudh Mahapur extension to Maharashtra) and frames the Sanghatana's enduring grievance against the Nehruvian state-controlled price regime for farm produce. The same Nehruvian-policy thread runs through the rest of the issue: a report on the Krutisamiti (action committee) meeting at Nanded on 24–25 August 1992, news reports of the symbolic burning of Nehru-policy effigies on 9 August (Kranti Din) at Javalgaon and Nanded, an editorial on India's medal-less Barcelona Olympics linking sports failure to per-capita poverty, a piece on the cotton/wheat/milk import policy of Narasimha Rao's government titled "केंद्र सरकारचे पुन्हा, येरे माझ्या मागल्या", G. H. Agashe's analysis of the economics of foreign milk-powder imports, the Kharif 1992–93 minimum support price table, the launch of a household-level survey of farmer economic conditions (1980 vs 1992 baselines) by Shetkari Sanghatak, and a back-cover commentary on P. V. Narasimha Rao's 15 August 1992 Red Fort speech. ## Essays ### शेतकऱ्यांच्या पोटावर नव्हे, पाठीवर थाप मारणारा राजा हवा *By शरद जोशी* Sharad Joshi's lead essay, "शेतकऱ्यांच्या पोटावर नव्हे, पाठीवर थाप मारणारा राजा हवा" (We need a king who pats farmers on the back, not one who punches their stomach), is framed as an open reply to Maharashtra Chief Minister Sudhakarrao Naik, who had personally invited Joshi to speak at the first anniversary of the Vasantrao Naik Smruti Pratishthan. Joshi explains that he had to decline because he cannot endorse the public memory of Vasantrao Naik as a farmers' champion. He proceeds, with the explicit reluctance of someone speaking ill of a recently deceased Maharashtra leader, to itemise four grievances: the failed Roshanara cotton variety that left growers' fields charred in 1980; the Maharashtra State Cotton Monopoly Procurement Scheme that, in Joshi's account, transferred ₹200 crore of farmer wealth to the Congress treasury and the ginning lobby (he names "मोदी" of cotton ginning); the Aarey/Dudh Mahapur dairy extension that crushed independent dairy growers by importing subsidised foreign milk powder; and the state's artificial fixing of low procurement prices for salt, chillies, oil, and grain. The essay reframes the demand of the Sanghatana as not subsidy or sympathy but parity-price freedom ("खुल्या बाजारपेठेच्या अर्थव्यवस्थेचा फायदा"), and ends with Joshi's refusal to be the political guest of a government whose dispensation he sees as continuous with Nehruvian agricultural socialism. - Joshi declines the Vasantrao Naik Smruti Pratishthan invitation and uses his refusal letter as occasion for a public critique of Naik's agricultural legacy - He attributes the 1980 burning of Roshanara cotton crops to Naik-era variety promotion and uses it as the founding grievance that built the Shetkari Sanghatana - The Maharashtra State Cotton Monopoly Procurement Scheme is presented as a transfer of roughly ₹200 crore from farmers to the Congress party fund and the cotton-ginning lobby ("मोदी") - Operation Flood / Dudh Mahapur is read as a deliberate device to depress domestic milk prices through subsidised foreign milk-powder dumping - Joshi insists the farmer demand is not a higher administered price but withdrawal of the administered-price regime itself ### ऑलिंपिकमधील अपयशाच्या निमित्ताने - An unsigned editorial, "ऑलिंपिकमधील अपयशाच्या निमित्ताने", uses India's medal-less performance at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics as a hook for a structural argument about economic poverty and Olympic underachievement. Cross-tabulating the medal table by per-capita-income brackets — rich, upper-middle, lower-middle, and poor — the piece shows that the 30 countries that share the 815 Barcelona medals are overwhelmingly drawn from the first three bands, while populous low-income countries (India is the clearest case) are virtually absent. The article reads Olympic failure not as a coaching or talent deficit but as a downstream effect of socialist economic policy that has held Indian household incomes below the threshold at which mass sporting infrastructure becomes viable, and explicitly rejects the comforting nationalist excuses ("मदर तेरेसा" etc.) that are routinely offered in the Indian press after every Games. - Among the 30 countries that won the 815 Barcelona medals, the richest four nations alone account for a disproportionate share - The 24 countries with per-capita GDP between $500 and $2,490 win essentially nothing in absolute terms relative to their populations - India's failure is read as a poverty effect, not a sports-administration effect - The piece dismisses the post-Games consolations (Mother Teresa, spirituality, etc.) routinely deployed in Indian commentary - Olympic performance is offered as a public-facing diagnostic of the cost of the planned-economy model ### शेतकरी संघटना : कृतिसमिती बैठक वृत्तांत — नांदेड दि. २४/२५ ऑगस्ट १९९२ A reporting block, "शेतकरी संघटना : कृतिसमिती बैठक वृत्तांत नांदेड दि. २४/२५ ऑगस्ट १९९२", lists the action-programme adopted by the Shetkari Sanghatana's action committee at its 24–25 August 1992 Nanded meeting under the presidency of Shankar Dhondge: (i) collection of letters of farmer Sitaram Maharaj on the Sita Sheti agricultural experiment; (ii) plot-level outreach for the Lakshmi Mukti programme on women's land rights; (iii) a renewed condemnation of central-government Nehruvian policy; (iv) call for a Krantidin Bhavyatra rally on 1 September and 2 October 1992; (v) a fundraising drive for the organisation's life and annual subscriptions; and (vi) a 10 November 1992 annual general body meeting. The page also reports the symbolic burning of effigies of "Nehru-policy" at multiple district centres on 9 August (Kranti Din), with one fuller account of the Nanded burning ceremony presided over by Shankar Dhondge. - Six-point action programme adopted at Nanded action committee meeting on 24–25 August 1992 - Krutisamiti chaired by Shankar Dhondge; meeting open to all district-unit chairs and conveners - Krantidin Bhavyatra fixed for 1 September and 2 October 1992 across districts - Effigies of Nehru-policy ritually burnt at Javalbazar, Nanded and listed outlying centres on 9 August 1992 - An annual general meeting set for 10 November 1992 ### नांदेड येथे क्रांतिदिनी नेहरूधोरण पुतळ्याचे दहन "केंद्र सरकारचे पुन्हा, येरे माझ्या मागल्या" (literally, "Central government again — oh my, here it comes from behind") argues that the Narasimha Rao government's 1991–92 "reforms" have, in practice, returned Indian agricultural trade to its pre-liberalisation administered-price regime. The piece walks through the cotton sector — where the 1980 monopoly-procurement architecture has effectively been restored at chief-minister level — and the wheat sector, where Punjab's bumper surplus has been left without remunerative price support while Canadian wheat is imported at a higher cost. It tracks the contradiction in dairy: the National Dairy Development Board, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Reserve Bank approve a third tranche of Operation Flood (Dudh Mahapur) financed by the World Bank, importing foreign milk powder to depress the domestic price. The essay reads the cumulative pattern as "मुक्त अर्थव्यवस्थेची भाषा तोंडावर ठेवून नेहरूनीतीची डंडा अधिक उंच उगारणे" — raising the Nehruvian baton higher while mouthing the language of the free market. - Punjab wheat surplus left without remunerative procurement price; Canadian wheat imported at higher cost - Restored cotton-monopoly-style procurement in Maharashtra at administered prices - Third tranche of Operation Flood (Dudh Mahapur) approved with World Bank financing for foreign milk-powder imports - The piece names this "मुक्त अर्थव्यवस्थेची भाषा तोंडावर ठेवून नेहरूनीतीची डंडा" — free-market language, Nehruvian stick - Imports of edible oil and milk powder presented as direct income transfers away from Indian farmers ### नेहरूधोरण प्रतिमेचे दहन (जवळाबाजार) *By प्रेषक: रामकिशन अप्पा रुद्राळे, जवळाबाजार* G. H. Agashe's signed analytical column, "आयातीमागे कोणते अर्थशास्त्र आहे?" (What economics lies behind the imports?), examines the Narasimha Rao government's new economic policy on milk and dairy products. Agashe takes Dr. Amrita Patel's defence of the imports in The Economic Times (4 August 1992) and reframes the question: if the new policy explicitly excludes "दूध आणि दुग्धजन्य पदार्थ" (milk and dairy products) from liberalisation, the policy is being run not for farmers but for non-farm industries. He argues that what is being protected by imports is not consumer welfare but the bargaining position of urban dairy industries against the Indian farmer. - Frames Operation Flood imports as a policy that excludes milk from liberalisation deliberately - Reads Dr. Amrita Patel's Economic Times defence (4 August 1992) as concession that the policy is industry-facing, not farmer-facing - Identifies the beneficiary of the import policy as the non-farm dairy-processing lobby ### एक उंदीर मारण्यास १४ रू. ४५ पैसे A two-page announcement and full questionnaire, "शेतकऱ्यांची आर्थिक परिस्थिती : एक पाहणी", launches a Sanghatana-led household survey comparing farmer balance-sheets between 1980 and 1992. The questionnaire records farm size, household size by gender, livestock, water source, crops, debt and savings, and a long checklist of consumption goods (milk, ghee, fruit, eggs, meat; electric light, radio, television, cycle, motorcycle; toothpaste, soap, kerosene, alcohol, newspaper/magazine; children's clothing categories). The 40/50-year-old farmer of 1980 is being asked to mark each item as ho/nahi (yes/no) for both years. Responses are to be returned by 20 September 1992 to the editorial address at Angarmal, Khed, Pune. - Survey instrument built on a 1980-vs-1992 comparison sheet for the same household - Captures landholding, debt, savings, consumption baskets and clothing items as ho/nahi binary across two years - Designed as evidence base for the Sanghatana's claim of farmer-income stagnation under the Nehruvian price regime - Returns invited by 20 September 1992 at the editorial address (Angarmal, Khed, Pune) --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatak URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/shetkari-sanghatak-sept-6-1994/ ### Summary Issue 9 of Year 11 of Shetkari Sanghatak — the Marathi-language fortnightly of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana — dated 6 September 1994. The eight-page issue is built around five pieces. The lead front-page essay by Sharad Joshi, framed as a reflection on the two-decade arc from the 1974 Bucharest UN population conference to the upcoming 1994 Cairo conference, attacks India's family-planning bureaucracy and argues that population falls naturally where prosperity and open systems take hold, not through coercion or planning. A second piece is an open letter from a retired teacher, Shri P. L. Kolhe, calling for the same 'open-system' logic to be extended to schooling, with a printed reply from Sharad Joshi endorsing competitive, market-based education. A long article and accompanying Memorandum of Association introduce Shivar Industries (India) Ltd., a new Shetkari Sanghatana-promoted retail company that aims to build a chain of farm-to-consumer stores on the Marks & Spencer model.… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatak ## Summary Issue 9 of Year 11 of Shetkari Sanghatak — the Marathi-language fortnightly of Sharad Joshi's Shetkari Sanghatana — dated 6 September 1994. The eight-page issue is built around five pieces. The lead front-page essay by Sharad Joshi, framed as a reflection on the two-decade arc from the 1974 Bucharest UN population conference to the upcoming 1994 Cairo conference, attacks India's family-planning bureaucracy and argues that population falls naturally where prosperity and open systems take hold, not through coercion or planning. A second piece is an open letter from a retired teacher, Shri P. L. Kolhe, calling for the same 'open-system' logic to be extended to schooling, with a printed reply from Sharad Joshi endorsing competitive, market-based education. A long article and accompanying Memorandum of Association introduce Shivar Industries (India) Ltd., a new Shetkari Sanghatana-promoted retail company that aims to build a chain of farm-to-consumer stores on the Marks & Spencer model. Short news items report Shetkari Mahila Aghadi's success in shutting six liquor shops in Nagpur district and the preparations under way for the Sanghatana's sixth all-Maharashtra Adhiveshan in Nagpur on 12 November 1994; the back page carries the convention's mass-mobilisation appeal. ## Essays ### आता कुटुंबकल्याणाचे कल्याण *By शरद जोशी* Sharad Joshi's lead front-page editorial 'आता कुटुंबकल्याणाचे कल्याण' ('Now, the welfare of family-welfare itself') opens by placing India between the 1974 Bucharest UN population conference and the September 1994 Cairo conference on population and development. Joshi notes that India had pinned enormous hopes on family-planning bureaucracy and that the budget of the programme has ballooned from Rs. 8 crore in 1974 to Rs. 400 crore by 1994, yet the demographic results are negligible compared to countries that simply grew richer. He argues that the planners' assumption — that poor families experience children as a burden — is wrong, that population growth tracks poverty rather than the absence of contraceptive supply, and that wherever incomes, schooling and women's agency have risen (he points to America, Africa, Australia and the experience of M. S. Swaminathan-style demographic-transition research), fertility has fallen on its own. The piece is also a critique of the coercive Sanjay Gandhi-era sterilisation drives and of the entrenched bureaucratic and social-worker establishment that still pushes top-down 'planning' of family size. Joshi's prescription is the Sanghatana's standard one: economic liberty, not state coercion, is the path to lower population. - Frames India's family-planning policy as the journey from Bucharest (1974) to Cairo (1994), with no real progress despite a fifty-fold rise in budget. - Argues that the poor do not in fact experience children as a 'burden' — fertility falls with prosperity, not with state pressure. - Recalls the Sanjay Gandhi-era forced-sterilisation drives as the canonical failure of bureaucratic population planning. - Endorses the demographic-transition logic (associated with M. S. Swaminathan-style research) over coercive birth control. - Prescribes economic liberty, rural prosperity and women's empowerment as the real population policy. ### शिक्षणातही खुली व्यवस्था हवी.... *By श्री. एल. सी. कोळे (पत्र) / शरद जोशी (उत्तर)* An open letter from Shri P. L. Kolhe (श्री. पी. एल. कोल्हे), a retired teacher and college lecturer drawing on a 25-30 year career, urges that the Sanghatana's 'open system' (खुली व्यवस्था) be extended to education. Kolhe describes how government-controlled schools and colleges have stagnated under fixed pay-scales, syllabi and recognition rules that reward neither teaching quality nor student demand, and argues that parents and students should be free to choose schools and that schools should compete on merit. Sharad Joshi's printed reply (the lower half of the page is signed off '— शरद जोशी') endorses the proposal, treating education as one more sector where state monopoly and licensing have crushed quality, and where opening up entry, fees and recognition would let good schools flourish and weak ones close. The argument extends the Sanghatana's free-market line from agricultural markets to schools. - P. L. Kolhe, a retired teacher, writes a letter calling for school and college education to be opened up to competition. - He criticises the state-administered pay-scale and recognition regime that makes private teaching uneconomic and protects mediocrity. - Sharad Joshi's printed reply endorses Kolhe's call, framing schooling as another monopoly sector in need of liberalisation. - Both arguments extend the Shetkari Sanghatana's 'open system' line from farm produce to schools. ### 'शिवार' ची वाटचाल *By संचालक मंडळ, शिवार इंडस्ट्रीज लिमिटेड* The page-4 article 'शिवारची वाटचाल' (signed by the Sanchalak Mandal of Shivar Industries) introduces Shivar Industries (India) Ltd., a new public limited company that the Shetkari Sanghatana is using to break into organised farm-to-consumer retail. The piece describes the first store opened at Pusasarvarni and lays out a plan to set up 30 'Shivar' outlets by 30 September and 100 by year-end, selling pulses, rice, fruit, vegetables, spices and other farm produce graded for quality. The article explicitly holds up Britain's Marks & Spencer as the model — pointing out, in a now-famous Sanghatana formulation, that Marks & Spencer have done more for the poor than the celebrated socialist titans Marx and Engels. It situates 'Shivar' as the next step beyond the Sanghatana's earlier 'Pawan Proteins' and Shetkari Soltrans ventures, and as a way for farmers to bypass middlemen and licensed traders. The accompanying Memorandum of Association on page 6 names the registered office (402, Kamalprabha, Dhantoli, Nagpur) and the board: Sharad Joshi (Chairman, Ambethan), Dr. Vasant L. Bonde (Hinganghat, Wardha), Shri Prakash G. Pohore (Akola), Smt. Sarojtai R. Kashikar (Ramnagar, Wardha), Shri Laxman M. Wange (Parli Vaijnath, Beed), Shri Vilasrao V. Kore (Warnanagar, Kolhapur) and Shri Laxmikant P. Deshmukh as Executive Director, with P. S. Thakare as Auditor. - Announces Shivar Industries (India) Ltd. as a Shetkari Sanghatana-promoted retail company for farm produce. - Targets a chain of 30 'Shivar' outlets by 30 September 1994 and 100 by year-end. - Holds up Marks & Spencer as the model of organised retail that serves the poor better than socialist ideology has. - Frames 'Shivar' as the next venture after 'Pawan Proteins' and Shetkari Soltrans Ltd. in the Sanghatana's market-building work. - Page-6 Memorandum of Association formally names Sharad Joshi as Chairman and lists the seven-member board and auditor. ### MEMORANDUM OF ASSOCIATION — Shivar Industries (India) Ltd. A page-6 news report records that Shetkari Mahila Aghadi (the Sanghatana's women's wing) has succeeded in getting six country-liquor shops in Nagpur district shut down. The campaign was led by Mahila Aghadi president Sou. Geetatai Khoke and secretary Sou. Sulekhatai Bhandakwar, with Kamlabai Kakade and other karyakartis mobilising women across 10-12 villages. A decisive meeting at Bharsavada on 28 August 1994 produced a written ultimatum to the District Collector, after which the Collector ordered the closure of liquor shops at Katoli, Kharsoli, Lohari Sawangi (Tal. Narkhed), Tekkhamari (Tal. Sawner) and Vadoda (Tal. Kamtee). The piece is presented as a continuation of the anti-liquor agitation begun at the Aurangabad Adhiveshan. - Shetkari Mahila Aghadi forces closure of six country-liquor shops across Nagpur district. - Campaign led by president Sou. Geetatai Khoke and secretary Sou. Sulekhatai Bhandakwar. - A 28 August 1994 mass meeting at Bharsavada delivered an ultimatum to the District Collector. - Liquor shops closed at Katoli, Kharsoli, Lohari Sawangi, Tekkhamari and Vadoda. ### शेतकरी महिला आघाडीच्या प्रयत्नाने नागपूर जिल्ह्यातील सहा दारुदुकाने बंद The closing news pages report on preparations for the Shetkari Sanghatana's sixth all-Maharashtra Adhiveshan (convention), to be held at Kasturchand Park, Nagpur, on 12 November 1994 at 5 p.m. A district-level karyakarta meeting at Nagpur on 28 August 1994 — chaired by Shetkari Sanghatana president Shri Pasha Patel and attended by Sou. Saroj Kashikar (president of Shetkari Mahila Aghadi), Shri Ram Newale (karyavah), Shri Morarka Tejuji of Swatantra Bharat Paksh, Vasantrao Bonde, Lakshmikant Deshmukh, Wamanrao Newale and others — finalised the convention programme and a roster of village-level meetings. Sharad Joshi's own district tour (Solapur, Usmanabad, Latur, Beed, Nanded, Parbhani, Jalna, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Nashik, Mumbai, Dhule, Jalgaon, Buldhana, Akola, Amravati, Yavatmal, Wardha, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Bhandara, Nagpur) is printed as a calendar from 20 August to 4 November 1994. The page also notes that the office's fax number has changed to 02713-422255. The back cover then carries the convention's mass-mobilisation appeal in the joint name of Sou. Saroj Kashikar, Pasha Patel, P. S. Thakre and Ram Newale, calling on farmers to attend in lakhs. - Announces the Shetkari Sanghatana's sixth Adhiveshan for 12 November 1994 at Kasturchand Park, Nagpur, 5 p.m. - Pasha Patel chairs the preparatory district-level meeting; Ram Newale is karyavah and Saroj Kashikar leads Shetkari Mahila Aghadi. - Morarka Tejuji of Swatantra Bharat Paksh is named as a leading participant. - Prints Sharad Joshi's full district tour calendar from 20 August to 4 November 1994 across western and central Maharashtra and Vidarbha. - Back-cover appeal frames the convention as a stand against state-protected casteist forces and the bureaucratic blocking of the open economic system. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] SHOULD WE ALTER OUR CONSTITUTION? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/should-we-alter-our-constitution-n-a-palkhivala-20-february-1976/ ### Summary Delivered in February 1976 (and reprinted from the Illustrated Weekly of India, January 4–10, 1976), this Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet by N. A. Palkhivala is a constitutional-lawyer's alarm bell against a then-circulating paper of 'Some Suggestions' for amending the Indian Constitution. Palkhivala opens with a wry meditation on the imperfection of law and the relentlessness of India's 'law-making industry,' insisting that the most useful reform Parliament could grant the country is a stated period during which no new laws are passed. From there he pivots to his central preoccupation: the indispensability of an independent judiciary as the only effective check on executive excess, illustrated by examples ranging from the Bombay Police Commissioner's blanket ban on assemblies of five (struck down as ultra vires on 18 December 1975) to the Bhanudas Krishna Gawde case in which government counsel suggested detenus could be denied food, or even shot, without remedy under Article 226 while the Presidential Order suspending Article 21 was in force. The core argument rests on the Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Kesavananda Bharati's case, which held that Parliament cannot alter or … ### Body # SHOULD WE ALTER OUR CONSTITUTION? *By N. A. Palkhivala* ## Summary Delivered in February 1976 (and reprinted from the Illustrated Weekly of India, January 4–10, 1976), this Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet by N. A. Palkhivala is a constitutional-lawyer's alarm bell against a then-circulating paper of 'Some Suggestions' for amending the Indian Constitution. Palkhivala opens with a wry meditation on the imperfection of law and the relentlessness of India's 'law-making industry,' insisting that the most useful reform Parliament could grant the country is a stated period during which no new laws are passed. From there he pivots to his central preoccupation: the indispensability of an independent judiciary as the only effective check on executive excess, illustrated by examples ranging from the Bombay Police Commissioner's blanket ban on assemblies of five (struck down as ultra vires on 18 December 1975) to the Bhanudas Krishna Gawde case in which government counsel suggested detenus could be denied food, or even shot, without remedy under Article 226 while the Presidential Order suspending Article 21 was in force. The core argument rests on the Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Kesavananda Bharati's case, which held that Parliament cannot alter or destroy the 'basic structure' of the Constitution. Palkhivala enumerates nine essential features of that basic structure — supremacy of the Constitution, sovereignty and integrity of India, the republican form of government, democracy distinct from mere adult franchise, fundamental rights, secularism, an independent judiciary, the federal Union-State structure, and balance among the three organs of government — and uses this list as the yardstick against which to measure the proposed amendments. He warns that the 'Some Suggestions' paper would replace the Westminster model with a presidency more powerful than the American one, reduce Parliament to subservience, and substitute the courts' interpretive authority with a 'Superior Council of the Judiciary' whose composition would leave ten of fifteen members beholden to the President and ruling party — reducing the higher judiciary, in Justice Staple's phrase, to 'mice squeaking under the Home Minister's chair.' Palkhivala then turns to the Constitution (Forty-first Amendment) Bill, already passed by the Rajya Sabha in August 1975, which would grant the President, Prime Minister and State Governors total civil immunity during office for personal acts and lifelong criminal immunity for any crime committed before or during office. He calls this 'a Bill that has no parallel in civilized jurisprudence,' arguing it destroys the first principle of republicanism — equality before the law. He closes with an appeal to Indira Gandhi, citing her own 25th-anniversary speech describing the Constitution as 'a charter of a peaceful, democratic, social revolution,' and trusting that, properly briefed, she would not lend her support to proposals that 'aim at drastically diluting the essence of our democracy.' A coda invokes a recent UK Court of Appeal episode, the imperative of open public debate before any further amendment, and Joseph Story's warning that whether the Constitution descends 'in its masculine majesty' or 'an idle mockery' depends on the present generation. ## Key points - Frames legal reform as urgently needing restraint: the most welcome amendment would be an assurance that no new laws are passed for a stated period. - Insists that whatever else is altered, the Supreme Court and High Courts must retain their power to interpret the Constitution and grant relief under Articles 32 and 226. - Uses the Bombay Commissioner's assembly-of-five order (struck down on 18 December 1975) and the Bhanudas Krishna Gawde case to illustrate executive overreach answerable only to an independent court. - Enumerates nine 'essential features' of the basic structure of the Constitution — supremacy, sovereignty, integrity, republican form, democracy with fundamental rights, secularism, independent judiciary, federal dual structure, and balance of powers. - Concedes a presidential form of government could be acceptable, but condemns the 'Some Suggestions' paper for envisaging a President more powerful than the US President and a 'Superior Council of the Judiciary' that would supersede the courts. - Attacks the Constitution (Forty-first Amendment) Bill for granting blanket civil and criminal immunity to the President, Prime Minister and Governors as a destruction of equality before the law. - Appeals to Indira Gandhi's own characterisation of the Constitution as a 'charter of a peaceful, democratic, social revolution' and urges a public announcement that the amendment proposals are not Government-sponsored. - Closes with a UK Court of Appeal precedent and a Joseph Story quotation framing constitutional fidelity as a generational choice on which India's place in 'one-sixth of the human race' will turn. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] SHOULD WE ALTER OUR CONSTITUTION? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/should-we-alter-ourc-onstitution-n-a-palkhivala-february-20-1976/ ### Summary Written during the Emergency and reprinted from the Illustrated Weekly of India (4-10 January 1976), N. A. Palkhivala's pamphlet is a constitutional alarm bell. He opens with the wry observation that, however acute the recession, the law-making industry remains in perpetual boom, and argues that what India needs is respite from the Niagara of Rules and Notifications rather than fresh amendments. The Supreme Court and High Courts, he insists, must never be deprived of their power under Articles 32 and 226 to interpret the Constitution and shield citizens from executive excess. He invokes Lord Atkin in Eshugbayi Eleko's case to defend the British-derived tradition that judges must not shrink from confronting the executive, and offers contemporary illustrations—the Bombay Police Commissioner's blanket ban on assemblies of five or more, struck down on 18 December 1975, and the startling proposition in Bhanudas Krishna Gawde's case that a detenu could not contest even an order forbidding him to eat. The argumentative core is a defence of the Supreme Court's April 1973 ruling in Kesavananda Bharati that Parliament cannot alter or destroy the Constitution's basic structure.… ### Body # SHOULD WE ALTER OUR CONSTITUTION? *By N. A. Palkhivala* ## Summary Written during the Emergency and reprinted from the Illustrated Weekly of India (4-10 January 1976), N. A. Palkhivala's pamphlet is a constitutional alarm bell. He opens with the wry observation that, however acute the recession, the law-making industry remains in perpetual boom, and argues that what India needs is respite from the Niagara of Rules and Notifications rather than fresh amendments. The Supreme Court and High Courts, he insists, must never be deprived of their power under Articles 32 and 226 to interpret the Constitution and shield citizens from executive excess. He invokes Lord Atkin in Eshugbayi Eleko's case to defend the British-derived tradition that judges must not shrink from confronting the executive, and offers contemporary illustrations—the Bombay Police Commissioner's blanket ban on assemblies of five or more, struck down on 18 December 1975, and the startling proposition in Bhanudas Krishna Gawde's case that a detenu could not contest even an order forbidding him to eat. The argumentative core is a defence of the Supreme Court's April 1973 ruling in Kesavananda Bharati that Parliament cannot alter or destroy the Constitution's basic structure. Palkhivala enumerates the essential features that make up that structure: supremacy of the Constitution, sovereignty and integrity of India, the republican and democratic form of government, fundamental rights, the secular state, an independent judiciary, the dual federal structure, and the balance among legislature, executive and judiciary. Against this baseline he assesses a circulating proposals paper that he hopes is not Congress-sponsored: it would replace the Westminster system with a presidential one virtually uncontrolled by the Constitution, install a politically dominated 'Superior Council of the Judiciary' that would reduce the higher judiciary to (quoting Justice Staple) 'mice squeaking under the Home Minister's chair', delete Articles 13 and 32, and make Parliament's interpretation of the Constitution final and binding on all courts. He pairs this with the already-passed Forty-first Amendment Bill granting the President, Prime Minister and Governors lifelong civil and criminal immunity for acts done in office, which he calls a proposal without parallel in civilized jurisprudence. Citing Indira Gandhi's own February 1975 dictum that 'democracy does not include freedom to wreck democracy', and a December 1975 UK case in which a counsel's casual threat to the Court of Appeal produced an immediate official apology, Palkhivala urges that the Government publicly disavow these proposals and submit any further amendment to free public debate. He closes with Joseph Story's warning that the Constitution will either descend to future generations 'in its masculine majesty' or, shorn of its strength, 'become an idle mockery, and perish before the grave has closed upon the last of its illustrious founders.' ## Key points - Opens with the aphorism that the law-making industry is in perpetual boom regardless of recession, and that India needs respite from new laws, not more amendments. - Defends the Supreme Court's and High Courts' jurisdiction under Articles 32 and 226 as the citizen's irreducible protection against executive excess, citing Lord Atkin's judgment in Eshugbayi Eleko. - Illustrates executive overreach with the Bombay Police Commissioner's order banning assemblies of five (struck down 18 December 1975) and counsel's argument in Bhanudas Krishna Gawde's case that a detenu could be denied food without remedy. - Treats Kesavananda Bharati (April 1973) as a constitutional bulwark and lists nine essential features of the Constitution's basic structure that Parliament cannot destroy. - Attacks an anonymously circulating 'Some Suggestions' paper that proposes a presidential system uncontrolled by the Constitution, a Superior Council of the Judiciary politically dominated by the President and Parliament, and deletion of Articles 13 and 32. - Condemns the Forty-first Amendment Bill (passed by the Rajya Sabha in August 1975) granting lifelong civil and criminal immunity to the President, Prime Minister and Governors as without parallel in civilized jurisprudence. - Argues that the proposals would reduce the Supreme Court and High Courts to mere appendages of the administration and make fundamental rights, including freedom of religion and minority protections, unenforceable. - Calls on the Government to publicly disavow sponsorship of these proposals and to permit free public debate before any further amendment, invoking Joseph Story's warning about the survival of constitutional government. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Sir M. Visvesvaraya — A Biography URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/sir-m-visvesvaraya-a-biography-by-t-rangadasappa-1984/ ### Summary In the rendered pages, T. Rangadasappa opens a short A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust biography of Sir M. Visvesvaraya — published in 1984 to mark the engineer-statesman's 125th birth anniversary in 1985 — with front matter that frames the project in A. D. Shroff's conviction that 'a well-informed citizenry is the foundation of an enduring democracy.' N. A. Palkhivala's introduction places the volume in the Trust's series on 'the builders of modern India' and offers Visvesvaraya as an exemplar of 'absolute integrity, systematic hard work, and a total, selfless dedication to the public cause.' Chapter I, 'A Many-Splendoured Life,' sketches Visvesvaraya in the rendered pages as Bharatha Ratna engineer-statesman whose principal objective was India's economic development through planned industrialisation: the Krishnarajasagar dam on the Cauvery, the block system of irrigation, the automatic sluice gates at Lake Fife, drainage and water schemes for Poona, Hyderabad, Mysore, Sukkur, Nagpur, Bijapur and Aden, and as Dewan of Mysore the founding of the University of Mysore, the Bank of Mysore, the Chamber of Commerce, the College of Engineering and the Mysore Iron and Steel Works at Bhadrava… ### Body # Sir M. Visvesvaraya — A Biography *By T. RANGADASAPPA* ## Summary In the rendered pages, T. Rangadasappa opens a short A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust biography of Sir M. Visvesvaraya — published in 1984 to mark the engineer-statesman's 125th birth anniversary in 1985 — with front matter that frames the project in A. D. Shroff's conviction that 'a well-informed citizenry is the foundation of an enduring democracy.' N. A. Palkhivala's introduction places the volume in the Trust's series on 'the builders of modern India' and offers Visvesvaraya as an exemplar of 'absolute integrity, systematic hard work, and a total, selfless dedication to the public cause.' Chapter I, 'A Many-Splendoured Life,' sketches Visvesvaraya in the rendered pages as Bharatha Ratna engineer-statesman whose principal objective was India's economic development through planned industrialisation: the Krishnarajasagar dam on the Cauvery, the block system of irrigation, the automatic sluice gates at Lake Fife, drainage and water schemes for Poona, Hyderabad, Mysore, Sukkur, Nagpur, Bijapur and Aden, and as Dewan of Mysore the founding of the University of Mysore, the Bank of Mysore, the Chamber of Commerce, the College of Engineering and the Mysore Iron and Steel Works at Bhadravathi. The author repeatedly frames him as 'the father of economic planning in India,' citing his books 'Planned Economy for India' and 'Rural Reconstruction in India,' and reproduces in full his 1942 letter to the Viceroy's Private Secretary protesting the Government's refusal to license an Indian automobile industry — a position he held since 1934-35 — as 'unusual and against the interests of India.' Chapter II, 'Early Life and Education,' traces in the rendered pages his birth in Muddenahalli on 15 September 1861, primary education at Chickballapur under Nadhamuni Naidu, B.A. at Central College Bangalore in 1880 under Principal Charles Waters, and engineering studies at the Science College Poona (1881-83) on a scholarship granted by Rangacharlu, Dewan of Mysore. Chapter III, 'Service as Engineer,' covers his early postings in the Bombay PWD — pipe-syphon work on the Panjra River, the Sukkur water supply (1895), and the Poona irrigation rationing scheme that was opposed by Lokamanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak's paper 'Kesari' until cultivators accepted government management. It then describes the Block System of Irrigation endorsed by the Scott-Moncrieff Indian Irrigation Commission (1901), the patenting and installation of the automatic sluice gates at Khadakvasla in 1901-03, his election to the Institute of Civil Engineers London (1904), his 1906 deputation to Aden at Lord Morley's request, and his 1908 retirement after superseding eighteen senior engineers — the political climate then precluding the appointment of an Indian as Chief Engineer. Chapter IV, 'Service in Hyderabad,' begins in the rendered pages with his post-retirement European tour and the Nizam's 29 October 1908 invitation to design flood-protection works for the Musi and Easi rivers and a modern drainage system for Hyderabad city. The chunk ends after his 1922 and 1930 follow-up visits to Hyderabad; the rest of the work — covering the Mysore Dewanship in detail, the All-India Manufacturers' Organisation, his foreign travels, planning advocacy and later years — lies past page 15 in the rendered pages. ## Key points - Commissioned and distributed free by the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust (Bombay), the biography appeared in 1984 ahead of Sir M. Visvesvaraya's 125th birth anniversary in 1985 in the rendered pages. - Front matter includes the Trust's objectives, an introduction by Chairman N. A. Palkhivala, and a single-page tribute to A. D. Shroff (1899-1965), founder of the Forum of Free Enterprise. - Chapter I frames Visvesvaraya — addressed by the title Bharatha Ratna — as an engineer-statesman whose principal objective was 'the economic development of India through industrialisation on a planned basis.' - Rangadasappa calls Visvesvaraya 'the father of economic planning in India,' citing his books 'Planned Economy for India' and 'Rural Reconstruction in India.' - A 1942 letter to the Viceroy's Private Secretary is reproduced in full, recording Visvesvaraya's protest that Government refusal to license an Indian automobile industry was 'unusual and against the interests of India.' - Chapter II covers his birth at Muddenahalli on 15 September 1861, schooling at Chickballapur and Bangalore's Central College, and engineering training at Poona's Science College (1881-83) on a Mysore Government scholarship. - Chapter III traces his Bombay PWD career: the Panjra River pipe-syphon, the Sukkur Water Works (1895), the Poona irrigation rationing scheme opposed by Tilak's 'Kesari,' the Block System of Irrigation endorsed by the Scott-Moncrieff Commission (1901), and the Khadakvasla automatic sluice gates patented and installed in 1901-03. - Chapter IV opens with the Nizam's 29 October 1908 invitation to design flood-protection schemes for the Musi and Easi rivers and a modern sewerage system for Hyderabad city, with follow-up visits in 1922 and 1930. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Sixth National Convention Swatantra Souvenirs 1973 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/sixth-national-convention-swatantra-souvenirs-1973/ ### Summary The rendered pages of this work (pages 1–20 of a 169-page souvenir proceedings volume) consist entirely of the cover and sponsor advertisements. Page 1 carries the cover — a full-bleed photograph of a senior Swatantra Party figure under the text 'SWANTRA PARTY / SIXTH NATIONAL CONVENTION / RAJAJI NAGAR' — and pages 2 through 20 are full-page commercial advertisements from Indian industrial and trading firms (Kirloskar Electric, The New Commercial Mills / Gopi Fabrics, The Associated Cement Companies Limited, Ram Dev Dmir & Company, and others), each carrying the footer 'SWATANTRA SOUVENIR 1973'. No title page, table of contents, editorial credit, or substantive convention content appears in the rendered pages. The editorial and proceedings content begins beyond page 20 and is not visible in this chunk. ### Body ## Summary The rendered pages of this work (pages 1–20 of a 169-page souvenir proceedings volume) consist entirely of the cover and sponsor advertisements. Page 1 carries the cover — a full-bleed photograph of a senior Swatantra Party figure under the text 'SWANTRA PARTY / SIXTH NATIONAL CONVENTION / RAJAJI NAGAR' — and pages 2 through 20 are full-page commercial advertisements from Indian industrial and trading firms (Kirloskar Electric, The New Commercial Mills / Gopi Fabrics, The Associated Cement Companies Limited, Ram Dev Dmir & Company, and others), each carrying the footer 'SWATANTRA SOUVENIR 1973'. No title page, table of contents, editorial credit, or substantive convention content appears in the rendered pages. The editorial and proceedings content begins beyond page 20 and is not visible in this chunk. --- ## [Primary work] Social and Economic Significance of Insurance in Modern Economic Life URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/social-and-economic-significance-of-insurance-in-modern-economic-life-prof-c-n-vakil-june-20-1970/ ### Summary Prof. C. N. Vakil delivers the third A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture (25 March 1970) on the place of insurance in a modern, risk-laden economy. He opens with a panoramic claim about modern economic life — that the scale, speed and interdependence of production, transport and international trade have multiplied the range of personal and property risks. Insurance, he argues, is the institutional device by which these risks are shifted, and without it the gigantic enterprises of the modern world and the international trade that stimulates them would be impossible. He carefully separates Life Insurance, a long-term contract that also mobilises household savings into a large investible pool, from General Insurance, a short-term, reinsurance-driven business whose accumulated funds are necessarily modest. From this exposition Vakil pivots to a critique of how the Indian state has applied Socialism to the insurance sector. He concedes that the goals attached to the word — equality of opportunity, removal of inequality, better distribution — are largely shared across parties, but warns that the chosen instrument, nationalisation, has gone unexamined.… ### Body # Social and Economic Significance of Insurance in Modern Economic Life *By Prof. C. N. Vakil* ## Summary Prof. C. N. Vakil delivers the third A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture (25 March 1970) on the place of insurance in a modern, risk-laden economy. He opens with a panoramic claim about modern economic life — that the scale, speed and interdependence of production, transport and international trade have multiplied the range of personal and property risks. Insurance, he argues, is the institutional device by which these risks are shifted, and without it the gigantic enterprises of the modern world and the international trade that stimulates them would be impossible. He carefully separates Life Insurance, a long-term contract that also mobilises household savings into a large investible pool, from General Insurance, a short-term, reinsurance-driven business whose accumulated funds are necessarily modest. From this exposition Vakil pivots to a critique of how the Indian state has applied Socialism to the insurance sector. He concedes that the goals attached to the word — equality of opportunity, removal of inequality, better distribution — are largely shared across parties, but warns that the chosen instrument, nationalisation, has gone unexamined. Public sector undertakings, he observes, run continuing losses borne by the taxpayer; large private firms are discouraged from growing, against the elementary principle of economies of scale; and the public sector, though nominally accountable to Parliament, is in practice controlled by a ruling majority that protects its decisions from scrutiny. He coins the phrase "the luxury of Socialism at the cost of the tax-payer" to describe this arrangement. Applying the same lens to the LIC, Vakil notes that the Corporation now commands roughly Rs. 1,260 crores of policy-holders' savings and has become a major financing agency. He calls for a fresh review of whether nationalisation has actually advanced Life Insurance compared with what the old private companies might have achieved, and presents tables showing that LIC investments are overwhelmingly directed into Central and State Government securities and public sector enterprises (about 81.7 per cent), with only 17.8 per cent reaching the private sector. He concedes the legitimacy of objectives such as housing finance, regional balance and aid to backward states, but insists that without convincing evidence of public good — measured against the interests of policy-holders — the socialist credentials of such a measure cannot be taken for granted. ## Key points - Modern industry, international trade and personal life all generate risks (death, accident, fire, shipwreck, storm) that only insurance can pool and shift, making it foundational to economic stability and freedom. - Vakil distinguishes Life Insurance — a long-term, savings-mobilising contract — from General Insurance, a one-year, reinsurance-dependent business that cannot accumulate large funds. - He treats the nationalisation of Life Insurance as a settled fact but presses the question of whether progress under the LIC has surpassed what private companies might have achieved. - He critiques the Fourth Plan and the policy climate for assigning the public sector a dominant position while diverting household savings into loss-making state undertakings whose burden falls on the taxpayer. - He warns that hostility to large private industrial units violates the elementary principle of economies of scale and discourages proven industrialists from expanding output. - He attacks asymmetric regulation: stringent Company Law over the private sector but only post-mortem parliamentary accountability for the public sector. - On LIC funds of about Rs. 1,260 crores, he shows that roughly 81.7 per cent of investments flow into the public sector (Central and State securities, PSUs, cooperatives) and only 17.8 per cent into the private sector. - He concludes that nationalisation cannot claim socialist legitimacy unless it produces convincing, demonstrable benefit for policy-holders and the common man. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Skill Ecosystem - Journey to Vocationalization of Education URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/skill-ecosystem-journey-to-vocalization-of-education-s-ramadorai/ ### Summary S. Ramadorai's lecture in memory of Nani A. Palkhivala, delivered at IIT Bombay on 25 September 2018 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, makes the case that India's neglect of vocational education has become an existential problem. He sets out the gap with hard numbers — only about 2.3% of India's workforce has received formal skills training, against 96% in South Korea, 80% in Japan, 75% in Germany, 68% in the UK and 40% in China — and argues that the country celebrated the power of the mind and denigrated the artistry of the hands, building the IIT's but starving the ITI's. The result is a workforce unready for the structural shifts now underway: a transition from agriculture to services, modernisation, globalisation, and a knowledge economy that absorbs millions of young entrants every year. The lecture opens with an editorial introduction by Sunil S.… ### Body # Skill Ecosystem - Journey to Vocationalization of Education *By S. Ramadorai* ## Summary S. Ramadorai's lecture in memory of Nani A. Palkhivala, delivered at IIT Bombay on 25 September 2018 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, makes the case that India's neglect of vocational education has become an existential problem. He sets out the gap with hard numbers — only about 2.3% of India's workforce has received formal skills training, against 96% in South Korea, 80% in Japan, 75% in Germany, 68% in the UK and 40% in China — and argues that the country celebrated the power of the mind and denigrated the artistry of the hands, building the IIT's but starving the ITI's. The result is a workforce unready for the structural shifts now underway: a transition from agriculture to services, modernisation, globalisation, and a knowledge economy that absorbs millions of young entrants every year. The lecture opens with an editorial introduction by Sunil S. Bhandare and a personal tribute to Palkhivala — the public intellectual whose Union Budget lectures Ramadorai recalls as the largest public meetings ever held on an economic subject — and then unfolds across linked themes: inequity ("this inequity does not come from capability issues, it comes from lack of opportunity"); the neglect of vocational training (the oldest IIT was set up in 1951, the ITIs only in 1969); Industry 4.0 and automation (Amazon's 100,000 robots, the auto sector's 58 robots per 10,000 workers, the projected Rs. 1 lakh crore Indian big-data market by 2025); and educational reform that broadbases curricula, embeds vocational training early, recognises the dignity of skilled artisans, and uses approaches like "Rangoli to teach geometry" to bring design thinking and the arts into school. Ramadorai then narrates how skill development became a national agenda after CK Prahalad's warning around 2007–8 that a frustrated, jobless youth population was the other face of India's demographic dividend. He describes his own role since 2011 chairing the National Skill Development Agency and the National Skill Development Corporation, and the institutional architecture now in place: a Skill Ministry, NSDC-spurred private training providers, Sector Skill Councils that draft National Occupation Standards, the National Skills Qualification Framework enabling equivalence between mainstream and vocational education, and the NSDA's quality oversight. Convergence with Skill India, Digital India, Start-up India and Make in India is expected to compound the impact over three to five years. The rendered pages close on concrete pilots and a comparative gesture. The Haryana schools pilot launched in 2012 across 40 schools and 4,000 students has now grown into a national model across 27 states and union territories, 8,398 schools and 7.5 lakh students drawing on 73 NSQC-cleared job roles across 21 sectors; Brazil's three-tiered Continued Formation / Technical / Technological system is presented as a parallel. At the university level, the National University Student's Skill Development Programme (NUSSD) at TISS reaches 20,000 students across five states, with TISS-SVE supporting 7,162 active students and over 27,000 graduates, while Tata STRIVE — set up in 2014 — has touched 2.5 lakh youth. The chunk ends as Ramadorai turns to MOOCs (Coursera, Edx, Khan Academy) as instruments of opportunity equity; the remainder of the booklet is past the rendered pages. ## Key points - Only about 2.3% of India's workforce has formal skills training versus South Korea 96%, Japan 80%, Germany 75%, UK 68% and China 40% — the central diagnostic figure of the lecture. - India built the IIT's (Kharagpur, 1951) but neglected the ITI's (first founded only in 1969); Ramadorai's pithy formulation is that we celebrated the power of the mind and denigrated the artistry of the hands. - Inequity in India is framed as a problem of opportunity, not capability — illustrated with Oxfam's finding that the richest 1% hold 73% of the wealth generated in 2017. - Industry 4.0 and automation make the vocational gap existential: 58 robots per 10,000 workers in the auto industry, an estimated Rs. 1 lakh crore big-data market in India by 2025, and Amazon already running 100,000 robots — roughly one in five of its employees. - The author's prescription is to embed vocational training early, broadbase curricula (e.g. Rangoli to teach geometry), and have universities launch non-traditional degrees like BA in Retail, BSc in Environment, BCom in Logistics. - Skill development is now institutionally anchored: a Skill Ministry, NSDC, Sector Skill Councils with National Occupation Standards, the National Skills Qualification Framework, and the NSDA — converging with Skill India, Digital India, Start-up India and Make in India. - Concrete pilots show traction: the NSDC–MHRD–Haryana school model now covers 8,398 schools and 7.5 lakh students across 27 states/UTs; NUSSD at TISS reaches 20,000 students; Tata STRIVE has impacted 2.5 lakh youth. - The lecture is framed as a tribute to Nani A. Palkhivala, whose view that education's role is to enlighten understanding and enrich character is invoked as the moral horizon of the skill agenda. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] "Social Control" Over Commercial Banks URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/social-control-over-commercial-banks/ ### Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in late 1966, this 16-page booklet is a compact polemic against the Indian National Congress's then-mooted 'social control' over commercial banks, which the Forum reads as a euphemism for staged nationalisation. The pamphlet is assembled rather than authored: it opens with a syndicated article by the pseudonymous 'Candidus' reproduced from the Amrit Bazar Patrika of 15 September 1966, followed by a Times of India piece (7 October 1966) by A. S. Bhaskar, Financial Editor of that paper, and a resolution adopted by the Reserve Bank of India Employees' Association in Bombay in July 1964 opposing nationalisation. The remainder collects letters to the editor — from S. N. Iyer in Madras, S. G. Subramanian in Tirunelveli, N. Goyal in Ganganagar, and Taradas Dutt in Calcutta — alongside excerpted statements from Burma's Premier U Nu, the Soviet economist V. Tyagunenko, and the 1965 Kenyan government paper African Socialism and its Application to Planning in Kenya. The booklet is bookended by epigraphs from Eugene Black and A. D.… ### Body # "Social Control" Over Commercial Banks *By CANDIDUS* ## Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in late 1966, this 16-page booklet is a compact polemic against the Indian National Congress's then-mooted 'social control' over commercial banks, which the Forum reads as a euphemism for staged nationalisation. The pamphlet is assembled rather than authored: it opens with a syndicated article by the pseudonymous 'Candidus' reproduced from the Amrit Bazar Patrika of 15 September 1966, followed by a Times of India piece (7 October 1966) by A. S. Bhaskar, Financial Editor of that paper, and a resolution adopted by the Reserve Bank of India Employees' Association in Bombay in July 1964 opposing nationalisation. The remainder collects letters to the editor — from S. N. Iyer in Madras, S. G. Subramanian in Tirunelveli, N. Goyal in Ganganagar, and Taradas Dutt in Calcutta — alongside excerpted statements from Burma's Premier U Nu, the Soviet economist V. Tyagunenko, and the 1965 Kenyan government paper African Socialism and its Application to Planning in Kenya. The booklet is bookended by epigraphs from Eugene Black and A. D. Shroff. The core economic argument runs as follows: nationalisation does not create new resources; it merely transfers existing ones, and in doing so substitutes the bureaucratic rigidities of state ownership for the discipline of private finance. Candidus marshals figures from 1964-65 — total deposits of Rs. 2,610.22 crores, of which Rs. 727.60 crores were already invested in government securities, and a Rs. 260-crore contraction in bank credit in 1965-66 — to show that the public sector is in fact already a heavy claimant on bank resources, and that further claims would 'starve' the productive sector. Bhaskar argues that the Congress phrase 'social control' is dangerously elastic, ranging from tighter supervision to outright nationalisation, and that such uncertainty itself is corrosive to a banking system that 'cannot function best in a climate of uncertainty'. The reader letters form a second register: anecdotal indictments of the Life Insurance Corporation, the State Trading Corporation, and state electricity boards, framing public-sector enterprise as synonymous with red tape, indifference, and (in N. Goyal's words) 'incompetent and corrupt hands that are eating into the national economy like the termites'. The booklet's closing international section borrows authority from unlikely quarters — a socialist Burmese premier confessing 'blunders', a Soviet economist counselling case-by-case caution, and a Kenyan ruling-party document warning that nationalisation 'would discourage additional private investment'. The compendium's argumentative spine is that 'social control' is bad economics dressed as good politics, and that the proper alternative is a comprehensive inquiry of the kind urged by T. A. Pai, then chairman of the Food Corporation. ## Key points - Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet (Bombay, 1966) responding to Congress proposals for 'social control' over banks and renewed Lok Sabha talk of nationalisation. - Lead article by 'Candidus' (Amrit Bazar Patrika, 15 Sept 1966) argues that nationalisation creates no new resources, citing 1964-65 deposit and credit-contraction figures to show banks already heavily fund the public sector. - A. S. Bhaskar (Times of India, 7 Oct 1966) attacks the vagueness of 'social control', noting that no Congress spokesman at the AICC's Ernakulam session had defined the phrase, and that uncertainty itself damages banking. - Reproduces the Reserve Bank of India Employees' Association Bombay resolution of 3 July 1964 dissociating itself from the campaign for nationalisation. - Compiles reader letters from S. N. Iyer, S. G. Subramanian, N. Goyal and Taradas Dutt indicting LIC, state electricity boards and the State Trading Corporation as evidence that public-sector expansion breeds inefficiency. - International section quotes Burma's Premier U Nu admitting to nationalisation 'blunders', Soviet economist V. Tyagunenko counselling caution, and the 1965 Kenyan paper African Socialism warning that nationalisation reduces growth. - Endorses T. A. Pai's proposal for a broad-based New Delhi committee to undertake a comprehensive review of rural, commercial and industrial credit before any structural change. - Closes with A. D. Shroff's aphorism — 'Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives' — restating the Forum's founding creed. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/social-entrepreneurship-dr-mrs-indu-shahani-april-4-2009/ ### Summary Indu Shahani's twentieth Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture, delivered on 15 December 2008 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in April 2009, makes the case that social entrepreneurship — the disciplined application of entrepreneurial tools to large-scale social problems — is the most promising response to the limits of charity, philanthropy and state provision. Shahani opens with the story that drew her into the subject: shortly after becoming the 110th Sheriff of Mumbai she was approached by two returnees from England who proposed the "Dial 1298 for Ambulance" service, a cross-subsidy ambulance network modelled on the London Ambulance Service that has grown from two to fifty-one vehicles in three years. She defines a social entrepreneur as one who, unlike a business entrepreneur, measures success in terms of impact on society, and sketches an operational framework: a public good delivered to those who cannot otherwise access it; both the founder and the organisation acting as catalysts of change; and the founder eventually morphing into a figurehead for a wider movement. The lecture roams across historical exemplars (Susan B.… ### Body # SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP *By Dr. (Mrs.) Indu Shahani* ## Summary Indu Shahani's twentieth Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture, delivered on 15 December 2008 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in April 2009, makes the case that social entrepreneurship — the disciplined application of entrepreneurial tools to large-scale social problems — is the most promising response to the limits of charity, philanthropy and state provision. Shahani opens with the story that drew her into the subject: shortly after becoming the 110th Sheriff of Mumbai she was approached by two returnees from England who proposed the "Dial 1298 for Ambulance" service, a cross-subsidy ambulance network modelled on the London Ambulance Service that has grown from two to fifty-one vehicles in three years. She defines a social entrepreneur as one who, unlike a business entrepreneur, measures success in terms of impact on society, and sketches an operational framework: a public good delivered to those who cannot otherwise access it; both the founder and the organisation acting as catalysts of change; and the founder eventually morphing into a figurehead for a wider movement. The lecture roams across historical exemplars (Susan B. Anthony, Florence Nightingale, Maria Montessori, Margaret Sanger, John Muir, Jean Monnet, Vinoba Bhave) and contemporary cases (Verghese Kurien's Amul, Muhammad Yunus's Grameen Bank, Dr. V.'s Aravind Eye Care, Bunker Roy's Barefoot College, Ela Bhatt's SEWA, Vikram Akula's SKS Microfinance, HUL's Project Shakti, and Dhruv Lakra's Mirakle Couriers). Shahani frames the moment as one in which corporations, NGOs and citizen groups are converging on hybrid for-profit / non-profit models that combine, in Peter Drucker's phrase, business discipline with social mission. She quotes C. K. Prahalad's bottom-of-the-pyramid thesis and Hilde Schwab's Schwab Foundation work, argues that business schools must absorb social entrepreneurship into their curricula (citing Gregory Dees), and closes by urging India's youth to lead the way — capitalism, she contends, is the efficient creator of wealth, socialism the more equitable distributor, and a marriage of the two is desirable provided it is built on integrity and transparency. The booklet also carries an editor's note by S. S. Bhandare and a tribute biography of the lecture's namesake, the Bombay diamond and textile industrialist Bhogilal Leherchand (1894–), who is described as a staunch nationalist close to Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. ## Key points - Distinguishes a social entrepreneur (measures success by societal impact) from a business entrepreneur (measures profits, growth, diversification), while insisting both operate within an entrepreneurial framework of innovation and self-sustainability. - Uses the Mumbai "Dial 1298 for Ambulance" service — a cross-subsidy model where private hospital calls subsidise government and below-poverty-line calls — as the personal case study that drew Shahani into the field as Sheriff of Mumbai. - Surveys historical and global exemplars (Anthony, Nightingale, Montessori, Sanger, Muir, Monnet, Vinoba Bhave) and Indian cases (Amul, SEWA, Aravind Eye Care, Barefoot College, SKS Microfinance, HUL Project Shakti, Mirakle Couriers). - Endorses C. K. Prahalad's bottom-of-the-pyramid thesis and Peter Drucker's claim that "it profits us to profit the non-profits", arguing hybrid for-profit / non-profit models are the future. - Calls on business schools and corporates to embed social entrepreneurship in MBA curricula (citing Gregory Dees) and praises corporate schemes such as the Tata International Social Entrepreneurship Scheme and the Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation's Social Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. - Concludes that capitalism efficiently creates wealth and socialism more equitably distributes it, and that a synthesis of the two — disciplined by integrity, capability and transparency — is the right paradigm for social ventures. - Appended biography of Bhogilal Leherchand (b.16 April 1894), the Bombay diamond and textile-mill industrialist whose motto was "simple living and high thinking", a nationalist close to Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] SOCIAL FORESTRY FOR INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/social-forestry-for-india-y-m-l-sharma-october-14-1976/ ### Summary Y. M. L. Sharma, a retired Chief Conservator of Forests for Karnataka and visiting professor of Farm Forestry at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, uses this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet to make the case that forestry must be reconceived as a basic developmental asset on par with power, irrigation and agriculture. He opens with a survey of India's forest endowment — sixteen major forest types covering 22.7 per cent of the country, 93 per cent state-owned, much of it degraded — and contrasts the country's per-hectare forest revenue (Rs 21.50 gross, Rs 11.50 net) with West Germany (Rs 565/130), Switzerland (Rs 494/190) and Austria, to show how dramatically India under-invests in and under-realises its forest wealth. The booklet's central argument is that 'production forestry' alone — the National Commission on Agriculture's plan to raise one lakh hectares of manmade forests a year at Rs 242 crores in the first decade — will not meet the country's swelling demands for fuel wood, fodder, manure leaf and small timber.… ### Body # SOCIAL FORESTRY FOR INDIA *By Y. M. L. Sharma, IFS (Retd)* ## Summary Y. M. L. Sharma, a retired Chief Conservator of Forests for Karnataka and visiting professor of Farm Forestry at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, uses this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet to make the case that forestry must be reconceived as a basic developmental asset on par with power, irrigation and agriculture. He opens with a survey of India's forest endowment — sixteen major forest types covering 22.7 per cent of the country, 93 per cent state-owned, much of it degraded — and contrasts the country's per-hectare forest revenue (Rs 21.50 gross, Rs 11.50 net) with West Germany (Rs 565/130), Switzerland (Rs 494/190) and Austria, to show how dramatically India under-invests in and under-realises its forest wealth. The booklet's central argument is that 'production forestry' alone — the National Commission on Agriculture's plan to raise one lakh hectares of manmade forests a year at Rs 242 crores in the first decade — will not meet the country's swelling demands for fuel wood, fodder, manure leaf and small timber. Sharma draws on Jack Westoby's distinction between production forestry and social forestry to argue that the latter — trees grown on village commons, farm margins, canal banks, railway and power-line corridors, foreshores of tanks and reservoirs, eroded lands and sand dunes for the direct benefit of nearby communities — must be pursued aggressively. Without it, he warns, 22 million tonnes of cowdung a year will continue to be burnt for fuel instead of returned to soil, and agricultural residues like bagasse, paddy straw and groundnut husk will be diverted from industry to the hearth. A programmatic middle section sketches a concrete pattern of planting for dry and wet land — Tamarind, Jack, Sapota, Eucalyptus/Casuarina, Glyricidia, Pongamia, Sesbania, Siris, neem, Acacia, bamboo and sandalwood — and projects that farm forestry on India's 136 million hectares of dry land and 30 million hectares of irrigated land could yield, over thirty years, 375 million tonnes of fuel, 1,000 million m³ of timber, 500 million tonnes of manure leaf, 100 million tonnes of fodder and 25 million tonnes of pulpwood. Sharma calls for an independent state-level Department of Social Forestry and Environment, points to Karnataka's farm-forestry experiment around Bangalore as a working example, and recommends that the State foot part of the bill since the benefits accrue to the country at large. ## Key points - India's forest area (22.7% of land) is largely state-owned (93%) and degraded, with about 60% lying in scanty-rainfall zones and only 0.2% of the rural workforce engaged in forestry. - Per-hectare forest revenue and investment in India lag dramatically behind Austria, the UK, West Germany, Switzerland, Japan and Korea — Sharma's headline data point for under-utilisation. - The National Commission on Agriculture's production-forestry programme alone cannot meet rising demand for industrial wood (projected to rise from 8.92 to 41 million m³ by 1990) or fuel wood (shortage of 21 million tonnes by 1980-81). - Sharma adopts Jack Westoby's distinction between production forestry (industrial/household wood) and social forestry (community protection and recreation benefits) and argues both must be funded. - Social forestry would substitute for the 22 million tonnes of cowdung burnt as fuel in 1974-75 and free agricultural residues (bagasse, paddy straw, groundnut husk, castor stalks) for industry. - The booklet proposes a six-pronged social-forestry programme: farm forestry, extension forestry on village commons, afforestation of canal banks, railway tracks, high-tension-line corridors, roadsides, tank/reservoir foreshores, and reclamation of eroded lands, sand dunes and mining areas. - A suggested species-and-spacing pattern integrates forestry with agriculture and horticulture, projecting 375 million tonnes of fuel and 1,000 million m³ of timber over 30 years from dry and irrigated land combined. - Sharma recommends an independent state-level Department of Social Forestry and Environment, citing Karnataka farmers near Bangalore raising Casuarina and Eucalyptus for the city's fuel needs as a working model. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] SOCIAL INSURANCE IN INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/social-insurance-in-india-b-p-adarkar-june-22-1973/ ### Summary Delivered on 22 June 1973 as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture on Insurance, this is Prof. B. P. Adarkar's retrospective on the social insurance system whose foundations he himself laid in 1944 with his Report on Health Insurance — the document Sardar Patel famously dubbed the work of the 'chhota Beveridge.' Adarkar opens with a striking personal grievance: that the Indian 'Steel Frame' bureaucracy effectively ejected him from his own scheme, terminated his contract in 1946, and similarly drove out his successor Dr. C. L. Katial in 1953 — a pattern he generalises into his 'favourite dictum that In India, it is not Science but Nescience that rules.' The rendered chapters define the scope of social insurance (drawing on Beveridge's 'Five Giants' and ILO doctrine), distinguish it from social assistance, and chart the progress of Indian schemes since 1952. Adarkar walks through the Employees' State Insurance Scheme (ESIS), the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF), the Coal Mines and Assam Tea Plantations Provident Fund Schemes, and lay-off/retrenchment compensation, with detailed statistics on coverage growth — ESIS alone now serving 16.7 million beneficiaries.… ### Body # SOCIAL INSURANCE IN INDIA *By Prof. B. P. ADARKAR* ## Summary Delivered on 22 June 1973 as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture on Insurance, this is Prof. B. P. Adarkar's retrospective on the social insurance system whose foundations he himself laid in 1944 with his Report on Health Insurance — the document Sardar Patel famously dubbed the work of the 'chhota Beveridge.' Adarkar opens with a striking personal grievance: that the Indian 'Steel Frame' bureaucracy effectively ejected him from his own scheme, terminated his contract in 1946, and similarly drove out his successor Dr. C. L. Katial in 1953 — a pattern he generalises into his 'favourite dictum that In India, it is not Science but Nescience that rules.' The rendered chapters define the scope of social insurance (drawing on Beveridge's 'Five Giants' and ILO doctrine), distinguish it from social assistance, and chart the progress of Indian schemes since 1952. Adarkar walks through the Employees' State Insurance Scheme (ESIS), the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF), the Coal Mines and Assam Tea Plantations Provident Fund Schemes, and lay-off/retrenchment compensation, with detailed statistics on coverage growth — ESIS alone now serving 16.7 million beneficiaries. He then frames the progress as three phases (Initial Planning 1942–48, Structural Foundation 1948–52, Expansion since 1952) and reviews three major investigations: the V. K. R. Menon Study Group (1957–58), the C. R. Pattabhi Raman ESI Review Committee (1963–66), and the P. B. Gajendragadkar National Commission on Labour (1969). The rendered pages end inside Chapter IV's appraisal of ESIS, where Adarkar levels sharp criticisms: the ESI Corporation is 'over-administered and underfinanced by the Central Government,' the board is bloated by State-wise representation, employees and employers are under-represented despite paying for most of the scheme, and — most galling to him — the Centre, after 1953, makes no contribution of any kind to the ESI Fund, even as it preaches socialism and a 'socialistic pattern of society.' The chunk closes mid-argument as he turns to the contribution structure. ## Key points - Adarkar designed the original 1944 Indian health insurance scheme and was nicknamed the 'chhota Beveridge' by Sardar Patel; he treats this lecture as both a memorial and a settling of accounts. - He argues social insurance is not a luxury India cannot afford — quoting Beveridge that 'the poorer you are, the more you need it' — and that piecewise schemes can later be welded into a Beveridge-style comprehensive plan. - Detailed statistics document the growth of ESIS (from 120,000 employees in Delhi and Kanpur in 1952 to 4.59 million covered and 16.7 million beneficiaries by 31.3.1972) and the EPF (from 1.2 million to 5.7 million subscribers). - He periodises Indian social insurance into three phases — Initial Planning (1942–48), Structural Foundation (1948–52), Expansion (1952 onward) — anchored to specific Acts and committees. - He summarises three major investigative committees: the V. K. R. Menon Study Group (1957–58) recommending unification of ESI and EPF, the C. R. Pattabhi Raman ESI Review Committee (1963–66) with 176 recommendations, and the P. B. Gajendragadkar National Commission on Labour (1969). - The appraisal of ESIS faults the Corporation as 'over-administered and underfinanced' by the Centre, bloated by State-wise representation, and dominated by officials while employees and employers underwrite the scheme. - Adarkar reserves his sharpest criticism for the Central Government's withdrawal of all contributions to ESI after 1953, contrasting this with its rhetoric of socialism and a 'socialistic pattern of society.' - A recurring polemical thread is the failure to give the expert his 'rightful place,' replaced by 'instant government' from dilettante officials advising 'half-educated Ministers' — a planning-state critique grounded in personal experience. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Socialism and Poverty URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/socialism-and-poverty-c-r-irani-10-january-1971/ ### Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture at Calcutta on 27 October 1970 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in January 1971, C. R. Irani's address traces the word 'Socialism' from its early-nineteenth-century origins to its uses in independent India. Irani walks the audience through the founding figures — Robert Owen, P. J. Proudhon, Ferdinand LaSalle, Louis Blanc, and the Fabians, particularly George Bernard Shaw — to argue that early Socialism was a moral protest against the abuses of the Industrial Revolution, never a finite economic doctrine. He treats Karl Marx's intervention as a rupture rather than a continuation: Marx hardened a humanist protest into rigid dogma, despised the peasantry, and bequeathed prophecies that subsequent history has falsified. Irani leans heavily on Milovan Djilas's account of the 'New Class' to argue that twentieth-century Communism produced not the withering of the State but its capture by a privileged bureaucratic minority. The second half of the lecture turns to India. Irani contends that the country's central problem is not distribution but production: dividing existing wealth would only spread poverty.… ### Body # Socialism and Poverty *By C. R. Irani* ## Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture at Calcutta on 27 October 1970 and published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in January 1971, C. R. Irani's address traces the word 'Socialism' from its early-nineteenth-century origins to its uses in independent India. Irani walks the audience through the founding figures — Robert Owen, P. J. Proudhon, Ferdinand LaSalle, Louis Blanc, and the Fabians, particularly George Bernard Shaw — to argue that early Socialism was a moral protest against the abuses of the Industrial Revolution, never a finite economic doctrine. He treats Karl Marx's intervention as a rupture rather than a continuation: Marx hardened a humanist protest into rigid dogma, despised the peasantry, and bequeathed prophecies that subsequent history has falsified. Irani leans heavily on Milovan Djilas's account of the 'New Class' to argue that twentieth-century Communism produced not the withering of the State but its capture by a privileged bureaucratic minority. The second half of the lecture turns to India. Irani contends that the country's central problem is not distribution but production: dividing existing wealth would only spread poverty. He quotes Jawaharlal Nehru's Kathmandu admission that 'Socialism in a poor country only distributes poverty' to argue that India's official creed has been pursued in defiance of its author's own caveat, with the result that 'Socialism has become a dirty word' and an Indian New Class has consolidated behind the licensing and controls regime. He then applies Gandhi's talisman — recall the face of the poorest and helpless man — to a battery of empirical tests: per-capita income at constant prices, food-grain and milk availability, the cost of living, exports, employment, and the comparative distribution of national income against Norway, France and West Germany. The statistics are uniformly indicting. Per-capita income at constant prices was lower in 1968/69 than in 1960/61; food-grain availability had fallen from 394 to 438 grammes per head (sic); the licence-permit raj had become, in the Central Vigilance Commissioner Subimal Dutt's phrase, 'a happy hunting ground for the corrupt and the dishonest'; exports were short of the Fourth Plan target by 11 per cent; the back-log of unemployment had grown across three Plan periods even as the Fourth Plan document quietly dropped any mention of the figure. Throughout, Irani's polemical move is to insist that nationalisation, controls and Socialist rhetoric have neither produced wealth nor equalised it — they have instead empowered an unaccountable administrative class and stifled the productive capacity that alone can banish poverty. The rendered chunk closes mid-argument on unemployment statistics, with the lecture's prescriptive conclusions still to come. ## Key points - Frames Socialism historically as a nineteenth-century humanist reaction to the Industrial Revolution rather than as an economic system, citing Owen, Proudhon, LaSalle, Louis Blanc and the Fabians. - Treats Karl Marx as the figure who hardened a fluid set of principles into rigid dogma, and uses Professor Parkinson's biographical critique to argue Marx lacked any practical experience of the world. - Relies on Milovan Djilas's 'New Class' thesis to argue that Communism in practice produces a privileged bureaucratic minority rather than emancipation of workers or peasants. - Argues that India's core problem is the production of wealth, not its distribution: dividing existing wealth among the population would only redistribute poverty. - Invokes Nehru's Kathmandu admission that 'Socialism in a poor country only distributes poverty' to charge that Indian policy has ignored its own architect's caveat. - Marshals data — per-capita income at constant prices falling between 1960/61 and 1968/69, declining milk and edible-oil consumption, modest food-grain and cotton-cloth gains — to indict twenty years of Socialist planning. - Identifies industrial licensing, the regulatory apparatus and 'speed money' (citing CVC Subimal Dutt) as the mechanism through which an Indian 'New Class' has entrenched itself. - Closes the rendered portion by pivoting to unemployment, noting that the back-log grew across the first three Plans and that the Fourth Plan document drops the figure entirely. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] SOCIALISM—HAS IT BECOME A DOCTRINE OF THE PAST? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/socialism-has-it-become-a-doctrine-of-the-past-by-ad-shroff/ ### Summary A. D. Shroff's pamphlet, issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise, mounts a brisk polemic against the Indian socialist consensus of the late 1950s. Shroff opens by inverting the familiar charge that free-enterprise advocates are 'out of date': in his telling, it is the Indian socialists and communists who cling to dogmas that even Austria, Yugoslavia and the United Kingdom's own Labour Party have begun to discard. To make that case he marshals a string of testimonies from senior British Labour figures — Clement Attlee, Aneurin Bevan, R. H. S. Crossman, Norman Dodds, Francis Noel-Baker, and the economist Thomas Balogh — each conceding that nationalisation had failed to deliver on its theoretical promises and had often left workers and consumers worse off than under private industry. Shroff then turns the lens onto India. He argues that the country's public-sector enterprises, far from being more humane or efficient than private firms, have generated a bureaucratic class he calls 'Chota Hitlers' — officials so convinced of their own indispensability that they cannot conceive of the private sector outperforming them.… ### Body # SOCIALISM—HAS IT BECOME A DOCTRINE OF THE PAST? *By A. D. Shroff* ## Summary A. D. Shroff's pamphlet, issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise, mounts a brisk polemic against the Indian socialist consensus of the late 1950s. Shroff opens by inverting the familiar charge that free-enterprise advocates are 'out of date': in his telling, it is the Indian socialists and communists who cling to dogmas that even Austria, Yugoslavia and the United Kingdom's own Labour Party have begun to discard. To make that case he marshals a string of testimonies from senior British Labour figures — Clement Attlee, Aneurin Bevan, R. H. S. Crossman, Norman Dodds, Francis Noel-Baker, and the economist Thomas Balogh — each conceding that nationalisation had failed to deliver on its theoretical promises and had often left workers and consumers worse off than under private industry. Shroff then turns the lens onto India. He argues that the country's public-sector enterprises, far from being more humane or efficient than private firms, have generated a bureaucratic class he calls 'Chota Hitlers' — officials so convinced of their own indispensability that they cannot conceive of the private sector outperforming them. He cites the gulf between scheme estimates and outcomes at the Bhilai and Rourkela steel plants, the army of foreign technicians employed there, and the cost overruns of public projects as evidence that the dirigiste model is delivering 'typical bureaucratic phenomena' rather than rapid development. He contrasts this with the Tatas' expansion, which made do with a far smaller cadre of American technicians. The pamphlet closes on a note of cautious optimism: Shroff sees a growing constituency in India that is alive to the threat socialism poses to individual freedom and the democratic way of life, and he urges his readers to keep voicing dissent 'without fear or favour' until 'the day of deliverance from the horrors of a socialist society' arrives. Page 4 is a Forum of Free Enterprise membership pitch and imprint, naming M. R. Pai as the publisher. ## Key points - Shroff frames Indian socialists as the ones 'out of date,' citing Austria, Yugoslavia and Britain's own retreat from nationalisation dogma. - He stacks his case with quotations from British Labour figures (Attlee, Bevan, Crossman, Dodds, Noel-Baker) and the socialist economist Balogh, all conceding that nationalisation had not lived up to its theory. - Balogh is quoted reversing the familiar moral indictment of private industry: nationalised industry's treatment of its own workers is 'if anything, worse.' - Shroff coins the phrase 'Chota Hitlers' to describe Indian bureaucrats whose arrogance, in his view, blocks the private sector from doing the developmental work it is capable of. - He uses Bhilai (700 Russian technicians) and Rourkela (800 German technicians) as comparators against the Tatas' expansion, which employed 115 American technicians from Kaisers — public-sector projects, he claims, exceed estimates 'beyond reasonable measure.' - He reports that the Prime Minister himself acknowledged the private sector's competence, citing Tatas' 50 years of experience, before later defending the public sector against journalists' criticism. - Shroff sees a rising Indian constituency dissatisfied with the dirigiste consensus and urges them to dissent openly until 'the day of deliverance from the horrors of a socialist society' arrives. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Solar Energy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/solar-energy-dr-rashmi-mayur-august-14-1978/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet prints two articles — 'Solar Energy' (pp. 1–7) and 'Space City & Solar Energy' (pp. 8–11) — both drawn from a single public lecture delivered by Dr. Rashmi Mayur in Bombay on 3 July 1978. Mayur, then Director of the Urban Development Institute and a member of the Space City Project Council, frames the late 1970s as a unique moment in the earth's 4.6-billion-year history: human technological civilisation has in two million years become a force on the scale of geological change, and every fragment of that civilisation runs on a single substrate — energy. With conventional fossil reserves projected to be exhausted by about 2010 A.D., and with 90% of India's 625 million people living an unrelieved 'energy crisis' while Americans consume a hundred times more energy per head, the lecture turns to alternatives. Mayur surveys the options open to India and finds each lacking on its own. Coal reserves are large but badly located and dirty, requiring 500 Mwe coal-fired plants whose ash produces 20,000 truckloads of ash and serious health hazards. Hydro could meet only 60% of demand even if fully developed.… ### Body # Solar Energy *By Dr. Rashmi Mayur* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet prints two articles — 'Solar Energy' (pp. 1–7) and 'Space City & Solar Energy' (pp. 8–11) — both drawn from a single public lecture delivered by Dr. Rashmi Mayur in Bombay on 3 July 1978. Mayur, then Director of the Urban Development Institute and a member of the Space City Project Council, frames the late 1970s as a unique moment in the earth's 4.6-billion-year history: human technological civilisation has in two million years become a force on the scale of geological change, and every fragment of that civilisation runs on a single substrate — energy. With conventional fossil reserves projected to be exhausted by about 2010 A.D., and with 90% of India's 625 million people living an unrelieved 'energy crisis' while Americans consume a hundred times more energy per head, the lecture turns to alternatives. Mayur surveys the options open to India and finds each lacking on its own. Coal reserves are large but badly located and dirty, requiring 500 Mwe coal-fired plants whose ash produces 20,000 truckloads of ash and serious health hazards. Hydro could meet only 60% of demand even if fully developed. Nuclear power is capital-intensive, dependent on imported uranium (8 tons of it ordered from the United States by President Carter on 28 April 1978), and slow to scale — India has three reactors to the United States's sixty. Oil must be imported at ruinous cost. He settles on solar energy as the most promising long-term source for a 'country of the sun' with 260 clear days a year, citing Dr. Peter Glasser's satellite-mounted solar plant due by 1985 and listing a nine-point catalogue of immediate village-level applications: solar pumping, crop drying, water distillation, biogas slurry, mini-power plants of 5–50 kW, solar heaters and collectors, space cooking, ice-making, and bio-conversion of waste to fuel. The second article extends the argument beyond the planet. With world population heading toward 6.5–7 billion by 2000 A.D. and India alone approaching 950 million by century's end, Mayur insists that 'the limits of the planet cannot be the limits to India's development.' He reports the proposal — pursued by Dr. Gerard K. O'Neill of Princeton University — to build the first orbital city of 10,000 people by 2005 A.D. for about $10 billion, with construction material drawn from the moon and asteroids. The space-city would spin at 2 r.p.m. to simulate gravity, hold weather artificially constant, and beam solar electricity back to earth at less than 10% of the cost of terrestrial generation. He frames this not as escapism but as a moral frontier for a humanity in which two-thirds need not remain poor, closing with the Russian writer Tsiolkowsky's prophecy that humans will one day 'conquer the whole of solar space.' ## Key points - Frames the late 1970s as a unique moment in earth's history because human technological civilisation has, in two million years, become a planetary-scale geological force. - Treats energy as the universal substrate of life and civilisation, making the supply of energy the master problem of the age. - Reports a stark per-capita disparity: Americans consume roughly 100 times more energy per head than an average Indian farmer, while 90% of 625 million Indians live a permanent 'energy crisis'. - Projects exhaustion of conventional fossil reserves by 2010 A.D. and argues coal, hydro, nuclear and oil each fail on their own to bridge the gap for India. - Champions solar energy as the most promising perennial, non-polluting source for India, which receives an average of 260 clear days a year. - Cites Dr. Peter Glasser's satellite solar-power plant (industrial application expected by 1985) and offers a nine-point list of village-scale solar applications already feasible in India. - Extends the argument to space colonisation, reporting Dr. Gerard K. O'Neill's Princeton-led proposal to build a 10,000-person orbital city by 2005 A.D. for about $10 billion. - Closes by framing the space-city as a moral frontier — a route by which two-thirds of humanity need not remain poor — and invokes Tsiolkowsky to predict humanity's eventual conquest of solar space. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Socialism URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/socialism-k-santhanam-november-10-1970/ ### Summary This 28-page Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, dated 10 November 1970, gathers three essays on socialism by K. Santhanam (former Minister of State for Railways and Chairman of the Second Finance Commission), Dr. R. C. Cooper (Chartered Accountant and FFE Vice-President), and Prof. C. L. Gheevala (Secretary of the Indian Merchants' Chamber, Bombay). The contributions converge on a single argument: India's actually-existing socialism, organised around expanding State enterprise and nationalisation, has degenerated into State Capitalism — wasteful, bureaucratised, corruption-prone, and indifferent to its declared aims of full employment, equality, and social security. The volume is editorially polemical but draws on heterogeneous authorities — Marx and Engels are read historically rather than dismissed, while the contributors cite J. R. D. Tata's praise of Singapore, B. R. Shenoy on income redistribution, A. B. Shah on socialism's Indian patronage class, and the British revisionists Crosland and Crossman on the limits of nationalisation.… ### Body # Socialism ## Summary This 28-page Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, dated 10 November 1970, gathers three essays on socialism by K. Santhanam (former Minister of State for Railways and Chairman of the Second Finance Commission), Dr. R. C. Cooper (Chartered Accountant and FFE Vice-President), and Prof. C. L. Gheevala (Secretary of the Indian Merchants' Chamber, Bombay). The contributions converge on a single argument: India's actually-existing socialism, organised around expanding State enterprise and nationalisation, has degenerated into State Capitalism — wasteful, bureaucratised, corruption-prone, and indifferent to its declared aims of full employment, equality, and social security. The volume is editorially polemical but draws on heterogeneous authorities — Marx and Engels are read historically rather than dismissed, while the contributors cite J. R. D. Tata's praise of Singapore, B. R. Shenoy on income redistribution, A. B. Shah on socialism's Indian patronage class, and the British revisionists Crosland and Crossman on the limits of nationalisation. The cumulative case is that genuine socialist objectives — productive employment, social security, dispersed economic power — are better served by a regulated mixed economy with a strong private sector than by the steady extension of bureaucratic State ownership. ## Essays ### Socialism or State Capitalism? *By K. Santhanam* Santhanam opens the booklet by historicising the dispute between capitalism and socialism. He reconstructs the conditions of early industrialisation that produced Marx's doctrine — low agrarian wages, harsh factory conditions, surpluses appropriated by a tiny capitalist class — and argues that 20th-century capitalism in advanced countries has transformed itself almost into the opposite of its 19th-century form, with diffuse shareholder ownership, managerial control, and welfare-state taxation that redirects profits into social services. Soviet 'industrialisation' under Stalin, by contrast, simply substituted total State Capitalism for private capitalism, with the State assuming the role of a single, totalitarian capitalist. Applying this lens to India, Santhanam attacks the Planning Commission's habit of treating State Capitalism as identical to socialism. He concedes the State's necessary role in infrastructure (railways, posts, roads, irrigation) but condemns its proliferation into car and scooter manufacturing, hotels, sugar mills and textiles, where bureaucratic management produces neither efficiency nor genuine worker benefit. He calls instead for full employment on a living wage, free social services, and a comprehensive social-security system — pursued through wide decentralisation of economic initiative and active encouragement of private production rather than through nationalisation. - Capitalism and socialism must be re-examined because both have changed radically since Marx's time, with modern Western capitalism diffusing ownership through shareholders and redistributing surpluses through taxation. - Soviet 'socialism' under Stalin became total State Capitalism — the State acting as the sole, totalitarian capitalist — rather than a genuine emancipation of labour. - India's Planning Commission has wrongly equated State Capitalism with socialism by extending State undertakings into consumer industries (cars, scooters, hotels, textiles, sugar) where they are wasteful and inefficient. - True socialism, for Santhanam, means full employment on a living wage, free social services for all, and comprehensive social security — objectives State Capitalism in India has manifestly failed to deliver. - The path forward is wide decentralisation of economic initiative, active encouragement of private production, and concrete housing and employment programmes rather than further nationalisation. ### Twentieth Century Socialism *By Dr. R. C. Cooper* Cooper argues that socialism as a creed has not stood still since Marx, and that a distinct '20th Century Socialism' has emerged outside the Iron Curtain that India would do well to adopt. He distinguishes this modern conception from both 'classical capitalism' and '19th-century' socialism on three grounds: it no longer relies wholly on nationalisation of the means of production, it rejects Marxian class-warfare as the route to human upliftment, and it abandons absolute equality in favour of equality of opportunity and dispersed ownership. The Indian variant, by contrast, remains tethered to obsolete dogmas that have entrenched a corrupt nexus of politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen — a charge he pins on Prof. A. B. Shah — while B. R. Shenoy's work shows that nationalisation has actually transferred large incomes from middle and lower classes upward. The essay's argumentative centrepiece is a long comparison drawn from a recent speech of J. R. D. Tata, contrasting Singapore's growth miracle under pragmatic, pro-enterprise leadership with India's stagnation. Singapore, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Formosa, Thailand and Malaysia are presented as proof that prosperity follows when 'the business of the State is to govern and not trade'. Cooper closes by identifying nine features of 20th Century Socialism — primary reliance on private enterprise, removal of paralysing controls, hostility to confiscatory taxation, encouragement of private wealth-creation — and warns that India's Fourth Plan, on the Government's own figures, will leave 27 million people unemployed by 1975. - 20th Century Socialism has moved decisively away from nationalisation and class-war Marxism toward private enterprise, equality of opportunity, and dispersed ownership. - Indian socialism, by clinging to 19th-century dogmas, has produced a 'most loyal champion' class of corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen rather than genuine egalitarian outcomes. - Nationalisation in India, far from levelling incomes, has — as B. R. Shenoy has shown — transferred wealth from the middle and lower classes upward, with senior officials drawing 848 times the per capita income. - J. R. D. Tata's data on Singapore (and parallel evidence from Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Formosa, Thailand and Malaysia) demonstrates that prosperity tracks pragmatic pro-enterprise policy, not socialist rhetoric. - On the Government's own Fourth Plan figures, unemployment will reach 27 million by 1975, exposing the practical bankruptcy of India's State-led model. ### Socialist Dilemma *By Prof. C. L. Gheevala* Gheevala frames the socialist predicament as one of identification: socialists today increasingly accept that private enterprise, nationalisation, central planning and bureaucratisation are tools, not ends, and must be judged by results. Drawing on C. A. R. Crosland's evidence that Western capitalism has lifted living standards without delivering the catastrophic immiseration Marx predicted, he argues that the Marxian equation of socialism with collective ownership of production has been overtaken. The Socialist Union's 'Twentieth Century Socialism' is cited approvingly for treating the economy as a mixed system in which private spending and ownership and private enterprise have an indispensable, positive role — not as a relic to be tolerated but as a necessary check on the State and a guarantor of individual freedom. The essay's polemical edge falls on bureaucratic over-centralisation and what Gheevala, citing R. H. Crossman, calls the danger to liberty posed by a State apparatus whose authority must be increased to discipline the Public Sector itself. Echoing Gandhi's warning against the State as Leviathan and quoting John Jewkes on the 'creeping paralysis' of planning, he closes by invoking an 1846 Times warning — that 'the greatest tyranny has the smallest beginnings' — to make the case for eternal vigilance against the gradual capitulation of the planner-democrat to total planning. - Socialists are abandoning the doctrinaire identification of socialism with collective ownership and instead measuring it by employment, welfare and self-expression outcomes. - C. A. R. Crosland and the British Socialist Union demonstrate that modern capitalism has raised living standards without Marx's predicted collapse, so the Marxian thesis has 'become irrelevant'. - A genuine socialist economy must be a mixed one in which private enterprise plays a positive, indispensable role — not a tolerated relic — as a check on State power. - Bureaucratic over-centralisation produces inefficiency, debased culture and the concentration of unaccountable power, threatening the very freedoms socialism claims to defend. - Citing Gandhi, Jewkes, and an 1846 Times warning, Gheevala urges 'eternal vigilance' against the planner who 'starts as an ardent lover of freedom' but capitulates to total planning. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Some Aspects of Corporate Management URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/some-aspects-of-corporate-management-steve-dembicki-c-c-sutaria-krishna-basrur-july-1969/ ### Summary This July 1969 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects three short essays drawn from the Forum's 'New Horizons in Corporate Sector' lecture series, prefaced by an introduction that frames the corporate sector as decisive for India's industrial development and warns that company law, tax incidence, labour legislation and the general attitude of government and public toward business 'can impede or accelerate the growth of the corporate sector'. Steve Dembicki (a recently retired ILO Chief of Project) argues that India's growth gap is fundamentally a management gap and lays out a philosophy of management development; C. C. Sutaria (President of the Institute of Secretaries) makes a sustained defence of the managing agency system against the 1970 abolition, charging that the decision was driven by 'politics and ideologies rather than economic factors'; and Mrs. Krishna Basrur (Editor of the Consumer Guidance Society Bulletin) sets out the social responsibilities of management toward consumers — safety, honest workmanship, quality standards, continuity of supply — closing with a call for an industrialist's rather than a financier's outlook.… ### Body # Some Aspects of Corporate Management ## Summary This July 1969 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects three short essays drawn from the Forum's 'New Horizons in Corporate Sector' lecture series, prefaced by an introduction that frames the corporate sector as decisive for India's industrial development and warns that company law, tax incidence, labour legislation and the general attitude of government and public toward business 'can impede or accelerate the growth of the corporate sector'. Steve Dembicki (a recently retired ILO Chief of Project) argues that India's growth gap is fundamentally a management gap and lays out a philosophy of management development; C. C. Sutaria (President of the Institute of Secretaries) makes a sustained defence of the managing agency system against the 1970 abolition, charging that the decision was driven by 'politics and ideologies rather than economic factors'; and Mrs. Krishna Basrur (Editor of the Consumer Guidance Society Bulletin) sets out the social responsibilities of management toward consumers — safety, honest workmanship, quality standards, continuity of supply — closing with a call for an industrialist's rather than a financier's outlook. The volume's argumentative centre is a Forum-of-Free-Enterprise defence of the corporate sector as the engine of Indian economic development at a moment when government policy was tightening around it. ## Essays ### Management Development *By STEVE DEMBICKI* Steve Dembicki's short address argues that the gap between the United States and even economically advanced Europe — borrowing Servan-Schreiber's 'American Challenge' framing — is essentially a management gap and not a technological one, and that India's industrial development hinges on closing it. He insists that 'ordinary men are capable of being developed to give extraordinary performance', that authorities and institutions can supply climate and encouragement but learning is ultimately a personal act after formal education ends, and that the discipline rests on three sound principles: selecting the right people, placing them in the right jobs, and allowing them to grow in their own interests as well as the organisation's. The essay points the reader to a back-of-booklet list of seventeen recommended management titles for further study. - Frames India's development challenge as a management gap rather than a technological gap, citing Servan-Schreiber's 'The American Challenge'. - Asserts that ordinary people can be developed into extraordinary performers given the right climate, delegation and learning conditions. - Distinguishes formal academic training from the more important 'most important phase' of learning from actual experience under qualified managers. - Reduces effective management development to three principles: selecting the right people, placing them in the right jobs, and letting them grow for themselves and the organisation. - Curates seventeen Anglo-American management titles (Drucker, Galbraith, Sloan, McClelland, Carnegie, Servan-Schreiber and others) as a study list for Indian managers. ### Abolition of Managing Agency & Change in the Pattern of Company Management *By C. C. SUTARIA* C. C. Sutaria's address mounts a defence of the managing agency system on the eve of its statutory abolition in 1970, arguing that the Company Law Committee, the Joint-Stock Committee and the I. G. Patel inquiry committee all recommended mending rather than ending the system, and that 674 managing agents had financed, promoted and day-to-day-managed nearly all Indian industry at low cost because their remuneration was contingent on profit. He concedes some abuses but charges that Government has been 'guided by politics and ideologies rather than economic factors' and that the cure — costlier managing-director and consultancy substitutes, paid in fixed salaries outside the purview of Sections 198 and 309 of the Companies Act — 'will prove worse than the disease'. He warns that with a paucity of professional managerial talent in India, a 'sudden and hurried step' will damage industrial development and that the system may quietly return in another form, at greater cost. The essay closes with a short bibliography of company-law references. - Frames the 1970 abolition of the managing agency system as a politically driven decision against the advice of the Company Law Committee and the I. G. Patel inquiry committee, which urged 'hastening slowly'. - Argues the managing agency was uniquely Indian, inexpensive and efficient because remuneration was tied to net profits, giving agents a 'strong urge to maximise profits by optimum efficiency and economy'. - Credits managing agents with three functions — pioneering new industries, mobilising idle public capital, and providing day-to-day management — and with delivering returns the public sector has failed to provide. - Predicts that replacement by Boards of Directors or Managing Directors will be costlier because their fixed salaries fall outside the profit-link discipline and outside government remuneration control under Companies Act Sections 198 & 309. - Concludes that with a 'dearth of professional managers' the changeover risks halting industrial growth and that, history being a guide, the system may return 'in one form or other' at greatly increased cost. ### Social Responsibilities of Management Towards Consumers *By Mrs. KRISHNA BASRUR* Mrs. Krishna Basrur argues that businessmen's primary responsibility to consumers is safety — violated whenever foodstuffs are adulterated, electrical appliances are defective, toys carry toxic paint, cigarettes are glamorised to the young, cars are shoddily built or buildings collapse from poor materials — and she cites the free sale of Metanil yellow, a prohibited colouring sold as edible across Bombay and 'perhaps all over India', as a concrete example. She extends the duty to honest workmanship and quality control, presses for adoption of National Standards and certification of consumer goods, and rejects the industry argument that certification weakens brand names. She closes with a contrast that is the moral centre of the essay: India needs less of the 'financier's outlook' — quick returns, sellers' markets, exhausted markets abandoned — and more of the 'true industrialist's approach' who 'builds for the future' and 'works not with money, but with things bearing his name and with people'. - Defines consumer safety as the primary social responsibility of business and indicts adulteration, defective appliances, toxic toys, shoddy cars and unsafe construction. - Cites the open sale of Metanil yellow — a prohibited edible colouring — in Bombay as a concrete failure of consumer protection. - Argues for honest workmanship, strict quality control and adoption of National Standards in consumer goods, dismissing the 'certification weakens brand names' objection. - Calls for a joint consumer-trader body to investigate sharp practices and faults businesses for hoarding-style supply discontinuity that forces consumers into queues. - Closes with a normative contrast between the short-horizon 'financier's outlook' and the long-horizon 'true industrialist's approach' as the kind of free enterprise worth believing in. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] SOME CONTRADICTIONS IN THE PLAN URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/some-contradictions-in-the-plan-by-prof-cn-vakil-october-30-1956/ ### Summary Prof. C. N. Vakil's October 30, 1956 address to the Rotary Club of Bombay diagnoses what he sees as a series of internal contradictions in the Government of India's planning effort. He opens with an extended domestic analogy: just as a husband who outspends his income runs to generous friends or to bank overdrafts, the Government overspends its tax revenues and resorts to loans from the World Bank, Technical Assistance from the United Nations and the United States, and the Colombo Plan, while at home it papers over the shortfall with deficit financing. The visible symptoms — taxpayer discontent, complaints about the performance of schemes, dislocations between projects — flow, in his reading, from a basic want of balance. The body of the talk identifies two specific contradictions inside the Plan itself. The first is the neglect of agriculture as the supplier of food and raw materials for the industrial worker in the towns. Unless the farmer can both feed himself and generate a surplus, industrial growth cannot be sustained; agriculture, Vakil insists, must be made not merely economically sound but prosperous if industry is to advance.… ### Body # SOME CONTRADICTIONS IN THE PLAN *By By Prof. C. N. VAKIL* ## Summary Prof. C. N. Vakil's October 30, 1956 address to the Rotary Club of Bombay diagnoses what he sees as a series of internal contradictions in the Government of India's planning effort. He opens with an extended domestic analogy: just as a husband who outspends his income runs to generous friends or to bank overdrafts, the Government overspends its tax revenues and resorts to loans from the World Bank, Technical Assistance from the United Nations and the United States, and the Colombo Plan, while at home it papers over the shortfall with deficit financing. The visible symptoms — taxpayer discontent, complaints about the performance of schemes, dislocations between projects — flow, in his reading, from a basic want of balance. The body of the talk identifies two specific contradictions inside the Plan itself. The first is the neglect of agriculture as the supplier of food and raw materials for the industrial worker in the towns. Unless the farmer can both feed himself and generate a surplus, industrial growth cannot be sustained; agriculture, Vakil insists, must be made not merely economically sound but prosperous if industry is to advance. The second is the simultaneous push for heavy industry and cottage industry: energy and resources diverted into artificially maintained cottage units — to fill, for example, the mill-cloth vacuum the Plan itself created — undercut the very abundance of consumer goods that the Plan claims as its goal, and produce only the appearance of employment gains. Vakil closes on the question of price controls. Where the Plan tries to suspend the laws of demand and supply by physical controls without the social discipline such controls require, higher prices, internal difficulties and widespread discontent will upset the calculations of most of the Plan's schemes. The taxpayer, he warns, will find himself squeezed to the bone — his position worse, in the speech's parting line, than that of the husband who at least had the consolation of having pleased his wife. ## Key points - Vakil frames the Government's financial conduct through a domestic analogy: like an overspending husband, it leans on 'generous friends' — the World Bank, UN and US Technical Assistance Programmes, and the Colombo Plan — to bridge its shortfalls. - He identifies deficit financing as the 'desperate situation' equivalent of the household running into the red, and argues it lies behind the visible discontent among taxpayers and the dislocations between projects. - Industrial growth in India, in his view, cannot be achieved by neglecting agriculture; the farmer must produce both his own requirements and a marketable surplus for the towns, and agriculture must be made not merely sound but prosperous. - He flags the Plan's simultaneous emphasis on heavy industries and on cottage industries as 'an inherent contradiction' — artificially propping up cottage units to fill vacuums (such as in mill-cloth) the Plan itself created cannot be economically justified. - Resource diversion to cottage industries, he warns, produces only the 'supposed gains' of employment, with the ultimate gain in income lower than the low wage employment afforded to those in the cottage sector. - He treats the Plan's eight-million non-agricultural employment target as approximately the size of the additional workforce that population growth will create — leaving existing unemployment, partial employment and chronic disguised unemployment untouched. - The closing argument attacks physical price controls: governments do not like such controls, and unless India develops the social discipline they require, higher prices and widespread discontent will upset the Plan's calculations. - Vakil's parting image is that the taxpayer who pays for these contradictions will end up 'squeezed to the bone' — worse off than the spendthrift husband who at least pleased his wife. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Some Economic Aspects and Problems of Under-Developed Countries URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/some-economic-aspects-and-problems-prof-p-t-bauer-jan6-1959/ ### Summary These two lectures, delivered in Bombay on September 8 and 9, 1958 by P. T. Bauer (Smuts Reader in Commonwealth Studies at Cambridge) and printed by the Forum of Free Enterprise, mount a systematic dismantling of the development-economics orthodoxy of the late 1950s. Bauer's central target is the "vicious circle of poverty and stagnation" thesis advanced by Ragnar Nurkse, Gunnar Myrdal, Paul Samuelson and the wider United Nations literature, which inferred from low incomes that poor countries could not save, could not invest, and therefore could not grow without large-scale compulsory saving, state-led industrialisation and inter-governmental transfers.… ### Body # Some Economic Aspects and Problems of Under-Developed Countries *By Prof. P. T. BAUER* ## Summary These two lectures, delivered in Bombay on September 8 and 9, 1958 by P. T. Bauer (Smuts Reader in Commonwealth Studies at Cambridge) and printed by the Forum of Free Enterprise, mount a systematic dismantling of the development-economics orthodoxy of the late 1950s. Bauer's central target is the "vicious circle of poverty and stagnation" thesis advanced by Ragnar Nurkse, Gunnar Myrdal, Paul Samuelson and the wider United Nations literature, which inferred from low incomes that poor countries could not save, could not invest, and therefore could not grow without large-scale compulsory saving, state-led industrialisation and inter-governmental transfers. Bauer answers that the thesis is "manifestly invalid": the developed world was once under-developed, and large stretches of Asia, Africa and Latin America — Malaya, the Gold Coast, Nigeria, much of India and Pakistan, West Africa more generally — show rapid economic advance over the last half-century driven by Africans and Asians on their own lands, by penniless Chinese immigrants, by Indians in East Africa, and by the spread of the exchange economy through cash crops. The second half of the rendered pages turns to the policy corollaries that follow from rejecting the orthodoxy. Bauer attacks the "international demonstration effect" used to justify expenditure taxes and import restrictions, arguing that new wants and new goods actually stimulate saving, investment and the move out of subsistence rather than retarding capital formation. He defends the productivity of agriculture, fixed capital formation in tree crops such as rubber, cocoa and coffee, and the long time-horizons demonstrably taken by African and Asian smallholders — against the "allegedly inherent economic short-sightedness of the indigenous population." He closes the rendered pages by puncturing the cult of manufacturing industry, insisting that "manufacturing industry is simply one type of economic activity" with no inherent claim on resources, and that statistical correlations between industrialisation and high incomes confuse cause with effect. The booklet's polemical centre is that fundamentally defective ideas — vicious-circle reasoning, the demonstration-effect alarm, and the industrialisation fetish — "are unlikely to serve as a suitable basis for sane and effective economic policy," and that Indian planning has absorbed them deeply through the Planning Commission and the writings of cabinet ministers. ## Key points - Bauer rejects the 'vicious circle of poverty' thesis (Nurkse, Myrdal, Samuelson, U.N. literature) as logically confused and empirically refuted, since today's developed countries began as under-developed and many regions of Asia, Africa and Latin America have advanced rapidly without preconditions of large external capital. - He marshals concrete cases — Malaya, the Gold Coast (Ghana), Nigeria, West Africa generally, Indian and Chinese immigrant communities — to show that capital formation, exports and infrastructure have grown massively from very low bases over fifty to a hundred years. - Conventional per-capita national-income figures are dismissed as misleading instruments for measuring development in economies where population growth, falling mortality, the suppression of tribal warfare and the move from subsistence to exchange production are the dominant facts. - The 'international demonstration effect' argument used to justify expenditure taxes and import restrictions is inverted: knowledge of new goods and consumption patterns is a major stimulant to saving, investment and the spread of the money economy, not an obstacle to it. - Investment in agriculture and in tree crops (rubber, cocoa, tea, coffee) is a substantial form of fixed capital formation that orthodox accounts systematically ignore; its existence refutes the allegation that Africans and Asians cannot take a long view of economic affairs. - Bauer attacks the case for state-sponsored, accelerated industrialisation: high industrialisation in the West reflects shared causes with high income, not causation; surplus-population, terms-of-trade-deterioration and external-economy arguments are individually weak. - The booklet's framing claim is polemical: ideas dominating United Nations literature, ECAFE, the Planning Commission of India and the writings of Indian cabinet ministers are 'demonstrably wrong' and incapable of grounding sound policy. - A. D. Shroff's introduction (dated Bombay, 17 December 1958) frames the booklet as the Forum of Free Enterprise's contribution to Indian public debate, presenting Bauer's approach as 'fresh and invigorating' against the prevailing planning consensus. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] SOME LESSONS OF A DECADE OF PLANNING URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/some-lessons-of-a-decade-of-planning-by-prof-rk-amin-july-7-1961/ ### Summary Prof. R. K. Amin's address, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on April 13, 1961, audits the first decade of Indian planning and asks what could have been done better. He concedes real achievements — a 42% rise in national income between 1950 and 1960, roughly 20% growth in per capita income, substantial increases in industrial output and exports, infra-structural building (roads, railways, electricity, irrigation, ports, hospitals, schools, colleges), better statistics, and visible if uneven progress on agriculture and family planning. But the backlog of unemployment and under-employment has actually grown, the food problem has been a 'great part' of resource and policy attention, and an additional 18 million job-seekers are about to enter the labour market under the Third Plan. Against that ledger, Amin presses three lines of critique. First, the philosophy of planning has drifted: the original objective of a Welfare State and a Mixed Economy was quietly converted into a 'socialistic pattern of society' and then a 'socialist economy', while industrial policy now travels under the name of a 'pragmatic approach'.… ### Body # SOME LESSONS OF A DECADE OF PLANNING *By Prof. R. K. Amin* ## Summary Prof. R. K. Amin's address, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on April 13, 1961, audits the first decade of Indian planning and asks what could have been done better. He concedes real achievements — a 42% rise in national income between 1950 and 1960, roughly 20% growth in per capita income, substantial increases in industrial output and exports, infra-structural building (roads, railways, electricity, irrigation, ports, hospitals, schools, colleges), better statistics, and visible if uneven progress on agriculture and family planning. But the backlog of unemployment and under-employment has actually grown, the food problem has been a 'great part' of resource and policy attention, and an additional 18 million job-seekers are about to enter the labour market under the Third Plan. Against that ledger, Amin presses three lines of critique. First, the philosophy of planning has drifted: the original objective of a Welfare State and a Mixed Economy was quietly converted into a 'socialistic pattern of society' and then a 'socialist economy', while industrial policy now travels under the name of a 'pragmatic approach'. Second, the technique of planning has become rigid, top-heavy, and politicised — site selection of irrigation and other projects is driven by 'political pressure', the Planning Commission's own Panel of Economists has been disregarded, Prof. B. R. Shenoy's dissent ignored, and Chief Ministers haggle with the Prime Minister over State Plans. Third, the plan has leaned too heavily on foreign aid, deficit financing, and over-ambitious targets; Amin urges flexibility, prudent monetary policy, attention to social and economic overheads (health, education, agricultural productivity), and disciplined use of resources. The closing pages mount an explicitly classical-liberal defence. Drawing on Burke, Keynes, Adam Smith, McCulloch, Viner, Carlyle, Bentham and Hume, Amin argues that the classical economists were neither apostles of laissez faire in a vulgar sense nor mere advocates of the mercantile class; their case for economic freedom and private property rested on universal benevolence, the impracticality of forced equality, and the practical superiority of voluntary co-ordination. Socialism, he warns, may 'work in a state of universal benevolence' but India has not attained that stage, and 'equality by the same violence by which it was established' would summon 'an army of inquisitors and executioners'. The lessons of the decade, accepted soon enough, can still rescue Indian planning. ## Key points - Frames the speech as a stocktaking of the first decade of Indian planning (1950–1960) so lessons can guide the next ten years. - Acknowledges concrete achievements: national income up 42%, per-capita income up ~20%, big industrial-output gains, exports up, balance of payments more comfortable after the Second Plan, and substantial infrastructure build-out. - Identifies persistent failures: unemployment and under-employment have grown, the food problem absorbed disproportionate resources, and 18 million additional job-seekers will enter the Third Plan labour market. - Diagnoses a drift in the philosophy of planning — from Welfare State and Mixed Economy to 'socialistic pattern of society' and then 'socialist economy' — and a parallel softening of industrial policy under the label 'pragmatic approach'. - Criticises the technique of planning: rigid targets, over-ambition, neglect of co-ordination, expert advice ignored (Panel of Economists, B. R. Shenoy's Note of Dissent), and project-siting decided by 'political pressure' rather than economic considerations. - Warns against excessive deficit financing and foreign aid, urging flexibility, monetary stability, and investment in social and economic overheads — health, education, agricultural productivity. - Defends private property and economic freedom on classical-liberal grounds, citing Burke, Keynes, Adam Smith, McCulloch, Viner, Carlyle, Bentham and Hume, and rejects the caricature of classical economists as advocates of one class. - Argues that socialism presupposes universal benevolence that does not yet exist in India, and that forcing equality requires coercive machinery — 'an army of inquisitors and executioners'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Some Light On "Coal Discoveries" URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/some-light-on-coal-discoveries-by-kv-subrahmanyam-november-8-1960/ ### Summary This two-page letter to the editor, originally published in The Hindustan Times on 8 October 1960 and reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise, challenges a series of government mineral-discovery announcements as politically convenient fiction. K. V. Subrahmanyam opens by recalling a decade-old announcement by K. D. Malaviya — then Secretary in the Ministry — of a gold belt in Orissa that proved to be a hoax, followed shortly by a similar claim about sulphur deposits in Kashmir that likewise never materialised. He then turns to Malaviya's more recent announcements: huge copper deposits at Khetri in Rajasthan compared favourably to Katanga and the Rhodesias, and, most damagingly, the 'discovery' of coking coal at Korba (Madhya Pradesh) timed to justify siting a million-ton steel plant there. Subrahmanyam argues that the Korba coalfield was no discovery at all — it had been known to and worked by the coal industry long before Malaviya was born. The real scandal, he contends, is India's acute and continuing shortage of high-quality coking coal: railway operations and steel plants at Bhilai and Rourkela have been crippled by the shortage, and experts including J. J.… ### Body ## Summary This two-page letter to the editor, originally published in The Hindustan Times on 8 October 1960 and reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise, challenges a series of government mineral-discovery announcements as politically convenient fiction. K. V. Subrahmanyam opens by recalling a decade-old announcement by K. D. Malaviya — then Secretary in the Ministry — of a gold belt in Orissa that proved to be a hoax, followed shortly by a similar claim about sulphur deposits in Kashmir that likewise never materialised. He then turns to Malaviya's more recent announcements: huge copper deposits at Khetri in Rajasthan compared favourably to Katanga and the Rhodesias, and, most damagingly, the 'discovery' of coking coal at Korba (Madhya Pradesh) timed to justify siting a million-ton steel plant there. Subrahmanyam argues that the Korba coalfield was no discovery at all — it had been known to and worked by the coal industry long before Malaviya was born. The real scandal, he contends, is India's acute and continuing shortage of high-quality coking coal: railway operations and steel plants at Bhilai and Rourkela have been crippled by the shortage, and experts including J. J. Ghandy had warned against adding another steel plant at Bokaro until supply was secured. He closes by noting that the Geological Survey of India and Bureau of Mines — whose geologists had already spent five years drilling the relevant areas with diamond-drill holes — are the technically competent authorities on coal reserves, not ministers wielding political power to 'cook up figures.' ## Key points - Subrahmanyam documents a pattern of false mineral 'discoveries' announced by K. D. Malaviya stretching back a decade: a gold belt in Orissa (proved a hoax) and sulphur in Kashmir (never materialised). - Malaviya's recent claim of giant copper deposits at Khetri, ranked alongside Katanga and the Rhodesias, is presented as the latest in this series of inflated announcements. - The centrepiece of the letter is the 'discovery' of coking coal at Korba (Madhya Pradesh), which Subrahmanyam says was known to the coalfields of Bengal and Bihar well before Malaviya was born. - India has faced an acute shortage of good-quality coking coal: steel plants at Bhilai and Rourkela cannot start for want of coke, and railway operations suffer because locomotive drivers lack coal to fire stone-burning engines. - Expert opinion, including that of J. J. Ghandy, advised against a new steel plant at Bokaro given the coking-coal supply crisis. - The Geological Survey of India and the Bureau of Mines had already spent five years systematically drilling the relevant areas with diamond-drill holes — making political 'discoveries' redundant and misleading. - Subrahmanyam implies the true purpose of the announcements is to silence political critics and justify investment decisions, not to report genuine geological findings. --- ## [Primary work] Some Reflections on the Food Problem in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/some-reflections-on-the-food-problem-in-india-t-a-pai-september-11-1966/ ### Summary T. A. Pai, identified on the title page as the first Chairman of the Food Corporation of India, delivers a sharply practical critique of India's food policy seventeen years after independence and three Five-Year Plans. Writing in September 1966 against the backdrop of monsoon failures and continued dependence on imported wheat (notably PL-480 shipments from the United States), Pai argues that India faces a still graver problem as its population swells by another 7.5 crores in the coming five years, and that the only durable answer is to raise per-acre yields through hybrid seeds, fertilisers, assured water, and chemical pest control — a technology-led agricultural revolution rather than another round of incremental planning. Much of the booklet is an inventory of failures Pai locates in the deficit States (Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal), in the bottlenecks of milling, storage, transport, and distribution, and in the surplus States' reluctance to part with their grain.… ### Body # Some Reflections on the Food Problem in India *By T. A. PAI* ## Summary T. A. Pai, identified on the title page as the first Chairman of the Food Corporation of India, delivers a sharply practical critique of India's food policy seventeen years after independence and three Five-Year Plans. Writing in September 1966 against the backdrop of monsoon failures and continued dependence on imported wheat (notably PL-480 shipments from the United States), Pai argues that India faces a still graver problem as its population swells by another 7.5 crores in the coming five years, and that the only durable answer is to raise per-acre yields through hybrid seeds, fertilisers, assured water, and chemical pest control — a technology-led agricultural revolution rather than another round of incremental planning. Much of the booklet is an inventory of failures Pai locates in the deficit States (Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal), in the bottlenecks of milling, storage, transport, and distribution, and in the surplus States' reluctance to part with their grain. Loss estimates — 25% at field level, 15% in storage and transport, 5–7% in hulling, 8–12% in fine polishing, plus the Ford Foundation Team's 120% loss figure that Pai calls an under-estimate — are marshalled to show that statistics on production are themselves unreliable and that no one in India can claim with confidence that 30% of output is marketable surplus. He singles out the failure of the Committee for Rodent Eradication, the inadequacy of minimum tolerance standards for stones and dust in rice, the over-centralisation of credit and fertiliser distribution, and the policy that allowed Roller Flour Mills to mill only imported wheat. The argumentative spine is a liberal critique of bureaucratisation and ideological rigidity in farm policy. Pai wants the Food Corporation of India strengthened by an Act of Parliament as a genuine national agency, with monopoly procurement concentrated in the 58 heavily surplus districts that account for 48% of marketable surplus; he wants the minimum prices set by the Agricultural Prices Commission stabilised for three years and indexed to the cost of living; he wants the PL-480 wheat frozen as a buffer stock; and he wants the State Governments to stop discouraging production through perverse incentives. He is just as insistent that multiple private agencies — not Government alone — be encouraged into fertiliser, credit, and advisory services, and that an agricultural income-tax is preferable to land ceilings that prevent the bigger farmers from enriching themselves and the country. Pai closes by warning that food policy cannot be left to ideologies, that the conflict between large-scale and small-scale farming should not be allowed to paralyse action, and that the linguistic reorganisation of States has made integrated food policy strangely difficult — a more effective policy was possible, he notes, under British rule when the country was treated as one unit. The booklet ends on a note of guarded hope in a "great awakening" among farmers and the public that, if harnessed, could carry the nation past its food crisis. ## Key points - Pai frames the crisis as a yield problem: per-acre production must rise through hybrid seeds, chemical fertilisers, assured water and pesticides, not through expanded acreage or another Plan cycle. - He documents staggering post-harvest losses — 25% in the field, 15% in storage and transport, 5–12% in milling — and treats the Ford Foundation Team's 120% loss estimate as an under-estimate, arguing that India's official production figures (85–86 million tons) are not trustworthy. - Deficit-State politics is treated as the central obstacle: Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat and West Bengal are economically advanced yet structurally dependent on the surplus States, while surplus States hoard grain and bargain with the Centre for concessions. - Pai presses for the Food Corporation of India to be enabled by an Act of Parliament to function as a genuine national agency, with monopoly procurement concentrated in the 58 heavily surplus districts that supply 48% of the marketable surplus. - He calls for PL-480 wheat to be frozen as a buffer stock under Parliamentary law rather than "frittered away", and for minimum support prices set by the Agricultural Prices Commission to be stabilised for three years and linked to the cost-of-living index. - On land policy he prefers an agricultural income-tax to ceilings, and wants the conversion of food acreage to non-food crops severely restricted while protecting foreign-exchange earners like coffee, tea, rubber and cashew. - He is sharply critical of bureaucratisation, monopoly distribution of fertiliser and credit, and the rigidity of co-operative rules — arguing instead for multiple private agencies, easier institutional credit for larger farmers, and the eclipse of the middleman through better-organised marketing. - Pai blames linguistic reorganisation of States for fragmenting food policy, observing that British-era unitary administration made integrated food policy more feasible, and ends on a guarded hope in a "great awakening" among farmers and the public. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] सोव्हिएत साम्राज्याचा उदय आणि अस्त URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/soviet-samarajya-uday-ani-astha-original-c-1/ ### Summary This Marathi-language excerpt comprises the whole of the first chapter — 'मूक इतिहास' ('Mute History') — of the book 'सोव्हिएत साम्राज्याचा उदय आणि अस्त' ('The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire'). In the rendered pages the chapter opens with the span of Soviet power, from the Communist seizure of the Russian state in 1917 to its formal dissolution in December 1991, and argues that to understand the rise of that empire and of totalitarian rule one must look back centuries earlier — to the long social, cultural, political and economic history of the land, since (in the author's framing) civilisation develops by inheriting and refining the qualities and shortcomings of preceding generations. The bulk of the chapter, in the rendered pages, is a geographical and ethnographic history of Russia.… ### Body # सोव्हिएत साम्राज्याचा उदय आणि अस्त ## Summary This Marathi-language excerpt comprises the whole of the first chapter — 'मूक इतिहास' ('Mute History') — of the book 'सोव्हिएत साम्राज्याचा उदय आणि अस्त' ('The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire'). In the rendered pages the chapter opens with the span of Soviet power, from the Communist seizure of the Russian state in 1917 to its formal dissolution in December 1991, and argues that to understand the rise of that empire and of totalitarian rule one must look back centuries earlier — to the long social, cultural, political and economic history of the land, since (in the author's framing) civilisation develops by inheriting and refining the qualities and shortcomings of preceding generations. The bulk of the chapter, in the rendered pages, is a geographical and ethnographic history of Russia. It surveys Russia's vast plains, forests, rivers and mineral wealth, its position straddling Europe and Asia (with the debate over whether Russia is more European or Asiatic), and the successive peoples who shaped it — the Scythians of the southern steppe, the Khazar kingdom and its tolerant, trade-based polity, and the Slavs, who migrated from the eighth and ninth centuries and split into eastern, western and southern branches. It draws on Greek, Roman and Byzantine sources (Herodotus, Procopius, the emperors Maurice and Leo) and on later historians to characterise the Slavs as a freedom-loving but migratory and, the text suggests, anarchically inclined people whose disposition shaped Russian life and later Soviet history. The chapter closes with a 'संदर्भ' (references) list citing Edward Pares's 'A History of Russia', the Henry Smith Williams-edited 'Historian's History of the World' (vol. 17), and Raymond Hutchinson's 'Soviet Economic Development'. The rendered pages are the complete first chapter only (printed pages 1-5); the remainder of the book — covering the actual rise, consolidation and fall of the Soviet state — was not in this excerpt. No title page, author byline, publisher or year appears in the rendered pages. ## Key points - Marathi excerpt: the complete Chapter 1 ('मूक इतिहास' / 'Mute History') of 'The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire'. - Frames Soviet power as spanning 1917 (Communist takeover) to December 1991 (dissolution). - Argues the empire's history must be read against centuries of prior Russian social and cultural development. - Surveys Russia's geography: vast plains, forests, rivers and rich mineral resources, straddling Europe and Asia. - Traces formative peoples — Scythians, the trade-oriented Khazar kingdom, and the eastern/western/southern Slavs. - Uses Greek, Roman and Byzantine sources (Herodotus, Procopius, emperors Maurice and Leo) to characterise the Slavs. - Portrays the Slavs as freedom-loving but migratory and anarchically inclined, a disposition said to shape later history. - Ends with a references list citing Edward Pares, Henry Smith Williams (ed.), and Raymond Hutchinson. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/soviet-samarajya-uday-ani-astha-translated-c-1/ ### Summary This is the English translation of the first chapter — 'Chapter 1: Silent History' — of the book 'The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire' (Marathi: 'सोव्हिएत साम्राज्याचा उदय आणि अस्त'), presented here as a five-page typed document. In the rendered pages the chapter dates Soviet power from the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 to the regime's official end in December 1991, and argues that the rise and fall of that empire can only be understood against the much longer arc of Russian history: just as children inherit the good and bad qualities of their parents, the author writes, societies inherit the long-term cultural, social, political and economic traits of those who came before. Most of the chapter, in the rendered pages, is a geography-driven history of Russia and its peoples. It describes the vast Russian landmass — roughly 81,000,000 square miles, comparable to all of North America — its plains, forests, rivers (the 2,400-mile Volga) and mineral wealth, and its 'Eurasian' position between Europe and Asia, citing Plekhanov's view that Russia is more European than Asiatic.… ### Body # The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire ## Summary This is the English translation of the first chapter — 'Chapter 1: Silent History' — of the book 'The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire' (Marathi: 'सोव्हिएत साम्राज्याचा उदय आणि अस्त'), presented here as a five-page typed document. In the rendered pages the chapter dates Soviet power from the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 to the regime's official end in December 1991, and argues that the rise and fall of that empire can only be understood against the much longer arc of Russian history: just as children inherit the good and bad qualities of their parents, the author writes, societies inherit the long-term cultural, social, political and economic traits of those who came before. Most of the chapter, in the rendered pages, is a geography-driven history of Russia and its peoples. It describes the vast Russian landmass — roughly 81,000,000 square miles, comparable to all of North America — its plains, forests, rivers (the 2,400-mile Volga) and mineral wealth, and its 'Eurasian' position between Europe and Asia, citing Plekhanov's view that Russia is more European than Asiatic. From its exposed steppe geography the author derives a 'military tradition' and a pattern of cyclic invasion and migration, drawing on the Russian historian Klyuchevsky and the British historian Edward Peres, on Herodotus, Procopius and the Byzantine emperors Maurice and Leo, and on Raymond Hutchinson. The Slavs emerge as the central people — freedom-loving, migratory and resistant to absolute authority, though (the chapter notes) they later 'gave in to uncontrolled domination'. The author also explains, via Hutchinson, why ideological and religious reform never took root in Russia — two centuries of Tatar rule absorbed Russian energies — even as figures of Slav descent such as Copernicus and John Huss preceded Galileo and Luther elsewhere. The chapter ends with the early Slavs' development around the ninth century into skilled farmers, fishers and craftsmen who founded cities such as Kiev, Novgorod and Smolensk, and a closing note on the importance of Kiev to the history of the Russian and Soviet Empires. A 'Ref.' list cites Edward Peres's 'A History of Russia', the Henry Smith Williams-edited 'Historians History of the World' (Vol. 17), and Raymond Hutchinson's 'Soviet Economic Development'. The rendered pages are the complete first chapter only; the rest of the book was not in this excerpt, and no title page, author byline, publisher or year appears. ## Key points - English translation of Chapter 1 ('Silent History') of 'The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire'. - Dates Soviet power from the 1917 Bolshevik revolution to its official end in December 1991. - Argues the empire must be read against two-thousand-plus years of Russian history, on an inheritance analogy. - Surveys Russia's geography: ~81 million sq miles, vast steppes, forests, the Volga, and gold/iron/oil wealth. - Cites Plekhanov that Russia is more European than Asiatic, despite its 'Eurasian' position. - Derives a military tradition and cyclic invasion/migration from the exposed steppe geography. - Centres the Slavs as freedom-loving and migratory, drawing on Klyuchevsky, Edward Peres, Herodotus and Procopius. - Explains via Hutchinson why ideological and religious reform never took root in Russia (two centuries of Tatar rule). - Ends with the ninth-century Slavs founding Kiev, Novgorod and Smolensk, and a reference list. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Some Tax Aspects of Electronic Commerce URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/some-tax-aspects-of-electronic-commerce-k-r-girish/ ### Summary K. R. Girish's booklet, based on a talk delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Mumbai on 4 October 1999, is a Chartered Accountant's primer on how electronic commerce (EC) destabilises the foundational concepts on which income-tax and indirect-tax systems have been built. Girish begins by defining EC broadly — citing the U.S. Department of Treasury and noting that even a pre-paid card payment to a cab driver qualifies — and marshals KPMG and other survey data to argue that EC is no longer a futuristic curiosity but a multi-billion-dollar reality reshaping boardroom agendas. The central worry he identifies is that the territorial anchors of "source" and "residence", and the corollary concept of a Permanent Establishment, presuppose a physical nexus that EC dissolves; the question of whether a server or server-space can constitute a PE, and how income from cross-border software and digital transfers should be characterised (business profits versus royalties), is the unresolved doctrinal core. The bulk of the booklet is a comparative survey of policy initiatives.… ### Body # Some Tax Aspects of Electronic Commerce *By K. R. GIRISH* ## Summary K. R. Girish's booklet, based on a talk delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Mumbai on 4 October 1999, is a Chartered Accountant's primer on how electronic commerce (EC) destabilises the foundational concepts on which income-tax and indirect-tax systems have been built. Girish begins by defining EC broadly — citing the U.S. Department of Treasury and noting that even a pre-paid card payment to a cab driver qualifies — and marshals KPMG and other survey data to argue that EC is no longer a futuristic curiosity but a multi-billion-dollar reality reshaping boardroom agendas. The central worry he identifies is that the territorial anchors of "source" and "residence", and the corollary concept of a Permanent Establishment, presuppose a physical nexus that EC dissolves; the question of whether a server or server-space can constitute a PE, and how income from cross-border software and digital transfers should be characterised (business profits versus royalties), is the unresolved doctrinal core. The bulk of the booklet is a comparative survey of policy initiatives. Girish walks through the OECD's pioneering work — the 1992 revisions to the Article 12 commentary on software, the November 1997 Turku conference, and the June 1998 Framework Conditions adopted at Ottawa, which lay down five guiding principles (Neutrality, Efficiency, Certainty and Simplicity, Effectiveness and Fairness, Flexibility) and identify four work areas (Tax Treaty, Consumption Taxes, Tax Administration, Taxpayer Service). He then summarises the U.S. position (the 1996 and 1998 IRS software-characterisation regulations and the October 1998 Internet Tax Freedom Act), the UK's 'Electronic Commerce: UK Policy on Taxation Issues', the Australian Tax Office's 1997 'Tax and the Internet' report (with its proposals on website licensing and embedding reporting codes in browsers), the European Commission's April 1997 plan, and Canada's 1998 report which rejected a flat 'bit tax' as inequitable. The through-line is a liberal one consonant with the Forum's framing: across jurisdictions, tax administrators are converging on neutrality between electronic and conventional commerce, on minimising compliance costs, and on a regulatory and fiscal climate that does not stifle EC's growth. Girish also flags the OECD's May 1998 Harmful Tax Competition report and its concern about a "race to the bottom" toward tax havens — noting that G7 foreign direct investment in Caribbean and South Pacific low-tax jurisdictions rose more than five-fold between 1985 and 1994 to over US$ 200 billion. He closes by acknowledging that beyond the consensus, the hard problems of identifying parties to EC transactions, applying source-and-residence concepts to digital activity, and accessing encrypted records remain unresolved. ## Key points - Defines Electronic Commerce broadly via the U.S. Department of Treasury — any electronic exchange of goods and services, down to a pre-paid card payment to a cab driver — and uses KPMG and other survey data to show EC is reshaping boardroom agendas, not a future curiosity. - Frames the central tax problem as the erosion of "source" and "residence" — territorial concepts built on a physical economic nexus that EC weakens, raising the question of whether a server constitutes a Permanent Establishment. - Enumerates six taxation issues: PE constitution in a digital world, characterisation of income from technology transfers (business profits vs. royalties), use of new tech for tax administration, transfer pricing in EC, and VAT. - Surveys OECD initiatives: 1992 revision of Article 12 commentary on software; November 1997 Turku conference; June 1998 Framework Conditions adopted at Ottawa specifying five guiding principles — Neutrality, Efficiency, Certainty and Simplicity, Effectiveness and Fairness, Flexibility — and four work areas including Tax Treaty, Consumption Taxes, Tax Administration and Taxpayer Service. - Reviews national policy responses: U.S. IRS regulations of 1996/1998 on software characterisation and the October 1998 Internet Tax Freedom Act; UK policy paper; Australian Tax Office's 1997 'Tax and the Internet' (with proposals to license websites and embed reporting codes in browsers like Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Explorer); the European Commission's April 1997 EC plan; and Canada's April 1998 report which rejected a flat 'bit tax'. - Highlights the OECD's May 1998 Harmful Tax Competition report and its standstill/rollback provisions on preferential regimes, against the backdrop of G7 FDI to Caribbean and South Pacific tax havens rising more than five-fold between 1985 and 1994, to over US$ 200 billion. - Argues that the cross-jurisdictional consensus favours neutrality between electronic and conventional commerce, light compliance costs, and a regulatory climate that does not stifle EC — a stance congenial to the Forum of Free Enterprise's classical-liberal frame. - Concludes that despite this consensus, the practical problems of identifying and locating parties to EC transactions, applying source-and-residence rules to digital activity, and accessing encrypted records remain unresolved. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Speech to be Made by His Excellency Shri C. Rajagopalachari at the Swearing-In Ceremony on 21st June, 1948 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/speech-made-by-c-rajagopalachari-at-the-swearing-in-ceremony-for-the-position-of-governor-general-of-india/ ### Summary This two-page typescript is the address C. Rajagopalachari delivered at his swearing-in as Governor-General of India on 21 June 1948 — the first Indian, succeeding Lord Mountbatten, to hold the office. Rajagopalachari opens by thanking those present for lifting the occasion 'from the place of a mere ceremony to that of human fellowship and cooperation,' and acknowledges the historic significance of one 'who belongs to the soil' being entrusted with the headship of the state. He pays a graceful tribute to his predecessor's detachment and energy, while modestly admitting his own inexperience in arms and diplomacy. The substance of the speech is a plea for national unity and pluralism in the immediate aftermath of Partition.… ### Body # Speech to be Made by His Excellency Shri C. Rajagopalachari at the Swearing-In Ceremony on 21st June, 1948 *By C. Rajagopalachari* ## Summary This two-page typescript is the address C. Rajagopalachari delivered at his swearing-in as Governor-General of India on 21 June 1948 — the first Indian, succeeding Lord Mountbatten, to hold the office. Rajagopalachari opens by thanking those present for lifting the occasion 'from the place of a mere ceremony to that of human fellowship and cooperation,' and acknowledges the historic significance of one 'who belongs to the soil' being entrusted with the headship of the state. He pays a graceful tribute to his predecessor's detachment and energy, while modestly admitting his own inexperience in arms and diplomacy. The substance of the speech is a plea for national unity and pluralism in the immediate aftermath of Partition. Rajagopalachari affirms that India is 'unchangeably committed' to a citizenship in which no one suffers disability on grounds of caste, creed or race, declares that the days of dynastic rule and domination by force are over, and warns against communal and territorial isolationism — communities, he urges, 'should spread themselves out rather than build walls round themselves.' He names internecine discord as the gravest threat to India's peace, stresses the country's economic interdependence across the new political division, and closes with a prayer for wisdom and a hope that he may render some service in the office conferred on him. ## Key points - The full text of C. Rajagopalachari's swearing-in address as Governor-General of India, 21 June 1948. - Marks the first time a person 'who belongs to the soil' became Head of State in India, succeeding Lord Mountbatten. - Pays tribute to his predecessor's detachment and energy while noting his own inexperience in arms and diplomacy. - Affirms a citizenship free of disability by caste, creed or race. - Declares the end of dynastic rule and domination by force. - Warns against communal and territorial isolationism and internecine discord as the chief threat to India's peace. - Stresses India's economic interdependence across the political division created by Partition. - Closes with a prayer for wisdom and a hope to serve in the office. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] SPIRIT OF FREE ENTERPRISE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/spirit-of-free-enterprise-by-russi-mody-december-14-1991/ ### Summary Russi Mody, then Chairman and Managing Director of the Tata Iron & Steel Co. Ltd., delivered this address on the 'Spirit of Free Enterprise' at a seminar of the Confederation of Engineering Industry (Northern Region) in New Delhi on 3 April 1991. The Forum of Free Enterprise reproduced it as a booklet on 14 December 1991. Mody opens by insisting it should no longer be necessary to debate free enterprise — its superiority has been demonstrated by every country, from Singapore and Korea to Britain and Germany, that has shed state controls. India's poverty, he argues, is self-inflicted: the country is 'literally and physically broke' because successive governments since Independence have run an economy modelled on Russian planning instead of releasing the productive energies that Indians display so readily abroad. The address moves through a brisk history of the modern world — the Industrial Revolution, the Fabian and Marxist reaction, the rise and collapse of the Soviet bloc — and lands on Adam Smith as the intellectual anchor of the case for self-interest disciplined by competition.… ### Body # SPIRIT OF FREE ENTERPRISE *By RUSSI MODY* ## Summary Russi Mody, then Chairman and Managing Director of the Tata Iron & Steel Co. Ltd., delivered this address on the 'Spirit of Free Enterprise' at a seminar of the Confederation of Engineering Industry (Northern Region) in New Delhi on 3 April 1991. The Forum of Free Enterprise reproduced it as a booklet on 14 December 1991. Mody opens by insisting it should no longer be necessary to debate free enterprise — its superiority has been demonstrated by every country, from Singapore and Korea to Britain and Germany, that has shed state controls. India's poverty, he argues, is self-inflicted: the country is 'literally and physically broke' because successive governments since Independence have run an economy modelled on Russian planning instead of releasing the productive energies that Indians display so readily abroad. The address moves through a brisk history of the modern world — the Industrial Revolution, the Fabian and Marxist reaction, the rise and collapse of the Soviet bloc — and lands on Adam Smith as the intellectual anchor of the case for self-interest disciplined by competition. Mody invokes Margaret Thatcher's refusal to bail out loss-making state firms and Ronald Reagan's 1982 tax cuts (which he credits with eighteen million American jobs by 1988) as practical proof that lower taxes raise revenue and that individual initiative is irreplaceable. He cites the figure that small enterprises employing fewer than twenty people generated two-thirds of US jobs from 1980 to 1986 to argue that India's obsession with large-scale public-sector industrialisation, in the Nehruvian image, has been misguided. The booklet's sharpest passages target the Indian public sector and the regulatory apparatus around it. Mody calculates that Rs.110,000 crores have yielded essentially nothing to the exchequer — even a 10% return would erase the fiscal deficit — and blames parliamentary 'question hour' culture, secretarial micro-management from Delhi, and politicians who confuse ownership with the right to run industries they do not understand. He calls for the abolition of steel and coal controls, MRTP, most of FERA, STC and MMTC, and asks why airlines remain off-limits to privatisation. He closes by urging the business community to stop seeking personal privileges from government, to welcome multinational capital — citing Mexico's costless expulsion of US oil firms as proof that openness does not compromise sovereignty — and to advocate openly for free enterprise rather than pay lip service in public while lobbying for favours in private. ## Key points - Mody frames India's economic stagnation as self-inflicted by governments since Independence that imposed Russian-style planning instead of allowing free enterprise. - He urges businesspeople to enter politics not as legislators but as advocates for raising the standard of living through enterprise rather than slogans. - He marshals comparative evidence — Japan, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the USA, UK, France and Germany — to argue that countries which 'threw off the shackles of economic control' prospered, and that Indians abroad consistently succeed. - He defends Adam Smith's account of self-interest channelled by competition as the mechanism by which private gains yield public goods. - He invokes Reagan's 1982 tax cut (which he credits with 18 million US jobs by 1988) and Thatcher's refusal to bail out loss-making state firms as practical models for India to emulate. - He argues the Indian public sector earns essentially nothing on Rs.110,000 crores invested; even a 10% return would erase the fiscal deficit then being reduced from Rs.8,000 to Rs.6,000 crores. - He attacks bureaucratic and parliamentary interference — citing a steel-plant anecdote and a Minister's 'salaah dena' to General Managers — as the reason public-sector firms cannot be efficient. - He calls for dismantling MRTP, steel, coal, STC and MMTC controls and welcomes multinational investment, citing Mexico's expulsion of US oil companies as proof that economic openness does not threaten sovereignty. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] State Enterprises URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/state-enterprises-c-h-bhabha-1956/ ### Summary This pamphlet prints the text of a talk on "State Enterprises" delivered by C. H. Bhabha at the Rotary Club, Bombay, on September 18, 1956, and issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise. Speaking during the Second Five-Year Plan, Bhabha offers what he frames as the "dispassionate observations of a spectator" on the rapid expansion of the public sector. He argues that although the Constitution recognises and guarantees the right to own private property, in practice India's leaders treat private ownership with suspicion while encouraging only "the ownership of political power and patronage," and that the State is plunging into ventures normally outside the proper ambit of a democratic government. The bulk of the talk is a sustained critique of how state enterprises are governed and managed. Bhabha catalogues the legal privileges these undertakings enjoy: the omnibus Section 620 clause in the new Companies Act exempting them from many provisions, exemptions from rent-control and labour laws, and special treatment that he calls unfair to private competitors.… ### Body # State Enterprises *By C. H. BHABHA* ## Summary This pamphlet prints the text of a talk on "State Enterprises" delivered by C. H. Bhabha at the Rotary Club, Bombay, on September 18, 1956, and issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise. Speaking during the Second Five-Year Plan, Bhabha offers what he frames as the "dispassionate observations of a spectator" on the rapid expansion of the public sector. He argues that although the Constitution recognises and guarantees the right to own private property, in practice India's leaders treat private ownership with suspicion while encouraging only "the ownership of political power and patronage," and that the State is plunging into ventures normally outside the proper ambit of a democratic government. The bulk of the talk is a sustained critique of how state enterprises are governed and managed. Bhabha catalogues the legal privileges these undertakings enjoy: the omnibus Section 620 clause in the new Companies Act exempting them from many provisions, exemptions from rent-control and labour laws, and special treatment that he calls unfair to private competitors. He attacks the personnel problem—"square pegs in round holes," nepotism, recommendatory letters and semi-directives from politicians and bureaucrats, frequent transfers of key staff, and the demoralising dominance of the Secretariat over enterprise managers. He notes that these public corporations are registered as Private Limited Companies, shielding their profit-and-loss accounts from public scrutiny, and that audits by the Auditor-General are too superficial to expose mismanagement, citing an instance of an asset order "costing over a million pound sterling" placed with an inexperienced supplier. Bhabha closes by warning that the perfunctory parliamentary scrutiny of these enterprises makes their claimed independence "merely a mockery," and by invoking a new "Socialistic Pattern" definition of democracy that he fears can be turned against the common man. In conclusion he quotes Mahatma Gandhi at length on his fear of the growing power of the State, the State as "violence in a concentrated and organised form," and the preference for trusteeship and voluntary organisation over state-ownership. The work is complete in the rendered pages, ending with the delivery note and printer's colophon. ## Key points - Text of a talk by C. H. Bhabha delivered at the Rotary Club, Bombay, on September 18, 1956, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise. - Bhabha argues that while the Constitution guarantees private property, India's leaders in practice distrust private ownership and privilege only political power and patronage. - He critiques the Second Five-Year Plan's elevation of the Public Sector and the relegation of the private ("People's") sector to a degraded position. - Legal privileges of state enterprises are itemised: Section 620 of the new Companies Act exempting them from many provisions, plus exemptions from rent-control and labour laws unavailable to private firms. - He details a personnel critique—patronage appointments, nepotism, 'square pegs in round holes,' frequent transfers, and domination by the Secretariat over enterprise managers. - State corporations are registered as Private Limited Companies, hiding their profit-and-loss accounts from public scrutiny, and Auditor-General scrutiny is dismissed as perfunctory and prone to 'whitewashing.' - Bhabha cites a case of an order for an asset 'costing over a million pound sterling' placed with an inexperienced supplier as an example of unsound decisions injected by non-officials. - The talk concludes with extended quotations from Mahatma Gandhi expressing fear of state power, the State as concentrated violence, and a preference for trusteeship and voluntary organisation over state-ownership. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] STATE CAPITALISM MARCHES ON URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/state-capitalism-marches-on-by-dharamsey-m-khatau-january-25-1957/ ### Summary This pamphlet reproduces extracts from Dharamsey M. Khatau's chairman's speech at the 20th Annual General Meeting of A.C.C. (Associated Cement Companies), delivered in Bombay on 25 January 1957 and circulated by the Forum of Free Enterprise. Khatau argues that the legal scaffolding for a free private sector — once "properly forged" — has been rapidly dismantled by a succession of statutes: the new Companies Act, the Industries (Development & Regulation) Act, the amendment of the Banking Companies Act, the new Finance Act, and the surrounding labour legislation. Taken together, he says, these laws no longer leave room for freedom for the private sector, and the issue can no longer be postponed to a vaguer debate about "preservation of freedom and democratic institutions". He then takes two case studies to show the trend. First, the nationalisation of Life Insurance: an industry that had grown vigorously and served the public conspicuously well has been taken over despite the absence of any clear public-interest case, with new business already lower than before the Life Insurance Corporation came in. Second, State Trading in cement — for which Khatau supplies a detailed narrative.… ### Body # STATE CAPITALISM MARCHES ON *By DHARAMSEY M. KHATAU* ## Summary This pamphlet reproduces extracts from Dharamsey M. Khatau's chairman's speech at the 20th Annual General Meeting of A.C.C. (Associated Cement Companies), delivered in Bombay on 25 January 1957 and circulated by the Forum of Free Enterprise. Khatau argues that the legal scaffolding for a free private sector — once "properly forged" — has been rapidly dismantled by a succession of statutes: the new Companies Act, the Industries (Development & Regulation) Act, the amendment of the Banking Companies Act, the new Finance Act, and the surrounding labour legislation. Taken together, he says, these laws no longer leave room for freedom for the private sector, and the issue can no longer be postponed to a vaguer debate about "preservation of freedom and democratic institutions". He then takes two case studies to show the trend. First, the nationalisation of Life Insurance: an industry that had grown vigorously and served the public conspicuously well has been taken over despite the absence of any clear public-interest case, with new business already lower than before the Life Insurance Corporation came in. Second, State Trading in cement — for which Khatau supplies a detailed narrative. The Government refused the industry's price-equalisation proposals, and instead used the State Trading Corporation of India to import and distribute cement, fixing the cost-plus selling price for the producers and routing all sales through agents of the STC. Khatau argues that this regime is not technically necessary — the "cement gap" could have been bridged through industry-led price equalisation — and that, by inserting the State as compulsory middleman in a basic productive industry, it inflicts a "grave injury" on free enterprise. The closing pages widen the lens. Khatau warns that the Industrial Policy Resolution's promise of an "honourable balance" between State Enterprise and Free Enterprise is being violated in practice, since the building blocks of a socialist pattern are not being laid "on the foundations of a democratic Constitution." He approvingly cites the Prime Minister's own statement that individual freedom matters because society wants "the creative and adventurous spirit of man to grow," and he notes that East European experience shows socialism is compatible with "all-powerful organisation impinging upon individual liberties with heavy-handed bureaucracy and regimentation." The pamphlet ends with a defence of free enterprise as a "legitimate and vital function" within a democracy and as the foundation on which the Constitution rests. ## Key points - Khatau frames a four-page chairman's address around the thesis that "State Capitalism" — not socialism per se — is marching on in India through statutes that progressively narrow the private sector's room to operate. - He lists the new Companies Act, the Industries (Development & Regulation) Act, the amendment to the Banking Companies Act, the Finance Act, and the voluminous labour legislation as cumulative "weapons in the Government's armoury" against free enterprise. - He treats the nationalisation of Life Insurance as a case where a vigorously growing and publicly trusted industry was absorbed without a dispassionate showing of public-interest necessity, and notes that new business is already lower under the L.I.C. - On cement, he narrates how the industry warned the Government of a "cement gap" as early as September 1955, offered to import and distribute cement without profit, and proposed price-equalisation through an industry pool — proposals rejected in favour of State Trading via the State Trading Corporation of India. - He argues the State Trading scheme is "a serious infringement of the right to freedom of trade in a democratic society" because the cement gap could have been resolved without inserting the State as compulsory middleman in a basic productive industry. - He cites Nehru's own warning about the "tragic consequences of unbalanced planning in an authoritarian manner in East European countries and elsewhere" to call for a balanced approach between State Enterprise and Free Enterprise. - He invokes the Industrial Policy Resolution as the official promise of an "honourable balance" and contends that the cement nationalisation breaches both that resolution and the broader idea of building socialism on the foundations of a democratic Constitution. - The closing argument is constitutional: free enterprise is not merely tolerated political sufferance but a vital component of the democratic foundation, and must be "positively encouraged to thrive by appropriate incentives and reliefs whenever needed." --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] STATE MONOPOLIES AND THE CITIZEN IN A DEMOCRACY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/state-monoplies-v-k-narasimhan-aug7-1959/ ### Summary V. K. Narasimhan, then Assistant Editor of *The Hindu*, uses this 1959 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet — based on a lecture he delivered in Bombay on 22 May 1959 — to ask a constitutional and democratic-theory question: how far is the creation and maintenance of State monopolies in goods and services compatible with the right of citizens in a democracy to operate similar enterprises? The trigger, he says, was the 1956 nationalisation of life insurance by ordinance, where a working private industry was absorbed into a state monopoly without organised protest. Behind that silence Narasimhan locates a deeper failure: democratic-minded public men did not register the danger of the First Amendment of 1951, which inserted a sweeping clause into Article 19(6) allowing the State to operate any trade, business, industry or service to the partial or complete exclusion of citizens, with no equivalent constitutional safeguard. The core of the booklet is a close reading of the 1951 amendment's drafting history. Narasimhan traces it back to the Allahabad High Court judgment in the U.P.… ### Body # STATE MONOPOLIES AND THE CITIZEN IN A DEMOCRACY *By V. K. NARASIMHAN* ## Summary V. K. Narasimhan, then Assistant Editor of *The Hindu*, uses this 1959 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet — based on a lecture he delivered in Bombay on 22 May 1959 — to ask a constitutional and democratic-theory question: how far is the creation and maintenance of State monopolies in goods and services compatible with the right of citizens in a democracy to operate similar enterprises? The trigger, he says, was the 1956 nationalisation of life insurance by ordinance, where a working private industry was absorbed into a state monopoly without organised protest. Behind that silence Narasimhan locates a deeper failure: democratic-minded public men did not register the danger of the First Amendment of 1951, which inserted a sweeping clause into Article 19(6) allowing the State to operate any trade, business, industry or service to the partial or complete exclusion of citizens, with no equivalent constitutional safeguard. The core of the booklet is a close reading of the 1951 amendment's drafting history. Narasimhan traces it back to the Allahabad High Court judgment in the U.P. Motor Vehicles Act case, which held that the State could not entirely exclude private operators from an industry under the original Article 19(6); the Constitution (First Amendment) Bill was widened in response. He shows how only a handful of members — Pandit Hridayanath Kunzru, Shyam Nandan Sahaya, Prof. K. T. Shah, Dr. S. P. Mookerjee — pressed for safeguards (compensation for displaced citizens, prior enquiry before any State monopoly is created, non-discrimination between public and private enterprise, review by the President), and how each amendment was negatived. He highlights an official-record anomaly: the Lok Sabha proceedings show Sahaya's compensation amendment as 'adopted' when in fact it had been 'negatived' — a misprint never corrected in subsequent editions. From there Narasimhan moves to the political economy of State monopoly. Using the LIC takeover and State trading in foodgrains (notably the Gauhati correspondent's account of the disruption of the Nowgong district rice-milling industry in Assam) as case studies, he argues that the absence of competition in a single-buyer/single-seller State system produces bureaucratic indifference, destroys consumer choice, removes the spur to efficiency, and substitutes monopoly procurement for competitive trade — sometimes catastrophically for the small producer. He notes that the British Labour Party itself, once an advocate of nationalisation, was turning toward 'controlling' rather than nationalising well-managed firms. The booklet ends with six prescriptive conclusions: the democratic citizen must enjoy the amplest freedom to pursue any lawful economic activity; the constitutional space in which the State may set up monopolies must be precisely narrowed; no State monopoly should be created without prior enquiry into the existing private sector and a fair hearing for those engaged in it; outside a narrow field of public utilities, no enterprise on sound lines should be displaced by a State monopoly; full compensation must be paid when displacement does occur; and an impartial, quasi-judicial review body — analogous to the Tariff Commission or the British Monopolies Commission — should oversee State monopolistic enterprises and hear complaints. ## Key points - Narasimhan's central question is whether the State's creation of monopolies in goods and services is compatible with the equal right of citizens in a democracy to operate similar enterprises. - He treats the unprotested 1956 nationalisation of life insurance by ordinance as evidence that the political class failed to absorb the constitutional implications of the First Amendment of 1951. - He reads the 1951 amendment to Article 19(6) — empowering the State to operate any 'trade, business, industry or service' to the partial or complete exclusion of citizens — as an 'astonishing' constitutional shift toward economic regimentation. - The booklet narrates the U.P. Motor Vehicles / Allahabad High Court backstory and shows how amendments by Hridayanath Kunzru, Shyam Nandan Sahaya, K. T. Shah and S. P. Mookerjee — each of which would have added safeguards (compensation, non-discrimination, prior enquiry, President's review) — were all negatived. - Narasimhan flags an uncorrected misprint in the official Lok Sabha proceedings that records Sahaya's compensation amendment as 'adopted' when in fact it was 'negatived'. - He uses the LIC takeover and State trading in foodgrains in Assam (Nowgong district rice mills, citing the Gauhati correspondent of The Statesman) to argue that State monopoly destroys competition, consumer choice, and the small producer. - He notes the British Labour Party's drift away from blanket nationalisation toward 'control' of well-managed private firms. - His six closing recommendations include constitutional narrowing of the State-monopoly clause, prior enquiry before any new State monopoly, compensation for displaced enterprises, and an impartial quasi-judicial review body modelled on the Tariff Commission or the Monopolies Commission in England. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] STATE MONOPOLY OF TEXT-BOOKS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/state-monopoly-of-text-books-november-5-1964/ ### Summary State Monopoly of Text-Books is a 1964 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet that gathers three pieces against the drift toward government nationalisation of school textbooks, prompted by the scandal of grossly defective Maharashtra-state geography textbooks. A short Forum introduction frames the issue, four R. K. Laxman cartoons reprinted from The Times of India lampoon the policy, and the body of the booklet then reproduces an unsigned essay 'Freedom of Choice' from the Year Book of Education (London/New York, 1960) alongside the texts of two talks delivered at a Forum meeting in Bombay on 5 August 1964 by M. R. Masani M.P. and S. S. Patke, ex-President of the Maharashtra State Federation of Headmasters' Associations. Together the contributors argue, on economic, educational and civil-liberty grounds, that state production and prescription of textbooks degrades quality, raises costs, fosters piracy, restricts the freedom of teachers and authors, and opens the door to political indoctrination of children — and they urge that publishing be left to private and voluntary initiative, with the State at most reviewing approved lists rather than holding a monopoly. ### Body # STATE MONOPOLY OF TEXT-BOOKS ## Summary State Monopoly of Text-Books is a 1964 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet that gathers three pieces against the drift toward government nationalisation of school textbooks, prompted by the scandal of grossly defective Maharashtra-state geography textbooks. A short Forum introduction frames the issue, four R. K. Laxman cartoons reprinted from The Times of India lampoon the policy, and the body of the booklet then reproduces an unsigned essay 'Freedom of Choice' from the Year Book of Education (London/New York, 1960) alongside the texts of two talks delivered at a Forum meeting in Bombay on 5 August 1964 by M. R. Masani M.P. and S. S. Patke, ex-President of the Maharashtra State Federation of Headmasters' Associations. Together the contributors argue, on economic, educational and civil-liberty grounds, that state production and prescription of textbooks degrades quality, raises costs, fosters piracy, restricts the freedom of teachers and authors, and opens the door to political indoctrination of children — and they urge that publishing be left to private and voluntary initiative, with the State at most reviewing approved lists rather than holding a monopoly. ## Essays ### You Said It *By R. K. LAXMAN* Reprinted from THE YEAR BOOK OF EDUCATION (London and New York, 1960) with the permission of the Publishers' Association, this anonymous essay sets out the general international case against state monopoly of school textbooks. It concedes the surface appeal of a single, national, mass-produced text — capital costs spread, royalties paid, one approved book in every classroom — and notes that this is the practice in all Communist countries, but argues that even Soviet textbooks turn out to be technically mediocre and pedagogically old-fashioned, and that the economic 'savings' claimed by state production are largely illusory once hidden departmental costs and lost market efficiencies are counted. The essay's strongest objections are not economic but political and pedagogic. Official production of printed matter, the author argues, necessarily implies censorship and the promotion of views the government favours; it discourages teachers from thinking for themselves and removes the diversity of choice that good teaching requires. Limited official production may be defensible in poorly trained or under-resourced systems (Peru, parts of New Zealand are cited), but a one-book-per-subject prescription is never warranted. The conclusion: in countries with a liberal tradition and a free economy, government production of textbooks is justifiable only if it can guarantee economy, modernity, choice and rapid revision — conditions that in practice government monopolies almost never meet. - Single-text national systems exist mainly in Communist countries (USSR, China) and produce technically dated, pedagogically conservative books. - Claimed economic savings from state production are usually fictitious once hidden departmental costs and forgone competitive efficiencies are accounted for. - Officials and committees are not better placed than competing private publishers to identify good authors and good textbooks. - The decisive objections are political: state production implies censorship, restricts teacher choice, and stifles the diversity that good schooling requires. - A 'prescribed books' list should always offer many alternatives rather than a single text per subject, and a vigorous private book trade is itself a precondition of bookshops and adult-literacy infrastructure. - Limited official production may be defensible only where teachers are poorly trained (Peru, parts of New Zealand are cited), and even then never as a monopoly. ### FREEDOM OF CHOICE M. R. Masani, M.P., opens by insisting that the so-called 'nationalisation of text-books' is a misnomer — what is really happening at the State level is a monopoly of publication. He treats this both as a theoretical danger (only Communist and Fascist dictatorships indoctrinate children through a textbook monopoly) and as a historical regression: from 1824 onwards under the British, official series like the Lipidhara, Gannit and Bal Goshtee dominated, but by the early twentieth century the Government wisely withdrew in favour of reputable private publishers, and a mixed economy in textbooks prevailed in independent India until State governments began re-monopolising the field. Masani musters the official record against the policy — the 1942 Committee, the Mudaliar Committee, the warning by Bombay's Minister of Education Dinkarrao Desai at the 1957 Education Ministers' Conference, and an unanswered 1957 letter Masani himself wrote to Deputy Minister Dr. K. L. Shrimali — to show that the drift to State monopoly proceeded against expert advice. The second half of the essay is a documentary indictment of how that monopoly has worked in practice. State-published textbooks are poor in quality, sold at inflated prices that disguise taxation, and chronically unavailable on time. Masani quotes a 1959 judgment of Justice Balakrishna Ayyar of the Madras High Court on a wretched abridgement of Quentin Durward and a Madras Mail editorial on a similarly mangled Oliver Twist published in Andhra; he then turns to a Press Trust of India report estimating Rs. 10 crores of losses to State governments from counterfeiting and details the Bihar case (drawing on the Bihar Teachers' Association's Jali Pustak Virodhi Visheshank), where shortfalls in the Free India Readers and arithmetic books cost the exchequer roughly Rs. 35 lakhs a year. Three structural reasons drive the piracy, he argues — extortionate State margins, late and erratic supply, and stingy trade discounts — and the only real remedy is to end the monopoly itself and let private publishers fight the counterfeiters under competition. - 'Nationalisation of text-books' is a misnomer for what is really a State-level monopoly of publication, and is a reversion to a discarded British imperial practice rather than a progressive reform. - Only Communist and Fascist dictatorships practise such monopolies; the danger of political indoctrination of children is intrinsic, not contingent. - Successive official committees (the 1942 Committee, the Mudaliar Committee) and Bombay's Minister Dinkarrao Desai at the 1957 Education Ministers' Conference explicitly warned against the policy, and their advice was ignored. - Madras High Court (Justice Balakrishna Ayyar, 12 January 1959) and Madras Mail commentary on shoddy State-issued abridgements of Quentin Durward and Oliver Twist document the resulting decline in quality. - A Press Trust of India report puts losses from piracy of State-published books at about Rs. 10 crores across seven States, with Bihar alone losing around Rs. 35 lakhs a year on Free India Readers and arithmetic books. - Three structural causes drive the piracy: high State margins, late and erratic supply, and trade discounts of only 10 per cent against the 15 per cent offered by private publishers. - The real remedy is to end the State monopoly and let competition keep both quality high and counterfeiters in check; legal remedies such as amending section 432 IPC can at best supplement, not replace, this. ### TEXT-BOOKS IN INDIA *By M. R. MASANI, M.P.* S. S. Patke, writing as ex-President of the Maharashtra State Federation of Headmasters' Associations, takes the July 1964 collapse of the Maharashtra Government's Standards IV and V geography textbooks — withdrawn at a cost of more than Rs. 7 lakhs — as the occasion to attack the State's broader 1960 decision to phase in Government-produced texts in English from Standard V to Standard X. He limits himself, as 'an active worker in the field of education', to the educational implications, and notes both the Government's refusal to reconsider the policy in spite of the scandal and its decision to push it through without legislative sanction, against the considered advice of educationists. In the rendered pages, Patke amplifies the case by citing authority after authority against the policy: the Secondary Education Commission (the Mudaliar Commission, 1952-53), which urged that the Text Book Committee should approve a number of suitable books rather than prescribe one; an International Team study that endorsed State support for educational research but not State production of textbooks; the XXXII All-India Educational Conference (Madras, December 1957), whose resolution was repeated at Chandigarh (1958) and Trivandrum (1962); and statements by Dr. A. L. Mudaliar (Madras, 22 November 1961), former Union Education Minister Dr. K. L. Shrimali, and Acharya Vinoba Bhave, who warned that 'Government-controlled education is bound to become formal and rigid' and turns teachers into employees. The essay continues beyond this chunk; the rendered pages break off as Patke begins to invoke Sir C. P. Ramaswami Aiyer. - The July 1964 Maharashtra geography-textbook fiasco for Standards IV and V cost the public exchequer more than Rs. 7 lakhs, yet has not made the Government reconsider its 1960 decision to extend State production stage-by-stage from English Std. V to Std. X. - The Maharashtra Government pushed through this major policy departure without taking the sanction of the Legislature and in defiance of expert educational advice. - The Secondary Education (Mudaliar) Commission recommended multiple approved textbooks per subject, not a single prescribed text, and explicitly framed this as protecting 'the scope of free enterprise in the publication of books.' - An International Team study on textbooks held that State Governments should organise research to support better textbook production but should not themselves take up production. - The XXXII All-India Educational Conference (Madras, 1957) passed — and repeated at Chandigarh (1958) and Trivandrum (1962) — a resolution against State monopoly publishing of textbooks for schools. - Patke marshals statements by Dr. A. L. Mudaliar, former Education Minister Dr. K. L. Shrimali and Acharya Vinoba Bhave to argue that publication should be left as far as possible to voluntary organisations and private societies. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] STATE TAKEOVER OF FOODGRAINS TRADE URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/state-takeover-of-foodgrains-trade-dr-a-c-chhatrapati-may-15-1973/ ### Summary Dr. A. C. Chhatrapati's pamphlet argues that the Government of India's 1973 decision to take over the wholesale trade in wheat and rice is an unwise and unworkable expansion of state economic power, taken without serious public debate. Drawing on his expertise in agricultural economics, he walks the reader through the role of the private wholesaler — financing producers, grading produce, storing surpluses, smoothing price movements between primary and consuming markets — and contends that no democratic country has abandoned free markets in foodgrains; only Communist regimes have done so, and they are now retreating from the experiment. He warns that the stated objectives of the takeover (eliminating speculation, ensuring remunerative prices to farmers, reasonable prices to consumers, and elimination of intermediaries) cannot be reconciled with the operational reality that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) is already procuring wheat at Rs. 76 per quintal but selling at Rs. 78, and would have to absorb Rs. 18.45 per quintal of subsidy on wheat and Rs.… ### Body # STATE TAKEOVER OF FOODGRAINS TRADE *By DR. A. C. CHHATRAPATI* ## Summary Dr. A. C. Chhatrapati's pamphlet argues that the Government of India's 1973 decision to take over the wholesale trade in wheat and rice is an unwise and unworkable expansion of state economic power, taken without serious public debate. Drawing on his expertise in agricultural economics, he walks the reader through the role of the private wholesaler — financing producers, grading produce, storing surpluses, smoothing price movements between primary and consuming markets — and contends that no democratic country has abandoned free markets in foodgrains; only Communist regimes have done so, and they are now retreating from the experiment. He warns that the stated objectives of the takeover (eliminating speculation, ensuring remunerative prices to farmers, reasonable prices to consumers, and elimination of intermediaries) cannot be reconciled with the operational reality that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) is already procuring wheat at Rs. 76 per quintal but selling at Rs. 78, and would have to absorb Rs. 18.45 per quintal of subsidy on wheat and Rs. 16.50 on rice in 1973-74. Chhatrapati develops a sustained critique of administered prices and bureaucratic management: handling costs in FCI will rise as organised public-sector labour demands higher wages, a single nationwide monopoly creates strike vulnerability that can hold the country to ransom, and political rather than economic considerations will dominate procurement and issue prices. He cites the Maharashtra Government's recent failure to attract cotton acreage despite attractive prices as evidence that administrative price-setting harasses rather than helps the cultivator. Pointing to the Soviet Union's own admission of the "baneful effects of production of goods which they can sell and minimise costs" and its turn toward enterprise autonomy, he asks why India is moving in the opposite direction. He also worries that once wholesale trade in essential commodities is in state hands, the space for active dissent and a healthy democracy will shrink, since industries dependent on government allotments of raw materials are already reluctant to criticise. The booklet is rounded out by four appendices. Appendix I reproduces excerpts from a 1922 paper by Mary G. Lacy on "Food Control During Forty-Six Centuries", cataloguing failed price-fixing attempts from Egypt, China, Athens, Rome, Great Britain, Antwerp, Revolutionary France, the Colonial United States and India itself, to argue that price fixing in times of scarcity has always removed the most powerful check on consumption — namely high prices. Appendix II reprints Jayaprakash Narayan's press statement calling the takeover "an unwise adventure" and "a case of the remedy being worse than the disease". Appendices III and IV present FCI's cost structure for 1973-74 and the cumulative losses of Rs. 330.23 crore that the State trading scheme in foodgrains had already accumulated by 1967-68. ## Key points - Frames the wholesale takeover of wheat and rice as a fait accompli rushed through without adequate debate in legislatures, party forums or mass media. - Defends the private wholesaler's economic functions — financing producers, grading, storage, smoothing seasonal and inter-regional price differentials — against the charge of being a monopolist. - Argues that no democratic country has abolished free markets in foodgrains and that the only relevant comparators are Communist economies which themselves are now liberalising. - Quantifies the cost gap that subsidies must absorb: FCI procurement at Rs. 76 per quintal of wheat plus incidentals reaches Rs. 96.45, against an issue price of Rs. 78, implying Rs. 18.45 per quintal of subsidy on wheat and Rs. 16.50 on rice for 1973-74. - Warns that a single State trading corporation creates a strike vulnerability that can hold the entire country to ransom, citing November cannibalisation strikes in STC and MMTC. - Uses the Maharashtra cotton case (orders for seed for only 125 hectares against 4,000 hectares targeted) to show that administered procurement schemes harass cultivators and discourage acreage. - Reads the Soviet turn toward enterprise autonomy and individual rule-following as confirmation that administered prices and bureaucratic distribution failed even under stricter discipline than India can muster. - Links the political economy of state monopoly trading to the erosion of democratic dissent, since industries dependent on government allotments avoid public criticism. - Appendices marshal a long historical record (Mary G. Lacy's 1922 paper) and a contemporary endorsement (Jayaprakash Narayan's press statement) to reinforce the case that price fixing and state trading in foodgrains is a recurrent and recurrently failed policy. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] State Trading And Democracy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/state-trading-and-democracy-by-murarji-vaidya-october-1-1956/ ### Summary Reprinted from The Times of India of 1 October 1956 and circulated as a pamphlet by the Forum of Free Enterprise, Murarji Vaidya's "State Trading And Democracy: 'Doctrinaire Dogmas'" attacks the recently formed State Trading Corporation of India. Vaidya argues that even as communist-bloc economists are quietly retreating from their command-economy commitments, India is drifting in the opposite direction — toward nationalisation and state trading — in deference to ideological slogans rather than evidence. He marshals two principal authorities. First, he reports on the post-war congress of Polish economists in which Prof. Oscar Lange complained of the lack of proper statistical data and bureaucratic mishandling of economic problems, and in which Prof. W. Brus made a powerful plea for reinstating the law of supply and demand against Marxian dogma. Second, he cites J. R. D. Tata's annual TISCO address, which warned of a drift toward a highly centralised form of state capitalism.… ### Body # State Trading And Democracy *By MURARJI VAIDYA* ## Summary Reprinted from The Times of India of 1 October 1956 and circulated as a pamphlet by the Forum of Free Enterprise, Murarji Vaidya's "State Trading And Democracy: 'Doctrinaire Dogmas'" attacks the recently formed State Trading Corporation of India. Vaidya argues that even as communist-bloc economists are quietly retreating from their command-economy commitments, India is drifting in the opposite direction — toward nationalisation and state trading — in deference to ideological slogans rather than evidence. He marshals two principal authorities. First, he reports on the post-war congress of Polish economists in which Prof. Oscar Lange complained of the lack of proper statistical data and bureaucratic mishandling of economic problems, and in which Prof. W. Brus made a powerful plea for reinstating the law of supply and demand against Marxian dogma. Second, he cites J. R. D. Tata's annual TISCO address, which warned of a drift toward a highly centralised form of state capitalism. Vaidya then catalogues the State Trading Corporation's rapid incursion into cement, manganese and iron ore, iron and steel, oils and oilseeds — moves he reads as a direct contradiction of the assurances given to the private sector in the Prime Minister's Industrial Policy statement, which had promised scope, freedom and encouragement for private enterprise alongside the public sector. In the "Larger Issues" section Vaidya broadens the critique: state trading concentrates economic and political power in the same hands, and the global record of state monopolies (outside communist regimes whose apparent success masks shortages, high prices and red-tapism) is one of dismal failure. He warns that nascent Indian democracy and its still-imbalanced industrial structure cannot afford to drive successful private traders out of the commodities they have built up. The piece closes by urging the business community — and the newly founded Forum of Free Enterprise — to combine integrity with active social engagement, so that legitimate grievances against private trade do not become pretexts for further state expansion into caustic soda, soda ash, tyres and tubes, or steel imports. ## Key points - Reprint of Murarji Vaidya's Times of India article of 1 October 1956, issued as a pamphlet by the Forum of Free Enterprise (Sohrab House, Bombay). - Frames the formation of the State Trading Corporation of India as an ironic embrace of 'doctrinaire dogmas' precisely when communist-bloc economists are reconsidering them. - Cites a post-war Polish economists' congress where Prof. Oscar Lange criticised bureaucratic mishandling and Prof. W. Brus pleaded for reinstating the law of supply and demand. - Invokes J. R. D. Tata's annual TISCO speech warning against a highly centralised form of state capitalism. - Catalogues the Corporation's rapid expansion into cement, manganese ore, iron ore, iron and steel, and oils and oilseeds in apparent contradiction to assurances given in the Prime Minister's Industrial Policy Resolution. - Argues that the global history of state trading (outside communist monopolies) is one of dismal failure, producing shortages, high prices, loss to the exchequer, and red-tapism. - Warns against further canalisation of trade in commodities such as caustic soda, soda ash, tyres and tubes, and steel imports. - Calls on the private business community and the newly started Forum of Free Enterprise to foster healthy traditions and take active social responsibility for the common man. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] State Trading URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/state-trading-a-d-shroff-jun6-1958/ ### Summary This booklet, issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay, gathers the addresses delivered at the Forum's Convention on State Trading held in Bombay on April 28, 1958. A. D. Shroff, President of the Forum, presides; the other speakers are N. Dandeker, I.C.S. (Retd.), S. C. Bose of the Utkal Mining and Industrial Association in Calcutta, Murarji J. Vaidya, former President of the Indian Merchants' Chamber, and D. B. Futnani, President of the Iron, Steel and Hardware Merchants' Chamber of India. The introduction frames the volume with a sidebar epigraph from Eugene Black, President of the World Bank, that private enterprise must be accepted not as a necessary evil but as an affirmative good. The five speakers converge on a single argument: that the expansion of the State Trading Corporation (S.T.C.) under India's planned-economy doctrine of a 'socialistic pattern of society' is the most sinister encroachment on free enterprise and the democratic way of life since independence.… ### Body # State Trading ## Summary This booklet, issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay, gathers the addresses delivered at the Forum's Convention on State Trading held in Bombay on April 28, 1958. A. D. Shroff, President of the Forum, presides; the other speakers are N. Dandeker, I.C.S. (Retd.), S. C. Bose of the Utkal Mining and Industrial Association in Calcutta, Murarji J. Vaidya, former President of the Indian Merchants' Chamber, and D. B. Futnani, President of the Iron, Steel and Hardware Merchants' Chamber of India. The introduction frames the volume with a sidebar epigraph from Eugene Black, President of the World Bank, that private enterprise must be accepted not as a necessary evil but as an affirmative good. The five speakers converge on a single argument: that the expansion of the State Trading Corporation (S.T.C.) under India's planned-economy doctrine of a 'socialistic pattern of society' is the most sinister encroachment on free enterprise and the democratic way of life since independence. Shroff calls it a 'Twentieth Century East India Company'; Dandeker mounts a constitutional argument that any new State activity must be 'demonstrably necessary' in the public interest and that the absence of autonomy invites backdoor political abuse; Bose documents the wreckage of the mineral and ore trade — manganese, iron ore, mica — under STC monopoly pricing; Vaidya argues that centralised barter deals with Communist countries are simultaneously corrupting export discipline and breeding a clientele dependent on the ruling party; Futnani details the fiscal and procurement disasters in steel imports, where amateur State purchasing has driven up costs by roughly forty per cent. The unifying thesis is that State Trading concentrates favour, finance and discretionary patronage in the hands of bureaucrats and the ruling party, hollowing out parliamentary democracy from within. ## Essays ### INTRODUCTION *By A. D. Shroff* Shroff opens by complaining that the Government has so politicised business that businessmen cannot avoid politics, citing a Gujarati proverb — 'when the ruler takes to trading, the subjects must go a-begging' — to frame his attack. He singles out the nationalisation of life insurance and the founding of the State Trading Corporation as the Government's two most indefensible acts, arguing that the STC has so widely extended Government patronage that it has demoralised the merchant class outright: hundreds of merchants ruined, others reduced to silent fear of speaking out. He warns that the STC is now extending its tentacles to petrol and newsprint, and recounts a personal encounter with Nagpur manganese ore traders whose stocks are mounting and whose businesses are about to be shut down by STC's intrusion. He closes with the polemical comparison: the State Trading Corporation 'can be described as the Twentieth Century East India Company', and its existence is further proof that the Government is attempting to destroy the precious democratic inheritance of independent India. - The Union Finance Minister Morarji Desai's advice to businessmen to stay out of politics is unworkable because the Government has injected politics into every layer of business. - Nationalisation of life insurance and the creation of the State Trading Corporation are the Government's 'two most indefensible actions'. - The STC has demoralised the merchant class — hundreds of merchants ruined, others afraid to speak. - STC is poised to take over petrol and newsprint distribution next, and is already destroying the Nagpur manganese trade. - Shroff brands the STC 'the Twentieth Century East India Company' and frames it as an attempt to destroy democracy. ### STATE TRADING AND ITS IMPLICATIONS *By A. D. Shroff* Dandeker mounts the most legalistic case against State Trading, arguing that India's democratic Constitution rests on fundamental rights and personal liberty, that the State is bound by those limits in every activity it undertakes, and that any new State activity in the economic field must be 'demonstrably necessary in the public interests'. He develops a two-pronged test: a State activity is permissible only where (a) the desired public objectives cannot be achieved by ordinary citizens and corporations, and (b) those objectives cannot be achieved equally well through regulated private enterprise. He argues that the STC has never been forced to meet either test ex ante, and that its results are routinely justified ex post facto by whichever rationale fits the day. He then turns to the limitations on State activity once it is permissible. Even within Iron Curtain countries, he says, State Trading suffers from a near-total absence of autonomy: control over imports, exports, licences and transport priorities can all be manipulated to favour the State Trading Corporation, creating not merely a commodity monopoly but a monopoly over the procedures by which trade succeeds. The unlimited finance and discretionary patronage placed at STC's disposal make it 'almost a de facto financial monopoly' that no private enterprise can compete against, and these distortions, he insists, must be rigidly circumscribed if State Trading is not to escape control entirely. - India's democratic Constitution requires that any new State activity be 'demonstrably necessary in the public interests' before encroaching on individual rights and liberties. - A two-prong test: (i) objectives unachievable by ordinary citizens/corporations, (ii) unachievable through regulated private enterprise. - The STC has never been forced to meet this test ex ante; its results are rationalised ex post facto. - Even within Iron Curtain countries, State Trading suffers from 'almost complete absence of autonomy' that breeds backdoor political abuse. - Unlimited public finance gives the STC a 'de facto financial monopoly' against which no private trader can compete. ### LIMITS & LIMITATIONS OF STATE TRADING *By N. Dandeker* Bose, speaking from the mineral and ore industry, opens with the categorical claim that there are no constitutional or economic grounds for the operation of the STC in India, that the idea is borrowed from the U.S.S.R. and cannot fit a country whose productive organisation lies in the private sector. He recounts that he had urged the STC at its founding to confine itself to shipping, banking and insurance services rather than commodity trade, and warns that an organisation with no clear-cut boundaries — straddling international trade, the Iron Curtain trade, internal trade, vessel chartering and Steel/Hydro-electric projects — is the most dangerous form of State activity. He then catalogues the wreckage in the mineral trade. The STC's inexperience and price-making behaviour has annoyed foreign buyers; iron ore production has dropped from 58% Fe quality previously exported to 35% of mines closed in India; STC has dishonoured 40% of manganese contracts; mines in Andhra and Orissa are shutting; unemployment of fifty thousand workers looms. His central image: 'the S.T.C. has killed the goose laying the golden eggs.' He demands the STC withdraw and the existing private trading mechanism be restored, warning that even three years will not undo one year of damage. Pages 18 and 19 of his address are missing from the rendered chunk. - There are no constitutional or economic grounds for STC operation; the idea is borrowed from the U.S.S.R. and ill-fitted to India's private-sector economy. - STC's lack of clear boundaries and its operation across services, internal trade, mining and steel makes it the most dangerous form of State activity. - Iron ore production has collapsed from 58% Fe exportable quality to 35% of mines closed; manganese ore is in acute slump. - STC has dishonoured 40% of manganese contracts, restraining the private sector's foreign markets. - Aphorism: the STC 'has killed the goose laying the golden eggs'; three years will not repair one year of damage. ### STATE TRADING IN MINERAL, ORES *By S. C. Bose* Vaidya frames his address around the question of how State Trading impacts India's democratic way of life. He asks why the Government of India set up the STC at all — to promote exports? to develop the mining industry? to help the trader? — and answers that, at the time of its formation, the rationale offered was the difficulty of dealing with the centralised state apparatus of Communist trading partners. Yet, he argues, all STC deals with Communist countries have been on a barter basis, while applications by Indian private traders for similar barter arrangements have been denied on the ground that the Government of India opposes such deals as a matter of policy — a flagrant contradiction. His deeper argument is constitutional: in a democracy, the State must treat every citizen as equal before the law, but the STC system is the opposite — registration with the STC is the gateway to favours, and unregistered traders are squeezed out. Centralisation in a single trading body places every importer and exporter at the mercy of the STC and threatens the very fundamentals of freedom, individual liberty and democracy. He warns that when a large body of citizens come to depend on the State Trading Corporation for their livelihood, they will never vote against the ruling party — destroying both opposition politics and parliamentary democracy. Vaidya closes by noting that the Forum of Free Enterprise itself was founded precisely to call a halt to the 'expanding activities and tentacles of the octopus of government control'. - STC was set up ostensibly to deal with centralised Communist trading bureaucracies, but all such trade is in fact on a barter basis available to private traders. - Government denies private traders the same barter arrangements it concludes through the STC — a flagrant contradiction. - Registration with the STC has become a regime of favours, violating democratic equality before the law. - Trade with Communist countries (e.g. pepper to U.S.S.R.) is destroying India's hard-currency export markets like America (70% drop in pepper exports). - The greatest danger is political: dependence on STC patronage will produce a captive electorate, making opposition vote and parliamentary government impossible. ### STATE TRADING AND DEMOCRACY *By Mr. Murarji J. Vaidya* Futnani, speaking for the iron-and-steel trade, opens with the formulation that 'the State Trading Corporation is not a commercial venture but may appropriately be termed as a political misadventure', arguing that the scandals of state trading dwarf even the Life Insurance Corporation affair. Iron and steel, he notes, is one of the biggest single items in India's import bill — Rs. 1,203 crores, roughly 20% of total foreign exchange requirements — yet only Rs. 120 crores (about 20%) is left for private importers; the rest is monopolised by the State. He argues that civil servants, however capable, cannot match the practical experience of generations of steel traders, and recalls the disastrous first purchase under an ex-Secretary who acquired 200,000 tons valued at Rs. 15 crores with no prior experience in steel. He quotes a family proverb — 'Na Janaanewalla Baba Levey, Pota Bechey' (the inexperienced grandfather buys and the grandson sells) — to illustrate that ill-specified purchases sit unsold for years. He details case after case in which the Government, by going abroad without bargaining discipline, paid 33%–40% more than the ruling market price for steel billets, flat bars and plates; refused contractual cancellation when prices fell 40%; and crashed prices on the foreign market by signalling India's exact requirements (£53 down to £34 per ton). His prescription: invite global or country-wide tenders, only in quantities needed at the time. The rendered chunk cuts off mid-essay at page 37. - Iron and steel imports total Rs. 1,203 crores — ~20% of India's foreign-exchange requirements — yet private importers handle only ~20% of that. - The STC's first steel purchase under an ex-Secretary acquired 200,000 tons worth Rs. 15 crores from someone with no steel experience. - Government bought standard steel billets at ~£55 per ton c.i.f. when the same were available at £33–£34, paying ~33% premiums on poorly specified material that then sat unsold. - By openly broadcasting India's total requirement (35,000 tons against a 10,000-ton offer), the Government caused foreign sellers to crash export prices from £53 to £34 per ton — a 40% loss in value for India. - Proverbial frame: 'Na Janaanewalla Baba Levey, Pota Bechey' — inexperienced grandfathers buy, grandsons sell at a loss. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] STATE TRADING IN FOODGRAINS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/state-trading-in-food-grains-a-d-shroff-jun7-1959/ ### Summary This 1959 booklet from the Forum of Free Enterprise gathers the presidential remarks and four addresses delivered at a Bombay Convention on State Trading in Foodgrains held on 13 March 1959, called in response to the National Development Council's November 1958 decision to take wholesale foodgrain distribution into State hands. A. D. Shroff presides; he is joined by Devji Rattansey (Vice-President of the Bombay Foodgrains Dealers' Association), Ranchhoddas Jethabhai (President of the Bombay Rice Merchants' Association), M. H. Hasham Premji (President of the All-India Foodgrains Dealers' Association) and Prof. R. K. Amin of the Vallabh Vidya Nagar Commerce College, Anand.… ### Body # STATE TRADING IN FOODGRAINS ## Summary This 1959 booklet from the Forum of Free Enterprise gathers the presidential remarks and four addresses delivered at a Bombay Convention on State Trading in Foodgrains held on 13 March 1959, called in response to the National Development Council's November 1958 decision to take wholesale foodgrain distribution into State hands. A. D. Shroff presides; he is joined by Devji Rattansey (Vice-President of the Bombay Foodgrains Dealers' Association), Ranchhoddas Jethabhai (President of the Bombay Rice Merchants' Association), M. H. Hasham Premji (President of the All-India Foodgrains Dealers' Association) and Prof. R. K. Amin of the Vallabh Vidya Nagar Commerce College, Anand. The contributors agree that the foodgrains crisis is fundamentally a problem of production rather than distribution, that the existing private trade is more efficient than the State machinery proposes to replace it, and that the policy is being pushed to deflect attention from the Government's deficit-financing failures. The volume's argumentative centre is twofold: a moral and constitutional warning that the Indian liberty experiment is being eroded by an expanding bureaucratic State whose appetite for control runs from 'pins to motor cars', and an applied economic case that procurement, price-fixing and the elimination of three lakh foodgrain merchants will impoverish cultivators, swell unemployment, and worsen the very price-rise it claims to cure. Speakers repeatedly invoke the failures of wartime rationing under Rafi Ahmed Kidwai's decontrol, cite the Asoka Mehta and Food Inquiry Committee reports, and call instead for improved production incentives, the removal of food zones, an all-India advisory board of merchants, and licensed (not state-monopolised) trade. ## Essays ### A DANGER TO DEMOCRATIC WAY OF LIFE *By A. D. Shroff* Shroff's presidential address frames the proposed State trading in foodgrains as a 'danger to the democratic way of life' rather than a technical adjustment. He attacks the moral double-standard by which private merchants are vilified for profit-seeking while the State Trading Corporation's Rs. 53-crore surplus on cement is praised as a national virtue, and warns that the Prime Minister's habit of denouncing 'vested interests' is in fact aimed at the only constituency capable of resisting the concentration of political and economic power in the bureaucracy. He cites the All-India Manufacturers' Organisation address of 11 March 1959 to argue that the Government's real grievance is independent thought, not concentration. The argument closes with a constitutional point: the freedom to choose one's avocation under the Constitution is violated if 300,000 merchants are forced to surrender their trade to the State Trading Corporation. Shroff exhorts the mercantile community—'the fullest backing' of which secured political independence—to mobilise public opinion, agitate for the removal of bad laws from the Statute Book, and remind the rulers that ill-conceived state trading will neither halt inflation nor solve the food problem, and will one day be regretted. - Treats State trading as a question of democratic principle, not merely of economic efficiency. - Highlights moral inconsistency: private profit is condemned while State Trading Corporation surpluses (Rs. 53 crores on cement) are celebrated. - Reads attacks on 'vested interests' as a campaign against the independent mercantile community that bankrolled the freedom struggle. - Argues the policy violates the constitutional right to choose one's profession and concentrates power dangerously in bureaucrats. - Locates the real food problem in deficit financing and inadequate production, not in middlemen's behaviour. ### AN ALTERNATIVE TO STATE TRADING *By Devji Rattansey, M.L.C. (Bombay State), Vice-President, Bombay Foodgrains Dealers' Assn.* Devji Rattansey, Vice-President of the Bombay Foodgrains Dealers' Association, argues that the National Development Council's November 1958 decision was a hasty response to a 5–8% price rise in 1958 caused by an inaccurate rabi forecast, not by trader misconduct. He notes that the Asoka Mehta Committee's recommended remedies—a Price Structure Board, wealth and expenditure taxes, a 45% maximum income-tax ceiling—were quietly dropped while only its 'doctrinaire' suggestion of state trading was retained, and points out that no Food Minister has actually been able to explain what state trading in foodgrains means in practice. Rattansey rebuts the charge that traders are profiteers by showing that bank advances against foodgrain stocks have hardly grown, and that the Government's own conduct (levying export duties one day, banning exports the next, promoting them on the third) destroys the certainty that trade requires. He calls for the removal of food zones, the appointment of an all-India advisory council of honest merchants, and limited licensed trading by the State only for imports—closing by quoting Gandhi on ministerial humility and warning that handing the trade to a few lakh inexperienced civil servants will produce a mess. - The 1958 price rise was a forecast failure, not a hoarding conspiracy, and bumper 1957–58 crops had previously held prices steady. - The Asoka Mehta Committee's structural remedies were dropped; only its state-trading proposal survived. - Even the Food Minister cannot define what 'state trading in foodgrains' actually means. - Government conduct—shifting export duties and bans daily—destroys the certainty that any trade requires. - Proposes removing food zones, a national advisory council of merchants, and licensed (not monopolised) trade. ### A NOVEL IDEA *By Ranchhoddas Jethabhai, President, Bombay Rice Merchants' Association* Only the opening page of Ranchhoddas Jethabhai's address (President of the Bombay Rice Merchants' Association) is in the rendered set; the rest of his text is missing from the supplied PDF. On the page seen he argues that the 'novel idea' of state trading was hailed at the Nagpur Congress in early 1959 and rushed into implementation by the Government, with traders cast as a 'scapegoat' for steep price rises that were really driven by other forces. He recalls that earlier wartime state trading in foodgrains during the rationing period had brought hardship to producers and consumers and caused heavy losses, and cites the Food Inquiry Committee Report's estimate that government handling cost roughly Rs. 46.4 crores a year while serving less than 15% of the population. - The proposal was hailed at the early-1959 Nagpur Congress session and rushed through soon after. - Middlemen were scapegoated for a price rise the speaker attributes to other factors. - Recalls heavy losses and hardship to producers and consumers under wartime state trading and rationing. - Cites the Food Inquiry Committee's figure of Rs. 46.4 crores per year wasted serving under 15% of the population. ### THE FOOD SITUATION IN ITS PROPER PERSPECTIVE *By M. H. Hasham Premji, President, All-India Foodgrains Dealers' Association* M. H. Hasham Premji, President of the All-India Foodgrains Dealers' Association, sets out to clear away 'emotional' confusion and restore the factual foundations of the food debate. He reviews seventeen years of swings between rationing and free trade, treating the late Rafi Ahmed Kidwai's decontrol as one of the wisest steps independent India ever took. He shows that foodgrain output has risen from 32 million tons in 1939–40 to a projected 71 million in 1958–59 (a 40-million-ton increase), that population pressure (1.5% growth) and the propensity to consume of a poor people account for most of the persisting shortage, and that the irrigation potential created by multi-purpose projects has not been put to use—so the right strategy is to expand production and warehousing rather than nationalise trade. The second half is a defence of the foodgrain trade itself: a network of primary and secondary mandis, lakhs of small firms, and 350–400 thousand wholesale rice traders in Bombay city alone, earning barely 2% gross (1% nett) profit. He calls the claim that the trade is concentrated in 'a few hands' a 'blatant lie', warns that nearly Rs. 1,000 crores of deficit financing and an additional Rs. 250 crores planned for the year ahead will keep food prices high regardless of who controls distribution, and proposes that the Government concentrate on production-side measures—cheap rural electricity, cattle wealth, cowdung as fuel, warehousing—rather than 'grand schemes like State Trading in food or from pins to motor cars'. - Treats Rafi Ahmed Kidwai's decontrol of foodgrains as one of independent India's wisest decisions. - Output has risen from 32 million tons (1939–40) to a projected 71 million (1958–59); the problem is production, not distribution. - Population growth of 1.5% per annum and rising consumption account for most persistent pressure on prices. - Rejects the 'concentration' charge: lakhs of small firms and hundreds of thousands of wholesalers populate the trade at 1–2% margins. - Identifies deficit financing (nearly Rs. 1,000 crores already, with Rs. 250 crores more proposed) as the real driver of food inflation. - Recommends rural electrification, fodder/cowdung utilisation, irrigation and warehousing over State distribution. ### AN ECONOMIST'S APPROACH TO THE FOOD PROBLEM *By Prof. R. K. Amin, Principal, Commerce College, Vallabh Vidya Nagar, Anand* Prof. R. K. Amin (Principal, Commerce College, Vallabh Vidya Nagar, Anand) supplies the academic complement to the merchant speakers. He examines the three principal arguments adduced for state trading—exploitation by middlemen, the need to dampen price fluctuations during the Second Five-Year Plan, and the need to raise marketable surplus and tax revenue from the rural sector for industrialisation—and finds none of them sufficient. Middlemen exploitation, where it exists, can be limited by warehouses and Rural Credit Survey reforms; price fluctuations are driven by deficit financing and the inelasticity of the agricultural supply curve, not by traders, and are better controlled by licensing and stock disclosure than by state monopoly. On the structural argument, Amin agrees that India's industrialisation needs a larger marketable surplus and more rural tax revenue, but argues that on a backward-sloping rural supply curve, taking grain away from low-income farmers without giving them low-priced industrial goods in exchange is 'tantamount to taking away a piece of bread from the hungry mouth'. He concludes that the proper approach is a production-oriented agricultural policy, full implementation of the Rural Credit Survey recommendations, and a Community Development Scheme that raises voluntary rural contributions—reserving state trading only for the case where democracy itself is to be sacrificed to total economic control. - Frames and refutes three standard arguments for state trading: middlemen exploitation, price stabilisation and surplus extraction for industrialisation. - Argues price instability comes from deficit financing and inelastic agricultural supply, not from trader behaviour. - Uses the backward-sloping supply curve to show that procurement at low prices in a poor rural economy will depress output, not raise marketable surplus. - Treats taxation of agriculture as defensible in principle but inequitable when farmers cannot exchange the cash for industrial goods. - Endorses production-oriented agricultural policy, Rural Credit Survey reforms, and voluntary labour through Community Development. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] STATE TRADING IN A DEMOCRACY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/state-trading-in-a-democracy-dr-s-g-panandikar-aug8-1960/ ### Summary State Trading in a Democracy gathers the speeches delivered at a Forum of Free Enterprise symposium held in Bombay on 6 May 1960, presided over by Dr. S. G. Panandikar. The booklet was published in August 1960 in the wake of a Parliamentary Estimates Committee report on the State Trading Corporation (STC) and amid a countrywide controversy over the STC's rapidly expanding scope. Five speakers — Dr. S. G. Panandikar, Dr. K. A. Hamied, M. H. Hasham Premji (President of the Federation of All-India Foodgrains Dealers' Associations), B. M. Choksi (President of the Paper Traders' Association, Bombay), and R. V.… ### Body # STATE TRADING IN A DEMOCRACY ## Summary State Trading in a Democracy gathers the speeches delivered at a Forum of Free Enterprise symposium held in Bombay on 6 May 1960, presided over by Dr. S. G. Panandikar. The booklet was published in August 1960 in the wake of a Parliamentary Estimates Committee report on the State Trading Corporation (STC) and amid a countrywide controversy over the STC's rapidly expanding scope. Five speakers — Dr. S. G. Panandikar, Dr. K. A. Hamied, M. H. Hasham Premji (President of the Federation of All-India Foodgrains Dealers' Associations), B. M. Choksi (President of the Paper Traders' Association, Bombay), and R. V. Murthy — converge on a common indictment: that the STC's monopoly status, its drift from regulator to operator, its bureaucratic incompetence in commodity-specific cases (cement, manganese, paper, foodgrains), and its political utility as a patronage and vote-gathering machine threaten both Indian democracy and the productive trading community. The contributors place their critique in the tradition of liberal political economy: Hamied invokes Lincoln's definition of democracy and Ludwig Erhard's umpire-versus-player analogy, Premji warns that state trading in foodgrains will end in compulsory procurement and rationing, while Murthy documents specific operational failures in cement and manganese exports. The volume's argumentative center is that competition — not state monopoly — is the safeguard against the joint exploitation of producer and consumer, and that the State's proper role lies in education, public health, infrastructure and a fair playing field rather than in usurping commercial functions traders have performed for generations. ## Essays ### MONOPOLY PRACTICES OF STATE TRADING CORPORATION HURT NATIONAL ECONOMY *By DR. S. G. PANANDIKAR* Dr. S. G. Panandikar, presiding over the symposium, argues that the harm of the State Trading Corporation flows specifically from its monopoly character rather than from state trading per se. Because the STC is simultaneously the monopoly buyer and the monopoly seller, both producer and consumer are squeezed; the cure, if state trading must continue at all, is to reduce the STC to one trader among many that competes on fair terms with the private trade. He further contends that the STC cannot be run effectively by officers without commercial experience and personal market knowledge, and that even continued operation requires the active guidance of experienced businessmen. His preferred solution is to dispense with the STC altogether and trust private traders to perform the essential function of trading efficiently and at minimum social cost. - The monopoly character of the STC — not state trading in the abstract — is what damages the national economy. - Combining monopoly buyer and monopoly seller in one entity injures producer and consumer simultaneously. - If state trading must exist, the STC should be one competing trader, not a monopolist. - Officers without business experience and market knowledge cannot run a trading enterprise; experienced traders must at minimum advise the STC. - Dispensing with the STC entirely is the most desirable course because private trade can perform trading functions efficiently and at minimum cost to society. ### STATE TRADING IN INDIA *By Dr. K. A. HAMIED, B.Sc., M.A., Ph.D. (Berlin). F.R.I.C., M.L.C., J.P.* Dr. K. A. Hamied frames state trading as a constitutional and philosophical question: a democratic State exists to look after public affairs and the basic well-being of the people, not to invade their day-to-day economic lives. Drawing on Lincoln's definition of democracy and Ludwig Erhard's famous analogy of the State as the football umpire rather than a player, he argues that direct trading by the State violates the fundamental principle of democracy by becoming an instrument of oppression over the ruling people themselves. Hamied then audits the STC's four declared objectives — expanding trade with Communist countries, maintaining price equilibrium, bridging supply-demand gaps, and supplementing private trade — and finds that the organisation has either failed or quietly substituted profit-making and the supplanting of private trade for its stated aims. He cites the Bombay oil refineries, foodgrain price levels, and inter-zonal wheat barriers as evidence; offers a striking comparison between the Canadian Commercial Corporation's lean 51-person staff and the STC's 1,540 employees handling lower turnover; and insists that the path to national greatness lies through education, public health, housing, schools and infrastructure rather than through state shops in milk powder, cement and handloom cloth. - A democratic State's duty is to look after public affairs, not to trade in goods of daily requirement. - Erhard's umpire analogy: the State should referee the economic game, not start playing football itself. - The STC's four declared objectives have been displaced by an undeclared one — profit-making for the State. - Comparison with the Canadian Commercial Corporation (51 staff, $95M turnover vs. STC's 1,540 staff on lower turnover) demonstrates the STC's bureaucratic bloat. - Zonal barriers in wheat trade prevent prices in Delhi (Rs. 18) and Ghaziabad (Rs. 19) from being equalised with Bombay (Rs. 27); the State itself creates artificial price differentials. - National greatness depends on education, social reform and infrastructure — not on the State selling milk powder, cement and handloom cloth. ### STATE TRADING IN FOODGRAINS WILL LEAD TO RATIONING *By M. H. HASHAM PREMJI, President, Federation of All-India Foodgrains Dealers' Associations* M. H. Hasham Premji, speaking as President of the Federation of All-India Foodgrains Dealers' Associations, warns that state trading in foodgrains is a political project that will end in rationing. He recounts a Bombay meeting with the Managing Director of the STC at which extension of the STC's foodgrains role was floated, places the current push in the context of the PL 480 agreement for 17 million tons of US wheat secured by Food Minister S. K. Patil, and argues that India's recurrent food crises stem from inadequate production and storage rather than from trader malpractice. He ridicules the bureaucratic hope of overcoming a 33% production shortfall by inserting officials between producer and consumer, citing John Matthai's and Eugene Black's warnings against state enterprise overreach, and concludes that compulsory grain procurement plus consumer rationing is the inevitable endpoint of the present path. With characteristic moral framing — Mahatma Gandhi's warning against false gods and Moses's first commandment — Premji defends the 300,000 small foodgrains traders as the only existing machinery capable of moving the country's grain. - State trading in foodgrains is a political instrument designed to entrench government machinery and secure votes — not a solution to the food problem. - The PL 480 deal for 17 million tons of US wheat is a temporary palliative; the real problem is a 33% production shortfall and inadequate buffer-storage capacity. - Government inspection of 140-150 godowns showed only one or two cases of hoarding, refuting the case for sweeping state intervention. - John Matthai and Eugene Black are invoked as authorities counselling restraint in state economic enterprise. - Persisting in state trading will force complete controls, compulsory procurement and rationing — destroying the small-trader machinery the country actually depends on. ### BUREAUCRATIC HANDLING OF TRADE IS NOT SUITED TO ECONOMIC GROWTH *By B. M. CHOKSI, President, Paper Traders' Association, Bombay* B. M. Choksi, President of the Paper Traders' Association, Bombay, brings the perspective of a working trader who initially gave the STC the benefit of the doubt. Recounting how the STC moved from foreign trade with Communist countries into newsprint, tissue paper and other domestic distribution roles, he describes the alarmed response of established paper traders who found themselves forced into 'Associate' arrangements with the corporation in order to keep doing business. Drawing on the parallel experience of cement, shipping and export traders, Choksi argues that the STC's expansion reflects a new 'religion of socialism' that misunderstands the role of trade in national development. He concludes that the path of increased state trading leads to State Capitalism, a bureaucracy hostile to both individual freedom and democracy, and the ruin of the economy. - Initial openness to the STC turned to alarm as the corporation entered newsprint, tissue paper, cement and shipping arrangements. - STC's 'Associate' scheme forces established traders to participate on its terms in order to remain in their own line of trade. - Expansion is driven by a political-ideological 'religion of socialism' rather than by economic necessity or efficiency. - Politicians' abstract theories are detached from market realities and the prosperity of the trading community. - Increased state trading leads to State Capitalism, a bureaucracy that destroys individual freedom and democracy, and economic ruin. ### STATE TRADING — AN UNMITIGATED TALE OF BUNGLING & INEFFICIENCY *By R. V. MURTHY* R. V. Murthy takes the symposium's argument to its case-study extreme, treating the STC's record in two commodities — cement (internal distribution) and manganese ore (export) — as a forensic indictment. In cement, he shows the STC has been pocketing the maximum conceivable profit margin without handling a single bag, exploiting a gap between an Rs. 58-10 ex-works price reported by the Estimates Committee and an Rs. 15.50 figure cited by the Economy Minister. In manganese, he documents the Visakhapatnam loading farce and links the resulting Indian export decline (24% against a 4% world drop, with steel-mill destocking in America compounding the damage) to the STC's mishandling. Murthy then turns to barter deals, ferro-manganese, and the broader pattern of the STC displacing experienced exporters from long-standing networks. He warns of the dangers of bilateral barter with Communist countries — once trade is funnelled politically, those customers can switch off without notice — and ends with the symposium's most quoted line: once the tiger tastes human blood, it never gives up the habit. The STC's entry into trade, he concludes, is the most unfortunate event in recent Indian economic history. - STC's cement operations yield massive unearned profit margins precisely because it never handles a bag; the Estimates Committee's Rs. 58-10 ex-works price and the Economy Minister's Rs. 15.50 figure cannot both be true. - Manganese exports illustrate operational failure: ships sent to load at Visakhapatnam found no ore, were diverted to Bombay, and faced fabricated berth-delay explanations to mask losses. - India's manganese exports declined 24% even as the global decline was only 4%; the STC is the proximate cause. - STC's barter deals with Communist countries entail strategic risk: bilateral political customers can terminate trade without warning, leaving exporters stranded. - Bureaucratic ignorance is amplified by Parkinson-style staff growth; the STC's personnel expansion compared to Canadian counterparts illustrates the disparity. - The STC's entry into trade is the most unfortunate event in recent Indian economic history and demands a clear policy declaration in light of the Estimates Committee Report. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES OF THE SWATANTRA PARTY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/statement-of-principles-of-the-swatantra-party-aug2-1959/ ### Summary Adopted at the Swatantra Party's Preparatory Convention in Bombay on August 1 and 2, 1959, this Statement of Principles sets out the twenty-one foundational planks of the new party in a numbered, declarative form. The opening clauses commit the party to social justice and equality of opportunity without distinction of religion, caste, occupation, or political affiliation, while staking out the party's defining position: maximum freedom for the individual and minimum interference by the State, with state action confined to preventing anti-social activity, protecting the weaker sections, and creating conditions in which private initiative can be fruitful. The document explicitly opposes the trajectory of "increasing State interference of the kind now being pursued," and frames its alternative around the Gandhian principle of Trusteeship rather than State compulsion. The middle clauses translate this anti-statist frame into concrete economic positions.… ### Body # STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES OF THE SWATANTRA PARTY ## Summary Adopted at the Swatantra Party's Preparatory Convention in Bombay on August 1 and 2, 1959, this Statement of Principles sets out the twenty-one foundational planks of the new party in a numbered, declarative form. The opening clauses commit the party to social justice and equality of opportunity without distinction of religion, caste, occupation, or political affiliation, while staking out the party's defining position: maximum freedom for the individual and minimum interference by the State, with state action confined to preventing anti-social activity, protecting the weaker sections, and creating conditions in which private initiative can be fruitful. The document explicitly opposes the trajectory of "increasing State interference of the kind now being pursued," and frames its alternative around the Gandhian principle of Trusteeship rather than State compulsion. The middle clauses translate this anti-statist frame into concrete economic positions. The party calls for restoring stability and incentive through strict adherence to the Fundamental Rights as originally adopted — including freedom of property, trade, and occupation, and just compensation for property compulsorily acquired. It prioritises food, water, housing, and clothing as the basic needs to be met, defends the self-employed peasant-proprietor against collectivisation and bureaucratic management of the rural economy, and demands remunerative and steady prices for agricultural produce. On industry, it endorses competitive enterprise with safeguards for labour, restricts state enterprise to heavy industries and services like Railways that supplement private effort, and opposes the State entering trade and disturbing free distribution. Clauses on taxation, deficit financing, foreign loans, inflation, and the cost of public administration warn against "crippling taxation," "abnormal deficit financing," and the expansion of the bureaucratic machine. The closing clauses articulate the party's civic and constitutional commitments: decentralised industrial distribution, full and lasting employment through balanced industrialisation, a fair deal for labour with the right to organise, and harmonisation of capital and labour. Principle 19 commits the party to "the rule of law, an independent judiciary, and for the full play of the powers of judicial review given to the Courts by the Constitution," while opposing political pressure on officials. Principle 20 binds the party to "the cardinal teachings of Gandhiji," and the concluding Principle 21 reserves to members "full liberty on all questions not falling within the scope of the Principles stated above," framing internal pluralism as itself a democratic value. ## Key points - The Statement was adopted at the Swatantra Party's Preparatory Convention in Bombay on August 1 and 2, 1959, and is organised as twenty-one numbered principles. - Principle 2 sets the party's core frame: maximum freedom for the individual and minimum interference by the State, with explicit opposition to "increasing State interference of the kind now being pursued." - Principle 3 invokes Gandhiji's Trusteeship doctrine as the alternative to the "omnipotent State controlled by a political party voted to power." - Principles 6 and 9 defend property rights and the self-employed peasant-proprietor, opposing collectivisation and bureaucratic management of the rural economy and demanding just compensation for compulsorily acquired property. - Principles 10–11 confine state enterprise to heavy industries and services such as Railways that supplement private effort, and oppose state entry into trade and the resulting "controls and official management with all its wastefulness and inefficiency." - Principles 12–15 warn against crippling taxation, abnormal deficit financing, foreign loans beyond capacity to repay, and inflation that erodes savings and fixed incomes, while calling for reduced cost of public administration. - Principle 19 commits the party to the rule of law, an independent judiciary, and the full play of judicial review under the Constitution, opposing political pressure on officials. - Principle 21 grants members full liberty on questions outside the Fundamental Principles, framing internal freedom of opinion as itself a democratic commitment. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Statement on the Current Economic Situation in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/statement-on-current-economic-situation-in-india-september-2019/ ### Summary Published in September 2019 by the Forum of Free Enterprise, this short booklet is an institutional position paper addressed to Parliament and the wider public on India's then-slowing economy. The Forum frames the moment — a six-year-low GDP growth rate of 5%, the stated ambition of a $5 trillion economy by 2024, and a million young people entering the workforce each month — as a 1991-style opportunity to push through structural reform. It calls for a special session of Parliament that listens to industry and agriculture and commits to a higher growth trajectory of 8–9% sustained over seven years, arguing that with an unstable external environment the answers must be found internally. The core of the statement is a numbered list of eight critical issues on the relationship between government and the private sector: (1) the role of government should be confined to rules of the game and law and order, with major spending channelled through the private sector and the release of an estimated Rs 12 lakh crore of undisputed government dues; (2) loss-making public sector units such as Air India, BSNL and MTNL must be disinvested, banks and insurance companies privatised, with divestmen… ### Body # Statement on the Current Economic Situation in India ## Summary Published in September 2019 by the Forum of Free Enterprise, this short booklet is an institutional position paper addressed to Parliament and the wider public on India's then-slowing economy. The Forum frames the moment — a six-year-low GDP growth rate of 5%, the stated ambition of a $5 trillion economy by 2024, and a million young people entering the workforce each month — as a 1991-style opportunity to push through structural reform. It calls for a special session of Parliament that listens to industry and agriculture and commits to a higher growth trajectory of 8–9% sustained over seven years, arguing that with an unstable external environment the answers must be found internally. The core of the statement is a numbered list of eight critical issues on the relationship between government and the private sector: (1) the role of government should be confined to rules of the game and law and order, with major spending channelled through the private sector and the release of an estimated Rs 12 lakh crore of undisputed government dues; (2) loss-making public sector units such as Air India, BSNL and MTNL must be disinvested, banks and insurance companies privatised, with divestment proceeds used to retire public debt; (3) vacant public land — including parcels held by the Mumbai Port Trust — should be auctioned in a sequential, transparent manner; (4) punitive language by officials, including talk of creating "fear" around traffic penalties, must be replaced by progressive penalties and a collaborative tone protective of personal liberties and free expression; (5) the National Skill Development Corporation's target of 500 million workers must be reinstated and monitored, given that only about 12% of trainees have found steady jobs; (6) ease of doing business needs ground-truth assessment alongside the World Bank index, with a clear roadmap for foreign direct investment and lower overall tax costs; (7) state and central governments must offer long-term policy clarity rather than overturning predecessors' contracts; and (8) entrepreneurs should be supported as the Prime Minister's "Growth Ambassadors." A closing section on industry-specific measures presses for revival of real estate and construction through lower GST and stamp duty, stability in telecom, textile, auto and power, recognition of India's poor R&D base (a single Chinese university, Tsinghua, is said to produce more IP than all of India), and urgent labour reforms — including measures to lift female labour-force participation from 22% (against 43% in China). The booklet concludes that with bold reform a virtuous cycle of growth can lift India to a level "which could not have been foreseen a decade ago," and is sponsored by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust in memory of the late chartered accountant Shailesh Kapadia (1949–1988). It opens with a Shroff epigraph on the perennity of free enterprise and closes with Eugene Black's line that private enterprise must be accepted "not as a necessary evil, but as an affirmative good." ## Key points - Forum of Free Enterprise treats the 2019 slow-down (GDP at a six-year low of 5%) as a 1991-style window for structural reform, and urges a special session of Parliament dedicated to it. - Argues that government should confine itself to rules of the game and law and order, channelling major spending through the private sector and releasing an estimated Rs 12 lakh crore of undisputed government dues. - Calls for clear disinvestment and privatisation of Air India, BSNL, MTNL, nationalised banks and insurance companies, with proceeds used to retire public debt rather than fund recurring bailouts (Rs 300,000 crore injected into PSU banks over five years against NPAs of over Rs 800,000 crore). - Demands transparent, time-bound auction of vacant public land (e.g. Mumbai Port Trust parcels) to private development as a tool to lower real-estate prices and stimulate construction. - Pushes back on the rhetoric of "fear" in penalty regimes, insisting that personal liberties and freedom of expression are preconditions of a sustainable economy. - Identifies skilling, ease of doing business, foreign direct investment clarity, lower tax burden, predictable policy across states, and a stronger R&D base as preconditions for an 8–9% growth trajectory sustained over seven years. - Highlights female labour-force participation (~22% vs China's 43%) as both a source of depressed incomes and a moral issue requiring labour reform. - Booklet is published in memory of chartered accountant Shailesh Kapadia (1949–1988) by his memorial trust, and is bookended by epigraphs from A. D. Shroff and former World Bank president Eugene Black. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] STOCK MARKET IN TURMOIL – LESSONS FOR INVESTORS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/stock-market-and-turmoil-lessons-for-investors-by-shah-mulraj-simha-2001/ ### Summary Stock Market in Turmoil – Lessons for Investors is a 2001 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet collecting three contributions on the Indian stock market crisis that followed the collapse of the early-nineties bull run and the IT-stock hype. Prof. S. L. N. Simha, a former Principal Adviser of the Reserve Bank of India, opens with a forensic essay on "The Stock Market Debacle" originally carried by Southern Economist, blaming the Government, the RBI and SEBI more than speculators for permitting bank credit, badla carry-overs, mutual-fund share lending and weak regulatory independence to inflate the bubble. J. Mulraj, a financial analyst and Times of India columnist, follows with "Some Rules for Investors," a talk delivered at a Forum of Free Enterprise meeting in Mumbai on 18 April 2001, tracing the structural shift from open-outcry to screen-based trading, the rise of mutual funds and institutional ownership, and the global dotcom valuation mania. A third contribution by Dr. Ajay Shah is announced on the cover but falls outside the rendered pages. ### Body # STOCK MARKET IN TURMOIL – LESSONS FOR INVESTORS *By Prof. S. L. N. SIMHA, J. MULRAJ, Dr. AJAY SHAH* ## Summary Stock Market in Turmoil – Lessons for Investors is a 2001 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet collecting three contributions on the Indian stock market crisis that followed the collapse of the early-nineties bull run and the IT-stock hype. Prof. S. L. N. Simha, a former Principal Adviser of the Reserve Bank of India, opens with a forensic essay on "The Stock Market Debacle" originally carried by Southern Economist, blaming the Government, the RBI and SEBI more than speculators for permitting bank credit, badla carry-overs, mutual-fund share lending and weak regulatory independence to inflate the bubble. J. Mulraj, a financial analyst and Times of India columnist, follows with "Some Rules for Investors," a talk delivered at a Forum of Free Enterprise meeting in Mumbai on 18 April 2001, tracing the structural shift from open-outcry to screen-based trading, the rise of mutual funds and institutional ownership, and the global dotcom valuation mania. A third contribution by Dr. Ajay Shah is announced on the cover but falls outside the rendered pages. ## Essays ### The Stock Market Debacle *By Prof. S. L. N. Simha* Simha argues that the recurring Indian stock-market debacles are not primarily the fault of speculators but of regulators who, for almost two decades, treated a bullish stock market as a proxy for economic strength. He charges the Government, the Reserve Bank of India and SEBI with permitting banks and depository institutions to lend against shares, engage in badla carry-overs and loan securities to bear operators, while neglecting margin discipline and self-regulation by exchanges. Citing Keynes's beauty-contest analogy to explain why even eminent experts cannot price equities reliably, he warns small savers off direct equity exposure and proposes a battery of reforms: a separate banking-supervision authority independent of the RBI, a SEBI restructured along the lines of the U.S. SEC with statutory independence and five-year tenures, prohibition of bank credit and share-lending for stock transactions, short rolling settlements in place of badla, mandatory bonus issues and tighter dividend conventions, dematerialisation of share transfers through banks, and a massive investor-education programme. The essay ends on a deliberately deflationary note: undue importance has been given to share-price movements as an index of the country's economic performance, "like the misguided importance we have given to cricket". Simha cautions against rushing to introduce derivatives trading beyond stock-index futures, citing the near-bankruptcy of Long-Term Capital Management, and insists that scams confined to individuals will peter out but those involving banks and mutual funds threaten the capital market itself. - Primary responsibility for the debacle lies with Government, RBI and SEBI rather than with speculators, whose job is to maximise private gain. - Bank credit, badla carry-overs and securities lending by mutual funds and depository institutions are identified as the mechanisms by which speculation was financed. - SEBI, modeled too weakly on the U.S. SEC, must be statutorily insulated from the Finance Ministry with five-year board tenures and emoluments comparable to RBI Governors. - Small savers should stay out of direct equity, taking the route only through mutual funds — and only marginally, citing T. T. Krishnamachari's logic in setting up the Unit Trust of India. - Reforms proposed include a separate banking-supervision authority, short rolling settlements, prohibition of share-lending, mandatory bonus issues, dematerialisation, and an investor-education drive. - Government should remain neutral in markets — neither help bulls nor bears — and avoid creating hype around equity investment as an index of national performance. ### Some Rules for Investors *By J. Mulraj* Mulraj, who joined the Bombay Stock Exchange in 1985, narrates the structural transformation of Indian markets from open-outcry floor trading and jobber-mediated price quotes to screen-based trading, paperless settlement and a competitive brokerage industry following foreign entry. He argues that the transaction-cost gains have given investors "greater control over their investment destiny" — but warns that the parallel shift in ownership patterns, with mutual funds replacing individuals as the dominant holders, has introduced its own herd-driven volatility. In the rendered pages he diagnoses the 2001 turmoil as the joint product of domestic factors and a global venture-capital mania that funded dotcoms on "eyeballs rather than profits," comparing it to a tulip mania without the deliberate fraud. He identifies open-ended NAV-based mutual funds as a marketing rather than financial success and as a structural source of short-termism, citing Lucent Technologies' fall after thirteen quarters of expectation-beating and the Infosys correction in India. The text breaks off mid-argument at the close of the rendered chunk; the third contribution by Dr. Ajay Shah lies past the cut. - The transaction side of Indian markets has improved dramatically with screen-based trading, paperless settlement and foreign brokerage competition. - Brokerages in India fell uniformly with electronic trading — unlike post-Big-Bang London, where retail customers were charged 4 per cent while institutions paid a quarter of a per cent. - Ownership has shifted from individuals to institutions: the U.S. ratio inverted over thirty years, and India is moving the same way. - Open-ended NAV-based mutual funds are a marketing innovation, not a financial one, and structurally encourage short-termism in corporate management. - The dotcom mania exemplified valuation by "eyeballs rather than profits," with disruptive technologies (Napster, p2p) compounding the difficulty of predicting business survival. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] STRONG MEDICINE FOR INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/strong-medicine-for-india-leland-hazard-july-11-1966/ ### Summary Leland Hazard's pamphlet, first published in the December 1965 Atlantic Monthly and reissued by the Forum of Free Enterprise in July 1966, is a Cold-War-era polemic that prescribes "strong medicine" for a country he depicts as militarily lifted by the Pakistan crisis but still hobbled by chronic economic and administrative diseases. Writing as a frequent visitor to India and a former industrialist-academic, Hazard urges the Western donor world to attach conditions to its aid: India must first put its own house in order before more grants, loans, and technical assistance keep flowing. He frames the failed Five-Year Plans, the swollen Delhi bureaucracy, and the cult of state ownership as obstacles that decades of well-meaning but unconditional foreign aid have allowed to harden. The core argument is a critique of Nehruvian planning and what Hazard, citing John Kenneth Galbraith, calls "post office socialism." He insists on decontrol of prices and competition, reform of the tax base, simplification of administration, and the replacement of seniority-bound generalist bureaucrats by technicians promoted on merit.… ### Body # STRONG MEDICINE FOR INDIA *By By LELAND HAZARD* ## Summary Leland Hazard's pamphlet, first published in the December 1965 Atlantic Monthly and reissued by the Forum of Free Enterprise in July 1966, is a Cold-War-era polemic that prescribes "strong medicine" for a country he depicts as militarily lifted by the Pakistan crisis but still hobbled by chronic economic and administrative diseases. Writing as a frequent visitor to India and a former industrialist-academic, Hazard urges the Western donor world to attach conditions to its aid: India must first put its own house in order before more grants, loans, and technical assistance keep flowing. He frames the failed Five-Year Plans, the swollen Delhi bureaucracy, and the cult of state ownership as obstacles that decades of well-meaning but unconditional foreign aid have allowed to harden. The core argument is a critique of Nehruvian planning and what Hazard, citing John Kenneth Galbraith, calls "post office socialism." He insists on decontrol of prices and competition, reform of the tax base, simplification of administration, and the replacement of seniority-bound generalist bureaucrats by technicians promoted on merit. He argues that the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations' agricultural Package Programmes show what scientific, results-driven aid can do, but that they reach only a small fraction of India's farmers; food, fertilizers, family planning, and basic industry must be scaled up together, and Western donors should stop being "abashed, as if they were the Greeks bearing gifts" about insisting on administrative reform as the price of continued help. Hazard closes with two unconventional "nominations" for India's national morale: a nationwide commercial and educational television system that could leapfrog illiteracy and the country's fourteen-language divisions, and an indigenous nuclear-weapons programme, which he argues the West has no right to forbid and which would restore Indian self-respect after the deaths of Gandhi and Nehru. The booklet ends on an explicitly anti-Communist, pro-Western framing: India is anti-Communist and anti-Chinese, the freedom it cherishes lies in the West, and the affluent world cannot, in its own interest, look away from Indian misery. ## Key points - Hazard argues that Western aid should be conditional on India first reforming her economic controls, tax base, and civil-service practices, rather than being delivered unconditionally as it has been for over a decade. - He attacks Nehru's "socialistic pattern" and state-owned enterprises run without a profit motive, quoting John Kenneth Galbraith's label "post office socialism" for the resulting non-profit delusion. - He treats the Five-Year Plans as visible failures — two already missed by large margins, the third "in process of failing" — and rejects the consensus that everything must move in "equally delicate balance." - Agricultural transformation is presented as India's unfinished revolution: fertilizers, hybrid seeds, irrigation, credit, and Ford Foundation Package Programmes are praised but cover only 2% of farmers, and population growth and birth control are framed as crucial constraints. - Hazard celebrates the machine-tool industry and the privately managed Air India as islands of "modern excellence" that disprove any cultural argument against Indian managerial competence. - His two morale-building "nominations" are a national private-plus-governmental television system (which he claims could skip the word and bridge fourteen major languages) and an indigenous Indian nuclear weapon, which he says the nuclear powers have no moral right to forbid. - He places India explicitly in the Western camp — anti-Communist, anti-Chinese, dependent on America for military protection since the 1962 Chinese strike — and treats Cold War alignment as the precondition for further aid. - The pamphlet's polemical frame is medical: India is the patient, her old elite of "bespectacled intellectuals" is the failed treatment, and the West, paying the medical bills, has both the right and the duty to prescribe the cure. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Success in Agriculture Through Free Enterprise URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/success-in-agriculture-through-free-enterprise-by-jr-henshaw-december-10-1964/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet — drawn from his presidential address to the 71st United Planters' Association of Southern India (UPASI) annual conference on September 1, 1964 — J. R. Henshaw argues that the conspicuous productivity gains made by South Indian plantation industries since 1947 (tea, coffee and rubber output all sharply up despite pests, disease and rising costs) prove the case for treating agriculture as a business rather than a sentimental way of life. The 'most important element' in farm progress, he insists, is first-class scientific management; ceilings on personal holdings and other land-reform measures aimed only at redistribution add little to the national economic dividend. The second half of the pamphlet is a sustained critique of India's fiscal treatment of plantations. Henshaw argues that the cumulative weight of competing Central and State income taxes on agricultural income — uniquely Indian, in his telling — is starving the industry of the reserves it needs to expand.… ### Body # Success in Agriculture Through Free Enterprise *By J. R. Henshaw* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet — drawn from his presidential address to the 71st United Planters' Association of Southern India (UPASI) annual conference on September 1, 1964 — J. R. Henshaw argues that the conspicuous productivity gains made by South Indian plantation industries since 1947 (tea, coffee and rubber output all sharply up despite pests, disease and rising costs) prove the case for treating agriculture as a business rather than a sentimental way of life. The 'most important element' in farm progress, he insists, is first-class scientific management; ceilings on personal holdings and other land-reform measures aimed only at redistribution add little to the national economic dividend. The second half of the pamphlet is a sustained critique of India's fiscal treatment of plantations. Henshaw argues that the cumulative weight of competing Central and State income taxes on agricultural income — uniquely Indian, in his telling — is starving the industry of the reserves it needs to expand. He calls for a uniform, capped agricultural income-tax rate (not exceeding 40 paise in the rupee), full depreciation on planted assets, restoration of the 50% development rebate on new plantings and replacements, and reversal of the 1963 Finance Act's abolition of the direct export duty rebate on tea, which he says has made Indian tea worse off after export than before. Throughout, he frames the choice as one between a 'self-defeating' policy that discourages expansion, labour and land use while squeezing revenue from a stagnating industry, and an alternative in which the Government matches its desire for higher production and exports with a corresponding willingness to modify fiscal, land, labour and administrative policy. The closing tax-coordination argument — that any concession given will 'automatically be made good in terms of revenue' because state revenues will expand with the industry — is offered as the supply-side payoff of free-enterprise agriculture. ## Key points - South Indian planters have lifted production sharply since 1947 — tea from 98m to 195m lbs, coffee from 14,900 to over 67,000 metric tonnes (1963-64 crop), and rubber from 16,713 to 37,200 tonnes — despite pests, disease and rising costs. - Henshaw rejects sentimental, 'old-world-way-of-life' agriculture and argues that scientific, business-style management is the decisive variable in farm progress, more important even than the land itself. - Land-reform measures fixated on rigid ceilings for personal holding contribute little to economic progress; what matters is who can manage the land productively. - India is, in his account, the only country with a separate tax on agricultural income; the cumulative load of competing Central and State income taxes is starving plantations of resources to reinvest. - He calls for Central-State coordination on agricultural income tax, a uniform rate capped at 40 paise in the rupee, full recognition of depreciation on planted/soils assets, and restoration of the 50% development rebate withdrawn for new plantings, replacements and extensions. - He attacks the abolition of the direct export duty rebate on tea by the 1963 Finance Act, arguing that the enhanced non-refundable excise duty makes exporters worse off than producers selling at home. - The Mysore Government's increases under the Mysore Land Revenue Act 1964 — in some cases a 34-fold rise from Rs. 2 to Rs. 76 per acre — are flagged as 'an intolerable exaction' that the industry cannot bear on top of existing burdens. - Overall thesis: government desire for higher production and exports must be matched by a willingness to modify fiscal, land, labour and administrative policy; concessions to a growing industry pay for themselves in expanded revenue. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Taxation Trends and its impact on Indian Multinational Companies URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/taxation-trends-and-its-impact-on-indian-mncs-smahalingam-september-4-2011/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces an inaugural address delivered by S. Mahalingam — Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director of Tata Consultancy Services — at the Forum's August 2011 three-day residential programme on Current Issues in Direct and Indirect Taxation. Mahalingam opens with an extended personal tribute to the late Nani Palkhivala, recalling his work with him at TCS from 1968 onwards, Palkhivala's interventions on tax matters during his ambassadorial years in the United States, and his charitable, civic and cultural philanthropy in Madras. He frames Palkhivala both as the architect of the Indian IT industry's legal foundation and as a model jurist whose advocacy made a free India economically possible. The central body of the speech surveys how India's tax architecture is reshaping the operations of Indian multinationals, with TCS used as the running case study.… ### Body # Taxation Trends and its impact on Indian Multinational Companies *By S. Mahalingam* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces an inaugural address delivered by S. Mahalingam — Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director of Tata Consultancy Services — at the Forum's August 2011 three-day residential programme on Current Issues in Direct and Indirect Taxation. Mahalingam opens with an extended personal tribute to the late Nani Palkhivala, recalling his work with him at TCS from 1968 onwards, Palkhivala's interventions on tax matters during his ambassadorial years in the United States, and his charitable, civic and cultural philanthropy in Madras. He frames Palkhivala both as the architect of the Indian IT industry's legal foundation and as a model jurist whose advocacy made a free India economically possible. The central body of the speech surveys how India's tax architecture is reshaping the operations of Indian multinationals, with TCS used as the running case study. Mahalingam describes how the IT industry effectively created the first generation of Indian multinationals — TCS now operates in forty-two countries, employs 200,000 people, and earns 55 per cent of its costs overseas — and walks the audience through the operational frictions this creates: transfer pricing audits across dozens of jurisdictions, the limited usefulness of the Dispute Resolution Panel, the appeal of bilateral Advance Pricing Agreements, and the role of Mutual Agreement Procedures. He warns that several provisions of the proposed Direct Taxes Code — the Controlled Foreign Corporation rules, the "Place of Effective Management" residency test, the withholding-tax provisions, and the silence on carry-forward of MAT credit — could inflict unintended hardship on Indian MNCs and require correction before enactment. Mahalingam then turns to indirect tax reform and to the regulatory environment more broadly. He calls the Goods and Services Tax the most important indirect tax reform since Independence and reports on the state of the GST Bill before the Yashwant Sinha–led Standing Committee on Finance. On Special Economic Zones he criticises the retrospective extension of the Minimum Alternate Tax to SEZ profits and the shrinking of the Section 10A/10AA window, echoing Palkhivala's complaint that "tinkering with a declared approach is wrong" because it destroys the basis on which long-horizon investment decisions are made. He closes with a programmatic claim that the IT revolution — requiring only the capacity to think clearly — is India's best chance to lead a global transformation, and that the enabling environment for that revolution depends on a synchronised, internationally credible tax and accounting regime (including the migration from Indian GAAP to IFRS/Ind AS). The booklet ends with a memorial note on Shailesh Kapadia, in whose name the publication is sponsored. ## Key points - Booklet reproduces S. Mahalingam's August 2011 inaugural address at the Forum of Free Enterprise's annual residential programme on direct and indirect taxation; Mahalingam was then CFO and Executive Director of Tata Consultancy Services. - Opens with an extended personal tribute to Nani Palkhivala — covering his service at TCS from 1968, his interventions on Indian tax issues while serving as Ambassador to the US, and his philanthropic and cultural work in Madras. - Argues that the IT industry created India's first true multinationals; TCS is offered as the running case — 42 countries of operation, ~200,000 employees, 14,000 expatriates, 55 per cent of costs incurred overseas, 24-country branch network and 54 subsidiaries. - Catalogues the international tax frictions facing Indian MNCs: transfer pricing audits in 80 jurisdictions, weakness of the Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP), and the case for bilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) and Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) resolution. - Critiques specific provisions of the proposed Direct Taxes Code — Controlled Foreign Corporation rules, the 'Place of Effective Management' residency test, withholding-tax mechanics, and silence on carry-forward of MAT credit — as creating unintended hardship for Indian multinationals. - Treats the retrospective application of Minimum Alternate Tax to SEZ profits and the curtailment of the Section 10A/10AA holiday as a breach of policy stability that 'negates the basis on which we have made these huge investment decisions'. - Endorses GST as the most important indirect-tax reform since Independence and reports on the Constitution (115th Amendment) Bill before Yashwant Sinha's Standing Committee on Finance, while flagging the unresolved Centre–State consensus. - Calls for migration from Indian GAAP to IFRS / Ind AS so that 'all arms of the government' speak the same accounting language to international investors, framing fiscal credibility as a prerequisite for leadership in the IT-led global revolution. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Tandon Committee Report & Finance for Industry URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/tandon-committee-report-and-finance-for-industry-j-h-doshi-18-january-1976/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces a lecture delivered by industrialist J. H. Doshi in Bombay on 19th December 1975, scrutinising the Tandon Study Group report on bank-credit norms for industry. Doshi traces the report's origin to the Reserve Bank of India's anxiety in 1973–early-1974, when oil-shock inflation prompted a sudden ad hoc freeze on cash credit; the Tandon Group (chaired by Prakash Tandon of Punjab National Bank) was constituted to evolve principled norms for inventory holding, working-capital assessment, the debt-equity ratio, and supervision of credit. His central charge is that by the time the final report appeared in August 1975 the cycle had reversed — the economy had slid into recession — yet the recommendations were drafted as if inflationary conditions persisted, and the Committee took no notice of the change. Doshi works through the report's two main limbs.… ### Body # Tandon Committee Report & Finance for Industry *By J. H. Doshi* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces a lecture delivered by industrialist J. H. Doshi in Bombay on 19th December 1975, scrutinising the Tandon Study Group report on bank-credit norms for industry. Doshi traces the report's origin to the Reserve Bank of India's anxiety in 1973–early-1974, when oil-shock inflation prompted a sudden ad hoc freeze on cash credit; the Tandon Group (chaired by Prakash Tandon of Punjab National Bank) was constituted to evolve principled norms for inventory holding, working-capital assessment, the debt-equity ratio, and supervision of credit. His central charge is that by the time the final report appeared in August 1975 the cycle had reversed — the economy had slid into recession — yet the recommendations were drafted as if inflationary conditions persisted, and the Committee took no notice of the change. Doshi works through the report's two main limbs. On inventory norms he argues that prescribing rigid stock-holding ceilings for 15 industries ignores the disrupted flow of goods in India (transport bottlenecks, import licences, power cuts, strikes) and that comparisons with Japanese or American just-in-time levels are misleading; banks have already begun treating the guidelines as final and the request-for-deviation route is too slow to be useful. On capital structure he warns that Methods One and Two — capping bank finance at 75% and then 75% of total current assets respectively — will force diversion of retained earnings and long-term funds into working capital, starving capital formation precisely when the Planning Commission's growth targets demand the opposite. He estimates the squeeze would release Rs 600 crores (Method One) or Rs 1,260 crores (Method Two) of credit from medium and large industry, but doubts the released funds will reach productive uses. Framing the dispute as one of economic philosophy rather than accounting, Doshi accepts the principle of financial discipline but rejects the methods of enforcement, insisting that bank credit is a loan at 16–17 per cent — not a grant — so industry has its own commercial incentive to economise on inventory. He criticises the absence of any Planning Commission member from the Study Group, regrets the bifurcation of the cash-credit limit into a loan and cash-credit component without sufficient flexibility, and welcomes the Reserve Bank's October press note conceding that flexibility will be needed. The piece closes with two appendices: a sectoral table of gross bank credit deployment as of April 1974 and April 1975, and a worked example illustrating the arithmetic of Methods One, Two and Three on a hypothetical balance sheet. ## Key points - The Tandon Study Group was conceived under inflationary conditions in 1973–74 but reported in August 1975 when the economy had entered recession, and Doshi argues the Committee never adjusted for the changed cycle. - Doshi accepts the broad idea of financial discipline but rejects the methods chosen — fixed inventory norms for 15 industries plus separate caps on bank finance in working capital — as two redundant controls that will choke industrial flexibility. - He treats bank credit as a costly loan at 16–17 per cent interest, not a grant, arguing that industry has every reason to economise on inventory without administrative ceilings. - Methods One and Two would, on his estimate, release Rs 600 crores and Rs 1,260 crores respectively from credit extended to medium and large industry, but he doubts those funds will reach more productive uses. - He warns that forcing industries to substitute retained earnings or long-term funds for working capital will divert resources away from capital formation and slow industrial growth. - Doshi notes the capital market's poor state — paid-up capital raised by non-banking, non-financial private companies rose only about 2 per cent per year in recent years and reached only Rs 99 crores in 1973 against gross investment of Rs 900 crores. - He criticises the absence of any Planning Commission member from the Study Group and the failure to test the recommendations against Plan growth targets. - The lecture closes by welcoming the Reserve Bank's October press note on flexibility, treating the bank–client relationship as more than a set of rules, and reproducing appendices on sectoral credit deployment and the Three-Method arithmetic. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Telephone Communication and Urban Development In India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/telephone-communication-and-urban-development-in-india-rashmi-mayur-feburary-14-1977/ ### Summary Dr. Rashmi Mayur, a futurologist and Director of the Urban Systems Centre at NITIE Powai, examines the failing state of telephone services in Bombay and argues that adequate telecommunications infrastructure is a precondition for India's economic development. Opening with a Parisian visitor's coinage of the word 'telefrustration' after two days of failed attempts to call Colaba from Malad, Mayur sets a paradox: in an age when humans can speak to one another across 238,000 miles to the moon, it remains agonising to place a 25-mile call within a single city. He frames the telephone as 'a vital force for modernization and development', noting that more than fifty per cent of Indian telephones sit in major urban centres even though only twenty per cent of the population lives there, and that urban life — business, government, medical emergency, fire, police — has become inconceivable without it. The booklet builds its case from a sample survey of 3,000 Bombay subscribers and operational data from the Bombay Telephone Company.… ### Body # Telephone Communication and Urban Development In India *By Dr. Rashmi Mayur* ## Summary Dr. Rashmi Mayur, a futurologist and Director of the Urban Systems Centre at NITIE Powai, examines the failing state of telephone services in Bombay and argues that adequate telecommunications infrastructure is a precondition for India's economic development. Opening with a Parisian visitor's coinage of the word 'telefrustration' after two days of failed attempts to call Colaba from Malad, Mayur sets a paradox: in an age when humans can speak to one another across 238,000 miles to the moon, it remains agonising to place a 25-mile call within a single city. He frames the telephone as 'a vital force for modernization and development', noting that more than fifty per cent of Indian telephones sit in major urban centres even though only twenty per cent of the population lives there, and that urban life — business, government, medical emergency, fire, police — has become inconceivable without it. The booklet builds its case from a sample survey of 3,000 Bombay subscribers and operational data from the Bombay Telephone Company. India has 1.8 million telephones for a population of 605 million (one for every 333 persons); Bombay alone has 179,000 direct exchange lines, a waiting list of 67,324 as of October 1976, an annual complaint volume of about 75,000, and roughly 14 per cent of telephones out of order on a normal day (rising to 25 per cent during the monsoon). The survey records the litany of defects — difficulty reaching operator services (61%), defective hearing (58%), cross-connections (54%), rude operators (51%), wrong numbers (43%) — and Mayur estimates that 42 person-days a day are wasted in the city merely dialling numbers. Seventy per cent of public telephones are out of order on any given day, and management problems include low productivity in the repair department, poor co-ordination among linesmen and mechanics, and the technologically overloaded Cross-bar exchange system adopted in 1967. The second half lays out recommendations across three tracks. For the Bombay Telephone Company: dedicated complaint numbers for each exchange, underground cabling, adequate spare parts, working air-conditioning in exchanges (the Powai exchange has had none for six months), an end to the multiple-telephone-to-one-subscriber scheme that allows some homes to hoard half-a-dozen lines, an expert public grievances committee, time-bound repair commitments, and dropping the wasteful 'Namaskar' operator greeting in favour of efficient courtesy. For the public: brief and precise calls, hanging up on cross-connections rather than abusing the other party, and a strong stricture against subscribers who profit by charging neighbours a rupee a call. For public telephones — Mayur's structural answer to chronic shortage — he proposes a city-wide network of self-contained, attended booths of three sizes (Type I two phones, Type II four phones, Type III six phones, costing Rs. 7,557 to Rs. 15,770), beginning with 1,500 booths in critical areas which he estimates would alleviate 70 per cent of the city's telephone problems, financed by booth-side advertising and joint ventures between the Bombay Municipal Corporation, the Telephone Company, the State Government and 'enlightened industrialists'. The work closes with the judgement that 'Bombay cannot afford to have the best service or the worst service because both of them would be very expensive. It has to find the best out of the worst' — and that what is true of Bombay is true of the rest of the country. The pamphlet is based on a presentation given at a Bombay Civic Trust meeting on 6 November 1976. ## Key points - Frames the telephone as essential infrastructure for India's economic development: business, government, medicine, fire, and police functions are inconceivable without it. - India has 1.8 million telephones for 605 million people (1 per 333), against the United States' 145 million for a population giving 1 per 1.5 persons; over 50% of Indian telephones sit in major urban centres where only 20% of the population lives. - Bombay-specific data: 179,000 direct lines, 300,000 instruments for 7 million people, 3,000 public telephones, a waiting list of 67,324 as of October 1976, and 75,000 complaints a year. - A 3,000-subscriber survey ranks defects: operator-service difficulty (61%), defective hearing (58%), cross-connections (54%), rude operators (51%); Mayur estimates 42 person-days a day are lost in the city to dialling alone. - Identifies the Cross-bar exchange system (adopted in 1967 in preference to Strowger step-by-step) as overloaded, with poor service following because Cross-bar efficiency is inversely proportional to load. - Recommends rationalising the Bombay Telephone Company: dedicated complaint numbers per exchange, underground cabling, adequate spare parts, working air-conditioning in exchanges, ending the multiple-telephones-per-subscriber abuse, a public grievances committee, time-bound repairs, and dropping the wasteful 'Namaskar' operator greeting. - Proposes a city-wide network of attended public-telephone booths (Type I, II and III, costing Rs. 7,557 to Rs. 15,770), beginning with 1,500 in critical areas — Mayur projects this would alleviate 70% of Bombay's telephone problems and could be financed by booth-side advertising and a Municipal Corporation-Telephone Company-State Government-industrialist joint venture. - Raises but does not resolve the governance question of whether the telephone system should remain a government department or be reconstituted as a public corporation subject to Parliament; flags the need for an independent pricing commission to scrutinise unilateral tariff hikes and for a public remedy against overbilling. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-ad-shroff-memorial-trust-a-report-on-the-first-five-years-1967-1972/ ### Summary The A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust: A report on the first five years 1967-1972 is a commemorative booklet issued by the Trust under the chairmanship of N. A. Palkhivala. It opens with a life-sketch of A. D. Shroff (1899-1965) — a Sydenham College and London School of Economics man who apprenticed at the Chase Bank in London, became a Bombay sharebroker and director of leading Tata enterprises, sat on the National Planning Committee chaired by Jawaharlal Nehru, co-authored the 1944 Bombay Plan, attended the Bretton Woods Conference as an unofficial delegate, chaired the Reserve Bank's Shroff Committee on Finance for the Private Sector, and in 1956 founded the Forum of Free Enterprise to popularise the case for private enterprise and a Code of Conduct for business. Palkhivala's foreword and the History chapter together trace how a tribute paid by J. R. D. Tata at the Sheriff's condolence meeting of 14th December 1965 catalysed the formation of the Trust, registered on 23rd December 1966, with the House of Tatas pledging 25 per cent of the collection up to a ceiling of Rs.… ### Body # The A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust ## Summary The A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust: A report on the first five years 1967-1972 is a commemorative booklet issued by the Trust under the chairmanship of N. A. Palkhivala. It opens with a life-sketch of A. D. Shroff (1899-1965) — a Sydenham College and London School of Economics man who apprenticed at the Chase Bank in London, became a Bombay sharebroker and director of leading Tata enterprises, sat on the National Planning Committee chaired by Jawaharlal Nehru, co-authored the 1944 Bombay Plan, attended the Bretton Woods Conference as an unofficial delegate, chaired the Reserve Bank's Shroff Committee on Finance for the Private Sector, and in 1956 founded the Forum of Free Enterprise to popularise the case for private enterprise and a Code of Conduct for business. Palkhivala's foreword and the History chapter together trace how a tribute paid by J. R. D. Tata at the Sheriff's condolence meeting of 14th December 1965 catalysed the formation of the Trust, registered on 23rd December 1966, with the House of Tatas pledging 25 per cent of the collection up to a ceiling of Rs. 1 lakh and the Forum of Free Enterprise offering office facilities so that income could be directed entirely to activities. The Activities section reports five annual A. D. Shroff Memorial Lectures, each later published as a booklet and distributed free to colleges, libraries, MPs and MLAs — H. V. R. Iengar on central banking (1968), P. S. Lokanathan on the changing structure of industrial finance (1969), C. N. Vakil on insurance (1970), B. N. Adarkar on commercial banks after nationalisation (1971), and G. L. Mehta on industrial finance in a mixed economy (1972). The Trust also ran the A. D. Shroff Memorial Inter-Collegiate Elocution Competitions across Bombay, Delhi, Madras, Calcutta and Bangalore, on subjects such as 'Poverty in India and its solution', 'Is right to property fundamental?', 'Land Reforms in India', 'Place of rail and road transport in Indian Economy' and 'International Monetary Crisis', alongside cash awards to Banking & Finance and Finance Group toppers at Sydenham College and donations of economics books to institutions including the Dadar School for the Blind, the Gokhale Institute of Public Affairs, the Tata Agricultural and Rural Training Centre for the Blind, and the Sardar Patel Institute of Administration. The remainder of the booklet lists donors — headed by the Tata Group, Tarapore & Company, Dena Bank, an array of textile mills, insurance and banking houses, and individual benefactors — prints brief biographical sketches of the seven trustees (N. A. Palkhivala, B. M. Ghia, Jaykrishna Harivallabhdas, Sir Cowasji Jehangir Bart, Tulsidas Kilachand, J. H. Tarapore, K. M. D. Thackersey), and reproduces letters of appreciation for the Trust's published lectures, including notes from Paul Pierre Schweitzer of the International Monetary Fund and from college principals, the Banking Commission, and the Centre of South Asian Studies at Cambridge. The volume thus doubles as institutional record and as a snapshot of mid-century Bombay's liberal business establishment organising around economic education. ## Key points - A 16-page commemorative report covering the Trust's first five years (1967-68 through 1971-72), signed off by Chairman N. A. Palkhivala in Bombay on 25th September 1972. - Frames A. D. Shroff (1899-1965) as a champion of free enterprise: Chase Bank apprentice, Tata director, member of the Nehru-chaired 1938 National Planning Committee, co-author of the 1944 Bombay Plan, Bretton Woods delegate, chair of the Reserve Bank's Shroff Committee, and founder-President of the Forum of Free Enterprise. - Trust deed registered 23rd December 1966 after a tribute by J. R. D. Tata at the Sheriff's condolence meeting of 14th December 1965; the House of Tatas anchored funding with a 25 per cent matching offer capped at Rs. 1 lakh and the Forum of Free Enterprise donated office facilities. - Five annual A. D. Shroff Memorial Lectures delivered by H. V. R. Iengar, P. S. Lokanathan, C. N. Vakil, B. N. Adarkar and G. L. Mehta, each later published as a booklet and circulated free to colleges, libraries, MPs and MLAs. - The A. D. Shroff Memorial Inter-Collegiate Elocution Competitions ran in Bombay, Delhi, Madras, Calcutta and Bangalore, with prescribed subjects on poverty, property rights, land reform, transport and the international monetary crisis, growing from 19 participating Bombay colleges in 1967-68 to 40 in 1971-72. - Cash awards endowed at the Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics for the toppers of M.Com. Finance Group and B.Com. Banking & Finance papers, plus a new Rs. 300 prize for the top student in Taxation Laws at the Government Law College, Bombay. - Donor list is dominated by Bombay business: the Tata Group, Dena Bank, New India Assurance, Associated Cement Companies, Bank of India, Godrej Trust, Kilachand Devchand, Ceat Tyres, Bilimoria & Sons and dozens of mills, alongside individual contributors such as M. R. Pai and P. A. Narielwala. - Trustees profiled are N. A. Palkhivala (Chairman), B. M. Ghia, Jaykrishna Harivallabhdas, Sir Cowasji Jehangir Bart, Tulsidas Kilachand, J. H. Tarapore and K. M. D. Thackersey — a cross-section of Bombay, Gujarat and Madras business leaders linked to Tata Sons, ICICI, the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and a wide spread of industrial directorships. - Letters of appreciation come from Paul Pierre Schweitzer (Managing Director of the IMF), R. G. Saraiya of the Banking Commission, MP P. S. Patil, college principals from Bhuj to Bombay, and the Centre of South Asian Studies at Cambridge. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Application of Science and Technology to Socio-Economic Development URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-application-of-science-and-technology-to-socio-economic-development-professor-m-s-thacker-november-15-1971/ ### Summary Delivered as the Sixth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 28th October 1971, Professor M. S. Thacker's address surveys how science and technology have come to shape national economies and asks what policy posture an under-industrialised India should adopt. Thacker — at the time Director of the Indian Institute of Science, a member of the Planning Commission and Chairman of the UN Conference on the Application of Science and Technology for Developing Areas — opens by recalling his 1963 Geneva address and tracks the historical drift in which technology, long indebted to craft practice, finally fused with basic science through industrial laboratories, two World Wars, and the deliberate entry of Western governments into research funding. The argument then turns from history to policy.… ### Body # The Application of Science and Technology to Socio-Economic Development *By Prof. M. S. Thacker* ## Summary Delivered as the Sixth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 28th October 1971, Professor M. S. Thacker's address surveys how science and technology have come to shape national economies and asks what policy posture an under-industrialised India should adopt. Thacker — at the time Director of the Indian Institute of Science, a member of the Planning Commission and Chairman of the UN Conference on the Application of Science and Technology for Developing Areas — opens by recalling his 1963 Geneva address and tracks the historical drift in which technology, long indebted to craft practice, finally fused with basic science through industrial laboratories, two World Wars, and the deliberate entry of Western governments into research funding. The argument then turns from history to policy. Thacker presses the case that the social benefits of a technology may not equal its social costs, that the 'distributive justice' of who pays and who benefits is now itself a question (he cites pollution, traffic congestion and the brain-drain — 39,000 Indian scientific and technical personnel abroad by 1967), and that India's controversies of the 1950s over heavy engineering and atomic reactors stemmed from confusing private cost-benefit with social cost-benefit calculations. He rejects autarky in scientific ideas but insists that imported technology must be adapted to Indian conditions, citing Japan's pairing of imports with heavy domestic R & D — a discipline he says India has failed at, with private-sector R & D expenditure at roughly 7% of the total against 36–74% in advanced economies. The lecture endorses the CASTASIA (UNESCO, Delhi 1968) recommendation that Asian governments aim for R & D expenditure of 1% of GNP by 1980, reproduces the conference's ten-point science-policy preamble in full, and returns to the dual-track question of big versus small industry, arguing that 'big' industries are necessary but require a 'dense cluster of small but efficient industries' as ancillary suppliers and customers. Thacker closes the rendered portion by reasserting that human resources are the pivotal investment, that profitability is not opposed to socialist objectives (citing Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Poland), and that the assumed equation between labour-intensive technology and job creation is a 'conceptual confusion' — a jet plane, he notes, may generate more jobs than a bullock cart. ## Key points - Frames the lecture as a continuation of Thacker's 1963 UN Geneva address, surveying how science and technology have moved from peripheral curiosities to the central engine of national economic and security policy. - Traces three historical phases: the unsystematic application of mechanical inventions, the rise of commercial industrial laboratories in the West, and the post-WWII entry of Governments into basic research funding. - Argues that beneficial impacts of technology have come with significant social costs — pollution, urban sprawl, brain-drain, military destructiveness — and calls for 'social accounting' that captures total societal costs and benefits. - Distinguishes private from social cost-benefit calculations: India's 1950s controversies over heavy engineering projects and atomic reactors confused the two, and many public-sector projects retain 'social profitability' even when private returns are low. - Rejects exclusion of foreign science but demands selective import with adaptation: cites Japan's pairing of technology imports with intense domestic R & D (e.g. 22-24% R & D effort on chemical technology imports of similar magnitude) against India's 6% on non-electrical machinery and 4% on electrical machinery. - Cites the Institute of Applied Manpower Research's 1971 figure of 39,000 Indian scientific and technical personnel abroad in 1967 (17% of engineers, 11% of doctors, 9% of scientists), framing brain-drain as a sunk training cost the country is failing to recoup. - Reproduces verbatim the ten-point science-policy preamble recommended by the UNESCO-sponsored CASTASIA conference (Delhi, 1968), including the 1%-of-GNP R & D target by 1980 and the principle of 'endogenous development'. - Closes by reasserting human resources as the pivotal investment, defending profitability as compatible with socialist objectives, and challenging the 'conceptual confusion' that equates labour-intensive technology with maximum job creation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Basic Truth About Inflation URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-basic-truth-about-inflation-prof-b-r-shenoy-april-14-1977/ ### Summary This April 1977 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet pairs two short essays arguing that inflation is, fundamentally, a monetary phenomenon. Part I, B. R. Shenoy's 'Controlling Inflation in India,' attacks the Indira Gandhi government's claim — endorsed by IMF chief H. J. Witteveen, World Bank president Robert S. McNamara, J. R. D. Tata and finally the Congress Party's February 1977 election manifesto — that India had 'reversed inflation' during the Emergency. Shenoy traces the price-index dip from September 1974 to March 1976 to continued deficit budgets financed by Reserve Bank credit, MISA/DIR raids that forced private stocks into government godowns, food imports of 7.38 million tonnes and stalled industrial output, and notes that by February 1977 prices had already climbed back almost to peak. Part II, Henry Hazlitt's '40-Year Inflation in U.S.A.,' reproduced from The Freeman of October 1976, marshals American data showing that the M2 money stock multiplied roughly thirteen-fold while consumer prices rose about four-fold between 1940 and 1976, and warns that the lag between money issue and price response has lulled U.S.… ### Body # The Basic Truth About Inflation *By B. R. Shenoy, HENRY HAZLITT* ## Summary This April 1977 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet pairs two short essays arguing that inflation is, fundamentally, a monetary phenomenon. Part I, B. R. Shenoy's 'Controlling Inflation in India,' attacks the Indira Gandhi government's claim — endorsed by IMF chief H. J. Witteveen, World Bank president Robert S. McNamara, J. R. D. Tata and finally the Congress Party's February 1977 election manifesto — that India had 'reversed inflation' during the Emergency. Shenoy traces the price-index dip from September 1974 to March 1976 to continued deficit budgets financed by Reserve Bank credit, MISA/DIR raids that forced private stocks into government godowns, food imports of 7.38 million tonnes and stalled industrial output, and notes that by February 1977 prices had already climbed back almost to peak. Part II, Henry Hazlitt's '40-Year Inflation in U.S.A.,' reproduced from The Freeman of October 1976, marshals American data showing that the M2 money stock multiplied roughly thirteen-fold while consumer prices rose about four-fold between 1940 and 1976, and warns that the lag between money issue and price response has lulled U.S. policymakers into treating an accumulating monetary overhang as if it were a benign secular trend rather than a 'potential time bomb.' ## Essays ### Controlling Inflation in India *By B. R. Shenoy* Shenoy opens by defining inflation strictly as an expansion of money that drives the General Prices Index up, then dissects the Government of India's claim — re-broadcast in the Ministry of Information pamphlet 'India's war against Inflation' (January 1976) and again in the Congress election manifesto of February 1977 — that India alone among major countries had not merely checked but reversed inflation. He argues that because households spend only what they earn, inflation cannot originate in the people's sector; its source is the government's secular deficit budgeting, met since 1951–52 by printing money and creating Reserve Bank credit, which is then amplified by a secondary expansion of bank credit. He shows that money supply multiplied 6.5 times between 1954–55 and 1975–76 while prices multiplied 3.86 times, and that the puzzling 18-month price decline from September 1974 to March 1976 — coinciding with record monetary expansion — was an artefact of police-state stock-piling (MISA, DIR, hoarding raids, Operation Dehoarding), tightening of bank credit via Bank Rate and Hundi Rate hikes, food imports of 7.38 million tonnes, and weak industrial demand. The fall was, in his phrase, an 'artificially produced phenomenon,' and the post-Emergency resumption of price rises since March 1976 confirms it; by 12 February 1977 the index had returned to 327.3, leaving the Emergency 'incapable of continuing the price decline.' Shenoy closes by ranking inflation as a monetary problem that neither MISA nor DIR can 'render short work of,' even citing a 1945 Raisman precedent for index-number window-dressing. - Inflation is defined as a money-supply expansion in excess of output growth, measured by movements in the General Prices Index. - Indian budget deficits since 1950–51 are financed by Reserve Bank credit, making the Government the primary source of inflation. - Money supply grew 6.5x and prices 3.86x between 1954–55 and 1975–76; prices since 1955 typically accelerate faster than money supply. - The 18-month price decline from September 1974 to March 1976 was anomalous because money supply rose to fresh peaks simultaneously. - MISA/DIR raids, food imports, credit squeeze and weak industrial demand produced an 'artificially produced phenomenon,' not a genuine inflation reversal. - By 12 February 1977 the General Prices Index had returned to 327.3, near its June 1955 zero-date peak, confirming the resumption of the underlying uptrend. - Inflation is a monetary phenomenon that bottling, hoarding raids and order-magistrate action cannot durably suppress. ### 40-Year Inflation in U.S.A. *By Henry Hazlitt* Hazlitt's essay, reproduced from the October 1976 issue of The Freeman, argues that most American editors and economists have been lulled into treating inflation as a phenomenon that 'suddenly broke out in the last two or three years,' when in fact the United States has been inflating for at least nine or ten decades. Using consumer-price and money-stock figures back to 1940 (with a glance to 1933), Hazlitt shows that wholesale prices in mid-1976 stood at 314 per cent of their 1940 level and that the 1976 dollar bought only about 25 cents of the 1940 dollar's basket of goods. Over the thirty-six years from 1940, the money stock grew about thirteen-fold while consumer prices rose only a little more than four-fold — a gap he traces to three causes: the arbitrary choice of M1 vs M2 vs broader measures (M-2 has expanded eight times since 1949); productivity and per-capita-investment gains that have absorbed part of the monetary slack; and subjective expectations that treat inflation as an accidental rather than continuing event. Once those expectations flip, Hazlitt warns, prices may surge faster than the money stock. The essay closes by labelling the cumulative 1939–1976 monetary overhang a 'potential time bomb' for which it is 'too late for continued complacency'; two appendix tables (A: 1967=100 from 1967–76; B: 1940=100 from 1940–76) document M2, the CPI and the consumer dollar's purchasing power for the full period. - American inflation is treated by most editors as recent (two or three years), but the data stretch back at least four decades and arguably to 1933. - Wholesale prices in June 1976 were 314 per cent of their 1940 level; consumer prices were 11 per cent higher than 1967 over a nine-year stretch. - From 1940 to 1976 the money stock rose about thirteen times while consumer prices rose only about four times. - Three explanations for the gap: the arbitrariness of which monetary aggregate (M-1 vs M-2 vs broader) is measured; productivity gains; and lagging public expectations of inflation. - Once expectations shift, prices can rise faster than the money stock — the danger of the present American situation. - The cumulative monetary expansion of 1939–1976 is a 'potential time bomb'; complacency, Hazlitt argues, is no longer affordable. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Bombay Plan & Other Essays URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-bombay-plan-and-other-essays-a-d-shroff-1968/ ### Summary The Bombay Plan and Other Essays (Lalvani Publishing House, 1968) collects the Second A. D. Shroff Memorial Lectures, delivered on 27 October 1967 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise to honour the memory of A. D. Shroff, who had founded the Forum in 1956. Six contributors — H. V. R. Iengar (a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India), V. B. Karnik (veteran trade unionist and associate of M. N. Roy), Dr. B. C. Ishwardas, Sudhanshu Kumar Basu, M. V. Arunachalam and A. K. Chanda — address controversies of the late 1960s: the Bombay Plan in retrospect, the wave of gheraos in Bengal, benevolence in business, Centre-State financial relations, a new concept of capitalism, and the public sector. An introduction signed by Murarji J. Vaidya, President of the Forum, situates the lectures as a continuation of Shroff's effort to take economic argument to the ordinary citizen. ### Body # The Bombay Plan & Other Essays ## Summary The Bombay Plan and Other Essays (Lalvani Publishing House, 1968) collects the Second A. D. Shroff Memorial Lectures, delivered on 27 October 1967 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise to honour the memory of A. D. Shroff, who had founded the Forum in 1956. Six contributors — H. V. R. Iengar (a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India), V. B. Karnik (veteran trade unionist and associate of M. N. Roy), Dr. B. C. Ishwardas, Sudhanshu Kumar Basu, M. V. Arunachalam and A. K. Chanda — address controversies of the late 1960s: the Bombay Plan in retrospect, the wave of gheraos in Bengal, benevolence in business, Centre-State financial relations, a new concept of capitalism, and the public sector. An introduction signed by Murarji J. Vaidya, President of the Forum, situates the lectures as a continuation of Shroff's effort to take economic argument to the ordinary citizen. ## Essays ### A Look at the Bombay Plan in the Light of Today *By H. V. R. Iengsr* H. V. R. Iengar, opening the Bombay lecture as a former Governor of the Reserve Bank, recalls that he broke the convention of central-bank silence to warn against the inflationary direction of fiscal policy, and explains that A. D. Shroff did the same on a wider front from outside Government. He then turns to the 1944 Bombay Plan, of which Shroff was a co-author, and asks how its assumptions look from 1967. His central claim is that the basic resemblance between the Bombay Plan and the work of the Planning Commission is strong — both rest on a mixed economy with heavy industry, a strong State role, foreign capital, and deficit financing — and that the truly decisive difference is one of degree: the scope conceded to private enterprise versus an expanding public sector, and the rigour with which controls are applied to prices, profits, dividends and foreign exchange. Iengar reads Shroff's later disenchantment as a response to the way Indian controls, the Congress's drift toward a 'monolithic' party form, and the rhetorical 'Socialist Pattern of Society' progressively foreclosed the entrepreneurial spirit the Bombay Plan had assumed. He defends the Forum of Free Enterprise's manifesto position that 'laissez faire' has no place in contemporary India but that a planned economy must still be powered by free enterprise, voluntarily co-operating with the State. He closes with a stark choice between forces that believe in property rights, the rule of law and evolutionary progress, and forces that believe in expropriation, lawlessness and revolution through chaos, registering himself as a guarded optimist about Indian democracy's capacity to choose the first. - Iengar frames the lecture by recalling his own break with the convention of Reserve Bank Governors avoiding public criticism of Government economic policy, a posture he ties to Shroff's lifelong willingness to speak out. - He argues the Bombay Plan (1944) and the Planning Commission's plans share their underlying philosophy: mixed economy, state-led heavy industry, foreign capital and controlled deficit financing. - The real divergence between Shroff's later position and the Planning Commission, he says, lies in two things — the space given to private enterprise versus a vastly expanding public sector, and the rigour and reach of controls. - He attributes Shroff's later despair to the growth of a 'monolithic' Congress, intolerance of dissent, and the move toward a rhetorical 'Socialist Pattern of Society'. - He defends the Forum of Free Enterprise's manifesto: 'laissez faire' is dead, but a planned Indian economy must be powered by free enterprise voluntarily co-operating with the State. - He closes by contrasting forces of property rights, rule of law and evolution with forces of expropriation, lawlessness and revolutionary chaos, casting his lot — cautiously — with the first. ### Gheraos *By V. B. Karnik* V. B. Karnik, a veteran trade unionist and close associate of M. N. Roy, devotes his lecture to the wave of gheraos that engulfed Bengal under the United Front ministry in 1967. He insists that the gherao, although a problem of law and order in form, is in substance an economic problem arising out of a particular phase of employer-employee relations. He narrates how the practice spread from individual factories to offices, schools, colleges and municipal boards, and how Ministers of the Left wing of the United Front (notably the Labour Minister) effectively instructed the police not to intervene without ministerial sanction. Karnik draws heavily on contemporary press reports and on the Calcutta High Court's Full Bench judgment, delivered by Chief Justice D. N. Sinha, which defined a gherao as the physical blockade of a target by encirclement or forcible occupation and held it incapable of being a legitimate trade-union activity. Karnik argues that gheraos are typically staged not by the mass of workers but by small militant groups posing as champions of workers' interests, that the 'concessions' so secured are quickly repudiated, and that the long-run effect is to undermine established trade unions and the patient long-term work on which they depend. - Karnik treats the gherao as fundamentally an economic problem within employer-employee relations, not merely an issue of public order. - He documents the spread of gheraos in Bengal from March 1967 onward — including a phase when, by one account, five gheraos a day were taking place — and their movement from factories into offices, schools and municipal bodies. - He shows that the United Front's Labour Minister explicitly directed the police not to intervene in 'legitimate' trade-union action without prior ministerial reference, effectively shielding gheraos from criminal-law enforcement. - He summarises the Calcutta High Court Full Bench judgment of Chief Justice D. N. Sinha, which defined a gherao as a physical blockade incompatible with the law of the land and outside the protection of the Trade Unions Act. - He argues that gheraos undermine established trade unions because they are staged by small militant groups, displace patient long-term bargaining and erode workers' confidence in their own organised strength. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Anatomy of Waste and Inefficiency in Engineering Construction URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-anatomy-of-waste-and-inefficiency-in-engineering-construction-w-x-mascarenhas-june-9-1970/ ### Summary Drawing on a career as Chief Engineer of an Indian state, W. X. Mascarenhas delivers a procedural and managerial autopsy of waste in Indian engineering construction, focused chiefly on Government and quasi-Government Public Works Departments. The text is the printed version of a public lecture delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 20 February 1970, framed at the outset as 'constructive criticism' of general application rather than censure of any particular agency. Mascarenhas enumerates six procedural roots of waste and inefficiency: (1) the crash-programme planning of even large projects, which produces speculative tendering, collusion between planner and contractor and unavoidable cost over-runs; (2) the perpetuation of fifty-year-old Schedules of Rates and specifications that no longer correspond to available materials and craftsmanship, leaving 'a powerful lever in the hands of corrupt or just wooden-headed officials' to harass contractors; (3) the rule of automatic acceptance of the lowest tender, which he proposes replacing with the foreign practice of awarding contracts to the bid closest to the average; (4) the bureaucratic delay of Running Acco… ### Body # The Anatomy of Waste and Inefficiency in Engineering Construction *By W. X. Mascarenhas* ## Summary Drawing on a career as Chief Engineer of an Indian state, W. X. Mascarenhas delivers a procedural and managerial autopsy of waste in Indian engineering construction, focused chiefly on Government and quasi-Government Public Works Departments. The text is the printed version of a public lecture delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 20 February 1970, framed at the outset as 'constructive criticism' of general application rather than censure of any particular agency. Mascarenhas enumerates six procedural roots of waste and inefficiency: (1) the crash-programme planning of even large projects, which produces speculative tendering, collusion between planner and contractor and unavoidable cost over-runs; (2) the perpetuation of fifty-year-old Schedules of Rates and specifications that no longer correspond to available materials and craftsmanship, leaving 'a powerful lever in the hands of corrupt or just wooden-headed officials' to harass contractors; (3) the rule of automatic acceptance of the lowest tender, which he proposes replacing with the foreign practice of awarding contracts to the bid closest to the average; (4) the bureaucratic delay of Running Account Bills and Final Bills, sometimes by three or four years, which pushes up contract rates by forcing contractors to borrow at usurious rates; (5) the rigid Earnest Money and Security Deposit regime, which he proposes liberalising through Bank Guarantees and parity with manufacturing for industrial finance; and (6) the one-sided contract in which the Government Owner becomes 'complainant, prosecutor and judge,' for which he urges arbitration by an independent panel under the Indian Arbitration Act. His institutional fix is the creation of a Public Works Commission — recruited from senior engineers of unimpeachable character on attractive ten-year salaries, statutorily barred from post-retirement contractor employment — to absorb the existing Technical Examiner's cell, audit R. A. Bills and the efficacy of planning, and discipline departmental engineers for slip-shod work. He then turns to technical reforms long overdue: ultimate-strength design procedures for RCC (a case-study at the Structural Engineering Research Centre, Roorkee, showed 42% steel savings); light-weight concrete and Siporex (25-30% savings, finally cleared after a four-year delay with the Government of Maharashtra); mechanised quality control of asphaltic road surfaces; pre-cast units for low-cost housing; and a more receptive attitude to indigenous innovations such as the tetrapod sea-wall armour used at Marine Drive in Bombay, collector wells with radial slotted drains, and Prof. Taraporevala's Tarapore Truss adopted by the Baroda Municipal Corporation. Mascarenhas closes by calling for systematic training in construction management and estimates that speedy implementation of his suggestions would yield overall savings of 10-15%. ## Key points - The text is a printed Forum of Free Enterprise booklet of a 20 February 1970 public lecture by W. X. Mascarenhas, a former Chief Engineer of a state, generalising about Public Sector (and mutatis mutandis Private Sector) engineering construction. - Mascarenhas identifies six procedural causes of waste: incomplete planning and crash-programming, obsolete specifications, the lowest-tender rule, delayed payment of Running Account and Final Bills, the rigid Earnest Money/Security Deposit regime, and the one-sided nature of Government contracts. - He flags 'speculative tendering', collusion between planner and contractor on rate-splitting, and the disciplinary cover that 50-year-old Schedules of Rates provide for harassment by minor officials. - He recommends a statutory Public Works Commission of senior engineers — recruited from open market or PWD cadres, debarred from contractor employment for seven years after retirement — to absorb the Technical Examiner's cell and police R. A. Bill payments. - He proposes arbitration under the Indian Arbitration Act by an independent panel of experienced engineers of repute who are not serving officers or contractor employees, rather than by an officer of the same Department. - He urges adoption of ultimate-strength design procedures for RCC (citing a Roorkee Structural Engineering Research Centre case-study showing 42% steel savings), Siporex light-weight concrete (25-30% cost savings), and quality control / mechanisation of asphaltic road surfaces. - He recounts personal experience introducing tetrapod breakwater armouring (Marine Drive, Bombay), collector wells with radial slotted drains, and Prof. Taraporevala's Tarapore Truss as instances of engineering conservatism delaying cheaper, better techniques. - He estimates that speedy implementation of his suggestions would secure overall cost economies of 'nothing less than 10% to 15%' and reduce corruption. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Bonus Problem URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-bonus-problem-y-d-joshi-s-r-mohandas-dr-m-c-munshi/ ### Summary The Bonus Problem is a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet collecting three talks delivered in Bombay and Bangalore in July 1972 by Y. D. Joshi (Chief Labour Adviser to a business house), S. R. Mohan Das (Director, Industrial Relations Institute of India), and Dr. M. C. Munshi (economist). The three authors converge on a single thesis: the Indian bonus system, which began in 1918 as an ex-gratia gesture from textile employers, has through fifty years of tribunals, commissions, the 1965 Bonus Act, the Khadilkar formula, and a freshly appointed Bonus Review Committee mutated into a juridicalised, ad hoc compensation regime that no party — employers, unions, the Bonus Commission, or the Supreme Court — has been able to define coherently. The pamphlet is framed by an epigraph from Eugene Black ("People must come to accept private enterprise not as a necessary evil, but as an affirmative good") and treats the bonus question as a case study in how political interference and successive legislative tinkering corrupt industrial relations and corrode the foundations of free enterprise.… ### Body # The Bonus Problem ## Summary The Bonus Problem is a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet collecting three talks delivered in Bombay and Bangalore in July 1972 by Y. D. Joshi (Chief Labour Adviser to a business house), S. R. Mohan Das (Director, Industrial Relations Institute of India), and Dr. M. C. Munshi (economist). The three authors converge on a single thesis: the Indian bonus system, which began in 1918 as an ex-gratia gesture from textile employers, has through fifty years of tribunals, commissions, the 1965 Bonus Act, the Khadilkar formula, and a freshly appointed Bonus Review Committee mutated into a juridicalised, ad hoc compensation regime that no party — employers, unions, the Bonus Commission, or the Supreme Court — has been able to define coherently. The pamphlet is framed by an epigraph from Eugene Black ("People must come to accept private enterprise not as a necessary evil, but as an affirmative good") and treats the bonus question as a case study in how political interference and successive legislative tinkering corrupt industrial relations and corrode the foundations of free enterprise. The contributors urge settlement by negotiation across the table rather than by ministerial pressure or fresh statutory ceilings. ## Essays ### A Historical Perspective *By Y. D. JOSHI* Y. D. Joshi traces the legal and administrative history of bonus in India from 1918 to 1972. He explains how textile employers' first "gift" payment was reinterpreted by Bombay trade unions as a deferred wage to guard against years of loss, how the Profit-Sharing Committee, the Industrial Court, the Labour Appellate Tribunal (abolished in 1957), and finally the Supreme Court in 1959 settled on a tribunal-derived formula that worked from 1950 to 1958, and how the 1961 Bonus Commission, the 1965 Bonus Act, and the recently constituted Bonus Review Committee successively unsettled it. Joshi argues that the issue was "not started by workers, but by the Central Labour Ministry," that the Khadilkar formula of advancing an extra 4 per cent against possible recovery is "the root-cause of reopening the bonus issue," and that further raising the 4 per cent minimum or 20 per cent maximum will not bring peace. He closes by insisting that negotiation across the table — not government pressure or fresh legislation — is the only durable settlement, and warns that imposing 8 per cent on losing units could retard the growth of industries. - Bonus in India originated in 1918 as a textile employers' gift; Bombay unions immediately reframed it as a deferred wage to cover loss years. - Chief Justice M. C. Chagla's 1944 General Motors decision tied bonus to industry profits, establishing the principle that no profit means no bonus. - The Labour Appellate Tribunal formula (deduction of prior charges from gross profits to compute an "available surplus") served 1950–1958 and was endorsed by the Supreme Court in 1959 in 15 consolidated cases. - The 1965 Bonus Act set a 4 per cent minimum and 20 per cent maximum, with a four-year set-on/set-off carry, and was largely accepted until 1971. - The Central Labour Ministry — not workers — reopened the question by promising an additional 4 per cent "advance" (the Khadilkar formula) and constituting a Bonus Review Committee. - Joshi rejects further minima or maxima and advocates negotiation, warning that imposing 8 per cent on loss-making units would retard industrial growth. ### An Anarchic Compensation Method *By S. R. MOHAN DAS* S. R. Mohan Das attacks bonus as an "anarchic compensation method" grafted onto an already chaotic wage and salary system. Modern industry, he argues, depends on structured, quantifiable wage systems that channel diverse pressures through a single framework; bonus, by contrast, began as an ex-gratia gesture, was rebranded "profit-sharing" to soothe democratic sensibilities, then mutated through INTUC's semantic acrobatics into a vague gap-filler between subsistence, fair, and living wages. He treats the high-powered Bonus Commission, the Bonus Act, the case law, and the new Bonus Review Committee as exercises in fig-leafing a fundamentally illogical concept. Mohan Das warns that the "parasitism" of ad hoc bonus payments is now spreading to civil services, municipal offices and Zilla Parishads, and that the Bonus Review Committee — packed in a way that intimidates non-labour members — has been pre-empted from autonomous functioning, leaving "the whole country and its working people" continuously corrupted by ad hoc structures. - Wage and salary systems work because they are structured, quantifiable and channel diverse pressures; bonus is an unstructured ad hoc parasite on that foundation. - The conceptual journey from ex-gratia → profit-sharing → "gap" between subsistence/fair/living wage reflects political face-saving, not economic clarity. - The LIC example shows the State capturing surplus regardless of premium income, leaving employees and policy-holders with secondary priorities. - Bonus agitation is now infecting civil service, municipal and Zilla Parishad employees, who have been "continuously encouraged and whipped into parasitical expectations". - The recently constituted Bonus Review Committee has been pre-empted by the Labour Minister's pre-announced position that the minimum cannot be less than 8 per cent. ### An Economic Analysis *By DR. M. C. MUNSHI* Dr. M. C. Munshi offers an economist's anatomy of the bonus concept across six analytical stages: from ex-gratia payment, to profit-sharing, to prosperity-sharing, to a vehicle for moving from need-based wage to living wage, to a putative deferred wage, and finally — following the Supreme Court (Greaves Cotton, 1954) and the National Commission on Labour — to a payment that is surplus-based rather than cost-based, and therefore not a deferred wage at all. Munshi notes that the late-19th-century Labour Theory of Value has long been an exploded doctrine, so the Court and the Commission have correctly refused to read bonus as deferred wages. In the rendered pages he then turns to two warnings the Supreme Court issued in the A.C.C. case (1959) — that elastic concepts like "a living wage" should not become juridical issues and that no privileged class should be created even within the working class — and observes that the organised-sector workforce of 6.7 million represents only 3.2 per cent of India's 183.62 million workers. He begins to argue that the "available surplus" from which bonus is paid is largely adventitious gain from inflation and sheltered markets, and should be claimable by consumers (through lower prices) as much as by workers and entrepreneurs. - Munshi maps six analytical stages through which the bonus concept has grown, from ex-gratia gift to surplus-based payment. - The Supreme Court (Greaves Cotton, 1954) and the National Commission on Labour have ruled that bonus is surplus-based, not cost-based, and therefore not a deferred wage. - The Textile Labour Association of Ahmedabad's 1962 attempt to recharacterise bonus as deferred wage relied on the long-exploded Labour Theory of Value. - Only 3.2 per cent of India's working force (6.7 million of 183.62 million) belongs to the organised industrial sector that captures bonus payments. - Munshi argues the "available surplus" is largely inflationary windfall from sheltered markets and should benefit consumers through lower prices as well as workers and entrepreneurs. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Capital Market in India Since Independence URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-capital-market-in-india-since-independence-e-r-krishnamurti-december-14-1978/ ### Summary E. R. Krishnamurti, then Executive Director of the Madras Stock Exchange, delivers the 1978 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture as a stock-taking of India's first three decades of planned development and a diagnosis of what has gone wrong with the capital market. He concedes that the Five Year Plans set a pattern of development and that, by the late 1970s, India had built genuine technical capability in industry and agriculture, modernised cultivation, and restored a comfortable external position. But he reads the same record as a story of planners who refused to take stock periodically, of plan targets that slipped because of poor implementation rather than overambition, and of an industrial policy that drifted from rational liberal foundations in the 1950s toward ideological hostility to the private sector from the late 1960s onward. The core polemical argument is that price controls, the MRTP Act, the nationalisation of insurance and commercial banks, and a punitive tax regime have together starved private industry of credit, profitability and confidence, while diverting nearly 90 per cent of organised savings under government tutelage.… ### Body # The Capital Market in India Since Independence *By E. R. Krishnamurti* ## Summary E. R. Krishnamurti, then Executive Director of the Madras Stock Exchange, delivers the 1978 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture as a stock-taking of India's first three decades of planned development and a diagnosis of what has gone wrong with the capital market. He concedes that the Five Year Plans set a pattern of development and that, by the late 1970s, India had built genuine technical capability in industry and agriculture, modernised cultivation, and restored a comfortable external position. But he reads the same record as a story of planners who refused to take stock periodically, of plan targets that slipped because of poor implementation rather than overambition, and of an industrial policy that drifted from rational liberal foundations in the 1950s toward ideological hostility to the private sector from the late 1960s onward. The core polemical argument is that price controls, the MRTP Act, the nationalisation of insurance and commercial banks, and a punitive tax regime have together starved private industry of credit, profitability and confidence, while diverting nearly 90 per cent of organised savings under government tutelage. Krishnamurti welcomes the Janata Government's more liberal re-orientation, the Jha and Choksi committee proposals to rationalise indirect and direct taxation, and the proposal to allow a 12 per cent post-tax return on net worth in price fixation, but warns that the Finance Minister's insistence on alternative revenue to match any tax cut is bewildering and counter to expert advice. Turning to the capital market itself, he traces the post-Independence institutional architecture — IFCI (1948), the State Financial Corporations, ICICI (1955), IDBI and UTI (1964) — and concedes the development banks have channelled large sums to industry. But he argues that this institutionalisation, combined with nationalisation of LIC and the banks and persistent credit squeezes against joint-stock companies, has sapped the equity market, blunted the retail investor and made every worthwhile issue dependent on underwriting. He calls for at least 60 per cent of public-sector capital to be offered to Indian investors, urges a radical taxation overhaul to release household savings (over 70 per cent of total domestic savings) into productive investment, and projects that to support 10–12 per cent industrial growth the capital market must mobilise Rs. 300–500 crores of fresh capital annually in the 1980s. ## Key points - Frames the lecture as a 31-year review of planned development since Independence, crediting the plans with setting a pattern of growth but faulting their implementation, ideological drift and ad-hoc revisions ('A five year plan took eight years to complete'). - Argues that from the late 1960s the State turned weighted against the private sector through nationalisation of insurance (1955), banks (1969) and general insurance (1971), the MRTP Act, statutory price controls and punitive direct and indirect taxes. - Quantifies the fiscal burden: direct taxes up 13x and indirect taxes 28x between 1948-49 and 1977-78, with roughly Rs. 30,000 crores of cumulative additional taxation since Independence, blunting the growth rate. - Welcomes the Janata Government's liberal re-orientation, the Jha Committee on indirect tax and the Choksi Committee on direct tax (recommending a 50 per cent ceiling on marginal income tax) as a 'happy departure' from past ad hoc policy. - Traces the post-Independence institutional architecture of finance — IFCI (1948), State Financial Corporations, ICICI (1955), IDBI and UTI (1964) — and notes that nearly 90 per cent of organised investment savings now sits under government tutelage. - Diagnoses the capital market itself as sapped: equity has become unattractive, fresh capital raised by joint-stock companies has fallen to about Rs. 100 crores annually, and every worthwhile issue 'had to be fully underwritten to ensure the success of the issue'. - Recommends that the government offer 60 per cent of public-sector capital — equity and other securities — to the Indian investing public, similar to the foreign-company FERA dilution model, to revive retail participation. - Projects that to attain 10–12 per cent industrial growth in the 1980s, the capital market must mobilise Rs. 300 to Rs. 500 crores of fresh investment annually, conditional on a radical change in the government's tax and regulatory outlook. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Case for Free Enterprise URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-case-for-free-enterprise-a-d-shroff-january-1-1970/ ### Summary A. D. Shroff delivers the welcome address at the First Convention of the Forum of Free Enterprise, held on April 25 in Bombay, and uses it to recap why the Forum was launched on July 18, 1956 and what it has been doing in its first nine months. Its promoters were convinced that the case for Free Enterprise was 'going by default' in India, that planned development was being read as a mandate for ever more regulation, and that an organised body was needed to put before the public both Free Enterprise's past achievements and its capacity to contribute to rapid, large-scale national development. The Forum, Shroff insists, is an educational and non-political institution — not a political party in waiting — and will continue its work 'undeterred by official frowns or even threats' directed at its workers. The argumentative core is a defence of Free Enterprise inside, not against, planned development. Shroff accepts planning, a measure of control and regulation, and the goal of a higher standard of living through reduced disparities.… ### Body # The Case for Free Enterprise *By A. D. Shroff* ## Summary A. D. Shroff delivers the welcome address at the First Convention of the Forum of Free Enterprise, held on April 25 in Bombay, and uses it to recap why the Forum was launched on July 18, 1956 and what it has been doing in its first nine months. Its promoters were convinced that the case for Free Enterprise was 'going by default' in India, that planned development was being read as a mandate for ever more regulation, and that an organised body was needed to put before the public both Free Enterprise's past achievements and its capacity to contribute to rapid, large-scale national development. The Forum, Shroff insists, is an educational and non-political institution — not a political party in waiting — and will continue its work 'undeterred by official frowns or even threats' directed at its workers. The argumentative core is a defence of Free Enterprise inside, not against, planned development. Shroff accepts planning, a measure of control and regulation, and the goal of a higher standard of living through reduced disparities. What he rejects is regulation that 'stifles initiative, incentive and enterprise', concentrates power in the bureaucracy, and breeds a 'fear complex' that pushes businessmen into dependence on licences, contracts and other forms of government patronage. He pushes back on three specific charges from the period: that the Forum advocates obsolete 19th-century laissez-faire capitalism (he calls on the Prime Minister to read the Manifesto and recognise that the Forum's position is a 'dynamic and progressive' use of individual initiative); that 'private enterprise has failed' or 'all businessmen are crooks' (dismissed as the outburst of new converts to Socialism); and that the Forum is foreign-inspired and American-financed (denied 'categorically', with the claim that it is 'as genuinely Svadeshi … as any other national organization, not excluding the Congress'). Shroff also makes a civil-liberty and press-freedom move: the Forum claims the right and liberty to criticise government, and concedes the same liberty to those who differ; it complains that three government officials have been given radio talks defending policy while the Forum is denied equivalent broadcast access. He acknowledges 'black sheep' in business — profiteering, black-marketing, tax evasion — promises the Forum's full weight behind government action against such malpractices, and announces a Code of Conduct for businessmen and the professions (doctors, lawyers, teachers, journalists). He closes on a long-run note: a powerful, industrial India with a high standard of living is 'no idle dream' but 'a living faith', achievable if the joint endeavour of Free Enterprise and the State Sector proceeds in a 'spirit of realism', and that 'Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives.' ## Key points - Sets out the Forum of Free Enterprise's origin story: founded 18 July 1956 with a Manifesto in the national press, born of the conviction that the case for Free Enterprise was 'going by default' in India. - Defines the Forum as an educational, non-political body — not a political party in formation — that places its services at the disposal of any organisation, 'including the Congress', willing to engage with its case. - Accepts planned development, a measure of control and regulation, and reduced income/wealth disparities, while drawing a line against controls that stifle initiative and concentrate power in the bureaucracy. - Diagnoses a 'fear complex' among businessmen forced to depend on licences and contracts, and warns that excessive regulation will gradually diminish the democratic way of life secured by the Constitution. - Rejects the charge that the Forum stands for 19th-century laissez-faire capitalism and asks the Prime Minister to read the Manifesto and the Forum's literature. - Issues a categorical denial that the Forum is foreign-inspired or American-financed, calling it 'as genuinely Svadeshi' as the Congress. - Asserts a free-speech / press-freedom claim: the right to criticise government and equivalent radio-broadcasting access to that already granted to three government officials defending policy. - Announces a Code of Conduct for businessmen and the professions, and pledges the Forum's support for government action against profiteering, black-marketing and tax evasion. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] THE CASE FOR SPONSORED RADIO URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-case-for-sponsored-radio-y-a-fazalbhoy-1957/ ### Summary Y. A. Fazalbhoy's 1957 pamphlet, drawn from an address to the Santa Cruz Rotary Club in Bombay, makes the case for permitting privately owned, advertiser-funded "Sponsored Radio" to operate in India alongside the state-run All-India Radio. Writing against the recent verdict of Dr. Keskar, the Minister for Information & Broadcasting, that commercial broadcasting would lower programme quality and let foreign industrial interests dominate the airwaves, Fazalbhoy is careful to clarify his proposal: he does not ask that AIR adopt commercial broadcasting or that its network be handed over to private enterprise, only that sponsored stations be allowed to supplement it. The argument is structured as a pragmatic answer to each of the government's objections. Fazalbhoy treats broadcasting as a far-reaching publicity medium that can extend market reach to villages, stimulate Indian industry, and supplement AIR's own programming, much as advertising-funded newspapers supplement the state. He invokes the cinema as a parallel: a free, taxed, culturally vigorous enterprise that has not corrupted national taste.… ### Body # THE CASE FOR SPONSORED RADIO *By Y. A. Fazalbhoy* ## Summary Y. A. Fazalbhoy's 1957 pamphlet, drawn from an address to the Santa Cruz Rotary Club in Bombay, makes the case for permitting privately owned, advertiser-funded "Sponsored Radio" to operate in India alongside the state-run All-India Radio. Writing against the recent verdict of Dr. Keskar, the Minister for Information & Broadcasting, that commercial broadcasting would lower programme quality and let foreign industrial interests dominate the airwaves, Fazalbhoy is careful to clarify his proposal: he does not ask that AIR adopt commercial broadcasting or that its network be handed over to private enterprise, only that sponsored stations be allowed to supplement it. The argument is structured as a pragmatic answer to each of the government's objections. Fazalbhoy treats broadcasting as a far-reaching publicity medium that can extend market reach to villages, stimulate Indian industry, and supplement AIR's own programming, much as advertising-funded newspapers supplement the state. He invokes the cinema as a parallel: a free, taxed, culturally vigorous enterprise that has not corrupted national taste. He dismisses the assumption that only the state can defend cultural standards, points to AIR's twenty-five-year struggle to install 50 transmitters and 10 million licences as evidence that public finance alone cannot deliver coverage, and offers Canada's dual system — CBC plus 157 private stations under the Canadian Association of Broadcasters — as a working model. The closing pages quantify the prize. The United States, he notes, now hosts a billion-dollar radio and electronics industry expected to double by 1960, with over 3,000 commercial stations and $464 million spent annually on broadcast advertising; sponsored radio in India could likewise expand employment for engineers, operators, writers, actors and musicians, and accelerate the Five-Year Plan target on broadcasting ahead of schedule. The pamphlet is framed on its inside cover by an epigraph from Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari pledging openness to correction, and closes with a Jawaharlal Nehru epigraph on producing material goods without sacrificing the spirit — a tacit reply to the cultural-standards objection. ## Key points - Argues that Sponsored Radio should be allowed to operate as a private enterprise supplement to All-India Radio, not as a replacement for it. - Directly contests Dr. Keskar's official ruling that commercial broadcasting would lower programme quality and let foreign industrial interests dominate the airwaves. - Treats broadcasting as a far-reaching publicity medium that can extend advertising reach into villages, stimulate Indian industry, and complement (not corrupt) AIR. - Uses the Indian cinema — a taxed, profitable, privately run cultural enterprise — as the analogical proof that private operation need not lower cultural standards. - Argues AIR's reliance on licence revenue is the binding constraint: in 25 years it has reached only 50 transmitters and 10 million listeners, and a sponsored sector would relieve that finance bottleneck. - Cites Canada's dual system — the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation plus 157 privately owned stations organised under the Canadian Association of Broadcasters — as a successfully working model. - Quantifies the U.S. example: a 1,000 million dollar industry expected to grow to 2,000 million by 1960, with over 3,000 commercial stations and $464 million spent annually on broadcast advertising. - Concludes that broadcasting deserves higher priority in the Five-Year Plan and that private enterprise could complete the plan target ahead of schedule, while creating new employment for engineers, operators, writers, actors and musicians. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] THE CENTRAL BUDGET 2004-2005 VIS-A-VIS THE LIBERAL BUDGET URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-central-budget-2004-2005-vis-a-vis-the-liberal-budget-various-july-18-2004/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, prepared in July 2004 by the editor S. S. Bhandare (himself a member of the Drafting Group of The Liberal Budget), juxtaposes the Union Budget 2004-05 presented by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram with The Liberal Budget that the Indian Liberal Group released in New Delhi on 23 June 2004. The opening section identifies five 'areas of convergence' — the Finance Minister's commitment to act on the Kelkar Task Force on direct and indirect taxes; the operationalisation of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003 and the projected reduction of revenue and fiscal deficits; the embrace of VAT, integrated taxation of goods and services, and ASEAN-level customs rates; the need to lift the tax-to-GDP ratio from 9.2 per cent to 12.1 per cent by 2006-07; and the social-sector goals embedded in Food for Work, the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA), and the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme. The second half catalogues 'areas of divergence' that the Liberal Budget treats as decisive.… ### Body # THE CENTRAL BUDGET 2004-2005 VIS-A-VIS THE LIBERAL BUDGET ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, prepared in July 2004 by the editor S. S. Bhandare (himself a member of the Drafting Group of The Liberal Budget), juxtaposes the Union Budget 2004-05 presented by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram with The Liberal Budget that the Indian Liberal Group released in New Delhi on 23 June 2004. The opening section identifies five 'areas of convergence' — the Finance Minister's commitment to act on the Kelkar Task Force on direct and indirect taxes; the operationalisation of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003 and the projected reduction of revenue and fiscal deficits; the embrace of VAT, integrated taxation of goods and services, and ASEAN-level customs rates; the need to lift the tax-to-GDP ratio from 9.2 per cent to 12.1 per cent by 2006-07; and the social-sector goals embedded in Food for Work, the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA), and the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme. The second half catalogues 'areas of divergence' that the Liberal Budget treats as decisive. The Central Budget is faulted for understating expenditure-side reform, for failing to raise the ratio of non-tax revenue to GDP through PSU efficiency gains and user charges, and above all for retreating on disinvestment — reducing the target to Rs. 4,000 crores in 2004-05 against the Liberal Budget's call for Rs. 35,000 crores and a 'ring-fencing' of the proceeds. The booklet rejects the 'Navaratna' framing that preserves PSU commanding heights, condemns proposals such as financial rescues of Hindustan Antibiotics, ITI and Indian Telephone Industries, and is sceptical of the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE), arguing that the real test is 'whether the State should be in the chosen field of activity in the first place.' The booklet then reprints a compressed summary of The Liberal Budget itself. Anchored in a quotation from Ludwig von Mises and a credo that 'man is the measure of all things', it states five basic tenets — effective fiscal governance, fiscal consolidation and stabilisation, efficiency and productivity, acceleration of growth, and promotion of equity — and nine quantitative objectives for the 'Liberal State', covering poverty reduction, universal schooling, literacy, infant and maternal mortality, child nutrition, rural and urban drinking water, and sanitation. Subsequent sections argue for expenditure ceilings tied to real GDP growth, a shift toward developmental expenditure, performance cells and 'reward-punishment' mechanisms inside ministries, abolition of search-and-seizure and 'public interest' tax provisions, privatisation preceded by independent regulators, deregulation of small-scale reservations and labour law, judicial reform, FDI without sectoral ceilings, and the rightsizing rather than blind downsizing of government. A 'Budget at a Glance' table contrasts Central and Liberal figures for revenue, expenditure and deficits across 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06. ## Key points - Frames the Union Budget 2004-05 (Chidambaram) as a partial, coalition-constrained step toward the template set out by the Indian Liberal Group's Liberal Budget of 23 June 2004. - Welcomes the Kelkar Task Force tax direction, FRBM Act operationalisation, VAT by 1 April 2005, integrated goods-and-services taxation, and lower ASEAN-level customs duties as genuine convergence. - Endorses social-sector convergence (Food for Work, Mid-Day Meal, PURA, drinking water, Accelerated Irrigation Benefit) but warns the nine-point physical targets in the Liberal Budget must become real guideposts with Action Taken Reports, not 'mere symbolic gestures'. - Identifies disinvestment as the principal point of divergence — Central target of Rs. 4,000 crores in 2004-05 versus the Liberal Budget's Rs. 35,000 crores, with 'ring-fencing' of proceeds for well-conceived purposes. - Rejects the 'Navaratna' frame and proposals to refinance Hindustan Antibiotics, ITI and Indian Telephone Industries out of the BIFR net, and is sceptical that the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises will accelerate phase-out of non-performing assets. - Articulates a Liberal credo — 'man is the measure of all things' — distinguishing liberalism from socialism by means rather than goals, drawing on Ludwig von Mises. - Lists nine quantitative objectives of the Liberal State (poverty, schooling, literacy, IMR, MMR, child nutrition, drinking water, sanitation) and five basic tenets (effective fiscal governance, fiscal consolidation, efficiency, growth, equity). - Calls for tax administration reform — abolition of search-and-seizure and 'public interest' exemption powers, no books-of-account harassment of taxpayers earning up to Rs. 5 lakhs, simplified globally competitive tax rates, and elimination of arbitrary disinvestment criteria. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Basic Truth About Inflation URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-challenge-of-rural-development-to-banks-and-industries-prof-b-r-shenoy-january-14-1979/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet — published in Bombay on 14 April 1977 under the title 'The Basic Truth About Inflation' — pairs two essays to argue that inflation in any country is fundamentally a monetary phenomenon driven by government budget deficits, not an accidental price disturbance amenable to administrative controls. Part I, 'Controlling Inflation in India' by Prof. B. R. Shenoy, dismantles the Indira Gandhi government's claim (echoed by the IMF, the World Bank, and J. R. D. Tata) that India had 'reversed inflation', tracing the post-1955 expansion of money supply and the temporary 1975–76 price decline to deficit-financed Reserve Bank credit and police-led hoarding raids rather than any genuine monetary discipline. Part II, '40-Year Inflation in U.S.A.' by Henry Hazlitt (reproduced from The Freeman of October 1976), shows that American consumer prices have been driven by a 119 per cent increase in the M-2 money stock since 1967, with data tables stretching back to 1940 and 1933 — and warns that the cumulative monetary build-up is 'a potential time bomb'.… ### Body # The Basic Truth About Inflation ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet — published in Bombay on 14 April 1977 under the title 'The Basic Truth About Inflation' — pairs two essays to argue that inflation in any country is fundamentally a monetary phenomenon driven by government budget deficits, not an accidental price disturbance amenable to administrative controls. Part I, 'Controlling Inflation in India' by Prof. B. R. Shenoy, dismantles the Indira Gandhi government's claim (echoed by the IMF, the World Bank, and J. R. D. Tata) that India had 'reversed inflation', tracing the post-1955 expansion of money supply and the temporary 1975–76 price decline to deficit-financed Reserve Bank credit and police-led hoarding raids rather than any genuine monetary discipline. Part II, '40-Year Inflation in U.S.A.' by Henry Hazlitt (reproduced from The Freeman of October 1976), shows that American consumer prices have been driven by a 119 per cent increase in the M-2 money stock since 1967, with data tables stretching back to 1940 and 1933 — and warns that the cumulative monetary build-up is 'a potential time bomb'. Read together, the two essays make a single classical-liberal case: governments cause inflation by spending beyond their revenues, and only honest fiscal and monetary discipline — not price controls, raids, or index-manipulation — can stop it. ## Essays ### Controlling Inflation in India *By B. R. Shenoy* Shenoy opens by defining inflation as an expansion of money that drives up the General Prices Index, then attacks the Indian Union Ministry of Information's January 1976 pamphlet 'India's war against Inflation' and the Congress Party's February 1977 election manifesto, both of which claimed that India had uniquely 'reversed' inflation. He traces the post-Independence pattern: budget deficits financed by Reserve Bank credit caused the money supply to multiply 6.5 times between 1954-55 and 1975-76, while the General Prices Index rose 3.86 times. Real wages collapsed — every rupee of 1954-55 wages was worth only 40 paise by the 'garibi-hatao' election year of 1970-71. The heart of the essay reinterprets the 1974-76 price decline. Shenoy shows that prices had already turned downward in September 1974, nine months before the Emergency was declared, and that the subsequent fall was an 'artificially produced phenomenon' caused by police raids on stockists, MISA and DIR detentions of smugglers and tax-dodgers, drastic credit restrictions, and the unloading of 7.38 million tonnes of imported foodgrains. He argues the result was merely a temporary redistribution of stocks from private to government godowns, leaving the underlying monetary cause untouched — and indeed the upturn had resumed by January 1977. The essay closes by accusing the World Bank, the IMF, and the Indian Legislative Assembly of being 'misled by the index numbers' in what he calls 'the Raisman trick': mistaking an administratively engineered dip for genuine monetary control. - Inflation is defined strictly as a monetary phenomenon — an expansion of money supply driving up the General Prices Index. - Indira Gandhi's government, the IMF chief Witteveen, World Bank president McNamara, and J. R. D. Tata had all endorsed India's claim to have 'reversed inflation'; Shenoy rejects this. - Money supply grew 6.5 times from Rs. 1,955 crores (1954-55) to Rs. 12,632 crores (1975-76); prices multiplied 3.86 times since 1950. - Real wages collapsed — a 1954-55 rupee was worth only 40 paise by 1970-71, the 'garibi-hatao' election year. - The 1974-76 price fall began in September 1974, before the Emergency, and was caused by police raids, credit squeezes, and food imports — not by monetary discipline. - Selective credit controls and stockist raids merely shifted stocks from private godowns to government ones, leaving underlying inflation intact. - Shenoy coins 'the Raisman trick' to describe the political use of manipulated index numbers to misrepresent fiscal indiscipline as success. ### 40-Year Inflation in U.S.A. *By Henry Hazlitt* Hazlitt's essay, reproduced from The Freeman of October 1976, opens by puncturing the popular American belief that inflation is a recent two- or three-year phenomenon. The price decline from 1933 to 1940 obscured what is in fact an unbroken upward march of consumer prices ever since: by 1976 the dollar's purchasing power had fallen to roughly 24 cents of its 1940 level, and to 57.5 cents of its 1967 level. Hazlitt notes that since 1967 the M-2 money stock has risen 119 per cent while consumer prices have risen 74 per cent — a gap he attributes to three factors: M-2's inclusion of less-liquid time deposits, productivity-raising capital investment that has expanded the supply of goods, and a subjective lag in which the public still treats inflation as accidental rather than continuous. The warning at the close is blunt: subjective expectations can shift suddenly and dramatically, at which point prices will overtake the money supply. The essay ends with a polemical call against complacency, accompanied by Table A (M-2, CPI and dollar purchasing power, 1967-1976) and Table B (the same series, 1940-1976), the latter compiled by the American Institute for Economic Research at Great Barrington at Hazlitt's request. - American inflation is not a recent crisis but at least a nine-to-ten-year, arguably a 35-to-40-year, monetary trend. - Since 1967, M-2 has risen 119 per cent while consumer prices have risen 74 per cent. - The gap between money growth and price growth has three causes: M-2's broader composition, productivity-driven supply increases, and subjective lag in public expectations. - Table A and Table B (compiled by the American Institute for Economic Research) document the dollar's purchasing-power collapse from 1940 (=100) to 24.1 by mid-1976. - The decisive risk is that subjective opinion can shift suddenly, causing prices to race ahead of the money stock. - The cumulative 35-to-40-year increase in the American money stock is 'a potential time bomb'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] THE CHALLENGES BEFORE THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY IN INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-challenges-before-the-insurance-industry-in-india-g-n-bajpai-2002/ ### Summary G. N. Bajpai's 2002 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, sponsored by the Bank of Baroda and published by the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust, surveys the post-liberalisation landscape of the Indian insurance industry and enumerates the strategic challenges its managers must navigate. Bajpai opens with a brisk institutional history: the nationalisation of 245 life insurance companies in January 1956, the launch of the Life Insurance Corporation that September, the parallel consolidation of 106 private non-life insurers into four state companies under the General Insurance Corporation in 1972, and the 20.6% compound annual growth rate of life insurance between 1984 and 2000.… ### Body # THE CHALLENGES BEFORE THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY IN INDIA *By G. N. BAJPAI* ## Summary G. N. Bajpai's 2002 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, sponsored by the Bank of Baroda and published by the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust, surveys the post-liberalisation landscape of the Indian insurance industry and enumerates the strategic challenges its managers must navigate. Bajpai opens with a brisk institutional history: the nationalisation of 245 life insurance companies in January 1956, the launch of the Life Insurance Corporation that September, the parallel consolidation of 106 private non-life insurers into four state companies under the General Insurance Corporation in 1972, and the 20.6% compound annual growth rate of life insurance between 1984 and 2000. He frames the present moment as a decisive break: globalisation, information technology and 'less and less government intervention' have made 'stability and sustainability' the new poles of macro-economic policy, and the Indian government has accordingly opened the insurance window to competition with no caps on operators, geography or product range. Against this backdrop, and after a global benchmarking exercise (US$ 2,443.7 billion in premiums written worldwide in 2000, North America/Western Europe/Japan/Oceania accounting for 90.7% of that), Bajpai identifies five environmental drivers — liberalisation and globalisation, increasing disasters, declining interest rates, convergence, and heightened customer expectations — and then walks through nine concrete managerial challenges: risk management, multi-channel distribution, customer relationship management (with sub-challenges of product development, pricing and technology), fund management, knowledge management, convergence management, stakeholders' conflicts management, regulation, and corporate governance. The IRDA is praised for promulgating a 'sagacious, internationally benchmarked regulatory architecture,' though Bajpai argues that regulation must eventually shift from micro-managing companies to solvency-based supervision and ultimately to industry self-regulation. The lecture closes with the claim that life insurance will migrate from mere 'risk mitigation' to 'NET WEALTH MANAGEMENT', that survivors will be those who marry creativity with collaborative organisational design, and that 'irrelevancy is a greater risk than inefficiency' for any insurer that misreads the new market ethos. The rendered pages include the front matter (Trust objectives, Shroff biography with a George Woods tribute, acknowledgement), the full lecture text through the Conclusion, and the first two of several annexure tables (continent-wise global life and non-life premiums and growth rates, 1995–2000); the remaining annexures on Indian life- and non-life-insurance growth trajectories were not in this rendered set. ## Key points - Frames the 1956 nationalisation of 245 Indian and foreign life insurers and the 1972 consolidation of 106 non-life insurers into four state companies under GIC as the institutional inheritance that 1990s liberalisation now displaces. - Reports a 20.6% compounding annual growth rate for Indian life insurance from 1984 to 2000 and notes that the post-liberalisation window has been opened with no limits on number of operators, geography, products or services. - Argues that the global consensus has shifted to 'less and less government intervention', with 'stability and sustainability' as the fundamental goals of macro-economic policy and a structural and supply-side focus. - Benchmarks the Indian industry against US$ 2,443.7 billion in worldwide premiums in 2000 (life US$ 1,521.3bn, non-life US$ 922.4bn), with North America, Western Europe, Japan and Oceania accounting for 90.7% of global premiums. - Lists five environmental challenges — liberalisation and globalisation, increasing disasters, declining interest rates, convergence, and heightened customer expectations. - Develops nine managerial challenges in detail: risk management, multi-channel distribution, customer relationship management (product, pricing, technology), fund management, knowledge management, convergence management, stakeholders' conflicts management, regulation, and corporate governance. - Praises the IRDA's 'sagacious, internationally benchmarked regulatory architecture' but argues that regulation must shift from micro-management toward solvency-based supervision and eventual industry self-regulation. - Concludes that life insurance will migrate from mere risk mitigation to 'NET WEALTH MANAGEMENT', and that 'irrelevancy is a greater risk than inefficiency' for incumbents and entrants alike. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Changing Focus of Industrial Finance URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-changing-focus-of-industrial-finance-mr-siddharth-a-mehta-may-26-1981/ ### Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Bombay on 11 February 1981, Siddharth S. Mehta — then Chairman and Managing Director of ICICI — uses the occasion to chart how Indian industrial finance was reshaped between Independence and the early 1980s, and to question whether the institutional and regulatory architecture built up since 1951 still serves industry well. He traces the rise of all-India term-financing institutions (IFCI, ICICI, IDBI, UTI, LIC, GIC) together with State Finance Corporations, joint-sector Industrial Development Corporations and Technical Consultancy Organisations, arguing that the institutional framework has grown well beyond what was envisaged in the 1950s and now offers a near-complete package of financial services to industry. The second half of the rendered pages turns to the strain showing through this edifice. Mehta notes that bank-branch expansion after nationalisation has slowed and that the scope for raising the domestic saving ratio is limited, even as foreign-exchange pressures from rising oil prices, dwindling official development assistance and growing protectionism point to a future in which resources must work harder.… ### Body # The Changing Focus of Industrial Finance *By S. S. MEHTA* ## Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Bombay on 11 February 1981, Siddharth S. Mehta — then Chairman and Managing Director of ICICI — uses the occasion to chart how Indian industrial finance was reshaped between Independence and the early 1980s, and to question whether the institutional and regulatory architecture built up since 1951 still serves industry well. He traces the rise of all-India term-financing institutions (IFCI, ICICI, IDBI, UTI, LIC, GIC) together with State Finance Corporations, joint-sector Industrial Development Corporations and Technical Consultancy Organisations, arguing that the institutional framework has grown well beyond what was envisaged in the 1950s and now offers a near-complete package of financial services to industry. The second half of the rendered pages turns to the strain showing through this edifice. Mehta notes that bank-branch expansion after nationalisation has slowed and that the scope for raising the domestic saving ratio is limited, even as foreign-exchange pressures from rising oil prices, dwindling official development assistance and growing protectionism point to a future in which resources must work harder. He insists that the principal economic challenge is to dovetail additional resource mobilisation with a marked improvement in the efficiency of utilisation. From there, Mehta opens an explicitly reformist register. He criticises the way credit policy has been used as an allocative instrument, the way large industrial borrowers face hardships from credit screening, and the way ideological framings of public-sector enterprise have obscured questions of operational efficiency and financial return on investment. He argues that planning has been stretched too far, narrowing institutional and individual initiative, and that a regulatory bias has crept into instruments ostensibly designed to promote industrial growth — producing fragmentation, sickness and rising capital costs. The final rendered pages take up the role of financial institutions themselves. Mehta observes that bank nationalisation in 1969 effectively institutionalised all sources of industrial finance, leaving users without meaningful alternatives, and laments that profitability has acquired "a derogatory status" even though it is the natural index of efficient resource use. He calls for a reappraisal of the framework so that financial institutions can balance their primary responsibility — efficient provision of industrial finance — with their growing social obligations. ## Key points - Frames the lecture as a tribute to A. D. Shroff, the late founder of the Forum of Free Enterprise and a founding director of ICICI, whose economic philosophy centred on individual enterprise. - Charts the building of India's term-financing architecture from 1948 onwards — IFCI (1948), State Finance Corporations (early 1950s), ICICI (1955), LIC (1956), UTI (1963), IDBI (1964) and GIC (1972) — and notes their combined annual sanctions rose at a compound 25% over 1970-71 to 1979-80. - Quantifies the post-nationalisation expansion of commercial banking: branches grew from 8,262 in June 1969 (5,154 rural/semi-urban) to 32,419 in June 1980 (23,179 rural/semi-urban), and deposits from Rs. 4,646 crores to Rs. 33,283 crores. - Warns that the easy gains from branch-led resource mobilisation are over and that foreign-exchange reserves, ODA inflows and the saving ratio all face medium-term pressure as oil prices rise and protectionism grows. - Identifies the central policy challenge as dovetailing additional resource mobilisation with sharply improved efficiency of utilisation across both physical/social infrastructure and industry. - Argues that planning, fiscal policy and credit policy have over-emphasised socio-political objectives and become unduly comprehensive and detailed, narrowing the scope for institutional and individual initiative. - Critiques the regulatory bias in industrial policy — reservations, licensing-induced fragmentation, restrictions and price/distribution controls — for producing industrial sickness, underutilised capacity and impaired recycling of institutional funds. - Argues that 1969 bank nationalisation institutionalised virtually all sources of industrial finance, leaving the corporate sector overdependent on a closed, government-controlled system in which profitability — the proper index of efficient resource use — has acquired a derogatory status. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Changing Profile of Indian Banking URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-changing-profile-of-indian-banking-j-n-saxena-june-1-1977/ ### Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Bombay on 25 April 1977 and published by the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust on 1 June 1977, J. N. Saxena's address surveys what he calls the "sea-change" in Indian banking over the preceding decade and a half. Saxena, a career banker who served the Imperial Bank and then the State Bank of India from 1938 to 1970, ran the Bank of India between 1970 and 1975, and is at the time of writing Chairman of the Industrial Development Bank of India, opens with a homage to Shroff's conviction that "a well informed citizenry is the foundation of enduring democracy" before turning to the structural, physical, qualitative and conceptual changes that have reshaped Indian banking since 1951. The bulk of the lecture as rendered traces three structural shifts. First, the emergence of a dominant public sector — through the 1955 nationalisation of the Imperial Bank into the State Bank of India, the 1968 imposition of "Social Control" on banking, and the July 1969 nationalisation of fourteen major banks — which now controls roughly 85 per cent of the banking business.… ### Body # The Changing Profile of Indian Banking *By J. N. Saxena* ## Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture in Bombay on 25 April 1977 and published by the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust on 1 June 1977, J. N. Saxena's address surveys what he calls the "sea-change" in Indian banking over the preceding decade and a half. Saxena, a career banker who served the Imperial Bank and then the State Bank of India from 1938 to 1970, ran the Bank of India between 1970 and 1975, and is at the time of writing Chairman of the Industrial Development Bank of India, opens with a homage to Shroff's conviction that "a well informed citizenry is the foundation of enduring democracy" before turning to the structural, physical, qualitative and conceptual changes that have reshaped Indian banking since 1951. The bulk of the lecture as rendered traces three structural shifts. First, the emergence of a dominant public sector — through the 1955 nationalisation of the Imperial Bank into the State Bank of India, the 1968 imposition of "Social Control" on banking, and the July 1969 nationalisation of fourteen major banks — which now controls roughly 85 per cent of the banking business. Saxena's striking concession is that it was the philosophy of bank managements themselves, with their wholesale-banking bias, urban concentration and indifference to rural credit, that "forced" the entry of the state into the system. Second, the October 1975 launch of Regional Rural Banks, a proposal he says he had mooted as early as 1971; he describes his own preferred "district bank" variant (with shareholding spread among sponsoring banks, other commercial banks, state financing agencies and even village moneylenders), defends the scheme against scepticism, and argues that 60,000 rural offices would be needed to give every cluster of ten villages a branch. Third, a "Profile of Growth" detailing the rise of commercial bank offices from 4,151 in 1951 to 23,630 by end-1976, the fall of population-per-office from 71,500 to 26,000, the climb of rural offices from 13.5% to 37.3% of the network, and the increase of aggregate deposits from Rs. 843 crores to Rs. 17,132 crores. The last rendered pages open the discussion of "Qualitative Changes": the shift from wholesale to retail banking, the rise of priority-sector lending (from 14% to 26.6% between 1969 and 1975), and a conceptual reorientation in bank lending whereby balance-sheet analysis moved from a liquidity to a going-concern view, term lending replaced the older taboo on long-dated loans, and the Tandon Committee Report introduced quarterly-budget follow-ups to tie credit to actual business needs. Saxena ends the rendered chunk arguing that what is really financed is not inventories or receivables but the borrower's "activity" — a hint at the credit-philosophy critique that presumably continues past the visible pages. ## Key points - Saxena dates the transformation of Indian banking to the last 10–15 years and characterises it as multi-dimensional — structural, physical, qualitative and conceptual. - He concedes that the philosophy of pre-1969 bank managements — wholesale bias, urban concentration, neglect of rural credit — itself forced the entry of the public sector that today covers roughly 85% of banking business. - He sketches the institutional sequence: State Bank of India in July 1955, the 1968 'Social Control' regime, and the July 1969 nationalisation of 14 banks holding 57% of aggregate deposits. - He claims early authorship of the Regional Rural Banks idea (mooted in 1971), defends the October 1975 scheme, and argues for 60,000 rural bank offices to serve roughly six lakh active villages on a one-to-ten ratio. - His proposed 'district bank' variant would have spread shareholding across sponsoring banks (30%), other commercial banks (30%), state financing agencies (20%) and district residents (20%), including village moneylenders. - He marshals headline statistics: commercial bank offices up from 4,151 (1951) to 23,630 (1976); per-capita deposits from Rs. 36 to Rs. 245; aggregate deposits from Rs. 843 to Rs. 17,132 crores; rural credit-deposit ratio rising to 52.6% by December 1974. - On qualitative change, he traces the move from wholesale to retail banking and the rise of 'priority sector' credit from 14% (1969) to 26.6% (1975), with agriculture at 11% and small industry at 12% of total credit. - He frames the Tandon Committee follow-ups and the shift from 'liquidity' to 'going-concern' analysis as a deeper conceptual change — but signals dissent on what banks really finance, locating the answer in the borrower's 'activity' rather than in inventories or receivables. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] CHANGING SCENARIO OF INDUSTRIAL FINANCE & CAPITAL MARKET IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-changing-scenario-of-industrial-finance-and-capital-market-in-the-new-millennium-dr-r-h-patil-november-7-2000/ ### Summary Delivered on 10 October 2000 as the A. D. Shroff Annual Public Lecture and published in 2001 by the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust, Dr. R. H. Patil's lecture traces how the liberalisation reforms launched in 1991 have transformed — and in many ways undone — the post-Independence apparatus of development financial institutions (DFIs) such as IDBI and ICICI. Patil, the founding Managing Director of the National Stock Exchange, presents the lecture as a tribute to Shroff's faith in market mechanisms, arguing that the licensing-era policy frame 'strangulated market forces' and that the spectacular success of the NSE has reinforced his conviction that markets, not administered finance, are the most effective instrument for allocating capital efficiently. The argumentative core is a defence of the capital market against what Patil calls a 'discriminatory' policy frame that systemically privileges banks and DFIs over equity and bond markets.… ### Body # CHANGING SCENARIO OF INDUSTRIAL FINANCE & CAPITAL MARKET IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM *By Dr. R. H. PATIL* ## Summary Delivered on 10 October 2000 as the A. D. Shroff Annual Public Lecture and published in 2001 by the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust, Dr. R. H. Patil's lecture traces how the liberalisation reforms launched in 1991 have transformed — and in many ways undone — the post-Independence apparatus of development financial institutions (DFIs) such as IDBI and ICICI. Patil, the founding Managing Director of the National Stock Exchange, presents the lecture as a tribute to Shroff's faith in market mechanisms, arguing that the licensing-era policy frame 'strangulated market forces' and that the spectacular success of the NSE has reinforced his conviction that markets, not administered finance, are the most effective instrument for allocating capital efficiently. The argumentative core is a defence of the capital market against what Patil calls a 'discriminatory' policy frame that systemically privileges banks and DFIs over equity and bond markets. He surveys the post-1991 squeeze on DFIs — loss of concessional resources, rising NPAs, the Khan Working Group's recommendation to convert DFIs into universal banks — and questions whether converting them into 'pure and simple vanilla versions of commercial banks' is the right strategy. Drawing on US and East Asian comparisons, he argues that capital markets, by transferring risk directly to investors who choose to bear it, perform a more honest and more disciplining role than banks, which periodically transfer their bad loans to taxpayers through public-sector recapitalisations. In the rendered pages Patil develops a sustained critique of public-sector banks, the 'too big to fail' syndrome, and the deposit-insurance regime that lets depositors ignore the risks taken by banks holding their money. He calls for risk-based deposit-insurance pricing, mandatory disclosure of portfolio quality, credit-rated marketable debt instead of cash-credit lending, and a vigorous secondary market in government bonds so retail investors — not just LIC and the provident funds — can hold sovereign paper. The chunk breaks off mid-discussion of a recently appointed committee on retail markets for government securities; the remaining 23 pages of the booklet (which the rendered set does not cover) presumably extend this prescription into further institutional recommendations. ## Key points - The lecture is the 2000 A. D. Shroff Annual Lecture (delivered 10 October 2000, published 2001 by the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust, sponsored by Bank of Baroda) and opens with Patil's personal tribute to Shroff's early advocacy of market economics. - Patil credits the National Stock Exchange — which he founded and built within six years — as proof that the market mechanism can act as 'a powerful policy instrument to cleanse economic system and make it functionally more efficient.' - Post-1991 liberalisation has eroded the protected concessional funding base of DFIs (IDBI, ICICI, etc.), saddled them with high NPAs from past directed lending, and forced the Khan Working Group to recommend their conversion into universal banks; Patil questions whether becoming 'vanilla versions of commercial banks' is the right exit. - Diversification by ICICI into B2B, B2C, IT, venture capital, housing and car finance is held up as a model of capital-market-oriented reinvention rather than retreat into traditional commercial banking. - The capital market, Patil argues, places ultimate risk on the investor who chose to bear it, whereas banks systematically transfer their bad lending decisions to taxpayers via periodic public-sector recapitalisations — the 'too big to fail' problem is not unique to India. - Government and RBI are charged with sustaining a 'discriminatory' preferential treatment of banks over the capital market through implicit guarantees, blanket deposit insurance, captive SLR demand, and tax-disadvantaged government bonds for retail investors. - Policy prescriptions surveyed in these pages: risk-rated deposit-insurance premiums and disclosure, mandatory third-party portfolio rating for banks, a shift from cash-credit to credit-rated marketable debt, market-making in DFI bonds, and an active retail secondary market in government securities. - The booklet positions itself within the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust's mission of educating the public on banking, insurance and industrial finance — explicitly continuing a Forum-of-Free-Enterprise lineage of market-economics advocacy. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Changing Structure of Industrial Finance URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-changing-structure-of-industrial-finance-p-s-lokanathan-april-2-1969/ ### Summary Delivering the second A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture on 24 February 1969, the economist P. S. Lokanathan surveys how the structure of Indian industrial finance was transformed between 1947 and 1967. He opens with an extended personal tribute: Shroff was a fellow member of the National Planning Committee and a co-drafter of the Bombay Plan, an economist whose firm grasp of money, banking and finance was matched by 'the rare courage' to speak against fashionable opinion. Lokanathan credits Shroff's Forum of Free Enterprise, founded in 1956, with offering a 'useful and necessary corrective' to economic planning carried to such extremes that it produced discriminating controls, inefficient government economic administration, and a wider 'suppression of initiative and loss of self-reliance.' Part I reconstructs the pre-Independence structure. In the absence of issue houses, specialist underwriters, or investment trusts, and with commercial banks following British practice in refusing to lend long, the entire burden of initial capital, working capital and long-term finance fell on the managing agents and their personal networks.… ### Body # The Changing Structure of Industrial Finance *By Dr. P. S. Lokanathan* ## Summary Delivering the second A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture on 24 February 1969, the economist P. S. Lokanathan surveys how the structure of Indian industrial finance was transformed between 1947 and 1967. He opens with an extended personal tribute: Shroff was a fellow member of the National Planning Committee and a co-drafter of the Bombay Plan, an economist whose firm grasp of money, banking and finance was matched by 'the rare courage' to speak against fashionable opinion. Lokanathan credits Shroff's Forum of Free Enterprise, founded in 1956, with offering a 'useful and necessary corrective' to economic planning carried to such extremes that it produced discriminating controls, inefficient government economic administration, and a wider 'suppression of initiative and loss of self-reliance.' Part I reconstructs the pre-Independence structure. In the absence of issue houses, specialist underwriters, or investment trusts, and with commercial banks following British practice in refusing to lend long, the entire burden of initial capital, working capital and long-term finance fell on the managing agents and their personal networks. The capital market was thin, savers shunned industrial securities, and small and medium industry had no access to formal credit at all. The Ahmedabad textile industry's reliance on public deposits to fund five-to-seven-year requirements is offered as a partial, imperfect workaround. Lokanathan argues that since 1947 the change has been 'almost beyond recognition.' A scaffolding of new institutions — the Industrial Finance Corporation of India (1948), the state financial corporations, ICICI, the Industrial Development Bank of India (1964), the Unit Trust of India and the investment activities of the LIC — has filled the wide gaps; the Credit Guarantee Scheme of the RBI and the new Social Control of Banks have made small industry a preferred sector; commercial banks now provide intermediate credit; and a new-issue market has begun to function. He documents the scale: financial-institution lending rose from 5 to 13 per cent of gross Private Sector investment between the Second and Third Plans, and in 1967-68 the LIC, Unit Trust of India and ICICI together underwrote 53 per cent of Rs. 40 crores of public issues. By 1965 the LIC had become 'the largest single shareholder in the private sector.' Part IV (begun in this chunk) presses back against the view 'expressed in high quarters' that institutional finance has made an active stock exchange unnecessary. Lokanathan insists that financial institutions cannot supply all the initial finance new businesses need; equity must come from the public, and the public will only invest if a healthy stock exchange gives them liquidity. He records that the savings-to-national-income ratio has fallen from about 10 per cent in 1964-65 to under 8 per cent, and identifies 'an inherent contradiction' between an industrial policy that valorises the Private Sector and a fiscal policy that drains its resources. The chunk breaks off mid-argument on the fiscal-industrial mismatch. ## Key points - Frames 1947 as a watershed: the structure of Indian industrial finance has changed 'almost beyond recognition' in the twenty years that follow. - Pre-Independence, managing agents were effectively the sole providers of initial capital, working capital and long-term finance; commercial banks followed British practice and refused to lend long; small industry was excluded from formal credit. - Opens with a personal tribute to A. D. Shroff (National Planning Committee, Bombay Plan, Forum of Free Enterprise) and reads Shroff's Forum as a corrective to economic planning carried to extremes that suppressed initiative and self-reliance. - Post-1947 institutional build-out: Industrial Finance Corporation (1948), state financial corporations, ICICI, IDBI (1964), Unit Trust of India and LIC investment activities, plus the Credit Guarantee Scheme and Social Control of Banks that make small industry a preferred sector alongside agriculture. - Total assistance from the new financial institutions rose from 5 per cent of gross Private Sector investment in the Second Plan to 13 per cent in the Third Plan; LIC, UTI and ICICI together underwrote 53 per cent of Rs. 40 crores of public issues in 1967-68. - Concentration concerns: institutional finance has flowed mainly to large companies and to Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madras and West Bengal — 52 per cent of IFC, 69.4 per cent of ICICI and 70 per cent of IDBI assistance, on Lokanathan's figures. - Part IV argues that a healthy stock exchange remains 'absolutely urgent' because institutional finance cannot supply all initial equity and savers need a liquid market to enter and exit. - Closes the rendered pages by flagging a falling savings rate (10 per cent → under 8 per cent) and 'an inherent contradiction' between the government's pro-Private-Sector industrial policy and a fiscal policy out of consonance with it. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Chinese Economic Experiment: Lessons for India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-chinese-economic-experiment-lessons-for-india-j-h-doshi-november-16-1978/ ### Summary J. H. Doshi, an industrialist and President of the Forum of Free Enterprise, reports on a ten-day Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry delegation visit to China in 1978, comparing it with a previous trip in 1958. He frames China and India as the two great post-war experiments in economic growth — one totalitarian-socialist, the other a democracy newly emerging from Emergency rule — and uses observations from Peking, Shanghai, Hangchow and Canton to take stock of what three decades of central planning have delivered. Doshi credits China with conspicuous gains in agriculture (afforestation, water conservation, cropping intensity, 280 million tonnes of foodgrains against India's 125), in heavy industry (steel, coal, petro-chemicals, ambitious 1985 targets), and in basic living standards: full employment of a sort, clean public spaces, rationed essentials, low wage disparity, and a visibly fed population with no beggars. But the report is equally insistent on the costs and the recent reversal. There is no press, no freedom of expression, no freedom of movement; everything is rationed; even marriage requires departmental permission.… ### Body # The Chinese Economic Experiment: Lessons for India *By J. H. DOSHI* ## Summary J. H. Doshi, an industrialist and President of the Forum of Free Enterprise, reports on a ten-day Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry delegation visit to China in 1978, comparing it with a previous trip in 1958. He frames China and India as the two great post-war experiments in economic growth — one totalitarian-socialist, the other a democracy newly emerging from Emergency rule — and uses observations from Peking, Shanghai, Hangchow and Canton to take stock of what three decades of central planning have delivered. Doshi credits China with conspicuous gains in agriculture (afforestation, water conservation, cropping intensity, 280 million tonnes of foodgrains against India's 125), in heavy industry (steel, coal, petro-chemicals, ambitious 1985 targets), and in basic living standards: full employment of a sort, clean public spaces, rationed essentials, low wage disparity, and a visibly fed population with no beggars. But the report is equally insistent on the costs and the recent reversal. There is no press, no freedom of expression, no freedom of movement; everything is rationed; even marriage requires departmental permission. The sparrow-elimination episode of the Great Leap Forward is taken as a parable for the dangers of highly centralised decision-making. After Mao's death and the smashing of the Gang of Four, Doshi argues, the new leadership under Hua and Teng (Deng) has quietly discarded the dogma that communism is perfect: Marx's 'to each according to his need' is being replaced by 'to each according to his work', autarky is being abandoned for turnkey deals with Japan, Germany and the West, and bureaucratic controls are under attack. The closing 'Lessons for India' section turns the comparison into a polemic. From the Second Five-Year Plan onwards, Doshi writes, India copied the communist planning strategy with disastrous results — neglected agriculture, neglected rural roads and primary education, heavy taxation, unproductive public-sector projects, large-scale corruption, an unproductive bureaucracy. The 1977 policy shift is welcomed but judged insufficient. India should learn from China where China was right (agriculture, afforestation, asset-building employment, cost consciousness, decentralisation) while refusing the price China paid: liquidations, suppression of dissent, the end of press freedom. The 19-month Emergency, Doshi argues, was India's brief glimpse of that road, and the electorate rejected it. The pamphlet ends with a call to pursue prosperity with freedoms, realistic economic policies rather than outdated ideologies, and citizens who do not look up to a 'Ma-Bap Sircar' for everything. ## Key points - Doshi reports on a 1978 FICCI delegation visit to China (Peking, Shanghai, Hangchow, Canton), measured against his earlier 1958 visit, treating China and India as the two great post-war growth experiments under opposed ideologies. - He credits Chinese agricultural performance — 99% irrigated land vs India's 28%, 280 million tonnes of foodgrains vs India's 125, three crops a year, afforestation up to the edge of roads and runways — and the Commune system's self-sufficiency in food, schooling and primary health. - Industrial achievements are catalogued (steel up from 6–7 to 25 million tonnes, coal at 250 million tonnes, plans for 120 large projects by 1985, turnkey contracts with Japan and Germany) but framed as multiplication of existing capacity since Soviet advisers left in 1960. - The sparrow-elimination campaign of the Great Leap Forward is offered as a moral about ecological balance and, more pointedly, about how 'highly centralised decision-making leads to mistakes on a colossal scale' while decentralised systems contain damage. - Doshi documents the absence of independent newspapers, freedom of expression, freedom of movement and free choice of employment, alongside rationing, permit-controlled marriage and overemployment in petro-chemical plants where 33,000 work in a partly-automated facility. - He tracks the post-Mao policy shift: the dogma that communism is perfect has been discarded, capitalist management techniques are being studied, Marx's 'from each according to his ability, to each according to his need' is being replaced by 'to each according to his work', and Stalinist autarky is being condemned. - The 'Lessons for India' section attacks the Second Five-Year Plan tradition: Indian planning since 1956 is described as a disastrous imitation of the communist strategy that neglected agriculture, infrastructure and primary education while burning scarce resources in inefficient public-sector projects, unproductive bureaucracy and large-scale corruption. - Doshi closes by repudiating the Emergency as India's brief glimpse of the Chinese path and calling for 'prosperity for the masses with freedoms' — realistic economic policies, citizens who do not look up to a 'Ma-Bap Sircar', and a hastening of the inevitable liberal direction. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Civil Service in Transition URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-civil-service-in-transition-b-k-nehru/ ### Summary B. K. Nehru's lecture traces the rise and decay of India's higher civil services from their Bourbon-Napoleonic and Haileybury origins to their political subordination in the late 1990s. He defends the All-India Services settlement that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel forced through an unwilling Constituent Assembly, and argues that it has since been hollowed out by ministerial interference, transfers used as a weapon, and pervasive corruption rooted in the licence-permit-quota raj. Nehru opens with an institutional history — the Bourbon and Napoleonic prefectoral system, Lord Wellesley's College of Fort William, the East India College at Haileybury, the opening of the ICS examination in 1853, and the parallel Indian examination introduced in 1922 — before turning autobiographical. Recalling his own 1934 selection, he describes a Viva Voce in which he was asked how he could serve the British Government when half his family was in jail, and his answer that he wanted "to see for himself" whether being in the ICS would help his people.… ### Body # The Civil Service in Transition *By B.K. Nehru* ## Summary B. K. Nehru's lecture traces the rise and decay of India's higher civil services from their Bourbon-Napoleonic and Haileybury origins to their political subordination in the late 1990s. He defends the All-India Services settlement that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel forced through an unwilling Constituent Assembly, and argues that it has since been hollowed out by ministerial interference, transfers used as a weapon, and pervasive corruption rooted in the licence-permit-quota raj. Nehru opens with an institutional history — the Bourbon and Napoleonic prefectoral system, Lord Wellesley's College of Fort William, the East India College at Haileybury, the opening of the ICS examination in 1853, and the parallel Indian examination introduced in 1922 — before turning autobiographical. Recalling his own 1934 selection, he describes a Viva Voce in which he was asked how he could serve the British Government when half his family was in jail, and his answer that he wanted "to see for himself" whether being in the ICS would help his people. He then evokes the guru-chela district apprenticeship under a Deputy Commissioner, in which the new recruit was drilled in incorruptibility, "no fear or favour", a contempt for sifarish, and the conviction that he was a servant, not a ruler, of the people. Four anecdotes mark the collapse of that ethos. Under the British an Accountant General, Ganga Ram Kaula, ordered that an over-priced carpet be recovered from a Finance Member's salary and was later knighted; under Jawaharlal Nehru, the income-tax chairman Arun Roy refused even T. T. Krishnamachari access to a citizen's returns and survived; in the present day a young IAS officer is told that ministers will tolerate only "category A" (unquestioning) or at most "category B" officers, never "category C" who insist on law; and an Assistant Commissioner who tries to charge a cabinet minister customs duty on luxury imports is transferred from Delhi to Chennai within a week. Nehru blames a deeper rot: Nehruvian nationalisation and the licence-permit-quota raj created arbitrary discretion that corrupted ministers first and then seeped into the services; deflated ICS salaries and absurdly high income-tax rates put temptation in everyone's path; and Lok Sabha election finance, now Rs. 1.3 crore a seat, has welded politicians to the underworld. For Nehru, the constitutional ideas of democracy, equality, secularism, human rights and the Rule of Law remain foreign imports onto a millennia-old "Raja and Praja" template, which is why elected representatives treat the laws they pass as binding on everyone but themselves. The civil servant who insists otherwise is at "continuous war" with the politician, and the Indian Police Service, recast as the Chief Minister's private army, has fared worse than the IAS. The rendered pages close by noting that the Administrative Reforms Commission under Morarji Desai, the Sarkaria Commission, and the Dharma Vira Commission have all gathered dust, and that the R. Venkataraman commission on constitutional amendments has just been announced; the text breaks off before the lecture's conclusion. ## Key points - Modern civil services, with codified recruitment, duties, salaries and tenure, are functionally tied to democracy and the Rule of Law; their genealogy runs from the Bourbon prefects through Napoleon to Haileybury, the 1853 open ICS examination, and the 1922 parallel Indian examination. - Pre-Independence ICS training was a guru-chela apprenticeship under a Deputy Commissioner in which moral formation — incorruptibility, refusal of sifarish, the duty to serve rather than rule — was treated as inseparable from technical competence. - Four case studies — the Ganga Ram Kaula carpet affair under the British, Arun Roy's refusal of T. T. Krishnamachari's demand for a citizen's tax returns under Nehru, the IAS officer asked which 'category' (A/B/C) he belongs to, and an Assistant Commissioner transferred for charging a minister customs duty — mark the long decline of ministerial restraint. - Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is presented as the sole leader to grasp that good laws do not enforce themselves; his All-India Services articles were forced through against the wishes of Chief Ministers who wanted pliable officials, and Jawaharlal Nehru only came round to the ICS view after long experience of office. - The licence-permit-quota raj, born of nationalisation and tight industrial control, created the arbitrary discretion that corrupted ministers first and the services after them; deflated ICS salaries and absurdly high direct taxes made the temptation worse. - Lok Sabha election finance — Nehru cites Rs. 1.3 crore per seat — has welded the political class to underworld money and produced the now-routine nexus of politician, criminal, corrupt businessman and compromised civil servant. - Democracy, equality, secularism, human rights and the Rule of Law are characterised as foreign-origin ideas grafted onto an unbroken Raja-Praja tradition; the elected Ruler is therefore widely assumed to be above the law he passes, and the upright civil servant is in 'continuous war' with him. - The Indian Police Service has been more thoroughly captured than the IAS, behaving as the Chief Minister's 'private army'; commission reports from Morarji Desai's Administrative Reforms Commission to the Sarkaria and Dharma Vira commissions have been left to gather dust. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Climate Change - Issues and Challenges URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-climate-change-issues-and-challenges-s-d-naik/ ### Summary Dr. S. D. Naik's booklet, issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise in the wake of the 2018 Nobel Prize for Economics (awarded to William D. Nordhaus and Paul M. Romer), surveys the climate-change problem as both a scientific reality and a development-policy challenge. The opening pages frame climate change as 'no more an environmental concern' but 'the biggest development challenge for the planet', with multi-sectoral and disproportionately poor-hurting effects. Naik then walks the reader through the basics — weather versus climate, the land-sea warming contrast, rising aerosol concentrations and consequent air pollution — drawing on a 'Nature Climate Change' study and on NOAA data showing 2018 as the hottest year on record and the 2014–2018 stretch as the warmest five-year span in 139 years of measurement. A long middle section, headed 'The Climate Crisis', synthesises two landmark findings: the Hindukush Himalaya Assessment led by Philippus Wester (warning that two-thirds of Himalayan glaciers risk melting by 2100, with cascading consequences for the Ganga, Indus, Yellow and Mekong river systems and for 1.5 billion people downstream), and a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory study o… ### Body # The Climate Change - Issues and Challenges *By Dr. S. D. Naik* ## Summary Dr. S. D. Naik's booklet, issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise in the wake of the 2018 Nobel Prize for Economics (awarded to William D. Nordhaus and Paul M. Romer), surveys the climate-change problem as both a scientific reality and a development-policy challenge. The opening pages frame climate change as 'no more an environmental concern' but 'the biggest development challenge for the planet', with multi-sectoral and disproportionately poor-hurting effects. Naik then walks the reader through the basics — weather versus climate, the land-sea warming contrast, rising aerosol concentrations and consequent air pollution — drawing on a 'Nature Climate Change' study and on NOAA data showing 2018 as the hottest year on record and the 2014–2018 stretch as the warmest five-year span in 139 years of measurement. A long middle section, headed 'The Climate Crisis', synthesises two landmark findings: the Hindukush Himalaya Assessment led by Philippus Wester (warning that two-thirds of Himalayan glaciers risk melting by 2100, with cascading consequences for the Ganga, Indus, Yellow and Mekong river systems and for 1.5 billion people downstream), and a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory study of an enormous warm-water cavity under Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier whose collapse could raise sea levels by roughly two feet. Naik uses these to argue that ever-increasing heat, rising oceans, melting 'third pole' ice, and intensified heatwaves and wildfires (Europe, western US) are no longer speculative scenarios but ongoing damage. The policy chapters reconstruct the diplomatic record: the Paris Agreement of December 2015 (195 nations committing to keep warming below 2°C, ideally 1.5°C), Donald Trump's withdrawal from it, and the Katowice Consensus of 2018 in Poland which produced a 'rulebook' but, in the author's reading, 'delivered precious little beyond' it. Naik foregrounds India's negotiating posture — 1.2 tonnes per-capita CO₂ emissions against a 4.2-tonne global average — while insisting that cumulative impact still requires India to scale solar and wind to 175 GW by 2022, reduce coal reliance, shift to electric mobility, and adopt green industrial processes. A brief detour invokes Ronald Coase's argument that clearly defined property rights would neutralise externalities, but concedes that high transaction costs force governments to intervene against 'bad' externalities such as harmful emissions. A closing section, 'The Heat is on…Implications for India', cites Sagnic Dey of IIT Delhi on health, food and water impacts, and a World Bank report ('South Asia's Hotspots') warning that rising temperatures and erratic rainfall could cost India around 2.8 per cent of GDP and severely degrade living standards for 600 million Indians in vulnerable regions — already visible, Naik notes, in recurrent droughts across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Odisha and in Kerala's 2018 floods, the worst since 1924. ## Key points - Frames climate change as the 'biggest development challenge for the planet', no longer merely environmental, with India 'one of the most vulnerable countries' given its agro-climatic diversity. - Anchors the discussion in the 2018 Nobel Prize for Economics to Nordhaus (climate-economy modelling) and Romer (endogenous-technology growth), arguing that India's post-reforms growth came with lower energy per unit of GDP thanks to better technology. - Surveys the Hindukush Himalaya Assessment (Philippus Wester): two-thirds of Himalayan glaciers at risk of melting by 2100, with downstream consequences for the Ganga, Indus, Yellow and Mekong and for 1.5 billion people across India, China and Pakistan. - Uses NASA's Thwaites Glacier study (an underwater cavity two-thirds the area of Manhattan) to illustrate that Antarctic ice loss could raise global sea levels by about two feet, threatening coastal cities. - Reconstructs the Paris Agreement (2015), Donald Trump's withdrawal, and the Katowice Consensus (2018) as the diplomatic backbone — judging Katowice to have produced a rulebook but 'precious little beyond' a global climate-action vision. - Positions India in the global emissions debate: 1.2 t per-capita CO₂ vs 4.2 t global average, yet still among the top five emitters by absolute volume, requiring a paradigm shift in energy, mobility and industry. - Invokes Ronald Coase on property rights and externalities, but accepts that high transaction costs and firms' reluctance to internalise clean-up costs justify government intervention against 'bad' externalities such as harmful emissions. - Closes with the World Bank's 'South Asia's Hotspots' warning that climate change could cost India around 2.8 per cent of GDP and harm the living standards of 600 million Indians, with droughts in Maharashtra/Karnataka/Rajasthan/Odisha and Kerala's 2018 floods cited as early signals. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Concept of Economic Equality URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-concept-of-economic-equality-professor-p-t-bauer-september-14-1981/ ### Summary P. T. Bauer's booklet, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay in September 1981 as excerpts from his paper "The Grail of Equality", mounts a sustained classical-liberal critique of the egalitarian project. Bauer argues that the economic differences observed in open societies arise primarily from differences in aptitude, motivation, foresight, and the readiness to seize opportunities — not from exploitation or appropriation. Because such differences are produced rather than confiscated, the language of "inequality" prejudges the moral question; "difference" is the more accurate and neutral term. Any political programme that sets out to remove these differences must rely on extensive coercion, and so trades the promise of greater equality of income for a far more pronounced inequality of power between rulers and subjects. Bauer then turns the standard rhetoric of redistribution against itself.… ### Body # The Concept of Economic Equality *By Prof. P. T. Bauer* ## Summary P. T. Bauer's booklet, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay in September 1981 as excerpts from his paper "The Grail of Equality", mounts a sustained classical-liberal critique of the egalitarian project. Bauer argues that the economic differences observed in open societies arise primarily from differences in aptitude, motivation, foresight, and the readiness to seize opportunities — not from exploitation or appropriation. Because such differences are produced rather than confiscated, the language of "inequality" prejudges the moral question; "difference" is the more accurate and neutral term. Any political programme that sets out to remove these differences must rely on extensive coercion, and so trades the promise of greater equality of income for a far more pronounced inequality of power between rulers and subjects. Bauer then turns the standard rhetoric of redistribution against itself. The supposed beneficiaries of the welfare state are not, in his account, primarily the poor: substantial direct and indirect taxes fall on workers in Britain and elsewhere, while the major beneficiaries are the politicians, civil servants, and administrators who run the apparatus and entrench it. State spending on welfare promotes the inflation that erodes the small saver's ability to provide for himself, which in turn breeds further demand for state provision. He marshals international evidence — Soviet income differentials, the spread of social services in Communist countries — to argue that mass coercion has not produced economic equality even where it has been pursued for half a century. A distinct middle section, headed "Equality of Opportunity", attacks the Fabian assumption (associated with Tawney) that equal opportunity will naturally yield equal results. Bauer insists that aptitudes and motivations differ, that loving parents and cultivated backgrounds advantage some children, and that policies aimed at equalising results require ever-greater control of social and personal life. Politicising economic life raises the stakes of who holds power, intensifies ethnic and group conflict in multiracial societies, and — in the Third World — makes the conduct of the rulers "a matter of life and death for millions". The booklet closes by separating two ideas often elided in public debate: relief of poverty and reduction of inequality. Egalitarian policies, by focusing on relative position, divert attention from the causes of real hardship. "To make the rich poorer", Bauer writes, "does not make the poor richer." The pursuit of economic equality is, on his account, more likely to harm than help the very poor — by politicising life, restricting capital accumulation, obstructing social and economic mobility, and inhibiting enterprise in every direction. ## Key points - Economic differences in open societies arise from differing aptitudes, motivations, foresight, and readiness to perceive opportunities — not from exploitation of others. - "Difference" is the neutral and more accurate term for variation in income; "inequality" smuggles in a moral verdict by treating any divergence as injustice. - Pursuing economic equality requires coercion that produces a far greater inequality of power between rulers and subjects than the income differences it claims to remove. - Major beneficiaries of redistribution are not the poor but the politicians, civil servants, advocates, and administrators who run the system and perpetuate it. - Welfare-state taxation falls heavily on the poor themselves; the welfare state redistributes responsibility between state and citizen as much as it redistributes income between rich and poor. - Soviet-bloc evidence after half a century of mass coercion shows income differences as wide as in market-oriented societies, undermining the empirical case for the egalitarian project. - Equality of opportunity does not yield equality of result, because loving parents, cultivated backgrounds, good looks and aptitude produce unequal opportunities even before any policy is applied. - Reduction of poverty and reduction of inequality are distinct, often conflicting goals: "to make the rich poorer does not make the poor richer". --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Companies Amendment Bill 1972 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-companies-amendment-bill-1972-n-a-palkhivala-r-g-saraiya-h-g-mody-september-october-1972/ ### Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise (Bombay) in 1972, this slim booklet collects three addresses delivered between September and October 1972 — N. A. Palkhivala's public lecture of 15 September, and discussion-meeting talks by R. G. Saraiya and M. H. Mody on 10 October — attacking the Companies (Amendment) Bill 1972. The three speakers, drawn from constitutional law, banking and the accounting profession respectively, share a single argumentative centre: that the Bill imposes a degree of governmental control over the day-to-day life of the corporate sector unknown anywhere else in the world, and that its provisions on take-over bids, deemed-public-company status, auditor rotation, compulsory dividend distribution and benami holdings will hit small and medium enterprise hardest while substituting bureaucratic discretion for judicial determination. ### Body # The Companies Amendment Bill 1972 ## Summary Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise (Bombay) in 1972, this slim booklet collects three addresses delivered between September and October 1972 — N. A. Palkhivala's public lecture of 15 September, and discussion-meeting talks by R. G. Saraiya and M. H. Mody on 10 October — attacking the Companies (Amendment) Bill 1972. The three speakers, drawn from constitutional law, banking and the accounting profession respectively, share a single argumentative centre: that the Bill imposes a degree of governmental control over the day-to-day life of the corporate sector unknown anywhere else in the world, and that its provisions on take-over bids, deemed-public-company status, auditor rotation, compulsory dividend distribution and benami holdings will hit small and medium enterprise hardest while substituting bureaucratic discretion for judicial determination. ## Essays ### Provisions Detrimental to Public Interest *By N. A. Palkhivala* N. A. Palkhivala's opening lecture, 'Provisions Detrimental to Public Interest', frames the Bill as a 'bureaucratic seizure of all levers of power' whose stated public-interest purpose is contradicted by every operative clause. He attacks the redefinition of 'same management' (so loose that companies that have never heard of each other will be deemed grouped), the de facto extinction of private companies (any private company holding 10% of a public company is itself converted into a public company), the cumbersome prospectus requirement for accepting deposits, the dividend restriction on accumulated past profits, the three-year cap on auditor tenure, and most reprehensible to him, the transfer of judicial powers (over diversification, registered-office shifts, etc.) from the courts to the Government — replacing 'bureaucratic bungling for a fair and judicial determination'. - The Bill imposes corporate-sector control unknown to any other country in the world. - The 'same management' definition is so distorted that unrelated companies will be deemed grouped because of a single shared director. - Private companies will be virtually extinguished: any private company holding 10% of a public company's paid-up capital is itself converted into a public company. - The three-year cap on auditor tenure is a gratuitous interference with shareholder choice that will substitute mediocrity for meritocracy in the accountancy profession. - The Bill takes away the powers of the courts in various fields and vests them in the Government, undermining the separation of the judiciary and executive. ### Small and Medium Companies Will be Hit *By R. G. Saraiya* R. G. Saraiya — a co-operator and industrialist who chaired the Banking Commission — works clause by clause through the Bill's implications for small and medium enterprise. On Clause 5 (Sec. 43A), he doubts that any public-interest purpose is served by making companies with paid-up capital of Rs. 25 lakhs and turnover of Rs. 50 lakhs into 'deemed public companies', and questions the compliance costs and Government recurring expenditure of Rs. 10 lakhs per annum (which he predicts will balloon to Rs. 50 lakhs or Rs. 1 crore). He invokes the Banking Commission's own recommendation that private limited companies accepting non-cheaqueable deposits from shareholders need not be regulated, and argues that rural banks set up as subsidiaries of commercial banks should not be straitjacketed by the public-company regime. On Clauses 4, 8, 11 & 12, he attacks the substitution of Central Government decisions for court decisions as a breach of the separation of judiciary and executive. He fears the cumulative effect on private-limited shares will be reduced marketability and discouragement of the investment market, and concludes that the legislation will positively discourage small and medium companies while burdening large ones with armies of chartered accountants, company secretaries and labour-law specialists. - Clause 5's deemed-public-company test (Rs. 25 lakh paid-up capital, Rs. 50 lakh turnover) would sweep in small companies with under 50 shareholders where no public interest is involved. - The Banking Commission's own recommendation — that private companies and firms accepting non-cheaqueable deposits from shareholders/partners be excluded from regulation — is incompatible with the Bill's prospectus requirement. - Rural Banks proposed as subsidiaries of commercial banks would be crippled by being forced under the public-company regime; special legislation, not the Companies Act, is the right vehicle. - Clauses 4, 8, 11 and 12 substitute Central Government decisions for those of the courts, breaching the separation of judiciary and executive. - Clauses 4B and 10 (new sections 108A–108F) will restrict investment in public limited shares, reduce marketability, and ultimately discourage the investment market. - The net effect will be to discourage small and medium companies and burden large ones with a thicket of compliance professionals, diverting talent from production. ### Detailed Study of Implications is Necessary *By M. H. Mody* M. H. Mody, a chartered accountant, argues that company law is too complex a field to be amended without prior expert study, and that this Bill is unprecedented in being moved without one. He contrasts it with the Bhabha Commission and Daftary & Shastry Committee at home and the Cohen and Jenkins Committees in the United Kingdom, all of which preceded major amendments to the Companies Act. He criticises the haste — an initial 15-day public-comment window extended by another 15 days — and the poor quality of drafting. Drawing on the UK take-over experience after the London Stock Exchange's failed efforts and the City Code on Take-over Bids, he argues that legitimate take-over activity should be encouraged, not throttled by hastily drafted Sections 108A–108G, and that the appointment-of-auditors provision (three-year rotation, Government approval where Government's interest exceeds 25%) strikes at the independence of the accounting profession itself. The Registrar of Companies' new powers of search and seizure under Section 209A — modelled on a court of law — extend the inspection regime far beyond reasonable bounds. The amendments, he concludes, are 'the beginning of the ultimate emasculation of the accounting profession'. - Every major amendment to company law in India and the UK has historically been preceded by expert-body study (Bhabha, Daftary & Shastry, Cohen, Jenkins); the 1972 Bill is unique in having none. - Only 15 days of public comment were initially allowed — extended by another 15 — for legislation 'so complex that by no stretch of imagination can this be considered as an adequate period'. - The UK City Code on Take-over Bids, evolved by merchant bankers after the London Stock Exchange's failed gentlemen's agreement, shows that take-over regulation requires expertise — not the Bill's blunt sections 108A–108G. - The proposed three-year rotation of auditors and Government approval for appointments where its stake exceeds 25% strikes at the independence of the accounting profession. - Section 209A confers on the Registrar of Companies the powers of a court of law to carry out searches and seizures — an unprecedented extension of inspection authority. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Cult of State Capitalism in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-cult-of-state-capitalism-in-india-c-h-bhabha-january-1-1970/ ### Summary C. H. Bhabha's pamphlet, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, is a sustained polemic against what he calls the "cult of State Capitalism" in post-independence India. Bhabha argues that political slogans demonising capital and capitalists, paired with the Nehru-era doctrine of a "mixed economy", have in practice drifted toward a totalitarian experiment in state capitalism. He treats the 1948 industrial policy resolution and its 1956 revision as the formal milestones in this drift, and points to the establishment of the State Trading Corporation and the nationalisation of life insurance as concrete instances of a "violent shift" in the role of the state. The central evidentiary section reviews the First Five-Year Plan, conceding that overall industrial production rose by about 35% between 1951 and 1955 (with tables for cotton textiles, jute, steel, cement, machine tools, diesel engines, sewing machines, soda ash, caustic soda and superphosphates), but insisting that the direct contribution of state enterprise was negligible.… ### Body # The Cult of State Capitalism in India *By C. H. Bhabha* ## Summary C. H. Bhabha's pamphlet, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, is a sustained polemic against what he calls the "cult of State Capitalism" in post-independence India. Bhabha argues that political slogans demonising capital and capitalists, paired with the Nehru-era doctrine of a "mixed economy", have in practice drifted toward a totalitarian experiment in state capitalism. He treats the 1948 industrial policy resolution and its 1956 revision as the formal milestones in this drift, and points to the establishment of the State Trading Corporation and the nationalisation of life insurance as concrete instances of a "violent shift" in the role of the state. The central evidentiary section reviews the First Five-Year Plan, conceding that overall industrial production rose by about 35% between 1951 and 1955 (with tables for cotton textiles, jute, steel, cement, machine tools, diesel engines, sewing machines, soda ash, caustic soda and superphosphates), but insisting that the direct contribution of state enterprise was negligible. Bhabha singles out the Sindhri Fertiliser Factory, Chittaranjan Loco Works, Hindustan Aircraft, Hindustan Telephones and Hindustan Shipyard as cases that, examined honestly, would expose the burden public ventures place on the nation. He warns that state enterprises shielded from competition foster complacency, that organising them as private joint-stock companies still leaves shareholders without effective control, and that the ordinary basis of contract and freedom of association is being trampled. Bhabha then turns the comparative lens outward. In the United States, he argues, roughly 100 billion dollars of federal investment in business by the mid-1950s produced a backlash; the Eisenhower administration's "get out of business" campaign and divestments by the Defence Department exemplify a counter-doctrine he labels "people's capitalism" or "democratic capitalism", citing General Motors' 639,000 stockholders and 1.5 million holders of AT&T stock. He quotes Soviet economist Eugene Varga's failed search for evidence against this trend, the heavy losses of French nationalised railways and coal mines, and the conversion of ex-Finance Minister John Matthai away from nationalisation in his Lok Sabha speech, alongside Winthrop Aldridge's warning that "Government planning means the destruction of individual initiative". The pamphlet closes by invoking Jefferson on the danger of concentrating "all cares and powers into one body" and by quoting Nehru approvingly on producing material goods "not at the expense of the spirit of man". Bhabha urges that India's State Capitalism be deeply thought out and provided with proper safeguards rather than pursued through painful or inhuman ways. ## Key points - Frames Indian "mixed economy" rhetoric as a drift toward totalitarian state capitalism, with the 1948 industrial policy resolution as the first turning point and the 1956 revision deepening it. - Treats the State Trading Corporation and the nationalisation of life insurance as emblematic of a "violent shift" in the role of the state. - Concedes that overall industrial production rose ~35% over the First Plan (1951-1956) but argues the direct contribution of state enterprise was negligible and credit belongs to private initiative. - Names Sindhri Fertiliser Factory, Chittaranjan Loco Works, Hindustan Aircraft, Hindustan Telephones and Hindustan Shipyard as state ventures whose true costs are obscured by official accounting. - Warns that state enterprises insulated from competition breed complacency, while joint-stock organisation does not give shareholders genuine control. - Holds up American "people's capitalism" — wide stock ownership in firms like General Motors and AT&T, plus the Eisenhower "get out of business" campaign — as a contrary global trend. - Cites ex-Finance Minister John Matthai's Lok Sabha recantation and Winthrop Aldridge of the Chase National Bank as authorities against nationalisation. - Closes with Jefferson on concentrated power destroying liberty, and asks that India's State Capitalism be deeply thought out and not pursued through painful or inhuman ways. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] THE CURRENT PRICE SITUATION URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-current-price-situation-s-s-bhandare-dr-abhay-pethe/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet collects two talks delivered at a Mumbai public meeting on 18 August 1998, in the immediate aftermath of an inflationary scare that saw the Wholesale Price Index touch 8.78% year-on-year. The first essay, by Tata Services economic advisor S.S. Bhandare, reads the spike as a primarily supply-side phenomenon — poor monsoon, traders exploiting shortages of potatoes, onions and oilseeds — compounded by a persistent fiscal deficit and an accelerating procurement-price ratchet, and prescribes a fresh wave of green revolution, fiscal consolidation that protects capital spending, and better governance. The second essay, by Mumbai University economist Dr. Abhay Pethe, steps back from current-events diagnosis to ask what a price structure actually is — comparing it to blood pressure in the body — and to argue that the dynamics of expectations (vividly on display in the contagion of the Asian currency crisis) are central to understanding inflation. ### Body # THE CURRENT PRICE SITUATION *By S.S. Bhandare, Dr. Abhay Pethe* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet collects two talks delivered at a Mumbai public meeting on 18 August 1998, in the immediate aftermath of an inflationary scare that saw the Wholesale Price Index touch 8.78% year-on-year. The first essay, by Tata Services economic advisor S.S. Bhandare, reads the spike as a primarily supply-side phenomenon — poor monsoon, traders exploiting shortages of potatoes, onions and oilseeds — compounded by a persistent fiscal deficit and an accelerating procurement-price ratchet, and prescribes a fresh wave of green revolution, fiscal consolidation that protects capital spending, and better governance. The second essay, by Mumbai University economist Dr. Abhay Pethe, steps back from current-events diagnosis to ask what a price structure actually is — comparing it to blood pressure in the body — and to argue that the dynamics of expectations (vividly on display in the contagion of the Asian currency crisis) are central to understanding inflation. ## Essays ### Resurgence of Inflation *By S.S. Bhandare* Bhandare opens by noting the paradox of an Indian economy 'beseiged with rising inflation in the midst of industrial slowdown or sectoral recession.' He traces the resurgence to four channels: a 3.7% decline in 1997-98 agricultural production combined with traders exploiting shortages of fruits, vegetables and oilseeds; a widening inflationary gap as M3 growth (17.6%) outstrips real GDP growth (5.1%); persistent fiscal slippage with the fiscal-deficit-to-GDP ratio reaching 6.1% against a 4.5% target and financed largely by net bank credit to the government; and the 'ratchet effect' of accelerating minimum-support-price fixation, which crossed annual increases of 10-12% in the 1990s versus 5-7% in the 1980s for paddy, wheat, sugarcane, cotton and jute. He argues India 'cannot and should not emulate global standards of inflation' à la the Maastricht Treaty, that tightening monetary and credit policy at this juncture would engender 'stagflation', and that an average long-term inflation rate of 7-8% is an 'inevitable occurrence' given the country's growth imperatives and the unfinished agenda of phasing out administered pricing, procurement and cross-subsidisation. His prescriptions urge a fresh wave of green revolution to raise crop productivity by 30-50% over five to seven years, fiscal consolidation that the new Finance Commission should drive in dialogue with Centre and States without sacrificing capital expenditure, raising the domestic savings ratio above 25-26% of GDP to finance lumpy infrastructure needs, and improving the 'quality and effectiveness of political governance and administration.' - WPI inflation touched 8.78% y-o-y by late August 1998 — the highest since November 1995 — with CPI for industrial workers crossing the 12.4% double-digit mark over the year ended June 1998. - The principal driver is a supply-side shock in primary articles (potatoes up 378.6%, onions 82.4%, oranges 72.8%) following a 3.7% decline in 1997-98 agricultural production, aggravated by trader and speculator exploitation of shortages. - A persistent inflationary gap is widening: M3 growth of 17.6% against real GDP growth of 5.1%, with the fiscal-deficit-to-GDP ratio at 6.1% versus the 4.5% target and net bank credit to government exceeding the entire incremental M3. - Minimum support prices for paddy, wheat, sugarcane, cotton and jute rose 10-12% annually in the 1990s (versus 5-7% in the 1980s), creating a 'ratchet effect' that sets new benchmarks for open-market prices. - Policy prescriptions: a fresh green revolution lifting crop productivity 30-50% within 5-7 years; fiscal consolidation centred on phasing out revenue deficits in 3-5 years without cutting capital expenditure; raising the domestic savings ratio above 25-26% of GDP; better political governance. ### Understanding the phenomenon and its implications *By Dr. Abhay Pethe* In the rendered opening of his talk, Pethe steps back from current-events analysis to ask what a price structure actually is and what functions it performs. He defines the price structure as the configuration of all prevailing prices of consumables and assets, comparing its role in the economy to that of blood pressure in the body — necessary in a positive way, alarming only when fluctuations cross a threshold. He distinguishes two analytic dimensions: the relative structure of prices, which under unhindered market operation produces 'optimal or efficient' resource allocation and which administered intervention distorts (making 'getting the prices right' the heart of reform), and the nature and rapidity of change, which is shaped by elasticities and by agents' past experience. This second dimension leads him to a central methodological point: expectations are 'tremendously important in the decision making process of the agents,' since agents 'take decisions on the basis not of truth but on the basis of what they believe to be true,' and a large share of the contagion of the ongoing Asian currency crisis can be attributed to 'wrong' expectations. He notes that economists have only recently woken up to the importance of endogenising expectations (citing Adaptive, Rational and Culture-constrained variants) and that modelling them remains an open problem. The rendered chunk ends as Pethe pivots to the technical question of how inflation is measured — observing that the choice of index (CPI, WPI, GDP deflator) and of base year is 'a tricky process and inherently a bit arbitrary,' contingent on the purpose for which the index is being constructed. - Price structure is the configuration of all prevailing prices and functions like blood pressure — essential, but symptomatic of deeper malady when it fluctuates beyond a point. - The relative price structure guides resource allocation; if market forces operate unhindered the result is 'optimal or efficient', whereas administered intervention introduces distortion — hence the reformist priority of 'getting the prices right'. - The dynamic dimension — rapidity of price change, agents' past experience, underlying elasticities — is at least as important as the static relative structure. - Expectations are central to inflation; agents act on what they believe to be true, and 'wrong' expectations underwrote much of the contagion of the Asian currency crisis. - Inflation measurement is inherently arbitrary in its choices of basket, weightage, base year and index (CPI, WPI, GDP deflator), and those choices depend on the purpose of the index. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Consumer and the Indian Economic Environment URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-consumer-and-the-indian-economic-environment-professor-gangadhar-gadgil-september-12-1980/ ### Summary Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil — economist and President of the Bombay branch of the Federation of Consumers' Associations — uses this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, based on a talk to consumer-association workers, to argue that India's post-1947 economic environment has been structurally hostile to the consumer. He opens with the structural inheritance: a large, poor population that spends 60–80 per cent of its income on food, an enduring food deficit, weak commercial and transport infrastructure, and an illiterate, unorganised buyer who is easy prey for short-weight, adulterated, and overpriced goods. Government, he concedes, has built food stocks, controlled prices, standardised weights and measures, set up the Food Corporation and the Indian Standards Institute, and passed the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act — but these palliatives have failed to dislodge the deeper causes of consumer distress. The second half of the booklet turns those causes into a sustained critique of Indian planning.… ### Body # The Consumer and the Indian Economic Environment *By Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil* ## Summary Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil — economist and President of the Bombay branch of the Federation of Consumers' Associations — uses this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, based on a talk to consumer-association workers, to argue that India's post-1947 economic environment has been structurally hostile to the consumer. He opens with the structural inheritance: a large, poor population that spends 60–80 per cent of its income on food, an enduring food deficit, weak commercial and transport infrastructure, and an illiterate, unorganised buyer who is easy prey for short-weight, adulterated, and overpriced goods. Government, he concedes, has built food stocks, controlled prices, standardised weights and measures, set up the Food Corporation and the Indian Standards Institute, and passed the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act — but these palliatives have failed to dislodge the deeper causes of consumer distress. The second half of the booklet turns those causes into a sustained critique of Indian planning. Gadgil charges that the growth strategy privileged heavy industry, big capital-intensive projects and import-substituting plants over consumer goods; that bureaucratic delays, corruption and politically driven decentralisation pushed costs up by as much as 30 per cent; that deficit financing has kept the economy under continuous inflationary pressure since 1947; that indirect taxes layered by Union, state and local bodies cascade through prices in a regressive way; and that licensing, labour laws insensitive to productivity, and the protection of inefficient loss-making units all transfer costs to the consumer. Public sector monopolies — LIC, the State Electricity Boards — leave the buyer no exit and no legal remedy, a gap the Sachar Committee has urged Parliament to close. The Ratlam Municipality judgment is cited as a rare instance of the courts compelling the state to deliver the services it taxes for. Gadgil closes with a twelve-point reform programme: faster growth with equitable distribution between organised and unorganised sectors; priority for consumer goods; an end to inflationary financing; review of the policies that built a high-cost economy; cost-benefit discipline on socially motivated interventions; productivity-linked wages; enforceable performance norms for public and private monopolies; liberal imports and the breakup of public-sector monopolies to introduce competition; cheaper packaging; consolidation of consumer-protection law; legal protection against government agencies that fail to deliver services paid for through taxes; and accessible, affordable courts. He insists these reforms will not arrive of their own accord — only sustained pressure from an organised consumer movement can extract them from the state. ## Key points - Frames the post-1947 Indian economic environment as structurally hostile to the consumer, with food taking 60–80 per cent of income for the poor. - Argues that planning's bias toward heavy industry and large capital-intensive projects starved consumer-goods production and fed scarcity-driven inflation. - Identifies deficit financing, cascading indirect taxes imposed by multiple tiers of government, and import-substitution at any cost as drivers of a high-cost economy. - Criticises licensing policy, indiscriminate industrial decentralisation into infrastructure-poor backward areas, and labour laws unlinked to productivity for raising prices. - Singles out public-sector monopolies — LIC, State Electricity Boards — for poor service and the absence of legal remedy, endorsing the Sachar Committee's call to extend the MRTP Act to them. - Cites the Supreme Court's Ratlam Municipality judgment as a precedent for forcing government agencies to deliver services in return for taxes. - Proposes a twelve-point reform agenda: faster growth with equity, consumer-goods priority, price stability, competition through liberal imports and the breakup of public monopolies, and stronger consumer law and courts. - Concludes that reform will require sustained pressure from an organised consumer movement, not voluntary government action. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] THE DANGERS OF JOINT CO-OPERATIVE FARMING URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-dangers-of-joint-cooperative-farming-mar7-1950/ ### Summary M. R. Masani, M.P., addresses the Forum of Free Enterprise with a polemic distinguishing genuine co-operation from the joint co-operative farming pattern endorsed by the Nagpur Resolution of the Congress Party. Masani opens by establishing his own credentials as a life-long supporter of co-operative credit, marketing and multipurpose societies, then draws a sharp line: true co-operation rests on peasants who own and cultivate their own land, while the Soviet-Chinese model of collective farming pools the land itself and turns owners into wage labour on what was once theirs. He argues the Nagpur programme is being smuggled in by the back door under the language of co-operation and must be opposed by every democrat. The pamphlet marshals comparative data to attack the productivity claim behind collectivisation. Drawing on figures for wheat and rice yields in the USA, USSR, UK, Denmark, Japan and an Indian Agricultural Research Institute study on bullock vs. tractor ploughing, Masani argues small farms with better seed, water, credit and know-how out-produce large collectives.… ### Body # THE DANGERS OF JOINT CO-OPERATIVE FARMING *By M. R. MASANI M.P.* ## Summary M. R. Masani, M.P., addresses the Forum of Free Enterprise with a polemic distinguishing genuine co-operation from the joint co-operative farming pattern endorsed by the Nagpur Resolution of the Congress Party. Masani opens by establishing his own credentials as a life-long supporter of co-operative credit, marketing and multipurpose societies, then draws a sharp line: true co-operation rests on peasants who own and cultivate their own land, while the Soviet-Chinese model of collective farming pools the land itself and turns owners into wage labour on what was once theirs. He argues the Nagpur programme is being smuggled in by the back door under the language of co-operation and must be opposed by every democrat. The pamphlet marshals comparative data to attack the productivity claim behind collectivisation. Drawing on figures for wheat and rice yields in the USA, USSR, UK, Denmark, Japan and an Indian Agricultural Research Institute study on bullock vs. tractor ploughing, Masani argues small farms with better seed, water, credit and know-how out-produce large collectives. He cites the retreat from collective farming in Poland under Gomulka (where 80 per cent of co-operatives and collectives were liquidated), Yugoslavia under Tito (where the Yugoslav Parliament abandoned collective farming in 1957), and the negative results reported by the Polish Communist Party — all to argue that 'countries which have tried collective or co-operative farming have always failed'. The second half turns on administrative feasibility and political economy. Masani argues India lacks the senior agricultural officers to staff three thousand co-operative farms; he quotes Sir Malcolm Darling's verdict that 'in every State the path of co-operation is strewn with wreckage', and notes that the Registrar of Co-operative Societies will, under the Co-operative Law Committee's recommendations, possess sweeping powers to audit, supersede, dissolve and arbitrate without appeal — what Prof. Chandrasekhar has called, of the Chinese communes, 'a new form of colonialism'. Citing Gandhi, Charan Singh, Jaya Prakash Narayan, Rajagopalachari and K. M. Munshi as opponents of the joint pattern, Masani warns that pooling land voluntarily will require coercion in practice, will increase rural unemployment, and will set landless against landed in class war. The booklet closes with a defence of the cultivator-owner pattern as both more productive and more humane — the Japanese path of better fertilisers, seed and instruction to the peasant who already farms his own plot — and invokes Gandhi's formula that the urban doctrinaires propose joint co-operative farming as 'another attempt in a roundabout way to keep on the backs of our peasantry'. ## Key points - Masani distinguishes genuine co-operation (credit, marketing, multipurpose societies for owner-cultivators) from joint co-operative farming, which pools land itself on the Soviet-Chinese collectivist model. - He argues the Nagpur Resolution of the Congress Party introduces collectivisation through the back door of 'service co-operatives' followed by joint cultivation. - Comparative yield data from the USA, USSR, UK, Denmark, Japan and an Indian Agricultural Research Institute study are deployed to refute the claim that larger farms are more productive. - He documents the retreat from collectivisation in Poland under Gomulka, Yugoslavia under Tito, and the negative production results admitted by the Polish Communist Party in April 1957. - India lacks the senior agricultural officers to staff three thousand co-operative farms; the Co-operative Law Committee would give the Registrar of Co-operative Societies near-unappealable powers to audit, supersede and dissolve societies. - Mahatma Gandhi's village industries and the Japanese model of better seed, fertiliser and instruction for the owner-cultivator are offered as the genuine alternative. - Masani names Jaya Prakash Narayan, C. Rajagopalachari, K. M. Munshi, Charan Singh and Vinobha Bhave as critics of the joint pattern; he warns that voluntary pooling will collapse into coercion. - He frames joint co-operative farming as an invention of urban, doctrinaire planners that will take land away from the peasantry and provoke civil war and class conflict in the villages. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Dollar and the International Monetary System URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-dollar-and-the-international-monetary-system-arthur-f-burns-october-12-1979/ ### Summary Arthur F. Burns delivers a sober diagnosis of the dollar's slide in foreign exchange markets between September 1977 and late 1978, framing the question as one of consequence not only for Americans but for every economy that holds dollar-denominated assets or trades in dollar-priced commodities. He organises the address around four questions: how the dollar has actually performed against the currencies of the ten major industrial countries since the move to floating rates in 1973; why it depreciated so sharply in the recent two-year period; what prospects exist for improvement; and how a more stable international monetary system might be built in the years immediately ahead. The originating venue is the American Enterprise Institute; the Forum of Free Enterprise reproduces the lecture for an Indian readership. On causes, Burns refuses any single-factor account. Central banks bought more than $40 billion in defence of the dollar from early 1977, yet failed to arrest the underlying decline; interest-rate differentials that had moved in America's favour failed to attract private capital; and the trade balance deteriorated to a $31 billion deficit in 1977.… ### Body # The Dollar and the International Monetary System *By Arthur F. Burns* ## Summary Arthur F. Burns delivers a sober diagnosis of the dollar's slide in foreign exchange markets between September 1977 and late 1978, framing the question as one of consequence not only for Americans but for every economy that holds dollar-denominated assets or trades in dollar-priced commodities. He organises the address around four questions: how the dollar has actually performed against the currencies of the ten major industrial countries since the move to floating rates in 1973; why it depreciated so sharply in the recent two-year period; what prospects exist for improvement; and how a more stable international monetary system might be built in the years immediately ahead. The originating venue is the American Enterprise Institute; the Forum of Free Enterprise reproduces the lecture for an Indian readership. On causes, Burns refuses any single-factor account. Central banks bought more than $40 billion in defence of the dollar from early 1977, yet failed to arrest the underlying decline; interest-rate differentials that had moved in America's favour failed to attract private capital; and the trade balance deteriorated to a $31 billion deficit in 1977. Above all, accelerating American inflation — rising from 5 per cent in 1976 to over 9 per cent by September 1978 — combined with rhetoric from Washington implying that a weaker dollar would help exports propelled the outflow of capital and confirmed pessimistic market expectations. He argues that depreciation overshot what relative price trends alone would justify, that the doctrine of competitive depreciation has lost favour within the US government, and that protectionist temptation, if indulged, would compound damage on a worldwide scale. On remedies, Burns assigns the United States primary responsibility for monetary stability but insists the burden is shared. President Carter's December 1977 dollar-defence measures, sharper discount-rate action by the Federal Reserve, gold sales by the Treasury, energy conservation legislation, and a tax bill that breaks with granting reductions only to low-income groups together signal a political turn toward fiscal conservatism and disenchantment with inflation. Surplus countries — particularly Germany, Japan, and the OPEC cartel — must also conduct themselves responsibly, resisting the urge either to suppress appreciation of their own currencies or to inflict further oil-price shocks. The structural answer Burns advances is a strengthened International Monetary Fund: under its amended Articles of Agreement the Fund now has firm surveillance authority over exchange-rate policies, and national governments must support its prestige, accept its conditions without preferential treatment, and treat it as the institutional vehicle for advancing a rule of law in international monetary affairs. The booklet closes with the standard Forum disclaimer that the views are not necessarily those of the Forum, an epigraph from Eugene Black on private enterprise as an affirmative good, and the dateline 12 October 1979 over an M. R. Pai imprint. ## Key points - Frames the dollar's decline since September 1977 as a problem for the entire international economy, not only for the United States, because the dollar is the invoicing currency of international trade, the principal currency of international capital markets, and the dominant reserve asset for central banks. - Documents large dollar fluctuations under floating rates since 1973, with the dollar losing about one-fourth against the Deutsche mark and about two-fifths against the yen and Swiss franc between early 1977 and late October 1978. - Refuses monocausal explanations: more than $40 billion of central-bank intervention since early 1977, higher US short-term interest rates, and a rapidly deteriorating trade balance (a $31 billion deficit in 1977) failed to halt the slide because accelerating US inflation and Washington rhetoric favouring depreciation undermined confidence. - Rejects the conventional doctrine that a depreciating currency benefits a country's foreign trade, calling it a dangerous guide for the country whose currency is the centrepiece of the international monetary system. - Catalogues the Carter administration's December 1977 turn: vigorous swap arrangements, repeated discount-rate increases to the highest level in Federal Reserve history, Treasury gold sales, energy legislation, an export-promotion programme, and a wage-and-price moderation policy. - Reads the 1978 tax revolt and the new mood of fiscal conservatism as a political shift favouring capital investment, productivity, and inflation control — though noting that the budget deficit and money-supply growth remain powerful inflationary forces. - Argues that surplus countries (Germany, Japan, the OPEC cartel) share responsibility, must not resist underlying appreciation of their currencies, and must avoid new oil-price shocks to the international economy. - Advances a strengthened IMF — with new surveillance authority over exchange-rate policies and stern conditions on its lending — as the institutional vehicle for a rule of law in international monetary affairs, urging that national governments give it strong support and expect no preferential treatment. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Economic & Social History of Continental Europe & Britain, c. 1000-1914: An Introductory, Annotated Reading-List for Economists URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-economic-and-social-history-of-continental-europe-and-britain-c-1000-1914-an-introductory-annota/ ### Summary This three-page document is an anonymous, opinionated annotated reading-list — 'for economists' — on the economic and social history of Continental Europe and Britain from roughly 1000 to 1914. Its discursive introduction is as much a methodological manifesto as a bibliography: the compiler separates the Continent from Britain because the modern developed world is Anglophone, warns of 'factual overload,' and counsels readers to take the older Austrian economists' view that it is 'the facts of the various stories that count,' not 'empirical work' in the conventional sense. The reader is urged to study the real social world, to start from the nineteenth century and work backwards, and to appreciate 'the tremendous significance of the Golden Century between 1815 & 1914.' The references themselves are grouped into two sections. Section A (Continental Europe) lists works by Robert Bartlett, Euan Cameron, T. C. W. Blanning, Peter Rietbergen and Sidney Pollard, spanning the making of medieval Europe through the industrialization of 1760-1970.… ### Body # The Economic & Social History of Continental Europe & Britain, c. 1000-1914: An Introductory, Annotated Reading-List for Economists ## Summary This three-page document is an anonymous, opinionated annotated reading-list — 'for economists' — on the economic and social history of Continental Europe and Britain from roughly 1000 to 1914. Its discursive introduction is as much a methodological manifesto as a bibliography: the compiler separates the Continent from Britain because the modern developed world is Anglophone, warns of 'factual overload,' and counsels readers to take the older Austrian economists' view that it is 'the facts of the various stories that count,' not 'empirical work' in the conventional sense. The reader is urged to study the real social world, to start from the nineteenth century and work backwards, and to appreciate 'the tremendous significance of the Golden Century between 1815 & 1914.' The references themselves are grouped into two sections. Section A (Continental Europe) lists works by Robert Bartlett, Euan Cameron, T. C. W. Blanning, Peter Rietbergen and Sidney Pollard, spanning the making of medieval Europe through the industrialization of 1760-1970. Section B (Britain) is fuller, running from Britnell and Dyer on the late medieval economy through Wrightson, Thirsk, Berg, McKendrick, Porter, Mathias, and on to Sidney Pollard, S. B. Saul, F. M. L. Thompson and Kenwood & Lougheed on the Victorian and international economy. Each entry carries a terse evaluative gloss ('brilliant,' 'slightly old-fashioned but still useful'), and a recurring sceptical thread questions whether laissez-faire Britain truly 'fell behind' the Continental economies in the later nineteenth century. The list presents itself as a starting point rather than a definitive canon, repeatedly reminding the reader that each book only scratches the surface. ## Key points - An anonymous annotated reading-list on European and British economic and social history, c.1000-1914, aimed at economists. - The introduction is a methodological argument favouring the 'older Austrians' and the study of facts over 'empirical work.' - Advises reading the nineteenth century first and working backwards, stressing the 'Golden Century' of 1815-1914. - Section A (Continental Europe) lists Bartlett, Cameron, Blanning, Rietbergen and Pollard. - Section B (Britain) is fuller: Britnell, Dyer, Wrightson, Thirsk, Berg, McKendrick, Porter, Mathias, Saul, Thompson and others. - Each entry carries a short evaluative annotation ('brilliant', 'old-fashioned but useful'). - A recurring theme questions whether laissez-faire Britain really fell behind the Continent in the late 19th century. - Presents itself as an introductory starting point, not a definitive canon. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Economic Environment in India—1967 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-economic-environment-in-india-1967-n-a-palkhivala-august-11-1967/ ### Summary Adapted from a talk delivered at Ahmedabad on 12 January 1967, N. A. Palkhivala's pamphlet diagnoses what he calls India's self-inflicted economic distress and lays the blame squarely at the door of government policy. Drawing on a Committee on Economic Development study of Latin America, he argues that the dominant variable behind a nation's economic fate is not natural endowment or population but the policy pursued by its rulers — and on six tests (monetary stability, fiscal policy, export policy, climate for free enterprise, balance between agriculture and industry, and openness to foreign capital) India serves "as a warning, and not an example, to the rest of mankind." Palkhivala marshals statistics relentlessly. He documents 28 percent and 25 percent rises in the wholesale price index and food prices over a decade, a real-national-income decline of 4.7 percent in 1965–66, mounting foreign debt of Rs. 2,629 crores by the end of the third Plan and deficit financing crossing Rs. 1,150 crores.… ### Body # The Economic Environment in India—1967 *By N. A. PALKHIVALA* ## Summary Adapted from a talk delivered at Ahmedabad on 12 January 1967, N. A. Palkhivala's pamphlet diagnoses what he calls India's self-inflicted economic distress and lays the blame squarely at the door of government policy. Drawing on a Committee on Economic Development study of Latin America, he argues that the dominant variable behind a nation's economic fate is not natural endowment or population but the policy pursued by its rulers — and on six tests (monetary stability, fiscal policy, export policy, climate for free enterprise, balance between agriculture and industry, and openness to foreign capital) India serves "as a warning, and not an example, to the rest of mankind." Palkhivala marshals statistics relentlessly. He documents 28 percent and 25 percent rises in the wholesale price index and food prices over a decade, a real-national-income decline of 4.7 percent in 1965–66, mounting foreign debt of Rs. 2,629 crores by the end of the third Plan and deficit financing crossing Rs. 1,150 crores. He attacks marginal income-tax rates as high as 82.2 percent on earned income and 89.4 percent on unearned income, with corporate rates above 54 percent on aggregate, calling the system a "special confiscatory rate of tax on two foreign exploiters" applied also to Indian companies. The collapse of the capital market — share values down 42 percent during the third Plan, public participation in new issues dropping from 94 percent to 17 percent — is read as a verdict on Government fiscal policy delivered by the investing public itself. The second half of the booklet treats climate for enterprise, agricultural–industrial imbalance, and foreign capital. Palkhivala protests the "materialistic faith" of the planners who treat steel plants as temples while neglecting agriculture, criticises a licensing regime run from Delhi by "pen-and-pencil armies and permit-licence armouries," and points out that public-sector enterprises with Rs. 2,000 crore investment yielded only 1.7 percent on capital employed against 19 percent in the private sector. He closes with seven suggestions — recognising that plans are for human beings, prioritising price stability, freeing the economy from licensing, dropping deficit financing as a habit, fixing the public sector, cutting taxation to revive savings, and pursuing exports with imagination. He invokes Bacon's "Knowledge is power," warning that "the State faces its greatest crisis when knowledge is possessed by some and power by others." ## Key points - Argues that economic policy, not natural endowment, is the decisive determinant of national prosperity — illustrated by Burma and Indonesia as cautionary cases alongside India. - Identifies six facets of governmental policy (monetary stability, fiscal policy, export policy, climate for free enterprise, agricultural-industrial balance, foreign capital) on which India fails. - Documents monetary instability: 28% wholesale price rise over ten years, real national income falling 4.7% in 1965-66, and Rs. 2,629 crores of foreign debt at end of third Plan. - Attacks confiscatory direct taxation — marginal rates of 82.2% on earned and 89.4% on unearned income, and corporate rates above 54% — with comparative data showing India taxes honest enterprise more heavily than any other country. - Treats the post-devaluation export collapse as evidence that the Government took the right diagnosis but "did not take the follow-up measures" needed. - Criticises the licensing raj run from Delhi as the principal obstacle to competition and price stability, and condemns the "materialistic faith" that builds steel plants while neglecting agriculture. - Cites public-sector enterprises earning only 1.7% on capital employed against 19% in the private sector as a verdict on state capitalism. - Closes with seven suggestions and Bacon's dictum — the State's gravest crisis is when knowledge is held by some and power by others. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE UNION BUDGET, 1970-71 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-economic-impliactions-of-union-budget-1970-prof-r-j-taraporevala-march-15-1970/ ### Summary Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 3 March 1970 and reproduced from Commerce of 14 March 1970, offers a closely argued critique of the Union Budget for 1970-71. He opens with a survey of the economic backdrop: national income at constant prices, having grown by only 1.8 per cent in 1968-69, is estimated to have risen by around 5.5 per cent in 1969-70, restoring some momentum after the drought years of 1965-66 and 1966-67. Foodgrains production reached 100 million tonnes in 1969-70, industrial production grew by 7.2 per cent between January and August 1969, capacity-shortages were re-emerging in steel, staple fibre and aluminium, the domestic savings ratio had risen to 9 per cent of national income, and the wholesale-price index was renewing its upward pressure from late 1969. Against this background he walks through the budget's main tax proposals — Rs. 170 crores of total fresh taxation, of which Rs. 155 crores fall on indirect taxes.… ### Body # THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE UNION BUDGET, 1970-71 *By Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala* ## Summary Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 3 March 1970 and reproduced from Commerce of 14 March 1970, offers a closely argued critique of the Union Budget for 1970-71. He opens with a survey of the economic backdrop: national income at constant prices, having grown by only 1.8 per cent in 1968-69, is estimated to have risen by around 5.5 per cent in 1969-70, restoring some momentum after the drought years of 1965-66 and 1966-67. Foodgrains production reached 100 million tonnes in 1969-70, industrial production grew by 7.2 per cent between January and August 1969, capacity-shortages were re-emerging in steel, staple fibre and aluminium, the domestic savings ratio had risen to 9 per cent of national income, and the wholesale-price index was renewing its upward pressure from late 1969. Against this background he walks through the budget's main tax proposals — Rs. 170 crores of total fresh taxation, of which Rs. 155 crores fall on indirect taxes. He works through the changes in customs and excise (jute manufactures, motor spirit, kerosene, furnace oil, sugar, synthetic fibres, polyester, a 10 per cent ad valorem net on a wide list of consumer items) and on postal and telegraphic rates, noting the inflationary risks of spreading thinly-distributed levies across a broad consumer basket. He then turns to direct taxation — income-tax slab changes that lift the top marginal rate including surcharge to 93.5 per cent, the Bhoothalingam committee's simplification recommendations, the plugging of loopholes through discretionary trusts and urban agricultural-land capital-gains, raised corporate disallowances of guest-house and entertainment expense, sharply stepped-up wealth-tax rates, an additional wealth tax on non-business urban property, and gift-tax rates aligned with estate duty. Taraporevala's central judgment is that, while the direction of the development effort is sound and the budget rightly seeks to spread the tax net wider in the name of "Towards Growth with Social Justice", the direct-tax proposals are "heavy and indeed harsh and confiscatory". He argues that the combined burden of income tax and wealth tax can produce an effective ceiling of about Rs. 25,000 of unearned income on individuals in the Rs. 70,000–Rs. 1 lakh wealth bracket, and amounts in higher brackets to "continuous confiscation" of capital. The proposed rates, he warns, are likely to depress incentives to work, save and invest, drive evasion, and risk economic maldistribution if the Plan's administrative machinery falters. He closes by urging that the income-tax and wealth-tax proposals be reconsidered in light of an individual's gross income and that the country's prospects depend on "sound economic policies", reasonable taxation, and a healthy political fabric. ## Key points - Sets the stage with national income recovery: from a 1.8 per cent rise in 1968-69 to an estimated 5.5 per cent in 1969-70, against the Fourth Plan's 5–5.5 per cent target. - Tracks foodgrains recovery to about 100 million tonnes in 1969-70 and industrial growth of 7.2 per cent between January and August 1969, while flagging capacity shortages in steel, staple fibre and aluminium. - Notes the rise in domestic savings to 9 per cent of national income but warns of renewed upward pressure on prices from November 1969 onward. - Walks through customs and excise changes — jute manufactures, motor spirit, kerosene, furnace oil, sugar, synthetic fibres, polyester and a 10 per cent ad valorem levy on consumer items — and treats them as broadly inflationary. - Welcomes the plugging of discretionary-trust and urban-agricultural-land loopholes and the raising of disallowances on corporate entertainment and guest-house expenses as steps toward equity. - Identifies the budget's most serious flaw in its direct taxes: top marginal income-tax including surcharge of 93.5 per cent, and wealth-tax rates that combine into a "penal and confiscatory pattern" above Rs. 8–10 lakhs of wealth. - Warns of an effective ceiling of about Rs. 25,000 unearned income for individuals with wealth between Rs. 70,000 and Rs. 1 lakh, calling continued capital accumulation in higher brackets effectively confiscatory. - Concludes that the direction of development is sound but that progress requires sound economic policies, reasonable taxation, and reconsideration of the harsher direct-tax proposals in light of a taxpayer's gross income. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE UNION BUDGET, 1969-70 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-economic-implications-of-the-union-budget-1969-1970-professor-russi-jal-taraporevala-april-15-1969/ ### Summary Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala, writing in this Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet (reproducing an article from the Economic Times followed by a separate analysis of taxation proposals), reads the Union Budget for 1969-70 as an instrument whose macroeconomic posture is broadly defensible but whose strategy toward the private sector is timid. He opens by setting the budget against the recent record: National Income fell 5.7 per cent in 1965-66, recovered slowly through 1966-67, and jumped 8.9 per cent in 1967-68; food-grain output rebounded from 72 million tons in 1965-66 to an estimated 96 million tons in 1968-69; and, most remarkably, the general price index actually fell one per cent in 1968 — the first such decline since 1955 — even though the Centre ran a Rs. 260 crore deficit. From this he draws his most heterodox claim of the pamphlet: that large-scale deficit financing does not invariably feed inflation when real output is rising faster than money supply. The central diagnosis is fiscal strain on the Centre, driven by rising transfers to the States and runaway defence spending — Rs. 1,110 crores in 1969-70, more than one-fifth of the entire Central Budget.… ### Body # THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE UNION BUDGET, 1969-70 *By Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala* ## Summary Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala, writing in this Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet (reproducing an article from the Economic Times followed by a separate analysis of taxation proposals), reads the Union Budget for 1969-70 as an instrument whose macroeconomic posture is broadly defensible but whose strategy toward the private sector is timid. He opens by setting the budget against the recent record: National Income fell 5.7 per cent in 1965-66, recovered slowly through 1966-67, and jumped 8.9 per cent in 1967-68; food-grain output rebounded from 72 million tons in 1965-66 to an estimated 96 million tons in 1968-69; and, most remarkably, the general price index actually fell one per cent in 1968 — the first such decline since 1955 — even though the Centre ran a Rs. 260 crore deficit. From this he draws his most heterodox claim of the pamphlet: that large-scale deficit financing does not invariably feed inflation when real output is rising faster than money supply. The central diagnosis is fiscal strain on the Centre, driven by rising transfers to the States and runaway defence spending — Rs. 1,110 crores in 1969-70, more than one-fifth of the entire Central Budget. Taraporevala accepts the priority of defence but calls for a continuous review of how the outlay is spent. His sharpest criticism is reserved for the public sector: Central investment of over Rs. 3,500 crores in more than 80 industrial and commercial enterprises produced a net loss of Rs. 35 crores in the past year, with 55 running concerns absorbing Rs. 3,200 crores of that capital. He argues that this 'vast sector of public investment' is dragging on national income and on the exchequer, and that the Memorandum on the public sector circulated with the budget papers is unlikely to deliver the surpluses needed for national development. New loans of Rs. 296 crores and capital contributions to such enterprises in 1969-70 will, in his view, deepen the problem unless profitability is forced. On agriculture, he reads the Finance Minister's move to tax the rural sector as overdue in principle but mishandled in execution. The ad valorem duties of 10 per cent on fertilisers (Rs. 22 crores) and 20 per cent on power-driven pumps (Rs. 2 crores) he calls 'relatively modest'. But the proposed wealth tax on agricultural land, projected to yield only Rs. 5 crores, is a 'gross underestimate' and constitutionally inappropriate: direct taxation of agriculture, he argues, is properly a State responsibility, and the Centre's intervention will cause administrative chaos. The correct path was to force the States to raise their agricultural income-tax rates substantially to fund the coming Fourth Plan. The second part of the pamphlet — 'Taxation Proposals Analysed' — works through the indirect and direct tax changes item by item: cuts in export duty on jute (Rs. 12 crore sacrifice), excise hikes on superfine textiles, a 23 per cent ad valorem duty on sugar that he expects to be absorbed by manufacturers rather than passed to consumers, modest cigarette and motor-spirit increases, and an ad valorem duty of 10 per cent on processed foods that he treats as premature given the need to encourage the food-processing industry. He calls the increased income-tax burden on middle-class earners in the Rs. 10,000–20,000 slabs 'unjustified', simplifies-and-praises the new definition of widely-held companies (any firm listed on a recognised stock exchange now qualifies), and welcomes the Rs. 1,000 dividend exemption as an inducement to popularise equity investment. He condemns as 'unfortunate and unjustified' the new advance-tax regime that will penalise small and medium firms unable to estimate their incomes precisely before the financial year closes, and the drastically enhanced Wealth Tax Act penalties — half a per cent per month, capped at 100 per cent rather than 50 per cent — which he calls 'excessively harsh' and a recipe for 'total confiscation' given normal valuation disputes. Throughout, the pamphlet's polemical centre is consistent with its Forum of Free Enterprise imprint: the Budget should be judged by how much room it makes for private capital to grow, and a one per cent cut in the Bank Rate is the immediate follow-up step Taraporevala demands. ## Key points - Frames the 1969-70 Budget as a 'challenge to the private sector' in line with the Forum of Free Enterprise's outlook, opening with a Eugene Black epigraph that private enterprise should be accepted 'not as a necessary evil, but as an affirmative good'. - Argues from 1968 data — Rs. 260 crore deficit alongside a one per cent fall in the price index, the first decline since 1955 — that large-scale deficit financing does not invariably cause inflation when real output growth outpaces money-supply growth. - Catalogues fiscal strain on the Centre: transfers to States rising to Rs. 596 crore in 1969-70 (up Rs. 118 crore over the previous year's Budget) and defence expenditure reaching Rs. 1,110 crore, more than one-fifth of the Central Budget. - Mounts a sustained critique of the public sector: Central investment of over Rs. 3,500 crore in 80+ enterprises produced a net loss of Rs. 35 crore in the past year, yet the Budget extends a further Rs. 296 crore in capital contributions and Rs. 383 crore in loans to such firms. - Calls the Finance Minister's attempt to tax agriculture directly — through ad valorem duties on fertilisers and pumps plus a wealth tax on farmland — overdue in principle but constitutionally misplaced; agricultural direct tax, he insists, belongs to the States. - Reads the indirect-tax package (Rs. 127 crore in new taxation, of which Rs. 100 crore accrues to the Centre) as modest and well spread, with excise increases on cigarettes, motor spirit, kerosene and superfine textiles likely to be passed to consumers without major inflationary impact. - Condemns the new advance-tax regime — penalties on assessees whose final income exceeds their estimate by more than 33 1/3 per cent — as 'tremendous hardship' for small and medium firms that lack the accounting machinery to project profits in advance. - Demands an immediate one per cent cut in the Bank Rate as the most useful follow-up step, arguing that 1968 already demonstrated that monetary easing need not be inflationary. - Welcomes the simplified definition of widely-held companies (stock-exchange listing as the test) and the Rs. 1,000 dividend-income exemption as ways to channel middle-class savings into the corporate sector. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Economic Implications of the Union Budget, 1972-73 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-economic-implications-of-the-union-budget-1972-1973-professor-russi-jal-taraporevala-may-15-1972/ ### Summary Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 24 March 1972 and printed as a Forum booklet, analyses the Union Budget of 1972-73 against the backdrop of an exceptionally difficult year. He opens by surveying the abnormal conditions of 1971-72: an unprecedented influx of over ten million refugees from East Pakistan, droughts in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, a cyclone in Orissa, floods in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, the Indo-Pakistan war, and the sudden suspension of U.S. aid. Against this strain, he reads moderate growth in national income (around 4 per cent), a record food-grains harvest, and a creditably contained price level as evidence of structural resilience — but he is sharply critical of industrial stagnation, with growth at around 3 to 3½ per cent and corporate savings at an all-time low. The core of the lecture is a methodical walk through the budget's revenue and expenditure sides. Taraporevala notes that three budgets in 1971 had already imposed roughly Rs.… ### Body # The Economic Implications of the Union Budget, 1972-73 *By Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala* ## Summary Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 24 March 1972 and printed as a Forum booklet, analyses the Union Budget of 1972-73 against the backdrop of an exceptionally difficult year. He opens by surveying the abnormal conditions of 1971-72: an unprecedented influx of over ten million refugees from East Pakistan, droughts in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, a cyclone in Orissa, floods in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, the Indo-Pakistan war, and the sudden suspension of U.S. aid. Against this strain, he reads moderate growth in national income (around 4 per cent), a record food-grains harvest, and a creditably contained price level as evidence of structural resilience — but he is sharply critical of industrial stagnation, with growth at around 3 to 3½ per cent and corporate savings at an all-time low. The core of the lecture is a methodical walk through the budget's revenue and expenditure sides. Taraporevala notes that three budgets in 1971 had already imposed roughly Rs. 500 crores of fresh taxation, that revenues for 1971-72 yielded buoyantly above estimate, and that the new budget proposes additional taxation of Rs. 183 crores (Rs. 133 crores net to the Centre). He documents how the Finance Minister has chosen to spread indirect taxation thinly across customs and a vast range of excise items — tobacco, art-silk fabrics, synthetic-fibre yarns, steel, aluminium, kerosene, fertilisers, power-driven pumps — minimising direct inflationary impact while gathering revenue. Plan outlays are budgeted at Rs. 2,307 crores (a 27 per cent jump) to spur growth, with the Centre-States-Union Territories total at Rs. 3,973 crores. The author's classical-liberal anxieties surface most pointedly in his treatment of direct and corporate taxation. He defends the abolished priority-industries concession in principle (small-scale and infant industries deserve a fresh list), warns that the rising surcharge and discontinued deductions will further erode private corporate savings, and treats the very 'rationalisation' of excise slabs as a euphemism for additional yield. His conclusion is wary rather than condemnatory: the strategy of growth through large plan outlays may launch a new development cycle, but the Finance Minister's hint at fresh end-of-year imposts — clubbing of family incomes, harsher taxes on the Hindu Undivided Family, refusal to act on the Wanchoo Committee's recommendations for lower rates — would, if executed, 'deal a death blow' to the very acceleration the budget set out to achieve. ## Key points - Frames the 1972-73 Budget against an unusually battered 1971-72: ten-million-strong refugee influx from East Pakistan, war, drought, cyclone, floods and the suspension of U.S. aid. - Reads moderate aggregate growth (~4% national income, record food-grains, contained 3.9% price rise in 1971) as evidence of structural soundness, while flagging industrial stagnation at 3-3½% as the real worry. - Quotes the Government's own Economic Survey to argue that what truly impedes industrial growth is neither procedure nor policy but a generalised dearth of savings — corporate savings at an all-time low. - Tracks the buoyant revenue side: Rs. 3,846 crores collected in 1971-72 against an estimate of Rs. 3,608 crores, with Rs. 4,228 crores projected for 1972-73 at existing rates; an extra Rs. 183 crores of new taxation proposed. - Notes that plan outlays are scaled up 27% to Rs. 2,307 crores (Centre) and Rs. 3,973 crores (Centre + States + UTs) as the budget's chosen instrument of growth, in lieu of tax incentives. - Itemises indirect taxation: customs (+Rs. 8.60 crores), tobacco/cigarettes (+Rs. 14 crores), art-silk fabrics (+Rs. 8.59 crores), synthetic-fibre yarns (+Rs. 6.50 crores), excise 'rationalisation' (+Rs. 10.70 crores), steel (+Rs. 36.20 crores), aluminium (+Rs. 4.18 crores), kerosene (+Rs. 29.80 crores) and a fertiliser excise hike from 10% to 15% (+Rs. 12.50 crores). - Defends the case for a priority-industries tax concession in principle and criticises the blanket abolition; argues that small-scale and infant industries should have been given fresh priority status. - Warns that the marginal direct-tax additions, the continued 2½% corporate surcharge and the threatened end-of-year impositions (HUF, Wanchoo Committee rejection, income-clubbing) will erode private savings and undercut the budget's own growth ambitions. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Economic Implications of the Union Budget, 1973-74 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-economic-implications-of-the-union-budget-1973-74-prof-r-j-taraporevala/ ### Summary Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 2nd March 1973, dissects the Union Budget for 1973-74 against the backdrop of a year of severe stress in the Indian economy. He opens by surveying the macroeconomic landscape — unprecedented kharif-season drought in 1972, a national-income growth rate that had collapsed from 7.3% in 1969-70 to barely 1.5-2% in 1971-72 and 1972-73, stagnant pulse production, slumping oilseeds, and the Economic Survey's own admission that growth had been 'unsatisfactory.' Industrial production, though it rebounded to roughly 7.3% in early 1972, was clouded by power cuts, retarded by the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, and squeezed by a banking system — now state-owned — that was diverting credit from the private sector to the Government. The central preoccupation of the lecture is what Taraporevala calls 'galloping inflation.' He marshals price-index data — a 13.7% jump in the wholesale price index in the twelve months to December 1972, food articles up 19.5%, edible oils 26.3%, sugar 38.5% — to argue that supply-side shortages, not demand alone, are the engine of t… ### Body # The Economic Implications of the Union Budget, 1973-74 *By Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala* ## Summary Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 2nd March 1973, dissects the Union Budget for 1973-74 against the backdrop of a year of severe stress in the Indian economy. He opens by surveying the macroeconomic landscape — unprecedented kharif-season drought in 1972, a national-income growth rate that had collapsed from 7.3% in 1969-70 to barely 1.5-2% in 1971-72 and 1972-73, stagnant pulse production, slumping oilseeds, and the Economic Survey's own admission that growth had been 'unsatisfactory.' Industrial production, though it rebounded to roughly 7.3% in early 1972, was clouded by power cuts, retarded by the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, and squeezed by a banking system — now state-owned — that was diverting credit from the private sector to the Government. The central preoccupation of the lecture is what Taraporevala calls 'galloping inflation.' He marshals price-index data — a 13.7% jump in the wholesale price index in the twelve months to December 1972, food articles up 19.5%, edible oils 26.3%, sugar 38.5% — to argue that supply-side shortages, not demand alone, are the engine of the price spiral, and that Government price, distribution and credit controls have manifestly failed to arrest it. Unemployment, he stresses, has assumed 'draconian proportions': educated unemployed registrants alone rose from 20.53 lakhs to 26.12 lakhs in twelve months. Against this diagnosis, Taraporevala measures the Finance Minister's budgetary response and finds it wanting. He notes that the headline deficit of Rs. 85 crores is 'deceptively small' once the Third Pay Commission and likely expenditure overruns are accounted for, projecting a true gap of Rs. 300-500 crores. He observes that the Rs. 292 crores of new taxes lean overwhelmingly on indirect levies — auxiliary import duties, higher excise on tobacco, motor spirit, rayon, iron and steel — confirming, in his view, that 'the limits for direct taxation, even in our socialistic economy, appears to have been reached.' On direct taxation he flags the partial integration of agricultural income, the partial plugging of the Hindu Undivided Family loophole on the Wanchoo Committee's recommendation, and — most critically — the extension of the long-term capital-gains holding period from 24 to 60 months, which he argues will throttle stock-market liquidity, sharpen price volatility, and 'reduce dramatically the liquidity of assessees in respect of their investments.' In the rendered pages he concludes the corporate-tax section by welcoming the proposed backward-area incentives — a 20% profit deduction for ten years plus a 15% Central subsidy — but warns that 'nothing major has been attempted in the Finance Bill' on corporate taxes and that the budget's stated goal of curbing inflationary pressures 'will not be achieved.' ## Key points - The 1972 monsoon failure caused an estimated 8-million-ton loss in kharif food-grain output and pulled national income growth down to 1.5-2% in 1971-72 and 1972-73. - Inflation is the dominant concern: the wholesale price index jumped 13.7% in the year to December 1972, with food articles up 19.5%, edible oils up 26.3%, and sugar up 38.5%. - The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act and the exclusion of large industrial groups and foreign companies from licensing liberalisation are flagged as retardants on industrial growth. - Money supply rose 12.3% in 1972-73 against falling real output, and net bank credit to Government rose by Rs. 747-980 crores while private-sector credit was squeezed. - Unemployment registrations rose from 44.95 to 56.88 lakhs in twelve months; educated unemployed from 20.53 to 26.12 lakhs. - The headline 1973-74 deficit of Rs. 85 crores is judged 'deceptively small'; the true deficit is projected at Rs. 300-500 crores once the Third Pay Commission and overruns are counted. - New taxation of Rs. 292 crores is overwhelmingly indirect — auxiliary import duties on most goods, higher excise on tobacco, motor spirit, iron and steel — signalling that direct-tax limits have been reached. - Extending the long-term capital-gains holding period from 24 to 60 months is criticised as a step in the wrong direction that will damage stock-market liquidity and amplify price volatility. - The partial integration of agricultural income with non-agricultural income for rate-fixing purposes, and the partial plugging of the Hindu Undivided Family loophole, are welcomed as 'a step in the right direction'. - Backward-area concessions (20% profit deduction over ten years plus 15% Central subsidy) are 'heartily welcomed', though their implementation is left for later finalisation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Economic Implications of the Union Budget, 1974-75 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-economic-implications-of-the-union-budget-1974-1975-professor-russi-jal-taraporevala-april-20-1974/ ### Summary Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's lecture, delivered in Bombay on 4 March 1974 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise and other organisations, walks the reader systematically through the macroeconomic setting in which Finance Minister Y. B. Chavan's Union Budget for 1974-75 was framed. Taraporevala opens by sketching the strain that the failure of the 1972 kharif monsoon imposed on agriculture and industry, the partial revival after October 1973, and the sub-target rates of growth that left the Fourth Plan limping along — national income growth unlikely to exceed 3.5 per cent against the 5.7 per cent target, agricultural output in 1973-74 little better than four years earlier, and industrial production running at roughly half its postulated 8-10 per cent rate. The core of the booklet is a sectoral diagnosis of inflation, fiscal indiscipline, and a swollen but unprofitable public sector. Wholesale prices rose 19.2 per cent in 1973 and food prices by 24 per cent; central budgets ran cumulative deficits of nearly Rs. 2,100 crores across the Fourth Plan years; the 101 public-sector undertakings together earned only Rs.… ### Body # The Economic Implications of the Union Budget, 1974-75 *By Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala* ## Summary Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's lecture, delivered in Bombay on 4 March 1974 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise and other organisations, walks the reader systematically through the macroeconomic setting in which Finance Minister Y. B. Chavan's Union Budget for 1974-75 was framed. Taraporevala opens by sketching the strain that the failure of the 1972 kharif monsoon imposed on agriculture and industry, the partial revival after October 1973, and the sub-target rates of growth that left the Fourth Plan limping along — national income growth unlikely to exceed 3.5 per cent against the 5.7 per cent target, agricultural output in 1973-74 little better than four years earlier, and industrial production running at roughly half its postulated 8-10 per cent rate. The core of the booklet is a sectoral diagnosis of inflation, fiscal indiscipline, and a swollen but unprofitable public sector. Wholesale prices rose 19.2 per cent in 1973 and food prices by 24 per cent; central budgets ran cumulative deficits of nearly Rs. 2,100 crores across the Fourth Plan years; the 101 public-sector undertakings together earned only Rs. 18.1 crores of profit in 1972-73 on thousands of crores of invested public funds; the railways ran deep deficits with deteriorating efficiency; and the Reserve Bank's tight-money posture was undercut by the fact that practically all the credit expansion went to the government, not the private sector. Turning to the budget proper, Taraporevala welcomes the one-year pause in plan outlays as an opportunity for consolidation and praises the Wanchoo-Committee-inspired reduction of the top marginal income-tax rate from 97.75 per cent to 77 per cent, the higher exemption limit, the extension of the development rebate, and the lower tax on partnership firms as steps that should restore incentives to save, invest, and bear industrial risk. He is sharply critical, however, of the offsetting increase in wealth tax, of the heavy reliance on indirect taxes — Rs. 212 crores of excise changes spread across 49 items, higher railway freight, postal and customs levies — which he reckons will push prices up by at least 15 per cent, and of the persistent underestimation of the real budgetary deficit, which he forecasts will land between Rs. 300 and Rs. 500 crores rather than the Rs. 125 crores claimed. The booklet closes with a sober conclusion: industrial recovery depends on power and idle-capacity utilisation, the balance of payments remains tight on account of the oil crisis, and while the courage shown on direct taxation deserves credit, the government must follow through with practical policies that spur industrial growth and rein in the inflationary impulse built into its own fiscal habits. ## Key points - Fourth Plan growth of national income unlikely to exceed 3.5 per cent against a 5.7 per cent target, and agricultural output in 1973-74 was no higher than four years earlier despite a 40-million increase in population. - Industrial production grew at roughly half the postulated 8-10 per cent target through the Fourth Plan and actually fell 2.5 per cent in April-June 1973, with the post-1972 power crisis compounding the slowdown. - Wholesale prices rose 19.2 per cent in 1973 and food prices 24 per cent between December 1972 and December 1973, with deficit financing of Rs. 738, 680 and 650 crores in successive years identified as a chief inflationary driver. - Public sector enterprises returned Rs. 18.1 crores of profit on thousands of crores of public investment; railways ran heavy deficits; and net bank credit expansion went almost entirely to government, not the private sector, making RBI's tight-money policy 'misconceived and irrelevant'. - Taraporevala welcomes the one-year pause in plan outlays as a chance for consolidation, and applauds the Wanchoo-driven reduction of the top marginal income-tax rate from 97.75 per cent to 77 per cent and the raised exemption limit as steps that should curb evasion and revive incentives to save and invest. - He is sharply critical of higher wealth-tax slabs (2 to 3 per cent and 3 to 4 per cent), the Rs. 212 crores of additional excise duties spread over 49 items, and increases in railway, postal and customs charges, which together he reckons will push prices up by at least 15 per cent in 1974-75. - He charges the Finance Minister with continuing the 'unhealthy fiscal habit' of underestimating the real deficit — projecting a net deficit of Rs. 125 crores when the true figure is likely to be Rs. 300-500 crores — and warns that the balance of payments will remain tight on account of the oil-import bill. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE UNION BUDGET, 1974-75 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-economic-implications-of-the-union-budget-1974-75-professor-russi-jal-taraporevala-april-1974/ ### Summary Delivered as a Forum of Free Enterprise public lecture in Bombay on 4 March 1974 and published shortly after, Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's pamphlet reads the Union Budget for 1974-75 against the backdrop of a battered economy: the 1972 monsoon failure had pushed agriculture into crisis, industrial output had collapsed to a 2.5% decline in 1973-74, wholesale prices had risen by 24% in 1973, and foreign exchange reserves were under pressure from the oil shock. Taraporevala walks systematically through national income, agricultural and industrial production, employment, investment, prices, monetary aggregates, the balance of payments and the deficit, arguing throughout that successive Central Government deficits ran far in excess of estimate and were the principal engine of inflation. On the budget itself, Taraporevala is sceptical of the Finance Minister's arithmetic. The official 1974-75 deficit of Rs. 125 crores is, in his view, an underestimate: realistic assumptions about food subsidies, dearness allowance and State assistance suggest a true deficit between Rs. 300 and Rs. 500 crores. He notes that the Plan outlay of Rs.… ### Body # THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE UNION BUDGET, 1974-75 *By Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala* ## Summary Delivered as a Forum of Free Enterprise public lecture in Bombay on 4 March 1974 and published shortly after, Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's pamphlet reads the Union Budget for 1974-75 against the backdrop of a battered economy: the 1972 monsoon failure had pushed agriculture into crisis, industrial output had collapsed to a 2.5% decline in 1973-74, wholesale prices had risen by 24% in 1973, and foreign exchange reserves were under pressure from the oil shock. Taraporevala walks systematically through national income, agricultural and industrial production, employment, investment, prices, monetary aggregates, the balance of payments and the deficit, arguing throughout that successive Central Government deficits ran far in excess of estimate and were the principal engine of inflation. On the budget itself, Taraporevala is sceptical of the Finance Minister's arithmetic. The official 1974-75 deficit of Rs. 125 crores is, in his view, an underestimate: realistic assumptions about food subsidies, dearness allowance and State assistance suggest a true deficit between Rs. 300 and Rs. 500 crores. He notes that the Plan outlay of Rs. 4,769 crores amounts in real terms to a one-year "plan holiday," and that the government has relied almost entirely on indirect taxation — excise hikes on 49 items, higher customs and auxiliary duties, postal, telegraph and rail freight rises — which will be passed on to consumers and lift prices by at least 15% in the coming year. The one element he welcomes is the acceptance of the Wanchoo Committee's recommendations on direct taxation: the cut in the maximum marginal income tax rate from 97.75% to 77%, the higher exemption limit, and the simplification of personal income-tax. He calls this "an act of great political courage" that should reduce evasion, encourage saving and investment in shares, and ease capital gains taxation — though he regrets that the simultaneous increase in wealth tax slabs partly nullifies the relief. He concludes that the budget has taken a courageous step on direct taxation but, by leaning so heavily on deficit financing and indirect levies, will deliver another inflationary jolt, with prices likely to rise by considerably more than 15% in 1974-75. ## Key points - Frames the 1974-75 budget against a battered economy: 1972 monsoon failure, industrial output declining 2.5% in 1973-74, wholesale prices up 24% in 1973, and oil-shock pressure on the balance of payments. - Argues that the Fourth Plan's headline targets — 5.7% growth in national income and 5.6% in foodgrains — were missed by wide margins, with actual growth closer to 3.5% and foodgrain growth around 3% or less. - Identifies chronic Central Government deficits well in excess of budget estimates as the principal driver of inflation; the 1973-74 deficit ballooned from an estimated Rs. 87 crores to Rs. 650 crores. - Reads the Rs. 4,769 crore Plan outlay for 1974-75 as effectively a one-year 'plan holiday' once price rises are factored in, raising doubts about implementation of the Fifth Five-Year Plan. - Estimates the realistic 1974-75 deficit at Rs. 300-500 crores, well above the official figure of Rs. 125 crores, given understated provisions for food subsidy, dearness allowance and State assistance. - Criticises the budget for relying almost entirely on indirect taxation (Rs. 212 crores from excise, customs, postal and railway charges) which will be passed on to consumers and raise prices by at least 15%. - Praises the acceptance of the Wanchoo Committee recommendations — cutting the maximum marginal income tax rate from 97.75% to 77% and raising the exemption limit — as an incentive to save, invest and reduce evasion. - Notes that the rise in wealth-tax slabs partially nullifies the income-tax relief, and that the public sector continues to generate negligible surplus (Rs. 18.1 crores profit across 101 undertakings in 1972-73). - Concludes that the budget will provide a further inflationary stimulant and that the balance of payments will remain tight under the oil crisis. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Economic Implications of the Union Budget, 1975-76 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-economic-implications-of-the-union-budget-1975-76-russi-jal-taraporevala-3-march-1975/ ### Summary Delivered as a public lecture in Bombay on 3rd March 1975 under the joint auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise and other organisations, Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's pamphlet dissects Yashwantrao Chavan's Union Budget for 1975-76 against the backdrop of what Taraporevala calls a year of unprecedented economic strain — a failed Kharif monsoon, double-digit international price shocks, a collapse in industrial growth, and a balance of payments crisis. The opening sections marshal the official statistics from the Government's own "Economic Survey" to argue that the Fourth Five-Year Plan has comprehensively failed: national income grew at 2.8% per annum against a 5.7% target, per capita income at constant prices has been stagnant for more than a decade and has actually declined since 1971-72, industrial production grew at 3.9% against a target of 8-10%, total private-sector employment was "completely stagnant", and wholesale prices rose 27.3% in 1974 alone. Taraporevala then turns to the budget itself.… ### Body # The Economic Implications of the Union Budget, 1975-76 *By Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala* ## Summary Delivered as a public lecture in Bombay on 3rd March 1975 under the joint auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise and other organisations, Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's pamphlet dissects Yashwantrao Chavan's Union Budget for 1975-76 against the backdrop of what Taraporevala calls a year of unprecedented economic strain — a failed Kharif monsoon, double-digit international price shocks, a collapse in industrial growth, and a balance of payments crisis. The opening sections marshal the official statistics from the Government's own "Economic Survey" to argue that the Fourth Five-Year Plan has comprehensively failed: national income grew at 2.8% per annum against a 5.7% target, per capita income at constant prices has been stagnant for more than a decade and has actually declined since 1971-72, industrial production grew at 3.9% against a target of 8-10%, total private-sector employment was "completely stagnant", and wholesale prices rose 27.3% in 1974 alone. Taraporevala then turns to the budget itself. He accepts the Finance Minister's rhetorical framework — that growth, not price-line holding, is the only durable answer to poverty — but argues that the budget does "very little to reach the goals outlined in the first part of the budget speech". He recomputes the 1974-75 deficit (originally estimated at Rs. 126 crores, now Rs. 625 crores), shows that the headline 1975-76 deficit of Rs. 464 crores is itself a gross underestimate once dearness-allowance escalation, optimistic oil-credit assumptions, and a piece of Reserve Bank "window-dressing" are corrected, and predicts an actual deficit in excess of Rs. 500 crores. He then walks through the revenue side — a heavy reliance on excise duties (sugar, petroleum, tobacco, paper, cement, electrical goods, air-conditioners, plus a new 1% omnibus excise on all unspecified goods), an increase in central sales tax from 3% to 4%, and customs hikes on copper and zinc — and argues that all of these will be passed straight on to the consumer, leading to a price rise of at least 15% in the coming year and 25% if the monsoon fails. A classical-liberal thread runs through the analysis. Taraporevala repeatedly blames the country's "inexorable" money-supply growth (which rose 15.3% in 1973-74 against negligible real growth), the MRTP Act and licensing regime, and the obstruction of "good big houses like Tatas" from setting up fertiliser capacity for the structural shortfalls behind the inflation. He flags the withdrawal of the Section 80K dividend exemption as silently negating other concessions intended to encourage new industrial floatation, welcomes the marginal direct-tax reliefs for the salaried middle class, and concludes — in the chunk seen — by noting that the budget's wide reliance on excise revenue "fuels further price rises and fans the fires of inflation as has happened during the past many years". The pamphlet is published as Forum of Free Enterprise's contribution to public economic education, with Eugene Black's epigraph — "People must come to accept private enterprise not as a necessary evil, but as an affirmative good." — set on the facing page as the publisher's framing. ## Key points - Frames the 1975-76 Budget against a year of acute crisis: failed Kharif monsoon, severe balance-of-payments strain, and international price shocks. - Shows the Fourth Five-Year Plan missed its growth target sharply — national income grew at 2.8% (target 5.7%) and per capita income has been stagnant for over a decade and declining since 1971-72. - Documents the collapse of industrial growth (3.9% achieved against an 8-10% target), inadequate capacity creation in both public and private sectors, and large shortfalls in power, coal, steel and cement. - Argues private-sector employment was "completely stagnant" while educated unemployment on the live registers rose from 26.11 lakhs in 1972 to 40.32 lakhs in 1974. - Identifies inexorable money-supply growth (15.3% in 1973-74) without matching production as the principal source of inflation, alongside MRTP and licensing as constraints on supply. - Recomputes the 1974-75 deficit at Rs. 625 crores (vs. Rs. 126 crores originally budgeted) and dismisses the 1975-76 headline deficit of Rs. 464 crores as a gross under-estimate, projecting an eventual figure above Rs. 500 crores. - Singles out a Rs. 100 crore special borrowing from the RBI — drawn from frozen dearness allowance and compulsory deposit balances — as "window-dressing" that defeats the original purpose of those immobilisation schemes. - Predicts a 15% general price rise in 1975-76, rising to 25% if the monsoon fails, driven by a heavy excise-and-CST-led revenue package whose burden will be passed on to consumers. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Economic Implications of the Union Budget, 1976-77 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-economic-implications-of-the-union-budget-1976-77-russi-jal-taraporevala-20-may-1976/ ### Summary Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 18 March 1976 and printed as a pamphlet, analyses the Union Budget for 1976-77 against the backdrop of an economy described as just emerging from years of stagnation. He opens by framing the macro context: a record Kharif crop in 1975 and a very good rabi crop together broke the back of severe inflation, while wholesale prices actually fell by an estimated 2.4% in 1975-76 — a striking achievement in a year when inflation was rampant elsewhere. National income at constant 1960-61 prices is estimated to have grown by 5.5% in 1975-76 after Fourth Plan growth of only 3.3% per annum, but per capita national product over the Plan averaged a feeble 1.2%, which Taraporevala reads as evidence of the strains the economy is only now leaving behind. In the rendered pages, he works section by section through agricultural production, industrial production, employment, savings and investments, price behaviour, monetary developments and the balance of payments.… ### Body # The Economic Implications of the Union Budget, 1976-77 *By Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala* ## Summary Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 18 March 1976 and printed as a pamphlet, analyses the Union Budget for 1976-77 against the backdrop of an economy described as just emerging from years of stagnation. He opens by framing the macro context: a record Kharif crop in 1975 and a very good rabi crop together broke the back of severe inflation, while wholesale prices actually fell by an estimated 2.4% in 1975-76 — a striking achievement in a year when inflation was rampant elsewhere. National income at constant 1960-61 prices is estimated to have grown by 5.5% in 1975-76 after Fourth Plan growth of only 3.3% per annum, but per capita national product over the Plan averaged a feeble 1.2%, which Taraporevala reads as evidence of the strains the economy is only now leaving behind. In the rendered pages, he works section by section through agricultural production, industrial production, employment, savings and investments, price behaviour, monetary developments and the balance of payments. The portrait is detailed and statistical: foodgrains production expected to rise nearly 12% to 113-114 million tons, industrial production growing about 4.5%, money supply expansion held to 7.5% under tight Reserve Bank discipline, exports projected to cross Rs 4,500 crores, and external reserves recovering from Rs 969 crores at end-March 1975 to about Rs 1,700 crores by end-February 1976 after the rupee's link with sterling was broken on 25 September 1975. He notes that Emergency-period changes in labour relations have improved industrial conditions, while the collapse of the equity market after the 1974 dividend, wage and dearness-allowance ordinances has left new ventures starved of capital. On the Budget itself, Taraporevala highlights what he calls a remarkable feat: the smallest additional tax burden in recent fiscal history (Rs 80 crores in total) combined with the largest-ever Plan Outlay of Rs 7,852 crores, a 31.6% step-up over 1975-76 that the Finance Minister himself called the highest in any one year since planning began. He approves the heavy stress on agriculture, power (target additional generation of 2,500 MW), petroleum and petro-chemicals, coal, fertiliser, steel and transport, arguing that these massive investments should pull through demand for capital goods. On the tax side, the rendered pages cover customs and excise in detail — the import-duty hikes on caprolactam, DMT, alloy steel, stainless steel, copper and acrylic yarn are presented as closing gaps with international prices and mopping up importers' profits rather than as inflationary, and reductions of duty on rock phosphate and on machinery for fertiliser and newsprint plants are welcomed. The rationalisation of excise on cotton textiles onto an ad valorem basis, with maximum retail price stamped on every metre of cloth, is endorsed as a consumer-protection step deserving extension to other goods. The lecture's argument breaks off before the conclusion in the pages provided. ## Key points - Frames 1975-76 as the inflexion point: a record Kharif crop, anticipated very good rabi crop and a 2.4% fall in wholesale prices reversed years of severe inflation at a time when most of the world was still inflating. - Reads Fourth Plan performance harshly — national income at constant prices grew only 3.3% per annum against a 5.7% target, and per capita product averaged just 1.2%, falling slightly between 1970-71 and 1974-75. - Reports that industrial production is estimated to grow 4.5% in 1975-76 after years near stagnation, with cotton textiles, jeeps, motor cars, air conditioners, cigarettes, radio receivers and electric fans showing sharp declines that the Finance Minister is trying to reverse via excise cuts. - Notes the rupee's de-linking from sterling on 25 September 1975 and the consequent recovery of external reserves from Rs 969.2 crores at end-March 1975 to about Rs 1,700 crores by end-February 1976, with exports expected to cross Rs 4,500 crores per year. - Identifies the Budget's central paradox: the smallest additional tax burden in recent years (Rs 80 crores) coupled with the largest Plan Outlay ever — Rs 7,852 crores, up 31.6% — financed by buoyant tax revenues, market loans and external assistance. - Welcomes Plan emphasis on power (target 2,500 MW additional generation against 1,800 MW in the past year), petroleum and petro-chemicals (Rs 485 crores), coal (Rs 277 crores), fertiliser (Rs 434 crores), doubling of the steel outlay to Rs 402 crores, and Rs 597 crores for transport and communications. - Analyses customs-duty hikes (caprolactam and DMT to 100%, alloy steel from 30% to 60%, stainless steel sheets from 200% to 300%) as closing gaps with international prices and absorbing importers' profits rather than as inflationary measures. - Endorses the rationalisation of excise on cotton textiles onto an ad valorem basis with maximum retail price stamped on every metre of cloth as a consumer-protection step worth extending to other consumer goods. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE UNION BUDGET 1979-80 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-economic-implications-of-the-union-budget-1979-80-russi-jal-taraporevala-april-17-1979/ ### Summary This pamphlet reproduces the text of a public lecture delivered by Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 5th March 1979, assessing the Union Budget 1979-80 presented by Finance Minister Charan Singh. In the rendered pages, Taraporevala sets the budget against the macro-economic scenario inherited from 1978-79 — two excellent agricultural years, an industrial recovery, record foreign-exchange reserves above Rs. 5,000 crores, and remarkable wholesale price stability achieved despite a 50 per cent expansion of money supply over three years. Against this favourable backdrop he traces the disappointing per capita growth record of two decades of planning, with per capita GDP at 1970-71 prices rising at just 1.12 per cent annually between 1961-62 and 1976-77 and decelerating to 0.62 per cent in the latter eight years, leaving 46 per cent of Indians below the poverty line. Taraporevala's central argumentative thread in the rendered pages is that Charan Singh squandered a once-in-a-million opportunity.… ### Body # THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE UNION BUDGET 1979-80 *By Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala* ## Summary This pamphlet reproduces the text of a public lecture delivered by Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 5th March 1979, assessing the Union Budget 1979-80 presented by Finance Minister Charan Singh. In the rendered pages, Taraporevala sets the budget against the macro-economic scenario inherited from 1978-79 — two excellent agricultural years, an industrial recovery, record foreign-exchange reserves above Rs. 5,000 crores, and remarkable wholesale price stability achieved despite a 50 per cent expansion of money supply over three years. Against this favourable backdrop he traces the disappointing per capita growth record of two decades of planning, with per capita GDP at 1970-71 prices rising at just 1.12 per cent annually between 1961-62 and 1976-77 and decelerating to 0.62 per cent in the latter eight years, leaving 46 per cent of Indians below the poverty line. Taraporevala's central argumentative thread in the rendered pages is that Charan Singh squandered a once-in-a-million opportunity. Sector by sector — national income, population and family planning, agriculture, industry, employment, savings and investment, prices, money, foreign trade, budget deficit and Plan Outlays — he contrasts the strong inherited indicators with what he sees as a timid and even regressive response. The family-planning effort is judged "modest"; the loss-making Central commercial enterprises (Coal India, the Fertiliser Corporation, Indian Iron and Steel, NMDC) make recent ministerial talk of nationalising private steel, autos and other sectors "strange reading"; the Plan Outlay rises by only 7.4 per cent (or 15 per cent adjusted) over 1978-79, continuing a multi-year deceleration that puts the Rs. 69,000-crore Sixth Plan target far out of reach. The budget's fiscal stance comes in for the sharpest criticism in the rendered pages. With price stability, bulging foodgrain bufferstocks of 20 million tonnes and record reserves, Taraporevala argues the Finance Minister could have left the modest "real" deficit of Rs. 697 crores open, or borrowed Rs. 2,000 crores against foreign-exchange drawals, and launched a massive Plan Outlay without any new taxation. Instead the budget loads "a gigantic dose of additional taxation" onto the urban sector while financing only modest increases for agriculture, irrigation, rural electrification, power, oil, steel, coal and a controversial public-sector fertiliser provision of Rs. 254 crores. The rendered pages stop in the middle of the Plan Outlay discussion (printed page 18); later sections on the budget's tax measures, sectoral implications and concluding assessment are not in this chunk. ## Key points - Taraporevala frames the budget as a missed opportunity: Charan Singh inherited record foreign-exchange reserves above Rs. 5,000 crores, 20-million-tonne foodgrain bufferstocks and 0.9 per cent wholesale price inflation, but chose stereotyped tax hikes and a modest Plan Outlay over a bold pro-growth response. - Per capita Net National Product at 1970-71 prices stayed near Rs. 600-690 across the 1970s, and per capita GDP grew at only 1.12 per cent per year over 1961-77 — Taraporevala calls this record of two decades of planning evidence that India "remains one of the poorest countries in the world". - He treats population growth as the single biggest neglected economic problem: with population rising from 442 million in 1961 to 620 million in 1977, he argues the budget's family-planning effort is "modest" and risks leaving India running fast "in Alice in Wonderland fashion, to remain in the same place". - The deteriorating performance of Central commercial undertakings — losses at Coal India, Fertiliser Corporation, Indian Iron and Steel and NMDC more than doubling to Rs. 200.51 crores in 1977-78 — makes recent ministerial calls to nationalise private steel, automobiles and other industries "strange reading" in his view. - He flags a striking disconnect: more than 46 per cent of Indians live below the poverty line even as government foodgrain bufferstocks hit a record 20 million tonnes and the Finance Minister stresses promoting agricultural exports. - Price stability of 0.9 per cent wholesale and 4.4 per cent CPI was achieved despite a Rs. 1,134-crore deficit in 1977-78 and an estimated Rs. 1,500-crore deficit in 1978-79, which Taraporevala reads as proof that "large budgetary deficits do not necessarily lead to inflation". - He calculates that the real net 1979-80 deficit, excluding Seventh Finance Commission transfers, is only Rs. 697 crores — modest enough that the Finance Minister could have funded a Plan Outlay near Rs. 15,000 crores without new taxation. - Plan Outlays show a multi-year deceleration: 31 per cent growth in 1976-77, 27 per cent in 1977-78, 17 per cent in 1978-79 and only 7.4 per cent (15 per cent adjusted) in 1979-80, putting the Rs. 45,000-crore Sixth Plan balance "extremely unlikely" to be achieved. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE UNION BUDGET, 1971-72 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-economic-implications-of-the-union-budget-for-1971-72-professor-russi-jal-taraporevala-12-july-1971/ ### Summary Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala, delivering a Forum of Free Enterprise lecture in Bombay on 31st May 1971, dissects the Union Budget for 1971-72 against the macroeconomic backdrop of the Fourth Five Year Plan. He argues that national income growth at 5.3-5.5% is barely keeping pace with the Plan target, that industry is stagnating with a growth rate of only 4.7% against an envisaged 8-10%, and that the Economy Survey itself admits public sector enterprises returned just Rs. 7.2 crores on Rs. 4,000 crores of investment. Inflation is resurgent, employment additions of 400,000 are pitifully inadequate, and the budget responds with doles for the unemployed instead of measures to expand productive jobs. The heart of the lecture is a withering attack on what Taraporevala calls a "draconian tax effort." He calculates that new levies will eventually exceed Rupees 400 crores annually, making this the heaviest taxation burden India has seen in twenty years. He walks the audience through the inflationary excise duties on cigarettes, motor spirit, soap, glass, cameras and readymade garments; the 20% foreign travel tax; the surcharge on incomes above Rs.… ### Body # THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE UNION BUDGET, 1971-72 *By PROFESSOR RUSSI JAL TARAPOREVALA* ## Summary Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala, delivering a Forum of Free Enterprise lecture in Bombay on 31st May 1971, dissects the Union Budget for 1971-72 against the macroeconomic backdrop of the Fourth Five Year Plan. He argues that national income growth at 5.3-5.5% is barely keeping pace with the Plan target, that industry is stagnating with a growth rate of only 4.7% against an envisaged 8-10%, and that the Economy Survey itself admits public sector enterprises returned just Rs. 7.2 crores on Rs. 4,000 crores of investment. Inflation is resurgent, employment additions of 400,000 are pitifully inadequate, and the budget responds with doles for the unemployed instead of measures to expand productive jobs. The heart of the lecture is a withering attack on what Taraporevala calls a "draconian tax effort." He calculates that new levies will eventually exceed Rupees 400 crores annually, making this the heaviest taxation burden India has seen in twenty years. He walks the audience through the inflationary excise duties on cigarettes, motor spirit, soap, glass, cameras and readymade garments; the 20% foreign travel tax; the surcharge on incomes above Rs. 15,000 that pushes the marginal rate on incomes over Rs. 2 lakhs to 97.75%; and a wealth tax regime that, combined with income tax, amounts to "confiscation of personal wealth" and "a capital levy." The second half catalogues structural assaults on private investment: the inclusion of jewellery in wealth tax in defiance of the Supreme Court's Arundhati Balkrishna judgement; retrospective amendment to 1963 to override that ruling; the reversal of the Goli Easwariah gift-tax judgement; the announced abolition of the development rebate after 1974; the narrowing of the Section 80J concession for new industrial undertakings; and the withdrawal of wealth-tax exemption on shares of new industrial companies. Taraporevala reads these as a coordinated policy that will dampen entrepreneurial spirit, protect entrenched large groups from new entrants, and "mop up corporate savings" precisely when industrial expansion is most urgently needed. ## Key points - National income growth (5.3-5.5%) is barely meeting the Fourth Plan target of 5% per annum; industrial growth at 4.7% is well short of the 8-10% envisaged. - The Economy Survey itself concedes the public sector returned only Rs. 7.2 crores on Rs. 4,000 crores of investment in 1969-70, so "savage tax burdens were partially the result of the inefficiency and failure of the public sector." - The only Fourth Plan target already exceeded is the taxation target of Rs. 2,100 crores; production and industrial-growth targets have been largely ignored. - New levies yield Rs. 220 crores this year, rising to roughly Rs. 350-400 crores annually around 1975 — the heaviest taxation burden in twenty years. - Excise duties on cigarettes, motor spirit, soap, glass, fans, cameras and readymade garments, plus a 20% foreign-travel tax and higher posts, telegraphs and railway charges, will release "a massive dose of inflationary pressure." - The income-tax surcharge above Rs. 15,000 pushes the marginal rate on the second lakh of income to 92% and on income over Rs. 2 lakhs to 97.75%, effectively capping income around Rs. 60,000. - Combined wealth and income tax above Rs. 15 lakhs amounts to virtual confiscation — "tantamount to a capital levy" — and jewellery is taxed retrospectively from 1963 in defiance of the Supreme Court's Arundhati Balkrishna ruling. - Abolition of the development rebate after 1974, narrowing of Section 80J relief, and the end of wealth-tax exemption on shares of new industrial undertakings will deter new floatations and shield existing large groups from competition. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE UNION BUDGET FOR 1966-67 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-economic-implications-of-the-union-budget-for-1966-67-professor-russi-jal-taraporevala-april-20-1966/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reprints Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's review of the Union Budget for 1966-67, framed as a verdict on the Third Five-Year Plan as it drew to a close. Taraporevala opens by cataloguing the Third Plan's failures: national income grew at roughly 3 per cent per year against a 6 per cent target, agricultural output crawled at 2.6 per cent compared to 4 per cent in the preceding decade, industrial growth slumped from 11 per cent to 7.5 per cent and prices rose unabated as money supply expanded at 9-14 per cent a year. He documents a capital market in ruins — equity prices falling 6.9 per cent annually, new-issue discounts of 50-60 per cent, foreign exchange reserves down by Rs. 70 crores, and devaluation rumours that the Government was forced to deny. Against this backdrop he argues that the Finance Minister has compounded rather than corrected the crisis. While the Budget Speech rhetorically embraces price stability, export promotion and broader equity participation, the operative proposals levy an additional Rs. 101 crores in central taxes plus Rs. 45 crores by the States.… ### Body # THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE UNION BUDGET FOR 1966-67 *By Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reprints Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's review of the Union Budget for 1966-67, framed as a verdict on the Third Five-Year Plan as it drew to a close. Taraporevala opens by cataloguing the Third Plan's failures: national income grew at roughly 3 per cent per year against a 6 per cent target, agricultural output crawled at 2.6 per cent compared to 4 per cent in the preceding decade, industrial growth slumped from 11 per cent to 7.5 per cent and prices rose unabated as money supply expanded at 9-14 per cent a year. He documents a capital market in ruins — equity prices falling 6.9 per cent annually, new-issue discounts of 50-60 per cent, foreign exchange reserves down by Rs. 70 crores, and devaluation rumours that the Government was forced to deny. Against this backdrop he argues that the Finance Minister has compounded rather than corrected the crisis. While the Budget Speech rhetorically embraces price stability, export promotion and broader equity participation, the operative proposals levy an additional Rs. 101 crores in central taxes plus Rs. 45 crores by the States. Taraporevala contends that a modest 2-4 per cent cut in government expenditure, or even leaving the deficit untouched while reducing some taxes, would have spurred growth and converted the projected Rs. 117 crore deficit into a near-surplus by widening the yield base. The heart of the critique is the shift in the mix of taxation. For the first time in many years, over 58 per cent of new taxation is being raised through direct taxes — Rs. 59 crores on individuals and corporations — reversing the long-standing official position that the limits of direct taxation had been reached. Combined with higher excise duties on sugar, cigarettes, light diesel oil, cloth and synthetics, and an increase in the Central Sales Tax ceiling from 2 to 3 per cent, Taraporevala argues the budget will simultaneously stoke inflation for the common man and squeeze the private savings on which the capital market depends. The rendered pages also walk through the budget's treatment of personal taxation, the Annuity Deposit Scheme (which the author argues should be abolished outright rather than tinkered with), the welcome abolition of the Expenditure Tax — a Kaldor-inspired levy that Taraporevala had long criticised — and partial reforms to gift tax and estate duty. Throughout, the polemical thrust is that the budget is in "direct opposition to the avowed goal of the budget of maintaining price stability and curbing inflation" and that India's growth requires reversing, not extending, the regime of confiscatory direct taxation and unproductive public expenditure. ## Key points - Third Plan targets were systematically missed: national income grew at ~3% against a 6% target; agriculture at 2.6% annually; industrial growth slumped from 11% to 7.5% per year. - Money supply rose 9-14% annually, chasing inadequate goods; the Reserve Bank's tight money policy hurt industry without arresting price rises (~8% annual inflation). - The capital market collapsed: equity prices fell 6.9% per year (15.8% in the last calendar year), new issues sold at 50-60% discounts, and underwriters became effective 'undertakers'. - Foreign exchange reserves declined by Rs. 70 crores over the first four Plan years; devaluation rumours circulated before the Government denied them. - The 1966-67 Budget proposes Rs. 101 crores in fresh central taxes plus Rs. 45 crores at the State level — Taraporevala argues a 2-4% expenditure cut would have spurred growth and largely eliminated the projected Rs. 117 crore deficit. - Over 58% of new taxation is direct (Rs. 59 crores), reversing earlier Finance Ministers' position that the limits of direct taxation had been reached. - Excise duties on sugar, cigarettes, light diesel oil, cotton cloth, rayon, synthetics and the Central Sales Tax hike from 2% to 3% will be inflationary and contradict the budget's own stated goal of price stability. - Taraporevala welcomes the abolition of the Expenditure Tax (which he had long opposed as a Kaldor-inspired error) but argues the Annuity Deposit Scheme should also be abolished outright, since it diverts ~Rs. 35 crores per year of private savings from productive investment. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF UNION BUDGET 1978-79 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-economic-implications-of-union-budget-1978-79-prof-r-j-taraporevala-april-15-1978/ ### Summary Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 3rd March 1978 and published soon after, offers a sustained, sector-by-sector reading of the first Union Budget presented by the Janata Government — Finance Minister H. M. Patel's Budget for 1978-79. Taraporevala situates the Budget against an unusually favourable macroeconomic backdrop: gross national product had resumed real growth of about 5 per cent, the 1977-78 kharif had pushed foodgrain stocks to record buffer levels, and foreign-exchange reserves had reached roughly Rs. 5,000 crores — the highest in three decades. Against that setting he asks whether the Budget seizes the once-in-a-generation opportunity to convert easy money, ample food and ample forex into a new pattern of growth and development. His verdict is mixed.… ### Body # THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF UNION BUDGET 1978-79 *By Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala* ## Summary Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's lecture, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 3rd March 1978 and published soon after, offers a sustained, sector-by-sector reading of the first Union Budget presented by the Janata Government — Finance Minister H. M. Patel's Budget for 1978-79. Taraporevala situates the Budget against an unusually favourable macroeconomic backdrop: gross national product had resumed real growth of about 5 per cent, the 1977-78 kharif had pushed foodgrain stocks to record buffer levels, and foreign-exchange reserves had reached roughly Rs. 5,000 crores — the highest in three decades. Against that setting he asks whether the Budget seizes the once-in-a-generation opportunity to convert easy money, ample food and ample forex into a new pattern of growth and development. His verdict is mixed. He commends the price stability achieved in 1977-78 as a real administrative success, welcomes the Plan tilt toward agriculture, irrigation, rural development and decentralisation, and praises specific moves — the abolition of the interest tax, the proposed sale of Government gold stocks, the new Rupee-finance facility through term-lending institutions for the import of approved projects, and the cut in customs duty on polyester filament yarn. He repeatedly returns, however, to two underlying anxieties: the administrative machinery's failure to absorb foreign exchange reserves for productive investment, and the Finance Minister's continued reliance on indirect taxation (Rs. 499 of Rs. 549.5 crores of new mobilisation comes from excise and customs) which spreads the burden across nearly every conceivable item even after small-scale and agricultural concessions. The pamphlet then works through the direct-tax proposals in detail. Taraporevala flags the sharp rise in compulsory deposit rates (lifting the marginal personal rate plus deposit to 84 per cent), the curtailment of the Section 54E long-term capital-gains exemption, and especially the draconian and arbitrary disallowance of advertising, publicity and sales-promotion expenditure as measures he believes will choke employment in the advertising and publishing sectors and produce endless litigation. He likewise warns that the withdrawal of the export-market development weighted deduction, while symbolically aligned with drawing down forex reserves, risks discouraging exports in the long run. The lecture closes by arguing that the Budget is genuinely innovative in spirit — the Finance Minister has the unusual luxury of buffer stocks, comfortable reserves and pragmatic instincts — but that the key to Indian growth lies in actually deploying foreign-exchange reserves and in liberating, not further constraining, private enterprise. ## Key points - Frames the 1978-79 Budget as H. M. Patel's first full Janata Government Budget, delivered at an unusually favourable macro moment: 5 per cent GNP growth, record foodgrain stocks and forex reserves near Rs. 5,000 crores. - Reads the Economic Survey alongside the Budget: agriculture and price stability are the bright spots; industry (2.3 per cent growth) and employment (over 10.78 million on the live register) are the dismal features. - Argues that the true policy question is how to deploy historically large foreign-exchange reserves for productive investment — and that the 'administrative machinery' has so far failed to do so. - Welcomes Plan re-prioritisation toward agriculture, irrigation, rural electrification, dairy (Operation Flood II) and decentralisation, but says outlays on power, family planning and infrastructure remain inadequate. - Records new resource mobilisation of Rs. 549.5 crores — Rs. 499 crores from excise/customs, only Rs. 25.5 crores from direct tax changes and Rs. 25 crores from the Compulsory Deposit Scheme — and treats this dependence on indirect taxation as 'truly a gigantic impost' spread across almost all excisable items. - Praises concrete liberal measures: abolition of the 7 per cent interest tax on bank lending, sale of Government gold stocks as an anti-inflationary instrument, the new Rupee-finance facility for import of approved projects, and customs reduction on polyester filament yarn. - Sharply criticises the disallowance of advertising, publicity and sales-promotion expenditure above small slabs as 'draconian and completely arbitrary', warning of mass unemployment in advertising and small newspapers. - Concludes that the Budget is 'innovative' in approach but that its success ultimately depends on whether the Finance Minister can mobilise foreign-exchange reserves and break free of inherited administrative attitudes. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE UNION BUDGET, 1972-73 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-economic-implications-of-union-budget-prof-r-taraporevala-may-15-1972/ ### Summary Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's pamphlet, drawn from a public lecture delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 24th March 1972, dissects the Union Budget for 1972-73 against the unusually punishing backdrop of the preceding year. He opens by cataloguing the abnormal shocks of 1971-72: an unprecedented influx of more than ten million refugees from the territory then becoming Bangla Desh, drought in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, cyclone in Orissa and floods in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, the Indo-Pakistan war that put the economy on a war footing, and the sudden suspension of U.S. aid. That the Indian economy still made roughly 4 per cent growth, he argues, testifies to the underlying soundness of its structure. The heart of the booklet is a sector-by-sector audit. Agriculture is the bright spot, with foodgrain output reaching 107 million tons in 1970-71.… ### Body # THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE UNION BUDGET, 1972-73 *By Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala* ## Summary Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's pamphlet, drawn from a public lecture delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 24th March 1972, dissects the Union Budget for 1972-73 against the unusually punishing backdrop of the preceding year. He opens by cataloguing the abnormal shocks of 1971-72: an unprecedented influx of more than ten million refugees from the territory then becoming Bangla Desh, drought in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, cyclone in Orissa and floods in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, the Indo-Pakistan war that put the economy on a war footing, and the sudden suspension of U.S. aid. That the Indian economy still made roughly 4 per cent growth, he argues, testifies to the underlying soundness of its structure. The heart of the booklet is a sector-by-sector audit. Agriculture is the bright spot, with foodgrain output reaching 107 million tons in 1970-71. Industry, by contrast, is stagnant — growth has fallen from around 9 per cent in 1961-65 to an estimated 3 to 3.5 per cent — and Taraporevala, citing the Economic Survey, locates the cause in a "general dearth of savings" and an all-time low in corporate savings rather than in licensing or procedure. He tracks the squeeze on private credit (bank credit to the commercial sector actually contracted by Rs. 215 crores in 1971-72 while credit to Government surged by Rs. 764 crores), the comfortable foreign exchange reserves, the moderate 3.9 per cent price rise in calendar 1971, and the grim employment picture in which both public and private sector job growth had stalled. Turning to the budget itself, Taraporevala notes that three budgets in 1971 had already loaded the economy with about Rs. 500 crores of new taxes, so the current budget's additional Rs. 183 crores is presented as a moderate tax effort coupled with a strategy of growth through a 27 per cent jump in central plan outlays to Rs. 2,307 crores. He works through the indirect taxes — customs revisions, excise hikes on tobacco, art silk, synthetic fibre yarn, steel, kerosene, fertilisers and power-driven pumps, plus an excise "rationalisation" yielding Rs. 10.70 crores — and the minor direct tax tinkering with lotteries, capital gains on jewellery, charity trusts and the Unit Trust Scheme. He flags the withdrawal of the 5 per cent tax concession on priority industries as a wrong-headed move. The conclusion is sharply critical: while the budget's growth-through-plan-outlay strategy could start a new development cycle, the Finance Minister's hint at clubbing husband-wife-minor-children incomes, harsher Hindu Undivided Family taxation and rejection of the Wanchoo Committee's recommended rate cuts portends a "death blow" to that very growth strategy. Taraporevala's running motif is that taxation is eroding private savings by transferring them into the public exchequer, and that without restoring savings industrial revival will remain out of reach. ## Key points - Frames 1971-72 as a year of abnormal shocks — Bangla Desh refugee influx of over ten million, multi-state natural calamities, the Indo-Pakistan war, and the suspension of U.S. aid — yet credits the economy with roughly 4 per cent growth. - Argues agriculture was the most promising sector (foodgrain output of 107 million tons in 1970-71) while industrial production growth collapsed to an estimated 3 to 3.5 per cent. - Identifies the central problem of industrial stagnation, citing the Government's own Economic Survey, as a 'general dearth of savings' rather than procedural or policy obstacles, with corporate savings at an all-time low. - Documents a sharp monetary squeeze on the private sector: net bank credit to commercial sector contracted by Rs. 215 crores in 1971-72 while credit to Government rose by Rs. 764 crores. - Reads the 1972-73 budget as 'modest' on tax effort (Rs. 183 crores additional taxation) but ambitious on plan outlays — a 27 per cent jump in central plan outlays to Rs. 2,307 crores intended to spur growth. - Walks through the indirect tax package — customs hikes (Rs. 8.60 crores), excise on tobacco, art silk, synthetic fibre yarn, steel, kerosene, fertilisers and power-driven pumps, plus a 'rationalisation' regrouping of excise slabs. - Criticises the abolition of the 5 per cent corporate tax concession on the priority industries list, urging instead that the Finance Minister frame a new priority list including small-scale and infant industries. - Warns that proposed end-of-year measures — clubbing of husband, wife and minor children's incomes, harsher Hindu Undivided Family taxation, and rejection of the Wanchoo Committee's rate-cut recommendations — would deal a 'death blow' to the growth strategy of the budget. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF UNION BUDGET 1977-78 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-economic-implications-of-union-budget-1977-78-russi-jal-taraporevala-august-15-1977/ ### Summary Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's pamphlet, based on a public lecture delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 22 June 1977, analyses the first Union Budget presented by the new Janata Party Government. He sets the budget against an economy that had slipped back into recession after the 1976-77 monsoon failure, and reads it as the inaugural fiscal statement of the first non-Congress regime at the Centre. Taraporevala welcomes the Janata Party's election-manifesto rejection of the "old Soviet style planning which had been adopted by the Congress Party since 1956" and its reorientation toward agriculture, rural development, and small-scale, cottage, and khadi industries along "the lines of Gandhian ideas". In the rendered pages, Taraporevala works systematically through the macroeconomic backdrop the budget inherits: stagnating national income and per-capita product; a sharp fall in agricultural and foodgrain output after the 1975-76 record; uneven industrial growth with sick public-sector giants like the National Textile Corporation, Coal India, and the Fertiliser Corporation registering massive losses; a stubborn unemployment crisis; rising pric… ### Body # THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF UNION BUDGET 1977-78 *By Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala* ## Summary Professor Russi Jal Taraporevala's pamphlet, based on a public lecture delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 22 June 1977, analyses the first Union Budget presented by the new Janata Party Government. He sets the budget against an economy that had slipped back into recession after the 1976-77 monsoon failure, and reads it as the inaugural fiscal statement of the first non-Congress regime at the Centre. Taraporevala welcomes the Janata Party's election-manifesto rejection of the "old Soviet style planning which had been adopted by the Congress Party since 1956" and its reorientation toward agriculture, rural development, and small-scale, cottage, and khadi industries along "the lines of Gandhian ideas". In the rendered pages, Taraporevala works systematically through the macroeconomic backdrop the budget inherits: stagnating national income and per-capita product; a sharp fall in agricultural and foodgrain output after the 1975-76 record; uneven industrial growth with sick public-sector giants like the National Textile Corporation, Coal India, and the Fertiliser Corporation registering massive losses; a stubborn unemployment crisis; rising prices; an inflationary surge in money supply; and a comparatively buoyant external position with foreign-exchange reserves at roughly Rs. 4,000 crores and a slight trade surplus. Drawing repeatedly on the Finance Minister H. M. Patel's budget speech and the Government's "Economic Survey", he treats their diagnoses as broadly correct but uses them to indict the previous twenty-five years of "gigantic monopolistic public sector enterprises". On policy, he highlights the budget's most market-friendly moves — tax concessions to encourage efficient private managements to take over sick units, and the gradual introduction of "more competition by way of a more liberal import policy" using imports of selected capital goods as a tool to discipline domestic prices. The chunk ends in the "Budgetary Position" and "Plan Outlays" sections, where Taraporevala argues that by drawing more aggressively on special borrowings from the Reserve Bank of India against forex reserves, the Finance Minister could have converted the Rs. 202-crore deficit into a Rs. 198-crore surplus and cut direct and indirect taxes; the budget therefore "missed a unique opportunity of presenting a surplus budget". A heterodox aside argues that, given high skilled unemployment, "one of the best exports which India can effect is that of human beings", endorsing emigration to the Gulf and elsewhere as a way to generate inward remittances. ## Key points - Reads the 1977-78 Union Budget as the first fiscal statement of the new Janata Party Government, presented against a recession-hit economy following the 1976-77 monsoon failure. - Endorses the Janata manifesto's rejection of "Soviet style planning" adopted by the Congress Party since 1956 and its turn toward rural development, small-scale industry, and Gandhian decentralisation. - Provides a systematic sectoral diagnosis — stagnant national income, declining agricultural output, uneven industrial growth, depressed cotton textiles and jute, and structural unemployment — by collating data from "The Economic Survey" and the Finance Minister's speech. - Indicts the public sector for chronic losses (NTC, Coal India, Fertiliser Corporation of India) and welcomes the budget's tax concessions encouraging efficient private managements to nurse sick industrial units back to health. - Praises the announcement of a "more liberal import policy" — including imports of selected capital goods without scrutiny from the indigenous angle — as a tool for cost-discipline and international competitiveness. - Identifies excessive money supply growth (17.1% in 1976-77) and accumulation of net foreign exchange assets as principal drivers of inflation, but treats the buoyant Rs. 4,000-crore reserves and slight trade surplus as the economy's only "rosy aspect". - Makes the heterodox case that emigrant labour is one of India's best exports because the remittances flowing back to dependants buttress the foreign-exchange position. - Argues the budget could and should have been recast as a surplus budget by drawing Rs. 1,200 crores in special borrowings from the RBI against forex reserves, enabling tax cuts and higher rural developmental outlays — the Finance Minister having "missed a unique opportunity". --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] THE EMERGENCY HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR A NEW ECONOMIC POLICY URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-emergency-highlights-need-for-a-new-economic-policy-a-d-shroff-jan10-1963/ ### Summary Delivered as A. D. Shroff's Presidential address at the Sixth Annual General Meeting of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 12 December 1962 — weeks after the Chinese invasion — this pamphlet uses the national emergency to argue that India's defence, prosperity and freedom require a wholesale abandonment of what Shroff calls the "communist model" of planning adopted in the Second and Third Five-Year Plans. Shroff acknowledges that planning itself is necessary, but locates the present malaise in five concrete errors: neglect of agriculture and consumer industries, an obsession with heavy industry, the spread of state ownership, the suppression of incentives and profit, and the smothering of private enterprise. The argument's polemical heart is a long comparative survey of the communist bloc's own retreat from doctrinaire centralism. Shroff marshals citations from Pravda, the Russian Economic Gazette, the Soviet Audit Report, China's grain-import dependency, and statements by Liebermann, Yuryev, Khrushchev and Italy's Palmiro Togliatti to show that even communist regimes are rehabilitating profit, incentives and the freeing of state enterprises from the clutches of central planners.… ### Body # THE EMERGENCY HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR A NEW ECONOMIC POLICY *By A. D. Shroff* ## Summary Delivered as A. D. Shroff's Presidential address at the Sixth Annual General Meeting of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 12 December 1962 — weeks after the Chinese invasion — this pamphlet uses the national emergency to argue that India's defence, prosperity and freedom require a wholesale abandonment of what Shroff calls the "communist model" of planning adopted in the Second and Third Five-Year Plans. Shroff acknowledges that planning itself is necessary, but locates the present malaise in five concrete errors: neglect of agriculture and consumer industries, an obsession with heavy industry, the spread of state ownership, the suppression of incentives and profit, and the smothering of private enterprise. The argument's polemical heart is a long comparative survey of the communist bloc's own retreat from doctrinaire centralism. Shroff marshals citations from Pravda, the Russian Economic Gazette, the Soviet Audit Report, China's grain-import dependency, and statements by Liebermann, Yuryev, Khrushchev and Italy's Palmiro Togliatti to show that even communist regimes are rehabilitating profit, incentives and the freeing of state enterprises from the clutches of central planners. He then turns the same lens on Indian public-sector performance — Madhya Pradesh PAC reports, an Orissa bicycle factory running at one ten-thousandth capacity, a Mysore espresso scheme producing zero machines after years of effort, LIC's litigation against shareholders of Punjab Financial Corporation, multi-year delays in P.W.D. construction at Andhra Pradesh — to demonstrate that statism in India "has failed to achieve the declared objectives of the country." Shroff broadens the indictment to "infrastructure" — administration, communications, power, roads, education, postal services — documenting bureaucratic paralysis through Krishnamachari's red-tape complaints, telegram disruptions in Bombay, jute industry stoppages in Calcutta, postal stationery shortages, and citing Peter Drucker on the "capital" of educated people. He closes with the constructive case: a quotation from Prof. B. R. Shenoy on deficit financing, Nehru's grudging acknowledgement of free enterprise's role in a mixed economy, the late Dr. B. C. Roy's call to use the private sector in promoting national welfare, and President Rajendra Prasad's farewell address invoking Mahatma Gandhi on the virtue of self-dependence — to conclude that "the time for collectivist ideologies is past" and that a new vision rooted in private enterprise is now the only realistic path to a strong, free India. ## Key points - Framed by the Chinese aggression of 1962, the address argues that a strong economy is a precondition for defence and political independence — and that India's current path of communist-model planning cannot deliver it. - Shroff identifies the Second and Third Plans' defining errors as neglect of agriculture and consumer goods, heavy-industry obsession, state ownership, hostility to incentives and profit, and denigration of private enterprise. - A long survey of Pravda, the Russian Economic Gazette, the People's Daily, and Soviet/Italian/Chinese practice argues that even communist regimes are reintroducing material incentives, profit, and managerial autonomy. - An extended audit of Indian state enterprises — Hindustan Machine Tool-cum-Prototype factory, Mysore espresso project, Madhya Pradesh PAC findings, an Orissa bicycle factory at 1/10,000 capacity, LIC's litigation against Punjab Financial Corporation — exposes systemic inefficiency and bureaucratic accountability gaps. - Shroff makes "infrastructure" — administration, P.W.D. construction, telegrams and postal stationery, power, roads, and education — central to the critique, citing Krishnamachari on red tape and Drucker on educated people as a nation's "capital". - The proposed alternative is "planning for free enterprise of the people": social and political direction by the state, but ownership and large-scale development left to private initiative under regulation. - Shroff invokes Shenoy on deficit financing, Nehru's concession of free enterprise in a mixed economy, B. C. Roy on the private sector, and Rajendra Prasad's farewell address quoting Gandhi on self-dependence to anchor the argument in indigenous liberal authority. - The address ends with a programmatic call: "a new vision and a new economic policy are required" and free enterprise is declared "the harbinger of this new society". --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Economic Scene Today URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-economic-scene-today-minoo-h-mody-dr-a-c-chhatrapati-february-12-1981/ ### Summary A short Forum of Free Enterprise booklet pairing two addresses on the Indian economy at the turn of the 1980s: Minoo H. Mody's presidential address at the ASSOCHAM workshop in New Delhi on industrial policy and macroeconomic management, and Dr. A. C. Chhatrapati's lecture at the Forum in Bombay on 22 January 1981 on the new wave of farmers' agitations. Read together, the two pieces frame industrial licensing and the suppression of agricultural prices as twin failures of three decades of planned development, and argue that the next phase of policy should accept the entrepreneurial logic now visible in both the factory and the field rather than treating either sector as a passive subject of administrative control. ### Body # The Economic Scene Today ## Summary A short Forum of Free Enterprise booklet pairing two addresses on the Indian economy at the turn of the 1980s: Minoo H. Mody's presidential address at the ASSOCHAM workshop in New Delhi on industrial policy and macroeconomic management, and Dr. A. C. Chhatrapati's lecture at the Forum in Bombay on 22 January 1981 on the new wave of farmers' agitations. Read together, the two pieces frame industrial licensing and the suppression of agricultural prices as twin failures of three decades of planned development, and argue that the next phase of policy should accept the entrepreneurial logic now visible in both the factory and the field rather than treating either sector as a passive subject of administrative control. ## Essays ### Pragmatic changes in Development Policy Needed. *By Minoo H. Mody* Mody surveys what he calls a "varying picture of prosperity and crisis": a bumper kharif harvest is set to reverse last year's 3 per cent decline in GNP, but industrial production has fallen 1.8 per cent in the first half, capacity utilisation is dropping across steel, cement, aluminium and electric motors, and continuing labour unrest belies the dip in lost mandays. He treats the new Industrial Policy's relaxations as welcome but timid, and presses for a clean break — a five-year "open season" suspending licensing in the core sector, abandonment of the Mahalanobis-era accent on heavy industry at the expense of wage goods, opening of state-sector activities to private participation, and willingness to absorb deferred-credit machinery imports from a recessionary West rather than clinging to the "dogma of self-reliance." On the macro side he warns that two Wanchoo Committee–style tax proposals (ending the interest deduction or a 1 per cent tax on capital) would compound rather than ease the investment famine, that import substitution is again hardening into dogma, and that an inflationary build-up is being driven not only by oil and infrastructural mismanagement but by a structural shift in the terms of trade toward agriculture as farmers' and farm-workers' agitations spread. He closes by quoting the economist M. Adiseshiah on controls as the "main generator of black money and the parallel economy," and argues that with 40 per cent of Indians still below the poverty line after thirty years of planning, pragmatic changes in development philosophy — not fresh ideological commitments — are what the situation demands. - Frames the economy as one of "prosperity and crisis": a bumper agricultural harvest set against industrial production declining 1.8 per cent and falling capacity utilisation. - Reads the new Industrial Policy as a half-measure and proposes a five-year suspension of licensing in the core sector to test liberalisation in practice. - Rejects the Mahalanobis emphasis on heavy industry, arguing that the squeeze on wage-goods industries explains the stagnation of the seventies. - Calls for opening state-sector activities to private participation and for accepting deferred-credit imports of plant and equipment from recession-hit Western suppliers. - Opposes the Wanchoo Committee's proposed disallowance of interest or 1 per cent tax on capital as further burdening an industry already starved of investment. - Identifies three drivers of the inflationary build-up: oil prices, mismanagement of infrastructure and the state sector, and structural pressure from the agricultural lobby. - Quotes M. Adiseshiah to argue that the licence and exemption system is the principal source of black money and corruption. ### Economic Rationale of Farmers' Agitation *By Dr. A. C. Chhatrapati* Chhatrapati asks why farmers — historically resigned to invaders, the zamindari system, and "the theory of karma" — are now mounting sudden, non-political mass agitations across several states. His answer is that thirty years of post-Independence development have produced "adoption of capitalistic farming as in developed countries," turning the cultivator into an entrepreneur who reads price signals the same way an industrialist does. Inflation has therefore exposed a sectoral imbalance: manufactured-product prices have been allowed to rise (the gap with farm prices widened to 14 per cent in 1979-80 and to roughly 30 per cent in the last quarter of 1980) while agricultural prices have been deliberately held down through support prices that have risen only about 10 per cent against a 40 per cent general price increase, with Agricultural Prices Commission recommendations "repeatedly set aside" by state governments. The essay treats the resulting farmers' agitations — including those in Maharashtra around sugar co-operative wages — as the rational protest of a producer who buys inputs at retail and sells output at wholesale, faces weather risk without crop insurance, and finds that one-time concessions like debt relief offer no enduring solution. Chhatrapati's policy prescription is parity-based support prices, an effective agency to enforce them, better post-harvest storage and orderly regulated markets, and a recognition that the largest sector of the economy is now a serious claimant in the inflation battle that Government will have to reckon with. - Reads the farmers' agitations as a new phenomenon: led by non-politicians, driven by purely economic grievances rather than ideology or caste politics. - Argues that education, technology and market exposure have produced "capitalistic farming" — the farmer is now an entrepreneur, not a fatalist tilling the soil. - Documents a widening gap between manufactured- and agricultural-product price indices: from 3-10 per cent through 1978-79 to 14 per cent in 1979-80 and roughly 30 per cent in monthly data from late 1980. - Shows that support prices for 1980 rose only about 10 per cent over 1977-78 against a 40 per cent general price index rise, exposing the failure of the support-price mechanism. - Criticises debt relief and ad hoc concessions as "populist gimmicks" inadequate to the structural risk of agriculture, and argues for crop insurance, parity-based support prices and orderly regulated markets. - Frames the agitation as inflation's last sectoral revolt: with industry and organised labour already extracting their share, the largest sector of the economy is now demanding its own. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Essential Frédéric Bastiat URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-essential-frederic-bastist/ ### Summary In the rendered pages, this Liberty Institute anthology (Classics Revisited series, 2007) opens with its editorial apparatus rather than Bastiat's own essays. Sauvik Chakraverti's Editor's Note recounts how he discovered Frédéric Bastiat in 1995 through Liberty Institute's liberty workshops and through Bastiat's The Law, an encounter that convinced him 'economic journalism mattered' and shaped his own career; Barun S. Mitra's Publisher's Note (September 2007) frames the volume as a revival of a thinker 'almost forgotten in his native country,' thanking the Foundation for Economic Education, Liberty Fund, Jacques de Guenin, and the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung. The bulk of the rendered text is Detmar Doering's prefatory essay 'On Frédéric Bastiat,' which uses the famous candlemakers' petition to introduce Bastiat as the supreme satirist of protectionism, then sketches his biography (Bayonne 1801, his turn to economics via Adam Smith and the British free-traders, the 1844 Journal des économistes article, his election to the 1848 National Assembly) and surveys his contested reputation among later economists.… ### Body # The Essential Frédéric Bastiat *By Frédéric Bastiat* ## Summary In the rendered pages, this Liberty Institute anthology (Classics Revisited series, 2007) opens with its editorial apparatus rather than Bastiat's own essays. Sauvik Chakraverti's Editor's Note recounts how he discovered Frédéric Bastiat in 1995 through Liberty Institute's liberty workshops and through Bastiat's The Law, an encounter that convinced him 'economic journalism mattered' and shaped his own career; Barun S. Mitra's Publisher's Note (September 2007) frames the volume as a revival of a thinker 'almost forgotten in his native country,' thanking the Foundation for Economic Education, Liberty Fund, Jacques de Guenin, and the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung. The bulk of the rendered text is Detmar Doering's prefatory essay 'On Frédéric Bastiat,' which uses the famous candlemakers' petition to introduce Bastiat as the supreme satirist of protectionism, then sketches his biography (Bayonne 1801, his turn to economics via Adam Smith and the British free-traders, the 1844 Journal des économistes article, his election to the 1848 National Assembly) and surveys his contested reputation among later economists. In the rendered pages the four-part body — Bastiat as believer in natural liberty, as free trader, his 'genius' (The Law, The State, What Is Seen and What Is Not Seen), and as candidate — appears only in the Table of Contents; none of the 21 numbered selections was rendered. ## Key points - In the rendered pages, the volume presents its front matter — Editor's Note, Publisher's Note, and Detmar Doering's prefatory essay — not Bastiat's selections themselves. - Editor Sauvik Chakraverti recounts discovering Bastiat in 1995 via Liberty Institute workshops and The Law, crediting it with turning him to economic journalism. - Barun S. Mitra's Publisher's Note (September 2007) frames the book as reviving a thinker 'almost forgotten in his native country' France. - Doering's essay opens with the candlemakers' petition to present Bastiat as the master satirist of protectionism. - Doering sketches Bastiat's life: born Bayonne 1801, self-taught in economics via Adam Smith and British free-traders, famous after his 1844 Journal des économistes article, elected to the 1848 National Assembly. - The essay surveys Bastiat's mixed posthumous reputation, quoting Mises ('brilliant stylist') and Schumpeter ('the most brilliant economic journalist who ever lived'). - The four-part body and 21 numbered Bastiat selections appear only in the Table of Contents in the rendered pages. - Acknowledgements name FEE, Liberty Fund, Jacques de Guenin, and the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung as enabling the volume. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] THE FOOD SITUATION AND THE COMMON MAN URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-food-situation-and-the-common-man-b-r-shenoy-january-1-1970/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet, Professor B. R. Shenoy diagnoses India's post-Independence food crisis as fundamentally a monetary phenomenon rather than an output problem. He organises the argument under five heads — the nature of the problem, its basic causes, the Government's responses, the adequacy of those responses, and remedies — and shows that the General Index of prices has risen 27% since May 1955, with rice and wheat rising 33% and 23% respectively. The root cause, he insists, is that the demand for foodgrains, swollen by money incomes climbing 33% over First-Plan and Second-Plan deficit-financed expenditure, has outrun supplies that grew only 4.8%. Shenoy then evaluates the Government's five 'first-aid' measures — export bans, releases from stocks, fair price shops, imports from Burma and the U.S.A., and credit squeezes against hoarders — and finds each a palliative.… ### Body # THE FOOD SITUATION AND THE COMMON MAN *By B. R. Shenoy* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet, Professor B. R. Shenoy diagnoses India's post-Independence food crisis as fundamentally a monetary phenomenon rather than an output problem. He organises the argument under five heads — the nature of the problem, its basic causes, the Government's responses, the adequacy of those responses, and remedies — and shows that the General Index of prices has risen 27% since May 1955, with rice and wheat rising 33% and 23% respectively. The root cause, he insists, is that the demand for foodgrains, swollen by money incomes climbing 33% over First-Plan and Second-Plan deficit-financed expenditure, has outrun supplies that grew only 4.8%. Shenoy then evaluates the Government's five 'first-aid' measures — export bans, releases from stocks, fair price shops, imports from Burma and the U.S.A., and credit squeezes against hoarders — and finds each a palliative. Fair price shops, he argues, cannot eliminate the gap between controlled and open-market prices, so leakages and black markets are inevitable; selective credit squeezes fail because hoarding follows expectations of further price rises and the larger stockists can self-finance; comprehensive controls of the wartime British or Maoist type are administratively impossible across millions of producers and distributors in a democracy. Price controls do not generate savings; they merely ration scarcity 'egalitarianly' on the home front while doing nothing for the investment-consumption gap. The pamphlet's positive prescription has two prongs: first, prune the Plan to the available real resources and abandon inflationary over-investment; second, finance imports of foodgrains sufficient to close the supply gap and sell them through the open market rather than fair price shops, saving subsidies that currently leak to black-marketeers. Shenoy closes with seven numbered conclusions hammering the point that the foodgrain crisis 'is almost wholly a monetary phenomenon' rooted in over-investment that began in the last year of the First Plan, and that control over allocation of resources on the communist pattern is incompatible with planning in a democratic economy. ## Key points - Frames the food crisis as a price-level problem driven by money-supply expansion, not a shortfall in foodgrain output — money incomes rose 33% from 1952-53 to 1955-56 while foodgrain output rose only 4.8%. - Quantifies the inflation: General Index up 27% since May 1955, with rice and wheat up 33% and 23% respectively; foodgrain prices up 27%. - Traces deficit financing to the Second Plan's Public Sector outlay of Rs. 1,600 crores in its first two years, of which only a third — roughly Rs. 1,600 crores total — represents inflationary deficit financing taken from Public Sector loans. - Catalogues five Government 'first-aid' measures (export bans, stock releases, fair-price shops, foreign imports, credit squeeze) and judges each a palliative that cannot reach the root cause. - Argues that fair-price shops cannot abolish the price differential with open markets, so subsidies inevitably leak into black-market hands, and that selective credit squeezes are easily dodged because hoarding tracks expected price rises. - Rejects comprehensive wartime-style or communist-pattern controls as administratively unworkable across millions of small Indian producers and distributors, and as incompatible with planning in a democratic economy. - Prescribes a two-part remedy: cessation of over-investment (pruning the Plan to available resources) and sufficient foodgrain imports sold through the open market rather than fair-price shops, to save subsidy expenditure under a deficit budget. - Closes with seven numbered conclusions arguing the foodgrain crisis is 'almost wholly a monetary phenomenon' arising from over-investment that began in the last year of the First Plan. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Foreign Exchange Situation URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-foreign-exchange-situation-prof-b-r-shenoy-mar6-1958/ ### Summary In this edited text of a lecture delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on March 24, 1958, the economist B. R. Shenoy diagnoses India's foreign exchange crisis as a self-inflicted consequence of trying to close the savings gap in the Second Five Year Plan through inflation rather than genuine saving. He opens by framing economic growth as a function of invested savings, contrasting the communist 'direct method' of forced resource acquisition with the democratic 'indirect method' that limits investment to what the community is willing to save. The drain on India's reserves, he argues, which began in April 1956 and ran to about Rs. 563 crores over two years, is the automatic reflex of deficit-financed over-investment: inflationary finance raises domestic incomes and consumption, pulls imports up and pushes exports down, and so produces persistent payments difficulties. ### Body # The Foreign Exchange Situation *By B. R. Shenoy* ## Summary In this edited text of a lecture delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on March 24, 1958, the economist B. R. Shenoy diagnoses India's foreign exchange crisis as a self-inflicted consequence of trying to close the savings gap in the Second Five Year Plan through inflation rather than genuine saving. He opens by framing economic growth as a function of invested savings, contrasting the communist 'direct method' of forced resource acquisition with the democratic 'indirect method' that limits investment to what the community is willing to save. The drain on India's reserves, he argues, which began in April 1956 and ran to about Rs. 563 crores over two years, is the automatic reflex of deficit-financed over-investment: inflationary finance raises domestic incomes and consumption, pulls imports up and pushes exports down, and so produces persistent payments difficulties. ## Key points - Shenoy attributes the foreign exchange crisis directly to inflationary (deficit) financing of the Second Five Year Plan rather than to import liberalisation alone. - He frames economic growth as a function of invested savings and contrasts communist forced saving with the democratic method limited to voluntary saving. - The reserve drain from April 1956 ran to roughly Rs. 563 crores over two years (including IMF drawings of Rs. 95 crores), pushing reserves below the danger line of about Rs. 280 crores. - He marshals detailed trade data showing Indian exports remained below the pre-war level while imports stayed high, producing endemic post-war payments deficits. - Remedial measures he proposes are, first, cessation of inflationary finance, and second, an adjustment of the rupee's exchange value, preferably by 'floating' it. - He argues devaluation alone would have no lasting value unless preceded by ending over-investment, and its incidence would fall on black-market import-licence prices, gold smugglers' gains, and industrial subsidies. - He warns that tightening import restrictions as a 'remedy' could be worse than the disease by curtailing essential imports and harming production, employment and income. - He points to vast gaps between landed costs and market prices of imports, and between internal and external gold prices, as standing obstacles to liberalisation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Fourth Plan URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-fourth-plan-dhirajlal-maganlal-mar10-1965/ ### Summary The Fourth Plan is a short Forum of Free Enterprise booklet (Bombay, 10 March 1965) that gathers two contemporaneous critiques of the Planning Commission's Memorandum on India's Fourth Five-Year Plan. The first piece is Dhirajlal Maganlal's presidential address to the Indian Merchants' Chamber (delivered 15 December 1964); the second is Dr. A. Krishnaswami's two-part Hindustan Times article (23 and 25 December 1964). Both authors accept the goal of rapid growth but argue that the Plan's outlay targets are over-ambitious and detached from the resource realities exposed by the mid-term appraisal of the Third Plan. Their shared argumentative center is a plea for realism in resource mobilisation, restraint on deficit financing and taxation, and a larger, freer role for private enterprise. Interstitial pages reprint free-market epigraphs from Eugene Black, Milton Friedman, and A. D. Shroff, and the booklet carries the Forum's standard disclaimer that the views are not necessarily its own. ### Body # The Fourth Plan ## Summary The Fourth Plan is a short Forum of Free Enterprise booklet (Bombay, 10 March 1965) that gathers two contemporaneous critiques of the Planning Commission's Memorandum on India's Fourth Five-Year Plan. The first piece is Dhirajlal Maganlal's presidential address to the Indian Merchants' Chamber (delivered 15 December 1964); the second is Dr. A. Krishnaswami's two-part Hindustan Times article (23 and 25 December 1964). Both authors accept the goal of rapid growth but argue that the Plan's outlay targets are over-ambitious and detached from the resource realities exposed by the mid-term appraisal of the Third Plan. Their shared argumentative center is a plea for realism in resource mobilisation, restraint on deficit financing and taxation, and a larger, freer role for private enterprise. Interstitial pages reprint free-market epigraphs from Eugene Black, Milton Friedman, and A. D. Shroff, and the booklet carries the Forum's standard disclaimer that the views are not necessarily its own. ## Essays ### Resources for the Fourth Plan *By DHIRAJLAL MAGANLAL* Dhirajlal Maganlal's presidential address to the Indian Merchants' Chamber works through the financing of the Fourth Plan. He traces how Working Group estimates of a Rs. 30,000-crore outlay were pared down toward a Rs. 21,500-22,500-crore compromise, with roughly Rs. 14,500 crores in the Public Sector and Rs. 7,000 crores in the Private Sector, and warns that even this is almost double the Third Plan. Drawing on the mid-term appraisal, he argues that the Third Plan's expectations were belied — national income grew about 10 per cent against an anticipated 30 per cent — because of agricultural shortfalls, inflation, over-investment in heavy capital-goods industries, organisational inadequacy, and waste of resources. He calls for a greater spirit of realism: curbing deficit financing and excessive taxation, restraining administrative and non-development expenditure, doubting the optimistic foreign-exchange and Public-Sector-surplus assumptions, and giving private enterprise a fuller, affirmative role rather than treating it as a residual claimant. - Fourth Plan outlay pared from a Rs. 30,000-crore Working Group figure to a Rs. 21,500-22,500-crore compromise, nearly double the Third Plan. - Third Plan expectations were belied: national income rose about 10 per cent against an anticipated 30 per cent, with serious agricultural and output shortfalls. - Over-investment in heavy capital-goods industries intensified foreign-exchange consumption and left installed capacity under-utilised. - Calls for restraint on deficit financing, taxation, and administrative/non-development expenditure, and questions the Plan's optimistic foreign-exchange and Public-Sector-surplus assumptions. - Urges that private enterprise be given a fuller, affirmative role in the Plan rather than treated as a residual source of resources. ### Fourth Plan Assumptions and Reality *By DR. A. KRISHNASWAMI* Dr. A. Krishnaswami's 'Fourth Plan Assumptions and Reality', reproduced from the Hindustan Times, reads the Planning Commission's Memorandum as a distressing document that abounds in generalities and familiar pieties. He catalogues the imbalances the Third Plan's mid-term appraisal revealed — excess liquidity and rising prices at home, dwindling foreign-exchange reserves and heavy IMF repayment obligations abroad — and argues that the Commission's targets are 'not real targets but expressions of intention.' Using a table of selected production targets (food grains, coal, steel, cement, fertiliser, electricity), he shows how much the actual 1963-64 output fell short of mid-term expectations and how implausible the 1970-71 figures are on present trends. He attacks a mechanical, determinist approach to planning that treats investment as the straight-line determinant of growth, insisting instead on the inelasticity of supply, the need to concentrate on agriculture and quick-yielding projects, and a strategy of consolidation that conserves scarce resources and minimises sectoral maladjustments. - Characterises the Fourth Plan Memorandum as full of generalities and familiar pieties, with targets that are intentions rather than real targets. - Stresses domestic excess liquidity and rising prices alongside depleted foreign-exchange reserves and heavy IMF repayment obligations. - Uses a 'Selected Targets of Production and Development' table to show 1963-64 output falling well short of mid-term-appraisal expectations. - Criticises a mechanical, determinist model of planning that treats investment as the straight-line determinant of growth. - Advocates a strategy of consolidation — conserving scarce resources, concentrating on agriculture and quick-yielding projects, and minimising sectoral maladjustments. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Foreign Exchange Crisis & Some Remedies URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-foreign-exchange-crisis-a-d-shroff-aug6-1958/ ### Summary In this speech to the Rotary Club of Bombay (reprinted as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet), A. D. Shroff argues that the most urgent problem facing India is the foreign exchange crisis triggered by the Second Five-Year Plan. He traces the crisis to its genesis: India embarked on the Second Plan in April 1956 with sterling reserves of Rs. 746 crores, and by the time of the speech those balances had collapsed to roughly Rs. 200 crores, forcing the country to approach the International Monetary Fund for temporary assistance. Shroff blames serious miscalculations and over-optimistic official estimates of the foreign exchange required, aggravated by the Suez crisis and price rises, and pointedly rejects the government's habit of blaming the private sector, defending against the Industrial Control Act's licensing regime as the real culprit that left the country on the brink of insolvency. ### Body # The Foreign Exchange Crisis & Some Remedies *By A. D. Shroff* ## Summary In this speech to the Rotary Club of Bombay (reprinted as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet), A. D. Shroff argues that the most urgent problem facing India is the foreign exchange crisis triggered by the Second Five-Year Plan. He traces the crisis to its genesis: India embarked on the Second Plan in April 1956 with sterling reserves of Rs. 746 crores, and by the time of the speech those balances had collapsed to roughly Rs. 200 crores, forcing the country to approach the International Monetary Fund for temporary assistance. Shroff blames serious miscalculations and over-optimistic official estimates of the foreign exchange required, aggravated by the Suez crisis and price rises, and pointedly rejects the government's habit of blaming the private sector, defending against the Industrial Control Act's licensing regime as the real culprit that left the country on the brink of insolvency. ## Key points - Shroff identifies foreign exchange as the single most urgent problem facing India. - India began the Second Five-Year Plan in April 1956 with sterling reserves of Rs. 746 crores; by the speech these had fallen to about Rs. 200 crores. - He cites C. D. Deshmukh, the Ex-Finance Minister, as having warned as early as April 1956 that the problem had already arisen. - Shroff rejects blaming the private sector, attributing the crisis to the licensing regime under the Industrial Control Act and reckless import licences from 1955. - He argues against devaluation of the Rupee, while endorsing import restrictions and a drive to augment exports. - He proposes mobilising India's inert private gold holdings (Rs. 3,000-3,500 crores) via a long-term loan scheme modelled on the French Government's. - Success requires a broad-based government and renewed appeals for foreign assistance. - The booklet is based on a speech at the Rotary Club, Bombay, on July 29, 1958. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Fundamental Rights Case URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-fundamental-rights-case-n-a-palkhivala-july-1973/ ### Summary This 14-page Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces N. A. Palkhivala's analysis of the Supreme Court's April 24, 1973 judgments in the Fundamental Rights Case (the Kesavananda Bharati case), decided by a 13-judge Bench. Palkhivala opens by situating the case in the scheme of the Constitution: Part III enumerates the Fundamental Rights and Part IV the Directive Principles, which he argues operate on different planes (ends versus permissible means) so that there can be no genuine conflict between them. He then traces the constitutional crisis that produced the case, beginning with Article 13(2) before the 24th Amendment and the Supreme Court's construction of "law" in Golaknath's case to include constitutional amendments. The bulk of the booklet attacks the 24th and 25th Amendments.… ### Body # The Fundamental Rights Case *By N. A. PALKHIVALA* ## Summary This 14-page Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces N. A. Palkhivala's analysis of the Supreme Court's April 24, 1973 judgments in the Fundamental Rights Case (the Kesavananda Bharati case), decided by a 13-judge Bench. Palkhivala opens by situating the case in the scheme of the Constitution: Part III enumerates the Fundamental Rights and Part IV the Directive Principles, which he argues operate on different planes (ends versus permissible means) so that there can be no genuine conflict between them. He then traces the constitutional crisis that produced the case, beginning with Article 13(2) before the 24th Amendment and the Supreme Court's construction of "law" in Golaknath's case to include constitutional amendments. The bulk of the booklet attacks the 24th and 25th Amendments. Palkhivala argues the 24th Amendment armed Parliament to take away or abridge any Fundamental Right, while the 25th substituted "amount" for "compensation" in Article 31(2) and inserted Article 31-C, which he calls "a monstrous outrage on the Constitution." He enumerates seven essential features of the Constitution that Article 31-C subverts and lists four attributes of a totalitarian State implicit in it. The closing pages narrate the split outcome: six judges (including retiring CJ Sikri and Justices Shelat, Hegde and Grover, whom Palkhivala notes were superseded for the Chief Justiceship) held the amending power limited and Article 31-C void; six others upheld unlimited power. Justice Khanna decided midway, holding the amending power cannot alter the basic structure of the Constitution — and because his view became the greatest common denominator with the six pro-citizen judges, his judgment became the law of the land. Palkhivala concludes that the final guarantee of citizens' rights is the integrity of Supreme Court judges committed only to the Constitution. ## Key points - Frames Part III (Fundamental Rights) and Part IV (Directive Principles) as operating on different planes — ends versus permissible means. - Traces the background from pre-24th-Amendment Article 13(2) through Golaknath's case. - Argues the 24th Amendment armed Parliament to abridge any Fundamental Right, and the 25th replaced "compensation" with "amount" in Article 31(2). - Condemns Article 31-C as "a monstrous outrage on the Constitution" subverting seven essential features. - Identifies four attributes of a totalitarian State implicit in Article 31-C, rebutting the Government with a W. B. Yeats quotation. - Reports the 13-judge split: six for the citizen, six for the State. - Explains that Justice Khanna decided midway on the basic-structure doctrine, and his view became the majority law of the land. - Concludes the final guarantee of rights is the personality and integrity of Supreme Court judges. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Future is with Free Enterprise URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-future-is-with-free-enterprise-a-d-shroff-nov8-1959/ ### Summary This is the full text of A. D. Shroff's presidential address to the general body meeting of the Forum of Free Enterprise, delivered in Bombay on October 12, 1959 and issued as an FFE booklet. Shroff opens by reflecting on the Forum's growth since its founding in July 1956, arguing that despite dire predictions, public support for private enterprise has strengthened and that the Forum has helped win the nation greater recognition of the role of free enterprise in a democratic society. The bulk of the address is a sustained polemic against state intervention in the Indian economy. Shroff attacks the State Trading Corporation as a 'reprehensible' instrument that has damaged the economy, depressed exports, and bred bureaucratic corruption, and he criticises proposals for compulsory joint co-operative farming as a back-door route to Soviet-style collectivisation that would betray the peasantry.… ### Body # The Future is with Free Enterprise *By A. D. Shroff* ## Summary This is the full text of A. D. Shroff's presidential address to the general body meeting of the Forum of Free Enterprise, delivered in Bombay on October 12, 1959 and issued as an FFE booklet. Shroff opens by reflecting on the Forum's growth since its founding in July 1956, arguing that despite dire predictions, public support for private enterprise has strengthened and that the Forum has helped win the nation greater recognition of the role of free enterprise in a democratic society. The bulk of the address is a sustained polemic against state intervention in the Indian economy. Shroff attacks the State Trading Corporation as a 'reprehensible' instrument that has damaged the economy, depressed exports, and bred bureaucratic corruption, and he criticises proposals for compulsory joint co-operative farming as a back-door route to Soviet-style collectivisation that would betray the peasantry. He marshals foreign examples and authorities to support his case, citing economists and statesmen who warn against centralised planning and nationalisation. Shroff frames socialism and communism as roads to 'state capitalism,' insisting that state ownership is not public ownership and that planning of the Soviet type is incompatible with the democratic way of life and individual dignity. He closes with an appeal to his countrymen to cling to democratic values, trust individual initiative, and give socialism and communism 'a decent burial,' so that free enterprise within socially desirable regulations can usher in an era of plenty, freedom, and social justice. ## Key points - Text of A. D. Shroff's presidential speech to the Forum of Free Enterprise general body meeting, Bombay, 12 October 1959. - Reviews the Forum's growth since its founding in July 1956 and credits it with shifting public opinion toward private enterprise. - Mounts a detailed attack on the State Trading Corporation, blaming it for falling exports, mine closures, and bureaucratic corruption. - Condemns proposals for compulsory joint co-operative farming as a back door to Soviet-style collectivisation that would betray the peasantry. - Cites foreign authorities — Hayek, Ludwig Erhard, R. Kelf-Cohen, the Webbs — to argue against centralised planning and nationalisation. - Argues that socialism and communism both lead to 'state capitalism,' where state ownership is not public ownership and equality of opportunity is impossible. - Invokes Gandhi and warns that collectivism builds the edifice of socialism on the graveyard of democracy. - Concludes with an appeal to trust individual initiative and bury socialism, allowing free enterprise within socially desirable regulations. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Future of Corporate Sector in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-future-of-corporate-sector-j-d-chokshi-s-l-kirloskar-september-11-1968/ ### Summary Issued as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, 'The Future of Corporate Sector in India' gathers two contributions on the place of private industry in late-1960s India. Part I, 'The Corporate Sector & Political Parties' by J. D. Choksi (based on a talk delivered under FFE auspices in Bombay on June 20, 1968), is a wide-ranging indictment of government over-regulation of business; Part II, 'The Stock-Holders and the End of the Managing Agency' by S. L. Kirloskar, defends the managing agency system against the imminent legislative move to abolish it. Both pieces argue that economic decisions are being driven by political motive rather than economic logic, and that India's corporations should be placed above politics yet subject to the law. The rendered pages contain the whole of Choksi's part and the opening of Kirloskar's part. ### Body # The Future of Corporate Sector in India *By J. D. CHOKSI, S. L. KIRLOSKAR* ## Summary Issued as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, 'The Future of Corporate Sector in India' gathers two contributions on the place of private industry in late-1960s India. Part I, 'The Corporate Sector & Political Parties' by J. D. Choksi (based on a talk delivered under FFE auspices in Bombay on June 20, 1968), is a wide-ranging indictment of government over-regulation of business; Part II, 'The Stock-Holders and the End of the Managing Agency' by S. L. Kirloskar, defends the managing agency system against the imminent legislative move to abolish it. Both pieces argue that economic decisions are being driven by political motive rather than economic logic, and that India's corporations should be placed above politics yet subject to the law. The rendered pages contain the whole of Choksi's part and the opening of Kirloskar's part. ## Essays ### The Corporate Sector & Political Parties *By J. D. CHOKSI* J. D. Choksi, writing as a 'non-political industrialist,' argues that twenty-five years after independence India's political leadership has shown 'almost complete amnesia' on economic matters, and that professionals and industrialists erred in leaving government and economic policy to politicians. He surveys the damage done by indiscriminate licensing, price controls, and constant amendment of the company law, taking the steel industry and the J.P.C. price-fixing machinery as his central illustration of how government distribution policy paralyses a basic industry. He defends the managing agency system as a sound organisational structure that the Company Law already adequately restrains, calling its proposed abolition 'an amazing instance of the complete waste of public funds and public time.' Choksi closes by turning to the proposed ban on corporate contributions to political funds, arguing for a transparent, audited system of election funding rather than a ban that merely drives money underground, and insisting that corporations be placed above politics but always subject to the laws of the nation. - Twenty-five years of independence have produced economic 'amnesia' among India's political leaders; industrialists share blame for ceding the field. - Indiscriminate licensing, price controls, and incessant company-law amendments have set the economy back. - Steel is the central illustration: government price-distribution policy and the J.P.C. mechanism leave the industry 'suspended in mid-air.' - The managing agency system is a legitimate organisational structure already curbed by Company Law; its abolition is a waste of public funds and time. - On political funding, a transparent, audited system is preferable to a ban that drives money underground ('black money'). - Corporations and industries should be placed above politics but always subject to the laws of the nation. ### The Stock-Holders and the End of the Managing Agency *By S. L. KIRLOSKAR* S. L. Kirloskar, described as 'an eminent industrialist,' opens his contribution by questioning whether it is even worth re-arguing the managing agency case when the abolition bill is already 'on the anvil' and Parliament is swayed more by political expediency than economics. He observes that a younger, post-war generation conditioned to accept economic restraint as natural is gaining ascendancy, and that the social and economic thought of the fifties and sixties has been hostile to institutions like the managing agency. He insists that no decisive case has actually been made against the system itself — the Monopolies Commission and a recent government committee both failed to clinch it — and that the move to abolish it is 'chiefly, perhaps even wholly, political' rather than driven by economic logic. He begins to re-examine the 'core' of the system as a historical response to two scarcities — of venture capital and of entrepreneurial talent — warning stockholders not to be misled by the apparent present-day availability of capital. The rendered pages capture only the opening of his argument. - The managing agency abolition bill is already 'on the anvil'; Parliament is driven by political expediency over economics. - A post-war generation conditioned to economic restraint is rising and is hostile to institutions like the managing agency. - No decisive case has been made against the system; the Monopolies Commission and a recent committee both failed to clinch it. - The drive to abolish it is 'chiefly, perhaps even wholly, political,' not grounded in economic logic. - The 'core' of the system was a historical answer to scarcity of venture capital and of entrepreneurial talent. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Future of Free Enterprise in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-future-of-free-enterprise-in-india-jun8-1961/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, M. R. Masani, M.P., delivers a sustained defence of the joint-stock company and free enterprise against what he sees as a hostile climate in early-1960s India. Opening from his week observing the Companies Amendment Bill debate in Parliament, he argues that government and a section of members treat the joint-stock company as a 'necessary evil' to be tolerated, in contrast to America, Germany, Sweden, Japan or England, where it is regarded as a desirable form of organisation. Masani frames the live question not as one of detail but of the very existence of free enterprise, and warns that the drift toward 'monopoly State Capitalism of the Soviet/Chinese kind' threatens to displace private competition entirely. He offers two principal arguments for free enterprise. The first is economic: free enterprise delivers goods more cheaply and productively than the State, illustrated through agricultural yield comparisons (private plots vastly out-producing collectivised farms in the USSR) and the inefficiency of State trading monopolies in iron ore and insurance.… ### Body # The Future of Free Enterprise in India *By M. R. Masani, M.P.* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, M. R. Masani, M.P., delivers a sustained defence of the joint-stock company and free enterprise against what he sees as a hostile climate in early-1960s India. Opening from his week observing the Companies Amendment Bill debate in Parliament, he argues that government and a section of members treat the joint-stock company as a 'necessary evil' to be tolerated, in contrast to America, Germany, Sweden, Japan or England, where it is regarded as a desirable form of organisation. Masani frames the live question not as one of detail but of the very existence of free enterprise, and warns that the drift toward 'monopoly State Capitalism of the Soviet/Chinese kind' threatens to displace private competition entirely. He offers two principal arguments for free enterprise. The first is economic: free enterprise delivers goods more cheaply and productively than the State, illustrated through agricultural yield comparisons (private plots vastly out-producing collectivised farms in the USSR) and the inefficiency of State trading monopolies in iron ore and insurance. The second is political: only private, autonomous economic centres can sustain an effective opposition and therefore individual liberty, because under a single universal State employer 'he who does not work neither shall he eat' becomes 'he who does not obey, neither shall he eat.' Masani then turns to what Indian business must do to put 'its house in order' — adopt a code of conduct and the principle of trusteeship vis-a-vis consumers, employees and the community (citing Gandhi and Ludwig Erhard's 'Prosperity Through Competition'), stand up publicly and be counted in the Companies Bill debate, and engage in public affairs the way American managements do through political education and grass-roots civic work. An appended essay, 'The Philosophy of Joint-Stock Enterprise,' restates the case that shareholders as owner-citizens, not bureaucrats, are the best judges of their enterprises, and that the constitutional safeguards of private property must be defended against the 'totalitarian wedge' of the State knowing better how people should spend their money. ## Key points - Masani argues the joint-stock / free enterprise system is under challenge in India 'not in regard to any details, but to its very existence.' - He contrasts the Indian government's treatment of the joint-stock company as a 'necessary evil' with its acceptance as 'an affirmative good' in the West. - Economic case: private enterprise out-produces the State, shown via agricultural yield data and the inefficiency of State trading monopolies in iron ore and life insurance. - Political case: only autonomous private economic centres can sustain a real opposition and individual liberty; a single State employer turns 'he who does not work' into 'he who does not obey, neither shall he eat.' - He warns against drift toward 'monopoly State Capitalism of the Soviet/Chinese kind' and cites Djilas's 'The New Class.' - Prescriptions for Indian business: adopt a code of conduct and trusteeship (Gandhi, Erhard), stand up and be counted in the Companies Bill debate, and engage in civic/public affairs as American managements do. - An appended essay, 'The Philosophy of Joint-Stock Enterprise,' defends shareholder-owners as better judges than bureaucrats and warns of a 'totalitarian wedge' against private property. - Published by the Forum of Free Enterprise, Bombay, 1961; bears FFE's standard disclaimer that views are the author's own. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Future of Managing Agency System URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-future-of-managing-agency-system-c-c-chokshi-dhirajlal-maganlal-r-l-n-vijaynagar-october-11-1966/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects three talks delivered at an FFE symposium in Bombay on 3 September 1966 on the future of India's managing agency system, the dominant form of corporate control in colonial and early-independence India. Written against the backdrop of the I. G. Patel Committee report (received March 1966) and the Union Cabinet's apparent decision to discontinue managing agencies across all five industries it examined, the three contributors mount a broadly common defence: that the managing agency system, though historically marred by abuses, has been effectively disciplined by the Companies Act of 1956 and remains a useful instrument for industrial finance and entrepreneurship. C. C. Chokshi (a chartered accountant) argues the Government's outlook needs re-orientation; Dhirajlal Maganlal (Bombay Shareholders' Association) argues shareholders desire the system's continuation; and R. L. N. Vijayanagar (Secretary, Bombay Millowners' Association) argues the inquiry committee ignored the textile industry's capital needs and that abuse is not peculiar to managing agencies.… ### Body # The Future of Managing Agency System ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects three talks delivered at an FFE symposium in Bombay on 3 September 1966 on the future of India's managing agency system, the dominant form of corporate control in colonial and early-independence India. Written against the backdrop of the I. G. Patel Committee report (received March 1966) and the Union Cabinet's apparent decision to discontinue managing agencies across all five industries it examined, the three contributors mount a broadly common defence: that the managing agency system, though historically marred by abuses, has been effectively disciplined by the Companies Act of 1956 and remains a useful instrument for industrial finance and entrepreneurship. C. C. Chokshi (a chartered accountant) argues the Government's outlook needs re-orientation; Dhirajlal Maganlal (Bombay Shareholders' Association) argues shareholders desire the system's continuation; and R. L. N. Vijayanagar (Secretary, Bombay Millowners' Association) argues the inquiry committee ignored the textile industry's capital needs and that abuse is not peculiar to managing agencies. The volume's argumentative center is that regulation, not abolition, is the right remedy, and that abolishing the system would damage industrial finance and modernisation. ## Essays ### Government's Outlook on Managing Agencies Needs Re-orientation *By C. C. Chokshi* C. C. Chokshi argues that the Government's outlook on managing agencies needs re-orientation. He traces the chequered history of the system over the previous 30 years, the seven misdeeds listed before the old Legislative Assembly, and the successive tightening of the law (1913 amendments, the Bhabha Committee, the Companies Act of 1956) that has placed managing agents in a 'straight-jacket' more severe than that on managing directors or managers. Reviewing the I. G. Patel Committee report, Chokshi stresses that the committee did NOT advise abolishing the system under Section 324 in any industry, only discouraging it in three of five, and that the Government already has ample power under Section 326 to curb concentration and refuse appointments. He contends the Cabinet's decision to abolish across all five industries appears to rest on political rather than economic grounds, and that managing agents still play a positive promotional and entrepreneurial role, citing the House of Tatas as the typical case of efficient group management. - The Companies Act has put managing agents in a 'straight-jacket' stricter than that on managing directors or managers. - Chokshi recounts the seven misdeeds of managing agents listed by Government representative Mr. Sushil Sen in the old Legislative Assembly. - The Bhabha Committee and the 1956 Act introduced severe restrictions but did not recommend abolition; C. D. Deshmukh defended retention while piloting the 1954 Bill. - The I. G. Patel Committee advised only discouraging the system in three of five industries, never abolition under Section 324. - The Government already holds power under Section 326 to refuse appointments and reduce concentration of economic power. - Chokshi argues the Cabinet's blanket abolition rests on political, not economic, grounds and that good managing agents (e.g., the House of Tatas) still add value. ### Shareholders Desire Continuation of the System *By Dhirajlal Maganlal* Dhirajlal Maganlal argues that shareholders desire the continuation of the managing agency system. Against the official view that the system has 'outlived its use,' he holds that the malpractices of 1947-1954 were curbed by the Companies Act of 1956, producing a remarkable improvement acknowledged even by Government. Citing the Company Law Committee's view that, shorn of its abuses, the system 'may yet prove to be a potent instrument for tapping the springs of private enterprise,' and a Government spokesman's article noting that managing-agency remuneration had fallen from 11.5 per cent in 1956 to around 9 per cent, he argues the system is now functioning healthily and should be continued. He warns that abolition would deprive managed companies of financial aid, fragment their resources, weaken the link between investors and new enterprises, harm small middle-class investors, and forfeit the economies of group management. - The 1956 Companies Act curbed the malpractices of 1947-1954, producing improvement acknowledged even by Government. - The Company Law Committee held the system, shorn of abuses, could be 'a potent instrument for tapping the springs of private enterprise.' - Managing-agency remuneration fell from 11.5 per cent (1956) to about 9 per cent in recent years; he supports a reasonable ceiling. - Abolition would deprive managed companies of managing-agent loans and guarantees and fragment their financial resources. - It would weaken the investor-enterprise link, harm small middle-class investors, and forfeit group-management economies. - He concludes the system 'is not inherently bad and it should be continued because it is in the best interests of the country.' ### Problems of Textile Industry Ignored *By R. L. N. Vijayanagar* R. L. N. Vijayanagar, Secretary of the Bombay Millowners' Association, argues that the inquiry committee ignored the problems of the textile industry. He notes the pronounced decline in managing agencies (from 3,944 agents managing 5,055 companies in 1954-55 to 860 agents managing 1,236 companies by March 1965) as evidence that existing restrictions are already a more-than-sufficient deterrent. Citing Dr. Raj K. Nigam's findings, he argues the system has been disciplined and that its abrupt abolition risks creating a damaging void in the industrial set-up. He criticises the committee for relying on out-of-date 1963-64 data, for failing to study how the system fares abroad (the UK's Jenkins Committee, EEC textile reorganisation), and for ignoring the textile industry's specific capital needs. He concludes that no system of management is free from abuse, that the essentials of joint-stock management are the same in the USA, UK or India, and that the answer is greater protective and regulatory control inculcating social responsibility, not the substitution or abolition of managing agencies. - Managing agencies fell sharply from 3,944 agents (5,055 companies) in 1954-55 to 860 agents (1,236 companies) by March 1965, showing restrictions already bite. - He cites Dr. Raj K. Nigam that discipline imposed by the Companies Act had already reduced complaints and lapses. - The committee relied on out-of-date 1963-64 statistics and was set up under rules confining membership to Government officers. - It failed to study comparable foreign experience — the UK Jenkins Committee and EEC textile-combine reorganisation. - It ignored the textile industry's specific need for long-term institutional finance and the question of how capital can be attracted to a low-profitability industry. - He argues abuse is not peculiar to managing agencies (citing the UK Cohen Committee on managing-director malpractices) and that regulation, not abolition, is the remedy. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Garland Canal Project URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-garland-canal-project-answer-to-indias-flood-and-unemployment-problem-capt-dinshaw-j-dastur-october-14-1978/ ### Summary This pamphlet reproduces the text of the 13th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered in Bombay on 27 October 1978 by Capt. Dinshaw J. Dastur, in which he sets out his 'Garland Canal Project' (the Dastur Plan) as a single, integrated answer to India's recurring floods, food shortages, energy scarcity, transport bottlenecks and mass unemployment. Dastur opens by distinguishing 'occupation' (remunerative work in one's own surroundings) from 'employment', arguing that India's rural exodus, slums and poverty stem from a failure to provide remunerative occupation for its 600 million people where they live, and that industrialisation was wrongly prioritised over agriculture after Independence. The core of the lecture is an engineering description of two great trans-basin continental canals: a 2,600-mile Himalayan Canal skirting the southern periphery of the Himalayan range at roughly 1,200 ft above mean sea level, fed by integrated lakes, to capture and redistribute the glacial and monsoon flow of the northern rivers; and a Central and Southern Garland Canal looping through the Central Plateau, Deccan and the south down toward Cape Comorin.… ### Body # The Garland Canal Project *By CAPT. DINSHAW J. DASTUR* ## Summary This pamphlet reproduces the text of the 13th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered in Bombay on 27 October 1978 by Capt. Dinshaw J. Dastur, in which he sets out his 'Garland Canal Project' (the Dastur Plan) as a single, integrated answer to India's recurring floods, food shortages, energy scarcity, transport bottlenecks and mass unemployment. Dastur opens by distinguishing 'occupation' (remunerative work in one's own surroundings) from 'employment', arguing that India's rural exodus, slums and poverty stem from a failure to provide remunerative occupation for its 600 million people where they live, and that industrialisation was wrongly prioritised over agriculture after Independence. The core of the lecture is an engineering description of two great trans-basin continental canals: a 2,600-mile Himalayan Canal skirting the southern periphery of the Himalayan range at roughly 1,200 ft above mean sea level, fed by integrated lakes, to capture and redistribute the glacial and monsoon flow of the northern rivers; and a Central and Southern Garland Canal looping through the Central Plateau, Deccan and the south down toward Cape Comorin. Linked by pipelines and a herringbone system of subsidiary canals, the scheme is meant to move water purely by gravity, store it in vast integrated lakes, and raise the water table across India's flat lands. Dastur enumerates sweeping projected benefits — flood and drought elimination, 540 million acres of irrigated land, India and Bangladesh as 'granaries of the world', unlimited hydro-electric power, 8,400 miles of inland navigation, tax-free agricultural income, and even a moderated, more temperate subcontinental climate. He proposes building the project in three phases using the army and two crore (20 million) voluntarily recruited young workers per phase, who would settle on reclaimed land and share in profits and dividends, and estimates the cost at Rs. 15,000-17,000 crores over four to five years. A boxed disclaimer notes the views are not necessarily those of the Forum; a back-matter page profiles A. D. Shroff, founder-president of the Forum of Free Enterprise, in whose memory the lecture is given. ## Key points - Text of the 13th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered in Bombay on 27 October 1978 by Capt. Dinshaw J. Dastur. - Frames India's central problem as providing remunerative 'occupation' in people's own surroundings rather than 'employment' that uproots them. - Argues post-Independence India wrongly prioritised industrialisation over agriculture for thirty years. - Proposes two trans-basin continental canals: a 2,600-mile Himalayan Canal (~1,200 ft above MSL) and a Central and Southern Garland Canal, linked by pipelines and a herringbone distribution system, moving water entirely by gravity. - Claims the scheme would end floods and droughts, irrigate 540 million acres, make India and Bangladesh granaries of the world, and supply unlimited hydro-electric power and 8,400 miles of navigation. - Suggests the permanent Himalayan snowline would recede and the subcontinent's climate become more temperate. - Envisions construction in three phases by the army plus two crore voluntary worker-settlers per phase who share in land, profits and dividends. - Estimates total cost at Rs. 15,000-17,000 crores over four to five years, framed as modest against the Five Year Plan outlay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Gift Tax URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-gift-tax-prof-r-j-taraporevala-apr6-1958/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reproduces a public lecture delivered in Bombay on 28 March 1958 by Professor R. J. Taraporevala, a sustained critique of the Gift Tax Bill (1958) proposed in the Government of India's 1957-58 budget. The Finance Minister had justified the new levy as plugging a loophole by which property transferred through gifts to relatives or associates escaped Estate Duty, Income-tax, Wealth-tax and Expenditure-tax. Taraporevala concedes the logic but argues the Bill's definition of 'gift' is so sweeping — covering forgiveness of indebtedness, joint tenancies and bank accounts, bad business bargains, partnership admissions, and bonus or gratuity payments to employees — that it will create severe administrative confusion, hardship and litigation, and will leave wide discretionary power in the hands of gift-tax officers. Through the bulk of the lecture he works section by section through the Bill's problems.… ### Body # The Gift Tax *By Professor R. J. TARAPOREVALA* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reproduces a public lecture delivered in Bombay on 28 March 1958 by Professor R. J. Taraporevala, a sustained critique of the Gift Tax Bill (1958) proposed in the Government of India's 1957-58 budget. The Finance Minister had justified the new levy as plugging a loophole by which property transferred through gifts to relatives or associates escaped Estate Duty, Income-tax, Wealth-tax and Expenditure-tax. Taraporevala concedes the logic but argues the Bill's definition of 'gift' is so sweeping — covering forgiveness of indebtedness, joint tenancies and bank accounts, bad business bargains, partnership admissions, and bonus or gratuity payments to employees — that it will create severe administrative confusion, hardship and litigation, and will leave wide discretionary power in the hands of gift-tax officers. Through the bulk of the lecture he works section by section through the Bill's problems. He warns that joint bank accounts and family arrangements will trap ordinary citizens unless they keep minute records; that treating forgone debts and arm's-length bad bargains as taxable gifts departs from American gift-tax practice; that taxing the admission of talented but capital-poor young men into partnerships erects an 'artificial barrier' against enterprise; and that taxing employee bonus and gratuity as gifts will strain labour relations. He attacks the exemptions as 'niggardly' — the Rs. 100 ceiling on charitable gifts to individuals, the discrimination against charities outside Section 15B, the narrow marriage-gift relief confined to female relatives, and the arbitrary reduction of the basic exemption from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 5,000 — and calls for small gifts to be exempted entirely. Taraporevala then turns to the structure and incidence of the tax. He argues the rates, though modest now, will inevitably climb (citing how income-tax rose to 84 per cent), and that the basis of charging the tax on the donor rather than the donee is 'wrong and inequitable'; a donee-based tax related to the recipient's total wealth, as recommended by the Kaldor Report, would distribute wealth more evenly and better suit the government's professed socialist goals. He documents how the Bill produces double and even triple taxation in conflict with the Income-tax, Expenditure-tax and Estate Duty Acts, and closes on administration: the existing machinery is inadequate, officials are underpaid and overburdened, and the Taxation Enquiry Commission itself opposed the tax on administrative grounds. His final verdict is that the provisions are 'excessively wide, harsh and inequitable', and that it is far better to enact good, well-drafted laws administered fairly than bad laws administered leniently. A closing disclaimer notes the views are not necessarily those of the Forum. ## Key points - Text of a public lecture delivered in Bombay on 28 March 1958 by Professor R. J. Taraporevala under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise. - Critiques the 1958 Gift Tax Bill proposed in the 1957-58 Union budget as a measure to plug avoidance of Estate Duty, Income-tax, Wealth-tax and Expenditure-tax. - Argues the Bill's definition of 'gift' is excessively wide — covering debt forgiveness, joint accounts, bad business bargains, partnership admissions and employee bonuses. - Warns that joint bank accounts and family arrangements will burden ordinary citizens with onerous record-keeping and litigation. - Contends taxing partnership admissions raises an artificial barrier against talented but capital-poor young entrepreneurs. - Condemns the exemptions (charitable, marriage, basic allowance) as niggardly and arbitrary, and urges full exemption of small gifts. - Holds that the tax should fall on the donee in relation to total wealth (per the Kaldor Report), not on the donor. - Shows the Bill creates double and triple taxation conflicting with other direct-tax statutes, and notes the Taxation Enquiry Commission opposed it on administrative grounds. - Concludes the provisions are excessively wide, harsh and inequitable, preferring good laws fairly administered over bad laws leniently administered. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Gold Problem in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-gold-problem-in-india-b-r-shenoy-jul10-1963/ ### Summary The Gold Problem in India is a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collecting four essays that examine, from historical, economic and constitutional angles, the gold smuggling problem and the Government of India's Gold Control Rules that came into force on 10 January 1963. The unsigned Introduction frames the volume as part of the Forum's practice of stimulating public thinking on national economic problems, presenting Prof. B. R. Shenoy (an authority on the gold problem, Director of the School of Social Sciences, Gujarat University), Mr. M. A. Sreenivasan (former Chairman of the Kolar Gold Mines), Dr. Kersi Doodha (Department of Economics, University of Bombay) and Mr. Phiroze J. Shroff (economist and authority on constitutional law). The argumentative centre, in the rendered pages, is a classical-liberal critique of gold control: the contributors trace smuggling to the gap between official and free-market gold prices, argue that controls treat symptoms rather than causes, and contend that the Rules interfere with fundamental rights and Directive Principles.… ### Body # The Gold Problem in India ## Summary The Gold Problem in India is a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collecting four essays that examine, from historical, economic and constitutional angles, the gold smuggling problem and the Government of India's Gold Control Rules that came into force on 10 January 1963. The unsigned Introduction frames the volume as part of the Forum's practice of stimulating public thinking on national economic problems, presenting Prof. B. R. Shenoy (an authority on the gold problem, Director of the School of Social Sciences, Gujarat University), Mr. M. A. Sreenivasan (former Chairman of the Kolar Gold Mines), Dr. Kersi Doodha (Department of Economics, University of Bombay) and Mr. Phiroze J. Shroff (economist and authority on constitutional law). The argumentative centre, in the rendered pages, is a classical-liberal critique of gold control: the contributors trace smuggling to the gap between official and free-market gold prices, argue that controls treat symptoms rather than causes, and contend that the Rules interfere with fundamental rights and Directive Principles. Across the four pieces the common prescription is to close the price gap and restore confidence in the rupee rather than to police the bullion trade. ## Essays ### The Gold Problem in India *By B. R. Shenoy* Shenoy examines the gold problem under four heads: what it is, how and when it arose, whether measures to tackle it have succeeded, and what alternatives exist. He defines the problem as the attachment of Indians to gold combined with the wasteful smuggling and hoarding it produces, and locates the root cause in the gap between the official price and the much higher free-market price of gold, which makes smuggling enormously profitable. He marshals figures on smuggling volumes, premiums on foreign exchange, and the scale of gold hoards, and reviews the Government's 21 August 1962 and later moves culminating in the Gold Control Rules. His conclusion in the rendered pages is that controls cannot work while the price gap persists; the durable remedy is to let the rupee and the gold price reflect market conditions and to end the inflation that drives the divergence. - Defines the gold problem as Indians' attachment to gold plus the smuggling and hoarding it generates. - Roots smuggling in the gap between the official and free-market prices of gold, which creates large smuggler profits. - Supplies quantitative estimates of smuggled volumes, foreign-exchange premiums, and hoarded gold (in the thousands of crores). - Reviews the Government's escalating policy steps in 1962 leading to the 10 January 1963 Gold Control Rules. - Argues controls treat symptoms; the real cure is closing the price gap and ending inflation so the rupee holds value. ### Gold, Gold, Gold *By MA Sreenivasan* Sreenivasan's 'Gold, Gold, Gold' is a discursive, often ironic reflection on India's obsession with gold, written by a former Chairman of the Kolar Gold Mines and reproduced from the Swarajya Annual Number 1963. He observes that gold is suddenly in the news as the Government, through bans, seizures and appeals to surrender ornaments to the National Defence Fund, tries to mobilise the metal, and he laments the contradiction of a poor, gold-hungry nation that imported and hoarded gold while neglecting its own mines. Recounting the nationalisation and decline of the Kolar Gold Fields, he argues the mines were treated as a matter of political face-saving rather than economic logic, and he urges renewed prospecting and development of India's auriferous areas through a properly resourced Gold Mining Development Fund rather than coercive mobilisation drives. - Treats India's cultural attachment to gold with irony, noting the metal is suddenly 'in the news'. - Criticises the Government's drive to extract hoarded gold and ornaments for the National Defence Fund. - Recounts the nationalisation and decline of the Kolar Gold Fields as politically rather than economically driven. - Argues India neglected and abandoned its own gold mines while importing and hoarding gold. - Calls for serious prospecting and a properly funded Gold Mining Development Fund to revive domestic production. ### The Gold Policy *By Dr. Kersi Doodha* Doodha's 'The Gold Policy' opens with the economic rationale for money, tracing the move from barter to a universally accepted medium and the historic Indian preference for hoarding gold and silver as a store of value. In the rendered pages he turns to estimating the magnitude of gold smuggled into the country and the value of accumulated hoards, working through competing estimates and the difficulty of measuring movements that, in modern times, are largely invisible in the national income. He links the propensity to hoard gold to the gap between desired savings and productive investment in a developing economy, and reviews the Government's gold-bonds scheme as a device to mobilise hoarded gold, setting out the bond terms before assessing, sceptically, whether the inducements are attractive enough to draw out illicit holdings. - Begins from first principles on why money and a common medium of exchange emerged from barter. - Explains the traditional Indian preference for converting trade surpluses into hoarded gold and silver. - Works through competing estimates of smuggled gold and the value of national gold hoards. - Connects gold hoarding to the divergence between savings and productive investment in a developing economy. - Reviews the gold-bonds scheme's terms and doubts its inducements will draw out ill-gotten hoards. ### Constitutional and Legal Aspects of the Gold Control Rules *By Phiroze J. Shroff* Shroff's 'Constitutional and Legal Aspects of the Gold Control Rules' (based on a talk under FFE auspices in Bombay on 11 February 1963) argues that the Rules, promulgated under section 3 of the Defence of India Act 1962, impose severe restrictions that have brought the age-old business of goldsmiths and jewellers to a virtual standstill. In the rendered pages he contends the Rules interfere with the fundamental right to acquire, hold and dispose of property and the right to carry on a trade or occupation, and that they violate several Directive Principles of State Policy by throwing thousands of goldsmiths and dealers out of work. He further argues the Rules are open to challenge as violative of equality before the law and of freedom of conscience and religion, given gold's ceremonial and religious uses, and warns that the extraordinary powers of search, seizure and confiscation invite abuse. - Locates the Gold Control Rules in section 3 of the Defence of India Act 1962, in force from 10 January 1963. - Argues the Rules have brought the goldsmith and jeweller trade to a virtual standstill. - Contends they violate the fundamental right to property and to carry on trade or occupation. - Claims conflict with Directive Principles and with equality before the law and religious freedom. - Warns that powers of search, seizure and confiscation are liable to abuse against ordinary citizens. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Guardian of Liberty URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-guardian-of-liberty-by-nadir-godrej-september-29-2016/ ### Summary Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet by Nadir Godrej (29 September 2016). Source PDF not yet imported into the content pipeline; this stub MD exists so the thinker page for Nadir Godrej can backlink to his attested authored work. Full title, body summary, themes, and key points are pending a PDF-extraction pass. ### Body ## Source This primary-work entry is a stub created from the authority file's `pdf-filename` attestation: `forum-of-free-enterprise/the-guardian-of-liberty-by-nadir-godrej-september-29-2016.pdf`. The source PDF has not yet been ingested through the bake-off / extraction pipeline. Once imported, the `summary`, `summary_structured`, `physical`, `kind`, `themes`, and `key_points` fields can be populated. Until then, this MD exists only to give Nadir Godrej a corpus backlink for his own authored work. --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Commercial Banking System in the Next Decade - The Role of Small Banks URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-commercial-banking-system-in-the-next-decade-the-role-of-small-banks-dr-s-s-tarapore-october-5-2010/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces a commemorative lecture by Dr. S. S. Tarapore, former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, delivered at the Karur Vysya Bank's Founder's Day celebration in Mumbai on 21 September 2010. Tarapore offers a forward look at the Indian commercial banking system over the coming decade, projecting a roughly five-fold growth in bank deposits between 2010 and 2020 and some 400 million new entrants to the banking system, and arguing that this expansion will require a fusion of modern technology with sound banking practice rather than mere novelty for its own sake. Across the lecture he works through a connected set of policy issues: risk management and the danger of under-skilled risk-takers; the unequal regulatory treatment of banks versus non-banks; a sustainable, market-aligned approach to interest-rate fixation; the case for an empowered deposit-insurance authority that genuinely represents depositors; and the long-overdue deregulation of the savings-bank interest rate, which he criticises as a frozen relic of policy. He champions depositors' rights, recalling the late M. R.… ### Body # The Indian Commercial Banking System in the Next Decade - The Role of Small Banks *By Dr. S. S. Tarapore* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces a commemorative lecture by Dr. S. S. Tarapore, former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, delivered at the Karur Vysya Bank's Founder's Day celebration in Mumbai on 21 September 2010. Tarapore offers a forward look at the Indian commercial banking system over the coming decade, projecting a roughly five-fold growth in bank deposits between 2010 and 2020 and some 400 million new entrants to the banking system, and arguing that this expansion will require a fusion of modern technology with sound banking practice rather than mere novelty for its own sake. Across the lecture he works through a connected set of policy issues: risk management and the danger of under-skilled risk-takers; the unequal regulatory treatment of banks versus non-banks; a sustainable, market-aligned approach to interest-rate fixation; the case for an empowered deposit-insurance authority that genuinely represents depositors; and the long-overdue deregulation of the savings-bank interest rate, which he criticises as a frozen relic of policy. He champions depositors' rights, recalling the late M. R. Pai's insistence that banks 'live on the ignorance of depositors,' and presses for stronger consumer service for the common bank customer. Tarapore also addresses financial inclusion and financial literacy, the future of public-sector banks (favouring selective recapitalisation of stronger banks over uniform support), the entry of new private banks, and his scepticism about allowing industrial and business houses to promote banks. A distinct section makes the case for well-run small banks in the next decade, arguing they hold a niche advantage in serving local clientele and that the post-crisis 'too big to fail / too big to save' dilemma strengthens the argument for organic, appropriately scaled banking. The booklet closes with a memorial tribute to the chartered accountant Shailesh Kapadia and standard Forum membership matter. ## Key points - Projects roughly five-fold growth in bank deposits (Rs 449 lakh crore to Rs 2,335 lakh crore) and ~400 million new banking users between 2010 and 2020. - Argues bank expansion needs a fusion of technology and sound banking, with risk management as the most under-addressed challenge. - Criticises unequal regulatory treatment of banks versus non-banks and urges a sustainable, market-aligned approach to interest-rate fixation. - Calls for an empowered deposit-insurance authority and champions depositors' rights over borrowers'. - Presses for deregulation of the savings-bank interest rate, calling current policy a frozen relic. - Backs selective recapitalisation of stronger public-sector banks and is sceptical of industrial houses promoting banks. - Makes the case for well-run small banks as having a niche advantage and warns against the 'too big to fail / too big to save' trap. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Constitution and Judiciary URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-constitution-and-judiciary-p-b-mukharji-october-1973/ ### Summary Delivered as the first A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture under the auspices of the Calcutta Centre of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 27 October 1973, this address by Dr. P. B. Mukharji, a former Chief Justice of West Bengal, defends the independence of the Indian judiciary against the contemporary political slogans of a 'committed judiciary', 'servile judges', and the claim that the Executive alone should determine judges' calibre. Mukharji treats these 'battle cries' as misconceptions, arguing that a judge's social philosophy is not static but an evolving concept and warning against the reduction of judges to a bureaucracy that merely administers the dictates of Parliament and the Executive. The lecture traces the widening of the notion of justice from an individual concern, through tribal custom, to the modern welfare state, and grounds judicial duty in two allegiances: first to the judge's own trained conscience, rooted in reverence for individual freedom, and second to the written Constitution that is the source of his office.… ### Body # The Indian Constitution and Judiciary *By DR. P. B. MUKHARJI* ## Summary Delivered as the first A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture under the auspices of the Calcutta Centre of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 27 October 1973, this address by Dr. P. B. Mukharji, a former Chief Justice of West Bengal, defends the independence of the Indian judiciary against the contemporary political slogans of a 'committed judiciary', 'servile judges', and the claim that the Executive alone should determine judges' calibre. Mukharji treats these 'battle cries' as misconceptions, arguing that a judge's social philosophy is not static but an evolving concept and warning against the reduction of judges to a bureaucracy that merely administers the dictates of Parliament and the Executive. The lecture traces the widening of the notion of justice from an individual concern, through tribal custom, to the modern welfare state, and grounds judicial duty in two allegiances: first to the judge's own trained conscience, rooted in reverence for individual freedom, and second to the written Constitution that is the source of his office. Mukharji insists that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, above Parliament and the Executive, and that although Parliament may amend it and override court decisions by legislation, the sanctity of a written Constitution means it should not be treated as a mere Legislative Act to be changed whenever the government feels 'the pinch of the judicial verdict'. Separation of powers among Legislature, Executive and Judiciary is presented as the cornerstone safeguarding the purity of law and justice. In the closing pages Mukharji concedes that judges have never been blind to sociological and economic realities, invoking the stark poverty of India and Bentham's greatest-good-of-the-greatest-number principle, and acknowledges that economic and social planning poses a genuine problem for law and justice in an atomic, computer, and pollution-stressed age. He frames justice as 'social happiness' organically united with social ideals, and ends by clarifying that the commitment of judges he pleads for is a commitment to this evolving conception of social justice and to conscience and the Constitution, not to the ruling party of the day. ## Key points - First A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered 27 October 1973 at the Calcutta Centre of the Forum of Free Enterprise by Dr. P. B. Mukharji, former Chief Justice of West Bengal. - Rebuts the contemporary slogans of 'Committed judiciary', 'servile judges', and the view that the Executive alone should judge judges' calibre, calling them misconceptions. - Argues a judge's social philosophy is not static but an evolving concept, against the idea that judges of a particular class always decide against another class. - Posits a judge's two allegiances: first to his own trained conscience grounded in individual freedom, second to the written Constitution that is the source of his office. - Defends the Constitution as the supreme law of the land, above Parliament and the Executive, and warns it must not be treated as a mere Legislative Act amendable whenever government dislikes a verdict. - Treats separation of powers among Legislature, Executive and Judiciary as the cornerstone safeguard of pure law and justice. - Acknowledges India's stark poverty, Bentham's greatest-good principle, and the strain of modern economic and social planning on the legal system. - Closes by reframing the 'commitment' of judges he pleads for as commitment to evolving social justice, conscience, and the Constitution — not to the ruling party. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Insurance Industry URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-insurance-industry-mr-n-rangachary-april-20-1999/ ### Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Annual Public Lecture on Insurance for 1998 (given 19 January 1999 in Mumbai), this address by N. Rangachary, Chairman of the Insurance Regulatory Authority of India, makes the case for opening up India's insurance sector to private and foreign participation. Rangachary opens by noting the controversy around the new IRA, set up by executive resolution in January 1996, and the simultaneous criticism and praise the government drew for moving to end the state monopoly. He situates insurance within a financial sector undergoing transformation from 'assumed complacency to vibrancy', arguing that long-term savings generated by life and pension business are the only domestic source of the long-term resources India needs for infrastructure. The lecture explains what insurance is and why penetration is low — only about 18% of the population is insured, and even the insured understand it poorly — and links the case for wider cover to the breakdown of the joint family, which once acted as a social-security provider.… ### Body # The Indian Insurance Industry *By N. RANGACHARY* ## Summary Delivered as the A. D. Shroff Memorial Annual Public Lecture on Insurance for 1998 (given 19 January 1999 in Mumbai), this address by N. Rangachary, Chairman of the Insurance Regulatory Authority of India, makes the case for opening up India's insurance sector to private and foreign participation. Rangachary opens by noting the controversy around the new IRA, set up by executive resolution in January 1996, and the simultaneous criticism and praise the government drew for moving to end the state monopoly. He situates insurance within a financial sector undergoing transformation from 'assumed complacency to vibrancy', arguing that long-term savings generated by life and pension business are the only domestic source of the long-term resources India needs for infrastructure. The lecture explains what insurance is and why penetration is low — only about 18% of the population is insured, and even the insured understand it poorly — and links the case for wider cover to the breakdown of the joint family, which once acted as a social-security provider. Rangachary recounts the history of state control (life insurance nationalised in 1956, non-life in 1971), and contends that the resulting four-subsidiary GIC structure, sharing common ownership, work norms and staff, has 'reduced itself to one-horse race' with little real choice or competition for the customer. He criticises the existing industry's weak service culture, over-attention to 'small print' and legal quibbling, and invokes Gandhi's 'customer is the king' dictum to argue for a customer-focused, technology-enabled, de-layered model. In the rendered pages Rangachary forecasts the benefits of broadening the market — the 'sprinkler effect' of new players — including increased insurance and pension coverage, increased consumer focus, increased employment (citing Asian comparators and projecting over 1 million direct and indirect jobs in five years), improved intermediation, better global management practices and technology, and long-term investment capital for a capital-starved economy. He buttresses the argument with data: India's life premium is only 0.5% of GDP versus 3.3% in Australia, and pension assets per elderly person rank last among fourteen countries studied. The rendered text ends within the discussion of the new entrants' capital requirements under the Malhotra Committee and the long-term gains for the economy. ## Key points - A. D. Shroff Memorial Annual Public Lecture on Insurance for 1998, delivered 19 January 1999 in Mumbai by N. Rangachary, Chairman of the Insurance Regulatory Authority of India. - Defends opening up India's insurance sector to private/foreign players, against critics who argued no further progress was needed. - Frames insurance as the chief domestic source of the long-term savings India needs for infrastructure investment. - Notes very low penetration (~18% insured) and poor public understanding of insurance, tied to the breakdown of the joint-family social-security system. - Recounts nationalisation history — life insurance 1956, non-life 1971 — and argues the four GIC subsidiaries form a complacent monopoly with no real consumer choice. - Invokes Gandhi's 'customer is the king' to demand a customer-focused, technology-enabled, de-layered service culture. - Forecasts the 'sprinkler effect' of new players: wider coverage, more pension funds, consumer choice, and over 1 million new jobs in five years. - Supports the case with comparative data — India's life premium is 0.5% of GDP vs 3.3% in Australia; pension assets per elderly person rank last of 14 countries. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertaraian-apr1-1957/ ### Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. V No. 3 (1 April 1957), is a bi-monthly libertarian journal edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala and published by Libertarian Publishers (Private) Ltd., Bombay. This issue appeared immediately after India's second general elections and takes them as its central occasion: the editorial interrogates whether Congress's renewed mandate will deliver genuine democratic governance or deepen the slide toward a one-party monopoly underwritten by planning bureaucracy and press manipulation. The issue's argumentative center is the incompatibility of India's Second Five Year Plan with the liberal values the journal upholds — the Plan is variously characterised as crypto-communist, fiscally ruinous, and intellectually dishonest. M. A. Venkata Rao contributes the issue's signature polemic, "An Economic Plan or… A Communist Plot?", arguing that the Second Five Year Plan replicates Soviet central planning under democratic cover and that its insistence on State ownership of all new industrial capacity above a threshold amounts to covert nationalisation. M. G. Hallar (writing as M. G. Balier) supplies the parallel fiscal indictment, "Interim Budget / On High Road to Insolvency," contending that the planners systematically underestimate Plan costs, dress deficit financing as developmental investment, and have made foreign borrowing a badge of confidence when it is in fact a symptom of domestic resource exhaustion. The pseudonymous "Vivek" contributes "Five Questions on the Elections," a sardonic catechism that interrogates the polling-day declaration of Bombay as a Union Territory, Nehru's intervention in state campaigns, the Congress-Big Business nexus, and Jayaprakash Narayan's withdrawal from formal politics. "Vigilant" authors "West Pakistan Under the Jack-Boot of Mirza," tracing President Iskander Mirza's dismantling of parliamentary government, capture of the press, and use of the Khan Sahib ministry to suppress the Muslim League. K. D. Valicha is the issue's most prolific contributor: his satirical "Talking Through the Hat" lampoons India's foreign-policy commentariat, while the book-review section carries his full-length "Economies of Liberty" and his short note "Not a Loot Cause" defending market-rent collection as philosophically consistent with libertarian property theory. Surrounding these essays are Salvador de Madariaga's measured critique of the Eisenhower Doctrine for misreading Arab nationalism as communism, a letters section on press and government, domestic and world news digests, and book reviews promoting libertarian titles including the R. L. Foundation's Libertarian Anthology edited by B. S. Sanyal. The issue also advertises the Libertarian Social Institute's certificate course and the R. L. Foundation's Libertarian Quarterly, signalling a wider institutional ecosystem in 1950s Bombay. ### Body ## Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. V No. 3 (1 April 1957), is a bi-monthly libertarian journal edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala and published by Libertarian Publishers (Private) Ltd., Bombay. This issue appeared immediately after India's second general elections and takes them as its central occasion: the editorial interrogates whether Congress's renewed mandate will deliver genuine democratic governance or deepen the slide toward a one-party monopoly underwritten by planning bureaucracy and press manipulation. The issue's argumentative center is the incompatibility of India's Second Five Year Plan with the liberal values the journal upholds — the Plan is variously characterised as crypto-communist, fiscally ruinous, and intellectually dishonest. Surrounding that core are articles on West Pakistan's authoritarian deterioration under President Mirza, a sharp critique of the Eisenhower Doctrine by Salvador de Madariaga, a polemic against India's foreign-policy establishment, a letters section on the role of press and government, domestic and world news digests, and book reviews promoting libertarian titles. The issue also advertises the Libertarian Social Institute's certificate course and the R. L. Foundation's Libertarian Quarterly, signalling a wider institutional ecosystem in 1950s Bombay. ## Essays ### Editorial: The Elections and After The unsigned editorial, 'The Elections and After,' reads the Congress party's large-scale victory in the second general elections as a failure to translate popular mandate into democratic accountability. It argues that Congress has lost contact with the population — citing defeats in Maharashtra and Gujarat — and that the party's monopoly on the press and propaganda machine has shielded it from honest reckoning. The editorial warns that unless Congress sheds its monopoly culture and embraces genuine economic freedom, the election result will entrench authoritarian planning rather than liberal democracy. It calls on the party's own 'A' team to recognise that Forum of Free Enterprise voices are not fringe critics but prophets of the fiscal and democratic dangers ahead. - Congress's victory is attributed partly to control of press and propaganda, not genuine popular approval of its economic programme. - Electoral defeats in Maharashtra and Gujarat are cited as evidence of lost contact with voters. - The editorial distinguishes between Congress's organizational machinery and the actual will of the electorate. - A call is issued for Congress to abandon its 'monopoly capitalism' mindset and open the economy to free enterprise. - The piece warns that without reform, democratic institutions will be hollowed out by one-party dominance. ### Interim Budget / On High Road to Insolvency *By M. G. Balier* M. G. Balier's 'Interim Budget / On High Road to Insolvency' is a fiscal critique of the government's Second Five Year Plan budget. Balier argues that India's planners have systematically underestimated the true cost of the Plan, that deficit financing is being dressed up as developmental investment, and that the country is on a trajectory toward insolvency. He contends that the budget's apparent optimism conceals a structural gap between projected revenues and committed expenditures, and that the political will to contain spending is absent because plan-targets have become ends in themselves irrespective of fiscal sustainability. The piece warns that foreign borrowing, presented as a badge of international confidence, is in fact a symptom of domestic resource exhaustion. - The Second Plan's budget involves deficit financing that the author characterises as fiscally dangerous. - An overall deficit of Rs. 218 crore is cited as evidence that the government is spending beyond its means. - The article contends that planners are indifferent to fiscal discipline because plan-fulfilment is treated as an ideological imperative. - Reliance on foreign loans is presented as a sign of resource failure rather than international trust. - The author argues that no effective political opposition to the fiscal trajectory exists inside or outside Congress. ### An Economic Plan or... A Communist Plot? *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'An Economic Plan or… A Communist Plot?' is a polemical critique of India's Second Five Year Plan, arguing that the plan's intellectual and structural features are indistinguishable from Soviet-style central planning and amount to a covert implementation of communist economic doctrine. Venkata Rao contends that the Plan's architects — whom he treats as fellow-travellers of Soviet ideology — have used the planning apparatus to begin the nationalisation of the commanding heights of the economy under the guise of development. He attacks the 'indifference to criticism' displayed by planners, catalogues the rising monopoly of public sector enterprise, and calls for mobilising private capital and individual initiative instead. The article is one of the journal's signature pieces, framing the liberty-vs.-planning debate as a question of civilisational choice rather than mere economic technocracy. - The Second Five Year Plan is characterised as replicating Soviet economic organisation under the cover of democratic planning rhetoric. - The article singles out the Plan's insistence on State ownership of all new industrial capacity above a threshold as the decisive communist-pattern element. - Venkata Rao accuses planners of deliberate 'indifference to criticism' and of suppressing alternative economic analysis. - He argues that monopoly tendencies built into the Plan will eventually destroy the private sector and the press. - The piece calls on citizens and intellectuals to resist the Plan's logic before the institutional damage becomes irreversible. ### Five Questions on the Elections *By Vivek* 'Five Questions on the Elections' by the pseudonymous 'Vivek' poses five rhetorical questions to assess what the 1957 election result actually means. The questions probe: whether polling-day declaration of Bombay as a Union Territory is democratic; whether Prime Minister Nehru's intervention in state elections is appropriate; whether Krishnamurti's alleged electoral connections are credible; whether Jayaprakash Narayan's acknowledged political stature is being wasted outside formal politics; and whether Congress-industry ('Congress and Big Business') alignment explains the party's performance. The piece is sardonic throughout, questioning whether Congress voters endorsed the Plan's direction or merely voted out of inertia and organisational loyalty. It raises concerns about elections being manipulated by state machinery and suggests that a more honest verdict would have been adverse to Congress. - The declaration of Bombay as a Union Territory on polling day is treated as politically manipulative. - Nehru's active campaigning in state elections is questioned as an inappropriate use of Prime Ministerial authority. - The Congress-industry nexus is interrogated — the article asks whether large business funding of Congress explains party performance. - Jayaprakash Narayan's political talent is cited as a wasted resource outside the formal party system. - The overall thrust is that the election result reflects organisational machinery rather than genuine popular endorsement of the Second Plan. ### West Pakistan Under the Jack-Boot of Mirza *By Vigilant* 'West Pakistan Under the Jack-Boot of Mirza' by the pseudonymous 'Vigilant' analyses the consolidation of authoritarian rule in West Pakistan under President Iskander Mirza. The article argues that Mirza has systematically dismantled parliamentary governance, silenced the press, and used the Khan Sahib ministry as a political vehicle to suppress the Muslim League and other opposition parties. 'Vigilant' traces the communal and political roots of anti-India sentiment being cultivated by the Mirza regime and argues that Pakistan's government has essentially become a family enterprise managed through official patronage. The piece warns Indian readers that Pakistani arms raids and the alleged 'Soviet Fiction' — Moscow's claim of attempted Soviet kidnapping — are instruments of political distraction. The article closes with a brief item on Pakistani armed forces' activities near Tripura. - President Iskander Mirza is depicted as having converted West Pakistan's government into a one-man authoritarian regime. - The article documents the dismantling of the Muslim League and other opposition parties through executive and administrative coercion. - Anti-India propaganda is characterised as a domestic political tool used to distract from governance failure. - The Khan Sahib ministry is described as Mirza's vehicle for consolidating personal and family power. - A brief 'Soviet Fiction' sidebar addresses Moscow's reported claim of a Soviet kidnapping attempt, treating it as propaganda. ### The Eisenhower Doctrine *By Salvador de Madariaga* Salvador de Madariaga's 'The Eisenhower Doctrine' is a measured but critical analysis of the United States' Middle East policy as articulated in the Eisenhower Doctrine of early 1957. Madariaga argues that the Doctrine, while understandable as a response to Soviet expansionism, suffers from a fundamental misreading of the political energies at work in the Arab world: it treats communism as the primary threat when the deeper force is Arab nationalism and anti-colonialism. He contends that the Budapest-Warsaw axis is strategically more important to the Soviets than the Middle East, and that American military commitments to Middle Eastern states will be counterproductive since those states are already caught between East and West and will not be grateful recipients of American patronage. Madariaga warns that offering arms and money as instruments of policy in the region legitimises the very pattern of great-power interference that produces instability. - The Eisenhower Doctrine is critiqued for misidentifying communism as the primary threat in the Middle East when Arab nationalism is the deeper force. - Madariaga argues that the Budapest-Warsaw axis matters more to Soviet strategy than the Middle East, making the Doctrine's framing strategically mis-calibrated. - American offers of military assistance are seen as counterproductive because Middle Eastern leaders will instrumentalise rather than honour them. - The article warns that great-power military presence in the region undermines rather than stabilises it. - Madariaga calls for a policy framework that respects Arab self-determination rather than embedding new dependencies. ### Talking Through the Hat *By K. D. Valicha* 'Talking Through the Hat' by K. D. Valicha is a satirical essay on the type of ill-informed Indian pundit who holds confident opinions on every global and domestic issue while lacking the knowledge or intellectual rigour to sustain them. Valicha directs particular fire at what he sees as India's self-congratulatory foreign-policy commentariat — commentators who imagine India's non-alignment represents deep wisdom when it is in fact a form of political vanity that allows the country to lecture others while contributing nothing. The piece also mocks pro-communist Indian opinion-formers who dismiss US institutions while ignoring Soviet repression, and praises American practical-mindedness and democratic federalism. The essay closes with a defence of press freedom and a swipe at those who regard state control of opinion as compatible with liberal values. - The article lampoons the Indian intellectual who speaks with authority on foreign affairs without genuine knowledge. - Non-alignment is satirised as political vanity rather than principled wisdom. - Pro-Soviet Indian opinion is criticised for selective indignation — condemning the US while ignoring Soviet atrocities. - American democratic institutions and federalism are defended against Indian intellectual condescension. - Press freedom is affirmed as a precondition for sound public opinion. ### Libertarian Calling (letters section) The 'Libertarian Calling' letters section carries correspondence from several readers responding to previous issues. Topics include: the role of a Congress member of Parliament; how to select good Congress leaders; press manipulation and propaganda; the functions of the A.I.C.C.; what makes for the most pathetic public figure (with a reader naming Nehru); and who has been the finest Prime Minister. There are also short excerpts from 'The Mind Of The Nation,' a digest of press opinion, covering Congress's handling of the Marathwada agitation, freedom of the press, and Congress's attitude to its critics. - Readers debate how to reform Congress leadership selection from within. - Multiple correspondents address the state of press freedom and government propaganda. - One reader nominates Nehru as 'the most pathetic public figure.' - The section includes a digest feature ('The Mind Of The Nation') drawing on Times of India editorials. - Press freedom and the Congress publicity machinery are recurring concerns across the letters. ### Indian News Parade 'Indian News Parade' is an unsigned digest of domestic news items. Items covered include: the controversy over India's publicity services; Congress and freedom of the press, drawing on a Times of India editorial that criticises Congress's attempt to suppress adverse election reporting; a call to Congress leadership to treat external criticism as legitimate; and an excerpt from a Chinaman publication on Congress and 'socialists' using elections to outbid each other with promises. The section presents these items as evidence of a systemic problem in Indian democratic culture: the governing party treats the press as an instrument of party communication rather than as an independent fourth estate. - A Times of India editorial is cited as evidence that even mainstream press organs recognise Congress's hostility to free reporting. - The news digest documents specific instances of Congress attempts to manage election coverage. - The section frames press freedom as inseparable from democratic health. - Foreign press commentary on India's 'socialist' bidding war in elections is included for comparative perspective. ### World News The 'World News' section is an unsigned digest of international events across two pages. Items covered include: Soviet policy toward satellite states in the wake of the Hungarian uprising; the Rapacki proposal for a nuclear-free zone in Central Europe; US State Department admissions about Waremburg; the British cut in military spending; Pakistani armed raid reports near Tripura; Pakistan's claims about British troops on the Naga border; food crisis reporting from DACCA on Pakistan's attitude toward Maulana Bhashani; alarming Soviet propaganda projections; and the Naga question in the context of India's food crisis. The section also includes brief items on 'Extreme Suppression in Pakistan' and on Indian and Pakistani border incidents. The digest frames these events through a consistently anti-Soviet, pro-Western-liberal lens. - Soviet conduct in Eastern Europe following Hungary is framed as evidence of the impossibility of peaceful co-existence. - Pakistan's internal repression and border provocations are covered in parallel with West Pakistan articles elsewhere in the issue. - The Naga border question is flagged as an unresolved internal security issue with international dimensions. - US foreign policy is treated with measured sympathy but also critically examined for inconsistencies. - Soviet propaganda output is characterised as a systematic effort to destabilise non-aligned and Western-aligned states. ### Book Reviews The 'Book Reviews' section covers three publications. First, a notice welcoming The Indian Libertarian to Madras through a new stockist, Libertarian Book Shop, Sandhurst Road, Bombay. Second, a review of 'LIBERTARIAN ANTHOLOGY: A Selection of Essays and Explorations,' published by the R. L. Foundation and edited by B. S. Sanyal. The reviewer (unnamed) notes that the anthology contains essays on the purpose of the journal, the libertarian perspective by M. V. Balakrishna Rao, a piece on monopolies drawing on Benjamin Tucker, a piece on justice and freedom by K. D. Valicha, and a rationalist thought survey. Third, a review of 'ECONOMIES OF LIBERTY' by K. D. Valicha — described as a sustained argument that the collective welfare state must give way to individual liberty and market economics, critically engaging Robertson's analysis and drawing on classical liberal philosophy. The section also contains an advertisement for 'CHARWAK: An Ancient Rationalist' and notes the availability of 'Some Must Have A Population Problem' and 'Large-scale and Small Industries to Coexist.' A separate short item labelled 'NOT A LOOT CAUSE' appears at page 19, attributed to K. D. Valicha, defending the proposition that the collection of market rents does not constitute exploitation and that the libertarian position on property is not a defence of looting the poor. - The Libertarian Anthology Vol. I (R. L. Foundation) is presented as a foundational document of the Bombay libertarian circle. - Benjamin Tucker is invoked in the anthology's treatment of monopoly — a classical anarcho-individualist touchstone being cited approvingly in an Indian liberal context. - K. D. Valicha's 'Economies of Liberty' frames individual liberty and free markets as the only sustainable basis for collective welfare. - The book review section doubles as a publication network advertisement, reinforcing the institutional ecosystem around the journal. - The 'Not a Loot Cause' note defends market-rent collection as philosophically consistent with libertarian property theory. --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-apr1-1958/ ### Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. VI No. 2 (April 1, 1958) is a sixteen-article fortnightly journal published from Bombay under editor Miss Kusum Lotwala. Its masthead motto — 'We Stand for Free Economy and Libertarian Democracy' — encapsulates the editorial line sustained across every piece in the rendered pages: a sustained libertarian-classical-liberal critique of Nehru's economic and foreign policies, the Congress Party's internal culture, and the creeping socialism of Indian statecraft in the late 1950s. The journal incorporates the earlier 'Free Economic Review' and also campaigns editorially for English as India's official language. The issue opens with a letters column and a two-page editorial attacking the Arab Union, Indian foreign policy toward Pakistan, and the Congress Party's failure to discipline itself. MA Venkata Rao's lead economic essay 'Mixed Economy — A Broken Reed' attacks the mixed-economy doctrine as intellectually bankrupt and dubs the Life Insurance Corporation nationalisation 'legalised robbery'. J. K. Dhairyawan's 'Nehru — A Bundle of Frayed Nerves' offers a psychological-political portrait of Nehru, citing the Prime Minister's own Ahmednagar Fort prison diary on his dictatorial temper. 'Vigilant' writes 'Noon Wants India to Commit Political Harikari', documenting Pakistan's tripled defence budget and Prime Minister Feroz Khan Noon's threats. 'Vivek' attacks 'Nehru's Illusions' on Soviet satellites, Sino-Indian friendship, and Planning Commission economics. Kishore Valicha's 'And the Ostrich with Its Head in the Sand' challenges Indian advocates of Pakistan-friendship with evidence of Pakistani rearmament and SEATO/CENTO alignment. 'Jay Kay's 'Holding the Mirror to the Congress Face' catalogues Congress scandals including a forgery investigation, the Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit shielding case, and a Bombay election murder. Lighter features round out the rendered chunk. 'VERUS' contributes the illustrated 'True Tales — Helen Keller' strip on Keller's education and the Braille system. 'Toddy-Tapper's satirical column 'Over A Glass of Nira' lampoons the Gandhi cap as a hollow political costume and skewers Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit's diplomatic immunity. 'Scio' contributes the 'Did You Know…' historical-anecdote miscellany on page 12. Pages 19–20 reprint or adapt foreign material arguing that India's record of police oppression disqualifies it from socialism, and (drawing on Fred C. Clark and Richard Stanton Rimanoczy) that Soviet Russia under Khrushchev is not genuinely communist but a new class tyranny. Pages 21–28 (entries 14–16: 'Suggested Programme For A New Party', 'On the News Front', and 'Book Reviews') were not rendered in this chunk. ### Body ## Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. VI No. 2 (April 1, 1958) is a sixteen-article fortnightly journal published from Bombay under editor Miss Kusum Lotwala. Its masthead motto — 'We Stand for Free Economy and Libertarian Democracy' — encapsulates the editorial line sustained across every piece in the rendered pages: a sustained libertarian-classical-liberal critique of Nehru's economic and foreign policies, the Congress Party's internal culture, and the creeping socialism of Indian statecraft in the late 1950s. The journal incorporates the earlier 'Free Economic Review' and also campaigns editorially for English as India's official language. The issue opens with a letters column and a two-page editorial attacking the Arab Union, Indian foreign policy toward Pakistan, and the Congress Party's failure to discipline itself. Subsequent articles by named and pseudonymous contributors dissect the 'mixed economy' doctrine as intellectually bankrupt, portray Nehru as psychologically unstable and politically erratic, expose Pakistan's arms-spending and anti-India stance as reason to abandon sentimental friendship, and challenge the ostrich-like quality of pro-Pakistan sentiment in Indian political circles. Lighter features include a health column on vitamins, a satirical 'True Tales' strip on Helen Keller (by VERUS), a Toddy-Tapper column lampooning the Gandhi cap as political symbol, and a Danish welfare-state cautionary tale. Pages 19–20 reprint or adapt foreign material arguing that police oppression disqualifies India from socialism, and that Soviet Russia is not genuinely communist. Pages 21–28 (entries 14–16: 'Suggested Programme For A New Party', 'On the News Front', and 'Book Reviews') were not rendered in this chunk. ## Essays ### Letters to the Editor A brief letters column occupying page 2. The visible letter is signed by F. Tandon and concerns the conduct of India's official representatives abroad — criticising Mr. Nehru for failing to control diplomatic representatives and for making contradictory public statements. Tandon invokes the 'Picture of U.P. in Figures' statistical series and criticises the Forum of Free Enterprise's annual data on production. - Correspondent F. Tandon criticises Indian diplomatic representatives' conduct abroad. - Letter invokes 'Picture of U.P. in Figures' production data to make an economic argument. - The letter signals reader engagement with statistical evidence as a tool of liberal critique. ### EDITORIAL The editorial ranges across three foreign-policy episodes: the Arab Union (United Arab Republic), the conspiracy in Saudi Arabia, and India's Pakistan policy. On the Arab Union, the editor argues that Col. Nasser has revealed himself as a dictator rather than a pan-Arab liberator, and that India should stop its romantic support for him. The Saudi section covers an alleged conspiracy against the new Arab Republic. The bulk of the editorial — two columns on pages 3–4 — attacks India's Pakistan policy as dangerously sentimental, noting that Pakistan's defence budget has ballooned and its public rhetoric has become openly hostile. A separate squib condemns the 'Muslim League game' of making communal appeals. The editorial closes with attacks on the proposed Personal Income Tax law as a threat to incentive and a subsidy for administrative corruption. - Nasser is described as a dictator exploiting pan-Arab sentiment rather than a genuine liberator. - Pakistan's military spending is rising sharply while it voices hostility to India — the editorial argues India must recognise this reality. - India's foreign policy toward Pakistan is characterised as sentimental and naive. - The proposed Personal Income Tax is condemned as discouraging enterprise and rewarding evasion. - A sidebar attacks the Muslim League's communal rhetoric in Indian electoral politics. ### "Mixed" Economy — A Broken Reed *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that the 'mixed economy' doctrine is intellectually untenable and practically self-defeating. He contends that the term was invented as a device to sidestep the choice between capitalism and socialism, borrowing the worst features of both. The article criticises the First and Second Five Year Plans for sacrificing private enterprise to state monopoly, mocks the Planning Commission's targets, and singles out the nationalisation of Life Insurance Corporation as an act of 'legalised robbery.' Venkata Rao insists the Constitution's compensation clauses are a facade because Parliament can amend them at will, citing a Supreme Court judgment as evidence. The second page continues the argument against creeping state control of the press and private property. - The 'mixed economy' label is a deliberate evasion: it combines state coercion with private enterprise to the detriment of both. - Nationalisation of the Life Insurance Corporation is characterised as legalised robbery. - The constitutional guarantee of compensation for expropriation is undermined because Parliament can alter the Constitution. - The Planning Commission is criticised for setting unachievable targets and distorting price signals. - The article argues that political interference in the economy cannot produce growth — only free markets can. ### Nehru — A Bundle of Frayed Nerves *By J. K. Dhairyawan* J. K. Dhairyawan offers a psychological and political portrait of Nehru, arguing that the Prime Minister's recent erratic behaviour — including his dismissal of Chief Ministers, his vacillation on policy, and his irritability in Parliament — reflects deep personal insecurity rather than strength of conviction. The article cites Nehru's own diary entries from the Ahmednagar Fort imprisonment period, in which Nehru confessed to having a dictatorial temper. Dhairyawan argues that Nehru's popularity is built on an irrational popular cult, and that his handling of the Rajasthan cabinet crisis demonstrated his willingness to manipulate constitutional machinery for partisan ends. A book advertised on page 8 — 'The Assassins' — is noted as sold through the Libertarian Book House. - Nehru's erratic public conduct is traced to a confessed dictatorial temperament documented in his own prison diary. - The dismissal of the Rajasthan cabinet and interference in state Congress affairs illustrate unconstitutional centralisation. - Popular adulation of Nehru is described as an irrational personality cult rather than genuine democratic endorsement. - The article argues that Nehru's policy inconsistency damages investor confidence and democratic norms. ### Noon Wants India to Commit Political "Harikari" *By Vigilant* Writing as 'Vigilant', the author responds to statements by Pakistani Prime Minister Feroz Khan Noon that were widely reported as threatening India. The article documents the steep rise in Pakistan's defence spending — defence expenditure has risen from Rs. 41 crores in 1947 to over Rs. 150 crores by the mid-1950s, with U.S. military aid on top — and argues that India's continued policy of goodwill toward Pakistan is suicidal. The piece calls for India to re-examine the relationship and stop funding Pakistani military capacity through trade and diplomatic restraint. - Pakistan's defence spending has more than tripled since partition, funded partly by U.S. military aid. - Noon's public statements are characterised as a direct threat to India's sovereignty. - India's continued 'goodwill' policy is described as enabling Pakistani rearmament. - The article demands a fundamental policy rethink rather than continued forbearance. ### Nehru's Illusions *By Vivek* Writing as 'Vivek', the author attacks what he calls Nehru's 'illusions' — particularly Nehru's stated belief that satellite countries of the Soviet Union are gaining independence, and his persistent optimism about Sino-Indian friendship. Vivek argues that Nehru's foreign policy is based on wishful thinking rather than hard geopolitical assessment, and that his willingness to lecture Western democracies while excusing Soviet repressions constitutes a double standard that damages India's credibility. The piece also criticises Nehru's domestic economic illusions, including his faith that the Planning Commission can deliver prosperity. - Nehru's belief that Soviet satellite states are drifting toward independence is dismissed as wishful thinking. - Nehru's simultaneous criticism of Western colonialism and silence on Soviet imperialism is characterised as a double standard. - His optimism about Sino-Indian relations is described as a dangerous illusion given China's regional ambitions. - Domestic economic planning is presented as another illusion — the belief that state direction can substitute for market incentives. ### And the Ostrich with Its Head in the Sand *By Kishore Valicha* Kishore Valicha's article challenges Indian politicians and opinion-makers who continue to advocate friendship with Pakistan by ignoring the evidence of Pakistani hostility, rearmament, and pan-Islamic ideology. Valicha likens their posture to an ostrich burying its head in the sand. He argues that Pakistan's military build-up and its alignment with SEATO and CENTO, combined with the statements of its leaders, constitute an unmistakable threat. The second page of the article (p. 12) carries the 'Did You Know...' feature by Scio, a miscellany of historical anecdotes. - Pakistani leaders' public statements and military build-up are presented as evidence of hostile intent that Indian politicians choose to ignore. - Pakistan's alignment with Western military pacts (SEATO, CENTO) while receiving U.S. arms is cited as a direct security threat to India. - The 'ostrich' metaphor captures the author's view that pro-Pakistan sentiment in Indian political circles is wilful blindness. - Page 12 includes the 'Did You Know...' miscellany column by Scio. ### Holding the Mirror to the Congress Face *By Jay Kay* Jay Kay's article 'Holding the Mirror to the Congress Face' documents what the author presents as a series of concrete scandals implicating Congress politicians and officials: a medical man and Congress leader allegedly involved in forgery and fraud (the C.I.D. investigation is described); the case of Mrs. Vijayalaxmi Pandit's alleged shielding of a British national from prosecution; and an election murder case in Bombay involving a Congress man. The article is polemical in tone, using official inquiry records to argue that Congress has developed a culture of impunity. - A Congress leader and medical man in Bombay is alleged to have been involved in forgery and fraud; the C.I.D. report is described as suppressed. - Mrs. Vijayalaxmi Pandit is accused of using diplomatic influence to shield a British national from Indian legal process. - An election murder case in Bombay is attributed to Congress circles. - The article argues these cases reflect systematic rather than incidental corruption within Congress. ### Guardians of Good Health An unsigned health column titled 'Tiny Guardians of Good Health' explains the biochemical roles of vitamins — particularly Vitamin C, the B-complex group, and B12 — in maintaining health. The article is written in accessible popular-science prose and recommends dietary sources: citrus fruits, grains, pulses, egg yolk, and leafy greens. The second half of the page carries the continuation of a 'True Tales — Helen Keller' illustrated feature by VERUS, depicting scenes from Keller's education by Anne Sullivan, her college career, and the Braille system. - Vitamin C and the B-complex vitamins are explained in accessible terms as essential for immunity, nerve function, and anti-anaemia. - Dietary sources suitable for Indian readers (pulses, jaggary, leafy vegetables, egg yolk) are listed. - The Helen Keller 'True Tales' feature illustrates themes of perseverance and self-education. - The feature's reference to Braille — invented by Louis Braille, a Frenchman, in 1829 — provides a cross-cultural reference point. ### Plight of Denmark In A "Welfare" State An unsigned article on the 'Plight of Denmark In A Welfare State' (spread across pages 15–16) draws on Danish economic data to argue that high taxation under the welfare state has suppressed savings, driven up consumer prices, and forced government to introduce price controls — which in turn create shortages. The article argues Denmark's experience offers a preview of where India's own nascent welfare-state ambitions are heading: a downward spiral of taxation, inflation, controls, and economic stagnation. The piece also includes a sidebar on income tax philosophy, invoking Karl Marx as the intellectual father of progressive income taxation and calling it the 'Father of all Taxes'. - Denmark's welfare state has produced rising prices, suppressed savings, and a vicious cycle of tax-inflation-controls. - Industrial exports have stagnated while welfare spending has outpaced national income growth. - Progressive income tax is attributed to Marx's Communist Manifesto and criticised as a tool of class warfare rather than equity. - The Danish case is presented as a cautionary example for India's own welfare-state trajectory. ### Over A Glass of "Nira" *By Toddy-Tapper* Toddy-Tapper's satirical column 'Over A Glass of Nira' on pages 17–18 uses the folk beverage of toddy/nira as a metaphor for honest, unpretentious thinking. The column's main target is the Gandhi cap as a political status symbol: Toddy-Tapper observes that the cap has become the universal accessory of Indian politicians and petty officials who have nothing else to recommend them, and that wearing it has lost all connection to the idealism Mahatma Gandhi associated with it. The piece is written in a colloquial, humorous register and argues that surface symbols have displaced substance in Indian public life. The column continues on page 18 with remarks about Mrs. Vijayalaxmi Pandit's diplomatic privileges. - The Gandhi cap is satirised as a costume for political opportunists rather than a genuine symbol of Gandhian values. - The column argues that Indian public life has become dominated by theatrical gestures emptied of ideological content. - Mrs. Vijayalaxmi Pandit's use of diplomatic immunity is used as a parallel example of privilege masquerading as principle. - The nira/toddy motif frames the column as the voice of plain, populist common sense against elite pretension. ### A Country where Police Oppress People "ad libitum" Dare Not Establish Socialism Page 19 carries an unsigned article arguing that India's record of police oppression disqualifies it from establishing socialism. The piece cites ongoing South Indian investigations into police atrocities and argues that any socialist state requires an honest and disciplined civil administration — which India demonstrably lacks. It draws on the Congress Party's own admissions of police misconduct to make the point that socialism built on such a coercive foundation would be totalitarianism by another name. - Police oppression and brutalisation of citizens are documented as evidence of a structurally corrupt civil administration. - The argument is that socialism requires a high standard of state virtue — which India's police record shows it cannot meet. - The piece turns a standard socialist argument (the state as instrument of public good) against itself. - Congress's own inquiries are cited as the evidentiary basis, making the argument difficult to dismiss as anti-government bias. ### 'Russia Is Not A Communist Country Page 20 reprints or adapts a piece by Fred C. Clark and Richard Stanton Rimanoczy arguing that Soviet Russia is not genuinely communist. The argument is that Marxist communism promised a classless, stateless society but the USSR has produced a rigid class hierarchy with party elites at the top and ordinary workers at the bottom. Khrushchev's admission of Stalinist crimes is cited as evidence of endemic state violence rather than aberration. The piece asks why, if Russia is not communist, pro-Soviet Indian intellectuals and politicians continue to defend it. - The USSR has produced a new ruling class of party officials, contradicting Marxist promises of a classless society. - Khrushchev's own denunciations of Stalin are used to show the system's brutality is structural, not incidental. - The article asks why Indian pro-Soviet intellectuals defend a system that its own leaders condemn. - The argument is that labelling Russia 'communist' is a propaganda success that obscures the reality of a new form of tyranny. --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-apr1-1959/ ### Summary This 1 April 1959 number of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII, No. 1) — the Bombay-based fortnightly that stands, as its masthead declares, for free enterprise and libertarian democracy — opens with a multi-pronged editorial against the newly-signed United States–Pakistan military pact, the renewed Chinese aggression in Tibet that has 'ignored Panchsheel again', and the proposed transfer of Berubari to East Pakistan, which a unanimous West Bengal Legislature has condemned. A 'Behind the News' column scrutinises Colonel Nasser's apparent retreat in the face of Iraqi Communist activity and the parallel rumbling in Tibet against Mao Tse-tung's regime. M. A. Venkata Rao argues at length for a new all-India opposition party built on decentralisation, free enterprise, and Gandhian social justice; J. K. Dhairyawan attacks 'planning' as a Marxist euphemism for bungling, chaos, and confusion; M. N. Tholal opens a long historical examination of the genesis of Pakistan, drawing chiefly on Maulana Azad's India Wins Her Freedom; and the satirical column 'Pedlar's Pack' takes its swipes at the international scene. The inserted four-page Indian Libertarian Supplement carries Prof. G. N.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 April 1959 number of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII, No. 1) — the Bombay-based fortnightly that stands, as its masthead declares, for free enterprise and libertarian democracy — opens with a multi-pronged editorial against the newly-signed United States–Pakistan military pact, the renewed Chinese aggression in Tibet that has 'ignored Panchsheel again', and the proposed transfer of Berubari to East Pakistan, which a unanimous West Bengal Legislature has condemned. A 'Behind the News' column scrutinises Colonel Nasser's apparent retreat in the face of Iraqi Communist activity and the parallel rumbling in Tibet against Mao Tse-tung's regime. M. A. Venkata Rao argues at length for a new all-India opposition party built on decentralisation, free enterprise, and Gandhian social justice; J. K. Dhairyawan attacks 'planning' as a Marxist euphemism for bungling, chaos, and confusion; M. N. Tholal opens a long historical examination of the genesis of Pakistan, drawing chiefly on Maulana Azad's India Wins Her Freedom; and the satirical column 'Pedlar's Pack' takes its swipes at the international scene. The inserted four-page Indian Libertarian Supplement carries Prof. G. N. Lawande's critique of the Third Five Year Plan as a utopian measure and Adib's defence of the private sector against Mr. Nehru's expanding public sector. The issue closes with a Reader's Miscellany of aphorisms, the 'Did You Know' illustrated factoids by Scio, and the opening instalment of K. Kumara Sekhar's reflection on 'Socialism and Mr. Nehru'. Across its contributions the issue presents a remarkably unified classical-liberal challenge to Nehruvian planning, to the Soviet bloc abroad, and to Pakistan's new alignment with American military power on India's borders. ## Essays ### Editorial The unsigned editorial runs four headed sections. 'New US–Pak Military Pact' argues that the Washington–Karachi bilateral defence agreement, signed in the aftermath of an Iraqi coup that the magazine reads as a Communist-style adventure, is presented to Pakistanis as protection from foreign attack and from local communism but in reality folds Pakistan into the American defence ring around Soviet Russia. 'Border Affairs on the East' and 'Panchsheel Ignored Again' link China's renewed pressure on the north-eastern frontier and on Tibet with the bankruptcy of the 'five principles' rhetoric and call for stronger Indian preparedness. 'Transfer of Berubari Opposed Unanimously' reports that the West Bengal Legislative Assembly has unanimously rejected the Nehru–Noon agreement transferring the Berubari Union to East Pakistan, and the editorial endorses that opposition as a constitutional and federal point of principle. - Reads the new US–Pakistan military pact as drawing Pakistan into the American ring around Soviet Russia rather than as genuine local defence. - Treats the contemporaneous Iraqi political upheaval as a warning of Communist adventurism on India's western flank. - Frames Chinese pressure on the north-east and on Tibet as definitive evidence that Panchsheel has collapsed in practice. - Backs the West Bengal Legislative Assembly's unanimous rejection of the transfer of Berubari to East Pakistan. - Establishes the issue's editorial line: classical-liberal vigilance against both Soviet-aligned and Pakistan-aligned military encroachments on Indian sovereignty. ### Building a New Party *By M. A. Venkata Rao* An unsigned 'Behind the News' column titled 'Nasser in Reverse Gear?' reads the rapid shifts in Cairo's posture towards Iraq and the Soviet bloc as a sign that Colonel Nasser is no longer the confident pan-Arab champion of the previous year. The piece tracks Nasser's quarrel with the Kassem regime in Baghdad, his cooling relations with Mr. Khrushchev, and his attempt to reassert Egyptian leadership through speeches and diplomatic gestures, before turning in its second half to 'Turmoil in Tibet'. That section reports the open Tibetan rising against Chinese rule, the suspected role of the Panchen Lama in Peking's calculations, and the magazine's view that Mao Tse-tung's regime has miscalculated the depth of Tibetan religious and national feeling. - Reads Nasser's manoeuvres against Iraq's Kassem regime as a tactical retreat rather than fresh pan-Arab confidence. - Sees a widening rift between Cairo and Moscow as Khrushchev tilts toward the new Iraqi government. - Treats the Tibetan rising as proof that Mao's regime has badly misread Tibetan religious nationalism. - Frames both stories — Arab and Tibetan — as evidence of the limits of Communist-bloc influence at the periphery. ### Planning is Marxist Euphemism for Bungling, Chaos and Confusion *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao makes the issue's central political case: that the deteriorating performance of the Congress government and the absence of a credible opposition together require the formation of a new all-India party. He sketches the consensus across liberal, Gandhian and Sarvodaya circles that the Praja Socialist Party and the existing right-of-Congress parties are too small, too sectional and too compromised to bear the load. His proposed platform combines democratic decentralisation, social justice secured through free economy rather than state ownership, support for the cooperative movement among small producers, and what he calls patriotism as the motive force capable of binding such a coalition together. He warns that without a new party the choice in Indian politics will narrow to Congress and the Communists. - Argues that neither the Praja Socialist Party nor existing right-of-Congress groups can play the role of a national opposition. - Proposes a platform of democratic decentralisation plus free-enterprise social justice as the new party's organising idea. - Treats agricultural cooperatives among small holders as compatible with classical-liberal principles, in opposition to state collectivisation. - Identifies 'patriotism' rather than narrow ideology as the binding motive force of the proposed opposition. - Warns that without a new party Indian politics will collapse into a Congress–Communist binary. ### The Genesis of Pakistan *By M. N. Tholal* J. K. Dhairyawan's short polemic, under the standing rubric 'The tyranny of words', argues that 'planning' as used by the Government of India is a Marxist euphemism that disguises bungling, chaos and confusion in matters of food, finance and industry. He suggests that the word has been borrowed from Communist vocabulary without its rigour, that it serves to deflect criticism by lending an air of scientific intention to policies whose actual results have been shortages and corruption, and that liberal opinion must contest the language of planning as vigorously as it contests its substance. - Treats 'planning' as a borrowed Marxist label that hides administrative incompetence. - Argues that the prestige of the word disarms opposition to specific failures. - Calls for liberal critics to attack the vocabulary of planning as a political project, not just its outcomes. ### Pedlar's Pack *By Libra* M. N. Tholal opens what reads as a serialised historical essay on how Pakistan came into being. Using Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's India Wins Her Freedom as his principal source, he traces the early electoral politics of the Muslim League, the role of communal electorates introduced under Lord Curzon, the manoeuvres of the Aga Khan and other notables, and the Congress's repeated tactical misjudgements in dealing with Mr. Jinnah. The argument running through the instalment is that Pakistan was not the inevitable creation of Muslim demand but the product of specific Congress failures and British constitutional choices, with successive missions — including Sir Stafford Cripps's — closing off rather than opening alternatives. The narrative is carried over to page 14 of the issue. - Takes Maulana Azad's India Wins Her Freedom as the main lens on how Pakistan was generated. - Treats Curzon-era communal electorates as a structural cause of later partition politics. - Reads the Cripps Offer and Congress's response to it as a decisive missed chance to prevent Pakistan. - Argues against the view that Pakistan was the natural outcome of Indian Muslim sentiment. - Frames the partition story as a record of Congress tactical errors as much as of Muslim League ambition. ### Utopian Measure *By Prof. G. N. Lawande, M.A.* The satirical column 'Pedlar's Pack', signed by 'Libra', moves through a string of international items in the magazine's house tone. It mocks the inflated language of summitry, considers Mr. Khrushchev's posture in Berlin and his German diplomacy, registers the death of Dag Hammarskjold's hopes for a quiet General Assembly, and sketches the unpredictability of Mr. Macmillan's Moscow visit. The column treats Cold War summit ritual as a theatre in which the West repeatedly volunteers concessions in exchange for nothing more solid than reassurance. - Treats summitry as ceremonial theatre that benefits the Soviet side more than the Western powers. - Reads Mr. Macmillan's Moscow trip with weary scepticism. - Uses caricature and aside rather than sustained argument — a libertarian fortnightly's version of the political column. ### Public and Private Sectors *By G N Lawande* In the Indian Libertarian Supplement, Prof. G. N. Lawande's 'Utopian Measure' attacks the unfolding Third Five Year Plan as a Utopian construct rather than a workable economic programme. He argues that the food problem has worsened despite — and partly because of — heavy planning; that 'democratic planning' has become a meaningless slogan covering the inability of the Congress leadership to think outside a Marxist frame; and that the social-justice rhetoric attached to the plans masks a steady transfer of economic decision from individuals and cooperatives to the state. He contrasts the achievements of the cooperative movement at the village level, where it has grown without state direction, with the failures of state-administered targets. - Diagnoses the Third Five Year Plan as Utopian rather than pragmatic. - Argues the food crisis has been deepened, not solved, by planning. - Reads 'democratic planning' as a slogan hiding centralisation. - Endorses voluntary cooperatives but opposes state-administered collectivisation. ### A Reader's Miscellany 'Public and Private Sectors', signed by 'Adib', is a sustained defence of Indian private enterprise against the steady expansion of the public sector. Adib reminds readers that under the colonial regime private capital — without state direction — placed India eighth among the world's industrial nations, and argues that the moral case against private profit advanced by Mr. Nehru does not survive contact with the comparative record of state-run undertakings. He surveys industries where public-sector ventures have under-performed their private counterparts, and concludes that classical-liberal first principles, not socialist sentiment, ought to govern the next phase of Indian industrial policy. - Cites pre-Independence India's industrial standing as evidence of private enterprise's productivity. - Treats Mr. Nehru's moral critique of profit as a slogan that the comparative record refutes. - Documents under-performance in public-sector undertakings against equivalent private firms. - Calls for explicit classical-liberal principles to frame industrial policy in the next plan. ### Socialism and Mr. Nehru *By K. Kumara Sekhar B.A.* 'A Reader's Miscellany' is the issue's column of selected aphorisms, news cuttings, and one-line commentaries — a regular feature in which the editors curate quotations from Dr. C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Walter Pater and others, alongside short barbed paragraphs on Indian politics, Marvin Liebman's anti-Communist activity in the United States, and the daily conduct of public men. The function of the column is editorial commentary by indirection — a way of placing liberal touchstones beside the day's headlines without writing a separate article. - Mixes literary aphorism with current-affairs commentary. - Quotes Western liberal sources alongside Indian public figures. - Operates as oblique editorial voice through selection rather than argument. ### Khrushchev's Repeat Challenge 'Socialism and Mr. Nehru' by K. Kumara Sekhar opens what reads as a longer piece interrogating the elasticity of the term 'socialism' as Pandit Nehru uses it. The author argues that the Prime Minister's socialism has changed in content several times since independence, has been redefined to accommodate whatever the Congress government has actually done, and now functions less as a programme than as a permanent justification for state expansion. Production, the author insists, is the precondition of any distribution worth quarreling over, and Nehru's 'socialism' as practised has subordinated production to symbolism. - Argues that 'socialism' in Nehru's mouth has no stable content. - Treats production, not redistribution, as the first economic question. - Reads Indian socialism as ex-post rationalisation of Congress policy choices. - Opens what is signalled as a multi-part argument continued in subsequent issues. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-apr1-1960/ ### Summary The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII No. 1, April 1, 1960) is a fortnightly periodical published from Bombay, incorporating the earlier 'Free Economic Review' and 'The Indian Rationalist'. This issue is dominated by two urgent preoccupations: the Chinese military threat on India's northern borders, and the erosion of democratic and constitutional norms within India itself. The editorial opens with a stinging attack on the Governor of Bombay's high-handed intervention to stay the execution of the Commander Nanavati murder case sentence, framing it as executive overreach that corrodes the rule of law and encourages a drift toward authoritarian governance. M. A. Venkata Rao supplies the issue's lead foreign-policy essay, "Containing Red China," contending that Nehru's ideological sympathy for Beijing has crippled India's response to Chinese aggression. He calls for abandoning non-alignment, joining SEATO and CENTO, recognising Tibetan independence, inviting American military assistance, and building roads, supply lines and forward bases along the Himalayan frontier. He also contributes the issue's book review of Volin's "The History of a Soviet Collective Farm," using the documentary record of Stalinist collectivisation's failure to argue by analogy against India's Soviet-inflected planning model. M. N. Tholal's "The Silver Lining" reframes the 1959–60 Chinese crisis as a salutary shock that should force India to shed its 'Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai' illusions, cultivate civic courage and military capacity, and replace Congress-controlled discourse with genuine pluralism; he attacks Nehru's conflation of personal diplomacy with national interest and the Congress habit of treating dissent as treachery. The issue also carries a pointed piece by V. Vijayatunga examining the survival of Brahmanical social authority in independent India under the label 'fascism', and a short philosophical essay by Bernard Iddings Bell tracing the historical cycle by which political power degenerates from aristocracy through plutocracy to mob rule. The Delhi Letter reports on the early fortunes of the Swatantra Party and urges mergers among liberal and opposition parties, while a brief but forthright essay by A. D. Cohen indicts the caste system as a form of perpetual servitude incompatible with democratic citizenship. The Rationalist Supplement records a Bombay seminar attended by followers of M. N. Roy debating whether Rationalists should align with Swatantra or stay non-partisan. The News Digest and Bangalore Letter round out the issue with brief items on corruption, linguistic policy, and the Congress party's growing dominance of state institutions. ### Body ## Summary The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII No. 1, April 1, 1960) is a fortnightly periodical published from Bombay, incorporating the earlier 'Free Economic Review' and 'The Indian Rationalist'. This issue is dominated by two urgent preoccupations: the Chinese military threat on India's northern borders, and the erosion of democratic and constitutional norms within India itself. The editorial opens with a stinging attack on the Governor of Bombay's high-handed intervention to stay the execution of the Commander Nanavati murder case sentence, framing it as executive overreach that corrodes the rule of law and encourages a drift toward authoritarian governance. Subsequent sections develop this theme through the lens of Nehru's China policy—indicting his refusal to acknowledge Chinese aggression and his reliance on non-alignment bromides—and through a Rationalist Supplement that defends free expression and liberal rationalism against Congress domination of public life. The issue also carries a pointed piece by V. Vijayatunga examining the survival of Brahmanical social authority in independent India under the label 'fascism', and a short philosophical essay by Bernard Iddings Bell tracing the historical cycle by which political power degenerates from aristocracy through plutocracy to mob rule. The Delhi Letter reports on the early fortunes of the Swatantra Party and urges mergers among liberal and opposition parties, while a brief but forthright essay by A. D. Cohen indicts the caste system as a form of perpetual servitude incompatible with democratic citizenship. A book review covers Volin's history of Soviet collective farms. The News Digest and Bangalore Letter round out the issue with brief items on corruption, linguistic policy, and the Congress party's growing dominance of state institutions. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL The editorial, titled 'High-Handedness of the Governor of Bombay', condemns the Governor's intervention to protect Commander Nanavati from re-employment consequences following his murder conviction. The author argues that the Governor acted without constitutional warrant, treating the law's letter and the law's spirit as separable—an executive convenience that undermines the judiciary and promotes a culture of impunity. The editorial then broadens its attack to Nehru's handling of the Chinese border crisis: it accuses him of dismissing Krishna Menon's apologists for Beijing, of treating Chinese aggression as a matter of India's own provocation, and of failing to build the military preparedness or diplomatic alliances that an honest appraisal of the threat would require. Pakistan's territorial claims are also addressed, with the editorial urging that India's Foreign Minister must stand firm on self-determination principles rather than yielding to Chinese or Pakistani pressure through 'pipeline' diplomacy. - Governor of Bombay overstepped constitutional bounds by intervening to protect Nanavati from service-regulation consequences after the Supreme Court disposed of his appeal - Editorial argues the executive has no justification to set aside service regulations to smooth the career of a convicted officer, calling it a blow to 'stability and sanctity of good government' - Chou En-lai's visit is characterised as that of a 'honoured guest' whose hospitality reveals India's supine foreign policy - Krishna Menon is accused of publicly defending China and acting as Beijing's advocate within the Indian Cabinet - Nehru is criticised for advising the Governor and Chief Minister in the Nanavati matter rather than respecting judicial independence ### Containing Red China *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's essay 'Containing Red China' argues that India's China policy has been disastrously misconceived from the start. Venkata Rao contends that the Prime Minister's attachment to non-alignment and his ideological sympathy for Communist China have led him to minimise the gravity of Chinese aggression, dismiss military preparedness, and isolate India from the Western alliances that alone could provide a credible counterweight to Chinese power. He calls for a complete recasting of India's foreign policy: recognition of Tibet's right to independence, alignment with SEATO and CENTO against Chinese expansion, and a willingness to invite American military assistance. The essay also argues that India should develop closer relations with countries sharing its democratic values—Japan, Malaya, Burma, Vietnam—rather than seeking solidarity with Communist states, and that a credible military deterrent on the Himalayan frontier requires immediate investment in roads, supply lines, and forward defence. - Venkata Rao blames Nehru's ideological pro-China bias for India's failure to respond adequately to Chinese aggression on the northern border - Argues India should abandon non-alignment and align with SEATO and CENTO as the only effective containment mechanism for Chinese expansion - Calls for recognition of Tibet's independence and solidarity with Tibetan resistance - Urges development of military infrastructure—roads, supply lines, forward bases—along the Himalayan frontier - Advocates closer alignment with democratic Asian nations (Japan, Malaya, South Vietnam) and American military assistance ### The Silver Lining *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'The Silver Lining' offers a more measured but still critical appraisal of the Chinese crisis, framing it as an opportunity for India to shed its foreign-policy illusions and develop genuine national character. Tholal argues that China's aggression has been salutary in exposing the hollowness of Nehru's 'Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai' rhetoric and the danger of a policy built entirely on personal trust and ideological sympathy. He contends that India must cultivate civic courage, build military capacity, and—crucially—replace its Congress-controlled public discourse with a genuinely pluralistic one that allows frank criticism of the government's China policy. He is sharply critical of the Congress party's tendency to treat dissent as treachery and of Nehru's attempts to silence critics by accusing them of being anti-national. - Chinese aggression is reframed as a 'silver lining' that has forced India to confront the dangerous naivety of its non-alignment policy - Tholal criticises Nehru's conflation of personal diplomacy with national interest, arguing that genuine national security cannot rest on one man's relationships - Plain commonsense and willingness to acknowledge Chinese aggression are presented as the essential preconditions for any sound response - Criticises Congress suppression of press criticism of government China policy as anti-democratic ### RATIONALIST SUPPLEMENT The Rationalist Supplement (inserted with separate roman-numeral pagination, I–IV) records a discussion held at 'Current Politics' seminar on 13th March in Bombay. Followers of M. N. Roy attended. S. Ramaseshan opened by arguing that Rationalists should not take part in party politics, and that no political party is the sole advocate of freedom—the Congress is not, despite its historic association with independence. The discussion that followed—featuring contributions from M. L. Willans, Mr. Govinda (Rationalist movement, Australia), Dr. T. Cornelius, Dr. Ranganathan and others—explored whether Rationalists should support the Congress, join the Swatantra Party, or maintain strict non-partisan advocacy. Multiple speakers challenged Nehru's Chandigarh speech portrayal of Rationalism as anti-national. A separate short passage on S. K. G. Rajan dismisses Marx as an economist but credits him as a social thinker whose writings exposed the misuse of power by capitalists. References to South Indian Tamil literature tradition and the Aryan conquest are also noted. - Rationalist seminar debated whether the movement should align with Swatantra Party, remain non-partisan, or actively oppose Congress domination of public life - S. Ramaseshan argued Rationalists have a duty to uphold free expression and should not endorse any single party, including Congress - Speakers criticised Nehru's Chandigarh speech for labelling Rationalism as a form of anti-national activity - Dr. Ranganathan and others argued for Swatantra Party support as the vehicle most aligned with Rationalist principles of individual freedom - Discussion touched on Karl Marx's legacy, distinguishing his social analysis from his economic theory ### Whose Fascist Baby Are You? *By V. Vijayatunga* V. Vijayatunga's 'Whose Fascist Baby Are You?' argues that the term 'fascism' is loosely applied in Indian political discourse, and that the real authoritarian danger comes not from any marginal party but from the entrenched social authority of Brahmanical tradition and its institutional heirs in independent India. Vijayatunga argues that 'Brahmin authoritarianism' has historically operated as an unofficial state within the state—controlling access to education, property, and public esteem—and that political independence has barely touched this structure. The essay draws on historical evidence of Brahmanical control over temples, literacy, and trade, and contends that genuine democratic freedom in India requires confronting this social authoritarianism as directly as it confronts the political kind. - Vijayatunga challenges readers to locate the real source of authoritarian tendencies in Indian society: not in fringe political parties but in Brahmanical social tradition - Argues that Brahmanical control over temples, learning, and commerce has historically constituted an 'unofficial state' operating beneath formal political structures - Political independence has left the social authoritarianism of caste largely intact - Draws contrast between 'Upper Caste' Aryan tradition and the more democratic spirit of the pre-Aryan south ### A Short History of Political Power *By Bernard Iddings Bell* Bernard Iddings Bell's 'A Short History of Political Power' (one page rendered) sketches a cyclical theory of political decline: aristocracy degenerates into plutocracy, plutocracy into mob rule, and mob rule into totalitarianism, from which a new aristocracy eventually arises. Bell argues that the mid-twentieth century democracies are caught in the mob-rule to totalitarianism transition and that the only escape is a recovery of genuine moral and intellectual authority, not merely electoral majorities. The piece is apparently a reprint of a text by an American author. - Bell presents a cyclical theory of political degeneration from aristocracy through plutocracy to mob rule and then totalitarianism - Argues that contemporary democracies are in the mob-rule stage, susceptible to demagogic capture - Recovery requires reestablishment of genuine moral and intellectual authority, not just procedural democracy ### DELHI LETTER The Delhi Letter datelines from Kurukshetra and discusses the early performance of the Swatantra Party. The correspondent is broadly sympathetic but concerned: the Swatantra Party's growth has been encouraging but it risks being a mere coalition of Congress defectors without a unifying ideology. The letter argues that Mr. Nehru's personal authority is so powerful that Swatantra cannot succeed simply by opposing him—it must develop a positive programme grounded in liberal economics and democratic federalism. It also discusses the corruption case involving Mr. C. C. Deshmukh, and calls for merger between Swatantra, the Jan Sangh, and other opposition parties to form a viable electoral front. - Swatantra Party's early growth is noted with cautious optimism, but the party is warned against becoming a mere anti-Nehru vehicle without a constructive liberal programme - Corruption involving C. C. Deshmukh's appointments is discussed as emblematic of the Congress party's entrenched patronage culture - Calls for merger or coordination between Swatantra and other liberal/right-of-centre opposition parties ### BOOK REVIEW *By MA Venkata Rao* The book review covers 'The History of a Soviet Collective Farm' by Volin, reviewed by A. Venkata Rao. The review is brief (approximately half a page) and characterises the book as a meticulous record of the failure of Stalinist collectivisation—the destruction of the peasant economy, the terror used to enforce collectivisation, and the eventual collapse of agricultural productivity. Venkata Rao uses the review to argue by implication that India's own planning model and its romance with Soviet-style agricultural organisation is similarly doomed. - Volin's book is presented as a documentary account of the human cost and economic failure of Soviet collectivisation - The review draws implicit parallels with India's own planning debates and the Congress left's sympathy for Soviet agricultural models - Venkata Rao endorses Volin's conclusion that collectivisation destroyed individual incentive and created chronic food insecurity ### NEWS DIGEST The News Digest carries brief items on: corruption going unchecked in the Nizam's dominions; a brief reference to Captain Lim of the USA in the context of collective farming relief; and a note on Hyderabad reporting on agricultural productivity issues and the impact of land reform on farming incentives. The digest also contains a pointed item from the Calicut University notes on English-medium instruction, citing A. Ranganathan's views on the importance of English as a vehicle for higher education and scientific literacy in India. - Item on uncontrolled corruption in Nizam's territory, presented as a failure of post-independence governance - Note on Calicut University's discussion of English-medium instruction and its importance for access to scientific and liberal education - Brief agricultural item on declining farm productivity linked to collectivist land-reform policies ### OUR BANGALORE LETTER The Bangalore Letter discusses the Swatantra Party's prospects in South India and comments on the Congress party's increasing use of state patronage to suppress opposition. The correspondent notes that local Congress leaders are acting on instructions from above to intimidate Swatantra members and that several prominent businessmen who had been quietly supporting the Congress party are now beginning to look at Swatantra as a vehicle for liberal economic policy. The letter also comments briefly on the need for a free press and the danger of government advertising dependence making newspapers timid. - Congress party apparatus in South India is described as using state patronage and intimidation against Swatantra Party members - Business community beginning to explore Swatantra as an alternative vehicle for liberal economic policy - Government advertising dependence is identified as a structural threat to press freedom in India ### LETTER TO THE EDITOR The Letter to the Editor section (page 19) contains a letter on the Pakistan border situation and the plebiscite question in Kashmir, arguing that India should not concede a plebiscite in Kashmir under Chinese or Pakistani pressure and that any plebiscite held under conditions of intimidation would be meaningless. The correspondent urges the Foreign Ministry to hold firm on the principle that self-determination is only valid when exercised freely, and argues that Pakistan's claim to Kashmir cannot be advanced through external pressure from China. - Argues against conceding a Kashmir plebiscite under current conditions of Pakistani and Chinese pressure - Contends that self-determination is only meaningful when exercised without external intimidation or military threat - Urges India's Foreign Ministry to resist Chinese diplomatic support for Pakistan's Kashmir claim --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-apr1-1961/ ### Summary The 1 April 1961 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IX, No. 1) is a sixteen-page Bombay fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni for Libertarian Publishers Private Ltd., carrying the masthead slogan "We Stand For Free Economy and Limited Government." The issue opens with an unsigned editorial on the death of Union Home Minister Govind Ballabh Pant and the depletion of Congress's Old Guard, then runs three signed political essays — William Henry Chamberlin's case for American prosperity as proof that economic freedom pays, M. N. Tholal's reckoning of whether Pakistan or Communist China is now India's principal adversary, and a fortnightly Delhi Letter on Soviet alignment with Peking after Pant's exit. The four-page Rationalist Supplement, edited at the Indian Rationalist Association's national headquarters, contains S. Ramanathan on the movement's new building, J. V. Duhig on parallels between Communism and Catholicism, and a Colin McCall essay on Darwin's intellectual legacy.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The 1 April 1961 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IX, No. 1) is a sixteen-page Bombay fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni for Libertarian Publishers Private Ltd., carrying the masthead slogan "We Stand For Free Economy and Limited Government." The issue opens with an unsigned editorial on the death of Union Home Minister Govind Ballabh Pant and the depletion of Congress's Old Guard, then runs three signed political essays — William Henry Chamberlin's case for American prosperity as proof that economic freedom pays, M. N. Tholal's reckoning of whether Pakistan or Communist China is now India's principal adversary, and a fortnightly Delhi Letter on Soviet alignment with Peking after Pant's exit. The four-page Rationalist Supplement, edited at the Indian Rationalist Association's national headquarters, contains S. Ramanathan on the movement's new building, J. V. Duhig on parallels between Communism and Catholicism, and a Colin McCall essay on Darwin's intellectual legacy. The issue closes with a report on King Mahendra's dissolution of Nepal's parliament, a book review of Buddha And Buddhism, gleanings from the press, news and views, a reader's letter on Lincoln and statism, and house advertisements for Libertarian Publishers and Duncan Road Flour Mills. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL (After G. R. Pant; The Muslim Tension; President's Commission; Nagaland Inaugurated) The unsigned lead editorial mourns Govind Ballabh Pant as one of the last "immortals" of the national liberation movement of Vallabhbhai Patel's rank and predicts the Union Government will not recover his stature for half a century. The piece weighs the succession question inside the Congress — Morarji Desai's seniority against Lal Bahadur Shastri's more recent rise — and surveys the political fallout: the reorganised states' reactions in Andhra and Mysore, the Congress Working Committee's wrangling over election strategy against Swatantra and the communalists, and the President's Commission on Pakistan's persecution of Hindus. A coda on Nagaland's inauguration as a separate state worries that conceding to ethnic agitation merely incentivises further fragmentation. - Frames Pant's death as the loss of one of Congress's last "Old Guard" liberators of Patel's stature - Reads the succession contest between Morarji Desai and Lal Bahadur Shastri as a test of Congress's centre of gravity - Treats Swatantra as the principal extra-Congress force the working committee must now negotiate with on candidate selection - Notes the President's Commission's findings on the persecution of Hindus in Pakistan - Warns that Nagaland's elevation may invite further linguistic and ethnic fragmentation ### Freedom Does Pay *By By WILLIAM HENRY CHAMBERLIN* William Henry Chamberlin's signed essay argues that the citizen of the United States is materially better off from infancy to old age than counterparts in any country where private initiative is hobbled or the dynamic forces of the market restricted. He contrasts the post-war recovery of West Germany under Ludwig Erhard, France, and Italy — economies released from controls — with the stagnation of East Germany and the Soviet bloc, and reproduces a "Four Freedoms" inventory (movement, occupation, enterprise, exchange) which he says nineteenth-century liberalism took for granted and which the welfare and planning states of the twentieth have steadily eroded. - Treats post-war West German recovery under Erhard as a controlled experiment in market liberalisation - Contrasts the standard of living of the United States with the Soviet bloc as an empirical test of economic systems - Identifies four "freedoms" of nineteenth-century liberalism — of movement, occupation, enterprise, and exchange — as the casualties of twentieth-century planning - Argues that the war state and the welfare state share a common appetite for restricting market exchange ### Who Is Our Enemy No. 1? *By By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal asks whether Communist China or Pakistan should now be regarded as India's principal adversary and concludes that the threat from Peking is the larger, structural one — territorial, ideological, and backed by a great-power patron — while the Pakistan quarrel, however bitter, is bilateral and in principle negotiable. He surveys the Muslim position in Kashmir, the running argument over a plebiscite, and the alignment of pro-Communist parties in Kerala and elsewhere, and warns that domestic Communists may make common cause with external pressure if relations with China sour further. A pendant page of "Thoughts on Liberty" reprints aphorisms from Diderot, Lao Tze, Goethe and others, and a short anecdote ("Why 'Tiger'?") closes the section. - Names Communist China — not Pakistan — as India's enemy number one because the territorial and ideological stakes are larger - Reads the Kashmir plebiscite question as one Pakistan can in principle be negotiated out of, unlike Peking's frontier claims - Sees the Indian Communist Party in Kerala and elsewhere as a fifth column that could amplify any external pressure - Brackets the political argument with a reprinted page of liberty aphorisms from Diderot, Lao Tze and Goethe ### RATIONALIST SUPPLEMENT — Our National Head Quarters *By By S. Ramanathan* Opening the four-page Rationalist Supplement, S. Ramanathan reports on the new American Humanist Association headquarters at Yellow Springs, Ohio — a "Humanist House" built on twenty acres — and uses it to argue that Indian rationalists must also acquire physical premises if their movement is to outlast its founders. He surveys the present Indian organisational landscape, in which Rationalist and Humanist groups, the Radical Humanist constituency of M. N. Roy, and assorted local atheist societies all rent borrowed space, and pleads for a national centre at which a library, lecture hall, and exchange-of-ideas room can be permanently established. - Treats the new American Humanist Association building at Yellow Springs as a model for Indian rationalists - Argues that the absence of dedicated premises caps the reach of every Indian rationalist body - Names the M. N. Roy stream of radical humanism as one of the constituencies a national centre would have to accommodate ### Communism And Catholicism *By By Dr. J. V. Dubig* Dr. J. V. Duhig argues that Communism is best understood as a religion — a vast organisation upholding political power against critical thought, with a creed, a saint-list, a clergy and an excommunication machinery — and that the closest analogue in form is not Protestant Christianity but the Roman Catholic Church. He runs the parallels through Party congresses functioning as ecumenical councils, the Politburo as curia, the rehabilitation and the show-trial as analogues of canonisation and the auto-da-fé, and concludes that the two systems share enough institutional DNA that liberals must guard against both even as they remain analytically distinct. - Reads Communism as a religion in organisational form, not merely a secular ideology - Treats the Roman Catholic Church, not Protestantism, as its closest structural analogue - Maps Politburo to curia, Party congresses to ecumenical councils, and the show-trial to the auto-da-fé ### The Door Darwin Opened *By By Colin McCall* Colin McCall reviews the long shadow cast by Darwin's Origin of Species, arguing that evolution is now so much the common sense of biology that even theologians have been forced to absorb it, but that the metaphysical door Darwin opened — naturalism, the absence of design, the kinship of human and animal — remains a live argument. He surveys Darwin's nineteenth-century reception (Wallace, Lyell, Spencer), the Scopes controversy in America, and the persistence of literalist "fundamentalist" objection, and closes with a short editorial on mature intellectual methods signed by Don Werkheiser. - Treats Darwin's Origin of Species as the decisive opening of a naturalist worldview - Notes the rapid co-option of Wallace, Lyell and Spencer into the evolutionary consensus - Reads continuing fundamentalist objection as evidence of the cultural stakes of biological naturalism - Pairs the essay with a Werkheiser checklist for mature intellectual method ### Mature Intellectual Methods *By —Don Werkheiser* An unsigned essay reads a recently published booklet — "How Parliament Can Play A Revolutionary Part in the Transition to Socialism," by a Czechoslovak Communist National Assembly member — as the Communist movement's tacit concession that the parliamentary road can no longer be dismissed. Setting that against Khrushchev's post-Twentieth-Congress doctrine of peaceful coexistence and the new Communist line on national fronts, the piece argues that the Soviet bloc is now openly hedging Marx's and Lenin's revolutionary catechism and that the consequences for Communist parties in democracies — including India's — will be visible at the next election cycle. - Reads a Czechoslovak Communist booklet on parliamentary revolution as a doctrinal pivot - Connects the pivot to Khrushchev's post-Twentieth-Congress peaceful-coexistence line - Predicts the new national-front strategy will reshape Communist electoral conduct in India and elsewhere ### The Beginning Of The End The fortnightly Delhi Letter ("From Our Correspondent") reads the recent flow of Soviet diplomacy as a quiet but unmistakable tilt toward Peking at India's expense after the death of Govind Ballabh Pant. The piece tracks army promotions and dismissals, a Lal Bahadur Shastri intervention, and the staffing of the late Pant's portfolio, and treats them as signals that the Soviet bloc has decided to back China's frontier line in any future crisis. A second item, "Nepal King Means Business," reports on King Mahendra's dissolution of parliament and his arrest of B. P. Koirala and reads it against Indian indulgence of constitutional violations on the country's northern border. - Reads post-Pant Soviet diplomacy as a quiet tilt toward Peking - Treats Lal Bahadur Shastri's brief as a stress-test of the inherited Home portfolio - Frames King Mahendra's coup against Koirala's government as a test of Indian constitutionalism in its sphere of influence ### DELHI LETTER (Russia Backs Up China; Army Promotions and Politicians; Nepal King Means Business) *By From Our Correspondent* A short review of "Buddha And Buddhism" by Shri P. J. Saheb (M.A., LL.B.) commends the book as an accessible introduction to the Buddha's life and the Four Noble Truths, drawing on the Great Epic of the Maha Bharat. The reviewer praises Saheb's philosophy as scrupulously non-sectarian, notes his command of comparative extracts from Christian and Muslim devotional traditions, and ends with two short notices: a Hoshte Forum lecture series and a Press Institute warning on the dangers of state-mediated journalism. - Frames Buddha And Buddhism as an entry-level guide to the Four Noble Truths - Praises the book's non-sectarian use of Christian and Muslim comparative material - Pairs the review with notice of an R. L. Hostel forum lecture programme ### Book Review — Buddha and Buddhism *By Shri P. J. Saheir, M.A., LL.B.* The closing pages bundle short-form items: "Gleanings From The Press" (mainly excerpts from Swatantra and the Bombay dailies on Maharashtra study circles, banking reorganisation, and food-policy debates), a News & Views column flagging the Patil–Krishna Menon manoeuvres and a Russi Mody appointment, and a Letter to the Editor from M. R. Nayyar that uses Lincoln to argue that statism, planning and war-economy each tend to expand government's grip on private life. Two house advertisements — Libertarian Publishers' booklist (Bakunin, Proudhon, Von Mises) and Duncan Road Flour Mills — close the issue. - Excerpts Swatantra and Bombay dailies on Maharashtra study-circle activity and food policy - Flags the Patil–Krishna Menon political manoeuvres and a Russi Mody appointment - Carries M. R. Nayyar's Lincoln-citing letter linking statism, planning and the war economy - Closes with a Libertarian Publishers booklist (Bakunin, Proudhon, Von Mises, Bilgram, Borsodi, Goel) --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-apr1-1962-2/ ### Summary This April 1, 1963 issue (Vol. XI) of The Indian Libertarian, edited by D. M. Kulkarni and published by Libertarian Publishers Pvt. Ltd. from Bombay, gathers an editorial, three signed essays, a Delhi Letter, a book review, and the regular Gleanings/News/Dear Editor sections. The argumentative centre is two-fold: a defence of classical-liberal politics against both Nehruvian 'secularism' (which the editorial recasts as a 'civil state') and against communist-style revolution in the wake of the Sino-Indian crisis. M. A. Venkata Rao attacks the Russian and Chinese revolutions as economically unnecessary and humanly destructive; M. N. Tholal contests Jayaprakash Narayan's advocacy of nonviolent resistance to Chinese aggression; K. Sreeramamurty defends English as the medium of higher education; the Delhi Letter assesses the danger of a joint Sino-Pakistani attack on India; the news pages survey U.S. aid (Galbraith, Morarji Desai), Rajaji's call for national leadership, and Nehru's policies on Hindi. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This April 1, 1963 issue (Vol. XI) of The Indian Libertarian, edited by D. M. Kulkarni and published by Libertarian Publishers Pvt. Ltd. from Bombay, gathers an editorial, three signed essays, a Delhi Letter, a book review, and the regular Gleanings/News/Dear Editor sections. The argumentative centre is two-fold: a defence of classical-liberal politics against both Nehruvian 'secularism' (which the editorial recasts as a 'civil state') and against communist-style revolution in the wake of the Sino-Indian crisis. M. A. Venkata Rao attacks the Russian and Chinese revolutions as economically unnecessary and humanly destructive; M. N. Tholal contests Jayaprakash Narayan's advocacy of nonviolent resistance to Chinese aggression; K. Sreeramamurty defends English as the medium of higher education; the Delhi Letter assesses the danger of a joint Sino-Pakistani attack on India; the news pages survey U.S. aid (Galbraith, Morarji Desai), Rajaji's call for national leadership, and Nehru's policies on Hindi. ## Essays ### Essay 0 The lead editorial argues that Nehru's use of the term 'Secular State' is loose and confused, and proposes the term 'Civil State' as a more accurate description of an India in which the state is neutral towards creeds but not hostile to religion. The editor distinguishes India's situation from Pakistan, characterised as an avowedly Muslim theocratic state, and draws on Indian history (the Vijayanagar empire, Mughal rule, Shivaji) to argue that protection of Hindus and other communities from religious imposition is a legitimate civic concern. The editorial closes by warning that confused secular rhetoric leaves majority cultural-religious life politically defenceless. - The Prime Minister's invocation of 'Secular State' lacks a clear definition and is politically unstable. - A 'Civil State' formulation better captures equal civic standing without erasing religious identity. - Pakistan is treated as the contrasting case: an openly Muslim state, not a civil one. - Indian history is read as showing the costs of state-sponsored religious dominance. - The Indian Liberal Group is urged to enter the secular-vs-civil debate as an active voice. ### 'Secular' State or 'Civil' State? *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that the Russian and Chinese communist revolutions were historically 'unnecessary' — they did not produce economic equality, did not raise the common person above living standards in capitalist Western states, and destroyed the security and liberty their own peoples enjoyed. He compares Tsarist Russia's pre-1917 trajectory with that of the British and Japanese economies and contends that piecemeal reform under industrial discipline, not Bolshevik or Maoist seizure of property, was the rational path. The essay closes with a numbered statement of 'Anarchist Principles' drawn from classical liberal and individualist anarchist sources, defending private property, voluntary association and free competition against socialist planning. - The Bolshevik and Maoist revolutions failed on their own equality test. - Living standards under 'Workers' States' lag those of capitalist West. - Tsarist Russia and pre-Meiji Japan illustrate that gradual industrial reform was available. - The 'paradise' of Russian and Chinese communism is one the poor flee at risk of death. - Classical-liberal / individualist-anarchist principles are restated as a positive alternative. ### An Unnecessary Revolution *By By M. A. Venkata Rao* M. N. Tholal takes apart Jayaprakash Narayan's address at the Convocation of Rajasthan University, in which JP urged a doctrine of nonviolent resistance even to Chinese aggression. Tholal argues that JP's prescription mistakes the situation: an unarmed civilian resistance against a Communist invader would lead to mass killings, not the moral victory Gandhian nonviolence achieved against the British. He invokes the late Acharya Narendra Dev and the early socialist tradition to show that JP has migrated away from political realism toward a sentimental Sarvodaya idealism that cannot answer the security question India faces after 1962. - JP's Rajasthan University convocation address advocates nonviolent resistance to Chinese aggression. - Tholal judges the doctrine unworkable against a totalitarian invader. - Gandhi's experience against the British is not transferable to Mao's China. - JP's drift from socialist political realism toward Sarvodaya is criticised. - Acharya Narendra Dev is cited as a contrast point inside JP's own tradition. ### The Political Philosophy of Jaya Prakash Narain *By By M. N. Tholal* K. Sreeramamurty defends the place of English in Indian schools and colleges. He welcomes the Andhra Pradesh government's decision to introduce English from the third standard and argues that a working knowledge of English is indispensable for the present generation of students, who will become India's future leaders. He draws on the example of universities (Andhra, Lucknow, Allahabad, Patna, Baroda) where English remains the medium of instruction and cites the Nobel laureate I. I. Rabi on the difficulty of pursuing modern science without English. - Andhra Pradesh's introduction of English from Standard III is endorsed. - English is treated as a practical and intellectual necessity, not a colonial residue. - Several Indian universities still teach in English; replacing it is impractical. - Nobel laureate I. I. Rabi is cited to support keeping English in science education. - Premature switch to regional-language instruction would degrade higher learning. ### English in Schools and Colleges *By By K. Sreeramamurty* The Delhi Letter (from 'Our Correspondent') assesses the prospect of a coordinated Chinese-Pakistani attack on India following the 1962 border war. It reports on Sino-Pakistani border talks, Pakistani diplomatic moves around Kashmir, and Indo-Pakistani negotiations in which the Indian side is described as making concessions whose strategic worth is unclear. The correspondent reads American policy through Ambassador Galbraith's interventions and President Kennedy's signals, and worries that a Pacific-Pact or Anglo-Saxon-Federation approach is not materialising fast enough to deter a two-front threat. - A coordinated Sino-Pakistani military move on India is a live concern after 1962. - Indo-Pak Kashmir talks are diplomatically lopsided in Pakistan's favour. - Galbraith and Kennedy's positioning is parsed for its limits. - A regional security architecture (Pacific Pact / Anglo-Saxon Federation) is invoked as a possible answer. - The Indian establishment is judged slow to absorb the security implications. ### DELHI LETTER: Joint Sino-Pak Attack on India? *By (From Our Correspondent)* A short notice reviews Patterns of Culture by Ruth Benedict, situating the book within American cultural anthropology and recommending its comparative-anthropology approach to readers interested in the foundations of social order. The reviewer summarises Benedict's argument that cultures are integrated wholes whose values cohere across institutions, and treats the book as a useful corrective to crude evolutionary or universalist readings of human social life. - Ruth Benedict's Patterns of Culture is recommended for Indian readers. - The book is treated as a classic of comparative anthropology. - Cultures are presented as integrated configurations of value. - The review highlights the book's continued relevance decades after its first edition. ### Book Review *By MA Venkata Rao* Under 'Gleanings from the Press,' M. A. Venkata Rao reflects on the 'peacockery' of the Indian government — the gap between official self-image and substantive achievement — and on the way prestige politics distorts policy choices. He links this critique to the Nehruvian planning state's habits of public display. - Government 'peacockery' is identified as a recurrent vice of Indian public life. - Prestige-driven projects are distinguished from substantive policy. - The Nehruvian style is read as encouraging this habit. ### Gleanings from the Press The News & Views columns string together brief items from across India and the world: Khrushchev's diplomacy with Peking; the announcement of the largest U.S. interest-free loan ($240 million) to India, signed by Morarji Desai and Ambassador John Kenneth Galbraith with L. K. Jha for the finance ministry; a parents' association in Ahmedabad pushing for English from the fifth standard; Nehru's worries about Hindi-Tamil conflict; Aldous Huxley's pessimism about overpopulation in underdeveloped nations; H. M. Patel urging India to accept Western defence aid; Rajaji declaring readiness to lead the nation; and Y. B. Chavan's defence record being praised. - U.S. signs the largest-ever interest-free loan to India: $240 million. - Morarji Desai and Ambassador Galbraith head the signing ceremony. - Aldous Huxley forecasts gloom for underdeveloped nations. - Rajaji signals willingness to lead a national alternative. - Nehru is reported as wary of Hindi-vs-regional-language conflict. ### News and Views The 'Dear Editor' page collects short reader letters on Prohibition and on what one correspondent calls 'Nehru's Tragedy' — the argument that the Prime Minister's administration has not lived up to its early promise and that the Daily press is failing to hold it to account. - Reader letters address Prohibition policy and Nehru's record. - The 'Nehru's Tragedy' letter argues that the press has been too deferential. - Letters reflect the magazine's liberal, government-critical readership. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-apr1-1962/ ### Summary Volume X, Number 1 of The Indian Libertarian — a Bombay fortnightly that 'stands for free economy and limited government' and campaigns for English as the lingua franca of India — frames the months after the 1962 general elections as a moment of testing for Indian constitutional liberalism. An unsigned editorial surveys the Geneva Disarmament Conference, the widening Sino-Soviet rift, and the integration of Goa, while 'Here and There' sketches domestic news. Bylined essays by M. A. Venkata Rao, M. N. Tholal and J. M. Lobo Prabhu interrogate the post-election Congress hegemony, defend freedom of information against Nehru's qualifications, and warn that the constitutional 'watchman' has fallen asleep. The Delhi Letter mocks Nehru's foreign and Punjab policy; a Book Review notes a fresh American study of Indian Communism; and 'Gleanings from the Press' and 'News & Views' compile dissenting voices from Biju Patnaik, Rajaji, the Ahmedabad Citizens' Conference and the Dalai Lama.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary Volume X, Number 1 of The Indian Libertarian — a Bombay fortnightly that 'stands for free economy and limited government' and campaigns for English as the lingua franca of India — frames the months after the 1962 general elections as a moment of testing for Indian constitutional liberalism. An unsigned editorial surveys the Geneva Disarmament Conference, the widening Sino-Soviet rift, and the integration of Goa, while 'Here and There' sketches domestic news. Bylined essays by M. A. Venkata Rao, M. N. Tholal and J. M. Lobo Prabhu interrogate the post-election Congress hegemony, defend freedom of information against Nehru's qualifications, and warn that the constitutional 'watchman' has fallen asleep. The Delhi Letter mocks Nehru's foreign and Punjab policy; a Book Review notes a fresh American study of Indian Communism; and 'Gleanings from the Press' and 'News & Views' compile dissenting voices from Biju Patnaik, Rajaji, the Ahmedabad Citizens' Conference and the Dalai Lama. Taken together, the issue articulates the journal's classical-liberal idiom: hostility to one-party Congress dominance, scepticism of planning, defence of free speech and federal pluralism, and steady alignment with the West in the Cold War. ## Essays ### The Crucial Years Ahead *By M. A. Venkata Rao* The unsigned editorial bundles four short pieces. 'Disarmament Conference' reports on the 17-Nation conference at Geneva, arguing that Russia is using the meetings as a propaganda platform to embarrass the United States while America and Britain insist on adequate inspection of an Atom-Test-Ban Treaty. 'The Chinese Puzzle' reads the widening Sino-Soviet split through Chinese resentment of de-Stalinisation and Moscow's tactical disengagement from Asia. 'Goa Integration With India' welcomes the Goa, Daman and Diu Integration Amendment Bill as the constitutional completion of liberation. 'Here and There' surveys domestic news, including Mr. Lal Bahadur Shastri's denial that the Congress is drifting toward a single-party state. - Russia is treating Geneva disarmament talks as a propaganda exercise; the West holds firm on inspection. - Sino-Soviet friction is rooted in ideological and territorial divergence between Beijing and Moscow. - The editorial endorses the constitutional integration of Goa, Daman and Diu into the Union. - Lal Bahadur Shastri's reassurances cannot conceal Congress's drift toward one-party dominance. ### Information Vs Ignorance *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao reads the 1962 general election results as a chastening verdict on the Congress's two-decade dominance. He welcomes the emergence of four credible opposition forces — Swatantra, the Praja Socialist Party, Jana Sangh and the Communists — and urges them to function as a serious parliamentary check rather than as spoilers, while pressing the ruling party to surrender its sectarian identification of national interest with party programme. The essay frames the years ahead as a test of whether India can build a self-correcting two-bloc politics on constitutional foundations rather than slide further into single-party planning. - Congress retains a majority but has lost its claim to be the sole vehicle of the national interest. - Four opposition parties now form a credible parliamentary check on executive overreach. - Constitutional democracy requires a contestable two-bloc politics, not a permanent ruling party. - Sectarian identification of party with state must be dismantled if pluralism is to survive. ### Watchman, What of the Night? *By J. M. Lobo Prabhu I.C.S. (Retd)* M. N. Tholal attacks Mr. Nehru's claim — made at a UN Seminar on Freedom of Information — that the principle of 'truth at all costs' can be misused. Tholal argues the inverse: suppression and selective disclosure by states are the principal threat to public reason, and a citizen's right to know is the precondition of a free order. He links the argument to Cuba, where, he says, the abolition of free elections proves what happens when governments are released from the discipline of an informed electorate. - Freedom of information is a constitutional, not a managerial, value. - State control over what may be reported corrodes the citizen's capacity to consent. - Cuba, on Tholal's reading, shows the end-state of restricted-information regimes. - Nehru's qualifications on press freedom are a danger sign for Indian liberty. ### Delhi Letter — Our Pettifogging Prime Minister *By From Our Correspondent* J. M. Lobo Prabhu, a retired ICS officer, reads Congress's renewed legislative majority as a warning rather than a mandate. The Constitution, he argues, was designed to function as a watchman against arbitrary power, but is being slowly hollowed out by patronage politics and by parties that confuse themselves with the State. The essay calls on the press, the judiciary and civic associations to play the role the founders assigned them, and closes with a Lincoln epigraph on the contested meaning of 'liberty' — warning that universal franchise without an informed electorate degenerates into 'dangerous franchise'. - An entrenched majority is a constitutional danger as much as a political mandate. - Press and judiciary must serve as the constitutional watchman over executive power. - Universal franchise without an educated electorate risks degenerating into 'dangerous franchise'. - Lincoln's reminder that 'liberty' is contested supplies the essay's polemical anchor. ### Book Review The Delhi Letter, by an unnamed correspondent, savages Mr. Nehru's recent Rajya Sabha pronouncements on Berlin, NATO, the Cold War, and Master Tara Singh's Punjabi Suba agitation. The Prime Minister is portrayed as a pettifogger — pedantic, indecisive, and prone to undermine his own ministers' decisions. The correspondent reads Nehru's discomfort with NATO and his accommodation of Khrushchev as evidence of an instinctive tilt toward Soviet positions, and argues that the Punjab crisis has been mishandled by a centre that prefers slogans to settlement. - Nehru's Rajya Sabha replies betray indecision and an instinct to defer to Moscow. - Foreign-policy non-alignment has shaded into reflexive anti-NATO posturing. - Domestic crises — Punjab in particular — are being mismanaged from the centre. - The premiership has become a cult of personal pettifoggery rather than statesmanship. ### Gleanings from the Press A short notice on 'Communism in India' by Gene D. Overstreet and Marshall Windmiller commends the authors for a thorough, documentary history of the Communist Party of India and its strategic alignments with Moscow. The reviewer notes the book's value in tracing how planning ideology and Soviet sympathies entered Indian government through advisers around Mahalanobis, and reads Professor Galbraith's recent remarks as a sign that even sympathetic Western liberals have begun to question the Nehru government's planning regime. - Overstreet and Windmiller's history of the CPI is welcomed as a documentary corrective. - Planning ideology and Soviet methods entered Indian statecraft through advisers around Mahalanobis. - The reviewer reads Galbraith's recent assessments as Western disenchantment with Indian planning. ### News & Views 'Gleanings from the Press' opens with Orissa Chief Minister Biju Patnaik's startling charge that the Congress had become 'totalitarian', a confession the Liberals seize on as evidence from inside the ruling party itself. Adjacent items reprint editorial calls for fiscal restraint and warn against the use of administrative power to penalise critical newspapers. - Biju Patnaik publicly described the Congress as 'totalitarian', a remark the Liberals turn against the ruling party. - The column foregrounds press freedom and fiscal restraint as the test cases for the new government. ### Essay 8 'News & Views' assembles a long miscellany. FICCI is reported as concerned about runaway municipal expenditure under civic heads. A new Parliamentary Board of the Swatantra Party is announced. Rajaji's bitter allegations against the Congress are reprinted alongside the Ahmedabad Citizens' Conference call to retain English as a link language, the Dalai Lama's appeal for Indo-Chinese mediation, and a note on the Liberal opposition's plans for the territorial army. - FICCI flags municipal extravagance as a fiscal-policy concern. - A Swatantra Party Parliamentary Board is constituted with senior liberal-nationalist figures. - Rajaji's renewed broadside against Congress methods is reprinted at length. - The Ahmedabad Citizens' Move presses for English as a working link language. - The Dalai Lama is reported to have offered to mediate between India and China. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-apr1-1963/ ### Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. XI No. 1, April 1963) is the opening number of the journal's eleventh volume and ranges across four of the most contested questions facing India in early 1963: the proper constitutional character of the Indian state (secular vs. civil), the futility of communist revolution as a developmental strategy, the political philosophy of Jayaprakash Narayan, the place of English in Indian education, and the looming strategic threat posed by a possible Sino-Pakistani joint military action. The editorial sets a polemical tone by arguing that Prime Minister Nehru misconceives the word 'secular' and that what India needs is not a state indifferent to religion but a 'civil' state defined by equality before law and freedom of conscience. The remaining feature essays engage M. A. Venkata Rao's scepticism about communist revolution's track record on welfare, M. N. Tholal's critical analysis of Jayaprakash Narayan's Gandhian non-violence as a foreign-policy guide, and K. Sreeramamurty's defence of English as the medium of instruction in Indian higher education.… ### Body ## Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. XI No. 1, April 1963) is the opening number of the journal's eleventh volume and ranges across four of the most contested questions facing India in early 1963: the proper constitutional character of the Indian state (secular vs. civil), the futility of communist revolution as a developmental strategy, the political philosophy of Jayaprakash Narayan, the place of English in Indian education, and the looming strategic threat posed by a possible Sino-Pakistani joint military action. The editorial sets a polemical tone by arguing that Prime Minister Nehru misconceives the word 'secular' and that what India needs is not a state indifferent to religion but a 'civil' state defined by equality before law and freedom of conscience. The remaining feature essays engage M. A. Venkata Rao's scepticism about communist revolution's track record on welfare, M. N. Tholal's critical analysis of Jayaprakash Narayan's Gandhian non-violence as a foreign-policy guide, and K. Sreeramamurty's defence of English as the medium of instruction in Indian higher education. The Delhi Letter section, a book review of Ralph Borsodi's The Challenge of Asia, press gleanings, news items, and a letters column round out the issue. Together, the articles project a consistent classical-liberal and anti-socialist orientation — sceptical of state planning, concerned about civil liberties, and pragmatic on defence and language policy. ## Essays ### 'Secular' State or 'Civil' State? This unsigned editorial challenges Prime Minister Nehru's repeated use of the term 'secular state', arguing that the phrase is philosophically confused and politically loaded. The editor contends that India's founders and many Congress leaders imported the word 'secular' from Western political traditions without grasping its original meaning — namely a state that does not establish or favour any religion — and have instead deployed it as a polemical weapon to silence religious minorities and democratic critics alike. The editorial proposes that the correct aspiration for India is a 'civil' state: one that guarantees equality before the law, freedom of conscience and worship, and the individual rights of every citizen regardless of faith. It further argues that describing India as a 'Hindu State' would be as incorrect as calling it a 'secular state', and that Nehru's Government itself violates its own secular claims by granting special privileges to certain religious communities. The piece closes by insisting that civil liberties — not secularism as a slogan — are the true safeguard of Indian democracy. - Nehru's use of 'secular state' is treated as intellectually borrowed and misapplied — it does not correctly describe Indian constitutional practice. - The editorial proposes replacing 'secular state' with 'civil state', meaning equal rights before the law for all citizens irrespective of religion. - Calling India a Hindu State would be wrong; but calling it secular in the Western sense is equally inapt given active state involvement with religious institutions. - The Government's failure to apply uniform civil law across communities is cited as evidence that 'secularism' is a rhetorical shield rather than a governing principle. - The editorial links civil liberties and rule of law as the authentic liberal alternative to both theocracy and the confusion it calls 'pseudo-secularism'. ### An Unnecessary Revolution *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that communist revolution is an 'unnecessary' strategy for achieving economic equality and social welfare, given that the empirical record of the Soviet Union and China demonstrates no superior welfare outcomes compared with the capitalist democracies of the West. He reviews the claims made for the Russian and Chinese revolutions — that they were the only available routes to modernisation, land reform, and freedom from colonial exploitation — and finds each wanting. Drawing on data about wages, living standards, and freedom, he contends that the violence and authoritarian control exacted by revolutionary communism far exceeds any developmental gains, and that capitalist economies with welfare provisions have delivered higher wages, more widely available goods, and genuine individual freedom. He concludes with a six-point summary of what a free society and a free economy looks like, explicitly contrasting each point with communist practice. - Venkata Rao challenges the empirical premise that communist revolution was historically necessary for economic development or welfare. - The article cites Soviet and Chinese wage levels and living standards as evidence of communist failure relative to Western capitalist economies. - Violence and loss of freedom are treated as costs that are never offset by communist developmental gains. - The concluding six-point 'free society' manifesto covers economic organisation, individual rights, rule of law, religious freedom, and democratic self-governance. - The argument is framed as directed at Indian readers tempted by Marxist developmental arguments in the aftermath of the 1962 Sino-Indian war. ### The Political Philosophy of Jaya Prakash Narain *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's essay examines Jayaprakash Narayan's political philosophy, focusing on the tension between Narayan's Gandhian commitment to non-violence and his stated support for Indian resistance to the 1962 Chinese aggression. Tholal argues that Narayan's philosophy is ultimately incoherent: having built his political identity around satyagraha, non-violent resistance, and a critique of the nation-state system, Narayan found himself unable to apply that philosophy to Chinese imperialism without contradiction. The essay notes that Narayan endorsed the Indian military response to China while simultaneously refusing to abandon his non-violent framework, and that he attempted to resolve this by distinguishing between 'legitimate' defence and 'aggressive' nationalism. Tholal contends that this distinction collapses under scrutiny and that Narayan's philosophy, however admirable in the domestic sphere, provides no usable guide for Indian foreign policy when facing an adversary that rejects its premises. The essay also questions Narayan's advocacy of Sino-Indian friendship and his apparent faith that China's leaders could be persuaded by moral argument. - Tholal identifies a fundamental contradiction in Jayaprakash Narayan's political philosophy between his non-violence doctrine and his support for military resistance to China. - Narayan's belief that moral suasion could influence Chinese Communist leaders is treated as dangerously naive. - The essay argues that Gandhian non-violence works only against adversaries who share some moral common ground, and China under Communist rule does not. - Narayan's neutralism and his advocacy of Sino-Indian friendship are criticised as having emboldened Chinese assertiveness. - Tholal credits Narayan's sincerity and democratic credentials while rejecting his policy prescriptions. ### English in Schools and Colleges *By K. Sreeramamurty* K. Sreeramamurty defends the retention of English as the medium of instruction in Indian schools and universities, arguing against the Andhra Pradesh government's move to introduce regional languages as the sole teaching medium. He contends that English is not merely a colonial legacy but has become an integral part of Indian intellectual and scientific culture, and that switching to regional languages at the higher education level would damage India's ability to attract international scholars, produce internationally competitive research, and train professionals for a modern economy. The essay argues that the 'nationalist' case for replacing English is emotionally driven and economically reckless, and that no country has succeeded in replacing a widely used international language of scholarship without severe long-term intellectual costs. Sreeramamurty notes that even within India, using regional languages as university media would balkanise knowledge production and make inter-regional academic exchange impossible. - Sreeramamurty argues that English at the university level is a pragmatic necessity, not a mark of colonial subservience. - The Andhra Pradesh government's proposal to shift university instruction to Telugu is the immediate target of the critique. - The essay claims that no country has successfully replaced an established international language of scholarship without intellectual and scientific setbacks. - Using regional languages in Indian universities would prevent inter-regional academic mobility and collaboration. - The author invokes international scholars and the practical needs of professional training to defend English retention. ### Joint Sino-Pak Attack on India? The Delhi Letter section (unsigned, described as 'From Our Correspondent') analyses the strategic threat of a joint Sino-Pakistani military offensive against India in the aftermath of the 1962 Sino-Indian war. The piece reports on diplomatic signals from Washington and the debates among Indian political leaders about the appropriate response. It notes that the American Secretary of State Dean Rusk had visited Pakistan and India, and that both the Sino-Pakistan border agreement and Pakistan's arms negotiations with China were deepening India's security dilemma. The letter argues that India's political class has been slow to grasp the depth of the Sino-Pakistani strategic convergence and urges a more alert posture. It also discusses Indo-Pak talks — noting US and UK pressure on India to make concessions on Kashmir as a condition for military assistance — and criticises the Government for appearing to treat the Kashmir question as negotiable under foreign pressure. - The Delhi Letter identifies a Sino-Pakistani strategic alignment as a serious and immediate threat to Indian security following the 1962 war. - US and UK pressure on India to negotiate on Kashmir in exchange for military aid is presented as a form of coercion India must resist. - The article criticises Indian government complacency about the depth of China-Pakistan cooperation. - Dean Rusk's South Asia visit is the news peg; the article reads his statements as insufficiently reassuring to India. - The letter argues India must build its own military capacity rather than depend on conditional Western assistance. ### Book Review This unsigned book review covers Ruth Benedict's Patterns of Culture and a companion work, summarising their argument that human culture is shaped by distinct configurations of values, practices, and psychological orientations that differ radically across societies. The review explains Benedict's famous contrast between 'Apollonian' and 'Dionysian' cultures and notes her argument that no culture's configuration is inherently superior to another. The reviewer briefly relates Benedict's framework to Indian civilisational questions, suggesting that an understanding of cultural pluralism is relevant to India's own debates about national identity and social reform. The review is short (one page) and largely descriptive rather than critical. - The review covers Ruth Benedict's Patterns of Culture, explaining its central thesis about culture as configuration. - The Apollonian/Dionysian distinction is the conceptual centrepiece of the summary. - The reviewer draws a brief connection between Benedict's cultural pluralism and Indian debates about identity. - The review is descriptive rather than analytical and does not engage in sustained criticism of Benedict's method. ### Gleanings from the Press The Gleanings from the Press section reprints and briefly contextualises press extracts on the Indian government's language and educational policies, focusing on Gujarat's parents' movement demanding English instruction from the fifth standard, and criticism of the use of charkha (handspinning) as a compulsory school subject in Gujarat as an 'anti-English' cultural imposition. - Reports on a mass movement in Gujarat demanding English instruction from the fifth standard. - Criticises the mandatory teaching of charkha in Gujarat schools as ideologically driven and educationally counterproductive. - Connects the language debate to the journal's broader pro-English editorial stance. ### News and Views The News and Views section carries a series of short items: a report on the US $240 million interest-free loan to India for the Third Five-Year Plan signed by Ambassador John Kenneth Galbraith; a note on Nehru's statements fearing conflict on the Hindi language issue; an item on the English movement in Gujarat demanding English from fifth standard; a report from New York quoting Aldous Huxley on the pessimistic prospects for underdeveloped nations; and a Poona item on former Defence Secretary H. M. Patel urging India to accept Western military aid. A further item reports Rajaji (C. Rajagopalachari) calling for India to lead the 'Afro-Asian camp' rather than outsource that leadership to Nkrumah or Nasser. - US $240 million interest-free loan to India announced; Galbraith quoted on its unprecedented scale. - Nehru expressed concern about Hindi/language conflicts at a Congress workers' meeting in New Delhi. - Aldous Huxley quoted forecasting extreme gloom for underdeveloped nations unless population growth is controlled and governance improved. - H. M. Patel (former Defence Secretary) urges acceptance of Western military aid without hesitation. - Rajaji advocates India taking leadership of the Afro-Asian bloc rather than ceding it to Nkrumah or Nasser. ### Dear Editor The Dear Editor letters column carries two items. The first, by P. Kuppi Rao from Madras, defends the right of individuals to hold and act on their views on prohibition, arguing that a man who privately believes prohibition is wrong should not be compelled to enforce it — a point about liberty of conscience in public service. The second item is a short quote attributed to 'Insight' criticising Nehru's self-assurance about his infallibility, using a paraphrase of the Dickens Micawber formula to make the point that a leader who trusts no one but himself and refuses outside advice will lead a country to misery. - P. Kuppi Rao argues for individual liberty of conscience, specifically that a person who opposes prohibition on principle should not be forced to administer it. - The second letter uses satire to criticise Nehru's alleged sense of political infallibility. - Both items reflect the journal's consistent concern with individual rights over state compulsion. --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-apr15-1957/ ### Summary The 15 April 1957 number of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V, No. 4), edited by Kusum Lotwala for the Libertarian Publishers (Private) Ltd., Bombay, gathers an editorial, six signed essays, three standing departments and a book notice under the masthead promise to 'stand for free economy and liberal democracy.' Its argumentative center is twofold: a sustained alarm at what the editors see as the steady drift of Indian policy under the Second Five-Year Plan towards Soviet-style collectivism (in agriculture, in trade, in the currency, and in school curricula), and a sharply liberal-democratic reading of contemporary foreign affairs — Pakistan's anti-India fifth-column press, the prospects of war between the United States and Communist China, the Hungarian aftermath of de-Stalinisation, the breakdown of representative government in newly independent Islamic states, and the Suez settlement. Recurring contributors include M. A. Venkata Rao on agriculture and the Suez canal, Dr. K. N. Kini on Sino-American conflict, James Burnham on the post-Stalin Kremlin, the columnists 'Vigilant' and 'Vivek' on internal subversion and black-marketing, and J. K.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The 15 April 1957 number of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V, No. 4), edited by Kusum Lotwala for the Libertarian Publishers (Private) Ltd., Bombay, gathers an editorial, six signed essays, three standing departments and a book notice under the masthead promise to 'stand for free economy and liberal democracy.' Its argumentative center is twofold: a sustained alarm at what the editors see as the steady drift of Indian policy under the Second Five-Year Plan towards Soviet-style collectivism (in agriculture, in trade, in the currency, and in school curricula), and a sharply liberal-democratic reading of contemporary foreign affairs — Pakistan's anti-India fifth-column press, the prospects of war between the United States and Communist China, the Hungarian aftermath of de-Stalinisation, the breakdown of representative government in newly independent Islamic states, and the Suez settlement. Recurring contributors include M. A. Venkata Rao on agriculture and the Suez canal, Dr. K. N. Kini on Sino-American conflict, James Burnham on the post-Stalin Kremlin, the columnists 'Vigilant' and 'Vivek' on internal subversion and black-marketing, and J. K. Dhairyawan on democracy in Islamic nations; K. D. Valicha closes the issue with a review of J. D. Sethi and K. L. Gauba's Our Economic Problems. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL The unsigned editorial opens with 'Collapse of Democracy in Islamic Countries', arguing that since the First World War the new Islamic states of West Asia — Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq — have repeatedly defaulted on representative government, and reads the rise of Nasser, Sukarno and military regimes as evidence that Islamic political culture is structurally hostile to liberal democracy. The remainder of the editorial section pivots to domestic affairs: 'Red Star Over Kerala' on the new Communist ministry; 'Debauching Indian Economy' on inflationary deficit financing; 'Krishna Menon As "Chota" Dictator' on the Defence Minister's first major Lok Sabha speech on foreign policy; 'Destruction Of Agricultural Economy' attacking the cooperative-farming and joint-farming schemes pressed by the Planning Commission; and 'Catching The Young', warning that the regime is using state schools and youth organisations to indoctrinate children along Soviet lines. - Frames the Islamic world's post-1918 experiments in self-government as a record of repeated democratic collapse. - Reads the swearing-in of a Communist ministry in Kerala as a national emergency for liberal democracy. - Treats deficit financing under the Second Five-Year Plan as deliberate 'debauching' of the rupee. - Attacks compulsory cooperative and joint farming as the destruction of independent peasant proprietorship. - Warns that Communist-style use of schools and youth organisations is the regime's next instrument. ### Agricultural Statesmanship *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Agricultural Statesmanship' argues that with the Second Five-Year Plan Indian policy has taken a 'decisive momentum towards Marxism of the Soviet Russian variety', forcing the eradication of independent peasant agriculture in favour of cooperative and state farming. Drawing the contrast with the Soviet liquidation of the kulaks and with the small-holder economies of Western Europe, he insists that the political mainstay of representative democracy in India is the independent cultivator, and that uprooting him in the name of collectivisation will dissolve both rural liberty and the productive base of the economy. The essay closes by reproducing Adam Smith's verdict on colonial monopoly as a parable against the Plan's home-grown monopolies in food and trade. - Reads the Second Plan as a structural shift towards Soviet-style collectivisation of Indian agriculture. - Defends the independent cultivator as the political and moral backbone of representative democracy. - Treats cooperative and joint farming proposals as functional liquidation of the peasant proprietor. - Argues monopoly arrangements — whether colonial or planned — depress the producing economy. - Closes with Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations passage on the colony trade as classical-liberal warning. ### Will U.S.A. Risk a War with China *By by Dr. K. N. Kini* Dr. K. N. Kini's 'Will U.S.A. Risk a War with China?' weighs Washington's apparent willingness to use Asian forces — and, if necessary, atomic weapons — against the People's Republic. He revisits the Korean precedent of 'making Asians fight Asians', argues that the Chinese have grown more difficult to intimidate since 1953, and treats Pakistan's strategic value to the United States as fragile because Karachi's anti-India obsession compromises any genuine SEATO commitment in the region. - Reads American Asia policy through the lens of 'making Asians fight Asians', from Korea forward. - Argues Communist China has hardened since 1953 and will not be easily deterred by atomic threats. - Treats Pakistan as a liability rather than an asset to the United States in any Asian war. - Assesses SEATO and other alliance frameworks as insufficient anchors for U.S. policy in Asia. ### De-Stalinisation *By by James Burnham* James Burnham's 'De-Stalinisation' argues that, after the Hungarian massacre and a renewed brutality of tone from the Kremlin, the talk of de-Stalinisation in the West has been overtaken by events. Burnham distinguishes Stalinism as a fused complex — police terror, single-party monopoly, planning, ideological mobilisation, expansion — and contends that the present Soviet leadership has surrendered only the most embarrassing of these features (the personal cult, the most flagrant frame-ups) while preserving the substance. He warns Western observers and Indian neutralists against reading Khrushchev's tactical adjustments as a structural liberalisation of the Communist order. - Identifies Stalinism as an indivisible complex of terror, party monopoly, planning and expansion. - Reads the post-Stalin Kremlin as having dropped surface excesses while retaining the core regime. - Treats the Hungarian repression as proof that the Soviet system has not been liberalised. - Cautions Western and Indian opinion against credulous interpretations of 'de-Stalinisation'. ### Pak. Fifth-Columnists in India *By by Vigilant* The columnist 'Vigilant' surveys what he calls the Pakistani fifth column inside India. Beginning from the observation that Pakistan is 'perpetually carrying on a campaign of hate and hatred against India', the column argues that Karachi's propaganda is being amplified inside India by a network of sympathetic Urdu papers and informal cells, and presses the Indian Government to treat overt and covert Pakistani propaganda inside the country as a security matter rather than a free-speech curiosity. - Treats Pakistan's anti-India broadcasts and press as a sustained external propaganda campaign. - Identifies sympathetic publications inside India as the domestic transmission belt for that campaign. - Calls on the Government of India to act against the network as a security threat. ### Government Encouraged Black Marketing *By by Vivek* Writing under the byline 'Vivek', the columnist takes T. T. Krishnamachari's recent budget-debate admission as confirmation that the regime of permits, controls and rationing has itself produced India's black market. The piece argues that the price-control and licensing apparatus erected since the Second Plan rewards diversion and bribery, and that the Finance Minister's candour is less a confession than an indictment of the planning system that made black-marketing structurally rational for the trader. - Reads the Finance Minister's budget-speech admission as ratification of the columnist's case against controls. - Argues India's black market is an engineered consequence of permits and price-control. - Treats the planning apparatus, not the trader, as the originating cause of the parallel economy. ### Democracy at Discount in Islamic Nations *By by J. K. Dhairyawan* J. K. Dhairyawan opens 'Democracy at Discount in Islamic Nations' by invoking F. A. Ridley's recent characterisation of organised Roman Catholicism and organised Islam as the twin evils of the modern age, and proceeds to survey the post-1918 record of representative government across Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Indonesia. The essay argues that none of these states has consolidated a working constitutional order, that political life in each has alternated between military strongmen and clerical reaction, and that this pattern follows from the inability of Islamic legal and social culture to admit the separation of religion and state on which liberal democracy depends. - Frames the discussion through F. A. Ridley's pairing of Roman Catholicism and Islam as twin modern evils. - Surveys post-1918 democratic failure across the principal Islamic states of West Asia and South-East Asia. - Treats the absence of separation of religion and state as the structural obstacle to representative government. - Reads the rise of strongmen (Nasser and others) as a symptom of this deeper incompatibility. ### THE MIND OF THE NATION 'The Mind of the Nation' is a clipping-style department that gathers press extracts on the political and economic mood of the country: 'Crores Indian Capitalists' and a Federation of Indian Chambers note on the cost of the Second Plan to private enterprise; 'Business Community Losing Faith In Itself'; a Times of India tabulation of 'Grim Economic Prospects'; a short notice on an American university recruiting Indian students; and Venkata Rao's signed follow-up 'Another Word on the Suez Canal', which argues that nationalisation of the canal sets a dangerous precedent for international property and reads the United Nations response as evasive. - Aggregates contemporary press opinion on private enterprise, business confidence and economic prospects. - Cites a Federation of Indian Chambers analysis on the burden of the Second Plan on private capital. - Carries a follow-up note by Venkata Rao on the Suez nationalisation as a precedent for international property. ### INDIAN NEWS PARADE 'Indian News Parade' is a clipping-style round-up of political news from the subcontinent. The lead item, 'Jehad Cries In Pakistan', reports calls for holy war from members of the West Pakistan Assembly. Further notes cover Pakistan's hope for American support after President Iskander Mirza's visit, a 'Roundtable' on India's foreign policy, border incidents, the Naga problem, and a panel of items on Communism in Kerala, including reassurances from new leaders that property and faith will be respected. A closing section reports the favourable reception of The Indian Libertarian and its sister magazine Freedom First in Britain. - Leads with 'Jehad' rhetoric in the West Pakistan Assembly as evidence of intensifying anti-India agitation. - Tracks Pakistan-U.S. diplomatic signals after President Iskander Mirza's visit. - Reports on the new Communist ministry in Kerala and its public assurances on property and religion. - Notes the favourable British reception of The Indian Libertarian and Freedom First. ### BOOK REVIEW K. D. Valicha reviews 'Our Economic Problems' by J. D. Sethi and K. L. Gauba (Centre for Economic and Trade Ltd., London, 1956). He treats the volume as a survey of Indian economic policy under the Plan, organised around the realm of pure economics and the political economy of decision-making. Valicha welcomes the authors' attention to the gap between planned targets and the institutional means of meeting them, sets out the book's discussion of a new economic system, and closes by recommending the volume as a useful primer for the educated lay reader on the practical limits of the Indian planning model. - Frames the book as a critical survey of the Indian planning record. - Notes the authors' separation of pure economic analysis from political economy. - Highlights the gap between planning targets and institutional capacity as the central diagnosis. - Recommends the book to the lay reader interested in the limits of the Indian planning model. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-apr15-1958/ ### Summary The April 15, 1958 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VI No. 3), the Bombay-based 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' that bears the standing masthead 'We Stand For Free Economy And Libertarian Democracy', collects an editorial, eight signed and unsigned essays, news columns and book reviews around three preoccupations visible in the rendered pages: the unsettled Arab world after the Egypt-Syria Union and the Iraq-Jordan federation; the Nehru government's domestic stumbles (the Mundhra-LIC affair, the personality cult around the Prime Minister, talks with Pakistan); and a programmatic defence of libertarian and rationalist positions on the Indian condition, including a manifesto for the legislative abolition of caste and a primer titled 'What Is Libertarianism?'. Contributors in the rendered pages include M. A. Venkata Rao on Hindu-Muslim co-existence, T. L. Kantam on Khrushchev's consolidation of power, Sumant Bankeshwar on India's Middle-East policy, S.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The April 15, 1958 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VI No. 3), the Bombay-based 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' that bears the standing masthead 'We Stand For Free Economy And Libertarian Democracy', collects an editorial, eight signed and unsigned essays, news columns and book reviews around three preoccupations visible in the rendered pages: the unsettled Arab world after the Egypt-Syria Union and the Iraq-Jordan federation; the Nehru government's domestic stumbles (the Mundhra-LIC affair, the personality cult around the Prime Minister, talks with Pakistan); and a programmatic defence of libertarian and rationalist positions on the Indian condition, including a manifesto for the legislative abolition of caste and a primer titled 'What Is Libertarianism?'. Contributors in the rendered pages include M. A. Venkata Rao on Hindu-Muslim co-existence, T. L. Kantam on Khrushchev's consolidation of power, Sumant Bankeshwar on India's Middle-East policy, S. Ramanathan on caste, the columnist 'Lal' on the personality cult, and Kishore Valicha on Nehru and Pakistan. The issue's argumentative centre is suspicion of statism in all its forms — Nehruvian planning at home, Khrushchevite consolidation in Moscow, Nasserite pan-Arabism abroad — paired with an insistent classical-liberal vocabulary of individual rights, rule of law and free economy. Recurring polemical targets are the Congress establishment (especially around the Mundhra disclosures and the LIC), Soviet 'collective leadership', and what the editors call the 'personality cult' in Indian politics. ## Essays ### Letters to the Editor The Letters column carries reader correspondence on the dangers posed to India by the Kashmir position and on a campaign to 'stoop to conquer the Sheikh' (Abdullah). One letter argues that India has been led into the present complications over Kashmir by treating it as a special case, and another reader urges firmness against Pakistan's incursions on the border. The letters set up themes the editorial then takes up at length. - Reader letters on the Kashmir situation and Sheikh Abdullah - Concern about Pakistan's border conduct - Calls for firmer Indian policy ### EDITORIAL The unsigned editorial opens with 'Changes in the Arab World', reading the new United Arab Republic (Egypt-Syria) and the Iraq-Jordan federation as evidence that 'Events in Arab Asia are moving fast towards their dramatic issue', with President Nasser as the polarising figure and a Third World War on the horizon if Soviet and Western interests collide in the region. The piece is sceptical of Nasser's pan-Arab ambitions and warns that India's non-alignment leaves it unprepared for the consequences. The editorial then turns inward: a section on 'Robber Troubles With Pakistan' protests border raids; 'Tips For Pakistan' offers sardonic advice on its internal politics; 'Premature Confession' and 'Stooping To Conquer The Sheikh' attack the Centre's overtures to Sheikh Abdullah; and 'Dr. Radhakrishnan and Pakistan' welcomes the Vice-President's recent address on Indo-Pakistan relations as a more honest tone than the Prime Minister's. - Treats the UAR and Iraq-Jordan federation as the prelude to a wider Arab confrontation - Warns of great-power collision over the Middle East - Attacks the Centre's conciliatory line toward Sheikh Abdullah and Pakistan - Welcomes Vice-President Radhakrishnan's franker public statements ### India and Islam *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that 'one of the historic failures of the Indian people has been the inability to come to terms with Islam' despite a millennium of close association on Indian soil, and that the post-Partition Republic still has not solved the problem at the level of common consciousness. The essay distinguishes Hinduism's pluralist, philosophical temper from what Rao calls Islam's more uniform and legalistic theology, and proposes that genuine co-existence will come not from political formulas but from a 'realistic philosophy of common citizenship' that recognises the moral and metaphysical concerns the two traditions share. He warns against both Hindu communalism and the temptation to placate Muslim sentiment for short-term electoral reasons. - Argues India still has not come to terms with Islam after a millennium of contact - Contrasts Hindu pluralism with what Rao reads as Islamic legalism - Calls for a 'realistic philosophy of common citizenship' rather than communal formulas - Criticises both Hindu communalism and electoral appeasement of Muslim opinion ### Untimely Cloud Over India 'Untimely Cloud Over India' treats the resignation of Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari over the Mundhra-LIC affair as a symptom of deeper damage to Indian public life. The unsigned piece traces the chain of events by which Life Insurance Corporation funds were used to support the speculator Haridas Mundhra, and reads Krishnamachari's reluctant exit as confirmation that the Congress monopoly on power has begun to corrode both the standards of administration and the credibility of the cabinet system. The article presses the case for parliamentary accountability and warns that the affair is not a one-off lapse but the predictable consequence of an overgrown public sector. - Reads the Mundhra-LIC affair as a structural, not personal, scandal - Argues the Krishnamachari resignation came too late and too grudgingly - Treats the episode as evidence against an expanding public sector - Calls for stricter parliamentary control over public investment institutions ### Khrushchev Reaches the Pinnacle *By By T. L. Kantam* T. L. Kantam reads Khrushchev's elevation to the Premiership as the close of a succession struggle that began with Stalin's death in 1953. The essay tracks the sequence — Malenkov's brief tenure as Premier, the 'collective leadership' of Bulganin and Khrushchev, the expulsion of Molotov, Kaganovich, Malenkov and Pervukhin from the central committee, and now Bulganin's effective demotion — and concludes that Khrushchev has now achieved a personal monopoly comparable to Stalin's. Kantam treats the episode as confirmation that Soviet collective leadership is a myth, that the Twentieth Congress's denunciation of the cult of personality has produced a new cult, and that the same totalitarian logic drives both phases. - Sets Khrushchev's rise against the post-Stalin succession contest - Reads 'collective leadership' as a transitional fiction - Tracks the removal of Molotov, Kaganovich, Malenkov and Pervukhin - Argues a second cult of personality has replaced the first ### India and the Middle-East *By By Sumant S. Bankeshwar* Sumant Bankeshwar argues that Indian public opinion is poorly informed on the Middle East and that New Delhi's policy of supporting the Arab states against Israel has been driven less by analysis than by anti-imperial reflex and domestic communal arithmetic. He surveys the 1948 war, the Suez crisis, the formation of the United Arab Republic and the Iraq-Jordan response, and contends that India's pro-Arab tilt has neither advanced peace nor secured reciprocal goodwill, while ignoring Israel's record as a small democracy in a region of authoritarian regimes. The essay ends by urging a more balanced posture that does not subordinate India's foreign policy to its internal Muslim politics. - Critique of Indian foreign-policy ignorance on the Middle East - Argues India's pro-Arab tilt reflects domestic communal calculation - Defends Israel as a democracy among authoritarian neighbours - Calls for a balanced rather than reflexively anti-Israeli line ### Abolish Caste By Legislation *By By S. Ramanathan* S. Ramanathan, founder of the Indian Rationalist Association and former Madras minister, issues a manifesto for the legislative abolition of caste, co-signed by Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Parsi and other intellectuals. The essay treats caste as 'the most important problem that confronts the people of India to-day', argues that what began as a functional division has hardened into a hereditary religious institution that disfigures public life, and rejects the gradualist view that caste will dissolve on its own under economic change. Ramanathan presses the case that the State has the same standing to abolish caste by statute that it had to abolish untouchability or sati, and presents the technical mechanism — a prohibition on marriages within the same caste, framed as an attack on endogamy, 'the essence of caste'. The manifesto closes with a draft signature page and a public appeal. - Frames caste as India's first-order political problem - Treats endogamy, not occupation, as the structural mechanism of caste - Argues for legislative prohibition of intra-caste marriage - Rejects gradualism as a response to a hereditary hierarchy - Signed across communities, presented as a public manifesto ### What Is Libertarianism? An unsigned primer defines libertarianism as a politics built on the preservation of liberty, glossed as 'the absence of coercion of a human being by any other human being'. The essay distinguishes liberty from licence, places the libertarian inheritance in a lineage that runs through Tocqueville, and sketches three propositions: that nature has equipped human beings for liberty; that liberty must be defined negatively, as the absence of coercion; and that the rights of man — life, liberty and property — are anterior to the State, which exists to secure them. The piece treats civil liberty, free economy and rule of law as facets of a single position rather than separate doctrines. - Defines liberty as the absence of coercion - Roots the doctrine in a Tocquevillean liberal lineage - Treats civil liberty, free economy and rule of law as a single position - Asserts that rights of man precede the State ### The Personality Cult In India *By By Lal* Writing under the pseudonym 'Lal', the columnist contends that the Mundhra-LIC scandal has exposed a deeper sickness in Indian public life: the personality cult around Jawaharlal Nehru, which has hollowed out the institutions of parliamentary scrutiny. The essay argues that the Prime Minister's prestige is now used to deflect rather than answer the affairs of state, that admirers refuse to credit any failure to him while attributing every achievement to him personally, and that the result is a country in which one man's reputation has substituted for institutional accountability. The piece reaches back to Gandhi's role in independence-era politics and to Jinnah's contrasting rationalism to argue that India has now lost the habit of holding its leaders to account. - Reads Mundhra as the visible symptom of a deeper institutional failure - Treats the Nehru cult as the obstacle to parliamentary accountability - Contrasts current deference with earlier rationalist nationalism - Argues admirers attribute every success and no failure to Nehru personally ### Nehru Is Crying For The Moon *By By Kishore Valicha* Kishore Valicha attacks Nehru's renewed overtures to Pakistan as a wishful exercise — 'crying for the moon' — that ignores Pakistan's own democratic deficit and its sponsorship of sabotage and propaganda inside India. The piece argues that Pakistan's repeated postponement of its constitution and its drift toward dictatorship make it a poor partner for the kind of sentimental friendship Nehru is offering, and that Pandit Pant's recent statements compound the error by underplaying the security threat. The essay closes by linking the Pakistan policy to the wider personality-cult problem: Nehru's foreign policy, like his domestic record, is shielded from criticism by his prestige. - Treats Nehru's Pakistan overture as 'crying for the moon' - Highlights Pakistan's deferred constitution and democratic deficit - Charges Pakistan with sabotage and anti-Indian propaganda inside India - Links foreign-policy unrealism to the Nehru personality cult --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-apr15-1959/ ### Summary The April 15, 1959 number of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 2), edited by Edith Iathwala for the Libertarian Social Institute in Bombay, is a 'Special Tibetan Issue' whose editorial spine condemns the Nehru government's handling of the Tibetan crisis as a 'double standard of morality'. The editorial 'Tibet, India and China' and T. L. Kantam's lead essay 'Tibet: The Story of A Betrayal' read the arrival of the Dalai Lama in Indian territory as exposing the bankruptcy of the 1954 Indo-Chinese Panchsheel Treaty and the cynical breaking of Mao Tsetung's earlier assurances that the autonomy, economy and polity of Tibet would be respected. The remainder of the issue gathers the magazine's familiar classical-liberal commentary: K. Kumara Sekhar charges that Nehru's Marxist conditioning makes him 'an anachronism of our times'; A. Ranganathan attacks the Nagpur Congress resolution on co-operative farming as a delusion drawn from Soviet and Chinese models; M. A. Venkata Rao welcomes the new Independent Parliamentary Group as a long-awaited rightist alternative; Sudarshan offers a sympathetic profile of K. B.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The April 15, 1959 number of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 2), edited by Edith Iathwala for the Libertarian Social Institute in Bombay, is a 'Special Tibetan Issue' whose editorial spine condemns the Nehru government's handling of the Tibetan crisis as a 'double standard of morality'. The editorial 'Tibet, India and China' and T. L. Kantam's lead essay 'Tibet: The Story of A Betrayal' read the arrival of the Dalai Lama in Indian territory as exposing the bankruptcy of the 1954 Indo-Chinese Panchsheel Treaty and the cynical breaking of Mao Tsetung's earlier assurances that the autonomy, economy and polity of Tibet would be respected. The remainder of the issue gathers the magazine's familiar classical-liberal commentary: K. Kumara Sekhar charges that Nehru's Marxist conditioning makes him 'an anachronism of our times'; A. Ranganathan attacks the Nagpur Congress resolution on co-operative farming as a delusion drawn from Soviet and Chinese models; M. A. Venkata Rao welcomes the new Independent Parliamentary Group as a long-awaited rightist alternative; Sudarshan offers a sympathetic profile of K. B. Hedgewar and the RSS as the 'First Swayamsewak'; Frank Chodorov (reprinted) defends free will and the market against bureaucratic planning; Robert C. Tyson warns of an American fiscal point of no return; and Gopala Iyer Jayachandran dissects Community Planning as a third tier of unproductive bureaucracy. The volume mixes Tibet polemic, anti-planning economics, and party-political commentary in roughly equal measure. ## Essays ### Tibet, India and China (Editorial) The unsigned editorial frames the arrival of the Dalai Lama in Indian territory as 'the most important news in the last fortnight' and as a 'definite stage of the Tibetan anguish'. It contrasts India's cautious, non-committal Parliamentary statements about Tibetan refugees with the boldness of little Austria, which welcomed Hungarian refugees from the Red Army in 1956 even at the risk of being shot. The editorial then argues that the 1954 Indo-Chinese Panchsheel Treaty—which guaranteed Tibetan autonomy in internal, economic, political and cultural affairs—has been 'deliberately and cynically' broken by Mao Tsetung's government, and indicts the Indian government's response as a 'double standard of morality' that protects the goodwill of the 'Red Brother' at the cost of Tibetan freedom. - Treats the Dalai Lama's flight to India as the central foreign-policy event of the fortnight - Contrasts Nehru's cautious asylum stance with Austria's 1956 welcome of Hungarian refugees - Argues that China has 'cynically broken' the 1954 Panchsheel guarantees of Tibetan autonomy - Accuses Mao Tsetung of betraying his earlier assurance that Tibetan economy and polity would not be forcibly socialised - Names this divergence between New Delhi's words and deeds a 'double standard of morality' ### Behind the News An unsigned 'Behind the News' column extends the editorial line by linking the Tibetan question to the wider Asian Cold War. It argues that thanks to a docile press and an inert public opinion the Indian government has been able to engage in 'unprincipled adjusting' on Tibet, and that the so-called 'force of circumstances' invoked by the Prime Minister is in fact a function of failing to register protest with strength when the issues first arose. The column reads Chinese behaviour over Tibet as part of a longer narrative of expansion and warns that the doctrine of Panchsheela can no longer mask plain national interest. - Frames the column's task as exposing what the official handling of Tibet leaves unsaid - Argues India's failure to protest forcefully on Tibet earlier is what now constrains its options - Treats Panchsheela as a slogan no longer congruent with Chinese conduct on the ground - Connects the Tibetan question to broader Asian Cold War balance ### Tibet: The Story of A Betrayal *By T. L. Kantam* T. L. Kantam narrates the Chinese subjugation of Tibet as a long, premeditated betrayal of an isolated 'pleasure-loving people'. He traces the historical and dynastic links between India, Tibet and China—including marriages between Tibetan rulers and Nepali and Chinese princesses—and then sets out the breach of those traditional bonds by Communist China, whose secrecy and territorial appetite the article tracks through the closing of Tibetan borders, the suppression of religious life and the regimentation of monastic estates. Kantam argues that the religious-political authority of the Dalai Lama and the Tashi Lama is the institutional core that Beijing seeks to destroy, and that the worldwide silence on Tibet is itself a moral indictment. - Reads the Chinese occupation as a long-planned betrayal of a peaceable Buddhist people - Traces historical kinship and trade ties between Tibet, India and China to expose Beijing's revisionism - Presents the Dalai Lama and the Tashi Lama as the religious-political institutions Beijing wants to dissolve - Documents the systematic regimentation of Tibetan monastic and economic life under Chinese rule - Treats the world's relative silence on Tibet as itself a moral problem ### Nehru—An Anachronism of our Times *By K. Kumara Sekhar, B.A.* K. Kumara Sekhar mounts a polemical character study of Jawaharlal Nehru, arguing that the Prime Minister's mind was formed by British public-school socialism and Marxist conditioning, and that his current discomfort over Tibet exposes that conditioning rather than chastens it. Sekhar reads Nehru's reluctance to break openly with Beijing as the predictable behaviour of a man whose ideological commitments have made him incapable of seeing Communism as a moral problem. He argues that India's foreign policy is therefore not the work of an inscrutable statesman but of an 'anachronism'—a leader whose nineteenth-century European categories no longer fit the post-1949 Asian situation. Sekhar concludes that India must outgrow Nehru's vanity-driven Marxism if it is to develop a coherent national line. - Treats Nehru's mind as shaped by British public-school socialism and second-hand Marxism - Reads Nehru's caution on Tibet as ideological loyalty, not strategic prudence - Argues that India's foreign policy reflects one man's vanity rather than national interest - Diagnoses Nehru as historically out of place—an 'anachronism of our times' - Calls for India to outgrow Nehru's worldview before crafting a fresh national line ### The Delusion of Co-operative Farming *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan attacks the Nagpur Congress resolution on co-operative farming as a delusion borrowed from the Soviet collectivisation and from Mao's commune experiments. He argues that the Congress leadership, having failed to deliver agricultural growth through the first two Plans, is now reaching for a coercive institutional fix that will neither raise productivity nor enlarge peasant freedom. Ranganathan contends that voluntary co-operatives have a place but that 'co-operative farming' as a state-imposed model is incompatible with the small-holder character of Indian agriculture, and that the bureaucratic-political ideology imitatively borrowed from Moscow is the real obstacle to peasant prosperity. - Reads the Nagpur Congress resolution on co-operative farming as an imitation of Soviet and Chinese models - Argues that the failures of the first two Plans, not peasant resistance, are what produced the resolution - Distinguishes voluntary co-operatives (acceptable) from state-imposed co-operative farming (rejected) - Identifies a 'bureaucratic-political ideology' borrowed from the USSR as the chief obstacle to Indian agriculture ### The First Swayamsewak *By Sudarshan* Sudarshan offers a sympathetic biographical sketch of Dr. K. B. Hedgewar, founder of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, presenting his life of 'sorrow, suffering and sacrifice' as the model of the first swayamsewak. The piece narrates the Vidarbha origins of the Sangh, the shakha (cell) method of national-cultural training, and the post-Partition trials the organisation underwent. Sudarshan argues that the Sangh's strength lay in its insistence on character formation and national consciousness as the prerequisites of any political reconstruction, and that the swayamsewak ideal still answers a need that conventional parties cannot. - Treats K. B. Hedgewar's biography as the moral template of the swayamsewak ideal - Locates the RSS shakha system as the institutional core of Hedgewar's contribution - Presents character-formation and cultural cohesion as prior to political programme - Defends the Sangh as still relevant after the post-Partition controversies it weathered ### A New Rightist Party *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao welcomes the platform of the new Independent Parliamentary Group as the first serious attempt to give India's political and commercial interests a distinct rightist voice, but argues that liberalism cannot be reduced to a sectional defence of laissez-faire. He develops a fuller liberal programme around fundamental freedoms—of religion, occupation and the press—property rights, the rule of law, and democracy understood not as planning but as the dispersal of decisions. Reading Rajaji and Munshi as natural senior partners of such a movement, Venkata Rao argues that the rightist party must move past purely economic complaint and contest the Congress on the terrain of constitutional principle. - Greets the Independent Parliamentary Group's platform as a long-needed rightist alternative - Argues that mere commercial liberalism is not enough; a full liberal philosophy is required - Lays out fundamental freedoms, property rights, rule of law, and federal dispersal of power as the platform's missing core - Reads Rajaji and Munshi as the natural senior figures of such a movement - Calls for the new party to challenge the Congress on constitutional, not merely economic, ground ### Free Will and the Market Place *By Frank Chodorov* Frank Chodorov's reprinted essay argues that 'free will is the starting point of all ethical thinking' and that the same premise must govern economic life. Markets, on his account, are not engines of exploitation but the institutional form of voluntary cooperation: prices and competition let individuals make choices whose moral character requires the absence of coercion. Chodorov develops the case through the specialisation of labour, the function of capital, and the necessity of profit as a return on respect for property. The first half rendered ends with an argument that bureaucratic substitution of force for choice destroys both the wealth and the moral standing of a society. - Grounds market exchange in the same free-will premise as ethics - Treats specialisation, capital and profit as natural consequences of voluntary cooperation - Identifies coercive substitution for market choice as the destroyer of both wealth and moral agency - Defends respect for property as the necessary corollary of respect for persons ### Toward A Point of No Return *By Robert C. Tyson* Robert C. Tyson warns that the United States is approaching a fiscal 'point of no return' at which the cumulative weight of federal spending, the highest peacetime tax rates ever experienced, and the steady give-and-take spiral of demands on government will make further growth in productive industry effectively impossible. The essay reads American industries as confronting common questions even where their specific problems differ, and identifies the bipartisan willingness to spend as the root danger. In the portion rendered Tyson is building toward a programme of disciplined retrenchment as the only way back from the spiral. - Diagnoses the U.S. fiscal trajectory as approaching a point of irreversibility - Names the highest peacetime tax rates ever experienced as the threshold variable - Frames the issue as common to all major American industries, not sectional - Sets up an argument for disciplined retrenchment of federal spending ### A Profile of Community Planning *By Gopala Iyer Jayachandran* Gopala Iyer Jayachandran reads the Community Development and Community Planning programme as the third layer of an already over-bureaucratised state, multiplying offices and reports without adding to productive capacity. He distinguishes 'community' as an organic life-form rooted in shared cultural and economic interests from the official Community Project, which he reads as a top-down political instrument that the village neither owns nor controls. The portion rendered develops the argument that genuine community building requires devolution of decision and resources rather than the proliferation of administrative posts; the essay continues past the rendered pages. - Treats Community Planning as a third tier of bureaucracy rather than as devolution - Distinguishes organic community life from administered 'community projects' - Argues that politicians and big landlords use community schemes to consolidate their hold - Frames real community-building as requiring devolution of decision and resources --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-apr15-1960/ ### Summary The Indian Libertarian Vol. VIII No. 2 (April 15, 1960) is a fortnightly issue of the Bombay-based liberal-libertarian periodical that opens with a long editorial on President Nasser's expanding influence across the Arab world and India's diplomatic response, followed by feature essays on the newly founded Swatantra Party, Afro-Asian solidarity, the meaning of socialism, an Economic Supplement defending free enterprise, and a survey of cultural freedom in republican India. The issue knits together international affairs (Nasser, the South African race war, French atomic tests in the Sahara, the Tibet question), domestic politics (Swatantra versus Congress, Krishna Menon's defence policy, the Bombay High Court's ruling on the Governor's order), and the standing classical-liberal preoccupations of the journal — defending free economy against the Planning Commission's controls, criticising the drift of Nehruvian foreign policy, and warning against the erosion of cultural and intellectual liberty under what its writers see as Congress orthodoxy. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The Indian Libertarian Vol. VIII No. 2 (April 15, 1960) is a fortnightly issue of the Bombay-based liberal-libertarian periodical that opens with a long editorial on President Nasser's expanding influence across the Arab world and India's diplomatic response, followed by feature essays on the newly founded Swatantra Party, Afro-Asian solidarity, the meaning of socialism, an Economic Supplement defending free enterprise, and a survey of cultural freedom in republican India. The issue knits together international affairs (Nasser, the South African race war, French atomic tests in the Sahara, the Tibet question), domestic politics (Swatantra versus Congress, Krishna Menon's defence policy, the Bombay High Court's ruling on the Governor's order), and the standing classical-liberal preoccupations of the journal — defending free economy against the Planning Commission's controls, criticising the drift of Nehruvian foreign policy, and warning against the erosion of cultural and intellectual liberty under what its writers see as Congress orthodoxy. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL — President Nasser in India The unsigned editorial 'President Nasser' surveys the consolidation of Nasser's authority over the United Arab Republic and his shifting relations with Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Israel. It argues that Nasser's brand of Arab nationalism — bolstered by a propaganda apparatus and pan-Arab ambition — has become the dominant force in West Asia, that India's friendship with Egypt has so far yielded little political return, and that smaller Arab states fear absorption into the UAR. Adjacent editorial notes cover Mr. H. M. Patel's critique of defence policy and Krishna Menon's stewardship, the Bombay High Court decision on the Governor's order touching the Bombay-Maharashtra dispute, the South African racial crisis after Sharpeville, the Afro-Asian bloc's posture at the UN, Pakistan's proposal for a Lahore–Dacca railway across Indian territory, and Nehru's condemnation of French atomic tests in the Sahara. - Frames President Nasser as the central political broker of the Arab world and reads regional realignments through his ambitions. - Notes that India's cultivation of Nasser has not produced reciprocal support on Kashmir or other Indian concerns. - Endorses H. M. Patel's parliamentary criticism of defence preparedness and questions Krishna Menon's leadership. - Treats the Sharpeville massacre and South Africa's racial regime as a defining moral test for the Afro-Asian bloc and the Commonwealth. - Condemns French nuclear testing in the Sahara as a violation of African sovereignty and a danger to the world. ### Prospects Before the Swatantra Party *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that the Swatantra Party has unsettled the Prime Minister and the Congress because it offers, for the first time since independence, a principled democratic alternative grounded in free economy, the dignity of the individual, and constitutional restraint on state power. He defends the party's twenty-one founding principles, traces its appeal to peasants, traders and middle-class professionals alienated by central planning, and disputes the standard charge that liberalism in India is a relic of imperial rule. Drawing on the classical-liberal tradition — and citing Hayek and Mises as the doyens of post-war economic humanism — he insists that the Swatantra programme is neither reactionary nor capitalist apologetics but a sober attempt to combine political liberty, agrarian dignity and an open economy against the encroaching apparatus of the Planning Commission. - Reads the Prime Minister's anxiety about Swatantra as proof that a coherent liberal opposition is now in the field. - Foregrounds 'Free Economy' as the first of the party's principles, tied to the dignity of the individual. - Defends the party's appeal to peasants and small producers facing the cost of planning and statutory price controls. - Invokes Hayek and Mises to ground the party's economic position in the international classical-liberal revival. - Rejects the charge that Indian liberalism is alien or imperial in origin and presents it as a continuous indigenous tradition. ### Afro-Asian Solidarity *By M. N. Thakur* M. N. Thabal dismisses the slogan of Afro-Asian solidarity as rhetoric that 'cannot bear a moment's scrutiny.' He argues that the Asian and African states grouped under the slogan share neither political institutions, religious traditions, nor strategic interests, and that the Prime Minister's diplomacy has tried to keep alive a unity that exists only in declarations. Reviewing Arab nationalism, the Kashmir dispute, the Security Council voting record on the issue, and the Sino-Indian border, he contends that the supposed Afro-Asian bloc has consistently failed to support India where it mattered, and that Pakistan's lobbying within the bloc has been more effective than New Delhi's. The piece is a sustained attack on the moral and strategic premises of Nehruvian non-alignment. - Calls Afro-Asian solidarity a slogan that 'cannot bear a moment's scrutiny.' - Argues that Arab states have backed Pakistan rather than India on Kashmir. - Treats the Security Council's voting record on Kashmir as evidence that the Afro-Asian bloc is not reliably with India. - Reads the Sino-Indian border crisis as further proof that 'solidarity' has not produced practical support for India. - Frames Nehru's non-alignment as built on sentiment that does not survive contact with hard interest. ### What Is Socialism? *By Leszek Kolakowski* The journal reprints an essay by the Polish philosopher Leszek Kołakowski, 'What Is Socialism?', presented as a translation of a text that was set in type in Warsaw in 1957 but never published. The essay proceeds as a long, sardonic enumeration of what socialism is not — a list that, by negation, exposes the gap between socialist doctrine and the political practice of the People's Republics. Each entry begins 'A society that…' and ends by denying that such a society can be called socialist: a state in which one group exploits another in the name of the working class, a state in which dissenters are imprisoned, where the citizen has no right to scientific opinion, where philosophy is dictated by the police, and so on. The translated extract carried in this issue runs across pages 10 and 15 of the issue. - Reprints Kołakowski's 1957 Polish essay defining socialism by what it is not. - Structured as a litany — 'A society which… is not a socialist society' — that doubles as a critique of the Eastern bloc. - Uses negation to insist on a moral content for socialism that the state-socialist regimes have abandoned. - Includes denials of regimes that imprison dissenters, dictate philosophy, or treat citizens as instruments of party power. - Frames the absence of liberty of opinion as the decisive disqualification of any claim to socialism. ### ECONOMIC SUPPLEMENT — Why Free Economy? / Economic Chaos—A Way Out / Sound Growth *By G N Lawande* In the issue's Economic Supplement, Prof. G. N. Lawande opens with 'Why Free Economy?' — an argument that economic development in underdeveloped countries has been wrongly identified with the volume of financial resources mobilised through public taxation, public borrowing and deficit finance. Lawande contends that real per-capita income gains follow from the productive use of resources and the institutional setting in which decisions are made, not from the size of state outlays alone. He criticises the Indian habit of treating planning targets as ends in themselves, warns that inflationary deficit finance erodes savings, and argues that an economy organised around private decision-making and market signals — a 'free economy' — is the more realistic route to development than further extensions of state direction. - Distinguishes between the volume of financial resources mobilised by the state and the genuine economic development of a country. - Argues that real per-capita income, not state outlay, is the proper test of development. - Treats deficit financing and inflation as silent taxes that erode the saving capacity of ordinary households. - Defends decentralised, market-based decision-making as the practical alternative to extended state planning. - Frames the choice between planning and free economy as one about the locus of decision, not merely the level of investment. ### Cultural Freedom Since Independence — Recent Trends in Republican India *By A. Ranganathan* The second Economic Supplement piece, 'Economic Chaos — A Way Out' by M. V. Sastry, argues, in the words of its subtitle, that 'a little planning is as impossible as a little pregnancy.' Sastry insists that the half-measures favoured by Indian policy — a public sector grafted onto a private economy, statutory controls layered over surviving markets, and a Planning Commission that issues directives while the cabinet improvises — combine the worst features of both regimes. He calls for an honest choice: either full centralisation on the Soviet model, or a thorough turn to a free economy under stable monetary rules and a limited state. The essay reads as a companion piece to Lawande's, sharpening the political argument that the Indian middle way is unstable. - Frames Indian economic policy as a half-planned, half-market system that combines the disadvantages of both. - Argues that 'a little planning' is structurally impossible — planning either takes over or fails. - Treats the Planning Commission's evolving role as evidence of the instability of the mixed economy. - Calls for a clear constitutional and political choice between full centralisation and a genuine free economy. - Links the case for free economy to monetary stability and a restrained, rule-bound state. ### DELHI LETTER — Swatantra Alarming Congress & Jan Sangh *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan's 'Cultural Freedom Since Independence — Recent Trends in Republican India' surveys the climate for liberal thought, scholarly enquiry and creative writing in the Republic. He argues that the liberal intelligentsia has lost ground to officially sponsored cultural bodies and to a public mood that confuses uniformity with national purpose. The piece treats episodes of political pressure on writers and academics, the use of state patronage to reward orthodoxy, and the dependence of literary and academic institutions on central funding as evidence that the conditions for cultural freedom have narrowed since 1947. Ranganathan situates the Indian case in the wider international debate on cultural freedom and argues for institutional and intellectual pluralism as the safeguard against drift toward conformity. - Argues that liberal and cultural values have suffered a steady decline since Independence. - Treats state patronage of literature and scholarship as a subtle instrument of conformity. - Reads cultural freedom as inseparable from political and intellectual pluralism. - Locates the Indian case within the international Congress for Cultural Freedom debate. - Calls for autonomous institutions as the structural condition for free thought. ### BOMBAY ROUND UP — Friendly Approach to All Problems The 'Delhi Letter', filed by the journal's correspondent, reports on political currents in the capital. The opening dispatch, 'Swatantra Alarming Congress & Jan Sangh', notes that the Swatantra Party's growth has discomforted both the ruling Congress and the Jan Sangh, and reads the cross-party reaction as a sign of the party's emerging weight. Subsequent items cover the language question and the controversy over the use of Hindi versus English in administration and Parliament, the Lobsang Tibetan refugee claim of an Everest crossing, and Governor Gadgil's controversial remarks. The Letter is gossipy in tone but substantive in its tracking of how the new liberal opposition is shifting alignments within the Congress system. - Reports that the Swatantra Party's growth is alarming both the Congress and the Jan Sangh. - Tracks the language debate and resistance to the imposition of Hindi in official business. - Notes the Lobsang Tibetan refugee episode and its diplomatic background. - Covers Governor Gadgil's contested public remarks. - Treats Delhi politics as a barometer of the wider liberal-conservative realignment underway in 1960. ### BOOKS AND VIEWS / Book Reviews — The Revolt in Tibet (by Frank Moraes) The Book Reviews section opens with a notice of Frank Moraes's 'The Revolt in Tibet' (Macmillan, 1960; price Rs. 7.50), summarising Moraes's narrative of the Chinese suppression of the 1959 Tibetan uprising and the flight of the Dalai Lama. The review reads the book as a useful primer on the Sino-Tibetan crisis for Indian readers and as a corrective to officially favoured accounts that played down the implications of Chinese rule for Indian security on the Himalayan frontier. - Notices Frank Moraes's 'The Revolt in Tibet' as the headline book reviewed in this issue. - Treats the book as a primer on the 1959 Tibetan uprising and the Dalai Lama's flight. - Reads it as a corrective to official Indian accounts of the Sino-Tibetan crisis. - Connects the Tibet question to Indian frontier security in the Himalayas. - Recommends the title to readers following the developing China policy debate. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-apr15-1961/ ### Summary The April 15, 1961 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IX, No. 2), edited by D. M. Kulkarni and published by Libertarian Publishers, Bombay, opens with three editorials surveying foreign and domestic affairs: Louis Fisher's New Leader proposal that India and Pakistan move toward confederation, the use of preventive detention by Home Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri after the Jabalpur communal riots, and what the editors call Nehru's likely concessions to Ayub Khan over the Indus waters and Kashmir. The issue then carries M. A. Venkata Rao on the historical origins of democracy and the limits of majority rule, M. N. Tholal's polemical 'Nehru Facing Both Ways' on India's drift toward bloc politics, and a reprinted Stephen Pearl Andrews essay defending the sovereignty of the individual against the protective state. The centerpiece is a four-page Economic Supplement built around a libertarian 'Declaration Of Principle And Policy' for solving the land problem through a single tax on the annual value of land, illustrated by D. M.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The April 15, 1961 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IX, No. 2), edited by D. M. Kulkarni and published by Libertarian Publishers, Bombay, opens with three editorials surveying foreign and domestic affairs: Louis Fisher's New Leader proposal that India and Pakistan move toward confederation, the use of preventive detention by Home Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri after the Jabalpur communal riots, and what the editors call Nehru's likely concessions to Ayub Khan over the Indus waters and Kashmir. The issue then carries M. A. Venkata Rao on the historical origins of democracy and the limits of majority rule, M. N. Tholal's polemical 'Nehru Facing Both Ways' on India's drift toward bloc politics, and a reprinted Stephen Pearl Andrews essay defending the sovereignty of the individual against the protective state. The centerpiece is a four-page Economic Supplement built around a libertarian 'Declaration Of Principle And Policy' for solving the land problem through a single tax on the annual value of land, illustrated by D. M. Kulkarni's account of land-value taxation in practice (citing Henry George, the Australian states, and New Zealand) and a Land and Liberty piece distinguishing 'just' from 'wrongful' taxation. A Delhi Letter on the Congress rout in the New Delhi municipal elections, a Tom Jones review of Henry Hazlitt's 'What You Should Know About Inflation', press gleanings on Morarji Desai's tax proposals and the scapegoating of the press for the Jabalpur riots, and News & Views items on Tibet, the Soviet Union, U.K. trade-union investments and the 1962 general elections complete the issue. The advertising back-page lists books by Bakunin, Proudhon, Rocker, Borsodi, Von Mises and Sitaram Goel from Libertarian Publishers' catalogue. ## Essays ### Editorial — Confederation with Pakistan; Jabalpur Riots and the Home Ministry; Nehru's Further Concessions to Ayub Khan?; India and America The lead editorial reviews Louis Fisher's New Leader proposal that India and Pakistan move toward a confederation, noting the historical precedent of West Germany seeking talks with East Germany at Soviet urging and the Macmillan line on European unity. The editors are sceptical that such a venture can succeed under present conditions but argue it deserves serious British and American attention. The companion editorials criticise Home Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri for continued reliance on the Preventive Detention Act after the Jabalpur riots and warn that Nehru's London talks with President Ayub Khan signal further concessions on the Indus waters and Kashmir, with an additional note on the visit to India of an American officer named Arnold Harrison and its diplomatic implications. - Editorial endorses serious engagement with Louis Fisher's confederation-with-Pakistan proposal while remaining sceptical of its near-term prospects. - Criticises Lal Bahadur Shastri for keeping the Preventive Detention Act in force after Jabalpur, calling the law a denial of fundamental rights. - Frames Nehru's London meetings with Ayub Khan as the prelude to further Indian concessions over Indus waters and Kashmir. - Reads the India-Pakistan-America triangle through the lens of Cold War alignments and Kennedy's new administration. ### What the Voter Should Know — The Historical Origin of Democracy *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao opens a serialised civic-education essay on the historical origins of democracy, tracing the idea from Greek city-states through the medieval English struggle against arbitrary monarchy to the modern parliamentary state. He argues that the modern voter inherits a tradition in which kingship was first limited by a feudal nobility, then by an enfranchised middle class, and finally by universal suffrage, but warns that political democracy alone is insufficient without an underlying ethic of self-government. The closing section on the limitations of majority rule cautions that majorities can be as tyrannical as kings and that Indian democracy must take care to protect minority opinion, free association and the moral autonomy of the individual. - Traces the historical evolution of democracy from Greek city-states through the English constitutional struggle to modern parliamentary government. - Argues that civic capacity, not formal franchise, is the substantive condition of self-government. - Warns that majority rule, unchecked by liberal principle, can reproduce the tyranny it replaces. - Frames the Indian voter's task as a moral as well as political responsibility. ### Nehru Facing Both Ways *By By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal accuses Nehru of facing both ways in foreign policy: courting the Soviet bloc rhetorically while seeking Western economic aid, and posturing as a peacemaker abroad while accommodating Chinese encroachments on Indian territory. Tholal contrasts Nehru with Sardar Patel, invokes Patel's deathbed warnings about Chinese intentions, and argues that the government's reaction to the loss of Aksai Chin and the McMahon line dispute shows a chronic unwillingness to take a stand. The essay ends by asking whether India is heading toward a military alliance or a non-aligned bloc of its own. - Charges Nehru with strategic doublespeak: non-alignment in words, dependence in practice. - Invokes Sardar Patel as the counter-example of a leader willing to name the Chinese threat. - Reads the McMahon line dispute and Aksai Chin as exposing the limits of Nehruvian foreign policy. - Questions whether India can sustain non-alignment without either an alliance or a bloc of its own. ### True Conundrum Of Government *By By Stephen Pearl Andrews* A reprint of Stephen Pearl Andrews's nineteenth-century essay 'True Functions of Government' argues that the only legitimate function of government is to protect the sovereignty of the individual. Andrews develops a Protestant analogy: just as the Reformation asserted the individual's right of private judgement in matters of conscience, modern political liberty rests on the individual's right of private judgement in matters of social and economic life. He contends that government overreach in regulation, taxation and 'protection' of industry inevitably produces the very disorders it claims to prevent. - Argues that the sole legitimate function of government is the protection of individual sovereignty. - Draws a Protestant analogy between religious conscience and political liberty. - Treats economic regulation as a category mistake about what government can usefully do. - Reprinted from a nineteenth-century American source as a foundational libertarian text. ### Economic Supplement — Declaration Of Principle And Policy: For the Solution of Land Problem by Libertarians The Economic Supplement opens with a 'Declaration Of Principle And Policy: For the Solution of Land Problem by Libertarians', a Georgist programmatic statement. It holds that the economic, political and moral condition of any people is ultimately determined by the system of land tenure, and proposes that the equal right to land be secured by an annual tax on the unimproved value of land, with simultaneous abolition of taxes on labour, capital and trade. The declaration condemns regimentation, import controls and protective tariffs as breaches of personal liberty and as obstacles to a 'progressing civilisation'. - States that the system of land tenure determines a society's economic and moral order. - Proposes a single tax on the annual value of land in place of taxes on production and trade. - Condemns import controls, tariffs and protectionism as infringements of liberty. - Frames the libertarian land programme as a path to ending involuntary poverty without redistributive coercion. ### Economic Supplement — Land Value Taxation In Practice *By By D. M. Kulkarni* D. M. Kulkarni's 'Land Value Taxation In Practice' surveys real-world experiments with the Henry George idea. He cites the State of Pennsylvania's graded property tax, the Australian states and New Zealand, the city of Vienna under Henry George's son, and post-war German municipalities, arguing that wherever the system has been seriously tried it has improved building activity, broadened revenue and discouraged land speculation. The essay positions land-value taxation as the practical bridge between the libertarian declaration of principle and contemporary Indian fiscal reform. - Documents Pennsylvania, Australia, New Zealand and Vienna as practical laboratories for land-value taxation. - Argues that taxing site value rather than improvements rewards building and penalises speculation. - Treats Henry George's programme as administratively practical, not merely theoretical. - Reads the Indian land problem through the same lens — speculation, monopoly and obstructed development. ### Economic Supplement — Just Taxation And Wrongful Taxation A reprinted Land and Liberty (London) piece, 'Just Taxation And Wrongful Taxation', distinguishes between taxes that fall on socially created values (land rent) and taxes that fall on individual effort (income, sales, customs). The argument is that taxing wages and goods is wrongful because it confiscates the fruits of labour, while collecting the rent of land is just because it returns to the community a value the community created. The author warns Indian readers that the Finance Bill's continued reliance on excise and customs is exactly the wrong direction. - Distinguishes 'just' (land-value) from 'wrongful' (labour and consumption) taxation. - Argues that taxes on wages and goods confiscate the fruits of personal effort. - Treats site rent as a socially created surplus that may justly be reclaimed for public purposes. - Reads Indian fiscal policy as moving in the wrong direction on this distinction. ### Delhi Letter — Congress Rout In New Delhi (From Our Correspondent) A short Supplement essay titled 'Socialism and Democracy Evaluated' contrasts the libertarian conception of social order, in which voluntary cooperation between individuals produces harmony, with the socialist conception, in which a centrally planned authority assigns roles and rations rewards. The essay holds that human progress rests on individualism and that no government has a moral right to impose a uniform economic plan on dissenting citizens. The 'Consequences Born In Individuals' section argues that democratic and socialist principles cannot indefinitely coexist in the same constitution. - Sets libertarian individualism against socialist planning as competing first principles. - Argues that voluntary cooperation produces social harmony more reliably than central direction. - Concludes that democracy and socialism are constitutionally incompatible in the long run. - Closes the Economic Supplement on a polemical note that anticipates later libertarian writing. ### Book Review — What You Should Know About Inflation by Henry Hazlitt (Van Nostrand Company Inc.) *By —Tom Jones* The Delhi Letter, signed 'Balanced Living', reports on the rout of the Congress in the New Delhi municipal elections and reads it as a verdict on the Nehru government's drift. The correspondent describes how the Jana Sangh, the Swatantra Party and independents combined to defeat Congress candidates, profiles Acharya Kripalani's role, and discusses K. M. Munshi's intervention in the campaign. A companion section reports on the Fellow-Travellers' Council and on the proposal for a 'Borderline of Welfare State', a moderating reformulation of welfare politics. - Reports the rout of Congress in the New Delhi civic elections as a political turning point. - Names Acharya Kripalani and K. M. Munshi among the figures shaping the opposition campaign. - Reads the result as a verdict on Congress complacency rather than a coherent rival platform. - Adds a column on the 'Borderline of Welfare State' debate as a moderating reformulation. ### Gleanings from the Press — Morari Proposes 'Morton's Fork' to Tax-Payers; Local Press Made the Scapegoat of Jabalpur Riots; 'Favourite' Wife of the White-Capped Congress Rulers *By —Behar Herald* Tom Jones reviews Henry Hazlitt's 'What You Should Know About Inflation' (Van Nostrand, 1961), summarising Hazlitt's argument that inflation is caused by government expansion of the money supply rather than by wage demands, monopoly pricing or speculation. The reviewer endorses Hazlitt's case against Keynesian remedies and recommends the book as a corrective to confused popular thinking on the subject. The review is paired with a 'Visit to America' cartoon strip on the realities of life in the United States. - Endorses Hazlitt's claim that inflation is a monetary phenomenon caused by government policy. - Reads the book as a deliberate corrective to Keynesian conventional wisdom. - Recommends Hazlitt as essential reading for the lay public on inflation. - Appears alongside a 'Visit to America' satirical cartoon on American life. ### News & Views — Donkey-Driver's Budget; Over One Crore Rupees Down The Drain of SBS; 'Brain-Washing' of Tibetan Youths; A Peep Hole in the 'Iron Curtain' in Russia; U.K. Trade Unions Go 'Capitalistic'; Bravado; Military Alliance or Bloc?; Christian Bombs with Pagan Names; Next Five Years Crucial for Democracy in India 'Gleanings from the Press' reprints two short items. The first, from a Raj Sabha report, criticises Finance Minister Morarji Desai's 'Morton's fork' approach to taxation, where the burden is squeezed alike from those who spend and those who save. The second blames the local press at Jabalpur as a scapegoat for the communal riots, defending the press against the government's hostile reading of its coverage. - Criticises Morarji Desai for a taxation logic that punishes both spending and saving. - Defends the Jabalpur press against being made a political scapegoat for the riots. - Reads government press criticism as part of a wider pattern of state pressure on the media. ### Essay 12 The News & Views column covers the donkey-driver's budget, the disappearance of over a crore of rupees from the State Bank of Sikkim, the brainwashing of Tibetan youths in Communist China, a 'peep hole in the iron curtain' on Soviet daily life, and U.K. trade-union experiments with investing pension funds in equities. A closing item argues that the next five years will be decisive for Indian democracy, with the 1962 general election as the test case for whether the country's constitutional ethos can survive Congress dominance and continued planning. - Surveys events in Sikkim, Tibet, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom from a libertarian angle. - Reports U.K. trade unions moving into equity investment as a 'capitalist' development. - Frames the 1962 Indian general election as decisive for the future of constitutional democracy. - Maintains the issue's running theme that planning, central direction and Congress monopoly are mutually reinforcing problems. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-apr15-1962/ ### Summary This 15 April 1962 issue of *The Indian Libertarian* (Vol. X No. 2) — an independent journal of economic and public affairs that 'stands for free economy and limited government' and is edited by D. M. Kulkarni for Libertarian Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Bombay — pairs an editorial on the post-colonial slide towards dictatorship in Afro-Asia with signed essays by M. A. Venkata Rao on civil-service administration and national integration, M. N. Tholal on India's confrontation with Western liberal values, and A. Ranganathan on sycophancy under Nehru. A four-page Economic Supplement carries Prof. S. Kesava Iyengar's statistical critique of the Third Plan and a long excerpt of Ambassador J. K. Galbraith's Ahmedabad address on the causes of poverty. The back half of the issue runs a Delhi Letter on the post-third-general-election political mood, a review of John Strachey's *The Great Awakening*, 'Gleanings from the Press' built around a Frank Moraes column, and a 'Dear Editor' contribution defending Swatantra Party planning.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 15 April 1962 issue of *The Indian Libertarian* (Vol. X No. 2) — an independent journal of economic and public affairs that 'stands for free economy and limited government' and is edited by D. M. Kulkarni for Libertarian Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Bombay — pairs an editorial on the post-colonial slide towards dictatorship in Afro-Asia with signed essays by M. A. Venkata Rao on civil-service administration and national integration, M. N. Tholal on India's confrontation with Western liberal values, and A. Ranganathan on sycophancy under Nehru. A four-page Economic Supplement carries Prof. S. Kesava Iyengar's statistical critique of the Third Plan and a long excerpt of Ambassador J. K. Galbraith's Ahmedabad address on the causes of poverty. The back half of the issue runs a Delhi Letter on the post-third-general-election political mood, a review of John Strachey's *The Great Awakening*, 'Gleanings from the Press' built around a Frank Moraes column, and a 'Dear Editor' contribution defending Swatantra Party planning. Across its sections the issue holds together as a classical-liberal periodical attacking central planning, one-party drift, ministerial sycophancy and the survival of the licence-permit regime, while welcoming Swatantra's gains in the new Lok Sabha. ## Essays ### Editorial — Democracy At Bay In Afro-Asia The unsigned lead editorial, 'Democracy at Bay in Afro-Asia,' argues that independence from foreign rule has not produced real freedom across the post-colonial belt: Ghana under Nkrumah, Pakistan under Ayub, Ceylon under Mrs. Bandaranaike and Burma under its army have all slid into one-party rule, military regimes or 'caricatures of democracy.' The editorial reads the trend as the natural consequence of Western liberal-democratic ideas failing to root in 'their uncongenial soils,' and warns that imperialist rivalries and social reaction have created a climate favourable to dictatorships dressed up 'in the name of democracy and freedom.' The piece is paired on later pages with reports on the Syrian military coup and Pakistan's eastern border dispute with Afghanistan, all framed as further evidence of the Afro-Asian democratic recession. - Argues that decolonisation has not produced real freedom — Ghana, Pakistan, Ceylon and Burma are read as case studies in democratic regression. - Treats Nkrumah's detention of opponents and Ayub Khan's 'undisguised dictatorship' as illustrative of the pattern. - Attributes the failure of liberal-democratic ideas to take root in Afro-Asia to imperialism, regional rivalries and 'social reaction.' - Reads new dictators as imperialists 'in the name of democracy and freedom,' inverting the rhetoric of liberation. - Frames the Syrian military coup and Pakistan–Afghanistan frontier moves as part of the same anti-democratic drift. ### Administration And National Integration *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that the central problem of Indian administration is the collision between the inherited tradition of an impersonal, rule-bound civil service and the new emotional and ideological demands of post-independence nationalism. He warns that the steady politicisation of services under the slogans of socialism and 'national integration' — including pressure on officers to identify themselves emotionally with the ruling party — corrodes the very neutrality on which an integrated administration depends. The essay closes by calling for civic education and a frankly liberal-democratic ethos in place of the one-party 'monolithic' atmosphere that he sees overtaking the country. - Reads administration as a contest between rule-bound civil service inheritance and post-independence political pressure. - Warns that 'national integration' is being conflated with conformity to the ruling party's ideology. - Argues that officers' enforced identification with Congress doctrine destroys impartial administration. - Calls for civic education and a self-consciously liberal-democratic alternative to monolithic one-party politics. - Connects the integrity of services to the survival of constitutional government itself. ### Anglo-Hindu Encounter *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Anglo-Hindu Encounter' reads modern India as the meeting ground of two civilisations: an Anglo-Saxon liberal-democratic order built on rights, due process and freedom of expression, and a Hindu social order whose virtues — toleration, the absorption of difference, a tradition of philosophical disputation — have not yet translated into political liberty. He contrasts what he calls Western 'live and let live' with the Hindu-Muslim animosities of the subcontinent and is sharply critical of leaders who invoke ancient toleration while presiding over communal violence. The article also engages contemporary Indian commentators — including Vinoba Bhave and Jayaprakash Narayan — who, in his reading, romanticise tradition at the cost of acknowledging how much modern Indian freedom actually owes to the liberal English inheritance. - Frames the article as an encounter between Anglo-Saxon liberalism and Hindu civilisation. - Credits the West with the practical lesson of 'live and let live' in religious and political life. - Argues that Hindu toleration in theory has not produced political toleration in practice. - Disputes Vinoba and JP's traditionalism: their categories underplay the debt to English liberal ideas. - Reads communal violence as evidence that the civilisational encounter is incomplete. ### The Cult Of Yesmanship In India *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan's 'The Cult Of Yesmanship In India' uses a P. G. Wodehouse Mulliner story as a comic frame to attack the climate of sycophancy that has grown up around Nehru and his cabinet. Drawing on John W. Gardner's *Self-Renewal* and on American debates over McCarthyism, he argues that the absence of real intellectual disagreement around the Prime Minister — the willingness of ministers and officials to echo every directive — is a sickness of the political class, not of the masses. He invokes the Khosla Commission's strictures and the careers of Pandit Pant and Krishna Menon to show how the 'yesman' style corrupts both administration and the public sphere, and reads the cult of consensus as the domestic counterpart of the one-party drift the issue's editorial attacks. - Opens with a Wodehouse Mulliner conceit to introduce sycophancy as a national pathology. - Draws on John W. Gardner's *Self-Renewal* to diagnose intellectual conformism in the ruling class. - Compares Indian 'yesmanship' to American McCarthyism as a parallel failure of liberal courage. - Cites the Khosla Commission's findings on official sycophancy in defence of his argument. - Reads ministerial flattery of Nehru as a domestic mirror of the Afro-Asian one-party slide. - Calls for revival of independent judgment within the political class as a precondition for democracy. ### Economic Supplement — Patent Pitfalls In Planning — The Indian Experiment *By Prof. S. Kesava Iyengar, Director, Indian Academy of Economics* Prof. S. Kesava Iyengar, Director of the Indian Academy of Economics, opens the Economic Supplement with a statistical critique of the official claim that national income rose by 42% in the decade 1950–61. Using R.B.I. and C.S.O. figures and a comparison with the 1941, 1951 and 1961 censuses, he shows that the simple annual rate of growth of national income between 1951-52 and 1960-61 at 1948-49 prices was about 3%, with an annual per-capita increase of only ₹2.05 — and that the 'real' figure on a revised census base is closer to ₹1.29 a year. Drawing on Colin Clark, he argues that any plan that claims acceleration without a 'radical reversal of price policy' is engaged in 'window-dressing,' and that the Third Plan must be re-adjusted in light of the steep price rise and runaway population growth. - Uses R.B.I. and C.S.O. data to challenge the 42% national-income growth claim for 1950-61. - Shows annual per-capita income growth of just ₹2.05 (and only ₹1.29 on revised census base). - Argues authorities have used inflation and population estimates for 'window-dressing.' - Calls for the Third Plan to be re-cast given the 'price explosion' since 1958 and runaway population. - Cites Colin Clark on U.K. comparison: India's per-capita income growth lags far behind. - Demands a 'radical reversal of price policy' as a precondition for genuine growth. ### Delhi Letter — Prime Minister Joins A Thriving Industry *By John Kenneth Galbraith* The supplement reproduces (in part) U.S. Ambassador John Kenneth Galbraith's address at Gujarat University on 'The Causes of Poverty: A Clinical View.' Galbraith treats poverty as a population of countries to be diagnosed rather than a moral failing of individuals: he proposes that poor countries be examined empirically for the institutional, climatic, accumulation and cultural conditions that keep them poor. The excerpt enumerates assumed causes — supposed racial and cultural weaknesses, climatic determinism, lack of capital, lack of skill, feudal land tenure, and the survival of medieval economic forms — and tests them against the geographic distribution of poor countries today, treating Sub-Saharan Africa, parts of South America, the Arab world and South and East Asia as the cases to be explained. The piece is marked 'To be continued.' - Reframes poverty as a problem to be diagnosed clinically across countries rather than moralised. - Lists candidate causes — race, climate, capital scarcity, skills, feudal land tenure, medieval institutions — to be tested empirically. - Treats Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, the Arab world and South/East Asia as the geography to be explained. - Implicitly criticises stadial accounts that take Northern European development as the universal template. - Closes with a procedural call for evidence-based investigation rather than ideological pronouncement. - Marked 'To be continued' — only the first half of the address is reproduced. ### Book Review — The Great Awakening (John Strachey) *By M. A. Venkatrao* The unsigned 'Delhi Letter,' headed 'Prime Minister joins A Thriving Industry,' reports the mood in the capital after the third general election. Its sting is that Nehru himself, in the post-election period, has joined the chorus of intellectuals and politicians publicly worrying that Indian democracy is in trouble — a 'thriving industry' of pessimism. The Letter then runs through the new Lok Sabha line-up: Acharya Kripalani, Frank Anthony, Dr. Lohia and Asoka Mehta on the opposition benches; the arrival of a Swatantra contingent led by figures like Achyut Patwardhan; and behind the scenes, conflicts around Vinoba Bhave's Bhoodan movement, M. C. Chagla's foreign-policy interventions, K. M. Munshi's continuing presence in cultural life, and renewed worry about Chinese aggression in the Himalayan border. A short concluding section on 'The New Parliament' reflects on the dissolution of the second Lok Sabha and the temper of the third. - Reads Nehru's own warnings about democratic decay as joining a Delhi 'industry' of pessimism. - Surveys the opposition in the new Lok Sabha — Kripalani, Frank Anthony, Lohia, Asoka Mehta — and the Swatantra contingent. - Notes Achyut Patwardhan and other Swatantra figures as a substantive new voice. - Tracks Vinoba Bhave's Bhoodan movement and M. C. Chagla's foreign-policy role. - Warns that Chinese aggression on the Himalayan frontier could colour parliamentary politics for years. - Closes with the dissolution of the second Lok Sabha and the temper of the third. ### Gleanings from the Press / News & Views *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkatrao reviews John Strachey's *The Great Awakening* (Encounter Pamphlet No. 5), treating it as the latest stage of Strachey's long retreat from doctrinaire Marxism. Strachey, he writes, now concedes that the early Marxist account of imperialism — capital exporting itself to colonies and reaping super-profits — does not survive the post-war record: capital has flowed predominantly between developed economies, and the chief recent transformations have been in Germany, Japan and post-Stalin Russia rather than in the old colonial periphery. The reviewer welcomes Strachey's willingness to revise the inherited Left framework but notes that the pamphlet stops short of drawing the full liberal implications — that the world's great economic question is now how poor countries themselves create the conditions for capital accumulation and entrepreneurship. - Frames Strachey as a Left intellectual revising the Marxist account of imperialism in the light of post-war evidence. - Notes the empirical fact that capital has flowed mostly among developed economies, not from metropoles to colonies. - Highlights post-Stalin Russia, Germany and Japan as the real sites of recent transformation. - Welcomes Strachey's empirical honesty but criticises him for not following the logic to liberal-economic conclusions. - Reads the pamphlet as part of a wider 'great awakening' of Western Left intellectuals to liberal realities. ### Dear Editor — Swatantra Planning *By M. R. Masani, General Secretary, Swatantra Party* 'Gleanings from the Press' reprints a Frank Moraes column, 'Stirring Pendulum Passions,' from the *Indian Express*. Moraes notes that no Indian political party — including the Congress in its present condition — could ever convince him that India will survive the 'pendulum passions' of populist enthusiasm and disenchantment. He uses the failed coup in Pakistan, the Communist takeover in Kerala and the rise of Swatantra as evidence that Indian politics swings violently between extremes, and warns that the country's democratic strength lies in keeping the centre — secular, constitutional, classically liberal — intact against the temptations of both Left and Right. - Reprints Frank Moraes's *Indian Express* column on India's 'pendulum passions.' - Reads Pakistan's coup, the Kerala Communist phase and Swatantra's rise as one continuous swing of the political pendulum. - Defends a 'centre' that is secular, constitutional and classically liberal against both Left and Right surges. - Treats popular passions as the chief threat to durable liberal-democratic politics. - Frames the *Indian Libertarian* as a vehicle for that centrist liberal position. ### Essay 10 The 'News & Views' department runs a tight set of short items on the Cold War backdrop to the issue's politics. Lead pieces report Communist China's surprising decision to reintroduce cash incentives for industrial workers — a tacit admission, in the *Libertarian*'s reading, that pure exhortation does not raise productivity — and a Polish discussion of the dismantling of Stalinist collectivisation. A 'Diplomats Perplexed' section examines Soviet manoeuvres in Syria after the Damascus coup, the U.S. response, and the position of the U.A.R. A short note on Jamaica covers Sir Alexander Bustamante's election, and a 'Heart-Searching the With India' note records Hong Kong observers reading Vinoba Bhave's Bhoodan movement as evidence of a deeper Indian rural crisis. The section also carries a report on Swatantra being recognised as the official opposition in the Gujarat Assembly and a 'Praise Plea For Goolers' note from Calcutta on a U.P. Vijayalakshmi Pandit-led campaign. - China reintroduces cash incentives for industrial workers, treated as a quiet defeat for pure ideological mobilisation. - Poland reports continuing retreat from Stalinist collectivisation. - Reads Soviet manoeuvres in post-coup Syria as the next Cold War contest in the Arab world. - Covers Sir Alexander Bustamante's victory in Jamaica as a small classical-liberal bright spot. - Notes Hong Kong commentators reading Vinoba's Bhoodan movement as a symptom of Indian rural distress. - Reports Swatantra recognised as official opposition in the Gujarat Assembly. ### Essay 11 In the 'Dear Editor' column, the General Secretary of the Swatantra Party writes in to rebut the Orissa Chief Minister Mr. Patnaik's charge — made in the Orissa Legislative Assembly on 6 March — that Swatantra is opposed to all planning. Patnaik had argued that opposition to planning means opposition to national development; the letter answers that Swatantra has always supported planning that strengthens national enterprise but opposes the wholesale state-socialist planning of the kind that produces controls, shortages and political patronage. The contributor closes by inviting the Chief Minister to read the Swatantra Party's election manifesto, which he says distinguishes carefully between development-oriented planning and the licence-permit raj. - Responds to Orissa CM Mr. Patnaik's claim that Swatantra is anti-planning as such. - Distinguishes development-supporting planning from state-socialist planning that breeds controls and shortages. - Locates the dispute in the Orissa Legislative Assembly's 6 March 1962 debates. - Treats the licence-permit regime, not 'planning' abstractly, as the real Swatantra target. - Invites readers to consult the Swatantra Party manifesto for the party's actual position. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-april-1-1959/ ### Summary In the rendered pages, this 1 April 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 1) — the Bombay fortnightly 'for free economy and libertarian democracy' edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala — leads with an unsigned editorial on India's external crises (the Kashmir and canal-waters disputes, the US-Pakistan military pact and the American Ambassador's reassurances, the Communist party's 'Hate America' campaign, and a contested transfer of the Sherabati hydro-electric project). The bylined articles in the rendered pages press the journal's anti-planning, anti-Communist line: M. A. Venkata Rao argues for a new opposition party built on free-economy principles; J. K. Dhairyawan attacks state planning as a 'Marxist euphemism for bungling'; and M. N. Tholal reviews Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's India Wins Freedom under the title 'The Genesis of Pakistan.' A four-page Libertarian Supplement (with 'A Reader's Miscellany' of liberal aphorisms) and shorter features round out the issue. In the rendered pages the later articles listed in the contents — Kumara Sekhar on 'Socialism and Mr. Nehru', William Henry Chamberlin on 'Khrushchev's Bogus Challenge', and T. L.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary In the rendered pages, this 1 April 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 1) — the Bombay fortnightly 'for free economy and libertarian democracy' edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala — leads with an unsigned editorial on India's external crises (the Kashmir and canal-waters disputes, the US-Pakistan military pact and the American Ambassador's reassurances, the Communist party's 'Hate America' campaign, and a contested transfer of the Sherabati hydro-electric project). The bylined articles in the rendered pages press the journal's anti-planning, anti-Communist line: M. A. Venkata Rao argues for a new opposition party built on free-economy principles; J. K. Dhairyawan attacks state planning as a 'Marxist euphemism for bungling'; and M. N. Tholal reviews Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's India Wins Freedom under the title 'The Genesis of Pakistan.' A four-page Libertarian Supplement (with 'A Reader's Miscellany' of liberal aphorisms) and shorter features round out the issue. In the rendered pages the later articles listed in the contents — Kumara Sekhar on 'Socialism and Mr. Nehru', William Henry Chamberlin on 'Khrushchev's Bogus Challenge', and T. L. Kantam on 'Revolt in Central Africa' — appear only in the contents box and supplement matter, not as fully rendered article text. ## Essays ### Building a new Party *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao calls for the construction of a new opposition party in India, arguing that the scattered anti-Congress forces need a coherent platform rather than a mere coalition of grievances. He warns that a party 'becoming Communist' is the danger to avoid, and presses for leadership and an organisation grounded in free-economy and democratic principles, social justice secured through free economy, and a programme capable of winning the masses away from socialist promises. - Argues a wide consensus exists for a new opposition party in India. - Insists the new party rest on free-economy and democratic principles, not opportunist coalition. - Warns against the party drifting toward Communism. - Links social justice to a free economy rather than state planning. ### Planning is Marxist Euphemism for bungling, Chaos and Confusion *By J. K. Dhairyawan* J. K. Dhairyawan's polemic, 'Planning is Marxist Euphemism for Bungling, Chaos and Confusion,' attacks the rhetoric of economic planning as a verbal disguise for socialism. He treats 'planning' as one of a family of euphemistic words by which collectivist policy is sold to the public, contending that the planned economy in practice produces shortages, regimentation, and confusion rather than the prosperity it promises. - Frames 'planning' as a euphemism masking a Marxist programme. - Opens a section titled 'The tyranny of words' on collectivist rhetoric. - Argues planning yields bungling, chaos and confusion in practice. ### The Genesis of Pakisan *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'The Genesis of Pakistan' reads Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's memoir India Wins Freedom to trace how Partition came about, weighing the Congress leadership's choices and the politics of the Muslim League against Azad's account. The discussion engages the roles of Congress and of figures such as Maulana Mohammad Ismail in the run-up to Pakistan's creation. - Built around a reading of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's 'India Wins Freedom'. - Examines Congress decisions and Muslim League politics behind Partition. - Headline misprints 'Pakistan' as 'Pakisan'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-apr15-1963/ ### Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. XI No. 2 (15 April 1963), is a fortnightly periodical edited by D. M. Kulkarni and issued from Bombay by Libertarian Publishers (Private) Ltd. Its masthead promises 'An Independent Journal of Public Affairs' and carries the campaigning slogan 'Make English the Lingua Franca of India.' The issue opens with an unsigned editorial replying to President Radhakrishnan's recent address on complacency, turning the President's complaint back on the Congress government and faulting it for the Krishna Menon era at the Defence Ministry, zig-zags in non-alignment, and the Ganges river-waters dispute with Pakistan. M. A. Venkata Rao contributes a comparative essay on Russian versus Persian nation-building; M. N. Tholal revisits old All-India Congress Committee resolutions under the heading 'Ghosts of History.' A four-page Economic Supplement (folios I-IV) carries Prof. G. N. Lawande on planning and employment, an Australian reprint on 'Britain, The Giant Invalid,' and Austen Nazareth on small business as the keystone of developing nations. A. G. Noorani surveys the post-Nehru succession field; a Delhi Letter dissects the K. D.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. XI No. 2 (15 April 1963), is a fortnightly periodical edited by D. M. Kulkarni and issued from Bombay by Libertarian Publishers (Private) Ltd. Its masthead promises 'An Independent Journal of Public Affairs' and carries the campaigning slogan 'Make English the Lingua Franca of India.' The issue opens with an unsigned editorial replying to President Radhakrishnan's recent address on complacency, turning the President's complaint back on the Congress government and faulting it for the Krishna Menon era at the Defence Ministry, zig-zags in non-alignment, and the Ganges river-waters dispute with Pakistan. M. A. Venkata Rao contributes a comparative essay on Russian versus Persian nation-building; M. N. Tholal revisits old All-India Congress Committee resolutions under the heading 'Ghosts of History.' A four-page Economic Supplement (folios I-IV) carries Prof. G. N. Lawande on planning and employment, an Australian reprint on 'Britain, The Giant Invalid,' and Austen Nazareth on small business as the keystone of developing nations. A. G. Noorani surveys the post-Nehru succession field; a Delhi Letter dissects the K. D. Malaviya mineral-ores controversy; the issue closes with a book review of Acharya Vinoba Bhave's Democratic Values, a press-gleanings column, news briefs from Geneva, Washington, New York and Guatemala, and a Dear Editor page dominated by the national-language debate. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL: Who is Complacent Please, People or The Government? The unsigned editorial answers President Radhakrishnan's recent charge that the public is complacent by inverting it: the real complacency, it argues, lies in the Congress government's own conduct. Radhakrishnan's address is read as an admission that planning has failed and that the economy must lean on private effort, but the editorial contends he stopped short of naming the source of the problem — the ruling party and its leaders. It catalogues recent failures: the people's swift response to the Chinese aggression contrasted with the government's slow appeals; the 'vicious system' in the Defence Ministry that produced the Krishna Menon debacle; zig-zags between non-alignment, the Commonwealth and African solidarity; and a feeble Indian stance on the Ganges river-waters dispute with Pakistan. The editorial ends by demanding the government 'set its house in order' before lecturing citizens on complacency, and prints a sidebar of liberty quotations under the head 'Food for Thought.' - Frames President Radhakrishnan's complaint about public complacency as an indictment that properly belongs to the Congress government itself. - Reads Radhakrishnan's address as a tacit admission that central planning has failed and that private enterprise must be relied upon. - Attacks the 'vicious system' in the Defence Ministry under V. K. Krishna Menon as a key example of governmental, not popular, complacency. - Criticises India's zig-zags in international alignment between non-alignment, the Commonwealth and African solidarity. - Calls the Indian position on the Ganges river-waters dispute with Pakistan feeble and irresolute. - Closes with a 'Food for Thought' sidebar of liberty quotations from Webster, Burke, Wendell Phillips, Rudolf Rocker and Howard Ellis. ### Herd Instinct And Nation-Building *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that successful nation-building cannot rest on a 'herd instinct' of mass conformity or on the slavish imitation of European political models. He contrasts two twentieth-century revolutions of supposedly comparable scope — the Russian and the Persian — to show that revolutionary energy uprooted from authentic national culture and tradition either collapses or has to be artificially propped up by force. The Russian Revolution, he holds, succeeded in subordinating individual judgment to a collectivist mass, while the Persian effort sought to graft Western forms onto a society whose religious and cultural inheritance was not yet ready to absorb them. The lesson he draws for India is that a young nation building itself in the shadow of European prestige must distinguish between borrowing techniques and importing alien spiritual content, and must anchor reform in its own civilisational past rather than in herd-driven imitation. - Treats 'herd instinct' as a danger for new nations tempted to imitate European political forms wholesale. - Contrasts the Russian and Persian revolutions as paired test cases of nation-building. - Argues that revolutions cut off from indigenous cultural tradition either fail or become coercive. - Draws a lesson for India about selective borrowing rather than wholesale European mimicry. - Treats genuine nation-building as requiring continuity with the country's own civilisational inheritance. ### Ghosts of History *By By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's column 'Ghosts of History' revisits long-buried All-India Congress Committee resolutions to argue that today's Congress and Swatantra Party leaderships are haunted by positions they once took and have since disowned. Tholal walks through the 1924 special session of the Congress and Mahatma Gandhi's later account of it in India Wins Freedom (he discusses Maulana Azad's framing as well), and through Working Committee decisions of 1928–29 on Bengal, Maharashtra and Muslim representation. The point is polemical: present-day quarrels about minority safeguards, language and federalism are not new, and the resolutions of the 1920s and 1930s — including ones associated with Mohamed Ali, Subhas Chandra Bose's brother, and the Bengal leadership — already laid out the trade-offs that contemporary politicians pretend to be discovering. Tholal's tone is wry; the 'ghosts' are old votes that current actors would rather forget. - Argues that present Congress and Swatantra debates merely revive long-forgotten Working Committee positions. - Re-examines the 1924 special session of the Congress and Gandhi's later account in India Wins Freedom. - Cites Working Committee resolutions of 1928–29 on Bengal, Maharashtra and minority safeguards. - Names mid-20th-century Congress figures (Mohamed Ali, the Bose brothers, Maulana Azad) as actors in those forgotten decisions. - Uses the historical record to mock the amnesia of current politicians on minority and federal questions. ### ECONOMIC SUPPLEMENT *By G N Lawande* Prof. G. N. Lawande opens the Economic Supplement with an essay arguing that the successive Five Year Plans have been built on unrealistic employment assumptions. He recalls the Planning Commission's original promise that planned investment would simultaneously raise output and absorb the country's growing labour force, and shows that even on the Commission's own figures the absorption of new entrants has fallen badly short. Lawande maintains that the chosen pattern of heavy-industry-led, capital-intensive growth — borrowed from the Soviet experience — is structurally incapable of clearing India's unemployment backlog, because it produces too few jobs per rupee invested and crowds out the labour-intensive small enterprise that could. He therefore urges a shift toward small and medium industry, agricultural employment and consumer-goods production: a planning strategy aimed first at full employment rather than at a heavy-industrial base whose social benefits are postponed indefinitely. - Critiques the employment assumptions built into the successive Five Year Plans. - Argues that Soviet-style heavy-industry-led growth absorbs too little labour per rupee invested. - Reads even the Planning Commission's own figures as confessing that job creation has lagged behind population growth. - Recommends a shift toward small and medium industry and agricultural employment to clear the unemployment backlog. - Frames full employment, not heavy industry, as the proper first target of Indian planning. ### After Nehru Who? *By By A. G. Noorani* An unsigned piece reprinted from The Standard (Australia) diagnoses Britain as a 'giant invalid' whose post-war decline cannot be hidden by talk of the Common Market. The article traces the long arc of British weakness — the loss of empire, dependence on imported food and raw materials, the welfare state's tax burden, recurrent sterling crises and the country's tendency to live above its means — and argues that Common Market entry, far from curing the malady, would simply transfer Britain's economic guardianship to continental partners. The piece is offered to Indian readers as a cautionary tale about over-reliance on protection, planning and external props rather than productive vigour. - Reads post-war Britain as economically and morally exhausted despite its formal great-power status. - Treats Britain's pursuit of Common Market entry as a symptom of decline, not a cure for it. - Lists the welfare state, sterling crises and a habit of living above one's means among the causes of decline. - Offers the British case as a warning to India about over-reliance on protection and central direction. ### DELHI LETTER: Malaviya And Mineral Ores Austen Nazareth argues that small business is the natural keystone of any developing economy, including India's. He surveys recent United States Senate findings on the role of small enterprise in American growth, citing the 1957–58 Senate Small Business Committee's documentation of small firms as drivers of employment, innovation and competitive discipline. He extends the argument to Latin America, Turkey, Pakistan and India: in each case, he contends, the visible bias of credit, foreign-exchange allocation and licensing toward large enterprise has held back the very segment that creates the most jobs per unit of investment. The remedy, in Nazareth's reading, is not subsidy but the removal of policy discrimination — credit, raw materials and licences distributed on neutral terms — so that the small entrepreneur, the most efficient absorber of labour, can do the heavy lifting of development. - Treats small business as central, not peripheral, to development strategy. - Draws on 1957–58 U.S. Senate Small Business Committee findings to make the case. - Surveys parallel evidence from Latin America, Turkey and Pakistan. - Argues that Indian credit, foreign-exchange and licensing policy systematically discriminates against small enterprise. - Recommends neutral policy rather than subsidy as the remedy. ### Book Review A. G. Noorani opens his succession survey with a Laski-style maxim that a great leader's success is measured by how dispensable he has made himself, and proceeds to ask whether Jawaharlal Nehru has done so. He runs through the obvious candidates — Morarji Desai, Y. B. Chavan, Lal Bahadur Shastri, T. T. Krishnamachari, Indira Gandhi — and assesses each on temperament, factional support inside the Congress, and capacity to hold the party together once the founder is gone. Noorani is sceptical that any single figure commands the breadth Nehru enjoyed and warns that the immediate post-Nehru phase is likely to be one of coalitional bargaining inside the Congress Parliamentary Party rather than a clean handover. The piece is a survey, not a prediction: Noorani avoids endorsing a candidate and instead maps the field. - Asks whether Nehru has made himself dispensable in the sense Laski recommended. - Surveys Morarji Desai, Y. B. Chavan, Lal Bahadur Shastri, T. T. Krishnamachari and Indira Gandhi as plausible successors. - Stresses internal Congress Parliamentary Party dynamics over public popularity. - Predicts a phase of coalitional bargaining rather than a clean handover. ### Gleanings from the Press The Delhi Letter, signed 'From Our Correspondent,' walks through the K. D. Malaviya mineral-ores controversy. The Union Minister for Mines and Oil is accused of behind-the-scenes interference in contract awards relating to mineral exports, and the column tracks the political fallout inside the Congress Parliamentary Party as members demand an explanation. The correspondent reports that the Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, sought a quick way to defuse the affair, that Lal Bahadur Shastri was drawn in as a senior moderator, and that Acharya Kripalani led the parliamentary attack. The letter situates the affair within the larger pattern of corruption charges that have shadowed the Congress ministry and reads it as a test of the party's willingness to police its own. - Reports on the Malaviya mineral-ores affair as a fresh corruption test for the Congress ministry. - Tracks the dispute through the Congress Parliamentary Party rather than through the floor of the House. - Notes Nehru's anxiety to settle the matter quickly and Lal Bahadur Shastri's role as moderator. - Identifies Acharya Kripalani as the leading parliamentary critic. - Reads the episode as symptomatic of recurring ministerial scandals. ### News & Views A short book review covers Democratic Values, a collection of Acharya Vinoba Bhave's speeches and writings (published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan). The reviewer treats Vinoba's case for non-violent, decentralised democracy with respect but also with reservation: while welcoming his emphasis on individual moral responsibility and grassroots Sarvodaya organisation, the review questions whether a programme so dependent on voluntary self-government can survive the demands of a modern state with planning, defence and external policy obligations. The notice ends by recommending the volume as an articulate statement of Gandhian political philosophy even for readers who, like the journal, do not share its premises. - Reviews Democratic Values, a collected volume of Acharya Vinoba Bhave's speeches. - Welcomes Vinoba's stress on individual moral responsibility and decentralisation. - Questions whether Sarvodaya voluntarism can carry the burdens of a modern state. - Recommends the book as the clearest available statement of the Gandhian political case. ### Dear Editor The combined 'Gleanings from the Press' and 'News & Views' pages collect press extracts and short news items. The lead gleaning, 'Reverence Overdone,' protests the elaborate ceremonial cultivated around senior politicians; another piece is headed 'Thank God I Was Tired In India.' Short news items report from Geneva (a joint Soviet-American test ban proposal), Washington (USA Food to Stand Aside from Free Nations and Kennedy), Moscow (USSR announces Red China detente moves), New York (further private American investment in newly unblocked countries), Guatemala (army units seize power), and on a sharp decline in China's trade with Red nations. The page also notes a draft bill granting associate status to foreign English-language journalism. - Carries press extracts under the heading 'Reverence Overdone' criticising political ceremony. - Reports from Geneva on a joint Soviet-American test-ban proposal. - Reports U.S. food-aid policy positioning toward newly free nations. - Reports a Soviet announcement on a Red China detente. - Reports an army seizure of power in Guatemala. - Reports a sharp decline in China's trade with other Red nations. ### Essay 11 The Dear Editor page is dominated by the language controversy. A letter signed Nautamlal C. Tejpal argues against forcing Hindi on the southern states and defends the journal's masthead campaign to make English the lingua franca of India on practical, not ideological, grounds: English is already the working medium of higher education, the courts, the central administration and inter-state business, and an artificial Hindi imposition would deepen southern resentment rather than build national feeling. A short notice from the Libertarian Social Institute, Bangalore, closes the page. - Devotes the letters page to the national-language controversy. - Defends English as the de facto working language of higher education, the courts and the centre. - Reads forced Hindi imposition as deepening southern resentment. - Carries a closing notice from the Libertarian Social Institute, Bangalore. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-aug1-1957/ ### Summary This 1 August 1957 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V, No. 11), edited by Kusum Lotwala and published from Bombay by the R. L. Foundation, frames itself as an "Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs" standing "for free economy and liberal democracy." Its editorial backbone is twofold: a denunciation of Nehruvian foreign policy as dangerously complacent toward Pakistan, Communist China and the Soviet Union; and a libertarian critique of Indian state controls over food grains, foreign exchange and investment under the Second Five Year Plan. Signed contributions come from M. A. Venkata Rao, K. D. Valicha (twice), Sumant S. Bankeshwar, Mehta Puran Chand and the pseudonymous "SCIO" and "Vigilant." The issue carries a four-page inserted "Supplement of the Research Department of the R. L. Foundation" (paginated A–D) with essays by B. S. Sanyal on the failure of socialism ("Bread and Circuses"), K. D. Valicha on foreign investment, and a manifesto-style piece, "My Belief and Hope," by the American co-operative theorist James Peter Warbasse.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 August 1957 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V, No. 11), edited by Kusum Lotwala and published from Bombay by the R. L. Foundation, frames itself as an "Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs" standing "for free economy and liberal democracy." Its editorial backbone is twofold: a denunciation of Nehruvian foreign policy as dangerously complacent toward Pakistan, Communist China and the Soviet Union; and a libertarian critique of Indian state controls over food grains, foreign exchange and investment under the Second Five Year Plan. Signed contributions come from M. A. Venkata Rao, K. D. Valicha (twice), Sumant S. Bankeshwar, Mehta Puran Chand and the pseudonymous "SCIO" and "Vigilant." The issue carries a four-page inserted "Supplement of the Research Department of the R. L. Foundation" (paginated A–D) with essays by B. S. Sanyal on the failure of socialism ("Bread and Circuses"), K. D. Valicha on foreign investment, and a manifesto-style piece, "My Belief and Hope," by the American co-operative theorist James Peter Warbasse. The remainder of the rendered pages cover defence policy (Mehta Puran Chand on nuclear weapons), a long news-analytic feature on a Pakistani propaganda offensive over Kashmir, a statement of purpose for the Libertarian Social Institute, and reports on the R. L. Foundation's reading room and seminars. World News and Book Reviews advertised in the table of contents were not in the rendered chunk. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL The unsigned editorial, "The Hard Core of Indo-Pak Troubles," argues that Pakistan's Kashmir claim is not a frontier dispute but a constitutive demand whose fulfilment would entail the gradual absorption of Indian Muslim regions, and faults the Government of India and "the Pandits" for refusing to recognise this. It praises Acharya Kripalani's tougher line on Kashmir, criticises the Suhrawardy mission to Washington and Iskander Mirza's parallel diplomatic offensive in Western capitals, and accuses Nehru's government of "dangerous complacency" in the face of Pakistani rearmament, Chinese expansion into Tibet, and Soviet penetration of West Asia. A second editorial column reproduces a passage from Frank E. Holman's "Dangers of Treaty Law" to argue that American foreign aid is being squandered on regimes hostile to the United States and to the free world. - Reads the Kashmir question as a continuing demand on Indian territory and Indian Muslims, not a border dispute that can be settled by partition of the state. - Sides with Acharya Kripalani's criticism of Nehru's Kashmir and Pakistan policy. - Treats Suhrawardy's US visit and Mirza's European tour as a coordinated diplomatic offensive against India that the Indian government has failed to counter. - Sees the Chinese conquest of Tibet and Soviet moves in West Asia as part of a single threat that India is refusing to acknowledge. - Cites Frank E. Holman to argue that the US is funding regimes that work against the free world's interests. ### Food Prices and Libertarian Solution *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao opens with the libertarian thesis that a surplus of food grains and industrial raw materials is the only honest foundation for India's industrial drive, and that the price crisis of 1957 is the predictable consequence of statutory procurement, ceiling prices, controlled rationing, and ad-hoc Essential Commodities legislation. He contrasts this with what he calls a "Different Tale" of nineteenth-century England under free trade and Lancashire mills, and concludes that the libertarian remedy is to dismantle controls, restore the price mechanism, and let surplus accumulate from voluntary peasant exchange rather than from compulsory levy. - Frames a surplus in food grains and industrial raw materials as the precondition for any genuine industrial drive in India. - Reads the current shortage and price spike as the direct effect of Government procurement, ceiling prices and the Essential Commodities Bill. - Contrasts the Indian experience with the free-trade English precedent. - Calls for restoring free pricing and dismantling rationing and physical controls. - Treats the Second Five Year Plan's logic as incompatible with libertarian economics. ### Is Pakistan Preparing for a Showdown? *By by Scio* Writing under the pseudonym "SCIO," the contributor surveys the run-up to a possible Pakistani military move on Kashmir following the August 1947 partition. The essay reviews the failure of constitutional processes in Pakistan, divisions within its political class, and the entry of West Pakistan into a martial-administrative phase. It treats the public threats from the Pakistani President as more than rhetoric and warns that Pakistan's grievance machinery — the "additional grievance" of the Indus waters dispute, the unsettled status of Kashmir — is being assembled into a case for a "showdown." - Reads Pakistan's domestic political instability as the driver of an external posture toward India. - Argues that the additional grievance of Indus waters is being grafted onto the Kashmir grievance to justify confrontation. - Treats Pakistani presidential rhetoric as a serious indicator of intent, not merely posturing. - Frames the prospect of a 'showdown' as a likely 1957 contingency. ### Spoonerism and the Irish Bull *By by K. D. Valicha* K. D. Valicha uses the rhetorical figures of the Spoonerism (transposed sounds) and the Irish Bull (a self-contradicting statement) as a frame for cold-war double-talk. The essay glosses Suhrawardy's posture toward America, the Soviet record under Stalin and Khrushchev, and the contortions of left-wing Indian commentary. Valicha argues that the language of friendship-with-everyone collapses into incoherence the moment it is tested against the record of Hungary, Korea and similar episodes, and that Indian foreign-policy commentary is full of such Irish Bulls. - Uses the Spoonerism and the Irish Bull as comic figures for the incoherence of fellow-travelling commentary. - Reads Suhrawardy's American overtures as another instance of double-talk. - Treats Hungary and Korea as decisive falsifications of Soviet self-description. - Targets Indian left commentary as full of self-contradicting praise. ### Our Foreign Policy *By by Sumant S. Bankeshwar* Sumant S. Bankeshwar argues that India's foreign policy has been miscast for a hundred years past as a search for moral leadership when what is needed is a sober assessment of imminent dangers — chiefly Pakistan's drift into the orbit of foreign powers and the Communist bloc's pressure across India's northern frontier. He calls for a re-orientation that recognises Pakistan as a hostile state, identifies the Communist threat as the principal external danger, and ties India's defence and economic policy to that recognition rather than to non-alignment of a sentimental kind. - Frames non-alignment as moralistic and inadequate to actual threats. - Reads Pakistan as the most immediate external danger and as a hostile state. - Identifies the Communist bloc as the structural long-term threat to India. - Calls for foreign policy to be aligned with defence and economic policy on realist lines. ### Supplement of Research Department of R. L. Foundation *By Edited by B. S. Sanyal* The four-page Supplement of the Research Department of the R. L. Foundation, edited by B. S. Sanyal, gathers three short essays. In "Bread and Circuses," Sanyal diagnoses the failure of socialism as the conjoined failure of the economic incentive and of personal liberty under directive planning, and warns that the welfare state slides toward paternalism when the disbursing bureaucrat replaces the consumer. "Foreign Investments and India," by K. D. Valicha, defends private foreign investment as a normal feature of capitalist development and argues against treating it as a form of imperialism. "My Belief and Hope," by the American co-operative theorist James Peter Warbasse, is a personal credo of voluntary association as the foundation of a free society. - Sanyal treats socialism's failure as the failure of incentives and of the consumer's authority over production. - Reads the welfare state as tending toward paternalism whenever bureaucratic discretion replaces market signals. - Valicha defends foreign investment as a normal capitalist flow rather than as imperialism in disguise. - Warbasse offers a libertarian credo of voluntary co-operation. ### Nuclear Weapons for Our Defence *By by Mehta Puran Chand* Mehta Puran Chand endorses the case (associated with the Kunzru plea) that the Indian Defence Forces should be equipped with nuclear and thermonuclear weapons, arguing that India's situation in 1957 resembles the threat environment of 1947–48 closely enough to justify the same kind of decision. A companion column, "The Mind of the Nation," warns against a perceived rightward drift in public opinion, and a short notice, "Pak Preparation in Full Swing," reports on high-level military meetings in Karachi involving President Iskander Mirza, Prime Minister Suhrawardy, and former premiers. - Endorses nuclear and thermonuclear armament for the Indian Defence Forces. - Draws the analogy with the 1947–48 Kashmir crisis to justify deterrence today. - The companion notice reports on a Karachi conclave involving Mirza, Suhrawardy and former premiers. - Implicitly treats Pakistan, not abstract powers, as the principal target of nuclear deterrence. ### Pak Smear-Campaign in Full Swing *By by Vigilant* Writing under the pseudonym "Vigilant," the contributor tracks what he calls a Pakistani smear-campaign against India running in parallel through the press, the United Nations and the diplomatic circuit. The essay reads the Suhrawardy mission to Washington, the President's tour of Europe and an accompanying "Plebiscite Front" propaganda effort as a coordinated assault on India's Kashmir position. It urges that India answer this offensive by exposing Pakistan's own conduct in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir and by refusing to let plebiscite rhetoric set the terms of debate. - Treats the Suhrawardy and Mirza tours as a single propaganda campaign rather than independent diplomatic moves. - Identifies a "Plebiscite Front" as the campaign's organising slogan. - Argues that India should counter by publicising Pakistan's conduct in occupied Kashmir. - Reads Western media coverage as having absorbed too much of the Pakistani case. ### WHAT WE STAND FOR—WORK OF THE LIBERTARIAN SOCIAL INSTITUTE The unsigned statement "What We Stand For — Work of the Libertarian Social Institute" sets out the magazine's institutional programme: the Libertarian Social Institute is presented as the only Indian body devoted to free-market criticism of current affairs, an explicit counter to socialist orthodoxy in Indian public life. It defends free enterprise as the engine of growth, liberal democracy as the political framework, and the rule of law as the precondition for both. - Positions the Libertarian Social Institute as the only Indian counter to socialist orthodoxy. - Couples economic freedom with liberal democracy as a single programme. - Frames the Institute's work — library, reading room, seminars, publishing — as criticism of current affairs from a libertarian perspective. ### ACTIVITIES OF R. L. FOUNDATION PUBLIC LIBRARY & FREE READING ROOM A report on the R. L. Foundation Public Library and Free Reading Room lists holdings and donations, including back files of liberal and libertarian periodicals — Marathi, Kannada, Bharat Jyoti, the Eastern Economist, Modern Review, Quest, Thought, Indian Affairs Record, The Political Quarterly, Foreign Affairs, World Affairs Interpreter, Twentieth Century, India Quarterly and others — and frames the reading room as part of the Foundation's mission of disseminating libertarian and anti-collectivist literature in Bombay. - Itemises the periodical holdings of the R. L. Foundation reading room. - Frames the reading room as a deliberate counter-archive to socialist-leaning Indian media. - Lists overseas titles (Foreign Affairs, The Political Quarterly, etc.) as core acquisitions. ### R. L. FOUNDATION HOLDS A SEMINAR A short notice that the R. L. Foundation has held a seminar on "The Result of Planned Economy" in Bombay, with an introductory address situating the discussion in the libertarian critique of central planning and the food and price controls of the Second Plan. - Reports a Foundation seminar on the results of planned economy. - Connects the seminar's framing to the Venkata Rao critique earlier in the issue. ### INDIAN NEWS PARADE "Indian News Parade" gathers brief items on national politics and policy, including a note on Pak nationals being arrested or planted in Jammu and the political fall-out, and short pieces on "Pak Trade Against India" and the Kashmir border situation. - Carries short news items connecting domestic politics to the Indo-Pak frame of the issue. - Reports on infiltration arrests and on bilateral trade frictions. - Reinforces the issue's editorial focus on Pakistan as a hostile actor. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-aug1-1959/ ### Summary This August 1, 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 13) is built around the Tibet crisis, the launch of the Swatantra Party, and a sustained critique of Nehruvian planning. The unsigned editorial casts India's foreign-policy options on Tibet and Red China as a binary between Western-aligned resistance and de facto satellite status. M. A. Venkata Rao's reading of C. Rajagopalachari's open letter to the Prime Minister supplies the issue's economic spine, attacking heavy-industry-first planning and confiscatory taxation. M. N. Tholal urges the new Swatantra Party to seize its opening, and T. L. Kantam supplies a long survey of Communist China's foreign policy from 1949 onward. A Delhi Letter on Kerala and the Constitution, a wide-ranging News Digest, and a 'Did You Know' feature by Scio fill out the issue. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This August 1, 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 13) is built around the Tibet crisis, the launch of the Swatantra Party, and a sustained critique of Nehruvian planning. The unsigned editorial casts India's foreign-policy options on Tibet and Red China as a binary between Western-aligned resistance and de facto satellite status. M. A. Venkata Rao's reading of C. Rajagopalachari's open letter to the Prime Minister supplies the issue's economic spine, attacking heavy-industry-first planning and confiscatory taxation. M. N. Tholal urges the new Swatantra Party to seize its opening, and T. L. Kantam supplies a long survey of Communist China's foreign policy from 1949 onward. A Delhi Letter on Kerala and the Constitution, a wide-ranging News Digest, and a 'Did You Know' feature by Scio fill out the issue. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL The editorial opens with Tibet: India has neither recognised an exile Tibetan government nor allowed the Dalai Lama any political function from Indian soil, and Delhi has refused to re-open Tibet's case at the UN. The editor argues this passivity flows from fear and a narrow reading of national self-interest dressed up as panchsheel. Russia and the United States may now urge each other to drop Cold War postures, but India's real choice is sharper: either recognise Red Imperialism in China and resist it alongside the Western democracies, or accept satellite status and condone outrages such as the 'rape of Tibet'. The piece then surveys reactions and entanglements in Pakistan, Iraq, Bhutan, Nepal, Burma and the United Arab Republic under Nasser. - Delhi will not let the Dalai Lama exercise any governmental function in exile and refuses to raise Tibet at the UN. - The editor reads India's panchsheel posture as a retreat dressed up as principle. - Frames Indian foreign policy as a binary choice between Western-aligned resistance and de facto submission to Red China. - Connects the Tibet question to wider Indian neighbourhood policy across Pakistan, Iraq, Bhutan-Nepal-Burma, and Nasser's UAR. - Treats the People's Liberation Army's conduct in Tibet as comparable in scale to the 1956 Hungarian suppression. ### Behind the News An unsigned news roundup covering the Tyagi Committee's proposals on judicial reform, the political situation in Indonesia, the Vienna Youth Festival, India's relations with Nepal, and American military aid to Pakistan. The column treats each subject as one more instance of the same complaint that animates the issue's editorial: Indian policy is reactive, ideologically muddled, and chronically slow to defend its own interests against neighbouring authoritarianisms. - Discusses the Tyagi Committee's recommendations and their reception. - Notes a Communist-allied turn in Indonesian politics. - Surveys the Vienna Youth Festival as a Cold War cultural battleground. - Examines the implications of US military aid to Pakistan for Indian security. - Frames Indo-Nepalese relations as a test of Indian regional credibility. ### The President's Letter to the Prime Minister *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao treats C. Rajagopalachari's open letter to Prime Minister Nehru — published in the Hindustan Times — as a foundational statement of the new Swatantra Party's economic doctrine. He argues that the letter punctures the assumptions of the Third Plan: that mobilising thousands of crores by confiscatory taxation and forced loans is incompatible with democracy, and that the Nehru-Mahalanobis preference for heavy industry over consumer goods replicates the central error of Soviet planning. Venkata Rao endorses Rajaji's call for warnings to small artisans and farmers about cooperativisation, and reads the letter as a manifesto that organisations such as the Forum of Free Enterprise, the All India Agricultural Federation and journals like The Indian Libertarian and the Libertarian Social Institute should make their own. - Treats Rajaji's letter to Nehru as the Swatantra Party's opening economic statement. - Argues that the Third Plan's revenue targets are incompatible with democratic procedures. - Reads the heavy-industry bias of Indian planning as a repeat of Soviet errors. - Defends small artisans and peasants against forced cooperativisation. - Calls on liberal organisations and journals to circulate the letter as a manifesto. ### Swatantra Party's Opportunity *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal welcomes the Swatantra Party and presses it not to squander its moment. He credits C. Rajagopalachari with the standing required to make a viable alternative-Government party, and revisits earlier breakaways — Acharya Kripalani's and Subhas Bose's — to argue why they failed to dent Congress dominance. The article then critiques what Tholal calls the socialist whims and fancies that have hardened around Nehruvian planning, surveys the succession question opened by Rafi Ahmed Kidwai's death, and treats Pratap Singh Kairon's Punjab as a case study in Congress organisational politics. - Reads Rajaji's prestige as the indispensable asset of any non-Congress challenger. - Diagnoses why Kripalani's KMPP and Subhas Bose's earlier exits failed. - Attacks socialist 'whims and fancies' inside the Congress fold. - Treats the Kidwai succession question as a window on Congress factionalism. - Reads Pratap Singh Kairon's Punjab as a test case for Congress organisational machinery. ### Communist China's Foreign Policies *By T. L. Kantam* T. L. Kantam traces Communist China's foreign policy from the 1949 proclamation of the People's Republic under a Soviet-modelled provisional constitution through the late 1950s. He examines the Moscow-Peking Axis, China's standoff with the United States, and the rapid deterioration of Sino-Indian relations after the Tibet crisis. Kantam reads China today as a totalitarian state 'dedicated in purpose, confident in its successes, Machiavellian in its foreign relations and ruthless in employing political and military techniques', and warns that Indian goodwill cannot constrain Beijing's territorial appetite. The closing sections consider the betrayal of Tibet, the future of Indo-Chinese relations, and the prospects of containing Chinese expansion through cooperation with the rest of Asia. - Dates the new Chinese state's foreign policy from 8 October 1949 and a Soviet-style provisional constitution. - Treats the Moscow-Peking Axis as a strategic alliance rooted in shared interest, not just ideology. - Reads China's American policy as one of permanent hostility punctuated by tactical openings. - Argues that Indian Panchsheel diplomacy cannot constrain Chinese territorial ambition. - Calls Tibet's annexation a betrayal that India ought to have anticipated and resisted. ### DELHI LETTER The Delhi Letter walks through the constitutional debate around the imposition of President's Rule in Kerala and the dismissal of the E. M. S. Namboodiripad Communist ministry. The columnist surveys the textual basis for the Centre's action, the disputed scope of the President's reserved powers, and the political consequences of dissolving an elected state government. A separate item on the same pages reports a Bombay lecture by Rev. J. Owens defending an 'Anglo-Saxon' reading of religion and society, used here to underline the author's view that liberal politics needs an organising worldview as much as it needs constitutional machinery. - Sets out the constitutional grounds invoked for President's Rule in Kerala. - Discusses the scope and limits of the President's reserved powers. - Weighs the political consequences of dismissing an elected Communist ministry. - Reproduces Rev. J. Owens's lecture on religion as part of a broader cultural argument. ### NEWS DIGEST The News Digest aggregates short reports across the issue's running concerns: India's economic position, a Swatantra-PSP leaders' meeting, Delhi Foundation grants, the Bombay Swatantra one-crore fund, the Kerala Liberation Movement, the Bhoodan campaign, a Pakistan-Portugal pact and public dissatisfaction with the Government's economic record. The 'Expert Opinion' item carries Ludwig Erhard's verdict on India after a tour: too much trading, too little production, and an obsession with giant plants that the masses cannot identify with. The 'Did You Know' column by Scio supplies popular-science items, and the final page advertises A. Ranganathan's new book on the language question. - Reports a Swatantra-PSP leadership meeting and the Bombay one-crore fund drive. - Notes the Kerala Liberation Movement's expansion under the Bombay Kerala Body. - Carries Ludwig Erhard's post-tour verdict on Indian planning and industrial scale. - Surveys the Bhoodan campaign's new push and the Pakistan-Portugal pact. - Closes with an advertisement for A. Ranganathan's 'English or Linguistic Chaos'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-aug1-1958/ ### Summary The August 1, 1958 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VI, No. 10) is dominated by two preoccupations: the Cold War crisis in West Asia following the Iraqi coup and the landing of American and British troops in Lebanon and Jordan, and a domestic critique of Nehruvian planning, neutrality and welfare politics. The editorial pairs an alarmist note on alleged Pakistani military infiltration along India's border with a longer reflection on what Lebanon should teach Indian foreign policy. Contributors M. A. Venkata Rao and M. N. Tholal argue that Nasser-led Arab nationalism is a vehicle of Soviet 'indirect aggression' and that Nehru's neutralism is bankrupt, while Peregrinus, reprinting from the Hindustan Times, catalogues Pakistani border violations in Kashmir. The issue's libertarian core appears in V. R.'s 'The Principle of State Interference', in the Indian Libertarian Supplement (which carries 'Wanted: A New Intellectual Elite' by Chanakya and Frédéric Bastiat's classic 'On Stopping Competition'), and in shorter pieces critiquing welfare-state rhetoric, anti-prostitution legislation, and the conduct of the Reserve Bank.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The August 1, 1958 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VI, No. 10) is dominated by two preoccupations: the Cold War crisis in West Asia following the Iraqi coup and the landing of American and British troops in Lebanon and Jordan, and a domestic critique of Nehruvian planning, neutrality and welfare politics. The editorial pairs an alarmist note on alleged Pakistani military infiltration along India's border with a longer reflection on what Lebanon should teach Indian foreign policy. Contributors M. A. Venkata Rao and M. N. Tholal argue that Nasser-led Arab nationalism is a vehicle of Soviet 'indirect aggression' and that Nehru's neutralism is bankrupt, while Peregrinus, reprinting from the Hindustan Times, catalogues Pakistani border violations in Kashmir. The issue's libertarian core appears in V. R.'s 'The Principle of State Interference', in the Indian Libertarian Supplement (which carries 'Wanted: A New Intellectual Elite' by Chanakya and Frédéric Bastiat's classic 'On Stopping Competition'), and in shorter pieces critiquing welfare-state rhetoric, anti-prostitution legislation, and the conduct of the Reserve Bank. The volume thus knits together anti-communism, scepticism of state planning, defence of free competition, and an editorial campaign for English as India's official language, all framed under the masthead motto 'We Stand For Free Economy And Libertarian Democracy.' ## Essays ### Letter to the Editor A short 'Letters To The Editor' column collects reader notes on the Forum of Free Enterprise, on the magazine's coverage of building and economic affairs, and on the Indian Libertarian Service. The exchanges are largely housekeeping — readers commending or correcting recent items — and serve to mark the periodical's network of liberal correspondents. - Brief reader correspondence rather than a sustained essay - References the Forum of Free Enterprise and the Indian Libertarian Service - Sets a conversational tone before the editorial ### EDITORIAL The editorial runs in two parts. 'Pakistani Military Within India's Border' raises an alarm that Pakistani embassies and trade missions have been used as cover for military infiltration, and that the Government of India has been too lax in monitoring foreign personnel inside the country. The second part, 'The Lesson of Lebanon for India', uses the Anglo-American intervention in Lebanon and Jordan as a cautionary tale for Indian neutralism: the Editor argues that a doctrinaire policy of non-alignment leaves small states exposed to Soviet-sponsored 'indirect aggression', and that India must rethink its reflexive condemnation of Western action while reinforcing the integrity of its own frontiers. - Accuses Pakistan of using diplomatic channels for military reconnaissance inside India - Frames the Lebanon landings as a defensive response to communist-aligned subversion, not aggression - Argues that Indian neutralism has consistently underestimated indirect Soviet pressure - Calls for tougher Indian vigilance at the border and at the United Nations ### Who are the Aggressors in Lebanon? *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's lead article asks who the real aggressors are in Lebanon and answers that the visible Arab nationalist actors — Nasser, the Iraqi rebels, and their sympathisers in Beirut — are instruments of a wider pattern of 'indirect aggression' coordinated from Moscow. He distinguishes 'direct' invasion from the Soviet method of cultivating fifth columns, propaganda fronts and pliant strongmen, and argues that the West's troop deployments in Lebanon and Jordan are a legitimate response under the U.N. Charter. The piece ends by chastising Indian commentators who reflexively side with Cairo and Damascus, and calls for Asian liberals to 'refuse to be footballs' kicked between the two blocs. - Defines 'indirect aggression' as the characteristic Soviet method of the late Cold War - Reads Nasser's pan-Arabism as a vehicle for Soviet expansion rather than authentic nationalism - Defends the Anglo-American landings as defensive and treaty-based - Criticises Indian public opinion for moral equivalence between Washington and Moscow ### The Principle of State Interference *By V. R.* Writing under the initials V. R., the author surveys the record of state intervention in Europe and India and argues that the case for sweeping state direction of economic life has weakened, not strengthened, with experience. He notes that the post-war reaction against state-controlled economies in Europe shows that even socialist parties have had to retreat from the maximalist programme, and warns that India's planners are repeating mistakes already abandoned elsewhere. The piece distinguishes legitimate regulation — defence, basic infrastructure, rule of law — from the steady expansion of bureaucratic control over prices, production and distribution that, in his view, undermines initiative and produces shortages. - Frames state interference as a question of degree, not principle - Cites the European post-war retreat from planning as evidence that intervention has limits - Argues that Indian planning is following a path Europe is abandoning - Defends a narrow role for the state: defence, infrastructure, law ### Farewell, Neutrality *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal bids 'farewell' to Indian neutrality, arguing that events in West Asia have made non-alignment indefensible. Surveying the Iraqi coup, the U.S. landing in Lebanon and the British intervention in Jordan, he contends that the Egyptian-led Arab nationalist bloc has aligned with Moscow in everything but name, and that India's continued posture of equidistance is now a moral pretence. He calls on Nehru to abandon the pose of arbiter between the blocs and to acknowledge that the freedom of small states in the region depends on Western military presence. - Treats the Iraqi coup as a Soviet-aligned event, not an indigenous revolt - Argues neutrality has become a euphemism for de facto sympathy with Nasser - Calls for an explicit Indian repudiation of non-alignment - Defends the legality and necessity of the Anglo-American landings ### Failure of Our Foreign Policy Reprinted from the Baker Herald, this short item argues that Indian foreign policy has visibly failed: New Delhi backed the Egyptian side in Suez, refused to condemn Soviet action in Hungary, and now finds itself isolated as the Arab world drifts deeper into the Soviet orbit. The author asks whether Indian diplomacy serves any clear national interest and concludes that 'do we serve our national interest?' is the question Indian opinion most urgently needs to confront. - Catalogues recent Indian diplomatic choices as a string of misjudgements - Argues India has gained neither influence in the West nor leverage with Moscow - Asks whether neutrality has produced any concrete national gain ### Gross Violations of Indian Territory *By Peregrinus* Writing under the byline 'Peregrinus' (reprinted from the Hindustan Times), the author documents what he calls a fresh wave of Pakistani territorial incursions: tribal raids on Indian border posts, the lobbing of mortar fire at Indian patrols, and statements from Pakistani leaders, including Prime Minister Firoz Khan Noon, that have escalated the rhetoric over Kashmir. The piece argues that India's restrained official response has encouraged further provocations and presses Nehru's government to put the country on a clearer war footing in the disputed areas. - Documents a sequence of recent armed incidents along the Pakistan border - Cites Pakistani prime ministerial statements as evidence of state-level intent - Argues that Indian restraint has been read as weakness - Calls for a tougher and more public Indian posture on Kashmir ### The U.N.O. in Lebanon Reprinted from Thought, 'The U.N.O. in Lebanon' examines the role of the United Nations in the Lebanese crisis. The author argues that the U.N. observer mission, while necessary, was structurally unable to prevent the cross-border infiltration from the United Arab Republic that prompted the American landing, and that Secretary-General Hammarskjold's insistence on the limits of the observers' mandate effectively left the Lebanese government no option but to call for outside help. The piece reads the episode as evidence that the U.N. can monitor but not deter committed Cold War subversion. - Treats the U.N. observer mission as well-intentioned but operationally toothless - Argues Hammarskjold's procedural caution forced Lebanon toward Washington - Frames the crisis as a stress test the U.N. did not pass - Concludes that small states cannot rely on Turtle Bay against committed proxy aggression ### Comradely "Weaknesses" Also reprinted from Thought, 'Comradely "Weaknesses"' is a sardonic note on intra-communist score-settling. The author observes that the Soviet press is now publishing critiques of Yugoslav 'revisionism' and of internal Communist Party deviations that, only months ago, would have been unsayable, and argues that the spectacle confirms the libertarian thesis that totalitarian systems produce permanent purges rather than stable agreement. - Reads Soviet polemics against Tito as a fresh purge cycle rather than ideological debate - Treats the 'weaknesses' frame as a euphemism for political elimination - Argues the episode discredits the claim of Communist internal democracy ### The Indian Libertarian Supplement (incl. "Wanted: A New Intellectual Elite" by Chanakya and "On Stopping Competition" by Frederic Bastiat) The four-page Indian Libertarian Supplement carries two principal articles. 'Wanted: A New Intellectual Elite' by Chanakya argues that the West's social crisis is being fed by Marx-Leninist ideology and that India urgently needs a counter-elite — intellectuals trained to defend property, the rule of law and individual initiative against the Plan-and-Five-Year-Plan orthodoxy. Frédéric Bastiat's 'On Stopping Competition' is reprinted (from The Free Trader) and used as a primer in the unseen consequences of protectionism: each tariff or restriction protects a visible producer at the price of an invisible loss to consumers and to the wider economy. Together the two pieces form the supplement's pedagogical spine — diagnose the missing intellectual class, then hand readers a canonical text in liberal economics. - Chanakya calls for a self-conscious Indian liberal intelligentsia to contest Marxist hegemony - Treats the failure of the Western elites to defend free society as a warning to India - Reprints Bastiat's 'broken window'-style argument against protective competition rules - Pairs domestic strategy ('build an elite') with classic theory ('the seen and the unseen') ### Ban on Prostitution — A Critique *By Prof. Om Prakash Kahol* Prof. Om Prakash Kahol critiques the proposed Suppression of Immoral Traffic legislation by arguing that a blanket ban on prostitution will not eliminate the trade but only drive it underground, into the hands of organised crime and corrupt police. Drawing on comparable experiments in Europe and America, he urges instead a regulatory framework — registration, medical inspection, rescue and rehabilitation — that addresses the women's livelihoods and the public-health dimension without pretending that criminal sanction alone can dissolve demand. - Distinguishes the moral case for abolition from the policy case for prohibition - Predicts that a ban will expand corruption and trafficking rather than reduce prostitution - Argues from international experience that regulation outperforms criminalisation - Calls for rescue, rehabilitation and medical oversight as the working policy ### A Job for the Police & Reserve Bank Reprinted from Filmindia, this short note urges the Reserve Bank and the Bombay police to do more to curb the proliferation of unregulated finance and 'chit fund' operators that, the author argues, are quietly bleeding small savers. The piece treats consumer protection as a proper, narrow function of the state — in contrast to the broader interventions criticised elsewhere in the issue. - Identifies unregulated deposit schemes as a small-saver problem - Argues for a sharper enforcement role for the Reserve Bank - Aligns consumer-protection with, not against, the libertarian frame ### The "Welfare" Clap-trap Also reprinted from Filmindia, 'The "Welfare" Clap-trap' takes apart what the author considers the rhetorical sleight of hand in the government's 'welfare state' branding: ambitious slogans, ministers' photo-ops and grand five-year promises that, on inspection, deliver neither welfare nor the conditions in which welfare could be earned. The piece reads the welfare label as cover for an expanding bureaucratic class rather than a programme for the poor. - Treats 'welfare state' as a slogan that outruns delivery - Argues the chief beneficiaries are the administrators, not the beneficiaries on paper - Reinforces the issue's broader scepticism of state expansion --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-aug1-1960/ ### Summary The 1 August 1960 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII, No. 9) leads with a sharply-worded editorial on the just-collapsed Central Government Employees' Strike, arguing that a strike in essential public services amounted to a general strike — an act of war against state and society that the public was right to refuse. Subsequent editorial notes treat the rise of Hindi imperialism in Assam, the Punjabi Suba agitation, and a Congress proposal for compulsory national service for students. Feature articles by M. A. Venkata Rao on the international situation, M. N. Tholal on the failure of democracy in India, and Prof. Karot A. Joseph on free enterprise as the durable basis of a free society fill out the main pages. A four-page Rationalist Supplement honours the recently-deceased Bombay industrialist and rationalist R. B. Lotvala with a biographical sketch by S. Ramanathan and reproduces Lotvala's own essay on the Sisyphean task of the Indian rationalist. Shorter pieces by Vaman H.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The 1 August 1960 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII, No. 9) leads with a sharply-worded editorial on the just-collapsed Central Government Employees' Strike, arguing that a strike in essential public services amounted to a general strike — an act of war against state and society that the public was right to refuse. Subsequent editorial notes treat the rise of Hindi imperialism in Assam, the Punjabi Suba agitation, and a Congress proposal for compulsory national service for students. Feature articles by M. A. Venkata Rao on the international situation, M. N. Tholal on the failure of democracy in India, and Prof. Karot A. Joseph on free enterprise as the durable basis of a free society fill out the main pages. A four-page Rationalist Supplement honours the recently-deceased Bombay industrialist and rationalist R. B. Lotvala with a biographical sketch by S. Ramanathan and reproduces Lotvala's own essay on the Sisyphean task of the Indian rationalist. Shorter pieces by Vaman H. Pandit (on the threat posed to English by linguistic provincialism), Waran (a Parkinson's-Law-style tabulation of bloating central government employment) and a Delhi Letter on the Assam language imbroglio and the Subramaniam case round out the rendered pages. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL — The Defeat of the Central Government Employees' Strike / Provincialism in Assam The lead editorial, "The Defeat of the Central Government Employees' Strike," treats the five-day strike called by Mr. Guruswamy and other leaders as a victory for the rule of law. The paper concedes that striking employees were worse off than the general public and need relief, but draws a hard line on the legality of the strike itself: a stoppage in essential services like railways, post offices and defence is a general strike, an "act of war against the government and society at large" that the public was right to refuse to support. A second editorial note welcomes the formation of the Akali Dal's Punjabi Suba demand into a constitutional question and rebukes the Centre's coercive language policy in Assam, where the imposition of Bengali and Hindi has provoked tribal agitations. A third note opposes the Congress proposal for compulsory national service for students as a sovietising device that would militarise youth. - Strikes in essential public services are characterised as general strikes amounting to an act of war against the state. - The editorial concedes that striking employees were worse off than the general public and need relief from high prices. - Imposition of Bengali/Hindi in Assam is framed as the chief cause of the recent agitations there. - The Akali Dal's Punjabi Suba demand is treated as a legitimate linguistic-state question that the Centre must address. - Congress's proposed compulsory national service for students is rejected as a step toward militarised regimentation. ### International Situation *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's "International Situation" surveys the post-U-2 standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union, the wave of Communist-led agitations on American campuses (notably against the House Un-American Activities Committee), the renewed Cuban crisis under Castro, and the unfolding Congo independence. Rao treats Khrushchev's diplomacy as fundamentally hostile to peaceful coexistence on Western terms and reads the recent ferment in U.S. universities as Communist infiltration of innocent student bodies. He is sympathetic to the United States' difficulty in defending Cuban exiles while opposing Castro, and analyses the collapse of order in the Congo as the predictable consequence of Belgium's failure to prepare Africans for self-government — but warns that the Soviet bloc is poised to exploit any vacuum left by the West. - Khrushchev's post-U-2 posture is read as a strategic shift toward open hostility, not a tactical outburst. - Communist organisation is held responsible for the anti-HUAC and other student agitations on American campuses. - The Cuban crisis is framed as a moral dilemma for the U.S., torn between non-intervention and resistance to Castro's drift toward the Soviet bloc. - Belgium is faulted for granting Congo independence without preparing Africans for self-government. - The Soviet bloc is expected to move into any African vacuum the West leaves behind. ### Failure Of Democracy In India *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's "Failure of Democracy in India" diagnoses a democracy hollowed out by the absence of an effective adult franchise: literate participation is thin, mass politics is delivered through caste and communal blocks, and the ruling Congress operates as a single-party machine whose internal disputes substitute for opposition. Tholal singles out the elevation of Mrs. Indira Gandhi to the Congress presidency as confirmation that dynastic succession, not democratic competition, is consolidating in India. He reads the Prime Minister's recent platitudes as evidence that even the Congress leadership no longer believes its own democratic creed, and warns that the result will be the steady atrophy of constitutional liberty. - Effective adult franchise is held to be absent because the electorate is overwhelmingly illiterate and votes on caste/communal cues. - The Congress monopoly converts internal faction fights into a substitute for genuine opposition. - Indira Gandhi's elevation to the Congress presidency is read as the entry of dynastic politics. - The Prime Minister's public speeches are described as platitudes that reveal a loss of democratic conviction. - Without contestation, constitutional liberty is expected to atrophy under the weight of the ruling-party apparatus. ### Free Enterprise—Durable Basis Of A Free Society *By Prof. Karot A Joseph* Prof. Karot A. Joseph's "Free Enterprise — Durable Basis of a Free Society" argues that economic concentration in the hands of the state — whatever its egalitarian intent — destroys the conditions of political liberty. Drawing on the Indian Constitution's special-powers provisions and the trajectory of postwar Asian states, Joseph contends that diffused private ownership of the means of production is the only institutional check on tyranny that has ever been demonstrated to work. Liberty, he writes, is the collective body what health is to every individual body; once economic power is monopolised by the state, free political life cannot be enjoyed by society. - Concentration of economic power in the state extinguishes the conditions of political freedom. - Diffused private property and competitive enterprise are framed as the only durable institutional guarantees of liberty. - The argument is illustrated by the Indian Constitution's emergency-powers and special-powers provisions. ### RATIONALIST SUPPLEMENT (R. B. Lotvala, a Life Sketch by S. Ramanathan; A Message to My Fellow-Rationalists by R. B. Lotvala; poem by Richard J. Briggs) The Rationalist Supplement opens with S. Ramanathan's biographical sketch of Ranchhoddas Bhavan Lotvala (1875–), the Bombay flour-mill industrialist who used his fortune to bankroll Indian rationalism and the labour press. Born into the Gosain cult at Vallabhacharias, Lotvala escaped religious superstition through self-education in modern science and philosophy and converted his Duncan Road flour mill into a hub of progressive thought. Ramanathan recounts Lotvala's patronage of the Indian Sociologist, his support for Anthony Elenjimittam's reformist work, his founding of the Libertarian Book House and the Lotvala Trust, and the role of the Arya Bhavan as a meeting-place for the early Indian peasant movement led by Indulal K. Yagnik. The piece presents Lotvala as a self-made Rationalist whose patronage was the indispensable material condition for the survival of free-thought publishing in Bombay. - Lotvala's escape from the Vallabhacharia / Gosain cult is told as a paradigmatic case of self-rescue through modern science and philosophy. - His flour mill at Duncan Road financed rationalist publishing, the Libertarian Book House and the Lotvala Trust. - Arya Bhavan, his residence, hosted the early Indian peasant-movement meetings under Indulal K. Yagnik. - Anthony Elenjimittam is acknowledged as a fellow-traveller whose writing Lotvala supported. ### Let Us Not Disturb the Living Voice of Life *By Vaman H. Pandit* R. B. Lotvala's own essay, "A Message to My Fellow-Rationalists," subtitled "Rationalist's Task in India — A Sisyphus Labour," diagnoses the peculiar difficulty of Indian rationalism: where European free-thought could build on a Renaissance and a scientific revolution that loosened the grip of revealed religion, the Indian rationalist must clear a field still covered by astrology, palmistry and caste-religious ritual that even the educated reproduce uncritically. Lotvala traces the genealogy of modern liberty through the English, American and French revolutions and contrasts it with the Indian record: a Renaissance gestured at, a real revolution never carried through, and a freedom that is purely political because economic and social bondage remain. He argues that the rationalist must therefore work simultaneously on superstition, caste and the economic basis of caste. - Indian rationalism is described as Sisyphean because the soil it must clear has not been broken by a prior Renaissance or scientific revolution. - Astrology, palmistry and caste ritual are diagnosed as live forces even among the Indian educated class. - The English, American and French revolutions are presented as the institutional carriers of modern liberty that India lacks. - Lotvala argues that political freedom without economic and social emancipation is hollow. - The rationalist's task is reframed as simultaneous struggle against superstition, caste and the economic basis of caste. ### Parkinson's Law with a Vengeance *By Waran* Vaman H. Pandit's "Let Us Not Disturb the Living Voice of Life" defends the place of English as the link language of India against the regional-language purists. Pandit reports on the difficulty of teaching English under the new schemes that have downgraded it in school curricula, and warns that displacing English will not promote Hindi or any regional language to its functional role — it will simply impoverish public life and cut the educated Indian off from the world's scholarship. - English is defended as the indispensable link language of India. - Schemes that downgrade English in school curricula are reported to be failing in their stated aim. - Displacing English is argued to impoverish public life rather than to elevate any regional language. ### DELHI LETTER — Power Politics In Full Swing *By From Our Correspondent* Waran's "Parkinson's Law with a Vengeance" presents a month-by-month table of employment in Central Government establishments (excluding railways) from February 1958 through February 1959, showing a steady rise from roughly 6.93 lakh to over 7.16 lakh employees, and traces the parallel growth of civil-administration expenditure from Rs. 35.50 crores in 1948-49 to a budgeted Rs. 2.22 crores per quarter by 1959-60. Waran argues that the government's claim to be solving the unemployment problem by absorbing labour is an unintended consequence of its socialist commitments, and that so long as the State expands administrative employment as a substitute for productive activity, costs will outrun any improvement in service. - Central Government establishment employment grew steadily, from 6.93 lakh in Feb 1958 to 7.16 lakh in Feb 1959. - Civil-administration expenditure rose from Rs. 35.50 crores in 1948–49 to a budgeted Rs. 2.22 crores in 1959–60. - Waran argues that socialism's commitment to absorb labour through state employment is the structural cause of the bloat. - Hiring is described as growing faster than the productive functions it is supposed to deliver. ### GLEANINGS FROM THE PRESS The Delhi Letter, "Power Politics in Full Swing," reports from the capital on the manoeuvring inside Congress as Pandit Nehru's grip on the party visibly loosens and the succession question begins to be discussed openly. The correspondent argues that the unifying Gandhian-Nehruvian frame that held the party together is breaking down, and treats the Assam language imbroglio (where the imposition of Assamese has alienated the Bengali-speaking population) and the Subramaniam case as twin demonstrations of the Centre's growing administrative drift. Both episodes are read as evidence that the moral capital accumulated under Gandhi and the freedom struggle is now being consumed faster than it can be replaced. - Pandit Nehru's hold over the Congress party is described as visibly weakening in the rendered pages. - The Assam language imbroglio is offered as proof that the Centre is mishandling linguistic federalism. - The Subramaniam case is read as a barometer of the Congress organisation's moral decline. - The Gandhian frame is held to have been the source of Congress unity, and is now described as exhausted. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-aug1-1961/ ### Summary The Indian Libertarian Vol. IX No. 9 (August 1, 1961) opens with a sharp editorial attacking President Ayub Khan's Washington diplomacy and Nehru's deference toward Pakistani complaints about Indian rearmament, then ranges across Kashmir, the Shastri Formula for Assam's language dispute, Britain's bid for the European Common Market, and a denunciation of Soviet 'distortion of language.' The issue's signed articles continue the journal's classical-liberal house line: M. A. Venkata Rao reviews Karl Popper's defence of the open society against fascist and Soviet totalitarianism; M. N. Tholal attacks the Uttar Pradesh Language Committee's coercive treatment of Urdu speakers; S. R. Narayana Ayyar argues, in the fifth installment of a serial, that Nehru should resign over his Pakistan policy; and J. M. Lobo Prabhu uses the Planning Commission's own admissions to indict state enterprises as fiscally ruinous. A four-page Rationalist Supplement carries pieces by S. Ramanathan on the future of rationalism, P. Kodanda Rao on dowry, Roy V.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The Indian Libertarian Vol. IX No. 9 (August 1, 1961) opens with a sharp editorial attacking President Ayub Khan's Washington diplomacy and Nehru's deference toward Pakistani complaints about Indian rearmament, then ranges across Kashmir, the Shastri Formula for Assam's language dispute, Britain's bid for the European Common Market, and a denunciation of Soviet 'distortion of language.' The issue's signed articles continue the journal's classical-liberal house line: M. A. Venkata Rao reviews Karl Popper's defence of the open society against fascist and Soviet totalitarianism; M. N. Tholal attacks the Uttar Pradesh Language Committee's coercive treatment of Urdu speakers; S. R. Narayana Ayyar argues, in the fifth installment of a serial, that Nehru should resign over his Pakistan policy; and J. M. Lobo Prabhu uses the Planning Commission's own admissions to indict state enterprises as fiscally ruinous. A four-page Rationalist Supplement carries pieces by S. Ramanathan on the future of rationalism, P. Kodanda Rao on dowry, Roy V. Rosa on the 'Tower of Babel,' and an unsigned 'Mechanical Prayers.' A Delhi Letter on Nehru's principles, a feature on Master Tara Singh, a review of Stephen J. Tonsor's Philosophy of Edmund Burke, and News & Views columns round out the number. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL The unsigned editorial 'Pakistan and India' attacks President Ayub Khan's American tour, accusing him of donning a friendly mask in Washington while resuming 'fire-eating sabre-rattling' against India through League of Nations–style accusations. The editors mock Nehru for crediting the Egyptian leopard with changing its spots: he gifted Pakistan Rs. 83 crores under the Canal waters agreement and now indulges Ayub's complaints about Indian arms as if Pakistan rather than India lay open to invasion. They argue that the U.S. is being told an unreasonable story about Indian aggressiveness, and that Nehru's preoccupation with mollifying Pakistan blinds him to the actual threat of continuing Pakistani probing on the border. The editorial then turns to the Shastri Formula in Assam, criticising the Congress's handling of the language question and the suppression of legitimate Bengali concerns; offers a polemical reply to 'witched blackmailers' alleging foreign manipulation in Kashmir; assesses Britain's looming entry into the European Common Market as a structural shift hostile to Commonwealth preference; and closes with a short piece denouncing Soviet 'Peace' and 'Liberation' rhetoric as a calculated distortion of language designed to deceive world opinion. - Ayub Khan's American visit is read as a tactical performance hiding renewed hostility to India. - Nehru is faulted for giving Pakistan Rs. 83 crores and continuing to defer to its complaints about Indian rearmament. - The Shastri Formula for Assam is criticised as a Congress fudge that suppresses Bengali grievances. - Britain's prospective entry into the European Common Market is seen as breaking up Commonwealth trade preferences. - Soviet rhetorical use of 'Peace' and 'Liberation' is treated as deliberate semantic falsification. ### Dr. Popper On The Defence Of Democracy *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao introduces Indian readers to Karl Popper's 'The Open Society and its Enemies,' calling it the fourth book within six years to attract worldwide attention from a refugee scholar who fled Hitler's Europe to teach in New Zealand and London. Popper, Rao writes, is read as the foremost philosophical defender of liberal democracy against both Nazi and Soviet totalitarianism, refuting the historicist closed-society doctrines that Rao traces back through Hegel and Marx to Plato. The second half of the article argues that democracy in the rendered pages is depicted not as a stable inheritance but as a perpetually threatened acquisition: a successful democracy needs a sustained majority that supports constitutional restraints on its own power, and remains continually vulnerable to the corrupting effects of 'corporations' — organised pressure groups that hijack day-to-day elections and bend party machinery to sectional purposes. Rao foregrounds Popper's worry that proportional representation aggravates this fragmentation and that the failure of constitutional safeguards in inter-war Europe was a failure to police such tendencies. - Popper is presented as the leading living philosophical antagonist of totalitarianism in both Nazi and Soviet forms. - Closed-society thinking is traced from Plato through Hegel to Marx as a single historicist genealogy. - Democracy is reframed as a fragile equilibrium requiring an alert constitutional majority. - Organised 'corporations' and pressure groups are identified as the chief everyday corrupter of democratic forms. - Proportional representation is treated as an institutional design that worsens fragmentation. ### Linguistic Fanaticism *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal attacks what he calls 'linguistic fanaticism' in the U.P. Language Committee's recommendations, which would in effect downgrade Urdu in the state's official life despite a large Muslim minority that uses it. Reading the recommendations as a play for the next election rather than a genuine constitutional settlement, Tholal argues that the Committee's report betrays the All India Congress Committee's earlier promise to safeguard linguistic minorities and that 'vested interests' in the bureaucracy and the legal profession dressed up as Hindi enthusiasts are the real drivers of the move. Under the headings 'Vested Interests' and 'A Style of Hindi,' he attacks the artificial Sanskritised register being constructed in U.P. as a synthetic dialect intelligible neither to ordinary Hindi speakers nor to Urdu speakers, and contrasts it with the simple, hybrid Hindustani in which Mohammad Iqbal and others wrote. The piece reads as a defence of natural linguistic usage against ideological purification — and warns that coercive Hindi will drive Urdu speakers, and Muslims more generally, toward exit and resentment rather than national consolidation. - The U.P. Language Committee's report is treated as an election-driven document, not a principled settlement. - Vested bureaucratic and legal interests are identified as the real lobby behind aggressive Hindi-isation. - The Sanskritised 'style of Hindi' is rejected as artificial and unintelligible to most speakers. - Iqbal is cited as evidence that high Indian literature thrived in a simple, mixed Hindustani. - Coercive language policy is forecast to deepen Muslim alienation rather than promote unity. ### The Prime Minister And The Future Of Our Country *By S. R. Narayana Aiyar* S. R. Narayana Ayyar's fifth installment of 'The Prime Minister And The Future Of Our Country' is sub-titled 'Nehru Should Resign Office And Lead The Nation.' Ayyar argues that Pakistan's persistent hostility flows not from misunderstanding but from its self-definition as a Muslim state, against which India's secular constitution is structurally an irritant. He uses this to indict Nehru's whole posture of pleading reasonableness with Pakistan as a category mistake — the conflict is not amenable to goodwill diplomacy because the two states rest on incompatible principles of nationhood. From that premise Ayyar urges that Nehru step down as Prime Minister and assume a non-executive role of moral leadership for the nation, freeing the government to defend Indian territory and minorities without being hostage to the Prime Minister's personal investment in Indo-Pakistani conciliation. The article continues into a discussion of the Kashmir problem on the rendered pages of the chunk, framing Kashmir as the live test case for the principles being elaborated. - Pakistan's hostility is rooted in its Muslim-state identity, not in resolvable misunderstandings. - Nehru's pacifying approach toward Pakistan is judged structurally inadequate. - Ayyar proposes Nehru resign the Prime Ministership and take up a moral-leadership role. - Kashmir is treated as the operative test of the author's framework. - Indian secularism is presented as an inherent affront to Pakistan's two-nation premise. ### RATIONALIST SUPPLEMENT — The Future Of Rationalism *By S. Ramanathan* The four-page Rationalist Supplement opens with S. Ramanathan's 'The Future Of Rationalism,' which argues that rationalism as an organised movement has had a chequered career in modern India — strong in countries with a Reformation tradition, weaker where rationalist organisations have remained inward-looking debating clubs rather than active reformers. Ramanathan presses Indian rationalists to engage Hinduism and other faiths as social systems rather than as merely intellectual targets and points to the Indian Ambassador's office as one site where the cause has acquired a respectable foothold. P. Kodanda Rao's 'Dowry' welcomes the spirit of the Dowry Prohibition Act but warns that legislation alone cannot eradicate a practice fused with marriage as a property transaction. Roy V. Rosa's 'What Will God Do Now? Tower Of Babel' is a Genesis-themed satire on the limits of divine and human cognition. A short unsigned 'Mechanical Prayers' lampoons the proliferation of prayer-wheels and ritualised orisons as substitutes for thought. Taken together the supplement positions rationalism as both a political and a cultural project that must engage with everyday social institutions. - Rationalism's progress in India is tied to its willingness to engage social institutions, not just doctrine. - Reformation-style movements in the West are held up as the template for sustained rationalist gains. - Dowry legislation is welcomed but read as insufficient without cultural and economic change. - Religious cosmology is satirised through Babel and prayer-mechanisation as critiques of credulity. - The supplement frames rationalism as a broad civilising programme rather than mere anti-clericalism. ### RATIONALIST SUPPLEMENT — Dowry *By P. Kodanda Rao* J. M. Lobo Prabhu uses the Planning Commission's own internal stocktaking — which admitted that several of the state enterprises bankrolled by the Second and Third Plans had failed to recover even their working costs — to argue that public-sector industrialisation has been a costly fiscal mistake. He notes that the Commission's tax, debt and inflation policies have been justified by the promise of profitable state enterprises and concludes that, with the promise unmet, the underlying fiscal apparatus stands discredited. Lobo Prabhu argues that the country's most experienced industrial managers sit outside government in firms such as TISCO, and that handing strategic plants to ministerial appointees has produced the unsurprising result that scarce capital is sunk into ventures the private sector would not have touched. The piece doubles as an argument for political accountability: when planners admit failure only after irrevocable losses, the legislature and public opinion must reassert oversight before the next plan compounds the damage. - The Planning Commission itself is cited as having admitted that several state enterprises failed even to recover working costs. - Heavy taxation, deficit financing and inflation were politically justified by the promise of profitable state firms. - Genuine industrial competence is located in private firms like TISCO, not in ministerial appointments. - Capital allocation to politically directed enterprises is treated as a structural cause of failure. - The author calls for parliamentary and public reassertion of control before the next plan period. ### RATIONALIST SUPPLEMENT — What Will God Do Now? (Tower of Babel) *By Roy V. Ross* The Delhi Letter, 'Mr. Nehru And His Principles,' reports the Kashmir problem back to a domestic Delhi audience and weighs the Prime Minister's recent statements against his record. The correspondent notes that Nehru's principled defence of accession is being undermined in practice by his readiness to entertain unending negotiation with Pakistan, and that Sheikh Abdullah continues to be a contested symbol whose treatment cuts to the credibility of the Centre's commitments. The column reads Nehru's public 'principles' as a rhetorical screen for an essentially improvised policy: every concession is dressed as statesmanship, every act of firmness as regrettable necessity. The correspondent argues that this style of leadership has begun to dissolve the moral capital of the Indian position in Kashmir and to confuse foreign observers about what India actually intends to defend. - The Delhi column treats Nehru's 'principles' as elastic rather than load-bearing. - Sheikh Abdullah is positioned as the live test of the Centre's Kashmir commitments. - Improvisation in policy is said to be hollowing out India's diplomatic standing. - Domestic reporting on the Prime Minister's speeches is read here as an exercise in decoding contradictions. - The piece functions as an internal liberal critique from within the broader nationalist consensus. ### RATIONALIST SUPPLEMENT — Mechanical Prayers Samuel B. Pettengill reviews 'The Philosophy of Edmund Burke,' a selection from Burke's writings edited by Louis I. Bredvold and Ralph G. Ross at the University of Michigan Press. The review presents Burke not as the conservative caricature familiar from textbooks but as a defender of ordered liberty against revolutionary abstraction — a thinker whose argument against the French Revolution turns on the social cost of severing inherited institutions from the moral imagination that holds them together. The reviewer recommends the volume to Indian readers as a corrective to mechanical liberal-vs-conservative oppositions and as an entry point to Burke's broader writings on America, India and Ireland. The book is implicitly enlisted in the journal's own project: a non-doctrinaire defence of constitutional restraint against utopian planning. - Burke is reclaimed as a defender of ordered liberty rather than reaction. - The reviewer recommends the volume as a corrective to glib liberal-conservative binaries. - Burke's writings on America, India and Ireland are flagged for further reading. - The notice ties Burke to the journal's anti-utopian, constitutionalist programme. - The book is read as an antidote to mechanical revolutionary thinking. ### Planning Commission Wakes Up To Failure Of State Enterprises *By J. M. Lobo Prabhu* 'Gleanings from the Press' reproduces and lightly editorialises clippings from the contemporary Indian and foreign press, with items on Congress organisational strength, the limits of socialism in a poor economy, and other current debates. The selection sits within the journal's habit of using the daily press to triangulate its own positions: the editors quote sources whose factual matter supports their critique of the Congress economic and foreign policy line. - The column functions as the journal's curated weekly press digest. - Selected items reinforce the editorial line on planning and Congress politics. - Foreign and Indian sources are interleaved without separation. - The format leaves the editors' commentary terse and the quoted material doing the work. - The section is positioned as a quick-read complement to the lead articles. ### DELHI LETTER — Mr. Nehru And His Principles *By From Our Correspondent* 'News & Views' collects short notices on current affairs: 'After Pakistan, the Deluge?' on the diplomatic momentum following Ayub Khan's Washington visit; a gathering of 'Goondas' tied to Kashmir agitation; a piece on every-League-candidate-is-a-Pakistani-agent rhetoric; a note on the Muslim minister behind the 1945 riots in Assam; 'Profiteering On State Trading?' which suspects that state trading corporations are skimming margins under cover of public purpose; and 'Need For Law Against Waste,' which urges legislation against the wholesale destruction of food stocks in the name of administrative procedure. The page closes with 'This Is Bharat, That Is Free India,' contrasting public rhetoric with administrative reality, a note on the Alabamarang Umbrella and a short discussion of trading with the IMF. The notes are written in the journal's signature voice — terse, sceptical of state competence, and quick to read symbolic value into administrative incidents. - Notices read Pakistan's diplomatic gains as a warning to Indian foreign policy. - State trading corporations are suspected of opaque margin-taking. - Wastage of food stocks is treated as a scandal demanding statutory remedy. - Communal and partition-era memory is used to caution against current rhetoric. - The page consistently contrasts official self-presentation with administrative reality. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-aug1-1962/ ### Summary Vol. X No. 9 of The Indian Libertarian (1 August 1962), edited by D. M. Kulkarni and published by Libertarian Publishers Private Ltd., Bombay, anchors itself on three substantial pieces — an editorial titled 'The Liberal Trend in British Politics' that reads Macmillan's Cabinet purge as evidence Liberalism has 'again become a political force to be counted with' in Britain; M. A. Venkata Rao's foreign-policy essay 'The Crisis In Our Foreign Policy' decrying India's invitation to Russian MIGs at Krishna Menon's prompting as a betrayal of non-alignment; and the second instalment of M. N. Tholal's 'Gandhi—Nehru Succession', a long meditation on whether Nehru could be considered Gandhi's spiritual heir. The issue then runs Dean Russell's reprinted polemic 'Socialism Is Not The Answer', a Delhi Letter on the China-India border puzzle, a book review of 'Understanding Profits' by Kenneth McFarland and Elmer L.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary Vol. X No. 9 of The Indian Libertarian (1 August 1962), edited by D. M. Kulkarni and published by Libertarian Publishers Private Ltd., Bombay, anchors itself on three substantial pieces — an editorial titled 'The Liberal Trend in British Politics' that reads Macmillan's Cabinet purge as evidence Liberalism has 'again become a political force to be counted with' in Britain; M. A. Venkata Rao's foreign-policy essay 'The Crisis In Our Foreign Policy' decrying India's invitation to Russian MIGs at Krishna Menon's prompting as a betrayal of non-alignment; and the second instalment of M. N. Tholal's 'Gandhi—Nehru Succession', a long meditation on whether Nehru could be considered Gandhi's spiritual heir. The issue then runs Dean Russell's reprinted polemic 'Socialism Is Not The Answer', a Delhi Letter on the China-India border puzzle, a book review of 'Understanding Profits' by Kenneth McFarland and Elmer L. Winter, and the regular departments 'Gleanings from the Press' and 'News & Views'. The collection's argumentative center is a classical-liberal worry about both ends of the Cold War: it celebrates the revival of British Liberalism as a check on Conservative drift, condemns Indian flirtation with Soviet supply lines, and recycles Frédéric Bastiat's distinction of three kinds of government on the back cover. Across pieces, the magazine stands 'FOR FREE ECONOMY AND LIMITED GOVERNMENT' and treats socialism, central planning, and Krishna-Menon-style defence procurement as variants of the same plunder. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL — The Crisis In Our Foreign Policy *By M. A. Venkata Rao* The unsigned editorial reads Harold Macmillan's July 1962 Cabinet purge — the dropping of Chancellor Selwyn Lloyd, the elevation of R. A. Butler to Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State, and the promotion of younger 'Conservative Liberals' — as proof that the political center of gravity in Britain has shifted decisively toward Liberalism. The editorial argues that after a long eclipse between the wars, Liberal ideology has regained its 'balance of power' role: with the middle class holding the trump cards, neither Labour nor the Conservatives can govern without absorbing Liberal economic and constitutional principles, and the 'pay-pause' wage-restriction policy of the deposed Chancellor is cited as the kind of statist overreach that triggered the realignment. - Reads Macmillan's Cabinet shake-up as a 'major surprise' that confirms Liberalism's revival as a serious force in British politics. - Treats the dropping of Selwyn Lloyd and the 'pay-pause' wage policy as repudiation of statist Conservative drift. - Frames the long inter-war Liberal eclipse as now reversed by middle-class voters holding 'balance of power' between Labour and Conservative. - Positions younger 'Conservative Liberals' as the ideological winners of the reshuffle. ### Gandhi—Nehru Succession *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's signed essay 'The Crisis In Our Foreign Policy' attacks the Defence Ministry's proposal to manufacture Soviet MiG fighter planes in India under licence. He treats the move — pressed publicly by Krishna Menon and quietly accepted by the Cabinet — as a step that drags India out of non-alignment and into the Soviet orbit at exactly the moment when the West, by quitting Goa, has 'freed India' of any reason to lean toward the USSR. He surveys the regional fallout (Pakistan's deepening alignment with the U.S., Portuguese-American naval cooperation, a possible joint Pak-Chinese front against Bangalore-based industries), and warns that the MiG deal will give Soviet technicians, advisers and ground staff a 'foothold of an unsuspected and ominous character' in India's military aviation infrastructure. - Reads the Krishna Menon–backed plan to build Soviet MiG-21s in India as a fundamental break from non-alignment. - Argues that British and American withdrawal from Goa removed any rational ground for tilting toward Moscow. - Lists ripple effects: Pakistan-U.S. alignment, Portuguese sympathy for Pakistan on Kashmir, and a possible joint Sino-Pak threat to Bangalore. - Warns that Soviet ground personnel embedded in Indian aircraft factories constitute a strategic 'foothold of an unsuspected and ominous character'. - Frames the J. P. Nehru government's choice as a betrayal of the 'cherished policy of non-alignment' it publicly professes. ### Socialism Is Not The Answer *By By Dean Russell* M. N. Tholal's 'Gandhi—Nehru Succession — II' is the second instalment of a long polemical essay weighing whether Jawaharlal Nehru can credibly be called the heir of Mahatma Gandhi. Tholal argues that Gandhi's 'tortured', non-violent freedom struggle is being domesticated by Nehru's Congress into a top-down, semi-socialist state-building project that owes more to Mussolini and Karl Marx than to Gandhi's village-centric, voluntarist ethic. He revisits the 1922 Bardoli suspension, the 1942 Quit India movement, and the elevation of Sardar Patel to argue that Gandhi's true political successors were the radicals (M. N. Roy, Subhas Bose, Jayaprakash Narayan, Acharya Patwardhan) Nehru pushed aside. - Treats Nehru's claim to Gandhi's mantle as ideologically hollow: Nehruvian socialism is closer to Marx and to fascist statism than to Gandhian voluntarism. - Rehearses the 1922 Bardoli suspension and Quit India to argue Gandhi's politics were principled and non-violent in a way Nehru's are not. - Names M. N. Roy, Subhas Bose, J. P. Narayan, and Acharya Patwardhan as the radicals whose marginalisation defined the actual line of succession. - Reads 'spinning' and the rural ideal as Gandhi's core programmatic legacy, betrayed by the Planning-Commission state. ### DELHI LETTER — The Chinese Puzzle *By From Our Correspondent* Dean Russell's reprinted essay 'Socialism Is Not The Answer' argues that thinly disguised socialist policies — minimum wages, rent control, compulsory union membership, government housing — all rest on the conceit that 'government must provide' and end by destroying the competitive system that produced the standard of living the planners want to redistribute. Russell uses his own experience moving from rural Virginia to Washington as a parable: state-built apartments, cheap subsidies, and bureaucratic 'fair shares' shrink personal responsibility, produce sub-standard goods, and shift the meaning of freedom from self-direction to dependency. He closes with a warning that the very people clamouring for socialist guarantees would rebel against the regimentation that genuine socialism requires. - Frames most modern Western policy as undiagnosed socialism dressed as welfare. - Uses a personal Washington-housing anecdote to show that subsidised supply degrades quality and erodes responsibility. - Argues that 'government must provide' is the slogan that ends competitive economy and individual initiative. - Closes with the warning that real socialism's regimentation would be rejected by the very voters now demanding its benefits. ### Book Review — Understanding Profits An unsigned Delhi Letter ('From Our Correspondent') titled 'The Chinese Puzzle' surveys the way the Nehru government, the External Affairs Ministry and the Prime Minister himself have been forced by Chinese intransigence on the border to abandon their preferred posture of withdrawal and reluctance. The correspondent reports debates inside the Ministry, the role of Krishna Menon, and the politically awkward fact that Indian schools and Anglo-Indian institutions are increasingly involved in the wider Cold-War posture. The letter closes with notes on Indo-Pak diplomacy and the Pakistan Constitution. - Reports the Ministry of External Affairs is being dragged off its preferred low posture by Chinese pressure on the border. - Singles out Krishna Menon's external role as a complicating factor. - Connects domestic education policy (Anglo-Indian schools) to the broader Sino-Indian strategic question. - Briefly evaluates the Pakistani Constitution as a political instrument. ### Gleanings from the Press The Book Review section, captioned 'UNDERSTANDING PROFITS', notices the Asia Publishing House Indian edition of Kenneth McFarland and Elmer L. Winter's defence of profits, recommending it as an accessible primer on why profit-seeking firms — rather than state plans — best serve consumers and workers. The reviewer reads the volume as a useful counter to the dominant Indian intellectual mood, which assumes profit is exploitative. - Notices the Indian edition of McFarland and Winter's 'Understanding Profits' published by Asia Publishing House. - Reads it as a defence of profits as the engine of consumer welfare, not a sign of exploitation. - Recommends it to Indian readers as antidote to anti-business orthodoxy. ### News & Views 'Gleanings from the Press' clips short notices from contemporary papers, including coverage of Indo-Chinese tension, a Peking-Tokyo meeting, and other foreign-policy items the editors think their classical-liberal readership ought to mark. The section serves as a curated index of how mainstream Indian newspapers are framing the foreign-policy crises the journal's longer essays attack head-on. - Clip-style notices on Indo-Chinese tension and East-Asian diplomacy. - Functions as a curated press scan for the journal's classical-liberal readership. ### Essay 8 The 'News & Views' column highlights Mr. Duncan Sandys's address on India's economic progress before the British Chambers of Commerce, the contribution of insurance and banking to industrial finance, and contested questions of equity-sharing and managing-agency reform. A second item reports on educational news from Andhra (Telugu vs. English as medium of instruction in colleges) and university affairs in Bhaktavatsalam's domain. The page closes with the journal's standing notes on Indian liberal events. - Reports Duncan Sandys's London speech on the importance of private capital in India's growth. - Notices debates over equity-sharing and managing-agency rules in Indian companies. - Carries a regional notice on Telugu-medium colleges in Andhra Pradesh. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-aug1-1963/ ### Summary The Indian Libertarian Vol. XI No. 9 (August 1, 1963), edited by D. M. Kulkarni and published by Libertarian Publishers Private Ltd., Bombay, opens with an editorial arguing that language is not the essence of nationhood and pressing the case for English as India's lingua franca over imposed Hindi. The body of the issue is dominated by M. A. Venkata Rao's long analytical essay on Karl Marx, India and world communism, which reads the Sino-Soviet split, the Cuban missile crisis, and the China-India border conflict as exposing the Communist project as conspiratorial power-seizure dressed in humanitarian rhetoric. Seth W. Howard's parable 'The Barber's Gold' lampoons Morarji Desai's budget through a king-and-barber fable, M. N. Tholal's 'The Way of Careerists' skewers what he calls Nehru's Gandhian-flavoured opportunism in the wake of the Chandigarh speech, and an unsigned Delhi Letter handicaps the succession contest among Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai, Y. B. Chavan and Jagjivan Ram against the backdrop of Jaya Prakash Narayan's and Rajaji's rival reform proposals. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The Indian Libertarian Vol. XI No. 9 (August 1, 1963), edited by D. M. Kulkarni and published by Libertarian Publishers Private Ltd., Bombay, opens with an editorial arguing that language is not the essence of nationhood and pressing the case for English as India's lingua franca over imposed Hindi. The body of the issue is dominated by M. A. Venkata Rao's long analytical essay on Karl Marx, India and world communism, which reads the Sino-Soviet split, the Cuban missile crisis, and the China-India border conflict as exposing the Communist project as conspiratorial power-seizure dressed in humanitarian rhetoric. Seth W. Howard's parable 'The Barber's Gold' lampoons Morarji Desai's budget through a king-and-barber fable, M. N. Tholal's 'The Way of Careerists' skewers what he calls Nehru's Gandhian-flavoured opportunism in the wake of the Chandigarh speech, and an unsigned Delhi Letter handicaps the succession contest among Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai, Y. B. Chavan and Jagjivan Ram against the backdrop of Jaya Prakash Narayan's and Rajaji's rival reform proposals. ## Essays ### Language, Not Of The Essence Of a Nation The unsigned editorial responds to an article in NIRAVADYA (July 13, 1963) by examining the claim that a single national language is the essence of a nation. It rejects romantic-nationalist arguments that derive nationhood from linguistic uniformity, citing the Prussian absorption of Slavic populations and Heine's German example to show that great political communities have always been polyglot. The editorial then makes a positive case for English as India's working lingua franca on the grounds of clarity of thought, accumulated scholarship, and a flea for clarity over emotive expediency, and frames Hindi imposition as a Congress-driven expedient that will fracture the federation. The back half of the editorial pivots to two further fronts: the worsening position of Indians in East Africa (Tanganyika, Kenya, Uganda) and a direct address to Nehru — 'Let not you overwhelm the country, Mr. Nehru' — warning against personality cult, the Anti-India Defence Lobby, and the careerist climbers around the Prime Minister. C. Rajagopalachari is invoked approvingly as the elder voice arguing for a measured language policy. - Argues language is not the essence of a nation and rejects monolingual nationalism by appeal to Prussian and Heine's German examples. - Defends English as India's lingua franca on grounds of clarity, scholarship and federation-binding utility. - Treats Hindi imposition as a Congress-led expedient that risks fracturing the polity. - Pivots to the position of Indians in East Africa as a foreign-policy concern. - Direct address to Nehru warns against personality cult, careerism, and an 'Anti-India Defence Lobby'. ### Karl Marx, India And Communism *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's lead article is a sustained polemic against the view that communism is at root a humanitarian movement for social justice. He insists that the Communist Party is 'primarily a conspiracy to do violence and seize power by force' and that the doctrines of Marx and Lenin remain the operative ideology of both Moscow and Peking despite their visible quarrel. Reading the Sino-Soviet split, the Cuban missile crisis and the China-India border war together, he argues that Khrushchev's 'peaceful coexistence' is a tactical variant of the same revolutionary project that Mao Tse-tung pursues by harder means. The essay then turns to India: it warns that Indian Communists' loyalty is finally to the international party line, that fellow-travelling intellectuals provide cover, and that the Chinese aggression should have ended any illusion that communism can be domesticated to nationalist purposes. Venkata Rao draws on the Welt-Politik tradition, references Krupskaya, Stalin and Hitler as comparative cases, and closes by urging Indian liberals to recognise the doctrinal core beneath the diplomatic theatrics. - Rejects the framing of communism as humanitarianism — calls it a conspiracy to seize power by force. - Reads the Sino-Soviet split as a tactical quarrel, not a doctrinal break. - Argues 'peaceful coexistence' and Maoist militancy are two faces of the same revolutionary project. - Treats the Cuban missile crisis and Sino-India war as case studies in Communist intent. - Warns that Indian Communists' first loyalty is to the international party, not the nation. ### The Barber's Gold *By By Seth W. Howard* Seth W. Howard's short prose piece frames itself as a fable triggered by Morarji Desai's budget and the comfortable living of Union ministers. A king relies entirely on his Prime Minister and barber for news of the realm; the Minister tells him only what is convenient, while the barber, sworn to confidence, eventually has to whisper the king's secret into a hole in the ground. The moral is bent at India's political class: rulers who hear only flattering reports from courtiers will find the inconvenient truth seeping out from below them whether they wish it or not. - Frames the fable explicitly as commentary on Morarji Desai's budget and ministerial comfort. - Uses the king-and-barber story to satirise insulated rulers fed flattering reports. - Argues unwelcome truths surface despite efforts to suppress them. ### The Way Of Careerists *By By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal reads Nehru's Chandigarh speech as proof that the Prime Minister has perfected the 'Gandhian technique' as a career instrument rather than a moral discipline. The essay argues that Nehru has mastered the rhetorical register of self-sacrifice and renunciation while in practice retaining power, and that the speech's appeal to the Mahatma is therefore a careerist's borrowing of moral capital. Tholal extends the critique into a broader account of the post-Independence political class: the careerist learns to clothe ambition in Gandhian, socialist or constitutional vocabulary as the occasion requires. The second half of the article ranges over comparative cases — Lenin, Hitler and the psychology of the 'true believer' — to argue that Indian public life has produced a soft variant of the same type. Tholal treats Indira Gandhi's emerging role and the cult-of-personality tendencies around the Prime Minister as symptoms of the same disease, and warns that genuine democratic culture cannot survive the substitution of slogans for argument. - Reads Nehru's Chandigarh speech as a careerist's appropriation of Gandhian moral capital. - Argues post-Independence politicians have made Gandhian, socialist and constitutional vocabularies interchangeable career tools. - Draws comparative parallels with Lenin and Hitler as cases of the 'true believer' converted into the careerist. - Treats the cult-of-personality around Nehru and the rise of Indira Gandhi as symptoms of the same disease. - Warns that democratic culture cannot survive the substitution of slogans for argument. ### Nehru To Complete His Unfinished Task *By From Our Correspondent* The Delhi Letter (signed 'From Our Correspondent') reports that Nehru's Chandigarh declaration — that his refusal to resign reflects a duty to complete the unfinished task imposed by the Chinese aggression — has reopened the succession question rather than closed it. The dispatch handicaps the contenders: Lal Bahadur Shastri as the colourless consensus heir, Morarji Desai as the orthodox conservative, Y. B. Chavan as the rising defence minister, Indira Gandhi as the dynastic option, and Jagjivan Ram as the Harijan card. It argues that none of these can yet command both the Congress organisation and the country. The second half discusses Jaya Prakash Narayan's and Rajaji's rival reform projects as the more interesting question — whether Indian politics will be reorganised around a Swatantra-style liberal opposition or whether JP's sarvodaya line will absorb dissent back into a Gandhian framework. The correspondent also reads the AICC mood, P. C. Joshi's intervention, and a constitutional crisis in U.P. as signs that the centre cannot hold the old Nehruvian coalition together much longer. - Reads Nehru's Chandigarh refusal-to-resign speech as reopening rather than settling succession. - Handicaps Shastri, Morarji Desai, Chavan, Indira Gandhi and Jagjivan Ram as rival heirs. - Treats Jaya Prakash Narayan and Rajaji as the more interesting reform poles outside Congress. - Reports a constitutional crisis brewing in U.P. as evidence of fraying Congress hegemony. - Frames the Chinese aggression as the structural fact that has changed all Indian political calculations. ### Book-Review *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao reviews 'New Horizons in Creative Thinking — A Survey and Forecast', a volume of thirteen addresses delivered under the Theosophical auspices in Madras in October 1962. The review summarises the book as a multi-disciplinary survey of post-war thought — covering science, philosophy, education, social organisation and international affairs — and credits the editor with assembling a coherent picture of where mid-twentieth-century intellectual life is heading. Venkata Rao reads the volume as broadly congenial to the liberal-humanist position the journal represents, while flagging the chapters on planning and on Indo-Pakistan relations as the ones whose optimism he finds least supported. - Reviews a thirteen-address survey volume from a 1962 Madras meeting. - Reads the book as a liberal-humanist survey of post-war thought. - Praises the editor's success in assembling a coherent picture across disciplines. - Flags planning-economy and Indo-Pakistan chapters as the weakest in their optimism. ### The Mind of the Nation *By M. A. Venkata Rao* 'The Mind of the Nation: A Red Solution for the Sino-India Dispute' is an editorial comment on a Communist Party of India proposal for resolving the border conflict on terms congenial to Peking. The piece treats the CPI position as evidence that the party's first loyalty remains international, not national, and links the proposal to the wider debate over Krishna Menon's defence stewardship and Nehru's reluctance to discipline fellow-travelling intellectuals. - Treats a CPI proposal on the Sino-India dispute as Peking-favourable. - Reads the CPI line as evidence of international, not national, first loyalty. - Links the episode to the wider Krishna Menon defence-policy controversy. ### News and Views The News & Views column compiles short notes: completion of the Hawk and Honest John air-defence missile deals with the United States, a Washington report that Chinese pressure is being used to stall further arms shipments to India, news that over fifty thousand Chinese have reportedly fled into Soviet territory amid the Sino-Soviet quarrel, and Lakshmi N. Menon's frank parliamentary criticism of the Berlin Wall. Further notes cover a Peking ban on Russian entries and pro-China Tibetan lama activity in Spiti. The selection works as a tour of cold-war fault lines as they touch Indian interests. - Reports completion of Hawk and Honest John missile purchases from the United States. - Notes Washington claims that China is pressuring the US to halt further arms transfers to India. - Reports over 50,000 Chinese fled into the Soviet Union amid the Sino-Soviet split. - Highlights Lakshmi N. Menon's frank criticism of the Berlin Wall in parliament. - Flags pro-China Tibetan lama activity in Spiti as an internal-security note. ### Dear Editor The Dear Editor section carries two reader letters. The first, from K. Atmaram of Cuddapah, debates an earlier piece on China policy and democratic defence; the second, signed M. A. Venkata Rao from Bangalore, returns to the theme of fellow-travelling intellectuals and the journal's editorial line. Both letters reinforce rather than contest the journal's anti-Communist, pro-civil-liberty stance. - Two reader letters, both broadly aligned with the journal's editorial line. - K. Atmaram debates an earlier China-policy article. - M. A. Venkata Rao returns to the fellow-traveller theme he develops in the lead article. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-aug15-1957/ ### Summary This is the Independence Day Special issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V, No. 12, 15 August 1957), an 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' edited by Kusum Lotwala and published by the Libertarian Social Institute, Bombay. Across editorials and contributed essays it marks the tenth anniversary of Indian independence as an occasion for stocks-taking rather than jubilation, and it indicts what its contributors see as a slide toward state planning, regimentation and Soviet-style economics under the Second Five Year Plan. The masthead motto 'We stand for Free Economy and Liberal Democracy' frames the issue's argumentative center: M. A. Venkata Rao reads the linguistic-states reorganisation as a warning against the politics of mass passion; J. K. Dhairyawan attacks the very phrase 'won freedom' and calls 1947 a 'donated' transfer of power; B. S. Sanyal surveys the year 1957 and the totalitarian drift in Kerala; A. Ranganathan examines whether the Constitution's individual-rights chapter has survived a decade of executive aggrandisement; 'Sudarshan' defends a non-aligned but morally serious foreign policy; and K. D.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This is the Independence Day Special issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V, No. 12, 15 August 1957), an 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' edited by Kusum Lotwala and published by the Libertarian Social Institute, Bombay. Across editorials and contributed essays it marks the tenth anniversary of Indian independence as an occasion for stocks-taking rather than jubilation, and it indicts what its contributors see as a slide toward state planning, regimentation and Soviet-style economics under the Second Five Year Plan. The masthead motto 'We stand for Free Economy and Liberal Democracy' frames the issue's argumentative center: M. A. Venkata Rao reads the linguistic-states reorganisation as a warning against the politics of mass passion; J. K. Dhairyawan attacks the very phrase 'won freedom' and calls 1947 a 'donated' transfer of power; B. S. Sanyal surveys the year 1957 and the totalitarian drift in Kerala; A. Ranganathan examines whether the Constitution's individual-rights chapter has survived a decade of executive aggrandisement; 'Sudarshan' defends a non-aligned but morally serious foreign policy; and K. D. Valicha twice argues — on profits and on strategy — that Indian liberalism must choose private enterprise and Western alignment over fashionable middle paths. A central four-page R. L. Foundation supplement edited by Sanyal carries the issue's most explicit polemic against socialism, with the line 'Communism is slavery' as its rhetorical anchor. ## Essays ### Essay 0 The unsigned editorial groups three short leaders. The lead piece argues that India has no business condemning the British military action in Oman, calling Krishna Menon's statement that the action was 'unfortunate' an uncalled-for piece of moralising that sets back Indo-British amity. A second leader on the Indus Canal Waters dispute with Pakistan urges that the Planning Commission be obliged to weight Pakistani objections honestly rather than treat the issue as settled. A third notes Major-General Akbar Khan's plan to recover Kashmir by what the editorial calls 'subversion' and warns that the Indian government should treat the proposal as a serious threat. - Disowns Indian moral commentary on British action in Oman as gratuitous and harmful to Indo-British relations. - Frames Krishna Menon's 'unfortunate' formulation as the editorial's principal target. - Asks for an honest accounting of Pakistani objections in the Indus Canal waters dispute. - Treats Major-General Akbar Khan's 'subversion plan' for Kashmir as a serious strategic threat. ### EDITORIAL *By MA Venkata Rao* Venkata Rao opens the issue's reflective essays by treating the tenth Independence Day as an occasion for sober stocks-taking rather than self-congratulation. He reads the year's dominant event — the linguistic reorganisation of the States, with Karnataka, the merged Bombay-Hyderabad-Madras-into-Karnataka belt, and Madhya Pradesh emerging — as a tutorial in the dangers of yielding political design to ethnic and linguistic feeling. He warns that mass passion and 'fissiparous tendencies' are colonising the constitutional achievement of unity, and he urges that linguistic identity be channelled into cultural rather than political life. He proposes English as the federal link language and a renewed pluralism as the real defence against the Soviet style of regimented unity that he fears Nehruvian policy is approaching. - The tenth anniversary is for 'looking before and after', not jubilation. - Reorganisation of the States is the year's defining event and its principal warning. - Linguistic passion threatens to override constitutional unity. - English as a federal link language is the practical antidote to language-nationalism. - Soviet-style enforced unity is the wrong model; pluralist federalism is the right one. ### Independence Day—Looking Before and After *By By M. A. Venkata Rao* Dhairyawan delivers the issue's sharpest polemic against the nationalist self-image. He argues that Indians have inherited a sentimental and false narrative — that freedom was 'won' by the Congress's non-violent agitation and the Quit India movement — when in reality independence was 'donated' to India by a Britain exhausted by the Second World War and ideologically committed, under the Labour government, to decolonisation. The 'last nail in the coffin of imperialism' was driven, in his telling, not by the Congress but by external military and economic facts. He treats this misreading as morally corrosive: a people who believe their freedom was earned by satyagraha alone will neither pay the price of defending it nor confront the costs of socialist drift. - Frames 15 August 1947 as a 'donated' transfer of power, not a freedom 'won' by mass action. - Identifies British post-war exhaustion and Labour government policy, not Quit India, as the operative causes. - Treats the orthodox nationalist narrative as a national self-deception with political consequences. - Implies that misnaming the past inflates the moral authority of the Congress and underwrites its present policies. ### A Decade Of "Donated" Freedom *By By J. K. Dhairyawan* Sanyal uses the year 1957 as a hinge between Indian history and contemporary politics. He sketches a long arc — empire, the renaissance of national life across the religious, economic and political sectors, the achievement of independence — and then sets it against the present, in which he reads totalitarian symptoms in the rise of Communist power in Kerala and in the Centre's accelerating embrace of state planning. His worry is not merely electoral but civilisational: that India's encounter with Marxism is producing a body politic in which freedom of association, of enterprise and of thought are being silently surrendered for the promise of equality. - Reads 1957 as a moment when India's gains since 1947 are being placed at risk. - Highlights the Communist victory in Kerala as a domestic warning of totalitarian drift. - Treats Marx as a live, not historical, influence on Indian political imagination. - Frames the issue as one of liberty, not only of policy efficacy. ### 1957 *By A Ranganathan* Ranganathan asks whether the Constitution of 1950 — with its preambular promises of Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, its Fundamental Rights chapter, and its checks on executive power — has held up under a decade of socialist-leaning government. He grants the document its 'revolutionary' character but argues that the rights it enshrines have been steadily narrowed in practice by parliamentary majorities, executive expansion and a permissive jurisprudence. He treats individual rights and the rule of law not as decorative items but as the substantive content of independence; without them, he warns, India's freedom is reduced to a flag and an anthem. - Treats the Constitution's individual-rights chapter as the real test of independence. - Reads the preamble's Justice/Liberty/Equality/Fraternity as binding promises, not rhetoric. - Argues that a decade of legislation has eroded those rights through amendment and majority politics. - Frames constitutional liberalism, not socialist redistribution, as the unfinished Indian project. ### Independence—And After *By By A. Ranganathan* The four-page supplement edited by B. S. Sanyal carries the issue's most explicit theoretical attack on socialism. Its opening piece, 'Communism, Capitalism or Co-operation', argues that communism is 'on the march' because the welfare democracies are smoothing its path; that 'socialism is slavery' because the abolition of private property and the centralisation of economic decision-making destroy the individual's capacity to choose work, employer or way of life; and that 'co-operation' between free citizens, not state direction, is the only humane third way. Two further pieces extend the argument: 'Welfarism and Inequality' (Sanyal) contends that welfarism, by stripping incentives, deepens the very inequalities it claims to cure; and 'Profit-Shy Asians' (Valicha) argues that the Asian aversion to private profit — and the official rhetoric that legitimises it — is the principal cultural obstacle to Indian growth. - Frames communism as advancing through the gradual concessions of welfare democracies, not against them. - Identifies the abolition of private property as the operative mechanism by which freedom is lost. - Defines 'co-operation' between free individuals as the alternative to both unbridled capitalism and the planned state. - Argues that welfarism produces, rather than reduces, durable inequality. - Treats Asian distrust of profit as a self-inflicted brake on growth. ### Supplement of Research Department of R. L. Foundation (includes "Communism, Capitalism or Co-operation"; "Welfarism and Inequality" by B. S. Sanyal; "Profit-Shy Asians" by K. D. Valicha) *By Edited by B. S. Sanyal* Writing under the pseudonym 'Sudarshan', the author examines what 'integral independence' should mean for a republic ten years old. He treats the Cold War as the central horizon of foreign policy and argues that India's non-alignment has too often slid into postures that benefit one side while the country protests its impartiality. He distinguishes the 'paradox of East and West' — where each bloc claims a monopoly on freedom or on equality — from the middle-class productive backbone he says actually sustains Indian society, and argues that integral independence is impossible without an integral economic policy, which in turn is impossible without the defence of profit, private initiative and a working middle class. - Treats integrity in foreign policy as inseparable from coherence in domestic economic policy. - Reads the Cold War as a contest in which non-alignment has often masked tilt rather than balance. - Identifies the middle class as the political and productive backbone of an independent India. - Frames welfarism and central planning as silent threats to the political independence won in 1947. ### Integral Independence *By By "Sudarshan"* Valicha's second piece reads contemporary Indian strategy as a study in evasion. He argues that the government's public stance — the rhetoric of non-alignment, the courting of both Washington and Moscow, the moralism of Bandung — masks a vulpine ('fox-like') manoeuvring that ducks rather than answers the central question of where India belongs in the Cold War. He treats this as a failure of nerve in two registers: a refusal to align openly with the liberal democracies whose constitutional and economic order the Indian republic actually inherits, and a tactical posture that yields concrete advantages to the Soviet bloc while denying that it has done so. The essay closes by calling for an honest strategic doctrine grounded in liberal democracy rather than in postures of moral exception. - Reads non-alignment in 1957 as evasive rather than principled. - Argues that India's strategic posture quietly favours the Soviet bloc. - Treats the inherited Westminster-constitutional order as a clue to India's natural alignment. - Calls for strategic honesty as the precondition of any serious foreign policy. ### Strategy And Vulpine Effluxion *By By K. D. Valicha* The 'Indian News Parade' column collects short political briefs from across India and the world. The Indian items rendered here include the Pakistani Prime Minister's renewed offer of a no-war pact and rejection of the 'two-nation' framing, a Congress MLA's split with the party in Andhra Pradesh, a Sheikh Abdullah appeal from detention, and Muslim demands in Kerala for a 'Mahalla' civic representation. International items include a 'Moslem Justice' incident from Beirut, a Soviet aid pledge for India, and notices from the United States. The column functions as a running editorial sampler: each squib carries the journal's pointed framing. - Foregrounds the Pakistani Prime Minister's no-war-pact offer to India. - Notes a Congress MLA defection in Andhra Pradesh as evidence of intra-party strain. - Records Sheikh Abdullah's appeal from detention as a continuing civil-liberties concern in Kashmir. - Tracks Soviet aid offers to India as Cold War positioning. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-aug15-1959/ ### Summary The August 15, 1959 number of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII, No. 14), the Bombay fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotwalla and styled an 'Independent Journal of Free Economy and Public Affairs', leads with an editorial defending the Centre's invocation of Article 356 to dismiss the Communist ministry in Kerala, and then assembles a roster of classical-liberal contributors who attack central planning, Nehruvian foreign policy, the Mao-era Chinese communes, and what they call socialist propaganda. Pieces by M. A. Venkata Rao on foreign policy, M. N. Tholal on language, Y. V. Visveswaran on the private sector, G. N.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The August 15, 1959 number of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII, No. 14), the Bombay fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotwalla and styled an 'Independent Journal of Free Economy and Public Affairs', leads with an editorial defending the Centre's invocation of Article 356 to dismiss the Communist ministry in Kerala, and then assembles a roster of classical-liberal contributors who attack central planning, Nehruvian foreign policy, the Mao-era Chinese communes, and what they call socialist propaganda. Pieces by M. A. Venkata Rao on foreign policy, M. N. Tholal on language, Y. V. Visveswaran on the private sector, G. N. Lawande on the limits of Keynesian prescriptions in underdeveloped economies, an unsigned Delhi Letter on Nehru and Hindi, an unsigned report on the Chinese communes, Reginald Jebb on socialist propaganda, and Ola Raknes on an 'organomic' conception of health together advance a Swatantra-aligned programme of private enterprise, federal restraint, and resistance to collectivism. The issue functions as a partisan record of the new Swatantra Party's founding rhetoric: an editorial section on the Swatantra Party follows the Kerala leader, and a sidebar on page 8, 'Heard at the Swatantra Party Pandal', prints terse aphorisms attributed to Ruthnasawmy, H. P. Mody, K. M. Munshi, M. R. Masani, and B. Satyanarayana. News Digest items, a notice from the Libertarian Social Institute, Bangalore, and the journal's standing 'WE STAND FOR FREE ECONOMY AND LIBERTARIAN DEMOCRACY / MAKE ENGLISH THE LINGUA FRANCA OF INDIA' masthead frame the contents. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL (Kerala) The unsigned editorial 'Kerala' defends the President's dismissal of the Communist-led Kerala ministry under Article 356 and treats the Communist outcry as cynical noise. The editorial argues that the Communists' performance in office betrayed their pledges to provide 'a higher standard of purity in administration': they lined their pockets, unleashed regular class war against opponents, and used 'democratic liberties to canvas public opinion, mislead it by its specialised propaganda on a class basis, fill the poorer classes with hatred for the upper classes and finally seize power on a suitable opportunity when the Government apparatus is paralysed.' Communists, the editorial insists, only treat democracy as 'a stepping stone or ladder wherewith to climb to power'. The piece flows into a companion section on 'The Swatantra Party', framing the new party's Madras formation as the constitutional alternative to both Congress drift and Communist subversion. - Defends Centre's Article 356 proclamation removing the Kerala Communist ministry as legitimate and necessary. - Reads Communist participation in democracy as instrumental — democracy as 'a class instrument of the capitalists' to be overthrown once power is consolidated. - Charges the Namboodiripad government with corruption, class warfare against political opponents, and patronage of crime. - Frames the newly launched Swatantra Party as the constitutional alternative to Congress and the CPI. - Asserts that Marx and Lenin themselves never claimed to be democrats — the editor's central rhetorical move. ### Second Thoughts on Foreign Policy *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao calls for a wholesale rethink of Indian foreign policy after what he describes as the Red Chinese 'annihilation of Tibet in its totalitarian communist society by way of a ruthless invasion'. He argues that non-alignment has insulated India from Western support while the Soviet bloc and China have moved openly hostile to Indian interests, and that Nehru's refusal to associate with the Western democracies has left India strategically alone. The piece urges that India align with the free world, accept Commonwealth and American security guarantees, and abandon the diplomatic pieties that have, in his view, treated 'aggressors' as friends. - Frames the Chinese seizure of Tibet as a hinge event requiring India to revise its foreign-policy posture. - Argues that non-alignment has supplied neither security nor moral leverage. - Calls for closer association with the Western democracies and Commonwealth. - Criticises the diplomatic premium placed on remaining friendly with aggressive neighbours. ### Enemies of English or India? *By By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal opposes the Congress drive to replace English with Hindi as India's lingua franca, arguing that English is in fact the 'mightiest pillar of freedom' available to a federation of distinct linguistic nations. He distinguishes Chakravarti Rajagopalachari's reasoned reservations about Hindi from the wholesale anti-English ideology of the Hindi enthusiasts, and contends that English is the practical glue of the all-India bureaucracy, the universities, and the press. Tholal sees the imposition of Hindi as a form of cultural majoritarianism that will erode rather than build the Indian Union. - Defends English as the practical lingua franca of post-colonial India. - Argues that compulsory Hindi will provoke regional resentment and weaken the federation. - Distinguishes Rajagopalachari's nuanced position from the absolutist anti-English camp. - Frames the language question as a civil-liberty and federalism issue, not a nationalist one. ### The Struggling Sector *By By Y. V. Visveswaran, M. A.* Y. V. Visveswaran surveys the 'struggling sector' — Indian private enterprise — and finds it boxed in by central planning, the 1948 Industrial Policy Resolution, and the 1956 Avadi Resolution's preference for the public sector. Quoting Barbara Wootton's warning that '"Economic Planning" does not mean the death warrant of all private enterprise', he argues that the Indian private sector has nonetheless been forced into 'a period of trial and tribulations, stresses and strains' and is treated as a Cinderella in the Five-Year Plan map of the world. The article cites A. D. Shroff and Lal Bahadur Shastri on the need to reward and unshackle private enterprise, and closes with a sidebar of quotable lines from the Swatantra Party Pandal. - Diagnoses the squeeze on Indian private enterprise from the 1948 Industrial Policy Resolution onward, accelerated by the 1956 Avadi Resolution. - Treats the Planning Commission and Industrial Finance Corporation as institutional pressures on private capital. - Cites A. D. Shroff and Lal Bahadur Shastri as voices urging that the private sector be allowed to flourish. - Reports the founding rhetoric of the Swatantra Party Pandal — Ruthnasawmy, H. P. Mody, K. M. Munshi, M. R. Masani, B. Satyanarayana — verbatim. ### Keynesian Economics and Underdeveloped Countries *By G N Lawande* G. N. Lawande argues that the Keynesian theory of underemployment equilibrium and deficit-financed public investment, developed for the chronically demand-deficient economies of the inter-war West, has been misapplied wholesale to Indian conditions. In underdeveloped countries the binding constraint is not deficient effective demand but shortages of capital, technical capacity, and entrepreneurship; pump-priming and large public outlays therefore produce inflation rather than employment. Lawande reads the Indian planners' enthusiasm for Keynesian prescriptions as a category error that has converted a tool for advanced economies into a justification for politically attractive but economically destructive deficit spending. - Distinguishes Keynesian conditions (excess capacity, demand deficiency) from underdeveloped conditions (capital scarcity, structural bottlenecks). - Argues that deficit financing in India produces inflation, not employment. - Treats the application of Keynes to Indian planning as a misuse of imported theory. - Connects monetary policy to the broader critique of central planning. ### Delhi Letter — Nehru Must Make His Choice (From our Correspondent) The 'Delhi Letter' (titled 'Nehru Must Make His Choice') treats the controversy over Hindi and the Sikh demand for a Punjabi-speaking state as twin tests of the Prime Minister's commitment to federalism and to liberal pluralism. The columnist argues that Nehru has long protected the imposition of Hindi while permitting Congress-aligned politicians to denounce English-knowing minorities, and that he must now choose between accommodating regional and linguistic claims or backing the maximalist Hindi camp. The piece reads the 'Sikh imbroglio' over a separate Punjabi Suba as a parallel case where Congress evasion has hardened communal resentment. - Reads the Hindi controversy as a constitutional question, not a cultural one. - Charges Nehru with equivocation between assimilationist Hindi advocates and English-knowing minorities. - Connects the language fight to the Sikh demand for Punjabi Suba. - Treats both as failures of Congress federalism. ### The Chinese "Communes" (Concluded) The unsigned report 'The Chinese "Communes"' continues a previous instalment's argument that the 1958 commune drive in China was a coerced political reorganisation, not the spontaneous peasant movement Chinese propaganda claimed. Tracing the commune scheme back to Mao Tse-tung's Honan tour and to Liu Shao-chi's role in the 'people's communes' resolution, it cites Chinese sources to show that local cadres organised, drilled, and disciplined peasants in militarised production brigades. The piece argues that the resulting collapse of household life, private plots, and intra-family solidarity has been disguised by the regime as a triumph of socialism. - Treats the people's communes as engineered from the top, not spontaneous. - Names Mao Tse-tung and Liu Shao-chi as architects of the 1958 commune resolution. - Highlights the destruction of family life, private plots, and household autonomy. - Reads the experiment as evidence against the communist claim of voluntary collectivism. ### Socialist Propaganda — The result is increased taxes on the people it impoverishes *By Reginald Jebb* Reginald Jebb's 'Socialist Propaganda' argues, against the conventional Fabian claim, that twentieth-century socialism has not enlarged liberty but transferred it from individuals to bureaucracies. Drawing on British experience under post-war Labour government and on the rhetoric of subsidised housing, nationalised medicine and pensions, Jebb contends that the 'Socialist blueprint of utopia' substitutes paternalist administration for self-government. He distinguishes the genuine impulse of social reform — to relieve hardship — from the propaganda use of those reforms to justify the permanent enlargement of the state. - Treats the British post-war welfare state as the working example of socialist propaganda. - Argues that 'rent control, socialised medicine, old-age pensions' are presented as freedoms but in practice enlarge official discretion. - Separates the moral case for relief from the political case for permanent state expansion. - Closes with the 'false claims of socialism' as a polemical frame. ### The Organonic Concept of Health and Its Social Consequences *By By Ola Raknes, Ph.D.* Ola Raknes, drawing on Wilhelm Reich's orgone research, sketches an 'organomic' concept of health in which health is not merely the absence of disease but the free pulsation of biological energy across the whole organism. He argues that the medical profession has failed to supply a positive definition of health, that diagnostic specialisation by organ obscures the unity of the organism, and that armoured patterns of muscular and emotional restriction in modern life — produced by sexual repression and authoritarian upbringing — are the underlying source of widespread psychosomatic illness. The piece presents these claims as the social consequence of an 'organomic' rather than mechanistic medicine. - Critiques the absence of a positive definition of health in standard medicine. - Locates health in unimpeded biological pulsation across the whole organism. - Identifies 'armouring' — chronic muscular and emotional restriction — as the somatic substrate of widespread illness. - Reads the medical model as a social and political question, not merely a clinical one. ### NEWS DIGEST The 'News Digest' on page 20 collects short notices: India's exhibition at the Chicago International Fair, Nehru's call describing Pak firing across the Punjab border as unjustified, the modest first three-year losses of Punjab cooperative sugar mills, and an American-university survey on student attitudes to democratic ways. Each item is paragraph-length and editorialised in the journal's classical-liberal voice. - India at Chicago International Trade Fair as a soft-power story. - Nehru on Pakistani firing across the Punjab border ('PAK FIRING UNJUSTIFIED'). - Three-year balance sheet of Punjab cooperative sugar mills. - American-university survey on students' democratic attitudes. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-aug15-1960/ ### Summary The August 15, 1960 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII, No. 10), an independent Bombay-based journal of economic and public affairs that styles itself as standing for 'free economy and libertarian democracy', combines a multi-part editorial with five signed articles, a four-page economic supplement, a Delhi correspondent's column, a book review, and an extended report on the first annual convention of the newly founded Swatantra Party. The issue's centre of gravity is the emergence of an organised liberal opposition: V. P. Menon explains Swatantra's concept of democratic freedom, the convention coverage tracks the party's resolutions and Rajaji's leadership, and a sympathetic review presents F. A. Hayek's The Constitution of Liberty as the philosophical companion to that political project. Around this core, M. A. Venkata Rao reads John Kennedy's nomination as the opening of a new American 'frontier'; M. N. Tholal surveys democratic awakenings against authoritarian regimes; A. D. Gorwala questions the depth of Soviet–Indian friendship; G. N. Lawande dissects the private-sector implications of the Third Five Year Plan; and B. R.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The August 15, 1960 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII, No. 10), an independent Bombay-based journal of economic and public affairs that styles itself as standing for 'free economy and libertarian democracy', combines a multi-part editorial with five signed articles, a four-page economic supplement, a Delhi correspondent's column, a book review, and an extended report on the first annual convention of the newly founded Swatantra Party. The issue's centre of gravity is the emergence of an organised liberal opposition: V. P. Menon explains Swatantra's concept of democratic freedom, the convention coverage tracks the party's resolutions and Rajaji's leadership, and a sympathetic review presents F. A. Hayek's The Constitution of Liberty as the philosophical companion to that political project. Around this core, M. A. Venkata Rao reads John Kennedy's nomination as the opening of a new American 'frontier'; M. N. Tholal surveys democratic awakenings against authoritarian regimes; A. D. Gorwala questions the depth of Soviet–Indian friendship; G. N. Lawande dissects the private-sector implications of the Third Five Year Plan; and B. R. Shenoy contrasts free and controlled economies through a first-hand visit to East and West Berlin. The Delhi Letter satirises India's official language politics, while the editorials criticise Nehru's handling of Nagaland, Macmillan's African embarrassments, the Russian Security Council vetoes, and de Gaulle–Adenauer rapprochement. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL The unsigned editorial pages run a sequence of short pieces on current affairs. 'Nehru Concedes Nagaland' welcomes the Government's decision to constitute Nagaland as a state inside the Indian Union under Naga jurisdiction, but argues that Nehru's nerve has been shaken by the British support extended to the rebel leader Phizo and to the Rev. Michael Scott's campaign. The editorial reads the renaming from 'Naga State' to 'Nagaland' as a concession to a foreign-oriented tribal imagination shaped by missionaries and the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms of 1919, and revives the charge that the Attlee government refused to transfer the Naga areas to India in 1947. Companion pieces criticise Mr Macmillan's defeat over Africa, attack the Government's acceptance of the Pay Commission as an economically untenable concession to organised workers, regret the imposition of Hindi in the South, condemn the Russians' 86th Security Council veto, treat de Gaulle and Adenauer's rapprochement as a positive consolidation of Western Europe, and warn that the Congo cauldron has been brought to boil by the very Western retreat that nationalists once demanded. - Editorial welcomes Nagaland statehood within the Indian Union but blames British and missionary influence for the secessionist demand. - Reads the renaming 'Naga State' → 'Nagaland' as a foreign-affinity gesture comparable to England, Finland and Poland. - Recalls that the Attlee government refused in 1947 to hand the Naga areas to independent India. - Criticises the Government's acceptance of the Pay Commission award as a fiscally indefensible bow to organised labour. - Treats the 86th Soviet veto and Mr Macmillan's African setback as evidence of failing socialist diplomacy, and welcomes Franco-German consolidation. - Reads the Congo crisis as the predictable cost of a Western retreat that left no institutional successor. ### America's New 'Frontier' *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao reads Senator John Kennedy's Democratic nomination as inaugurating a new American 'frontier' — a deliberate echo of the New Deal era that began with F. D. Roosevelt. He sketches the Kennedy–Johnson ticket, the Republican response from Nixon and Henry Cabot Lodge, and the international stage on which the campaign unfolds, especially Khrushchev's diplomacy and the rise of Asian and African states. Venkata Rao argues that Kennedy speaks for an America that has accepted federal expansion at home and global responsibility abroad, while his Republican opponents resist further extensions of central power. The essay treats the contest as a test of whether American liberalism can renew itself without slipping into the planned-economy assumptions that Indian readers of this journal have spent a decade resisting. - Frames Kennedy's nomination as the opening of a Rooseveltian 'new frontier' in American politics. - Profiles the Kennedy–Johnson Democratic ticket against the Nixon–Lodge Republican slate. - Reads the contest in Cold War terms, with Khrushchev's diplomacy as the external backdrop. - Treats the Republican Party as the residual defender of decentralisation and limited federal power. - Notes that American liberalism is being tested by the same statist temptations Indian liberals have spent a decade resisting. ### Demos Raising Its Head *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal surveys what he reads as a worldwide resurgence of demos against authoritarian rule. Beginning with the British proprietors of the Pioneer and the press freedom question in Pakistan, he ranges across the resignation of General Iskander Mirza, the difficulties of General Ayub Khan's regime, the failure of paternalistic governments to retain popular consent, and the limits of foreign-policy moralism under Eisenhower and Nehru. The essay closes with reflections on the 'basis of all morality' and the contrast between democracy and socialism, where Tholal mobilises John Kenneth Galbraith's critique of large public services to argue that elaborate state apparatus is not a substitute for self-government rooted in personal responsibility. - Reads recent press-freedom and electoral episodes in Pakistan, Finland and elsewhere as evidence of a popular tide against authoritarian rulers. - Argues that paternalistic regimes — civil or military — cannot retain popular consent indefinitely. - Connects the moral basis of liberty to personal responsibility rather than to state benevolence. - Uses Galbraith on 'sterile services' to indict the assumption that more public expenditure equals better government. - Treats democracy and socialism as ultimately rival theories of human agency. ### Swatantra Concept of Democratic Freedom *By V. P. Menon* V. P. Menon's brief essay sets out the Swatantra Party's concept of democratic freedom as it was articulated at the Preparatory Convention. He argues that genuine democracy requires both a capacity for compromise and the recognition that no political party can hold a monopoly on truth; on issues outside its fundamental principles, the Swatantra Party therefore grants its members freedom of judgement rather than imposing the rigid discipline that other Indian parties expect. Menon contrasts this Burkean, British-Liberal-style federation of conviction with the centralising democratic centralism of the Congress and reads it as the institutional safeguard of individual liberty within representative government. - Defines Swatantra's democratic concept as compromise plus freedom of conscience within a shared core programme. - Argues that no party can claim a monopoly on truth and that whip-bound discipline corrodes democratic deliberation. - Locates the model in the British Liberal tradition rather than in Congress-style democratic centralism. - Treats individual liberty as the institutional product of pluralism inside parties, not just between them. ### Soviet-Indo Friendship? *By A. D. Gorwala* A. D. Gorwala questions whether Soviet–Indian friendship rests on shared interests or only on India's diplomatic convenience. Revisiting the principal Soviet declarations on India since the Stalin years, he argues that Moscow's posture toward Delhi has tracked its own strategic needs rather than any sympathy for Indian democracy, and that the long-standing Soviet alignment with Beijing on questions affecting Asia must temper Indian gratitude. The essay urges Indian opinion to distinguish between the propagandistic rhetoric of friendship and the underlying record of Soviet votes, statements and arms transfers, particularly when the test cases involve India's neighbours. - Treats Soviet professions of friendship for India as instruments of Soviet strategy rather than principled solidarity. - Traces the principal Soviet statements on India from the Stalin period onward as a test of consistency. - Argues that the Soviet–Chinese alignment on Asian questions limits how far Indian gratitude should run. - Asks Indian opinion to read Soviet votes and arms transfers, not rhetoric, when evaluating the relationship. ### ECONOMIC SUPPLEMENT (Private Sector and Third Plan by Prof. C. N. Lawande; East and West Berlin: A Study in Free vs. Controlled Economy by Prof. B. R. Shenoy) The four-page Economic Supplement carries two signed essays. Prof. G. N. Lawande's 'Private Sector and Third Plan' examines the draft outline of the Third Five Year Plan and argues that, despite a rhetorical place for the private sector, the Planning Commission's framework concentrates economic power in the State, expands public-sector investment beyond what resources can support, and treats the citizen as a planned input rather than a free economic agent. Prof. B. R. Shenoy's 'East and West Berlin — A Study in Free vs. Controlled Economy' reports a first-hand visit to the divided city and uses the visible contrast — bombed-out residential blocks, mean shops and unsmiling guards on the eastern side, prosperous shop windows, plentiful goods and free movement on the western — as a controlled experiment in the relative merits of regulation and freedom. Shenoy reads West German prosperity as evidence that economic liberty, not American aid, is the engine of recovery, and argues that the Berliner's preference is decided by his feet, not by his politics. - Lawande argues the Third Plan's draft outline expands the public sector beyond what India's resources can sustain. - Reads the Plan as treating the private sector as a residual rather than a constitutive partner. - Shenoy recommends a visit to East and West Berlin as a 'pilgrimage' for economists wavering on state regulation. - Reports that the contrast in consumer goods, housing and demeanour is visible at a glance and unmistakable. - Treats the East–West frontier traffic as a revealed-preference test that controlled economies cannot pass. ### DELHI LETTER (Linguistic Lunacy) The Delhi Letter, signed only 'From Our Correspondent', is a satirical column titled 'Linguistic Lunacy' that ridicules the central government's official-language manoeuvres. The columnist tracks the latest disturbances over Hindi imposition in the south, the contradictions in the Home Ministry's position, and the political costs of treating linguistic identity as a tactical question. The piece argues that the Congress is using language policy as an instrument of patronage and central control, and that the Opposition's failure to mount a coherent reply has left the field open to administrative improvisation. - Characterises India's official-language policy as 'linguistic lunacy' produced by tactical Congress positioning. - Argues that Hindi imposition has been resisted strongly enough in the south to embarrass the Home Ministry. - Reads the Opposition's response as too fragmented to capitalise on Congress confusion. - Treats language as a vehicle for centralising patronage rather than as a cultural question. ### BOOK REVIEW (The Constitution of Liberty by F. A. Hayek) The book review treats F. A. Hayek's The Constitution of Liberty as the long-awaited positive companion to The Road to Serfdom — a 570-page restatement of the case for liberty under law that the reviewer compares to the great nineteenth-century treatises. The review walks through the book's three parts (the value of freedom, the constitution of liberty, the welfare-state critique), dwelling especially on Hayek's account of the rule of law and on his treatment of inflation as a uniquely corrosive species of state intervention. The reviewer recommends the book to Indian readers as the philosophical underpinning for the liberal-libertarian programme that this journal has been carrying for a decade. - Reads The Constitution of Liberty as the positive counterpart to The Road to Serfdom. - Highlights Hayek's account of the rule of law as the heart of the book. - Treats Hayek's chapters on inflation and the welfare state as especially relevant to Indian conditions. - Recommends the book as the philosophical foundation of the Indian liberal-libertarian programme. ### Swatantra Party Annual Convention at Bombay The convention report covers the first annual gathering of the Swatantra Party at Sundarabai Hall, Bombay. It records the deliberations of the General Council, Prof. N. G. Ranga's presidential warning against 'Nehru-style communism', the resolutions unanimously approved, and the press conference at which the party's leaders accused the Government of creeping bureaucratic socialism, threats to press freedom, and a foreign policy of drift. A separate column reports Rajaji's concluding address and the press interview he gave on the eve of his departure from Bombay, in which he argued that the Congress has surrendered the language of freedom to managers of the bureaucratic state. The supplementary piece 'The Freedom That Is Not Free' applies the same diagnosis to economic policy. - Reports Prof. N. G. Ranga's presidential warning against 'Nehru-style communism' and the creeping authority of the State. - Records resolutions on press freedom, public-sector overreach and language policy, all unanimously approved. - Covers Rajaji's concluding address and his press interview on the eve of his departure from Bombay. - Notes Swatantra's positioning as the principal opposition to Congress's permit-and-licence system. - Includes a sidebar 'The Freedom That Is Not Free' attacking the rhetoric of economic freedom under planning. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-aug15-1962/ ### Summary The August 15, 1962 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X, No. 10) marks the fifteenth anniversary of Indian independence with a sharply critical editorial that contrasts mere 'Self-Government' with the 'Good Government' the Liberals say has eluded India under Nehru. The issue mixes signed political commentary (M. A. Venkata Rao on science and spirituality, M. N. Tholal on the Gandhi–Nehru succession), a four-page Economic Supplement carrying reprints by American free-market writers Prof. G. Carl Wiegand and S. G. Hart, a 'Delhi Letter' on the deteriorating border situation and the Akali split, a review of P. T. Bauer's Indian Economic Policy and Development, and the standard Gleanings and News & Views columns. The argumentative center is a classical-liberal indictment of statism at home (planning, public-sector expansion, monopoly Congress) coupled with anxiety about Chinese intransigence on the frontier, supplemented by imported American libertarian theory presenting capitalism, decentralised enterprise and the 'forgotten' taxpayer as alternatives to state-led modernisation. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The August 15, 1962 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X, No. 10) marks the fifteenth anniversary of Indian independence with a sharply critical editorial that contrasts mere 'Self-Government' with the 'Good Government' the Liberals say has eluded India under Nehru. The issue mixes signed political commentary (M. A. Venkata Rao on science and spirituality, M. N. Tholal on the Gandhi–Nehru succession), a four-page Economic Supplement carrying reprints by American free-market writers Prof. G. Carl Wiegand and S. G. Hart, a 'Delhi Letter' on the deteriorating border situation and the Akali split, a review of P. T. Bauer's Indian Economic Policy and Development, and the standard Gleanings and News & Views columns. The argumentative center is a classical-liberal indictment of statism at home (planning, public-sector expansion, monopoly Congress) coupled with anxiety about Chinese intransigence on the frontier, supplemented by imported American libertarian theory presenting capitalism, decentralised enterprise and the 'forgotten' taxpayer as alternatives to state-led modernisation. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL — Self-Government or Good Government? The unsigned editorial uses the fifteenth anniversary of independence to argue that India has obtained Swarajya without Good Government. It contrasts the official festivities with the country's actual condition: depressed living standards, a disunited and disintegrated polity on the home front, humiliation by Chinese intransigence on the northern borders, and alienation of foreign friends by a Nehruvian 'Neutralism' the editor reads as a tilt toward the Communist bloc. Invoking Gokhale's dictum that Self-Government is better than Good Government, the editorial insists Gokhale never meant that even bad self-government would do; he wanted moderate, broad-based liberal nation-building. By contrast, the editorial accuses Nehru of being a 'wishful thinker and dreamer of airy nothings' presiding over a sorry outcome. Subsequent columns ('Liquidate These Small Pockets', 'Here and There', 'Food for Thought') call for ending residual French and Portuguese enclaves, criticise prohibition and food/cloth shortages, and warn against state moralism dressed up as policy. - Frames the 15th anniversary as an occasion to indict 'Self-Government' divorced from 'Good Government' - Reads Nehru's Neutralism as alienating India's natural friends in favour of Communist powers - Claims Gokhale's dictum has been misused: he wanted a strong liberal foundation, not low-quality self-rule - Notes humiliation by Chinese 'intransigence' on the northern frontier - Calls for liquidation of remaining French (Pondicherry) and Portuguese (Goa/Daman/Diu) pockets through dialogue - Attacks prohibition and other state-imposed moralism as anti-liberty ### Science And Spirituality *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao tackles Pandit Nehru's appeal for a 'scientific spirit' by arguing that science and spirituality are not in conflict — both rest on a metaphysical commitment to an ordered intelligible reality. He attacks the materialist reading of science associated with Marxism and dialectical materialism, insisting that the assumption of order is itself an article of faith and that consciousness cannot be reduced to matter. He then turns to political philosophy, arguing that the Russian leaders' adoption of materialist monism leads logically to subjugation of the individual to the state, whereas a spiritualist conception of personality grounds the rights and freedoms of the citizen. The article positions itself against communism by linking liberal individualism to a religious-spiritual metaphysic and to the political requirement of decentralised, voluntary cooperation. - Argues Nehru's call for a scientific spirit is welcome but must not be confused with materialism - Defends a spiritual metaphysic as compatible with — even required by — modern science - Reads dialectical materialism as theoretically incoherent and politically tyrannical - Links the dignity of the individual to a non-materialist conception of personality - Treats liberty and decentralised cooperation as derivative of the spiritualist position ### Gandhi—Nehru Succession—III *By M. N. Tholal* Part III of M. N. Tholal's serial examines the question of who would succeed Jawaharlal Nehru after the early death of Sardar Patel. Tholal sketches the long contest between Patel and Nehru inside Congress, the politics around Purushottam Das Tandon's election as Congress president and Nehru's subsequent move to dislodge him, and the eventual rise of Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant to the Home portfolio. He treats the Patel–Nehru rivalry as the genuine spine of post-1947 Indian politics, arguing that Patel was the natural bridge to the older Liberal and conservative interests and that Nehru's victory in the succession struggle entrenched a leftward, statist Congress. - Frames the Gandhi–Nehru succession as in practice a Patel–Nehru contest - Reads the Tandon presidency and his ouster as a decisive moment in Nehru's consolidation - Treats Pant's elevation to Home as confirming the post-Patel Nehruvian settlement - Argues Patel would have served as a bridge to liberal/conservative opinion ### ECONOMIC SUPPLEMENT — The Real Path of Economic Development *By By Prof. G. Carl Wiegand* Prof. G. Carl Wiegand of Southern Illinois University offers a polemical primer for the Economic Supplement: real economic development, he argues, has come not from doctrinaire industrialisation programmes but from cumulative, decentralised growth combining agriculture, industry, services and credit. He contrasts the failures of large-state programmes in Latin America with the dispersed capitalist development of the United States, and warns India that simply transplanting heavy industry without a productive agriculture, a competent labour force and consumer goods will produce inflation, capital waste and political brittleness. The piece is openly polemical against central planning and the cult of the steel mill as a development shortcut. - Few nations have industrialised by central planning; most by decentralised capitalist growth - Cites Latin America as the cautionary case of state-led industrialisation without agricultural base - Argues that agriculture, services and credit develop together with industry, not after it - Reads heavy-industry-first strategies as inflationary and capital-wasting - Implicit warning to Indian planners pursuing the same path ### ECONOMIC SUPPLEMENT — The Forgotten Man *By By S. G. Hart* S. G. Hart's 'The Forgotten Man' revives W. G. Sumner's classical-liberal figure: the quiet, productive citizen who pays for every scheme of state benevolence and is never consulted. Hart marshals Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill and a Shakespearean tag to argue that government interventions advertised as moral or compassionate work in practice as transfers from the unseen taxpayer to noisy organised interests. He uses examples from Britain, the United States and Australia — restrictions on personal liberty, the spread of moral and trade restrictions, expanding regulatory revenue — to warn that the Forgotten Man's freedoms and earnings are silently shrunk by a government convinced it must intervene wherever it sees a problem. - Revives W. G. Sumner's 'Forgotten Man' as the unseen citizen who funds every state scheme - Reads Adam Smith and J. S. Mill as classical authorities for the limited-state position - Treats expanding 'moral' and trade regulation as transfers from quiet payers to organised interests - Draws on British, American and Australian examples to argue the trend is general ### I Like Butter *By By Jess Raley* Jess Raley's light essay 'I Like Butter' is a humorous reflection on the small pleasures and idiosyncrasies of ordinary life — preferences for butter over margarine, observances and holidays, the things that quietly make up a settled bourgeois existence. Reprinted in the magazine as comic relief between heavier political essays, the piece reads as a gentle defence of personal taste and private satisfaction against the levelling impulse of grand programmes. A companion short, 'Supporting Our Youth' (credited to The Freeman), continues the libertarian register with a brief argument about adult responsibility and the limits of state programmes for the young. - Humorous defence of small private preferences over grand designs - Reprinted to lighten an otherwise polemical issue - The accompanying 'Supporting Our Youth' from The Freeman extends the libertarian tone ### DELHI LETTER — Who Wants To Defend Our Borders? *By From Our Correspondent* The unsigned 'Delhi Letter' reports two stories from the capital. 'Who Wants To Defend Our Borders?' describes an Opposition push to embarrass the Prime Minister over the deteriorating Sino-Indian border situation, with the Prime Minister parrying that the major adjustments lie in foreign policy rather than military deployment. The second strand covers the Akali split: Master Tara Singh's loss of authority, the rise of Sant Fateh Singh, and the manoeuvres of the Pradesh Congress Committee around Punjabi politics — concluding that the Akali agitation has played itself out and that the Congress will absorb the realignment. - Opposition uses border deterioration to corner the Prime Minister in Parliament - Government parries by reframing the issue as foreign-policy adjustment, not military reorganisation - Reports the Akali split between Master Tara Singh and Sant Fateh Singh - Reads the Pradesh Congress's manoeuvres as the de-facto end of the Akali agitation ### Book Review — Indian Economic Policy and Development (by P. T. Bauer) An unsigned book review of P. T. Bauer's Indian Economic Policy and Development (George Allen and Unwin, London, 1961). The reviewer endorses Bauer's classical-liberal critique of Indian planning: the over-reliance on state enterprise, the neglect of private initiative, and the suppression of the price mechanism. The review is friendly to Bauer's contention that the Indian record refutes the planners' premises and aligns the journal with his call for a more market-friendly path. - Endorses Bauer's classical-liberal critique of Indian planning - Highlights Bauer's argument that state enterprise has crowded out private initiative - Aligns the magazine with a market-oriented alternative path ### News & Views The combined 'Gleanings from the Press' and 'News & Views' columns string together short clippings: a 'Russia's Vain Boast' piece deflating a Khrushchev interview's claims about Soviet living standards; a paragraph on a former officer urging a NATO-style front to deter China; a note on Jamaican decolonisation ('Jamaica Is Free'); calls for an ultimatum to China; brief notes on price-for-peace deals with China; and a short statement on the right to test in the context of Soviet supply of MiGs to India. The cumulative effect is a cold-war, classical-liberal selection of news fragments hostile to both Soviet and Indian planning establishments. - Khrushchev's claims about Soviet living standards are deflated as boast - A retired officer's call for a NATO-style front against China is highlighted - Jamaican independence noted approvingly under decolonisation - Calls for an ultimatum to China collected from Indian Opposition voices - Brief notice on Soviet MiG supply to India and the right-to-test debate --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-aug15-1963/ ### Summary The August 15, 1963 issue (Vol. XI No. 10) of The Indian Libertarian, edited by D. M. Kulkarni and published from Bombay by Libertarian Publishers Pvt. Ltd., gathers an editorial, four signed essays, an Economic Supplement, a Delhi Letter, a book review, news round-ups and a reader letter. The argumentative centre is twofold: a sceptical reading of Cold War realignments in the wake of the Partial Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty, and a domestic critique of Nehruvian planning, Congress factionalism and rising prices. M. A. Venkata Rao argues that liberal humanism must reclaim social imagination from Marxist Utopias; M. N. Tholal dissects the U.P. Congress succession war; J. M. Lobo Prabhu reads the Kamaraj-Plan cabinet reshuffle as Nehru's retreat; Prof. G. N. Lawande devotes the supplement to inflation and the common man, with a companion piece by Edna Shaker on U.S. paternalism over American Indians; a review of R. M. MacIver's Conflict of Loyalties and a reader letter on holding politicians to account round out the issue. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The August 15, 1963 issue (Vol. XI No. 10) of The Indian Libertarian, edited by D. M. Kulkarni and published from Bombay by Libertarian Publishers Pvt. Ltd., gathers an editorial, four signed essays, an Economic Supplement, a Delhi Letter, a book review, news round-ups and a reader letter. The argumentative centre is twofold: a sceptical reading of Cold War realignments in the wake of the Partial Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty, and a domestic critique of Nehruvian planning, Congress factionalism and rising prices. M. A. Venkata Rao argues that liberal humanism must reclaim social imagination from Marxist Utopias; M. N. Tholal dissects the U.P. Congress succession war; J. M. Lobo Prabhu reads the Kamaraj-Plan cabinet reshuffle as Nehru's retreat; Prof. G. N. Lawande devotes the supplement to inflation and the common man, with a companion piece by Edna Shaker on U.S. paternalism over American Indians; a review of R. M. MacIver's Conflict of Loyalties and a reader letter on holding politicians to account round out the issue. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL: 'First Step' Towards What: World Peace Or World Domination? The unsigned lead editorial reads the Moscow Partial Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty not as a step toward world peace but as a step toward Soviet-Anglo-American detente that may consolidate, rather than dismantle, the architecture of world domination. It argues that the treaty leaves the underground and Chinese nuclear options open, sidelines the non-aligned, and rewards Khrushchev's coexistence line while exposing Mao's harder posture. The editorial then turns to India, arguing that Nehru's 'non-aligned' diplomacy has lost its purchase: with China hostile, Pakistan emboldened, and the Soviet line shifting, India is left without leverage, and the Planning Commission's failures have eroded credibility at home. - The Test-Ban Treaty is framed as a great-power condominium, not disarmament. - Underground tests and the Chinese programme remain outside the treaty's reach. - Non-alignment has lost utility now that Moscow and Washington are seeking accommodation. - Indian foreign policy is criticised for failing to anticipate the Sino-Soviet split's consequences. - Domestic credibility of the Nehru government is tied to Planning Commission failures. ### Social Imagination And Revolution *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that the Indian intelligentsia has surrendered its social imagination to Marxist categories and Utopian socialism, mistaking these for the only scientific road to progress. He reconstructs an alternative humanist lineage running through the eighteenth-century revolutions, the great religious traditions and post-war European thought, and presses for a 'social imagination' rooted in the dignity of the person rather than in class war. The essay closes with a plea to fellow-travellers to recognise that real revolution is the deepening of liberty and conscience, not the capture of the state, and warns that Nehruvian planning has reproduced the disabilities of doctrinaire collectivism. - Marxist 'science' has captured the imagination of the Indian intelligentsia and crowded out liberal alternatives. - A humanist conception of society draws from religion, the Enlightenment and the American and French revolutions. - Genuine revolution is the expansion of liberty and personality, not collectivisation. - Planning under Nehru reproduces, rather than escapes, the pathologies of state socialism. - Fellow-travellers must be disabused of the equation of socialism with progress. ### War Of Ambitions *By By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal anatomises the war of ambitions inside the Uttar Pradesh Congress, taking the fall of Chief Minister C. B. Gupta and the manoeuvring around his successor as a case study in the Congress system's drift from politics to court intrigue. He reads the rise and fall of factional figures like Kamlapati Tripathi, Pandit Mohan Lal Gautam, Banarsi Das and others as evidence that the Kamaraj Plan has not cleansed the party but only re-shuffled the players. The essay treats U.P. as a microcosm of an exhausted ruling party whose ambitions have outgrown its programme. - U.P. Congress politics has become a war of personal ambitions, not a contest of programmes. - C. B. Gupta's exit illustrates the limits of the Kamaraj Plan as a reform device. - Faction leaders inside the State Congress are mapped as a court, not a cabinet. - The article treats U.P. as a microcosm of Congress decay in 1963. ### Economic Supplement *By G N Lawande* Prof. G. N. Lawande's Economic Supplement reads the steady climb of consumer prices since the Second Plan as the inevitable cost of deficit financing, exchange controls and an over-extended public sector. He shows how monetary expansion, rather than crop failure, drives the price line for the common man, and warns that wage and dearness-allowance fixes only ratify the inflation they pretend to cushion. The supplement is paired with Edna Shaker's piece 'American Indians Under Control', which uses U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs paternalism over reservation Indians as a cautionary tale about what happens when governments substitute administrative tutelage for property rights and freedom of contract. - Rising prices are tracked to deficit financing, not to harvest shortfalls. - Exchange controls and public-sector expansion are diagnosed as structural sources of inflation. - Wage and dearness-allowance adjustments are treated as ratifications, not remedies, of inflation. - The Edna Shaker companion piece reads the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs as a parable about administrative tutelage. - Both pieces argue that price stability and dignity depend on enforceable property rights. ### Nehru's Retreat *By By J. M. Lobo Prabhu* J. M. Lobo Prabhu reads the Kamaraj-Plan cabinet reshuffle as Nehru's retreat under the cumulative weight of the China defeat, the rupee crisis and Planning Commission failures. He argues that the new line-up – with Lal Bahadur Shastri, Gulzarilal Nanda and Indira Gandhi promoted while veterans depart – is less a renewal than a closing of ranks. The exit of Morarji Desai and the elevation of state-level loyalists are read as the Congress high command's choice of survival over reform. - The reshuffle is read as a defensive consolidation, not a programmatic renewal. - Promotions of Shastri, Nanda and Indira Gandhi mark a generational pivot inside Congress. - Morarji Desai's exit removes the most prominent intra-party critic of fiscal indiscipline. - The Kamaraj Plan is judged as a device for managing the centre, not for reforming state governments. ### DELHI LETTER: Time of Testing And Trial *By (From Our Correspondent)* The Delhi Letter reports the capital's mood after the cabinet reshuffle and on the eve of the Indo-American air exercise. The unsigned correspondent argues that the new arrangements have not stilled the unease about strategic drift, that Galbraith's mediating role is being read as a sign of American patience wearing thin, and that the proposed MiG-21 deal with Moscow has been read in Washington as a hedge rather than a choice. - Delhi is described as in a 'time of testing and trial' rather than of policy renewal. - Galbraith's diplomacy is read as a barometer of U.S. patience. - The MiG-21 deal is treated as a strategic hedge that strains U.S.-India relations. - The reshuffle has not displaced foreign-policy anxieties. ### Book Review The Book Review of R. M. MacIver's Conflict of Loyalties (and the companion volume Religion and Civilisation) presents MacIver's case that pluralist societies require citizens to hold multiple, sometimes incompatible, allegiances – to family, faith, class, nation and humanity – and that the liberal state is the institutional answer to that condition. The reviewer summarises MacIver's distinction between loyalty to persons and loyalty to ideas, and treats the book as a useful corrective to the absolutist temptations of mid-century ideology. - Pluralism, in MacIver's account, is a fact of moral life before it is a political programme. - The liberal state is recast as a framework for managing competing allegiances. - Religion and ideology are placed on a continuum of loyalty rather than treated as opposites. - The review reads the book as ammunition against mid-century absolutisms. ### The Mind Of The Nation 'The Mind of the Nation' (anchored by the piece 'Why Peking Smirks at the Proposed Indo-American Air Exercises?') argues that Chinese propaganda has been quick to weaponise the planned Indo-American air exercises as proof that non-alignment is dead, and that India's response has been clumsy. The column reads the episode as evidence that Indian opinion has not yet found a vocabulary for an explicitly Western-leaning posture, and is therefore vulnerable to both Chinese and Soviet framings. - Peking has framed the air exercises as the burial of non-alignment. - Indian official communication is judged as defensive rather than principled. - The column argues that a clearer pro-Western posture would be less, not more, costly. - Soviet diplomacy is reading the same exercises through its own propaganda lens. ### News and Views The News and Views section runs short items on U.S.-Soviet ideological incompatibility, mixed aid and Soviet pacts, South Korean operations, prisoners-of-war from China-Burma-Thailand, the West African Open Pledge debate, the 'You Bow Over Nothing' commentary on Y. Narasimhan of Express News Service, the Chinese destruction culture debate, the Communist Party as 'source' of Dange's statement, and the question whether Indian nationalisation amounts to a Communist Party victory. The cumulative effect is a brief on the Communist world's manoeuvres and on Indian fellow-travellers' embarrassments. - The section reads U.S.-Soviet ideological talk as fundamentally irreconcilable in 1963. - Dange's statement on the Sino-Indian border is traced back to its likely Communist source. - Nationalisation of banks is discussed as a possible CPI gain dressed as policy. - Short notices on China, Burma, Thailand and West Africa frame India's foreign-policy environment. ### Dear Editor S. R. Narayana Iyer's reader letter, 'Exposing the Politicians', argues that citizens cannot trust politicians to police themselves and proposes a programme of disclosure: total tax paid by each representative under the Emergency, contributions to Defence Funds by state, names of children and close relatives of politicians studying in English-medium schools while speaking publicly for vernacular education, and similar items. The letter frames disclosure as a 'forceful corrective' to the conduct of public life. - Citizens are urged to organise locally to publish factual indictments of representatives. - Three concrete disclosure demands are spelled out (taxes paid, Defence Fund contributions, schooling of relatives). - Politicians are treated as agents who must be exposed by their principals, not reformed from within. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-aug15-1961/ ### Summary This August 15, 1961 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IX, No. 10), edited by D. M. Kulkarni for Libertarian Publishers (Bombay), opens with an editorial bloc denouncing Pakistan's renewed 'sabre-rattling' on Kashmir after Ayub Khan's American tour, asking why Pakistanis are nursing such hostility, and reading the Iraq–Kuwait crisis as a colonial parallel to Kashmir, before turning to the impending Orissa elections and the prospects of the Swatantra Party. M. A. Venkata Rao argues that India's universities are themselves in need of 'educating' if liberal democracy is to hold off communism; M. N. Tholal flips the rhetoric of anti-colonialism onto Soviet Russia and China; and A. Ranganathan supplies an appreciation of the late Khasa Subba Rau, editor of Swarajya. The issue's bound Economic Supplement (pages I–IV) carries G. N. Lawande on whether the Third Plan can produce a Rostow-style 'take-off', J. M. Lobo Prabhu on the economic platforms of the contesting parties, and a reprint of Thomas Paine's Agrarian Justice.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This August 15, 1961 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IX, No. 10), edited by D. M. Kulkarni for Libertarian Publishers (Bombay), opens with an editorial bloc denouncing Pakistan's renewed 'sabre-rattling' on Kashmir after Ayub Khan's American tour, asking why Pakistanis are nursing such hostility, and reading the Iraq–Kuwait crisis as a colonial parallel to Kashmir, before turning to the impending Orissa elections and the prospects of the Swatantra Party. M. A. Venkata Rao argues that India's universities are themselves in need of 'educating' if liberal democracy is to hold off communism; M. N. Tholal flips the rhetoric of anti-colonialism onto Soviet Russia and China; and A. Ranganathan supplies an appreciation of the late Khasa Subba Rau, editor of Swarajya. The issue's bound Economic Supplement (pages I–IV) carries G. N. Lawande on whether the Third Plan can produce a Rostow-style 'take-off', J. M. Lobo Prabhu on the economic platforms of the contesting parties, and a reprint of Thomas Paine's Agrarian Justice. A short comment piece titled 'Socialism' lampoons U Nu's Burmese socialism by parable, a Delhi Letter dissects Master Tara Singh's Punjabi Suba fast, a book review treats C. Northcote Parkinson's The Law and the Profits, and the issue closes with Gleanings from the Press, News & Views, and a Letter to the Editor on national unity. Throughout, the magazine defends free economy and limited government against planning, socialism, and what it sees as Nehruvian drift. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL (Pakistan's Sabre-Rattling) The editorial bloc strings together four short pieces. 'Pakistan's Sabre-Rattling' argues that Ayub Khan's American tour emboldened Pakistan to renew shelling, bombing-plane provocations, and jehad propaganda along the Kashmir border, and reads his public jealousy of US aid to India and refusal to settle Kashmir peacefully as proof that Pakistan was 'born in hatred' of India. 'Why Do The Pakistanis Hate India?' reaches for psychological and historical causes — Muslim League legacy, fear of Hindu cultural dominance, and the trauma of partition — without endorsing the hate. 'Kuwait and Kerala' reads Kassem's claim on Kuwait and Britain's swift counter as a sobering parallel for India, and warns against the Nawab-style oil-state model. The bloc closes with 'The Orissa Elections', forecasting that the mid-term poll there will test whether the Congress and the splinter Ganatantra Parishad can hold against a Swatantra-friendly opposition; it treats the contest as a referendum on the self-confidence of non-Congress forces. - Reads Ayub Khan's post-tour belligerence as evidence that Pakistan is incapable of settling Kashmir peacefully. - Treats Nehru's appeasement-by-economic-development line toward Pakistan as naive. - Uses the Iraq–Kuwait crisis as a warning about petro-state vulnerability and great-power intervention. - Frames the Orissa mid-term election as a Swatantra-aligned opportunity to dent Congress hegemony. - Underlines the journal's standing masthead: 'We stand for free economy and limited government.' ### Educating The Educators *By MA Venkata Rao* Venkata Rao argues that the challenge of international communism, led by Soviet Russia, cannot be met by Western ideals alone unless Indian universities are themselves reformed. India's higher education, he says, is still organized for personal salvation and white-collar absorption rather than for producing citizens capable of defending a constitutional, science-based liberal democracy. He urges that the educator must first be educated — that staff, syllabi, and methods need to be re-thought before the universities can produce the kind of mind that liberalism requires. The piece reads communism not as merely an economic doctrine but as a religion of the dispossessed that fills the moral vacuum left by inadequate liberal acculturation. India's diversity, its provincial chauvinisms, and its lack of a 'national civic sense' make the task urgent. Without an internal regeneration of the academic class, he warns, the country will not be able to absorb modern science, defend civil liberty, or sustain economic freedom against authoritarian alternatives. - Treats communism as a quasi-religious challenge that liberal democracy must answer with its own ethical and educational depth. - Argues that the universities are organized for personal salvation or careerism rather than for civic and scientific competence. - Locates a deficit of 'national civic sense' as the central failure of Indian higher education. - Holds that the educator class itself must be remade before liberal-democratic values can be taught. ### Towards Freedom Or Slavery? *By M. N. Tholal* Tholal turns the Communist anti-colonial vocabulary back on its source. The cry of 'colonialism, colonialism' is, he says, the thief crying thief: Soviet Russia inherited and expanded the Tsarist empire over Central Asian Muslim peoples, and Communist China has done the same to Tibet and is doing it to other border peoples. The article walks through the Russian absorption of Bukhara, Khiva, and the Caucasus and contrasts the openness of British and other Western colonialism — which produced its own internal critics and a path to self-government — with the closed character of Soviet rule, where no comparable self-criticism is possible. The piece warns Indian readers that joining the Communist anti-colonial chorus serves Moscow and Peking, not the colonized. True freedom, he argues, depends on the kind of liberal institutions — press, assembly, courts — that Communist states deny their own subject peoples; without those, independence is only a change of masters, with the new ones immune to either the moral or the political pressure that eventually opened Western empires up. - Argues that Soviet rule over Central Asia and Chinese rule over Tibet are textbook colonialism that Communists exempt from their own rhetoric. - Contrasts Western colonialism's permeability to internal moral critique with the sealed character of Communist empire. - Treats Indian fellow-travelling on 'colonialism' as objectively pro-Moscow and pro-Peking. - Insists that liberty requires liberal institutions, not merely a change of overlord. ### Khasa Subba Rau — An Appreciation *By A Ranganathan* Ranganathan's appreciation marks the death on 16 June 1961 of Khasa Subba Rau, the editor of Swarajya, calling it one of the saddest events in contemporary Indian journalism. He sketches Khasa's career through the Presidency College, Bombay, and a long apprenticeship in editorial chairs at The Hindu, Swatantra, Free Press Journal, Indian Daily Mail and the Indian Express before he founded and edited Swarajya from Madras. Throughout, Khasa is portrayed as a stylist of unusual elegance, a fearless commentator on public men, and an editor for whom the small Madras weekly Swarajya became a vehicle for liberal opinion of national reach. The tribute moves from craft to politics: Khasa's loyalty to C. Rajagopalachari and the Swatantra cause, his role as one of the magazine's chief writers in the Madras election fight, and the quality of attention he commanded — Sadanand of the Free Press is said to have reckoned an article of Khasa's worth a Reuters cable. Ranganathan treats him as a model of a vanishing kind of Indian editor: economical, independent, and willing to lose a job over a sentence. - Frames Khasa Subba Rau's death as a singular loss to liberal Indian journalism. - Traces his editorial passage from The Hindu and the Free Press through Indian Daily Mail and the Indian Express to Swarajya. - Treats Swarajya, though a small Madras weekly, as the principal vehicle of Rajaji's Swatantra-aligned liberal opinion. - Holds Khasa up as exemplar of the independent editor — Sadanand reportedly valued one of his articles at a Reuters cable. ### ECONOMIC SUPPLEMENT *By G N Lawande* Lawande opens the Economic Supplement by asking whether the Third Five Year Plan can deliver a Rostow-style economic 'take-off'. He traces the post-war turn to development planning as an instrument of international cooperation and then sets the Indian record against it: the first two Plans, he argues, have neither produced a self-sustaining rise in income nor matched their own internal targets, with public-sector investments running at high cost and modest yield. He is sceptical that the Third Plan's larger outlays and continued reliance on state enterprise can change the trajectory. The supplement argues that without rising consumer demand fed by genuine income growth, private enterprise cannot expand to absorb production, and that the bias toward Plan-financed public investment is starving the private economy of the capital and incentives it needs. The take-off, he concludes, presupposes economic freedoms the current planning model has not delivered. - Reads the Third Plan in terms of Rostow's 'take-off' threshold and asks whether the conditions for it exist in India. - Argues that the first two Plans failed to generate the consumer demand a take-off requires. - Holds that public-sector investment is crowding out and starving private enterprise. - Treats the planning apparatus, not capital scarcity, as the binding constraint on Indian growth. ### Third Plan And Take Off *By Prof. G. N. Lawande, M.A.* Lobo Prabhu surveys the economic platforms on offer at the coming elections and urges voters to discriminate among parties on economic substance rather than slogan. The Congress, he argues, has converted economic planning into an instrument of single-party dominance and is now indistinguishable from the socialist parties on the question of state ownership; the Communists and the PSP press for further nationalisation; only the Swatantra Party defends a programme of private enterprise, secure property rights, and a smaller state. The piece reads recent Supreme Court litigation over property and trade as a warning that the constitutional protections of 1950 are being thinned by amendment, and asks voters to weigh whether the next Parliament will continue that erosion. Lobo Prabhu treats the election as a real choice between rival economic systems, not a routine contest among personalities. - Frames the coming election as a referendum on the direction of India's economic system. - Argues that Congress economic policy is converging with the socialist parties on state ownership. - Identifies Swatantra as the only party defending private enterprise and property rights at scale. - Warns that constitutional amendments are progressively eroding the property protections of the 1950 settlement. ### Economic Policies Of Parties *By J. M. Lobo Prabhu* The supplement closes with a reprint of Thomas Paine's Agrarian Justice, in which Paine argues that the institution of private landed property, while a necessary outgrowth of cultivation, has produced an inequality that did not exist in the 'natural' state. The earth, he says, was originally the common property of the human race; once it is enclosed and improved, the cultivator owes a 'ground-rent' to the community for the value of the natural inheritance he has appropriated. Paine proposes a fund, financed by an inheritance tax on landed estates, to pay every adult a one-time sum on coming of age and an annual pension after fifty — not as charity but as restitution for the lost natural birthright. The piece is positioned in the Indian Libertarian context as a classical-liberal defence of property reconciled with a recognised social claim, not as a brief for confiscation. - Distinguishes between the natural state, in which the earth is common, and the civilised state, in which it is enclosed. - Argues that landed property creates inequality that requires compensatory provision, not abolition. - Proposes a one-time sum at majority and a pension after fifty, funded by an inheritance levy on landed estates. - Frames the scheme as restitution for a lost natural inheritance, not as charity or redistribution. ### Agrarian Justice *By Thomas Paine* An unsigned commentary uses U Nu's Burmese socialism as its target. It opens with a parable: U Nu boasted of a household medicine called 'Dammed Dagger' that cured everything — until the family dog ate the medicine and the household discovered, too late, that the dog and the cure had both been laid low together. The article reads Burmese socialism as that cure: a doctrine sold as universal that has in practice damaged the patient. Moving from parable to comparative politics, the piece argues that the Labour Party in Britain has had to retreat from doctrinaire nationalisation under electoral pressure, and that India should learn the same lesson. State ownership, it argues, has not delivered higher output, better wages, or shorter queues; what it has done, in Burma, in Britain, and increasingly in India, is corrode initiative and make the state both employer and policeman. - Uses U Nu's parable of the 'Dammed Dagger' to mock universal-cure socialism. - Reads the British Labour Party's electoral retreats as evidence that doctrinaire nationalisation fails politically. - Argues that nationalisation in Burma has produced neither higher wages nor better service. - Warns that the same state-as-employer model is being entrenched in India. ### Socialism The Delhi Letter, filed by the journal's Delhi correspondent, reads Master Tara Singh's fast in support of a Punjabi Suba (a separate Punjabi-speaking Sikh-majority province) as the climactic act of his career. The correspondent doubts the linguistic case for partitioning the Punjab and is openly sceptical of Master Tara Singh's habit of fasting as a political instrument, but treats the episode as a serious test of the central government's nerve. The piece argues that Nehru and the Congress cannot concede a Punjabi Suba without inviting parallel demands elsewhere, but also cannot let a major Sikh leader die in custody without inflaming the community. It treats Master Tara Singh as a figure whose politics belong to an earlier, communal era and warns that the Akali Dal's confessional framing of a linguistic claim is the real source of the trouble. - Frames Master Tara Singh's Punjabi Suba fast as the culminating episode of his political career. - Disputes the linguistic case for partitioning Punjab and reads the demand as confessional in substance. - Treats the central government as boxed in between conceding a precedent and creating a martyr. - Holds the Akali Dal responsible for grafting communal claims onto a language-state framework. ### DELHI LETTER: The Master And His Mission *By From Our Correspondent* An unsigned review of C. Northcote Parkinson's The Law and the Profits (Houghton Mifflin) treats the book as a sequel to Parkinson's Law that turns the same comic-empirical eye on public finance. Parkinson's central claim — restated in the review — is that government expenditure rises to consume whatever revenue is available, and that the threshold beyond which taxation crushes the productive economy lies somewhere around a quarter of national income. The reviewer commends the book's wit and its targets — the welfare state, post-war British budgets, and the spreading habit of permanent peacetime deficit — and reads it as a useful corrective for Indian readers tempted to assume that bigger budgets are by themselves an index of national progress. - Reads Parkinson as extending his bureaucratic 'law' from staffing to public finance. - Highlights the claim that expenditure expands to absorb available revenue regardless of need. - Identifies a tax-share threshold beyond which production is suppressed. - Recommends the book to Indian readers tempted by big-budget conceptions of development. ### Book Review: The Law and the Profits (by C. Northcote Parkinson) Gleanings from the Press collects short extracts. One, attributed to Robert M. Thornton, picks up the recent omission of Mr. Menon's bid from the Aligarh Muslim University succession dispute and reads it as evidence of a planned political reshaping of the university. A second cluster of items returns to the Pakistan question raised in the editorial and adds further press commentary on Ayub Khan's posture toward Kashmir. The column functions as a digest: it presents excerpts from other publications without elaborate commentary, letting the cumulative weight of the cited press underline the journal's own line on socialism, planning, and Pakistan. - Aggregates short press extracts on current controversies rather than offering a single argument. - Picks up Robert M. Thornton's note on the Aligarh succession question. - Reinforces the editorial line on Ayub Khan and Pakistan through corroborating press commentary. ### Gleanings from the Press *By Robert M. Thornton (The Freeman)* News & Views collates short reports on the liberal and opposition movement. A 'Non-Party Programme' notice records steps to counter the national disintegration the editors see in linguistic and communal agitations; a separate item welcomes the formation of a Swatantra Annual Rally at Bombay and the party's organisational activity in several states. Brief mentions of M. R. Masani's interventions, the Forum of Free Enterprise's programmes, and the counter-revolutionary character of communism round out the column. The section functions as a movement bulletin: it tells Swatantra-leaning readers what their party and its allied institutions are doing, and underscores the journal's editorial line that organised liberalism, not Congress reform, is the answer to drift. - Reads the recent agitations as a symptom of 'national disintegration' that a non-party liberal programme must counter. - Highlights the Swatantra Annual Rally at Bombay as a milestone in the party's growth. - Folds in items on the Forum of Free Enterprise's programmes and counter-revolutionary readings of communism. ### News & Views A single letter to the editor signed M. Amrunath of Bangalore turns to 'National Unity' and proposes that the only durable defence against communal and minority-based politics is a hardened commitment to a single, equal citizenship under uniformly applied national law. The writer asks the journal to lend its space and authority to that case in subsequent issues. - Names communal and minority politics as the principal threat to national unity. - Calls for a single, equal citizenship under uniform law as the answer. - Solicits the Indian Libertarian's editorial support for that line. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-aug15-1972/ ### Summary This Silver Jubilee number of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. XVIII, No. 10, 15 August 1972) brackets the twenty-fifth anniversary of Indian independence with an editorial homage to the founding generation of liberal nationalists and a sheaf of contemporary commentaries that read 1947's economic and political promises against present discontents. The unsigned editorial 'Founders of India's Freedom' lauds Dadabhai Naoroji, Mahadev Govind Ranade, Pherozeshah Mehta, Gokhale, Shrinivas Shastri, Tejbahadur Sapru and their successors as scholar-statesmen who fused nationalist passion with constitutional restraint and economic realism. A. Ranganathan revisits the language question, M. N. Tholal reports on Vinoba Bhave's and Jayaprakash Narayan's role in the Chambal Valley dacoit surrender, K. Kumara Sekhar files a Delhi Letter and a separate Silver Jubilee meditation on India's 'overrating' of freedom-as-an-end, S. R. Mohan Das attacks bonus as an ad hoc 'anarchic' compensation method, Dr. R. S. Nigam analyses Britain's E.E.C. entry and its sterling-area fallout, K.S. pillories Bombay's policing of the National Anthem, M.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This Silver Jubilee number of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. XVIII, No. 10, 15 August 1972) brackets the twenty-fifth anniversary of Indian independence with an editorial homage to the founding generation of liberal nationalists and a sheaf of contemporary commentaries that read 1947's economic and political promises against present discontents. The unsigned editorial 'Founders of India's Freedom' lauds Dadabhai Naoroji, Mahadev Govind Ranade, Pherozeshah Mehta, Gokhale, Shrinivas Shastri, Tejbahadur Sapru and their successors as scholar-statesmen who fused nationalist passion with constitutional restraint and economic realism. A. Ranganathan revisits the language question, M. N. Tholal reports on Vinoba Bhave's and Jayaprakash Narayan's role in the Chambal Valley dacoit surrender, K. Kumara Sekhar files a Delhi Letter and a separate Silver Jubilee meditation on India's 'overrating' of freedom-as-an-end, S. R. Mohan Das attacks bonus as an ad hoc 'anarchic' compensation method, Dr. R. S. Nigam analyses Britain's E.E.C. entry and its sterling-area fallout, K.S. pillories Bombay's policing of the National Anthem, M. Ruthnaswamy reports on a Delhi seminar on scientific research and rural reconstruction, and John A. Sparks defends free-market pricing against the textbook fiction of the rapacious 'monopolist'. P. Kodanda Rao counsels remembering British liberal allies alongside Gen. Dyer, and an 'Observer' note assesses the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act of 1969 against the Mahalanobis, Hazari and Dutt enquiry reports. The argumentative centre is the contrast between classical-liberal first principles and the planned, statist trajectory of post-Independence India. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL: Founders of India's Freedom The unsigned editorial uses the Silver Jubilee occasion to argue that India's freedom owed more to a 'galaxy of profoundly wise men' than to mass agitation alone. It celebrates Dadabhai Naoroji as the 'Father of Indian Nationalism' and propounder of the Drain theory, Mahadev Govind Ranade as a foundational economic thinker and social reformer, and Pherozeshah Mehta, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Gokhale, Shrinivas Shastri, and Tejbahadur Sapru as constitutional liberals who never lost sight of administrative realities. Their style is contrasted with the later, more populist Gandhian phase and with Mrs. Indira Gandhi's recent assertiveness during the December war with Pakistan. The editorial then turns critical: while the country has retained democratic forms and the secular character of its politics, it has failed to honour the founders' liberal economic vision. It indicts the post-Independence 'partial socialisation' of the economy, the suppression of cooperative enterprise, the strangling of small producers by monopolistic regulation, and the bureaucratic capture of the state by privileged castes, lamenting that 'auromondo on current problems' — i.e., the founders' warnings — has gone unheeded. - Frames the Silver Jubilee through a celebration of pre-Gandhian liberal nationalists. - Names Naoroji, Ranade, Pherozeshah Mehta, Malaviya, Gokhale, Sapru and Shastri as the foundational 'galaxy of profoundly wise men'. - Distinguishes a constitutional, economically literate liberalism from later mass politics. - Indicts post-Independence 'partial socialisation' and bureaucratic privilege as betrayals of liberal first principles. - Uses Mrs. Indira Gandhi's December 1971 war leadership as a measured tribute, not an endorsement of her domestic programme. ### Twenty Five Years of Freedom *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan revisits the language question on India's twenty-fifth anniversary and argues, against post-1947 linguistic nationalism, that English remains the only truly pan-Indian medium of administration, scholarship and modern science. He traces the history of Sanskrit as a once-living scholarly language that nonetheless 'never became the popular tongue of the people', contrasts this with the fertility of vernaculars like Bengali and Tamil, and surveys the rise of national languages in Renaissance Europe (French, English, German) through writers like Petrarch, Boccaccio, Chaucer, Spenser and Luther. The implication is that an artificially imposed Hindi cannot, by official decree alone, become India's working medium. Ranganathan defends English as 'a window on the world' and as the language of Indian higher education, of nationalist mobilisation, and of the Constitution itself. He cites Dr. Ambedkar's drafting role and Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterji's linguistic authority to argue that the country's modern intellectual life is bilingual by structure, and that to displace English in favour of a single regional tongue would impoverish both administration and scholarship. The essay closes by recommending that English be retained as a working national link language alongside the regional languages. - Frames Independence Day reflection through the language question. - Argues Sanskrit's scholarly prestige never made it a living popular tongue. - Uses European Renaissance parallels (Petrarch, Boccaccio, Chaucer, Spenser, Luther) to show how vernaculars matured organically. - Defends English as the de facto pan-Indian medium of higher learning and constitutional life. - Cites Ambedkar's drafting and Suniti Kumar Chatterji's scholarship to argue for bilingual realism. ### The Chambal Valley Miracle *By By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal reports on the Chambal Valley dacoit surrender and on the political quarrel between Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mr. Sethi and Jayaprakash Narayan over credit for the operation. Tholal quotes Acharya Vinoba Bhave's warning that 'new dacoit gangs will spring up if the Madhya Pradesh Government, in its concern with issues of prestige on the surrender of more than 400 dacoits, allows the jailed dacoits to be victimised', and reproduces Jayaprakash Narayan's own disclaimer of credit: 'I do not believe it is in my power or my sacrifice that has brought this about and I have no doubt it is a divine miracle.' The piece sharply criticises Chief Minister Sethi for publicly attacking Narayan, charging him with 'breach of trust', and for treating Sarvodaya workers as 'publicity seekers'. Inspector-General K. M. Rustomji's allegation that the workers 'made heroes of the dacoits' is presented as evidence of an administration unwilling to credit the moral mediation that made the surrender possible. Tholal closes by noting that Sarvodaya workers have been stopped from visiting the jail where the dacoits are held, jeopardising their welfare and the broader miracle. - Reports a public quarrel between MP CM Sethi and Jayaprakash Narayan over credit for the Chambal dacoit surrender. - Foregrounds Vinoba Bhave's warning that mistreated surrendered dacoits will re-form gangs. - Quotes Jayaprakash Narayan disavowing personal credit and calling the surrender 'a divine miracle'. - Documents the M.P. administration's resentment of Sarvodaya mediation. - Argues that visiting restrictions on Sarvodaya workers threaten the operation's success. ### DELHI LETTER: Peace Under Duress *By (From Our Correspondent)* An unsigned Delhi Letter, 'Peace Under Duress', surveys ratification politics in the wake of the December 1971 war and the Simla accord. Filed by 'Our Correspondent', it reports the Lok Sabha's procedural debate, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kamalapati Tripathi's intervention in the legislature, and the centre's attempts to project the peace as durable while opposition voices and a section of the press warn that ratification has been obtained under conditions of political pressure rather than open argument. The piece is brief — a single page — and functions as an editorial gloss on the gap between government communiqués and the texture of legislative consent. - Frames the post-Simla peace ratification as procedurally compelled rather than freely embraced. - Reports the Lok Sabha debate and UP CM Kamalapati Tripathi's role. - Reads the central government's projection of durable peace against opposition and press scepticism. - Highlights the journal's interest in parliamentary procedure as a test of liberal politics. ### Silver Jubilee of Independence *By By K. Kumar Sekhar* K. Kumara Sekhar uses the Silver Jubilee occasion to argue that India has spent twenty-five years 'overrating freedom' as an end in itself when freedom is properly only a means to constructive national life. He targets the cult of 'liberation' — a word, he writes, that has been given 'an oversize place in our perspective, so as to cloud our vision of future' — and contrasts the elaborate symbolism of post-1947 nationalism with the unfulfilled economic and civic substance that should have followed it. The opening tribute to Nehru's 'tryst with destiny' speech is read against the ledger of the next quarter-century: stagnation, mass poverty and an Afro-Asian elite that mistakes 'liberation fights' for the harder work of nation-building. The essay closes with an indictment of the 'leaders of tomorrow' — those who 'have no incentive to see to it that the people experience the same intoxicating sense of achievement and fulfilment' as the constructive activity of the founding moment — and argues that genuine independence requires no longer 'over-valuing political independence' or 'under-valuing economic independence'. - Frames the Silver Jubilee as a moment to confront a 'wrong set of values'. - Indicts the post-1947 cult of 'liberation' as substituting symbol for substance. - Argues that Afro-Asian states mistook the means (freedom) for the end (constructive life). - Reads Nehru's 'tryst with destiny' against the bleak ledger of poverty and stagnation. - Calls for less 'over-valuing political independence' and more 'economic independence'. ### Bonus—An Anarchic Compensation Method *By By S. R. Mohan Das* S. R. Mohan Das attacks the institution of bonus as it has evolved in Indian labour relations, arguing that it is an 'ad hoc anarchic' supplement bolted onto an industrial wage system that already ought to be 'organised and structured'. He traces the history of bonus from its origin as an ex gratia gesture by employers — 'galling to the pride and status of citizens in a democratic system' — to its conversion into a profit-sharing concept via INTUC-led semantic ingenuity, and finally to a statutory entitlement codified through the Bonus Act, the Bonus Review Committee, and a stream of L.I.C.-style litigation in which 'no matter what happens, the Government shall not reduce its share of statutory return'. For Mohan Das the bonus regime is structurally illogical: it presupposes that profits exist and are 'shared', but treats bonus as compulsory even when no profits arise; it claims to compensate for sub-subsistence wages but does so through one-off lump sums rather than wage reform; and it inevitably leads to imitative demands across the central and state services and the municipal sector. The piece concludes that the 'parasitic aspect' of bonus has now made it a permanent fixture of agitation politics, and that only a rational, structured wage and salary system can dissolve the contradictions the Bonus Act has institutionalised. - Identifies bonus as an 'ad hoc' patch onto a wage system that ought to be structurally complete. - Traces the historical drift from ex gratia gesture to profit-sharing concept to statutory entitlement. - Argues INTUC's profit-sharing definition was a 'semantic acrobatic' that obscures the real problem of sub-subsistence wages. - Predicts public-sector employees (State and Central offices, Zilla Parishads, Municipal Councils) will inevitably demand parity. - Concludes that only a 'structured wage and salary system' will dissolve the contradictions. ### British Entry Into E.E.C. Its Impact on India *By By Dr. R. S. Nigam* Dr. R. S. Nigam analyses the implications for India of the United Kingdom's entry into the European Economic Community alongside Denmark, Ireland and Norway, with the Treaty of Accession signed at Brussels. He outlines the immediate consequences for the Commonwealth sugar preference regime, for sterling balances, and for the Indian export basket — particularly tea, jute, leather and textiles — and reads the Kennedy Round tariff reductions and the Generalised Scheme of Preferences against the loss of Imperial preferences that British EEC membership entails. Nigam argues that the EEC enlargement is 'pieces of a mosaic' constructing a multilateral framework which, alongside UNCTAD, GATT, OECD, IMF, IBRD and the like, will determine the developing world's terms of trade for the next decade. He invokes Paul Prebisch's 'infant industry' argument as the developing-country counter-claim against reciprocity-based market access, and recommends that India use the next ten years to position itself for full G.S.P. utilisation, evolve a coordinated commercial policy with other developing economies, and prepare for the global shift from sectoral Commonwealth trade arrangements to a 'global arrangement' of trade and aid. - Reads UK accession to the EEC against the unwinding of Commonwealth preferences. - Analyses consequences for Indian tea, jute, leather, textiles and the sterling balances. - Frames the GSP and Kennedy Round against Prebisch's 'infant industry' argument. - Names UNCTAD, GATT, OECD, IMF, IBRD as the new institutional matrix. - Urges Indian commercial-policy coordination with other developing economies over the coming decade. ### Only Action: Little Thought *By By K. S.* K. Kumara Sekhar ('K.S.') opens with a sarcastic indictment of Mrs. Indira Gandhi's habit of 'distributing her congratulatory “kation”' to subordinates while the substantive grievances of Indian women — domestic legal disabilities, the impotence of the women's wing of the Congress Party, the bureaucratised tokenism of public office — go unaddressed. The piece argues that the women's movement has been captured by party politicking and by the prestige economy of 'action' without thought, and that the genuine emancipation of Indian women would require dismantling the legal and customary constraints that no ministerial photo-op can dislodge. In the second half Sekhar broadens the argument to cover the general post-Independence preference for symbolic over substantive politics — what he glosses as 'action with little thought' — and reads it as a defect of the same 'overrating freedom' tendency he diagnoses in his Silver Jubilee piece. Real reform, he argues, would require the kind of liberal-procedural temperament that the founding generation embodied but their successors have lost. - Indicts Mrs. Indira Gandhi's preference for ceremonial congratulation over substantive reform. - Argues the women's wing of the Congress Party has substituted protocol for emancipation. - Treats post-1947 politics as a syndrome of 'action with little thought'. - Reads Indian women's status as a structural test of the founders' liberal promise. - Ties the critique back to the Silver Jubilee meditation on overrating political freedom. ### Scientific Research and Rural Reconstruction *By By Rathanaswamy* An unsigned editorial item — signed 'K.S.' at the foot — attacks the Bombay Police Commissioner for arresting 'dozens of persons for walking out of theatres while the national anthem is being sung'. The author argues that the Commissioner has fundamentally misread the offence: the substance of disrespect is intentional dishonour, not the ceremonial fact of leaving a hall before a recorded tune ends. The piece marshals the Victor Hugo allusion to 'Javert' in Les Misérables — the policeman who serves the form of the law against its purpose — to indict an administration that arrests citizens for routine civil behaviour and trivialises a 'great and beautiful national anthem' by playing it 'at the end of even film shows'. The argument is a small but pointed defence of civil liberty in public space, and against the abuse of patriotic ritual as a pretext for police harassment. - Reports the Bombay Police Commissioner's mass arrests for walking out during the National Anthem. - Argues 'dishonour' requires intent, not merely premature departure. - Indicts the trivialisation of the Anthem by its use at the end of every film show. - Invokes Victor Hugo's 'Javert' as the type of the form-obsessed policeman. - Reads the episode as a free-speech and civil-liberty issue. ### Can Monopolist Charge Anything? *By By John A. Sparks* M. Ruthnaswamy reports on a New Delhi seminar of about fifty 'eminent scientists' convened under the chairmanship of the Union Scientific Adviser to consider how scientific research can be applied to rural reconstruction. He surveys the seminar's prescriptions — coordinated village agricultural extension, financial resources for State Agriculture and Veterinary Universities, the involvement of newly established State and Central financial institutions, and the creation of small research clusters in 'compact areas' built around an Agricultural University — and weighs the political-economy difficulties of getting Central and State governments to fund such a programme at a time when 'lavish expenditure on financial institutions' has crowded out applied research budgets. The piece argues that the institutional plumbing exists — IDBI, IFCI, the National Agricultural Bank, the State Agricultural Universities — but that the country's research priorities remain skewed toward defence and high-prestige metropolitan science. Rural reconstruction is treated as the genuine test of Indian science's social usefulness, and the article ends on a cautious, half-pessimistic note about the willingness of the political class to commit funds to it. - Reports the New Delhi seminar of scientists on rural reconstruction. - Lists the proposed institutional mechanisms — coordinated extension, agricultural universities, financial institutions. - Identifies funding politics, not technical knowledge, as the binding constraint. - Critiques the skew of Indian science toward defence and metropolitan prestige. - Treats rural reconstruction as the test of Indian science's social usefulness. ### Essay 11 John A. Sparks defends free-market pricing against what he treats as the textbook fiction of the 'monopolist who can charge anything he wants'. He argues that the popular caricature — drawn from the economic-principles classroom — confuses ownership of supply with control of demand, and that no producer, however dominant, can extract a price independent of what consumers are willing and able to pay. A so-called monopolist who pushes price above the demand schedule simply fails to sell; one who supplies a non-essential good is constrained by substitutes; one who supplies an essential good must reckon with the long-run entry of competitors. The essay is a compressed primer in subjective-value economics: it treats prices as discovery mechanisms, not as administered rents, and it argues that 'monopoly pricing' as the textbook describes it has 'never existed' in the unhampered market and exists in real economies only where the state enforces it. Sparks's polemical aim is to puncture the analytic premise behind the M.R.T.P. Act and its like. - Targets the economics-textbook caricature of the all-powerful monopolist. - Argues no producer can fix price independent of consumer demand. - Distinguishes essential and non-essential goods to show different long-run constraints. - Treats prices as discovery mechanisms rather than administered rents. - Implicitly polemicises against the analytic basis of the M.R.T.P. Act. ### Essay 12 P. Kodanda Rao argues, against a reported government plan to include a reference to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in the Silver Jubilee commemoration, that such a reference would be a 'great pity' — likely to provoke anti-British sentiment 'on this joyous occasion'. He recalls the long line of British liberals who acted as allies of Indian self-government — Macaulay, Lord Bentinck, Lord Ripon, A. O. Hume, Sir William Wedderburn, Sir Henry Cotton, E. S. Montagu and Annie Besant — and quotes Bal Gangadhar Tilak's tribute to the British rule for the 'inestimable benefit' of 'bringing together the different nationalities and races of India, so that a United Nation may grow together'. The piece ends with a plea to 'recall with gratitude the good that British rule and British friends had rendered to India and forget Gen. Dyer and his like'. - Opposes a planned Jallianwala Bagh reference in the Silver Jubilee. - Lists British liberal allies of Indian self-rule from Macaulay to Annie Besant. - Quotes Tilak in praise of the unifying effect of British rule. - Frames imperial history through the lens of liberal Anglo-Indian friendship. - Counsels remembering benefactors and 'forgetting Gen. Dyer and his like'. ### Essay 13 Writing under the pseudonym 'Observer', the columnist traces the history of the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act of 1969 from Nehru's 1959 decision to set up an enquiry committee on 'who had benefited from the additional income that had been generated in the country by the development efforts of the first two Five Year Plans'. The article walks through the chain of enquiries — the Mahalanobis Committee, the Monopolies Inquiry Commission (1965), the Hazari Committee (1967) and the Dutt Committee (1969) — that culminated in the MRTP Act of 1970, and argues that the Act has 'virtually closed the door for big business to expand' outside core industries (coal, iron and steel, heavy engineering, basic chemicals). 'Observer' criticises the legislation for treating concentration of economic power as a self-sufficient cause for restriction, 'without investigating whether this concentration has been used for the public good or to the public detriment'. The Dutt Committee's own finding that only 3 of 73 sample industrial houses had misused industrial licences is cited as evidence that the MRTP framework over-reaches relative to the actual record of abuse. - Traces the MRTP Act of 1969 back to Nehru's 1959 enquiry decision. - Names the Mahalanobis, Hazari and Dutt committees as the institutional chain. - Cites the Dutt finding that 3 of 73 industrial houses misused licences. - Argues the Act treats concentration as automatically harmful, without a public-interest test. - Contends the legislation effectively bars big business expansion outside core industries. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian, Vol. V, No. 18 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-dec1-1957/ ### Summary This 1 December 1957 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V No. 18), edited by Kusum Lotwala and published from Bombay, opens with a multi-section editorial on India's Kashmir diplomacy and then ranges across the global Cold War, Pakistan's internal politics, the language controversy at home, and a programmatic statement of liberal economic doctrine. The featured cover items — 'The Challenge of the Sputnik', 'This Is Pakistan' and 'The Battle Of Languages' — frame the issue's argumentative centre: that the West has been complacent in the face of Soviet technological prowess, that Pakistan's hostility toward Kashmir is a betrayal of trust, and that India must accept English as a working lingua franca rather than impose Hindi by fiat. B. R. Shenoy's lead theoretical essay, 'My Idea of a Welfare State', sets the magazine's classical-liberal frame: a welfare state must be minimal in scope, defined by equality of opportunity rather than directed economic outcomes. The issue's contributors — M. A. Venkata Rao, Baburao Patel, J. K. Dhairyawan, B. R. Shenoy and the pseudonymous 'Al-Kafir' — together press the journal's standing slogan, 'We Stand For Free Economy And Liberal Democracy'. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian, Vol. V, No. 18 ## Summary This 1 December 1957 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V No. 18), edited by Kusum Lotwala and published from Bombay, opens with a multi-section editorial on India's Kashmir diplomacy and then ranges across the global Cold War, Pakistan's internal politics, the language controversy at home, and a programmatic statement of liberal economic doctrine. The featured cover items — 'The Challenge of the Sputnik', 'This Is Pakistan' and 'The Battle Of Languages' — frame the issue's argumentative centre: that the West has been complacent in the face of Soviet technological prowess, that Pakistan's hostility toward Kashmir is a betrayal of trust, and that India must accept English as a working lingua franca rather than impose Hindi by fiat. B. R. Shenoy's lead theoretical essay, 'My Idea of a Welfare State', sets the magazine's classical-liberal frame: a welfare state must be minimal in scope, defined by equality of opportunity rather than directed economic outcomes. The issue's contributors — M. A. Venkata Rao, Baburao Patel, J. K. Dhairyawan, B. R. Shenoy and the pseudonymous 'Al-Kafir' — together press the journal's standing slogan, 'We Stand For Free Economy And Liberal Democracy'. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL The unsigned Editorial moves through several theatres of contemporary diplomacy. It opens with a defence of V. K. Krishna Menon's performance at the United Nations on the Kashmir question, then turns sceptical of a fresh resolution by Britain and the United States to send Dr. Graham back to the subcontinent on what the editor frames as a futile second mission. Further sections survey the role of the Baghdad Pact states in the Kashmir dispute, the announcement of a union of Egypt and Syria, and an accusation that Pakistani Prime Minister Noon is mounting a sabotage campaign on Kashmir. A short closing note welcomes a forthcoming World Conference of Religions to be held in New Delhi. - Krishna Menon is praised as a brilliant and forceful diplomatist on the Kashmir question at the UN Security Council. - The British-American resolution proposing a second mission by Dr. Graham is read as a procedural retreat that revives stale 1948-49 positions. - Baghdad Pact states are seen as drawing Pakistan further into Cold War alignments that complicate Kashmir diplomacy. - The editor reads the proposed union of Egypt and Syria as a serious strategic shift in West Asia. - Pakistan's Prime Minister Noon is accused of orchestrating a sabotage campaign against Kashmir. ### The Challenge of the Sputniks *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao reads the Soviet Sputnik launches as a turning point in the global balance of prestige and power. Quoting the American writer Clare Booth Luce, he argues that the United States has been outpaced not only in rocketry but in the propaganda and political imagination that flow from it. The essay urges the free world — and Western military planners in particular — to rethink their strategy of containment, to move beyond complacency, and to take up the challenge to democracy that the satellites symbolise. A closing section on 'Our Gandhian Incentives' tries to fold the moral resources of Indian thought into a liberal-democratic response to communism. - Sputnik is read as a defeat of Western prestige as much as a Soviet technical achievement. - Clare Booth Luce's reaction is cited as emblematic of the shock running through American opinion. - The free world is urged to undertake a fundamental rethink of its military and propaganda strategy. - Venkata Rao calls on democracies to accept the challenge of communism with seriousness equal to its scale. - A Gandhian register of incentives is proposed as a moral supplement to Western strategic doctrine. ### Biting the Hand that Feeds *By by Baburao Patel* Baburao Patel's polemic argues that Pakistan, far from being a good neighbour, has bitten the hand that feeds it. He recounts the treatment of Sheikh Mohamed Abdullah after his August 1953 arrest and dismissal as Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, the political turbulence in Pakistan, and the succession of leaders from Liaqat Ali Khan onward who, on his reading, have used the Kashmir grievance to manage internal failure. The piece sets out what Patel calls 'India's Greatest Sacrifice for Pakistan' and argues that India has been gagged in international forums while Pakistan's case has been amplified. Sub-sections on 'The Turn-Coat', 'India Is Gagged' and 'The Lion's Threat' carry the argument forward. - Patel frames Pakistan as a state that has repaid Indian generosity with hostility on Kashmir. - Sheikh Mohamed Abdullah's arrest in August 1953 is read as a turning point Pakistan has refused to acknowledge. - The succession of Pakistani leaders — Liaqat Ali Khan, Nazimuddin, Bogra, Ghulam Mohamed, Iskander Mirza — is presented as a chain of expedient nationalism. - Patel argues that India has been diplomatically gagged while Pakistan's Kashmir narrative has gone unchallenged. - The essay invokes 'India's Greatest Sacrifice for Pakistan' to argue that goodwill has been a one-way transfer. ### This Battle of Languages Must End *By by J. K. Dhairyawan* J. K. Dhairyawan argues that the time has come to end India's protracted battle of languages by accepting English as the country's working lingua franca. He surveys the historical record — including Lokmanya Tilak's pragmatic endorsement of an Indian language of administration — and contends that no indigenous tongue has yet been able to take English's place at the level of higher administration, science and inter-provincial communication. The essay reads the push for Hindi as imposition from above and warns that linguistic chauvinism has begun to fracture national unity. - Dhairyawan defends English as the most workable lingua franca for a polyglot India. - He invokes Lokmanya Tilak's pragmatic engagement with the language question to push back against purist positions. - The drive to make Hindi the sole national language is read as imposition by majority rather than consent. - The essay warns that linguistic chauvinism is eroding national unity and damaging higher education. ### Hindi: A Reasoned Protest Presented as a memorandum from the Association for the Advancement of the National Languages of India, 'Hindi: A Reasoned Protest' takes formal exception to the recommendations of the Official Language Commission. It argues for the retention of English in higher education and administration, defends the constitutional standing of the country's other major languages, and warns that any premature switch to Hindi will damage the public services and the universities. A sub-section, 'From a Libertarian's Library', lists supporting titles and signatories ranged behind the protest. - The memorandum opposes the Language Commission's recommendations that would phase English out as a link language. - It argues for the continued use of English in higher education and in administration above the regional level. - The protest is framed as a defence of India's multilingual constitutional order rather than as opposition to Hindi as such. - A 'From a Libertarian's Library' appendix lists names of supporters and allied publications. ### My Idea of a Welfare State *By B. R. Shenoy* B. R. Shenoy of the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Gujarat University, sets out a classical-liberal idea of the welfare state. He argues that welfare cannot mean an open-ended expansion of state action and that any genuinely welfare-oriented state must rest on equality of opportunity rather than directed equality of outcome. The essay distinguishes the economic content of welfare from cultural and political content, defends the role of free markets in raising aggregate welfare, and warns that the 'minimum state' — not the maximal one — is the appropriate ideal for India given the size of the country and the limits of administrative capacity. - Shenoy defines a welfare state as one resting on equality of opportunity, not enforced equality of outcome. - He argues that state action must be measured by necessity rather than by ambition. - Economic welfare is separated analytically from political and cultural welfare. - The 'minimum state' is offered as the ideal for India, given the country's scale and administrative limits. - Shenoy treats the free market as the principal engine of rising material welfare. ### This is Pakistan *By by Al-Kafir* Writing under the pseudonym 'Al-Kafir', the author reads the appointment of I. I. Chundrigar as the new Prime Minister of Pakistan as the latest twist in an unstable parliamentary game. The piece surveys the manoeuvring between the Muslim League and the Republican Party, the 'apparent victory' on the issue of separate electorates, the local strength of the Muslim League in West and East Pakistan, and the role of Sir Feroz Khan Noon and Dr. Khan Sahib in shaping events. The argument is that Pakistan's politics has become a contest of expedients rather than a settled constitutional order. - Chundrigar's appointment is read as a tactical adjustment rather than a settlement of Pakistan's political instability. - The contest between the Muslim League and the Republican Party is presented as a struggle of factions, not of programmes. - The piece narrates the 'apparent victory' over the question of separate electorates. - The Muslim League's regional strongholds in West and East Pakistan are surveyed. - Sir Feroz Khan Noon and Dr. Khan Sahib are positioned as central operators in the latest reshuffle. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-dec1-1958/ ### Summary This 1 December 1958 issue (Vol. VI, No. 18) of The Indian Libertarian — a Bombay fortnightly subtitled 'An Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' that 'stands for free economy and libertarian democracy' — ranges across world affairs and Indian domestic policy from a classical-liberal, anti-communist standpoint. In the rendered pages the editorial dissects the 1958 coup in Sudan and Nasser's pan-Arab propaganda; bylined commentary attacks one-party dominance in India (S. Ramanathan), Nehru's foreign-policy drift (Baburao Patel; the 'New Delhi Letter'), Soviet treaty-breaking (Eugene Lyons), and the emerging Sino-Soviet rivalry (Philip Spratt). A four-page 'Libertarian Supplement' carries the issue's economic core: a case that abolishing Bombay's Rent Control Act would solve the housing shortage, a critique of deficit financing and planned 'economic development', and a statement of libertarian free-economy principles. Shorter features cover the Dulles dilemma in the Middle East, Ralph Borsodi's decentralist peace mission, news notes, and Libertarian Social Institute activities.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 December 1958 issue (Vol. VI, No. 18) of The Indian Libertarian — a Bombay fortnightly subtitled 'An Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' that 'stands for free economy and libertarian democracy' — ranges across world affairs and Indian domestic policy from a classical-liberal, anti-communist standpoint. In the rendered pages the editorial dissects the 1958 coup in Sudan and Nasser's pan-Arab propaganda; bylined commentary attacks one-party dominance in India (S. Ramanathan), Nehru's foreign-policy drift (Baburao Patel; the 'New Delhi Letter'), Soviet treaty-breaking (Eugene Lyons), and the emerging Sino-Soviet rivalry (Philip Spratt). A four-page 'Libertarian Supplement' carries the issue's economic core: a case that abolishing Bombay's Rent Control Act would solve the housing shortage, a critique of deficit financing and planned 'economic development', and a statement of libertarian free-economy principles. Shorter features cover the Dulles dilemma in the Middle East, Ralph Borsodi's decentralist peace mission, news notes, and Libertarian Social Institute activities. The recurring argument across the rendered pages is that statism — whether Soviet planning, Indian socialism, or price and rent controls — destroys both prosperity and freedom. ## Essays ### Behind the News The unsigned editorial, 'The Coup in Sudan', reads the 1958 military takeover in Sudan as another 'cashiering of democracy', tracing it to the inseparable mix of religion and politics in the region and to Nasser's Pan-Arab ambitions. It argues that British imperial policy had earlier nursed Sudanese nationalism, that Egypt's revolution set the stage for a Sudan-Egypt reckoning, and that Nasser's propaganda machine exploits mass feeling to absorb Sudan into an enlarged Egypt. - Frames the 1958 Sudan coup as a collapse of democracy. - Blames the fusion of religion and politics and Nasser's Pan-Arabism. - Reads Egypt's revolution as the precursor to Sudanese instability. - Treats Nasser's propaganda as the engine of Arab-nationalist expansion. ### Arise! Awake! And Stop Not! *By Baburao Patel* Baburao Patel's polemic 'Arise! Awake! And Stop Not!' is a rousing call to national self-correction, indicting drift and complacency in Indian public life and, in the rendered pages, turning to communal and foreign-policy themes including the Hindu-Muslim question and the conduct of the Muslim League leadership in Pakistan. The tone is exhortatory, urging Indians to shake off passivity. - Exhortatory call to national awakening and effort. - Indicts complacency and drift in Indian public life. - Engages communal politics and the India-Pakistan question. ### This Business of One Party Rule *By S. Ramanathan* S. Ramanathan's 'This Business of One-Party Rule' warns that single-party dominance, even when democratically elected, tends toward dictatorship. Drawing comparisons with the American experience and with the Indian National Congress's entrenched position, it argues that the absence of a viable opposition corrodes accountability and liberty. - Argues one-party dominance drifts toward dictatorship. - Cross-references the American party system. - Warns that Congress's entrenchment endangers Indian democracy. ### Hugging a Dead Pact—New Delhi Letter from Our Correspondent The 'New Delhi Letter', 'Hugging a Dead Pact', is a correspondent's despatch criticising the Nehru-Noon (India-Pakistan) approach and the drift of Indian foreign and border policy. It reports on Tara Singh's defeat and on a U.P. caste crisis, reading these as symptoms of a government clinging to exhausted arrangements while real problems fester. - Critiques the Nehru-Noon India-Pakistan understanding as a 'dead pact'. - Reports Tara Singh's political defeat. - Notes a U.P. caste crisis as a sign of governmental drift. ### Negotiating with the Kremlin *By Eugene Lyons* Eugene Lyons's 'Negotiating with the Kremlin' marshals a record of Soviet treaty violations to argue that Moscow's signed agreements offer no security to the West. In the rendered page it begins assembling the historical catalogue of broken Soviet pacts that underpins its anti-appeasement thesis; the essay continues beyond this chunk. - Compiles a record of Soviet treaty-breaking. - Argues Kremlin agreements give the West no real security. - Frames an anti-appeasement case in Cold War terms. ### China versus Russia *By Philip Spratt* Philip Spratt's 'China versus Russia' analyses the emerging competition between Beijing and Moscow for leadership of the world communist movement, examining doctrinal and strategic disputes — including over nuclear weapons and 'Russian weapons' policy — and predicting that the Sino-Soviet partnership will prove unstable as Chinese ambition grows. - Analyses Sino-Soviet competition for communist leadership. - Surveys doctrinal and strategic disputes, including over nuclear arms. - Predicts instability in the China-Russia partnership. ### Pedlar's Pack 'Pedlar's Pack' is the journal's miscellany column, gathering brief comments, anecdotes, and observations on Indian and world affairs in a lighter, aphoristic register. - Miscellany column of short comments and anecdotes. - Lighter, aphoristic treatment of current affairs. ### Libertarian Supplement (Rent Control Act; Deficit Financing and Economic Development; Libertarianism and Free Economy) *By Prof. G. V. Lavande / "Academicus"* The four-page 'Libertarian Supplement' is the issue's economic heart. Prof. G. V. Lavande's 'Rent Control Act' argues that abolition alone would solve Bombay's housing problem, contending that rent control freezes supply and entrenches shortage. 'Deficit Financing and Economic Development', by 'Academicus', attacks inflationary deficit finance and state-led development planning. A closing piece, 'Libertarianism and Free Economy', states the positive case for a free economy as the foundation of liberty. - Argues abolishing rent control would solve Bombay's housing shortage. - Critiques deficit financing and planned economic development as inflationary. - States the libertarian case for a free economy as the basis of freedom. - Forms the issue's economic-policy core in a paginated supplement. ### The Dulles Dilemma in the Middle East 'The Dulles Dilemma in the Middle East' assesses the bind facing U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles between Arab nationalism and Western interests, opening with the Austrian Minister Kreisky's view of Arab solidarity and reflecting on how the West should respond to rising radicalism in the region. - Examines Dulles's dilemma between Arab nationalism and Western interests. - Opens with an Austrian diplomat's read on Arab solidarity. - Weighs Western options amid Middle Eastern radicalism. ### Chancellor Borsodi's Peace Mission *By Ompmkash Kahol* 'Chancellor Borsodi's Peace Mission', by Ompmkash Kahol, reports on the decentralist thinker Ralph Borsodi's initiative for peace, presenting his programme to an Indian readership. - Reports on Ralph Borsodi's peace mission and decentralist ideas. - Introduces Borsodi's programme to Indian readers. ### On the News Front 'On the News Front' / 'Behind the News' gathers commentary on current developments, including the French elections, the U.S.S.R.'s conduct, and the Prime Minister's statement on the Lok Sabha (free India's first), reading them through the journal's liberal, anti-statist lens. - Roundup of current developments in India and abroad. - Comments on the French elections and Soviet conduct. - Notes the Prime Minister's statement on the Lok Sabha. ### Libertarian Social Institute Activities A notice of 'Libertarian Social Institute Activities' records the Institute's recent and forthcoming events and programmes. - Reports activities of the Libertarian Social Institute. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-dec1-1959/ ### Summary The 1 December 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 21), a Bombay fortnightly that styles itself as an 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' standing 'For Free Economy and Libertarian Democracy', is dominated by the magazine's reaction to two interlocking events of late 1959: Jawaharlal Nehru's seventieth birthday and the launch of C. Rajagopalachari's Swatantra Party. The editorial offers a measured, ambivalent tribute to Nehru — praising his secularism, anti-provincialism and steadfast patriotism while pinning the Five Year Plans and the policy of non-involvement on his shoulders as 'grave and catastrophic failures'. A signed companion piece by 'Democrat' welcomes the Swatantra Party as a long-overdue parliamentary vehicle for classical-liberal opinion, and M. N. Tholal's polemic 'Nehru Must Go' calls for the Prime Minister's resignation over the handling of the Chinese aggression on India's northern borders. Reginald Hargreaves's strategic essay 'Can India be Defended?' surveys the country's military options against China, while A. R. Field's 'Russia Scales the Himalayas' tracks Soviet penetration of Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan in the rendered pages.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The 1 December 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 21), a Bombay fortnightly that styles itself as an 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' standing 'For Free Economy and Libertarian Democracy', is dominated by the magazine's reaction to two interlocking events of late 1959: Jawaharlal Nehru's seventieth birthday and the launch of C. Rajagopalachari's Swatantra Party. The editorial offers a measured, ambivalent tribute to Nehru — praising his secularism, anti-provincialism and steadfast patriotism while pinning the Five Year Plans and the policy of non-involvement on his shoulders as 'grave and catastrophic failures'. A signed companion piece by 'Democrat' welcomes the Swatantra Party as a long-overdue parliamentary vehicle for classical-liberal opinion, and M. N. Tholal's polemic 'Nehru Must Go' calls for the Prime Minister's resignation over the handling of the Chinese aggression on India's northern borders. Reginald Hargreaves's strategic essay 'Can India be Defended?' surveys the country's military options against China, while A. R. Field's 'Russia Scales the Himalayas' tracks Soviet penetration of Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan in the rendered pages. The mid-issue Rationalist Supplement carries a condensed report on the 33rd Congress of the World Union of Freethinkers held at Brussels, and the World of Books section opens Daniel Bell's two-part essay 'The Meaning of Alienation — II' on the young Marx. Across these contributions the volume's argumentative centre — in the rendered pages — is a coordinated assault on Nehruvian planning, non-alignment and what the editors call the 'illusion of the epoch', socialism of the Marxist variety. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL — Pandit Nehru is Seventy The unsigned editorial 'Pandit Nehru is Seventy' uses the Prime Minister's seventieth birthday on 14 November as the occasion for a balance-sheet assessment. It credits Nehru with anchoring secularism against 'fanatical chauvinism and obscurantism', reviving nationalism on a common national basis rather than provincial lines, and inspiring administrative effort across every sphere. But it argues that 'the shadow of Chinese aggression' has exposed deep faults: the Five Year Plans and the policy of non-involvement and Panchsheel are described as 'grave and catastrophic failures'. The editorial then welcomes the Swatantra Party founded by 'such a Gandhian veteran as Sri C. Rajagopalachari' as the natural alternative to the 'stifling nature of socialism' and its twenty-one-point manifesto as a challenge to the 'cribbing, cabinning and confining' of free individual life under Nehruvian socialism. The piece closes with a remembrance of the Communist Party of India's Meerut conference and an account of the Mob Explosion at Kanpur over the All-India Agricultural Federation's Nagpur land-reforms resolution. - Issues a guarded tribute to Nehru on his seventieth birthday — praising his secularism, anti-provincialism, and patriotism while attacking the Five Year Plans and Panchsheel. - Frames the Swatantra Party as the answer to the 'stifling nature of socialism' and welcomes its founding around Rajagopalachari. - Calls the 'twenty-one points' of the Swatantra Party manifesto a direct challenge to Nehru's economic and 'other aspects of life'. - Reports on the CPI's Meerut conference and a violent mob attack on the Indian Merchants' Chamber at Kanpur over the Nagpur land-reform resolution. - Treats the Chinese aggression as the lens through which all Government policy must now be re-examined. ### A Party of Freedom *By By "Democrat"* Writing under the pseudonym 'Democrat', the author surveys the formation of the Swatantra Party of 'Shri C. Rajagopalachari, Prof. Ranga, and Mr. M. R. Masani', tracing its origins to the land-reform resolution at the Nagpur Congress and the subsequent Madras conclave of June 1959 convened under Rajagopalachari's aegis as 'friend, philosopher and guide'. The piece presents the Swatantra Party as a 'Party of Freedom' organised around the 'central principle' of the 'dynamics of progress in the economic and other spheres' being 'released more by individual freedom than by socialist control'. It charges that the Nehru Government's planning, the State Trading Corporation's grain monopoly, the Life Insurance nationalisation and the Mahalanobis-designed Third Plan target of Rs 10,000 crores have led the country toward bankruptcy and totalitarianism. 'Democrat' then frames the Swatantra Party as the parliamentary instrument of an All-India organisation 'born after the State' to articulate liberal opposition across the country. - Treats the founding of the Swatantra Party as a structural response to Nehruvian centralisation — agriculture, industry, insurance and trading all cited. - Identifies the Mahalanobis-designed Third Plan target of Rs 10,000 crores as 'unable to fulfil' the 'special aid given by many creditor countries'. - Names the 'illusion of the epoch' as socialism of the Marxist variety — and the Swatantra Party as its principled challenger. - Asserts that Marxist socialism leads 'ultimately to totalitarianism and the extinction of the free way of life'. - Reads the Swatantra Party's twenty-one-point manifesto as the doctrinal counterpart to the Forum of Free Enterprise's earlier critique. ### Nehru Must Go *By By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's signed polemic argues that Nehru should resign over his handling of the Chinese aggression on India's Himalayan frontier. Tholal opens by accusing Nehru of 'cantankerousness' and a misplaced personal animus toward Kashmir; he then walks through what he calls Nehru's pattern of 'acquiescence of complicity' in Chinese expansion — from his refusal to take a public stand on Tibet through the secret bargains struck during the Panchsheel-era exchanges. Tholal contends that the threats of retirement Nehru periodically dangles before the country and his loyal lieutenants in the Cabinet are themselves political instruments that paralyse opposition. Citing Gandhi's example in 1947, he insists India should have stood with the West in clear-eyed alignment rather than indulging the 'amazing conduct' of treating Communist China as a fraternal partner. The piece reads as a direct ultimatum: Nehru's continuation in office is, in Tholal's view, incompatible with India's national survival. - Names Nehru's behaviour 'cantankerousness' and frames his policy posture as personal rather than statesmanlike. - Reads Panchsheel and non-alignment as 'acquiescence of complicity' in Chinese expansion across Tibet and the Indian borderlands. - Holds that Nehru's recurring threats of retirement function as a domestic political weapon, not as serious resignation offers. - Treats Gandhi's 1947 conduct as the standard of clear moral commitment Nehru has failed to meet. - Concludes that India's defence requires Nehru's removal — the title is also the argument. ### Can India be Defused? *By REGINALD HARGREAVES* Reginald Hargreaves's essay treats the Chinese pressure on India's northern frontier as a strategic problem rather than a moral or diplomatic one. He surveys the comparative military balances — terrain, logistical depth, weapons mix — and argues that India's defence rests on three things: a credible mountain force, alliance arrangements that compensate for the asymmetry in raw numbers, and willingness to fight in the high passes. Hargreaves traces the Soviet-American great-power overlay (the 'invasion routes' through which the Himalayan crisis must now be read), and concludes the rendered pages by arguing that without re-armament and clarity about external alliances, the territorial integrity of India in Ladakh and along the McMahon Line cannot be guaranteed. - Treats the China question as primarily strategic, not moral — defensible borders require force, not declarations. - Surveys the comparative logistics of Chinese versus Indian forces in the high Himalaya. - Reads the Himalayan crisis through the lens of Soviet-American competition — the great powers shape the local game. - Concludes that re-armament and external alliance commitments are the necessary conditions of Indian territorial defence. ### RATIONALIST SUPPLEMENT — The International Congress of Freethinkers (Condensed from articles by Colin McCall and Charles Bradlaugh Bonner in The Freethinkers) *By CONDENSED FROM ARTICLES BY COLIN McCALL AND CHARLES BRADLAUGH BONNER IN THE FREETHINKERS* The mid-issue Rationalist Supplement, condensed from articles by Colin McCall and Charles Bradlaugh Bonner in The Freethinker, reports on the 33rd Congress of the World Union of Freethinkers held at the Free University of Brussels from 4 to 8 September 1959. The supplement reconstructs the procession of the international delegations, the laying of wreaths at the Place du Grand Sablon to honour the martyrs to Philip II of Spain, and the addresses delivered by Andre Lorulot of French Freethought and Madame Sol Ferrer, daughter of the executed Spanish martyr Francisco Ferrer. The Congress identified secular education as 'the most urgent task' and adopted resolutions on a 'Scientific Attitude of Mind' and a 'New Humanist Manifesto' calling for a wholly naturalistic conception of moral and intellectual life. The supplement's argumentative throughline is that science, civil liberty and freedom of conscience form a single tradition continuous from the European Enlightenment through Bradlaugh to mid-twentieth-century humanism. - Reports the 33rd Congress of the World Union of Freethinkers, Brussels, September 1959, as the 'most important' meeting of organised humanism for the year. - Centres the Congress on the rallying cry of free secular education and a 'New Humanist Manifesto'. - Treats the Ferrer martyrology as the connecting tissue of European freethought across language and country. - Names a Scientific Attitude of Mind — naturalistic, evidence-based, hostile to dogma — as the supplement's working definition of rational citizenship. - Reads humanism as the contemporary inheritor of the rule-of-law and freedom-of-conscience tradition. ### Russia Scales the Himalayas *By By A. R. Field* A. R. Field's geopolitical essay reads the Soviet penetration of the Himalayan rim as the strategic complement to the Chinese pressure on India's northern frontier. The piece opens with Premier Khrushchev's official visit to Nepal in February 1959 — '14,500 tons of Soviet technicalo-economic equipment' and an interest-free loan — and reads it as the foothold for an enduring Russian role in Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan. Field then turns to the parallel Chinese moves: an attempt to drive a wedge between Nepal and India through soft-power presents and roadbuilding; the rolling occupation of border tracts; the 'amazing conduct' of treating buffer states as zones of Chinese protection. He closes the rendered pages with a short notice of A. D. Shroff's address on 'State Ownership is a Failure' and a paragraph on the State Trading Corporation as a case study in the practical defects of public ownership. - Frames the Soviet aid programme to Nepal of February 1959 as the strategic counterpart to Chinese border pressure. - Tracks the Chinese-Indian rivalry over Sikkim and Bhutan via roadbuilding and trade incentives. - Quotes 'amazing conduct' as the diagnostic phrase for Chinese behaviour toward the buffer states. - Closes the rendered pages with a notice of A. D. Shroff's argument that 'State Ownership is a Failure' and a brief on State Trading Corporation problems. ### THE WORLD OF BOOKS — The Meaning of Alienation – II *By By Daniel Bell* Daniel Bell's essay, the second in his series for The World of Books, develops the 'Quest for the historical Marx' begun in the previous issue. Working from the radical sociology of the young Hegelians and the Encyclopaedists, Bell argues that the early Marx's central category was not yet class but alienation — the rupture between the labourer, his product, and the 'species being'. Tracing the term through Hegel, Feuerbach and the 1844 Paris Manuscripts, Bell reads the young Marx as a critic of property and Christianity in a single move: private property is the form religious estrangement takes in industrial society. The essay closes the rendered pages with a contrast between the 'humanist' young Marx of the 1844 manuscripts and the 'economic' mature Marx of Capital, suggesting that the rediscovery of the early texts has reorganised mid-twentieth-century debate on what Marxism actually demands of its inheritors. - Tracks the concept of alienation from Hegel through Feuerbach into the young Marx of the 1844 manuscripts. - Argues the early Marx reads private property as the industrial form of religious estrangement. - Distinguishes the 'humanist' young Marx from the 'economic' mature Marx of Capital. - Treats the post-war rediscovery of the 1844 texts as a re-organisation of Marxist intellectual history. - Frames alienation as a category prior to class, with consequences for how socialism is to be argued. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-dec1-1960/ ### Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol VIII, No. 17, December 1, 1960), an independent journal of economic and public affairs published in Bombay and edited by Miss K. R. Lotwala for Libertarian Publishers, opens with a long editorial that uses the just-concluded Kennedy–Nixon presidential contest as a foil for the journal's central anxiety — that Nehru's government has dropped a Bill penalising pro-Chinese Communist propaganda in the northern border areas and is therefore failing to defend India against communist subversion. The editorial sweeps across the trouble spots of the Cold War (Cuba, Berlin, Laos, the Congo, South Vietnam, Algeria) and pairs domestic complacency with an appeal to the new American president-elect, Mr. Kennedy, to take a firmer line abroad. The rest of the issue carries M. A. Venkata Rao's article 'The Lengthening Shadow of Government' (a classical-liberal critique of the post-1917 drift toward unlimited governmental activity, public-sector enterprise and bureaucratised education), the third instalment of M. N.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol VIII, No. 17, December 1, 1960), an independent journal of economic and public affairs published in Bombay and edited by Miss K. R. Lotwala for Libertarian Publishers, opens with a long editorial that uses the just-concluded Kennedy–Nixon presidential contest as a foil for the journal's central anxiety — that Nehru's government has dropped a Bill penalising pro-Chinese Communist propaganda in the northern border areas and is therefore failing to defend India against communist subversion. The editorial sweeps across the trouble spots of the Cold War (Cuba, Berlin, Laos, the Congo, South Vietnam, Algeria) and pairs domestic complacency with an appeal to the new American president-elect, Mr. Kennedy, to take a firmer line abroad. The rest of the issue carries M. A. Venkata Rao's article 'The Lengthening Shadow of Government' (a classical-liberal critique of the post-1917 drift toward unlimited governmental activity, public-sector enterprise and bureaucratised education), the third instalment of M. N. Tholal's polemic 'Neutral Nations' Claptrap' (attacking the Afro-Asian 'fellow-traveller' bloc at the U.N.), a four-page Rationalist Supplement containing S. Ramanathan on 'The Innate Weakness Of Rationalism' and Denis Cabell on 'Humanism And Shelley', plus a longer Ramanathan essay on 'Lokayata: Indian Materialism', a Delhi Letter on 'China Bamboozling India', Erich Godinger's review of A Concise History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and the regular Gleanings from the Press and News & Views columns. The unifying thread is the journal's standing line — 'WE STAND FOR FREE ECONOMY AND LIBERTARIAN DEMOCRACY' — applied to both external Cold-War posture and internal anti-statist economics. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL — Action Against Communist Propagandists Dropped; The American President-Elect: Mr. Kennedy; The P.M., The Press and Mr. Khrushchov The unsigned editorial argues that Kennedy's narrow win over Nixon will make little practical difference to India and uses the occasion to attack the Nehru government for quietly dropping a Bill that would have penalised pro-Chinese Communist propaganda in India's northern border areas. The editorial cites the Delhi correspondent of 'The Hindu' reporting that the Home Minister withdrew the Bill because its measure might displease Russia and China, and treats this as proof of the 'psychological climate' of pro-Communist leanings inside the country's leadership and intelligentsia. It contrasts Nehru's softness with President Nasser's effective suppression of Egyptian and Syrian Communist Party personnel. The editorial then turns outward, listing 'Trouble Spots in the World Scene' — Cuba (Castro's drift into the Soviet bloc), Latin America, Berlin (the Khrushchev–Ulbricht squeeze), Laos, the Congo, South Vietnam, Algeria, Turkey — and appeals to the incoming Kennedy administration to abandon Eisenhower-era passivity and confront communism abroad. The piece closes with a hope that 'popular agitation and public enlightenment' will force Nehru to revive the Bill. - Kennedy's election will make 'very little difference to the future of India' beyond possibly more financial aid. - The Home Minister has withdrawn a Bill penalising pro-Chinese Communist propaganda in border areas because it might displease Russia and China. - The editorial reads this as confirmation of 'pro-Communist leanings' at the top of the Congress government. - Contrasts Nehru's leniency with Nasser's effective crackdown on Egyptian/Syrian Communist Party cadres. - Surveys Cold-War trouble spots — Cuba, Berlin, Laos, the Congo, South Vietnam, Algeria — and urges Kennedy to act decisively. ### The Lengthening Shadow of Government *By MA Venkata Rao* Venkata Rao argues that the era since the 1917 October Revolution is dominated by 'Leftist ideas' whose common feature is unprecedented faith in the unhampered free play of governmental activity. He traces this from explicit socialism and communism into the Welfare State and into India's own Three Plans, faulting Cooperative Farming, the Second Plan and the Outline of the Third for using public funds to displace private enterprise rather than supplement it. He warns that bureaucratised industry, banks and education are turning Public Sector concerns into 'fortresses' protected from competition and accountability. The piece then attacks the bureaucratisation of higher education — the conversion of Universities into 'state colleges' where civil-service grades and centralised salary scales replace academic autonomy — and contrasts this with the American system of competing private and state universities. The closing pages return to economic policy: the Third Plan and Cooperative Farming, the author warns, are merely 'a half-way house to Collective Farms' and a back-door route to full socialism, which by experience produces stagnation, indifference to economy and a population habituated to surveillance. - The post-1917 epoch is defined by an 'unprecedented faith in the unhampered free play of governmental activity'. - Welfare-statism is a softer carrier of the same statist instinct that animates Marxism. - The Second and Third Plans tax private incomes to fund a Public Sector that crowds out private enterprise rather than complementing it. - Bureaucratisation of universities — civil-service-style grades and central salary scales — destroys academic autonomy, unlike the competitive American system. - Cooperative Farming is a 'half-way house' to collective farms; the goal is full socialism, with predictable losses of liberty and efficiency. ### Neutral Nations' Claptrap-III *By M. N. Tholal* The third instalment of M. N. Tholal's series attacks what he calls the 'claptrap' of neutralism on display at the U.N. General Assembly. He argues that the Afro-Asian sponsors of resolutions calling for talks between Eisenhower and Khrushchev posture as honest brokers while in practice carrying water for the Soviet bloc. The Assembly's mood, he writes, is shaped less by genuine peace-seeking than by the desire of new nations to assert their importance by lecturing the Great Powers. Tholal contrasts the rhetoric of the non-aligned with their tolerance of communist coercion and asks what 'neutral' is supposed to mean when one side is openly engaged in subversion. He links the U.N. theatre to a broader misrepresentation of communism in the Indian press and intelligentsia — a misreading that, in his telling, has hardened into reflex. - Afro-Asian neutralism at the U.N. is, in practice, a fellow-traveller posture rather than impartial mediation. - Assembly resolutions calling for Eisenhower–Khrushchev talks flatter the sponsors more than they advance peace. - Indian press and opinion-makers consistently misrepresent communism as a normal political position. - Tholal frames neutralism as a pose that depends on ignoring Soviet subversion. ### RATIONALIST SUPPLEMENT — The Innate Weakness of Rationalism (by S. Ramanathan); The Need for Excellence; What is Humanism?; Humanism and Shelley (by Denis Cobell); Superstitions about Jewels and Stones *By S. Ramanathan; Denis Cobell* In the Rationalist Supplement S. Ramanathan offers a self-critical account of why organised Rationalism has failed to take hold in India. He locates the failure in three factors: the absence of a galvanising founder-figure of Mr. Lotwala's stamp, the inherent weakness of Rationalism as a doctrine that offers analysis without sustenance, and the active organised opposition of religious bodies, leaders and magnates who can outspend and out-organise the rationalists. He treats Rationalism less as a settled philosophy than as a critique that must continually attach itself to ongoing reformist work to remain alive. Ramanathan closes by arguing that the rationalist temper survives in India in dispersed form — embedded in social-reform agitation and in 'one of pre-eminence' essays scattered through other movements — but lacks the dense institutional life enjoyed by faiths and revivalist organisations. He calls for collaboration with congenial reform currents rather than separatist purism. - Three factors retard Rationalism in India: lack of a founder-figure, weakness of the doctrine itself, and well-funded religious opposition. - Rationalism functions best as a critical adjunct to broader social-reform movements, not as a stand-alone faith. - Religious organisations command resources and emotional reach that small rationalist circles cannot match. - Ramanathan urges collaboration with cognate reform currents rather than ideological purity. ### Lokayata: Indian Materialism *By S. Ramanathan* Denis Cabell argues that Percy Bysshe Shelley's poetry — for all its mythological surface — is in substance a vehicle for humanist and rationalist values that a modern secularist can endorse. He reads The Revolt of Islam, Queen Mab and the political poems as sustained polemic against church and crown, and notes Shelley's willingness to wear personal disgrace (the Court of Chancery removing his children from his care) rather than recant. Cabell sets Shelley against Wordsworth and Coleridge, whom he treats as poets who began as radicals and finished as apologists for Lord Eldon, Lord Sidmouth and Castlereagh. The essay ends by reprinting Shelley's short poem 'The Sinner', presenting it as a compact statement of the humanist temper the article has been describing. - Shelley's poetry is, at heart, humanist polemic against church and state. - Personal cost — including loss of custody of his children — proves the seriousness of his rationalist commitments. - Wordsworth and Coleridge are contrasted as elder poets who 'apostatised' into apologists for Eldon, Sidmouth and Castlereagh. - The essay closes with Shelley's poem 'The Sinner' as a humanist credo. ### Delhi Letter — China Bamboozling India; Chaliha Riding High Horse; Kairon vs Gurnam Singh *By From Our Correspondent* Ramanathan's longer essay surveys Lokayata — the Indian materialist tradition — and argues that the Tantra practices long denounced as obscurantism in fact carry an older, this-worldly current that mainstream Indian historiography has misread. He sets out two contradictory readings of the Tantras: the orthodox view that treats them as decadent ritualism, and a materialist counter-reading that treats them as continuous with the Lokayata insistence on bodily life and material causes. The essay then walks through evidence — textual, ritual and lexical — that the materialist current was domestically Indian rather than a foreign import, and was suppressed less by argument than by social power. Ramanathan presents this as a usable past for modern Indian rationalism, which need not import its naturalism wholesale from Europe. - Two opposed readings of Tantra: orthodox condemnation vs a materialist reclamation. - Lokayata is presented as an indigenous, this-worldly current that pre-dates and parallels later European materialism. - Suppression of the materialist tradition was a matter of social power, not philosophical defeat. - Modern Indian rationalism can root itself in this lineage rather than borrow only from Europe. ### Book Review — The Soviet Party and the Body Social: A Concise History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, by John Reshetar (Praeger) *By Erich Godinger* The anonymous Delhi Letter, titled 'China Bamboozling India', argues that the Nehru government keeps treating Chinese overtures at face value while Peking uses talks as cover for further military and propaganda gains in the border regions. The correspondent reads the recent flurry of diplomatic notes as a deliberate tactic to divide Indian opinion between those who want a settlement at almost any cost and those who insist on the integrity of the McMahon Line. The column also surveys domestic political weather: Sardar Patil's manoeuvres, the deference shown to Mr. Krishna Menon at Defence, and the awkward position of provincial Congress bosses (including Mr. Kairon in the Punjab) whose patronage machines are being asked to absorb central directives they did not author. The throughline is that India's external softness toward China and its internal protection of Congress factional bosses share a common cause — the Prime Minister's reluctance to confront uncomfortable colleagues. - Chinese diplomatic notes are read as cover for military and propaganda consolidation, not genuine negotiation. - Government policy is splitting Indian opinion between settlement-at-any-price and McMahon-Line firmness. - Domestic patronage politics — Patil, Krishna Menon, Kairon — are interpreted through the same lens of Nehru's reluctance to discipline allies. - The piece treats external and internal pliancy as a single failure of resolve. ### Gleanings from the Press — English in India Erich Godinger reviews 'A Concise History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union' by John Boehmer (Praeger, 1960). The review treats the book as a clear-headed scholarly digest of the CPSU's evolution from the Bolshevik faction through Stalinist consolidation to the post-Stalin manoeuvres, and praises it for tracing the gap between Party doctrine and the actual instruments of coercion. Godinger reads the book as ammunition for an Indian reader who needs to see, in compact form, that the Soviet 'body social' is largely the construct of an entrenched apparatus rather than an organic expression of working-class consent. - Reviews John Boehmer's 'A Concise History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union' (Praeger, 1960). - Treats the book as a useful primer for separating CPSU doctrine from its coercive practice. - Locates the book's value in showing the Soviet state as an apparatus phenomenon, not a popular expression. - Framed as ammunition for Indian readers tempted by Communist claims. ### News & Views — Antinomian Propaganda by Reds in Border Areas; M. L. Among Tribal Saints Named by Pol. Minister; Family Planning in India; Change of Inflection Medium in Colleges; A Bazardous Experiment; etc. The Gleanings column reprints short extracts from other journals — including a note on 'English in India' arguing that English is here to stay as a working medium of higher education and administration, and a defence of Hindu College Calcutta's role in the early life of Indian rationalism. The selections are curated to reinforce the journal's standing line that the lingua-franca question should be settled pragmatically rather than by linguistic chauvinism. - Reprints arguments that English remains indispensable for higher education and inter-State communication. - Selections curated to back the journal's standing slogan: 'Make English the lingua franca of India.' - Frames the language question pragmatically rather than ideologically. ### Essay 10 The News & Views column gathers short notices on the political and intellectual events of the fortnight: anti-Indian propaganda by 'Reds' in the border areas, named after Mr. Frank Anthony in a Parliamentary exchange; rural-credit and family-planning debates; a tribute to Kennedy as the Democratic challenger to entrenched policies; and the standard appeal that the new third Plan must not crowd out private enterprise. The column's editorial frame stays inside the journal's settled positions on Cold-War alignment, planning and civil liberty. - Reports on anti-Indian propaganda by Communists in border areas via a Parliamentary exchange. - Carries shorter notices on family planning, rural credit and the third Plan. - Holds the line that the Plan must complement rather than displace private enterprise. - Treats Kennedy as the harbinger of a firmer line abroad. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-dec1-1961/ ### Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IX No. 17, December 1, 1961) is pitched at the eve of the February 1962 general elections and reads as the Forum of Free Enterprise's case against Nehruvian socialism. The unsigned editorial christens the newly released Swatantra manifesto the 'Small Man's Manifesto' — speaking, it argues, for the farmer, small trader, manufacturer, professor, teacher, skilled worker and technician left bewildered by the Congress's drift toward Stalinist-Leninist Marxism. M. A. Venkata Rao broadens the polemic into a meditation on what philosophical wisdom and character voters should demand of their rulers, drawing on Plato, Marcus Aurelius, Chanakya and the Indian Shastric tradition. M. N. Tholal continues his series on the place of Muslims in Indian national integration; J. M. Lobo Prabhu mocks Nehru's foreign travels as a 'wanderlust'; and a Delhi Letter raises fresh alarm about Chinese incursions in Ladakh. A book review introduces readers to Irving L.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IX No. 17, December 1, 1961) is pitched at the eve of the February 1962 general elections and reads as the Forum of Free Enterprise's case against Nehruvian socialism. The unsigned editorial christens the newly released Swatantra manifesto the 'Small Man's Manifesto' — speaking, it argues, for the farmer, small trader, manufacturer, professor, teacher, skilled worker and technician left bewildered by the Congress's drift toward Stalinist-Leninist Marxism. M. A. Venkata Rao broadens the polemic into a meditation on what philosophical wisdom and character voters should demand of their rulers, drawing on Plato, Marcus Aurelius, Chanakya and the Indian Shastric tradition. M. N. Tholal continues his series on the place of Muslims in Indian national integration; J. M. Lobo Prabhu mocks Nehru's foreign travels as a 'wanderlust'; and a Delhi Letter raises fresh alarm about Chinese incursions in Ladakh. A book review introduces readers to Irving L. Horowitz's anthology on classical anarchism, while 'Gleanings from the Press' covers the Khrushchev–Molotov feud and 'News & Views' gathers items on language policy, the Berlin Wall and a Kerala Communist victory. The number closes with the editor's 'Panchashila in Action' note tracking new Chinese posts on the Indian border. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL — The "Small" Man's Manifesto The unsigned editorial reads the just-released Swatantra Party manifesto as a manifesto for India's 'Small Man' — the farmer, small trader, manufacturer, professor, teacher, skilled worker and technician — whom the editor sees as the country's largest and most productive political constituency, yet one rendered politically homeless by the Congress's slide into what it calls Stalinist-Leninist Marxism. It argues that Nehru and Jayaprakash Narayan, despite differences with M. N. Roy's Radical Humanist Movement, dragged India's leadership back to dogmatic socialism after independence, leaving the Praja Socialists indistinguishable from Congress and the small man bewildered by the 'Socialist Pie in the Sky' of the Five-Year Plans. The Swatantra programme, the editorial maintains, finally offers this constituency a vehicle for prosperity through freedom. Two companion items — 'A Welcome Electoral Alliance' and 'Here and There' — extend the argument to the practical work of forging an anti-Congress front and to President Kennedy's reading of the Sino-Soviet relationship. - Frames the new Swatantra manifesto as the political voice of India's productive 'Small Man' constituency. - Diagnoses Nehruvian Congress socialism as a continuation of 1930s Stalinist-Leninist enthusiasm rather than a fresh post-war doctrine. - Argues the Praja Socialist Party can no longer justify its existence outside the Congress, and that Swatantra is the only genuinely independent opposition. - Welcomes an emerging electoral understanding among non-Communist opposition parties to consolidate anti-Congress votes. - Reads Kennedy's recent remarks on the Soviet-Communist Party Congress as confirming that the Sino-Soviet split is real but limited. ### The Wisdom Of The Rulers *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao turns the imminent general election into an occasion for a longer reflection on the wisdom and character voters should look for in rulers. Drawing on Plato's philosopher-king, on Marcus Aurelius, Chanakya, Yajnavalkya and the Indian Shastric idea of the Raja's dharma, he argues that political competence rests not only on technical knowledge of social and economic conditions but also on a philosophical grasp of human nature, of the difference between appearance and reality, and of the place of order, freedom and dharma in human society. The essay treats Communism as the contemporary heir of Plato's totalitarian closed-society temptation — rejecting private property, family, religion and personal initiative in favour of an austere collective good — and contrasts it with the Christian and Aristotelian vindication of the family, of conscience and of moderate temporal order. Wisdom in rulers, he concludes, lies in the capacity to hold spiritual ends and political means together without collapsing either into theocracy or into the closed society of Marx and the modern revolutionaries. - Frames the 1962 election as a moment to ask what wisdom voters should demand of rulers, not merely which programme to endorse. - Distinguishes technical political knowledge (society, economy, history) from philosophical wisdom about human nature and ultimate ends. - Reads Plato's Republic as the originating model of the totalitarian closed society later inherited by Marxism-Leninism. - Defends the family, private property and personal conscience against Platonic and Communist communism. - Calls for a synthesis of Indian Shastric and Greek philosophical inheritance in shaping the moral horizon of Indian rulership. ### Muslims And National Integration — II *By M. N. Tholal* Continuing a series begun in the previous issue, M. N. Tholal examines what stands in the way of full national integration of Muslims into the Indian polity. He distinguishes between political loyalty and religious solidarity, arguing that the historical inheritance of the Caliphate — and the Sunni/Shia split over the Prophet's succession — has produced a habit of looking to a supra-national Muslim community of belief rather than to the territorial nation. He surveys the early caliphs from Abu Bakr to Ali, the doctrinal authority claimed by the Ulema and the Quran's silence on questions of political form, and contends that genuine integration requires Indian Muslims to treat religion as a matter of personal conscience while accepting the Indian state as their sole political loyalty. The essay weighs the dangers of pan-Islamism, the political role of the Ulema, and what Tholal sees as the slow growth of an Indian-Muslim self-understanding compatible with secular nationhood. - Distinguishes religious solidarity (the umma) from political loyalty to the Indian nation as the crux of integration. - Reads the Sunni-Shia split as a historical legacy that complicates a clear notion of Muslim political authority. - Critiques the Ulema's claim to interpretive authority over both religious and political life. - Argues that the Quran does not prescribe a single political form, leaving room for accommodation with secular constitutional government. - Calls on Indian Muslims to treat their religion as personal conscience and reserve political loyalty for the Indian state. ### Nehru's Wanderlust *By by J. M. Lobo Prabhu I.C.S. (Retd.)* J. M. Lobo Prabhu mocks Jawaharlal Nehru's relentless foreign travel — fresh from Belgrade and Moscow, the Prime Minister is now off to the United States and Mexico — as the 'wanderlust' of a man who treats himself as the travelling salesman of the world's problems. The piece needles Nehru's habit of intervening in distant crises while shrinking from a clear posture on the issues nearest home, especially the Chinese pressure on India's borders and the Berlin question. Lobo Prabhu argues that the world would be a safer place if a few major powers were left to manage their own affairs without Nehru's freelancing arbitration, and that the meeting with President Kennedy will only confirm how little leverage India's neutralist diplomacy actually carries when set against the realities of Cold War alignment. - Skewers Nehru's foreign travel as personal 'wanderlust' rather than statesmanship. - Argues that India's neutralism offers little leverage in real Cold War crises like Berlin. - Frames the impending Washington meeting with Kennedy as one likely to expose the limits of Nehru's posture. - Suggests Nehru sells the world's grievances abroad while ducking the China question at home. ### DELHI LETTER — Chinese At It Again *By (From Our Correspondent)* An unsigned Delhi correspondent reports renewed Chinese pressure along the Indian border, with fresh intrusions and post-construction in Ladakh that contradict reassuring noises from Peking. The letter notes that Indian intelligence had warned of these moves weeks earlier, that the Indian government's public response remains evasive, and that Parliament has not been given a candid account. The correspondent argues that the official refusal to call Chinese conduct 'aggression' has cost India both diplomatic clarity and the moral force needed to mobilise international sympathy, and warns that the gap between Delhi's rhetoric of Panchashila and Peking's actual conduct is widening. - Reports new Chinese intrusions and posts inside Indian territory in Ladakh during August–September. - Argues that the Indian government's reluctance to use the word 'aggression' is itself a diplomatic cost. - Suggests Parliament and the public are being kept in the dark about the true scale of Chinese encroachment. - Reads the disconnect between Panchashila rhetoric and the situation on the ground as a credibility crisis for Indian diplomacy. ### Book Review The Book Review introduces readers to 'Anarchism: Eleven Exponents of the Anarchist Philosophy,' edited by Irving L. Horowitz, translated by James J. Martin and published by the Libertarian Book Club of New York. The reviewer summarises the anthology as a guided tour through the classical anti-statist tradition — Stirner, Proudhon, Bakunin, Kropotkin, Benjamin Tucker and the Christian anarchists — and reads it as a useful corrective for Indian readers who have come to identify all opposition to the state with Marxist-Leninist socialism. The review distinguishes individualist (American) from collectivist (European) anarchism, takes the volume seriously as a contribution to political theory rather than dismissing it as eccentric, and uses it to underline the libertarian magazine's own conviction that the modern state has overreached its moral and economic warrant. It treats anarchism less as a blueprint than as a tradition of warning about the costs of state monopoly over conscience, property and association. - Reviews Irving L. Horowitz's anthology 'Anarchism: Eleven Exponents of the Anarchist Philosophy' (Libertarian Book Club, New York, 1961, $4.50, 372 pp.). - Distinguishes American individualist anarchism (Tucker, Warren) from European collectivist anarchism (Proudhon, Bakunin, Kropotkin). - Reads the classical anarchists as a corrective to identifying anti-statism solely with Marxist-Leninist socialism. - Treats anarchism as a serious tradition of warning about the moral and economic overreach of the modern state. ### Gleanings from the Press *By Molotov Affair* 'Gleanings from the Press' reproduces commentary on the Khrushchev–Molotov rupture inside the Soviet leadership. Drawing on press accounts of the 22nd Congress of the CPSU, the column reads Khrushchev's open denunciation of Molotov, Malenkov and the 'anti-party group' as a sign that the Soviet system is now devouring its own founders. The piece treats the affair as evidence that totalitarian states cannot manage succession by political means and have no choice but to expel and discredit rivals — a structural defect, the column suggests, of any regime that cannot abide an opposition. - Reports on the public Khrushchev–Molotov breach during and after the 22nd Congress of the CPSU. - Reads the affair as proof that totalitarian regimes cannot accommodate political opposition, only purge it. - Treats the episode as further evidence of the moral exhaustion of Soviet communism. ### News & Views 'News & Views' is a column of short notes. Items include 'Friends or Foes' on President Kennedy's posture toward neutrals, 'Pandurangji in U.P.' on a Sarvodaya tour, 'Showdown with the Reds' arguing that the USA must finally meet communist parties on their own terms, a 'Strange Sentence' note on the Soviet 'crimes against the state' apparatus, items on a Tata-related world-language conference, on a Soviet death sentence for thieving and an American stenotype, and longer notes on the demand for self-determination for Germans (occasioned by the Berlin Wall) and on Dr. N. K. Kunzru's plea for retaining English in Indian education. The column closes with an editorial 'Inadequate Attention' lamenting the deterioration of English-language schooling in India. - Argues that the United States must confront communist movements politically rather than rhetorically. - Reads the Berlin Wall as a moral mandate for renewed Western support of German self-determination. - Joins Dr. N. K. Kunzru in defending the retention of English in Indian education against precipitate switches. - Treats Soviet criminal-procedure items as quiet evidence of the moral character of the regime. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-dec1-1962/ ### Summary The December 1, 1962 number of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X No. 17, edited by D. M. Kulkarni) is an Indo-China-war issue. Almost every page in the rendered set responds, directly or obliquely, to the Chinese offensive that opened in late October 1962 and to the political fallout the conflict was producing inside India. The unsigned editorial, M. A. Venkata Rao's essay 'War With China', M. N. Tholal's 'Non-Alignment A Moral Imperative?', and C. Rajagopalachari's short 'The Task Before Us' together frame Peking's aggression as the moment at which India's official non-alignment, its earlier appeasement of the Chinese leadership, and its faith in negotiated settlement must all be discarded. A 'Delhi Letter' from the magazine's correspondent then reports on Nehru beginning to argue in Parliament for India's drawing closer to NATO and SEATO. Shorter standing departments — a Book Review, 'Gleanings from the Press', 'News & Views', and a 'Dear Editor' column — round out an issue that reads throughout as a Liberal / Swatantra-leaning rebuke of Congress defence and foreign policy, and as a celebration of the parliamentary agitation that forced V. K.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The December 1, 1962 number of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X No. 17, edited by D. M. Kulkarni) is an Indo-China-war issue. Almost every page in the rendered set responds, directly or obliquely, to the Chinese offensive that opened in late October 1962 and to the political fallout the conflict was producing inside India. The unsigned editorial, M. A. Venkata Rao's essay 'War With China', M. N. Tholal's 'Non-Alignment A Moral Imperative?', and C. Rajagopalachari's short 'The Task Before Us' together frame Peking's aggression as the moment at which India's official non-alignment, its earlier appeasement of the Chinese leadership, and its faith in negotiated settlement must all be discarded. A 'Delhi Letter' from the magazine's correspondent then reports on Nehru beginning to argue in Parliament for India's drawing closer to NATO and SEATO. Shorter standing departments — a Book Review, 'Gleanings from the Press', 'News & Views', and a 'Dear Editor' column — round out an issue that reads throughout as a Liberal / Swatantra-leaning rebuke of Congress defence and foreign policy, and as a celebration of the parliamentary agitation that forced V. K. Krishna Menon's resignation as Defence Minister. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL The unsigned editorial 'Hate Communism to Win the War' argues that India's military reverses in NEFA and Ladakh are the inevitable product of a national leadership that, since independence, refused to treat Communism as an enemy ideology and instead embraced Peking with the 'Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai' rhetoric. The editor catalogues what he reads as the Government's wilful blindness — from accepting Chinese occupation of Tibet to brushing aside reports of road-building in Ladakh — and insists that winning the war now requires a moral revolution at home: Indians must learn to hate Communism with the same conviction with which they once hated foreign rule, and the press, Parliament and party platforms must stop dressing up totalitarian aggression as a 'misunderstanding' between sister civilisations. - Frames the Sino-Indian war as a 'full-fledged' though undeclared conflict forced on India by 'treacherous Chinese Communists'. - Reads the loss of Indian territory in NEFA and Ladakh as the consequence of the Government's refusal to recognise Communism as a hostile ideology. - Attacks the long record of Indian appeasement — Tibet, the McMahon Line, the Hindi-Chini-bhai-bhai posture — as the moral ground on which the present invasion grew. - Calls on the press, Parliament and the citizenry to abandon non-alignment's vocabulary and treat the war as an ideological as much as a territorial defence. - Argues that hatred of Communism, openly preached, is the precondition for the national mobilisation the war demands. ### War With China *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'War With China' opens with the observation that, despite Nehru's preaching of peace and settlement through negotiation in every international forum, war on a major scale has now overtaken India. Venkata Rao reads the Chinese advance into NEFA and Ladakh as the predictable harvest of a foreign policy that placed faith in declarations rather than power, and uses the occasion to revisit the long Sino-Indian diplomatic record — the McMahon Line, the Panchsheel agreement, the early Chinese roadworks in Ladakh — to argue that the warning signs were available to anyone willing to read them. He then turns to the question of the conduct of the war: rearmament, conscription, civil discipline and, above all, the abandonment of the political vocabulary of non-alignment when responding to a fellow Asian state that has chosen totalitarian aggression. - Reads the Chinese offensive as the inevitable consequence of Nehru's pacifism and of India's refusal to back diplomacy with credible military power. - Surveys the long record of Sino-Indian disputes — the McMahon Line in NEFA, Aksai Chin and the Ladakh roadworks — to argue that the war was foretold by Peking's earlier conduct. - Treats 'Panchsheel' and the Hindi-Chini-bhai-bhai posture as ideological props that disarmed Indian opinion in the years before the attack. - Calls for a rapid reorientation of national policy: rearmament, civil discipline, and the open naming of Chinese Communism as the adversary. - Connects the failure on the frontier to a deeper failure of Indian liberalism to insist on hard-headed realism in foreign policy. ### Non—Alignment A Moral Imperative ? *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Non-Alignment A Moral Imperative?' addresses a question that the Chinese invasion has made painfully concrete for every patriotic Indian: can non-alignment still be defended as the country's foreign-policy posture, and on what grounds? Tholal works through the standard moral case for non-alignment — that India must keep its distance from both Cold War blocs in order to speak with a free conscience — and then tests it against the Chinese aggression. He concludes that the doctrine, as practised by Nehru, has degenerated into an alibi for refusing necessary alliances and for misreading the totalitarian character of the Chinese regime. The essay is at once a brief in liberal foreign policy and a polemic against a moralism that has, in his view, become indistinguishable from cowardice. - Frames non-alignment as a doctrine now to be judged by its consequences during the Chinese aggression rather than by the rhetoric of its founders. - Distinguishes between non-alignment as a tactical posture and non-alignment as a 'moral imperative', rejecting the second formulation. - Argues that Nehru's policy treated Peking as an honest interlocutor and so left India militarily and diplomatically isolated. - Reads the war as forcing a choice: alliance with the democracies, or a continued and dangerous illusion of neutrality. - Holds that genuine liberal foreign policy must be willing to name totalitarian aggression and to ally accordingly. ### The Task Before Us *By C. Rajagopalachari* Rajaji's short 'The Task Before Us' opens with the observation that the agitation, inside and outside the Congress, has at last forced the resignation of V. K. Krishna Menon as Defence Minister, with the Prime Minister holding out to the very end. He treats the resignation as a triumph of democratic pressure but warns that NEFA is not yet recovered and that the war will require more than a cabinet reshuffle. The bulk of the piece sketches the 'task before us': a serious ministry of supplies covering both civil and military needs, an end to the doctrinal hostility to American and other Western aid, a frank reckoning with the Communist sympathisers still inside the Government, and a willingness to fight a long war without taking refuge in the slogans of non-alignment. - Reads the resignation of V. K. Krishna Menon as a victory of public agitation over Cabinet inertia, but insists the larger battle has barely begun. - Calls for a coordinated ministry of supplies covering both civil and military procurement under a single overall minister. - Urges India to abandon the doctrinal hostility to Western aid and to align openly with the democracies for the duration of the conflict. - Argues that Communist sympathisers inside the Government must be identified and removed if the war effort is to be credible. - Frames the war as a test of Indian liberal nerve as much as of military capacity. ### DELHI LETTER : Nehru Makes Out A Case For Our Joining NATO And SEATO *By From our Correspondent* The unsigned 'Delhi Letter' from the magazine's parliamentary correspondent reports on Nehru's speech of 20 November in Parliament, in which the Prime Minister, while not yet abandoning non-alignment in name, began to make the case for India drawing much closer to the Western alliance system. The correspondent reads Nehru's qualified embrace of NATO and SEATO as an admission that the policy of equidistance has collapsed under Chinese fire, and reports the response of opposition members — Swatantra and PSP voices among them — who pressed the Government to be explicit about the alliances now being sought. - Reports Nehru's 20 November parliamentary speech as the first official signal that non-alignment is being quietly reconsidered. - Reads the Prime Minister's case for closer cooperation with NATO and SEATO as a tacit acknowledgement that the old foreign policy has failed. - Records opposition demands — from Swatantra and other benches — that the Government speak plainly about the alliance it is now seeking. - Treats the Delhi mood as one of relief at Krishna Menon's exit and unease at the Government's continuing reluctance to name the United States as a needed ally. ### Book Review A short Book Review notice introduces 'Cultural Anthropology' by Nirmal Kumar Bose, published by Asia Publishing House. The reviewer treats the volume as a standard, methodologically careful introduction to the field for Indian students and notes Bose's long professional association with the discipline. The notice is brief and largely descriptive, with the reviewer recommending the book to teachers and students of anthropology. - Reviews Nirmal Kumar Bose's 'Cultural Anthropology' (Asia Publishing House). - Treats the volume as a serviceable introductory text for Indian university students. - Notes the author's long-standing professional engagement with Indian anthropology. ### Gleanings from the Press 'Gleanings from the Press' reprints short excerpts from other Indian newspapers on the Chinese aggression and on the government's handling of it, presenting them as evidence that even the moderate press is now uneasy with Nehru's diplomacy. The selection leans heavily on commentary about anti-Communism and the long credulity of Indian opinion toward Peking. - Excerpts other Indian newspapers' editorial responses to the Chinese invasion. - Treats the gathered commentary as evidence of a hardening national mood against Peking and against the Hindi-Chini-bhai-bhai posture. ### News & Views 'News & Views' is a short news-digest department. The items in this issue cover U.S. arms shipments to India, Ladakh casualty figures, a story about Chavan and the 'Red Napoleons', a Bengal Socialist Party plea on Chinese aggression, demands that Tibet be liberated, the Bangalore Libertarian Social Institute, and a brief Ladakh dispatch. The cumulative effect is to underscore the war's diplomatic, military and ideological theatres simultaneously. - Reports U.S. arms shipments and Western equipment arriving for the Indian war effort. - Carries casualty and prisoner statistics from Ladakh fighting. - Records political statements — from Rajaji, the Bengal Socialist Party and others — on Tibet, China and the conduct of the war. - Notes the founding meeting of the Libertarian Social Institute, Bangalore. ### Dear Editor The 'Dear Editor' column carries a short letter signed P. Kodanda Rao on 'Insulting Friends', commenting on remarks in the Indian Parliament about the United States and arguing that India cannot afford the luxury of insulting the friends from whom it is now asking for arms. - Letter from P. Kodanda Rao on Indian parliamentary rhetoric toward the United States. - Argues that India cannot accept Western military aid and simultaneously abuse the Western powers in Parliament. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-dec1-1963/ ### Summary This 1 December 1963 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. XI, No. 17), edited by D. M. Kulkarni for Libertarian Publishers in Bombay, gathers a Bombay-liberal protest against the cooperative-farming turn taken at the Congress's Nasik session, an alarmed reading of Maoist China's territorial ambitions in South and South-East Asia, and a polemic on the legitimacy of ideological 'groupism' inside the ruling Congress. A Delhi Letter reports on the post-Kamaraj-Plan jostling within the AICC; further columns review Wilhelm Roepke's defence of the social-market economy, applaud Aligarh University's switch to English-medium instruction, and round up news on Cold War realignment, India's foreign-debt burden and Sino-Indian frontier policy. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 December 1963 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. XI, No. 17), edited by D. M. Kulkarni for Libertarian Publishers in Bombay, gathers a Bombay-liberal protest against the cooperative-farming turn taken at the Congress's Nasik session, an alarmed reading of Maoist China's territorial ambitions in South and South-East Asia, and a polemic on the legitimacy of ideological 'groupism' inside the ruling Congress. A Delhi Letter reports on the post-Kamaraj-Plan jostling within the AICC; further columns review Wilhelm Roepke's defence of the social-market economy, applaud Aligarh University's switch to English-medium instruction, and round up news on Cold War realignment, India's foreign-debt burden and Sino-Indian frontier policy. ## Essays ### Agricultural Progress or 'Collective' Chaos? Signed by editor D. M. Kulkarni, this editorial attacks the Congress AICC's renewed embrace of cooperative joint farming following its Nasik session, treating it as a fresh attempt by Nehru and the Planning Commission to push Indian agriculture toward Soviet-style collectivism. It argues that the Land Consolidation, Group Farming and Congress Cooperatives programme will neither raise yields nor protect the peasant, and points to the recurring famines of Stalin's and Khrushchev's USSR and Mao's China as evidence of where 'collective chaos' leads. A short companion editorial, 'Well Done, Aligarh University!', welcomes the University's decision to make English its medium of instruction and to open up its governance beyond a closed Muslim community. - Reads the Congress's Nasik resolution on cooperative joint farming as a doctrinal capitulation to socialist planners rather than a response to agricultural facts. - Casts Nehru and Patil's land-policy turn as continuous with the Stalinist and Khrushchevite collectivisations that produced Soviet famine. - Contrasts forced cooperatives with peasant proprietorship, which it presents as the only basis for sustained productivity gains. - Welcomes Aligarh Muslim University's move to teach in English and to broaden its governance as a liberal reform of a sectarian institution. ### India And China *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao reads Communist China as a permanently 'unsatisfied nation' whose strategic goal is the physical possession of the wealth of South and South-East Asia, from India and Burma through Indonesia and the Philippines to Korea and Formosa, with Japan reduced to a subordinate role inside a Chinese co-prosperity sphere. He uses the widening Sino-Soviet quarrel to argue that Peking is now positioning itself as the rival pole of world communism rather than as Moscow's junior partner, and warns Indian opinion not to mistake tactical lulls on the frontier for a change of intent. - Frames China as an 'unsatisfied nation' whose ambitions cover the whole of South and South-East Asia. - Lists India, Malaya, Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Korea and Formosa as the territorial objects of Chinese expansion. - Reads the Sino-Soviet split as China bidding for primacy in the communist bloc, not as a softening of its revolutionary line. - Cautions India against treating frontier quiet as evidence that the Chinese threat has passed. ### What is Wrong with Groupism? *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal mounts a defence of organised factionalism inside Indian political life, arguing that 'groupism' is not a pathology but the normal expression of democratic disagreement. He reaches back to the pre-Independence Congress to show that the Liberal-Extremist split between Gokhale and Tilak, and the later differences between Gandhi and his rivals, produced a stronger movement than the artificial unity demanded by post-Independence Congress leaders. The piece treats the campaign against groupism as a thin disguise for personal control of the ruling party. - Argues that ideological groups inside a ruling party are healthy rather than disloyal. - Cites the Gokhale-Tilak division and the Surat split of 1907 as a productive episode in Congress history. - Reads contemporary attacks on 'groupism' as cover for centralising authority around individual leaders. ### Nehru's Coup D' Grace *By From Our Correspondent* The 'Delhi Letter' reports on the AICC session at which a 'democratic socialism' paper was circulated to affiliated bodies and on the political fallout of the Kamaraj Plan inside Congress. The correspondent traces how state-level leaders, the Working Committee and the central party machinery are using both documents to reshuffle patronage, with Indira Gandhi rising as a Joint Secretary while older ministers manoeuvre for position; the column reads the move as Nehru's attempt to entrench a chosen line of succession. - Reports the circulation of an AICC paper on democratic socialism to affiliated bodies. - Treats the Kamaraj Plan as the chief instrument for reorganising Congress patronage in late 1963. - Flags Indira Gandhi's rising organisational role and reads Nehru's moves as succession management. ### Guided Democracy *By Shrimati Prema Nandakumar* Shrimati Prema Nandakumar takes aim at the new political vocabulary—'Guided Democracy', 'National Front', 'Basic Democracy'—that authoritarian rulers across Asia and Africa have adopted to dress up personal regimes in democratic costume. She tracks the pattern through Sukarno's Indonesia, Ayub Khan's Pakistan, Nasser's Egypt and Ne Win's Burma, and warns that Congress flirtation with similar phrasing in India would dissolve parliamentary accountability into a single charismatic leader's discretion. - Reads 'Guided Democracy' and its cognates as euphemisms invented by post-colonial strongmen for personal rule. - Surveys Sukarno's Indonesia, Ayub Khan's Pakistan, Nasser's Egypt and Ne Win's Burma as worked examples. - Warns that Indian acceptance of the same vocabulary would erode parliamentary accountability. ### Book Review: Economics of the Free Society by Wilhelm Roepke *By Reviewed by J. Chamberlain* J. Chamberlain reviews Wilhelm Roepke's Economics of the Free Society, presenting it as a compact statement of the post-war German liberal case for a competitive market order anchored in firm monetary discipline and a rule-of-law state. The notice underlines Roepke's links to the Ludwig Erhard reforms behind the West German recovery and recommends the book to Indian readers as a corrective to planning enthusiasm. - Frames Roepke's book as the canonical short statement of the 'social market' position. - Connects the argument to Ludwig Erhard's currency reform and the Wirtschaftswunder. - Reads the book as a corrective for Indian planning enthusiasm. ### The Mind of the Nation Under the standing rubric 'The Mind of the Nation', the issue carries a column titled 'The Third Alternative' arguing that India's task is to build a polity that is neither communist nor a passive imitation of Western capitalism, but is grounded in liberty under law and in voluntary economic cooperation. The piece reads the Cold War's bipolar framing as a false choice and asks Indian liberals to claim the third position for themselves. - Names a 'third alternative' between Soviet collectivism and undifferentiated Western capitalism. - Locates that position in liberty under law and voluntary economic cooperation. - Rejects the Cold War's bipolar framing as the only available political menu. ### News and Views The 'News and Views' digest gathers short items on U.S. space-programme rationale, Mao-aligned organising in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, a reported troop revolt inside Red China, Chester Bowles on the duty to defend freedom, Aligarh Muslim University's adoption of English-medium teaching, S. K. Patil's speech against dictatorial socialism, the Reserve Bank's new data-collection on bank shares, India's foreign-debt burden, and token strikes in the Soviet bloc. - Reports U.S. statements that free-world security underwrites the American space programme. - Notes Chester Bowles's call for active defence of freedom against communist pressure. - Picks up S. K. Patil's argument that 'dictatorial' socialism is incompatible with Indian conditions. - Flags Aligarh Muslim University's decision to teach in English and discusses unrest inside the communist bloc. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-dec15-1957/ ### Summary The 15 December 1957 issue of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay-based 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala, runs an editorial that ranges across Kashmir at the UN Security Council, India's worsening foreign-exchange and food situation, the West's failure to extend material backing, the North African crisis, the dangers of two-camp Cold War alignment, and Dr Taraka Nath Das's warnings of a plot against the country. Three signed pieces anchor the issue: M. A. Venkata Rao argues that an imported parliamentary democracy will not survive without a deliberate programme of civic education; Baburao Patel republishes the substance of a 1952 prophecy on Sheikh Abdullah's 'perfidy' to claim vindication after the Sheikh's dismissal and arrest in Kashmir; and a 'Lal' continues an earlier polemic on Jinnah and Gandhi by reading the Khilafat alliance and Maulana Mohammad Ali's joint-electorate scheme as a strategic dead end for Hindu–Muslim unity. F. G.… ### Body # Indian Libertarian ## Summary The 15 December 1957 issue of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay-based 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala, runs an editorial that ranges across Kashmir at the UN Security Council, India's worsening foreign-exchange and food situation, the West's failure to extend material backing, the North African crisis, the dangers of two-camp Cold War alignment, and Dr Taraka Nath Das's warnings of a plot against the country. Three signed pieces anchor the issue: M. A. Venkata Rao argues that an imported parliamentary democracy will not survive without a deliberate programme of civic education; Baburao Patel republishes the substance of a 1952 prophecy on Sheikh Abdullah's 'perfidy' to claim vindication after the Sheikh's dismissal and arrest in Kashmir; and a 'Lal' continues an earlier polemic on Jinnah and Gandhi by reading the Khilafat alliance and Maulana Mohammad Ali's joint-electorate scheme as a strategic dead end for Hindu–Muslim unity. F. G. Clark attacks steeply progressive income tax as a Prohibition-style corrupter of taxpayers and administrators; the Hungarian student refugee Alpar Bujdoso marks the first anniversary of the 1956 revolution; and a 'Shape of Things to Come' dispatch reads Nehru's seminar remark about an 'increasing conflict' between parliamentary democracy and full-blooded private enterprise as an admission against interest. The chunk closes mid-way through the 'On the News Front' roundup, with the issue's book reviews and letters to the editor falling past the rendered pages. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL The editorial sweeps across India's foreign- and domestic-policy front in late 1957. It opens at the UN Security Council, where Krishna Menon has secured another adjournment of the Kashmir question and the return of Dr Graham as mediator after the Russian delegate Mr Sobolev's supportive intervention. The editor then catalogues a chain of pressures: a worsening foreign-exchange position; lukewarm Western responses to India's economic needs; the journal's standing critique of Indian leadership for failing to extract concrete backing from London and Washington; the North African community question; the case for treating the West rather than the Soviet bloc as India's natural partner; and a section on the alleged plot against India flagged by Dr Taraka Nath Das. A closing note on Tarakeshwari Sinha presses the line that internal party politics is part of, rather than separate from, the external pressure on Indian liberalism. - Frames the UN Security Council's Kashmir adjournment as another Indian diplomatic deferral rather than a settlement. - Reads India's foreign-exchange and food situation as evidence that planning-era leadership cannot deliver material results. - Argues that the West, not the Soviet bloc, is India's natural partner in any liberal-democratic settlement. - Treats Dr Taraka Nath Das's warnings of a 'plot against India' as worth public attention. - Uses domestic party manoeuvres around Tarakeshwari Sinha to underline the journal's anti-Congress monopoly line. ### Education for Democracy *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that the constitutional architecture India borrowed from the West — a parliamentary system, fundamental rights, an interpretive Supreme Court — cannot sustain itself without a deliberate programme of civic education. Tracing the Western pedigree from Plato and Aristotle down through Locke, Bentham, the Mills and Marx, and recalling the role of poets and essayists in cultivating English democratic temper, he insists that public opinion is the real soil in which any constitution must root itself. The essay then turns to India's own task: to inculcate a clear and systematic consciousness of personal freedom, of the bounds of the State, and of the participatory habits without which a Western-modelled democracy will be captured either by demagogues or by the planning bureaucracy. - India's parliamentary democracy and Fundamental Rights rest on an imported tradition that must be deliberately taught. - Civic education is the means by which abstract constitutional values become a 'personal possession' of the citizen. - The English liberal temperament was cultivated by poets and philosophers as much as by legislators. - Democracy in India risks degenerating into demagogy or bureaucratic rule without a literate, participating public. - Rao reads liberal education as itself a defence against socialist and totalitarian capture of the State. ### Jinnah and Gandhi *By by Lal* Writing under the by-line 'Lal', this instalment defends an earlier piece that argued Gandhi's embrace of the Khilafat cause damaged rather than served Hindu–Muslim unity. The author reviews what the Khilafat meant — the institution of the Caliph as the Prophet's successor — and reads Gandhi's alliance with Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali as a tactical mistake whose communal after-effects long outlived the campaign. The continuation on page 14 reproduces Maulana Mohammad Ali's own 'solution' to the communal question — a joint-electorate scheme reserving a minimum of fifteen per cent of seats for Muslims — which Lal treats as a formula Congress would never accept and as evidence that even the most sincere Muslim nationalist of that generation could not square mass politics with majority rule. The piece ends on a note about individual freedom as a faculty that any honest national settlement would have to protect. - Reaffirms that the Khilafat alliance was a strategic error for Hindu–Muslim unity. - Reconstructs Maulana Mohammad Ali's 'joint electorate with 15 per cent reservation' scheme as the high-water mark of liberal Muslim nationalism. - Argues that the formula failed because Congress would not accept it and the Muslim leadership could not enforce it. - Treats individual freedom — not communal mathematics — as the only durable settlement. ### An Old Tale of Traitors *By by Baburao Patel* Baburao Patel reprints — and claims vindication for — an article he had published on 13 April 1952, sixteen months before Sheikh Abdullah's dismissal and arrest as Prime Minister of Kashmir. Patel treats the Sheikh's career as the central case of a regional Muslim leader exploiting Nehru's personal affection while playing communal cards, and details the charges of 'deception, espionage, corruption, maladministration and establishment of foreign contacts of a kind dangerous to peace and prosperity of the state'. The piece moves through the politics of the Kashmir succession (Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad), the Sheikh's earlier flights to Karachi, a reading of his agitation in idiom drawn from Muslim history, and a final indictment of Indian national policy for repeatedly mistaking religious-political adventurers for nationalist statesmen. - Republishes a 1952 piece, 'Bring The Hand That Feeds', as a sixteen-month-early prophecy of Sheikh Abdullah's downfall. - Lists the formal charges against the Sheikh — espionage, corruption, foreign contacts — as evidence the journal's earlier line was correct. - Reads Abdullah's politics through the rhetoric of 'Muslim history' rather than as ordinary regional grievance. - Treats Nehru's personal attachment to the Sheikh as the structural weakness in Indian Kashmir policy. - Ends with a general warning against confusing communal mobilisers with nationalist leaders. ### Some Thoughts on Progressive Income Tax *By by F. G. Clark* F. G. Clark, in an extract from his book The Economic Facts of Life, attacks steeply progressive income tax as a moral and administrative disaster. He compares the modern tax code to American Prohibition: a law that no honest citizen consents to obey makes a nation of unrepentant cheats, corrupts both administrators and the administered, and rewards only the most ruthless tax planner. Encouragement to cheating, he argues, is woven into the structure of the levy itself, and the only honest remedy is to give up the principle that any given rupee of income can be taxed at rates an individual would refuse to pay voluntarily. The piece is short and largely aphoristic, with a closing note that an individual's freedom from confiscatory taxation is part of the same bundle of liberties as civil and political freedom. - Compares progressive income tax to Prohibition as a law society refuses to obey. - Argues that high rates corrupt both administrators and taxpayers. - Reads encouragement to cheating as a structural — not personal — feature of the tax. - Frames freedom from confiscatory taxation as part of the same liberty bundle as civil and political rights. ### Reflections of a Revolutionary of Our Times *By by Alpar Bujdoso* Writing as a Hungarian student refugee, Alpar Bujdoso marks the first anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. He recalls the fierce October days of popular uprising, the Soviet reconquest, and the long shadow they have cast over those forced into exile, and uses the date to argue that the rising was not a failed adventure but a moral turning point in the post-war Communist world. The piece moves between personal memory and political reading: the revolution is presented as evidence that freedom is a universal demand rather than a Western or material problem, and as a reproach to those in the West who would now treat the Hungarian case as closed. - Treats the Hungarian Revolution as the moral turning point of the Communist post-war period. - Reads freedom as a universal demand of personal liberty, not a regional or material concern. - Reproaches Western publics for letting the Hungarian case slide off the agenda. ### The Shape of Things to Come A short editorial dispatch reads Nehru's recent speech at the second seminar on Parliamentary Democracy, held in the central hall of Parliament, as a quiet admission against interest. Nehru is reported to have said that there was going to be 'increasing conflict' between the idea of parliamentary democracy and full-blooded private enterprise. The journal treats the remark as proof that the Prime Minister himself now concedes the antagonism between the planning regime he has built and the liberal-economic order the Indian Libertarian defends, and uses it to flag the political risk of further nationalisation, panchayati-raj-driven state expansion, and what it calls a 'scandal of the pencillin factory' as evidence of the same drift. - Reads Nehru's seminar remark as a public concession that planning and parliamentary liberty are incompatible. - Frames the speech as a warning rather than a programme. - Connects the speech to current cases — the penicillin factory, judicial-appointment politics — said to illustrate the same drift. ### ON THE NEWS FRONT A roundup of short news items. The rendered chunk includes a University Grants Commission committee warning against hasty replacement of English as the medium of higher instruction, dispatches on a reign of terror in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, an election petition charging M. N. Roy's nominee, searches at European tea-estate managers' houses, a Jai Prakash Narayan note on the 'German tangle', a note on Pakistan support to Portugal over Goa, and short items on State Trading Corporation experience with the Soviet bloc and the eviction of 'bhoods' from East Pakistan. The roundup runs beyond the rendered pages, so the rest of the news front and the issue's Book Reviews and Letters columns are not yet seen. - UGC committee under Dr C. R. Kamath warns against hasty replacement of English at the universities. - Reports of fresh violence in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. - Jayaprakash Narayan offered as voice on the German question. - Pakistan reported to be backing Portugal on Goa, against the Indian position. - Notes on State Trading Corporation's 'bitter experience' with Soviet Russia as cautionary data for planning advocates. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-dec15-1959/ ### Summary The 15 December 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 22) is dominated by a single argumentative line: Indian non-alignment has become a strategic liability and the country's foreign and economic policies need to be re-thought against the backdrop of Chinese aggression on the Himalayan frontier. The lead editorial treats Nehru's pledge to defend Nepal against an attack as an Asian Monroe Doctrine without the means to back it; M. A. Venkata Rao argues that the doctrine of non-alignment was always a moralistic disguise for left-leaning sympathies; M. N. Tholal reads Krishna Menon's recent speeches as inadvertent admissions of military weakness; and Bertram D. Wolfe contributes a long analytic essay on the structural vulnerabilities of communism that U.S. policy fails to exploit. A four-page Economic Supplement turns to domestic questions — G. N. Lawande on the conditions under which foreign aid actually accelerates development, and the columnist 'Piem' on the case for a larger private-sector role in the Third Plan. The issue closes with D. M.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The 15 December 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 22) is dominated by a single argumentative line: Indian non-alignment has become a strategic liability and the country's foreign and economic policies need to be re-thought against the backdrop of Chinese aggression on the Himalayan frontier. The lead editorial treats Nehru's pledge to defend Nepal against an attack as an Asian Monroe Doctrine without the means to back it; M. A. Venkata Rao argues that the doctrine of non-alignment was always a moralistic disguise for left-leaning sympathies; M. N. Tholal reads Krishna Menon's recent speeches as inadvertent admissions of military weakness; and Bertram D. Wolfe contributes a long analytic essay on the structural vulnerabilities of communism that U.S. policy fails to exploit. A four-page Economic Supplement turns to domestic questions — G. N. Lawande on the conditions under which foreign aid actually accelerates development, and the columnist 'Piem' on the case for a larger private-sector role in the Third Plan. The issue closes with D. M. K.'s polemic against the Bombay Rents Control Act, a Delhi Letter on appeasement in non-alignment, and a book review of Ram Gopal's India of Vedic Kalpasutras. Taken together, the issue is a coordinated classical-liberal critique of the Nehruvian foreign-policy consensus and of the planning state, written in the immediate aftermath of the Sino-Indian border crisis. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL (Nehru's Monroe Doctrine for Asia) The unsigned lead editorial, 'Nehru's Monroe Doctrine for Asia', responds to Nehru's announcement that India would treat any Chinese attack on Nepal as an attack on India. The editors argue that this commitment is a unilateral guarantee that the Nepalese government under B. P. Koirala has not solicited and that India lacks the strength to honour: Nepal continues to have embassies in Khatmandu from America, the USSR and now China, and even Bhutan has begun to speak of 'independence' and may follow Nepal in opening ties with third powers. The same editorial cluster contains two further pieces — 'Indonesia Has Trouble With China', which uses Sukarno's expulsion of Chinese petty traders to argue that even ostensibly friendly Asian states find Peking impossible to live with; and 'C. R. Admits the Failure of Non-Alignment', which reports Rajagopalachari's Swatantra speech accepting that India's foreign policy has produced neither friends nor security. The editorial position is that non-alignment, far from being a posture of strength, has left India diplomatically isolated at precisely the moment its northern frontier is under armed challenge. - Nehru's pledge to defend Nepal is framed as an Asian Monroe Doctrine without the military or diplomatic capacity to back it - Nepal's continued multi-power embassies in Kathmandu are read as evidence that Kathmandu does not in fact regard itself as an Indian protectorate - Bhutan is beginning to talk of independence and may follow Nepal in dealing directly with third powers - Indonesia's expulsion of Chinese petty traders is cited as proof that even non-aligned Asian states cannot coexist with Peking on Peking's terms - Rajagopalachari (C. R.) is quoted as conceding from a Swatantra Party platform that non-alignment has failed - The editors treat Sino-Indian friendship and 'Panchsheel' as a shield against penetration whose credibility has now collapsed ### The Folly of Non-Alignment *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Folly of Non-Alignment' argues that India's foreign policy is not a neutral posture at all but a sympathetic tilt toward the communist bloc dressed in the moral vocabulary of Panchsheel and peaceful co-existence. He attacks the continuation in office of Krishna Menon — characterised as the architect of the disastrous Tibet policy and a man whose loyalties run leftward rather than to India — and reads Nehru's reluctance to dismiss him as evidence that the leadership is captured by its own ideology. The article tracks the long sequence by which the Nehru-Menon line, from refusing to support South Korea in 1950 to accepting the Chinese occupation of Tibet, has gradually conceded territory and strategic depth. Rao argues that the Sino-Soviet world treats Indian non-alignment as a convenient cover under which to pursue advances against the free world, while the Indian public is told the policy preserves peace. He calls for an explicit reorientation: an alignment with the democratic West, a clear renunciation of the illusion that China can be befriended, and an open ideological repudiation of the planning-state apparatus that gives the Nehru-Menon foreign policy its domestic support. - Non-alignment is described not as neutrality but as a moralised tilt toward the communist bloc - Krishna Menon's continuation as Defence Minister is treated as proof that Nehru cannot or will not correct course - The 1950 refusal to back South Korea and the acceptance of the Chinese seizure of Tibet are presented as the originating errors of the doctrine - Panchsheel is read as a moral fig leaf used by Peking to mask territorial ambition - Rao calls for explicit alignment with the democratic West and an ideological break with planning-state socialism ### Menon Gives Away the Show *By By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Menon Gives Away the Show' reads Krishna Menon's recent speeches as a series of inadvertent admissions that the Defence Ministry has been caught unprepared by the Chinese on the Himalayan frontier. Tholal contrasts Menon's earlier confident claims about Indian preparedness against speeches that now concede shortages of equipment, road infrastructure and trained personnel, and treats Lt. Gen. Thimayya's resignation episode as further evidence that the civil-military relationship has broken down. The piece is unsparing toward what Tholal calls the rudeness and insolence of Menon's parliamentary style and treats his diplomatic posturing on disarmament and on Tito as substitutes for the harder work of actually equipping the army. Tholal's underlying argument is that Menon's continued tenure is itself a foreign-policy statement — one that signals to Peking that India will not take its own defence seriously. - Menon's speeches are mined for admissions of unpreparedness in equipment, roads and trained troops - The Thimayya resignation episode is cited as evidence of a broken civil-military relationship under Menon - Menon's rhetorical style — described as rude and insolent — is treated as itself politically damaging - Diplomatic posturing on disarmament and Tito is presented as a substitute for genuine defence preparation ### An Analysis of U. S. Policy and Communist Vulnerability *By by Bertram D. Wolfe* Bertram D. Wolfe's 'An Analysis of U. S. Policy and Communist Vulnerability' — reprinted from the November 1959 New Leader — argues that American Cold War strategy under-rates the structural fragilities of the Soviet and Chinese systems. Wolfe contends that the communist states, far from being monolithic and inevitable, suffer from chronic legitimacy deficits, from the strategy-versus-tactics tension that bedevils any vanguard party, and from the long-run untenability of forced collectivisation. The essay traces the Leninist doctrine of strategy and tactics through Russian collectivisation and into Maoist applications, and treats the Russian peasant rising and the Hungarian revolt as evidence that the system is structurally fragile rather than ideologically secure. The article is, by Indian Libertarian standards, a long and technical piece of Cold War analysis; its function in this issue is to supply the argumentative arsenal with which the editors and Venkata Rao attack non-alignment. - Wolfe argues that U.S. Cold War strategy systematically over-estimates communist solidity - The Leninist strategy-tactics distinction is treated as a permanent source of intra-bloc instability - Forced collectivisation in Russia and Maoist applications in China are presented as long-run structural weaknesses - The Hungarian revolt and the Russian peasant rising are cited as evidence of latent vulnerability inside the bloc ### ECONOMIC SUPPLEMENT (Foreign Aid and Economic Development by Prof. G. N. Lawande; Private Sector and Third Plan by "Faces") *By G N Lawande* Opening the four-page Economic Supplement, G. N. Lawande's 'Foreign Aid and Economic Development' sets out the conditions under which external assistance actually accelerates development rather than entrenching dependence. Lawande draws a sharp line between aid that reinforces the recipient's own savings and investment capacity and aid that substitutes for domestic effort; the former is productive, the latter corrosive. He works through the standard donor instruments — grants, soft loans, food aid, technical assistance — and argues that what determines their usefulness is not the size of the inflow but the absorptive capacity, planning quality and savings rate of the recipient. The piece is written for an Indian audience reading it in the run-up to the Third Plan: Lawande's implicit message is that foreign aid is a complement to, never a substitute for, a domestic policy regime that rewards productive investment. - Foreign aid is productive only when it complements, not substitutes for, domestic savings and effort - Donor instruments — grants, soft loans, food aid, technical assistance — are surveyed and ranked by their fit with recipient capacity - Absorptive capacity and planning quality are treated as the binding constraints on aid effectiveness - The piece is positioned as a corrective for Third Plan expectations that foreign aid will close the savings-investment gap on its own ### The Futility of the Bombay Rents Control Act *By by D. M. K.* The Economic Supplement's second piece, 'Private Sector and Third Plan' by the columnist 'Piem', makes the classical-liberal case for a larger and more genuinely autonomous private sector in the upcoming Third Five Year Plan. Piem reviews the record of the Second Plan, arguing that public-sector industrial projects have over-run their budgets and under-delivered output while the private sector has met or exceeded its targets despite a regulatory environment designed to constrain it. The piece treats the Planning Commission's enthusiasm for further nationalisation and licensing as not merely inefficient but as a direct threat to the household savings on which the Plan's investment targets depend. Piem's prescription is to liberalise licensing, narrow the public sector to genuine natural monopolies and infrastructure, and let private enterprise carry the bulk of new industrial investment. - The Second Plan's public-sector projects are characterised as over-budget and under-performing relative to private targets - Further nationalisation and tighter licensing are framed as a threat to household savings mobilisation - Piem argues for narrowing the public sector to natural monopolies and infrastructure - The piece reads as the editorial line of the Indian Libertarian inside the Third Plan debate ### DELHI LETTER (Appeasement Implicit in Non-alignment — From Our Correspondent) *By From Our Correspondent* D. M. K.'s 'The Futility of the Bombay Rents Control Act' argues that rent control in Bombay, originally a wartime emergency measure to protect tenants from the housing pressure created by refugee inflow, has hardened into a permanent regime that now produces the opposite of its intended effect. The piece works through how frozen rents have collapsed new private construction, how protected tenancies have created a privileged class of long-term occupants, and how the resulting black market in 'pugree' payments and side-deals transfers most of the value the law was meant to capture for tenants into the hands of intermediaries and landlords. D. M. K. then turns to the technicalities — the standard-rent formula, the categories of permitted increase, the special protections for refugee tenants — and shows how each provision has produced predictable evasion. The article reads as a classical-liberal case study in how a well-meaning intervention in a price system, sustained past its emergency rationale, ends up entrenching scarcity and unfairness rather than relieving them. - Rent control is treated as a wartime emergency measure that has outlived its rationale - Frozen rents are charged with collapsing new private rental construction in Bombay - The 'pugree' black market is presented as the predictable consequence of binding price ceilings - Protected tenancies create a privileged class of incumbents at the expense of new entrants and refugees ### BOOK REVIEWS The 'Delhi Letter' from the magazine's Delhi correspondent argues that appeasement is now structurally implicit in Indian non-alignment. The correspondent surveys recent diplomatic traffic — the American presidential visit, Khrushchev's overtures, Indian dealings with Pakistan under Ayub Khan and with the smaller Arab and Asian states — and concludes that the policy of refusing alignment in fact obliges India to soften its responses to whichever great power is exerting immediate pressure. The piece is unimpressed by the parliamentary debate on the Chinese aggression, which it finds long on platitudes about peace and short on operational decisions about the frontier. Eisenhower's expected visit is treated as a political opportunity that the government is unlikely to use; the correspondent also notes the absence of any serious public discussion of the Sino-Indian boundary question's diplomatic options. The letter functions as the Delhi-eye-view complement to the volume's broader editorial line. - Non-alignment is recast as appeasement in operational form - The Eisenhower visit is treated as a missed opportunity for a public foreign-policy reset - Parliamentary debate on the Chinese aggression is judged long on rhetoric and short on operational substance - Indian dealings with Ayub Khan's Pakistan are noted as evidence that even managed neighbours read the Indian posture as weakness ### NEWS DIGEST The issue's Book Reviews open with a notice of Ram Gopal's 'India of Vedic Kalpasutras' (National Publishing House, Delhi, 1959), a study of the Vedic Kalpasutra literature — the texts of Apastamba, Baudhayana, Gautama and Vasishtha — as a source for Vedic social and religious life. The reviewer situates the book against the existing scholarship of Dr. P. V. Kane and other Dharmasastra commentators, treats Ram Gopal's reconstruction of the period as careful and well-evidenced, and notes a few points of methodological disagreement. Only the first review is visible on the rendered final page; subsequent reviews continue past page 20 and are not included in the rendered set. - Ram Gopal's 'India of Vedic Kalpasutras' is reviewed as a careful reconstruction of Vedic society from the Kalpasutra literature - The review situates the book against the standard Dharmasastra scholarship including Dr. P. V. Kane - Only the first review is visible on the rendered page; the Book Reviews section continues past page 20 --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-dec15-1961/ ### Summary The Indian Libertarian Vol. IX No. 18 (December 15, 1961) is a fortnightly issue published by Libertarian Publishers, Bombay, advocating free economy and limited government from the classical-liberal end of Indian political opinion. The unsigned editorial 'Nehru's Statism' charges that the Prime Minister and the Congress have abandoned the ideals of individual freedom in favour of a 'socialistic pattern' that, in the journal's reading, mirrors the collectivist drift of the communist world. M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Democratic Statesmanship Today' makes the corresponding positive case by sketching the philosophical and ethical qualifications a democratic leader needs in the post-colonial age. M. N. Tholal's 'Nehru's New Way Of Thinking' picks apart what he reads as the Prime Minister's drift on foreign policy. The Economic Supplement carries Prof. G. N. Lawande's exposition of 'The Swatantra Manifesto' and the second instalment of Wendel Bull's 'Equalizing Opportunities — Next Step For Mankind', both pressing the case for market-based development against state planning.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The Indian Libertarian Vol. IX No. 18 (December 15, 1961) is a fortnightly issue published by Libertarian Publishers, Bombay, advocating free economy and limited government from the classical-liberal end of Indian political opinion. The unsigned editorial 'Nehru's Statism' charges that the Prime Minister and the Congress have abandoned the ideals of individual freedom in favour of a 'socialistic pattern' that, in the journal's reading, mirrors the collectivist drift of the communist world. M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Democratic Statesmanship Today' makes the corresponding positive case by sketching the philosophical and ethical qualifications a democratic leader needs in the post-colonial age. M. N. Tholal's 'Nehru's New Way Of Thinking' picks apart what he reads as the Prime Minister's drift on foreign policy. The Economic Supplement carries Prof. G. N. Lawande's exposition of 'The Swatantra Manifesto' and the second instalment of Wendel Bull's 'Equalizing Opportunities — Next Step For Mankind', both pressing the case for market-based development against state planning. News and political reportage dominate the rest of the issue: a Delhi Letter on India's diplomatic defeats over Tibet and China, an extended account of the Swatantra Party Convention at Agra (its draft manifesto, resolutions on China and government policy, and M. R. Masani's role), M. A. Venkata Rao's review of F. A. Hayek's 'The Constitution of Liberty', a 'Gleanings from the Press' column, and a 'News & Views' miscellany. Across the issue the editorial centre of gravity is anti-statist, sympathetic to the Swatantra Party, and sharply critical of Nehru's domestic socialism and China policy alike. ## Essays ### Democratic Statesmanship Today *By By M. A. Venkata Rao* The unsigned lead editorial, 'Nehru's Statism', argues that the Prime Minister has given the go-by to the ideals of individual freedom and liberty in whose name Indians fought British rule. It reads Nehru's defence of the 'socialistic pattern' and his hostility to the new Swatantra Party as evidence that the Congress has aligned itself, in spirit and method, with the collectivist regimes the journal opposes. The editorial uses recent statements from the Congress leadership as a frame to insist that the genuinely Indian alternative is a free people based on free enterprise. A second editorial block under the same essay turns to international affairs: it praises the planned Malaysian Federation as a constitutional-liberal experiment uniting Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei, and contrasts that voluntary association with the coercive integrations attempted by the communist powers. Together the two pieces stake out the issue's editorial line — domestic anti-statism abroad, support for cooperative federations grounded in consent rather than command. - Frames Nehru's 'socialistic pattern' as a betrayal of the freedom-ideals of the independence movement. - Treats the Swatantra Party as the legitimate liberal alternative to Congress collectivism. - Links Indian statism to the wider communist world as a matter of method, not just rhetoric. - Endorses the proposed Malaysian Federation as a voluntary liberal-constitutional experiment. - Insists 'free enterprise' is the appropriate organising principle for a free Indian people. ### Nehru's New Way Of Thinking *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Democratic Statesmanship Today' is a philosophical essay on the qualifications of leadership in mass democracies. Opening with an anecdote about a princely heir who was discouraged from reading philosophy by his English tutor, Rao argues that the modern democratic statesman cannot afford that kind of intellectual narrowness: in an age in which voters are forming judgements about planning, foreign policy and the moral foundations of public life, those who would lead them must themselves have wrestled with the great questions. Rao surveys the qualifications he thinks democratic leadership requires — competence in philosophy and morality, a feel for the deep history of European and American constitutional thought, and the ability to use the apparatus of government without succumbing to the modern temptation of tyranny. He warns that 'democracy is in danger everywhere today — even in America', and that in newly independent Asian countries the danger lies above all in the incompetence and self-indulgence of elected legislators. The essay closes by linking democratic statesmanship to a sustained programme of education in political philosophy, citing Lincoln as the standing example. - Sets democratic leadership as a philosophical vocation, not just an electoral skill. - Argues new-democracy Asia is most threatened by the incompetence of its own legislators. - Reads twentieth-century history as the story of democracy's vulnerability to tyranny from within. - Calls for a serious civic education in political philosophy and the history of liberty. - Uses Lincoln (and indirectly Marx) as the polar examples that frame the modern political imagination. ### Economic Supplement — The Swatantra Manifesto *By By Prof. G. N. Lawande, M.A.* M. N. Tholal's 'Nehru's New Way Of Thinking' is a polemical column on the Prime Minister's foreign policy, written in the wake of recent border tensions and a fresh round of speeches at home and abroad. Tholal argues that Nehru's 'new way of thinking' amounts to a series of accommodations with Communist powers — particularly China and the Soviet Union — that Indian liberals cannot accept, and that the public is increasingly unwilling to swallow either. The column moves between three registers: a close reading of Nehru's recent speeches and replies in Parliament, a comparison with Marshal Tito's Yugoslavia as an apparent template for non-alignment, and a domestic political reading in which the Congress is portrayed as papering over its policy failures with rhetoric about peace. Cuba and Khrushchev's pronouncements are cited as further illustrations of how the same vocabulary of 'peace' can shelter very different political projects. - Treats Nehru's recent speeches as a coherent shift, not stray remarks. - Reads Indian non-alignment as drifting toward soft alignment with the communist bloc. - Uses Tito's Yugoslavia and Castro's Cuba as comparative reference points. - Connects foreign-policy drift to the Congress's domestic political needs. ### Economic Supplement — Equalizing Opportunities—II: Next Step for Mankind *By G N Lawande* Prof. G. N. Lawande's 'The Swatantra Manifesto', which opens the Economic Supplement, is a programmatic exposition of the two-year-old Swatantra Party's just-released election manifesto. Lawande argues that what separates Swatantra from every other party in the field is not a slightly different policy mix but a different organising principle: liberty of the citizen as the centre of economic and political life. He reads the manifesto as a coherent critique of state monopoly in industry and trade, of agricultural collectivisation, and of the steady erosion of independent economic power that the Congress's planning model has produced. The essay then walks through the manifesto's positive programme — protection of property and enterprise, a more limited role for the state in industry and agriculture, and stronger constitutional safeguards against executive encroachment — and connects it to the wider liberal tradition that the Forum of Free Enterprise and like institutions have been building in India. Lawande presents the Swatantra Party as the partisan vehicle for a long-running, hitherto unorganised liberal current in Indian public life. - Reads the Swatantra Manifesto as a single-principle programme built on the liberty of the citizen. - Identifies state monopoly and forced cooperativisation as the core grievances of Indian liberals. - Places the party in continuity with India's older non-Congress liberal current. - Treats the next general election as a real opportunity to break the planning consensus. - Frames property and free enterprise as constitutional, not merely economic, demands. ### Delhi Letter — Nehru Beaten By China On All Fronts *By (From Our Correspondent)* Wendel Bull's 'Equalizing Opportunities — II: Next Step For Mankind' is the second instalment of a Balanced Living-school essay reprinted in the Economic Supplement. Bull argues that a government's geographic dominion is irrelevant to its citizens until it becomes a factor in the relationships people actually have with one another, and that the proper test of any political order is whether it equalises opportunities — not outcomes — across those relationships. He uses the Eskimo's environment and the small-trader's position as concrete illustrations of what 'equal opportunity' has to mean in practice if it is to mean anything at all. The essay then turns to economics, arguing against the politically administered prices and protected positions that ride along with planning regimes, and in favour of a competitive order in which entry, mobility and price are open. A short closing column, 'The Force of Nationalisation', extends the argument with a brief case study, arguing that nationalisation tends to lock in the very inequalities of opportunity it claims to dissolve. - Reframes 'equality' from outcomes to opportunities inside concrete human relationships. - Uses the Eskimo and the small trader as test cases for what equal opportunity must cover. - Targets administered prices and protected positions as the real enemies of opportunity. - Treats nationalisation as opportunity-restricting, not opportunity-expanding. ### Swatantra Party Convention At Agra The 'Delhi Letter' from the magazine's correspondent, 'Nehru Beaten By China On All Fronts', surveys the Government of India's recent diplomatic setbacks. The correspondent reports that Congress members of the U.N. delegation have themselves been embarrassed by the Prime Minister's defence of India's defeat on the Tibet question at the U.N. General Assembly, and that the Soviet bloc's solidarity with Peking on Tibet and on India's border claims has stripped non-alignment of much of its practical cover. The letter ties these foreign-policy reverses to domestic discontent: Mr. Mahavir Tyagi, Acharya Kripalani and Dr. Raghu Vira are reported as openly critical of the Government's handling of China, and the column reads their dissent as a sign that the Nehruvian consensus on China has begun to break inside the Congress itself. - Reports India's diplomatic defeat at the U.N. on the Tibet question. - Notes Soviet-bloc backing for China as the decisive factor. - Identifies named Congress dissenters as evidence of a fracturing consensus. - Reads non-alignment as having lost its strategic cover. ### Book Review — The Constitution of Liberty by Dr. F. A. Hayek (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1960) *By M. A. Venkata Rao* An unsigned report covers the Swatantra Party Convention at Agra and the General Council meeting that adopted the party's election manifesto and a series of political resolutions. The report opens with the convention's 'Clean Government' pledge — a promise of accountable, low-corruption administration as the central plank of the Swatantra appeal — and walks through its resolutions on state transport, on the demand for cleaner public finance and on the conduct of Congress governments in the states. A second block summarises the convention's foreign-affairs resolutions. The party demanded the immediate severance of diplomatic relations with China if the Union Government would not act to dislodge Chinese forces from occupied Indian territory; censured the Government's broader handling of the China crisis; and recorded its view that the Prime Minister bore principal responsibility for the deterioration. M. R. Masani's role at the convention is recounted, alongside contributions from K. M. Munshi, Frank Anthony and others. - Records the convention's adoption of the election manifesto with minor amendments. - Highlights 'Clean Government' as the framing pledge of the campaign. - Adopts a hard line on China, including conditional severance of diplomatic relations. - Identifies the Prime Minister as bearing principal responsibility for the China reverses. - Showcases the party's leadership — Masani, Munshi, Anthony — as a coalition of liberal and constitutionalist voices. ### Gleanings from the Press *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao reviews F. A. Hayek's 'The Constitution of Liberty' (Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1960), placing it in continuity with Hayek's earlier 'The Road to Serfdom' and reading it as the most systematic statement to date of the classical-liberal case in the post-war world. The reviewer summarises Hayek's argument that the rule of law, generality of legislation and the dispersion of knowledge through markets are not separable institutions but parts of a single constitutional order of freedom. Rao then takes Hayek's treatment of the welfare state on its own terms, noting that Hayek concedes a place for some forms of social insurance but insists on strict inherent limitations against arbitrary administrative power. The review closes by recommending the book to Indian readers as an antidote to the 'omnicompetent State' assumption that underwrites contemporary planning debates, and as a constructive companion to the Swatantra Party's economic critique. - Treats 'The Constitution of Liberty' as the systematic sequel to 'The Road to Serfdom'. - Foregrounds the rule of law and generality of legislation as Hayek's central institutional claims. - Notes that Hayek concedes social insurance but draws hard limits against arbitrary administration. - Recommends the book as direct ammunition against Indian planning orthodoxy. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-dec15-1962/ ### Summary The 15 December 1962 number of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X No. 18), edited by D. M. Kulkarni, appears in the immediate aftermath of the Sino-Indian war and centres almost every article on what the editorial calls the 'Kingdom of Freedom' — the argument that India's military defeat exposed the bankruptcy of Nehruvian non-alignment, Five-Year Plan priorities, and ideological accommodation with communism. The lead editorial calls for a 'rethinking' of foreign policy and Panchsheel; M. A. Venkata Rao extends that logic to domestic policy with a sustained classical-liberal critique of Prohibition; M. N. Tholal reads Nehru's restraint within his own party as a 'noble retreat'; and a Delhi letter reports Jayaprakash Narayan's call for Krishna Menon's resignation and a war cabinet. The four-page pulled-out Economic Supplement carries Prof. C. N. Lavande on 'Defence or Economic Growth' and M. A. Master on 'Foreign Aid — The Problem of Utilisation', both arguing that the Third Plan and U.S. P.L.-480 assistance are being mis-deployed and that defence cannot be financed without recasting planning priorities.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The 15 December 1962 number of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X No. 18), edited by D. M. Kulkarni, appears in the immediate aftermath of the Sino-Indian war and centres almost every article on what the editorial calls the 'Kingdom of Freedom' — the argument that India's military defeat exposed the bankruptcy of Nehruvian non-alignment, Five-Year Plan priorities, and ideological accommodation with communism. The lead editorial calls for a 'rethinking' of foreign policy and Panchsheel; M. A. Venkata Rao extends that logic to domestic policy with a sustained classical-liberal critique of Prohibition; M. N. Tholal reads Nehru's restraint within his own party as a 'noble retreat'; and a Delhi letter reports Jayaprakash Narayan's call for Krishna Menon's resignation and a war cabinet. The four-page pulled-out Economic Supplement carries Prof. C. N. Lavande on 'Defence or Economic Growth' and M. A. Master on 'Foreign Aid — The Problem of Utilisation', both arguing that the Third Plan and U.S. P.L.-480 assistance are being mis-deployed and that defence cannot be financed without recasting planning priorities. Yang Shih-Chan's reprinted open letter to Mao Tse-tung — a remarkable first-person dissent from a Communist Party finance professor in Wuhan — supplies the issue's longest indictment of the Chinese regime. The closing Press Gleanings and News & Views pages collate quotations from Mr. Nehru, Defence Minister Y. B. Chavan, Ambassador B. K. Nehru, General Kelly and The New York Times around the same theme: vigilance against China, scepticism of Pancha Sheel, and a hardening of the liberal-libertarian critique of Congress rule. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL — Seek Ye First The Kingdom Of Freedom The unsigned lead editorial, titled 'Seek Ye First the Kingdom of Freedom', uses the Chinese invasion to re-open the case against non-alignment and Panchsheel. It argues that India had been seduced by a Vedantic illusion of equivalence between the 'maya' of Western liberal democracy and the 'maya' of Sino-Soviet communism, and that the border war has stripped away that illusion. The editorial then turns to the Russo-Chinese conflict, totalitarian tensions inside the Congress Parliamentary Party, and Indo-Pakistani relations, calling for a moral and material re-armament of Indian democracy through alignment with the free world rather than diplomatic neutrality. A boxed 'Food for Thought' panel reproduces James Burnham's barbed observation that U.S. Ambassador John Kenneth Galbraith's optimism about India's planning record had been overtaken by events, framing the editorial's larger insistence that American aid and Western institutions, not socialist self-sufficiency, are India's natural allies. - Sino-Indian war is treated as the decisive refutation of Nehruvian non-alignment and Panchsheel. - The editorial frames the choice as between the 'kingdom of freedom' and the totalitarian 'maya' of Marxism-Leninism. - Indo-Pakistani amity is urged as a condition of any serious subcontinental defence posture. - James Burnham is quoted to mock the over-optimism of Ambassador John Kenneth Galbraith about India's planning record. - Totalitarian instincts inside the Congress Parliamentary Party are flagged as a domestic counterpart of the external threat. ### Rethinking Prohibition *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao mounts a classical-liberal case for re-examining Prohibition on the basis of laws of liberty, personal freedom, and the new fiscal implications of the war with China. He argues that the legislation banning intoxicating drinks was passed as part of the Gandhian reformist programme of the Congress without serious thought about its practical consequences, and that the resulting regime of police inspection, illicit liquor, and lost excise revenue has been imposed on a reluctant population by a small minority of fanatical reformers. The essay distinguishes between drinking as a personal choice and as a social problem, draws comparisons with the failure of Prohibition in the United States, and contends that moderate, legal supply with civic education is more compatible with individual freedom and public order than blanket suppression. Venkata Rao closes by arguing that the war emergency, which has put a premium on every rupee of public revenue, is a particularly poor moment to be forgoing alcohol excise and tolerating a corrupt enforcement bureaucracy. - Prohibition is treated as a Gandhian dogma forced on a reluctant population by a fanatical reforming minority. - The author invokes the failure of American Prohibition as a cautionary precedent for India. - Police inspection and illicit liquor are described as the predictable by-products of a paternalist ban. - Lost excise revenue is highlighted as indefensible at a moment when defence finance is straining the exchequer. - The piece argues that personal liberty and civic education, not statutory suppression, are the correct response to social drinking. ### Nehru's Noble Retreat *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal congratulates Nehru on his refusal, after the rout in NEFA, to indulge in a 'Congress purge' of the kind the rank and file had been demanding. The article treats this restraint as a 'noble retreat': Nehru, the author argues, has had to recognise that the Communist Party of India and the Praja Socialists are too entangled with the Congress's own ideological line for a witch-hunt to be either honest or politically survivable. Tholal then traces how Nehru came to depend on the Communists in domestic legislative manoeuvres and how the war has now made that dependence acutely embarrassing. The continuation on page 9 picks up the same thread through two short notes — 'Ranga's Great Contribution' and 'India Never Argued War' — that praise the Swatantra leader Ranga for offering the Government a serious parliamentary opposition and rebut, on B. K. Nehru's authority, the charge that India had provoked the Chinese. Throughout, Tholal's tone is sympathetic to Nehru's predicament but unsparing about the Congress Parliamentary Party's drift into one-party absolutism. - Nehru's refusal to purge Communist-leaning Congressmen is read as a 'noble retreat', not capitulation. - The Congress's long-standing dependence on Communist Party support inside Parliament is identified as the root of the present awkwardness. - Ranga and the Swatantra Party are credited with providing the only coherent opposition to one-party drift. - Ambassador B. K. Nehru is cited rebutting the suggestion that India had any role in provoking the Chinese attack. - Tholal warns against the 'totalitarian tension' inside the Congress Parliamentary Party. ### ECONOMIC SUPPLEMENT — Defence Or Economic Growth; Foreign Aid—The Problem Of Utilisation *By Prof. G. N. Lavande, M.A.; M. A. Master* Prof. C. N. Lavande's 'Defence or Economic Growth' opens the Economic Supplement by arguing that the post-Independence Indian state has so completely identified itself with raising per-capita income that the rude arrival of a defence emergency has caught both Government and people unprepared. Lavande contends that the Third Plan was written on the assumption that defence outlay could be safely treated as a residual; the Chinese invasion has now made that assumption untenable. The essay argues that India cannot finance a serious defence effort merely by squeezing consumption or relying on foreign loans. It must instead rethink the place of the public sector and the rate of capital formation, accept a measure of inflation, and treat the country's productive capacity — not its planning targets — as the binding constraint. Lavande is sceptical that the Finance Minister's exhortations to 'tighten the belt' can substitute for an honest reordering of priorities between growth and defence. - The Third Plan implicitly treated defence spending as a residual on a growth-first programme. - The Sino-Indian war exposes the inadequacy of a planning model built around per-capita income. - Foreign loans alone cannot finance a serious defence build-up; domestic productive capacity is the binding constraint. - Calls for belt-tightening are no substitute for an explicit reordering of plan priorities. - A rebalancing between public-sector ambition and defence necessity is overdue. ### The 'Achievements' (?) Of The Communist Regime In China *By Yang Ship-Chan* M. A. Master's 'Foreign Aid — The Problem of Utilisation' follows in the same Economic Supplement and shifts the discussion from defence finance to the management of external assistance. Master assembles figures from successive Five-Year Plans to argue that the real Indian problem is not the volume of aid sanctioned but the chronically poor rate at which it is utilised: very large balances of sanctioned U.S. and IDA assistance remain undrawn at the end of each Plan period, while imports under P.L. 480 are tabulated separately and Rupee proceeds are treated, in effect, as gifts back to the donor. The essay presses two consequences. First, the Government cannot blame donors for the shortfall: the bottleneck is Indian administrative and project-execution capacity. Second, transparency itself is inadequate — the Economic Survey and the External Assistance publications do not reconcile, so neither Parliament nor the public can see what aid has actually done. Master closes by calling for a clearer Chapter on foreign loans in the annual Economic Survey and for the Finance Minister to address the question candidly in his Budget speech. - Large unutilised balances of sanctioned foreign aid have accumulated at the end of every Plan period. - Rs. 1,113 crores of P.L. 480 assistance is structurally distinct from project aid and is in effect spent within India. - The binding constraint is Indian project-preparation and execution capacity, not donor willingness. - The published Economic Survey and External Assistance reports give inconsistent pictures and need reconciliation. - True democratic accountability requires a fuller, more candid account of foreign aid in the annual Budget. ### DELHI LETTER — Jaya Prakash Narain's Advice To Nehru *By From our Correspondent* Yang Shih-Chan, a veteran Communist Party member and Professor of Accountancy at the Central-South Institute of Finance and Economics in Wuhan, addresses an open letter to Mao Tse-tung. Reprinted here from The Hankow Chang Chiang Daily, the letter is one of the documents that emerged during the brief 'Hundred Flowers' moment when the Chinese Communist Party invited 'rectification' criticism in 1957 and then turned on its critics as 'rightists'. Yang's complaint is essentially that the Party has substituted slogans for the rule of law. He cites the Chinese Constitution's guarantees of freedom of residence, of the person, and of speech, and matches each against documented cases — a peasant nurse separated from her husband by a forced transfer, citizens detained without warrant during the 1955 counter-revolutionary campaign — in which Party cadres have over-ridden the constitution at will. He pleads for clemency, benevolence, the abolition of the 'coordinating permit' system that ties workers to a single workplace, and an eight-hour day. Underneath the deferential tone the argument is uncompromising: a Party that wins power by force and then governs by intimidation cannot expect to retain the affection of the people. - An open letter from a Communist insider to Mao Tse-tung, reprinted from The Hankow Chang Chiang Daily. - Yang Shih-Chan was a Communist Party member and Professor of Accountancy at the Central-South Institute of Finance and Economics. - The letter argues that constitutional guarantees of personal liberty, freedom of residence and freedom of the person are being systematically violated. - The suppression-of-counter-revolutionaries campaign of 1955 is cited as the paradigm case of arbitrary detention. - Yang calls on the Party to govern by 'clemency and benevolence' rather than fear, and to abolish the work-permit system. ### Book Review The Delhi Letter reports a public meeting in Delhi on 1 December at which Jaya Prakash Narain demanded the resignation of Defence Minister Krishna Menon and the formation of a small inter-party war cabinet of five or six members under Nehru. Narain is described as arguing that the present moment of national emergency cannot be conducted as one-man government and that the Praja Socialist, Swatantra and Jana Sangh leaders should be drawn into a coordinated war direction. The report goes on to relay parallel exchanges between the Swatantra leader Ranga and the Prime Minister over a circular issued by the AICC that the opposition treated as an attempt to identify the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and Swatantra with communalism; and it records a public clarification by Ambassador B. K. Nehru that India had at no point pleaded a case for war. The composite picture is of an opposition pressing for institutional reform of war direction while the Congress leadership tries to hold its line. - Jaya Prakash Narain has publicly demanded Krishna Menon's resignation in the wake of the NEFA reverses. - Narain proposes a small inter-party war cabinet of five or six members under Nehru. - Swatantra leader Ranga is reported challenging an AICC circular that branded opposition parties as communal. - Ambassador B. K. Nehru is quoted denying that India ever pleaded a case for war. - The Delhi Letter treats institutional reform of war direction as the central question of the moment. ### Gleanings from the Press A short Book Review on page 13 notices a Right Book Club publication on the foundations of British patriotism, treating it as a reference point for the kind of civic loyalty the editors of The Indian Libertarian believe India must now cultivate in the face of the Chinese threat. The notice is brief and largely descriptive. - A short notice of a Right Book Club volume on the foundations of British patriotism. - The review treats the book as a model for the civic loyalty India must now cultivate. ### News & Views 'Gleanings from the Press' on page 14 reprints under the heading 'First Things First, Fellow Citizens' a passage from M. A. Venkata Rao on the moral and political prerequisites of national defence, alongside a second clipping on 'Russia Sending MiGs to India'. The page functions as a thematic continuation of the issue's lead articles by curating outside voices that take the same view. - Reprints a Venkata Rao essay on the civic prerequisites of national defence. - Functions as an editorial echo chamber for the issue's anti-non-alignment line. ### Essay 10 'News & Views' compiles short despatches: a New York report on non-alignment and Pancha Sheel vis-à-vis China attributed to Nehru; a West Bengal report on fifth-column activity; Defence Minister Y. B. Chavan's statement in the Lok Sabha that the Soviet Union has agreed to supply MiG fighters and stand by its undertaking to build a factory in India; General Kelly's advice that the Indian army be 'vigilant always'; a New York Times editorial 'Strain on Red China' arguing that a resolute Indian defence can check the Chinese threat; and Ambassador B. K. Nehru's BBC interview declaring 'India will never be the same again'. An announcement on the same pages flags a forthcoming Indian Libertarian book by Ralph Borsodi on 'The Challenge of Asia'. - Defence Minister Y. B. Chavan confirms Soviet MiG supplies and the plan for an aircraft factory in India. - General Kelly is reported urging the Indian army to perpetual vigilance against Chinese tactics. - A New York Times editorial is cited for the proposition that a resolute Indian defence will check the Chinese threat. - Ambassador B. K. Nehru tells BBC that 'India will never be the same again'. - An announcement flags Ralph Borsodi's forthcoming 'The Challenge of Asia' from the Libertarian Publishers. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-dec15-1963/ ### Summary Volume XI, No. 18 of The Indian Libertarian (December 15, 1963) is a 20-page periodical issue edited by D. M. Kulkarni and published by Libertarian Publishers (Private) Ltd., Bombay. It opens with an editorial assessing the task before President Lyndon Johnson after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, locating American leadership inside the wider Cold War contest with Communism. The issue then alternates between three concerns its classical-liberal editors return to throughout: the foreign-policy posture of the West after Kennedy's death (Venkata Rao on the balance of power and collective security), the domestic critique of Nehruvian planning and rhetoric (Tholal on Nehru's 'fanciful image', C. Rajagopalachari on the workman who quarrels with his tools), and the threats posed by further state encroachment on the economy (a four-page Economic Supplement carrying G. N. Lawande on capital formation and Phiroze J. Shroff against bank nationalisation, alongside J. M. Lobo Prabhu on a 'national minimum'). A Delhi Letter on the manoeuvres against Sucheta Kripalani in Uttar Pradesh, a 'Flight from Communism' note quoting Dr.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary Volume XI, No. 18 of The Indian Libertarian (December 15, 1963) is a 20-page periodical issue edited by D. M. Kulkarni and published by Libertarian Publishers (Private) Ltd., Bombay. It opens with an editorial assessing the task before President Lyndon Johnson after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, locating American leadership inside the wider Cold War contest with Communism. The issue then alternates between three concerns its classical-liberal editors return to throughout: the foreign-policy posture of the West after Kennedy's death (Venkata Rao on the balance of power and collective security), the domestic critique of Nehruvian planning and rhetoric (Tholal on Nehru's 'fanciful image', C. Rajagopalachari on the workman who quarrels with his tools), and the threats posed by further state encroachment on the economy (a four-page Economic Supplement carrying G. N. Lawande on capital formation and Phiroze J. Shroff against bank nationalisation, alongside J. M. Lobo Prabhu on a 'national minimum'). A Delhi Letter on the manoeuvres against Sucheta Kripalani in Uttar Pradesh, a 'Flight from Communism' note quoting Dr. Ludwig Erhard on the East–West divide, a book review, 'The Mind of the Nation', 'News and Views', and a reader's letter close the issue. The argumentative centre is a defence of individual liberty and private enterprise against what the contributors see as a creeping 'democratic socialism' at home and an unresolved Communist threat abroad. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL: The Task Before President Johnson The unsigned editorial reflects on the task awaiting President Lyndon Johnson in the wake of John F. Kennedy's assassination. It frames Kennedy as the most dynamic political figure of the post-war period and treats his death as the loss of a leader who had begun to give the West a coherent answer to Communism — most visibly in the Cuban missile crisis and the test-ban treaty. The piece urges Johnson to continue this firm posture, warning that Communism remains 'an insidious force' that uses every relaxation of vigilance to extend its reach, and that the leaders of the free world must not mistake coexistence for accommodation. It closes by sketching what the editors regard as the unfinished agenda — bridging the gulf between the West and the uncommitted nations, strengthening NATO, and resisting any drift toward neutralism dressed up as peace. - Treats Kennedy's death as the loss of the figure who had begun giving the West a coherent strategy against Communism. - Reads the Cuban missile crisis and the test-ban treaty as evidence of Kennedy's firmness, not of any genuine Soviet retreat. - Warns Johnson against confusing peaceful coexistence with accommodation of Communist expansion. - Argues that the free world must keep faith with the uncommitted nations rather than concede them to Communism. - Calls for renewed Atlantic solidarity and continued American leadership of the democratic camp. ### Balance of Power And Collective Security *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao surveys the world balance of power after the Cuban missile crisis and the Sino-Soviet split. He argues that the central problem of Indian policy is to face the new shape of Soviet Russia in Russian costume and a Soviet Russia that has rediscovered older national ambitions, while Communist China has begun pursuing an independent and more aggressive line of its own. The essay traces the strain inside the Communist camp, the Soviet bid to relax tension in Europe, and the implications for India of Pakistan's deepening alignment with both Western powers and China. Venkata Rao concludes that India cannot rely on non-alignment as a sufficient guarantee of security; collective security arrangements with the Western democracies, rather than ritual neutralism, are the only realistic guarantee against the encirclement he sees taking shape on the subcontinent's frontiers. - Frames the Sino-Soviet split as the decisive new fact of post-Cuba great-power politics. - Reads Pakistan's overtures to both Washington and Peking as a deliberate encirclement of India. - Treats non-alignment as inadequate to India's actual security predicament. - Defends collective security pacts with the Western democracies as the realistic answer. - Notes the limits of disarmament negotiations so long as Communist ambitions remain unchecked. ### Nehru's Fanciful Image *By By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal attacks what he calls Nehru's 'fanciful image' of himself and of India, taking the Prime Minister's autobiographical and political writings as a sustained exercise in self-flattery that has been mistaken for thought. The essay argues that Nehru's rhetorical habit of describing his own emotions and intentions has stood in for serious analysis of policy, and that this habit accounts for the gap between India's professed ideals and its actual condition. Tholal returns repeatedly to Nehru's handling of China and to the post-1962 disenchantment, treating the border defeat as the moment when the image and the country finally separated in public view. The piece is polemical rather than systematic, but its target is consistent: a politics of personality and gesture that, in the author's view, has substituted itself for a politics of results. - Reads Nehru's autobiography and speeches as exercises in self-image rather than analysis. - Holds that a politics of personality has displaced a politics of results. - Treats the 1962 border defeat as the moment the public image collapsed. - Argues that Nehru's rhetorical habit has insulated him from criticism inside the Congress. - Connects the cult of the leader to the larger drift toward bureaucratic socialism. ### ECONOMIC SUPPLEMENT *By G N Lawande* Opening the four-page Economic Supplement, Prof. G. N. Lawande lays out a textbook case for capital formation as the precondition of growth in underdeveloped countries. He argues, in the rendered pages, that growth rests on population dynamics, the supply of technology, and above all on the availability of capital; that the marginal productivity of capital and the rate of saving therefore become the strategic variables of any plan; and that, in an economy of scarce skills and low wage incomes, voluntary saving must be supplemented by efficient mobilisation of human capital through education and training. The piece is a defence of capital-formation theory against the Keynesian view that aggregate demand alone can sustain growth, and it argues that Indian planners have under-weighted productivity and the savings constraint in favour of consumption stimulus. - Frames capital formation as the binding constraint on growth in underdeveloped economies. - Adds human-capital formation through education and training to the orthodox account. - Argues against an aggregate-demand reading of growth that ignores the savings constraint. - Treats the rate of saving as the strategic variable of any serious plan. - Implies that Indian planning has neglected productivity in favour of consumption stimulus. ### A National Minimum *By By J. M. Lobo Prabhu* The Economic Supplement's second piece, by Phiroze J. Shroff, is a direct rebuttal of the recurring demand to nationalise India's commercial banks. He argues that the cry for nationalisation rests on a misreading of how Indian banks actually allocate credit, and that taking the banks under state ownership would lodge the supply of working capital inside an administrative machine already overburdened with priorities. The essay warns that a nationalised banking system would become an instrument of political patronage rather than of productive credit, would destroy the discipline that depositors impose on bank managements, and would weaken the parliamentary scrutiny that private banks must currently submit to. For Shroff, bank nationalisation is therefore both an economic mistake and a constitutional one — a transfer of one more sphere of decision from citizens and shareholders to ministers and officials. - Treats the demand for bank nationalisation as a slogan in search of an argument. - Argues that state ownership would convert credit into patronage. - Defends depositor discipline as a real check on bank management. - Reads nationalisation as a constitutional as well as an economic loss. - Connects the proposal to the wider drift toward 'democratic socialism' he opposes. ### DELHI LETTER: Ganging up Against Sucheta Kripalani *By From Our Correspondent* J. M. Lobo Prabhu's 'A National Minimum' asks what minimum standard of life the Indian state can credibly promise its citizens, and finds the answer in the Plans wanting. He treats T. T. Krishnamachari's proposals as a symptom of a planning machinery that prefers grand redistributive announcements to the productivity gains that would actually raise the floor. Prabhu argues that a genuine national minimum cannot be legislated by ministers but must rest on enlarged output, on opening sheltered sectors to competition, and on letting the cultivator and the small employer keep enough of their earnings to invest. The piece reads the central planners' rhetoric of minimum standards as an alibi for continuing to direct resources toward priorities that have failed to lift the peasant. - Treats a 'national minimum' as a productivity problem before it is a distribution problem. - Reads T. T. Krishnamachari's posture as planning rhetoric without planning results. - Argues that the cultivator's retained earnings are the binding source of rural investment. - Calls for opening sheltered sectors to competition rather than enlarging the public sector. - Sees ministerial minimum-standard rhetoric as cover for failed central allocation. ### Workman Quarrels with his tools *By By C. Rajagopalachari* The 'Delhi Letter' reports on the moves underway to dislodge Sucheta Kripalani from the chief ministership of Uttar Pradesh and to pre-empt the formation of a stable Congress government in the state. The correspondent traces the alliances among aspirants to her job, the role of the Congress high command in encouraging the manoeuvre, and the wider implication that intra-party rivalry has become the substitute for policy in the country's largest state. The piece treats the affair as evidence of the Congress's failure to settle the line between central direction and state autonomy, and as one more reason that the party's claim to monopolise government is wearing thin. A short companion item, 'Flight from Communism', records the recent figures for refugees from East to West Germany and quotes Dr. Ludwig Erhard on the meaning of the Berlin Wall. - Reads the campaign against Sucheta Kripalani as a Congress factional manoeuvre, not a policy dispute. - Treats the affair as a test of the relation between the Congress high command and the states. - Sees intra-party rivalry displacing programme as the substance of state-level politics. - Quotes the East-to-West refugee figures as the standing rebuttal to East German legitimacy claims. - Cites Erhard on the Berlin Wall as evidence that the Communist bloc is held together by force. ### Book Review *By C. Rajagopalachari* C. Rajagopalachari's 'Workman Quarrels With His Tools' is a short, sharp attack on proposals to amend the Fundamental Rights chapter of the Indian Constitution in order to enlarge the state's reach over private property and enterprise. Rajaji treats those amendments as the workman blaming his tools rather than his own want of skill, and argues that the Constitution's framers gave the Republic adequate instruments and that the failures laid at the chapter's door belong elsewhere — to a Government that has substituted the rhetoric of socialism for the work of administration. The piece is a model of his polemical style: short paragraphs, plain English, and a single image — the bad workman — carried through the argument. - Frames proposed Fundamental Rights amendments as the workman quarrelling with his tools. - Defends the constitutional framers' provisions as adequate to the Republic's task. - Reads the amendments as cover for administrative failure inside the Congress government. - Treats the rhetoric of socialism as a substitute for governance, not a programme. - Calls on liberals to challenge any reading of the Constitution that subordinates property to the state. ### The Mind of the Nation The Book Review section carries a notice of the Report of the Committee on the Welfare of Women, Children, and the Family, with publication details. The reviewer summarises the report's diagnosis of the gaps between welfare promises and welfare delivery and notes its recommendations on early childhood, family allowances, and women's employment. The notice is brief and descriptive rather than evaluative. - Notice of an official report on the welfare of women, children, and the family. - Summarises the gap between welfare promises and delivery. - Records the report's recommendations on early-childhood services and family allowances. - Notes the proposed approach to women's employment. - Brief and descriptive rather than evaluative. ### News and Views 'The Mind of the Nation' reprints, from Freedom First, R. Desai's note 'Foretaste of Democratic Socialism', which protests the Government of India's ban on the sale and distribution of George N. Patterson's 'Peking Vs. Delhi' on the ground that the book contains prejudicial reports. Desai argues that this is a precedent that no liberal can let pass: a government that finds prejudice in expert analysis has already conceded the case for censorship. The piece treats Mr. Nehru and Mr. Nanda as the responsible figures and warns that the line between protecting state security and silencing dissenting views has been quietly crossed. - Reads the ban on Patterson's 'Peking Vs. Delhi' as a precedent for political censorship. - Names Nehru and Nanda as the responsible figures. - Treats the official charge of 'prejudicial reports' as cover for political discomfort. - Calls 'democratic socialism' a euphemism for narrowing the field of permissible opinion. - Reprints from Freedom First, signalling the wider liberal protest. ### Dear Editor 'News and Views' carries three items. The first records the modernisation of the Indian Navy with jet aircraft and submarines and the conversion of the Dabolim airfield in Goa into a naval air station. The second reports that pro-Peking Communists are planning to set up a 'new Communist International' to capture parties already loyal to Khrushchev. The third quotes the West German Chancellor, Dr. Ludwig Erhard, on his opposition to American troop withdrawals from Europe, his characterisation of the U.S. presence as a security and a safeguard, and the views of Atal Bihari Vajpayee that Congress rule has failed to defend the country against Chinese aggression. A short De Gaulle item on French monarchism and a Peking note close the section. - Reports the modernisation of the Indian Navy and the conversion of Dabolim into a naval air station. - Notes plans for a 'new Communist International' to capture pro-Khrushchev parties. - Quotes Dr. Ludwig Erhard against American troop withdrawals from Europe. - Reports Atal Bihari Vajpayee's charge that Congress rule has failed against Chinese aggression. - Closes with shorter notes on De Gaulle and Peking's reaction to Kennedy's death. ### Essay 12 A single letter from Md. Athaur Rahman, Honorary General Secretary of the Blooming Literary Society in Madras, dated 11-11-1963, thanks the editors for The Indian Libertarian, calls it an informative, educative, and instructive magazine that occupies a unique and honoured position in the country's intellectual reading, and wishes it a long life. - Letter of appreciation from Md. Athaur Rahman, Madras. - Identifies the writer as Honorary General Secretary of the Blooming Literary Society. - Calls the magazine informative, educative, and instructive. - Frames the periodical as occupying a unique and honoured position in the field. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-feb1-1958/ ### Summary This is a 'Sheikh Abdullah Special' number of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V, No. 22, 1 February 1958), an English-language Bombay fortnightly that bills itself as an 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' which stands 'for free economy and libertarian democracy'. Edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala and published by the Libertarian Social Institute, the issue is built around the Government of India's continued detention of Sheikh Abdullah and uses that case to attack what the journal sees as Pandit Nehru's disregard for constitutional propriety, his appeasement of Pakistan, and his drift toward statist 'finished despotism' at home. The lead editorial and the long pieces by M. A. Venkata Rao, Sumant Bankeshwar and the columnist 'Lal' carry that polemical centre, supported by reprinted reactions of the Indian press to Abdullah's re-arrest. Around this Kashmir spine the issue gathers its standard libertarian preoccupations: M. G. Bailur on the ethics of toleration, the in-house 'Drift Way' column on the Mundhra–Krishnamachari scandal, a column on inflation as a state-run 'swindle', B. R. Shenoy on food prices, A. D.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This is a 'Sheikh Abdullah Special' number of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V, No. 22, 1 February 1958), an English-language Bombay fortnightly that bills itself as an 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' which stands 'for free economy and libertarian democracy'. Edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala and published by the Libertarian Social Institute, the issue is built around the Government of India's continued detention of Sheikh Abdullah and uses that case to attack what the journal sees as Pandit Nehru's disregard for constitutional propriety, his appeasement of Pakistan, and his drift toward statist 'finished despotism' at home. The lead editorial and the long pieces by M. A. Venkata Rao, Sumant Bankeshwar and the columnist 'Lal' carry that polemical centre, supported by reprinted reactions of the Indian press to Abdullah's re-arrest. Around this Kashmir spine the issue gathers its standard libertarian preoccupations: M. G. Bailur on the ethics of toleration, the in-house 'Drift Way' column on the Mundhra–Krishnamachari scandal, a column on inflation as a state-run 'swindle', B. R. Shenoy on food prices, A. D. Shroff on Mundhra, plus three transplanted Cold War items — Charles A. Willoughby on Western strategy, Howard Fast's open letter to Soviet writers, and George Richmond Walker on the clash of ideologies. The argumentative centre is that civil liberty, economic liberty and constitutional procedure are a single bundle, and that the Congress government is dismantling all three at once. ## Essays ### Editorial The unsigned editorial opens with Pakistani Prime Minister Feroze Khan Noon's threat that Hindus in Pakistan will be reduced to forced labour on national projects, treating the threat as proof that Pakistan has openly adopted a 'totalitarian-fascist-or-communist line' against its minorities while the Government of India offers no protest worth the name. From this it pivots to the re-arrest of Sheikh Abdullah, which the editorial reads as further evidence that Nehru's government has slid into 'finished despotism' at home — willing to detain a former ally without charge the moment he becomes inconvenient, and willing to discredit him only after the detention is a fait accompli. A third section turns to the renewed Razakar agitation in Hyderabad, arguing that the central government's indulgence of Muslim communal organising mirrors its indulgence of Pakistan abroad. The through-line is that the Congress regime confuses appeasement with secularism and silence with statesmanship. - Treats Feroze Khan Noon's threat against Hindus in Pakistan as the natural endpoint of a totalitarian state, and accuses the Government of India of meeting it with diplomatic silence. - Reads the re-arrest of Sheikh Abdullah as proof that Nehru's government detains first and justifies later, regardless of constitutional propriety. - Frames the revival of the Razakar movement in Hyderabad as a domestic counterpart to Pakistan's communalism, abetted by Delhi's reluctance to confront Muslim communal organising. - Argues that India has drifted into 'finished despotism' under the cover of Congress respectability. - Reads Indian foreign and domestic policy as a single failure of nerve toward illiberal forces, internal and external. ### Sheikh Abdullah and Indian Policy *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao reads the Sheikh Abdullah affair as a window onto the Prime Minister's whole conduct of Kashmir policy. He argues that Nehru's basic mistake was to inherit and ratify the Congress instinct, traced back to Mahatma Gandhi, of treating Kashmir as a matter between rulers rather than a question to be settled by the wishes of its people, and that the wartime decision to install Sheikh Abdullah as premier in place of the Maharaja's regime was a politically expedient but constitutionally unprincipled move. The essay then re-narrates how Abdullah's autonomist demands turned awkward for Delhi and ended in his removal and detention, presenting that arc as the natural consequence of a foreign policy that mistakes patronage for principle. The piece extends the indictment to Indian dealings with Pakistan — President Iskinder Mirza, Mohammed Ali Bogra, and the ambassador Nawab Sir Mohammed Hidayatullah are read as beneficiaries of the same Indian habit of seeking accommodation with bullies — and closes by tying personal element in public affairs to the wider failure of Indian constitutionalism. - Argues that Nehru's Kashmir policy has been guided by personal sentiment rather than constitutional procedure since 1947. - Traces the original error to Mahatma Gandhi's instinct of treating princely states as matters for negotiation between elites rather than popular will. - Reads Abdullah's detention as the predictable end of a relationship in which Delhi treated him as a useful tool rather than a constitutional partner. - Connects the Kashmir mishandling to Indian softness toward Pakistani interlocutors such as Iskinder Mirza and Mohammed Ali Bogra. - Treats personality-driven public affairs — Nehru's, Abdullah's, the Maharaja's — as structurally incompatible with stable constitutional government. ### Sheikh Abdullah: Mad Mullah on the Rampage *By Sumant Bankeshwar* Sumant Bankeshwar's piece narrates the long Sheikh Abdullah saga as a sequence of Nehruvian blunders. It recalls that Pandit Nehru, in 1947, plucked Abdullah out of the Maharaja's prisons and installed him in 'the throne of Premiership of his own State', and that every subsequent crisis — Abdullah's increasingly autonomist speeches in October 1953, his removal by Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed, and now his renewed detention — is the price India is paying for that original act of personalised, non-constitutional patronage. Bankeshwar reproduces extracts from Abdullah's own October speeches to argue that Abdullah's loyalty to India was always conditional and his rhetoric communal, and concludes that the Congress habit of indulging strongmen on communal terms has made Indian Kashmir policy structurally unstable. - Locates the origin of the present crisis in Nehru's 1947 decision to elevate Abdullah from prisoner to premier without constitutional grounding. - Quotes Abdullah's October 1953 speeches as evidence that his attachment to India was always provisional. - Reads Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed's coup against Abdullah, and the latest detention, as cleanup operations for an original Nehruvian blunder. - Treats Maulana Masoodi and the rest of the Conference leadership as enablers of Abdullah's communal drift. ### Nehru: The Trouble-Maker *By Lal* The columnist 'Lal' treats Nehru as a chronic creator of insoluble problems for the Indian polity. The Sheikh Abdullah case is presented as only the latest item in a long ledger: the Prime Minister's 'unconscious treachery' is, in Lal's reading, his habit of taking responsibility for outcomes — Kashmir, Pakistan, princely accession, economic planning — while refusing the constitutional discipline that would have made those outcomes durable. The column also threads in the Mundhra-LIC affair and the figure of T. T. Krishnamachari to argue that Nehru's instinct, when an ally embarrasses him, is to disown the ally and preserve his own pose of disengagement. The piece reads as a personal indictment that runs alongside Venkata Rao's structural one. - Frames Nehru as serially producing 'insoluble problems' for which others bear the cost. - Treats Abdullah's detention as another instance of Nehru disowning a politically embarrassing creation. - Connects the Kashmir case to the Mundhra–LIC affair and to T. T. Krishnamachari's exposure as Finance Minister. - Argues that Nehru's prestige insulates him from accountability that ordinary ministers would face. ### The Ethics of Toleration *By M. G. Bailur* M. G. Bailur uses Sheikh Abdullah's detention as the occasion for a more general essay on the ethics of religious and political toleration. Bailur argues that liberal toleration is not the same as indifference: a free society can tolerate the speech and worship of its dissenters, but it cannot tolerate the seizure of state power by those who would use it to destroy toleration itself. The essay reaches for a Burkean register, invokes the Hyderabad Razakar precedent as a warning, and treats the suppression of Abdullah as legitimate not because Nehru's government is admirable but because what Abdullah was preaching crossed the line from dissent into subversion. The argument is one of the issue's few attempts to limit the journal's own anti-Nehru polemic in the name of a principle. - Distinguishes toleration as a principle from toleration as indifference to subversion. - Uses the Hyderabad Razakar precedent to argue that the modern state cannot grant unlimited rein to communal mobilisation. - Concludes, against the issue's dominant tone, that Abdullah's detention can be defended on principle even if Nehru cannot. ### Indian Press on Sheikh Abdullah An unsigned roundup gathers reactions from the Indian press to Sheikh Abdullah's re-arrest. The roundup excerpts the Free Press Bulletin, The Times of India, The Hindu, the Manchester Guardian and others, ranging from full-throated defence of Abdullah's right to a public hearing to qualified support for the Government's action on security grounds. The journal's own framing emphasises the chorus of editorials questioning the procedural propriety of the detention, treating that consensus as confirmation that the case is being judged on personality and politics rather than on rule of law. - Surveys the spread of Indian newspaper opinion on Abdullah's re-arrest. - Highlights editorials that question the procedural basis of the detention. - Uses the press chorus to corroborate the journal's own civil-liberties critique. ### In the Driftway — This Exhibition of Political Witchcraft *By Jay Kay* Jay Kay's 'In the Drift Way' treats the political mood of early 1958 as an 'exhibition of political witchcraft', braiding together the Mundhra–LIC scandal, the conduct of T. T. Krishnamachari as Finance Minister, and the larger machinery of party patronage that, in Kay's reading, has turned the Congress into a self-perpetuating instrument of state economic power. The column argues that the same impulse that produces Mundhra-style scandals also produces the swelling public sector and the squeeze on private enterprise. Kay's tone is the issue's most colloquial, but the substance lines up with Shroff and Shenoy in linking corruption to economic statism rather than treating it as an aberration. - Reads the Mundhra–LIC affair as a symptom rather than an exception of Congress economic management. - Argues that the Krishnamachari finance ministry represents party-machine economics, not technocratic policy. - Treats the expansion of public sector enterprise as the natural breeding ground for political corruption. ### The Swindle That Is Inflation An unsigned column on monetary policy quotes Henry Hazlitt in Newsweek to argue that inflation is not a natural disaster but a fiscal trick — the deliberate purchasing of present political goods with a tax that falls on the holders of money. The column connects the worldwide inflation of the late 1950s to the rise of welfare-state and planning regimes, and turns Hazlitt's general indictment into a domestic critique of Indian fiscal and planning practice. It is the issue's compact statement of the journal's economic-liberty case. - Frames inflation as state-engineered, not market-driven. - Quotes Hazlitt in Newsweek to internationalise the diagnosis. - Links chronic deficit finance to the political logic of planning regimes. ### Western Strategic Blind Alley *By Charles A. Willoughby* Charles A. Willoughby's piece, reprinted from a US source, argues that NATO and Western strategy in Europe have allowed the Soviet bloc to over-extend its conventional forces while Western publics demand budget cuts. He sketches a worried map of central-European troop dispositions, treats the Hiroshima bombings as a warning that decisive force can be applied, and urges that the West rediscover the will to credible nuclear deterrence rather than retreat behind 'reducing tactics'. The reprint serves the issue's Cold-War positioning: against neutralism, against any India-Nehru flirtation with Soviet posture, and in favour of a clear-eyed Western strategic line. - Sketches the Soviet bloc's conventional superiority in central Europe. - Argues that Western budget pressure is hollowing NATO's deterrent. - Recovers the case for credible nuclear deterrence against the rising fashion for arms reduction. - Functions, in the Indian context, as an argument against neutralist sentiment in Indian foreign policy. ### "Father of the Nation" Created Pakistan *By A Contributor* Signed 'A Contributor', this polemic argues that the conventional honorific 'Father of the Nation' for Mahatma Gandhi conceals the historical record: that Gandhi's Khilafat alliance, his silence during the Mopla riots, and his strategic indulgence of Muslim League politics are what produced the political conditions for Partition. The piece reads Pandit Nehru as following 'in the footsteps of Gandhi' — repeating the pattern of conceding ground to communal demands and then taking credit for the eventual settlement. It is the issue's most rhetorically extreme piece, presenting Gandhi as the unwilling architect of Pakistan and Nehru as his heir. - Argues that Gandhi's Khilafat-era political choices produced the conditions for Partition. - Treats Gandhi's public silence on the Mopla riots as a moral and political concession to communal violence. - Reads Nehru's later Kashmir and Pakistan policy as a continuation of the same instinct of accommodation. - Inverts the standard nationalist honorific to indict, rather than honour, its bearer. ### Open Letter to Soviet Writers *By Howard Fast* Howard Fast's open letter — written after his very public break with the Communist Party — addresses fellow writers in the Soviet bloc on the eve of November 1957's anniversary observances. Fast recounts how Soviet 'literary commissars' tried to manage his loyalty, and warns Eastern-bloc writers that the regime's promises of post-Stalin liberalisation are conditional on continued silence. He invokes the persecution of the Hungarian novelist Tibor Dery to argue that the dictatorship's grip on writers has only changed in style, not in kind. The letter functions, in this Indian Libertarian, as a transplanted argument against Soviet apologetics inside the Indian intelligentsia. - Frames Fast's own departure from the Communist Party as the public test case for post-Stalin Soviet cultural policy. - Centres the persecution of Tibor Dery as the live evidence that nothing has fundamentally changed. - Warns Soviet-bloc writers against the Khrushchev-era assumption that the worst of state literary control is over. - Carries the issue's anti-Soviet line into the realm of literary freedom. ### Answer to World Dilemma: The Way Out Of The Clash Of Ideologies *By George Richmond Walker* George Richmond Walker frames the global mid-century contest as one between two doctrines of legitimacy: Marxist-Leninist Communism, which holds that government's job is to remake economic life; and the older Anglo-American liberal idea, traced through George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, that government's job is to secure individual liberty under law. The opening pages — all that is rendered here — set up the argument by sketching Communism's claim to be a self-correcting historical force and by countering with a defence of property and limited government. The piece reads as the volume's most explicit statement of cold-war ideological positioning. - Identifies the central global question of the period as a contest of legitimating doctrines rather than of arms. - Recovers the American founding tradition as the live alternative to Marxism, rather than treating it as historical decoration. - Treats property, limited government, and individual liberty as the indivisible core of the liberal answer. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-feb1-1959/ ### Summary This 1 February 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IV No. 22) opens with an editorial bloc on the West Bengal Assembly's unanimous censure of Nehru's agreement to cede half of the Berubari Union to Pakistan, paired with a sceptical reading of the Indus Canal Waters negotiation; the editorial argues the Central Government has consistently misjudged Pakistani intransigence and that Indian assets are being bartered away under World Bank pressure. A 'Behind the News' section assesses C. Rajagopalachari's call for an all-India opposition and his coining of 'non-violent socialism' as a slogan to rally anti-Congress forces, and turns a sharp eye on the new Gandhi Peace Foundation. The body of the issue carries longer essays by M. A. Venkata Rao on the Nagpur Congress session's socialist resolutions, M. N. Tholal on the gap between Congress words and deeds, Vivek on the politicisation of the public services, K. K. Sinha on West Bengal's prospects after the 1957 elections, an anonymous report on the suppression of intellectual life in East Germany, and Sidney Hook on the compatibility of socialism with democracy. A 'Libertarian Supplement' bundles four economic-policy pieces — G.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 February 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IV No. 22) opens with an editorial bloc on the West Bengal Assembly's unanimous censure of Nehru's agreement to cede half of the Berubari Union to Pakistan, paired with a sceptical reading of the Indus Canal Waters negotiation; the editorial argues the Central Government has consistently misjudged Pakistani intransigence and that Indian assets are being bartered away under World Bank pressure. A 'Behind the News' section assesses C. Rajagopalachari's call for an all-India opposition and his coining of 'non-violent socialism' as a slogan to rally anti-Congress forces, and turns a sharp eye on the new Gandhi Peace Foundation. The body of the issue carries longer essays by M. A. Venkata Rao on the Nagpur Congress session's socialist resolutions, M. N. Tholal on the gap between Congress words and deeds, Vivek on the politicisation of the public services, K. K. Sinha on West Bengal's prospects after the 1957 elections, an anonymous report on the suppression of intellectual life in East Germany, and Sidney Hook on the compatibility of socialism with democracy. A 'Libertarian Supplement' bundles four economic-policy pieces — G. N. Lawande on family planning inside the Plan, M. B. Roshan Premji on state trading in food-grains, an 'Observer' essay on planning and unemployment, and Rasul J. Turagvewala on the economic effects of Indian taxation. The collective argumentative centre of the issue is a libertarian critique of the Nagpur Congress turn toward joint cooperative farming and statist planning, framed against the touchstones of property rights, civil liberty, and democratic accountability. ## Essays ### Editorial The unsigned editorial pairs two themes: West Bengal's repudiation of Nehru's agreement to surrender half of the Berubari Union to Pakistan, and the Indus Canal Waters dispute. On Berubari, the editors back the Bengal Assembly's unanimous censure and argue that the Central Government has consistently misread Pakistani intentions, surrendering national territory to a hostile neighbour without need. On the Canal Waters question, they trace the slow surrender of Indian rights through the long-running negotiation under World Bank auspices, contending that India has paid for Pakistan's share of replacement works while receiving nothing in return. A companion section catalogues continued Pakistani intransigence on the border, the discovery of Pakistani agents in Saurashtra, and the financing of a new canal — all marshalled as evidence that New Delhi's conciliatory posture is being read in Karachi as weakness. - West Bengal Legislative Assembly and Council unanimously refused the Berubari cession. - Nehru's government is charged with misreading Pakistani intransigence as something negotiable. - The Canal Waters settlement is framed as a transfer of Indian assets under World Bank auspices. - Pakistani agents discovered in Saurashtra are cited as evidence of hostile activity, not goodwill. - The editorial frame is libertarian-nationalist: national property and civil rights are being bartered, not defended. ### Behind the News 'Behind the News' opens with a sceptical analysis of C. Rajagopalachari's call for an all-India opposition to Congress under the banner of 'non-violent socialism'. The editors welcome Rajaji's anti-Congress turn but doubt that the slogan can do the work of rallying liberals, Swatantra-minded businessmen, peasant proprietors, and dissenting socialists into a single front. A second piece, 'The Pact in the Making', reads the Nehru–Suhrawardy diplomatic exchange as another step in the wrong direction. The section closes with a wary appraisal of the new Gandhi Peace Foundation, which the editors suspect will function as a publicity organ for Congress rather than as an instrument of moral pressure on the state. - Rajagopalachari's 'non-violent socialism' is read as a tactical slogan, not a coherent doctrine. - The piece doubts that a single opposition front can hold liberals, businessmen, and dissenting socialists together. - The Gandhi Peace Foundation is treated as politically tethered to Congress, not independent. - The section reinforces the issue's overall scepticism of Nehruvian conciliation, internal and external. ### Congress Session at Nagpur *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that the resolutions passed at the Nagpur session stamp the Congress as a properly socialist party, not merely a vague reformist one. He reads the joint cooperative farming resolution, the call for ceilings on land holdings, and the deepening commitment to state industry as a coordinated lurch toward a command economy on the Soviet model. His argument is that the Congress's drift cannot any longer be excused as pragmatic improvisation; it now has the formal shape of doctrine, and its consequences for property, peasant proprietorship, and civil liberty must be reckoned with on those terms. The essay treats Nagpur as a moment of revelation that should provoke a serious opposition response — one that defends private property and individual initiative as preconditions for democracy, rather than haggling over rates of socialisation. Venkata Rao positions liberal-democratic resistance as the only honest answer to Nagpur, and warns that without it the Congress will carry the country across a threshold from which retreat is politically costly. - Reads the Nagpur resolutions as a doctrinal — not pragmatic — turn toward socialism. - Joint cooperative farming and ceilings on holdings are singled out as the most consequential moves. - Argues that a liberal opposition must defend property and individual initiative on principle, not on tactics. - Frames Nagpur as a threshold moment beyond which retreat becomes politically costly. ### Words vs Deeds *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal contrasts the ceremonial veneration of Gandhian principles — symbolised by lakhs of rupees spent on spreading 'Gandhian ideology' — with the actual direction of policy under Nehru. The Gandhian inheritance, he argues, is being invoked as cover for a programme that violates its premises: an expanding state, regimented production, and a political class that has stopped listening to peasant proprietors and small traders. The essay reaches back to Tilak as the touchstone of a nationalism that respected ordinary livelihoods, and treats present Congress practice as a betrayal of that line. - Tholal sets up Gandhian rhetoric and Nehruvian practice as opposed forces. - Argues that public money spent on 'Gandhian ideology' subsidises the inversion of Gandhian economics. - Invokes Tilak as the genuine nationalist standard against which current policy is judged. - Frames the Congress as having lost contact with peasant proprietors and small traders. ### Public Services in Democracy *By Vivek* Writing under the pen-name 'Vivek', the author argues that nothing matters more for the working of a democratic state than how the government treats its own servants. The civil service must be insulated from party politics, secure against arbitrary dismissal, and protected by clear rules of conduct. Where political masters use service postings and disciplinary proceedings as patronage or punishment, the state quietly loses its capacity for impartial administration. The essay draws examples from recent disputes — including charges that Congress organisations in Bombay, Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh have leaned on civil servants for political purposes — and proposes a sharper statutory line between executive command and political instruction. - Treats the civil service as a structural precondition for, not an accessory to, democracy. - Identifies political patronage in postings and disciplinary action as the principal threat. - Cites recent state-level disputes as evidence the problem is general, not local. - Calls for sharper statutory separation between executive command and party direction. ### Pedlar's Pack The Libertarian Supplement gathers four short economic-policy essays. G. N. Lawande's 'Family Planning and Plan' argues that India's Five Year Plans cannot raise living standards without serious demographic policy, and reviews the modest place given to family planning in the First and Second Plans. M. B. Roshan Premji's 'State Trading in Food-grains' warns that the new monopoly procurement powers will reproduce the failures of older controls — black markets, hoarding, and rent-seeking by intermediaries. The 'Observer' essay 'Planning and Unemployment' argues that Plan investment patterns are mismatched to the structure of Indian labour supply and are themselves a cause of underemployment. Rasul J. Turagvewala's 'The Implications and Economic Effects of Taxation in India' contends that high marginal rates are sterilising savings and capital formation while delivering little to the exchequer. - Lawande: family planning must be inside the Plan, not treated as adjacent welfare work. - Roshan Premji: state trading in food-grains will reproduce the pathologies of the controls it replaces. - 'Observer': planning is itself generating unemployment by misallocating investment. - Turagvewala: high taxes erode savings and capital formation more than they raise revenue. ### Libertarian Supplement — Family Planning and Plan *By Prof. G. N. Lawande, M.A.* K. K. Sinha reads the 1957 General Election results in West Bengal as evidence that the Congress has consolidated its rural base while losing ground in the cities to the Communists. He argues that the CPI's urban gains rest less on doctrine than on Congress administrative failure — labour grievances, food prices, refugee resettlement — and that a liberal counter-strategy must address those grievances on its own terms rather than through anti-Communist rhetoric. The essay proposes specific institutional reforms for state administration in Bengal and warns that without them the next election will hand the Communists more than a protest vote. - 1957 election results show Congress strong in countryside, weak in Bengal's cities. - CPI gains attributed to administrative failure, not ideology. - Argues against anti-Communist rhetoric as a substitute for governance reform. - Calls for specific institutional reforms in state administration. ### Libertarian Supplement — State Trading in Food-Grains *By M. R. Roshan Pramji* An unsigned piece reports on the Congress for Cultural Freedom's new Centre in West Berlin, established the previous September, as a refuge for intellectuals fleeing East Germany. The author records first-hand accounts of how academic life is being reshaped in the DDR — pressure on teachers, ideological vetting of students, discriminatory practices against those with Western family ties — and reads the Centre as a small but real liberal answer to the larger problem of intellectual suppression behind the Iron Curtain. - Reports on a new West Berlin Centre opened by the Congress for Cultural Freedom in September 1958. - Documents pressure on East German teachers and students. - Frames the Centre as a concrete liberal response to intellectual suppression. - Connects domestic Indian debates on civil liberty to the Cold War landscape. ### Libertarian Supplement — Planning and Unemployment *By Observer* Sidney Hook takes up the question of whether socialism — defined classically as social ownership of the chief means of production — is compatible with democracy. He distinguishes the Marxist definition from later, looser usages, and argues that socialism is neither sufficient for democracy (a socialist state can be tyrannical) nor strictly incompatible with it (democratic socialism is a real possibility). The real test, for Hook, is institutional: whether the structures of political competition, civil liberty, and judicial independence survive the socialisation of property. - Distinguishes the strict Marxist definition of socialism from looser modern usages. - Denies that socialism is automatically democratic or automatically tyrannical. - Locates the test of compatibility in institutions, not in property forms. - Implies that the relevant question for India is institutional survival, not ideological label. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-feb1-1960/ ### Summary The February 1, 1960 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 25) opens with an editorial on the 65th session of the Indian National Congress at Bangalore (14–18 January 1960), mocking the peacock chosen as the session emblem as a fitting symbol of post-independence Congress 'pride and vanity, over-decoration and display' against a backdrop of rising prices, unemployment and the Chinese border crisis. The issue then carries a 'Democrat' essay laying out the freshly drafted agricultural policy of the new Swatantra Party — favouring family farms, cooperative marketing, and ceiling limits on land that respect the productive farmer — and M. N. Tholal's polemic 'Nehru's Bluff and Bluster', which reads the Sino-Soviet treaty as proof that Russian neutrality between China and India is a sham and that Nehru's mixture of denial and panic over the McMahon Line has weakened India's bargaining hand. An anonymous leader, 'Menace From The North', surveys the Chinese cartographic and territorial assault on Ladakh and NEFA, and the editor reprints a battery of anti-Communist verdicts by Russell, Spender, Silone, Gide and others. The central Rationalist Supplement (pp. I–IV) carries S.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The February 1, 1960 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 25) opens with an editorial on the 65th session of the Indian National Congress at Bangalore (14–18 January 1960), mocking the peacock chosen as the session emblem as a fitting symbol of post-independence Congress 'pride and vanity, over-decoration and display' against a backdrop of rising prices, unemployment and the Chinese border crisis. The issue then carries a 'Democrat' essay laying out the freshly drafted agricultural policy of the new Swatantra Party — favouring family farms, cooperative marketing, and ceiling limits on land that respect the productive farmer — and M. N. Tholal's polemic 'Nehru's Bluff and Bluster', which reads the Sino-Soviet treaty as proof that Russian neutrality between China and India is a sham and that Nehru's mixture of denial and panic over the McMahon Line has weakened India's bargaining hand. An anonymous leader, 'Menace From The North', surveys the Chinese cartographic and territorial assault on Ladakh and NEFA, and the editor reprints a battery of anti-Communist verdicts by Russell, Spender, Silone, Gide and others. The central Rationalist Supplement (pp. I–IV) carries S. Ramanathan's protest against the humiliating prasadam-distribution practice at the Tiruchendur temple — directed at the Central Minister of State for Railways, S. V. Ramasami — alongside J. W. N. Watkins's long account of the show-trial of Hungarian political prisoner Paul Ignotus, and an obituary of M. V. V. K. Rangachari, an early figure of the Indian Rationalist movement. The back half of the issue gathers the Delhi Letter ('India Out For Conciliation'), commentary on Akali politics and the demand for nonalignment-cum-joint-defence, a review by D. M. Kulkarni of D. P. Mukerji's Modern Indian Culture, G. N. Lawande's reading of new Chinese population data, A. Ranganathan's report on Kerala under Communism and Sri E. B. K. Doss's piece on the India–Tibet–China triangle. Across its forty short items the issue defines a classical-liberal editorial line — anti-Communist, sceptical of Nehruvian planning and foreign policy, hospitable to Swatantra and to rationalist social reform. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL — Congress Session at Bangalore The unsigned lead editorial reports on the 65th Congress session at Bangalore (14–18 January 1960), treating the peacock-themed pandal and processions as an inadvertent emblem of post-independence Congress vanity and administrative bloat. It notes that session expenses had crossed Rs. twenty lakhs even as food prices and unemployment soared, and that Uttar Pradesh Congressman Mahavir Tyagi's resolution for economy was 'over-ruled by the top leaders' before being formally adopted. The editorial reads the rise of N. Sanjiva Reddi to the Congress presidency as a 'definite break with the past leadership' and, drawing on C. D. Deshmukh's resignation letter, on the 'Madras lecture', and on the new President's own remarks, argues that the corruption of Congressmen is now openly admitted at the top. - Frames the Bangalore Congress's elaborate peacock decor as the visual symbol of an over-decorated, hollow ruling party. - Records concrete data — session expenses above Rs. 20 lakhs — alongside rising food prices, unemployment and the northern-border crisis. - Reads Sanjiva Reddi's election (with Indira Gandhi as outgoing president) as a generational break in Congress leadership. - Treats Deshmukh's resignation and the 'Madras lecture' as breaking the Congress's silence on ministerial corruption. - Sets up the issue's overall posture: sympathetic to anti-Congress liberal alternatives such as the Swatantra Party. ### Agricultural Policy of the Swatantra Party *By By "Democrat"* Writing under the pen-name 'Democrat', the author lays out the agricultural policy newly adopted by the Swatantra Party at its first national convention. Against the All India Agriculturists' Federation's preferred drafting committee, the Party's leadership has overridden the strongest free-market drafts to insist on retaining peasant family-farming, cooperative marketing and processing as the unit of rural reorganisation, while accepting a ceiling on holdings tied to productive use. The piece insists that the Swatantra approach is not laissez-faire absolutism but a 'middle path' between Congress collectivist planning and unrestrained landlordism — protecting the cultivating peasant against the State as much as against the older Zamindari order. - Reports the Swatantra Party's first national convention adoption of an agricultural policy distinct from Congress collectivism. - Defends the family farm and cooperative marketing as the social and productive units of rural India. - Accepts a ceiling on landholdings, but tied to productive cultivation rather than abstract egalitarianism. - Distinguishes the Swatantra line from doctrinaire laissez-faire and from Congress 'Joint Cooperative Farming'. - Presents the policy as defending the peasant from both Congress planning and surviving landlord-bureaucratic structures. ### Nehru's Bluff and Bluster *By By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal opens his polemic with the bald claim that 'Russian neutrality between China and India' is a fiction now exploded by the latest Sino-Soviet declarations. The argument moves from the Sino-Soviet treaty to Nehru's vacillating posture on the McMahon Line, charging that India's Prime Minister has alternated between hollow self-reliance and panic appeals for great-power conciliation. Tholal then turns the article into an anthology, reprinting short verdicts on Communism by Bertrand Russell, Brian Horrocks, C. D. Darlington, Stephen Spender, Ignazio Silone, John Dos Passos and André Gide — each used to argue that India's official sympathy for the Communist bloc is intellectually indefensible and strategically suicidal. - Argues the Sino-Soviet treaty proves Russia is not neutral between China and India. - Reads Nehru's oscillation on the McMahon Line as evidence of strategic 'bluff' rather than principled non-alignment. - Criticises the official rhetoric of 'self-reliance' as cover for diplomatic dependence on conciliation with aggressors. - Curates a Western anti-Communist anthology (Russell, Silone, Gide, Spender, Darlington, Horrocks) as testimony for Indian readers. - Aligns The Indian Libertarian editorially with the liberal anti-totalitarian Left of the early Cold War. ### Menace From The North An unsigned leader on the Sino-Indian border surveys the cartographic and military assault from the north. It catalogues the Chinese refusal to accept the McMahon Line, the issuance of revised maps showing large tracts of NEFA and Ladakh as Chinese territory, the new road across the Aksai Chin plateau, and the troop deployments and airstrip construction now visible across the disputed area. The piece argues that India has been slow to grasp the cumulative pattern, treats Communist Chinese expansionism as the long-foreseen threat of the magazine's editorial line, and warns that diplomatic 'conciliation' offers India no shelter from a power now in physical possession of the high ground. - Catalogues Chinese cartographic and infrastructural moves against Tibet, Ladakh and NEFA. - Highlights the Aksai Chin highway and the building of military airstrips inside disputed territory. - Treats the McMahon Line dispute as the visible face of a larger Chinese revisionist programme. - Reads Nehru-era 'Hindi–Chini bhai-bhai' rhetoric as having softened Indian preparedness. - Calls for clear-eyed recognition that conciliation cannot reverse facts on the ground. ### Rationalist Supplement — The Prasadam Incident *By By S. Ramanathan* S. Ramanathan, opening the Rationalist Supplement, takes up the controversy at the Tiruchendur temple in the deep South, where the Central Minister of State for Railways, S. V. Ramasami, was scheduled to address a Lawyers' Conference. A worshippers' protocol at this particular temple denies devotees direct contact with the prasadam: instead the priests scatter cow-dung-ash, scramble for the leaf-bundles, and require the worshippers to pick up the bundles 'from a distance' on pain of being forbidden to approach the idol. Ramasami publicly condemned the practice and refused to receive prasadam under those conditions; Ramanathan defends him, treating the temple custom as a humiliation 'inconsistent with human rights of equality guaranteed under the Constitution' and uses the incident to argue for legislative intervention against caste-driven temple practice. - Reports the Tiruchendur temple's distinctive prasadam-distribution practice as a humiliating ritual gradation between priests and worshippers. - Notes S. V. Ramasami's refusal to receive prasadam under those conditions and his on-the-spot reprimand of the priests. - Frames the incident as a test case for constitutional guarantees of equality applied to religious institutions. - Criticises the press's defence of priestly vested interests against a reforming Minister. - Calls on the Central Cabinet and Congress High Command to back the Minister against orthodox pressure. ### Rationalist Supplement — Political Prisoner in Hungary *By By J. W. N. Watkins* J. W. N. Watkins reconstructs the experience of Paul Ignotus, a Hungarian writer and political prisoner in the Stalinist and post-Stalinist period. Watkins describes the texture of the show trial — fantastic confessions extracted by what the article calls Pavlovian conditioning combined with simpler beatings, sleep deprivation, hunger and starvation diets — and the way Hungarian Communist functionaries such as Tibor Szonyi, László Rajk, János Kádár and Imre Nagy in turn became victims of the system they had built. The piece then describes Ignotus's release after the 1956 thaw and the renewed wave of repression that followed Soviet intervention. Throughout, Watkins uses the Hungarian case to argue that the Communist state's internal logic produces fear, denunciation and self-cannibalisation regardless of which faction is briefly in power. - Reconstructs Paul Ignotus's arrest, fantastic confession, sentencing and imprisonment in Stalinist Hungary. - Catalogues the rotation of executioners and victims among Hungarian Communist leaders (Rajk, Nagy, Kádár, Szonyi). - Describes the physical regime of starvation, beatings and sleep deprivation alongside 'Pavlovian' psychological pressure. - Treats the post-1956 fate of survivors as proof that 'liberalisation' under Communism is structurally fragile. - Reads Hungary as a cautionary text for Indian sympathisers of the Communist programme. ### Rationalist Supplement — M. V. V. K. Rangachari (obituary tribute) *By Satyam* Reprinting from the New York filing of Manson W. Galvin — described as the foremost military writer in the United States — the piece reports Galvin's agreement with Nehru that there are only two open courses on the China front: talk with the Chinese, or go to war. Galvin's analysis stresses terrain, communications, climate and numbers, all of which favour Communist China: the unsettled border problem is judged 'not a military one, until spring', when the disputed Ladakh passes open to military movement. The article notes that Indian airlift is incapable of supplying any but the smallest forces at the high altitudes where clashes have occurred, while China can build new roads, parallel railways and airstrips behind its own line. - Cites U.S. military commentator Manson W. Galvin's verdict that India faces only two real options on the China front. - Argues that geography, climate and logistics decisively favour the Chinese side until spring opens the Ladakh passes. - Quantifies the imbalance — Chinese army strength around 2,50,00,000 against Indian forces of 500,000–600,000 partly semi-military and poorly equipped. - Treats Indian airlift over the Himalayas as militarily marginal at the altitudes where fighting has occurred. - Uses an American 'expert' voice to back the Libertarian's own scepticism of Nehru's reliance on diplomacy. ### Indo–China Border Dispute — American Military Expert's Analysis *By —Swarajya* The Delhi Letter reports on the Soviet President's reception in Delhi, contrasting the warmth of Indian crowds with the cooler welcome President Eisenhower had received the previous month, and notes the most ominous feature of the visit — President Rajendra Prasad's framing of Indian foreign policy in language of 'conciliation' and 'appeasement' rather than peaceful negotiation. The Correspondent reads this as the latest 'climb-down' by the Nehru Government and asks who, in fact, is neutral. The piece then expands into a column on Nonalignment and Joint Defence — citing the Akali Dal's recent electoral victory against the Congress in the Akali Conference and Master Tara Singh — and uses both developments to argue that the official non-alignment line is collapsing under the strain of Chinese pressure and domestic disaffection. - Contrasts the popular welcome for the Soviet President with the cooler reception given to Eisenhower a month earlier. - Reads President Rajendra Prasad's banquet speech as a euphemism — 'conciliation' standing in for 'appeasement'. - Reports unease in Delhi that the Nehru Government is climbing down before Peking. - Links the Akali Dal's local political triumph to broader disenchantment with the Congress. - Frames the case for 'Nonalignment and Joint Defence' as a serious live debate in early 1960. ### Delhi Letter — India Out For Conciliation *By (From Our Correspondent)* D. M. Kulkarni reviews D. P. Mukerji's Modern Indian Culture (Lucknow University, A Sociological Study, India Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 4/12, F. 217, 1942). The review treats the book as one of the few first-rate Indian attempts at a sociological reading of the contemporary cultural scene: it locates the discontinuities between Hindu, Muslim and English cultural inheritances, surveys the entry of modern science and capitalism into a still-traditional economic base, and identifies the resulting cultural disorientation in the Indian middle classes. Kulkarni endorses Mukerji's argument that any future cultural synthesis must grow out of Indian economic conditions rather than imitate Western models, and recommends the volume as essential reading for students of culture and politics. - Frames D. P. Mukerji's Modern Indian Culture as a pioneering sociological study of contemporary India. - Notes the book's treatment of Hindu, Islamic and Western cultural strata as the building blocks of any Indian synthesis. - Highlights Mukerji's attention to the impact of capitalism and modern science on a traditional economy. - Endorses the central methodological claim — Indian cultural change must be read from Indian material conditions. - Recommends the work to readers of politics, sociology and education. ### Book Reviews — Modern Indian Culture; Kerala Under Communism *By G N Lawande* G. N. Lawande reads the latest figures on China's population released in Communist Government statements and Hong Kong sources. He notes that the official figure of around 650 million is widely treated as understated and compares it with Indian census patterns at similar fertility-mortality ratios. The article surveys Chinese demographic policy — the early swing between pro-natalist enthusiasm and a quiet acceptance of birth-control propaganda — and treats China's population pressure as a structural driver of its expansionism on the northern frontiers, including its absorption of Tibet and its demands on Ladakh and NEFA. - Reviews the most recent Chinese Communist population figures and the Hong Kong commentaries on them. - Argues that even the official figures imply a population growth pressure of historically unprecedented scale. - Reads Chinese demographic anxiety as one of the underlying drivers of expansion into Tibet and the Indian frontier. - Sets up a comparison with Indian census patterns for the same period. - Treats demography as a strategic variable that classical-liberal commentary should take seriously. ### China's Population (review/article) *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan reports on the first eighteen months of Communist government in Kerala under the E. M. S. Namboodiripad Ministry, drawing on a recent Bombay Project for Economic Research study. The piece argues that the Communist administration treated democratic government as a stepping-stone to single-party control: it sought to convert the State's professional civil service into a party machine, to subordinate the police to local cell committees, to politicise the schools through 'progressive' textbook revisions, and to impose price- and supply-controls that crippled small trade. Ranganathan reads the Kerala experiment as a warning to the Indian voter and a vindication of the central liberal claim that one-party planning ends in coercion regardless of the slogans under which it begins. - Treats Kerala 1957–59 as the first test of a Communist Government in an Indian State and a vindication of liberal anxieties. - Documents the attempt to politicise the civil service, the police and the school system. - Reports state interference with small traders through licensing and price controls. - Names ministers (Chacko, Pillai, Mundassery, Sukumar Azhikodal) responsible for individual departments. - Concludes that the Communist programme in Kerala validates the Libertarian's editorial line against single-party planning. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-feb1-1961/ ### Summary The 1 February 1961 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII, No. 21) is the journal's regular fortnightly compendium of editorial commentary, political critique, and a mid-issue four-page Rationalist Supplement. The lead editorial denounces a revival of Muslim League activity following the Bhavnagar Congress session and argues that the secular republic must treat citizens by merit rather than by religious community. M. A. Venkata Rao contrasts a republican with a socialist pattern of society and defends democratic capitalism against the encroaching planner state; M. N. Tholal accuses Congress of having long deceived the country about Chinese aggression on the Himalayan frontier; J. M. Lobo Prabhu surveys the broader collapse of Nehruvian foreign policy. The Rationalist Supplement opens with S. Ramanathan's tribute to Ellen Roy, who has taken up the editing of The Radical Humanist after the death of M. N. Roy, followed by A. D. Howell Smith on metaphysical materialism and R. C. Trail on humanism and science.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The 1 February 1961 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII, No. 21) is the journal's regular fortnightly compendium of editorial commentary, political critique, and a mid-issue four-page Rationalist Supplement. The lead editorial denounces a revival of Muslim League activity following the Bhavnagar Congress session and argues that the secular republic must treat citizens by merit rather than by religious community. M. A. Venkata Rao contrasts a republican with a socialist pattern of society and defends democratic capitalism against the encroaching planner state; M. N. Tholal accuses Congress of having long deceived the country about Chinese aggression on the Himalayan frontier; J. M. Lobo Prabhu surveys the broader collapse of Nehruvian foreign policy. The Rationalist Supplement opens with S. Ramanathan's tribute to Ellen Roy, who has taken up the editing of The Radical Humanist after the death of M. N. Roy, followed by A. D. Howell Smith on metaphysical materialism and R. C. Trail on humanism and science. The back half carries Sumanth Bankeshwar's analysis of Congress succession after Nehru, an essay on Soviet colonialism in the satellite states, a Delhi Letter on Krishna Menon's handling of Chinese border encroachment, and the customary press gleanings, news columns and book lists from the Libertarian Publishers shelf in Bombay. ## Essays ### Editorial The unsigned editorial reacts to the Bhavnagar session of Congress, where the leadership formally noticed a revival of Muslim League and Jami-Islami activity and a Muslim meeting at Karachi that demanded a separate egalitarian and generous constitution of 1950 — in effect a Muslim theocratic state or Caliphate. Against Congress's reflex appeal to the majority to play 'Big Brother', the editorial argues that in a modern democratic republic there can be no political distinction between majority and minority for purposes of office, education, voting or administration, only the rule of law applied to individuals on merit. Muslims, the editorial writes, must confine their 'minority rights' to religious fellowship for observance, abandon the demand to live as citizens apart from others, and rebuild a non-communal patriotism that the Gandhi-Nehru Congress had culpably appeased. A second half of the editorial salutes the strengthening of Indo-Nepal relations after the King of Nepal's visit, deplores the Chinese encroachment in the Himalayas, and welcomes the announced visit of the Queen to India as a symbolic reaffirmation of Indian membership in the wider Commonwealth of free nations. - Bhavnagar Congress session noted a revival of Muslim League and separatist Muslim activity, met by a familiar Congress resolution courting the minority - Editorial rejects any constitutional distinction between majority and minority based on birth or religion in a democratic republic - Muslim 'minority rights' should be confined to religious fellowship and observance, not communal privilege in public life - Madras meeting at Gokhale Hall is read as evidence that ordinary Muslims will repudiate pro-League agitation - Salutes Indo-Nepal rapprochement and welcomes the visit of the Queen to India as affirmation of Commonwealth ties ### Republican or Socialist Pattern of Society *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao uses Republic Day as the occasion to draw a sharp line between a republican and a socialist pattern of society. The Constitution describes India as a sovereign democratic republic and, he insists, this is not a mere lawyer's formula: it specifies a political order in which citizens hold equal civic standing under the rule of law, with the executive bound by the legislature and the judiciary. Against Congress's 'socialist pattern' rhetoric, Venkata Rao argues that a republic so understood is incompatible with the totalising claims of socialism, which subordinates property, association and conscience to the planner state. He defends decentralisation, voluntary association and the institutional separation of economic and political power as the substance of liberty, and closes with an aphorism (attributed to Hilaire Belloc) that the constitutional order, not the planned one, is the only one fit for civilised life. - Reads the Constitution's description of India as a 'sovereign democratic republic' as a concrete political commitment, not a phrase - Argues that the republican form requires equality of civic standing and rule of law, with the executive subordinate to law - Treats the 'socialist pattern' as a rival pattern that absorbs civic life into state direction - Defends voluntary association, decentralisation and the separation of economic from political power as substantive liberty - Closes with an authority quotation (Belloc) on democracy and capitalism as the precondition of civilised life ### Congress Deceiving the Country *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal accuses the ruling Congress of deceiving the country about Chinese encroachment on the Himalayan frontier. The Nehru government, he writes, was aware of Chinese intentions years before it disclosed them to Parliament, and even now confines itself to verbal protest while ceded territory grows. Tholal attacks the so-called 'flies in the ointment' theory by which official spokesmen treat each fresh Chinese advance as an aberration of an otherwise friendly neighbour, and warns that the government's refusal to admit the seriousness of the threat — combined with its dependence on Krishna Menon's diplomacy — is corroding the integrity of public life. The essay closes with a call for an honest reckoning with the costs of past appeasement and a demand that the question of the future of the frontier be put openly to the country. - Charges Congress with concealing Chinese encroachment from the country for years - Attacks the official 'flies in the ointment' framing that treats Chinese aggression as an aberration - Criticises Nehru's reliance on Krishna Menon's diplomacy as a substitute for a frontier policy - Argues that integrity in public life requires an honest accounting of past mistakes - Calls for an open debate on the future of the Himalayan frontier instead of complacent reassurance ### Collapse of Foreign Policy *By J. M. Lobo Prabhu* J. M. Lobo Prabhu reads the recent record of Indian diplomacy as a collapse, not a setback. From Tibet to Goa to the Himalayan frontier, he argues, the government's working assumption that a posture of non-alignment will translate into moral leverage has produced neither concessions nor security. Statements made by ministers in Parliament, he writes, are contradicted within weeks by the facts on the ground; Indian initiatives in the United Nations and in the Commonwealth have failed to win allies, and the country's economic dependence on foreign assistance — particularly American — is now incompatible with the proud rhetoric of independence. Lobo Prabhu calls for a foreign policy founded on a clear accounting of national interests, the building of credible alliances, and the abandonment of an ideologised neutralism that has alienated friends without disarming adversaries. - Treats Indian foreign policy not as having stumbled but as having structurally collapsed - Notes the routine contradiction between ministerial statements in Parliament and facts on the ground - Argues that economic dependence on foreign aid is irreconcilable with non-aligned posturing - Calls for explicit recognition of national interest as the basis of foreign relations - Urges the building of credible alliances in place of an ideologised neutralism ### After Nehru, Who and What? *By Sumanth Bankeshwar* S. Ramanathan opens the Rationalist Supplement with a memorial to Ellen Roy, whose recent death has cast a gloom over the intellectual life of India. Ramanathan recalls her loyalty to M. N. Roy through his years in the Communist International and the ECCI, her presence in the Communist press both as wife and as independent thinker, and the time when the foulest abuse of Com. Roy from Moscow could not shake the respect in which individual Communists held her. He notes her work editing Roy's manuscripts after his death, her travels to collect material from many countries, and her decision to take over the editorship of The Radical Humanist herself; he hopes that Mr. Sibnarayan Ray and others will share the burden. - Memorial tribute to Ellen Roy as a Radical Humanist editor and the widow of M. N. Roy - Reconstructs her years travelling with Roy through the Communist International apparatus and the ECCI - Notes that her death has come before she could complete the publication of Roy's remaining manuscripts - Announces her decision, before her death, to edit The Radical Humanist herself - Invokes Sibnarayan Ray as a likely collaborator in continuing the journal ### Is There a Soviet Colonialism? A. D. Howell Smith offers a primer on metaphysical materialism for the Rationalist Supplement, distinguishing it from the laboratory shorthand sometimes called 'methodological' materialism. Materialism, he argues, is not committed to the doctrine that only matter exists but to the claim that what we call mind, ideas and feelings are properly understood as functions of organised matter — the brain. The essay reviews idealist objections (that thought is logically prior to its objects), defends the materialist account of consciousness as an emergent property of biological structure, and closes with a section on modern materialism as the working framework of the natural sciences, citing the indifference of working physicists and biologists to the older theological and idealist alternatives. - Distinguishes metaphysical materialism from a merely methodological reduction of phenomena to matter - Defends the claim that mind and consciousness are functions of organised matter rather than independent substances - Surveys idealist objections to materialism and replies that idealism cannot explain the regularities of the natural world - Treats modern materialism as the working framework of the natural sciences - Frames the essay as a primer for the Rationalist Supplement's reader, not as polemic ### Delhi Letter R. C. Trail argues that humanism, science and rationalism form a single intellectual tradition committed to the open examination of evidence and to the rejection of revelation as a source of public truth. He treats Indian religious revivalism with the same scepticism he applies to Christian dogmatism, and draws a sharp boundary between private faith and the institutions of an open society. The piece closes with a long block quotation from Dr. B. R. Ambedkar's 'The Buddha and his Dhamma' on the rationalist character of the Buddha's teaching, used as an Indian witness to the rationalist tradition the essay defends. - Treats humanism, science and rationalism as a single intellectual lineage - Rejects revelation as a source of public truth without rejecting private religion - Applies the same critical standard to Indian religious revivalism as to Christian dogmatism - Closes with an Ambedkar quotation positioning the Buddha as an Indian rationalist witness - Frames rationalism as a defence of the conditions of an open society ### Rationalist Supplement: Ellen Roy *By S. Ramanathan* Sumanth Bankeshwar takes up the question 'After Nehru, who and what?' and uses it as an entry point for a structural account of the Congress succession problem. He notes that the cult of Nehru's personality has crowded out the institutional cultivation of successors, so that the obvious candidates — Pandit Pant, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Morarji Desai, Y. B. Chavan, Jagjivan Ram and Indira Gandhi — are evaluated by the country less on their own merits than on their proximity to Nehru. Bankeshwar argues that the more pressing question is not 'who' but 'what': whether the Congress system itself, with its mix of personal patronage and inherited socialist rhetoric, can survive the loss of its central figure, and whether the opposition can offer an alternative more substantive than the Swatantra Party's still-nascent classical liberal platform. - Frames the succession question as institutional, not merely personal - Names the obvious candidates — Pant, Shastri, Desai, Chavan, Jagjivan Ram, Indira Gandhi — and reads them as creatures of Nehru's patronage - Argues that the more important question is what kind of Congress survives Nehru, not who sits at the top - Treats the cult of Nehru's personality as having crowded out the institutional cultivation of successors - Identifies the Swatantra Party as the most credible — but still embryonic — opposition platform ### Gleanings from the Press An unsigned essay asks whether the Soviet Union, formally committed to anti-colonialism, is itself a colonial power in Eastern Europe. The article surveys the absorption of the Baltic states — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — into the USSR in 1945, the suppression of the German Social Democrats in the Soviet zone in 1946, the imposition of one-party rule in Romania in 1947, and the violent ends of independent governments in Czechoslovakia (1948), East Germany (1953), Poland (1956) and Hungary (1956). The essay treats this record as a textbook case of colonialism by another name — direct military presence, planted local agents, the destruction of independent political and civil institutions and the extraction of economic surplus to the metropolitan power. - Argues that the Soviet Union is materially a colonial power despite its anti-colonial rhetoric - Surveys the absorption of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in 1945 as the founding act of Soviet colonialism - Tracks the imposition of one-party regimes in Romania, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Poland and Hungary - Reads 1953 East Germany and 1956 Hungary as the visible breaking points of the system - Treats direct military presence and the destruction of independent institutions as the criteria of colonialism ### News & Views The Delhi Letter, datelined from a press conference, reports that V. K. Krishna Menon has 'given the green light' to Chinese encroachment by publicly downplaying the loss of territory in Ladakh and the Aksai Chin. The correspondent reads Menon's statements as a deliberate softening of the country's position in advance of a settlement that will ratify the Chinese hold on roughly fourteen thousand square miles of territory. The article catalogues the exchange between Nehru and Chou En-lai, the silence on the McMahon Line, and the contrast between the Defence Minister's reassurances and the operational facts on the ground; it ends by warning that the Indian press is being asked to substitute the government's diplomatic vocabulary for honest reporting. - Reads Krishna Menon's press-conference statements as a softening of India's position on Chinese encroachment - Estimates the area of Chinese control in Aksai Chin at roughly fourteen thousand square miles - Contrasts the Defence Minister's reassurances with the operational facts on the frontier - Notes the silence on the McMahon Line in the Nehru–Chou exchange - Warns that the press is being asked to adopt the government's diplomatic vocabulary ### Essay 11 The Gleanings from the Press column reprints excerpts from other Indian newspapers under captions chosen by the editor: the Indian Express's 'Libero Dominante of Prime Minister Nehru', a piece from Karachi on the prospects of fresh Sino-Indian talks, the New Yorker's 'Caliph of Islam' on Nasser's role, and the Times Indian on the decline of the Congress. The column functions as a curated reading of what the rest of the press is saying about the questions the issue has already taken up — Muslim communalism, foreign-policy collapse, and the looming Congress succession — and lets the journal underline its own argumentative line through other writers' words. - Reprints excerpts from the Indian Express on Nehru's dominance over the Congress - Carries a Karachi item on the next round of Sino-Indian talks - Reprints a New Yorker piece on Nasser as 'Caliph of Islam' - Excerpts a Times Indian critique of the decline of the Congress - Functions as a curated press digest reinforcing the issue's editorial line ### Essay 12 The News & Views column closes the issue with three short items: 'The Truth of the Spy-Ring Law is Told Now' (on the prosecution of a small Bombay espionage case), 'The Tragi-Comedy of Our Foreign Policy' (a one-paragraph extension of Lobo Prabhu's earlier piece), and 'The Party with the Crutches' (on the Praja Socialist Party's reliance on Congress dissidents). The issue then carries a Libertarian Social Institute notice that M. A. Venkata Rao addressed a book discussion meeting on Hayek's The Constitution of Liberty in Bangalore, lists new accessions to the R. L. Foundation Library (Hayek, von Mises, Borsodi, Proudhon, Bakunin, Hempingway and others), and ends on the back cover with 'Books for Your Shelf' advertised by Libertarian Publishers — Bakunin, Rudolf Rocker, Proudhon, Mises, Sitaram Goel's 'The Conquest of China' — alongside the colophon naming K. R. Lotwala as editor and G. N. Lawande as printer. - News & Views runs three sharp short items on espionage, foreign policy and the PSP - Notice records that M. A. Venkata Rao spoke on Hayek's The Constitution of Liberty in Bangalore - Lists new R. L. Foundation Library accessions, heavy on Austrian-school and anarchist titles - Back-cover 'Books for Your Shelf' advert from Libertarian Publishers anchors the journal's ideological self-presentation - Colophon names K. R. Lotwala as editor and G. N. Lawande as printer for Libertarian Publishers (Private) Ltd., Bombay --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-feb1-1962/ ### Summary The 1 February 1962 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IX No. 21), edited from Bombay under the masthead 'We stand for free economy and limited government,' opens with a hard-edged editorial against what it calls the Nehru-Menon drift of the Indian National Congress towards a 'Red precipice,' diagnosing crypto-communist capture after the deaths of Vallabhbhai Patel and the exit of C. Rajagopalachari, and warning that Jawaharlal Nehru's defence of V. K. Krishna Menon over the Kashmir, Goa and China questions has put national security in the hands of a fellow-traveller faction. The remainder of the issue extends this argument across registers: M. A. Venkata Rao dissects the Communist Party of India's election manifesto as a Trojan horse for Soviet-style total nationalisation; M. N. Tholal sketches a wry political-organisational portrait of Nehru's lieutenants through the figures of Devadas Gandhi, Maulana Azad and Rafi Ahmed Kidwai at the High Command; and K. P. Padmanabhan Tampy supplies a cultural piece on the artisan caste of Aranmula in Kerala that perfected the metal mirror.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The 1 February 1962 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IX No. 21), edited from Bombay under the masthead 'We stand for free economy and limited government,' opens with a hard-edged editorial against what it calls the Nehru-Menon drift of the Indian National Congress towards a 'Red precipice,' diagnosing crypto-communist capture after the deaths of Vallabhbhai Patel and the exit of C. Rajagopalachari, and warning that Jawaharlal Nehru's defence of V. K. Krishna Menon over the Kashmir, Goa and China questions has put national security in the hands of a fellow-traveller faction. The remainder of the issue extends this argument across registers: M. A. Venkata Rao dissects the Communist Party of India's election manifesto as a Trojan horse for Soviet-style total nationalisation; M. N. Tholal sketches a wry political-organisational portrait of Nehru's lieutenants through the figures of Devadas Gandhi, Maulana Azad and Rafi Ahmed Kidwai at the High Command; and K. P. Padmanabhan Tampy supplies a cultural piece on the artisan caste of Aranmula in Kerala that perfected the metal mirror. Standing departments — a Delhi Letter on Election Commissioner Sukumar Sen, a book review of Joseph S. Thompson's Taxation's New Frontier, Gleanings from the Press, News & Views on Krishna Menon's overtures to Peking and Moscow, and a Dear Editor letter on 'taxation, the foundation of theft' — round out a number whose argumentative centre is the defence of a free economy, parliamentary opposition and constitutionalism against what the journal sees as a one-party drift in Indian politics. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL — Nehru-Menon's 'Red' Hell for India The unsigned editorial 'Nehru-Menon's Red Hell For India' opens by declaring that the Indian National Congress is 'wending its way towards the dangerous Red precipice' now that the sobering influences of Vallabhbhai Patel and the 'Grand Old Man' C. Rajagopalachari are gone, leaving the party 'easily vulnerable to the corroding influence of the crypto-communists.' The piece treats Nehru's public defence of Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon — over the China border, the Goa action, and Kashmir — as the decisive evidence that the Prime Minister has been captured by his pro-Red lieutenants; it reads the Kashmir plebiscite refusal and the 'foolish colonial' Salazar-comparison gambit on Goa as adroit manoeuvres to insulate Menon from the charge of pro-Pekingese sympathies. The editorial then widens out into companion sub-leaders — 'Democracy and Party System,' 'Here and There,' 'One Party Rule' and 'Nehru Drops the Mask Again' — which together argue that constitutional democracy in India needs a real opposition, warn against Indira Gandhi's elevation and Lal Bahadur Shastri's manoeuvres inside the Congress machine, and read the Pakistani 'basic democracies' experiment of Ayub Khan as a cautionary mirror. - Frames the 1962 Congress as captured by crypto-communist lieutenants after the loss of Patel and the exit of Rajagopalachari. - Reads Nehru's public embrace of Krishna Menon over Kashmir, Goa and the China border as the symptomatic act of that capture. - Treats Goa policy as a 'foolish colonial' Salazar-style diversion designed to rehabilitate Menon over the China question. - Calls for a real opposition and constitutionalist party system against the one-party drift of Indian politics. - Uses Pakistan's Ayub Khan 'basic democracies' as a foil to defend Indian parliamentary democracy on classical-liberal terms. ### The Communist Party's Manifesto *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao reads the Communist Party of India's election manifesto as a coherent application of Marxist-Leninist programme to Indian conditions, and as a Trojan horse for the wholesale nationalisation of agriculture, industry, banking, foreign trade and the press. He notes that the CPI cannot, on Soviet doctrine, recognise a permanent national interest distinct from the global proletariat, and that its 'national-democratic' section in any country is in the last instance an executive of the Soviet bloc; the manifesto's nominally moderate calls for cooperative farming, public-sector expansion and reservation of basic industries to the state are therefore read as the visible edge of a programme whose end point is the liquidation of private property and constitutional liberty. - Treats the CPI manifesto as the Indian application of a fixed Soviet political vocabulary, not as an autonomous Indian programme. - Reads the demand for nationalisation of foreign trade, banks, plantations, mines and the press as the manifesto's operative core. - Cites Khrushchev's 'national democracy' line as the doctrinal frame within which the CPI's programmatic moderation must be understood. - Warns that Soviet-style cooperative farming would be coercive and would dispossess the peasantry under the cover of pooling. - Links the manifesto's industrial programme to the Soviet pattern of total state direction of investment, wages and prices. ### Mr. Nehru And His Lieutenants *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's column on 'Mr. Nehru And His Lieutenants' offers a sceptical biographical-organisational sketch of how Nehru and Defence Minister Krishna Menon hold the Congress together through a thinning circle of subordinates. Tholal recalls the Lucknow conference and traces the careers of Devadas Gandhi at the Hindustan Times, the late Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Maulana Azad and Khaliquzzaman to argue that successive 'lieutenants' have been either co-opted, neutralised or eased out, leaving Nehru increasingly without a real Congress establishment to discipline him. The piece reads the High Command's choices in editorial appointments — the rebuff to Devadas Gandhi at the Hindustan Times, the Managing Director shuffle, the elevation of Rafi Kidwai's hand — as a politics of competition for recruiting duffers rather than a contest of programmes. - Argues that Nehru's lieutenants have functioned more as instruments than as a check on the Prime Minister. - Reads the editorial battles at the Hindustan Times around Devadas Gandhi as a microcosm of Congress patronage politics. - Treats Rafi Ahmed Kidwai's manoeuvres as the template for the High Command's mode of operation. - Suggests that 'competition in recruiting duffers' is the real organisational principle of the post-Patel Congress. - Frames the Lucknow conference as the moment at which the lieutenant system displaced collective leadership. ### Metal Mirror Of Kerala *By K. P. Padmanabhan Tampy* K. P. Padmanabhan Tampy's 'Metal Mirror of Kerala' is a short cultural feature on Aranmula, ninety miles north of Trivandrum, where a Vishnu temple of the Chaturveda Bhattatiripads sustains an old artisan caste that has perfected the manufacture of a polished metal mirror — the Aranmula Kannadi — from a closely guarded alloy. Tampy traces the legend through which the Kannadi family of metallurgists settled at Aranmula under the patronage of the temple and the Pandalam royal house, and describes the work as one of the most remarkable surviving instances of indigenous Indian metallurgy, a craft secret transmitted within a single Brahmin family. The essay sits in the issue as a cultural counterpoint to the political polemic, but its libertarian charge is implicit: a guild that has preserved its trade secret across centuries without state direction. - Locates the Aranmula metal mirror in the ritual and economic life of a temple-based artisan settlement. - Treats the Kannadi family's tradecraft as a hereditary, closely guarded metallurgical secret. - Frames the craft as an indigenous achievement that has survived without state patronage. ### DELHI LETTER — Election Commissioner's Amazing Performance *By (From Our Correspondent)* The Delhi Letter, 'Election Commissioner's Amazing Performance,' attacks Sukumar Sen for what it reads as an open partiality to the Communist Party of India in the design of the 1962 general elections. The correspondent argues that the Election Commissioner has given the CPI the rights and amenities of a recognised national party — symbol, election broadcasts, time on All India Radio, party representatives at counting tables — on the strength of a vote share earned in the Hindi belt and elsewhere that does not, in the correspondent's reading, warrant the all-India status conferred. The column extends the indictment to the Congress's use of state machinery for party purposes and to the alleged collusion of Sen's secretariat with the CPI's national managers, all in a register that treats free and fair elections as the constitutional question of the moment. - Frames Election Commissioner Sukumar Sen's recognition of the CPI as a national party as an act of partiality, not neutrality. - Reads the allocation of broadcasting time and counting-table representation to the CPI as a constitutional grievance. - Treats the Congress's use of state machinery for electioneering as part of the same one-party drift the editorial diagnoses. - Calls for the Election Commission to be brought under tighter parliamentary scrutiny. ### Book Review — Taxation's New Frontier A brief book notice of Joseph S. Thompson's 'Taxation's New Frontier' (Federal Tackle Realty Co., San Francisco), commending its single-tax case against taxes on labour and capital and in favour of taxing land values — a Henry George-line argument the reviewer treats as the natural ally of the journal's broader case against the regulatory and fiscal state. - Treats Joseph S. Thompson's monograph as a contemporary single-tax brief. - Endorses the shift of the tax base from labour and capital to land value. ### Gleanings from the Press — Silence is Golden The 'Gleanings from the Press' department reprints a short editorial titled 'Silence Is Golden,' lifted from a press source (credited 'M.T.W., Progress, Australia'), arguing that the loudest political voices are rarely the wisest and commending a temperate civic restraint as a public virtue. - A reprinted short comment on the public virtue of restraint in political speech. - Sourced from an overseas liberal press venue ('Progress', Australia). ### News & Views The News & Views column leads with 'Krishna Menon's Mysterious Talk of Peaceful Settlement with China and Russia,' reading the Defence Minister's overtures as a pre-election manoeuvre rather than a substantive opening, and stitches together short notes on Saurashtra politics around K. M. Munshi, on the Rajagopalachari ('C. R.' / Rajaji) Swatantra Party intervention, and on an alleged domestic crisis in the Soviet Communist Party. The column treats Menon's diplomatic dramatics, the Congress's reluctance to debate them in Parliament, and the use of state machinery for electioneering as parts of a single picture in which constitutional opposition is being squeezed. - Reads Krishna Menon's talk of a peaceful settlement with China and Russia as a pre-election performance. - Notes K. M. Munshi's stand in Saurashtra against the Congress establishment. - Treats Rajagopalachari and the Swatantra opposition as the only credible alternative voice in the campaign. - Records an alleged domestic crisis inside the Soviet Communist Party as background to CPI strategy. ### Dear Editor — Taxation, The Philosophy of Theft The 'Dear Editor' letter of the issue, headed 'Taxation, The Foundation of Theft,' argues that taxes which are not directly tied to identifiable services rendered by the state — roads, courts, defence — amount in principle to theft, and that the modern Indian state's expansion of its taxing power without correspondingly expanding the services it owes the taxpayer is the central libertarian grievance. The letter writer signs off from Devon, England, and the editor prints the letter under the column without comment. - Treats taxation without a clear quid-pro-quo of state services as a form of expropriation. - Reads the post-independence Indian state's fiscal expansion as the central libertarian grievance. - Signed by a correspondent writing from Devon, England, suggesting the journal's overseas readership. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-feb1-1963/ ### Summary The 1 February 1963 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X No. 21), edited by D. M. Kulkarni and issued from Bombay by Libertarian Publishers, is dominated by the aftermath of the Sino-Indian war and the diplomatic fallout from the Colombo Conference of neutral powers. The unsigned editorial castigates Nehru's government for entertaining the Colombo Proposals as a basis for negotiation with Peking, M. A. Venkata Rao calls for a wholesale rethinking of India's defence philosophy and an Asian collective-security pact, and M. N. Tholal subjects the doctrine of non-alignment to a sustained critique. The reportage section combines Susan Hunt's first-person account of refugees fleeing Communist China into Hong Kong with a Delhi Letter linking the Kashmir question to a Sino-Russian 'puppet-show,' a review of Lord Radcliffe's Reith Lectures on power, gleanings from the press on a proposed Congress 'private army,' news briefs from Washington, Phnom Penh and elsewhere, and reader correspondence on university federalism and Madras sales tax. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The 1 February 1963 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X No. 21), edited by D. M. Kulkarni and issued from Bombay by Libertarian Publishers, is dominated by the aftermath of the Sino-Indian war and the diplomatic fallout from the Colombo Conference of neutral powers. The unsigned editorial castigates Nehru's government for entertaining the Colombo Proposals as a basis for negotiation with Peking, M. A. Venkata Rao calls for a wholesale rethinking of India's defence philosophy and an Asian collective-security pact, and M. N. Tholal subjects the doctrine of non-alignment to a sustained critique. The reportage section combines Susan Hunt's first-person account of refugees fleeing Communist China into Hong Kong with a Delhi Letter linking the Kashmir question to a Sino-Russian 'puppet-show,' a review of Lord Radcliffe's Reith Lectures on power, gleanings from the press on a proposed Congress 'private army,' news briefs from Washington, Phnom Penh and elsewhere, and reader correspondence on university federalism and Madras sales tax. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL: Colombo Proposals: Misleading, Sinister and Disastrous The unsigned editorial argues that Prime Minister Nehru and Defence Minister Krishna Menon are misrepresenting the Colombo Proposals as a diplomatic gain when in fact they leave large tracts of Indian territory in Bhutan, NEFA and Ladakh under Chinese control. It insists that the only honourable basis for any settlement is a complete Chinese withdrawal to the McMahon Line and the September 1962 positions, and warns that the neutral powers convened at Colombo were sympathetic to Peking rather than to India. A sidebar drawn from De Gaulle's recent press conference is used to argue that the French President's distrust of Anglo-American dominance and his preference for a continental European Economic Community should embolden India to develop an independent, hard-headed foreign policy rather than rely on borrowed Anglo-American formulae. - The Colombo Proposals are read as misleading because they freeze rather than reverse Chinese gains in Bhutan, NEFA and Ladakh. - Nothing short of a complete Chinese withdrawal to the pre-aggression line is acceptable to the editorial. - Nehru's and Krishna Menon's public statements are charged with deceiving Parliament and the country. - De Gaulle's distrust of the Anglo-American bloc and championing of a European Common Market is held up as an example of self-respecting foreign policy. - Indian liberals are urged to break with sentimental non-alignment and seek an outright alliance with the West against communist expansion. ### Re-Thinking Defence Strategy *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that India's defence philosophy and military doctrine require radical revision in the light of the NEFA debacle. Pious confidence in 'panchsheel' neighbourliness with communist powers has been refuted by events; what India needs instead is a frank acknowledgement that communist states cannot be trusted and an active programme of collective security with the non-communist states of Asia. He sketches the case for an Indian-led pact analogous to ANZUS, drawing in Malaya, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand and the United States, and complementing this external alliance with a domestic rearmament budget that does not pretend India can defend itself alone. - Defence policy must be rebuilt on the premise that communist neighbours are intrinsically untrustworthy. - An Asian collective-security pact, modelled on ANZUS, is proposed as the geopolitical answer to Chinese aggression. - Self-reliance rhetoric is criticised as incompatible with the realities of the national budget and industrial base. - Air, naval and ground rearmament require active Western and Commonwealth partnership. ### The Nuances of Non-alignment *By By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal mounts a polemical critique of non-alignment as a doctrine of 'Safety First' that, in his reading, has left India neither safe nor respected. Surveying the record from independence to the Sino-Indian war, he argues that the country was always exposed to communist subversion, that non-alignment offered no protection, and that the government's claim to occupy a moral perch above Cold War rivalries is a self-deception. The essay closes by calling for interdependence with the democracies, presenting alignment with the West not as a loss of sovereignty but as the most realistic guarantee of it. - Non-alignment is recast as a policy of timid 'Safety First' that ignored a standing communist threat. - India's claim to a position of judgement above the Cold War blocs is dismissed as self-flattery. - Interdependence with the Western democracies is proposed as the realistic alternative. - Nehru's foreign policy is held responsible for inviting, rather than averting, aggression. ### Under The Red Flag *By By Susan Hunt* Susan Hunt files a despatch from Hong Kong describing the surge of refugees who continue to break out of Communist China through the New Territories border, despite armed border patrols on both sides. She narrates the human cost of the Great Leap Forward: starvation in the countryside, the failure of the people's communes, and a thriving traffic in food parcels mailed from Hong Kong relatives to families on the mainland. The piece pairs vignettes of individual escapes with a calmer accounting of how émigré associations and church groups in Hong Kong absorb the new arrivals. - Refugees continue to escape from Communist China into Hong Kong despite a fortified border. - The Great Leap Forward and the commune system are blamed for famine conditions on the mainland. - Food parcels from Hong Kong to relatives in China are described as a vital private lifeline. - Émigré associations and churches do much of the resettlement work that the colonial administration cannot. ### DELHI LETTER: Kashmir Background: Sino-Russian Puppet-Show *By (From Our Correspondent)* The Delhi Letter, filed by 'Our Correspondent,' reads the Kashmir tangle as a Sino-Russian 'puppet-show' in which Pakistan plays the lead actor and the Colombo Proposals supply the script. The Kashmir talks with Pakistan are framed as a humiliation that Indian negotiators have allowed to slide because they accepted the Colombo formula instead of standing on the integration of Kashmir effected in 1947 and the deposition of Sheikh Abdullah. The correspondent sets the manoeuvres in a wider context of Sino-Pakistani border negotiation, Soviet ambivalence and Western pressure, and warns that the Government of India is being outflanked on every diplomatic front simultaneously. - The Kashmir talks with Pakistan are treated as a diplomatic defeat masked as a process. - The Sino-Pakistani border negotiations are read as part of a coordinated squeeze on India. - Soviet alignment with Peking on Kashmir is exposed as quietly hostile to Indian claims. - Sheikh Abdullah's earlier detention and the 1947 accession are invoked as the only honest basis for Indian policy. ### Book Review A. R. Venkataraman reviews 'The Problem of Power' by Lord Radcliffe, the published version of the 1951 BBC Reith Lectures. He commends Radcliffe's argument that the constitutional dispersal of sovereignty and the cultivation of independent counter-weights to executive power matter more for liberty than any electoral formula, and applies the moral to Indian conditions in which a single dominant party is increasingly fused with the state. The review reads as a Liberal endorsement of Acton's maxim on the corrupting effects of power. - Radcliffe's central thesis is that power needs to be divided and restrained, not just legitimised by elections. - The review uses the British constitutional case as a mirror for Indian one-party drift. - Acton's dictum on power and corruption is offered as the moral spine of the argument. ### Gleanings from the Press The 'Gleanings from the Press' column reproduces and comments on press reports that the Congress Party is moving to organise its own uniformed volunteer corps. The contributors read this as evidence of a slide from constitutional party politics toward a quasi-militia model on European inter-war lines and warn liberal readers to treat it as a danger to representative government rather than as a routine organisational matter. - Reports of a Congress 'private army' are treated as a constitutional warning sign rather than a routine party-building story. - The column reads the proposal in the light of European inter-war precedents of party militias. ### News and Views The News and Views column carries short despatches from Washington, Phnom Penh, Taipei and elsewhere. A Washington item argues that the world Cold War contest reduces to coercion versus free choice, with the United States standing for the latter; a Phnom Penh item reports Cambodian disillusionment with Peking's peace overtures; further briefs cover the resumption of Western arms aid without political strings, alleged communist sabotage in newly-independent African states, and a notice on premier nominations and party suspensions in Indian state politics. - The world conflict is reframed as a contest between coercion and free choice rather than between economic systems. - Cambodian sources are cited as evidence that Peking's professed desire for peace is hollow. - Western arms aid is welcomed as coming 'with no strings attached'. - Communist sabotage and infiltration in post-colonial states are flagged as a continuing threat. ### Dear Editor The 'Dear Editor' page carries two letters. The first, on 'Varsity Regionalism,' takes up K. M. Munshi's recent warning that the proliferation of regional universities is fragmenting the Indian academic community along linguistic lines; the second protests an anomaly in the Madras sales-tax regime that, the correspondent argues, penalises the small trader for the convenience of the revenue department. - K. M. Munshi's caution against regionalist fragmentation of Indian universities is endorsed. - A specific anomaly in the Madras sales tax is highlighted as administratively unjust to small traders. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-feb1-1964/ ### Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. XI No. 21 (1 February 1964), edited by D. M. Kulkarni for Libertarian Publishers Private Ltd., Bombay, is a sixteen-page fortnightly of public-affairs commentary written from a classical-liberal vantage. The issue opens with an editorial scolding the Government of India for its diplomatic complacency toward Pakistan after the Holy Relic disturbances in Kashmir and for indulging what it calls the religious fanaticism of an Arab-summit bloc led by Nasser; a sardonic side-piece urges Nehru to enjoy his "well-earned rest" and stop directing affairs from his sick-bed. The body of the issue carries argumentative pieces by M. A. Venkata Rao on the ideological coordinates of the Congress at Bhubaneswar, M. N. Tholal on the contradiction of grafting Soviet-style socialist planning onto a still-feudal Indian society, a James Kent continuation defending property as a precondition of liberty, Morarji J. Vaiyda's institutional sketch of the International Chamber of Commerce and India's place in it, and the Delhi Letter on the "Kamaraj Curse" — the Kamaraj Plan's effect on Congress organisation and succession politics. J. M.… ### Body # Indian Libertarian ## Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. XI No. 21 (1 February 1964), edited by D. M. Kulkarni for Libertarian Publishers Private Ltd., Bombay, is a sixteen-page fortnightly of public-affairs commentary written from a classical-liberal vantage. The issue opens with an editorial scolding the Government of India for its diplomatic complacency toward Pakistan after the Holy Relic disturbances in Kashmir and for indulging what it calls the religious fanaticism of an Arab-summit bloc led by Nasser; a sardonic side-piece urges Nehru to enjoy his "well-earned rest" and stop directing affairs from his sick-bed. The body of the issue carries argumentative pieces by M. A. Venkata Rao on the ideological coordinates of the Congress at Bhubaneswar, M. N. Tholal on the contradiction of grafting Soviet-style socialist planning onto a still-feudal Indian society, a James Kent continuation defending property as a precondition of liberty, Morarji J. Vaiyda's institutional sketch of the International Chamber of Commerce and India's place in it, and the Delhi Letter on the "Kamaraj Curse" — the Kamaraj Plan's effect on Congress organisation and succession politics. J. M. Lobo Prabhu's lead polemic reads Nehru as a Communist by conduct if not by label, and the issue closes with a John Chamberlain book review of "The Sickness of Socialised Medicine," a Mind of the Nation column on the changing history of socialism, a News & Views round-up, and a Dear Editor section featuring Henry Meulen of "The Individualist" and notes on Chagla, Swaran Singh and Asoka Mehta. ## Essays ### Paskistan's Perfidy And India's Pusillanimity The unsigned editorial argues that Pakistan's renewed assertiveness on Kashmir — following the disappearance and reappearance of the Holy Relic at Hazratbal and the subsequent communal disturbances — has been met by an Indian Government that confuses non-violence with timidity. The piece accuses New Delhi of trying to placate the United Nations and Afro-Asian opinion instead of telling Pakistan plainly that Kashmir is settled. A second strand, "Religious Fanaticism of Arab Nations," attacks the Cairo Arab summit (Nasser, Tito, Nehru, Sukarno, Ben Bella) for taking sides against Israel under the cover of non-alignment, and a closing flourish, "Let Mr. Nehru Enjoy His Well-Earned Rest," suggests the Prime Minister's continuing direction of affairs from convalescence is itself a national risk. - Frames Indian policy on Pakistan as pusillanimous non-violence rather than principled restraint. - Reads the Hazratbal Holy Relic incident and Kashmir agitation as evidence that Pakistan exploits Indian softness. - Brands the Cairo Arab-summit bloc as religiously fanatical and faults Indian alignment with it against Israel. - Urges Nehru to take real rest and stop running the Government from his sick-bed. ### Right, Left, And Centre At Bhuvaneshwar *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao reads the Bhubaneswar session of the Congress as the moment when the party at last admitted in its own resolutions that the Indian economy had not been performing as promised, and uses the occasion to set out the ideological coordinates of "right, left, and centre" within Congress. He traces the contemporary doctrine of inevitable socialism back to Hegel's dialectic and Marx's appropriation of it, and argues that the dialectical method, when imported into Indian planning, has produced an ideology that treats state ownership as scientifically certain rather than historically chosen. The essay closes by warning that the Congress drift toward state planning has neither a sound economic rationale nor a clear philosophical defence in Indian conditions. - Bhubaneswar resolutions are read as Congress's first open admission that economic performance has fallen short. - Locates Indian socialism intellectually in Hegel's dialectic and Marx's adaptation of it. - Distinguishes right, left and centre tendencies inside Congress rather than between Congress and its opponents. - Warns that dialectical inevitability is being mistaken for economic argument. ### Feudal Cart Before The Socialist Horse *By By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal argues that India is trying to harness a socialist horse to a feudal cart: the Soviet model of collectivised, planned development assumes a developed industrial base and a disciplined wage-earning population, neither of which Indian conditions actually supply. Drawing on Khrushchev's own remarks about peaceful coexistence and on the recent record of Chinese and Pakistani conduct, Tholal contends that copying Communist methods without their pre-conditions delivers neither the productivity gains of capitalism nor the egalitarian discipline of socialism. The essay culminates in a defence of property rights as the social precondition of any genuine economic reform. - Indian planning grafts Soviet-style socialism onto a society that is still organisationally feudal. - Khrushchev's own talk of peaceful coexistence is used to argue that the Soviet model itself is mellowing. - Co-operative farming is treated as a slogan without the agrarian preconditions it requires. - Property rights are framed as the missing institutional anchor for any workable Indian reform. ### International Chamber of Commerce *By By Morarji J. Vaiyda* Morarji J. Vaiyda, President of the Indian Council of Foreign Trade, offers an institutional sketch of the International Chamber of Commerce and its network of national committees, including India's. He describes the ICC's seven specialised commissions — on banking, transport, restrictive business practices, distribution, advertising, taxation and arbitration — and stresses the Chamber's role at GATT, at the UN Commission on International Commodity Trade and at UNCTAD as the chief organised voice of private enterprise in multilateral economic forums. The essay treats the ICC as a model for what an organised Indian commercial community can become if it learns to speak through credible institutional channels. - Maps the ICC's seven specialised commissions and how they intersect with multilateral economic governance. - Identifies GATT, the UN commodity trade commission and UNCTAD as the main bodies where the ICC is consulted. - Casts the Indian National Committee as the bridge between domestic business and world commercial diplomacy. - Implicitly argues that organised private enterprise needs disciplined institutional representation, not just lobbying. ### DELHI LETTER: The Kamaraj Curse *By From Our Correspondent* The Delhi Letter argues that the Kamaraj Plan has functioned less as organisational renewal than as a curse on the Congress: senior ministers were pushed out to make space for party work, but the resulting succession scrum has left the leadership question — Nehru's eventual successor — more unsettled, not less. The piece reads the recent by-election defeats in U.P., Morarji Desai's relegation, Lal Bahadur Shastri's return to Cabinet, and the Patnaik–Bidhan Roy manoeuvring as symptoms of a party where ideological direction is being decided by office politics rather than principle. - The Kamaraj Plan is portrayed as having disorganised rather than rejuvenated the Congress. - U.P. by-election defeats are read as a verdict on the party's drift. - Lal Bahadur Shastri's return and Morarji Desai's eclipse signal that succession will be decided by faction, not by policy. - Asoka Mehta's defence of the U.P.S.C. (state public sector) is treated as ideologically symptomatic. ### Picture of Nehru As a Communist *By By J. M. Lobo Prabhu* J. M. Lobo Prabhu, taking off from Sitaram Goel's recent book defending V. K. Krishna Menon, argues that the practical record of Indian foreign and economic policy under Nehru — non-alignment that tilts against the Anglo-American bloc, growing state ownership, deep economic engagement with Communist states, and rhetorical solidarity with the Soviet position — produces a picture of Nehru as a Communist in conduct if not in label. The essay reads recent gestures toward Pakistan and the handling of the Kashmir question as further evidence and treats the public sector's expansion as the domestic counterpart of that foreign orientation. - Reads Nehru's foreign policy as systematically tilted toward the Communist bloc beneath the language of non-alignment. - Treats expanding state ownership and the public sector as the domestic face of that orientation. - Uses Sitaram Goel's defence of Krishna Menon as a point of entry rather than the target of polemic. - Argues the picture cannot be explained away by tactical considerations or diplomatic balance. ### Book Reveiw *By By John Chamberlain* The Book Review notice covers John Chamberlain's "The Sickness of Socialised Medicine," using the British National Health Service experience under Aneurin Bevan to argue that state monopolies in healthcare degrade both supply and the doctor–patient relationship. The reviewer commends Chamberlain's framing as a warning to Indian planners who think a state-run medical system would solve access and equity problems and would not produce the rationing, queueing and quality decline visible in Britain. - Treats the British NHS under Aneurin Bevan as the cautionary case study. - Argues that socialised medicine degrades both supply and the clinical relationship. - Reads the book as a warning to Indian planners considering state-run healthcare. ### The Mind of the Nation The Mind of the Nation column, signed "Faqirjee," surveys the changing history of socialism, observing that Marx's expected proletarian revolution has not materialised in industrial societies, while Tito's Yugoslavia and other ostensibly socialist regimes have quietly imported the price mechanism and elements of private property back into their economies. The columnist takes this as evidence that socialism in practice is moving steadily away from its doctrinal foundations and toward the very market disciplines its founders set out to overthrow. - Reads Marx's failed prediction of proletarian revolution as the central anomaly of twentieth-century socialism. - Cites Tito's Yugoslavia as the prototype of socialism quietly returning to market mechanisms. - Treats the trajectory of socialism in office as a confirmation of liberal economic intuitions. ### News And Views The News & Views section bundles short notices on a reported new Soviet base in Cuba, food-production shortfalls flagged by Union Food and Agriculture Minister Swaran Singh against the Second Plan target, Education Minister M. C. Chagla's defence of English at Jadavpur University against any sudden change-over to regional languages, and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Asoka Mehta's claim before the Commission Club that South-East Asian economies that adopted radical policies have not moved forward. Each item is presented as supporting the issue's larger sceptical reading of Indian planning and language policy. - Reports that food production is still at second-plan levels despite a 23 per cent target. - Records Chagla's argument that English must stay as the medium of higher education. - Carries Asoka Mehta's admission that some radical South-East Asian economies have sagged. - Headlines a reported new Soviet base in Cuba as a Cold War alert. ### Dear Editor The Dear Editor section carries a single signed letter from Henry Meulen, editor of "The Individualist" (London), responding to Professor Lawande's earlier piece on heavy industries and state enterprise. Meulen disputes Lawande's premise that heavy industry necessarily exceeds private capital's reach, arguing that Western experience shows private capitalists have repeatedly financed heavy industry where the political climate allows them to keep the profit, and that the chief obstacle to such private investment in under-developed countries is not capital scarcity but the uncertainty manufactured by governments themselves. - Meulen rejects the premise that heavy industry is intrinsically beyond private investment. - Argues that political uncertainty, not capital shortage, blocks private investment in under-developed countries. - Frames the exchange as a transnational liberal correspondence between The Individualist and The Indian Libertarian. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-feb1-1973/ ### Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. XVIII No. 21 (1 February 1973), edited by Kusum Lotvala and published fortnightly from Bombay by Libertarian Publishers, is a classical-liberal journal of public affairs. The lead editorial 'Pie in the Sky Again' attacks the Indira Gandhi government's stubborn attachment to Soviet-style five-year planning after the famines and shortages it produced, arguing that Nehru's prestige still trumps any willingness to revise course. The issue also carries an obituary essay 'Restored Balance in Indian Politics' on the death of C. Rajagopalachari, M. N. Tholal's polemic faulting the Swatantra Party for its conciliatory posture toward Bhutto's Pakistan, a short 'India and the CIA' note arguing that only a competent 'rightist fifth column' inside India can effectively counter foreign subversion, a Delhi Letter on P. N. Haksar's sudden retirement and Akali charges of corruption against Mrs. Gandhi's ministers, G. Vijayam's long report on the first World Atheist Meet at Vijayawada, A. Ranganathan's science feature on chemotherapy, I. Satya Sundaram's diagnosis of India's price spiral, and James A. Weber's libertarian rejoinder to US population-control advocacy. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. XVIII No. 21 (1 February 1973), edited by Kusum Lotvala and published fortnightly from Bombay by Libertarian Publishers, is a classical-liberal journal of public affairs. The lead editorial 'Pie in the Sky Again' attacks the Indira Gandhi government's stubborn attachment to Soviet-style five-year planning after the famines and shortages it produced, arguing that Nehru's prestige still trumps any willingness to revise course. The issue also carries an obituary essay 'Restored Balance in Indian Politics' on the death of C. Rajagopalachari, M. N. Tholal's polemic faulting the Swatantra Party for its conciliatory posture toward Bhutto's Pakistan, a short 'India and the CIA' note arguing that only a competent 'rightist fifth column' inside India can effectively counter foreign subversion, a Delhi Letter on P. N. Haksar's sudden retirement and Akali charges of corruption against Mrs. Gandhi's ministers, G. Vijayam's long report on the first World Atheist Meet at Vijayawada, A. Ranganathan's science feature on chemotherapy, I. Satya Sundaram's diagnosis of India's price spiral, and James A. Weber's libertarian rejoinder to US population-control advocacy. ## Essays ### Pie in The Sky Again The unsigned editorial 'Pie in the Sky Again' opens by arguing that India's economic planning, modelled on the Soviet template from the Second Five-Year Plan onward, has repeatedly failed to deliver goods to the common man. Even Russia, the editorial says, has had to borrow grain from capitalist countries, and China has fared worse, yet India's Moscow-leaning planners have learnt nothing. The editorial accuses Mrs. Indira Gandhi's government of clinging to the framework because Nehru's posthumous prestige and the careers of Morarji Desai and other senior Congressmen depend on it, even though the Fourth Plan period closed in disaster. It calls for replacing 'growthmanship' with the pragmatism of the First Five-Year Plan, which prioritised agriculture, and ends by predicting that patience and the wisdom of the Indian voter will eventually bear fruit against the 'make-believe' of socialist promises. - Indian planning copied from the Soviet pattern has consistently failed to feed the common man - Russia itself has had to import grain from capitalist countries while China has fared worse - Mrs. Gandhi's government clings to planning because Nehru's prestige and Congress careers depend on it - The First Five-Year Plan's agricultural focus is held up as the pragmatic alternative to 'growthmanship' - Welfare socialism has been absorbed into Western capitalist democracies without their abandoning courage to face economic realities ### Chemistry in The Conquest of Disease *By By A Ranganathan* Signed 'By K. Kumara' and subtitled '(A rebel to the last)', this column treats C. Rajagopalachari's recent death as the loss of the man who 'restored balance in Indian politics' after Gandhi's assassination, when Nehru's leadership had left the country 'leaning left and left, with its right side almost paralysed'. Kumara presents Rajaji as the rare entrepreneurial, classically liberal voice in the Indian elite, a sworn enemy of Karl Marx whose Swatantra Party gave political shape to an alternative philosophy of limited government. The piece dwells on Rajaji's wit, his weekly journalistic columns, and his refusal to abandon his views even as the Swatantra Party suffered electoral setbacks, presenting his death-pangs as not merely those of a man but of an Indian liberal politics that has 'now lost its Field Marshal'. - Rajaji's death is framed as the loss of Indian liberalism's leading rebel against socialist orthodoxy - He is credited with 'restoring balance' to politics that had drifted leftward under Nehru - His self-sufficient and entrepreneurial outlook is presented as a singular economic philosophy in Indian politics - He is described as a sworn enemy of Karl Marx and a relentless critic of Nehruvian leftism - The author treats Rajaji's death as a setback for Indian liberalism, but takes consolation in his combative spirit ### President Bhutto and his Style *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan's science essay surveys the long evolution of chemotherapy from medieval alchemy to mid-twentieth-century pharmacology. Beginning with Paracelsus and the iatrochemists, the piece traces the discovery of methylene blue's anti-bacterial action by Ehrlich, his salvarsan against syphilis, Domagk's prontosil, the French elucidation of sulphanilamide, and Fleming's discovery of penicillin. Ranganathan catalogues the practical conquests these chemical advances enabled — pneumonia, meningitis, tonsillitis, gonorrhoea, syphilis, malaria (with atebrin, plasmoquine and paludrine), prostate cancer (with diethylstilboestrol), and rheumatoid arthritis (with cortisone) — while also noting the new problems of bactericidal resistance and radiation sickness opened up by the same advances. - Modern chemotherapy is traced from Paracelsus and the alchemists to twentieth-century pharmacology - Ehrlich's salvarsan and methylene blue are presented as the start of targeted chemical attack on disease - Domagk's prontosil and the French isolation of sulphanilamide are credited as the breakthrough into sulpha drugs - Fleming's 1929 paper on penicillin's accidental discovery is treated as the foundational moment of antibiotics - The author concedes that bactericidal resistance and radiation sickness are the unresolved frontiers of chemical medicine ### DELHI LETTER: Where Accused Is The Judge M. N. Tholal's polemic accuses the Swatantra Party's leadership of 'suicidal mania' for the conciliatory line it has taken toward Z. A. Bhutto's Pakistan. Tholal argues that the party is sacrificing classical liberal principle for short-term tactical respectability, becoming unpopular in India without winning anything substantive from Pakistan. He links Pakistan's intransigence to the deeper problem of Islamic identity politics: Muslims in Pakistan have confronted Kafirs who do not believe in Mohammed as the last prophet, and they have therefore turned on minorities. The closing pages report on Piloo Mody's press conference with Bhutto, charging Bhutto with using India's hospitality to evade questions on the release of prisoners of war and the recognition of Bangla Desh, and warning that India should remain patient but vigilant. - The essay accuses Swatantra Party leaders of self-defeating naïveté toward Bhutto's Pakistan - It links Pakistan's hostility to Islamic identity politics centred on the status of Kafirs - Mr. Mody is faulted for inviting Bhutto without securing a clear position on POWs or Bangla Desh recognition - Bhutto is described as a man whose style hides a refusal to risk political capital at home for peace abroad - India is urged to wait patiently and not concede recognition of Bangla Desh's claim without consent of Dhaka ### World Atheist Meet *By By G. Vijayam* A short column signed 'K. S.' argues that during the Nehru regime any mention of CIA activity in India was officially denied, but that with serious press reports and PM-level acknowledgement of foreign-power activity it is now no longer possible to pretend. Yet, the author writes, shame at admitting India's inability to handle subversion stops the government from naming the United States. The piece's polemical climax is the recommendation that India needs its own competent 'rightist fifth column' — an efficient counterpart to the leftist columns serving Soviet and Chinese intelligence — capable of using the system's own money and personnel against subversion. - Past denials of CIA activity in India during the Nehru regime are presented as having been knowingly false - Mrs. Gandhi's open fears of American intervention are taken as the new official line - The author argues that pride and shame prevent India from publicly naming the United States - The remedy proposed is an efficient 'rightist fifth column' inside India to counter Soviet and Chinese intelligence networks - Government ineffectiveness against subversion is held to be the real threat to freedom and security ### Anatomy of Price Spiral *By By I. Satya Sundaram* The Delhi Letter, 'From Our Correspondent', is built around the sudden retirement of P. N. Haksar as the Prime Minister's Principal Private Secretary and the political fallout in early 1973. It treats Haksar's exit as a calculated stage-managed move to elevate his anti-Communist successor while leaving the planning ministry (under D. P. Dhar) still pro-Communist. The column then turns to Morarji Desai's speech at the Jan Palach memorial, which used the Czech student's self-immolation to attack the drift toward Soviet-style government in India; to Balraj Madhok's claim that India is already a satellite of the Soviet Union; and to the Akali Party's memorandum charging four Central Ministers, including Bansilal, with corruption. It ends on the political consequences of Andhra disturbances over the Mulki Rules, which the correspondent reads as a serious puncture in Indira Gandhi's national popularity. - Haksar's premature retirement is read as a managed move to shore up the Prime Minister's anti-Communist flank - D. P. Dhar's continuing grip on planning is treated as a sign that pro-Communist influence survives at the policy core - Morarji Desai's Jan Palach memorial speech is reported as a direct attack on Soviet-style government drift in India - The Akali Party's memorandum names central ministers including Bansilal in corruption allegations - Andhra disturbances over the Mulki Rules are read as evidence that Indira Gandhi's popularity is no longer unassailable ### The Population Question *By By James A. Weber* G. Vijayam reports on the first World Atheist Meet, held at the Atheist Centre, Patamata, Vijayawada, from 22-26 December 1972, with 120 delegates and observers from India and two from the USA. The piece presents the conference as an unprecedented international gathering of rationalists, humanists, free thinkers and secularists, and prints fraternal messages from Nigel Sinnoughtt of The Free Thinker, Khorean Arisian of the New York Society for Ethical Culture, James Hervery Johnson of the American Association for the Advancement of Atheism, the Atheist Society of Australia, and the Humanist Association of Bangla Desh. Gora's keynote sets atheism against theism as the choice between human freedom and divinely sanctioned hierarchies, arguing that every prophet has been more atheistic than his contemporaries and that atheism is the master key to dignity, equality and a positive alternative to the present corrupt social, political and economic system. The report closes by listing the regional and national bodies that formed under the meet's umbrella and the resolutions passed against caste, untouchability, religious patronage and apartheid. - First World Atheist Meet, held at Vijayawada 22-26 December 1972 with 120 delegates - Conference draws international fraternal messages from rationalist, humanist and ethical-culture associations - Gora's keynote frames atheism as the affirmation of free will and human freedom against theism's reliance on circumstance - Atheism is presented as a positive social programme against caste, untouchability and apartheid, not mere unbelief - Reaction within theistic traditions — Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed — is treated as a recurrent atheistic impulse later compromised ### Essay 8 I. Satya Sundaram's continuing analysis of India's inflationary price spiral argues that successive Plan periods have fallen far short of industrial-growth targets, with industrial growth in 1971-72 only one per cent against a Fourth Plan target of nine per cent. He maintains that monsoon failures alone cannot explain the chronic rise in foodgrain and consumer-good prices, since money supply is being stepped up without a matching increase in essential-goods production. He attacks the Food Corporation of India's failure to perform its primary function of controlling foodgrain prices and the proliferation of black money under wasteful 'parallel economy' conditions. He proposes a wage-stabilisation policy linking wages to productivity, the diversion of capital from non-essential to essential goods sectors, a clamp-down on conspicuous consumption, and the political will to take the country into the Prime Minister's confidence about the real causes of inflation. - Industrial growth in 1971-72 hit only one per cent against a target of nine per cent - Money supply is stepped up without matching increases in essential-goods production - Black money and the parallel economy are presented as the structural drivers of speculation - The Food Corporation of India is faulted for failing its primary price-control function - Sundaram urges wage stabilisation linked to productivity and a war-footing approach to inflation ### Essay 9 James A. Weber's essay from the Foundation for Economic Education's tradition argues that the United States was founded on the principle of limited government, but is now flirting with the opposite — limited people. He cites demographers including Donald J. Bogue, who once predicted runaway US population growth but now revises projections downward, to argue that population follows an 'S' curve and is already levelling off naturally. He attacks the standard population-control case on pollution, crime, overcrowding and resource depletion, drawing on Barry Commoner's data that the surge in pollution since 1946 owes only twelve to twenty per cent to population growth and the rest to new production technologies. He insists per capita income rises with population because productivity grows faster than people, and concludes that population control is a 'simplistic nonsense' that diagnoses the human condition as a problem to be engineered away. - The piece frames US population-control policy as a direct contradiction of the founding principle of limited government - Donald J. Bogue's revised demographic projections are presented as evidence that population growth is already levelling off - Barry Commoner's pollution data are used to attribute only 12-20% of pollution growth since 1946 to population - Crime, congestion and resource use are argued not to be straightforward functions of population size - Population control is dismissed as 'simplistic nonsense' that treats people as a problem rather than a resource --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-feb15-1958/ ### Summary This 15 February 1958 number of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V, No. 23) — the fortnightly self-described 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' edited from Bombay by Miss Kusum Lotwala — leads with an editorial on the just-announced merger of Egypt and Syria into the United Arab Republic, reading it through the lenses of Pan-Islamism, the Baghdad Pact, and what the editor calls a fresh wave of 'Brahmanical Ascendancy' inside the Indian polity. The rest of the issue is a sampler of the magazine's standing preoccupations: a long Forum-style essay by Prof. R. J. Taraporewalla arguing that India now carries the heaviest direct-tax burden in the world; 'Vivek' on the directionlessness of the Second Plan; Ven on Congress's drift toward 'non-violent communism' after the Gauhati pronouncements on collectivisation; K. D. Valicha on the Nehru–Suhrawardy correspondence and the renewed exodus of Hindus from East Pakistan; J. Mazumdar's profile of the neglected revolutionary M. P. T. Acharya; G. T.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 15 February 1958 number of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V, No. 23) — the fortnightly self-described 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' edited from Bombay by Miss Kusum Lotwala — leads with an editorial on the just-announced merger of Egypt and Syria into the United Arab Republic, reading it through the lenses of Pan-Islamism, the Baghdad Pact, and what the editor calls a fresh wave of 'Brahmanical Ascendancy' inside the Indian polity. The rest of the issue is a sampler of the magazine's standing preoccupations: a long Forum-style essay by Prof. R. J. Taraporewalla arguing that India now carries the heaviest direct-tax burden in the world; 'Vivek' on the directionlessness of the Second Plan; Ven on Congress's drift toward 'non-violent communism' after the Gauhati pronouncements on collectivisation; K. D. Valicha on the Nehru–Suhrawardy correspondence and the renewed exodus of Hindus from East Pakistan; J. Mazumdar's profile of the neglected revolutionary M. P. T. Acharya; G. T. Olarenshaw's portrait of Hong Kong as a 'taxless magnet'; Sydney Gruson (reprinted from The New York Times) on Leszek Kolakowski's revisionist Marxism in Poland; Jay Kay's 'Drift Way' welcoming the Centre's tougher line on Kerala's Communist ministry; and M. A. Venkata Rao on the prospects of the Jan Sangh. Across the rendered pages the issue stakes out the magazine's standing positions — free economy at home, scepticism of planning and high taxation, civil liberty against communism abroad, and a Liberal–Hindu nationalist conversation about the future of the non-Congress opposition. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL The unsigned editorial opens with the announcement of the Egypt–Syria merger into the United Arab Republic, treating it as the most important development in West Asia since the Suez crisis and reading it not as a triumph of secular Arab nationalism but as a step toward a wider Pan-Islamic bloc that could reshape Kashmir diplomacy and complicate India's neutralist posture. The editorial then pivots to the Baghdad Pact, blaming Soviet penetration of the Arab world on Anglo-American clumsiness, and closes with a domestic theme it labels 'Brahmanical Ascendancy' — a warning that the Congress establishment is sliding back into a narrow caste-coloured leadership style at exactly the moment when the country needs a broader liberal-democratic base. - Frames the UAR merger as a step toward Pan-Islamism rather than secular Arab nationalism. - Worries the new bloc will tilt Muslim opinion on Kashmir against India. - Blames Anglo-American policy on the Baghdad Pact for Soviet gains in the Arab world. - Coins 'Brahmanical Ascendancy' as a domestic warning about narrowing Congress leadership. - Sets the issue's broader frame: free economy at home, libertarian democracy against both communism and theocratic blocs abroad. ### Non-violent Communism *By by Ven* 'Ven' reads Congress President U. N. Dhebar's recent Gauhati pronouncements — and the Prime Minister's subsequent endorsement — as a commitment to gramdan, joint farming and full collectivisation under the cover of a peaceful, Indian idiom. The essay argues that the new line is 'non-violent communism' only in name: once the State takes over the land and decides how much labour is needed where, the apparatus that emerges will be indistinguishable from the Soviet model, with private property in land sacrificed, peasant initiative blunted, and the producer reduced to a labourer working at the pleasure of officials. The author warns that the Indian record so far gives no reason to expect that a Communist transformation will be either peaceful or productive. - Reads Congress's Gauhati turn as a commitment to gramdan and joint farming, not voluntary reform. - Argues 'non-violent' is a tactical adjective: the destination is full collectivisation. - Predicts that once the State allocates labour, the peasant becomes a Soviet-style labourer. - Connects Nehru's endorsement of the line to a wider drift of Indian planning toward Marxian categories. - Calls on liberals to challenge the assumption that Indian socialism will be milder than its foreign predecessors. ### Heaviest Taxation In the World *By by Prof. R. J. Taraporewalla* Prof. R. J. Taraporewalla mounts a long, comparison-driven argument that India in 1958 carries the heaviest direct-tax burden in the world. He works through individual income tax, corporate tax, capital-gains tax, the proposed wealth tax and expenditure tax, and the cumulative effect of indirect taxes, setting Indian rates against those of the United States, Britain and other industrial economies. The essay concludes that the present structure of taxation — defended on egalitarian grounds — destroys both the inducement and the capacity to save, starves the private sector of capital, and so undermines the very capital formation on which the Plans rely. He recommends a sharp reduction of top rates, a lighter touch on companies, and the abandonment of the proposed wealth and expenditure taxes. - Direct comparison of Indian income, corporate and indirect tax rates against the United States and Britain. - Argues India's effective top rates and proposed wealth/expenditure taxes amount to the world's heaviest fiscal load. - Links high marginal rates to the collapse of voluntary saving and private capital formation. - Frames heavy taxation as self-defeating for a State that needs investment to fund the Plan. - Calls for cuts to top rates and abandonment of the proposed wealth and expenditure taxes. ### A Plan Without A Plan *By by Vivek* 'Vivek' surveys the unravelling of the Second Five Year Plan and concludes that the Government is now improvising — issuing successive 'cores' and revised priorities while quietly admitting that targets, financing and physical supplies do not add up. The essay reads the public quarrels inside the Cabinet between senior ministers as evidence that the Planning Commission no longer commands either the data or the political authority to guide the economy. The writer's deeper point is that planning of the Indian type cannot work without information and prices that only a market generates; the result of trying to plan without those signals is exactly the present spectacle of a plan without a plan. - Reads the cuts and revisions to the Second Plan as evidence the original document has collapsed. - Cabinet infighting over priorities is treated as a symptom of the Planning Commission's loss of authority. - Argues planners lack the price and information signals needed to allocate resources rationally. - Notes that foreign-exchange and savings shortfalls were predictable from the Plan's own arithmetic. - Frames the title — 'A Plan Without A Plan' — as the natural outcome of planning without markets. ### Our Relations With Pakistan *By by K. D. Valicha* K. D. Valicha walks the reader through the recent Nehru–Suhrawardy correspondence on the Indus waters, joint defence and the no-war declaration, and through the renewed and now very large exodus of minorities from East Pakistan. He argues that India's habit of treating Pakistan as a normal neighbour, capable of being reasoned with by personal letters between Prime Ministers, ignores the underlying political reality that Pakistan's leadership draws legitimacy from anti-Indian and pan-Islamic sentiment. The essay catalogues the new flight of refugees from East Bengal — running, on his figures, into hundreds of thousands — and reads it as evidence that the Nehru-Liaquat formula on minorities has effectively broken down. - Reads the Nehru–Suhrawardy exchange as confirming, not bridging, the gap between the two States. - Argues Pakistan's domestic politics make a no-war declaration structurally impossible to sell. - Documents a renewed mass exodus from East Pakistan, with figures cited from official sources. - Treats the breakdown of the Nehru–Liaquat minorities pact as the central fact of bilateral relations. - Concludes that India should drop the assumption of normal-neighbour reasoning and plan for prolonged hostility. ### A Story of A Neglected Freedom Fighter *By by J. Mazumdar* J. Mazumdar offers a brief obituary-portrait of the revolutionary M. P. T. Acharya, who, the article reports, passed away on 30 March 1954 at his Bombay residence and whose name has been largely forgotten in the official histories of the freedom movement. Mazumdar traces Acharya's flight from British India, his work with Raja Mahendra Pratap, Maulana Barakatullah and others in setting up the Provisional Government of India in Kabul, his negotiations with the Bolshevik regime and Lenin, and his later years as one of the few Indian revolutionaries to break openly with Soviet Communism. The piece is at once a biographical tribute and an argument that the freedom movement was wider — and more libertarian — than the Congress-centric narrative admits. - Reconstructs Acharya's role in the 1915 Provisional Government of India in Kabul. - Notes his early contacts with Lenin and the Bolshevik leadership and his later disillusion. - Frames him as a freedom fighter deliberately forgotten by the dominant Congress narrative. - Underlines his connection with Raja Mahendra Pratap and Maulana Barakatullah. - Reads his life as evidence of an internationalist, libertarian strand in Indian nationalism. ### Ebbing Away of Hindu National Life An unsigned short piece returns to the editorial's 'Brahmanical Ascendancy' theme, arguing that the visible recovery of caste-Hindu reflexes in public life is not a sign of returning vigour but of an underlying ebb in Hindu national life. The argument is that, deprived by Independence of its political adversaries, the Hindu social order has not reformed itself but has fallen back on ritual, exclusion and conservative reassertion — leaving the community demographically and culturally exposed at a moment when both Islam and a secularising modernity are pressing in. - Reads new public expressions of Hindu identity as defensive rather than confident. - Argues post-1947 Hinduism has not undertaken the reform it needs. - Treats demographic and cultural decline as the real story behind the rhetoric of revival. - Connects the diagnosis to the editorial's worry about 'Brahmanical Ascendancy'. ### Islam and Western Civilization This short unsigned essay revisits the long argument about Islam's relation to Western civilisation. It concedes that the Middle East has historically absorbed major impulses from the West — political, scientific and technological — but argues that the contemporary unease in the Islamic world reflects an unresolved tension between an inherited religious order and the secular norms of Western modernity. The piece reads the new Arab nationalism (including the UAR merger discussed in the editorial) as one more attempt to manage that tension on Islamic rather than secular-liberal terms, and warns that liberal societies will have to engage with the religion-and-State problem in Islam directly rather than wishing it away. - Frames the Islam–West encounter as a question of religion and the modern State, not of culture in the abstract. - Reads contemporary Arab nationalism as a religious-political response to Western modernity. - Argues secular-liberal societies must address the religion-and-State question rather than evade it. - Connects the analysis to the issue's lead editorial on the UAR merger. ### A Polish Plea For Liberty *By by Sydney Gruson* Reprinted from The New York Times, Sydney Gruson's report introduces Indian readers to the young Polish philosopher Leszek Kolakowski, whose articles in the Warsaw weekly Nowa Kultura have become the centre of the post-October revisionist debate. Gruson sketches Kolakowski's argument that Marxism has degenerated into a closed institutional doctrine and that human values — truth, dignity, intellectual honesty — must be defended against the apparatus, even against the Party that claims to embody them. The piece is included in the issue as one more piece of evidence — alongside the editorial on the UAR and Ven's essay on collectivisation — that the world-historical defence of liberty is now being fought as much inside the Communist bloc as outside it. - Introduces Leszek Kolakowski's revisionist Marxism to an Indian readership. - Frames his work as a defence of human values against an institutional Party. - Treats Polish revisionism as a global liberal datum, not a parochial East European story. - Aligns with the issue's wider argument that anti-communism and humanism are now allied causes. ### India As A Taxless Magnet *By by G. T. Olarenshaw* G. T. Olarenshaw profiles Hong Kong as what he calls a 'taxless magnet' — a small Crown Colony that has built a manufacturing and trading economy by holding its tax regime almost flat and refusing to chase its citizens or its companies through a battery of new levies. The essay contrasts Hong Kong's success with India's posture (described in Taraporewalla's article earlier in the issue) and argues that capital, enterprise and skilled labour move toward jurisdictions that tax lightly and govern predictably. The implicit lesson for India is that fiscal restraint, not fiscal ambition, is the more reliable path to industrial growth. - Presents Hong Kong as an empirical counter-example to high-tax planning orthodoxy. - Treats low taxation plus predictable governance as the colony's central competitive asset. - Reads capital and labour flows as the real referendum on tax policy. - Implicitly contrasts Hong Kong's position with the Indian tax regime described elsewhere in the issue. ### In the Driftway *By by Jay Kay* Jay Kay's 'Drift Way' column for this fortnight, headlined 'Welcome Deviation From Appeasement', reads the Centre's recent firmer line on the Communist ministry in Kerala as a long-overdue correction of what the columnist sees as years of indulgence toward Communist participation in legitimate institutions. The column links the Kerala question to a broader argument that fellow-travelling within the Congress and the Government has reached a point where it is no longer plausible to treat domestic Communists as just another democratic party. Jay Kay welcomes any move that distinguishes constitutional opposition from organised subversion and urges that the new tone be maintained. - Reads the new Centre–Kerala posture as an end to appeasement of the Communist ministry. - Argues fellow-travelling inside Congress had blurred the line between opposition and subversion. - Welcomes any move that treats organised Communist activity as a security question, not a parliamentary one. - Urges the Government to maintain the firmer tone rather than retreat to the previous accommodation. ### Where Stands Jan Sangh *By by M. A. Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao asks where the Bharatiya Jan Sangh now stands as a political force. The opening pages of his essay sketch the party's roots in the Punjab Hindu Sabha and the larger Hindu Mahasabha tradition, mark its break under S. P. Mookerjee from the Mahasabha's confessional politics, and locate it within the wider field of non-Congress opposition alongside the Liberal, Swatantra-tending and Praja Socialist forces that the magazine usually addresses. Rao treats the question of whether the Jan Sangh can outgrow its Hindi-belt and Hindu-revivalist base, become a credible national alternative to Congress, and absorb a broader liberal-conservative constituency as the central problem the party will have to solve through the coming general election. The essay is cut off at the end of the rendered pages and the rest of the analysis lies beyond this chunk. - Locates the Jan Sangh in a lineage running from the Punjab Hindu Sabha through the Hindu Mahasabha. - Treats S. P. Mookerjee's break with the Mahasabha as the party's founding political act. - Frames the central question as whether the party can outgrow its Hindi-belt and confessional base. - Places the Jan Sangh in the magazine's running map of non-Congress opposition forces. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-feb15-1960/ ### Summary The 15 February 1960 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 26) leads with an editorial celebrating the Congress-PSP-Muslim League Democratic Front's victory over the Communists in Kerala, and tracks two other current concerns of the magazine: Khrushchev and Mikoyan's high-profile visit to India (read as a Soviet drive to consolidate ideological ground in the subcontinent) and the early Sino-Indian border friction. M. A. Venkata Rao's signed leader urges a Swatantra-Party rethinking of the right to strike along lines of compulsory arbitration, while M. N. Tholal attacks the Nehruvian doctrine of non-alignment for leaving India militarily exposed to Chinese aggression. Prof. G. P. Bhattacharjee argues that negotiation with Communist powers can only succeed from a position of military strength, and S. R. Mohan Das catalogues evidence against Nehru's view that Chinese Communists are 'different' from their Soviet counterparts. The issue's centre-fold Economic Supplement, edited by Murari Lotwala, anchors the libertarian case for free enterprise: C.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The 15 February 1960 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 26) leads with an editorial celebrating the Congress-PSP-Muslim League Democratic Front's victory over the Communists in Kerala, and tracks two other current concerns of the magazine: Khrushchev and Mikoyan's high-profile visit to India (read as a Soviet drive to consolidate ideological ground in the subcontinent) and the early Sino-Indian border friction. M. A. Venkata Rao's signed leader urges a Swatantra-Party rethinking of the right to strike along lines of compulsory arbitration, while M. N. Tholal attacks the Nehruvian doctrine of non-alignment for leaving India militarily exposed to Chinese aggression. Prof. G. P. Bhattacharjee argues that negotiation with Communist powers can only succeed from a position of military strength, and S. R. Mohan Das catalogues evidence against Nehru's view that Chinese Communists are 'different' from their Soviet counterparts. The issue's centre-fold Economic Supplement, edited by Murari Lotwala, anchors the libertarian case for free enterprise: C. Rajagopalachari draws on Antoine Pinay's French recovery and Ludwig Erhard's West German miracle to argue that deficit financing and socialist controls produce bankruptcy rather than prosperity, Prof. G. N. Lawande critiques wasteful public expenditure under planning, and K. S. Wood lays out free-enterprise first principles. The closing departments — a Delhi Letter on the Congress-PSP-League alliance and the patriotism question, two book reviews (A. D. Gorwala on Suhas Chatterjee's Danger from Communist China and M. A. Venkata Rao on S. Chandrasekhar's Population and Family Planning in India), a News Digest by G. N. Lawande, and a sharp note by Mahavir Tyagi on corruption in the public sector — round out a number whose ideological centre is consistent: a critique of Nehruvian planning and non-alignment from a classical-liberal and anti-Communist position. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL — Kerala Rejects the Communists The unsigned editorial opens by celebrating the Kerala election result, in which the Democratic Front of Congress, PSP and Muslim League has just won 66 of 90 seats declared against 19 for the Communists. The editors credit the Adviser regime's cleanup of the law-and-order situation, an unprecedentedly thorough non-Communist campaign, and the middle and lower-middle-class revulsion against the Communist regime's use of state machinery for party ends (including, in the editors' framing, intimidation by 'Communist worthies' and the misuse of public money). Two further notes treat Khrushchev's and Mikoyan's visit to India as a Soviet ideological-propaganda offensive ('Russian Magnates in India'), and Khrushchev's Supreme Soviet announcement that the U.S.S.R. will not be the first to use nuclear arms. The editorial column also reports a Sino-Burmese border agreement, applauds President de Gaulle's defeat of the European-settler insurrection in Algeria, and laments that newly free African states are turning toward one-party rule and centralisation. - Kerala's Democratic Front (Congress-PSP-Muslim League) has secured 66 of 90 declared seats against 19 for the Communists. - Editors credit the Adviser regime's restoration of impartial law and order for enabling a fair election campaign. - Khrushchev and Mikoyan's India visit is read as a Soviet political-ideological offensive aimed at the subcontinent. - Khrushchev's Supreme Soviet speech pledging not to use nuclear arms first is treated as a propaganda move rather than a genuine concession. - De Gaulle's putting down of the European-settler revolt in Algeria is welcomed as a step toward Algerian self-determination. - African independence is being marred by drift to one-party rule and Soviet patronage. ### Rethinking Strikes *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao opens by lamenting that the Swatantra Party's draft programme has too little to say on labour, despite labour militancy being the country's most disruptive economic problem. He argues that political and trade-union strikes — used by Communists and others to convert sectional grievances into wider economic warfare — have outgrown the legitimate function of collective bargaining and now threaten the productive base on which workers themselves depend. The article makes a libertarian case for compulsory arbitration with binding awards, on the grounds that in an underdeveloped economy with surplus labour, free collective bargaining systematically fails the unorganised majority of workers while privileging a narrow organised minority concentrated in modern industry. Venkata Rao asks the Swatantra Party to commit explicitly to legally enforceable arbitration as the central plank of its labour policy, framed as protection both for the public and for the unorganised worker. - Swatantra Party's labour plank is underdeveloped relative to the urgency of the strike problem. - Political and Communist-led strikes in India are not collective bargaining but warfare on the wider economy. - In a labour-surplus underdeveloped country, free collective bargaining favours an organised minority over the unorganised majority. - Compulsory arbitration with binding awards is presented as the libertarian-compatible remedy. - Swatantra is urged to make legally enforceable arbitration its central labour policy. ### The Stranglehold of Non-alignment *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal mounts a sustained attack on the Nehruvian doctrine of non-alignment, arguing that the Prime Minister's foreign policy has produced not a moral 'third force' but a country militarily and morally unprepared for the Chinese threat now manifest on the northern frontier. Tholal accuses Nehru of treating the Panchsheel agreement as a personal article of faith long after Chinese troops had begun to violate Indian territory, of underestimating Chinese intentions in Tibet, and of dressing up military weakness as Gandhian principle. He quotes Nehru's own admission that 'we are a puny nation' beside China and the United States, and treats it as a confession that non-alignment has left India dangerously dependent on the goodwill of an adversary. The piece closes by urging realignment with the Western democracies on practical defence grounds, while accepting that India's domestic socialism need not be abandoned. - Non-alignment is not a third moral force but a screen for unpreparedness against Chinese aggression. - Nehru's faith in Panchsheel persisted long after Chinese incursions had begun. - The Prime Minister's own description of India as a 'puny nation' beside China and the U.S. is read as an admission of strategic failure. - The author urges practical defence alignment with the Western democracies. - Domestic socialism is not the target of the critique; the target is foreign-policy posture. ### Policy of Negotiation — From Strength or Weakness *By Prof. G. P. Bhattacharjee* Prof. G. P. Bhattacharjee argues that the Government of India's preferred response to Chinese aggression on the frontier — negotiation — can succeed only if it is conducted from a clear position of strength. Drawing on the experience of the Soviet leadership at the Camp David talks of September 1959, where the United States was able to extract conciliatory language from Mr. Khrushchev only because America held a credible deterrent, Bhattacharjee maintains that Communist states respect armed capacity, not appeals to international morality. Negotiation initiated from weakness, by contrast, becomes an invitation to further encroachment. The piece reads as a direct rebuttal of the Nehruvian preference for diplomacy independent of military build-up. - Negotiation with Communist powers must follow, not precede, the building of military strength. - The 1959 Camp David talks showed Khrushchev moderating only because faced with credible American power. - Appeals to international morality alone do not deter Communist expansion. - Indian negotiation with China from a position of weakness will encourage further encroachment. ### Russian Communists Are "Different" *By S. R. Mohan Das* S. R. Mohan Das compiles evidence against the official Indian view — endorsed by Nehru — that Chinese Communists are somehow 'different' from their Soviet counterparts and so less threatening. Surveying the Chinese occupation of sizeable chunks of Indian territory in Ladakh, the long record of revolutionary activity inside India by the Indian Communist Party, and the way Chinese cadres have been trained in Soviet-aligned doctrine since the early 1950s, Mohan Das argues that the Sino-Soviet bloc is for practical purposes a single ideological enterprise hostile to liberal democracy. He treats Nehru's wishful distinction between Russians and Chinese Communists as the central intellectual error that has left India militarily and politically unprepared. A concluding section, continuing on page 15, recalls Soviet and Chinese support for armed insurgent movements across Asia and rejects the notion that Russia is now a benign 'agrarian-reformer' state. - Chinese Communists have already occupied substantial Indian territory in Ladakh. - The Indian Communist Party has been a tool of international Communism since the 1920s. - Chinese cadres are trained in Soviet-aligned doctrine; the Sino-Soviet bloc functions as a single ideological enterprise. - Nehru's claim that Chinese Communists are 'different' is the foundational error of Indian foreign policy. - Soviet support for insurgencies elsewhere in Asia disproves the 'agrarian reformer' framing of Russia. ### ECONOMIC SUPPLEMENT (Prosperity, Or Bankruptcy? by C. Rajagopalachari; Public Expenditure & Underdeveloped Economy by Prof. G. N. Lawande; What is Free Enterprise? by K. S. Wood) *By C. Rajagopalachari* Rajaji opens the Economic Supplement with a contrast between the French and West German economic miracles and the Indian Second Five Year Plan. The recovery of the franc under Finance Minister Antoine Pinay, he writes, rested on private initiative, honest competition, balanced budgets and the rejection of deficit financing — what Pinay called the 'indispensable minimum' of treating Government controls as 'something like traffic lights'. Rajaji draws the parallel with Ludwig Erhard's West Germany and with Japan's post-war recovery: in each case prosperity followed the discarding of socialist illusions, the embrace of competition and a free price mechanism, and the restoration of a stable currency. Against this, India's policy of deficit financing, controls and currency depreciation can only end, he warns, in bankruptcy — economic, political and moral. The piece closes with a pointed reference to the German Social Democrats' Bad Godesberg programme, in which even European socialists have abandoned nationalisation in favour of free choice and competition. - Private initiative, balanced budgets and honest competition are the actual safeguards of prosperity. - Pinay's stabilisation of the franc rested on rejecting deficit financing and on treating controls as 'traffic lights'. - Erhard's West German recovery and Japan's reconstruction confirm the same principles. - India's Second Plan, by relying on deficit financing and controls, courts bankruptcy. - Even the German Social Democrats have, at Bad Godesberg, abandoned nationalisation for free competition. ### DELHI LETTER — Who are the Patriots? *By G N Lawande* Prof. G. N. Lawande argues that the achievement of sustained economic progress in an underdeveloped country requires limiting the State's call on resources to those genuinely productive — the social overheads (roads, irrigation, education, health) that private enterprise cannot supply at adequate scale. The Indian Plans, in his reading, have done the opposite: they have stretched public expenditure into areas where private effort would be more efficient, financed it with deficits that erode the value of money, and crowded out the savings that would otherwise have flowed into productive investment. Lawande draws on comparative data on national savings rates and on the experience of advanced economies to argue that the discipline of accepting national-income limits, rather than wishful planning targets, is what makes capital formation possible. - Public expenditure in an underdeveloped economy must be confined to social overheads that private enterprise cannot supply. - The Indian Plans have overextended the State into areas best left to private effort. - Deficit financing depreciates currency value and crowds out productive private savings. - Capital formation requires discipline about national-income limits, not ambitious planning targets. ### BOOK REVIEWS K. S. Wood's short piece sets out the libertarian first principles of free enterprise: that all production proceeds from private decisions about saving and investment, that competition disciplines those decisions, and that a free price mechanism alone communicates the millions of preferences and scarcities that no central planner can compile. The piece reads as a reader's primer to back up Rajaji's and Lawande's longer arguments earlier in the supplement. - Free enterprise rests on private decisions about saving, investment and risk-taking. - Competition is the discipline that turns self-interest into public benefit. - Prices, not planners, transmit information about scarcity and preference. - Free enterprise is presented as a complete economic system, not merely an absence of regulation. ### NEWS DIGEST The Delhi Letter reads the Kerala Congress-PSP-League alliance, and the corresponding revival of Muslim League ambitions in northern India, against the background of the larger patriotism question raised by the Sino-Indian crisis. The correspondent observes that the Praja Socialist Party is increasingly pulled in two directions — between cooperation with the Congress and a more frankly anti-Communist line — and that the Muslim League, smelling opportunity in the Kerala success, is testing its strength in Uttar Pradesh and beyond. A second section assesses the Soviet leadership's overtures during the Khrushchev–Mikoyan visit and argues that Russia's recent emphasis on 'peaceful means' should not be taken as a strategic change. - Kerala's Congress-PSP-League victory has revived Muslim League ambitions in northern India. - The PSP is internally divided between cooperation with Congress and a sharper anti-Communist line. - The Khrushchev–Mikoyan visit's rhetoric of peaceful coexistence is read as tactical, not strategic. - Patriotism in 1960 India is being defined against both Communist territorial encroachment and ideological fellow-travelling. ### IN LIGHTER VEIN A. D. Gorwala reviews Suhas Chatterjee's Danger from Communist China (Bombay 1959). He praises Chatterjee's marshalling of evidence on the Chinese absorption of Tibet, the encroachment in Ladakh, the use of intimidation and propaganda along the long Himalayan frontier, and the wider regional pattern reaching Burma and Nepal. Gorwala accepts the book's central conclusion — that the Indian state has misread Chinese intent — and recommends the volume to readers as a corrective to Government complacency. - Chatterjee documents the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the encroachment in Ladakh. - The book traces a wider regional pattern reaching Burma, Nepal and Sikkim. - Gorwala endorses the book's verdict that Government of India has misread Chinese intent. - The review is offered as a corrective to official complacency about the northern frontier. ### LETTER TO THE EDITOR *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao reviews S. Chandrasekhar's Population and Family Planning in India (Asia Publishing House). The reviewer welcomes Chandrasekhar's data-driven case that India's demographic growth is outpacing food production and capital formation, and that the existing official family-planning programme is inadequate in scale and conception. Venkata Rao endorses the book's plea for a serious commitment to fertility control as a precondition for any liberal economic project, while taking issue with parts of Chandrasekhar's analysis of the social levers that would actually shift behaviour. - Indian population growth is outrunning food and capital formation. - The Government family-planning programme is inadequate in scale and conception. - Fertility control is treated as a precondition for any liberal economic project. - Venkata Rao differs with parts of Chandrasekhar's analysis of behavioural levers. ### Essay 12 *By G N Lawande* G. N. Lawande's News Digest summarises a clutch of foreign and domestic developments: the Belgian Government's handling of the Congo as it moves toward independence, the continuing Chinese aggression on the Indian frontier, the Soviet position behind the Bamboo Curtain, and the call by Swatantra Party leaders for the political opposition to consolidate. A short item welcomes the Government's belated acknowledgement that population control must be elevated to a national priority. - Belgian policy in the Congo is treated as a test case for the management of decolonisation. - Chinese aggression on the Indian frontier remains the central foreign-policy concern. - Swatantra Party leaders are calling for opposition consolidation against Congress. - Government has begun to treat population control as a national priority. ### Essay 13 A short notice, 'Let Corruption Flourish', records the warning by Mahavir Tyagi that public-sector projects worth crores have been carried out with such loose financial controls that systematic corruption has set in, and reproduces in summary the views of figures who argue the only durable remedy is to roll back the public sector and let private enterprise carry these activities. - Mahavir Tyagi warns that public-sector projects have become vehicles for systematic corruption. - Loose financial controls are identified as the structural cause. - The argued remedy is to roll back the public sector in favour of private enterprise. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-feb15-1962/ ### Summary This February 15, 1962 issue (Vol. IX No. 22) of The Indian Libertarian, a Bombay fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni that 'stands for free economy and limited government', appears on the eve of India's general elections and is dominated by election commentary. The unsigned editorial frames the contest as a choice between 'the Swatantra's freedom or Congress slavery', accusing the Congress of imposing a 'brand of Socialism' under the name of freedom. M. A. Venkata Rao dissects the Congress Party's election manifesto, M. N. Tholal reads the 'portents from Nepal', and A. Pampapathy Rao argues that intellectuals have a stake in the forthcoming elections. The issue also carries a four-page Economic Supplement, 'Holding The Price Level' by Waheed A. Gani, a 'Delhi Letter' titled 'On The Road To Slavery Again', a book review, and 'Gleanings from the Press' and 'News & Views' columns. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This February 15, 1962 issue (Vol. IX No. 22) of The Indian Libertarian, a Bombay fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni that 'stands for free economy and limited government', appears on the eve of India's general elections and is dominated by election commentary. The unsigned editorial frames the contest as a choice between 'the Swatantra's freedom or Congress slavery', accusing the Congress of imposing a 'brand of Socialism' under the name of freedom. M. A. Venkata Rao dissects the Congress Party's election manifesto, M. N. Tholal reads the 'portents from Nepal', and A. Pampapathy Rao argues that intellectuals have a stake in the forthcoming elections. The issue also carries a four-page Economic Supplement, 'Holding The Price Level' by Waheed A. Gani, a 'Delhi Letter' titled 'On The Road To Slavery Again', a book review, and 'Gleanings from the Press' and 'News & Views' columns. ## Essays ### Editorial: Voters' Choice — The Swatantra's Freedom or Congress Slavery? The lead editorial, 'Voters' Choice: The Swatantra's Freedom or Congress Slavery?', casts the general election as a contest over India's economic and political direction. It charges that while the Constituent Assembly framed the Constitution to guarantee fundamental rights, the Congress has used its legislative majority to confiscate property, foment class hatred, and impose socialism in the name of freedom. It also criticises the Nehru-Menon government's foreign policy on Goa and Kashmir and its alignment away from the democratic powers, and prints 'Quotable Quotes' including a Rajagopalachari quip on the Swatantra Party. - Frames the election as freedom (Swatantra) versus socialist slavery (Congress). - Argues Congress used its brute majority to confiscate property and stoke class conflict. - Criticises Nehru-Menon foreign policy over Goa and Kashmir. - Closes with 'Quotable Quotes', including a C.R. (Rajagopalachari) line on the Swatantra Party. ### The Congress Party's Election Manifesto *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao examines the Congress Party's election manifesto, reading it as a self-serving document that promises modernisation while consolidating one-party power. He contrasts the manifesto's professed aims with the party's record, invoking the Constituent Assembly's original intent and warning that continued Congress dominance threatens democratic checks. - Treats the Congress manifesto as propaganda for continued single-party rule. - Contrasts the manifesto's promises with the Congress's actual record. - Invokes constitutional first principles against centralising tendencies. ### Portents From Nepal *By M. N. Thodal* M. N. Tholal's 'Portents From Nepal' analyses the political situation in Nepal, where King Mahendra's assertion of royal power against parliamentary government is read as a warning sign for the region. Tholal weighs the King's actions against the demands of representative government and the pressures of the surrounding Cold War context. - Reads King Mahendra's consolidation of power as ominous for representative government. - Situates Nepal's crisis within regional and Cold War pressures. ### Intellectuals And Forthcoming Elections *By A. Pampapathy Rao* A. Pampapathy Rao argues that India's intellectuals have a direct stake in the forthcoming elections. He contends that intellectuals should not stand aloof but engage, weighing the alternatives before the electorate and rejecting the notion that they can remain detached from the political contest between liberty and collectivism. - Argues intellectuals cannot remain neutral in the coming elections. - Frames the choice as one between liberty and collectivist alternatives. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-feb15-1961/ ### Summary This 15 February 1961 issue (Vol. VIII, No. 22) of The Indian Libertarian — the Bombay fortnightly of the Libertarian Publishers, which 'stands for free economy and limited government' — opens with an editorial on Queen Elizabeth II's visit to India and on a conspiracy to murder Indian leaders, then ranges across foreign policy, ideology, and economics from a classical-liberal, anti-communist stance. M. A. Venkata Rao assesses President Kennedy's 'New Frontiers'; M. N. Thoial dissects the 'psychology of non-alignment' as self-deception serving the communist bloc; and S. Ramanathan revisits 'Lokayata', India's ancient materialist tradition. A four-page 'Economic Supplement' by William Henry Chamberlin is the issue's analytical core, arguing that forced growth and Soviet-style planning are a 'mirage' and that Soviet and Communist-Chinese agriculture is a cautionary failure. Laurence Labadie comments sceptically on disarmament schemes for avoiding atomic war, a 'Delhi Letter' attacks the Congress government's authoritarian drift, and book-review, press-gleaning, and news columns round out the issue.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 15 February 1961 issue (Vol. VIII, No. 22) of The Indian Libertarian — the Bombay fortnightly of the Libertarian Publishers, which 'stands for free economy and limited government' — opens with an editorial on Queen Elizabeth II's visit to India and on a conspiracy to murder Indian leaders, then ranges across foreign policy, ideology, and economics from a classical-liberal, anti-communist stance. M. A. Venkata Rao assesses President Kennedy's 'New Frontiers'; M. N. Thoial dissects the 'psychology of non-alignment' as self-deception serving the communist bloc; and S. Ramanathan revisits 'Lokayata', India's ancient materialist tradition. A four-page 'Economic Supplement' by William Henry Chamberlin is the issue's analytical core, arguing that forced growth and Soviet-style planning are a 'mirage' and that Soviet and Communist-Chinese agriculture is a cautionary failure. Laurence Labadie comments sceptically on disarmament schemes for avoiding atomic war, a 'Delhi Letter' attacks the Congress government's authoritarian drift, and book-review, press-gleaning, and news columns round out the issue. The through-line is that economic freedom and limited government, not planning or non-alignment, secure both prosperity and liberty. ## Essays ### Editorial (Queen Elizabeth in India; Conspiracy to Murder Leaders; etc.) The editorial section leads with 'Queen Elizabeth in India', describing the spontaneous warmth of the crowds that greeted the Queen in Delhi, Jaipur, and beyond, and reading the welcome as goodwill toward Britain rather than revived loyalism. It hopes the visit will help win British support against Chinese aggression on India's borders at the coming Commonwealth Prime Ministers' meeting. A second editorial, 'Conspiracy to Murder Leaders', reflects on a plot uncovered in the Punjab, recalling the passions of the 1947 Partition. Further editorial notes touch on Red China, Sikkim and Bhutan, 'open societies' versus 'planned societies', and 'the City of Freedom'. - Reads Queen Elizabeth II's India visit as goodwill toward Britain, not revived loyalism. - Hopes the visit aids British backing against Chinese border aggression. - 'Conspiracy to Murder Leaders' recalls 1947 Partition passions. - Shorter notes on Red China, Sikkim/Bhutan, and open vs planned societies. ### President Kennedy's "New Frontiers" *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'President Kennedy's "New Frontiers"' takes the measure of the new American administration's Inaugural Address and programme, weighing Kennedy's summons to sacrifice and renewed Cold War resolve against the backdrop of communist advance in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The essay reads the 'New Frontiers' rhetoric as a test of whether the free world can match the communist challenge with both vigour and liberty. - Assesses Kennedy's Inaugural Address and 'New Frontiers' programme. - Frames it against communist advances worldwide. - Asks whether the free world can answer the challenge without sacrificing liberty. ### Psychology of Non-Alignment *By M. N. Thoial* M. N. Thoial's 'Psychology of Non-Alignment' attacks India's non-aligned foreign policy as a self-deceiving posture that, in practice, serves the communist bloc. The essay argues that Nehru's non-alignment is not genuine neutrality but a one-sided indulgence that excuses communist aggression while criticising the West, and it questions the moral and strategic coherence of the stance amid Chinese pressure on India's borders. - Attacks non-alignment as self-deception rather than true neutrality. - Argues the policy effectively favours the communist bloc. - Questions its coherence given Chinese aggression on India's borders. ### Lokayata: Indian Materialism *By S. Ramanathan* S. Ramanathan's 'Lokayata: Indian Materialism' is the second of a series on Indian materialism, expounding the ancient Lokayata (Charvaka) school as a rationalist, this-worldly current within Indian thought. It treats the materialist tradition as evidence that scepticism and free inquiry are native to India, countering the assumption that Indian philosophy is uniformly otherworldly. - Expounds the ancient Lokayata/Charvaka materialist school. - Presents it as a native Indian rationalist, this-worldly tradition. - Counters the view that Indian thought is uniformly otherworldly. ### Economic Supplement (Economic Growth: Reality and Mirage; Lesson from Soviet and Communist Chinese Agriculture) *By William Henry Chamberlin* The four-page 'Economic Supplement' by William Henry Chamberlin anchors the issue's economics. 'Economic Growth: Reality and Mirage' argues that forcing a faster growth rate through state direction is a statist illusion, contrasting the steady, incentive-driven expansion of the free-market United States with the distortions and exaggerated claims of Soviet planning, and invoking Steinbeck's 'Okies' to argue that free systems adapt where command ones fail. A companion piece, 'Lesson from Soviet and Communist Chinese Agriculture', contends that collectivisation has made farming a disaster in both countries and that India should not imitate the sovkhoz, kolkhoz, or commune but rely on individual cultivators, credit, and education. - Argues forced, state-driven growth is a 'mirage' versus free-market growth. - Contrasts US incentive-led expansion with distorted Soviet planning claims. - Uses Steinbeck's 'Okies' to show free systems adapt where command fails. - Holds Soviet and Chinese collective agriculture to be a failure India must not copy. - Recommends individual farming, credit, and education over collectivisation. ### Comment on the Proposals of some Modern Saviours about Avoiding the Menace of Atomic war *By Laurence Labadie* Laurence Labadie's 'Comment on the Proposals of Some Modern Saviours about Avoiding the Menace of Atomic War' offers an individualist-anarchist critique of fashionable disarmament and world-government schemes. Surveying humanity's history of absolute sovereignty, it argues that the proposals of would-be 'saviours' to avert atomic war misdiagnose the problem, and that genuine peace depends on dismantling coercive, monopolistic state power rather than erecting new supranational authority. - Individualist-anarchist critique of disarmament and world-government proposals. - Argues such 'modern saviours' misdiagnose the roots of atomic-war danger. - Locates the real menace in coercive, monopolistic state power. ### Delhi Letter: Congress Government Shows the Cloven Hoof The 'Delhi Letter', 'Congress Government Shows the Cloven Hoof', is a correspondent's despatch arguing that the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh and at the centre is revealing an authoritarian streak beneath its democratic professions, citing episodes of administrative high-handedness as evidence of the ruling party's drift away from liberal norms. - Argues the Congress government is showing an authoritarian streak. - Cites Madhya Pradesh administrative episodes as evidence. - Reads them as drift from liberal-democratic norms. ### Book Review The 'Book Review' section notices works on economic development, weighing them against the journal's free-economy convictions. - Reviews works on economic development from a free-economy standpoint. ### Gleanings from the Press 'Gleanings from the Press' reprints and comments on items from other newspapers — including a call to 'ring down the curtain' on China and notes on Kashmir, Tibetans crossing into NEFA, and bread riots in China — read through the journal's anti-communist lens. - Reprints and comments on press items on China, Kashmir and NEFA. - Frames them through the journal's anti-communist viewpoint. ### News & Views 'News & Views' gathers shorter notes on the cost of maintaining Nehru, private enterprise in Soviet Russia, the same story from East Germany, the landslide of the Indian Communist Party, and the 'march of poverty' in India, presenting them as illustrations of the costs of statism. - Short notes on Soviet/East German private enterprise and Indian communism. - Comments on the 'march of poverty' in India. - Frames items as illustrations of the costs of statism. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-feb15-1963/ ### Summary This February 15, 1963 issue (Vol. X No. 22) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni for the Libertarian Publishers, is preoccupied with international affairs in the immediate aftermath of the 1962 Sino-Indian war and de Gaulle's reshaping of Europe. The editorial, 'One Man Over Europe Again?', reads de Gaulle's veto of Britain's entry into the Common Market as a single man once more bending Europe to his will and unsettling the Anglo-American alliance. M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Morale And Leadership in War-time' reflects on national morale and leadership in the wake of the Chinese invasion, and M. N. Tholal's 'All Roads Lead to Alignment' argues that the Chinese attack has exposed the bankruptcy of non-alignment. The issue also carries a four-page Economic Supplement, a 'Delhi Letter' titled 'Escalation Into Surrender', a book review, and the 'Gleanings from the Press' and 'News and Views' columns. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This February 15, 1963 issue (Vol. X No. 22) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni for the Libertarian Publishers, is preoccupied with international affairs in the immediate aftermath of the 1962 Sino-Indian war and de Gaulle's reshaping of Europe. The editorial, 'One Man Over Europe Again?', reads de Gaulle's veto of Britain's entry into the Common Market as a single man once more bending Europe to his will and unsettling the Anglo-American alliance. M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Morale And Leadership in War-time' reflects on national morale and leadership in the wake of the Chinese invasion, and M. N. Tholal's 'All Roads Lead to Alignment' argues that the Chinese attack has exposed the bankruptcy of non-alignment. The issue also carries a four-page Economic Supplement, a 'Delhi Letter' titled 'Escalation Into Surrender', a book review, and the 'Gleanings from the Press' and 'News and Views' columns. ## Essays ### Editorial: One Man Over Europe Again? The editorial 'One Man Over Europe Again?' interprets de Gaulle's veto of Britain's application to the European Economic Community as a reassertion of one-man dominance over Europe. It weighs the consequences for the Anglo-American alliance and the Western bloc, framing de Gaulle's move as a setback for a more integrated, Atlantic-oriented Europe. - Reads de Gaulle's EEC veto of Britain as one man again imposing his will on Europe. - Assesses the strain placed on the Anglo-American alliance and Western unity. - Frames the Common Market dispute as a test of Atlantic cohesion. ### Morale And Leadership in War-time *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Morale And Leadership in War-time' responds to the 1962 Chinese invasion, opening with the Colombo Proposals and the failure to secure a clearance of Chinese forces. He argues that national morale and leadership are decisive in war, examining India's preparedness and political direction in the face of Chinese aggression. - Written in the aftermath of the 1962 Chinese invasion of India. - Opens with the Colombo Proposals and the unresolved clearance of Chinese forces. - Argues morale and leadership are decisive factors in wartime. ### All Roads Lead to Alignment *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'All Roads Lead to Alignment' argues that the Chinese attack has discredited India's policy of non-alignment, since India turned to the U.S.A. and U.K. for military assistance and defence in the crisis. Drawing on General Thimayya's views and the conduct of Prime Minister Nehru's government, Tholal contends that events are pushing India inexorably toward alignment with the Western powers. - Argues the 1962 war exposed the bankruptcy of non-alignment. - Notes India's appeal to the U.S.A. and U.K. for arms and defence. - Draws on General Thimayya's assessment of the situation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-february-1-1958/ ### Summary In the rendered pages, this 1 February 1958 'Sheikh Abdullah Special' of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V No. 22, the Bombay fortnightly edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala) is dominated by the Kashmir question and Indo-Pakistan relations. The editorial responds to Pakistan Prime Minister Feroz Khan Noon's reported threat to Indian nationals, raises 'some pertinent questions' about the security of Muslims and refugees, and warns of a revived Razakar movement in Hyderabad. The lead articles in the rendered pages turn on Sheikh Abdullah's renewed agitation in Kashmir: M. A. Venkata Rao examines 'Sheikh Abdullah and Indian Policy', defending a firm, secular Indian line while criticising the Nehru government's vacillation, and Sumant S. Bankeshwar's polemic 'Sheikh Abdullah: The Mad Mullah on the Rampage' attacks the Sheikh as a communal demagogue. 'Lal' contributes a sharp anti-Nehru piece, 'Nehru: The Trouble-Maker', and M. G. Bailur offers 'The Ethics of Toleration.' In the rendered pages the issue's later items listed in the contents — including Charles A.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary In the rendered pages, this 1 February 1958 'Sheikh Abdullah Special' of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V No. 22, the Bombay fortnightly edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala) is dominated by the Kashmir question and Indo-Pakistan relations. The editorial responds to Pakistan Prime Minister Feroz Khan Noon's reported threat to Indian nationals, raises 'some pertinent questions' about the security of Muslims and refugees, and warns of a revived Razakar movement in Hyderabad. The lead articles in the rendered pages turn on Sheikh Abdullah's renewed agitation in Kashmir: M. A. Venkata Rao examines 'Sheikh Abdullah and Indian Policy', defending a firm, secular Indian line while criticising the Nehru government's vacillation, and Sumant S. Bankeshwar's polemic 'Sheikh Abdullah: The Mad Mullah on the Rampage' attacks the Sheikh as a communal demagogue. 'Lal' contributes a sharp anti-Nehru piece, 'Nehru: The Trouble-Maker', and M. G. Bailur offers 'The Ethics of Toleration.' In the rendered pages the issue's later items listed in the contents — including Charles A. Willoughby on 'Western Strategic Blind Alley', Howard Fast's 'Open Letter to Soviet Writers', George Richmond Walker's 'Answer to World Dilemma', and the Soviet-economy and book-review sections — appear only in the contents box, not as fully rendered article text. ## Essays ### Sheikh Abdullah and Indian Policy *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's lead article treats Sheikh Abdullah's arrest and the Kashmir tangle as a test of Indian policy. He argues India's case rests on secular nationalism and the rule of law rather than on appeasement, faults the Nehru government's hesitations, and weighs the danger of Abdullah's renewed agitation against the integration of Jammu and Kashmir into the Indian union. - Frames Sheikh Abdullah's detention and Kashmir as a test of Indian secular policy. - Criticises the Nehru government's vacillation on Kashmir. - Defends Kashmir's integration into India on national and legal grounds. ### Sheikh Abdullah: Mad Mullah on the Rampage *By Sumant Bankeshwar* Sumant S. Bankeshwar's 'Sheikh Abdullah: The Mad Mullah on the Rampage' is a hostile portrait of the Kashmiri leader, charging him with communal demagoguery and with endangering the Valley's accession to India. The piece invokes Nehru, Maulana Azad and other Congress figures in arguing that indulgence of Abdullah's agitation has emboldened him. - Casts Sheikh Abdullah as a communal agitator threatening Kashmir's accession. - Faults Congress leaders for indulging his renewed agitation. - Written in the polemical register of the 'Special' issue. ### Nehru: The Trouble-Maker *By Lal* Writing under the pen-name 'Lal', this article, 'Nehru: The Trouble-Maker', delivers a blunt indictment of Jawaharlal Nehru's leadership, holding him responsible for unconscious blunders in domestic and foreign policy. It contrasts Nehru with Gandhi and invokes Jayaprakash Narayan and Maulana Azad in arguing that Nehru's incapacity for clear thinking has made him a source of national trouble. - A pseudonymous polemic blaming Nehru for policy blunders. - Contrasts Nehru's leadership unfavourably with Gandhi's. - Cites Jayaprakash Narayan and Maulana Azad. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Selections from 'The Indian Libertarian' URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jan-1971-2/ ### Summary This is Part II of 'Selections from The Indian Libertarian', a thematic anthology compiled by editor D. M. Kulkarni of articles drawn from the Bombay journal founded by R. B. Lotwala, covering the period 1971 to 1981. The opening section is a memorial to Lotwala (d. 12 March 1971), a Bombay flour-mill magnate and press baron who bankrolled radical, rationalist and libertarian causes in early-twentieth-century India and patronised M. N. Roy. The rest of the volume groups reprinted articles by subject — Libertarianism, Economics, Democratic Politics, Foreign Policy, Language and Rationalism — presenting the journal's classical-liberal and Georgist 'single tax' positions, its rationalist and secular-humanist commitments, and its sharp criticism of socialism, casteism and Congress politics. In the rendered pages the anthology argues, through a review of Tibor Machan's 'The Libertarian Alternative' and articles on Henry George's single tax, that liberty rests on property rights and a strictly limited state. ### Body # Selections from 'The Indian Libertarian' ## Summary This is Part II of 'Selections from The Indian Libertarian', a thematic anthology compiled by editor D. M. Kulkarni of articles drawn from the Bombay journal founded by R. B. Lotwala, covering the period 1971 to 1981. The opening section is a memorial to Lotwala (d. 12 March 1971), a Bombay flour-mill magnate and press baron who bankrolled radical, rationalist and libertarian causes in early-twentieth-century India and patronised M. N. Roy. The rest of the volume groups reprinted articles by subject — Libertarianism, Economics, Democratic Politics, Foreign Policy, Language and Rationalism — presenting the journal's classical-liberal and Georgist 'single tax' positions, its rationalist and secular-humanist commitments, and its sharp criticism of socialism, casteism and Congress politics. In the rendered pages the anthology argues, through a review of Tibor Machan's 'The Libertarian Alternative' and articles on Henry George's single tax, that liberty rests on property rights and a strictly limited state. ## Essays ### R. B. Lotwala: The Prophet of Human Freedom — A Life-Sketch D. M. Kulkarni's life-sketch, 'Shri R. B. Lotwala: The Prophet of Human Freedom', commemorates Ranchhoddas Bhavan Lotwala (d. 12 March 1971 at Deolali, aged 95). Born into an orthodox Lohana family of Bombay, Lotwala built a fortune from a roller flour mill and founded the Hindustan Press and 'The Hindustan' daily. The sketch presents him as the silent, dynamic patron behind India's radical, rationalist and libertarian movements, and the financial backer who sustained M. N. Roy's communist work in India. - Lotwala (d. 12 March 1971, aged 95) was a Bombay flour-mill industrialist and press baron. - He founded the Hindustan Press and 'The Hindustan' daily (1915, renamed 'Hindustan Praja-Mitra' 1926). - He financed M. N. Roy's propagation of communist doctrine in India, 1919-1929. - He was associated with Vithalbhai Patel, M.P.T. Acharya and S. A. Dange. ### R. B. Lotwala the Rationalist 'R. B. Lotwala the Rationalist' (signed 'I. L., May 1975') portrays Lotwala as a self-made rationalist who built a library of Marxian literature, embraced the libertarianism of Bakunin and Kropotkin, and combined intellectual rigour with a private practice of rejecting religious superstition. It contrasts his consistency with what it calls the 'schizophrenia' of educated Indians who privately doubt yet publicly conform to superstition, and singles out Nehru as one who 'sports his rationalism when the occasion suits him' but otherwise runs with the orthodox crowd. - Casts Lotwala as a consistent rationalist who lived his anti-superstition principles. - Traces his libertarianism to Bakunin and Kropotkin and the anti-Marxist anarchist tradition. - Criticises the 'double life' of highly educated Indians who privately reject but publicly observe superstition. ### The Libertarian Alternative to Big Business, Big Government and Big Labour 'The Libertarian Alternative to Big Business, Big Government and Big Labour' reviews Tibor R. Machan's anthology 'The Libertarian Alternative' (Nelson Hall, Chicago), a collection of 37 essays by exponents of libertarianism. It summarises the book's core doctrine — that every person owns his own life and labour, that property rights are the basis of all other rights, and that government must be confined to protecting life, liberty and property — drawing especially on John Hospers's essay 'What Libertarian Is'. - Reviews Tibor R. Machan's 37-essay anthology 'The Libertarian Alternative'. - States property rights are the foundation of all other rights. - Names libertarian writers including Mises, Hazlitt, Friedman, Rothbard and Hospers. - Argues government should answer 'no' to minimum wages, price-fixing and managing the money supply. ### "The Single Tax" System of Henry George '"The Single Tax" System of Henry George' sets out the Georgist proposal to fund government from a single tax on the value of land, reflecting the founder Lotwala's late-life interest in the single-tax alternative. Together with the companion piece '12 Reasons Why Georgist Reforms are Needed Now', it presents land-value taxation as a remedy for poverty and economic injustice consistent with the journal's libertarian outlook. - Explains Henry George's single tax on land values. - Reflects Lotwala's late interest in the 'Single Tax Alternative'. - Paired with an article giving 12 reasons Georgist reforms are needed now. ### Economic prosperity of Japan and The Lessons it holds for India 'Economic prosperity of Japan and The Lessons it holds for India' contrasts Japan's postwar economic success with India's stagnation, drawing free-market lessons for Indian policy. In the rendered pages it argues that Japan's prosperity vindicates market-oriented development over state planning. - Holds up Japan's postwar prosperity as a model for India. - Draws free-market policy lessons against state planning. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Selections from 'The Indian Libertarian' URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jan-1971/ ### Summary This is Part III of 'Selections from The Indian Libertarian', subtitled 'Miscellaneous Articles', a thematic anthology compiled by editor D. M. Kulkarni from the Bombay classical-liberal journal founded by R. B. Lotwala and published by Libertarian Publishers Pvt. Ltd. The collection gathers signed and unsigned articles reprinted from the journal on a wide range of subjects: tributes to C. Rajagopalachari, the impact of British liberalism and the English language on Indian thought, property and freedom, the Constitution and the common man, M. N. Roy and Indian secularism, language policy, and critiques of caste, varnashrama, untouchability and egalitarianism. Across the rendered pages the volume advances the journal's libertarian creed — limited government, private property and individual freedom — against what it portrays as the totalitarian drift of Nehruvian socialism. ### Body # Selections from 'The Indian Libertarian' ## Summary This is Part III of 'Selections from The Indian Libertarian', subtitled 'Miscellaneous Articles', a thematic anthology compiled by editor D. M. Kulkarni from the Bombay classical-liberal journal founded by R. B. Lotwala and published by Libertarian Publishers Pvt. Ltd. The collection gathers signed and unsigned articles reprinted from the journal on a wide range of subjects: tributes to C. Rajagopalachari, the impact of British liberalism and the English language on Indian thought, property and freedom, the Constitution and the common man, M. N. Roy and Indian secularism, language policy, and critiques of caste, varnashrama, untouchability and egalitarianism. Across the rendered pages the volume advances the journal's libertarian creed — limited government, private property and individual freedom — against what it portrays as the totalitarian drift of Nehruvian socialism. ## Essays ### Rajaji: The Lone Fighter Phiroze J. Shroff's 'Rajaji: The Lone Fighter' is a tribute to C. Rajagopalachari, cast as a solitary prophet warning India against totalitarian planning, class-war and the 'cult of Nehruism'. Shroff contrasts Rajaji's lonely fight against home-bred despotism with Gandhiji's earlier, more unifying struggle against foreign domination, and laments that 'vote-catching' politicians exploiting the Nehru cult have made Rajaji's task uniquely difficult. - A tribute to C. Rajagopalachari as a lone fighter against totalitarianism. - Attacks 'Nehruism' as totalitarian ideology rooted in materialism. - Contrasts Rajaji's fight against home-bred despotism with Gandhi's against foreign rule. ### The Impact of British Liberalism on Indian Thought *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan's 'The Impact of British Liberalism on Indian Thought' traces how nineteenth-century British liberal ideas — channelled through figures such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Gokhale and Edmund Burke — shaped Indian political thought, the freedom movement and the framing of the Constitution. It argues that the British connection, for all its faults, transmitted a liberal and constitutional inheritance to India. - Traces British liberalism's influence on Indian political thought. - Invokes Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Gokhale and Edmund Burke as transmitters of liberal ideas. - Links British liberalism to India's freedom movement and Constitution. ### M. N. Roy and Indian Secularism 'M. N. Roy and Indian Secularism' examines M. N. Roy's contribution to secular and rationalist thought in India, presenting his radical humanism as a foundation for a genuinely secular politics distinct from the religiously inflected nationalism of his contemporaries. - Discusses M. N. Roy's role in shaping Indian secularism. - Frames Roy's radical humanism as a basis for secular politics. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jan1-1958/ ### Summary This New Year Special issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V No. 20, 1 January 1958), a Bombay fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotwala and subtitled an 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs', gathers an editorial plus more than a dozen short polemical pieces by named and pseudonymous contributors. The rendered pages carry the masthead and advertising matter, a New Year greeting essay setting out the journal's libertarian creed, an editorial on Pakistan and Indian foreign policy, and the opening of two signed articles. The argumentative center is a classical-liberal defence of free economy and 'libertarian democracy' against state trading, Nehruvian planning, and communism, combined with sharp commentary on Congress politics and Hindu-Muslim relations. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This New Year Special issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V No. 20, 1 January 1958), a Bombay fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotwala and subtitled an 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs', gathers an editorial plus more than a dozen short polemical pieces by named and pseudonymous contributors. The rendered pages carry the masthead and advertising matter, a New Year greeting essay setting out the journal's libertarian creed, an editorial on Pakistan and Indian foreign policy, and the opening of two signed articles. The argumentative center is a classical-liberal defence of free economy and 'libertarian democracy' against state trading, Nehruvian planning, and communism, combined with sharp commentary on Congress politics and Hindu-Muslim relations. ## Essays ### Editorial The unsigned editorial, headed 'Nehru on Pakistan', responds to a Prime Ministerial speech on Indo-Pakistan relations and the question of self-determination. It weighs Nehru's overtures against what the journal regards as the lessons of Islamic expansion and partition, and argues for a foreign policy grounded in realism rather than sentiment. A second editorial note, 'The Animosity of External Affairs', criticises the conduct of India's external-affairs apparatus. - Frames Nehru's remarks on Pakistan as well-intentioned but naive about the realities of self-determination and partition. - Urges a realist rather than sentimental basis for India's foreign policy. - A companion note attacks the 'animosity' and posture of the External Affairs establishment. ### The Bitter Truth *By Baburao Patel* Baburao Patel's 'The Bitter Truth' opens with a discussion of Nehru's June 1957 address to the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference in London and the broader posture of the British towards India. Under the running head 'Nehru Sounds the Reason Why', the piece sets up a polemical reading of Anglo-Indian relations and Congress conduct. - Takes Nehru's 1957 Commonwealth Conference address in London as its point of departure. - Reads Anglo-Indian relations through a sceptical, polemical lens. - Continues the issue's running critique of Congress leadership. ### When Congress High Command Double-crossed the Muslims *By Lal* Signed 'Lal', 'When Congress High Command Double-Crossed the Muslims' argues that the Congress leadership manoeuvred against Muslim interests in the run-up to and aftermath of partition, surveying the driving aims of the Congress and the position of Muslims within Indian politics. Only the opening is in the rendered set. - Alleges that the Congress High Command betrayed Muslim political interests. - Sets the argument against the backdrop of partition-era Congress strategy. - Written under the single-name byline 'Lal'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jan1-1959/ ### Summary This 1 January 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VI No. 20), the Bombay fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotwala, opens with an editorial on 'The Fall of Mao-Tse-Tung' and runs more than a dozen short articles and departments on Indian foreign policy, the China border question, economic planning, decolonisation in Africa, and the failings of the Congress. The rendered pages carry the masthead, the editorial, and the opening of two signed articles by M. A. Venkata Rao and M. N. Tholal. The journal's classical-liberal frame is constant: scepticism of Nehruvian planning and of accommodation with communist China, paired with a defence of free economy and a free press. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 January 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VI No. 20), the Bombay fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotwala, opens with an editorial on 'The Fall of Mao-Tse-Tung' and runs more than a dozen short articles and departments on Indian foreign policy, the China border question, economic planning, decolonisation in Africa, and the failings of the Congress. The rendered pages carry the masthead, the editorial, and the opening of two signed articles by M. A. Venkata Rao and M. N. Tholal. The journal's classical-liberal frame is constant: scepticism of Nehruvian planning and of accommodation with communist China, paired with a defence of free economy and a free press. ## Essays ### Our Borders with China *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Our Borders with China' examines the disputed Sino-Indian frontier, weighing the cartographic ambiguities ('maps and chaps') and the historical background of India's northern borders. Against the editorial's broader critique of Nehru's China policy, the article presses the case that India's boundary claims rest on firmer ground than the government allows and warns against complacency toward Chinese intentions. - Surveys the cartographic and historical basis of India's northern frontier with China. - Questions the government's handling of the border and its trust in Chinese intentions. - Sits within the issue's wider scepticism of Nehru's China policy. ### "Enemies" of the Plan *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's '"Enemies" of the Plan' takes up the rhetoric by which critics of state economic planning are cast as enemies of national development. The opening, in the rendered pages, sets out a sceptical reading of communal and political framing around the Plan and India's social fissures, characteristic of the journal's planning-critique line. - Interrogates the labelling of planning's critics as 'enemies' of the Plan. - Connects the planning debate to communal and political tensions of the moment. - Advances the journal's recurring critique of state economic planning. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jan1-1960/ ### Summary This 1 January 1960 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 23), the Bombay fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotwala and now 'Incorporating the Free Economic Review and The Indian Rationalist', leads with an editorial on 'India and Israel' and runs signed articles on the Indo-Pakistan defence question, the Sino-Soviet bloc, and the nature of communist aggression, alongside standing departments (Delhi Letter, News Digest, In Lighter Vein) and a Rationalist Supplement by William Henry Chamberlin on 'India's Economic Road'. The rendered pages carry the masthead, the editorial, and the opening of two signed articles by M. A. Venkata Rao and M. N. Tholal. The issue's argumentative center is a realist, anti-communist foreign-policy stance coupled with the journal's free-economy creed. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 January 1960 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 23), the Bombay fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotwala and now 'Incorporating the Free Economic Review and The Indian Rationalist', leads with an editorial on 'India and Israel' and runs signed articles on the Indo-Pakistan defence question, the Sino-Soviet bloc, and the nature of communist aggression, alongside standing departments (Delhi Letter, News Digest, In Lighter Vein) and a Rationalist Supplement by William Henry Chamberlin on 'India's Economic Road'. The rendered pages carry the masthead, the editorial, and the opening of two signed articles by M. A. Venkata Rao and M. N. Tholal. The issue's argumentative center is a realist, anti-communist foreign-policy stance coupled with the journal's free-economy creed. ## Essays ### Editorial The unsigned editorial 'India and Israel' questions India's refusal to fully actualise diplomatic relations with Israel despite formally recognising it. It reads Nehru's pro-Arab policy as driven by an eye to Pakistan's ambition to lead the Islamic world and by the logic of balance-of-power, and argues that equal friendship would require normal relations with Israel and Turkey rather than deference to Arab sentiment. - Criticises India for recognising Israel while declining full diplomatic relations. - Reads Nehru's pro-Arab line as a balance-of-power response to Pakistan's bid for Islamic leadership. - Argues genuine impartiality would mean normal ties with Israel and Turkey. ### Indo-Pakistan Regional Defence Pact *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Indo-Pakistan Regional Defence Pact' weighs proposals for a joint India-Pakistan defence arrangement against the realities of Kashmir and mutual distrust. The opening, in the rendered pages, sets out the strategic case while registering deep scepticism that the political preconditions for such a pact exist. - Examines the idea of a regional Indo-Pakistan defence pact. - Sets the strategic logic against the unresolved Kashmir dispute and mutual distrust. - Continues the issue's realist treatment of subcontinental security. ### Between The Sino-Russian Pincers *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Between The Sino-Russian Pincers' opens an analysis of India's position between the two communist powers, China and the Soviet Union, in the rendered pages. It develops the journal's recurring warning against complacency toward communist intentions on India's frontiers. - Positions India between Chinese and Soviet pressure. - Warns against underestimating communist strategic intentions. - Extends the issue's anti-communist foreign-policy line. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jan1-1961/ ### Summary This 1 January 1961 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII No. 19), the Bombay fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotwala, opens with an obituary editorial for Ellen Roy, the Radical Humanist and widow of M. N. Roy, and runs signed articles on socialism and inflation, the Congo crisis, and Indian materialist philosophy (Lokayata), alongside a Rationalist Supplement and standing departments. The full twenty-page issue is rendered, though the signed articles run past their opening pages. The journal's frame remains classical-liberal: a critique of socialism's inflationary consequences and a realist reading of Cold War interventions, set beside a tribute to the radical-humanist tradition. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 January 1961 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII No. 19), the Bombay fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotwala, opens with an obituary editorial for Ellen Roy, the Radical Humanist and widow of M. N. Roy, and runs signed articles on socialism and inflation, the Congo crisis, and Indian materialist philosophy (Lokayata), alongside a Rationalist Supplement and standing departments. The full twenty-page issue is rendered, though the signed articles run past their opening pages. The journal's frame remains classical-liberal: a critique of socialism's inflationary consequences and a realist reading of Cold War interventions, set beside a tribute to the radical-humanist tradition. ## Essays ### Editorial The editorial 'The Sad Demise of Mrs. Ellen Roy' is an obituary for Ellen Roy, who was murdered at Dehra Dun on 14 December 1960. It recounts her French-American-German parentage, her marriage to M. N. Roy, their shared journey from the Congress and the Radical Democratic Party into the Radical Humanist Movement, and her continuation of his journal The Radical Humanist after his death. The journal mourns the loss of an outstanding worker for India's freedom and cultural uplift. - Obituary for Ellen Roy, widow of M. N. Roy, murdered at Dehra Dun on 14 December 1960. - Traces her path with M. N. Roy from the Congress and Radical Democratic Party to the Radical Humanist Movement. - Notes she continued editing The Radical Humanist after her husband's death. ### Socialism and Inflation *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Socialism and Inflation' argues that socialist programmes, by demanding more than economies can deliver, drive inflation and so erode the wellbeing of the very people they claim to serve. The opening pages set out the case that inflation is a tax on the people and that monetary discipline is preferable to the socialist procedure. - Links socialist programmes to inflationary pressure. - Treats inflation as a hidden tax that harms ordinary people. - Argues for monetary discipline over socialist economic methods. ### Fishing in Congo's waters *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Fishing In Congo's Waters' takes up the 1960-61 Congo crisis and the conduct of the great powers and the United Nations there. The opening pages engage Nehru's stance and the role of the UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold, characteristic of the journal's sceptical reading of Cold War interventions. - Addresses the Congo crisis and great-power manoeuvring. - Engages Nehru's position and the UN's role in the Congo. - Continues the journal's critical view of Cold War interventions. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jan1-1962/ ### Summary This January 1, 1962 issue (Vol. IX No. 19) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay journal edited by D. M. Kulkarni that stands for 'free economy and limited government,' opens with an editorial on the liberation of Goa, arguing that India's military action against Portuguese colonialism—though peaceful settlement had failed—was justified after years of Portuguese brutality against Goan Satyagrahis. The issue gathers commentary from several contributors: M. A. Venkata Rao on the libertarian conception of society against the Congress 'socialistic pattern,' M. N. Tholal's polemic on Nehru and Krishna Menon's defence handling, a reprinted C. L. Sulzberger piece on Khrushchev's foreign policy, and A. Ranganathan on the individual under the Indian Constitution. Regular departments—Delhi Letter, Book Review, Gleanings from the Press, News & Views, and Dear Editor—round out the number. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This January 1, 1962 issue (Vol. IX No. 19) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay journal edited by D. M. Kulkarni that stands for 'free economy and limited government,' opens with an editorial on the liberation of Goa, arguing that India's military action against Portuguese colonialism—though peaceful settlement had failed—was justified after years of Portuguese brutality against Goan Satyagrahis. The issue gathers commentary from several contributors: M. A. Venkata Rao on the libertarian conception of society against the Congress 'socialistic pattern,' M. N. Tholal's polemic on Nehru and Krishna Menon's defence handling, a reprinted C. L. Sulzberger piece on Khrushchev's foreign policy, and A. Ranganathan on the individual under the Indian Constitution. Regular departments—Delhi Letter, Book Review, Gleanings from the Press, News & Views, and Dear Editor—round out the number. ## Essays ### Editorial The unsigned editorial, 'Peaceful But Not Non-Violent,' defends India's military liberation of Goa from Portuguese rule. It recounts how Goan patriots, aided by Indian Civil Resisters, mounted non-violent Satyagraha movements from 1945 onward only to be 'kicked, beaten and badly mauled and even shot dead' by Portuguese troops, and argues the world wrongly forgot that Goa was always part of India. The editorial holds that India's repeated attempts at peaceful settlement proved futile against Salazar's intransigence, leaving force as the only effective recourse. - Frames Goa's liberation as justified after peaceful Satyagraha was met with Portuguese brutality. - Distinguishes a 'peaceful' settlement from a strictly 'non-violent' one. - Criticizes Western nations for moral platitudes while ignoring Portuguese colonialism. - Argues Salazar's intransigence left India no effective alternative to force. ### The Libertarian Pattern Of Society *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Libertarian Pattern Of Society' diagnoses an 'alarming lack of intellectual integrity and conscience' in Indian public life and attacks the ruling Congress party's drift toward a 'socialistic pattern of society.' He argues that genuine social order rests on liberty rather than state-directed planning, defending the libertarian conception of society against the centralising and collectivist tendencies he sees dominating Indian political and economic thought. - Opens by lamenting a decline of intellectual integrity in Indian public life. - Targets the Congress 'socialistic pattern of society' as a central error. - Defends liberty as the true basis of social order against state planning. ### The Nehru—Menon Game *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'The Nehru—Menon Game' is a sharp political polemic, opening with an exchange in the Rajya Sabha on December 4 in which the Prime Minister is accused of giving evasive replies on Chinese intrusions in Ladakh. Tholal scrutinises Nehru's defence and foreign-policy partnership with Krishna Menon, presenting their handling of the China question and the Defence Ministry as a 'game' of evasions. - Centres on a Rajya Sabha exchange over Chinese intrusion in Ladakh. - Criticizes Nehru's evasive parliamentary replies. - Frames Nehru and Menon's conduct as a political 'game'. ### Khrushchev's Policy Of Peaceful Co-extinction *By C. L. Subherger* A reprinted piece by C. L. Sulzberger (from The New York Times), 'Khrushchev's Policy Of Peaceful Co-extinction,' analyses the Soviet leader's superpower strategy. Sulzberger argues that two days before Khrushchev addressed the Soviet Party Congress, he had told the United States in effect that the world is large enough for two superpowers to coexist—but reads the subtext as a contest in which each side seeks to outlast the other, hence 'co-extinction' rather than co-existence. - Reprinted from The New York Times. - Reads Khrushchev's 'co-existence' rhetoric as a strategy of mutual outlasting. - Frames US-Soviet relations as a contest between two superpowers. ### The Individual And The Indian Constitution *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan's 'The Individual And The Indian Constitution' examines the place of the individual in India's constitutional order, drawing on Sir Ivor Jennings's view of the Constitution as 'essentially an individualist document.' Ranganathan traces how the great experiments of the nineteenth century sought to limit state power, and weighs the Indian Constitution's amendments—including those affecting the Right to Property—against that individualist tradition. - Invokes Sir Ivor Jennings calling the Constitution 'an individualist document.' - Traces nineteenth-century efforts to limit state power. - Weighs constitutional amendments, including the Right to Property, against individualism. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jan1-1963/ ### Summary This January 1, 1963 issue (Vol. X No. 19) of The Indian Libertarian, edited by D. M. Kulkarni, is preoccupied with the geopolitical fallout of China's 1962 aggression against India and the credibility of Indian non-alignment. The editorial '‘Brothers’, ‘Friends’ And ‘Foes’' reflects on betrayed Sino-Indian friendship; M. A. Venkata Rao analyses Russia's global policy and what it means for India's non-alignment; M. N. Tholal scrutinises Nehru's defence of non-alignment after the China war; and Yang Shih-Chan continues a critical assessment of the Communist regime in China. A Delhi Letter on political realism and the regular Book Review, Gleanings, and News & Views departments complete the number. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This January 1, 1963 issue (Vol. X No. 19) of The Indian Libertarian, edited by D. M. Kulkarni, is preoccupied with the geopolitical fallout of China's 1962 aggression against India and the credibility of Indian non-alignment. The editorial '‘Brothers’, ‘Friends’ And ‘Foes’' reflects on betrayed Sino-Indian friendship; M. A. Venkata Rao analyses Russia's global policy and what it means for India's non-alignment; M. N. Tholal scrutinises Nehru's defence of non-alignment after the China war; and Yang Shih-Chan continues a critical assessment of the Communist regime in China. A Delhi Letter on political realism and the regular Book Review, Gleanings, and News & Views departments complete the number. ## Essays ### Editorial: 'Brothers', 'Friends' And 'Foes' The unsigned editorial, '‘Brothers’, ‘Friends’ And ‘Foes’,' responds to China's 'treacherous aggression on India' and the collapse of the Hindi-Chini-bhai-bhai sentiment. It reflects bitterly on how a proclaimed brotherhood gave way to invasion, and weighs the resulting realignment of India's friends and foes on the world stage in the war's aftermath. - Responds directly to China's 1962 aggression against India. - Reflects on the betrayal of the 'brothers' rhetoric of Sino-Indian friendship. - Reassesses who India's real friends and foes are after the war. ### Russia's Global Policy and India's Non-alignment *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Russia's Global Policy and India's Nonalignment' argues that Khrushchev prefers the method of slow infiltration to advance Marxist-Communist aims, even while paying lip service to the dogmas of world Communist revolution. Rao reads Soviet strategy as a patient, calculated drive to extend its sphere, and questions whether Indian non-alignment can hold its footing between the two power blocs in such a world. - Reads Khrushchev as favouring gradual infiltration over open revolution. - Treats Soviet global strategy as calculated and patient. - Questions the viability of India's non-alignment between the blocs. ### Nehru on Non-Alignment *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Nehru on Non-Alignment' examines the Prime Minister's continued defence of non-alignment in the wake of the China war. Tholal weighs Nehru's claim that non-alignment as a foreign policy stance was disturbed by the war but not invalidated by it, probing whether the policy can survive once a non-aligned nation has itself been attacked. - Centres on Nehru's post-war defence of non-alignment. - Tests whether non-alignment is tenable after a non-aligned nation is invaded. - Frames the debate as the credibility of Indian foreign policy. ### The Achievements (?) of the Communist Regime in China *By Yang Shih-Chan* Yang Shih-Chan's 'The Achievements (?) of the Communist Regime in China,' continued from the December 15, 1962 issue, offers a sceptical accounting of the Chinese Communist record. The author challenges official claims of progress, weighing the regime's methods of compulsion against its purported gains and casting doubt on the legitimacy of its 'achievements.' - A continuation piece from the December 15, 1962 issue. - Questions the Chinese Communist regime's claimed achievements. - Emphasizes coercion behind the regime's reported progress. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jan15-1958/ ### Summary This 15 January 1958 'Republic Day Special' (Vol. V No. 21) of The Indian Libertarian, edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala and issued from the Libertarian Social Institute in Bombay, blends Republic Day reflection, Cold War commentary, and India's language and social-reform debates. In the rendered pages, the editorial examines Pakistan's currency-note symbolism and the idea of an Islamic state; V. R. marks Republic Day; M. A. Venkata Rao reviews 1957 at home and abroad; Charles A. Willoughby surveys Western strategy against the Soviet bloc; Dr. K. N. Kini continues a series on revolutionising Indian life; 'Lal' defends Madan Mohan Malaviya against charges of communalism; and 'Libra' attacks 'Hindi hysteria' and Panchashila economics, championing English. Later items listed in the table of contents—'Split in the Kremlin,' 'Sentence on Liberty,' and the Book Reviews—begin past the rendered pages. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 15 January 1958 'Republic Day Special' (Vol. V No. 21) of The Indian Libertarian, edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala and issued from the Libertarian Social Institute in Bombay, blends Republic Day reflection, Cold War commentary, and India's language and social-reform debates. In the rendered pages, the editorial examines Pakistan's currency-note symbolism and the idea of an Islamic state; V. R. marks Republic Day; M. A. Venkata Rao reviews 1957 at home and abroad; Charles A. Willoughby surveys Western strategy against the Soviet bloc; Dr. K. N. Kini continues a series on revolutionising Indian life; 'Lal' defends Madan Mohan Malaviya against charges of communalism; and 'Libra' attacks 'Hindi hysteria' and Panchashila economics, championing English. Later items listed in the table of contents—'Split in the Kremlin,' 'Sentence on Liberty,' and the Book Reviews—begin past the rendered pages. ## Essays ### Editorial The unsigned editorial opens with 'Jinnah's Picture On Currency Notes,' reading Pakistan's choice of imagery as a window onto its self-conception as an Islamic state, and moves through related notes on the idea of an Islamic polity, an Islamic conference at Lahore, and 'Islam and Spiritual Outlook.' It treats these developments critically from the journal's liberal, secular standpoint. - Leads with Pakistan's Jinnah currency-note symbolism. - Examines the concept of an Islamic state. - Comments on a Lahore Islamic conference and Islam's spiritual outlook from a liberal-secular view. ### 1957: At Home and Abroad *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's '1957: At Home and Abroad' is a New Year retrospective surveying the past year's politics in India and the wider world. He weighs domestic developments against the international scene, reading 1957 as a year that tested liberal and democratic assumptions both within India and abroad. - A year-in-review of 1957, domestic and international. - Reads the year through a liberal-democratic lens. - Connects Indian developments to the global balance. ### Western Blind Alley *By Charles A. Willoughby* Charles A. Willoughby's 'Western Blind Alley' (subtitled 'Red Chenghiz Khans On The Move' / 'Western Strategic Blind Alley') argues that the Western powers have walked into a strategic dead end in the Cold War. The author attributes Western decline to a loss of conviction and a failure to apply liberal principles consistently in the contest with Soviet power. - Diagnoses a strategic dead end for the Western powers. - Blames a loss of conviction and inconsistent principle. - Frames the Cold War as a contest the West is mishandling. ### Malaviya was no Coward nor a Communalist *By Lal* 'Lal's' 'Malaviya Was No Coward Nor A Communalist' is prompted by the unveiling of a portrait of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya in the Central Hall of Parliament. The author defends Malaviya's record, arguing that he was neither timid nor a Hindu communalist, and invokes S. Radhakrishnan's characterization of him to rebut the charge. - Occasioned by Malaviya's portrait unveiling in Parliament. - Defends Malaviya against charges of cowardice and communalism. - Cites Radhakrishnan's view of Malaviya in his defence. ### Hindi Hysteria, "Panchashila" and Indian Economy *By Libra* 'Libra's' 'Hindi Hysteria, "Panchashila" and Indian Economy' attacks the imposition of Hindi as a national language and links the language question to wider failures of economic and foreign policy. Arguing that Hindi is the mother tongue of only a minority of Indians, the author defends English and warns against a feverish, coercive linguistic nationalism. - Opposes the imposition of Hindi as national language. - Notes Hindi is the mother tongue of a minority of Indians. - Defends English and ties language policy to economic missteps. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jan1-1964/ ### Summary This January 1, 1964 issue (Vol. XI No. 19) of The Indian Libertarian, edited by D. M. Kulkarni, mixes Indian party politics with Cold War foreign affairs. The editorial celebrates the Congress party's heavy electoral defeat in Goa; M. A. Venkata Rao surveys American foreign policy and its posture toward the Communist bloc; M. N. Tholal asks 'Whom To Follow?' in a meditation on political leadership and integrity; A. G. Noorani draws a pointed analogy between Nehru and Neville Chamberlain's appeasement; and Prof. M. S. Prasad examines the Congress party's internal Kamraj Plan. A Delhi Letter on disarray in the Communist 'Red Camp,' plus Book Review, The Mind of the Nation, News and Views, and Dear Editor departments complete the number. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This January 1, 1964 issue (Vol. XI No. 19) of The Indian Libertarian, edited by D. M. Kulkarni, mixes Indian party politics with Cold War foreign affairs. The editorial celebrates the Congress party's heavy electoral defeat in Goa; M. A. Venkata Rao surveys American foreign policy and its posture toward the Communist bloc; M. N. Tholal asks 'Whom To Follow?' in a meditation on political leadership and integrity; A. G. Noorani draws a pointed analogy between Nehru and Neville Chamberlain's appeasement; and Prof. M. S. Prasad examines the Congress party's internal Kamraj Plan. A Delhi Letter on disarray in the Communist 'Red Camp,' plus Book Review, The Mind of the Nation, News and Views, and Dear Editor departments complete the number. ## Essays ### Editorial: Congress Badly Trounced in Goa The unsigned editorial, 'Congress Badly Trounced In Goa,' reads the Congress party's decisive electoral defeat in Goa as a verdict by the people against the party. It argues the result is a rebuke the Congress would have done well to accept as a true expression of popular will, drawing broader lessons about the gap between the ruling party and the electorate. - Treats the Goa election result as a heavy defeat for Congress. - Frames the outcome as the considered verdict of the people. - Draws a broader lesson about Congress's distance from popular sentiment. ### American Foreign Policy *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'American Foreign Policy' assesses the United States' conduct on the world stage and its rivalry with the Communist powers. Rao weighs America's responsibilities as a leading free-world power against the demands of the Cold War, considering how its foreign policy bears on India and the non-aligned nations. - Surveys US foreign policy in the Cold War context. - Weighs American leadership of the free world against Communist rivalry. - Considers the implications for India and non-aligned states. ### Whom To Follow *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Whom To Follow?' is a reflective essay on leadership and the integrity of those who claim it. Tholal argues that great leaders cannot foretell the precise course events will take, and probes how a public ought to choose whom to follow when no leader's judgement is infallible. - Reflects on the nature of political leadership. - Argues that even great leaders cannot foresee how events unfold. - Questions how the public should choose whom to follow. ### Nehru and Chamberlain *By A. G. Noorani* A. G. Noorani's 'Nehru and Chamberlain' draws a sharp historical analogy between Jawaharlal Nehru and Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister associated with appeasement. Noorani argues that Nehru, like Chamberlain, pursued a policy whose methods were ultimately exposed as inadequate by events, inviting the reader to weigh the comparison in light of India's strategic setbacks. - Draws an analogy between Nehru and Neville Chamberlain. - Centres on the failure of appeasement-style policy. - Invites reassessment of Nehru's strategic judgement. ### The Congress and the Kamraj Plan *By M. S. Prasad* Prof. M. S. Prasad's 'The Congress and the Kamraj Plan' examines the Congress party's internal reorganisation scheme, under which senior leaders resigned office to devote themselves to party work. Prasad traces how the All-India Congress Committee handled the plan and what it revealed about power and discipline within the ruling party. - Analyses the Congress party's Kamraj Plan reorganisation. - Examines the A.I.C.C.'s handling of the scheme. - Reads the plan as a window onto Congress internal politics. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jan15-1959/ ### Summary This is the 15 January 1959 issue (Vol. VI, No. 21) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay fortnightly subtitled 'Independent Journal of Free Economy and Public Affairs', edited by Kusum Lotwala. In the rendered pages the issue opens with an editorial trio dominated by foreign policy: 'Pak Menace' and 'Blood Pledge by General Ayub Khan' read Pakistan's post-coup posture toward Kashmir as a standing military threat, while 'Masses and Communism' worries that economic distress leaves Indian masses open to communist appeals. The lead signed articles develop the journal's classical-liberal line: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Third Five Year Plan' attacks deficit-financed central planning and argues for releasing private enterprise from state controls, and M. N. Tholal's 'The Decline of Democracy' contends that parliamentary forms are hollowing out under one-party dominance and bureaucratic centralisation. Shorter pieces continue the anti-communist, anti-Pakistan register — J. K.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This is the 15 January 1959 issue (Vol. VI, No. 21) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay fortnightly subtitled 'Independent Journal of Free Economy and Public Affairs', edited by Kusum Lotwala. In the rendered pages the issue opens with an editorial trio dominated by foreign policy: 'Pak Menace' and 'Blood Pledge by General Ayub Khan' read Pakistan's post-coup posture toward Kashmir as a standing military threat, while 'Masses and Communism' worries that economic distress leaves Indian masses open to communist appeals. The lead signed articles develop the journal's classical-liberal line: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Third Five Year Plan' attacks deficit-financed central planning and argues for releasing private enterprise from state controls, and M. N. Tholal's 'The Decline of Democracy' contends that parliamentary forms are hollowing out under one-party dominance and bureaucratic centralisation. Shorter pieces continue the anti-communist, anti-Pakistan register — J. K. Dhairyawan's 'Our "Buddhistic" Imbecility & Pak Aggression' and Baburao Patel's reprinted 'From The Frying Pan Into The Fire' on Kashmir — alongside a 'Did You Know' cartoon strip and a Thomas Paine quotation boxed under 'Revolution Without Reason'. The feature articles listed in the 'IN THIS ISSUE' box (Comte's Religion of Humanity, 'Justice and Charity', the Libertarian Supplement, news and review columns) begin on page 13 and beyond and were not in the rendered set. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jan15-1960/ ### Summary The 15 January 1960 issue (Vol. VII, No. 24) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotwala and now subtitled 'Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' (incorporating the Free Economic Review and The Indian Rationalist), opens with a long editorial, 'A Political Review of 1959', surveying the year's events — the Nagpur Congress resolution on cooperative joint farming, the founding of the Swatantra (Freedom) Party under Rajagopalachari, Masani, and Ranga, Kerala politics, food-grain trade policy, and the Chinese border aggression in NEFA and Ladakh. The signed articles carry the journal's classical-liberal economics: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'What is Wrong with Planning?' indicts state planning as a method of regimentation, K. Kumara Sekhar's 'Spread Hindi — But why Oust English?' defends English in the language debate, William Paton's 'Enforcement of Fair Competition' argues for competition over administered controls, and Albert Morgan's 'Labour Is Not the Sole Source of Wealth' contests the labour theory of value.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The 15 January 1960 issue (Vol. VII, No. 24) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotwala and now subtitled 'Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' (incorporating the Free Economic Review and The Indian Rationalist), opens with a long editorial, 'A Political Review of 1959', surveying the year's events — the Nagpur Congress resolution on cooperative joint farming, the founding of the Swatantra (Freedom) Party under Rajagopalachari, Masani, and Ranga, Kerala politics, food-grain trade policy, and the Chinese border aggression in NEFA and Ladakh. The signed articles carry the journal's classical-liberal economics: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'What is Wrong with Planning?' indicts state planning as a method of regimentation, K. Kumara Sekhar's 'Spread Hindi — But why Oust English?' defends English in the language debate, William Paton's 'Enforcement of Fair Competition' argues for competition over administered controls, and Albert Morgan's 'Labour Is Not the Sole Source of Wealth' contests the labour theory of value. Regular departments — an Economic Supplement, Delhi Letter, Book Reviews, Gleanings from the Press, News Digest, In Lighter Vein, and a Letter to the Editor — round out the issue; the later department pages were not all in the rendered set. ## Essays ### What is Wrong with Planning? *By MA Venkata Rao* Venkata Rao argues that the central defect of Indian economic planning is not its execution but its premise: that the state can rationally direct economic life better than free individuals and markets. He treats comprehensive planning as a form of regimentation that concentrates power, smothers private initiative, and substitutes bureaucratic command for the spontaneous coordination of a competitive economy. - Planning is framed as a problem of principle, not merely of implementation. - State direction of the economy is cast as regimentation hostile to individual freedom. - Private initiative and competition are presented as the real engines of wealth. - Continues the journal's standing critique of Nehruvian central planning. ### Spread Hindi — But why Oust English? *By K. Kumara Sekhar* Kumara Sekhar enters the national-language controversy on the side of retaining English. While accepting the promotion of Hindi, he resists the move to oust English, arguing that the practical and unifying functions English serves across a multilingual India cannot be discarded without cost. The piece reflects the journal's masthead slogan 'Make English the Lingua Franca of India'. - Distinguishes spreading Hindi from ousting English. - Defends English's unifying, practical role in a multilingual polity. - Aligns with the journal's pro-English editorial stance. ### Enforcement of Fair Competition *By William Paton* Paton argues from 'the standpoint of economics' that competition is itself a form of regulation — the most effective one — and that the function of government is to enforce fair competition rather than to displace it with administered controls. He distinguishes the proper enforcement role of the state from the broader regimentation of the economy that the journal opposes. - Competition is treated as a self-acting regulatory mechanism. - Government's role is to enforce fair competition, not supplant markets. - Distinguishes legitimate enforcement from economic control. ### Labour Is Not the Sole Source of Wealth *By Albert Morgan* Morgan contests the labour theory of value, arguing that labour is not the sole source of wealth. Against the socialist premise that value derives from labour alone, he holds that capital, enterprise, and other factors contribute to the creation of wealth — a defence of the market view of production over the Marxian account. - Directly rejects the labour theory of value. - Credits capital and enterprise alongside labour in wealth creation. - Frames a rebuttal to socialist economics. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jan15-1961/ ### Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII, No. 14, printed masthead date 15 October 1960; the source file is mislabelled 'jan15-1961'), edited by Kusum Lotwala, leads with an editorial, 'Nehru at the UNO Assembly', assessing the Prime Minister's first appearance at the United Nations General Assembly against the backdrop of the Cold War, the Congo crisis, Khrushchev, and the contest between the Western bloc and the Afro-Asian neutrals. The signed articles run the journal's classical-liberal and anti-communist line: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Impact of Land Reforms on Agriculturists' warns that ceiling-and-redistribution land reform harms the productive landowning class; M. N. Tholal's 'Five Neutrals' Nostrum' is sceptical of the non-aligned bloc's peace formula at the UN; an unsigned 'Twentieth Anniversary of an Aggression' and Frederic Sondern's reprinted 'Red Lure For the World's Youth' (on the Soviet-sponsored World Youth Festival in Vienna) press the anti-Soviet case; and J. M. Lobo Prabhu's 'Strikes By Government Permission' treats labour regulation.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII, No. 14, printed masthead date 15 October 1960; the source file is mislabelled 'jan15-1961'), edited by Kusum Lotwala, leads with an editorial, 'Nehru at the UNO Assembly', assessing the Prime Minister's first appearance at the United Nations General Assembly against the backdrop of the Cold War, the Congo crisis, Khrushchev, and the contest between the Western bloc and the Afro-Asian neutrals. The signed articles run the journal's classical-liberal and anti-communist line: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Impact of Land Reforms on Agriculturists' warns that ceiling-and-redistribution land reform harms the productive landowning class; M. N. Tholal's 'Five Neutrals' Nostrum' is sceptical of the non-aligned bloc's peace formula at the UN; an unsigned 'Twentieth Anniversary of an Aggression' and Frederic Sondern's reprinted 'Red Lure For the World's Youth' (on the Soviet-sponsored World Youth Festival in Vienna) press the anti-Soviet case; and J. M. Lobo Prabhu's 'Strikes By Government Permission' treats labour regulation. Regular departments — an Economic Supplement, Delhi Letter, Book Review, Tit-Bits, Gleanings from the Press, News and Views, and a Letter to the Editor — complete the issue, with the later department pages not fully in the rendered set. ## Essays ### The Impact of Land Reforms on Agriculturists *By MA Venkata Rao* Venkata Rao argues that land reforms enacted in the name of social justice — ceilings on holdings and redistribution to the landless — fall hardest on the productive landowning agriculturist class. He contends that the reforms penalise efficiency and capital formation in agriculture and reflect the same planning mindset the journal opposes, rather than genuinely raising agricultural output. - Land-ceiling and redistribution reforms are framed as a burden on productive cultivators. - Reforms are tied to the broader critique of state planning. - Questions whether redistribution actually raises agricultural productivity. ### Five Neutrals' Nostrum *By M. N. Tholal* Tholal is sceptical of the 'nostrum' offered by the five neutral powers at the United Nations — their proposal for renewed contact between Eisenhower and Khrushchev. Opening from the deadlock at the General Assembly, he doubts that the non-aligned bloc's mediation formula can resolve the superpower conflict and reads it as naive about Soviet intentions. - Targets the five-neutral-powers resolution at the UN. - Doubts non-alignment can broker a US-Soviet settlement. - Reflects the journal's hard line on Soviet conduct. ### Red Lure For the World's Youth *By Frederic Sondern* Sondern's piece (reprinted from the Reader's Digest) describes the Soviet-organised World Youth Festival in Vienna as a propaganda operation aimed at drawing the youth of the West and the Afro-Asian world toward the communist camp. It argues that the festival's appeals to 'peace' and 'friendship' mask a recruitment drive, and warns Western and Indian readers to recognise the 'red lure' for what it is. - Frames the Vienna World Youth Festival as Soviet propaganda. - Reads communist 'peace' and 'friendship' rhetoric as recruitment. - Reprinted from the Reader's Digest; warns Western and Indian youth. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jan15-1962/ ### Summary The 15 January 1962 issue (Vol. IX, No. 20) of The Indian Libertarian — the Bombay fortnightly now edited by D. M. Kulkarni and flying the masthead slogan 'We Stand for Free Economy and Limited Government' — is dominated by India's December 1961 military annexation of Goa. The editorial, 'The Future of the U.N.O.', reflects on the United Nations after a year of crises (the Congo, the death of Secretary-General Hammarskjold, the Soviet Troika plan) and notes the Afro-Asian bloc's pressure for liberation of colonial enclaves such as Goa. The two signed articles take up Goa directly: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Foreign Policy After Goa' weighs what the use of force against the Portuguese enclave means for India's non-alignment and its standing abroad, while M. N. Tholal's 'The Goa Imbroglio' examines the contradictions of Nehru's account of the action and its place in the wider Cold War debate over colonialism and non-violence. Regular departments — an Economic Supplement, Delhi Letter, Book Review, Gleanings from the Press, and News & Views — complete the issue. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The 15 January 1962 issue (Vol. IX, No. 20) of The Indian Libertarian — the Bombay fortnightly now edited by D. M. Kulkarni and flying the masthead slogan 'We Stand for Free Economy and Limited Government' — is dominated by India's December 1961 military annexation of Goa. The editorial, 'The Future of the U.N.O.', reflects on the United Nations after a year of crises (the Congo, the death of Secretary-General Hammarskjold, the Soviet Troika plan) and notes the Afro-Asian bloc's pressure for liberation of colonial enclaves such as Goa. The two signed articles take up Goa directly: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Foreign Policy After Goa' weighs what the use of force against the Portuguese enclave means for India's non-alignment and its standing abroad, while M. N. Tholal's 'The Goa Imbroglio' examines the contradictions of Nehru's account of the action and its place in the wider Cold War debate over colonialism and non-violence. Regular departments — an Economic Supplement, Delhi Letter, Book Review, Gleanings from the Press, and News & Views — complete the issue. ## Essays ### Foreign Policy After Goa *By MA Venkata Rao* Venkata Rao examines the consequences for Indian foreign policy of the military absorption of Goa. While not disputing that India had a case against Portuguese colonial rule, he probes the tension between India's professed creed of non-violence and non-alignment and its resort to force, and weighs how the action affects India's moral standing and its relations with the Western powers and the Afro-Asian world. - Treats the Goa annexation as a test of India's non-violence and non-alignment. - Weighs the diplomatic cost of using force against a colonial enclave. - Considers reactions of the Western and Afro-Asian blocs. ### The Goa Imbroglio *By M. N. Tholal* Tholal scrutinises the 'imbroglio' surrounding Goa, taking apart the Prime Minister's account of the action. He highlights the inconsistencies between India's stated principles and its conduct, situating the episode in the larger argument over colonialism, the United Nations, and the credibility of India's non-violent posture. - Critically dissects Nehru's justification of the Goa action. - Points up the gap between Indian principle and practice. - Frames Goa within the wider colonialism and UN debate. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jan15-1963/ ### Summary This January 15, 1963 issue (Vol. X No. 20) of The Indian Libertarian, an independent Bombay journal of public affairs edited by D. M. Kulkarni, appears in the immediate aftermath of the 1962 Sino-Indian war. Its lead editorial argues that India's freedom and security must be the nation's first concern while insisting that world peace remains the common concern of all, and it ranges across the Chinese threat, the Katanga secession crisis in the Congo, and a critique of the Nehru government's handling of the Indo-China dispute. The issue collects bylined contributions on national renewal and socialist politics — M. V. Venkata Rao on the psychological revolution India needs, M. N. Thola on socialist unity — alongside an Economic Supplement carrying J. M. Lobo Prabhu's 'A Victory Plan' and Marshall I. Goldman's analysis of Sino-Soviet trade as a barometer of the widening rift between Moscow and Peking. Standing departments (Delhi Letter, Book Review, Gleanings from the Press, News and Views) round out the number. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This January 15, 1963 issue (Vol. X No. 20) of The Indian Libertarian, an independent Bombay journal of public affairs edited by D. M. Kulkarni, appears in the immediate aftermath of the 1962 Sino-Indian war. Its lead editorial argues that India's freedom and security must be the nation's first concern while insisting that world peace remains the common concern of all, and it ranges across the Chinese threat, the Katanga secession crisis in the Congo, and a critique of the Nehru government's handling of the Indo-China dispute. The issue collects bylined contributions on national renewal and socialist politics — M. V. Venkata Rao on the psychological revolution India needs, M. N. Thola on socialist unity — alongside an Economic Supplement carrying J. M. Lobo Prabhu's 'A Victory Plan' and Marshall I. Goldman's analysis of Sino-Soviet trade as a barometer of the widening rift between Moscow and Peking. Standing departments (Delhi Letter, Book Review, Gleanings from the Press, News and Views) round out the number. ## Essays ### India's Freedom And Security Are Our First Concern; World Peace The Common Concern Of All The lead editorial, written under the shadow of the 1962 Chinese invasion, holds that India's freedom and security are the country's paramount concern even as world peace remains a shared global interest. It surveys the Chinese threat, criticises what it sees as the Nehru government's mishandling and 'dislike' of an independent foreign-policy line, and devotes a section ('The Katanga Tangle') to the Congo crisis and the United Nations' role there. The piece frames non-alignment and national defence as compatible only when freedom is treated as non-negotiable. - India's freedom and security are cast as the nation's first concern after the 1962 Chinese invasion. - World peace is presented as the common concern of all nations, not a substitute for self-defence. - The editorial criticises the government's foreign-policy posture toward China. - A dedicated section addresses the Katanga secession crisis and the UN's involvement in the Congo. - Reprinted 'Food for Thought' and 'Prophetic and True' boxes supply supporting quotations. ### Wanted a Revolution in National Psychology *By MA Venkata Rao* M. V. Venkata Rao argues that India needs not merely administrative or economic reform but a wholesale revolution in national psychology. Writing against the backdrop of the Republic Day season and the Chinese aggression, he contends that the realist temper a nation needs in a dangerous world cannot be improvised in a crisis and must instead be cultivated as a settled habit of mind, criticising a complacency he sees in Indian public life. - The essay calls for a 'revolution in national psychology' rather than only institutional change. - It ties the argument to the mood of Republic Day and the Chinese aggression of 1962. - Realism in foreign affairs is described as a habit that must be built before, not during, a crisis. ### Socialist Unity *By M. N. Thola!* M. N. Thola surveys the prospects for 'Socialist Unity' in Indian politics, examining the relations among the Praja Socialist Party, the Socialist Party and Congress socialism, and weighing whether the country's fragmented socialist forces can combine into a single movement. The piece treats the personalities and party manoeuvres of the socialist camp with scepticism about how durable any such unity would prove. - Examines whether India's divided socialist parties can achieve genuine unity. - Discusses the Praja Socialist Party and rival socialist groupings by name. - Casts doubt on the depth and durability of proposed socialist mergers. ### Sino-Soviet Trade A Barometer Of Broader Conflict Between The Two Countries *By Marshall I. Goldman* In the Economic Supplement, Marshall I. Goldman reads Sino-Soviet trade figures as a barometer of the broadening conflict between China and the Soviet Union. Drawing on year-by-year trade data, he shows how commerce between the two communist powers expanded and then contracted, arguing that the decline reflects deepening ideological and strategic estrangement rather than mere economic adjustment. - Uses Sino-Soviet trade statistics as an index of the Moscow-Peking split. - Presents a multi-year table of trade volumes between the two countries. - Interprets falling trade as evidence of strategic and ideological rupture, not ordinary fluctuation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jan15-1964/ ### Summary This January 15, 1964 issue (Vol. XI No. 20) of The Indian Libertarian — an independent Bombay journal of public affairs edited by D. M. Kulkarni and published by Libertarian Publishers — opens the year with an editorial dissecting what it calls the 'camouflage' of Khrushchev's 'Fresh Wind' message, reading Soviet peace overtures as a tactical disguise rather than a genuine thaw. The number gathers M. A. Venkata Rao's survey of 'Prospects for 1964', M. N. Thola's reflection 'Thought, Word, and Deed', and a substantial Economic Supplement whose contributors press the journal's free-market case against state socialism — A. D. Shroff asking 'Will Democratic Socialism Help India?', J. M. Lobo Prabhu on the 'Zero Hour for Democracy', and Prof. B. R. Shenoy on state planning and economic progress. A Delhi Letter (including S. S. Chaula's 'A Philosophical Journey to the West'), a book review, and standing departments complete the issue. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This January 15, 1964 issue (Vol. XI No. 20) of The Indian Libertarian — an independent Bombay journal of public affairs edited by D. M. Kulkarni and published by Libertarian Publishers — opens the year with an editorial dissecting what it calls the 'camouflage' of Khrushchev's 'Fresh Wind' message, reading Soviet peace overtures as a tactical disguise rather than a genuine thaw. The number gathers M. A. Venkata Rao's survey of 'Prospects for 1964', M. N. Thola's reflection 'Thought, Word, and Deed', and a substantial Economic Supplement whose contributors press the journal's free-market case against state socialism — A. D. Shroff asking 'Will Democratic Socialism Help India?', J. M. Lobo Prabhu on the 'Zero Hour for Democracy', and Prof. B. R. Shenoy on state planning and economic progress. A Delhi Letter (including S. S. Chaula's 'A Philosophical Journey to the West'), a book review, and standing departments complete the issue. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL: The Camouflage of K's 'Fresh Wind' Message The lead editorial reads Soviet premier Khrushchev's 'Fresh Wind' new-year message as a camouflage rather than a real change of course. It argues that the conciliatory rhetoric aimed at the West masks unchanged Communist aims, and warns Indian and Western opinion against mistaking tactical détente for a genuine relaxation of the Cold War. The piece treats the episode as a test of whether democracies can read Soviet signalling clearly. - Khrushchev's 'Fresh Wind' message is characterised as tactical camouflage, not a real thaw. - The editorial cautions the West against misreading Soviet peace rhetoric. - It frames the Cold War contest as one of clear-sighted interpretation of Communist aims. ### Prospects for 1964 *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao opens the year with a survey of 'Prospects for 1964', reviewing the international scene in the wake of President Kennedy's assassination and the shifting alignments among the great powers, and weighing what they portend for India. He considers the NATO alliance, Franco-American tensions over de Gaulle's policy, and the consequences of these external developments for India's own position. - Surveys the global outlook for 1964 after Kennedy's assassination. - Examines strains within the Western alliance, including de Gaulle's France. - Draws out the implications of great-power realignment for India. ### Thought, Word, and Deed *By M. N. Thola!* M. N. Thola's 'Thought, Word, and Deed' is a reflective essay on the gap between professed ideals and actual conduct in public and personal life. Opening with the claim that the East 'bows lower than the West' in rhetorical homage to virtue, it presses the moral demand that thought, speech, and action be brought into integrity. - Meditates on the distance between stated ideals and real behaviour. - Contrasts Eastern and Western habits of moral profession. - Calls for integrity among thought, word, and deed. ### ECONOMIC SUPPLEMENT: Will Democratic Socialism Help India? *By A. D. Shroff* In the Economic Supplement, A. D. Shroff asks 'Will Democratic Socialism Help India?' and answers in the negative. He argues that democratic socialism, despite its moderate label, drifts toward the same concentration of economic power in the state as outright socialism, and that genuine progress for India lies in private enterprise and free markets rather than expanded public-sector control. The supplement is continued by companion pieces, including Prof. B. R. Shenoy on state planning and economic progress. - Shroff argues democratic socialism harms rather than helps India. - He warns that 'democratic socialism' still concentrates economic power in the state. - Private enterprise and free markets are offered as the alternative path to progress. - The supplement continues with B. R. Shenoy's critique of state planning. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jul1-1957/ ### Summary This 1 July 1957 issue (Vol. V No. 9) of The Indian Libertarian — the Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' edited by Kusum Lotwala, published by the R. L. Foundation, and standing 'for free economy and liberal democracy' — leads with three banner themes: 'Thoughts on Budget', 'Pakistani Politics in a Flux', and 'Socialism on Retreat'. Its editorial reports on a new party forming in Pakistan and the wider regional politics, while M. A. Venkata Rao dissects the Finance Minister's budget and a lead article argues that socialism is in worldwide retreat. The number carries commentary on Pakistan (by 'Vigilant' and K. D. Valicha), on American aid to India, and a Research Department supplement of the R. L. Foundation whose contributions include M. V. Balakrishna Rao's 'The Socialist Regression' and A. Ranganathan on the making of modern India, alongside anti-communist polemic and the journal's regular news and review departments. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 July 1957 issue (Vol. V No. 9) of The Indian Libertarian — the Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' edited by Kusum Lotwala, published by the R. L. Foundation, and standing 'for free economy and liberal democracy' — leads with three banner themes: 'Thoughts on Budget', 'Pakistani Politics in a Flux', and 'Socialism on Retreat'. Its editorial reports on a new party forming in Pakistan and the wider regional politics, while M. A. Venkata Rao dissects the Finance Minister's budget and a lead article argues that socialism is in worldwide retreat. The number carries commentary on Pakistan (by 'Vigilant' and K. D. Valicha), on American aid to India, and a Research Department supplement of the R. L. Foundation whose contributions include M. V. Balakrishna Rao's 'The Socialist Regression' and A. Ranganathan on the making of modern India, alongside anti-communist polemic and the journal's regular news and review departments. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL The editorial opens with 'New Party in Pakistan', tracking the formation of a fresh national party there and the fluid state of Pakistani politics, and ranges across regional questions including Kashmir and the budget debate. It frames these developments through the journal's liberal-democratic and free-economy commitments, and turns to the role of the press and the conditions for democracy in the subcontinent. - Reports the emergence of a new national party in Pakistan amid political flux. - Connects regional politics, including Kashmir, to the journal's liberal-democratic outlook. - Discusses the press and the prospects for democracy in the region. ### Thoughts On Budget *By MA Venkata Rao* In 'Thoughts on Budget', M. A. Venkata Rao examines the Finance Minister's budget proposals, weighing their tax and expenditure measures against the journal's free-economy principles. He is critical of fresh levies and the drift toward heavier state control of the economy, reading the budget as a barometer of the government's economic philosophy. - Analyses the Finance Minister's budget and its new tax proposals. - Criticises the budget's expansion of state economic control. - Treats the budget as evidence of the government's broader economic direction. ### Socialism on the Retreat 'Socialism on the Retreat' argues that socialism is losing ground worldwide and that even the Mexican government has moved away from doctrinaire collectivism. The article reviews the supposed failures of planned economies and contends that the tide of opinion is turning back toward private enterprise and limited government, an argument the issue presents as a vindication of the journal's stance. - Claims socialism is in retreat across several countries. - Cites the Mexican government's turn away from collectivism as an example. - Reads the trend as a worldwide swing back toward free enterprise. ### Supplement of Research Dept. of R. L. Foundation; The Making of Modern India *By A Ranganathan* The Research Department supplement of the R. L. Foundation, conducted under the journal's Libertarian Social Institute auspices, opens with M. V. Balakrishna Rao's 'The Socialist Regression', which argues that Marx misread economic history and that socialism marks a regression rather than progress. A. Ranganathan's contribution on 'The Making of Modern India' continues the supplement, examining the intellectual and political formation of the modern nation. - The R. L. Foundation supplement gathers longer analytical essays. - Balakrishna Rao's 'The Socialist Regression' attacks the Marxist reading of history. - Ranganathan addresses the making of modern India. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jul1-1958/ ### Summary This 1 July 1958 issue (Vol. VI No. 8) of The Indian Libertarian — the Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs', edited by Kusum Lotwala and standing 'for free economy and libertarian democracy' — is built around rights, foreign affairs, and the journal's free-market economics. The editorial treats the Pakistan-Naga conspiracy, the Assam tax dispute, and the canal-waters question, while M. A. Venkata Rao writes on 'Minority Rights' and the barrister Sujata K. Desai examines 'Fundamental Rights and Their Amendment' in light of constitutional cases. Sumant Bankeshwar diagnoses 'Confusion in the Congress Crowd', M. N. Tholal considers an 'Islamic Renaissance', and C. Rajagopalachari contributes 'Provocative Pakistan'. An Economic Supplement carries free-market analysis — including Prof. G. N. Lawande on unemployment and integrated taxation and Kishore Valicha's 'France—A Lesson to India' — and the number closes with science writing, Frederick C. Barghoorn on Soviet-American exchanges, Libertarian Social Institute activities, and book reviews. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 July 1958 issue (Vol. VI No. 8) of The Indian Libertarian — the Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs', edited by Kusum Lotwala and standing 'for free economy and libertarian democracy' — is built around rights, foreign affairs, and the journal's free-market economics. The editorial treats the Pakistan-Naga conspiracy, the Assam tax dispute, and the canal-waters question, while M. A. Venkata Rao writes on 'Minority Rights' and the barrister Sujata K. Desai examines 'Fundamental Rights and Their Amendment' in light of constitutional cases. Sumant Bankeshwar diagnoses 'Confusion in the Congress Crowd', M. N. Tholal considers an 'Islamic Renaissance', and C. Rajagopalachari contributes 'Provocative Pakistan'. An Economic Supplement carries free-market analysis — including Prof. G. N. Lawande on unemployment and integrated taxation and Kishore Valicha's 'France—A Lesson to India' — and the number closes with science writing, Frederick C. Barghoorn on Soviet-American exchanges, Libertarian Social Institute activities, and book reviews. ## Essays ### EDITORIAL The editorial moves across several flashpoints of mid-1958 Indian politics: an alleged Pakistan-Naga conspiracy against India, the dispute over a fresh tax on Assam, the Kerala situation, and the canal-waters question with Pakistan. Throughout it presses for firm action in defence of national integrity while measuring each issue against the journal's liberal commitments. - Addresses an alleged Pakistan-Naga conspiracy against India. - Comments on the new tax on Assam and the Kerala situation. - Takes up the India-Pakistan canal-waters dispute. - Calls for strong action to protect national integrity. ### Minority Rights *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Minority Rights' examines how a liberal democracy should treat minorities, distinguishing genuine protection of individual rights from group privileges that entrench division. The essay connects the question to the journal's broader free-economy and constitutionalist outlook and references the work of the R. L. Foundation in framing the liberal position. - Argues minority protection should rest on individual rights, not group privilege. - Frames the issue within a liberal-democratic and constitutionalist outlook. - Links the discussion to the R. L. Foundation's programme. ### Fundamental Rights and Their Amendment *By Miss Sujata K. Desai, B.A. (Oxon) Bar-at-Law* The barrister Sujata K. Desai's 'Fundamental Rights and Their Amendment' analyses the constitutional status of fundamental rights in India and the question of whether and how they may be amended. Drawing on case law and the scheme of the Constitution, she weighs the tension between Parliament's amending power and the entrenchment of individual rights, including the position of Scheduled Castes provisions. - Examines whether fundamental rights in the Indian Constitution can be amended. - Discusses the tension between Parliament's amending power and entrenched rights. - Engages relevant constitutional case law. ### Economic Supplement: France—A Lesson to India *By Kishore Valicha* The Economic Supplement opens with Prof. G. N. Lawande's 'Unemployment and Integrated Taxation', which treats planning as the villain of the piece and argues that India's tax system and planned economy aggravate rather than relieve unemployment. Kishore Valicha's 'France—A Lesson to India' continues the supplement's free-market line. The pieces press the journal's case that integrated taxation and state planning misallocate resources and depress private enterprise. - Lawande casts state planning as the cause of India's economic troubles. - Argues that integrated taxation worsens unemployment. - Valicha's companion piece draws a cautionary lesson from France for India. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jul1-1959/ ### Summary This July 1, 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 11), edited by Kusum Lotwala and published from Bombay, gathers editorial commentary and signed essays around the magazine's classical-liberal and anti-collectivist program. In the rendered pages the issue opens with editorials on the popular revolt against the Communist ministry in Kerala and the constitutional means of contesting it, then runs essays distinguishing the 'profit motive' from the 'power motive' (M. N. Thakkar), assessing the newly formed Swatantra Party (M. A. Venkat Rao), debating compensation for expropriated property (Kusum C. Cooper), and reading C. Rajagopalachari's new party through a libertarian lens (S. Ramananthan). A second cluster of pieces turns to Cold War and Asian affairs — Laos and Tibet as illustrations of Communist subversion (Damodar J. Prabhu), the ethics of civil disobedience (Antony Elenjimittam), a translated satirical catechism 'What Is Socialism?' by the Polish philosopher Leszek Kolakowski, and an anonymous historical meditation on the Tibetan tragedy — before closing with a News Digest and lighter features. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This July 1, 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 11), edited by Kusum Lotwala and published from Bombay, gathers editorial commentary and signed essays around the magazine's classical-liberal and anti-collectivist program. In the rendered pages the issue opens with editorials on the popular revolt against the Communist ministry in Kerala and the constitutional means of contesting it, then runs essays distinguishing the 'profit motive' from the 'power motive' (M. N. Thakkar), assessing the newly formed Swatantra Party (M. A. Venkat Rao), debating compensation for expropriated property (Kusum C. Cooper), and reading C. Rajagopalachari's new party through a libertarian lens (S. Ramananthan). A second cluster of pieces turns to Cold War and Asian affairs — Laos and Tibet as illustrations of Communist subversion (Damodar J. Prabhu), the ethics of civil disobedience (Antony Elenjimittam), a translated satirical catechism 'What Is Socialism?' by the Polish philosopher Leszek Kolakowski, and an anonymous historical meditation on the Tibetan tragedy — before closing with a News Digest and lighter features. ## Essays ### Profit Motive Vs. Power Motive *By M. N. Thakkar* M. N. Thakkar contrasts the economic 'profit motive' with the political 'power motive', arguing in the rendered pages that the lust for power, not private enterprise, is the more dangerous and corrupting force in modern society. He invokes the slide from democracy into dictatorship — citing Napoleon and the French Revolution, and the rise of leaders such as Hitler and Mussolini — to claim that concentrated state power, not the marketplace, breeds tyranny. - Sets up profit motive (economic) versus power motive (political) as the issue's framing opposition. - Argues the appetite for power is more corrupting and dangerous than the pursuit of profit. - Draws on the French Revolution and 20th-century dictatorships as cautionary cases. - Defends private enterprise against the charge that the profit motive is the root social evil. ### Swatantra Party *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkat Rao examines the newly launched Swatantra Party, weighing its prospects as an organised opposition to Congress economic policy. In the rendered pages he discusses the party's social and economic program, its appeal across regions, and the political conditions in India that, in his reading, make a free-enterprise opposition both necessary and viable. - Assesses the Swatantra Party as a potential free-enterprise opposition to Congress. - Considers the party's economic and social platform and its likely base of support. - Reads the party's formation as a response to statist drift in Indian policy. ### Compensation of Expropriation *By Kusum C. Cooper* Kusum C. Cooper analyses the constitutional question of compensation for expropriated property, working through Article 31 of the Constitution and the Fourth Amendment (1955). In the rendered pages the essay argues over whether and how the state must compensate owners when it acquires private property, and what the law's evolution means for property rights. - Centers on compensation for expropriation under Article 31 of the Indian Constitution. - Discusses the Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Act of 1955. - Frames property-acquisition law as a test of constitutional protection for owners. ### C. R.'s New Party and Liberalisation *By S. Ramanathan* S. Ramananthan reads C. Rajagopalachari's new party against the standards of libertarianism, asking how far its program advances individual freedom and limits on state power. In the rendered pages the essay situates the party within the contemporary debate over Indian economic policy and the Nehruvian planning consensus. - Evaluates C. Rajagopalachari's new party through a libertarian framework. - Tests the party's commitment to individual liberty and limited government. - Sets the discussion against the prevailing planning consensus. ### Law And Diet *By Damodar J. Prabhu* Damodar J. Prabhu's piece, presented under the heading 'Laos And Tibet — An Illustration of Sabotage', treats events in Laos and Tibet as case studies in Communist subversion and infiltration. In the rendered pages he argues that ostensibly internal upheavals mask externally directed sabotage aimed at extending Communist control across Asia. - Frames Laos and Tibet as illustrations of Communist sabotage and infiltration. - Argues that local disturbances are externally directed. - Reads Asian flashpoints as part of a wider Cold War contest. ### Ethics of Civil Disobedience *By Antony Elenjimittam* Antony Elenjimittam's 'Ethics Of Civil Disobedience' examines the moral basis of non-violent resistance, tracing its lineage through Tolstoi, Henry Thoreau and Mahatma Gandhi. In the rendered pages he distinguishes principled civil disobedience from mere law-breaking and weighs its legitimacy against the frustrations that drive citizens to it. - Locates civil disobedience in a tradition running from Thoreau and Tolstoi to Gandhi. - Distinguishes ethical, principled disobedience from ordinary lawlessness. - Ties the resort to disobedience to frustration with the state. ### What is Statesman *By Leszek Kolakowski* Leszek Kolakowski's 'What Is Socialism?' — described as an article the young Polish philosopher wrote for a Polish student newspaper, suppressed for its anti-Soviet character and reprinted from the New Leader of New York — is a satirical catechism defining socialism by negation. In the rendered pages it consists of a long litany of the things a socialist state is 'not', each line skewering the repressions and absurdities of really-existing Communist regimes. - A satirical 'via negativa' definition: socialism is described entirely by what it is NOT. - Each clause indicts a feature of actually-existing Communist rule (censorship, informers, show trials, colonies). - Framed as a banned Polish student-paper article reprinted from the New Leader, New York. ### Thoughts on Tibetan Tragedy by a Lecturer in History *By A Lecturer in History* An unsigned essay, bylined only 'By a Lecturer in History', reflects on the Tibetan tragedy in the wake of the 1959 uprising and the flight of the Dalai Lama. In the rendered pages it sets the Chinese suppression of Tibet against the broader history of Sino-Tibetan and Indo-Tibetan relations and the Indian government's posture toward events on its northern frontier. - Reflects on the 1959 suppression of Tibet and its historical background. - Situates events within Sino-Tibetan and Indian-Tibetan relations. - Raises questions about India's response to developments on its frontier. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jul1-1960/ ### Summary This July 1, 1960 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII No. 7), edited by Kusum Lotwala in Bombay and incorporating the 'Free Economic Review' and 'The Indian Rationalist', combines the magazine's free-economy editorial line with foreign-policy, communal-politics, and philosophical essays. In the rendered pages the editorial reads the socialist and communist agitation against the Japan-American Mutual Security Treaty — the mobs surrounding the U.S. press officer Mr. Hagerty's car — as a warning of Chinese-backed subversion in Asia, and urges India to forge an Indo-American defence understanding. The signed essays then range from M. A. Venkata Rao on a libertarian path to world peace after the collapse of the Paris Summit, to M. N. Tholal on the Akali Dal's Punjabi Suba demand, Ralph Borsodi's decentralist 'Four-Fold Law of Living', and Lawrence Noonan's meditation 'Eternal Love'. Standing departments — a Rationalist Supplement, a Delhi Letter, Gleanings from the Press, News and Views, and Letters to the Editor — round out the issue. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This July 1, 1960 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII No. 7), edited by Kusum Lotwala in Bombay and incorporating the 'Free Economic Review' and 'The Indian Rationalist', combines the magazine's free-economy editorial line with foreign-policy, communal-politics, and philosophical essays. In the rendered pages the editorial reads the socialist and communist agitation against the Japan-American Mutual Security Treaty — the mobs surrounding the U.S. press officer Mr. Hagerty's car — as a warning of Chinese-backed subversion in Asia, and urges India to forge an Indo-American defence understanding. The signed essays then range from M. A. Venkata Rao on a libertarian path to world peace after the collapse of the Paris Summit, to M. N. Tholal on the Akali Dal's Punjabi Suba demand, Ralph Borsodi's decentralist 'Four-Fold Law of Living', and Lawrence Noonan's meditation 'Eternal Love'. Standing departments — a Rationalist Supplement, a Delhi Letter, Gleanings from the Press, News and Views, and Letters to the Editor — round out the issue. ## Essays ### Editorial The editorial, 'Jap-American Treaty in Trouble', reads the violent socialist-communist agitation in Japan against the Japan-American Mutual Security Treaty — the mobs that surrounded the U.S. press officer's car at the American Embassy — as Communist-orchestrated mass upheaval. In the rendered pages it argues the episode holds lessons for India: New Delhi should drop its hesitations and forge an Indo-American defence agreement to meet the Chinese menace, and patriotic forces of all parties should counter Communist attempts to mobilise support for Chinese aggression. - Frames the anti-treaty riots in Japan as Communist-led mass agitation. - Reads the Kishi government's troubles as a cautionary lesson for Asian democracies. - Urges India to forge an Indo-American defence agreement against the 'Chinese menace'. - Calls on patriotic forces of all parties to counter pro-Chinese Communist mobilisation. ### A Libertarian Policy for World Peace *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'A Libertarian Policy for World Peace' takes the collapse of the Paris Summit as its starting point, arguing that lasting peace cannot rest on summit diplomacy between armed power blocs. In the rendered pages he weighs disarmament, the Cold War standoff between the Western powers and Khrushchev's Soviet Union, and what a liberty-grounded approach to international order would require. - Opens from the failure of the Paris Summit between the great powers. - Questions whether summitry between armed blocs can secure real peace. - Frames disarmament and the Cold War standoff in libertarian terms. ### Punjabi Suba or Sikh State *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Punjabi Suba or Sikh State' examines the Shiromani Akali Dal's renewed demand for a Punjabi-speaking state, led by Master Tara Singh. In the rendered pages Tholal probes whether the 'Punjabi Suba' agitation is a genuine linguistic-reorganisation claim or a veiled bid for a Sikh state, and weighs the communal implications for the Punjab and the Indian union. - Centers on the Akali Dal's Punjabi Suba demand under Master Tara Singh. - Asks whether the demand is linguistic reorganisation or a covert Sikh-state bid. - Weighs the communal stakes for Punjab and national unity. ### The Four-fold Law of Living *By Ralph Borsodi* Ralph Borsodi's 'The Four-Fold Law of Living' lays out a decentralist philosophy of life organised around four orders of law — physical, social, economic, and moral. In the rendered pages Borsodi argues that a sound life and society must satisfy all four laws together, drawing on his characteristic emphasis on self-reliance and right living rather than dependence on the centralised state. - Organises life around a four-fold law: physical, social, economic, moral. - Argues all four orders must be satisfied together for sound living. - Reflects Borsodi's decentralist, self-reliance philosophy. ### Eternal Love *By Lawrence Noonan* Lawrence Noonan's 'Eternal Love' is a reflective, quasi-philosophical meditation on the nature and permanence of love. In the rendered pages it treats love as an enduring force, contrasting transient attachment with a deeper, abiding form of love. - A reflective essay on the nature of love. - Distinguishes transient attachment from enduring, 'eternal' love. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jul1-1962/ ### Summary This July 1, 1962 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X No. 7), edited by D. M. Kulkarni in Bombay under the banner 'We Stand For Free Economy And Limited Government', is dominated by foreign policy and the national-language controversy. In the rendered pages the editorial, 'The Day Of The Judgment Is At Hand', attacks Defence Minister Krishna Menon and the proposed deal to acquire Soviet MIG fighter planes, warning that drawing India into the Soviet orbit betrays its democratic commitments and weakens its position against Pakistan. M. A. Venkata Rao then contrasts the Russian and American systems as rival civilisations, while two essays — M. N. Tholal's 'Hindi Experiments' and P. Kodanda Rao's 'Hindi Raj And Hindu Raj' — dissect the politics of imposing Hindi as the national language, the Sanskritised Hindi of official broadcasting, and the threat of linguistic disintegration. Standing departments (Delhi Letter, Book Review, News & Views, Gleanings from the Press) close the issue. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This July 1, 1962 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X No. 7), edited by D. M. Kulkarni in Bombay under the banner 'We Stand For Free Economy And Limited Government', is dominated by foreign policy and the national-language controversy. In the rendered pages the editorial, 'The Day Of The Judgment Is At Hand', attacks Defence Minister Krishna Menon and the proposed deal to acquire Soviet MIG fighter planes, warning that drawing India into the Soviet orbit betrays its democratic commitments and weakens its position against Pakistan. M. A. Venkata Rao then contrasts the Russian and American systems as rival civilisations, while two essays — M. N. Tholal's 'Hindi Experiments' and P. Kodanda Rao's 'Hindi Raj And Hindu Raj' — dissect the politics of imposing Hindi as the national language, the Sanskritised Hindi of official broadcasting, and the threat of linguistic disintegration. Standing departments (Delhi Letter, Book Review, News & Views, Gleanings from the Press) close the issue. ## Essays ### Editorial The editorial, 'The Day Of The Judgment Is At Hand', condemns the proposed acquisition of Soviet MIG fighter planes and what it sees as the drift of Indian foreign policy into the Soviet orbit. In the rendered pages it argues that Krishna Menon's stance — that India is free to buy military hardware from any country — ignores the danger of becoming militarily dependent on Russia under the shadow of the Warsaw Pact, and that a closer defence understanding with America and England would better serve India and help solve the Kashmir problem and Pakistan's 'aggressive designs'. - Attacks the proposed MIG planes deal with the Soviet Union. - Warns against military dependence on Russia under the Warsaw Pact. - Criticises Defence Minister Krishna Menon's reasoning. - Argues a defence understanding with the West would help on Kashmir and Pakistan. ### Russia Versus The United States Of America *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Russia Versus The United States Of America' frames the Cold War as a contest between two whole civilisations rather than merely two states. In the rendered pages he weighs the systems against each other on civil liberty and the meaning of freedom, invoking the Yalta agreement and arguing that the difference between the two worlds is ultimately moral and political, not just military. - Treats the US-USSR rivalry as a clash of two civilisations. - Contrasts the systems on civil liberty and the meaning of freedom. - Invokes the Yalta agreement in reading the post-war order. ### Hindi Experiments *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Hindi Experiments' opens from the Prime Minister's press conference of June 13 and criticises the official experiments in promoting Hindi as the national language. In the rendered pages he attacks the artificial, heavily Sanskritised Hindi propagated through All India Radio and official channels, arguing that forced linguistic standardisation breeds national disintegration rather than unity. - Begins from Nehru's June 13 press conference on language. - Criticises the artificial, Sanskritised Hindi of official broadcasting (AIR). - Argues forced Hindi imposition risks national disintegration. ### Hindi Raj And Hindu Raj *By P. Kodanda Rao* P. Kodanda Rao's 'Hindi Raj And Hindu Raj' argues that imposing Hindi as the sole national language amounts to a form of 'Hindi Raj' that is bound up with a wider 'Hindu Raj', threatening non-Hindi-speaking and minority Indians. In the rendered pages he defends the three-language formula and the continued role of English, treating linguistic pluralism as a safeguard against majoritarian domination. - Equates the imposition of Hindi ('Hindi Raj') with a broader 'Hindu Raj'. - Defends the three-language formula and the role of English. - Frames linguistic pluralism as protection for non-Hindi and minority Indians. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jul15-1957/ ### Summary This 15 July 1957 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V No. 10), edited by Kusum Lotwala in Bombay under the slogan 'We Stand For Free Economy And Liberal Democracy', is a strongly anti-communist and anti-statist number that pairs a foreign-policy editorial with essays diagnosing India's drift toward socialism and probing the cracks within the Soviet bloc. In the rendered pages the editorial covers Pakistani propaganda against India, India's diplomatic posture, and the canal-waters dispute; M. A. Venkata Rao's lead essay frames a 'national crisis' rooted in the Congress leadership's mistakes and the costs of planning; J. K. Dhairyawan dissects Nehru's 'fancies and fixations' on socialism; and Eugene Lyons (author of 'Assignment in Utopia') forecasts a coming revolt within Russia. Further essays — Jay Kay on intellectual ferment behind the Iron Curtain, Sumant S. Bankeshwar on communism as conspiracy rather than ideology, and S. R. Narayan Iyer's 'Saint Abroad, Sinner At Home' — extend the anti-collectivist argument, alongside news departments, book reviews and an R. L. Foundation research supplement. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 15 July 1957 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V No. 10), edited by Kusum Lotwala in Bombay under the slogan 'We Stand For Free Economy And Liberal Democracy', is a strongly anti-communist and anti-statist number that pairs a foreign-policy editorial with essays diagnosing India's drift toward socialism and probing the cracks within the Soviet bloc. In the rendered pages the editorial covers Pakistani propaganda against India, India's diplomatic posture, and the canal-waters dispute; M. A. Venkata Rao's lead essay frames a 'national crisis' rooted in the Congress leadership's mistakes and the costs of planning; J. K. Dhairyawan dissects Nehru's 'fancies and fixations' on socialism; and Eugene Lyons (author of 'Assignment in Utopia') forecasts a coming revolt within Russia. Further essays — Jay Kay on intellectual ferment behind the Iron Curtain, Sumant S. Bankeshwar on communism as conspiracy rather than ideology, and S. R. Narayan Iyer's 'Saint Abroad, Sinner At Home' — extend the anti-collectivist argument, alongside news departments, book reviews and an R. L. Foundation research supplement. ## Essays ### Editorial The editorial runs three connected notes — 'Pakistan Propaganda Against India', 'Our Pugnacity Fails Again', and 'The Canal Waters Dispute'. In the rendered pages it charges Pakistan with a propaganda offensive against India over Kashmir, criticises the weakness and inconsistency of India's own diplomacy, and surveys the dispute over the partition of canal waters between the two states. - Charges Pakistan with a propaganda campaign against India over Kashmir. - Criticises the inconsistency of India's diplomatic posture. - Surveys the India-Pakistan canal-waters dispute. ### National Crisis and the Way Out *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's lead essay, 'National Crisis And The Way Out', diagnoses a deep political and moral crisis in India that, he argues, is constitutional and economic at root. In the rendered pages he ties the crisis to the costs of the Second Five Year Plan and a swollen defence budget, faults the mistakes of the Congress leadership, and warns of a 'grave danger' from the combined pull of socialism and communism, pointing toward a liberal, free-economy 'way out'. - Diagnoses a constitutional, political and economic 'national crisis'. - Ties the crisis to the Second Five Year Plan and a rising defence budget. - Faults the Congress leadership's mistakes. - Warns of the combined danger of socialism and communism. ### Nehru—His Fancies and Fixations *By J. K. Dhairyawan* J. K. Dhairyawan's 'Nehru—His Fancies And Fixations' is a critical portrait of the Prime Minister as a Scandinavian-style social democrat whose fixation on socialism and the public sector, the author argues, is steering India wrongly. In the rendered pages it contrasts Nehru's professed democratic principles with the statist permeation of economic life, weighing his 'practice and precept'. - A critical portrait of Nehru as a Scandinavian-style social democrat. - Argues his fixation on socialism and the public sector misdirects India. - Contrasts Nehru's democratic professions with statist practice. ### The Coming Revolt in Russia *By Eugene Lyons* Eugene Lyons's 'The Coming Revolt In Russia' — by the author of 'Assignment in Utopia' — argues that, like the Hungarians, ordinary Russians are now visibly disaffected, and that a revolt against Soviet tyranny is in the making. In the rendered pages he describes the 'double-mind' of citizens forced to outwardly conform while inwardly dissenting, reading the post-Stalin ferment as a sign of the regime's fragility. - Predicts a coming revolt within the Soviet Union, paralleling Hungary 1956. - Describes the 'double-mind' of outward conformity and inward dissent. - Reads post-Stalin ferment as evidence of the regime's fragility. ### Intellectual Ferment Behind the Iron Curtain *By Jay Kay* Jay Kay's 'Intellectual Ferment Behind The Iron Curtain' surveys the stirrings of independent thought among intellectuals in the Communist bloc. In the rendered pages it treats this ferment as a crack in totalitarian control and weighs it against the wider critique of the welfare and planned state. - Surveys intellectual dissent within the Communist bloc. - Reads the ferment as a fissure in totalitarian control. - Connects the discussion to a broader critique of state planning. ### Communism—Not an Ideology but a Conspiracy *By Sumant S. Bankeshwar* Sumant S. Bankeshwar's 'Communism—Not an Ideology but a Conspiracy' argues that communism is best understood not as a sincere body of ideas but as an organised political conspiracy. In the rendered pages it challenges the Marxian myth of the classless society — citing George Woodcock — and develops a contrast between the capitalist and collectivist attitudes to poverty. - Argues communism is a conspiracy, not a genuine ideology. - Challenges the Marxian myth of the classless society. - Contrasts the capitalist and collectivist attitudes to poverty. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jul15-1959/ ### Summary This fortnightly issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 12, July 15, 1959), edited by Kusum Lotwala in Bombay, gathers the journal's characteristic mix of free-market economics, anti-planning polemic, and political commentary. The lead editorial debates two Union Education Ministry proposals (compulsory schooling to age 14 and a means-tested scholarship scheme) and cooperative farming; subsequent articles range across international monetary policy (Lawrence Fertig on the dollar), the Kerala communist-government crisis, the public-versus-private-sector debate, India's Pakistan policy, a critique of Chinese communes, education philosophy, and reports on the emerging Swatantra (New) Party. Through the rendered pages the issue argues a consistent classical-liberal line: that state planning, public-sector expansion, and communist models are economically and politically corrosive, while individual initiative and private enterprise are the engines of development. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This fortnightly issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 12, July 15, 1959), edited by Kusum Lotwala in Bombay, gathers the journal's characteristic mix of free-market economics, anti-planning polemic, and political commentary. The lead editorial debates two Union Education Ministry proposals (compulsory schooling to age 14 and a means-tested scholarship scheme) and cooperative farming; subsequent articles range across international monetary policy (Lawrence Fertig on the dollar), the Kerala communist-government crisis, the public-versus-private-sector debate, India's Pakistan policy, a critique of Chinese communes, education philosophy, and reports on the emerging Swatantra (New) Party. Through the rendered pages the issue argues a consistent classical-liberal line: that state planning, public-sector expansion, and communist models are economically and politically corrosive, while individual initiative and private enterprise are the engines of development. ## Essays ### Editorial: Two Educational Proposals The editorial 'Two Educational Proposals' welcomes the Union Education Ministry's contemplated extension of compulsory education to age 14 by 1975 and a scheme of 10,000 scholarships for poor and deserving students, while regretting the twelve-year delay and warning that without literacy real democracy is impossible. It then turns to cooperative farming as the most controversial subject, citing Minister S. K. Dey and Dr. V. K. R. V. Rao on whether cooperative farming can absorb disguised unemployment, and doubting that it solves the problem of underemployment. - Backs compulsory education to age 14 and means-tested scholarships - Calls illiteracy the great handicap to democracy - Examines cooperative farming as a remedy for disguised rural unemployment - Cites S. K. Dey and Dr. V. K. R. V. Rao on the farming debate ### The Dollar will be on the Defensive *By Lawrence Fertig* Lawrence Fertig argues that the US dollar, long the world's strongest currency, will come under defensive pressure as other nations' economies recover and gold and currency convertibility shift. He frames the looming defensive position of the dollar as a consequence of restored convertibility and changing trade balances among the leading economies. - Predicts the dollar will move onto the defensive internationally - Links the shift to restored currency convertibility - Reads recovery of other economies as the driving cause ### Aspects of the Kerala Crisis *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao examines the Kerala crisis, where the elected Communist state government's Education Act and policies provoked a mass agitation. He weighs the constitutional position and the question of central intervention against a duly elected government, treating the episode as a test of Indian democracy's response to communist rule at the state level. - Analyses the agitation against Kerala's Communist government - Centres on the Kerala Education Act as the flashpoint - Weighs the constitutional question of central intervention ### Public Versus Private Secret *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal contrasts the public and private sectors, arguing that the public sector's expansion in transport and services produces inefficiency while private initiative serves the public better. He uses examples such as bus services and a central secretariat to press the case against state monopoly and for private enterprise. - Defends the private sector over the expanding public sector - Cites bus services and administrative bloat as evidence - Argues private initiative serves the public more efficiently ### India's Pakistan Policy *By Balraj Puri* Balraj Puri examines India's Pakistan policy, arguing for a realistic approach to relations between the two countries and weighing emotional versus national-interest considerations in shaping foreign policy toward Pakistan. - Assesses India's policy toward Pakistan - Distinguishes emotional reactions from national interest - Argues for a realistic bilateral approach ### The Truth About Communes *By T. L. Kantam* T. L. Kantam critiques the Chinese commune system, tracing the 'Great Leap Forward' and the communes' absorption of private property, land, livestock and family ties into collective ownership. Drawing on the party organ Jen-min jih-pao, he reads the communes as the last stage in communizing the whole Chinese economy and warns of the crisis they have brought within China. - Critiques China's commune system and the Great Leap Forward - Describes progressive abolition of private property - Quotes the party organ Jen-min jih-pao on collectivization - Reads communes as a crisis within Communist China ### Why Creative Education? *By Anthony Ellenjimittan* Anthony Ellenjimittan argues that education in modern times has become a department of government, with both communist and fascist states enforcing uniform educational patterns to mould citizens. He criticises Indian schools' scramble for government recognition and grants, praises pioneering independent educators such as Gandhi, Tagore and Sri Aurobindo, and invokes Plato, Socrates and Aristotle to call for a creative education that preserves individual freedom rather than serving state ends. - Warns education has become a department of the state - Likens government recognition to communist/fascist control - Praises Gandhi, Tagore and Aurobindo as independent educators - Calls for creative education preserving individual freedom ### America's First Millionaire Family *By Norman Casserley* Norman Casserley sketches the history of America's first millionaire family, the Astors, beginning with John Jacob Astor's fortune built in the fur trade and the move into Manhattan real estate, as an illustrative tale of American wealth. - Profiles the Astor family as America's first millionaires - Traces John Jacob Astor's fur-trade fortune - Notes the shift into New York real estate ### Congress and the New Party *By S. M.* Writing as 'S. M.', this 'Hindustan Times' piece discusses the formation of the new Swatantra Party and its relation to the Congress. It weighs Rajagopalachari's role and whether a credible conservative or free-enterprise opposition can emerge to challenge the dominant Congress, set against Nehru's leadership. - Discusses the launch of the new Swatantra Party - Assesses its prospects against Congress dominance - Centres on Rajagopalachari's role ### India and America *By G N Lawande* G. N. Lawande reports on a lecture by A. D. Shroff, well-known economist and founder of the Forum of Free Enterprise, on America and India under the Indo-American Society's auspices. Shroff argues there is no hostility in America toward India, that American investors are willing to invest if a proper climate is created, that capitalism is not in decay in America, and that the saving habit of the American people enables them to face any recession; he praises Radhakrishnan and G. L. Mehta for building goodwill. - Reports A. D. Shroff's lecture under the Indo-American Society - Shroff sees no American hostility toward India - Argues a proper climate would attract US investment - Rejects the idea that capitalism is in decay in America ### Congress "A Selfish and Greedy Party" *By "C. R."* Under the byline 'C. R.', this piece reproduces a 'Socialist Programme is Denounced' commentary in which Rajagopalachari attacks the Congress and its socialist programme, charging it with becoming 'a selfish and greedy party.' It frames Rajaji's denunciation of Congress economic policy and the case for the new opposition. - Reproduces Rajagopalachari's denunciation of the Congress - Brands Congress 'a selfish and greedy party' - Attacks the Congress socialist programme ### News Digest The News Digest collects short national news items, including reports of arrests of Kerala communists by the Red government, agitation gathering strength, allegations of nepotism, and a debate over English as a medium of instruction. It functions as the issue's roundup of current political developments. - Roundup of short national news items - Reports on the Kerala agitation and arrests - Notes a debate over English as medium of instruction --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jul15-1960/ ### Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII No. 8, July 15, 1960), edited by Kusum Lotwala in Bombay and incorporating the 'Free Economic Review' and 'The Indian Rationalist', opens with an editorial on the threatened general strike by Central Government employees over pay and dearness-allowance demands, which it criticises as an unjustifiable ultimatum even while granting the reasonableness of cost-of-living linkage. The issue carries M. A. Venkatrao on the U.S.A. and Indian freedom (with a discussion of Ayub Khan's Pakistan), M. N. Tholal on student indiscipline, a four-page Economic Supplement of free-market essays (Prof. C. R. Lawande on population and planning, an essay on agricultural development, and E. C. Riegel's 'Trade A Unifier'), Satya Roy on communist treachery, and the American individualist Laurence Labadie on the origin and nature of government, alongside the regular Delhi Letter, press gleanings, and news columns. Across the rendered pages the issue presses a libertarian case against state planning, coercive government, and socialist economic policy. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII No. 8, July 15, 1960), edited by Kusum Lotwala in Bombay and incorporating the 'Free Economic Review' and 'The Indian Rationalist', opens with an editorial on the threatened general strike by Central Government employees over pay and dearness-allowance demands, which it criticises as an unjustifiable ultimatum even while granting the reasonableness of cost-of-living linkage. The issue carries M. A. Venkatrao on the U.S.A. and Indian freedom (with a discussion of Ayub Khan's Pakistan), M. N. Tholal on student indiscipline, a four-page Economic Supplement of free-market essays (Prof. C. R. Lawande on population and planning, an essay on agricultural development, and E. C. Riegel's 'Trade A Unifier'), Satya Roy on communist treachery, and the American individualist Laurence Labadie on the origin and nature of government, alongside the regular Delhi Letter, press gleanings, and news columns. Across the rendered pages the issue presses a libertarian case against state planning, coercive government, and socialist economic policy. ## Essays ### Editorial: Central Government Employees' Threat of Strike The editorial addresses the threatened general strike by Central Government employees, railwaymen and other workers demanding a linkage of wages to the cost-of-living index, a minimum wage, and pay rises beyond the Second Pay Commission's recommendations. It accepts that automatic linkage of wages to cost of living is a principle accepted by liberal governments such as the USA, but rejects the workers' fresh demands as outside the Pay Commission's scope and condemns setting a strike ultimatum as a reckless tactic that could paralyse government. - Central Government employees threaten a near-general strike over pay - Demands exceed the Second Pay Commission's recommendations - Accepts cost-of-living wage linkage in principle - Condemns the strike ultimatum as unjustifiable ### The U.S.A. and Indian Freedom *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkatrao examines the relationship between the United States and Indian freedom, weighing the role of America as leader of the free world against India's path. The article digresses into a discussion of General Ayub Khan of Pakistan and his defence posture, set within a broader argument about freedom and the Cold War context. - Considers the U.S.A.'s role in relation to Indian freedom - Discusses General Ayub Khan and Pakistan's defence - Set in a Cold War framing of the free world ### Student Inducipline *By M. N. Tholal* Writing as a journalist, M. N. Tholal reflects on student indiscipline, recalling his own student days and a section ('The Elder Brother') on how an unsympathetic administration provokes disorder. He treats indiscipline as in part a response to heavy-handed authority within educational departments rather than a simple failing of the young. - Reflects on the causes of student indiscipline - Frames it partly as a reaction to authoritarian administration - Draws on the author's own student experience ### Origin and Nature of Government *By Laurence Labadie* Laurence Labadie, the American individualist writer, argues that government arises from the evolution of man and that, in its actual form, it rests on coercion and indirect increase of power. He distinguishes the inalienable individual right of self-defence from the institutional apparatus of the State, contending that violence used by political authority is qualitatively different from a person's natural defence and forms the coercive core of government. - Locates government's origin in human evolution - Identifies coercion as the essence of the State - Distinguishes self-defence from state violence --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jul15-1961/ ### Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IX No. 8, July 15, 1961), edited by Kusum Lotwala in Bombay, leads with an editorial on the renewed Assam language crisis, where the Brahmaputra Valley's Bengali-speaking minority resists the imposition of Assamese as the sole official language and the recommendations of the Sinha Commission. The issue carries M. A. Venkata Rao on 'The Will To Be A Nation', a meditation on what binds India's diverse peoples into a nation; M. N. Tholal's appreciation of the nationalist leader Madan Mohan Malaviya; and 'R.' (J. S.) Narayana Ayyar's continuing series indicting the Prime Minister's domestic and foreign policy failures. A boxed feature, 'Essentials of Free Government', gathers classical-liberal aphorisms from Edmund Burke, W. H. Chamberlin and Madison, alongside the regular Economic Supplement, Delhi Letter, book review, press gleanings, news columns and a letter to the editor. Across the rendered pages the issue presses the journal's federalist and free-government convictions against linguistic majoritarianism and centralising state power. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IX No. 8, July 15, 1961), edited by Kusum Lotwala in Bombay, leads with an editorial on the renewed Assam language crisis, where the Brahmaputra Valley's Bengali-speaking minority resists the imposition of Assamese as the sole official language and the recommendations of the Sinha Commission. The issue carries M. A. Venkata Rao on 'The Will To Be A Nation', a meditation on what binds India's diverse peoples into a nation; M. N. Tholal's appreciation of the nationalist leader Madan Mohan Malaviya; and 'R.' (J. S.) Narayana Ayyar's continuing series indicting the Prime Minister's domestic and foreign policy failures. A boxed feature, 'Essentials of Free Government', gathers classical-liberal aphorisms from Edmund Burke, W. H. Chamberlin and Madison, alongside the regular Economic Supplement, Delhi Letter, book review, press gleanings, news columns and a letter to the editor. Across the rendered pages the issue presses the journal's federalist and free-government convictions against linguistic majoritarianism and centralising state power. ## Essays ### Editorial: The Assamese Problem Flares Up Again The editorial returns to the Assam problem, where the Assamese-majority government's move to make Assamese the sole official language has reignited agitation among the Bengali-speaking minority of the Brahmaputra Valley and the hill peoples. It reviews the Sinha Commission's recommendations, the Cachar district's resistance, and the demand for safeguards, treating the episode as a test of whether India can accommodate linguistic minorities without coercion. A boxed 'Essentials of Free Government' panel reinforces the point with quotations from Burke, Chamberlin and Madison on consent, balance and liberty. - Assamese-as-sole-official-language move reignites the Assam crisis - Bengali minority of the Brahmaputra Valley resists imposition - Reviews the Sinha Commission's recommendations and Cachar's stance - Boxed panel quotes Burke, Chamberlin and Madison on free government ### The Will To Be A Nation *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao asks what gives a people the will to be a nation, surveying the diversity of India's regions, languages and communities and the forces of consciousness that can either bind them into one nation or fragment them. He treats national feeling as a matter of shared will rather than mere geography, and warns against the centrifugal pull of linguistic and communal particularism. - Examines the sources of national will in a diverse India - Treats nationhood as shared consciousness, not geography - Warns against linguistic and communal fragmentation ### Madan Mohan Malaviya *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal offers an appreciation of Madan Mohan Malaviya, recalling the nationalist leader and educationist through personal anecdote and reflection on his character, his discipline, and his place in the freedom movement. - Profiles the nationalist leader Madan Mohan Malaviya - Draws on personal anecdote and recollection - Reflects on his character and role in the movement ### The Prime Minister And The Future Of Our Country *By J. S. Narayana Ayyar* In the fourth instalment of his series, Narayana Ayyar indicts the Prime Minister's record under the heading 'Failure of Domestic and Foreign Policies'. He argues that the government's planning, economic management and external policy (including its handling of China and non-alignment) have failed the country, and questions the leadership's direction for India's future. - Fourth instalment indicting the Prime Minister's record - Charges failure across domestic and foreign policy - Criticises planning, economic management and the China policy --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jul15-1963/ ### Summary This July 15, 1963 issue (Vol. XI No. 8) of The Indian Libertarian, an independent Bombay journal of public affairs edited by D. M. Kulkarni, leads with an editorial reading the Sino-Soviet ideological split as a contest between Khrushchev's 'liberalism' and Mao's dogmatism, and argues that India's leaders misread both. The issue's argumentative center is foreign policy and the defence of liberal-market economics against socialist planning: M. A. Venkata Rao ties foreign policy to underlying philosophy, M. N. Tholal dissects India's 'clever' non-alignment, and B. Shiva Rao surveys the national language controversy. A bound-in four-page Economic Supplement (paginated I-IV) carries G. N. Lawande on taxation and economic growth and a continuation piece by Phillip H. Moore defending business against being made the scapegoat for inflation. Shorter departments — a Delhi Letter, a book review, 'The Mind of the Nation', and 'News and Views' — round out the issue. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This July 15, 1963 issue (Vol. XI No. 8) of The Indian Libertarian, an independent Bombay journal of public affairs edited by D. M. Kulkarni, leads with an editorial reading the Sino-Soviet ideological split as a contest between Khrushchev's 'liberalism' and Mao's dogmatism, and argues that India's leaders misread both. The issue's argumentative center is foreign policy and the defence of liberal-market economics against socialist planning: M. A. Venkata Rao ties foreign policy to underlying philosophy, M. N. Tholal dissects India's 'clever' non-alignment, and B. Shiva Rao surveys the national language controversy. A bound-in four-page Economic Supplement (paginated I-IV) carries G. N. Lawande on taxation and economic growth and a continuation piece by Phillip H. Moore defending business against being made the scapegoat for inflation. Shorter departments — a Delhi Letter, a book review, 'The Mind of the Nation', and 'News and Views' — round out the issue. ## Essays ### Khrushchev's Liberalism versus Mao's Dogmatism The unsigned lead editorial frames the Sino-Soviet rift as a clash between Khrushchev's pragmatic 'liberalism' and Mao's rigid dogmatism, distinguishing the two communist powers by their rival national experiences and strategies. It argues that Khrushchev, chastened by domestic pressures, has drifted toward a measure of coexistence and economic realism, while Mao clings to revolutionary purity. The editorial warns that India's leadership misreads this split, mistaking Soviet manoeuvres for genuine liberalisation. - Reads the Sino-Soviet dispute as Khrushchev's 'liberalism' versus Mao's 'dogmatism'. - Attributes Soviet shifts to internal economic pressure and the demands of coexistence. - Casts Mao as committed to revolutionary purity and permanent struggle. - Argues Indian leaders misread the rift and overestimate Soviet liberalisation. ### Foreign Policy and Philosophy *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that a nation's foreign policy is inseparable from its underlying philosophy of democracy and freedom. Surveying the moral basis of international conduct, he holds that India's professed non-alignment lacks a coherent philosophical anchor and that genuine foreign policy must flow from a settled commitment to democratic values rather than expedient manoeuvring. - Foreign policy must rest on a coherent philosophy of democracy and freedom. - Criticises non-alignment as philosophically rootless expediency. - Ties India's external posture to the moral health of its domestic institutions. ### Our Clever Foreign Policy *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal subjects India's 'clever' foreign policy to sceptical scrutiny, arguing that non-alignment has yielded little real advantage and that India has overestimated its own diplomatic ingenuity. He reads U.S. and Western responses to Nehru's policy as evidence that the supposed cleverness has not secured India's strategic interests. - Questions the practical payoff of India's non-aligned diplomacy. - Argues India overrates the cleverness of its own foreign policy. - Reads Western reactions as exposing the limits of that policy. ### The Economic Supplement *By G N Lawande* In the bound-in Economic Supplement, G. N. Lawande examines the relationship between taxation and economic growth, arguing that since independence the tax burden has risen sharply and that excessive taxation of savings and enterprise suppresses the capital formation a growing economy requires. The supplement also carries a continuation of Phillip H. Moore's piece arguing that business is wrongly made the scapegoat for inflation that is really driven by government monetary and fiscal policy. - Tax burden has risen steeply since independence, the supplement argues. - Heavy taxation of savings and enterprise chokes off capital formation. - A companion piece by Phillip H. Moore blames inflation on government policy, not business. - Defends private enterprise as the engine of economic growth. ### The Language Controversy *By B. Shiva Rao* B. Shiva Rao reviews the national language controversy, tracing the long political contest between the proponents of Hindi and the defenders of English and the regional languages. He recalls the Congress Working Committee's handling of the question and argues that the matter touches the basic federal balance of the Constitution, warning against any settlement that would alienate the non-Hindi regions. - Surveys the Hindi-versus-English national language dispute. - Recalls the Congress Working Committee's role in the controversy. - Frames the language question as a constitutional and federal issue. - Warns against alienating non-Hindi-speaking regions. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jul15-1962/ ### Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X No. 8, July 15, 1962), edited by Kusum Lotwala in Bombay, now carries the cover slogan 'We Stand For Free Economy and Limited Government'. Its editorial reads the Algerian National Liberation Front's referendum victory of July 1962 as a warning that newly independent nations risk internal strife and civil war once the unifying struggle for freedom ends. The issue then turns inward: M. A. Venkata Rao analyses the 'central flow' of Congress leadership and the Dravida separatist agitation in Madras; M. N. Tholal weighs the Gandhi-to-Nehru succession and the future of Congress leadership; and A. Ranganathan reflects on the place of the intellectual in society. A four-page Economic Supplement carries Dr. N. Das's critical survey of 'State Enterprises in India', alongside the regular Delhi Letter, book review, press gleanings and news columns. Across the rendered pages the issue argues a limited-government, free-economy line against state enterprise and centralised political power. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X No. 8, July 15, 1962), edited by Kusum Lotwala in Bombay, now carries the cover slogan 'We Stand For Free Economy and Limited Government'. Its editorial reads the Algerian National Liberation Front's referendum victory of July 1962 as a warning that newly independent nations risk internal strife and civil war once the unifying struggle for freedom ends. The issue then turns inward: M. A. Venkata Rao analyses the 'central flow' of Congress leadership and the Dravida separatist agitation in Madras; M. N. Tholal weighs the Gandhi-to-Nehru succession and the future of Congress leadership; and A. Ranganathan reflects on the place of the intellectual in society. A four-page Economic Supplement carries Dr. N. Das's critical survey of 'State Enterprises in India', alongside the regular Delhi Letter, book review, press gleanings and news columns. Across the rendered pages the issue argues a limited-government, free-economy line against state enterprise and centralised political power. ## Essays ### Editorial: Algeria's Main Problem The editorial 'Algeria's Main Problem' interprets the Algerian National Liberation Front's overwhelming July 1962 referendum vote for freedom and independence as a jubilant but precarious moment. It warns that the end of a seven-year war of independence exposes the new nation to internal strife, factional splits (the Ben Bella-Ben Khedda rupture, the role of the Secret Army Organisation among the European colons), and the danger of a protracted civil war, drawing the general lesson that nationalists must not be blind to post-liberation dissension. - Reads the July 1962 Algerian referendum as a victory shadowed by danger - Notes the Ben Bella-Ben Khedda split and army-command rifts - Warns newly free nations against post-independence civil strife ### The Central Flow Of Congress Leadership *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao examines the 'central flow' of Congress leadership in the wake of the 1962 elections, considering the party's psychology, its handling of provincial pressures, and the threat posed by the Dravida Kazhagam and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam separatist agitation in Madras. He treats the question of leadership succession and regional separatism as a test of the Congress's capacity to hold the nation together. - Analyses the flow and psychology of Congress leadership - Addresses the Dravida separatist agitation in Madras - Frames succession and regionalism as national-unity tests ### Gandhi—Nehru Succession *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal reflects on the Gandhi-to-Nehru succession, recalling Gandhi's designation of Nehru and the dynamics of leadership within the freedom movement, including a discussion touching on the Poona Pact and Congress organisation. He weighs the question of who or what will succeed the current leadership and what that means for the party's future. - Reflects on Gandhi's choice of Nehru as successor - Touches on the Poona Pact and Congress organisation - Raises the open question of the next succession ### Economic Supplement The Economic Supplement carries Dr. N. Das's 'State Enterprises In India', a critical survey of the evolution and performance of public-sector enterprises since independence. It examines their pricing and profitability, questions whether managed or 'no-profit-no-loss' policies serve the economy, and argues that political and bureaucratic control undermines the efficient running of state enterprises. - Surveys the growth of public-sector enterprises in India - Questions their pricing and profitability policies - Argues political/bureaucratic control breeds inefficiency --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jun1-1957/ ### Summary This 1 June 1957 issue (Vol. V No. 7) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' edited by Kusum Lotwala and incorporating the Free Economic Review, gathers a cluster of anti-socialist and anti-communist polemics around its banner cause: 'We stand for free economy and liberal democracy.' J. K. Dhairyawan attacks the Union budget's tax proposals as 'financial lunacy', M. A. Venkata Rao reads Vinoba Bhave's Bhoodan movement as communism entering by the back door, and Sumant Bankeshwar argues that communism is less an ideology than a conspiracy. Foreign-affairs pieces — a 'Vigilant' column on Pakistan's anti-India campaign and A. M. Rosenthal's reprinted New York Times profile of Krishna Menon — sit alongside P. Kodanda Rao's constitutional plea for unitary finance and the journal's standing departments (editorial, Mind of the Nation, Indian News Parade, World News, Book Review). ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 June 1957 issue (Vol. V No. 7) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' edited by Kusum Lotwala and incorporating the Free Economic Review, gathers a cluster of anti-socialist and anti-communist polemics around its banner cause: 'We stand for free economy and liberal democracy.' J. K. Dhairyawan attacks the Union budget's tax proposals as 'financial lunacy', M. A. Venkata Rao reads Vinoba Bhave's Bhoodan movement as communism entering by the back door, and Sumant Bankeshwar argues that communism is less an ideology than a conspiracy. Foreign-affairs pieces — a 'Vigilant' column on Pakistan's anti-India campaign and A. M. Rosenthal's reprinted New York Times profile of Krishna Menon — sit alongside P. Kodanda Rao's constitutional plea for unitary finance and the journal's standing departments (editorial, Mind of the Nation, Indian News Parade, World News, Book Review). ## Essays ### Essay In Financial Lunacy *By J. K. Dhairyawan* J. K. Dhairyawan dissects the Union Finance Minister's budget proposals as an exercise in 'financial lunacy', arguing that the new and increased taxes — on income, capital, and enterprise — penalise saving and investment and reflect a socialist drift in fiscal policy. He contends that heavy, ill-conceived taxation starves productive capital and that the budget treats the private sector as an adversary rather than the engine of growth. - Reads the Union budget's tax proposals as economically self-defeating 'lunacy'. - Argues new taxes penalise saving, capital, and private enterprise. - Sees a socialist drift hostile to the productive private sector. ### Bhoodan or Communism by the Backdoor? *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that Vinoba Bhave's Bhoodan (land-gift) movement, for all its Gandhian and spiritual idiom, functions as a route to communism 'by the back-door'. By dissolving private property in land into collective and village ownership, he contends, Bhoodan and the linked Gramdan campaign prepare the ground for the very collectivism that classical liberals oppose, undermining the security of property and individual incentive. - Casts Bhoodan as a Gandhian veneer over creeping collectivism. - Warns that land-gift and Gramdan erode private property in land. - Frames the movement as communism advancing by indirection. ### Motive Behind Pak-Campaign—To Hide Internal Chaos and Frustration *By Vigilant* Writing under the pseudonym 'Vigilant', this column argues that Pakistan's intensifying anti-India campaign, especially over Kashmir, is a deliberate diversion meant to mask internal political chaos and economic frustration within Pakistan. The piece reads Pakistani diplomatic agitation as an instrument of domestic distraction rather than a genuine grievance. - Interprets Pakistan's anti-India campaign as a diversionary tactic. - Links the Kashmir agitation to Pakistan's internal instability. - Treats the foreign-policy noise as cover for domestic frustration. ### Krishna Menon Made A Reputation for Himself but Lost the Reputation of India *By A. M. Rosenthal* A reprinted New York Times profile by A. M. Rosenthal portrays V. K. Krishna Menon as a figure who built a formidable personal reputation on the international stage while damaging India's standing. The piece traces Menon's combative diplomatic style and argues that his self-aggrandisement at the UN and abroad came at the cost of India's reputation and interests. - Profiles Krishna Menon's combative international persona. - Argues his personal reputation grew as India's standing suffered. - Reprinted from the New York Times for an Indian readership. ### Communism—Not An Ideology But A Conspiracy *By Sumant Bankeshwar* Sumant Bankeshwar argues that the Communist Party is not properly an ideology at all but a disciplined conspiracy directed from Moscow. Writing against the backdrop of the Communist accession to power in Kerala, he holds that the party's constitutional professions mask a conspiratorial loyalty to an external power, and that India should treat communism as a subversive organisation rather than a legitimate political creed. - Denies communism the status of a genuine ideology. - Recasts the Communist Party as a Moscow-directed conspiracy. - Written against the Kerala Communist government's accession to power. ### Plea for Unitary Finance *By P. Kodanda Rao* P. Kodanda Rao of the Servants of India Society makes a constitutional case for unitary finance in India, arguing that the federal division of taxing and spending powers between the Union and the States produces fiscal incoherence. He pleads for centralising financial authority to secure sound national finance and to prevent the States from undermining overall economic policy. - Argues the federal split of fiscal powers breeds incoherence. - Pleads for unitary, centralised control of finance. - Written from the Servants of India Society standpoint. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jun1-1958/ ### Summary This June 1, 1958 issue (Vol. VI No. 6) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' edited by Kusum Lotwala, leads with M. A. Venkata Rao on the crisis convulsing the Congress and ranges across Cold War foreign policy, internal security, and anti-communist polemic under the banner 'We stand for free economy and libertarian democracy.' Pseudonymous columnists ('Daneshmand', 'Vigilant', 'Vivek') warn against war-mongering, lax security, and political farce, while B. S. Sanyal anatomises a 'Moscow-Cairo Axis' and Ashutosh Lahiry reads a deepening national crisis. A bound-in four-page Economic Supplement treats taxation, oil prices, and 'The Question of Planned Parentage'. Articles from printed page 17 onward — Sumanth Bankeshwar on land reforms, Ralph J. Cordiner on U.S. business leadership, and the tail departments — fall beyond the rendered pages and are not summarised here. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This June 1, 1958 issue (Vol. VI No. 6) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' edited by Kusum Lotwala, leads with M. A. Venkata Rao on the crisis convulsing the Congress and ranges across Cold War foreign policy, internal security, and anti-communist polemic under the banner 'We stand for free economy and libertarian democracy.' Pseudonymous columnists ('Daneshmand', 'Vigilant', 'Vivek') warn against war-mongering, lax security, and political farce, while B. S. Sanyal anatomises a 'Moscow-Cairo Axis' and Ashutosh Lahiry reads a deepening national crisis. A bound-in four-page Economic Supplement treats taxation, oil prices, and 'The Question of Planned Parentage'. Articles from printed page 17 onward — Sumanth Bankeshwar on land reforms, Ralph J. Cordiner on U.S. business leadership, and the tail departments — fall beyond the rendered pages and are not summarised here. ## Essays ### Nehru and the Congress Crisis *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao examines the crisis inside the Congress, arguing that the party's internal feuds and ideological drift reflect a deeper failure of leadership under Nehru. He contends that the Congress has lost its bearings between socialist rhetoric and practical governance, and that its inability to confront the communist challenge or set sound economic policy threatens India's liberal-democratic prospects. - Reads the Congress crisis as a failure of Nehru-era leadership. - Sees the party caught between socialist rhetoric and governance. - Links Congress disarray to its weakness against communism. ### Fanning the Flames of War *By Daneshmand* Writing under the pseudonym 'Daneshmand' in a column headed 'This Is Pakistan', the author argues that elements in Pakistan are 'fanning the flames of war' over Kashmir and along the border, treating belligerence as a road to national suicide. The piece warns that war-mongering serves no rational end and reads the agitation as reckless rather than strategic. - Charges Pakistani actors with deliberately stoking war. - Frames border and Kashmir belligerence as self-destructive. - Part of the journal's recurring 'This Is Pakistan' commentary. ### The Moscow-Cairo Axis *By B. S. Sanyal* B. S. Sanyal analyses what he calls the 'Moscow-Cairo Axis', arguing that Soviet and Egyptian (Nasserite) policy have aligned in ways that threaten the non-aligned world and India's interests. He reads Nehru's foreign policy as naive about this alignment, contending that Indian diplomacy has been outmanoeuvred by seasoned Soviet and Egyptian statecraft. - Posits an aligned Moscow-Cairo bloc in world affairs. - Argues Indian non-alignment is naive about this axis. - Casts Nasser and Soviet diplomacy as outmanoeuvring Nehru. ### How Slack Are Our Security Measures? *By Vigilant* In a security column written as 'Vigilant', the author asks how slack India's internal security measures have become, pointing to money flowing to Pakistan for spies and to lax counter-intelligence. The piece argues that complacency about subversion and espionage leaves the country dangerously exposed. - Questions the adequacy of India's internal security. - Alleges money and effort flow to Pakistani espionage. - Warns that complacency invites subversion. ### The Great Farce *By Vivek* Writing as 'Vivek', the columnist derides a recent political episode as 'The Great Farce', using the performance metaphor to mock the gap between official posturing and real conduct. The piece treats the spectacle as evidence of unseriousness in public life and the hollowness of vulgar political theatre. - Mocks a political episode as theatrical farce. - Contrasts official posturing with actual conduct. - Reads the spectacle as a symptom of unserious public life. ### Congress Illusions About the Communists An unsigned piece, 'Congress Illusions About the Communists', argues that the ruling Congress fundamentally misunderstands the Communist Party, treating it as a normal political rival rather than a disciplined movement bent on capturing the state. It warns that Congress tactics and complacency play into communist hands. - Charges Congress with misreading the communist threat. - Argues communists are treated as ordinary rivals, not subversives. - Warns Congress complacency aids communist advance. ### The Deepening Crisis *By Ashutosh Lahiry* Ashutosh Lahiry surveys 'The Deepening Crisis', arguing that developments of the past year have intensified India's economic and political difficulties. He reads standardised socialist patterns and regimentation as worsening the malaise and calls for a candid stock-taking of the country's direction. - Argues India's crisis has deepened over the past year. - Blames socialist standardisation and regimentation. - Calls for honest stock-taking of national direction. ### Economic Supplement The bound-in Economic Supplement (pages I-IV) carries unsigned commentary arguing that present taxation policy must change to stop penalising productive capital, alongside a piece welcoming a reduction in oil prices as a benefit to consumers. The supplement presses the journal's free-economy line that lighter taxes and freer prices serve growth and the public. - Argues current taxation policy must be reformed to spare capital. - Welcomes an oil-price reduction as benefiting consumers. - Reiterates the journal's free-economy economics. ### The Question of Planned Parentage An unsigned article, 'The Question of Planned Parentage', takes up family planning, weighing healthy families, food supply, and education against population growth. It frames responsible parenthood and population policy as bearing directly on India's economic prospects. - Takes up family planning and population policy. - Connects population growth to food and education burdens. - Frames responsible parenthood as an economic question. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jun1-1959/ ### Summary This June 1, 1959 issue (Vol. VII No. 9) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' edited by Kusum Lotwala, is dominated by the Tibetan crisis and the collapse of 'Panchsheela'. The unsigned editorial reflects on the Dalai Lama, the Buddha and India in the wake of China's suppression of Tibet, and M. A. Venkata Rao argues that the flight of the Dalai Lama exposes the bankruptcy of Nehru's Five-Principles policy toward China. M. N. Tholal and J. K. Dhairyawan press the critique of Nehru's leadership, A. Ranganathan reflects on the individual and the Constitution, T. L. Kantam analyses China's 'uninterrupted revolution', Laurance Barth digs at the roots of Indian chaos, and Sir David Kelly and an unsigned piece scrutinise Pakistan. A report on C. D. Deshmukh's plea for a national government and the standing departments (News Digest, Letters) close the issue. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This June 1, 1959 issue (Vol. VII No. 9) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' edited by Kusum Lotwala, is dominated by the Tibetan crisis and the collapse of 'Panchsheela'. The unsigned editorial reflects on the Dalai Lama, the Buddha and India in the wake of China's suppression of Tibet, and M. A. Venkata Rao argues that the flight of the Dalai Lama exposes the bankruptcy of Nehru's Five-Principles policy toward China. M. N. Tholal and J. K. Dhairyawan press the critique of Nehru's leadership, A. Ranganathan reflects on the individual and the Constitution, T. L. Kantam analyses China's 'uninterrupted revolution', Laurance Barth digs at the roots of Indian chaos, and Sir David Kelly and an unsigned piece scrutinise Pakistan. A report on C. D. Deshmukh's plea for a national government and the standing departments (News Digest, Letters) close the issue. ## Essays ### Editorial: Dalai Lama, the Buddha and India The unsigned editorial, 'Dalai Lama, the Buddha and India', uses the coincidence of Buddha Purnima with the Tibetan crisis to meditate on faith, moral leadership, and the Chinese suppression of Tibet. It notes tributes paid to the Buddha by leaders including Radhakrishnan even as Red China's crushing of Tibetan autonomy went unmentioned in the Dalai Lama's own sermon, and questions whether ceremonial religiosity offers any real guidance in a moment of crisis. - Ties Buddha Purnima observances to the Tibetan crisis. - Notes the Dalai Lama's sermon omitted China's suppression of Tibet. - Doubts that ceremonial religion gives real moral guidance. ### Tibet and "Panchsheela" *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that the Tibetan revolt and the Dalai Lama's flight to India have exposed the emptiness of 'Panchsheela', the Five Principles of peaceful coexistence Nehru championed with China. He contends that China's actions in Tibet prove the principles were never reciprocated, and that India's faith in Chinese goodwill was a strategic illusion now overtaken by events. - Reads the Tibet revolt as the death of 'Panchsheela'. - Argues China never honoured the Five Principles. - Casts Nehru's faith in Chinese goodwill as a strategic illusion. ### Nehru is Flogging A Dead Horse *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal argues that Nehru is 'flogging a dead horse' in clinging to his established policies — particularly toward China and non-alignment — long after events have discredited them. The piece reads Nehru's persistence as obstinacy in the face of obvious failure. - Charges Nehru with persisting in discredited policies. - Uses the 'dead horse' image for futile statecraft. - Reads his obstinacy as a failure to learn from events. ### Nehru, The Big National Problem *By J. K. Dhairyawan* J. K. Dhairyawan frames Nehru himself as 'the big national problem', arguing that the Prime Minister's outsized personal dominance over Indian politics has become an obstacle to sound government. The piece holds that Nehru's characteristic indecision and his grip on power together stunt the development of healthy political alternatives. - Casts Nehru's personal dominance as India's core problem. - Argues his indecision hampers effective government. - Sees his grip on power stifling political alternatives. ### The Individual and the Constitution *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan reflects on the place of the individual within the Indian Constitution, examining the Preamble's promises of liberty, equality, and fraternity and the guarantee of fundamental rights. He argues that the worth of the constitutional order is measured by how far it actually secures individual freedom against the encroachments of the state. - Centres the individual in reading the Constitution. - Examines the Preamble and fundamental rights guarantees. - Measures the order by its protection of individual freedom. ### Wither China?—The Uninterrupted Revolution *By T. L. Kantam* T. L. Kantam, in 'Wither China?—The Uninterrupted Revolution', analyses the Chinese Communist doctrine of permanent or uninterrupted revolution, tracing its ideological roots and arguing that it drives China's aggressive external conduct, including in Tibet. The piece treats the doctrine as a key to understanding Beijing's behaviour. - Examines the Maoist doctrine of uninterrupted revolution. - Links the doctrine to China's external aggression. - Reads Tibet as an expression of permanent revolution. ### Digging the Roots of our Chaos *By Laurance Barth* Laurance Barth, in 'Digging the Roots of our Chaos', argues that India's disorder stems from a failure to honour the economic and moral base of a free society. He contends that political and social chaos follow from ignoring sound economic foundations and the discipline of individual responsibility. - Traces Indian chaos to neglected economic foundations. - Links disorder to a failure of individual responsibility. - Argues for restoring the moral base of a free society. ### Pakistan Has No Business to keep Bombers *By Sir D. Kelly* In a piece by the late Sir David Kelly (a former British diplomat), the argument is made that Pakistan has no business keeping a bomber force, contending that its military build-up is disproportionate to any legitimate defensive need and destabilises the subcontinent. - Argues Pakistan's bomber force is unjustified. - Reads its military build-up as destabilising. - Written by the late British diplomat Sir David Kelly. ### What is Pakistan's Game? An unsigned piece, 'What is Pakistan's Game?', probes Pakistan's strategic intentions toward India, reading its diplomatic and military moves — and its 'headache' over Kashmir and Tibet — as part of a calculated game rather than genuine grievance. - Questions Pakistan's strategic intentions toward India. - Reads its moves as calculated rather than principled. - Connects the analysis to Kashmir and the Tibet situation. ### C. D. Deshmukh's Plea for a National Government An unsigned report relays C. D. Deshmukh's plea for an all-party or national government, summarising his call for a ten-year truce of party rivalries, opposition to the nationalisation of banks, and warnings about educational deterioration. It presents Deshmukh's argument that a broad-based government is needed to meet the national crisis. - Reports C. D. Deshmukh's call for a national/all-party government. - Notes his proposed ten-year truce of party rivalries. - Conveys his opposition to bank nationalisation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jun1-1961/ ### Summary This June 1, 1961 issue (Vol. IX No. 5) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni whose masthead now stands 'for free economy and limited government,' opens with an editorial reading the failed Bay of Pigs landing as 'Cuba: A Set-back to the Free World' and moves through Cold War commentary on Laos, South Vietnam, and the contest with communism. The literary and biographical heart of the issue comprises M. A. Venkata Rao's appreciation 'Rabindranath Tagore And Humanism,' M. N. Tholal's affectionate portrait of 'Motilal Nehru' as 'a true democrat,' and S. R. Narayana Ayyar's critical reflection 'The Prime Minister And The Future Of Our Country.' The issue also carries an interleaved four-page Rationalist Supplement (I-IV), a Delhi Letter, a book review, a 'Gleanings from the Press' column, and news and views. Its argumentative centre is the journal's classical-liberal, anti-communist defence of economic freedom and limited government against state planning and Soviet expansion. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This June 1, 1961 issue (Vol. IX No. 5) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni whose masthead now stands 'for free economy and limited government,' opens with an editorial reading the failed Bay of Pigs landing as 'Cuba: A Set-back to the Free World' and moves through Cold War commentary on Laos, South Vietnam, and the contest with communism. The literary and biographical heart of the issue comprises M. A. Venkata Rao's appreciation 'Rabindranath Tagore And Humanism,' M. N. Tholal's affectionate portrait of 'Motilal Nehru' as 'a true democrat,' and S. R. Narayana Ayyar's critical reflection 'The Prime Minister And The Future Of Our Country.' The issue also carries an interleaved four-page Rationalist Supplement (I-IV), a Delhi Letter, a book review, a 'Gleanings from the Press' column, and news and views. Its argumentative centre is the journal's classical-liberal, anti-communist defence of economic freedom and limited government against state planning and Soviet expansion. ## Essays ### Editorial (Queen Elizabeth in India; Conspiracy to Murder Leaders; etc.) The lead editorial, 'Cuba: A Set-back to the Free World,' reads the failure of the U.S.-backed landing in Cuba as a defeat for the free world and a propaganda gain for the Castro regime and its Soviet patrons. It then widens into a survey of the communist advance in Laos and South Vietnam, questioning the 'precarious hope' of neutralisation and warning that the West must set a higher value on freedom if it is to hold the line in Asia. - Treats the failed Cuban landing as a set-back for the free world. - Reads the episode as a propaganda victory for Castro and Moscow. - Surveys the communist threat in Laos and South Vietnam. - Doubts the durability of an 'Austrian type of neutrality' for Laos. - Argues the West undervalues freedom in the Cold War contest. ### President Kennedy's "New Frontiers" *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Rabindranath Tagore And Humanism' is an appreciation of the poet's humanist vision, written in the centenary of his birth. It places Tagore's universalism and faith in the creative individual against the collectivist currents of the age, treating his humanism as a living resource for a liberal, anti-totalitarian outlook rather than a merely literary inheritance. - An appreciation of Rabindranath Tagore's humanism in his birth centenary. - Reads Tagore's universalism as a counter to collectivism. - Connects the poet's faith in the individual to a liberal outlook. - Written by M. A. Venkata Rao, a regular contributor. ### Psychology of Non-Alignment *By M. N. Thoial* M. N. Tholal's 'Motilal Nehru' is a personal recollection of the Congress leader, recalling their first meeting and casting Motilal as 'a true democrat' who, despite his wealth and grandeur, met others as equals. The piece sets Motilal's temperament against the politics of his son and the later drift of the movement, using the portrait to make a quiet argument about democratic character. - A personal recollection of Motilal Nehru by M. N. Tholal. - Portrays Motilal as 'a true democrat' unspoiled by wealth. - Draws on the author's first meeting with him. - Implicitly contrasts his temperament with later Congress politics. ### Lokayata: Indian Materialism *By S. Ramanathan* S. R. Narayana Ayyar's 'The Prime Minister And The Future Of Our Country' is a critical reflection on Nehru's leadership and its consequences for India's direction. In the rendered opening, Ayyar questions the personalised concentration of authority around the Prime Minister and the implications of that dominance for the country's future, framing it as a problem for liberal, accountable government. - A critical reflection on Nehru's leadership of India. - Questions the concentration of authority around the Prime Minister. - Frames the issue as a concern for the country's future. - Continues the issue's scrutiny of Congress dominance. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jun1-1960/ ### Summary This June 1, 1960 issue (Vol. VIII No. 5) of The Indian Libertarian, a Bombay fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotwala that stood 'for free economy and libertarian democracy,' is dominated by the Cold War in the rendered pages. The unsigned editorial, 'Khrushchev Torpedoes the Summit Conference,' dissects the collapse of the Paris summit after the U-2 spy-plane incident, arguing that the Soviet premier exploited the episode for propaganda while the Western powers blundered into a moral trap. Companion pieces extend the free-economy and anti-Communist line: 'To Prosperity through Freedom' (signed V. R.) restates the Swatantra Party's philosophy as declared at its Patna convention, 'Summit for Propaganda' by M. N. Tholal reads the failed conference as a Soviet stratagem, and a reprinted essay by the American philosopher Sidney Hook, 'Peace and Freedom,' insists peace cannot be bought at the price of freedom. The issue also carries an interleaved four-page Rationalist Supplement (numbered I-IV), a Henry Hazlitt column on 'Inflation Vs. Morality,' a Delhi Letter, a book review, news and views, and letters to the editor. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This June 1, 1960 issue (Vol. VIII No. 5) of The Indian Libertarian, a Bombay fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotwala that stood 'for free economy and libertarian democracy,' is dominated by the Cold War in the rendered pages. The unsigned editorial, 'Khrushchev Torpedoes the Summit Conference,' dissects the collapse of the Paris summit after the U-2 spy-plane incident, arguing that the Soviet premier exploited the episode for propaganda while the Western powers blundered into a moral trap. Companion pieces extend the free-economy and anti-Communist line: 'To Prosperity through Freedom' (signed V. R.) restates the Swatantra Party's philosophy as declared at its Patna convention, 'Summit for Propaganda' by M. N. Tholal reads the failed conference as a Soviet stratagem, and a reprinted essay by the American philosopher Sidney Hook, 'Peace and Freedom,' insists peace cannot be bought at the price of freedom. The issue also carries an interleaved four-page Rationalist Supplement (numbered I-IV), a Henry Hazlitt column on 'Inflation Vs. Morality,' a Delhi Letter, a book review, news and views, and letters to the editor. ## Essays ### Editorial The lead editorial, 'Khrushchev Torpedoes the Summit Conference,' treats the breakdown of the Paris summit as Khrushchev's deliberate handiwork. It contends that his 'truculent opening speech' condemning Eisenhower and the USA over the downed U-2 reconnaissance flight was staged for propaganda effect, and faults Washington for clumsy handling that handed Moscow a moral advantage in world opinion. The piece weighs the rival accounts of the U-2 episode and argues that espionage in peacetime, while distasteful, is universal, so Khrushchev's pose of outrage is hypocritical. - The summit's collapse is read as a calculated Soviet propaganda manoeuvre, not a genuine grievance. - Khrushchev's opening speech condemning Eisenhower is cast as the trigger. - The editorial criticises US handling of the U-2 disclosures as self-damaging. - It argues all nations spy on one another, so the Soviet moral posture is hypocritical. - Khrushchev is said to have put America 'in the dock of world public opinion.' ### To Prosperity through Freedom *By V. R.* 'To Prosperity through Freedom,' signed V. R., presents the Swatantra Party's philosophy and policy as declared at its Patna convention of 19 and 20 March 1960. It frames the choice before India as one between Congress's drift toward state-directed collectivism and a path of prosperity grounded in economic freedom, defending the party's stand against centralised planning and for the conditions under which enterprise and ordered liberty can flourish. - Sets out the Swatantra Party's philosophy and policy as declared at Patna in March 1960. - Frames Indian politics as a contest between collectivism and freedom-based prosperity. - Defends economic freedom and warns against state-directed planning. - Invokes the rule of law and ordered liberty as conditions of prosperity. ### Summit for Propaganda *By M. N. Thoiai* M. N. Tholal's 'Summit for Propaganda' argues that politics is the art of seizing the right moment, and that Khrushchev shrewdly engineered the Paris summit's failure to extract maximum propaganda value. The piece reads the Soviet premier's conduct at and around the conference as a calculated performance rather than a diplomatic miscalculation. - Casts the summit as theatre staged for propaganda rather than negotiation. - Reads Khrushchev's timing as deliberate political stagecraft. - Continues the issue's anti-Soviet, Cold War framing. ### Peace and Freedom *By Sidney Hook* Sidney Hook's 'Peace and Freedom,' reprinted from The New Leader, addresses the dilemma the Soviet challenge poses for Western liberals. Hook resists any settlement that would purchase peace at the cost of freedom, arguing that the two values cannot be cleanly traded against each other and that a peace secured by surrendering liberty would be hollow. - A reprinted essay by the American philosopher Sidney Hook. - Argues peace must not be bought by sacrificing freedom. - Engages the Cold War choice facing Western liberals. - Reprinted from The New Leader, signalling the journal's international anti-Communist alignment. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jun1-1962/ ### Summary This June 1, 1962 issue (Vol. X No. 5) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni under the masthead 'we stand for free economy and limited government,' is preoccupied with the communist advance in South-East Asia and with the case for the free market. The editorial, 'Red Star Over South-East Asia,' argues that Russia and China are exploiting ideological divisions and broken agreements to extend communist control from Pakistan and India in the West to Vietnam and Laos in the East. M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Crisis In South-East Asia' examines the unravelling SEATO position and the 1954/1962 Geneva settlements over Laos; M. N. Tholal's 'Ripening Fruit Of Non-Alignment' presents the loss of ground in Laos as the predictable harvest of India's non-aligned policy; and Paul L. Poirot's 'One Man's Gain' is a reprinted free-market essay rebutting the 'law of the jungle' belief that one person's gain must come at another's loss, defending voluntary exchange and private property. The issue also carries a Delhi Letter, a book review, a 'Gleanings from the Press' column, news and views, and a 'Dear Editor' correspondence section. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This June 1, 1962 issue (Vol. X No. 5) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni under the masthead 'we stand for free economy and limited government,' is preoccupied with the communist advance in South-East Asia and with the case for the free market. The editorial, 'Red Star Over South-East Asia,' argues that Russia and China are exploiting ideological divisions and broken agreements to extend communist control from Pakistan and India in the West to Vietnam and Laos in the East. M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Crisis In South-East Asia' examines the unravelling SEATO position and the 1954/1962 Geneva settlements over Laos; M. N. Tholal's 'Ripening Fruit Of Non-Alignment' presents the loss of ground in Laos as the predictable harvest of India's non-aligned policy; and Paul L. Poirot's 'One Man's Gain' is a reprinted free-market essay rebutting the 'law of the jungle' belief that one person's gain must come at another's loss, defending voluntary exchange and private property. The issue also carries a Delhi Letter, a book review, a 'Gleanings from the Press' column, news and views, and a 'Dear Editor' correspondence section. ## Essays ### Editorial The lead editorial, 'Red Star Over South-East Asia,' contends that Russia and China are playing their cards cleverly across the region, from Pakistan and India in the West to Vietnam and Laos in the East. Under cover of ideological differences and 'faked' disputes, the editorial argues, the communist powers mean to lull the wary and the gullible into a false sense of security while pressing their expansion; it treats international agreements as, for the communists, mere instruments to consolidate gains and prepare the next advance. - Frames Russia and China as coordinating communist expansion across South-East Asia. - Argues ideological and factional disputes are partly staged to disarm the West. - Treats Geneva-type agreements as tactical, not binding, for the communist powers. - Reads events in Laos as the leading edge of the threat. ### Crisis In South-East Asia *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Crisis In South-East Asia' surveys the deteriorating Western position in the region as the Cold War sharpens. It works through the SEATO commitments and the Geneva settlements on Laos, weighing how far a neutralised Laos can hold and what the communist pressure on Indo-China means for the security of free Asia, in the journal's characteristically anti-communist register. - Analyses the worsening Western position in South-East Asia. - Discusses SEATO and the Geneva agreements over Laos. - Questions the viability of a neutralised Laos. - Frames the crisis as a test for the security of free Asia. ### Ripening Fruit Of Non-Alignment *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Ripening Fruit Of Non-Alignment' reads the communist gains in Laos as the inevitable yield of India's non-aligned foreign policy. Tholal argues that a posture of equidistance, far from preserving peace, has emboldened the aggressors and left smaller states exposed, and he scrutinises the moral and strategic costs of 'fence-sitting' in the Cold War. - Presents losses in Laos as the 'ripening fruit' of non-alignment. - Argues neutrality has emboldened communist aggression. - Criticises the strategic and moral logic of equidistance. - Continues the issue's critique of Nehruvian foreign policy. ### One Man's Gain *By Paul L. Poirot* Paul L. Poirot's 'One Man's Gain,' a reprinted free-market essay, attacks what it calls 'the law of the jungle' — the belief that one person's gain must be another's loss. Poirot argues that under voluntary exchange and secure private property, trade is mutually beneficial rather than predatory, so that in a free economy one man's gain need not come at anyone else's expense. - Rebuts the zero-sum 'one man's gain is another's loss' fallacy. - Defends voluntary exchange as mutually beneficial. - Grounds prosperity in respect for person and property. - A reprinted Foundation for Economic Education-style essay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jun1-1963/ ### Summary This June 1, 1963 issue (Vol. XI No. 5) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni and here carrying a redesigned cover as 'An Independent Journal of Public Affairs,' opens with an editorial, 'Bread or Socialism?', that pits the productive promise of free enterprise against the claims of socialist planning in a hungry India. M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Collective Responsibility' is a work of political theory weighing collective against individual responsibility and drawing on Indian sources; M. N. Tholal continues his serial 'The Mysterious Rajkot Fast' (part II), re-examining Gandhi's 1939 fast at Rajkot; and Mildred J. Loomis contributes 'Ralph Borsodi: Man of Action,' a profile of the American decentralist and homesteading reformer behind the School of Living and the 'Green Revolution' of self-sufficient living. The issue rounds out with a Delhi Letter on 'The Indo-Pak Tug of War,' a book review, 'The Mind of the Nation,' news and views, and a 'Dear Editor' section. Its argumentative centre is the journal's defence of economic freedom and individual responsibility against socialism and collectivism. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This June 1, 1963 issue (Vol. XI No. 5) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni and here carrying a redesigned cover as 'An Independent Journal of Public Affairs,' opens with an editorial, 'Bread or Socialism?', that pits the productive promise of free enterprise against the claims of socialist planning in a hungry India. M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Collective Responsibility' is a work of political theory weighing collective against individual responsibility and drawing on Indian sources; M. N. Tholal continues his serial 'The Mysterious Rajkot Fast' (part II), re-examining Gandhi's 1939 fast at Rajkot; and Mildred J. Loomis contributes 'Ralph Borsodi: Man of Action,' a profile of the American decentralist and homesteading reformer behind the School of Living and the 'Green Revolution' of self-sufficient living. The issue rounds out with a Delhi Letter on 'The Indo-Pak Tug of War,' a book review, 'The Mind of the Nation,' news and views, and a 'Dear Editor' section. Its argumentative centre is the journal's defence of economic freedom and individual responsibility against socialism and collectivism. ## Essays ### Editorial: Bread or Socialism? The editorial 'Bread or Socialism?' frames India's choice as one between the material abundance ('bread') that a free, productive economy can deliver and the doctrinaire pursuit of socialism. It argues that British rulers once confronted a similar question and that the experience of socialist planning warns against sacrificing prosperity to ideology, pressing the case that economic freedom, not state direction, is the surer route to feeding the nation. - Poses India's development choice as 'bread' (prosperity) versus socialism. - Reads socialist planning as a threat to material abundance. - Draws on historical and comparative experience of state control. - Defends economic freedom as the surer path to prosperity. ### Collective Responsibility *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Collective Responsibility' is a reflective essay in political theory examining how responsibility is distributed between the group and the individual. Beginning from a British rule-book maxim, it argues that collective responsibility must rest on, and not dissolve, individual conscience, and it draws on Indian sources to test how far a community can be held answerable for the acts of its members. - Examines the relation between collective and individual responsibility. - Argues collective responsibility must not erase individual conscience. - Draws on Indian moral and religious sources. - A work of political-philosophical reflection rather than topical commentary. ### The Mysterious Rajkot Fast *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'The Mysterious Rajkot Fast' (part II) re-examines Gandhi's controversial 1939 fast at Rajkot, which Tholal recalls Gandhi undertook 'to the consternation of his admirers' and later admitted had been a mistake. The piece probes the motives, the political bargaining, and the contradictions surrounding the episode, using it to scrutinise Gandhi's method of the fast as a political instrument. - Second instalment re-examining Gandhi's 1939 Rajkot fast. - Treats the fast as a puzzling and contested episode. - Probes the politics and bargaining behind it. - Questions the fast as a political instrument. ### Ralph Borsodi: Man of Action *By Mildred J. Loomis* Mildred J. Loomis's 'Ralph Borsodi: Man of Action' profiles the American decentralist and homesteading reformer, resisting the label of mere 'visionary' by stressing how Borsodi put his ideas into practice. The piece traces his experiments in self-sufficient living, his founding of the School of Living, and his 'Green Revolution' of decentralised, family-scale production as a practical alternative to industrial dependence. - Profiles the American decentralist Ralph Borsodi. - Emphasises practice over theory ('Man of Action'). - Covers homesteading, the School of Living, and the 'Green Revolution.' - Presents decentralised self-sufficiency as a constructive alternative. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jun15-1958/ ### Summary This June 15, 1958 issue (Vol. VI No. 7) of The Indian Libertarian, an 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' published by the Libertarian Publishers of Bombay, gathers polemical commentary on free-market economics, the Nehru government, and Indian foreign policy. The rendered pages carry an unsigned editorial on national character and Pakistan, V. R.'s argument against a Kashmir-valley plebiscite, J. K. Dhairyawan's and M. N. Tholal's critiques of Nehru, C. Rajagopalachari's call for a new opposition party, and an Economic Supplement essay by Prof. G. N. Lawande attacking the welfare state as a road to serfdom. The issue's argumentative center is a classical-liberal defence of private enterprise and a sustained critique of Congress economic planning and Nehruvian leadership. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This June 15, 1958 issue (Vol. VI No. 7) of The Indian Libertarian, an 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' published by the Libertarian Publishers of Bombay, gathers polemical commentary on free-market economics, the Nehru government, and Indian foreign policy. The rendered pages carry an unsigned editorial on national character and Pakistan, V. R.'s argument against a Kashmir-valley plebiscite, J. K. Dhairyawan's and M. N. Tholal's critiques of Nehru, C. Rajagopalachari's call for a new opposition party, and an Economic Supplement essay by Prof. G. N. Lawande attacking the welfare state as a road to serfdom. The issue's argumentative center is a classical-liberal defence of private enterprise and a sustained critique of Congress economic planning and Nehruvian leadership. ## Essays ### Editorial The unsigned editorial diagnoses what it calls a 'mental softness' in the Indian character and argues that Indians must understand the Pakistani and Islamic mind rather than sentimentalize relations. It contends that the country's leadership has failed to treat national questions with sufficient firmness, and links domestic weakness to a wider failure to research and confront history honestly. - Argues Indian public life suffers from 'mental softness' and sentimentality - Calls for hard-headed understanding of Pakistan and Islam rather than appeasement - Links national weakness to a refusal to study history honestly ### Plebiscite for Kashmir Valley *By V. R.* Writing under the initials V. R., this article opposes holding a plebiscite in the Kashmir valley. It surveys Islam as a 'fanatically exclusive' political force, the postures of Nasser and Lebanon, and the conduct of Pakistan, and concludes that the scales in any plebiscite would be tilted in favour of 'the aggressor.' The author argues India should not concede a vote engineered under conditions favouring Pakistan and warns against cooling relations with Delhi over the issue. - Opposes a plebiscite in the Kashmir valley - Characterises political Islam as fanatically exclusive and ties it to Pakistani strategy - Argues plebiscite conditions would favour 'the aggressor' - Discusses Nasser, Lebanon and Pakistan's regional posture ### Nehru has Missed His Vocation *By J. K. Dhairyawan* J. K. Dhairyawan argues that Jawaharlal Nehru has 'missed his vocation' — that his gifts suited him to be a writer or thinker rather than an administrator. The piece criticises Nehru's handling of Pakistan, administration, and corruption, and contends that his temperament has left Indian governance adrift. - Contends Nehru's talents suited authorship, not administration - Criticises Nehru's record on Pakistan and corruption in administration - Reads Nehru's leadership style as a temperamental mismatch with governing ### Nehru's Follies *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Nehru's Follies' presses a critique of Nehru's record, dwelling on his attitude toward Hinduism, untouchability, and Gandhi's legacy. The author argues that Nehru's posture toward India's religious traditions reflects a deeper political misjudgement. - Critiques Nehru's stance toward Hinduism and untouchability - Invokes Gandhi's legacy as a measure against which Nehru falls short - Frames Nehru's 'follies' as rooted in misreading India's religious culture ### Need of a New Party Now *By C. Rajagopalachari* C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) argues for the urgent formation of a new opposition party in India. He contends that the Congress monopoly has produced 'parrot culture' and that a genuine alternative is needed to discipline government and offer voters a real choice. The piece anticipates the case for a free-enterprise, constitutionalist opposition that Rajaji would soon embody in the Swatantra Party. - Calls for the immediate creation of a new opposition party - Attacks one-party Congress dominance as breeding 'parrot culture' - Argues an effective opposition is essential to disciplined government - Foreshadows the founding case for the Swatantra Party ### New Forward Look for World Georgism *By G N Lawande* In the Economic Supplement, Prof. G. N. Lawande asks whether India is becoming 'a welfare or an ill-fare state.' Drawing on the road-to-serfdom argument, he attacks the welfare state as a 'grand fiction' that, by expanding state economic control, erodes liberty and entrenches a vicious circle of dependence. He argues that welfare-statism is a direct attack on liberty and that genuine economic emancipation requires private enterprise rather than planning. - Frames the welfare state as a 'grand fiction' and an 'ill-fare state' - Argues welfare-statism is a direct attack on liberty - Invokes the road-to-serfdom thesis against economic planning - Holds that real economic emancipation requires private enterprise --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jun15-1959/ ### Summary The June 15, 1959 issue (Vol. VII No. 10) of The Indian Libertarian, Bombay's classical-liberal 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs,' leads with an editorial on the constitutional crisis in Communist-governed Kerala and gathers commentary on the Cold War, food and population, Tibet, agrarian collectivisation, and press freedom. Contributors include M. N. Tholal on John Foster Dulles, M. A. Venkata Rao on the case for a new rightist party, A. Ranganathan on the economics of food and population, K. Kumara Sekhar on the Communist threat to Tibet and Asia, T. L. Kantam on agrarian reform as deception, S. S. Bankeshwar on attacks on the free press, and Lawrence Barth on the roots of disorder, plus a reprint of Acharya Kripalani's Lok Sabha speech. The issue's center of gravity is anti-Communist and pro-free-enterprise, defending private property and a free press against socialist planning. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The June 15, 1959 issue (Vol. VII No. 10) of The Indian Libertarian, Bombay's classical-liberal 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs,' leads with an editorial on the constitutional crisis in Communist-governed Kerala and gathers commentary on the Cold War, food and population, Tibet, agrarian collectivisation, and press freedom. Contributors include M. N. Tholal on John Foster Dulles, M. A. Venkata Rao on the case for a new rightist party, A. Ranganathan on the economics of food and population, K. Kumara Sekhar on the Communist threat to Tibet and Asia, T. L. Kantam on agrarian reform as deception, S. S. Bankeshwar on attacks on the free press, and Lawrence Barth on the roots of disorder, plus a reprint of Acharya Kripalani's Lok Sabha speech. The issue's center of gravity is anti-Communist and pro-free-enterprise, defending private property and a free press against socialist planning. ## Essays ### Editorial The editorial 'Crisis in Kerala' analyses the brewing confrontation in Communist-ruled Kerala, where the government's Education Act has antagonised Catholic and Nair school managements and triggered agitation. It blames a combination of party politics, Congress and PSP folly, and Communist consolidation of power for the unrest, and frames the crisis as a test of liberal opposition to one-party Communist rule. - Frames Kerala as a constitutional crisis under Communist government - Identifies the Education Act and school-management dispute as the flashpoint - Faults Congress and PSP for enabling the situation - Notes the Nair leadership under Mannath Padmanabhan and Catholic opposition ### Dulles: A Dedicated Statesman *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Dulles: A Dedicated Statesman' offers a sympathetic assessment of US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, presenting his anti-Communist firmness and 'brinkmanship' as principled statesmanship rather than warmongering, against the grain of much Indian opinion. - Defends John Foster Dulles as a principled anti-Communist statesman - Reads his brinkmanship as dedication rather than belligerence - Positions the assessment against prevailing Indian neutralist opinion ### A New Rightist Party *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues the case for a new rightist party in India, contending that the existing party system leaves liberal and free-enterprise opinion unrepresented. He criticises socialistic drift and cooperative-farming schemes and makes the case for an organised conservative-liberal alternative to Congress. - Argues India needs an organised new rightist/liberal party - Critiques socialistic drift and cooperative farming - Holds that free-enterprise opinion lacks political representation ### The Economics of Food and Population in India *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan's 'The Economics of Food and Population in India' examines the relationship between food supply and population growth, drawing on Malthus and the memory of the Bengal famine. It weighs planning and agricultural policy against population pressure and argues for a realistic economic approach to food security. - Examines food supply against population growth in India - Invokes Malthus and the 1943 Bengal famine - Weighs agricultural and planning policy on food security ### The Problem of Tibet: Communism Threatens Asia *By K. Kumara Sekhar* K. Kumara Sekhar's 'The Problem of Tibet: Communism Threatens Asia' treats the Tibetan crisis as evidence that Chinese Communism endangers the whole of Asia. It is critical of Indian policy toward China and warns that Nehru's accommodation underestimates the threat on India's frontier. - Treats the Tibet crisis as a Communist threat to all Asia - Critiques Indian (Nehruvian) policy toward China - Warns of danger on India's northern frontier ### Agrarian Reform: A Gigantic Reception *By T. L. Kantam* T. L. Kantam's piece — printed under the running head 'Agrarian Reform: a Gigantic Deception' (the table of contents reads 'Reception') and described as the second part of a 'Whither China?' series — attacks planned-economy agrarian reform and collective farming. It surveys the costs of administration and argues that socialist land reform deceives the peasantry while concentrating control in the state. - Attacks agrarian reform and collective farming as a 'gigantic deception' - Critiques the administrative cost of planned-economy land reform - Runs as the second installment of a 'Whither China?' series ### Attack on Free Press *By S. S. Bankeshwar* S. S. Bankeshwar's 'Attack On Free Press' defends press freedom against state pressure, arguing that the freedom of the press is inseparable from the freedom of the citizen and that totalitarian governments invariably move to control or capture the press. - Defends freedom of the press as inseparable from individual liberty - Warns that totalitarian states seek to control the press - Frames press freedom as a democratic safeguard ### Digging the Roots of Chaos *By Lawrence Barth* Lawrence Barth's 'Digging the Roots of Chaos' traces contemporary disorder to deeper intellectual and moral causes, arguing that the roots of social chaos lie in mistaken ideas about man and society rather than in surface politics alone. - Locates the roots of chaos in mistaken ideas, not surface politics - Connects intellectual error to social disorder --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jun15-1960/ ### Summary The June 15, 1960 issue (Vol. VIII No. 6) of The Indian Libertarian, now subtitled an 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' incorporating the 'Free Economic Review' and 'The Indian Rationalist,' opens with an editorial on Congress 'revitalisation' at the Poona AICC sessions and Nehru's role there. It carries M. A. Venkata Rao on the collapse of the Paris summit, M. N. Tholal on the bright prospects of the new Swatantra Party, E. H. Potter's critical appraisal of V. K. Krishna Menon, and A. Ranganathan on a decade of Sino-Indian disillusionment, alongside an Economic Supplement essay on capital accumulation and economic growth signed 'Sputnik.' The issue sustains the journal's classical-liberal, anti-Communist line, championing the Swatantra alternative and free-enterprise economics against Congress planning and Nehruvian foreign policy. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The June 15, 1960 issue (Vol. VIII No. 6) of The Indian Libertarian, now subtitled an 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' incorporating the 'Free Economic Review' and 'The Indian Rationalist,' opens with an editorial on Congress 'revitalisation' at the Poona AICC sessions and Nehru's role there. It carries M. A. Venkata Rao on the collapse of the Paris summit, M. N. Tholal on the bright prospects of the new Swatantra Party, E. H. Potter's critical appraisal of V. K. Krishna Menon, and A. Ranganathan on a decade of Sino-Indian disillusionment, alongside an Economic Supplement essay on capital accumulation and economic growth signed 'Sputnik.' The issue sustains the journal's classical-liberal, anti-Communist line, championing the Swatantra alternative and free-enterprise economics against Congress planning and Nehruvian foreign policy. ## Essays ### Editorial The editorial, 'Congress Party Revitalisation: AICC Sessions at Poona,' reviews the Congress party's attempt at self-renewal at its Poona sessions following Nehru's foreign tours. It reports dissatisfaction with the party High Command, the Hanumanthaiya proposal to broaden the Working Committee, and Nehru's manoeuvring, treating the 'revitalisation' talk as largely futile and insincere. - Reviews the Poona AICC sessions and Congress 'revitalisation' rhetoric - Reports rank-and-file dissatisfaction with the party High Command - Notes the Hanumanthaiya proposal and Nehru's ambivalent role - Reads the renewal effort as futile and insincere ### Aftermath of the Summit *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Aftermath of the Summit' assesses the collapse of the Paris summit between Khrushchev and the Western powers in the wake of the U-2 affair. He reads the breakdown as confirming the unreliability of Soviet coexistence and a hardening of Cold War lines. - Analyses the collapse of the Paris summit and the U-2 crisis - Reads Khrushchev's conduct as exposing the limits of coexistence - Sees the failure as a hardening of Cold War divisions ### Swatantra's Bright Chances *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Swatantra's Bright Chances' surveys the prospects of the newly formed Swatantra Party, reporting on its conference and organisation and arguing that the party has a genuine opening as a free-enterprise alternative to Congress. The piece engages the party's leadership, including Rajaji and N. G. Ranga. - Assesses the Swatantra Party's electoral and organisational prospects - Reports on the party's conference and General Secretary - Frames Swatantra as a credible free-enterprise alternative to Congress ### Krishna Menon's Achievements *By Mr. E. H. Potter* E. H. Potter's 'Krishna Menon's Achievements' is a sharply critical appraisal of Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon, questioning his record and reputation and treating his prominence as a liability rather than an achievement. - Offers a critical assessment of V. K. Krishna Menon - Questions his record as Defence Minister - Reads his standing as more liability than achievement ### Sino-Indian Relations—A Decade of Disillusionment *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan's 'Sino-Indian Relations—a decade of disillusionment' traces the deterioration of India-China relations over the 1950s, from the Panchsheel optimism to disillusionment over Tibet and the frontier. It treats Indian policy toward China as naive and argues the decade ended in justified disenchantment. - Traces a decade of Sino-Indian relations to disillusionment - Contrasts early Panchsheel optimism with the Tibet and border reality - Criticises Indian policy toward China as naive ### Economic Supplement The Economic Supplement carries an essay, 'Capital Accumulation and Economic Growth,' signed with the pseudonym 'Sputnik.' It argues that economic development of underdeveloped countries turns on capital accumulation, weighing the role of saving, investment and private enterprise against state-directed growth, and includes a critique of Marx's labour theory of value. - Argues capital accumulation is central to development of poor countries - Weighs saving and investment against state-directed growth - Includes a critique of Marx's labour theory of value - Published pseudonymously under 'Sputnik' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jun15-1961/ ### Summary The June 15, 1961 issue (Vol. IX No. 6) of The Indian Libertarian, Bombay's classical-liberal 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' now flying the slogan 'We stand for free economy and limited government,' opens with an editorial on the Cachar firings and the Bengali-language agitation in Assam. It gathers M. A. Venkata Rao on the sentiment of democracy, M. N. Tholal's argument that English alone can hold India together against Hindi imposition, S. R. Narayana Ayyar on the Prime Minister and national disintegration, and A. Ranganathan on recent events in Madras, plus an Economic Supplement essay by Prof. G. N. Lawande on employment under the Third Plan. The issue presses a free-enterprise, limited-government, anti-imposition line while defending English and constitutional democracy. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The June 15, 1961 issue (Vol. IX No. 6) of The Indian Libertarian, Bombay's classical-liberal 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' now flying the slogan 'We stand for free economy and limited government,' opens with an editorial on the Cachar firings and the Bengali-language agitation in Assam. It gathers M. A. Venkata Rao on the sentiment of democracy, M. N. Tholal's argument that English alone can hold India together against Hindi imposition, S. R. Narayana Ayyar on the Prime Minister and national disintegration, and A. Ranganathan on recent events in Madras, plus an Economic Supplement essay by Prof. G. N. Lawande on employment under the Third Plan. The issue presses a free-enterprise, limited-government, anti-imposition line while defending English and constitutional democracy. ## Essays ### Editorial The editorial 'The Cachar Firings' addresses the violence in the Cachar district of Assam arising from the Bengali-language Satyagraha, in which police firing killed demonstrators. It criticises the handling of the linguistic agitation and the imposition of Assamese on Bengali-speaking areas, treating the episode as a failure of both administration and language policy. - Addresses the police firings in Cachar during the Bengali-language Satyagraha - Criticises the imposition of Assamese on Bengali-speaking Cachar - Frames the violence as an administrative and language-policy failure ### The Sentiment of Democracy *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Sentiment of Democracy' argues that democracy depends less on formal machinery than on a shared sentiment and culture of liberty. Drawing on the English example, he contends that institutions of self-government require an underlying democratic temper to work, and warns that India lacks this deeper sentiment. - Argues democracy rests on sentiment and culture, not just machinery - Uses the English experience as a model of the democratic temper - Warns that India's institutions lack a deep democratic sentiment ### English Alone Can Save Us *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'English Alone Can Save Us' defends English as the only language capable of holding a linguistically divided India together, against the imposition of Hindi. He surveys the language passions stirred by the Assam agitation and argues that Hindi broadcasts and language nationalism threaten national unity. - Defends English as India's essential link language - Opposes the imposition of Hindi as a national language - Connects language imposition to the Assam linguistic agitation ### The Prime Minister And The Future Of Our Country *By S. R. Narayana Ayyar* S. R. Narayana Ayyar's 'The Prime Minister And The Future Of Our Country' (part II) charges the Nehru government with presiding over an 'all-round national disintegration.' Invoking Tilak's example, it argues that the Prime Minister's leadership has weakened national cohesion across linguistic, social and economic lines. - Charges the Nehru government with 'all-round national disintegration' - Invokes Tilak as a contrasting example of national leadership - Argues the Prime Minister has weakened national cohesion ### Some Recent Events In Madras *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan's 'Some Recent Events In Madras' surveys political and economic developments in Madras around the Third Five Year Plan, including the work of the Forum of Free Enterprise and municipal politics. It reads the events through a free-enterprise, anti-planning lens. - Surveys recent political and economic events in Madras - Engages the Third Five Year Plan and the Forum of Free Enterprise - Reads developments through a free-enterprise lens ### Economic Supplement *By G N Lawande* The Economic Supplement essay, 'Employment In The Third Plan' by Prof. G. N. Lawande, examines the employment problem under India's Third Five Year Plan. It questions whether planned development can absorb the growing labour force and argues that the Plan's employment targets are inadequate to the scale of unemployment. - Examines employment generation under the Third Five Year Plan - Questions whether planning can absorb the growing labour force - Argues the Plan's employment targets fall short of the need --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-june-15-1957/ ### Summary In the rendered pages, this 15 June 1957 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V No. 8, the Bombay fortnightly edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala) opens with an editorial on Indo-Pakistan friction — the 'Grim Humour of Pak Protest' over Kashmir and a wry section headed 'India has been Russia' — before turning to its signature anti-Nehru, anti-Communist commentary. J. K. Dhairyawan's lead article, 'Nehru, the High Pontiff of Pseudo-Saints in Khaddar', mocks the cult of Gandhian sanctity around the Congress leadership in the setting of an A.I.C.C. meeting. A. Ranganathan's 'The Making of Modern India' is a more reflective survey of the nineteenth-century Indian Renaissance and its reform movements, centring on Raja Ram Mohan Roy and the Brahmo Samaj. The issue also carries Sumant Bankeshwar's 'Communism—Not an Ideology but A Conspiracy', Miss P. Pillai on 'Co-operation in Agriculture', Dr. K. N. Kini's 'Revolutionising Indian Life', and a four-page Supplement of the Research Department of the R. L. Foundation, whose rendered essay 'Money' by K. D. Valicha (edited by B. S. Sanyal) sketches the origins and theory of money.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary In the rendered pages, this 15 June 1957 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V No. 8, the Bombay fortnightly edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala) opens with an editorial on Indo-Pakistan friction — the 'Grim Humour of Pak Protest' over Kashmir and a wry section headed 'India has been Russia' — before turning to its signature anti-Nehru, anti-Communist commentary. J. K. Dhairyawan's lead article, 'Nehru, the High Pontiff of Pseudo-Saints in Khaddar', mocks the cult of Gandhian sanctity around the Congress leadership in the setting of an A.I.C.C. meeting. A. Ranganathan's 'The Making of Modern India' is a more reflective survey of the nineteenth-century Indian Renaissance and its reform movements, centring on Raja Ram Mohan Roy and the Brahmo Samaj. The issue also carries Sumant Bankeshwar's 'Communism—Not an Ideology but A Conspiracy', Miss P. Pillai on 'Co-operation in Agriculture', Dr. K. N. Kini's 'Revolutionising Indian Life', and a four-page Supplement of the Research Department of the R. L. Foundation, whose rendered essay 'Money' by K. D. Valicha (edited by B. S. Sanyal) sketches the origins and theory of money. In the rendered pages the standing departments listed in the contents — 'The Mind of the Nation', news round-ups, and Book Reviews — appear only in the contents box or in passing. ## Essays ### Nehru, the High Pontiff of Pseudo-Saints in Khadi *By J. K. Dhairyawan* J. K. Dhairyawan's 'Nehru, the High Pontiff of Pseudo-Saints in Khaddar' is a satirical attack on the quasi-religious aura surrounding Jawaharlal Nehru and the Congress establishment. Set against an A.I.C.C. meeting, it lampoons the politics of khadi-clad 'Mahatmaism' and argues that this cult of saintliness substitutes posture for sound economic and public policy. - Satirises the cult of Gandhian sanctity around Nehru and the Congress. - Frames its critique around an A.I.C.C. meeting. - Contends 'Mahatmaism' masks poor economic and public policy. ### The Making of Modern India *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan's 'The Making of Modern India' traces the nineteenth-century Indian Renaissance, presenting Raja Ram Mohan Roy and the Brahmo Samaj as the fountainhead of a reforming, liberal modernity. It reads the encounter with Western thought and the reform of Hindu society as the dynamic that shaped modern India, weighing conflicting interpretations of that awakening. - Centres the Indian Renaissance on Raja Ram Mohan Roy and the Brahmo Samaj. - Treats engagement with Western thought as a force for liberal reform. - Offers a reflective counterpoint to the issue's polemical articles. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-jun15-1962/ ### Summary This June 15, 1962 issue (Vol. X No. 6) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay free-market and limited-government fortnightly, opens with an unsigned editorial on Britain's proposed entry into the European Common Market (E.C.M.) and the anxieties this raised among Commonwealth trade partners such as India, Ceylon and Pakistan. The issue gathers signed articles on non-alignment, communal psychology and Indian art, plus a four-page Economic Supplement by Minoo R. Shroff on the burden of population growth on India's planning effort. Recurring departments — a Delhi Letter, a book review, Gleanings from the Press and News & Views — round out the number, sustaining the journal's classical-liberal, anti-planning editorial line. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This June 15, 1962 issue (Vol. X No. 6) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay free-market and limited-government fortnightly, opens with an unsigned editorial on Britain's proposed entry into the European Common Market (E.C.M.) and the anxieties this raised among Commonwealth trade partners such as India, Ceylon and Pakistan. The issue gathers signed articles on non-alignment, communal psychology and Indian art, plus a four-page Economic Supplement by Minoo R. Shroff on the burden of population growth on India's planning effort. Recurring departments — a Delhi Letter, a book review, Gleanings from the Press and News & Views — round out the number, sustaining the journal's classical-liberal, anti-planning editorial line. ## Essays ### The Limits of Neutrality *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Limits of Neutrality' interrogates Indian non-alignment as a foreign-policy doctrine. He distinguishes principled neutrality from the opportunism he sees creeping into Indian practice, arguing that India's posture toward the great-power blocs and toward its own neighbours (notably over Pakistan and China) reveals the strain in a policy that claims to stand above the Cold War while making concrete tilts. - Frames non-alignment as a doctrine with internal limits rather than an absolute principle. - Contrasts genuine neutrality with opportunistic 'pourparlers' in Indian diplomacy. - Tests the doctrine against India's relations with the USA, USSR, Pakistan and China. - Reads ideological commitments as shaping ostensibly neutral policy. ### Psychology and Communalism *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Psychology and Communalism' examines the psychological roots of communal feeling in India, drawing on episodes around figures such as Jana Sangh and contemporary politics. The piece treats communalism as a habit of mind to be analysed rather than merely condemned, connecting communal utterances and 'girls at intervals' social observations to a broader argument about how communal identity is reproduced. - Treats communalism as a psychological phenomenon, not just a political one. - References contemporary communal utterances and political actors. - Argues for understanding the mental habits that sustain communal division. ### Raja Ravi Varma's Water Colour Painting *By K. P. Padmanabhan Tampy* K. P. Padmanabhan Tampy's 'Raja Ravi Varma's Water Colour Paintings' is an art-historical appreciation of the painter Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906), surveying his watercolours and oil work and placing him within the development of modern Indian painting. The essay departs from the issue's political-economic concerns to offer cultural commentary. - Appreciation of Raja Ravi Varma's watercolour and oil paintings. - Situates the painter in the history of modern Indian art. - Provides cultural counterpoint to the issue's economic and political articles. ### Economic Supplement: Impact of Population Growth on Planning *By Minoo R. Shroff* Minoo R. Shroff's Economic Supplement essay, 'Impact of Population Growth on Planning', marshals census data to argue that India's rapid population growth is overwhelming the gains of its Five-Year Plans. Citing the 1961 population of 438 million and a 2.15% annual growth rate, Shroff shows how rising numbers erode per-capita income, foodgrain availability and employment, leaving plan targets perpetually short and the standard of living stagnant. - India's 1961 population stood at 438 million, growing at ~2.15% per year. - Net 1951-61 increase exceeded the total population of any European country except the USSR. - Foodgrain output rose ~22 million tons against a 21.5% rise in population. - Unemployment estimated at ~9 million in 1961, projected to worsen under the Third Plan. - Argues population growth nullifies much of the planning effort's intended per-capita gains. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-mar1-1959/ ### Summary This March 1, 1959 issue (Vol. VI No. 24) of The Indian Libertarian opens with an editorial on renewed firing along the Assam and West Bengal borders with East Pakistan, reading the incidents as a test of Indian resolve and a warning against complacency toward Pakistan and the spread of communism in the region. The issue's bylined articles run from M. A. Venkata Rao on communism and land reforms, through a Libertarian Supplement by Prof. G. N. Lawande on fiscal policy and economic development, M. A. Sreenivasan's 'Pancha Stotra' (drawn from a Forum of Free Enterprise presidential address), G. Jayachandran's defence of a limited reading of the welfare state, and A. Ranganathan's survey of the state of the Indian economy. Across the rendered pages the unifying note is the journal's classical-liberal suspicion of socialist planning, collectivised land reform, and the unbounded welfare state. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This March 1, 1959 issue (Vol. VI No. 24) of The Indian Libertarian opens with an editorial on renewed firing along the Assam and West Bengal borders with East Pakistan, reading the incidents as a test of Indian resolve and a warning against complacency toward Pakistan and the spread of communism in the region. The issue's bylined articles run from M. A. Venkata Rao on communism and land reforms, through a Libertarian Supplement by Prof. G. N. Lawande on fiscal policy and economic development, M. A. Sreenivasan's 'Pancha Stotra' (drawn from a Forum of Free Enterprise presidential address), G. Jayachandran's defence of a limited reading of the welfare state, and A. Ranganathan's survey of the state of the Indian economy. Across the rendered pages the unifying note is the journal's classical-liberal suspicion of socialist planning, collectivised land reform, and the unbounded welfare state. ## Essays ### Communism and Land Reforms *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Communism and Land Reforms' argues that communist-style land redistribution, far from liberating the peasant, delivers him to the state. He contrasts the rhetoric of land reform with its outcome under collectivisation, warning that abolishing private property in land concentrates power and destroys the independent cultivator that a free society depends on. - Distinguishes the rhetoric of land reform from its collectivist outcome. - Warns that communist land policy subordinates the peasant to the state. - Defends private property in land as a bulwark of freedom. - Reads land reform as a vector for extending state power. ### Libertarian Supplement: Fiscal Policy & Economic Development *By G N Lawande* In the Libertarian Supplement, Prof. G. N. Lawande's 'Fiscal Policy & Economic Development' lays out principles of sound public finance for a developing economy. Beginning from 'proper fiscal policy' and the politics of planning, he assesses planned expenditure, the objects of tax policy, and how taxation should be designed to encourage rather than penalise productive enterprise and capital formation. - Sets out principles of sound fiscal policy for a developing economy. - Critiques the politics and economics of planned expenditure. - Examines the proper objects of tax policy. - Argues tax design should encourage enterprise and capital formation. ### Pancha Stotra *By MA Sreenivasan* M. A. Sreenivasan's 'Pancha Stotra', following a presidential speech delivered at Bangalore under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise, offers a five-fold appreciation of economic freedom and enterprise. The piece praises the citizen who builds and produces and gently rebukes the climate of suspicion that planning casts over private initiative. - Adapted from a Forum of Free Enterprise presidential address at Bangalore. - Frames a five-fold ('Pancha') tribute to enterprise and freedom. - Defends the productive private citizen against official suspicion. ### A Plea for a Better Understanding of the Welfare State *By G. Jayachandran* G. Jayachandran's 'A Plea for a Better Understanding of the Welfare State' tries to separate a defensible idea of the welfare state from the open-ended collectivism the term has come to license. Conceding that a society owes its members a baseline of security, he argues that an unbounded welfare state erodes self-reliance and individual freedom, and pleads for a limited, carefully bounded conception. - Seeks a defensible, limited conception of the welfare state. - Concedes a baseline of social security as legitimate. - Warns that an open-ended welfare state erodes self-reliance. - Pleads for clear boundaries on state welfare provision. ### The State of the Indian Economy *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan's 'The State of the Indian Economy' opens by noting that 'Mr. N. G. Ranga, M.P.' has recently attacked the Nagpur approach to the land problem as 'luring the country to the fundamental concepts of democracy and Marxism'. In the rendered pages Ranganathan begins surveying the condition of the Indian economy under planning; the essay continues past page 20. - Opens with N. G. Ranga's critique of the Nagpur land-reform line. - Frames the assessment around planning's economic record. - Article continues beyond the rendered pages. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-mar1-1958/ ### Summary This March 1, 1958 issue (Vol. V No. 24) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay fortnightly that stood 'for free economy and libertarian democracy', leads with an editorial surveying the Arab world after the union of Egypt and Syria, the revolt in Sumatra, and Soviet penetration of the Middle East, drawing a 'lesson to India' about the dangers of one-party drift. The bylined articles range across rationalism (M. A. Venkata Rao), a critique of 'social democracy' as a contradiction in terms (Ashutosh Lahiry), the strategic meaning of the Russian Sputniks (a reprinted James Burnham piece), a polemic for English as India's link language, and sharp anti-Congress satire under pseudonyms. Standing departments — Letters to the Editor, Political Prosings, On The News Front and Book Reviews — frame the issue's classical-liberal, anti-statist editorial stance. In the rendered pages the recurring theme is hostility to political opportunism and to socialist economic planning. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This March 1, 1958 issue (Vol. V No. 24) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay fortnightly that stood 'for free economy and libertarian democracy', leads with an editorial surveying the Arab world after the union of Egypt and Syria, the revolt in Sumatra, and Soviet penetration of the Middle East, drawing a 'lesson to India' about the dangers of one-party drift. The bylined articles range across rationalism (M. A. Venkata Rao), a critique of 'social democracy' as a contradiction in terms (Ashutosh Lahiry), the strategic meaning of the Russian Sputniks (a reprinted James Burnham piece), a polemic for English as India's link language, and sharp anti-Congress satire under pseudonyms. Standing departments — Letters to the Editor, Political Prosings, On The News Front and Book Reviews — frame the issue's classical-liberal, anti-statist editorial stance. In the rendered pages the recurring theme is hostility to political opportunism and to socialist economic planning. ## Essays ### Reason and Rationalism *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Reason and Rationalism' defends reason as a guide to social and moral life while warning against a narrow rationalism that dismisses custom and tradition wholesale. He distinguishes the rational scrutiny of social customs from a corrosive scepticism, arguing that many inherited usages embody accumulated practical wisdom and that the reformer's task is to test custom against reason rather than to discard it reflexively. - Defends reason as the proper instrument for examining social and moral life. - Cautions against a doctrinaire rationalism that discards all custom. - Argues many social customs encode tested practical wisdom. - Frames reform as testing custom against reason, not abolishing it. ### "Social Democracy" Is A Contradiction In Terms *By Ashutosh Lahiry* Ashutosh Lahiry's '"Social Democracy" Is A Contradiction In Terms' argues that socialism and democracy cannot be coherently combined. Beginning from a critique of state interventionism and the centralisation it requires, Lahiry contends that social democracy's commitment to socialist economic planning necessarily erodes the personal freedom and decentralised initiative that democracy depends on, making the phrase self-cancelling. - Treats 'social democracy' as logically incoherent. - Holds that socialist planning concentrates power and disintegrates society. - Argues state interventionism corrodes individual freedom. - Defends decentralised initiative as essential to democracy. ### The Answer to Russian Sputniks *By James Burnham* A reprinted James Burnham essay, 'The Answer to Russian Sputniks', reads the Soviet satellite launches not as a narrow scientific event but as a challenge to Western strategy and political will. Burnham argues the proper Western response lies less in matching specific weapons than in clarifying the West's overall strategic aims and political resolve in the contest with the Soviet bloc. - Interprets the Sputniks as a strategic and political challenge, not just a technological one. - Warns against responding piecemeal to each Soviet advance. - Calls for clarity of Western strategic aims and political will. ### English — The Supreme Gift of Saraswati *By Capricon* Writing as 'Capricon', 'English — The Supreme Gift of Saraswati' argues that English should be retained as India's link and supreme language of learning. The essay frames English not as a colonial residue but as a vehicle of knowledge and national unity, resisting the move to displace it in favour of Hindi or regional tongues — echoing the issue's cover slogan 'Make English the Official Language of India'. - Defends English as India's language of learning and link language. - Recasts English as an asset rather than a colonial inheritance. - Opposes displacing English with Hindi or regional languages. - Aligns with the issue's masthead campaign for English as official language. ### A Thieves' Kitchen of Opportunist Politicians *By Kishore Valicha* 'A Thieves' Kitchen of Opportunist Politicians', bylined K. D. Valicha, opens with Pakistan's Prime Minister Mohammad Ali and uses the cesspool of opportunist politics there to indict opportunism across the subcontinent. It moves from Pakistan's economic difficulties to a broader satirical attack on politicians who treat office as plunder rather than public trust. - Uses Pakistan's politics as a case study in political opportunism. - Indicts politicians who treat public office as personal plunder. - Extends the critique to the subcontinent's political class generally. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-mar1-1960/ ### Summary This March 1, 1960 issue (Vol. VII No. 27) of The Indian Libertarian leads with an editorial, 'The Russian Dictator in India', on Soviet Premier Khrushchev's five-day visit, reading his praise of Indian non-alignment and his tour of Soviet-aided projects (the Bhilai steel plant, Suratgarh farm) against the backdrop of Chinese aggression on India's northern borders at Longju and Ladakh. The bylined articles cover M. A. Venkata Rao on the Kerala elections and the fall of the Communist ministry, M. N. Tholal on the implications of non-alignment, a reprinted William Henry Chamberlin piece on the eclipse of European socialism, and a four-page Rationalist Supplement by D. M. Kulkarni attacking the caste system as India's greatest curse. Across the rendered pages the issue sustains the journal's classical-liberal, anti-communist and rationalist commitments. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This March 1, 1960 issue (Vol. VII No. 27) of The Indian Libertarian leads with an editorial, 'The Russian Dictator in India', on Soviet Premier Khrushchev's five-day visit, reading his praise of Indian non-alignment and his tour of Soviet-aided projects (the Bhilai steel plant, Suratgarh farm) against the backdrop of Chinese aggression on India's northern borders at Longju and Ladakh. The bylined articles cover M. A. Venkata Rao on the Kerala elections and the fall of the Communist ministry, M. N. Tholal on the implications of non-alignment, a reprinted William Henry Chamberlin piece on the eclipse of European socialism, and a four-page Rationalist Supplement by D. M. Kulkarni attacking the caste system as India's greatest curse. Across the rendered pages the issue sustains the journal's classical-liberal, anti-communist and rationalist commitments. ## Essays ### Kerala Elections and After *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Kerala Elections and After' reads the 1960 Kerala elections, which ended the Communist ministry, as a victory for constitutional politics over the advance of communism in India. He weighs the coalition that defeated the Communists and considers what the result means for Indian democracy and for the containment of Marxist influence at the state level. - Treats the Kerala result as a check on communism's advance in India. - Examines the anti-Communist coalition that won the election. - Reads the outcome as a vindication of constitutional democracy. - Considers the national implications of the state verdict. ### Implications of Non-Alignment *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Implications of Non-Alignment' opens with Khrushchev's visit and argues that genuine non-alignment is being hollowed out into a pose. Examining Soviet 'neutrality' and India's diplomatic posture toward both blocs amid Chinese pressure, Tholal questions whether India's professed even-handedness survives contact with the realities of the Cold War. - Frames non-alignment via Khrushchev's Indian visit. - Argues non-alignment risks becoming a mere pose. - Scrutinises Soviet claims to neutrality. - Questions India's even-handedness between the blocs. ### European Socialism in Eclipse *By William Henry Chamberlin* A reprinted William Henry Chamberlin essay, 'European Socialism in Eclipse', argues that socialism is in retreat across Western Europe. Drawing on the post-1951 record and the German Social Democrats' move away from doctrinaire socialism, Chamberlin contends that prosperity and experience have discredited large-scale nationalisation and pushed European socialist parties toward the market. - Argues socialism is in decline across Western Europe. - Cites European parties' retreat from nationalisation since 1951. - Reads the German SPD's shift as emblematic of the trend. - Credits prosperity and experience with discrediting doctrinaire socialism. ### Rationalist Supplement: Caste System, Greatest Curse of India *By D. M. Kulkarni* The Rationalist Supplement, 'Caste System, Greatest Curse of India' by D. M. Kulkarni, indicts caste as the central obstacle to Indian social progress. Tracing the evolution of caste from a generalised social division into a rigid hereditary order, Kulkarni argues that the system corrodes national unity and individual worth and must be dismantled for India to modernise. - Names caste as India's single greatest social curse. - Traces caste's evolution into a rigid hereditary order. - Argues caste corrodes national unity and individual dignity. - Calls for the system's dismantling as a condition of progress. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-mar1-1961/ ### Summary This March 1, 1961 issue (Vol. VIII No. 23) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay fortnightly that 'stands for free economy and limited government,' opens with an editorial on the murder of Patrice Lumumba and the Congo crisis, arguing that UN trusteeship is preferable to 'tribal jingoism' and warning that mere nationalism without freedom, dignity and democracy is not enough. A companion editorial, 'The Congress in the Doldrums,' diagnoses a Congress party drained of its members' loyalty and torn by factional power-struggles. The signed articles in the rendered pages develop the journal's classical-liberal, anti-communist line: M. A. Venkata Rao on the diplomacy of the Congo crisis, M. N. Tholal on the failure of democracy in Asia, and the Norwegian liberal economist Trygve J. B. Hoff on Soviet economists quietly abandoning Marxian value theory. The issue also carries a four-page Rationalist Supplement opening with S. Ramanathan's obituary tribute to the Tamil Self-Respect movement figure Sami Chidambaranar. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This March 1, 1961 issue (Vol. VIII No. 23) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay fortnightly that 'stands for free economy and limited government,' opens with an editorial on the murder of Patrice Lumumba and the Congo crisis, arguing that UN trusteeship is preferable to 'tribal jingoism' and warning that mere nationalism without freedom, dignity and democracy is not enough. A companion editorial, 'The Congress in the Doldrums,' diagnoses a Congress party drained of its members' loyalty and torn by factional power-struggles. The signed articles in the rendered pages develop the journal's classical-liberal, anti-communist line: M. A. Venkata Rao on the diplomacy of the Congo crisis, M. N. Tholal on the failure of democracy in Asia, and the Norwegian liberal economist Trygve J. B. Hoff on Soviet economists quietly abandoning Marxian value theory. The issue also carries a four-page Rationalist Supplement opening with S. Ramanathan's obituary tribute to the Tamil Self-Respect movement figure Sami Chidambaranar. ## Essays ### Editorial The lead editorial, 'UNO Trusteeship of Congo Preferable to Tribal Jingoism,' responds to the murder of Patrice Lumumba with indignation but rejects the Communist and fellow-traveller line that has 'spread in all the countries of the world.' It criticises Nehru's government for very vigorous parliamentary statements and a 'partisan attitude' toward Lumumba's group, arguing India should not outrun its own tribal and regional patriotism by preaching national unity to the Congolese while 'worshipping' Lumumba as a 'Congolese democratic God.' Independence, the editor insists, must be harmonised with freedom, human dignity, welfare and individual liberty; mere nationalism is not enough. A second editorial, 'The Congress in the Doldrums,' argues the once-glorious Congress no longer commands its members' loyalty and is riven by factional strife as elections approach. - Condemns Lumumba's murder while rejecting the Communist/fellow-traveller framing of it - Criticises the Nehru government's 'partisan attitude' and vigorous parliamentary statements on the Congo - Argues India is in no position to preach national unity given its own tribal and regional patriotism - Holds that independence must be harmonised with freedom, dignity, welfare and individual liberty - Second editorial diagnoses Congress as drained of loyalty and consumed by factional power-struggles ### What Next in Congo? *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'What Next in Congo?' surveys the diplomatic aftermath of Lumumba's death, contrasting the conduct of the Belgians, the UN and the major powers. He argues that the Western and Christian powers were too cautious and legalistic in upholding the UN charter while the Communist bloc pursued aggressive 'power diplomacy,' and he weighs how India and the non-aligned nations should respond. The piece reflects the journal's liberal-internationalist suspicion of Soviet intentions in newly decolonised Africa. - Examines great-power and UN diplomacy in the wake of Lumumba's killing - Faults the Western/Christian powers for excessive legalism over the UN charter - Casts Soviet conduct as aggressive 'power diplomacy' in the Congo - Considers the position of India and the non-aligned nations ### Failure of Democracy in Asia *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Failure of Democracy in Asia' is a polemical essay arguing that the consensus emerging at a seminar in Delhi misread the prospects of democracy across Asia. Tholal contends that Asian peoples were not prepared to fight for democratic self-government and that, drained of the will to defend liberty, they readily exchanged democratic forms for one-party or authoritarian rule. The essay is pessimistic about the durability of imported democratic institutions where civic courage and the habits of liberty are absent. - Frames a Delhi seminar's consensus on Asian democracy as mistaken - Argues Asian peoples were 'not prepared to fight' for democratic self-government - Links the failure of democracy to an absence of civic courage and the will to defend liberty - Pessimistic about imported democratic forms taking root in Asia ### Soviet Economists Part Company with Marx *By Trygve J. B. Hoff* Trygve J. B. Hoff's 'Soviet Economists Part Company with Marx' argues that Karl Marx rightly singled out pricing as the central problem of a centrally planned economy, but believed that under socialism prices and the market mechanism could be dispensed with. Hoff reports that Soviet economists themselves have begun to abandon this position, quietly reintroducing market-based reasoning and the universal economic problem of valuation that Marxism had denied. The article is a classic exhibit of the journal's case that economic calculation defeats comprehensive planning. - Credits Marx with identifying pricing as the central problem of a planned economy - Notes Marx's belief that socialism could dispense with prices and the market - Reports Soviet economists themselves retreating from that position - Presents the retreat as vindication of the economic-calculation critique of planning ### Rationalist Supplement The Rationalist Supplement opens with S. Ramanathan's obituary tribute to Sami Chidambaranar, who died at Madras on 17 January. Ramanathan presents him as a pioneer of the Tamil Self-Respect movement and a 'great scholar in Tamil,' recounting how Chidambaranar defied caste and custom by contracting a self-respect marriage to a widow without priests or religious ceremony, took the oath that initiated the movement, and toured the Tamil districts as a speaker, writer and patron of progressive Tamil authors alongside Periyar E. V. Ramasami. - Obituary of Sami Chidambaranar, died Madras 17 January, by S. Ramanathan - Casts him as a pioneer of the Tamil Self-Respect movement and a leading Tamil scholar - Recounts his self-respect marriage to a widow, defying caste and religious custom - Notes his work as orator, writer and patron alongside Periyar E. V. Ramasami --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-mar1-1962/ ### Summary This March 1, 1962 issue (Vol. IX No. 23) of The Indian Libertarian appears just as India's Third General Election is being held. The lead editorial, 'Gain to Indian Democracy from the Third General Election,' welcomes the deepening of democratic consciousness while warning that the chief contestants — Congress, Communists and Praja Socialists — are all committed to some variety of Marxian socialism, leaving the parties of 'Freedom and Free Enterprise,' spearheaded by the Swatantra, to crack a hard nut. The signed articles continue the journal's classical-liberal project: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Progressive Humanism' contrasts a humanism grounded in liberty with the Marxist programme, and M. N. Tholal's 'Bharatiya Culture' takes up the question of India's cultural output and its place in the modern world. A 'Delhi Letter' on an opposition flop and the journal's regular Rationalist Supplement round out the issue. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This March 1, 1962 issue (Vol. IX No. 23) of The Indian Libertarian appears just as India's Third General Election is being held. The lead editorial, 'Gain to Indian Democracy from the Third General Election,' welcomes the deepening of democratic consciousness while warning that the chief contestants — Congress, Communists and Praja Socialists — are all committed to some variety of Marxian socialism, leaving the parties of 'Freedom and Free Enterprise,' spearheaded by the Swatantra, to crack a hard nut. The signed articles continue the journal's classical-liberal project: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Progressive Humanism' contrasts a humanism grounded in liberty with the Marxist programme, and M. N. Tholal's 'Bharatiya Culture' takes up the question of India's cultural output and its place in the modern world. A 'Delhi Letter' on an opposition flop and the journal's regular Rationalist Supplement round out the issue. ## Essays ### Editorial The editorial, 'Gain to Indian Democracy from the Third General Election,' written as polling proceeds across Bengal, Madras, Gujarat and Maharashtra, asks whether the election has advanced the cause of democracy and raised the democratic consciousness of the people. It argues that in the parliamentary system democracy is promoted by well-organised parties opposed to one another on grounds of ideology and programme, and that the 1962 contest is mainly between the socialistically-inclined Congress and Communists on one side and the parties of Freedom and Free Enterprise, led by the Swatantra, on the other. The editor laments that even Congress's own Third Five Year Plan is hardly distinguishable from the Soviet model, subordinating private enterprise to an inefficient and corrupt official bureaucracy, and notes that unemployment and the gap between rich and poor keep widening despite the plans. - Written during polling for the Third General Election - Treats well-organised, ideologically-opposed parties as the engine of parliamentary democracy - Frames the contest as socialist Congress/Communists vs. the Freedom-and-Free-Enterprise Swatantra - Argues the Third Five Year Plan is hardly distinguishable from the Soviet model - Notes rising unemployment and a widening rich-poor gap under the plans ### Progressive Humanism *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Progressive Humanism' takes a close look at the current world-wide clash of doctrines in social philosophy and reveals the outlines of a progressive humanism offered as a constructive alternative to Marxist socialism and communism. He examines the Marxist account of the State as an instrument of class domination and the role of human antagonism in history, and argues against the Marxist programme by setting against it a humanism rooted in liberty, in which property and the opportunity to acquire it are dispersed rather than concentrated. The essay defends private enterprise and the dispersion of economic power as the social basis of a free and humane order. - Offers 'progressive humanism' as a constructive alternative to Marxist socialism and communism - Critiques the Marxist theory of the State as an instrument of class domination - Grounds humanism in liberty and the dispersion of property and economic power - Defends private enterprise against concentration of power in the State ### Bharatiya Culture *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Bharatiya Culture' is a CCS-style monthly polemic — provoked, he says, by a fellow journalist's wish to know why he was unable to understand the last portion of an earlier article in The Indian Libertarian — that turns into a reflection on Indian culture and its modern output. Tholal weighs Indian and Western culture, the place of figures like Tilak and Gandhi, and the relation between cultural inheritance and the demands of a progressive society, pressing the question of what India's culture has actually produced. - Occasioned by a fellow journalist's confusion over an earlier Libertarian article - Reflects on the nature and 'output' of Bharatiya (Indian) culture - Weighs Indian against Western culture and the place of national figures - Connects cultural inheritance to the demands of a progressive society ### Delhi Letter The 'Delhi Letter' from the journal's own correspondent, headed 'An Opposition Flop Worries Mr. Nehru,' reports on the eve of the general election that Nehru is uneasy that the opposition has failed to take root, leaving a one-sided contest. It surveys the Hindu Sabha's tally of candidates, the Jan Sangh, and the prospects in particular constituencies, and turns to the Pakistan crisis, quoting reactions to the changed political temper. The correspondent reads the thinness of the opposition as itself a danger to the health of Indian democracy. - Reports Nehru's unease that the opposition has failed to take root before the election - Surveys Hindu Sabha and Jan Sangh candidate strength and constituency prospects - Treats a weak opposition as a danger to democratic health - Turns to the Pakistan crisis and the changed political temper --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-mar1-1963/ ### Summary This March 1, 1963 issue (Vol. X No. 23) of The Indian Libertarian, now subtitled 'An Independent Journal of Public Affairs' and edited by D. M. Kulkarni, leads with an editorial, 'Patriots and Patriots,' distinguishing genuine patriotism from its hollow or self-serving imitations amid the post-1962 mood of national emergency. The signed articles span the journal's recurring concerns: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Marx's Philosophy of History' is a critical exposition (drawing on Karl Popper) of historical materialism; M. N. Tholal's 'Prohibition: The Only Solution' argues the social case for prohibition; and Krishnan Gujral's 'Roosevelt's Interest in Indian Independence,' timed to the anniversary of F. D. Roosevelt's birth, reconstructs American pressure on Britain over Indian freedom. A Rationalist Supplement and a 'Delhi Letter' on foreign military aid complete the issue. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This March 1, 1963 issue (Vol. X No. 23) of The Indian Libertarian, now subtitled 'An Independent Journal of Public Affairs' and edited by D. M. Kulkarni, leads with an editorial, 'Patriots and Patriots,' distinguishing genuine patriotism from its hollow or self-serving imitations amid the post-1962 mood of national emergency. The signed articles span the journal's recurring concerns: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Marx's Philosophy of History' is a critical exposition (drawing on Karl Popper) of historical materialism; M. N. Tholal's 'Prohibition: The Only Solution' argues the social case for prohibition; and Krishnan Gujral's 'Roosevelt's Interest in Indian Independence,' timed to the anniversary of F. D. Roosevelt's birth, reconstructs American pressure on Britain over Indian freedom. A Rationalist Supplement and a 'Delhi Letter' on foreign military aid complete the issue. ## Essays ### Editorial: Patriots And Patriots The editorial 'Patriots and Patriots' draws a sharp line between kinds of patriotism in the wake of the 1962 emergency. It distinguishes 'copper' patriots — opportunists who wrap private and partisan interest in the flag — from '24-carat' and 'pure gold' patriots whose devotion to the country is disinterested. Surveying the conduct of parties and leaders during the crisis, the editor warns that loud professions of patriotism are no test of the real thing, and that the nation's safety depends on telling the genuine article from its base imitations. - Written in the post-1962-emergency mood of national danger - Separates 'copper' patriots (opportunists) from '24-carat' and 'pure gold' patriots - Warns that loud professions of patriotism are no proof of the genuine article - Tests parties and leaders by their disinterested service to the country ### Marx's Philosophy Of History *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Marx's Philosophy of History' is a critical exposition of historical materialism. He grants that Marxism is one of the great precious heritages of freedom, but argues it makes democracy, religion and freedom of the spirit the mere reflection of an underlying economic set-up of forces. Drawing explicitly on Karl Popper's critique of historicism, Venkata Rao challenges the claim that the laws of historical development can be known with prophetic certainty, and defends the openness of history against the Marxist scheme of inevitable stages. - Expounds and criticises Marx's materialist conception of history - Concedes Marxism is among the 'precious heritages of freedom' before dissenting - Faults Marxism for reducing freedom, religion and democracy to economic forces - Invokes Karl Popper's critique of historicism against historical inevitability ### Prohibition: The Only Solution *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Prohibition: The Only Solution' argues that the Government of Bombay had appointed a committee to study the working of prohibition, and that, whatever its findings, prohibition remains for him the only real remedy for the social havoc of drink. He marshals case material on the misery liquor brings to homes — particularly among the labouring poor — and presses the moral and social case for a total ban over mere regulation or temperance, conceding the difficulties of enforcement while insisting the alternative is worse. - Prompted by a Government of Bombay committee on the working of prohibition - Argues prohibition is 'the only solution' to the social damage of drink - Uses case material on the toll of liquor on poor and labouring households - Presses the moral/social case for a total ban over regulation or temperance ### Roosevelt's Interest In Indian Independence *By Krishnan Gujral* Krishnan Gujral's 'Roosevelt's Interest in Indian Independence,' reprinted from the U.S.A. Information Service to mark the anniversary of Franklin D. Roosevelt's birth, reconstructs the wartime pressure the American President brought to bear on Britain over Indian freedom. Drawing on the published record, Gujral recounts Roosevelt's repeated 'subsequent' interventions and his exchanges with Churchill on the subject, presenting the United States as a sympathetic external advocate for India's independence during the Second World War. - Reprinted from the U.S.A. Information Service for the Roosevelt birth anniversary - Reconstructs Roosevelt's wartime pressure on Britain over Indian freedom - Draws on the documentary record of Roosevelt-Churchill exchanges - Casts the U.S. as a sympathetic external advocate of Indian independence --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-mar1-1964/ ### Summary This March 1, 1964 issue (Vol. XI No. 23) of The Indian Libertarian, edited by D. M. Kulkarni, opens with an editorial, 'The Kashmir Tangle Must Be Resolved,' written as the UN Security Council again takes up Kashmir, urging a firm but conciliatory settlement. The signed articles carry the journal's classical-liberal politics: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Swatantra Challenges Congress' reports the Swatantra Party's Bangalore convention as a constitutionalist challenge to Congress's socialist drift; M. N. Tholal's 'Mr. Nehru and His Decisions' is a critical assessment of the ageing Prime Minister's record of choices; and Seth W. Howard's 'U.P. Accreditation Rules and the Freedom of the Press' attacks new state rules as a threat to press freedom. A Delhi Letter and shorter pieces, including P. Kuppu Rao's 'Anglo — Phobes,' complete the issue. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This March 1, 1964 issue (Vol. XI No. 23) of The Indian Libertarian, edited by D. M. Kulkarni, opens with an editorial, 'The Kashmir Tangle Must Be Resolved,' written as the UN Security Council again takes up Kashmir, urging a firm but conciliatory settlement. The signed articles carry the journal's classical-liberal politics: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Swatantra Challenges Congress' reports the Swatantra Party's Bangalore convention as a constitutionalist challenge to Congress's socialist drift; M. N. Tholal's 'Mr. Nehru and His Decisions' is a critical assessment of the ageing Prime Minister's record of choices; and Seth W. Howard's 'U.P. Accreditation Rules and the Freedom of the Press' attacks new state rules as a threat to press freedom. A Delhi Letter and shorter pieces, including P. Kuppu Rao's 'Anglo — Phobes,' complete the issue. ## Essays ### Editorial: The Kashmir Tangle Must Be Resolved The editorial 'The Kashmir Tangle Must Be Resolved' is prompted by the U.N. Security Council again taking up Kashmir. It surveys the gains and losses of India's position in the long dispute, criticising drift and indecision, and argues that a firm national and foreign policy is needed to resolve the tangle rather than let it fester before international opinion. While insisting on India's case, the editorial presses for a settlement that secures the country's interests without endless deadlock. - Occasioned by the U.N. Security Council again taking up Kashmir - Weighs the 'gains and losses' of India's diplomatic position - Calls for a firm national and foreign policy to end the deadlock - Presses for resolution rather than indefinite festering of the dispute ### Swatantra Challenges Congress *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Swatantra Challenges Congress' reports the Swatantra Party's convention at Bangalore as a marked-progress moment in the party's life and in the larger fight against the socialist economic policy that, in the journal's view, the Congress and the planners have fastened on India. He reads the convention as evidence that a constitutionalist, free-enterprise opposition can mount a real challenge to one-party Congress dominance, and frames Swatantra as the political vehicle for the dispersion of economic power against state-directed planning. - Reports the Swatantra Party convention at Bangalore - Reads it as marked progress for the free-enterprise opposition - Frames Swatantra as a constitutionalist challenge to Congress dominance - Opposes the socialist economic policy of Congress and the planners ### Mr. Nehru And His Decisions *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Mr. Nehru and His Decisions' is a critical assessment of the Prime Minister's pattern of decision-making. Tholal argues that one would have to be exceptionally muddle-headed not to see that many of Nehru's major decisions have miscarried, and reviews the record — domestic and foreign — to argue that the ageing Nehru's choices have repeatedly damaged the country. The piece is a pointed indictment of the cult around Nehru and of the consequences of his personal dominance over policy. - A critical review of Nehru's record of major decisions - Argues many of those decisions have plainly miscarried - Indicts the personal dominance of Nehru over national policy - Reads the consequences as damaging to the country ### U.P. Accreditation Rules and Freedom of the Press *By Seth W. Howard* Seth W. Howard's 'U.P. Accreditation Rules and the Freedom of the Press' attacks new accreditation rules framed by the Uttar Pradesh government as a backdoor threat to press freedom. Howard argues the rules give officials discretionary power to grant or withhold accreditation, and so to reward compliant journalists and punish critics, substituting administrative control for the free working of the press. He reads the measure as a 'very surprising' encroachment that the U.S. and other democratic governments would never countenance. - Attacks new U.P. press-accreditation rules as a threat to press freedom - Argues the rules give officials discretionary power over journalists - Warns they let the state reward compliance and punish criticism - Contrasts the measure with democratic norms of a free press --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-mar15-1957/ ### Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. V No. 2 (15 March 1957), is an issue of the Bombay fortnightly 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' edited by Kusum Lotwala, appearing under the banner 'We Stand for Free Economy and Liberal Democracy.' This issue is framed by the second Indian general elections of 1957: an unsigned editorial attacks Nehru's foreign policy and his statements on Kashmir and Pakistan, while the lead article by M. A. Venkata Rao reflects on the election results and the prospects of opposition liberalism. Other contributions critique Gandhian thought (J. K. Dhairyawan), assess the Radical Humanist movement of M. N. Roy ('Vigilant'), continue a series on social and religious reform (Dr. K. N. Kini), and debate Pakistan's statehood and India's policy toward it (P. Y. Deshpande). The issue closes with the recurring 'The Great Betrayal' commentary on the Cold War, a 'Mind of the Nation' press-digest section, news roundups, and book reviews. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. V No. 2 (15 March 1957), is an issue of the Bombay fortnightly 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' edited by Kusum Lotwala, appearing under the banner 'We Stand for Free Economy and Liberal Democracy.' This issue is framed by the second Indian general elections of 1957: an unsigned editorial attacks Nehru's foreign policy and his statements on Kashmir and Pakistan, while the lead article by M. A. Venkata Rao reflects on the election results and the prospects of opposition liberalism. Other contributions critique Gandhian thought (J. K. Dhairyawan), assess the Radical Humanist movement of M. N. Roy ('Vigilant'), continue a series on social and religious reform (Dr. K. N. Kini), and debate Pakistan's statehood and India's policy toward it (P. Y. Deshpande). The issue closes with the recurring 'The Great Betrayal' commentary on the Cold War, a 'Mind of the Nation' press-digest section, news roundups, and book reviews. ## Essays ### Some Reflections on the General Elections *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao reflects on the 1957 general elections, reading the results as evidence that Indian democracy is maturing but remains dominated by the Congress and its patronage machinery. He weighs the performance of opposition candidates and parties, the financial and organisational obstacles that liberal and conservative forces face against the ruling party, and the gap between democratic precept and practice in Indian electoral life. - Reads the 1957 general elections as a test of India's young democratic institutions. - Argues the Congress dominates through organisation, money and patronage rather than ideas. - Notes the structural handicaps facing opposition and liberal candidates. - Distinguishes democratic 'precept' from actual 'practice' in Indian politics. ### Mahatma Unmasked *By J. K. Dhairyawan* J. K. Dhairyawan offers a critical reassessment of Gandhi, arguing that the Mahatma's reputation for spirituality and saintliness obscures a record of political failure and contradiction. Drawing on a reading of P. Chandra Ghosh's work, the essay challenges the conventional view of Gandhi's leadership and his place in the freedom movement, questioning the substance behind the public image. - Disputes the conventional image of Gandhi as a spiritual and political success. - Engages P. Chandra Ghosh's critical account of Gandhi. - Argues Gandhi's saintly reputation masks political contradictions. ### Neither Radical Nor Humanist *By Vigilant* Writing under the pseudonym 'Vigilant', this essay critiques the Radical Humanist movement associated with M. N. Roy, arguing that it is 'neither radical nor humanist.' Framed around the Kashmir question and India's claim to the state, the piece examines the movement's positions and finds them wanting, using the Kashmir dispute as a test case for the consistency of radical and humanist principles. - Attacks the Radical Humanist movement of M. N. Roy as failing its own labels. - Uses the Kashmir question as a test of the movement's principles. - Questions the coherence of 'radical' and 'humanist' as applied to the movement. ### Revolutionising Indian Life (Part II) *By Dr. K. N. Kini* Dr. K. N. Kini continues his series 'Revolutionising Indian Life' (Section II), attacking superstition and calling for the rationalisation of social and religious life. He argues that worship and ritual should be reoriented away from idols and toward enlightenment, that the clergy should help rather than hinder reform, and connects this cultural reform to the broader case against socialism and for spiritual and economic freedom. - Continues a series calling for the rooting out of superstition in Indian life. - Argues for reorienting worship away from idolatry toward enlightenment. - Calls on the clergy to assist social reform. - Links cultural reform to an economic and spiritual case against socialism. ### Is Pakistan A State? *By P. Y. Deshpande* P. Y. Deshpande asks 'Is Pakistan A State?', examining whether Pakistan meets the criteria of genuine statehood given its geographic division, internal tensions, and dependence on foreign powers. He reviews Pakistan's foreign policy and its conduct over Kashmir, and argues that India needs a clearer interpretation of Pakistan's character to frame a realistic policy toward it. - Questions whether Pakistan qualifies as a genuine, viable state. - Points to geographic division and external dependence as weaknesses. - Reviews Pakistan's foreign policy and the Kashmir dispute. - Calls for a clearer Indian interpretation of Pakistan to guide policy. ### The Great Betrayal 'The Great Betrayal' is a Cold War commentary that revisits the Western powers' dealings with the Soviet Union, tracing what the author regards as a record of concession and betrayal from the Second World War onward. It discusses Rockefeller-funded internationalism, the role of the United States, and the obligations of free nations in the global contest with communism. - Frames Cold War history as a 'betrayal' by Western powers in their dealings with the USSR. - Traces concessions from the Second World War onward. - Comments critically on Rockefeller-funded internationalism and U.S. policy. ### Mind of the Nation 'The Mind Of The Nation' is a digest of opinion from the contemporary Indian press, assembling extracts and editorial commentary on the political questions of the moment. In this issue it foregrounds Nehru's foreign policy, the 'No Votes' debate around the election, Kashmir on the eve of the U.N. discussions, and the state of the nation after the general elections. - Assembles and comments on extracts from the Indian press. - Highlights Nehru's foreign policy and the post-election political mood. - Touches on Kashmir ahead of U.N. discussions. ### Book Reviews The 'Book Reviews' section opens with a review of 'Anti-Capitalist Mentality' by Ludwig von Mises, published by the Libertarian Publishers and translated by Fred C. Clark. The reviewer engages Mises's argument that hostility to capitalism springs from psychological resentment rather than reasoned economic analysis. - Reviews Ludwig von Mises's 'The Anti-Capitalist Mentality'. - Notes the Libertarian Publishers edition and Fred C. Clark's role. - Engages Mises's thesis that anti-capitalism is rooted in resentment. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-mar15-1958/ ### Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. VI No. 1 (15 March 1958), is a 'Land Reforms Special' of the Bombay fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotwala. The issue mounts a sustained classical-liberal critique of Congress land-reform policy, framing ceilings on landholding and 'co-operative farming' as a non-violent 'purge' of the productive yeoman farmer and an assault on property rights. Lead contributions by Bhailalbhai Patel (Sardar Vallabhbhai Vidyapeeth) on the Bombay-State land problem, Sumant Bankeshwar on the Congress and the farmer, and M. A. Venkata Rao on the proposed 'purge' of the sturdy yeoman anchor the theme. The issue widens to refugee and Partition questions (Kishore Valicha on Hindu refugees and 'Pak hatred'; George Leather on Pakistan's statehood), Cold War analysis (Reinhold Niebuhr on why the U.S.A. is 'losing to the Russians' after Sputnik), and recurring departments attacking 'welfarism' and defending sound money and a libertarian philosophy of property. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. VI No. 1 (15 March 1958), is a 'Land Reforms Special' of the Bombay fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotwala. The issue mounts a sustained classical-liberal critique of Congress land-reform policy, framing ceilings on landholding and 'co-operative farming' as a non-violent 'purge' of the productive yeoman farmer and an assault on property rights. Lead contributions by Bhailalbhai Patel (Sardar Vallabhbhai Vidyapeeth) on the Bombay-State land problem, Sumant Bankeshwar on the Congress and the farmer, and M. A. Venkata Rao on the proposed 'purge' of the sturdy yeoman anchor the theme. The issue widens to refugee and Partition questions (Kishore Valicha on Hindu refugees and 'Pak hatred'; George Leather on Pakistan's statehood), Cold War analysis (Reinhold Niebuhr on why the U.S.A. is 'losing to the Russians' after Sputnik), and recurring departments attacking 'welfarism' and defending sound money and a libertarian philosophy of property. ## Essays ### The Land Problem in Bombay State *By Bhailalbhai Patel* Bhailalbhai Patel, Vice-Chancellor of Sardar Vallabhbhai Vidyapeeth, examines the land problem in Bombay State, tracing the village from 'deserted village to flourishing village' and contrasting the peasant's attachment to land with state schemes of co-operative and collective farming. He defends owner-cultivation and warns that ceilings and co-operativisation amount to exploitation of the productive cultivator. - Surveys the land problem in Bombay State from a cultivator's standpoint. - Defends the peasant's attachment to his own land. - Criticises co-operative and collective farming schemes as exploitation. ### The Congress and the Farmer *By Sumant Bankeshwar* Sumant Bankeshwar argues that Congress agrarian policy, despite its rhetoric, betrays the farmer. He attacks 'total nationalisation' and the socialist drift of policy, contending that the property instinct is fundamental and that the state's schemes undermine the very cultivators they claim to serve. - Charges that Congress policy betrays rather than helps the farmer. - Attacks 'total nationalisation' and socialist agrarian schemes. - Defends the 'property instinct' as fundamental to the cultivator. ### A Non-violent "Purge" of the Sturdy Yeoman *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao analyses the Second Five Year Plan's revised land policy, which he characterises as a 'non-violent purge of the sturdy yeoman.' He argues that 'confiscatory methods' — ceilings on holdings and pressure toward co-operative farming — dispossess the most productive farmers under the guise of equity, and warns that what is behind the land 'reforms' is an ideological hostility to private property. - Reads the Second Five Year Plan's land policy as a 'purge' of productive farmers. - Labels ceilings and co-operativisation 'confiscatory methods'. - Argues the reforms are driven by ideological hostility to property. ### Agonies of Hindu Refugees and Pak Hatred *By Kishore Valicha* K. D. Valicha (bylined Kishore Valicha) writes on the continuing agonies of Hindu refugees from East Pakistan and the persistence of communal hatred. He recounts the exodus from East Pakistan and the plight of refugees, situating their suffering within the wider Partition aftermath. - Documents the continuing exodus of Hindu refugees from East Pakistan. - Connects refugee suffering to the unresolved Partition aftermath. - Highlights communal hatred as an ongoing source of the refugees' plight. ### The Question Mark In Pakistan *By George Leather* George Leather poses 'The Question Mark In Pakistan', examining the legacy of Partition and whether Pakistan, built on the basis of Islam, can cohere as a durable state. He weighs the role of religion in Pakistan's politics and the implications of its instability for India. - Questions Pakistan's coherence and durability as a state. - Examines the legacy of Partition and the role of Islam in Pakistani politics. - Considers the consequences for India of Pakistani instability. ### The Congress Is Cheating the Common Man Under the banner 'The Congress Is Cheating the Common Man', this section argues that libertarian philosophy 'shows the way' out of the failures of state economic management. It links the defence of private property and ownership to practical prosperity and contrasts libertarian practice with the Congress's interventionist programme. - Argues Congress economic policy cheats the common man. - Presents libertarian philosophy and private ownership as the alternative. - Ties property rights to practical prosperity. ### Why Is U.S.A. Losing to Russians? *By Reinhold Niebuhr* A reprint of Reinhold Niebuhr's 'Why Is U.S.A. Losing to Russians?' reflects on the post-Sputnik moment, arguing that Soviet advances in science and education have exposed weaknesses in American complacency. Niebuhr weighs the lessons of Sputnik for Western foreign policy and the contest between the two superpowers. - Reprints Reinhold Niebuhr on the post-Sputnik U.S.-Soviet contest. - Argues Soviet scientific and educational advances exposed American complacency. - Draws lessons of Sputnik for Western strategy. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-mar15-1963/ ### Summary This March 15, 1963 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X No. 24), a Bombay fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni, is dominated by the aftermath of the 1962 Sino-Indian war and India's place in the Cold War. The lead editorial argues India can still rally South-East Asia against Chinese expansion if it sheds non-alignment; M. A. Venkata Rao anatomises the nature of Communist China's regime; M. N. Tholal attacks Indian 'complacency' in defence and foreign policy; and a Delhi Letter reports on the Prime Minister's framing of the issues before Parliament. The issue also carries an Economic Supplement, a section on press freedom (Nehru on freedom of the press), book reviews, 'Gleanings from the Press', 'News and Views', and a letters column. Throughout, the journal presses a classical-liberal, anti-Communist line and its standing slogan, 'Make English the lingua franca of India.' ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This March 15, 1963 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X No. 24), a Bombay fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni, is dominated by the aftermath of the 1962 Sino-Indian war and India's place in the Cold War. The lead editorial argues India can still rally South-East Asia against Chinese expansion if it sheds non-alignment; M. A. Venkata Rao anatomises the nature of Communist China's regime; M. N. Tholal attacks Indian 'complacency' in defence and foreign policy; and a Delhi Letter reports on the Prime Minister's framing of the issues before Parliament. The issue also carries an Economic Supplement, a section on press freedom (Nehru on freedom of the press), book reviews, 'Gleanings from the Press', 'News and Views', and a letters column. Throughout, the journal presses a classical-liberal, anti-Communist line and its standing slogan, 'Make English the lingua franca of India.' ## Essays ### India Can Still Save South-East Asia The unsigned lead editorial argues that despite the 1962 reverses, India retains the moral and strategic standing to lead South-East Asia in resisting Chinese Communist expansion, provided it abandons the illusions of non-alignment and confronts the nature of the Peking regime directly. It frames the China threat as ideological as well as military and urges a clear Western-aligned posture. - India can still rally South-East Asian states against Chinese expansion if it acts decisively - Non-alignment is treated as a liability after the 1962 border war - The threat from China is cast as both military and ideological - Calls for clarity about the character of the Communist regime in Peking ### The Nature of the Red Regime of China *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao examines the character of the 'Red Regime' in China, tracing how the Communist Party consolidated power and arguing that its totalitarian methods and expansionist aims make accommodation impossible. He reads the regime through its own doctrine and contrasts it with liberal and democratic alternatives. - Analyses the consolidation and methods of Communist rule in China - Treats the regime as totalitarian and expansionist by design - Argues its doctrine precludes genuine accommodation with neighbours - Positions liberal democracy as the contrasting alternative ### Complacency With A Vengeance *By By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Complacency With A Vengeance' is a polemic against what he sees as Indian leaders' — and Nehru's — complacency in defence and foreign affairs, written in the shadow of the China debacle. He charges that official self-assurance and slogans have substituted for serious preparedness. - Attacks official complacency in defence and foreign policy - Written against the backdrop of the 1962 Chinese attack - Criticises reliance on slogans over substantive preparedness - Implicates the political leadership, including Nehru ### Delhi Letter: Prime Minister Frames the Issues The Delhi Letter reports on the Prime Minister framing the issues before Parliament in the wake of the border conflict, covering parliamentary debate on defence, the economy and foreign policy. It includes discussion of personal taxation and budgetary matters under an economic-supplement heading. - Reports the Prime Minister's framing of national issues in Parliament - Covers post-war defence and economic debate in Delhi - Touches on personal taxation and fiscal questions ### India's Strategy In Sino-Indian Conflict *By By Indira Avasty* Indira Avasty's short piece sets out a strategy for India in the Sino-Indian conflict, weighing alliances, non-alignment and the question of foreign military aid in defending against further Chinese pressure. - Proposes a strategic posture for India in the Sino-Indian conflict - Engages the choice between non-alignment and Western support - Frames defence against China as the immediate priority --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-mar15-1961/ ### Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. VIII No. 24 (15 March 1961), is an issue of the Bombay fortnightly now edited by D. M. Kulkarni and flying the banner 'We Stand for Free Economy and Limited Government.' The editorial opens with the death of Home Minister Govind Vallabh Pant ('The Great Patriarch Passes Away') on 7 March 1961 and turns to communal disturbances in Jabalpur and Madhya Pradesh, Indian troops in the Congo, and the case for the private sector. The issue's analytical core is M. A. Venkata Rao's essay on 'The Muslim Problem in India' and M. N. Tholal's polemic against 'Nehru's Smokescreens', joined by J. M. Lobo Prabhu on planning for law and order and S. R. Narayana Ayyar's 'Thoughts for our Politicians.' A separately paginated Economic Supplement carries B. Ramakrishnan's critique of the 1961-62 Central Budget as 'soaking the rich and fleecing the poor', alongside a Delhi Letter, book review, press gleanings and news departments. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. VIII No. 24 (15 March 1961), is an issue of the Bombay fortnightly now edited by D. M. Kulkarni and flying the banner 'We Stand for Free Economy and Limited Government.' The editorial opens with the death of Home Minister Govind Vallabh Pant ('The Great Patriarch Passes Away') on 7 March 1961 and turns to communal disturbances in Jabalpur and Madhya Pradesh, Indian troops in the Congo, and the case for the private sector. The issue's analytical core is M. A. Venkata Rao's essay on 'The Muslim Problem in India' and M. N. Tholal's polemic against 'Nehru's Smokescreens', joined by J. M. Lobo Prabhu on planning for law and order and S. R. Narayana Ayyar's 'Thoughts for our Politicians.' A separately paginated Economic Supplement carries B. Ramakrishnan's critique of the 1961-62 Central Budget as 'soaking the rich and fleecing the poor', alongside a Delhi Letter, book review, press gleanings and news departments. ## Essays ### The Muslim Problem in India *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao examines 'The Muslim Problem in India' in the wake of Partition, weighing the position of the Muslim community within the Indian polity and the failures of policy toward integration. He situates the question within secular and constitutional principles, arguing for an approach grounded in equal citizenship rather than communal appeasement. - Addresses the position of Muslims in post-Partition India. - Frames the issue around secular and constitutional principles. - Critiques communal appeasement in favour of equal citizenship. ### Nehru's Smokescreens *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Nehru's Smokescreens' is a polemic accusing Prime Minister Nehru of obscuring policy failures behind rhetoric. Built around an extended example of a Rajagopalachari speech in Delhi, the essay charges that Nehru deflects criticism and masks the shortcomings of his government with a 'fear complex' and verbal screens. - Accuses Nehru of using rhetoric to mask policy failures. - Opens from a Rajagopalachari speech in Delhi. - Diagnoses a 'fear complex' in the government's posture. ### Planning for Law and Order *By J. M. Lobo Prabhu, I.C.S. (Retd.)* J. M. Lobo Prabhu, I.C.S. (Retd.), writes on 'Planning for Law and Order', arguing that the maintenance of order is the first duty and difficulty of government. Drawing on administrative experience, he discusses how the machinery of law and order has been neglected amid the emphasis on economic planning. - Argues law and order is government's primary responsibility. - Written from the standpoint of a retired I.C.S. administrator. - Contends the order-keeping machinery has been neglected under economic planning. ### Economic Supplement The Economic Supplement carries B. Ramakrishnan's analysis of the 1961-62 Central Budget under the title 'Soaking the Rich and Fleecing the Poor.' He argues that the budget's tax measures fail to hold the price line and shift burdens onto ordinary people while claiming to redistribute, criticising the fiscal logic of the Plan-era budget. - Critiques the 1961-62 Central Budget. - Argues the budget 'fleeces the poor' while professing redistribution. - Questions the budget's capacity to hold the price line. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-may1-1957/ ### Summary This 1 May 1957 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V No. 5), a Bombay fortnightly edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala and published from Arya Bhuvan, Sandhurst Road, surveys Cold War foreign policy and domestic liberalism from a free-economy, anti-Communist standpoint. The editorial weighs India's posture toward Egypt, Israel and the Middle East and the politics of Kashmir; M. A. Venkata Rao distinguishes 'true' from 'false' land reform; an unsigned piece dismisses the Praja Socialist Party as 'a boneless wonder' for allying with Communists; James Kielty sketches the basis of a libertarian society; and articles on the American arming of Pakistan, Israel, Tito's break with Moscow, and India's 'deceptive' foreign policy fill out the issue. A John Foster Dulles text ('Waging Peace') is reprinted, and the issue advertises the Libertarian Social Institute and its Libertarian Quarterly. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 May 1957 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V No. 5), a Bombay fortnightly edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala and published from Arya Bhuvan, Sandhurst Road, surveys Cold War foreign policy and domestic liberalism from a free-economy, anti-Communist standpoint. The editorial weighs India's posture toward Egypt, Israel and the Middle East and the politics of Kashmir; M. A. Venkata Rao distinguishes 'true' from 'false' land reform; an unsigned piece dismisses the Praja Socialist Party as 'a boneless wonder' for allying with Communists; James Kielty sketches the basis of a libertarian society; and articles on the American arming of Pakistan, Israel, Tito's break with Moscow, and India's 'deceptive' foreign policy fill out the issue. A John Foster Dulles text ('Waging Peace') is reprinted, and the issue advertises the Libertarian Social Institute and its Libertarian Quarterly. ## Essays ### Land Reform—True & False *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao distinguishes genuine land reform from what he regards as its socialist counterfeit. He argues that breaking up large holdings in the name of equality, when it dispossesses owners and substitutes state or collective control, amounts to a 'new era of tyranny' rather than reform; true reform secures property rights and productive cultivation rather than levelling them. - Separates 'true' land reform from socialist 'false' reform - Warns that dispossessing landowners installs a new tyranny - Defends property rights and productive cultivation - Criticises socialist interpretation of reform as wrong-headed ### P.S.P.—A Boneless Wonder This unsigned commentary, drawn from the Times of India, ridicules the Praja Socialist Party as 'a boneless wonder' for its inconsistent and opportunistic alliances — cooperating with Communists in some states while opposing them elsewhere, and accommodating communalist and reactionary forces. It reads the party's incoherence as evidence of an absence of principle. - Brands the PSP 'a boneless wonder' for its inconsistency - Cites the PSP's shifting stance toward Communists across states - Accuses the party of accommodating communal and reactionary forces - Reprinted from the Times of India ### A View-Point on Libertarian Society *By By James Kielty* James Kielty argues that libertarianism is not utopianism: it can be conceived only by accepting the permanence of human problems and the willingness to share in solving them through responsible action. A libertarian society, he contends, rests on general acceptance of responsibility and a refusal to hand power to a minority, so that achievements come at the cost of less superficial 'stability.' - Distinguishes libertarianism sharply from utopianism - Roots a libertarian society in shared, general responsibility - Warns against surrendering power to a minority - Accepts reduced 'stability' as the price of a free society ### American Arming of Pakistan *By By "Kamal"* Written under the pseudonym 'Kamal', this 'Motives Analysed' piece examines the American arming of Pakistan, treating it as a destabilising Cold War manoeuvre that endangers India. It questions the strategic rationale offered for the arms and weighs how military pacts in the subcontinent serve American rather than regional interests. - Analyses the motives behind US military aid to Pakistan - Frames the arming as a Cold War move threatening India - Questions the stated strategic justification - Bylined under the pseudonym 'Kamal' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-mar15-1962/ ### Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. IX No. 24 (15 March 1962), edited by D. M. Kulkarni, appears under the banner 'We Stand for Free Economy and Limited Government' just after the third Indian general election. The editorial, 'The Vanquished Victor', dissects the North Bombay contest in which Defence Minister Krishna Menon defeated veteran ex-Congress President Acharya J. B. Kripalani, arguing that Menon's win was hollow and secured by 'dirty tactics'. M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Elections And Democracy' reflects on what the results reveal about the maturity of Indian democracy, while M. N. Tholal's 'General Election Results' analyses party performance and the prospects of the opposition. Eric Michelsen contributes '16 Years Under Communism — The Chronicle Of A Subject People', a Cold War account of life under communism. A separately paginated Economic Supplement, a Delhi Letter, book review, press gleanings and news departments round out the issue. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. IX No. 24 (15 March 1962), edited by D. M. Kulkarni, appears under the banner 'We Stand for Free Economy and Limited Government' just after the third Indian general election. The editorial, 'The Vanquished Victor', dissects the North Bombay contest in which Defence Minister Krishna Menon defeated veteran ex-Congress President Acharya J. B. Kripalani, arguing that Menon's win was hollow and secured by 'dirty tactics'. M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Elections And Democracy' reflects on what the results reveal about the maturity of Indian democracy, while M. N. Tholal's 'General Election Results' analyses party performance and the prospects of the opposition. Eric Michelsen contributes '16 Years Under Communism — The Chronicle Of A Subject People', a Cold War account of life under communism. A separately paginated Economic Supplement, a Delhi Letter, book review, press gleanings and news departments round out the issue. ## Essays ### Elections And Democracy *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Elections And Democracy' reflects on the third general election as a measure of India's democratic maturity. He weighs the conditions of genuine democratic participation against the realities of party machinery and patronage, arguing that healthy democracy requires more than the periodic casting of votes and depends on an informed, engaged electorate. - Treats the third general election as a test of democratic maturity. - Distinguishes formal voting from genuine democratic participation. - Stresses the role of an informed, engaged electorate. ### General Election Results *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'General Election Results' analyses the outcome of the 1962 polls, assessing the performance of the Congress and the various opposition parties, including the Swatantra Party. He weighs what the results mean for the fortunes of liberal and conservative opposition and the character of the contest. - Analyses the 1962 general election results. - Assesses Congress dominance against the opposition parties. - Considers the prospects of the Swatantra-led opposition. ### 16 Years Under Communism-The Chronicle Of A Subject people *By Eric Michelsen* Eric Michelsen's '16 Years Under Communism — The Chronicle Of A Subject People' recounts the experience of life under communist rule, drawing on the East German case from 1945 onward. The essay traces the consolidation of one-party control, the suppression of independent parties, the role of indoctrination, and the reduction of a people to subjection under the regime. - Chronicles sixteen years of life under communist rule. - Draws on the East German experience from 1945. - Documents one-party consolidation, indoctrination and the suppression of independent parties. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-may1-1958/ ### Summary This May 1, 1958 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VI No. 4), the Bombay fortnightly edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala, runs heavily on subcontinental and Cold War politics from a free-economy, anti-Communist standpoint. The editorial reports Pakistani troop massing on the Assam border and reviews communal tension and Kashmir; M. A. Venkata Rao surveys 'The Punjab Cauldron' of linguistic and communal agitation; T. L. Kantam treats Algeria as an international problem; pseudonymous pieces ('Daneshmand', 'Libra') cover Pakistan and political gossip; and Sumant Bankeshwar's 'Red Mundhras of Kerala' attacks the Communist ministry there. Further items ask 'Who are the Real Enemies of India?', allege a 'Fraud on Delhi Electorate', and discuss a 'Plot to End Pakistan', closing with an Economic Supplement, news notes and book reviews. The masthead slogan now reads 'Make English the Official Language of India.' ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This May 1, 1958 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VI No. 4), the Bombay fortnightly edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala, runs heavily on subcontinental and Cold War politics from a free-economy, anti-Communist standpoint. The editorial reports Pakistani troop massing on the Assam border and reviews communal tension and Kashmir; M. A. Venkata Rao surveys 'The Punjab Cauldron' of linguistic and communal agitation; T. L. Kantam treats Algeria as an international problem; pseudonymous pieces ('Daneshmand', 'Libra') cover Pakistan and political gossip; and Sumant Bankeshwar's 'Red Mundhras of Kerala' attacks the Communist ministry there. Further items ask 'Who are the Real Enemies of India?', allege a 'Fraud on Delhi Electorate', and discuss a 'Plot to End Pakistan', closing with an Economic Supplement, news notes and book reviews. The masthead slogan now reads 'Make English the Official Language of India.' ## Essays ### The Punjab Cauldron *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao examines the 'Punjab Cauldron' of linguistic and communal agitation, tracing how the demand to carve states on language and religious lines threatens national integration. He treats the Punjab's Hindu–Sikh tensions as a warning about the politics of fragmentation and argues for a future built on liberal, democratic cohesion rather than sectional claims. - Analyses linguistic and communal agitation in the Punjab - Warns that carving states on language/religion endangers unity - Reads Hindu–Sikh friction as symptomatic of fragmentation politics - Argues for liberal-democratic cohesion over sectional demands ### Algeria, An International Problem *By by T. L. Kantam* T. L. Kantam frames the Algerian war as an international rather than purely French problem. Sketching its historical background and the failure of metropolitan France's response, he argues the conflict's outcome bears on the wider Cold War contest and the cause of national self-determination, and that it cannot be settled by France alone. - Treats the Algerian war as an international problem, not a French one - Reviews the historical background and the FLN insurgency - Links the conflict to Cold War alignments - Argues France cannot resolve it unilaterally ### Red "Mundhras" of Kerala *By by Sumant Bankeshwar* Sumant Bankeshwar's 'Red Mundhras of Kerala' attacks the Communist state government in Kerala, alleging corruption and misuse of office on a scale he likens to the national Mundhra scandal. He argues that the Communist ministry's conduct exposes high-ranking leaders and discredits the party's claim to clean governance. - Accuses Kerala's Communist ministry of corruption - Draws an analogy to the national Mundhra financial scandal - Alleges high-ranking Communist leaders are involved - Frames the affair as discrediting Communist governance --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-may1-1959/ ### Summary This May 1, 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 3), the Bombay free-economy fortnightly, is dominated by the Dalai Lama's flight into Indian asylum and the deepening Tibet–China crisis. The lengthy editorial weighs how Nehru should handle Chinese displeasure over India's reception of the Dalai Lama, framing it as a forced 'choice' between China and the West. M. A. Venkata Rao reviews land reforms in Pakistan; M. N. Tholal offers a tribute to the recently retired U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles; Sir Julian Huxley's piece urges the U.N. to evolve a world population policy; and further articles cover Dahyabhai Patel's impressions, a debate among libertarians (Labadie, Lawande and Meulen), Communist designs, and Cold War prospects. The masthead retains the slogan 'Make English the Lingua Franca of India.' ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This May 1, 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 3), the Bombay free-economy fortnightly, is dominated by the Dalai Lama's flight into Indian asylum and the deepening Tibet–China crisis. The lengthy editorial weighs how Nehru should handle Chinese displeasure over India's reception of the Dalai Lama, framing it as a forced 'choice' between China and the West. M. A. Venkata Rao reviews land reforms in Pakistan; M. N. Tholal offers a tribute to the recently retired U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles; Sir Julian Huxley's piece urges the U.N. to evolve a world population policy; and further articles cover Dahyabhai Patel's impressions, a debate among libertarians (Labadie, Lawande and Meulen), Communist designs, and Cold War prospects. The masthead retains the slogan 'Make English the Lingua Franca of India.' ## Essays ### Editorial: Dalai Lama The editorial centres on the Dalai Lama's reception on Indian soil and the diplomatic crisis it has provoked with Communist China. It reports the Prime Minister's anxiety about the 'tone of caution' in his Madras statement, recounts the 1951 treaty and China's suppression of Tibetan autonomy, and argues that India can no longer maintain 'equal friendship with both the tiger and the cow' — it must make a choice between China and the West. - Frames the Dalai Lama's asylum as a turning point in India–China relations - Reviews the 1951 treaty and China's erosion of Tibetan autonomy - Criticises Nehru's reluctance to break openly with Peking - Argues India must choose between China and the West ### Land Reforms in Pakistan *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao examines land reforms in Pakistan, treating them as a positive and realisable point of contrast with Indian practice. He reads the Pakistani measures against the background of Islam's egalitarian tradition and the country's agrarian structure, weighing how reform is being pursued there. - Surveys Pakistan's land reform measures - Reads them against Islamic egalitarian tradition - Implicitly contrasts them with Indian land policy - Treats reform as realisable rather than merely rhetorical ### John Foster Dulles:—A Tribute *By by M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's tribute to John Foster Dulles, written on his resignation as U.S. Secretary of State, defends Dulles's record as an architect of containment and Cold War firmness against Communist expansion. Tholal reviews how Dulles fulfilled the pledge of resisting Soviet advances and assesses his place in the contest with the Communist powers. - A tribute occasioned by Dulles's resignation as Secretary of State - Defends his Cold War policy of firmness toward the Soviet bloc - Credits him with resisting Communist expansion - Assesses his historical standing in the Cold War ### U. N. Must Evolve Population Policy *By by Sir Julian Huxley* Sir Julian Huxley argues that the world is passing through a population crisis and that the U.N. must evolve a deliberate population policy. Linking human ecology to earth resources, he warns that unchecked numbers will outstrip food and resources, and calls for regimentation of population growth through reasoned international action rather than drift. - Declares a world population crisis requiring U.N. action - Links population to human ecology and finite earth resources - Warns growth will outpace food and resources - Calls for a deliberate international population policy --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-may1-1960/ ### Summary The June 15, 1960 issue (Vol. VIII No. 6) of The Indian Libertarian, now subtitled an 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' incorporating the 'Free Economic Review' and 'The Indian Rationalist,' opens with an editorial on Congress 'revitalisation' at the Poona AICC sessions and Nehru's role there. It carries M. A. Venkata Rao on the collapse of the Paris summit, M. N. Tholal on the bright prospects of the new Swatantra Party, E. H. Potter's critical appraisal of V. K. Krishna Menon, and A. Ranganathan on a decade of Sino-Indian disillusionment, alongside an Economic Supplement essay on capital accumulation and economic growth signed 'Sputnik.' The issue sustains the journal's classical-liberal, anti-Communist line, championing the Swatantra alternative and free-enterprise economics against Congress planning and Nehruvian foreign policy. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The June 15, 1960 issue (Vol. VIII No. 6) of The Indian Libertarian, now subtitled an 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' incorporating the 'Free Economic Review' and 'The Indian Rationalist,' opens with an editorial on Congress 'revitalisation' at the Poona AICC sessions and Nehru's role there. It carries M. A. Venkata Rao on the collapse of the Paris summit, M. N. Tholal on the bright prospects of the new Swatantra Party, E. H. Potter's critical appraisal of V. K. Krishna Menon, and A. Ranganathan on a decade of Sino-Indian disillusionment, alongside an Economic Supplement essay on capital accumulation and economic growth signed 'Sputnik.' The issue sustains the journal's classical-liberal, anti-Communist line, championing the Swatantra alternative and free-enterprise economics against Congress planning and Nehruvian foreign policy. ## Essays ### Editorial The editorial, 'Congress Party Revitalisation: AICC Sessions at Poona,' reviews the Congress party's attempt at self-renewal at its Poona sessions following Nehru's foreign tours. It reports dissatisfaction with the party High Command, the Hanumanthaiya proposal to broaden the Working Committee, and Nehru's manoeuvring, treating the 'revitalisation' talk as largely futile and insincere. - Reviews the Poona AICC sessions and Congress 'revitalisation' rhetoric - Reports rank-and-file dissatisfaction with the party High Command - Notes the Hanumanthaiya proposal and Nehru's ambivalent role - Reads the renewal effort as futile and insincere ### Pakistan's Intransigence Again *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Aftermath of the Summit' assesses the collapse of the Paris summit between Khrushchev and the Western powers in the wake of the U-2 affair. He reads the breakdown as confirming the unreliability of Soviet coexistence and a hardening of Cold War lines. - Analyses the collapse of the Paris summit and the U-2 crisis - Reads Khrushchev's conduct as exposing the limits of coexistence - Sees the failure as a hardening of Cold War divisions ### Parliament In A Daze *By Pothan Joseph* M. N. Tholal's 'Swatantra's Bright Chances' surveys the prospects of the newly formed Swatantra Party, reporting on its conference and organisation and arguing that the party has a genuine opening as a free-enterprise alternative to Congress. The piece engages the party's leadership, including Rajaji and N. G. Ranga. - Assesses the Swatantra Party's electoral and organisational prospects - Reports on the party's conference and General Secretary - Frames Swatantra as a credible free-enterprise alternative to Congress ### Thy Will Be Done, Khrushchev! *By M. N. Tholal* E. H. Potter's 'Krishna Menon's Achievements' is a sharply critical appraisal of Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon, questioning his record and reputation and treating his prominence as a liability rather than an achievement. - Offers a critical assessment of V. K. Krishna Menon - Questions his record as Defence Minister - Reads his standing as more liability than achievement ### Delhi Letter *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan's 'Sino-Indian Relations—a decade of disillusionment' traces the deterioration of India-China relations over the 1950s, from the Panchsheel optimism to disillusionment over Tibet and the frontier. It treats Indian policy toward China as naive and argues the decade ended in justified disenchantment. - Traces a decade of Sino-Indian relations to disillusionment - Contrasts early Panchsheel optimism with the Tibet and border reality - Criticises Indian policy toward China as naive ### Rationalist Supplement The Economic Supplement carries an essay, 'Capital Accumulation and Economic Growth,' signed with the pseudonym 'Sputnik.' It argues that economic development of underdeveloped countries turns on capital accumulation, weighing the role of saving, investment and private enterprise against state-directed growth, and includes a critique of Marx's labour theory of value. - Argues capital accumulation is central to development of poor countries - Weighs saving and investment against state-directed growth - Includes a critique of Marx's labour theory of value - Published pseudonymously under 'Sputnik' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-may1-1961/ ### Summary The June 15, 1961 issue (Vol. IX No. 6) of The Indian Libertarian, Bombay's classical-liberal 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' now flying the slogan 'We stand for free economy and limited government,' opens with an editorial on the Cachar firings and the Bengali-language agitation in Assam. It gathers M. A. Venkata Rao on the sentiment of democracy, M. N. Tholal's argument that English alone can hold India together against Hindi imposition, S. R. Narayana Ayyar on the Prime Minister and national disintegration, and A. Ranganathan on recent events in Madras, plus an Economic Supplement essay by Prof. G. N. Lawande on employment under the Third Plan. The issue presses a free-enterprise, limited-government, anti-imposition line while defending English and constitutional democracy. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The June 15, 1961 issue (Vol. IX No. 6) of The Indian Libertarian, Bombay's classical-liberal 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' now flying the slogan 'We stand for free economy and limited government,' opens with an editorial on the Cachar firings and the Bengali-language agitation in Assam. It gathers M. A. Venkata Rao on the sentiment of democracy, M. N. Tholal's argument that English alone can hold India together against Hindi imposition, S. R. Narayana Ayyar on the Prime Minister and national disintegration, and A. Ranganathan on recent events in Madras, plus an Economic Supplement essay by Prof. G. N. Lawande on employment under the Third Plan. The issue presses a free-enterprise, limited-government, anti-imposition line while defending English and constitutional democracy. ## Essays ### Editorial The editorial 'The Cachar Firings' addresses the violence in the Cachar district of Assam arising from the Bengali-language Satyagraha, in which police firing killed demonstrators. It criticises the handling of the linguistic agitation and the imposition of Assamese on Bengali-speaking areas, treating the episode as a failure of both administration and language policy. - Addresses the police firings in Cachar during the Bengali-language Satyagraha - Criticises the imposition of Assamese on Bengali-speaking Cachar - Frames the violence as an administrative and language-policy failure ### The Sentiment of Democracy *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Sentiment of Democracy' argues that democracy depends less on formal machinery than on a shared sentiment and culture of liberty. Drawing on the English example, he contends that institutions of self-government require an underlying democratic temper to work, and warns that India lacks this deeper sentiment. - Argues democracy rests on sentiment and culture, not just machinery - Uses the English experience as a model of the democratic temper - Warns that India's institutions lack a deep democratic sentiment ### English Alone Can Save Us *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'English Alone Can Save Us' defends English as the only language capable of holding a linguistically divided India together, against the imposition of Hindi. He surveys the language passions stirred by the Assam agitation and argues that Hindi broadcasts and language nationalism threaten national unity. - Defends English as India's essential link language - Opposes the imposition of Hindi as a national language - Connects language imposition to the Assam linguistic agitation ### The Prime Minister And The Future Of Our Country *By S. R. Narayana Ayyar* S. R. Narayana Ayyar's 'The Prime Minister And The Future Of Our Country' (part II) charges the Nehru government with presiding over an 'all-round national disintegration.' Invoking Tilak's example, it argues that the Prime Minister's leadership has weakened national cohesion across linguistic, social and economic lines. - Charges the Nehru government with 'all-round national disintegration' - Invokes Tilak as a contrasting example of national leadership - Argues the Prime Minister has weakened national cohesion ### Some Recent Events In Madras *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan's 'Some Recent Events In Madras' surveys political and economic developments in Madras around the Third Five Year Plan, including the work of the Forum of Free Enterprise and municipal politics. It reads the events through a free-enterprise, anti-planning lens. - Surveys recent political and economic events in Madras - Engages the Third Five Year Plan and the Forum of Free Enterprise - Reads developments through a free-enterprise lens ### Economic Supplement *By G N Lawande* The Economic Supplement essay, 'Employment In The Third Plan' by Prof. G. N. Lawande, examines the employment problem under India's Third Five Year Plan. It questions whether planned development can absorb the growing labour force and argues that the Plan's employment targets are inadequate to the scale of unemployment. - Examines employment generation under the Third Five Year Plan - Questions whether planning can absorb the growing labour force - Argues the Plan's employment targets fall short of the need --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-may1-1962/ ### Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X, No. 3, May 1, 1962), an independent Bombay journal standing 'for free economy and limited government,' opens with an editorial on Nehru's new post-election cabinet and proceeds through signed essays on communism, the national-language question, and party politics, followed by recurring departments (Delhi Letter, Book Review, Gleanings from the Press, News & Views). In the rendered pages, M. A. Venkata Rao writes on 'The Trojan Horse' of communist infiltration, M. N. Tholal addresses 'Our National Language' and the Hindi/Sanskrit debate, and H. B. Isaac argues for 'Party Integration' among India's non-Congress opposition. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X, No. 3, May 1, 1962), an independent Bombay journal standing 'for free economy and limited government,' opens with an editorial on Nehru's new post-election cabinet and proceeds through signed essays on communism, the national-language question, and party politics, followed by recurring departments (Delhi Letter, Book Review, Gleanings from the Press, News & Views). In the rendered pages, M. A. Venkata Rao writes on 'The Trojan Horse' of communist infiltration, M. N. Tholal addresses 'Our National Language' and the Hindi/Sanskrit debate, and H. B. Isaac argues for 'Party Integration' among India's non-Congress opposition. ## Essays ### Editorial The editorial, 'Mr. Nehru's Hotch-Potch Government,' argues that the composition of Nehru's new post-election cabinet has shattered the hopes of the so-called Leftists and reflects a more cautious appraisal of India's economic situation. In the rendered pages it reads the cabinet as a mixed body in which Rightists predominate, and sees the rise of the Swatantra Party as the real opposition pressing Nehru away from socialist experiments. - Nehru's new cabinet is characterised as a 'hotch-potch' that disappoints the Left. - The editorial reads the cabinet as predominantly Rightist in make-up. - It credits China's economic troubles and electoral signals with sobering Nehru's socialism. - It frames the Swatantra Party as the real liberal opposition. ### The Trojan Horse *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Trojan Horse' warns that communist parties operate as a concealed force inside democratic society, advancing through the very liberties an open polity grants them. In the rendered pages he traces the working of communist organisation as a stratagem of infiltration, invoking the image of the Trojan Horse to argue that the threat operates from within. - Communism is figured as a 'Trojan Horse' operating inside democratic society. - The essay stresses infiltration and concealed organisation. - It warns that communists exploit the liberties of an open polity. - The argument continues the journal's anti-communist line. ### Our National Language *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Our National Language' enters the debate over India's national language, weighing the claims of Hindi and Sanskrit against practical considerations. In the rendered pages Tholal engages the views of others (including a correspondent named Katju) and reflects sceptically on official language policy. - The essay addresses India's national-language question. - It weighs the claims of Hindi and Sanskrit. - It engages contemporary correspondents and official policy. - The tone is sceptical and analytical. ### Party Integration *By H. B. Isaac* H. B. Isaac's 'Party Integration' argues for the consolidation of India's fragmented non-Congress and opposition forces into a more coherent political bloc. In the rendered pages Isaac reflects on individual conscience versus party discipline and the practical case for integration among like-minded parties. - The essay argues for integration among India's opposition parties. - It weighs party discipline against individual conscience. - It treats fragmentation as a weakness of the non-Congress opposition. - The argument is pragmatic and organisational. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-may1-1963/ ### Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. XI, No. 3, May 1, 1963), an 'Independent Journal of Public Affairs' edited by D. M. Kulkarni, leads with an editorial on the national-language question ('English Is Inevitable') and carries signed essays on moral philosophy, satire on Indian politics, the state of the Congress (A.I.C.C.), and a reprinted American libertarian critique of socialism, followed by recurring departments (Book Review, Gleanings From The Press, News and Views). In the rendered pages, M. A. Venkata Rao writes on 'The Corruption of Moral Ideals,' J. M. Lobo Prabhu offers the satire 'Curtain Call at Pompapur,' M. N. Tholal surveys the Congress in 'A. I. C. C. At Sea,' and Leonard E. Read argues that 'Socialism, A Barren System' cannot generate prosperity. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. XI, No. 3, May 1, 1963), an 'Independent Journal of Public Affairs' edited by D. M. Kulkarni, leads with an editorial on the national-language question ('English Is Inevitable') and carries signed essays on moral philosophy, satire on Indian politics, the state of the Congress (A.I.C.C.), and a reprinted American libertarian critique of socialism, followed by recurring departments (Book Review, Gleanings From The Press, News and Views). In the rendered pages, M. A. Venkata Rao writes on 'The Corruption of Moral Ideals,' J. M. Lobo Prabhu offers the satire 'Curtain Call at Pompapur,' M. N. Tholal surveys the Congress in 'A. I. C. C. At Sea,' and Leonard E. Read argues that 'Socialism, A Barren System' cannot generate prosperity. ## Essays ### Editorial: English Is Inevitable The editorial, 'English Is Inevitable,' argues that English will remain indispensable to India despite official efforts to promote Hindi and other national languages. In the rendered pages it weighs the claims of national languages against the practical and unifying role of English, contending that English is the realistic lingua franca for a multilingual federation. - The editorial defends English as India's practical lingua franca. - It is sceptical of the official drive to displace English with Hindi. - It frames the language question in terms of national unity. - It continues the journal's masthead slogan, 'Make English the Lingua Franca of India.' ### The Corruption of Moral Ideals *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Corruption of Moral Ideals' argues that India's moral standards have been degraded by a politics that treats commercial and self-interested motives as legitimate ends. In the rendered pages he reflects on how the corruption of ideals follows from the spread of materialist and self-serving values in public life. - The essay diagnoses a corruption of India's moral ideals. - It links moral decline to materialist and self-interested politics. - It treats ideals as the foundation of healthy public life. - The argument is philosophical and ethical in register. ### Curtain Call at Pompapur *By J. M. Lobo Prabhu* J. M. Lobo Prabhu's 'Curtain Call at Pompapur' is a satirical sketch set in the fictional 'Republic of Pompapur,' using a mock-political scene to comment on Indian public life. In the rendered pages it deploys irony and allegory to lampoon political manners and rhetoric. - A satirical sketch set in the fictional 'Republic of Pompapur'. - It uses allegory to comment on Indian politics. - The tone is ironic and theatrical. - It exemplifies the journal's use of satire alongside argument. ### A. I. C. C. At Sea *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'A. I. C. C. At Sea' surveys the disarray of the All-India Congress Committee, arguing that the ruling party is adrift on questions of policy and direction. In the rendered pages Tholal reads Congress's internal debates as evidence of confusion at the top of the party. - The essay argues the All-India Congress Committee is 'at sea' on policy. - It reads Congress's internal debates as drift and confusion. - It continues the journal's critical scrutiny of the ruling party. - The tone is sceptical and observational. ### Socialism, A Barren System *By Leonard E. Read* Leonard E. Read's 'Socialism, A Barren System' argues that socialism, depending on government coercion to allocate resources, cannot generate the prosperity it promises. In the rendered pages Read distinguishes private from state socialism and contends that coercive direction of the economy is inherently unproductive. - Socialism is argued to rest on government coercion and force. - Read distinguishes 'private' from 'state' socialism. - He contends coercive economic direction cannot create prosperity. - The essay is an American free-market critique reprinted in the journal. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-may15-1957/ ### Summary This is the 15 May 1957 issue (Vol. V, No. 6) of The Indian Libertarian, a twice-monthly Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' incorporating the 'Free Economic Review' and edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala under the banner 'We stand for free economy and liberal democracy.' In the rendered pages the issue is dominated by foreign-affairs commentary clustered around Kashmir, Pakistan, and the Cold War: M. A. Venkata Rao on theocratic fanaticism versus world peace, Josef Korbel on 'Nehru, the UN and Kashmir,' a 'Vigilant'-bylined piece on 'Political Bankruptcy in Pakistan,' M. N. Tholal on India and Arab nationalism, and K. D. Valicha on the Kashmir imbroglio, alongside an economic note on 'Soviet Capital in American Industries' and the journal's regular news and review departments. The argumentative center is classical-liberal and anti-theocratic, defending secular liberal democracy and a free economy while reading the Kashmir dispute and Pakistani politics with skepticism. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This is the 15 May 1957 issue (Vol. V, No. 6) of The Indian Libertarian, a twice-monthly Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' incorporating the 'Free Economic Review' and edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala under the banner 'We stand for free economy and liberal democracy.' In the rendered pages the issue is dominated by foreign-affairs commentary clustered around Kashmir, Pakistan, and the Cold War: M. A. Venkata Rao on theocratic fanaticism versus world peace, Josef Korbel on 'Nehru, the UN and Kashmir,' a 'Vigilant'-bylined piece on 'Political Bankruptcy in Pakistan,' M. N. Tholal on India and Arab nationalism, and K. D. Valicha on the Kashmir imbroglio, alongside an economic note on 'Soviet Capital in American Industries' and the journal's regular news and review departments. The argumentative center is classical-liberal and anti-theocratic, defending secular liberal democracy and a free economy while reading the Kashmir dispute and Pakistani politics with skepticism. ## Essays ### Theocratic Fanaticism and World Peace *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that theocratic fanaticism is the principal threat to world peace, contrasting closed, dogma-bound religious politics with the open, liberal temper he associates with secular democracy. In the rendered pages he treats the clash between liberal and theocratic outlooks as a stir in religious-intellectual life, drawing the line between sectarian closure and free thought. - Names theocratic fanaticism as a central danger to world peace. - Contrasts closed religious dogma with the open liberal mind. - Defends secularism and liberal democracy against sectarian politics. - Casts the conflict as one within religious-intellectual life. ### Nehru, The UN and Kashmir *By Josef Korbel* Josef Korbel's 'Nehru, the UN and Kashmir' reviews the Kashmir conflict before the United Nations, the charges between India and Pakistan, and the diplomatic manoeuvring around the dispute. In the rendered pages it surveys the UN Security Council proceedings, the constituent-assembly question, and the competing Indian and Pakistani positions on Kashmir's status. - Reviews the Kashmir question before the UN Security Council. - Lays out the mutual charges between India and Pakistan. - Treats Nehru's handling of the dispute critically. - Discusses the constituent-assembly and accession arguments. ### Political Bankruptcy in Pakistan *By Vigilant* Written under the pen-name 'Vigilant,' 'Political Bankruptcy in Pakistan' diagnoses the instability of Pakistani politics, tracing constitutional drift, communal-democratic tensions, and what the author casts as a failure of liberal political development across West and East Pakistan. In the rendered pages it reads Pakistan's troubles as a cautionary case against theocratic and unstable governance. - Diagnoses chronic instability in Pakistani politics. - Discusses constitutional and communal tensions across the two wings. - Frames Pakistan's troubles as 'political bankruptcy.' - Implicitly contrasts with secular liberal-democratic governance. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-may15-1958/ ### Summary This is the May 15, 1958 issue (Vol. VI, No. 5) of The Indian Libertarian, a twice-monthly Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' incorporating the 'Free Economic Review,' edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala under the banner 'We stand for free economy and libertarian democracy.' In the rendered pages the issue is built around a sustained critique of Nehru and Congress governance — J. K. Dhairyawan on 'Our Topsy-Turvy Prime Minister,' a note on 'Nehru's Failure,' G. B. Verghese on 'The Hamletian Nehru,' Raja Hutheesing's 'Oh, Weep for Adonis,' and 'Vivek' on the ills of the Congress — alongside foreign-affairs alarm ('War With India Is Inevitable' by 'Vigilant'), M. A. Venkata Rao's defence of economic freedom, an economic supplement, and a polemic that 'Free Education Is A Fraud.' Its argumentative center is classical-liberal: hostility to one-party Congress dominance and state planning, and a defence of economic and political liberty against socialist and communist tendencies. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This is the May 15, 1958 issue (Vol. VI, No. 5) of The Indian Libertarian, a twice-monthly Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' incorporating the 'Free Economic Review,' edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala under the banner 'We stand for free economy and libertarian democracy.' In the rendered pages the issue is built around a sustained critique of Nehru and Congress governance — J. K. Dhairyawan on 'Our Topsy-Turvy Prime Minister,' a note on 'Nehru's Failure,' G. B. Verghese on 'The Hamletian Nehru,' Raja Hutheesing's 'Oh, Weep for Adonis,' and 'Vivek' on the ills of the Congress — alongside foreign-affairs alarm ('War With India Is Inevitable' by 'Vigilant'), M. A. Venkata Rao's defence of economic freedom, an economic supplement, and a polemic that 'Free Education Is A Fraud.' Its argumentative center is classical-liberal: hostility to one-party Congress dominance and state planning, and a defence of economic and political liberty against socialist and communist tendencies. ## Essays ### Our Topsy-Turvy Prime Minister *By J. K. Dhairyawan* J. K. Dhairyawan's 'Our Topsy-Turvy Prime Minister' is a critical portrait of Nehru's leadership, charging him with inconsistency and a confusion of liberal professions with statist practice. In the rendered pages it sets the issue's anti-Nehru tone, faulting the Prime Minister's handling of democracy and economic policy. - Critical portrait of Nehru as inconsistent and contradictory. - Faults the gap between his liberal rhetoric and statist practice. - Opens the issue's sustained critique of Nehru and Congress. - Frames the Prime Minister as 'topsy-turvy' in judgement. ### Economic Freedom *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Economic Freedom' mounts a defence of economic liberty against socialism and class-war politics, arguing that freedom of thought, feeling, and labour are bound together and threatened by the leftward drift of Indian economic policy. In the rendered pages it warns against the Russian model and the pitting of class against class, defending private enterprise as the basis of a free society. - Defends economic freedom as inseparable from intellectual freedom. - Attacks socialism and class-war politics. - Warns against the Russian/Soviet economic model. - Casts private enterprise as the foundation of a free society. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-may15-1959/ ### Summary This is the May 15, 1959 issue (Vol. VII, No. 8) of The Indian Libertarian, a Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' incorporating the 'Free Economic Review,' edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala under the banner 'We stand for free economy and libertarian democracy.' In the rendered pages the issue is framed by the 1959 Sino-Tibetan crisis: the editorial 'China Is Angry with India Over Tibet' rebukes Nehru's friendship policy with China and recounts the Tibetan revolt and the 1951 Sino-Tibetan agreement, while S. Ramanathan and Anthony Ellenjimittam treat the Dalai Lama and the flight from Lhasa. Domestic commentary turns on a critique of Nehru and planning — M. N. Tholal's 'Humpty-Dumpty Nehru's Fall,' M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Limits of State Action,' H. V. Kamath, K. Kumar Sekhar on Congress leadership, and 'The Impact of the Plan on the Common Man' — alongside reprinted classical-liberal essays by Frank Chodorov and Silvio Gesell and a 'Diamat' piece by Philip Spratt. The argumentative center is classical-liberal: skepticism of state planning and Nehruvian foreign policy, and a defence of market freedom. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This is the May 15, 1959 issue (Vol. VII, No. 8) of The Indian Libertarian, a Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' incorporating the 'Free Economic Review,' edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala under the banner 'We stand for free economy and libertarian democracy.' In the rendered pages the issue is framed by the 1959 Sino-Tibetan crisis: the editorial 'China Is Angry with India Over Tibet' rebukes Nehru's friendship policy with China and recounts the Tibetan revolt and the 1951 Sino-Tibetan agreement, while S. Ramanathan and Anthony Ellenjimittam treat the Dalai Lama and the flight from Lhasa. Domestic commentary turns on a critique of Nehru and planning — M. N. Tholal's 'Humpty-Dumpty Nehru's Fall,' M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Limits of State Action,' H. V. Kamath, K. Kumar Sekhar on Congress leadership, and 'The Impact of the Plan on the Common Man' — alongside reprinted classical-liberal essays by Frank Chodorov and Silvio Gesell and a 'Diamat' piece by Philip Spratt. The argumentative center is classical-liberal: skepticism of state planning and Nehruvian foreign policy, and a defence of market freedom. ## Essays ### Editorial: China Is Angry with India The editorial 'China Is Angry with India Over Tibet' contrasts Nehru's professions of Sino-Indian friendship with Chinese hostility over Tibet, arguing that the reforming zeal of the Chinese has been restrained and tactless and sympathising with the Tibetan people. In the rendered pages it places on record the autonomy clauses of the 1951 Sino-Tibetan Agreement and faults the absence of a clear charge against Chinese conduct. - Rebukes Nehru's friendship policy toward China over Tibet. - Sympathises with the Tibetan people and the autonomy question. - Cites the autonomy clauses of the 1951 Sino-Tibetan Agreement. - Calls for naming a clear charge against Chinese conduct. ### Limits of State Action *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Limits of State Action' is a classical-liberal essay on the proper bounds of the state, arguing against the rapid inroads of planning into economic life and defending individual initiative and the market. In the rendered pages it warns that the language of the planners pits the common man against freedom and that state action must be confined within strict limits. - Argues the state's action must be strictly limited. - Warns against the rapid inroads of planning into the economy. - Defends individual initiative and the market. - Classical-liberal reading of the 'intellectual' apathy toward freedom. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-may1-1967/ ### Summary This is the May 1, 1967 issue (Vol. XV, No. 3) of The Indian Libertarian, an independent Bombay journal of public affairs edited by Kusum Lotvala, whose cover slogan urges 'Make English the Lingua Franca of India.' In the rendered pages the issue opens with an editorial on the 1967 general-election aftermath that calls for electing K. Subba Rao and 'cleaning up the mess' of Congress governance, then ranges across cultural, communal, and economic commentary: A. Ranganathan on the Tamil contribution to Indian culture, M. N. Thakkil on whether Muslims can be secular voters, a Delhi political letter, and a running column 'In This Our Day' by Leo Maria touching the wider freedom-and-government debate. The issue's argumentative center is classical-liberal: skepticism of Congress dominance and state planning, paired with a defence of individual and cultural liberty. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This is the May 1, 1967 issue (Vol. XV, No. 3) of The Indian Libertarian, an independent Bombay journal of public affairs edited by Kusum Lotvala, whose cover slogan urges 'Make English the Lingua Franca of India.' In the rendered pages the issue opens with an editorial on the 1967 general-election aftermath that calls for electing K. Subba Rao and 'cleaning up the mess' of Congress governance, then ranges across cultural, communal, and economic commentary: A. Ranganathan on the Tamil contribution to Indian culture, M. N. Thakkil on whether Muslims can be secular voters, a Delhi political letter, and a running column 'In This Our Day' by Leo Maria touching the wider freedom-and-government debate. The issue's argumentative center is classical-liberal: skepticism of Congress dominance and state planning, paired with a defence of individual and cultural liberty. ## Essays ### Editorial: Elect Subba Rao And Clean Up The Mess The lead editorial responds to the 1967 general-election results and the political ferment around the office of the Chief Election authority and the Supreme Court, urging readers to 'Elect Subba Rao And Clean Up The Mess.' In the rendered pages it frames the Congress party's reduced position after the election as an opportunity for opposition and reform-minded forces, criticising entrenched one-party governance and corruption. - Reacts to the 1967 general election and the weakening of Congress dominance. - Backs K. Subba Rao as a figure to 'clean up the mess' of governance. - Frames the moment as an opening for opposition and reform forces. - Classical-liberal critique of one-party rule and corruption. ### The Tamil Contribution To Indian Culture *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan surveys the Tamil contribution to Indian culture, tracing literary and philosophical strands of Tamil civilisation and its place within the broader Indian cultural inheritance. In the rendered pages the essay treats Tamil literature, devotional and classical traditions, and figures associated with the Tamil cultural and reform landscape. - Argues for the distinctive and enduring Tamil contribution to Indian culture. - Discusses Tamil literary and devotional traditions. - Situates Tamil culture within a pan-Indian frame. - Cultural-history register rather than a political polemic. ### The Freudian Election: Can Muslims Be Secular? *By M. N. Thakkil* M. N. Thakkil's 'The Presidential Election: Can Muslims Be Secular?' (printed under the running theme of the 'Freudian Election') examines Muslim political behaviour in the wake of the election, asking whether Muslim voters can act as a secular rather than communal bloc. In the rendered pages it weighs communal identity against secular citizenship in Indian electoral politics. - Asks whether Muslim voters can be secular rather than communal. - Reads the recent election through a communal-vs-secular lens. - Engages the tension between religious identity and citizenship. - Commentary on post-election communal alignment. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-may15-1960/ ### Summary This is the May 1, 1967 issue (Vol. XV, No. 3) of The Indian Libertarian, an independent Bombay journal of public affairs edited by Kusum Lotvala, whose cover slogan urges 'Make English the Lingua Franca of India.' In the rendered pages the issue opens with an editorial on the 1967 general-election aftermath that calls for electing K. Subba Rao and 'cleaning up the mess' of Congress governance, then ranges across cultural, communal, and economic commentary: A. Ranganathan on the Tamil contribution to Indian culture, M. N. Thakkil on whether Muslims can be secular voters, a Delhi political letter, and a running column 'In This Our Day' by Leo Maria touching the wider freedom-and-government debate. The issue's argumentative center is classical-liberal: skepticism of Congress dominance and state planning, paired with a defence of individual and cultural liberty. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This is the May 1, 1967 issue (Vol. XV, No. 3) of The Indian Libertarian, an independent Bombay journal of public affairs edited by Kusum Lotvala, whose cover slogan urges 'Make English the Lingua Franca of India.' In the rendered pages the issue opens with an editorial on the 1967 general-election aftermath that calls for electing K. Subba Rao and 'cleaning up the mess' of Congress governance, then ranges across cultural, communal, and economic commentary: A. Ranganathan on the Tamil contribution to Indian culture, M. N. Thakkil on whether Muslims can be secular voters, a Delhi political letter, and a running column 'In This Our Day' by Leo Maria touching the wider freedom-and-government debate. The issue's argumentative center is classical-liberal: skepticism of Congress dominance and state planning, paired with a defence of individual and cultural liberty. ## Essays ### Editorial: Elect Subba Rao And Clean Up The Mess The lead editorial responds to the 1967 general-election results and the political ferment around the office of the Chief Election authority and the Supreme Court, urging readers to 'Elect Subba Rao And Clean Up The Mess.' In the rendered pages it frames the Congress party's reduced position after the election as an opportunity for opposition and reform-minded forces, criticising entrenched one-party governance and corruption. - Reacts to the 1967 general election and the weakening of Congress dominance. - Backs K. Subba Rao as a figure to 'clean up the mess' of governance. - Frames the moment as an opening for opposition and reform forces. - Classical-liberal critique of one-party rule and corruption. ### The Tamil Contribution To Indian Culture *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan surveys the Tamil contribution to Indian culture, tracing literary and philosophical strands of Tamil civilisation and its place within the broader Indian cultural inheritance. In the rendered pages the essay treats Tamil literature, devotional and classical traditions, and figures associated with the Tamil cultural and reform landscape. - Argues for the distinctive and enduring Tamil contribution to Indian culture. - Discusses Tamil literary and devotional traditions. - Situates Tamil culture within a pan-Indian frame. - Cultural-history register rather than a political polemic. ### The Freudian Election: Can Muslims Be Secular? *By M. N. Thakkil* M. N. Thakkil's 'The Presidential Election: Can Muslims Be Secular?' (printed under the running theme of the 'Freudian Election') examines Muslim political behaviour in the wake of the election, asking whether Muslim voters can act as a secular rather than communal bloc. In the rendered pages it weighs communal identity against secular citizenship in Indian electoral politics. - Asks whether Muslim voters can be secular rather than communal. - Reads the recent election through a communal-vs-secular lens. - Engages the tension between religious identity and citizenship. - Commentary on post-election communal alignment. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-may15-1962/ ### Summary This is the 15 May 1957 issue (Vol. V, No. 6) of The Indian Libertarian, a twice-monthly Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' incorporating the 'Free Economic Review' and edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala under the banner 'We stand for free economy and liberal democracy.' In the rendered pages the issue is dominated by foreign-affairs commentary clustered around Kashmir, Pakistan, and the Cold War: M. A. Venkata Rao on theocratic fanaticism versus world peace, Josef Korbel on 'Nehru, the UN and Kashmir,' a 'Vigilant'-bylined piece on 'Political Bankruptcy in Pakistan,' M. N. Tholal on India and Arab nationalism, and K. D. Valicha on the Kashmir imbroglio, alongside an economic note on 'Soviet Capital in American Industries' and the journal's regular news and review departments. The argumentative center is classical-liberal and anti-theocratic, defending secular liberal democracy and a free economy while reading the Kashmir dispute and Pakistani politics with skepticism. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This is the 15 May 1957 issue (Vol. V, No. 6) of The Indian Libertarian, a twice-monthly Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' incorporating the 'Free Economic Review' and edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala under the banner 'We stand for free economy and liberal democracy.' In the rendered pages the issue is dominated by foreign-affairs commentary clustered around Kashmir, Pakistan, and the Cold War: M. A. Venkata Rao on theocratic fanaticism versus world peace, Josef Korbel on 'Nehru, the UN and Kashmir,' a 'Vigilant'-bylined piece on 'Political Bankruptcy in Pakistan,' M. N. Tholal on India and Arab nationalism, and K. D. Valicha on the Kashmir imbroglio, alongside an economic note on 'Soviet Capital in American Industries' and the journal's regular news and review departments. The argumentative center is classical-liberal and anti-theocratic, defending secular liberal democracy and a free economy while reading the Kashmir dispute and Pakistani politics with skepticism. ## Essays ### Theocratic Fanaticism and World Peace *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that theocratic fanaticism is the principal threat to world peace, contrasting closed, dogma-bound religious politics with the open, liberal temper he associates with secular democracy. In the rendered pages he treats the clash between liberal and theocratic outlooks as a stir in religious-intellectual life, drawing the line between sectarian closure and free thought. - Names theocratic fanaticism as a central danger to world peace. - Contrasts closed religious dogma with the open liberal mind. - Defends secularism and liberal democracy against sectarian politics. - Casts the conflict as one within religious-intellectual life. ### Nehru, The UN and Kashmir *By Josef Korbel* Josef Korbel's 'Nehru, the UN and Kashmir' reviews the Kashmir conflict before the United Nations, the charges between India and Pakistan, and the diplomatic manoeuvring around the dispute. In the rendered pages it surveys the UN Security Council proceedings, the constituent-assembly question, and the competing Indian and Pakistani positions on Kashmir's status. - Reviews the Kashmir question before the UN Security Council. - Lays out the mutual charges between India and Pakistan. - Treats Nehru's handling of the dispute critically. - Discusses the constituent-assembly and accession arguments. ### Political Bankruptcy in Pakistan *By Vigilant* Written under the pen-name 'Vigilant,' 'Political Bankruptcy in Pakistan' diagnoses the instability of Pakistani politics, tracing constitutional drift, communal-democratic tensions, and what the author casts as a failure of liberal political development across West and East Pakistan. In the rendered pages it reads Pakistan's troubles as a cautionary case against theocratic and unstable governance. - Diagnoses chronic instability in Pakistani politics. - Discusses constitutional and communal tensions across the two wings. - Frames Pakistan's troubles as 'political bankruptcy.' - Implicitly contrasts with secular liberal-democratic governance. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-may15-1963/ ### Summary This is the May 15, 1958 issue (Vol. VI, No. 5) of The Indian Libertarian, a twice-monthly Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' incorporating the 'Free Economic Review,' edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala under the banner 'We stand for free economy and libertarian democracy.' In the rendered pages the issue is built around a sustained critique of Nehru and Congress governance — J. K. Dhairyawan on 'Our Topsy-Turvy Prime Minister,' a note on 'Nehru's Failure,' G. B. Verghese on 'The Hamletian Nehru,' Raja Hutheesing's 'Oh, Weep for Adonis,' and 'Vivek' on the ills of the Congress — alongside foreign-affairs alarm ('War With India Is Inevitable' by 'Vigilant'), M. A. Venkata Rao's defence of economic freedom, an economic supplement, and a polemic that 'Free Education Is A Fraud.' Its argumentative center is classical-liberal: hostility to one-party Congress dominance and state planning, and a defence of economic and political liberty against socialist and communist tendencies. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This is the May 15, 1958 issue (Vol. VI, No. 5) of The Indian Libertarian, a twice-monthly Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' incorporating the 'Free Economic Review,' edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala under the banner 'We stand for free economy and libertarian democracy.' In the rendered pages the issue is built around a sustained critique of Nehru and Congress governance — J. K. Dhairyawan on 'Our Topsy-Turvy Prime Minister,' a note on 'Nehru's Failure,' G. B. Verghese on 'The Hamletian Nehru,' Raja Hutheesing's 'Oh, Weep for Adonis,' and 'Vivek' on the ills of the Congress — alongside foreign-affairs alarm ('War With India Is Inevitable' by 'Vigilant'), M. A. Venkata Rao's defence of economic freedom, an economic supplement, and a polemic that 'Free Education Is A Fraud.' Its argumentative center is classical-liberal: hostility to one-party Congress dominance and state planning, and a defence of economic and political liberty against socialist and communist tendencies. ## Essays ### Our Topsy-Turvy Prime Minister *By J. K. Dhairyawan* J. K. Dhairyawan's 'Our Topsy-Turvy Prime Minister' is a critical portrait of Nehru's leadership, charging him with inconsistency and a confusion of liberal professions with statist practice. In the rendered pages it sets the issue's anti-Nehru tone, faulting the Prime Minister's handling of democracy and economic policy. - Critical portrait of Nehru as inconsistent and contradictory. - Faults the gap between his liberal rhetoric and statist practice. - Opens the issue's sustained critique of Nehru and Congress. - Frames the Prime Minister as 'topsy-turvy' in judgement. ### Economic Freedom *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Economic Freedom' mounts a defence of economic liberty against socialism and class-war politics, arguing that freedom of thought, feeling, and labour are bound together and threatened by the leftward drift of Indian economic policy. In the rendered pages it warns against the Russian model and the pitting of class against class, defending private enterprise as the basis of a free society. - Defends economic freedom as inseparable from intellectual freedom. - Attacks socialism and class-war politics. - Warns against the Russian/Soviet economic model. - Casts private enterprise as the foundation of a free society. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-nov1-1958/ ### Summary This is the May 15, 1959 issue (Vol. VII, No. 8) of The Indian Libertarian, a Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' incorporating the 'Free Economic Review,' edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala under the banner 'We stand for free economy and libertarian democracy.' In the rendered pages the issue is framed by the 1959 Sino-Tibetan crisis: the editorial 'China Is Angry with India Over Tibet' rebukes Nehru's friendship policy with China and recounts the Tibetan revolt and the 1951 Sino-Tibetan agreement, while S. Ramanathan and Anthony Ellenjimittam treat the Dalai Lama and the flight from Lhasa. Domestic commentary turns on a critique of Nehru and planning — M. N. Tholal's 'Humpty-Dumpty Nehru's Fall,' M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Limits of State Action,' H. V. Kamath, K. Kumar Sekhar on Congress leadership, and 'The Impact of the Plan on the Common Man' — alongside reprinted classical-liberal essays by Frank Chodorov and Silvio Gesell and a 'Diamat' piece by Philip Spratt. The argumentative center is classical-liberal: skepticism of state planning and Nehruvian foreign policy, and a defence of market freedom. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This is the May 15, 1959 issue (Vol. VII, No. 8) of The Indian Libertarian, a Bombay 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' incorporating the 'Free Economic Review,' edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala under the banner 'We stand for free economy and libertarian democracy.' In the rendered pages the issue is framed by the 1959 Sino-Tibetan crisis: the editorial 'China Is Angry with India Over Tibet' rebukes Nehru's friendship policy with China and recounts the Tibetan revolt and the 1951 Sino-Tibetan agreement, while S. Ramanathan and Anthony Ellenjimittam treat the Dalai Lama and the flight from Lhasa. Domestic commentary turns on a critique of Nehru and planning — M. N. Tholal's 'Humpty-Dumpty Nehru's Fall,' M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Limits of State Action,' H. V. Kamath, K. Kumar Sekhar on Congress leadership, and 'The Impact of the Plan on the Common Man' — alongside reprinted classical-liberal essays by Frank Chodorov and Silvio Gesell and a 'Diamat' piece by Philip Spratt. The argumentative center is classical-liberal: skepticism of state planning and Nehruvian foreign policy, and a defence of market freedom. ## Essays ### Editorial: China Is Angry with India The editorial 'China Is Angry with India Over Tibet' contrasts Nehru's professions of Sino-Indian friendship with Chinese hostility over Tibet, arguing that the reforming zeal of the Chinese has been restrained and tactless and sympathising with the Tibetan people. In the rendered pages it places on record the autonomy clauses of the 1951 Sino-Tibetan Agreement and faults the absence of a clear charge against Chinese conduct. - Rebukes Nehru's friendship policy toward China over Tibet. - Sympathises with the Tibetan people and the autonomy question. - Cites the autonomy clauses of the 1951 Sino-Tibetan Agreement. - Calls for naming a clear charge against Chinese conduct. ### Limits of State Action *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Limits of State Action' is a classical-liberal essay on the proper bounds of the state, arguing against the rapid inroads of planning into economic life and defending individual initiative and the market. In the rendered pages it warns that the language of the planners pits the common man against freedom and that state action must be confined within strict limits. - Argues the state's action must be strictly limited. - Warns against the rapid inroads of planning into the economy. - Defends individual initiative and the market. - Classical-liberal reading of the 'intellectual' apathy toward freedom. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-nov1-1959/ ### Summary This November 1, 1959 'Special Divali Issue' of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 19), a Bombay fortnightly edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala for Libertarian Publishers, gathers an unsigned editorial and a cluster of essays unified by a single preoccupation in the rendered pages: the threat that communism poses to India's economy, polity, and trade-union freedom, set against the contemporary backdrop of Chinese border incursions and Indo-Pakistan relations under Ayub Khan. The editorial weighs an 'Indo-Pakistan detente' alongside the Chinese menace in Ladakh, NEFA and Tibet, while the bylined articles—M. A. Venkata Rao on trade unions, M. N. Tholal contrasting communism with communalism, A. Ranganathan on parliamentary democracy, Sharokh Sabavala on China's 'Red Offensive in Asia', and Bertram D. Wolfe on communist vulnerability—argue from a classical-liberal, anti-collectivist standpoint. A separately paginated 'Rationalist Supplement' (pp. I–IV) carries pieces on the Catholic church, rationalism, and the origin of priesthood. Coverage here is drawn from the rendered front portion of the issue. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This November 1, 1959 'Special Divali Issue' of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 19), a Bombay fortnightly edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala for Libertarian Publishers, gathers an unsigned editorial and a cluster of essays unified by a single preoccupation in the rendered pages: the threat that communism poses to India's economy, polity, and trade-union freedom, set against the contemporary backdrop of Chinese border incursions and Indo-Pakistan relations under Ayub Khan. The editorial weighs an 'Indo-Pakistan detente' alongside the Chinese menace in Ladakh, NEFA and Tibet, while the bylined articles—M. A. Venkata Rao on trade unions, M. N. Tholal contrasting communism with communalism, A. Ranganathan on parliamentary democracy, Sharokh Sabavala on China's 'Red Offensive in Asia', and Bertram D. Wolfe on communist vulnerability—argue from a classical-liberal, anti-collectivist standpoint. A separately paginated 'Rationalist Supplement' (pp. I–IV) carries pieces on the Catholic church, rationalism, and the origin of priesthood. Coverage here is drawn from the rendered front portion of the issue. ## Essays ### Communism and Trade Unions *By MA Venkata Rao* Venkata Rao contrasts the position of workers under free societies with their condition under communism. In the free world, he argues, workers are full citizens with the right to organise, strike, and bargain as a last resort against employers; under a communist state they lose this primary protective function and become 'tools of state', their unions converted into 'transmission belts' for the orders of the Communist High Command. He marshals quotations from Soviet and Eastern-bloc trade-union charters and officials to show that strikes are forbidden as anti-state acts and that the union's role is to raise labour productivity and enforce discipline rather than defend workers' economic interests. - In free societies workers may organise, strike, and change employers; the strike is a last-resort protection. - Under communism unions lose their protective function and serve the state. - Lenin's formula casts the union as 'a school of administration, a school of management, a school of communism'. - Soviet/Eastern-bloc charters make strikes 'part of common law' offences and forbid them. - Unions become 'transmission belts' for Communist High Command orders. ### Communism Much Worse than a Communalism *By M. N. Tholal* Tholal argues that communism is far more dangerous than communalism, the evil Indian opinion usually fears most. Reviewing the Andhra split inside the Praja Socialist Party and Acharya Narendra Deva's death, he contends that communism, by claiming for itself an exclusive monopoly of office and the 'loaves and fishes' of power while denying minorities any equal right to rule, makes internecine conflict and dictatorship inevitable—citing the Soviet succession from Lenin through Stalin to Khrushchev as proof. He criticises Nehru's foreign policy for its uncritical assumptions and its failure to expose communism's true nature. - Communalism is the evil Indians fear, but communism is far worse. - Communism claims a monopoly of office and denies minorities equal right to rule. - This makes internecine war and dictatorship structurally unavoidable. - The Soviet succession (Lenin-Stalin-Khrushchev) illustrates the pattern. - Nehru's foreign policy rests on flawed assumptions and fails to expose communism. ### Democracy in India *By A Ranganathan* Ranganathan attacks Indian politicians who 'hanker after a mythical institution of the soil' and the Communist Party's attitude of treating Parliament as a mere stepping-stone to power rather than valuing private-sector and individual rights. Opening with debates in the Constituent Assembly over whether India's parliamentary forms were authentically Indian, he defends inherited British parliamentary democracy against romantic appeals to ancient village republics, invoking Ambedkar's critique of village life. Only the opening of the essay is in the rendered pages. - Critiques politicians who romanticise a 'mythical institution of the soil'. - Faults the Communist Party for treating Parliament merely as a stepping-stone to power. - Defends inherited parliamentary democracy against nativist objections. - Invokes Ambedkar against the idealisation of ancient village republics. ### Red Offensive in Asia *By Sharokh Sabavala* Sabavala, who reports on India for the Christian Science Monitor, surveys China's 'Red Offensive' across South Asia: communist guerrilla forces in North Vietnam, the Chinese incursion of over 1,000 miles into Indian territory in NEFA and Ladakh, and Peking's cartographic claims to Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Assam. He notes Nehru's protests to Peking and warnings that an attack on Sikkim or Bhutan would be tantamount to aggression against India, set against the 'big thaw' in East-West relations after the Khrushchev-Eisenhower exchanges. - Frames a Sino-neutralist 'big freeze' against the East-West 'big thaw'. - Chinese forces captured border posts over 1,000 miles apart in NEFA and Ladakh. - Peking advances cartographic claims to Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Assam. - Nehru warns an attack on Sikkim or Bhutan equals aggression against India. ### U.S. Policy and Communist Vulnerability *By Bertram D. Wolfe* Wolfe argues that communism, far from being invulnerable, has exploitable weaknesses, and that the West fails to attack them only because it does not understand its enemy. He traces the theoretical foundation of the movement to Marxism and the unfulfilled prophecies of the Communist Manifesto, contrasting Marx's and Engels's predictions of the worker's growing immiseration with the actual rise in living standards in the West. Only the essay's opening is in the rendered pages. - Communism has real, exploitable vulnerabilities. - The West neglects them through failure to understand the enemy. - Locates the movement's theoretical foundation in Marxism. - Contrasts Manifesto prophecies of immiseration with rising Western living standards. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-nov1-1960/ ### Summary This November 1, 1960 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII No. 15), the Bombay fortnightly edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala for Libertarian Publishers, opens with an unsigned editorial, 'Nehru's Role in the UNO', that scrutinises Nehru's conduct at the UN General Assembly—his neutralist resolution on contacts between Khrushchev and Eisenhower, his pro-Arab tilt, and his certification of Soviet satellites as non-colonial—judging his neutralism to be 'more than neutral in favour of Russia and its bloc'. The bylined essays in the rendered pages turn on the power of ideas in politics, the rhetoric of the neutral nations, and Indian intellectual history: M. A. Venkata Rao on 'The Role of Ideas in Politics', M. N. Tholal on 'Neutral Nations' Claptrap', and S. Ramanathan on 'Lokayata—Indian Materialism' and (in the Rationalist Supplement) the 'Spiritual Glory of India'. A separately paginated Rationalist Supplement (pp. I–IV) carries the journal's standing rationalist content. Essays on Dhairyawan's 'When a Philosopher Turns a Politician' and Vivek's 'Factions and the Congress' are listed in the contents but fall outside the rendered pages. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This November 1, 1960 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII No. 15), the Bombay fortnightly edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala for Libertarian Publishers, opens with an unsigned editorial, 'Nehru's Role in the UNO', that scrutinises Nehru's conduct at the UN General Assembly—his neutralist resolution on contacts between Khrushchev and Eisenhower, his pro-Arab tilt, and his certification of Soviet satellites as non-colonial—judging his neutralism to be 'more than neutral in favour of Russia and its bloc'. The bylined essays in the rendered pages turn on the power of ideas in politics, the rhetoric of the neutral nations, and Indian intellectual history: M. A. Venkata Rao on 'The Role of Ideas in Politics', M. N. Tholal on 'Neutral Nations' Claptrap', and S. Ramanathan on 'Lokayata—Indian Materialism' and (in the Rationalist Supplement) the 'Spiritual Glory of India'. A separately paginated Rationalist Supplement (pp. I–IV) carries the journal's standing rationalist content. Essays on Dhairyawan's 'When a Philosopher Turns a Politician' and Vivek's 'Factions and the Congress' are listed in the contents but fall outside the rendered pages. ## Essays ### The Role of Ideas in Politics *By MA Venkata Rao* Venkata Rao argues that ideas, not merely material forces, decide the direction of politics, and that the intellectual class bears responsibility for a society's fate. Tracing the historical prestige of intellectuals—the medieval priest in the West, the Brahmin savant and mandarin in the East—he laments that under socialism this authority has been captured by Marxist ideas and by the Planning Commission's reports, which 'embody socialist ideas authoritatively' without being confronted by independent thought. He calls for thinkers grounded in first principles to evaluate current ideas and reform, and praises the Libertarian Social Institute under M. R. Lotvala of Bombay for undertaking exactly this work. - Ideas, not material forces alone, determine political outcomes. - The intellectual class historically held social and spiritual authority. - Under socialism that authority has been captured by Marxist ideas. - Planning Commission reports embody socialist dogma unconfronted by independent thought. - Praises the Libertarian Social Institute under M. R. Lotvala for evaluating ideas from first principles. ### Neutral Nations' Claptrap—I *By M. N. Tholal* Tholal attacks the moral pretensions of the 'neutral nations' bloc and their UN resolution urging renewed contact between Khrushchev and Eisenhower, asking whether such neutrality deserves respect or confidence. He singles out Egypt's President Nasser as a case study, arguing that Nasser's Arab nationalism—demanding the merger of all Arab states under his leadership while talking of a 'philosophy of the revolution' and consolidating Muslims worldwide—exposes the emptiness of his claims to peace and self-determination. The essay reads as a sustained critique of charismatic strongmen who pose as peacemakers while pursuing expansionist aims. - Questions whether the neutral nations' bloc deserves respect or confidence. - Treats their UN resolution on Khrushchev-Eisenhower contacts as posturing. - Uses Nasser as the exemplary case of false neutrality. - Charges Nasser's Arab nationalism with expansionism dressed as peace and self-determination. ### Lokayata—Indian Materialism *By S. Ramanathan* Ramanathan's 'Lokayata—Indian Materialism', the first article in a series, recovers the ancient Indian materialist (Charvaka/Lokayata) tradition and its rejection of the Vedas and Vedic priestcraft. Through the parable of 'the chanting dogs' he satirises Brahminical ritual authority, presenting Lokayata as an indigenous current of free, sceptical thought that the orthodox tradition sought to suppress. In the accompanying Rationalist Supplement piece, 'Spiritual Glory of India', he extends the argument into a broader critique of India's reputation for otherworldly spirituality. - Recovers the Lokayata/Charvaka materialist tradition of ancient India. - Presents it as a rejection of the Vedas and Vedic priestcraft. - Uses the parable of 'the chanting dogs' to satirise Brahminical authority. - Frames Indian materialism as an indigenous current of free, sceptical thought. - Companion supplement piece critiques the cliché of India's 'spiritual glory'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-nov1-1961/ ### Summary This November 1, 1961 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IX No. 15), the Bombay fortnightly published by Libertarian Publishers and edited by D. M. Kulkarni, leads with an unsigned editorial, 'A Realistic Approach to Congo', which praises India's measured support for the Katanga cease-fire and criticises Nehru's harsher anti-colonialist rhetoric, invoking the late M. N. Roy's warning that political independence does not by itself mean real freedom for a backward society. The four bylined essays in the issue range across education, party politics, regional culture, and the condition of students: M. A. Venkata Rao on 'Education and Nation Making', M. N. Tholal on 'Conspiracy Against Jana Sangh', K. P. Padmanabhan Tampy on the Kerala dance-drama 'Velakali', and S. R. Narayana Ayyar on 'The Tragic Plight of Students'. The masthead motto has shifted from 'Libertarian Democracy' to 'We Stand for Free Economy and Limited Government'. The full 16-page issue is in the rendered pages. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This November 1, 1961 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IX No. 15), the Bombay fortnightly published by Libertarian Publishers and edited by D. M. Kulkarni, leads with an unsigned editorial, 'A Realistic Approach to Congo', which praises India's measured support for the Katanga cease-fire and criticises Nehru's harsher anti-colonialist rhetoric, invoking the late M. N. Roy's warning that political independence does not by itself mean real freedom for a backward society. The four bylined essays in the issue range across education, party politics, regional culture, and the condition of students: M. A. Venkata Rao on 'Education and Nation Making', M. N. Tholal on 'Conspiracy Against Jana Sangh', K. P. Padmanabhan Tampy on the Kerala dance-drama 'Velakali', and S. R. Narayana Ayyar on 'The Tragic Plight of Students'. The masthead motto has shifted from 'Libertarian Democracy' to 'We Stand for Free Economy and Limited Government'. The full 16-page issue is in the rendered pages. ## Essays ### Education and Nation Making *By MA Venkata Rao* Venkata Rao argues that education is the central instrument of nation-making and warns against exaggerating either the political or the social side of national integration at the expense of the individual. He distinguishes the kind of training that produces capable citizens from mere literacy or vocational drill, contending that genuine education must cultivate moral and intellectual independence so that students can resist mass conformity. He ties the health of the nation to the quality of its schools and the values they impart, treating education as prior to and more fundamental than political or economic reform. - Education is the primary instrument of nation-making. - Warns against subordinating the individual to political or social integration. - Distinguishes true education from literacy or vocational drill. - Education must build moral and intellectual independence. - The nation's health depends on the values its schools impart. ### Conspiracy Against Jana Sangh *By M. N. Tholal* Tholal examines the communal disturbances in Uttar Pradesh, especially the unrest around the Aligarh Muslim University Convocation, and argues that the Jana Sangh has been unfairly scapegoated. He contends that the real trouble stems from concessions to communal Muslim opinion and from the Congress's reluctance to confront it, while the Jana Sangh is blamed to deflect attention. He is sharply critical of how Nehru and the Congress handle communal questions, treating the 'conspiracy' against the Jana Sangh as a symptom of the ruling party's own evasions. - Centres on communal disturbances in Uttar Pradesh and at Aligarh Muslim University. - Argues the Jana Sangh is unfairly scapegoated. - Locates the real cause in concessions to communal Muslim opinion. - Faults Nehru and the Congress for evading the communal question. ### Indigenous Art Forms of Kerala: Velakali *By K. P. Padmanabhan Tampy* Padmanabhan Tampy, writing as 'Rhythm's Regional Editor', describes Velakali, a spectacular martial dance-drama of Kerala associated with the Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Trivandrum. He details its major embellishments, the elaborate costume and make-up of the performers, and the battle of Kurukshetra that the dance enacts, with Pandavas and Kauravas portrayed in stylised combat. The piece is a documentary appreciation of a folk art form, preserving its visual conventions and ritual associations for a general readership. - Describes Velakali, a martial dance-drama of Kerala. - Links it to the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Trivandrum. - Details costume, make-up, and major embellishments. - Enacts the battle of Kurukshetra with Pandavas and Kauravas. ### The Tragic Plight of Students *By S. R. Narayana Ayyar* Narayana Ayyar surveys the deteriorating condition of Indian students and the indiscipline and unrest of the day, locating the fault less in the students than in the system around them. He criticises overcrowded institutions, the decay of teaching authority, and a public culture that has corroded discipline and respect, arguing that genuine education has given way to mere instruction and examination-passing. He calls for restoring the moral relationship between teacher and taught as the precondition for any improvement in student life. - Surveys the deteriorating condition and indiscipline of students. - Blames the system rather than the students themselves. - Criticises overcrowded institutions and the decay of teaching authority. - Argues education has been reduced to instruction and exam-passing. - Calls for restoring the moral teacher-student relationship. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-nov1-1963/ ### Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. XI No. 15 (November 1, 1963), is a fortnightly issue of the Bombay classical-liberal journal edited by D. M. Kulkarni and published by the Libertarian Publishers. This issue leads with an editorial on what it calls a 'two-pronged Red drive' against the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, arguing that Chinese and Soviet communism threaten the region and urging Indo-Pak rapprochement and alignment with the West. The remaining articles range across social philosophy (M. A. Venkata Rao on the vacuum in Indian social thought), a polemic warning of 'creeping fascism' under Nehru's government (M. N. Tholal), a defence of liberal democracy against authoritarianism (Seth W. Howard), a Delhi Letter on Nehru and the rule of law, and a book review of an American social-thought volume. Regular departments — 'The Mind of the Nation', 'News and Views', and 'Dear Editor' — round out the issue. The recurring frame across all pieces is anti-communism abroad and a defence of individual liberty, the rule of law, and free enterprise at home. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. XI No. 15 (November 1, 1963), is a fortnightly issue of the Bombay classical-liberal journal edited by D. M. Kulkarni and published by the Libertarian Publishers. This issue leads with an editorial on what it calls a 'two-pronged Red drive' against the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, arguing that Chinese and Soviet communism threaten the region and urging Indo-Pak rapprochement and alignment with the West. The remaining articles range across social philosophy (M. A. Venkata Rao on the vacuum in Indian social thought), a polemic warning of 'creeping fascism' under Nehru's government (M. N. Tholal), a defence of liberal democracy against authoritarianism (Seth W. Howard), a Delhi Letter on Nehru and the rule of law, and a book review of an American social-thought volume. Regular departments — 'The Mind of the Nation', 'News and Views', and 'Dear Editor' — round out the issue. The recurring frame across all pieces is anti-communism abroad and a defence of individual liberty, the rule of law, and free enterprise at home. ## Essays ### The Two-pronged Red Drive Towards The Indo-Pak Sub-continent The unsigned editorial argues that international communism is mounting a 'two-pronged Red drive' toward the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent — one prong Chinese, one Soviet — exploiting the India-Pakistan rift. It surveys the 'grand strategy of world communism' and contends India underestimates the threat. It calls for Indo-Pakistani reconciliation, closer alignment with the West, and rejection of non-alignment as a posture inadequate to the danger. - Frames Chinese and Soviet communism as a coordinated two-pronged threat to the subcontinent - Argues the India-Pakistan quarrel is exploited by the communist powers - Urges Indo-Pak rapprochement as a strategic necessity - Criticises Indian complacency and non-alignment in the face of the Red drive ### The Danger Of A Vacuum In Social Thought *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao diagnoses a 'vacuum in social thought' in India: the decline of received religious and traditional sanctions has not been replaced by a coherent liberal-humanist philosophy, leaving the field open to collectivist and totalitarian ideologies. He argues that nature abhors a vacuum and that unless liberals supply a constructive social philosophy grounded in individual freedom and reason, communism or other authoritarian creeds will fill the void. - A vacuum in social thought invites totalitarian ideologies to fill it - Decline of traditional religious sanction leaves a gap liberalism must fill - Calls for a constructive liberal-humanist social philosophy - Frames the contest as between individual freedom and collectivism ### The March Of Fascism In India *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal warns of a 'march of fascism in India', arguing that under Nehru's leadership and the dominance of the Congress the country drifts toward concentrated, unchecked executive power and one-party rule. He reads centralising tendencies, the weakening of opposition, and the erosion of checks as symptoms of a creeping fascism dressed in democratic and socialist language. - Argues Nehru-era Congress dominance fosters creeping authoritarianism - Reads one-party concentration of power as 'fascism' in substance - Warns that socialist and democratic rhetoric masks the drift - Calls for a strong opposition to check executive power ### Democracy Or Jungle Law ? *By Seth W. Howard* Seth W. Howard poses the choice 'Democracy or Jungle Law?', defending constitutional liberal democracy against the lawlessness he associates with communist and authoritarian rule. He traces a 'path to communism' through the erosion of legal restraint and argues that without the rule of law society reverts to the law of the jungle. - Frames the political choice as democracy versus 'jungle law' - Defends the rule of law as the foundation of civilised order - Traces a 'path to communism' through erosion of legal restraint - Warns against authoritarian victimisation of citizens ### Delhi Letter: Mr. Nehru And The Rule Of Law / Liberté *By Lilian Harden* The Delhi Letter, 'Mr. Nehru And The Rule Of Law', written by the journal's Delhi correspondent, examines tensions between the executive and the judiciary in India and questions the government's commitment to the rule of law, touching on the future of Kashmir ('Kashmir's Future') and the standing of the Supreme Court. The page also carries 'Liberté' by Lilian Hardenberg (M.I.P.E.), a short piece on the test of an economic policy and the relation of individual freedom to economic order, citing liberal precedents from Western democracies. - Examines executive-judiciary tension and the rule of law under Nehru - Touches on Kashmir's constitutional future - 'Liberté' offers a test for economic policy rooted in individual freedom - Draws comparisons to Western liberal democracies ### Book-Review: Social Thought In America *By Morton C. Blackman* A book review by Morton C. Blackman of a volume on 'Social Thought In America' surveys the development of American social and economic thought, discussing figures and currents in the liberal and reformist traditions and relating them to the journal's classical-liberal concerns. - Reviews a book on the history of social thought in America - Surveys American liberal and reformist intellectual currents - Relates American debates to the journal's classical-liberal outlook ### The Mind Of The Nation 'The Mind Of The Nation' reprints and comments on press opinion of the day, including items headed 'Party Or Government?', a piece on a bomb-and-Chinese threat, and a note on India for retaining its Formosa (Taiwan) seat — surfacing the issue's anti-communist and pro-Western foreign-policy stance through quoted commentary. - Digest of press opinion curated by the editors - Includes 'Party Or Government?' on Congress dominance - Carries foreign-policy items on China and the Formosa/Taiwan seat - Reinforces the issue's anti-communist orientation --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-nov1-1962/ ### Summary This November 1, 1962 Diwali Issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X No. 15), the Bombay fortnightly of Libertarian Publishers, opens with an unsigned editorial, 'West Berlin, Simply Non-Negotiable', which casts the Berlin crisis as a Cold War flashpoint and defends the Western allies' refusal to concede the city to Soviet pressure. The five bylined essays range across India's strategic and cultural predicament on the eve of the 1962 border war: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'India At The Cross-roads', M. N. Tholal's 'Statesmanship Or Megalomania?', P. Kodanda Rao on 'Kashmir', A. Ranganathan's 'Some Reflections On National Integration', and Indira Awasty's 'English As The Lingua Franca Of India'. Together they press a classical-liberal case for free economy, limited government, national unity, and the retention of English as a link language. The full 20-page issue is in the rendered pages. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This November 1, 1962 Diwali Issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X No. 15), the Bombay fortnightly of Libertarian Publishers, opens with an unsigned editorial, 'West Berlin, Simply Non-Negotiable', which casts the Berlin crisis as a Cold War flashpoint and defends the Western allies' refusal to concede the city to Soviet pressure. The five bylined essays range across India's strategic and cultural predicament on the eve of the 1962 border war: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'India At The Cross-roads', M. N. Tholal's 'Statesmanship Or Megalomania?', P. Kodanda Rao on 'Kashmir', A. Ranganathan's 'Some Reflections On National Integration', and Indira Awasty's 'English As The Lingua Franca Of India'. Together they press a classical-liberal case for free economy, limited government, national unity, and the retention of English as a link language. The full 20-page issue is in the rendered pages. ## Essays ### India At The Cross-roads *By MA Venkata Rao* Written as 'Thoughts on Diwali', Venkata Rao surveys India at a crossroads and asks what direction the nation should take after fifteen years of independence. He weighs the claims of central planning and statism against individual liberty and free enterprise, arguing that the country's drift toward socialist controls threatens both prosperity and freedom. He frames Diwali, the festival of lights, as an occasion to choose the path of light—liberty and self-reliance—over the darkness of regimentation. - Frames India's choice of direction after fifteen years of independence. - Weighs central planning and statism against individual liberty. - Warns that the drift toward socialist controls threatens prosperity and freedom. - Uses the Diwali metaphor of light versus darkness for the national choice. ### Statesmanship Or Megalomania? *By M. N. Tholal* Tholal poses the question of whether the leadership on display—Indian and international—amounts to statesmanship or megalomania. Drawing on members of Ceylon's House of Parliament, he contrasts genuine statesmanship, which serves the public interest with restraint, against the inflated self-regard of leaders who mistake personal ambition for national greatness. The essay is a sharp critique of charismatic political vanity and its costs to sound governance. - Asks whether contemporary leadership is statesmanship or megalomania. - Draws on a Ceylon parliamentary debate for its framing. - Contrasts public-spirited restraint with inflated self-regard. - Critiques charismatic vanity as a cost to good governance. ### Kashmir *By P. Kodanda Rao* Kodanda Rao reviews the Kashmir question and India's handling of it at the United Nations Security Council. He recounts the reference of the dispute to the Council, the obligations India undertook, and the diplomatic manoeuvring around the promised plebiscite, arguing for a clear-eyed assessment of India's position rather than emotional or absolutist postures. The piece reflects the journal's broader scepticism toward Nehru-era foreign policy. - Reviews the Kashmir dispute and its reference to the UN Security Council. - Examines India's obligations and the promised plebiscite. - Argues for a realistic rather than emotional assessment of India's position. - Reflects the journal's scepticism toward Nehru-era diplomacy. ### Some Reflections On National Integration *By A Ranganathan* Ranganathan offers reflections on national integration, distinguishing a deeper cultural and administrative unity from mere sentiment or slogan. Beginning from the report of the Official Language Commission, he treats integration as a problem to be solved through shared institutions—administration, communications, and a common link language—rather than through coercion or romantic appeals to a single soil. He links the integration question to the controversies over language policy that run through the issue. - Distinguishes genuine integration from sentiment and slogan. - Starts from the Official Language Commission's report. - Treats integration as a matter of shared institutions and a link language. - Rejects coercion and nativist romanticism as routes to unity. ### English As The Lingua Franca Of India *By Indira Awasty* Awasty argues for retaining English as India's lingua franca and link language. Surveying the linguistic diversity of the country and the difficulty of imposing any single Indian language as a national medium, she contends that English—already established as an associate language and the vehicle of higher education, science, and administration—best serves national unity without privileging one region over another. The essay is a defence of pragmatic language policy against linguistic nationalism. - Defends English as India's link language and lingua franca. - Stresses the difficulty of imposing any single Indian language nationally. - Notes English's established role in education, science, and administration. - Argues it serves unity without privileging one region. - Opposes linguistic nationalism as divisive. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-nov15-1957/ ### Summary The Indian Libertarian, Diwali Special Issue (15 November 1957), is an issue of the Bombay classical-liberal fortnightly edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala and run by the Libertarian Social Institute. In the rendered pages the issue opens with an editorial of 'Diwali reflections' urging individual responsibility and warning against welfare-state collectivism, followed by J. K. Dhairyawan's call to 'clear the debris of ten years' of post-independence policy and 'Chanakya's' argument for a new opposition party. M. N. Tholal attacks the compulsory imposition of Hindi ('This Hindi Mania') in defence of English as a unifying language, Om Prakash Kahol treats the Kashmir question and India's security, and Nautamal C. Tejpal draws a parallel between India and Soviet Russia. Shorter pieces by 'Libra' (political fads and individual freedom), K. M. Munshi ('Welfare Implies Freedom'), and Sumant Bankeshwar (Syria as the first Soviet satellite in the Middle East) round out the rendered portion, along with the unsigned 'Sheer Madness'.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The Indian Libertarian, Diwali Special Issue (15 November 1957), is an issue of the Bombay classical-liberal fortnightly edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala and run by the Libertarian Social Institute. In the rendered pages the issue opens with an editorial of 'Diwali reflections' urging individual responsibility and warning against welfare-state collectivism, followed by J. K. Dhairyawan's call to 'clear the debris of ten years' of post-independence policy and 'Chanakya's' argument for a new opposition party. M. N. Tholal attacks the compulsory imposition of Hindi ('This Hindi Mania') in defence of English as a unifying language, Om Prakash Kahol treats the Kashmir question and India's security, and Nautamal C. Tejpal draws a parallel between India and Soviet Russia. Shorter pieces by 'Libra' (political fads and individual freedom), K. M. Munshi ('Welfare Implies Freedom'), and Sumant Bankeshwar (Syria as the first Soviet satellite in the Middle East) round out the rendered portion, along with the unsigned 'Sheer Madness'. The issue's consistent commitments are individual liberty, free enterprise, the rule of law, English as India's link language, and a firmly anti-communist, pro-Western foreign-policy stance. ## Essays ### Editorial The Diwali editorial ('Some Diwali Reflections') frames the festival as an occasion for self-examination of the nation, warning that ten years of independence have brought economic insecurity and a drift toward state paternalism. It argues that real welfare and progress depend on individual self-reliance, responsibility and freedom rather than on government provision, and calls on citizens to clear the 'debris' of collectivist policy. - Uses Diwali as an occasion for national self-examination after ten years of independence - Warns against welfare-state paternalism and economic insecurity - Roots true progress in individual self-reliance and responsibility - Sets the issue's classical-liberal, anti-collectivist frame ### Clear the Debris of Ten Years *By J. K. Dhairyawan* J. K. Dhairyawan argues that India must 'clear the debris of ten years' of statist and collectivist policy accumulated since independence. He contends that nationalised industry, controls and planning have produced inefficiency and dependence, and that the liberal alternative of free enterprise and individual initiative offers a sounder path to prosperity and dignity. - Indicts ten years of state controls and nationalisation - Blames collectivist policy for inefficiency and dependence - Advocates free enterprise and individual initiative - Frames a liberal reckoning with post-independence policy ### The Sanction for A New Party *By Chanakya* Writing under the pseudonym 'Chanakya', the author makes the case for a new political party to provide a genuine liberal opposition to Congress dominance. The piece argues that democracy requires an effective sanction — an organised alternative — and that the scattered forces of free enterprise and individual freedom must coalesce into a party capable of contesting the ruling consensus. - Argues democracy needs an effective opposition 'sanction' - Calls for a new liberal party against Congress dominance - Urges the scattered free-enterprise forces to organise - Written under the classical pseudonym 'Chanakya' ### This Hindi Mania *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal attacks what he calls 'this Hindi mania' — the drive to impose Hindi as the sole national language. He defends English as the established link language of administration, education and inter-state communication, warning that compulsory Hindi would disadvantage non-Hindi regions (the South and Bengal especially) and fracture national unity. The piece aligns with the journal's slogan to 'make English the lingua franca of India'. - Opposes compulsory imposition of Hindi as sole national language - Defends English as India's neutral link language - Warns of regional inequity for the South and Bengal - Echoes the journal's 'English as lingua franca' campaign ### Kashmir Issue and Safety of India *By Prof. Om Prakash Kahol* Prof. Om Prakash Kahol examines the Kashmir issue and its bearing on the safety of India, recounting a sequence of policy missteps ('Blunders After Blunders') and arguing that India's handling of Kashmir has weakened its strategic position. He treats the dispute as inseparable from national security and Pakistan's posture. - Ties the Kashmir dispute directly to India's national security - Catalogues a series of Indian policy 'blunders' on Kashmir - Frames Pakistan's posture as a standing threat - Argues mishandling has weakened India's strategic position ### India and Russia — A Parallel *By Nautamal C. Tejpal* Nautamal C. Tejpal draws a parallel between India and Soviet Russia, warning that India's drift toward centralised planning and one-party dominance mirrors the early Soviet path. The essay examines how communism succeeded in Russia and cautions that similar concentration of economic and political power in India endangers liberty. - Compares India's statist drift to the Soviet trajectory - Analyses why communism succeeded in Russia - Warns concentration of power endangers Indian liberty - Reinforces the issue's anti-communist frame ### Political Fads & Individual Freedom *By Libra* 'Libra' argues that 'political fads' — fashionable but shallow ideological enthusiasms — threaten individual freedom. Citing the late Professor Laski and invoking Gandhian and prohibitionist examples, the piece contends that well-meaning crusades and faddish policy too often curtail personal liberty, and defends the primacy of the individual against collectivist fashion. - Warns that political 'fads' erode individual freedom - Cites Laski and critiques faddish moral crusades (e.g. prohibition) - Defends individual liberty against collectivist fashion ### Welfare Implies Freedom *By K. M. Munshi* K. M. Munshi argues that genuine welfare presupposes freedom: a welfare state that suppresses individual liberty and private initiative defeats its own purpose. He distinguishes welfare achieved through free citizens and voluntary effort from welfare imposed by an all-powerful state, contending that material security without freedom is no longer the gift of a benevolent power but a path to servitude. - Welfare and freedom are interdependent, not opposed - A welfare state that crushes liberty defeats its own ends - Distinguishes voluntary welfare from state-imposed welfare - Warns that security without freedom leads to servitude ### Syria — First Red Satellite In Middle East *By Sumant Bankeshwar* Sumant Bankeshwar analyses Syria as the 'first Red satellite in the Middle East', tracing growing Soviet influence and arms supplies to Syria and warning that the region is becoming a theatre of Cold War penetration. The piece reads Syrian alignment with Moscow as a strategic warning for the West and for non-aligned states. - Reads Syria as the Middle East's first Soviet satellite - Traces Soviet arms and influence in the region - Frames the development as Cold War penetration - Warns the West and non-aligned states of the trend ### Sheer Madness The unsigned 'Sheer Madness' reacts to revelations attributed to Mr. Krishnamachari at a press conference, treating certain official statements or fiscal policy moves as self-evidently reckless. The short piece uses sharp polemic to condemn what the journal sees as irrational economic governance. - Polemical reaction to remarks by Mr. Krishnamachari - Condemns official economic policy as reckless - Short, sharply worded editorial-style commentary --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-nov15-1958/ ### Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. VI No. 17 (15 November 1958), is an issue of the Bombay classical-liberal fortnightly edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala. In the rendered pages the issue leads with an editorial on the new military dictatorship in Pakistan, reading Ayub Khan's coup as a warning about the fragility of democracy in the subcontinent and pressing for a re-orientation of India's foreign policy. M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Land Reforms' offers a liberal critique of statist agrarian policy, Sumanth Bankeshwar reports from 'Inside Red China', Anthony Elenjimittam analyses the 'Nemesis of Military Dictatorship', M. N. Tholal weighs India 'Between Two Stools' of the Cold War, Varahamira gives a factual history of the Indo-Pakistan canal-waters dispute, and Baburao Patel contributes a rousing nationalist-liberal exhortation ('Arise! Awake! And Stop Not!'). The issue also carries the four-page Libertarian Supplement — Prof. G. N. Lawande's monetary essay 'Do Banks Create Money?' — plus 'CA IRA' (Azad), 'A Blow to Export Trade', and Martin Bronfenbrenner's 'Danger in the Far East'.… ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. VI No. 17 (15 November 1958), is an issue of the Bombay classical-liberal fortnightly edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala. In the rendered pages the issue leads with an editorial on the new military dictatorship in Pakistan, reading Ayub Khan's coup as a warning about the fragility of democracy in the subcontinent and pressing for a re-orientation of India's foreign policy. M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Land Reforms' offers a liberal critique of statist agrarian policy, Sumanth Bankeshwar reports from 'Inside Red China', Anthony Elenjimittam analyses the 'Nemesis of Military Dictatorship', M. N. Tholal weighs India 'Between Two Stools' of the Cold War, Varahamira gives a factual history of the Indo-Pakistan canal-waters dispute, and Baburao Patel contributes a rousing nationalist-liberal exhortation ('Arise! Awake! And Stop Not!'). The issue also carries the four-page Libertarian Supplement — Prof. G. N. Lawande's monetary essay 'Do Banks Create Money?' — plus 'CA IRA' (Azad), 'A Blow to Export Trade', and Martin Bronfenbrenner's 'Danger in the Far East'. Throughout, the issue defends free enterprise, individual liberty and the rule of law while sustaining a vigilant anti-communist, pro-Western line. ## Essays ### Editorial: Dictatorship in Pakistan The editorial, 'Dictatorship in Pakistan', responds to the military takeover by General Ayub Khan, treating it as the predictable collapse of a fragile parliamentary order and a cautionary example for India. It argues that the coup demands a re-orientation of India's foreign policy and a sober reckoning with the instability on India's borders, while reaffirming that genuine democracy must rest on free institutions rather than strongman rule. - Reads Ayub Khan's coup as the collapse of fragile parliamentary democracy - Treats Pakistan's dictatorship as a warning for India - Calls for a re-orientation of Indian foreign policy - Defends free institutions against strongman rule ### Land Reforms *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao examines 'Land Reforms', offering a liberal critique of the prevailing statist approach to agrarian restructuring. He weighs the economics of land redistribution and ceilings against incentives, productivity and property rights, arguing that reforms pursued through coercion and bureaucratic control tend to depress output, and that durable agrarian progress depends on secure ownership and free initiative. - Critiques statist, coercive approaches to land reform - Weighs redistribution and ceilings against productivity - Defends secure property rights and incentives in agriculture - Argues bureaucratic control depresses farm output ### Inside Red China *By Sumanth Bankeshwar* Sumanth Bankeshwar reports from 'Inside Red China', describing the methods of the Chinese Communist regime — the suppression of dissent, the regimentation of economic and social life, and the human cost of collectivisation — and reading these as the logical outcome of communist rule. The piece reinforces the journal's warning that the same ideology threatens India's borders and institutions. - Surveys the repressive methods of Chinese Communist rule - Describes regimentation and the human cost of collectivisation - Treats China as an object lesson in communist governance - Links the threat to India's own situation ### Nemesis of Military Dictatorship *By Anthony Elenjimittam* Anthony Elenjimittam analyses the 'Nemesis of Military Dictatorship', arguing that military regimes carry within them the seeds of their own undoing. Drawing on contemporary and historical examples, he contends that dictatorship cannot supply legitimate or durable governance and that countries reverting to it ultimately reap instability rather than order. - Argues military dictatorship sows the seeds of its own collapse - Denies that dictatorship can deliver durable legitimacy - Draws on historical and contemporary examples - Concludes dictatorship breeds instability, not order ### Between Two Stools *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal places India 'Between Two Stools' in the Cold War, arguing that non-alignment leaves the country caught uncomfortably between the Western and communist blocs and serving neither its security nor its liberal values. He presses for a clearer ideological and strategic stance aligned with the free world. - Critiques non-alignment as falling 'between two stools' - Argues the posture serves neither security nor liberal values - Presses for a clearer alignment with the free world - Frames the choice in Cold War terms ### A Brief History of the Canal Waters Dispute *By Varahamira* Writing as 'Varahamira', the author sets out 'A Brief History of the Canal Waters Dispute: Some Facts', recounting the partition-era division of the Indus river system between India and Pakistan and the ensuing disagreements over water sharing. The piece supplies a factual chronology intended to inform readers about a dispute the journal sees as central to subcontinental relations. - Chronicles the Indus canal-waters dispute since Partition - Lays out the facts of water division between India and Pakistan - Treats the dispute as central to Indo-Pak relations - Aims at informing rather than polemic ### Arise! Awake! And Stop Not! *By Baburao Patel* Baburao Patel's 'Arise! Awake! And Stop Not!' is a rousing exhortation, opening from Prime Minister Nehru's August 1958 remarks and calling on Indians to rouse themselves against complacency, drift and the erosion of national vigour. Borrowing its title from the Upanishadic-Vivekananda call, the piece blends nationalist fervour with the journal's liberal insistence on individual effort and responsibility. - A stirring nationalist-liberal exhortation to civic awakening - Opens from Nehru's August 1958 remarks - Borrows its 'Arise, awake' refrain from Vivekananda - Blends patriotic fervour with a call to individual responsibility ### Libertarian Supplement The four-page Libertarian Supplement carries Prof. G. N. Lawande's monetary essay 'Do Banks Create Money?'. Lawande explains the mechanics of credit creation by the banking system, distinguishing deposits, reserves and the multiplier effect, and assesses the inflationary risks and policy questions raised when banks expand credit beyond a sound base. - Explains how the banking system creates credit and money - Distinguishes deposits, reserves and the credit multiplier - Examines the inflationary risk of credit expansion - Published as the issue's Libertarian Supplement (G. N. Lawande) ### CA IRA *By Azad* 'CA IRA' by 'Azad' is a topical commentary surveying recent weeks' events with a liberal eye, treating government measures and political drift with characteristic scepticism and reaffirming the journal's commitment to economic freedom and limited government. - Topical liberal commentary on recent events - Sceptical of government measures and political drift - Reaffirms economic freedom and limited government - Written under the pseudonym 'Azad' ### A Blow to Export Trade 'A Blow to Export Trade' argues that a particular government policy measure damages India's export competitiveness, warning that controls and fiscal burdens on exporters undercut foreign-exchange earnings the economy needs. The piece exemplifies the journal's free-trade orientation. - Argues a policy measure harms India's export competitiveness - Warns controls undercut needed foreign-exchange earnings - Exemplifies the journal's free-trade orientation --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-nov15-1959/ ### Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. VII No. 20 (15 November 1959), is an issue of the Bombay classical-liberal fortnightly edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala, published at the height of the 1959 Sino-Indian border crisis. The editorial amplifies General Cariappa's call for action against Chinese incursions in Ladakh, and the lead articles sustain that theme: M. A. Venkata Rao dissects 'The Red Dragon in Ladakh or the Mao-Menon Line', M. N. Tholal warns that India is 'Playing the Communist Game', an unsigned report alleges a 'Secret Sino-Pak Plot to Grab Kashmir', and Shurokh Sabavala examines how 'Tibet Agitates India'. The issue's four-page Economic Supplement carries Prof. G. N. Lawande's essays on capital accumulation, economic development and monetary control, while the Delhi Letter ('Cariappa Says the Last Word'), Daniel Bell's review-essay on Marx and alienation ('The World of Books'), Book Reviews, 'Gleanings from the Press', and a News Digest complete it. The recurring commitments are national defence against Chinese expansion, scepticism of non-alignment, and a classical-liberal defence of free enterprise and individual liberty. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. VII No. 20 (15 November 1959), is an issue of the Bombay classical-liberal fortnightly edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala, published at the height of the 1959 Sino-Indian border crisis. The editorial amplifies General Cariappa's call for action against Chinese incursions in Ladakh, and the lead articles sustain that theme: M. A. Venkata Rao dissects 'The Red Dragon in Ladakh or the Mao-Menon Line', M. N. Tholal warns that India is 'Playing the Communist Game', an unsigned report alleges a 'Secret Sino-Pak Plot to Grab Kashmir', and Shurokh Sabavala examines how 'Tibet Agitates India'. The issue's four-page Economic Supplement carries Prof. G. N. Lawande's essays on capital accumulation, economic development and monetary control, while the Delhi Letter ('Cariappa Says the Last Word'), Daniel Bell's review-essay on Marx and alienation ('The World of Books'), Book Reviews, 'Gleanings from the Press', and a News Digest complete it. The recurring commitments are national defence against Chinese expansion, scepticism of non-alignment, and a classical-liberal defence of free enterprise and individual liberty. ## Essays ### Editorial: General Cariappa's Call for Action Against the Chinese The editorial takes up General Cariappa's public call for firm action against Chinese incursions into Ladakh. It argues that India has been complacent about the Chinese threat, criticises the government's hesitancy and what it sees as appeasement, and warns that inaction and continued non-alignment endanger national security on the Himalayan frontier. It frames the moment as one demanding resolve rather than diplomatic drift. - Backs General Cariappa's call for action against Chinese incursions - Criticises government hesitancy and appeasement on Ladakh - Warns that non-alignment endangers frontier security - Casts the border crisis as a test of national resolve ### The Red Dragon in Ladakh or the Mao-Menon Line *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao analyses 'The Red Dragon in Ladakh or the Mao-Menon Line', linking Chinese expansionism under Mao to what he regards as the dangerously accommodating posture associated with Defence Minister Krishna Menon. He argues that India's strategic and economic policy — including its Five-Year-Plan priorities — has left the country ill-prepared for the Chinese threat, and presses for a clearer-eyed, liberal and security-minded re-orientation. - Connects Chinese expansionism to a permissive 'Mao-Menon line' - Faults India's strategic and planning priorities - Argues the country is unprepared for the Chinese threat - Urges a liberal, security-minded re-orientation ### We are Playing the Communist Game *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal argues that India is 'Playing the Communist Game' by indulging a false sense of security and by policies that, wittingly or not, serve communist ends. He attacks complacency about the border, the failure to confront Chinese intentions, and a foreign policy that he says mistakes drift for prudence — calling instead for clarity, vigilance and alignment with the free world. - Charges India with a 'false sense of security' on the border - Argues current policy inadvertently serves communist ends - Attacks complacency about Chinese intentions - Calls for vigilance and alignment with the free world ### Secret Sino-Pak Plot To Grab Kashmir! An unsigned 'Report from Ladakh' alleges a 'Secret Sino-Pak Plot to Grab Kashmir', claiming that China and Pakistan are coordinating to mount a combined move on Kashmir, possibly in the coming winter. The piece reads contemporary diplomatic and military signals as evidence of a multi-pronged threat to India's hold on the territory. - Alleges a coordinated Sino-Pakistani design on Kashmir - Warns of a possible combined move in the next winter - Reads diplomatic and military signs as evidence - Frames Kashmir as exposed on two fronts ### Tibet Agitates India *By Shurokh Sabavala* Shurokh Sabavala examines how 'Tibet Agitates India', tracing how the Chinese suppression of Tibet and the flight of the Dalai Lama have stirred Indian opinion and forced a reckoning with Chinese intentions on the Himalayan frontier. The piece treats the Tibetan question as inseparable from India's own security and its posture toward Peking. - Links the Chinese suppression of Tibet to Indian public opinion - Treats the Tibetan crisis as a security question for India - Reads Tibet as a barometer of Chinese intentions - Connects the Dalai Lama's flight to the frontier crisis ### Economic Supplement The four-page Economic Supplement carries essays by Prof. G. N. Lawande. 'Capital Accumulation and Economic Development' argues that the growth of underdeveloped economies turns on raising domestic savings and channelling them into productive investment rather than on coercion or inflationary finance, while a companion piece, 'New Policy of Monetary Control', examines proposals for reforming monetary management. Together they make a classical-liberal case for sound money and voluntary capital formation. - Argues development depends on domestic savings and investment - Rejects coercion and inflationary finance as paths to growth - Examines reform of monetary control policy - Makes a classical-liberal case for sound money (G. N. Lawande) ### Delhi Letter The Delhi Letter, 'Cariappa Says the Last Word', reports from the capital on the political reverberations of General Cariappa's intervention on the China question, the government's response, and the manoeuvring among parties as the border crisis dominates national debate. - Reports the political fallout of Cariappa's China intervention - Tracks the government's response in Delhi - Surveys party manoeuvring over the border crisis ### The World of Books *By Daniel Bell* In 'The World of Books', Daniel Bell contributes a review-essay, 'The Meaning of Alienation' (subtitled a quest for the historical Marx), tracing the concept of alienation through Hegel, the young Marx and Engels, and assessing its place in Marxist thought and its later interpretation. The piece exemplifies the journal's engagement with the intellectual history of socialism from a critical, liberal vantage. - A review-essay on the concept of alienation in Marx - Traces alienation through Hegel and the young Marx - Engages the 'quest for the historical Marx' - Reads Marxist thought from a critical liberal standpoint ### Book Reviews The Book Reviews section notices recent titles, including 'A Concise History of Mauritius' by Lennox Boswell, with brief critical assessments aligned to the journal's liberal interests. - Brief notices of recent books - Includes a review of 'A Concise History of Mauritius' - Critical assessments from a liberal vantage --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-nov15-1962/ ### Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X No. 16, 15 November 1962), edited by D. M. Kulkarni, appears in the immediate aftermath of the Chinese attack on India's northern frontier, and the rendered pages are dominated by the Sino-Indian War and the crisis it forces upon Nehru's non-alignment policy. The editorial argues for a 'sure road to world peace', while M. A. Venkata Rao draws the demands and lessons of the war and M. N. Tholal asks whether self-preservation now requires abandoning non-alignment. A. Ranganathan contributes a literary-political essay on Tagore's humanistic approach to Indian nationalism, and a Delhi Letter ('Exit, Mr. Menon!') marks the political fall of Krishna Menon as Defence Minister. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X No. 16, 15 November 1962), edited by D. M. Kulkarni, appears in the immediate aftermath of the Chinese attack on India's northern frontier, and the rendered pages are dominated by the Sino-Indian War and the crisis it forces upon Nehru's non-alignment policy. The editorial argues for a 'sure road to world peace', while M. A. Venkata Rao draws the demands and lessons of the war and M. N. Tholal asks whether self-preservation now requires abandoning non-alignment. A. Ranganathan contributes a literary-political essay on Tagore's humanistic approach to Indian nationalism, and a Delhi Letter ('Exit, Mr. Menon!') marks the political fall of Krishna Menon as Defence Minister. ## Essays ### Editorial The editorial, 'The Sure Road To World Peace', responds to the Chinese aggression on India's frontier by arguing that lasting peace cannot rest on appeasement or unilateral disarmament. In the rendered pages it contends that freedom and security must be defended, criticising the illusions of a non-aligned posture that left India unprepared, and pointing toward collective resistance to aggression as the genuine path to peace. - Written in the shadow of the Chinese attack on India's frontier. - Argues peace cannot be secured by appeasement or disarmament. - Frames defence of freedom and security as prerequisites for peace. ### The Demands And Lessons Of War *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Demands And Lessons Of War' reads the Chinese attack on the NEFA and Ladakh frontiers as a decisive repudiation of the assumptions behind India's foreign policy. In the rendered pages he argues that the war exposes the failure of trusting Communist China's professions of friendship, demands national preparedness and unity, and treats the conflict as a hard lesson that India must now absorb in rebuilding its security. - Treats the Chinese frontier attack as exposing the illusions of Indian foreign policy. - Calls for national preparedness, unity and resolve. - Frames the war as a lesson India must absorb after misplaced trust in China. ### Self-Preservation Or Non-Alignment? *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Self-Preservation Or Non-Alignment?' poses the question the war forced on Indian policy: whether the survival of the nation now requires abandoning Nehru's doctrine of non-alignment. In the rendered pages it weighs the record of non-alignment against the reality of Chinese aggression, drawing on press commentary to argue that self-preservation must take priority over an outworn diplomatic posture. - Asks whether national survival now overrides non-alignment. - Weighs the doctrine against the fact of Chinese aggression. - Cites contemporary press debate on realigning Indian foreign policy. ### Tagore's Humanistic Approach To Indian Nationalism *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan's 'Tagore's Humanistic Approach To Indian Nationalism' examines how Rabindranath Tagore conceived nationalism in humanistic rather than narrowly chauvinistic terms. In the rendered pages it sets Tagore's universalist humanism against more militant or ideological conceptions of the nation, and closes by invoking Rajagopalachari's commentary in Swarajya. - Reads Tagore's nationalism as grounded in universal humanism. - Contrasts Tagore's vision with chauvinistic or ideological nationalism. - Closes by citing Rajagopalachari in Swarajya. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-nov15-1961/ ### Summary This Diwali (Vol. IX No. 16, 15 November 1961) number of The Indian Libertarian, a Bombay classical-liberal journal that 'stands for free economy and limited government', opens with a message from C. Rajagopalachari praising the journal's defence of freedom against 'the ignorant and wicked doctrines of State compulsion'. In the rendered pages the issue's argumentative centre is national integration: a lead editorial on the Bombay North by-election contest between Acharya Kripalani and Krishna Menon, followed by essays from M. A. Venkata Rao on the cultural foundations of national integration and M. N. Tholal on Muslims and national integration, plus a cultural piece by K. T. Padmanabhan Tampy on the Kerala art-form Thullal. Later sections (Economic Supplement, Delhi Letter, Book Review, Swatantra Manifesto, Gleanings, News and Views) were present in the chunk but are largely beyond the rendered essay pages. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This Diwali (Vol. IX No. 16, 15 November 1961) number of The Indian Libertarian, a Bombay classical-liberal journal that 'stands for free economy and limited government', opens with a message from C. Rajagopalachari praising the journal's defence of freedom against 'the ignorant and wicked doctrines of State compulsion'. In the rendered pages the issue's argumentative centre is national integration: a lead editorial on the Bombay North by-election contest between Acharya Kripalani and Krishna Menon, followed by essays from M. A. Venkata Rao on the cultural foundations of national integration and M. N. Tholal on Muslims and national integration, plus a cultural piece by K. T. Padmanabhan Tampy on the Kerala art-form Thullal. Later sections (Economic Supplement, Delhi Letter, Book Review, Swatantra Manifesto, Gleanings, News and Views) were present in the chunk but are largely beyond the rendered essay pages. ## Essays ### Editorial: The Patriot vs. The Fellow-Traveller The editorial, 'The Patriot vs. The Fellow-Traveller', frames the Bombay North parliamentary by-election as a contest of national importance between Acharya Kripalani, backed by the Swatantra, Praja Socialist and Jana Sangh 'Troika', and Krishna Menon, backed by Nehru and supported by the Communists. In the rendered pages it casts Kripalani as a man of selfless service, probity and humility, and Menon as the embodiment of 'duplicity cunning, showmanship and insolence', a fellow-traveller of the 'Red Moscowites'. - Centres on the Bombay North by-election as a nationally significant fight. - Kripalani is backed by the Swatantra/PSP/Jana Sangh 'Troika'; Menon by Nehru and the Communists. - Casts the contest as patriot (Kripalani) versus fellow-traveller (Menon). - Accuses Nehru of abandoning propriety to help his protege Menon. ### Aspects of National Integration *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Aspects of National Integration' argues that communal outbreaks such as the Jabalpur riots stem from a conflict of cultures rooted in religion, and that genuine national integration cannot be produced by exhortation or police power alone but requires a shared spiritual and cultural foundation. In the rendered pages he surveys how India's plural civilisation has historically absorbed diverse communities, and weighs the conditions under which Hindu and Muslim cultural traditions can be reconciled within a single modern nation. - Traces communal conflict (e.g. the Jabalpur outbreak) to a clash of religiously rooted cultures. - Argues integration cannot be achieved by force or slogans alone. - Stresses a shared spiritual/cultural basis as prerequisite for a modern nation. - Reviews India's historical capacity to absorb diverse communities. ### Muslims and National Integration *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Muslims and National Integration' takes up the problem of national integration as it bears specifically on India's Muslims. In the rendered pages it weighs the relationship between Islamic identity and Indian nationhood, discussing assimilation, the demands of a creative and secular culture, and the tension between communal loyalty and a shared national life. - Focuses national-integration debate on the position of Muslims. - Weighs assimilation against the demands of a creative, secular culture. - Examines tension between communal identity and national belonging. ### Indigenous Art—Forms of Kerala: THULLAL *By K. T. Padmanabhan Tampy* K. T. Padmanabhan Tampy's 'Indigenous Art—Forms of Kerala: THULLAL' is a cultural essay on Thullal, the popular solo dance-narrative art-form of Kerala associated with the poet Kunchan Nambiar. In the rendered pages it describes the origin, performance conventions and three recognised varieties of Thullal, and situates the form within the wider devotional and dramatic traditions of Kerala. - Surveys Thullal, a popular Kerala solo dance-narrative form. - Credits the poet Kunchan Nambiar with originating the genre. - Describes the three recognised varieties and their performance conventions. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-oct1-1957/ ### Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V No. 15, 1 October 1957), edited by Kusum Lotwala, runs the journal's classical-liberal line through the foreign-policy and domestic controversies of the day. In the rendered pages the editorial, 'Goa As Foreign Base', criticises Indian policy toward Goa and Western bases; M. A. Venkata Rao analyses 'India's Foreign Policy' and its non-alignment; a contributor writing as 'Lal' reflects on 'The Hindu Way of Life'; and B. S. Sanyal reports Nehru's foreign-policy pronouncements in 'Thus Spake Nehru at Jammu'. Further items on Razvi, Krishnamachari, and 'the Semantic Trojan Horse of Nehru Planning' extend the issue's critique of Congress policy. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V No. 15, 1 October 1957), edited by Kusum Lotwala, runs the journal's classical-liberal line through the foreign-policy and domestic controversies of the day. In the rendered pages the editorial, 'Goa As Foreign Base', criticises Indian policy toward Goa and Western bases; M. A. Venkata Rao analyses 'India's Foreign Policy' and its non-alignment; a contributor writing as 'Lal' reflects on 'The Hindu Way of Life'; and B. S. Sanyal reports Nehru's foreign-policy pronouncements in 'Thus Spake Nehru at Jammu'. Further items on Razvi, Krishnamachari, and 'the Semantic Trojan Horse of Nehru Planning' extend the issue's critique of Congress policy. ## Essays ### Editorial: Goa As Foreign Base The editorial, 'Goa As Foreign Base', examines the statements of the Prime Minister and Defence Minister on Goa and Western military bases. In the rendered pages it weighs the consistency of India's stance on foreign bases and clarifies the journal's view of the Goa question, treating it within the larger frame of Indian sovereignty and foreign policy. - Responds to government statements on Goa and Western bases. - Probes the consistency of India's position on foreign military bases. - Sets the Goa question within the wider foreign-policy debate. ### India's Foreign Policy *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'India's Foreign Policy' scrutinises the assumptions of Indian non-alignment and the country's posture between the Western and Communist blocs. In the rendered pages he questions whether India's professed neutrality serves its interests, and weighs the apologetics of non-alignment against the realities of power politics. - Examines the premises of Indian non-alignment. - Questions whether neutrality between the blocs serves India. - Tests the 'apologetics of non-alignment' against power realities. ### The Hindu Way of Life *By Lal* Writing as 'Lal', this essay, 'The Hindu Way of Life', reflects on the meaning of Hinduism as a way of life rather than a creed, taking up questions of Khilafat-era memories, communal relations and Gandhian thought. In the rendered pages it weighs a 'national-cultural' conception of Hinduism against communal and political readings of it. - Treats Hinduism as a way of life rather than a narrow creed. - Engages communal relations and the legacy of Khilafat-era politics. - Reflects through Gandhian categories on culture and nationhood. ### Thus Spake Nehru at Jammu *By B. S. Sanyal* B. S. Sanyal's 'Thus Spake Nehru at Jammu' reports and dissects Nehru's foreign-policy address at a National Conference meeting in Jammu. In the rendered pages it scrutinises Nehru's pronouncements on Kashmir, Pakistan and non-alignment, treating the speech as an occasion to test the coherence of Indian foreign policy. - Reports Nehru's foreign-policy speech at Jammu. - Scrutinises his claims on Kashmir, Pakistan and non-alignment. - Uses the speech to probe the coherence of Indian policy. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-nov15-1963/ ### Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. XI No. 16, 15 November 1963), edited by D. M. Kulkarni, sustains the journal's classical-liberal, anti-collectivist line. The rendered pages pair a domestic critique with an external one: the editorial attacks Nehruvian Congress planning as 'Congress Sovietism in a Democratic Garb', while M. A. Venkata Rao surveys 'The Reign of Terror in Red China'. M. N. Tholal's 'The Toll for the Brave' reflects through Gandhi's autobiography, and P. Kodanda Rao argues for stronger machinery for the prevention of corruption. A Delhi Letter on the 'Hocus-Pocus of Non-alignment' continues the journal's running attack on Indian foreign policy. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. XI No. 16, 15 November 1963), edited by D. M. Kulkarni, sustains the journal's classical-liberal, anti-collectivist line. The rendered pages pair a domestic critique with an external one: the editorial attacks Nehruvian Congress planning as 'Congress Sovietism in a Democratic Garb', while M. A. Venkata Rao surveys 'The Reign of Terror in Red China'. M. N. Tholal's 'The Toll for the Brave' reflects through Gandhi's autobiography, and P. Kodanda Rao argues for stronger machinery for the prevention of corruption. A Delhi Letter on the 'Hocus-Pocus of Non-alignment' continues the journal's running attack on Indian foreign policy. ## Essays ### Editorial: Congress Sovietism In a Democratic Garb The editorial, 'Congress Sovietism In a Democratic Garb', argues that the Congress government's drift toward state planning and socialism amounts to Soviet-style collectivism dressed in democratic forms. In the rendered pages it warns that democratic socialism, far from preserving liberty, drives democracy into a corner and concentrates economic power in the state at the expense of individual freedom. - Equates Congress planning and socialism with Soviet-style collectivism. - Argues 'democratic socialism' erodes the very democracy it claims to serve. - Warns against concentration of economic power in the state. ### The Reign of Terror In Red China *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Reign of Terror In Red China' describes the coercive character of the Chinese Communist state, portraying it as a police state that maintains itself through terror, indoctrination and the suppression of dissent. In the rendered pages he uses Red China as a warning of where collectivist concentration of power leads, contrasting it with the liberties of a free society. - Characterises Communist China as a police state ruling by terror. - Stresses indoctrination and suppression of dissent as instruments of control. - Uses China as a cautionary case against collectivism. ### The Toll for the Brave *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'The Toll for the Brave' reflects on courage and sacrifice through the lens of Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography, 'The Story of My Experiments with Truth'. In the rendered pages it draws on episodes from Gandhi's life to consider what bravery and self-mastery cost, weaving the personal narrative into a broader meditation on moral character. - Reflects on bravery and sacrifice via Gandhi's autobiography. - Draws on episodes from Gandhi's life to examine self-mastery. - Frames courage as a moral and personal discipline. ### Prevention of Corruption *By P. Kodanda Rao* P. Kodanda Rao's 'Prevention of Corruption' addresses the problem of public corruption and the institutional machinery needed to check it. In the rendered pages it argues that effective prevention requires more than exhortation — robust procedures and accountability of officials — and ties the integrity of public life to the wider liberal concern with limiting and disciplining state power. - Treats corruption as a problem of institutional design, not mere morality. - Calls for stronger machinery and accountability to prevent corruption. - Links clean public life to the discipline of state power. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-oct1-1958/ ### Summary This 1 October 1958 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VI No. 14), the fortnightly 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' edited by Kusoom Lotwalla, opens with an editorial on the Nehru-Noon border agreement that ceded territory to Pakistan, which the paper reads as a surrender rather than a settlement. In the rendered pages the issue mixes the journal's signature classical-liberal manifesto writing with sharply anti-Nehru, anti-communist commentary on the politics of 1958: M. A. Venkata Rao restates the philosophical mission of libertarianism, M. N. Thoiral attacks the Berubari/border deal with Pakistan, and a cluster of foreign-affairs pieces (T. L. Kantam on the Formosa/Quemoy crisis, L. N. S. on 'Communist China on the Rampage', and an item on American policy toward Pakistan and Iran) track the Cold War as it reached the subcontinent. Sumant S. Bankeshwar's piece warns that the newly elected communist government of E. M. S. Namboodiripad in Kerala foreshadows civil war and a communist beach-head in India. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 October 1958 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VI No. 14), the fortnightly 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' edited by Kusoom Lotwalla, opens with an editorial on the Nehru-Noon border agreement that ceded territory to Pakistan, which the paper reads as a surrender rather than a settlement. In the rendered pages the issue mixes the journal's signature classical-liberal manifesto writing with sharply anti-Nehru, anti-communist commentary on the politics of 1958: M. A. Venkata Rao restates the philosophical mission of libertarianism, M. N. Thoiral attacks the Berubari/border deal with Pakistan, and a cluster of foreign-affairs pieces (T. L. Kantam on the Formosa/Quemoy crisis, L. N. S. on 'Communist China on the Rampage', and an item on American policy toward Pakistan and Iran) track the Cold War as it reached the subcontinent. Sumant S. Bankeshwar's piece warns that the newly elected communist government of E. M. S. Namboodiripad in Kerala foreshadows civil war and a communist beach-head in India. ## Essays ### Editorial: Border Agreement or Surrender The unsigned editorial, 'Border Agreement or Surrender', condemns the Nehru-Noon agreement under which India conceded territory (including the Berubari union and the Hussainiwala-area enclaves) to Pakistan. It argues the deal hands away land and fishing rights without parliamentary sanction or any reciprocal gain, treats it as a capitulation driven by Nehru's appeasement instinct, and frames the loss of national territory as the price of the government's refusal to stand firm. - Reads the Nehru-Noon border agreement as a surrender of Indian territory to Pakistan rather than a negotiated settlement. - Stresses the cession of land and fishing rights and the absence of any reciprocal concession from Pakistan. - Casts the agreement as a product of Nehru's appeasement of Pakistan and of executive action without proper parliamentary sanction. - Situates the territorial loss within a broader critique of the government's foreign-policy weakness. ### Essay 10 *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Mission of Libertarianism' is a programmatic essay setting out the philosophical case for the libertarian/classical-liberal movement against the post-war drift toward state planning and collectivism in Europe and India. It traces liberal thought from the European Enlightenment through the rise of socialism, argues that the subordination of the individual to the State is the central error of the age, and presents libertarianism as the corrective that restores individual liberty and limited government. - Frames libertarianism as the heir of the European Enlightenment's defence of individual liberty. - Diagnoses the modern drift toward state planning and collectivism as the central political error of the age. - Argues the subordination of the individual to the State must be reversed to recover freedom. - Positions the movement against the socialist and collectivist consensus of post-war India. ### Essay 11 'Nehru Fooled Again', by M. N. Thoiral, attacks the Nehru-Noon agreement over the India-Pakistan border, arguing that the Prime Minister has once more been outmanoeuvred by Pakistan and has surrendered Indian land (the Berubari union and adjoining enclaves). The piece dwells on the sovereignty of Parliament over such cessions and treats the deal as evidence of a recurring pattern of naivety in Nehru's dealings with Pakistan. - Charges that Nehru has again been 'fooled' by Pakistan in the border negotiations. - Focuses on the cession of the Berubari union and adjacent enclaves. - Raises the question of Parliament's sovereignty over territorial cessions. - Reads the agreement as part of a repeated pattern of weakness toward Pakistan. ### Essay 12 'Islands of War?', by T. L. Kantam, surveys the Far East flashpoint around the offshore islands of Quemoy and Matsu and the 'two Chinas' question, contrasting Communist China and the Nationalist regime on Formosa (Taiwan). It examines the danger that the contest over these islands could draw the great powers into war and reflects on the unresolved status of China after 1949. - Frames the offshore islands of Quemoy and Matsu as a potential trigger for great-power war. - Discusses the 'two Chinas' problem: Communist China versus the Nationalist government on Formosa. - Connects the Far East crisis to the wider Cold War balance. ### Essay 13 Sumant S. Bankeshwar's 'Namboodiripad's Threat of Civil War' attacks the elected communist government of E. M. S. Namboodiripad in Kerala, reading its rhetoric as a threat of civil war and a beach-head for international communism inside India. The piece warns that Chinese and Soviet 'volunteers' for 'liberation' could march into India, criticises the doctrine of Panch Sheel as cover for communist advance, and rejects what it calls the Congress's complacency about 'the tiny State of Kerala'. - Treats the Namboodiripad government in Kerala as a communist threat of civil war. - Warns of Chinese and Soviet 'volunteers' marching into India for 'liberation'. - Criticises Panch Sheel as cover for communist expansion. - Faults the Congress and Nehru for complacency toward communism at home. ### Essay 14 'Communist China on the Rampage', by L. N. S., reads the 1958 Middle East crisis and the wider Cold War as evidence of communist aggression, linking events in the Suez/Middle East theatre to Soviet and Chinese ambitions and warning of the dangers of Indian neutrality in the face of an expansionist communist bloc. - Frames Communist China and the Soviet bloc as on the offensive in 1958. - Links the Middle East crisis to the global communist advance. - Questions the wisdom of Indian non-alignment against an expansionist bloc. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-oct1-1959/ ### Summary This 1 October 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 17), the fortnightly classical-liberal journal edited by Kusoom Lotwalla and now incorporating 'The Indian Rationalist', is dominated by the China-India border crisis and by the journal's twin causes of free-market liberalism and rationalism. The editorial reads Khrushchev's visit to the United States through Cold War eyes, contrasting Soviet propaganda triumphs (Sputnik, the moon rocket) with the realities of the Communist system. The foreign-policy cluster is sharply critical of Nehru: M. A. Venkata Rao calls for a rethinking of foreign policy in light of Chinese aggression along the McMahon Line and in NEFA/Tibet, M. N. Thoiral demands 'a new government' and attacks the doctrine of non-violence, and B. G. Pradhan dissects the 'fallacies' of India's foreign policy and the failure of Panch Sheel. A. Ranganathan defends English against 'Hindi fanaticism', and V. Yogeswara Rao profiles Dayananda Saraswati as 'the great path finder of modern India'. The issue also carries the journal's four-page Rationalist Supplement (a plan for a rationalist society and a piece on individuality). ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 October 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 17), the fortnightly classical-liberal journal edited by Kusoom Lotwalla and now incorporating 'The Indian Rationalist', is dominated by the China-India border crisis and by the journal's twin causes of free-market liberalism and rationalism. The editorial reads Khrushchev's visit to the United States through Cold War eyes, contrasting Soviet propaganda triumphs (Sputnik, the moon rocket) with the realities of the Communist system. The foreign-policy cluster is sharply critical of Nehru: M. A. Venkata Rao calls for a rethinking of foreign policy in light of Chinese aggression along the McMahon Line and in NEFA/Tibet, M. N. Thoiral demands 'a new government' and attacks the doctrine of non-violence, and B. G. Pradhan dissects the 'fallacies' of India's foreign policy and the failure of Panch Sheel. A. Ranganathan defends English against 'Hindi fanaticism', and V. Yogeswara Rao profiles Dayananda Saraswati as 'the great path finder of modern India'. The issue also carries the journal's four-page Rationalist Supplement (a plan for a rationalist society and a piece on individuality). ## Essays ### Editorial: Khrushchev Arrives in the U.S.A. The editorial, 'Khrushchev Arrives in the U.S.A.', reads the Soviet leader's three-week-long ambition to visit America as a moment of Cold War theatre. It concedes the propaganda power of Soviet scientific triumphs — Sputnik and a moon rocket launched just as Khrushchev arrived — but insists these reflect a system that concentrates all resources on prestige projects and state power while neglecting the ordinary citizen. It contrasts Soviet science, generalised and state-directed, with the under-developed condition of Indian education and talent. - Frames Khrushchev's U.S. visit as Cold War propaganda theatre. - Concedes the impact of Soviet space triumphs (Sputnik, the moon rocket) timed to the visit. - Argues these reflect a state that pours resources into prestige projects at the citizen's expense. - Contrasts state-directed Soviet science with India's under-developed talent and education. ### Rethinking Foreign Policy *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Rethinking Foreign Policy' argues that Chinese aggression along the disputed Himalayan frontier exposes the bankruptcy of Nehru's foreign policy. He reviews Chou En-lai's repudiation of the McMahon Line, Chinese incursions into NEFA and the suppression of Tibet, and contends that India's faith in Panch Sheel and non-alignment left it unprepared. The essay calls for a hard-headed reassessment that recognises China as a threat rather than a friendly fellow-traveller. - Argues Chinese aggression on the Himalayan border has discredited Nehru's foreign policy. - Reviews Chou En-lai's repudiation of the McMahon Line and incursions into NEFA and Tibet. - Holds Panch Sheel and non-alignment responsible for India's unpreparedness. - Calls for a realist reassessment that treats China as a threat. ### Wanted a New Government *By M. N. Thoiral* 'Wanted a New Government', by M. N. Thoiral, is a frontal attack on the Nehru government, arguing that its commitment to non-violence and its handling of Parliament and the China border have failed the nation. The piece treats the doctrine of non-violence as a liability in the face of Chinese aggression and calls, as its title declares, for a change of government. - Demands a change of the Nehru government. - Attacks non-violence as a doctrine ill-suited to confronting Chinese aggression. - Criticises the government's handling of Parliament and the border crisis. ### Fallacies of India's Foreign Policy *By B. G. Pradhan* B. G. Pradhan's 'Fallacies of India's Foreign Policy' dissects what the author sees as the errors underlying Nehru's approach to China and the wider world. It examines the McMahon Line dispute, the collapse of Panch Sheel as a basis for trust, and the contradictions of a foreign policy that combines professed friendship with China against the evidence of Chinese conduct on the frontier. - Catalogues the 'fallacies' underlying Nehru's foreign policy. - Centres on the McMahon Line dispute and the breakdown of Panch Sheel. - Argues professed friendship with China is contradicted by Chinese aggression. ### This Menace of Hindi Fanaticism *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan's 'This Menace of Hindi Fanaticism' defends English against the drive to impose Hindi as the sole national language. Responding to the Prime Minister's assurances and to resolutions on the language question, the essay argues that the fanatical promotion of Hindi threatens national unity and the interests of non-Hindi regions, and it aligns with the journal's cover slogan that English should be the lingua franca of India. - Defends English against the imposition of Hindi as the sole national language. - Treats 'Hindi fanaticism' as a threat to national unity and to non-Hindi regions. - Echoes the journal's cover demand to 'Make English the Lingua Franca of India'. ### The Great Path Finder of Modern India *By V. Vogeswara Rao* V. Yogeswara Rao's 'The Great Path Finder of Modern India' is a profile of Mool Shankar — Dayananda Saraswati — the founder of the Arya Samaj, presented as a pioneering reformer of modern India. The piece sketches his life and his programme of religious and social reform. - Profiles Mool Shankar / Dayananda Saraswati, founder of the Arya Samaj. - Presents him as a pioneering modern Indian reformer. - Sketches his religious and social reform programme. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-oct1-1961/ ### Summary This 1 October 1961 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IX No. 13) appears under a new editor, D. M. Kulkarni, and a revised banner — 'Independent Journal of Free Economy and Public Affairs', with the cover slogan now 'We stand for free economy and limited government'. The editorial weighs Britain's bid to join the European Common Market against its Commonwealth ties, reporting the Accra conference of Commonwealth trade ministers and the fears of Canada, Australia and India about British entry. The featured articles turn to democracy and foreign affairs: M. A. Venkata Rao argues that the health of Indian democracy depends on 'the education of the electorate'; M. N. Thoiral assesses the 1961 Belgrade Conference of non-aligned nations ('The Belgrade Gradient'); and A. Gopalakrishnamurthy mounts a sharp attack on what he calls 'Nehru's Amoralism', faulting the Prime Minister's non-alignment and his response to the Soviet resumption of nuclear testing. The issue, complete in twenty pages, also carries the journal's Rationalist Supplement and standing departments (Delhi Letter, Book Review, Gleanings from the Press, News & Views, Letters). ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 October 1961 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IX No. 13) appears under a new editor, D. M. Kulkarni, and a revised banner — 'Independent Journal of Free Economy and Public Affairs', with the cover slogan now 'We stand for free economy and limited government'. The editorial weighs Britain's bid to join the European Common Market against its Commonwealth ties, reporting the Accra conference of Commonwealth trade ministers and the fears of Canada, Australia and India about British entry. The featured articles turn to democracy and foreign affairs: M. A. Venkata Rao argues that the health of Indian democracy depends on 'the education of the electorate'; M. N. Thoiral assesses the 1961 Belgrade Conference of non-aligned nations ('The Belgrade Gradient'); and A. Gopalakrishnamurthy mounts a sharp attack on what he calls 'Nehru's Amoralism', faulting the Prime Minister's non-alignment and his response to the Soviet resumption of nuclear testing. The issue, complete in twenty pages, also carries the journal's Rationalist Supplement and standing departments (Delhi Letter, Book Review, Gleanings from the Press, News & Views, Letters). ## Essays ### Editorial: The Commonwealth, Great Britain and E.C.M. The editorial, 'The Commonwealth, Great Britain and E.C.M.', examines the storm Britain raised by proposing to join the European Common Market. Reporting the Accra conference of more than 100 Commonwealth trade delegates, it records the objections of Canada (George Hees), Australia (Lake) and India (Morarji Desai) that British entry would weaken Commonwealth trade preferences and food-stuff advantages, and it sets the British view — that nothing need change at once — against Commonwealth anxieties, invoking Lester B. Pearson on the strength of the Commonwealth lying in undefined but genuine recognition of shared value. - Reports the Accra conference of Commonwealth trade ministers on Britain's Common Market bid. - Records objections from Canada, Australia and India that entry would erode trade preferences. - Sets the British reassurance against Commonwealth fears over food-stuff and tariff advantages. - Invokes Lester B. Pearson on the intangible strength of the Commonwealth. ### The Education of the Electorate *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Education of the Electorate' argues that the quality of a democracy depends on the political understanding of its voters. Surveying the characteristics of the electorate at election time, the demagoguery of parties, and the gap between rational deliberation and mass opinion, he contends that without an educated and informed electorate, elections degenerate into manipulation, and he treats civic education as the precondition for sound self-government. - Ties the health of democracy to the political understanding of the electorate. - Examines party demagoguery and the manipulation of mass opinion at elections. - Argues an uneducated electorate turns elections into manipulation. - Treats civic education as the precondition for sound self-government. ### The Belgrade Gradient *By M. N. Tholal* 'The Belgrade Gradient', by M. N. Thoiral, assesses the September 1961 Belgrade Conference of twenty-five non-aligned nations. The piece weighs the conference's evasions and gestures against the realities of the Cold War — including the resumption of nuclear testing — and is sceptical that the assembled neutralist leaders offered any firm or principled response to the dangers of the moment. - Assesses the 1961 Belgrade Conference of 25 non-aligned nations. - Reads the conference as evasive in the face of Cold War realities. - Connects the meeting to the resumption of nuclear testing. - Doubts the neutralist leaders offered a firm or principled stand. ### Nehru's Amoralism *By A. Gopalakrishnamurthy* A. Gopalakrishnamurthy's 'Nehru's Amoralism' is a sustained attack on the Prime Minister's foreign policy, arguing that Nehru is not the moralist he is taken to be but an amoralist who 'helps himself' under the guise of high principle. The essay reads the Belgrade conference, India's non-alignment, and Nehru's muted response to the Soviet resumption of nuclear testing as evidence of a policy that subordinates moral consistency to expediency. - Argues Nehru is an 'amoralist', not the moralist he is reputed to be. - Reads his non-alignment and Belgrade diplomacy as self-serving expediency. - Faults his muted response to the Soviet resumption of nuclear testing. - Charges that high principle masks a policy of helping oneself. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-oct1-1960/ ### Summary This 1 October 1960 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII No. 13), the fortnightly classical-liberal journal edited by Kusoom Lotwalla, opens with an editorial marking the centenary of the engineer-statesman Sir M. Visvesvaraya, holding him up as a model of public service, integrity and nation-building. The substantive articles range across foreign policy, economics and Indian thought: M. A. Venkata Rao contrasts Nehru's doctrine of Panchsheela and non-interference with Kautilya's realist Mandala theory of the balance of power; M. N. Thoiral examines Khrushchev's disarmament diplomacy at the United Nations against the backdrop of the Cold War and the Congo crisis; and S. Ramanathan continues a study of Lokayata, the materialist (Charvaka) tradition in Indian philosophy, as a rationalist heritage. A reprinted Swatantra Party statement, 'Inflation — Your Personal Enemy', explains inflation as a tax on incomes and savings. The issue also carries the journal's four-page Rationalist Supplement. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 October 1960 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII No. 13), the fortnightly classical-liberal journal edited by Kusoom Lotwalla, opens with an editorial marking the centenary of the engineer-statesman Sir M. Visvesvaraya, holding him up as a model of public service, integrity and nation-building. The substantive articles range across foreign policy, economics and Indian thought: M. A. Venkata Rao contrasts Nehru's doctrine of Panchsheela and non-interference with Kautilya's realist Mandala theory of the balance of power; M. N. Thoiral examines Khrushchev's disarmament diplomacy at the United Nations against the backdrop of the Cold War and the Congo crisis; and S. Ramanathan continues a study of Lokayata, the materialist (Charvaka) tradition in Indian philosophy, as a rationalist heritage. A reprinted Swatantra Party statement, 'Inflation — Your Personal Enemy', explains inflation as a tax on incomes and savings. The issue also carries the journal's four-page Rationalist Supplement. ## Essays ### Editorial: Dr. M. Visvesvaraya is 100 Years Old on 15th The editorial commemorates the hundredth birthday (15 September) of Sir M. Visvesvaraya, the engineer who became Dewan of Mysore. It celebrates his many-sided career — the Krishnarajendra Reservoir, the Sukkur dam, sanitary and flood-control engineering for Poona and other cities, and his administrative reforms — and presents his scrupulous integrity, devotion to public service and sense of the national value of hard work as a model of citizenship for modern India. - Marks the centenary of Sir M. Visvesvaraya on 15 September. - Surveys his engineering achievements: Krishnarajendra Reservoir, Sukkur dam, and sanitary/flood-control works. - Praises his work as Dewan of Mysore and his administrative reforms. - Holds up his integrity and public-service ethic as a model for the nation. ### Foreign Policy: Panchsheela and Mandala *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Foreign Policy: Panchsheela and Mandala' sets Nehru's doctrine of non-interference (Panchsheela) against Kautilya's ancient Mandala theory of statecraft, which treats foreign relations as a balance of power among neighbouring states. The essay argues that the realist Kautilyan view — 'Nehru versus Kautilya' — is the sounder guide for a nation facing aggressive neighbours, and that Panchsheela's non-interference is naive in the face of power politics. - Contrasts Nehru's Panchsheela non-interference with Kautilya's Mandala theory. - Frames the choice as 'Nehru versus Kautilya' — idealism versus realist statecraft. - Argues a balance-of-power approach is the sounder guide for India. - Treats Panchsheela as naive in the face of power politics. ### Khrushchev and Disarmament *By M. N. Thoiral* M. N. Thoiral's 'Khrushchev and Disarmament' examines the Soviet leader's disarmament proposals at the United Nations, reading them as Cold War manoeuvre rather than genuine peace-making. The piece weighs what kind of peace Khrushchev offers against Soviet conduct behind the Iron Curtain and in the Congo, and is sceptical that the disarmament drive reflects any real change in Soviet aims. - Examines Khrushchev's disarmament proposals at the United Nations. - Reads them as Cold War tactics rather than genuine peace-making. - Sets the proposals against Soviet conduct in the Congo and behind the Iron Curtain. - Doubts any real change in Soviet aims. ### Lokayata: Indian Materialism *By S. Ramanathan* S. Ramanathan's 'Lokayata: Indian Materialism' (continued from the June issue) is a study of the Lokayata or Charvaka school, the materialist and rationalist current in classical Indian philosophy. The essay traces its doctrines and its sceptical rejection of supernatural authority, presenting it as an indigenous rationalist heritage congenial to the journal's own rationalist programme. - Studies the Lokayata/Charvaka school of Indian materialism. - Traces its rationalist, anti-supernatural doctrines. - Presents it as an indigenous Indian rationalist tradition. - Continued from an earlier (June) installment. ### Inflation — Your Personal Enemy 'Inflation — Your Personal Enemy' reprints a Swatantra Party statement adopted on its 18 September Party Day. It defines inflation as a hidden tax that erodes the value of incomes and savings, sets out how it harms ordinary people, and casts the fight against it as a personal as well as a national concern. - Reprints a Swatantra Party statement adopted on its 18 September Party Day. - Defines inflation as a hidden tax on incomes and savings. - Explains how inflation harms ordinary citizens. - Frames the fight against inflation as a personal concern. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-oct1-1962/ ### Summary This 1 October 1962 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X No. 13) appears against the backdrop of escalating Chinese incursions into the North-East Frontier Agency. Its unsigned lead editorial, 'Hit Out Or Get Out,' attacks the Nehru government's irresolution toward Chinese aggression in NEFA, while the bylined articles range across foreign-policy alignment, national integration, monetary policy, and the meaning of 'Left' and 'Right' in Indian politics. Contributors include M. A. Venkata Rao on a Western defence pact, M. N. Tholal on emotional versus enforced integration, S. Narayanaswamy on the practicality of mobilizing private gold, and C. Rajagopalachari on the Left/Right distinction. A 'Delhi Letter' surveys the India-China-Nepal triangle. The issue carries the journal's standing masthead slogan, 'We Stand For Free Economy And Limited Government.' ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 October 1962 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X No. 13) appears against the backdrop of escalating Chinese incursions into the North-East Frontier Agency. Its unsigned lead editorial, 'Hit Out Or Get Out,' attacks the Nehru government's irresolution toward Chinese aggression in NEFA, while the bylined articles range across foreign-policy alignment, national integration, monetary policy, and the meaning of 'Left' and 'Right' in Indian politics. Contributors include M. A. Venkata Rao on a Western defence pact, M. N. Tholal on emotional versus enforced integration, S. Narayanaswamy on the practicality of mobilizing private gold, and C. Rajagopalachari on the Left/Right distinction. A 'Delhi Letter' surveys the India-China-Nepal triangle. The issue carries the journal's standing masthead slogan, 'We Stand For Free Economy And Limited Government.' ## Essays ### A Defence Pact With The West *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that India's predicament in the face of Chinese aggression exposes the bankruptcy of non-alignment and presses the case for a defence pact with the West. He weighs the costs of formal alignment against the dangers of continued isolation, contending that the threat from a Communist neighbour leaves India little practical alternative to seeking Western security guarantees even at some cost to its declared neutralist posture. - Frames the Chinese threat as the decisive test of India's non-alignment policy - Advocates a defence pact / alignment with the West for security - Weighs the political costs of abandoning neutralism against the risks of isolation - Situates India's choice within Cold War bloc politics ### Flunkeyism or Emotional Integration? *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal distinguishes genuine national integration from what he calls 'flunkeyism' and merely emotional integration. Invoking the example and writings of Mahatma Gandhi, he argues that real unity among India's communities cannot be manufactured by sentiment or imposed fashion but must rest on tolerance and substantive fellowship between Hindus and other communities. - Separates authentic integration from 'flunkeyism' and emotional integration - Draws on Gandhi's example and writings on Hindu-Muslim tolerance - Treats national unity as a matter of substance rather than sentiment ### Mobilizing Gold—Is It A Practical Proposition? *By S. Narayanaswamy* S. Narayanaswamy examines whether mobilizing India's privately held gold and jewellery is a practical proposition for shoring up the nation's reserves and financing development. Opening with the maxim 'Nobody who thinks of some new plan for raising bullion at Lausanne, begins to legislate,' he reviews the obstacles — popular attachment to gold as security, the modest results of past appeals, and the administrative and political difficulties — and assesses what a gold-mobilization scheme could realistically yield. - Asks whether private gold can be mobilized to bolster reserves and development finance - Notes the deep popular attachment to gold as a store of security - Reviews the limited success of earlier appeals and the practical obstacles - Connects the question to India's monetary and foreign-exchange position ### Left And Right *By C. Rajagopalachari* C. Rajagopalachari interrogates the labels 'Left' and 'Right' in Indian political debate, arguing that the conventional usage misdescribes the real choices before the country. He contends that the policies grouped under the 'Left' banner — state control, public-sector expansion, and centralized planning — do not in fact serve the common people, and that a politics of economic freedom and decentralization has at least as strong a claim to the progressive label. - Challenges the conventional 'Left' / 'Right' political vocabulary - Argues state control and planning do not necessarily serve the common people - Defends economic freedom and decentralization as genuinely progressive - Aims to recover the labels from socialist appropriation --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-oct15-1957/ ### Summary The 1 October 1957 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V No. 15), edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala and issued from the Libertarian Social Institute in Bombay, leads with foreign policy and a critique of Nehru-era planning. The unsigned editorial, 'Goa As Foreign Base,' treats the Portuguese enclave of Goa as a security problem and weighs the role of the Western Powers and the Soviet bloc. M. A. Venkata Rao supplies a long essay on India's foreign policy and non-alignment, 'Lal' reflects on the 'Hindu Way of Life' and communal relations, and B. S. Sanyal reports on Nehru's Jammu speech and on the Hyderabad Razakar figure Razvi. Further pieces by J. K. Dhairyawan and Sanyal turn to T. T. Krishnamachari and Nehru's critics, and a four-page inserted supplement from the Research Department of the R. L. Foundation reviews Spencer Heath's 'Citadel, Market and Altar.' The masthead carries the journal's standing slogan, 'We Stand For Free Economy And Liberal Democracy.' ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The 1 October 1957 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. V No. 15), edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala and issued from the Libertarian Social Institute in Bombay, leads with foreign policy and a critique of Nehru-era planning. The unsigned editorial, 'Goa As Foreign Base,' treats the Portuguese enclave of Goa as a security problem and weighs the role of the Western Powers and the Soviet bloc. M. A. Venkata Rao supplies a long essay on India's foreign policy and non-alignment, 'Lal' reflects on the 'Hindu Way of Life' and communal relations, and B. S. Sanyal reports on Nehru's Jammu speech and on the Hyderabad Razakar figure Razvi. Further pieces by J. K. Dhairyawan and Sanyal turn to T. T. Krishnamachari and Nehru's critics, and a four-page inserted supplement from the Research Department of the R. L. Foundation reviews Spencer Heath's 'Citadel, Market and Altar.' The masthead carries the journal's standing slogan, 'We Stand For Free Economy And Liberal Democracy.' ## Essays ### India's Foreign Aid *By MA Venkata Rao* Printed under the running title 'India's Foreign Policy,' M. A. Venkata Rao's essay examines India's posture of non-alignment between the Western and Soviet blocs in the rendered pages. He surveys the reception of Indian neutralism abroad, the question of foreign aid and apologetics for non-alignment, and the role of Mr. Krishna Menon, weighing whether India's stance genuinely serves its security and economic interests or merely flatters domestic opinion. - Assesses India's non-alignment between the Western and Soviet blocs - Discusses how Indian neutralism is received abroad - Raises the question of foreign aid and the 'apologetics' of non-alignment - Comments on Mr. Krishna Menon's part in India's foreign policy ### The Hindu Way of Life *By Lal* Writing under the name 'Lal,' the author reflects on the 'Hindu Way of Life' and on communal relations in India, drawing on the history of the Khilafat agitation and the figure of Maulana Mohamed Ali. The piece contrasts genuine tolerance with communalism and invokes Gandhi's example in arguing how Hindu-Muslim relations ought to be conceived. - Reflects on the meaning of the 'Hindu Way of Life' - Recalls the Khilafat movement and Maulana Mohamed Ali - Distinguishes tolerance from communalism - Invokes Gandhi on Hindu-Muslim relations ### Thus Spake Nehru at Jammu *By B. S. Sanyal* B. S. Sanyal reports on Prime Minister Nehru's address to a National Conference session at Jammu ('Thus Spake Nehru At Jammu'), drawing out its implications for Kashmir and for relations with Pakistan. Sanyal scrutinizes Nehru's claims and self-congratulation, noting the gap between the speech's rhetoric and the unresolved Kashmir question. - Reports Nehru's National Conference speech at Jammu - Examines its bearing on Kashmir and on Pakistan - Criticizes Nehru's self-justification in the address --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-oct15-1958/ ### Summary The 15 October 1958 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VI No. 15), edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala for the Libertarian Social Institute, Bombay, ranges across South Asian security, the politics of the region, and a free-market critique of planning. Its unsigned editorial treats 'Pakistan — The Important Subject,' while M. A. Venkata Rao opens the issue with a long essay on 'Economic Philosophy' surveying India's economic crisis, industrialisation, and agricultural reform. A piece signed 'Vandsasa' analyses the Pakistan Navy; T. L. Kantam reports on the army's seizure of power in Burma in 'Burma in Travail'; and a reprinted extract, 'God's Work for Nehru,' attacks Communism in Kerala. A several-page 'Indian Liberal Supplement' carries free-economy material, including H. M. Pai on 'Keynes and Free Economy' and 'G. N. L.' on Wilhelm Roepke and European economic integration, and Acharya Kripalani argues that the same policy-makers who brought India to the brink of bankruptcy will repeat their errors. The masthead slogan reads 'We Stand For Free Economy And Libertarian Democracy.' ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The 15 October 1958 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VI No. 15), edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala for the Libertarian Social Institute, Bombay, ranges across South Asian security, the politics of the region, and a free-market critique of planning. Its unsigned editorial treats 'Pakistan — The Important Subject,' while M. A. Venkata Rao opens the issue with a long essay on 'Economic Philosophy' surveying India's economic crisis, industrialisation, and agricultural reform. A piece signed 'Vandsasa' analyses the Pakistan Navy; T. L. Kantam reports on the army's seizure of power in Burma in 'Burma in Travail'; and a reprinted extract, 'God's Work for Nehru,' attacks Communism in Kerala. A several-page 'Indian Liberal Supplement' carries free-economy material, including H. M. Pai on 'Keynes and Free Economy' and 'G. N. L.' on Wilhelm Roepke and European economic integration, and Acharya Kripalani argues that the same policy-makers who brought India to the brink of bankruptcy will repeat their errors. The masthead slogan reads 'We Stand For Free Economy And Libertarian Democracy.' ## Essays ### Economic Philosophy *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Economic Philosophy' diagnoses India's economic crisis in the rendered pages, linking it to the structure of the Five-Year Plans, the pressures of industrialisation, agricultural reform, and the dependence of the economy on the monsoon and on food and population balances. He sets the country's development difficulties against a broader argument about the kind of economic philosophy India ought to adopt. - Diagnoses India's economic crisis through the lens of the Five-Year Plans - Weighs industrialisation against agricultural reform - Notes the economy's dependence on the monsoon and on food-population balances - Frames the discussion as a question of economic philosophy ### Burma in Travail T. L. Kantam's 'Burma in Travail: Civil Authority Surrendered to Military' reports the Burmese army's assumption of power and the surrender of civil authority to the military under General Ne Win. Kantam traces the growth of nationalism and the political instability that preceded the takeover, treating Burma's experience as a cautionary case for the region. - Reports the Burmese army's takeover and the surrender of civil authority - Centres on General Ne Win's assumption of power - Traces the growth of nationalism and political instability in Burma - Reads Burma's case as a warning for the region --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-oct15-1960/ ### Summary This October 15, 1960 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII No. 14), a Bombay fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotwala, gathers an unsigned editorial with several signed articles on Cold War diplomacy, domestic land policy, and anti-communist polemic. In the rendered pages the editorial assesses Nehru's first appearance at the UN General Assembly against the backdrop of Khrushchev's theatrics over the Congo and disarmament; M. A. Venkata Rao examines the impact of land reforms on agriculturists following an All-India Agriculturists' Federation seminar; M. N. Tholal dissects the 'five neutrals' resolution and Khrushchev's bid to sway the American elections; an unsigned piece marks the twentieth anniversary of the Soviet annexation of the Baltic States; Frederic Sondern reports on Soviet propaganda at the Vienna World Youth Festival; and J. M. Lobo Prabhu argues against state-permissioned strikes. The issue's editorial center is classical-liberal and firmly anti-communist, defending free economy and 'libertarian democracy' against both Soviet expansionism and domestic statist drift. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This October 15, 1960 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII No. 14), a Bombay fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotwala, gathers an unsigned editorial with several signed articles on Cold War diplomacy, domestic land policy, and anti-communist polemic. In the rendered pages the editorial assesses Nehru's first appearance at the UN General Assembly against the backdrop of Khrushchev's theatrics over the Congo and disarmament; M. A. Venkata Rao examines the impact of land reforms on agriculturists following an All-India Agriculturists' Federation seminar; M. N. Tholal dissects the 'five neutrals' resolution and Khrushchev's bid to sway the American elections; an unsigned piece marks the twentieth anniversary of the Soviet annexation of the Baltic States; Frederic Sondern reports on Soviet propaganda at the Vienna World Youth Festival; and J. M. Lobo Prabhu argues against state-permissioned strikes. The issue's editorial center is classical-liberal and firmly anti-communist, defending free economy and 'libertarian democracy' against both Soviet expansionism and domestic statist drift. ## Essays ### Editorial The editorial 'Nehru at the UNO Assembly' treats the Indian Prime Minister's first personal attendance at the UN General Assembly as a response to Khrushchev's decision to lead the Soviet delegation himself. In the rendered pages it reads Khrushchev's conduct over the Congo crisis and his championing of Patrice Lumumba as propaganda directed at newly enfranchised African nations, contrasts it with Eisenhower's and Hammarskjold's positions, and credits Nehru with moving a neutral resolution and performing a useful mediating role while doubting the sincerity of Soviet calls for disarmament. - Nehru attends the UN Assembly in person for the first time, prompted by Khrushchev attending on behalf of Russia. - Khrushchev's intervention in the Congo on behalf of Lumumba is read as propaganda aimed at African nations. - Eisenhower is persuaded to attend; Macmillan, Nasser, Nehru, Tito and others lead their delegations. - Nehru moves a neutral resolution and is credited with a useful, indispensable mediating function. - The editorial doubts Khrushchev's sincerity on disarmament and the U-2 incident. ### The Impact of Land Reforms on Agriculturists *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Impact of Land Reforms on Agriculturists' reports on a seminar on land reforms held by the All-India Agriculturists' Federation at Bangalore on 24-25 September, which revealed opinion among leading agriculturists in the South about land-reform legislation. In the rendered pages he warns that ceilings and acquisition aimed at the landowning class follow a 'communist pattern', that small agriculturists cannot afford the cost of contesting elections to defend their interests, and that egalitarian 'equality of deprivation' will push the state toward imposing ceilings on urban incomes as well, levelling incomes downward. - Reports on the All-India Agriculturists' Federation seminar at Bangalore, 24-25 September. - Argues land-reform ceilings and acquisition follow a 'communist pattern' motivated by socialisation of land. - Small (25-acre) agriculturists cannot meet election expenses far above the statutory limit of Rs. 10,000. - Such farmers must rely on city magnates, swelling urban politicians' influence at the expense of rurals. - Warns that demands for 'equality of deprivation' will extend ceilings to urban incomes too. ### Five Neutrals' Nostrum *By M.N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Five Neutrals' Nostrum' is a sceptical reading of Khrushchev's behaviour at the UN, opening from C. Rajagopalachari's hope that Khrushchev would make amends for his conduct at the Paris Summit. In the rendered pages Tholal argues that Khrushchev's real objective in coming to the USA was to influence the American elections, evidenced by his many press conferences, and that he calculates the Americans are a 'soft people' who can be pushed; the essay frames the five-neutrals resolution as ineffective against this design. - Opens from Rajagopalachari's expectation that Khrushchev would make amends after the Paris Summit. - Argues Khrushchev's chief aim in the USA was to influence the American presidential elections. - Cites the number of Khrushchev's press conferences as evidence of this electoral motive. - Contends Khrushchev believes the Americans are a 'soft people' susceptible to pressure. - Treats the five-neutrals resolution as an inadequate response. ### Twentieth Anniversary of an Aggression 'Twentieth Anniversary of an Aggression' is an unsigned piece marking 1960 as the twentieth anniversary of the Red Army's 1940 invasion and forcible incorporation of the Baltic States into the Soviet Union. In the rendered page it recalls the suppression of Baltic independence, mass deportations to NKVD dungeons and forced-labour camps, and cites a manifesto by the Baltic States' Freedom Council representing Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians appealing to the free world not to lose sight of the Baltic problem. - Marks 1960 as the twentieth anniversary of the Soviet annexation of the Baltic States. - Recalls the 1939-40 invasion and forcible incorporation into the USSR. - Describes mass deportations, disappearances into NKVD dungeons, and forced-labour camps. - Cites the Baltic States' Freedom Council's manifesto to the free world. - Frames Soviet occupation of the Baltics as a continuing assault against Europe. ### Red Lure For the World's Youth *By Frederic Sondern* Frederic Sondern's 'Red Lure For the World's Youth' reports on the World Youth Festival in Vienna, presented as a long-running, heavily funded Soviet propaganda jamboree designed to capture the minds of young people in the non-Soviet world. In the rendered pages Sondern argues that the Kremlin staged the festival as part of an unflagging drive, that only a small percentage of delegates were actively communist while many were naive young people drawn by slogans or a low-cost trip, and that Russia scored a propaganda victory the West should learn from. - Describes the Vienna World Youth Festival as a recurring Soviet-funded propaganda event. - Frames it as part of the Kremlin's long-term drive to capture young minds outside the Soviet bloc. - Notes only a small percentage of delegates were actively communist or reliable fellow-travellers. - Many attendees were naive young people drawn by slogans, curiosity, or a low-cost trip. - Concludes Russia scored a propaganda victory that should teach the West a lesson. ### Strikes By Government Permission *By J. M. Lobo Prabhu* J. M. Lobo Prabhu's 'Strikes By Government Permission' argues against a scheme of state-permissioned strikes, treating it as a contradiction that subordinates a worker's freedom to government licence. In the rendered page Lobo Prabhu frames currency and economic instruments as tools that can serve either liberty or totalitarian ends, and contends that requiring official permission for strikes is an instrument of an opposite, statist nature. - Critiques the idea of strikes conditioned on government permission. - Treats permissioned strikes as a contradiction of the worker's freedom. - Frames economic instruments as serving either liberty or totalitarian government. - Argues such permission is an instrument of an opposite, statist nature. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-oct15-1961/ ### Summary This October 15, 1961 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IX No. 14), the Bombay fortnightly 'Independent Journal of Free Economy and Public Affairs' now edited by D. M. Kulkarni, leads with a sharply anti-Nehru editorial and follows with signed essays on modernity, secular practice, the social cost of the motor car, and the Congress and language politics. In the rendered pages the editorial 'Nehru's Learned Ignorance' attacks Nehru's self-symbolisation and his attack on the Swatantra Party; M. A. Venkata Rao reflects on 'The Modern Spirit' and the clash of tradition and Western modernism; M. N. Tholal in 'Precept Versus Practice' scrutinises the National Integration Conference's school-prayer proposal against the Constitution's secular guarantees; J. M. Richards weighs the high civilisational price of letting motor cars dominate; and S. R. Narayana Ayyar examines 'The Congress And Linguism'. The issue's stance is classical-liberal and limited-government, hostile to statism, centralisation, and what it casts as Nehruvian authoritarian rhetoric. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This October 15, 1961 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IX No. 14), the Bombay fortnightly 'Independent Journal of Free Economy and Public Affairs' now edited by D. M. Kulkarni, leads with a sharply anti-Nehru editorial and follows with signed essays on modernity, secular practice, the social cost of the motor car, and the Congress and language politics. In the rendered pages the editorial 'Nehru's Learned Ignorance' attacks Nehru's self-symbolisation and his attack on the Swatantra Party; M. A. Venkata Rao reflects on 'The Modern Spirit' and the clash of tradition and Western modernism; M. N. Tholal in 'Precept Versus Practice' scrutinises the National Integration Conference's school-prayer proposal against the Constitution's secular guarantees; J. M. Richards weighs the high civilisational price of letting motor cars dominate; and S. R. Narayana Ayyar examines 'The Congress And Linguism'. The issue's stance is classical-liberal and limited-government, hostile to statism, centralisation, and what it casts as Nehruvian authoritarian rhetoric. ## Essays ### Editorial The editorial 'Nehru's "Learned Ignorance"' opens from the late Muslim League leader Jinnah's quip that Nehru was Gandhiji's spoilt child, and argues that Nehru is obsessed with a holy mission to fulfil himself in India and the world, brooking no opposition. In the rendered pages it fastens on Nehru's Cawnpore peroration in which he declared 'I am the symbol of some thoughts, aims and goals of the nation,' likening this to Louis XIV's 'I am the State,' and condemns his scurrilous attack on the Swatantra Party at the National Integration meeting as political blackmail and intimidation. - Opens from Jinnah's characterisation of Nehru as Gandhiji's spoilt child. - Argues Nehru is obsessed with a self-appointed holy mission and brooks no opposition. - Quotes Nehru's Cawnpore declaration 'I am the symbol of some thoughts, aims and goals of the nation.' - Likens Nehru's self-symbolisation to Louis XIV's 'I am the State.' - Condemns Nehru's attack on the Swatantra Party as political blackmail and intimidation. ### The Modern Spirit *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Modern Spirit' takes Nehru's description of steel plants and irrigation projects as 'temples' as a starting point for a meditation on modernism, an attitude and outlook sourced in the West and sweeping before it traditional societies only half awake like India. In the rendered pages he frames the clash of old and new, traditional and modern, as the defining cultural conflict of such societies. - Begins from Nehru's image of steel plants and irrigation projects as modern temples. - Defines modernism as an attitude and outlook with its sources in the West. - Argues modernism sweeps before it traditional societies only 'half awake' like India. - Frames the clash of old and new, traditional and modern, as the central cultural conflict. ### Precept Versus Practice *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Precept Versus Practice' examines the National Integration Conference, just concluded in New Delhi, which urged that the day's work in all Indian schools should begin with a prayer common to all India. In the rendered pages Tholal objects that such measures tend to defeat the 'Justice, social, economic and political' and 'equality of status and of opportunity' guaranteed by the Constitution's Preamble, contrasting professed precept with actual practice. - Reports on the National Integration Conference's session in New Delhi. - Notes the proposal that all Indian schools begin the day with a common prayer. - Argues such measures defeat the Preamble's guarantees of justice and equality. - Invokes the Preamble's 'equality of status and of opportunity' against the proposal. - Contrasts official precept with practice. ### Men In Motor Cars *By J. M. Richards* J. M. Richards's 'Men In Motor Cars' argues that civilisation is at last becoming fully aware of the high price paid for letting motor-cars become a dominant element. In the rendered pages Richards itemises that price: the ripping apart of towns and cities by new motor roads, the huge cost of road building, the waste of time and nervous energy from traffic congestion, and the frustration of never finding anywhere to park. - Argues society is finally aware of the high price of motor-car dominance. - Cites the destruction of towns and cities by new motor roads. - Notes the huge cost of road building. - Points to wasted time and nervous energy from traffic congestion. - Highlights the frustration of finding nowhere to park. ### The Congress And Linguism *By S. R. Narayana Ayyar* S. R. Narayana Ayyar's 'The Congress And Linguism' addresses the Congress party's handling of language politics. In the rendered pages the discussion engages economic planning and taxation under the Third Plan alongside the linguistic question, citing the burden of taxes on the common man and the planners' proposals to raise large sums over and above existing levies. - Addresses the Congress party's stance on linguism and language politics. - Connects the linguistic question to Third Plan economic policy. - Cites planners' proposal to raise roughly 1710 crores by way of taxes during the Third Plan. - Notes the burden of taxation and deficit financing on the common man. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-oct15-1959/ ### Summary The 15 October 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 18), edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala for the Libertarian Social Institute, Bombay, is dominated by the Cold War and by the deteriorating Sino-Indian frontier. The unsigned editorial, 'China Interferes With Nasser's UAR,' reads Red China's reach into the Middle East against the rivalries of the Communist bloc. M. A. Venkata Rao analyses Khrushchev's visit to America, M. N. Tholal argues that 'China Wins the First Round' in its border confrontation with India, and J. K. Dhairyawan offers a Mark Twain-flavoured 'Innocent Abroad' reading of the Khrushchev tour. A signed piece by 'Democrat' makes the 'Case of Comrade Krishna Menon,' criticising the Defence Minister over the China crisis, and an inserted four-page Economic Supplement carries Prof. G. N. Lawande on Marx's theory of value and surplus-value. The masthead slogan reads 'We Stand For Free Economy And Libertarian Democracy.' ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The 15 October 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 18), edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala for the Libertarian Social Institute, Bombay, is dominated by the Cold War and by the deteriorating Sino-Indian frontier. The unsigned editorial, 'China Interferes With Nasser's UAR,' reads Red China's reach into the Middle East against the rivalries of the Communist bloc. M. A. Venkata Rao analyses Khrushchev's visit to America, M. N. Tholal argues that 'China Wins the First Round' in its border confrontation with India, and J. K. Dhairyawan offers a Mark Twain-flavoured 'Innocent Abroad' reading of the Khrushchev tour. A signed piece by 'Democrat' makes the 'Case of Comrade Krishna Menon,' criticising the Defence Minister over the China crisis, and an inserted four-page Economic Supplement carries Prof. G. N. Lawande on Marx's theory of value and surplus-value. The masthead slogan reads 'We Stand For Free Economy And Libertarian Democracy.' ## Essays ### Khrushchev's Visit to America *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao examines Khrushchev's 1959 visit to the United States and its implications for the Cold War. He weighs the Soviet leader's overtures, the prospects for coexistence between the American and Soviet blocs, and what the visit signals about the balance of power and the contest of ideologies, reading the episode against the longer arc of Soviet conduct since 1917. - Analyses Khrushchev's visit to America and its Cold War significance - Weighs the prospects for US-Soviet coexistence - Reads the visit against the history of Soviet conduct - Considers the contest of ideologies between the blocs ### China Wins the First Round *By M. N. Tholal* Opening with a comic allusion to Dickens's Pickwick Papers, M. N. Tholal argues in 'China Wins the First Round' that India has already lost the opening exchange in its frontier confrontation with China. He reviews the preliminary skirmishes and the tens of thousands of square miles at stake, contending that New Delhi's handling of the dispute has left India at a disadvantage. - Argues India has lost the first round of the border confrontation with China - Opens with a Dickensian (Pickwick Papers) framing device - Reviews the preliminary frontier skirmishes and the territory at stake - Criticises New Delhi's handling of the dispute ### The "Innocent" Abroad a New Version *By J. K. Dhairyawan* J. K. Dhairyawan's 'The "Innocent" Abroad — A New Version' borrows Mark Twain's conceit to comment on Khrushchev's American tour, casting the Soviet leader as a wily traveller rather than a naive one. The piece tracks the propaganda contest between the United States and the USSR that the visit dramatised. - Uses Mark Twain's 'Innocents Abroad' as a framing device - Comments satirically on Khrushchev's American tour - Tracks the US-USSR propaganda contest - Reads the visit as a battle for the possession of minds ### Case of Comrade Krishna Menon *By Democrat* Writing under the name 'Democrat,' the author makes the 'Case of Comrade Krishna Menon,' indicting the Defence Minister over the conduct of the Service Chiefs and the deteriorating security situation on the China frontier. The piece treats Menon's handling of defence as evidence of the dangers of his political sympathies. - Indicts Defence Minister Krishna Menon over the China crisis - Questions his handling of the Service Chiefs and defence policy - Reads his conduct against his political sympathies --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-oct15-1962/ ### Summary This October 15, 1962 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X No. 14), the Bombay fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni, leads with an editorial on national integration and carries signed essays on caste and nationhood, Indo-Nepal relations, and the perils of over-organisation. In the rendered pages the editorial 'Wanted: A Rational Approach to National Integration' critiques the Emotional Integration Committee report chaired by Dr. Sampurnanand and argues that integration is a means, not an end; M. A. Venkata Rao's 'From Caste To Nation' takes recent events around caste-based reservation in colleges as occasion to revisit nation-making; M. N. Tholal's 'Nepal Exposes India' reads the reshuffle of Nepal's cabinet and King Mahendra's moves as embarrassing for Indian foreign policy; and a reprinted piece by the nineteenth-century American author John Clark Ridpath, 'Two Greatest Enemies Of Freedom,' attacks over-organisation. The issue's classical-liberal, limited-government stance frames each topic against the dangers of statism and centralised control. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This October 15, 1962 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. X No. 14), the Bombay fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni, leads with an editorial on national integration and carries signed essays on caste and nationhood, Indo-Nepal relations, and the perils of over-organisation. In the rendered pages the editorial 'Wanted: A Rational Approach to National Integration' critiques the Emotional Integration Committee report chaired by Dr. Sampurnanand and argues that integration is a means, not an end; M. A. Venkata Rao's 'From Caste To Nation' takes recent events around caste-based reservation in colleges as occasion to revisit nation-making; M. N. Tholal's 'Nepal Exposes India' reads the reshuffle of Nepal's cabinet and King Mahendra's moves as embarrassing for Indian foreign policy; and a reprinted piece by the nineteenth-century American author John Clark Ridpath, 'Two Greatest Enemies Of Freedom,' attacks over-organisation. The issue's classical-liberal, limited-government stance frames each topic against the dangers of statism and centralised control. ## Essays ### Editorial The editorial 'Wanted: A Rational Approach to National Integration' observes that National Integration is much in the air, with Congress leaders incessantly talking about Emotional Integration in a tone suggesting the non-Congress sections of the population are the real culprits. In the rendered pages it notes the release of the report of the Emotional Integration Committee presided over by Dr. Sampurnanand, argues the Committee's name reflects a basically wrong approach because emotional integration is only a means and not an end, and recalls how Gandhiji's advent into Indian politics gave the country a sort of National Consciousness rooted in Liberal Education and enlightened British administration before later degenerating into emotion-ridden, dogmatic politics. - Notes Congress leaders' incessant talk of Emotional Integration, casting non-Congress sections as culprits. - Marks the release of the Emotional Integration Committee report under Dr. Sampurnanand. - Argues the Committee's very name shows a basically wrong approach. - Holds that emotional integration is only a means, not an end, and one aspect of nation-building. - Traces National Consciousness to Liberal Education and British administration, later degenerating into dogmatic politics. ### From Caste To Nation *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'From Caste To Nation' returns to the problem of nation-making, prompted by recent events. In the rendered pages it engages caste-based reservation in medical and engineering colleges — citing percentages set aside for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and backward classes — and treats the persistence of caste as a central obstacle to forging a nation. - Revisits the problem of nation-making in light of recent events. - Discusses reservation of seats in medical and engineering colleges. - Cites quotas for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and backward classes. - Treats caste as a central obstacle to building a nation. ### Nepal Exposes India *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Nepal Exposes India' reads the restoration of Nepal's foreign portfolio to Dr. Tulsi Giri, Vice-Chairman of the Cabinet, and the dropping of Foreign Minister Rishikesh Shah in King Mahendra's recent reshuffle as disturbing for India. In the rendered pages Tholal notes a communique stating India's attitude to Nepal had not changed even after Shah's Delhi talks and that 'anti-national elements have been receiving all sorts of aid,' arguing the episode exposes the weakness of Indian policy toward Nepal. - Reads King Mahendra's cabinet reshuffle as disturbing for India. - Notes the foreign portfolio restored to Dr. Tulsi Giri, Vice-Chairman of the Cabinet. - Notes Foreign Minister Rishikesh Shah dropped from the Cabinet. - Cites a communique that India's attitude to Nepal had not changed after Shah's Delhi talks. - Quotes the charge that 'anti-national elements have been receiving all sorts of aid'. ### Two Greatest Enemies Of Freedom *By John Clark Ridpath* A reprinted essay by the nineteenth-century American author John Clark Ridpath, titled in the table of contents 'Two Greatest Enemies Of Freedom' (and headed on the page as 'Two Greater Enemies Of Freedom'), argues that one of the greatest enemies of freedom — and therefore of human progress and happiness — is over-organisation. In the rendered page Ridpath contends that the social, political, and ecclesiastical forms instituted to serve mankind have become so hard, cold, and obdurate that the life, emotion, and soul within have been all but extinguished, and that such institutions become natural enemies of their own peace. - Names over-organisation as one of the greatest enemies of freedom. - Argues mankind has been 'organised to death'. - Holds that social, political, and ecclesiastical forms have grown hard, cold, and obdurate. - Claims these institutions extinguish the life, emotion, and soul within. - Treats such institutions as natural enemies and destroyers of their own peace. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-oct15-1963/ ### Summary This Diwali Issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. XI No. 14, October 15, 1963), the Bombay fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni and now styled 'An Independent Journal of Public Affairs,' opens with an editorial on Congress leadership and follows with signed essays attacking Marxism and Leninism, analysing a constitutional amendment, and defending the Swatantra Party. In the rendered pages the editorial asks whether Mr. S. K. Patil will measure up to his task and reflects on the leader's position between party and people; M. A. Venkata Rao argues in 'The Failure of Marxism in the West' that the Marxian prophecy of proletarian revolution has been falsified in America and Western Europe since 1945; M. N. Tholal in 'We are Leninists' reads India's non-alignment as objectively serving Russia's Leninist foreign policy; Dr. Rustom C. Cooper examines the Seventeenth Amendment's effect on the Indian farmer and citizen through compensation and land-acquisition law; and K. Vedamurthy assesses 'Swatantra's Contribution to Democratic Thought and Practice.' The issue's classical-liberal, anti-communist stance frames each topic against the threat of socialist and statist orthodoxy. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This Diwali Issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. XI No. 14, October 15, 1963), the Bombay fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni and now styled 'An Independent Journal of Public Affairs,' opens with an editorial on Congress leadership and follows with signed essays attacking Marxism and Leninism, analysing a constitutional amendment, and defending the Swatantra Party. In the rendered pages the editorial asks whether Mr. S. K. Patil will measure up to his task and reflects on the leader's position between party and people; M. A. Venkata Rao argues in 'The Failure of Marxism in the West' that the Marxian prophecy of proletarian revolution has been falsified in America and Western Europe since 1945; M. N. Tholal in 'We are Leninists' reads India's non-alignment as objectively serving Russia's Leninist foreign policy; Dr. Rustom C. Cooper examines the Seventeenth Amendment's effect on the Indian farmer and citizen through compensation and land-acquisition law; and K. Vedamurthy assesses 'Swatantra's Contribution to Democratic Thought and Practice.' The issue's classical-liberal, anti-communist stance frames each topic against the threat of socialist and statist orthodoxy. ## Essays ### Editorial: Will Mr. S. K. Patil measure up to the task? The editorial 'Will Mr. S. K. Patil measure up to the task?' considers the standing of S. K. Patil within the Congress Cabinet and party and weighs whether he can meet the demands of his office. In the rendered pages it broadens into a reflection on the leader's position between the party and the people, the corruption and factional pressures within the Congress, and the qualities required of national leadership. - Asks whether Mr. S. K. Patil will measure up to the task before him. - Situates Patil within the Congress Cabinet and party leadership. - Reflects on the leader's position between the party and the people. - Touches on corruption and factional pressures within the Congress. - Weighs the qualities national leadership demands. ### The Failure of Marxism in the West *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Failure of Marxism in the West' argues that Marx's theory of the industrial proletariat as the destined bearer of revolution has been falsified in America and in many European countries, particularly in the post-war period since 1945. In the rendered pages he observes that the American worker is enjoying the benefits of socialism without socialisation, and pleads for subjecting Marxism to thorough examination and country-wide discussion in India, since it has become the stuff of the country's destiny. - Holds that Marx's prophecy of proletarian revolution has been falsified in the West. - Points to America and many European countries in the post-war period since 1945. - Argues the American worker enjoys 'the benefits of socialism without socialisation'. - Pleads for a thorough examination and country-wide discussion of Marxism in India. - Treats Marxism as having become the stuff of India's destiny. ### We are Leninists *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'We are Leninists' takes Lenin's saying that 'The Way to London lies through Peking and Calcutta' as a summary of Russia's present foreign policy, which Tholal argues cannot be fulfilled without India's Nonalignment policy and its emotional bias in favour of Russia. In the rendered pages he contends that the day Indian non-alignment ends will also mark the end of China's dream of expansion at the cost of India and Russia's greatest political defeat, opening from a reader's letter affectionately calling him 'uncle.' - Quotes Lenin: 'The Way to London lies through Peking and Calcutta.' - Argues Russia's foreign policy depends on India's non-alignment. - Reads Indian non-alignment as carrying an emotional bias in favour of Russia. - Claims the end of non-alignment would end China's expansionist dream and defeat Russia. - Frames India's professed neutrality as objectively Leninist. ### Seventeenth Amendment *By Dr. Rustom Cooper* Dr. Rustom C. Cooper's 'Seventeenth Amendment To The Constitution: Its Effect On The Indian Farmer And The Citizen' examines the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Bill, 1963, introduced in Parliament on 6th May 1963, which seeks to amend Article 31A and the definition of 'estate' to include land held under ryotwari settlements. In the rendered pages Cooper analyses the compensation regime for farmers whose land is acquired, noting that under the Kerala Act and other land-ceiling enactments the quantum of compensation is sometimes as low as 1% of the prescribed Land Acquisition Act value, and frames the amendment as eroding the property protections of the cultivator. - Examines the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Bill, 1963, introduced 6 May 1963. - Notes the Bill amends Article 31A and the definition of 'estate' to cover ryotwari land. - Analyses the compensation due to farmers whose land is acquired. - Observes compensation under the Kerala Act can be as low as 1% of the Land Acquisition Act value. - Frames the amendment as weakening the farmer's and citizen's property protections. ### Swatantra's Contribution to Democratic Thought and Practice *By K. Vedamurthy* K. Vedamurthy's 'Swatantra's Contribution to Democratic Thought and Practice' assesses the role of the Swatantra Party in Indian democratic life. In the rendered pages the discussion engages questions of population, consumption, and economic policy, situating the party's classical-liberal contribution against the prevailing planned-economy consensus. - Assesses the Swatantra Party's contribution to democratic thought and practice. - Engages questions of population and consumption in the rendered pages. - Situates the party's classical-liberal position against the planned-economy consensus. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-sep-1-1957/ ### Summary This 1 September 1957 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol V No. 13), the Bombay-based 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' edited by Kusum Lotwala, gathers editorials and signed commentary defending a free economy and liberal democracy against what its contributors see as the Nehru government's drift toward communism and a faltering foreign policy. The lead pieces argue for limited constitutional government, warn that the Congress is capitulating to communist methods, scrutinise India's stance toward Nepal and its non-aligned foreign policy, and reprint material from the R. L. Foundation and observers such as Guy Wint and Milovan Djilas. In the rendered pages, the connecting thread is a constitutionalist, market-liberal critique of state expansion at home and ambivalence abroad. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 September 1957 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol V No. 13), the Bombay-based 'Independent Journal of Economic and Public Affairs' edited by Kusum Lotwala, gathers editorials and signed commentary defending a free economy and liberal democracy against what its contributors see as the Nehru government's drift toward communism and a faltering foreign policy. The lead pieces argue for limited constitutional government, warn that the Congress is capitulating to communist methods, scrutinise India's stance toward Nepal and its non-aligned foreign policy, and reprint material from the R. L. Foundation and observers such as Guy Wint and Milovan Djilas. In the rendered pages, the connecting thread is a constitutionalist, market-liberal critique of state expansion at home and ambivalence abroad. ## Essays ### Editorial The unsigned editorial, 'Double Law in Kashmir — A Matter of Double Standard', attacks what it calls a double standard in the handling of Kashmir's autonomy. In the rendered pages it contrasts the special constitutional position retained by Kashmir within the Indian Union against the treatment of other states, and presses the case that Kashmir's separate status sits uneasily with national integration and democratic accountability. - Frames Kashmir's autonomy as a 'double law' / double standard within the Union. - Questions the constitutional basis of Kashmir's special status. - Ties the issue to national integration and democratic principle. - Sets the issue's editorial frame of constitutionalist critique of the Congress government. ### Liberty and Limited Government *By MA Venkata Rao* In 'Liberty and Limited Government', M. A. Venkata Rao mounts a classical-liberal defence of constitutionally limited government as the precondition of liberty. He argues that liberty is not the absence of all government but the presence of government restrained by law, and that the remedy for the dangers of concentrated state power is limited government rather than unlimited authority justified by emergency or expedience. - Liberty depends on government limited by law, not the absence of government. - Concentrated, unchecked state power is the central danger to freedom. - The remedy is constitutionally limited government. - A classical-liberal framing of the rule of law against expedient state expansion. ### Congress Capitulates to Communism *By J. K. Dhairyawan* J. K. Dhairyawan's 'Congress Capitulates to Communism' argues that the Congress government is surrendering to communist ideas and methods. In the rendered pages he contends that constitutional and parliamentary safeguards are being eroded and that the ruling party is conceding the ideological ground to communism rather than resisting it, warning intelligent citizens to recognise the drift. - Charges the Congress with ideological surrender to communism. - Warns of erosion of constitutional and parliamentary safeguards. - Calls on 'intelligent men' to see the capitulation clearly. - Polemical anti-communist framing aimed at the ruling party. ### The Challenge of Nepal *By K. D. Valicha* K. D. Valicha's 'The Challenge of Nepal' examines India's relations with Nepal and the strategic and ideological stakes there. In the rendered pages it weighs Nepal's exposure to communist influence and India's responsibilities, framing Nepal as a test of whether India's regional policy is genuinely democratic in practice. - Treats Nepal as a strategic and ideological challenge for India. - Raises the threat of communist influence on India's northern frontier. - Questions whether India's regional conduct is truly democratic. - Connects foreign policy to the issue's broader anti-communist theme. ### Our Foreign Policy Under Fire *By A. D. Gorwalla* A. D. Gorwalla's 'Our Foreign Policy Under Fire' criticises India's foreign policy, marshalling figures on U.S. and Soviet aid to India to argue about the real terms of non-alignment. In the rendered pages he tabulates American aid and contrasts it with Soviet assistance, using the comparison to question the coherence and direction of Indian foreign policy. - Critiques the coherence of India's non-aligned foreign policy. - Presents tabulated figures on U.S. and Soviet aid to India. - Uses aid comparisons to interrogate the terms of non-alignment. - Names major foundations as channels of American assistance. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-sep1-1959/ ### Summary This 1 September 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 15), a Bombay fortnightly 'Independent Journal of Free Economy and Public Affairs,' leads in the rendered pages with editorials on 'External Dangers: Soviet Imperialism' and 'Chinese Designs on India,' framing the journal's Cold War liberal anti-totalitarian stance. The bylined articles in the rendered pages argue against communal and statist drift in Indian politics: M. A. Venkata Rao examines the revival of the Muslim League and Muslim political ideology, M. N. Thölal attacks the Congress 'house that Nehru built,' A. Ranganathan parses Frank Anthony's language resolution and Nehru's reply, K. Kumara Sekhar charges that the Congress is 'behind the times,' and H. V. Kamath warns of a Chinese 'secret plan for a Himalayan Federation' encircling India. The issue also carries a bound 'Rationalist Supplement' whose lead piece, 'The Revival' by S. Ramanathan, celebrates the relaunch of the rationalist/freethought movement in India. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 September 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 15), a Bombay fortnightly 'Independent Journal of Free Economy and Public Affairs,' leads in the rendered pages with editorials on 'External Dangers: Soviet Imperialism' and 'Chinese Designs on India,' framing the journal's Cold War liberal anti-totalitarian stance. The bylined articles in the rendered pages argue against communal and statist drift in Indian politics: M. A. Venkata Rao examines the revival of the Muslim League and Muslim political ideology, M. N. Thölal attacks the Congress 'house that Nehru built,' A. Ranganathan parses Frank Anthony's language resolution and Nehru's reply, K. Kumara Sekhar charges that the Congress is 'behind the times,' and H. V. Kamath warns of a Chinese 'secret plan for a Himalayan Federation' encircling India. The issue also carries a bound 'Rationalist Supplement' whose lead piece, 'The Revival' by S. Ramanathan, celebrates the relaunch of the rationalist/freethought movement in India. ## Essays ### Revival of The Muslim League *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao traces the revival of the Muslim League in Kerala and reads it as a symptom of a deeper revival of Muslim political ideology in India. In the rendered pages he argues that the League's re-entry into coalition politics (notably alongside the anti-Communist front in Kerala) exposes the unresolved problem of religious community as a basis for political organisation, and he treats Muslim 'two-nation' ideology as a continuing challenge to a secular, liberal Indian order. - The Muslim League's revival is tied to Kerala coalition politics against the Communist ministry. - Venkata Rao reads the revival as a resurgence of Muslim political ideology, not a local accident. - He frames religious community as an unstable and dangerous basis for political organisation. - The piece situates the problem within India's secular-state debate. ### A Note on Mr. Frank Anthony's Resolution *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan responds to Mr. Frank Anthony's resolution on the status of English and to Nehru's reply. In the rendered pages he defends English as a vital 'additional' language for India and as a practical instrument of national integration and access to world knowledge, taking issue with both the resolution's framing and the assurances offered in reply, and laying out a series of numbered points on the language question. - Responds to Frank Anthony's resolution on the place of English and Nehru's reply. - Defends English as an 'additional' / link language rather than a colonial relic. - Treats the language question as bound up with national integration. - Structured as a point-by-point rejoinder. ### Congress Behind the Times *By By K. Kumara Sekhar* K. Kumara Sekhar argues that the Congress party is 'behind the times,' having grown out of a national movement but failing to keep pace with the economic and political needs of independent India. In the rendered pages he criticises the party's record in Kerala and its drift toward a centralised, statist style of governance, contending that the Congress has not modernised its thinking to match the country's problems. - Frames the Congress as a movement that has not adapted into a modern governing party. - Uses Kerala as a case study of Congress political conduct. - Criticises the party's statist and centralising tendencies. - Calls implicitly for a more liberal, forward-looking politics. ### China's Secret Plan for a Himalayan Federation *By By H. V. Kamath* H. V. Kamath warns that China is pursuing a 'secret plan for a Himalayan Federation' that would absorb Tibet, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and the Indian border regions into a Chinese-dominated bloc. In the rendered pages he reads China's cartographic claims, road-building and border encroachments in Ladakh and NEFA as evidence of an expansionist design, and urges India to drop illusions of friendship and defend its frontiers and Himalayan neighbours firmly. - Argues China seeks a Himalayan Federation absorbing Tibet, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan. - Reads Chinese maps, roads and border moves in Ladakh/NEFA as deliberate expansionism. - Warns against Indian complacency toward Chinese intentions. - Calls for a firm Indian defence policy and protection of border states. ### The Revival (Rationalist Supplement) *By By S. Ramanathan* In the bound 'Rationalist Supplement,' S. Ramanathan's lead article 'The Revival' welcomes the relaunch of the rationalist movement in India under the patronage of the Indian Rationalist (Ranchhoddas Bhavan Lotvala). In the rendered pages he argues that rationalism, by abolishing the fear of death and the apparatus of priestcraft, would release vast human energy for constructive, this-worldly human happiness, while conceding the difficulty of carrying freethought to the masses. - Marks the revival of organised rationalism/freethought in India. - Frames religion's promise of an afterlife as a diversion of human energy. - Argues rationalism would redirect energy toward worldly human betterment. - Acknowledges the difficulty of spreading rationalism beyond an educated minority. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-sep1-1960/ ### Summary This 1 September 1960 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII No. 11), the Bombay fortnightly that 'stands for free economy and libertarian democracy' and incorporates the Free Economic Review and The Indian Rationalist, opens in the rendered pages with an Independence Day editorial ('Independence Day Reflections') brooding over fissiparous tendencies, the Assamese-Bengali conflict in Upper Assam, and the Chinese threat on the Himalayan frontier. The bylined articles in the rendered pages press the journal's anti-statist, anti-communist line: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'National Introspection' diagnoses national disunity and the failures of Congress nation-building; M. N. Thölal's 'India's Enemies are Nehru's Friends' attacks Nehru's foreign and domestic alignments; and S. Ramanathan's 'Lokayata: Indian Materialism' recovers the ancient Indian materialist (Charvaka/Lokayata) tradition for the rationalist cause. The bound Rationalist Supplement leads with James Plender's 'Madame Blavatsky Unveiled,' and the issue continues with cold-war pieces by Edward J. Webster ('Communist Capitalist') and James Burnham ('Mythical World of Kremlinology') plus standing departments. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 September 1960 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VIII No. 11), the Bombay fortnightly that 'stands for free economy and libertarian democracy' and incorporates the Free Economic Review and The Indian Rationalist, opens in the rendered pages with an Independence Day editorial ('Independence Day Reflections') brooding over fissiparous tendencies, the Assamese-Bengali conflict in Upper Assam, and the Chinese threat on the Himalayan frontier. The bylined articles in the rendered pages press the journal's anti-statist, anti-communist line: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'National Introspection' diagnoses national disunity and the failures of Congress nation-building; M. N. Thölal's 'India's Enemies are Nehru's Friends' attacks Nehru's foreign and domestic alignments; and S. Ramanathan's 'Lokayata: Indian Materialism' recovers the ancient Indian materialist (Charvaka/Lokayata) tradition for the rationalist cause. The bound Rationalist Supplement leads with James Plender's 'Madame Blavatsky Unveiled,' and the issue continues with cold-war pieces by Edward J. Webster ('Communist Capitalist') and James Burnham ('Mythical World of Kremlinology') plus standing departments. ## Essays ### Editorial: Independence Day Reflections The unsigned editorial, 'Independence Day Reflections,' offers a sombre stocktaking on the thirteenth anniversary of independence. In the rendered pages it dwells on threats to national unity — the Assamese-Bengali riots in Upper Assam and Cachar, refugee strife, and the Chinese invader poised on the northern frontier — and argues that public opinion must revive a national patriotism transcending provincial and communal loyalties to meet the common danger. - Frames Independence Day 1960 as an occasion for sombre self-examination. - Treats the Assamese-Bengali conflict as a symptom of fissiparous tendencies. - Names the Chinese frontier threat as the gravest external danger. - Calls for a national patriotism above provincial and communal loyalties. ### National Introspection *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'National Introspection' argues that India, having won freedom, has failed to build genuine national unity or sound institutions. In the rendered pages he criticises the Congress's record and the planning-era state, traces present disorders to a want of liberal, integrative nation-building, and urges an honest self-examination of the nation's political and moral condition. - Calls for national self-examination thirteen years after independence. - Faults Congress nation-building and the centralising state. - Links present disorders to a failure of liberal integration. - Argues unity must rest on shared institutions, not coercion. ### India's Enemies are Nehru's Friends *By by M. N. Tholal* M. N. Thölal's polemic 'India's Enemies are Nehru's Friends' argues that the figures and forces Nehru cultivates abroad and indulges at home are precisely those hostile to India's interests. In the rendered pages he indicts the government's handling of the Congress, of frontier security, and of fellow-travelling sympathisers, casting Nehru's judgement of friends and enemies as fatally inverted. - Contends Nehru befriends India's adversaries while distrusting its defenders. - Criticises Congress conduct and frontier policy. - Frames the argument as a paradox of inverted loyalties. - Continues the journal's anti-Nehru, anti-fellow-traveller line. ### Lokayata: Indian Materialism *By by S. Ramanathan* S. Ramanathan's 'Lokayata: Indian Materialism' reviews a book on the ancient Indian materialist school and recovers the Charvaka/Lokayata tradition as an indigenous precedent for rationalism. In the rendered pages he draws on this materialist lineage to argue that scepticism and this-worldly reason are native to Indian thought, not foreign imports, situating contemporary Indian rationalism within a long domestic heritage. - Treats Lokayata/Charvaka as ancient Indian materialism. - Recovers a native Indian lineage for rationalism and scepticism. - Argues this-worldly reason is indigenous, not a Western import. - Frames the supplement's rationalist project in Indian intellectual history. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-sep1-1961/ ### Summary This 1 September 1961 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IX No. 11), the Bombay fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni that now declares 'WE STAND FOR FREE ECONOMY AND LIMITED GOVERNMENT,' opens in the rendered pages with an Independence Day editorial lamenting external dangers (the Chinese annexation of 1,200 square miles in Ladakh, the loss of Goa, troubles in Assam and the Punjab) and internal communal strife. The bylined articles in the rendered pages develop the journal's liberal-nationalist line: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'National Ideals And Social Forces' weighs the social forces shaping the new nation against its professed ideals; M. N. Thölal's 'The Fat Is In The Fire' treats the Master Tara Singh agitation and Sikh-Punjabi communal politics; and P. Kodanda Rao's 'Integration' argues the case for genuine national integration over coerced uniformity. The bound Rationalist Supplement leads with S. Ramanathan's profile 'Mrs. Kunjitham Guruswami,' and the issue closes with standing departments (Delhi Letter, Book Review, Gleanings, News & Views, Letter to the Editor). ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 September 1961 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. IX No. 11), the Bombay fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni that now declares 'WE STAND FOR FREE ECONOMY AND LIMITED GOVERNMENT,' opens in the rendered pages with an Independence Day editorial lamenting external dangers (the Chinese annexation of 1,200 square miles in Ladakh, the loss of Goa, troubles in Assam and the Punjab) and internal communal strife. The bylined articles in the rendered pages develop the journal's liberal-nationalist line: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'National Ideals And Social Forces' weighs the social forces shaping the new nation against its professed ideals; M. N. Thölal's 'The Fat Is In The Fire' treats the Master Tara Singh agitation and Sikh-Punjabi communal politics; and P. Kodanda Rao's 'Integration' argues the case for genuine national integration over coerced uniformity. The bound Rationalist Supplement leads with S. Ramanathan's profile 'Mrs. Kunjitham Guruswami,' and the issue closes with standing departments (Delhi Letter, Book Review, Gleanings, News & Views, Letter to the Editor). ## Essays ### Editorial: Independence Day The unsigned 'Independence Day' editorial observes the anniversary in a chastened mood. In the rendered pages it catalogues external dangers — the Chinese Red Army's occupation of some 1,200 square miles of territory in Ladakh, the unresolved Goa and Kashmir questions, and the threat to India's two wings posed by a sovereign Pakistan — alongside internal disruption in Assam and the Punjab, and faults the Prime Minister for complacency in the face of these perils. - Observes Independence Day in a sombre, self-critical spirit. - Highlights the Chinese annexation of ~1,200 sq. miles in Ladakh. - Notes communal and census-driven trouble in Assam and the Punjab. - Criticises the Prime Minister's complacency on defence and security. ### National Ideals And Social Forces *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'National Ideals And Social Forces' examines the gap between the ideals India professes and the social forces actually at work in its national life. In the rendered pages he ranges over the French Revolution, Russia and other modern revolutions to argue that ideals divorced from social realities miscarry, and presses for a liberal, integrative basis for the Indian nation rather than coercive or doctrinaire uniformity. - Contrasts professed national ideals with operative social forces. - Draws on the French and Russian revolutions for comparison. - Warns that ideals divorced from social reality fail. - Argues for a liberal, integrative national foundation. ### The Fat Is In The Fire *By by M. N. Tholal* M. N. Thölal's 'The Fat Is In The Fire' takes up the Sikh-Punjabi communal agitation, centred on Master Tara Singh and the Punjabi Suba demand. In the rendered pages he reads the fast and the slogans around it as evidence that communal and linguistic mobilisation has been let loose with dangerous consequences, casting the episode as a self-inflicted crisis for the Indian polity. - Centres on Master Tara Singh's agitation and the Punjabi Suba demand. - Reads the fast as inflaming communal-linguistic politics. - Treats the crisis as largely self-inflicted. - Continues the journal's wariness of communal mobilisation. ### Integration *By by P. Kodanda Rao* P. Kodanda Rao's 'Integration' argues that genuine national integration must be built on consent and shared liberal citizenship rather than imposed uniformity. In the rendered pages he distinguishes true integration from mere centralisation, treating the unity of a diverse India as a task of accommodation among its religious, linguistic and regional communities. - Defines integration as consent-based unity, not enforced uniformity. - Distinguishes integration from centralisation. - Frames India's diversity as something to accommodate, not suppress. - Grounds national unity in shared liberal citizenship. ### Rationalist Supplement In the bound Rationalist Supplement, S. Ramanathan's lead piece profiles 'Mrs. Kunjitham Guruswami,' presenting her life and convictions as an exemplary case of rationalist and reformist commitment. In the rendered pages the sketch draws on her freethinking outlook to advance the supplement's broader argument for a reasoned, this-worldly approach to belief and social life. - Profiles Mrs. Kunjitham Guruswami as a rationalist exemplar. - Uses the biographical sketch to advance the rationalist cause. - Continues the supplement's freethought editorial mission. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-sep15-1960/ ### Summary This September 15, 1960 issue (Vol. VIII No. 12) of The Indian Libertarian, an independent Bombay journal of free economy and libertarian democracy edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala, leads with an unsigned editorial on 'Regionalism versus Nationalism' that reads the contemporary Assam language agitation as a symptom of the Congress government's centralising drift and provincial chauvinism. In the rendered pages the issue gathers commentary on the politics of the early 1960s: M. A. Venkata Rao on the Assam crisis, M. N. Tholal's polemic against India's 'pseudo-peace merchants' and Nehru's foreign policy, A. Ranganathan's reflections on the national language controversy, S. R. Narayan Iyer on the communist threat, and a separately paginated 'Economic Supplement' carrying Prof. G. N. Lawande's essay 'Socialism and Democracy.' Across these pieces the journal argues a consistent classical-liberal line: against linguistic and provincial fragmentation, against socialist economic planning, and for English as a unifying link language and a free economy. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This September 15, 1960 issue (Vol. VIII No. 12) of The Indian Libertarian, an independent Bombay journal of free economy and libertarian democracy edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala, leads with an unsigned editorial on 'Regionalism versus Nationalism' that reads the contemporary Assam language agitation as a symptom of the Congress government's centralising drift and provincial chauvinism. In the rendered pages the issue gathers commentary on the politics of the early 1960s: M. A. Venkata Rao on the Assam crisis, M. N. Tholal's polemic against India's 'pseudo-peace merchants' and Nehru's foreign policy, A. Ranganathan's reflections on the national language controversy, S. R. Narayan Iyer on the communist threat, and a separately paginated 'Economic Supplement' carrying Prof. G. N. Lawande's essay 'Socialism and Democracy.' Across these pieces the journal argues a consistent classical-liberal line: against linguistic and provincial fragmentation, against socialist economic planning, and for English as a unifying link language and a free economy. ## Essays ### The Challenge of Assam *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao reads the Assam disturbances as the latest evidence of India's failure to reconcile regional sentiment with national unity. He treats the linguistic and ethnic clashes in Assam as a test the Indian state is failing, arguing that hasty, ill-considered reorganisation along linguistic lines has inflamed rather than settled provincial feeling. - Frames the Assam agitation as a national-unity failure, not a merely local dispute - Criticises linguistic reorganisation of states as a destabilising policy - Connects provincial chauvinism to weak central leadership ### Our Pseudo-Peace Merchants *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal attacks what he calls India's 'pseudo-peace merchants' — those who, in his view, mistake appeasement for peace in foreign policy. He fastens on Nehru's record, treating professions of peace as a confession of weakness rather than principle, and ties the argument to a broader critique of the government's posture toward aggression. - Polemic against appeasement dressed up as peace policy - Targets Nehru's foreign-policy professions directly - Distinguishes genuine peace from capitulation to aggression ### Some Reflections on the Language Controversy *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan offers reflections on the language controversy, opening from Frank Anthony's denunciation of the President's address and ranging across the place of English and the regional languages in the Indian polity. He treats the dispute as bound up with the larger question of national cohesion rather than mere administrative convenience. - Engages the English-versus-regional-languages debate - Opens from Frank Anthony's critique of the President's address - Links language policy to national unity ### The Menace from the Communists *By S. R. Narayan Iyer* S. R. Narayan Iyer warns of 'the menace from the communists,' opening from a mid-August speech by the Prime Minister and arguing that the Communist Party represents a standing threat to Indian democracy. The piece reads the government's tolerance of communist agitation as dangerous complacency. - Casts the Communist Party as a threat to Indian democracy - Opens from a mid-August prime-ministerial speech - Criticises governmental complacency toward communist agitation --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-sep15-1961/ ### Summary This September 15, 1961 issue (Vol. IX No. 12) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay journal of free economy and limited government edited by D. M. Kulkarni, opens with an unsigned editorial, 'Russia's Hydrogen-Rattling At The Free World,' that reads the Soviet resumption of thermonuclear tests and the Berlin crisis as proof that Russia's professions of 'peaceful competition' and 'co-existence' are a hoax. In the rendered pages the issue carries M. A. Venkata Rao's 'A Social Philosophy For Our Times,' M. N. Tholal's 'Legislation Or Chicanery?,' an unsigned piece on 'Acharya Kripalani On Urdu,' J. M. Lobo Prabhu's 'Consequences Of Foreign Policy,' and a separately paginated Economic Supplement carrying Prof. G. N. Lawande's 'Keynes And The Trade Cycle.' The issue argues a classical-liberal case against communism and economic planning, for limited government and a free economy, and engages the language question through the Urdu debate. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This September 15, 1961 issue (Vol. IX No. 12) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay journal of free economy and limited government edited by D. M. Kulkarni, opens with an unsigned editorial, 'Russia's Hydrogen-Rattling At The Free World,' that reads the Soviet resumption of thermonuclear tests and the Berlin crisis as proof that Russia's professions of 'peaceful competition' and 'co-existence' are a hoax. In the rendered pages the issue carries M. A. Venkata Rao's 'A Social Philosophy For Our Times,' M. N. Tholal's 'Legislation Or Chicanery?,' an unsigned piece on 'Acharya Kripalani On Urdu,' J. M. Lobo Prabhu's 'Consequences Of Foreign Policy,' and a separately paginated Economic Supplement carrying Prof. G. N. Lawande's 'Keynes And The Trade Cycle.' The issue argues a classical-liberal case against communism and economic planning, for limited government and a free economy, and engages the language question through the Urdu debate. ## Essays ### A Social Philosophy For Our Times *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao sketches 'a social philosophy for our times,' setting a liberal-humanist conception of society against the dominant collectivist and Marxist-Leninist creeds of the age. He argues that a sound social philosophy must rest on the value and freedom of the individual rather than on the subordination of persons to the state or to a totalising ideology. - Counters Marxist-Leninist collectivism with a liberal social philosophy - Grounds society in the value and freedom of the individual - Treats individual liberty as the test of a sound social order ### Legislation Or Chicanery ? *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal asks whether a bill before the Indian Penal Code amounts to legislation or chicanery, using a proposed measure to argue that the government dresses up the curtailment of individual liberty in the language of reform. The piece treats the bill as a case study in how state power expands under cover of legislative legitimacy. - Reads a Penal Code amendment as disguised restriction of liberty - Argues legislation can be a vehicle for state overreach - Defends individual liberty against legislative encroachment ### Acharya Kripalani On Urdu An unsigned piece on 'Acharya Kripalani On Urdu' enters the language controversy by way of Kripalani's stand on Urdu, treating the question of Urdu's place among India's languages as a test of the country's commitment to linguistic freedom and against narrow linguistic nationalism. It weighs Urdu's status alongside Hindi and the regional languages. - Engages the Urdu question through Acharya Kripalani's position - Frames language policy as a matter of liberal freedom - Situates Urdu among Hindi and the regional languages ### Consequences Of Foreign Policy *By J. M. Lobo Prabhu* J. M. Lobo Prabhu examines the consequences of India's foreign policy, tracing how its professed non-alignment and idealism play out against the realities of the Cold War and the country's security. The essay reads foreign-policy posture as carrying material costs that its rhetoric tends to obscure. - Critiques the practical results of Indian foreign policy - Sets non-alignment rhetoric against Cold War realities - Stresses the material costs of foreign-policy posture --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-sep15-1959/ ### Summary This 15 September 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 16), the Bombay fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotvala, opens in the rendered pages with an editorial on the Nehru-Ayub Khan meeting at Palam, weighing the prospects of an India-Pakistan settlement against long-standing distrust. The bylined articles in the rendered pages press the journal's liberal, anti-statist and anti-communist line: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'In Place of Panchsheela' calls for a sterner alternative to the discredited Panchsheel doctrine after Chinese aggression, and M. N. Thölal's 'Nehru Undermining India's Freedom' argues that Nehru's policies erode India's liberty from within. The bound Economic Supplement leads with Prof. G. N. Lawande's 'Co-operative Farming: The Path To Serfdom,' an attack on collectivised agriculture, and continues with G. T. Olarenshaw's 'Finance is not Money' and P. Spratt's 'Diamat' (on dialectical materialism). Standing departments (Delhi Letter, Book Reviews, News Digest, Letter to the Editor) round out the issue. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 15 September 1959 issue of The Indian Libertarian (Vol. VII No. 16), the Bombay fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotvala, opens in the rendered pages with an editorial on the Nehru-Ayub Khan meeting at Palam, weighing the prospects of an India-Pakistan settlement against long-standing distrust. The bylined articles in the rendered pages press the journal's liberal, anti-statist and anti-communist line: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'In Place of Panchsheela' calls for a sterner alternative to the discredited Panchsheel doctrine after Chinese aggression, and M. N. Thölal's 'Nehru Undermining India's Freedom' argues that Nehru's policies erode India's liberty from within. The bound Economic Supplement leads with Prof. G. N. Lawande's 'Co-operative Farming: The Path To Serfdom,' an attack on collectivised agriculture, and continues with G. T. Olarenshaw's 'Finance is not Money' and P. Spratt's 'Diamat' (on dialectical materialism). Standing departments (Delhi Letter, Book Reviews, News Digest, Letter to the Editor) round out the issue. ## Essays ### Editorial: Nehru Ayub Khan Meeting The unsigned editorial assesses the much-discussed Nehru-Ayub Khan meeting at Palam aerodrome. In the rendered pages it notes that the talks proceeded without a formal agenda yet produced expressions of goodwill and a willingness to settle outstanding Indo-Pakistan differences, and it cautiously weighs the factors for and against a durable settlement given the two countries' long hostility and the looming Chinese threat. - Centres on the Nehru-Ayub Khan meeting at Palam aerodrome. - Notes the talks had no agenda but yielded goodwill and a war-renunciation gesture. - Weighs factors for and against a lasting Indo-Pakistan settlement. - Reads the rapprochement against the backdrop of Chinese pressure. ### In Place of Panchsheela *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'In Place of Panchsheela' argues that the Panchsheel doctrine of peaceful coexistence has been exposed as hollow by Chinese aggression on the Himalayan frontier. In the rendered pages he urges India to abandon the illusions of Panchsheela and adopt a clear-eyed policy of national defence and realistic alignment, treating the betrayal in Ladakh and Tibet as proof that liberal democracies cannot trust totalitarian neighbours' professions of friendship. - Declares the Panchsheel doctrine discredited by Chinese aggression. - Calls for a realistic defence and foreign policy in its place. - Reads Tibet and Ladakh as proof of totalitarian bad faith. - Frames the lesson in liberal-democratic terms. ### Nehru Undermining India's Freedom *By by M. N. Tholal* M. N. Thölal's 'Nehru Undermining India's Freedom' contends that the gravest threat to Indian liberty is not external but internal — the drift of Nehru's government toward centralised, statist control. In the rendered pages he argues that the Prime Minister's economic and political direction, his handling of dissent, and his accommodation of socialist and fellow-travelling forces are steadily hollowing out the freedoms independence was meant to secure. - Locates the chief threat to Indian freedom in Nehru's own policies. - Criticises centralising, statist economic and political direction. - Faults the government's treatment of dissent. - Casts internal illiberalism as more dangerous than external foes. ### Economic Supplement *By G N Lawande* Prof. G. N. Lawande's 'Co-operative Farming: The Path To Serfdom,' the lead piece of the bound Economic Supplement, attacks the official drive toward co-operative and collectivised farming as a step toward servitude. In the rendered pages he argues that pooling land and joint cultivation would destroy the peasant's incentive and independence, that the food problem cannot be solved by such collectivism, and that Nagpur-style resolutions point India down a coercive, anti-liberal road in agriculture. - Attacks co-operative/collective farming as 'the path to serfdom'. - Argues collectivisation destroys peasant incentive and independence. - Denies that collective farming solves the food problem. - Reads the Nagpur resolution as a coercive, anti-liberal turn. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-sept1-1957/ ### Summary This 1 September 1957 issue (Vol. V No. 13) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay journal 'standing for free economy and liberal democracy' edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala, opens with an editorial, 'Double Law in Kashmir — A Matter of Double Standard,' attacking the special constitutional position of Kashmir as a betrayal of the principle of one law for all Indians. The rendered pages carry the issue's lead pieces: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Liberty and Limited Government,' J. K. Dhairyawan's 'Congress Capitulates to Communism,' K. D. Valicha's 'The Challenge of Nepal,' and A. D. Gorwalla's 'Our Foreign Policy Under Fire,' alongside reprinted commentary from Guy Wint and Milovan Djilas and a research supplement from the R. L. Foundation. Throughout, the journal presses a classical-liberal case for limited government and individual liberty and against the Congress government's perceived drift toward communism and socialist economic policy. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 September 1957 issue (Vol. V No. 13) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay journal 'standing for free economy and liberal democracy' edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala, opens with an editorial, 'Double Law in Kashmir — A Matter of Double Standard,' attacking the special constitutional position of Kashmir as a betrayal of the principle of one law for all Indians. The rendered pages carry the issue's lead pieces: M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Liberty and Limited Government,' J. K. Dhairyawan's 'Congress Capitulates to Communism,' K. D. Valicha's 'The Challenge of Nepal,' and A. D. Gorwalla's 'Our Foreign Policy Under Fire,' alongside reprinted commentary from Guy Wint and Milovan Djilas and a research supplement from the R. L. Foundation. Throughout, the journal presses a classical-liberal case for limited government and individual liberty and against the Congress government's perceived drift toward communism and socialist economic policy. ## Essays ### Liberty and Limited Government *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao argues that liberty depends on limited government, opening from the proposition that an Opposition's central duty is to keep the state within bounds. He sets out a 'fundamental definition' of liberty as freedom from arbitrary power and contends that the remedy for the erosion of freedom in India is a strict constitutional limitation of government's economic and political reach. - Defines liberty as freedom from arbitrary state power - Holds that an Opposition exists to keep government limited - Prescribes constitutional limitation as the remedy for declining freedom ### Congress Capitulates to Communism *By J. K. Dhairyawan* J. K. Dhairyawan charges that the Congress has 'capitulated to communism,' arguing that the ruling party's economic programme and its tolerance of communist influence amount to a surrender of liberal and constitutional principle. He reads Congress policy as drifting toward a totalitarian model under the banner of democratic socialism. - Indicts Congress for accommodating communism - Reads its economic programme as creeping totalitarianism - Contrasts liberal constitutionalism with Congress socialism ### The Challenge of Nepal *By K. D. Valicha* K. D. Valicha examines 'the challenge of Nepal,' weighing the Himalayan kingdom's political instability and its drift in foreign alignment as a strategic problem for India. He treats Nepal's situation as a test of India's neighbourhood policy and of the wider contest between democratic and communist influence in the region. - Frames Nepal's instability as a strategic challenge for India - Situates Nepal in the regional democracy-versus-communism contest - Questions the soundness of India's neighbourhood policy ### Our Foreign Policy Under Fire *By A. D. Gorwalla* A. D. Gorwalla puts India's foreign policy 'under fire,' subjecting the government's professed non-alignment and idealism to critical scrutiny. The piece argues that the gap between foreign-policy rhetoric and outcome leaves India exposed, and faults the government for confusing posture with strategy. - Criticises Indian foreign policy as rhetoric outpacing results - Questions the practical value of professed non-alignment - Faults the government for mistaking posture for strategy --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-sept1-1962/ ### Summary This September 1, 1962 issue (Vol. X No. 11) of The Indian Libertarian, a Bombay free-market and rationalist fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni, leads with an editorial on India's national-language controversy and carries signed articles on the public sector, China's strategic encirclement of India, and disarmament, alongside standing departments (Delhi Letter, Book Review, Gleanings from the Press, News & Views). Its argumentative center is classical-liberal: it opposes the spread of the public sector, defends English as a progressive lingua franca against Hindi imposition, and reads Indian non-alignment skeptically in the shadow of Chinese pressure on the Himalayan frontier. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This September 1, 1962 issue (Vol. X No. 11) of The Indian Libertarian, a Bombay free-market and rationalist fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni, leads with an editorial on India's national-language controversy and carries signed articles on the public sector, China's strategic encirclement of India, and disarmament, alongside standing departments (Delhi Letter, Book Review, Gleanings from the Press, News & Views). Its argumentative center is classical-liberal: it opposes the spread of the public sector, defends English as a progressive lingua franca against Hindi imposition, and reads Indian non-alignment skeptically in the shadow of Chinese pressure on the Himalayan frontier. ## Essays ### Editorial: National Language Or Progressive Language? The unsigned editorial, 'National Language Or Progressive Language?', reframes the Hindi-versus-English debate by analogy to the journal's earlier 'Self-Government or Good Government?' question. It argues that Hindi, spoken by only about 40% of India's population and natively prevalent mainly in the northern states, cannot yet serve as a scientific or administrative lingua franca, and that imposing it amounts to a coercion of the non-Hindi majority that would set back cultural and scientific progress. English, by contrast, is defended as a window to the world and the established gateway to modern knowledge. - Recasts the language question as 'national' versus 'progressive' rather than indigenous versus foreign. - Notes Hindi is spoken by only ~40% of Indians and that only 40% of those are literate. - Argues Hindi imposition coerces non-Hindi speakers (Bengali, Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati) and retards progress. - Defends English as essential for science, technology, and contact with the outside world. - Frames the debate as parallel to the earlier 'Self-Government or Good Government?' editorial. ### The Public Sector And Economic Freedom *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'The Public Sector And Economic Freedom' argues that the steady expansion of the State-run public sector under planning erodes individual economic freedom and concentrates power dangerously in government hands. He traces the doctrine to socialist premises about the State as instrument of welfare, and contends that the conditions of genuine competition, private enterprise, and dispersed initiative are what actually drive growth and protect liberty, warning that nationalisation substitutes bureaucratic control for the spur of free enterprise. - Frames the growth of the public sector as a threat to individual economic freedom. - Links the public-sector drive to socialist assumptions about the State's role. - Defends private enterprise and competition as the real engines of growth. - Warns that nationalisation concentrates economic power in government. - Casts the debate as part of the wider contest between liberty and planning. ### Noose Round India *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Noose Round India' replies to a Lok Sabha debate on Ladakh, arguing that India's professed non-alignment has become a 'dishonourable' and 'idealistic' posture incompatible with the hard fact of Chinese encroachment on the Himalayan frontier. Tholal maintains that genuine non-alignment is impossible between aggressor and victim, criticises the government's reluctance to align for self-defence, and reads China's moves as a tightening strategic noose around India. - Responds to a Lok Sabha debate on the Ladakh/Chinese encroachment. - Attacks non-alignment as dishonourable and unrealistic given Chinese aggression. - Argues non-alignment cannot stand between aggressor and victim. - Faults the government for refusing alignment needed for self-defence. - Reads Chinese strategy as a noose tightening around India. ### Second Front For India's Disarmament *By P. Kodanda Rao* P. Kodanda Rao's 'Second Front For India's Disarmament' reports on the Anti-Nuclear Arms Convention and argues that India should open a 'second front' for disarmament by working through international and domestic channels. He weighs India's moral position against the practical pressures of Chinese encroachment, surveying the convention's resolutions and the tension between idealistic disarmament advocacy and the country's concrete security needs. - Reports on the Anti-Nuclear Arms Convention's proceedings and resolutions. - Calls for a 'second front' for disarmament through international and domestic action. - Weighs India's moral leadership on disarmament against its security pressures. - Connects disarmament advocacy to the wider Cold War and frontier context. ### Delhi Letter The 'Delhi Letter', subtitled 'Nonalignment, A Green Signal For China', argues from the capital that Mr. Nehru's renewed emphasis on non-alignment effectively gives China a green light on the frontier. The correspondent reads the Prime Minister's stance as emboldening Chinese pressure in Ladakh and treats non-alignment as a diplomatic miscalculation in the prevailing strategic climate. - Argues Nehru's non-alignment signals weakness to China. - Reads renewed non-alignment as emboldening Chinese moves on the frontier. - Written as a capital-city political dispatch. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-sept1-1963/ ### Summary This September 1, 1963 issue (Vol. XI No. 11) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay classical-liberal fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni, is dominated by Congress-party politics and the crisis of one-man rule. Its editorial argues that only 'de-Nehruization' can save India; M. A. Venkata Rao analyses the relationship of party and government; M. N. Tholal dissects the Congress's reorganisation muddle; and a Delhi Letter profiles the socialist firebrand Ram Manohar Lohia. Shorter pieces report on life in East Berlin, Rajaji's 'Permit-Licence-Yug' critique of controls, a review of Ernest Barker on government, and a column on the persistence of Stalinism. The issue's argumentative center is a liberal critique of personalised, over-centralised Congress rule and the permit-licence economy. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This September 1, 1963 issue (Vol. XI No. 11) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay classical-liberal fortnightly edited by D. M. Kulkarni, is dominated by Congress-party politics and the crisis of one-man rule. Its editorial argues that only 'de-Nehruization' can save India; M. A. Venkata Rao analyses the relationship of party and government; M. N. Tholal dissects the Congress's reorganisation muddle; and a Delhi Letter profiles the socialist firebrand Ram Manohar Lohia. Shorter pieces report on life in East Berlin, Rajaji's 'Permit-Licence-Yug' critique of controls, a review of Ernest Barker on government, and a column on the persistence of Stalinism. The issue's argumentative center is a liberal critique of personalised, over-centralised Congress rule and the permit-licence economy. ## Essays ### Editorial: Only De-Nehruization Will Save India The editorial 'Only De-Nehruization Will Save India' argues that the concentration of power around Nehru and his hand-picked lieutenants has hollowed out the Congress organisation and Indian governance. It surveys the 'sinister implications' of the Kamaraj Plan and resignations, contending that genuine renewal requires dismantling Nehru's personalised control rather than reshuffling ministers, and links the crisis to the wider failure of socialist planning. - Argues India's malaise stems from over-centralised, personalised Nehru rule. - Reads the Kamaraj Plan and resignations as symptoms, not cures. - Calls for 'de-Nehruization' as the real path to renewal. - Connects the political crisis to the failure of socialist planning. - Signed editorially 'D. M. Kulkarni' at its close. ### Party And Government *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Party And Government', occasioned by the Kamaraj Plan and the relationship between Congress chief ministers and the central organisation, examines how the fusion of ruling party and State apparatus corrupts both. He argues that when a single party monopolises government, the machinery of office becomes an instrument of patronage and power rather than service, and that liberal constitutional norms require a clear separation of party from government. - Prompted by the Kamaraj Plan and the role of Congress chief ministers. - Argues the fusion of party and government breeds patronage and corruption. - Defends a clear separation of party from the machinery of the State. - Treats one-party dominance as a structural danger to liberty. ### Congress Cart Before The Congress Horse *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Congress Cart Before The Congress Horse' responds to K. Kamaraj's proposal, taken up by the AICC, that senior leaders quit office for organisational work. Tholal argues the scheme inverts the proper relationship between party and government, treats a loosely drafted resolution as a remedy for deeper rot, and amounts to a reshuffle that leaves the underlying concentration of power untouched. - Responds to Kamaraj's resignation proposal adopted by the AICC. - Argues the plan puts the party 'cart' before the government 'horse'. - Criticises the resolution as loosely drafted and evasive. - Sees the move as cosmetic, leaving real power concentration intact. ### How They Live In East Berlin / Permit-Licence-Yug *By C. Rajagopalachari* Page 10 carries two short pieces: 'How They Live In East Berlin', a reportage sketch contrasting the regimented scarcity of the Communist East with the West, and 'Permit-Licence-Yug' by C. Rajagopalachari, his signature attack on the controls-and-permits regime of the Indian planned economy. Rajaji's column frames the licence-permit system as the defining affliction of the age, stifling enterprise and breeding corruption. - Pairs a sketch of regimented life in East Berlin with Rajaji's controls critique. - Rajagopalachari coins/uses 'Permit-Licence-Yug' for the era of economic controls. - Casts the permit-licence regime as a source of corruption and stagnation. - Implicitly contrasts free enterprise with Communist scarcity. ### Delhi Letter: Lohia, The Lion-hearted The Delhi Letter, 'Lohia, The Lion-hearted', profiles the socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia and his combative parliamentary style, set against Prime Minister Nehru. The correspondent recounts clashes in Parliament over reorganisation and policy, and uses Lohia's fearless opposition to highlight the want of effective challenge to Congress dominance, while noting Lohia's own ideological excesses. - Profiles Ram Manohar Lohia as a fearless parliamentary opponent. - Stages Lohia against Nehru in Lok Sabha exchanges. - Uses Lohia to underline the weakness of opposition to Congress. - Notes Lohia's ideological excesses alongside his courage. ### Book Review The Book Review covers Ernest Barker's 'Reflections on Government' (Oxford), a study of representative and constitutional government. The reviewer treats Barker's work as a liberal account of how free institutions translate the mind of the nation into political action, aligning it with the journal's constitutionalist outlook. - Reviews Ernest Barker's 'Reflections on Government' (Oxford). - Frames it as a liberal study of representative, constitutional government. - Aligns Barker's argument with the journal's constitutionalism. ### The Mind Of The Nation 'The Mind Of The Nation', subtitled 'Stalinism Still Remains', argues that despite formal de-Stalinisation the underlying apparatus and habits of Stalinist rule persist in the Communist world. The column reads ongoing repression as evidence that the system, not merely the man, was the problem. - Argues Stalinism outlived Stalin and formal de-Stalinisation. - Locates the problem in the system rather than the individual. - Treats persisting repression as proof of structural continuity. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-sept15-1957/ ### Summary This 15 September 1957 issue (Vol. V No. 14) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay free-economy and liberal-democracy fortnightly then edited by Kusum Lotwala, ranges across foreign policy, defence, and political philosophy. Its lead pieces engage A. D. Gorwala's views on India-Pakistan policy, ask whether India's security and defence are adequate, and dissect the Oman oil crisis and the Imam. An embedded four-page (A-D) Research Department supplement of the R. L. Foundation reprints Ludwig von Mises on full employment and monetary policy; A. Ranganathan reflects on the politics of removing statues; and S. A. Das offers an essay on humanism. The issue's argumentative center is a classical-liberal, anti-socialist reading of Indian foreign and economic policy in the early Cold War. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 15 September 1957 issue (Vol. V No. 14) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay free-economy and liberal-democracy fortnightly then edited by Kusum Lotwala, ranges across foreign policy, defence, and political philosophy. Its lead pieces engage A. D. Gorwala's views on India-Pakistan policy, ask whether India's security and defence are adequate, and dissect the Oman oil crisis and the Imam. An embedded four-page (A-D) Research Department supplement of the R. L. Foundation reprints Ludwig von Mises on full employment and monetary policy; A. Ranganathan reflects on the politics of removing statues; and S. A. Das offers an essay on humanism. The issue's argumentative center is a classical-liberal, anti-socialist reading of Indian foreign and economic policy in the early Cold War. ## Essays ### Gorwala on India's Policy Towards Pakistan *By "Fairplay"* 'Gorwala on India's Policy Towards Pakistan', signed 'Fairplay', reports A. D. Gorwala's address to the Indian Council of World Affairs and argues for a critical, realist reappraisal of Indian policy toward Pakistan. It contends that sentimentality and drift have weakened India's position and that a firmer, principled stance is needed, weighing the dangers of both appeasement and provocation on the subcontinent. - Reports A. D. Gorwala's address to the Indian Council of World Affairs. - Calls for a realist reappraisal of India's Pakistan policy. - Criticises sentimentality and drift in foreign affairs. - Weighs appeasement against firmness on the subcontinent. ### Humanism *By S. A. Das* S. A. Das's 'Humanism', by an Officer d'Academie of Paris, sketches the philosophy of humanism from Nehru down to its modern variants, distinguishing a humanism centred on man's dignity and reason from narrower or sentimental versions. The essay treats humanism as a basis for ethics independent of dogma. - Surveys humanism as a philosophy centred on human dignity and reason. - Distinguishes genuine humanism from sentimental imitations. - Presents humanism as a ground for ethics apart from dogma. ### Are our Security and Defence Measures Adequate? *By J. K. Dhairyawan* J. K. Dhairyawan's 'Are our Security and Defence Measures Adequate?' reviews recent developments in Indian defence and asks whether the country's preparedness matches the threat from Pakistan and the wider region. It argues for a sober, hard-headed assessment of military readiness rather than complacency. - Questions the adequacy of India's defence preparedness. - Frames the threat in terms of Pakistan and regional pressures. - Calls for realism over complacency in defence policy. ### Supplement of Research Department of R. L. Foundation: Full Employment and Monetary Policy *By Ludwig von Mises* The R. L. Foundation Research Department supplement (pages A-D), edited by B. S. Sanyal, reprints Ludwig von Mises's 'Full Employment and Monetary Policy'. Mises argues that trade-union-driven wage rates above the market level are the true cause of involuntary unemployment, and that attempts to cure it through inflationary monetary policy only postpone the adjustment while debasing the currency. The piece is a compact statement of the Austrian case against demand-management orthodoxy. - Reprints Ludwig von Mises on full employment and monetary policy. - Blames above-market union wage rates for involuntary unemployment. - Argues inflationary 'full employment' policy only debases the currency. - States the Austrian critique of demand-management economics. - Edited by B. S. Sanyal for the R. L. Foundation Research Department. ### Removal of Statues *By A Ranganathan* A. Ranganathan's 'Removal of Statues' reflects on the impulse to tear down monuments of the colonial past, treating it as a sign of an immature nationalism. Drawing on figures from Tagore to Gandhi to Churchill, he argues that a confident nation absorbs rather than erases its history, and that statue-removal substitutes symbolic vengeance for genuine self-respect. - Critiques the drive to remove colonial-era statues as immature nationalism. - Argues a confident nation absorbs its history rather than erasing it. - Invokes Tagore, Gandhi, and Churchill in the argument. - Casts statue-removal as symbolic vengeance, not self-respect. ### Oman, Oil and Imam *By B. S. Sanyal* B. S. Sanyal's 'Oman, Oil And The Imam' analyses the 1957 crisis in Oman, where the Imam's revolt against the Sultan and the strategic stakes of oil drew in Britain and exposed the fault lines of Western policy in the Gulf. Sanyal weighs the failure of British policy and the dangers of a power vacuum in an oil-rich, strategically vital region. - Analyses the 1957 Oman crisis and the Imam's revolt against the Sultan. - Foregrounds oil and strategic stakes drawing in Britain. - Reads the episode as a failure of Western Gulf policy. - Warns of a power vacuum in a strategically vital region. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-sept15-1958/ ### Summary This 15 September 1958 issue (Vol. VI No. 13) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay free-economy and liberal-democracy fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotwala, is dominated by Pakistan and the Cold War in the Middle East. Its editorial diagnoses 'the psychology of Pakistan'; M. A. Venkata Rao argues against ceilings on landholdings; an anonymous 'Libertarian' assesses 'the Pak menace'; T. L. Kantam examines Britain's stake in the Middle East; and Peregrine Worsthorne's reprinted piece reads the Soviet view of the West. Shorter items include a judge's statement on tax justice, a commentary on the Noon-Nehru talks, a tribute to the late Glyn Thomas, and a supplement reporting on the Montreal Commonwealth conference and India's food problem. The issue's center is a classical-liberal, anti-collectivist treatment of foreign policy, defence, and property rights. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 15 September 1958 issue (Vol. VI No. 13) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay free-economy and liberal-democracy fortnightly edited by Kusum Lotwala, is dominated by Pakistan and the Cold War in the Middle East. Its editorial diagnoses 'the psychology of Pakistan'; M. A. Venkata Rao argues against ceilings on landholdings; an anonymous 'Libertarian' assesses 'the Pak menace'; T. L. Kantam examines Britain's stake in the Middle East; and Peregrine Worsthorne's reprinted piece reads the Soviet view of the West. Shorter items include a judge's statement on tax justice, a commentary on the Noon-Nehru talks, a tribute to the late Glyn Thomas, and a supplement reporting on the Montreal Commonwealth conference and India's food problem. The issue's center is a classical-liberal, anti-collectivist treatment of foreign policy, defence, and property rights. ## Essays ### Editorial: The Psychology of Pakistan The editorial, 'The Psychology of Pakistan', argues that Pakistan's hostility toward India is rooted less in specific disputes than in a settled national psychology shaped by its founding premise. It contends that Indian policy must grasp this mentality realistically rather than hoping that goodwill or concession will dissolve it, and reads recent friction on the frontier as a symptom of that deeper disposition. - Traces Indo-Pak tension to Pakistan's national 'psychology', not isolated disputes. - Warns that concession and goodwill will not dissolve that hostility. - Urges a realist Indian policy toward Pakistan. - Reads frontier friction as a symptom of a deeper disposition. ### Ceilings on Landholdings *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Ceilings On Landholdings' attacks the proposal to cap agricultural holdings as an unjust and economically counterproductive interference with property rights. He argues that ceilings would fragment productive farms, deter investment, and substitute a doctrinaire egalitarianism for genuine agrarian improvement, treating the measure as part of the wider socialist assault on private property. - Opposes ceilings on agricultural landholdings as an attack on property rights. - Argues ceilings fragment productive farms and deter investment. - Casts the measure as doctrinaire egalitarianism. - Links land ceilings to the broader socialist programme. ### The Pak-Menace *By A Libertarian* 'The Pak-Menace', by 'A Libertarian', argues that Pakistan's military build-up and irredentist posture constitute a standing menace to India that cannot be wished away. The writer reviews recent provocations and contends that India must base its policy on hard strategic facts rather than sentimental hopes of friendship. - Characterises Pakistan's posture as a standing menace to India. - Reviews recent provocations on the frontier. - Argues for a policy grounded in strategic realism. - Rejects sentimental hopes of Indo-Pak friendship. ### Britain's Stake In Middle East *By T. L. Kantam* T. L. Kantam's 'Britain's Stake In Middle East' surveys the unravelling of British dominance in the Gulf and the wider Middle East after the oil-rich sheikhdoms and the 1958 upheavals. It weighs the clash of empires, the role of oil, and the strategic consequences for Britain of a receding imperial position. - Surveys the decline of British dominance in the Middle East. - Centres oil and the Gulf sheikhdoms in the analysis. - Reads the 1958 upheavals as a 'clash of empires'. - Weighs the strategic costs of Britain's imperial retreat. ### How The Russians See It *By Peregrine Worsthorne* Peregrine Worsthorne's reprinted 'How The Russians See It' reconstructs the Soviet view of the West, arguing that Moscow reads Western disunity and hesitation as weakness and opportunity. The piece urges the West to understand the adversary's perspective if it is to respond effectively in the Cold War. - Reconstructs the Soviet reading of Western disunity. - Argues Moscow treats Western hesitation as opportunity. - Urges the West to grasp the adversary's perspective. - Reprinted British Cold War commentary. ### Noon-Nehru Talks *By Yaranamira* 'Noon-Nehru Talks', by 'Yaranamira', reviews the talks between Pakistan's Firoz Khan Noon and Jawaharlal Nehru against the backdrop of the Indian National Congress's record. The column reads the negotiations skeptically, treating professions of goodwill as fragile and warning against expecting durable settlement from summit diplomacy alone. - Reviews the Noon-Nehru talks between Pakistan and India. - Sets the talks against the Congress's record. - Reads negotiations skeptically. - Warns against over-reliance on summit diplomacy. ### The Legacy Of The Late Glyn Thomas *By Anthony Elenjimittam* Anthony Elenjimittam's 'The Legacy Of The Late Glyn Thomas' is a tribute reflecting on the economic and social ideas of Glyn Thomas, presenting his work as a contribution to liberal economic thought. The piece, seen through page 19, frames Thomas's legacy in terms relevant to the journal's free-economy outlook. - A tribute to the economic thought of the late Glyn Thomas. - Frames his legacy within liberal economic ideas. - Connects his work to the journal's free-economy outlook. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-sept1-1958/ ### Summary This 1 September 1958 issue (Vol. VI No. 13) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay journal of free economy and libertarian democracy edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala, leads with an editorial, 'Pak Aggression on the Eastern Borders,' urging firmness in defence of India's eastern frontier against Pakistani incursions. In the rendered pages the issue carries M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Corruption of Thought,' M. N. Tholal's 'Kashmir: India's Unanswerable Case,' V. R.'s 'Man Against State — American Utopias,' A. N. S.'s 'The Leader in Quest of Himself,' and a reprint of Lawson E. Reno's 'Police Power.' Across these pieces the journal presses its classical-liberal line: a defence of clear thinking and the free individual against collectivist confusion, a constitutional case for India's claim to Kashmir, and scepticism toward the expanding powers of the state. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary This 1 September 1958 issue (Vol. VI No. 13) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay journal of free economy and libertarian democracy edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala, leads with an editorial, 'Pak Aggression on the Eastern Borders,' urging firmness in defence of India's eastern frontier against Pakistani incursions. In the rendered pages the issue carries M. A. Venkata Rao's 'Corruption of Thought,' M. N. Tholal's 'Kashmir: India's Unanswerable Case,' V. R.'s 'Man Against State — American Utopias,' A. N. S.'s 'The Leader in Quest of Himself,' and a reprint of Lawson E. Reno's 'Police Power.' Across these pieces the journal presses its classical-liberal line: a defence of clear thinking and the free individual against collectivist confusion, a constitutional case for India's claim to Kashmir, and scepticism toward the expanding powers of the state. ## Essays ### Conception of Thought *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao diagnoses a 'corruption of thought' in contemporary public life, arguing that muddled and dishonest thinking — the substitution of slogan and sentiment for reasoned argument — is the precondition of bad politics. He treats clear, disciplined thought as a civic and liberal duty, and traces the drift toward collectivism partly to a prior failure of intellectual honesty. - Identifies dishonest thinking as the root of bad politics - Defends disciplined reasoning as a liberal civic duty - Links the slide toward collectivism to a corruption of thought ### Kashmir, India's Unanswerable Case M. N. Tholal sets out 'Kashmir: India's Unanswerable Case,' opening from Pandit Premnath Bazaz and the Partition agreement to argue that India's title to Kashmir is constitutionally and democratically sound. He answers the case put before the Congress and at the UN, contending that the standpoint of democracy supports India's position. - Argues India's claim to Kashmir is constitutionally unanswerable - Engages the Partition agreement and the UN debate - Grounds the case in a 'democratic standpoint' ### Man Against State Writing as 'V. R.,' this essay on 'Man Against State — American Utopias' opens from Karl Marx and turns to the American individualist-anarchist tradition, taking Josiah Warren as its exemplar of the doctrine that the free individual stands prior to and against the state. It surveys the utopian experiments of that tradition as a counterpoint to collectivist political thought. - Surveys the American individualist-anarchist tradition - Takes Josiah Warren as exemplar of 'man against state' - Opposes individualist utopias to Marxian collectivism ### The Leader in Quest of Stability Writing as 'A. N. S.,' this piece — titled 'The Leader in Quest of Himself' in the body, though the contents page lists 'Quest of Stability' — reflects on political leadership as a matter of self-knowledge, arguing that a leader who has not mastered himself cannot give a nation stable direction. The discussion ranges across contemporary leadership and its discontents. - Treats leadership as grounded in self-knowledge - Argues self-mastery precedes national direction - Body title differs from the contents-page listing --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-sept15-1962/ ### Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. X No. 12 (September 15, 1962), is a fortnightly classical-liberal journal published from Bombay by Libertarian Publishers under the masthead motto 'We Stand For Free Economy And Limited Government.' This issue leads with an unsigned editorial, 'The Defeat Of Congress-Communist Reaction,' which reads the year's general-election results as evidence that the Congress is 'no longer the political party it once was' and warns of a tacit Congress–Communist alignment. It is followed by M. A. Venkata Rao's analysis of India and the European Common Market, the fourth instalment of M. N. Tholal's serial 'Gandhi–Nehru Succession,' a reprinted Dean Russell piece, 'Basis Of Liberty,' and a four-page Economic Supplement carrying G. N. Lawande's 'Export Promotion And Foreign Collaboration.' Standing departments — Delhi Letter, Book Review, Gleanings from the Press, News & Views, and Dear Editor — round out the number. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. X No. 12 (September 15, 1962), is a fortnightly classical-liberal journal published from Bombay by Libertarian Publishers under the masthead motto 'We Stand For Free Economy And Limited Government.' This issue leads with an unsigned editorial, 'The Defeat Of Congress-Communist Reaction,' which reads the year's general-election results as evidence that the Congress is 'no longer the political party it once was' and warns of a tacit Congress–Communist alignment. It is followed by M. A. Venkata Rao's analysis of India and the European Common Market, the fourth instalment of M. N. Tholal's serial 'Gandhi–Nehru Succession,' a reprinted Dean Russell piece, 'Basis Of Liberty,' and a four-page Economic Supplement carrying G. N. Lawande's 'Export Promotion And Foreign Collaboration.' Standing departments — Delhi Letter, Book Review, Gleanings from the Press, News & Views, and Dear Editor — round out the number. ## Essays ### Editorial: The Defeat Of Congress-Communist Reaction The lead editorial argues that although the Congress emerged from the year's general elections as the largest party, the result masks a deep erosion of its character: it has become an opportunist, office-seeking machine that has absorbed the meanest power-politics and, in Kerala and elsewhere, openly courted Communist support. The editorial reads a Congress–Communist convergence as the central danger to Indian liberty and singles out caste propaganda and statist planning as twin instruments of this decline. - Congress returned as largest party but with its 'strength considerably depleted.' - Casteist and communal politics seen as corroding the party's old nationalist purpose. - Alleges a tacit Congress–Communist alliance, citing Kerala and the Chittoor by-election. - Frames totalitarian planning and 'all-embracing statism' as the shared programme of Congress and the CPI. ### India And The European Common Market *By MA Venkata Rao* M. A. Venkata Rao examines what India's stance should be toward the European Common Market. He surveys the financial-press and political controversy the Common Market has stirred, weighs the consequences of Britain's possible entry for Commonwealth and Indian trade preferences, and considers whether India should seek association, special arrangements, or stand apart. The argument situates the question within a broader case for free trade and against autarkic, inward-looking economic policy. - Treats Britain's prospective entry into the Common Market as a turning point for Commonwealth trade. - Weighs the loss of imperial-preference advantages for Indian exports. - Frames the choice as part of a larger argument about free trade versus economic insularity. ### Gandhi—Nehru Succession *By M. N. Tholal* The fourth instalment of M. N. Tholal's serial 'Gandhi–Nehru Succession' reflects on the question of political succession after Nehru and on the internal condition of the Congress. Tholal contrasts British and Indian habits of compromise and faction, and discusses the Congress's internal composition and the manoeuvring among its leaders as the post-Nehru order is anticipated. - Continues a multi-part meditation on the post-Nehru succession. - Compares British and Indian political temperaments around compromise and faction. - Reads Congress factional politics as symptomatic of a deeper crisis of leadership. ### Basis Of Liberty *By Dean Russell* 'Basis Of Liberty,' a short reprinted essay by the American free-market writer Dean Russell, restates a classical-liberal account of the moral and institutional foundations of individual freedom. It functions in the issue as a compact ideological touchstone alongside the journal's commentary on Indian affairs. - Reprinted American free-market essay used as an ideological anchor for the issue. - Restates the moral grounding of individual liberty in classical-liberal terms. ### Export Promotion And Foreign Collaboration (Economic Supplement) *By G N Lawande* In the issue's Economic Supplement, Prof. G. N. Lawande discusses 'Export Promotion And Foreign Collaboration,' examining India's export performance, the policy machinery built to promote exports, and the role of foreign collaboration and capital. He marshals trade figures across the early Plan years to argue about how export promotion should be organised and what foreign collaboration can and cannot deliver. - Surveys India's export drive and the institutions created to promote exports. - Uses early Five-Year-Plan trade statistics to assess performance. - Weighs the benefits and limits of foreign collaboration and capital. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Libertarian URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-libertarian-sept15-1963/ ### Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. XI No. 12 (September 15, 1963), edited by D. M. Kulkarni and published from Bombay, is a fortnightly classical-liberal journal of public affairs. The issue opens with the editorial 'Mend The Congress or End It,' which argues that the ruling Congress has decayed into a corrupt, statist machine and presses the case for a credible non-Congress, democratic alternative. M. A. Venkata Rao follows with 'Democracy And Constitutional Amendments,' a constitutionalist critique of the post-independence amendments (notably the property and 'rule of mind' debates), and M. N. Tholal contributes 'Bolstering Non-alignment,' a sceptical reading of Nehruvian foreign policy. The four-page Economic Supplement bundles a note on Minoo Masani's attack on governmental controls and planning together with J. M. Lobo Prabhu's 'A New Tax Structure,' and the issue closes with the Delhi Letter, Book-Review, 'The Mind of the Nation,' News And Views, and Dear Editor departments. ### Body # The Indian Libertarian ## Summary The Indian Libertarian, Vol. XI No. 12 (September 15, 1963), edited by D. M. Kulkarni and published from Bombay, is a fortnightly classical-liberal journal of public affairs. The issue opens with the editorial 'Mend The Congress or End It,' which argues that the ruling Congress has decayed into a corrupt, statist machine and presses the case for a credible non-Congress, democratic alternative. M. A. Venkata Rao follows with 'Democracy And Constitutional Amendments,' a constitutionalist critique of the post-independence amendments (notably the property and 'rule of mind' debates), and M. N. Tholal contributes 'Bolstering Non-alignment,' a sceptical reading of Nehruvian foreign policy. The four-page Economic Supplement bundles a note on Minoo Masani's attack on governmental controls and planning together with J. M. Lobo Prabhu's 'A New Tax Structure,' and the issue closes with the Delhi Letter, Book-Review, 'The Mind of the Nation,' News And Views, and Dear Editor departments. ## Essays ### Editorial: Mend The Congress or End It The lead editorial, 'Mend The Congress or End It,' contends that the Congress as the party of independence has exhausted its moral capital and now survives as an opportunist, controls-and-planning machine. It distinguishes a genuinely democratic wing within the Congress from the dominant statist tendency, and argues that unless the party can be reformed from within it should be displaced by a principled democratic opposition committed to free economy and limited government. - Frames the Congress as having decayed from a freedom movement into a statist political machine. - Distinguishes a latent 'democratic wing' within the Congress from its dominant controls-and-planning tendency. - Argues for either internal reform or replacement by a credible non-Congress democratic alternative. ### Democracy And Constitutional Amendments *By MA Venkata Rao* In 'Democracy And Constitutional Amendments,' M. A. Venkata Rao examines the wave of constitutional amendments passed since independence and asks what they reveal about the health of Indian democracy. He treats amendments touching property and fundamental rights as tests of whether the Constitution still protects the individual against the state, and warns against treating the amending power as a licence for unchecked majoritarian or statist encroachment. - Reads the post-independence constitutional amendments as a barometer of democratic health. - Focuses on amendments affecting property and fundamental rights. - Cautions against using the amending power to erode protections for the individual. ### Bolstering Non-alignment *By M. N. Tholal* M. N. Tholal's 'Bolstering Non-alignment' offers a sceptical assessment of India's non-aligned foreign policy. Writing against the backdrop of Cold War manoeuvring and Soviet relations, he questions how far non-alignment as practised actually serves Indian interests, and weighs the gap between the doctrine's stated even-handedness and its real-world tilts. - Scrutinises the doctrine and practice of Indian non-alignment. - Sets the discussion against Cold War rivalry and India's Soviet relations. - Probes the gap between non-alignment's professed neutrality and its actual tilts. ### Economic Supplement: Shri Masani's Devastating Attack on Governmental Controls and Planning / A New Tax Structure *By J. M. Lobo Prabhu* The Economic Supplement carries two linked items. The first reports and endorses Minoo Masani's parliamentary assault on state monopolies, governmental controls, and planning. The second, J. M. Lobo Prabhu's 'A New Tax Structure,' proposes a recasting of India's tax system, criticising the existing structure's effect on incentives and savings and sketching an alternative more favourable to enterprise and capital formation. - Reports Masani's parliamentary attack on state monopolies, controls, and planning. - Lobo Prabhu's 'A New Tax Structure' critiques the existing tax system's effect on incentive and savings. - Proposes a redesigned tax structure more favourable to enterprise and capital formation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Milk Problem URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-milk-problem-d-n-khurody-11-june-1974/ ### Summary Delivered as a public lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 11 June 1974, this address by D. N. Khurody — former Dairy Development Commissioner and Joint Secretary to the Government of Maharashtra, and the Ramon Magsaysay Award-winning organiser of the Aarey Milk Colony — diagnoses why India, owning about a fourth of the world's cattle, produces only about 5 per cent of the world's milk. Khurody attributes the low yields chiefly to grossly inadequate fodder and feed, the cattle population outpacing even the fast-growing human population, and the long, capital-intensive cycle (over 1,000 days and Rs. 1,500 per animal) of rearing a calf to a milking cow.… ### Body # The Indian Milk Problem *By D. N. KHURODY* ## Summary Delivered as a public lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 11 June 1974, this address by D. N. Khurody — former Dairy Development Commissioner and Joint Secretary to the Government of Maharashtra, and the Ramon Magsaysay Award-winning organiser of the Aarey Milk Colony — diagnoses why India, owning about a fourth of the world's cattle, produces only about 5 per cent of the world's milk. Khurody attributes the low yields chiefly to grossly inadequate fodder and feed, the cattle population outpacing even the fast-growing human population, and the long, capital-intensive cycle (over 1,000 days and Rs. 1,500 per animal) of rearing a calf to a milking cow. He punctures the rhetoric of a coming 'White Revolution', arguing that, unlike a crop, milk cannot be raised quickly and that planning has never treated dairying as a priority industry, with only a fraction of a per cent of Plan expenditure devoted to it. The core of the lecture is a case study of Greater Bombay's milk supply, which Khurody breaks into six sources — the private cattle trade, Anand (Gujarat), the Aarey Milk Colony, government dairies, imported reconstituted milk, and 'the municipal water tap' of adulteration. He recounts how the Aarey Milk Colony, set up in 1949 and run at a profit for years even while distributing subsidised milk to 35,000 families, became 'a pride of Maharashtra' through continuous costing, a system of licensee partnership, and high-yielding herds — and how neglect, discontinued costing, abandoned calf-rearing, and the pegging of producer prices to uneconomic levels have since caused herds to dwindle from 16,000 to 12,000 and daily output to collapse from 112,000 litres to an 'unbelievable' 17,000. He treats the Gujarat government's April 1974 freezing of dry buffaloes as 'temporary expropriation of property ... done without notice'. In his remedial measures Khurody argues it is folly for governments to run milk schemes, pointing to AMUL and to cooperatives and shareholder companies abroad that operate dairy concerns efficiently and at a profit while most government schemes run at a loss. He proposes a businesslike Maharashtra Milk Undertaking — patterned partly on the Milk Marketing Board of England and partly on a public limited company — that would run at a profit, fix quality-related producer prices, license dairies, restore the Aarey Colony, raise equity capital through shares (with one-third of authorised capital reserved for private producers and licensees), pay dividends, and have its shares quoted on the Stock Exchange, with institutions like UTI and LIC free to buy in. The rendered pages carry the lecture through these recommendations to the share-capital proposal. ## Key points - Public lecture under FFE auspices, Bombay, 11 June 1974, by D. N. Khurody, former Dairy Development Commissioner of Maharashtra and Magsaysay Award-winning organiser of the Aarey Milk Colony. - India holds ~a fourth of world cattle but produces only ~5% of world milk; West Germany matches India's output with a fraction of the animals. - Low yields blamed on inadequate fodder/feed, cattle numbers outpacing human population growth, and the slow, capital-intensive (>1,000-day, Rs. 1,500) calf-to-cow cycle. - Dairying is not treated as a priority in planning; only a fraction of a per cent of Plan expenditure goes to milk, despite cattle's large share of national income. - Greater Bombay's milk comes from six sources: the private trade, Anand, the Aarey Milk Colony, government dairies, imported reconstituted milk, and adulteration ('the municipal water tap'). - The Aarey Milk Colony, profitable and a 'pride of Maharashtra', has decayed under government neglect — herds fell 16,000 to 12,000 and output 112,000 to 17,000 litres/day. - Khurody calls the Gujarat government's April 1974 freezing of dry buffaloes 'temporary expropriation of property ... done without notice'. - Remedy: a businesslike Maharashtra Milk Undertaking (part Milk Marketing Board of England, part public limited company) run for profit, raising share capital quotable on the Stock Exchange, with one-third reserved for producers/licensees; cites AMUL as a private-sector success. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The International Monetary System & the Role of Gold URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-international-monetary-system-and-the-role-of-gold-robert-s-brown-december-14-1976/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, Robert S. Brown — Chairman and President of the First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Wisconsin — sets out to demystify the international monetary system for a general reader. He argues that domestic inflation, international inflation, and international monetary disorder are not separate problems but a single connected problem rooted in the over-creation of money and credit. Drawing on a long historical sweep, he traces money from primitive media of exchange to the eventual dominance of gold and silver, and warns that paper money, repeatedly tried since 13th-century China and 17th-century Europe, has chronically failed because governments cannot resist over-issuing it. Brown defines money by three attributes — medium of exchange, measure of value, and trustworthy store of value — and contends that the store-of-value function is the one whose breakdown ultimately kills a currency, as it did in post-war Germany.… ### Body # The International Monetary System & the Role of Gold *By Robert S. Brown* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, Robert S. Brown — Chairman and President of the First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Wisconsin — sets out to demystify the international monetary system for a general reader. He argues that domestic inflation, international inflation, and international monetary disorder are not separate problems but a single connected problem rooted in the over-creation of money and credit. Drawing on a long historical sweep, he traces money from primitive media of exchange to the eventual dominance of gold and silver, and warns that paper money, repeatedly tried since 13th-century China and 17th-century Europe, has chronically failed because governments cannot resist over-issuing it. Brown defines money by three attributes — medium of exchange, measure of value, and trustworthy store of value — and contends that the store-of-value function is the one whose breakdown ultimately kills a currency, as it did in post-war Germany. He locates the cause of inflation in increases in 'total demand' that outrun production, financed either by government deficit spending or by credit expansion, and treats deficit-financed government as inherently inflationary. Turning to the international system, Brown recounts how the inter-war abandonment of the gold standard unfolded — the 1931 collapse of Austria's Kredit-Anstalt, Germany and Britain leaving gold, and the United States devaluing the dollar by 41 per cent in 1934 to fix gold at $35 an ounce. In the rendered pages he carries the story up to the dismantling of the gold link in the 1970s, closing with the August 1975 Group of Twenty Interim Committee agreement, the November 1975 Rambouillet summit, and the January 1976 Jamaica meeting that substituted SDRs for gold as the basis of the system. His parting argument is that a gold-tied system, like Bretton Woods, automatically limits the credit that can be created worldwide — and that this discipline is precisely what governments have sought to escape. ## Key points - Brown frames domestic inflation, international inflation, and international monetary problems as one connected problem rather than isolated issues. - Money is defined by three attributes: medium of exchange, measure of value, and trustworthy store of value; the failure of the store-of-value function is what ultimately destroys a currency. - Paper money is presented as a chronically failing experiment (China in the 13th century, Europe from the 17th century), kept alive only because governments keep trying to use paper instead of gold. - Inflation is caused by 'total demand' rising faster than production, financed by government deficit spending or by credit expansion; deficit-financed government spending is treated as inherently inflationary. - The inter-war breakdown of the gold standard is narrated through the 1931 Kredit-Anstalt collapse and the 1934 US dollar devaluation that fixed gold at $35 an ounce. - The rendered text follows the unwinding of gold's monetary role up to the August 1975 G-20 agreement, the November 1975 Rambouillet summit, and the January 1976 Jamaica meeting substituting SDRs for gold. - Brown's central claim is that a gold-tied system, like Bretton Woods, automatically caps worldwide credit creation — a discipline governments have deliberately escaped. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Indian Press is a Private Industry in Public Service URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-indian-press-is-a-private-industry-in-public-service-ab-nair-august-8-1962/ ### Summary This two-page Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet reproduces the introductory part of A. B. Nair's presidential address to the 23rd annual general meeting of the Indian & Eastern Newspaper Society, delivered on 26 June 1962. Nair, Editor of the Free Press Journal and chairman of the Press Trust of India, takes up the relationship between the press and the government in the wake of the Press Commission and the Press Enquiry Committee. He warns against the recent fashion for elaborate inquiries and recommendations that go unimplemented, and argues that a press indulged in by the government's administration is, in fact, defensively positioned: every effort to set its house in order will be welcomed, but reform should not be imposed coercively in the name of 'Ethics' and a 'Code of Conduct'. Nair contends that the press, as a creditable record both during the past decade and earlier, is in the main self-imposed and conforms to the highest professional standards, and that a genuine code of conduct cannot be governed or dictated from outside the profession.… ### Body # The Indian Press is a Private Industry in Public Service *By A. B. Nair* ## Summary This two-page Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet reproduces the introductory part of A. B. Nair's presidential address to the 23rd annual general meeting of the Indian & Eastern Newspaper Society, delivered on 26 June 1962. Nair, Editor of the Free Press Journal and chairman of the Press Trust of India, takes up the relationship between the press and the government in the wake of the Press Commission and the Press Enquiry Committee. He warns against the recent fashion for elaborate inquiries and recommendations that go unimplemented, and argues that a press indulged in by the government's administration is, in fact, defensively positioned: every effort to set its house in order will be welcomed, but reform should not be imposed coercively in the name of 'Ethics' and a 'Code of Conduct'. Nair contends that the press, as a creditable record both during the past decade and earlier, is in the main self-imposed and conforms to the highest professional standards, and that a genuine code of conduct cannot be governed or dictated from outside the profession. Invoking John Adams's century-old observation that a free press is so essential that 'mankind cannot now be governed without it', he resists official and party attacks made under cover of reform. He cautiously welcomes the popular recommendation for a Press Council — being set up under the new Information and Broadcasting Minister together with a Joint Press Consultative Council — to promote mutual understanding between the press and government, provided it works by sympathy rather than direction. The address closes by framing the Indian press as 'a private industry in public service' and an instrument of national integration and public good. Nair holds that a press shackled at the risk of misleading a free people through dishonest reportage is a greater danger than a vigilant, independent, and competitively healthy press; in India, he concludes, a private industry today performs a great public service, and any measure that may be redundant must tend to strengthen rather than weaken this character of the press. ## Key points - Two-page FFE leaflet reproducing the introductory part of A. B. Nair's presidential address to the Indian & Eastern Newspaper Society's 23rd AGM, 26 June 1962. - Nair was Editor of the Free Press Journal, Bombay, and chairman of the Press Trust of India. - Responds to the Press Commission and Press Enquiry Committee, criticising elaborate inquiries whose recommendations go unimplemented. - Argues a press 'indulged in' by government is defensively placed; reform should not be coercively imposed in the name of 'Ethics' and a 'Code of Conduct'. - Holds that the Indian press's standards are mainly self-imposed and that a code of conduct cannot be governed from outside the profession. - Quotes John Adams that a free press is so essential 'mankind cannot now be governed without it'. - Cautiously welcomes a Press Council and Joint Press Consultative Council if they work by sympathy, not direction. - Frames the press as 'a private industry in public service' and an instrument of national integration; a shackled press is the greater danger. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Japanese Economic Miracle URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-japanese-econoic-miracle-j-h-doshi-march-12-1972/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet — based on a public lecture delivered in Bombay on 22 October 1971 — J. H. Doshi, a past President of the Indian Merchants' Chamber, examines the post-war Japanese 'economic miracle' and asks what India might learn from it. He opens with comparative statistics showing Japan doubling its GNP every five years to reach nearly $200 billion by 1970, and contrasts Japan's surging output, exports, wages, and stable wholesale prices against India's slower progress, attributing much of India's relative failure to its adoption of a road towards socialism. Doshi attributes Japan's success to a cluster of mutually reinforcing factors. Banks sit at the centre of every large business, supplying as much as 90 per cent of capital through loans backed by a very high savings rate (in the absence of significant state pension or welfare schemes). Japan financed industrialisation by importing know-how and technology rather than reinventing it, paying nearly $1,000 million for collaboration agreements between 1949 and 1956.… ### Body # The Japanese Economic Miracle *By J. H. Doshi* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet — based on a public lecture delivered in Bombay on 22 October 1971 — J. H. Doshi, a past President of the Indian Merchants' Chamber, examines the post-war Japanese 'economic miracle' and asks what India might learn from it. He opens with comparative statistics showing Japan doubling its GNP every five years to reach nearly $200 billion by 1970, and contrasts Japan's surging output, exports, wages, and stable wholesale prices against India's slower progress, attributing much of India's relative failure to its adoption of a road towards socialism. Doshi attributes Japan's success to a cluster of mutually reinforcing factors. Banks sit at the centre of every large business, supplying as much as 90 per cent of capital through loans backed by a very high savings rate (in the absence of significant state pension or welfare schemes). Japan financed industrialisation by importing know-how and technology rather than reinventing it, paying nearly $1,000 million for collaboration agreements between 1949 and 1956. He highlights enterprise-level (unit-wise) unions, lifetime employment, team spirit, low strike losses, a narrow wage differential, and a vigorous small-scale industry sector integrated into larger programmes. A recurring theme is the partnership between government and industry. Agencies such as the Economic Planning Agency, MITI, and JETRO guide development without state capitalism or a laissez-faire vacuum, while Japan's tiny defence expenditure (about 1 per cent of GNP, owing to Article 9 of its constitution) freed funds for investment. Doshi notes Japan's heavy reliance on borrowed technology in R&D and its drive to liberalise and globalise its economy. He closes by quoting Minoo R. Shroff on the climate of trust and harmony behind Japan's growth, and argues that India's underused potential is 'not an external constraint but well within our genius to resolve' — provided the country approaches the lesson 'with our eyes wide open and our minds free from prejudice.' ## Key points - Japan doubled its GNP roughly every five years to nearly $200 billion by 1970; Doshi tabulates Japan vs India on GNP, per-capita GNP, industrial production, exports, imports, reserves, and prices. - Banks finance up to 90 per cent of Japanese corporate capital, sustained by a very high savings rate driven partly by weak old-age pension and welfare schemes. - Japan industrialised by importing technology and know-how, paying nearly $1,000 million in collaboration agreements between 1949 and 1956 rather than developing it slowly at home. - Labour relations rest on unit-wise (enterprise) unions, lifetime employment, team spirit, low strike losses, and a narrow gap between highest and lowest wages. - Small-scale industry (nearly 4 million enterprises) is integrated into larger programmes and has largely escaped the statutory minimum-wage burden, aiding exports. - Government guides development through the Economic Planning Agency, MITI, and JETRO without resorting to state capitalism or pure laissez faire; Japanese bureaucracy is praised for an absence of nepotism. - Japan's defence spending of about 1 per cent of GNP (Article 9 of its constitution) freed large funds for productive investment. - Doshi's closing lesson for India: its unrealised export and business potential is an internal, self-resolvable constraint, not an external one. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Juggernaut of Avadi URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-juggernaut-of-avadi-by-ma-sreenivasan-1956/ ### Summary 'The Juggernaut of Avadi' is a satirical free-enterprise polemic by M. A. Sreenivasan, reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise from the Commerce Annual of 1956. Sreenivasan casts India's commitment to a 'socialistic pattern of society' — adopted at the Congress's 1955 Avadi session — as a great religious Juggernaut: a bedecked, gigantic idol dragged through the land by faithful devotees while the agonised cries of its victims are drowned in festive din. The dominant ikon, he writes, is the 'big-bellied Nationalisation' idol, worshipped for its supposed threefold blessing of Utopia, Panacea, and the Midas touch. Using the nationalisation of the Kolar Gold Mines as his central example, Sreenivasan argues such measures were unnecessary and unjustified, conceived 'in the cockpit of local politics' rather than national interest, and contrary to the Government's own professed policy. He marshals the authority of Dr. John Matthai — former Finance Minister and first Indian Chairman of the State Bank — who held that nationalisation was 'not supported either by socialist thinking or socialist practice' and that the Kolar case was singularly unsuited to it.… ### Body # The Juggernaut of Avadi *By MA Sreenivasan* ## Summary 'The Juggernaut of Avadi' is a satirical free-enterprise polemic by M. A. Sreenivasan, reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise from the Commerce Annual of 1956. Sreenivasan casts India's commitment to a 'socialistic pattern of society' — adopted at the Congress's 1955 Avadi session — as a great religious Juggernaut: a bedecked, gigantic idol dragged through the land by faithful devotees while the agonised cries of its victims are drowned in festive din. The dominant ikon, he writes, is the 'big-bellied Nationalisation' idol, worshipped for its supposed threefold blessing of Utopia, Panacea, and the Midas touch. Using the nationalisation of the Kolar Gold Mines as his central example, Sreenivasan argues such measures were unnecessary and unjustified, conceived 'in the cockpit of local politics' rather than national interest, and contrary to the Government's own professed policy. He marshals the authority of Dr. John Matthai — former Finance Minister and first Indian Chairman of the State Bank — who held that nationalisation was 'not supported either by socialist thinking or socialist practice' and that the Kolar case was singularly unsuited to it. Sreenivasan deplores the growing intolerance of criticism, the reckless reliance on deficit financing dressed up as 'Brinkmanship', and the depreciation of money he labels 'D.M.' The essay's deeper theme is the danger to individual liberty from an ever-expanding State. Sreenivasan warns against idolatry of rulers and the apathy of citizens, invoking Dryden, the parable of the terror-stricken pedestrian who thanks the robber for taking only his nose and ears, and Gandhi's phrase 'the violence of the State'. He closes with a call to vigilance: nine years after winning freedom, Indians must safeguard their liberty from gradual, unnoticed erosion and never become 'a casualty of mass-hypnosis.' ## Key points - Sreenivasan personifies India's post-Avadi socialist programme as a religious Juggernaut idol dragged over its victims by devoted worshippers. - The chief 'ikon' is 'big-bellied Nationalisation', credited with a false threefold blessing of Utopia, Panacea, and the Midas touch. - He uses the Kolar Gold Mines nationalisation as a case of an unnecessary, politically motivated measure contrary to the Government's stated policy. - He cites Dr. John Matthai — ex-Finance Minister and first Indian Chairman of the State Bank — that nationalisation is unsupported by socialist thinking or practice and Kolar especially unsuited to it. - He attacks reckless deficit financing (mocked as 'Brinkmanship') and currency depreciation, and the official intolerance of criticism. - The core concern is the erosion of individual liberty by an expanding State and the apathy and idolatry of citizens. - He closes with an appeal to eternal vigilance: freedom won nine years ago must be guarded against gradual, unnoticed erosion and mass-hypnosis. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Light of the Constitution URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-light-of-the-constitution-n-a-palkhivala-october-20-1976/ ### Summary 'The Light of the Constitution' is N. A. Palkhivala's eve-of-debate critique of the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Bill 1976 — the sweeping measure enacted during the Emergency as the Forty-second Amendment — reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise from his Indian Express article of 22 October 1976. Palkhivala notes that the Prime Minister's professed wish for a 'free and open public debate' and a 'study in depth' has gone unfulfilled, and sets the limited aim of exposing the contradiction between the 'fundamental duties' the Bill seeks to impose and the Bill's own provisions. He argues that the duty to develop 'the scientific temper' and 'the spirit of inquiry' would itself rule out hasty changes to the basic structure of the Constitution under emergency conditions, while the duty 'to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom' is irreconcilable with stripping away the human freedoms in Articles 14, 19 and 31. To establish those 'noble ideals', Palkhivala traces the long Indian demand for inalienable fundamental rights: the Constitution of India Bill 1895 (associated with Lokamanya Tilak), the Commonwealth of India Bill 1925 (i… ### Body # The Light of the Constitution *By N. A. Palkhivala* ## Summary 'The Light of the Constitution' is N. A. Palkhivala's eve-of-debate critique of the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Bill 1976 — the sweeping measure enacted during the Emergency as the Forty-second Amendment — reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise from his Indian Express article of 22 October 1976. Palkhivala notes that the Prime Minister's professed wish for a 'free and open public debate' and a 'study in depth' has gone unfulfilled, and sets the limited aim of exposing the contradiction between the 'fundamental duties' the Bill seeks to impose and the Bill's own provisions. He argues that the duty to develop 'the scientific temper' and 'the spirit of inquiry' would itself rule out hasty changes to the basic structure of the Constitution under emergency conditions, while the duty 'to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom' is irreconcilable with stripping away the human freedoms in Articles 14, 19 and 31. To establish those 'noble ideals', Palkhivala traces the long Indian demand for inalienable fundamental rights: the Constitution of India Bill 1895 (associated with Lokamanya Tilak), the Commonwealth of India Bill 1925 (in which Annie Besant played a part), the Nehru Report's nineteen rights, and the 1945 Sapru Committee's insistence on rights as a standard of conduct for legislatures, government and courts. He invokes the Constituent Assembly debates to show the founders treated fundamental human freedoms as permanent and inalienable, and as a guard not only against executive but against legislative aggression. Palkhivala then itemises what he sees as the Bill's gravest effects: it would make Parliament supreme over the Constitution (the instrument becoming the master), render fundamental rights non-justiciable, shatter the balance between executive, legislature and judiciary in favour of the central executive, and even allow enforcement of laws already held unconstitutional by the courts. Warning that 'every major constitutional change represents a mood' and that the present mood is unfit to weigh such mind-boggling consequences, he closes on Diwali, the festival of lights: as the lamps glimmer, 'inexorable Time will be ticking away the remaining few days before the light goes out of the Constitution.' ## Key points - Palkhivala writes on the eve of Parliament taking up the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Bill 1976 — the measure enacted as the 42nd Amendment during the Emergency. - He notes the Prime Minister's promised 'free and open public debate' and 'study in depth' never materialised. - The Bill's own imposed 'fundamental duties' — the scientific temper, the spirit of inquiry, and cherishing the ideals of the freedom struggle — contradict its substantive provisions. - He traces the historic Indian demand for inalienable rights: the 1895 Constitution of India Bill (Tilak), the 1925 Commonwealth of India Bill (Annie Besant), the Nehru Report, and the 1945 Sapru Committee. - He argues fundamental rights guard against legislative as well as executive aggression, citing the Constituent Assembly debates. - The Bill's four gravest effects: Parliament made supreme over the Constitution; rights made non-justiciable; the executive-legislature-judiciary balance shaken toward the central executive; and enforcement of laws even after they are held unconstitutional. - He closes with the Diwali image of the 'light going out of the Constitution'. - Originally published as an article in The Indian Express, 22 October 1976. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Menace of Inflation URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-menace-of-inflation-n-dandekar-january-8-1961/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, based on a speech delivered in Bangalore on 2 July 1960, N. Dandeker (a retired Indian Civil Service officer) sets out to educate the lay public about inflation: what it is, how long it lasts, why it is harmful, and what should be done about it. He defines inflation as a steadily rising level of prices caused by money supplies growing faster than the real requirements of the economy, and insists the phenomenon is best understood by ordinary citizens so that an informed public opinion can pressure the Government to act. Marshalling price data, Dandeker argues that India had been undergoing a steady, persistent state of monetary inflation over the preceding four years: the general price level in February 1960 stood about 30 per cent above 1955-56, with foodgrain prices up 37 per cent and the cost of living roughly 40 per cent higher.… ### Body # The Menace of Inflation *By N. DANDEKER, I.C.S. (Retd.)* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, based on a speech delivered in Bangalore on 2 July 1960, N. Dandeker (a retired Indian Civil Service officer) sets out to educate the lay public about inflation: what it is, how long it lasts, why it is harmful, and what should be done about it. He defines inflation as a steadily rising level of prices caused by money supplies growing faster than the real requirements of the economy, and insists the phenomenon is best understood by ordinary citizens so that an informed public opinion can pressure the Government to act. Marshalling price data, Dandeker argues that India had been undergoing a steady, persistent state of monetary inflation over the preceding four years: the general price level in February 1960 stood about 30 per cent above 1955-56, with foodgrain prices up 37 per cent and the cost of living roughly 40 per cent higher. He dismisses official attempts to blame profiteering, black-marketing, and inadequate production as cliches, locating the true cause in excessive money supply driven by deficit financing and over-ambitious Five-Year Plans pursued beyond the country's real resources. The booklet then traces inflation's damage: it erodes the real worth of savings, insurance, provident funds and government securities, penalises lenders and fixed-income holders, distorts industrial investment toward uncontrolled high-return sectors, and undermines both the ability and the willingness to save. Dandeker contends that the cure lies in stopping deficit financing and curbing unproductive expenditure rather than warring on symptoms, and closes with a call for the common man to mobilise public opinion against the 'menace.' The rendered pages span essentially the whole booklet. ## Key points - Inflation is defined as a steady, persistent rise in prices caused by money supply growing faster than the economy's real requirements. - Dandeker argues the public must understand inflation so informed public opinion can force the Government to act. - Price data cited: general price level in Feb 1960 about 30% above 1955-56; foodgrain prices up 37%; cost of living roughly 40% higher. - He rejects official explanations (profiteering, black-marketing, inadequate production) as cliches masking the real cause. - The root cause is identified as excessive money supply driven by deficit financing and over-ambitious Five-Year Plans. - Inflation erodes savings, insurance, provident funds and fixed-income investments, penalising lenders and savers. - The proposed remedy is to stop deficit financing and curb unproductive expenditure, not to war on symptoms. - The work closes by urging the common man to mobilise public opinion against inflation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Mess We Are In URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-mess-we-are-in-n-a-palkhivala-11-august-1974/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reprints N. A. Palkhivala's article 'The Mess We Are In' from The Illustrated Weekly of India (11 August 1974), a sweeping indictment of India's condition as the republic enters its twenty-eighth year. Palkhivala opens with alarm at the country sliding down an 'inclined plane,' citing a forecast that India would suffer the highest level of political violence of any country in the 1982-1991 era, and warns that India uniquely combines dismal economic failure, fragile institutions, and a Constitution treated as pliable to the ruling group's whims. The heart of the essay is an economic diagnosis. Palkhivala invokes Keynes to argue that inflation is fundamentally caused by government over-spending and that the 'inflationary gap' can be closed only by increased production, not by wage freezes, credit squeezes, or dividend cuts that merely 'cure the patient's fever by cooling the thermometer.' He blames India's 'archaic brand of socialism' for stifling agriculture and job creation, contrasting stagnant domestic food output and mass unemployment with Indian enterprises that thrive abroad in dozens of countries.… ### Body # The Mess We Are In *By N. A. PALKHIVALA* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reprints N. A. Palkhivala's article 'The Mess We Are In' from The Illustrated Weekly of India (11 August 1974), a sweeping indictment of India's condition as the republic enters its twenty-eighth year. Palkhivala opens with alarm at the country sliding down an 'inclined plane,' citing a forecast that India would suffer the highest level of political violence of any country in the 1982-1991 era, and warns that India uniquely combines dismal economic failure, fragile institutions, and a Constitution treated as pliable to the ruling group's whims. The heart of the essay is an economic diagnosis. Palkhivala invokes Keynes to argue that inflation is fundamentally caused by government over-spending and that the 'inflationary gap' can be closed only by increased production, not by wage freezes, credit squeezes, or dividend cuts that merely 'cure the patient's fever by cooling the thermometer.' He blames India's 'archaic brand of socialism' for stifling agriculture and job creation, contrasting stagnant domestic food output and mass unemployment with Indian enterprises that thrive abroad in dozens of countries. He couples this with a critique of governmental inaction on population growth. The latter pages turn to the assault on institutions: the proposed Thirty-second Amendment that would force legislators to surrender their conscience to the party whip, the devaluation of the judiciary, and the broader subordination of the individual to the state. Quoting John Stuart Mill on 'the worth of a state' being the worth of the individuals composing it, Palkhivala closes with a list of conditions for national recovery, urging that at election time citizens weigh these substantive matters rather than 'slogans and claptrap, caste and clan, creed and language.' The rendered pages span essentially the whole booklet. ## Key points - Reprint of Palkhivala's 11 August 1974 Illustrated Weekly of India article, issued as an FFE booklet. - Warns India is sliding toward an 'abyss,' citing a forecast of the highest political violence of any country in 1982-1991. - Diagnoses India as uniquely combining economic failure, fragile institutions, and a 'pliant' Constitution. - Argues, via Keynes, that inflation stems from government over-spending and can only be cured by increased production. - Condemns wage freezes, credit squeezes and dividend cuts as treating symptoms, not the root cause. - Blames India's 'archaic brand of socialism' for stunting agriculture, jobs, and food output while Indian firms succeed abroad. - Attacks the proposed Thirty-second Amendment for forcing legislators to surrender conscience to the party whip. - Closes by urging voters to weigh substantive issues over 'slogans and claptrap, caste and clan, creed and language.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Need for Economic Statesmanship URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-need-for-economic-statesmanship-s-l-kirloskar-december-10-1969/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet is the text of the Fourth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by the industrialist S. L. Kirloskar in Bombay on 29 October 1969. Kirloskar frames his subject around what A. D. Shroff had long pleaded for during his stewardship of the Forum: that the logic of the country's long-range economic needs must be rescued from the influence of political expediency. Writing in the wake of the mid-1969 political upheavals, he announces that he will review the emerging political situation 'more freely and frankly,' rejecting the 'fetish of academic caution' that he feels constrains public pronouncements. Kirloskar develops a portrait of the economic 'statesman' as a flesh-and-blood figure who tells hard truths and takes the long view, illustrating the type through historical contrasts: Neville Chamberlain the politician who 'promised everything and gave nothing' versus Winston Churchill who promised only 'blood, toil, tears and sweat'; Sir Robert Peel sacrificing his premiership to repeal the Corn Laws for the sake of industry; and Abraham Lincoln staking his life on national unity.… ### Body # The Need for Economic Statesmanship *By S. L. Kirloskar* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet is the text of the Fourth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by the industrialist S. L. Kirloskar in Bombay on 29 October 1969. Kirloskar frames his subject around what A. D. Shroff had long pleaded for during his stewardship of the Forum: that the logic of the country's long-range economic needs must be rescued from the influence of political expediency. Writing in the wake of the mid-1969 political upheavals, he announces that he will review the emerging political situation 'more freely and frankly,' rejecting the 'fetish of academic caution' that he feels constrains public pronouncements. Kirloskar develops a portrait of the economic 'statesman' as a flesh-and-blood figure who tells hard truths and takes the long view, illustrating the type through historical contrasts: Neville Chamberlain the politician who 'promised everything and gave nothing' versus Winston Churchill who promised only 'blood, toil, tears and sweat'; Sir Robert Peel sacrificing his premiership to repeal the Corn Laws for the sake of industry; and Abraham Lincoln staking his life on national unity. Against these he measures India's leaders, charging that since 1947 they have substituted political zeal and a hunger for personal power for genuine economic statesmanship, expanding the government sector without first improving the performance of existing public industry. The lecture is sharply critical of the rhetoric of his day. Kirloskar argues that the obsession with redistribution forgot that there must first be production to distribute, and that in a populous adult-franchise democracy leaders chose to 'level everybody down' rather than admit poverty had no socialist 'sure-fire miracle' cure short of sustained production. He pushes back on the Prime Minister's charge that business lacks 'social responsibility,' retorting that strikes are uglier and more prolonged in the public sector and that the phrase has become a slogan leaders invoke to absolve themselves of spelling out concrete obligations. The rendered pages span the entire booklet. ## Key points - Text of the Fourth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by S. L. Kirloskar in Bombay on 29 October 1969. - Takes up Shroff's plea to rescue long-range economic needs from political expediency. - Defines the economic 'statesman' as one who tells hard truths and takes the long view, not a folklore hero. - Illustrates statesmanship via Chamberlain vs Churchill, Robert Peel and the Corn Laws, Lincoln, and Kemal of Turkey. - Charges India's leaders since 1947 with substituting personal-power politics for economic statesmanship. - Argues redistribution rhetoric forgot that production must precede distribution. - Contends democratic leaders chose to 'level everybody down' rather than admit poverty has no socialist quick fix. - Rebuts the Prime Minister's 'social responsibility of business' charge, noting strikes are worse in the public sector. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The National Telecom Policy and Its Implementation URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-national-telecom-policy-and-its-implementation/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces T.H. Chowdary's talk, delivered on 24 June 1994 in Bombay under the joint auspices of the FFE and the Mumbai Grahak Panchayat, on India's New Telecommunications Policy (NTP) announced on 13 May 1994. Chowdary, a former Chairman and Managing Director of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd., welcomes the policy as a continuation of the de-monopolisation that began in the mid-1980s when telecom equipment and cable manufacture was opened to the private sector. He argues that just as equipment de-monopolisation drew large private investment and produced abundance, lower prices, and better quality, opening basic telephone services to private companies would yield similar benefits and finally end India's chronic waiting lists. Much of the talk is an indictment of the 'evil results of the earlier monopolistic regime': worsening telephone shortages (waitlists growing each Five-Year Plan, with a demand-supply gap of 25-40%), continuously rising prices while electronification lowered costs elsewhere, deteriorating service quality, failure to introduce new converged computer-telecom services, and a near-total failure of indigenous R&D that forced repeat… ### Body # The National Telecom Policy and Its Implementation *By T.H. CHOWDARY* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces T.H. Chowdary's talk, delivered on 24 June 1994 in Bombay under the joint auspices of the FFE and the Mumbai Grahak Panchayat, on India's New Telecommunications Policy (NTP) announced on 13 May 1994. Chowdary, a former Chairman and Managing Director of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd., welcomes the policy as a continuation of the de-monopolisation that began in the mid-1980s when telecom equipment and cable manufacture was opened to the private sector. He argues that just as equipment de-monopolisation drew large private investment and produced abundance, lower prices, and better quality, opening basic telephone services to private companies would yield similar benefits and finally end India's chronic waiting lists. Much of the talk is an indictment of the 'evil results of the earlier monopolistic regime': worsening telephone shortages (waitlists growing each Five-Year Plan, with a demand-supply gap of 25-40%), continuously rising prices while electronification lowered costs elsewhere, deteriorating service quality, failure to introduce new converged computer-telecom services, and a near-total failure of indigenous R&D that forced repeated technology imports. Against this record Chowdary builds a detailed reform agenda. In the rendered pages he calls for a separate, independent Regulatory Body modelled on the Election Commission and on European Community practice of separating regulatory from service-provision functions, arguing that the Department of Telecommunications cannot fairly both compete and regulate. He advocates de-monopolising long-distance and intercity service (noting natural monopoly in trunk telephony became unsustainable after microwave, optical fibre and satellite cut capital costs), allowing licensees to provide every telecom and information service in their assigned area, favouring state-wide franchises for financial viability, and treating the existing Indian Telegraph Act 1885 as amendable rather than requiring an immediate new law. The rendered pages cover roughly the first 18 printed pages of a 24-page booklet. ## Key points - Reproduces T.H. Chowdary's 24 June 1994 talk (FFE and Mumbai Grahak Panchayat) on India's New Telecom Policy of 13 May 1994. - Frames the NTP as extending the equipment-manufacture de-monopolisation that began in the mid-1980s. - Cites equipment de-monopolisation as having drawn ~Rs 1000 crores private investment and produced abundance and lower prices. - Catalogues the failures of the monopoly era: telephone shortages of 25-40%, rising prices, poor service, and failed R&D. - Calls for an independent Regulatory Body separate from the DOT, modelled on the Election Commission and EC practice. - Argues long-distance and intercity service should be de-monopolised since natural monopoly became unsustainable after fibre/satellite. - Advocates state-wide franchises and licensing of every telecom/information service in an operator's assigned area. - Holds that the Indian Telegraph Act 1885 can be used/amended to implement the policy without an immediate new law. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] "The New Class" in a State Dominated Economy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-new-class-in-a-state-dominated-economy-by-mh-moody-1980/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, M. H. Mody — a past President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry — adapts an address delivered to an international seminar at Goa in December 1980 into a critique of the interventionist state. Borrowing the title from the Yugoslav dissident Milovan Djilas, Mody argues that the twentieth-century expansion of government, from the New Deal onward, has produced a 'new class': an educated, professionally entrenched group drawn from the 'soft' sciences (economics, politics, law, accountancy, sociology) who staff the bureaucracy, media, trade unions and public services and who derive their status from the very apparatus of state control. Mody traces the consequences of a state-dominated economy: a high-cost economy in which every unit of output carries an additional cost from the system of controls, sluggish investment as entrepreneurs lose the motivation to grow, and a cycle of falling investment, rising unemployment, and recurrent stagnation.… ### Body # "The New Class" in a State Dominated Economy *By M. H. Mody* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, M. H. Mody — a past President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry — adapts an address delivered to an international seminar at Goa in December 1980 into a critique of the interventionist state. Borrowing the title from the Yugoslav dissident Milovan Djilas, Mody argues that the twentieth-century expansion of government, from the New Deal onward, has produced a 'new class': an educated, professionally entrenched group drawn from the 'soft' sciences (economics, politics, law, accountancy, sociology) who staff the bureaucracy, media, trade unions and public services and who derive their status from the very apparatus of state control. Mody traces the consequences of a state-dominated economy: a high-cost economy in which every unit of output carries an additional cost from the system of controls, sluggish investment as entrepreneurs lose the motivation to grow, and a cycle of falling investment, rising unemployment, and recurrent stagnation. He catalogues India's proliferating controls — industrial licensing, company law, foreign-exchange regulation, price controls, restrictions on essential commodities, limits on managerial remuneration, industrial-dispute law, import-export controls, and monopoly/restrictive-trade-practice law — noting that their failures are blamed by politicians not on inherent defects but on the controls 'not being pervasive enough'. The later pages turn to the bureaucracy itself: Mody contends it is subject to no quantitative test of efficiency, has no profit incentive, grows irrespective of relevance, and imposes uncounted costs of delay. He proposes American-style 'sunset laws' to give government departments a limited statutory life, and frames the bureaucrat, politician, businessman and trade-union boss as colluding partners in a self-perpetuating, mutually beneficial system. He closes with a qualified hopefulness that recognition of the need for radical reform is slowly emerging in India, while conceding 'a lot of groping in the dark about what needs to be done'. ## Key points - Mody adapts an address given at an international seminar in Goa in December 1980 for the Forum of Free Enterprise. - He credits the term 'The New Class' to Yugoslav leader Milovan Djilas, applying it to an educated professional stratum that thrives on state control. - The 'new class' is drawn from the 'soft' sciences and staffs education, media, public services, trade unions and business houses. - A state-dominated economy is characterised as a high-cost economy with sluggish investment, falling growth and rising unemployment. - India's controls (licensing, company law, foreign exchange, price controls, etc.) are blamed by politicians for being insufficiently pervasive rather than inherently defective. - The bureaucracy is faulted for lacking any quantitative test of efficiency or profit incentive and for growing regardless of relevance. - Mody proposes 'sunset laws' giving government departments a limited statutory life (seldom exceeding ten years). - He frames bureaucrats, politicians, businessmen and trade-union bosses as colluding to perpetuate the system, but ends on cautious hope for reform. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] "The New Class" in a State Dominated Economy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-new-class-in-state-dominated-economy-m-h-mody-october-15-1981/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet (colophon dated 15 October 1981), M. H. Mody — a past President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry — adapts an address delivered to an international seminar at Goa in December 1980 into a critique of the interventionist state. Borrowing the title from the Yugoslav dissident Milovan Djilas, Mody argues that the twentieth-century expansion of government, from the New Deal onward, has produced a 'new class': an educated, professionally entrenched group drawn from the 'soft' sciences (economics, politics, law, accountancy, sociology) who staff the bureaucracy, media, trade unions and public services and who derive their status from the very apparatus of state control. Mody traces the consequences of a state-dominated economy: a high-cost economy in which every unit of output carries an additional cost from the system of controls, sluggish investment as entrepreneurs lose the motivation to grow, and a cycle of falling investment, rising unemployment, and recurrent stagnation.… ### Body # "The New Class" in a State Dominated Economy *By M. H. Mody* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet (colophon dated 15 October 1981), M. H. Mody — a past President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry — adapts an address delivered to an international seminar at Goa in December 1980 into a critique of the interventionist state. Borrowing the title from the Yugoslav dissident Milovan Djilas, Mody argues that the twentieth-century expansion of government, from the New Deal onward, has produced a 'new class': an educated, professionally entrenched group drawn from the 'soft' sciences (economics, politics, law, accountancy, sociology) who staff the bureaucracy, media, trade unions and public services and who derive their status from the very apparatus of state control. Mody traces the consequences of a state-dominated economy: a high-cost economy in which every unit of output carries an additional cost from the system of controls, sluggish investment as entrepreneurs lose the motivation to grow, and a cycle of falling investment, rising unemployment, and recurrent stagnation. He catalogues India's proliferating controls — industrial licensing, company law, foreign-exchange regulation, price controls, restrictions on essential commodities, limits on managerial remuneration, industrial-dispute law, import-export controls, and monopoly/restrictive-trade-practice law — noting that their failures are blamed by politicians not on inherent defects but on the controls 'not being pervasive enough'. The later pages turn to the bureaucracy itself: Mody contends it is subject to no quantitative test of efficiency, has no profit incentive, grows irrespective of relevance, and imposes uncounted costs of delay. He proposes American-style 'sunset laws' to give government departments a limited statutory life, and frames the bureaucrat, politician, businessman and trade-union boss as colluding partners in a self-perpetuating, mutually beneficial system. He closes with a qualified hopefulness that recognition of the need for radical reform is slowly emerging in India, while conceding 'a lot of groping in the dark about what needs to be done'. ## Key points - FFE booklet (colophon dated 15 October 1981) reprinting Mody's address given at an international seminar in Goa in December 1980. - He credits the term 'The New Class' to Yugoslav leader Milovan Djilas, applying it to an educated professional stratum that thrives on state control. - The 'new class' is drawn from the 'soft' sciences and staffs education, media, public services, trade unions and business houses. - A state-dominated economy is characterised as a high-cost economy with sluggish investment, falling growth and rising unemployment. - India's controls (licensing, company law, foreign exchange, price controls, etc.) are blamed by politicians for being insufficiently pervasive rather than inherently defective. - The bureaucracy is faulted for lacking any quantitative test of efficiency or profit incentive and for growing regardless of relevance. - Mody proposes 'sunset laws' giving government departments a limited statutory life (seldom exceeding ten years). - He frames bureaucrats, politicians, businessmen and trade-union bosses as colluding to perpetuate the system, but ends on cautious hope for reform. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The New Gold Policy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-new-gold-policy-b-s-mahajan-d-r-pendse-gangadhar-gadgil-and-s-n-sonawala-may-14-1978/ ### Summary The New Gold Policy is a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet compiling talks from a symposium held in Bombay on 3 April 1978, prompted by the Union Budget 1978-79 proposal that the Government of India sell gold from its own stocks (and possibly import gold) to the public. Four contributors examine the move from distinct vantage points: B. S. Mahajan (a founder of the All-India Sarafa Association) argues from the jewellery-export and trade angle that the Gold Control Act should be scrapped; D. R. Pendse (Economic Adviser to Tatas) treats it as an economist and welcomes the gold sale as 'the golden solution'; Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil (an economist) stresses price stability; and S. N. Sonawala (Vice-President of the Bombay Bullion Association) answers common objections from the bullion trade's perspective. The shared thread is a market-friendly, anti-control reading of India's gold problem: that the 15-year-old Gold Control regime failed to stop smuggling, harmed goldsmiths, and that selling government gold can curb smuggling, mobilise idle savings, and raise revenue. ### Body # The New Gold Policy ## Summary The New Gold Policy is a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet compiling talks from a symposium held in Bombay on 3 April 1978, prompted by the Union Budget 1978-79 proposal that the Government of India sell gold from its own stocks (and possibly import gold) to the public. Four contributors examine the move from distinct vantage points: B. S. Mahajan (a founder of the All-India Sarafa Association) argues from the jewellery-export and trade angle that the Gold Control Act should be scrapped; D. R. Pendse (Economic Adviser to Tatas) treats it as an economist and welcomes the gold sale as 'the golden solution'; Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil (an economist) stresses price stability; and S. N. Sonawala (Vice-President of the Bombay Bullion Association) answers common objections from the bullion trade's perspective. The shared thread is a market-friendly, anti-control reading of India's gold problem: that the 15-year-old Gold Control regime failed to stop smuggling, harmed goldsmiths, and that selling government gold can curb smuggling, mobilise idle savings, and raise revenue. ## Essays ### Gold Control Act Should Be Scrapped *By B. S. Mahajan* B. S. Mahajan argues that the Gold Control Rules (enacted January 1963 as an emergency measure under the Defence of India Rules 1962) turned gold from a solution into a problem. The controls, though aimed at the laudable goal of stopping smuggling (then costing Rs. 40-60 crores of foreign exchange a year), were impractical and culturally tone-deaf in a country with deep traditional attachment to gold, breeding fear and hoarding. He notes that smuggling fell only when world economic conditions changed (the U.S. ending gold-price control around 1970), not because of controls. He proposes a Voluntary Disclosure Scheme for primary gold and government sale of gold at international prices to tap hoarded primary gold, recycle it for equitable distribution, and make smuggling uneconomic, concluding the Gold Control Act serves no real economic interest and should be examined for abolition. - Gold Control Rules were enacted January 1963 as an emergency measure under the Defence of India Rules 1962. - Controls were impractical given Indians' traditional, religious and social attachment to gold. - Smuggling fell due to changed world economic conditions (US ending gold-price control c.1970), not the controls. - Proposes a Voluntary Disclosure Scheme for primary gold plus government sale at international prices. - Concludes the Gold Control Act should be scrapped / reviewed by the appointed Committee. ### The Golden Solution *By D. R. Pendse* D. R. Pendse, Economic Adviser to Tatas, calls the government gold sale 'the golden solution', noting the paradox that gold — long presented as one of India's chief problems — is now offered as a solution to basic economic problems, and arguing this is true. He stresses that implementation quality will make or mar the scheme: the government must offer gold at a competitive price relative to the smuggler's and keep the transaction as simple as buying over a counter, avoiding bureaucratic forms. He estimates large potential profits and proposes that the proceeds be credited to a separate fund — a 'New F.E.R.A.' which he reinterprets as a 'Fund for Employment in Rural Area' — to finance rural job-creation schemes. He urges the government to keep Indian gold prices high to maximise the price gap that funds the scheme and roots out smuggling. His article previously appeared in the Economic Times. - Frames the government gold sale as 'the golden solution' to economic problems. - Implementation must be business-like: competitive pricing vs smugglers, counter-style simplicity, no bureaucratic forms. - Proposes a separate fund — punningly a 'new FERA', a 'Fund for Employment in Rural Area'. - Argues government should keep Indian gold prices high to maximise the profit-funding price gap. - Article previously appeared in the Economic Times; based on a 3 April 1978 FFE talk. ### Price Stability Essential *By Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil* Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil examines the 1978-79 Budget proposal in two parts: an anti-smuggling sale of gold from government stocks (domestic production and confiscated gold, estimated at Rs. 500 crores) for domestic use, and a sale of gold at international prices to exporters of gold jewellery. He notes the long-standing view that Indians' predilection for gold is a wasteful habit that diverts savings from productive assets and slows growth, while conceding that import bans were never successfully enforced even during the Emergency, with smuggling persisting as a drain on foreign exchange and a source of black money. He argues it is better to satisfy domestic demand through government sale — capturing part of the smugglers' profits for productive investment — and that, if Indians are to be weaned away from gold, price stability in the country is essential. - Budget proposal has two parts: domestic anti-smuggling gold sale (~Rs. 500 crores) and gold sale to jewellery exporters at international prices. - Indians' gold preference is seen as diverting savings from productive assets and slowing growth. - Import bans were never successfully enforced, even during the Emergency. - Government sale can capture smugglers' profits for productive investment and discourage smuggling. - Weaning Indians off gold requires price stability in the country. ### Some Common Questions and Their Answers *By S. N. Sonawala* S. N. Sonawala, Vice-President of the Bombay Bullion Association, opens a question-and-answer treatment of the gold-sale policy from the bullion trade's standpoint. In the rendered opening he argues that government sale of gold serves two main objectives — curbing inflation by siphoning surplus money into 'dead' investment in gold, and checking smuggling — and rebuts the objection that selling gold would encourage black money, contending instead that it offers black money a harmless outlet. He notes the government's gold stock comes mainly from confiscated contraband or domestic mining and that gold held idle by the Reserve Bank serves no useful function. (Only the first rendered page of this essay was available.) - Sonawala writes from the bullion trade's viewpoint as Vice-President of the Bombay Bullion Association. - Government gold sale aims to curb inflation (siphoning surplus money into 'dead' gold investment) and check smuggling. - Rebuts the claim that selling gold encourages black money, calling it a harmless outlet instead. - Government gold stock derives mainly from confiscated contraband or domestic mining; RBI's idle gold serves no useful function. - Only the first page (printed p.18) of this Q&A essay was in the rendered chunk. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The New Pattern of Taxation and Its Impact on the Indian Economy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-new-pattern-of-taxation-a-d-shroff-apr6-1958/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reproduces the text of a public lecture A. D. Shroff delivered in Bombay on 16 April 1958, attacking the 'new pattern of taxation' embodied in the integrated tax proposals (income tax, super tax, capital gains tax, wealth tax, expenditure tax, and taxes on excess dividends) introduced to finance the Second Five-Year Plan. Shroff argues that the integrated scheme — born of an 'academic approach' divorced from human nature and economic reality — should be 'jettisoned into the limbo of oblivion' if confidence in the economy is to be revived. He contends its twin rationales (maximising revenue for the Plan, which he once called 'a bottomless bucket', and plugging every hole of tax evasion) do not hold in practice. Working through the constituents of the new pattern, Shroff criticises the drastic lowering of the income-tax threshold, the punitive treatment of capital gains and excess dividends, the wealth tax as a 'severe burden' on capital, and high excise duties that he says depress demand (citing the 1956 cloth-market slump and the cotton mills' carrying of high stocks).… ### Body # The New Pattern of Taxation and Its Impact on the Indian Economy *By A. D. Shroff* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reproduces the text of a public lecture A. D. Shroff delivered in Bombay on 16 April 1958, attacking the 'new pattern of taxation' embodied in the integrated tax proposals (income tax, super tax, capital gains tax, wealth tax, expenditure tax, and taxes on excess dividends) introduced to finance the Second Five-Year Plan. Shroff argues that the integrated scheme — born of an 'academic approach' divorced from human nature and economic reality — should be 'jettisoned into the limbo of oblivion' if confidence in the economy is to be revived. He contends its twin rationales (maximising revenue for the Plan, which he once called 'a bottomless bucket', and plugging every hole of tax evasion) do not hold in practice. Working through the constituents of the new pattern, Shroff criticises the drastic lowering of the income-tax threshold, the punitive treatment of capital gains and excess dividends, the wealth tax as a 'severe burden' on capital, and high excise duties that he says depress demand (citing the 1956 cloth-market slump and the cotton mills' carrying of high stocks). He maintains that excessive, complex taxation discourages long-term investment, drives away the risk capital needed for rapid and large-scale economic development, and bears most heavily on the middle class — 'the backbone of society' — whose plight, he says, the Government fails to appreciate. He also flags the Gift Tax Bill's restriction on private charitable giving as harmful to schools, hospitals and other institutions sustained by private philanthropy. Shroff closes on a cautious note of hope, expressing confidence that Morarji Desai, the new Finance Minister, will bring a fresh mind and a practical approach to the problem of taxation. The pamphlet is framed throughout by Forum of Free Enterprise epigraphs — Eugene Black's line that private enterprise must be accepted 'as an affirmative good' and Shroff's own credo that 'Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives.' ## Key points - Reproduces the text of a public lecture delivered by A. D. Shroff in Bombay on 16 April 1958. - Argues the integrated 'new pattern of taxation' financing the Second Five-Year Plan should be scrapped. - Calls the scheme an 'academic approach' ignoring human nature and economic realities. - Criticises a lowered income-tax threshold, capital gains tax, wealth tax, and excess-dividend taxation as anti-investment. - Argues high excise duties depress demand, citing the 1956 cloth-market slump. - Holds the middle class — 'the backbone of society' — bears the heaviest burden. - Flags the Gift Tax Bill as discouraging private charitable giving to schools and hospitals. - Ends hopeful that new Finance Minister Morarji Desai will take a practical approach. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Next Phase of Structural Transformation — I-nomics URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-next-phase-of-transformation-i-nomics-piya-mahtaney/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reprints an article by the economist, author and journalist Piya Mahtaney titled "The Next Phase of Structural Transformation — I-Nomics (I — Investment, Innovation and Institutions)," written in the wake of the 2016 Brexit vote. The booklet opens with an A. D. Shroff epigraph, a memorial dedication to the late Chartered Accountant Shailesh Kapadia, a note that it is sponsored by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust, and an editorial Introduction signed by Sunil S. Bhandare, who frames Mahtaney's piece as a corrective to the prevailing pessimism about the world economy. In the rendered pages, Mahtaney argues that the preceding era of globalization was incomplete because rapid financial and trade liberalization was not matched by a globalized expansion of per-capita purchasing power. She contends that the post-crisis slowdown is best understood not as a deficit of economic growth but as a series of "errors of omission" — missed opportunities for productive investment in social and physical infrastructure, health, education and skills.… ### Body # The Next Phase of Structural Transformation — I-nomics *By Piya Mahtaney* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reprints an article by the economist, author and journalist Piya Mahtaney titled "The Next Phase of Structural Transformation — I-Nomics (I — Investment, Innovation and Institutions)," written in the wake of the 2016 Brexit vote. The booklet opens with an A. D. Shroff epigraph, a memorial dedication to the late Chartered Accountant Shailesh Kapadia, a note that it is sponsored by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust, and an editorial Introduction signed by Sunil S. Bhandare, who frames Mahtaney's piece as a corrective to the prevailing pessimism about the world economy. In the rendered pages, Mahtaney argues that the preceding era of globalization was incomplete because rapid financial and trade liberalization was not matched by a globalized expansion of per-capita purchasing power. She contends that the post-crisis slowdown is best understood not as a deficit of economic growth but as a series of "errors of omission" — missed opportunities for productive investment in social and physical infrastructure, health, education and skills. Drawing on the underwhelming progress on the Millennium Development Goals, she distinguishes underdevelopment caused by a genuine lack of resources from underdevelopment produced by a vicious circle of poor governance, weak investment and skewed growth. The "I-nomics" of the title refers to a multi-pronged prescription built around three pillars — Investment, Innovation and Institutions: addressing unmet social and physical infrastructure needs, promoting innovation and invention, and building institutions adequate for effective governance and efficient public administration. Mahtaney insists that structural transformation is not a quick fix, cannot be reduced to a one-size-fits-all formula, and will not follow from rapid technological advance or trade expansion alone. The rendered pages cover the front matter and the early-to-middle portion of the article (through printed page 17); the closing pages of the article and any colophon were not in this chunk. ## Key points - An FFE booklet reprinting a single article by Piya Mahtaney, economist/author/journalist who teaches at St. Xavier's, Mumbai. - Written after the 2016 Brexit vote, which the author cites as emblematic of uncertainty about world economic prospects. - Core thesis: the earlier globalization was incomplete because financial/trade liberalization was not accompanied by a globalized rise in per-capita purchasing power. - Reframes the post-crisis slowdown as 'errors of omission' — missed productive investment — rather than a simple lack of growth. - Uses the underachievement of the Millennium Development Goals (set in 2000) as evidence of inadequate productive investment. - 'I-nomics' = Investment, Innovation and Institutions, the three pillars of the proposed next phase of structural transformation. - Rejects 'one size fits all' formulas and warns that technology or trade expansion alone will not deliver transformation. - Front matter includes an A. D. Shroff epigraph and an editorial Introduction by Sunil S. Bhandare; sponsored by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Oil Crisis in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-oil-crisis-in-india-prof-guruprasad-murthy-january-15-1974/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, "The Oil Crisis in India," prints the text of a public lecture delivered by Prof. Guruprasad Murthy under the auspices of the Forum in Bombay on 22 November 1973, in the immediate aftermath of the West Asian War and the OPEC price escalation. Murthy, a Reader at the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management, argues that India faces a 'super crisis' as far as oil is concerned and that national energy policy, and oil policy in particular, must be recast. The cover also credits Dr. F. P. Antia, though the rendered body is one continuous argument bylined to Murthy. Murthy traces the steep rise in crude prices following the October 1973 OPEC actions, the strain on India's foreign exchange, and the inflationary, demand-driven dynamics of an oil-importing economy. He weighs petrol rationing against its administrative difficulties and the risk of black markets, and argues that the market mechanism cannot by itself make demand responsive to price unless income-tax legislation is suitably amended and honestly administered.… ### Body # The Oil Crisis in India *By Prof. GURUPRASAD MURTHY, Dr. F. P. ANTIA* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, "The Oil Crisis in India," prints the text of a public lecture delivered by Prof. Guruprasad Murthy under the auspices of the Forum in Bombay on 22 November 1973, in the immediate aftermath of the West Asian War and the OPEC price escalation. Murthy, a Reader at the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management, argues that India faces a 'super crisis' as far as oil is concerned and that national energy policy, and oil policy in particular, must be recast. The cover also credits Dr. F. P. Antia, though the rendered body is one continuous argument bylined to Murthy. Murthy traces the steep rise in crude prices following the October 1973 OPEC actions, the strain on India's foreign exchange, and the inflationary, demand-driven dynamics of an oil-importing economy. He weighs petrol rationing against its administrative difficulties and the risk of black markets, and argues that the market mechanism cannot by itself make demand responsive to price unless income-tax legislation is suitably amended and honestly administered. His prescriptions are organised under headings such as 'Social Management', 'Technology Management', 'Supply Position', 'Police Management' (pilferage in the docks) and 'Foreign Investment Management', and he calls for diversifying crude sources (Indonesia, USSR, rupee-payment and barter deals), rationalising road transport and excise/sales-tax policy, and a selective, non-confiscatory stance toward Western oil companies. The booklet closes with statistical appendices drawn from the 'Oil Statistics Journal' and the Petrol Dealers' Association — petroleum production and consumption, crude oil requirements and imports, motor-vehicle figures, and a year-by-year table of petrol and HSD selling prices — followed by the standard FFE disclaimer, an A. D. Shroff epigraph, and a colophon dating the booklet 15 January 1974 and naming M. R. Pai as publisher for the Forum. ## Key points - Text of a public lecture by Prof. Guruprasad Murthy delivered for the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 22 November 1973. - Frames India's post-1973 oil situation as a 'super crisis' requiring a recast of national energy and oil policy. - Links the crisis to the West Asian War and the October 1973 OPEC price escalations and India's foreign-exchange strain. - Argues the market mechanism alone cannot make demand price-responsive without honestly administered income-tax legislation. - Examines petrol rationing, weighing its administrative difficulties and black-market risk against austerity goals. - Prescriptions grouped under Social, Technology, Supply, Police, and Foreign Investment 'Management' headings. - Calls for diversifying crude sources (Indonesia, USSR, rupee-payment and barter deals) and a selective, non-confiscatory policy toward Western oil companies. - Includes statistical appendices on petroleum production/consumption, crude imports, vehicles, and petrol/HSD price history. - Cover credits Dr. F. P. Antia as co-author; colophon dates the booklet 15 January 1974, published by M. R. Pai for FFE. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Place of Free Enterprise in a Backward Economy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-place-of-free-enterprise-in-a-backward-economy-by-dn-hosali/ ### Summary "The Place of Free Enterprise in a Backward Economy" is a short polemical essay by D. N. Hosali, distributed with the compliments of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay. No year is printed, but internal references — to the Second Plan, Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari, Heavy Industries Minister M. M. Shah, an A.I.C.C. meeting, and a population of 'nearly 400 millions' — place it in the late 1950s, at the height of India's commitment to socialist central planning. Hosali writes as a defender of private enterprise against what he sees as the government's drift toward a 'socialist state' in which private trade and industry are subordinated to the state plan and, if necessary, liquidated. Hosali argues that the case for socialism in backward economies is a fallacy.… ### Body # The Place of Free Enterprise in a Backward Economy *By D. N. HOSALI* ## Summary "The Place of Free Enterprise in a Backward Economy" is a short polemical essay by D. N. Hosali, distributed with the compliments of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay. No year is printed, but internal references — to the Second Plan, Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari, Heavy Industries Minister M. M. Shah, an A.I.C.C. meeting, and a population of 'nearly 400 millions' — place it in the late 1950s, at the height of India's commitment to socialist central planning. Hosali writes as a defender of private enterprise against what he sees as the government's drift toward a 'socialist state' in which private trade and industry are subordinated to the state plan and, if necessary, liquidated. Hosali argues that the case for socialism in backward economies is a fallacy. Surveying the history of economic thought, he credits Keynes's General Theory and the welfare state with curing the worst defects and inequalities of nineteenth-century capitalism, so that 'free enterprise is free — not only for the capitalist, but for the worker, and for the professional man and the intellectual.' He contends that Marx's own warnings — that backward economies must first be industrialised by free enterprise before socialism becomes applicable — are vindicated by the Indian experience, and that the socialist claim that India can leapfrog this stage through state-built hydro-electric and steel plants is mistaken. The state, he says, cannot solve the problem of allocating resources except by bureaucratic decree, whereas free enterprise solves it through the market and public demand. The essay closes by warning that doctrinaire socialism will spell disaster for 'the entire mass of the people — the peasantry, the industrial workers, the business and professional men (if they at all survive) and the intellectuals,' and that a welfare state coupled with a market economy is best suited to the country's development. It ends with the Forum's slogan, 'Free Enterprise Is your Enterprise: Safeguard It.' ## Key points - Short single-author essay by D. N. Hosali, issued with the compliments of the Forum of Free Enterprise, Bombay. - Undated in print; internal references (Second Plan, T. T. Krishnamachari, M. M. Shah, ~400 million population) point to the late 1950s. - Frames the Government's adoption of a 'socialist state' as a threat that subordinates private trade and industry to the state plan. - Argues socialism has 'no application to backward economies' which must first be industrialised by free enterprise. - Credits Keynes's General Theory and the welfare state with curing the inequalities and disasters of nineteenth-century capitalism. - Invokes Marx's own claim that backward economies must be industrialised by free enterprise before socialism applies. - Holds that the state can allocate resources only by bureaucratic decree, while the market does so through public demand. - Concludes that doctrinaire socialism will harm peasants, workers, business and professional men, and intellectuals alike. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Population Problem URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-population-problem-b-k-tandon-15-may-1975/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, Dr. B. K. Tandon, Professor and Head of Economics at the University of Udaipur, lays out the dimensions of what he calls the population problem. He opens with the arithmetic of compounding growth — a population rising at 1% doubles in 70 years, at 2% in 35 years — and quotes World Bank and UN authorities to argue that the world's population is set to double within roughly three decades, with India's crossing one billion. He situates the explosion historically in the Industrial and agricultural revolutions, which expanded resources and lowered death rates while traditions, religious attitudes, the premium on cheap labour, and the restriction of women to child-bearing kept fertility high. Tandon then surveys the global awakening to the problem: the UN's designation of 1974 as World Population Year and the Bucharest conference, the spread of official anti-natalist policies across the developing world, and the grim toll of illegal abortions.… ### Body # The Population Problem *By Dr. B. K. Tandon* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, Dr. B. K. Tandon, Professor and Head of Economics at the University of Udaipur, lays out the dimensions of what he calls the population problem. He opens with the arithmetic of compounding growth — a population rising at 1% doubles in 70 years, at 2% in 35 years — and quotes World Bank and UN authorities to argue that the world's population is set to double within roughly three decades, with India's crossing one billion. He situates the explosion historically in the Industrial and agricultural revolutions, which expanded resources and lowered death rates while traditions, religious attitudes, the premium on cheap labour, and the restriction of women to child-bearing kept fertility high. Tandon then surveys the global awakening to the problem: the UN's designation of 1974 as World Population Year and the Bucharest conference, the spread of official anti-natalist policies across the developing world, and the grim toll of illegal abortions. He devotes attention to dispelling 'myths' that becloud population planning, and argues that economic development alone cannot quickly cut birth rates — Europe took seventy years to do so under far more favourable conditions, and the youthful age structure of developing societies builds in decades of momentum. He closes by stressing that the relationship between development and fertility cannot be reduced to a precise formula, only better understood. Across the booklet's roughly sixteen printed pages, the argument is data-driven and policy-oriented, framing population not as an isolated demographic fact but as a question of poverty, survival, and deliberate human choice. ## Key points - A population growing at 1% doubles in 70 years, at 2% in 35 years, and at 3.5% in only 20 years. - World and UN authorities (McNamara, Salas) project world population doubling within 30-35 years; India's to exceed one billion by ~2006. - The Industrial and agricultural revolutions lowered death rates and expanded resources while traditions, religion, demand for cheap labour, and women's restriction to child-bearing sustained high fertility. - Illegal abortions, estimated at 30-50 million a year, are a leading cause of death among women in their child-bearing years in many countries. - 1974 was designated World Population Year, with the first inter-governmental conference at Bucharest adopting a world Plan of Action. - Economic development alone cannot rapidly cut birth rates — Europe took 70 years under more favourable conditions. - Because ~50% of people in developing countries are under 16, a built-in momentum guarantees continued expansion for decades even with family planning. - The development-fertility relationship cannot be defined in precise mathematical terms; modern research only identifies its ingredients. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Planning Commission & Parkinson's Law URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-planning-commission---parkinson-s-law-by-touchstone-june-23-1960/ ### Summary "The Planning Commission & Parkinson's Law" is a short opinion column by the pseudonymous writer 'Touchstone,' reproduced as a two-page leaflet by the Forum of Free Enterprise from The Hindustan Times of 23 June 1960, with the Editor's permission. Taking the impending retirement of Mr. V. T. Krishnamachari as its occasion, the column argues that the Planning Commission has fallen victim to Parkinson's Law — the tendency of a body to expand its staff and functions far beyond what its real work requires. Touchstone makes a case for reform and recasting of the Commission. The membership, the writer argues, should draw on people with practical, first-hand grasp of trade, commerce and industry rather than resting on 'so-called experts' and a swollen permanent secretariat; the role and responsibilities of the Minister for Planning are obscure, and Mr. Nanda 'seems to do no more than make those dull and long-winded speeches in Parliament.' The column is especially critical of the secretariat's bigness and of Prof.… ### Body # The Planning Commission & Parkinson's Law *By "Touchstone"* ## Summary "The Planning Commission & Parkinson's Law" is a short opinion column by the pseudonymous writer 'Touchstone,' reproduced as a two-page leaflet by the Forum of Free Enterprise from The Hindustan Times of 23 June 1960, with the Editor's permission. Taking the impending retirement of Mr. V. T. Krishnamachari as its occasion, the column argues that the Planning Commission has fallen victim to Parkinson's Law — the tendency of a body to expand its staff and functions far beyond what its real work requires. Touchstone makes a case for reform and recasting of the Commission. The membership, the writer argues, should draw on people with practical, first-hand grasp of trade, commerce and industry rather than resting on 'so-called experts' and a swollen permanent secretariat; the role and responsibilities of the Minister for Planning are obscure, and Mr. Nanda 'seems to do no more than make those dull and long-winded speeches in Parliament.' The column is especially critical of the secretariat's bigness and of Prof. Mahalanobis, whose statistical 'hony.' advice and parallel plan-making are said to function in 'jealous independence' of the regular secretariat, sometimes overriding official judgement on issues of economic development. The writer calls for the functions of the secretariat to be clearly defined and confined, for ad hoc bodies to handle specific planning jobs, and for assertive enthusiasm on the part of some officials to be checked, warning that the Planning Commission 'should learn to be on guard' against intrusion into the making of policy. The leaflet carries the Forum's standard disclaimer that the views are not necessarily its own, and a colophon naming M. R. Pai as publisher for the Forum and dating it July 1960. ## Key points - A two-page FFE leaflet reproducing a 'Touchstone' column from The Hindustan Times of 23 June 1960. - Occasioned by the impending retirement of Mr. V. T. Krishnamachari from the vice-chairmanship of the Planning Commission. - Central thesis: the Planning Commission has been overtaken by Parkinson's Law — bureaucratic expansion beyond real need. - Argues membership should include people with first-hand grasp of trade, commerce and industry, not just 'so-called experts'. - Finds the Minister for Planning's role obscure; pointedly criticises Mr. Nanda's parliamentary speeches. - Singles out Prof. Mahalanobis and the statistical adviser's parallel, semi-independent plan-making. - Calls for clearly defined secretariat functions, ad hoc bodies for specific jobs, and guarding against bureaucratic intrusion into policy. - Carries the FFE disclaimer; published by M. R. Pai for the Forum, dated July 1960. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Position of Directors Under the Companies Act URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-position-of-directors-under-the-companies-act-k-venkoba-rao-september-8-1962/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, K. Venkoba Rao — described as the author of several books and articles on company and commercial law — offers a working exposition of the legal position of company directors under the Indian Companies Act as amended by the Amendment Act of 1960. He opens with the Act's circular definition of a 'director' as 'one who occupies the position of director', and develops a political analogy: shareholders are both the electorate and the legislature, the board is at once a president (directly elected) and a cabinet (removable at any time). From there the booklet works systematically through the statutory machinery governing directors. In the rendered pages, Rao covers the constitution of the board after the 1960 amendment (minimum numbers of directors, the treatment of 'deemed public companies' under Section 43A), share-qualification requirements and the exemptions for government-appointed directors, the grounds and procedure for vacation of office and removal, directors' remuneration (the statutory ceilings on percentages of net profit), and the rules for board meetings, quorum, and notice.… ### Body # The Position of Directors Under the Companies Act *By K. Venkoba Rao* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, K. Venkoba Rao — described as the author of several books and articles on company and commercial law — offers a working exposition of the legal position of company directors under the Indian Companies Act as amended by the Amendment Act of 1960. He opens with the Act's circular definition of a 'director' as 'one who occupies the position of director', and develops a political analogy: shareholders are both the electorate and the legislature, the board is at once a president (directly elected) and a cabinet (removable at any time). From there the booklet works systematically through the statutory machinery governing directors. In the rendered pages, Rao covers the constitution of the board after the 1960 amendment (minimum numbers of directors, the treatment of 'deemed public companies' under Section 43A), share-qualification requirements and the exemptions for government-appointed directors, the grounds and procedure for vacation of office and removal, directors' remuneration (the statutory ceilings on percentages of net profit), and the rules for board meetings, quorum, and notice. A recurring theme is the law on company political contributions: Rao notes that contributions to political parties must be disclosed in the profit-and-loss account, and argues pointedly that unless such contributions are banned and the election law tightened, 'the prospect for real democracy in this country will indeed be very bleak.' The treatment is practical and statute-anchored, aimed at directors, shareholders, and businessmen seeking to understand their obligations. This summary is based on the first 20 of the work's 27 pages; the booklet's argument continues past the rendered set. ## Key points - The Companies Act defines a director circularly as 'one who occupies the position of director'; Rao likens the board to both a president and a cabinet. - After the Amendment Act of 1960, every public company must have at least three directors and every private company at least two. - Section 43A creates 'deemed public companies', complicating the application of director-number rules. - Directors must hold qualification shares and file a declaration with the Registrar within two months; government-appointed directors are exempt. - Directors vacate office for unsound mind, insolvency, failure to obtain qualification shares, absence from three consecutive meetings, conviction for moral turpitude, and other grounds; removal requires special notice. - Whole-time and managing directors' remuneration is capped as a percentage of net profits, subject to Central Government approval. - Board meetings must be held at least once every three calendar months, with quorum of one-third of strength or two directors, whichever is higher. - Company contributions to political parties must be disclosed; Rao warns democracy is imperilled unless such contributions are banned and election law tightened. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Power Problem in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-power-problem-in-india-a-s-joshi-and-m-s-padmanabhan-december-13-1979/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet gathers two lectures on India's power problem, presented in two numbered parts: Part I by A. S. Joshi, a former Technical Member of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (based on a lecture delivered under FFE auspices in Bombay on 8th August 1979), and Part II by M. S. Padmanabhan. In the rendered pages, only Part I (Joshi) is present; Part II falls in the unrendered portion of the booklet. The volume's argumentative center is a critical appraisal of how India has planned and managed its electric-power sector since independence, and what structural reforms are needed to close the chronic gap between target and achievement. ### Body # The Power Problem in India ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet gathers two lectures on India's power problem, presented in two numbered parts: Part I by A. S. Joshi, a former Technical Member of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (based on a lecture delivered under FFE auspices in Bombay on 8th August 1979), and Part II by M. S. Padmanabhan. In the rendered pages, only Part I (Joshi) is present; Part II falls in the unrendered portion of the booklet. The volume's argumentative center is a critical appraisal of how India has planned and managed its electric-power sector since independence, and what structural reforms are needed to close the chronic gap between target and achievement. ## Essays ### The Power Problem in India — I *By A. S. Joshi* A. S. Joshi opens by granting that India's power achievements over 30 years are 'quite impressive' given a very low 1950s base — installed capacity rose roughly 16 times, from 1,700 MW in 1950 to about 26,000 MW by 1978-79, and generation grew 20-fold. But the bulk of his lecture is a diagnosis of why the sector chronically underperforms its plans. In the rendered pages he documents, plan by plan, large shortfalls between anticipated and actual capacity additions (reaching about 50% in the Fourth Plan), and attributes them to non-sequential and delayed deliveries of plant, poor equipment quality, the near-monopoly of BHEL in manufacturing, cumbersome tender and sanctioning procedures, weak penalties for contractor default, and the distortions introduced by routing power planning through rigid five-year-plan cycles. He is critical of how rural electrification, while beneficial, has hurt the Electricity Boards' finances and service quality through rising transmission losses in low-density areas. Joshi closes Part I with a 'Whither Indian Economy?' section warning of structural retrogression tied to the decline of planning, followed by a numbered list of drastic remedies: giving the power sector the highest national priority (above defence); establishing a Central Electricity Generating Board with executive authority backed by Regional Boards, leaving State Boards to transmission and distribution; delinking power planning from the five-year-plan cycle onto a continuous rolling basis; fixing minimum annual capacity additions; instituting a national dialogue on the proper hydro-thermal-nuclear mix; accelerating hydel schemes by settling inter-state river-water disputes; and establishing additional manufacturing capacity in competition with BHEL. - Installed capacity rose ~16x (1,700 MW in 1950 to ~26,000 MW by 1978-79) and generation ~20x, an impressive base given low 1950s starting point. - Table 1 documents plan-by-plan shortfalls between anticipated and actual capacity, reaching ~50% in the Fourth Plan (1969-74). - Causes include non-sequential and delayed plant deliveries, poor equipment quality, and BHEL's near-monopoly 'know-all' approach to manufacturing. - Cumbersome tender/sanction procedures and weak default penalties delay projects; Joshi favours completion bonuses over penalties. - Rural electrification has hurt Electricity Boards' finances and service quality via rising transmission losses in low-density areas. - Joshi calls for power to be given highest national priority, above defence. - He proposes a Central Electricity Generating Board with executive authority, with State Boards confined to transmission and distribution. - He urges delinking power planning from the five-year-plan cycle onto a continuous rolling basis and competition in equipment manufacturing. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Power Crisis URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-power-crisis-p-m-agerwala-30th-april-1973/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reprints a public lecture delivered in Bombay on 30th April 1973 by P. M. Agerwala, Managing Director of the Tata Electric Companies. Agerwala opens with the worsening power shortage in Western Maharashtra — what he calls 'a power famine' — recalling that the Tatas had warned the Government of Maharashtra of looming shortfalls as early as 1960 and again in 1965, only to be told their capacity additions would suffice. From this local case he builds a national diagnosis of why India's power supply chronically lags demand. The heart of the lecture is an indictment of how the power sector is run rather than merely a call for more capacity. Agerwala highlights heavy transmission and distribution losses — far above the 5.7-12.5% typical of European systems — as a waste of national resources that planners then compensate for by building still more generating capacity instead of fixing the network.… ### Body # The Power Crisis *By P. M. Agerwala* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reprints a public lecture delivered in Bombay on 30th April 1973 by P. M. Agerwala, Managing Director of the Tata Electric Companies. Agerwala opens with the worsening power shortage in Western Maharashtra — what he calls 'a power famine' — recalling that the Tatas had warned the Government of Maharashtra of looming shortfalls as early as 1960 and again in 1965, only to be told their capacity additions would suffice. From this local case he builds a national diagnosis of why India's power supply chronically lags demand. The heart of the lecture is an indictment of how the power sector is run rather than merely a call for more capacity. Agerwala highlights heavy transmission and distribution losses — far above the 5.7-12.5% typical of European systems — as a waste of national resources that planners then compensate for by building still more generating capacity instead of fixing the network. He points to poor maintenance, inadequate training of operating staff, frequent unscheduled plant stoppages, and (quoting a 1972 power-sector journal) the 'incompetent management' of public-sector systems, particularly in West Bengal and the Eastern Region. Against this he sets the Tata Electric Companies' own record: by deploying modern management techniques and computer control, they achieved an average output at Trombay of 6,800 kW-hours per annum in 1972-73, against a national average of 3,500 and the world's best-maintained station's 5,800. Agerwala closes by lamenting that Indian public opinion is not strong enough to press the Government on the poor operation of electricity systems, and insists that a dependable electric service — a goal Parliament has endorsed — requires the cooperation of central and state regulatory bodies. The public, he argues, has a right to expect a response from the Government. ## Key points - Western Maharashtra faces a 'power famine'; the Tatas warned the state government of shortfalls as early as 1960 and 1965. - Transmission and distribution losses are a major waste of national resources, far above the 5.7-12.5% range typical of European systems. - Planners build additional generating capacity to compensate for high losses rather than reducing the losses themselves. - Poor maintenance, inadequate staff training, and frequent unscheduled plant stoppages are core weaknesses of the system. - Agerwala quotes a 1972 power-sector journal blaming the 'incompetent management' of public-sector systems in West Bengal and the Eastern Region. - Tata Electric achieved 6,800 kW-hours per annum at Trombay in 1972-73, versus a national average of 3,500 and the world's best of 5,800. - Modern management techniques and computer control can reduce system losses and optimise grid operation. - Indian public opinion is too weak to hold the Government to account on power-sector performance; the public has a right to a response. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Privatisation Phenomenon and Its Relevance to Developing Countries URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-privatisation-phenomenon-and-its-relevance-to-developing-countries-by-j-k-mukhopadhyay-july-15-1988/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, Jiban K. Mukhopadhyay, an economist with Tata Services Ltd., surveys the global wave of privatisation of the 1980s and argues for its relevance to developing countries like India. He opens with 'The Genesis', tracing public ownership back to the spread of socialism in Britain and France from around 1830 — noting that the British Labour Party's nationalisation doctrine drew on the Fabian socialism of Jevons, John Stuart Mill and Sidney Webb rather than Karl Marx — and crediting Herbert Morrison as the 'father of nationalisation' whose norms shaped post-war public ownership across Western Europe. The central section is a global survey of the privatisation reversal. Britain under Mrs Thatcher is presented as the pioneer, having raised some $23 billion by selling all or part of thirteen companies (British Telecom, British Gas, British Aerospace, Britoil and others) and roughly doubling the number of British shareholders.… ### Body # The Privatisation Phenomenon and Its Relevance to Developing Countries *By Jiban K. Mukhopadhyay* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, Jiban K. Mukhopadhyay, an economist with Tata Services Ltd., surveys the global wave of privatisation of the 1980s and argues for its relevance to developing countries like India. He opens with 'The Genesis', tracing public ownership back to the spread of socialism in Britain and France from around 1830 — noting that the British Labour Party's nationalisation doctrine drew on the Fabian socialism of Jevons, John Stuart Mill and Sidney Webb rather than Karl Marx — and crediting Herbert Morrison as the 'father of nationalisation' whose norms shaped post-war public ownership across Western Europe. The central section is a global survey of the privatisation reversal. Britain under Mrs Thatcher is presented as the pioneer, having raised some $23 billion by selling all or part of thirteen companies (British Telecom, British Gas, British Aerospace, Britoil and others) and roughly doubling the number of British shareholders. Mukhopadhyay then catalogues parallel programmes in France (the most enthusiastic pursuer under Chirac), Italy, Spain, Sweden, West Germany, Japan, the USA and Canada, and notes that even the Soviet Union and China were experimenting with market-based reforms. He marshals data on the poor profitability and heavy fiscal burden of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), particularly in developing countries. Turning to relevance, Mukhopadhyay poses a series of pointed questions — whether loss-making SOEs should keep being subsidised in fiscally precarious economies, and whether ideological commitments should override financial common sense — and answers that privatisation, while 'not an absolute panacea', is one of the pragmatic remedial measures available. He quotes the Amex Bank Review on the growing worldwide respect for the efficiency of privately managed companies and the free-market view that markets allocate resources more rationally than governments, concluding that in developing countries privatisation makes sense for industries that have been successfully nurtured under state ownership. ## Key points - Privatisation is framed as a sweeping global counter-revolution to the earlier wave of nationalisation. - Nationalisation doctrine is traced to Fabian socialism (Jevons, J. S. Mill, Sidney Webb), not Karl Marx, with Herbert Morrison as the 'father of nationalisation'. - Britain under Mrs Thatcher is the pioneer, raising ~$23 billion by selling 13 companies and roughly doubling its shareholder base. - France (under Chirac), Italy, Spain, Sweden, West Germany, Japan, the USA and Canada are pursuing privatisation; even the USSR and China are experimenting with market reforms. - State-owned enterprises, especially in developing countries, are chronically unprofitable and a heavy drain on government resources. - Mukhopadhyay asks whether loss-making SOEs should keep being subsidised and whether ideology should override financial common sense. - He treats privatisation as a pragmatic remedial measure, 'not an absolute panacea'. - He concludes privatisation makes sense for developing-country industries already successfully nurtured under state ownership. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Privatisation Phenomenon and Its Relevance to Developing Countries URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-privatisation-phenomenon-jiban-k-mukhopadhyay-july-1988/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, economist Jiban K. Mukhopadhyay surveys the global wave of privatisation of the 1980s and argues for its relevance to developing economies, especially India. He frames privatisation as a worldwide counter-movement to the four-decade experiment with nationalisation, tracing the nationalisation doctrine to the Fabian rather than Marxist strand of socialism and to Herbert Morrison's post-war British model. Drawing on D. R. Pendse, he sets out a broad eight-point definition of privatisation that extends well beyond mere divestiture to include denationalisation, leasing of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), transfer of management, abandonment of new SOE proposals, and contracting-out of services. The essay then maps the spread of privatisation: Margaret Thatcher's ideologically-driven programme in Britain after 1979; liberalising reforms under Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika in the USSR; Deng Xiaoping's open-door reforms in China; and parallel openings across Eastern Europe.… ### Body # The Privatisation Phenomenon and Its Relevance to Developing Countries *By Jiban Mukhopadhyay* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, economist Jiban K. Mukhopadhyay surveys the global wave of privatisation of the 1980s and argues for its relevance to developing economies, especially India. He frames privatisation as a worldwide counter-movement to the four-decade experiment with nationalisation, tracing the nationalisation doctrine to the Fabian rather than Marxist strand of socialism and to Herbert Morrison's post-war British model. Drawing on D. R. Pendse, he sets out a broad eight-point definition of privatisation that extends well beyond mere divestiture to include denationalisation, leasing of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), transfer of management, abandonment of new SOE proposals, and contracting-out of services. The essay then maps the spread of privatisation: Margaret Thatcher's ideologically-driven programme in Britain after 1979; liberalising reforms under Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika in the USSR; Deng Xiaoping's open-door reforms in China; and parallel openings across Eastern Europe. Turning to the developing world, Mukhopadhyay attributes the trend largely to fiscal pressures and budget deficits, and notes the prescriptive role of the IMF, World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Mukhopadhyay supplements the fiscal argument with a 'new management ethos' rationale, contending that private enterprise is run more dynamically than over-administered SOEs, and that even profitable Indian SOEs in petroleum, power and telecommunications could be candidates for privatisation. He closes on a note of economic pragmatism, citing South Korea's non-ideological approach to argue that privatisation in developing countries has spread on grounds of need and usefulness rather than right-wing ideological fervour. ## Key points - Privatisation is framed as a worldwide 1980s counter-wave to four decades of nationalisation. - Nationalisation is traced to the Fabian strand of socialism (Jevons, J.S. Mill, Sidney Webb) and Herbert Morrison's British model, 'not necessarily Karl Marx'. - Adopts D. R. Pendse's broad eight-point definition: divestiture, denationalisation, IPR relaxation, SOE closure/leasing, management transfer, abandoning new SOEs, and contracting-out. - Margaret Thatcher's 1979 Conservative manifesto is identified as the pioneering ideological drive. - Cites reform in the USSR (Gorbachev), China (Deng Xiaoping), and Eastern Europe as evidence of a global shift. - In developing countries, privatisation is driven mainly by fiscal deficits, with IMF/World Bank/ADB prescribing it. - Adds a 'new management ethos' argument: private firms outperform over-administered SOEs. - Concludes with 'economic pragmatism' over ideology, citing South Korea's Bon Ho Koo. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Problem of Foreign Exchange URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-problem-of-foreign-exchange-by-prof-cn-vakil-may-8-1961/ ### Summary In this short Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet, the economist Prof. C. N. Vakil examines India's chronic foreign-exchange problem in the early 1960s. He opens with a historical contrast: from the East India Company era through the two World Wars, India ran an export surplus and accumulated sterling balances in London, but with independence and the launch of planned economic development the country shifted to a large and persistent import surplus, driven by the need to buy machinery and goods for its Plans. Vakil situates India among under-developed countries with large, rapidly growing populations living near subsistence, for whom industrial development is both urgent and foreign-exchange-intensive. Vakil argues that India can no longer rely on the colonial-era mechanisms or on long-term foreign loans alone, and that earning foreign exchange through exports must become a national priority.… ### Body # The Problem of Foreign Exchange *By Prof. C. N. Vakil* ## Summary In this short Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet, the economist Prof. C. N. Vakil examines India's chronic foreign-exchange problem in the early 1960s. He opens with a historical contrast: from the East India Company era through the two World Wars, India ran an export surplus and accumulated sterling balances in London, but with independence and the launch of planned economic development the country shifted to a large and persistent import surplus, driven by the need to buy machinery and goods for its Plans. Vakil situates India among under-developed countries with large, rapidly growing populations living near subsistence, for whom industrial development is both urgent and foreign-exchange-intensive. Vakil argues that India can no longer rely on the colonial-era mechanisms or on long-term foreign loans alone, and that earning foreign exchange through exports must become a national priority. He stresses that export trade should be treated as a profitable business in the hands of specialists rather than as a by-product of other activity, and calls for a national code of honour among exporters, government incentives and subsidies in the early stages, research teams, and active government-business cooperation to study and capture world markets. The leaflet closes with a ten-point programme for developing 'export consciousness' so the country can earn the foreign exchange it requires. ## Key points - India historically ran an export surplus and built sterling balances in London until independence. - Planned development created a persistent import surplus to buy machinery and goods for the Plans. - India is framed as a populous under-developed economy where industrialisation is urgent but foreign-exchange-hungry. - Long-term foreign loans alone are inadequate; exports must become a national priority. - Export trade should be a profitable business run by specialists, not a by-product of other activity. - Calls for a national code of honour among exporters, plus government subsidies/incentives in early stages. - Recommends research teams, exhibitions/fairs, and active government-business cooperation on world markets. - Concludes with a ten-point programme to build national 'export consciousness'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Problem of Rising Prices — Causes and Remedy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-problem-of-rising-prices-causes-a-s-bhaskar-aug9-1964/ ### Summary Originally delivered as a speech at a Chamber's first quarterly general meeting on 9 June 1964 and reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise, this booklet by A. S. Bhaskar, Financial Editor of the Times of India, diagnoses the causes of India's rising prices and prescribes remedies. Bhaskar opens by clearing away three 'common pitfalls': the erroneous belief that absolute price stability is a prerequisite for progress (prices must fluctuate within reasonable limits as they reflect supply and demand), the habit of hunting for scapegoats instead of examining root causes, and the mistaken notion that prices respond to politicians' pronouncements rather than economic forces. The core of his analysis is the abnormal price rise since 1962, concentrated in foodgrains. He attributes it to a widening supply-demand gap: foodgrain production failing to keep pace with a population growing at about 2.3 per cent a year and rising per-capita consumption as incomes increase, compounded by hoarding and farmers withholding stocks in expectation of higher prices.… ### Body # The Problem of Rising Prices — Causes and Remedy *By A. S. BHASKAR* ## Summary Originally delivered as a speech at a Chamber's first quarterly general meeting on 9 June 1964 and reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise, this booklet by A. S. Bhaskar, Financial Editor of the Times of India, diagnoses the causes of India's rising prices and prescribes remedies. Bhaskar opens by clearing away three 'common pitfalls': the erroneous belief that absolute price stability is a prerequisite for progress (prices must fluctuate within reasonable limits as they reflect supply and demand), the habit of hunting for scapegoats instead of examining root causes, and the mistaken notion that prices respond to politicians' pronouncements rather than economic forces. The core of his analysis is the abnormal price rise since 1962, concentrated in foodgrains. He attributes it to a widening supply-demand gap: foodgrain production failing to keep pace with a population growing at about 2.3 per cent a year and rising per-capita consumption as incomes increase, compounded by hoarding and farmers withholding stocks in expectation of higher prices. He marshals tabular data on the shortfalls between Third Plan agricultural targets and actual attainment in irrigation, fertilisers, improved seeds and soil conservation, and notes heavy reliance on imports under P.L. 480. Bhaskar is sharply critical of the government's response, particularly zoning restrictions on the movement of foodgrains, state-to-state import arrangements, and creeping state trading, which he argues disrupt normal trade channels, eliminate the wholesaler, and fail to benefit consumers. His remedy is to treat increased production as the only durable cure, to relax movement controls and let surplus grain flow freely to deficit zones, and to avoid substituting state trading for the market mechanism. ## Key points - Reprint of a speech given at a Chamber's first quarterly general meeting on 9 June 1964. - Rejects three pitfalls: that absolute price stability is necessary, scapegoating, and that politicians control prices. - Locates the abnormal post-1962 inflation chiefly in foodgrains. - Root cause is a supply-demand gap: production lagging population growth (~2.3% p.a.) and rising consumption. - Hoarding and farmers withholding stocks in expectation of higher prices aggravate the rise. - Documents shortfalls against Third Plan agricultural targets and reliance on P.L. 480 imports. - Sharply criticises zoning controls, state-to-state arrangements and state trading as disruptive. - Remedy: boost production, free up grain movement to deficit zones, avoid replacing the market with state trading. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Problem of Rising Prices URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-problem-of-rising-prices-g-d-somani-oct5-1963/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet gathers excerpts from statements issued by several Indian commercial and industrial bodies and from the presidential speeches of their chambers, all addressing the sharp rise in prices in 1962-63. As the introduction explains, it compiles relevant material from various organisations to give students of economics an insight into the causes of price rise, and adds an appendix on the much-debated cost-of-living index. The contributions share a common diagnosis from the business community: that inflation is driven principally by a supply-demand gap in foodgrains and essential commodities, by deficit financing and heavy Emergency-era defence expenditure, and by the cumulative burden of indirect taxation, excise duties and railway freight increases — rather than by trade profiteering. Across the excerpts the chambers press the government to prioritise increased production, relax movement and price controls, and reconsider its tax policy, while defending private trade against the charge of being responsible for rising prices. Named individual contributions come from G. D.… ### Body # The Problem of Rising Prices ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet gathers excerpts from statements issued by several Indian commercial and industrial bodies and from the presidential speeches of their chambers, all addressing the sharp rise in prices in 1962-63. As the introduction explains, it compiles relevant material from various organisations to give students of economics an insight into the causes of price rise, and adds an appendix on the much-debated cost-of-living index. The contributions share a common diagnosis from the business community: that inflation is driven principally by a supply-demand gap in foodgrains and essential commodities, by deficit financing and heavy Emergency-era defence expenditure, and by the cumulative burden of indirect taxation, excise duties and railway freight increases — rather than by trade profiteering. Across the excerpts the chambers press the government to prioritise increased production, relax movement and price controls, and reconsider its tax policy, while defending private trade against the charge of being responsible for rising prices. Named individual contributions come from G. D. Somani (Indian Merchants' Chamber) and Lalchand Hirachand (Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce), alongside statements from the Bengal National Chamber, the Indian Chamber of Commerce (Calcutta), the Gujarat Chamber and the Association of Indian Trade and Industry. ## Essays ### Factors Influencing Price Movements (Memorandum to the Price Inquiry Committee) *By Bengal National Chamber of Commerce & Industry* An excerpt from the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce & Industry's memorandum to the West Bengal Government's Price Inquiry Committee (July 1963). It sets out the factors influencing price movements: rising purchasing power from large Plan investments, deficit financing and Emergency/defence expenditure, agricultural output failing to keep pace with demand, time lags in investment fructification, and the cumulative weight of taxation, excise and railway-freight increases. It argues profit margins of trade and industry are generally low and that controls on prices and distribution are of doubtful utility, locating the remedy in increased production rather than regulation. - Rising purchasing power from First, Second and Third Plan investments fuels demand. - Deficit financing and Emergency/defence expenditure swell money supply (Rs. 1,804 cr in 1951 to Rs. 3,406 cr by April 1963). - Agriculture, ~50% of national output, fails to keep pace with demand, pushing food prices up. - Excise revenue rose from Rs. 67.54 cr (1950-51) to Rs. 489.31 cr (1961-62), adding to costs. - Trade and industry profit margins are low; controls on prices/distribution are of doubtful utility. ### Impact of Taxes on the Price Level Needs to be Studied *By G. D. SOMANI, President, Indian Merchants' Chamber, Bombay* An extract from G. D. Somani's presidential speech to the Indian Merchants' Chamber (first quarterly general meeting, June 1963). Somani argues that the impact of taxes on the price level needs proper study, contending the steep rise in indirect taxation since 1962-63 has fed directly into prices, and that physical controls should be a last resort. He stresses that the business community is willing to co-operate to hold the price line but that responsibility cannot be pinned on industrialists; the real factors are the supply-demand gap in producer and consumer goods, inadequate agricultural supply, and large government development and non-development expenditure that inflates purchasing power. - The steep rise in indirect taxation since 1962-63 has fed straight into prices and needs objective study. - Physical price controls should be a last resort, not the first instrument. - Output of producer goods rose only ~14% against rising effective demand, widening the gap. - Government development and non-development expenditure is a determining inflationary factor. - Traders should not be held responsible for the price rise. ### The Government Should Adopt a Price Policy Based on Production Considerations *By LALCHAND HIRACHAND, President, Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Bombay* An excerpt from Lalchand Hirachand's presidential address to the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce (Third Quarterly General Meeting, July 1963). Hirachand argues that the government should adopt a price policy based on production considerations rather than administrative controls, holds that price controls break down in the face of genuine shortages, and urges that responsibility rests with educating the business community and removing the real cost-push factors — chiefly inadequate production and high taxation — so that prices can be brought down through increased supply. - A durable price policy must rest on increasing production, not administrative control. - When commodities are genuinely short, regulation only accentuates scarcity and unhealthy spiralling. - Essential-commodity output must be raised to arrest the inflationary trend. - Adequate production based on sound considerations is the real route to lower prices. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Public Sector — A Manager's Report URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-public-sector-a-managers-report-p-c-lal-november-15-1976/ ### Summary This booklet is the text of the Eleventh A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by Air Chief Marshal P. C. Lal (Retd.) under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 4 November 1976. Lal, who had served as Chief of Air Staff and then run Indian Airlines and Hindustan Aeronautics, frames his talk explicitly as a manager's report rather than a policymaker's or economist's verdict. He opens in memory of A. D. Shroff and credits the Forum's president, Nani Palkhivala, for the invitation, then sets out to describe the major problems of the public sector as he has experienced them from the inside, disclaiming any intent to convert listeners for or against state ownership. In the rendered pages Lal traces the historical roots of India's public sector to the freedom movement's goal of improving the common man's economic condition, recalling the National Planning Committee under Nehru (of which Shroff was a member) and the rival Bombay, People's, Gandhian and government plans.… ### Body # The Public Sector — A Manager's Report *By AIR CHIEF MARSHAL P. C. LAL (Retd.)* ## Summary This booklet is the text of the Eleventh A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by Air Chief Marshal P. C. Lal (Retd.) under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 4 November 1976. Lal, who had served as Chief of Air Staff and then run Indian Airlines and Hindustan Aeronautics, frames his talk explicitly as a manager's report rather than a policymaker's or economist's verdict. He opens in memory of A. D. Shroff and credits the Forum's president, Nani Palkhivala, for the invitation, then sets out to describe the major problems of the public sector as he has experienced them from the inside, disclaiming any intent to convert listeners for or against state ownership. In the rendered pages Lal traces the historical roots of India's public sector to the freedom movement's goal of improving the common man's economic condition, recalling the National Planning Committee under Nehru (of which Shroff was a member) and the rival Bombay, People's, Gandhian and government plans. He presents aggregate statistics for 1970/71-1974/75 showing investment up about 55 per cent and net profit up fifteen-fold, arguing the public sector is now firmly established and 'a force to reckon with', even as it has been persistently criticised for inefficiency. He identifies characteristics peculiar to state-owned enterprises — the precedence of public need and national interest, nationalisation to control vital sectors like banking and insurance — that make them harder to manage than private firms. The core of the rendered argument is managerial and human: Lal contends that the manager's central duty is to build a sound working relationship with the labour force through personal integrity and fair, firm dealing rather than through labour legislation, and that excess manpower and productivity-sapping wage agreements inherited from the enterprises' early years must be addressed. He sees encouraging signs in a younger generation of public-sector managers, better trained in modern techniques and more willing to work alongside workers on the shop floor. The lecture continues beyond the rendered pages. ## Key points - Text of the Eleventh A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, Bombay, 4 November 1976. - Speaker P. C. Lal writes as a manager (ex-Indian Airlines, Hindustan Aeronautics), not as economist or policymaker. - Roots the public sector in the freedom movement and the Nehru-chaired National Planning Committee (with Shroff a member). - Cites 1970/71-1974/75 data: investment up ~55%, net profit up fifteen-fold, employment from 6.60 to 14.08 lakhs. - Argues the public sector is now well established and 'a force to reckon with' despite inefficiency criticism. - Notes characteristics peculiar to SOEs (public need first; nationalisation of banks, LIC) that complicate management. - Holds the manager's chief duty is a sound labour relationship built on integrity, not labour legislation. - Flags inherited excess manpower and low-productivity wage agreements as a major problem. - Sees promise in a younger, better-trained generation of public-sector managers. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Reform of the Judiciary URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-reform-of-the-judiciary-justice-h-r-khanna-october-15-1980/ ### Summary Delivered as the annual A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 13th October 1980, Justice H. R. Khanna's address opens by linking the freedom of enterprise to the wider freedoms of a free society and arguing that restraint and freedom are not inherently in conflict: only restraint that cramps the individual's spiritual and personal development is an evil, whereas restraint that secures the conditions for free development is legitimate. From this foundation he turns to the courts and judges as the historical 'sentinels of human freedom and guardians of basic rights,' contending that the capacity of courts to provide redress is the true index of whether the rule of law prevails over the rule of men. Khanna stresses that the judiciary, though the weakest of the three organs of the State, holding 'neither the power of the purse nor the power of the sword,' commands public respect through its moral authority and its readiness to do justice between rich and poor, mighty and weak, State and citizen, without fear or favour.… ### Body # The Reform of the Judiciary *By JUSTICE H. R. KHANNA (Retd.)* ## Summary Delivered as the annual A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 13th October 1980, Justice H. R. Khanna's address opens by linking the freedom of enterprise to the wider freedoms of a free society and arguing that restraint and freedom are not inherently in conflict: only restraint that cramps the individual's spiritual and personal development is an evil, whereas restraint that secures the conditions for free development is legitimate. From this foundation he turns to the courts and judges as the historical 'sentinels of human freedom and guardians of basic rights,' contending that the capacity of courts to provide redress is the true index of whether the rule of law prevails over the rule of men. Khanna stresses that the judiciary, though the weakest of the three organs of the State, holding 'neither the power of the purse nor the power of the sword,' commands public respect through its moral authority and its readiness to do justice between rich and poor, mighty and weak, State and citizen, without fear or favour. He warns that the liberties of citizens face real danger from well-meaning but rule-of-law-deficient zeal in the modern welfare State, and that totalitarian regimes characteristically prefer a subservient judiciary that lends a legal veneer to power. The later rendered pages move to concrete reform proposals. Khanna clarifies that his title should not imply something is basically wrong with the judiciary, which in India has by and large maintained high standards, but that certain infirmities call for attention. He discusses the transfer of judges as a legitimate remedy short of impeachment provided it is not abused, endorsing the Law Commission's suggestion that no judge be transferred without consent unless a panel of the Chief Justice of India and his four senior-most colleagues finds sufficient cause. To counter complaints of favouritism in appointments, he supports the Law Commission proposal that a High Court Chief Justice consult his two senior-most colleagues before recommending an appointee. Across the rendered pages the consistent argument is that the strongest weapon of the judiciary is its unsullied image, esteem, and public confidence. ## Key points - The lecture is the 1980 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture given to the Forum of Free Enterprise, Bombay. - Khanna frames freedom of enterprise within the broader freedoms of a free society and argues freedom and restraint are not inherently opposed. - Courts and judges are cast as historical sentinels of human freedom; their capacity to give redress is the real index of the rule of law. - The judiciary is the weakest organ of the State, lacking purse and sword, but draws strength from moral authority and public confidence. - Totalitarian and dictatorial regimes seek a subservient judiciary to give power a legal veneer. - The title is not a charge that the judiciary is broken; Indian courts have largely maintained high standards but show some infirmities. - Reform proposals discussed: transfer of judges as a remedy short of impeachment, safeguarded by a CJI-plus-four-seniors panel and consent. - To curb favouritism in appointments, a High Court Chief Justice should consult his two senior-most colleagues, per the Law Commission. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Retreat From Socialism URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-retreat-after-socialism-bk-nehru/ ### Summary This booklet reproduces the Seventh C.D. Deshmukh Memorial Lecture, "The Retreat From Socialism," delivered by B.K. Nehru at the India International Centre, Delhi on 14 January 1990. After an opening tribute to Sir Chintaman Deshmukh — under whom Nehru trained at the Reserve Bank of India and whose career as Finance Secretary, Governor of the RBI, and Union Finance Minister he recalls — Nehru turns to his central theme: the worldwide collapse of confidence in socialist economic organisation and what it implies for India. Nehru traces the intellectual history of the socialist idea, from Adam Smith and the rise of the market through Marx and the Great October Revolution of 1917, and the subsequent spread of Communist and Fabian socialism. He argues that the system of comprehensive state ownership, central planning, and suppression of private enterprise — adopted in India under the influence of Fabian thinking — has failed on its own terms, producing inefficiency, shortages, and a vast apparatus of controls rather than the prosperity and equality it promised.… ### Body # The Retreat From Socialism *By B.K. NEHRU* ## Summary This booklet reproduces the Seventh C.D. Deshmukh Memorial Lecture, "The Retreat From Socialism," delivered by B.K. Nehru at the India International Centre, Delhi on 14 January 1990. After an opening tribute to Sir Chintaman Deshmukh — under whom Nehru trained at the Reserve Bank of India and whose career as Finance Secretary, Governor of the RBI, and Union Finance Minister he recalls — Nehru turns to his central theme: the worldwide collapse of confidence in socialist economic organisation and what it implies for India. Nehru traces the intellectual history of the socialist idea, from Adam Smith and the rise of the market through Marx and the Great October Revolution of 1917, and the subsequent spread of Communist and Fabian socialism. He argues that the system of comprehensive state ownership, central planning, and suppression of private enterprise — adopted in India under the influence of Fabian thinking — has failed on its own terms, producing inefficiency, shortages, and a vast apparatus of controls rather than the prosperity and equality it promised. He points to the reformist turns under Margaret Thatcher in Britain and Deng Xiaoping in China, and to the wider "retreat" across the socialist world, as evidence that the tide has turned against state command of the economy. In the rendered pages Nehru presses the case for restructuring India's economic policies — what he frames, borrowing Gorbachev's term, as a kind of "perestroika" — toward markets, private enterprise, and a smaller, less controlling state, while remaining attentive to the social costs of transition. The text closes (printed pp. 14–15) by setting out the choice he sees facing India between continued statism and economic freedom. M.R. Masani contributes a short publisher's foreword commending Nehru as "a good economist" and "a good man." ## Key points - The work is the text of the Seventh C.D. Deshmukh Memorial Lecture, delivered by B.K. Nehru at the India International Centre, Delhi, on 14 January 1990. - Nehru opens with an extended personal tribute to Sir Chintaman (C.D.) Deshmukh, recalling training under him at the Reserve Bank of India and Deshmukh's career as RBI Governor and Union Finance Minister. - The lecture's thesis is that socialism — state ownership, central planning, and the suppression of private enterprise — has failed worldwide and is in retreat. - Nehru sketches an intellectual lineage from Adam Smith through Marx, the 1917 Revolution, and the global spread of Communist and Fabian socialism that India absorbed. - He cites reform movements under Margaret Thatcher in Britain and Deng Xiaoping in China as signal instances of the worldwide turn away from state command. - He argues India's controls-and-planning regime produced inefficiency and shortages rather than the prosperity and equality it promised. - Echoing Gorbachev's "perestroika," he calls for a restructuring of Indian economic policy toward markets, private enterprise, and a smaller state. - The booklet carries a publisher's foreword by M.R. Masani and was issued by the Project for Economic Education with Friedrich Naumann Stiftung support. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Role of Free Enterprise URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-role-of-free-enterprise-by-mr-masani-september-21-1956/ ### Summary This four-page Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet reprints M. R. Masani's article 'The Role of Free Enterprise — A Case For Economic Democracy', originally published in The Times of India on 21st September 1956. Masani opens with the image of Lenin in October 1917 vowing to proceed to the construction of a socialist society, and Khrushchev's later disclosures, to warn that nationalised or socialised economy is incompatible with the kind of political liberty India's Constitution guarantees. While most who favour nationalisation are idealists committed to constitutional and democratic methods, the danger is that good intentions lead onto a path that ends in concentrated power. The core of Masani's argument is that economic power must be dispersed if political liberty is to survive.… ### Body # The Role of Free Enterprise *By M. R. Masani* ## Summary This four-page Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet reprints M. R. Masani's article 'The Role of Free Enterprise — A Case For Economic Democracy', originally published in The Times of India on 21st September 1956. Masani opens with the image of Lenin in October 1917 vowing to proceed to the construction of a socialist society, and Khrushchev's later disclosures, to warn that nationalised or socialised economy is incompatible with the kind of political liberty India's Constitution guarantees. While most who favour nationalisation are idealists committed to constitutional and democratic methods, the danger is that good intentions lead onto a path that ends in concentrated power. The core of Masani's argument is that economic power must be dispersed if political liberty is to survive. He recalls that he had, as far back as 1946, argued for 'A Plea for the Mixed Economy' in which State and free enterprise join as equal and autonomous forces, and laments that the balance of the mixed economy is being rudely upset — citing the nationalisation of life insurance, the State Trading Corporation, and unscheduled fields such as the export of iron and manganese ore and the import of iron and steel. He frames industrial management as the centre of a triangle of pressures from worker, investor and consumer, and contends that only the discipline of the market — the law of supply and demand — protects the freedom of choice of all three; under a State monopoly the bureaucrat decides for them. Masani draws on the ancient Indian maxim 'Jhan Raja Vyapari, Tyan Praja Bhikhari' (where the King trades, the people are paupers), on Karl Marx's recognition that those who own property are free and those who do not are not free, and on Gandhi's warning that Swaraj must not mean the replacement of a white bureaucracy by a brown one. He approvingly notes the existence of autonomous 'social forces' — peasant proprietors, professions, trade unions, businessmen, newspapers, priests and educationists — that stand on their own legs as a check on the State, citing Stalin's liquidation of such countervailing power as the warning. The article closes by welcoming the establishment of the Forum of Free Enterprise as a body that proposes to put the case for free enterprise before the public and educate people about the threat to individual and political liberty from the 'creeping paralysis' of the Welfare State. ## Key points - The work reprints M. R. Masani's 21 September 1956 Times of India article as an FFE leaflet. - Masani argues that a nationalised/socialised economy is incompatible with the political liberty guaranteed by India's Constitution. - He recalls his 1946 'A Plea for the Mixed Economy', proposing State and free enterprise as equal, autonomous forces. - He warns the balance of the mixed economy is being upset (life insurance, State Trading Corporation, iron/steel and cement controls). - Industrial management sits at the centre of a triangle of pressures from worker, investor and consumer; only the market preserves all three's freedom of choice. - Dispersed economic power and autonomous 'social forces' are presented as essential countervailing checks on the State. - He cites the maxim 'where the King trades, the people are paupers', Marx on property and freedom, and Gandhi on Swaraj. - The article ends by welcoming the Forum of Free Enterprise and warning against the 'creeping paralysis' of the Welfare State. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Role of a Professional in Society URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-role-of-a-professional-in-society-y-h-malegam-september-12-2006/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reprints Y. H. Malegam's valedictory address to the Forum's Annual Residential Programme on Taxation at Khandala in August 2006. Malegam, a former Managing Partner of S.B. Billimoria & Co., Co-Chairman of Deloitte Haskins and Sells, and past President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, begins by defining what makes a professional. Drawing on an IFAC study, he identifies three qualities: skills and expertise tested by examination and continuously developed; commitment to the values of accuracy, honesty, integrity, objectivity, transparency and reliability; and being subject to oversight by a disciplinary body. He chooses to dwell on the first two, arguing that a professional's responsibilities extend beyond mere function to a duty toward himself, the client or employer, and the public interest, with an obligation to safeguard the public interest and create sustainable value. The central thread of the address is that functional expertise alone is insufficient in today's globalised world; domain knowledge must be combined with continuous self-development and with integrity and objectivity.… ### Body # The Role of a Professional in Society *By Y. H. Malegam* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reprints Y. H. Malegam's valedictory address to the Forum's Annual Residential Programme on Taxation at Khandala in August 2006. Malegam, a former Managing Partner of S.B. Billimoria & Co., Co-Chairman of Deloitte Haskins and Sells, and past President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, begins by defining what makes a professional. Drawing on an IFAC study, he identifies three qualities: skills and expertise tested by examination and continuously developed; commitment to the values of accuracy, honesty, integrity, objectivity, transparency and reliability; and being subject to oversight by a disciplinary body. He chooses to dwell on the first two, arguing that a professional's responsibilities extend beyond mere function to a duty toward himself, the client or employer, and the public interest, with an obligation to safeguard the public interest and create sustainable value. The central thread of the address is that functional expertise alone is insufficient in today's globalised world; domain knowledge must be combined with continuous self-development and with integrity and objectivity. Malegam surveys management literature, including McKinsey Quarterly articles on how executives grow, the psychology of change management, and research linking high ethical standards in organisations to greater drive, effectiveness and significant competitive advantages, drawing out lessons professionals can apply to their own development. Malegam then turns to two grave problems facing Indian society: the widening gap between rich and poor (illustrated with under-five mortality and healthcare-expenditure data) and the pervasive spread of corruption, which he discusses at length via Bimal Jalan's analysis of the 'supply and demand of corruption' and the vertical and horizontal integration of corruption across politics, bureaucracy, and even independent institutions and professions. He closes with a charge to professionals: to leverage their senior positions to build a more ethical environment, to ask why things are the way they are rather than merely supplying answers, and to recognise that because professionals belong to society's dominant element, the norms they adopt will largely determine the norms of society. ## Key points - The work is Y. H. Malegam's valedictory address to the FFE Annual Residential Programme on Taxation, Khandala, August 2006. - A professional is defined by three qualities (per an IFAC study): tested and continuously developed expertise, commitment to ethical values, and submission to disciplinary oversight. - Professional responsibility extends beyond function to the client/employer, to oneself, and to safeguarding the public interest by creating sustainable value. - Mere functional expertise is not enough in a globalised world; domain knowledge must be paired with continuous self-development, honesty and objectivity. - Management research (McKinsey Quarterly, IFAC) is mined for lessons on how executives and professionals grow. - Two societal dangers are highlighted: the widening rich-poor gap (mortality and healthcare data) and pervasive corruption. - Corruption is analysed through Bimal Jalan's 'supply and demand of corruption' and its vertical and horizontal integration across institutions. - Closing charge: professionals, as society's dominant element and potential role models, set the norms of society by the norms they adopt. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Role of the Judiciary in Parliamentary Democracy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-role-of-judiciary-in-parliamentary-democracy-m-c-chagla-january-4-2011/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet (issued January 2011) reproduces the text of Justice M. C. Chagla's ninth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered in Bombay on 28th October 1974. Chagla — eminent jurist and former Chief Justice of Bombay, Ambassador to the U.S.A. and Education Minister in the Government of India — examines the unique and crucial role of the Judiciary in a parliamentary democracy. He argues that although Parliament in England is supreme and sovereign, in India the Constitution is supreme, and the Judiciary, while in one sense a subsidiary organ interpreting the law, plays a major role that in a sense places it above Parliament because it decides on the constitutionality of legislation and can strike down any law that oversteps the Constitution. Chagla contends that the founding fathers wisely preferred the American model of judicial review to the British model of parliamentary supremacy, particularly given Indian conditions where a single dominant party can lack a viable opposition.… ### Body # The Role of the Judiciary in Parliamentary Democracy *By M. C. Chagla* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet (issued January 2011) reproduces the text of Justice M. C. Chagla's ninth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered in Bombay on 28th October 1974. Chagla — eminent jurist and former Chief Justice of Bombay, Ambassador to the U.S.A. and Education Minister in the Government of India — examines the unique and crucial role of the Judiciary in a parliamentary democracy. He argues that although Parliament in England is supreme and sovereign, in India the Constitution is supreme, and the Judiciary, while in one sense a subsidiary organ interpreting the law, plays a major role that in a sense places it above Parliament because it decides on the constitutionality of legislation and can strike down any law that oversteps the Constitution. Chagla contends that the founding fathers wisely preferred the American model of judicial review to the British model of parliamentary supremacy, particularly given Indian conditions where a single dominant party can lack a viable opposition. Without the power of judicial review, he warns, a one-party Government could resolve itself into the dictatorship of a single individual; the most dangerous dictatorship is one based on democratic forms and the paraphernalia of democracy, in which a dictator masquerades as the representative of the people while carrying out his own whims. He frames the other central function of the Judiciary as the protection of individual rights against an ever-expanding, increasingly monolithic Government that tends to suppress dissent — a negation of real democracy, which postulates the dispersal of power and the freedom to think and write what may be unpalatable to Government. The lecture insists that to be the custodian of citizens' rights the Judiciary must be independent and impartial, owing no master and consigning to the waste paper basket any directions even from the President or Prime Minister; every judge brings a personal philosophy — what Holmes called the inarticulate major premise — but must revere only the Constitution. Chagla devotes pointed attention to the supersession of three senior Supreme Court judges and the manipulated appointment of the Chief Justice of India, condemning these as attempts to make the Judiciary partisan and to render judges henchmen of those in authority. He closes by affirming that the will of the people can only be manifested through public opinion and that an independent, dignified Judiciary can prevent Government from undermining the Constitution. The booklet appends a biographical note on A. D. Shroff (1899-1965), the FFE founder in whose memory the lecture series runs. ## Key points - The text is Justice M. C. Chagla's ninth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered in Bombay on 28 October 1974, reprinted by FFE in January 2011. - In India the Constitution, not Parliament, is supreme, and the Judiciary can strike down laws that overstep it. - The founding fathers wisely preferred the American model of judicial review over British parliamentary supremacy. - Without judicial review, one-party government risks becoming the dictatorship of a single individual cloaked in democratic forms. - A second core function of the Judiciary is protecting individual rights against an expanding, monolithic Government that suppresses dissent. - Judicial independence requires impartiality and owing no master — directions even from the President or PM go 'to the waste paper basket'. - Chagla condemns the supersession of three senior Supreme Court judges and the manipulated appointment of the Chief Justice of India. - The booklet appends a biographical note on A. D. Shroff (1899-1965), FFE's founder. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Role of Labour in Japanese Economic Miracle URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-role-of-labour-in-japanese-economic-miracle-james-d-hodgson-june-14-1978/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet (June 1978) reproduces the text of a lecture by James D. Hodgson — U.S. Ambassador to Japan from 1974 to 1977, U.S. Secretary of Labour from 1970 to 1973, and adjunct scholar at the American Enterprise Institute — delivered in November 1977 before the Industrial Research Council at the Wharton School. The FFE Introduction frames it against the contemporary Indian debate over the Bhootalingam Committee Report and the role of labour in the Indian economy, while cautioning that institutions and values cannot simply be transferred from one country to another. Hodgson recounts how Japan unsettled his American assumptions about work: a nation where 'equal pay for equal work' is neither practised nor sought as a goal, where 2 percent unemployment is considered unacceptably high, where young workers enjoy below-average unemployment, where workers vote against a shorter work week, where pay is almost wholly unrelated to individual productivity, where promotion follows length of service rather than demonstrated competence, and where workers nonetheless appear pleased with this state of affairs. Hodgson examines the Japanese 'enterprise' union — a uni… ### Body # The Role of Labour in Japanese Economic Miracle *By JAMES D. HODGSON* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet (June 1978) reproduces the text of a lecture by James D. Hodgson — U.S. Ambassador to Japan from 1974 to 1977, U.S. Secretary of Labour from 1970 to 1973, and adjunct scholar at the American Enterprise Institute — delivered in November 1977 before the Industrial Research Council at the Wharton School. The FFE Introduction frames it against the contemporary Indian debate over the Bhootalingam Committee Report and the role of labour in the Indian economy, while cautioning that institutions and values cannot simply be transferred from one country to another. Hodgson recounts how Japan unsettled his American assumptions about work: a nation where 'equal pay for equal work' is neither practised nor sought as a goal, where 2 percent unemployment is considered unacceptably high, where young workers enjoy below-average unemployment, where workers vote against a shorter work week, where pay is almost wholly unrelated to individual productivity, where promotion follows length of service rather than demonstrated competence, and where workers nonetheless appear pleased with this state of affairs. Hodgson examines the Japanese 'enterprise' union — a union limited to a single employer that Americans would dismiss as a company union, yet which he watched extract large wage gains over three successive years far exceeding those of their American counterparts. He observes that Japanese workers rarely strike, that very few man-days are lost to strikes, and that a 'long' strike in Japan lasts only about ten days, with militant unionists preferring tactical gestures such as wearing a red arm band to cause management loss of face rather than prolonged stoppages. The address builds a portrait of an industrial culture organised around loyalty, harmony and lifetime commitment rather than confrontation and individual bargaining. In the concluding section Hodgson distils the Japanese 'economic miracle' to two fundamental thrusts: a concerted national commitment behind a strong and sustained economic effort, with every segment of society playing a supportive role; and concentrated national attention on creating a highly motivated, talented, rewarded and employed workforce. Japan, he argues, bet that focusing on these strengths would minimise the need for expensive government employment programmes and remedial manpower measures — and won its bet, producing satisfying jobs and a superior workforce. The lesson he draws for the United States is to consider reversing its practice of cushioning weaknesses and instead adopt the Japanese approach of capitalizing on strengths. ## Key points - The work reproduces a November 1977 Wharton School lecture by James D. Hodgson, reprinted by FFE in June 1978. - Hodgson was U.S. Ambassador to Japan (1974-77) and U.S. Secretary of Labour (1970-73). - The FFE Introduction ties it to the Indian debate over the Bhootalingam Committee Report and the role of labour. - Japanese labour defies American norms: no 'equal pay for equal work', 2% unemployment deemed high, pay unrelated to individual productivity, promotion by seniority. - Japan's 'enterprise' unions, limited to a single employer, nonetheless win large wage gains while rarely striking. - Strikes are short (about ten days is 'long') and militancy is expressed symbolically, e.g., wearing a red arm band to cause management loss of face. - Japan's success rests on two thrusts: a concerted national economic commitment and the creation of a motivated, rewarded workforce. - Hodgson's lesson for America: capitalize on strengths rather than cushion weaknesses with costly government programmes. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Role of Central Banking Authority & Commercial Banks in a Planned Economy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-role-of-the-central-banking-authority-and-commercial-bank-in-a-planned-economy-h-v-r-iengar-december-6-1967/ ### Summary This booklet reproduces the first A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by H. V. R. Iengar, I.C.S. (Retd.), a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, in Bombay on 6 December 1967 under the auspices of the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust. Iengar opens by declining to dwell on the technical machinery of central banking — money supply, velocity of circulation, the mechanics of bank money — and instead confines himself to general problems of interest to a mixed audience of students, bankers, and the public. The core of the lecture, in the rendered pages, traces how the doctrine of monetary stability that dominated central-bank thinking before the Second World War was reframed in independent India's planned economy. Iengar recalls that the Reserve Bank of India Act of 1934 made currency and credit stability the Bank's central object, reflecting pre-war orthodoxy, and describes how that emphasis collided with the demands of plan-financed development, deficit financing, and an agriculture vulnerable to climate. He recounts the Bank's assessment of a non-inflationary quantum of deficit financing for the Third Five-Year Plan (Rs.… ### Body # Role of Central Banking Authority & Commercial Banks in a Planned Economy *By H. V. R. Iengar I.C.S. (Retd.)* ## Summary This booklet reproduces the first A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by H. V. R. Iengar, I.C.S. (Retd.), a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, in Bombay on 6 December 1967 under the auspices of the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust. Iengar opens by declining to dwell on the technical machinery of central banking — money supply, velocity of circulation, the mechanics of bank money — and instead confines himself to general problems of interest to a mixed audience of students, bankers, and the public. The core of the lecture, in the rendered pages, traces how the doctrine of monetary stability that dominated central-bank thinking before the Second World War was reframed in independent India's planned economy. Iengar recalls that the Reserve Bank of India Act of 1934 made currency and credit stability the Bank's central object, reflecting pre-war orthodoxy, and describes how that emphasis collided with the demands of plan-financed development, deficit financing, and an agriculture vulnerable to climate. He recounts the Bank's assessment of a non-inflationary quantum of deficit financing for the Third Five-Year Plan (Rs. 550 crores), a ceiling 'largely exceeded' in practice. The later rendered pages turn to the Bank's regulatory role over commercial banks: the consolidation of weak banks through inspection and compulsory amalgamation after the crash of the Palai Central Bank, the introduction of deposit insurance, and the long campaign to extend banking from urban centres into the rural hinterland and to small-scale industry. Iengar defends the Reserve Bank's staff as highly competent and its monetary policy as a 'cogent' if marginally effective response, while criticising the wider commercial banks as too conservative in widening the coverage of borrowers. ## Key points - Reproduces the first A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by H. V. R. Iengar (former RBI Governor) in Bombay on 6 December 1967. - Iengar deliberately avoids the technical apparatus of central banking to address general problems for a mixed audience of students, bankers and the public. - The 1934 Reserve Bank of India Act enshrined monetary/currency stability as the Bank's object, reflecting pre-WWII orthodoxy centred on stability of the rupee. - In a planned economy financed partly by created money and exposed to agricultural shocks, currency stability had to be balanced against the imperatives of development. - The Bank assessed a non-inflationary deficit-financing quantum of Rs. 550 crores for the draft Third Five-Year Plan, a figure 'largely exceeded' in practice. - After the crash of the Palai Central Bank, the Bank consolidated the banking system via inspection and compulsory amalgamation, and deposit insurance bolstered public confidence. - Bank branches rose from 2,790 (end 1955) to over 6,400, and total deposits grew from about Rs. 1,000 crores to Rs. 3,400 crores, with the State Bank leading rural expansion. - Iengar judges the Bank's monetary policy effect on prices to be 'purely marginal' but defends its staff and improvisation, while faulting commercial banks for excessive conservatism toward small borrowers. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Role of Judiciary in Parliamentary Democracy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-role-of-the-judiciary-in-parliamentary-democracy-m-c-chagla-28-october-1974/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces the ninth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered in Bombay on 28 October 1974 by the eminent jurist M. C. Chagla — former Chief Justice of Bombay, Ambassador to the United States, and Union Education Minister. Chagla argues that the role of the judiciary in India's parliamentary democracy is uniquely powerful. Unlike England, where Parliament is supreme and the courts merely interpret the law, India's written Constitution is supreme, and the judiciary is empowered not only to interpret laws but to test their constitutionality and strike them down. The Supreme Court is the ultimate arbiter of the validity of legislation, a power the founding fathers deliberately preferred on the American model. The rendered pages develop a defence of fundamental rights and an independent, impartial bench. Chagla invokes the American First Amendment and Justices Black and Jackson to argue that maximum personal freedom is the touchstone of a mature society, and that the courts restore rather than disrupt democratic processes when they intervene to protect the channels of opinion.… ### Body # The Role of Judiciary in Parliamentary Democracy *By M. C. Chagla* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces the ninth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered in Bombay on 28 October 1974 by the eminent jurist M. C. Chagla — former Chief Justice of Bombay, Ambassador to the United States, and Union Education Minister. Chagla argues that the role of the judiciary in India's parliamentary democracy is uniquely powerful. Unlike England, where Parliament is supreme and the courts merely interpret the law, India's written Constitution is supreme, and the judiciary is empowered not only to interpret laws but to test their constitutionality and strike them down. The Supreme Court is the ultimate arbiter of the validity of legislation, a power the founding fathers deliberately preferred on the American model. The rendered pages develop a defence of fundamental rights and an independent, impartial bench. Chagla invokes the American First Amendment and Justices Black and Jackson to argue that maximum personal freedom is the touchstone of a mature society, and that the courts restore rather than disrupt democratic processes when they intervene to protect the channels of opinion. He insists that a judge must shed all personal ideology — communism, socialism, communal allegiance — once on the bench, taking the Constitution as his only scripture, and that the courts are an authority coordinate with the legislature and the executive, not a department of government. The later rendered pages turn pointedly to threats against judicial independence, including the supersession of judges, which Chagla treats as an attempt by a government-controlled Parliament to subordinate the bench, and which he says the Bar resisted in its 'finest hour'. He examines structural safeguards and irritants — the constitutionally fixed salary of High Court judges, post-retirement tribunal appointments that compromise judges' independence, and the right to practise — closing the rendered portion on how government patronage over tribunals corrupts the fair name of the judiciary. ## Key points - Reproduces the ninth A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered by M. C. Chagla in Bombay on 28 October 1974, published as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet. - Chagla contrasts British parliamentary supremacy with India's constitutional supremacy, under which the judiciary can strike down unconstitutional laws. - The Supreme Court is the ultimate arbiter of the validity of legislation; Chagla rejects the view that judicial review makes it a third legislative chamber. - The founding fathers preferred the American model of judicial power over the British one. - Drawing on the US First Amendment and Justices Black and Jackson, Chagla holds maximum personal freedom to be the touchstone of a mature society. - A judge must abandon all personal ideology on taking the bench and revere the Constitution as his only scripture; the courts are coordinate with, not subordinate to, Parliament. - Chagla condemns the supersession of judges and praises the Bar's resistance as its 'finest hour'. - He analyses safeguards and irritants to judicial independence: fixed High Court salaries, the right to practise, and post-retirement tribunal appointments that breed government patronage. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The State of the Nation URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-state-of-the-nation-the-four-costly-mistakes-n-a-palkhivala-november-20-1982/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reproduces Nani A. Palkhivala's 1982 survey of the condition of India, titled 'The State of the Nation: The Four Costly Failures' and carried, per the closing note, courtesy of The Illustrated Weekly of India (21 November 1982). Palkhivala opens by recalling his own 1974 warning of mounting disorder and declares 1982 'the Year of Disorder' — a year of violence, indiscipline and corruption in which, he writes, 'in the land of the Mahatma, violence is on the throne today.' He diagnoses two underlying causes: a national 'unconcern for public good' in which citizens treat crime as a problem only for the police, and a 'moral recession' worse than the economic one, in which the standards of politicians, policemen and criminals have become indistinguishable.… ### Body # The State of the Nation *By Nani A. Palkhivala* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reproduces Nani A. Palkhivala's 1982 survey of the condition of India, titled 'The State of the Nation: The Four Costly Failures' and carried, per the closing note, courtesy of The Illustrated Weekly of India (21 November 1982). Palkhivala opens by recalling his own 1974 warning of mounting disorder and declares 1982 'the Year of Disorder' — a year of violence, indiscipline and corruption in which, he writes, 'in the land of the Mahatma, violence is on the throne today.' He diagnoses two underlying causes: a national 'unconcern for public good' in which citizens treat crime as a problem only for the police, and a 'moral recession' worse than the economic one, in which the standards of politicians, policemen and criminals have become indistinguishable. From this he derives the four costly failures of both government and people: failure to maintain law and order ('too much government and too little administration'); failure to bring the country's economic potential to fruition; failure to make human investment in education, family planning, nutrition and public health; and failure to provide moral leadership. The pamphlet marshals data on India's poverty — still, he says, the fifteenth poorest nation, with per-capita income below 200 dollars — and closes by quoting Rajaji (C. Rajagopalachari) on Swaraj and universal education, before insisting that the whole point of the piece is that India's innate potential far exceeds its actual achievement, and that 'creative dissatisfaction' is the surest route to fulfilling the founders' dreams. ## Key points - A 1982 Nani A. Palkhivala essay issued as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet; closing note credits The Illustrated Weekly of India, 21 November 1982. - Palkhivala calls 1982 'the Year of Disorder', covering violence, indiscipline and corruption, and recalls his own 1974 forecast of rising disorder. - He identifies two root causes: national unconcern for the public good, and a 'moral and spiritual recession' worse than the economic one. - The four costly failures: (1) maintaining law and order; (2) realising economic potential; (3) human investment in education, family planning, nutrition and health; (4) moral leadership. - He argues 'too much government and too little administration; too many public servants and too little public service; too many controls and too little welfare; too many laws and too little justice.' - He cites that India is the fifteenth poorest nation with per-capita income under 200 dollars and only 55% real growth in per-capita income since becoming a republic. - He invokes Konrad Lorenz, Lord William Bentinck's abolition of thuggery, and the 'banality of evil' to dramatise the breakdown of order. - He closes with a long quotation from Rajaji on Swaraj and universal education, and a plea for 'creative dissatisfaction'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Stock Exchanges in India — Emerging Scenario and Challenges URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-stock-exchanges-in-india-the-emerging-scenarios-and-challenges-g-a-patel-may-11-1987/ ### Summary This booklet, published by the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust, reproduces the text of the Trust's 1987 annual lecture on Industrial Finance, delivered by G. S. Patel — former Chairman of the Unit Trust of India and Chairman of the Government's High Powered Committee on Stock Exchange Reforms — under the title 'Stock Exchanges in India: Emerging Scenario and Challenges' on 25 February 1987 in Bombay, with an Introduction by N. A. Palkhivala. In the rendered pages, Patel opens by paying homage to A. D. Shroff, recalling Shroff's role as a co-author of the 1944 Bombay Plan, Chairman of the RBI's 1954 Committee on Industrial Finance, and an early advocate of unit trusts and consortium underwriting of new capital issues. In the rendered pages, Patel lays out a five-part structure for the lecture — Introduction; a macro-level view of Indian stock exchanges; the emerging scenario; recent trends abroad; and challenges ahead — and develops the first two heads.… ### Body # Stock Exchanges in India — Emerging Scenario and Challenges *By G. S. Patel* ## Summary This booklet, published by the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust, reproduces the text of the Trust's 1987 annual lecture on Industrial Finance, delivered by G. S. Patel — former Chairman of the Unit Trust of India and Chairman of the Government's High Powered Committee on Stock Exchange Reforms — under the title 'Stock Exchanges in India: Emerging Scenario and Challenges' on 25 February 1987 in Bombay, with an Introduction by N. A. Palkhivala. In the rendered pages, Patel opens by paying homage to A. D. Shroff, recalling Shroff's role as a co-author of the 1944 Bombay Plan, Chairman of the RBI's 1954 Committee on Industrial Finance, and an early advocate of unit trusts and consortium underwriting of new capital issues. In the rendered pages, Patel lays out a five-part structure for the lecture — Introduction; a macro-level view of Indian stock exchanges; the emerging scenario; recent trends abroad; and challenges ahead — and develops the first two heads. He sets the policy backdrop of a resource crunch in which both public- and private-sector enterprises are being pushed toward market discipline and direct capital-market fundraising, against which the role of the stock exchanges takes on added importance. He traces the unprecedented boom in the exchanges since November 1984 under the new Government's market-oriented policies, the sharp correction and 'plummeting of prices' through 1986, and the regulatory interventions — floor prices and even market closures — that, with the investment institutions stepping in at the Prime Minister's reported instance, averted a collapse. The rendered pages are dense with data drawn from 1985-86 sources: 14 stock exchanges (five established since 1978), 4,344 listed companies with paid-up capital of Rs. 6,074 crores (90% of non-government public limited companies), and market capitalisation of about Rs. 21,077 crores, with the Bombay Stock Exchange alone accounting for some 70% of listed capital and 80% of market capitalisation. Patel underscores the speculative character of the market — of roughly Rs. 12,000 crores of reported BSE turnover, about Rs. 11,000 crores were forward or speculative 'budla' transactions, with genuine investor deliveries only a small fraction. ## Key points - Text of the A. D. Shroff Memorial Trust's 1987 Industrial Finance lecture by G. S. Patel, delivered 25 February 1987 in Bombay; introduction by N. A. Palkhivala. - Patel honours A. D. Shroff as co-author of the 1944 Bombay Plan, chair of the RBI's 1954 Committee on Industrial Finance, and early champion of unit trusts and underwriting consortia. - He structures the lecture in five heads: introduction; macro view of Indian exchanges; emerging scenario; recent trends abroad; and challenges ahead (heads A-B developed in the rendered pages). - He sets a backdrop of resource crunch pushing public and private enterprises toward market discipline and direct capital-market fundraising. - He describes the boom in the exchanges since November 1984, the 1986 price collapse, and regulatory interventions (floor prices, market closure) that, with institutional support, averted collapse. - In the rendered pages he reports 14 stock exchanges, 4,344 listed companies, paid-up capital of Rs. 6,074 crores (90% of non-government public limited companies), and market capitalisation around Rs. 21,077 crores. - The Bombay Stock Exchange alone accounted for roughly 70% of listed capital and 80% of market capitalisation in 1985. - He stresses the market's speculative nature: of ~Rs. 12,000 crores BSE turnover, ~Rs. 11,000 crores were forward/speculative 'budla' transactions, with genuine investor deliveries only about 3%. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Supreme Court's Judgment in the Judges' Case URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-supreme-court-judgement-in-the-judges-case-n-a-palkhivala-february-15-1982/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reprints Nani A. Palkhivala's critique of the Supreme Court's majority judgment of 30 December 1981 in what became known as the Judges' Case (S. P. Gupta v. Union of India). Palkhivala opens with the conviction that 'an independent judiciary is the very heart of a Republic', and registers his dismay that, after hearing lengthy arguments and confidential State papers, the majority granted the petitioners no relief, so that the direct consequence of the judgment was the strengthening of an executive 'which has of late been so heavy on the judiciary.' He lays out the three main issues before the Court — the validity of the Law Minister's 18 March 1981 circular seeking consent to transfer additional judges; whether an additional judge could be dropped despite mounting arrears; and the circumstances in which a High Court judge could be transferred — together with four subsidiary issues, notably the locus standi of the petitioning lawyers and the Government's claim of privilege over documents on judicial appointments.… ### Body # The Supreme Court's Judgment in the Judges' Case *By Nani A. Palkhivala* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reprints Nani A. Palkhivala's critique of the Supreme Court's majority judgment of 30 December 1981 in what became known as the Judges' Case (S. P. Gupta v. Union of India). Palkhivala opens with the conviction that 'an independent judiciary is the very heart of a Republic', and registers his dismay that, after hearing lengthy arguments and confidential State papers, the majority granted the petitioners no relief, so that the direct consequence of the judgment was the strengthening of an executive 'which has of late been so heavy on the judiciary.' He lays out the three main issues before the Court — the validity of the Law Minister's 18 March 1981 circular seeking consent to transfer additional judges; whether an additional judge could be dropped despite mounting arrears; and the circumstances in which a High Court judge could be transferred — together with four subsidiary issues, notably the locus standi of the petitioning lawyers and the Government's claim of privilege over documents on judicial appointments. He records that all seven judges delivered separate opinions, agreed on the lawyers' standing and on the misuse of Article 224 since 1956, but by a majority dismissed all the petitions. Palkhivala then dissects the judgment's handling of specific controversies: the procedural error of treating the Chief Justice of India as a litigant (the 'crowning mistake' he attributes to Bhagwati, J.); the transfer of Chief Justice K. B. N. Singh from Patna to Madras under Article 222; the rejection of the Government's claim of privilege over State documents; and the non-extension of additional judges such as Kumar, J. He defends a liberal doctrine of locus standi for public-interest petitions, citing Prof. K. E. Scott and Krishna Iyer, J., and argues that the High Courts are grossly undermanned — with 85 vacancies on 18 March 1981 — endorsing the minority view of Gupta, Tulzapurkar and Pathak, JJ., that security of tenure is essential to judicial independence. ## Key points - Nani A. Palkhivala's critique of the Supreme Court's 30 December 1981 majority judgment in the Judges' Case, issued as a Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet. - Palkhivala argues an independent judiciary is the heart of a Republic and that the judgment effectively strengthened the executive's hand over the judiciary. - Three main issues: validity of the Law Minister's 18 March 1981 circular on transferring additional judges; dropping an additional judge despite arrears; and the circumstances for transferring a High Court judge. - Four subsidiary issues included the locus standi of the petitioning lawyers and the Government's claim of privilege over judicial-appointment documents. - All seven judges wrote separately; they agreed on the lawyers' standing and on the misuse of Article 224 since 1956, but a majority dismissed every petition. - He criticises treating the Chief Justice of India as a litigant as a 'crowning mistake', attributed to Bhagwati, J., and examines the transfer of CJ K. B. N. Singh under Article 222. - He defends a liberal locus standi for public-interest litigation, citing Prof. K. E. Scott and Krishna Iyer, J. - He documents 85 High Court vacancies on 18 March 1981 and endorses the minority (Gupta, Tulzapurkar and Pathak, JJ.) on security of tenure as the basis of judicial independence. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Supreme Court's Judgment on the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-supreme-courts-judgement-on-the-constitution-42-amendment-act-1976-n-a-palkhivala-june-20-1980/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, the jurist N. A. Palkhivala welcomes the Supreme Court's judgment striking down Sections 4 and 55 of the Constitution (Forty-Second Amendment) Act, 1976, framing it as the rekindling of 'the light of the Constitution' that had been extinguished when the Amendment was rushed through Parliament during the Emergency, days after Divali 1976. He argues that the Constitution is the priceless heritage of every Indian, designed to keep the country rich in individual freedom even while poor in per capita income, and that the Supreme Court's role is to act as its watchdog rather than the poodle of the party in power. Drawing on the basic-structure doctrine of Kesavananda Bharati (1973) and its application in the 1976 case voiding the constitutional amendment that shielded the Prime Minister's election, Palkhivala contends that Parliament, being a creature of the Constitution, cannot use its amending power under Article 368 to destroy the Constitution's basic structure.… ### Body # The Supreme Court's Judgment on the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976 *By N. A. PALKHIVALA* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, the jurist N. A. Palkhivala welcomes the Supreme Court's judgment striking down Sections 4 and 55 of the Constitution (Forty-Second Amendment) Act, 1976, framing it as the rekindling of 'the light of the Constitution' that had been extinguished when the Amendment was rushed through Parliament during the Emergency, days after Divali 1976. He argues that the Constitution is the priceless heritage of every Indian, designed to keep the country rich in individual freedom even while poor in per capita income, and that the Supreme Court's role is to act as its watchdog rather than the poodle of the party in power. Drawing on the basic-structure doctrine of Kesavananda Bharati (1973) and its application in the 1976 case voiding the constitutional amendment that shielded the Prime Minister's election, Palkhivala contends that Parliament, being a creature of the Constitution, cannot use its amending power under Article 368 to destroy the Constitution's basic structure. He characterises the Forty-Second Amendment's attempt to make Parliament supreme over the Constitution as a 'revolution' and as constitutional 'suicide', and attacks Clause (4) inserted in Article 368 — which sought to oust judicial review of amendments — as ultra vires because it destroys the balance of power between legislature and judiciary. The second half of the booklet turns to Article 31C, which the Amendment expanded to immunise any law claiming a nexus with the Directive Principles from challenge under the fundamental rights in Articles 14 and 19. Palkhivala calls the philosophy underlying Article 31C 'the very quintessence of authoritarianism', arguing that directive ends and fundamental-rights means need not conflict, that India's fundamental rights mirror the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and that Article 31C would subordinate equality before the law and freedom of speech and the press to a simple legislative majority. He concludes that freedom and Article 31C cannot co-exist, and that the Court's judgment will save the people from despotism. ## Key points - Welcomes the Supreme Court judgment striking down Sections 4 and 55 of the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976 (the Minerva Mills judgment). - Frames the Constitution as the heritage of every Indian, meant to keep India rich in individual freedom even while poor in per capita income. - Relies on the basic-structure doctrine from Kesavananda Bharati (1973) and its 1976 application voiding a constitutional amendment. - Argues Parliament is a creature of the Constitution and cannot use Article 368 to destroy its basic structure — calling the attempt a 'revolution'. - Attacks Clause (4) of Article 368, which barred courts from reviewing amendments, as ultra vires for destroying the legislature-judiciary balance. - Condemns the expanded Article 31C as 'the very quintessence of authoritarianism' for immunising laws from Articles 14 and 19. - Notes India's fundamental rights mirror the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which India is a signatory. - Concludes freedom and Article 31C cannot co-exist, and the judgment saves the people from despotism. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Supreme Court's Judgment on the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-supreme-courts-judgement-on-the-constitution-42nd-amendment-act-1976-20-june-1980/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet — a reprint of his two-part Indian Express article of 16 and 17 May 1980 — N. A. Palkhivala welcomes the Supreme Court's judgment striking down sections 4 and 55 of the Constitution (Forty-Second Amendment) Act, 1976. He reads the decision (the Minerva Mills case) as 'rekindling the light of the Constitution' that, in his telling, went out in 1976 when the amendment was rushed through Parliament during the Emergency while opposition leaders were jailed without trial. Palkhivala casts the Supreme Court as the watchdog of the Constitution against a Parliament that sought to make itself the master rather than the creature of the fundamental law. The core of his argument rests on the basic-structure doctrine from Kesavananda Bharati's case (1973), reaffirmed in Mrs. Indira Gandhi's case (1976): Parliament's amending power under Article 368 cannot be used to alter or destroy the basic framework of the Constitution.… ### Body # The Supreme Court's Judgment on the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976 *By N. A. Palkhivala* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet — a reprint of his two-part Indian Express article of 16 and 17 May 1980 — N. A. Palkhivala welcomes the Supreme Court's judgment striking down sections 4 and 55 of the Constitution (Forty-Second Amendment) Act, 1976. He reads the decision (the Minerva Mills case) as 'rekindling the light of the Constitution' that, in his telling, went out in 1976 when the amendment was rushed through Parliament during the Emergency while opposition leaders were jailed without trial. Palkhivala casts the Supreme Court as the watchdog of the Constitution against a Parliament that sought to make itself the master rather than the creature of the fundamental law. The core of his argument rests on the basic-structure doctrine from Kesavananda Bharati's case (1973), reaffirmed in Mrs. Indira Gandhi's case (1976): Parliament's amending power under Article 368 cannot be used to alter or destroy the basic framework of the Constitution. He insists that the will of Parliament is not the will of the people, that constitutional amendments in many countries require a referendum, and that excluding judicial review of amendments affecting the basic structure would be 'the death-wish of the Constitution'. He illustrates the contempt for the rule of law with the 1975 Forty-First Amendment Bill, which sought lifelong immunity for the President, Prime Minister, and Governors. He closes by warning that a government holding the life, liberty, and property of its citizens under unlimited control is 'but a despotism', and that the recent judgment saves the people from such despotism. ## Key points - Reprint of Palkhivala's two-part Indian Express article (16 & 17 May 1980), issued as an FFE booklet dated 20 June 1980. - Celebrates the Supreme Court striking down sections 4 and 55 of the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976 (Minerva Mills). - Anchors the argument in the basic-structure doctrine of Kesavananda Bharati (1973), reaffirmed in Indira Gandhi's case (1976). - Holds that Article 368's amending power cannot destroy the Constitution's basic framework. - Argues the will of Parliament is not the will of the people; many constitutions require a referendum to amend. - Cites the 1975 Forty-First Amendment Bill granting lifelong immunity to President/PM/Governors as contempt for the rule of law. - Frames the Supreme Court as watchdog of the Constitution against a Parliament seeking to become its master. - Closes by equating unlimited governmental power with despotism. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] State Monopolies and the Citizen in a Democracy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-task-before-the-monopiles-v-k-narasimhan-sept9-1964/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, based on a lecture delivered in Bombay on 22 May 1959, V. K. Narasimhan (Assistant Editor of The Hindu) examines how far the promotion of State monopolies in the production of goods or operation of services is compatible with the rights of citizens in a democracy to run similar enterprises. He traces his interest to the 1956 nationalisation of the life insurance companies and the creation of the monopolistic Life Insurance Corporation, arguing that a democratic state has no moral right to take over a well-run, legitimate, socially useful private business simply because it can. Narasimhan is especially troubled by the sweeping amendment to Article 19(6) made by the Constitution (First Amendment), which he reads as licensing the State or a state corporation to exclude citizens completely or partially from 'any trade, business, industry or service'.… ### Body # State Monopolies and the Citizen in a Democracy *By V. K. NARASIMHAN* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, based on a lecture delivered in Bombay on 22 May 1959, V. K. Narasimhan (Assistant Editor of The Hindu) examines how far the promotion of State monopolies in the production of goods or operation of services is compatible with the rights of citizens in a democracy to run similar enterprises. He traces his interest to the 1956 nationalisation of the life insurance companies and the creation of the monopolistic Life Insurance Corporation, arguing that a democratic state has no moral right to take over a well-run, legitimate, socially useful private business simply because it can. Narasimhan is especially troubled by the sweeping amendment to Article 19(6) made by the Constitution (First Amendment), which he reads as licensing the State or a state corporation to exclude citizens completely or partially from 'any trade, business, industry or service'. He notes that this 'astonishing provision' passed with little parliamentary scrutiny or public protest, and recounts that only a couple of members — including Pandit Hridayanath Kunzru and Shyam Nandan Sahaya — challenged it during the debates, with a safeguarding amendment that was, by his account, mishandled in the official record. Using the LIC and examples of State trading — notably a State rice-milling takeover in the Nowgong district of Assam that displaced thirty private mills and disrupted procurement — he argues that monopoly breeds bureaucracy, complacency, indifference to the consumer, and the misuse of large public funds, while destroying the freedom of choice and competitive discipline that benefit citizens. He closes with a set of safeguards: state monopolies should be confined to genuine public utilities, prior public-interest enquiry should precede any takeover, compensation should be paid for losses inflicted, and an impartial quasi-judicial body (like a Tariff or Monopolies Commission) should review state enterprises and hear public complaints. A sidebar carries A. D. Shroff's line that 'Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives.' ## Key points - Asks how far State monopolies are compatible with citizens' democratic right to run similar enterprises. - Traces the concern to the 1956 nationalisation of life insurance and creation of the monopolistic LIC. - Argues a democratic state has no moral right to take over a well-run, legitimate private business. - Attacks the Article 19(6) amendment (First Amendment) as an anti-democratic, barely-scrutinised provision. - Notes few MPs challenged it; cites Hridayanath Kunzru and Shyam Nandan Sahaya, and a mishandled safeguarding amendment. - Holds that monopoly breeds bureaucracy, complacency, and indifference to the consumer (LIC; Assam rice-milling case). - Proposes safeguards: confine monopolies to public utilities, prior public-interest enquiry, compensation, and an impartial review body. - Closes with a boxed A. D. Shroff quotation defending free enterprise. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Tasks Before a Free People URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-tasks-before-a-free-people-n-a-palkhivala-may-20-1977/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, N. A. Palkhivala reflects on the 1977 general election that ended the Emergency and brought the Janata-CFD coalition to power, calling it one of the most significant elections in the history of freedom because, at a stroke, it doubled the number of free people on earth. He reads the electorate's verdict as vindicating the national motto 'Truth shall prevail', proving that sacrifice appeals more to the soul of India than success, and showing that the 'illiterate intelligence' of the masses achieved what the 'educated incapacity' of the intelligentsia could not foresee. Palkhivala honours those who resisted the Emergency, naming Jayaprakash Narayan as the figure whose moral force had not been matched since Gandhi, and warns — quoting Thackeray — that an electorate that worships its leaders will desert them once the spell breaks.… ### Body # The Tasks Before a Free People *By N. A. PALKHIVALA* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, N. A. Palkhivala reflects on the 1977 general election that ended the Emergency and brought the Janata-CFD coalition to power, calling it one of the most significant elections in the history of freedom because, at a stroke, it doubled the number of free people on earth. He reads the electorate's verdict as vindicating the national motto 'Truth shall prevail', proving that sacrifice appeals more to the soul of India than success, and showing that the 'illiterate intelligence' of the masses achieved what the 'educated incapacity' of the intelligentsia could not foresee. Palkhivala honours those who resisted the Emergency, naming Jayaprakash Narayan as the figure whose moral force had not been matched since Gandhi, and warns — quoting Thackeray — that an electorate that worships its leaders will desert them once the spell breaks. He then turns to the unfinished constitutional task: the worst features of the 42nd Amendment can be undone without a two-thirds parliamentary majority, because under the Kesavananda Bharati basic-structure doctrine the Supreme Court can strike down any amendment that alters or destroys the Constitution's basic structure, and he enumerates ways in which the 42nd Amendment does exactly that — overthrowing the supremacy of the Constitution, rendering fundamental rights non-justiciable, and disturbing the balance between the organs of state. The latter sections address the economic and social tasks before the new government. Palkhivala argues that poverty is cruel but curable, that its only cure is 'economic rationalism instead of economic theology' and that 'all isms are lethal', and that a poor country like India cannot achieve social justice without economic growth. He calls for tapping India's vast manpower and enterprise, applying an 'acid test' of productivity to every policy, reviving neglected irrigation, restoring the rule of law against the revival of bandhs and mob rule, and recognising that liberty and human rights are not an 'optional extra' or a luxury for the elite but the birthright of the poor and downtrodden. ## Key points - Frames the 1977 election as historic — 'at one stroke it doubled the number of free people on earth'. - Reads the verdict as vindicating 'Truth shall prevail' and the moral superiority of sacrifice over success. - Honours Emergency resisters, naming Jayaprakash Narayan as unmatched in moral force since Gandhi. - Argues the worst of the 42nd Amendment can be voided by the Supreme Court without a two-thirds majority, via Kesavananda Bharati's basic-structure doctrine. - Lists ways the 42nd Amendment destroys the basic structure: Parliament made supreme, fundamental rights made non-justiciable, inter-organ balance disturbed. - Holds poverty is curable only by 'economic rationalism instead of economic theology'; 'all isms are lethal'. - Insists social justice in a poor country is impossible without economic growth; calls for productivity, enterprise, and revived irrigation. - Declares liberty and human rights are not an 'optional extra' but the birthright of the poor. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 1973 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-taxation-amendment-laws-1973-h-p-ranina-14-august-1973/ ### Summary In the rendered pages of this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, the chartered accountant H. P. Ranina offers a clause-by-clause critique of the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 1973, in a series of articles originally contributed to the Financial Express. The first section, 'Charitable Trusts', argues that although the Wanchoo Committee praised private philanthropy as enriching India's cultural, educational, medical and religious life and supplementing the work of a welfare state, the Bill's recommendations treat philanthropy as a vice rather than a virtue, tarnishing all trustees with the brush of the few 'black sheep' and tightening already-stringent provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961 against charitable trusts. In the rendered pages Ranina works through the technical machinery of the Bill: the conditions under which a charitable or religious trust may accumulate income without losing exemption (Sections 11(2) and 11(3)), the new definition of 'substantial contribution' (total contribution exceeding Rs. 5,000) that can deny exemption under Section 13, and the relief available to donors under Section 80-G.… ### Body # The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 1973 *By HP Ranina* ## Summary In the rendered pages of this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, the chartered accountant H. P. Ranina offers a clause-by-clause critique of the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 1973, in a series of articles originally contributed to the Financial Express. The first section, 'Charitable Trusts', argues that although the Wanchoo Committee praised private philanthropy as enriching India's cultural, educational, medical and religious life and supplementing the work of a welfare state, the Bill's recommendations treat philanthropy as a vice rather than a virtue, tarnishing all trustees with the brush of the few 'black sheep' and tightening already-stringent provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961 against charitable trusts. In the rendered pages Ranina works through the technical machinery of the Bill: the conditions under which a charitable or religious trust may accumulate income without losing exemption (Sections 11(2) and 11(3)), the new definition of 'substantial contribution' (total contribution exceeding Rs. 5,000) that can deny exemption under Section 13, and the relief available to donors under Section 80-G. He then turns to the expanded powers of the income-tax authorities — extended powers of survey, entry and inspection, the power to demand information, and a new authority (Section 133A(5)) to record statements and gather information about 'ostentatious expenditure' incurred at functions, marriages or ceremonies, which he warns would affect not only tax evaders but also those who have fully disclosed their income. The rendered pages also cover the new search-and-seizure powers granted to income-tax and wealth-tax authorities (modelled on Section 132 of the Income-tax Act and Section 37A of the Wealth-tax Act), and the settlement machinery under the proposed Chapters XIX-A and V-A, by which a committee of the Central Board of Direct Taxes may settle cases except where concealment is already established. Ranina calls the search-and-seizure power 'extremely rigorous' and warns that, unless used discreetly and only in essential cases, its abuse would grossly interfere with every citizen's right to privacy and the sanctity of his home. He notes the Wanchoo Committee's own recommendation that the maximum marginal rate of income-tax, including surcharge, be cut from 97.75 per cent to 75 per cent in one stroke, arguing that confiscatory rates drive evasion and can even reduce the Government's revenue. ## Key points - Section-by-section critique of the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 1973, from articles first published in the Financial Express (May 1973). - Section I, 'Charitable Trusts': argues the Bill treats philanthropy as a vice despite the Wanchoo Committee's praise of it. - Works through trust-accumulation rules (Sections 11(2)/11(3)), the new 'substantial contribution' definition (over Rs. 5,000), and donor relief under Section 80-G. - Critiques expanded survey/inspection powers and a new power (Section 133A(5)) to record statements on 'ostentatious expenditure'. - Warns the expenditure-survey power would catch even those who have fully disclosed their income. - Examines new search-and-seizure powers (modelled on Section 132 / Section 37A of the Wealth-tax Act) as 'extremely rigorous'. - Holds that abuse of search powers would violate citizens' right to privacy and the sanctity of the home. - Notes the Wanchoo Committee's recommendation to cut the top marginal rate from 97.75% to 75% at one stroke; argues high rates drive evasion. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Transport Bottleneck URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-transport-bottleneck-a-d-shroff-january-1-1970/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, reprinted from The Times of India of 24th and 25th September 1956, A. D. Shroff warns that India's transport bottleneck is a tragic and under-appreciated threat to the Second Five-Year Plan. Drawing on figures from the early 1950s — wagon indents of more than 150,000 against daily loadings under 22,000, traffic sometimes waiting up to three months for wagons — he argues that unless the prevailing shortages are remedied and capacity expanded faster than industrial and agricultural output, the whole Plan, particularly its private sector, may be wrecked for lack of transport. Shroff works through the Planning Commission's own assessment that railway capacity must rise sharply to be self-sufficient, that even the proposed Rs. 1,125-1,480 crore railway provision (nearly a quarter of the entire public-sector outlay) cannot close the gap, and that coastal shipping and inland water transport can offer only limited relief. His central remedy is motor transport: the one form capable of converting India's transport deficit into a surplus.… ### Body # The Transport Bottleneck *By A. D. Shroff* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, reprinted from The Times of India of 24th and 25th September 1956, A. D. Shroff warns that India's transport bottleneck is a tragic and under-appreciated threat to the Second Five-Year Plan. Drawing on figures from the early 1950s — wagon indents of more than 150,000 against daily loadings under 22,000, traffic sometimes waiting up to three months for wagons — he argues that unless the prevailing shortages are remedied and capacity expanded faster than industrial and agricultural output, the whole Plan, particularly its private sector, may be wrecked for lack of transport. Shroff works through the Planning Commission's own assessment that railway capacity must rise sharply to be self-sufficient, that even the proposed Rs. 1,125-1,480 crore railway provision (nearly a quarter of the entire public-sector outlay) cannot close the gap, and that coastal shipping and inland water transport can offer only limited relief. His central remedy is motor transport: the one form capable of converting India's transport deficit into a surplus. He recounts how road transport was deliberately suppressed from 1939 onward — the Indian Motor Vehicles Act confined operators to small regions, blocked inter-State services, made permits hard to obtain, and heaped taxes on motor vehicles, fuel and accessories until their tax incidence was nearly twice the freight burden carried by rail. He calls for the Government to remove these handicaps: cut the tax incidence (he argues that halving the tax while trebling the number of vehicles would still yield 50 per cent more revenue), permit vehicles to carry optimum loads and use trailers, dispose of permit applications promptly, free the issue of permits, and withdraw restrictions on inter-State operation. Above all, he urges removal of the lingering threat of nationalisation — postponed but not abandoned — so that private enterprise will invest in trucks. Quoting Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari's invitation to be told where the Government is going wrong, Shroff concludes that bodies like the Indian Road Transport Development Association and the Forum of Free Enterprise must educate public opinion with the facts so that the necessary policy changes are made before the transport problem solves itself by wrecking the Plan. ## Key points - Reprinted from The Times of India (24-25 September 1956); warns the transport bottleneck threatens the Second Five-Year Plan. - Cites wagon indents over 150,000 against daily loadings under 22,000, with waits up to three months for wagons. - Argues railway capacity cannot keep pace even with a Rs. 1,125-1,480 crore provision (nearly 25% of public-sector outlay). - Holds coastal shipping, inland water transport and bullock carts can give only limited relief. - Identifies motor transport as the one mode able to turn the transport deficit into a surplus. - Recounts deliberate suppression of road transport since 1939 via the Motor Vehicles Act, permit limits and heavy taxes. - Proposes cutting taxes, allowing optimum loads and trailers, freeing permits, and removing inter-State restrictions. - Urges removal of the threat of nationalisation so private enterprise will invest in trucks. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Union Budget 1968-69 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1968-69-n-a-palkhivala-april-14-1968/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, based on a talk delivered in Bombay on 4 March 1968, N. A. Palkhivala analyses the Union Budget for 1968-69. He observes that the year was notable for the 'pre-Budget technique' by which the public mind was conditioned to expect heavier taxation, so that a Budget which merely maintained — rather than increased — already crushing tax levels was welcomed with relief. The crucial question, he argues, is whether the Budget inspires confidence and holds out hope for a brighter economic future, against a background of mass unemployment (3.5 million registered, perhaps more than 7 million in reality) growing at over a lakh a month. Palkhivala faults the Finance Minister for missing four alternatives that could have opened a new chapter in India's economic history: a determined cut in unproductive government expenditure (civil-administration spending having risen from Rs. 107 crores in 1964-65 to Rs. 186 crores, with 6.5 million government employees); an end to bailing out fiscally indisciplined States; a halt to the 'positive drag' of an inefficient public sector that returned only about Rs. 12 crores (0.57 per cent) on roughly Rs.… ### Body # Union Budget 1968-69 *By N. A. PALKHIVALA* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, based on a talk delivered in Bombay on 4 March 1968, N. A. Palkhivala analyses the Union Budget for 1968-69. He observes that the year was notable for the 'pre-Budget technique' by which the public mind was conditioned to expect heavier taxation, so that a Budget which merely maintained — rather than increased — already crushing tax levels was welcomed with relief. The crucial question, he argues, is whether the Budget inspires confidence and holds out hope for a brighter economic future, against a background of mass unemployment (3.5 million registered, perhaps more than 7 million in reality) growing at over a lakh a month. Palkhivala faults the Finance Minister for missing four alternatives that could have opened a new chapter in India's economic history: a determined cut in unproductive government expenditure (civil-administration spending having risen from Rs. 107 crores in 1964-65 to Rs. 186 crores, with 6.5 million government employees); an end to bailing out fiscally indisciplined States; a halt to the 'positive drag' of an inefficient public sector that returned only about Rs. 12 crores (0.57 per cent) on roughly Rs. 2,100 crores of investment; and genuine relief from confiscatory taxation. He marshals comparative data to show that India taxes honest enterprise more heavily than any other country, with combined income- and wealth-tax able to exceed 100 per cent of income and the corporate-and-shareholder incidence piercing a 94 per cent barrier — declaring memorably that 'the most expensive hobby of Indians is work' and that, in its treatment of corporate profits, India has 'almost reached Kelvin zero'. He argues that high taxation in a developing economy is not disinflationary but positively inflationary, because it shrinks the margin of saving and investment while destroying cost-consciousness and the ethics of honest dealing — a citizen 'has to be honest when it is more profitable to evade tax on Rs. 20 than to earn Rs. 100.' The closing pages turn to the Finance Bill's expanded powers against tax-payers: while severe punishment is warranted for dishonest evaders, Palkhivala warns that the new powers make it easy for the Department to strike fear into the honest tax-payer, and that inspiring confidence and co-operation requires a more scrupulous regard for justice, fairness and public morality than the Bill displays. ## Key points - Analyses the Union Budget 1968-69; based on a talk delivered in Bombay on 4 March 1968. - Notes the 'pre-Budget technique' conditioned the public to welcome a Budget that merely maintained crushing tax levels. - Frames unemployment as the central failure: 3.5 million registered (likely 7 million+), growing over a lakh a month. - Identifies four missed alternatives: cut unproductive expenditure, stop bailing out indisciplined States, end public-sector drag, give tax relief. - Cites the public sector returning ~Rs. 12 crores (0.57%) on ~Rs. 2,100 crores invested. - Argues India taxes honest enterprise more heavily than any country; combined tax can exceed 100% of income. - Coins 'the most expensive hobby of Indians is work' and likens corporate taxation to 'Kelvin zero'. - Holds high taxation is inflationary, not disinflationary, and warns new Finance Bill powers terrify honest tax-payers. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget — 1970-71 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1970-n-a-palkhiavala-april-15-1970/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, based on a public lecture delivered in Bombay on 5 March 1970, N. A. Palkhivala analyses the Union Budget for 1970-71. He opens with a mordant flourish — where ancient India gave imperishable expression to 'thoughts that wander through eternity', modern India has made three contributions to civilization: the Bandh, the Gherao, and the 'pre-Budget technique', the last being the practice of conditioning the public mind through February to expect such crushing taxation that when the Budget arrives with 93.5 per cent income-tax and 12 per cent wealth-tax as the maximum marginal rates, it evokes a cheerful response.… ### Body # The Union Budget — 1970-71 *By N. A. Palkhivala* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, based on a public lecture delivered in Bombay on 5 March 1970, N. A. Palkhivala analyses the Union Budget for 1970-71. He opens with a mordant flourish — where ancient India gave imperishable expression to 'thoughts that wander through eternity', modern India has made three contributions to civilization: the Bandh, the Gherao, and the 'pre-Budget technique', the last being the practice of conditioning the public mind through February to expect such crushing taxation that when the Budget arrives with 93.5 per cent income-tax and 12 per cent wealth-tax as the maximum marginal rates, it evokes a cheerful response. Invoking Justice Holmes's observation that most men judge things dramatically rather than quantitatively, he sets out to judge the Budget quantitatively against five 'calamitous realities': mounting unemployment, stagnant per capita income, a tardy gross national product, poor performance on the export front, and a paucity of public and private savings. Palkhivala argues that India is, in plain logic if not in official discourse, the highest-taxed nation in the world: only 28 lakhs of a population of 546 million pay income-tax, half of whom will be exempt under this Budget, yet the non-agricultural direct-tax burden of about Rs. 17,000 crores and the wealth-tax of Rs. 780 crores are the heaviest anywhere, while agricultural income — bearing only about Rs. 11 crores — escapes almost entirely, savaging the productive minority. He compares India unfavourably with the twelve developing countries of Asia, where the fastest-growing economies cap the top marginal income-tax rate at 50 per cent, and with Pakistan, whose exemption limits and dividend reliefs are more generous and whose growth he attributes partly to a lower tax burden. He acknowledges some fair provisions — notably a proposed amendment clarifying the definition of 'capital asset' under Section 2(14A) so that agricultural land near towns is taxed on sale, and clearer export incentives — but criticises the new charitable-trust rules (which compel trusts to spend income within the accounting year or lose exemption) and the confiscatory 12 per cent wealth-tax on urban immovable property, which he says amounts to expropriation without compensation, hampering building activity and driving honest owners toward the black market. His gravest warning is intangible: the heaviest cost of the Budget is the death of public morality, since when honesty becomes unprofitable, black-market money corrupts public life and a parallel government rises on an unprecedented scale — 'the laws of human nature are far stronger than any fiscal laws.' ## Key points - Analyses the Union Budget 1970-71; based on a public lecture in Bombay on 5 March 1970. - Names modern India's three 'contributions to civilization': the Bandh, the Gherao, and the 'pre-Budget technique'. - Cites maximum marginal rates of 93.5% income-tax and 12% wealth-tax. - Frames the analysis against five 'calamitous realities': unemployment, stagnant per capita income, tardy GNP, weak exports, low savings. - Argues India is the highest-taxed nation; only 28 lakhs of 546 million pay income-tax, half now exempt. - Compares unfavourably with fast-growing Asian economies (50% top rate) and with Pakistan's lighter burden. - Welcomes the capital-asset (Section 2(14A)) amendment and clearer export incentives but criticises new charitable-trust rules. - Calls the 12% urban-property wealth-tax confiscatory expropriation; warns the gravest cost is the death of public morality. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget - 1969-70 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1969-70-n-a-palkhivala-march-10-1969/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, based on a public lecture delivered in Bombay on 3 March 1969, N. A. Palkhivala assesses the Union Budget for 1969-70. Borrowing a frame from a Somerset Maugham short story about the difficulty of judging a man's character, he asks whether this is a good Budget with some bad features or a bad Budget with some good ones. He notes a few basic points: there is no increase in corporate taxation, only a small personal-tax cut (about Rs. 275 on the income slab between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 20,000), and — apart from changes to advance payment of tax — no significant Income-tax Act reform, with a 'massive dose of amendments' deferred to a later Bill, deepening the confusion in fiscal law already worsened by the Finance Acts of 1967 and 1968. Palkhivala argues that a budget should be moulded by the needs of a nation and contain the seeds of economic growth, but that this one is the prisoner of four chronic ailments: the unapproachability of the agricultural sector to Central taxation, the inefficiency of public-sector undertakings, the irrepressibility of Central Government expenditure, and the indiscipline of the States.… ### Body # The Union Budget - 1969-70 *By N. A. Palkhivala* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, based on a public lecture delivered in Bombay on 3 March 1969, N. A. Palkhivala assesses the Union Budget for 1969-70. Borrowing a frame from a Somerset Maugham short story about the difficulty of judging a man's character, he asks whether this is a good Budget with some bad features or a bad Budget with some good ones. He notes a few basic points: there is no increase in corporate taxation, only a small personal-tax cut (about Rs. 275 on the income slab between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 20,000), and — apart from changes to advance payment of tax — no significant Income-tax Act reform, with a 'massive dose of amendments' deferred to a later Bill, deepening the confusion in fiscal law already worsened by the Finance Acts of 1967 and 1968. Palkhivala argues that a budget should be moulded by the needs of a nation and contain the seeds of economic growth, but that this one is the prisoner of four chronic ailments: the unapproachability of the agricultural sector to Central taxation, the inefficiency of public-sector undertakings, the irrepressibility of Central Government expenditure, and the indiscipline of the States. He recounts how agricultural income fell outside Central taxation by a 'pure historical accident' dating to James Wilson's first Indian income tax of 1860, and details how State deficits had ballooned — from Rs. 17 crores across the whole First Plan to a proposed Rs. 250 crores in the single year 1969-70 — financed by a Centre that can never confine taxation within reasonable limits while State extravagance continues. On taxation he holds that India retains 'the dubious distinction of remaining, by and large, the highest taxed nation': the top marginal rate of personal tax, nominally cut from 89.4 to 82.5 per cent, offers only an illusory reduction because it is fully offset by a higher wealth-tax on the slab producing unearned income in high brackets. Citing the heavy taxation of the automobile industry (taxes representing 44 per cent of the capital cost of commercial vehicles and 15 per cent of all Central and State tax revenue) and a comparison of twelve developing Asian countries — where the six with the fastest growth cap marginal income tax at 50 per cent while slow-growing India and Burma tax far more — he presses the link between confiscatory taxation and stagnant growth. ## Key points - Assesses the Union Budget 1969-70; based on a public lecture in Bombay on 3 March 1969. - Opens with a Somerset Maugham frame: is it a good Budget with bad features or a bad one with good features? - Notes no rise in corporate tax, only a small personal-tax cut, and no significant Income-tax Act reform (a 'massive dose of amendments' deferred). - Identifies four structural ailments: untaxable agriculture, inefficient public sector, unchecked Central expenditure, indiscipline of States. - Traces agriculture's exemption to James Wilson's first Indian income tax of 1860. - Shows State deficits ballooning from Rs. 17 crores (whole First Plan) to a proposed Rs. 250 crores in 1969-70 alone. - Argues the top marginal personal-tax cut (89.4% to 82.5%) is illusory, offset by higher wealth-tax. - Links confiscatory taxation to slow growth, citing Asian comparisons and heavy automobile-industry taxation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget, 1972-73 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1972-1973-n-a-palkhivala-april-20-1972/ ### Summary Delivered in Madras on 1 April 1972 and published as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, N. A. Palkhivala's address on the Union Budget for 1972-73 argues that the Government has squandered a rare 'moment of absolute political stability' — a post-victory euphoria and a huge parliamentary majority — by treading 'the same old unimaginative path'. He frames the Budget against three tests: does it seize India's moment of opportunity, will it meet the Planning Commission's Fourth Plan objectives, and will it achieve economic growth with social justice? On each, he answers no. The combined burden of income-tax (up to 97.75%) and wealth-tax (up to 8%, plus 7% on urban property) is continued without abatement, amounting in his view to 'annual confiscation'. A central thread is the distinction between social justice and mere equality: social justice, he insists, demands adequate differentials for ability, effort and risk, and 'it is impossible to have social justice without economic growth'.… ### Body # The Union Budget, 1972-73 *By N. A. PALKHIVALA* ## Summary Delivered in Madras on 1 April 1972 and published as a Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, N. A. Palkhivala's address on the Union Budget for 1972-73 argues that the Government has squandered a rare 'moment of absolute political stability' — a post-victory euphoria and a huge parliamentary majority — by treading 'the same old unimaginative path'. He frames the Budget against three tests: does it seize India's moment of opportunity, will it meet the Planning Commission's Fourth Plan objectives, and will it achieve economic growth with social justice? On each, he answers no. The combined burden of income-tax (up to 97.75%) and wealth-tax (up to 8%, plus 7% on urban property) is continued without abatement, amounting in his view to 'annual confiscation'. A central thread is the distinction between social justice and mere equality: social justice, he insists, demands adequate differentials for ability, effort and risk, and 'it is impossible to have social justice without economic growth'. He marshals comparative and official evidence — the U.K.'s tax-cutting budget, the Wanchoo Committee's recommendation to cut the top marginal rate to 75%, the Planning Commission's own Mid-Term Appraisal on the corporate sector and falling savings, and economists W. H. Hutt, Michael Lipton and P. T. Bauer — to argue that punitive taxation depresses savings (national savings down from 11.1% in 1965-66 to 8.3% in 1970-71), starves investment and condemns India to the lowest growth among developing countries. The second half turns constructive, offering concrete suggestions: mandatory public disclosure of political donations and repeal of the Companies Act ban on corporate political giving; lowering corporate tax with offsetting cuts to inflated Plan provisions; ending the 'patently unfair' near-exemption of agricultural income (agriculture yields Rs. 16,000 crores but pays only Rs. 13 crores in tax) by having States legislate under Article 252; and abandoning the public/private dichotomy in favour of a single 'national sector' judged only by efficiency and honesty. He closes with Galbraith's observation that the principal enemy of public enterprise is now the socialists themselves, and the aphorism that while 'there is richness in our poverty, there is poverty in our socialism'. The booklet is complete in the rendered pages and ends with an A. D. Shroff epigraph and the FFE colophon. ## Key points - The 1972-73 Budget squandered a rare moment of political stability and post-1971-victory euphoria by following 'the same old unimaginative path'. - Palkhivala judges the Budget against three tests — seizing India's opportunity, meeting Fourth Plan objectives, and growth with social justice — and finds it failing all three. - Income-tax up to 97.75% and wealth-tax up to 8% (15% on urban property) are continued, amounting to annual confiscation of income and wealth. - Social justice is distinguished from mere equality: it requires differentials for ability and effort, and is impossible without economic growth. - Evidence is marshalled from the Wanchoo Committee (recommending a 75% top rate), the Planning Commission's Mid-Term Appraisal, the U.K.'s tax-cutting budget, and economists Hutt, Lipton and Bauer. - National savings fell from 11.1% (1965-66) to 8.3% (1970-71); high taxation is named the prime cause of stagnating investment and growth. - Constructive proposals: disclosure of political donations, lower corporate tax offset by trimmed Plan outlays, taxing agricultural income via Article 252, and a single efficiency-judged 'national sector'. - Closes with Galbraith on socialists as the enemy of public enterprise and the line 'there is richness in our poverty, there is poverty in our socialism'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget, 1971-72 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1971-72-n-a-palkhivala-15-june-1971/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise public lecture, delivered in Bombay on 5 June 1971, the constitutional lawyer N. A. Palkhivala mounts a sustained attack on the Union Budget for 1971-72, which he calls 'ideology-oriented' in conception and 'poverty-oriented' in effect. Opening with the history of Indian income-tax since James Wilson's first 2% levy in 1860, he argues that 'the wheel has now turned full circle': where the early assessee kept 98% of his income, he now keeps 2%. He lays out the budget's 'inarticulate major premises' satirically, chief among them that it is easier to impoverish the rich ('Amiri hatao') than to enrich the poor ('Garibi hatao'), and that Parliament behaves as though it can repeal the laws of human nature. The bulk of the lecture is a tax-by-tax indictment: marginal income-tax rates reaching 97.75% and wealth-tax up to 8% (15% on urban property) which together amount to 'annual confiscation'; the removal of the Rs. 1 lakh wealth-tax exemption; sharply higher capital-gains tax; and the gutting of corporate incentives through abolition of the development rebate and exclusion of capital-intensive industries from the priority list.… ### Body # The Union Budget, 1971-72 *By N. A. PALKHIVALA* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise public lecture, delivered in Bombay on 5 June 1971, the constitutional lawyer N. A. Palkhivala mounts a sustained attack on the Union Budget for 1971-72, which he calls 'ideology-oriented' in conception and 'poverty-oriented' in effect. Opening with the history of Indian income-tax since James Wilson's first 2% levy in 1860, he argues that 'the wheel has now turned full circle': where the early assessee kept 98% of his income, he now keeps 2%. He lays out the budget's 'inarticulate major premises' satirically, chief among them that it is easier to impoverish the rich ('Amiri hatao') than to enrich the poor ('Garibi hatao'), and that Parliament behaves as though it can repeal the laws of human nature. The bulk of the lecture is a tax-by-tax indictment: marginal income-tax rates reaching 97.75% and wealth-tax up to 8% (15% on urban property) which together amount to 'annual confiscation'; the removal of the Rs. 1 lakh wealth-tax exemption; sharply higher capital-gains tax; and the gutting of corporate incentives through abolition of the development rebate and exclusion of capital-intensive industries from the priority list. Palkhivala marshals comparative data — the U.S. capping earned-income rates at 50%, the U.K. cutting its top rate from 91.25% to 75%, and only Puerto Rico, the U.A.R. and Zambia approaching India's rate — to argue that India 'takes the palm' as the highest-taxed nation. He insists that confiscatory rates are inflationary, not disinflationary, because they destroy saving, investment and cost-consciousness, and that they breed black money, benami transactions and a 'losing battle' against the acquisitive instinct. Throughout, Palkhivala enlists socialist and official authorities against the budget's own logic — Nicholas Kaldor, W. Arthur Lewis, and finance minister T. T. Krishnamachari's own 1957 and 1964 Budget Speeches all conceded that punitive top rates corrode the tax base and sap incentive. The rendered pages run through the corporate-sector critique and the comparative tax tables; the closing pages on agriculture argue that the urban sector bears a 'staggering burden of direct taxation' while agriculture, 'politically too important to be taxed', is almost wholly spared, before the text breaks off mid-argument at the start of the four alternatives to the projected deficit. The booklet's tone is polemical and aphoristic throughout, aimed at a lay business and professional audience. ## Key points - The 1971-72 Budget is characterised as 'ideology-oriented' in conception and 'poverty-oriented' in effect; it reduces disparity between the honest rich and the poor only by impoverishing the former. - Income-tax history since 1860 (James Wilson's 2% levy) is invoked to show 'the wheel has now turned full circle': the assessee now keeps 2% and pays 98%. - Top marginal income-tax of 97.75% plus wealth-tax up to 8% (15% on urban property) amount, Palkhivala argues, to annual confiscation of income and wealth. - High taxation is held to be inflationary rather than disinflationary because it destroys saving, investment, cost-consciousness and ethics, and it breeds black money and benami transactions. - Comparative data: U.S. earned-income cap 50%, U.K. top rate cut from 91.25% to 75%; only Puerto Rico, U.A.R. and Zambia approach India's 97.75% — 'India takes the palm'. - The Budget guts corporate incentives: abolition of the development rebate from May 1974, exclusion of high-technology industries (cement, trucks, aluminium, petro-chemicals) from the priority list, harsher capital-gains and wealth-tax treatment. - Palkhivala turns socialist and official authorities against the Budget — Kaldor, W. Arthur Lewis, and T. T. Krishnamachari's own Budget Speeches of 1957 and 1964. - Agriculture, 'politically too important to be taxed', is almost wholly spared while the politically unrepresented urban sector bears a staggering direct-tax burden; the text breaks off before listing alternatives to the deficit. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget, 1973-74 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1973-74-n-a-palkhivala-april-1973/ ### Summary In his Forum of Free Enterprise booklet on the Union Budget for 1973-74, N. A. Palkhivala opens with a satirical verse on the proliferation of laudable but empty objectives ('Committees in Geneva'), arguing that no disparity is 'so glaring and costly as that between the prized ends solemnly pronounced in the Budget Speech every year and the provisions of the annual Finance Bill which are so admirably calculated to frustrate those objectives'. The Budget's five avowed goals — counter inflation, promote savings, enlarge employment, ensure basic amenities, boost exports — are dismissed as 'pious aspirations'.… ### Body # The Union Budget, 1973-74 *By N. A. Palkhivala* ## Summary In his Forum of Free Enterprise booklet on the Union Budget for 1973-74, N. A. Palkhivala opens with a satirical verse on the proliferation of laudable but empty objectives ('Committees in Geneva'), arguing that no disparity is 'so glaring and costly as that between the prized ends solemnly pronounced in the Budget Speech every year and the provisions of the annual Finance Bill which are so admirably calculated to frustrate those objectives'. The Budget's five avowed goals — counter inflation, promote savings, enlarge employment, ensure basic amenities, boost exports — are dismissed as 'pious aspirations'. He documents a yawning gap between estimated and actual deficits (an overall deficit of Rs 550 crores against an estimate of Rs 251 crores, an actual deficit nearer Rs 1,449 crores), rising wholesale prices (up 13.2%), and heavier excises and customs that will fuel further inflation. The core of the address is the familiar Palkhivala indictment: personal and corporate tax rates remain 'by and large, the highest in the world', so habitual that press and public have stopped noticing; the only substantial savers are 'smugglers, black marketeers and tax-evaders'; the Wanchoo Committee's recommendation of a 75% top rate is ignored; the agricultural lobby keeps farm income effectively untaxed; and incentives for industry are withdrawn one by one, the last casualty being the development rebate due to lapse on 31 May 1974. He contrasts India's withdrawal of incentives with the generous tax holidays and subsidies (30-45% of capital cost) offered by Argentina, Brazil, Canada, the U.K., Iran and others, and notes the public sector's 84 undertakings carrying aggregate losses while the Budget Speech maintains a 'see no evil' silence. Palkhivala stresses the Government's record of breaking statutory promises of tax exemption (on annuity policies, electricity duty, octroi), warns that unchecked inflation makes 'everybody a loser' — contrasting the U.K. and Canadian tax-cutting budgets ('Everybody gains, and nobody loses') with India's — and closes by endorsing Sir Richard Clarke's call for an end to Budget secrecy and open debate of long-term tax policy. He concludes that the Budget's 'most striking feature is its complete irrelevance to the gigantic tasks facing the country'. The rendered pages cover the full address (the PDF repeats a few interior scans) and the closing FFE colophon dated 20 April 1973. ## Key points - The Budget's five avowed goals (counter inflation, promote savings, enlarge employment, basic amenities, boost exports) are dismissed as 'pious aspirations'. - Estimated versus actual deficits diverge sharply (overall deficit Rs 550 crores vs estimate Rs 251 crores; actual nearer Rs 1,449 crores); wholesale prices up 13.2%. - Personal and corporate tax rates remain among the highest in the world; the only substantial savers are smugglers, black marketeers and tax-evaders. - The Wanchoo Committee's recommended 75% top marginal rate is ignored, and the agricultural lobby keeps farm income effectively untaxed. - Industrial incentives are withdrawn one by one — the development rebate is to lapse on 31 May 1974, and initial depreciation is no substitute. - India's meagre backward-area incentives are contrasted with 30-45% capital subsidies and long tax holidays abroad (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, U.K., Iran, etc.). - The Government's record of breaking statutory exemption promises (annuity policies, electricity duty, octroi) undermines investor confidence. - Closes by endorsing Sir Richard Clarke's call to end Budget secrecy, concluding the Budget is 'complete[ly] irrelevan[t] to the gigantic tasks facing the country'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 1974-75 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1974-75-n-a-palkhivala-march-1974/ ### Summary Palkhivala's Forum of Free Enterprise address on the Union Budget for 1974-75, delivered in Bombay on 5 March 1974, is unusual in his series for opening with praise. He calls the reduction of the top personal income-tax rate from 97.75% to 77% 'the only streak of light, the only ray of mercy' — 'a re-entry after nine years into the realm of rationality' and 'an act of faith' by the Finance Minister that citizens have a public duty to justify through more honest returns. But that, he argues, is the Budget's sole virtue; the rest is 'as pedestrian in its outlook as its predecessors'. He sets India's five major problems — poverty, unemployment, stagnant production, inadequate savings, and double-figure inflation — against staggering figures: per-capita real income falling after 1970 (below the 1964-65 level), unemployment rising at 10,000 a day, industrial growth collapsing to nil in 1973-74, and India ranking 103rd in per-capita GNP. He cites McNamara on absolute poverty and the Bhagwati Committee on unemployment. The corporate sector, he complains, got no relief: unlike West Germany, Sweden, Japan, Canada and the U.S.A., where ministers cut corporate tax alongside personal tax, Y.… ### Body # The Union Budget 1974-75 *By N. A. Palkhivala* ## Summary Palkhivala's Forum of Free Enterprise address on the Union Budget for 1974-75, delivered in Bombay on 5 March 1974, is unusual in his series for opening with praise. He calls the reduction of the top personal income-tax rate from 97.75% to 77% 'the only streak of light, the only ray of mercy' — 'a re-entry after nine years into the realm of rationality' and 'an act of faith' by the Finance Minister that citizens have a public duty to justify through more honest returns. But that, he argues, is the Budget's sole virtue; the rest is 'as pedestrian in its outlook as its predecessors'. He sets India's five major problems — poverty, unemployment, stagnant production, inadequate savings, and double-figure inflation — against staggering figures: per-capita real income falling after 1970 (below the 1964-65 level), unemployment rising at 10,000 a day, industrial growth collapsing to nil in 1973-74, and India ranking 103rd in per-capita GNP. He cites McNamara on absolute poverty and the Bhagwati Committee on unemployment. The corporate sector, he complains, got no relief: unlike West Germany, Sweden, Japan, Canada and the U.S.A., where ministers cut corporate tax alongside personal tax, Y. B. Chavan left corporate rates 'higher than those in any progressive country' and let the development rebate lapse. The address culminates in a sustained meditation on inflation as 'the single gravest danger facing India' — self-accelerating, 'the most ruthless, relentless and remorseless' of economic phenomena, and a devourer of democracy, twice quoting Keynes on debauching the currency and on the futility of wage demands without productivity. Palkhivala insists 'you cannot divide more than you produce' and calls for 'a U-turn in our fiscal policy and economic ideology' and a Budget 'conceived in a large, far-seeing spirit'. He ridicules the Planning Commission with a Financial Times fable of a lion who advises a mouse to become a lion but leaves the how to the mouse ('I formulate the policy'), and closes with the lament that 'while formerly we used to suffer from social evils, we now suffer from the remedies for them', sealed by a verse on preferring ruin to change. The rendered pages cover the full address and the FFE colophon dated 20 May 1974. ## Key points - The Budget's one virtue is cutting the top personal income-tax rate from 97.75% to 77% — 'the only ray of mercy' and a return to rationality after nine years. - Citizens have a public duty to justify the Finance Minister's Rs 60 crore revenue gamble through more honest income returns. - India's five major problems — poverty, unemployment, stagnant production, low savings, double-figure inflation — are documented with stark figures (per-capita income falling, 103rd in per-capita GNP). - McNamara is cited on absolute poverty and the Bhagwati Committee on 18.7 million (now 25 million+) unemployed. - Corporate tax was left untouched, unlike West Germany, Sweden, Japan, Canada and the U.S.A. where personal and corporate cuts went together; the development rebate is allowed to lapse. - Inflation is 'the single gravest danger' — self-accelerating, a devourer of democracy; Keynes is quoted on debauching the currency and on futile wage demands. - Palkhivala calls for a 'U-turn in our fiscal policy and economic ideology' and a far-seeing Budget that harnesses citizens' enterprise in an atmosphere of trust. - A Financial Times lion-and-mouse fable mocks the Planning Commission; the address closes on 'we now suffer from the remedies' and a verse on preferring ruin to change. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 1975-76 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1975-76-n-a-palkhivala-25-march-1975/ ### Summary Palkhivala's Forum of Free Enterprise address on the Union Budget for 1975-76, delivered in Bombay on 6 March 1975, observes that 'all omens were propitious' — inflation had been tamed and tax revenues had over-shot estimates, vindicating the previous year's personal-tax cut — yet the Finance Minister 'failed to grasp the golden opportunity to pull this country out of stagflation'. He calls it once again a 'bullock-cart Budget': an ancient vehicle, but not for reaching one's destination expeditiously. The shaping of every budget, he argues, is the work of an 'aggressively conservative' North Block bureaucracy that resists change in proportion to its boldness. Much of the address is comparative and historical. Palkhivala holds up Ludwig Erhard's 1948 German currency-and-tax reform ('The only rationing coupon is the Mark') as the model of vision and courage India lacks, and quotes Aneurin Bevan on the unsolved problem of reconciling parliamentary popularity with sound economic planning. He contrasts India's feeble incentives with the generous tax holidays of Brazil and Malaysia, cites Dr.… ### Body # The Union Budget 1975-76 *By N. A. Palkhivala* ## Summary Palkhivala's Forum of Free Enterprise address on the Union Budget for 1975-76, delivered in Bombay on 6 March 1975, observes that 'all omens were propitious' — inflation had been tamed and tax revenues had over-shot estimates, vindicating the previous year's personal-tax cut — yet the Finance Minister 'failed to grasp the golden opportunity to pull this country out of stagflation'. He calls it once again a 'bullock-cart Budget': an ancient vehicle, but not for reaching one's destination expeditiously. The shaping of every budget, he argues, is the work of an 'aggressively conservative' North Block bureaucracy that resists change in proportion to its boldness. Much of the address is comparative and historical. Palkhivala holds up Ludwig Erhard's 1948 German currency-and-tax reform ('The only rationing coupon is the Mark') as the model of vision and courage India lacks, and quotes Aneurin Bevan on the unsolved problem of reconciling parliamentary popularity with sound economic planning. He contrasts India's feeble incentives with the generous tax holidays of Brazil and Malaysia, cites Dr. Bruno Hake on the failure of India's duty-free export zones, and laments that the 5% corporate surcharge introduced for the Bangladesh war survives while real incentives wither. India's export share is a 'paltry' 0.5% of world trade; the rupee has lost 43% of its purchasing power in four years. The heart of the speech is three 'most disturbing' features. First, the Budget shows 'unconcealed scorn for the judicial process', proposing to override Supreme Court and High Court judgments (on the City Compensatory Allowance and on gratuity deductions) with retrospective effect — 'never in the history of India has any Budget shown such total contempt for the rule of law'. Second, the new 1% excise on unspecified factory articles squanders the nation's most perishable resource, the time and man-hours of its citizens, on collecting trivial levies. Third, the Budget deals 'a calculated blow to free enterprise', concentrating resources in 'the monolithic State' (public-sector Plan outlay up 23% while private new-asset formation is stuck at 5%) and discouraging public deposits with companies. He closes by endorsing Sir Richard Clarke and Patrick Jenkin on ending budget secrecy, contrasting Canada's advance-announced corporate rates with India's 'hugger-mugger budgetary practices', and concluding that the best that can be said is that the Budget 'will not aggravate' India's depression. The rendered pages cover the full address and the FFE colophon dated 25 March 1975. ## Key points - Despite propitious omens (tamed inflation, revenue over-shooting estimates vindicating the prior tax cut), the Budget fails to break stagflation — another 'bullock-cart Budget'. - Budget-making is blamed on an 'aggressively conservative' North Block bureaucracy that resists change in proportion to its boldness. - Ludwig Erhard's 1948 German currency-and-tax reform is held up as the model of vision and courage; Aneurin Bevan is quoted on reconciling popularity with sound planning. - India's incentives are feeble next to Brazil and Malaysia; the war-time 5% corporate surcharge survives while real incentives wither; export share is a 'paltry' 0.5% and the rupee has lost 43% of its value in four years. - First disturbing feature: 'unconcealed scorn for the judicial process' — retrospectively overriding Supreme Court / High Court judgments, 'total contempt for the rule of law'. - Second: a new 1% excise on unspecified factory articles wastes citizens' man-hours and spawns bogus small-scale units. - Third: a 'calculated blow to free enterprise' — public-sector Plan outlay up 23% while private new-asset formation is stuck at 5%, plus disincentives to public deposits in companies. - Closes endorsing Sir Richard Clarke and Patrick Jenkin on ending budget secrecy; the best verdict is that the Budget 'will not aggravate' India's depression. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 1976-77 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1976-77-n-a-palkhivala-20-april-1976/ ### Summary Palkhivala's Forum of Free Enterprise booklet on the Union Budget for 1976-77 is, by his standards, warmly approving on one front. Noting that it appears in March 1976 — the bicentennial month of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations — he calls it 'our first modern Budget', the first in which a Finance Minister has accepted, adumbrated and applied three principles: that realistic tax rates beat confiscatory ones, that social justice in a poor country requires economic growth, and that a budget should be a 'partnership between the Government and the people' rather than 'an annual scourge'. The memorable achievement is in personal taxation: the Voluntary Disclosure Scheme unearthed Rs. 744 crores of income, and income- and wealth-tax rates were cut at all levels (top marginal rate now 66%), so 'our national character will no longer continue to be degraded and public morality corrupted by crippling personal taxation'. But, he argues, 'the Budget speaks with two voices — one of sweet reason in the field of personal taxation, and the other of severe rigidity in the field of corporate taxation', quoting Wordsworth's 'Two voices'.… ### Body # The Union Budget 1976-77 *By N. A. Palkhivala* ## Summary Palkhivala's Forum of Free Enterprise booklet on the Union Budget for 1976-77 is, by his standards, warmly approving on one front. Noting that it appears in March 1976 — the bicentennial month of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations — he calls it 'our first modern Budget', the first in which a Finance Minister has accepted, adumbrated and applied three principles: that realistic tax rates beat confiscatory ones, that social justice in a poor country requires economic growth, and that a budget should be a 'partnership between the Government and the people' rather than 'an annual scourge'. The memorable achievement is in personal taxation: the Voluntary Disclosure Scheme unearthed Rs. 744 crores of income, and income- and wealth-tax rates were cut at all levels (top marginal rate now 66%), so 'our national character will no longer continue to be degraded and public morality corrupted by crippling personal taxation'. But, he argues, 'the Budget speaks with two voices — one of sweet reason in the field of personal taxation, and the other of severe rigidity in the field of corporate taxation', quoting Wordsworth's 'Two voices'. He then catalogues five shortcomings: the 'incredible instability' of fiscal laws treated as perpetual 'experiments'; an 'unfinished Budget' whose promised reliefs (and the Marathe Committee's report) remain 'in cold storage'; the 'time-consuming and energy-wasting complexity' of tax laws, illustrated by 'No tax relief without litigation' and twenty-year delays in cases like Associated Cement Companies; nothing for export promotion; and insufficiently growth-oriented incentives, with the investment allowance helping only already-profitable firms and corporation tax budgeted to an all-time high of Rs. 1,025 crores. The address closes on the constitutional terrain Palkhivala made his own. He attacks the proposed amendments taxing non-residents on foreign income with no real Indian nexus as 'ultra vires the powers of Indian Parliament', invoking the Privy Council in Wallace Brothers and Federal Court authority on the need for a 'sufficient territorial connection', and warns the changes breach India's tax treaties and would have to be struck down or read down by the courts. He also flags relief for non-resident Indians as too niggardly and too unstable to attract their capital ('like entering into matrimony — easy to take the plunge but difficult to get out'). His overall verdict: the Budget 'would have been perfect if it had applied the same norms of realism and wisdom in the field of corporate taxation which it has in the field of personal taxation'. The rendered pages cover the full address and the FFE colophon dated 20 April 1976. ## Key points - Published in March 1976, the bicentennial of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, and hailed as 'our first modern Budget' — a shift 'from fiscal theology to fiscal rationalism'. - The Budget accepts three principles: realistic over confiscatory tax rates, growth as prerequisite for social justice, and budget as Government-people partnership. - The Voluntary Disclosure Scheme unearthed Rs. 744 crores of income; personal income- and wealth-tax cut at all levels (top marginal rate now 66%). - It 'speaks with two voices' — reasonable on personal tax, rigid on corporate tax (Wordsworth's 'Two voices'). - Five shortcomings: instability of fiscal law as perpetual 'experiment'; an 'unfinished Budget' (Marathe Committee report shelved); complexity ('No tax relief without litigation'); nothing for export promotion; inadequate growth incentives. - Corporation tax budgeted to an all-time high of Rs. 1,025 crores; investment allowance only helps already-profitable firms, not loss-making capital-intensive industries. - Constitutional attack: amendments taxing non-residents' foreign income with no Indian nexus are 'ultra vires' Parliament (Privy Council Wallace Brothers; need for 'sufficient territorial connection') and breach India's tax treaties. - Verdict: the Budget 'would have been perfect if it had applied the same norms of realism and wisdom in corporate taxation as in personal taxation'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 1977-78 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1977-78-n-a-palkhivala-july-20-1977/ ### Summary Palkhivala's Forum of Free Enterprise booklet on the Union Budget for 1977-78 — the first budget of the post-Emergency Janata Government, presented by Finance Minister H. M. Patel — is markedly more sympathetic than his earlier critiques. Conceived 'in wholly inadequate time' on an inherited 'system which has an in-built unfailing mechanism for ensuring perpetually increasing expenditure', the budget, he judges, represents 'a meritorious job' and 'the first small step towards achieving the goals and the ideals embodied in the manifesto of the Janata Party'. He likens Patel's position to Marshal Foch's First-World-War despatch ('My left wing is retreating. My soft centre is crumbling. The situation is excellent. I attack!'), and cites Colin Clark's image of the welfare State as a Father Christmas who pockets a commission for distributing the gifts — India having 'the top-heavy bureaucracy of a welfare State without the welfare'. He works through the Janata manifesto objectives the budget addresses — primacy of agriculture (Rs.… ### Body # The Union Budget 1977-78 *By N. A. Palkhivala* ## Summary Palkhivala's Forum of Free Enterprise booklet on the Union Budget for 1977-78 — the first budget of the post-Emergency Janata Government, presented by Finance Minister H. M. Patel — is markedly more sympathetic than his earlier critiques. Conceived 'in wholly inadequate time' on an inherited 'system which has an in-built unfailing mechanism for ensuring perpetually increasing expenditure', the budget, he judges, represents 'a meritorious job' and 'the first small step towards achieving the goals and the ideals embodied in the manifesto of the Janata Party'. He likens Patel's position to Marshal Foch's First-World-War despatch ('My left wing is retreating. My soft centre is crumbling. The situation is excellent. I attack!'), and cites Colin Clark's image of the welfare State as a Father Christmas who pockets a commission for distributing the gifts — India having 'the top-heavy bureaucracy of a welfare State without the welfare'. He works through the Janata manifesto objectives the budget addresses — primacy of agriculture (Rs. 3,024 crores, 30.4% of Plan outlay), the right to work and full employment, indigenous technology, wage-goods for mass consumption, and small-scale industry — and then rebuts the 'misconceived criticisms' levelled whenever the corporate sector gains a concession, marshalling data that the Government is the corporate sector's greatest beneficiary (Rs. 780 to the exchequer for every Rs. 100 of corporate profit) and that savings in private hands 'fructify far better' than public savings. He welcomes the lifting of compulsory-dividend rules but faults the convoluted Section 72A for sick-unit amalgamations, which 'will never fulfil its purpose' because of 'time-guzzling governmental approval'. On taxation, he applauds raising the income-tax exemption limit to Rs. 10,000 and a rational reform of capital-gains tax (citing Lord Shawcross's description of capital-gains tax as 'the greatest fraud in the history of fiscal legislation'), while warning against any reversal of the previous year's cuts in confiscatory rates and against retrospective wealth-tax increases that breach Morarji Desai's own stated principle. He invokes Bernard Shaw, Ludwig Erhard, Colin Clark and Kaldor on the case for a 50% ceiling on personal tax, and Herbert Spencer on the danger of citizens coming to believe 'everything is to be done for them, and nothing by them'. He defends drawing Rs. 800 crores from foreign-exchange reserves on the 'great law of the universe' that 'everything is yours to use, nothing is yours to keep', notes the lowest deficit since 1961-62, and closes by asking that the new Janata Government, 'having restored all the basic freedoms', be given a fair chance to prove its policies. The rendered pages cover the full address (courtesy The Illustrated Weekly of India) and the FFE colophon dated 20 July 1977. ## Key points - The first post-Emergency Janata-Government budget (FM H. M. Patel); Palkhivala calls it 'a meritorious job' and a first step towards the Janata manifesto's ideals. - Patel inherited a system geared to perpetual expenditure; his position is likened to Marshal Foch's 'The situation is excellent. I attack!'. - Colin Clark's welfare-State-as-Father-Christmas image frames India as having 'the bureaucracy of a welfare State without the welfare'. - The budget addresses Janata objectives: agriculture (30.4% of Plan outlay), right to work, indigenous technology, wage-goods, small-scale industry. - Palkhivala rebuts anti-corporate criticisms with data — the Government gains Rs. 780 for every Rs. 100 of corporate profit; private savings 'fructify far better' than public. - He welcomes the end of compulsory dividends but faults Section 72A for sick-unit amalgamations as too hedged with bureaucratic hurdles to work. - On tax: applauds raising the exemption limit to Rs. 10,000 and rationalising capital-gains tax (Shawcross: 'the greatest fraud in the history of fiscal legislation'); warns against retrospective wealth-tax breaching Morarji Desai's principle. - Defends drawing Rs. 800 crores from forex reserves, notes the lowest deficit since 1961-62, and asks that the Janata Government be given a fair chance. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget, 1980-81 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1980-81-n-a-palkhivala-july-20-1980/ ### Summary Palkhivala's Forum of Free Enterprise booklet on the Union Budget for 1980-81 — R. Venkataraman's first budget after Indira Gandhi's return to power — opens with the formula 'Elections can change the governing faces; budgets can change the face of the State', and judges the budget 'neither a take-away budget nor a give-away budget'. He sets it against acute economic distress (industrial production down 1%, agriculture down 10%, GNP down 3%, all 'balanced' by 20% inflation) and the structural absurdity that 'while in other countries the government subsidises industry, in India industry has to subsidise the government' — citizens forced to lend to the State at low rates while borrowing from State banks at 19%. 'Truly, we Indians are a low arousal people.' Organised under clear section headings, the address credits 'indubitable good points' — relief to the common man through lower income-tax rates and higher exemption limits, and reduced excise on common articles — but warns of 'fiscal drag' that leaves citizens worse off in real terms absent inflation-indexed reliefs.… ### Body # The Union Budget, 1980-81 *By N. A. Palkhivala* ## Summary Palkhivala's Forum of Free Enterprise booklet on the Union Budget for 1980-81 — R. Venkataraman's first budget after Indira Gandhi's return to power — opens with the formula 'Elections can change the governing faces; budgets can change the face of the State', and judges the budget 'neither a take-away budget nor a give-away budget'. He sets it against acute economic distress (industrial production down 1%, agriculture down 10%, GNP down 3%, all 'balanced' by 20% inflation) and the structural absurdity that 'while in other countries the government subsidises industry, in India industry has to subsidise the government' — citizens forced to lend to the State at low rates while borrowing from State banks at 19%. 'Truly, we Indians are a low arousal people.' Organised under clear section headings, the address credits 'indubitable good points' — relief to the common man through lower income-tax rates and higher exemption limits, and reduced excise on common articles — but warns of 'fiscal drag' that leaves citizens worse off in real terms absent inflation-indexed reliefs. It then turns to 'the monster of inflation' (the invisible tax never passed by Parliament), the 'instability and unfairness' of fiscal law (the 1961 Income-tax Act already amended by some 695 insertions and 737 substitutions; retrospective amendments overriding Supreme Court judgments like Cloth Traders v. CIT are 'the bureaucrat's dream but the taxpayer's nightmare'), 'poor incentives for industry and exports' (industry contributes 79% of central revenue yet is 'almost wholly neglected'; export share a 'paltry' 0.5%), and the need for 'economy in governmental expenditure' (8.8 million government administrators against 7.2 million in organised private industry; he urges a five-year recruitment freeze). The rhetorical close, 'The shroud of secrecy', expresses 'great regard and esteem' for Venkataraman while blaming the 'infernal shroud of secrecy' inherited from Britain for his unfair changes. Palkhivala quotes Sir Richard Clarke and Patrick Jenkin on the duty to publish long-term tax policy and debate budgets openly, citing the U.S., Finland and others, and invites Venkataraman to make 'the momentous innovation of scrapping the shroud of secrecy'. He invokes Sydney Smith's 1820 catalogue of taxes, William Pitt's 1798 wartime income-tax, Lord Shawcross on capital-gains tax as 'the greatest fraud', and William Miller on faster depreciation, before concluding that 'the Union budget should not be an annual scourge but should partake of the presentation of annual accounts of a partnership between the Government and the people'. A source note records the booklet draws on his Bombay talk of 21 June 1980, the M. Ct. M. Chidambaram Chettyar Memorial Lecture in Madras (28 June 1980), an FKCCI talk in Bangalore (29 June 1980), and articles in the Times of India and Illustrated Weekly of India. The rendered pages cover the full address and the FFE colophon dated 20 July 1980. ## Key points - Venkataraman's 1980-81 budget (after Indira Gandhi's return) is judged 'neither a take-away nor a give-away budget', framed amid acute distress and 20% inflation. - Structural critique: 'in India industry has to subsidise the government' — citizens lend to the State cheaply while borrowing from State banks at 19%. - 'Indubitable good points': lower income-tax rates, exemption limit raised to Rs 12,000, lower excise on common articles — but undermined by un-indexed 'fiscal drag'. - 'The monster of inflation' is the invisible tax never passed by Parliament; the lowest productivity is in the public sector (1.4% return on Rs 14,173 crores invested). - 'Instability and unfairness': the 1961 Act amended ~695 insertions / 737 substitutions; retrospective amendments overriding the Supreme Court are 'the bureaucrat's dream but the taxpayer's nightmare'. - 'Poor incentives for industry and exports': industry yields 79% of central revenue yet is 'almost wholly neglected'; export share a 'paltry' 0.5%. - 'Economy in governmental expenditure': 8.8 million government administrators vs 7.2 million in organised private industry; urges a five-year recruitment freeze. - 'The shroud of secrecy': praises Venkataraman personally but urges open, published long-term tax policy (citing Sir Richard Clarke and Patrick Jenkin); budget should be a Government-people 'partnership', not 'an annual scourge'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 1981-82 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1981-82-n-a-palkhivala-march-20-1981/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, N. A. Palkhivala delivers his trademark annual critique of the Union Budget, here the 1981-82 Budget presented by the Finance Minister. He judges it against 'the anaemic condition of the national economy', arguing that the government's rosy presentation rests on selective comparison (1980-81 against the disastrous 1979-80) and a switch from average-index to point-to-point inflation figures that he likens to corporate window-dressing. He warns that per-capita GNP actually fell 2.2 per cent over two years and that foreign-exchange reserves, propped up by IMF borrowing, cover barely five months of imports. Palkhivala organizes his verdict around four 'ingredients' of any budget — psychology, politics, economics and strategy — and concludes the Budget is 'psychologically perfect, politically clever, economically unsound, and strategically a costly failure.' He grants that the income-tax exemption changes are politically shrewd and personally gratifying to the middle classes, but shows that the relief is merely an inadequate adjustment for inflation ('fiscal drag'), and that the apparent give-away in fact extracts substantial net additional t… ### Body # The Union Budget 1981-82 *By N. A. Palkhivala* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, N. A. Palkhivala delivers his trademark annual critique of the Union Budget, here the 1981-82 Budget presented by the Finance Minister. He judges it against 'the anaemic condition of the national economy', arguing that the government's rosy presentation rests on selective comparison (1980-81 against the disastrous 1979-80) and a switch from average-index to point-to-point inflation figures that he likens to corporate window-dressing. He warns that per-capita GNP actually fell 2.2 per cent over two years and that foreign-exchange reserves, propped up by IMF borrowing, cover barely five months of imports. Palkhivala organizes his verdict around four 'ingredients' of any budget — psychology, politics, economics and strategy — and concludes the Budget is 'psychologically perfect, politically clever, economically unsound, and strategically a costly failure.' He grants that the income-tax exemption changes are politically shrewd and personally gratifying to the middle classes, but shows that the relief is merely an inadequate adjustment for inflation ('fiscal drag'), and that the apparent give-away in fact extracts substantial net additional taxation. The rich farmer and the corporate sector, he argues, are left untouched or unrelieved even as industry, which contributes the bulk of revenue, gets nothing to spur growth. The pamphlet's analytical heart is a list of 'six basic flaws' in India's economic administration mirrored in the Budget — chief among them the failure to treat infrastructural inadequacy (coal, power, steel, transport) as a crisis, and the incompatibility of an ever-expanding government with fast economic growth ('So long as India continues to be over-governed, it will continue to be under-developed'). Palkhivala closes on a characteristically rhetorical note, lamenting wasted opportunity, calling on Mrs. Gandhi to take a 'U-turn' in fiscal policy given her parliamentary dominance, and proposing open pre-legislative debate, lower tax rates and the abolition of octroi. The booklet states it is based on his March 1981 public talks in Bombay, Madras and Bangalore and articles in the Times of India and Hindustan Times. ## Key points - Frames the 1981-82 Budget against an 'anaemic' economy; argues official optimism rests on selective base-year comparisons and a change in the inflation-measurement basis. - Central verdict: the Budget is 'psychologically perfect, politically clever, economically unsound, and strategically a costly failure.' - Income-tax 'relief' is merely an inadequate adjustment for inflation ('fiscal drag'); citizens end up worse off in real terms. - Behind the give-away appearance, the Budget imposes net additional taxation of about Rs 196 crores, aggregating to Rs 2,200 crores with pre-budget increases. - Rich farmers and the corporate sector are left untouched/unrelieved; nothing in the Budget spurs industrial growth though industry supplies 79% of central revenue. - Lists 'six basic flaws', led by ignoring infrastructural inadequacy as a crisis and the incompatibility of big government with fast growth. - Calls on Mrs. Gandhi to take a 'U-turn' in fiscal policy and advocates open pre-legislative budget debate, lower tax rates, and abolition of octroi. - Based on March 1981 public talks in Bombay, Madras (M. Ct. M. Chidambaram Chettyar Memorial Lecture) and Bangalore, plus newspaper articles. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 1982-83 and A Budget of My Dreams URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1982-83-and-a-budget-of-my-dreams-n-a-palkhivala-march-20-1982/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet pairs two pieces by N. A. Palkhivala. The first, 'The Union Budget 1982-83', is his annual critique of the Budget presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Palkhivala concedes some good points — a higher standard deduction, reliefs on insurance premia and provident-fund contributions, excise relief for increased production, and incentives to attract investment from non-resident Indians — but judges the Budget a profound disappointment that 'leaves untouched the major and urgent economic problems of India', calling it 'the budget of a grocery store, not of a great nation on the march.' He argues that corporate taxation is unchanged, personal tax rates remain punitively high (the lowest income-tax rate still 33%, against 1% in Sweden or 12% in the United States), and that the Budget is 'deliberately designed to suck away more and more funds from private hands into the hands of the Government' through devices like Capital Investment Bonds and Social Security Certificates. Palkhivala marshals data to show the public sector's chronic unproductiveness (a 0.2% pre-tax return on Rs 18,231 crores of public investment versus ~10% in a random pri… ### Body # The Union Budget 1982-83 and A Budget of My Dreams *By N. A. Palkhivala* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet pairs two pieces by N. A. Palkhivala. The first, 'The Union Budget 1982-83', is his annual critique of the Budget presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Palkhivala concedes some good points — a higher standard deduction, reliefs on insurance premia and provident-fund contributions, excise relief for increased production, and incentives to attract investment from non-resident Indians — but judges the Budget a profound disappointment that 'leaves untouched the major and urgent economic problems of India', calling it 'the budget of a grocery store, not of a great nation on the march.' He argues that corporate taxation is unchanged, personal tax rates remain punitively high (the lowest income-tax rate still 33%, against 1% in Sweden or 12% in the United States), and that the Budget is 'deliberately designed to suck away more and more funds from private hands into the hands of the Government' through devices like Capital Investment Bonds and Social Security Certificates. Palkhivala marshals data to show the public sector's chronic unproductiveness (a 0.2% pre-tax return on Rs 18,231 crores of public investment versus ~10% in a random private-sector sample) and warns of a fourth consecutive deficit budget feeding roughly 10% inflation. He laments that 'excessive taxation and insensate controls' have turned 'the Land of Opportunity' into 'the Land of Opportunism', breeding a black market and corruption. The second piece, 'A Budget of My Dreams', is a counterfactual reform budget in which Palkhivala casts himself as Finance Minister and sets out nine essential points for 'a complete break with the past.' In the rendered pages these include fixing direct and indirect tax rates for three years to give fiscal stability, embedding rates in the Income Tax Act rather than the annual Finance Act, slashing the Income Tax Act to a quarter of its size, insisting that 'the Government has no right to live beyond its means', pruning the bloated bureaucracy through a five-year recruitment freeze, and securing fast growth through 'massive tax cuts' on the premise that 'incentives are the prizes in the game of life'. The booklet runs to 29 pages; the rendered pages cover the full first piece and the opening points of the dream budget. ## Key points - Two-part single-author FFE booklet: a critique of Pranab Mukherjee's 1982-83 Budget, followed by Palkhivala's own 'Budget of My Dreams'. - Verdict on the actual Budget: 'the budget of a grocery store, not of a great nation on the march'; it leaves major economic problems untouched. - Personal tax rates stay punitive (lowest rate 33% vs 1% in Sweden, 12% in the US); corporate taxation unchanged. - Budget is 'deliberately designed to suck away more and more funds from private hands into the hands of the Government' via Capital Investment Bonds and Social Security Certificates. - Public-sector investment earned a 0.2% pre-tax return on Rs 18,231 crores (1980-81) vs ~10% in a random private-sector sample. - Fourth consecutive deficit budget; new levies expected to fuel ~10% inflation again. - Dream budget's nine points (rendered): three-year fixed tax rates; rates in the Income Tax Act not the Finance Act; Income Tax Act cut to a quarter; government must live within its means; five-year recruitment freeze to shrink bureaucracy; massive tax cuts to drive growth. - Diagnosis: excessive taxation plus 'insensate controls' turned 'the Land of Opportunity' into 'the Land of Opportunism', breeding black markets and corruption. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 1983-84 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1983-84-n-a-palkhivala-march-20-1983/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, N. A. Palkhivala — here the Forum's President — delivers his annual critique of the Union Budget, the 1983-84 Budget presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Opening with Orwell's line that 'restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men', Palkhivala restates the fiscal arithmetic: the true 1982-83 deficit was Rs 3,678 crores (not the Rs 1,935 crores shown), and the 1983-84 revenue-account deficit of Rs 1,794 crores is the highest ever, leaving 'the nation now reduced to living partly on its capital borrowings.' He acknowledges welcome features — accelerated depreciation and investment allowances for energy-saving and anti-pollution equipment, relief to non-residents — but concludes these are outweighed by onerous measures that raise the net corporation-tax burden by Rs 104 crores. Palkhivala's central charge is that this is 'a rudderless Budget' that 'contains pronouncements but no philosophy' and 'deals with themes but not with policies' — its effect 'as ephemeral as the scent on a pocket handkerchief.' He faults its 'pettiness and nit-picking' (deleting trivial reliefs such as the deductions for livestock breed… ### Body # The Union Budget 1983-84 *By N. A. Palkhivala* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, N. A. Palkhivala — here the Forum's President — delivers his annual critique of the Union Budget, the 1983-84 Budget presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Opening with Orwell's line that 'restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men', Palkhivala restates the fiscal arithmetic: the true 1982-83 deficit was Rs 3,678 crores (not the Rs 1,935 crores shown), and the 1983-84 revenue-account deficit of Rs 1,794 crores is the highest ever, leaving 'the nation now reduced to living partly on its capital borrowings.' He acknowledges welcome features — accelerated depreciation and investment allowances for energy-saving and anti-pollution equipment, relief to non-residents — but concludes these are outweighed by onerous measures that raise the net corporation-tax burden by Rs 104 crores. Palkhivala's central charge is that this is 'a rudderless Budget' that 'contains pronouncements but no philosophy' and 'deals with themes but not with policies' — its effect 'as ephemeral as the scent on a pocket handkerchief.' He faults its 'pettiness and nit-picking' (deleting trivial reliefs such as the deductions for livestock breeding and mushroom-growing in a Budget handling over Rs 33,000 crores), and works through specific amendments on charities, non-residents, and a new 20% wealth-tax on closely held companies that he argues violates sound principle. He closes on the Budget's broader consequences: it is 'calculated to underwrite stagnation', will not engineer growth, and adds to the 'legal litter' degrading tax administration — noting that India, with only 4 million taxpayers, sees some 6,000 High Court tax references a year against about 30 in the United Kingdom's 29-million-taxpayer system. Echoing Cecil Rhodes's last words, 'So little done; so much to do', Palkhivala laments how 'the system swallows the individual', even one as able as Mukherjee. The booklet states it is based on his public talk in Bombay on 4 March 1983 and subsequent articles in The Indian Express. ## Key points - Palkhivala (FFE President) critiques Pranab Mukherjee's 1983-84 Budget, opening with Orwell on restating the obvious. - True 1982-83 deficit was Rs 3,678 crores, not the Rs 1,935 crores shown; 1983-84 revenue deficit of Rs 1,794 crores is the highest ever. - Welcome features (energy/pollution depreciation and investment allowances, NRI relief) are outweighed by measures raising corporation tax by Rs 104 crores net. - Core verdict: 'a rudderless Budget' that 'contains pronouncements but no philosophy ... deals with themes but not with policies'. - Condemns 'pettiness and nit-picking' — deleting trivial reliefs (livestock breeding, mushroom-growing) in a Rs 33,000-crore Budget. - Examines specific amendments: charities, non-residents, and a new 20% wealth-tax on closely held companies he calls wrong in principle. - Consequence: the Budget 'is calculated to underwrite stagnation' and worsens tax administration ('legal litter'); ~6,000 High Court tax references/year in India vs ~30 in the UK. - Closes echoing Cecil Rhodes — 'So little done; so much to do' — lamenting how 'the system swallows the individual.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Union Budget (1983-84) Proposals Will Weaken Industry URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1983-84-proposals-will-weaken-industry-h-p-ranina-april-12-1983/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, the taxation authority H. P. Ranina argues that the 1983-84 Union Budget, far from reviving a sagging economy, will weaken Indian industry. He sets the scene with a grim survey: agricultural production fallen to 125 million tonnes after the drought, industrial growth down from 8.6% in 1981-82 to 4.5% in 1982-83, recession across some twenty-five major industries, and rising prices that threaten 'disastrous' inflation as money supply expands. Government's own pre-budget imposts on railway freight, postal charges and petroleum prices, he warns, will have a 'snow-balling effect.' Ranina's central indictment is fiscal: national debt has grown so large it 'could appropriately be described as the most outstanding public figure of India today', while public-sector units return a net profit of only about 1.5% on sales — and would have been wholly in the red but for ONGC and Oil India.… ### Body # Union Budget (1983-84) Proposals Will Weaken Industry *By HP Ranina* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, the taxation authority H. P. Ranina argues that the 1983-84 Union Budget, far from reviving a sagging economy, will weaken Indian industry. He sets the scene with a grim survey: agricultural production fallen to 125 million tonnes after the drought, industrial growth down from 8.6% in 1981-82 to 4.5% in 1982-83, recession across some twenty-five major industries, and rising prices that threaten 'disastrous' inflation as money supply expands. Government's own pre-budget imposts on railway freight, postal charges and petroleum prices, he warns, will have a 'snow-balling effect.' Ranina's central indictment is fiscal: national debt has grown so large it 'could appropriately be described as the most outstanding public figure of India today', while public-sector units return a net profit of only about 1.5% on sales — and would have been wholly in the red but for ONGC and Oil India. He faults the Finance Minister's failure to cut non-plan, non-developmental expenditure, and his 'futile exercise' of trimming the lowest marginal income-tax rate only from 33% to 28.125% when, he argues, it 'should in no case exceed 10%.' Turning to the proposals affecting industry, Ranina examines the incentives — 100% depreciation for energy-saving devices, a higher 35% investment allowance for pollution-control equipment, raised excise rebates for higher production, and the new Section 80-HHC for exports — but stresses that higher production often 'cannot be achieved due to reasons beyond the control of the industrialists', chiefly inadequate electric power, labour unrest, scarce raw materials and credit restrictions. His conclusion is bleak: the Budget will eat into ploughed-back profits, retard industrial growth, push the deficit past Rs 3,000 crores, and leave 'the spectre of a stagnating economy' haunting the common man. The booklet carries the standard disclaimer that its views are not necessarily those of the Forum. ## Key points - H. P. Ranina, a taxation authority, argues the 1983-84 Budget will weaken Indian industry rather than revive the economy. - Sets a grim baseline: agricultural output down to 125 million tonnes, industrial growth fallen from 8.6% to 4.5%, recession in ~25 major industries. - Pre-budget imposts on railway freight, postal and petroleum prices will have a 'snow-balling' inflationary effect. - Public-sector units yield only ~1.5% net profit on sales and would be wholly in the red but for ONGC and Oil India. - Criticises the Finance Minister's failure to cut non-plan, non-developmental expenditure and his 'futile' trimming of the lowest income-tax rate (33% to 28.125%); says it should not exceed 10%. - Industrial incentives (100% depreciation for energy-saving devices, 35% investment allowance for pollution control, higher excise rebates, Section 80-HHC for exports) are undercut by infrastructure failures. - Higher production is blocked by inadequate electric power, labour unrest, raw-material scarcity and credit restrictions beyond industrialists' control. - Conclusion: deficit likely to cross Rs 3,000 crores; the Budget will retard growth and leave 'the spectre of a stagnating economy' haunting the common man. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 1990-91 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1990-91-by-na-palkhivala-april-20-1990/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, reproducing a public talk delivered in Bombay on 23 March 1990, the jurist N. A. Palkhivala dissects the 1990-91 Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Madhu Dandavate. Palkhivala opens with measured praise for Dandavate's integrity and intellect, calling the budget 'that of an honest humanist' and 'a good Budget in bad times,' before turning to a sustained critique of India's fiscal condition. He warns that the gravest threat to the economy is mounting national indebtedness: net Central Government liabilities of roughly Rs. 260,000 crore against a Rs. 17,000 crore annual interest burden, with debt set to rise by another Rs. 40,000 crore in the coming year. The heart of the talk is an indictment of the government as a 'compulsive borrower' living beyond its means, financing a runaway revenue-account deficit by transferring sums from the capital account, and treating crores of public money with casual indifference.… ### Body # The Union Budget 1990-91 *By Nani A. Palkhivala* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, reproducing a public talk delivered in Bombay on 23 March 1990, the jurist N. A. Palkhivala dissects the 1990-91 Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Madhu Dandavate. Palkhivala opens with measured praise for Dandavate's integrity and intellect, calling the budget 'that of an honest humanist' and 'a good Budget in bad times,' before turning to a sustained critique of India's fiscal condition. He warns that the gravest threat to the economy is mounting national indebtedness: net Central Government liabilities of roughly Rs. 260,000 crore against a Rs. 17,000 crore annual interest burden, with debt set to rise by another Rs. 40,000 crore in the coming year. The heart of the talk is an indictment of the government as a 'compulsive borrower' living beyond its means, financing a runaway revenue-account deficit by transferring sums from the capital account, and treating crores of public money with casual indifference. Palkhivala extends the argument to tax administration, contending that under-estimation of income is a worldwide phenomenon and that India would do better to frame fair, reasonable laws for honest taxpayers rather than obsessing over the tax evader. He illustrates the point with the labyrinthine drafting of a deduction for handicapped dependents as an example of self-defeating legal over-elaboration. Under the heading 'Breach of Faith,' Palkhivala frames the budget as the annual accounts of a partnership between government and people, insisting that good faith and a sense of honour are indispensable to mutual confidence. The talk closes on a note of lost opportunity, invoking Lee Kuan Yew's image of India as a 'sleeping giant' and lamenting that, true to a 'forty-year hallowed tradition,' the budget would not disturb the giant's slumber. ## Key points - Reproduces Palkhivala's public talk on the 1990-91 Union Budget, delivered in Bombay on 23 March 1990 and repeated in other cities. - Credits Finance Minister Madhu Dandavate's integrity and competence, calling the budget that of 'an honest humanist' and 'a good Budget in bad times.' - Identifies national indebtedness as the gravest danger: ~Rs. 260,000 crore in net Central liabilities and a Rs. 17,000 crore annual interest burden. - Attacks the government as a 'compulsive borrower' running an out-of-control revenue-account deficit, plugged by transfers from the capital account. - Argues tax law should be framed fairly for honest taxpayers rather than fixated on the evader, citing under-estimation of income as a worldwide phenomenon. - Uses the convoluted deduction for handicapped dependents as a case study in self-defeating legal over-drafting. - Frames the budget as a partnership's annual accounts requiring good faith ('Breach of Faith' section). - Closes with Lee Kuan Yew's 'sleeping giant' image, lamenting that the budget leaves India's potential undisturbed. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 1992-93 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1992-93-by-na-palkhivala-march-3-1992/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, reproducing a public talk given in Bombay on 3 March 1992 (and later in Calcutta and Delhi), N. A. Palkhivala welcomes the 1992-93 Union Budget as a landmark of India's economic reorientation. He calls it 'not a budget for the greedy, paid for by the needy' and identifies four main thrusts: liberalization, integration of India into the global economy, reduction of taxes, and a stable balance of payments. Liberalization, he argues, is the key — a 'Watershed Budget' that marks the end of India's 'forty-year affair with shabby State socialism,' even if it 'measures out liberalization with coffee spoons.' Palkhivala situates the budget against India's relative decline, marshalling comparative data: a GDP smaller than that of greater Los Angeles, per-capita income a fraction of South Korea's and Hong Kong's despite similar starting points, and a UN Human Development Index ranking of 123rd out of 160 nations for the second year running.… ### Body # The Union Budget 1992-93 *By Nani A. Palkhivala* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, reproducing a public talk given in Bombay on 3 March 1992 (and later in Calcutta and Delhi), N. A. Palkhivala welcomes the 1992-93 Union Budget as a landmark of India's economic reorientation. He calls it 'not a budget for the greedy, paid for by the needy' and identifies four main thrusts: liberalization, integration of India into the global economy, reduction of taxes, and a stable balance of payments. Liberalization, he argues, is the key — a 'Watershed Budget' that marks the end of India's 'forty-year affair with shabby State socialism,' even if it 'measures out liberalization with coffee spoons.' Palkhivala situates the budget against India's relative decline, marshalling comparative data: a GDP smaller than that of greater Los Angeles, per-capita income a fraction of South Korea's and Hong Kong's despite similar starting points, and a UN Human Development Index ranking of 123rd out of 160 nations for the second year running. He attributes this not to colonialism or external forces but to 'self-complacency and obstinate refusal to face the truth,' and endorses Finance Minister Manmohan Singh's insistence that recovery requires a change of national values. He enumerates the budget's merits — breaking the bureaucratic command system, acknowledging the danger of runaway government liabilities (Rs. 32,000 crore, some 23 per cent of expenditure, to go on debt servicing), and restoring the balance of payments. The later pages turn critical on the tax provisions, especially the restructuring of capital-gains tax via an 'indexed cost of acquisition' rushed through without full examination, and above all the re-imposition of wealth-tax on companies in which the public are substantially interested — which Palkhivala calls 'the most objectionable feature of the Finance Bill' and 'a most reprehensible step.' He notes the stock markets' failure to register the bill's consequences for millions of shareholders. ## Key points - Reproduces Palkhivala's public talk on the 1992-93 Union Budget, delivered in Bombay on 3 March 1992 and later in Calcutta and Delhi. - Hails the budget as a 'Watershed Budget' ending India's 'forty-year affair with shabby State socialism.' - Identifies four thrusts: liberalization, global integration, tax reduction, and balance-of-payments stability. - Marshals comparative data on India's decline: GDP smaller than greater Los Angeles; HDI rank 123rd of 160. - Attributes India's plight to self-complacency rather than colonialism or external forces; endorses Manmohan Singh's call for changed values. - Credits the budget with breaking the bureaucratic command system and recognising the danger of national debt (Rs. 32,000 crore on debt servicing, ~23% of expenditure). - Criticises the rushed capital-gains restructuring ('indexed cost of acquisition'). - Condemns re-imposition of wealth-tax on widely-held companies as 'the most objectionable feature of the Finance Bill.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 1993-94 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1993-94-by-nani-a-palkhiwala-march-20-1993/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, reproducing a public talk delivered in Bombay on 3 March 1993 (and subsequently across India and in Muscat and Dubai), N. A. Palkhivala defends the 1993-94 Union Budget against hostile early reactions, which he attributes to vested interests, party politics and ideology. He calls it 'a creative and nutritive Budget' and praises Finance Minister Manmohan Singh as 'not a politician but a technocrat' who introduced measures 'a mere politician would have thought possible only through witchcraft or fraud,' echoing The Economist. He surveys the budget's goals: promoting agriculture and agro-processing, boosting exports (noting that Holland, with 15 million people, exports six times as much as India), and curbing inflation and the fiscal deficit. Palkhivala situates the budget within global currents — observing that where nationalization was the fashion of the 1940s and privatization that of the 1980s, education has become the watchword of the 1990s, and citing John Smith's repudiation of high taxes in the British Labour Party.… ### Body # The Union Budget 1993-94 *By Nani A. Palkhivala* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, reproducing a public talk delivered in Bombay on 3 March 1993 (and subsequently across India and in Muscat and Dubai), N. A. Palkhivala defends the 1993-94 Union Budget against hostile early reactions, which he attributes to vested interests, party politics and ideology. He calls it 'a creative and nutritive Budget' and praises Finance Minister Manmohan Singh as 'not a politician but a technocrat' who introduced measures 'a mere politician would have thought possible only through witchcraft or fraud,' echoing The Economist. He surveys the budget's goals: promoting agriculture and agro-processing, boosting exports (noting that Holland, with 15 million people, exports six times as much as India), and curbing inflation and the fiscal deficit. Palkhivala situates the budget within global currents — observing that where nationalization was the fashion of the 1940s and privatization that of the 1980s, education has become the watchword of the 1990s, and citing John Smith's repudiation of high taxes in the British Labour Party. He links development spending on health, education and family planning to the quality of life, invoking the Ayodhya, Bombay and Surat riots to argue for value-based education. A central thread is the moral dimension of taxation: drawing on Thomas Jefferson, he insists the fiscal system must possess not merely legality but legitimacy, and condemns governmental 'breaches of faith' — promises of tax relief and exemptions later withdrawn — as a corrosion of an 'invaluable but fragile national asset.' The talk closes on a characteristically pointed verdict: the budget is 'a harbinger of good times to come' that 'will not take India to heaven but it will check India's precipitate slide to hell.' ## Key points - Reproduces Palkhivala's public talk on the 1993-94 Union Budget, delivered in Bombay on 3 March 1993 and repeated in many cities including Muscat and Dubai. - Defends the budget against hostile reactions traced to vested interests, party politics and ideology. - Praises Manmohan Singh as a technocrat rather than a politician; calls the budget 'creative and nutritive.' - Outlines goals: agriculture and agro-processing, export promotion, and curbing inflation (17% to 7%) and the fiscal deficit (8.4% to ~5% of GDP). - Situates the budget in global trends, with education the watchword of the 1990s. - Argues development spending on health, education and family planning determines quality of life; invokes Ayodhya/Bombay/Surat riots for value-based education. - Stresses the moral legitimacy of taxation (citing Thomas Jefferson) and condemns governmental 'breaches of faith' over withdrawn tax reliefs. - Concludes the budget will 'check India's precipitate slide to hell' even if it won't 'take India to heaven.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Union Budget 1993-94: Laying the Foundation for an Economic Miracle URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1993-94-laying-the-foundation-for-an-economic-miracle-by-hp-ranina-april-13-1993/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, based on a talk given at a public meeting in Bombay on 1 March 1993, the tax expert H. P. Ranina offers an enthusiastic, technically detailed appraisal of the 1993-94 Union Budget, which he predicts 'will go down in the fiscal history of India as the one which will create the right environment for engineering an economic miracle.' He credits Finance Minister Manmohan Singh — presenting his third successive budget in twenty months — with the 'miraculous feat' of cutting indirect taxes by Rs. 4,522 crore while increasing developmental plan expenditure and lowering the budgetary deficit to Rs. 4,314 crore, 'the lowest ever in the fiscal history of India.' Ranina works through the budget's mechanisms with a practitioner's eye: the cut in excise and customs duties (a revenue sacrifice of nearly Rs.… ### Body # Union Budget 1993-94: Laying the Foundation for an Economic Miracle *By HP Ranina* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, based on a talk given at a public meeting in Bombay on 1 March 1993, the tax expert H. P. Ranina offers an enthusiastic, technically detailed appraisal of the 1993-94 Union Budget, which he predicts 'will go down in the fiscal history of India as the one which will create the right environment for engineering an economic miracle.' He credits Finance Minister Manmohan Singh — presenting his third successive budget in twenty months — with the 'miraculous feat' of cutting indirect taxes by Rs. 4,522 crore while increasing developmental plan expenditure and lowering the budgetary deficit to Rs. 4,314 crore, 'the lowest ever in the fiscal history of India.' Ranina works through the budget's mechanisms with a practitioner's eye: the cut in excise and customs duties (a revenue sacrifice of nearly Rs. 4,500 crore) intended to compensate industry for higher costs and revive the recession-hit industrial sector; the demand-oriented boost to the consumer-goods industry via higher rural purchasing power and farm procurement prices; the benefits of a more competitive exchange rate and the move toward full rupee convertibility for exports; and the tax holidays under Section 80-IA for new industrial undertakings, especially power generation, in backward areas. He welcomes the Finance Minister's candid admission that many procedures 'remain archaic and cumbersome' and the promise to modernise corporate and commercial laws. Looking ahead, Ranina foresees full capital-account convertibility by 1998 (perhaps 1996 if Singh remains in office), a 9 per cent annual growth rate from 1995, and per-capita income rising from US$350 to over US$1,000 by the century's end — lifting many out of 'grinding poverty.' He concludes that posterity will regard Manmohan Singh's twenty-month tenure as 'the turning point in India's economic history.' A printed disclaimer notes the views are not necessarily those of the Forum. ## Key points - Based on H. P. Ranina's talk at a public meeting in Bombay on 1 March 1993; the author is described as a noted tax expert. - Predicts the 1993-94 Budget will create the conditions for an Indian 'economic miracle.' - Credits Manmohan Singh's third budget in 20 months with cutting indirect taxes by Rs. 4,522 crore and the lowest-ever budgetary deficit (Rs. 4,314 crore). - Explains the excise/customs cut (~Rs. 4,500 crore revenue loss) as a means to revive the recession-hit industrial sector. - Argues higher rural purchasing power and procurement prices will drive a demand-led consumer-goods boom. - Highlights a competitive exchange rate, moves toward rupee convertibility, and export incentives. - Details Section 80-IA tax holidays for new undertakings, especially power generation, in backward areas. - Forecasts full capital-account convertibility by 1998, 9% growth from 1995, and per-capita income above US$1,000 by 2000; deems Singh's tenure 'the turning point in India's economic history.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 1995-96 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1995-96-by-passing-parliamentary-select-comittee-n-a-palkhivala-march-21-1995/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, drawn from a Plus Channel / Doordarshan presentation of 18 March 1995 and follow-up newspaper articles, Nani A. Palkhivala reviews the Union Budget of 1995-96 — the fifth framed by Dr. Manmohan Singh, whom he characterises as having shifted from 'the technocrat' to 'the politician.' He judges the budget's chief merit to be continuity: it sustains the trajectory of lower taxes, liberalization, and globalization set by the first four reform budgets, with no retreat from those ideals. His central criticism is that the Finance Minister has taken no fresh step forward in any new direction, and he rejects the reading that recent state-election results were a popular rejection of reform, attributing them instead to public disgust with corruption and the inefficiency of those in power. Palkhivala renews specific tax grievances: the personal-tax exemption threshold (raised only from Rs. 35,000 to Rs.… ### Body # The Union Budget 1995-96 *By Nani A. Palkhivala* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, drawn from a Plus Channel / Doordarshan presentation of 18 March 1995 and follow-up newspaper articles, Nani A. Palkhivala reviews the Union Budget of 1995-96 — the fifth framed by Dr. Manmohan Singh, whom he characterises as having shifted from 'the technocrat' to 'the politician.' He judges the budget's chief merit to be continuity: it sustains the trajectory of lower taxes, liberalization, and globalization set by the first four reform budgets, with no retreat from those ideals. His central criticism is that the Finance Minister has taken no fresh step forward in any new direction, and he rejects the reading that recent state-election results were a popular rejection of reform, attributing them instead to public disgust with corruption and the inefficiency of those in power. Palkhivala renews specific tax grievances: the personal-tax exemption threshold (raised only from Rs. 35,000 to Rs. 40,000) remains wholly inadequate against the eroded value of the rupee; the promised deregulation of insurance, recommended by the Malhotra Committee, is not delivered; and the inflation outlook and swelling non-Plan expenditure threaten the deficit target. A long central section indicts the government's repeated retroactive breaches of faith in tax law — the withdrawal of investment allowance and development reliefs without notice by the Finance Acts of 1986 and 1990 — and revives his call for the doctrine of promissory estoppel to bind the government to its own enactments, citing Mauritius's constitutional safeguard as a model. The booklet's titular complaint is procedural: several far-reaching and controversial Finance Bill provisions — amendments to Sections 145, 194J, and the treatment of bonus shares and chartered-accountant-prescribed accounting standards — ought to have gone through a Select Committee of both Houses rather than being smuggled through as parts of a money bill, a 'growing tendency' of bureaucrats to usurp Parliament's law-making function. He closes by again advocating a two-year budget cycle to save national time and effort, noting that many U.S. states and President Clinton's administration had moved that way. ## Key points - Palkhivala distinguishes the 'technocrat' Manmohan Singh of the first four reform budgets from the 'politician' of the fifth. - The budget's main virtue is continuity of liberalization, lower taxes, and globalization, with no backsliding. - His central criticism: the Finance Minister takes no new forward step in any reform direction. - He rejects the claim that state-election losses signalled a popular rejection of reform, blaming corruption and misgovernance. - The personal-tax exemption rise (Rs. 35,000 to Rs. 40,000) is condemned as inadequate; promised insurance deregulation is missing. - He attacks retroactive breaches of faith in tax law (Finance Acts 1986 and 1990) and revives the doctrine of promissory estoppel against the government. - Core grievance: controversial Finance Bill provisions (Sections 145, 194J, bonus-share treatment) bypass the Parliamentary Select Committee. - He renews his proposal for a two-year budget cycle, citing U.S. states and President Clinton. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 1995-96 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1995-96-bypassing-parliamentary-select-committee-21-march-1995/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, Nani A. Palkhivala — the Forum's President — appraises Dr. Manmohan Singh's 1995-96 Union Budget, the fifth and, in his reading, weakest of Singh's budgets. He praises the broad continuity of the reform agenda — lower taxes, liberalization, globalization — and rejects the idea that the recent state-election losses were a popular rejection of reform, arguing instead that voters punished corruption and inefficiency. His central criticism is that the Finance Minister failed to advance the reforms: no concrete move to deregulate insurance despite the Malhotra Committee's recommendations, an inadequate raising of the personal income-tax exemption threshold against rupee erosion, and a fiscal deficit likely to exceed target. The sharper part of the booklet, reflected in its subtitle 'Bypassing Parliamentary Select Committee', is a lawyer's indictment of specific Finance Bill provisions that, Palkhivala argues, breach faith and good tax law: the withdrawal of investment-allowance and development-rebate reliefs without notice, the proposal to let the Central Government prescribe accounting standards by executive notification under Section 145 (t… ### Body # The Union Budget 1995-96 *By Nani A. Palkhivala* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, Nani A. Palkhivala — the Forum's President — appraises Dr. Manmohan Singh's 1995-96 Union Budget, the fifth and, in his reading, weakest of Singh's budgets. He praises the broad continuity of the reform agenda — lower taxes, liberalization, globalization — and rejects the idea that the recent state-election losses were a popular rejection of reform, arguing instead that voters punished corruption and inefficiency. His central criticism is that the Finance Minister failed to advance the reforms: no concrete move to deregulate insurance despite the Malhotra Committee's recommendations, an inadequate raising of the personal income-tax exemption threshold against rupee erosion, and a fiscal deficit likely to exceed target. The sharper part of the booklet, reflected in its subtitle 'Bypassing Parliamentary Select Committee', is a lawyer's indictment of specific Finance Bill provisions that, Palkhivala argues, breach faith and good tax law: the withdrawal of investment-allowance and development-rebate reliefs without notice, the proposal to let the Central Government prescribe accounting standards by executive notification under Section 145 (transferring power from the Institute of Chartered Accountants to Finance Ministry bureaucrats), a fourth attempt to insert Section 194J for tax deduction at source on professional fees, and a retroactive change to the capital-gains treatment of bonus shares that overturns settled Supreme Court law. He closes by commending the idea of a two-year budget cycle — noting 21 U.S. states and President Clinton's intent to adopt it — as a way to save the nation's time and energy, while warning that 'the perennial error of our times is to mistake amendment for improvement and change for progress.' ## Key points - Palkhivala (President, FFE) reviews Manmohan Singh's fifth budget, calling it a continuation but no advance of reform. - Argues state-election losses reflected disgust with corruption, not rejection of liberalization. - Faults the failure to deregulate insurance despite the Malhotra Committee's recommendations. - Calls the rise of the personal income-tax exemption to Rs. 40,000 'wholly inadequate' given rupee erosion. - Attacks Section 145 empowering the Central Government to notify accounting standards as a far-reaching transfer of power to bureaucrats. - Criticises the fourth attempt to insert Section 194J (TDS on professional fees) and predicts it will drive cash payments. - Condemns the retroactive change to capital-gains treatment of bonus shares as overturning settled Supreme Court law. - Endorses a two-year budget cycle, citing 21 U.S. states and President Clinton. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 1994-95 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1994-95-n-a-palkivala-march-20-1994/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, reprinting a public talk first delivered in Bombay on 3 March 1994 (and repeated in several cities), Nani A. Palkhivala assesses the Union Budget of 1994-95 as broadly stimulating and reform-minded while warning that its detailed proposals matter less than the larger shift it marks in how Indians think about their economy. He praises the budget for continuing the dismantling of controls, making the rupee freely convertible on current account, cutting the surcharge on personal taxation, and lowering bank lending rates, while faulting it for an inadequate rise in the personal-tax exemption limit, an ill-thought-out extension of excise, and the constitutionally permissible but unwise introduction of a service tax on brokerage, general insurance, and telephones. The heart of the talk is fiscal alarm: Palkhivala documents large variances between original and revised budget estimates, a fiscal deficit running at 7.3 per cent of GDP, and government indebtedness of about 60 per cent of GDP, arguing that India is sliding into a debt trap in which a rising share of revenue goes merely to pay interest.… ### Body # The Union Budget 1994-95 *By Nani A. Palkhivala* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, reprinting a public talk first delivered in Bombay on 3 March 1994 (and repeated in several cities), Nani A. Palkhivala assesses the Union Budget of 1994-95 as broadly stimulating and reform-minded while warning that its detailed proposals matter less than the larger shift it marks in how Indians think about their economy. He praises the budget for continuing the dismantling of controls, making the rupee freely convertible on current account, cutting the surcharge on personal taxation, and lowering bank lending rates, while faulting it for an inadequate rise in the personal-tax exemption limit, an ill-thought-out extension of excise, and the constitutionally permissible but unwise introduction of a service tax on brokerage, general insurance, and telephones. The heart of the talk is fiscal alarm: Palkhivala documents large variances between original and revised budget estimates, a fiscal deficit running at 7.3 per cent of GDP, and government indebtedness of about 60 per cent of GDP, arguing that India is sliding into a debt trap in which a rising share of revenue goes merely to pay interest. He invokes the principle that one generation has no right to saddle the next with debts and morally bind them to pay, and calls for genuine fiscal discipline across non-Plan expenditure. The later pages turn to the entry of Foreign Institutional Investors, which Palkhivala welcomes as in India's long-term interest while urging a sensible cap so that Indian industries do not pass wholly into foreign hands, and to recurring grievances of NRIs and foreigners about the instability and retroactive changes of Indian tax law, for which he revives his proposal for promissory estoppel against the government. He closes with characteristic reform proposals — two-year budgets, abandoning the colonial 5 p.m. budget hour, and a foundational economics course for Finance Ministry officials — and an appeal for "ethical socialism" to replace "ideological socialism," citing Britain's Labour Party turn under John Smith as a parallel. ## Key points - Palkhivala reads the 1994-95 Budget as historically important less for its specific proposals than for marking a turning point away from a controlled economy. - He welcomes current-account convertibility of the rupee, abolition of the surcharge on personal tax, and lower bank lending rates. - He criticises the personal-tax exemption threshold (raised only from Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 35,000) as wholly inadequate given erosion of the rupee's value. - The new service tax on brokerage, general insurance, and telephones is judged constitutional but unwise; the telephone tax especially is condemned. - He sounds an alarm over fiscal indiscipline: a 7.3 per cent fiscal-deficit-to-GDP ratio, indebtedness near 60 per cent of GDP, and India sliding into a debt trap. - He supports admitting Foreign Institutional Investors as in India's long-term interest, but argues for a cap so Indian industries remain Indian-owned. - He revives the doctrine of promissory estoppel against the government to address NRI and foreign mistrust of retroactive, unstable Indian tax law. - He proposes two-year budgets, scrapping the 5 p.m. budget-hour ritual, and a foundational economics course for Finance Ministry officials, urging 'ethical socialism' over 'ideological socialism.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 1998-99 is a Brave Response to Challenging Circumstances URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1998-99-is-a-brave-response-to-challenging-circumstances-h-p-ranina/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, based on a public talk delivered in Mumbai on 3 June 1998, the tax expert H. P. Ranina assesses the maiden Union Budget of the BJP-led government for 1998-99 as a 'brave response to challenging circumstances.' He opens by sketching the macro-economic backdrop as of April 1998: gross domestic savings at an all-time high of 26.1% of GDP and buoyant invisible receipts on the positive side, set against adverse trends — a fiscal deficit that overshot its target to reach 6.1% of GDP, a sharp deceleration of GDP growth to 5% in 1997-98, sluggish exports, a dormant capital market, and weak agricultural and consumer-goods output. Turning to policy, Ranina reads the budget as sensitive to vulnerable groups (higher exemption limits, raised standard deduction, medical-allowance relief, and compensation for workers in closing public-sector units) and as adopting many recommendations of the Expert Group on a new Income-tax Law.… ### Body # The Union Budget 1998-99 is a Brave Response to Challenging Circumstances *By HP Ranina* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, based on a public talk delivered in Mumbai on 3 June 1998, the tax expert H. P. Ranina assesses the maiden Union Budget of the BJP-led government for 1998-99 as a 'brave response to challenging circumstances.' He opens by sketching the macro-economic backdrop as of April 1998: gross domestic savings at an all-time high of 26.1% of GDP and buoyant invisible receipts on the positive side, set against adverse trends — a fiscal deficit that overshot its target to reach 6.1% of GDP, a sharp deceleration of GDP growth to 5% in 1997-98, sluggish exports, a dormant capital market, and weak agricultural and consumer-goods output. Turning to policy, Ranina reads the budget as sensitive to vulnerable groups (higher exemption limits, raised standard deduction, medical-allowance relief, and compensation for workers in closing public-sector units) and as adopting many recommendations of the Expert Group on a new Income-tax Law. He welcomes the firm fiscal stance, the boost to housing, infrastructure and software, the long-overdue abolition of the Gift-tax Act, financial-sector reform that should insulate Indian banks from the South-East Asian crisis, and the planned replacement of FERA by a Foreign Exchange Management Act. He is more critical of the higher customs duties, the MODVAT set-off restriction, the apologetic rather than bold opening of insurance to private and foreign capital, and the absence of measures to revive the capital market. The bulk of the booklet is a detailed walk-through of corporate-sector provisions in the Finance (No. 2) Bill, 1998: tax-neutral treatment of business reorganisations (firm-to-company succession), depreciation extended to intangible assets, expanded Section 80-IA tax holidays for infrastructure, oil refining and power, deductions for new workmen, the new Section 145-A on inventory valuation and MODVAT, raised standard deduction and medical limits, and a voluntary tax-arrears settlement scheme covering both direct and indirect taxes including Gift-tax dues. He concludes that the budget continues existing benefits while adding incentives for Indian and foreign investors, and that Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha will deserve the nation's gratitude if industrial growth returns to 8%, inflation stays within 6%, and the fiscal deficit is held to 5.5% of GDP. The booklet is bracketed by free-enterprise epigraphs from A. D. Shroff and Eugene Black, and carries the standard disclaimer that the views are the author's, not the Forum's. ## Key points - Ranina evaluates the first budget of the BJP-led government (1998-99) against the April 1998 macro-economic situation. - Positives: record gross domestic savings (26.1% of GDP) and strong invisible/software-export receipts; net invisibles financed 74% of the trade deficit in 1996-97. - Adverse trends: fiscal deficit overshot to 6.1% of GDP, GDP growth fell to 5%, exports and the capital market remained sluggish. - He praises pro-poor measures, the boost to housing/infrastructure/software, abolition of the Gift-tax Act, and FERA's replacement by a Foreign Exchange Management Act. - He criticises higher customs duties, the MODVAT set-off restriction, and the timid opening of insurance to private and foreign capital. - A long technical section details corporate-sector reforms: tax-neutral business reorganisations, depreciation on intangibles, expanded Section 80-IA holidays, and new Section 145-A on inventory valuation. - A voluntary settlement scheme offers waiver of part of tax arrears and immunity from prosecution across direct and indirect taxes. - He concludes Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha will deserve gratitude if growth reaches 8%, inflation stays under 6%, and the fiscal deficit is held to 5.5% of GDP. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 1999-2000 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-1999-2000-positive-measures-and-innovative-policies-h-p-ranina/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, based on a public talk delivered in Mumbai on 28 February 1999, the tax expert H. P. Ranina reviews Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha's second Union Budget, for 1999-2000, as 'a model of realism and restraint' that makes serious attempts to restore macro-economic balance to a fiscally disoriented economy. He highlights the budget's primary balancing act in indirect taxation — rationalising the customs and excise duty structure into rates of 8%, 16% and 24% and removing the zero customs duty — and several innovative measures: a hundred new rural industrial clusters a year, additional credit to food-processing and agro-based industry, and a determined drive to raise at least Rs. 10,000 crore through strategic disinvestment of public-sector units to both fill the exchequer and revive the capital market. Ranina judges the budget's greatest thrust to be keeping the fiscal deficit in check while channelling resources to agriculture, irrigation, rural development and small-scale entrepreneurs, and calls deficit containment the ultimate 'acid test' of its success.… ### Body # The Union Budget 1999-2000 *By HP Ranina* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, based on a public talk delivered in Mumbai on 28 February 1999, the tax expert H. P. Ranina reviews Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha's second Union Budget, for 1999-2000, as 'a model of realism and restraint' that makes serious attempts to restore macro-economic balance to a fiscally disoriented economy. He highlights the budget's primary balancing act in indirect taxation — rationalising the customs and excise duty structure into rates of 8%, 16% and 24% and removing the zero customs duty — and several innovative measures: a hundred new rural industrial clusters a year, additional credit to food-processing and agro-based industry, and a determined drive to raise at least Rs. 10,000 crore through strategic disinvestment of public-sector units to both fill the exchequer and revive the capital market. Ranina judges the budget's greatest thrust to be keeping the fiscal deficit in check while channelling resources to agriculture, irrigation, rural development and small-scale entrepreneurs, and calls deficit containment the ultimate 'acid test' of its success. He offers pointed criticisms: the Finance Minister could have revived the investment-allowance provision to reward high-growth and infrastructure companies; the proposal to tax perquisites when an employee exercises sweat-equity stock options unfairly burdens employees before they have funds; and the various statutes governing mergers and acquisitions should have been harmonised. He welcomes the proposed interest-bearing gold bonds as a way for small businessmen to unlock unproductive assets, and notes the eventual introduction of value-added tax as 'the real answer' to growth with commensurate revenue. The second half of the booklet works systematically through the Finance Bill, 1999 — first the provisions affecting individuals (taxation of sweat-equity perquisites and Global Depository Receipts, raising the self-occupied-property interest deduction from Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 75,000, presumptive-income relief under Sections 44-AD and 44-AE, reduced interest rates on defaults, and revised return and intimation procedures) and then a long 'Measures to Tone Up Industry' section on corporate restructuring. Here Ranina explains the new statutory definition of demerger under Section 2(19-AA), the capital-gains and tax-holiday consequences of demergers, amalgamations and slump sales under Sections 47, 72-A, 80-IA and 80-IB, presenting these as a challenge to Indian industrialists to reorganise and build globally competitive corporations. He concludes that Sinha's proposals mix economic realism with political sensitivity and that the Finance Minister 'will create history' only if he secures a consistent 8% growth rate, which Ranina deems the minimum needed over twenty years to dramatically reduce mass poverty. The booklet is bracketed by free-enterprise epigraphs from A. D. Shroff and Eugene Black and carries the standard disclaimer that the views are the author's own. ## Key points - Ranina calls Yashwant Sinha's second budget (1999-2000) 'a model of realism and restraint.' - The primary balancing act is in indirect tax: customs/excise rationalised to 8%, 16% and 24% rates, with VAT flagged as the eventual real answer. - Innovative measures: 100 new rural industrial clusters a year, agro-industry credit, and at least Rs. 10,000 crore targeted from strategic PSU disinvestment. - The dominant thrust is fiscal-deficit containment alongside higher resources for agriculture, irrigation, rural development and small-scale entrepreneurs. - Criticisms: no revival of the investment allowance, unfair timing of tax on sweat-equity stock-option perquisites, and un-harmonised M&A statutes. - Individual provisions: raised self-occupied-property interest deduction (Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 75,000), GDR taxation, presumptive-income relief, and lower default-interest rates. - A detailed corporate-restructuring section defines demerger (Section 2(19-AA)) and sets out capital-gains and tax-holiday treatment of demergers, amalgamations and slump sales. - He concludes Sinha 'will create history' only with a consistent 8% growth rate, the minimum he says is needed to cut mass poverty over twenty years. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 2000-2001 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-2000-2001-h-p-ranina/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces a talk by the tax expert H. P. Ranina analysing the Union Budget for 2000-2001, presented to a Mumbai audience on 2nd March 2000. Ranina's framing verdict is that Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha performed a 'balancing act' — keeping the economy 'firing on all cylinders' while restraining the fiscal deficit — but failed to deliver the deep, path-breaking 'second generation reforms' that had been promised and that the country needed; he calls the budget a missed opportunity that neither slows industrial recovery nor catalyses growth. The bulk of the address is a clause-by-clause technical reading of the budget's tax provisions. On individuals, Ranina notes the surcharge rise from 10% to 15% for incomes above Rs.1.5 lakhs and argues India's maximum marginal rate of 34.5% bites at far lower income thresholds than China, Germany and other countries, making India compare unfavourably. He welcomes targeted reliefs — a Rs.5,000 rebate for women, an enlarged section 88-B rebate lifting senior citizens' effective exemption to Rs.1.3 lakhs, and a higher section 80-E deduction for education loans.… ### Body # The Union Budget 2000-2001 *By HP Ranina* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces a talk by the tax expert H. P. Ranina analysing the Union Budget for 2000-2001, presented to a Mumbai audience on 2nd March 2000. Ranina's framing verdict is that Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha performed a 'balancing act' — keeping the economy 'firing on all cylinders' while restraining the fiscal deficit — but failed to deliver the deep, path-breaking 'second generation reforms' that had been promised and that the country needed; he calls the budget a missed opportunity that neither slows industrial recovery nor catalyses growth. The bulk of the address is a clause-by-clause technical reading of the budget's tax provisions. On individuals, Ranina notes the surcharge rise from 10% to 15% for incomes above Rs.1.5 lakhs and argues India's maximum marginal rate of 34.5% bites at far lower income thresholds than China, Germany and other countries, making India compare unfavourably. He welcomes targeted reliefs — a Rs.5,000 rebate for women, an enlarged section 88-B rebate lifting senior citizens' effective exemption to Rs.1.3 lakhs, and a higher section 80-E deduction for education loans. He is sharply critical of the 'One-by-Six' compulsory-return scheme (extended to 79 more cities), arguing that multiplying tax-return filers from ten to twenty million merely widens the administrative burden rather than the revenue base, and that what the country needs is more taxpayers, not more filers. On the corporate side, Ranina examines the doubling of the tax on distributed profits under section 115-O from 10% to 20% (effective 1st June 2000), the disadvantage this creates for foreign subsidiaries versus branches, proposed amendments to section 54-F on housing and capital gains, and the rationalisation of demerger, amalgamation and slump-sale provisions carried over from the Finance Act, 1999. Throughout, the booklet reads as a practitioner's appraisal: granular on statutory mechanics, and consistently measuring the budget against the free-enterprise yardstick of lower rates, simpler administration and a broader productive base. ## Key points - Ranina judges the 2000-2001 budget a 'missed opportunity' for the promised second generation reforms, even as it avoids measures that would slow industrial recovery. - Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha is credited with a balancing act between sustaining growth and checking the fiscal deficit. - The individual surcharge rises from 10% to 15% above Rs.1.5 lakhs; Ranina argues India's 34.5% top rate applies at far lower thresholds than China (45% above ~Rs.45 lakhs) or Germany (above Rs.30 lakhs). - Targeted reliefs are welcomed: a Rs.5,000 rebate for women, an enlarged section 88-B rebate raising senior-citizen exemption to Rs.1.3 lakhs, and a higher section 80-E education-loan deduction. - The 'One-by-Six' compulsory-return scheme, extended to 79 more cities, is criticised for doubling filers (10 to 20 million) without proven revenue gain — the country needs more taxpayers, not more filers. - Tax on distributed profits under section 115-O doubles from 10% to 20% effective 1st June 2000, restricting distributable dividend income. - Foreign subsidiaries are disadvantaged relative to branches; section 54-F housing/capital-gains conditions and demerger/amalgamation/slump-sale provisions are proposed for rationalisation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 2008-09 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-2008-09-h-p-ranina-march-6-2008/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet is the tax expert and advocate H. P. Ranina's clause-by-clause appraisal of the Union Budget for 2008-09, issued in March 2008 against a backdrop of a difficult international environment, moderating growth and decelerating exports. Ranina opens by crediting Finance Minister P. Chidambaram with continued fiscal austerity: the fiscal deficit reduction is on target at under 3 per cent of GDP and the revenue deficit compressed to 1 per cent, an 'impressive' record since the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act. He cautions, however, that the improvement has come mainly from rising revenues rather than from compressing unproductive expenditure, and warns of large off-budget liabilities in food, fertiliser and oil subsidies exceeding 2.5 per cent of GDP. On direct taxes, Ranina details the raised exemption limits (Rs.1,50,000 / Rs.1,80,000 / Rs.2,25,000 for men, women and senior citizens), the stretched slabs and the 30 per cent maximum marginal rate above Rs.5 lakhs, and the expansion of section 80-C savings instruments and section 80-D medical-insurance relief.… ### Body # The Union Budget 2008-09 *By HP Ranina* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet is the tax expert and advocate H. P. Ranina's clause-by-clause appraisal of the Union Budget for 2008-09, issued in March 2008 against a backdrop of a difficult international environment, moderating growth and decelerating exports. Ranina opens by crediting Finance Minister P. Chidambaram with continued fiscal austerity: the fiscal deficit reduction is on target at under 3 per cent of GDP and the revenue deficit compressed to 1 per cent, an 'impressive' record since the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act. He cautions, however, that the improvement has come mainly from rising revenues rather than from compressing unproductive expenditure, and warns of large off-budget liabilities in food, fertiliser and oil subsidies exceeding 2.5 per cent of GDP. On direct taxes, Ranina details the raised exemption limits (Rs.1,50,000 / Rs.1,80,000 / Rs.2,25,000 for men, women and senior citizens), the stretched slabs and the 30 per cent maximum marginal rate above Rs.5 lakhs, and the expansion of section 80-C savings instruments and section 80-D medical-insurance relief. He devotes close technical attention to the new reverse-mortgage scheme for senior citizens, explaining the proposed amendments to sections 47 and 10 so that neither the mortgage transfer nor the loan receipts attract capital-gains tax or income tax. Ranina's sharpest criticism falls on the Rs.60,000 crore farm-loan waiver. Drawing on the Dr. Radhakrishna Committee's findings that it is private moneylender debt at 20-25 per cent interest, not bank dues, that drives farmer distress, he argues the waiver misses the truly indebted, rewards the worst-managed segment of the banking system (co-operative banks run as 'family enterprises of political leaders'), and undermines credit discipline. The remaining pages survey capital-market effects, the booming gold market, and the budget's medium-term inflation and growth assumptions, which Ranina reads as optimistic given oil-price pass-through risks and a slowing industrial growth rate. ## Key points - Ranina credits FM P. Chidambaram with on-target fiscal consolidation (fiscal deficit under 3% of GDP, revenue deficit at 1%) under the FRBM Act. - He warns the gains came from higher revenues, not expenditure compression, and flags off-budget food/fertiliser/oil subsidy liabilities above 2.5% of GDP. - Direct-tax changes: raised exemption limits, stretched slabs, 30% top rate above Rs.5 lakhs, enlarged section 80-C and section 80-D reliefs. - Detailed treatment of the senior-citizen reverse-mortgage scheme and proposed section 47 / section 10 amendments to exempt it from capital gains and income tax. - Strong critique of the Rs.60,000 crore farm-loan waiver: citing the Dr. Radhakrishna Committee, he argues private-moneylender debt, not bank dues, causes distress. - He argues the waiver rewards poorly-run co-operative banks and undermines credit discipline, while banks are reimbursed over three years. - Closing sections cover capital-market winners, India as the world's largest gold market, and optimistic medium-term inflation/growth assumptions amid oil-price risk. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 2009-10 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-2009-10-amitha-sehgal-august-2-2009/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, edited by Sunil S. Bhandare, gathers three presentations on the Union Budget for 2009-10 — the first budget of the newly re-elected Congress-led coalition — under the heading 'Three Critical Dimensions'. Bhandare's Editor's Note frames the volume around the high expectations that the 'Left being left out' would let the government push aggressive long-pending reforms, and concedes the budget conveyed 'different perspectives for different experts'. The three contributors approach the budget from complementary angles: Amitha Sehgal offers a macro-fiscal critique measuring the budget against the Planning Commission's Vision 2020; Divya Vasantharajan reads the micro, sector-by-sector impact on the capital market; and the chartered accountant Kanu H. Doshi works through the direct-tax proposals clause by clause. Across the three, the booklet balances alarm over India's mounting fiscal deficit and debt against cautious optimism about growth, employment and market revival. ### Body # The Union Budget 2009-10 ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, edited by Sunil S. Bhandare, gathers three presentations on the Union Budget for 2009-10 — the first budget of the newly re-elected Congress-led coalition — under the heading 'Three Critical Dimensions'. Bhandare's Editor's Note frames the volume around the high expectations that the 'Left being left out' would let the government push aggressive long-pending reforms, and concedes the budget conveyed 'different perspectives for different experts'. The three contributors approach the budget from complementary angles: Amitha Sehgal offers a macro-fiscal critique measuring the budget against the Planning Commission's Vision 2020; Divya Vasantharajan reads the micro, sector-by-sector impact on the capital market; and the chartered accountant Kanu H. Doshi works through the direct-tax proposals clause by clause. Across the three, the booklet balances alarm over India's mounting fiscal deficit and debt against cautious optimism about growth, employment and market revival. ## Essays ### The Union Budget 2009-2010: Does It Dovetail With Vision 2020? *By Amitha Sehgal** Amitha Sehgal asks whether the 2009-10 budget dovetails with the Planning Commission's Vision 2020 report, opening with the claim that 'a country needs to dream' and invoking Lord Macaulay's and the report's framing of India's latent greatness. Her macro-fiscal audit is sobering: a fiscal deficit headed toward 6.8 per cent of GDP (with combined Centre-state borrowing pushing the deficit toward 13 per cent), revenue deficit rising, interest payments consuming 56 per cent of the fiscal deficit, and tax-to-GDP ratios falling. She credits the government with sustaining capital expenditure during the global meltdown but argues the budget fails on employment generation — citing declining organised-sector jobs since the reforms, the centrality of SMEs (which generate the bulk of jobs internationally), and the limits of NREGA, whose wages she warns crowd out private farm labour. Her conclusion: the budget is 'flawed on two major counts: huge debt and a lack of focus on generating meaningful employment'. - Measures the budget against the Planning Commission's Vision 2020 report and finds it short on employment and debt control. - Flags a fiscal deficit toward 6.8% of GDP, combined Centre-state deficit near 13%, and interest payments at 56% of the fiscal deficit. - Credits sustained capital expenditure during the global meltdown as a positive. - Argues organised-sector employment has declined post-reform and SMEs are the real job engine. - Criticises NREGA wages for crowding out private farm labour and neglecting livestock/agricultural investment. ### Impact on Capital Market *By Divya Vasantharajan** Divya Vasantharajan assesses the budget's micro impact on the capital market, opening with an India past-performance table and budget-estimate breakdown. She reads the equity markets as bullish on post-election political stability even though, on Budget day (3 August), markets initially fell as a 'major let down' before recovering. Sector by sector she maps winners and losers: power and IIFCL refinancing draw a neutral verdict, oil and gas gains from extended Section 80-IB holidays, roads benefit from a 23 per cent NHDP rise, white goods and housing from customs and duty cuts, while pharmaceuticals, telecom, textiles and auto components each get targeted relief. Her optimistic close holds that good-monsoon hopes, disinvestment signals and rising FII inflows position the Indian capital market for a major revival in IPOs, mutual-fund NFOs and retail participation — predicting the next year 'promises to be bullish for the capital market which may see the Sensex again at 21,000'. - Reads equity markets as bullish on political stability despite an initial Budget-day fall on 3 August. - Maps sectoral winners: oil & gas (Section 80-IB), roads (23% NHDP rise), white goods, housing, pharma, telecom, textiles, auto components. - Treats power and IIFCL infrastructure refinancing as broadly neutral. - Sees disinvestment signals, monsoon hopes and rising FII inflows driving a market revival. - Predicts a bullish year ahead with the Sensex potentially returning to 21,000. ### Direct Tax Proposals *By Kanu H. Doshi** The chartered accountant Kanu H. Doshi provides a clause-by-clause summary of the budget's direct-tax proposals under the Finance (No.2) Bill, 2009, framing them as an effort to lower the burden on individual taxpayers by raising the basic exemption, introduce a presumptive scheme for small businesses, encourage foreign investment, and simplify dispute resolution and TDS. He details the revised slabs (basic exemption raised to Rs.1,60,000, with higher thresholds for women and senior citizens), the unchanged 30 per cent company rate, the abolition of the Fringe Benefit Tax and its replacement under new section 115WM, the raised Minimum Alternate Tax rate to 15 per cent under section 115JB, the enlarged section 80-E education-loan deduction, wealth-tax threshold changes, the new statutory definition of 'manufacture' (section 2(29BA)), and LLP-conversion provisions. His conclusion registers 'a mixed feeling of some joy, some disappointment and some hope' — joy at the abolition of the 10 per cent personal surcharge and FBT, disappointment at the continued 10 per cent company surcharge and 3 per cent education cess, and hope for a Direct Tax Code and the reintroduction of the SARAL return form. - Walks through the Finance (No.2) Bill, 2009 direct-tax proposals: aimed at lowering individual burden, aiding small business and foreign investment. - Basic exemption raised to Rs.1,60,000 (higher for women and senior citizens); 30% company rate retained. - Fringe Benefit Tax abolished (new section 115WM); Minimum Alternate Tax raised to 15% under section 115JB. - New statutory definition of 'manufacture' (section 2(29BA)), enlarged section 80-E and weighted R&D deduction provisions. - Mixed verdict: joy at surcharge/FBT abolition, disappointment at continued company surcharge and education cess, hope for a Direct Tax Code and SARAL's return. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 2010-11 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-2010-prof-kanu-h-doshi-2010/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, edited by Sunil S. Bhandare and sponsored by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust, pairs two articles on the Union Budget for 2010-11. Bhandare's Introduction sets the scene against a 'fortuitous backdrop' of economic turnaround — 7.2% real GDP growth, double-digit industrial resurgence, a rising Sensex and returning capital flows — while flagging formidable risks of high food inflation, unsustainable deficits and rising indebtedness, and identifying five forces (agricultural resurgence, rural development, infrastructure thrust, social-sector spending, and tax reform via the Direct Tax Code and GST) driving the Finance Minister's bid for a virtuous cycle. The first article, by the chartered accountant Prof. Kanu H. Doshi, examines the implications of the direct-tax changes; the second, by financial analyst Divya Vasantharajan, reads the budget's sectoral impact on the capital market. Together they offer expert, cautiously optimistic appraisals from a free-enterprise standpoint. ### Body # The Union Budget 2010-11 ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, edited by Sunil S. Bhandare and sponsored by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust, pairs two articles on the Union Budget for 2010-11. Bhandare's Introduction sets the scene against a 'fortuitous backdrop' of economic turnaround — 7.2% real GDP growth, double-digit industrial resurgence, a rising Sensex and returning capital flows — while flagging formidable risks of high food inflation, unsustainable deficits and rising indebtedness, and identifying five forces (agricultural resurgence, rural development, infrastructure thrust, social-sector spending, and tax reform via the Direct Tax Code and GST) driving the Finance Minister's bid for a virtuous cycle. The first article, by the chartered accountant Prof. Kanu H. Doshi, examines the implications of the direct-tax changes; the second, by financial analyst Divya Vasantharajan, reads the budget's sectoral impact on the capital market. Together they offer expert, cautiously optimistic appraisals from a free-enterprise standpoint. ## Essays ### The Budget is for Khas Admi *By Prof. Kanu H. Doshi** Prof. Kanu H. Doshi argues that the 2010-11 budget, presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on 26 February, is 'for Khas Admi' — the taxpaying investor — rather than the 'Aam Admi', because for the first time the Union Budget was designed to address the middle class by substantially scaling up the income-tax slabs so taxpayers keep a larger after-tax income. He details the revised slabs (basic exemption unchanged at Rs.1,60,000 but the rate bands widened so income up to Rs.5 lakh is taxed at 10% and the 30% rate applies only above Rs.8 lakh), tabulating tax savings rising to about Rs.51,500 at higher incomes. He works through a series of direct-tax amendments — enlarged Section 35AD capital-expenditure deductions for new hotels, raised Section 44AB tax-audit turnover thresholds (to Rs.60 lakh for business and Rs.15 lakh for profession), the gift-taxation clause under Section 56(2)(vii), increased TDS threshold limits across sections 194B-194J, and a higher Section 271B audit-failure penalty — and reads in them a clear intent to introduce the Direct Tax Code and GST from April 2011. His conclusion holds that the budget 'will go a long way in encouraging savings and spending', with consumer spending from tax savings exerting a multiplier effect and the capital market set to stay bullish amid heavy PSU disinvestment. - Frames the budget as 'for Khas Admi' — the taxpaying investor and middle class — for the first time designed to leave taxpayers with larger after-tax income. - Basic exemption held at Rs.1,60,000 but slabs widened: 10% up to Rs.5 lakh, 30% only above Rs.8 lakh; tax savings up to ~Rs.51,500. - Details Section 35AD (new hotels), Section 44AB audit thresholds (Rs.60 lakh / Rs.15 lakh), Section 56(2)(vii) gift taxation, and raised TDS limits. - Reads clear signals toward the Direct Tax Code and GST from April 2011. - Concludes the budget encourages savings and spending with a multiplier effect and a bullish capital market amid Rs.40,000 crore PSU disinvestment. ### Impact on the capital Market *By Miss Divya Vasantharajan** Divya Vasantharajan reads the budget's impact on the capital market, opening with the global financial crisis and India's relative resilience: Foreign Institutional Investments aggregated $23 billion to 10 March 2010, lifting the Sensex from 9,000 to 17,500 by May 2010. She surveys the budget sector by sector — agriculture and agro-industries (credit-period extension but neglected core issues, with corporate/contract farming on the AMUL model offered as a path), textiles (forex losses but reviving demand), banks and financial institutions (Indian banks weathered the crisis well, new private-bank licences signalled, PSU banks as major MBA recruiters), energy/power/oil and gas (India importing ~70% of consumption, NELP and the Kirit Parikh fuel-pricing committee), infrastructure and engineering goods (Rs.1,735 billion FY2011 allocation), auto components (the 'silver lining' of 2009 with record sales), steel, IT and telecom, and pharmaceuticals. Her conclusion draws the lesson that India's once-feared youthful population has become the economy's growth driver, and that with 'some of the most brilliant minds at the helm of our polity and bureaucracy' India can pursue the 'coveted double-digit growth'. - Opens with India's relative resilience to the global crisis: FII inflows of $23 billion lifting the Sensex from 9,000 to 17,500 by May 2010. - Surveys sectoral impact: agriculture/agro (contract farming on the AMUL model), textiles, banks (new private licences, resilient PSU banks). - Covers energy/oil and gas (~70% import dependence, NELP, the Kirit Parikh fuel-pricing committee), infrastructure (Rs.1,735 billion allocation), auto, steel. - Notes IT/telecom gains indirectly and via a lower MAT/surcharge mix, and pharma's reliance on the US market. - Concludes India's youthful population is now the growth driver, positioning the country for double-digit growth. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 2011-12: Direct Tax Implications URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-2011-12-direct-taxi-mplications-kanu-h-doshi-april-3-2011/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, authored by chartered accountants Kanu H. Doshi and Bhargava Vatsaraj, is a practitioner's walkthrough of the direct-tax proposals contained in the Finance Bill 2011 as passed by the Lok Sabha on 22 March 2011. The authors frame the 2011-12 Budget as a shift from the previous year's focus on the income-tax-paying 'KHAAS ADMI' toward the 'AAM ADMI', noting the emphasis on agriculture, rural areas, infrastructure and subsidies. They then methodically set out the changes applicable from Assessment Year 2012-2013. The substance covers the revised income-tax rate slabs for individuals, Hindu Undivided Families and other non-corporate assessees, the lowering of the senior-citizen eligibility age from 65 to 60, the introduction of a new 'Very Senior Citizen' category (age 80+) with a Rs 5 lakh exemption, and the higher Rs 5 lakh exemption for resident women below sixty.… ### Body # The Union Budget 2011-12: Direct Tax Implications *By Kanu H. Doshi, Bhargava Vatsaraj* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, authored by chartered accountants Kanu H. Doshi and Bhargava Vatsaraj, is a practitioner's walkthrough of the direct-tax proposals contained in the Finance Bill 2011 as passed by the Lok Sabha on 22 March 2011. The authors frame the 2011-12 Budget as a shift from the previous year's focus on the income-tax-paying 'KHAAS ADMI' toward the 'AAM ADMI', noting the emphasis on agriculture, rural areas, infrastructure and subsidies. They then methodically set out the changes applicable from Assessment Year 2012-2013. The substance covers the revised income-tax rate slabs for individuals, Hindu Undivided Families and other non-corporate assessees, the lowering of the senior-citizen eligibility age from 65 to 60, the introduction of a new 'Very Senior Citizen' category (age 80+) with a Rs 5 lakh exemption, and the higher Rs 5 lakh exemption for resident women below sixty. For corporate and business taxpayers it details the reduced surcharge on domestic and foreign companies, the increase in the Minimum Alternate Tax rate to 18.5 per cent of book profits, the extension of MAT/AMT provisions to Limited Liability Partnerships and SEZ developers, amendments to the definition of 'charitable purpose' and 'Specified Business' under section 35AD, new deductions for infrastructure debt funds and long-term infrastructure bonds, and the concessional 15 per cent rate on foreign dividends received by Indian holding companies. The booklet closes with provisions on international taxation (liaison-office reporting under new section 285, exclusion of certain periods in reassessment limitation) and a set of TDS rate tables for Assessment Year 2012-13. A memorial note for the late chartered accountant Shailesh Kapadia and a sponsorship line for the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust appear at the end, alongside the standard FFE disclaimer that the views are not necessarily those of the Forum. ## Key points - Explains the direct-tax proposals of the Finance Bill 2011 as passed by Lok Sabha on 22 March 2011, applicable from Assessment Year 2012-2013. - Frames the 2011-12 Budget as oriented toward the 'AAM ADMI' (common man), with emphasis on agriculture, rural areas, infrastructure and subsidies. - Details revised income-tax slabs and the lowering of the senior-citizen eligibility age from 65 to 60. - Introduces a new 'Very Senior Citizen' category for those aged 80 and above, eligible for a Rs 5 lakh exemption. - Records the increase in the Minimum Alternate Tax rate to 18.5 per cent of book profits and the extension of AMT to LLPs and SEZ developers. - Covers reduced surcharges on domestic and foreign companies, and amendments to 'charitable purpose' and 'Specified Business' (s.35AD). - Adds new deductions for notified infrastructure debt funds and long-term infrastructure bonds, plus a concessional 15 per cent rate on foreign dividends. - Ends with international-tax changes (liaison-office reporting under new s.285) and TDS rate tables for AY 2012-13. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 2011-12: Direct Tax Implications URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-2011-12-economic-implications---impact-on-capital-market-kanu-h-doshi-march-3-2011/ ### Summary Despite a filename suggesting a piece on the economic implications and capital-market impact of the 2011-12 Budget, the rendered pages of this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet are identical to 'The Union Budget 2011-12: Direct Tax Implications' by chartered accountants Kanu H. Doshi and Bhargava Vatsaraj. It is a practitioner's walkthrough of the direct-tax proposals contained in the Finance Bill 2011 as passed by the Lok Sabha on 22 March 2011. The authors frame the Budget as a shift from the previous year's focus on the income-tax-paying 'KHAAS ADMI' toward the 'AAM ADMI', with emphasis on agriculture, rural areas, infrastructure and subsidies, and set out the changes applicable from Assessment Year 2012-2013. The substance covers revised income-tax rate slabs for individuals, HUFs and other non-corporate assessees, the lowering of the senior-citizen eligibility age from 65 to 60, the new 'Very Senior Citizen' category (age 80+) with a Rs 5 lakh exemption, and the higher exemption for resident women below sixty.… ### Body # The Union Budget 2011-12: Direct Tax Implications *By Kanu H. Doshi, Bhargava Vatsaraj* ## Summary Despite a filename suggesting a piece on the economic implications and capital-market impact of the 2011-12 Budget, the rendered pages of this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet are identical to 'The Union Budget 2011-12: Direct Tax Implications' by chartered accountants Kanu H. Doshi and Bhargava Vatsaraj. It is a practitioner's walkthrough of the direct-tax proposals contained in the Finance Bill 2011 as passed by the Lok Sabha on 22 March 2011. The authors frame the Budget as a shift from the previous year's focus on the income-tax-paying 'KHAAS ADMI' toward the 'AAM ADMI', with emphasis on agriculture, rural areas, infrastructure and subsidies, and set out the changes applicable from Assessment Year 2012-2013. The substance covers revised income-tax rate slabs for individuals, HUFs and other non-corporate assessees, the lowering of the senior-citizen eligibility age from 65 to 60, the new 'Very Senior Citizen' category (age 80+) with a Rs 5 lakh exemption, and the higher exemption for resident women below sixty. For corporate and business taxpayers it details reduced surcharges on domestic and foreign companies, the increase in the Minimum Alternate Tax rate to 18.5 per cent of book profits, the extension of MAT/AMT to LLPs and SEZ developers, amendments to 'charitable purpose' and 'Specified Business' (section 35AD), and new deductions for infrastructure debt funds and long-term infrastructure bonds. The closing pages address international taxation — transfer-pricing amendments to section 92C, expanded powers for the Transfer Pricing Officer, anti-avoidance measures for notified jurisdictional areas under new section 94A, and liaison-office reporting — followed by TDS rate tables for Assessment Year 2012-13. A memorial note for chartered accountant Shailesh Kapadia and the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust sponsorship line appear at the end, with the standard FFE disclaimer. ## Key points - NOTE: the PDF filename references 'economic implications & impact on capital market', but the scanned content is the 'Direct Tax Implications' booklet by Doshi and Vatsaraj — a probable duplicate/mislabel. - Explains the direct-tax proposals of the Finance Bill 2011 as passed by Lok Sabha on 22 March 2011, applicable from Assessment Year 2012-2013. - Frames the 2011-12 Budget as oriented toward the 'AAM ADMI', with emphasis on agriculture, rural areas, infrastructure and subsidies. - Details revised income-tax slabs, the lowering of the senior-citizen age from 65 to 60, and a new 'Very Senior Citizen' (80+) category with a Rs 5 lakh exemption. - Records the increase in the Minimum Alternate Tax rate to 18.5 per cent of book profits and the extension of AMT to LLPs and SEZ developers. - Covers transfer-pricing amendments (s.92C), expanded Transfer Pricing Officer powers, and anti-avoidance measures under new s.94A for notified jurisdictional areas. - Ends with liaison-office reporting requirements and TDS rate tables for AY 2012-13. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 2012-13: Economic & Direct Tax Implications URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-2012-13--minoo-r-shroff-april-2-2012/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet analyses the 2012-13 Union Budget in two parts. Part I, 'Economic Implications' by Minoo R. Shroff, reads the Budget as a missed opportunity: it argues that, against high expectations and a difficult external and domestic environment, the Finance Minister 'could have been bolder' and that the Budget failed to create an enabling environment for renewal of growth. Shroff marshals a stern report card for 2011-12 — growth of 6.9 per cent against a projected 8.5, inflation of 8.5 per cent, a fiscal deficit of 5.9 per cent and a current-account deficit of 3.6 per cent — and attributes India's underperformance to a crisis of leadership and governance rather than to any lack of entrepreneurial energy. In the rendered pages, Shroff's argument ranges over the collapse in the savings rate from its 2004-2007 peak, weak agricultural and industrial growth, understated subsidies (officially 2 per cent of GDP but, in his estimate, closer to Rs 3,00,000 crore), the deferral of GST, crony capitalism in real estate and natural resources, and a judicial system he calls 'moribund'.… ### Body # The Union Budget 2012-13: Economic & Direct Tax Implications *By Minoo R. Shroff, Kanu H. Doshi* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet analyses the 2012-13 Union Budget in two parts. Part I, 'Economic Implications' by Minoo R. Shroff, reads the Budget as a missed opportunity: it argues that, against high expectations and a difficult external and domestic environment, the Finance Minister 'could have been bolder' and that the Budget failed to create an enabling environment for renewal of growth. Shroff marshals a stern report card for 2011-12 — growth of 6.9 per cent against a projected 8.5, inflation of 8.5 per cent, a fiscal deficit of 5.9 per cent and a current-account deficit of 3.6 per cent — and attributes India's underperformance to a crisis of leadership and governance rather than to any lack of entrepreneurial energy. In the rendered pages, Shroff's argument ranges over the collapse in the savings rate from its 2004-2007 peak, weak agricultural and industrial growth, understated subsidies (officially 2 per cent of GDP but, in his estimate, closer to Rs 3,00,000 crore), the deferral of GST, crony capitalism in real estate and natural resources, and a judicial system he calls 'moribund'. His verdict is that economic reform alone is insufficient: 'Economic reforms so far have indeed created a mini-miracle. Non-Governance needs a miracle.' Part II, 'Direct Tax Implications' (attributable to Kanu H. Doshi), turns to the Finance Bill's tax provisions: revised income-tax rate tables for AY 2013-14 across individuals, firms, co-operative societies and domestic and foreign companies; the non-extension of the section 80CCF infrastructure-bond deduction; the rationalised definition of demerger under section 2(19AA); and — most consequentially — the retrospectively-amended section 9(1)(i) making offshore share transfers taxable, a direct legislative response to the Supreme Court's Vodafone ruling. The rendered pages run through the transfer-pricing provisions (arm's-length price under section 92C, the tolerance band reduced to 3 per cent, and the Transfer Pricing Officer's expanded role). The booklet's remaining pages and colophon were not in the rendered set. ## Key points - Two-part FFE booklet on the 2012-13 Union Budget: Part I 'Economic Implications' by Minoo R. Shroff, Part II 'Direct Tax Implications' by Kanu H. Doshi. - Shroff judges the Budget a missed opportunity that failed to create an enabling environment for growth despite high expectations. - Cites a 2011-12 report card of below-par performance: 6.9% growth vs 8.5% projected, 8.5% inflation, 5.9% fiscal deficit, 3.6% current-account deficit. - Diagnoses India's problem as a crisis of leadership and governance rather than a deficit of entrepreneurial energy. - Argues official subsidies (2% of GDP) are grossly understated, with implicit state subsidies pushing the true figure toward Rs 3,00,000 crore. - Part II details revised income-tax rate tables for AY 2013-14, non-extension of the s.80CCF infrastructure-bond deduction, and a rationalised demerger definition. - Covers the retrospective amendment of s.9(1)(i) to tax offshore share transfers — a legislative response to the Supreme Court's Vodafone ruling. - Rendered pages run through transfer-pricing provisions (arm's-length price, tolerance band cut to 3%); the colophon and tail pages were not rendered. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 2013-14: Economic & Direct Tax Implications URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-2013-minoo-r-shroff-april-2-2013/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet analyses the 2013-14 Union Budget across three authored parts. Part I, 'Some Impressions' by Minoo R. Shroff (President of the Forum), treats the Budget as a politico-economic document rather than a purely economic one, framed against an economy that has 'slowed down considerably' and a developed-world slump that compounds India's troubles. With foreign trade now near 55 per cent of GDP, Shroff stresses how exposed India is to global trends, and he catalogues the key challenges: declining growth, stubborn inflation, a large fiscal deficit, twin trade and current-account deficits, poor governance, and investment fatigue. He credits the Finance Minister with a 'well balanced budget combining populism with pragmatism' while warning that expenditure targets in 2012-13 were too ambitious and that fiscal consolidation depends on widening the tax net and slashing wasteful expenditure. He singles out the eventual introduction of GST as a potential 'real game-changer for the economy'. Part II, by S. S.… ### Body # The Union Budget 2013-14: Economic & Direct Tax Implications *By Minoo R. Shroff, S. S. Bhandare, Prof. Kanu H. Doshi* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet analyses the 2013-14 Union Budget across three authored parts. Part I, 'Some Impressions' by Minoo R. Shroff (President of the Forum), treats the Budget as a politico-economic document rather than a purely economic one, framed against an economy that has 'slowed down considerably' and a developed-world slump that compounds India's troubles. With foreign trade now near 55 per cent of GDP, Shroff stresses how exposed India is to global trends, and he catalogues the key challenges: declining growth, stubborn inflation, a large fiscal deficit, twin trade and current-account deficits, poor governance, and investment fatigue. He credits the Finance Minister with a 'well balanced budget combining populism with pragmatism' while warning that expenditure targets in 2012-13 were too ambitious and that fiscal consolidation depends on widening the tax net and slashing wasteful expenditure. He singles out the eventual introduction of GST as a potential 'real game-changer for the economy'. Part II, by S. S. Bhandare, drills into the budgetary arithmetic — the credibility and stability of fiscal performance, the sharp step-up in plan expenditure, and the FM's commitment to compress the fiscal-deficit/GDP ratio toward 5.1 per cent. Bhandare reads the 17.6 per cent cutback in development-oriented spending in a single year as 'unprecedented in the Indian fiscal history', and questions whether fiscal-deficit targets bought through such cuts come 'at the cost of sacrificing capital formation and future growth potential of the economy'. Part III, 'Domestic Taxation' by Prof. Kanu H. Doshi (Chartered Accountant and Dean-Finance at Welingkar), covers the Finance Bill 2013's direct-tax provisions applicable from Assessment Year 2014-2015. It records that there is no revision to personal income-tax slabs or rates, the new one-year 10 per cent surcharge on taxpayers with income above Rs 1 crore, the increase in the surcharge on domestic companies (income above Rs 10 crore) and on Dividend Distribution Tax, and changes to wealth-tax filing including new sections 14A and 14B for electronic annexure-less returns, effective 1 June 2013. The booklet carries the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust sponsorship and the standard FFE disclaimer. ## Key points - Three-part FFE booklet on the 2013-14 Union Budget: I 'Some Impressions' (Minoo R. Shroff), II budgetary arithmetic (S. S. Bhandare), III 'Domestic Taxation' (Prof. Kanu H. Doshi). - Shroff frames the Budget as a politico-economic document and notes foreign trade is now near 55% of GDP, leaving India exposed to global trends. - Lists India's key challenges: declining growth, inflation, large fiscal deficit, trade and current-account deficits, poor governance, investment fatigue. - Calls the eventual GST a potential 'real game-changer', first mooted in 2007-08 but stalled by Centre-State disagreement. - Bhandare reads the 17.6% single-year cutback in development-oriented spending as unprecedented in Indian fiscal history. - Bhandare questions whether fiscal-deficit compression toward 5.1% comes at the cost of capital formation and future growth. - Doshi reports no revision to personal income-tax slabs or rates for AY 2014-15. - Records a new one-year 10% surcharge on taxpayers above Rs 1 crore, higher surcharges on domestic companies and DDT, and new wealth-tax e-filing provisions (s.14A/14B) effective 1 June 2013. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 2014-15 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-2014-15-minoo-r-shroff-august-5-2014/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects three commentaries on India's Union Budget 2014-15, the first budget of the newly elected BJP government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the rendered pages, the lead essay by Minoo R. Shroff (President, Forum of Free Enterprise) assesses Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's debut budget as an 'encouraging but halting' first step that gestures toward reform without decisively confronting subsidies, inflation, retrospective taxation, or public-sector reform. A second contribution surveys the budget against the Economic Survey's structural-reform prescriptions, and a third (by Prof. Kanu H. Doshi) walks through the direct-tax and capital-gains amendments in the Finance Bill. The volume is sponsored by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust and frames the budget from a classical-liberal, pro-market standpoint, welcoming infrastructure, manufacturing, and FDI measures while pressing for bolder fiscal and structural action. ### Body # The Union Budget 2014-15 ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects three commentaries on India's Union Budget 2014-15, the first budget of the newly elected BJP government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the rendered pages, the lead essay by Minoo R. Shroff (President, Forum of Free Enterprise) assesses Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's debut budget as an 'encouraging but halting' first step that gestures toward reform without decisively confronting subsidies, inflation, retrospective taxation, or public-sector reform. A second contribution surveys the budget against the Economic Survey's structural-reform prescriptions, and a third (by Prof. Kanu H. Doshi) walks through the direct-tax and capital-gains amendments in the Finance Bill. The volume is sponsored by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust and frames the budget from a classical-liberal, pro-market standpoint, welcoming infrastructure, manufacturing, and FDI measures while pressing for bolder fiscal and structural action. ## Essays ### Encouraging but Halting Debut of the New Finance Minister *By Minoo R. Shroff* Minoo R. Shroff reads the 2014-15 Union Budget as the earnest but incomplete debut of a new Finance Minister operating under a fresh and decisive electoral mandate. In the rendered pages he credits the budget with incorporating several reform concepts the Prime Minister had earlier signalled and with strong signals on infrastructure (smart cities, the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, industrial corridors and a National Industrial Corridor Authority), manufacturing resurgence, ease of doing business, and liberalised FDI caps in defence and insurance (26% to 49%). He is sharply critical, however, of what the budget left undone: the failure to remove the retrospective tax amendment, continued aversion to confronting subsidies and consumer inflation, the unhealthy state of public-sector banks and the obsession with retaining 51% control, and a budget strategy he characterises as incremental rather than the 'bitter pills' the moment demands. He welcomes the proposal for an Expenditure Management Commission while warning it must not be staffed only by bureaucrats. Shroff concludes that the budget is unlikely to transform the outlook on its own, but that full implementation of the work-in-progress proposals could underpin a moderate growth recovery toward 5.4-5.9% real GDP in 2014-15. - Reads Jaitley's first budget under the new BJP government as 'encouraging but halting' — reformist in intent, incremental in execution. - Welcomes infrastructure thrust: 100 Smart Cities, Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, road/NHAI investment, and a National Industrial Corridor Authority. - Praises FDI liberalisation (defence and insurance raised from 26% to 49%) but notes control stays with Indian nationals. - Criticises the failure to remove the retrospective tax amendment as a major disappointment for foreign investors. - Faults continued aversion to tackling subsidies, consumer inflation, and the 51% government stake in weak public-sector banks. - Backs the proposed Expenditure Management Commission but warns against staffing it solely with bureaucrats. - Projects a moderate growth recovery toward 5.4-5.9% real GDP for 2014-15 if proposals are implemented in full. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 2016-17 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-2016-17-yashwant-sinha-h-p-ranina-s-s-bhandare/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces presentations on the Union Budget 2016-17 delivered at a public meeting held in Mumbai on 1 March 2016, jointly organised by the Forum, the Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Trust, the Bombay Chartered Accountants' Society and the Council for Fair Business Practices. The contributors are veteran tax expert H. P. Ranina and former Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, who spoke at the meeting, together with an analysis of the budget's economic implications by S. S. Bhandare; Minoo R. Shroff, President of the Forum, supplies the Introduction. In the rendered pages, Shroff's Introduction reports that both speakers judged the economy basically healthy and the budget 'well crafted and refreshingly different', awarding it 8 out of 10, while flagging concern over the quality of the fiscal deficit and the burden of the Seventh Pay Commission and OROP. Yashwant Sinha's lead address dwells on fiscal-deficit quality, the FRBM framework he steered as Finance Minister, and the use of public investment in roads, railways and housing to drive growth. ### Body # The Union Budget 2016-17 ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces presentations on the Union Budget 2016-17 delivered at a public meeting held in Mumbai on 1 March 2016, jointly organised by the Forum, the Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Trust, the Bombay Chartered Accountants' Society and the Council for Fair Business Practices. The contributors are veteran tax expert H. P. Ranina and former Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, who spoke at the meeting, together with an analysis of the budget's economic implications by S. S. Bhandare; Minoo R. Shroff, President of the Forum, supplies the Introduction. In the rendered pages, Shroff's Introduction reports that both speakers judged the economy basically healthy and the budget 'well crafted and refreshingly different', awarding it 8 out of 10, while flagging concern over the quality of the fiscal deficit and the burden of the Seventh Pay Commission and OROP. Yashwant Sinha's lead address dwells on fiscal-deficit quality, the FRBM framework he steered as Finance Minister, and the use of public investment in roads, railways and housing to drive growth. ## Essays ### The Union Budget 2016-2017 *By Yashwant Sinha* Yashwant Sinha, a former Union Finance Minister, opens by praising Mumbai's tradition (founded by Nani Palkhivala) of holding public meetings to analyse the budget. In the rendered pages he picks up H. P. Ranina's point about the fiscal deficit, distinguishing the headline fiscal deficit from the more telling revenue deficit and arguing that the quality of the deficit is what matters. He recalls persuading Prime Minister Vajpayee to back the FRBM legislation, passed in 2003 and notified in 2004, to compel fiscal discipline, and frames excessive borrowing as a breach of intergenerational equity in which the present generation imposes burdens on generations yet unborn. He traces how the revenue deficit deteriorated sharply in 2008-09 through populist measures (the farmers' debt waiver, the Sixth Pay Commission, NREGA) and notes that, while the current budget meets the fiscal-deficit target (3.5%), it still fails on the revenue-deficit side (2.4%). He closes the rendered portion by recounting, from his own tenure beginning in 1998, how raising the housing-loan interest deduction from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 1,50,000 produced a 'veritable boom' in housing, illustrating his preference for using public investment in roads, railways and housing to create virtuous demand cycles. - Celebrates Mumbai's Palkhivala-founded tradition of public meetings to analyse the budget. - Distinguishes the headline fiscal deficit from the revenue deficit, insisting the 'quality' of the deficit is decisive. - Recounts steering the FRBM Act (passed 2003, notified 2004) by persuading PM Vajpayee, to enforce fiscal discipline. - Frames deficit financing as a breach of intergenerational equity — burdening generations yet unborn. - Blames the 2008-09 deterioration on populist measures: farmers' debt waiver, Sixth Pay Commission, NREGA. - Notes the budget meets the 3.5% fiscal-deficit target but still misses on the 2.4% revenue deficit. - Cites his 1998-era rise in the housing-loan interest deduction (Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 1,50,000) as creating a housing boom. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 2018-19 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-union-budget-2018-19-h-p-ranina-sunil-s-bhandare/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects commentary on the Union Budget 2018-19 by tax expert H. P. Ranina and economist Sunil S. Bhandare. In the rendered pages, Ranina's lead essay, 'A Vision Document for Inclusive Growth', is based on a talk he delivered in Mumbai on 1 February 2018 at a meeting organised jointly by the Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Trust, the Forum of Free Enterprise and the Bombay Chartered Accountants' Society. Reading from a pro-market, fiscally cautious vantage, Ranina treats this last full budget before the next general elections as a tightrope walk between fiscal consolidation and growth, surveying its tax-revenue assumptions, the new National Health Protection Scheme, agriculture and minimum support prices, ease-of-living measures, and incentives for small enterprises and start-ups. Sunil S. Bhandare's companion analysis lies beyond the rendered pages. ### Body # The Union Budget 2018-19 ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects commentary on the Union Budget 2018-19 by tax expert H. P. Ranina and economist Sunil S. Bhandare. In the rendered pages, Ranina's lead essay, 'A Vision Document for Inclusive Growth', is based on a talk he delivered in Mumbai on 1 February 2018 at a meeting organised jointly by the Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Trust, the Forum of Free Enterprise and the Bombay Chartered Accountants' Society. Reading from a pro-market, fiscally cautious vantage, Ranina treats this last full budget before the next general elections as a tightrope walk between fiscal consolidation and growth, surveying its tax-revenue assumptions, the new National Health Protection Scheme, agriculture and minimum support prices, ease-of-living measures, and incentives for small enterprises and start-ups. Sunil S. Bhandare's companion analysis lies beyond the rendered pages. ## Essays ### A Vision Document for Inclusive Growth *By HP Ranina* H. P. Ranina frames the 2018-19 budget — the last full budget before the next general elections — as a tightrope walk reconciling fiscal consolidation with the need to sustain growth, built on an 11.5% nominal growth assumption and 5% inflation amid rising oil prices, with large outlays for agriculture, social security and infrastructure. In the rendered pages he reports marked GST-driven tax buoyancy for 2017-18 and welcomes the 'big bang' National Health Protection Scheme covering more than 100 million families with up to Rs. 5 lakh cover per family as a shift toward universal welfare, while cautioning that the scheme, higher minimum support prices on the Swaminathan formula, oil prices and bank recapitalisation may make the 3.3% deficit target hard to hold. He details the budget's revenue and expenditure arithmetic — the sums collected from individuals, corporations and indirect taxes, the roughly 35% devolution to states, and how net tax revenue is largely consumed by establishment costs, pensions, defence and interest, leaving development to be financed substantially by borrowing. He highlights pro-poor 'ease of living' steps (free LPG and electricity connections, rural and urban housing), education and tourism initiatives, and incentives for small and medium enterprises and start-ups — including the liberalised Section 80-JJAA employment deduction and Section 80-IAC tax holiday — which he reads as steps toward labour reform and turning the young into job creators rather than job seekers. - Reads the 2018-19 budget, the last full one before elections, as a tightrope walk between fiscal consolidation and growth. - Notes marked GST-driven tax buoyancy in 2017-18 and a built-in 11.5% nominal growth assumption. - Welcomes the National Health Protection Scheme (100 million+ families, up to Rs. 5 lakh cover) as a move toward universal welfare. - Warns the health scheme, higher MSP on the Swaminathan formula, oil prices and bank recapitalisation threaten the 3.3% deficit target. - Walks through revenue/expenditure arithmetic: net tax revenue is largely eaten by establishment, pensions, defence and interest. - Praises 'ease of living' measures — free LPG and electricity connections, rural and urban housing. - Backs incentives for SMEs and start-ups (Sections 80-JJAA and 80-IAC) as labour reform and job-creation policy. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Vice of Child Marriages URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/the-vice-of-child-marriages-by-ishwar-chandra-vidyasagar/ ### Summary Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's essay 'The Vice of Child Marriages' (Balyo-Bibaher Dosh), originally published in 1850 in the Calcutta-based Bengali periodical Sarva Subhakari and presented here in English translation, mounts a sustained reformist attack on the custom of marrying off pre-pubescent girls. Vidyasagar opens by dismantling the scriptural rationale — the Smriti-Shastra's promises of Gouri-daan and Prithvi-daan for parents who marry off eight- and nine-year-old daughters — arguing that the rigid corollary that an unmarried menstruating girl damns seven generations of ancestors makes child marriage socially coercive rather than spiritually meritorious. He then catalogues the human costs: marriages contracted before the boys and girls are capable of love or consent, conjugal misery, families riven by 'discord and disaffection', and a culture in which young couples 'practise the arts of titillating' instead of receiving education. The essay's distinctive move is to fuse moral, physiological, and what would later be called liberal-developmental arguments into a single chain.… ### Body ## Summary Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's essay 'The Vice of Child Marriages' (Balyo-Bibaher Dosh), originally published in 1850 in the Calcutta-based Bengali periodical Sarva Subhakari and presented here in English translation, mounts a sustained reformist attack on the custom of marrying off pre-pubescent girls. Vidyasagar opens by dismantling the scriptural rationale — the Smriti-Shastra's promises of Gouri-daan and Prithvi-daan for parents who marry off eight- and nine-year-old daughters — arguing that the rigid corollary that an unmarried menstruating girl damns seven generations of ancestors makes child marriage socially coercive rather than spiritually meritorious. He then catalogues the human costs: marriages contracted before the boys and girls are capable of love or consent, conjugal misery, families riven by 'discord and disaffection', and a culture in which young couples 'practise the arts of titillating' instead of receiving education. The essay's distinctive move is to fuse moral, physiological, and what would later be called liberal-developmental arguments into a single chain. Vidyasagar appeals to medical opinion that children conceived by parents who are not physically mature die in infancy or grow up infirm; he then generalises this into a racial-historical claim that Bengalis and Odias — among whom child marriage is rampant — are 'feeble' and 'cowardly' in body and mind compared with the warrior peoples of the western parts of the subcontinent and with Europeans, whose children are 'well-educated and civil in disposition'. The shastric typology of eight marriages is invoked only to note that the older Gandharva and Swayamvara forms presumed adult brides and grooms; the present custom, he argues, is a degeneration, not a tradition. A significant portion of the essay is devoted to women's education and to widowhood. Vidyasagar contends that mothers are children's most influential teachers and that a society which marries girls off the moment they learn the alphabet cannot educate its women at all — so reformers campaigning for female education must simultaneously campaign against child marriage. He closes with an extended denunciation of the cruelties imposed on child-widows: enforced fasting without water, shaved heads, starvation, and the suspicion that drives some young widows into 'secretive, licentious relationships' and even feticide. The piece ends self-consciously as a beginning rather than a conclusion, promising further writing on the subject. ## Key points - Attacks the Smriti-Shastra's framing of child marriage as a sacred 'gift' (Gouri-daan, Prithvi-daan) by showing how the threat of damnation for unmarried menstruating girls turns merit into coercion. - Argues that marriages contracted before children can love or consent produce loveless households marked by 'discord and disaffection' and replace education with the 'arts of titillating'. - Invokes medical/physiological reasoning: children of immature parents die young or grow up infirm — a primary cause of what he claims is the 'feeble' physical and mental condition of Indians compared with Europeans and with people of the western subcontinent. - Reads the shastric typology of eight marriages (Gandharva, Asura, Rakshasa, Paishach, swayamvara, etc.) as evidence that ancient forms presumed adult brides and grooms; present custom is degeneration, not orthodoxy. - Couples the reform of child marriage with women's education: mothers shape children most deeply, but girls married off as soon as they 'learn the alphabet' cannot be educated, so the two causes must be pursued together. - Dedicates the closing section to the cruelties of child widowhood — penances, fasting without water, social stigma — and ties young widowhood causally to feticide and to clandestine relationships born of bodily compulsion. - Frames the essay as the opening salvo of a longer campaign, conceding that 'much of logic and reason, as well as exemplary, anecdotal and empirical expositions' remain to be written. - Originally published in 1850 in the Bengali periodical Sarva Subhakari; per the editorial footnote, identified by Gopal Halder (1972) as the earliest of Vidyasagar's reformist writings. --- ## [Primary work] Third Five-Year Plan — Its Premises Examined URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/third-five-year-plan-dr-a-krishnaswami-dec5-1961/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet — the printed text of a lecture delivered in Bombay on 21 August 1961 — Dr. A. Krishnaswami, M.P., subjects the premises of India's Third Five-Year Plan to a sceptical, pro-private-enterprise examination. He opens by defending the duty of public-spirited citizens to scrutinise the Plan's assumptions even when planners treat constructive critics as denigrators, and notes that the public sector's Rs. 7,500-crore outlay (of which about Rs. 8,300 crore is investment) dwarfs the Rs. 4,300 crore allotted to the private sector, while inflation erodes the real value of all of it. Krishnaswami argues that India's central economic problem is low per-capita income and inadequate domestic savings, and that heavy taxation to force savings risks eating into the subsistence consumption of a population already living near the margin.… ### Body # Third Five-Year Plan — Its Premises Examined *By Dr. A. Krishnaswami, M.P.* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet — the printed text of a lecture delivered in Bombay on 21 August 1961 — Dr. A. Krishnaswami, M.P., subjects the premises of India's Third Five-Year Plan to a sceptical, pro-private-enterprise examination. He opens by defending the duty of public-spirited citizens to scrutinise the Plan's assumptions even when planners treat constructive critics as denigrators, and notes that the public sector's Rs. 7,500-crore outlay (of which about Rs. 8,300 crore is investment) dwarfs the Rs. 4,300 crore allotted to the private sector, while inflation erodes the real value of all of it. Krishnaswami argues that India's central economic problem is low per-capita income and inadequate domestic savings, and that heavy taxation to force savings risks eating into the subsistence consumption of a population already living near the margin. He presses the case that state enterprises must be run on commercial principles and not subsidised at a loss, that the Plan neglects agriculture despite its providing roughly half of national income, and that land must increasingly be treated as a scarce factor whose alternative uses the Planning Commission has failed to weigh. He warns against rigid adherence to the Plan's schedule when inflation and shortages threaten, and advocates labour-intensive rural employment — buffer stocks of food, brick factories, irrigation and village-based small-area plans — to absorb seasonal unemployment without fuelling inflation. Throughout, Krishnaswami urges austerity directed at non-essentials rather than showy gestures, criticises the diversion of scarce capital and skilled labour into prestige or import-dependent projects, and calls for export-oriented production and improved quality and efficiency. The pamphlet closes with the Forum's customary disclaimer and A. D. Shroff's motto that 'Free Enterprise was born with man and shall survive as long as man survives.' ## Key points - Defends the right and duty of citizens to examine the Third Plan's premises against planners who treat critics as spoilers. - Contrasts the public sector's large Rs. 7,500-crore outlay with the Rs. 4,300 crore allotted to the private sector, both eroded by rising prices. - Argues low per-capita income and weak savings are the core constraints, and that forced savings via high taxation hit subsistence consumption. - Insists state enterprises be run commercially and not knowingly subsidised at a loss. - Identifies neglect of agriculture — about half of national income — as the Plan's 'major lacuna', and urges treating land as a scarce factor. - Advocates labour-intensive rural employment (food buffer stocks, brick factories, irrigation, village small-area plans) to absorb seasonal unemployment without inflation. - Calls for austerity on non-essentials, export-led production, and better quality and efficiency rather than prestige or import-dependent projects. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Three Essays on Controls in a Planned Economy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/three-essays-on-controls-various-may7-1961/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects the three prize-winning essays from FFE's 1960 all-India college essay competition on the theme "Controls in a Planned Economy". An editorial Introduction (printed p.1) names the judges (Prof. R. K. Amin, Mr. R. V. Murthy, and FFE Secretary M. R. Pai) and the three winners, and the essays follow in prize order. Across all three, the argumentative centre is a critique of pervasive State controls in India's planned economy and an admiring contrast with West Germany's post-war "social market economy" under Ludwig Erhard. The essayists concede that some measure of planning and indirect control is inevitable in an under-developed economy, but argue that direct, detailed controls breed black-markets, bureaucratic regimentation, and inefficiency, and that competition and the free price mechanism are the surer route to growth. ### Body # Three Essays on Controls in a Planned Economy ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects the three prize-winning essays from FFE's 1960 all-India college essay competition on the theme "Controls in a Planned Economy". An editorial Introduction (printed p.1) names the judges (Prof. R. K. Amin, Mr. R. V. Murthy, and FFE Secretary M. R. Pai) and the three winners, and the essays follow in prize order. Across all three, the argumentative centre is a critique of pervasive State controls in India's planned economy and an admiring contrast with West Germany's post-war "social market economy" under Ludwig Erhard. The essayists concede that some measure of planning and indirect control is inevitable in an under-developed economy, but argue that direct, detailed controls breed black-markets, bureaucratic regimentation, and inefficiency, and that competition and the free price mechanism are the surer route to growth. ## Essays ### Controls in a Planned Economy *By K. S. VARGHESE* K. S. Varghese's first-prize essay argues that while some planning and State restraint is desirable in an under-developed country, planning need not mean collectivism, and a planned economy can still rest on a self-generating private sector. He marshals West Germany's "economic miracle" under Erhard as documentary evidence that a free economic order outperforms socialisation, and warns that nationalised industry tends to subordinate commercial efficiency and consumer interest to political control. He concludes that the proper role of the democratic, planned State is to supervise, encourage, check and initiate — not itself to operate services — closing with the warning that what is nationalised may be hard to reverse. - Planning is a framework of co-ordination; in an under-developed country it must take an active part in building up overheads and heavy industry while checking the stagnant economy. - A planned economy need not be a controlled economy in the full sense; control does not necessarily mean collectivism. - West Germany's recovery under the 'social market economy' is offered as proof that a free economic order beats socialisation at raising national wealth. - State ownership tends to subordinate commercial efficiency and consumer interest because public accountability sits poorly with commercial efficiency. - The duty of the democratic, planned State is to supervise, encourage, check and initiate — not itself to operate services. ### [Essay II] *By G. RANGA RAO* G. Ranga Rao's second-prize essay opens from Robbins's observation that economic activity involves planning, then argues that totalitarian planning carries irresistible dogmatic appeal and narrows individual enterprise, whereas Germany's democratic planning succeeded precisely because it did not extend to the processes of production. He distinguishes direct from indirect controls and contends that direct controls — rationing, licensing, scarce-material allocation — distort the price system and drive transactions into the black-market, while indirect fiscal and monetary checks are preferable. Reviewing India's record of mounting money supply and deficit financing across the Plans, he holds that direct controls are needed only because of the asymmetry between supply and demand under planning, and presses for the German lesson of stabilising the currency and freeing investment. - Totalitarian planning has an irresistible dogmatic appeal but depredates individual liberty; Germany's democratic planning worked because it left production processes free. - Controls divide into direct (rationing, licensing, scarce-material allocation) and indirect (fiscal and monetary) — direct controls distort the price system. - India's successive Plans unleashed inflationary forces; money in circulation rose from Rs. 1,803.79 crores (1951-52) to Rs. 2,497.87 crores (1958-59). - Direct controls breed black-markets, permits, concessions and licences while the State condemns them as anti-social. - The remedy is to stabilise the currency, run budget surpluses, and free voluntary investment — the path taken in Germany. ### [Essay III] *By S. JOSEPH* S. Joseph's third-prize essay traces the eclipse of laissez-faire since the Great Depression and the rise of conscious planning, conceding that almost everyone now agrees on the need to plan while disagreeing on the manner. Surveying the visible run of this essay, he reviews direct and indirect controls, the inelasticity of India's revenue and expenditure under the Second Plan, deficit financing administered through the Reserve Bank, and the danger that price controls and rationing impose heavy administrative cost and corrode public morale. He contrasts India's experience with West Germany's market-led recovery under Erhard and questions whether controls over population and production can substitute for the discipline of the price mechanism. - Since the Great Depression, laissez-faire has been replaced by conscious planning; the dispute is over the manner, not the need, to plan. - Direct controls entail colossal expenditure on administration — the cost of rationing to Government in 1952-53 was Rs. 9.5 crores. - Deficit financing was administered through the Reserve Bank to keep the price level under check, but the cumulative effect on prices was inadequate. - Price controls and rationing breed black-markets and corrode public morale; Mahatma Gandhi deprecated controls because they impaired self-reliance. - West Germany's market-led recovery under Erhard is held up as the contrasting model India should learn from. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Liberal Times URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/tibetans-in-exile/ ### Summary This issue of Liberal Times (Volume III / Number 2, 1995), published by the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung Regional Office South Asia, is devoted to the Tibetan exile experience under the thematic banner 'Tibetans in Exile — The Struggle Continues…'. The issue assembles voices from Tibetan activists, Indian commentators, German press, and a US Congressional document to examine three interlocking problems: China's ongoing cultural, demographic and ecological destruction of Tibet; the democratic institutions built by the exile community under the Dalai Lama; and the strategies — non-violent resistance, international lobbying, youth mobilisation, and women's political organising — that define the contemporary freedom movement. Pema Thinley contributes the cover essay "Tibet: The Tragedy and the Hope," framing Beijing's policy as 'subtle Chinese genocide' through population transfer and cataloguing the destruction of 6,254 monasteries, coercive birth control, environmental devastation, and the exile administration's preservation of language, religion, medicine and handicrafts. Ajit Bhattacharjea, in "The Exile Identity and Democratic Vision," traces the thirty-five-year democratic evolution of the exile community, the Dalai Lama's voluntary relinquishment of traditional powers, and the 1991 Charter that turned the Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies into a fully parliamentary legislature — calling the transformation 'unique in the history of refugee politics'. Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche, as Chairman of the Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies, sets out the philosophical and strategic foundations of the movement in "Political Struggle of the Tibetans," grounding the cause in Buddhist inter-dependence, assessing all Chinese overtures since Deng Xiaoping's 1979 dialogue as stalling tactics, and proposing escalation to a Satyagraha of civil disobedience to be decided by referendum. Yangchen Dolkar, Information Secretary of the Tibetan Youth Congress, makes the case in "The Role of Youth in the Struggle for Tibetan Independence" for the TYC's role as a 12,000-member loyal opposition and conduit to Chinese dissidents and the peoples of East Turkistan and Inner Mongolia. Nawang Lhamo's "Tibetan Women: Nose-dive into Politics with Devotion" surveys women's activism from the 30,000-strong 1959 Lhasa march to the Tibetan Women's Association's lobbying campaign around the 1995 Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women. Karma Wangdui contributes a further activist essay extending the exile community's first-person testimony. Erhard Haubold (the long-serving South Asia correspondent of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) supplies an outside-observer dispatch on the international politics of the Tibet question, and Fazal-ur-Rahman contributes a piece situating Tibet within wider regional and South Asian strategic concerns. The issue also reprints the United States Congress resolution (Foreign Relations Authorization Act, 1992–93) declaring Tibet an occupied country and recognising the Dalai Lama and the government-in-exile as Tibet's true representatives. The editorial perspective throughout is broadly liberal-internationalist, emphasising self-determination, human rights, rule of law, and non-violent civil disobedience as the legitimate basis for Tibet's claim to independence. ### Body ## Summary This issue of Liberal Times (Volume III / Number 2, 1995), published by the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung Regional Office South Asia, is devoted to the Tibetan exile experience under the thematic banner 'Tibetans in Exile — The Struggle Continues…'. In the rendered pages, the issue assembles voices from Tibetan activists, Indian commentators, and a US Congressional document to examine three interlocking problems: China's ongoing cultural, demographic and ecological destruction of Tibet; the democratic institutions built by the exile community under the Dalai Lama; and the strategies — non-violent resistance, international lobbying, youth mobilisation, and women's political organising — that define the contemporary freedom movement. The editorial perspective is broadly liberal-internationalist, emphasising self-determination, human rights, rule of law, and non-violent civil disobedience as the legitimate basis for Tibet's claim to independence. ## Essays ### Tibet: The Tragedy and the Hope *By Pema Thinley* Pema Thinley's cover essay frames Tibet's situation as 'subtle Chinese genocide': a systematic replacement of Tibetan people, culture, language and enterprise by Chinese substitutes, with economic liberalisation serving as the policy fillip for population transfer. In the rendered pages, Thinley traces the People's Republic's 1949 founding, the coerced Seventeen Point Agreement of 1951, the 1959 uprising and the Dalai Lama's flight into exile with 80,000 followers, and the subsequent destruction of 6,254 monasteries. He then surveys the exile community's institutional responses — the Central Tibetan Schools Administration, cultural preservation bodies (Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Norbu Lingkha Institute, Tibetan Medical Institute), and the seasonal sweater trade that sustains Tibetan livelihoods in India. The essay closes by cataloguing China's coercive birth-control policy in Tibet, its environmental devastation, and the exile community's aspiration to return to a free, demilitarised, ecologically protected homeland. - China's population-transfer policy, accelerated by economic liberalisation, is making Tibetans a marginalised minority in their own land. - The 1951 Seventeen Point Agreement was signed under duress and lacked legitimacy; Tibet's political tragedy is rooted in international inaction during the 1950s. - Between 1980 and September 1994, several thousand Tibetans escaped to India and Nepal annually; the refugee flow is rising. - The exile administration, established under Indian government assistance (Central Tibetan Schools Administration), functions as a parallel state preserving language, religion, medicine and handicrafts. - China enforces a coercive birth-control policy in Tibet, requiring permission to marry and have children, with penalties including demotion and salary cuts. - Tibet's role as Asia's water tower and its nuclear-waste dumping make environmental protection a global concern, not merely a Tibetan one. ### The Exile Identity and Democratic Vision *By Ajit Bhattacharjea* Ajit Bhattacharjea traces the thirty-five-year democratic evolution of the Tibetan exile community, centred on the Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies (parliament-in-exile). He notes that as early as January 1960, the Dalai Lama — barely a year after reaching India — began designing democratic self-rule without abandoning Tibetan tradition. The article documents successive stages: the first elected body (September 1960), the Dalai Lama's voluntary relinquishment of traditional powers, the dissolution of the old assembly in May 1990, and the inauguration of the 11th Assembly in 1991, which made the body a fully parliamentary legislature. Bhattacharjea argues that the exile community's transformation from 'virtual destitutes' to a self-confident, institutionally mature polity is unique in the history of refugee politics, and that the proposed multiparty constitution with separation of powers will serve as the nucleus of a free Tibet's future government. - The Dalai Lama outlined democratic self-rule in January 1960 at Bodh Gaya, barely a year after exile began. - The Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies took office on September 2, 1960 — observed as Democracy Day — with representatives from all three provincial regions and four religious sects. - In May 1991, the 11th Assembly adopted the Charter for Tibetans-in-Exile, making the government-in-exile a fully parliamentary system with effective powers over the executive. - The Dalai Lama has categorically declared he will play no role in any future government of Tibet, reducing dependency on his personal authority. - A proposed future constitution envisions Tibet as a demilitarised, nuclear-free, environmentally protected state governed by Buddhist economic principles with full separation of powers. ### Political Struggle of the Tibetans *By Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche* Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche, Chairman of the Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies, sets out the philosophical and strategic foundations of the Tibetan freedom movement. In the rendered pages, he argues that Tibet's cause is neither an ideological nor an ethnic conflict but a universal human responsibility rooted in the Buddhist concept of inter-dependence: because the people of Tibet's spiritual land bear a duty to all sentient beings, liberation is a moral imperative. He traces the movement's three core principles — Truth, Non-violence, and Democracy — and its 'gradual development' from the armed resistance of the 1950s–60s to the fully non-violent civil resistance formalised in the 1991 Charter. Rinpoche recounts failed negotiations with China (Deng Xiaoping's 1979 dialogue, the Five Point Peace Programme of 1987, the Strasbourg Proposal of 1988, and the 1991 offer to visit Tibet), and concludes that China was never sincere; the movement must now consider a Satyagraha ('Insistence on Truth') strategy including civil disobedience and passive resistance, to be decided by referendum among Tibetans in exile and inside Tibet. - Tibet's freedom struggle is grounded in three principles: Truth, Non-violence, and Democracy, with compassion as the motivating force. - The struggle is not against the Chinese people but against the Chinese state's occupation; Tibet's liberation is framed as a universal human responsibility. - The 1991 Charter of Tibetans-in-exile formally renounces all forms of warfare and enshrines non-violence as national policy. - All Chinese negotiating overtures since 1979 are assessed as stalling tactics; the movement must now consider escalating to Satyagraha with civil disobedience. - A proposed 'Tibbat Mukti Sadhana' (spiritual practice for liberation) will be put to referendum among Tibetans in exile and inside Tibet. - Tibet's unique geographical position as a buffer state between India and China, and as source of Asia's major rivers, makes its freedom a matter of regional and global interest. ### United States Congress Resolution on Tibet A reprint of the United States Congress resolution (Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993, signed by President Bush on October 28, 1991) declaring Tibet an occupied country whose true representatives are the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government in exile. In the rendered pages, the resolution recites a series of 'Whereas' clauses citing UN General Assembly resolutions condemning China's human rights abuses in Tibet (1959, 1961, 1965), the US State Department's 1991 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, and the February 1992 'Situation in Tibet' resolution submitted to the UN Human Rights Commission. It resolves that the US Government should support the European Community-led resolution on Tibet, vigorously condemn Beijing's human rights abuses in occupied Tibet in international forums, and raise Tibet human rights issues with senior PRC officials. - The US Congress formally declared Tibet an occupied country in October 1991 and identified the Dalai Lama and the government-in-exile as Tibet's true representatives. - The resolution cites three UN General Assembly resolutions (1959, 1961, 1965) condemning China's human rights abuses in Tibet. - The US State Department's 1991 report cited persistent, credible reports of torture, harsh sentences for political activities, and religious and cultural persecution of six million Tibetans. - Twenty-two countries led by the European Community submitted a 'Situation in Tibet' resolution to the UN Human Rights Commission's annual meeting in Geneva, February–March 1992. - The Senate resolved that the US should vigorously condemn Beijing's abuses in all international forums and raise Tibet issues directly with PRC senior officials. ### The Role of Youth in the Struggle for Tibetan Independence *By Yangchen Dolkar* Yangchen Dolkar, Information Secretary of the Tibetan Youth Congress, argues that the TYC — founded in October 1970 and now the largest Tibetan non-governmental organisation with 59 regional chapters and 12,000 members across 7 countries — has become an indispensable political force in the exile community. In the rendered pages, she traces the TYC's evolution from a leadership training ground to a vocal opposition body that critically examines the performance of the government-in-exile. She notes that TYC activism has had a direct echo inside Tibet, where the majority of those arrested by Chinese authorities for political activities are young people trained or influenced by TYC ideology. The essay urges Tibetans, particularly youth, to strengthen communication across the Tibet–exile divide, build solidarity with Chinese dissidents and peoples of East Turkistan and Inner Mongolia, and mobilise mass support to 'SAVE TIBET' before the Tibetan civilisation is wiped from the map of history. - The Tibetan Youth Congress, founded 1970, is the largest Tibetan non-governmental organisation globally, with 59 regional chapters and 12,000 members in 7 countries. - More than half of Tibetan prisoners of conscience detained by Chinese authorities are young people, predominantly aged 25–30 years. - TYC serves as a loyal opposition to the government-in-exile, publicly examining its performance and offering suggestions. - Youth strategy must include outreach to Chinese dissidents and occupied peoples of East Turkistan and Inner Mongolia. - China's internal instability — inflation, unemployment, weakening central control, the Deng Xiaoping succession — creates an opening for Tibetan activists to press their case. ### Tibetan Women: Nose-dive into Politics with Devotion *By Nawang Lhamo* Nawang Lhamo surveys the history of Tibetan women's political activism from the 1959 uprising to the mid-1990s. In the rendered pages, she notes that 30,000 women marched in Lhasa against Chinese occupation on March 12, 1959, and that women inside Tibet in the 1980s concentrated their protests on non-violent principles following the 14th Dalai Lama's Buddhist teachings — with Buddhist nuns leading the first major demonstration in December 1987. The essay then turns to the Tibetan Women's Association (TWA), re-established in 1981, whose international strategy has focused on the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing: TWA lobbied extensively at preparatory conferences in Manila, New York, Helsinki, Vienna, and Copenhagen, fearing that Chinese-controlled delegations would misrepresent Tibetan women's issues. The article was cut off at printed page 20. - 30,000 women demonstrated in Lhasa on March 12, 1959, marking the beginning of organised Tibetan women's political activism. - Buddhist nuns led the first non-violent demonstration inside Tibet in December 1987, setting a precedent for women-led resistance. - Total number of Tibetan political prisoners in 1995 exceeds 450, with women routinely arrested, tortured and imprisoned without trial. - The Tibetan Women's Association (TWA, re-established 1981) has built a global advocacy network focused on the Beijing 1995 women's conference. - TWA fears that China will use the All China Women's Federation to present state-controlled Tibetan women as 'true representatives', suppressing independent Tibetan voices at Beijing 1995. --- ## [Primary work] Top Ten Concerns of Indian Agriculture & A Case for Private Sector Rural Banks URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/top-ten-concerns-sunil-s-bhandare-may-3-2013/ ### Summary Sunil S. Bhandare's FFE pamphlet, a revised version of an August 2013 MEDC Monthly Digest article, sets out what the author regards as the ten key concerns confronting Indian agriculture as the economy looks beyond 2013-14, and then makes a distinct case for promoting private-sector rural banks. Writing against a backdrop of a good south-west monsoon and projected agricultural recovery, Bhandare argues that the post-reform boom has largely by-passed agriculture and that the promised 'second green revolution' remains unfulfilled. The concerns surveyed in the rendered pages include the secular decline in agriculture's share of national GDP (from 30.3% in 1991-92 to 13.7% in 2012-13), the failure of off-farm employment to absorb the rural labour-force (which still depends on agriculture at roughly 49%), the stagnation of capital formation in agriculture (gross capital formation falling from about 11% to 7.5-9% of the sector's GDP), persistently inadequate productivity growth across rice, wheat, pulses and cotton relative to other major producers, and an unprecedented run-up in minimum support prices between 2004-05 and 2012-13 that the author links to food inflation. The pamphlet … ### Body # Top Ten Concerns of Indian Agriculture & A Case for Private Sector Rural Banks *By Sunil S. Bhandare* ## Summary Sunil S. Bhandare's FFE pamphlet, a revised version of an August 2013 MEDC Monthly Digest article, sets out what the author regards as the ten key concerns confronting Indian agriculture as the economy looks beyond 2013-14, and then makes a distinct case for promoting private-sector rural banks. Writing against a backdrop of a good south-west monsoon and projected agricultural recovery, Bhandare argues that the post-reform boom has largely by-passed agriculture and that the promised 'second green revolution' remains unfulfilled. The concerns surveyed in the rendered pages include the secular decline in agriculture's share of national GDP (from 30.3% in 1991-92 to 13.7% in 2012-13), the failure of off-farm employment to absorb the rural labour-force (which still depends on agriculture at roughly 49%), the stagnation of capital formation in agriculture (gross capital formation falling from about 11% to 7.5-9% of the sector's GDP), persistently inadequate productivity growth across rice, wheat, pulses and cotton relative to other major producers, and an unprecedented run-up in minimum support prices between 2004-05 and 2012-13 that the author links to food inflation. The pamphlet then turns to the inadequacy of institutional rural credit: despite five decades of banking transformation, roughly 480 million Indians remain unbanked and the share of institutional rural credit is still low, leaving farmers exposed to high-cost informal debt. Bhandare's prescription is a new framework of Private Sector Rural Banks to deepen financial inclusion, foster healthy competition with public banks, cooperatives, RRBs and micro-finance institutions, build local banking manpower, and reduce non-performing assets. He frames this as timely given the RBI's then-ongoing scrutiny of applications for new private banks. ## Key points - Post-reform growth has by-passed agriculture; the 'second green revolution' remains unfulfilled. - Concern 1 — agriculture's share of GDP fell from 30.3% (1991-92) to 13.7% (2012-13) and could drift below 12%. - Concern 2 — off-farm employment has not reduced dependence on agriculture, which still supports ~49% of the labour-force. - Concern 3 — stagnant capital formation; gross capital formation in agriculture fell from ~11% to 7.5-9% of sector GDP. - Concern 4 — inadequate productivity growth across rice, wheat, pulses and cotton versus other major producers. - Concern 5 — unprecedented MSP increases (2004-05 to 2012-13), often more than double-digit, linked to food inflation. - Roughly 480 million Indians remain unbanked; institutional rural credit is still inadequate, leaving farmers in high-cost debt. - The author's central proposal: promote Private Sector Rural Banks to deepen financial inclusion and rural banking. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Towards a Healthy India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/towards-a-healthy-india-a-call-for-action-dr-r-balasubramanian-dr-prashanth-n-srinivas/ ### Summary In the rendered pages, this co-authored Forum of Free Enterprise monograph by Dr. R. Balasubramaniam ('Balu') and Dr. Prashanth N. Srinivas presents an action agenda for India's health sector, with particular emphasis on affordable and equitable healthcare. The FFE Editorial Introduction (printed pp.3-5) frames the work as a monograph arguing that state-led efforts at ensuring equitable healthcare and promoting public health can drive the next decade of socio-economic progress, and it situates health within development theory as a determinant of human-capital quality and economic growth. The rendered pages document a sharp critique of how healthcare is financed in India: the authors note, in the rendered pages, that over three-fourths of healthcare payments are made out-of-pocket, that roughly 46 million households are estimated to have suffered catastrophic health expenditure (29 million on medicines alone), and that low government spending of about 1% to 1.2% of GDP combines with fragmented pooling and inequitable use of scarce public funds. The core of what is rendered is a framework of cardinal principles for a responsive health system, opened by an argument that health is … ### Body # Towards a Healthy India *By Dr. R. Balasubramaniam, Dr. Prashanth N. Srinivas* ## Summary In the rendered pages, this co-authored Forum of Free Enterprise monograph by Dr. R. Balasubramaniam ('Balu') and Dr. Prashanth N. Srinivas presents an action agenda for India's health sector, with particular emphasis on affordable and equitable healthcare. The FFE Editorial Introduction (printed pp.3-5) frames the work as a monograph arguing that state-led efforts at ensuring equitable healthcare and promoting public health can drive the next decade of socio-economic progress, and it situates health within development theory as a determinant of human-capital quality and economic growth. The rendered pages document a sharp critique of how healthcare is financed in India: the authors note, in the rendered pages, that over three-fourths of healthcare payments are made out-of-pocket, that roughly 46 million households are estimated to have suffered catastrophic health expenditure (29 million on medicines alone), and that low government spending of about 1% to 1.2% of GDP combines with fragmented pooling and inequitable use of scarce public funds. The core of what is rendered is a framework of cardinal principles for a responsive health system, opened by an argument that health is a collective responsibility of state, communities and individuals, and that a systems approach to public health must complement biomedical solutions through the 'de-medicalization' of healthcare. The enumerated principles seen in the rendered pages begin with equity and social justice and universality, and continue through appropriate technology and public-oriented partnerships. Because only about a quarter of the work was rendered, this summary is confined to those pages and does not characterise the monograph as a whole. ## Key points - In the rendered pages, the FFE Editorial Introduction frames the work as a monograph on India's health sector with emphasis on affordable healthcare. - The authors argue, in the rendered pages, that state-led equitable healthcare can drive the next decade of socio-economic progress. - Over three-fourths of healthcare payments in India are out-of-pocket; ~46 million households suffered catastrophic health expenditure (29 million on medicines alone). - Government health spending is low at about 1% to 1.2% of GDP, with fragmented pooling and inequitable use of scarce public funds. - The rendered text opens a framework of cardinal principles for a responsive health system, beginning with equity/social justice and universality. - Health is framed as a collective responsibility of state, communities and individuals, with the State bearing the greater responsibility. - A systems approach to public health is urged to complement biomedical solutions via 'de-medicalization' of healthcare. - Later rendered principles include appropriate technology (evidence-based, cost-effective) and public-oriented partnerships. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] TOWARDS A SELF-RELIANT ECONOMY: LESSONS OF THE PAST URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/towards-a-self-reliant-economy-lessons-of-the-past-murarji-j-vaidya-jan11-1966/ ### Summary Delivered as the Presidential Address at the ninth annual general meeting of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 22 November 1965 (and printed by the Forum on 11 January 1966), Murarji J. Vaidya's pamphlet argues that India's quest for rapid economic development through comprehensive central planning has produced an interconnected crisis of rising prices, foodgrain shortages, investment-market collapse and foreign-exchange shortage. Opening with Gokhale's 1907 prophecy that the present generation must be content to serve India "mainly by our failure", Vaidya redefines self-reliance as the opposite of autarchy: a productive capacity strong enough to defend the country, feed it and trade for what it cannot produce economically. The diagnostic core of the address blames the Mahalanobis-era strategy of First and Second Plans that privileged heavy and infrastructure industries while starving agriculture and consumer goods of capital — pushing demand into the hands of the public, fuelling deficit financing, and producing the "highest taxed nation" tag coined by N. A. Palkhivala.… ### Body # TOWARDS A SELF-RELIANT ECONOMY: LESSONS OF THE PAST *By MURARJI J. VAIDYA* ## Summary Delivered as the Presidential Address at the ninth annual general meeting of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 22 November 1965 (and printed by the Forum on 11 January 1966), Murarji J. Vaidya's pamphlet argues that India's quest for rapid economic development through comprehensive central planning has produced an interconnected crisis of rising prices, foodgrain shortages, investment-market collapse and foreign-exchange shortage. Opening with Gokhale's 1907 prophecy that the present generation must be content to serve India "mainly by our failure", Vaidya redefines self-reliance as the opposite of autarchy: a productive capacity strong enough to defend the country, feed it and trade for what it cannot produce economically. The diagnostic core of the address blames the Mahalanobis-era strategy of First and Second Plans that privileged heavy and infrastructure industries while starving agriculture and consumer goods of capital — pushing demand into the hands of the public, fuelling deficit financing, and producing the "highest taxed nation" tag coined by N. A. Palkhivala. Vaidya catalogues a long series of public-sector failures: idle Heavy Machine Building and HEC capacity at Ranchi, the bungled small-car project, the Durgapur Project, Life Insurance Corporation grievances, idle warehouses, and Parliamentary, Estimates Committee, Audit and CAG reports documenting losses on state trading in foodgrains, sugar farms, transport corporations and educational programmes. He cites Milton Friedman on money supply, quotes labour leaders Khandubhai Desai, Manohar Kotwal and Kashinath Pandey on union dissatisfaction with nationalised industry, and uses Tata Iron & Steel vs Hindustan Steel staffing ratios as a productivity indictment. The second half is a comparative tour: Vaidya marshals Soviet writings (Leontiev, Brezhnev, Kosygin's September 1965 reforms, Liberman's 1962 Pravda article, Margaret Miller's "Rise of the Russian Consumer"), Yugoslav (Bakarić), Belgian socialist (M. Leo Collard), Czechoslovak (Vladimír Bakarić), UAR (Mohieddin), Kenyan (the "African Socialism" document), Ceylonese (Dudley Senanayake) and Malaysian/Taiwanese (Douglas P. Paauw) examples to argue that socialist and developing economies alike are pivoting away from rigid centralised planning toward indicative planning, the law of value, market signals and a larger private sector. He closes by endorsing Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri's call to drop ideology, recommends drastic cuts in public-sector outlays, consolidation of in-progress projects, replacement of comprehensive planning with French-style indicative planning, and a redefined state role limited to defence, law and order, infrastructure, basic amenities and regulation — letting "the dynamism of the Indian people" build a self-reliant economy. ## Key points - Frames the address with Gokhale's 1907 prophecy and redefines self-reliance as productive strength to defend, feed and trade — explicitly NOT autarchy or self-sufficiency. - Identifies a fourfold crisis since the Third Plan: rising prices (wholesale index up from 111.8 to 166), foodgrain shortages (index from 112.5 to 170.5), investment-market collapse (UTI's 1.6 per cent NAV depreciation, public sector borrowings exceeding savings), and foreign-exchange crisis. - Traces the root cause to Mahalanobis-era Plan strategy that privileged heavy industry and infrastructure while starving agriculture and consumer goods of capital, pushing demand into the public's hands and fuelling deficit financing. - Documents extensive public-sector failures: HEC Ranchi underutilisation, Heavy Machine Building Plant idle, small-car project still pending after 15 years, LIC grievances, state-trading foodgrain losses in West Bengal and Orissa, Bharat Sewak Samaj audit failures and the Durgapur Project's planning, economics and administration defects. - Cites Milton Friedman on money supply expanding 100% against 65% goods/services growth, and a Tata Iron & Steel comparison (101 production managers for 1 million tonnes) against Hindustan Steel (1,795 for 3 million tonnes) to illustrate productivity loss in the public sector. - Surveys reform across the socialist and developing world — Leontiev, Brezhnev and Kosygin's 1965 reforms, Liberman's Pravda article, Yugoslav, Belgian, Czechoslovak, UAR, Kenyan, Ceylonese and Malaysian examples — to argue that even socialist economies are abandoning rigid centralised planning for market mechanisms and indicative planning. - Endorses PM Lal Bahadur Shastri's call to drop ideology and reorient policy, urges drastic short-term cuts in non-development government expenditure, consolidation of in-progress projects, and rejects fresh PSU starts at the present stage. - Recommends a long-term shift from comprehensive centralised planning to French-style indicative planning, with the State concentrating on defence, law and order, infrastructure, basic amenities and regulation — leaving the dynamism of the Indian people to build the self-reliant economy. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Towards a Telecommunications Revolution in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/towards-a-telecommunication-revolution-in-india-by-t-h-chowdhary-february-15-1990/ ### Summary T. H. Chowdary's Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces a public talk on the worldwide telecommunications and information revolution and its implications for India. Part I surveys how advances in micro-electronics, satellites, optical fibre and digital switching have transformed telecommunication networks into carriers of information itself — voice, text, data, graphics and video. Chowdary argues that the storage, retrieval and processing of information has become a strategic economic resource, that 'Information and knowledge are power', and that falling chip and circuit costs are rapidly bringing the Personal Computer, electronic mail, facsimile, cellular 'personal communication' and small satellite earth stations within reach of ordinary citizens. A recurring point is the collapsing cost of capacity: he contrasts the steep, repeatedly-raised tariffs on Indian domestic circuits with the plummeting cost of international satellite circuits, and notes that production economics no longer support the old view of telecommunications as a natural monopoly. ### Body # Towards a Telecommunications Revolution in India *By T. H. CHOWDARY* ## Summary T. H. Chowdary's Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces a public talk on the worldwide telecommunications and information revolution and its implications for India. Part I surveys how advances in micro-electronics, satellites, optical fibre and digital switching have transformed telecommunication networks into carriers of information itself — voice, text, data, graphics and video. Chowdary argues that the storage, retrieval and processing of information has become a strategic economic resource, that 'Information and knowledge are power', and that falling chip and circuit costs are rapidly bringing the Personal Computer, electronic mail, facsimile, cellular 'personal communication' and small satellite earth stations within reach of ordinary citizens. A recurring point is the collapsing cost of capacity: he contrasts the steep, repeatedly-raised tariffs on Indian domestic circuits with the plummeting cost of international satellite circuits, and notes that production economics no longer support the old view of telecommunications as a natural monopoly. ## Key points - Frames telecommunications as the transport layer for information, which Chowdary treats as a strategic economic resource and a form of power available to every citizen. - Surveys the enabling technologies: micro-electronics and ICs, packet-switched data networks, electronic mail, facsimile overtaking telex, cellular 'personal' phones, INTELSAT satellites, and optical fibre. - Stresses dramatically falling costs — chips from hundreds of dollars to cents, international satellite half-circuits from $32,000/year toward about $1 a day. - Contrasts expensive, repeatedly-hiked Indian domestic circuit tariffs with far cheaper international satellite/cable capacity, citing the Videsh Sanchar Nigam gateway packet switch. - Argues the traditional view of telecommunications as a natural monopoly is being undermined, citing ~20 countries that moved to corporatise and 'peoplesify' their networks. - Part II ('A Policy Framework') sets out government objectives: from monopoly to multiplicity of producers, from budget to people for funds, from bureaucracy to people-orientation, from administered prices to cost-based charges. - Proposes structural reforms — splitting services into state/regional operating companies under an all-India holding company, tax holidays, a telecom development finance corporation, and equity offered to institutions, employees and the public. - Calls for adequate R&D funding (including an R&D cess), a new Telecommunications Commission, and replacing the century-old Indian Telegraph Act with legislation recognising a citizen's right to information. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Towards an Economical Administration in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/towards-an-economical-administration-in-india-m-ruthnaswamy-august-22-1958/ ### Summary Prof. M. Ruthnaswamy's Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, based on a lecture delivered in Bombay on 22 August 1958, is a sustained critique of the cost and bloat of Indian public administration. He argues that because the money government spends is the money of a very poor people, the State has a special obligation to spend economically, yet post-independence governments have instead spent 'in the spirit of the new poor trying to ape the manners of the new rich' — symbolised by extravagant new secretariat buildings rising in almost every state capital. Surveying the machinery of government, he contends there are too many ministries and departments (a now-needless Law Ministry, a long-lived Rehabilitation and Refugee Ministry, a Community Development Ministry intruding on a State subject), excessive establishment costs, and a tax-collection apparatus that consumes an unusually high share of revenue. ### Body # Towards an Economical Administration in India *By Prof. M. Ruthnaswamy* ## Summary Prof. M. Ruthnaswamy's Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, based on a lecture delivered in Bombay on 22 August 1958, is a sustained critique of the cost and bloat of Indian public administration. He argues that because the money government spends is the money of a very poor people, the State has a special obligation to spend economically, yet post-independence governments have instead spent 'in the spirit of the new poor trying to ape the manners of the new rich' — symbolised by extravagant new secretariat buildings rising in almost every state capital. Surveying the machinery of government, he contends there are too many ministries and departments (a now-needless Law Ministry, a long-lived Rehabilitation and Refugee Ministry, a Community Development Ministry intruding on a State subject), excessive establishment costs, and a tax-collection apparatus that consumes an unusually high share of revenue. ## Key points - Because government spends the money of a very poor people, economical administration is a moral as well as a fiscal duty. - Post-independence governments spend like 'the new poor' aping the new rich, exemplified by extravagant new state secretariat buildings. - India's government has too many ministries and departments; several (Law, Rehabilitation/Refugee, Community Development) are unnecessary or duplicative. - General-administration and tax-collection costs are disproportionately high — about 10% spent on collecting taxes, a share not seen in advanced countries. - Invokes the 18th-century parliamentary resolution that 'the influence of the Crown has grown... ought to be diminished', reapplied to government expenditure. - Calls for an efficiency audit (citing Japan's Auditor-General with expert teams) and proper priorities in planning — village roads and rural housing before great highways and steel works. - Distinguishes a government 'of the people, by the people' from one genuinely 'for the people', which requires spending on service and redress of poverty. - Frames thrift as saving people, not merely money: 'I want saving not because I want to save money but because I want to save people.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Towards Greater Production & Productivity URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/towards-greater-production-and-productivity-may-1964/ ### Summary In the rendered pages, 'Towards Greater Production & Productivity' presents itself as a symposium organised by the Forum of Free Enterprise and published as a popular pocketbook by Popular Prakashan (May 1964). An introduction signed by A. D. Shroff, President of the Forum, frames the volume's purpose: economic development in an underdeveloped country is the elimination of poverty, there is 'no royal path' to it, and greater production and productivity from existing resources is the essential pre-requisite because only that maximises the wealth available for savings and investment. The book collects seven practical essays — on forms of business organisation, personnel policy, standard costing, modern marketing, decision-making, industrial relations, and materials management — based on a series of Forum lectures and aimed at improving the production and productivity of enterprises. In the rendered pages only the opening of the first essay is visible; the remaining essays fall outside this chunk. ### Body # Towards Greater Production & Productivity ## Summary In the rendered pages, 'Towards Greater Production & Productivity' presents itself as a symposium organised by the Forum of Free Enterprise and published as a popular pocketbook by Popular Prakashan (May 1964). An introduction signed by A. D. Shroff, President of the Forum, frames the volume's purpose: economic development in an underdeveloped country is the elimination of poverty, there is 'no royal path' to it, and greater production and productivity from existing resources is the essential pre-requisite because only that maximises the wealth available for savings and investment. The book collects seven practical essays — on forms of business organisation, personnel policy, standard costing, modern marketing, decision-making, industrial relations, and materials management — based on a series of Forum lectures and aimed at improving the production and productivity of enterprises. In the rendered pages only the opening of the first essay is visible; the remaining essays fall outside this chunk. ## Essays ### Forms of Business Organisation: Tax, Company Law and other Considerations *By H. B. Dhondy* In the rendered pages, H. B. Dhondy — described as a leading chartered accountant — opens 'Forms of Business Organisation: Tax, Company Law and other Considerations' by observing that the businessman starting an enterprise attends carefully to machinery, men, finance, markets and raw materials but rarely gives thought to which legal form of organisation best suits his circumstances, leaving it to chance or his legal advisers. He argues this neglect is costly, citing a large international firm whose Indian business suffered after being converted into a public company unsuited to its need for continuous on-the-spot managerial risk-taking. Writing for the layman about to set up a small or medium business, he surveys the available forms — sole proprietorship, partnership, and private or public company (subsidiary or non-subsidiary) — weighing the independence of the sole proprietor against the corporate form, whose key advantage in the rendered pages he identifies as the limited liability of shareholders behind the company's separate legal personality. - Businessmen lavish attention on resources but neglect the choice of legal form of organisation, often deciding it by chance. - The wrong organisational form can damage a business, illustrated by an international firm hurt after conversion to a public company. - Surveys the main forms: sole proprietorship, partnership, and private/public company. - The sole proprietor gains maximum independence and flexibility with minimal legal formalities. - In the rendered pages, limited liability is presented as the single most important factor behind the growth of joint-stock companies. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Towards a Responsible Press URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/towards-a-responsible-press-shri-c-rajagopalachari-speeches-on-the-press-bill-in-parliament/ ### Summary This Government of India (Publications Division) volume collects C. Rajagopalachari's parliamentary speeches, delivered as Union Home Minister in September-October 1951, on the Press (Objectionable Matter) Bill, 1951. In the rendered pages, the booklet opens with the Bill's Statement of Objects and Reasons — which presents the measure as fulfilling a promise made during the First Amendment debates to replace the 'objectionable features' of the Press (Emergency Powers) Act, 1931 with a law in consonance with the new Constitution — and then moves into Rajaji's principal speech introducing the Bill. In the rendered pages Rajagopalachari frames the Bill as an attempt to curb only proven, repeated abuses of press freedom — incitement to violence, sabotage, and grossly scurrilous, indecent, or obscene matter — rather than to impose pre-censorship. He stresses procedural safeguards: no action in anticipation, security demanded only after a judicial authority (a sessions judge) finds actual abuse following a full trial, the right to trial by a special jury drawn from those experienced in journalism or public affairs, and a right of appeal.… ### Body # Towards a Responsible Press *By C. Rajagopalachari* ## Summary This Government of India (Publications Division) volume collects C. Rajagopalachari's parliamentary speeches, delivered as Union Home Minister in September-October 1951, on the Press (Objectionable Matter) Bill, 1951. In the rendered pages, the booklet opens with the Bill's Statement of Objects and Reasons — which presents the measure as fulfilling a promise made during the First Amendment debates to replace the 'objectionable features' of the Press (Emergency Powers) Act, 1931 with a law in consonance with the new Constitution — and then moves into Rajaji's principal speech introducing the Bill. In the rendered pages Rajagopalachari frames the Bill as an attempt to curb only proven, repeated abuses of press freedom — incitement to violence, sabotage, and grossly scurrilous, indecent, or obscene matter — rather than to impose pre-censorship. He stresses procedural safeguards: no action in anticipation, security demanded only after a judicial authority (a sessions judge) finds actual abuse following a full trial, the right to trial by a special jury drawn from those experienced in journalism or public affairs, and a right of appeal. He repeatedly insists that the body of responsible journalists has nothing to fear and that the aim is a 'responsible press'. In his closing remarks in the rendered pages he reflects candidly on the difficulty of defining obscenity, and moves that the House refer the Bill to a large and representative Select Committee. Because only the front matter and the opening speech were rendered (about 20 of 125 pages), this summary reflects only that portion; the remaining parliamentary speeches, replies to debate, and the full Bill text were not seen. ## Key points - Government of India Publications Division volume collecting Rajaji's 1951 parliamentary speeches as Home Minister on the Press (Objectionable Matter) Bill. - In the rendered pages the Bill is framed as replacing the objectionable Press (Emergency Powers) Act, 1931 in line with the new Constitution. - Rajaji argues, in the rendered pages, that the Bill targets only proven, repeated abuses — not pre-censorship. - He emphasises judicial safeguards: action only after a sessions judge finds actual abuse following a full trial, with appeal. - He proposes trial by a special jury experienced in journalism or public affairs. - He concedes the genuine difficulty of defining 'obscene' or 'scurrilous' matter. - He moves to refer the Bill to a large, representative Select Committee. - Coverage caveat: only ~16% of the work (front matter and opening speech) was rendered. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Towards Inclusive Information Technology Revolution in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/towards-inclusive-information-technology-revolution-in-india-f-c-kohli-august-4-2009/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces F. C. Kohli's acceptance speech for a Lifetime Achievement Award (2008-09), delivered at a Bombay Management Association function. Kohli, the TCS pioneer widely called the father of India's IT industry, reflects on more than fifty years in technology and offers a candid, comparative assessment of where Indian IT stands. He argues that although India pioneered software export and consultancy — creating jobs and export revenue exceeding US$60 billion — it captures only a small fraction of the global software and services market (about 2.7%) and lags badly in hardware, where its share is well under 1%. China, by contrast, has built far larger software revenue and a massive domestic hardware output. Kohli's central worry is that computerization within India remains extremely low and concentrated, and the benefits of software have not reached inadequately served or deprived sections of society and the economy. ### Body # Towards Inclusive Information Technology Revolution in India *By F. C. KOHLI* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces F. C. Kohli's acceptance speech for a Lifetime Achievement Award (2008-09), delivered at a Bombay Management Association function. Kohli, the TCS pioneer widely called the father of India's IT industry, reflects on more than fifty years in technology and offers a candid, comparative assessment of where Indian IT stands. He argues that although India pioneered software export and consultancy — creating jobs and export revenue exceeding US$60 billion — it captures only a small fraction of the global software and services market (about 2.7%) and lags badly in hardware, where its share is well under 1%. China, by contrast, has built far larger software revenue and a massive domestic hardware output. Kohli's central worry is that computerization within India remains extremely low and concentrated, and the benefits of software have not reached inadequately served or deprived sections of society and the economy. ## Key points - Kohli traces his career across Tata Electric and TCS and his early-1970s conviction that India could lead, not just join, the information-technology revolution. - India pioneered software export/consultancy (revenue over US$60 billion, ~$50 billion from exports) but holds only about 2.7% of the ~$2,200 billion global software-and-services market. - India's hardware industry (~$12 billion) is a tiny 0.7% of the global total, far behind China's roughly $200 billion output. - Computerization inside India is extremely low; he urges far wider use across government, defence, agriculture, education and retail. - Calls for software in India's 22-plus languages and affordable hardware to serve the ~900 million people who do not speak English. - Stresses building microelectronics capability and engineers, citing initiatives to upgrade microelectronics education at engineering colleges. - Sees IT as a tool for inclusive development — supporting small-scale industry, small engineering units (e.g. Coimbatore), and India's 10-12 million small shops against the threat of large retail chains. - Closes that excellence in education requires discipline, sacrifice and enhanced resources, with the refrain 'We have miles to go.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Towards Our Safe and Secure Energy Future URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/towards-our-safe-and-secure-energy-future-dr-anil-kakodkar-may-4-2011/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces the 44th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered in Mumbai on 27 October 2010 by Dr. Anil Kakodkar, eminent nuclear scientist and former Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. Framing energy security as a question of India's "very survival" in a competitive world, Kakodkar argues that to sustain 9%-plus GDP growth over coming decades India's total energy requirement will have to grow more than tenfold in twenty years, and that per-capita power consumption — at a woefully low 650 KWH — must be pitched at least toward a modest 2000 KWH per capita, requiring generating capacity to be augmented more than twenty times. The lecture surveys the available options — coal and thermal (currently about 65% of generation), nuclear, solar, wind and bio-mass — and weighs their feasibility against constraints of land, environment and climate. Kakodkar warns that although India holds the largest coal reserves, at the higher consumption levels those reserves would be exhausted within roughly fifteen years, and that meeting demand through coal imports on the required scale would choke infrastructure.… ### Body # Towards Our Safe and Secure Energy Future *By Dr. Anil Kakodkar* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces the 44th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, delivered in Mumbai on 27 October 2010 by Dr. Anil Kakodkar, eminent nuclear scientist and former Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. Framing energy security as a question of India's "very survival" in a competitive world, Kakodkar argues that to sustain 9%-plus GDP growth over coming decades India's total energy requirement will have to grow more than tenfold in twenty years, and that per-capita power consumption — at a woefully low 650 KWH — must be pitched at least toward a modest 2000 KWH per capita, requiring generating capacity to be augmented more than twenty times. The lecture surveys the available options — coal and thermal (currently about 65% of generation), nuclear, solar, wind and bio-mass — and weighs their feasibility against constraints of land, environment and climate. Kakodkar warns that although India holds the largest coal reserves, at the higher consumption levels those reserves would be exhausted within roughly fifteen years, and that meeting demand through coal imports on the required scale would choke infrastructure. He presents comparative data on world, OECD and non-OECD population, electricity generation and carbon-dioxide emission to argue that development aspirations and climate constraints create a dual challenge for developing countries. His core recommendation is that nuclear energy — presently only about 3% of the country's supply — is the best long-term option, pursued through a three-stage indigenous programme combining domestic PHWRs and fast breeder reactors with imported light water reactors and recycled fuel, advanced thorium technology, and high-level diplomacy to secure uranium. He projects that this strategy could bridge a sustained 25-30% requirement-availability gap and preserve India's technological self-reliance even after import restrictions were lifted. Delivered before the March 2011 Fukushima incident, the lecture is presented by FFE President Minoo R. Shroff with a note that, despite Fukushima, India should not reject or delay Jaitapur and other nuclear projects given its serious power deficiency. ## Key points - Delivered as the 44th A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, Mumbai, 27 October 2010, by nuclear scientist Dr. Anil Kakodkar. - To sustain 9%-plus GDP growth, India's total energy requirement must grow over tenfold in twenty years. - India's per-capita power consumption (~650 KWH) is far below emerging-country norms; Kakodkar urges a target of at least 2000 KWH per capita, needing 20x more capacity. - Coal supplies ~65% of generation; at higher consumption India's coal reserves would run out in about fifteen years and import-scale logistics would choke infrastructure. - Nuclear energy (only ~3% of supply) is presented as the best long-term option, via a three-stage indigenous PHWR/fast-breeder/thorium programme plus imported LWRs and recycled fuel. - Comparative world/OECD/non-OECD data frame the dual challenge of development aspirations versus carbon-dioxide and climate constraints. - The lecture argues this strategy preserves India's energy independence and technological self-reliance even after import restrictions are lifted. - FFE President Minoo R. Shroff's introduction, written post-Fukushima (10 May 2011), urges India not to reject or delay Jaitapur and other nuclear projects. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Towards Self-Reliance and Greater Productivity URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/towards-self-reliance-and-greater-productivity-y-a-fazalbhoy-b-t-dastur-april-12-1966/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, issued for the 1966 India Productivity Year, gathers two essays under the banner of self-reliance and greater productivity. In an introduction dated 12 April 1966, FFE President Murarji J. Vaidya frames the volume as the Forum's educative contribution to the national drive for greater production and productivity amid economic crisis. The first essay, by industrialist Y. A. Fazalbhoy (President of the Bombay Productivity Council), argues for self-reliance through indigenous research, improved productivity and quality in private enterprise; the second, by business executive B. T. Dastur, offers a practical catalogue of measures for raising office productivity. Together the essays press the case that free enterprise must earn its place by lowering costs, cutting waste and building indigenous technological capacity. ### Body # Towards Self-Reliance and Greater Productivity ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, issued for the 1966 India Productivity Year, gathers two essays under the banner of self-reliance and greater productivity. In an introduction dated 12 April 1966, FFE President Murarji J. Vaidya frames the volume as the Forum's educative contribution to the national drive for greater production and productivity amid economic crisis. The first essay, by industrialist Y. A. Fazalbhoy (President of the Bombay Productivity Council), argues for self-reliance through indigenous research, improved productivity and quality in private enterprise; the second, by business executive B. T. Dastur, offers a practical catalogue of measures for raising office productivity. Together the essays press the case that free enterprise must earn its place by lowering costs, cutting waste and building indigenous technological capacity. ## Essays ### Towards Self-Reliance *By Y. A. Fazalbhoy* Fazalbhoy opens against the backdrop of the Fourth Plan, the 1962 China and 1965 Pakistan wars, and a large foreign-exchange deficit, arguing that the national emergency demands a closer study of development plans and a serious pursuit of self-reliance. Quoting Lal Bahadur Shastri that self-reliance is "an attitude of mind", he contends free enterprise is not secure unless it lowers the cost of indigenous products through higher productivity, improves quality and plant layout, and creates research facilities to develop indigenous know-how and limit foreign dependence. He stresses that the rate of scientific discovery depends on the funds and number of scientists employed, and that placing dynamic, progressive personalities in key positions in the private sector is the most essential prerequisite for harnessing Indian scientific research — concluding that research and industry must become part and parcel of each other. - Written amid the Fourth Plan, the 1962/1965 wars and a Rs. 1,998-crore foreign-exchange deficit, framing self-reliance as a national-emergency priority. - Self-reliance defined (after Shastri) as an attitude of mind: making do with what one has, not total self-sufficiency. - Free enterprise must lower costs via higher productivity, improve quality and plant layout, and build indigenous research capacity. - Scientific discovery's rate depends on funds and the number of scientists employed; research can be planned. - Placing dynamic, progressive people in key private-sector positions is the essential prerequisite for using Indian research; research and industry must merge. ### Office Productivity *By B. T. Dastur* Dastur's essay "Office Productivity" laments that while India's Productivity Year drew abundant attention to raw materials and the factory floor, office productivity was neglected — even national awards for useful suggestions excluded office-economy gains because they seem less tangible than cuts in coal or yarn consumption. He insists the office can and must be made a productive unit and that management by measurement applies as much there as in a mine or workshop. He diagnoses common causes of office waste — delay, the "Backlog Syndrome", poor arrangement, uncodified responsibilities, functional rigidity, and neglect of the working environment — then offers a long, granular list of practicable economies: question every form and procedure via review technique, minimise correspondence and office copies, re-use envelopes, files and packing material, economise on stationery, maintain a "Flying Squad" for peak absenteeism, codify individual responsibilities in a manual, and reward by results and merit alone. - Office productivity is neglected relative to factory and raw-material economies, even in incentive schemes. - Two premises: the office is (and can be made) a productive unit; management by measurement applies as in a mine or workshop. - Diagnoses delay, the "Backlog Syndrome", poor arrangement, uncodified duties, functional rigidity and poor work environment as causes of low productivity. - Prescribes review technique to question every form and procedure, and merit/results-based reward. - Offers concrete economies: minimise correspondence and office copies, re-use envelopes/files/packing, economise stationery, and keep a "Flying Squad" for peak periods. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Transparency, Accountability RTI Act & All That URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/transparency-accountability-rti-act-all-that-maja-daruwala-shailesh-gandhi/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects two speeches delivered at the Twelfth M. R. Pai Memorial Award Function in Mumbai on 6 May 2016 — by Maja Daruwala, Director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and the function's Chief Guest, and by Shailesh Gandhi, the foremost RTI activist and former Central Information Commissioner who received the award. In an introduction signed by editor Sunil S. Bhandare, the Forum frames transparency and accountability as the key hallmarks of good governance and the weak links of India's political ethos, and identifies common threads between the two speeches: both build on the Supreme Court's landmark Jayantilal N. Mistry judgment compelling RBI disclosure of bank inspection reports, both warn of mounting political resistance to the Right to Information Act, and both call on citizens to take active responsibility for defending it. The rendered pages cover the editor's introduction and the whole of Daruwala's essay; Shailesh Gandhi's essay falls in the unrendered tail of the booklet. ### Body # Transparency, Accountability RTI Act & All That ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet collects two speeches delivered at the Twelfth M. R. Pai Memorial Award Function in Mumbai on 6 May 2016 — by Maja Daruwala, Director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and the function's Chief Guest, and by Shailesh Gandhi, the foremost RTI activist and former Central Information Commissioner who received the award. In an introduction signed by editor Sunil S. Bhandare, the Forum frames transparency and accountability as the key hallmarks of good governance and the weak links of India's political ethos, and identifies common threads between the two speeches: both build on the Supreme Court's landmark Jayantilal N. Mistry judgment compelling RBI disclosure of bank inspection reports, both warn of mounting political resistance to the Right to Information Act, and both call on citizens to take active responsibility for defending it. The rendered pages cover the editor's introduction and the whole of Daruwala's essay; Shailesh Gandhi's essay falls in the unrendered tail of the booklet. ## Essays ### The Value of Transparency and Accountability *By Maja Daruwala* Maja Daruwala's address, "The Value of Transparency and Accountability," opens with a wry conceit about being held to account before her maker, then turns to the Supreme Court's Jayantilal N. Mistry judgment, which rejected the RBI's claim that disclosing bank inspection and audit reports under the RTI Act would breach a fiduciary duty, harm the national economic interest, or violate banks' commercial confidence. She reads the judgment as a defence of openness as a public good: an informed, sovereign citizenry is better placed to evaluate the legislature and executive, and disclosure of irregularities strengthens rather than endangers economic security. Marshalling the RTI statistics that banks themselves submitted to the Central Information Commission, Daruwala argues the data do not support the "constraint theory" or "burden theory" by which public authorities portray RTI as a nuisance, and insists that data-driven analysis — not mere assertion — must govern any restrictive policy shift. She closes the rendered pages on a darker note, warning that resistance to RTI now ranges from non-compliance and intimidation to the murder of activists, that questioning is being recast as anti-national, and that even the highest in the land are unwilling to lead on transparency. - Delivered as Chief Guest's address at the 12th M. R. Pai Memorial Award Function, 6 May 2016, Mumbai. - Centres on the Supreme Court's Jayantilal N. Mistry judgment forcing RBI disclosure of bank inspection/audit reports under the RTI Act. - Rejects the RBI's 'fiduciary duty', 'economic interest' and 'commercial confidence' grounds for withholding information. - Argues openness serves economic progress: an informed sovereign citizenry can better evaluate government. - Uses banks' own CIC-submitted RTI statistics to refute the 'constraint theory' and 'burden theory' of RTI as a nuisance. - Calls for data-driven rather than assertion-driven policy on restricting information access. - Warns that resistance to RTI ranges from non-compliance and intimidation to the murder of over two dozen RTI activists. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Transport in Our Developing Economy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/transport-in-our-developing-economy-dr-f-p-antia-oct9-1962/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, Dr. F. P. Antia argues that efficient, adequate, and cheap transport is the sine qua non of India's industrialisation, and that a developing economy cannot prosper if goods cannot move when and where they are needed. Surveying India's four transport systems — railways, roads, air, and water — he documents how thin India's network is relative to advanced economies: railway mileage per head is roughly a quarter of the U.S. figure, road density a fraction of Western levels, and inland water transport, once vibrant, has been deliberately crippled by railway-protective policy. Antia's central polemic is that the Government of India has wrongly treated transport as synonymous with rail transport, suppressing road transport to divert traffic to the railways. He marshals data showing road transport is the cheaper, faster, door-to-door agency for most freight, that road's share has risen everywhere except India, and that the Third Five-Year Plan badly underestimates how much transport capacity (he calculates a need far above plan targets) the projected rise in national income will demand.… ### Body # Transport in Our Developing Economy *By Dr. F. P. Antia* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, Dr. F. P. Antia argues that efficient, adequate, and cheap transport is the sine qua non of India's industrialisation, and that a developing economy cannot prosper if goods cannot move when and where they are needed. Surveying India's four transport systems — railways, roads, air, and water — he documents how thin India's network is relative to advanced economies: railway mileage per head is roughly a quarter of the U.S. figure, road density a fraction of Western levels, and inland water transport, once vibrant, has been deliberately crippled by railway-protective policy. Antia's central polemic is that the Government of India has wrongly treated transport as synonymous with rail transport, suppressing road transport to divert traffic to the railways. He marshals data showing road transport is the cheaper, faster, door-to-door agency for most freight, that road's share has risen everywhere except India, and that the Third Five-Year Plan badly underestimates how much transport capacity (he calculates a need far above plan targets) the projected rise in national income will demand. He warns that an overall shortage of transport facilities threatens to make the Plan's targets 'illusory.' He calls for a balanced, multi-agency transport policy that develops each mode in its legitimate sphere, with particular urgency on modernising and extending roads and on allocating foreign exchange for vehicle-manufacturing capacity. The booklet closes by insisting roads be accepted not as a luxury but as a full-fledged alternative agency of transport. ## Key points - Efficient, cheap, and timely transport is presented as the precondition (sina qua non) of industrialisation and economic development. - India's transport network is thin by international comparison: railway mileage per head ~25% of the U.S., road density as low as 6-10% of Western levels. - Inland water transport, historically important, has been deliberately crippled by railway-protective rate policy, citing the Acworth Committee (1920) and the Estimates Committee. - Government has wrongly equated transport with rail and suppressed road transport to divert traffic to the railways. - Road transport is shown to be cheaper, faster, and door-to-door, and its share has risen in every country except India. - The Third Five-Year Plan grossly under-provides for transport; Antia computes a required increase far above plan targets, risking an overall transport shortage. - Antia advocates a balanced multi-agency transport policy with urgent modernisation/extension of roads and foreign-exchange allocation for vehicle capacity. - Author footnote (p.1) identifies Antia as President of the Indian Roads and Transport Development Association. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Trends in Government Expenditure URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/trends-in-government-expenditure-april-2007/ ### Summary This booklet reproduces the Sixth Dr. S. Ambirajan Memorial Lecture, "Trends in Government Expenditure: Enhancing the Quality of Life of Our People," delivered by K.P. Geethakrishnan — former Finance Secretary of the Government of India and Chairman of the Expenditure Reforms Commission (2000–2001) — in Chennai on 30 March 2007. Framed as a tribute to the late economic historian S. Ambirajan, the "compassionate economist," the lecture treats government expenditure not as an accounting entry but as a tool for improving the quality of life of ordinary people, especially the poor. Geethakrishnan first surveys the long-run history of public spending in the developed countries, drawing heavily on Vito Tanzi and Ludger Schuknecht's 'Public Spending in the 20th Century: A Global Perspective.' He traces the rise of total government expenditure from around 10.8% of GDP in 1870 to roughly 45% by the mid-1990s, charting the expansion of welfare spending, subsidies and transfers, the impact of the Great Depression and the two World Wars, the constitutionalisation of welfare rights in several European states, and the late-century reaction against "Big Government" associated with Margaret Tha… ### Body # Trends in Government Expenditure *By K. P. Geethakrishnan* ## Summary This booklet reproduces the Sixth Dr. S. Ambirajan Memorial Lecture, "Trends in Government Expenditure: Enhancing the Quality of Life of Our People," delivered by K.P. Geethakrishnan — former Finance Secretary of the Government of India and Chairman of the Expenditure Reforms Commission (2000–2001) — in Chennai on 30 March 2007. Framed as a tribute to the late economic historian S. Ambirajan, the "compassionate economist," the lecture treats government expenditure not as an accounting entry but as a tool for improving the quality of life of ordinary people, especially the poor. Geethakrishnan first surveys the long-run history of public spending in the developed countries, drawing heavily on Vito Tanzi and Ludger Schuknecht's 'Public Spending in the 20th Century: A Global Perspective.' He traces the rise of total government expenditure from around 10.8% of GDP in 1870 to roughly 45% by the mid-1990s, charting the expansion of welfare spending, subsidies and transfers, the impact of the Great Depression and the two World Wars, the constitutionalisation of welfare rights in several European states, and the late-century reaction against "Big Government" associated with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. He argues that, the political pull toward more welfare being structural in democracies, expenditure tends to flatten rather than sharply fall. Turning to India, he sets 1989–90 as a baseline and contrasts pre- and post-1991-reform expenditure patterns, documenting the expenditure compression that accompanied fiscal consolidation, the squeeze on Plan capital expenditure and public investment, and the comparative shortfall of Indian spending on education, health and pensions against developed-country norms. His central, deliberately counter-intuitive contention is that expenditure compression can be counter-productive: while non-Plan expenditure must be controlled, India should be willing to raise productive social-sector spending — perhaps by as much as 10% of GDP — to extend universal, good-quality education, health, infrastructure and a social safety net. He calls this a "calculated risk" worth taking and presses for pension reform, better targeting, and a genuine commitment from "the powers that be" to the quality and coverage of welfare programmes. An appendix tabulates the developed-country expenditure trends underpinning the argument. ## Key points - The work is the text of the Sixth Dr. S. Ambirajan Memorial Lecture, delivered by K.P. Geethakrishnan in Chennai on 30 March 2007. - Geethakrishnan, a former Finance Secretary and Chairman of the Expenditure Reforms Commission, frames public spending as a tool for enhancing the quality of life rather than mere accounting. - He surveys developed-country expenditure history (c.1870–1995), drawing on Tanzi and Schuknecht's 'Public Spending in the 20th Century,' showing total spending rising from ~10.8% to ~45% of GDP. - He notes the late-century turn against 'Big Government' under Thatcher and Reagan, but argues democratic pressure keeps welfare spending high. - For India he uses 1989–90 as a baseline and documents post-1991 expenditure compression, especially the squeeze on Plan capital expenditure and public investment. - He shows India lagging developed-country norms — and even their 1960 levels — in education, health and pension spending. - His central counter-intuitive claim: expenditure compression can be counter-productive; India should raise productive social-sector spending, possibly by ~10% of GDP. - He advocates pension reform, better targeting, and a 'calculated risk' of higher welfare spending despite the low tax-to-GDP ratio and high deficits. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Trends in Industrial Finance in India and Elsewhere URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/trends-in-industrial-finance-in-india-and-elsewhere-mr-rashad-kaldany-april-29-1998/ ### Summary Delivered as the 1998 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, Rashad Kaldany — Director of the IFC's Asia II Department — surveys how industrial finance has evolved in India and internationally. His central thesis is that the classical resource constraint on development has been relaxed: between 1991 and 1996 private capital flows to developing countries tripled (from about US$100 billion to nearly US$300 billion) while public flows collapsed, so the pressing task today is to build institutions that can assess, mitigate, and price financial risk rather than simply mobilise scarce capital. Kaldany traces the changing role of development banks, arguing that India's state development-finance institutions — IFCI, ICICI, and IDBI — have outgrown their original subsidised-credit mandates and diversified into credit rating, merchant banking, venture capital, and (in ICICI's case) commercial banking and asset management, becoming increasingly market-oriented.… ### Body # Trends in Industrial Finance in India and Elsewhere *By Rashad Kaldany* ## Summary Delivered as the 1998 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture, Rashad Kaldany — Director of the IFC's Asia II Department — surveys how industrial finance has evolved in India and internationally. His central thesis is that the classical resource constraint on development has been relaxed: between 1991 and 1996 private capital flows to developing countries tripled (from about US$100 billion to nearly US$300 billion) while public flows collapsed, so the pressing task today is to build institutions that can assess, mitigate, and price financial risk rather than simply mobilise scarce capital. Kaldany traces the changing role of development banks, arguing that India's state development-finance institutions — IFCI, ICICI, and IDBI — have outgrown their original subsidised-credit mandates and diversified into credit rating, merchant banking, venture capital, and (in ICICI's case) commercial banking and asset management, becoming increasingly market-oriented. He praises ICICI as an almost ideal blend of developmental orientation and financial innovation, reviews commercial-banking reform after 1991 (and the 1991/92 securities scam), and describes the World Bank Group's and IFC's technical-assistance and equity support for both public and newly licensed private banks. The lecture then charts the rise of India's capital markets — the dramatic growth of the Bombay/Mumbai Stock Exchange, the creation of SEBI, credit rating agencies, and a central clearing house, and the expansion of retail shareholding — alongside the post-1996 equity downturn. Kaldany closes by examining newer instruments and channels: GDR issuance, leasing finance, and venture capital, noting how India's 1988 venture-capital guidelines privileged public over private institutions and thereby delayed private capital's entry. Throughout, he positions a well-functioning, well-regulated financial sector as more central to industrial growth and employment in developing countries than is often recognised. ## Key points - The lecture is the 1998 A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture; Kaldany is Director, Asia II Department, IFC. - Central thesis: the classical resource (capital) constraint has been relaxed; the new challenge is building institutions to assess, mitigate, and price financial risk. - Private capital flows to developing countries rose from ~US$100bn (1991) to ~US$300bn (1996) while public/official flows fell from ~US$50bn to under US$3bn. - India's development finance institutions (IFCI, ICICI, IDBI) have diversified beyond subsidised long-term lending; ICICI is praised as a near-ideal developmental-cum-innovative intermediary. - Reviews post-1991 commercial banking reform, the 1991/92 securities scam, and World Bank/IFC support for public and private banks. - Documents capital-market growth: Mumbai Stock Exchange market cap from US$17bn (1987) to over US$120bn (1996-97), creation of SEBI, ~40 million shareholders by mid-1990s. - Surveys newer financing channels — GDRs (over US$5.3bn raised), leasing finance, and venture capital — and critiques India's 1988 VC guidelines for favouring public over private institutions. - Argues a well-functioning, well-regulated financial sector matters more for industrial growth and employment in developing countries than often realised. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Civil Service in Transition URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/transition-in-civil-services-by-bk-nehru-2000/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, B. K. Nehru — a distinguished former civil servant and former Indian Ambassador to the United States — traces the rise and decline of the civil service as an institution of the modern state. Originally delivered as a lecture in the India International Centre's "Looking Back: India in the 20th Century" series on 15 October 1999, the text begins with the historical emergence of a professional bureaucracy under the Bourbons and Napoleon, then narrates the making of the Indian Civil Service from the East India Company's College of Fort William and Haileybury through the opening of competitive examination in 1853. The heart of the lecture is an argument that the Indian Civil Service, conceived as an instrument of the Rule of Law accountable to the law rather than to rulers, has been progressively destroyed by political interference. Nehru illustrates this with cases of ministers demanding unquestioning obedience and duty-free passage for personal goods, and contends that the chief weapon used to bend civil servants is the threat of frequent, arbitrary transfers.… ### Body # The Civil Service in Transition *By B. K. Nehru* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, B. K. Nehru — a distinguished former civil servant and former Indian Ambassador to the United States — traces the rise and decline of the civil service as an institution of the modern state. Originally delivered as a lecture in the India International Centre's "Looking Back: India in the 20th Century" series on 15 October 1999, the text begins with the historical emergence of a professional bureaucracy under the Bourbons and Napoleon, then narrates the making of the Indian Civil Service from the East India Company's College of Fort William and Haileybury through the opening of competitive examination in 1853. The heart of the lecture is an argument that the Indian Civil Service, conceived as an instrument of the Rule of Law accountable to the law rather than to rulers, has been progressively destroyed by political interference. Nehru illustrates this with cases of ministers demanding unquestioning obedience and duty-free passage for personal goods, and contends that the chief weapon used to bend civil servants is the threat of frequent, arbitrary transfers. He argues corruption descended from the political world downward into the services, and that the constitutional ideals of democracy, equality, secularism and the Rule of Law remain at odds with an older Indian tradition of absolute royal power ("Raja and Praja"). Nehru extends his critique to the Indian Police Service, which he says has in places become "the private army of the Chief Minister," and laments that successive reform reports — the Administrative Reforms Commission under Morarji Desai, the Sarkaria Commission, and the Dharma Vira Commission on police — have gathered dust without action. He closes the rendered pages by noting that the failure to provide liberty, justice and equality has bred discontent, and that restoring the machinery to implement the law requires a political will that does not yet exist. ## Key points - Reprint of a B. K. Nehru lecture in the IIC 'Looking Back: India in the 20th Century' series, delivered 15 October 1999. - Traces the civil service from the Bourbons and Napoleon to the Indian Civil Service via Fort William, Haileybury and the 1853 opening of competitive examination. - Argues the civil service is an instrument of the Rule of Law, accountable to law rather than to rulers. - Contends political interference — especially the threat of arbitrary transfers — has bent and corrupted civil servants (the minister's 'Category A/B/C' anecdote). - Holds that corruption descended from the political world downward; the ICS resisted dishonesty far longer despite meagre salaries. - Locates the conflict in a clash between the Constitution's imported ideals (democracy, equality, secularism, Rule of Law) and an indigenous tradition of absolute royal power. - Criticises the politicisation of the Indian Police Service as the Chief Minister's 'private army'. - Notes major reform reports (Administrative Reforms Commission under Morarji Desai, Sarkaria Commission, Dharma Vira Commission) have been ignored. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Two Alarming Phenomena URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/two-alarming-phenomena-by-sir-homi-mody-sl-kirloskar-and-mr-ramnivas-r-ruia-february-1957/ ### Summary This short Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet (February 1957) gathers three contemporary utterances by leaders in the field of free enterprise to dramatise what it calls 'two alarming phenomena': the progressive concentration of economic power in political and bureaucratic hands, and an unremitting tendency on the part of Government and its spokesmen to belittle and throttle free enterprise. The Forum presents excerpts from Sir Homi Mody's presidential address to the Employers' Federation of India, S. L. Kirloskar's presidential address to the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers' Association, and a press statement by the industrialist Ramnivas R. Ruia. Together the three voices warn that heavy taxation, exchange controls, expanding State trading, and policy-induced fear are sapping private initiative and enterprise at a critical moment in India's Second Five-Year Plan. ### Body # Two Alarming Phenomena ## Summary This short Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet (February 1957) gathers three contemporary utterances by leaders in the field of free enterprise to dramatise what it calls 'two alarming phenomena': the progressive concentration of economic power in political and bureaucratic hands, and an unremitting tendency on the part of Government and its spokesmen to belittle and throttle free enterprise. The Forum presents excerpts from Sir Homi Mody's presidential address to the Employers' Federation of India, S. L. Kirloskar's presidential address to the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers' Association, and a press statement by the industrialist Ramnivas R. Ruia. Together the three voices warn that heavy taxation, exchange controls, expanding State trading, and policy-induced fear are sapping private initiative and enterprise at a critical moment in India's Second Five-Year Plan. ## Essays ### Presidential address of Sir Homi Mody at the Twenty-Fourth Annual General Meeting of the Employers' Federation of India at Calcutta on February 26, 1957 *By Sir Homi Mody* In his presidential address to the 24th Annual General Meeting of the Employers' Federation of India (Calcutta, 26 February 1957), Sir Homi Mody warns that the Second Five-Year Plan has under-estimated its foreign-exchange needs and that the resulting gap is likely to be met by additional taxation reaching alarming figures. He argues that the real issue is whether the Plan's objectives are pursued in a way that breaks the country's economy and undermines liberty and democratic institutions, insisting that liberty is lost not by a single stroke but 'by a gradual and step by step abridgement.' He laments the State's growing encroachment on areas that are the legitimate sphere of private enterprise — citing the revised Industrial Policy Statement and the extension of State trading — and quotes Abraham Lincoln on the proper limits of government, contending that commerce and trade are ill-suited to bureaucratic handling. - Delivered as the presidential address to the Employers' Federation of India's 24th AGM, Calcutta, 26 Feb 1957. - Argues the Second Plan under-estimated foreign-exchange requirements, prompting dangerous additional taxation. - Frames liberty as eroded gradually rather than at one stroke, urging vigilance against creeping abridgement. - Criticises State trading and expanding government encroachment on enterprise's legitimate sphere. - Invokes Abraham Lincoln's dictum on the limited proper object of government. ### Presidential address of Mr. S. L. Kirloskar at the Tenth Annual General Meeting of the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers' Association in Bombay on February 28, 1957 *By Mr. S. L. Kirloskar* In his presidential address to the 10th Annual General Meeting of the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers' Association (Bombay, 28 February 1957), S. L. Kirloskar contends that recent laws and announcements in political, financial, industrial and labour policy have acted as 'a great damper' on the starting of new enterprises and the existing activities of factories in the private sector. He argues that no individual is now prepared to embark on a risk-forming venture when confronted by innumerable rules, orders and regulations covering every aspect of running an industry, and warns that the Government's constant criticism of the private sector, industries and industrialists is needlessly creating a sense of fear and helplessness that reduces enthusiasm and entrepreneurial spirit to the detriment of the country. - Delivered as the presidential address to the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers' Association's 10th AGM, Bombay, 28 Feb 1957. - Argues political, financial, industrial and labour policy changes have dampened new and existing private enterprise. - Stresses that excessive rules, orders and regulations deter risk-taking entrepreneurs. - Warns that constant government criticism of the private sector breeds fear and helplessness, harming the national interest. ### Press Statement on Feb. 1957 by Mr. Ramnivas R. Ruia *By Mr. Ramnivas R. Ruia* In a press statement of February 1957, the industrialist Ramnivas R. Ruia calls for co-ordination among the Ministries of Finance, Commerce and Industries, and Agriculture if the Second Plan is to be reasonably successful, warning that uncoordinated action by any one ministry will be harmful. Turning to the cotton trade, he defends forward (futures) markets against the previous year's government ban, arguing from his own experience that forward contracts can be framed so as not to fluctuate widely, that they provide genuine hedging facilities, and that suppressing them merely shifts speculation and pushes prices higher. He criticises the Commerce and Industries Minister for imposing conditions on forward trading that 'do not speculate,' likening over-regulation that ignores crop considerations to racing without permitting speculation, and argues that markets are paying the penalty for the previous year's interference. - From a February 1957 press statement by Ramnivas R. Ruia. - Urges inter-ministerial co-ordination (Finance, Commerce & Industries, Agriculture) for the Second Plan's success. - Defends cotton forward/futures trading as a legitimate hedging mechanism against the government's prior ban. - Argues banning forward contracts displaces rather than eliminates speculation and raises prices. - Criticises the Commerce and Industries Minister's over-regulation of the cotton trade. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Two Essays on Free Enterprise URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/two-essays-on-free-enterprises-f-a-hayek-aug9-1962/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces two articles by F. A. Hayek, prefaced by an introduction from A. D. Shroff that presents Hayek as a prophet of individual freedom against the encroachments of the state. The two essays argue, respectively, the economic and the moral case for free enterprise. In the first essay, 'The Free Market Economy is the Most Efficient Way of Solving Economic Problems,' Hayek develops his classic knowledge argument: an unhindered market provides the most efficient steering of production because it secures the fullest use of knowledge that is necessarily dispersed among millions of people and can never be assembled at a single central point. Prices act as an impersonal mechanism of communication, telling each individual the relative importance of resources and goods without requiring anyone to know the totality of facts; central planning, by contrast, must discard most of this information.… ### Body # Two Essays on Free Enterprise *By Friedrich Hayek* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces two articles by F. A. Hayek, prefaced by an introduction from A. D. Shroff that presents Hayek as a prophet of individual freedom against the encroachments of the state. The two essays argue, respectively, the economic and the moral case for free enterprise. In the first essay, 'The Free Market Economy is the Most Efficient Way of Solving Economic Problems,' Hayek develops his classic knowledge argument: an unhindered market provides the most efficient steering of production because it secures the fullest use of knowledge that is necessarily dispersed among millions of people and can never be assembled at a single central point. Prices act as an impersonal mechanism of communication, telling each individual the relative importance of resources and goods without requiring anyone to know the totality of facts; central planning, by contrast, must discard most of this information. Hayek then turns to the proper role of government, arguing that legitimate state action takes the form of general, predictable rules under the rule of law that frame and assist the market, while discretionary, arbitrary intervention that interferes with prices and the entry of individuals into trades is incompatible with a functioning free system. He concedes a wide range of genuine government service functions (roads, health, defence, monetary stability, education) but insists these be conducted, wherever possible, on the same terms as private enterprise and without claiming a coercive monopoly. In the second essay, 'The Moral Element in Free Enterprise,' Hayek contends that economic freedom is an indispensable condition of all other freedoms and a necessary consequence of personal freedom. Drawing on the Anglo-Saxon tradition of liberty under the law, he argues that moral values can grow only in an environment of freedom, since morality requires genuine choice rather than coerced obedience; a society that suppresses individual responsibility erodes the very capacity for moral judgement. He warns that a free society lacking a moral foundation is unstable, but maintains (citing John Stuart Mill) that morals must be cultivated through conviction and persuasion, not compulsion. He closes by insisting that the free enterprise system is only a means whose 'infinite possibilities must be used in the service of ends which exist apart.' ## Key points - An FFE booklet reproducing two Hayek articles, with an introduction by A. D. Shroff (President, FFE). - Essay 1 advances Hayek's knowledge argument: markets efficiently use dispersed knowledge no central planner can assemble. - Prices function as an impersonal communication mechanism coordinating decentralised decisions. - Legitimate government acts through general, predictable rules under the rule of law, not arbitrary discretionary intervention. - Hayek accepts genuine state service functions but resists coercive monopoly, urging they operate on the same terms as private enterprise. - Essay 2 argues economic freedom is an indispensable condition of all other freedoms. - Moral values require freedom and genuine choice; coerced virtue is not virtue, and suppressing responsibility erodes morality. - A free society needs a moral foundation, but morals must spread by conviction and persuasion (citing J. S. Mill), not compulsion. - The free enterprise system is a means; its possibilities must serve ends that exist apart from it. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] TWO YEARS OF ACHIEVEMENT URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/two-years-of-achievement-a-d-shroff-1958/ ### Summary A. D. Shroff's presidential address at the second general body meeting of the Forum of Free Enterprise, delivered in Bombay on 16 July 1958, is an audit of the Forum's first two years and a polemic against the economic management of Jawaharlal Nehru's government. Shroff opens by claiming that consistent public-education work has begun to puncture the policy fog in New Delhi — most concretely, that the Forum's campaign against the "obnoxious" compulsory deposits introduced in the 30 November 1956 budget has yielded a temporary suspension that, he predicts, will soon become permanent removal from the statute book. From there the address widens into a sustained critique of the Second Five-Year Plan. Shroff argues that the warnings the Forum issued eighteen months earlier about the foreign-exchange and resource positions — for which it was dismissed as a "panic-monger" — have been vindicated by Finance Ministry behaviour over the preceding three or four months. He goes further: the over-ambitious nature of the Plan has, in his view, brought India "to the verge of international insolvency," and the record of the two ex-Finance Ministers responsible — C. D. Deshmukh and T. T.… ### Body # TWO YEARS OF ACHIEVEMENT *By A. D. Shroff* ## Summary A. D. Shroff's presidential address at the second general body meeting of the Forum of Free Enterprise, delivered in Bombay on 16 July 1958, is an audit of the Forum's first two years and a polemic against the economic management of Jawaharlal Nehru's government. Shroff opens by claiming that consistent public-education work has begun to puncture the policy fog in New Delhi — most concretely, that the Forum's campaign against the "obnoxious" compulsory deposits introduced in the 30 November 1956 budget has yielded a temporary suspension that, he predicts, will soon become permanent removal from the statute book. From there the address widens into a sustained critique of the Second Five-Year Plan. Shroff argues that the warnings the Forum issued eighteen months earlier about the foreign-exchange and resource positions — for which it was dismissed as a "panic-monger" — have been vindicated by Finance Ministry behaviour over the preceding three or four months. He goes further: the over-ambitious nature of the Plan has, in his view, brought India "to the verge of international insolvency," and the record of the two ex-Finance Ministers responsible — C. D. Deshmukh and T. T. Krishnamachari — makes a strong case for impeachment, an instrument he treats as legitimate but rare under parliamentary government. Shroff then turns to the so-called "integrated pattern of taxation," reporting on a Finance Ministry note he encountered on returning from Europe in June 1958. He contends the scheme will not, as advertised, leave capital formation and industrial enterprise untouched but will instead disintegrate the very forces that produce saving and investment. He accuses the Ministry of publishing misleading capital-issue figures — exaggerated application totals — and calls for scrutiny of how much money actually came in through new issues and how many of the floated companies ever entered production. The address closes on a more institutional note. Drawing on the Forum's Manifesto, Shroff diagnoses the "controlled economy" as having bred fear in the general public and especially in business, who could not speak freely lest they jeopardise licences and government dealings. He treats the recent formation of a "Socialist Forum" inside one wing of the Congress Party as oblique tribute — proof that an appetite for open economic debate is spreading even among the ruling party — and reassures supporters that the Forum, predicted at its founding to fall to "infant mortality," has survived its first two years and intends to last many more. ## Key points - Shroff frames the Forum's two-year record as a public-opinion campaign that is starting to influence policy in New Delhi, citing the temporary suspension of compulsory deposits from the November 1956 budget as concrete proof. - He claims the Forum's earlier warnings about the foreign-exchange situation and the over-ambitious Second Five-Year Plan have been vindicated, and that India has been pushed 'to the verge of international insolvency.' - Argues that a 'strong case' exists for impeaching ex-Finance Ministers C. D. Deshmukh and T. T. Krishnamachari for the 'parlous condition' in which they left the country. - Attacks the proposed 'integrated pattern of taxation' as a measure that will disintegrate the healthy forces of capital formation and savings, despite Finance Ministry claims to the contrary. - Accuses the Finance Ministry of publishing exaggerated capital-issue application figures and calls for scrutiny of actual subscribed capital and how many promoted companies enter production. - Diagnoses the 'controlled economy' as having bred fear among the public and the business community, who refrain from speaking out because they depend on government licences. - Reads the emergence of a 'Socialist Forum' inside one wing of the Congress Party as a backhanded vindication of the Forum's role in opening up economic debate. - Defends the Forum's institutional survival past predictions of 'infant mortality' and reaffirms its educational mission for the years ahead. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] उदारवाद URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/udarwad-raj-samaj-aur-bazaar/ ### Summary This is a Hindi translation of Sauvik Chakraverti's English primer 'Free Your Mind: A Beginner's Guide to Political Economy', published by the Centre for Civil Society in 2006 and translated by Kaushal Kishore. Titled उदारवाद: राज, समाज और बाज़ार का नया पाठ (Liberalism: A New Reading of State, Society and Market), the book is addressed explicitly to young Indians and first-time voters who, in the rendered pages, are described as having been educated by a state-sponsored curriculum that teaches them to accept socialist premises uncritically. The preface argues that a free society rests on three pillars — political democracy, free-market economic freedom, and liberal education in the value of liberty — and charges that India, ranked 120th on the 1999 World Economic Freedom Index, possesses only the first. In the rendered pages, chapters 1–3 develop the book's foundational arguments. Chapter 1 ('Know Yourself') opens with the claim that the uniquely human capacity for voluntary exchange — व्यापार करने की योग्यता — is what distinguishes Homo Economicus from all other animals and is the root of all economic life.… ### Body ## Summary This is a Hindi translation of Sauvik Chakraverti's English primer 'Free Your Mind: A Beginner's Guide to Political Economy', published by the Centre for Civil Society in 2006 and translated by Kaushal Kishore. Titled उदारवाद: राज, समाज और बाज़ार का नया पाठ (Liberalism: A New Reading of State, Society and Market), the book is addressed explicitly to young Indians and first-time voters who, in the rendered pages, are described as having been educated by a state-sponsored curriculum that teaches them to accept socialist premises uncritically. The preface argues that a free society rests on three pillars — political democracy, free-market economic freedom, and liberal education in the value of liberty — and charges that India, ranked 120th on the 1999 World Economic Freedom Index, possesses only the first. In the rendered pages, chapters 1–3 develop the book's foundational arguments. Chapter 1 ('Know Yourself') opens with the claim that the uniquely human capacity for voluntary exchange — व्यापार करने की योग्यता — is what distinguishes Homo Economicus from all other animals and is the root of all economic life. Chapter 2 ('Population: A Cause of Prosperity') directly challenges the Malthusian consensus in Indian public discourse, arguing that because humans alone can generate wealth through the division of labour (श्रम विभाजन), a larger population is a source of prosperity rather than poverty; the chapter uses urbanisation data and the example of Singapore to sustain the argument. Chapter 3 ('The Failure of Political Markets') opens the introduction to public-choice reasoning, distinguishing private market choices from public or political choices and beginning to explain why political markets systematically fail where private markets succeed. This last chapter was only beginning at the end of the rendered pages. ## Key points - In the rendered pages, the book is framed as a corrective to state-sponsored socialist education, aimed at young Indians who are about to exercise their right to vote. - India's ranking of 120th on the 1999 World Economic Freedom Index is cited in the rendered pages as evidence that political democracy alone is insufficient without economic freedom. - Chapter 1 grounds the entire argument in a single premise: the capacity for voluntary exchange (व्यापार) is unique to humans and is the biological basis of all economic activity. - Chapter 2 inverts the standard Malthusian argument, contending in the rendered pages that population density — not smallness — is a driver of prosperity through the division of labour and the deepening of markets. - The civilisation-as-city etymology (Latin civitas) is deployed in the rendered pages to argue that urbanisation, commerce, and civilisation are inseparable, and that dispersed rural self-sufficiency is 'economic suicide' (आर्थिक आत्महत्या). - Self-sufficiency (स्व-पर्याप्तता) is explicitly condemned as a policy goal in the rendered pages, with the argument that it destroys the specialisation gains that markets make possible. - Chapter 3 introduces the concept of 'choice' as the central problem of economics and distinguishes individual market choice from collective political choice, setting up a public-choice critique that was only beginning at the end of the rendered pages. --- ## [Primary work] Unemployment & Imbalances in the Economy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/unemployment-and-imbalances-in-the-indian-economy-dr-v-m-dandekar-october-1972/ ### Summary Delivered as the seventh A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 27 October 1972, V. M. Dandekar's address takes stock of the employment failure of two decades of Indian planning. Using provisional 1971 Census data, he shows that while the population grew by 24.6 per cent between 1961 and 1971, the recorded number of workers actually fell by 2.6 per cent; even setting aside the suspicious decline in female workers and confining the analysis to males, he calculates a net addition of at least ten million workers to the backlog of unemployment over the decade. Dandekar locates the failure not in agriculture — whose employment expanded by 19.8 per cent against the limited scope for absorbing more labour — but in the non-agricultural sector, where employment grew by only 6.9 per cent. Within that sector, the organized portion (about a third) grew by 42.2 per cent while the unorganized portion contracted by 6.7 per cent, leaving the agricultural countryside to passively absorb a surplus population that industry could not employ. The second half of the rendered pages builds the policy critique.… ### Body # Unemployment & Imbalances in the Economy *By Dr. V. M. DANDEKAR* ## Summary Delivered as the seventh A. D. Shroff Memorial Lecture under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 27 October 1972, V. M. Dandekar's address takes stock of the employment failure of two decades of Indian planning. Using provisional 1971 Census data, he shows that while the population grew by 24.6 per cent between 1961 and 1971, the recorded number of workers actually fell by 2.6 per cent; even setting aside the suspicious decline in female workers and confining the analysis to males, he calculates a net addition of at least ten million workers to the backlog of unemployment over the decade. Dandekar locates the failure not in agriculture — whose employment expanded by 19.8 per cent against the limited scope for absorbing more labour — but in the non-agricultural sector, where employment grew by only 6.9 per cent. Within that sector, the organized portion (about a third) grew by 42.2 per cent while the unorganized portion contracted by 6.7 per cent, leaving the agricultural countryside to passively absorb a surplus population that industry could not employ. The second half of the rendered pages builds the policy critique. Dandekar argues that to even stabilize agricultural employment at 100 million workers, industrial employment would have to grow at roughly 11.6 per cent per annum during 1971-81 — more than three times the 3.6 per cent rate actually achieved in the previous decade. He is sceptical of fashionable 'crash programmes' such as running factories seven days a week, comparing them to dieting by skipping a meal a week to plug a food deficit. The deeper diagnosis is one of imbalances: between the production capacities of different industries (inter-industry imbalance), and between the deployment of capacity and the structure of consumption demand. He notes pointedly that faulty production planning is 'not a monopoly of the public sector' and traces under-utilisation to wrong technology choices and the import of expensive equipment that was never genuinely needed. Dandekar closes the rendered portion by turning to the strain in current thinking that blames industrial labour unrest and argues for stricter discipline. He rejects this framing, calling the wage-profit fight a classical class conflict that 'cannot be resolved on the Forum of Free Enterprise' and warning that the country cannot afford it at the present juncture. He then dismantles the employment-orientation argument for industrial policy: because every industry is linked to every other through backward and forward linkages, employment cannot be attributed to a single industry, and the purpose of industrial production is not employment per se but meeting the present and future needs of the population. The discussion of labour-intensive technology choice has just begun when the rendered chunk ends. ## Key points - Frames the lecture around a paradox in the 1971 Census: population up 24.6 per cent over the decade, but the recorded labour force down 2.6 per cent. - Estimates a net addition of at least 10 million male workers to the backlog of unemployment between 1961 and 1971 even after allowing for under-recording. - Identifies the agricultural sector's 19.8 per cent employment growth as 'remarkable' given limited scope, and pins the failure on non-agricultural employment growing only 6.9 per cent. - Decomposes non-agricultural employment into an organized sector that grew 42.2 per cent and an unorganized sector that shrank 6.7 per cent, with government service growing 'autonomously' regardless of the rest of the economy. - Calculates that to stabilize agricultural workers at 100 million by 1981, industrial employment would have to grow at 11.6 per cent per annum versus 3.6 per cent achieved in the previous decade. - Dismisses crash programmes (e.g. running factories seven days a week) as arithmetic gimmicks and argues that under-utilization of capacity stems from deeper imbalances, faulty planning, and inappropriate technology choices — 'not a monopoly of the public sector'. - Rejects the suggestion that industrial labour unrest is the cause of low productivity growth, calling the wage-profit dispute a class conflict between entrepreneurs, capital-owners, managerial class and workers that cannot be resolved on the Forum of Free Enterprise. - Argues against the 'employment-orientation' framing of industrial policy: through backward and forward linkages employment is indirect across the whole economy, and the purpose of industry is to meet population needs, not to provide jobs per se. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Unemployment in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/unemployment-in-india-b-k-nehru-august-12-1971/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet gathers three 1971 lectures on unemployment, each reprinted from a separate address, under an editorial introduction that frames unemployment of the illiterate and the highly educated alike as 'the most pressing problem of the Indian economy today.' B. K. Nehru argues that employment can only follow from increased production, not from currency expansion or make-work relief; Prof. K. B. Suri analyses the distinct character of rural under-employment and calls for a massive public-works programme to convert idle rural labour into capital; and S. N. Lal concentrates on the educated unemployed, urging a reorientation of the education system toward employment, encouragement of self-employment and small-scale ancillary industry, and vocational guidance. The contributors share a common diagnosis of urgency and a constructive, market-leaning bias, stressing productivity and entrepreneurship over state pension or subsidy schemes. ### Body # Unemployment in India ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet gathers three 1971 lectures on unemployment, each reprinted from a separate address, under an editorial introduction that frames unemployment of the illiterate and the highly educated alike as 'the most pressing problem of the Indian economy today.' B. K. Nehru argues that employment can only follow from increased production, not from currency expansion or make-work relief; Prof. K. B. Suri analyses the distinct character of rural under-employment and calls for a massive public-works programme to convert idle rural labour into capital; and S. N. Lal concentrates on the educated unemployed, urging a reorientation of the education system toward employment, encouragement of self-employment and small-scale ancillary industry, and vocational guidance. The contributors share a common diagnosis of urgency and a constructive, market-leaning bias, stressing productivity and entrepreneurship over state pension or subsidy schemes. ## Essays ### The First Priority *By B. K. Nehru* B. K. Nehru, then Governor of Assam, Meghalaya and Nagaland, contends that unemployment reflects low returns from employment and that the first national priority must be increased production. He distinguishes 'employment' from genuinely productive 'gainful employment', warning that putting people on the payroll without producing goods and services is mere monetary illusion that pushes up prices. Drawing an extended analogy to Lenin's New Economic Policy after the October Revolution, he argues that ideological objectives must be subordinated to the imperative of production, and that private enterprise and concessions to capital, however unwelcome to socialist theory, were and are necessary to raise output and thereby create real employment. - Unemployment is fundamentally a problem of insufficient production, not of money or payroll. - Creating purchasing power without matching output simply raises prices. - 'Gainful employment' must mean productive employment, not work for its own sake. - Cites Lenin's New Economic Policy as proof that ideology must yield to the need to increase production. - Private enterprise and concessions to capital are justified pragmatically by their productive results. ### A Massive Programme of Public Works Needed *By K. B. Suri* Prof. K. B. Suri, Reader in Demography at the Indian Institute of Population Studies, Bombay, distinguishes rural from urban unemployment, arguing that the rural problem takes the form of seasonal under-employment and disguised unemployment among the self-employed and family labour rather than open joblessness. He surveys the data difficulties that plague measurement — the Planning Commission's Western-derived 'man-year' estimates, National Sample Survey inconsistencies, and Reserve Bank figures placing the backlog at over 12 million by 1969 — and notes that roughly three-quarters of unemployment is rural. His central proposal, echoing estimates by Dandekar and Rath, is a massive labour-intensive public-works programme (irrigation, roads, market centres, warehousing) to convert idle rural manpower into durable capital, financed by an annual outlay of several hundred crores. - Rural unemployment is largely seasonal under-employment and disguised unemployment, not open joblessness. - Roughly three-quarters of India's unemployment is rural. - Official measurement is unreliable: Planning Commission man-year estimates, NSS inconsistencies, RBI's 12.6 million figure for 1969. - Proposes a large labour-intensive public-works programme to turn idle rural labour into capital. - Cites Dandekar and Rath's estimate that public works could supply Rs. 822 crores of supplemental income. ### The Problem of Educated Unemployed *By S. N. Lal* S. N. Lal, Director of E.I.D. Parry Ltd., Madras and Chairman of the Employers Federation of Southern India, addresses the educated unemployed, whom he calls the most serious aspect of the wider problem because it breeds acute social and political pressures — citing West Bengal, the Naxalite movement and recent violence. He projects unemployment rising from about 8.9 lakhs in 1966 to 16.3 lakhs in 1970 among the educated, and argues that relief pensions are no answer: the education system must be reoriented toward employment, vocational guidance expanded, and self-employment and small-scale ancillary industry actively encouraged. Pointing to the Tata, Voltas and Kirloskar networks of ancillary suppliers, the Apprentices Act, the Dantwala and Kothari reports, and Japanese entrepreneurship education, he calls for institutional inducements, in-plant and management training, and a curriculum modernised to meet the requirements of industry. - Educated unemployment is the most socially dangerous form, feeding unrest such as the Naxalite movement. - Educated unemployed projected to rise from 8.9 lakhs (1966) to 16.3 lakhs (1970). - Pensions and subsistence allowances are rejected as solutions; education must be reoriented toward employment. - Self-employment and small-scale ancillary industry (Tata, Voltas, Kirloskar networks) are key remedies. - Calls for expanded apprenticeship, vocational guidance, and management training drawing on Japanese and ILO models. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 1980-81 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/union-budget-1980-81-by-na-palkhiwala/ ### Summary N. A. Palkhivala's verdict on Finance Minister R. Venkataraman's Union Budget for 1980-81 is that it is neither a take-away nor a give-away, but a 'well-dressed' document that fails to confront the country's deeper fiscal pathologies. Palkhivala concedes the Budget delivers welcome immediate relief to the common man — higher income-tax and wealth-tax exemption limits, lower excise on goods of common consumption, the abolition of wealth-tax on agricultural property — and applauds allocations for agriculture, rural development and small-scale industry. But he insists these gains are dwarfed by structural failures: a 'fiscal drag' that erodes nominal reliefs through inflation, an indexing system India still lacks, and the absence of any notion of social equity between the urban and rural sectors in the tax code. The heart of the polemic is the 'monster of inflation' and the chronic tinkering with tax law that together undermine economic stability. Palkhivala marshals figures — 1% fall in industrial production, 10% in agriculture, 3% in GNP, a 20% inflation dose, Rs 10,000 crores lost on infrastructure deficiencies — to argue that the Budget feeds the very monsters it claims to slay.… ### Body # The Union Budget 1980-81 *By N. A. Palkhivala* ## Summary N. A. Palkhivala's verdict on Finance Minister R. Venkataraman's Union Budget for 1980-81 is that it is neither a take-away nor a give-away, but a 'well-dressed' document that fails to confront the country's deeper fiscal pathologies. Palkhivala concedes the Budget delivers welcome immediate relief to the common man — higher income-tax and wealth-tax exemption limits, lower excise on goods of common consumption, the abolition of wealth-tax on agricultural property — and applauds allocations for agriculture, rural development and small-scale industry. But he insists these gains are dwarfed by structural failures: a 'fiscal drag' that erodes nominal reliefs through inflation, an indexing system India still lacks, and the absence of any notion of social equity between the urban and rural sectors in the tax code. The heart of the polemic is the 'monster of inflation' and the chronic tinkering with tax law that together undermine economic stability. Palkhivala marshals figures — 1% fall in industrial production, 10% in agriculture, 3% in GNP, a 20% inflation dose, Rs 10,000 crores lost on infrastructure deficiencies — to argue that the Budget feeds the very monsters it claims to slay. He devotes particular scorn to the Bill's retrospective provisions (section 80AA from 1968; the section 80-J amendment from 1972), which he calls 'the most shining beacon of fiscal arbitrariness,' and to the Income-tax Act of 1961, which he says has undergone 695 insertions, 737 substitutions and 205 deletions by 1979. Three further charges follow. The Budget offers no spur to industrial growth or exports despite industry contributing 79% of central revenues — sections 80-I, 35-B and 80-O are faulted in detail, and Palkhivala invokes Sachar and Chokshi Committee recommendations as wiser alternatives. The Central and State Governments employ 8.8 million people in administration against 7.2 million in organised private industry, and he proposes a five-year ban on fresh administrative recruitment to recover 'efficiency of administration.' Finally, citing Patrick Lenkin, Sir Richard Clarke, Peter Jay and the practice of the United States and Finland, he calls for India to scrap the 'infernal shroud of secrecy' around budget-making and adopt open public debate before the Bill is introduced in Parliament. The booklet closes with the image of the Union budget as 'annual accounts of a partnership between the Government and the people' — fair laws and the people's moral duty to pay following from openness, not from concealment. ## Key points - Palkhivala calls Mr. R. Venkataraman's Budget 'well-dressed' and 'highly presentable' for cutting income-tax rates, raising personal income-tax exemption from Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 and wealth-tax exemption from Rs 1,00,000 to Rs 1,50,000, and reducing excise on common-consumption articles. - He warns of a 'fiscal drag': the 1978 income-tax exemption limit of Rs 10,000 is equivalent to Rs 13,100 today, and the 1964 wealth-tax limit of Rs 1,00,000 equals Rs 3,61,000 — India lacks the automatic indexation used in Denmark, the Netherlands, Canada and Australia. - Inflation is framed as 'the invisible tax which has never been passed by Parliament,' fed by pre-Budget hikes of Rs 2,100 crores in oil and petroleum, Rs 300 crores in fertilisers, Rs 200 crores in railway freight, and further excise and interest-rate increases. - The least defensible part of the Budget is its retrospective provisions — section 80AA from April 1968 (overruling Cloth Traders Ltd v. CIT) and an amendment to section 80-J going back to 1972 — denounced as the 'bureaucrat's dream but the taxpayer's nightmare.' - Palkhivala documents that the Income-tax Act 1961 has undergone roughly 695 insertions, 737 substitutions and 205 deletions by 1979, with Income-tax Rules amended whole-cloth seven times in 1976, nine in 1977, nine in 1978 and eight in 1979 — and argues tax rates should be laid down for three to five years to give the structure stability. - Industry contributes 79% of central revenues yet receives little: the 5%-to-7.5% corporate surcharge has not been removed, the 25% excise rebate for increased production has lapsed, and the new section 80-I is judged illusory; exports get no fiscal incentive despite India holding only 0.5% of world export market. - The Central and State Governments employ 8.8 million in administration against 7.2 million in organised private industry; Palkhivala proposes a five-year freeze on fresh administrative recruitment to cut staff by about 10% and improve efficiency. - He calls for ending the 'shroud of secrecy' around the Budget — citing Patrick Lenkin, Sir Richard Clarke, Peter Jay, and the open practice of the United States and Finland — and ends by reframing the Union budget as 'annual accounts of a partnership between the Government and the people.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Union Budget 1979-80 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/union-budget-1979-80-an-opportunity-for-growth-missed-h-p-ranina-march-14-1979/ ### Summary H. P. Ranina's lecture, delivered at the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 1st March 1979 and published as a Forum booklet, dissects the Union Budget for 1979-80 presented by Finance Minister Charan Singh. Ranina opens by arguing that the moment was singularly propitious: foreign exchange reserves stood at Rs. 5,082 crores, the wholesale price index had risen by only 0.9%, industrial growth had reached 8%, and foodstocks held the impressive figure of 20 million tonnes. The economy had "reached the take-off stage," yet the Finance Minister, in Ranina's view, squandered the chance to engineer "an economic miracle which has so far eluded India." The core polemic is that the Budget transfers resources from the urban poor and middle class to what Ranina calls the "rural rich" — large benami landholders, black-marketeers, and politicians who have parked ill-gotten gains in agricultural land and who, for thirty years, have paid no income tax. The cut in excise duty on fertilisers (worth Rs. 105 crores in foregone revenue) benefits these landlords, not the cultivator with bullocks and wooden ploughs.… ### Body # Union Budget 1979-80 *By HP Ranina* ## Summary H. P. Ranina's lecture, delivered at the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 1st March 1979 and published as a Forum booklet, dissects the Union Budget for 1979-80 presented by Finance Minister Charan Singh. Ranina opens by arguing that the moment was singularly propitious: foreign exchange reserves stood at Rs. 5,082 crores, the wholesale price index had risen by only 0.9%, industrial growth had reached 8%, and foodstocks held the impressive figure of 20 million tonnes. The economy had "reached the take-off stage," yet the Finance Minister, in Ranina's view, squandered the chance to engineer "an economic miracle which has so far eluded India." The core polemic is that the Budget transfers resources from the urban poor and middle class to what Ranina calls the "rural rich" — large benami landholders, black-marketeers, and politicians who have parked ill-gotten gains in agricultural land and who, for thirty years, have paid no income tax. The cut in excise duty on fertilisers (worth Rs. 105 crores in foregone revenue) benefits these landlords, not the cultivator with bullocks and wooden ploughs. Meanwhile, excise hikes on petrol, diesel, motor cars, refrigerators, pressure cookers, soap, toothpaste, radios, televisions, and even biscuits and butter — in the International Year of the Child — make the urban citizen the chief tax-payer for a Plan outlay (Rs. 12,551 crores out of total expenditure Rs. 18,526 crores) tilted to agriculture, rural industries, and irrigation. The second half of the lecture is a clause-by-clause critique of the Finance Bill, 1979, which adopts most pro-revenue recommendations of the Chokshi Committee on Direct Taxes. Ranina welcomes the revival of the export market development allowance and the new Section 80GGA for donations to rural-development institutions, but attacks the deletion of Section 54E (the capital-gains exemption used to convert black money), the punitive retrospective effect of the Section 64 clubbing amendments aimed at the Supreme Court's J. G. Shah ruling, the reduction of the Section 80C savings rebate, the withdrawal of Section 80J relief for new "non-priority" industries, and the increase of corporate surcharge from 5% to 7.5% — which pushes the aggregate tax burden past 100% once dividend tax is counted. He singles out the new Section 80JJA mushroom-growing relief as the one streak of humour in a bleak document and as proof of the Budget's "anti-industry bias." Ranina closes by warning that ceilings on managerial remuneration, higher excise duties, a 5% surcharge on income tax, and a reduced savings rebate together squeeze the executive class and will accelerate the brain drain. The hopes and aspirations of the people, he writes, are reduced to those of the rural rich; taxes have become not the lifeblood of the economy but blood drawn from the arteries of the urban sector — "it can only be justified on grounds of political expediency." ## Key points - Ranina argues the 1979 macro environment — Rs. 5,082 cr forex reserves, 0.9% WPI growth, 8% industrial growth, 20 mt foodstocks — handed the Finance Minister an exceptional opportunity which the Budget then squandered. - Total expenditure of Rs. 18,526 cr against receipts of Rs. 16,551 cr leaves a deficit near Rs. 2,000 cr; revenue measures cover only Rs. 665 cr, leaving an unfilled gap of Rs. 1,355 cr that risks reigniting inflation. - The cut in fertiliser excise (worth Rs. 105 cr) and the broader rural-tilted Plan outlay (Rs. 1,811 cr agriculture, Rs. 1,754 cr rural industries, Rs. 1,488 cr irrigation) chiefly benefit benami landlords and political-mercantile speculators, not the bullock-and-plough cultivator. - Hikes on petrol, diesel, motor cars, refrigerators, pressure cookers, soap, toothpaste, radios, televisions, biscuits and butter constitute a transfer from urban poor and middle class to the rural rich, dressed up as growth policy. - The Finance Bill, 1979 adopts only the revenue-favouring recommendations of the Chokshi Committee on Direct Taxes; Ranina walks through Sections 10, 35CCA/80GGA, 54E, 64, 80A, 80C, 80J, 80JJA, 80P and the appeals/wealth-tax amendments to show their cumulative anti-industry bias. - The deletion of Section 54E — which had induced 80–90% disclosure of capital-gains transactions — is read as a step backward in the fight against black money, while the retrospective clubbing amendments to undo the J. G. Shah ruling are flagged as unjust. - Withdrawal of Section 80J relief for new industries in the Eleventh Schedule, paired with the absurd Section 80JJA exemption for mushroom growing, dramatises an investment regime that punishes industry and rewards rent. - Ceilings on managerial remuneration, a 5% income-tax surcharge, a reduced 80C rebate, and corporate surcharge raised from 5% to 7.5% push aggregate tax past 100% and will accelerate the brain drain; foreign companies will not come, and Indian executives will leave. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Union Budget 1980-81 Gives a Stunning Blow to Industry URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/union-budget-1980-81-gives-a-stunning-blow-to-the-industry-h-p-ranina-august-11-1980/ ### Summary H. P. Ranina, a tax authority writing for the Forum of Free Enterprise, dissects Finance Minister R. Venkataraman's Union Budget 1980-81 and argues that, behind the rhetoric of relief for the common man and for industry, the fiscal proposals will in fact deal industry a crippling blow. After conceding that excise reductions on consumer items like toothpaste, soaps, pressure cookers and life-saving drugs will mitigate the household tax burden at the margin, Ranina insists the real need is to bring the price level down substantially — something the Budget does not address, particularly given the hike in oil prices and railway freight that will intensify cost-push inflation. The bulk of the booklet is a clause-by-clause critique of the income-tax amendments. The extra fifty per cent depreciation in the year of installation is dismissed as a postponement of liability rather than a real relief, because section 34 caps cumulative depreciation at the original cost of the asset; Ranina argues that meaningful incentive would require depreciating capital assets on replacement cost.… ### Body # Union Budget 1980-81 Gives a Stunning Blow to Industry *By HP Ranina* ## Summary H. P. Ranina, a tax authority writing for the Forum of Free Enterprise, dissects Finance Minister R. Venkataraman's Union Budget 1980-81 and argues that, behind the rhetoric of relief for the common man and for industry, the fiscal proposals will in fact deal industry a crippling blow. After conceding that excise reductions on consumer items like toothpaste, soaps, pressure cookers and life-saving drugs will mitigate the household tax burden at the margin, Ranina insists the real need is to bring the price level down substantially — something the Budget does not address, particularly given the hike in oil prices and railway freight that will intensify cost-push inflation. The bulk of the booklet is a clause-by-clause critique of the income-tax amendments. The extra fifty per cent depreciation in the year of installation is dismissed as a postponement of liability rather than a real relief, because section 34 caps cumulative depreciation at the original cost of the asset; Ranina argues that meaningful incentive would require depreciating capital assets on replacement cost. The new section 80-I, replacing 80-J, links the eight-year benefit to taxable profits and disallows carry-forward of unabsorbed relief, so most undertakings would enjoy the benefit for only three or four years; sub-section (6), which computes profits as if the industrial undertaking were the assessee's only source of income, would further claw back set-offs already taken under sections 70 and 71. Ranina recommends commencing the eight-year window three years after production starts (or alternatively linking relief to turnover) and dropping sub-section (6) altogether. The heart of the polemic is the retrospective amendment to section 80-J via a new sub-section (1-A), which would supersede the Calcutta, Madras and Allahabad High Court rulings in Century Enka, Madras Industrial Linings and Kota Box Manufacturing — all of which held Rule 19-A ultra vires — by restricting relief to net assets with retrospective effect from 1st April 1972. Ranina estimates this alone would impose an unbearable burden of around Rs. 150 crores on the corporate sector and would consequentially reopen lakhs of small-shareholder assessments under section 80-K. He also flags withdrawal of depreciation on scientific research assets, narrowing of weighted deduction for export promotion, harsher treatment of Hindu Undivided Family partial partitions and discretionary trusts, and concludes that, far from invigorating the economy, the Budget will add fuel to the fire of inflation and deepen industrial stagnation if implemented with retrospective effect. ## Key points - Reads R. Venkataraman's maiden Budget as a public-relations exercise: the headline reliefs on toothpaste, soaps, pressure cookers, bulbs, cycles, sewing machines and life-saving drugs are marginal, while the structural tax provisions cripple industry. - Argues the 50 per cent additional depreciation in the year of installation merely postpones tax liability because section 34 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 caps total depreciation at the asset's original cost; real incentive would require depreciation on replacement cost, with 20 per cent treated as a normal inflation/excise adjustment. - Critiques the new section 80-I (replacing 80-J) for tying the eight-year relief to taxable profits with no carry-forward of unabsorbed relief, so most units would benefit for only three or four years; recommends starting the window three years after commercial production begins, or linking relief to turnover. - Singles out sub-section (6) of section 80-I as 'mischievous' because it computes profits as if the undertaking were the assessee's only source of income, clawing back losses already set off under sections 70 and 71 against other businesses or heads of income. - Treats the retrospective amendment of section 80-J (new sub-section 1-A) as the most damaging proposal: it supersedes the Calcutta, Madras and Allahabad High Court rulings in Century Enka, Madras Industrial Linings and Kota Box Manufacturing that struck down Rule 19-A, restricts relief to net rather than gross assets, and operates from 1st April 1972. - Estimates the retrospective 80-J amendment would cost the corporate sector around Rs. 150 crores and force section 154 rectifications of completed assessments — citing I.T.O. v. Bombay Dyeing & Mfg. Co. Limited (34 I.T.R. 143) — while consequentially reopening section 80-K assessments of lakhs of small shareholders. - Objects to withdrawing depreciation on scientific research assets (cutting deduction from 125 to 100 per cent with retrospective effect from 1972), to curtailing the weighted deduction for export promotion to three categories, and to harsher treatment of partial partition of Hindu Undivided Families after 31 December 1978 and of discretionary trusts. - Concludes that the absence of any measure to curb oil and freight-driven cost-push inflation, combined with retrospective tax amendments, will deepen 'stagflation' rather than revive an economy still scarred by Charan Singh's previous budget. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 1981-82 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/union-budget-1981-82-by-na-palkhivala/ ### Summary N. A. Palkhivala's booklet is a sustained, unsparing critique of the Union Budget of 1981-82, drawn together from a public talk in Bombay, the M. Ct. M. Chidambaram Chettyar Memorial Lecture in Madras, an address in Bangalore, and articles in the Times of India and the Hindustan Times. Palkhivala frames the budget against the backdrop of an anaemic economy: agricultural output up only 0.5 per cent and industrial output only 2.5 per cent over the two-year horizon, real GNP up 1.7 per cent, per capita GNP down 2.2 per cent, foreign exchange reserves just sufficient for five months of imports, and inflation understated by the Finance Minister's switch from average-index to point-to-point comparisons. His central thesis is the quadruple verdict that gives the booklet its rhetorical spine: the budget is psychologically perfect, politically clever, economically unsound, and strategically a costly failure.… ### Body # The Union Budget 1981-82 *By N. A. Palkhivala* ## Summary N. A. Palkhivala's booklet is a sustained, unsparing critique of the Union Budget of 1981-82, drawn together from a public talk in Bombay, the M. Ct. M. Chidambaram Chettyar Memorial Lecture in Madras, an address in Bangalore, and articles in the Times of India and the Hindustan Times. Palkhivala frames the budget against the backdrop of an anaemic economy: agricultural output up only 0.5 per cent and industrial output only 2.5 per cent over the two-year horizon, real GNP up 1.7 per cent, per capita GNP down 2.2 per cent, foreign exchange reserves just sufficient for five months of imports, and inflation understated by the Finance Minister's switch from average-index to point-to-point comparisons. His central thesis is the quadruple verdict that gives the booklet its rhetorical spine: the budget is psychologically perfect, politically clever, economically unsound, and strategically a costly failure. The income-tax reliefs, he argues, are merely an inadequate adjustment for fiscal drag once inflation is taken into account; the corporate surcharge introduced in 1971 for the Bangladesh war remains unending; the 15 per cent customs duty on newsprint is an unconstitutional restriction on a free press; and the budget does nothing to spur industrial growth or to bring the economy near the Sixth Plan's 5.2 per cent growth target. Under the heading "Six basic flaws" Palkhivala enumerates: infrastructural inadequacy treated without urgency, the incompatibility of fast-growing government with a fast-growing economy ("so long as India continues to be over-governed, it will continue to be under-developed"), the proliferation of complex tax laws and 88 export-policy changes since April 1980, the absence of stability in fiscal law, a small-hearted approach to exports and human development (only Rs 155 crores for family planning, only 97,000 of 5,76,000 villages with safe drinking water), and the corrosion of values exemplified by the Special Bearer Bonds Scheme, which he calls an institutionalisation of the black market. He closes by urging Mrs. Gandhi to take a U-turn in fiscal and economic policy while she enjoys massive public support and a docile Congress-I majority, lamenting instead "one more year of the locusts". ## Key points - Palkhivala judges the 1981-82 Budget against a stagnating economy: only 1.7 per cent real GNP growth over two years, a 2.2 per cent fall in per capita GNP, and foreign exchange reserves sufficient for just five months of imports. - He accuses the Finance Minister of "window-dressing" inflation figures by switching from the average-index basis to point-to-point comparisons, hiding that inflation averaged 18.4 per cent in the ten months to January 1981. - The headline income-tax relief is dismissed as nothing more than an inadequate adjustment for fiscal drag; India lacks the automatic indexation of exemption limits found in Denmark, the Netherlands, Canada and Australia. - He attacks the 15 per cent customs duty on newsprint as an unconstitutional restriction on freedom of speech and expression, since newspapers are the only medium not functioning as a public relations department of the government. - Six basic flaws are catalogued: neglect of infrastructure, the incompatibility of big government with a growing economy, ever more complex tax laws, instability in fiscal rules (88 Export-Policy changes since April 1980), a small-hearted approach to exports and human development, and the moral erosion symbolised by the Special Bearer Bonds Scheme. - Public-sector capital of Rs 16,354 crores yields a pre-tax profit of just Rs 227 crores (under 1.5 per cent), illustrating the productivity failure of state enterprise. - He invokes Nicholas Kaldor's 1956 Report on Indian Tax Reforms — "too much of false and misguided economy in India" — to argue the diagnosis remains valid a quarter-century later. - Palkhivala ends with a direct appeal to Mrs. Gandhi to use her parliamentary majority for a U-turn in fiscal policy, warning that India is otherwise destined to have "one more year of the locusts". --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Union Budget 1981-82 Will Not Stimulate Economy URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/union-budget-1981-82-will-not-stimulate-economy-by-hp-raina/ ### Summary H. P. Ranina, a Bombay-based tax authority, delivers a sharply critical reading of Finance Minister R. Venkataraman's 1981-82 Union Budget at a Forum of Free Enterprise lecture on 2 March 1981. He opens by contrasting the comfortable agricultural position with stagnating industry, a widening oil import bill (imports projected at Rs. 11,300 crores against exports of Rs. 7,100 crores), and inflation he forecasts at no less than 15% in the coming year. Ranina argues that the announced budgetary deficit of Rs. 1,539 crores will in reality pierce the Rs. 2,000-crore mark once the over-stated Special Bearer Bond receipts and the ad valorem customs and railway-freight hikes are reckoned in, producing a 'winter of discontent' for the common man. The bulk of the booklet is a clause-by-clause walk through the Finance Bill's direct-tax amendments. Ranina welcomes the rise in the personal exemption limit from Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 15,000 but argues that the Finance Minister has nullified the relief by hiking marginal rates between Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 30,000 and by extending the Compulsory Deposit Scheme.… ### Body # Union Budget 1981-82 Will Not Stimulate Economy *By HP Ranina* ## Summary H. P. Ranina, a Bombay-based tax authority, delivers a sharply critical reading of Finance Minister R. Venkataraman's 1981-82 Union Budget at a Forum of Free Enterprise lecture on 2 March 1981. He opens by contrasting the comfortable agricultural position with stagnating industry, a widening oil import bill (imports projected at Rs. 11,300 crores against exports of Rs. 7,100 crores), and inflation he forecasts at no less than 15% in the coming year. Ranina argues that the announced budgetary deficit of Rs. 1,539 crores will in reality pierce the Rs. 2,000-crore mark once the over-stated Special Bearer Bond receipts and the ad valorem customs and railway-freight hikes are reckoned in, producing a 'winter of discontent' for the common man. The bulk of the booklet is a clause-by-clause walk through the Finance Bill's direct-tax amendments. Ranina welcomes the rise in the personal exemption limit from Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 15,000 but argues that the Finance Minister has nullified the relief by hiking marginal rates between Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 30,000 and by extending the Compulsory Deposit Scheme. He attacks the depreciation regime — still pegged to historical cost rather than the replacement-value or free-depreciation models used by 'most progressive countries' — citing William Miller of the US Federal Reserve on faster depreciation as the best stimulus to investment. He dissects the new tax-free holiday for free-trade-zone undertakings as illusory, the small-scale-industry threshold, the off-shore oil-collaborator provisions, the new Oral Trust and Association-of-Persons anti-avoidance sections 167-A and 86(v), the Wealth-tax Rule 1-BB on residential property valuation, and the welcome lifting of the estate-duty exemption from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 1,50,000. Ranina closes by accusing the Finance Minister of silence on the urgent need to cut unproductive Government expenditure — invoking H. V. R. Iengar's claim that 40% of Government spending is wasted and President Reagan's early curtailments — and concludes that Venkataraman's second budget has 'missed one more golden opportunity' to lift India from the economic morass it has been in since 1979. The text closes with the Forum's standard back-cover epigraph from Eugene Black on private enterprise as 'an affirmative good' and a colophon noting publication by M. R. Pai for the Forum of Free Enterprise. ## Key points - Ranina projects a budgetary gap exceeding Rs. 2,000 crores once over-estimated Special Bearer Bond receipts are netted out, and inflation of at least 15% for 1981-82. - He argues that the increase in the personal exemption limit (Rs. 12,000 → Rs. 15,000) is largely cancelled by sharper marginal rates between Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 30,000 and the two-year extension of the Compulsory Deposit Scheme. - The depreciation regime, still based on historical cost, is identified as the central drag on the Sixth Plan's 8% industrial-growth target; replacement-value or 100%-first-year free depreciation is recommended. - The five-year tax holiday for new free-trade-zone industrial undertakings is described as illusory because section 10-A(4) denies the parallel allowances available to ordinary units. - Anti-avoidance provisions — new section 167-A on Associations of Persons and amendments to section 164 on Oral Trusts — are unpacked as the substantive structural changes in the Finance Bill, alongside Wealth-tax Rule 1-BB on residential property. - Welcomed measures include the small-scale-industry threshold liberalisation (machinery value ceiling raised to Rs. 20 lakhs), the lift in the estate-duty exemption from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 1,50,000, and the extension of the section 80-QQ publisher concession. - Ranina indicts the Finance Minister's silence on cutting unproductive expenditure, citing H. V. R. Iengar's claim that 40% of Government spending is wasted and Reagan's first-day curtailment of US federal expenditure. - Overall verdict: Venkataraman's second budget has 'missed one more golden opportunity' for triggering the 'economic miracle which has so far eluded India'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Union Budget (1982-83) Proposals Are Ineffective URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/union-budget-1982-83-proposals-are-ineffective-h-p-ranina-april-12-1982/ ### Summary H. P. Ranina's pamphlet, drawn from a public lecture delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 1 March 1982, dissects the Union Budget for 1982-83 presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the so-called 'Year of Productivity'. Ranina, a taxation specialist, argues that despite great expectations the budget contains nothing that would push industrial growth above the 8% rate recorded the previous year, nor any meaningful incentive to replace the obsolete plant and machinery the Economic Survey had identified as a cause of industrial sickness. He works methodically through the budget's industrial concessions — the narrow Excise Duty rebate covering only 38 tariff items, the 35% investment allowance under section 32-A(2-B) hedged by restrictive laboratory-origin and assessee-undertaking conditions, the 30% depreciation on a yet-to-be-notified list of energy-saving devices, and the section 80M dividend exemption confined to manufacturers of basic drugs, synthetic rubber and rubber chemicals — and finds them too narrow or too contingent to move the needle. The pamphlet then turns to the foreign-exchange front, which Ranina calls as 'depressing' as the ag… ### Body # Union Budget (1982-83) Proposals Are Ineffective *By HP Ranina* ## Summary H. P. Ranina's pamphlet, drawn from a public lecture delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 1 March 1982, dissects the Union Budget for 1982-83 presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the so-called 'Year of Productivity'. Ranina, a taxation specialist, argues that despite great expectations the budget contains nothing that would push industrial growth above the 8% rate recorded the previous year, nor any meaningful incentive to replace the obsolete plant and machinery the Economic Survey had identified as a cause of industrial sickness. He works methodically through the budget's industrial concessions — the narrow Excise Duty rebate covering only 38 tariff items, the 35% investment allowance under section 32-A(2-B) hedged by restrictive laboratory-origin and assessee-undertaking conditions, the 30% depreciation on a yet-to-be-notified list of energy-saving devices, and the section 80M dividend exemption confined to manufacturers of basic drugs, synthetic rubber and rubber chemicals — and finds them too narrow or too contingent to move the needle. The pamphlet then turns to the foreign-exchange front, which Ranina calls as 'depressing' as the agricultural front is 'cheerful'. He picks apart the new section 89-A export-profits relief (capped at 10% of tax payable, and likely to have no effect because exporters already struggle to make profits against Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese and Hong Kong competition) and the section 80-HHB concession for building contractors abroad, whose six-month repatriation requirement he says will lock projects out of working capital. He repeatedly holds up Sri Lanka as a comparator that grants 100% exemption on export profits and tax-free salaries to its government employees, asking why India cannot do likewise. A substantial middle section reviews the elaborate package of incentives aimed at non-resident Indians — Capital Investment Bonds free of income-tax and wealth-tax, equity investment up to 40% with repatriation, 12% six-year National Savings Certificates exempt without any limit, the 2% extra interest on fresh NRE deposits, gift-tax exemptions, and extended facilities for NRI-owned companies, partnerships and trusts. Ranina concludes the package will have only a marginal effect because European destinations already offer NRIs 20-24% repatriable, tax-free returns; he urges the Finance Minister to make NRI dividends totally tax-free, arguing that if the Government can pay tax-free interest to the IMF it can do the same for investors bringing in risk capital. In the rendered pages Ranina closes by criticising the budget's treatment of personal savings — the rise in the section 80-L deduction from Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 4,000 and the Unit Trust limit from Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 3,000 he treats as a mockery of 'relief' that fails even to compensate for inflation; the 2½% surcharge on incomes between Rs. 60,000 and Rs. 1 lakh he says hits precisely the industrial managers the Year of Productivity is meant to motivate; and the standard-deduction and section 80-C tweaks he calls negligible. His positive verdict is reserved for the Capital Investment Bond, which he calls the 'most novel and revolutionary idea' of the budget. ## Key points - Frames the 1982-83 budget as a failure to live up to the 'Year of Productivity' billing and the expectations attached to Pranab Mukherjee's appointment as Finance Minister. - Argues that industrial growth cannot exceed the 8% recorded in 1981-82 because the budget offers no broad incentive to replace obsolete plant and machinery — the very cause of industrial sickness flagged in the Economic Survey. - Walks through each industrial concession (Excise Duty rebate on 38 items, 35% investment allowance under section 32-A(2-B), 30% energy-saving depreciation, section 80M dividend exemption for basic drugs and rubber chemicals) and finds them too narrow or too contingent. - Treats the section 89-A export-profits relief as cosmetic given competition from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, and holds up Sri Lanka's 100% export-profits exemption as the standard India should match. - Criticises the six-month foreign-exchange repatriation rule for section 80-HHB contracts as cash-flow-hostile and proposes 100% exemption on foreign-project profits, parallel to section 80-O for export of technology. - Surveys the full NRI incentive package — Capital Investment Bonds, equity up to 40%, 12% NSCs exempt without limit, 2% extra NRE interest, gift-tax relaxations — and concludes it will at best have a marginal effect because Europe already offers 20-24% repatriable tax-free returns. - Quotes an independent estimate of Rs. 90,000 crores held by persons of Indian origin abroad to argue that only a total tax exemption on NRI dividends would open the 'flood gates' of inward investment. - Reads the section 80-L, Unit Trust, standard-deduction and section 80-C revisions as inflation-eroded gestures that fail to lift either the capacity or the desire to save, and the 2½% surcharge on incomes between Rs. 60,000 and Rs. 1 lakh as a tax on the industrial managers needed for productivity. - Singles out the Capital Investment Bond — tax-free 7% interest, wealth-tax-free, giftable up to Rs. 10 lakhs, estate-duty-free after two years — as the budget's one 'novel and revolutionary' idea. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] The Union Budget 1983-84 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/union-budget-1983-83-by-na-palkivala/ ### Summary N. A. Palkhivala's tract, based on his public talk in Bombay on 4 March 1983, is a forensic dismantling of the Union Budget for 1983-84 presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Opening with George Orwell's lament that 'we have sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men', Palkhivala restates the obvious arithmetic: the real deficit on revenue account, at Rs. 1,794 crores, is the highest ever; fresh levies and pre-budget levies together raise the burden by some Rs. 2,600 crores; the Centre starves the States by routing increases through a surcharge they cannot share; and unemployment is rising at six million a year while only half a million organised-sector jobs were added in 1980-81. The heart of the pamphlet is its diagnosis of what he calls 'a rudderless Budget' — a document of 'pronouncements but no philosophy', whose modest sweeteners (a lower bottom-slab income-tax rate, higher gratuity exemption, full first-year depreciation on energy-saving plant) are swamped by a higher surcharge and harsher corporate provisions.… ### Body # The Union Budget 1983-84 *By N. A. Palkhivala* ## Summary N. A. Palkhivala's tract, based on his public talk in Bombay on 4 March 1983, is a forensic dismantling of the Union Budget for 1983-84 presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Opening with George Orwell's lament that 'we have sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men', Palkhivala restates the obvious arithmetic: the real deficit on revenue account, at Rs. 1,794 crores, is the highest ever; fresh levies and pre-budget levies together raise the burden by some Rs. 2,600 crores; the Centre starves the States by routing increases through a surcharge they cannot share; and unemployment is rising at six million a year while only half a million organised-sector jobs were added in 1980-81. The heart of the pamphlet is its diagnosis of what he calls 'a rudderless Budget' — a document of 'pronouncements but no philosophy', whose modest sweeteners (a lower bottom-slab income-tax rate, higher gratuity exemption, full first-year depreciation on energy-saving plant) are swamped by a higher surcharge and harsher corporate provisions. Palkhivala then names 'four elemental forces' loose in the North Block — instability, complexity, injustice and pettiness — and itemises each: 62 amendments to the Income-tax Act in a single Finance Bill; the constitutional indecency of withdrawing exemptions for charities, capital-investment bondholders and foreign-technology royalty recipients on whose faith contracts had been signed; the politicisation of rural development through a Prime Minister's Fund; the flat 20% disallowance of travel and advertising spend; and Section 80VVA's cap on incentives for the 50–65 most dynamic companies in India. The last sections widen the lens. Palkhivala marshals data on India's collapsing share of world exports (from 2.2% in 1950 to 0.4% in 1981, with the country's rank dropping from 16th to 46th), contrasts R&D spending across nations to show India at 0.6% of GDP, and notes that 4 million Indian taxpayers generate 6,000 High Court references a year against 30 in the United Kingdom on 29 million taxpayers. The Budget, he concludes, will 'underwrite stagnation' and leave the Misery Index untouched; the repeated boast about abolishing excise on pressure cookers only confirms that 'the common man's goose has been properly cooked.' Echoing Cecil Rhodes's deathbed line — 'So little done; so much to do' — Palkhivala closes with a verdict more in sorrow than in anger that an able Finance Minister has been swallowed by the system he serves. ## Key points - Real revenue deficit of Rs. 1,794 crores is the highest on record, with the nation 'reduced to living partly on its capital borrowings'. - Combined burden of new and pre-budget levies adds around Rs. 2,600 crores; the increases route through a surcharge that the States, contrary to revenue-sharing norms, cannot share. - Palkhivala diagnoses 'four elemental forces' driving the Budget — instability, complexity, injustice and pettiness — and reads the Finance Bill as institutionalising each. - Sixty-two amendments to the Income-tax Act, plus the avalanche of 53,000 rules/orders issued 1971–81, are contrasted with the United Kingdom's deliberate reduction of statutes in force. - Specific provisions targeted: Section 80VVA's 70% cap on incentives for the most dynamic companies, the politicisation of rural development via the Prime Minister's Rural Development Fund, the rewriting of charity-trust exemptions, and the flat 20% disallowance of travel and advertising. - Data on India's collapsing share of world exports (2.2% in 1950 to 0.4% in 1981; rank from 16th to 46th) and R&D spending of only 0.6% of GDP illustrate the cost of economic introversion. - Unemployment is rising at six million a year; only half a million organised-sector jobs were created in 1980-81 against a Sixth-Plan need for 35 million. - The 'Misery Index' — inflation, poverty, unemployment — will be untouched; closing imagery quotes Cecil Rhodes's 'So little done; so much to do.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Union Budget 1990-91 Will Not Solve Economic Problems URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/union-budget-1990-91-will-not-solve-economic-problems-by-hp-ranina-may-13-1990/ ### Summary H. P. Ranina, a tax expert writing under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise, dissects Finance Minister Madhu Dandavate's first budget of the decade, presented on 19th March 1990. Ranina credits Dandavate with restricting the budgetary deficit to Rs.7,206 crores, accepting the desirability of a stable Income Tax Law, abolishing the Gold Control Act, and acknowledging that public expenditure leakages are a chief source of black money. But these concessions, he argues, are overshadowed by a budget that loads industry with roughly Rs.800 crores of extra direct tax not through higher rates but through the withdrawal of long-standing concessions — the Investment Allowance, the Investment Deposit Scheme, and incentives for new units in backward and rural areas — pushing effective income-tax for such units from 16.2% to 43.2%. The pamphlet works through almost every limb of the Finance Bill.… ### Body # Union Budget 1990-91 Will Not Solve Economic Problems *By HP Ranina* ## Summary H. P. Ranina, a tax expert writing under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise, dissects Finance Minister Madhu Dandavate's first budget of the decade, presented on 19th March 1990. Ranina credits Dandavate with restricting the budgetary deficit to Rs.7,206 crores, accepting the desirability of a stable Income Tax Law, abolishing the Gold Control Act, and acknowledging that public expenditure leakages are a chief source of black money. But these concessions, he argues, are overshadowed by a budget that loads industry with roughly Rs.800 crores of extra direct tax not through higher rates but through the withdrawal of long-standing concessions — the Investment Allowance, the Investment Deposit Scheme, and incentives for new units in backward and rural areas — pushing effective income-tax for such units from 16.2% to 43.2%. The pamphlet works through almost every limb of the Finance Bill. Ranina objects that section 88's savings rebate offers virtually no fresh incentive over the old section 80-C; that the Equity Linked Savings Scheme merely replaces section 80-CC; that export incentives are weak apart from a customs cut on capital goods; and that the retrospective taxation of cash compensatory assistance, drawback of duty and import entitlement licences will reopen settled assessments and overturn court decisions in favour of exporters. He attacks the proposal to shift the gift-tax burden from donor to donee as administratively unworkable and likely to drive transactions underground, and pleads for a charitable-trust exemption. On the macro-economic side, Ranina warns that 49% allocation to the rural sector will not lift agricultural output, that the Employment Guarantee Scheme will not touch the educated unemployment crisis (12 million unemployed and roughly 100 million underemployed), and that writing off farmers' loans without linking relief to performance squanders an opportunity to raise rural productivity. He criticises hikes in railway freight, petrol and diesel prices — noting India already has the world's highest petrol price — and the continuing growth of non-plan expenditure, with interest payments alone absorbing Rs.20,850 crores and defence Rs.15,750 crores against total plan outlay of Rs.30,192 crores. His verdict is that the budget is politically seductive but will not solve inflation, declining industrial growth, or rising poverty. ## Key points - Frames Dandavate as 'the first Finance Minister in India who has learned the art of raising taxes with cheer' — politically deft but economically inadequate. - Calculates an Rs.800 crore additional burden on the corporate sector achieved by withdrawing tax concessions rather than raising headline rates, lifting effective tax on new rural/backward-area units from 16.2% to 43.2%. - Welcomes the abolition of the Gold Control Act and the acknowledgement that public-expenditure leakages generate much of the country's black money. - Argues new savings provisions (section 88, Equity Linked Savings Scheme) merely repackage existing reliefs and offer 'virtually no additional incentive for saving'. - Attacks retrospective taxation of cash compensatory support, duty drawback and import entitlement licences, which will reopen completed assessments and override court rulings favourable to exporters. - Rejects shifting gift-tax from donor to donee as unworkable and pleads for an exemption for charitable and religious trusts. - Warns that the Employment Guarantee Scheme, confined to drought-prone areas, will not address 12 million unemployed and at least 100 million underemployed. - Condemns retrograde indirect-tax measures — railway freight, petrol and diesel hikes, excise on ice-cream and refrigerators — noting India has 'the dubious distinction of having the highest price of petrol in the world'. - Highlights structural failure to control non-plan expenditure, with interest at Rs.20,850 crores and defence at Rs.15,750 crores against a Rs.30,192 crore plan outlay. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Union Budget 1995-96: Cementing the Reform Process URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/union-budget-1995-96-cementing-the-reform-process-hp-ranina-april-14-1995/ ### Summary H. P. Ranina, a tax expert writing for the Forum of Free Enterprise, delivers a post-budget assessment of Finance Minister Manmohan Singh's 1995-96 Union Budget. He frames the exercise as a balancing act between economic exigencies and political expediency at a moment when the economy was gaining strength even as the government's political base eroded. Ranina argues that the reform process Singh began in 1991 has vindicated its underlying economic philosophy, while warning that an 'unfinished agenda' — financial-sector revamp, opening of insurance, an exit policy, fuller rupee convertibility — may now be left to a successor. The bulk of the booklet is a clause-by-clause critique of direct-tax proposals. Ranina applauds the 5.5% fiscal-deficit target, across-the-board customs cuts, the 100% software-exporter exemption under section 80-HHE, the venture-capital incentives, and the new five-year tax holiday for infrastructure under section 80-IA, though he urges that infrastructure investors be allowed to claim the benefit within any five of the first fifteen years to match long gestation periods.… ### Body # Union Budget 1995-96: Cementing the Reform Process *By HP Ranina* ## Summary H. P. Ranina, a tax expert writing for the Forum of Free Enterprise, delivers a post-budget assessment of Finance Minister Manmohan Singh's 1995-96 Union Budget. He frames the exercise as a balancing act between economic exigencies and political expediency at a moment when the economy was gaining strength even as the government's political base eroded. Ranina argues that the reform process Singh began in 1991 has vindicated its underlying economic philosophy, while warning that an 'unfinished agenda' — financial-sector revamp, opening of insurance, an exit policy, fuller rupee convertibility — may now be left to a successor. The bulk of the booklet is a clause-by-clause critique of direct-tax proposals. Ranina applauds the 5.5% fiscal-deficit target, across-the-board customs cuts, the 100% software-exporter exemption under section 80-HHE, the venture-capital incentives, and the new five-year tax holiday for infrastructure under section 80-IA, though he urges that infrastructure investors be allowed to claim the benefit within any five of the first fifteen years to match long gestation periods. He sharply criticises the discontinuation of the 30% section 80-IA rebate for new industrial units, arguing that India — like West Germany, Japan, China, Taiwan and Malaysia — needs continued incentives because every new unit is 'the proverbial goose that lays the golden egg'. A second strand is Ranina's objection to provisions that supersede settled court decisions, including the treatment of bonus-share cost as nil for capital gains (overturning a thirty-year-old Supreme Court formula) and the legislative reversal of High Court rulings that had struck down withholding-tax circulars on advertising agencies. He treats the anti-evasion measures — withholding tax on bank interest and mutual-fund dividends above Rs.10,000, the new section 194-J on professional fees, the raised Chapter XX-C thresholds for immovable property transfers, and the new block-assessment scheme for search cases — as well-intentioned but largely ineffective, and in some cases (the immovable-property limits, the no-penalty/no-interest search regime) actively counter-productive. Ranina closes by separating Singh the budget-maker from Singh the reformer: judged on this one budget the verdict is mixed, but on the 1991-95 package as a whole 'history will record that Finance Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh was the primary architect who laid the foundation for an economic miracle which had eluded India during the last four decades.' The pamphlet is bracketed by the Forum's signature epigraphs from A. D. Shroff and Eugene Black on the moral standing of free enterprise. ## Key points - Reads the 1995-96 budget as Singh's balancing act between a strengthening economy and an eroding political base, vindicating the 1991 reform philosophy but leaving an 'unfinished agenda' on financial-sector reform, insurance, exit policy and rupee convertibility. - Endorses the 5.5% fiscal-deficit target and across-the-board customs cuts as the right tools against inflation, while flagging that anti-poverty programmes will not bear political fruit before mid-1996 because new bureaucratic agencies must first be stood up. - Treats the discontinuation of the 30% section 80-IA rebate for new industrial units commencing production after 31 March 1995 as a 'retrograde step', citing the continued use of such incentives in West Germany, Japan, China, Taiwan and Malaysia. - Welcomes the new five-year tax holiday for infrastructure under section 80-IA but argues investors should be allowed to claim it within any five of the first fifteen years, given long capital-intensive gestation periods. - Tightens 100% EOU/FTZ exemptions (sections 10-A and 10-B) to units exporting at least 75% of turnover, and trims section 33-AC shipping-reserve deduction to 50%, to curb diversion of the benefit to non-shipping income. - Objects to provisions that supersede court rulings: the deeming of bonus-share cost as nil for capital gains (overruling a long-standing Supreme Court formula) and the legislative reversal of High Court strikes against the CBDT advertising-agencies withholding-tax circular. - Argues the new anti-evasion measures — Rs.10,000 withholding on bank interest and mutual-fund dividends, section 194-J on professional fees, raised Chapter XX-C immovable-property limits, and the section 132 block-assessment regime — are likely to be evaded by splitting deposits and to actively increase black-money generation in real estate. - Closes with a verdict that separates this budget from the 1991-95 package: while a lot remains to be done, Manmohan Singh is the 'primary architect' of an economic miracle that had eluded India for four decades. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Union Budget : 1997-98 URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/union-budget-1997-98-by-hp-ranina-march-15-1997/ ### Summary HP Ranina, an authority on taxation, delivers an enthusiastic appraisal of Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's Union Budget for 1997-98, presented in a lecture at Mumbai on 1st March 1997 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise. Subtitled 'Foundation for an Indian Economic Miracle', the booklet treats the Budget as a watershed liberalisation document: it caps personal income tax at 30%, slashes corporate tax (including surcharge) from 43% to 35%, abolishes tax on dividends in the hands of shareholders, opens insurance cautiously to joint ventures in pension and health business, and frames a comprehensive incentive package for petroleum exploration. Ranina walks through the technical machinery of the Finance Bill in lawyerly detail — the new economic-indicators test (vehicle, immovable property, foreign travel, telephone) that obliges previously untaxed citizens to file returns under amended section 139; the Voluntary Disclosure of Income and Wealth Scheme, with 30% / 35% rates and ironclad confidentiality protections; a tax-credit scheme for Minimum Alternate Tax (new section 115-JAA) carrying MAT forward over five assessment years; section 35-ABB amortisation of teleco… ### Body # Union Budget : 1997-98 *By HP Ranina* ## Summary HP Ranina, an authority on taxation, delivers an enthusiastic appraisal of Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's Union Budget for 1997-98, presented in a lecture at Mumbai on 1st March 1997 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise. Subtitled 'Foundation for an Indian Economic Miracle', the booklet treats the Budget as a watershed liberalisation document: it caps personal income tax at 30%, slashes corporate tax (including surcharge) from 43% to 35%, abolishes tax on dividends in the hands of shareholders, opens insurance cautiously to joint ventures in pension and health business, and frames a comprehensive incentive package for petroleum exploration. Ranina walks through the technical machinery of the Finance Bill in lawyerly detail — the new economic-indicators test (vehicle, immovable property, foreign travel, telephone) that obliges previously untaxed citizens to file returns under amended section 139; the Voluntary Disclosure of Income and Wealth Scheme, with 30% / 35% rates and ironclad confidentiality protections; a tax-credit scheme for Minimum Alternate Tax (new section 115-JAA) carrying MAT forward over five assessment years; section 35-ABB amortisation of telecom licence fees; and extended five-year-plus-five tax holidays for telecom, power, industrial parks and backward-area undertakings under section 80-IA. He also notes the 1-1/4 times deduction for in-house R&D expenditure under a new sub-section 2-AB of section 35. On indirect taxes, Ranina welcomes the reduction in excise and customs duties, the absence of a feared hike on luxury motor-cars, and the decision to grant administrative and financial autonomy to public sector units, alongside liberalisation of infrastructure, telecom, oil, gas and power, and a review of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1996. While the policy decision on full capital-account convertibility has been deferred pending a Reserve Bank of India committee report, Ranina is confident the Rupee will soon emerge as one of the world's prime currencies. He concludes that GDP growth will rise to 7.5% in 1997-98 and that, like Ludwig Erhard in post-war Germany and Lee Kwan Yew in Singapore, Chidambaram will be remembered as 'the architect of India's economic miracle'. ## Key points - Personal income tax capped at 30% — Ranina calls this an unprecedented low in India's fiscal history and competitive with European, US, Japanese and East Asian rates. - Corporate tax (with surcharge) cut from 43% to 35% and tax on dividends in shareholders' hands abolished, expected to revive the primary equity market. - Voluntary Disclosure of Income and Wealth Scheme (VDIS) introduced at 30% (individuals) / 35% (corporates and firms), with strong confidentiality protections and no admissibility against the declarant under Income-tax, Wealth-tax, FERA or Company Laws. - Amended section 139 obliges anyone meeting two of four economic indicators — motor vehicle, immovable property, foreign travel, telephone — to file an income-tax return, with a Rs.500 penalty for non-filing. - MAT not abolished but a new section 115-JAA tax-credit scheme allows MAT paid to be carried forward five years and set off against regular tax; exporters exempted from MAT. - New section 35-ABB amortises telecom licence fees over the licence period; 100% deduction (then 25–30% for five further years) for telecom undertakings starting between 1.4.1995 and 31.3.2000, extended retrospectively from 1.4.1996. - Containment of fiscal deficit and discontinuance of ad-hoc treasury bills expected to rein in inflation and restore structural stability to the fiscal regime. - Insurance sector cautiously opened: LIC and GIC permitted joint ventures with Indian companies in pension business and health insurance; Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1996 to be reviewed; PSUs given administrative and financial autonomy; full capital-account convertibility deferred but expected sooner than anticipated. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Union Budget 1989-90 Provides No Remedies for Economic Ills URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/union-budget-of-1989-90-provides-no-remedies-for-economic-ills-by-hp-ranina-april-12-1989/ ### Summary H. P. Ranina's Forum of Free Enterprise booklet is a sober post-mortem of the Union Budget for 1989-90, presented by Finance Minister S. B. Chavan on 28 February 1989. The text is drawn from a talk delivered in Bombay on 1 March 1989 and reads as an industry-friendly critique that conceding what the budget did not do wrong while listing, point by point, what it failed to do. Ranina's framing line is that the budget contains no provisions that will actively hamper economic growth, but that an election-year temptation to distribute bouquets to the poor and brickbats to the rich has caused the Finance Minister to ignore the industrial sector — which, he reminds the reader, generates almost 80% of central revenues. The core of the booklet is a structural critique of India's macro-fiscal position. Ranina argues that the two real problems — the fiscal imbalance and the worsening balance of payments — have been left untouched. He marshals figures from the Economic Survey of 1988-89: a budgetary deficit of around Rs. 7,337 crores, a Central Plan outlay of Rs. 34,446 crores against Rs. 17,000 crores of non-plan defence spending and Rs.… ### Body # Union Budget 1989-90 Provides No Remedies for Economic Ills *By HP Ranina* ## Summary H. P. Ranina's Forum of Free Enterprise booklet is a sober post-mortem of the Union Budget for 1989-90, presented by Finance Minister S. B. Chavan on 28 February 1989. The text is drawn from a talk delivered in Bombay on 1 March 1989 and reads as an industry-friendly critique that conceding what the budget did not do wrong while listing, point by point, what it failed to do. Ranina's framing line is that the budget contains no provisions that will actively hamper economic growth, but that an election-year temptation to distribute bouquets to the poor and brickbats to the rich has caused the Finance Minister to ignore the industrial sector — which, he reminds the reader, generates almost 80% of central revenues. The core of the booklet is a structural critique of India's macro-fiscal position. Ranina argues that the two real problems — the fiscal imbalance and the worsening balance of payments — have been left untouched. He marshals figures from the Economic Survey of 1988-89: a budgetary deficit of around Rs. 7,337 crores, a Central Plan outlay of Rs. 34,446 crores against Rs. 17,000 crores of non-plan defence spending and Rs. 7,472 crores in subsidies, an external debt of roughly Rs. 55,000 crores whose service consumes 24% of foreign-exchange receipts, and a savings rate that has slid to about 20%. He links these to growth in money supply, inflation hovering near 9% despite record foodgrain output projected at 170 million tonnes, and an export target of 30% growth that he calls elusive without fiscal support for industry to upgrade technology and compete in world markets. The booklet then runs through specific budget measures and finds them wanting or counter-productive. The 8% surcharge on middle-class and affluent incomes is dismissed as creating only a marginal number of mandays of employment, while the two new savings schemes (an equity-linked scheme and a National Housing Bank scheme tied to sections 80-C, 54-E and 5(1-A) of the relevant Acts) are judged unlikely to lift the savings rate. The decontrol of cement and aluminium and a customs-duty cut from 90% to 80% are described as 'sops' that will not offset the 5% rise in specific duty rates, the excise hike on iron and steel forgings, an almost 13% freight increase, and the perverse rise in excise on fuel-efficient cars and computers. Ranina reserves particular criticism for a pre-budget amendment to the Capital Issues Order requiring a paid-up capital of Rs. 3 crores and a Rs. 1.8 crore public offer for listing — a rule he says will shelve medium-sized projects of Rs. 7.5–8 crores and damage food processing and light consumer-goods industries. Ranina closes with a defence of the legislative-intent amendments to sections 32-AB and 115-J of the Income-tax Act, which he reads as sensible clarifications to curb tax avoidance through Investment Deposit withdrawal and 'book profit' manipulation in companies whose accounting year differs from 31 March. His conclusion is a classical-liberal coda: poverty-alleviation schemes are 'laudable' only if every rupee earmarked percolates down, and 'social justice can only be obtained not by bringing down the rich but by bringing up the standard of living of the poorest of the poor.' ## Key points - Ranina's overall verdict: the budget does no active harm to growth but fails to address industry, which supplies ~80% of central revenue. - Two untreated macro problems — fiscal imbalance and a worsening balance of payments — are foregrounded, with an external debt of ~Rs. 55,000 crores whose servicing absorbs 24% of foreign-exchange receipts. - The 8% income surcharge and two new savings schemes (an equity-linked scheme and a National Housing Bank scheme) are judged ineffective against a savings rate that has fallen to about 20%. - Customs-duty cut from 90% to 80% and decontrol of cement/aluminium are described as cosmetic 'sops' offset by a 5% rise in specific excise rates, hikes on iron and steel forgings, ~13% freight increases, and higher excise on computers and fuel-efficient cars. - A pre-budget amendment to the Capital Issues Order (Rs. 3 crore paid-up capital, Rs. 1.8 crore public offer for listing) is singled out as detrimental — projects of Rs. 7.5–8 crores will be shelved, hurting food processing and light consumer-goods industries. - Amendments to sections 32-AB and 115-J of the Income-tax Act are endorsed as legitimate clarifications against tax-avoidance interpretations of Investment Deposit withdrawals and 'book profit' calculations. - Industrial growth of 8% in 1988-89 and record foodgrain output of ~170 million tonnes are acknowledged, but Ranina insists growth must come from a more productive industrial sector, not import-clamping. - The closing principle is classically liberal: social justice is achieved by raising the poorest, not by levelling down the rich, and ignoring this 'inexorable principle of economics' is done at the nation's peril. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Urban and Rural Unemployment in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/urban-and-rural-unemployment-in-india-dr-m-c-munshi-september-14-1973/ ### Summary This 1973 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet pairs two diagnostic essays on India's unemployment crisis from different angles. Dr. M. C. Munshi opens with 'The Problem of the Educated Unemployed', a critique of the Five-Year Plans' failure to generate employment, citing rising registrations at Employment Exchanges, the swelling backlog of unemployed graduates and engineers, and a sociological dimension that has now outgrown a purely economic diagnosis. He surveys a range of state and Centre-sponsored remedial schemes — Bhagwati Committee proposals, State Bank entrepreneur loans, Small-Scale Industries lead programmes — and argues that Chambers of Commerce, on a regional or atomistic basis, should take responsibility for designing and executing relief, including large-scale entrepreneur schemes and trade-union-led Unemployment Insurance. Prof. Pravin Visaria's companion essay, 'Rural Unemployment and Underemployment in India', shifts focus to the 80 per cent of Indians living in villages.… ### Body # Urban and Rural Unemployment in India ## Summary This 1973 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet pairs two diagnostic essays on India's unemployment crisis from different angles. Dr. M. C. Munshi opens with 'The Problem of the Educated Unemployed', a critique of the Five-Year Plans' failure to generate employment, citing rising registrations at Employment Exchanges, the swelling backlog of unemployed graduates and engineers, and a sociological dimension that has now outgrown a purely economic diagnosis. He surveys a range of state and Centre-sponsored remedial schemes — Bhagwati Committee proposals, State Bank entrepreneur loans, Small-Scale Industries lead programmes — and argues that Chambers of Commerce, on a regional or atomistic basis, should take responsibility for designing and executing relief, including large-scale entrepreneur schemes and trade-union-led Unemployment Insurance. Prof. Pravin Visaria's companion essay, 'Rural Unemployment and Underemployment in India', shifts focus to the 80 per cent of Indians living in villages. Drawing on the National Sample Survey and the 1971 census, he argues that rural India suffers not from open unemployment but from substantial underemployment, hidden by seasonal agricultural rhythms and household-industry decline against modern competition. He calls for 'disagriculturalisation' of the rural economy through non-agricultural employment, better roads, marketing, credit, and a willingness on the part of the rural rich — beneficiaries of the Green Revolution — to fund the rural facilities that the well-to-do have so far resisted. ## Essays ### The Problem of the Educated Unemployed *By DR. M. C. MUNSHI* Munshi argues that India's gravest planning failure has been in employment generation, with the Five-Year Plans paying lip-service to the problem while doing little beyond the Second Plan. He marshals Employment Exchange data, Bhagwati Committee figures, and Directorate-General of Employment statistics to show that the rate of new job-seekers (42.8 per cent in 1972) has far outpaced the industrial sector's capacity to absorb them, with women job-seekers and unemployed engineers growing especially fast. Beyond the data, he insists the problem has crossed from economics into sociology — requiring 'a Beveridge Report, if not a Beveridge Volume on Social Security' — and that with population growing at 2.58 per cent per year and urbanisation accelerating, an honest social order is required. On solutions, Munshi rejects an 'All-India' approach in favour of regional, atomistic interventions. He surveys Mid-Term Appraisal commitments (30,000 teachers, 500 Soil Survey Parties, Indian Oil graduate-shops), state-level Small-Scale Industries Development Institute support, and the Syndicate Bank and State Bank self-employment loan schemes (the Bhagwati Committee projected employment for 2.8 lakhs at Rs. 130 crores in 1972-74). He proposes Chambers of Commerce 'adopt' a region, on the model of Arvind Mafatlal's organisation, and run three flagship schemes: 4-5 entrepreneur clusters (engineering, chemicals, food-processing), large-scale industry-sponsored ventures with five-year hand-offs, and a trade-union-administered Unemployment Insurance scheme for organised white- and blue-collar workers, weaning unions away from confrontational preoccupations toward constructive unionism. - Five-Year Plans paid lip-service to employment generation; only the II Plan offered specific programmes, leaving a growing backlog. - Employment Exchange registrations rose from 3.01 million (1968) to 6.89 million (1972); women job-seekers jumped from 485,000 (Dec 1970) to 705,000 (Dec 1971). - Industrial sector could offer only 4 million additional jobs across 1951-70; unemployed engineers grew sharply with diploma-holders dominating registrations. - Educated unemployment is now a sociological problem, not just an economic one, requiring social-security thinking on the scale of Beveridge. - Solutions should be regional and 'atomistic' rather than All-India, with Chambers of Commerce 'adopting' regions for 3-5 year remedial programmes. - Three concrete schemes proposed: clusters of 4-5 small entrepreneurs, large-scale industry sponsorship with five-year independence, and trade-union Unemployment Insurance. ### Rural Unemployment and Underemployment in India *By PROF. PRAVIN VISARIA* Visaria opens with the 1971 census finding that 80 per cent of India's 547 million live in roughly 567,000 villages, where nearly 44 crore persons survive at a subsistence level of income. He argues that the rural and urban unemployment problems differ enough — in measurement and in remedy — that a country-wide aggregate view is misleading. Drawing on the National Sample Survey's rounds and his own earlier work, he shows that two-thirds of rural workers are self-employed or own-account workers on small holdings, and that the unemployed-but-seeking measurement (2-7 per cent of rural population) badly understates the real waste of labour through chronic underemployment, which he estimates at four to five per cent of available man-weeks. He insists that open unemployment is rare in rural India; the binding constraint is seasonal idleness and the inability of small landholdings and household industries to absorb available hands as productivity per worker stays below the minimum that needs to be provided. Bottom 30-40 per cent of rural households — disproportionately Scheduled Castes and Tribes — are 'outside the labour force', neither underemployed nor unemployed but chronically ill, disabled or aged, and unreachable by simplistic schemes. Past Community Development, Rural Industries and IADP-style programmes have under-delivered, and irrigation extension is limited by the land available. Visaria's prescription is 'disagriculturalisation' of the rural economy: a substantial increase in non-agricultural rural employment, augmented health, education, transport, banking and credit facilities, and specialised agricultural-marketing agencies, financed in part by the rural rich who have benefited from the Green Revolution but resist paying for rural amenities. - 80 per cent of 438 million Indians (of a 547-million total) live in roughly 567,000 villages, where 44 crore persons survive at subsistence. - Open unemployment is rare in rural India; substantial underemployment, masked by seasonality, is the real waste — about 4-5 per cent of available man-weeks. - Two-thirds of rural workers are self-employed or own-account workers on small holdings; only one-third are wage labourers. - Bottom 30-40 per cent of rural households are 'outside the labour force' — ill, disabled, aged, or chronically underemployed Scheduled Castes and Tribes — and unreachable by standard remedies. - Community Development, Rural Industries Projects and IADP have under-delivered due to organisational reconsideration and an incomplete framework. - 'Disagriculturalisation' — substantial non-agricultural rural employment, with the rural rich (Green Revolution beneficiaries) funding rural amenities — is the recommended direction. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Union Budget 2002-2003: The Liberal Point of View URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/union-budget-2002-03-liberal-point-of-view/ ### Summary This document is a policy statement issued by the Indian Liberal Group (ILG) setting out a liberal assessment of India's Union Budget for 2002–2003, dated Mumbai, 21 March 2002. According to the accompanying ILG covering letters (signed by S.V. Raju, President), it was prepared from the inputs of more than fifteen members of the group and circulated to Members of Parliament, party offices, politicians and decision-makers as the first in a planned series of liberal-viewpoint statements on current issues. The statement opens by diagnosing a slowed economy — GDP growth of 5.4 per cent in 2000–01, weak industrial growth, low inflation and large foreign-exchange reserves — and weighs the Budget's Keynesian, public-investment-led demand push against the risks of deficit financing given a fiscal deficit of 5.7 per cent of GDP that it judges unsustainable.… ### Body # Union Budget 2002-2003: The Liberal Point of View ## Summary This document is a policy statement issued by the Indian Liberal Group (ILG) setting out a liberal assessment of India's Union Budget for 2002–2003, dated Mumbai, 21 March 2002. According to the accompanying ILG covering letters (signed by S.V. Raju, President), it was prepared from the inputs of more than fifteen members of the group and circulated to Members of Parliament, party offices, politicians and decision-makers as the first in a planned series of liberal-viewpoint statements on current issues. The statement opens by diagnosing a slowed economy — GDP growth of 5.4 per cent in 2000–01, weak industrial growth, low inflation and large foreign-exchange reserves — and weighs the Budget's Keynesian, public-investment-led demand push against the risks of deficit financing given a fiscal deficit of 5.7 per cent of GDP that it judges unsustainable. It criticises measures that increase the tax burden on the middle classes (changes to exemptions and perquisites, the surcharge replacement, dividend taxation), warning these depress disposable income and demand, while urging ruthless cuts to non-productive expenditure such as interest payments, subsidies and the government's own salary and pension bills. It welcomes the Budget's encouragement of private investment, especially in infrastructure, the proposed reduction of central staff strength, customs-duty cuts toward ASEAN levels, and the move toward an independent SEBI. On agriculture and food, the statement attacks the swollen food-subsidy bill and the foodgrain procurement system, arguing the sector accounts for a third of GDP yet is hobbled by high carrying costs, a high minimum support price, and shortages; it calls for reforming the public-distribution system, encouraging private investment, easing controls on movement and procurement, and permitting contract farming. It backs structural reforms in power (the Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme), the Urban Land Ceiling Act repeal, disinvestment, and the loosening of labour laws via amendments to the Industrial Disputes Act and the Contract Labour Act, contending these protect rather than harm workers' interests. It closes by insisting that the passage of pending economic Bills — Electricity, Banking Companies, and the labour-law amendments — is far more urgent to the national interest than questions such as building a temple at Ayodhya, and that political expediency must not override the long-term interests of the people. ## Key points - A collective policy statement of the Indian Liberal Group on the Union Budget 2002–2003, dated Mumbai, 21 March 2002. - Prepared from inputs of over fifteen ILG members and circulated to MPs, party offices and decision-makers (per S.V. Raju's covering letters). - Judges the economy slowed (GDP growth 5.4% in 2000–01) and the 5.7%-of-GDP fiscal deficit unsustainable, cautioning against further deficit financing. - Criticises measures raising the tax burden on the middle classes and urges ruthless cuts to non-productive expenditure (interest, subsidies, salary and pension bills). - Welcomes encouragement of private investment in infrastructure, cuts to central staff strength, customs-duty reduction toward ASEAN levels, and an independent SEBI. - Attacks the food-subsidy bill and procurement system; calls for PDS reform, private investment, decontrol, and contract farming. - Backs power-sector reform, repeal of the Urban Land Ceiling Act, disinvestment, and labour-law amendments (Industrial Disputes Act, Contract Labour Act). - Concludes that passing pending economic Bills matters more to the national interest than the Ayodhya temple question. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Value of Accountants to Modern Enterprise URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/value-of-accountants-to-modern-enterprise-p-l-tandon-jun10-1963/ ### Summary P. L. Tandon, then Chairman of Hindustan Lever Ltd., delivered this talk under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay in June 1963 to argue that the Indian economy's rapid diversification and specialisation have outrun the traditional, book-keeping conception of the accountant's role. He frames an industrial enterprise as three major sectors — production, marketing and buying — whose success depends on output value exceeding input value, and he insists that accountants must move from custodial book-keeping to active stewardship of yield on resources employed. The core of the pamphlet is a sustained brief for management accounting as distinct from historical and statutory recording. Tandon walks through its practical mechanics: an annual estimate and budget feeding forecasts for sales, production, capital expenditure, marketing and cash flow; results presented to the board within ten days on the principle of "reporting by exception"; a variable-costs concept for marketing management; and the treatment of depreciation and direct factory labour as fixed costs in the short term.… ### Body # Value of Accountants to Modern Enterprise *By P. L. Tandon* ## Summary P. L. Tandon, then Chairman of Hindustan Lever Ltd., delivered this talk under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay in June 1963 to argue that the Indian economy's rapid diversification and specialisation have outrun the traditional, book-keeping conception of the accountant's role. He frames an industrial enterprise as three major sectors — production, marketing and buying — whose success depends on output value exceeding input value, and he insists that accountants must move from custodial book-keeping to active stewardship of yield on resources employed. The core of the pamphlet is a sustained brief for management accounting as distinct from historical and statutory recording. Tandon walks through its practical mechanics: an annual estimate and budget feeding forecasts for sales, production, capital expenditure, marketing and cash flow; results presented to the board within ten days on the principle of "reporting by exception"; a variable-costs concept for marketing management; and the treatment of depreciation and direct factory labour as fixed costs in the short term. He defines management accounting as "responsibility accounting" that reports information to the level of management best placed to act on it, and he describes a highly decentralised accounting organisation in which unit-level accounts departments report to operating managers while a chief accountant at head office ensures uniform principles. Drawing on his own firm's experience, Tandon argues that capital-scarce India cannot afford slack book-keeping, that O. & M. work and the internal audit department are partners rather than policemen of line management, and that the financial accountant must watch cash as it moves through the company's "veins and arteries" and keep capital employed under continual quarterly review at replacement value. He closes with a vocational appeal: accountants in modern enterprise must see themselves as full members of the management team, sharing in the running and progress of the country, and seize the chance to lift India's productivity rather than remain narrow controllers of expenditure. ## Key points - Frames Indian industrial enterprise as three sectors — Production, Marketing and Buying — whose viability depends on output value always exceeding input value. - Argues the traditional book-keeping equipment of Indian accountants is 'behind the needs of the time' and that the Depression of the 1930s first pushed accountants beyond mere book-keeping toward advisory work. - Distinguishes management accounting from historical and statutory recording, describing it as a system for the day-to-day running and future planning of the business. - Defines management accounting as 'responsibility accounting' — information targeted to the level of management able to act on it, governed by speed balanced against accuracy and accuracy against cost. - Recommends a decentralised accounting structure: unit-level accounts departments reporting to operating managers, with a chief accountant at head office ensuring uniform principles. - Champions variable-cost reporting for marketing, treats depreciation and direct factory labour as short-term fixed costs, and reassesses capital employed at current replacement value to stay alert to inflation. - Casts the internal audit department as a friendly source of 'unfettered powers of free and frank criticism', complementing rather than displacing external statutory auditors. - Closes with a vocational appeal that accountants must become full members of the management team and active participants in raising the nation's productivity and prosperity. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Value Sytems in Public Services URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/value-systems-in-public-service-by-ak-purwar-2003/ ### Summary A. K. Purwar, then Chairman of the State Bank of India, uses the 16th Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture — delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 10 December 2004 and printed here as a Forum booklet — to argue that the renewal of Indian public services is fundamentally a problem of values rather than of structure. He reframes the live "public versus private enterprise" debate as one that turns less on ownership than on the value system a workforce internalises: integrity, commitment to excellence, passion for the work, and teamwork. Honesty, he insists with a David S. Border epigraph, is not a bonus in a public servant — it is the fundamental requirement of the role. The lecture leans on illustrative case material to make its point that sector is incidental and culture decisive.… ### Body # Value Sytems in Public Services *By A.K. Purwar* ## Summary A. K. Purwar, then Chairman of the State Bank of India, uses the 16th Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture — delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 10 December 2004 and printed here as a Forum booklet — to argue that the renewal of Indian public services is fundamentally a problem of values rather than of structure. He reframes the live "public versus private enterprise" debate as one that turns less on ownership than on the value system a workforce internalises: integrity, commitment to excellence, passion for the work, and teamwork. Honesty, he insists with a David S. Border epigraph, is not a bonus in a public servant — it is the fundamental requirement of the role. The lecture leans on illustrative case material to make its point that sector is incidental and culture decisive. Lee Kuan Yew's personal transformation of Singapore from densely populated swamp to garden city, Azim Premji's "bedrock of integrity" formula at WIPRO, Narayana Murthy and the Tatas as embodiments of integrity, Dhirubhai Ambani's 24-month Jamnagar refinery as a teamwork miracle, and Sachin Tendulkar's targeted preparation against Shane Warne are all marshalled to show that determined people with shared values produce world-class outcomes. Purwar offers his own institution as evidence — the State Bank Group's 13,649-branch computerisation, achieved at the pace of roughly a thousand branches a month, is presented as proof that a public-sector enterprise can keep market leadership against private and foreign competition when commitment, determination and teamwork are in place. The closing movement re-centres the argument on Mahatma Gandhi. Citing Gandhi's "two deadly sins" — "knowledge without character" and "commerce without morality" — Purwar argues that India's crucial challenge can be stated in one line: establishing value systems in public services. He calls for transparency, accountability, professionalism, and a metamorphosis from "a rule-bound, precedence-focused, slothful work culture" to one oriented to society's satisfaction, with "Integrity ... the watchword and common good the ultimate goal." The booklet is bracketed at front and back by Forum house-quotes from A. D. Shroff ("Free Enterprise was born with man") and Eugene Black (private enterprise as "affirmative good"), situating Purwar's ethics-of-service argument inside the Forum's longer free-enterprise tradition. ## Key points - Delivered as the 16th Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture under Forum of Free Enterprise auspices on 10 December 2004; printed as a Forum booklet with an introduction by FFE President Minoo R. Shroff dated 31 March 2005. - Reframes the public-versus-private debate: outcomes turn on the value system a workforce internalises, not on ownership category. - Identifies four cardinal values for public service — integrity, commitment to excellence, passion for the work, and teamwork — and insists motivation must come from within. - Uses the State Bank Group's 13,649-branch computerisation (roughly 1,000 branches a month) as evidence that a public-sector enterprise can deliver private-sector-grade results. - Marshals Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore makeover and Dhirubhai Ambani's Jamnagar refinery as case studies of vision plus determined teamwork. - Quotes David S. Border that honesty is not a bonus but the fundamental requirement of a public servant's role. - Closes by calling India back to Mahatma Gandhi, invoking the deadly sins of "knowledge without character" and "commerce without morality". - Names "Integrity ... the watchword and common good the ultimate goal" as the lecture's operating maxim and calls for a culture shift from rule-bound proceduralism to result-orientation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] VAT and Some Other Indirect Taxes URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/vat-and-some-other-indirect-taxes-p-c-randeria-march-14-1977/ ### Summary P. C. Randeria's booklet, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in March 1977 as an outgrowth of a Bombay Chamber of Commerce paper, walks the general reader through three areas of indirect taxation that he believes urgently need reform: Value Added Tax (VAT), central excise, and octroi. The framing essay on VAT surveys the levy's origin in France in 1954, its 1967 adoption across the EEC, its uneven extension to Latin American and Francophone-African developing countries, and the UK's hesitant move to VAT in 1973 only after a decade-long Richardson Committee debate. Randeria insists that VAT in theory — a comprehensive, single-rate, neutral consumption tax — almost never survives contact with reality: exemptions, zero-rating, multiple rates and a heavy paperwork burden dilute every advantage that pure VAT is supposed to deliver, and he warns that for a federal system like India the choice between national and sub-national VAT raises hard constitutional questions about how receipts would be split between Centre and States. The second part traces the conceptual lineage of excise from a Webster's dictionary definition through Mauryan salt and liquor duties, Firuz Tughluq's mem… ### Body # VAT and Some Other Indirect Taxes ## Summary P. C. Randeria's booklet, published by the Forum of Free Enterprise in March 1977 as an outgrowth of a Bombay Chamber of Commerce paper, walks the general reader through three areas of indirect taxation that he believes urgently need reform: Value Added Tax (VAT), central excise, and octroi. The framing essay on VAT surveys the levy's origin in France in 1954, its 1967 adoption across the EEC, its uneven extension to Latin American and Francophone-African developing countries, and the UK's hesitant move to VAT in 1973 only after a decade-long Richardson Committee debate. Randeria insists that VAT in theory — a comprehensive, single-rate, neutral consumption tax — almost never survives contact with reality: exemptions, zero-rating, multiple rates and a heavy paperwork burden dilute every advantage that pure VAT is supposed to deliver, and he warns that for a federal system like India the choice between national and sub-national VAT raises hard constitutional questions about how receipts would be split between Centre and States. The second part traces the conceptual lineage of excise from a Webster's dictionary definition through Mauryan salt and liquor duties, Firuz Tughluq's memoirs, Jadunath Sarkar's reading of Aurangzeb's regime, Romesh Dutt's economic history and W. M. Moreland's account of Mughal revenue extraction. Randeria's point is continuity: the modern Central excise apparatus, now the Union's largest single revenue source and an instrument of economic policy, sits inside a long Indian habit of taxing manufacture at the source. The third part, on octroi, is the most polemical. Drawing on the Road Transport Taxation Enquiry Committee's interim report and on Dr. F. P. Antia, Randeria documents that octroi has been abolished across the industrially advanced West (Belgium in the 1970s, Egypt in 1903, France in 1940) but persists in Indian municipalities as a vexatious, anachronistic toll that delays road movement, invites harassment and extortion at checkposts, and has been condemned by every committee that has examined it. The chunk closes with statistical annexures on Union excise revenues for 1976-77 (Rs. 4,165 crores gross, dominated by petroleum, tobacco and chemicals) and on State receipts, on which sales tax (Rs. 2,165.8 crores) and State excise dominate own-tax revenue. ## Key points - VAT originated in France in 1954, was adopted across the EEC in 1967, and reached the UK only in 1973 after a decade-long Richardson Committee debate; general rates in 1976 ranged from 8% in the UK to 23% in France. - Randeria treats the 'pure' VAT system as a theorist's fiction: in practice exemptions, zero-rating, multiple rates and high collection costs dilute its claimed neutrality and simplicity. - For India, the central choice he frames is whether VAT could replace both Central excises and State sales taxes — a question he calls technically demanding and constitutionally fraught for a federal set-up. - Excise is presented as India's largest single source of Central tax revenue and an instrument of economic policy, with a continuous lineage back to Mauryan salt duties and Mughal levies on cloth, oil, tobacco and other goods. - Octroi is condemned as an anachronism abolished by every advanced Western economy yet still entrenched in Indian municipalities, where it obstructs road freight and produces harassment, extortion and overpayment at checkposts. - The booklet draws explicitly on official sources: the L. K. Jha Indirect Taxes Inquiry Committee, the 1963 A. K. Chanda Central Excise Reorganisation Committee report, the Road Transport Taxation Enquiry Committee, and RBI Currency and Finance statistics. - Statistical annexures show 1976-77 Union excise budget estimates of Rs. 4,165 crores gross with petroleum (Rs. 1,080 crores), tobacco (Rs. 319 crores) and chemicals (Rs. 319 crores) as the largest yields; in State accounts, sales tax at Rs. 2,165.8 crores dominates own-tax revenue. - Randeria's broader argument is for a calm, evidence-led national debate before any wholesale indirect-tax overhaul, warning equally against blind continuance of the existing cumbersome regime and against being carried away by the surface attractions of VAT. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Verma Committee Report on Weak Banks URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/verma-committee-report-on-weak-banks-dr-a-c-shah/ ### Summary Dr. A. C. Shah — an economist and former chairman/managing director of Bank of Baroda — delivered this address under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 20th October 1999 to summarise and endorse the M. S. Verma Working Group Report on weak public-sector banks. He argues that Indian banking stands on the threshold of a transformation as consequential as the 1969 nationalisation, propelled by two Narasimham Committee Reports (1991 and 1998), the transnational pressures of globalisation, and the urgent diagnosis delivered by the Verma Group. The three banks the Group identifies as weak — Indian Bank, UCO Bank and United Bank of India — are presented as the acute case, but Shah stresses that the malaise is system-wide: 27 public-sector banks together display an uneasy picture as of March 1999, and many beyond the three weak names also fail multiple Verma tests of solvency, earning capacity and profitability. Shah walks the audience through the Verma Group's proposed restructuring architecture: a Financial Restructuring Authority (FRA) created by a Special Act of Parliament, atop a government-owned Asset Reconstruction Fund (ARF) managed by an independent private-sector … ### Body # Verma Committee Report on Weak Banks *By Dr. A. C. SHAH* ## Summary Dr. A. C. Shah — an economist and former chairman/managing director of Bank of Baroda — delivered this address under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise on 20th October 1999 to summarise and endorse the M. S. Verma Working Group Report on weak public-sector banks. He argues that Indian banking stands on the threshold of a transformation as consequential as the 1969 nationalisation, propelled by two Narasimham Committee Reports (1991 and 1998), the transnational pressures of globalisation, and the urgent diagnosis delivered by the Verma Group. The three banks the Group identifies as weak — Indian Bank, UCO Bank and United Bank of India — are presented as the acute case, but Shah stresses that the malaise is system-wide: 27 public-sector banks together display an uneasy picture as of March 1999, and many beyond the three weak names also fail multiple Verma tests of solvency, earning capacity and profitability. Shah walks the audience through the Verma Group's proposed restructuring architecture: a Financial Restructuring Authority (FRA) created by a Special Act of Parliament, atop a government-owned Asset Reconstruction Fund (ARF) managed by an independent private-sector Asset Management Company (AMC) capitalised at Rs. 15 crores with 51 per cent private holding. The ARF would buy impaired loans (around Rs. 3,000 crores face value) from weak banks, financed through government-guaranteed special bonds, while RBI would operate a dedicated Special Wing for weak-bank supervision. He details the cost arithmetic — about Rs. 5,500 crores over three years, broken down across technology upgradation, a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (Rs. 1,100–1,200 crores) cutting staff by roughly 25 per cent, NPA buyout (Rs. 1,000 crores) and capital adequacy support (Rs. 3,000 crores) — and underlines that gradualism is not an option. In the concluding section Shah moves from exposition to advocacy. He singles out the legal framework — an archaic, borrower-biased regime under which BIFR and the Debt Recovery Tribunals have failed — as the central bottleneck, and looks to the T. R. Andhyarujina Expert Group on recovery of bank dues for a fix, urging that its report be released in parts given the urgency. He calls for political will, an Indian Banks Association-led dialogue with trade unions on overstaffing and wage freezes, and a fresh approach to bank leadership, citing the U.K. and U.S. practice of recruiting industry leaders into banking. Shah closes by predicting that, if implemented fully, the Verma plan will reshape the map of Indian banking — with mergers, privatisation, ADR issuance and ICICI/SBI-style consolidation accelerating — and ending with the conviction that Indian banks have the ability; what they need is strong will. ## Key points - Frames the Verma Working Group Report as the third major driver of an impending banking revolution, alongside the 1991 and 1998 Narasimham Committee Reports and the transnationalisation of finance. - Names the three weak banks — Indian Bank, UCO Bank and United Bank of India — and reports that, judged on the Verma Group's seven solvency/earning/profitability tests, only seven of 27 PSBs qualify as 'good' as of March 1999. - Endorses the Verma three-tier restructuring architecture: Financial Restructuring Authority (FRA) under a Special Act of Parliament, a government-owned Asset Reconstruction Fund (ARF), and a private-sector-managed Asset Management Company (AMC) with 51 per cent private holding. - Quantifies the restructuring price tag at roughly Rs. 5,500 crores over three years — Rs. 300–400 crores technology, Rs. 1,100–1,200 crores VRS, Rs. 1,000 crores NPA buyout and Rs. 3,000 crores capital adequacy. - Identifies the archaic legal framework — biased toward borrowers, with BIFR and the Debt Recovery Tribunals failing — as the binding constraint, and looks to the T. R. Andhyarujina Expert Group for legal reform. - Treats overstaffing and over-unionisation as systemic problems requiring a 25 per cent staff reduction via the Voluntary Retirement Scheme, a wage freeze, and IBA-led engagement with the trade unions. - Argues that bank leadership has been 'stunted' by short tenures and lateral transfers, and recommends drawing top industry leaders into banking on the U.K./U.S. model. - Anticipates that successful implementation will accelerate mergers, privatisation and ADR-based capital raising — citing SBI's ADR plan and ICICI's lead — and reshape the map of Indian banking. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Shetkari Sanghatana URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/visionaries-of-a-new-bharat-shetkari-sanghatana/ ### Summary This English-language promotional booklet profiles the Shetkari Sanghatana (SS), the Maharashtra-based farmers' organisation founded in the late 1970s by Sharad Joshi, presenting its history, ideology and policy positions to a general readership. It opens with a capsule history of farmers' movements in India, tracing rural poverty from the British-era Zamindari and Ryotwari systems through post-independence 'low-cost economy' policies that, in the SS reading, deliberately depressed agricultural prices to subsidise urban industrialisation. Against this backdrop it describes the 'new agrarian mobilization' of the early 1980s, in which SS and allied bodies under the Kisan Co-ordination Committee led mass agitations around a single demand: remunerative prices and freedom of access to markets and technology. The booklet's argumentative centre is Sharad Joshi's theory of the 'Bharat-India' divide, which recasts the country's primary contradiction not as a geographic town-versus-country split but as one between 'Bharat' (the exploited rural and unorganised sector) and 'India' (a 'westernized industrial bureaucratic elite' inheriting colonial patterns of exploitation).… ### Body # Shetkari Sanghatana ## Summary This English-language promotional booklet profiles the Shetkari Sanghatana (SS), the Maharashtra-based farmers' organisation founded in the late 1970s by Sharad Joshi, presenting its history, ideology and policy positions to a general readership. It opens with a capsule history of farmers' movements in India, tracing rural poverty from the British-era Zamindari and Ryotwari systems through post-independence 'low-cost economy' policies that, in the SS reading, deliberately depressed agricultural prices to subsidise urban industrialisation. Against this backdrop it describes the 'new agrarian mobilization' of the early 1980s, in which SS and allied bodies under the Kisan Co-ordination Committee led mass agitations around a single demand: remunerative prices and freedom of access to markets and technology. The booklet's argumentative centre is Sharad Joshi's theory of the 'Bharat-India' divide, which recasts the country's primary contradiction not as a geographic town-versus-country split but as one between 'Bharat' (the exploited rural and unorganised sector) and 'India' (a 'westernized industrial bureaucratic elite' inheriting colonial patterns of exploitation). From this premise the SS derives a thoroughly market-liberal programme: it rejects the pastoral romanticisation of village life, attacks the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees, the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, the Food Corporation of India and the Public Distribution System as instruments of exploitation, and champions free domestic and international trade, foreign direct and institutional investment, WTO multilateral-trade rules, disinvestment of public-sector units, and farmers' rights over property and technology. Later sections set out the SS view on farmers and intellectual property rights — welcoming the dismantling of the 'license-permit Raj', subsidies and trade restrictions, and arguing farmers should be free to access frontier agricultural technology — and survey 'challenges in the future', including biotechnology and bio-fuels (bio-Diesel from sugar cane, sugar beet and molasses), Special Economic Zones, the right to sell or retain farmland, and the threat that global-warming-driven 'precautionary' regulation could restrict agricultural innovation. Throughout, the text invokes degrees of freedom — the number, range and novelty of choices available to individuals — as the measure of a community's quality of life. The full thirteen-page booklet was rendered; it carries no author byline, editor, or printed year, and lists only a Shetkari Sangathna postal address (Ambethan, Pune) for further enquiries. ## Key points - Organisational profile of the Shetkari Sanghatana (SS), the Maharashtra farmers' organisation founded c.1978 by Sharad Joshi. - Frames Indian rural poverty as the product of deliberate 'low-cost economy' policies that depressed farm prices to fund urban industrialisation. - Centres on Sharad Joshi's 'Bharat vs India' theory: the real contradiction is exploited rural 'Bharat' against a westernised elite 'India', not town vs country. - Single-point programme: remunerative prices for agricultural produce and freedom of access to markets and technology. - Attacks state market institutions — APMCs, CACP, FCI and the PDS — as instruments that exploit farmers. - Endorses a market-liberal agenda: free trade, FDI/FII, WTO rules, disinvestment of PSUs, and farmers' property and technology rights. - Supports farmers' access to frontier technology and IPR-protected innovation, opposing the 'license-permit Raj' and subsidies. - Future-facing sections cover bio-fuels, biotechnology, SEZs, land rights, and resistance to precautionary 'Luddite' regulation. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Wanchoo Committee Report On Black Money URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/wanchoo-committee-report-on-black-money-h-p-ranina/ ### Summary H. P. Ranina's pamphlet — reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise from a 1972 Financial Express series — endorses the Wanchoo Committee's diagnosis that India's black money problem is rooted in confiscatory tax rates and a suffocating apparatus of controls, licences and permits, rather than in any irreducible moral failing of the citizenry. Ranina praises the Committee for naming high direct-tax rates, an economy of shortages, the licence-permit system, the ban on company donations to political parties, sales-tax levels and weak enforcement as the engines of evasion, and for prescribing across-the-board rate reduction and liberalisation of controls as the only durable cure. Ranina works through the Committee's main proposals one by one. He argues that a marginal rate of 97.75% makes tax evasion forty-three times more profitable than honest earning, that the 81% rise in the wholesale price index between 1961-62 and 1971-72 demands a higher exemption limit than the Rs. 5,000 the Committee left unchanged, and that the licence-permit raj has made black money 'indispensable to business men' — both through import-licence premiums and through the pugree system bred by Rent Control.… ### Body # Wanchoo Committee Report On Black Money *By HP Ranina* ## Summary H. P. Ranina's pamphlet — reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise from a 1972 Financial Express series — endorses the Wanchoo Committee's diagnosis that India's black money problem is rooted in confiscatory tax rates and a suffocating apparatus of controls, licences and permits, rather than in any irreducible moral failing of the citizenry. Ranina praises the Committee for naming high direct-tax rates, an economy of shortages, the licence-permit system, the ban on company donations to political parties, sales-tax levels and weak enforcement as the engines of evasion, and for prescribing across-the-board rate reduction and liberalisation of controls as the only durable cure. Ranina works through the Committee's main proposals one by one. He argues that a marginal rate of 97.75% makes tax evasion forty-three times more profitable than honest earning, that the 81% rise in the wholesale price index between 1961-62 and 1971-72 demands a higher exemption limit than the Rs. 5,000 the Committee left unchanged, and that the licence-permit raj has made black money 'indispensable to business men' — both through import-licence premiums and through the pugree system bred by Rent Control. He welcomes the Committee's calls for compulsory maintenance and audit of accounts above defined income and turnover thresholds, permanent account numbers, expanded survey operations, tighter penalty and prosecution provisions, and statutory acquisition powers against under-stated immovable-property sales, while flagging operational worries — auditor liability, two-set bookkeeping, the wide scope of audit, and the futility of further criminalising blank share transfers. The pamphlet also takes the Committee to task on three counts: it has not raised the Rs. 5,000 exemption to track inflation; it has not lifted the ban on corporate political donations, which has merely driven such funds underground; and it leaves rent control over residential premises intact, perpetuating the pugree economy. Ranina invokes the French precedent — full tax exemption on income from newly built houses for five years — to argue that the housing shortage feeding black money in immovable property can only be solved by tax incentives to builders, not by criminalisation. The throughline is a classical-liberal one: shrinking the discretionary state, lowering rates and freeing markets will starve the black economy more effectively than any enforcement crackdown. ## Key points - Endorses Wanchoo Committee's central thesis that black money is caused chiefly by confiscatory tax rates, the licence-permit system, rent control and weak enforcement — not by inherent dishonesty. - Highlights the 97.75% marginal rate and the resulting 4,300% post-tax 'profit on concealment' to argue that rate reduction at all levels of income is the Committee's single most important recommendation. - Criticises the Committee for leaving the Rs. 5,000 exemption limit untouched despite an 81% rise in the wholesale price index between 1961-62 and 1971-72, and endorses Bhoothalingam's higher Rs. 7,500 figure. - Argues that liberalising controls would dent both legal evasion (via better goods, more competition, lower prices) and illegal transactions (smuggling, black-marketing) by undercutting the premium on import licences and permits. - Faults the Committee for not recommending repeal of the ban on company political donations (Section 293-A, Companies Act 1956), which has only driven contributions underground. - Welcomes compulsory maintenance and compulsory audit of accounts above defined income/turnover thresholds, but warns that the wide scope of such audits exposes chartered accountants to onerous liability. - Backs permanent account numbers, expanded survey operations, statutory acquisition of under-valued immovable property, and the Committee's refusal (except P. C. Padhi) to reintroduce expenditure tax. - Diagnoses the pugree system as a child of Rent Control and points to the French five-year tax holiday for new construction as the model for fighting black money in housing. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Warnings of History URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/warning-soft-historyt-rends-k-m-munshi-jun7-1957/ ### Summary K. M. Munshi's Warnings of History is a six-essay pamphlet (Bombay: Forum of Free Enterprise, 1957) gathering Munshi's mid-1950s warnings against the drift of independent India towards collectivism, state capitalism, and what he calls 'modern despotism'. A. D. Shroff's foreword frames the collection as a Forum-of-Free-Enterprise intervention against the 'onslaught of collectivism and statism' and the 'emotion-mongering of politicians wedded to totalitarian ideologies'. The rendered chunk carries the full text of the first three essays and the opening of the fourth. In the title essay 'Warnings of History' (pp. 7–17), Munshi argues that virile nations depend on three things — a common memory of heroic achievement, a will to unity, and a habitual urge to collective action — and that India's eleven post-Independence years have squandered each: 'a generation has now grown up which takes freedom for granted but draws no inspiration from the way it was won.' He warns that planners impatient for economic self-sufficiency forget the historic dangers of materialism, regional and caste loyalties, and the seductive 'Communist technique of coercing the masses to their way of living'.… ### Body # Warnings of History *By K. M. Munshi* ## Summary K. M. Munshi's Warnings of History is a six-essay pamphlet (Bombay: Forum of Free Enterprise, 1957) gathering Munshi's mid-1950s warnings against the drift of independent India towards collectivism, state capitalism, and what he calls 'modern despotism'. A. D. Shroff's foreword frames the collection as a Forum-of-Free-Enterprise intervention against the 'onslaught of collectivism and statism' and the 'emotion-mongering of politicians wedded to totalitarian ideologies'. The rendered chunk carries the full text of the first three essays and the opening of the fourth. In the title essay 'Warnings of History' (pp. 7–17), Munshi argues that virile nations depend on three things — a common memory of heroic achievement, a will to unity, and a habitual urge to collective action — and that India's eleven post-Independence years have squandered each: 'a generation has now grown up which takes freedom for granted but draws no inspiration from the way it was won.' He warns that planners impatient for economic self-sufficiency forget the historic dangers of materialism, regional and caste loyalties, and the seductive 'Communist technique of coercing the masses to their way of living'. Spirituality, he insists, is not the antithesis of material advance but the inner discipline without which a struggling nation cannot rise. 'Are We Failing Gandhiji?' (pp. 18–23) accuses Congress India of substituting Bhakra Dams, steel mills and external 'planned paradise' for the Gandhian programme of self-purification, austerity and faith. Munshi reads Gandhiji as a teacher of multi-central life and self-restraint who would have rejected linguism, communalism and bureaucratic regimentation. 'Despotism — Old and New' (pp. 24–33, with an appendix) draws a sharp contrast between old despotism — physically coercive but limited by Dharma, Shastras, autonomous guilds and religious authority — and the modern totalitarian state, which controls 'production, distribution and consumption of wealth', regiments education and family, and 'stifles religious activities by propagating the supremacy of materialistic aims'. Parliamentary democracy, he writes, is the 'safe compromise' but is increasingly exposed to swinging emergency powers and gradual elimination of private property. The opening pages of 'Congress Objective and Co-operatives' (pp. 35–37, rendered through p. 37) attack the Nagpur Resolution's drive toward compulsory co-operative farming. Munshi argues that wherever co-operative farming has been tried — Yugoslavia, Russia, China — voluntary co-operation has failed and coercion has followed, while family farming with profit incentive and supporting services has actually delivered the production gains seen in Japan and Israel. The remaining two essays ('Role of Legal Order in a Democracy', 'Crisis in Democracy') were not in this chunk. ## Key points - Frames the work as a Forum of Free Enterprise warning against state capitalism, with A. D. Shroff's foreword positioning Munshi's essays as a 'realistic appraisal' of collectivist proposals like co-operative farming and the erosion of the Rule of Law. - Argues nations rise on three factors — common memory of achievement, will to unity, and habitual urge to collective action — and that post-1947 India has weakened on all three under a 'sterile educational policy'. - Treats spirituality (Aryavarta, Karma-Bhoomi) as a load-bearing source of national unity; warns that scoffing at it leaves only Communist coercion as a method of mass mobilisation. - Reads Gandhiji as a prophet of inner discipline and multi-central life and accuses Congress of replacing Gandhian self-purification with external symbols (Bhakra Dam, steel mills) and emotion-mongering against private enterprise. - Contrasts 'old despotism' — physically coercive but bounded by Dharma, autonomous guilds, religious authority, Vaishya Mahajans — with 'modern despotism' that exercises psychological coercion over education, media, marriage and family. - Names compulsory co-operative farming as the central danger of the Nagpur Resolution: it has failed in Yugoslavia and Russia, succeeded nowhere voluntarily, and would replace incentive with coercion. - Holds up Japan, Israel and U.S. family farming as evidence that profit incentive plus fertiliser, credit and storage support — not collectivisation — drives agricultural productivity. - Defends parliamentary democracy as a 'safe compromise' between laissez-faire and totalitarian statism, but warns that its survival depends on independent universities, press, judiciary and 'multi-centric' civil institutions. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Water Futures: It's Everybody's Business URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/water-futures-rohini-nilekani-december-3-2012/ ### Summary Water Futures: It's Everybody's Business is the text of the 24th Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture, delivered by Rohini Nilekani in Mumbai on 7th December 2012 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise. Drawing on nearly a decade of work through Arghyam, the public-charitable organisation she founded and funded, Nilekani argues that water has become a civilisational issue. Per-capita availability in India has fallen from roughly 6,008 cubic metres per person in 1947 to about 1,700 in 2001, and is projected to dip below 1,000 by 2030–2050, even as urbanisation, industrialisation and rising aspirations push consumption upward and surface and groundwater alike are polluted and overdrawn. The lecture is organised around three sectoral sites of the crisis — agriculture (more than 80% of freshwater use, much of it irresponsibly applied to rice in Punjab and Haryana or sugarcane in Rajasthan), industry (8–13% and rising with GDP, with the Mithi, Yamuna and even the Ganga as 'mute testimony to our indifference'), and cities (with grotesque inequalities, where rich Mumbai neighbourhoods get 400 lpcd while northern slums survive on 36).… ### Body # Water Futures: It's Everybody's Business *By Rohini Nilekani* ## Summary Water Futures: It's Everybody's Business is the text of the 24th Bhogilal Leherchand Memorial Lecture, delivered by Rohini Nilekani in Mumbai on 7th December 2012 under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise. Drawing on nearly a decade of work through Arghyam, the public-charitable organisation she founded and funded, Nilekani argues that water has become a civilisational issue. Per-capita availability in India has fallen from roughly 6,008 cubic metres per person in 1947 to about 1,700 in 2001, and is projected to dip below 1,000 by 2030–2050, even as urbanisation, industrialisation and rising aspirations push consumption upward and surface and groundwater alike are polluted and overdrawn. The lecture is organised around three sectoral sites of the crisis — agriculture (more than 80% of freshwater use, much of it irresponsibly applied to rice in Punjab and Haryana or sugarcane in Rajasthan), industry (8–13% and rising with GDP, with the Mithi, Yamuna and even the Ganga as 'mute testimony to our indifference'), and cities (with grotesque inequalities, where rich Mumbai neighbourhoods get 400 lpcd while northern slums survive on 36). She introduces the concept of 'virtual' or embedded water — popularised by John Anthony Allan of King's College — to show that food choices, cotton jeans and milk all carry hidden water costs, and that India is in effect exporting scarce water through textiles while saving 1,300 cubic metres per imported tonne of wheat. The core prescription is a shift from supply-side management to restraint: a 'low water economy, indeed a low water society' built on flexible sharing systems, water efficiency, decentralised treatment and reuse, the subsidiarity principle, and a 'Save Water' campaign starting in schools. Nilekani repeatedly invokes Gandhi, the 19th-century aphorism 'Water is a very good servant but it is a cruel master', and her own coinage 'Dil Maange More seems to be a more celebrated mantra than Dimaag Maange Less' to argue for cultural change. The booklet closes with a civic exhortation to citizens, cities and industry to 'Engage, engage, and engage!' — to value water, revive lakes and rivers, and accept that securing the country's water future is everybody's business. A foreword by Minoo Shroff (President, Forum of Free Enterprise) frames the talk as a realistic, eye-opening assessment of a problem 'not adequately realized and appreciated'. ## Key points - Per-capita water availability in India has fallen from ~6,008 m3 (1947) to ~1,700 m3 (2001) and is projected to dip below 1,000 m3 by 2030–2050, with parts of Rajasthan already at 150 mm of rain a year and parts of Assam at 3,000 mm — temporal and spatial maldistribution as much as scarcity. - Agriculture absorbs more than 80% of India's freshwater; domestic use takes 5–7% and industry 10–13%, and state policy effectively subsidises irresponsible withdrawal — flood-irrigated rice in Punjab/Haryana, sugarcane in Rajasthan, and a near-free regime around 23 million bore wells. - Nilekani frames water as a 'civilizational issue' and calls for a 'low water economy, indeed a low water society' — restraint, efficiency, subsidiarity and decentralised treatment in place of supply-side expansion. - She introduces virtual or embedded water (crediting John Anthony Allan of King's College): a kilogram of milk needs 3,000 litres, a pair of denim jeans demands the most water of any garment, and importing one tonne of wheat saves India 1,300 cubic metres of real, local water. - Health-food inversion: subsidised pricing and procurement have pushed Indian farmers towards wheat, rice and sugarcane — water-intensive 'white rice and white sugar' crops — while the elite migrates to millets, vegetables and fruits the farmers themselves can no longer afford to grow. - Urban inequality is stark: in Mumbai rich connected areas can receive ~400 lpcd while northern slums get ~36 lpcd; cities must adopt Singapore-style rationalisation, reuse, decentralised wastewater treatment and 'cost the cost' of water to consumers. - Industrial responsibility: industry must accept the polluter-pays principle for the contamination of the Mithi, Yamuna and Ganga; Mumbai, as the 'heart of the world of finance', can lead in incentivising water efficiency. - Arghyam has spent Rs 35 crore over eight years and now spends Rs 10–13 crore annually supporting over 90 projects across 21 Indian states — rainwater harvesting in Bihar, fluoride-safe groundwater in Karnataka, restoring kuins, tankas and other traditional waterbodies in Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. - Closing civic call: 'Engage, engage, and engage!' — citizens must reduce their water footprint, cities must value rivers, and industry must accept polluter-pays; securing India's water future is 'everybody's business'. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] WE ARE HEADING TOWARDS A MAN-MADE ECONOMIC CRISIS URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/we-are-heading-towards-a-man-made-economic-crisis-by-ad-shroff-february-23-1957/ ### Summary Based on a talk at the Surat Rotary Club on 23 February 1957, A. D. Shroff argues that India is sliding into a self-inflicted economic crisis whose ultimate cause is not the Suez disturbance or the loss of Kashmiri food supplies but the ambition and arithmetic of the Second Five-Year Plan itself. The Plan, originally pegged at Rs 4,800 crores and now likely to climb to Rs 5,300 crores, was framed without regard to either domestic resources or the foreign credit India could realistically raise, and its targets — a 25 per cent rise in national income within five years — have generated cost overruns, shipment delays, and shortages of steel and cement that are choking ordinary industrial activity. Shroff catalogues the symptoms of a planning bureaucracy that has lost touch with economic reality: imported steel at Rs 615 per ton against Indian steel produced for Rs 293, currency notes pouring out of the Nasik Printing Press to sustain government spending, and a foreign exchange reserve drawn down from Rs 117 crores to Rs 8 crores, forcing him personally to negotiate a 127.5 million-dollar loan from the IMF at the Bretton Woods Conference.… ### Body # WE ARE HEADING TOWARDS A MAN-MADE ECONOMIC CRISIS *By A. D. Shroff* ## Summary Based on a talk at the Surat Rotary Club on 23 February 1957, A. D. Shroff argues that India is sliding into a self-inflicted economic crisis whose ultimate cause is not the Suez disturbance or the loss of Kashmiri food supplies but the ambition and arithmetic of the Second Five-Year Plan itself. The Plan, originally pegged at Rs 4,800 crores and now likely to climb to Rs 5,300 crores, was framed without regard to either domestic resources or the foreign credit India could realistically raise, and its targets — a 25 per cent rise in national income within five years — have generated cost overruns, shipment delays, and shortages of steel and cement that are choking ordinary industrial activity. Shroff catalogues the symptoms of a planning bureaucracy that has lost touch with economic reality: imported steel at Rs 615 per ton against Indian steel produced for Rs 293, currency notes pouring out of the Nasik Printing Press to sustain government spending, and a foreign exchange reserve drawn down from Rs 117 crores to Rs 8 crores, forcing him personally to negotiate a 127.5 million-dollar loan from the IMF at the Bretton Woods Conference. He warns that with only Rs 8 crores left, India will face a 'very disturbing situation' on foreign currency by 30 June, and that food prices are propped up only by 171 million dollars of US PL-480 grain. The corrective Shroff prescribes is unglamorous: revise the Plan, cut the coat according to the cloth, and stop pretending that statutory enactments can suspend the laws of economics. The framers of the Plan and the 'sponsors of the ideology of socialistic pattern of society', he says, have ignored how economies actually behave; laws of supply, demand and scarcity are now asserting themselves and no Parliament resolution or ministerial speech in Delhi can override them. The pamphlet closes — in a deliberate piece of editorial framing by the Forum of Free Enterprise — with a Nehru quotation about not sacrificing 'the spirit of man' to the production of material goods, turning the Prime Minister's own words into a brief against his Plan. ## Key points - Shroff names the Second Five-Year Plan, not the Suez crisis or Kashmir, as the root cause of India's gathering economic distress. - Plan costs have already escalated from Rs 4,800 to Rs 5,300 crores because of delayed machinery shipments, higher freight, insurance and interest charges on large capital projects. - Indian-produced steel costs Rs 293 per ton against Rs 615 for imported steel — yet the Plan and its strain on the economy force India to keep importing at Rs 120 per ton even on cement and similar commodities. - The government is funding its outlays by running the Nasik Printing Press, even as banks face an acute shortage of credit — 'water-water everywhere; but not a drop to drink.' - India's foreign exchange reserve has fallen from Rs 117 crores to Rs 8 crores; Shroff himself, as Indian delegate at the Bretton Woods Conference, secured an IMF loan of 127.5 million dollars to bridge the gap. - Food situation is held up by 171 million dollars of US foodgrain support; without it prices would have risen further still. - Shroff frames the crisis as a clash between economic laws and political ideology — Parliament cannot legislate away scarcity, and 'the laws of economics' are beginning to reassert themselves on the socialistic pattern. - His prescribed remedy is to revise the Plan to match available domestic resources and realistic foreign credit, and to act with 'honesty of conviction and moral courage' once the elections are over. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] We Indians URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/we-indians-minoo-masani-1989/ ### Summary We Indians is Minoo Masani's popular, illustrated primer on Indian identity, conceived as a companion to his hugely successful 1940 children's book Our India and written for a young readership. In the rendered pages — the front matter and the opening chapters — Masani sets out to answer, in plain and conversational prose, who Indians are: where they come from, what their cultural and spiritual heritage is, and what it means to be 'a good Indian'. The 2001 edition seen here is a reprint by the Indian Liberal Group of the work Oxford University Press first published in 1989, with cartoons by R. K. Laxman; a 'Preface to Second Edition' by S. V. Raju thanks OUP and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and notes the text is unchanged save for updated statistical footnotes. Chapter 1, 'What Are Little Indians Made Of?', riffs on the English nursery rhyme to ask what the 'little Indian' is composed of, and answers in terms of racial and ethnic mixing — a blend of Caucasian, Scythian, Mongoloid and (in larger proportion) Dravidian elements, varying by region.… ### Body # We Indians *By MINOO MASANI* ## Summary We Indians is Minoo Masani's popular, illustrated primer on Indian identity, conceived as a companion to his hugely successful 1940 children's book Our India and written for a young readership. In the rendered pages — the front matter and the opening chapters — Masani sets out to answer, in plain and conversational prose, who Indians are: where they come from, what their cultural and spiritual heritage is, and what it means to be 'a good Indian'. The 2001 edition seen here is a reprint by the Indian Liberal Group of the work Oxford University Press first published in 1989, with cartoons by R. K. Laxman; a 'Preface to Second Edition' by S. V. Raju thanks OUP and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and notes the text is unchanged save for updated statistical footnotes. Chapter 1, 'What Are Little Indians Made Of?', riffs on the English nursery rhyme to ask what the 'little Indian' is composed of, and answers in terms of racial and ethnic mixing — a blend of Caucasian, Scythian, Mongoloid and (in larger proportion) Dravidian elements, varying by region. In the rendered pages Masani is at pains to demolish race-myths: he distinguishes race (common descent) from nation (a political grouping) and from language, insists that no race is 'pure', and singles out the notion of an 'Aryan race' as a confusion — Aryan, he argues, names a family of languages, not a race. He traces the error to the Orientalist Max Müller (who later recanted), cites Julian Huxley and a UNESCO study on the 'notoriously disastrous, muddled thinking about the Aryan race', and points to its abuse by Hitler. The rendered pages then open Chapter 2, 'The Melting Pot', which extends the argument that India — like the United States and Brazil — is a melting pot of races built up by successive waves of immigration, quoting Huxley that 'all great nations are melting pots of races'. This summary is based only on the front matter and roughly the first two chapters of a 21-chapter book; later chapters on religion, philosophy, language, the family, the village and city, honesty, discipline, commitment, population and 'The Future is Yours' were not in the rendered set. ## Key points - Popular illustrated book on Indian identity by Minoo Masani, written for young readers as a companion to his 1940 'Our India'. - This 2001 edition is an Indian Liberal Group reprint of the 1989 Oxford University Press original, with a Preface to the Second Edition by S. V. Raju. - Illustrated throughout with cartoons by R. K. Laxman, who also drew the cover. - Chapter 1 asks 'what are little Indians made of?' and answers with a mix of Caucasian, Scythian, Mongoloid and Dravidian elements. - Masani sharply distinguishes race, nation and language and insists no race is 'pure'. - He treats the 'Aryan race' as a myth — Aryan denotes a language family, not a race — tracing the confusion to Max Müller and citing UNESCO and Julian Huxley. - Chapter 2 ('The Melting Pot') frames India as a melting pot of races formed by waves of immigration, like the US and Brazil. - Rendered pages cover only front matter and the first two of 21 chapters. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Wealth and Expenditure Taxes URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/wealth-and-expenditure-taxes-prof-r-j-taraporevala-sept6-1959/ ### Summary Prof. Russi Jal Taraporevala's pamphlet, drawn from public lectures delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise at the Indian Merchants' Chamber in Bombay (19 August 1957) and at Wadia College Hall in Poona (27 August 1957), is a systematic attack on the wealth tax and expenditure tax introduced in the Government of India's then-recent budget. Taraporevala argues that the two novel taxes, layered on top of already steep income tax and super tax, take the total direct and indirect tax burden beyond that of any previous Indian budget and amount, at higher slabs, to the outright confiscation of private capital and wealth.… ### Body # Wealth and Expenditure Taxes *By Prof. RUSSI JAL TARAPOREVALA* ## Summary Prof. Russi Jal Taraporevala's pamphlet, drawn from public lectures delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise at the Indian Merchants' Chamber in Bombay (19 August 1957) and at Wadia College Hall in Poona (27 August 1957), is a systematic attack on the wealth tax and expenditure tax introduced in the Government of India's then-recent budget. Taraporevala argues that the two novel taxes, layered on top of already steep income tax and super tax, take the total direct and indirect tax burden beyond that of any previous Indian budget and amount, at higher slabs, to the outright confiscation of private capital and wealth. He builds the case in three movements — wealth tax, expenditure tax, effects on the common man — and repeatedly contrasts what the Finance Minister has done with what Nicholas Kaldor actually recommended in the Kaldor Report. The wealth-tax chapters reconstruct, slab by slab, what the marginal rates do in combination with income and super tax: at gross incomes around Rs 32,000 with wealth around Rs 5 lakhs the regime begins to claw back capital, and beyond about Rs 22 lakhs of wealth the net effect is to confiscate the entire gross income plus roughly 0.54 per cent of capital each year. Taraporevala stresses that Kaldor had proposed the wealth tax as a substitute for the highest reaches of income and super tax, with the combined marginal burden capped at 45 per cent of gross income — a ceiling the Finance Minister has 'flouted' by piling the new taxes on top of the existing ones. Extending the wealth tax to companies, he argues, imposes double taxation on the same assets, hits small shareholders and middle-class savers who hold company securities, and threatens the corporate sector on whose retained earnings the Second Five-Year Plan depends. The expenditure-tax chapters open by noting that the proposed personal allowance (Rs 30,000 for an assessee plus Rs 3,000 per coparcener for Hindu Joint Families, with capital exempt) is 'far from liberal' and that the levy is steeply progressive once crossed. Taraporevala records that members of the Select Committee — Dr. A. Krishnaswami, Mr. Minoo Masani and Maharaja Karni Singh of Bikaner — predicted that the tax would yield negligible revenue while inflicting major psychological dislocation, and that no other free-world country has been able to make such a tax administratively workable. The most 'inhuman' provision, he writes, is the absence of any exemption for expenditure on aged, disabled, unemployed or dependent relatives — turning the tax into a levy on the living expenses of the poorest sections supported by middle-class assessees. The closing chapters argue that the combined taxes will choke saving and investment, drive away foreign investors and foreign technicians, encourage extravagant rather than thrifty spending, and threaten labour itself by making the State the sole employer — Taraporevala cites the Government's handling of the Post and Telegraph strike as a warning. He concludes by urging that the wealth tax on individuals be retained only if income and super tax rates are sharply reduced (with a 45 per cent ceiling as Kaldor proposed, or an 80 per cent Swedish-style cap), that the wealth tax on companies be dropped outright, and that the expenditure-tax proposal be withdrawn; otherwise, he warns, the Finance Minister will force the country into 'a gamble on its economic progress in which the odds appear heavily against success.' ## Key points - The 1957-58 Indian budget introduced two novel direct taxes — a wealth tax and an expenditure tax — on top of already heavy income and super tax, producing a total direct-tax burden heavier than any previous Indian budget and, the author argues, heavier than that of any country in the free world. - The Finance Minister has invoked Nicholas Kaldor's Kaldor Report but has 'flouted' Kaldor's central condition: Kaldor proposed the wealth tax as a substitute for the highest slabs of income and super tax, with a combined marginal cap of 45 per cent of gross income, rather than as an addition to them. - At gross incomes around Rs 32,000 and wealth around Rs 5 lakhs the combined regime begins to eat into capital; once net wealth exceeds about Rs 22 lakhs the regime confiscates the entire gross income plus roughly 0.54 per cent of capital annually. - Extending the wealth tax to companies (at a flat 0.5 per cent on assets above Rs 5 lakhs) imposes double taxation on the same assets — once via the company and again via shareholders — and was not recommended by Kaldor; the burden falls especially on small investors in public companies, whose holdings make up most of the corporate equity surveyed by the Reserve Bank of India in 1955. - The expenditure tax exemption — Rs 30,000 per assessee plus Rs 3,000 per coparcener for Hindu Joint Families — is 'far from liberal'; the levy rises sharply to 100 per cent of net expenditure and provides no relief for sums spent on aged, disabled, unemployed or dependent relatives, an 'inhuman' feature absent from the Bill. - Members of the Select Committee on the Expenditure Tax Bill — Dr. A. Krishnaswami, Mr. Minoo Masani and Maharaja Karni Singh of Bikaner — in their Minutes of Dissent predicted the tax would yield negligible revenue while triggering psychological dislocation and harassment; no other free-world country, including Britain, the United States, Sweden and other European nations, has found such a tax administratively workable. - Statistical evidence from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and from the Office of the Controller of Capital Issues already shows a sharp post-November 1956 collapse in paid-up capital growth and in new capital issues, which the author reads as proof that earlier tax burdens have begun to choke private investment; the new taxes will deepen the slowdown. - If the proposals stand, the country risks driving away foreign capital and foreign technicians, encouraging extravagant rather than thrifty spending, and making the State the sole employer — a danger the author dramatises with the Government's coercive handling of the Post and Telegraph workers' strike. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] What Ails India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/what-ails-india-by-russi-mody-january-15-1990/ ### Summary Delivered as the 26th Convocation Address at IIT Madras on 8 August 1989 and reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise in January 1990, Russi Mody's speech opens with a frank disclaimer that his remarks will be practical and down-to-earth rather than academic. He addresses the graduating engineers as privileged citizens who will bear special responsibility for the nation's future, and urges them to define success not merely in terms of wealth or position but in service to those less fortunate. The heart of the speech is a diagnostic tour of India's chief ailments. Mody names the erosion of national integration — the replacement of Indian identity by regional and communal loyalties — as the foremost problem since independence. He then turns to population growth, invoking Malthus to argue that India's annual addition of 17 million people (equivalent to the entire population of Australia) devours every increment of wealth the country creates, and calls for urgent incentive and disincentive schemes. Corruption is identified as the second major ailment, with Mody stressing that social stigma has disappeared and that both the giver and receiver of bribes share equal guilt.… ### Body ## Summary Delivered as the 26th Convocation Address at IIT Madras on 8 August 1989 and reprinted by the Forum of Free Enterprise in January 1990, Russi Mody's speech opens with a frank disclaimer that his remarks will be practical and down-to-earth rather than academic. He addresses the graduating engineers as privileged citizens who will bear special responsibility for the nation's future, and urges them to define success not merely in terms of wealth or position but in service to those less fortunate. The heart of the speech is a diagnostic tour of India's chief ailments. Mody names the erosion of national integration — the replacement of Indian identity by regional and communal loyalties — as the foremost problem since independence. He then turns to population growth, invoking Malthus to argue that India's annual addition of 17 million people (equivalent to the entire population of Australia) devours every increment of wealth the country creates, and calls for urgent incentive and disincentive schemes. Corruption is identified as the second major ailment, with Mody stressing that social stigma has disappeared and that both the giver and receiver of bribes share equal guilt. Ecology and industrial pollution are flagged as threats to future generations, and the speech diagnoses a pervasive crisis of character and efficiency — a missing work culture — as the root of India's institutional failures across railways, posts, hospitals and airlines. Mody closes on a cautiously optimistic note, crediting liberalisation under the then Prime Minister (Rajiv Gandhi is implied but not named) — lowering of taxes and reduction of controls — for a respectable industrial growth rate and food-surplus status. He argues that political and economic freedom are indivisible and challenges the graduates to carry that message. A final section on management defines credibility as the manager's supreme quality, illustrates with the Duke of Devonshire anecdote, and ends with the Persian proverb about dying with the world in tears. ## Key points - True success in life is defined not by wealth or position but by being reasonably well off, maintaining a good family, and pursuing activities that benefit those less fortunate. - The erosion of national integration — citizens identifying first as Bengalis, Biharis, Maharashtrians, etc. rather than as Indians — is described as the foremost problem since independence. - Population growth (17 million added per year, equal to Australia's total population) devours all economic gains and demands urgent government, industry and voluntary-agency action including incentive and disincentive schemes. - Corruption is described as the second most important national problem; the loss of social stigma for corrupt behaviour is identified as a deeper danger than corruption itself. - Ecology and industrial pollution are cited as rapidly degrading the country for future generations, and must be moved from discussion into action. - India suffers a pervasive crisis of character and efficiency — a missing work culture — despite individual Indians demonstrating world-class capability whenever they operate outside India. - Liberalisation (tax cuts and reduction of controls) has produced a respectable growth rate; economic and political freedom are argued to be indivisible and mutually dependent. - For managers, credibility — built on consistent truthfulness — is the supreme quality; an ounce of practice is worth a tonne of theory. --- ## [Primary work] Wealth Tax URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/wealth-tax-january-1-1970/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet, published from 235 Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji Road in Bombay, is a sustained classical-liberal polemic against the Wealth Tax newly introduced in India in addition to existing income tax. After acknowledging that taxation legitimately raises revenue, promotes savings for industrial development and reduces wide disparities in wealth, the pamphlet walks through the Wealth Tax Bill's coverage and rates — Rs. 2 lakhs for individuals, Rs. 3 lakhs for Hindu joint families, Rs. 5 lakhs for companies, with a graduated structure rising to 1½% — before concluding that the tax is 'a mask which hides something dangerous to our democratic way of life and economic progress.' The argument is double-pronged. Economically, the pamphlet contends that levying Wealth Tax at India's early industrial stage will retard capital formation, drive wealth underground into gold and jewellery, and amount to double or treble taxation when companies and shareholders are both hit.… ### Body # Wealth Tax ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet, published from 235 Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji Road in Bombay, is a sustained classical-liberal polemic against the Wealth Tax newly introduced in India in addition to existing income tax. After acknowledging that taxation legitimately raises revenue, promotes savings for industrial development and reduces wide disparities in wealth, the pamphlet walks through the Wealth Tax Bill's coverage and rates — Rs. 2 lakhs for individuals, Rs. 3 lakhs for Hindu joint families, Rs. 5 lakhs for companies, with a graduated structure rising to 1½% — before concluding that the tax is 'a mask which hides something dangerous to our democratic way of life and economic progress.' The argument is double-pronged. Economically, the pamphlet contends that levying Wealth Tax at India's early industrial stage will retard capital formation, drive wealth underground into gold and jewellery, and amount to double or treble taxation when companies and shareholders are both hit. The comparison with Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and West Germany is dismissed on the ground that those welfare states are already economically advanced; Japan's industrialisation is invoked to show that a comparatively small concentration of investing wealth is the engine of broad-based prosperity. The pamphlet also rebuts the technical case for Wealth Tax — that income is a poor measure of taxpaying capacity and that wealth cannot be hidden — by arguing that ingenious people will conceal wealth more effectively than income, and that assessment is administratively almost insurmountable. Socially and politically, the pamphlet warns that the tax will splinter the Hindu undivided family, oblige wealthy households to turn away dependents the state cannot maintain, and — most pointedly — invite a 'Police Raj' as tax officers are given wide powers to investigate 'every nook and corner of the home.' Corruption among officers, harassment of citizens, and a chilling of incentives are foretold. The closing summation lists five harms — killing production incentives, retarding capital formation, opening the way for corruption, damaging the social structure, and jeopardising individual liberty — and frames 'the incentive to produce, the delicate balance of forces in a social structure, individual liberty and public life of a high moral order' as 'the invisible wealth of a nation' that should not be thrown overboard 'in a moment of haste and impatience.' ## Key points - Pamphlet from the Forum of Free Enterprise opposing India's newly-introduced Wealth Tax, distinct from and additional to income tax. - Walks through the Bill: exemption thresholds (Rs. 2 lakhs individuals, Rs. 3 lakhs HUFs, Rs. 5 lakhs companies), graduated rates of ½%–1½% on individuals/HUFs and a flat ½% on companies, with an estimated 26,000 individuals, 4,000 HUFs and 6,000 companies liable. - Rejects the West-European analogy: Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and West Germany are already industrialised welfare states, whereas India is at an early industrial stage and needs capital concentration to grow. - Argues Wealth Tax will retard capital formation, drive wealth underground into gold and jewellery, and on companies amount to double or treble taxation that scares away foreign investment. - Counters the claim that wealth cannot be hidden: 'Ingenious people will devise ways and means to hide wealth more effectively than income.' - Predicts intrusive enforcement amounting to a 'Police Raj' in citizens' homes and a sharp increase in corruption among tax officers. - Warns the tax will split Hindu undivided families and force wealthy households to abandon dependents the state cannot itself support. - Concludes with a five-point indictment — kills incentives, retards capital formation, breeds corruption, damages social structure, jeopardises individual liberty — and reframes liberty, morale and incentive as 'the invisible wealth of a nation.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] What is Expected of Management Trainees in Private Enterprise? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/what-is-expected-of-management-trainee-in-private-eeterprise-by-dr-skumar-jain-september-5-1962/ ### Summary Dr. S. Kumar Jain — described in a footnote as a well-known management consultant — uses this short Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet to argue that Indian private-enterprise firms must take a more deliberate approach to grooming management trainees. He opens by noting that a growing number of companies have come to realise that finding managers for expanding organisations is harder than once supposed, and that as a result they have begun building structured training programmes — apprenticeships, job-rotation schemes, departmental postings — to acquaint recruits with the workings of the firm. Yet many of these companies, Jain observes, have not actually decided what they want management trainees to become; they place such recruits in specialised departments without a coherent end-purpose. To give the programme a backbone, Jain leans on Peter F. Drucker's framework: a manager's job has four constituent parts — the technical, the managerial, the entrepreneurial, and the leadership function. Most formal schooling, he argues, only equips a trainee for the first; the other three must be built deliberately inside the firm.… ### Body # What is Expected of Management Trainees in Private Enterprise? *By Dr. S. Kumar Jain* ## Summary Dr. S. Kumar Jain — described in a footnote as a well-known management consultant — uses this short Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet to argue that Indian private-enterprise firms must take a more deliberate approach to grooming management trainees. He opens by noting that a growing number of companies have come to realise that finding managers for expanding organisations is harder than once supposed, and that as a result they have begun building structured training programmes — apprenticeships, job-rotation schemes, departmental postings — to acquaint recruits with the workings of the firm. Yet many of these companies, Jain observes, have not actually decided what they want management trainees to become; they place such recruits in specialised departments without a coherent end-purpose. To give the programme a backbone, Jain leans on Peter F. Drucker's framework: a manager's job has four constituent parts — the technical, the managerial, the entrepreneurial, and the leadership function. Most formal schooling, he argues, only equips a trainee for the first; the other three must be built deliberately inside the firm. The company's task is to give trainees varied responsibilities, exposure to errors made under supervision, and the chance to acquaint themselves with marketing, purchasing, finance, personnel and industrial engineering, so that they grow in capacity, self-confidence and self-reliance. The pamphlet's central claim, repeated as a refrain, is that management training is fundamentally a self-development venture. The firm can supply the opportunities, but the trainee must supply the analysis, integrity, ambition and perseverance. Jain lays out a wide menu of development tracks — social, intellectual, emotional, avocational, vocational, spiritual — and argues that an unqualified opportunity to develop oneself, including the freedom to make mistakes, is what private enterprise must offer if it wants leaders rather than merely competent specialists. He closes by suggesting that the trainee who devotes himself to making his superior's position sound creates his own path upward, because the company will only reach the top if its trainees do. ## Key points - Indian companies are increasingly adopting structured management-trainee programmes, but many lack a clear conception of what those trainees should ultimately become. - Jain adopts Peter F. Drucker's four-part schema — technical, managerial, entrepreneurial and leadership functions — to argue that formal schooling only covers the first, while the firm must build the rest. - Existing training methods (apprenticeships, job rotation, departmental postings) are useful but insufficient without a defined end-purpose. - Management training is recast as a self-development venture: the firm provides opportunities, but the trainee supplies analysis, ambition, integrity and perseverance. - Self-development is broken into multiple registers — social, intellectual, emotional, avocational, vocational and spiritual — and an unqualified opportunity to develop oneself is treated as essential. - The freedom to make mistakes under supervision is described as a necessary condition for building greater self-confidence, self-reliance and judgement. - Jain ends with a strikingly inverted maxim: the trainee who devotes himself to making his superior's position sound thereby creates the conditions for his own advancement. - The pamphlet is issued as a Forum of Free Enterprise leaflet (Bombay, 8.5/September 1962), printed at the Karnatak Printing Press. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] WHAT MAKES JAPAN TICK: SOME LESSONS FOR INDIA URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/what-makes-japan-tick-minoo-shroff-1988/ ### Summary Minoo R. Shroff's booklet, based on a lecture he delivered at the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 2 August 1988, sets out to explain Japan's post-war economic ascendancy and to draw practical lessons for India. Shroff begins with a brisk historical sketch — Japan as one of the oldest continuously organised states, sealed off from the world until the Meiji Restoration of 1868 modernised it by restoring rather than overthrowing the throne — and then turns to the physical and political constraints under which the country has had to work: a long, earthquake-prone archipelago with negligible natural resources, almost wholly dependent on imports for energy, raw materials and a third of its food. He treats the Allied occupation under MacArthur as the second great hinge, dismantling the Zaibatsus, instituting heavy taxation and land reform, and setting in train the lifetime-employment culture and harmonious industrial relations that would later be celebrated abroad. The bulk of the booklet is a thematic anatomy of the Japanese economic model.… ### Body # WHAT MAKES JAPAN TICK: SOME LESSONS FOR INDIA *By Minoo R. Shroff* ## Summary Minoo R. Shroff's booklet, based on a lecture he delivered at the Forum of Free Enterprise in Bombay on 2 August 1988, sets out to explain Japan's post-war economic ascendancy and to draw practical lessons for India. Shroff begins with a brisk historical sketch — Japan as one of the oldest continuously organised states, sealed off from the world until the Meiji Restoration of 1868 modernised it by restoring rather than overthrowing the throne — and then turns to the physical and political constraints under which the country has had to work: a long, earthquake-prone archipelago with negligible natural resources, almost wholly dependent on imports for energy, raw materials and a third of its food. He treats the Allied occupation under MacArthur as the second great hinge, dismantling the Zaibatsus, instituting heavy taxation and land reform, and setting in train the lifetime-employment culture and harmonious industrial relations that would later be celebrated abroad. The bulk of the booklet is a thematic anatomy of the Japanese economic model. Shroff highlights the distinctive attitude to work and seniority, the federated enterprise-level unions co-ordinated through joint bodies, and the close partnership between Liberal Democratic governments, the Keidanren employers' federation and the bureaucracy. He marshals figures on savings (over 30% of GNP on average, peaking at 35%), market capitalisation (over $3.5 trillion by 1987, 41% of world capitalisation), defence spending kept at roughly 0.8% of GNP, and productivity growth of 10–11% a year between 1960 and 1980. Japan's technological prowess, he argues, lies less in pure invention than in absorption, adaptation and ruthless quality control — Americans now travel to Japan to learn QC techniques the US itself developed. He also flags the country's structural strains: yen appreciation, NIC competition, an ageing population, acute housing shortages and stress-related illness. The closing section, "Lessons for India", uses Japan as a mirror. Shroff argues that India and Japan share high savings rates and human capital but diverge sharply on the discipline of time, the pride taken in work, the relentless pursuit of productivity, cost-consciousness in the use of scarce resources, the quality of industrial relations (Japan loses under half a million manhours annually to disputes, India between 30 and 40 million), and the urge to excel. He concludes optimistically that Japan's innate capacity to adapt and innovate will sustain its progress, and that India's craftsmanship pride — once equally proverbial — needs to be rekindled if it is to compete. ## Key points - The Meiji Restoration of 1868 modernised Japan by restoring rather than overthrowing the traditional monarchy, abolishing feudal ranks and making elementary education compulsory. - The Allied occupation under MacArthur dismantled the Zaibatsus, imposed land reform and heavy taxation, and entrenched lifetime employment and organised labour as part of a deliberate egalitarian settlement. - Union–management relations are conducted at enterprise level under industry federations, with workers putting in 10–20% more hours than US or European counterparts and unemployment held to 2.2–2.9%. - Government, business and bureaucracy operate as integral partners; the Liberal Democratic Party has governed since 1955, and the Keidanren projects a unified business voice in close rapport with the state. - Japan's saving rate has averaged over 30% of GNP, with personal savings exceeding $500 billion a year and market capitalisation reaching over $3.5 trillion (41% of world capitalisation) by 1987. - Productivity grew 10–11% annually between 1960 and 1980; corporations renew facilities every six years (versus 10–12 in the US and Europe) and have pioneered industrial robotisation and uniquely Japanese QC systems. - Constitutional limits keep defence spending around 0.8% of GNP, freeing savings for economic development; structural strains include yen appreciation, NIC competition, acute housing shortages and an ageing population. - Lessons for India: respect for time, pride in work, relentless productivity focus, cost-consciousness, conscious investment in industrial peace, and the rekindling of an Indian "urge to excel" rooted in older craftsmanship traditions. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] What India Needs? ...A Perspective URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/what-india-needs-a-perspective-by-jiban-k-mukhopadhyay-2005/ ### Summary Jiban K. Mukhopadhyay's booklet reproduces a talk delivered on 27 September 2003 at a Freedom First seminar in Mumbai, in which the former Chief Economic Adviser to the Tata Group sketches a 'feasible' rather than 'ideal' perspective for the Indian economy a dozen years into the post-1991 reforms. He concedes that a Chinese-style 9–10 percent rate of growth is beyond reach in the short run but argues that a sustained 7–7.5 percent over the next five years would double per capita income in fifteen years and lay the ground for higher growth thereafter. The diagnosis is bleak about the inherited apparatus — colonial-era bureaucratic procedures, a 'medieval mindset', political fragmentation across 24 parties — but optimistic about the 'countervailing forces' of market reforms, the IT and telecom revolution, judicial activism and small entrepreneurial initiatives that the dysfunctional state apparatus has been unable to suppress. The substantive recommendations cluster around four areas.… ### Body # What India Needs? ...A Perspective *By Jiban Mukhopadhyay* ## Summary Jiban K. Mukhopadhyay's booklet reproduces a talk delivered on 27 September 2003 at a Freedom First seminar in Mumbai, in which the former Chief Economic Adviser to the Tata Group sketches a 'feasible' rather than 'ideal' perspective for the Indian economy a dozen years into the post-1991 reforms. He concedes that a Chinese-style 9–10 percent rate of growth is beyond reach in the short run but argues that a sustained 7–7.5 percent over the next five years would double per capita income in fifteen years and lay the ground for higher growth thereafter. The diagnosis is bleak about the inherited apparatus — colonial-era bureaucratic procedures, a 'medieval mindset', political fragmentation across 24 parties — but optimistic about the 'countervailing forces' of market reforms, the IT and telecom revolution, judicial activism and small entrepreneurial initiatives that the dysfunctional state apparatus has been unable to suppress. The substantive recommendations cluster around four areas. First, industry must be restructured for global competitiveness, with productivity gains protected by sector-specific 'policy compacts' for labour-intensive industries (textiles, auto components, tourism) and a social-security fallback for the displaced. Second, agriculture — still feeding 67 percent of the population while contributing only 25 percent of GDP — is identified as the binding constraint on sustained growth; Mukhopadhyay invokes Deng's 1978 reset of Chinese agriculture as the template, and argues that every incremental percentage point in agricultural growth translates into Rs. 10,000 crore of disposable rural income that pulls industrial demand along behind it. Third, the public sector — which he calls a 'bovine animal' worshipped alongside India's mythological deities — must be privatised: the government's job is to be a rule-of-law facilitator, not an operator of businesses. Fourth, India must stay inside the WTO and negotiate hard within it rather than withdraw, since 148 members account for 98 percent of world exports and the alternative is the absurdity of 5,624 bilateral agreements. Throughout, Mukhopadhyay frames the present as Dickens's 'best of times and the worst of times' and closes with the image that 'it requires rains to create a rainbow' — the perspective he offers is operational only with sincere, dedicated effort by everyone, but it is not an 'absurd and hyper-imaginative scenario'. The booklet ends with the standard Forum of Free Enterprise back matter inviting readers to join. ## Key points - Argues that a 9 percent China-style growth rate is unrealistic for India in the near term, but a sustained 7–7.5 percent over the next five years is feasible and would double per capita income within fifteen years. - Reads the post-1991 economy through 'the best of times and the worst of times': market reforms, IT/telecom and judicial activism are the 'countervailing forces' offsetting colonial-era bureaucracy and a 'medieval mindset'. - Identifies agriculture as the binding constraint on sustained growth — 67 percent of the population still depends on it, but the sector wildly oscillates with the monsoon; one extra percentage point of agricultural growth pumps Rs. 10,000 crore of disposable income into rural India and pulls industry along. - Treats privatisation as 'a done thing all over the world' and mocks India's 15-year inconclusive debate, comparing public-sector reverence to the worship of bovine animals and mythological deities. - Defines the state's job as facilitator and rule-of-law provider, not direct operator of businesses, citing the United States and Western Europe as the model. - Estimates 50 million unemployed Indians and warns that the 1990s combination of 6.1 percent GDP growth with sub-1 percent employment growth makes 'jobless high growth' the central labour-market problem; calls for sectoral policy compacts in textiles, auto components and tourism. - Defends staying inside the WTO and negotiating hard: 148 members account for 98 percent of world exports, and withdrawal would require approximately 5,624 bilateral agreements to replace it. - Reports that the post-reform structural gains are real — total factor, labour and capital productivity rose, with the top 50 private firms (six Tata companies among the best) outperforming the industry average. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] WHERE IS ECONOMIC POWER BEING CONCENTRATED? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/where-is-economic-power-being-concentrated-m-a-masters-august-8-1958/ ### Summary M. A. Master's 1958 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet inverts the standard Nehruvian charge that free enterprise concentrates economic power in a few hands. Surveying the post-Independence regulatory landscape — the Industrial Development and Regulation Act, the Capital Issues Controller, exchange and licensing controls, taxation policy, the Planning Commission and the Estimates Committee's findings — Master argues that the locus of economic power has migrated decisively from the private sector to the State, and that the constantly repeated allegation against private enterprise is empirically false. Master builds the case sector by sector. He notes the wide shareholder bases of Tata Steel, Scindia, the Central Bank and A.C.C.… ### Body # WHERE IS ECONOMIC POWER BEING CONCENTRATED? *By M. A. MASTER* ## Summary M. A. Master's 1958 Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet inverts the standard Nehruvian charge that free enterprise concentrates economic power in a few hands. Surveying the post-Independence regulatory landscape — the Industrial Development and Regulation Act, the Capital Issues Controller, exchange and licensing controls, taxation policy, the Planning Commission and the Estimates Committee's findings — Master argues that the locus of economic power has migrated decisively from the private sector to the State, and that the constantly repeated allegation against private enterprise is empirically false. Master builds the case sector by sector. He notes the wide shareholder bases of Tata Steel, Scindia, the Central Bank and A.C.C. to show that joint-stock ownership is already dispersed; he points to government control over finance (taxation, small savings, impounding of bank deposits, LIC investments) to show that the private sector now drinks from a pool the State has already drained; and he documents how coal, oil, electricity, railways, air services, shipping, the highway between Kandla and Ahmedabad, and the work of the State Trading Corporation have all been pulled into State monopoly or near-monopoly. He cites Estimates Committee findings that 63% of taxation raised "specifically for financing the Plan projects" was spent on non-Plan expenditure, that the STC has earned unwarranted profits on cement under the Cement Control Order, and that its monopoly over iron-ore exports has displaced private exporters. The polemical edge is sharpened by Master's reading of the Prime Minister's speeches. Nehru welcomed the spirit of enterprise in individuals while charging that "free enterprise means creation of monopoly"; Master treats this as an unwarranted libel against Tata, Walchand, Birla and other industrialists who built India's textile, jute, shipping, steel and aviation industries against heavy odds. He insists that competition among private firms, not State licensing, is the true guarantee against monopoly, and that the "Socialist Pattern of Society" is what is in fact concentrating economic power — at the cost of the legitimate activities of the people of the country. Across the rendered pages (1–18 of printed text, of a 24-page pamphlet) Master combines administrative detail with a direct address to a Bombay business audience. His tone is grieved rather than oppositional: he repeatedly calls the situation a "tragedy of our public life" and warns that an executive empowered to amass economic power without recourse to Parliament will not stop doing so on its own. ## Key points - Frames the pamphlet as a direct rebuttal to the Nehruvian charge that private enterprise concentrates economic power, asking which sector — private or public — has in fact acquired such power since Independence. - Argues that the Industrial Development and Regulation Act, Capital Issues control, licensing, price-fixing and managing-agent appointments make it structurally impossible for private firms to build monopolies under the planned economy. - Uses shareholder breakdowns of Tata Steel, Scindia, A.C.C. and the Central Bank to show joint-stock ownership is already widely dispersed among small investors. - Documents State capture of finance: taxation, the small-savings campaign, impounding of 50% of new bank deposits, and the redirection of LIC funds toward State purposes. - Cites the Estimates Committee finding that nearly 63% of taxation raised specifically for Plan projects was spent on non-Plan expenditure — calling this the greatest misuse of economic power. - Traces State monopoly across motive power (coal, oil, electricity, atomic energy), transport (railways, air, shipping, the Kandla-Ahmedabad highway) and trade (State Trading Corporation's expanding remit over 31 commodities, iron-ore exports, cement distribution). - Highlights the STC's unjustified profits under the Cement Control Order, 1956, and the Estimates Committee's recommendation that the price be reviewed on the basis of actuals. - Concludes that the "Socialist Pattern of Society" is the mechanism by which economic power is being concentrated in the hands of the State, and warns that this concentration threatens the future development of private enterprise in India. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] WHITHER CENTRAL BANKING? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/whither-central-banking-h-v-r-iyengar-december-1972/ ### Summary Drawing on his decade-old vantage as a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, H. V. R. Iyengar uses his inaugural remarks at a Madras banking seminar (1 December 1972) to take stock of what the Indian banking system has become — and to warn against the political colonisation of monetary policy. He grants that nationalisation in 1969 accelerated branch expansion, deposit insurance, refinance facilities, and the diversification of banking into developmental work, but insists that much of this trajectory was already laid down in the pre-nationalisation years. The injection of politics into banking, he writes, is "not an unmixed blessing": deposit mobilisation has been buoyed by deficit financing, credit has been pushed onto weak and priority sectors without regard to ultimate viability, and the over-emphasis on speed has come at the cost of quality and discipline. The largest section of the booklet diagnoses the failure of the co-operative movement on which seventy years of rural-credit policy had been staked.… ### Body # WHITHER CENTRAL BANKING? *By H. V. R. Iengar, I.C.S. (Retd.)* ## Summary Drawing on his decade-old vantage as a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, H. V. R. Iyengar uses his inaugural remarks at a Madras banking seminar (1 December 1972) to take stock of what the Indian banking system has become — and to warn against the political colonisation of monetary policy. He grants that nationalisation in 1969 accelerated branch expansion, deposit insurance, refinance facilities, and the diversification of banking into developmental work, but insists that much of this trajectory was already laid down in the pre-nationalisation years. The injection of politics into banking, he writes, is "not an unmixed blessing": deposit mobilisation has been buoyed by deficit financing, credit has been pushed onto weak and priority sectors without regard to ultimate viability, and the over-emphasis on speed has come at the cost of quality and discipline. The largest section of the booklet diagnoses the failure of the co-operative movement on which seventy years of rural-credit policy had been staked. Following the All-India Rural Credit Survey, Iyengar argues that co-operatives could never have succeeded so long as the rural community was poverty-stricken, the geographical units artificially small, and the urban–rural financial divide left untouched. He is sceptical of the Banking Commission's pivot to commercial-bank-backed rural banks and warns that the proposed ceilings on agricultural holdings may eliminate the very surplus on which rural credit depends. More fundamentally, he doubts that commercial banks brought under government influence can be trusted to be less political than government itself. The second half pivots to the central bank's own role. Iyengar is unsparing about the automatic, undebated issue of ad hoc treasury bills to cover central-government deficits — a procedure so silent that even the Governor learns of it only through the weekly statement. He argues that the object of setting up a Reserve Bank is frustrated if the expansion of credit is not opened to debate between the bank and the government, and, where they differ, to public debate in Parliament. He cites Australia's statutory mechanism as a model. Rejecting the high-quarter argument that Indian inflation is just part of a worldwide phenomenon, he insists that price rises which hit "the consumption of essential goods like foodstuffs and clothing" cannot be compared with affluent-country inflation without insulting Indian sensibility. He closes by calling for a new commission of inquiry into how the Reserve Bank functions, including whether it has been overloaded with developmental tasks that should be stripped away. The booklet's body (printed pp. 1–12) is followed by five statistical appendices reproducing the Reserve Bank's 1972 Profit and Loss Account, money supply with the public (1960–61 to February 1973), scheduled commercial bank deposits and advances, cheque clearances, and co-operative credit institutions — material that supports the narrative case for monetary discipline. ## Key points - Iyengar reads the 1969 bank nationalisation as continuous with pre-1969 reforms rather than a clean break, and warns that political pressure is now distorting credit quality and discipline. - Deposit mobilisation under nationalisation has been propped up by substantial deficit financing — "this mobilisation would have happened whether banks had been nationalised or not." - The co-operative movement, on which India staked seventy years of rural-credit policy, has by and large failed because the rural community had no surplus to pool and because ideological insistence on village-sized societies kept units unviable. - Ceilings on agricultural holdings may, on Iyengar's reading, eliminate or reduce the very surplus needed for a viable rural economy. - He doubts that commercial banks, once nationalised and politicised, will prove less political than government itself — the structural change may not be decisive in character. - The automatic issue of ad hoc treasury bills to cover central-government deficits short-circuits the Reserve Bank's purpose; credit expansion above a threshold should be debated openly between the bank and the government, and ultimately in Parliament, on the Australian model. - Inflation in poverty-stricken India is qualitatively different from inflation in affluent societies because it strikes essential foodstuffs and clothing — high-quarter comparisons to global inflation are dismissed as an affront. - Iyengar calls for a fresh commission of inquiry into how the Reserve Bank is functioning, including whether it has been overloaded with developmental and inspection tasks that should be hived off. - Five appendices reproduce 1972 Reserve Bank accounts, money supply, scheduled-bank deposits/advances, cheque clearances and co-operative credit data. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] WHITHER INDIAN URBANISATION? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/whither-indian-urbanisation-f-p-antia-1977/ ### Summary Dr. F. P. Antia's pamphlet, built from two lectures delivered at Punjab University's Department of Commerce & Business Management at Chandigarh and issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise in 1977, opens with the proposition that shelter is, after food, life's most basic essential, and that the housing structure has from earliest times been bound up with civic dignity, productivity, and a household's sense of privacy. From this premise he moves to the 1971 Census, which counted 109 million Indians as urban out of 548 million, and shows that, despite a modest urbanisation ratio of 20 per cent, India already commands the world's third-largest urban population, with Calcutta, Bombay, and Delhi sitting among the world's twenty-five largest cities. Antia argues that this urban population has been congregating ever more densely into the biggest centres while the quality of life in those centres has collapsed. The middle of the pamphlet summarises survey work by D. T. Lakdawala, V. K. Rao, and J. F. Bulsara — and the Rajwade and Gadgil committees — on housing in Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, and Madras.… ### Body # WHITHER INDIAN URBANISATION? *By DR. F. P. ANTIA* ## Summary Dr. F. P. Antia's pamphlet, built from two lectures delivered at Punjab University's Department of Commerce & Business Management at Chandigarh and issued by the Forum of Free Enterprise in 1977, opens with the proposition that shelter is, after food, life's most basic essential, and that the housing structure has from earliest times been bound up with civic dignity, productivity, and a household's sense of privacy. From this premise he moves to the 1971 Census, which counted 109 million Indians as urban out of 548 million, and shows that, despite a modest urbanisation ratio of 20 per cent, India already commands the world's third-largest urban population, with Calcutta, Bombay, and Delhi sitting among the world's twenty-five largest cities. Antia argues that this urban population has been congregating ever more densely into the biggest centres while the quality of life in those centres has collapsed. The middle of the pamphlet summarises survey work by D. T. Lakdawala, V. K. Rao, and J. F. Bulsara — and the Rajwade and Gadgil committees — on housing in Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, and Madras. Antia parades the statistics: 78.6 per cent of Bombay's surveyed families crammed into multi-tenement chawls; 75.7 per cent of households of three or more sharing a single room; 49 per cent of pucca-area families without independent water taps; only 8.1 per cent of Bombay's pucca-area households owning their own homes; and the late ICS officer S. G. Barve's 1959 portrait of 43 lakhs of Bombay residents living single, deprived of domestic life, locked in a 'cold war' with landlords, and commuting an hour and a half each way through 'choked trains.' Antia insists conditions have only worsened since. The second half of the booklet is a thirteen-point prescription. He calls for regulation of migration into cities of 100,000-plus; for rural livelihoods through minor irrigation, contour bunding, road-building, animal husbandry, dairying, and cottage industries; for regional plans modelled on the four metropolitan exercises but extended to every city above a hundred thousand; for the scrutiny of 74 already-submitted town plans; for the consolidation of scattered hamlets into viable units of 3,000–5,000; for group layout of new industrial towns rather than the bisected Durgapur pattern; for defined and enforced population ceilings citing Aristotle, Ebenezer Howard's garden-city units, the Reith Committee, and the Gadgil Committee; for a Chandigarh-style hierarchical neighbourhood layout capped at 75 persons per acre; for social planning to combat the loneliness of new towns; against dormitory suburbs, long commutes, and the 'recent misdirected enthusiasm' for underground railways in the four metros; for small communities to limit ecological and wartime risks; for communal acquisition of urban land at agricultural prices so that planning gains accrue to the public purse; for a Regional Planning Authority superior to local bodies; and for the same team to both prepare and execute the regional plan. He closes by quoting Lewis Mumford that the final test of an economic system is the sort of men and women it nurtures. ## Key points - Frames housing not as mere shelter but as the focal part of the economic and social milieu in which a citizen functions, making urban policy inseparable from the housing question. - Marshals 1971 Census data: 109 million urban out of 548 million Indians (20 per cent), with India ranking third globally in urban population behind the USA and USSR and increasingly concentrating into cities above 100,000. - Synthesises survey findings by Lakdawala (Bombay), V. K. Rao (Delhi), J. F. Bulsara, and the Rajwade and Gadgil committees on overcrowding, tenancy rates, water taps, and water closets across Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, and Madras. - Quotes S. G. Barve's 1959 Greater Bombay study at length to argue that 43 lakhs of the city's residents endure an 'Urban Prima in India' of squalor, 'cold war' between tenants and landlords, and 1½-to-2-hour commutes — and that nothing has improved since. - Proposes regulated migration to cities of 100,000-plus combined with rural employment programmes (minor irrigation, contour bunding, road-building, dairying, cottage industries) so that village livelihood eliminates the raison d'être for drift to cities. - Calls for regional plans for every city above 100,000, scrutiny of the 74 town plans already submitted, and consolidation of tiny hamlets into viable units of 3,000–5,000 served by the Zilla Parishad or State. - Endorses Chandigarh's hierarchical neighbourhood layout (1,000–1,200 cluster → 4,000–5,000 residential area → 12,000–15,000 neighbourhood → 75,000–2,50,000 town) capped at 75 persons per acre, citing Aristotle, Ebenezer Howard, the Reith Committee, and the Gadgil Committee on optimum town size. - Rejects dormitory suburbs, long commutes, and the 'recent misdirected enthusiasm' for underground railways costing Rs. 1,000–1,500 crores; advocates communal acquisition of urban land at agricultural prices and a Regional Planning Authority superior to municipalities, zilla parishads, and gram panchayats. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Why Are Prices Rising? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/why-are-prices-rising-g-d-somani-nov9-1962/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, issued in November 1962, gathers business-community responses to the wholesale price rise that accompanied India's Third Five-Year Plan. The lead text is an excerpt from G. D. Somani's vice-presidential address to the Indian Merchants' Chamber (Bombay, 7 September 1962), which argues that the price rise is not the product of external shocks but the 'normal follow-up of a built-in inflationary situation' created by deficit-financed planning. Somani contends that the combined Second- and Third-Plan deficit financing of roughly Rs. 950 crores and Rs. 210 crores respectively has run monetary demand ahead of real output, and that the only durable remedies are restraining government and state expenditure to reasonable tax revenues and raising productivity, not administrative controls. ### Body # Why Are Prices Rising? *By G. D. Somani* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, issued in November 1962, gathers business-community responses to the wholesale price rise that accompanied India's Third Five-Year Plan. The lead text is an excerpt from G. D. Somani's vice-presidential address to the Indian Merchants' Chamber (Bombay, 7 September 1962), which argues that the price rise is not the product of external shocks but the 'normal follow-up of a built-in inflationary situation' created by deficit-financed planning. Somani contends that the combined Second- and Third-Plan deficit financing of roughly Rs. 950 crores and Rs. 210 crores respectively has run monetary demand ahead of real output, and that the only durable remedies are restraining government and state expenditure to reasonable tax revenues and raising productivity, not administrative controls. ## Key points - Frames the post-1961 wholesale price rise as the predictable result of deficit-financed planning rather than external or seasonal factors. - Cites the wholesale price index rising from 128.7 to 131.8 year-on-year, and food-article index movements, drawn from Indian Merchants' Chamber statements. - Rejects state trading, co-operative distribution, and price controls as remedies, arguing they raise costs to the consumer and distort trade structure. - Argues the real cure is cutting government/state spending to fit reasonable tax revenues and borrowing only at free-market rates, plus raising productivity. - The booklet compiles several pro-market voices: Somani (IMC), an IMC memorandum to the Planning Commission, S. Venkataraman (Andhra Chamber of Commerce), and economist B. R. Shenoy. - B. R. Shenoy's contribution attributes the price spiral to over-investment by government beyond the growth an 'infant economy' can absorb without inflationary upset. - Interspersed quote boxes invoke Eugene Black, Colin Clark, Graham Hutton, and A. D. Shroff to reinforce the free-enterprise framing. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Will 10-Point Programme Lead to Socialism? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/will-10-point-programme-lead-to-socialism-professor-c-n-vakil-december-11-1967/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, the economist C. N. Vakil examines the ten-point programme of action that more than a hundred Congress MPs urged on the Prime Minister in 1967 as steps toward socialism, and asks whether the programme would in fact advance that goal. Reproduced from a four-part series in the Free Press Journal (September-October 1967), the essay takes each of the ten items in turn - social control of banking, nationalisation of general insurance, state trading in foodgrains and foreign trade, regulated removal of monopolies, restriction on urban land holdings, abolition of privy purses, and the rest - and argues that those pressing them mistake the redistribution of existing poverty for socialism, with little effort to increase production or national wealth. ### Body # Will 10-Point Programme Lead to Socialism? *By Prof. C. N. Vakil* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, the economist C. N. Vakil examines the ten-point programme of action that more than a hundred Congress MPs urged on the Prime Minister in 1967 as steps toward socialism, and asks whether the programme would in fact advance that goal. Reproduced from a four-part series in the Free Press Journal (September-October 1967), the essay takes each of the ten items in turn - social control of banking, nationalisation of general insurance, state trading in foodgrains and foreign trade, regulated removal of monopolies, restriction on urban land holdings, abolition of privy purses, and the rest - and argues that those pressing them mistake the redistribution of existing poverty for socialism, with little effort to increase production or national wealth. ## Key points - Responds to the August 1967 memorandum from 100+ Congress MPs pressing the A-ICC's ten-point programme toward socialism. - Lists and critiques all ten items: banking control, general-insurance nationalisation, state trading, monopoly removal, urban land-holding limits, privy-purse abolition, etc. - Argues the programme seeks to redistribute existing poverty rather than raise production or national wealth. - Contends nationalising general insurance would replace efficient private-sector officers with government functionaries and reduce initiative. - Holds that 'monopoly' as understood in economic literature does not really exist in India; the Anti-Monopoly Bill attacks 'concentration of economic power' out of political suspicion of wealth. - Uses the campaign against the Birlas to illustrate how political groups would penalise producers who add to output via legal use of the licensing policy. - Closes that no plan can succeed without coherent economic thinking, discipline, and a desire for hard work identified with patriotism. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Will Democratic Socialism Help India? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/will-democratic-socialism-help-india-a-d-shroff-jan12-1964/ ### Summary In this 1963 presidential address to the Seventh Annual General Meeting of the Forum of Free Enterprise (printed as an FFE booklet in January 1964), A. D. Shroff asks whether "democratic socialism" — the doctrine then ascendant in Indian official thinking — can deliver the rapid economic development India needs. Opening with the urgency added by Communist Chinese aggression and the classical-economist warnings of Dadabhai Naoroji and Gokhale, Shroff argues that the democratic way of life must not be sacrificed in the search for growth. He surveys the meanings of socialism, noting that even European social democrats (he quotes Graham Hutton, Douglas Jay and the late Hugh Gaitskell) have swung away from state ownership and nationalisation toward accepting private property and the price mechanism. The bulk of the address marshals evidence that centralised planning has failed even in the Soviet Union and Communist China.… ### Body # Will Democratic Socialism Help India? *By A. D. Shroff* ## Summary In this 1963 presidential address to the Seventh Annual General Meeting of the Forum of Free Enterprise (printed as an FFE booklet in January 1964), A. D. Shroff asks whether "democratic socialism" — the doctrine then ascendant in Indian official thinking — can deliver the rapid economic development India needs. Opening with the urgency added by Communist Chinese aggression and the classical-economist warnings of Dadabhai Naoroji and Gokhale, Shroff argues that the democratic way of life must not be sacrificed in the search for growth. He surveys the meanings of socialism, noting that even European social democrats (he quotes Graham Hutton, Douglas Jay and the late Hugh Gaitskell) have swung away from state ownership and nationalisation toward accepting private property and the price mechanism. The bulk of the address marshals evidence that centralised planning has failed even in the Soviet Union and Communist China. Drawing on Margaret Miller, Marshall Goldman and post-Khrushchev Soviet self-criticism, Shroff catalogues the chronic rigidities, bottlenecks, neglect of consumer goods, agricultural shortfalls and the creeping reintroduction of profit incentives and free-enterprise features into the Soviet and Chinese economies. He then turns the same lens on India, citing the Comptroller and Auditor-General's consolidated picture of loss-making public-sector enterprises, cost over-runs on the Bhilai, Durgapur and Rourkela steel plants, and audit delays at Durgapur and other state ventures. Shroff documents the human costs of misplaced priorities — contaminated water supplies and cholera, shortages of medical and educational capacity — and invokes Milton Friedman, Graham Hutton and W. W. Rostow on the proper, limited role of planning and the primacy of agriculture. He holds up the flexible French model of "planning by consent" (citing Pierre Massé and the Hacketts) and Ludwig Erhard's German example as alternatives to Soviet-style command planning. He closes by urging that India replace "present socialist methods of planning" with realistic planning that respects inexorable economic laws, trusts the individual, and encourages the spirit of enterprise. ## Key points - Delivered as Shroff's presidential address at the Forum of Free Enterprise's Seventh Annual General Meeting, December 17, 1963 (Bombay), and published January 1964. - Argues democratic socialism lacks a commonly accepted definition and that the global trend among social democrats is away from state ownership toward private property and the price mechanism. - Marshals Soviet and Chinese self-criticism — rigidities, bottlenecks, consumer-goods shortages, agricultural failure — to show centralised planning underperforms. - Cites India's Comptroller and Auditor-General on chronic losses and cost over-runs in public-sector enterprises, especially the Bhilai, Durgapur and Rourkela steel plants. - Documents human costs of misplaced priorities: contaminated drinking water, cholera, and shortfalls in medical and educational capacity. - Holds up the French 'planning by consent' model and Ludwig Erhard's Germany as humane, market-respecting alternatives. - Invokes Milton Friedman, Graham Hutton, W. W. Rostow and Soviet experts (Margaret Miller, Marshall Goldman) in support of limited planning and the primacy of agriculture. - Concludes that India must respect inexorable economic laws, trust the individual, and encourage enterprise rather than persist with socialist planning. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Why Scarcities? URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/why-scarcities-d-r-pendse-c-v-mariwala-b-d-somani-m-r-meher-1974/ ### Summary This 1974 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet diagnoses the shortages then gripping the Indian economy, treating inflation and scarcity as 'two sides of the same coin' rooted in defective economic policy rather than mere bad luck. An unsigned editorial introduction frames the volume and narrows the inquiry to three essential commodities in short supply, while an opening survey article sets the general problem of scarcities in perspective. The four contributors - D. R. Pendse on scarcities and inflation, C. V. Mariwala on vanaspati, B. D. Somani on paper, and M. R. Meher on coal - argue from a free-enterprise standpoint that government controls, licensing restrictions on large industrial houses, and nationalisation are the principal causes of shortages and high prices, and that the remedy lies in more production rather than more controls. ### Body # Why Scarcities? ## Summary This 1974 Forum of Free Enterprise booklet diagnoses the shortages then gripping the Indian economy, treating inflation and scarcity as 'two sides of the same coin' rooted in defective economic policy rather than mere bad luck. An unsigned editorial introduction frames the volume and narrows the inquiry to three essential commodities in short supply, while an opening survey article sets the general problem of scarcities in perspective. The four contributors - D. R. Pendse on scarcities and inflation, C. V. Mariwala on vanaspati, B. D. Somani on paper, and M. R. Meher on coal - argue from a free-enterprise standpoint that government controls, licensing restrictions on large industrial houses, and nationalisation are the principal causes of shortages and high prices, and that the remedy lies in more production rather than more controls. ## Essays ### Scarcities and Inflation *By D. R. Pendse* Pendse argues that the scarcity-and-inflation crisis persists not because it is poorly understood but because vested interests - black marketeers, certain producers, political parties, and even governments - benefit from perpetuating it. He illustrates how administered prices for foodgrains and sugarcane, set by political bodies like the National Development Council above the Agricultural Prices Commission's expert recommendations, keep prices high, and contends that during inflation industry stops bothering about quality or marketing because scarcity makes profits easy. - Frames scarcity and inflation as mutually reinforcing and structurally sustained by their beneficiaries. - Cites NDC paddy procurement prices of ~Rs. 110/quintal in 1973-74 against the APC's recommended Rs. 63, and UP sugarcane fixed at Rs. 12-13 vs the Centre's Rs. 8. - Argues producers and even political parties lose the incentive to improve output or quality when scarcity guarantees profit. ### Vanaspati *By C. V. Mariwala* Mariwala, chairman of the Vanaspati Manufacturers' Association of India, defends vanaspati as a useful processed edible oil that extends the country's fat resources, then argues that government price control - imposed in 1963 as a temporary measure under Defence of India Rules and never lifted - has itself become a major cause of instability in production. Reviewing vanaspati prices every fortnight against volatile oil costs, he says, distorts the industry; the answer to high prices is more oilseed output, not controls. - Vanaspati turns non-traditional oils (cottonseed, imported palm/soya/sunflower) into accepted edible fat, easing shortage. - Temporary 1963 price control under Defence of India Rules became permanent, with 7-8 price changes a year. - Price control itself, requiring constant cost-data review, is a major cause of fluctuation; the cure is more output. ### Paper *By B. D. Somani* B. D. Somani, an industrialist and past president of the All-India Manufacturers' Organisation, attributes the paper shortage to stagnant production (8.03, 8.04 and 7.96 lakh tonnes in 1971-73) caused by government policies that ideologically refuse to let large industrial houses expand or set up new units. He notes the country is importing newsprint at Rs. 3,500-4,000 per tonne while administrative delays in clearing projects block domestic capacity, and urges the government to take a realistic view and permit the large houses to invest. - Paper output stagnated/fell over 1971-73 despite rising demand. - Government's refusal to let large houses expand, plus licensing delays, is the chief obstacle to new capacity. - India wastes foreign exchange importing newsprint while domestic newsprint projects await clearance for over a year. ### Coal *By M. R. Meher* Meher's essay, reproduced from the Financial Express, presents the coal industry as a leading example of the heavy price the nation pays for nationalisation: the government coking- and non-coking-coal corporations run at a loss, coal-consuming industries (railways, power, steel) pay dearly, and the only beneficiaries are the coal-mine workers. He blames union pressure and a wage board that ignored the industry's capacity to pay, calling nationalisation an 'egregious blunder' and a warning against indiscriminate state takeover. - Post-nationalisation coal corporations make losses while railways, power and steel bear higher coal prices. - Wage-board awards and union pressure, not economic logic, drove nationalisation and cost increases of 31-43% by grade. - Treats coal nationalisation as a cautionary case against indiscriminate state ownership. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Working of Commodity Markets in India URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/working-of-commodities-markets-in-india-madan-sabnavis-july-4-2010/ ### Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces the full text of Madan Sabnavis's presentation on the working of commodity markets in India, delivered at a February 2010 seminar jointly organised by the FFE and the Economic Research Foundation of the Indian Merchants' Chamber. Sabnavis, identified as Chief Economist at CARE Ratings with six prior years at NCDEX, sets out to demystify commodity trading. He opens by locating commodity markets among a country's three broad price-setting financial markets (interest rates, exchange rates, and commodity prices), and distinguishes spot from derivative (futures) markets. The core of the essay is conceptual and explanatory. Sabnavis walks through derivatives, OTC versus exchange-traded contracts, the risk policy of exchanges (margining and counter-party guarantees), and the price-discovery advantages of organised commodity exchanges over bilateral grey-market trade.… ### Body # Working of Commodity Markets in India *By Madan Sabnavis* ## Summary This Forum of Free Enterprise booklet reproduces the full text of Madan Sabnavis's presentation on the working of commodity markets in India, delivered at a February 2010 seminar jointly organised by the FFE and the Economic Research Foundation of the Indian Merchants' Chamber. Sabnavis, identified as Chief Economist at CARE Ratings with six prior years at NCDEX, sets out to demystify commodity trading. He opens by locating commodity markets among a country's three broad price-setting financial markets (interest rates, exchange rates, and commodity prices), and distinguishes spot from derivative (futures) markets. The core of the essay is conceptual and explanatory. Sabnavis walks through derivatives, OTC versus exchange-traded contracts, the risk policy of exchanges (margining and counter-party guarantees), and the price-discovery advantages of organised commodity exchanges over bilateral grey-market trade. He devotes sections to recurring controversies: whether futures prices converge with spot prices (weak in India because of fragmented mandis and opaque reporting), and whether futures trading is responsible for inflation — a charge he treats sceptically, noting that statistical causality tests (Granger causality, error-correction mechanisms) have not been conclusive, and that futures mainly act as a barometer of market conditions. A historical section traces commodity futures in India from their nineteenth-century flourishing through mid-twentieth-century bans, underground forward trading, and gradual re-permission of regional exchanges. Sabnavis argues that exchanges such as NCDEX have built genuine infrastructure — warehousing capacity, assaying and grading standards, and price dissemination reaching farmers via TV, radio and electronic boards — that can let farmers hedge, time their sales, and use warehouse receipts to access finance. He concludes that commodity markets are globally accepted as efficient price-discovery systems and can play an important role in India provided regulation is made more flexible and the uncertainty around contracts being delisted or banned is removed. The booklet, sponsored by the Shailesh Kapadia Memorial Trust, carries an editor's note by Sunil S. Bhandare and a biographical tribute to Kapadia. ## Key points - Full text of Madan Sabnavis's presentation at a February 2010 FFE / IMC Economic Research Foundation seminar, published by the FFE in July 2010. - The author is Chief Economist at CARE Ratings and a former NCDEX hand, lending hands-on knowledge of commodity exchanges. - Frames commodity markets within a country's three price-setting financial markets and distinguishes spot from derivative/futures markets. - Explains key concepts: derivatives, OTC vs exchange-traded contracts, exchange margining/risk policy, and the efficiency of exchange price discovery. - Addresses the spot-futures convergence problem, attributing weak convergence in India to fragmented mandis and opaque reporting. - Rejects the claim that futures trading drives inflation, citing inconclusive Granger-causality and error-correction evidence. - Traces the history of Indian commodity futures from the late nineteenth century through mid-century bans to staged re-permission. - Concludes commodity markets aid price discovery and farmer hedging but need more flexible regulation and an end to arbitrary contract bans. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] WTO and Indian Industry URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/wto-and-indian-industry-2001/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, the economist S. S. Bhandare, a consultant with Tata Services, surveys the World Trade Organisation and what it means for Indian industry, drawing on a presentation he gave at an FFE programme in January 2001. He sketches the WTO's origins as successor to GATT and third pillar of the Bretton Woods system, its membership of 138 countries covering some 95 per cent of world trade, and its formally democratic one-member-one-vote structure - while noting that in practice the 'Quad' countries (USA, EU, Canada, Japan) dominate decision-making because developing countries lack cohesion.… ### Body # WTO and Indian Industry *By S. S. Bhandare* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, the economist S. S. Bhandare, a consultant with Tata Services, surveys the World Trade Organisation and what it means for Indian industry, drawing on a presentation he gave at an FFE programme in January 2001. He sketches the WTO's origins as successor to GATT and third pillar of the Bretton Woods system, its membership of 138 countries covering some 95 per cent of world trade, and its formally democratic one-member-one-vote structure - while noting that in practice the 'Quad' countries (USA, EU, Canada, Japan) dominate decision-making because developing countries lack cohesion. Against the backdrop of accelerating globalisation, Bhandare lays out the WTO's strategic framework and mandate across goods, services, TRIMs, TRIPs, dispute settlement and anti-dumping rules. The booklet then turns to the specific areas of concern for Indian industry - high manufacturing and transaction costs, technology gaps, infrastructure bottlenecks, politically stalled hard-core reforms like exit policy and privatisation, weak export competitiveness, and 'neo-protectionism' in developed-country markets - before examining the controversial fields of intellectual property (TRIPs), anti-dumping, and subsidies. On subsidies Bhandare explains the WTO's 'traffic-light' classification of red, amber and green measures and argues that India must redesign rather than simply scrap its subsidies, distinguishing non-merit subsidies from those that serve genuine developmental objectives. ## Key points - Traces the WTO's 1995 origin as successor to GATT and third pillar of the Bretton Woods system alongside the IMF and World Bank. - Notes 138 members covering ~95% of world trade, with formally democratic voting but de facto dominance by the Quad (USA, EU, Canada, Japan). - Frames Indian industry's challenges as far more serious than its opportunities given weak competitive strength after a decade of reform. - Lists concerns: high costs, technology gaps, infrastructure bottlenecks, stalled exit/privatisation policy, and developed-country neo-protectionism. - Explains the TRIPs agreement's nine IP categories and India's concerns over product patents for pharma/agro-chemicals and patenting of life forms. - Describes the WTO 'traffic-light' subsidy system (red/amber/green) and the phase-out of export subsidies like Section 80 HHC by 2003. - Concludes India should redesign subsidies to be WTO-compatible, protecting merit and developmental subsidies rather than cutting indiscriminately. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Freedom Writers: Young Asians' Call to Freedom URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/young-asians-call-to-freedom/ ### Summary Freedom Writers: Young Asians' Call to Freedom is an anthology published in December 2008 by the Young Liberals and Democrats of Asia (YLDA) to mark its fifth anniversary, with support from the Taiwan Foundation For Democracy and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty. In the rendered pages, the front matter and the opening of the first thematic chapter establish the volume's purpose: to give recognition to the political thought of young Asian liberals through a compilation of essays on regional issues, organised into three chapters — Education and Freedom of Expression, Asian Values and Human Rights, and Youth Empowerment and Participation. The editors frame the book, in the rendered pages, as deliberately stressing 'challenges over successes, dissonance over harmony,' positioning the next generation of Asian liberal youth in a continuing struggle for freedom and democracy against authoritarian legacies. ### Body # Freedom Writers: Young Asians' Call to Freedom ## Summary Freedom Writers: Young Asians' Call to Freedom is an anthology published in December 2008 by the Young Liberals and Democrats of Asia (YLDA) to mark its fifth anniversary, with support from the Taiwan Foundation For Democracy and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty. In the rendered pages, the front matter and the opening of the first thematic chapter establish the volume's purpose: to give recognition to the political thought of young Asian liberals through a compilation of essays on regional issues, organised into three chapters — Education and Freedom of Expression, Asian Values and Human Rights, and Youth Empowerment and Participation. The editors frame the book, in the rendered pages, as deliberately stressing 'challenges over successes, dissonance over harmony,' positioning the next generation of Asian liberal youth in a continuing struggle for freedom and democracy against authoritarian legacies. ## Essays ### Message *By Jan-Argy Tolentino* A 'Message' dated December 8, 2008 by Jan-Argy Tolentino, Secretary General of YLDA's Executive Committee. In the rendered pages it recounts YLDA's origins — a 2002 Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) Young Leaders Workshop in Manila, then formal founding in Phnom Penh in 2003 — and presents Freedom Writers as a fifth-anniversary benchmark of progress made and still to be achieved, thanking the funders and contributors. - Authored by Jan-Argy Tolentino, YLDA Secretary General, dated 8 December 2008. - Traces YLDA's founding to a 2002 CALD workshop in Manila and 2003 formation in Phnom Penh. - Presents the volume as a fifth-anniversary stock-taking of the liberal-youth network's progress. ### Introduction: The Calling The Introduction, titled 'The Calling,' frames the anthology in the rendered pages around the idea that Asia 'has always been a continent of and for the young,' invoking freedom struggles led by figures such as Benigno and Corazon Aquino, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Chee Soon Juan. It states the book's three goals — to preserve and shape Asian youth political thought, to encourage youth involvement through writing, and to stimulate critical discussion — and previews the three thematic chapters, noting that the volume privileges challenges over achievements. - Frames Asia as a young continent whose freedom struggles have repeatedly been youth-led. - Lists the volume's three goals around shaping youth political thought and discussion. - Previews the three-chapter structure and a deliberately dissonant, challenge-focused tone. ### Chapter 1: Education and Freedom of Expression — Preface *By Neric Accosta* The preface to Chapter 1 (Education and Freedom of Expression), 'Freedom of Expression, Expression of Freedom' by Neric Accosta of the Philippines, argues in the rendered pages that education and free expression are inseparable: education is the cultivation of critical, creative thinking in an atmosphere of freedom. Writing as the parent of a twelve-year-old, Accosta observes how new media — YouTube, blogs, online platforms — give the young a literal voice in the world, and warns that authoritarian governments seek to stifle that reach; he notes the essay's timing against the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (10 December 2008). - Authored by Neric Accosta (Philippines) as the Chapter 1 preface. - Argues education and freedom of expression are mutually dependent. - Highlights new media as empowering youth voice and a target of authoritarian control. - Marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. ### Education for Change *By Wendi Boxx* In the rendered opening pages of 'Education for Change,' Wendi Boxx (American, writing from Munich) recounts her 2006 volunteer work in rural Uttar Pradesh with the Pardada Pardadi Educational Society (PPES), a movement founded by industrialist-turned-idealist Sam Singh to educate girls in the Anupshahr district. She describes scouting villages to persuade fathers to send their daughters to school, and frames the school — whose name translates as 'grandparents' — as a vehicle for equality, hard work, and opportunity for the poorest, giving young women the standing to declare 'I am not a burden.' The essay continues past the rendered pages. - Authored by Wendi Boxx (American), reflecting on volunteer work in rural India. - Centres on the Pardada Pardadi Educational Society (PPES) educating girls in Uttar Pradesh's Anupshahr district. - PPES was founded by Sam Singh, an industrialist who returned to his village to educate rural girls. - Frames girls' education as conferring dignity — 'I am not a burden.' --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Your Prosperity Through Freedom URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/your-prosperty-through-freedom-by-mr-pai/ ### Summary An illustrated free-enterprise primer scripted by M. R. Pai for the Forum of Free Enterprise (issued as a Beacon Publication, with cartoon art by Eric Francis), the booklet uses coloured comic panels to make a popular case for what it calls "People's Private Enterprise" or "Free Enterprise." It opens by asking why people work, answering that work is a social necessity rooted in specialisation and the division of labour, a source of personal satisfaction, and a means to earn leisure and a life of human dignity. A. D. Shroff, President of the Forum, supplies a short foreword arguing that an informed public is the basis of a healthy democracy and that the illustrated medium is well suited to public education in economics. The central argument contrasts three ways of organising production, distribution and exchange: entirely in private hands, entirely in government hands (which it labels "State Capitalism"), or a combination ("Mixed Economy").… ### Body # Your Prosperity Through Freedom *By M. R. Pai* ## Summary An illustrated free-enterprise primer scripted by M. R. Pai for the Forum of Free Enterprise (issued as a Beacon Publication, with cartoon art by Eric Francis), the booklet uses coloured comic panels to make a popular case for what it calls "People's Private Enterprise" or "Free Enterprise." It opens by asking why people work, answering that work is a social necessity rooted in specialisation and the division of labour, a source of personal satisfaction, and a means to earn leisure and a life of human dignity. A. D. Shroff, President of the Forum, supplies a short foreword arguing that an informed public is the basis of a healthy democracy and that the illustrated medium is well suited to public education in economics. The central argument contrasts three ways of organising production, distribution and exchange: entirely in private hands, entirely in government hands (which it labels "State Capitalism"), or a combination ("Mixed Economy"). It depicts state ownership as placing the state above the individual and stripping people of choice over their work, spending, purchases and leisure, illustrating the point with a quotation attributed to Leon Trotsky and an octopus figure of socialist controls. It contends that socialism, though it professes faith in individual freedom, achieves state capitalism through nationalisation, and marshals quotations from British Labour thinkers (Hugh Gaitskell, Anthony Crosland), Burma's U Nu, the Italian communist Palmiro Togliatti, and Indian figures (Hanumanthaiya, Jayaprakash Narayan, S. G. Barve) to argue that socialists themselves were reconsidering nationalisation. The booklet's prescription is "people's private enterprise regulated by the state" — free enterprise operating within reasonable rules laid down by democratically elected representatives, covering not just big industry but all trade, services, agriculture and the professions. It insists free enterprise is not opposed to planning, nor synonymous with big business or monopoly, but stands for competition among enterprises large and small. The government's proper role, it argues, is to provide infrastructure (roads, ports, power, transport, hospitals, schools), a simple and fair administration, sound institutions and a stable currency, and to keep taxes low. The closing pages tie equality of opportunity, prosperity and freedom to free enterprise, and a final page reproduces a Mahatma Gandhi passage warning against increases in the power of the state. ## Key points - An illustrated FFE pamphlet (Beacon Publication) scripted by M. R. Pai, art by Eric Francis, making a popular case for free enterprise. - Foreword by A. D. Shroff, President of the Forum of Free Enterprise, frames the work as public economic education. - Argues people work out of social necessity (specialisation/division of labour), for satisfaction, and to earn leisure and human dignity. - Distinguishes private ownership, government ownership ('State Capitalism'), and 'Mixed Economy' as the three modes of economic organisation. - Equates socialism's nationalisation with state capitalism and the loss of individual choice and liberties. - Cites Western and Indian figures (Gaitskell, Crosland, U Nu, Togliatti, Hanumanthaiya, Jayaprakash Narayan, S. G. Barve) reconsidering nationalisation. - Prescribes 'people's private enterprise regulated by the state' within democratic rules, not laissez-faire and not monopoly. - Assigns government a role in infrastructure, fair administration, sound institutions, stable currency and low taxes; closes with a Gandhi passage on the danger of state power. --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* --- ## [Primary work] Youth for Agricultural Transformation URL: https://indianliberals.in/primary-works/youth-for-agricultural-transformation-prof-m-s-swaminathan-july-4-2011/ ### Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, the agricultural scientist Prof. M. S. Swaminathan argues that the future of Indian agriculture — and of India's demographic dividend — depends on persuading educated youth to take up farming as an intellectually satisfying and economically rewarding profession. Opening with Gandhi's 1927 declaration of himself as a "Farmer" and Lal Bahadur Shastri's "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan," Swaminathan frames farming as a national vocation, warns that the benefits of the first Green Revolution have tapered off, and calls for a second, knowledge-led agricultural transformation built on the integrated application of science and social wisdom. The address lays out a concrete, three-pronged programme: raising productivity, enlarging the scope for agro-processing and agri-business, and expanding rural services. Swaminathan stresses the role of women farmers (Mahila Kisans) and young farmers (Yuva Kisans), the establishment of Farm Health Passbooks, Gyan Chaupals / Village Knowledge Centres, gene-seed-grain-water banks, and a Climate Risk Management Research and Extension Centre in each of India's 127 agro-climatic sub-zones.… ### Body # Youth for Agricultural Transformation *By Prof. M. S. Swaminathan* ## Summary In this Forum of Free Enterprise booklet, the agricultural scientist Prof. M. S. Swaminathan argues that the future of Indian agriculture — and of India's demographic dividend — depends on persuading educated youth to take up farming as an intellectually satisfying and economically rewarding profession. Opening with Gandhi's 1927 declaration of himself as a "Farmer" and Lal Bahadur Shastri's "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan," Swaminathan frames farming as a national vocation, warns that the benefits of the first Green Revolution have tapered off, and calls for a second, knowledge-led agricultural transformation built on the integrated application of science and social wisdom. The address lays out a concrete, three-pronged programme: raising productivity, enlarging the scope for agro-processing and agri-business, and expanding rural services. Swaminathan stresses the role of women farmers (Mahila Kisans) and young farmers (Yuva Kisans), the establishment of Farm Health Passbooks, Gyan Chaupals / Village Knowledge Centres, gene-seed-grain-water banks, and a Climate Risk Management Research and Extension Centre in each of India's 127 agro-climatic sub-zones. He devotes substantial attention to climate-resilient farming, citing FAO temperature-rise projections, the need for sea-water farming and halophyte seed banks for "a warming India," and the revival of nutritious "nuti-cereals" (millets) and Pulses Villages to bridge the food demand-supply gap. The closing "From Vision to Impact" section draws on 21 years of work by the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) — the Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana, Pulses Villages in Pudukkottai and Ramanathapuram, and millet revival in Kolli Hills — and on the draft National Food Security Bill. Sunil S. Bhandare's Editor's Note situates the booklet against the precipitous decline of agriculture's share of GDP and the urgency of a Second Green Revolution, and reproduces Swaminathan's concluding charge to "Remember Your Humanity." ## Key points - Swaminathan's central thesis: the future of Indian agriculture depends on attracting educated youth, women (Mahila Kisans) and young farmers (Yuva Kisans) by making farming intellectually satisfying and economically rewarding. - He calls for a Second Green Revolution based on the integrated application of science and social wisdom, after the first Green Revolution's benefits tapered off. - A three-pronged strategy: improve productivity and profitability of small holdings; enlarge agro-processing and agri-business; promote rural service-sector opportunities. - Institutional proposals include Farm Health Passbooks, Gyan Chaupals / Village Knowledge Centres, gene-seed-grain-water banks, and a Climate Risk Management Research and Extension Centre in each of India's 127 agro-climatic sub-zones. - Heavy emphasis on climate-resilient farming: FAO warming projections, sea-water farming, halophyte seed banks, a Genetic Garden for Halophytes at Vedaranyam, and training Climate Risk Managers in every Panchayat. - Revival of nutritious millets ('nuti-cereals') and a national Pulses Villages programme to close the food demand-supply gap and curb hidden hunger. - Draws on 21 years of MSSRF work — Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana, Pulses Villages, Kolli Hills millet revival — and the draft National Food Security Bill. - Editor Sunil S. Bhandare frames the booklet against agriculture's declining GDP share (~15%) versus a still-high labour dependency (~55%). --- *Generated by the v1.5 extraction pipeline. Awaiting editorial review.* ---